Off the Top of My Head: 40k Dark Angels Librarian Turmiel

On December 11, 2013December 10, 2013 By James CastroIn Art, Games, Random FunLeave a comment

This guy I painted the same day as I painted the standard bearer. In fact I may have painted him first but who can remember such details now?

He’s the Dark Vengeance Dark Angels Librarian and GW really showed off what they could do with plastic minis in that set. So much so that I’ve heard that finecast has met its demise going forward. I had a previous librarian, but since this guy was so utterly Dark-Angel’d up, yo, I moved my other one to my little Blood Angels army.

I didn’t follow the exact color scheme used in the Dark Vengeance literature, but it’s more fun to riff a bit right? He, like my standard bearer, needs some serious touch-ups as I can spot all kinds of places I didn’t blend well, but I do like his force sword! Other areas are just things I can look forward to correcting soon.

I actually had two of these guys, but the crew in the sadly closed Woodfield Mall GW store gave me a GREAT idea what to do with my other one. He’s been primered and painting has only just started on him but this is what I did with my other Turmiel:

I altered the command bike to carry an extra Tome of the Long Hunt from the Ravenwing upgrade sprue on the wings of the angels on the rear fender.

I’ve included several other little additions, such as the second volume on the side of the fender, A scroll from Skaven plague monks on the front fender, and a cherub I got with an Empire General Standard bit.

I heard of a few ways to convert a regular Ravenwing sergeant into a librarian-on-a-bike (including using Grey Knights bits), but with Turmiel’s dynamic posing (love that outstretched hand) and iconography it was hard to think of another one that would look nearly as Dark Angels-y.

Once I have him completed I’ll post pics of him, hopefully showing, hopefully, more advancement in painting ability.

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

Dark Angels Dreadnought

Dark Angels Standard Bearer

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

On December 4, 2013December 3, 2013 By James CastroIn Art, Games, Random Fun1 Comment

My dreadnought got me in the mood to paint more Dark Angels, and I decided to jump into robed characters rather than the standard green-armored tac-marines.

The new finecast standard bearer is a nice-looking model with a great bas-relief standard. It’s what appealed to me about it. The chance to paint the raised relief edges and also try my hand at the robes for the first time. I had mixed results but I was happy with my first effort:

I like the standard, though my edging could use some touch ups... — I like the standard, though my edging could use some touch ups…

This kind of shows how I tried to do the robes. Not bad but it could use some honing it.

I'm actually most happy with the back of the figure and the banner. I like the red and gold. — I’m actually most happy with the back of the figure and the banner. I like the red and gold. Again I need to touch up those highlights…

The base of the banner was fun to try, and I used ANOTHER piece from the defiler to accent the base.

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

Dark Angels Dreadnought

2013 Concert Review: Teen Dreams Coming True

On December 1, 2013December 1, 2013 By R. PettyIn Concerts/ShowsLeave a comment

If someone had told me in January I’d be writing about seeing my favorite 90s bands, I would have laughed in their face. Even by March, the 2013 lineup for Nashville concerts looked bleak.

Oh how things changed…

It wasn’t long after that when tickets for the first show went on sale. Then the next and the next. What I thought would be a wasted year turned out to be my 90s teenage dream come true.

July 9: Marilyn Manson – This show was especially important because he played Nashville when I was in high school and I wasn’t allowed to go. Manson was in his prime, and of course, his reputation proceeded him. As a teenage, I always felt like I’d missed something pretty awesome.

In July, I fulfilled my wish and took two of my favorite people with me. We had a great time. Manson sounded great, rocked War Memorial, and there was not a bad seat in the house. He performed all our favorites and changed outfits and props nearly every song. My favorite part was talking to all the other 30-somethings who were seeing him for the first time because like me, their parents wouldn’t them see me. We stood united.

October 22: Nine Inch Nails – Anyone my age knows how big NIN was in the 90s. Trent Reznor was the man. I was again too young to see him, and later I missed NIN a few times due to biology labs and adult responsibilities. For 15 years I’ve listened to people tell me how awesome the show is, so this was a must-see. If you’re thinking about it, just go. He sounded amazing, and it was one of the best light shows I’ve ever experienced. You couldn’t take your eyes off the stage, and he performed Wish and March of the Pigs. You haven’t really heard these songs until you’ve heard them live.

November 24: Rob Zombie and Korn – Two headliners. And those two headliners. What can I even say? I’m surprised the roof didn’t cave in – everyone was on their feet the whole time. Zombie got the crowd rowdy and loud (as James says he’s a performer, a ring leader, a presence). As if Zombie and John 5 weren’t enough, he brought out a special guest: Mick Mars from Motley Crue. It was epic.

Then Korn set up. I won’t lie, I was a little winded, but you have to suck it up. This was the fourth time I’ve seen Korn, but this time was different. The crowd was LOUD. The arena shook with people jumping, screaming, singing. I looked around for a moment and thought, “This is what a concert should be. THIS is energy.”

We hope 2014 won’t disappoint because 2013 will be tough to beat. Here’s to ears ringing, lost voices, and rocking out.

If you had any fun shows this year, feel free to tell us about them in the comments!

An Unlikely Thanksgiving Treat

On November 27, 2013November 27, 2013 By James CastroIn Movies, OpinionsLeave a comment

Let’s face it, sequels are lame. They either do the exact same thing as the first film, only less effectively, or they do something completely different and lose all of what made their progenitor worthy of continuance.

Every now and then, however, a sequel can surprise you and sometimes even surpass the original. A couple of famous, celebrated examples are Aliens and Terminator 2; two Jim Cameron films that built on what the original did and included new elements that added to their luster. But then there are some less-well known films, where the original isn’t considered a classic, the sequel relatively forgotten, and, while both are actually fun movies, the sequel is by far the better. In this particular case, I’m talking about Addams Family Values.

The original live-action Addams Family film starring Raoul Julia, Angelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, and a very young Christina Ricci, was a fun little caper film. Well-acted and entertaining. Addams Family Values is far zanier. It’s like the best episode of your favorite cartoon show, big laughs, satisfying stories, priceless moments. The dark humor is spot-on, every actor is terrific (bringing great characters to the sequel are Joan Cusack as a psychotic black widow, with Peter MacNicol and Christine Baranski as two sociopathically happy camp counselors, and you’ll even spot Tony Shaloub in there if you look carefully…) and still featuring all the actors from the first returning to their original roles.

It’s goofy, dark, simple, and damned entertaining. I’ve seen it dozens of times and laugh all the way through it.

So why am I posting this on the day before Thanksgiving? Because it’s the only movie I actually like (sorry but Planes, Trains, and Automobiles isn’t entertaining to me at all…) that has a memorable Thanksgiving theme and the ONLY Thanksgiving song I know. The Thanksgiving song is one of my favorite movie musical moments. It sounds ridiculous but it’s true. Doubt me? Well here it is!

And for the great full Thanksgiving play:

Happy Thanksgiving from RevPub!

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

On November 21, 2013November 20, 2013 By James CastroIn Art, Games, Random Fun2 Comments

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!

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.

I’ve decided I’ll have a lot of my DAs in 4^th 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”

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.

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 November 13, 2013November 12, 2013 By James CastroIn Art, Games, Random Fun5 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 6^th edition when we get our overdue ork upgrade next summer!