Category: Random Fun

Off the Top of My Head: Painting 40k Dark Angels Dreadnought

On By James CastroIn Art, Games, Random Fun2 Comments

Off The Top of My Head

It’s true I love painting orks but, like a lot of 40K folks, I have dedicated myself to a space marine chapter as well.  I went with the Dark Angels over a more codex astartes chapter because of their somewhat mysterious past, duel agenda, and their chapter structure.  Gotta love the Ravenwing…

Since I still consider myself a painting neophyte, I started painting my Dark Angels with something a little easier than even a tactical marine figure: a dreadnought.

With the big, flat surfaces and edges, and larger areas it was a simpler place for me to try out some of the layering techniques I’ve seen more expert painters use.  It also has lots of weapons and mixed colors (though still on larger surfaces) so it wasn’t just a single, drab item but required a bit of creativity.

I used the Assault on Black Reach dreaddy-nought since he’s relatively static and he’d be easier to clean off if I had any painting disasters:

I went with the Dark Angels color scheme recommended by GW: Chaos Black, Caliban base, Biel-Tan shade, Warpstone Glow layer, Moot Green layer 2, Underhive Ash dry brush, with Waywatcher glaze.  Pretty vanilla but I don’t feel ultra-confident enough yet to experiment!

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I added the red sarcophagus front-plate and weapon details to give him a bit of character, but still retaining the Dark Angels general scheme.

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I’ve decided I’ll have a lot of my DAs in 4th Company, so I used the munitorium “4” and “IV” from the transfer sheet to detail him, along with some extra bits from the Dark Angels upgrade sprue (pretty good deal, btw folks.  It’s basically the DA veteran’s kit $14 cheaper!) to make him more Dark Angel-y.  I named him “Puriel” an angel described (by Wikipedia at least!) as “fiery and pitiless”

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Again, I love basing models and tried my hand at using some of the Forge World weathering powders on his feet and leg armor.  The rest of the base is pretty much just stuff from the GW basing kit again.

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That’s his big brother, Camael, the venerable dreadnought behind him.  He’s just primed (and yes, that’s part of an Icon of Old Caliban on his back…) I haven’t had the guts to finish completely gluing or painting him yet since, as a member of the Deathwing, he’ll be bone white and I want to practice that a bit more before I potentially mess him up!

Check out my previous ork painting posts for more!

Black Reach

Dredtrukk

Warboss with Attack Squig

Boss Zagstruk

Stormboy Nob on Flying Base

Bad Moons Nazdreg

Off the Top of My Head: Painting 40k Ork Warboss Nazdreg

On By James CastroIn Art, Games, Random Fun5 Comments

Off The Top of My Head

Since I’m a fan of both Dark Angels and Orks I found Gav Thorpe’s The Purging of Kallidus to be a perfect book for me.  Not only does it include a lot of small details on the functioning of a Space Marine force in the field, but includes the two biggest and baddest ork warlords in a combined effort; the mighty Ghazghkgull Thraka, and the wily Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub.

Ghasghkull was and is still the king of all orks to me; his semi-religious role, brutish persona, yet strangely high-intelligence seems to encompass the most frightening combination of ork traits.  However it’s nice to have options, while looking over an older ork codex I found Nazdreg is a GREAT option for an ork warlord (if only we could get modern rules for him GW!)

Nazdreg is not only a cunning leader, but also a remarkably good shot for an ork (BS4!  BS4!  With a PLASMA weapon!)  He also has fun painting options, as he is a Bad Moons warboss and can be done-up right in bright yellows and ostentatious decorations.

NAZDREG

The old Nazdreg model is nothing like the current line and difficult to field.  He’s SMALLER than most ork boyz, so that’s not an option.  This one is mine.  He came with his boss pole broken so I replaced it with a different one.  Luckily I got an old metal Ghazghkull with the deal I mentioned in a previous post and decided I’d Nazdreg-him up.

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I used the older Big Mek head so he had a different face from Ghazghkull that gave him a Mek look without having weird screws in his head.  I also liked the smug grin and goggles.SONY DSC

There wasn’t an appropriately massive Bad Moon bosspole, so I made my own out of green stuff.  I mounted it on the Lascannons from a Forgeworld Tauros Venator I turned into a warbuggy and stuck a deffdread face on the back.  The skulls came from the Chaos Defiler kit, whose bitz have served me so well since I converted it to the Dredtrukk.  It’s not perfect but I ended up really liking the look of the moon.

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His armor, instead of black with flames, I wanted a bright, blazing yellow.  Mostly to make his stand out even more from my Goff models.  His custom power klaw is made of the lower-potion of Ghazghkull’s with two ork chain blades and a piece from the Skaven Hell-Pit Abomination kit as flexible spiked-knuckles.

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The most difficult, but fun, part of the model was the Kustom-Blasta-X, Nazdreg’s supa-gun.  It’s frequently described as being “multi-barreled” but because it has the “gets hot” profile and the same feel as a plasma gun I thought it would be good to make it LOOK like a plasma gun.  I sheared off the twin-linked big shoota that came with the model (never cut off so much metal before) and used one of the plasma storm batteries from the Land Speeder Vengeance kit.  The little piece underneath is actually a re-fashioned mace head and it has the power supply from a megablasta off of an extra Mek on top.

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Basing is something that I’ve heard a lot of modelers complain about but it’s one of my favorite parts of finishing a model.  I originally wanted to have him on a telly-porta but I couldn’t think of a good way to make that work on a terminator-size base.  So I went with a scene from The Purging of Kadillus that is by far one of my favorites in the Black Library books I’ve read (along with Primarch Corax’s charge into the Iron Warriors in Raven’s Flight, also by Thorpe).  If you haven’t read the book SPOILER ALERT!

In the novel, Chaplain Boreas leads a defense of a power plant against an ork attack. They initially succeed until Nazdreg himself arrives and dooms the space marine/imperial guard defenders.  Boreas challenges Nazdreg to single combat, and, though he fights as best as he can, is ultimately smashed by the Bad Moons Boss.  I like this narrative not only because the fight itself is rousing, but also because it’s a rare instance of orks portrayed in a Black Library book not as comic relief but as the martial menace that they are.  Boreas and Nazdreg fight fairly, and Nazdreg beats Boreas through strength of arms, not blundering into luck.  This is especially impactful in this book as future Deathwing Captain Belial took a similar beating from Ghazghkull in the novel’s background.  I also have a strong memory of Nazdreg addressing the Dark Angel’s leadership through Boreas’ helmet comm with the typical Ork laconism, “Dey’s all dead…”

For my base I have Nazdreg stomping Boreas’ Crozius Arcanum.  The Arcanum is made from the handle of a thunder hammer; the head is actually part of the angel wings off of the Icon of Old Caliban from a Land Speeder Darkshroud kit.  For the Chaplain’s helmet I used a standard space marine helmet, sliced his face off, and glued on the face of a skull (again, those Chaos Defiler bits save the day!)  I then added appropriate muddy texture and various pieces from the GW 40k basing kit.

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Nazdreg’s my favorite model I’ve completed so far.  I hope I can use him (WITH his profile) in games and I’m really hoping GW includes him back into 6th edition when we get our overdue ork upgrade next summer!

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Check out my previous ork painting posts for more!

Black Reach

Dredtrukk

Warboss with Attack Squig

Boss Zagstruk

Stormboy Nob on Flying Base

Off the Top of My Head: Painting 40k Stormboy

On By James CastroIn Art, Games, Random Fun4 Comments

Off The Top of My Head

Before the glory that was Halloween (It’s still going on as far as I’m concerned.  I’m extending Halloween the way the rest of the world does Christmas…) I began posting some of the Orks I’ve been painting.  Though I have two chapters of space marines (the two more “angelic” chapters…First Founding!) and now some Sisters of Battle, the Orks are still my chance to be the most creative.

This model is an old metal Stormboy Nob I got in an incredible deal on eBay along with a lot of other older metal models.  I love the look of the older models mixed in with my newer plastic kits, but they are a bit static and don’t look very “Storm-y.”  Luckily eBay also introduced me to these great flying bases for them.  I have a full compliment of ten to do, but I started with the great Stormboy Nob to test how it works:

It was fun to customize and pose him on this base. I over tilted so I have a nickel underneath the base to keep him down.
It was fun to customize and pose him on this base. I over tilted so I have a nickel underneath the base to keep him down.
That's a newer choppa he has. I liked the look of it better.
That’s a newer choppa he has. I liked the look of it better.
The site to buy the bases has a great tutorial on how to paint them to give that layered/glowing effect.
The site to buy the bases has a great tutorial on how to paint them to give that layered/glowing effect.
The Rokkit is a little plain, but the rest of the model is so bright I was ok with it.
The Rokkit is a little plain, but the rest of the model is so bright I was ok with it.
I used a piece of the Chaos Defiler model to accessorize his helmet.
I used a piece of the Chaos Defiler model to accessorize his helmet.
Vroom!
Vroom!
Waaagh!
Waaagh!

How to paint the flying base here.

And my previous ork posts:

Black Reach

Dreadtrukk

Warboss with Attack Squig

Boss Zagstruk

Halloween Flashback

On By R. PettyIn Random FunLeave a comment

We hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween! We filled our week with horror movies, costuming, giving out candy, and having fun. That’s what it’s all about 🙂

As promised in my Little Costumes post, here are two pics of little me at Halloween. These were the only ones we found, but as you can see, I still loved the season:

Lil Jem and a hologram
Late 1980s: I think I was four or five in this one. My mom says we were Jem and a Hologram – I LOVED Jem. I vaguely remember this costume, but I do remember the headband with the bow. If you’d like a seasonal blast from the past, check out the Halloween-themed Jem!
Santa Claus and a Witch
1991: This is a pretty adorable story. According to my mom, my little brother was scared of everything (except me lol), so she dressed him up as Santa Claus. I do remember him loving Santa! I was an evil witch in bright blue heels, which were my grandma’s.

We want to thank all our readers and hope everyone had a great October. We’re looking forward to writing new reviews, writing tips, stories, and whatever else we can dream up. We also celebrated our one-year anniversary of Lil’ Horsemen (on Halloween), so if you haven’t read it, we’d love for you to check it out!

Yes, that IS a Proton Pack!

On By James CastroIn Random Fun1 Comment

Our previous posts have chronicled my costumes of Halloween past.  This year, I will probably re-use one of my previous costumes for a costume party, so there isn’t really anything new to show off.  I’d like to put together a Space Marine in the future, especially since there are so many “how-tos” on the internet now.  But that is a MAJOR investment in both money and time.  I may do a Commissar or Inquisitor in the meantime just to try something new.  I’d also like to try being a classic monster sometime, or the Predator, but the latter again costs some cash to make it look good.

This year, I had the opportunity to go to WizCon in Nashville and met up with two Ghostbusters groups (Tennessee and Kentucky). For a dollar donation (thanks, Raven!) I got to live out a dream 30 years in the making and put on a proton pack!  Furthermore, Winston Zeddemore himself, Ernie Hudson was in the building! (He looks exactly the same)

I was legitimately stoked.  Only seeing dinosaur bones comes close to this level of excitement for me.

I’m pretty happy to have a replica unlicensed nuclear accelerator on my back!

I think I'm listening to it. It had a power switch that made the sound effects!
I think I’m listening to it. It had a power switch that made the sound effects!
Yep I'm in front of Vigo too!
Yep I’m in front of Vigo too!  For those interested I’m wearing a Jinx hoodie featuring a quote from Lucius Accius, which he attributes to Caligula, “oderint dum metuant” (let them hate so long as they fear)  You better fear!  I got a proton pack!

10 Halloween Specials: RevPub Picks

On By James CastroIn Random FunLeave a comment

They just don’t make Halloween specials like they used to… And to honor the great tricks and spooks of the season, we’ve compiled our 10 favorite Halloween specials for your reading pleasure. Feel free to click on the links to watch an episode, and we hope you enjoy this eerie trip down memory lane. We sure did!

James’ Picks

Disney’s Halloween Treat (1982) –This special was essentially an amalgamation of several Disney shorts.  I distinctly remember the Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia; the Skeleton Dance, which is STILL an incredible piece of music and animation; Donald Duck and the Gorilla, which has some incredible classic humor, gags, and fun cartoon scares; and my favorite, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Disney’s version remains the most impactful, potent, and well-choreographed version of this story I’ve ever seen.  Disney may get some stick for being an oversized profit-factory now, but this special shows how effective and talented Disney Studio was, especially in the ’20s-’40s.

Garfield’s Halloween Adventure  (1985) – This Halloween special was the special-to-end-all-specials for me as a kid.  I still say “candy-candy-candy-candy-candy” whenever candy is present, and I still get a BIT creeped out by the old man telling the pirate story.  This was the peak of Garfield’s might – I had the plushes, stickers, and books including the comic book version of this episode!  I still love the lazy orange cat, and it’s one of the rare comic strips I’ll stop to read.  This special was by far one of the best single-episode specials (it wasn’t an episode of Garfield and Friends, it aired in prime time every season) ever and remains an absolute favorite.

Roseanne “BOO!” (1989)  – Roseanne had some of the best TV Halloween episodes, but this one is by far my favorite.  When I looked it up to get the title, I had no idea it also had been nominated for awards and was the FIRST Halloween episode they ever did.  I remember it as one of the most fun Halloween family environments I’d seen on TV.  Dan and Roseanne have a “who’s scarier” competition that escalates throughout the episode (from fake injuries, to a roaring chainsaw, to a TRULY terrifying conclusion I won’t dare ruin!), and they happily play pranks on their kids and each other.  It’s the TV-show budget version of the kinds of things my family did for Halloween.  I still love it.

Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror “ Episodes 1-8 (1990-2002) – It is IMPOSSIBLE to pick a favorite Simpsons Halloween special.  From the first one that taught me Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven when I was 9, to The Shinning, to The Homega Man, these episodes were full of some of the funniest moments the show ever produced.  They’re lack of continuity and fantasy-world nature meant they could get away with anything in them.  Major characters died, fourth walls were broken, and horror conventions spoofed.  Many cartoons since have tried to follow the format, and some have been good, but not as good.  The Simpsons ran their course for me by Season 9, but the first eight episodes of “Treehouse of Horror” are still hilarious for any fan of the horror genre.

AVGN Halloween  (2006-2013, so far!) – It’s hard to pick, but I may have to go with Friday 13th–Nightmare on Elm Street NES game reviews with a close second being the Dracula and Frankenstein reviews.  I had that Nightmare on Elm Street game, and it was one of the first AVGN episodes I saw (after Ghostbusters and TMNT, games I had as well, though I had Ghostbusters on the Atari Computer).  I had the exact same experience as James Rolfe while playing the Nightmare game, and he not only Captures the mood of the season but also the true strangeness and awfulness of the game.  The Halloween-Texas Chainsaw Massacre Atari episodes, Ghostbusters run, the Castlevania-thon, and Ghost n Goblins are all also amazing Halloween/Video Game entertainment.

Raven’s Picks

Home Improvement “The Haunting of Taylor House” (1992) – I never watched Home Improvement much, but I managed to catch their Halloween shows. This family was the tamer version of Roseanne’s but still fun. I always remember thinking how cool it would be to have a family Halloween, like the Connors and Taylors. It’s hard to beat the costumes, makeup, and insults that fly around in those houses. In this episode Tim builds a haunted house downstairs, and the costumes are hilarious. Poor Raggedy Andy. For a less kiddie episode, check out “Crazy for You” and watch Tim squirm as the secretive Rose sets out to win Tim’s heart. Bum, bump, bum, bump…

Dawson’s Creek “Four Scary Stories” and “Living Dead Girl” (2001-2002) – Thanks to my recent binge watching of the show, I came across these little teen-gems. The choice is tough because there were only two Halloween-type episodes, and both were done well. “Four Scary Stories” is exactly that, and a couple are pretty intense for a teen show as they deal with stalking and road rage. “Living Dead Girl” is more traditional by taking place at a costume party on a “haunted” movie set during a costume party. “Four Scary Stories” is creepier and mood-based, and the other is more action-packed. Both are super fun though, and you’ll see a very young Jensen Ackles from Supernatural!

Hey Dude “Ghost Stories” (1996) – Ok, you can tell I’m a sucker for ghost stories and teens. In this episode, the teens play tricks and tell stories to try to one-up each other, especially Brad and Ted. The kids work in several urban legends, and it’s harmless Nick teen fun. Any Hey Dude fan will love this episode. The acting isn’t great, and it’s silly, but it’s of fun with cheesy effects. Even severed hands…

Rugrats “Candy Bar Creep Show” (1992) – Remember Reptar Bars? The delicious chocolate bars filled with green sugary ooze. This is one of the first Rugrats and super cute. The babies learn all about Halloween and wander around trying to get a Reptar bar. They’re too small to go trick-or-treating, but it doesn’t stop them from getting candy!

Psych “Tuesday the 17th” (2009) – I’m kind of cheating with this one, but this episode had to be on my list for three reasons: 1) It’s an awesome tribute to Friday the 13th; 2) I have watched this episode 50 times, and I’m not exaggerating; 3) It’s one of the best Psychs ever. Tuesday the 17th mixes comedy, classic slasher horror, and Psych antics to create a show I must watch every year when I need a good laugh or a good scare. It’s not a traditional Halloween show, but you have to give it props of clean writing, suspense, and a twist. Because there’s always a twist. BWAHAHAHA….