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Foodhammer 2014

November 25, 2014, 12:42 pm
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Although things have been a bit tough recently (car problems and a wicked cold that laid me out over the weekend), I wanted to take the time to drawn your attention to the fine folks at Fresh Coast Gaming who are organizing Foodhammer 2014. They've run this event in Michigan for the last few years and are ready to rock out again on December 6th!


I'll be seeing off these two beasties to join their massive (and growing) prize pool. I worked on these models back in the day of the GW US Studio team, and both have appeared in WD. The Lictor on the right was actually painted up to go into the 4th Edition Tyranid Codex (I think), but was beaten out (appropriately so) by Victoria Lamb's atmospheric piece.

Anyway, if you are in Michigan and are looking for something to do, please check out the excellent Foodhammer event!

Cheers
Dave
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Very Thankful!

November 26, 2014, 9:00 am
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Gather your friends and family close to celebrate.

As the US prepares for Thanksgiving (the annual holiday of family and gratitude that has been perverted by numerous capitalist ventures over recent years), I'd like to take this opportunity and thank all of the companies and individuals who have helped me make Dave Taylor Miniatures a viable capitalist venture of its very own (although not one that'll be sending its employee to work on Turkey Day).

I would like to thank - in no particular order - the following miniatures businesses (or groups) for their patronage, and urge you to check them out over the coming year:

• Secret Weapon Miniatures
• Infamy Miniatures
• Brigade Games
• AdeptiCon
• Dragon Forge Design
• Grindhouse Games
• Victoria Miniatures
• Wargames Illustrated
• Ninja Division
• Ironheart Artisans
• World's End Publishing
• Broken Toad
• Geek Nation Tours
• Mindworm Games

Additionally, I'd like to thank the following commission patrons for their support:

• Anthony Snukis - Tanith
• Brien Dulaney - Infinity and Napoleonics
• Chet Chislom - Conversions
• Dave Pauwels - Assembly
• Hank Edley - Imperial Knights
• Jake Schneider - FOW Tanks (WIP)
• Jason Duffee - FOW Americans
• Phil Bronson - FOW Germans
• Teras Cassidey - Conversions
• Dean Clarke - Napoleonics (WIP)

To all those celebrating, Happy Turkey Day!
To those who are not, Happy Thursday!

Cheers
Dave

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Digging out a behemoth.

December 4, 2014, 11:05 am
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After taking a look through the Horus Heresy Book Four: Conquest from Forgeworld, I've definitely decided to repurpose my Vostroyans as Solar Auxilia. Once the Imperial Army list rolls around, I'm sure I could swing them back to acting as regular grunts too, but for now, they'll be the elite of the standard human troopers.

One thing that's fun in the Solar Auxilia list is that you can take a Solar Auxilia Tank commander and add him to a pretty wide variety of vehicles, including super-heavies. He transfers his Ballistic Skill of 4 to the rest of the crew, which means that when you add him to the Stormlord super-heavy, the Vulcan Mega-blolter (which is a 60" range, S6, AP3, Heavy 15 weapon) will hit, on average, ten times. Or 20 times if you remain stationary in the movement phase, allowing you to shoot twice! With additional weapons onboard, you could comfortably wipe out a 20-man squad of Marines each turn. Fierce!

So, with visions of torrents of fire raining down on the heads of my opponents, I dug out an old conversion of mine. I converted this Baneblade into a Stormlord as soon as the data sheet was released, a couple of years before GW made the actual model now found in their online store. Of course, as soon as I finished it, I moved on to a different project and never painted it.

But now...



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Behind those shields, boys!

December 5, 2014, 11:11 am
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You'll notice a bit of a theme over the next few months in my personal hobby posts. I'll be switching gears back and forth between building and painting units for either: a) my Death Guard, b) my Mechanicum, and c) my Solar Auxilia. The theme will, of course, be the Horus Heresy era.

Anyway, here are a the first ten of my Breacher squad that I managed to complete last weekend. I have another nine assembled, I just need to get my hands on one more, possibly the FW Breacher Marine event special (if anyone has a spare).


And I have finally put together a squad of Heavy Support Death Guard rocking the Volkite Culverins. Their Heavy 4 firepower and Deflagrate special rule will make them especially dangerous against lightly armored opponents : )

Cheers
Dave
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Hearthstone Miniatures

December 8, 2014, 4:00 am
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Recently my friend, Scott Maurer, launched a new miniatures venture - Hearth Stone Miniatures. He plans to work with a wide variety of sculptors, producing many interesting sculpts of fantasy minis. The first from his new range is the Chuppa (above), sculpted by Yoo Jing Lee. I asked Scott for a bit of a rundown on Hearth Stone, and here's what he had to say:

"Hearth Stone Miniatures is dedicated to bringing new and interesting visions of fantasy miniatures to life. First and foremost, I am beholden to the sculptor and the artist. I want to see new artists flourish because they are the life blood of our industry and hobby. To that end, I have an arrangement with many sculptors to mold and cast their work free of charge and split the profits from sales with them. This is extremely important to me and I think a good way to foster new artists. Secondly, I want to make cool miniatures based on the work of artists I like. To that end I am commissioning concept artists and sculptors to create new and interesting miniatures that will engage your imagination with their bold vision. Finally, I am committed to quality. Everything I make is done in pressure-cast, hand-poured resin by me because I believe that this material offers the best resolution and I can best control the process by doing this myself."

You can see more concepts for future work at his site here, or on his Facebook page here.

Some very cool, and somewhat disturbing, visions of things to come : )




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Thank you, Secret Santa!

December 15, 2014, 1:09 pm
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A special thank you to the Secret Santa that sent me these three lovely Vorax Class Battle Automata.

I had a lot of fun assembling these guys, I just love the models : )  The ammo feeds for the rotor cannons are a little tough to get to the right shape, particular if you go for dynamic posing like I've done. Sadly one of the feeds broke, so I've had to build a new one from plasticard strips.

The bases are scratch built using other bits of plasticard and the cool Tech Deck conversion parts from Dragon Forge Design. Click on the link above and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Cheers
Dave
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Solar Auxilia Command

December 16, 2014, 4:00 am
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In amongst everything else, I've started on a little bit more work for my Solar Auxilia army, using my old Vostroyans.

Above is the old officer that was going to lead my army. Sadly he was never finished. So, here he is, resurrected and still WIP, standing on his new Dragon Forge base. I'll be using him as my Lord Marshal.


Here are the group that will be my new Auxilia Tactical Command Section. The Proclaimator, Vexilarius, and two Veteran Auxilia are complete (have been for a long time) but I recently got the bug to build a Strategos from the the commander in the Tempestus Scions box, with the head of a Vostroyan lascannon crew member and the archaeotech pistol from a FW Legion Praetor model.

As I get certain elements of the army assembled and/or painted, I'll throw them up here.

Cheers
Dave
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Create Your Minis - Kickstarter

December 18, 2014, 10:58 am
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There has been a lot of chatter in recent years about the impact that 3D-printing will have on the wargaming world. Lots of speculation about how it will work, what the business model will look like, and when it will all become affordable.

Well, I recently heard about a new group from France who have just launched their first Kickstarter. Create Your Minis are offering up a service where you can pick and choose various elements and assemble them all on-screen, creating (like the name suggests) your own mini. There are all sorts of individual elements with fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary settings, so you can create all sorts of looks, for your favorite war-game or RPG.


Create Your Minis offer a 3D-printing service, and their Kickstarter explores that some more. There are certainly some interesting things on offer as additional items and stretch goals, such as drop Dead Daisy (below). If you have a few minutes to mess around with "designing" your own miniatures, I'd certainly recommend checking them out.


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This Is Not A Test! - a little bit of painting and photography.

December 20, 2014, 5:00 am
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Earlier this year I was invited to take some photos for a new game called This Is Not A Test, from World's End Publishing. Joey McGuire has put together a great game that owes a lot to Necromunda and Mordheim, but is set in a post-Apocalyptic Mid-Atlanic coast area, basically the area Joey grew up in and lives now.

As well as the game, Joey is building up a great range of minis for TNT. At a recent photo session, Joey was kid enough to hand me a couple of the models, including this guy, the leader of the Peacekeeper faction. With an interesting blend of western gear (chaps and duster) and modern tactical equipment (helmet and armor), this guy has a lot of character.


It was nice to get back to painting, after a week or so of assembly, conversions, and sculpting.


And here's a nice teaser shot for you from the TNT rulebook, due out in the next few months : )


Just quickly, I thought I'd post up this commissar. I painted him up last night as a 40th birthday gift for a buddy of mine. He has fallen ill, so his party has been postponed. I guess he'll have to wait until January to get his hands on it.

Cheers
Dave
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La Haye Sainte - The Warlord Games collectors' edition.

December 22, 2014, 4:00 am
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At Historicon in July of this year, I met up with an old friend and former GW colleague. We had a good time catching up and at the end of it all, he asked me if I'd be up for taking on the Warlord Games La Haye Sainte collectors' edition set. Basically this set is a huge playset - two opposing forces and some great terrain. I enjoy painting up Napoleonic troops and I thought this would be a pretty cool project. Thankfully my friend gave me a good amount of time to complete it, I've only recently finished everything, and been able to deliver it in time for Christmas : )

The first part of this post shows off the Allied defenders of the La Haye Sainte farmhouse, mostly German troops from the King's German Legion battalions, Hanoverian battalions, and Luneburg as well as Nassau, and British riflemen.









The second part of this post shows the French attackers, led by the man above, Marshal Ney!







This resin terrain piece represents the sandpit that stood down the road a little bit from the farmhouse, it was defended at times during the Battle of Waterloo by the men of the 95th Rifles.


And the final part of this post is the La Haye Sainte farmhouse. This is a great piece of Laser cut MDF, made for Warlord by Sarrissa Precision. The build was fantastic, and the painting went pretty smoothly (although there was a lot of it!).






So, I hope you like it as much as my mate does. Merry Christmas, Dean, and thanks for this big commission job!

Cheers
Dave
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Thank you, Terranscapes!

December 23, 2014, 11:37 am
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A quick one today. I just wanted to thank Mike at Terranscapes for his prompt and thorough help on my recent La Haye Sainte project.

When my friend Dean mentioned he was also having a gaming table built by Terranscapes, I thought it would be a good idea to get in touch with them and find out how they approached their use of cold and flocking materials, so that the bases I did for the army matched the table Dean would be using them on. I wasn't sure how things would go, sometimes people can be precious about their methods and keep them secret.


Well, I'm incredibly happy to say that Mike was not at all interested in keeping his methods a secret and was only too happy to pop some supplies in the post to me. In the photo above you can see the paint swatches he uses for the sand surface on his tables. These three colors were mixed many moons ago and Mike has gallons of each color for his commission projects. Fortunately they came close to three Vallejo colors: Charred Brown, Beige Brown, and Dark Sand.

Additionally, Mike send three Ziploc bags containing the three different blends of flock he will be using on Dean's table. There's a basic mix that he uses over most of the surface, then an accent mix used on 30-40% of the table, and finally a highlight mix for 10-15% of the table. For the bases in the army I primarily used the basic mix and the highlight mix. The bags you see in the photo are what I now have left after the project, plenty of flock to base Dean's models for years to come : )

So, should you be in the need for some lovely gaming tables built by a very cool guy, I can heartily recommend Mike and Terranscapes!

Cheers
Dave
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Solar Auxilia - Leman Russ Battle Tanks

December 24, 2014, 4:30 am
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With Christmas day rapidly approaching, I thought I'd put these up on the blog in the hope they are a good omen for my gift opening tomorrow. For the first time in a long time, I've actually asked my family for something specific, in this case some Solar Auxilia Dracosan transports!

Anyway, I pulled out the three Ragnarok-style tanks I built back in the day to represent Leman Russ tanks for my Vostroyans. I figured it would be a good time to pull them out and dust them off.


In the Solar Auxilia list there are two ways that Leman Russ tanks can be taken: as a Fast Attack or a Heavy Support choice. The Fast Attack option is the Strike Squadron - 1-3 tanks that are any of the following types: Battle Tank, Exterminator, Annihilator, or Vanquisher.


The Heavy Support option is the Assault Squadron - 1-3 tanks that are any of the following types: Demolisher, Incinerator, or Executioner.



I have three tank bodies built, and six turrets (currently five painted). Although none of the Solar Auxilia Leman Russ tanks are allowed to have sponsons, I'm sure my opponents won't mind.


My original models were painted using the incredibly rare, not available in the US, Ogre Flesh spray (from the shortish period when GW Ogres had green/grey flesh). As I'm looking to add a Stormlord, three Dracosans, and a couple of Bombards to the army, I have decided to repaint the Leman Russ tanks, going with the grey of the Solar Auxilia, with red and black stripes, as in the mock up above. The "V" appears on a few of my Vostroyan models, so I'll retain that in the iconography for my tanks. Now it will stand for the 875th Solar Auxilia Cohort, the "Vespasian Fusiliers".

I hope you like the way these are going, and feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it. If not, Happy Thursday!).

Cheers
Dave
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The Infamy Miniatures "Post Kickstarter"

December 26, 2014, 4:00 am
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You may remember a couple of my posts earlier in the year about Infamy Miniatures and their excellent Kickstarter. Well, I've still been plugging away at a few things, and recently received an early Christmas present from Infamy's James Griffiths. James sent me a couple of the first casts of some characters I've been very keen to see.


I've already mentioned my desire to build a gang around The Toad, dockside crime boss extraordinaire! Well James' gift spurred me on to completing the build of The Toad, which you can see below.



And I also completed the build for the Quaker (a walking robot toting a nasty electrical gun) and Mole, a fierce fighter used to digging through subterranean London.

If you saw my posts about the Infamy Miniatures Kickstarter, but didn't jump in, you still have time to join in as part of the Post-Kickstarter Backer Kit. James has left the Backer Kit open until January 5th, so head to his website HERE and join in. I've already selected my 20 models. Which ones will you choose?

Cheers
Dave
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Solar Auxilia Command Complete

December 29, 2014, 4:00 am
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Just before Christmas, I finished painting the two commander models for my Solar Auxila HQ choices. First up was the Lord Marshal (above). When I built my Vostroyan army during the Medusa V global campaign, I never actually got around to finishing this model. I'm not sure why, but he has been hanging out on my painting tray ever since, biding his time. His patience has been rewarded and he is now complete.


The second commander is the Strategos for my Auxilia Tactical Command Section. Built primarily from the Tempestus Scions set, he'll fit in nicely with my army.


And here he is, fitting in nicely with the Command section. : )


Next up for these guys? Painting up two more lascannon teams so that I can field these three as a battery of Tarantulas with twin-linked lascannons. And it's a Fast Attack choice in the Solar Auxilia list : )

Cheers
Dave
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Solar Auxilia - Tarantulas and Veletaris Storm Section

January 2, 2015, 5:00 am
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Happy New Year to everyone! My apologies for not getting this post up on December 31st, but I was hit by a nasty stomach bug that knocked me out. But I wanted to let you know I managed to sneak in these models before the end of the year. I finished up the two lascannon teams above (the one on the left and the one on the right).


Added to the teams you see here and now I have two units of counts-as Tarantulas for my Solar Auxilia army!


And today I got the chance to do a bit of repainting on my Vostroyan plasma gunners, creating my first volkite-armed Veletaris Storm Section.

Next up, the Vexilia for my Lasrifle Section.

Cheers
Dave
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Solar Auxilia - Lasrifle Sections

January 4, 2015, 5:00 am
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Here's the first of three Lasrifle Sections. I won't really show you the other two, as they're essentially the same. These are an amalgamation of three standard Vostroyan IG squads, as my standard squads included special and heavy weapons.


I decided to cobble together four Vexilia Bearers for my Lasrifle Sections, so I now have one ready for when I decide to build a fourth Section (it's looking pretty likely). I used some old shields as the icon backgrounds, and showed the exposed wood to the front to give a strong visual link to the lasrifles. I'm yet to paint battle honors onto the metal plates


On the back of the shields I added some identifiers for each Lasrifle Section.

I hope the New Year is being good to you. I'm ready to get into a LOT more Solar Auxilia very soon : )

Cheers
Dave
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Quick announcement - Mengel Miniatures Painting Competition

January 5, 2015, 12:12 pm
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Just a quick announcement today to point everyone in the direction of Mengel Miniatures first ever Painting Competition. Tyler Mengel has long been interested in creating (and finding) excellent examples of painted miniatures, and now he has decided to run a fun painting competition on his blog/forum.

If you haven't been over there to check it out, I suggest you do so now by clicking HERE.

Entries are being accepted between now and February 2nd, in two categories: Single Miniature, and Unit/Large Model. Best of luck to all! : )

Cheers
Dave
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Solar Auxilia - The Dracosan Transports, plus some Bombards and a dilemma.

January 7, 2015, 11:03 am
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Although these three Dracosan Transports for my Solar Auxilia did not arrive before Christmas (despite my wife ordering before the FW deadline), I was very happy to receive them the day after Christmas! That weekend they were scrubbed clean, and assembled last week. In a conversation with friends about what armaments to give them, I was reminded of the joy of rare earth magnets.


So, all three transports can be equipped with either the twin-linked lascannons or the demolisher cannons. I can also pop the hatches and slip in some pintle-mounted multi-laser gunners if I want. These are a pretty decent choice, particularly for a demolisher-equipped tank, as it not only adds firepower, but also reduces the chances of losing your demolisher on a Weapon Destroyed result.

These are now on the priming bench and will hopefully meet with my airbrush this weekend.


I have also assembled two Bombards to go with my Solar Auxilia. I bought these back when I was building my Blood Pact and had originally thought to include them there. My Blood Pact haven't done much recently, so I felt it was alright to drag them back to the Imperial fold. Note: the foreshortening of my camera makes those big guns look HUGE!


And now to the dilemma. After seeing a few other evolving Solar Auxilia forces using the lovely Forgeworld Mars pattern Leman Russes, I'm seriously thinking about not using my Ragnaroks (above), but repainting my converted Mars pattern tanks from my Genswick force (below). Ultimately it would give me more flexibility, and while they might seem a bit more "stock", the trench rails I scratch built would match well with the Dracosans (at the top). A bonus is that as my Genswick force is green and grey, switching the tanks from green to grey wouldn't be too big an issue for their on-table support.


Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments below : )

Cheers
Dave
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Working on a warehouse for "Welcome to The Big Smoke".

January 12, 2015, 11:33 am
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I've been working on a few different things recently (well, four or five different projects - I'm obviously a hobby butterfly). While the washes dry on my Dracosans, and I wait for my bases to arrive for my thudd guns, I've been working on tarting up a great 4Ground Victorian Warehouse.

I got this beast from my friend Nigel while I was visiting the Oldhammer weekend last October, and at the event Rusty challenged me to make it "not look like it's laser-cut MDF". I've been thinking about how to do that, and after finishing up the Sarissa/Warlord La Haye Sainte just before Christmas I felt it was time to get started. I've been working on it over the last week and am now writing up an article for Wargames Illustrated (with photos) describing the things that I feel can be done to enhance an already spectacular building.

But more on that later...


Here's a quick WIP for my first Infamy"kingpin" - The Toad! I hope you like him.

Cheers
Dave
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Solar Auxilia - Thudd Gun Battery

January 19, 2015, 4:00 am
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It has been a busy week. Lots of models assembled, quite a few painted, and even more photographed, but that's all been for work (some hobby articles for Ninja Division and Warlord Games). I did get a chance to finally wrap up my Solar Auxilia Thudd Gun battery!

These are an Elite choice for the Solar Auxilia list, the Rapier battery upgraded to Quad Mortars. The Frag shells are pretty good (Heavy 4, Barrage, and 3" template), but the Shatter wheels are nice too (no template, but Strength 8 and re-roll armor penetration).

I've loved the models since they were released for the Death Korps of Krieg, and I was happy to find them in my basement stash : )





More to come soon.

Cheers
Dave
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