Update postponed until Monday

I worked evening shift today and will have morning shift tomorrow, leaving me time to basically sleep and do little else in between. Consequently, I'll post today's update tomorrow.

Space Wolves Legionary in Mk.III Power Armour

I finally received my copy of the Horus Heresy Book VII: Inferno, and am currently reading it through. I did already skim through it once or twice, and am now comfortable to officially start my 30k Space Wolves army (trumpet blast goes here).
Every army needs some basic troops, so I decided to start with a simple Legionary with a bolt pistol and a chainsword.

The core of the miniature is a very simple combination of the Mk.III parts in the Burning of Prospero kit, with a wolf's head over the helmet. This fits well to both the Roman theme of 30k Legions, as well as Space Wolves, specifically. I also took a pommel decoration from the frost blade in the Space Wolves kit and added it to the bolt pistol. I intend to do most of the decorating in the painting stage.

Though I'll start with just the Burning of Prospero miniatures, I'll probably grow my 30k Space Wolves in the future with a full Betrayal at Calth to get some Mk. IV miniatures to go with the Mk. III models. I also intend to expand the army with some Destroyers, as they perfectly fit the VI Legion's modus operandi.

Deathwatch Battle Brother with a Shotgun

I decided to keep building one of my previous Deathwatch squads this time around. The Kill Team kit only includes two shotguns and frag cannons, but considering I have two kits and that it only takes five models to make a squad, that's not really a problem.

The hood and cape in the kit have always reminded me more of Dark Angels than of a Blackshield. I expect the latter would wear either a mask that hides his face entirely, or just trust that he wouldn't be recognisable by his face. Dark Angels, however, have traditionally worn monastic robes over their armour.
I keep going to the same well with the poses fairly often, but adding something under the bent leg just works, especially when the models are holding firearms. The situation is somewhat different with melee poses, as lunges etc. can look a lot more natural in a close combat situation.

I have quite a backlog of models already, and don't know which one I'll finish by next week. However, given Deathwatch's simple colour scheme, this one would be a fairly strong contender.

Eldar Harlequin, painted

Posing Eldar Harlequins is fun. Their theatricality gives even more of a permission to put martial practicality on the backseat and just do what looks good. Furthermore, their bright colours form an interesting contrast with the more muted browns and greys of the bases.

 I still have to find a better way to paint gradients without an airbrush than drybrushing, but it looks fine on single miniature sized models. I used the same method on the model's crest.

I painted the left side of the model's halved face gold, to make sure it looks theatrical enough.
I painted the lozenge shapes on the cloak and limbs by painting a grid on a red background first, blacking out every other rectangle and then drybrushing the area white, focusing more on the bottom areas, then redoing the now faded black rectangles. The end result ended up working better than any masking system I have tried so far.

Eldar Harlequin Skyweaver Jetbike

I'm not a big fan of Craftworld Eldar, nor Dark Eldar, but when they put on clown costumes and become Harlequins, they're suddenly cool. I think it's because they're the only kind of Eldar I can imagine laughing at themselves, as well as anything and everything else. Also, Cegorah is possibly my favourite deity in 40k universe.

I find flyers and skimmers look more interesting when they are banking to one side or another, with the pilot looking slightly to one side. I followed this advice when assembling the jetbike.
I decided to arm the jetbike with a haywire cannon for some anti-armour ability, as even though Harlequins can be armed with sort of melta weapons, blowing up enemy vehicles at point blank range doesn't mix well with fragile and numerically few space clowns.