From DavidB - visiting the Death Star and without lucasfilm (285 pts)

Well, I am still alive and ok if not burning the candle at both ends!

I was a bit busy with extracurricular activities, yet I did get released for my first Superbowl at home. I did not see the game but did do a nice spread of chili and munchies for family and friends and even got to imbibe in medicinal supplies with two of my age-appropriate daughters, neither wants to hear the word alcohol now! 

Death Star is either hubris or questionable design. I actually have both in this post. I will only claim the 20 points for the fellow below though. Hubris was thinking I could finish the mess on my table above, and a hero further down.

I introduce the wonky and wonderful gun made by the orks. The shock attack gun is one of many insane weapons of war crafted by the orks. The mechaniac manning the gun doesn't really understand how it works and probably can't be bothered to ponder it. The function begins by vacuuming up several small snotlings into the gun.

They are pulled through the hose which somehow transports them through a rip in between worlds/reality.

The whirly bits, thinga-ma-bobs, whatcha-ma-call-its, and do dads combine with the gears, gizmos, and wires chosen for color to fire them at targets. while going through the force field tunnel the snotlings are tormented by nightmarish daemons that cannot reach them through the force field. once they materialze at the targeted point, they are frenzied in absolute terror and soil, bite, claw as only pint sized psychopaths can. The gun either works really well or not at all which is fun too as it could explode.

Some ork Kommandoz from the Blood Axe clan have cleared the desk with the shokk attack gun.

Being orks they also have weapons of dubious design

As some of the latest orks from games workshop they are packed with detail. So much equipment, scars, rips, tears, and ork trinkets. I could easily spend another week teasing out more of the detail.

The boss is a great sculpt and I kinda think of him as an Orky Sgt Steiner.

A commo ork with exposed wires and a weaponized radio with flashing red light.

An ork sniper whose rifle is belt fed, i can imagine him bending the front sight post to accurately target his intended victim. The kit also had some classic bits reminiscent of the original kommandoz. HE is thus wearing an orange watch cap with the lurid purple camo like my original squad.

I painted them all in my standard bright green flesh, but used olive greens to pick out scars on them.

The burna boy had burn scars molded on his hands and arm, so the olive color was used over the melted flesh. I really like the checkerboard grin of the demolition ork

A grot looking like a SEAL with snorkel, fins, grapple hook gun and knife and a squig loaded with explosives for remote detonation.

10 helblasters for the white scars. for valentine's day my wife got me some miniatures and paint including the valhalan blizard used to decorate the bases of the white scars.

A very nice snow effect which really adds more character to the urban bases. These marines were all bought used while deployed and were painted with an impervious blue. they had red and gold splashed in various places. half were primed black and the other half were primed white and that blue was a pain to cover. I do not think I will try to rescue anymore miniatures for awhile. 

My wife also bought me two Reiver Lieutenants while I was deployed. one is a white scar and the other is now an iron snake. Both are more effective than the "elite" reivers which seem not very elite at all when other marines do the same job better, but I like the skull faceplates and will hope GW can actually make them worthwhile. I will keep on using them as they do great for the rule of cool!

The white scar reivers are equiped with bolt carbines and are intended to hunt enemy backstop units. two are equipped with pistols and knives for use in kill team.

Two Iron Snake reivers with one equipped with a bolt carbine. The bolt carbine reiver is for kill team.

The original 6 iron snakes I painted still have their bases trimmed in brown. Two of the cold greys and all three of the warm greys I used were unusable. It took awhile to get these three new reivers to match the three older ones.

I finally succeeded as you can see above.

These five (formerly BLUE) hellblasters are now sporting Iron Snake colors

Besides his robotic arm, the sgt has a horrible burn scar and robotic eye...Greg is correct...Wear your helmet! The burn scar was done with pale flesh and a very light flesh wash.

The front three are new additions to the intersessor squad and great care was made to match them up since the older P3 paint was rotten.

The seven layers of grey paint was eating up too much time, so I tried the contrast paints as a base over a zenithal highlight. I only needed two greys and a wash to finish the armor and they match well with others.

This veteran squad is equipped with the nasty assault bolt carbines

A Chapter Ancient with banner flanked by two lieutenants. They were all that horrid blue. Besides an occasional glint in a deep crevasse, the only remaint of that blue is the base coat of the banner.

Lieutenant knives is the only unpainted one from the big set of phobos armor I had on hand and was the test for alternate greys to get the look going forward for the Iron Snakes.

The much battered Captain in gravis armor. He was broken many times while deployed and was not in great shape to begin with. Through all the breakage that blue never chipped off. he has more than seven layers of grey and at least two other spray coats than that nasty blue. I stopped painting him after I got him close enough, but he may be replaced as a lot of detail is gone from a now thick coat of paint both covering the blue and trying to replicate the Iron Snake colors. He also suffered as I thought the Black Templar contrast paint would help, but the gloss from that paint is not good for a base coat and also hurt the detail.

Besides the mountain on the desk, he is the final bit of Hubris as I did not notice the damage I did to him while trying to "fix" him. 

So, three weeks' worth of minis

20 points for death star

65 points for 13 orks

90 points for 18 White Scars

110 for 22 Iron Snakes

a total of 285 points.

also for the skullz duel

standing tally so far

15 skullz for the Blood Angels

42 skulls for the White Scars

69 skulls on the Iron Snakes

5 for the space orks

11 for the fantasy orcs and gnolls

142 skullz painted so far.

It's good to have you back with us, David! That's a fine looking bunch of Space Marines to close out this Tuesday!

Tamsin