Space Marines and Imperial Militarum

09 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in Finished Work, Imperial Guard, Space Marines

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So it’s been a bit quiet from me in December.  December is a busy month for us all, but I got some painting done.  I finished two things since I last posted, and to tell the truth I’m not really happy with either of them.  In neither case do I think I’ve improved on my earlier work.  Still, that’s not the end of the world and after a week or two of them sitting on my shelf I’ve decided to add them to the blog anyway.

First up is another Steel Guard tactical squad.  This is 4th Company I Tactical Squad.  Led by Veteran Sergeant Sakhalin, a lovely Rogue Trader era mini, mostly this squad are old plastics.

Sakhalin. Would you believe I didn't notice those stray strands of grass when taking the photos!

Sakhalin. Would you believe I didn’t notice those stray strands of grass when taking the photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After reading a comments conversation on someone else’s blog, I painted the edges of the bases brown this time and I have to admit that I think this is the best way of basing I’ve seen so far.

The scale problems of mixing parts are shown here. I'm not especially bothered as I don't think it's a deal breaker but I know some people disagree.

The scale problems of mixing parts are shown here. I’m not especially bothered as I don’t think it’s a deal breaker but I know some people disagree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hated the 2nd Edition Box Set Space Marines when I was a kid. Compared to the RT metal minis and the wonderful mix-n-match RTB01 they seemed lifeless and dull. But as unit fillers they are a pleasure to paint.

I hated the 2nd Edition Box Set Space Marines when I was a kid. Compared to the RT metal minis and the wonderful mix-n-match RTB01 they seemed lifeless and dull. But as unit fillers they are a pleasure to paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

squad2

The complete squad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a unit of Imperial Guard.  I’m more used to painting traitors and cultists, and found this lot hard work.  The unit consists of a standard bearer and his bodyguards, and 2 heavy weapons squads.  Mostly these are Rogue Trader models.  I am a huge fan of the RT plastic Guardsmen – though when I was a kid I thought the very boring.  The injured guard is a great sculpt, a real pleasure to paint.  The guard with the plasma gun had damage to his face which I have tried to paint as a scar, with only limited success.  I hate painting eyes – the good eyes in this unit, on the missile launcher guard, were done by the original owners.

standard bearerlauncherinjured

Wrong Way Urk, Space Ork Pirate… Oldhammer Ahoy!

01 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by in Finished Work, Oldhammer Challenges, Orks

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Wrong Way Urk is a fearless Space Pirate.  He’s mean, he’s tough, he’s not afraid to pull a man’s entrails out through their own bumhole.  The knife of his is feared wherever hygiene is respected.  The smell of his breath is a weapon in its own right, and even by the standards of other greenskins his body odour is remarkable.  But if Urk can be said to have a weakness, its that he really, really thinks he’s a better navigator than he is….

 

never let this guy map read.

never let this guy map read.

Steel Guard II Company – complete SM company!

10 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by in Finished Work, Space Marines

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As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I finished painting the whole 2nd Company of the Steel Guard.  Actually, when I laid them all out to photo them I discovered I’d actually painted 11 squads!  Not sure how you can miscount squads of Space Marines but I achieved it.

I posted the pics of the Rogue Trader period miniatures already, I think they make a wonderful little warband.  But here’s the whole lot.  Warning!  Modern Space Marines included 😀

 

The whole lot!

The whole lot!

 

This is the newest squad. I have started making scenic bases for them.

This is the newest squad. I have started making scenic bases for them.

This RT chap makes a great assault sergeant.

This RT chap makes a great assault sergeant.

Based around a damaged mid-period Calgar miniature I converted this captain to be a close-combat monster.

Based around a damaged mid-period Calgar miniature I converted this captain to be a close-combat monster.

The gulf in quality between the earlier and later marines is huge. One of the best things about this hobby is being able to watch yourself improve.

The gulf in quality between the earlier and later marines is huge. One of the best things about this hobby is being able to watch yourself improve.

This sergeant is from Dark Vengeance. Next to him is a Rogue Trader plastic.

This sergeant is from Dark Vengeance. Next to him is a Rogue Trader plastic.

This techmarine is one of my earliest conversions. I found painting red really tricky.

This techmarine is one of my earliest conversions. I found painting red really tricky.

In the end I fixed upon using the astronomical icon for 'comet' as their insignia.

In the end I fixed upon using the astronomical icon for ‘comet’ as their insignia.

I tried out different iconography as I went along.

I tried out different iconography as I went along.

Rogue Trader Marines Warband

26 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by in Finished Work, Space Marines

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I’ve recently finished painting the final squad of the Steel Guard 2nd Company.  Well, I finished it a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t get around to photographing it until today.  But if you want to see what an entire company looks like you’re going to have to wait another day or two.  First of all I am indulging the spirit of Rogue Trader and Oldhammer.

 

Presented below is a Rogue Trader Marine Army (with a few 2nd ed. marines hanging out too).  These are all the RT-era Marines in the company.  I know the photo isn’t very well taken, but I reckon this would look damn fine on the tabletop.  I hope you agree!

Oh, a squat warlord and a servitor have slipped in there too.  Just because that’s what happens in Rogue Trader.

RTMarines1 RTMarines2 RTMarines5 RTMarines6 RTMarines3 RTMarines4

Snagabog’s Bugz – Ork-Genestealer Hybrids

17 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by in Finished Work, Orks

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Now this is a squad I’m pleased with.  As part of my ongoing project to create an army of Freebooterz, one mob of each type, I present Snagabog’s Bugz.

These were a lot of fun to paint, and aside from the actual Genestealers that I think I should redo, I am well chuffed with how they turned out.   I enjoyed making use of various Gaunt bodies from my bits box to make these, I’m sure some purists will argue that termagaunts and hormagaunts aren’t Genestealer but to them I say piffle!  Snagabog and palDa Bugz

excuse the purestrains, i was trying to learn about zenith painting!

excuse the purestrains, i was trying to learn about zenith painting!

termabrid

Model picked in homage to another OG hybrid freebooter!

Model picked in homage to another OG hybrid freebooter!

hormabrid and termabrid

The Tyrant Of Badab!

16 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by in Chaos, Finished Work

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This is an example of a miniature that I gave up on.  Huron here was sitting on my painting desk for weeks.  After the initial layers of boltgun metal and gold I was quite happy, i thought it looked good.  But as I painted on the various details I felt that it was getting away from me, and I never recaptured it.  So I did his face (also not happy with that) and based him and decided that I’d come back to it another time!

Despite not being an oldhammer model, I’m still a fan of this model, but painting it… well, it’s a bit too busy!

 

The Tyrant Of Badab

The Tyrant Of Badab

Battlemasters Chaos Lord

14 Friday Aug 2015

Posted by in Battlemasters, Chaos, Finished Work

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It’s been a while since I’ve completed anything I’ve liked enough to post here, but I’m happy enough with this.  I think the horse is better than the rider, I enjoyed learning to do the horse.  I’ve never been happy with any horses before but this time I looked at a How To Paint Horses from an old White Dwarf and this is the result.

 

Chaos Lord Chaos Lord Chaos Lord

The Alpha Legion warband of Thorfinn The Bloody Furious.

28 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by in Chaos, Finished Work

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I am currently working on another unit of cultists.  Over the last couple of years my cultists have become more like Traitor Guard and less like the first 10 miniatures out of the box painted as cultists!  I am increasingly interested in making a proper traitor army using oldhammer models, and less interested in using whatever models are to hand to make a meatshield to go alongside my Alpha Legion marines.  Of course, if I stop making that side of the army, I might as well try a different flavour of Chaos Space Marines too.  And lo! it was decided that my Alpha Legion army was complete

The next twenty or so photos show off this army in its completeness.  I’m pretty pleased with it, but there are some problems.  First of all, and most obviously, quality control.  Included in this army are many of the earliest miniatures I ever painted and so the quality of painting is simply pretty low (even by my standards).  Secondly, I never found an Alpha Legion colour-scheme that I was entirely satisfied with, so there are lots of variations on blue-with-green-and-silver-trim.  Thirdly, the style of the cultists is all over the shop.  Early in my painting hobby I liked the idea of the cultist gangs being a mix of soldiers, civilians, mutants, human chaos champions and magicians, etc etc.  So basically it was a bit of an anything goes, lots of fantasy miniatures with guns.  Later on I decided that this style wasn’t really working and so the cultists became a bit more themed, with only the odd mutation here and there.

Less talk and more pictures.  At 6th ed. prices there’s just over 4000 points here.  HYDRA DOMINATUS!

 

The whole army - mutants and assault squads to the front, cultists next, then CSMs, with the bosses and the artillery at the back.

The whole army – mutants and assault squads to the front, cultists next, then CSMs, with the bosses and the artillery at the back.

 

Tsunami of mutants! The eagle-eyed might spot a genestealer hybrid in there.

Tsunami of mutants! The eagle-eyed might spot a genestealer hybrid in there.

 

CSM Assault! Chaos Terminators, Chaos bikers, and loads of (incredibly hard to paint) Possessed Chaos Space Marines. I'm also very pleased with the Vindicator with it's dragon skull on the barrel.

CSM Assault! Chaos Terminators, Chaos bikers, and loads of (incredibly hard to paint) Possessed Chaos Space Marines. I’m also very pleased with the Vindicator with it’s dragon skull on the barrel.

 

Chaos Rough Riders! My first conversion work, very rough but you gots to learn somewhere.

Chaos Rough Riders! My first conversion work, very rough but you gots to learn somewhere.

 

Frenzied Mutant Mob! You can see how I just threw everything in there. I've now decided that if I've got a couple of Dark Elves they can be part of a ROC warband rather than a 40k one.

Frenzied Mutant Mob! You can see how I just threw everything in there. I’ve now decided that if I’ve got a couple of e.g. Dark Elves they can be part of a ROC warband rather than shoehorned into a 40k one.

 

Possessed and Vindicator

Possessed and Vindicator.  Both are very differently challenging models to paint.

 

A dastardly psyker and his cultist retinue.

A dastardly psyker and his cultist retinue.

 

A Sentinal, piloted by a crazed cultist. I love these egg-walkers!

A Sentinal, piloted by a crazed cultist. I love these egg-walkers!

 

A commissar has turned to chaos. Oh such heresy! His quad include an Heroquest elf and a Blood Bowl Chaos Cheerleader!

A commissar has turned to chaos. Oh such heresy! His quad include an Heroquest elf and a Blood Bowl Chaos Cheerleader!

 

Another Chaos Sorcerer and his bodyguard of foolish cultists.

Another Chaos Sorcerer and his bodyguard of foolish cultists.

 

Alpha Legion Tactical Squads.

Alpha Legion Tactical Squads.

Uncle PusHugs, my Great Unclean One.

Uncle PusHugs, my Great Unclean One.

 

Big Moo. Big Moo is a Chaos Spawn, made huge and idiotic and deadly by the warping power of chaos. I really liked painting and converting this model.

Big Moo. Big Moo is a Chaos Spawn, made huge and idiotic and deadly by the warping power of chaos. I really liked painting and converting this model.

 

"DIE YUPPY SCUM"

“DIE YUPPY SCUM”

 

The Bosses: Muriel The Cancerous, Great Megarhyssa, Thorfinn, and the Slimequeen.

The Bosses: Muriel The Cancerous, Great Megarhyssa, Thorfinn, and the Slimequeen.

 

Thorfinn and the Slimequeen, beloved of Nurgle!

Thorfinn and the Slimequeen, beloved of Nurgle!  The bunker behind is a card Battle Bunker from White Dwarf magazine in about 1994.

 

Mark IV Chaos Dreadnought. One of the first miniature I painted!

Mark IV Chaos Dreadnought. One of the first miniatures I painted!

 

Chaos Sorcerer Magdi and his familiar Vissel The Possessed. Confession time, Vissel is a conversion that came in a lot I bought on ebay and i liked him so much I didn't touch him.

Chaos Sorcerer Magdi and his familiar Vissel The Possessed. Confession time, Vissel is a conversion that came in a lot I bought on ebay and i liked him so much I didn’t touch him.

 

More Chaos Space Marines. I love the early Rogue Trader Renegades and in the next army am going to try and increase the ratio of early CSMs to modern ones.

More Chaos Space Marines. I love the early Rogue Trader Renegades and in the next army am going to try and increase the ratio of early CSMs to modern ones.

 

CSM Chosen from the Dark Vengeance box-set. Fantastic models but this is a shonky paintjob.

CSM Chosen from the Dark Vengeance box-set. Fantastic models but this is a shonky paintjob.