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Haven't taken pics of my deathwatch in a while. There's a local tournament coming up so this is the 1500 point army I'll be running, I had been running them as white scars for a while so I decided to try ultramarine traits. It's pretty much undeniable that tigerius is a massive badass and as such I'm running a count as tigerius. Based off a fantasy sorcerer model, I wanted to make an inquisitor who is also an incredibly powerful psyker who doesn't mind colouring between the lines to amplify his powers. I made sure to put some eldar tech on him for that ordos xenos feel. I'm still not a massive fan of the devastator centurions but I did warm up to the models a lot when I realized you could build them without the iron kilts. I also didn't use the pipe pieces that go around the heads, I found they looked more "space marine" without those bits. The stalker's icarus array is really cool, I wasn't much of a fan of the rest of the tank so i just went with doing up the top portion on regular rhino chassis. I used hunter turrets as a starting point for the rezorback turrets. I'm really happy with how those came out.

Tigerius is scary broken, when you get a certain mixture of powers him and the devs end up being just absurdly good.

If you're wondering why my dudes don't have the super friends thing goin on with the other shoulder pads, the reason is that I'm not a fan of that look, I consider these guys to be "black shields", marines who have pledged themsevles completely to the ordos xenos. I find all the interpersonal "they're all from different chapters, DRAMA" stuff just sorta distracts too much from the cool 40k "men in black" alien hunting badassery. From the start I really wanted my deathwatch to seem as high tech as possible, I tried to get as many scopes, auspex's, signum backpacks as possible. I wanted as many eye pieces and augmetic upgrades as I could get my hands. I've never been a fan of red bolters for kill teams, in fact I prefer the deathwatch artwork where they're portrayed pretty monochromatic. It may seem like heresy to some but i just find some of the artwork where the original chapter heraldry is displayed fairly prominently and fully saturated colour the marine or marines just start looking like they're covered in nascar adds. It just seems too absurd even for 40k.

This image here really inspired the army's paint scheme:


Gold didn't really work so I axed that.

This army is in truth in no way fluffy by most traditional metrics. What I mean by that is it's not just a bunch of kill teams being lead by an inquisitor or librarian. In truth though deathwatch don't really operate at a huge scale too often so even really making an entire army around them is a bit of a stretch. The concept of this list if I were to "forge a narrative" would be how deathwatch fight in the open with not much expectation of cover. I see the army as likely ferried into battle by a thunderhawk lifter and a single stormraven. It's a force designed to hold ground but still able to be redployed rapidly.To ensure it can hold ground there's high priority for long range firepower, a lot of ap 2. If you're constantly battling it out with nasty xenos it's good to know whether or not some of the most potent weaponry available to astartes forces are able to make a dent in the enemy. The arny basically gunlines, combat squads use the razorbacks for cover. The thunderfire and the dev centurions are usually at the center of the line using the stalker for mobile cover. The terminators deep strike for disruption where it's needed. The talon does double duty prosecuting priority ground/air targets. I like how the army plays but it's very static, I find the way objective deployment works in 6th has made it far too easy to castle at times.

Very nice!

Very crisp and clean style on the black, really digging the way the army looks! Well done sir

My only critique would be that none of the marines have their parent chapter represented on their right shoulder. I love the fact that the Deathwatch can have so many different Marine chapters represented in their ranks.

Hope to see more of the force in the near future. Thanks for sharing it.

Take it easy.

-Red__Thirst-

 Red__Thirst wrote:
Very crisp and clean style on the black, really digging the way the army looks! Well done sir

My only critique would be that none of the marines have their parent chapter represented on their right shoulder. I love the fact that the Deathwatch can have so many different Marine chapters represented in their ranks.

Hope to see more of the force in the near future. Thanks for sharing it.

Take it easy.

-Red__Thirst-

I think he mentioned that were supposed to be the "I PLEDGE MY FETHING ALLEGIANCE FULLY TO THE INQUISITION" type of marines, so that might be why they aren't displaying shoulder pads. I could be totally wrong though.

Anyway, I think they look awesome. Legit, clean, crisp work man. Keep it up

They're supposed to keep the chapter emblem so as not to upset the machine spirit of their armour aren't they?

I really like the scuffing and scratches on the dozer blades. Nice touch!

The black shields are members of the deathwatch who have been for some reason forbidden from wearing their chapter colours and have been expelled from their chapters. The reasons matter not, but they are now fully dedicated to the death watch.

Really nice, l'm jealous

Really great stuff. How did you make the Razorbacks turret ?

You can really tell who took the time to read the text and who skipped to the pictures. Black Shields aren't necessarily expelled from their chapters, sometimes its if theyre one of the lone survivors of their chapter if it got destroyed, or if their chapter went renegade/heretical. In any case, their history is purged once accepted, hence the no symbol.

As for the red bolters, I'm petty sure those are a relic from 3rd when red was an accent colour and highlight to everything. Notice how many ultramarines are painted with yellow trim and red bolters now


on topic I really like the monochrome feel you got going here, tho if it wasn't for all the brass etch it might be easy to confuse them with iron hands at a glance

Nice looking scheme, I also really like the presence of all the Auspices and sensors... really fits the general theme of the army.

Great job mate.

Nice and simple yet effective. I quite like your thunderfire cannon conversion as well. I have been thinking about how to make one out of plastic for a while, and I might just need to experiment with the setup that you have there.

Can't wait to see some more batreps, maybe with the Deathwatch - Black Shields!

Exceptional army, and the Inquisitor himself is a great model too. Awesome work all round.

I've always thought about doing a Deathwatch army and now I might follow through with that plan. Great looking army!

Very nice work....love the Deathwatch

Nicely done! Gotta love the Deathwatch

Very nice and very clean, great looking army. Really like your Black Shield or Men in Black look.

Beautiful models and very neat edge highlighting. I do love what you've done with the Centurions, makes sense that an Inquisitor would have the latest tech!
I do also love that Inquisitor, the WHFB Chaos Sorcerer does make a great base for conversion and the mask from the CCS kit looks great on him.
Not sure about the TFC but I like what you've done with the TH+SS Termy shields.
I also don't like the metal on the vehicles, it looks far, far too shiny, especially considering the weathering on the dozer blades.. It just doesn't suit the rest of the model.
Great work!

I love those !
The designators on the sarges' backpack are a nice touch, as are the centurions - first DW I've seen. I also like the monochrome feel of the army (even if I'm always hoping to see a pléiade of different chapters icons).

My only regret would be the inquisitor, I don't feel like he belong here, he looks like a Navigator IMHO.

Nice job, a really functional look, the Centurions are particularly good. Great army

 Skimask Mohawk wrote:
You can really tell who took the time to read the text and who skipped to the pictures. Black Shields aren't necessarily expelled from their chapters, sometimes its if theyre one of the lone survivors of their chapter if it got destroyed, or if their chapter went renegade/heretical. In any case, their history is purged once accepted, hence the no symbol.

In fact, sir, I did read it, and if you'll re-read my post I said "My only critique is that none of the marines have their parent chapter represented on their right shoulder. I love that the Deathwatch can have so many different Marine chapters represented in their ranks."

Doesn't mean that some of the force, the odd marine or two, can't still show their parent chapter's heraldry, does it? He posted the army up for people to look at, enjoy, appreciate, and offer constructive criticism on as well.

It's his army, and as I also said, I really like the way the army looks. I offered a critique. You don't agree with it, fine, but don't make assumptions because they may just wind up making you look less than intelligent in the long run.

Just thought I'd clarify that point. Good day to you, Skimask.

-Red__Thirst-

 Red__Thirst wrote:

 Skimask Mohawk wrote:
You can really tell who took the time to read the text and who skipped to the pictures. Black Shields aren't necessarily expelled from their chapters, sometimes its if theyre one of the lone survivors of their chapter if it got destroyed, or if their chapter went renegade/heretical. In any case, their history is purged once accepted, hence the no symbol.

In fact, sir, I did read it, and if you'll re-read my post I said "My only critique is that none of the marines have their parent chapter represented on their right shoulder. I love that the Deathwatch can have so many different Marine chapters represented in their ranks."

Doesn't mean that some of the force, the odd marine or two, can't still show their parent chapter's heraldry, does it? He posted the army up for people to look at, enjoy, appreciate, and offer constructive criticism on as well.

It's his army, and as I also said, I really like the way the army looks. I offered a critique. You don't agree with it, fine, but don't make assumptions because they may just wind up making you look less than intelligent in the long run.

Just thought I'd clarify that point. Good day to you, Skimask.

-Red__Thirst-

So, in other words, his personal preference does not entirely agree with yours? It's not really constructive criticism if it completely misses the point of what the army was trying to achieve, is it?

Basically, you both have different opinions of what makes the Deathwatch 'cool'. That's fine. Just don't go saying that it is analytical 'critique' when it is, in fact, just a personal preference on colour scheme/fluff.

He has set out to create an awesome Blackshield army, and has done so very well. His painting skill and attention to detail is what should be analysed - and it is very good work. It is clean and crisp, the army is very unified, the colour scheme works and it fits the artwork he was working off perfectly.

 Red__Thirst wrote:

 Skimask Mohawk wrote:
You can really tell who took the time to read the text and who skipped to the pictures. Black Shields aren't necessarily expelled from their chapters, sometimes its if theyre one of the lone survivors of their chapter if it got destroyed, or if their chapter went renegade/heretical. In any case, their history is purged once accepted, hence the no symbol.

In fact, sir, I did read it, and if you'll re-read my post I said "My only critique is that none of the marines have their parent chapter represented on their right shoulder. I love that the Deathwatch can have so many different Marine chapters represented in their ranks."

Doesn't mean that some of the force, the odd marine or two, can't still show their parent chapter's heraldry, does it? He posted the army up for people to look at, enjoy, appreciate, and offer constructive criticism on as well.

It's his army, and as I also said, I really like the way the army looks. I offered a critique. You don't agree with it, fine, but don't make assumptions because they may just wind up making you look less than intelligent in the long run.

Just thought I'd clarify that point. Good day to you, Skimask.

-Red__Thirst-

I'm just going to point out one or two things. First of all its great to give constructive criticism when the op asks for it, however he didn't in this case...

Second I didn't actually call you out, so I'm not sure why you're taking this so personally.

Really the other guy who quoted you does really sum it up nicely; if a person says they're going for X instead of Y, how is it a critique by saying you wish they did Y. Having one or two models with their original colours would be very out of place when everything else is monochrome. It's like saying "I really like your purple guys, my only critique is you didn't paint three of them yellow"

My point is, and remains, that Deathwatch killteams are made up of various marines (both still affiliated with their chapter, as well as black shields) generally working as a tight knight group for a set period of time or for the remainder of their lives, depending. I know of no instance (in the fluff) where an entire squad consisted entirely of Black Shields. I'm no encyclopedia of 40k knowledge however, I will admit.
That was where my critique came from. It wasn't a dig at the guy who painted the army, nor was it meant to tear down a beautifully painted, well executed and coherent force. If he chooses to do an 'all black shields' army, that's his thing. I just though mixing in a few marines from specific chapters would have really opened up some cool modeling opportunities without messing with the color scheme at all. An Iron Hand marine with lots of bionic bits leading one of the fire teams, or a Raven Guard marine perhaps mixed in wouldn't throw the color palate off at all. It wasn't about color, it was about the aesthetic of it.

At the end of the day it's his army, and I'd be overjoyed to play against such a well painted and neat looking force. Were I to play against him, I would have said the exact same thing to his face that I said to him via typing here in my first reply. It's called a discussion, and even if he didn't ask for a critique, I would still comment on the army if for no other reason than for the discussion of it, as I am currently (slowly) building my own small Deathwatch force I hope to use one day.

As an aside, Skimask, I will say that your minis are some of the best Raven Guard I've ever seen to-date. I've been following your painting on them for a while now. Keep up the good work on them.

In closing, It was an analytical critique. However, folks here seem to be assuming otherwise.

There's a reason I've got >400 posts despite having been here since 2006. C'est la vie.

Take it easy.

-Red__Thirst-

They look awesome!

Thanks for the kind words gents

Always love fighting 'em. Out of curiosity, when is this tournament? Might consider busting out one of the armies if I could make it out...

Overall, it's a great looking army. It's hard to work with black but I think you pulled it off nicely. Thanks for sharing.

That truly looks awesome!

Nice highlights, it's difficult IMO to work with black, but you did it very well !