Too many cooks? More 40k Lieutenants!

While it's only been a few weeks since my last update, it's been a few months since I worked on any 40k 3d model conversions after my initial attempt at a grimdark Winged Hussar was taken down.  I've still been visiting the various websites to see what others are uploading though and something piqued my interest.  There was a recent take on Krom Dragongaze (link) uploaded using the same base model by MrMcAngry (link) that I previously used for a different Blood Angel Lieutenant so I decided to tweak him into something more customized for a potential RPG character. It's not really visible below but the space wolf does have a full wolf pelt on the backside of his cape whereas the blood angel has a full bolter instead of a pistol. I hope to run a print this upcoming weekend with these two models (probably in smaller true 28mm scale rather than 40mm for primaris) so will update the thread with actual model pics if I do.  I don't plan on uploading either though to any website.

Edit:  Since initially posting, I've tweaked the model a bit more.  I shrunk the head a bit so that it would actually fit inside a helmet and also reduced the size of the axe blades a bit.  I'm a bit unsure about the latter as I've found that weapons that look "right" on a 3d model tend to be too fragile and undersized when actually printed but I'll see if that holds true this time.  Additionally, I made the pelt on his cape significantly larger as it looked like he decorated his armor with an adolescent wolf's pelt instead of a more fearsome adult's.

Quarantine Kitchen Sink Update

Hello to everyone and I hope all are doing as well as possible during this pandemic.  It's been a while since I last updated the blog and initially I hoped that the extra time would lead to increased hobby progress.  Unfortunately, that hasn't panned out and the only project I've accomplished is growing my first beard.  :)

I haven't been totally comatose though so I decided to post a kitchen sink update instead of boring folks with multiple smaller ones.  My most recent project, my digital Winged Hussar (link here) was unfortunately C&D'ed by GW as apparently they claim ownership of all future grimdark space Poles.  Shortly after uploading, it disappeared from my account and it took me over a month to get a response from Thingiverse letting me know that GW had claimed my model and forced its removal.  Strangely, many of the component parts are still there as are thousands of other 40k models so I have no idea why they targeted it (along with a couple dozen others for DMCA takedown) as they included no justification.  I have to say that it put a damper on me continuing that project.  I had initially wanted to convert one of the new official Master Lazarus models to a Winged Hussar but the idea of giving them $40 plus shipping/tax is much less likely now.  I completed another conversion parts set that will likely never be uploaded and Lt. Googely Eyes will have to do for now if I ever need an RPG figure.

CBS All Access offered everyone a free month so I was able to catch up on two seasons of nuTrek.   I'd previously written up a very lengthy review of Season One of Discovery (linked here) so I wasn't particularly optimistic given that the same folks were still involved in running the show(s) and that reviews written since weren't particularly flattering.  I will neither be verbose nor include any spoilers so no worries if you haven't watched either of the recent seasons.

Picard was, as expected, a major disappointment.  Admittedly, like with the movie JJverse, they did set the expectations early on with the star stating that it would NOT be like TNG and that it would, more recently, focus on real world hot button issues like President Trump's election and the Brexit vote.  Sadly, those descriptions of the direction of the show were spot on and it was a complete mess except for one (possibly overly nostalgic) episode.  If you're a long time fan who pines for an optimistic view of the future that Star Trek used to be known for, look elsewhere.  Heck, the TNG Mirror Universe comics are probably a more optimistic and hopeful depiction of Star Trek than this show.   As for Discovery Season 2, it was a definite improvement and approaches "OK" with some actual exploration and an ensemble cast doing trekky things before it devolves yet again into a CGI schlockfest of action you can't make out while Michael Burnham saves the universe.  While I don't have any hope for Season 3 of Discovery, the Pike/Spock/Number One dynamic was a definite improvement (albeit still flawed) and the recent announcement of another spinoff show focused on them might prove the adage correct about the third time being the charm.
 

On the home 3d modelling and printing front, I've mainly focused on random RPG characters for the Starfinder campaign that I'm playing in.  I've done up multiple versions of the Krogan that I'm playing as well as a flying space monkey in armor (based on Overwatch's Winston), a small round alien mechanic/gunner (based a Mass Effect Volus with 40k bits), and a skittercommando (a Starfinder iconic race).  I haven't actually painted up any models yet as my campaign has gone virtual (and intermittent) but I do hope to at least finish a Krogan this month.

And, finally, I did finish cutting up and printing out the various parts for my 3d Heavy Gear models with some mixed results.  I resized and reproportioned both the Hunter and the Grizzly but I can't help but disagree with my initial assessment that something closer to the official models would be an improvement.  Judging them on their individual merits, I think the "chunkier" versions are better.  Overall, I also think that the Hunter XMG is better suited to home 3d printing than the Grizzly and will likely at some point paint that one up to match my army colors.

Well, that's my bimonthly update for now!  Thanks for reading and I hope to have some more progress to post at the end of the month.

The Winged Hussars arrive... in 3D!

It's been a while since I worked on my custom Winged Hussars chapter but I finally got around to the project but this time on the virtual hobby desk with a 3d model for the chapter.  I practiced first with both samurai and Ultramarine 3d models I've already posted here and now I've made a Winged Hussar variant using the same pose inspired by the Amulius model.

I made a custom shouder pad using the hussar symbol of the Polish 1st Armoured Division that served with the British in World War 2 (link here) as well as a Polish eagle converted into a double headed 40k style Imperial Aquila for his shin.  Hopefully that along with the actual wings on the back and a suitably slavic moustache will give the model enough visual flare on the tabletop.  If you're interested in downloading the model for free and printing it out yourself, feel free to check it on thingiverse here: 

3d model download link

Courage and Honour! Ultramarine Primaris Captain 3d Model

For some inexplicable reason, I revisted my idea for remixing (i.e. digitally converting) a 40k primaris Ultramarine captain this weekend instead of working on my recent Heavy Gear models or painting my Rising Son 3d printed marines (link).  In between faffing about (since I'm using proper British spelling/nomenclature this post!) and watching series 2 of Altered Carbon, I combined over a dozen different files from thingiverse to make this 3d model.

3d Model Link

Hopefully he is suitably ornate to represent an officer of his fine chapter!  I haven't played the game regularly since 5th edition (it's currently 8th) so I can't comment as to whether his loadout is optimal on the tabletop.  Regardless, he's armed with a relic chainsword, bolt rifle, bolt pistol, and iron halo.  If anyone prints it out or has any ideas on how to improve him visually, feel free to comment below. 

Edit:  I've added a second variant to the model at the same link as above that I'd like to call the Lion of Ultramar for obvious reasons.  :)

Dialing in the size and resolution... Rising Son V3.0!

I had some time this weekend and decided to asymetrically resize the same pose and support structure and reprint the model at 50 microns.  I fully admit that this was the easy way out but I figured I'd give it a shot to check out the proportions as well as the more typical 50 micron layer height that I normally print at.  At about 6 1/2 hours print time, I'd personally say that the detail and the proportions compared with the official primaris marine are both pretty good though there is a softness on certain parts of the face and aquilla on the more recent print compared with the previous one.  We still didn't have any real direct sunshine to speak of with another pair of rainy days so the resin remains a bit rubbery (and wet from the water rinse in the case of the newest print as I took the pics right after!) so it's still a bit hard to make out the details in the pics.  After some post curing, it'll be off to painting for the smaller RPG scale and correct scale marine but I think I'll leave the primarch scale print as is.  Now I just need to find out what paint scheme I intend to use.  I'll definitely do a base of gloss black but I'm not sure of what color highlights and details that I'll end up using.

Rising Son One Piece 3d Test Print

I finally got around to printing the one piece assembled Rising Son marine and the results are definitely interesting.  I resized the model from the previously printed one to 85% but it looks visually like it's closer to 66%!

There are a couple of reasons that could contribute to that seeming discrepancy in size.  The first is that previously I printed the parts separately so the little gaps with glue could increase the size of the final model whereas I definitely overlapped them when combined it all digitally.  Second, resin does shrink both with printing and temperature and the ambient temperature was 10-15 degrees below my previous print that was done during a relative winter heat wave in my area.  It's supposed to only be a 1-2% but maybe it's more.  Additionally, this was done with a slightly different resin (same manufacturer but now with an "ABS-like" moniker added to it) so maybe that contributed.  I virtually measured the model to the top of the hair and the final result is only about 1mm below what I expected; it was supposed to match the Amulius in height but the picture isn't an exact comparison as Amulius is sculpted onto a small 2mm high rubble platform on top of the 40mm base.  The final and biggest difference is likely the various proportions in that the official primaris model while better proportioned than normal marines is still far enough from human shaped to make a difference.  With my previous 3d printed models, I noticed that I definitely needed to "thicken" models 10-20% to get them to look good on the tabletop versus good on the screen.  When I arrange the next marine pose, I'll probably increase the height by 5% and the width/depth by 10% to give them bulk more consistent with the official models.

The good news is that at least at first glance I don't see any obvious miscasts.  The sword edge is a bit chipped and I had to level out the butt plate as it was edge was a bit curved so I sanded it down.  The parts that I was worried about ahead of time like the helmet and chest horns and banner actually came out IMO pretty good.  I still have to cure the model (which will probably take a few days given the lack of daytime direct sunlight forecast locally) as well as trim a few more nubs but I did what I could with the rubbery flexible resin without damaging it.

I don't want to sound like I'm unhappy with the results as I'm not but just wanted to hit the potential issues first in the post.  Regardless of the above, I'm actually happy with the size of this first 1pc model even if I plan to change further prints.  This particular model actually fits quite well on a 25mm base and makes for a good RPG model as it's more in scale with other figs compared with official primaris.

Rising Sons Primaris Marine Test Model

Well, it took a few days of printing due to misprints as well as another couple of days in order to have enough sunshine to post cure the model parts but I finally printed and assembled my first Rising Sons primaris marine.  I printed him out bigger (closer to primarch size than primaris) in order to see how the details resolved and overall I'm happy with the results.

I printed him out in pieces and assembled him as you would a normal marine but I think the next rescaled version I'll attempt to print at the "correct" size.  I do see some things that I want to change though to make sure the model will be durable enough to see play on the tabletop potentially.  You may notice that he isn't using a chainsword katana as I had many problems trying to get that to print correctly with the teeth on both sides of the sword so I switched it to a power katana instead.  I suppose that will necessitate a promotion to Lieutenant as well.  :)  Additionally I turned the sword inward for stability reasons as the separately printed parts left a rather fragile wrist; that shouldn't be an issue with the one piece model though but I would like to hear whether the sword position is better like this.

I also had a misprint where the supports weren't solid enough on the exhausts of the backpack so I took the opportunity to redo that as well since the Cyberpunk Oni symbol was too fine to survive priming printing.  I'm still not happy with the overall dimensions of the back banner though and will likely redo it again with the rescale.  I'm leaning towards using the sashimono style banner but redoing it as a traditional 2nd edition 40k T-shaped sergeant banner.  I'll have to thicken up the parts significantly as even at primarch scale (52mm to the top of the head) they're quite fragile.  I'm not sure what icon I'll use (aquilla?  raptor?  oni head?) as well and wouldn't mind some feedback on all of the above.  Here are the other pics from different angles.

Rising Sons Samurai Space Marines Project

My previous attempt at a historical conversion of Primaris marines into Polish Winged Hussars went well enough (link here) so I figured I'd give another famous warrior group a shot.  In the months since, I got my first 3d printer (a resin SLA Elegoo Mars) and have been experimenting mainly with figs for an RPG campaign I'm in.  A whole bunch of high quality primaris style 3D model uploads are on thingiverse so I decided I'd try my hand at a fully virtual conversion and settled on a Samurai motif.  I suspect the general familiarity with samurai armor is pretty high so I won't post pics of historical resources used for inspiration like I did with my Winged Hussar project.  The main samurai components that sparked my interest were uploaded by indignentshrew on Thingiverse (link here).  I'm still resizing the various parts for primaris and deciding on the various design flourishes I plan to add but this is the initial mock up of my first Rising Sons Intercessor Sergeant.  Please note that I can't 3D model anything more than a simple cube or sphere so am limited to the more traditional physical conversion techniques of cutting/pasting from existing sources (3d models in this case instead of from my bitz box!).

It's hard to make out but the icon on his chest aquilla and on his sashimono banner is the Cyberpunk 2077 Samurai logo.  I have serious doubts as to both (especially the chest) printing correctly so I do expect to adapt them this week.  Additionally, I'm not entirely happy with the size of the sashimono so will likely enlarge that as well as reposition the chainsword katana a bit more at an angle.  In case it wasn't obvious, my primaris inspiration for this pose was the recent event exclusive Lieutenant Amulius figure that I also used to convert my Lt. Googely Eyes Winged Hussar.  :)

Lazy Summer Days... or are they?

I haven't been too active on the blog but that (much to my own surprise!) hasn't been the case in real life with regards to my hobby efforts.  After my last post, I decided to try another Primaris Space Marine that specifically wasn't from my Winged Hussar chapter.  Instead, I decided to make a model for the successor chapter of Space Wolves based on the Dusk Howler paint scheme linked below.

Dusk Howler wiki page

After a few false starts including one complete paint strip and a change from a naked head to a helmeted one, I ended up with the following final figure.  In retrospect, I'd have preferred the bare head and the real chain loin cloth was definitely not worth the hassle compared with just using a plastic bit.

 Afterwards, I returned to remixing (basically digital converting of 3d models) designs for a while until I saw that 3d printers had finally dropped below my personal long stated cost threshold.  I hesitated for over a month during which the sale model constantly went in and out of stock before finally committing to buying it during the last days of the sale.  As a proud new owner of an Elegoo Mars, I then proceeded to try out my first test print that didn't exactly go so well.  Luckily, I noticed that I hadn't tightened up the build plate less than a third of the way through and repeated the print with the results below.  Apologies for the crappy paint job but it was literally speed painted in a single evening before my first tabletop game of 2019 (where it was my RPG character model) but I posted the pic because it shows the level of detail a bit more than the bare resin.

 I have to say that I'm very impressed with what you can do with an affordable home printer in 2019.  The print was done at 50 microns for testing purposes but the printer is capable of layer heights less than half that!  I just didn't max out the settings as even that single figure would have taken over 7 hours based on height.  I hope to have an update later this week with my first relatively full test bed of models at the highest detail level for a better comparison.  I just hope that I don't end up printing more than my painting habits allow for!  :)

The eyes... the eyes! Aging in the hobby...

After posting my latest Winged Hussar pics online, I got an unprecedented amount of feedback on the model and unfortunately alot of it was negative specifically regarding the eyes.  From replies entirely consisting of the first part of the title of this post to multiple animated gifs of googley eyes and melting faces, the response took me back a bit as I actually made a concerted effort to paint them with this final model.  In the past, I basically just applied a flesh was to the eye sockets and just left it as is.

I did something similar initially with this model but later decided to add in some pupils.  The results were not pretty so I decided that for the first time in over 15 years that I'd try to paint the eyes completely.

It's been a while since I last tried and I had to admit that those intervening decades have taken their toll.  Whereas things like first receding then greying hair and increasing weight with decreasing muscle mass are impossible signs of aging for me to ignore, it hadn't really affected my hobby directly (or at least I hadn't admitted it yet).  Unfortunately, I've noticed that over the past year or two that my vision has been steadily worsening (I don't need glasses just yet but likely will eventually) and I was having trouble making out smaller details on the models.  I'd think that my paint job was good and then cringe at mistakes evident in the mega-zoomed in pics that I'd post here.  Since I was putting in the extra effort, I decided to get myself some granny magnifying reading glasses to better see the details as well as finally improve the lighting in the basement where I typically paint as well as buying the smallest technical pens in both white and black that I could find to help with the painting.  While far from perfect (too much whites and the asymmetric left iris), I was happy with the results at least at arms length.  The general response though was vastly different though.

The above was probalby the best result that I got after repainting the area a half dozen times.  After getting feedback on the above, I've done another couple of attempts to fix it with only slightly better results but I'm worried about obliterating the detail on the face if I try again.  I toyed with the idea of ripping the head off, stripping it, and restarting from scratch but the results really aren't noticeable at arms length (or even 12" away with my granny glasses) and I think I'll just take the advice given on how to improve it and use it on the next model (likely the upcoming Sister of Battle recently previewed by GW).   Regardless, since I was working on it again, I decided to fix the eagle decal that slid up a bit on the shin as well as a few other paint splotches that I missed previously.

For better or worse, that's probably the best that I'll be able to accomplish going forward with the hobby.  Looking at the pic, I swear that the dark recess wash goes all the way around the shoulder pad in person but I'll have to double check (and correct that if need be) when I get home tonight.

Lt. Amulius Completed (Primaris WInged Hussar Conversion)

Well, I've completely finished my first Winged Hussar Primaris marine!  I've been working on various marines over the past year as part of that extended project but I never decided on a basing scheme so they were never technically 100% finished on their naked black bases.  The Lieutenant Amulius model comes with a texted base as part of the model so I couldn't procrastinate my way past this model like I did with the others.

I tried to consciously do a better job with this model as I don't currently have plans to make any further Winged Hussars at the moment since I'm running short of bits as well as sculpts that inspire me (although I reserve the right to add more in the future!).  I was frankly embarrased at some of my efforts in the past year (especially the faces) so I tried to better catch mistakes before it was too late.  I'll expand on that in the next post as I don't want to add a mini rant on aging in the hobby with this post.  With this model, I took close up pictures after my initial painting and first wash steps to improve on tiny spill over painting mistakes.  Just looking at the animated gif above, I missed a few of them (one that I can correct at least on the backpack) but I think the model shows some moderate improvement compared with my previous efforts.  I resized the image above for animation but here are the full static views below.

There are things that looking at the images after the fact could have been improved upon though.  I'm not entirely happy with the Polish eagle decal placement on the leg but it was a last minute and fiddly change as it initially was placed on the knee instead.  Unfortunately due to the curvature, I couldn't get it to sit right even with a strategic cut and some decal softener so had to remove (and ruin) that decal with a second one placed below.  It looks like it rode up a bit (or perhaps I just didn't see the placement correctly with my vision... more on that in my next blog post) higher than I would have liked but whats done is done.  There are a few other paint missteps that are visible zoomed in (one or two of which I can correct but not all) as well.  As always, feel free to comment/criticize below.

Winged Hussar Lieutenant Amulius Conversion

It took a while but I finally got my hands via an online trade on a Lieutenant Amulius figure to convert into a Winged Hussar.  For those following the blog, I did a digital mockup earlier this year (link here) as I couldn't wait to get the actual model.  I'm a big fan of the pose of the sculpt and the detail they put on it and I was quite excited to put my Winged Hussar spin on it.

It took some conversion efforts, regluing, and clipping after a few false starts and revisions but I'm happy with the overall look of the final model.  I had to repose and reglue the wings and backback several times both due to clumsiness on my part as well as parts simply not fitting (namely with the shoulder pads) but in the end it all works (and hopefully the excess glue isn't too visible).  I added a fur cloak to the back as I said in my digital test but it wasn't enough so I also added a fur limb strip to the front.  Afterwards, I was trying to (unsuccessfully) add the axillary shield that I've typically done but then I realized that the fur bit I used actually has a crescent shaped metal disc down near the paw which was enough for the effect IMO.

I initially planned on a custom head from Puppets War but I couldn't justify the price of an international purchase and shipping for a single tiny bit that I'd end up using as I didn't have any plans for the others.  Instead, I used an ebay coupon and opted for a slightly more feral scarred head than the standard one that comes with the model.  Afterwards I hemmed and hawed a bunch as to whether I was busying up the model too much by making him practical with a modelled scabbard for the sword and a bolter stowed somewhere.  After blue-tacking it all in place and taking a few close up pics (which revealed some mould lines and gaps that needed filling, I was glad to see that he looked both practical without reaching a cluttered state like a previous model I did (link here).   I hope to have this model painted up sometime in the next week or so. 

Winged Hussar Digital Conversion Test

I didn't have any concrete plans for more Winged Hussars when I finished my last fig but I've got a few more conversion ready bits to go and one upcoming model really attracted my attention, the convention exclusive primaris lieutenant.  I've traditionally converted ultracheap starter set figs bought as singles on ebay but I may have to splurge on this one as I really like the sculpt.  I'd love to covert him into yet another Winged Hussar and did some purely digital tweaking and color swaps to test out how he might look.

I'm not sure about the head as it's not exactly the look I'm going for but it's the closest in the GW line for the facial hair slightly wild look that I want.  I wish he wasn't screaming but the next closest one I found was either a no-facial hair scarred head or a bald full beard.  Ideally, I'd love to use some of the heads I initially wanted way back at the beginning of this meandering miniproject, the Puppets War Cossack heads, but I can't find a single pic of them on a space marine figure let alone a larger primaris one.  The only one I found was a genestealer cultist and I'm afraid that they'll end up looking too small.  The key ones I'd want to use would be the top right and bottom left heads. 

Puppets War Cossack Heads

Technically, yes... they're cossack heads which would make them one of the traditional enemies of the Winged Hussars historically but they also remind me of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski from the Day of the Siege movie that featured the Winged Hussars in one of their most famous battles.  It's not exact but it's close enough I think to be a younger version of him.  It's supposed to start at the 2:00 mark so skip forward to there if it doesn't.

Also not pictured is the leopard skin fur that I traditionally put onto the models.  My usual method of adding a claw/leg strip under the axillary shield won't work on this model due to the tight space constraints.  Instead, I plan to put a Space Wolf pelt on his back under the backpack but adding that digitally is beyond my simple cut/paste/recolor abilities.  Same thing applies to removing the Lt helmet markings and adding a traditional dorsal helmet fin.  Usually I'd want to add a boltgun of some sort to make him a functional marine in his equipment but I think I'll skip that this time for the same space constraints.  I can't fit it chained under either arm and it'll be too tight likely in back to put it on the butt plate with the pelt there.

State of the Blog Address (2018 in review)

Well, another year has gone by and so it's time for another year in review post.  I'll start with what amounted to the majority of progress on my blog... digital hobby publishing.  Starting with Star Trek tabletop gaming, I worked on over a dozen sheets under my SHIELDS UP! house rules (link here) divided up between the current Star Trek Adventures RPG by Modiphius and the classic FASA Starship Combat games.  This is where the bulk of my updates are for 2018 and, while I myself haven't tried any of them out in actual games, some other players have reported using my fan ship designs in their own campaigns.

Additionally, I tried my hand at some very basic programming and developed some custom ships (link here) for the fan made computer game version of the classic FASA game along with a tutorial for getting it all working (link here).  All in all, I'd say that I was significantly more productive in that virtual realm compared with typical tabletop hobby work albeit with almost no difference in the "games played" metric described above (excluding single player missions).

When it comes to actual hands on traditional hobby work, I frankly didn't accomplish much.  In 2018, the only miniatures that I worked on were the painted Winged Hussar pictured in the center below and another converted/built yet to be painted.  I had hoped to finish off a half painted Tau broadside suit conversion I worked on a few years ago but never got around to it. 

I hope to do better next year but realistically I said the same thing last year in my previous review so I won't hold my breath.  While I did visit the local games store a bit more in 2018 for RPG reasons, I only ended up playing a single miniatures game after an RPG session.  That definitely puts a damper on any larger hobby plans leaving me with the occasional conversion project (like my RAFM minis or Winged Hussars).  In the next month, I do plan on painting some of my 3D printed figures as part of the last phase of my review of them.

Next we have a mix of the two categories above in my Shapeways miniatures printing.  I relearned by brute force trial and error how to pose and modify existing models (although actual modelling is still far beyond my grasp) and mostly successfully printed out physical miniatures.  I did hear back from Shapeways about the misprint in my order and am awaiting my reorder of tweaked figures.  I do plan on covering the reprints as well as painting up several of the figures for use as well.  If time and budget allows, I also hope to place another later on in the year for my first ever custom starship miniatures including hopefully a ship or two featured in my SHIELDS UP! house rules.

Finally we have the miscellaneous updates.  In between the above, I've recounted my truthful experience in backing the failed Robotech Tactics miniatures kickstarter (link here), reviewed Artel W's series of boutique 40k themed miniatures (link here) as well as the Star Trek Discovery Season 1 (link here), reviewed the Starfinder RPG and my unsuccessful attempt at starting a local group (link here), and even covered the history of my blog's title (link here).

All in all that makes 26 updates for 2018 or roughly one every two weeks or so on average.  In reality, they came more in fits and spurts with May being a month without any update.  In addition to hopefully doing a bit more hands on painting in 2019, I do also hope to post a bit more regularly or, at a minimum, not completely miss any months on the blog.  As stated above, I do hope to finish off some existing miniatures on my painting table (like my 40k Tau broadside linked here as well as my recent 3D printed figs).  On the digital front, I don't see myself coming out with too many ships but I am considering publishing an updated 2019 edition of my TOS Recognition Manual (link here) if I can come up with a suitable Romulan ship to add to the roster.

I don't know if this type of review is informative to any potential readers but I do feel that it (at least temporarily) helps to focus my efforts for the upcoming months.  Regardless, see you all in a few weeks with my next 3D printing update and thanks again for reading!

And another Winged Hussar arrived... fashionably late! :)

It's been a long while since I did a hobby update but I finally put some time into finishing off of one of the half done 2018 bucket list figs on my painting table.  I did a quick build post a while back for this guy back when I was trying to set up a local 40k RPG group at my local FLGS.  My RPG efforts unfortunately didn't garner interest in enough players and it frankly took the wind out of my sails for finishing those two figures.  In the months in between, I purchased some very sparkly silver primer (didn't realize just how sparkly until AFTER priming this fig!) and primed him but only recently finished him up.

In the linked post above, you can see some progressive Goldilocks variations on my Winged Hussar style.  This fig is still purposefully more ornate than a standard primaris model as well as a bit more "practical" (if you can use that term in an over the top universe like 40k!) in the sense that I added visible grenade and ammo bits.  I chose that loadout that visually would allow me to use him as both a tactical marine or an intercessor in RPGs.  That's probably more than enough text for what amounts to just a single figs worth of hobby effort.  Here is a 360 view of the fig as well as a comparison with some other previous ones using the same core starter set Lieutenant fig.  I suppose that it could show a progression of the same character across different ranks (L to R: Captain, Veteran Sergeant, Lieutenant).

And finally, for those of you who made it this far down, my next article will revisit something that I covered a few years ago... 3D printing and wargaming.  Thanks for reading and, as always, let me know what you think in the comments.

This weekend's attempt at a Winged Hussar Tactical

I worked on a second marine based on my thoughts after seeing my first model close up after finishing it.  I used the other Dark Imperium body but changed up the arms and added other bits as needed to make him a veteran Winged Hussar tactical marine.

I borrowed the head from my spare Ancient as it was the only normal head that I had that wasn't specifically a Lieutenant one with the skull on the forehead.  It was my first attempt at adding the ribbing/fin to the top so, upon extreme close up view, it's a bit crooked.  The right arm and armpit shield/fur were a PITA to pose and I'm not entirely happy with the results as I would have preferred to see the fur more flat on from the front angle.  I also need to relearn the lesson of letting plastic glue dry fully before tinkering with further bits on the same area as I had alot of errors/reposing that I had to do when working on the right arm area because of a lack of patience on my part.  I skipped adding the chest grenades due to the busy marine looking a bit too busy and instead just added a pack on to the hip.  Finally, I wanted to add a chain to the gun as with the other but my test bit looked worse with it due to the stiff angle in front because of the foregrip on the autoboltgun. 

As always, let me know if there is something that I can improve on with this or alternately future figs.  I'm happy with the results of the single wing on these veteran (tactical and sergeant) figs as well as the overall look but there are, as always, definitely things that can improve.