Librarian Xapham, and a list of WIPs

In my last post I said I would start to work on my Deathwing squad, and that's not quite happened. I have a good reason though, which is right below. I realised that I hadn't painted any HQ choices for my army, and now that I had two Troops choices it was high time to get one done to give me a legal army. I decided I wanted some practice painting Terminator armour, and so my Libby in TDA was the obvious choice. He took about 5 hours over three nights to paint and base. I'm especially pleased with his base, as just having it as a plain grey meant there would have been plenty of unused space. I had bought some snow flock recently, and thought 'why not?' I'm very happy with the result, and will be going back to do the same to all of my previouly painted models.

Speaking of which, I decided to take a group shot of what I've completed so far. It's not at the same pace as some painters, but slowly, I'm getting there, and it's starting to look impressive.

So, what next? I had a look through what I had to paint or wanted to start, and came up with the following units. I didn't look for any Tactical marines as I'm going to try and save those until I paint some more from both Wings. These won't be done in any particular order, but I do want to get these done as soon as possible.

Three Ravenwing bikers, to round out my Ravenwing Attack Squad. Using the Standard of Devastation has shown just how good super mobile firepower can be, especially at T5. A full unit of these guys will always find a way into my lists.

A Ravenwing Standard Bearer. I'm looking forward to this. I realise the banner is going to take the most time, but it's far, far preferable instead of trying to paint it on a flat surface. Plus it means I can go all out to make it stand out.

My Deathwing Squad. These guys are getting done next, however they have one more member than they normally would. I got a bit carried away, and forgot I had a TH/SS in the unit! He just needs basecoating and washing and then I'll do them all in one go.

Librarian on a bike. A very useful unit, and means I can then take a mixture of Librarians.

A Rhino for my Tactical Squad. I need to get the hang of painting vehicles, and figure I should start with this tank. It probably won't get used too much as I'm taking a lot of footslogging marines, but having a Rhino to use won't hurt

And finally, the big man himself, Azrael. I just like the model. I think you really have to tailor a list around his abilities, and he's very expensive. But, he can bring a lot of powerful abilities to the table, and in the rare cases I don't take some form of Librarian he's usually my go-to choice.

So, this means I'll have a lot on my plate for the time being. That's not a bad thing though, meaning I have some ideas about how the army will progress. It also gives me a break from Caliban Green, and hopefully means I won't get bored with the Greenwing side of things. That's the dream anyways...

Squad Sahrael WIP 2, and of all the HQ's in all the world...

...I would have to start with Azrael! Using the DV Company Master for this, with a head from the Ravenwing Command Squad sprue. Really like how this has gone together, and he's getting some paint now as I actually haven't painted a HQ choice yet. Starting large!

And of course this means having to paint his banner. LOOK AT THIS THING!! It's a challenge, but will help to give that sense that this is an important leader. Or someone to be shot rapidly, one of the two. The only issue I have with this is that it's a big lump of metal, and it'll be a chore to keep this glued onto the plastic Azzy. It's a bit thin to put a pin into as well, so can anyone help with some ideas?

And finally Squad Sarhael with some more paint on. These guys are way behind schedule, and I don't really have many excuses. But having put some green on them, it's made me want to crack into them and get them finished and on the table. Hopefully these could be ready by this time next week, as long as I pull my finger out...

The Raven's Shadow, The Supreme Grand Master and how bikes are destroying my life.

I have been painting the second half of my Black Knight unit, Squad Kushial, for about two weeks now on and off. For some reason, they just aren't quite clicking for me. Maybe it's my sloppy painting, which is fine as they will be tidied up, but I look at them and just...I don't know. Pretty sure it's just me needing to step away from them and have a fresh look. They aren't far from completion now anyways, with just the Huntsmaster requiring the majority of the work.

After posting my Standard of Devastation list, I realised the only model I would need to run the list would be Azrael himself. However, the original model, while still being very cool, suffers due to being sculpted around 20 years ago when Marine models were generally a bit smaller than now. So, what can I use to create a new Azrael. Enter....this guy!

In case you weren't aware, this is the Captain from the Dark Vengeance starter box. it's a gorgeous piece of sculpting  and would make a great Azrael stand in. Pootank has a few of these boxes he bought to sell for parts on Ebay, so I'll be grabbing a new one from him. Mine will have the bare head from the Deathwing Command box, as I want him to be accompanied by...

I think it's obvious why!

I also managed to find a Dark Talon kit on Amazon for £35 including free postage. I'd say bargain but, well, even that's a bit steep for one model. However, having the spare money, I decided I should probably grab it anyways. I get the feeling that flyers are soon to start making a real dent in the Nerd Garage, with Danny eagerly eyeing the new Tau codex and models, and looking at buying at least one of the new Razorshark/Sunshark kits. Personally for me the star is the new Broadside, just for looking exactly like an anime robot, but the Riptide runs this a very close second. It will be good to have a new army to play against either way! Anyways, say hello to the Raven's Shadow.

Finally, I treated myself to some Forge World items. The new plasma guns are gorgeous, and look suitably old and archaic for the sons of the First Legion. Ten of those ordered pleases! Also, a five man Mark IV squad, as it's my favourite armour mark by a long shot, and I needed something to glue the plasma guns onto in case they were too big for the standard Marine hands.