Fire Raptor Gunship Part 3 - Cleaning With Meaning

Hi folks, me again!

Just a quick post this morning to continue the Fire Raptor work in progress. Today: cleaning.

For those of you that don't know, Forgeworld resin models (and Finecast as well as it happens) should always be cleaned before you attempt to assemble them. The reason for this is to do with the resin casting process. When Forging these spectacular miniatures (see what I did there?), A release agent is applied to the mold before the resin is added. This acts like a lubricant so that the resin doesn't adhere to the mold and to make it easier to removed. The problem with this is that it can (and does) leave a residue on the resin which also stops paint and glue adhering to the model further down the line. So that's why we clean them.

The good news is it's very simple. Just take a bowl of cool water (remember the straightening? Don't want to undo that work) and some ordinary washing up liquid (dish soap) and an old tooth brush and give it a good scrub. Don't go at it so hard that you manage to damage the details (although I've never managed this myself) but make sure you give every little corner of the resin a thorough clean. That should ensure you have no issues with gluing or painting.

And that's it. Apologies for the lack of photos on this step (I may have some but I will have to dig for them) but it's very straight forward and doesn't really need a visual aid!

My Fire Raptor is now ready for assembly and undercoating. That post will be coming very soon (I'll let you in on a secret. I've already done those steps!)

Check backs soon!

List Writing 750pts - Blood Angels Part 2

Happy weekend everyone!

Here we go again with another 750 point Blood Angels list. This is a fairly big departure from the previous Terminator based list. This time we are running fast...

Blood Angels Combined Arms Detachment - 750pts

HQ
Sanguinary Priest - 66pts
   Blood Chalice, Narthecium, Chainsword, Frag and Krak Grenades
   +Auspex
   +Additional Weapon - Bolt Pistol

Troops
Tactical Squad - 170pts
   4x Tactical Marine
      Boltguns, Frag and Krak Grenades
      +Heavy Flamer
   Tactical Seargeant
      Bolt Pistol, Boltgun
   +Razorback - Smoke Launchers, Overcharged Engines
      +Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
      +Stormbolter

Tactical Squad - 205pts
   4x Tactical Marine
      Boltguns, Frag and Krak Grenades
      +Grav Gun
   Tactical Seargeant
      +Grav Pistol
      +Power Sword
   +Razorback - Smoke Launchers, Overcharged Engines
      +Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
      +Stormbolter

Fast Attack
Bike Squad - 84pts
   3x Space Marine Bike
      Twin Linked Boltgun, Frag and Krak Grenades
   Space Marine Bike Sergeant
      Bolt Pistol, Twin Linked Boltgun

Heavy Support
Fire Raptor Gunship - 225pts
   4x Stormstrike Missiles, Twin Linked Avenger Bolt Cannon, 2x Twin Linked Autocannons

So straight off you can see this is meant to be a force that is going places. Everything in this army is mobile and designed to snatch objectives or move quickly to react to threats. With the ability to Deep Strike the Fire Raptor in a pinch, and otherwise arrive spitting hot, flaming death at MEQ or worse, it is a fun include for me. I could save a few points by taking a Stormraven instead, but for 25 points I am getting an extra hull point, Strafing Run, Deep Strike and some interesting weapons. The Tactical Squads with RBs is a no-brainer for me in this kind of set up frankly. Two 24" moving Obsec transports that can then dump their squads next turn but still maintain ObSec is just good stuff for Maelstrom games. A little bit paper thin on the armour but packing the punch of a Predator. They will prove to be a headache or at worst, a decent distraction. The Sang Priest is the cheapest HQ I can take and yet serves a good function, if only for Feel No Shame and +1WS (although I hope not to see too much assault with this one, hence the Auspex and CAD rather than a Baal Strike Force. Every fibre of my sanguinary sensibilities says fisticuffs but I am fighting the urge in the current meta.)

There will be some of you who will probably be wondering why I have taken expensive Grav in one of the squads.Good question! It's purely because I am a stickler for WYSIWYG, and they are modelled with Grav. Plus you never know when Grav might come in handy. I may swap those out for a Flamer/Hand Flamer but we'll see.

The sharp-eyed amongst you may have spotted the Bike Sergeant with a Power Weapon and that one of the Razorbacks is actually a Baal Predator with a Forgeworld turret. Well spotted! Yes the Bike Sergeant is driving my O.C.D. crazy but hey ho, and I may buy another Razorback before June, but the Baal Pred makes an excellent stand in.

You may have also noticed the 'lots to paint' motif still running through these armies. Again, well spotted you clever lot! That's why I need to choose my army soon and get on with it!

Let me know what you think of this one again. Far more manoeuvrable than the the last list but also easier to kill. Also, Stormraven or Fire Raptor? (Hint, I'd really like to take the Fire Raptor!)

Fire Raptor Gunship Part 2 - Straight Outta Forge World

Happy Friday everyone!

Just a short update on the Fire Raptor today. I have taken the time to straighten the resin pieces that were warped. As you can see from the first photo below, some of the parts can be fairly out of shape. It's inevitable with resin, but easily fixed. I use the hot water method but a hair dryer or a heat gun can be used (but use a heat gun with extreme care as they get far hotter than a hair dryer and can melt resin and skin with ease). As with all of these dangerous maneuvers, if you are a child, please get an adult to help you. No burns please. On we go.

So with the hot water method, what I do is use a shallow dish of some description and add boiling water with some cold added. At a guess, I'd say it was around 60 degrees centigrade, but I've never measured it. It's definitely way below boiling (how dangerous would that be?). Add the offending part to the water and make sure you have something you can retrieve it with that isn't your own digits. You only really need to leave most pieces in the water for about 15-30 seconds. Thicker parts may need a little while longer to warm up. Remove it from the water and very gently test it to see if it's flexible. Don't force it as you can snap it and I won't be held responsible.

When it's pliant enough, carefully bend it back in to the shape it should be. Some pieces will naturally start to straighten when they've been heated, Once you are happy, you can either use some cool water or just hold the part until it's cooled. Hey presto, you should have a resin part that's back to how it should be.

You can see below that I have done a dry fit of the main fuselage to make sure it will glue correctly. It's only held together with weak elastic bands so I'm pretty confident it will glue quite well.

Next up is the cleaning (even though I said that was next last time)

Fire Raptor Gunship Part 1 - Turkey With All The Trimmings

Hello again! As promised, here is the first part of the Fire Raptor series. In this post I will quickly go over the trimming process. There's plenty of it on this one.

First up, the tools I am using.

Very straight forward really. A selection of knives in varying sizes. I don't have a modelling saw (and I am not patient enough to get hold of one) so I have a large knife for the larger trimming tasks, and a couple of smaller ones for a bit more finesse. For the love of the Emprah, if you are a child or a particularly clumsy person, get someone slightly more adult to help you with sharp knives. Ten fingers are much easier to work with than nine. Along with the knives I am just using the two pairs of clippers. The red handled ones are not very delicate but perfect for the big resin parts. There's also a pair of Citadel clippers for accurate clipping.

And here's the mass of resin you will have to work through.

It doesn't take too long really, but take your time so you don't mess it up. Using knives, I have had to shave away extra resin carefully to get it nice and flat while not gouging into the model. You can see this in the two photos below.

Here's the resin clipped and tidied, back in the bags ready to be cleaned.

Next it's on to the plastic parts.

The plastic sections of the Fire Raptor are basically quarter of the Stormraven kit. I've got a small problem with the canopy bars being miscast but I've e-mailed Forge World and no doubt they will sort that out for me. Here's the clipped plastic parts of the Gunship.

And finally, below are the left over resin bits and the mess I swiftly cleaned up. I should be able to make some tank trap scenery and the like from these. After all, there's enough of it!

Next up is the cleaning of the resin. Stay tuned for part 2!

New Project - Blood Angels Fire Raptor Gunship

Hey folks.

So yesterday we both went off to Warhammer World for (half) a visit (thanks M6). While there I may have picked up this little project to add to the list (probably quite near the top of the list.)

As you can see, it's half a Stormraven and about 3 metric tonnes of resin.

I intend to do a fairly detailed walk through of the build and painting, with the hope that it might help a few people out. It has a reputation for being an absolute sod to build and yet there doesn't seem to be much help out there in internetville. I will go through everything from trimming, straightening and washing the resin to building, priming and painting, complete with any pitfalls I come across.

I am far too excited about getting started on this so expect the next post soon!