ULTRA-sonic cleaning

 

Welcome back to the Obsidian Tower. Last time I alluded to the acquisition of an ULTRA-sonic cleaner. Well, today we're taking a look at what I've been doing with it.

Kill me brother!

So I had some crusty old space marines in my collection that were looking very rough. I didn't really like looking at them and I decided something needed to change. I knew I wanted to re-paint them but painting them blue again just didn't seem like the right move.

Powerful stuff...

Since I had just completed my collection of 5th edition codexes, I wanted to try and paint up a chapter that could plausibly be played as more than just "codex marines". I've always liked the Blood Angels but I didn't want to do another headline chapter. No, this time I wanted to try something else. A different flavor of "blood" marines.

Here they come!

As much as I like that the flesh tearers also weren't too fond of Primaris at first, I decided they were a little bit too morally ambiguous. Then I remembered, I already painted a blood raven for fun, and I love Dawn of War.

Had to upgrade to the 'new' base size

Now that I knew what chapter I wanted to paint, I grabbed my crusty old Ultramarines and gave them an Ultra-cleaning in the Ultrasonic scrubber.

We're charging into the Ultrasonic cleaner!

These guys were rough. Their arms were mismatched and they still had two layers of paint from the failed simple green soak six years ago. This time, they were gonna get... super clean.

Obligatory Hobby Station Pic

The super clean sonic bath did the trick and these guys were as close to new as they could possibly get. I took my time trying out some different basing styles before I decided on what I wanted to go with. I liked the look the corkboard gave my chaos marines and I wanted to bring that over to the loyalists.

AAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

This sergeant was a special paint job because he reminded me of the meme of that guy screaming in the dawn of war 1 intro.

Freehand Detail

Had to flex the freehand on this guy. He's the squad leader after all...

Blood Raven Tactical Squad

And here is the final result. Ten tactical marines painted up like Blood Ravens. This force isn't as big as the Ultramarine force. When it is completed it will be composed of: 

• Captain ✓
• Chaplain
• Librarian
• Terminator Captain
• Terminator Chaplain ✓
• Terminator Librarian
• 5 man Terminator Squad ✓
• Dreadnought ✓
• 2x 10 man Tactical Squad ✓
• 5 man Scout Squad ✓
• Scout Speeder ✓
• 10 man Devastator Squad ✓

So as you can see it still has a ways to go. The Terminator squad and chaplain are almost done but you will have to wait till next time to see them. Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope to have more to show soon.

Buttermilk Bob embraces Nurgle

Hobby Update + Brushes & Paint Rant

    Welcome back to Obsidian Tower, the most exclusive hobby blog delivered directly into your eyeballs via microwaves from space!

Gallery

Well, I think I'll start the post off with dessert first. Let's take a look at the most recent paint jobs.

Chaos Terminator Lord

Chaos Terminator Sorcerer

Chaos Lord (Magnetized)

Sternguard Veterans

Hobby Work

    I put a little time into my guys who were already painted as well. I wanted them to have some more quality features.

Magnetized weapon options

Larger base for this top heavy metal guy.

Sonic Cleaner

    I have recently acquired an affordable ultrasonic cleaner (great for Ultramarines), which I have been using to strip down some of the less desirable marines in my collection - those I do not take pictures of. The progress I have made so far has been steady, and I must say that I am impressed with the results.

5th Edition Codex Collection

    After many hours on eBay, I have finally succeeded in completing my collection of 5th edition army books. I find myself deeply enamored with the pictures and rich lore woven throughout these books, which is why this particular edition of the game holds a special place in my heart. It brings me great joy and satisfaction to have obtained them all.

Brushes

    Do brush packs grind your gears as much as they grind mine? It seems like 90% of the brushes included are either too small, too large, or have some other useless quality, like bristles that are too long. I mean, who really needs a giant brush anyway? When I get a brush pack, I find that most of the extra brushes just accumulate into a collection of junk.

Wash brush, a Stick, a shiddy brush, a regular brush, and a dry brush

This is basically all I need to complete a project, but the most important brush of all isn't really a brush. It is something far greater and more powerful than a mere stick of wood with some hair at the end.

The MIGHTY airbrush

     This tool helps me achieve smooth basecoats quickly, and I honestly cannot recommend it enough. As for the paint, well, you can't use a brush without it, can you? So let's just say I have some thoughts on that too.

Paints

    Let's talk about paint. With so many options out there, it can be overwhelming to know what you actually need. Rest assured, I'll break it down for you in simple terms. There are two main types of paint: opaque and semi-opaque. Opaque paint is the best choice for achieving that coveted "two thin coats" of color. On the other hand, semi-opaque paint is perfect for adding those finishing touches, like panel lines, edge highlights, and layering up to a bright and vibrant coat of a specific color. So, unless you find yourself frequently doing those tasks, you can probably skip the semi-opaque paints altogether. Trust me, I speak from experience. My collection is chock-full of them, and I rarely use them.

   There are a few types of paint that I wouldn't purchase again. First up, dry paints. While they're marketed as great for dry brushing, I've found that you can achieve similar results with opaque paint. Frankly, they're redundant. I'd skip them altogether.

'Dry' Paint

    Next on the list is glaze paint. To be honest, I'm not even sure if they still sell this stuff. It may have been a prototype for contrast paint, but even then, I'm not sure what it's meant to do. I've tried it, and it just didn't make a significant impact on my workflow.

Glaze?

    Lastly, let's discuss shade/wash paint that isn't black or brown. While I have a few different colors of washes, I can count on one hand how many times I've used them. So, save your money and skip them altogether. Trust me, you won't miss them.

'Shade' Paint

Anyway, that's all I have to say about that.