1. GMS marine
2. finish centurions
3. bikes (if I have everything I need by then)
4. flyers (2 storm talons, 1 storm raven)
3 and 4 can be switched based on circumstances.
I'm also going to try and play my marines using the actual IA chapter tactics and character. Unfortunately the most recent updates appear to be for 6th edition, not 7th.... so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that.
Thing 1 and I were working on the studio this evening. Hoo boy, this might take a bit.
In the nonce... would anyone be interested in a Mantis Maker comp now that nerdy's comp is over? For real this time... honest. In cleaning up I've found a bunch of stuff I'm never going to use (not junk... just things I won't get to)... so I'll make some nice prize packages out of them & we'll go with those.
If I can get 5 people who say they're interested... we'll do it. In the mean time I'll be thinking of something fun to do for the comp (and continuing to clean my studio).
OK, we're on. Have to ferry Thing 1 to his cross-country meet today so it'll give me some time to think. I'll have something by this evening, as well as putting the prize packages together so you can see what you're competing for.
Well, it is a "Mantis Maker" competition... so I'm afraid there's likely to be marines and painting involved. That being said... I think I came up with something interesting for you guys to fool around with. Let me go clean the gutters and I'll get back to you tonight.
My wife said there will be cookies sent with every prize (but I'm not spending $50 to send a large tin of cookies to the other side of the planet... sorry).
Announcing... the 2nd Annual... For Really Real This Time.... Mantis Maker Competition!
Your task is a simple one... match a single, Mantis Warrior infantry figure (including bikes) to the following quote from IA.
"Once the silent warders of the Endymion Cluster, in the wake of the Badab Wars the Mantis Warriors have been bound to a century long penitent crusade which may well see the end of the Chapter before its conclusion. One of the rare descendants of the savage White Scars, the Mantis Warriors’ millennia of isolation on the far edge of human space has left them much changed from their origins. Experts in the art of guerrilla warfare and the sudden application of violence from concealment, the Mantis Warriors are subtle and cunning killers, wreathed in mysticism, who strike with the fury of an unexpected storm."
That's it. Best figure that hits closest to the mark wins. No judging criteria, no point system, just you, your skills and your imagination fueled by the above statement. There is no limit on basing. While you may only submit a single Mantis Warrior, your scene may include as man "victims" as you'd like... I'll consider them part of the basing.
This must be your own work and must be a new figure made for this competition. You have to post one build shot here, but you're welcome to post as many WIP shots as you'd like.
Prize Support As I mentioned before, Thing 1 and I are embarking upon a complete cleaning and re-structuring of my studio (a large room above the garage). This has unearthed a significant number of figures that I'll just never get around to doing anything with and I'd rather have them in the hands of someone who might be able to use them. I'm putting together 6 different "prize lots", each with a specific theme. They are all made up of new figures and 5 of the 6 will have NIB (new in box or blister) figs, though keep in mind I've been at this a long time so most of the figures are old, metal figs. Still, they are interesting and in good shape and I think there are at least a few treasures in each lote. We'll do this "blanket" style.... first place gets first choice of the prize packages, then second, etc. I plan on awarding 5 prizes of the six so that each person gets a choice (even #5).
The prize packages are as follows. Unfortunately they aren't all "even" as it's just what I can put together in each category. I'll try and strengthen the weakest categories as time goes on.
1. Eldar #1:
Spoiler:
2. Space Marines:
Spoiler:
3. IG:
Spoiler:
4. Infinity & other non-GW figs:
Spoiler:
5. Warhammer Fantasy
Spoiler:
6. Eldar #2:
Spoiler:
7. Mk-1 Rhino set (rhino, whirlwind bits, razorback bits)
Spoiler:
Deadline: The competition will end Nov. 15th. at midnight GMT. (I really have no idea when that is... if you're close, you're in.)
Hell yes. This pm log was one of the first that I ever read years ago and inspired me to start a firehawk army. So I would be honored to be apart of this competition haha
OK, I've added a sixth prize package... had enough good eldar stuff that I've split it into two groups. That way even the fifth person will have a choice of two packages.
Does anyone have any questions or need any clarifications?
Does the armour have to be accurate? As in I have no idea about the various Mk's and Mantis are old scholl aren't they? So if I get the armour wrong will I be docked points?
@Cam: Armor is up to you. Mantis Warriors are very isolated (either because of their original territory or because of their penitent crusade) and thus have become very good at maintaining old equipment, so in my book... they'd probably still have functional variants of most armors. You might even find mixed armor in the same suit.
@Knightley: Great opening entry! Very excited to see him get the "knightley treatment" when the paint starts to fly!
Sounds interesting, I have a couple of ideas, I need a Mantis Warrior for my army, I have SM bits available (unlike last year), and my desk isn't too busy at the moment... I do have some judging to do first... Will see if I can get something done in time.
Gitsplitta wrote: @mt: Yes. I have no desire to hamper anyone's creativity. Kind of the opposite actually.
Welcome aboard guys. Good to see so many talented people are interested.
And just so there are some untalented people trying out, I’ll attempt to get something done by the deadline. Although anyone who’s read my blog knows that me and speedy painting/schedules don’t really get along...
One of the projects on my workbench is putting together some Deathwatch marines. I also picked up a GK box to make a new librarian (among other things). So I think I’ll combine extra parts with this and make a Mantis Librarian, serving with the Deathwatch. The armor might be a little light on the green (or yellow) but I do promise to freehand the chapter symbol. Right now I’ve got parts picked out. The though was to have him kneeling, bloody sword at rest, focusing his powers with his arm outstretched to find his next target. Or so I hope.
I had thought of having him painted as a blackshield, holding a weathered MW shoulderpad, but thought that there would have to be too much captioning to tell the story. Would play up the penitence/fall portion of the MW history though.
And here is a bits shot, just to commit and keep me honest.
Well I'm certainly not as talented as many of the people here, but I am a big fan of you and your army. Hopefully I can get something done by the deadline.
Seeing how it'll be all I have to work on, it's still a maybe.
So this is the start of my attempt at this competition. Going to be trying to make a True Scale Mantis Warrior via the way Veteran Sergent did his. So lots of gear and wear and tear on the armor.
I think it was Nov. 15th, so it's still over a month away.
For this competition, I'm putting more emphasis on creativity and vision than just pure painting skill. Not that painting won't matter... but if I have two otherwise equal pieces and one is painted better but the other is really clever or a better match for the "theme" as described by the opening statement.... I'm going to go for the thematic one.
Do you have any rules about how many pics we can post on your blog Gits? I don't want to flood several pages with pictures of disembodied marines if you would rather us confine them to our own little blogs!
So here's a couple of pics of my mock up mantis warrior so far. I had this idea that since they are on their one hundred year ling redemption crusade and they cannot replenish their ranks that the mantis warriors 10th company otherwise their scouting company is either mostly dead, the remaining scouts from the badab war are now pretty much veterans and taking on other roles or that most of the scouts gear would be totally wrecked by this point. Therefore I based my miniature on a veteran mantis warrior who was renowned for his marksmanship/ scouting abilities during his time as a both a vanguard vet and scout neophyte and has taken on the tradition duties of that typical of a scout such as sniping and recon. I also gave him several different marks of armor to show that he had to salvage whatever armor he could to keep his maintained. I also kit bashed a rifle like bolter to show that he has modified his trust old bolter to work in a more long ranged kind of way. Anyways this is just a quick mock up of the mini right now. I'll probably scale him up a bit and green stuff on a camo cloak as well. Also sorry for the brick of text I got a bit carried away
Wow... there are just some fantastic looking projects on the table already! I'm truly humbled...
I posted pics of most of the prize packages to the announcement of the competition and added a link directly to it to my sig, so you can easily find it from any post of mine. Still have one pic to go. I hope you'll find them satisfactory.
There is an interesting story behind all the loose metal that harkens back to a time in GW history that will never be repeated again. Many years ago, something happened at the wharehouse and all the shelves came down, one knocking the other down, just like dominoes. Tens of thousands of figures lay mixed up on the floor with no practical way of sorting them out... As a result, they just decided to sell them by the pound! You get whatever you get. Several friends and I all bought several pounds each & when we all got our stash, we got together and traded for what we wanted. Many of the loose figures you see in the prize packages are left over from that rather unusual event.
All looking like interesting starts here.....I'm still harvesting parts and have managed to whittle down the basic ideas to two, both involving corrupted MWs, one on a bike, one not....more tempted by the bike idea, but more likely to complete the infantry model in time Plan to be out tomorrow night so should have some mock-ups to show Friday.
I'll put in one further comment here. Describing your thought process during construction and painting is a *really good idea* and will only help your final standing. When you submit your final pics, I strongly recommend you include a paragraph describing (in short) all the things you did to try and make your figure just right. I may not always recognize your thought processes or see the significance of the details you put in.
You can tentatively count me in. I will check the bits box by the end of this weekend and see what I got. And thanks to Camkierhi posting about this in his blog otherwise I might have missed it =D
I don't have any parts together yet, but I did strike up a thought of how to do this on my way home from watching Fury tonight(be jelly of me, very jelly).
I'm going to have a base likely a 40mm square, maybe have a tree on it. I've got some pilot legs laying around, utilize those as a dead MW, use a spare flagellant arm, and maybe a zombie head as my "basing". Also, have the parts that are bare be rowed up beside in an organized manner as the actual MW will be divvying up all the salvageable equipment. The operative word is pragmatism.
I like it Cam, very mantid-like. I wonder if it would be more aesthetically pleasing if the chainsword base extended a bit further back on the armour? Technically it doesn't require it, but something seems slightly off from the back view....could just be the fact that it's still morning though
Oh....and I think you should take a look at Git's comment over on the doc's blog If anyone's going to pull off tiny wheeled accesseroies for marines it'll be you
Great idea moonpie - really like the sound of that.....
This is a pile of possible bitz to use. I'm going to have to experiment with how trashed and jury-rigged I want them to be. I have options from maybe mixing some armor to platemail parts and a bow and arrows.
I also wrote a haiku to help keep a focus.
Can next contest be mid-Badab War? That way I can have an Executioner beheading a Mantis Warrior. That would be fun. Is it bad form to talk about the next Mantis Warrior Challenge while in the middle of this current one? Why am I still up?
@Miss Dee: Actually Dee, at the moment I haven't asked anyone to judge this particular comp as there are no set standards to judge by... just my desire to see some really cool, off-the-hook Mantis Warriors. Given how things are going though... I may need some help near the end. If so, I'll be contacting you for sure.
So much good stuff I don't know what to comment on first... Terminator looks truly frightening & the sword appendages are an interesting solution to something I never figured out how to do (on a terminator).
I really hope you can join in the fun GamesEtc. I've tried to make this one as free-wheeling as possible so it allows maximum creativity and enjoyment for the participants.
Moonpie, I officially DQ you for having too many cool bits to choose from. To get back in, you must figure out a way to use ALL of them in your final product.
I don't have many marine bitz, but I'm feeling inspiration. We'll see, maybe I'll be able to throw my hat into the ring.
EDIT:
Screw it... I'm in.
I'm feeling inspired by the meme, "Can you find the sniper?" that has been going around facebook for a while now. That, and my love of "Where's Waldo?"... (yes, I do know where the topless sunbather is...)
I hope this turns out as entertaining in reality as it does in my mind.
@Anpu: Go with the flow man, it's not about the bits... it's about...
@Ruglud: Too funny! I grew up with a children's show in Chicago (Ray Raynor) that had a mix of cartoons, skits *and* a craft project. Some intern would make a beautiful little craft project as the model, then Ray would try to recreate it live. It always turned out as a disaster.... you could hear the crew laughing off-screen as Ray inevitable glued everything together except the project. Kids' mom's would occasionally send him things to try and make it easier but Ray was just an epic failure at making crafts.
Back story.. The MW having been sentenced to a 100 year crusade, without supplies or reinforcement. However they are masters of deceit. They paint their armor Pink and Yellow. Perfect camo. Most other marines won't ask and Imperial forces are too scared to question them as they resupply and get repairs. “ oh and I’ll be needing some green paint too..ummm.... for touching up the avocado colored kitchen appliances.. Yes ..Avacado! Do I look like I'm joking? We have a lot of old appliances... don't make me shoot you in the face by that tree!”
Well, Git, I got a idea I want to run with, just a matter of "if" I got enough bits in my boxes to make a complete marine. I think I may be lacking legs, but not sure. But if I do work on this project, I will give this hint "Fiber Optic Cable".
Great push on entrants already! wow there's some great ideas so far :-) I'm watching this comp with interest! I would compete for the bikkies alone as they are truly delicious! but I don't have enough mental fortitude at this time of the year :-)
Nerdy, you should do that Landspeeder I sent you, mind you, no disrespect to anyone here, but with the work you been knocking out lately, and it would only take you a day! Numpties like me would be so far out of the running it would be no contest. There are already far to many very very good people here. I thought I might have a shot at about 6th if enough don't finish, but big boys like you knock me down and out, so in the words of the wonderful people...
Just a caution... legal entries are infantry or bikes. Land speeders are neither. Doing a Mk-1 LS as an attack bike (which is what I planned on doing) might be acceptable.
SL arrives tomorrow for a full day of power gaming. I can't wait! Been steadily working on cleaning up the studio/gaming area. Still a long way to go but I have been making progress. The boys and I are home today so hopefully we can make some collective progress on the space. Got my army laid out... We decided to go for interesting and varied rather than straight-out power builds as he's trying to teach me 7th. There will be battle reports.
monkeytroll wrote: Now obviously I don't need all those arms - but I might need all those chain-swords
And I don't need all three bikes - need to whittle down my choices still.
That post is full of all kinds of heretical talk. As if you wouldn't crate some kind of 6 wheeled murder cycle with grabby arms and chainswords.
Well okay...in the normal run of things that is exactly what I'd do But I'm not sure that would fit in the category 'legally'.
On the other hand I'm beginning to hate you Gits....I started putting some of those bits together last night and now I think I'm going to have to create a small group of corrupted mantids as there were just so many ideas flowing.....gggrrrrrrrrr
*chuckles evilly... rubs hands together* Much as I like your idea of a mob-o-mantids MT... I would double-check the competition OP before you begin. Just to be sure your competing on a level playing field.
Be great to have you involved Akalako. I'm sure you can scam some bits from a bud and be on your way in no time!
Should have made that a bit clearer - the single infantry or rider that I come up with for this comp can't even begin to cover the myriad possibilities I've started seeing, so I'm going to have to also create my own little team of evil MWs just to scratch that particular itch....
@mt: Those are all awesome man. I'll take full responsibility for starting you on that building tirade! Where on earth did you get those insectoid heads??
@Cam: Wow, that came together quickly. Excellent choice of head. He no longer has any stoner qualities.
So rummaging around looking for more torsos to continue my mantis builds I found a few bits I'd forgotten about. Whilst playing with them I changed my mind about the build for the comp.
Brother Sabera from the Second Instar of the Dark Mantids warband.
Maybe needs a bit of equipment stowed on the back of the bike, other than that ready to hit the paint shop. My original plan for this comp was a reverse Tranquility scheme - black with yellow splashes, but I went with this bike due to the carapace feel of it, and so now think a darker variation on the green/yellow scheme will work better...maybe dark green and a light brown in plsce of the yellow. We'll see.....
That's really cool in the past we talked about a Horned Locust traitor chapter using turquoise and yellow. There's also red corsairs of course, which is very deldar, too. Love those mandibles.
When you're finished... You can post your final pics here. Let's say a limit of 4 views so things don't get out-of-hand. When all the entries are in, I'll combine them along with any pertinent text you submit with them into one giant post. Be sure to take the best photographs you can, I can't judge it if I can't see it. If you don't have photoshop, you can ask me for help. I will sharpen and white balance your photos (with you being the final judge as to whether my changes are acceptable).
Solar_lion & I had two fantastic games today. Marine vs. marine... mano y mano. Of course his army was stunning on the table. Mine was considerably less so as I was using partially painted centurions and a very old, metal dreadnought that's not really up to standard. We had a lot of fun though. Lots of grousing and whining about dice and luck. His army had an insane amount of fire-power and mobility. Mine not-so-much, but still decent enough to give it a go. We played maelstrom missions which I'm convinced are vastly superior to the normal ones when it comes to the fun quotient. We tied game one 11 to 11, and I eked out a victory in game two 16 to 13. Mainly owing to tragically bad dice luck for SL and above average dice luck for me. My stand outs-were the lone Thunderfire Cannon and a 7 man assault squad. Yep, just regular old assault marines. So glad they're useful again. Also my land raider which might not have killed more than a razorback or two, but absorbed dozens (not exaggerating) of las-cannon and melta shots over the two games without ever being destroyed. OH, and I used the Mantis Warrior librarian and chapter tactics. Very interesting.
Took a ton of photos. Will post them when I can. Thanks SL for making the long drive down here, I had a blast!!
Man I feel going the Traditional route with this is a bad idea. But, I'll stick to my guns....
Spoiler:
I do have a scale shot with a regular Beakie Marine, but forgot the cable for my camera. Will post that if anyone wants me to. So I'm using the method Veteran Sergent posted on his thread on how to make his version of True Scale Marines. Hence why the Marine is a Veteran Sergent.
So my thought behind this was, a Veteran Sergent being under surveillance by the Inquisition. He is fighting an unknown enemy and his helmet has been damaged.
He looks great deadmeat... no problem sticking to your guns. Please post a scale shot when you can. I think the true-scaling you did is very cool and deserves some exposition.
Well It was Veteran Sergent who came up with the idea. His blog is great and has some very characterful Marines. The scale shot wont be up until early morning Tuesday. I only have internet at work.
Happy news from my end. Thing-1 and I made major progress on the studio yesterday! Still a long way to go but lept a major hurdle... so we're moving forward.
Might get a chance to get some pics up from last weekend's battles with SL. At least a couple of good teaser's if not an actual battle report.
Gitsplitta wrote: Solar_lion & I had two fantastic games today. Marine vs. marine... mano y mano. Of course his army was stunning on the table. Mine was considerably less so as I was using partially painted centurions and a very old, metal dreadnought that's not really up to standard. We had a lot of fun though. Lots of grousing and whining about dice and luck. His army had an insane amount of fire-power and mobility. Mine not-so-much, but still decent enough to give it a go. We played maelstrom missions which I'm convinced are vastly superior to the normal ones when it comes to the fun quotient. We tied game one 11 to 11, and I eked out a victory in game two 16 to 13. Mainly owing to tragically bad dice luck for SL and above average dice luck for me. My stand outs-were the lone Thunderfire Cannon and a 7 man assault squad. Yep, just regular old assault marines. So glad they're useful again. Also my land raider which might not have killed more than a razorback or two, but absorbed dozens (not exaggerating) of las-cannon and melta shots over the two games without ever being destroyed. OH, and I used the Mantis Warrior librarian and chapter tactics. Very interesting.
Took a ton of photos. Will post them when I can. Thanks SL for making the long drive down here, I had a blast!!
You did well for not playing in a long while. It was two great games. I 'll need a rematch for sure. Also many thanks for the family meals.
Ah, you know my sweetie.... no guest goes unfed (kind of a bonus for gaming at my house).
I should also mention that in the second game the centurions were also really great (no surprise). Game 1, not so much as the terrain & cagey playing by SL really limited their utility.
@steinerp: Final figure needs to be smaller than a dreadnought. I just want to keep everyone on a more-or-less level playing field. Centurion or attack-trike sized is fine though.
Remember there's no limitation on base size... so if you want to have a centurion-sized figure standing atop a 6" tall pile of slain enemies... that works for me.
@WM: You build a Mantis Knight... you can enter it. But ONLY if I get it when you're done!
deadmeat85 wrote: Honestly I really don't like the beaky helmets. I don't use them in my army at all. But I did make one beaky marine just to say I have one.
Oh, I'm a huuuge fan of Beakies. if you don't know what to do with the old ones, i'll gladly take 'm off your hands. For Science!
I'm in as well. These are to me what I was first introduced to in 40K so I'm all in on the beakie. My new favorite is the one with the vents ( the new DA ones ) wish I had more of these.
Almost all my marines are equipped as such. Just like all my vehicle operators have the ' tech mechinacus' Helmet. It's just a theme with me.
Meph.. if your'e in dire need beakies, let me know.. I can spare some.
Anyway back to Mantis Warriors.. Not sure I'll have time with my GK deadline. But I'll keep it in mind!
I know I promised you guys some battle reports... but it dawned on me as I was looking at the nearly 1GB of photos that I took of the games I had with SL that with the maelstrom missions... it's nearly impossible to produce a logical battle report without taking a ton of notes (which I didn't do). So instead... I through together what I thought were some of the best pics... some with comic book captions as inspired by Polythemus. Enjoy!
Game #1
We're deploying on the short edges of the board and have drawn the mission where you start with one card and keep drawing up to the number of the turn. This is the first 40k game I've played in many months so Solar_lion is doing a lot of teaching. As a result, he misses some early opportunities to put the hurt on me & is generally playing under his normal abilities (thanks SL).
The Lamenters... spurred on by Kahn (because you know... Lamenters are actually a White Scars successor chapter ) pour through the towards the center of the table and their first objective!
The Lamenters sternguard drop on another objective, only to be assaulted and wiped out by Mantis Warriors (who then admire the tastefully finished interior of the Lamenter pod... no such luxuries for the Mantis Warriors... they just bounce around on a bare floor like a can of dried beans).
Kahn leads his elite guard into the mandibles of the awaiting Mantis Warrior land raider.
Unfortunately, before they can make contact... a Mantis Warrior scout bike squad with storm talon escort arrives behind them and kills the squad members who have a good chance of damaging the land raider. Leaving Kahn to search for better prey.
The Lamenters bikes are all over the center of the board like a swarm of angry bees. The podded tactical squad must take refuge on a derelict ork construction platform in order to stay out of reach!
Though wanting to join the frey... the tac sqad must settle for firing down off the platform into the swirling mass of bikes below.
Meanwhile in the Lamenter rear, a tac squad looses it's means of transportation... but emerges undaunted.
Kahn and his bikes of doom close on the Mantis centurions and terminator psycher. Things do not go well for the boys in green.
The Lamenters air-superiority is starting to take it's toll... and the very plucky TFC is finally laid low. (Note the awesome objective marker the SL did. He's got them numbered 1-6.)
In the last turn, the lone surviving scout biker (the sergeant) skims around the massive ork facility and secures one final objective... also securing a TIE GAME!
Final Score:
Lamenters: 11
Mantis Warriors: 11
Very lucky to pull a tie here. This was my first experience using the maelstrom mission cards and I must admit I really loved it. Generates a very different game than standard missions which is much more free-wheeling and fun. You also have to be good at thinking on your feet to deal with the unexpected curve balls the mission cards throw you. My stars of the game? The land raider... for tanking an amazing amount of las cannon fire & never actually wrecking. The assault marines who took out the sternguard, a tac squad and jumped on an objective or two. Lastly the thunderfire cannon which was just a pain in the butt for the Lamenters... accounting for a few casualties every turn which can really add up. This was also my first time using the IA rules for the Mantis Warriors and their one named character Ahazra Redth. I like it... but it'll take a bit of thought and practice to get good with the rules.
Weeeee! That was fun.... and a lot more interesting to do than my usual "play-by-play" battle report. What do you guys think??
DOW deployment, we share cards (3 per person but can score any. SL deploys first & spreads across the board but his scary command squad is on my far right. I refuse the flank (deploy far left) with the exception of the snipers who deploy on an objective on my far right... hoping to get a called shot at one of the characters while scoring the objective.
... and so it beings...
The Lamenters have a list that's designed for an alpha-strike and decide to bring the pain. Nearly everything scouts forward then makes a dash for the center of my lines. The vanguard of the charge is the Lamenter bike squad. The attack bike is looking to add another land raider to his kill tally.
The Lamenter sternguard pod in close to an objective and focus their substantial firepower on the "sitting duck" land raider.
Meanwhile the scouts are chillin' on the objective.
Unfortunately for the young scouts... their sergeant couldn't be more wrong. Kahn sees them and realizes their importance to the mission.
The assault squad that had sheltered behind the as-yet-not-destroyed land raider, took exception to the actions of the Lamenter sternguard.
Some flamers, bolter shots and an assault later... it looked like this.
Unfortunately for the Lamenters, the alpha strike didn't have the hoped-for results, leaving the large bike squad open to a hail of fire by the centurions, the land raider and the thunderfire cannon. Many casualties resulted.
A Mantis Warrior tactical squad podded near an objective in the Lamenter rear, hoping to get a quick predator kill. Unfortunately the predator was shaken, but not stirred.
Back on the left, the Lamenters had moved forward aggressively and a tactical squad was looking for some payback. Unfortunately shooting was somewhat less effective than advertised and they were caught in a pincer between the assault marines and a dreadnought approaching from the south-west.
Then the Lamenter air power arrived and cut the big tac squad in half, threatening to route the only Mantis Warrior incursion deep into their lines.
The remnants of the squad held, and fell back (in good order) to the relative protection of a ruined tower which held an objective. That was a close one!
Having dispatched the scouts and scored the objective, the Lamenter command squad was ready to press the assault. However it was at that point where the objective card "witch hunter" was drawn. The Mantis Warrior librarians were tucked safely away on the second and third floors of a ruin, surrounded by a bubble-wrap of centurions. This left the Lamenter psycher feeling very exposed.
The Mantis Warrior scout bikes arrive on the Lamenter left and a salvo of astartes grenade launchers leave the second Lamenter predator a smoking ruin.
They then seek out one of the Lamenters tactical squads and keep them busy in assault for the rest of the game... safely away from any scoring objectives.
The Mantis Warrior storm talon arrives to take out one of the Lamenter flyers, saving the tac squad on the objective from certain destruction.
The surviving members of the Mantis Warrior assault squad use their jump packs to claim one last objective.
Lastly, the Mantis Warrior talon hovers over the librarian and claims the "witch hunter" honors!
Final Score:
Lamenters: 13
Mantis Warriors: 16
It should be noted that SL's dice luck was tragic in this game, while mine stayed pretty good throughout. Solar_lion really bet everything on the success of that first alpha-strike, and when it failed the center of his line was so exposed that they just got eaten up by my centurions and land raider. Nothing wrong with his strategy, just horrible dice. He also immobilized 3 out of 4 vehicles on terrain. That severely limited his ability to scoot around and pick up objective points. Stars for this game were the centurion star (with both Redth and another epistolary psycher with terminator armor and a storm shield) who had a centrally located, elevated platform with an objective on it from which to lay a swath of devastation. The assault marines who basically did exactly what they did in the first game and in the same order! The TFC which just kept relentlessly whittling away at everything and finally the little storm talon who served up some lethal and timely fire when it was really needed. Actually, everything performed really well come to think of it. The scouts drew his command squad away, effectively keeping the out of the entire game. The podded in tac marines finished off a razorback and sat on an objective. Even the scout bikes played a solid role and once again the land raider tanked an amazing number of las cannonn and melta shots without being wrecked (though it was down to 1 hull point).
"By the power of greyskull" A-HA! Khorne traitors!
No really I L'dMAO when I read this.
These battlereps are very entertaining! Just throw in an overview shot of the theater and give the scenes' positions via numbers, and you couldn't do better anymore. Plus, it is a pleasure to view two so very beautifully devised armies. Army shots and such are nice, but to present them figs in their "natural environment" is so much better.
And I'm up to date again! Looks like I've dropped back in at a great time too. I always enjoy that style of short and snappy bat rep as I'm not much of a gamer, nice and easy for me to follow. Not to mention the 2nd Annual Mantis Maker! Every one of last years entries was super and I see this one is already on track to bring more of the same.
Adepticon looked like a blast, hopefully I'll make it out one day and meet all of you good fellows. Oh and your steam train-esque Thunderfire Cannon is really nice and well recovered from an unexpected paint effect. I really, really struggle to get even a little bit on board with Centurions but you've done a great job on them and that is so far the most acceptable variation I have seen.
Nice battle reports and easy to understand for the simple of minds
Started to pain my mantis boy, here is the progress,
Never was a big fan of bright colors so this guys color will be darker than normal Mantis warriors
Actually Jehan, if you were to look in the IA Badab War books, you'd see them represent the Mantis Warriors in very subdued colors. So your interpretation is spot-on. I just like the old-school screaming-green that I was attracted to back when they first debuted. I will not be basing my judgment on which green the contestants choose.
Well, I started working my bits, rigging them to contain fiber optic strands and the LED. Will get some pics up hopefully tomorrow night. As soon as I get the legs, I can finish the rigging and begin applying green stuff. Maybe start priming/painting this weekend???
Also ordered a Macro lens for my tablet so hopefully that will arrive in time for final pics =D
@Hruotland: That's a very good suggestion. I'll try that next time. Have some games lined up with my kids so maybe I'll try it then.
@Solar_lion: Would love to have you in the competition brother, but I know you're up against a hard deadline with the Grey Knights. Still, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
@GamesEtc: Very excited to see what you've been up to! Sounds quite intriguing!
Love those mantis bikes I remember following the building of them...
some of these marines are super awesome! would like to see them face of ....like a Dark Angel v. Fallen kinda fight....To Purge the stain on the Mantis Warriors honor as it were...
the battle was awsome although really its a bit of a shocker to have the only battle brothers these two chapters really have fighting each other...
@graven: That's actually Solar_lions flyer, he made for the emergency... "oh crap, one of our teammates couldn't show up" Adepticon contingency. (which thankfully never happened)
@Snrub: Thank you sir!
@Akalako: Yeah, they're still one of my favorite units from a visual perspective. Not too bad on the table either... though the FA slot they take up is pretty valuable. Your wish may happen. Solar's looking to come down again some time in early December.
I posted both reports in the battle report section & cleaned them up and added some extra text (set up & post-game thoughts). I've replaced the bat-reps here with the updated versions. You might find the post-game comments interesting.
Photos and reps were brilliant Gits, very entertaining for me as I'm not down with the correct rules lingo yet but I could read and look through and still thoroughly enjoy it :-) I loved the captions too, great touch and something different I want to see more of please!
Solar_lion wrote: I'm in as well. These are to me what I was first introduced to in 40K so I'm all in on the beakie. My new favorite is the one with the vents ( the new DA ones ) wish I had more of these.
Almost all my marines are equipped as such. Just like all my vehicle operators have the ' tech mechinacus' Helmet. It's just a theme with me.
Meph.. if your'e in dire need beakies, let me know.. I can spare some.
Anyway back to Mantis Warriors.. Not sure I'll have time with my GK deadline. But I'll keep it in mind!
Cheers for the thought my friend! Currently I wouldn't say I'm in 'dire need'. I still have half a dozen ro so lying around and some MKIV's. ALso I don't think i'll be getting another basic squad soon. Currently I'm at 1 tac, 2 dev, 1 ass(), with another vanguard in the pipeline.
I was thinking to finish them after finisheing up my HQ units but watchging that battle report makes me want to blow of the dust of the Storm Talon kit and go to work on it...
Looks great Cam. Display base is really nice touch. I'm getting really close to painting again. Just a few things to sort out in the studio before I can begin.
@Archer: Welcome to blogzilla! I certainly hope you can hang around and pitch in. This blog's always been a showcase for the readers as much as my own efforts. Its delightful to have another soul to bounce ideas off of.
@Jehan: Looking very good. Love that storm bolter and the mottling of the green is very nice.
This is my first time painting power armor, much less terminator armor. I'm taking it bit by bit... so here are the legs.
I built it up from a black basecoat, and then successive layers of washes and color. Let me know what you think?
Trying to catch up, but still on the race, here's mine so far.
(Side-line ramblings and a bit of the build's history elsewhere; for briefness sake: Very few bits to choose from, I went with what I found. Paint-stripped some, refitted the un-fitting legs to the body, reworked the arms a bit, primered, and got stuck pondering on the gear to put into the open left hand)
Bits and stripping bath:
Undocumented parts-fitting. Reduced the Terminator waist to match it to the body, shaved off icons and such, and modified the position of both arms to give it a one-hand hold on the gun. Scrap made shoulder guards, and belt pouches added here too. Possible pipe-bomb for the left hand, not sure about it yet.
Assembled:
And after primer:
(The emblem on the bolter needs further filing, as do the pauldrons)
The two options so far for the gearing-up of the left hand: home-brewed bomb, or alien blade?
Going for the White Scar successor angle, Anpu. Difficult to say more from the picture. Keep at it.
Looking interesting LT. Where'd the shoulder pads come from?
I don't think the pose works for holding the knife, but that doesn't mean he can't have it on his belt etc.
Like the little bomb.
I should show my progress while I'm here.
Built, and painting has started today:
I *think* he's done. This isn't the final photo: I'm going to take the time with the light tent etc. However, for the time being, I give you Sgt "Flaming" Claw:
I've used Vallejo military colours mostly - Green Ochre, Russian Uniform, English Uniform and Luftwaffe green - along with Smoke, Black Glaze and Skin Wash. I've not used any metal at all, and tried for some NMM (eep). In the pic he's a bit shiny - still wet - but still might need to hit him up with some brush on matt varnish.
Anyway, I'm pretty happy with him. The composition works for me, it has a narrative of sorts, and he looks like a MW. Your thoughts?
Superglue cap tip, cut in two lengthwise. Hard material for the primer to stick to, used Rust-Oleum Plastic Primer instead of Ultracover (I usually prefer the later for it's thinner finish, and works fine on styrene. In the case, there wasn't much detail to preserve on the pads - primered separately - so I favoured the bonding)
Commander Cain wrote:What did you use to get the paint off plastic so well Littletower?
Soaked in a Dettol bath overnight , toothbrush, toothpick for the deeper crevices. Latex gloves if you'd rather not smell of antiseptic for over a day afterwards. Dettol is reusable.
Great to see it getting hotter - we need a flaming claw!
what, I hear you cry, of the Flaming Claw?
Well, I've done some photos in the light booth, with camera on as hi-res I can, and tbh all I see is flaws:
Not happy with axe haft or inside edge of cloak
Waist above Right hip looks to be missing green, argh.
Alright well here is a quick update on my submission. Painted it up a bit to see how it would look, next thing to do is do the battle damage amd paint it up nice
Ok, so progress report on Brother Sabera......added some stowage (including bits from RTB01 of course ) and put down the base colours.....
After graven mentioned it I recalled the discussion about the Locusts, but felt I couldn't really go with actual turquoise as that's the main colour on my Slaaneshi marines, but thought this kabalite green would do nicely. I'm planning to add striations to the brown areas, and contemplating a fade on the bike green just todifferentiate it a bit from the rider. Still at a loss for gloves and weapons though....
That's the basic build. It follows about what I said it would be. Sorry for the shoddy shots. It's the best I can do at the moment. I'll get a good series for the final cut.
I decided on making the figure mostly follow what yours look like with the Corvus look. I snuck a Mark 3 left arm to show that it is a bit thrown together and salvaged. When it dries, I might carve it up some with more bullet pocks. The dude on the ground is meant to look torn apart and stripped of useful parts. I want some difference between the two.
For those of you submitting early, I should like to point out that no entry is considered final until the fat lady sings on the 15th. So if you submit your entry, then later on have second thoughts... please feel free to fiddle with it and then re-submit it.
I think I'm going to start painting tonight. I just cleared a space in front of my airbrush desk and made a new spray booth. Keep your eyes peeled!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Back in the saddle... Sorry the pics aren't so great. In the ongoing process of working on the studio the photo booth has gotten packed up.
As promised, started work on Dust's GMS marine.
And airbrushed the guns to go with the centurions. This was tricky as I had to imagine the position of the guns so I could airbrush the highlights correctly. Only guessed wrong on one gun!
Had to clean my long-unused airbrush about six times. It's still a little speckly... but I don't think it'll be noticeable once I get the detail painted up.
Okay, I think I'm done. I may resort to a new snap of the top of the gun as I've removed an irksome mold line and some shoddy gs work.
There is a legend, that is whispered in fear even in places of damnation and darkness. Striking, lancing with fire and axe, borne on the wind itself - the Flaming Claw.
I had trouble combining stealth and violent characteristics so settled on some chunky armour coupled with a silenced bolter. Still have to add some mantis iconography but this should at least get me started.
Last update for the night. Got some gold on 'im. Really starting to like this figure.
Got an el-cheapo sonic jewelry cleaner from Wal-Mart to help keep my airbrush clean. It "works"... but I'm not sure it actually does anything. Anyone have any suggestions for a good quality yet sanely priced sonic cleaner?
inmygravenimage wrote:
Okay, I think I'm done. I may resort to a new snap of the top of the gun as I've removed an irksome mold line and some shoddy gs work.
There is a legend, that is whispered in fear even in places of damnation and darkness. Striking, lancing with fire and axe, borne on the wind itself - the Flaming Claw.
Spoiler:
I think he might be done.
So he is making all those grain circles in the field
Commander Cain wrote:Okay, here's the start of mine.
I had trouble combining stealth and violent characteristics so settled on some chunky armour coupled with a silenced bolter. Still have to add some mantis iconography but this should at least get me started.
Commander Cain wrote:Okay, here's the start of mine.
I had trouble combining stealth and violent characteristics so settled on some chunky armour coupled with a silenced bolter. Still have to add some mantis iconography but this should at least get me started.
Spoiler:
Oh gosh he does indeed! Fear not though, my cat just made off with the head in its mouth so it may be some time before I can finish the model...
Edit: too early in the morning for dealing with quote coding, gah!
the shrouded lord wrote:well, here's my first ever attempt at this scheme. yellow is painful.
Welcome to my world. I haven't painted a terminator in over 20 years, so I always find it interesting to see other people's take on the figure. Nicely done tsl, it's a very nice entry into the competition.
Alfndrate wrote:Unfortunately, you can't get CHS shoulder pads until the courts unfreeze their assets. :\
Ah yes... good thing I stocked up then. Plenty to share by way of the GMS.
The purple looks really good on the green.
Thanks. I know he looks like acres of undifferentiated green at the moment, but that will change 'er long.
Commander Cain wrote:Oh gosh he does indeed! Fear not though, my cat just made off with the head in its mouth...
I live that life! Wayyyy too funny.
I'm excited. I might actually finish the GMS marine tonight depending on how much time I have to paint. With that as the warm-up, I can start attacking the centurions in earnest.
I'm loving the colour scheme Gits. I've been out for a bit... Soo I'm assuming that you are finally rebuilding the Mantis Warriors Post Crusade! New Stuff!!
I had to google what a centurion was. Cant wait to see more
The centurions are going to be a real challenge to paint. Not because of the technical difficulties involved... but because I'm shifting to my "modern" color scheme where purple becomes the main secondary color and the yellow is shifted to gold and becomes more of a highlight or accent. I'm looking forward to the challenge... just not sure how I'm going to approach it from a design standpoint. The gold will be pretty self-evident... the purple is tricky though.
In many ways Dust's GMS figure above is a trial run of my color scheme on a modern marine. A chance to play with some concepts without being wedded to it. This is always what I've used the GMS marines for... and the practice has produced many ideas that have evolved and been refined to the point where they become standards in my army.
Here is techmarine Lansing Okemos. As with all the Mantis Warriors nearing the completion of the penitent campaign, his servoharness has seen many modifications such as the arc-inducer and powerful scissors replacing the tradition flamer and servo arm. He is seen here on the Battle Cruiser Transgression of Trust.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Not sure why those are upside down or how to fix them from my phone
Liked the idea, suited - in my head, at least - the concepts of stealth and concealment, execution fell short. Extreme close ups are just too unforgiving...
Maybe try some teased out cotton wool as it has a finer grain and you then can set it with hair spray....not that I have tried it before or anything, just be careful as the hairspray can melt unprotected plastic.
*copied over from my blog*
And I'm done!
I could fiddle more, but won't really change the result.
Tasked with laying mines, the Mantis Warrior became aware of the sound of approaching footsteps. He waited, hidden by the foliage, until the enemy was within sight and then burst forth to eliminate the patrol before they could raise the alarm or trip one of his traps prematurely.
Many angles, should show all...
Notes relevant to the competition/modelling:
I tried to use parts for the model that were (or appeared to be) of older marks of armour/equipment. This was to keep with the aesthetic of Gitsplitta's Mantis Warriors and to represent the length of time that the Mantis Warriors have spent away from the Imperium on crusade.
The "beaky" helmet, to me, represents speed due to the streamlined look. This then harks back to being successors of the White Scars (the only other marine I have with a beaky is a White Scar), who like the faster modes of transportation. Plenty of purity seals to show that he (and the MWs) are loyal to the Emperor.
The studded shoulder pad, in the tranquillity camouflage pattern, shows that this marine was a veteran of the Badab war and, while his armour has been repaired and refurbished, he has chosen to keep the pattern on that shoulder as a badge of honour.
His bolter has been modified into more of a rifle than an assault rifle, and he carries a suppressor, to show that he is well versed in sniping from a concealed vantage point. The "many" grenades and the meltabomb, and the mines are all to show that he is also proficient in sabotage. Both of these to emphasise the Guerrilla warfare preference of the MWs. Most of the metals (in particular the knife) are dulled to avoid detection.
The pose, however, is to show that he can act when he needs to in a "sudden application of violence from concealment". Holding the knife to show that he can and will get stuck in as well as the occasional, subtle, stab in the back/slash of the throat.
I think that is all there is... all contained on a 25mm base.
Thanks for the inspiration Gitsplitta.
I'll be back to comment of other's work when it's not 1:45am
I'm going to do more work on mine. make a LITTLE fluff maybe. I really like this competition idea, and always need excuses to try out new colour schemes.
Go to it Casey. You know you want to... still plenty of time...
Liking the barrel you added to the bolter, CCain.
Good work on the Terminator, Shrouded. I'm not sure on the blue eyes though. I'll wait until you've done more and don't change them on my account, just a thought.
LT, I've commented in your thread, so you'll just get a "good work" here.
Interesting build Steinerp (whichever way up it is). Like the "snips", is that a standard part, where from? (Showing my ignorance of "Bitz").
I just got a bitz drop and got some cool bits that are turning cogs in my brain, would it be ok if i revised my entry? heck even if i can't do you guys wanna see it?
Sorry to hear that, Git. I know that can be a real pain! Hopefully you get it all sorted without too much fuss.
@H - I may have knocked together a sketch of a Mantis from my imagination. Right now I have no real intention of entering so here is one image in spoiler tags. More in my blog.
@tsl: Yes of course. No entries are considered "final" until the 15 of Nov.
@Case: I like it. Interesting concept. I'm anxious to see where you go with it.
Well, working through midnight... a friend who is a computer guru managed to help me get a functional computer back. Turns out Windows 8.1 (which I just installed) has a fatal flaw when combined with nVidia graphics drivers. Will have to call them about that today.
Lets see. On the modeling front... I dropped the marine I was working on and it exploded. Took me a couple days of poking around to find all the parts. On the plus side I was able to easily paint some "hidden" parts of the model after the explosive deconstruction. I think all I have left to do are the eyes and some "squiggles-a-la-Knightley". Will have it done today for sure. I might make a point of dropping all my models after airbrushing as it really does make them easier to paint the details.
excellent. I'v made a "mantis claw/ chain fist" for my terminator. I don't think I'll win, as it won't be very stealthy loking, but meh. th only prize i was interested in was the first one, so i wasn't going to win anyway. I will of course still make,paint and show the model.
the shrouded lord wrote: excellent. I'v made a "mantis claw/ chain fist" for my terminator. I don't think I'll win, as it won't be very stealthy loking, but meh. th only prize i was interested in was the first one, so i wasn't going to win anyway. I will of course still make,paint and show the model.
Nonsense and poppy cock. You don't compete in these comps for the prizes. You compete because it forces you to make some thing you wouldn't have normally made. They challenge your painting skills and pits you against your fellow hobbiest. It doesn't matter if your modelling skills are sub par or your painting sucks. You do it because you can and because it's fun. You do it for the challenge. A potential prize is just a nice bonus.
The reason this competition in particular is so damn good is because Gits, in all his wisdom, put the onus of decision on the competitors. Which I think is a very smart move.
He gave competitors this
"Once the silent warders of the Endymion Cluster, in the wake of the Badab Wars the Mantis Warriors have been bound to a century long penitent crusade which may well see the end of the Chapter before its conclusion. One of the rare descendants of the savage White Scars, the Mantis Warriors’ millennia of isolation on the far edge of human space has left them much changed from their origins. Experts in the art of guerrilla warfare and the sudden application of violence from concealment, the Mantis Warriors are subtle and cunning killers, wreathed in mysticism, who strike with the fury of an unexpected storm."
And one clear instruction.
Best figure that hits closest to the mark wins.
Gits has basically said "Here's a thing. Now go. Do. Come back when it's done." And that's what's brilliant about it. Everyone is going to interpret that passage of text in a different way and complete their entry in the way of their interpretation. You have to chose how best to hit that mark with no real guidelines from the person you have to impress. It's not like Bebops Guardsman Grand Prix where we all had to paint exactly the same thing. Or Nerdfests recent Sin City challenge where everything was in grey scale. (Both excellent comps in their own right, don't get me wrong). It's a much more challenging comp because it is so free form. You're not just relying on your painting ability or your modelling skills to see you through. You have to rely on your knowledge of the subject matter and how best to apply it in this situation.
So you chose a terminator. One might not immediately associate a terminator with guerrilla warfare or stealth. But I'll be buggered if just randomly appearing near/behind/in front of someone unexpectedly via the means of teleportation isn't stealth in some form or another. And I'll be doubly buggered if teleporting in, applying obscene amounts of violence with a chain fist, and then teleporting out again, and then doing this multiple times over the course of a day/week/campaign isn't bloody well considered guerrilla warfare.
"Hmm. I was alone a minute ago. Now there's a brassed off looking demi-god in a rather large suit of clanky armour waving an arm mounted chainsaw in my direction. He'd have to be pretty stealthy to get this close without me hearing him." "Hmm. That's the 5th time a large demi-god has appeared out of no where and slaughtered my men only to vanish again. I do wish he'd stop."
In short - Good work TSL. Carry on.
Oh and hey Gits. Have you seen FW's new Vorax Battle Automata? What'd ya reckon, Mantis Warrior dreadnoughts or what? They're practically screaming to be painted green.
Hmm, doesn't look like the break has done any damage to your paint skills Gits Right shoulderpad looks like it might benefit from a bit of touch-up near the cable, other than that all good mate Post-crusade scheme works well.
And Snrub....you are an evil, evil man. The month hasn't started and technically I'm already over my hobby budget, and then you go and point those out.....
Good job, Gits'. Like the purple with the red flip-side. And I like the red eyes of the mantis head.
And, What Snrub said. This is a competition that judges your translation of your imagination into a model, using your interpretation.
There's also 5 winner slots, who choose their own prize, and no guarantee that anyone else wants the same prize as you. (Unless I've interpreted that wrong ).
There's still hope. Push yourself, try your best, have fun and you may even learn something new that will help you in the future.
I managed to completely miss the post with the marine in it somehow. Now I've spotted him he is indeed a beauty.
Also love what comrade has done. There seems to be a lot of powerfists and chainfists considering the theme. We love to think outside the box on Dakka don't we?
Well thank you all. It feels good to return with a completed paint job. Freaking school eating all my time. Should leave it and do constant model things. But that is frowned upon, so from time to time i will sneak back on. Glad to see all the regs like Git, Dr, Monkey, Casey and Cam are still running around!
Good to have you back panda. It's like getting the band back together again.
OK everyone... officially 15 days left! Have seen some amazing entries so far... and I'm really excited about what's to come! There's even time for more entrants to get into the mix so step up of the spirit moves you. I may even add one more prize package if I can find enough good stuff to put in it.
OH.... and Snrub.... thank you very much for your eloquent and passionate discourse on the competition. I couldn't have possibly said it any better. I am truly humbled.
well, I'm not sleeping tonight. now i have to write a corresponding passage to go with the lad. and i was hoping for some nighty nighty.
and i agree, when i painted the first "entry, i didn't even know there were prizes, but i'm loath to be beaten by a colour pallete! by gods if i can paint white, I SHALL DEFEAT YOU, YELLOW!
the shrouded lord wrote: thanks dr.h, that model is looking sexy by the way, but i think I''ll got for a more toned down yellow.
Not a prob'. Thankfully, Gits' had a helpful link in his OP, otherwise I wouldn't have found it.
Thanks.
If you want to make the yellow faded, you can add grey paint of a similar tone (this works for any colour, so long as you match the tone; darker grey for darker colours etc...). This is instead of adding white that will lighten the colour, or black that will darken the colour.
Then the technique remains the same and the result is just a faded/washed out version of the same colour.
The bad news is that I'm back, baby! If you can't remember (which is exceptionally likely) I had a handful of trash posts 2-3 years ago, primarily this one that you replied to about my custom chapter I effectively abandoned along with Warhammer as a whole around the time of my last comment on that thread.
The good news is that I'm back, baby! Err, rather that I'm starting up a Mantis Warriors force based on your thread, boii!! I'd like to find all of my old brushes and such (which I may have scrapped, I really hope not but I'm not sure...) and submit a Mantis for the challenge as well as my chapter, of course
Bought a Tac Squad, Scout Squad and a couple of brushes today. I may repurpose the Arms of Corax as a peripheral squad, but in any case I think that I rushed them and I'll need to rework them.
I scanned the first 150 pages or so of your thread today to get re-familiarized with your army and its looking (as of three years ago) beaaauutiful. I can't wait to keep reading Amazing as always
May yet decide to re-do those striations, not convinced by them at the moment.
Also need to start thinking about the base - original plan was to have him emerging from some kind of industrial pipework, but I'm thinking the colour scheme requires something a bit less urban.....
Still in, and still working. Marine is about 97% done. Will post in the next few days barring any time consuming obligations. I must say he is looking really great.
And Gits your GMS marine looks great. Liking the purple and post Crusade theme.
With arrival of the legs, I finished all the cutting and drilling I needed for my fig. Here are the results. And I apologize for pic quality. I just got my Macro lens for my tablet and am still learning the use of it.
First pics are of the off hand gun.
These show where the barrel was bored out and continues through to the hand.
Next up are the kneeling legs.
Here I had to bore through the legs and you can see a few spots where I went through too much (nothing a little liquid green stuff cant fix). Already ran the wire through them to where I hollowed out the hips to feed up to the LED in the chest. Hardest challenge here was to bore the holes in a way that had a max of a 45 degree angle otherwise the wire wouldnt go through. I wish I had some magnet wire as it is much thinner and could go through a 90 degree angle.
Here are the two halves of the chest.
Both halves have been hollowed out to allow room for the LED as well as heat shrink around it to prevent as much bleed out. Also enough room is needed to give the fiber optics room as I want to try to prevent having to melt 90 degree angles in them if possible. There will be three optics going up to the helm, one to the left arm and two to the right arm.
Here are the pics of the helm. I opted for the beaky helm as I thought it is more appropriate for this type of model.
The inside was hollowed out a much as I can to again prevent the need to make the fiber optics bend at 90 degrees. Both Eye slits and the little "thingy" on the top have been drilled. Once the fiber optic is ready to go in, I will mushroom the tips and shape them as needed to properly fit into each socket.
The Arms up next
The arms had to be separated from the hands in order to be able to thread the fiber optics through properly as well as bore everything cleanly.
Main hand gun
Here the barrel was bored out through to the hand. There is also a hole on the top of the gun as that is where the scope will attach (which I guess I forgot the pics for that). Both the barrel and scope will have fiber optics in it and will be mushroomed to fit the sockets well. Also, there is a small hole on the back of the gun as I plan to put a folding wire stock on it.
Gun barrel
And here is the gan with its elongated barrel with the flash suppressor/silencer.
And just a shot of some fiber optic strands =D
my debate now is do I want to prime all the pieces first, or assemble first? If I prime first, after running the fiber optics through, the fibers will be protected a bit from the CA glue. Either way, I have the next two days off and hope to start assembly tomorrow. I also got some work done on the base but didnt bring it to work with me tonite to take pics.
Barely seen through the heavy mist, the Battle Brother moved upon his target swiftly and without noise. A brief opening in the fog, a demolition charge casually left behind, almost as if forgotten…
The blast went off even before the mist had fully closed behind him, and the wall was breached. The fight was over before the debris from that first explosion had finished falling to the ground, the enemy never getting over the utter surprise of the attack.
Maybe because of living in an arid climate, coming out of the mist for a swift attack before getting lost in the fog again quite embodies the idea of the "sudden application of violence from concealment". Surprise assaults, bombs and quick strikes come to mind regarding the guerilla tactics of a depleted or isolated force.
This comp is fun - great work being showcased and such a volume of entries as well. As for GamesEtc - fibre optic Mantis Marine - really looking forward to seeing how this works out
Fair call, I looked online for about 45 minutes trying to find a tranquillity pattern shot with a chest eagle..... not a sausage in sight, I'll go with black though, you know forge a new road for others to follow.
Daken drew in a puff of smoke from his cigarete.
He let the puff go, watching the smoke dissipate.
Daken's las-rifle was slung along his shoulder, in place to be easily accessed. You could never know when some fanatic bastard was gonna run you throuh, even in these damned mud-plains. He'd heard tale of some unknown xenos rising out of the mires to slaughter unsusspecting men. Daken, and most of leore's PDF forces, had just rescently renounced imperial rule, and the false-emperor. Daken and his squad had been given orders to find the source of a mysterious energy spike in the area, and to report back. Comand thought it was nothing, but in a half-dozen years working in the PDF, Daken knew it was always better to be prepared. He stomped his siggarete into the mud, and scratched his beard. Once, when he was a factory worker, he'd always shaved, but those days were behind him.
The other four mmbers of his squad, higgs, the sharp-shooter, varsa, the big guy who only ever used solid-slug weapons, sergeant jaemes and doesn't-give-a-damn loeman, were all idiots, as far as Daken was concerned.they'd all started worshiping the so called “dark gods”, but Daken knew that nothing religious could be trusted. He'd learnt that when his prayers to the emperor had failed to save his wife and son from the green-skins.
As an annoying buzz at the back of Daken's throat suddenly started, probabl an after-effect of the stronger-than-usual tabbaco, jaemes raised an arm. The sergeant had served for a full decade, and was getting old. He had close-copped brown hair, wit slithers of grey that he'd obvyously tried to cut out. Daken planned on relpacing him after the old man kicked the bucket, and if he got tired waiting, well, h was sure no one would question stray las-round killing the segeant.
“anyone else hear that?” the sergeant asked, turning his head from left to right.
“yer hearin' things ya senile old coot.” that was higgs, the stupid smart-ass. Daken wouldn't mind shooting him either.
“n.i definitely heard something.” the ld man was crazy, as much as Daken hated to agree with higgs. The squard had stopped now, and Daken felt his worn leather boots sink into the muddy ground just a little. Then he heard it too.
It was obvyous that the whole squad heard it, because they all looked around. The noise was impossible to pin-point, like hearing a dog whistle. Then he flet it. Daken's teeth started to itch. Usually that told him he needed another siggeree, but now. OZONE. He could smell Ozone. What the emperor? Damn it, old habits died hard. Then there was an explosion of light, and Daken was thrown to the ground.
He heard jaemes scream, and then suddenly cut off.
Vrrr. Vrrr. Vrrrvrrvrrvrrr.
For one insane moment, all Daken could think was what the hell was a lawn-mower doing here? But then he placed the sound.
Chainsaw.he felt the ground shake, and realised he'd closed his eyes. He didn't remember that. He opened them, and wished he hadn't. Daken opened his eyes just in time to see higgs and loeman torn to chunks by a giant green and yellow thing. It was a giant, a massive beast with smooth armour panels for skin, a bullbog-elephant face and chainsaws for hands. Blood spattered its armour. Varsa opened fire, and the monster turned glowing red eyes on him. Varsa shouted vengeance, bu the monstr as quicker than it looked. It ignored the bullets peelting it's armour, and sepped forwards. Varsa's screams drowned out even the revving of those dreadfull chainsaw blades. Daken instinctivel started to crawl backwards, but the beast seemed tohear him. It turned, and Daken stared into those horrid red eyes. Blood was spattered all over its armour. His gun was useless. The monster took one step forward.Dacen was going to dy. Another step. He would join his family soon. Another. The screams of Dacen, traitor of the imperium, would be heard for miles.
Brother mercutio, first company of the mantis warriors, surveyed his handywork. The patrol was dead, alright. Very dead. Blood dripped, and dryed, on his armour soon, the treacherous bstards would send a second patrol. They too, he would slay. After that, the traitors would send a real patrol squad, something with tank-killing weapons. Only one of that patrol would survive. And he would return to their base of operations, covered in the blood of his comrdes, to tell of the vicious monster with whirring claws that had appeared in their midst. Mercutio looked over at a small ridge some kilometer away. That was his hiding spot. Mercutio powered his armour's teleportation unit. His teeth itched.
I've finished y entry, and it is NOT what you exect, and I will be posting soon.
Knightley for the tranquility pattern armor I found that brown with dry bushed black works in nice with the yellow
but i also changed the whole yellow thing up some....
I border the shoulders in black and try to keep the chest emblem and boots light brown...i looks good the black and yellow really pop...
Automatically Appended Next Post: but I'm also basing them in yellow-orange alien terrain with black and green high lights and brown wash
This is as far as I've gotten so far. I'm going for the old grizzled veteran look. Constant campaigning has left him very penitent indeed.
Across his belt he has trophies from campaigns against Orks, Necrons, and Tyranids.
I don't know what to do with the base yet, but that could easily make or break this model.
So, since I have come very late to the party....where exactly does one find the rules for this build a Mantis Warrior model that you are all doing such wonderfully amazing jobs on?
Cheers, probably obvious once I looked at our gracious hosts posts a little closer. Cutting it a tad fine so not sure I am in with a chance, especially looking at some of the already completed work. I mean how am I supposed to compete with someone who has hollowed out a Marine to install lights?
I've always been against the whole thing of space marines being shown in pretty, un-damaged armour, completely unaffected by battle. so, this guy has just appeared in the midst of a traitor PDF patrol, and pretty uch exploded through them with chainsaws.
bhold, brother MERCUTIO!
Wow... so much great stuff since my last post. Sorry mates, been down with a nasty cold so lots of bed rest and bad movies for me. "Lifeforce"... best, bad movie in history... those of you who've seen it know why.
@kavika: You've got a really nice build going on there. Very different from the others. Looking forward to seeing it in context with the base & painted.
@tsl: Really enjoyed your fiction and the marine looks great. I like the fact that you went a different direction, focusing on the "sudden application of violence" aspect.
@Archer: Still plenty of time. Nearly two weeks, no problem!
Not much in the way of painting to report, just too darn busy. Looks like Thing 1 and I will be playing in a two-day team event this weekend at a gaming con held locally. I have nothing remotely close to a "competitive" list that's properly painted, so instead we're just going to roll some dice and play a combined list that no one is preparing for (because it's ridiculous). My goal is not to be tabled every single game... that's about it. OH, and having two good looking armies on the field of course!
8 days left for Mantis Maker guys! Don't get caught asleep at the switch!
what is best way to draw the bug head free hand? out line in pencil first? I was able to draw an ok looking bug head but it was too large to go on a figure...
