20091230

Spikey Bits likes the Valkyrie

It looks like there's a contender for the most flexible 40k vehicle kit around. Spikey Bits has posted a fantastic conversion using the Valkyrie kit. And Rob is right, the possibilities are almost endless. From generic jet to Thunderbolt to Arvus Lighter, you can pretty much make anything Imperial that flies with this kit.


With all the new plastic released in 2009 by GW, the kit-bashing possibilities are endless. What's on your 2010 kit-bash to do list?

20091225

Friday Quick Tip: Ho-Ho-Ho, Traitor Scum!

Bell of Lost Souls author and local Black Templar player Bushido Red Panda swings by this Christmas with an extra dose of holiday spirit. You can check his work out at BoLS and his own blog; Bushido in the 41st Millennium.

I was finally able to finish my venerable dread from the earlier part of the year. I've always meant to give him the hat he deserved. I decided the best way would be to make it out of green stuff. I made the base first, and then made the hat to go on top of it. I finished off with the pom for the tip. I ended up having to re-glue the pom after it fell off, but it still worked fine.




The paints were a no-brainer...

The Order of the Silent Knight, spreading Christmas cheer throughout the galaxy... one massacre at a time.


Bushido Red Pando reports "the hat and beard are reserved for another project", so I can't wait to see what he's cooking up. Merry Christmas all!

20091222

From The Corps: Chipped Armor


Our good friend CMDante has posted an article to his blog on one of our favorite topics in the hobby, weathering armor.

Having watched this piece come together it's nice to see he's taken the time to take lots of pictures along the way for the community to learn some thing from!

Head over and check it out, and if you've got a good article you'd like to see featured for a From the Corps, email us at ThePaintingCorps@gmail.com!

20091218

Friday Quick Tip: Making Your Own Miniature Tutorial Videos


I thought this was a great little video with ideas for those of you out there looking to break into making your own videos for the modeling and painting community. Give it a watch and if you've got some videos of your own you'd like to see featured here, send us a link at ThePaintingCorps@gmail.com! I'd love to feature more community tips and tricks in the future.



Anyone have any additional tricks of the video trade?

20091211

Friday Quick Tip: Painting Salamander Space Marines


Today I bring you the first in a set of videos dedicated to painting one of everyone's favorite armored death dealers, Space Marines. Today's video runs you through the ins and outs of painting a Salamander Space Marine. Be sure to watch in HD and full screen it!





Expect to see more of these featured here on TPC. Les does a fantastic job and they deserve the extra attention!

How does your method for painting the Sons of Nocturne differ? Have any good links from around the net you use while doing so?

20091204

Friday Quick Tip: The Notebook


No, this isn't a tip about a sappy movie, but about how you need to keep a record of your painting; not just the colors you've used in the past but the techniques and other details as well.

Earlier this year I completed a Black Templars army in a short period of time and I really didn't need to write anything down because it was all fresh in my head from the beginning to the end of the army. Hey, I'm not that old yet and for the span of thirty days it was easy to remember how I painted each guy and where each batch of base texture was lurking on my painting desk. But as I was going along and when I finished, I wrote down all of my color, base, shade and highlight combinations, the order which I painted and other details.

Almost a year has gone by since I finished the army and today I am glad I did write all of the details down, because this week I decided to add a few new models to the army. (And yes, shame on me, it has been almost a year since I painted anything for this army.) I used to make notes of just the colors I used, but this time I made detailed notes, mostly because I was pretty sure I'd forget the sequence of painting and putting on the base mud/splatter/gloss medium. And I did forget, so I'm glad I wrote it down. Now the snow on my new guys perfectly matches the snow on the existing army. (And fitting because we got some snow here in central Texas today.)

Here are a few other things to make note of and keep around when you finish an army:
  • Not only the colors but techniques and order of colors you used.
  • Basing material so new models match up with the old.
  • Extra of any custom colors you blended.
  • Any ideas for the army you didn't complete.
Besides copious notes, don't forget to save those things like basing material, custom colors and iconography-- all those army specific bits. It doesn't take much time to write down everything you'll ever need, but recording it all can save you a lot of time later. I even reminded myself of a few cool hobby ideas I had for the army. And it doesn't have to be a notebook. Just about everyone has a blog or forum they regularly contribute to. Why not post your information there for others to see as well?

What organizational tips do you have for adding to your hobby collection?