Heresy Hurn = Yautja = Hernia? Step-by-Step Pt 1

More often than not, I fall onto a conversation on either Dakka or CMoN that talks about a miniature that causes me to sprint for my wallet...only to notice the conversation and limited ed mini or whatever is about 5 months to a year old and no longer there.. Not this time, folks.

This time I got my hands on Heresy Miniature's Limited Ed. Hurn Miniature Prototype- 1000 casts. Two of them, actually. I'm extremely pleased with the product- although there's always clean-up to do with metal minis... I was satisfied that both came undamaged. But looking at the kit, I immediately knew that this was going to be a drilling, "pinning" and green-stuff/putty job- including weather or not to give him the iconic "mask" or keep him as-is, and see his ugly mug.

Check him out on the Heresy Miniature website- Wicked paint job!

http://www.heresyminiatures.com/images/hsf028_painted_by_wildheart.jpg"


Kit Includes:

1 x Hurn Warrior body
1 x Round/Square slotted/non-slotted base of your choice
1 x Telescopic Spear in-hand and Contracted Spear back accessory Sprue
1 x Extended Wrist Blades Gauntlet Sprue (both arms)
1 x Contracted Wrist Blade Gauntlet Sprue (both arms)
1 x Plasmacaster Weapon and Mount (3 pcs) Sprue
1 x Fists (2 closed fists, 1 gripping w/ holes on either side)

Washed and brushed all components to a nice shine with my wife's toothbrush... I mean, wait. What?? But seriously. Soap and water... and a soft bristle brush to get rid of whatever the hell was there... before you start.

-ARM ASSEMBLY-

Here it is with one arm assembled... In the words of the the immortal Dutch... Yoo ah wun ugly muhzah... with so many pieces, only using superglue would make this an extremely fragile model.


1) I start by drilling the arm-stub with the GW Drill. I drill about 3-4 cm into a stable part (or deeper, depending on the model size and part weight) using the drill to create the base.


2) I dip a section of copper wire into Loc-tite and stick it in the previously drilled hole. Why copper wire? Well, it's not as strong as brass or even cut paper-clips (I don't envy you if you work with that...) but it's kinda soft AND flexible. This is key.

...Also, the size of my wire leaves just the right amount of play between the drilled hole and the OD of the wire- dip it into Loc-tite or whatever you use, stick it in, and the glue forms a solid seal with the walls and wire.


3) OOPS!!! I made a mistake! I should have drilled at an angle on the balljoint and not straight in... dammit! How to fix it? Remember when I said copper was SOFT and FLEXIBLE? BOOYAH!! I drilled the Wristblade Gauntlet from one side to the other and dry fit the part onto the copper. Obviously, it didn't w/ the wire straight. But I put it on there, and bent the copper into shape at a reasonable speed (AKA don't hulk out). I didn't have to remove the wire... I didn't have to drill again. And the fit was tight. I put a bit of superglue- a small teardrop on the wire or on the gauntlet hole, and ran it up and down on the wire, then pushed it once more into permanence on the elbow stub.


Voila! The glue settles and seals the difference between the wire and the drill hole, then adheres to the stub and locks it into place. The only thing left is the fist- drill a small hole into that (smaller component, so 1-2cm max into it), cut the copper wire to length... and you've got Pred...er... Hurn Warrior ready for the next operation.

Stay tuned

Know Thine Enemy

I promised this post earlier, but too much awesomeness in the form of my Octo-rant got in the way. Actually, he's got more than eight arms... and I almost thought to call him a portmanteau of Hydra+Tyrant... but calling him a "Hydrant" just doesn't do him justice. BUT... on to the main attraction. I promised a look at my hated enemies- the Imperial Guard currently being created by my cousin. I'll be taking more pictures later as he finishes, but he's taken great care to make his men look like they've deep in the action- the extras, the 40K Basing Kit, sand and gravel all give a look like they're in the middle of a warzone. He's also used green-stuff to create "mounds" and make the ground uneven. I've not seen how that looks yet all based/painted up, but I think it's a great idea. Anyways, onto the main attraction-

1) So I guess I should start out from the very beginning- out of all the races available to you in WH40K, why in God's name did you choose the Imperial Guard?? I mean, uh... what about them made you want to collect an army to paint/play/compete with?

Why indeed? There goes the argument that you would want to paint and play with something exotic, different; the idea that the army, like playing a hero in a video game, allows you to be more much more than you already are. The 40k universe is filled with all sorts of legendary warriors: lithe Eldar, weapons, tanks and armor sleek as sin and twice as deadly; the mighty, mighty Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, the heroes of the Imperium themselves, and the Tyranids, utterly ferocious, bent on the consupmtion of life as we know it. All of these forces are super human, unimaginably deadly, and just damn cool.
So why Guard?.... FOR THE IMPERIUM!


The Guard doesn't need highly trained warriors, swift and deadly, or psychers that control the very fabric of fate. The Guard doesn't need superhuman enhancement and tank like armor.The Guard doesn't need the driving force of a hive mind and monstrous beasts of cruel destruction. The Guard is relentless, slowly grinding it's opponents to dust under boot and tread. The Guard is is numerous, men and women, REGULAR men and women selling their lives dearly in defense of the Imperium. The Guard is driven by it's faith in the Emperor, an unimaginable war machine, facing the horrors of the universe with lasguns and courage.

I play the Guard because, in this whole universe created by GW, the lowly Guardsman is the underdog. I play the Guard because I can feel empathy towards their desperate struggle against unbelievable odds. I play Guard just because they are damn cool.

Oh, and tanks... God I love tanks... and come on, who didn't love the little green army soldiers we got as kids?The amount of (given, inaccurate) firepower I can call on with a Guard army? *wargasm


2) Tell me about the back-story for your army- I know Nerd when I see it (takes one to know one, and all that)- and I'm sure you've thought of some sort of fluff for your army? What do they call themselves? Where are they from? What is their purpose in "life", aside from being swept aside by the Izanagi horde? ... jus kiddin' Lian. Tell me about them.

Hmmmm... I've given it thought... but haven't really come to many conclusions. I'm an Angel/forces of good and light freak, so that kind of motif might be nice. Invictus System, Hive World Angelus, Angelforge? The 501st Angelus, the "Iron Saints". A lot of this is admittedly taken from other sources (DoW II, one of the main Hive Cities is called Angelforge and the Iron Saint is an award winning Baneblade model), but I really like the sound of that.


As for backstory, I remember you saying that you wanted your force to be representative of a fleet from a campaign pretty much drawn to a close. No spearheads of Carnifexes to knock aside armored companies or masses of firepower and MCs running around. Deception is your stength, surprise and stealth your weapon. So, we can say that you are already upon Angelus, Angelforge itself overrun or in the process of, and we, the Iron Saints, last army to be raised from the Imperial Tithe, is recalled to reclaim their home planet. Therefore, the army is largely green, plainly dressed and armed. But, as the fighting goes on and the troops become grizzled verterans... who knows what the models will look like and be armed with in the future...

To be continued....



3) I remember your old models and your new ones have more of a crisp/clean feel, and definitely a big improvement. We won't get into them, because to make it even, I've gotta show my original crappers, too. So tell me about the paint-scheme. What was your inspiration for the color scheme?

While I like bright colors and the potential reds, greens, and blues and the like have in really making a model look pretty, let's not lie to ourselves; we're soldiers, trench dogs rolling in the mud and blood of combat. Who in their right mind goes into combat wearing a damn red shirt? (Editor's Note: Heeey... I play a "salmon-colored" Master Chief in Halo...) So, I took two darker much more neutral tones I thought worked well together: khaki and grey. Really, the idea came from looking at Armageddon themed tanks. I thought, if it can work for armor, why not the men? And voila, here I am today... :P a little catachan green for the weapons, blues for the glass and red for the wire to add color accent and their you go. Subtle, but pretty...



4) And one last question- You've currently got a box set, sentinel, chimera, and one of those bad-ass Leman Russ tanks that we know and love. Anything special planned for your vehicles, in regards to paint scheme or modelling? What, if anything is your next purchase?

Just a few touches like camo netting rolled up and placed on the tank, magnetizing the new turrets so I can switch up the main guns (and hopefully sponsons). Next purchases will the the dead sexy Valkyrie (with a veteran squad to ride it) and that wargasmic Manticore. Nothing makes infantry go poof better than D3 str 10 pie plates.



Looking forward to seeing the Iron Saints go head-to-head with Hive Fleet Izanagi!

WIP Octo-Tyrant!!

ALMOST FINISHED. I have to say that in the beginning, I thought I ruined a perfectly good Tyrant by cutting the lower two sets of back vents, and just made myself $37.50 + IL tax worth of 'Nid spare parts. It started out as an idea to put insect wings on thim... but that quickly went out the window with the direction my swarm was taking... It took time, but like all good inspirations, it came to me one day at the most random place- Work. "What if I used a buttload of copper wire and some greenstuff...?" I'm pleased to share the semi-final results.


Ta-daaaah! At first, I thought the tentacles were a bit too long, but it turns out they were perfect, any shorter, and they would't look convincing as weapons. Any longer, and they'd start getting in the way of the arms and manipulating them would be a chore.


Here's a shot of the back- the tentacles I'll do a totally separate how-to guide in the future, but for the body itself, I used the GW hobby drill to make 1~1.5cm-deep holes into the Tyrant torso. It was a bit tricky, (if you're familiar with the kit, you know there are "pockets" in the body itself) but after lots of cursing, sweating, and drilling, I got holes I was satisfied with. Also, because there are pockets, you'll see your drill slip through at times, but find yourself unable to guide the wire into them... go figure. I suggest at this point, I suggest moving the drill back and forth, while rotating it... and that came out wrong... NEXT!!



A shot of the magnetized arms. Seeing as how both magnets will hold/slide their separate arm pieces (gun arm and sac arm), I felt it best to glue them together. Now, the I have the weapons clinging with the plastic "pinch" as well as the magnet strength.



A side shot of the Octo-rant in full gear- Scythes and Venom Cannon. I'll defitely invest in another set of Scythes. Absolutely dead-sexy!!


Slightly raised shot of the Octorant. Any ideas what those tentacles could represent? I'm thinking the Poisoned Biomorph, but that'll be an absolute waste of points on my cousins' Toughness 3 IG army... (he's totally anti-ogryn... I agree. Ugly buggers)


I can imagine this guy painted. The bulbous portions on the ends will definitely be a lighter "glowing" blue, like the innards of most of the monsters... or the poison green a la the Zoanthrope brain. Either way, Glow-stick-Raving Tyrant anyone??

And even now I'm not done. The final addition will be the "housings" for these tentacles. I've thought of the beetle wing "covers" triangle-shaped concave shell... OR... like those undersea tube animals that live near volcanic vents... basically a play on the backvents of the standard Tyrant- wider, with cut-outs to fit the shells of the individual tentacles.

Stay tuned!

The Death of a Tyrant

...and the return of this prodigal son. After about 3 weeks of non-activity, I'm happy to be writing again. I know I promised a look at my hated foes, the Imperial Guard, but that'll be for next post, as I'm still editing my cousin's answers to suit my purpose... I mean. Wait. What?


Mr. Tyrant... bane of my existence... I was hand-drilling through the pewter. It took about 20-something minutes for one hole (for magnetizing his arms) in the torso... I gave up that endeavor until I came up with a better plan.


Mr. Tyrant. Meet Mr. Powerdrill. SUCKA!! With this baby, I was able to drill the final 3 holes in less than 2 minutes total. The holes were perfect, as was the play between the holes and the magnets I stuck into the arms. For ease of process, I did the arms first, then stuck TWO magnets. One inserted into the arm, the other stuck onto the implant magnet. I then colored the backend of the free magnet with some light paint for insertion indication, and voila! Perfect arms without having to rip out any flipped magnets!


Perfect!


In fact, I was feeling so good about the Tyrant, I decided to continue with the Tyrant's extreme modification I hinted at much earlier, (see 'Scheduled Interruption')I thought that instead of the bottom two vents, I would have bee-wings. That turned out to be a fluke, as I want to have Gargoyles, but I'll be damned if I have to cut off their arms and modify all 30+ of them to have insect wings as well. McEff NO.


Instead, I went with creating tri-ports on his now-bare lower-back, to house these deadly whip-lash implants- I have no idea what they will represent in-game, perhaps Poison, or Implant Attack... These, coincidentally, are also practice for the whip-laden maws of the Mycetic spores I plan to have at my disposal.


And one final picture... Biomorphs and... blood suckers?? Looks like this website might undergo some changes in the near future!