Manachean Bulls Ogryn and Leman Russ proof of concept

Finally finished the four infantry frames for the Manachean Bulls with the Ogryn:

Additionally, I built 8 Leman Russes, 4 Malcadors, and 2 Baneblades! (partially).  I came up with a paint scheme that will hopefully let me paint them super fast with high quality.  However, all schemes need a test.  So, I painted one Leman Russ completely to make sure the scheme worked.

The tank was primed Grey Seer on the sprue.  Then, partially assembled (turret, body, and rear struts seperate).  Here is the scheme after that:

• Metal areas were painted flat with Two Thin Coats brand Sir Coates Silver.
• The entire tank (except the dude popping out of the hatch) was washed with 50/50 Nuln Oil/Lahmian Medium.
• Yellow areas were carefully painted with Iyanden Yellow contrast.
• Blue areas were carefully painted with Asurmen Blue contrast.  Lines were cleaned up with Grey Seer and Nuln Oil.
• Gold metal is Retributor Gold with a light wash of Gulliman Flesh where there was detail
• Tiny details were added, along with decals.

Note to all LI players who want to build Russ tanks: the rear struts WILL BREAK FOR LIKE NO REASON.  Be EXTREMELY careful when clipping them off the sprue or cleaning them.

Next: more tanks!

Legion Imperialis Manachean Bulls

Google sucks.

That’s the post.

Just kidding, if you saw the thumbnail you know that there are new images of things I’ve painted.  Namely, three more sprues of Legion Imperialis Solar Auxillia infantry.

However there was a problem.

When I needed reference for the commander for the Auxillia Tactical Command (the lesser command base) I looked up the image on Google Image Search.  This is what I did when I first chose the color scheme for the Saturnine Rams.  They had a lovely blue with yellow scheme I thought would be complimentary to the Sons of Horus and look good against them on a tabletop.

However, the reference images I found for the color scheme THIS time named them the Manachean Commonwealth Bulls.

*rage simmers*

Oh well, crying doesn’t fix misapplied decals.  I’m glad I caught it this early.

Here is a redone Legate Commander and another new one:

Here are the Tactical Command bases (which will be used more frequently):

Lasrifles:

Flamers:

Veletaris:

Sentinels with redone decals:

Next: Charonite Ogryn and then tanks!

Legion Imperialis Solar Auxilia Saturnine Rams first sprue and color scheme

As part of an effort to get some Legion Imperialis Solar Auxilia painted and ready for a future event, I started in on the first sprue that came with my starter box.  I chose the Saturnine Rams because blue and yellow are starkly different from the teal and black of the Sons of Horus, and I think these two forces would look good squaring off against each other.

Here’s the color scheme:

• Prime Grey Seer
• Blue: Asurmen Blue Contrast
• Metal: Two Thin Coats brand Sir Coates Silver on metal areas, washed with Nuln Oil
• Yellow: Grey Seer and then Iyanden Yellow Contrast over cloth areas.  Tiny areas or edge highlights Yriel Yellow
• Gold: Retributor Gold washed with 50/50 Agrax Earthshade/Lahmian Medium for gold areas.  Fine details edge highlight Pro Acryl Light Bronze.  Deep recesses darkened with Nuln Oil edge paneling
• Visors and flamers: Pro Acryl Light Bronze.  Edges of flamers messily drybrushed Abbadon Black.
• Power Weapons: Grey Seer then Blood Angels Red.  Highlight edge Trollslayer Orange.
• Bases: Grey Seer primer.  Sir Coates Silver or Warplock Bronze for metal areas.  50/50 Nuln Oil/Lahmian Medium over all.  Stipple Grey Seer on grey areas to create a concrete effect.  Reinforce base sides with Grey Seer. (note, this is the same as the Sons of Horus, so these forces can be used together, or will look perfect against each other)

The Command base was done first.  I used one of the larger decals on the banner as well as the numerals from a lower part of another Solar Aux banner.  I used the other large decal on the back of the commander’s cape.

The Lasrifles were next.  My original idea was that these loyalists were to look ragged and beat up, but initial attempts to do that didn’t quite look good so I abandoned it and kept it simple.

Next: More LI Solar Aux!

Legion Imperialis Sons of Horus Thunderhawk

I’ve been painting a lot of Legion Imperialis lately.  May main faction is Sons of Horus, although I’m starting up some Solar Auxillia to have a teaching force.  I added an image gallery for LI, but I never did a post on my painting scheme, so for all of you Sons of Horses who want your XVI Legion to look snazzy, here’s how:

• Primer: Black
• Green: Basecoat Sybarite Green.  Wash with 50/50 Coelia Greenshade/Lahmian Medium.  Reinforce flat panels or areas where the wash pooled too hard with Sybarite Green.  Edge highlight Gauss Blaster Green.
• Black: Abbadon Black.  Edge highlight Warpfang Gray.
• Metal: Two Thin Coats range Sir Coates Silver either drybrushed onto black for slightly larger or isolated pieces, or painted flat and then washed with 50/50 Nuln Oil/Lahmian Medium
• Bronze: Brass Scorpion
• Red: Small areas are pure Evil Sunz Scarlet.  Larger areas or textured areas like capes are Pro Acryl White with Blood Angel Red contrast and then Trollslayer Orange on edge highlight or raised areas.  (for this Thunderhawk, the Trollslayer Orange was mixed 50/50 with Contrast Medium and lined at the bottom of the panel)
• White: Pro Acryl White (literally miraculous compared to previous white paints I’ve used)
• Bases: Primer Grey Seer.  Add Grey Seer to any place the primer didn’t hit well.  Paint metallic areas with Warplock Bronze or Sir Coates Silver.  Wash with 50/50 Nuln Oil/Lahmian Medium.  Drybrush stipple flat areas to cover up wash and make it look like concrete.  Reinforce base sides with Grey Seer.

Four Strands Re-Launch! Updates, New Novel, and Surprise Announcement!

Welcome back!  Fourstrandshobby has returned, with a new scheme same as the old scheme!

A while ago, WordPress updates made the old scheme for this site unworkable.  This was after years of hackers breaking into the site again and again.  It turns out that scheme was vulnerable.  I chose another one that was very… blue.  And ugly.  And as such I wasn’t incentivized to post.

But, thanks to Lexington, I have a new scheme that looks like the old scheme, but works with modern WordPress and is secure!

In the intervening years, I’ve been up and down, but I’ve always made time for Modeling, Painting, Gaming, and Storytelling.  I played a lot of 9th edition 40K and then 10th when it came out.

I also got into Legion Imperialis!  I have a huge Sons of Horus force that grows all the time and will soon be joined (opposed?) by a Solar Auxillia force!  Click the link below to see the brand new Image Gallery!

Legion Imperialis Image Gallery

More importantly, I’ve been writing!  Big Game V: The Battle of Iperin was a novella made of vignettes contributed by multiple people on the old BGV forums and was chiefly written by myself, Lexington, and Joe.  Big Game VI: The Omega War was a more focused narrative written by Lexington and myself.

However, the newest novella to be featured on Fourstrands is Home Fires: An Azure Flames Novel.  This finishes what I’ll refer to as the Azure Flames Omnibus at least in terms of main stories.  I also have a short story between BGV and BGVI, and I am considering another between BGVI and Home Fires to make a complete Black Library style omnibus.  Click the link below, or the one in the Features bar.

Home Fires: An Azure Flames Novel

I’ve also done several projects for the Azure Flames!  I’ll post a few pics below, but most will have their own posts soon.

But finally, and most importantly for my life, I’m getting married!  Me and my Fiancée bonded over the classic Adult Swim show: The Venture Brothers.  As such, I commissioned an expert to 3D print the Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch from their wedding.  I then painted the duo myself.

Coming up next: Legion Imperialis Thunderhawk Gunship, some Solar Auxillia, and hopefully a battle report against loyalist scum, the White Scars at AFK!

Lasgun Girls and Khimerix

Finished some more painting! Here’s some gangers with Lasguns for Razor and the Scumettes!

Jennifer (the one with purple hair) is named after the only female dev for Maniac Mansion. The others (and all other gangers) are named with an automatic online Escher name generator.

Next, the fearsome (and expensive) Khimerix!

Named Weird Ed, he looks nothing like his Maniac Mansion counterpart.

Next: Alternate weapon loadouts for Wendy and Sandy, plus Juves! Also coming up, a major blowout Necromunda narrative event!

Big Necromunda Update

It’s been a while since I’ve updated due to the hectic life of a Necromunda Arbitrator. Here’s a huge dump of awesome stuff!

First, I finished Wendy and Sandy, my Champion and Specialist, with Needle Rifles.

Wendy and Sandy are, as previous characters, based on characters from Maniac Mansion:

Next, the second of the major narrative events happened for my Necromunda Campaign: Diamonds in the Sump! The leaders of the player gangs and their trusted seconds were ambushed by an Inquisitor who was an enemy of the Inquisitor that hired them for the first event! Luckily, Kal Jerico himself was there to provide an opening. The leader of the Field Testers, Syn Ducote (Van Saar) fragged the Inquisitor and made his escape! The rest of the gangs ran down a huge hallway from the Inquisitor’s private Enforcer Squad!

Finally, a shipment came in from Forge World, and I have a pair of brand new Phyrr Cats to add to battles for Razor and the Scumettes!

Next: more Necromunda including the next narrative event which will prove to be a shocker!

Edna, former nurse, current Death Maiden for Razor and the Scumettes

Edna is armed with two Stiletto Swords, and with her poison blood and a Chem Synth, she can put even the beefiest combatant on the ground.

Edna is based on Nurse Edna from Maniac Mansion:

Next, more Eschers!

Necromunda Downtime Multiplayer Game and Squad Batarian, IVth squad, VIIth Company of the Imperial Fists

This weekend was a blast! Five players (not including myself) participated in a narrative six way multiplayer battle! An Inquisitor bullied the gangs into attacking an underground prison compound. Here was the board setup:

Each player got one of the 5 tiles on the top of this picture, and their goal was to kill a specific model and open the doors in the cells at the bottom. Things began cordially, and then Dan’s Cawdor smoked one of Josh’s Goliath’s with a Krak Grenade arrow and it went downhill from there. Petra’s ash waste bug monster rampages through the halls, killing at will. Zach’s Palanite Enforcers went up the right side, smashing as they went.

All through this, odd things happened. The “Traitors” that the gangs were supposedly fighting had oddly accurate weaponry, and Matt’s gang leader, an unsanctioned psyker, found himself trying to undo warpcraft from somewhere! Further, the target was eliminated by his own plasma pistol exploding and Dan’s Cherub found something interesting on the body…

Finally, after two gangs bottled and most fighters were down, the cells were opened, to find the prisoners executed! Oh well, three players got special inquisitorial sanctions for not bottling.

After this, I managed to finish the special antagonists I’ve been working on: Squad Batarian, IVth Squad, VIIth Company of the Imperial Fists, stationed in the Necromunda Fortress Monastery.

In truth they’ve been done for a while, but I was waiting on decals. No regular Space Marine sets have black tactical arrows! I had to special order two sheets of Imperial Fist ones.

As you can see above, I did two decals, one over the other. I also added some nifty battle damage and tried to get poses to be as dynamic as I could without repeating.

Marines were sprayed Wraithbone, coated Iyanden Yellow Contrast, and then brought up with yellow and highlighted light yellow. Reds are Blood Angels Contrast. Metals are Boltgun washed with Nuln Oil. I did the bases with black spray, Boltgun, and rust pigment, stippled in places with orange. Cursive names were freehand.

Soon: more gangers and more Necromunda goodness!

Necromunda Campaign

I’ve been silent because I haven’t had a lot to share, and my site got hacked. (so much for the new servers!) However, I’m breaking silence to show off the leader of my new Necromunda gang: Razor and the Scumettes!

Yes, Razor is based on the punk rock character from Maniac Mansion. The whole gang is themed that way!

Next: more gangers! This site may also be moved to squarespace if I can’t stop it from being hacked!