+ inload: Year IX +

+ Year Nine +

+ Straight Outta 2nd Edition +

+ The +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook node is nine years old today, so with that flimsy excuse, out come the Blood Angels – the Ninth Legion – for a spin in the sunshine. +

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+ Armageddon Once More +

Well, well; what's old is new again! #New40k has been announced, and we're on our way back to Armageddon. An excuse – if ever I needed one – to exload about this seminal setting, and why I like it so much. 

The stakes of Armageddon are huge, but at the same time human. This is not – or at least in the past was not – a galaxy-defining conflict like Cadia or the appearance of the Tyranids or Necrons. However terrible losing Armageddon would have been for the Imperium, the loss of a single planet is not existential.

As a player and hobbyist, I like that sense of overall inertia. 40k is already overblown in terms of drama, and let's face it, a planetary system should be enough of a battlefield to give a sense of the stakes.

But more importantly than that, it'll offer new opportunities and ideas for gaming on the planet; whatever the scale and whatever the army. Orks, Steel Legion, Space Marines and more!

+ inload: Painting the Warden Titan +

+ Incertae Sedis +

+ Warden Titan painting progress +

+ Progress ticks over on the Warden Titan, with the shades established on the reds, and now ready for highlighting. I've also started the stripes on the black and white panels, and blocked in the trim. +

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+ Incertae Sedis +

Perhaps more importantly, the Warden now has a name – for what is any Engine without a boiler plate? The Incertae Sedis is ticking along smoothly, and I'm hoping to  get it largely polished off ahead of bigger things...

Here's a picture of the red prior to last night's work, set against Carnivore, so you can see the intended effect. At the moment, Incertae is looking flatter and more vibrant, because the glazes haven't yet enriched and knocked it back.

With that said, however, it's not that much different, and a spot of spit and polish will see him ready for the battlefield.

I've followed the notes for the rest of the Iron Skulls [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and I'm pleased with how rich the red is coming out. I'm in two minds about the silver head. Part of me likes the reference to 'Iron Skulls', but it also looks a bit unfinished. 

I'll likely reserve judgement until I've got the trim worked up and the surrounding metals muted. Perhaps some contrast will make it look a bit more intentional; perhaps I'll change the 'cheeks' to white; and perhaps I'll split the difference with some chequers or transfers or something.

Speaking of surrounding metals, at the moment they're really just a quick layer over the top of the undercoat. A few washes (Leviathan purple and Gryphonne sepia added wet in wet and allowed to mix and mingle) and some drybrushing layers will go a long way to adding some texture and interest.

The black and white panels have also been established. I find something surprisingly restful about painting hazard stripes freehand, and it's nice to follow the form with the shading. I've used a surprisingly deep grey for most of the the 'white' here – it's various mixes of Payne's grey and Vallejo cold white – so that the bright edge highlights will pop. You can just about see an example of this on the left of the upper thigh on the trailing leg below.

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