GenCon 2012: The Experience and Painting Comp Entries

*****WARNING PICTURE HEAVY*****

Greetings once again! Well GenCon 2012 has come and gone and what a trip it was! I have attended GenCon (the biggest gaming convention in the US) for the past 8 years and each time it gets bigger and better! Here are some pictures of the entire GenCon experience:

Some of the various miniatures tables:

The Magic the Gathering area (I am so glad I never got into this game!):

Those were some very impressive trophies in that case! I never realized that Magic was so intense and competitive!

The BattleTech V.R. Pods. I really want to give this a try at some point!

Robo Rally all made from Legos!

The Card Hall where people could come and build giant structures from excess CCG cards, then on Saturday night they allow people to throw pocket change at the structures and all money collected goes to charity! I think this is brilliant and there were some impressive structures!

The Empire of Man extends to GenCon! Ave Imperator!

A giant balloon dragon!

 The new Dungeons and Dragons area was impressive!

A life-size Warjack! Most impressive!

A game I am eagerly awaiting!

Fantasy Flight Games had demos running of their new X-Wing dog-fighting game that looked very cool!

I had a chance to stop by and take a look at some of the painting entries for the various painting competitions that GenCon had going this year. There are always some stunning pieces entered and this year was no exception. Please excuse the poor pictures, I had to shoot through glass cases to get these shots.

My favorite piece of the entire show! It was titled 'My God Emperor is bigger than yours!'

I don't think the poor Blood Angel assault marine is going to make it!

Best in Show and Best Single Miniature. The freehand swirls on her dress were stunning!

Thanks for looking! Next update will include a run down of a game I played while there that was called: Formula Waaagh! 

Blood Angels Stormraven Gunship

Greetings once again Interweb! This time I would like to present to you my painted Blood Angels Stormraven Gunship. I picked this piece up half assembled (and badly at that) for a steal on EBay and spent some time trying to resurrect it. The WIP shots can be found here.


A frontal close-up shot:

An overall shot showing the flight stand as well:

 Right side view:

Left side view:

Rear view (actually one of my favorites):

I am not a fan of the GW version of the Stormraven with the gigantic air-scoop and silly looking turret, so I got rid of them. Here is the replacement sensor suite to replace the turret; the air-scoop was simply removed and the area sanded flush.

Since I removed the turret (and its weapon system) I needed to find another place to put them. I have seen others mount a smallish turret under the front nose but I am not a fan as I think it looks to 'tacked on' in my opinion (much like the top mounted turret). I decided to mount them in the front in place of the front headlamps and since the Stormraven is able to "hover" in place and spin this will allow me to justify loosing the 'turret'. I am not a hard-core player (get maybe half-dozen games a year if that) and do it just for the fun so I am not concerned about loosing the 'turret' over fixed weapons. Here is a look at how the lascannons meshed into the hull of the Stormraven. Personally I think they turned out rather well, almost like they belonged there to begin with.

I used a 1/2" thick acrylic rod to mount the Stormraven to a solid Black American Walnut base I made. I wanted a base with some weight that would insure that the model never tipped over while still being the same size as the GW base. I was attempting to show just a small section of ruins that the Stormraven happened to be flying over; in this case a small Ad Mech shrine/outbuilding of some sort. The acrylic rod comes out of the base and the Stormraven so I can transport them easily.

Here are some various views of the base assembly:

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the Interweb! Take care!

Blood Angel's Fourth Company Motor Pool fills up

Greetings once again!

I had some spare time (which is a rare thing these days) that I was able to spend in the hobby room. On the painting desk were the last three 'Rhino-based' vehicles for my Blood Angels 4th Company. First up I would like to present my Baal Predator:

My favorite view! Staring down a fair number of barrels!

In this view below you can see the magnetic couplings that I attached which allows the Heavy Bolters to be removed for transport or weapon load-out changes.

I tried to write 'Glory in Spent Lead' on the front banner but was only able to get 'Glory in Lead'. This is a reference to all the spent shell casings this Baal loves to spew out.

Next up, fresh out of the workshops of Baal, we have a Whirlwind. I am really hoping these guys get Flak Missiles or Skyfire or something. Here are some views of the 'Breath of Baal':

I had an old original TechMarine mini that was just the upper torso and missing the giant wrench but I think he works as the Whirlwind commander.

I wanted to make some camouflage covers (one urban and one forestry) to show that the Whirlwind can go and hunker down and offer long-range fire support.

Finally rolling out we have a Razorback Transport which I had intended to do up as a TechMarine Recovery/Support Transport for the Blood Angel Motor Pool. There is a lot of additional stowage, tools, and gas cans all to ensure that the Blood Angel vehicles continue to function while on campaign. For Mars and Baal!

I think the freehand attempt at the wreath and blood drop nestled in the hazard stripes turned out OK, I am trying to get better at freehand stuff which still scares me.

The weapon system is interchangeable and I currently have the choice of: Heavy Bolters, Lascannons, and Assault Cannons.

I think the Imperial Guard Dozer Blade actually works well on the front of a Rhino. I know there are several companies out there making optional Dozer Blades which I may just look into for future projects. 

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the Internet and taking a look! I am just finishing up my Storm Raven Transport which I will post pictures of soon. Take care.