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Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/05/25 19:50:34


Post by: Oldmanronald


In the beginning, the Great Emperor created a new race of warriors, not a race of robots or machines, but a race molded from the clay of human flesh, Homo sapiens warriors, whose chromosomes retained the genetic heritage of the human race but who were much more powerful and deadly than even the strongest of humans.


The Apothecary

These new creatures, these warriors called space marines, were organized into chapters of one thousand, military units that were spread throughout the Emporium of Mankind to defend and support the armies of the human race from those aliens and traitors who threatened the very existence of these upstart creatures, the sons and daughters of Earth, the children of the flesh of the man and the woman. In time, all but one of these chapters was named.

What of the one unnamed chapter? After the Lord High Admiral has been frustrated dealing with arrogant chapter masters each time he asked for fleet support, he demanded creation of his own space marine chapter to do the grubby little missions that these chapter master had refused to do. Unlike the other chapters, however, this chapter was not at first created from their own or a single predecessor chapter’s gene-seed. Instead The Master of the Administratum responded by requesting that each chapter provide one or more units of their best space marines to be permanently transferred to this new chapter. The chapter masters took advantage of this request to rid themselves of all their troublemakers, hot-dogs, and embarrassments. Thus, this chapter started as an unholy mix of irreverent space marines, mellow blood angels, and forgiving dark angels. Moreover, many of these were bitter at being removed from their former chapters to which they had devoted their lives and being forced to serve with equally demoralized strangers.


Space Marine with Mixed Blood Angels and Dark Angels Insignia.

This chapter gained a reputation, unusual among space marines, of being ill-disciplined and unruly. In response, the Lord High Admiral stripped them of the use of heraldic uniforms and insignia. Instead, the fleet space marines were dressed in a dull camouflage uniform more typical of scouts or Imperial Guards. In final insult, the Lord High Admiral refused to name a space marine as the chapter master but instead assigned the position to General Quantum Wells, an aging military bureaucrat who had distinguished his career by avoiding risks, factious attention to obscure regulations, and petty military politics. Thus, assignment to this chapter was a dirty duty with little glory, much boredom, and ugly and extremely dangerous missions.


Side View of the Space Marine Showing Shoulder Patch of the Unnamed Chapter

The fleet space marines were especially galled about wearing a camouflage uniform. In the early days of the Emporium, space marines and others became aware that the non-human races such as Orks, Necrons, Tau, Eldar, and Daemons had much different vision than humans. These non-human races were unable to distinguish colors in the human’s visual spectrum. Thus, camouflage uniforms were unnecessary in fighting non-human races. Elite combat armies such as space marines, who regularly fought against the non-human races abandoned camouflage uniforms for bold color heraldic uniforms and insignia. The bold colors allowed space marines to easily distinguish each other in combat, giving them better battle command and control.


Former Blood Angel in Camouflage - Front View

The only camouflage worn by space marines was the scout’s camouflaged cloaks and even these were usually uniquely patterned for the vision of each specific non-human race. These cloaks did not appear camouflaged to the human eye unless the space marines were using cloaks specifically made for fighting a traitor human army.


Former Blood Angel with Camouflage – Side View

Thus, camouflage uniforms become associated only with armies that regularly fought other human armies, usually on uncivilized planets with no central government. Of the major armies, only the Imperial Guard retained units with camouflage and these represented units that were recruited on more primitive and lawless planets. The space marines and other elite armies came to look upon soldiers in camouflage as little more than gang members or street thugs. When the Arch Admiral ordered the space marines to wear camouflaged uniforms, many of the fleet marines felt insulted.


Former Blood Angel with Shoulder Patch of the New Chapter

Although the chapter was organized under code name of the 157th Security Detachment, no formal name was ever assigned. The members of the un-named chapter started to sarcastically refer to themselves as the servitors after Chaplain Jambalaya “Dry” Bones gave a rather unfortunate and maudlin sermon on the Dying Servitor. At first, they referred to themselves as the Servitors because they felt that their own chapters had rejected them. In time, however, they called themselves servitors to represent their willingness to submit themselves to the Emperor’s will in all things just as a servitor submits to the most humble of tasks.


Insignia of the Unnamed Chapter





Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/05/25 19:58:08


Post by: Little lord Fauntleroy


The pictures aren't working for me .


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/05/25 20:41:30


Post by: Lorek


Oldmanronald, use the Forums link:



And not the Dakka articles link. You can edit your post to fix this.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/05/25 20:56:46


Post by: Oldmanronald


Thank you Lorek for the help. Also, thank you Little Lord Fauntleroy for pointing out the problem.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/05/26 16:59:30


Post by: Oldmanronald


Welcome to my Painting and Modeling Blog for the 6th Biker Troop, Schrödinger’s Apocalyptic Raiders. The 6th Biker Troop is the ground reconnaissance cavalry of the unnamed chapter created by the Lord High Admiral to support his fleet. The 6th Biker Troop is generally organized as Ravenwing so the troop follows the Dark Angels Codex although, since the unnamed chapter is composed of former blood angels and space marines as well as dark angels, for gaming purposes the unit is often deployed with allied detachments.


Captain Cat Schrödinger (Pseudo-Sammuel) with Ravenwing Command Squad

I have been writing this blog since May 2010. The blog includes not only pictures of my finished models, but tutorials on the modeling process itself. Generally, I don’t spent too much time talking about the fluff or the rules except as the fluff and the rules impact my modeling. In fact, I amended my first post to start out with the fluff because the fluff so impacts the design of my models including the camouflage and the many non-traditional modifications to the standard models. While I enjoy the 40K universe, I find it very rigid. I have created a chapter where orthodoxy is ignored so that I can freely modify my figures to give them unique and different personalities.

Although I love to modify my models, I have evolved a few rules. They are:

• All models have the same camouflage regardless of its origin. Thus, even if the model is a Ravenwing dark knight, a blood angel, or a space marine, the model has the basic camouflaged pattern although some of my models will be trimmed in an original color.


Ravenwing Darkshroud in Camouflage

For example, some of my blood angels uniforms have blood red trim.


Blood Angel in Camouflage with Red Trim

• My bling is limited and must make some battle sense. For example, my librarians do not have the huge books on their heads like the full model does.


Librarian in Terminator Armor with Force Axe and No Book Above His Head

• All weapons must be shown and must be WYSISYG. That is, if the character has a melta-gun and a pistol, they must he shown with a melta-gun and pistol. At first, I didn’t even allow a holster but I have since relaxed that requirement. If the model has krak and frag grenades, the model must be carrying krak and frag grenades. Sometimes this is a hard requirement, especially since Games Workshop does not always illustrate all the weapons and I have to research what exactly they mean by a grav-amp or other items they describe in the rules. Sometimes the object doesn’t exist and I have to find a substitute.


Grav-Cannon and Grav-Amp Gunner with Pistol in Holster

• The models have a bias toward action rather than a static pose. Thus, I often have my space marines holding a bolt pistol in one hand and a bolter in another. These are space marines, genetically modified super-heroes who should be able to two weapons at once. Of course, for a heavy weapon such as a grav-cannon or heavy flamer, they only use one weapon at a time. I have been questioned about this for some of my bikers who are not holding the handlebars on the bikes. As anyone who has ridden a bike knows, at high speed the bike is turned by leaning and with their highly developed genetically modified butt muscles, these space marines can control the movement of their bikes without touching the handles.


Dark Knight

• These troops have some discipline problems. Thus, they will modify their uniforms with unauthorized equipment including Chaos and Ork knives, flamboyant helmets, and on their transports, trophies such as head of their enemies and other such decorations.


Flamboyant Heavy Flamer with Dragon Head

• Although they have not turned their hearts over to Chaos, they are willing to display as trophies the heads of their enemies.

The Bulldog - Land Raider Crusader with Ork Heads

• They don’t always wear their helmets. Still, they are not stupid and in the harsh combat environments, always have their helmet ready. Thus, every bare-headed soldier has a helmet within close proximity, whether mounted on their belts or on their bikes.


Bare-headed Biker with Helmet and Chaos Knife

• All finished models are posed against a fantasy world background.

Firebase with Thunderfire Cannons

I didn’t necessarily start this blog with these rules, but as I have built these models, I have tended to follow these rules.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/05/27 16:14:39


Post by: Oldmanronald


Hints for Building a Bike Army.

Bike armies are expensive and take a long time to build. I find painting a bike much more tedious than painting an infantry model, although less tedious than painting a vehicle. Still, I have to paint a lot more bikes than vehicles so painting bikes is tedious.

The best way to build a bike army is to build it from the Dark Angels Ravenwing Battleforce. At full price of $90, the battleforce contains six normal space marine bikes, one normal space marine assault bike, and one normal space marine land speeder as well as a number of Dark Angels upgrade spruces. Since normal bikes are 3 for $45, the Battleforce is a comparative bargain.

The bikes in the Battleforce are the same as regular space marines except for the torso, arms, and heads of the riders. I like the Dark Angel riders better than the regular bikers. I did buy one regular Space Marine bike squad and the rider’s arms, torso, and heads were each a single metal component. One of the biker’s torsos had a multamelta, one had a plasma gun, and one had a sword. These metal models are difficult to customize and the only one I could use was the one with the meltamelta. The arms, torso, and heads of the Battleforce are regular marines but are made of a much more workable plastic.

Even though I had no intention of modeling my bike army as Dark Angel’s, I found the Dark Angel’s upgrade pack extremely useful for my bikes and for some of my other models. For my bikes, I especially like the Dark Angel’s bedroll and side pack. I was able to restore and upgrade to a Tornado an old damaged landspeeder using the extra bits. This was in addition to making the Battleforce’s other land speeder. I have also used the bits to customize my flag, add banners to my predators, and a book for my librarian.

However, the best sources for customizing the bikers are the Space Marine Assault Squad and Space Marine Commander multi-part plastic sets. Both are filled with weapons, arms, heads, and other bits. Of course, the marine captain parts are wonderful for making the marine captain but there are plenty of bits left over. But it is the space marine assault squad that provides some of the best bits including great pistol arms, a hand grenade throwing arm, a shield, and frag grenades. Fortunately, my son is actually building a Space Wolf Assault Squad so he keeps the legs and jump packs which he adds to his Space Wolf bits and I keep the arms.

I also had some left bits from a Warhammer® Bretonnia army which my son had started. These bits were great. I also ordered a package of meltaguns bits from Warhammer.

Notice in the pictures below the use of assault pistol arms for giving variety to my six regular space marine bikers, the Commander heads and meltaguns on my six meltagunners, and the Bretonnia heads and powerfists for the three sergeants.

White Biker Sergeant



Red Biker Sergeant



Bikers with Pistols



White Meltagunner






Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/05/28 18:42:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


Land Speeder Typhoon



Land Speeder Storm with Scouts



I have almost finished my command squad and will be taking pictures of them and of my captain and librarian this weekend. I will post them next week.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/05/29 02:47:39


Post by: calgar 2.5


Nice take on the camouflaged marines. You don't really see this kind of stuff often. Good Job!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/01 15:35:21


Post by: Oldmanronald


WARNING: This picture may be a little gruesome. I noticed in the pictures of my land speeder storm, one of the scouts seemed to be aiming their bolters at a Ork. Then, I remembered the cover of the Space Marine Codex that the central figure was shooting a bolt gun at a Chaos marine. The Chaos marine’s guts are flying out of his back. I couldn’t resist. I drilled a hole through an Ork, took a little green stuff, cut a short length of piano wire that I use for my antennas, and with a little painting and posing, created the following picture.



Trooper Cat Schrödinger disinfects a fungal infestation that is threatening one of the Third Fleet’s space ports.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
I just added a poll at the beginning of this blog. I am looking for feedback on my biker captain. In a bike army, the captain is critical. A captain on a bike allows bike squads to be counted as a troop choice. When I first started building the army, I built a captain in a bike with sidecar and a separate driver. I wasn't happy with it, so after I finished most of my bikes, I built a second captain astride his own bike. I like the second better, but in part because I improved in techniques as I built my army. For example, I pounded out the second captains relic blade out of a copper wire so it would be extra long and I made the storm shield out of plastic card. I think it is a better model than the first. But my son likes the captain in the sidecar. What do you think? Please vote in the poll above and make a comment if you have any suggestions.

I am thinking of rebuilding the captain in the sidecar to add a longer relic blade and to fix up the sidecar to place the captain more forward on the bike and to add a custom storm shield.

Although I added the pictures to the first post, I am repeating them here. Here are four pictures. The first and second show the captain in the side car. The third and fourth pictures show the captain astride his own bike.

Front Left View: Captain in Sidecar with Driver.



Front Right View: Captain in Sidecar with Driver holding combi-melta.



Front View: Captain Astride Own Bike.



Side View: Captain Astride His Own Bike. Notice the storm shield with the Cherry Blossoms.





Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/02 17:31:56


Post by: Oldmanronald


A Big Thanks to the Orks.

The Orks are feeling unappreciated and are upset with me. They did not complain when I made them background for the biker army. They did not complain when I expressed no thanks for them appearing in almost every picture that I have taken. They did not complain when I never even mentioned their help. But yesterday I went too far even for Orks when I showed a picture of one with his guts being blown out his backside and labeled the picture, “Trooper Cat Schrödinger disinfects a fungal infestation that is threatening one of the Third Fleet’s space ports.” I can see how Orks might take offense. So in part to make up from my oversight, I am offering a big thanks to the Orks without whom these pictures (and Warhammer 40K) would be a dull and lifeless affair.



Thank you Orks. We love you.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/02 17:38:20


Post by: Sanctjud


IMO, his own.
It's the most RAW answer I can give.
Though I think his sword looks cooler on his own bike than the sidecar.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/02 17:47:39


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Command Squad:

Fortunately for me, I built my three basic bike squads first and then decided to build a command squad. The command squad was the most fun since I had to do even more customizing than before. I ordered some bits for a Company Champion and an Apothecary and grafted these parts onto the basic biker body. I added a chainsaw to another command squad member to make a basic command squad member, added a pair of lighting claws to fourth biker, and a thunder-hammer, storm shield, and company standard to the fifth. These last two were really fun since I used terminator claws, thunder-hammer, and storm shield and had to cut all of the parts down to fit the standard biker torso. The shoulders required a lot of carving to fit but all the carving was covered by the shoulder pads so any flaws are hidden.



The Command Squad.

Not all the command squad is complete. I still need to finish painting the company standard and the Apothecary.

Here is a close up of one of my biker veterans. I will post the rest of the command squad later.



Biker Veteran with a Pair of Lighting Claws



Another View. Notice the grenades on his right leg. I would carry as many as I could if I were going into combat.

And yes, also notice the Orks on each side. Aren't they handsome.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/02 22:35:50


Post by: Rose_Mountainz


Lol +1 for the orks oh and also, great work on the rest mate! the camoflage is something you don't se much on marines, but yours look good


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/03 21:04:42


Post by: Oldmanronald


Biker Veteran.

Although this veteran is the only member of my command squad that has not been upgraded with lighting claws, thunderhammer, storm shield, or upgraded to a Company Champion, this may be my favorite biker. I like his uncluttered simple lines

Right Side of Biker Veteran carrying chainsword. Notice the grenades and bolt pistol.



I am fairly serious to make all my models to be WYSIWYG. I make sure that each model is showing all the weapons authorized including grenades. I love grenades. For each bike and infantry model, I tried to include at least one krak grenade bit and one Frag grenade bit. For my assault squad command bikers I fitted on as many grenades as I can get on so that each has a least two bits of krak grenades and two bits of frag grenades, if not more. Likewise, each model that is authorized a bolt pistol is carrying a bolt pistol, either in his hand or on his uniform. Not only is this WYSIWYG, it looks neat. It is not just for the sake of the game or for my opponent; it is for me to remember exactly what each model can do.

Likewise, I am careful not to include unauthorized weapons on my models. Sometimes this means that I have to remove a weapon that is already on the model. I use superglue rather than plastic cement which makes it easier to remove parts.



Left Side of Biker Veteran carrying chainsword. Note the knife and frag grenades. Also note the purity seals on the front fairing of the bike.

Bits are fun. Some, like the purity seals and other tokens, I tend to use sparingly. I put them mostly on veterans and others I need to identify as special. Still, I find too many clutter rather than help the model.

Company Champion.

Left Side of Company Champion with a set of melta bombs. Notice that he is holding his power sword but has his chainsword on the side. As I am reading the rules, he keeps his chainsword and pistol when he is upgraded to the Company Champion. Again notice the frag grenades on the belt and the purity seals on the front fairing.



Front View of the Company Champion. With all the upgrades of chainswords, pistols, meltaguns, powerfists, and such on my bikers, it is easy to overlook the twin bolters on the bike itself. These may be the most important weapon that my bikers have.






Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/04 00:14:48


Post by: Budgie


Really nice conversions....
The camo scheme is a cool idea

one problem: I (and your marines, im sure), think that it might be a bit hard to ride a bike with two lighting claws..... and use them for combat at the same time.....


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/04 19:49:57


Post by: Oldmanronald


Veteran with Standard.

The standard is the flag from the Warhammer® Bretonnian Knights. This is more dynamic and looks better on a bike than the normal space marine standard. I replaced the flag's plastic pole with a brass pole to make it break resistant. I added bits from the Dark Angels upgrade trees left over from the Dark Angels Battleforce. I have not yet finished painting the flag, specifically I have not added the unit designation and other writing to the flag.



I will post more pictures of the flag when I finish it. I also will post the Apothecary when I finish painting him.

I have replaced most of the the plastic antennas and flagpoles with metal wires. This is primarily to make the antennas and flagpoles unbreakable. Even in building my models, the plastic antennas and flagpoles were already breaking. It allowed me to lengthen the antennas and to bend them for a more dynamic look.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Thank you Calgar 2.5, Sanctjud, Rose Mountainz, and Budgie for your kind remarks. I appreciated the encouragement.

Budgie, the short answer to your comment about riding the bike with two lighting claws is that the rider is a space marine and with his super dumper enhancements he can control a bike just by flexing his butt cheeks.

The longer answer: I actually wondered about this myself. In fact, one of the reasons I put my captain in a sidecar was so that he could wield a two handed relic blade without having to drive the bike. I then looked through the codices and several blogs on two handed weapons and bikes in 40K. Apparently in an earlier codex, a biker could not take a two handed weapons but no such requirement now exists in the 5th edition. So since I don’t have to worry about the rules, I merely have to worry about the fluff. So here is how I explain it.

As anyone who has ridden a bike knows, at higher speeds, a bike is turned by rider leaning in the direction of the desired turn, rather than by turning the handlebars. Thus, a person can ride a bike with no hands on the handlebar. I did so on a bicycle as a kid and even turned it without using the handles, although I am never had the confidence to so on an actual motorcycle. Moreover, it is probably within today’s technology to place a feedback computer in a motorcycle that would stabilize the bike and the handlebars for a rider even if the rider does not put his or her hands on the handlebar.

Now for the fluff, the space marine bikes have been enhanced with such feedback systems and the space marine bikers have been trained to wield even two handed weapons in combat without actually having to touch the handle bars. All space marine bikers have mastered this art and the very best do it routinely. The veteran with the two lighting claws is especially proficient with this and was issued two lighting claws in recognition of his great skill. When he is in combat, the bike responses to his movements as he wields his lighting claws and moves with him in combat. He and his machine have become one in thought and purpose.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/06 04:06:51


Post by: Oldmanronald


Two Space Wolf Guard Terminators

My 14 year old son is slowly building a Space Wolf army. He enjoys Space Wolves and I must admit, the Space Wolves have a real personality. Each space wolf has a unique look. He asked me to take some pictures of some of his models. So here is a picture of a couple of his wolf guards in terminator armor. I think they look great.



The terminator on the right looks like Mr. T.



Both the Orks and the Space Wolves are ready to rumble.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/06 07:59:57


Post by: -=Scar=-


Looks to IG for my liking sorry.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/07 17:16:20


Post by: Oldmanronald


Scout Biker Squad.

Scout Bikers Reconnoitering Ork Mob.



I made three scout bikers. These are my experimental squad, the squad that I first try out new building techniques. The first biker I made was one of these scouts. I glued on the torso and then when it had dried, I added the arm. The arm didn’t properly fit on the handlebar unless I put the arm too far back on the torso. I learned from this that the torso of the biker and any arm with a hand on the handlebar must be put on at the same time. I usually glue the hand to the handlebar, glue the torso on the legs, and then immediately move the arm and torso to the correct position.

Scout Biker Squad with Sergeant with location beacon.



The first real conversion I made on the bikes was adding the location beacon to the scout sergeant’s bike. I had to trim the back fender to give it a flat surface to add the location beacon. I think the resulting model looks neat and I have been carving, gluing, and green stuffing my models since.

Even though I like my biker scout squad, I see little use for them with my bike army. I especially see little use for the location beacon since; so far at least, I have no troops that would be teleported in. I will keep the scout bikers, however, because they may be useful in the future but for now they will remain on the shelf. Sometimes I made a model simply because it seemed fun to make rather than because it would be useful to my game.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/08 16:41:48


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Biker Librarian.



With the new emphasis on psychics in the 5th edition and the new codices, I thought I needed a librarian to keep up. Beside, this was a fun conversion. Fortunately, I had lots of bits, including books and hooded heads on the Dark Angels spruce from the Dark Angels Ravenwing Battleforce.

So I built the biker Librarian as follows:

The Basic Bike and Torso.

All my bikes, except for three scout bikes, are identical with identical legs for the bikers. These parts come on the basic bike spruce and are easy to assembly. The bike itself comes in a left and right side which are held together by the wheels, legs, the pipe assembly, and the handlebars. Unfortunately, the left and right assemblies do not always mesh perfectly and I usually trim and blend the seam with an Xacto knife.

Once I complete the basic bike, I then add a torso. The torso is in two halves and I first assemble the torso then put on the space marine backpack before I put the torso on the bike. I have finally discovered that often I need to trim the back of the bike seat to fit the space marine backpack.

Almost all of my bikers have one hand on the handlebar. The torso and the arm with the hand on the handlebar must be put on at the same time. I usually glue the hand to the handlebar, glue the torso on the legs, and then immediately move the arm and torso to the correct position. I discovered on my first bike, that if I didn’t do it this way, if I first put on the torso and let it dry, the arm would not fit correctly on the handlebar. The handlebar grasping hands and arms, both left and right sided, are on the basic spruce. Once I have the torso on, I am now free to create the biker’s function and personality.



The Librarian Upgrade.

Basically, I looked at pictures of the librarian in the Space Marine Codex and the How to Paint Space Marines book. I notice that all the librarians had a book. So with some scrapping and cutting, I fitted the book from the Dark Angel’s spruce onto the front fender of the bike. Then I just added bits as inspired, including scrolls, insignia, and fancy shoulder pads.

The psychic hood.

The psychic hood is the hooded head from the Dark Angel’s spruce. It is a much more attractive head and hood than the ugly hooded heads found on Warhammer 40,000® librarian models. I especially did not want my head to look like Ultramarines Chief Librarian Tigurius. His head looks what my Grandmother used to look like when she put her hair up in coilers and covered it with a little plastic shower cap. Add Tigurius’s expression, which looks like my Grandmother smelling something rotten in the trash bin and Tiguruis’s apron and dress, and Tigurius looks like an elderly grandmother with a few skulls hanging from her belt. As much as I loved my Grandmother, I do not want to model my space marines to look like her, especially when she was looking her worst.



I noticed that all the Warhammer librarians have a couple of hoses hanging from their psychic hoods, somewhat resembling dreadlocks. I am not sure what they are but I assume it is for some type of happy gas that librarian inhales or it is heavy duty wires to the librarian’s head to give him some electric shocks when he needs to rearrange his brain cells. So I took some Green Stuff Modeling Putty, rolled out a few green stuff ropes, and hung them from my librarians hood. I am not sure that any of the pictures show the dreadlock hoses, but they are there.

The Force Weapon.

The Force Weapon was the most customized item for my librarian. I took a Bretonnia® Knight bit which was a combination heavy lance handle, hand, and arm. I drilled out the center of the handle and inserted part of a heavy brass wire through the handle. I slipped a plastic tube over the rest of the brass wire to thicken it up. In the picture below, the handle of the Bretonnia® Knight bit is blue and the plastic tube is black with flames. I glued a couple of Space Marine bits to the top of the tube. The Force Weapon is a little big but I went for dramatic and I like it.





Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/09 00:34:52


Post by: jackanory


Were you tempted to take the Japanese scheme further at all? You could add things like force katana and samurai back banners, things like that...


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/09 02:45:56


Post by: The Good Green


I like the pics. The armies looks good. The gruesome shot is great.
I think the captain should be riding his own bike. I could see an ork boss having a driver to get him closer while he waved two glorious big gunz or somefing, but I feel like the SM captain would be too prideful to not be driving.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/09 20:01:56


Post by: Oldmanronald


Thank you Jackanory and The Good Green for your kind remarks. Scar, based on my own fluff, the space marines of the 6th Biker Troop would agree with you. They dislike their camouflage uniforms precisely because it is too much like IG.

Red Melta Gunner.



Jackanory, I was intrigued by your question about taking the Japanese theme further. I hadn’t realized that I had a Japanese theme until you asked your question and then I realized that I had used a Japanese name for Arch Admiral Isoroku Takano (the birth name of Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet during World War II) and I had chosen the cherry blossoms as my symbol. Still, I never was tempted to have a Japanese theme, in part because I lack enough knowledge of Japanese culture to do a good job with such theme.

Attack Bikes.



As shown in the picture of the three attack bikes, I always drill out the barrel of my guns which makes them look so much better. For any serious conversion or finishing of the gun barrels, Warhammer’s wonderful little hand drill is great. For small holes such as the bore of the bolt gun, I just use the hand drill. For the bigger holes such as the bore of the multi-melta, I use my power drill, but only after I use the hand drill to make a starter hole. Every man should have a power drill. No man is a real man unless he owns a power drill.

In addition to the gun bores, I also drilled out the exhaust pipes on the bikes. See the exhaust pipes on one of my favorite picture below and on the scout bikes above.

Blue Squad on Point.



I also use the drill to drill holes in the back wheels of some of my bikes and in the bases so that I can pin the back wheel to the bases so the bikers were each doing a wheelie. As an experiment, I pinned the front wheel of one of my bikes to the base. It is the nearest bike in the above picture. I like the effect so much, especially when the near bike is coupled with a bike with the back wheel pinned, that I plan to pin more front wheels on my bikes. It makes the bikes look like they are moving.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/09 20:15:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


Thank you Jackanory and The Good Green for your kind remarks. Scar, based on my own fluff, the space marines of the 6th Biker Troop would agree with you. They dislike their camouflage uniforms precisely because it is too much like IG.

Red Melta Gunner.



Jackanory, I was intrigued by your question about taking the Japanese theme further. I hadn’t realized that I had a Japanese theme until you asked your question and then I realized that I had used a Japanese name for Arch Admiral Isoroku Takano (the birth name of Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet during World War II) and I had chosen the cherry blossoms as my symbol. Still, I never was tempted to have a Japanese theme, in part because I lack enough knowledge of Japanese culture to do a good job with such theme.

Attack Bikes.



As shown in the picture of the three attack bikes, I always drill out the barrel of my guns which makes them look so much better. For any serious conversion or finishing of the gun barrels, Warhammer’s wonderful little hand drill is great. For small holes such as the bore of the bolt gun, I just use the hand drill. For the bigger holes such as the bore of the multi-melta, I use my power drill, but only after I use the hand drill to make a starter hole. Every man should have a power drill. No man is a real man unless he owns a power drill.

In addition to the gun bores, I also drilled out the exhaust pipes on the bikes. See the exhaust pipes on one of my favorite picture below and on the scout bikes above.

Blue Squad on Point.



I also use the drill to drill holes in the back wheels of some of my bikes and in the bases so that I can pin the back wheel to the bases so the bikers were each doing a wheelie. As an experiment, I pinned the front wheel of one of my bikes to the base. It is the nearest bike in the above picture. I like the effect so much, especially when the near bike is coupled with a bike with the back wheel pinned, that I plan to pin more front wheels on my bikes. It makes the bikes look like they are moving.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/10 20:19:40


Post by: Oldmanronald


How I take my pictures.

I am having fun taking these pictures. I have found that with a few tricks, these pictures look pretty good. My studio is just a card table on our front north facing porch so I can use indirect sunlight. I mount my camera on a tripod since it needs to be steady for miniature work. My camera has a Macro mode and a super Macro mode for close-ups. I find that the Macro mode works best. I also use a timer so I don’t shake the camera while taking the picture.

I had painted an abstract oil several years ago. I never finished it or framed it but it makes a great background for some of my shots. I may paint a gas-giant background which would be impressive.

My Studio.



Setting up the picture takes a little time, especially getting each model at the right place. At these close distances, I need to look at the shot on the camera screen which can appear quite different then what I see when I look at the image directly. I individually move each model to get it in the right position. I try not to overlap the secondary models such as the Orks or any background models with the centered primary model.

Three Views of the same Figure. In each I adjust it to improve the picture.

First Picture of Blue Bike Sergeant with Powerfist.



Oops. I am not sure the overlapping of the Orkz with the Biker works. I also noticed that I missed some gold paint on the winged skull icon on the front fender pack.

Second Picture of Blue Bike Sergeant with Powerfist.



Another view, this is better and I like the Orks in the background. The gun sight on my bike sergeant’s left covers his face and is somewhat confusing. The gold paint is still missing on the winged skull.

Third Picture of Blue Bike Sergeant with Powerfist.



With a little gold paint and a third pose, this is even better. This is one of my favorite pictures.

My son and I have experimented with some other armies and I started an Ork army. As a result I have a number of Orks, some painted, some not, that I can add to the picture to give it depth and drama.

Just Orks.



Creating depth and movement.

A realist artist uses at least three techniques to create depth in a picture. They are:

1) Make close objects large and far objects small. In other words, draw prospective. This happens naturally in the pictures but to exaggerate the effect, I bring the critical figures in as close to the front as possible, merely inches away from the camera lens.

2) Focus on the near objects and keep the far objects less defined. Again, this happens naturally when I use the macro function on my camera and focus on the nearest figures.

3) Include bright colors on the near objects but have the far objects more dark and monochrome. I got lucky on this. I have a number of Orks, some painted with details, but many with just a black undercoat sprayed on. I put the painted Orks in front, either next to the model or if in the background, towards the front of the Ork mob. I put the unpainted Orks behind the painted models. This gives the picture depth since the unpainted Orks look further away than the painted models.

In the picture of the Orks above, several are unpainted including the Nob with the standard and power klaw and the DeffKoptas in back row. Notice how these unpainted models give depth to the picture of the three bikers on point below. Especially notice the Nob standard and weapons in the yellow orb on the background. This looks like more Orkz just coming into view on the battlefield.






Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/14 20:41:03


Post by: Oldmanronald


Assault Terminators.

In large point games, I plan to use an assault terminator squad. Assault terminators are expensive, five terminators plus a land raider is about 500 points. Still, assault terminators are the ultimate hammer unit and I think they would be a great supplement to my Biker army. As much as I like my biker command squad and have made them up as a rapidly moving assault force, they do not have the hitting power of assault terminators.

Five Assault Terminators.



My son painted these terminators. He used the same camouflage paints scheme as I am using on my bike army. Actually, I copied his camouflage scheme. He made these terminators before I made my bike army. But he is moving on to space wolves so I am recycling his old space marine army. Notice that his paint scheme, although using the same colors, has a different feel. He has given them more of an ultramarine feel by using more blue on their armor.

Assault Terminators in Battle.



The backside of these terminators shows the camouflage pattern in more detail. Notice that my son has highlighted the armor. I plan to add a gravelly texture to the bases to match my biker bases and to repaint the terminator sergeant’s face. I did paint the red eye lenses of the four other terminators as shown in the first assault terminator picture above and the picture just below.




Assault Terminators surrounded and outnumbered by an Ork mob. Too bad for the Orks. They are doomed.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/15 19:12:29


Post by: Oldmanronald


Stripping Three Assault Terminators.

Although almost all of my bikers are built and painted, I am also building some support troops and vehicles. I am thinking of adding an additional one or two terminators and a librarian in terminator armor to the five terminators I already have. I already have the librarian on a bike but I would like the option to have the librarian ride in a land raider and support the terminators. I want the librarian in terminator armor to look like the same person as the librarian on the bike.

I have an old space marine army that my son and I built so rather than buy new terminators, I am going to strip off the paint of three old terminators and repaint them. I will be rebuilding one of the terminators into a librarian.

Step 1: Soak the Terminators overnight in Purple Power, an industrial strength cleaner/degreaser purchased at WalMart.

Three Old Terminators Contemplating Their Fate.



Note how dark the terminators are in comparison with the rest of the picture. Although this picture is taken in the same place as all the others that I have posted, the figures are dark because they are against a light background rather than dark gray. I retook the picture using a flash, something I did not have to do with my models with a dark background.

Three Old Terminators with Flash.



I am also stripping down a powerfist that I took off another model. It is for my Sternguard sergeant.

Step 2: After soaking, take an old toothbrush and scrub off the paint. While scrubbing, rinse with the excess paint in the cleaner. Be sure to wear gloves.

Three Old Terminators after Steps 1 and 2.



Not bad. I still have some old paint spots left in some of the crevices and a little grass on the base near their feet. I may take my knife or a toothpick and scrap these spots and I may re-soak these terminators again. Notice how much better they already look but in part that is because I have put them against the dark gray background rather than the light.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/16 22:27:43


Post by: Oldmanronald


Can this Land Raider be saved?

If I use assault terminators I will need a land raider to carry them. Fortunately, I already have a land raider that my son used for his space marine army. Unfortunately, it needs some major work to fix it up.

Front View of My Old Land Raider Crusader.



It has several problems. The bottom half of the front door is missing. The heavy bolters on the left hurricane bolter sponsons and the shield are missing. The paint job does not match the rest of my army.

Right View of My Old Land Raider Crusader.



This view shows the damage on the hurricane bolter sponsons.

Left View of My Old Land Raider Crusader.



This side looks better but notice that the multi-melta at the top is hanging loose.

Another Front View of My Old Land Raider Crusader.



Can this old Land Raider be saved or is it garbage? Do I have to buy a new one? Wouldn't I rather spend my money on a model I don't have like a Vindicator? Wouldn't my wife rather I spend my money on her? We shall see what happens in the next few weeks.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/17 21:28:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


The 1000 point army.



Captain on bike with artificer armor, storm shield, and relic blade.

1st Bike Squad (white) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns.
2nd Bike Squad (red) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multi-melta.
3rd Bike Squad (blue) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multi-melta.

Land Speeder with Typhoon missile launcher.

Land Speeder with Typhoon missile launcher.

Unfortunately I just discovered that I forgot to include the points for the relic blade. It looks like I may have to revamp this army. I may drop an extra bike or one extra bike per squad and add an Attack Bike with the Heavy Bolter to the white squad. Decisions, Decisions.

Although this is just a 1000 point army, it would be both fun and a great learning army for me to master bike rules and tactics. The white squad would act as the Captain’s escort squad.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/22 17:03:57


Post by: Oldmanronald


Support Troops.

I am building some support troops for the bikers. I am considering the following.


1. Assault Terminators in a Land Raider. This is an expensive choice of about 500 points but I have both the terminators and the land raider although the land raider needs to be rebuilt.

Assault Terminators ready to Rumble.



2. Predators. I am finishing building two. Predators are reasonably cheap point wise and may give my opponents a target to shoot at rather than at my bikes. They provide good mobile cover that can block the enemy’s avenues of approach. This is probably what I will use for my 1500 point army. Besides, I have enjoyed modifying them by putting a shield on the heavy bolters and adding the whip antennas.

Two Predators. I still need to finish painting them.



3. Vindicators. These are a little more expensive than Predators but may be a perfect match for a bike army. A bike army is fast and maneuverable. It should fight best against an army that is broken down into smaller units because the bike army can quickly deploy and outnumber a small unsupported enemy unit. The bike army may have a more difficult time against an enemy army that remains undivided and concentrated. Two or three Vindicators, however, would love an army that is undivided and concentrated. The Vindicators aim for the middle of the mass and if they scatter, so what, the blasts hits other targets. The problem with Vindicators is that I would have to spend about $100 to buy three and then would have to build them. I don’t think they would offer fun conversion opportunities.

4. Whirlwind. The main advantage is that I already have one that I stripped the paint off. I just have to repaint it. It is a good low point tank for killing horde infantry.

5. Sternguard. I took some old space marine models which I stripped and a bunch of bits that I had and that I ordered and custom built some Sternguard. I love these models. I need to give them a Rhino to protect them and to keep them up with the bikes. I am not sure how effective they would be with the bike army.

Four Custom Sternguard Space Marines.



6. Land Speeders. I have two landspeeders, each with a typhoon missile launcher. I consider them an integral part of my bike army. One should be stripped and repainted. I will do that someday.

Land Speeder Typhoons.



7. Land Speeder Storm with five scouts. I already have this built. This may be an effective unit to seize second story objectives or other objectives that may be lightly defended.

Scouts in a Land Speeder Shooting Orks.



Support units can help booster some of a bike army’s weaknesses. However, they also bring in weaknesses.

It appears that the more competitive Warhammer 40K armies are built with balanced offensive weapons but have a specialized defensive built. That is, they are able to destroy all possible enemy targets but only present one type of target to the enemy. Unless the army is custom build to fight a single type of enemy army, for example against a single opponent who always brings an infantry mob Ork army, the best armies are built to fight all comers. Thus, the best armies will have weapons and units that can take out monstrous creatures, heavy tanks, light tanks, MEQ infantry, and horde infantry. However, a defense against such well balanced army is to present only a single type target. Thus, a pure tank army fighting a balanced army will lose a few tanks to the anti-tank weapons but will cause those models with anti-infantry weapons to become mere spectators. The tank army need only target the balanced army’s anti-tank weapons. Of course, it is fairly easy to create such a specialized defensive army with a balanced weapon load. One need only choose all tanks but arm some with anti-infantry weapons and others with anti-tank weapons.

Thus, if I add non-bike units to my bike army, I may be making up for some weaknesses in the bike army but I am also creating targets for the enemy’s under-employed units. This is more a tactical issue rather than painting and modeling issue. One has to consider such tactical aspects, however, when making modeling decisions.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/22 22:29:12


Post by: Rose_Mountainz


Interesting text there at the end, your right with what your saying.
Is this army going to be turnament ultra competetive or do you just want alot to choose from? I collect my armies with a blend of competetive and what I think is cool. This also gives me alot of options and I can play apocalypse games with my armies because I got a bit of everyting . So consider what you are aiming for with your army before you expand it and I think you will be fine


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/23 21:29:11


Post by: Oldmanronald


Sternguard.

Although they may or may not be a good tactical match for a bike army, these Sternguard are some of my favorite troops. So far I have finished painting four models although I may add some more features to the bare headed model. I have two more finished but not painted. I have four additional recruits, that is prebuilt old tactical space marine models that I plan to rebuild into Sternguard. Even though Games Workshop® produces attractive Sternguard models, I have converted my Sternguard from old bits and old models because 1) I am cheap, 2) to have better control over their style and weapons, and 3) because conversion is fun.

Four Finished Sternguard Veterans.



Three of the finished models have combi-flamers and one of the finished models has a combi-melta. All of them are carrying bolt pistols and grenades. The combi-flamers are made from regular flamers joined to regular bolt guns with green stuff. I used plastic tubing to add the extended flash suppressor/bolt accelerators and plastic tubing, plastic rods, and wire to build the super-scopes on top of the bolt guns. The bullets and magazines are from the Dark Angels spruce from the Ravenwing Battleforce. The combi-melta is from a captain’s set.

Four Sternguard Veterans.



This view shows the seams between the bolt guns and the flamers. Notice that the purity seals cover the seams to hide any irregularity caused by the green stuff.

Two Unpainted Sternguard Veterans.



The two unpainted models, one a sergeant, also have combi-meltas. The sergeant has a powerfist in lieu of a bolt pistol. The second veteran is partially painted. But I replaced his left arm and head so these need to be repainted.

Sergeant Rocky Ridge.



Rocky’s head is a squire’s head from one of the Bretonnia® knight’s sets. I sculpted the left eye piece, a pouch, and studs on his left shoulder from green stuff. This is really the first time I have tried to sculpt green stuff rather than use it to join parts together. I was surprised how tiny these parts are. To make the studs on the shoulder, I pinched off the tiniest amount of green stuff I could, rolled it into a ball, and then cut the ball in half with a knife and rolled out one half into a second ball. For the eyepiece on Rocky, I pinched and rolled out the smallest amount of green stuff I could pinch off, cut it in thirds, rolled it out, and cut it again so I had a speck of green stuff which I used a wet tooth pick to push into his eye and to shape. I am fairly pleased with the results but will need to see it painted. I have gained an appreciation for those Game Workshop artists who are sculpted the original models and for the other P&M bloggers who sculpt their models with green stuff. Having now tried it myself, I am amazed at the tiny detail that these artists are able to create.

The Four Recruits.



I will be upgrading these four models into Sternguard veterans. My favorite is the model on the left with a Bretonnia® knight’s helmet. I will upgrade his weapon to a combi-flamer. One of the models is primed but unpainted model from Assault on Black Reach. The other two models I will be stripping down. I will add a combi-melta to one and possibly lascannons to the other two.

This would give me eight veterans with a powerfist, four combi-meltas, four combi-flamers, all with special ammo, and two veterans with lascannons. Add a Rhino and I have a hammer unit that should be able to take care of anything.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/25 17:53:30


Post by: Oldmanronald


Predators with Whip Antennas.

Hi Rose Mountainz, thanks for the encouragement. I build and play for fun but I would like my army to be competitive. Still, I usually build what I think is cool, rather than strictly what is ultra-competitive. Like you, I like having lots of options. Besides a non-competitive model might become really competitive when GW updates their codices.

These two Predators were fun to build. I like the turrets and I think that Predators are the best looking of the Rhino based tanks.

Two Predators.



I made the whip antennas from brass wire. For the ball at the end of the antenna, I cut off the skull from the bike antennas. Since I did not put antennas on most of my bikes, I have a number of these antennas left. I cut the skull off from the biker antenna and then drilled a hole in the base of the skull. Since the copper wire was thinner than the hole I drilled, I filled the hole with green stuff before inserting the wire into it. I glued a little plastic square to the top of the turret as a base for the whip antenna. I drilled a hole through the base and into the top of the turret to hold the whip antenna. I then shaped the wire to the bent configuration. The hold down cord is actually dental floss. I drilled a hole through the side of the turret and threaded the dental floss through the hole. I tied that other end to a short piece of brass wire shaped in figure 8 hook and put one end of the figure 8 over the antenna.

I also cut a piece of plastic card to make a shield for the heavy bolter at the top of the turret.

The most difficult conversion, however, was the hand with the pointing finger on the gunner on the right. Normally, the gunner has both of his hands on the handles of the heavy bolter. I had to cut off one of the arms and a portion of the handle of the heavy bolter. Then I had to graft in, using wire and green stuff, a new portion of the handle with no hand. This took a little bit of trimming and cutting to get it right. I then had to pin both the pointing arm and the arm holding the handle since neither really would support themselves. This was a lot of work for an effect that is barely noticed in the pictures but I love these small little conversions that give models a little personality.

The Pointing Finger.



I am still painting these Predators although the one on the left is further along.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/06/29 19:58:10


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Heart of My Bike Army



I have just about completed a basic army consisting of:

Captain on bike with artificer armor, storm shield, and relic blade.

Librarian on bike.

Command Squad on bikes with company champion, pair lighting claws, storm shield, thunderhammmer, and company standard.

1st Bike Squad (white) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns.

2nd Bike Squad (red) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multi-melta.

3rd Bike Squad (blue) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multi-melta.

Land Speeder with Typhoon missile launcher.

Land Speeder with Typhoon missile launcher.

Predator with autocannon and heavy bolter.

Predator with autocannon and heavy bolter.

Land Speeder Storm with 5 scouts.

3 scout bikes.

I am working on the following support models:

land raider crusader and assault terminators with a possible librarian in terminator armor

ten sternguards with rhino

I am considering building the following

1 – 3 vindicators

Another bike squad with 8 bikes, 2 flamers, and an attack bike with heavy bolter.

This bike squad would be anti-infantry rather than the anti-tank configuration of squads 1 – 3. I would get one more Dark Angels Ravenwing Battleforce which gives me 6 bikes, plus an attack bike and another land speeder. I would pull 2 or 3 pistol armed bikes from the bike squads. Another bike squad may be the best support for my bike army and it would give me a total of 30 bikes including the three attack bikes.

I am also recalculating the models needed for a 1000, 1500, and 1750 point bike army.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/13 16:25:18


Post by: Oldmanronald


Stripping the Land Raider.

I have been on vacation for a few weeks so I have this nagging message about not posting for over two weeks. I haven’t worked on any models for several weeks but I do have pictures showing how I stripped my land raider.

Step 1: Soak the Land Raider for 24 hours in Purple Power, an industrial strength cleaner/degreaser. I purchased it at Wal-Mart. Make sure to wear gloves.

Mr. Hands pointing to the Land Raider.



Step 2: After soaking, scrub off the paint with on old toothbrush. While scrubbing, rinse the excess paint in the Purple Power. Be sure to wear gloves. Do not use the toothbrush afterwards to brush your teeth.

Scrubbing the Land Raider.



Scrubbing the Land Raider 2.



More Scrubbing the Land Raider.



Step 3: After scrubbing, scrub and rinse in cold water. Wear gloves until the Purple Power is completely rinsed from the model.

Rinsing and Scrubbing the Land Raider.



Rinsing the Land Raider.



The Finished Product






Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/13 18:26:47


Post by: Trilobite


Nice effort on the bikers, its pretty brave to go and do the camo scheme as people are obv going to frown on it a little. Im not sold on it myself but I do think it is well executed, and the cherry icons are well done also. I like your take on sternguard, although I immediatly thought "lootas" when I saw them, somthing about the big ass ammo chains maybe. Your bikers are all looking solid, and I do quite like the use of the different trim colours per biker for weapon annotation, the power sword lightning effects are also really nice. Finally and to round the comment off I have to disagree with you and say that Vindicators are by far and above the best rhino chasis tanks!
Good work, and although it seems that you might be finishing soon I urge you to continue with all gusto regardless of the lack of responses!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/19 16:39:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


Do my Sternguard look like Lootas?

Trilobite, Thanks for the comments. I think my Sternguard look somewhat like Lootas, too. I think it has to do with the size and placement of the weapons. For fun, in the pictures below I posed one of my Sternguard with a couple of unpainted Lootas.

Twins Separated at Birth.



Another Pair.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/20 19:56:04


Post by: Oldmanronald


Sternguard Sergeant Rocky Ridge.

These Sternguard models are some of my favorite and Sergeant Rocky Ridge is my favorite of these Sternguard. Rocky’s head is a squire’s head from one of the Bretonnia® knight’s sets. I sculpted the right eye piece from green stuff. It is difficult to work green stuff with that degree of detail and his eye piece needs a more work. The antenna is brass wire with a skull from a biker antenna glued on. I have just about finished painting him although I may touch up a few details, including painting his eyes and the eyes of the model to his right.

Sternguard facing down Orks.



Sergeant Rocky Ridge.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/21 21:57:05


Post by: Oldmanronald


My New Bikes.

I just bought a new Dark Angels Ravenwing Battleforce which has six bikes, one assault bike, and one land speeder. I spent part of last Saturday preparing the bike cores. All of the bike cores, including the assault bike, are identical with identical legs for the bikers. I like to make all the bike cores in one sitting. It is somewhat relaxing since I don’t need to look for bits and make any decisions. Because all bike cores are alike, I build them in an assembly line like manner, letting the glue set on one bike while I start another. The bike itself comes with a left and right side which are held together by the wheels, legs, the pipe assembly, and the handlebars. I trim and blend the seams with a Xacto knife because the left and right assemblies do not always mesh perfectly. I also assembly line the torso and packs since I am going to build a standard bike squad so all the marines have the same torso and pack.

Seven Core Bikes and Torsos Ready to be Customized.



When I have the bikes to this stage, I get a little excited. Each core bike has the potential to be a biker sergeant, a flamer or melta-gunner, a pistol shooter, assault bike driver, or even an exotic like a space marine captain, a librarian, or a command squad veteran. For now, I am making a standard bike squad. Although it is a basic, I am going to make a few fun modifications. Unlike the other bike squads which were anti-tank with meltaguns and a multi-melta, I am making this squad anti-infantry and will do some new type customizations on the bikers. Now I am ready for the creative part where each biker assumes a personality.

The Front of an Unfinished Bike.



I always drill out the barrel of my guns with the Warhammer’s hand drill.

The Back of an Unfinished Bike.




In addition to the gun bores, I also drilled out the exhaust pipes.

The next stage, building the individual biker, is the most fun and frustrating. Fun because this is the most creative. Frustrating because I have to look through my bits for the right part, and then cut up, modify, and add green stuff to make the parts fit, all without making a major goof. My biggest problem is that I often drop the tiny part I am working on and have to get under the table and look for it.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/22 20:24:26


Post by: Oldmanronald


Bases and Terrain.

I paint both my bases and the terrain sheet the same way. I have jar of white gesso and a jar of black gesso which I mix. I add the black gesso first, just a little, and then add the white until I get the right color of gray. I then add medium grit ballast. This gives me a gray gritty mixture which I can paint on terrain and bases. The terrain sheet is an artist canvas board I had. It is a perfect size for displaying my army as a whole. I like its simplicity. It looks like a asphalt landing field or the surface of some desolate planet or moon. I also streaked it with a lighter gray mixture of Gesso which gives it depth. Note how that the terrain appears uneven in some of the pictures although it is perfectly flat. That is a pure illusion.

Assault Marine Facing Orks.



The gray gesso mix is also great for the bases of my bikers. I like a simple base design. I have been impressed with some of fancy bases that others have made but I don’t use them for four reasons. 1) It is too much work. 2) Complex bases overwhelm the model. 3) Simple bases more easily blend into all terrains. 4) I want an illusion that the bikes are moving. The more complex the base, the more static the model appears. Notice the bike bases in the picture below.

Bikers with Meltaguns.



These are my six melta gunners although normally they would be deployed in three separate squads. Melta gunners on Bikes are slightly crazy since they try to get as close to the target as possible. If the target is a land raider and they miss, that land raider is going to come after them. If they hit the land raider, whatever is inside that land raider is coming after them.

A Close Up of the Assault Marine.



My son painted this assault marine when he was twelve or thirteen. He considers it one of his best painted models and I agree. He painted it during a class at the local Warhammer Store (now closed). The model would be even better if we drilled out the pistol barrel and painted grey gesso mix on the base.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/23 21:13:58


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Whirlwind and Space Marine with Binoculars.

I have an old whirlwind which I stripped with Purple Power several weeks ago. I added a wire antenna and glued on an a couple of spare missiles on the top. I have just put on the primer but have not repainted it.

The Whirlwind.



I built the tank commander with binoculars several months ago for one of my predators. Then I decided to make a different tank commander with twin bolters for the predator, because 1) it looked good, 2) it gave the predator a little more firepower, and 3) it gave the predator a spare gun just in case. So I pulled the old tank commander off the predator, cut off the old hatch on the whirlwind, and stuck the old commander on the whirlwind.

Space Marine with Binoculars.



The binoculars are made from plastic tubing and green stuff.

Space Marine with Binoculars on Whirlwind.



The whirlwind is a nice little addition to a marine army. I watched my son play it several times. It is a fairly low point model that stays hidden in the back of the battlefield lobbing long range artillery blasts at the opponent’s infantry. The opponent has a choice. Either lose some infantry every turn or deploy a costly unit to try to destroy the whirlwind, tying up that unit for several moves, and maybe placing that unit in a vulnerable position where it can be destroyed.

A Final View of the Whirlwind.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/26 20:37:54


Post by: Oldmanronald


Just Playing Around.

Several weeks ago, I had fun creating a picture of a biker shooting an Ork. I still have the Ork with the guts flying out so for this picture, I just replaced the biker with one of my new Sternguard. I did better on keeping both the Sternguard and the Ork in focus.

A Good Day to Kill Orks.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/27 02:43:18


Post by: manoknok


Hey Oldmanronald,

Nice to see a camo army! Just wondering...the bolt shot into the ork...what are you using for that? I've not seen it before and it is a great idea....


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/07/27 19:21:00


Post by: Oldmanronald


Hi Manoknok

The bolt shot is short length of wire. I use both brass wire and piano wire on my models. The piano wire is stiffer but hard to cut. I think that is what I used. The brass is easier to cut but it will bend. I painted the wire black and then painted the end near the pistol reds and yellows. I scrapped the wire to remove the paint to give it the streaking look. I had drilled out the bolt pistol with the Warhammer hand drill so the bore has to be about 1 mm. The wire is just set in the bore hole in the bolt pistol and I think the wire is 1 mm in diameter but I will check that tonight. I drilled a hole in the Ork and put the other end of the wire in the Ork hole. The guts are just green stuff.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/12 01:07:25


Post by: Oldmanronald


Painting Camouflage.

When my son and I first started Warhammer 40K, we started building a space marine army. Since we didn’t know what color scheme to pick, I choose camouflage based on my own experience in the military which is that elite units use camouflage on their combat uniforms. We did a somewhat ad hoc pattern which worked but when I later signed up my son for a class at the Warhammer store, he was taught a more complex camouflage pattern which I adopted for my space marines. My son, who is now building space wolves, is using a more traditional pattern for his army but I am still retaining the camouflage.

The following are the steps for painting the camouflage.

Step 1: Apply a base coat of Chaos Black. Actually, for all our models I apply a base coat of Chaos Black. The exception is the flag I build for the standard in which I used a white base coat. The white base coat allowed the flag to have brighter colors. Still, the biker holding the flag has a Chaos black base coat.

Step 2: Apply Orkshade Green every place where there will be camouflage.



Orkshade Green on a standing Lasercannon gunner.

Step 3: Apply Kerri Brown to create brown spots on the camouflage.



Kerri Brown on a kneeling lasercannon gunner.

Step 4: Apply Catachen Green to the non-spots on the camouflage.



Catachen Green on a Biker with Pistol.

Step 5: Apply Scorched Brown to the spots on the camouflage.



Scorched Brown on a Biker with Knight’s Helmet.

Step 6: Apply Bestial Brown around the spots on the camouflage.



Bestial Brown on a Biker with a partial Knight’s Helmet.

Step 7: Apply Cammo Green over the Bestial Brown.



Cammo Green on a Biker with a Trumpet.



Bike with a Trumpet and Helmet on Bike.

Notice that this biker is bare faced but that there is a helmet on the side of the bike. My army has a new SOP (standard operating procedure). All soldiers must have helmets. Those models who are not wearing helmets will have a helmet that they can put on. I was reading an discussion on Dakka Dakka where someone suggested that it was unrealistic for a disciplined space marine to go into combat on a strange planet not wearing a helmet. I had assumed that the power armor generated a protective field that would provide protection to the head regardless of whether a helmet was worn or not. Still, in a destructive combat environment a soldier should have a helmet on in case his protective field fails, even if momentarily. Historically, well disciplined troops, such as space marines, will always wear helmets in combat.

The helmet are easy to make and I have plenty of spares since each bike spruce comes with a helmet and so do most of the other sets. I simply trimmed off the neck of the helmet and glued the helmet to a bumper or belt.

Step 8: Apply Thraka Green Wash on all the camouflage but the brown spots.



Thakka Green on a Flamer with the Horse-head Helmet.

Step 9: Apply Gryphonne Sepia on the brown spots.



Gryphonne Sepia on a Flammer with the Dragon-head Helmet.

This flammer is one of my favorite models.



Gryphonne Sepia on Sergeant Staghorn.

Sergeant Staghorn is another of my favorite models.



Gryphonne Sepia on an Attack Bike.

Notice that I paint the bike and the sidecar separately and only add them together once they are both painted.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/15 04:03:38


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Dragon flames some Orks.



Mmm, it smells like sautéed mushrooms. Sergeant Victor Staghorn rushes in to protect the Dragon as the Dragon flames the Orks.

This may be my favorite of all my pictures. The Dragon is one of the flamers in Staghorn’s Rowdies, the fourth bike squad of the 6th Biker Troop. Unlike the other bike squads, the Rowdies are armed with two flamers rather than two meltaguns and the squad attack bike has a heavy bolter instead of a multi-melta. Sergeant Victor Staghorn is armed with a power axe instead of the powerfists carried by the three pretty boy sergeants. Finally, the Rowdies do not have a distinctive color trim like the other three bike squads. All the Rowdies carry totally unauthorized Chaos space marine Berzerkers knives.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/15 05:22:26


Post by: manoknok


Yoink.

The sound of me stealing your ideas for helmets...

The Orkses getting flamed is awesome!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/21 13:55:22


Post by: Oldmanronald


Sergeant Victor Staghorn



Sergeant Staghorn in the Lead.

My favorite pose for my bikers is with the front wheel pinned and the back wheel free and up. I use a short piece of piano wire bent to form an L shape. One leg of the L is glued under the base; the other end goes through a hole drilled in the front part of the base and glued into the front tire. The bike looks like moving and floating over its base.



The Pointing Finger.

One of the best pieces that Warhammer makes is the pointing finger. I love the pointing finger and cannot have enough figures with the pointing finger.

Generally Space Marines, like most pious people, tend to be serious, almost stuffy, in their approach to life. Not for them is the individualistic, humorous, and boisterous lifestyle of Space Wolves and others. Yet even within the Space Marines, there are a few individuals that recognize that compared to the Creator, we mortals are merely clowns and fools. Our most sacred and pious acts must seem like a joke, mere child’s play, to the Creator Who Is Over All. Sergeant Victor Staghorn is one of these, a warrior who approaches combat with enthusiasm, imagination, and even humor. Because of his attitude, in his original chapter with its traditional and stuffy captains and chapter master, Staghorn was often in trouble. But in the 6th Bike Troop, Staghorn has become the expert in leading a nimble squad of fast moving and lightly armed bikers in lighting raids.



Painting Sergeant Staghorn.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/21 15:20:39


Post by: Limbo


Very inspiring stuff since I'm planning to make a 1000 point White Scars bike force sometime in the future (with almost the same list as you xD). I was wondering about the Ravenwing pack, do you get any special weapons with it, and how well do the bikes lend themselfs to special weapon conversions?

I wasn't even aware of the old rule about 2h weapons and bikes, makes sense thought. Glad they changed it cause that means I can use this guy http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440271a&prodId=prod810030a as a relic blade captain (I imagine he'll just use it as a lance, infact, that could make for a fun conversion....)

Oh, and I'd love to hear how your army does in a 1000 points game

Lastly I was wondering if you assemble the whole bike before you paint it or if you paint it in parts


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/21 17:30:18


Post by: Oldmanronald


Hi Limbo

The best way to build a bike army is to build it from the Dark Angels Ravenwing Battleforce. For the price of six bikes, the battleforce includes six normal space marine bikes, one normal space marine assault bike, and one normal space marine land speeder as well as a number of Dark Angels upgrade spruces.

The bikes in the Battleforce are the same as regular space marines except for the torso, arms, and heads of the riders. I like the Dark Angel riders better than the regular bikers. I did buy one regular Space Marine bike squad and the rider’s arms, torso, and heads were each a single metal component. One of the biker’s torsos had a multamelta, one had a plasma gun, and one had a sword. These metal models are difficult to customize and the only one I could use was the one with the meltamelta. The arms, torso, and heads of the Battleforce are regular marines but are a much more workable plastic.

The Battleforce has none of the special weapons like the multamelta, plasma gun, or sword. Neither the regular space squad nor the Battleforce has the pistols, powerfists, flamers, and battleaxes that I used. Actually, except for one multagunners, I used bits from other kits such as the assault squad, the company commander set, and regular space marine sets to get my weapons. I ordered many of my bits from bit suppliers such as http://www.thewarstore.com/SpaceMarineBitz.html. This is a US supplier but there are bit suppliers in Europe. You may be able to trade or get some of these bits from your local game shop.

I paint my bikes already assembled except for the assault bike. I paint the bike and the sidecar separately and then put them together. If you fit bits onto the assault bike, make sure that you check to make sure that the sidecar still fits. I use a black basecoat which means that the hard to paint areas remain black and disappear into the background. If you are painting White Scars and using a white base coat, you may have to experiment. When I painted my standard bearer, I painted the flag and the biker separately so I could use a white base coat on the flag to get brighter colors. I then painted on Chaos Black on the flag pole where I wanted to create shadows before I did the finish painting.

I haven’t had a chance to play the bike army in any competitive games yet. It does play differently than a regular space marine army. There are some great sites that discuss Space Marine bike strategy. I have the links on another computer so I will add them later.

Good luck with your White Scars army. I think the White Scars captain is a great looking model.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/21 18:13:29


Post by: Xenon


I see your army is coming along nicely. Good work!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/21 21:31:04


Post by: Sageheart


like your military camo scheme.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/22 18:45:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


First Flamer: The Dragon

The Dragon is a flamer in Staghorn’s Rowdies. The Dragon is one of my favorite models. I have a few Bike models that, to me, seem to be slightly more exciting than the others. This group includes the Dragon, Staghorn himself, my Bike Captain, my three pretty boy sergeants, my Command Squad Standard Bearer, and my simplest Command Squad Veteran. When I look at these models, they seem to have a personality, to be individuals that have a name and history. I like all my bike army, but these few models are my favorite.



The Dragon.

The red spare flamer tanks, shown in this picture and the one below, were some of the most difficult parts I have made. I cut up an old plastic missile I had in my bits collection, probably from the Whirlwind models. I then carved out the middle part, now painted red, leaving just the rims, trimmed with boltgun metal, and made the rounded bases and tops with green stuff. This is the kind of detail I like with each space marine carrying the equipment he needs for a long hard fight. When I was in the army, we often carried 100 pounds of equipment, ammo, and weapons so I figure that the space marines would carry as much as possible. In fact, I would added more stuff to the bikers but at some point I just have to tell myself, no more grenades and packs. I need to finish this army.



The Flamer in the Dragon’s Hand.

This shot shows how the Dragon holds the flamer like a pistol. Imagine the strength of an arm to hold a flamer like that.



Welcome to Hell, Heretic.

This may be the last mortal view many Orks and heretics have in this life. The next moment is merely flame, pain, and death.



Cleansing out an Ork Infection.

I had some fun with Styrofoam, orange paint, and few Ork bits.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/23 23:31:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


Second Flamer: The Horse.



The Horse.

Another of Staghorn’s Rowdies is the Horse. Like Staghorn and the Dragon, I used some Warhammer knight pieces that we had left over to make the helmets. I actually had to carve down the helmets to remove some drapery over the backs of the helmets and to fit the necks into the Biker’s torsos. I also had to pin in the helmets and use some green stuff to fill in the gaps. Actually, I pinned about half the arms on my bikers. Of the package, the arms with weapons generally point toward the front of the model which would place the arms and weapons into the handlebars of the bike. So I had to cut and pin the arms so that they were sticking out to the side. It makes the models more dynamic.



Of course he’s flamboyant, he’s a flamer.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/23 23:54:06


Post by: Commander Cain


Very cool looking marines. It is nice to see some camo ones as people always seem to think it looks bad, with yours though I would have to say they look very good. The glowing eyes in the helmets look nice!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/24 23:19:59


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Bugler.

The Bugler is an experiment. When I visited the Shiloh battlefield this summer, I went to the souvenir shop and they had some American Civil War cavalry toy soldiers. I really liked the bugler. So I decided to create a bugler for Staghorn’s Rowdies. This is the result.



The Bugler – Staghorn’s Rowdies.

Tactically in the game, the Bugler would be treated as a standard pistol carrying biker with no special abilities or weapon. If I break up the Rowdies into combat teams, I will consider him the Corporal over the second team.

As far as a model, he didn’t turn out quite as good as I hoped. I have a few biker models that I had high expectations but come short of what I was hoping. These include this model, my captain in the sidecar, my company champion, and my apothecary. Oddly enough, I consider my Librarian in that category also, but partly because I accidently smashed him with some terrain and I haven’t been able to completely fix him. I don’t mean that I don’t like these models. It does mean that I thought these would be great models like Staghorn and the Biker Captain but they turned out okay rather than great.



The Bugler with Helmet on Bike.

Notice the helmet on the Bugler’s fender. As I noted in a prior post, all my bikers require helmets. Some of my bareheaded models, however, hang their helmet on the side of their bikes when they can get away with that. Disciplined Troops wear helmets in combat. Remember, however, the 6th Bike Troop has some discipline problems, unusual for Space Marines. Of course, he can't play the bugle with his helmet on.

I have a little bit of a conceptual (fluff) problem with the bugler. If the 6th Bike Troop is fighting on a lifeless, airless planet, the bugler would blow his lung out through his horn, not a pleasant experience. Even on a planet with a life supporting atmosphere, however, it is unlikely that the other Bikers on fast moving, loud bikes would be able to hear the bugle. Besides, the Bikers would be communicating by radio rather than pure sound.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/25 22:59:57


Post by: Oldmanronald


Another Favorite.



A unnamed pistol gunner in Staghorn’s Rowdies.

In one of my posts I mentioned being disappointed in how a model was not quite as special as I thought it would be. However, there are some that unexpectedly delight me. This is one that is just a routine pistol biker but somehow he turned out to be one of my favorites. I am trying to figure out a good name for him but, as of now, he is merely an unnamed pistol gunner in Staghorn’s Rowdies.



A second shot of the pistol gunner.

The head is probably from the Empire or Bretonnian army, probably of a archer or yeoman soldier. He is not pretty. Just looking at his face, this trooper looks like a toughie who likes a good fight but doesn’t always follows the rules. My favorite detail is the right eye piece that I molded out of green stuff.

Notice that the gunner is wearing a partial helmet rather than a full helmet. He actually thought he was going to get away with this. But the Captain spotted this picture and ordered him to use a full helmet in combat. So now this trooper carries a full helmet on his bike. In one battle it actually saved his life. Once in an assault, a berzerker jumped on his back and tried to kill him. The gunner was able to grab his full helmet hanging on his bike and beat out the berzerker’s brains with it.



With his helmet on his Bike.



Another View of the Pistol Gunner.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/26 23:35:05


Post by: Oldmanronald



The Pistol Gunner with the Iron Mask.



The Iron Mask.

The Iron Mask is another of Staghorn’s Rowdies. Again his head is a knight’s helmet from the Empire bits. I have written about models that are my favorite and models that I am disappointed with. This is neither, just a good solid model that helps complete my army.



Another View of the Iron Mask.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/28 00:58:01


Post by: Oldmanronald


Staghorn’s Attack Bike.



This Attack Bike supports Staghorn’s Rowdies. Unlike my other three attack bikes, this bike has a heavy bolter instead of a combi-melta. I added two spare ammo boxes on the fender and a large ammo storage box on the front of the side-car. I figure that this long range patrol attack bike needs to carry all the ammo it can.

Below is a picture of the Attack Bike with Staghorn’s Rowdies. I designed Staghorn’s Rowdies to fill a niche that I needed for my army, a Bike squad with 30 less points than each of the other three Bike Squads. So Staghorn’s Rowdies are a pure anti-infantry unit with Staghorn carrying a power axe instead of a powerfist, the Horse and the Dragon each carrying a flamer instead of a meltagun, and the attack bike with only a heavy bolter.



Staghorn’s Rowdies.

Compare the Rowdies to one of the other squads. Here is a picture of the blue squad.



The Blue Squad.

The blue squad, as well as the white and red squads, is a heavy anti-tank unit. Of the six models in each squad, two have a meltaguns, one has a combi-melta, and the sergeant has a powerfist. With this concentration of melta, this is a squad that can take apart pretty much any individual armor vehicle.

Still, Staghorn's Rowdies are 30 points less and for my 1000, 1500, and 1850 point army, I need those extra points for my captain. In many ways Staghorn’s Rowdies is my favorite bike squad even if it is the cheapest without any anti-tank weapons. It just looks so scrappy and tough.



Another View of the Rowdies.



Another View of the Attack Bike.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/28 06:15:09


Post by: LeBaron


I like the theme of the army as a whole. I like the tied down antennas too. Can't wait to see the Termies when they're done.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/08/29 15:42:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


More Painting Steps: Painting the Weapons.

Step 1: When the camouflage painting is finished and dried, paint the weapons, engines, and exhaust pipes with boltgun metal. Also, dry brush selected feature such as the front of the helmets with boltgun metal.



Boltgun Metal on Sergeant Staghorn.

Step 2: Irregularly spot paint Baal Red on the tips of the barrels of weapons, the engines, and the exhaust pipes. This will give the metal a heat stained look.



Horse with Baal Red on the tips of the barrels, the engine block and the exhaust pipes.

Step 3: Heavy paint over all the areas with boltgun metal and Baal Red with Badab Black. This both dulls the shiny boltgun metal and gives the surface an oily look. It also blends in the Baal Red so that the metal looks like it has been heated. This is one of my favorite steps because it looks so good when finished.



Horse after the Badab Black has been applied.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/09/06 17:22:55


Post by: Oldmanronald


Even more painting steps: The backpack and other brass areas.

Step 1: Paint Tin Bitz over the backpacks and any other areas such a weapons or helmet parts that will have a dark bronze finish.



Horse with Tin Bitz on his backpack and on the horse on his helmet. He also has just had boltgun metal painted on his weapons, engine, and exhaust pipes.

Step 2: Paint small highlighted areas such as the flying skull on the marine’s chest, the skulls and daggers on their backpack and any other insignia to be highlighted with Dwarf Bronze. Dry brush Dwarf Bronze on the tin bitz. This is another fun step that will give the model a finished look.



Horse with the Dwarf Bronze applied. Notice on the horse above and on the backpacks how the Dwarf Bronze highlights the model.



The Dragon flaming Orks with Staghorn covering him.

This picture, my favorite which I have already published in an earlier post, shows the highlighted bronze backpack on both Staghorn and the Dragon. It also shows how natural such highlighting looks.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/09/07 23:05:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Flying Skulls on Headstones.

Look at the top of the headstone on the left.



Frank’s Headstone.

Last year my wife and I took a trip to Boston. We did the tourist things including going through an old graveyard from the American Colonial times. This is a picture of a headstone. Did they have Warhammer then? The tour guide said that the winged skull represents the soul after death. The skull represents the death of the body. The wings represent going up into heaven. These winged skulls were on headstones throughout the graveyard.



The Headstone of Mary Goose.

We were told that this may be the headstone of Mother Goose of fairy tale fame. But see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Goose. Obviously, Mother Goose was a Warhammer 40K fan. I wonder what army she played.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/09/07 23:12:20


Post by: Sageheart


there are some beautiful tombstones in boston. my dad and i went there a while ago and did inprints on them, where youput the paper over the raised edges and use charcoal to get an inprint on the paper. its against the law but you can get some beautiful stuff from it. it doesnt hurt the tombstones as far as i know.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/09/10 02:04:46


Post by: Oldmanronald


Revised 1000 point army.



Captain on bike with artificer armor, storm shield, and relic blade.

1st Bike Squad (white) with powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns.
2nd Bike Squad (red) with powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multi-melta.
4th Bike Squad (Staghorn’s Rowdies) with power axe, 2 extra bikes, 2 flamers, Attack Bike.

Land Speeder with Typhoon missile launcher.

Land Speeder with Typhoon missile launcher.

I had to revise my 1000 point army because I had forgotten the points for the Captain’s relic blade. So I created Staghorn’s Rowdies to take the place of the 3rd Bike Squad (blue). The Rowdies have fewer points than the antitank squads but it may be my favorite squad. The Rowdies adds a little character to my army.

Although this is just a 1000 point army, it should be both fun and a great learning army for me to master bike rules and tactics. The white squad would act as the Captain’s escort.



Staghorn’s Rowdies.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/09/10 02:23:06


Post by: Thortek


Looks good, love the camo pattern


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/10 18:50:43


Post by: Oldmanronald


General Quantum Wells

It has been several months since I made my last post but I have been building some new characters. In my fluff on the creation of the 157th Special Security Detachment, I mentioned a character named General Quantum Wells. He had been assigned to lead the chapter even though he was an aging military bureaucrat who had distinguished his career by avoiding risks, factious attention to obscure regulations, and petty military politics. So I decided to build a model for him even if I have no real plans yet to use him in my army. Still he was lots of fun to build with a lot of customization. The head is an officer's bit from an Imperial Guard Cadian command squad and the body is from the space marine commander’s set. I added a few bits including the ammo carrier from other sets to create the model. Just in case I put him in a game, I configured him as Pedro Kantor with a Powerfist and an upgraded heavy bolter.



General Wells and Sergeant Rock with Lascannon Gunner.

I do a lot of pinning. I actually counted the pinning I did in this General Wells and came up with seven pins. I have one on each shoulder, one between the left arm and the heavy bolter, one between the heavy bolter and the ammo can, one between the body and the head because that is an awkward fit and needed a lot of green stuff, one to hold on the helmet on his belt, and one between his legs and his upper body to give him the necessary twist. I pin my models when the parts do not fit flush which often happens as I customize them. For example, I often put my arms in different positions which requires that I pin the shoulder and put in green stuff between the shoulder and the arm. If I hadn’t done that, the heavy bolter would point to the side rather than directly ahead and the powerfist would have been off to the side rather than lifted up defiantly.



General Wells from the Right Side.



General Wells from the Left Side Showing his Helmet.

Just because he likes to wear his old Imperial Guard Cadian soft cap doesn’t mean that he won’t wear a helmet when the fighting gets rough or the atmosphere is nonexistent or poisonous. Like all my bareheaded models, I place a helmet where the character can easily get it. Here the General has his helmet hanging from his belt.



General Wells and Sergeant Rock from the Rear.

Although General Wells is more of a military bureaucrat than a warrior, one of his hobbies is killing Orks, especially if he has some space marines to back him up.



General Wells and the Trouble with Orks.

Of course, one trouble with hunting Orks is that they start hunting you. Still blasting away at Orks is always good for the soul even if they get a little too close for comfort. I bet he wishes he had put on his helmet. Have you ever smelled an Ork? It is just nasty.

I still need to finish painting his eye.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/12 21:15:13


Post by: Oldmanronald


Lascannon Gunners.

Everyone loves Lascannon Gunners. Here are two of mine.



Lascannon Gunners.



Sergeant Rocky Ridge Directing his Lascannon Gunners.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/15 21:32:32


Post by: Oldmanronald


Revived Command Squad

I have been making some major changes to my bike army. I have decided to make it a pure bike army with two bike captains and two command squads. I not only added a second command squad, I rebuilt my first command squad to increase its antitank and assault power by adding four meltaguns and adding an extra lighting claw and two shields. I also did a major rebuilding of the company champion and the apothecary, although that was primarily because I didn’t like how they had first turned out. For all the first command squad, I kept the bikes as they were but replaced the arms and some of the torsos of the individual squad members. I also built a whole new second command squad modeled after Staghorn’s Rowdies which I had earlier posted.



The First Command Squad.

Fluff-wise, this is a more disciplined command squad than the second. Their helmets and power armor are more in strict conformity to the prescribed uniforms of the Ultramarines. This squad carries the company standard and will escort the first company commander.



The Second Command Squad, Staghorn’s Rowdies.

The second command squad is a more nonconforming and flamboyant squad than the first. Three squad members have totally unauthorized and highly decorative helmets. All the veterans in this squad carry captured Berzerker knives and scabbards. This squad will escort Victor Staghorn, who will be upgraded to the second company commander.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/19 21:44:33


Post by: Oldmanronald


The First Command Squad Company Champion.

I was disappointed with how my first company champion had turned out. I had ordered some champion bits from a supplier and put them on a marine biker but the figure just seemed to have no personality or excitement. The champion helmet, while different then the normal marines, was boring. The shield with pistol just seemed to make the model appear as if the champion was cowering behind his shield rather than aggressively seeking out the enemy and attacking. With the camouflage, the special marine shoulder pads seemed uninteresting. I liked the sword but not enough to make up for the rest of the model. Beside, it wasn’t in as dramatic a position as I wanted. Finally, I had not bothered getting the model a champion torso because it had a long robe at the bottom that would not fit over a motorcycle.



The Original Company Champion.

When I decided the create a second command squad, I bought the Warhammer command squad package and after examining them, decided to rebuilt my champion. I pulled the torso and arms off the biker and rebuilt him. This time I used the company champion torso by cutting off the robe so it would fit on the bike. I had really liked the head that I used for Sergeant Rock, the Sternguard sergeant I had earlier built. So I got another head like Rocky’s , a squire’s head from one of the Bretonnia® knight’s sets. I had to use green stuff and pinning to attach the head to the torso and I sculpted a right eye piece. I put on the champion’s power sword in the left hand but also put a chainsword, rather than the shield and pistol, in his right hand. Instead, I carved off the pistol from the back of the shield and placed the shield on a meltagun that I attached to the bike. I hung the champion’s helmet from his waist and now had a more dynamic champion. With his arms lifted and with the champion torso, the shoulder armor showed up more dramatically and was more fun. I found that painting the shoulder armor a regular camouflage rather than trying to accent it actually more it more impressive than if I had painted it gold. I also added a winged bit on the top of his backpack that really made a nice accent. When I finished it, I had a champion that looked ready to rock.



The New Company Champion.



Company Champion with his Helmet on his Waist.

I still need to finish his eye and put red paint on the eye covers his helmet. With all the details, I don’t know if I will ever really finish this army.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/19 23:41:12


Post by: Sageheart


i like the lascannon models! they look very army like


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/22 20:39:40


Post by: Oldmanronald


The First Command Squad Apothecary.

Like the original company champion, I was disappointed in my original apothecary. He just wasn’t exciting for a unique character. He was bland. In fact, he is the only unique model that I hadn’t even bothered to take a picture, except with the rest of the command squad.



The Old First Command Squad.

The apothecary is the second from the left with the white trim. Notice that even here I kind of buried the apothecary so he didn’t really show. So I decided to rebuild him.

I ripped the torso, arms, and antennna off the apothecary. In rebuilding him, the main change I made was to use his medical equipment hand to grasp the handle bar of the bike which was more natural looking than with his heavy hand out flailing. This freed up his other hand to wield a chainsword. I also put an undercoat of white rather than black on his shoulder pads, his medical arm, and his helmet. I increased the amount of white but used a bone white rather than the bright skull white as a final coat to down play its brightness. I did put his helmet on him rather than a bare head to indicate that compared to the second command squad apothecary, he was more disciplined.



The New First Apothecary.

The main lesson I have learned in building bikers is that to make sure that you have a dramatic and nature position to the arms, use pinning and green stuff at the shoulders rather than just putting together the arms to the torso as they come from the factory. This is fairly easy if you have a hand drill, especially since the shoulder pads cover up the joints and hide any sloppiness in the green stuff.



The First Apothecary in Battle.

With this photo, I can see some places that need to be touched up with white paint. One reason I use a black undercoat rather than white is it hides the mistakes. The mistakes just disappear into the shadows and are hidden. Not so with white. The white, however, shows off colors better.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/22 20:47:43


Post by: sphynx


Wow, those predators look bloody great. I love the camo, but it looks like your paints could do with thinning down a little on some models. Nonetheless, very inspiring, i really like them.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/24 17:14:14


Post by: Oldmanronald


sphynx wrote:Wow, those predators look bloody great. I love the camo, but it looks like your paints could do with thinning down a little on some models. Nonetheless, very inspiring, i really like them.


Thanks for the kind remarks about the predator. You are right about the paints needing thinning down. I get a little impatient sometimes and sometimes splater on the paint a little thicker than I should. I like the instant gradification of a quick layer of paint rather than carefully layering on the paint.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Rebuilding the First Command Squad.

In addition to my Company Champion and my Apothecary, I rebuilt the rest of my first command squad. Unlike my Company Champion and my Apothecary, which I rebuilt because I didn’t like how the original models looked, I only rebuilt the other three veteran bikers to beef them up for play. I liked how the rest of my original Command Squad looked. I liked the standard bearer with his powerhammer. I liked my veteran biker with duel lighting claws. I especially like my simple veteran biker with his chainsword.

However after watching some sneering imperial guard player put down all his tanks and other armored vehicles at our local game store, I realized that I needed to increase the amount of anti-armor fire power in my bike army. So I gave a meltagun to each of my veterans in my command squad. I also realized that if I used meltaguns to take out armor, I would be in range for an assault by any mechanized infantry forced out of their vehicle. To take out armor with meltaguns I had to be within 12 inches of the target. Even I succeeded in hitting the vehicle, any infantry on board the vehicle may during the next turn be in a position to disembark two inches, walk six inches, and then assault another six inches to hit and overwhelm my bikers. Thus, if I only used my precious scoring Tactical Squad Bikers as my primary anti-armor force, I was going lose them to assaults. So I decided I needed two antitank, counter assaulting heavy command squads to help with the close up killing I planned to do. This way I could take out armor with both my command squads and my tactical squads, but would be able to assault any survivors with my command squads before the enemy assaulted me.

Below are the before and after versions of the other three rebuilt members of my beefed up First Command Squad. Modeling wise, I like the before versions as well or even better than the rebuilt versions.

Original Standard Bearer.



Modified Standard Bearer with Meltagun.




Original Veteran 1 with Chainsword.



Modified Veteran 1 with Meltagun and Single Lighting Claw on Handlebar.




Original Veteran 2 with Twin Lighting Claws.



Modified Veteran 2 with Meltagun and Single Lighting Claw.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/24 18:37:31


Post by: kenshin620


Wow pretty cool and creative army. First I've seen camo bikes made.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/11/30 14:36:53


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Second Command Squad Company Champion.

My second command squad company champion is very similar to the first command squad company champion, only with his powersword and his chainsword reversed. Actually, his powersword is the original power sword from the original first company champion. Since it was in this right hand instead of his left, I had to cut off the blade and the pummel and pin them on the second company champion’s hand after I had cut off another weapon from this hand. This allowed me, however, to use a really neat left handed chainsword with the bionic arms and hand.



Second Company Champion

I used the company champion’s torso and shoulder pieces from the Command Squad Package. I found that if I raised up the weapons, that is with the power-sword upraised in one hand and the chain-sword upraised in the other, it lifted up the arms and displayed the shoulder pads and the torso.

I had earlier built a pistol gunner using the head of a Bretonnian soldier which I really liked. I found another head just like it and used it for my company champion. Below is a picture of this earlier model which happened to turn out to be one of my favorite models even though he is just a basic biker with no extra equipment or function. Still, he was the inspiration for my Second Company Champion.



Just a Biker with a Pistol.

Both of these models have the attitude that I want; tough troops who are ready to mix it up with a mob of Ork Boyz.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
The Second Command Squad Apothecary.

I made my second command squad apothecary bareheaded with his helmet on the side of the bike. For some reason I took three pictures of him. Notice that I put his medical hand kit on the handlebar of the bike, which is actually easy since the hand itself is normal sized. The adjustments I had to make were from the shoulder, not in the hand itself, although I did have to cut up the handlebar to make the hand fit.



The Second Apothecary.



Another View of the Second Apothecary.



Third View of the Second Apothecary.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/12/01 18:16:41


Post by: Oldmanronald


Snake – A Veteran in the Second Command Squad.

I was pleased with how my earlier models of Staghorn’s Rowdies turned out, especially the models with the knight’s helmet. I used these earlier models as a guide to building my second command squad. Here is one of my favorite veterans whom I am calling Snake. I have heavily armed him with a meltagun, single lighting claw, and a storm shield.



Snake from the Front.

Compared to my earlier meltagunners, I have positioned the meltaguns upright and more aggressively outstretched. Again, I am able to position them better by pinning the arms and using green stuff at the shoulders to move the arms into position.



Snake from His Left.

This view shows the Chaos Berzerker knife and the lighting claw resting on the bike’s handlebar. Actually I cut off the handle and pinned the claw onto the bike so it looks like he is guiding the bike with the claw. Fluffwise, all my bikers carry a knife. Most carry an issued knife but each biker is allowed to carry a knife that they took from enemy during a battle. So some of my bikers carry a Chaos Berzerker knife, some carry an Ork knife. Although the First Command Squad veterans only carry the space marine issued knife to show their strict obedience to the code of the Adeptus Astrates, the Second Command Squad veterans carry a Berzerker knife to show their ability to take the knife from a Berzerker. Of course, it is easier to take the knife if veteran kills the Berzerker first.



Snake from His Right.

Snake’s storm shield is from a space wolf guard set but I cut down the jaw of the wolf skull to make it more human looking. I really like space wolf bits and their storm shields are better looking than the standard space marine storm shield. The main reason I used the space wolf’s storm shield, however, is because it was the only storm shield bit that I had.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/12/01 19:07:55


Post by: Element206


i love the blue squad. Comething about blue and green look good in my eyes


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/12/02 20:11:11


Post by: Oldmanronald


Horse – Hammer Bearing Veteran of the Second Command Squad.

I had an earlier model in Staghorn’s Rowdies that I called Horse. He carried a flamer. Notice his helmet actually is a unicorn but I like the name Horse better than Unicorn.



Horse with Flamer.

I really liked this model so I modeled a second Horse with a meltaguns and thunderhammer.



Horse with Thunderhammer.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2010/12/03 21:46:13


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Bird or Griffin - Another Veteran of the Second Command Squad.

This is my last veteran in the Second Command Squad. I call him Bird after the image on his helmet. It appears to be part lion and part bird, I guess a Griffin. Actually, I don’t like the word Bird but I am not sure I am ready to call him Griffin. Maybe I’ll call him Peter Griffin which sounds like a private detective in an old movie.



The Griffin with Lighting Claws.

Note the Skull on his Lighting Claw. I had to use an old claw that I found and added the skull I cut off from a bike antenna to beef it up.



The Claw.

Maybe I’ll just call him The Claw.



Peter Griffin with Meltagun.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2011/01/03 21:18:34


Post by: Oldmanronald


Captain Victor Staghorn.

I upgraded my sergeant, Victor Staghorn, to a second captain. I was unable to find another stag horn helmet so I had to tear apart my original Victor Staghorn and convert him to a captain. This was difficult since he was one of my favorite models.



Before: Sergeant Victor Staghorn.



After: Captain Victor Staghorn.

I carefully removed the helmet and the arms. I put on a Captain’s torso and cape. I had to carved down the cape to fit is over the bike. The torso also took a bit of work. The space marine commander’s kit has a torso that is really thick front to back. This is not a problem with the standing figure because it is covered by the cape but on a bike, this pushes the figure way forward over the legs and makes the Captain fat. On my prior captain, I raised up the torso with a pin and green stuff so he was taller and there was distance between the legs and torso so I was able to better place it. But with the antlers, Staghorn helmet makes Staghorn high enough. This time I shaved down the seam between the front and back portions of the torso to thin it up. This meant, however, that I lost the guide pins. So after I had thinned the torso, I predrilled guide holes in the front and back of the torso, and pinned the torso bits together.

After I had assembled it, my son looked at it and said that Staghorn needed a bigger war axe. I agreed and went through our bits until I found a huge Space Wolf war axe. I thought about cutting off the Space Wolf head at the bottom but decided that I would just adjust the fluff to fit the model. This was somewhat easy since the name Victor Staghorn sounds like a Wolf Marine rather than a Space Marine name.



Captain Cat Schrödinger and Captain Victor Staghorn Side-By-Side.

The fluff explains the Wolf Axe. Staghorn is a brave but somewhat eccentric or individualist officer. Of course, such individualism is discouraged among the well disciplined codex space marines. But such traits are admired among the Wolves who themselves prize such individualism. Based on my own military experience and reading, often a promising officer or soldier will be assigned to an allied army to learn different tactics. Such happened to Staghorn who was assigned to the Wolves. Because he fit in so well with the Wolves, he actively sought out additional assignments with the Wolves and because of his independent streak; his exasperated chapter master frequently approved such assignments just to get Staghorn out of his hair. Thus, Staghorn spent as much time howling with the Wolves as he did praying with the Space Marines. Because of this and his great bravery, he became the only non-Wolf ever to carry a Wolf Relic Blade, the Great Howling Axe of Floyder.



Captain Victor Staghorn with the Great Howling Axe of Floyder.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2011/01/07 22:10:05


Post by: Oldmanronald


Victor Staghorn, his Company Champion, and Snake from the Back.

Below are just a couple of pictures of Captain Staghorn and the Rowdies. Staghorn is my second captain and the Rowdies are his command squad. My son doesn't like the name Rowdies. He thinks I should call them Staghorn's Bad Boys or Bad Company.



Staghorn, Snake, and one of the two Company Champions from the Back.



Staghorn’s Rowdies.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2011/02/21 22:30:45


Post by: Oldmanronald


Poetry in Motion: Assault Bikes with Heavy Bolters

Who doesn’t love assault bikes? Assault Bikes with heavy bolters are just poetry in motion. Assault Bikes are nothing really fancy but I enjoyed customizing them. I replaced one of the arms of the bike rider with the pointing finger which may be the best bit for space marines. I added some boxes off of some predators. Soldiers going into combat will load as much ammo as possible plus food, fuel, spare parts, and a few personal items. They always need a little more room.

Two Assault Bikes from the Front.



The Two Assault Bikes from the Rear.



The Two Assault Bikes from the Side-car Side.



For a pure bike army, these two bikes have the longest range and may be useful as an economy of force to wear down infantry targets.

Two Assault Bikes from the Biker Side.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2011/02/22 21:28:46


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Pointing Finger – The single best Space Marine Bit.

I mentioned in my last post that the pointing finger is the single best bit for space marines. I love the pointing finger. Although I have posted most of these pictures, I decided to bring all my pointing finger picture together.



The Pointing Finger on an Assault Bike Rider.



The Pointing Finger on upgraded Victor Staghorn.



The Pointing Finger on original Victor Staghorn.



The Pointing Powerfist on Sergeant Rocky Ridge.

The pointing powerfist is almost as good a bit as the pointing finger. It may even be better. Still, the pointing finger is a little more flexible.



The Pointing Powerfist on the White Pretty Boy Sergeant.

I have two more models with pointing fingers. Unfortunately, I have no pictures that really show off these pointing fingers. Still, if you look carefully at these three pictures, you will see a pointing finger.



The Pointing Finger on a Space Marine.

This is an unpainted picture of Sergeant Rocky Ridge showing how his bolter has been modified. Notice that the space marine to his left (our right) has a pointing finger.



The Pointing Finger on the Tank Commander on a Predator.

Notice that the Tank Commander on the Predator on the right has a pointing finger.



Another View of the Pointing Finger on the Tank Commander on a Predator.

The pointing finger was actually somewhat difficult to put on the tank commander. The bit for the heavy bolter has two arms connected with a support for the heavy bolter to form a U-shaped bit. To finish up this pointing finger required that I cut off one arm of the U-shaped bit which made it more difficult to put it on the Tank Commander without pinning. The more challenging problem was now I had the hand off the pistol grips so I had to cut a pistol grip in half and pin it to the pistol grip bit with a hand on it. It was a lot of work but worth it to use a pointing finger. I need to finish painting this model and take a picture that really shows off the pointing finger.

Do you have a model with the pointing finger? Send me a picture or a link so we can see it.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/01 21:27:04


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have not posted since February. In part, it was because my army was fairly complete and I have been busy with a life outside of Warhammer 40K. Moreover, our local Warhammer shop closed down several years ago and then the game shop where weekly Warhammer 40K games were played moved to a smaller store with less space and then shut down. So I have not been able to play my biker army.

About a month or two ago, however, I went to a strip mall to have some shoes repaired and noticed a hobby shop so I went in. I discovered that the gamers who had been displaced from the weekly game now played a weekly game in this hobby shop. So I brought my biker army down there and played it for several games.

I have discovered that a pure biker army is a difficult army with several challenges.

The first challenge is that the pure biker army has limited long range weapons and thus has to be deployed close enough to the enemy units to invite assault. Except for the command squad, however, a bike is not generally a good assault unit.

The second is that bikes are not defensive units. They need to move and attack the right targets. I discovered that if the right biker unit attacks the right enemy unit, that enemy unit disappears. I also discovered that if I attack the wrong unit, my bikers disappear. The bikers, however, are not very good in a protracted firefight. It bogs them down and they tend to be whittled away. I am still learning the capability of my own troops and the vulnerabilities and strengths of my opponents.

The third is bikes have a large footprint. Thus, with the 2000 point games that my opponents favor, it was difficult to find places to hide my bike troops where they could survive to score. Compare the footprint of a full bike squad with an assault bike to tactical squad in a Rhino. The Rhino has a small footprint easily hidden by terrain features. With a pure bike army, enemy barrage weapons almost always hit something; enemy long range weapons easily find a target.

Finally, although bikers are tough, they are not armor and in the 5th edition, armor is king. Killing a squad in a Rhino is a two-step process. Kill the Rhino and then kill the squad itself. With bikes, it is only one step, kill the biker.

So I am modified my bike army by eliminating one of the command squads and one of my biker captains (although I am keeping the models since I may use them later). This opened up a number of spaces for other units which gave me an opportunity to finish some of my models and make a few new ones. With this long winded introduction over, I shall share a few pictures of my new models.


Two Predators

I finished painting my two predators. These predators serve several purposes for my army. The first is to act as mobile cover for my bikers. The second is to provide a little long range antitank firepower with the autocannon. The final purpose is to absorb firepower that would normally be directed to my bikers. For the later reason, I kept these predators reasonable cheap, adding only a storm bolter. I did add some flourish to them with banners and other decorations to make them appear more imposing. I want my opponents to focus on them.


Two Predators with the Tank Commander having the Pointy Finger

See the prior post for a discussion of the pointy finger and a picture of these two predators before I finished painting both.


A Young Ork’s Last View.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/02 13:13:09


Post by: Oldmanronald


I decided to add a tactical squad. I made my tactical squad from bits that I had from other models.


Tactical Squad with Rhino

The bits came from different sets including this model left over from an Assault on Black Reach.


Tactical Marine from the Assault on Black Reach

Although this was a starter set, the model is actually rather nice with good decorations and a nice belt on the bolter. I added other bits including a knife, bolt pistol, krak grenades, and frag grenades. I left this model with the standard tactical squad marine pose.

For the remaining models, however, I varied the pose. Even though it is a plain vanilla space marine tactical squad I wanted to give it some personality. I love the scene in True Grit where Rooster Cogburn charges “Lucky” Ned Pepper and his gang with a pistol in each hand. With some left over pistol hand bits, bolters, and with some arms left over from the bikers kits, I was able, using green stuff, to carve and pin the arms into place so that each marine carried both his pistol and his bolter ready to fire. Below are some plain tactical marines, each with the proper swagger.


Tactical Space Marine with Swagger

My son was surprised that I knew the word swagger, associating the term only with rap stars and gangsters. But the term is perfect for the space marines models I want to create. I noticed that I missed a seam in this model. It is hard to get all the seams.


Second Tactical Marine swinging bolter and bolt pistol



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/03 23:33:49


Post by: Oldmanronald


A human face is difficult to paint. In part this is a factor of our minds. The human mind is extremely sensitive to the features of the face. If a human face is slightly distorted or off, we immediately see it. Moreover, our brains interpret colors and features so that what we think we are seeing is not what we really see. The untrained artist will attempt to paint the eyes, lips, and nose while the trained figure painter or portrait painter will paint shapes and shadows to create the eyes, lips, and noses. Painting Warhammer human faces should be easier since the model already has the underlying shapes already molded into the model, but I find that I still struggle with the faces.

For faces, I generally follow the instructions on page 30 of the Games Workshop How to Paint Space Marines. The instructions recommend a first coat of tanned flesh, a middle coat of dwarf flesh but leaving the tanned flesh showing in the recesses, and a highlight of elf flesh. I usually paint several coats of tanned flesh to cover the black undercoat, and then paint the dwarf flesh on the nose, checks, and forehead of the face, the places where the sun shines on the skin leaving the tanned flesh in the shadowed areas of the face. I rarely use much elf flesh since it is too light, perhaps as a dot or two as highlight.

For the eyes, the instructions recommend painting a white line. I note that the instruction do not specify which white and rightfully so since Warhammer whites such as bone white and skull white are too bright for the highly shadowed eyes. I use a line of Astronomican grey, a Games Workshop foundation. I put in a small dot of blue –black or dark brown for the pupils. I often have to repaint tanned flesh near the eyes because the eyes are too big. Often I have to paint the eyes several times and sometimes I just can’t get it right. Painting faces is an art and sometimes the face just doesn’t turn out right.

In some cases, I just give up and fill in the eyes with tanned flesh and hope that no one notices that the eyes are missing. I have done so on one of the models below. When all the facial features seem okay, I cover the face with a wash of Ogryn flesh. I have four bare headed models in my tactical squad. Of course, each carries his helmet on his belt.


Bareheaded Tactical Squad Space Marine

I am never finished with a model. This model has electrodes coming out of his skull. Some I have painted silver. Some I still need to paint.


Second Bareheaded Tactical Squad Space Marine

I painted the inside of this model's mouth with a dab of Mechrite red foundation.


Tactical Squad Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Chainsword.

This is one of my favorite characters. I used a bare head bit from the Bretonnian Knights. I made the right eye piece from green stuff but it isn’t great. Still, this is a fun character.


Third Bareheaded Tactical Squad Space Marine with Warhammer Fantasy Bare Head

I finally gave up on painting this third space marine’s eyes and just left the eye socket dark. Can you tell that he has no eyes? Actually, this sometimes works better than painting in the eyes since our minds tend to fill in such details for us. If the eye is already there, our minds notice if it is not right. Although I like the scarf and pose, I rate this model as okay but not one of my favorites.

Below are two of the above bareheaded models in an action scene.


Sergeant and Space Marine Covering the Tactical Squad’s Flamer

I am also including an example of a bareheaded non-tactical squad space marine, a land speeder pilot.


Bareheaded Land Speeder Typhoon Pilot

Painting a bareheaded land speeder pilot is as tricky as painting a bareheaded tactical marine. In fact, it may be more difficult since the head is harder to get to with a paint brush.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/05 00:25:04


Post by: Oldmanronald


A space marine tactical squad is allowed two specialists. The biggest problem is deciding which two specialists should be selected since the choices are so good. I picked the flamer and the multi-melta gunner.


The Multi-Melta Gunner

This is a good solid model that adds to the appearance of the combat squad. Of course, a multi-melta is also a welcome choice for game play.



The Flamer - Front

This is one of my favorite models. The head is a Bretonnian Knights helmet. I love flamers. Every model I have created using a flamer has turned out right. Of course, I make my flamers flamboyant because they are flamers.


The Flamer - Rear


The Flamer in Action




The Grenade Thrower

This last model is not really a specialist since all space marines have the option to throw a grenade. Still, I wanted a model actually throwing the grenade since I had a grenade throwing arm bit. I used a biker bit holster to carry his bolt gun. This is a good solid model, not great, but definitely an addition to the appearance of the tactical squad itself.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/05 23:25:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


The last member of a full Space Marine tactical squad is the Rhino.


Rhino with Two Squad Members

Since the best kit for building a bike army is the Dark Angels Ravenwing Battleforce, I ended up with a lot of Dark Angels bits. The decorations, flag, and braiding on front of this Rhino and the Predators above are Dark Angels bits.


Rhino with Sergeant


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/07 01:18:08


Post by: Oldmanronald


Although my biker command squad can be delightfully hard hitting, I decided to toughen it up with a biker chaplain. I bought the Game Workshop space marine chaplain on bike but found it disappointing. The bike is a standard plastic marine bike and the chaplain is a metal figure that didn’t quite fit the bike. The body is too short so that the biker chaplain would be shorter than my other bikers. The metal head is a merely a bareheaded space marine.

So I modified the Chaplain. I used a small hobby saw to cut the chaplain in half at the waist and put his legs on the bike. I also cut off the arm and shoulder that held the Crozius Arcanum. I had a number of Dark Angels winged fairing and I used one of them in place of the metal fairing provided with the Games Workshop bike chaplain. I cut off a skull on the metal fairing and added it on top of the Dark Angels winged fairing backed with green stuff. I placed a regular space marine torso over the metal legs but with a pin and with green stuff, I raised up the torso to give height to the chaplain. I pinned and green stuffed the Crozius Arcanum arm on the right of the torso and a pistol arm to the left.

My son and I disagreed on the head. I wanted to use a snake like dragon crested helmet from the Bretonnian Pegasus Knights. My son thought I should use a skull which is typical of other space marine chaplains and he found me a skull from his old Chaos space marines. So I compromised. I cut off part of the dragon crest helmet and carved it out to fit over the skull. I pinned this snake crested skull head to chaplains torso. The results were better than I expected.


Biker Chaplain

This chaplain is now one of my favorite models. The metal parts give it weight which makes it fun to pick up during a game but most of the parts are plastic so it is well balanced. I love the Marti Gra look of the model, fun but dangerous.


Biker Chaplain – Front View

This view shows the details of the helmet with the snake like dragon crest over the skull head. It also shows the details of the winged skull fairing. Unfortunately, these pictures also show a slash of brown paint on the tires. I always see some mistake that I had overlooked when I view these pictures. This weekend, I will repaint the tires.


Biker Chaplain with Captain Victor Staghorn

I liked the Dark Angels fairing so much that I replaced Captain Staghorn’s fairing to match. These two models have the swagger and the punch to spice up my command squad. I am looking forward to playing this combination.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/07 23:26:42


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have been building a Sternguard squad out of my scratch pieces. Eventually I will incorporate it into my army. The Sternguard has an option for a heavy flamer. When I realized this, I knew that I needed to build such model even if it made little sense for a Sternguard squad. I had all the bits I needed except a hose from the heavy flamer to the backpack. I made that out of a paper clip and some waxed string that I had. It seemed to work. This turned out to be one of my favorite models but my flamers always turn out fun.


Sternguard with Heavy Flamer – Front View



Sternguard with Heavy Flamer – Back Side View

This view shows the hoses including the one that I made.



Sternguard with Heavy Flamer – The last view that the enemies of mankind see before painfully dying in a flaming hell.



Sternguard with Heavy Flamer – Rear View

This also shows the hoses in detail.



Sternguard Heavy Flamer Administering Purification Rites to Ork Mob


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/08 15:56:53


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have stripped down and rebuilt a whirlwind. I posted a picture of the stripped down whirlwind earlier before I painted it but now I that I have painted it I will repost it. I added an already painted tank commander that I made for my predator before deciding that I needed a tank commander with a storm bolter.

Some believe the whirlwind to be the best marine heavy support weapon. Others believe it a waste of points. My son used it when he was playing Warhammer and had great success with it. His opponents either had to endure infantry losses every turn or devote precious resources to taking it out. His opponents, however, tended to be inexperienced or young players who mainly deployed infantry type units. My opponents tend to be older players with large usually armor heavy armies. I suspect that I will have better success with my Land Speeder Typhoons. Still, here are several pictures of the completed model.


The Whirlwind – Front View

I like this model and especially the tank commander with his binoculars.



Whirlwind Getting Ready to Cleanse Orkish Filth off a Near-by Hilltop


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/08 16:21:04


Post by: Arm.chair.general


Those bikers look absolutely fantastic!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/10 02:09:17


Post by: Oldmanronald


Thank you Arm.Chair.General for the encouragement.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/01/10 23:59:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


Land speeder typhoons are a traditional supplement for a bike army. With a range of 48 inches, the Typhoon missile launchers provide the long range fire power that the bikers lack. For my bike army, I built two squads of two land speeders each.


Four Land Speeder Typhoons


I both love land speeders and find them boring. I love land speeders because 1) they are excellent looking models, 2) they support my bike army with long range firepower, and 3) I like the fluff of using a repulsion plate to skim a planet’s gravitational field. I find them boring to make because they are almost too perfect and need little customization.

By perfect, I mean that the Games Workshop model perfectly matches the Codex description. Many models do not. For most of the bikers, I had to customize the Games Workshop model to fit the character I envisioned. Consider the biker command squad. Games Workshop does not sell a biker command squad. I had to take the normal Game Workshop space marine bikers and combine them with the Games Workshop command squad models. I had to cut and green stuff these models to make them work. I enjoy this. I love finding and building models that are described in the Codex but not actually available. Filling these gaps or holes between the available models and the Codex may be my favorite part of modeling Warhammer characters.

Unfortunately, Games Workshop produces a complete Land Speeder and the parts to make it a Typhoon. These models need not be customization to fit the Codex. This is not to say that the models are perfect. In fact, land speeders are difficult to build since the top and bottom do not mesh perfectly so that I need clamps, rubber bands, and a little brute strength to get them fitted together. Moreover, I made one land speeder typhoon from an old broken up land speeder I had to strip down and cut up to make into a typhoon. I also scrounged parts so that not everything matches. For example, on the four land speeder models, the heavy bolters each have a slightly different configuration depending on where I found the heavy bolter. Still, other than the color, all land speeder typhoons pretty much look alike.

The following are up close up pictures of each of the four land speeders. They are almost identical. The one I rebuilt is mainly distinguishable from the others because it sits differently upon its flying base.



First Land Speeder Typhoon



Second Land Speeder Typhoon



Third Land Speeder Typhoon (Rebuilt)

This third land speeder required a lot of work to fix up and repair. I had to replace the front antenna and spotlight using green stuff to fit the parts together. This work, however, does not show.



Fourth Land Speeder Typhoon


Except for a few minor details, these four land speeders are almost all identical to each other.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/02/13 01:11:33


Post by: Oldmanronald


I like flamers. I like the look of the 40K flamer. I like the look of the Space Marine model with an outstretched flamer. I like the fluff associated with the flamer, a weapon that consumes the enemy of mankind in a billowing spray of flames. I like how the flamer plays during the game. It is an assault weapon and is great for taking out some filth from a hoard army before the rest of the squad has to assault into the filth to finish cleaning it out.

Unfortunately in the tactical squads, a flamer competes for a slot with the meltagun. A meltagun has two advantages over the flamer. First, it is excellent anti-vehicle weapon. Second, it does a nice job of humbling traitor SM equivalents. Since it is also an assault weapon, it is useful to soften up a traitor squad before an assault. So I built a melta-gunner for my tactical weapons squad. Although I picture both the flamer and the melta-gunner in the picture below, in the actual game I will have to choose only one of them.


Tactical Squad Melta-Gunner and Flamer


Tactical Squad Melta-Gunner

My painting is getting better. One improvement is I now paint the brass parts, for example the winged skull on the space marine’s chest, with tin bitz and then highlight it with dwarf bronze rather than painting the drawf bronze on directly. Oddly enough, the brass parts look about the same color although that is an illusion. Our eyes assume that the darker parts are shadowed and assign all the area the bronze color. But the dark areas blend in the background better and so the area between the camouflaged uniforms and the bronze insignia appear crisper.


An Accidental Shot.
I hadn’t properly posed this shot but my camera went off.


A Traitor's Last View

I haven't finished the melta gunner's base but will do it when I have several more models built so I can mix up the colors for several bases all at once.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/02/15 02:04:15


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have started making a Blood Angels Jump Pack Army and just finished making an Assault Squad. I am using the same color scheme as my Bike army except I am using some Blood Angels’ Sanguinary Guard bits and am trimming the armor with red. I did a similar trim with some of my bikes but I am using more layering with the red so that the trim is smoother and more finished looking. I have mounted the assault marines on Warhammer 40K small clear flight bases although technically these are the wrong bases but it looks so neat. Still, when I complete and start playing the army I will have to remount the bases. Below are a few of the models.


Blood Angels Jump Pack Assault Squad

Note the Assault Sergeant on the right.


Blood Angel Assault Marine


Another Blood Angel Assault Marine

Note the Assault Sergeant on the right and the flamer on the left.



Another Blood Angel Assault Marine in the Swirl of Battle


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/02/18 00:23:09


Post by: Oldmanronald


I made a jump pack assault squad. Enclosed is a few picture of the bare-headed sergeant. He is armed with a power axe, a knife, and an infernus pistol. I like the pistol but it is somewhat challenging because the pistol is wrist mounted leaving the hand free so I had to do something with the hand. I put a knife in the hand.


Blood Angel Jump Pack Assault Marine Sergeant

I also made a bare headed grenade thrower. On both the sergeant and the grenade thrower, I used the head from the Blood Angels’ Sanguinary Guard kit. I look the look of both the heads but the eyes were especially difficult to paint. The sockets are not quite deep enough. Still, I am pleased that I was able to make both of them blondish redheads. The skin color matches the hair.


Blood Angel Jump Pack Assault Marine Grenade Thrower

I also created two flamers for the assault squad. Once again, I found the flamers extra fun. I really enjoyed making this squad but it will take time and money to create a full Blood Angels successor army.


The First Blood Angel Jump Pack Assault Marine with Flamer


The Second Blood Angel Jump Pack Assault Marine with Flamer


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/02/20 22:38:30


Post by: Oldmanronald


Enclosed is a picture of my work space.


My Workspace

For all but the messiest projects such as spray painting and stripping models, my workspace is our dining room. It may seem an odd spot to build my models but it is one of my favorite spots in the house. Behind me is a south facing window that lets in light in the winter. My wife often plays the piano which is partially visible in the mirror in the background. Unfortunately, the dining room is used almost every evening for dinner so I have to clean up my work place every day. This isn’t too bad as I have had to organize my tools and projects so that I can quickly move them. This keeps the workspace organized and clean.

I am working on several projects. I just purchased a toolkit that had four plastic boxes for loose screws and such. They make perfect containers for my Warhammer bits. I spent a Saturday morning cutting bits off spruces and organizing them but now I can find the bits I am looking for. Below is a picture of the plastic boxes with the bits neatly organized.


Bits Boxes

I am rebuilding Captain Schrödinger. I tore apart Captain Schrödinger to replace his head, his arms, and the fairing on his motorcycle to make him more interesting and to match Captain Staghorn’s motorcycle.


Torn Up Captain Schrödinger

I am using a bit from the Blood Angels’ Sanguinary Guard set to fix up Captain Schrödinger’s relic blade, the Demon Slayer, so that he is using both hands. This should give him a more dynamic pose. I have found that rebuilding my key models often considerably improves them. The bit I am using has two hands on the handle of an axe. I cut off the axe head and am using the handles to hold the blade I had already made. The blade itself is a piece of copper wire that I pounded flat so I was easily able to pull it out of his prior pummel to put it on the new bit. The new Demon Slayer is next to the motorcycle in the picture below.


Rebuilding the Demon Slayer

What did I do with the axe head? I am making an Honour Guard for my Blood Angels. I found I enjoy having a Command Squad with my bikers. Armed with both meltaguns and with close combat weapons such as power swords, lightning claws, and a thunderhammer, the command squad can quickly clean out all but the toughest enemy units that hamper the movement of the rest of my army. Command Squads are a great problem solving unit. I am now making the Blood Champion. I am really enjoying this model. I am using a Sanguinary Guard model as a base to provide the legs and the winged jump pack but am combining it with the company champion bits from the command squad kit. So far he is turning out great. For his power weapon, I used a power axe holding arm from the command squad kit but I replaced the axe head with the Blood Angel Sanguinary Guard axe head that I cut off from the two handed handle for my captain. One problem is a problem but two problems are a solution.


Building the Blood Champion

Note the liberal use of green stuff. With a little carving and a little paint, it will look natural.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/03/10 16:58:37


Post by: Oldmanronald


Many of those who play Blood Angels believe that a well-balanced Blood Angels army should have one or two Sanguinary Priests. The Sanguinary Priest is described in the codex but Games Workshop does not have a specific model for him. Thus, if I want to play him, I need to convert another model into a Sanguinary Priest. What would this character look like? To find out requires a careful digging through the Blood Angels codex. The description of the Sanguinary Priest suggests a fairly generic space marine with power armor, chainsword, bolt pistol, and frag and krak grenades. He is allowed a jump pack.

So what is the characteristic that makes a model a Sanguinary Priest? At first glance it appears to be the Blood Chalice. A chalice is a goblet or cup that may be used in the Christian Eucharist. So I can make a character that carries a chalice. Although I don’t necessarily have a bit that could be carried as a chalice, several of the Sanguinary Guard bits have little chalices. Is there anything else? Yes. In the same print about the Blood Chalice under the description of Blood Angels is the phrase, “each narcethium – the Sanguinary Priest’s chief tool of healing.” Blood Angels, p. 48. Since I have built two space marine command squads I recognize what a narthecium is, the medical kit that is found on the apothecary’s hand in the space marine command squad. Sure enough, if I look at the picture of the Sanguinary Priest on page 48 in the Blood Angels codex, there is a narthecium. So basically, Sanguinary Priest is a fancy blood angel space marine with a chalice and a narthecium. Below are pictures of apothecaries with a narthecium.


Space Marine Apothecary Biker with Narthecium

The white object next to the Bikers left hand is the narthecium with a saw and needles. This is a standard bit in a command squad.



Another Space Marine Apothecary Biker with Narthecium

Now that I know what a Sanguinary Priest and his narthecium look like, how do I add a narthecium. I can do it two ways. I can take it from the command squad or I can make it myself. I am feeling like I don’t want to rob a command squad or purchase this bit so I decided to make it. I just took a bit with a hunk of plastic, I think it was an extra powerfist or powerclaw, cut it down and drilled holes in it to receive a screw and a pin for a needle. Below is the first Sanguinary Priest I am working on.


Sanguinary Priest

Basically he is a Sanguinary Guard model. From my left over assault marine bits, I used a chainsword bit for his right arm and a pistol bit for his left. I then added the narthecium onto the pistol bit. Notice the chalice on his left leg. The chalice will show up better once the model is painted. It isn’t a great model, mostly because I am not all that excited about some of the Sanguinary Guard armor. The nipples will have to go although once the uniform is painted in camouflage, the weird details may disappear. I will also add a grenade and pouches which will also down play or cover the weird details.


Side View of the Sanguinary Priest

This side view shows both the chalice and the narthecium. I glued in pieces of paper clips for wires from the body to the narthecium.


Another View of the Sanguinary Priest

I like the wings but may remove them and use them for my command squad. He may look better with a regular assault marine jump pack. He also may be less likely to be targeted if he looks more like a regular jump pack marine.


Final View of the Sanguinary Priest

This last view shows the details of the needle and the screw in the narthecium.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/03/14 01:29:31


Post by: Oldmanronald


One problem with an all Bike Army is the lack of effective long ranged fire. I have tried to make up this limitation by adding several Land Speeder Typhoons to my combat team which gives me a killing range of 48 inches. Still, it would be nice to have something on a bike that can do more damage at long range. A Master of the Forge on a Bike armed with a conversion beamer might be an answer. This is a costly choice, however. The Master of the Forge on a Bike with a Conversion Beamer is 155 points, just slightly less than the cost of a Captain on a Bike with a relic blade.

Moreover, this takes away a headquarters choice so I lose my chaplain or my librarian. I am not overly impressed with the librarian power, at least for a bike army, although the psychic hood would be valuable for countering other’s psychic power. I love the look of my chaplain and his power is great with my command squad but it make be overkill for the price. My command squad is great for removing enemy units that block the movement of my bikes. But as long as the enemy unit does not contain assault terminators or other units with similar profiles, the command squad with my captain seems to do just fine. If my command squad does run into assault terminators, my chaplain is not going to help much and it just means I lose more points.

So the real issue is whether the Master of Forge on a Bike with a Conversion Beamer is worth the 155 points. I will need to play him with my army to see if he fits. With his maneuverability and with a biker body guard, I may be able to find a corner where he can have a wide range of fire to clear out those back field parking lot common with the 5th Edition and also be able to disable the occasional land raider. We will have to see if he has synergy with the rest of my army.

Step 1: Build or Obtain the Parts to Build a Conversion Beamer.

Games Workshop does not make a Master of the Forge on a Bike and does not make a Conversion Beamer. I figure I had the bits to build a Master of the Forge on the Bike so all I really needed was a conversion beamer. I went on the internet and discovered that Chapterhouse Studios has a Conversion Beamer and Harness set and it looked pretty good so I ordered it. This is what it looked like when it arrived.


Chapterhouse Studios Unfinished Conversion Beamer and Harness Set

I had to do some work to clean up the parts but that was relatively easy. This is what the parts looked like after I separated them from their spruce and cleaned up the excess plastic.


Chapterhouse Studios Finished and Label Conversion Beamer and Harness Set

I have labeled the parts in the picture so that you can follow how I used them in my model. From top left to right are the following: backpack A with a left and right axle on the shoulder, backpack B with a single axle on the left shoulder, and a mechanical part with a hub. From bottom left to right are the following: servo-arm and conversion beamer. Note the ball on the conversion beamer. I drew red dashed line to indicate where I later cut the parts. No instructions came with the set so I had to experiment with them before I found a way to assemble them. I will note that after examining this picture, I think that there is a least one more way to assemble these parts and maybe several others.

Step 2: Build or Obtain the Motorcycle.

I have more motorcycles than I can play during a game. I have three captains including the first captain I built when I first started this army which has the captain in a sidecar. Three captains are two more than I need and the one in the side car is my least favorite so I decided to pull apart the model. I do so with some reluctance since I polled my readers and at least ¼ liked the captain in a sidecar better than the captain without the side car.


Torn Up Bike with Sidecar for the Captain

Above is a picture of the pulled apart motorcycle. I have also included in the picture an unpainted master of the forge with servo-harness as a sample model to see what a master of the forge might look like. I will not use this master of the forge, however, as it is my son’s. The only part I will need is the bike with legs. The sidecar, the torso, the meltagun, the antenna, and the saddlebag went in the bits box for later projects.

The picture below shows the legs on the motorcycle. I choose not to pull off the pistol holster even though the rules are clear that in taking a conversion beamer, the master of the forge gives up his bolter or bolt pistol. I left the holster because, when I first started modeling 40K figures, I thought the holster was too small for a bolt pistol and was a purely decorative piece like the scrolls and such. I have maintained that idea in all my models. This may be an exception to my general rule to model the figures to match the codex, that is what you got is what you see. If I have a model with a bolt pistol, I always attach a bolt pistol even if I have already given them the pistol holster.


The Bike with Biker Legs

I thought I would use the antenna and the saddlebag but I found that I had no room on the finished model.

Step 3: Find the Parts for the Master of the Forge’s body.

Although I already have legs on the motorcycle for the techmarine, I needed to build the rest of his body. I decided to use my bits rather than use an actual techmarine or master of the forge model. Fortunately, I have mechanic bits. Below is a picture of the bits I selected. Actually, several of the bits shown I ultimately didn’t use and the picture don’t show the grenades and pouches bits that I later used.


Bits for the Master of the Forge

The most useful bits may be biker arms. When I built my first bike, I used both arms on the handlebar. On my second bike, however, I used only one biker arm and replaced the other biker arm with an assault marine pistol arm. Later, I built some of my bikers with neither arm on the handlebar. This meant that I quickly accumulated a good hoard of biker arms. Biker arms are great bits. Because the hands are already shaped to hold the handlebar, they are readily shaped to hold the pistol grip of almost any other weapon. For weapons with triggers, I usually cut between the index finger and the middle finger to create a free flowing index finger. I insert the index finger into the trigger. Sometimes the finger is damaged and I have to recreate the finger with green stuff. For this model, however, I didn’t even have to cut the finger since the conversion beamer handle has no trigger.

I find that I only need to do a little cutting of the biker arm near the shoulder so that the arm can rotate. I then drill a hole into the shoulder end of the biker arm and a corresponding hole in the torso of the model. I then join the two bits with some wire clipped off of a paper clip and adjust the angle so that the arm is in the correct position. I fill in any gaps with green stuff. Although I try to smooth out the green stuff as best I can, it really doesn’t matter because I will cover most of the joint between the upper arm and the shoulder of the torso with a shoulder pad which will cover up any flaws. Rarely do I do any cutting on the rest of the arm.

I also decided to use one of my favorite bits, the pointing finger since the master of the forge with a conversion beamer gives up any other weapon that he can hold. For a high ranking model, I find that not having either hand on the handlebar gives the model a certain swagger. Since the pointing finger is on the left arm, I will use the right biker arm to hold the conversion beamer.

I also use a bare head for the master of the forge. In my experience, mechanics will avoid wearing a helmet whenever possible. Besides, faces look good on the models, usually more interesting than a helmet. Of course with a bare-headed model, I always include a helmet hanging from the motorcycle.

These are the parts that I first gathered to make my master of the forge. I will add some extra goodies later.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/03/22 22:50:07


Post by: Oldmanronald


Below is a picture of the Chapterhouse Studios Conversion Beamer with a boltgun. Notice the size difference. The distance between the handle to the muzzle on the Conversion Beamer is about the same as the distance between the pistol grip and the muzzle on the boltgun.


Conversion Beamer and Boltgun

Since the Conversion Beamer is this big, where will I mount it? In my mind the best place to mount the Conversion Beamer is over the techmarine’s shoulder like a space marine firing a missile launcher. I will do so for three reasons. The first is that it gives the model a certain swagger to be swinging a conversion beamer over his shoulder, especially on a motorcycle. This will give the model a cockiness that will look good. The second reason is that this will put the conversion beamer up as high as possible on the model which will increase the likelihood of the conversion beamer getting a clear field of fire than if the beamer were mounted lower. Although this only raises the conversion beam up an inch or so, even such a small distance will increase the line of sight of the weapon, a real advantage when the conversion beamer works best when the shot is over 42 inches. The last is that there is really no other way to mount the conversion beamer on the techmarine himself. Although I have seen such weapons mounted directly on the bike and these models look good, I like the weapon on the biker rather than on the bike.

In my last post I posted a picture of the conversion beamer parts. I am posting it again today since it shows the parts I am using.


Conversion Beamer Bits

I experimented with the parts until I found the right combination. I like backpack B better than backpack A and tried to mount the ball of the Conversion beamer on it but that didn’t work. I also tried to place the small piece with hub on backpack B but that didn’t work either. Finally, I decided to put backpack A with its two axles on the back of the techmarine. I cut off the ball on the conversion beamer and the hub on the small part and glued them together. The dotted lines above show where I cut the parts. I found the hard plastic use by Chapterhouse Studios difficult to cut, especially compared with the regular soft plastic Games Workshop uses for space marines. The hard plastic was also brittle and several times I actual I broke up a part. None of the breaks were serious and I fixed up most of them. I assembled the parts as shown in the picture below.


Conversion Beamer Mounted on Master of the Forge

Note that the hub is now where the ball on the conversion beamer had been. I had to drill out the hub to fit the right axle of backpack A. I also had to drill out the hub on the servo-arm to fit it on the left axle of backpack A. I trimmed the shoulder of the biker arm and pinned it to the shoulder of the torso, filling in the gap with green stuff. The hand fit the handle of the conversion beamer perfectly.

I also put green stuff between the torso in part to make the techmarine taller and to give him a little bit of a gut. I angled the torso in relation to the legs to give the body a jaunty twist. I discovered that trick working with the space marine infantry models. The models looked better if I placed the torso with a twist in relationship with the legs.

Once the conversion beamer, backpack A, the torso, and arms were mounted on the legs, the rest of the parts were easy to assemble. I glued backpack B directly on top of the rear fender of the bike. The servo arm easily fit on the other side of the backpack. The pointing finger bit easily glued to the torso although I think I pinned it for strength but I didn’t need green stuff. I added shoulder pads, grenades, and pouches which covered up the green stuff.


Another View of the Techmarine

I decided to add some hoses between the conversion beamer and backpack B mounted on the fender of the bike. I took two pieces of copper wire and bent them into shape. I drilled a hole in each of the two plugs at the rear of the conversion beamer and inserted one end of each wire into each plug. These plugs may have put there to suggest gas outlets but that is a little too Steampunk for my taste, so I used them as outlets for the hoses. I attached the other end of the wires into holes that I drilled into backpack B. I covered each of the copper wires with a waxed string. The picture below shows the waxed string.

The Waxed String

The most challenging bit to add was the wrench on the left leg of the master of the forge. I planned to put a knife there but I then remembered that there was a wrench in one of the toolkit bits that came with one of the Warhammer tanks. I think it came from the Land Raider but I am not sure. Anyway, I was able to carve out the wrench. The wrench was one dimensional; that is, it only had a front and no back but since I placed the back against the leg, it didn’t matter. The wrench was somewhat fragile since it wasn’t real thick; but once the wrench was mounted, it looked great.


A Side View of the Master of the Forge with Conversion Beamer on Bike


Rear View of the Master of the Forge


Front View of the Master of the Forge



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/03/23 23:19:52


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have already discussed how I paint my models in earlier posts. Although there is really nothing unique about painting a master of the forge biker with a conversion beamer, one minor challenge was that the model was already partly painted and I decided to add a base coat without painting over the parts I had already painted. I solved this problem by taking a piece of newspaper, cutting slit down the middle, and putting it over the model to cover the already painted bike but leaving the unpainted parts showing. I then spray painted a coat of Chaos Black undercoat over the exposed parts of the model.

Paint can be used to emphasis certain features and hide others. Colors and patterns that are bright, shiny, light, warm, or detailed draw the eye and appear closer and larger. Colors and patterns that are dull, dark, cool, and plain tend to disappear and appear further and smaller. A clever painter can use this to create pleasing illusions, hiding flaws and accenting the model’s strengths. The advantage of my camouflage pattern is that it tends to fade into the background and cover flaws in the model. When I want to bring out a detail, I highlight it with a bright metal color.

Enclosed are several views of the master of the forge with his conversion beamer. I am generally pleased with how this model turned out. It is one of my favorites models.


Painted Master of the Forge on Bike with Conversion Beamer


Master of the Forge on Bike with Conversion Beamer with Bodyguard

He is pointing in the wrong direction. The Orks are behind him.


Another view of the Master of the Forge on Bike with Conversion Beamer

He is still pointing in the wrong direction.


Back Side of the Master of the Forge on Bike with Conversion Beamer

That’s better. Now he can get off some shots.


Close-Up of the Master of the Forge on Bike with Conversion Beamer

Now you can see how pretty he is.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/09/15 15:46:34


Post by: Oldmanronald


Stormtalon Gunships


Stormtalon Gunship

With the 6th edition I have to make a few alterations of my army. A major change is the addition of flyers. I have no weapons in my army with the Skyfire special rule. Actually the only weapons systems with Skyfire are other flyers. The only flyer available to space marines without allies are Stormtalons so I am adding two Stormtalons to my army.


Pair of Stormtalon Gunships

The Stormtalon is a fairly easy model to make. For a Games Workshop®, the instructions are fairly clear and unlike the land speeder, the part easily fit together. Still there are a few challenges.
The first challenge is to figure out how to configure a Stormtalon. This involved an internet search since they are not found in any of the Codices and only found in an edition of the White Dwarf has long since been sold out. There are four configurations for the Stormtalon, heavy bolters, skyhammer missiles, typhoon missile launcher or lascannons. Which is the best? The main object of my Stormtalons is take out other flyers. I looked through the table and found that most flyers had an armor value of 10, 11, or 12. I did a rough math-hammer to calculate the results of shooting. For getting a kill, I calculated the following for target penetration with the odds of a glancing or penetration in parentheses.

Target: 12; 11; 10
Skyhammer 3: 1/3 (2/3); 2/3 (1); 1 (4/3)
Typhoon 2: 4/9 (2/3); 2/3 (8/9); 8/9 (10/9)
Lascannon 1: 1/3 (4/9); 4/9 (5/9); 5/9 (2/3)

I had to think through this chart to figure out what it means. Consider for example, I am shooting at a squadron of 3 Ork Blitz-bommers, each with an armor value of 10 with a skyhammer missile with three shots. In one battle I penetrate one bommer, in another I penetrate two bommers, in a third three bommers, and in another no bommers, but over the long run I will average 1 penetration per three shoots or one per shooting phase. Assume, however, that I am shooting at a squadron of one Ork Blitz-bommer with a skyhammer missile launcher. I can penetrate one bommer, one, two, three, or zero times but I will average one penetration per shooting phase.

Note that for vehicles with an armor value of 10, the skyhammer is the most effective with the typhoon being almost as effective and the lascannon being considerably less effective. For 11, the skyhammer is only slightly more likely to glance than a typhoon but both have the same effectiveness and are more effective than the lascannon. At the strength 12, the typhoon is slightly more likely to penetrate a vehicle and the skyhammer or typhoon is more likely to glance than a lascannon. Overall, for killing other flyers, the skyhammer and the typhoon are more effective than the lascannon. Of course, the lascannon will be much more effective if I am trying to kill heavy armor such as a land raider. Still, I have other weapons systems for killing heavy armor and for my purposes the choice is between the skyhammer and the typhoon.

What is the advantage of the typhoon? It may be a little more effective than the skyhammer for armor value 13 and the skyhammer is totally worthless for 14 armor value. The typhoon also has better alternative for a killing infantry hordes.


Stormtalon Gunship

What is the advantage of the skyhammer besides its kill of armor value 10? It has a range of 60” rather than 48”. A flyer has combat speed of 18” and a cruising speed of 36” so a flyer with a typhoon missile launcher should be able to shoot at a target over 84” away. The average table is 4’ by 6’ so the farthest distance on the average table is 86” and since the model bases are at least an inch each, it is unlikely that anything will be out of the range of a flyer with a typhoon missile launcher. A flyer has limited ability to maneuver and to hit some of these long range targets with the typhoon missile launcher, the flyer may have to put itself in a position where it doesn’t want to be for return fire and follow-up moves. For this reason, I choose the skyhammer missile launcher although I could make a good case for the typhoon or the lascannon.


Stormtalon in Firing Position

One question I have is how many shots I have since I have a pair of typhoon missile launchers, skyhammer missile launchers, or lascannons on each flyer. Does each weapon pod get to shot so that I can shoot 6 times with the skyhammers, 4 times with the typhoons, or the twice with lascannons or do the weapons systems count as a whole even though they are in pairs. If I count the two missile launchers as a single system but the lascannon as two weapons then the lascannon becomes the weapon of choice.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/09/16 22:36:14


Post by: Oldmanronald


Stormtalon Configuration – A Correction


Stormtalon Gunship with Skyhammer Missile Pod and Twin-Linked Autocannon

In my last post, I asked myself how many shots the lascannon had, one or two. I did a little more research and discovered that the lascannon is twin-linked so my original calculations are off. I redid my numbers for a twin-linked lascannon and added the math-hammer results for armor values of 13 and 14. I also calculated the values for the twin-linked autocannon which is found on every stormtalon. Finally, I converted all the numbers to decimals since I was getting results like 8/27 which was hard to compare to the other fractions.

Target 14 13 12 11 10
Skyhammer 3 0 (0); 0 (.33); .33 (.66); .66 (1); 1 (1.33)
Typhoon 2 0 (.11); .11 (.44); .44 (.66); .66 (.88); .88 (1.11)
TW Lascannon 1 .15 (.30); .30 (.44); .44 (.59); .59 (.74); .74 (.88)
TW Autocannon 2 0 (0); 0 (.30); .30 (.59); .59 (.89); .89 (1.19)

Notice several things about the results. The first is that the twin-linked autocannon has a similar although slightly lower profile than the skyhammer. Both are worthless against armor value 14 and only score glancing shots against armor value 13. The twin-linked lascannon is only slightly worse than the skyhammer and the typhoon for armor value 11 and a little worse for armor value 10. It is the best choice for armor value 13 and 14. Note for armor value 12, the typhoon is the best with the lascannon the same for penetration and only slightly worse for glancing.

With this value before me, I can better make a decision. For an armor value 10, the skyhammer is the best. Still for armor value 10 all of the choices combined with the autocannon average over 2 glancing shots per shooting phase or two hull points per shooting phase with a fairly high probability of a penetration. So what happens for armor value 10 may not be particularly relevant in deciding between the various configurations. A better question may be to consider what needs killing more, an armor value 10 Ork bommer or an armor value 12 Stormraven gunship full of supped up grey knights? Suddenly the answer seems obvious, especially since I still have a good change of killing that Ork bommer regardless of which system I choose. The lascannon and the typhoon are the obvious choices.


Stormtalons Gunships with Skyhammer Missile Pods

So after reviewing this chart, I will give up the extra range for the skyhammer and look at the twin-linked lascannon or the typhoon missile launcher. I am leaning toward the lascannon for two reasons. The first is that a high mounted lascannon in the backfield is a nice way to soften up an armor value 14 land raider. Although the odds of a kill are low for a land raider, my opponent has to consider the possibility. Regardless, even if I don’t make the kill, I may be able to strip off some hull points before my meltagunners move in to finish up the land raider.

The other reason is that the lascannon may be the best looking of all the configurations. This does mean that I have to tear down the skyhammer pods and replace them with twin lascannons. This may take time but I will post the results when I am finished.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/09/18 11:55:16


Post by: Terrinecold


I like those camouflaged storm Talons


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/09/25 01:26:50


Post by: Oldmanronald


Thank you, Terrinecold, for your kind remarks. I agree that for some reason the Stormtalons look good with camouflage. I notice that you are making Stormtalon models out of cardboard and your models look great.


Stormtalon Gunships – Not as Ugly as They Look

Actually, I am surprised the models look better than I thought they would. I must confess, I bought the Stormtalon because I needed a flyer, not because I was excited about the model. As shown on the Games Workshop® internet site and on the box cover of the model, the Stormtalon is ugly, short and squatty with awkward angles. I actually envied Ork players, who armies should be and usually are the perennial cesspools of the 40K space-time, for the grace and beauty of their bommers.

Still, I am always enjoy a new model and soon bought two Stormtalons. As noted in my prior post, the Stormtalon model is a fairly easy to make and for a Games Workshop®, the instructions are fairly clear. I did try to follow the instructions so that the gun pivoted and the engines rotated. The guns do pivot but I somehow managed to glue the engines so that they could not rotate. Since they are glued in the position I liked best, I really don’t care. In fact, most of the time, the freely moving parts of the plastic Games Workshop® plastic models are more problems than they are worth and after using a model in a game, I will go back and glue them into place anyway.

The Stormtalon has three spiky protrusions on the top of the model pointing backwards. I glued them on but they quickly broke off of the model. I left them off since I thought they were goofy looking anyway. I may later replace them with some wire to make an antenna but for now I simply will ignore them.


Back Side View of the Stormtalon

Notice the missing spike.

I painted the struts around the window panes on the canopy with the new imperial primer sold by Games Workshop®. I thought that it would be difficult to paint straight lines and considered using masking tape but found that impractical. Painting lines straight, however, turned out not to be an issue. The paint did not easily cover the clear plastic of the canopy and I had to build up the paint using several thin almost transparent coats. The paint easily peeled off and I found I could take a wooden toothpick and scrape off the paint to create nice even lines. I was pleased with the results.


Side View showing the Canopy of the Stormtalon


Front View of the Canopy of the Stormtalon

I painted the pilot and the rest of the Stormtalon and then added the canopy. I had not yet glued on the canopy when I took these pictures.
Overall, I liked the look of these Stormtalons and they are not as ugly as they look on the box. I think the Games Workshop’s pictures are ugly because Games Workshop® wanted to show off the pivoting engines and had them at an ugly angle. In a normal angle, the model is reasonably attractive.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/09/28 23:57:48


Post by: Oldmanronald


For reasons stated in a prior post, I torn off the skyhammer missiles of my stormtalons and replaced them with a pair of lascannons.


Top View of Two Stormtalon Gunships

I always use instant bonding superglue rather than plastic glue on my models. It works quickly, doesn’t show or make finger prints if the glue goes on the wrong place, and is reasonably easy to break apart when I rebuild my models. Although plastic glue forms a much stronger bond when gluing plastic to plastic, it leaves marks and since the plastic surfaces are melted together, is almost impossible to break.

To break the bond for the skyhammer missile parts, I applied finger nail polish remover which soften the superglue. Then I gently pried and pulled the parts apart, applying additional nail polish remover as needed. It took a while but I removed the skyhammer parts without damaging the remaining model. I then added the lascannons parts.


lSide View of the Stormtalon Gunship

In addition to the reasons I posted before, I like these twin-linked lascannons because having AP2, if they penetrate a vehicle, they are more likely to inflict serious damage to the vehicle. Finally, I really like the idea of fast moving twin-linked lascannons that can deliver firepower to just about any place on the battlefield in a single turn.


Stormtalon Gunship with Lascannons


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/12/15 17:41:50


Post by: Oldmanronald


What is the best weapon for a space marine bike sergeant? Generally, there are three schools of thought. The first is to give him a combi-weapon that matches the dominate weapon in his squad, combi-plasma if the dominate weapon is plasma, combi-flamer if flamer, combi-melta if melta. The second is to give the sergeant a power weapon for close combat. Under the 5th edition, the default was a power fist. With the increased power of melta-bombs in the 6th, many players now choose other power weapons. The last possibility is to give the sergeant no extra weapons at all and use the points elsewhere. These three choices are similar to choices for a tactical squad sergeant but since the biker squad has more maneuverability and thus has a better control over when and if it will assault or be assaulted, a biker sergeant need not worry as much about an all comers weapons choice.

For fun and for some upcoming games, I decided to equip each of my three biker sergeants with a power weapon. Which power weapon? I found a blog with a writer I can only identify as Marc who has done a great math hammer analysis of power weapons.

http://2plusdispel.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/power-weapon-comparisons-in-6th-edition.htm

His conclusion is that the best power weapon against anything but power armor is the power maul. This makes sense. It hits on strength +2 with the sergeant’s initiative and has an AP of 4 so that for any armor less than AP3, there is no armor saves, so it is the best against Orks and Imperial Guard equivalent armor.

Actually, it is arguably the best for terminator armor also because although the terminator armor has a save against the power maul, it has a save against every power weapon but the axe and the maul scores more hits than any other power weapon but the axe. The power axe may score more hits but because the power axe hits on an initiative 1, it is unlikely the sergeant will last long enough to strike a blow against a terminator. Whether the power maul or the power axe is better for terminator armor, however, it is rather poor tactics to allow fast moving bikers to assault or be assaulted by slow moving terminators.


Sergeant with Power Maul

The best power weapon against space marine power armor is less clear. For a first assault, the best is the power lance at the sergeant’s initiative, +1 strength, and AP 3. However, this is only if your squad assaults and only for the first round. After the first round or if the enemy assaults first, the power lance is the worst with AP 4 and no extra strength. The power maul is also mediocre. The power axe is the same as the first assault lance but the power axe only has initiative 1. The next best is the power sword which hits at the sergeant’s initiative and strength and its AP remains constant during all rounds of the assault. So the best is the lance as long as you initiate the assault and don’t get bogged down. The sword is more versatile as it retains its striking power in defense and during subsequent rounds. The best tactic for bike squads, however, may be simply to avoid close combat with space marine equivalents, leaving such antics to a command squad, terminators, or special characters.


Sergeant with Power Lance


Sergeant with Power Spear


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/12/17 23:07:54


Post by: Oldmanronald


In my last post, I discussed the different power weapons for Bike Sergeants. I noted that the power maul was the best for killing anything but power armor and is useful for killing horde infantry. I rebuilt my red biker sergeant with a power maul. He is one of my three pretty boy sergeants, sergeants who have a Fantasy Bretonnian Knights bare heads with long flowing locks.


Biker Sergeant with Power Maul – Right Side


Biker Sergeant with Power Maul – Left Side


Biker Sergeant with Power Maul – Back Side

Since the power maul is best for killing horde infantry, I am including him with a squad designed to kill horde infantry. This squad includes two flamers and an attack bike with a heavy bolter.


Red Biker Sergeant with Two Flamer Bikers


Red Biker Sergeant with Two Flamer Bikers, an Attack Bike with Heavy Bolter, and Two Pistol Bikers


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/12/19 03:01:50


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Power Lance may be the best power weapon for taking out Space Marines with Power Armor. I gave a Power Lance to my White Sergeant. The white sergeant has white trim. I originally used the trim to designate my squad, so I had a white squad, a red squad, and a blue squad. I wouldn’t do so now. I don’t really like the trim, especially the white which is kind of blotchy on this biker sergeant. Also, I find I am always rearranging my squad so that a blue biker may end up joining a red squad. Still, I have models with the trim which I still use and still modify with new weapons and configurations.


Right View of a Biker Sergeant with Power Lance


Left View of a Biker Sergeant with Power Lance

The Power Lance is a lance bit from the Fantasy Bretonnian Knights which I had. I actually cut the shaft and replaced a portion of it with a heavy brass wire to make the lance longer. I counter drilled a hole into the handle and back third of the tapered portion of the lance and pushed in the brass wire. I trimmed it with green stuff to give it the illusion that the lance tapers down to the tip. I cut off the tip and flag and glued these parts to the front end of the brass wire. I like the result.


Rear View of a Biker Sergeant with Power Lance


Traitor’s View of the Biker Sergeant with Power Lance

It is actually hard to see the lance in the front view. It is merely an out of focused dot. But I figure this is a good enough view for the despised traitor.

Although I plan the white sergeant with lance to get a feel for how he performs, I am not sure how and where to use the sergeant. If he is in a squad with good anti-marine plasma guns, he shouldn’t get close enough to the enemy to be forced into an assault. With a squad with melta guns, he is most likely to find himself facing terminators and the lance is a poor choice for terminators. For competitive play, this white sergeant with probably go back to a no point bolt pistol. I am considering taking this lance and several more that I have purchased and placing them on my command squad. If I pair the lance with a plasma pistol I have a command squad that would do a good job assaulting and removing enemy power armor blocking units that obstruct the movement of my bike army.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/12/20 02:30:13


Post by: Oldmanronald


I gave the blue sergeant a sword from the Sanguinary Guard kit. I really like the sword and how it fits on the biker sergeant. Again I am not sure that it is worth the 15 points as I would like to keep this sergeant away from an assault.


Bike Sergeant with Power Sword – Right View


Bike Sergeant with Power Sword – Left View


Bike Sergeant with Power Sword – Right Front View


Bike Sergeant with Power Sword - Front View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/12/22 21:13:03


Post by: Oldmanronald


The most important single model in the bike army is the bike captain because the bike captain allows bike squads to be taken as scoring troops. He is also been one of the most difficult to build because he has so many options both with upgrades and with fluff. I have actually built three models as captains. I have discarded my first captain who rode a slide car in favor of a second captain model that I name Cat Schrödinger. I have since replace Cat Schrödinger with a third model, Captain Victor Staghorn, who originally started out as a biker sergeant. I reworked him into a Captain with a relic blade. I have now reworked Victor Staghorn, replacing his relic blade with a thunder hammer and a lighting claw to make him more versatile and powerful for the 6th edition. I am not sure it is a wise move because with artifactor armor, a bike, a thunder hammer and a lighting claw, he is a real point sink. Still the model is fun and I will probably enjoy playing him.


Bike Captain Victor Staghorn with Lighting Claw and Thunder Hammer


Bike Captain Victor Staghorn – Rear View


Bike Captain Victor Staghorn – Hunting Orks


Bike Captain Victor Staghorn – Right Hand View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2012/12/31 18:46:45


Post by: Oldmanronald


Today I am going to review the Modeling Tools that you need to build a Games Workshop army. Although I am building a Space Marine Bike Army, this article will apply to all plastic miniature armies.

For each tool, I will address two issues: First, is the tool itself useful? Second, should you buy the tool from Games Workshop or can you easily pick up the same tool for a cheaper price elsewhere?


My Workspace and Tools

Glue: Glue is necessary. The real issue is which glue to use. Games Workshop recommends plastic glue for the plastic models and super glue for everything else. I disagree and use only super glue on my models, whether plastic or not. Plastic Glue melts the plastic so that it bonds plastic pieces together forming a bond stronger than the plastic itself. It also melts the plastic pieces that you don’t want to melt leaving finger prints and destroying details. Super glue is more forgiving and the bond can be broken, which is great for remodeling. Although Games Workshop sells super glue, it is cheaper and more convenient to pick up super glue at a hardware store or even at most grocery stores.

Hobby Knife
: The Hobby Knife is my most important and used tool. I use it to carve out parts, to remove seams, and to cut apart joints. I use my knife for both building and for rebuilding models. It is certainly necessary for any modification of a plastic model. The Games Workshop Hobby Knife is merely a standard X-Acto Knife readily available from any hardware store or from most major chain stores. Even if you buy the Hobby Knife from Games Workshop, you will need to buy replacement blades elsewhere.

Plastic Cutters: Plaster Cutters are useful for removing parts from the plastic trees. Although they may be available elsewhere, it is convenient to purchase them from Games Workshop. One set will last for years.

Hobby Drill: If you do any pinning or drilling out of weapons barrels, you will need the hobby drill, a small hand driven drill. Get it from Games Workshop. The clerk at a local hobby shop insisted that he had better and cheaper hobby drills but they were never in stock. You will eventually need replacement bits which you will need to order over the internet. They are 1 mm drill bits. I also use 0.7 mm bits although not as often.

Brushes: Unless you use an airbrush, you need paint brushes. I purchase mine from an art store and use a 0, 00, 000 (or 2/0 or 3/0) stable hair brushes. You will need to replace the brushes periodically. Games Workshop brushes are okay if you don’t have ready access to an art store.

Spray Paints: I use Chaos Black Spray Paint to undercoat my models. If colors are critically important to me, for example, on a banner or other such decorative device, I will undercoat the critical part with white spray paint instead of black and glue it to the rest of the model later. I always use Games Workshop spray paint because it seems to go one smoother and covers less details than other primer spray paints.

Paints: Of course you need paint to paint models. The real issue is whether you should purchase your paints from Games Workshop or not. I do. Although I am aware that Blood Red and Barbie Lipstick Red are probably the same color, Games Workshop has devoted a great deal of energy in assembling their paint palette and in publishing and disseminating techniques for using the colors they market. Thus, if I want to use their expertise and match what I am seeing in White Dwarf, How to Paint Citadel Miniatures, the Codex’s and the internet, it is easier to use Citadel paints. Although a complete set of paint can be a large investment of money, I find that the paints last for a long time and I usually only need to replace at the most one or two jars of paint every few months.

Green Stuff: I love green stuff and use it regularly to fill in joints and for minor modeling. Some modelers actually can make parts out of green stuff but I don’t use it for such sophisticate modeling. Games Workshop is a convenient source of Green Stuff although I ordered a roll of green stuff over the internet from another supplier and this roll has lasted me for years.

Paint Station: The Citadel paint stations are very expensive, ranging from $40 - $70. Why bother? I just put newspaper on a table when I am working on a model. If I to do cutting, I may put a piece of wood down or just have enough paper so that I don’t cut through it. My son had a paint station but we eventually threw it away since it just got messy and took up space.

Files: I have acquired files over the years and use them regularly for art projects. I find I rarely use them on my Warhammer 40K models, however, and I would use my art files rather than purchase them from Games Workshop if I did.

Hobby Vice: I don’t need a hobby vice.

Citadel Clean-Up Kit: I purchased this kit from Games Workshop but it was really a waste of money. An old used tool-brush will work as well as the brush and the hobby knife does a better job removing seams than the mold-line scraping tool.

Razor Saw: I like having a razor saw although I use it only on occasion when I have to cut a model in half. I already have an old razor saw so I don’t need the Games Workshop saw.

Sculpting Tool: I bought the sculpting tool but rarely use it. On green stuff, I find that a wet toothpick works better.

Water Pot: You got to be kidding. The one thing our modern civilization produces is little plastic containers for soft margarine, yogurt, or such. Save one from the trash bin and use it to hold water.

Palettes: These are useful for both mixing paints and diluting the paint to the right consistency. Again, however, we live in a civilization that produces plastic bits of garbage. Man Boy Genius at Spikey Bits suggests using the plastic tops of Pringle Chips containers. http://blog.spikeybits.com/2012/12/secret-tech-hobby-better-with-pringles.html


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/03/28 22:36:20


Post by: Oldmanronald




The Rifleman Dreadnaught

Although I have not posted for a number of months, I have made a number of new models. The first is a rifleman dreadnaught which has been an effective addition to my bike army. I originally thought that I would want my whole army highly mobile to support the bikes but on the small three by four feet tables that we play Warhammer, a few strong slow moving models with a good range provide sufficient support for my bike army by anchoring the army, protecting objectives on my side of the table, and withstanding any first turn deep strikes that can wipe out my bikes before they have had a chance to use their high mobility. The rifleman dreadnaught can go through difficult terrain, move as needed into firing positions and use its two twin-linked autocannons to take out light tanks and transports.


The Rifleman Dreadnaught – Side View

I ordered four IG autocannons from a bits supplier and mounted them on a dreadnaught chassis. I paired each autocannon with an upside down autocannon. To get the magazines mounted right, I had to cut and use green stuff to move two of the magazines from right hand to left hand mounts. I placed each lower autocannon on the arm pivot on each side of the dreadnaught. I am pleased with the results.


The Rifleman Dreadnaught – Rear View

Originally, I wanted a pair of Rifleman Dreadnaughts but I have found that it very effectively pairs with a Quad-Gun, especially early in the game against enemy light armor.

The Rifleman Dreadnaught Paired with Quad-Gun


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/03/28 23:05:19


Post by: MauS


I love it... Now you just need a Warhammer IIC Dread and a Stone Rhino dread... Subbed


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/03/30 15:46:58


Post by: Oldmanronald


MauS, thank you for the encouragement. I love the way Dreadnaughts look too.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
In my prior post, I mentioned that I found that a few strong slow moving models with a good range provide a strong anchor to support my bike army. Of course, the ultimate slow moving model with good range is the Aegis Defense Line with a Quad-Gun.


Aegis Defense Line with Quad-Gun

I painted my Aegis Defense Line and the base of the Quad-Gun the same way that I painted the bases of my models. I mixed up a White Gesso with a Black Gesso to create a gray Gesso mix and then I added medium modeling ballast that I picked up at a hobby store. I like this mixture for my bases since it is easy to apply, does not clutter the model, and forms a nice neutral background for the model. It is also easy to paint on terrain so it gives the appearance that my marines are on some rocky desert moon. I have also discovered that this gesso mix, being a base for a painting, is easy to paint on. I painted the skull and several spent cartridges on the Dreadnaught’s base and they looked really good. I painted some of the details on the Aegis Defense line over the gesso and they also look good.

I magnetized the base of the Quad-Gun so that I can pull off the base if I want. It also allows me to swivel the Quad-Gun in any direction.


Quad-Gun and Sergeant Talion

To man the Quad-Gun, I built a Sergeant Telion. I stripped and cut up some old scout models to give sniper rifles and put the sniper scouts and Sergeant Telion behind the Aegis Defense Line. With this combination and the Rifleman Dread, I have a fairly effective fire base.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/03/31 21:47:38


Post by: Oldmanronald


Sergeant Talion and the Quad-Gun are a match. Sergeant Talion has a ballistic skill of 6 which means that he hits on anything but a 1 and on a 1 he can reroll and hit on a 6. With the Quad-Gun being a twin-linked heavy 4 and having skyfire, it is deadly against light armor and flyers.


Sergeant Talion and the Quad-Gun

Sergeant Talion was a fairly fun model to make. He is a Games Workshop finecast model. The finecast models are somewhat tricky to work with. The advantages are that they can be fairly easily modified and paint up beautifully. Note how beautifully the details on his knees show up when painted. Finecase models are brittle, however, and easy to break, especially while customizing. Finecase models also have a lot of lead lines, some hidden on the model itself so you have to look over the model carefully and find and remove all the lead lines.


Sergeant Talion

I modified the model, putting his Stalker Pattern Boltgun in one hand instead of both, and adding a bolt pistol to his other hand. Unfortunately, as you can see in the picture above, Sergeant Talion is a somewhat petite model and the bolt pistol looks oversized for him. I may replace it with a scout pistol that may be a little better proportioned.
Notice the wire going from Sergeant Talion to his Stalker Pattern boltgun. I purchased some wire at Michael’s, a nearby craft store. I found that the wire for flower arranging was great because it is thin and flexible. I have been using in several of my models.


Flower Arranging Wire Great for Modeling

The only disadvantage of Sergeant Talion on a Quad-Gun is that some of my opponents are deploying Helldrakes with the Baleflamer. Obviously, Sergeant Talion on the Quad-Gun is one of the first targets and I may need something with a 2+ armor save to man the Quad-Gun.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/04/01 23:14:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


I built a squad of devastators out of some of my excess parts. At first I was going to use them for Blood Angels but I think I will use them for Dark Angels.

Devastator Squad

Of course, most of the time a Devastator Squad is deployed in some type of terrain. Below is the Squad behind the Aegis Defense Line.


A Devastator Squad Behind the Aegis Defense Line

I kept the Aegis Defense Line simple using grey Gesso with modeling ballast. I painted up some details including the eagle insignia and the bullet holes.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/04/03 00:23:53


Post by: Oldmanronald



Devastator sergeant

I am not sure what that thing is in the sergeant’s right arm but I have a bunch of them. I think it is some type of communication device. The sergeant has a Blood Angels helmet but otherwise could be used as a space marine, dark angel, blood angel or even as a space wolf. I did not upgrade him with any special weapons.

I armed four of the devastator with missile launchers. Each is slightly different since they all have parts from different kits, including a combat squad, a devastator squad, and one from the Assault on Black Reach Starter Set.


1st Devastator with Missile Launcher from Devastator Set

Note the full missile launcher backpack and the missile loading servo arm.


2nd Devastator with Missile Launcher from Assault on Black Reach Starter Set

This model comes with a nice knife but note that the missile loading servo arm has a different orientation.


3rd Devastator with Missile Launcher

I am not sure where this model came from because he has the missile loading servo arm but he has no missile launcher backpack so his missiles just hang from his backpack.


4th Devastator with Missile Launcher with No backpack or Missile Loading Servo Arm

I think this is a model from a combat squad but I didn’t have a Missile Loading Servo arm for him. So I have him manually loading a missile. Oddly enough, he turned out to be my favorite missile launching model. He is holding a missile with an excess biker arm. Because he is my favorite, I have another view.


4th Devastator from the Back Showing Extra Missiles


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/04/03 23:46:58


Post by: Oldmanronald


Since Psykers have become more important in the 6th Edition, I decided to add a librarian in terminator armor. I have considered using him near the quad-gun with Sergeant Telion since he can survive a Heldrake attack better than Sergeant Telion and he may be able to take over the Quad-Gun if I lose Sergeant Telion.


The Librarian in Terminator Armor

I used a standard Games Workshop terminator librarian with a few modifications. First, I cut off both ends of his psychic force stave and replaced one end with the head of a force axe. I think this looks better and I think a force axe would serve a librarian in terminator armor better than the stave. Second, I left off the top piece that would be placed above his head which had a book. I thought it cluttered the model and made him appear top heavy. He already had a book on his shoulder and the second book seemed to be too much. The longer I have been making my models, the less I add decorative bits such as purity seals, scrolls, and books. I think they often clutter the model making them appear too busy and awkward rather than improve the model’s appearance. Besides, in combat it would be difficult to keep such items looking good and most soldiers would jettison such doodads for additional weapons, ammo, and survival gear. Of course, even without the top book, this librarian model still has a number of such bits, which is in keeping with a psychic model.

The third modification was adding the psychic streamers coming out of the librarian’s hand. I made the psychic streamers out of the flowering wire that I had purchased from Michaels. I drilled a hole in the hand and placed the wire in the hole. Unfortunately, this model is Finecast so it is somewhat brittle and the thumb and the fingers broke off while I was working on it. Fortunately, I had a plastic hand bit from the Blood Angels Sanctuary Guard bits which I was able to use.


Side View of the Librarian in Terminator Armor

I had made a bike librarian earlier but the model was damaged, so I plan to rebuild the bike librarian. I am not sure whether a biker librarian or a librarian in terminator armor would work better with my army. I will probably remake the biker librarian and experiment with both librarians in my army to see which one serves me best.


Another View of the Librarian in Terminator Armor


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/04/06 01:17:28


Post by: Oldmanronald


Because I already have so many biker models, I have been upgrading my army to run as a Dark Angels Ravenwing. In many ways this is an easy conversion since my camouflaged bikers look more like Dark Angels then vanilla marines with the color of the camouflage being almost the same as Dark Angel green. Although my models do not have the robes and doodads associated with Dark Angels, I would not have used the robes and doodads anyway since I tend to like my models uncluttered except by weapons, ammo, and other combat gear. Most of my models could be played as Dark Angels with no conversion and I can easy assemble a Dark Angels Ravenwing out of my existing models.

The one model I needed, however, was Sammael to make my bikers into scoring units. After studying the codex and discussions on the internet, I decided to mount Sammael on the Corvex, his jetbike, rather than on the Sableclaw, his land speeder. I purchased the new Sammael model from Games Workshop.

I must admit, I am disappointed with the model. I wasn’t overly impressed with the picture of the model on the Games Workshop site. Sammael looks overweight, disheveled, and drunk. He is posed barely hanging onto the Corvex, off balance with his sword trailing him like he just took a bump and is ready to fall off. He has a long trailing cape that threatens, like Isadora Duncan flowing scarf, to get entangled in the machinery of the Corvex and break his neck. Still, I ordered the model because I have found that some that models that appeared awkward in the pictures, such as the Stormtalon, actually look pretty good when they are finally assembled, especially with a little modification.

The model was finecast which didn’t concern me since I had just finished my librarian and loved how the finecast model painted up. I knew that it would be brittle and somewhat difficult to modify but I have been able to deal with that problem before. Unfortunately, finecast models often are warped, which usually is not a problems for a model such as the librarian which is somewhat free flowing, but the Sammael model was so warped that the Corvex was not straight so that the back of the jetbike did not really line up with the front. I solved this in part, by cutting the model in half and reattaching the two parts together with a heavy brass wire. I left a small gap between the front and back which can be seen in the picture below.


Unpainted Sammael Model Showing Gap between Front and Back of the Corvex

If you look carefully, you can see the piece of the heavy brass wire just below Sammael’s thigh and knee. This allowed me to twist the model so that the front and back were more properly aligned. I also made a number of other alterations including cutting out the plasma cannon in front and replacing it with a plastic plasma cannon from a devastator pack, adding the hoses from the plasma gun to the Corvex, and replacing the upright wing of the Corvex, which was badly warped with the paired Dark Angels from the Company Champion of the Ravenwing Command Squad set. I also cut off Sammael’s right hand which was on the right handle of the Corvex. Actually, I cut off both the hand and the handle and the skull at the end of the handle, and then replaced the cut off handle with a short piece of heavy brass wire and reattached the skull on at the end of the handle. To recreate the ridges on the handle, I wrapped flower wire around the handle.


Left View of Unpainted and Unfinished Sammael on Corvex

I brutally cut up Sammael’s upper torso so that I could twist him back into a forward more aggressive position. I used a lot of green stuff to fill in the parts that I cut out. I am not a master of green stuff and use it primarily to bulk up a portion of the model. I almost always cover up the green stuff anyway and although I have not yet put them on for these pictures, I later covered the green stuff with a lot of packs and ammo bits. I put a space marine captains two headed eagle backpack on his back and also carved out the cape so it was much shorter and flowed around both sides of the twin Dark Angels.


Right View of Unpainted and Unfinished Sammael on Corvex

The hoses are made from flower wire with heavier copper colored wires extending from the plasma cannon the Corvex and with thinner silver colored wire tightly wrapped around the copper colored wire to give the hose effect. I replaced Sammael’s left arm with bits including a Ravenwing bolter pistol with extended round magazine and although it is not shown any of the above pictures, with a new sword. Sammael is armed with the Raven Sword, which may be the best power melee power weapon available to any character in 40K. Regardless, the actual model’s sword looked no different than a sword given to the greenest of sergeant’s. I had a sword that I had made from a piece of brass wire which I had used for one of my earlier captains. In the picture, I hadn’t put it on yet because it was already painted and I wanted to spray paint Sammael and the Corvex first.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/04/07 23:32:20


Post by: Oldmanronald


In my last post I discussed how I modified the Games Workshop finecast model of Sammael on the Corvex. This post shows the finished model.


Sammael on the Corvex – Right View

Notice that I covered up much of the green stuff with his pistol holder and some belt packs.

I would like to say that with all the conversions and work that this model turned out great. Unfortunately, I would be lying if I did. There are parts that I like but this is not one of my favorite models. Sammael is too hunched over on the bike. The heavy bolter in his right hand is not great. I am not sure that the Raven Sword is great. The worst, however, is the Adamantine Mantle that capes behind him.


Sammael on the Corvex – Left View

Note the helmet hanging from his belt. It is the Ravenwing champion helmet which I really like. Again, there are some details I like. I like the twin dark angels in back. I like the eagle in front. I like the Plasma cannon and the most of the bike.


Sammael on the Corvex – Close Up

Overall, however, this is not one of my favorite models. Recently I searched the Dakka dakka gallery for Sammael and looked through the models displayed there. Generally, I like the scratch built models better than the new finecast model. If I were doing it over again, I would not purchase this Sammael model from Games Workshop. I would build this model from my left over bits and perhaps ordered a neat looking jet-bike from a third party supplier if I couldn’t have figured out have to make it myself.


Sammael on the Corvex – Front View

I may re-work this model, replacing the Adamantine Mantle and perhaps replacing Sammael’s head with either a helmet or another bead. I am also considering putting the bolt pistol in its holster and replacing the right arm. This may be a job for the pointing finger which is the best bit 40k bit that always gives strength and swagger to my models. For now, however, this model is adequate for actual games and Sammael and the Corvex will be able to clean up some of the heretic scum such as the Chaos space marines that has been infesting our game tables lately.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/05/07 23:52:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


I built a Ravenwing Command Squad with just three Black Knights. I had been worried about this squad since I have played enough with my bikers to know how easy they are to kill. Only three bikers seemed to be too vulnerable for a command squad carrying a large important banner. Such an inviting target may not last long. Now that an FAQ allows five Black Knights in the Ravenwing command squad, I will have to build two more to make the squad a little more survivable.


Ravenwing Command Squad with Sammael in Background

Banners are hard to paint. For my Space Marine bike army, I painted a red, white, and blue banner for the banner bearer and although it was fun, the painting appeared thick and splotchy. I have since learned that the best way to paint models is with a series of thin layers and I did this on this banner.


Ravenwing Wing Black Knight with Ravenwing Banner

I made at least two modifications to the banner bearer. The first is that I replaced the banner’s plastic pole with a brass wire. I have learned that plastic is too breakable for banner poles and antennas. I also set up the bike so that the banner pole is held on the bike rather than held in the Black Knight’s hand. Instead, I put a Corvus hammer in the banner bearer’s free hand.


Ravenwing Wing Black Knight with Ravenwing Banner – Close Up of the Black Knight



Black Knight with Ravenwing Banner

I made an Apothecary upgrade for one of the Black Knights. I set it up so that his narthecium is holding one of the handlebars which I like better than just having the narthecium hanging loose. I had considered changing him to a regular Black Knight because I didn’t want to invest the points for a Apothecary but with five Black Knights to support, he seems like a better investment.


Ravenwing Apothecary - Right View


Ravenwing Apothecary – Left View

I am pleased with the medicines in the bottles that he is carrying. I have discovered that the best way to paint anything, including these medicines, is again to build up the paint in layers. I started with dull colors and highlighted with bright colors but to the eye the colors of the medicine look like a single color. I noticed this with the brass. If I painted using straight Dwarf bronze (the old GW color), the results looked flat and blotchy. If however, I first painted a bronze part with tin bitz (another old GW color) and then highlighted with a lighter bronze, the color looked the same brightness and intensity for the bronze but the without the blotchiness.


Ravenwing Knight Grenadier – Left View

The GW kit for the Ravenwing Knights has a hand already on each handle. I wanted at least one of the knights with both hands off the handle, with one hand holding a bolt pistol and the other hand holding the Corvus hammer. I substituted the Ravenwing bike handle with a handle off of a regular bike. It took a little drilling and cutting but wasn’t too difficult. I used the Ravenwing handle with my biker techmarine which I will display in another entry. For the pistol, I used a Ravenwing bolt pistol with the round magazine.


Ravenwing Knight Grenadier – Right View

Note that he has both hands off the handlebars. Also note that he is a grenadier and he has a grenade launcher rather than the twin-linked plasma guns.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/05/18 18:18:14


Post by: Oldmanronald


In part 2 on Sammael on the Corvex, I admitted that I was disappointed with how Sammael turned out and wanted to re-work this model. I actually did rework the model, almost immediately after I had posted part 2. I pulled Sammael’s torso off the legs, pulled out his arms, and removed the robe. I made extensive cutting into the model to removed excess green stuff from the torso and his buttocks. I decided to replace the sword holding hand. Although I kept the metal blade of the sword, I had a servo arm bit that I had ordered from Bitspudlo.com. I cut off and replaced the plastic blade in the servo arm bit with the old metal blade. I thus made Sammael’s left arm a robotic arm which I thought looked good. There is nothing in the fluff of the Dark Angels Codex that suggests that he has a robotic arm but my Sammael does which in part justifies why the Raven Sword is so powerful.


Sammael with Servo-Arm

I straightened up Sammael torso so that he stood up straighter on the Corvex. This was a major improvement as it gave a better angle on his face and front. As I mentioned before, I had trimmed the torso and buttocks which now made Sammael’s body long and lanky.


Sammael – Right Side

I wanted to replace his right arm with the pointing finger bit but discovered that the pointing finger bit was for the left arm rather than the right. Since I had already used the servo arm for the left hand and arm, I decided to build my own right handed pointing finger. I took the arm and hand that was designed to hold the flag in the Ravenwing command squad set. I had the hand since I mounted the flag directly to the bike. I drilled out the pole part of the left the hand, which left just the hand and the fingers. Then I cut off the curled index finger and using a piece of paper clip I made a pointing finger. I had learned this trick when I had built my terminator librarian. A piece of paper clip wire makes a good replacement for a missing finger. I then covered the paper clip wire with a little green stuff and with a little filing and trimming; I had a right arm with a right hand pointing finger.

[
Sammael and the Pointing Finger


I further trimmed cut down his Adamantine Mantle so that it fit more directly on the seat of the Corvex to expose the back tail of the Corvex. I repositioned his helmet at his side so it was more upright and added grenades and a plain bolt pistol to his waist. I wanted a fancier pistol but this was all I was able to find. Actually, I think the plain pistol fits the character I created, a lanky thin and unpretentious leader who wears the rank and badge of honor not for self glory, but to make himself visible in the fog of combat and help him be effective as a combat leader.


Sammael – Right Side

I am delighted at the results. In Jewish tradition Sammael is name of the Angel of Death and this model seems to embody such in his countenance. I love the new pointing finger and his long lanky body. Now this Sammael has become a Puritan warrior judge ready to impart eternal justice to the damned, not with anger or viciousness, but with firmness of purpose in administering the fiery retribution of right to those enemies of righteousness and traitors to human race. He is a futuristic intergalactic General William Tecumseh Sherman who will make the unrepentant rebels howl with pain and despair as a result of their own rebellious and violent acts, for they have chosen destruction over creation, chaos over order, war over peace, death over life.


Sammael – A Traitor’s Last View

With a few tweaks and adjustments, this model has gone from barely adequate to one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, Warhammer model. In many ways a great Warhammer 40K model is like a Wingtip or other dress shoe that isn’t really great until after it has been broken in and had its soles replaced. Many of my favorite models didn’t really sparkle until I had rebuilt them once or twice. I am eager to put Sammael and the Ravenwing on the tabletop to clean out the unholy alliance of Orks, Daemons, and traitors, the Helldrakes and Monsters, who have been infesting our game tables lately. We are almost ready to face the Helldrake.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/05/22 13:33:52


Post by: Oldmanronald


A few months ago, I wrote about the tools I used when modeling. I felt that I needed to update this since I am using some of the tools that I had dismissed as unnecessary. The updates are in bold italics.

Today I am going to review the Modeling Tools that you need to build a Games Workshop army. Although I am building a Space Marine Bike Army, this article will apply to all plastic miniature armies.

For each tool, I will address two issues: First, is the tool itself useful? Second, should you buy the tool from Games Workshop or can you easily pick up the same tool for a cheaper price elsewhere?

Glue: Glue is necessary. The real issue is which glue to use. Games Workshop recommends plastic glue for the plastic models and super glue for everything else. I disagree and use only super glue on my models, whether plastic or not. Plastic Glue melts the plastic so that it bonds plastic pieces together forming a bond stronger than the plastic itself. It also melts the plastic pieces that you don’t want to melt leaving finger prints and destroying details. Super glue is more forgiving and the bond can be broken, which is great for remodeling. Although Games Workshop sells super glue, it is cheaper and more convenient to pick up super glue at a hardware store or even at most grocery stores.

Hobby Knife: The Hobby Knife is my most important and used tool. I use it to carve out parts, to remove seams, and to cut apart joints. I use my knife for both building and for rebuilding models. It is certainly necessary for any modification of a plastic model. The Games Workshop Hobby Knife is merely a standard X-Acto Knife readily available from any hardware store or from most major chain stores. Even if you buy the Hobby Knife from Games Workshop, you will need to buy replacement blades elsewhere.

Plastic Cutters: Plaster Cutters are useful for removing parts from the plastic trees. Although they may be available elsewhere, it is convenient to purchase them from Games Workshop. One set will last for years. They do wear out, especially if you use them like I do to cut piano wire. I just bought a new set from my local Games Workshop.

Hobby Drill: If you do any pinning or drilling out of weapons barrels, you will need the hobby drill, a small hand driven drill. Get it from Games Workshop. The clerk at a local hobby shop insisted that he had better and cheaper hobby drills but they were never in stock. You will eventually need replacement bits which you will need to order over the internet. They are 1 mm drill bits. I also use 0.7 mm bits although not as often.

Brushes: Unless you use an airbrush, you need paint brushes. I purchase mine from an art store and use a 0, 00, 000 (or 2/0 or 3/0) stable hair brushes. You will need to replace the brushes periodically. Games Workshop brushes are okay if you don’t have ready access to an art store.

Spray Paints: I use Chaos Black Spray Paint to undercoat my models. If colors are critically important to me, for example, on a banner or other such decorative device, I will undercoat the critical part with white spray paint instead of black and glue it to the rest of the model later. I always use Games Workshop spray paint because it seems to go on smoother and covers less details than other primer spray paints.

Paints: Of course you need paint to paint models. The real issue is whether you should purchase your paints from Games Workshop or not. I do. Although I am aware that Blood Red and Barbie Lipstick Red are probably the same color, Games Workshop has devoted a great deal of energy in assembling their paint palette and in publishing and disseminating techniques for using the colors they market. Thus, if I want to use their expertise and match what I am seeing in White Dwarf, How to Paint Citadel Miniatures, the Codex’s and the internet, it is easier to use Citadel paints. Although a complete set of paint can be a large investment of money, I find that the paints last for a long time and I usually only need to replace at the most one or two jars of paint every few months.

Green Stuff: I love green stuff and use it regularly to fill in joints and for minor modeling. Some modelers actually can make parts out of green stuff but I don’t use it for such sophisticate modeling. Games Workshop is a convenient source of Green Stuff although I ordered a roll of green stuff over the internet from another supplier and this roll has lasted me for years.

Paint Station: The Citadel paint stations are very expensive, ranging from $40 - $70. Why bother? I just put newspaper on a table when I am working on a model. If I to do cutting, I may put a piece of wood down or just have enough paper so that I don’t cut through it. My son had a paint station but we eventually threw it away since it just got messy and took up space.

Files: I just purchased a set of hobby files from a bits supplier and find that I am using them all the time, especially if I want to rebuild or modify a model. I suspect that the Warhammer files are also good quality and would work just as well.

Hobby Vice: I don’t need a hobby vice. I have a bench mounted vice which I use on my models when I need to hold them into place.

Citadel Clean-Up Kit: I purchased this kit from Games Workshop but it was really a waste of money. An old used tool-brush will work as well as the brush and the hobby knife does a better job removing seams than the mold-line scraping tool.

Razor Saw: I like having a razor saw although I use it only on occasion when I have to cut a model in half. I already have an old razor saw so I don’t need the Games Workshop saw.

Sculpting Tool: I bought the Warhammer sculpting tool. Warhammer now sells liquid green stuff in a paint bottle. It is good for filing in small gaps. I find that the sculpturing tool works great with the liquid green stuff. On normal green stuff, however, I find that a wet toothpick works better.

Water Pot: You got to be kidding. The one thing our modern civilization produces is little plastic containers for soft margarine, yogurt, or such. Save one from the trash bin and use it to hold water.

Palettes: These are useful for both mixing paints and diluting the paint to the right consistency. Again, however, we live in a civilization that produces plastic bits of garbage. Man Boy Genius at Spikey Bits suggests using the plastic tops of Pringle Chips containers. http://blog.spikeybits.com/2012/12/secret-tech-hobby-better-with-pringles.html



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/05/23 23:47:10


Post by: Oldmanronald



Librarian on Bike with Power Field Generator

I love bikes but bikers are expensive and easy to kill. One threat to bikers, as well as all MEQs, is the Chaos Marine Helldrake. I expect many of my opponents to have Helldrakes. After all, if I were a traitor to mankind, if I turned my back on all the is right and good, if I turned myself over to my most base and disgusting impulses, I would play Chaos Marines and would field at least two and possibly three Helldrakes with flamers. I think the models are neat looking and are an excellent tool against MEQs. So if I would play Helldrakes, I must assume that those who sold their souls to the false gods of Chaos will use Helldrakes.

So in building my bike army, I have to deal with Helldrakes and other fliers. I have a number of solutions including taking allies. The best allies may be Imperial Guard with Vendettas. but at this time I am not interested in starting to acquire, build, and master an IG army.

For Dark Angels I have several solutions even without IG. One is to ally in my space marines with a Stormtalon and a Stormraven. I already have two Stormtalons and have purchased a Stormraven. But if I want to maintain a pure Dark Angels army, I am limited in what flier I can bring. Although Dark Angels have fliers, these fliers have a reputation as being poor anti-aircraft fighters so I will forgo them for now.

Other Dark Angel options are to field a quad gun, which I have done; Black Knights which although they only hit flyers on sixes, are twin-linked and especially if in the right position, may be able to take down a flyer; and adding the Forge World Mortis Dreadnaught. I can also use evasive tactics such as assaulting weak units with my very mobile bikes when Helldrakes are near, using my bikes mobility to move to positions where a Helldrake may not be able to maneuver fast enough, and finally, liberal use of a power field generator. I suspect that the best tactic is a combination of all the above combined with use of the strong Alpha strike of the quad gun and a rifleman dreadnaught, and a strong Beta strike of the bikers to eliminate as much of the scoring troops, troop transportation, and as many other obstacles as possible before the Helldrakes come out of reserve.

With this long winded introduction out of the way, I would like to introduce the first of three headquarters characters, each carrying a power field generator to give my bikers and my other troops 4+ invulnerability saves. These models include 1) a librarian on a bike, 2) a techmarine on a bike, and 3) a techmarine on foot. The first of these models is the librarian on a bike as a second headquarters in addition to Sammael.


Dark Angel Librarian on Bike

Like many pieces of equipment in a Warhammer 40K, the power field generator is not illustrated in the Dark Angels codex or elsewhere so I am guessing what it looks like. Since I had two left over commo relays with the Aegis defense line, I decided to use them as the power field generators and put one of them on the back of the librarian’s bike.


Power Field Generator on Librarian’s Bike

I mounted the librarian himself on a standard space marine bike. As for the body of the librarian, I was able to purchase Librarian Turmiel from the Warhammer 40,000: Dark Vengeance starter set. I think Librarian Turmiel is Warhmammer's best looking power armor librarian and he is already a Dark Angel. I sawed him in half at the waist and with a little green stuff and some pinning, mounted his torso on the robed legs of a biker. From my bits, I found an axe for his Force Weapon and with a few modifications, he was ready to go. I plan to field him with my command squad to provide them a 4+ save and psychic powers.


Biker Librarian with Command Squad


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/05/25 02:37:13


Post by: Oldmanronald



The Dismounted Techmarine

I made two Dark Angel techmarines, each with a power field generator. These two techmarines are built for two different roles. One is mounted on a bike. The other is foot infantry. The mounted techmarine biker is designed to turbo-burst or move from one threatened squad to the next to provide needed 4+ invulnerability saves or to a damaged vehicle to make repairs. The dismounted techmarine’s job is to stay with the Aegis defense line and support the quad gun, providing 4+ invulnerability saves to the gun and the unit defending the gun. I noticed that during my last few games, things get really hot around my Aegis defense line and quad gun. Since I tend to move my bikers away from the Aegis defense line and leave it with about eleven defenders, either with a ten man tactical squad or five space marine ally scouts including Sergeant Telion and five Sternguard plus a Rifleman Dreadnaught, this is a tempting target for my opponent’s fast attack troops. I actually don’t mind this since it gives my bikers freedom to move across the rest of the battlefield, but it does mean that things get hot for those troops manning the Aegis defense line and its Quad gun.


The Dismounted Techmarine and the Quad Gun

I bought the Games Workshop Space Marine Techmarine with Servitors kit. I used the techmarine model for the dismounted techmarine and one of the servitors for the bike mounted techmarine. I have enjoyed this kit because it has so many interesting bits. On my dismounted techmarine, however, I used a servo-arm that I had bought from Bitspudlo.com.


Techmarine with Bitspudio Servo-Arm

I have tried to make each techmarine with power field generator as cheap as possible. I kept the dismounted techmarine cheap by only adding the power field generator and am not adding any additional weapons or tools including the servo pack. My goal is not to make him a close combat monster or even a great repairing mechanic but to provide invulnerability saves to my troops on the Aegis defense line. Still, I did hedge my bets somewhat by magnifying the techmarine’s pack and the power field generator (the adapted comms relay) so that it could replace them later.



The Dismounted Techmarine Magnets


The Dismounted Techmarine with Pack Attached


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/05/26 03:18:00


Post by: Oldmanronald



I built a mounted techmarine. I cut one of the servitors in half and pinned and green stuffed him on some biker legs.


The Mounted Techmarine


The Mounted Techmarine with Ravenwing Command Squad Black Knights

For the power field generator, I used a part I had which I think belonged to a land raider or other vehicle. I actually like it better as a power field generator than the commo relay bits. Unfortunately, I only had this single bit. The shovel is an Imperial Guard bit that I bought from an on-line bits supplier.


The Mounted Techmarine with Power Field Generator on his Back Fender

This turned out to be one of my favorite models and he is one of the few models that I have given a name, Brett Socket. Actually, several of my models have names but most do not.


Another View of the Mounted Techmarine

Isn't he handsome? He looks like one of my favorite son-in-laws.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/05/29 02:06:26


Post by: Oldmanronald


One of the most difficult things to paint are human faces. I have done some figure drawing and painting and faces are always a challenge, especially the eyes. Actually, if you examine great art, you will discover that many great artists hint at the eyes rather than actually draw the eyes and our mind automatically fills in the detail. In fact, this often works better than drawing the detail of the eye because if they are slightly wrong, we pick it up immediately. Our minds seem to be geared to pick up the most minute details and movement of another person's eye, including flaws even when the eye is shadowed and partly hidden. The eyes are very small in relation to the body and even the face, but it is the first thing we seem to notice about a person.

Eyes are difficult even on our three dimensional Games Workshop models. I find that some of the Warhammer models have faces and eyes that are easier to paint than other. Sometimes the model’s eyes are mere slits which look good as unpainted plastic but are difficult to paint. Below are close up views of four faces that I have just finished painting. All were a struggle.


The Mounted Techmarine

Notice that I just hint at the pupil in the eye. I might retouch this one up as I have been rebuilding his arm to conform to the Dark Angel’s FAQ for techmarines giving each of them a bolt gun as well as a bolt pistol.


The Mounted Librarian

He only shows a single eye which is easier to paint. Still, it was difficult to get to the eye and I still only hint at the pupil.


Tactical Sergeant

I needed a simple tactical sergeant with no power sword or other upgrade. He has a Dark Angel’s Ravenwing bare head which I like.


Sammael

I really like this model now that I have redone him. The face was difficult but I think it will do. Notice the gold skull hanging around his neck. Sammael come already with the necklace and the pendant but I pinned in a skull I cut off from a bike antenna. Also notice the writing on the book. I put that in with a scroll ink pen. I now realize that I could use the same pen to put in the pupils for the eyes. I may try that.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/05/31 20:57:38


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have a full Tactical Squad of dismounted space marines with several space marines who carry special and heavy weapons. Although I use magnets on some of my models, I find it easier and more fun just to make a dismounted space marine for each heavy or special weapon. I have plenty of spare parts to make a dismounted space marines and it is easier to mix and match models to the various squads than it is to attach tiny magnets to the arms and weapons. It is also easier to keep track of models than it is to keep track of bits or pieces of arms and weapons. Because of this, I have a full seven man squad plus the sergeant who are armed with bolters and in addition, I have a flamer, a melta-gunner, a multi-melta gunner, and four missile launcher gunners which can be part of the Tactical Squad.

I have now built another dismounted space marine, a plasma cannon gunner.


Plasma Cannon Gunner – Left View


Plasma Cannon Gunner – Right View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/06/02 03:43:38


Post by: Oldmanronald


I am thinking of using a tactical squad to defend my Quad Gun. Although I had tried to figure the best configuration for a tactical sergeant, I am inclined to keep him cheap with no upgrades. So I rebuilt my tactical sergeant with just a bolter and a bolt pistol. Although this is just a Tactical Sergeant, I still like to give him a personality.


The Sergeant with a Tactical Squad Defending Quad Gun


Close Up of the Tactical Sergeant


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/06/10 23:21:26


Post by: Oldmanronald



Mounted Techmarine with Chainsword

After I made my two techmarines, I discovered the Dark Angels Techmarines have been FAQed to have a bolter in addition to their bolt pistol and other equipment. Since a Techmarine can replace any of his weapons for a chainsword for free, I can choose two weapons out of the three. For the tech marine on the bike, the choice is easy. A bolter is worthless on a bike since anytime that I would want to fire the bolter, I would rather fire the twin-linked bolter. With a pistol and a chainsword, however, I have an extra attack. I am not sure how valuable this is. With the power field generator giving a 4+ invulnerability save to all models with three inches, the techmarine wants to avoid close combat. Also, although I have played with the servo-arm providing an extra attack in addition to the techmarines normal attacks, I see nothing in the rules that would show that this is the way that the techmarine should be played, so if I have to choose between the servo arm attack and the chainsword/pistol attack, I may often choose the servo arm. Still, when the choice is between no value and a small value, I will pick the small value, especially since swinging chainswords always look neat on a biker.


Mounted Techmarine with Servo-Arm on Backpack

I ripped off the servo arm and put it on the pack. I replaced the missing arm with an extra chainsword that I had. I like this chainsword since it has a robot arm with two struts. The struts are plastic but in doing Sammael’s servo-arm I broke the thin brittle struts so I had to replace them with paperclip wire. It turned out looking good so I decided to replace the two plastic struts in this arm with paperclip wire. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good picture of it.


The Chainsword on Techmarine


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/06/12 14:04:55


Post by: Oldmanronald


I like having a good background for my models. I use some simple terrain that I made up for the foreground but I use a painting for the background. I have an abstract that shows up in a lots of my pictures and I have a simple black canvas that that I use. This week I decided to do another background using acrylics. I am just starting to use acrylics in my painting so I used this background as an excuse to experiment with the paints.

I have always thought it would be neat to paint a gas giant and have that as the background so it looked like my models were on some moon around a gas giant in some distant solar system. To paint the gas giant, I used a first coat of fluid acrylics on a white gesso and then I added layers by painting the stripes around the gas giant with water and then brushing in already dilute fluid acrylics and allowing them to flow through the water stripes to create very cloud like free flowing colors. This technique give the painting its cloud like feel and was fun and easy to do. The only problem was that I had to let the water drying between applications so painting the gas giant took several weeks. I painted a dark carbon black fluid acrylic over black gesso to produce the mat like finish for the dark starry night. I was going to use regular paint acrylics for the stars on the black mat but I hadn’t finished this yet.

I painted a Mountain range using dark heavy acrylics so that it had a thicker appearance. I am not too happy with my mountain range but will still be working on that. Although I still have some work with this new background, I decided to make my last photos using it. Enclosed are some examples.


Ravenwing Command Squad in Front of Gas Giant Background

Because the Gas Giant model is much brighter than my other backgrounds, when I looked through my viewer, it appeared that my models were too dark. I compensated by increasing the brightness which was a mistake when I compared three brightness levels of the same shot. Note that the shots get progressively darker and the darkest is the best.


Dark Knight – Brightest Exposure


Black Knight – Less Bright Exposure


Black Knight – Normal Exposure

I like the last picture the best.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/06/14 15:29:46


Post by: Oldmanronald


With the new FAQ, the Ravenwing Command Squad can now include two additional bikers. This makes the command squad much more viable. I made two more bikes and now have a five bike command squad, six if you include the librarian on a bike.


Black Knight with Ravenwing Company Champion Helmet

Since I had it and liked it, I used the Ravenwing Company Champion’s helmet. Still, I did not make this biker a company champion because for five additional points, the Company Champion can exchange his Corvus Hammer for a Blade of Caliban which is just like a power axe only worse. Although the power axe has both its limitations and strengths, the blade of Caliban kept all the limitations and weakened one of its two strengths, so I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the five lousy points. I did give the model the pointing finger which is one of my favorite bits.


Black Knight with Pointing Finger

The second new bikers is a standard black knight but a standard black knight is still good looking.


Second Black Knight – Left View


Second Black Knight – Right View


The Full Command Squad with Biker Librarian


A Second View of the Full Command Squad with Biker Librarian


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/06/16 18:38:11


Post by: Oldmanronald


Space Marine Company Champion with Lance

I experimented with a Lance for my Space Marine Company Champion. I don’t think I will use this configuration but it was fun. Actually, it didn’t look as neat as I thought it would but that is okay because I don’t think that this is really a viable option right now.


Company Champion with Lance

The Lance would be fun on the Black Knights of my Ravenwing Command Squad or even on the Ravenwing biker sergeants since they have hit and run but at least not now, it isn’t an option.


Company Champion with Lance - Front View


Company Champion with Lance – Rear View

The second weapon, the Power-Sword, is attached with a magnet and can be removed and replaced with a chainsword. The latter is a cheaper option on an already too many point model.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/06/17 20:03:17


Post by: Oldmanronald


A few days ago I discussed the FAQ change on the Dark Angels Techmarine giving him a bolter in addition to the bolt pistol. I noted that the bolter could be exchanged for a chainsword and did so for the mounted Techmarine. For the dismounted Techmarine, I removed the servo-arm and replaced it with a bolter and then added the bolt gun to his hand and a servo-arm to his pack. I used a different servo-arm than the one I used earlier but that was because the old one wasn’t as attractive upside down on the pack.


FAQ Techmarine with Bolter and Servo-arm on Pack

I have not finished painting him. I need to add some wording to his scroll.


Second View of FAQ Techmarine with Bolter

On the dismounted Techmarine, I decided that the advantage of the bolter outweighed the advantage of a chainsword. The dismounted Techmarine will remain near with his 2+ artificer armor near the Quad-Gun behind the Aegis Defense Line. I have discovered that this is a hot area and I need as much bolter fire as I can get, especially if things get so hot that I need to move the command squad with the Standard of Devastation nearby. In that case, I double my bolter fire. I would rather have the extra bolter firepower than the one extra close combat attack.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/06/19 17:49:25


Post by: Oldmanronald


Several years ago, I stripped the paint off an old land raider. It was pretty beat up, with the hurricane bolters missing and several parts broken including the front ramp and a side door. I put it aside and almost forgot about it until the Dark Angels came up with the Standard of Devastation.


The Old Stripped Down Land Raider

Since one configuration for the Standard of Devastation is to carry it in a Land Raider Crusader and use it to support twin-linked relentless bolter on bike and the hurricane bolters on the Land Raider Crusader itself to create max bolter goodness, I decided to remake the old Land Raider. I had to remake some of the parts using plastic sheet and green stuff. I have included these unpainted pictures to show what parts I had to remake.


Rebuilt Land Raider Crusader – Left View

This view shows the remade door. I cut it out of plastic and it was somewhat difficult to match it to the door frame but I finally was able to match it.
I used an old set of wings for some flying creature to cover the Hurricane Bolters. I made the skull out of green stuff.


Rebuilt Land Raider Crusader – Right View

This view shows the turret for the combi-melta which I made out of plastic sheet. This was rather difficult and it took me several tries to get it right. The next view shows the combi-melta gunner in the turret.


Land Raider Crusader – Rear View

I made the antenna out of piano wire and mounted it in a regular antenna base. The teeth on the ramp on the front view was carved out of old plastic spruce.


Land Raider Crusader – Front View

Now I need to paint the Land Crusader which I dread since my least favorite things to paint are large armor vehicles since it takes so long to paint the camouflage pattern. I actually have painted several of my bikes and several dismounted infantry since I rebuilt this model but have avoided the hard tedious job of painting the land raider. Maybe in a couple of weeks I will post the painted up Land Raider Crusader.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/06/24 20:20:33


Post by: Oldmanronald


A Dark Angels Army has weak anti-aircraft weapons and even weaker flyers. One option to increase the anti-air defense is the Mortis contemptor dreadnought. I ordered the comtemptor dreadnought from Forgeworld. Although it was shipped from England, shipping was not as expensive as I was afraid it would be and the model arrived in a reasonable time. I like the model and it was easy to assemble. I added some twin-linked autocannons I had although I may rebuild the arms for twin-linked laser cannons. I need to work out mathhammer to find out which configuration is the best against Helldrakes and other strength 12 flyer before I decide whether to replace the autocannons.



Mortis Contemptor Dreadnought – Front View


Mortis Contemptor Dreadnought – Side View


Mortis Contemptor Dreadnought – Rear View


Mortis Contemptor Dreadnought – The Autocannons


Brother Dreadnoughts

If you carefully compare the faces of the red ammo holders of the new Mortis Comtemptor Dreadnaught to the faces of the older red ammo holders of the Rifleman Dreadnaught you will notice they are smoother and without a seam. This is because I am now using Games Workshop liquid green stuff which does a good job filling in gaps. I slop the liquid green stuff on with Games Workshop metal sculpting tool and then file it down to make a nice flat surface. The liquid green stuff is great for filling gaps.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/07/10 20:41:41


Post by: Apostle Pat


The conversion work you do is just stunning.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/07/22 15:43:12


Post by: Oldmanronald


I read a kind remark from Apostle Pat which was really encouraging. I appreciate the remark. Thank you.

Due to family vacations and work, I have not posted to or reviewed this blog for almost a month. Although I have been slowly building a second Ravenwing Command Squad to carry the Standard of Devastation, I have not finished and painted up any of these models. In reviewing my posts, I discovered that I had not shared a few of my favorite pictures of my reworked Sammael with the first Ravenwing Command Squad.


Sammael from the Top

This is not one of my favorite pictures because it shows too many of the flaws. In building the model, the plastic struts on the servo arm broke and I replaced them with paper clip wire which worked better.


Sammael and the Ravenwing Banner

This is a better angle of Sammael than the first picture, hiding the model’s flaws.


Sammael Leading a Charge
This last picture is my favorite pictures of Sammael and one of my favorite pictures I have taken since I have started photographing my models. I like the way the Sammael appears to be moving, straightway charging and running down another traitor to mankind.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/07/25 11:50:52


Post by: Apostle Pat


You're welcome bud!

Totally dig your Sammael, was he finecast??

I also never thought of extending the banner, I think I prefer the way you have it over the standard kit.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/09/17 01:33:37


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have not posted since July. This because I ruined my camera and have just replaced it.

In a late response to the question from Apostle Pat about my Sammael model, the bulk of the model is Games Workshop finecast with plastic bits from other GW kits. The only metal is the sword which I pounded out of a brass wire, the hoses on the plasma cannon which are made of floral wire, and bits of paper clips which I used for the arm and for the pointing index finger. The servo arm for the sword was from a section of bits I ordered from Bits Pudlo. It was brittle and I had to replace several of the struts with paper clip wire.

Although I have not posted for several months, I have been somewhat busy with Warhammer since I spent some time at NOVA Open playing the narrative game at night since I had to work during the day. I brought an all bike Ravenwing with only two models that were not bikes. One was the Whirlwind and the other was a Mortis Pattern Dreadnought with two twin-linked lascannons.

Playing an all bike army was a mistake as an all bike army lacks resiliency, especially since I have very little experience playing the game. I love making the models but often lack the time to play long Warhammer 40K games. Thus, I lack the experience to fully utilize a bike army, especially since at my level I tend to get into slugfests with the opposing Army. I plan to keep the bike army theme but decrease the actual number of bikes and reinforce my army with more support in the way of long ranged fire and flyers. I am excited about the new Space Marine Codex. I plan to spend the next few month reworking some of the models I already have as well as adding a few new models to increase my firepower and resiliency.

Enclosed is a view of the Mortis Pattern Dreadnought with two twin-linked lascannons. It is a Forge World model with skyfire and interceptor if the model has not moved during a turn. It is a great model but unfortunately cannot be used in a game if Forge World is not allowed.


Mortis Pattern Dreadnought with two twin-linked lascannons – Front View

This model was fairly effective but he needed more support including his brother with the twin-linked autocannons.


Two Mortis Pattern Dreadnoughts

This model looks almost as good from the back as from the front.


Mortis Pattern Dreadnoughts - Rear View

Notice the hoses on top of the lascannons. I plan to add some pictures and a narrative showing how to make such hoses in a few weeks.


Mortis Pattern Dreadnoughts - Side View


Mortis Pattern Dreadnoughts – Front-top View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/09/17 23:09:43


Post by: Oldmanronald


It has been at least a three year project to rebuild my Land Raider. Of course, I didn’t work on my Land Raider the whole time but kept putting it aside. About three years ago, in June, 2010, I took an old Land Raider and stripped off its paint.


The Old Land Raider Crusader

Notice that the bottom of the front door is missing. I soaked the Land Raider in a product called Purple Power for a day and scrubbed it down.


Scrubbing the Land Raider

Several years ago I actually posted a detailed discussion about cleaning up the Land Raider. Last May, I actually rebuilt the Land Raider using bits that I had around, cutting some plastic to fit missing pieces, and repairing and customizing some missing pieces.


The Unpainted Rebuilt Land Raider

Still, I could not get motivated to spend the long hours painting it. At the NOVA Open, I bought myself my first airbrush and air compressor set so I needed a project to test out my new airbrush. The Land Raider was perfect since it has lots of big spaces that are tedious to paint by hand.

I actually enjoyed painting the model. I first listened to a instruction video on the airbrush and found out that an airbrush is prone to gumming up so I have to really focus on keeping my paints clean and properly diluted. I learned to use distilled water rather than tap water to thin my paints. I bought an inexpensive water bottle with a dropper. So this has been a time when I have learned about my paints and how to keep them as well as painted my first model with the airbrush. The Land Raider isn’t perfect and I had to finish up the detail with my detail brushes.


The Pit-Bull – Front View


The Pit-Bull – Side View


The Pit-Bull – Rear View


The Pit-Bull – An Ork’s Last View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/09/20 00:11:47


Post by: Oldmanronald


The one tool that helps Dark Angels bikers survive is the Dark Angel’s Power Field Generator (PFG) which gives invulnerability saves to nearby models. A PFG can be put on a bike mounted techmarine who can move the PFG quickly to where it is needed. I actually used three at NOVA, two on two techmarines and one on a librarian. I have already displayed the librarian and the first techmarine but I haven’t shown the second techmarine.


The Second Techmarine with Power Field Generator

For the PFG, I ordered some 40K Apocalypse Command Imperial Guard Bits which is some type of radio. It must be some standard bit because I already had one bit like it and I don’t know where it came from but I haven’t bought any Imperial Guard bits. The bit is the piece on the rear fender of the motorcycle and it is as good of PFG as I could find.


Side View of the Second Techmarine on Bike

I also ordered a bunch of imperial guard shovels at the same time. The servo-arm is from bitspudio.com which sell great looking but somewhat fragile bits. I like this arm better than a normal servo arm from Games Workshop.


Close-Up of the Second Techmarine

The techmarine himself is made from a servitor from the Games Workshop kit labeled Space Marine Techmarine with Servitors. This kit is a great source of bits. I cut the servitor in half and mounted him on biker legs. I love making my space marines out of the servitors as the faces are almost beautiful. With regular marine shoulder pads, these servitors look just like regular space marines. I like the servitors better than techmarine models and I plan to use them to enhancement my techmarines.


Right Side of the Second Techmarine

Of course a techmarine, especially with a PFG, pairs nicely with a Land Raider Crusader. The techmarine hides behind Land Raider and is nearby when the Land Raider needs to restore a hull point or needs to have a invulnerability save.


First Techmarine with the Pit-Bull


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/09/22 00:28:17


Post by: Oldmanronald


I made a few minor changes on some of my models. Mostly, I replaced weapons for other weapons, sometimes to make them legal for my list, sometimes just because I saw a bit I liked better. I needed a bike sergeant so I changed one of my models and made him sergeant by adding an antenna and saying he was a sergeant. In the new Ravenwing Codex, a biker sergeant can exchange a pistol for a chainsword. Since a bike is relentless, it always is better to shoot the twin-linked bolter rather than a pistol on a bike so in practice a chainsword operates just like a pistol, only it look cooler. So I added a chainsword to one of my bikers and now call him a sergeant.


Ravenwing Biker Sergeant with Chainsword

I wanted to give him a little pizazz so I made his chainsword arm into a cyborg arm. I simply cut out a section of his arm and replaced it with two short pieces of paperclip wire. I liked the effect so much that I repeated it with several other models.


Ravenwing Biker Sergeant with Cyborg Arm

I touched up his face and think he now looks a little like John Wayne -- an old beat up John Wayne.



Front View of Ravenwing Biker Sergeant with Cyborg Arm


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/09/23 00:14:25


Post by: Oldmanronald


Another model that I modified was one of my pretty boy sergeants. I gave him the new Ravenwing machine pistol and made his arm a cyborg arm.


Pretty Boy Sergeant with Machine Pistol

I can tell that the model is one of my earlier models. I trimmed it in white and laid the paint down too heavy. Now I would not trim in white and if I did I would put on thinner layers starting with yellow rather than the grey that I started with. This would give a smoother appearance to the paint and with a yellow undercoat, the white is more subdued.


Pretty Boy Sergeant with Machine Pistol – Front View

Although the paint is a little thick, the model is still fun and I will use it for my games. I give almost every model a knife and allow each model to choose his style of knife. This sergeant used a Chaos Space Marine Khorne Berzerker Sheathed Knife which under the unit SOP, he had to take from an enemy solider and preferably one he had killed in combat.


Pretty Boy Sergeant with a Chaos Space Marine Khorne Berzerker Sheathed Knife


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/09/24 02:05:53


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have been updating some of my older models adding parts to make them compliant with the new codex and with my army lists and giving them a little more personality. One model that I was unhappy with was blue squad right wing melta-gunner. I felt that his melta arm was positioned somewhat awkwardly.


Old Blue Squad Right Wing Melta-Gunner

Notice how his melta arm is positioned. It is dynamic but it is somewhat awkward when he is with the squad because his melta gun is pointing in the same direction as the left wing melta gunner so the squad doesn’t appear to have coverage on both sides.


Old Blue Squad Right Wing Melta-Gunner with the Blue Squad

I also decided to replace his head with one of the new Ravenwing bare heads that looked kind of neat.


[b]Rebuilt Blue Squad Right Wing Melta-Gunner


I am not sure that I got the eyes right as he looks both a little crossed eyed and he is not looking at the target he is aiming his melta-gun at. Still, I like him better than the old model although I may try to touch up the eyes.


Rebuilt Melta-Gunner

He is still carrying the Choppa that he picked up from a somewhat incorporative Ork. Still, a couple of twin-linked bolter shots to the gut and a melta-gun blast can be very persuasive, even to an Ork.


Rebuilt Melta-Gunner with Choppa


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/09/25 22:30:12


Post by: Oldmanronald


I have been using magnets for my models. Originally, I thought that it would be a good way to replace weapons. Thus, I could build a biker sergeant with a magnetized power sword arm and a power lance arm that I could interchange weapons depending on my opponent. I have found this to be ineffective for at least three reasons. The first is that I have to put in little magnets in the arms and they have limited holding power. As a result, the models with magnetized arms often look awkward as the arms tend to become displaced. Moreover, it is easy for a magnetized arm to fall off and get lost. Second, it is usually a lot of trouble having a magnetized spare arm which I have to keep track of. Thus, while the magnetized power sword arm is awkwardly mounted on the model, the alternative combi-melta arm is easily lost or misplaced in the jumble of models. The third reason is that, since I use super glue rather than plastic glue on my models, I can easily remove the current arm and weapon fairly fast and replace it with a different weapon if I want to reconfigure the model. Thus, I have tended to replace my magnetized arms with regular glued-on arm.

I still use magnets. One place I have found magnets useful is on my vehicles. I often use magnets to hold on turrets that I want to be able to rotate without having the turret fall off. I am also using magnets, or more precisely, rows of magnets to hold doors shut on the vehicles. Look at this Land Raider I just rebuilt. Notice that there is a row of little magnets on the front bottom ramp and corresponding magnets on the top hatch to hold the ramps together. The magnetics may be hard to see but are the little silver round things between the teeth on the top swinging hatch and between the holes for the teeth on the bottom swinging hatch. This is has been nice for gaming since the doors only open when I want them opened.


Magnetics on the Ramp of the Land Raider Crusader

When the ramp is up, the magnets hold the ramp shut.


Land Raider Crusader with Ramp Shut

I also have a large pair of magnets holding the assault cannon in position. I love these magnets on turreted weapons because it allows them to swivel without becoming detached and since it allows the turreted weapon to be removed during a game if a weapon is destroyed.

The other place I have put magnets is on the backpacks of techmarines so that I can interchange between the servo-harness and a standard backpack. Below is a prior posted model of a techmarine with a magnetized backpack. I have just finished a servo-harness for this model which I will be using in upcoming games and it is held on by a magnet. These magnets are big and powerful enough to hold the backpack firmly in to place, unlike the arm magnets.


Techmarine with Magnetized Backpack and Servo-Arm

I will take and include a picture of the refinished Techmarine with servo-harness in a later post.

My final picture is a picture that I just posted last week of a space marine sergeant on a bike. Notice the magnet just above the rear bumper on his ammo case. This is for a melta bomb. At the time the picture was taken, I had lost the melt bomb although I have since found it. Still, it illustrates that the little magnets have limited holding power and may lead to misplaced parts.


Space Marine Biker with Magnet for Melta-bomb


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/09/27 00:30:11


Post by: Oldmanronald


A few weeks ago, I put up a shelf in my hobby arm room for my Warhammer models. I was shocked at how many I had. I call it my Wall of Shame because it reminds me who much money and time I have given to building these models, trading my financial future for little pieces of plastic. I will be painting up the bottom of the shelf later although I put on a mixture of gesso and terrain grit on the top to match the bases of my models.


The Wall of Shame

It wouldn’t be so bad but I have models not showing that either damaged or waiting to be built. I suspect that I will be getting models in the future so it must be an addiction.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/10/02 23:27:17


Post by: Oldmanronald


For NOVA, I built a second Ravenwing Command Squad. The second Ravenwing Command Squad was designed to carry and protect the Standard of Devastation. Except for the Standard of Devastation, the second command squad looks remarkably like the first command squad. Still, for the purposes of completeness, I am including pictures of the second command squad.


The Second Ravenwing Command Squad

Enclosed is a close up view of the Black Knight bearing the Standard of Devastation. Actually, for purist, the standard is actually not the Standard of Devastation. I bought Asrael which I had considered as a HQ instead of Sammael. I don’t like personal standards on my independent characters so I cut off Asrael’s standard and used it as the Standard of Devastation. I don’t have the skills to free hand a banner so I needed a pattern to follow.


Ravenwing Black Knight Bearing the Sacred Standard

Unfortunately, the handle of the Corvus Handle broke and I have not yet fixed it. The base coat of the Black Knight is black while the base coat of the Sacred Standard is white which is why the colors are brighter on the Standard than on the rest of the model.


Second View of the Ravenwing Black Knight Bearing the Sacred Standard


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/10/17 01:05:56


Post by: Oldmanronald


Enclosed are some more pictures of my second Ravenwing Command Squad. They look similar to the first Ravenwing Command squad. What can we say? If you have seen one Black Knight, you have seen them all. At least I don’t have a horde army.


Black Knight


Black Knight – Another View


Black Knight – Back View

One of the oddities of the Ravenwing Command Squad is that you can take a Ravenwing Command Squad for any Dark Angels HQ choice (other than another Ravenwing Command squad) mounted on a bike. Unlike, the standard Dark Angels Command Squad, which specifically excludes the Techmarine from the HQ that enables it, the Ravenwing Command Squad makes no such exception. Thus, I can have a command squad for my two mounted techmarines as well as for my bike mounted librarian and Sammael. Of course, four command squads are rather much but this techmarine Ravenwing Command Squad is an option I am considering for allies for a Space Marine force.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/10/20 14:23:30


Post by: Oldmanronald


Another Black Knight in the Second Ravenwing Command Squad

In this Black Knight, I made two slight modifications over the other black knights. The first is that I added a melta bomb rack on the back of the bike. This is because it was the only rack bit I had left that would fit. Actually, the command squad is not authorized a melta bomb. I don’t like having a model that is not correct but I played it at NOVA with no problems since I didn’t use the melta bombs on this model. I like how it looks.


Black Knight with Melta Bomb Rack

The second modification is that I gave it a bio-mechanical arm. I used paper clip wire and a spare part for the socket elbow. This was a fun modification.


Black Knight with Bio-Mechanical Arm



Black Knight - Another View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/10/26 01:53:16


Post by: Oldmanronald


This is the second command squad apothecary. He looks like the first command squad apothecary.


Second Command Squad Apothecary with Narthecium

As I did with all my biker apothecaries, I have the hand on the Narthecium bit on the handlebar of the bike so that the Narthecium is not randomly flopping around.


Another View of the Apothecary


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/10/27 13:43:15


Post by: Oldmanronald


My second ravenwing command squad grenadier looks just like the first.


Black Knight Grenadier – first view


Black Knight Grenadier – second view


Black Knight Grenadier – third view


Black Knight Grenadier – Fourth view


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/11/01 22:56:18


Post by: Oldmanronald


I never use plastic cement or glue on my models, whether those models are pure plastic or not. I only use super or instant glue. Plastic Glue melts the plastic so that it bonds plastic pieces together forming a bond as strong as the plastic pieces themselves. It also melts the plastic pieces that you don’t want to melt leaving finger prints and destroying details. Although plastic glue forms a stronger bond than the super glue, this is not an advantage even if you can avoid fingerprints and melted details. Rarely do my models break even if I am using superglue. If they do break, I want them to break cleanly so it is easy to re-glue the model anyway. Most of all, I want to be able to break the bonds so that I can modify and rebuild my models.


Exhibit 1: Why I don’t Use Plastic Glue

Exhibit 1 shows eleven models that I have just rebuilt primarily to modify my bike army in response to the new Space Marine Codex. To rebuild these models, I tore off old arms, weapons, and heads and added replacement bits. In this picture, the replacement bits are still unpainted.

Ten of the models are bikers. One biker is a space marine commander who is being promoted from a captain to a chapter master and given the shield eternal. Four of the bikers are receiving the new gravguns. Two are biker sergeants who are getting combi-grav, two bikers are getting chainswords to replace their pistols since that is now allowed under the new Codex and chainswords look great, and one sergeant is getting a spare power maul left over from a Dark Angels spruce. Some are getting new heads to replace their helmets which now hang on the sides of their bikes. The lone infantry sergeant is getting a new combi-flamer.

Games Workshop recommends plastic glue for the plastic models and super glue for everything else. Why does it recommend plastic glue? The plastic glue forms permanent bonds that do not break for remodeling. Games Workshop does not want us to rebuild a model. Consider the 10 bike models in Exhibit 1 above. Each bike sells for $15 or three for $40. In addition, one of the rider’s is made from the space marine’s commanders set which now retails for $22.25. Thus, to duplicate these models I would have to spend over $150, not counting the bits I purchased from third parties. Although I am not one of these who hate Games Workshop for trying to make a profit, I still do not want to spend more than I have to.

I love rebuilding, however, not only for the money I save but because of the time I save. Although I enjoy building models, the building from scratch and painting does take time, and especially for the painting, can be rather tedious. Moreover, my favorite part of the building is modifying and personalizing each model. When I remodel, I work with the head, arms, and weapons of the model to give them each a new personality rather than going through the tedious assembly of the basic model, the bikes, legs, and torsos. After I rebuild a model, I only have to repaint a small portion rather than the whole thing. For example I took more time building and painting a single new Thunderfire Cannon model than I took rebuilding and repainting all of the 11 models above.

Is there any reason to use plastic glue? Am I missing something?


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/11/07 01:29:12


Post by: Oldmanronald


At NOVA I played an almost pure Ravenwing Biker. This allowed me to maximize the use of the Standard of Devastation to turn my biker bolters into relentless twin-linked salvo weapons to really increase my fire power. As a practical matter, although several times I was able to maneuver my biker army to administer a deadly salvo of bolter fire, it required me to bunch up and expose my bikers. My army lacked both the reliance to survive and the killing power I needed. Perhaps in the hands of better player, this army would have done better, but with my limited game time, I have not been able to master a pure bike army.

Thus, I am rebuilding my army to include more stationary but survivable shooting models to back up an objective grabbing more specialized bike army. My army will divide roughly into three groups, a highly maneuverable biker wing, a flyer wing, and long range stationary shooting group that I call my backfield. The mission of the backfield will be to hold objectives on my side of the board and to provide long range fire to immediately start killing enemy units.


The Backfield

The backfield consists of 1) a aegis defense line and quad-gun, 2) a rifleman dreadnaught that I found pairs nicely with the quad-gun to administer an effective Alpha strike on any exposed units, 3) a five man tactical squad with a plasma cannon as a heavy weapon, 4) two thunderfire cannons with accompanying techmarines with servo harnesses, and 5) a bike mounted master of the forge with conversion beamer. I already had all the models except the thunderfire cannons and the techmarines although I did modify the tactical squad sergeant and the master of the forge.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/11/08 01:38:11


Post by: Oldmanronald


Thunderfire Cannons are finecast models. I both love and hate finecast models. They are difficult to cut and drill, extremely brittle and likely to break especially while building them. They are covered with lead lines which are tedious to trim, and they are often warped. So there is a lot to hate about finecast models. On the other hand, finecast loves paint and paint loves finecast. Especially with dry brushing, I can pull out details on a finecast model that would blend in on plastic or metal models. I love the detail of finecast models.


Two Thunderfire Cannons with Techmarines

The models are identical except that I used another techmarine model I had for one of the two gunners so each techmarine gunner has a slightly different pose. This makes them individuals. Still, the servo harness and the guns themselves are almost a complete match.


The First Gun Right View


The First Gun Left View


The Second Gun Right View


Both Gunners Rear View

This rear view shows how beautifully the finecast details are highlighted. Finecast models love paint and paint loves finecast models.


Outpost on a Strange Planet

Oddly enough, this is one of my favorite pictures. It really looks like a lonely firebase on a distant moon.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2013/11/23 19:26:43


Post by: Oldmanronald


With the Dark Angels and the new Sternguard, Games Workshop has added a group of wonderful heads to its line. With bits from my old Space Marines and from my Blood Angels, I have enough variety of heads so that almost every model can have different looking head. Thus, almost all my bikers, except for the Dark Angels black knights have a bare head.

Painting a bare head is difficult. The eyes are especially difficult. I have done some figure and portrait painting with oils and still find it difficult. Generally, with oils, we hint at the eyes, painting and repainting until they are right. Unfortunately with small models, I can’t just keep repainting since the paint quickly gets too thick. I have a system for painting faces that I have experimented with but I must confess, it isn’t perfect and sometimes the heads turn out great and sometimes not.

I use the old Citadel paints mainly because each head takes so little paint that my paints haven’t run out so I don’t need the new paints. All my heads start with a black undercoat and are usually the last part of the model I paint. I start the face by painting the eye with astronomican grey. I choose grey because white is too bright. Even though eyes are supposed to be white, they are usually so shaded that the white is usually darkened to a grey. I am not too worried about the shape since I will use the flesh colors to shape the eye. I then, with a quill pen, dap in the iris so that the eye is facing in the direction of the weapon the model is shooting. This is the most critical step. If I place the iris right, the model will look great. If not, the model will be cross-eyed. If it is too thick, the eye is too dark. To thin and the eye is too light. I don’t know if I ever get it perfect.

Then I paint the flesh of the face, using a really fine point brush. My favorite brush now is a long handled 0 gauge Escoda Optimo Kolinsky which has a finer point that my 000 brushes which tend to flare out. I have learned that it is the quality of the brush that determines the point rather than the size. The first coat is tan flesh over the whole face and around the eyes. I often need two coats and have learned to wait for the first to dry before doing the second. Then I hit the high points with dwarf flesh on the face, the eyebrows, the cheekbones, the tip of the nose, and the tip of the ears, and the forehead or if bald the top of the head . I then put a slight highlight of elf flesh on the tip of the nose and maybe on a cheekbone or eyebrow or bare head. This mix from darker to lighter flesh gives the face a certain depth. I then finish up with a wash of ogryn flesh which actually appears like a purplish brown paint rather than flesh color but it is good wash. The dark purple collects in the creases, accenting the shadows with a slight blue shade while the highlighted areas go brownish red.

Below are my latest faces.


Blue Biker with Chainsword


Biker with Grav-Gun


Second Biker with Grav-Gun – Side View


Second Biker with Grav-Gun – Cross-eyed


Tactical Sergeant with Combi-Flamer


Third Biker with Grav-gun


Third Biker with Grav-gun – Close up


Biker Sergeant with Power Maul


White Biker with Chainsword


Fourth Biker with Grav-Gun


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2014/05/26 23:20:48


Post by: Oldmanronald


How to Make a Cable or Hose

One effective way to customize a model is to add a cable or hose. These are easy to make and easy to install on any model. Moreover, these cables are flexible and can be maneuvered in three dimensions so that they can add a special interest to the model itself. Consider this Master of the Forge with a Conversion Beamer.


Master of the Forge with Conversion Beamer

This model could have been an exhibit in recent Games Workshop vs ChapterHouse Studio lawsuit. The bike and the Master of the Forge was kit bashed from Warhammer 40K. The conversion beamer and the servo arm are from ChapterHouse Studio. We will focus, however, on the long cable from the back of the bike to the Conversion Beamer. Actually, there are two cables as seen in the next picture.


Rear View of Master of the Forge with Two Cables

This picture shows two cables linking a power source on the back of the bike to the conversion beamer. The cable itself is fairly easy to make. You will need two types of wire. The first is a short length of wire to form the core of the cable. It needs to be a length that will reach from your source to the outlet. Thus, on the Master of the Forge above, the longest wire is about 3 inches (8cm), the shortest is about 2 inches (5cm), although I actually eyeball the length rather than measure it. Moreover, I will start with a long length of wire, place one end into the source and cut to fit the gap I need. I usually make the second cut at the end after I have made and fitted the cable. I find copper wire is the best for the core wire since it is reasonably stiff while being reasonably flexible but I have used a straightened out paper clip to form the core wire.

The second wire is floral wire which is readily available in crafts stores, especially crafts stores like Michaels that cater to arts and crafts for women. It is also available on the internet. Floral wire is extremely flexible. I use 30 gauge floral wire. Remember, the higher the gauge the thinner the wire.


30 Gauge Floral Wire (Picture Suitable for framing)

Wrap the floral wire around the core as shown in the picture below; the tighter the wrapping, the better. Leave about an eighth to quarter inch (0.5cm) of the core wire exposed. This extra wire will be useful for attaching the cable to the model. Keep wrapping until the cable is the desired length. From time to time, push the curves of the floral wire tight to fill the gaps.


Floral Wire Wrapped Around a Copper Wire Core

Note in the picture I have a few gaps but the fewer the gaps the better. Pull the floral wire tight to avoid gaps. When finished, leave about an eighth to a quarter of an inch (0.5 cm) of the core wire exposed on both ends. These ends will be used to attach the cable to the model.

Servo Arm with Thunderhammer

Drill a hole in the parts that you want to attach the cable to. Insert each end of the cable into one of the holes. Remember that I told you to leave a little of the core wire exposed at each end. They should fit right into the hole. Attach with super glue. The floral wire will not unravel so don’t worry about it. Once it is painted, small gaps and imperfections should disappear.

Remember, if your army looks just like everyone else’s, you might as well play checkers.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2014/09/18 19:34:57


Post by: Oldmanronald


The basic rule for Warhammer 40K flyers, the uglier the model, the more effective it is in a game. If this is true, a Stormraven gunship must be the best aircraft in 40K because it is certainly the ugliest. Some models like the Stormtalon are ugly on the picture on the box but look much better when built. That is not true for the Stormraven. A Stormraven is all ugly all the time.


Stormraven’s Ugly Front


Stormraven’s Ugly Side


Stormraven’s Ugly Rear

I have not used my Stormraven in a game but I will in the next few weeks. I used Stormtalons at the NOVA Open GT but wished I had the multi--melta, the 4 Bloodstrike missiles, and 4 hull points of the Stormraven. I will be experimenting with the Stormraven in my next games but it is still big and ugly.


Stormraven and Stormtalon

I pretty much airbrushed this model except for the details. I like airbrushing my big models since it is so much faster and I think the camouflage paint job looks as good or better on a big model than hand brushing. I still think this model is big and ugly.


Stormraven Pilot and Servitor Turret Gunner


Close-Up of Servitor Turret Gunner


Twin-Linked Melta, twin-linked lascannon and Four Bloodstrike missiles

Did I mention that I think the model is ugly?


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/02 19:30:18


Post by: Oldmanronald


It has been over a year since I last posted anything. It isn’t that I stopped making models. In fact, I have been building and painting models the whole last year.

I have revamped the way I make models based on what I learned during a class at the NOVA Open 2014. The instructor was Caleb Wissenback. He recommended spraying on a black and white base coat with the black sprayed on the underside and the white sprayed from the top front so that the white would highlight the light areas and the black the shadowed areas. He gave me a model that he had spray painted that way.


Caleb Wissenback Model with Black and White Base Coat

The idea is that in painting, I will paint with dark colors in the shadows and light colors in the light areas. I have tried it and it really helped my painting. Below is a flag bearer where I have laid two different base coats, a black and white base coat, using an airbrush.

Notice that it doesn’t look like a white and black base coat. Instead, our eyes see a white model with shadow. This is an illusion. If you handled this model you would quickly see that the dark areas are dark because it is painted black and the light areas are light because it is painted white.


Dark Angel Command Flag Bearer

Note how the two tone base paint brings out the highlights.


Flag Bearer Close-up


Flag Bearer – Rear View

The picture below is of the flag bearer before I applied the base coat.


Unpainted Dark Angel Command Squad Flag Bearer

Notice I replaced the pole of the flag with a brass wire so it isn’t so easily broken.

I will share pictures of painted models in the next few days.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/16 16:21:23


Post by: Oldmanronald


A few days ago, I posted a new technique that I learned last year where I air brushed a black base coat in the shadowed areas and then air brushed a white base coat for the upper areas of a model. Notice how doing so creates shadows.


Black and White Base Coat on a Model

Notice that it doesn’t look like a white and black base coat. Instead, our eyes see a grey model that looks naturally lite. This is an illusion. If you handled these models you would quickly see, however, that the dark areas are dark because they are painted black and the light areas are painted white.

I then painted the model using the light and dark patterns as a guide. In the light areas, I painted the model normally. In the black areas, I added color only if I perceived that it had no white in the paint. Thus, for the camouflage, in the white areas, I used the following old GW colors: Orkshade green, kerri brown, catachen green, scorched brown, bestial brown, cammo green, thraka green wash, and gryphonne sepia wash. Actually, that is the original color scheme. Since then I have replaced most of these with the equivalent Vallejo or P3 paints. In the dark area, I used Orkshade green, scorched brown, and the washes. The dark areas have a much simpler palette than the light areas. The result was fascinating. The camouflage pattern was much more subtle and pleasant but it still appeared to cover the whole model but the model had more depth. In other words, the model looked as camouflaged as my prior models, but looked better. Moreover, they were easier to paint but more striking the in the lighted areas.


Same Model Painted

Notice that although this is the same model, I made several minor changes including the antenna and the knife.

This technique, although improved over the old models, had a minor problem in the white areas. If there is a cease or hole in the white area of the model, that area reminds white and thus is a highlight rather than a shadow. Thus, a place like the neck or the inside of the mouth, which should be in shadow, tended to be too bright. In my later models, I changed the white base to a grey base coat. That retained the pleasant three dimensional look with an easier paint job, yet did not leave undesired highlights in shadowed areas.

The drop pods in the background are painted with the grey and black base coat. The lower part of the drop pods, which look shaded, are actually darker and have fewer details that the upper part of the drop pods.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/21 18:50:32


Post by: Oldmanronald


Building a Cheap and Effective Display Board

One of the most useful and fun gimmicks for a tournament such as the NOVA Open is a custom display board for your army. Such a display board serves three functions. 1. It makes it easier to transport your army, especially from table to table in the gaming area. 2. It show cases your army. 3. When the display is custom made for your army, it makes it easier to keep track of your army pieces, a very real consideration in the fast paced environment at NOVA. The Display Board should be:

CHEAP The display board should be both quick to make and inexpensive. If the display board is customized for a specific army which specific pieces, which makes it the most useful, it will really only be used during a single tournament. With constantly changing rules and codices, as well as the local rules and point limits for each separate tournament, the composition of your army will change over time and your display board will quickly become obsolete.

PORTABLE Although the display board needs to be portable so as to be carried from table to table at the tournament, the main limit for size and shape will depend on transportation to the tournament. For some gamers, this will mean that the display board will have to fit in a suitcase. At NOVA, it is possible to take a class on building a display and to build a display during the class just before a tournament. I have done so but found that I was not able to complete my display board in the time allocated.

ATTRACTIVE and FUNCTIONAL Of course the display board should be attractive and functional

I build my display board from 1” foam insulation board such as INSULPINK® or the Blue Styrofoam® which is easily found at places like Lowes and Home Depot. One sheet is enough for one or two displays. Build the display as follows:

STEP 1: Cut out a base from the insulation board. It should be big enough to hold your army but small enough to be transported to the tournament. My display was 18” by 24”. Two methods can be used to cut the display board. Jawaballs uses an X-ACTO or other sharp knife to cut it. See http://the-jawaballs-way.myshopify.com. Others use a hot wire foam cutter. I have tried both and both work. I prefer the hot foam cutter.


Fancy Hot Foam Cutter

STEP 2: Arrange your army in an attractive formation on the base both to make sure that your army will fit and to find an arrangement of the army that you will like. There are two ways to arrange the army. The first is generally symmetrical. This will give the army the appearance of being on a parade ground and may be best for an army such as the Imperil Guard infantry which has a lot of pieces. I like the second which is more asymmetrical. I arrange my pieces to tell a simple story or a quick snapshot of the action. My simple story could be labeled, “Victor Staghorn leads his bikers out of Firebase 17.”

STEP 3: Remove the army from the base and cut out additional smaller sheets of insulation board to place on top of the base to form high places or hills. I like to cut out the smaller sheets in irregular patterns to look like rock or naturally contoured hills but the sheets could be cut out straight to simulate buildings, a leveled training area, or landing field. Place the hills on the board and army pieces on the display to make sure that there is still sufficient room for all the models. Of course, models can be placed on the hills or high places. When satisfied, glue down the smaller sheets on the base6+ with white glue such as Elmer’s Glue-All or a wood glue. Be generous with the glue. Use books or other reasonably heavy objects to hold down the high places until the glue dries. Don’t use contact cement or other glues that may cause the insulation board to melt.


Unfinished Display Board – Front View


Unfinished Display Board- Top Side View

STEP 4: Place the army back on the display board in the arrangement you desire. Take a pencil or other marker and draw an outline around the base of each model on the surface of the display board. For models that do not have bases, such as a tank or a cannon, outline the tread or tires that will touch the board. For an object such as the Aegis Defense line pieces, simply outline the silhouette of that portion of the model that touches the display board. Remove the models.


Army Arranged on the Display Board – Top View


Army Arranged on the Display Board – Front View

STEP 5: Using a grinder on a hobby rotary tool such as a Dremel® to cut out an indentation in the surface of the display board where the base of the model has been outlined. Once the indentation has been made, test it by placing the model back in the cut out hole to see if it is properly sized. This indentation will do two things. The first it will help hold the model so that it does not easily slide off the surface of the display. Second, it will form a obvious hole if the model is missing. This will make it easy to see if you are missing any models when packing up after a game. It is surprisingly easy to lose a model after an exhausting round or two of gaming, especially if you have been up too late the night before taking classes or partying.


Grinding out an Indentation

STEP 6: Paint the surface of the Display board with Gesso. I actually add a little black Gesso to white Gesso to produce gray and then I mix in a little model railroading ballast to give my surface texture. I painted the insides of the indentations black so that any missing models would be readily noticeable. The Gesso protects the surface. Note that some spray primers and paints will actually cause the insulation board to melt.

STEP 7: After the Gesso has dried, place the models and make sure that they fit the indentations. Use a knife or the rotary tool to fix any problem areas and touch up with the Gesso.

These are the basic steps to create a display board. Of course, you can further paint it and experiment with techniques to make the terrain more realistic. For example, I often double cut the edges, the first cut generally parallel to the surface of the insulation board to form the contours of the raised areas, and a second cut at about a 45% angle to the first cut to give it a second contour. At the last NOVA, I took a lighting display class and cut fissions into the display and filled them with hot glue and red LEDs to create cracked lava effects but that was an experiment on my cheap foam display board. Cheap displays boards lend themselves to such fun experiments, experiments that you may be reluctant to perform on expensive models or more intricate terrain features.


Display Board – Nova Open 2014


Display Board with LED lighting – Nova Open 2014


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/21 19:04:25


Post by: Spacewolverine


Super cool!! Thanks for sharing. That LED board looks great.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/22 20:07:15


Post by: Oldmanronald


Melta Assault Squad

Thanks for the kind remark, Spacewolverine.

As mentioned in a prior post, I am experimenting with a two colored base coat. I tried a black and white base coat but the white base coat was a problem since the exposed white in hard to reach ceases would create a highlight where a shadow should be. Thus, I am now using an black base coat which I spray up on the model for shadow, and a gray base coat that I spray from the top front to create a lighted area. If I miss a indented area on the lighted area, such as the inside of the mouth or the neck, these parts are neutral gray rather than highlighted white and thus the shading is better. Below is an melta assault squad for a blood angels successor unit.


Melta Assault Squad Gunners

The Gunslinger sergeant has two inferno pistols. His head is one from the Bretonnian knights errant. I love these particular heads and will often order them from bit supplier.
.

Melta Assault Squad Gunners – Close-up.

The two melta gunners are painted with only a black undercoat, while the gunslinger sergeant is painted with the black and gray undercoat. Can you tell the difference? Actually, it is pretty subtle in the pictures. Still, there is a crispness to the gunslinger sergeant that the other two models lack.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/23 15:50:23


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Gunslinger


Gunslinger with Two Inferno Pistols

This model is one of my favorites. The blood drop on the left (our right) broke off and I had to mold it out of green stuff. I glued in a thin wire into the pistol and used green stuff to broaden it out. These blood drops are so breakable.


Gunslinger with Two Inferno Pistols

The trophy heads on the drop pods are bits I bought from eBay. I tend to order spare bits of heads when I need to order any Warhammer bits so I have a collection of fun heads.


Gunslinger with Two Inferno Pistols – Side View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/25 13:51:18


Post by: Oldmanronald


Watch and pray, for even the very elect have fallen - The Ravenwing Darkshoud


Ravenwing Darkshroud

Note the sword in the hand of the robed icon on the top of the altar. If you have the latest Dark Angels Codex, look at the Ravenwing Darkshroud entry on page 127. The sword is broken!!!! Are the artists who put together the photographs in the Codex aware of that flaw? I suspect so. There is the only one picture of the Darkshroud in the Codex although its inferior twin, the Land Speeder Vengeance, is shown 6 times. Yes, even the very elect, the artists and sculptures of Games Workshop, have fallen.


The Altar of the Ravenwing Darkshroud

The blade of the original plastic sword is extremely thin and brittle, easily broken. Mine broke almost immediately and I replaced it with a blade that I pounded and filed out of a brass wire. There are a couple of other techniques I used in painting this model. The model has a black and gray base coat with the black in the shadows and the gray on the well-lighted areas to give the model depth. Most of the gold trim is actually covered with a liquid gold acrylic over a gold painted base. The icon and other highlights are washed with fluorescent paints to make them pop.


Rear of the Ravenwing Darkshroud

The rear view and the side view show the shadowed regions of the model that were base coated in black and then painted with a limited palette. Even with the limited palette, these dark regions give the impression of color and even the camouflage patterns in the dark areas seem complex although they are painted with fewer colors and thus lack the color variation of the brighter areas.


Side of the Ravenwing Darkshroud

As shown by the side views, it is difficult to determine whether the shadows are natural or painted. They are both. In the rear view, the back shadow is painted, although there is a little natural shadow.


The Ravenwing Darkshroud

This was a fun model to paint.

And remember, watch and pray, for even the very elect have fallen.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/26 15:00:31


Post by: Oldmanronald


These two space marines are just good solid models, not my favorites but they do the job. The new technique I used on both was to base coat both with a black in the lower shadows and a gray in the lighted areas to give the models depth.


Two Grav-Cannon Gunners

I also used a fluorescent paint on the green lenses and on the red eye glass lenses which really gives them a shine.


Two Grav-Cannon Gunners – Front View

Note the shoulder pads. Fallouthobbies custom made the decal which I used. I will write more about this in the next few entries.


Single Grav-Cannon Gunner

I used a pigment on the Ork head.


Single Grav-Cannon Gunner

I put a little fluorescent magenta on the upper part of the decal and slightly shaded the lower part with a black wash.


Single Grav-Cannon Gunner with Shoulder Decal.


Single Grav-Cannon Gunner - Front View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/27 12:12:56


Post by: Oldmanronald


Melta Gunners
These melta gunners are remounted jump marines that originally had jump packs.

First Melta Gunner

Second Melta Gunner


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/28 12:58:24


Post by: Oldmanronald


Dark Angel Command Squad Apothecary


Dark Angel Command Squad Apothecary


Apothecary with Narthecium


Apothecary – Rear View

This Apothecary painted up really nice.


The Apothecary - Front View

I used a touch of fluorescent green paint on the green lenses and fluorescent yellow on the lens of the spotlight. On the spotlight, I washed the yellow over a base of gray and white.


The Apothecary - Side View

Raffa Picca of Massive Voodoo taught a class at NovaOpen 2015 on painting faces. One technique he suggested was tinting the face with three colors, the upper face, the forehead and scalp if bald, with yellow, the middle face around the eyes, ears, and nose, with red, and the lower face, the beard, with blue. I actually used fluorescent paints which are fairly thin and act more like a wash on the face. On this model, this technique was fairly effective. Of course, this is a really nice model and one of my favorites.


The Dark Angel Apothecary Close Up

The yellow highlights his scalp. The reds seem to bring out his nose, cheeks, and ears. The blue suggests a five o’clock shadow of his beard.


The Apothecary – Rear View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/29 22:59:55


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Sanguinary Priest with The Angel’s Wing


The Sanguinary Priest with The Angel’s Wing

In this model, all the techniques and tricks work, all but the last one. The wings, goblet, and necklaces are trimmed with liquid gold. The jewels and lenses are high-lighted with fluorescent colors. I had to pin on the wings and the jump pack and then pin and mount the spot lights to the top of the jump pack. I used pigment on the Ork head. I used a wet palette and I shaded with black and gray undercoats. I even added my new custom made decal to the shoulder pad.


The Sanguinary Priest with The Angel’s Wing – Side View

I even shaded the decal and highlighted in the light the cherry blossoms with a magenta fluorescent paint.


The Sanguinary Priest with The Angel’s Wing with Blood Chalice

The only thing that didn’t really work was the use of a yellow, red, and blue fluorescent wash to highlight the face. At least in the close-up view, the face looks like he has an skin infection. It may be the light as close-ups sometimes distort the image but I will probably redo the face. Actually, I may tame the red down just a little but redden up the nose.


The Sanguinary Priest with The Angel’s Wing


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/10/30 18:26:31


Post by: Oldmanronald


Blood Angel Successor Space Marines


Blood Angel Successor Sergeant


Blood Angel Successor Sergeant

I put an antenna on my sergeants so I know that this is a sergeant. Notice the camouflage pattern and the mottled face. He is a model that was painted in the old completely black base coat. Compare this image to a model below painted with a black and gray base coat. Also notice the camouflage pattern and the face as well as the other details. Of course, part of it is that I am now using a wet pallet which gives me a little more control over the paints.


Blood Angel Successor Space Marine


Space Marine Close-Up


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/02 13:35:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Nephilim Jetfighter


The Nephilim Jetfigher with Twin-Lined Lascannon

This is one of the best looking flyers that Games Workshop makes. So in keeping with the rule for flyers, that the uglier they are, the better they play, this is a mediocre flyer for gaming. For 25 points more, one can play a Stormraven Gunship with 12 rather than 11 strength armor plus a twin-linked multi-melta plus ceramite plating and transport capacity. Still, this jetfighter has Ravenwing which means that it comes in with the Ravenwing strike force and may be useful to deal with those flyers that can threaten the Ravenwing bikers.


The Nephilim Jetfighter with Six Blacksword Missiles

The tips of the missiles have a little dap of fluorescent magenta.


The Nephilim Jetfigher with Twin-Lined Lascannon

The wings have the new decal that I custom ordered from Fallout Hobbies at www.fallouthobbies.com. I did touch the cherry blossoms with the fluorescent magenta to bring them out.


The Nephilim Jetfighter supporting Ground Troops

The camouflage paint gives it a different look than the traditional black and white color scheme associated with Ravenwing.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/03 19:39:13


Post by: Oldmanronald


Heavy Flamer – Part 1


Heavy Flamer

The helmet is a bit from a Warhammer Fantasy Bretonnian knight. This is another of my favorite models.


Burn Baby Burn



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/04 17:02:19


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Heavy Flamer – Part 2
This is the same heavy flamer posted a day ago. I am adding him again because these pictures show a few details I added. I want to look at them side by side to see if they make any difference.


Heavy Flamer with Decal

I added a custom made decal to the right shoulder. I also added a little fluorescence paint to the reds, the tanks on his back and the shield on his helmet.


Heavy Flamer – Back View

Finally, I added a touch of liquid gold to his dragon crest and his other bling.


Heavy Flamer – Front View

I added pigment to the end of his flamer, black pigment to the shadow and white pigment to the light areas.


Heavy Flamer – Nozzle View

This is the last view you would have before you died in agony and pain. I added a little white pigment to the skull next to his feet



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/04 18:37:51


Post by: evildrcheese


Very cool. I really like how those Bret heads work on the marine body.

EDC


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/05 23:52:59


Post by: Oldmanronald


A Nut Case

Thank you for your compliment, Evildrcheese or EDC as you sign yourself. I like these Bret helmets too and they seem just right for space marines although I had to carve out the lower part to get them on space marine bodies. Still, they are fun. I noticed that the heads on the pictures of your models in your gallery have different non-space marine helmets. Where did you get them?


A Nut Case – Typical Space Marine

Some space marines are just nut cases. This is one. Although the bling for his uniform is derived from a blood angel successor unit, the head is a dark angel bit. Regardless, he looks like a nut case who you would want at your side when you find yourself drop podded into the middle of an Ork infestation.


Brother Nut Case


Nut Case – Side View


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/09 21:39:16


Post by: Oldmanronald


Building Drop Pods


Three Drop Pods

These are three drop pods to support an drop pod assault army. The door are magnetized so that they can shut and open. What I discovered when I built the first drop pod was the door did not fit quite right so I had to carve out the hinges and holes to make the doors flexible enough to fit closely so that I could then add magnets to the door and the rim of the door to hold the doors into place.

In building the second pod, I discovered that if I carved out and enlarged the holes that supported the hinge pin at the bottom of the door, that I could create a drop pod with enough flex in the position of the door so that the drop pod doors would fully seat on the drop pod door hinge.

Carving Out the Hinge Hole before assembling the base


Exact-o Knife pointing to Cut Hole


Exact-o Knife Blade pointing to Cut Hole


Drop Pod door on Base with cut out hinge hole


Close-Up of Hinge on Finished Drop Pod with Door’s Up

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures with the doors down. Too bad because it would have shown the magnets. Maybe I will get some more pictures this weekend.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/09 22:43:17


Post by: Spacewolverine


 Oldmanronald wrote:


Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures with the doors down. Too bad because it would have shown the magnets. Maybe I will get some more pictures this weekend.


I was about to just ask this same question. That is a really good idea, one that I have never thought about.

I'm really on the fence about the usage of the bret helmets but how can you argue a serpent on top, looks very unique and awesome. They do look like they are part of the model though.

I really like your greens on the Grav Cannons! Gives me ideas.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/12 17:29:49


Post by: Oldmanronald


Green Stuff Mantel

Enjoyed your comments, Spacewolverine. The Bret heads are fun but they do take a little bit of carving to get it to fit the space marine torso. Still, with a touch of green stuff and a little pinning, they look natural.

Speaking of green stuff, I stripped and am rebuilding Sammael. I never did like the Adamantine Mantle cloak that is part of the official kit so I had tried to cut it up and attach it with green stuff but it never looked right. In this last rebuilding, I stumbled over a method of making a green stuff cape that is fairly easy. I plan to make a tutorial on how to make it but I want to take pictures of the steps to do it while I build a cape for another model.


Left Side View of Rebuilt Sammael showing the Green Stuff Mantel

The mantel is completely made of green stuff.


Right View of Rebuilt Sammael showing Green Stuff Mantel


Rear View of Rebuilt Sammael showing Green Stuff Mantel


Top View of Rebuilt Sammael showing Green Stuff Mantel



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/13 15:13:28


Post by: Oldmanronald


Astorath the Well-Adjusted

Jump Marines look great. I have been building a formation centered around a blood angels death company squad of jump marines led by Astorath the Grim. The Games Workshop model for Astorath the Grim is pretty ugly, even for a model labeled “the Grim.” Below is a scratch built replacement for him.


Pseudo-Astorath the Grim

I must admit, however, that although I really like this model, he isn’t really grim. In fact, he looks a little too warm and friendly for someone leading a death company squad doomed by the black rage.


Astorath the Well-Adjusted

Whether this model looks too well-adjusted to be a replacement for Astorath the Grim may be mute. I have misplaced this model so I might have to break down and build the Games Workshop model after all. With normal colored flesh, this Games Workshop model might actually look decent, grim but not so ugly. We shall see.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/16 20:21:01


Post by: Oldmanronald


Death Company Squad Jump Marines – The Old Man

Since Jump Marines look great, I have been building a formation centered around a blood angels death company squad of jump marines. One of my favorites is the old man.

The Old Man

Although these are death company squad members, I still use my basic camouflage pattern both to keep the theme of my army and because black is a difficult color to paint.


Close Up of the Old man.

The Old Man looks grumpy rather than affected with the black rage but he still one of my favorite jump marines.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/18 12:59:10


Post by: Oldmanronald


Another Jump Marine

Since Jump Marines look great, I have been building a formation centered on a blood angels death company squad of jump marines. Here is one


Jump Marine


Close Up of the Jump Marine

He looks a little crazier than the old man. Of course, you don’t have to look weird to have the black rage. You only have to act weird.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/18 23:26:17


Post by: Spacewolverine


Facial hair looks very realistic. I bet those Jump Packs are very fragile being in the air like that. Always hated the clear plastic as they break to easy. Excited to see them all done!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/19 11:58:26


Post by: evildrcheese


Looking good.

In answer to the question about the alt heads I use, I've used a number of different FW heads, mostly different marks of armour and different heads from the legion specific termie models, but I suspect the ones tour referring to are FW Elysian heads which I've used on my scouts. I found the GW scout kit heads too weird looking to use and I like all models other than DC and librarians to have a helmet .

EDC


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/19 23:03:40


Post by: Oldmanronald


 Spacewolverine wrote:
Facial hair looks very realistic. I bet those Jump Packs are very fragile being in the air like that. Always hated the clear plastic as they break to easy. Excited to see them all done!


Unfortunately you are right about the plastic stems. I already have broken several. I may replace them with piano wire, not as attractive but unbreakable, at least in comparison to the rest of the model. I also weighted down the bases with a washer.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 evildrcheese wrote:
Looking good.

In answer to the question about the alt heads I use, I've used a number of different FW heads, mostly different marks of armour and different heads from the legion specific termie models, but I suspect the ones tour referring to are FW Elysian heads which I've used on my scouts. I found the GW scout kit heads too weird looking to use and I like all models other than DC and librarians to have a helmet .

EDC


I like the helmets you are using. I started out by having almost all my models with helmets because well-disciplined troops, especially in non-earth environments will be wearing helmets. But the models are more interesting with faces. As humans, we love faces and love looking at faces. Also, faces are fun and challenging to paint. I now have bare head on most of my models with a helmet in easy reach, either hanging on their belt if they are infantry models or on the back of the motorcycle if a biker.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Jump Marine with Power Fist

Since Jump Marines look great, I have been building a formation centered around a blood angels death company squad of jump marines. Here is one with a Power Fist.


Jump Marine with Power Fist

I don’t know where this Power Fist is from but it is one of my favorite Power Fists. This Power Fist looks perfect for ripping rip out the entrails of some monstrous creature, sort of like gutting a fish, only better.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/20 21:02:09


Post by: Oldmanronald


Jump Marine

Since Jump Marines look great, I have been building a formation centered on a blood angels death company squad of jump marines.


Jump Marine


Jump Marine


Close Up Jump Marine



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/23 13:12:33


Post by: Oldmanronald


Black Rage

Since Jump Marines look great, I have been building a formation centered around a blood angels death company squad of jump marines.


Jump Marine showing the Black Rage

He looks a little more deranged than the others.


Jump Pack Marine



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/24 12:56:50


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Mohawk

Since Jump Marines look great, I have been building a formation centered on a blood angels death company squad of jump marines.


Jump Marine with Mohawk



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/25 16:23:17


Post by: Oldmanronald


Jump Pack Marine

Since Jump Marines look great, I have been building a formation centered on a blood angels death company squad of jump marines.


Jump Pack Marine

I think each soldier should have a slightly different personality.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/27 14:16:44


Post by: Oldmanronald


Bad Hair Day – Jump Pack Marine

Since Jump Marines look great, I have been building a formation centered on a blood angels death company squad of jump marines. The head below is an elf head or something I picked up when I ordered some bits off the internet.


Jump Pack Marine having a Bad Hair Day.

No wonder he is suffering from the back rage. He just can’t get his hair under control.

The clear plastic stem that used to hold them up may be too breakable for game play. I have several that have already broken.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/11/30 14:01:13


Post by: Oldmanronald


How to Make a Cape Out of Green Stuff

Modelers fall into three groups. 1) Those that never use green stuff. This group pretty much builds the model as it come out of the box. They may do a little customizing but without some type of sculpting media such as green stuff, they are really limited in customizing the model. 2) Those who are true artists with green stuff. They build intricate parts with green stuff and are true masters at sculpting miniature figures. They often display their work on sites such as this and I am impressed. I know how difficult it is as I have attempted such sculpture but I find that I cannot perform the delicate manipulation that is needed. The third group, of which I am a member, consists of those who use green stuff as filler. Typically, I use green stuff between a limb and the torso, smoothing it as good as I can but covering it up with shoulder pads and other bits so that the green stuff patch disappears into the shadows.

Nevertheless, with the right technique, making a cape out of green stuff is ridiculously easy, well within the skill of any modeler. I will demonstrate with two models that I am rebuilding: Victor Staghorn, the senior sergeant and second in command of the 6th Biker troop (although I equip and play him as an iron hands chapter master with the shield eternal and a thunderhammer; and Jambalaya "Dry" Bones, the chaplain assigned to the 6th Biker troop although I am tempted to play him as a librarian in an concave. Both are fun models and each really needs a cape. Although I had already built and painted these models, I decided to rebuild them. I soaked them about a week in a degreaser, Purple Power, to remove the paint. It will also weaken some of the glue and weakened and dissolved the green stuff but that allowed me to make some changes in both models.

Tools: Assembled Model, Green Stuff, Plastic sandwich bag (sheet of thin polyethylene plastic resin), rolling pin, and scissors.

Step 1: Assemble the model. The model should be substantially assembled before making the cape. The model needs to be fairly complete because the cape will flow around the model. Here the models are finished except for their backpacks and some minor bits.


Victor Staghorn

Step 2: Obtain a sheet of polyethylene plastic resin which is a fancy way of saying, find a clear plastic sandwich bag. I have a pile of sandwich bags that I store bits in and from my lunch bags. You need enough plastic to cover both sides of the cape but the smallest sandwich bag is plenty big. I cut up the bag but kept intact a seam so that I could lay the plastic over the green stuff.


Cutting Sandwich Bags

Step 3: Make the green stuff. Green stuff is regularly available on line and at hobby shops. Just search green stuff. Green stuff includes yellow 'filler' and blue 'hardener.’ Use one part blue stuff to one part yellow stuff; mix until green. Avoid leaving yellow or blue lumps. Don’t make up too much. Make up more later if needed.


Lumps of Yellow Filler and Blue Hardener


Lump of Green Stuff

Step 4: Flatten the green stuff over the surface of the clear plastic so that it roughly is in the shape of the flattened cape. Don’t worry much about getting the edges smooth. The edges will be trimmed in a later step. I find it best to use small dots of green stuff and smug them out. Then add another dot and smug them out until they mix together. The goal is to have a thin sheet of green stuff over the plastic sheet. Avoid holes or wrinkles as much as possible. Make the size of the area covered slightly bigger than the cape will be at the end.


Green Stuff Flattened the Clear Plastic

Step 5: Cover the exposed side of the green stuff with a second piece of plastic. I just fold the plastic bag over the green stuff. So now you have a green stuff sandwich with clear plastic as the bread and the green stuff like peanut butter spread in between.


Green Stuff between Two Sheets of Plastic like a Sandwich

Step 6: Take a rolling pin and flatten out the green stuff sandwich. This is primarily to even out the green stuff rather than make it thinner. Green stuff is too stiff to really thin out even with the pressure from the rolling pin.


Rolling Pin over the Green Stuff Sandwich

Step 7: With scissors, cut out the cape. This is almost as easy as cutting a piece of paper or fabric. Do not remove the clear plastic until the last step.


Cutting out the Cape


The Cape – Green Stuff between two sheets of plastic

Step 8: Mold the green stuff sandwich cape over the model in a pleasing shape. Have it swirl around any obstacles such as antennas and fenders. Put in some dramatic folds. With the plastic covering, the green stuff is easy and fun to handle. If it needs additional trimming with the scissors, do so now.


Green Stuff Cape over Victor Staghorn


Molding Green Stuff Cape over Jambalaya Bones


Green Stuff Cape over Jambalaya Bones

Step 9: Leave the model alone for 24 hours to let the green stuff cure. I am not sure how fast it cures but I usually let it cure for a day.

Step 10: Gently Remove the Cured Cape from the Model and Peel the Away the Clear Plastic Sheet.


Removing the Plastic Covering

Step 11: Replace and Glue back the Green Stuff Cape and any remaining bits. Here I put on the backpacks and some braids. Where did the braids come from? I guess I need to make another tutorial on making braids. Making braids is much easier than making capes but that is a tutorial for another day.


Top View of Victor Staghorn


Left View of Cape on Victor Staghorn



Right View of Cape on Victor Staghorn


Cape Glued on Jambalaya Bones.

Here I finished up the top part of the cape with some additional green stuff


Top View of Jambalaya Bones

This picture has a long piece of lint. I easily removed it but it is in the picture.

Step 12: Finish and Paint the Model

I will include some pictures when I finish painting the models.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/12/01 13:19:00


Post by: Oldmanronald


Making a Braid From Floral Wire

I did a tutorial on making a cape. Now I am going to add a length of braid on the cape. The cape was fairly easy to make. The braid is even easier. The braid is made from 30 gauge floral wire, usually available in arts and crafts stores like Michaels. Floral wire is extremely flexible. I already have posted about creating hoses and cables with floral wire.



30 Gauge Floral Wire

Step 1: Cut three strands of floral wire and hold them side by side with each other.


Three Strands of Wire

Step 2: Tie an overhand knot on one ends of the wires. Pull each strand to tighten the knot. If the knot is real tight, it may be part of the braid. If loose, it a least forms a handle for gripping one end of the wires while twisting. Oddly enough, without the knot, it is difficult to twist the wire.


Knot in Wires

Step 3: Hold the knot and start twisting the three strands of wire together. Keep twisting. The more twists, the tighter the braid and the tighter the braid, the better it looks.


Twisted Wire

Step 4: After finishing the desire twisting, cut and glue the braid to the model. Shape as needed.


Braid on Victor Staghorn’s Cape

The braid is the silver colored wire over his cape.


Braid on Front and on Cape of Victor Staghorn


Braid on Jambalaya Bones

This picture shows a sting of lint over his face. I easily removed it but this is still the best picture of the braid.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/12/26 15:11:38


Post by: Oldmanronald


The 1000th Picture in the Dakka Dakka Gallery

I just posted my last batch of pictures in the Dakka Dakka Gallery and this batch broke the 1000 mark. I have now posted over 1000 pictures in the Gallery. What does this mean? Probably nothing except that I spend too much time taking and posting pictures of my models. I am not richer, or famous, or better looking. I rarely play Warhammer 40K so I am at best a mediocre player. I guess I can list this accomplishment in my obituary.

Below is the 1000th picture that I have posted in the Dakka Dakka Gallery.


Mortis Contemptor Dreadnought with Twin-Linked LasCannons




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/12/28 15:07:50


Post by: Oldmanronald


Biker Chaplain


Jambalaya “Dry” Bones

Jambalaya “Dry” Bones is the chaplain assigned to the 6th Biker troop. He was originally a Dark Angel Chaplain who found himself reassigned after an unfortunate sermon where he said “yesterday is but a memory; let it go, for today is the day to perform our duties.” For those whose spiritual sensitivity is dull, such a statement may seem to be a mere pious homily, a harmless exhortation to perform the task at hand. But alas, for those who label themselves as the unforgiven, who still brood over the unspeakable acts of processors during a dark and ancient millennium, such talk smacked of blasphemy or at least a woeful ignorance of the theological understanding expected of one who had taken upon himself the covenants and obligations of a Dark Angel chaplain.


Biker Chaplain

When confronted by the Interrogator-Chaplain, Jambalaya quickly confessed his error. When given the choice between 1) entering an extensive period of penitence and confession (e.g., torture and interrogation) necessary to reeducate himself in the pure theology of Dark Angels or 2) of using his admittedly meager pastoral talents to minister to an unruly congregation of those less enlightened souls of the 157th security detachment, Jambalaya reluctantly choose to the leave the Dark Angels forever.


Left View of Biker Chaplain Jambalaya “Dry” Bones


Right View of Biker Chaplain Jambalaya “Dry” Bones

Even then, misfortune seemed to mark his sermons. Legend has it that Jambalaya’s maudlin sermon on the “dying servitor” was the origin of that bitter nickname that the members of the unnamed chapter apply to themselves, namely, the Servitors. Still, in spite (or perhaps because) of his mangled theology, Jambalaya inspires the troopers of the 6th Bike troop who are zealous in their attack when Jambalaya is with them. Even for the most pious of these troopers, true religion is this, steadiness in the gun-line, aggressiveness in the attack, fearlessness in the defense. Orthodoxy is a chainsword; worship is a boltgun; redemption a flamethrower. In these doctrines, Jambalaya’s theology is excellent.


Rear View of the Biker Chaplain



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/12/29 15:45:01


Post by: Oldmanronald


First Biker Librarian



First Biker Librarian

This is the first librarian for a Space Marine Librarius Conclave composed of three biker librarians. This model is the first that was finished. I already have a second librarian that I had built in the past but I just stripped him and need to rebuild and paint him. I plan to have three distinctive models.


Lower Rear View of Librarian Showing Robes and Tread Marks

The model has the robed legs for the Dark Angels biker sergeant with the top being the latest space marine librarian, the one with the ugly little cherub on his shoulder. I cut off the top and didn’t use the cherub but put it away for some other project where I could use an ugly little cherub, maybe as battle debris. Since I couldn’t use the librarian legs, I did cut off the horned skull on it and use it as a clasp for the braid on Victor Staghorn, the next model I will be posting.


Side View Showing Robes and Dark Lower Section and Bright Top

This librarian is one of the first biker models I have painted using a new painting technique. I started with a base paint of black sprayed on the lower parts of the model and on the undersides with a gray base sprayed from the front and top to give the model shadows. Then I sprayed a quick white base coat directly at the face to highlight the face. Then I used dark dull paints in the black shadowed areas and increasingly bright colorful paints in the gray and white areas with Vallejo liquid gold and Vallejo fluorescent paints for the highlights. I tried to get the face as bright as possible while keeping it realist.


Back of the Librarian Showing the Dull Underside and Tread Marks

Note how dark and dull the back and lower parts of the bike are. Notice how bright the upper part of the model is. This is designed to have the view focus on the face and give depth to the model.


Close Up of the Biker Librarian’s Face

He turned out okay with only one problem. I built the bike and body and then mounted him so that the bike is coming down on the front wheel. This places the librarian’s face looking down rather than out towards the front. For my next librarian, I will experiment with mounting the biker on the bike so that his body is leaning back so that when he is mounted on the base, his face is looking forward.


Upper View Showing Keys and Staff

The keys were part of the original model’s lower legs that I had to cut off. I cut out the keys and put them on the bike.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/12/30 22:06:19


Post by: Oldmanronald


Terminator with Assault Cannon


Terminator with Assault Cannon and Power Fist

I stripped a couple of terminators and repainted them. Mostly it is an experiment since I don’t really have a need for terminators in my present army list. Still, it was fun to paint them up in the new style.


Terminator with Assault Cannon – Side View


Terminator with Power Fist and Assault Cannon – Other Side


Terminator with Assault Cannon – Back View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2015/12/31 16:48:11


Post by: Oldmanronald


Fun with Decals
Before the last Nova Open, I never used decals on my 40K models. I thought they would look too artificial or too generic. But I was having trouble painting an acceptable shoulder insignia for my army and decided to order some custom stickers from Fallout Hobbies www.FalloutHobbies.com. I drew up a sketch with cherry blossoms over a skull and send them the sketch. They send back a finished drawing and I ordered several sheets. I also went on the internet and learned how to set decals.


Custom Decal Sheet from Fallout Hobbies

A problem with decals is that decals are flat and shoulder pads are round. This is a problem that is solved with modern chemistry. The products needed are Micro Set and Micro Sol.


Micro Set


Micro Sol

Make sure the model is substantially painted, at least the part that will have the decal.


Painted Terminator with Naked Shoulder Pad

Step 1: Cut out the decal. The less excess around the sides of the decal, the better although don’t get too concerned about a little excess. For example, with the skull with blossoms, cut as close to the skull and the jawline as possible but don’t worry about a little edge around the blossoms at the side.


Close Up of the Decal


The Trimmed Decal

Step 2: Soak the decal in water. Don’t use too much water, just enough to cover the decal. I put my water on a small plate to form a little puddle. It is enough water although sometimes I have to sink the decal since the surface tension will hold the decal up so that it doesn’t get thoroughly soaked. Soak the decal until it slides off the paper backing.


Soaking Decal

Step 3: With an old modeling paint brush, dap Micro Set on the shoulder pad where the decal will go.


Dapping on the Micro Set

Step 4: Remove the paper backing from the decal and place it on the wetted shoulder pad. I use a toothpick or two to pick up the decal rather than directly with my fingers. If the decal folds over on itself, place the decal back into the water until it naturally unfolds.


Placing the Decal on the Shoulder Pad

Step 5: Center the decal on the shoulder pad. Use the tooth pick and the brush that you added the Micro set with. Make sure the bottom of the decal is flatten out but don’t worry so much about the top which will not really be flush with the shoulder pad. Expect a few wrinkles. They will straighten out later.


Decal with Wrinkles on the Upper Edge

Step 6: Dap on the Micro Sol. This will really soften the decal so, as it dries, surface tensions will pull the decal towards the shoulder pad, removing the wrinkles on the upper portion so that the decal is now fitted to the should pad.


Dapping the Decal with Micro Sol

Step 7: Let the decal dry.

The Drying Decal

Step 8: If the decal is not flush when it is dried, dap on some more Micro Set and then some Micro Sol and let it dry again.

Now comes the fun part. Use washes to shade portions of the decal. I use a brownish (Seraphim Sepia) wash or a black wash (nuln oil). This allows control over the intensity of the decal. This is especially useful for light intense or white decals in shaded areas. When done properly, the decals really look like they are part of the model.

For even more contract, use a fluorescent paint to highlight portions of the decals. In the sunny areas, I have highlighted the blossoms with magenta fluorescent paint. Notice how natural the highlights and the shades look in the photographs.


Shoulder Pad with Decal on a Biker Librarian

The lower portion of the decal is shaded and portions of the upper blossoms on the decal are highlighted in fluorescent magenta on this biker librarian to give depth to the decal.


Shoulder Pad with Decal on Sanguinary Priest

These shoulder pads on the Sanguinary Priest above and the Heavy Flamer below show the shaded portion on the right with the blossoms highlighted on the upper left.


Shoulder Pad with Decal on the Heavy Flamer


The Mechanic Skull Decal on the Rifleman Dreadnought

A heavy wash toned down the white of the Mechanic Skull Decal so it is more brownish yellow.

Two very subtle decals are used on the two models below. The first is the banner on the shoulder pad on the Biker Chaplain.


Decal on Banner on Shoulder Pad on Biker Chaplain


Mechanic Decal and Writing on Shoulder Pad on Biker Techmarine with Conversion Beamer

There are actually two decals on his shoulder. The first is the mechanic patch which is black and white but has been so shaded that the white is dulled out. The second is the writing on the banner. Both have been shaded to blend them into the model. To see the decals in detail, click on the picture to go to the picture in the gallery. Use the size bar on to enlarge the picture..


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/01/04 21:10:51


Post by: Oldmanronald


Terminator with Thunderhammer and Shield

I stripped some terminators and repainted them.


Assault Terminator with Thunderhammer and Shield


Terminator – Thunderhammer Side


Terminator – Shield Side


Terminator – Rear View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/01/07 16:25:18


Post by: Oldmanronald


Victor Staghorn
This may be one of my most rebuilt models. He started out as a experimental Biker Sergeant. I added the antler helmet from a Bretonnian Knight. With the axe, this became one of my favorite models.


Sergeant Victor Staghorn

I then rebuilt him as a biker captain.

Captain Victor Staghorn

I then remade him to add a thunderhammer and power claws.


Captain Victor Staghorn with Thunderhammer and Power Claws

With each of the above rebuilding, he remained one of my favorite models. So I rebuilt him one more to be a chapter master with the Shield Eternal.


Chapter Master Victor Staghorn with Shield Eternal

I should have stopped there but I decided to rebuild him one more but this time I stripped him down and changed his arms. I didn’t like the result so I kept the antlers and but cut out the front of the helmet and added a face. I also brightened up the shield eternal but it was too bright so I dulled it by placing blast impact marks on it. I still don’t like this as well as the earlier versions of the model. I am stuck on why this version is not as satisfying as the earlier models. I like all the individual parts better, the face, the shield, the braid, even the hammer but the model as a whole is lacking. Something is wrong.


Chapter Master Victor Staghorn with Glowing Shield Eternal with Impact Scars

The problem may be the angle of his body. Notice that I put him on a slant but this puts the face leaning forward rather than upright and heroic.


Side View of Chapter Master Victor Staghorn

Since I took this last picture I cut off his body and remounted it so it is taller and more upright. I will post the results after I finish repainting the rebuilt parts.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/01/14 18:26:23


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Ravenwing Champion

The Ravenwing Champion is a strange character. He is measly 5 point upgrade from a standard Black Knight with a 1 point addition for WS. Instead of a Corvus hammer, he carries the Blade of Caliban which is a Power Sword with a plus 1 strength and the standard AP3 so it is a good SME killing tool. In the prior Dark Angels codex, however, the blade was unwieldy. This seemed like an insult. In the entire 40K universe, the Blade of Caliban was the only sword made that was as clumsy as a Power axe. Because of this, I couldn’t bring myself to field a Ravenwing Champion.

In the newest Dark Angels codex, the Blade of Caliban has been refined so that it is no longer unwieldy. So I took one of my Dark Angels and updated him to be a Ravenwing Champion.


Ravenwing Champion Wielding the Blade of Caliban

This is the fluff. In the great furnaces of Caliban, a young but promising techmarine tooled the Blade of Caliban creating one of the most beautiful and deadly power swords in the known Universe. When he showed it to his master, his master praised its beauty and power. But when the master tested the sword, he found that it was unbalanced and clumsy. The young techmarine was distraught and wanted to destroy the sword but the master forbade it because of its power and beauty.

Instead, the Master presented it to the Ravenwing champion who the master knew to be both arrogant and stupid. He told the champion that only the most pure and righteous of the Dark Angels could wield the sword. The Champion took it refusing to admit that it was clumsy in his hands. In battle the sword was slow and the Champion took a several hits but even then refused to admit that he could not handle the weapon properly.

After watching the champion in battle, both the young techmarine and his master were filled with remorse over the trick they had played on the champion. They secretly took the blade back to the furnaces and reworked it and added spells so that when the new codex came out, the blade was no longer unwieldy. They secretly returned it to the Champion who then bragged about how he had mastered the sword due to his pure and righteous nature.


The Blade of Caliban Wielded by the Pure and Righteous Ravenwing Champion

The sword is big.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/07 16:16:10


Post by: Oldmanronald


Victor Staghorn – Another Try

In an earlier post, I stated I had rebuild Staghorn by cutting off his body and remounted it in a more upright position. Actually, I did a lot more, including remounting his shield, repositioning the thunderhammer, and remaking his cape so that I could lower the eagle backpack. I also cut off the top of the seat on the bike so that the model could be mounted upright because the upper portion of the seat was blocking the backpack from sitting properly. The two pictures below show the difference.


Side View of Chapter Master Victor Staghorn – Before


Side View of Chapter Master Victor Staghorn – After

Notice in the After view, more of his body is exposed. Overall, these changes seemed to improve the model although few details were changed. The only detail added was a new shoulder pad with the mini-skulls which is cut off from a model of Astorah.


Front View of Victor Staghorn – After

Note how upright his head is compared to a before picture.


Front View of Victor Staghorn – Before


Rear View of Victor Staghorn showing New Cape


Upper Rear View of Victor Staghorn showing Details of New Cape


Left Side View of Victor Staghorn


Upper Right View of Victor Staghorn



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/09 01:42:39


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Three Weird Sisters

The Three Weird Sisters compose a Librarius Concave. These were fun models to make since all required extensive conversion. Each one is converted from a different librarian model.


The Three Weird Sisters


A Librarius Concave



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/09 12:07:32


Post by: evildrcheese


Awesome update. The Chapter Master is especially awesome.

EDC


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/09 14:42:26


Post by: Spacewolverine


I agree with EDC, the Chapter master is a work of art, he looks intimidating but very artistic with the details. You did a really good job on him. The Chaplain looks equally as awesome.

Not sure how I've missed so many of your updates. Love the Contemptor, looks great. Keep up the amazing work.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/09 22:12:12


Post by: Oldmanronald


Thank you for the encouraging remarks, Evildrcheese and SpaceWolverine.

Old Style Metal Terminator Chaplain

Back in the day when Games Workshop had full stores, I signed up my then young teenaged son for a weekly class on playing 40K and painting models. After a few weeks he went to a birthday party and managed to hurt himself ending up with crutches and a cast. During the next class, as a get well present, the red shirt gave my son an old metal Chaplain in terminator armor.

Recently, I came across the model. I stripped off the old paint with Purple Power and rebuilt and repainted it. For sentimental reasons, I repainted it in the traditional ultramarine blue. I mounted it on a base that I had received as a promotion for a suppier. I really like the look and in some ways I wish that I had started painting all my models with a traditional color like ultramarine blue rather than the camouflage. The metal model also feels nice in my hand, heavy and substantial.


Terminator Chaplain


Terminator Chaplain – Close-Up


Terminator Chaplain – Front View


Terminator Chaplain – Left Side View

These side views show the base. I have been experimenting with using washes and pigments over a monochromic, black, gray, and white base coat. This gives the base a more weathered or natural look that does not distract from and contrasts with those areas painted with standard opaque paints.


Terminator Chaplain – Right Side View

Notice that the colors and textures move from the dull washes and pigments in the base and handle of his Crozius Arcanum to the standard opaques in his armor and the scrolls and then to the metallic of his weapons, chains, insignia, and highlights on his armor, and finally to the whites and fluorescents on his helmet and jewels. I have been experimenting with this technique on all my most recent models but because the other models are painted with camouflage rather than blue the effect is more subtle.


Terminator Chaplain – Back


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/10 20:51:51


Post by: Oldmanronald


Librarian with Power Axe – Second of the Three Weird Sisters


Librarian with Power Axe


Librarian with Power Axe – Right View


Librarian with Power Axe – Left View


Librarian with Power Axe



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/17 19:59:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


Librarian with Power Sword – The Third of the Three Weird Sisters


Librarian with Power Sword.

The Three Weird Sisters are the three librarians who are in a Librarius Concave. The Third Sister is a rebuilt of a librarian that I made earlier.


Librarian with Power Sword – Close-up


Librarian with Power Sword – Rear View


Librarian with Power Sword – Another View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/21 19:32:48


Post by: Oldmanronald


Objective Markers

Justin McCoy, who taught a pigment painting class at Nova-Open, gave us class members some bases that he created for practicing using pigments. I added the Ork heads and am using them as objective markers. These are painted over a black and gray base coat using washes and pigments. This gives a natural weathered look to these surfaces.


Gutter with Two Ork Heads


Gutter with One Ork Head



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/23 18:42:58


Post by: Oldmanronald


Scouts


Five Scouts

Except for their armor save, Space Marine and Dark Angel scouts (but not Blood Angel scouts) now have the same stat line as full Space Marines. Although they are limited in weapons, they are an inexpensive unit that can scout and infiltrate to occupy key pieces of terrain. With little fanfare, they can help win games.

Still, the standard scout models are pretty bland. The heads are ugly and lack a helmet. Still needed some scouts so here they are.


First Scout


Second Scout


Third Scout


Fourth Scout


Fourth Scout Again



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/24 17:47:37


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Scout Sergeant


The Scout Sergeant

With a peaked caped Cadian head I picked up on-line, and the pointing finger, this scout sergeant has a little more personality than the standard scout model. This pointy finger may be the single best bit. It makes every model great.


The Scout Sergeant and the Pointy Finger


The Pointy Finger



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/03/29 17:57:54


Post by: Oldmanronald


Astorath the Grim
Who is this Ugly Guy?


Astorath the Grim

This is Astorath the Grim and the model is pretty grim. Still, he was fun to paint.


Astorath the Grim with an Even Grimmer Head of Marine Lost to Madness

I did a little alteration of the model. I removed his left shoulder pad, which is the skull and put it on the right shoulder. I did this to replace the left pad with a blank shoulder pad to put the Servitor Decal showing the skull with cherry blossoms to match the other models in my army. I cut off his right shoulder pad and used it on another model. I added a little more hair with green stuff and put a Chaos Marine head on the base.


Skull Shoulder Pad on Astorath the Grim

This skull shoulder pad is pretty neat but almost over whelms the model. The wings and scrolls are pretty bold. In comparison, Astorath the Grim’s body is pretty scrawny. Of course, this fits with his Warhammer fluff which is to administer the final mercy to the brothers lost to the Black Rage. Even for a blood angel, this is grim work.


The Plain Should Pad with Decal


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/09/21 17:08:57


Post by: Oldmanronald


Astorath the Not So Grim


I entered several of my favorite models into the Capital Palette painting contest at NOVA Open. I didn’t win anything but it was fun displaying my models. Actually, I suspected that my models were not competition level before I even entered it. First, none of them are finished. Second, I use decals rather than freehand paint in some of the details. Third, I use metallic paints rather than non-metallic paints to create the metal surfaces. I really like metallic paints and will continue to use them for gaming but they are a handicap for completive modeling art contests. Fourth, the judges love the blending of colors; that is, for example a blue surface that has dark blue tinted with complimentary orange in the shadows and white blue in the highlights with the colors varying across the surface. This blending technique is difficult if not impossible with my camouflage colored uniforms. Finally, I am still mastering my painting and still need to improve my brush control.

They took professional pictures of my models which was fun. So I thought I would share these pictures. The first is one that I have shown in this forum before, Astorath the Not So Grim. I built him as a replacement for Astorath the Grim because I think the Games Workshop model is too ugly, even for a character called the Grim. This model, however, turned out a little too pretty for someone called the grim. He looks more like a guy who should be picking up some Adepta Sororitas at the local singles bar than administering the Emperors’ peace to those lost to the madness of the Black Rage. “Hey babe, why don’t you show me how the Penitent Engine works.”

Notice his wings. At the suggestion of my son, I pulled the wings off of my Astorath the Grim model and exchanged them for the wings I originally put on Astorath the Not So Grim. It actually improved both models.


Astorath the Not So Grim



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/10/27 20:10:51


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Biker Chaplain


This is the first model that I have built that was purely for show. This model has a lot of sculpturing. The body of the chaplain is the Blood Angels Chaplain with Jump Pack. To fit him on a bike took some real modeling, especially on the legs to fit the bike. I essentially cut them up and remade portions of them with green stuff. I also had fun with the run over Ork. I will post further instructions on how I created the run over Ork. I have already had written on how I created the cape and the braids from scratch. Since showing him, I have rebuilt him as a playing model. I removed the back cape and have made him a new cape that I painted white to make it show up more. I also replaced the inferno pistol with a grav-pistol so that I can run him with space marines or with Dark Angels.


The Biker Chaplain



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/13 14:56:19


Post by: Oldmanronald


Four of Swords - Centurion Devastator with Grav-Cannon and Grav-Amp

This is the first of three Centurions Devastators. These may be my favorite models. I have made two major changes over some of my earlier models.



Bare headed Centurion Devastator

I use bare heads rather than helmets because heads are more challenging and fun to paint and because faces are more interesting to look at than helmets. Disciplined soldiers, especially on strange planets fighting against strange and possibly poisonous alien creatures, would wear their helmets in combat. Of course, these are imaginary soldiers so I am showing the heads regardless of what they would actually wear when deployed. I do put a helmet on the model in easy reach so that they can put them on in combat. Of course, these models never put their helmet on because they are plastic and can’t independently move.



Centurion Rear View

I have also started using custom decals which I ordered from Fallout Hobbies: http://www.fallouthobbies.com/ . I order three sets of decals. The first was the skull with roses that I use for my units insignia. I was so pleased, I went on the internet and looked up medieval manuscripts and ordered decals of these. These also turned out great and make the models look unique. Finally, I ordered some decals based on Tarot cards. With the three sets I am having fun making my models look unique.



Centurion Front View showing medieval manuscripts and portion of Tarot Card

This Centurion has a decal of the 4 of swords Torat card on his right shoulder.




Centurion Side View showing Tarot Card Decal



Centurion Rear View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/14 16:52:41


Post by: Oldmanronald


Ten of Swords – Centurion Devastator with Grav-Cannon and Grav-Amp




The Second Centurion Devastator

This is the second of my Centurion Devastators, with the Ten of Swords Decal on his shoulder. This is a fun model, not only to make and to look at, but to play. I placed them behind blocking terrain so that they were protected from long range fire but placed so that they had good field of fire to their max range into the approaches to my key positions. They quickly eliminated any enemy units that tried to cross these kill zones.



Centurion Devastator Side View

This Centurion has the Ten of Swords Detail on his shoulder and medieval manuscript on one of his front protective plates. This required that I had to grind off some of the bling on these surfaces using a grinder on my Drexel Hobby Tool and an X-ACTO knife.



Grinder on tip of the Drexel Hobby Tool

I sanded it down with wet 180 grit sandpaper. I painted the undersurface white and then laid down the decals using Micro Set and liberal and repeated application of Micro Set. I then shaped and trimmed the decals to fit the space. I painted over the edges to cover any excess decals and then used washes to age and to shade the decals.



Centurion Devastator Side View showing 10 of Swords Decal

At these close up views, I can see things that I missed in making the model. On both the barrel of the Grav-Gun and the Exhaust Pipes, I have a gap where the two halves come together. I need to rework these with some plastic glue and with some liquid green stuff to remove the gap.



Centurion Devastator Right Rear View



Centurion Devastator Left Rear View Showing Footprints

I put in footprints with green stuff before I painted the base. I paint the base with a mixture of black and white (gray) gesso mixed with fine and medium model railroad ballast.



Centurion Devastator Front View

This last view shows the face in detail. I painted these faces separately from the rest of the model. I used a white and gray base coat. I then painted the eyes with a heavy gray and a dot of fluorescent blue which I apply with a sharped toothpick. I then paint the face with three tones of flesh, a dark flesh for most of the face, then a light medium for the raised surfaces such as the nose, cheek bones, and forehead. I then use a light flesh for highlights. I then finish it off with three fluorescent paints applied as a wash. The yellow goes on the upper third of the forehead and scalp. The red or orange goes on the middle third, the nose, ears, and eyes. The blue goes on the lower third, the chin, upper lips, and cheeks to give the face a five o’clock style. The three color wash is a classical Renaissance style painting technique for men’s faces. My innovation is using fluorescent paints rather than regular washes to give the faces a little more glow. I also use the fluorescent paints as a wash over some of the decals to bring out the colors. The hair also uses blends of brown and orange with fluorescent orange highlights.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/16 13:06:22


Post by: Oldmanronald


Temperance– Centurion Devastator Sergeant with Grav-Cannon and Grav-Amp



The Centurion Devastator Sergeant

The Devastator Sergeant, with his pointing finger and with the sway of his body, has swagger. I like the details including the omniscope and some of the bling in the front.



The Shoulder Pad with the Temperance Tarot Card Decal

Temperance is virtue not normally associated with any of the 40K armies, even the Space Marines. One associates anger, hatred, and vengeance with the soldiers of 40K. Still, for a Centurion Devastator Sergeant, the virtues of temperance, self-control, self-restraint and even moderation would be welcome both on the training fields and in the heat of battle. For those who are described as slow and purposeful and they shall know no fear, temperance may be the correct virtue. Besides the decal looks good.



The Centurion Devastator Sergeant Rear View Showing Details of the Temperance Decal

Other details include the footprint behind the right foot and the blued Grav-Cannon.



The Centurion Devastator Sergeant – Front View

I like this front view but it does show the flaw in the barrel of the Grav-Cannon. I need to rework this. A favorite detail that I like is the gold banner on his chest with the black lettering. Using Micro Sol softened the decal so the lettering could be slightly rounded to follow the curve of the gold banner.



The Centurion Devastator Sergeant – Side View

This view shows three nice details. The first is the lens of the Grav-Amp. The lenses is painted using several bright greens, including old GW snot green, and then finished with a newer fluorescent green. The Demon Prince’s head at the bottom is a favorite bit but I need to paint the eyes. Notice the medieval manuscript on the bottom leg. I like the pose of this model, from the movement of the legs to the pointing fist.



The Centurion Devastator Sergeant – Rear View Showing Footprints



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/16 13:57:51


Post by: evildrcheese


Awesome work on the Cents, the bare heads looks really good. Loving the shoulder pads too.

EDC


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/18 01:09:36


Post by: Oldmanronald


Wall of Martyrs Imperial Bunker

First, a big shout out to the evil Dr. Cheese. Thank you EDC for your words of encouragement.



Wall of Martyrs Imperial Bunker

This picture shows the Large Skull Rose Decal on the Wall of Martyrs Imperial Bunker. Notice the decal on the left covering a portion of the trap door. Notice how it sinks right into the trap door. This is an exaggerated effect using Micro Sol solution to really soften the decal so that it conforms to the surface. One trick is to let it dry and then applying Micro Sol to rewet and soften it and then to let it dry again and again until the decal completely conforms to the surface. Sometimes I lightly tap the detail with a brush or toothpick to push it into crevices and corners.

Two other decals with Tarot Cards are on the bunker but they did not really require any reshaping. They required, however, that I painted a white background underneath where I place the decal.



Kneeling Devastator with Lascannon with Temperance Tarot Card Decal on Wall




Devastator Sergeant on Bunker with medieval manuscript on the Wall next to the Door



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/19 01:20:18


Post by: Oldmanronald


Fluorescent Paints

I have been using a lot of fluorescent paints lately. I use them as washes for decals and faces, highlights on lenses and other shiny surfaces, or any place I need a nice little accent. These are the fluorescent paints that I use.



Vallejo Fluorescent Paints



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/19 17:56:03


Post by: Oldmanronald


Fun with Magnets



Venerable Dreadnought with Multi-Melta and Power-Fist

To the left of the dreadnought are other optional weapons systems including a twin-linked lascannon and assault cannon. These are magnetized so that I interchange them with the multi-melta. To the right are two shoulder pads to replace the shoulder pad on the power-fist so that I can match the shoulder pad with the left shoulder pad of each respective weapon system.



Venerable Dreadnought with Twin-Linked lascannon

I use magnets on some of my models. I primarily use them on doors and hatches so that I can open and close them during the game. I have used them on my models to exchange weapons but I have found that for most of my infantry and bike models, it is too much trouble. With few exceptions, it is just about as easy to make two models for two different weapons. If I want a space marine with a meltagun or with a storm bolter, I will just made two space marines and bring them both. Trying to magnetize their arms so that I only use one model is doable but the models never pose right and eventually I just glue the magnetized joint into place. The exceptions are Dreadnoughts. These models are big enough that I can mechanically fit the joints so that they are reasonably stable for play.



Magnetize Joint on Right Shoulder of Venerable Dreadnought

Note that the autocannon is has a magnetized female joint that corresponds to the male joint on the Dreadnought.



Venerable Dreadnought with AutoCannon

Notice that the shoulder pad on the powerfist has also been exchanged to match the shoulder pad on the autocannon.



Venerable Dreadnought with Both Arms Removed

The powerfist can also be removed. This is so that I could turn this into a rifleman dreadnought if I desire.



Magnetized Joint on the Left Shoulder of the Dreadnought

The powerfist arm has a magnetized female joint that corresponds to the male joint on the Dreadnought.



Venerable Dreadnought with Multi-Melta and Power-Fist

Happy hunting Mr. Venerable Dreadnought!!



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/21 13:34:07


Post by: Oldmanronald


Experimenting with Base Coat

I have been experimenting with priming my models using a three color base coat. The first coat, sprayed on the lower part and up from the bottom is black. This covers most of the model. The second, sprayed from the top and front, is gray. The idea is that the light comes from the top front and lights up the surface to a neutral gray with the shadows left in black. The final coat is a quick spray of white towards the face and shoulders for accent. Originally, I used the Badger Airbrush three color pack of black, gray, and white but I found that these primers are not as durable as the Citadel base paints that I sprayed on. Sometimes I had some peeling. Now I use Citadel spray paints, Chaos Black, Mechanicus Standard Grey, Corax White. In the gray and white areas, I paint the models as I always has. In the black areas, I use a very limited palette with mostly dark colors. This allows certain details to show and the rest of the model to fade into shadow. The result is the models have more depth, are more dramatic, and yet appear brighter. They are also easier to paint since much of the model uses a limited palette. This technique is an old one. I have included three paintings to illustrate the technique. The first is a Madonna and baby Jesus in the manger by Carl Bloch. He is a very traditional painter from the late 1800s who learned his painting by copying renaissance artists. Note how he uses the darks with the important details in light. This is a terrible picture of a reproduction with too much glare but it illustrates the technique.



Carl Bloch Painting

The second is the cover for the former Dark Angels Codex. This and the Space Marine cover for the codex that come out about the same time are my favorite covers for Codices. Notice the limited palette with much of the image hidden in dark colors with a few bright areas. For example, notice that although his power armor is green, very little green is shown. The only saturated colors are the reds in the bolt pistol and seals and the green of the power armor. Most of the shapes are defined with dark and light desaturated browns, whites, and grays with a little yellow to tint the metals.



Dark Angels Codex

The last is a very traditional pastel drawing of fruit which I drew. Notice that the red apple actually has limited red with most of the apple being a reddish brown with light pink highlights. The greenish yellow pear has little pure yellow or green with most of the pear being gray.



Pastel Painting of Fruit

The technique shows on the Venerable Dreadnaught.



Venerable Dreadnaught

Notice the bright and light areas. The upper body is bright with highly saturated colors. The lower carriage is dark with just a hint of colors. The iron hand shows this with the outside of the hand being bright and the inside being dark. Even the melta gun shows this with the top and front being light metallic and the bottom and the area between the guns and the body being dark. Even the panels with decals use the dark and light scheme. The upper panels have light decals. The panels in the legs have dark decals.



Venerable Dreadnaught – Gun Side

This view shows the technique and how it blends in with the natural light. The natural light is coming in from the right. The rim of the base is a fairly consistent color but notice that the right rim is darker than the left rim in the picture. But the underside of the carriage is more dramatically darker than the upper part of the body. The shadows and highlights cast by the natural light and by the painted shadows and highlights complement each other.



Venerable Dreadnaught – Hand View

This blending of the natural and painted shadows and light is shown in the hand. It is reflecting some light so it has a natural brightness and shadow but the paints themselves also increase the feeling of depth.



Venerable Dreadnaught – Rear View

This rear view shows the painted dark and light. Unlike the front, most of the back is left dark and bland. I did dry brush some of the metals and these dry brushed portions pick up some light, for example the leg hydraulics on the right of the drawing but this side has very little of the strong colors on the front and sides. Notice that the light is coming from the right. Look at the shadows in the base and the legs to verify this. But the brightest colors on the dreadnaught himself are on the left side where he should not be getting as strong of light. In this case the light isn’t quite natural but it isn’t too jarring since our eyes assume that the light must be right and is coming from a reflection or an odd angle.



Venerable Dreadnaught – Side View

Here the painted shadow and the natural light fight each other but just a little. The light is coming from the right but the second finger is the brightest, clearly unnatural.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/22 15:48:11


Post by: Oldmanronald


Lascannon Devastators Old and New

In the last entry, I wrote about painting with dark and light shadows. This next picture shows a new devastator with a black, gray, and white base coat next to an older devastator with only a black base coat.



Old and New Lascannon Devastators

The old style is on the left with the helmet The new style is on the right. Notice how much lighter the new style devastator is over the old.



New Devastator – Close Up

Here the shaded areas are both painted and have natural shadow.



New Devastator – Gun Side View

This side has more shade and is darker.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/23 14:54:07


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Devastator Sergeant with Signum




The Devastator Sergeant with Signum

The prior post talked about using three primers. Sometime things go wrong. When I spray painted the white, the spray paint become grainy. Instead of immediately stripping the model to remove the graininess, I made the mistake of continue painting the model and so the model has a grainy texture.



The Devastator Sergeant with Signum – SideView

I looked up the problem on the internet. It appears that this is more common with white spray paint. It happens if I spray too far from the model and if the air is too dry or too hot or too humid. As I remember, it was a hot and humid day. I will strip this model down and repaint him. Fortunately, I primed and painted the head separately and I was able to remove it with little problem. Getting the head right is the most difficult part. Generally, it is pretty straight forward to paint the rest of the model.



The Devastator Sergeant – The Pointing Finger

I love the pointing finger.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/25 13:10:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


Devastator Squad with Wall of Martyrs Imperial Bunker



Devastator Squad with Wall of Martyrs Imperial Bunker

Although I build a lot of models, I rarely play. As a result, I tend to do poorly when I do play. I like bikes but they are expensive, have medium range firepower, and are good but not great at assault and with twin linked bolters are moderately good but not great at shooting. The problem is that I have a tendency to mis-deploy bikes and end up in a shooting match with cheaper or better shooters. I find I play better with a smaller bike force supported by good solid shooters such as Thunderfire cannons and Grav-cannon Centurions. To increase my long range fire power, I have now built a devastator squad with four lascannons to man the Wall of Martyrs Imperial bunker. If I add an ammo or ammunition dump and place the bunker on high terrain, I can put out a lot of firepower in every turn.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/26 15:19:01


Post by: Oldmanronald


Deathwing Knights – Decals on the Shoulder Pads

I built a squad of Deathwing Knights that I am planning to Deep Strike using the Teleport homers on my Ravenwing. They seem like they would be fun to play and did provide some modeling challenges especially in the use of decals. The Deathwing Knight pushed the techniques of placing decals to the limit. The biggest problem with decals are that they are flat and that they are often mounted on curved or uneven surfaces. I wanted to see how far I could push them to cover both round shoulder pad and the robes with folds covered with bling.

To Do the Shoulder Pads:

1) Paint the Shoulder Pads White. Actually, I used a mixture of white, gold, and beige to get the color I wanted. The manuscript decals need a generally white base to properly show up.



White Shoulder Pad for Deathwing Knight

Note that I left the scrolls and other bling unpainted. I will cover them with gold and bronze paints later.

2) Cover the shoulder pad with Micro Set. This will help set the decal. Use an old brush.



Brushing on Micro Set.

3) Place the decal on the pad as best you can. It will not lay flat.



Placing the Decal

4) Douse the Decal with Micro Sol. This will soften the decal so it will stretch over the rounded shoulder pad.



Dousing with Micro Set.

5) Use the Brush and Other Tools to Carefully Tamp Down the Decal.



Tamping Down the Decal

Notice that I have made no attempt to trim or cut the decal to size. Instead, I fold under the excess or gently (very gently) cut away excess. This is a careful step and it is better to go slow.

6) Let the Decal Dry. Rewet with Micro Sol and Continue Tamping Down the Decal. Between tamping, don’t be afraid to let the decal dry out even if it is not completely flat against the surface of the pad. After it dries come back, rewet with Micro Sol, let it sofen, and continue tamping again and again. A toothpick works reasonably well for tamping.



Tamping with Toothpick

It will take time and can be frustrating but it can work.


7) Finish with Washes to cover up Areas without Decals.



Shoulder Pad with Decal on Deathwing Knight (The Knight of Pentacles)

Look carefully at this the bottom of the Decal. The Decal wasn’t quite big enough to cover the whole shoulder pad. I took a dark wash and covered the gap over to hide the gap.



Shoulder Pad with Decal on Deathwing Knight (The Devil)


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/26 16:44:55


Post by: Corporal_Chaos


Wonderful work! I really like your choice of color. The camouflage is great


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/27 14:47:51


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Deathwing Knights – The Decals on the Robes

Thank you Corporal Chaos for the encouragement. I like your pen name. I thought at first that you would have to be exterminated since Chaos must be exterminated without mercy. But I notice that you are listed as a Blood Claw of the Space Wolves so you must still be on the side of righteous and thus shall be allowed to live. Regardless, I appreciate your remarks. Thank you.

The robes on the knights were also challenging. Not only did I have to deal with folds, I had to deal with the bling.

To do the robes:

1) Paint the Robes White. Actually, I used a mixture of white, gold, and beige to get the color I wanted. The Tarot Card decals need a generally white base to properly show up.



The White Robe

Note that I left the knives and other bling unpainted. I will cover them with gold and bronze paints later.

2) Cover the robe with Micro Set. This will help set the decal. Use an old brush. Note that these are almost identical steps for the shoulder pads but they are a little easier because of the robes are flatter but a little harder because of the bling.



Brushing on Micro Set

3) Place the decal on the robe as best you can. It will not lay flat and may not completely fit the robe.



Placing the Decal

4) Dose the Decal with Micro Sol. This will soften the decal so it will stretch over the robe and around the bling.



Dosing with Micro Set.

5) Use the Brush to Carefully Tamp Down the Decal.



Tamping Down the Decal

Notice that I have made no attempt to trim or cut the decal to size. Instead, I fold under the excess or gently (very gently) cut away excess. This is a careful step and it is better to go slow.

6) Continue Tamping Down the Decal. Don’t be afraid to let it dry, even if the decal is not completely in place. Rewet with Micro Sol and continue tamping again and again.



Temperance Decal on Robe



Devil Decal on Robe

7) Finish with washes to blend the decal and to cover up areas without decal.



Deathwing Knight – The Devil on Robe

8) Paint over the Bling. Although the bling is covered by the decal, just paint over the decal with the colors needed.



Deathwing Knight – Temperance on Robe



Deathwing Knight – Ace of Cups

Actually, when I finished these Deathwing Knights, I felt that they have turned out like they will play. Building them took a lot of work and it was a lot of fun but they aren’t as good as I had hoped. I suspect they will play the same way. To use them effectively, it will take a lot of work but it will be fun. Even so, they may not play as well as I hope. I guess I will find out.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/27 15:54:11


Post by: Corporal_Chaos


Thank you oldmanronald.... my pen name merely reflects the world I live in..lol Not Major or Private or even general merely corporal Chaos so as not to come crashing down. But Ot now. I like it when we all move away from the standard color schemes and explore the themes we all like. You have done an excellent job of breaking away from the boring single color and have made the camo work. I did a camouflage scheme years ago and really miss using them. Most have been repainted but I have kept several blooodclaws in the scheme. Keep it up. Thanks for the respite for the name...


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/28 17:50:15


Post by: Oldmanronald


Deathwing Knights – The Shields


I agree, Corporal Chaos. I like the non-standard color schemes. I like seeing armies with personality.

The shields for the Deathwing Knights are easy to paint. I painted the whole front of the shield silver. Then I painted over the silver with washes, green wash for the robed figure, yellow wash for the wings, and magenta and blue washes for the trim. I think I actually used fluorescent colors and also washed with a little black and sepia brown. After I added the washes, I highlighted the swords on the shield with the silver and highlighted the bling with a gold paint.



Deathwing Knight Master

Note the decal on the shield, the Justus, on the banner.



Shield with Purity Seals - Deathwing Knight

The strips of paper below the red seals are made from decals I had made from medieval manuscripts I found online.



Shield with Skull – Deathwing Knight



Shield with Gold Cord and Amulet – Deathwing Knight

The amulet and cord are painted with gold paint which had a slightly different look than the yellow wash over the silver that is in the robed figure’s wings.



Shield with Crossed Swords – Deathwing Knight



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/29 12:54:56


Post by: Oldmanronald


Knight Master - Deathwing Knight – Justus the Magician




Deathwing Knight Master

I named each deathwing knight after the symbol on his robe but since I put Justus on his shield, I have named the Knight Master, Justus the Magician. This Deathwing Knight Master had the Magician Tarot Card although because of his bling, the actual Magician tarot card decal has almost disappeared. Moreover, the Magician tarot card would be better for a librarian but still, it could be argued that this deathwing knight is a magician in his handling of the Flail of the Unforgiven.

I like the skull amulet hanging in front and his general character. I am not totally sold on the hoodies these knight wear. I would have preferred bare heads but they came with hoodies.



Knight Master with Flail of the Unforgiven

I reworked the Flail of the Unforgiven so instead of the mace heads hanging down, they are upright and swinging.



The Swinging Flail of the Unforgiven



Knight Master Wielding the Flail of the Unforgiven



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/11/30 12:39:59


Post by: Oldmanronald


Deathwing Knight – The Devil




Deathwing Knight - The Devil with the Mace of Absolution

The Devil is the most mysterious looking of the Deathwing Knights. His face is behind a dark metal mask or helmet which is hidden under this robes. In fact you can just barely make out the slight nozzle of helmet under his hood. His eye lens are dark but one of them can just be seen if you look very closely. The Devil robe is dark and most of his body is hidden under this shield.



Deathwing Knight - The Devil with the Mace of Absolution – Side View



Deathwing Knight - The Devil with the Mace of Absolution – Front View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/01 19:49:32


Post by: Oldmanronald


Deathwing Knight – Knight of Pentacles




Knight of Pentacles with the Mace of Absolution

The problem with the hoodie is that it the hood covers the face. The face is easy to paint, however, having no eyes - just a chin.



Knight of Pentacles with the Mace of Absolution



Knight of Pentacles with the Mace of Absolution

This view show the back of the shield. I kept it dark with a green wash over the undercoat and a touch of bronze dark and light paint on the handle and supports. Also note the Mace with the dark underside. Although its shadow is consistent with the light that comes in from the upper right (see the light on the rims of the bases) the mace is actually painted dark to make the shadow more dramatic. Notice that the model itself casts very little shadow on the ground around it. Much of the strong shadow on this model is painted so it complements the natural light. This is true even for parts of the face under the hood.



Knight of Pentacles with the Mace of Absolution – Rear View

This rear view illustrates the painted shadow against the natural light. Again the natural light is coming from the right front as can be seen on the bases but the back is dark. Again, these shadows are painted on, including the shadows on the left and right shoulder pads. The dark shadow on the right shoulder pad with the manuscript is placed in part to cover up the fact that the manuscript decal was too short to cover the rear corner of the pad. If you blow up the picture, you can see where the decal ended and the dark wash partially covering the part of the pad uncovered by the decal but the effect is subtle and the seam between the decal and the non-decaled area of the shoulder pad is difficult to see.

Also note the terminator helmet. All my space marines without a helmet on his head will have a helmet hanging from his belt such as this model or from the bike for my biker models.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/02 13:44:40


Post by: Oldmanronald


Deathwing Knight – Ace of Cups




Deathwing Knight – Ace of Cups

This knight has the Ace of Cups tarot card on his rope and carries what appears to be a meltabomb although none is authorized for Deathwing Knights in the Dark Angels Codex. Again, his face is covered although it shows a little more than some of the other deathwing knights.



Deathwing Knight – Ace of Cups with the Mace of Absolution



Deathwing Knight – Ace of Cups with the Mace of Absolution – Side View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/02 15:49:26


Post by: evildrcheese


Looking good.

Does Ace of Cups instigate the drinking games

EDC


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/05 23:40:01


Post by: Oldmanronald


Deathwing Knight – Temperance




Deathwing Knight – Temperance with the Mace of Absolution

This model shows a little more of the face in spite of the hood.



Deathwing Knight – Temperance with the Mace of Absolution

This is my favorite Deathwing Knight because the Temperance Tarot Card blended well into the robe. Temperance seems to be a virtue not normally associated with the 40K universe but it fits even for a Deathwing knight, disciplined, self-control, self-restraint and even moderation.



Deathwing Knight – Temperance with the Mace of Absolution

Temperance is ready to smash the skull of the sinner marshaled in the ranks of sin.

The critical questions about the Mace of Absolution is does the mace grant absolution to the sinner whose skull is crushed or does it grant absolution of the sins to the Deathwing knight as he wields the mace that crushes the skulls of the enemies of humanity and righteousness?



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/06 14:30:06


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Beauty Contest - What I learned as a NOVA Open Army Appearance Judge

For the 2016 NOVA Open, I volunteered to be an Army Appearance Judge. This was fun for me and I enjoyed looking at all the different armies. One of the fun factors of a war-gaming tournament is seeing well painted armies do battle.



NOVA OPEN - Two Well Painted Armies Doing Battle



NOVA OPEN – Another View of Two Well Painted Armies

I also learned what impresses an appearance judge and how I could better increase my appearance score.

For almost every NOVA Open Tournament event, the armies were scored for appearance. Three appearance judges graded the army’s appearance, with an Initial Round and a Final Round. In the Initial Round, two judges separately and independently judged the armies on a four tier scale.

Tier 1 is ineligible armies that didn’t meet the minimum requirements because they had one or more unpainted models or bases or had models or bases with just primer or one color.

Tier 2 is tabletop minimum. These are the models that make the standard but lack shading and details. Sometimes called three color minimum models, these are the first models that most hobbyist paint until they start mastering more advanced techniques.

Tier 3 is tournament standard. These are the good standard armies that you find at the tournaments. Most armies are in tier 3.

Tier 4 are works of art and represent world class painting. Sometimes this is called having the wow factor.

Although this four tier system was new this year to NOVA, I suspect that for most appearance judging, even on a 100 point scale, the judge would place most models into these or similar categories and issue the scores accordingly.

At the NOVA Open, the first two judges placed the armies into one of the four tiers. The third judge reviewed the results and where the two judge’s scores were different separately judged the army and issued a final score. I was one of the two judges and tended to be a little more generous in grading then the other judge. So occasionally I gave a 3 and he gave a 2. In this case the third judge usually broke the impasse usually giving either a 2 or a 3.

In the Final Round, only the top tier armies were judged to determine the overall winners. Thus, if you don’t make the top tier in the Initial Round, you will not be looked at in the Final Round. To be considered in the Final Round, you need to stand out in the Initial Round.

In the initial round, the time spent on judging an individual army was short. We had to judge almost a hundred and fifty armies for the main 40k tournament and we tried not to interfere with the game play. We also judged between the games although it was harder unless the armies had the name of its owner displayed so we could assign the score.

I did learn a few tips that would be helpful to one that is trying to get into the top tier in the Initial Round. In other words, what do you need to do to make sure that your army has the Wow factor!

Tip 1. Use a Display Board. If you want to be in the top tier you need to stand out and a display board can help do that. Even the NOVA Open Army Appearance Scoring Primer admits this.

“[D]isplay boards are fully encouraged as a growing and exciting part of the hobby, which peers and judge alike are sure to appreciate and which undoubtedly supplement the ‘wow factor’ of your army.”
Primer,
" p. 6.

The display board can supplement the “wow factor” by drawing the judge’s eye to the army as a whole. Moreover, if carefully built, the display board can draw the eye to select models and downplay other models. Thus, place your beautifully painted and customized War Lord on a highpoint to invite the judges to examine this model in detail. Bury your mediocre scouts or uninspired Thunderfire cannons in the lower terrain toward the back. Lighting and other tricks can accent certain models and themes in the army. You can add Terrain features, flags, and other nonplaying models that enhance the overall appearance of your army.

Tip 2. Put your name on your display board. Yes, armies look better on a display board and so generally an army on the board will score higher than an army on the table but not if the army can’t be identified as belonging to someone. You will be graded when your army is in play and your display board is empty if your name is not on the display board.

Tip 3. Big models are more impressive than little models. This may be unfair but a beautifully painted Imperial Knight will attract the judge’s eye while a dozen meticulously painted imperial guardsmen will be ignored. Even in the examples in our judging handbook, the top tier examples show an imperial knight and a land raider, both big models, while the lower tiers were illustrated by small model armies. So consider adding a big impressive model to your display board. Moreover, since your big models sale your army, take the time to make them your best work.

Tip 4. Don’t make stupid mistakes. An unpainted or finished base will drop an army to the bottom tier. Some judges will overlook a single model or base that is unpainted but others will not.

Tip 5. The judges don’t know what models are actually played. Thus, on the display board, make sure to include that big impressive model. If you have to replace or add a model at the last minute and don’t have time to paint it up to your standard, remove it when you are not playing it. This may seem like cheating but most judges don’t want to put a top tier army into the bottom tier because one model had to be replaced at the last minute.

Tip 6. Conversions don’t show. I love to convert models and will spend hours modifying a model with custom parts. As I judged the armies, however, some of the players told me about their conversions. Because I love converting my own models, I listened politely but usually had already determined the tier. Moreover, unless it was poorly done, I couldn’t spot the conversion even when pointed out because I don’t remember what the original model looked like. Thus, don’t count on conversions to move your army to the top tier.

For example, consider my model of Sammael.



Sammael on Convex.

How many conversions do you see? You might spot one or two but unless you look up the original model online or in a codex, you would miss most of the conversions. Actually, this models has a lot conversions, including from front to back, replacing the plasma cannon, making and adding the cable to the plasma cannon, replacing the short raven sword with a raven sword made from a piece of brass wire, cutting off the right arm off of the handle and rebuilding it with the pointing finger which was taken off the Ravenwing Dark Knights banner holding hand and adding a pointing finger made of wire and green stuff, replacing the sword holding right hand with a mechanics bit I ordered, rebuilding the handle, adding a wire support to the base, cutting up an old metal demon prince for the body on the base, adding a helmet from Ravenwing Command squad company champion, cutting the jetbike in the center and adding a heavy wire to length it and to make it more symmetrical, cutting Sammael’s body in half and adding green stuff to raise him up and to straighten out his posture, replacing his backpack with a double eagle command pack, removing Sammaul’s clock and replacing it with a new clock made of green stuff and wire, and removing the tail on the Corvex, and replacing it with the icon altar tail that is found on the Ravenwing Company Champion’s bike. Most judges will not realize that he has been extensively converted. It is the quality of the painting, not the conversions, that sale the army.

Tip 7: Be a master painter. I am sorry, but after all these tricks, if the models aren’t painted great, you are not going to be in the top tier. Unfortunately, this is a matter of talent and practice. Still, often a master painter will be overlooked and placed in the second tier because the judges don’t look carefully enough or weren’t wowed when they first looked at the army. If you are a master painter that wants to be the top tier, use these tips to catch the judge’s attention.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/07 12:45:51


Post by: Oldmanronald


Making Bases - The Gesso Mix


I tend to keep my bases simple. I follow the following basic steps.

I mix black and white Gesso to make a Gray Gesso base. I find that a little black goes a long ways so I really add a little black to a lot of white.



Black and White Gesso

I add model railroad ballast to the gray Gesso to give it a texture. I use a mixture of fine and medium ballast with a little bit of course. I mix up a lot at a time since I have found that this mixture will last for years if kept sealed in an old Gesso container.



Model Railroad Ballast



The Premixed Gesso and Ballast in the Gesso Container on the Right

I keep the mixture in an Old Gesso container.



The Premixed Gesso ready to Apply

When I am ready to use the Gesso, I simply gob it on with a stiff bristle brush.



Base with the Gesso Mix Gobbed On

The base can be painted, pigmented, or just left as it is when it dries. I use mostly washes and pigments on my bases rather than regular paint. This keeps the base dull and weathered looking so the base does not distract from the model. I also use this gesso mixture to paint my display boards so it the display boards and the bases match.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/08 17:49:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


Making Bases – Dead heads and other body parts

Sometimes I order bits off eBay or from other dealers. When I do, I always add some heads to the order. Usually there are plenty of Orc heads but I order all sorts of head bits. I keep them around to put them on my bases. I first cut them so that they will appear half buried.



Cutting an Orc Head

Note in the above picture the saw is in the vice. It is easier to put the saw blade in the vice and pull the head across the blade than it is to put the head in the vice and try to move the saw. This keeps the head from getting squished by the vice and I can put fingers from one hand on one side of the head with the fingers from the other hand on the other side and pull the head across the saw blade. It actually goes fairly fast and by holding the head with the fingers on the side, the fingers don’t get cut.

Sometimes I will run the cut head on a file to smooth it down.



Cut Orc Head on File



Cut Orc Head

Then I glue the head cut side down on the base and then cover the base with gesso mix which causes the head to appear to be half buried.



Dead Heads and Body Parts Glued to Bases



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/09 13:19:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


Making Bases – Footprints

Sometimes I put footprints on my bases. It is fairly easy.

Make green stuff. Green stuff is regularly available online and at hobby shops including Games Workshop. Just search green stuff online. Green stuff includes yellow 'filler' and blue 'hardener.’ Use about one part blue stuff to about one part yellow stuff; mix until green. Avoid leaving yellow or blue lumps. Don’t make up too much. Make up more later if needed.



Lumps of Yellow Filler and Blue Hardener



Lump of Green Stuff

Spread the green stuff on top of part of the base. Keep it thin



Green Stuff Spread on Bases

Cover the green stuff with a sheet of polyethylene plastic resin (which is a fancy way of saying a cut up piece of a clear plastic sandwich bag). Take the model that you plan to mount and, using the bottom of their feet, press footprints into the green stuff.



Placing Footprints on Base

Remove the plastic sheet and there are the footprints.



Footprints on Bases



Centurion Footprints



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/11 21:17:32


Post by: Oldmanronald


Bases – Mounting an Infantry Model


If you use the gesso mix on a base, the infantry model should be raised up so that the model appears to be on the surface rather than sunk into the surface of the base.

Find a Sheet of Plastic. I think my sheet is about 1mm thick.



Plastic Sheet

Cut out a piece of plastic that is slightly smaller than bottom of the infantry model’s feet. Don’t worry about getting it the exact right shape.



Cut-Up Plastic Sheet

Glue the small plastic piece to the bottom of the model’s feet.



Plastic Piece Glued on Bottom of Model’s Feet

Glue the Model to the Base.



These bases with footprints, dead heads, and the infantry models feet are ready for the gesso mix.



Infantry Model on Base with Dead Head

Notice when you gob on the gesso mix that model will be on standing on the surface of the base but the head will appear to be partially buried.



Infantry Model on Base with Skull




Infantry Model with Dead Orc Head





Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/12 12:37:05


Post by: Oldmanronald


Bases – Bike Tracks


Make green stuff. Green stuff is regularly available on line and at hobby shops. Just search green stuff. Green stuff includes yellow 'filler' and blue 'hardener.’ Use about one part blue stuff to about one part yellow stuff; mix until green. Avoid leaving yellow or blue lumps. Don’t make up too much. Make up more later if needed.

Spread the green stuff on the base.



Green Stuff on Bike Base



Green Stuff Spread on Bike Base

Cover the base with a polyethylene plastic sheet (cut up sandwich bag).



Base Covered with Polyethylene Plastic Sheet

Roll the wheels of a motorcycle over the sheet. It works best if the motorcycle wheels can freely spin. Repeat several times to make the bike prints deep enough but be careful that the second and third times match the first imprint.



Rolling Bike Wheel over Base



Base with Bike Tracks

Glob on Gray Gesso mixed with Railroad Ballast on the Base. See prior entries for recipe on the Gray Gesso. Avoid covering the footprint or bike tracks.



Glob on the Gesso Mix



Glob on the Gesso Mix



Let the base dry.

Mount the Bike



Tracks on Base of Biker



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/13 12:39:58


Post by: Oldmanronald


Mounting Bikes on Bases



Mounted Biker

Note that this biker has only one wheel touching its base. This makes the model more dramatic.

To mount the biker, get a piece of piano wire about 1mm thick. Piano wire is very stiff and hard to work with. Using pliers, bend about a quarter of an inch length to form a right angle.



Pliers on Piano Wire

I find that my pliers are about the perfect width so I put an end of the wire into the pliers and bend it over.



Bending the Wire with the Pliers

When it is done, the wire should look like this.



Right Angle on Piece of Piano Wire.

DO NOT TRY TO CUT THE WIRE. Piano wire is hard and will ruin your wire cutters if you try to cut it. Instead, break the piano wire by clamping the pliers on the wire just below the below the bent angle and then bend the wire, wiggling the wire back and forth until it snaps. When finished the wire should look like this.



Short Piece of Piano Wire with Right Angle

Sometimes it will not break off cleanly and leave a small burr at the end. I will take a file and file that burr so that the end of the wire is straight.

Drill a hole in the Base where you want to attach the tire of the bike.

\

Drilling the Hole in the Base

I like the hole to be at one end at about the center point of the radius made by the circle at the end of the biker bases. See picture.



Hole in the End of the Base

Place the piece of bent piano wire through the hole so that one end is upright.



Piano Wire in Hole of the Base

The other end should be flush with the bottom of the base and facing towards the middle. See picture.



Piano Wire on Bottom of the Base

Note the little burr on the end of the wire. Here is it harmless because the wire is still flush with the bottom surface of the base. If the burr interferes with wire lying flush, it must be filed down so the wire is flush with the bottom surface of the base.

Using Super Glue, glue the flush portion of the wire to the base.



Close-Up of the Glued Wire



Bike Base with Piano Wire Mounting

Notice that the bike tracks, dead head, and gesso mixture are already placed before the bike is mounted. Don’t worry about a little rust on the piano wire.

Drill a hole in the front or back tire of the biker model so that the upright wire can fit it. This is a tricky part since the hole must be drilled at such an angle that the bike is held correctly into position. Still, it is fairly easy drilling and one can experiment by drilling several holes until the bike is mounted correctly. It is easier to rework the hole in the tire than try to modify the bend in the wire. When correct, glue the bike to the wire. This should hold the bike in the correct position.



Bike Mounted on Wire

Notice that the wheel must be glued to its axle on the bike so that the wheel no longer freely spins. In fact, it is often easier to mount the bike with wheel unglued so that it freely spins, move the bike to the correct position, and then glue the wheel so it is frozen in place so that the bike is locked into the correct position. Do this after the base has been prepared.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/14 12:38:16


Post by: Oldmanronald


Building a Fun Bike Base – Putting It All Together

This is the last of a series of articles on building a base. This will put it all together for a fun example – a bike base with a runned-over Ork with missile launcher.

Step 1: Cut up an Ork with Missile launcher and glue him to the Base. Note that there is a gap down the middle and although the missile launcher itself is not actually cut, I bent it so it looks like it was run over.



Cut-Up Ork



Ork with Missile Launcher Glued to Base

Step 2: Place a Streak of Green Stuff down the Middle of the Ork.



Green Stuff on Ork

Step 3: Cover the base with a polyethylene plastic sheet (cut up sandwich bag).



Ork under Sheet

Step 4: Run a wheel over the green stuff to create bike tracks.



Wheel over Base Making Tracks

Step 5: Remove the plastic sheet and admire the view.



Ork with Track down Middle

Step 6: Cover Edges with Gesso Mix and let dry. Using piano wire, mount the bike on the base. Paint and enjoy.



Correct Deployment of Ork with Missile Launcher



Interrogator- Chaplain on Bike Applying Hammer of Wrath to Ork



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/15 12:38:14


Post by: Oldmanronald


Building the Biker Chaplain

The base with the run-over Ork with missile launcher was for a biker chaplain I built to display at the Capital Palette painting contest at the 2016 NOVA Open. I did display him but realized that the model was probably not completive for a model painting contest. So I have rebuilt him again and now use him as a Dark Angel Interrogator-Chaplain for the army that I play.



The Un-Painted Biker Chaplain

I gave him an Inferno Pistol because it looks so good. That is one fun thing about a display as opposed to a playing model. You can outfit them for appearance rather than conform to the rules or worry about points. When I made him an Interrogator-Chaplain, I had to replace the pistol with a grav-pistol which is not quite as dramatic looking. Both are costly and I may replace them with a regular bolt pistol.



The Pre-Painted Biker Chaplain

This view shows the green stuff cape and the floral wire cords. The other customizing is more subtle. Notice the green stuff on his left (your right) leg. The leg actually took extensive rebuilding with green stuff since he was a jump pack marine with his leg in the wrong position for a bike.



Chaplain on Bike Applying Hammer of Wrath to Ork with Missile Launcher

This how the chaplain appeared at the NOVA Open. I did not take this picture. It does show the Orc body and the dramatic angel of the bike. Since the NOVA Open, I have touched him up by removing the inferno pistol and the old cape. I like the new cape better but I used decals on it. For competitive paining, I should paint the details rather than use decals.



Interrogator-Chaplain on Bike – Right View

This shows a nice view of the Ork missile launcher. I use washes and pigments on the bases so the missile is dull rather than bright.



Interrogator-Chaplain – Front View



Interrogator-Chaplain – Left Side View



Interrogator-Chaplain – Rear View

This shows the Ork with Missile Launcher correctly deployed.



Interrogator-Chaplain on Bike Applying Hammer of Wrath to Ork

This view shows the Medieval Bible Manuscript Decal on the Underside of the Cape.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/16 17:05:55


Post by: Oldmanronald


Building Ravenwing Standard Bearer

I am rebuilding some of my bikes. I stripped some down and have totally redone them. Others I am just adjusting a few details. One thing I do is remove the upright seat back. I find that the seat back put my torsos too far forward and has the faces of my models looking down instead of up. I am also using black, gray, and white base coats to lighten up the tops. Finally, I am building caps and flags from green stuff because they are better than those that come with the models. This may seem egotistic, but I have found a technique, which I have already shared on this blog, that shows how to make banners and capes out of green stuff. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/671876.page#8288936

Using these techniques I rebuilt my Ravenwing Standard Bearer. I started with a Black Knight that I stripped and rebuilt. I replaced his head which I painted separately and added later. I cut off the seat back and raised up his torso so that he will have a more dramatic pose. For his right flag bearing arm I used the Ravenwing Banner Arm but I cut off the pole and replaced it with brass wire. I have learned to replace plastics poles and antennas with wire because they break fairly easily. I drilled out the pole in his hand so I have a hole with his fingers around the hole. I also drilled a hole on the footpad of the bike so that the pole is supported. I have also added a length of twisted floral wire to the wire pole. This floral wire will actually hold the flag away from the pole.



Stripped Ravenwing Black Knight with Wire Flagpole and Floral Wire Cord

I put two or three strands of floral wire in a vice and just twist it together until I have a cord.



Floral Wire Twisted in Vice

When I am finished, I have a floral wire cord the length of the pole.



Floral Wire Cord on Flagpole

The flagpole is fairly big so that I can have a fairly large flag. In fact, my flag will be fairly big and dramatic but this flag will be a showpiece for my whole arm and the flag is easy to make showy.

I plan to use decals to decorate the flag. I plan the flags dimensions by laying out my decals and using this to determine the size of the flag.



One Possible Flag Arrangement



Another Possible Flag Arrangement

Now is the time to play around with the decals before I paint the flag. The middle decal is the unit icon that I designed for my army. The outside decals are medieval manuscripts I found on line and had Fallout Hobbies make decals of these manuscripts for me. I like the work they do and have ordered three sets of decals including the skull icon, the medieval manuscripts, and tarot cards. Their link is http://www.fallouthobbies.com/. I recommend them and encourage you to utilize their service. I am not getting any commission from this for this endorsement but I am endorsing them so they keep this service so I can utilize in the future. I love custom decals.

I then built the flag using techniques that I wrote about in an earlier post. The flag is created between two sheets of polyurethane (sandwich bag) sheets. Notice on the left I press the green stuff around the floral wire. I have also generally shaped the flag although I will cut it with scissors to get it best shaped.



The Green Stuff Flag

I then trimmed the flag with scissors to shape it. I leave the trailing end somewhat rough to give it a more dramatic look. Notice that the green flag is fairly big compared to the bike but so what. This is going to be a dramatic figure and will look good with the rest of the army.



The Green Stuff Flag with Black Knight

I twisted the flag into a dramatic shape. I used some stuff on my desk to hold the shape while the green stuff hardens.



Letting the Green Stuff Set



Head on the Ravenwing Black Knight Flag Bearer

Finally, I put three more strands of twisted floral cord to make the model more dramatic.



Three Cords on Black Knight Flag Bearer

Then I painted up the model and added the decals.



Ravenwing Black Knight with Flag



Ravenwing Black Knight with Flag – Right View


Ravenwing Black Knight with Flag – Left View



Ravenwing Black Knight with Flag – Closeup View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/18 14:52:00


Post by: Oldmanronald


Reworking the Black Knights – New Decals

I placed decals of Medieval Manuscripts and Tarot Cards on the fairing of the bikes on my Black Knights. I had to repaint the fairings white and add a lot of Micro Sol to the decals to get the decals into the crevices in the fairing.



Black Knight with Manuscript Decal on Fairing



Black Knight with Death Tarot Card on Fairing



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/18 15:11:40


Post by: evildrcheese


Cool. Always nice to see the steps players take to create effects of basing and modelling.

Thanks for the showcase.

EDC


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/19 17:06:32


Post by: Oldmanronald


 evildrcheese wrote:
Cool. Always nice to see the steps players take to create effects of basing and modelling.

Thanks for the showcase.

EDC


Thank you Evil Dr. Cheese for your comments. I do like showing the steps because some of them are easier to do than they look.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/20 12:32:35


Post by: Oldmanronald


Reworking the Company Champion – New Decals

I placed decals of Medieval Manuscripts and Tarot Cards on the fairing of the bikes on my Black Knights. I had to repaint the fairings white and slop on a lot of Micro Sol to the decals to get them into the crevices in the fairing.



Ravenwing Company Champion with Manuscript Decal Fairing



Ravenwing Company Champion with Knight Tarot on Fairing



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/20 12:49:46


Post by: Guildenstern


lovely bases, great tutorials as well

I love seeing epic bases


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/21 14:18:29


Post by: Oldmanronald


 Guildenstern wrote:
lovely bases, great tutorials as well

I love seeing epic bases


Thank you Guildenstern for your encouragement.

I love epic bases too but I wouldn’t really call my bases epic. My bases are more simple and uniform. They are designed to match each other and blend into playing field or background. I keep my bases dull and simple in part so that they will not distract the eye from looking at the upper parts of the model. Still a few subtle details like footprints and buried heads and equipment give a little personality to the base.

On the other hand, I have been looking at your models and some of your bases are epic. Your epic bases really helps the model look real. Your bases and models are fun to look at.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/22 13:43:09


Post by: Oldmanronald


Reworking the Ravenwing Apothecary _ New Decals

I both repainted the fairing and portions of the Apothecary with a gold tinted off white.



Ravenwing Apothecary with Decals on Fairing



Ravenwing Apothecary with Medieval Manuscript Decal on Fairing



Ravening Apothecary with Tarot Ace of Cups Decal on Fairing



Ravenwing Apothecary – Rear View

This view shows the gold and white mixture of paint on the shoulder pad.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/23 14:52:02


Post by: Oldmanronald


Sternguard

Sternguard are supposed to be a top unit in 40K. I played some this summer and for me they are not great. I think they are too complicated for my playing style. I like my units a little more simple. I am tending toward long range shootie units like thunderfire cannon which you place in back and shoot at what you can. Or I like Ravenwing. Move towards the enemy as fast as you can. Shoot in range and then assault. Hit and run and shoot or assault same or another target.

With Sternguard, I have to do too much thinking. They are a Goldilocks unit. They can be too close to the enemy or too far. Some units they will kill and some will kill them. Use the right ammunition or in many cases, the bolter or the combi-weapon depending on the situation.

Still, I like the models. Here is the first.



First Sternguard Veteran



First Sternguard Veteran – Another View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/24 22:06:19


Post by: Oldmanronald


Second Sternguard Veteran – Scarface



Second Veteran - Scarface



Second Veteran with Combi-Flamer



Second Veteran – Close-Up



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2016/12/26 16:50:54


Post by: Oldmanronald


Third Sternguard Veteran




Third Sternguard Veteran – The Old Man




Third Sternguard Veteran – Close-Up


I can see a few things I could fix up on this veteran. For example, I need to put some of my medieval manuscripts writing on the ribbons on the purity seals. Of course, the models are a smaller than the photos so some of the details I spot in the photo are not really noticeable on the model itself.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/01/01 16:40:36


Post by: Oldmanronald


Fourth Sternguard Veteran – The Chaos Fighter



Fourth Veteran – Exterminating Chaos Traitor Marines



Fourth Veteran Administering Purifying Rituals to Traitors and Tyrants



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/01/03 12:42:24


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Fifth Sternguard




The Last Sternguard Veteran



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/01/06 13:46:43


Post by: Oldmanronald


Pseudo-Sammael AKA Captain Cat Schrödinger


The name of this blog is 6th Bike Troop – “Schrödinger’s Apocalyptic Raiders.” Captain Schrödinger is the commander of the 6th Bike Troop but he is played as Sammael in the Dark Angel’s codex. The model for Schrödinger is modified from the Games Workshop Sammael making it a Pseudo-Sammael.



Captain Cat Schrödinger

This is my most rebuilt model. I am still working on him. I am not happy with the angle on his right arm, the one with the pointing finger. I am considering rebuilding it so that the arm and hand are straighter.



Captain Cat Schrödinger – Top View

I made the right hand from the Ravenwing Flag Holder bit. I cut off the flagpole and drilled out the remaining flagpole bits that his thumb and fingers were holding. I then trimmed off his index finger and glued in a piece of wire. The wire was cut from a paper clip. I added green stuff to the wire to make a pointing finger. In this picture the hand has only a chalky white base coat but I need to dull it down and add some shadow with a green or black shade such as Citadel Nuln Oil. The book pages are from a medieval manuscript decal that I had made by Fallout Hobbies.



Captain Cat Schrödinger – Close-Up

I take close-up pictures of some of my models but they are hard to focus and only parts of the model are in focus. It also shows the flaws. Notice on the shoulder pad is a small gray triangle in the corner. This is a piece of stray plastic. I found it and removed it after viewing the close-up but I wouldn’t have notice this without the picture. I am tempted to replace the shoulder pad if I can do it without damaging the cape. I have a shoulder pad from some other models that would made a good replacement. Also, I need to trim the edges of the cape since they are ragged.



Captain Cat Schrödinger – Really Close-Up

This picture shows the problems with close-up views. Notice that the only things in focus are the helmet and the backpack. You can see green paint on the backpack that is hardly noticeable when the model is viewed normally.



Captain Cat Schrödinger – Left Front View

In this picture, I have not finished painting the sword blade and I still have the relics of a decal I tried to put on his left shoulder. I have since removed the decal and painted the sword but that is for the next bunch of pictures.



Captain Cat Schrödinger



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/02/20 16:31:16


Post by: Oldmanronald


Pseudo-Sammael Continued

I painted Cat Schrödinger’s sword which is called the Daemon Slayer although its true name is for this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood. Jeremiah 46: 9 – 10.



The Daemon Slayer

I was able to get a more precise lighting streak by painting the lighting first and then painting in the dark background on the sword. I am not sure I like the colors of the lighting. I somewhat wish I had used blue and white rather than orange and white.



Daemon Slayer – Rear View



Daemon Slayer – Front View

In this view I had a reflection problem with the light so some of the details are lost. I also note that I need to remove some scrapes of decal that are still remaining on the shoulder.



Cat Schrödinger


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/04 01:51:34


Post by: Oldmanronald


Repainted Devastator Sergeant

Several posts ago I mentioned that I had trouble with the white spray primer which beaded up on the Devastator Sergeant. I had made the mistake of painting over the beaded primer but the results were poor.



Devastator Sergeant with Beaded Primer

I finally stripped off the paint, sanded off the primer, and repainted him. Fortunately, I had painted his head separately so I didn’t have to strip and repaint his head. I really like the new paint job.


Repainted Devastator Sergeant



Repainted Devastator Sergeant – Left View



Repainted Devastator Sergeant – Rear View



Repainted Devastator Sergeant – Right View

In some of these close-up views you can still see a little beading that I wasn’t able to remove but this model looks so much better now.



Close-up Repainted Devastator Sergeant



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/16 20:00:28


Post by: Oldmanronald


Interrogator-Chaplain in Terminator Armor - Unnecessary Model 1

I am creating a Deathwing Strike Force. This will be fun to use with my Ravenwing. The Ravenwing is fast and goes all over the board. It is great at getting in and out of assaults with hit and run. I find it can hit and run to slide pass a first unit to hit a second unit hidden by the first. Sometimes, however, it would be fun to use the Ravenwing to bring in a deep strike assault unit such as the Deathwing Knights.



Interrogator-Chaplain in Terminator Armor without highlights, decals, whites, or highlights

The Deathwing Strike force seems to be an answer. If the Ravenwing is on the table, the Deathwing can come in from Deep Strike Reserves when needed regardless of the Reserve Roll. As a minimum, the Deathwing Strike Force requires at least 1 headquarter and 2 elites. The relevant rule part of the rule states, “All units in this Detachment must have the Deathwing special rule or be Dedicated Vehicles.” The Command Benefit, Summoned to War, reads, “All units in this Detachment must begin the game in Deep Strike Reserve.”



Interrogator-Chaplain in Terminator Armor with White Decals Base

This works for models that have the Deathwing special rule and have either a jump pack or terminator armor. The question is, however, what about units that have the Deathwing special rule but are not wearing a jump pack or terminator armor, as for example, a Interrogator-Chaplain without any upgrade so that he is in power armor or even better, a Interrogator-Chaplain on a Bike? What is their status?



Front View of Terminator Interrogator-Chaplain with White Added

Until a few weeks ago, this was an open question? There were three possible answers. The first is only units that have the deep strike rule can deep strike and units with Deathwing special rule but are not in terminator armor or have a jump pack can’t deep strike so they never come in. I have looked on the internet and this seemed to be the majority opinion. The second option is that the since all units in the Detachment must begin the game in Deep Strike Reserve, this rule itself imposes Deep Strike rules on all units in this detachment regardless of their prior status. This is my position but it was the minority. A third position is that those units without the deep strike rule begin in reserve but enter as normal reserves. There was no support for this position in the rules as written since it says that all units must start in Deep Strike Reserves.



Close-up of Terminator Interrogator-Chaplain with White Added

So in spite of my interpretation of the rules, I built two interrogator-chaplains, one in terminator armor and one in a jump pack so that I wouldn’t have to open up a game with an argument on whether I could use my bike interrogator-chaplain who have the Deathwing special rule as my headquarters for the Deathwing Strike Force.



Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armor with Decals Added

Then the FAQ came out.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/18 14:26:09


Post by: Oldmanronald


Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armor – Unnecessary Model 2

While I was building the Terminator Interrogator Chaplain, Games Workshop finally clarified the situation with an FAQ. I mentioned that there were three possible solutions to the rules, two which seemed to follow the rules as written. I had written, however, “A third position is that those units without the deep strike rule begin in reserve but enter as normal reserves. There was no support for this position in the rule since it says that all units must start in Deep Strike Reserves.”



Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armor with Mace of Redemption

So much for the rules as written. The FAQ follows the third position so I can now bring in my Interrogator-Chaplain on a bike as a normal reserve character. I probably will do so since he would be more flexible. Although not in terminator armor, he can join either the Ravenwing command squad or Deathwing Knights as needed.



Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armor – Back View

Still an Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armor is neat looking. The back view shows the decals which I have had fun adding.



Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armor – Top Back View

Now I don’t need this model but he was fun to build.



Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armor – Side View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/19 10:41:04


Post by: corpuschain


Nice interrogator chaplain!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/22 23:25:11


Post by: Oldmanronald


 corpuschain wrote:
Nice interrogator chaplain!


Thank you. I agree that the terminator chaplain is one of Game Workshops more attractive model even though it is a fairly old design.




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/23 15:04:34


Post by: Oldmanronald


Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack – Another Unnecessary Model

Another model that I have built was a Interrogator-Chaplain with a Jump Pack. Jump Pack models can deep strike so I could bring him in with the terminators and he would still have some flexibility to join other units as needed.



Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack

This was a time consuming model to make. I started out with the Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain. I had made my Bike Interrogator-Chaplain from the Blood Angels Chaplain with Jump Pack but had not used the jump pack, so I added the jump pack to the Interrogator-Chaplain. I also removed the powerfist and replaced it with a bolt gun bit.



Unfinished Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack

Also notice that I with this arrangement, I couldn't use the cape that came with the interrogator-chaplain but that is okay since they are reasonably easy to make out of green stuff.


Green Stuff Capes

I actually made two capes, one for the Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Wings and one for Terminator Interrogator-Chaplain. Later, I decided that the cape didn't really work for the Terminator Interrogator-Chaplain so I set it aside.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/26 13:08:53


Post by: Oldmanronald


Mounting the Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack




Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack – Side View with Bolt Pistol

I wanted my jump pack models to be above the base. I had experimented with different arrangements but I found a piano wire is the best. To keep the wire mount perpendicular to the base, however, requires some creative bending.



Bending the Piano Wire with Pliers

I bent the piano wire with pliers. The wire is really stiff.



The Three Bends in the Wire.

I put three bends in it so that I had a small three-sided rectangle with a portion of the wire perpendicular to the rectangle.



Shaped Piano Wire on Base

I broke off the end of the wire so that the small rectangle could sit flat under the base with the upright portion side up perpendicular to the base.



Hole in Base

I drilled a hole in the base.



Rectangle portion of piano wire glued on base.

I glued the rectangular portion of the piano wire to the bottom of the base with the upright portion going through the hole.



Base with upright piano wire

Then I mounted the Interrogator-Chaplain on the Base



Partially Painted Interrogator-Chaplain on Base

I had ordered the pack of skulls from Games Workshop which had some piles of skulls. I cut up one of the small piles and added to the base as well as a single skull or two from the kit. I also added a Chaos space marine pack. I have a Gesso mix with some railroad modeling ballast that I painted over the base.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/29 11:59:21


Post by: Oldmanronald


Preparing the Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack for Decaling

I had fun making this model. The most challenging part was putting on decals. Most of this model is covered by a fabric robe and hood. The decals make it look like the fabric is embroidered like a medieval tapestry. The first step was painting all the fabric with an off white paint. I mixed the paint using white, yellow ochre, and some metallic gold mixed together.



White Base for Decals on Front of Model

I also painted the bits such as his keys that will be dangling over the fabric with a dark shade of the color that I intended to paint the bits. For most of those bits, that color was Vallejo Game Color Tinny Tin or bronze which is a great base for any metal finish. When a shiny metal paint, whether silver, iron, or gold is painted over the highlights, the tinny tin appears like shadowy recesses in the metal, giving the metal depth.



White Base for Decals on the Back on the Model

Notice that the cape has not been attached. I will decal portions of the cape separately and then glue and with green stuff, mold it onto the model and then repaint the joint and put on additional decals.



White Base on Cape for Model

I will put most of the decals on the cape and model before I put the cape on the model. I will have to blend the portion of the cape on the right shoulder of the model with the cape using green stuff and additional paint. It actually worked and I was able to cover that with a decal that help hid the seams.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/03/31 11:21:51


Post by: Oldmanronald


Preparing the Head for the Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack

I have started painting my heads separate from the rest of the model. Often when the head is mounted on the model, it is difficult to paint. It also helps with the detail on the face which can be lost if there are too many layers of paint. For most of my models, I spray a black base coat, and then a grey base coat sprayed from the front and top. I then spray a white base coat on the face, usually just a single quick squirt to brighten up the face. By keeping the head separate, I don’t use the black on the face, only the grey for the back and lower part of the face, and then use the white directly down and towards the face so that the gray provides some shadow and the white the highlights.



Hooded Face for the Interrogator-Chaplain

It was fairly easy to paint the face for this particular model since the face is only a white skull. I painted the face an off white with white highlights.



Hooded Face for the Interrogator-Chaplain – Right Side View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/01 20:57:31


Post by: Oldmanronald


Decaling the Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack



The Decals on the Front of the Interrogator-Chaplain

I applied the front decals with Micro Set® and then Micro Sol® right over the bits such as the key in front. Then I kept reapplying the Micro Sol® and scraping away that part of the decals over the bits until the bits were exposed so that the bits look like they are over the decals on the fabric. This was a long and tedious work. If you look close at the bits, particularly the key at the front, you can see the decals still over the key. I will then repaint over any remains of the decals on the bits. Also, note the head in the background.



The Decals on the Cape of the Interrogator-Chaplain

I used a lot of Micro Sol® over the decal on the cape so that the decal followed the flow of the cape. Again, this took time but not as much time as bits on the front. After I put the cape on the model, I had to blend it into the front of the cape at the front of the model and add decals over this area. I also glued the head to the model.

The next pictures show the steps to get the decals on the top portion of the robe.



Placing the Decal Sheet over the Models Head and Shoulder

I had to use a large sheet over the head and shoulders of the model and then used repeated doses of Micro Sol® to conform the decal to this complicated surface.



Conforming the Decal to the Hood and Top of Cape

This was time consuming and I had to remove some of the decals to fit it. Slowly the model emerged.



Conforming the Decal to the Hood and Top of Cape

Notice the decals on the banner of the chaplain’s Crozius Arcanum.

After placing all the decals on the top front of the model, I repeated the process for the top rear of the cape.



Placing Decal on Top Rear of the Model



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/02 16:31:14


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack



The Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack and Crozius Arcanum– Front View

I painted metallic gold over the bits and the trim on this hood. Using washes, I also painted portions of the decals.



The Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack and Crozius Arcanum– Right Rear View



The Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack and Crozius Arcanum–Rear View

Note the over painting of washes on the decals on the cape to both darken the folds in the cape and to bring out the blue.



The Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack and Crozius Arcanum–Front Right View



The Interrogator-Chaplain with Jump Pack and Crozius Arcanum–Front Left View

Notice a small bit of decal got on the ridge of the base. These small flaws are only seen in the pictures since the model themselves are fairly small.

All this work for a model that I probably don’t need after the Dark Angels FAQ came out.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/03 22:50:32


Post by: Oldmanronald


Stormhawk Interceptor

I like having a flyer - mostly to counter any flyers or flying creatures that might threaten my ground troops. For the points, the tough little Stormhawk Interceptor seems a good choice. Games Workshop’s pictures of the Stormhawk Interceptor always have the cockpit cover painted white. This seemed to be a perfect choice for one of my tarot card decals. For this little flyer, the death tarot card seemed a match.



Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Death Tarot Card

I used an airbrush to paint the model but brush painted on a white base for the decal.



Stormhawk Interceptor with White Base Coat for Decal



Stormhawk Interceptor with White Base Coat for Decal

I used a base coat with a mixture of white, ochre yellow and metallic gold. It looks terrible until the decal is placed, and then it really lights up the model.



Close-up of Death Tarot Card Decal on Stormhawk Interceptor

To get it right, I had to work it over the periscope opening which took at little work. I also had to deal with the left and right sides of the periscope cover. I think I used some excess decal material to match it.



Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Death Tarot Card


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/04 10:54:19


Post by: Kurnost


Like the camo on the marines; a bit unusual and that's always cool, but I love the transfers you've worked out for the banners and the stormhawk and the the interrogator chaplain especially!


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/05 02:14:43


Post by: Oldmanronald


Kurnost wrote:
Like the camo on the marines; a bit unusual and that's always cool, but I love the transfers you've worked out for the banners and the stormhawk and the the interrogator chaplain especially!


Thank you for your comments. The decals are fun and I really sort of stumbled into them. There was a booth at NOVA Open a couple of years ago for Fallout Hobbies who would custom make decals. The first set I ordered was a skull insignia with red flowers which was nice and I really like it. But one day I realized that I would like decals of Medieval manuscripts so I went through the internet and found old Bible manuscripts and ordered a second set of decals. Then I realized that Tarot cards decals would also be cool and ordered them. Still it is only lately that I discovered how neat the manuscripts and tarot cards decals made these models. I especially like the Tarot cards but the other two sets of custom decals work really well with the Tarot cards.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/05 21:52:05


Post by: Oldmanronald


Stormhawk Interceptor – The Magnetized Weapons Systems

If you can’t figure out what you want, use magnets so that you can choose among the weapons systems. I have tried this with some of my infantry and bike models, but I found that it really doesn't work too well. If I am trying to choose between a space marine with a flamer and one with a meltagun, I just make two models rather than try to magnify the guns. It is quicker and the weapons are stable and don’t fall out and get lost. For a bigger model such as this flyer, however, the magnetized weapons are doable.



Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Heavy Bolter

Not a bad choice. What else is there?



Stormhawk Interceptor with Icarus Stormcannon and Heavy Bolter

Not bad. What else?



Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Skyhammer Missile Launcher



Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Typhoon Missile Launcher

I also magnetized the back of the Heavy Bolter/Missile Pod. The back for the two missile launchers is the same but the back for the heavy bolter is different. See if you can tell the difference.



Rear View of Stormhawk Interceptor with Heavy Bolter



Rear View of Stormhawk Interceptor with Missile Launcher

If you can’t, don’t worry about it. I had to blow the picture up to see the difference and I know what I am looking for. Actually, it is difficult to spot the difference even with the live model so I probably will just use the missile launcher back for the pod since it is really difficult to remove and replace it, even with the magnet.


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/07 00:35:24


Post by: Oldmanronald


Stormhawk Interceptor – More Pictures

I took a lot of pictures of the Stormhawk Interceptor. Here are some more.



Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Heavy Bolter – Left Side



Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Heavy Bolter – Right Side



Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Heavy Bolter

This picture and the last show the effect of the dark and light paint. I keep the top light and the bottom dark. In normal light, the top looks light and the bottom dark. The light is coming from the right top. The bottom looks naturally dark.



Upside Down Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon and Heavy Bolter

Here the flyer is upside down. Notice that the top of the flyer is about the same darkness as the bottom of the flyer. This is because the light is lighting up the upper area which is painted with a shade. The lower part of the plane which is normally the top is painted brighter than the bottom but because it is now in the shade, it looks the same darkness as the lighted portion above. The overall effect is that the model appears duller than the normal pictures.

Many animals are camouflaged by having their coloring with dark coloring at the top and the light coloring at the bottom. When they are in the wild, they have the same effect as my upside down airplane and the animal is a bland and blends into the landscape. The shape of the animal is hidden.

This is actually a challenge with painting an animal or a military model in a natural setting. For our model, we want the model to pop so it draws the eye. In reality, the animal or soldier wants to remain hidden. Our goal to make our model realistic counters our goal to make our models draw the eye. So I counter my camouflage pattern by darkening my natural shadows and lighting the lighted areas to make the model more noticeable. .



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/07 14:43:11


Post by: evildrcheese


Amazing work with the decals on the Chaplin!

EDC


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/08 16:17:47


Post by: Oldmanronald


 evildrcheese wrote:
Amazing work with the decals on the Chaplin!

EDC


Thanks


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/09 12:30:30


Post by: Oldmanronald


Ravenwing Dark Talon

The Ravenwing flyers may be some of the neatest looking flyers in the 40K universe but they are over-costed for competitive play. Of course, I am not that competitive. I played a Nephilim Jetfighter at the NOVA Open 40K Narrative and its performance was underwhelming. Actually, I never encountered another flyer at the Narrative so I used the Nephilim for ground support which it is not really made for. Actually, it is over-costed for its anti-flyer role and I think the Stormhawk Interceptor would do just as good for less points. See prior posts.



Ravenwing Dark Talon

For slightly fewer points, the Ravenwing Dark Talon might be fun for ground support. So I made one. This picture clearly shows the war gear, the two hurricane bolters, the weird looking Rift cannon in the nosecone, and the Stasis bomb underneath. None of these is particularly designed for flyer to flyer combat but they could make enemy ground troops unhappy.



Ravenwing Dark Talon – Right Side View

It is a gaudy model, especially in comparison with the Jetfighter but that part of the Dark Angel’s charm. Actually, like most of the 40K flyers, they look better in the camouflage than in the traditional color scheme.



Ravenwing Dark Talon – Left Side View




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/11 01:09:26


Post by: Oldmanronald


Ravenwing Dark Talon – Canopy or Not?

I like the look of the pilot in the cockpit.



Ravenwing Dark Talon – Pilot

I actually prefer the look of the pilot without the canopy but it does look unfinished. Below are some comparison shots.



Ravenwing Dark Talon – With Canopy



Ravenwing Dark Talon – Without Canopy



Ravenwing Dark Talon – With Canopy



Ravenwing Dark Talon – Without Canopy

What do you think? I am leaning toward cutting up the canopy to make a windshield. I think I have an extra canopy that came with the Stormhawk Interceptor. Perhaps, I will cut that up and see how it looks.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/11 08:21:05


Post by: evildrcheese


Personally I think it needs something. As you say without it, it does look a bit unfinished.

EDC


Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/12 01:32:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


 evildrcheese wrote:
Personally I think it needs something. As you say without it, it does look a bit unfinished.

EDC


I agree. I experimented with an extra canopy that I cut to make a windshield. I took several quick pictures and they are a little blurry.



Ravenwing Dark Talon with Windshield



Ravenwing Dark Talon with Windshield 2



Ravenwing Dark Talon with Windshield 3




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/13 00:30:58


Post by: Oldmanronald


Ravenwing Dark Talon – Magnetized Stasis Bomb

I magnetized the Statis Bomb since it is a One Use Only Weapon. So here it the Dark Talon on a bombing run.



Ravenwing Dark Talon – Before Dropping off Statis Bomb



Ravenwing Dark Talon – After Dropping off Statis Bomb

Lots of fun.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/15 17:30:49


Post by: Oldmanronald


Ravenwing Dark Talon – Upside Down



Ravenwing Dark Talon – Right Side Up

This shows how the brighter top and darker bottom of the model shows the three dimensional shape of the model.



Ravenwing Dark Talon – Up Side Down

Here the colors are more muddled with the top and the bottom the same intensity. I discussed this earlier with the Stormhawk Interceptor.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2017/04/20 15:01:33


Post by: Oldmanronald


Drop Pods

I put some of my decals of my drop pods so I took to many pictures of them. I also used a lot of pigment so that they looked like they had they had just finished with a fiery landing.



Drop Pod – Ace of Cups Tarot Card



Drop Pod – Ten of Swords Tarot Card



Drop Pod – Ace of Cups Tarot Card




Drop Pod – Manuscript



Drop Pod – Skull with Flowers



Drop Pod – Head of Demon Prince



Drop Pod – Four of Swords



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/01 14:56:31


Post by: Oldmanronald


Unfinished Ogre Leadbelchers

It has been a while since I posted. My last post was in April 2017. I have not been as involved with the hobby during 2017.

Still, I started working on projects, including these Ogre Leadbelchers. Below are some pictures of the ogres with just a base coat.



Unpainted Ogre Leadbelchers with Heads

The heads are attached with sticky tack, a blue reusable adhesive putty that my wife uses to post temporary pictures. Sticky tack allows me to assemble a model for spray painting the whole model and then pull some parts off for more detailed painting. I have started painting heads separate from the rest of the model.



Unpainted Ogre Leadbelchers – Top View

The fuses are made from twisted floral wire and the flames are pulled green stuff.



Single Unpainted Ogre Leadbelchers



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/12 21:11:27


Post by: Oldmanronald


Dark Angel’s Primaris Azrael – The Goal

One new model I have been working on is Azrael. I have had a metal Azrael for a number of years that I never painted up. I am not too excited about metal models. The figures tend to be noticeably undersized in comparison to their plastic counter-parts. They tend to be much more crudely made. Finally, they do not last as the paint tends to easily chip off them.



Metal Azrael Side by Side Other Space Marines

Notice in this picture, Azrael seems slightly undersized in comparison with other marines. This is going to be even more noticeable if I deploy him aside Primaris models such as Hellblasters. Moreover, the metal model does not really look like him. The Codex Dark Angels has a picture of Azrael that I really like.



Picture of Azrael Found in the Dark Angels Codex

Compare this picture to the picture of the painted metal model also found in the Codex.



Picture of Model of Azrael Also Found in Dark Angels Codex

This model, although masterfully painted by one of Games Workshops modelers, does not have the power or authority of the Azrael in the first picture. Of course, few models would but I think the Primaris Captain comes closer.



Unpainted Primaris Captain



Unpainted Primaris Captain

This is the look I would like to have for my Azrael model. This is the goal.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/14 19:22:04


Post by: Oldmanronald


Primaris Azrael – The Execution

I have decided to build Azrael using the Primaris Captain as the template. This will mean that Azrael with be considerably bigger than the metal model. Below is an unfinished Primaris Captain right next to the metal Azrael. Note the size difference even without the head.



Metal Azrael Next to Unfinished Primaris Captain

This model took a look of customizing with bits from the Primaris Captain and bits from the Dark Angels Hellblaster kit. I also added a little green stuff for the robes and flag as well as a little bit of floral wire robe to hold his robe.



Azrael Right Side Showing the Lion’s Wrath

I cobbled the Lion’s Wrath from several kits including a Plasma Incinerator frame from the Hellblaster’s kit and a bolter with barrel-shaped magazine from another kit.



Azrael Left Side Showing the Banner

I made banner using a technique that I have discussed in a tutorial on how to make banners and capes. They are actually fairly easy to make once you know the technique.

I am pleased with the model but I did notice in comparing it to the pictures’ above, that Azreal’s backpack has twin skulls on the sides. I’ll have to see if I can add this.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/15 20:30:42


Post by: Oldmanronald


Primaris Azrael –Twin Skulls

After viewing the pictures of Azrael, I decided to add the twin skulls on his backpack. I have plenty of skulls since I bought the Citadel Skull kit since one cannot have too many skulls for the Grim Dark. I tried to carve the skull bases to fit the backpack but that was too hard so I found that it was easier to carve out a hole on the backpack and fit a skull to it. Below are the results.



Azrael with Twin Skulls Backpack – Front View

I also added some Dark Angel bits to the ends of the rope around his robe.



Azrael with Twin Skulls Backpack – Left Side View



Azrael with Twin Skulls Backpack – Right Side View



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/16 16:00:48


Post by: Oldmanronald


New Primaris Models

I really like the new Primaris models and just finished an Intercessor Squad, a Primaris Master (or Captain) and, and Aggressor Squad. The problem is that the Primaris marines make regular marines look squatty. Below is a Primaris intercessor model next to a normal sized space marine that I built as a standard marine lieutenant. I like both but the lieutenant looks like a hobbit aside a Primaris model rather than one of the most feared warriors in the Grim Dark Universe.



Primaris Intercessor and Regular Space Marine Lieutenant Side by Side


Below is a picture of a regular sized Apothecary and the Lieutenant alongside a Primaris Captain. It looks like Gandalf with Frodo and Sam, two hobbits. Of course, part of the reason is that I used some old Bretonnia heads for the Apothecary and the Lieutenant. It also doesn’t help that the space marines have this little squatty stance that makes them look like dwarfs.



Primaris Captain with Regular Space Marine Apothecary and Lieutenant - 1




Primaris Captain with Regular Space Marine Apothecary and Lieutenant - 2







Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/17 15:12:56


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Aggressor Squad

With each model having Flamestorm Gauntlets with 2D6 shots that automatically hit their targets, these three models can put out 6 to 36 wounds during the shooting phrases, with the average being about twenty-one wounds. This aggressor squad may be a good tool to remove hordes of light infantry. At least it was fun to build.



Aggressor Squad Ready to Flame 1

When I was at the Basic Infantry Officer’s training, one of the instructors told us to pick our most sadistic and most expendable soldier to operate the flame-thrower. The soldier should be sadistic since he needs to enjoy watching other people burn. He needs to be expendable since once the flames start, everyone on the battlefield knows exactly where the flamethrower is. I always try to make my flamer models a little more flamboyant than the other models because they are flamers.



Aggressor Squad Ready to Flame 1




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/18 18:25:35


Post by: Oldmanronald


The First Aggressor



First Aggressor – Front View

I used pigment on the flamers and on the base. The pigment on the flamers gives it a rusty burned look. The pigment on the base and on the feet of the model gives the base a more natural look. The skulls on the base are from the Citadel Skull kit. The skulls are dry brushed with flake white and then covered with a mixture of browns and grey pigments.



First Aggressor – Right Side View



First Aggressor – Back View


This view shows hints of the footprints in the base. These are primaris marines and are heavy enough to make footprints wherever they go.



First Aggressor – Left View

This view shows the details of the flamer. I put a decal on the handguard but used pigment and a sepia wash to give it depth and the rusted worn look. The flamer itself is painted with a gunmetal blue metallic paint and then covered with pigment.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/19 16:27:06


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Aggressor Sergeant



The Aggressor Sergeant – Front View

He must be the Sergeant. He has an icon on his chest.



The Aggressor Sergeant – Left View

The problem with close-ups is that the picture shows the flaws, is hard to focus, and distorts the image. Still, I do it to show the detail.



The Aggressor Sergeant – Rear View

This view shows the footprints. The backpack and the hoses are painted with tin bits (a dark brown metallic), bronze, with gold highlights. This gives depth.



The Aggressor Sergeant – Right View

This model is somewhat out of focus.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/21 02:15:05


Post by: Oldmanronald


Tableware™ Urban Combat Gaming Mat

Several years ago at NOVA Open; Frontline Gaming & Tableware™ were selling Gaming Mats that could be preordered before the convention. I preordered a 6’x4’ Urban Combat gaming mat which I picked up at the convention, took it home, and put in my closet without even opening the box. Life got busy and I forgot about it. A few days ago, when I was photographing my models, I set up my background. Looking at my old homemade battleground, I noticed that is was pretty beat up and had warped. So I finally pulled out the gaming mat out of the box and used it. I was really pleased. It was heavy and flexible enough to lie down really flat and the color was just perfect. My models look pretty good on this mat. I am pleased and will use this mat in both my photographs and for my gaming.



Primaris Intercessor on Tableware™ Urban Combat Gaming Mat

I used a painting of a gas giant that I painted a few years ago for the background. The gaming mat is laid over a card table. As you can see if you look carefully at the next picture,the picture of the gas giant just leans against a wall just outside my porch. I really like the red spot right near the base of the mat.



Primaris Intercessor on Tableware™ Urban Combat Gaming Mat and Painting of Gas Giant



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/22 14:26:08


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Second Aggressor



The Second Aggressor – Front View

For some reason, this aggressor has smaller flamers than the other two.



The Second Aggressor – Left Side View




The Second Aggressor – Rear View

This view also shows the footprints. The paint look mottled in this picture but that is a problem with the close-up. The actual model has no noticeable mottling.



The Second Aggressor – Right Side View



The Second Aggressor



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/23 13:51:20


Post by: Oldmanronald


The Intercessor Squads

I built two intercessor squads, each of five men. These are troops and troops create battalion and brigade detachments which in turn create command points. Although these are expensive troops, they seem to be more durable than scouts and tactical squads. Unfortunately, I placed both sergeants, the ones with the keys on their belts, in the same squad in the picture of the first intercessor squad and none in the picture of the second squad. Of course, this is no big deal except for these pictures.



The First Intercessor Squad

Both squads have an auxiliary grenade launcher which may be fun.



The Second Intercessor Squad




Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/24 15:04:00


Post by: Oldmanronald


The First Intercessor Sergeant

This is one of my favorite models. He is everything an Intercessor Sergeant should be: opinionated, loud, and in charge.



The First Intercessor Sergeant – Front View



The First Intercessor Sergeant EAT DEATH

If you want to know what the writing on his bolt rifle reads, it reads DEATH. Unfortunately the scrolling hides the D and the H so that the word appears as EAT. Both work.



The First Intercessor Sergeant – Right Side View



The First Intercessor Sergeant – Left Rear View


Although I am now painting almost all of my human models with bare head because I like painting bare heads, I have each model's helmet readily accessible. Also note the footprints on the base.



Servitors of the Unnamed Chapter - Space Marines, Gene-Stealers, Necrons @ 2018/01/25 18:51:42


Post by: Oldmanronald


Intercessor with Mohawk

Sometimes, I take my picture too close to the model. It shows details but a lot of the model is out of focus and the image is distorted.



Intercessor with Mohawk – Close Up



Intercessor with Mohawk – Right Side View

I missed a seam line in the head. One advantage of these close ups is that I can see details that I may miss just looking at the model. I like the bluing with the bronze details on the bolt rifle.



Intercessor with Mohawk – Right Rear View

Again, these close ups show details that I missed when I examined the model. Note the gold on his winged skull that has smeared to the shoulder pad.



Intercessor with Mohawk –Rear View