Black Reach Complete!

Work complete! While taking much (100-200 hours?) longer than I originally expected, I really enjoyed the project. I've learned a bit more about my vallejo paint. I struggled with first coat coverage, but I also ended up painting from black and brown basecoats. I will probably go back to some citadel foundations to round out my earlier paint coverage stages on darker models from now on.

I also learned to make a paint chart of all my mixes and washes used. This helped greatly when coming back to work on it after a week, to maintain a uniformity in style. These will get passed on to Rebornflames, to help act as a template towards any new units that might get painted up in the army. I will be doing this with every project from now on.

Blackreach Raven Guard

I have eaten much humble pie while working on this Black Reach set that was supposed to be finished in 24 hours. The Orks continue to stare me down as I work on them, but the Raven Guard may now stand tall (and painted!)

The winner and friend to G33kwatch, Rebornflames, was nice enough to let me take my time on them instead. Having more time meant that I could put a good deal more effort into them, so I have done my best to bring them up a notch in quality. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

GDMNW, Charity, Battlestar

A few weeks ago, I received the banner marine from the folks at GDMNW that I had won in a raffle, and I have been meaning to post my thanks. It is a wonderfully done miniature that has found its place among my best painted models in the display shelf. I may even make a Sternguard killteam to match him when I get the chance. Thanks for the raffle and the help to the gaming community that you provide!

I took some pictures of him with my new photobooth, which I am still getting used to. The lighting is much nicer, but I definitely need to work on setup and perhaps get some better backgrounds than the fabric it came with. Once my game room is returned to normal state I hope to set up a permanent booth to streamline the process.

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My main focus this month is around the rapidly approaching G33kwatch 24hour slumber party marathon which I will be participating in. At the same time, I will be painting a custom Black Reach set (with extras!) that we will be auctioning off near the beginning! It would be a great starter set for someone new, or as a gift for friends who haven't yet been able to get into the game. And it all goes to the Childsplay charity so you will be giving games while getting one! See this previous post on the details, and I will be updating the contents closer to the event as well. I am a bit nervous that nobody will actually want it, so I would appreciate any exposure people could provide!


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I also found a diversion from my Cryx in the form of some pieces from the Battlestar Galactica boardgame. My friend Ryan introduced some of us to the game, and it is a blast! Very suspenseful trying to find the cylon traitor amongst the group while making tough choices on things to sacrifice for the good of the fleet. The mini's are really nice too, but having them fully painted up would bring it up a notch, so I offered to paint some and see if he likes em. Theres plenty more to paint than just these, but this is one of each ship type. I tried to stay faithful to the real colorschemes, but I did take the Mk7 viper blue scheme from a larger scale painted model that I saw online. I'm also working on a secret side project of similar subject..




Aside from that, my Cryx are scratching at their box to get more work done on them. Soon guys(gals? wraiths?), soon.

Charity Auction - Custom Black Reach Painting Challenge

Lets talk charity. My brothers in arms, the G33kwatch crew put on an epic Mass Effect Marathon last year for Childsplay charity, in which they auctioned off my Normandy SR1 model. While I have plans for the SR2 for this coming year's ME marathon, the G33ks have a new 24 hour marathon in the works on June 4th, consisting of many different party games! Talking it over with Charismatic guy Joe, we decided to try something a little different for my crafty contribution to this Slumber Party:


I will be purchasing the Warhammer 40k starter set Black Reach box, and preparing it for the Slumber Party(assembling, basing, priming). Early into the marathon day we will auction this set off, to be painted up to the exact specifications of the winner, DURING the marathon. I will be painting and also jumping into a few of the games and crazy hijinks during the rest of this 24 hour period.

What will Definitely be Included:

• The full Black Reach box contents(minus sprue, unless you really want it..) amounting to a respectable Ork and Space Marine forces. Arguably one of the most generous starter kits to date!
• Painted to match your color choices, or an existing army.
• Based to your desired terrain, or to match any existing forces as closely as possible.

Additional Items I am working to also Include:

• Custom Objective counters (mix of orky and Imperial)
• Extra set of rules and templates (for those who might want to split it up between two new players)
• Protective foam to fit the Blackreach set.
• 3-5 pieces of low terrain so you can play a real match right out of the box!

In addition, if the winner is new to painting and would prefer, I will document my colors and steps carefully. I can paint the base troops in a way more suited for a new painter to match when they add new models. In this case I will spend extra time on the commanders and elites, and may include some starter paints and brushes if I have them available.

Whether you are interested in this auction or not, I encourage you to tune in and watch the marathon during the 24 hour period. We will be playing plenty of fun video games, raffling off a metric ton of prizes to those who donate, doing crazy things for donations, and unlocking g33kwatch member special costumes! Sponser me in your donations to force me to do hilarious/dangerous/informative things while trying to meet my painting deadline!

Lastly, any help in spreading the word on both the auction and event would be greatly appreciated. As we approach the Slumber Party, I will be posting progress and updating this post should any of the specifics change. If you have any questions or suggestions for this Auction, please let me know!