Commissioned Works

James Mangas' Ebon Sons:

This was a pretty basic board, 2 levels with LED flashing lights on the landing pad.

James asked for a simplistic board, featuring a small landing pad with LEDs. His initial request was to have the Imperial Aquila painted on the landing pad, and some little ruins nearby, and a hill of some sort to add some elevation. After some sketches, I threw him the idea of making the hill an Aquila. So we went that route, moving the ruins to the front. I also liked the idea of having the Aquila 'holding' the small landing pad.

Upon delivery, I asked James if I could snap some pics of his figs on the board. He graciously agreed, however, only a few of his figs had any basing at the time, so I didn't get a full on army shot. Hopefully, I can get one in the future to post.






And of course, Mr. Mangas himself with the board...

You know, wearing a shirt that says "Sarcasm" makes it hard to know if you were actually happy with the board... 













Matt Smith's Deathskulls:

This board was a blast to make. Being an Ork player, it was a real pleasure to construct a board for another. What is unfortunate, is that after making this beast, I'm going to have to redo my own board because of just how cool this one turned out. I remember texting Matt 3 days after he asked me to make him the board saying, "It's done." His response I will not share due to his colorful language.

<---Humble Beginnings....

So Matt gave me very little requests other than he wanted a board. He had been playing me at tournaments for several years, and basically said he trusted me with whatever - just build a board. He didn't want LEDs (which was one reason it got done so quickly) although I did put a flickering LED in the crashed Wave Serpent. We both liked the idea of a Burna Boy cutting scrap off of it, so the light is inside the vehicle, right under the burna. (see below)

Like most any board I make, I included some basic elevation changes in the back. For one, it looks nice, and more importantly it allows the viewer to see more of the army unhindered. Matt did have one request - an Ork skull somewhere. For those who are unfamiliar with the 40k fluff of the Ork clans, the Deathskulls icon is of course - an Ork skull. They are also looters without equal. So I also wanted the board to be littered with stolen vehicle hulls and tracks. I did have to stop myself from going overboard though. After all, the main purpose of this board is to hold and display HIS figs.




I wasn't overly happy with the skull shown on the right. I feel now that the bottom of the rock it is carved into is too square. But once again, there will probably be hordes of Orks all over it...




<---  Another pile of scrap. This also serves as a 'defense line' for a unit grab some cover. I felt this side of the front needed something to even out the 'weight' of the front of the board. With the crashed Wave Serpent, and tank scrap on the left, I needed something to make the aesthetic equal out a bit. Most of this was left over 40k building parts from an earlier project, mixed with a toy tank track I had cut up for terrain, and some good ol' plasticard.

Probably my favorite part of the board. What right minded Ork clan doesn't have a storage of fuel. I had recently watched "Mad Max", and the visual of a fuel supply being heavily guarded by Orks was really appealing. Not to mention, the upper platform gives yet another place to display some of the greenskins. The tank was made from part of a space shuttle model I found in the trash probably 8 years ago. Then there is balsa wood, card stock, scrap from old vehicles and pieces from the 40k ruins kits.

David Stark's Ravenwing:

This was a BIG PROJECT! Before I get into the ins and outs of it, I do need to express just how honored I am to have this board request come in. A special thanks goes out to my dear friend Aaron Aleong for posting the project I did for his team tournament, and also to the blog 'The Back 40k' (theback40k.blogspot.com) for featuring that particular set of boards. Shortly after it went online, I get an email from David inquiring about a board for his army. I start up the normal set of questions I typically ask of potential customers, including something along the lines of "where abouts in Indianapolis are you?" David politely responds, "I'm in Washington State". For all of you non-geography majors, that's about 1,900 miles from here. So not only do have to make this thing, but SHIP IT?!! Nervousness sets in...

David had a rather unique idea for his board. He asked how familiar I was with General Custer's Last Stand. I knew a little from general knowledge, and a documentary on the battle. So his idea was to have a center hill surrounded by a Tyranid swarm. I immediately drew up some sketches of a 5 tiered center hill with wreckage here and there, and bugs on the flanks and front.

What made me the most nervous about this project, other than shipping it to someone across the country, was all the painting. I'm not the world's greatest painter by any stretch, so the prospect of painting what boils down to a small army, on top of construction of the board itself was daunting to say the least.

Dave had suggested Hive Fleet Leviathan for the colors, but I ended up painting them more like Hive Fleet Kracken. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the Codex.

I like this picture, lovingly taken by David's wife.      

 Some more pics of the board with Davids' army. Some side notes, there are 3 flickering LEDs in this board. One in each of the wrecked vehicles. Also, David provided all of the 'dead' models, and the bugs! If I had to buy all of those, this board would have been ridiculously expensive. I believe many of the models were either in his collection, used, or acquired by trade.

Below are some of the pics I sent to Dave upon completion of the board, prior to shipping to get his final 'OK'.

Overrunning some Space Marines...












I wanted the ground to be littered with Marines and Tyranids. Some of the bugs are stomped into the ground. I wanted the battle ground to look as if David's Ravenwing army had held this position for a good while.







Reinforcements - too little, too late.

When approaching the Drop Pod, the vision of the opening scene of "Saving Private Ryan" came to mind. I wanted it to appear that the Pod wedged itself against the hill, only allowing the front to open. Then the Space Marines where just chopped down as they tried to disembark.

I was thrilled when David said he'd ship me a Predator with the other miniatures. It too has a flickering LED inside, so through the front visor it appears to be burning. I made sure to add lots of little scratches to the front, as if the Hormagaunts were trying to hack it apart. (Notice the little bugger who failed his 'Death or Glory' attack)
Unfortunately for the crew of the Predator 'Vengeance', the Hive Mind had already dispatched a Carnifex to deal with their ride.


It's a good day to die...








David gives the 'Thumbs Up' as the board made it safe and sound.