Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Morning all. I've been thinking about starting a vanilla marine army for a while. Vanilla marines don't get enough love IMO. I acquired a bunch of plastic SMs a while back in a donation. So I've spent a little while making a hombrew chapter. Homebrew chapters rule. I'll use this Thread to collate ideas, discuss them with the community and try not to forget them

The Lions Rampant.



I don't have too much fluff, other than they're to be based around English Kings and heraldric history starting with the Norman Invasion, with particular detail added to the Crusades. They army colour will be yellow, as I like yellow.
The chapter badge is a white Lion Rampant on a dark red background. The play style, inspired by the crusading knights of the 10th-14th centuries will be footslogging and reliant on heavy siege machinery. This particular bit of fluff was invented after I decided I wanted Vindicators. We're gonna have some Ironclads too. Oh and lightning claw Terminators, becuase it will look Liony.

Yes I know, I've invented a chapter which wears yellow and favours siege techniques.

So here's some images to get you going...


These are the suggested paint jobs, with the Tac on the left, and Vets on the right. Vets will be assembled using DA veteran boxes, and the BT upgrade sprues, for all your knighty goodness. Probably red robes.


Here's the first (test) tac marine, and the start of the first tac Sgt. I like the beardy head, looks very medieval. The legs are chaos legs, pared back to look like an old Mk. of PA. The top two are shot with flash, the bottom two without. I'm using my 8mp camera on my phone, but I'm shooting on a duvet with the TV for light, so not ideal.

The paint recipe is pretty esoteric. The yellow is Iyanden Darksun base, washed with Leviathan Purple. Painted back up to Darksun, then highlighted. Chips done in a 50/50 mix of Knarloc Brown (?) and Black. Red is Mechrite Red, shaded with black in varying percentages. Obviouslt these are both test models and have no fine details such as eyes done yet - that's all to come. I'm bidding on another set of tacticals on eBay, I want to try and make this army for a crazy low budget. So far I've spent nothing as the models were donations/bitz box and even the paints were donated.

Sgts, Veterans, Ironclad Dreads and anyone important will use these heads from Scibor, which I bought in advance, Terminators will wear these shoulderpadsl:


I'm planning on using the Emperor's Champion as the basis if my Relic Blade-wielding Captain.
Armorcast do perfect transfers for these guys too, so it should be a breeze hopefully.

Expect slow, sloooow updates though.

Those shoulder pads will look amazing! Im curious to see what those heads will look like painted up. Good luck with the build!

Hmm looking good. Your theme is little bit bright for my taste but I still like it.

Thanks chaps. Well here's a few bashes of another two troops for my first tactical squad. We have a PF-armed Sgt, with one of the Scibor heads, along with a flamer dude, made out of some old metal marine.



The flamer is half chaos, half IG! You can see how old some of my bits are from looking at these two images. I'm hoping this will make for a fairly interesting-looking army. I have quite a few CSM bits, so will be trimming them down and mixing them in too. The Sgt's legs are repositioned Beserker legs.

There are closer images of each dude in my Gallery if you're interested.

Well, due to the riotous response, I thought I'd update this thread with some painting progress. Combat squad finished, complete with flamer dude and Sgt w/PF. In retrospect, I think I would be better off arming the Sgts with Bolters, rather than bolt pistols.

Each marine was painted slightly differently, as I'm still working on my recipe. But you get an idea of the direction I'm heading, eh?





I've only got two tactical marines left, meaning this squad will need to be bolstered with some marines scrounged out of the bitz boxes of my mates , including the ML marine.

They are very nice. I like the shading on the shoulderpads.

Looking forwards to see the Scibor parts on the actual models.

Looking pretty snazzy

Oh, thank God. Those test marines really were just quick tests. I was afraid for a moment that you were going to waste this idea on an army painted to that standard! Seeing your first real batch of marines, though, I can see that all is well. Agreed with Enzephalon - the shading is quite striking, especially on the red pads. Looking forward to seeing some models with the Scibor heads painted up.

Cheers oadie - You should note that the photo is about 25x normal size for a marine, so the paint will look sketchy up close. But yeah, they were just quick colour tests.

I'm not really planning on the standard of painting being super-awesome, it will be good tabletop standard, but the characters and sergeants will be a bit nicer. I'm planning on finishing the tacs I have lying around, then as a treat I'm painting up the lion head Sgt., so keep checking back.

Thanks Silver, seing how I've never painted a marine before, It's going OK. I actually thought it would be easier than this, but the dull yellow I've chosen is really hard to highlight. The shoulderpads are blended, which is something new for me, I'll be getting some Micro Sol/Set too, which will be a new skill to learn.

Okay - some progress. My AoBR tacticals arrived a week ago. Jeez, is it me or do the casts on those SUCK?! Mine were full of mould lines and require a ton of cleaning, some of which I missed unfortunately. Defianately the worst GW casts in a long time, but then I guess they are kinda bargain basement models after all.

I finished stripping my ancient plastic marines. The detail on those little guys is so soft and undefined, which is really different from these new sculpts, which are veru nice.



And here's the painting progress as of today. I plan to finish the tacs this weekend / next week then will prime and paint the special guys separately, so I can take my time with them.



I'm looking for an Emperor's Champion (the normal one, not the expensive rare one) to stand in as my captain. If anyone wants to get rid of one I've got plenty of stuff to trade. I'm thinking perhaps of building one out of some new BA parts though, as they have fancy armour. If anyone has some spare BA bits they'd like to donate, I'd be most appreciative.

They look good. Nice scheme. I'm a fan of the Vanilla Marines.

My only comment is that if you were looking for a medieval heraldic theme ... your seem a bit lacking. Maybe some loin clothes or a flag bearer or something. Cavalry (on bikes) with capes would be skitz.

I actually purchased those Lion shoulder pads from Scribor yesterday. Haven't received them yet but they look awesome.

Do they fit well? I'm looking forward to upgrading a few of my command units. I'm keen to see a pic of them on the model to get an idea of size and fit.

Thanks. Yeah the theme is missing. I do however plan to add a lot more pennants and banners to the tactical squads - As I have loads of old school models I have loads of back banners and such. My Sternguard veterans will be all decked out in robes and so forth, so it will come. The dreads and vehicles will most likely we well-decorated. I don't want to go overboard - all too-often do you see homebrew chapters going crazy with the theme. Thanks for the support - I wanted vanilla marines rather than just choosing a top-tier codex and fitting my army around a killer list.

The scibor pads are big. They suit Terminator arms better than PA arms, but could make a Chapter Master or someone look very regal wearing one. They're a bugger to fit onto arms though. I don't recommend dremeling or filing the resin to fit - you're likely to wreck the pad. Instead, your best bet is to shave and file the plastic shoulder down to fit it to the pad. I've done a couple of tests and they look sick.

great looking stuff on display here,i love the beardy marine he looks like he's howling at the moon(to me anyway).im looking forward to seeing some terminators with the lion head shoulder pad.

Tek wrote:The scibor pads are big. They suit Terminator arms better than PA arms, but could make a Chapter Master or someone look very regal wearing one. They're a bugger to fit onto arms though. I don't recommend dremeling or filing the resin to fit - you're likely to wreck the pad. Instead, your best bet is to shave and file the plastic shoulder down to fit it to the pad. I've done a couple of tests and they look sick.

Good to know. Thanks for the intel. Have been planning a Librarian, Chaplain or Captain in Terminator Armour so should suit well.

Looking forward to seeing some more pics of your army.

Love the scheme!
The bearded head is even better.

Conandoodle wrote:Have been planning a Librarian, Chaplain or Captain in Terminator Armour so should suit well.

Should indeed. I'm planning the same thing, but I'll be trying a PA captain. Thanks dudes, I was due to be getting an Ironclad, but that plan looks to be delayed now.

can i request that you post a pic of a termie with the lion shoulder pads on? i've been considering buying some of the pads but the few pics i've seen make them look absolutely comicly huge on even truescale marines and i'm worried that the same will be true even for bulkier terminator figs.

Looks great. I am not a fan of the bearded head myself but thats just me. You are rocking him out so keep up the good work! Get those BT/BA bits so you can flavor up these boys!

warboss wrote:can i request that you post a pic of a termie with the lion shoulder pads on? i've been considering buying some of the pads but the few pics i've seen make them look absolutely comicly huge on even truescale marines and i'm worried that the same will be true even for bulkier terminator figs.

Here here .. post a pic sir! I want to see your awesomeness.

Also post a pic of your hot sister .. if you don't have one .. just download a pic off a random website and claim a genetic bond.

i like what you have goin on here. I was going to make my own sucesser chapter to Dark Angels names the order of the lion...or somethin like that. I'd like to see what you do with the scibor bits and stuff. Can't wait to see whats next ^_^

subbed to this, looks great! So gla that you aren't following the usual animal themed therefore = space wolves...
Go Vanilla marines!!

OK - bit of an update. In a measure of motivation, I joined ArbitorIan's Tale of Four Gamers, which has been working to keep me painting and getting this army moving. Go and check out the thread for some awesome armies from your favourite UK Dakkanauts!

Here's some LC Assault Terminators, with the Scibor resin shoulder pads. You can see how MASSIVE they are, but I personally think they look winner on these guys. I was disappointed to see a lack of banner pole in the Assault Termies box, despite the illustration in the instructions. Luckily I have a good-sized on from some age-old terminator kicking about.




Speaking of age-old terminators, here's my Terminator Librarian. I had no intentions to add this guy into the army, but the model is wicked IMO and I convinced my mate Benny (who owns the model) that I should paint it and he suggested using it in the Lions. Easy decision. I needed to repostion the arms to make him less static, and I added a banner which I freehanded on. This is my first ever attempt so I'm pretty chuffed, and will be doing more throughout the army.



Very little progress on the tacs. Trying to get them painted and based now, for the TOFG.

Hey great thread Tek, really nice modeling and painting, love the mix of old and new model types, and the idea to do this all on a budget! Great progress so far, well done, keep it up! (subscribed)

Gotta love scibor. The progress is looking good, keep posting asap!

Tek wrote:Here's some LC Assault Terminators, with the Scibor resin shoulder pads. You can see how MASSIVE they are, but I personally think they look winner on these guys. I was disappointed to see a lack of banner pole in the Assault Termies box, despite the illustration in the instructions. Luckily I have a good-sized on from some age-old terminator kicking about.

wow, they really are alot bigger than i thought. they still look cool but seeing them on actualy models has changed my opinion on which ones look cooler. i used to like the organic lion ones more but now prefer the more stylized metallic lion instead.

Tek, great stuff. It seems you have an good idea and you are letting grow organically, it will be easy for you to go back and touch up or add details/ replace models as required. Those Termies look brilliant, very broad of shoulder, almost like the Mane of a Lion.

Thanks dudes! The army has been taking a back seat for a few weeks really, even after joining the TOFG, I am finding it hard to get motivated. I recently got a job as at a model makers in London, and spend all day (and 10-hour days at that!) cutting, filing, gluing and painting small things. When I get home the last thing on my mind is doing the same.

Thanks to you mwnciboo - I've been following your army for a long time, and truly appreciate feedback from people whom I judge to be my peers in the community

I have done a few small jobs on the tacs, nothing big enough to warrant more pics - I am dead-set to get this army finished though. I'm still desperataly after a Grey Knights Emperor's Champion - no-one seems to want to trade one, and I don't feel like paying any more than 6 quid for one.

Once the two troops choices are painted and based, I'll update the blog. I'm thinking of a bone-like colour for the termies, sort of like white lions, marking them as elite. Plus is sort of hints at perhaps some link to the DA, which is somehting suggested by the name and livery of the chapter.

Anyway, it's late and I'm tired. Catch you later Dakka.

UPDATES!!

Well, I officially win round one of the ToFG, surely?! Only three(?) months late. Here's 500 completed points. 2x 10-man tac squads, free flamer and ML - Captain w/ Artificer Armour, Relic Blade and Storm Shield. Cool.



Here's some closeups of each unit:


Focus is a bit off on the second one, eh?



Also, aside from that I've scratchbuilt a Terminator Chaplain - these guys are sick, and I needed one. Any guesses on the bitz?


Here's my test scheme for the "Lionwing" terminators. What do you think? Shall I stick with the bone, or do them yellow?

Scibor Pads are freaking cool.

I'm doing some terrain for a mate this week, and in payment he's giving me a linebreaker squadron, so that's another score for the free army! I've paid thirty-three quid for this army so far, and so far it's looking good!

Your army is great. That yellow is painted very well. Your scratch built Terminator Chaplain is very nice. Keep up the good work.

chaplin:
chaos termie legs, thunder hammer arm, icon from cod building, chaos bits (skulls, etc), iron halo (ven. dread?), deathwing shoulder do-hickey, skull head from chaos frame?

these look great. keep the termies that colour, they look good!