2nd 6 Month Challenge Complete – Legion Imperialis Solar Auxilia Leman Russ
These little guys have taken a back seat as I attempted to get ahead on other projects, but they finally got onto the front burner. The final entry for the 2nd 6 Month challenge – eight Leman Russ Battle Tanks!
…and here’s the whole 6 moth challenge!
Next: twenty Gretchin and two Runtherds, then four Nicassar Dhows and that will complete all challenges! Plus, a surprise addition!
Finish It – Tau Orbital City and Defences
Long ago I won an ebay auction for some leftover bits from a Tau Orbital box. From them, I cobbled together two stations; one to be a Nicassar Caravan, magnetized to hold four Nicassar Dhows, and another with the leftover bits.
Additionally, I managed to snag a Forge World Tau Kor Caste Orbital City. All three of these were one “project” for the Tau fleet “finish it” competition.
The Orbital City is important enough to have a real T’au name like a capitol ship. Kor’shutto Y’eldi’retha directly translates to “Air Caste Orbital City Winged Ones University/Temple,” but more accurately tranlsates to “Air Caste Elite Pilot Academy.”
Basically,
…but for Tau.
The Orbitals were cobbled together from pewter bits and pieces of Tau Drones, as well as Tau Battlesuit Drone Controllers.
Next: I finish the 6 month 1/2 Army challenge with eight Leman Russ Battle Tanks for my Legion Imperialis Solar Auxilia! After that, four Nicassar Dhows to finish the “finish it” challenge and twenty Grots with two Runtherds and I am done with all of my painting challenges!
Year Long Painting Challenge – 3rd Ork Trukk
Only 20 Grots and 2 Runtherds to go!
Next: Tau Defences including an Orbital City!
Double Update: Year Long – Ork Nobs and Finish It – Tau Transports
It’s been a bit busy, so I’ve had this project done for a bit. 10 Ork Nobs with Power Klaws and two Ammo Runts:
Those have been done for a week. These, however, have just been finished. The Finish It challenge continues with my Tau Transports:
Sadly, of the ten transports I originally primed, two were so laden with bubbles from the resin casting process that I abandoned them. Because I acquired these secondhand through eBay, I have no recourse. Oh well.
Next: an Ork Trukk to get it off my countertop, and then some Tau Orbitals and an Air Caste City!
Q4 Finish It! – Tau Wardens and Messenger Escorts
For the Q4 challenge, the purpose is to finish an unfinished project. Long (LONG LONG LONG) time fans may remember when I first began painting my Tau Kor’or’vesh fleet. It all began with a forum post made by an unknown user named Tyberius:
As you can see above, this wonderful person made this (and many other) sheets for Battlefleet Gothic Ordnance. There is another version with blue instead of red but I liked this one better.
This led me to my color scheme for the Tau: Maroon/red, gray, and bone.
Sadly, my ambition got the better of me. My scheme was incredibly complicated, requiring black pin washes and edge highlighting over the entire model. Plus, I got it in my head to label each ship with a unique name in both T’au AND Engilsh! Hand lettered! The detail was exhausting. I gave up after completing the capitol ships and the Castellans. The Wardens, Messengers, and all other support models fell by the wayside.
Until now. Behold! The first installment of the Q4 Finish It challenge!
This concludes the portion of the fleet with this color scheme. The transports and orbitals will be painted the standard Tau Ochre with a brown pin wash and a simple highlight. Additionally, there will be four Nicassar Dhows, whose paint scheme I have not decided on yet. I am considering the fine line of paints from Turbo Dork, whose glittery sheen is stunning!
Next: Orktober begins with Ork Nobs! Following that, I’ll pick up on the Tau with ten Emissary class transports!
Year Long Painting Competition – Shokkjump Dragsta
Only 20 Gretchin, 2 Runtherds, 10 Nobs, and one Trukk, and this challenge is complete!
Next: the 4th Quarter “Finish It” challenge begins! I’ve got 8 Tau Wardens, 2 Messengers, 4 Nicassar Dhows, 10 Transports, a Kor Air Caste City, and a custom built Nicassar Rig that can be transformed into a Caravan by attaching the Dhows with magnets! That’s why I’ve been working so hard to get ahead for the 6 month challenge and the Q4 for the Orks! Despite how far ahead I seem, all three challenges are going to be a photo finish. Stay tuned!
6 Month Painting Competition 2 – Solar Auxilia Support
This 1/2 year painting challenge is 80% done, just have to do 8 Leman Russes in three months!
Next: Ork Shokkjump Dragsta that I can hopefully finish before the end of the month so that my 4th quarter “Finish It” Tau will have some breathing room!
Year Long Painting Competition – Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun (repaint)
Long ago I painted up a Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun; the pewter one, not the newer plastic. This was in my old Ork color scheme which relied on Dipping. For the new Ork project, I stripped it and removed the custom “orky servo arm” I’d added.
Now, as the first entry for Q4 of the year-long painting competition, that Big Mek is painted again!
The OSL came out very well with a little drybrushing of white and some contrast paint.
Next: Legions Imperialis Solar Auxilia Support, then I begin Q4 in earnest by going back to my Battlefleet Gothic Tau fleet!
Year Long Challenge – Ork Trukk, Q3 complete!
Trukk is done! Note that something is wrong with my iphone camera; the gunner’s eyes are red in real life, not yellow.
This concludes Q3 of the year-long painting challenge!
Next: The random mini for September, then Legion Imperialis Solar Auxilia support, then getting a jump on Q4 of the Orks with a Big Mek with Shokk Attack gun!
Review and Guide – Dumoad Smart Strip Advanced Paint Remover
When I began the year-long painting competition to spruce up my old Orks, I ran into a problem. Some of the Orks had been painted DECADES ago, their paint incredibly firm. Furthermore, they were painted according to the old “Dipping” method, which encased the minis in a thick coat of actual floor varnish.
Suffice it to say, they were extremely resistant to my usual methods of stripping. Isopropanol, Simple Green, and L.A.’s Totally Awesome bounced off, barely making a dent. Pewter minis were less resistant, but plastic, especially larger minis such as Trukks showed almost no effect. Not even a week-long soak helped the most stubborn Trukk.
After some research, I stumbled upon Dumoad brand Smart Strip Advanced Paint remover.
My first obstacle when using this product was the lid; the packaging recommends using a coin as a lever to open it, but I found I needed to use two screwdrivers the first time. It was exceedingly stubborn.
Afterwards, inside, I found a white paste, slightly more viscous than Elmer’s Glue. I used this to strip some of the more stubborn minis. However, the case study for this guide will be my Ork Trukk painted in an Evil Sunz scheme:
The first step was coating the Trukk in the goo, a process that was extremely messy due to the nooks and crannies on the model. Afterwards, I stored the Trukk in a gallon ziploc bag to keep the stripping compound from drying out.
Side note: the paintbrush I used to apply the Smart Strip actually improved in functionality, as it had accumulated years of paint residue near the handle!
After a day, I rinsed the Smart Strip off. This took a deal of scrubbing with an old toothbrush and a pipecleaner for narrow areas. After allowing the Trukk to dry, this was the result:
A decent amount of paint and varnish were removed, but there was still some left. Based on my experiences stripping smaller models, I decided to repeat the process.
It became clear that repeated applications put undue stress on the plastic parts. Many pieces fell off or partially broke. Despite this, I did one final application:
The bonus of the weakening of the glue bonds let me pop off some pieces to get stubborn areas clean. After drying, I used tweezers to scrape off parts of the paint that had peeled away but were still in contact with the Trukk. This is the final result. Enough paint removed that a fresh coat should cover up most of the worst of what is left.
Overall, I would classify the stripping ability of Dumoad Super Strip as good. It’s not a miracle, but it is effective, especially for stubborn minis. This should be your stripping agent of choice for minis with old paint jobs, or other circumstances like floor varnish. Pewter minis hardly need something this powerful, so it may be a bit overkill, but it also works well in that case.
Next: This Trukk gets painted and I learn what surprise mini will be the challenge for September!