Cuss Toads

 

New year - so a new army is on the radar!

There are many paths that have led me to the Custodes as a new army. It's a funny choice - I don't like their troopers models much (Santa hats? Why?), nor do I like the fluff particularly (they're supposed to be the Emperor's personal guard, so making them available across the universe feels like a stretch to me, but hey! I guess they need to get out once in a while or they'd go nuts). So what drew me to them?

It's the jetbikes. 

Vertus Praetors on their Dawneagles just look cool, and I was very much tempted to get a box purely as a painting project. So there was that. And then Shadow Throne rocked up, hitting me with the lure of a potential second new army, one I was already wobbling on the fence over. And, well, the Woffboot Army Page is short a couple of armies, and I'm nothing if not an OCD completionist. 

(Yes, that's an admission that a GSC army is also on its way, but all things in due course!)

It might not look much from the back...

...but I did paint it! You just need to hit the ignition/use the camera flash.

Blue, White, Silver and Black is my palette for this lot, something cold and dark and glorious. I used some chrome paint for the more decorative silver bits (as opposed to the more ordinary metal on the engine parts), which is a new addition. Great stuff - slop on a thick layer, and you have instant shiny reflections. Not quite as impressive as painting NMM chrome, but a damn sight easier! It goes on top of the matt varnish, so it's a finishing touch, and is protected by gloss varnish itself. But it really looks great - better in real life than my photos, but here's a short video to give an idea of the reflective property. 

For now, these are my original plan - a stand-alone unit to be taken as Imperial allies for Space Marines, Scions or Inquisitors. But they will be joined by others over the next few months, making a small but powerful Vanguard detachment to add extra variance to the house lists. I'm looking forward to digesting the new codex and trying out some stuff, but I have a rough idea of what I'm after (as little as possible, basically!). Be a while before it's ready, mind, but sometime over the next few months. 

Painting Guide:

• Bodywork - matt black, drybrushed with Corax White then edge highlighted with Ulthuan Grey and Matt White, plain Matt Black painted over armour panels to take away the scratchy drybrushing
• Engines - Iron Hands Silver, Nuln Oil, Platemail Metal
• Chrome - Liquid Chrome 20 Year Edition, taken from the 1mm ink marker by pouring it out of the pen and using an old brush to apply. One or two thick coats, let it dry, it's done! I had originally thought of using the fine tipped pen to draw silver swirly designs, but it proved beyond my skill (and very hard to draw on curved surfaces!) but I may come back to this plan later for command units...
• Robes - Dark Blue, Drakenhof Nightshade wash, Marine Blue and Crystal Blue highlights
• White - Corax White, Drakenhof Nightshade Wash, Ulthan Grey and Matt White highlights
• Crystals - Matt White, Yellow Ink, Seraphim Sepia and Agrax washs, Daemonic Yellow and Moonshine highlights
• Screens - Green shading starting with Incubi Darkness and using a variety of Cabal Green, Neon Green and Neon Yellow to build up images or glow
• Leather - Rhinox and Nuln Oil, layered with Gorthor Brown, Sylvanian Brown and Terminatus Stone drybrushes
• Flesh - Fur Brown, Reikland Fleshshade, Tanned Flesh then Barbarian Skin
• Power Blades - Ahriman Blue blended up towards Matt White in a lightning-ish pattern
• Bases - PVA and Sand with various stones, Iron Oxide and Old Rust weathering powders slopped over then blended in with water, drybrushed with Tau Light Ochre and Desert Yellow, finished with a bit of Platemail Metal on the various debris and some Marsh Tufts from Army Painter
  

Speaking of which - Hobbypocalypse! It's a thing, a particularly cool one, and it's back for a second season. I'm not really taking part officially myself (funds), but perhaps you should be, dear reader? Check it out for some top content and a great way to incentivise your progress!