[Review] The perfect Primer

This is something that may be of particular interest to Adeptus Custodes or Stormcast Eternals players, but might also be helpful to anyone looking for a good undercoat for gold.

For the longest time, I'd been priming miniatures in black, and then using something like Mournfang Brown to basecoat sections that were to be gold.  It works okay, but you have the primer, then a couple thin coats of brown, then 1-2 thin coats of gold.

I've used Vallejo AV primer for the longest time, and I brush it on because weather and space concerns really keep me from using aerosol sprays or an airbrush.  But I've heard a lot of good things about Stynylrez from Badger.  They have a red-brown primer that looked to be perfect.  However, with the really cold weather we've had here for the last couple months, there was no way I could mail-order it and not have it frozen to uselessness by the time I get home to get the mail.  Well, the weather's finally warmed up to the mid-40s so I ordered some a couple of days ago and it arrived today.

I have got to say, the stuff is wonderful.  It goes on nice and smooth, even with a brush,  It's self-leveling like Vallejo but it dries with a matte surface rather than the shiny finish of Vallejo primer.  It's got more tooth for what you'll paint over it, and coverage is great.  And where Vallejo's ideal cure time is measured in days (one to three days was killing me to wait), Stynylrez cures in hours.  I primed a couple of Custodians before dinner, watched a little TV and came back to basecoat the gold.  They were ready to go.

Here's the best part.  Where I used to have to do three thin coats of gold to cover the black primer, Gold goes over red-brown Stynylrez in One. Thin. Coat.  And the brown undercoat makes the gold look really rich and warm.  Because you're applying fewer coats of primer, basecoat, and gold to cover, detail is preserved far better and the model doesn't look "painted".  I highly recommend this stuff for anyone who paints Custodes, Stormcast, or anything where you'll be doing a lot of gold.  You'll wonder why you waited so long.

Work-In-Progress: Custodes Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought

Just a sneak peek at something that's on my painting desk right now...

Because the Custodes are an elite army of few models (my 1500-point army numbers all of 17 models!) I want to make sure they look special.  Even the humblest Custodian Guard has ornate armor and weaponry, the Wardens and Shield Captains even moreso.

So then you have the Contemptor.  It's a pretty basic plastic kit (around 12 parts total) and there's nothing about it that makes it look like a revered veteran of centuries (or even millennia!) or warfare.
I've wondered what I could do to solve this - I've seen Contemptors from other Chapters that conveyed the image of a venerated warrior.

Then I saw a picture in the Codex and it was exactly what I wanted:

And I realized it wouldn't be difficult to do at all.  I have 2 boxes of Custodian Guard and so I have a spare vexilla I'll never need.  The parts are basically just the "wings" of the standard, with the ribbons clipped off and reapplied elsewhere on the arms.

So I studied the photograph and did exactly that.  Here's what I've got:

Visually it goes so well with the other models, and because of its size the eye will be drawn to it (and probably a considerable amount of enemy fire, as well...)

I've got two more models finished on the desk - My Shield-Captain and Vexillus Praetor from the Wardens kit.  I used one of the capes from the Shield-Captain in the Guard kit to make my Praetor look even more special and impressive. 

In my next post, I'll be featuring the characters of the army, after I've completed Captain-General Trajann Valoris as well.  Three models down, only 14 to go!

Adeptus Custodes are here!

Last week saw the release of the newest faction for Warhammer 40,000 - The Adeptus Custodes.
These gold-clad warriors are the Emperor's household guard and possess physical characteristics, training and equipment beyond even those of the Adeptus Astartes.  They number 10,000 strong - ten times the size of any individual Chapter of Space Marines - and they are effectively immortal unless killed in battle.

Why would someone want to play this new faction, you might ask?  Well, there are a few reasons:
 First of all, the stat line: Each of these warriors, even the line troops, is easily the equal of a character in any other army.  Even the basic Custodian Guards have an impressive set of characteristics.

Those of you who may be familiar with the datasheets from the Talons of the Emperor box set might notice that the Ballistic Skill has gone from 3+ to an even more impressive 2+.  These guys are comparable to Space Marine Lieutenants - and they are your Troops choices. As you might expect, the Custodes characters are accordingly more powerful than the basic Custodian Guard.

The second reason for playing Custodes is that they are fairly easy to paint - someone with a basic amount of painting skill can still get a good result with a few colors and a wash, while a more skilled painter can take the time to pick out the lavish detail.

Which leads to the third point: These models are gorgeous.  They are covered with all sorts of embellishments, symbols and details.  You can truly believe that the ornate suits of armor they wear are ten thousand year old heirlooms.

But to me, the most important reason that this is a beginner-friendly army to collect is the low model count.  Because each individual Custodian is a powerful character in his own right, their cost reflects that.  Where a Space Marine army might contain 50 or more models, a Custodes army can be much smaller.  This does mean that it's more challenging to play them, but that makes victory more rewarding!

To give you an example of how easy this army is to collect, here's a sample 1000-point battalion that can be made from just three Custodian Guard boxes - the same models that are also found in the Talons of the Emperor box and the Burning of Prospero game:

HQ - Shield-Captain:  Castellan Axe (124)
HQ - Shield-Captain: Castellan Axe (124)

TR - 4x Custodian Guard: Guardian Spear (208)
TR - 4x Custodian Guard: Guardian Spear (208)
TR - 4x Custodian Guard: Guardian Spear (208)

EL - Vexilus Praetor: Castellan Axe, Misericordia, Vexilla Magnifica (128)


EDIT: It was pointed out to me that the Custodian Guard box does not include Axes, which are found in the Wardens kit.  This leaves you a few options:

1)  Get the axes on eBay or a bits reseller (I use Hobby Titan personally)
2) Do a little conversion work - I'm sure there are suitable substitute axes in the Age of Sigmar range, but this may require a little extra work.
3) Rearrange the list a little - replacing the Axes with Spears frees up 6 points.  In that case, take the Misericordia away from the Praetor and give one to each Shield-Captain.  That'll leave you at 998 points.
4) (And this is my favorite option) If you can afford to - especially if you are planning to expand your army in the near future - invest in a box of Wardens.  The 1500-point army list I'm working on has a squad of three Wardens in it.  Use the other two to model your Shield-Captains - or one Captain and one Praetor.  The robes and other extra details will make your Characters stand out better!


If you play Open with Power Levels, this is a PL52 army - within the normal range compared to the Matched Play points (I've found that generally points/20 gives a rough power level to aim for).  Because it's a Battalion, you'll have 6 Command Points to use for Stratagems - and Custodes get some pretty nice ones that will help to offset the low model count and lack of high-powered weaponry.

Because the kit contains parts to make a Shield-Captain and/or Vexilus Praetor, you won't need to buy other kits or models to start.  And you will find that it's easy to expand on this core.

I picked up the Codex the other day and I'll be getting my models over the weekend.  I still need to finish my Necromunda gang in the upcoming week before our league begins, but I hope to see how quickly I can get my Custodes army ready for play!  If I had somewhere indoors to undercoat the models with gold spray, I imagine it would be quick indeed.

Stay tuned - I hope to have some pictures to share very soon.

This is... BLOOD BOWL!

It's been over 20 years since a new Blood Bowl game was released in stores, and Games Workshop has finally resurrected this enduring and popular Specialist Game.

Blood Bowl is the game of Fantasy Football where teams of Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Dark Elves, Skaven and Humans do battle on the pitch - be it grass, Astrogranite, ice or mud.  The goal (if you'll pardon the pun) is to get the ball into the opponent's End Zone by running or passing it down field.

I'll give a brief review of the boxed set and add-ons in an upcoming post, but for now I wanted to share what I've been working on:

These are part of the Dark Elf team known as the
Balmorra Raveners.  The team colors are Black and Purple, suitable for Dark Elves.  I've tried to
keep the skin tones consistent with the color palette and properly cold and pale.  The bright green accents stand out vividly against the purple armor, boots, and gloves.  I used P3 Rhulic Gold to give the golden parts a nice, warm, rich luster.

For the Witch Elves, I decided to go with a sort of "Bride of Frankenstein" look to the hairdo.  It really enhances the savage and manic aspect of these players.  You may notice the face of the Assassin looks a bit different.  He is known as "Vigo Vendetti" and I've painted him up with "V for Vendetta" in mind.

Next up is a concept model for a Dwarven team.  The new Dwarven Blood Bowl models look spectacular but they won't be out for another month or two.  In the meantime, I'm painting up some Dreadball Forge Fathers to serve the purpose.  Meet Johann "The Mountain", Captain of the team known as the Fort Tyr Miners:

I named him in honor of 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. He's still not completed in these pictures, but it's sufficient to get the point across.  The team is just being painted to a tabletop standard so I can get them on the field in the next few weeks!

The concept was serendipitous.  I wasn't originally planning on this color scheme - I knew I wanted the gold armor but was originally considering blue and grey clothing.  I opted for red instead, and originally went with white trousers but after some good advice I made them golden yellow instead.  I wanted a name that suggested mining, and the resemblance to the colors of the San Francisco 49ers is readily apparent.  But the year of the California Gold Rush doesn't have much significance in the world of Warhammer, so after a little thought, the name "Fort Tyr Miners" just fell into place.

I'll post pictures of the team once it's finished.

The last little thing I wanted to show off is a decoration for my Skaven team, The Doomtown Rats.  While field goals are not part of the Blood Bowl rules (at least, not currently), I made a goalpost out of sprue and some plastic skeletal horse skulls and Skaven regiment shields.  The symbol of the Horned Rat, turned sideways, makes the "D" that is the team logo.

That's all for now, but stay tuned!  I hope to provide more exciting Blood Bowl content in the weeks to come.

REVIEW: IKEA Micke Desks, and the Hobby Zone SDM3b Professional Paint Station

I thought I'd talk a little about my new painting area.

I wanted a fairly compact setup that would still allow me the ability to do my best work.  So I went to Ikea and got a "Micke" desk for about $50.  The desktop is 20x29 inches and it has a full-length drawer underneath.

It's a pretty good size to place right under a window, to allow you the largest amount of natural sunlight for painting.  However, I also wanted some space to store boxes of models and other materials, so I later purchased a drawer unit in the same style.  Its top is the same level as the desk and it cost me $60.

In retrospect, I should have gone with the larger Micke desk for $80 and then I'd have a consistent surface for larger work and no need for the drawer unit.  Live and learn.

This is the kind of desk I built for my girlfriend.  I should have gotten the same kind for myself.

These desks were easy to assemble - it took me about 45 minutes for the larger one and about 30 minutes to put my small one together,  You have the option of putting the cabinet part/open leg on either side.  For the larger desk, there's a hutch available for $40.  It's very handy (if you are not right in front of a window, of course).  Someplace to display your finished work or keep other needed things at hand.

 I also got a couple of inexpensive desk pads to protect from scratches and spills - they're durable clear plastic and sized to fit the desktop.  It's easier to replace a $6 desk protector than a $50-80 desk, don't you agree?

My main problem with these desks is that they do not have an edge that you can use to clamp on a work lamp.  So I need to place my table-top lamp on the side cabinet.  It's a fairly big adjustable lamp with a heavy base about 7 inches across - but the LED bulb in it is so heavy that the lamp isn't as stable as I'd like.  I use a bulb that puts out 1250 lumens at a color temperature of 5000K - almost exactly like natural daylight, but it weighs over a pound.  Make sure your lamp can support something like that, and you'll have he best possible workspace lighting you could need!

I also wanted something that would allow me to keep my most frequently used paints at hand, as well as my brushes.  So I bought a  Hobby Zone SDM3b Professional Paint Station on eBay for $55.  It's 24x16 inches and is made of MDF fiberboard.  It shipped in a flat package and required assembly with wood glue and masking tape.  Assembly was easy and fairly quick (aside from the time needed for the glue to dry).  If you can build models, you can aseemble this thing.  The slots are 36mm wide and can accomodate the Citadel paint pots.  It's got room for about 50 Citadel pots, or probably 60 of the P3 jars.  There is a model available if you use the AV dropper bottles - it's called the SDM3s and it has 26mm slots.  The paint station also has holes for 20 brushes and a couple very large holes for things like glue bottles or a small water pot.  The small "wings" on either side are detachable and can be used for setting aside models to dry.

It's already saved my desktop from one spill and the nice thing about it is, you could pick the whole thing up and move it without disturbing anything.

So, that's a little about my work area.  It's not 100% ideal but realistically, few of us have the space or expense to set up the perfect work space - especially those of us with spouses or girlfriends who have input into how much room our hobby occupies.

There are advantages to my setup - it alleviates the need to paint at the kitchen table (no longer allowed with a brand new table!) or at my computer desk.  However, it's sitting directly perpendicular to my computer desk, so I can just swivel to the right to paint.  That also allows me to view a YouTube video or listen to music while I am working.

I hope you find the product reviews useful - I encourage you to check out the paint station, and maybe I have given you some ideas about setups that are economical in space and money.

We'll Be Back Soon!

It's been a long, long time since I posted anything on the blog.  I appreciate those of you who have checked in from time to time.

I had hoped to be able to return to painting this past spring - I was back to work, and had the funds to buy a new Space Marine army after having to sell all my miniatures last fall.  But a lot of other things changed and I wound up moving to a new place.  It took a while to settle in, and a bit longer to get things set up to paint once again.

Finally I have a small painting desk near the window in the den, a nice MDF painting station to keep my paints organized, and I'm slowly starting to paint again.

So I hope to be able to re-invigorate my blog with more articles, reviews, tutorials and pictures.  It may be a slow start but I look forward to it and I hope you do too!  Thanks for following the Sage Brush!

STILL ALIVE!

Hello to all who have followed my blog in the past - and apologies for my prolonged absence.

I just wanted to announce that I intend to return to blogging soon (in about a month or so) and explain my absence.  When I last posted in late May of last year, I was about to embark upon painting my Dark Angels army.  I expected to have it finished by the end of the summer - but no plan survives contact with the enemy, so to speak, and  Life Happened.

First major change was leaving my old job.  I planned to take the summer off to spend time with the family and catch up on my painting.  My savings were sufficient to allow for that, but after an unexpected family medical emergency, I was left with no choice but to sell my Space Wolf and Dark Angels armies (and most of my gaming books) to cover those expenses.

As you can imagine, this left me with little to paint - but more significantly, it kind of really crushed my desire to do any painting.  Even looking at my work area reminded me of what I had to give up, and that was very sad and hard to face.

I begin a new job next week - and I'll be earning about 25% more than I ever have before.  This should allow me to get back into a small 40K army.  I was uncertain of what faction to pick up - I considered Tau because I like the look of all the robotic suits... but I know little about them.  The new Space Wolves models look amazing but I'm honestly sick of painting that blue-grey and I don't want to have to buy all the books.  Likewise with the Dark Angels - great options and the Deathwing are still among my favorites, but it's time for something different!

After some consideration, I've decided to go with Crimson Fists.  A Codex Space Marine Chapter will let me use all the nifty models that the SW or DA might not have access to.  I love the Imperial Fists Chapter Tactics, but I've never been good at painting yellow!  But I did paint up a Pedro Kantor last summer and I love that Prussian Blue, and the contrast with the Crimson gloves and trim.

My Plan is to pick up a Demi-Company box to begin, adding only a Sternguard Squad and a box of Sniper Scouts to begin with.  In fact, the latter two squads may be my first purchases, as I can use them in the Kill Team games we have been playing recently.

Also, last summer I picked up a Nikon CoolPix S7000 digital camera.  It's got all the features that I wanted for miniature photography.  It's more stable, has a better macro mode, better white balance and contrast, and in short is far and above the crummy camera on my HTC One M7.  As I didn't sell any of the models I'd already painted, perhaps I'll spend some time taking better pictures with it and the Foldio - and perhaps I'll buy one of the larger new Foldio 2's with the brighter strips, dimmers and diffusers this year!

So, to sum it all up - things happened, but I'm back and looking forward to resuming my painting and blogging to share my experiences with you!  Thanks for being a loyal reader!