Darth Vader Vs. Alien Queen!

Oh boy do I have a treat for you today! I'm currently on the hunt for Star Wars fan art, particularly where it mashes up different science fantasy narratives and/or genres. The other day I showed you some 80s high school movie Star Wars characters, and previously I found Star Wars steampunk style. Today I have something from the ever popular 'Vs.' genre - it's the dark side of the force vs. the Aliens. These great pictures come from the artist Robert Shane, who lives here.

Old School Star Wars

New School Star Wars

That Was The Week That Was #6

Roll up! Roll up! It's that short weekly round-up that will keep you warm and snug over the weekend ;-) 1. Some lovely looking trolls ripe for RPGing over at Laughing Ferret Lab:

2. Dave King experiments with enamel paints as a primer for a rainy day:

3. There's a thorough discussion of the merits of using a Primaris Psyker as an Imperial Guard HQ choice over at 3++ is the new black - very useful for the traitor IG side of my Genestealer Cult:

Star Wars Characters as 80s High School Students

I'm not entirely sure why, but I really enjoy Star Wars characters as... [fill in the blank]... art. There's something about the ubiquity and recognizeability of these characters that lends them brilliantly to this kind of humorous homage. Here's a really cool set that I found at Geek Tyrant that has the characters as 80s high school students. Watch out for imperial entanglements on the BMX track!  

Dystopian Legions Tanks

Just picked up a few photos of some very cool looking tanks that will be coming out soon as part of the Dystopian Legions 28mm scale system from Spartan Games. As someone who is at serious risk of becoming tank-mech-head, I think these look rather tasty. It looks like the range as a whole would lend itself very nicely to some kind of steampunk Imperial Guard, which would be extremely cool.

Starter Box Chaos Cultist First Picture?

Hopefully this is a genuine leaked picture I've just discovered, with others, over at Dark Future Gaming. The cultists are the models I'm most looking forward too as the Forge World models and conversion sets are rather pricey. If this is real and a fair example of what we'll get in the coming weeks then I'm a very happy boy.

What Scale Is 40k? Some Possible Answers

With all this looking at titans over the past week or so, I've been thinking quite a bit about the scale of models in 40k and in doing so I've come across two very useful articles/sites. Firstly, there's an interesting discussion going on over at From The Warp about 'true scale' models. This has included a second piece about 'true scale' terminator armour, which is available from Three Stage Studios:

Now, I can't understand for one moment why anyone would be so very obsessed with getting the scale of all their toy soldiers to match up quite so precisely, but it does make for interesting reading and it's certainly worth thinking about when matching up models from different manufactures. Which brings me neatly onto the second site that I've been looking at. It's a photo gallery compiled by a chap called Joao Luis (as far as I can tell) and it offers two sections; firstly, a set of images that compares 40k and models of 'real life' vehicles:

And secondly, a set of images that compares 40k with minis other gaming systems:

This site is very helpful, particularly if you're currently thinking of making something from scratch, kit bashing, or simply bringing in something from another company. I've certainly been looking at the DUST walkers for some time, and the picture above demonstrates that they'd work rather well in 40k. Hopefully you'll find something useful on these sites too, and bravo to Joao for putting it all together.

Genestealer Cult - Full Cult-In-Progress

Well dear friends, here is the full cult-in-progress. So from left to right clockwise we have: Psyker Battle Squad with Overseer; Zoat mercenaries (used as Ogryns); Pure-bred Genestealers; two Broodlords; Genestealer Patriarch (Canifex model using Hive Tyrand rules); Genestealer Magus (Primaris Psyker); some Brood Brothers; three Cult Priests.

Plenty still to add, mostly full units of Brood Brothers, and I still need to figure out exactly how to model the hybrids. I also need to work on a basing scheme that builds from the 'industrial' poses that all the Space Hulk Genestealers have.

Another Excellent 40k Titan Using Star Wars And Other Toys

While trawling the web I found this very smart looking model by Beowahr on Cool Mini Or Not. I have to say this has changed my mind and I now think that I will try something very similar to this, rather than a full-on scratch build. A quick image search illustrates that many people have gone down the 'scratch build a warhound' option and pretty much all of them have ended with mediocre-to-poor results. Right, back to eBay...

40K Titan Conversion (1980s Style!)

Thanks to Orlygg for pointing me in the right direction in super quick time and also to Zhu Bajiee for filling in some additional details. Here is the 1980s converted Titan I was looking for yesterday. It's by Tony Cottrell and utilises parts from a Star Wars AT ST walker and a Red Scavenger Zoid. I think the line suggesting it's 'scratch built' is rather misleading considering the heavy use of toys - it's hardly scratch built as I would understand it these days, but hey ho. Actually that point has got me thinking about my own possible effort in the future. I have this idea for a Lords of Decay (Death Guard) Titan that's something like a daemon engine, as in, it's crewed by some foul creature like the Soul Grinder. Early days of course, especially considering I'm not even planning on getting properly started with Lords of Decay until late in the year. I am, however, starting a 'Titan bitz box' to collect useful bits and bobs...

They don't make them like they used to! Tony Cottrell's 'scratch built' Traitor Titan

Star Wars 40k Titan Conversions - Help Needed!

Hey folks, does anyone out there have a picture of a Star Wars scout walker (AT ST) converted into a 40k titan? I remember seeing one a long time ago, way back in the late 80s or early 90s, and I believe it was in a White Dwarf. I've searched the web and all I could find was an interesting discussion on a Tau forum about Star Wars 'counts-as' armies and a rather nifty conversion of the AT AT walker, pictured below:

Converted AT AT

The reason I'm asking is that I took my son to an 'antique' toy store today and the guy there had loads of Star Wars walkers at very reasonable prices - £15 - just as a modelling challenge, I fancy doing a (heavily converted!) homemade titan based on the AT ST: I think it could look rather good as a warhound, perhaps with Forge World weapon arms attached...

Ah, the memories...!

Chaos Space Marine Size/Style Comparison, The Old, The New

People often note or complain about the way that GW models have grown in size over the decades. One of the prime examples are Terminators, who have bulked up significantly over several regenerations. Over the last few days I've been working with some models that buck that trend. Ok, it's not really a fair comparison, as the older set of models actually comes from a board game; namely, Advanced Space Crusade. But a comparison is interesting nonetheless. So here are the before and after photographs:

On the left is one of the Advanced Space Crusade Chaos Marines and the example on the right there is one of the current push-fit Chaos Marines. I'm using both to test out some colour schemes for a Lords of Decay force that I plan to build beginning with the Chaos troops in the 40k starter box. I think the older model holds up rather well - sure, the detail isn't so clear and it seems to be wearing 1970s chaos flares, but it will serve very well as a test model, and might even make it into the final army. 

Chaagmuth The Jaw-Taker - Possible General For Beastmen

My word! This model looks simply stunning - another total winner from BaneLegions, called Chaagmuth the Jaw-Taker. I'm thinking this could be a very fitting general for my Beastmen. Amazing stuff.

Daleks In Flames! The Doctor Returns...

Only a few weeks until the return of the best science fantasy show ever to have graced the small screen - that's right, the Doctor is back and the BBC have just posted this new trailer... prepare for a monstergasum! 

The 'RazorMaw' (Beastmen Razorgor Substitute)

A break from all things genestealer today and a brief return to the depths of the forests of the Old World for the beginning of August. I call this fearsome beast the 'Razormaw' and I'll be using it as a Razorgor substitute with my beastie boys. The sharp eyed among you will recognise that this is a converted Dire Troll Blitzer from Hordes. I simply swapped the little goblin chap with his machine gun for a properly chaotic trophy rack. I based in blue and purple and have been building up flesh shades over the top - I'm really pleased with the effect this has produced and will have to find a place for this across a whole army at some point. I'm just started the process of characteristically stark white highlighting and more careful glazes and washes.