Finished - Long Fang Wolf Guard

This working single model thing has its ups and downs. My typical pattern is to do minis in groups of 3 or 5. That allows me to assembly line each step. I'll paint all the red then all the black then all the metal. It is really speedy but still takes a day per mini.

Painting one mini at a time wastes a lot of time switching between colors and techniques not to mention the time wasted when waiting for wash or paint to dry. The upside is that I can really focus on making each model unique and individual. 

This Mini was completed in about 10 hours from start to finish. I started with the idea of making a Wolf Guard for the express purposes of attaching him to a Long Fang unit. That goes against what I talked about near the end of this post but not all decisions can be made irrespective of table top tactics. The only real thing that dictated that this mini be a Long Fang was the Cyclone Missile Launcher system. Aside from that (and the wicked long beard), I did not know how this mini was going to turn out. I wanted the missile launcher because it is a sneaky way to add in a move-and-shoot ML to any unit. 

The more astute of you will notice that he is not carrying a typical Cyclone Missile Launcher. That is because it came off an old IG Sentinel model. I know I am not the first to do this particular conversion as Cyclone Missile Launchers only come in the shooty Termie kit and that kit is obsolete now. I've seen other people do some pretty impressive conversions.

A Wolf Guard gets a free power weapon with the purchase of any Terminator armor but that was not going to happen with this mini as the Space Wolf Terminator set only comes with one power weapon. I did not feel up to converting a power weapon so settles on the 5 point upgrade to a Wolf Claw. I really wanted a Frost Ax for the bonus to Strength but with the SW 6th Ed Update and the changes to the rules on power axes of any kind, it was not acceptable not to swing at Initiative. That left Wolf Claw as the last option. The reroll to hit or to wound gives some flexibility in what type of enemy he can take down if the Long Fangs get jumped. It lacks the punch of an ax or Power Fist, but I didn't want to spend more points on an already pricey model.  

I wanted a combi-weapon but also wanted to keep this mini relatively cheap points-wise. I stuck with a Storm Bolter but my ideal outfit for this guy would be the Missile Launcher, a Storm Shield and a Power Fist/Frost Blade. Maybe next time.

I think the overall pose of the model expresses a weary warriors passionlessly mowing down his enemies. The head is barely turned to see the bolter firing. He has a flat-footed stance but with his close combat weapon at the ready. 

Just like the last Wolf Guard, this guy's left shoulder pad (the one with the Crux) is painted in Long Fang colors where as his right is standard Space Wolf heraldry. While writing this, I got a wild hair up me bum and decided that there needs to be more color on these very brown models and painted the plates on the models hips in Long Fang colors. After that was done, I had to go and update the other Wolf Guard. Life is hard. 

I decided to paint any power weapons in a bronze colors and save the blue/metal color for Frost weapons just to keep things clear. The claws turned out OK. It is not clear from the picture, but the whole left arm is a homogeneous color and the blades are not as dark as they look. 

Some of the things that I like best about this model are not evident in the photos. The wolf pelt on the best turned out really great. I am still following the painting with washes technique here but am following it up by hand painting on the Bleached Bone tips on the fur. It is hard but I like how it turns out. Also not seen in the photos is the reverse sideof the pelt which was the base Tallaran Flesh and washed with Dev Mud. With just a little touch up, it looks awesome! 

The hair and beard is painted in Astronomican Grey and then washed with Nuln Oil. After that I hand painted on more Astronomican Grey. This, like the wolf fur, is really hard to get right but the effect is stellar. Because of the overall darkness and brownness of the model, I did not want to use any paints brighter than what I did as to not overpower the composition. I think even what I did was pushing it but I could not paint it any darker. 

The "white" areas are painted Astronomican Grey and then very lightly highlighted with Space Wolf Grey. I stayed away from anything near Skull White for fear of ruining composition. 

I am still struggling with bases. I tried LC's idea of throwing some sprue bits on the base as giant bricks and it worked pretty well. I managed to mess it up pretty well as they looked like the bricks were sitting on top of the sand. I tried to paint some of the texture around the bricks, but I had already washed the base and it all looked strange. I went too heavy on the dry brushing and so the base looks grey and not black. If I were to do things over, I would glue the sprue to the base first and then use the texture paint being sure to build up some around the edges of the base. After that dries and light LIGHT dry brush of grey should be all I have to do. I am of two mind about washing it at all. I just do not know. 

Really what I want to do is a dark red sand base but can't figure out how to do it with the paints I have. I've been looking for a good tutorial for painting Mars sand bases but have not found anything useful. 

Painting those spikes is HARD!

Up next is a Grey Hunter Terminator!