Category: Hobby

Okay, I was saving this bad boy for some better filters, a high end camera, and perhaps a professional film studio. But given it’s author week, I’m bringing out the biggest and the baddest in my modeling collection. THE WARHOUND TITAN

The Mars Pattern Warhound Titan is the largest model in my collection, and yes, it was all hand painted by me. Armed with a Vulcan Mega Bolter and a Plasma Blast Cannon, this beast is a bane to both light and heavy infantry, wiping out entire battlefield of them on it’s own. However, without anti-vehicle support, it is vulnerable to other heavy walkers and anti-armor.

There are several things about this Warhound that make it incredibly unique. First, it is done up in the sigils, signs, and colors of the Imperial Inquisition, (which in itself would be heresy, but I don’t care). Next, the exterior is done up with one layer of red paint and SEVERAL layers of red ink, giving it that bright metallic sheen, without covering the whole thing in lacquer. It was a technique I discovered by accident, and would love to use again, however, sadly, inks are not often sold for painting anymore. Finally, the entire interior is painted, which is rare for most models, but especially huge ones like this titan. Though not the most flattering picture, it’s real beauty is best seen in the close ups, as the sheer size of the thing is very difficult to capture with my current photo setup.

As you can see, the drivers and Titan Princeps are completely painted. (Yes, that is a kilt he’s wearing). Many hobbyists who even own one of these beasts don’t paint the insides, as its easy to glue the armor over the interiors and hide them, (and the external is plenty enough for many to paint!). However, I always go above and beyond on such projects because I see no point in having such a grand piece if you’re not going to to do the best with it you absolutely can.

The reactor and servitors aren’t as flashy as the cockpit, are usually hidden by the overhead engine fans, and require more work than any other interior portion. So, even I was wondering whether or not they were worth doing. In the end, I caved to my pride, and did it anyway. In certain games, it’s possible to use this area as a small battleground to wrest control of the titan, or blow it up.

Now, I know I’ve been going on about how big this thing actually is, so to give a size comparison, I placed a few scale miniatures next to it, along with a common run-of-the-mill Pepsi can.

Real Sugar! I mean… imagine painting that beast and all it’s details. At it’s right foot, you see a light walker and a few infantry (that it can smash), and at it’s left you see a Leman Russ battle tank, currently the second largest standard size battle tank in the game. (Land Raiders are the largest, and I own three of them, but you’ll just have to wait until later to get a look at those beauties) For those about to extoll the grandeur of the Baneblade, I did say “standard”.

So there you have it. One of the grandest pieces I own. I have others, such as dragons, walkers, and airplanes, that rival it in terms of scope and being centerpieces on the hobbyist battlefield, but this is easily my largest project to date. Deep down I want to get another one, but I don’t have the $700 to burn, and even if I did, Forgeworld stopped selling it’s counterpart, the Lucius Pattern variant, some time ago, and aren’t likely to ever bring it back. It’s place as the largest walker in the 40K modeling range has also since been taken by the Warlord Titan, a massive mech more human in appearance and more than twice the Warhound’s size. Regardless, it remains one of the most precious models in my collection, and I am glad I got to share it with all of you.

It’s hobby day! Above is a picture of my recently established hobby corner. It’s a bit of a mess, but then again, a hobby area that isn’t a mess is a hobby area that isn’t being used. Could it be larger? Sure, but it’s the right size right now, and I’ll continue to show things off as they are moved and added. Right now though, let’s discuss the hobby in general.

I collect, assemble, and paint model soldiers. Call it what you will, I feel it’s a great activity for the artistically inclined. Though not as popular as it was during the days of model trains and paper gliders, it has had many ups and downs over the years as companies come and go, but seems to be on the path of a slow and steady revival. It may never be as mainstream as video games have become, but I find it far more fulfilling completing a real project than killing yet another digital monster in the newest MMO. Not that I have anything against video games per se, but I have never been able to express myself through them to the same level as I can with this. Want to paint a train pink? Paint that train pink! Want to model that airplane your flying after the Red Baron? Go for it! Want to make an army of furries? Well… yes, you can do that to. That’s not to say there aren’t some limitations. A collection isn’t a collection if you aren’t actually collecting something, so the majority of us are limited by the canvas we buy, aka, the types of models and manufactures we choose to use. Much of my stuff currently is from Games Workshop, but recently a number of smaller companies such as Mantic, Privateer Press, and CoolMiniOrNot have begun carving out their shares of the market, and I have been taking a long hard look at them as well. More on those in another post.

Right now however, much of my stuff is still being set up, so I do not yet have a display for taking pictures. I am also currently at work making terrain and scenery to take those pictures with, as models, no matter how well painted, just don’t look that great on a kitchen table under a simple camera flash. That setup will take time, which unfortunately I don’t have a lot of, but as a treat, and to give an idea of what I work with, I have taken a few snaps of a terrain piece I’m currently finishing to be used in games, displays, and photographs for later.

Yes, it doesn’t look like much right now, a dusty temple ruin just leaving the assembly stages, but all of it was made by scrap pieces I had lying around, stuff from movement trays, modeling and railroad sand, and blocks from hirstarts. It will look great once painted, and yes, that is a Space Marine chapter master in the center there.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the Tyranids like it too much, as they ambush this patrol in the middle of the night.

-Allan B. Anderson