Into the Horus Heresy I Go

Hi all

Today's short post is all about my intention to start a Heresy themed army. Now this post has been coming for a while as I first got the idea to start a heresy army sometime before christmas. However despite getting the first of the FW Horus Heresy books I was still unsure as to whether I would actually start the army or if the idea was just a whim that would go away. I eventually got a model to start doing a test scheme on which has been WIP for a couple of months now. This is partly just due to limited painting time and wanting to paint other things in that limited time. 

Now, however, I have taken the plunge and bought the start of my army. So far it consists of 3 ten man tac squads, a heavy weapon squad and an outrider squad. I have gone with the Mk IV style armour for the stuff I've bought so far as its the Mk I like the most and I think is most fitting for the legion I've chosen based on what I've read about them in the fluff. I will add a few other amour Mk's to the army over time just to add a bit of diversity. 

As you've probably noticed I haven't actually said exactly which legion my army will be. This will be revealed when I put up the first WIP post of my test model. Hopefully this will be within the next few days. At the same time I'll explain why I have gone for the legion I have picked.

So I now want to just talk briefly about what guidelines I'll be trying to stick to for this army. Firstly  unit selections should remain as close to fluff as possible for the particular point in the Heresy from which I want my army to be. Secondly I want to build the army so that I can run it under the Heresy rules or using codex Space Marines. This may mean buying a few extra models to build certain weapon load outs that are only available to a legion list but I think it will be worth it if it gives me an army I can use without having to count certain heresy weapons as something else for normal 40k. I want everything to be clear as to what it is in terms of weapons. Thirdly, as much as possible, I will be trying to only use FW models for this army. The reason for this is I want to stick to the Heresy theme. However there may be certain exceptions to this. For example I'm not overly keen on the Heresy style Rhino and so may just use the standard plastic kit. 

This is a project I'm really looking forward to even if it is going to take me a long time to do. However I want to really put the effort into every model I do for this army and make it look as good as I can make it. To do this I think I will have to work on one unit at a time until its finished before starting the next one. If I don't I know I will get sidetracked and units will end up only been half done for long periods of time and that's not what I want.

Well that's it for this post. As always thanks for taking the time to have a look and please feel free to leave and comments, be they good, bad or somewhere in between.

Blackmane

Minor Hobbit Hero's

Hi all.

Today I bring some pictures of minor hero's from the Hobbit range that I have been painting. They were all quite simple models to do and I'm quite happy with how they've turned out considering I wasn't putting a huge amount of effort into painting them. Essentially I was just aiming for slightly better than tabletop quality. 

First up is the a Goblin Captain. I got this model because I have a load of Escape from Goblin Town goblins to paint and I decided I could do with an extra captain. I tried doing the skin a slightly different way to how I did the Goblin King's. I think I'm happier with how its turned out this time and I'll probably do all the other goblins in a similar way. 

Flight of the Eagles

Hi all.

So its been a while since anything was posted at Sign of the Aquila. I think this is just due to myself and Zebulon been quite busy with stuff outside of the hobby for the last month. That's not to say we haven't done anything hobby related. Pictures have been going backwards and forwards between our phones quite regularly on projects we've been working on. 

Today I bring a few pictures of some completed models. They're not the best pictures as I found them quite awkward to photograph. 

First up there is the completed Gwahir model. This is the new finecast one that came out a couple of months ago. I think it a much nicer model than the original great eagle model for the Lord of the Rings range. Been finecast it was easy to assemble. The tail section wasn't the best fit but a little carving away of resin in certain places got it to sit better in its correct position. 

The Hobbit: Balin and the Goblin King

Hi all

Today I bring a couple of models that I've just finished. From the title of the post I'm sure I don't really need to tell you what models I've been painting. I've been working on the Goblin King for the last couple of weeks doing a bit at a time as I've had the time. Balin I started at around 11 last night and had him almost finish by about 1 this morning. 

Up first is Balin. I'm really happy with how he's turned out. He was a relatively simple model to paint as he's essentially all red. However doing him all the same shade of red would have looked a bit odd so while both share the same basecoat and wash they are highlighted differently. From the pictures I had of Balin his outer robe was darker while his inner robe was lighter a bit lighter in colour. For the inner robe I added orange to the mix to lighten it while the outer robe had a little grey added to it. His beard was just painted grey with white added over the top on the highest parts. As I said at the start I'm really happy with how he's turned out. These plastic characters from the Escape from Goblin Town box are all really nice and after painting Bilbo and Balin I can say I'm really looking forward to painting the rest of the Dwarves. 

Little and Large : Hobbit and Trolls

Hi all

Today I bring a few pictures of some of the models I've recently finished painting. Been a Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fan I've really been liking the new models that have been coming out for The Hobbit. As a result I bought the Escape From Goblin Town box, making it the first starter box I have ever bought. Then they released the great eagles in plastic and new Gwahir. Then the Rivendell Knights were recently released and I had to have a box of those. I've been wanting  plastic eagles and old style Last Alliance elves on horses for ages. But for today its a mix of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. 

First up we have Bilbo Baggins from the Escape From Goblin Town set. I think its a really nice models with plenty of detail for a plastic figure. He was really easy to paint  and it only took me maybe an hour and a half in total. For the most part I'm happy wit how the model has turned out although I'm not happy with the blue tint I put on the sword. I also need to go back and do the eyes. 

More after the break

My eBay Haul

Hey all,
It's been a while since I really posted anything, so I thought I'd put up what I've been buying recently from eBay. Not really exciting admittedly, however it is an exceptionally good place for savings, given the annually increasing price from GW!