Best use it to scrub your own brain, Doc. You've clearly huffed too many paint fumes in the last few months.
Have you seen the intro vids to both Dawn of War 1 and 2?! Contemptors simply cannot compare to 41st Millenniums answer to Danny DeVito that is the Castra-ferrum. Do Contemptors get an Eagle-headed jackhammer for demolition jobs? I think not.
The gouges on the mangled Contemptor look very convincing. I’d suggest that you hit them with some liquid cement to soften the edges and smooth them out a bit, so they look more like damaged metal. You could do a bit of filling on the gaps too - it’ll pay off when you paint it.
Snrub wrote: Nice work! He looks awesome. Where did you get the astartes torso from?
Cheers, thanks. The torso is the pilot bit from Qin Xa. I drilled out the lower torso, covered the alpha legion insignia with a tube, and replaced the head with one shaved off of Gabriel Seth
A second Vindicator done. To stick to the rag tag theme of the force Its a bit different to the first. The 3D icon on the sides are a bit too busy for my liking, will go back to more plain ones in future.
To mix things up I’m now building a proteus as those Demios hulls are tiresome to build.
Last night I started a 2nd Ultramarines Tactical squad, which also means converting another Apothecary. That will give me 4 line units:
- 1 command squad (standard makes them line)
- 2 tactical squads with Rhinos
- 1 assault squad
I'm wondering which Tactical Support Squad would be best - I'm thinking volkite chargers.
I'm always a big advocate for plasma (Shocking I know). But if they're jumping out of a rhino or other such transport, then meltas are always a fun option.
Snrub wrote: I'm always a big advocate for plasma (Shocking I know). But if they're jumping out of a rhino or other such transport, then meltas are always a fun option.
I don't think I can bring myself to build a 3rd Rhino, so I think plasma might be the way to go. I'll save all the volkite weapons for my Dark Angels.
Snord wrote: I don't think I can bring myself to build a 3rd Rhino, so I think plasma might be the way to go. I'll save all the volkite weapons for my Dark Angels.
Drop pod instead? Get enough Volkite together and do some Inductii.
I know it would have caused an uproar, but could GW have maybe simplified some of these mechanicum models in the transition to plastic?
These thallax are super fiddly and I'm not even done with my first three yet. I'm really glad I use plastic cement rather than super glue - any of this bits popping off would be a nightmare
Unfortunately that's just how GW models come these days. IIRC the primary cause is their refusal to update their molding techniques to newer, better styles of breaks which can get more coverage on pieces. With a secondary benefit / intent of making the models very difficult to re-cast, convert, kitbash, and so on.
Also, are you building your Thallax with clamps or buzzsaws?
morganfreeman wrote: Unfortunately that's just how GW models come these days. IIRC the primary cause is their refusal to update their molding techniques to newer, better styles of breaks which can get more coverage on pieces. With a secondary benefit / intent of making the models very difficult to re-cast, convert, kitbash, and so on.
Also, are you building your Thallax with clamps or buzzsaws?
I think you're thinking of castellax, thallax are the lightning gun jump packers.
I'm building the first 3 right now just plain lighting guns, I'll figure out if I want plasma or photon thrusters later. I mostly just wanted to start building now that I got the box.
GW are perfectly capable of producing high-precision kits, but for the HH range they have periodically made some strange design decisions that lead to issues with assembling the kits. Sometimes it's weird positioning of joins between parts, and sometimes the parts just don't fit together as well as they should. And there is the broader issue of many kits simply requiring too much assembly (something I first noticed with the WH40k Aggressors). I had suspected that the HH Mechanicum robots would be a chore to build.
I personally love the fact these have so many pieces. Less of those pesky mold lines and unsightly undercuts, more chances for kitbashing and pose customization. Over the years I have realized that I actually enjoy the building phase the most, these new kits are a great match for me in that regard.
tauist wrote: I personally love the fact these have so many pieces. Less of those pesky mold lines and unsightly undercuts, more chances for kitbashing and pose customization.
While the absence of mould lines and undercuts is definitely a boon, I don't see a great amount of customization present in a lot of new kits. Take the MkVI and new MkIII kits. All those leg pieces and for what, quite literally the same 5 poses. They're every bit as mono-pose as the Battle for Maccragge tactical marines, just with more bits.
The new indomitus termies are another example. You should not need 7 pieces to make one pair of legs.
For me though more then anything it's not so much the amount of pieces in kits, it's the crazy jigsaw piece cuts they insist on doing for so many modern kits. Generally the characters. Like, a head does not need to be attached to a forearm via a thin bit of cloak that will bend out of shape with a gentle push. I understand that it's partly a measure to stop recasters, but it's just so unnecessary and annoying. Plus... hasn't stopped the recasters at all.
It’s a way to stop the assembled model being overly flat.
I’ve come to appreciate the lack of poses though, as it made painting 120 of the buggers nicely formulaic, as after the first 20 or so I had my brushstroke down!
I've been a bit quiet on the Heresy front lately. Worked on this and that, but haven't had the motivation to post anything, because frankly I'm not at all happy with the quality of my work. But anywho. But I'm attending an event tomorrow, so I figured I should throw up what I've been doing.
1250pts of 1st Legion. Most were already painted, but my additions for this event are the Vigilator, 6 Interemptors, and 10 more of the Despoilers. I also made up a display board for them, partly because I'd never done one before and partly because it gave me the opportunity to throw some shade at one of the other competitors who absolutely thrashed me at an event last year (which tomorrows event is a continuation of) by painting the dead marines in the colour of his army. I even wrote his name on the name plate on the dead commander which is there to represent him, so there's even a narrative aspect to the shade throwing!
I assure you, It's all very good natured and not just me being petty and vindictive.
tauist wrote: I personally love the fact these have so many pieces. Less of those pesky mold lines and unsightly undercuts, more chances for kitbashing and pose customization.
While the absence of mould lines and undercuts is definitely a boon, I don't see a great amount of customization present in a lot of new kits. Take the MkVI and new MkIII kits. All those leg pieces and for what, quite literally the same 5 poses. They're every bit as mono-pose as the Battle for Maccragge tactical marines, just with more bits.
The new indomitus termies are another example. You should not need 7 pieces to make one pair of legs.
For me though more then anything it's not so much the amount of pieces in kits, it's the crazy jigsaw piece cuts they insist on doing for so many modern kits. Generally the characters. Like, a head does not need to be attached to a forearm via a thin bit of cloak that will bend out of shape with a gentle push. I understand that it's partly a measure to stop recasters, but it's just so unnecessary and annoying. Plus... hasn't stopped the recasters at all.
We will have to agree to disagree with regards to the new Indomi terminator kits. IMHO they are the best damn Indomi kit ever. You can repose all the legs with very minor knifework, and they are super easy to mount into custom bases because of it, My only gripe is the fact bitz resellers refuse to sell the hip plate bitz separately, makes it quite expensive to collect enough of the damn plates to get all 5 models in a squad without the crux symbols on the hips..
tauist wrote:We will have to agree to disagree with regards to the new Indomi terminator kits. IMHO they are the best damn Indomi kit ever. You can repose all the legs with very minor knifework, and they are super easy to mount into custom bases because of it, My only gripe is the fact bitz resellers refuse to sell the hip plate bitz separately, makes it quite expensive to collect enough of the damn plates to get all 5 models in a squad without the crux symbols on the hips..
Fair enough. For clarity's sake, I do think the new Termies are gorgeous. Fantastic looking kit and stylistically, as good an upgrade to the old plastic termies as we could have hoped for. I also haven't worked with the new kit either, so my prejudices have no first hand basis. I've only looked at the sprue pics and went "eww, no thanks." They are a kit that's on my list of things to pick up at some point, they're just not super high on said list. So I may well change my opinion on them if and when I do get some.
lord_blackfang wrote:The new Indomitus's modularity has certainly been a boon for 3d artists, I know one who made 2500€ so far just selling chapter specific shin plates.
That's actually a really interesting angle. I hadn't at all considered that the removalable shin pads would essentially function the same as the shoulder pads and allow that as an avenue of customisation. Consider my view of them partially reconsidered.
tauist wrote:We will have to agree to disagree with regards to the new Indomi terminator kits. IMHO they are the best damn Indomi kit ever. You can repose all the legs with very minor knifework, and they are super easy to mount into custom bases because of it, My only gripe is the fact bitz resellers refuse to sell the hip plate bitz separately, makes it quite expensive to collect enough of the damn plates to get all 5 models in a squad without the crux symbols on the hips..
Fair enough. For clarity's sake, I do think the new Termies are gorgeous. Fantastic looking kit and stylistically, as good an upgrade to the old plastic termies as we could have hoped for. I also haven't worked with the new kit either, so my prejudices have no first hand basis. I've only looked at the sprue pics and went "eww, no thanks." They are a kit that's on my list of things to pick up at some point, they're just not super high on said list. So I may well change my opinion on them if and when I do get some.
lord_blackfang wrote:The new Indomitus's modularity has certainly been a boon for 3d artists, I know one who made 2500€ so far just selling chapter specific shin plates.
That's actually a really interesting angle. I hadn't at all considered that the removalable shin pads would essentially function the same as the shoulder pads and allow that as an avenue of customisation. Consider my view of them partially reconsidered.
Thats it! ding ding! Treat the legs like oldschool shoulder pauldron joint. You are free to mess with the join, angles etc, and when you are done, the plate will sort out the mess you made. Brill kit IMHO
Regarding the topic, I just received my Automata from Ars Manufactorea, looking into magnetizing options for them.
lord_blackfang wrote: The new Indomitus's modularity has certainly been a boon for 3d artists, I know one who made 2500€ so far just selling chapter specific shin plates.
Maybe give them a nudge about the hip flaps? I can’t believe tauist would be the only person in the market for such add ons.
Well, either I buy blank replacement shins.. or spend ages with the glass fibre pen removing the cruxes manually. Could well end up being the latter :p
I 3d printed a bunch of mechanicum stuff from diverging realms, mainly the thanatar and myrmidon proxies.
The models are drop dead gorgeous... but holy crap the set up was a pain. The thanatar had many, many parts that where improperly supported leading to failed prints. Autosupports in lychee did a better job supporting some pieces.
and for the myrmidons there are parts that are both A: incredibly small and B: pop off the supports super easily.
If you are going for Diverging realms for 3d printing, be aware.
Ahtman wrote: Just put together an old Forgeworld Leviathan Dreadnought I've had sitting around for a long time. I am ready to go back to plastic for awhile..
I am cutting and sanding some old FW Space Wolf vehicle upgrades for my HHSW Rhinos. My experience with these resin upgrades sets (which admittedly date back almost 20 years) put me off buying any of the FW vehicle kits - every single piece has some kind of warping or shrinkage issue. Their current resin products are much, much better, but I'm sticking with plastic for everything but small components like helmets and pauldrons.
yeah, FW resins have come a long way, stuff such as my vintage Red Scorpions upgrade bitz are like night and day compared to the recent HH2 resin upgrades
My Mechanicum boxed set has arrived - but not at my house. For some reason it was deemed to be an overweight package, so I have to slog halfway over Hong Kong to pick it up.
Snord wrote: My Mechanicum boxed set has arrived - but not at my house. For some reason it was deemed to be an overweight package, so I have to slog halfway over Hong Kong to pick it up.
Guys, it is happening : after all these years of Hobbying, I am finally building, and soon enough painting...a Primarch !!! The Graal of Warhammer is between my hands (and knifes haha), waiting for me to give it life. I am so excited, yet a bit fearful .I'm taking my time, and want the results to be as good as can.
Wish me luck !
I've been making bits for my Blood Angels. I wanted to replace power axes with power lances, plus swap my Chaplain's volite for a shotgun, just hoping for that flukey concussion.
Won best-converted army at an event last weekend and used the gift voucher prize to grab some Bitz from Kromlech to get a start on my next force, a Night Lords Recon Company.
godardc wrote:Guys, it is happening : after all these years of Hobbying, I am finally building, and soon enough painting...a Primarch !!!
Whoooo, Primarch! Good luck. That looks rather daunting.
Fifty wrote:I've been making bits for my Blood Angels. I wanted to replace power axes with power lances, plus swap my Chaplain's volite for a shotgun, just hoping for that flukey concussion.
Nice! Good use of the Mk6 power swords.
Concussion is one of those rules that I wish was easier to activate. But if it were, it'd just become oppressive. It's always a nice bonus when it does go off though!
Gert wrote:Won best-converted army at an event last weekend and used the gift voucher prize to grab some Bitz from Kromlech to get a start on my next force, a Night Lords Recon Company.
Nice one! Well done.
Shrapnelsmile wrote:Finished some standard line troops, my Word Bearers. Tell me what you think.
Looking excellent. I quite like the simple grey bases as a contrast to the red armour.
I've had this plagueburst crawler sitting in a box for a while now and decided to turn it into a vindicator. It's coming together, but there's still plenty of sanding and gap-filling to go.
Snrub wrote: I've had this plagueburst crawler sitting in a box for a while now and decided to turn it into a vindicator. It's coming together, but there's still plenty of sanding and gap-filling to go.
I think I can see where you might be going with this - I assume it's going to be a Nurgle-ised Vindy. I really like the suspension on this model; I can understand why you wanted to use it. Will it have the main weapon down in the nose, or will you give it some kind of superstructure?
Snord wrote: I think I can see where you might be going with this - I assume it's going to be a Nurgle-ised Vindy.
No no, sir. Quite the opposite. I'm cleaning it up and de-nurgling it. In keeping with my armies theme of being an early crusade-era force, this will be some pre-Imperial Terran vehicle that the 1st Legion have got their hands on. I haven't thought up a designation for it yet though. Initially I was going to tout it as a Gun Crawler, but I always pictured them as being Mastodon sized at smallest, if not Capitol Imperialis size or bigger.
I really like the suspension on this model; I can understand why you wanted to use it. Will it have the main weapon down in the nose, or will you give it some kind of superstructure?
Yeah all the fun exposed details on the side were definitely a draw for me. Initially I was just going to build the mortar as per the instructions, but I think I've got a better idea for it, I'll just have to see if it'll work or not.
Snrub wrote: No no, sir. Quite the opposite. I'm cleaning it up and de-nurgling it. In keeping with my armies theme of being an early crusade-era force, this will be some pre-Imperial Terran vehicle that the 1st Legion have got their hands on. I haven't thought up a designation for it yet though. Initially I was going to tout it as a Gun Crawler, but I always pictured them as being Mastodon sized at smallest, if not Capitol Imperialis size or bigger.
I tried to de-Nurgle mine (it was going to be an Ork vehicle), but it was hard work. All that moulded-on detail…
The land raider got to the spray undercoat stage and the fatigue of painting yellow set in, so I skipped to its intended squad of commuters. Went with the huscarl colour scheme, which I really like. I went with the fang for the edge highlights on the black, which I’m still not 100% convinced by but they look good overall.
Test piece for colour placement turned out well enough. Needs more work of course, but reckon I can get the squad done tomorrow, just leaving the Contemptor to go. Then a pooload of basing.
I’m gonna have to visit a Craft shop tomorrow (payday and a holiday off work) to look for various size spreaders, so I can get on with the Grand Embasening.
Bonkers to think that at the start of the year, I had nothing painted, and various kits still on sprue. But now, just a single Contemptor and a Praevian to go, and all my Heresy stuff, in both scales, will be fully painted. And as a not entirely humble brag, pics of everything I’ve done this year as a recap.
lord_blackfang wrote: Been putting it off, basecoating is starting to give me anxiety, I think I ruined another airbrush
But hopefully I can hit these guys this week, then the actual painting should be quick.
Those Rapiers look very nice. I'd like to see more images of them when you've put some paint on them.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Bonkers to think that at the start of the year, I had nothing painted, and various kits still on sprue. But now, just a single Contemptor and a Praevian to go, and all my Heresy stuff, in both scales, will be fully painted. And as a not entirely humble brag, pics of everything I’ve done this year as a recap.
Brag away...pretty amazing seeing them all arrayed on your epic shelf layout. Some nicely finished basing (in a complimentary colour) will really set them off.
Work underway on the Legion Praevian (should have him done close of play tomorrow) and a brace of Castellax for him to boss around.
Castellax kit is a wee bit fiddly, but the most important thing is the legs go together like a dream, including the often troublesome hip joints.
Also gonna get a box of Thallaxi. Not only do I love the concept and execution, but today learned I filed them in my Dark Angels by also fielding a Forge Lord Consul.
And the first Thallax done. Nice kit, looking forward to doing the rest.
Armament wise? Not sure what I want to do. Multi-melta for the almost inevitable Deep Strike seems sensible. Photon Thruster looks cool, but like the Phased Plasma Fusil, I’m not convinced due to Gets Hot! But I may be missing something in their special rules, as I’m still learning those.
Test piece for a possible scheme for my Mechanicum. I was gonna dig out a random marine model, then I remembered I had Ambots in need of painting anyway, and they always suit random paintjobs.
So here it is.
Sprayed black, then a heavy all over drybrush of Model Colour’s Mahogany, followed by a slightly lighter all-over drybrush with Army Painter Gun Metal.
That produces a “industrially dirty” metal base.
From there I used Army Painter True Copper to drybrush/stipple the armour plating, with the same areas then receiving Citadel Contrast Dark Angels Green.
Took absolutely no time at all, and it’s 90% done. It’s currently a bit dark, so I’ll be going in with some bold primary colours to pick out cables, tubes and lenses and that, give it some visual interest and better definition of its gubbins.
played my first game with my own Word Bearers collection, vs. my club mates Iron Warriors. He was excited to drop in a terrain piece he was working on. It was so unexpected and fun I had to post.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: And the first Thallax done. Nice kit, looking forward to doing the rest.
Armament wise? Not sure what I want to do. Multi-melta for the almost inevitable Deep Strike seems sensible. Photon Thruster looks cool, but like the Phased Plasma Fusil, I’m not convinced due to Gets Hot! But I may be missing something in their special rules, as I’m still learning those.
I heard that melta bombs on a unit makes for a very, very scary anti-tank. move 13", shoot, move another 6" closer, charge, wreck tank.
Oh they’re definitely getting Melta-bombs. They’re not massively expensive when you consider just how much of a mess they can make. A squad of 6 has an excellent chance of knocking substantial holes in anything up to and including a Superheavy.
Even with their speed it’s not something I’d base my strategy and tactics upon, but it’s still a decent ace in the hole.
Plus I have my head canon the Forge Lord has a kill switch to set off the stock should scrap-code become a problem.
And a lazy copy/pasta of my progress on the Castellax.
Castellax, with a more in-depth how to. Now I’ve got the main metal stage done, I’m considering where I want my brass/copper tone to go. Time wise, not including spraying, this was maybe 10 minutes.
Fig 1. Two Castellax, in Chaos Black. Note the Model Color “Mahogany”, and Citadel Large Drybrush.
Fig 2. The same two Castellax, with the Mahogany Drybrush. Note the Army Painter Gun Metal.
Fig 3. A halfway comparison of the Gun Metal step.
Fig 4. Two Castellax with their first two drybrushes done.
And first one more or less finished. I dare say once both are done and I’ve slapped on the basing I may find areas I want to tinker with. But that’s a comfortable tabletop standard done in very little time, without necessarily looking like it took very little time.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Like drilling out the Multimelta barrels. If I can find my pin drill.
Gonna revisit it tomorrow, as the copper is very top heavy. Gonna add that to the shins and big upper bit of the toes, and a smidge on the shock chargers, balance it out.
Both dine. And there was slightly more fiddlin’, as I felt the copper on the lower half was looking too clean. A quick, well thinned wash of Agrax tied it together nicely.
So nicely, I bought a second box. Because living 10 minutes from your FLGS is a reckless thing to do.
I think you are really on to something with this colour scheme. Maybe some quick and subtle highlights on the green? With models like this with very large bases, the choice of theme and colour on the bases is also very important. Any thoughts there?
Basing's the last step, instead of sobbing you should pull through and relish in the feeling of beeing done.
Trust me, doing all 150 won't take you that long aswell, depending upon how nuts you wanna go with bases.
It’s just size of the task ahead, and the monotony.
Defo going to look super ace when I’m done though. And I’ve just squeaked out another 20.
I reckon, right, if I do a squad in the morning before work, another on lunch, and another after work? I should be done by end of Wednesday.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And another 20. Should have all my infantry done tomorrow I reckon, then it’s just the two Characters, and 12 Dreads of varying class. Which is an easy Wednesday job.
Work imposed a break on my Ultramarines, but I am back at the workbench trying to get the final conversions done - 3 Apothecaries and a Master of Signals. Squeezing the MoS into the list meant losing a Terminator, so my Spartan is going to be a bit empty, but never mind - it was never g a killer army list.
Haven't done much in the way of Heresy recent, but work continues on the De-nurgled Vindicator. Some scraping and filing left to do on the dozer-blade, but we're nearing the glue-everything-together phase.
Snrub wrote: Haven't done much in the way of Heresy recent, but work continues on the De-nurgled Vindicator. Some scraping and filing left to do on the dozer-blade, but we're nearing the glue-everything-together phase.
That's a pretty good clean-up job It looks as though the dozer blade needs a bit more scraping though. I suppose you can cover up some of the areas where detail has been removed with iconography and stowage.
Second on the de-nuglification. Great stuff, might steal the concept at some point and will greatly appreciate all the progress pics you leave up. Top marks sir!
Waded back into painting Stormtroopers en masse today - stupidly decided i was going to do the paint jobs the same standard as the force commander i already did and am now totally not regretting my own hubris.
Zandri Dust Spray and an Archmagos from my FLGS, Chaos Cards
2 x Plastic Glue and a Mechanicum Battle Group from Firestorm Games
Also on the hunt for a Thanatar. As I need the glue pronto, didn’t order from Firestorm Games, as that’s a 1-3 day dispatch, the rest I can get 24 hours.
Hopefully my mate’s shop has a Thanatar in stock, and I’m waiting to hear back.
But, with four days off as of 4pm? I’m gonna try One Man, One Kit, One Day (OMOKOD) again, this time for the second unit of Thallaxi.
And it’s been a day of slightly irritating assembly.
Archmagos Prime was a pig, as the instructions are dreadfully unclear. Ended up leaving off most of the cables, as the sockets for mounting them are too shallow.
Tech Thralls. Better, but again the instructions for 3 and 4 are inaccurate. They want you to glue the legs together, then the torso. But, on three? The codpiece is attached to the chest armour. So you’re better off gluing that to the chest, then the right leg followed by the left. On four, glue right leg to the chest piece, then the left. But it does offer options. The left arms are all interchangeable, as are the face plates. There’s also a choice of bionic or regular leg on model 4.
Archmagos Prime was a pig, as the instructions are dreadfully unclear. Ended up leaving off most of the cables, as the sockets for mounting them are too shallow.
Yeah, when I got him I had a feeling he would resist being assembled. I prefer the 40k Mechanicus character figures anyway, so maybe I will backdate them with weapons from the Archmagos Prime.
Built to Based self challenge is rattling along nicely.
Still a fair amount of noodly greeblies to pick out, but next up it’s Ork Flesh on most of the armour panels, which will inform which noodly greeblies get picked out, and how.
The instructions may look like a nightmare, with lots of smallish bits, but it goes together like a dream.
Now to decide how I want to paint it. Sure, the overall scheme for my nascent Taghmata is settled. But it’s how I want to apply it to this very different beast.
After having the Age of Darkness box for several years now, the time has finally come to build the termies it came with.
Ive never typically used termies in 40k, & I prefer tanks & dreads in 30k.
But the shop has a 30k league starting up soon & the 1st mission is a Zone Mortalis battle.
I figure this is as good a time/excuse as any to finally get this unit built.
I'm a big fan of Cataphractii, (and Terminators in general) although I don't use Tartaros at all and it miffs me a little bit that they were so restrictive with how Indomitus could be loaded out.
Cats are great though. Hard to shift with the 2+/4+ and very versatile with wargear options. Vomitting a unit of 10 w/dual lightning claws and a praetor out of a spartan into the midst of your opponents battle line is always entertaining.
I love Tartaros terminators over Cataphractii. The lines are much nicer and less blocky. I have some Catas with my Night Lords but the vast majority of my Night Lord terminators are Tarts and Indomitus. I went the other way with my IW and all of the termies for them are Catas even when I use them for 40k.
I like the 'contemptor-ness' of the tartaros pattern.
Havent actually finished painting any, the only ones i have complete are cataphractii but i never liked how limited their range of movement looked.
That said i always liked the very early mk2 armour designed by Bob Naismith.
I like Indomitus because they fill a troop slot rather than Elite, are a bit cheaper for a Fist/Storm Bolter combo, and your opponent still can't ignore them if you start them front and centre and just march them up the centre of the table. In Pride of the Legion, or if you buy a Herald, Line makes them one of the most valuable units in many lists.
I really like the newer Indomitus sculpts, so I just use them as 'counts as' cataphractii for my IW. I added a good amount of rivets and cabling to make them feel more like prototypes and justify the stat difference.
My army has a 'cutting edge' theme with more energy weapons, conversion beamers, etc so I think it fits pretty well.
I started on a deimos rhino last night, and it fit together without any issues. The bottom hull section which had me tearing my hair out on the previous rhino chassis vehicles I've put together just popped right into place with almost no fuss.
I started on a deimos rhino last night, and it fit together without any issues. The bottom hull section which had me tearing my hair out on the previous rhino chassis vehicles I've put together just popped right into place with almost no fuss.
Did GW change the mold or has it finally worn in?
I had the same (happy) experience with the last 2 I built. It made a big difference to the alignment of the rear ramp, which otherwise has gaps on the side.
The whole piece slots nicely in and out of the hull, so it can be swapped out for the demolisher cannon as needed.
I have to attach the dozer blade now and do some general cleanup of the model, but other then that it's pretty much done.
I think Mad Doc has been at the embalming fluid again...
ccs wrote: I need to build another Contemptor or two before our little escalation league moves up to the next pts lv.
I discovered that I have lost half the right arms for my Cataphractii - these effing Ultramarines are never going to be finished. Another visit to eBay, I guess. I also realised that it would have been far more effective to have taken 2 land Raiders instead of 1 Spartan, but it's too late now - the Spartan is built and covered in loyalist iconography.
Snord wrote: I also realised that it would have been far more effective to have taken 2 land Raiders instead of 1 Spartan, but it's too late now - the Spartan is built and covered in loyalist iconography.
Are you in a league or something where you can't remedy that choice?
ccs wrote: Are you in a league or something where you can't remedy that choice?
No - I just don’t want to rip off a lot of carefully applied detail - or find the extra bits for detailing 2 Land Raiders. So I am committing to the Spartan…
So the Heresy discord has a painting challenge, I only noticed 2 days ago and the first deadline is end of this month, so today I finally pooped out the bolter squad that's been undercoated for a while.
These are really pretty - strange as that may sound when describing Death Guard. It's good to see a style that's a real departure from the prescribed GW look. Good luck in the competition.
It's not really a competing type of challenge, more a structured way to paint at least one thing every month
Since I have a day off tomorrow and this heavily kitbashed Primus Medicae in Cata armour undercoated already, I think I'll power through the Independent Character entry for December too
These are all going Boltcannon, Flamer and Powerblade array, so I’ve something which can wallop hordes of infantry, and spam out Pinning.
Particularly interested to see how Pinning works out. I was never persuaded by it 3rd-7th Ed, as typically the weapons that had it were low rate of fire and relatively scarce, and pretty much everyone had a work around for the Ld aspect.
Heresy? Not so much on both counts. Still not a sure thing of course, but definitely more of a concern when faced.
Finally, we've got another LI game set up!
So tonight I'm finishing off building a box of Russ that I started some months ago. Just need to look in the finished case & see wich turret type I'm short of.
(We haven't played in so long I can't remember what my plan was - beyond "make an even amount of each gun". )
Here are a bunch of photos from Day 1 of the Heresy Hammer - Solar War event down near Guildford at the weekend.
First game was a 6-player Zone Mortalis games in which we fought over four objectives that the loyalists needed to destroy and the traitors had to protect. The two 4'x4' sections of ZM terrain were bisected by a Star Wars-esque void that bisected the board. Absolutely great fun. We managed to destroy two objectives, but not the third we needed for victory. In turn five, I had a slim chance of a tactical squad making an 11" charge then rolling a 4+ to blow up the third, but a Night Lords contemptor used the Suppression reaction and pinned the squad! Only time that reaction did anything all game! Great game, really tight. My Iron Circle robots did a great job, as did my tactical squads. My stars were my Indomitus Terminators who kicked some Justaerin butt with many 5s and 6s to hit, whilst also holding off some White Scars scouts. Before any of that they took out five Ebon Keshig too.
Second game was against Marty and his Word Bearers. I continue to hate Mhara Gal dreadnoughts! I had really, really good dice rolls except on the few that really, really mattered. I think Marty and I did most things right, but he probably edged it both with his list-building, strategy and crucial dice rolls, so it stayed close for the first few turns, then it spiralled away from me at the end. I just couldn't deal with the Gal Vorbak. I find Gal Vorbak either do nothing or are the MVPs almost every time I play against them. His Mhara Gal needed pinning down so I had to throw my Indomitus squad into it, even though it was arguably a poor points exchange, they were the only thing I had that could tie it up without crumbling in noe or two rounds of combat. They even came close to killing it.
ccs wrote: Looking for the right size bitz to make extended barrels so my SM Recon squads can have Nemesis Bolters.
I used pieces from the Primaris Eliminators. It is easier to covert the older models as the guns are chunkier and don’t have the left hand moulded on. On reflection, however, the Mk 3 armour is a bit heavy looking for recon Marines.
Well hobby progress has been super slow recently butI have managed to finish a couple of models this week.
firstly a land raider, which is the yellowist brick in an army of yellow bricks.
Next up is a praevian with a pair of castellax, these were never a planned part of the army but when the plastic models released the new shinny syndrome kicked in hard.
Still haven’t decided if I’m doing a full Mechanicum army like. Will wait and see what other plastic kits come out in terms of Automata.
Partly as a result of Mad Doc's evil influence, I ordered some more bots from GW. I think I will do a small army, mostly as an excuse to field their amazing tanks. Also, if I give them a predominantly metallic scheme, I can paint them quite fast.
I nearly bought a second battle force, but this is a five week pay month, and I don’t currently need another 20 Tech Thralls, or a second Triaros, so would be a false economy.
Will try to get what I have all built over Chrimbo, but I’ve a soft, waggy lunatic staying over, and his tail knows destruction.
Soon (January/February 2025) I will begin building up a Sisters of Silence force!
I've located a good STL file for the Kharron Transport & one of the guys I play with is set to begin printing for me. We're just waiting on a shipment of resin.
So I've begun testing paint schemes for gold armor.
lord_blackfang wrote: My new years eve party plans fell through as the host got sick at the last moment, so I spent it painting space marines... oh well
Looks as though it was an evening well spent!
Inspired by Blackfang's printed Rapiers, I had a stab at converting a couple using the Kataphron kit (which seems to be the most common approach). I converted the chassis more extensively than most of what I've seen online. I wanted them armed with quad launchers, but of course every potentially suitable multi-barreled weapon has 6 barrels rather than 4. My current approach is to modify the Malleus launcher by removing 2 barrels (otherwise is would be a hex launcher). I think it looks kind of cool, but haven't decided if it's the best solution.
Cheers! Yea any PA Centurion/Praetor can, it's only incompatible with jump pack/bikes and explicitly forbidden for Master of Signals and Primus Medicae.
Updated WIP SoH Rapiers. I ended up removing most of the Mechanicus-style detail and replacing it with chunkier-looking detail more in keeping with the old Mk 3 Marines. There are still a few final bits to add. The crew have various kinds of sighting devices etc to distinguish them from normal Marines - I decided the weapon is fired by remote control, so the gunners have controllers and communication aerials. It all turned out to be a lot of work for what was supposed to be a couple of quick conversions…
Automatically Appended Next Post: And now, today, someone posted the final piece I needed for getting my Breachers exactly the way I want them - modern size, extra belly plate, old J-shaped shields
Cheers. My tech skills barely extend beyond Move, Scale, and Rotate. Sometimes I subtract a cube or sphere from an object to make room for a different part. In essence the same as cutting up and kitbashing real minis, I don't do any sculpting, at most I can add studs and wires.
Some Contekar terminators and finishing Sevetar. I'll take pics when done. Terms have their basic 4 part blue and shading done, now for the other primary colors.
I might build a Kratos, command squad, or an assault squad next.
In tonight's escalation league game my 5 man Rotor Cannon squad earned MVP squad of the match.
They gunned down a Mechanicum Bloodslaughterer.
A turn later they wiped out a small Thalkex(?) Unit that dropped in to contest/take my home objective.
This proved key in securing a 1pt victory over the Mechanicum.
And with only 1 game left in the League I'm now in 1st place W/L wise by a game. The worst that'll happen is I'll tie for 1st place.
So these guys will get some additional detailing before the weekend is over.
(Most of my 30k SM units, including this one, are merely base-coated atm.)
They've earned it.
Gonna need a few reprints as some parts are very thin and I crushed a few during post processing, but for the most part I have bits for 20
Chuffed to bits with the sergeant (and size check against my basic dudes)
Now racking my brain trying to figure out how to leave the shields off for painting but still guaranteeing they line up with the gun afterwards, the tolerances are narrow...
Expanded my Mechanicum forces, and a cheeky Deredeo, bringing my Dreadnoughts to 13, and enough for a Fury of the Ancients.
Still got some Mechanicum bits to paint (Triaros, Tech-Thralls, Magos) but they’re on the back burner right now, as I turn my attention to a long delayed Eldar project.
I finished my Rapier conversions. They didn’t turn out quite as well as I’d hoped, considering the amount of time they took - the 'quad launcher' is still unmistakably from the Cadian artillery kit. However, I managed to make them identical in terms of detail etc., and they have a brutal simplicity that goes well with the old Mk 3 models. I think they’ll do the job i.e. sitting in the back line supporting the Skorpius.
Working on a scout unit and a tartaros forge lord at the moment;
The scouts are a way of making use of the passengers from the Land Speeder Storm, as I never used them back in the day. I actually prefer these poses!. I made a YouTube video about Scouts recently, so want to put my money where my mouth is.
I have a Forge Lord in Artificer Armour, but I find 2 wounds is never quite enough. As I can do more or less the same loadout for the same number of points, but with an extra wound, I'm building this chap. I think the photos show where I am going with him. I think he is developing a nice pseudo-Mechanicum vibe.
Automatically Appended Next Post: More done today. Might even finish tonight.
I'm almost finished building 2 Predators, one Mars and one Deimos. I always liked the angular Mars turret way better than the round one of the Deimos and as SoH get all the new shiny stuff anyway it being to new isn't a problem for my late heresy force. Only anoying part was fitting the conversion beamer on the turret...
Going's been slow on the Termite, printed two and they don't go together (a little because the sculptor misaligned some holes/tabs, a little from print warpage) so I've been fixing the files and re-re-printing. Absolutely delightful model otherwise, hopefully by the time I'm on my next Legion I can buy plastic ones!
Now that our HH escalation League has wrapped I'm going to go back through the units/models & paint the assorted MVPs.
I joke that my models need to "Earn paint". (the base coat is free)
Then I keep a log of wich minis have done well & in the down time between campaigns etc I paint up the winners.
My jetbikes did so badly it's been suggested by a friend that I strip their basecoat as punishment.
I'm also considering reassigning my Rotor Cannon squad to 40k to serve as Infernus proxies.
I think their mass of useless lightweight shots would be represented well enough by current 40k flamer rules.
Seriously, I've never seen a unit look so cool (it's 10 dudes carrying mini-guns!) & somehow be so lackluster - though they did out perform the jetbikes....
ccs wrote: Now that our HH escalation League has wrapped I'm going to go back through the units/models & paint the assorted MVPs.
I joke that my models need to "Earn paint". (the base coat is free)
Then I keep a log of wich minis have done well & in the down time between campaigns etc I paint up the winners.
My jetbikes did so badly it's been suggested by a friend that I strip their basecoat as punishment.
I'm also considering reassigning my Rotor Cannon squad to 40k to serve as Infernus proxies.
I think their mass of useless lightweight shots would be represented well enough by current 40k flamer rules.
Seriously, I've never seen a unit look so cool (it's 10 dudes carrying mini-guns!) & somehow be so lackluster - though they did out perform the jetbikes....
Rotors are not there to kill or get points, rotors are there to force pinning checks.
ccs wrote: Now that our HH escalation League has wrapped I'm going to go back through the units/models & paint the assorted MVPs.
I joke that my models need to "Earn paint". (the base coat is free)
Then I keep a log of wich minis have done well & in the down time between campaigns etc I paint up the winners.
My jetbikes did so badly it's been suggested by a friend that I strip their basecoat as punishment.
I'm also considering reassigning my Rotor Cannon squad to 40k to serve as Infernus proxies.
I think their mass of useless lightweight shots would be represented well enough by current 40k flamer rules.
Seriously, I've never seen a unit look so cool (it's 10 dudes carrying mini-guns!) & somehow be so lackluster - though they did out perform the jetbikes....
Rotors are not there to kill or get points, rotors are there to force pinning checks.
Yes, the few times the foes failed a pinning test is how the squad out performed the jetbikes.
Fair question, I got two unbuilt kits sitting here and the files are even designed to perfectly mesh with plastic parts. I considered only printing the bits that are different... but that would end up being a checkerboard chimera where every joint would be dual material and make a gakky bond. So Death Guard gets a resin custom job and the plastics will wait for a Legion that most benefits from a perfect surface with no support pockmarks.
It is a bit funny that I put 3d legion iconography everywhere and then struggle to find space for the very pretty and very expensive waterslide decals...
lord_blackfang wrote: Fair question, I got two unbuilt kits sitting here and the files are even designed to perfectly mesh with plastic parts. I considered only printing the bits that are different... but that would end up being a checkerboard chimera where every joint would be dual material and make a gakky bond. So Death Guard gets a resin custom job and the plastics will wait for a Legion that most benefits from a perfect surface with no support pockmarks.
Good answer! I am building a Deredeo with arachnus heavy lascannon - it’s my least favourite Heresy dread but the weapons are so ridiculously oversized it looks awesome.
Call me Frankenstein, because I've created a monster!
One Excindio Battle-automata, ready for murdering.
An unholy mix of Necron, Ad-mech and Space Marine parts used to create the worst the DAoT has to offer.
Absolute pig of a model to photograph. Camera just would not focus on one particular thing.
Very pleased with how this turned out. Almost exactly as I first envisioned it in my head. Smaller then I thought it would be, as I didn't realise the Hexmark was only on a 50mm base. Physically, I thought it was closer in size to the Skorpekh Lord. But I've put him on a 60mm base and given him as much of a height boost with his base as I was reasonably able. Now to get him primed and painted.
I'm quite excited to get him on the table to see how he preforms. I'll actually have a game or two on tomorrow with him, so we'll see how he goes. For 430pts, I need him to kill some gak.
Snrub wrote: One Excindio Battle-automata, ready for murdering.
An unholy mix of Necron, Ad-mech and Space Marine parts used to create the worst the DAoT has to offer.
That's a very cool model, Shrub. I am not familiar with the unit, but I had a quick look at some other representations of it, and yours is as good as any of them.
Snord wrote:That's a very cool model, Shrub. I am not familiar with the unit, but I had a quick look at some other representations of it, and yours is as good as any of them.
Cheers! Yeah that's the beauty of the EBA, since it's got no official model/artwork, you're free to do whatever you please in making one and they're all perfectly valid interpretations. I think the only "confirmed" aspect of it was one of the rules writers said its rules were written to be dreadnought analogous and therefore should be at least on a 60mm base. But I've seen some one 80mm bases and even one on a 180mm oval.
Snrub wrote: CI'll actually have a game or two on tomorrow with him, so we'll see how he goes. For 430pts, I need him to kill some gak.
Well I had two games yesterday, 1st game he slaughtered ~800pts of Iron Warriors, including the praetor, 4 Tyrants, a contemptor and a 10man Havoc squad. So quite impressive for a 1st outing. 2nd game he sacrificed himself to take out a Mhara Ghal in the 2nd turn. So despite the points difference, I call that a good trade. 'Coz those Mhara Ghals are fething scary.
In actual hobby news, one of the guys who frequents out monthly games day was downsizing his backlog. So I picked up a MkII command squad, some Dark Angels bodies/heads, a 10 man Lascannon squad and a Sicaran Omega for really cheap. Not $200 I was expecting to spend, but I don't regret it. So that'll see me busy on the Heresy front for a little while.
Meanwhile I brought home a plastic Boreas Deredeo and found to my great dismay the printed volkite barrel is like 15% oversized, and I can't live like this, so I'm fixing and reprinting it.
He looks great. What are you going to do with the other torso?
I was hunting around for a particular bit and come across this techmarine in his unassembled form. He was initially going to be my Forgelord, but then I had another, better, more complicated idea for a one, (that is yet to be realised ) so this fella got sidelined and forgotten about.
Glued him together though and he'll make for a fine regular techmarine. He's a bit to MkIVish to fit in neatly with the rest of my MkII/III army, but I might round off his knee pads and add some greenstuff trim to here and there.
Using Mantic games Butchers as Demon Brutes for my Word Bearers. For the relatively low price they look pretty good, and with this level of chunky they fill up a large base well. I'll post some pics of them painted later.
what do you or your opponents use for brutes and other demons?
Shrapnelsmile wrote: Using Mantic games Butchers as Demon Brutes for my Word Bearers. For the relatively low price they look pretty good, and with this level of chunky they fill up a large base well. I'll post some pics of them painted later.
These look very convincing as generic warp beasties. Better than GW’s daemons.
what do you or your opponents use for brutes and other demons?
I had thought of using Flesh Eater Courts models. But they’re a bit too specific.
On holiday for these 2 weeks, so I took my remaining OOP Mk3 series and a pile of bits with me to build a Veteran squad for my Sons of Horus. They won’t be the most cost-effective unit, but they will look the part, with volkite combi-weapons (very fiddly to convert) and power weapons. I also scratchbuilt some right-handed lightning claws (the Mk 3 sprue only has the left hand), using Cataphractii lightning claws.
I'm putting one together now (my FLGS happened to have a box when I stopped by last week). It's a cute little tank but definitely needs to be painted in sub assemblies, there's some deep holes and inset areas that look like they'd be a pain to get to with a brush after it's all put together.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Good to know. Are we talking Tracks and main body as sub-assemblies?
The way I'm putting it together is the main body and the two track/side assemblies.
The sides need to be primed partway though putting the tracks on IMO because there'll be parts that are inaccessible otherwise. I put on the bottom track segment and two of the little single track links, the rest of the track will go on after priming.
Each side also has a deep hole that the body piece fits into that's only covered by a cog shape, and that'll be primed before the cog is put in place. It's a spot that probably won't be visible after assembly, but I'd feel better if it was at least black and not sprue gray.
Honestly? It’s just a snug fitting of the parts as designed. And once painted, will be a wee big snugger as the paint adds however many extra microns or whatever.
I’d offer to sell you my second one, but international postage would nix any savings to the point of pointlessness.
My latest project (as if I needed another one!) is to knock together a small contingent of RT-era models, modelled and painted for HH. While doing a clear-out recently, I came across an unbuilt RT Rhino kit and a pile of RTB01 Marines I had assembled but never painted, and thought it would be fun to do something with them. It's mostly a nostalgia kick (I bought my first box of blue RTB01 Marines before I had even seen the RT rulebook). These old models look very crude now (they looked pretty crude at the time really), but they are refreshingly easy to build, and it's rather enjoyable finding suitable old skool bits to add to them. For instance, I am modelling them as Space Wolves, and the Mordheim 'beardy heads' are perfect for bare heads.
The problem is the cost of adding to what I have. RTB01 sprues seem to go for about US$20 apiece on eBay, and don't come up often, while the asking price for an RT-era Land Raider seems to be around US$800(!) I guess the supply of these old plastic kits must finally be drying up. I ended up making a couple of purchases (not the Land Raider), and am feeling more than a little violated...
Anyway, I now have enough to start work on them. I'll be basing them on 32mm bases, so they can be used with other HH models, and will probably attach the Rhinos to bases as well so that they have the same footprint as the current models.
lord_blackfang wrote: Good luck and be careful with the old plastic, it turns brittle!
The plastic on the unbuilt Rhino and RTB01 Marines is just as I remember it - quite soft and quick to react to the cement. But anything that was glued together a long time ago is definitely more brittle.
There's a painting club what meets on Thursday nights, I went and managed to get a little work done on the lascannon squad I primed in January, but it's going to take a few more Thursdays, it's pretty tedious.
Lighter is from a four pack, used to light incense cones, and clear the nozzle of my Citadel Plastic Glue (don’t try that at home, kids. I’m a fully paid up idiot. You’re hopefully not).
We've got a a big Apoc game coming up next weekend (currently sitting at a smidge over 100k points!), so I've got some painting to do. Need to paint 5 Terminators, 5 Lascannon marines, 2 rhinos and my Excindio by Friday night.
There we go. All Automata and Cyborgs assembled. Ready to tap dance on your tits.
Spray box is the next stop. Also got a pair of Krios to build. Think I might make them Venator. There’s just something I love about that weird, stubby cannon.
I haven't plated Apoc since 5th edition, and I'm expecting to just get utterly smacked. But I'm pretty keen.
Current Break down wrote:Loyalists
L1 - 8k Ironhands
L2 - 10k ironhands
L3 (me) - 5.5k Dark angels
L4 - 10k+ Imperial fists/ titans
L5 - 7.1k titans/ knights
L6 - 6k misc L7 -??k Ironhands/ Spacewolves (Hasn't been able to do a complete points count yet, so could be like 15k+ )
46,600pts Current Total
Traitors
T1 - 10k worldeaters/ iron warriors
T2 - 10k Alpha legion
T3 -8k+ Deathguard
T4 - 10k Night Children/ mech/ demons
T5 - 10k Emperors Children
T6 - 6k Warlord/ Warbringer/ Warhound.
54,000pts Current Total
Bulk building a quartet of triaros and karaknos hulls, then about to start 7 dracosians. Also just built a bunch of resin characters- cables on the Iron Hand praetor are a pain, and FW needs to do some new techmarines like they did the apothecaries.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: There we go. All Automata and Cyborgs assembled. Ready to tap dance on your tits.
Spray box is the next stop. Also got a pair of Krios to build. Think I might make them Venator. There’s just something I love about that weird, stubby cannon.
Impressive, Mad Doc. Can I send you all my Mechanicus stuff to assemble? I love the look of the models, but dread the prospect of assembling them all!
I am ordering a couple of Krios. I prefer the lightning cannon to the stubby Venator gun - it looks more arcane (maybe because it bears a passing resemblance to something built by Skaven).
And in other news, I have finished building 2 Rogue Trader-era Rhinos and a Predator (updated somewhat but still very recognisably old skool), and am ploughing through assembling 30 or so RTB01 beakies to go with them. Strange how familiar these models are from when I assembled my first ones over 30 years ago - right down to carving out the missing undercuts on the legs.
.
) so this fella got sidelined and forgotten about.
