Of Epic Proportions (spring clean challenge 26)

So the first stands of vostroyans are finished. There not immaculate but I’m happy enough with them.

Whilst I was painting these I also did a stand of rough riders too which I’m also happy with

My only issue is the bases, I like how they came out. I had a bag of green flock that I must have bought in the late 90s, and that spot of green worked far better than I thought.

In fact it worked so well I’m going to go back and add it to the Blood Angels bases now.

This evening has the same feel as Terry Pratchetts death. Not the death of a friend but the loss of a cultural touchstone in my life. So with John Blanche’s passing marking the second of my 40k influences to have gone since March, I thought I had to mark his death too.

Blanche was a big influence on my life. Im not going to witre a biography of his life. For that I would highly recommend Jordan Sorcerys interview with him.  Instead I’m going his influence on me.

I remember my first steps into the fantasy genre at the tender age for 13 and seeing pictures like this for the first time. They captured a crazy yet cosy world where everything was familiar yet nothing really was. Cityscape with glorious sunsets but a skeleton in the midground. Those juxtaposition, set my imagination on fire. Later with this piece on the front of white dwarf that formed my love not only with 40k and the sisters but also grimdark Scfi.

But there was something else too. His colour pallet and general vibe also influenced my photographic work too.

What my father describes as been eaten by a zombie aesthetic. John himself was highly influenced by the baroque with there over the top scenes there deep shadows with bright spot colours.

His pen and inks are what really impressed me, and it’s a style and a vibe I’ve tried to copy more than once but failed every time. (I’m not going to post any of them)

I would like to add a tribute to him like I did with Ian Watson. In some respect I have, blood angels are quite a feature of Johns work. Those splashes of red, in a sea of mood and metal. The Vostroyans are also a Blanche creation. But in a direct response, I’m going to paint this guy form the cover the epic 40k rule book.

Hopefully I can do the great man justice, with another tiny tribute.

So the second plane has now been finished. I just need to find a stand for them

Next for the aircraft is an acetone bath for the bombers

Does anyone following this project, live in West Yorkshire and know how to play Epic Armageddon.

I’ve realised to achieve point 3 I need an opponent.

As I wrote in a pervious post, I’m a big believer in green bathing. I’m lucky that I work in a country park, so within a couple of minutes walk from my office I can be in deep woodland.

So I had an idea. It’s June next month and finishing the guard so there’s a playable army seems a world away. But what if I took some of the jobs with me and I did a bit in my lunch break too. Not painting that would be too complicated, but cleaning and gluing.

So off to the ruins I went

I’m not sure if this is a good plan. But if I’m going to do all the remodelling on the vampire, having some time extra to painting on a morning might work.

One of the interesting this about this little and often method of painting means that stuff just sometimes gets finished.

So here are 3 Basilisks. 

They were fun to paint, especially compared to the Leman Russ’s.

Yet again the photos don’t do them justice, but I’m happy with the overall outcome with them.

So I found the eldar aircraft and it’s not in the shape I thought it would be. It’s a vampire. The hull is there it’s just the tail fins that are missing.

Painting wise I like the idea of trying to use contrast paints over the top of silver. I have a feeling it will work.

A look through the Aeronautica book and the colours of the Pirate raiders seems a fun look.

What I need to do is that tail fin. Hopefully I can build it out of something like plaster card, otherwise this will all be for nothing.

I haven’t quite finished with the Blood Angels just yet. There’s still some units I would like to add to make them feel like a proper force, so I decided to paint up a bike squad

I tried something new with the base, but I’m really not sure.

I added some of my leaf mix and drybrushed white. I think the white was a success, the herbs not so much.

I would like to add terminators as there such an iconic unit