Stormwall - Complete

Yeah! Look who is large and in charge, its my goddam Stormwall that's who.

This was an epic paint job over a two week period, not as long as you might expect either (I wasnt painting 24/7 by any means). I did learn a couple of interesting lessons while doing this sick puppy and heres my advice for anyone planning on doing one.

Pinning isn't a must. This is 95% held together with just super glue and its been remarkably stable. I only pinned the torso to the hips and one of the arms (The left one, mostly because i'd put the shoulder shield on in an annoying place so the arm wouldn't go flush into the socket).

I also painted it fully assembled and that didn't present too many issues. I either held the model by the base (like a waiter holds a drink tray) or placed my thumb under its groin and another finger on the main smoke stack. (And immediately after typing that word he notices he hasn't done the smoke stacks yet... doh!). The models weight can cause some strain on the wrist after a while though.

The sheer size of the model has its positives and negatives. The massive surface areas mean doing the base coat is really easy, you can be really messy and fast and its still very easy to tidy up as you progress through your paint layers.

The biggest challenge on the model was the areas of white. None of my current Warjacks sport the alternate Cygnar blue/White pattern but I thought it would be great on the Stormwall. With all those big areas you really need something to break the model up so its not just one big blue blob. The white gives the model more space and actually makes it look a little bigger.

The white was done in many layers, starting off white brown, through leather, then bone and finally white. The white was very lightly washed over the joints in the arms and legs to give the highlighting a little more subtlety.

I'm also pleased how well the blue citadel glaze worked on the tesla coils to give them a nice crisp shiny look.

The Stormwall is also a model that lends itself well to weathering effects. A little grime and dirt makes the model more believable and helps break up those massive single colour areas.  I'm very pleased with the mud effects on the feet and knees especially. Nothing looks dirtier than mud flung onto a freshly painted white model. 

And in combat?

Well its been a mixed bag so far. Mainly due to my opponents trying everything in their power to cripple and smash it as soon as possible.

A couple of quick tactical tips I've picked up are.

• Lightning pods are Def 5 and immune to lightning. Other models can target them with lightning attacks that arc and this is a great way to damage stealth units.
• Covering fire can go out to the weapon range, but its almost always better to place them about 2" in front of you so people cant go around them to engage you. (That means you tunnelers!)
• Being in melee doesn't mean you cant shoot. This is important if you in an assassination run and those pow 15 cannons might make a difference between success and failure. 

I'll be taking one to the upcoming tournament and i still don't know what caster i'll use him with.