Kitbash Rune Priest

Hey all,

Been a bit busy with a commission this week, so I am a bit behind on updates.  But, I've finished a kitbashed Rune Priest, which I'd like to share.

This Rune Priest is entirely from the Wolf Pack box, but I used some plastic rod to make the Runic Weapon a but unique.

I also went a unique direction with the shoulder-pad markings, using the same fang theme that my entire army has, but with a different color scheme.  I went with Enchanted Blue, to tie him to the typical Librarian color that most Space Marine Chapters use.  

I used the same technique as I did for Logan Grimnar's Axe Morkai on the Runic Weapon.  I went with a purple effect, so it would stand out a bit on the tabletop.  

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how he turned out.  I think he has a really aggressive look, and he looks great on the tabletop.  Of course, this just make him draw even more fire than usual...

I've got some commission slots open.  If you're interested, check the details on the Hire Me page, and contact me!

Thanks for reading!

Dave

Now taking Commissions!

I am proud to announce that The Thirteenth Company is now taking painting and modelling commissions!  You can find all the relevant information on the "Hire Me!" page, but in summary:

The Thirteenth Company offers  full-service painting and modelling for gamers without the time or desire to paint their own models.  I can take on projects of any size, from a single model to an entire army.  I pride myself on high quality painting services at a reasonable price.

One of my first commissions was for some Dungeons and Dragons miniatures for a friend of mine.  Here are some examples (with an Ultramarine for scale(:

I've considered offering commissions for a while, but it took some time to figure out the logistics and economics.  I'm excited about the opportunity to paint something other than Space Wolves!

I hope you'll take a look at the "Hire Me!" page and consider my services!

As always, thanks for reading!  Comments and critiques are always welcome!

Dave

Njal Stormcaller and Canis Wolfborn

A bit late posting this week, I've been busy with a D&D miniature commission for a friend (update forthcoming!)...

This week, I thought I'd show off a couple of Space Wolves special character models.  First up, we've got Njal Stormcaller:

This actually one of my oldest Space Wolves models, and the first metal model I ever painted.  Finecast wasn't even rumored at the time, but I wish I'd knows it was coming.  I find metal models a real pain to work with, and I like the sharpness of the Finecast models.

I played a 2000 point game recently, and fielded Njal in place of a vanilla Rune Priest.  I had 2nd turn, so a couple of his buffs weren't in effect, but he was pretty valuable anyway.  Unfortunately, he took wounds in the game when I rolled perils of the warp, killing him in turn 4.  Statistically, I don't think that would happen often in a game, but I'd like to field him a few more times before I make a final judgement call.  The model is great, though.

I went a bit heavy on the snow effects for Njal.  I really wanted him to look like he'd been in the elements for a while, fighting implacably for the All-Father.  

In the same 2000 point game, I fielded Canis Wolfborn, too.  I've played with him a few times, and he seems to die a lot before he can get into combat.  Truthfully, I think the size and look of his model make him a target in games, but he was really valuable in this match.

Again, I wish I'd waited for the Finecast version.  He's a seriously heavy model!  I learned in this last match that, if he survives to make in into combat, he is SUPER vicious!  A minimum of 7 rending attacks on the charge, with a 19"-24" assault range is a pretty tough combo.  Ultimately, I think he is probably only worth it against horde Orks or Tyranids, where his attacks can decimate a larger squad, and he is more likely to not die to shooting.

I really love the level of detail on Canis' model.  The fur looks amazing, and he is positively huge!  He even has his helmet hanging from his belt!

That's it for this week.  Next week, I hope to have some updates to the gallery page, and to get my commissions pricing and policies up as well.

As always, thanks for reading!  Comments and critique are welcome!

-Dave

Logan Grimnar Conversion

This week, I've decided to show off my Logan Grimnar conversion.  I posted some WIP shots a while back, but I've since completed him.  Here he is in all his glory:

I really, really dislike the official GW model for Logan, and when I started this model it was only in metal.  Finecast wasn't even a rumor yet.  I didn't want to try and kit-bash a metal model, so I decided to make my own.  I used some arms, legs, a torso, and a head from the Space Wolves Terminator box, but I sculpted his bear from green stuff.  I used the fur cape from the Chaos Terminator Lord box, and added a wolf pelt from my bitz box to the top.  I then sculpted the arms of the pelt by hand as well.

I wanted Logan's Axe, Morkai, to be special, and stand out on the table.  I used 2 Chaos Power Axe blades, which fit the fluff about the weapon nicely, and attached them to a Power Weapon arm from the SW Termies.    The double-headed wolf icon is cut from plasticard, and appears on both sides.  

I decided to paint the Power Weapon effect in green, since my Space Wolves Army has no other green in it.  This makes the Axe Morkai, and Logan, really stand out when I field him.  I am really pleased with the Power Weapon effect, as well as the free-handed shoulder pad icon.  All my other Space Wolves feature Ragnar Blackmane's iconography (except for Arjac Thunderfist), but Logan deserves his own pack marking on his shoulder!  I think it is officially supposed to be white, but I painted in in Chainmail, so it would look a little cooler.  You might have noticed the Hormagaunt in Logan's left hand:

I use Tyranids as details for several of my Space Wolves HQs and Special Characters.  I like the flavor it adds, and it is another awesome detail that helps powerful units stand out.  Logan is grasping this 'guant in his fist, which was an interesting modelling challenge.  I ended up using my Dremel Stylus to drill out holes for the fingers of Logan fist to fit into, then sculpted some "guts" oozing out, to add to the effect.  I also added the wrist-mounted Storm Bolter, which Logan Appears with in some illustrations.  

A bit of bark to make the model taller, and some snow to finish the scenic effect, and he was complete!  I'm really happy with how he turned out, and I love having a unique model for this character.  He's always a conversation starter in games, too.

As always, thanks for reading!  Comments always welcome!

Dave

Wolf Scouts & Wolf Scout Snipers

This week, I decided to show off my 2 Wolf Scout squads.  One squad is pretty basic:

It's a 5-man squad, with few upgrades.  But, there is one Scout with a Meltagun:

The Meltagun is kit-bashed a bit.  It is a Bolter, with the barrel of a spare Dreadnought Multimelta glued on.  I also added the fuel tank (or whatever it is) towards the rear of the gun.  Last, I glued a small length of guitar string for the tubing slung underneath.  It isn't perfect, but I didn't want to hunt down Meltagun bits or buy the metal set GW makes. 

Next up, we have a squad of Wolf Scouts with Sniper Rifles:

No major conversion work here, but I added another homemade Meltagun to the Scout with the rolled up cloak (on the far left).  It is glued to his back, you can see it here (on the far left, poking out about the Scout in front of him):

This one is a Bolter with some plastic rod acting as a Melta barrel.  I didn't have another spare Melta laying around, so I had to improvise.  I had planned on painting a camouflage pattern on the cloaks of this unit, but I couldn't find one that didn't look "toyish" to me.  And, since Wolf Scouts don't have access to stealth cloaks, I let it go.  I like the look of the simple, white cloaks, though.

As always, thanks for reading!  Comments, criticism, etc. always welcome!

-Dave

Land Raider Twins

Hey everyone,

It's been a while, but things have been hectic lately.  I've actually managed to get a lot done over the last few weeks, and even managed to get 3 games of 40K in!  I don't have battle reports, but I won 2 out of 3.  I'm starting to get the hang of list building a bit, and I am also getting to know my units a bit better, which is helping.

I plan on updating more regularly, so I'll keep this post somewhat short.  I've pretty much completed my Land Raiders.  As I was taking these photos, I've noticed some things I forgot to paint.  First up, here's my standard Land Raider:

It has the Space Wolves doors from Forge world on it, as well as some bits from the brass etch Space Wolves kit.  I'm not 100% happy with the look of GW's washes on vehicles, but I managed to make it look acceptable.  The snow is from Gale Force Nine's basing range.  Here's a side view:

Next up we have my Land Raider Crusader:

This one has the same Forge World doors and brass etch.  Here's a side view of this one:

The name on the plate is Tanngnjostr, the name of one of the goats that pull Thor's chariot, the other one (the standard load out) is called Tanngrisnir.  You can read about the myth here. 

I think the names sound cool, and fit the Space Wolves fluff perfectly.

That's it for this week.  As always, and feedback or thoughts are welcome.  I'll leave you with this preview of my Las/Plas Razorback, a work in progress:

Thanks for reading! 

-Dave

First Imperial Sector building finished!!

Wow, it has been too long since my last post!  Things have been hectic around the old homestead, so hobby time has been prety hard to come by for the last few weeks...

But, I have had time to (mostly) finish up my first Imperial Sector building:

This is the Manufactorum kit, the simplest and smallest of the kits included in the Imperial Sector.  I used about 2/3 of the bits for it, and managed to make a fairly interesting building.  Here's a detail shot of one of the Adeptus Mechanicus logos:

I put a bit more effort into those, but the rest of the building is pretty simply painted.  I picked out a few details here and there, to add a bit of color, but the bulk of the building is painted as follows:

1.) A simple, but fairly heavy coat of Krylon Grey Primer spray paint
2.) A liberal "wash," using diluted black acrylic craft paint
3.) A light drybrush of Codex Grey paint from GW
4.) A heavy drybrush of Skull White paint from GW

Then I painted all the various details like I would a normal model.

The rubble is mostly chopped up sprue, but I alse used some basing grit from Gale Force 9 in several sizes, and a bit of the concrete rubble GF9 makes.

Eventually, I'd like to add some snow effects, to match my eventual Space Wolves themed game board, but I'll probably do that to all my completed buildings at one time.

I've already made another building, a bit larger and more ambitious, but it isn't painted yet.  The Basilica Administratum kit is much more detailed, and will be more challenging to paint.  I plan on an even larger building (on a 1-foot by 2-foot piece of board, instead of 1-foot by 1-foot like this one) to use up the majority of the rest of the kit (mostly the Sanctum Imperialis).  But, hopefully, I can cobble together a smaller building with the leftovers, for a total of 4.

Overall, I've had a great experience with this kit.  The sheer volume of sprues and bits in the kit is intimidating at first, but the buildings go together super easy.  I think the square, modular nature of the buidling tiles makes things go super smoothly, compared to GW's vehicle and squad kits.

As always, thanks for reading!  Comments and feedback is always appreciated!

-Dave