Squaduary 2020 Pledge and Kick-off

Squaduary 2020 Pledge, primed and ready to go

Hey there! It is Squaduary time again. Having wrapped up the pair of Veteran Dark Angels marines that I was working on for Horus Heresy, I'm ready to hit up another project.  This year, I'm pledging to complete 12 Blackstone Fortress hostiles. As a bonus, I'm going to see if I can sneak in more - however, I have a business trip smack in the middle of the challenge so I'm working on only three weeks this year. NO excuses though!

Last year, I assembled all of the Blackstone Fortress models in order to try the game out (which I finally did late last fall).  Now it's time to get some paint on them. 

Here is what I'm painting...

Chaos Beastmen

Spindle Drones

Ur-Ghuls

The models will be re-based onto GW Necromunda bases which will be painted in a manner similar to something I saw from White Metal Games while doing a little image research for cool Blackstone bases.  So the current bland state of the bases reflects that decision. Part of the challenge then is to move these models from where they are to new bases.  The results must be equally secure if not more so....we'll see how it goes.

In order to get a jump on the challenge, I hit up the models with the air brush as soon as the month began so I could get to work. The Ur-Ghuls and Spindle drones both got a coat of Vallejo Surface Primer Gray then a top down spray of Vallejo Surface Primer White.  The Beastmen got the usual coat of Vallejo Surface Primer Black.

The Spindle Drones then got a coat of GW Nuln Oil on the legs and lower body under the carapace. The Carapace itself was shaded with two coats of Secret Weapon Miniatures Cool Grey wash.

The legs then got a second coat of Nuln Oil and the whole model was dry brushed with GW White Scar.  The models were left to dry thoroughly between each shade step.

The Ur-Ghuls were shaded with two coats of Secret Weapon Miniatures Green wash and left to dry thoroughly.  The hands and lower arms where then shaded with Secret Weapon Miniatures Purple wash.  The faces were shaded with Secret Weapon Miniatures Drying Blood wash.

The models were then dry brushed with GW White Scar, same as the drones.  While washing the bodies, I used my finger to lightly wipe the wash from the foreheads and a few other areas to create strong highlights.

And that was where I left things on day one of the challenge.  It feels good to have eight of the models so far along already - but it's also a cheap victory given how simple they were to advance this far. Heh.  I'll take it, anyway.

Check back for updates on my progress this month.  Challenges like Squaduary are a great way to gain some extra motivation to get hobby work done. Let's here it for all the Squaduary 2020 challengers!

Cheers and Happy Gaming!