UPDATE: Over six years and still enjoying myself! Thanks for checking out this blog

UPDATE: Over four years into my misadventures in mini painting, I've slowly finished(?) a disparate Chaos Warband. Along the way I have had a few small disasters, learned a lot from my fellow "dakkanaughts", tried my hand at making some terrain, and now I am now working on my next project, an Inquisition force with more charm than tabletop potential. Thanks for having a look!



Original post: I am new to painting miniatures, though I've been a fan of WH40k since I was a kid...back then I was mostly busy playing D&D . I always wanted to get into 40k but, as you all surely know, it's a big commitment in terms of both time and money. Nevertheless, I've finally taken the plunge. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to pick a starting army and finally settled on Chaos Space Marines. Though to be honest, I will likely do a lot of jumping around between factions before I ever finish any one army...I'm a fluff junkie, I admit it. My love of Dan Abnett is probably to blame, but I can't wait to do some Inquisition and Imperial Guard minis...and space marines...and Adeptus Mechanicus.

Anyway, right now I'm working on some Chaos miniatures. I just finished my first set, a group of five Chaos Cultists.


Next up I'm starting a set of ten Chaos Space Marines.


Starting with this guy:


I've yet to decide what legion/warband to go with and have been considering going with a mix of different legions, perhaps even renegades and corrupted space marines from loyal legions. I'm primarily interested in the hobby aspect of 40k, but I would love to actually play the game at some point also. Any thoughts or feedback on my work so far are incredibly welcome. I of course appreciate courtesy, but please feel free to be completely honest. I look forward to learning everything I can from everyone kind enough to take the time to help.

Chaos Cultists Gallery: http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-101497-50574_Chaos%20Cultists.html

Heretic Tom

Looking good. I like the cultists. Is there a story behind the red skin?

Looking forward to see how you progress.

EDC

 evildrcheese wrote:
Is there a story behind the red skin?

EDC

The short answer is I learned the hard way that a little reikland fleshshade goes a long way

...but the fluffy answer is these cultists once worked at a manufactorum on one of the forge worlds of the Segmentum Obscurus, after suffering horrific burns in service of the vast war machine of the supposed god-emperor, they turned from their faith and bitterness drove them to seek out and serve the forces of chaos.

Heretic Tom

Great story! I look forward to seeing more of these.

Superb work, especially for some of your first minis! I look forward to seeing your progress and you're off to a great start!

So, before I move forward, I'd like to share with you a little about my first major "oops" in my quest to become a miniature painter. It all started at my local game store, there I was, just a naive newcomer looking to get into the art of mini painting...it feels like only weeks ago. It was, in fact, only weeks ago, so, it makes sense that it feels as such. Anyway, I spoke with the owner and explained my ignorance and then took his suggestions because he seemed like a nice sort of fellow. When I had finished, I was the proud owner of a $15 can of Army Painter Uniform Grey spray primer as well as a hundred or so dollars worth of other supplies. Time to get started...

I assembled my cultists, easy enough given that they consist of only two pieces, and set my sights on that shiny can of "absolutely essential" primer. I could not in fact open it though, and this is where the trouble started. Upon further inspection, I noticed some handy visual instructions on the can.


Ok, easy enough. I'll just grab a screw driver, insert it into the tab as shown, gently twist and...



So, did I turn and throw it into the trash can three feet away? No, of course I didn't. I panicked and my first thought was "get it outside!" so I headed for the back door.



Incidentally, my second thought was "my wife is going to kill me"

The store owner acted as though he felt sorry for me, not sorry enough to give me another can of primer mind you...but anyway, I opted for a cheaper can of primer in the meantime and it seems to have been up to the job.




Here's a little closer* look at my Cultists, which I just based yesterday. I didn't have any basing supplies in my budget, but I was feeling rather impatient about getting something done. Those plain black bases were taunting me with their bareness...I couldn't stand it any longer. Fortunately, I purchased my Chaos Cultists in a "starter kit" that came with ten small pots of Citadel paint. One of those was Armageddon Dust, a texture paint. I'm guessing it's overt yellowness is supposed to be representative of sand, but I painted over the top of it in hopes of achieving a dry mud/dirt kind of look.


*click the above image and zoom for a better look and please feel free to rate my work as well!

 Paradigm wrote:
Superb work, especially for some of your first minis! I look forward to seeing your progress and you're off to a great start!

 evildrcheese wrote:
Looking good. I like the cultists. Is there a story behind the red skin?
Looking forward to see how you progress.
EDC

 corpuschain wrote:
Great story! I look forward to seeing more of these.

Thanks for the kind words guys! I really appreciate it.

I assembled my first Chaos Space Marine and decided to leave his left arm detached for now to make it easier to paint.



I decided to go with a Nurgle loving Death Guard for the first member of my chaos warband. I couldn't afford a bunch of citadel paints, with the exception of a pot of reikland fleshshade, the small pots that came with my Cultist kit, and a pot of p3 khardic flesh, all my paint is cheap apple barrel craft paint. Luckily, I did invest in some matte medium and flow aid. So all of my washes are home mixed and primarily made with paint. I did buy a jar of black ink, but I've yet to figure out how to use it without devastating a mini.

Base coat and wash


Heretic Tom

Promising start, that is an interesting bony scheme for your marine, looking forward to how it goes next.

Very nice colour for 40k Death Guard, looking forward to seeing how it comes together!

I can't help but think by not filming yourself trying to open that primer, you've robbed mankind of something wonderful.

 KernelTerror wrote:
Promising start, that is an interesting bony scheme for your marine, looking forward to how it goes next.

 Paradigm wrote:
Very nice colour for 40k Death Guard, looking forward to seeing how it comes together!

Thanks!

Joyboozer wrote:
I can't help but think by not filming yourself trying to open that primer, you've robbed mankind of something wonderful.

I appreciate that, as tragic as it felt in the moment, I'm sure you're right.



I made some progress last night, still have a few details and of course the base left, I'm also considering putting a "mud" wash over the entire thing. Any thoughts?


Heretic tom




Here is my finished* Death Guard Chaos Space Marine. What do you think? Any suggestions? Should I do anything else to this blighted scourge of the Imperium?

*I will probably add something from the transfer sheet to his right shoulder

Heretic Tom


Edit: I put a death guard emblem on the shoulder pad and immediately realized why most people don't like the transfer sheets, it looked like a sticker. I am going to try my hand at painting something instead. Wish me luck!

Also, I thought I'd mention that the transfer sheet that came with the Chaos Space Marines does not include the symbol for Nurgle, though it does include the symbols of each of the other three gods of Chaos. I'm guessing that the Plague Marines come with a transfer sheet that does have the Nurgle symbol, but I have no way to confirm this.

Really good start Tom! I was looking forwards to you posting after you messaged a while ago.

I would like to just echo what everyone else has already said about the cultists, incredibly neat for a first foray into the hobby!

The marine is shaping up really well as well, painting it in parts is always a good idea, too many people get carried away sticking (I am one of these) that they make it next to impossible to get in all the crevices later on.

If you do decide to go with the transfers, they can be a bit fiddly, especially on shoulder pads it can be quite hard to get them lying flat.
My advice would be (before you wet the transfer) cut off as much of the excess transparent transfer as possible around the edge, just makes it a tiny bit easier, also depending on how you get on there are products you can buy to help transfers go on smoother, decal fluids etc, the following is quite a good intro:

http://www.scalemodelguide.com/painting-weathering/decals/apply-waterslide-decals/

Just be aware that if you just use water they will look very 'shiny' at the end!

Keep it up!

 J-paint wrote:

Just be aware that if you just use water they will look very 'shiny' at the end!

Keep it up!

Thanks for the encouragement and the tip! I was a bit unsure about the decals, but I realize now it just takes a little more effort (and supplies) than I anticipated.

Well, I can't stop messing with this model. I probably should have quit as I may be doing more harm than good. I hated the copper trim on the shoulder pads, so I painted them steel and then tried my hand at a rust effect. I also changed his weapons a bit and put a little red in the eyes. Those changes came out ok, i think, but I was unhappy with the level of contrast on the armor so I picked up a brighter green and tried to remedy this perceived problem and now I'm regretting it to some degree. Thoughts? Suggestions? should I just strip the whole thing, lol?




Update: Ok, it was a mess. I couldn't take it, so I did my best to fix it. Thoughts?

Fluff: A Death Guard Chaos Space Marine. As a member of a disparate chaos warband, he has spent little time in the Eye of Terror, and as such, shows minimal signs of the festering plague that inhabits the vast majority of the Death Guard.

Here's my next Chaos Space Marine:

Fluff: An Emperor's Children Chaos Space Marine, still wearing the legions original colors. Originally a loyalist, he has fallen to the ruinous powers in the tumultuous years since the great heresy, mocking the false emperor with his appearance and deeds alike.

Looking good dude. I really like the Death Guard marine.

EDC

I decided the Death Guard marine could use a little zazz, so I added a Nurgle icon to the base. I clipped the bottom of the icon bearer's pole off to mount it to. My Icon bearer will just have to make due with half of a pole


Heretic Tom

 evildrcheese wrote:
Looking good dude. I really like the Death Guard marine.

EDC

Thanks EDC, I appreciate the kind words!

Some great looking models there bro, good to see more Chaos!
Nightmare with the primer :O they are a pain to get off those lids tbh, cut my hand with a screwdriver trying to get one off. I would definitely recommend getting army painter or Citadel again though, that Krylon stuff is ok I guess but not really made for detailed models.
One tip I'd give is try dry brushing your golds for the next model, the metallic paints are quite thick.
Anyway keep at it, that last Death Guard Marine looks great! can't wait to get round to painting mine

Glad to see another Chaos player out here. Keep it up!

So, just a quick update on my primer explosion debacle...I sent The Army Painter an e-mail relating the details of the incident, not expecting anything in particular, and a few weeks went by without any sort of reply. Then, quite unexpectedly, I received a reply, which was uncharacteristically apologetic (you would expect them to word everything carefully so as not to imply liability on there part), and showed genuine concern for myself and for the minor property damage related to the incident. Later that week a received a package from Army Painter which included not only a replacement can of color primer but also this:


I was honestly surprised by their response and more than a little shocked to be reminded that some companies actually care about their customers. So, in summary, Army Painter is awesome and you should buy stuff from them, I know I will.

Heretic Tom

 Ashley_Chaos wrote:
Some great looking models there bro, good to see more Chaos!
Nightmare with the primer :O they are a pain to get off those lids tbh, cut my hand with a screwdriver trying to get one off. I would definitely recommend getting army painter or Citadel again though, that Krylon stuff is ok I guess but not really made for detailed models.
One tip I'd give is try dry brushing your golds for the next model, the metallic paints are quite thick.
Anyway keep at it, that last Death Guard Marine looks great! can't wait to get round to painting mine

Thanks! It's nice to hear I'm not the only person to have had trouble with those damn things. The krylon worked alright, but I am glad to have a better quality primer again, particularly because it didn't cost me another $15

When you say to dry brush my golds, do you mean instead of painting them on? Or do you mean dry brush a layer on top of them? I'm sure part of my problem is the quality of the paint I'm using (super cheap craft paint), but my technique is also surely to blame as I am very new to this. Any tips are greatly appreciated.

 JeffyP wrote:
Glad to see another Chaos player out here. Keep it up!

Sanity is for the weak! Thanks for the encouragement.




This guy is next in line! I'm trying to decide between Alpha Legion (which seems like it would be a bit of a challenge) and Red Corsairs for this aspiring champion. Fluff wise I'm leaning towards Alpha, it just seems to make sense that they would be involved in a Warband full of corrupted renegades and cultists. Any thoughts?


and here are some (slightly) better pictures of my first two Chaos Space Marines before I added some weathering to their armor:

Very nice work on the DG and EC. Don't feel bad about the primer I had something similar happen to me and it was a reinforcement of why I should only play with them outside. It is a lesson that is sometimes learned at a cost.

 Raskana wrote:
Very nice work on the DG and EC. Don't feel bad about the primer I had something similar happen to me and it was a reinforcement of why I should only play with them outside. It is a lesson that is sometimes learned at a cost.

Thanks! I really appreciate that, and yes, lesson learned...the hard way.

Heretic Tom

The combat knives that came with my CSM kit don't have a hand that fits them, so rather than put them in the open hand meant to hold the bolter I utilized a chainsword arm. Also, I hated the pony tail on the only head that had a partially exposed face, so bye bye pony tail.




I haven't had a chance to do any painting as of late due to a new tiny person joining my brood, but I'll update again as soon as I have a chance to do some painting. Thanks guys!

Heretic Tom

Also, I think I'm going to repaint the Melta Gun on my Emperor's Children Marine, that brass/copper color is driving me crazy...I think I hate it and need to stop using it.

I still haven't had any time to paint, but I did finish assembling and priming the rest of my Chaos Space Marines. I made some minor modifications to them, not really anything worthy of being called a "conversion" but at any rate, here they are.


having used the lower half of my banner pole elsewhere, I replaced it with the old skull on a spiked chain.


I just put a spike on the handle of the heavy bolter.


Added a blade to the grip of the bolter.


altered the right arm so that he could point the plasma rifle straight ahead and carry a power sword also, rather than having a two-handed grip on the P.R.


added a spiked chain to the grip of the bolt pistol.


As above, I altered the right arm to change the angle he was pointing the flamer so that I could pair it with a chainsword.


I was annoyed that chainswords were only able to be held in the left hand, making it impossible to have one in each, so...i fixed it.

After doing a little online research, I attempted a weathering effect on the power armor of my Emperor's Children and Death Guard Chaos Marines. This tutorial by TheApatheticFish was my primary source: https://youtu.be/l4LvLh_R5qY





I was pretty happy with the results. As I'd previously experienced with metallics, the viewing angle alters the appearance considerably and again my photography skills are lacking, but I think I've more or less managed to show the general appearance of the models. Any thoughts or tips for future attempts? Criticism welcome.

Heretic Tom

Personally when I weather my marines, (for any color other than black) I do a sponging of a black paint, then a sponging of a metallic sliver (leadbelcher all the way to runefang depending on how bright you want it to be). For black power armor marines I use a 50/50 mix of dryad bark and abbadon black for the initial weathering and then go back to a silver metallic.

 Ustrello wrote:
Personally when I weather my marines, (for any color other than black) I do a sponging of a black paint, then a sponging of a metallic sliver (leadbelcher all the way to runefang depending on how bright you want it to be). For black power armor marines I use a 50/50 mix of dryad bark and abbadon black for the initial weathering and then go back to a silver metallic.

I was pretty pleased with the effect the "burnt umber" primer color had on the death guard but I thought it was much less effective on the emperor's children, black may indeed have been a better choice. I have a small pot of "leadbelcher" from my cultists starter kit which I used here, but it's the only "silver" metal color I have besides a cheap "gun metal grey" that is too similar in tone to be of much use here.

I have a plan for two of the other Chaos Space Marines above, the one wielding two chainswords will be a world eater and the one with the plasma pistol and power sword will be an Emperor's Children marine in their 40k style armor. This conflict is what led me to ask in the rules forum if my units could attack each other. I thought it would be a funny, fluffy thing to do, in the middle of a battle have the World Eater hack an Emperor's children to death, but anyways...

As far as the others, I haven't settled on any affiliations for them yet and I'd love to hear any suggestions my fellow dakkadakka users might have. Thanks!

Chaos marines are looking good!

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Chaos marines are looking good!

Thanks! I'm hoping to make some progress on another mini soon.

 Heretic Tom wrote:

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Chaos marines are looking good!

Thanks! I'm hoping to make some progress another mini soon.

My furry critters are coming along slowly, no need to rush

I considered making this guy a traitorous Imperial Fist, but decided to make him an Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marine instead. Naturally, he has the impaled head of an Imperial Fist as decoration...after this one I have a new found hatred of the color yellow and a greater respect for anyone who paints Iron Warriors effectively. As you can see, those hazard stripes gave me some trouble.


I also got around to taking some better pics of my other two finished Chaos Marines

Yep, I tried to do my SM as Imperial Fists, got tired of the way Yellow gave me trouble and will only use yellow for smaller applications where needed, (turn signals, rank marks, etc).

Good work on that Iron Warrior btw

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Yep, I tried to do my SM as Imperial Fists, got tired of the way Yellow gave me trouble and will only use yellow for smaller applications where needed…

Thanks Shas. Yah, I would have been inclined to blame my cheap craft paint if it weren't for all the people who seem to have the same trouble despite presumably using different/better paints. I don't remember specifically, but I think that imperial fist head must have 6 or more coats of yellow, not counting wash and highlights.

 Heretic Tom wrote:

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Yep, I tried to do my SM as Imperial Fists, got tired of the way Yellow gave me trouble and will only use yellow for smaller applications where needed…

Thanks Shas. Yah, I would have been inclined to blame my cheap craft paint if it weren't for all the people who seem to have the same trouble despite presumably using different/better paints. I don't remember specifically, but I think that imperial fist head must have 6 or more coats of yellow, not counting wash and highlights.

Yellow is too translucent on it's own, so many thin coats need to be applied. entire squads of Imperial Fists are a major exercise in patience.

I started on my aspiring champion last night, didn't get much further than a rough base coat. I decided to go with a red corsair, though my color range is extremely limited I think the crimson is looking alright. At some point I'm going to buy like $300 worth of paint and look back on this time with face-palming dismay

progress! I still have a lot to do though.

 Heretic Tom wrote:
progress! I still have a lot to do though.

I like the touch of the power fist fingers looking electrified, good work so far on him!

I really like your Iron Warrior, a nice conversion and well painted too. Fair play for even attempting hazard stripes, I just left them off my IW altogether.

The Red Corsair is looking good already, hope to see some more progress soon.

 Thraxas Of Turai wrote:
I really like your Iron Warrior, a nice conversion and well painted too. Fair play for even attempting hazard stripes, I just left them off my IW altogether.

The Red Corsair is looking good already, hope to see some more progress soon.

Thanks Thraxas. That Iron Warrior made me glad I hadn't decided to do a whole army of Iron Warriors. I may never paint hazard stripes again


I finished up my Red Corsair and I'd love some feedback. Please, let me know what you guys think.


Heretic Tom

Looking good dude. Really like the blue claws on the powerfist.

EDC

 evildrcheese wrote:
Looking good dude. Really like the blue claws on the powerfist.

EDC

Thanks iniquitous cheese, m.d. This was my first attempt at both glowing eyes and a power weapon. For a first try, I was pretty pleased with the results.

I think your red and gold look really good. The question is which traitor Legion is next?

Very cool latest addition Tom !

Loving the new chaos warband, definitely my army of choice if you want character. If you run out of chaos legions/renegade chapter paint schemes at any point, Hakanor's Reavers are always a surefire way of driving you mad.
Next question: do YOU hear the voices TOO???

Thraxas Of Turai wrote:I think your red and gold look really good. The question is which traitor Legion is next?

Thanks thraxas. That is the question indeed. I really want to do a corrupted marine from one of the loyalist chapters. I was considering either a Lamenter (in spite of their notoriously difficult chapter symbol) or a Mantis Warrior, since both a have ties to the Red Corsairs.

KernelTerror wrote:Very cool latest addition Tom !

Thanks, much appreciated.

Drakeslayer wrote:Loving the new chaos warband, definitely my army of choice if you want character. If you run out of chaos legions/renegade chapter paint schemes at any point, Hakanor's Reavers are always a surefire way of driving you mad.
Next question: do YOU hear the voices TOO???

Thanks! That's definitely going to be a tough one, I like a challenge though and I'm getting more confident with every mini. Plus, Hakanor's Reavers have some awesome fluff. Very tempting
To answer your 2nd question; sanity is for the weak!!



Following a bit of advice from Paradigm (who is an awesome painter fyi) I painted the grill in the chest piece to help break up the colors a bit. I think it was definitely an improvement.

Nice work. Liking the individuality of each marine. Looking forward to the next one

This is my as yet meager work station. I would probably be working in my garage but it's far too humid here this time of year.

Hey mate! That iron warrior looks awesome .

It's fairly easy to paint those hazard stripes, just start with averland sunset (remember to thin it down!) and give it a good amount of thin layers. Eventually, you will be able to apply yriel yellow and you're set!

I think I like your iron warrior the most out of all your other chaos marines

Yeah that little improvement makers a big difference to the overall look of the model. What's on the agenda next?

EDC

Also, have you considered doing the chaos stars (shoulder pad and belly) a different colour? metallic perhaps?

teban wrote:Hey mate! That iron warrior looks awesome .

It's fairly easy to paint those hazard stripes, just start with averland sunset (remember to thin it down!) and give it a good amount of thin layers. Eventually, you will be able to apply yriel yellow and you're set!

I think I like your iron warrior the most out of all your other chaos marines

Thanks! I realized after the fact that I probably should have painted the whole field yellow, using as many layers as I needed and THEN painted in the black lines. I did this in te reverse order, so every time I added a layer I had the added frustration of trying to keep my lines straight. Lesson learned.

evildrcheese wrote:Yeah that little improvement makers a big difference to the overall look of the model. What's on the agenda next?

EDC

Thanks EDC, I agree. That small change made a large improvement to the overall look of the model. I'm researching right now who I want to represent with my next addition to this rag tag bunch of emperor haters. I'm considering a Grey Death marine, but their colors and such aren't listed in official fluff. At first I thought of this as a negative, but I've been considering the possible plus side of this, as it would allow me some artistic freedom. Another thing I've wanted to do since I first decided to work on chaos marines is to do a marine like the one that Eisenhorn encounters early in the eisenhorn trilogy (I forget which book), Abnett described him like this: "He was well over two metres tall, wrapped in a cloak that seemed to be made of smoke and silk, and his ornately decorated armour and horned helmet were a shocking mixture of chased gold, acidic yellow, glossy purple, and the red of fresh, oxygenated blood." However, I have no way of making a cloak, as I have no green stuff, have never used it before (but hey, you have to start somewhere) and additionally, I can't afford to pick up any new supplies at the moment. So, that idea may have to stew a bit longer.

teban wrote:Also, have you considered doing the chaos stars (shoulder pad and belly) a different colour? metallic perhaps?

I have, I considered doing them goldish, like much of the other accents, but I didn't want to over do it with that particular color and I felt I'd already reached my preferred limit. I also considered doing them black, as this is the secondary color of the Red Corsairs. However, I worried that I wouldn't be able to give them as much depth of tone/contrast, in part because this seems to be inherent to black, and also because of the inferior range/quality of the paints I have available would likely exacerbate the problem. Still, I'm open to ideas.

ckig wrote:Nice work. Liking the individuality of each marine. Looking forward to the next one

Thanks! I'll start as soon as I can settle on what legion/warband to represent. I've been more than a little indecisive in this regard thus far.

I see - What I'd do, is I'd paint the shoulder pad's icon with the metallics you've already used and the one in the belly with black (and bright grey highlights!) with the skull having a natural colour.

the reason for the metallic on the shoulderpad, is that i visualize the icon as one of the most important parts of a unit, its what says where your allegiance lies! (traitor scum )

I tried my hand at a "burnt muzzle" effect on what I thought was a much too pristine looking melta. It didn't come out quite as I'd hoped, but I wouldn't call it terrible either. Thoughts? Suggestions?

I think I probably need to throw a sepia toned wash over it.

Looks good to me. How did you do it (the burnt Melta end)?

EDC

 evildrcheese wrote:
Looks good to me. How did you do it (the burnt Melta end)?

EDC

Thanks EDC. It was not a very complex/thorough process (which may explain my mixed feelings about the end result) but basically I just took some very thin brownish paint (I tried to go for the color of a roasted marshmallow ) and brought it from the tip of the melta barrel down, leaving a bit of untouched metal near the other end, I then did the same thing a few more times not going quite as far with each subsequent layer in an attempt to feather the color. I then painted the tip of the barrel solid black, bringing it down the barrel just the slightest bit. After this, I then stippled the black further down the barrel with my dry brush, I had considered using sponge for this last step but I feared I may not be able to cover as small of an area with the sponge. And that's it, as I said above, I considered/am still considering putting a light brownish wash over the entire "charred" area.

Heretic Tom

Sounds like good fun. Keep it up Tom!

 reiner wrote:
Sounds like good fun. Keep it up Tom!

Fun indeed! Thanks for the encouragement.

I'm visiting the inlaws today, but I'm hoping to get some painting done tonight. Still haven't settled on the identity of the next chaos marine, but here's what I'm currently debating: I've been wanting to do a traitor marine from one of the loyalist chapters, but I haven't been able to settle on one. I had an idea though, to create a character who rather than being from a loyalist chapter wears pieces of armor from defeated foes. So he might have a shoulder pad from a blood angel, the helmet of a salamander, chest piece of an ultramarine and so on and so forth. Thoughts?

I'm also considering doing a marine from the Grey Death legion, as mentioned above this would require some imagination as their colors and heraldry aren't listed in official sources. I also plan to do a world eater and another emperors children marine, an odd couple of sorts

As far as an actual traitor, I've been kicking around the idea of a lamenters marine, but…yellow. I hate yellow

Or maybe a mantis warrior. Decisions, decisions. I'd love to hear any thoughts you guys have about it.

Heretic Tom

Well, having no opinion other than my own to go on, which I don't put much stock in , I decided to do a Mantis Warriors traitor marine. Here's a wip shot to give you guys an idea of where I'm at with it. Feedback welcome!

That green is looking good . What are you going to do with that yellow? If I recall correctly, you have painting yellow

On the melta thing, What I do, is I apply a black wash on the whole muzzle, then brown wash half-way and finally a purple wash at the very end of the muzzle

Cheers

Mantis Warrior is looking good. Solid green and yellow really pops.

EDC

 teban wrote:
On the melta thing, What I do, is I apply a black wash on the whole muzzle, then brown wash half-way and finally a purple wash at the very end of the muzzle.

Cool, thanks for the tip!

teban wrote:That green is looking good . What are you going to do with that yellow? If I recall correctly, you have painting yellow

evildrcheese wrote:Mantis Warrior is looking good. Solid green and yellow really pops.

EDC

Thanks guys. I'm trying to exercise patience with that yellow. I'd like to say he's about 50% done at this point but…you know how it goes.

I think the Mantis Warriors never actually turned to Chaos, they just backed the wrong horse during the Badab Wars and fought along side the Astral Claws because they were close allies. Either way, it's looking good

The Astral Claws did turn and became the Red Corsairs. That could be an interesting addition to your collection. They're space pirates too, so I don't think it would be so unlikely that they would steal armour from their enemies like you were suggesting before.

I also found this image for inspiration, but unfortunately couldn't find a description anywhere :(

juptrking wrote:
I think the Mantis Warriors never actually turned to Chaos, they just backed the wrong horse during the Badab Wars and fought along side the Astral Claws because they were close allies. Either way, it's looking good

The Astral Claws did turn and became the Red Corsairs. That could be an interesting addition to your collection. They're space pirates too, so I don't think it would be so unlikely that they would steal armour from their enemies like you were suggesting before.

Awesome! I actually just finished a Red Corsairs aspiring champion. My thought process behind including a mantis warrior (and my having considered a lamenter) is based on the addition of a Red Corsair to my warband. As you noted, they backed the astral claws in the badab war out of loyalty to their long time allies, so I thought what if these two particular marines were especially close and, even after the Mantis Warriors sought to return to the good graces of the imperium, their bond led this marine to follow his friend even at the cost of his soul and sanity.

Ah man, that'll teach me for opening my big mouth before reading the whole thread!

That makes sense, a shattered legion sort of thing.

Have you seen the Blackshield transfers that Forge World has been putting out lately? That could make a great addition, you'd have a lot of freedom with the iconography. They remind me of the freeblades of the Imperial Knights, fighting for their own cause.

Hey, I liked the burnt effect, so I started using a purplish blue (transparent) wash leaving some silvery behind it towards the main gun body, so it looks like the metal-blue-use a ancient bronze(tin bitz), then finish off with the end blackened as you did there.

juptrking wrote:Ah man, that'll teach me for opening my big mouth before reading the whole thread!

That makes sense, a shattered legion sort of thing.

Have you seen the Blackshield transfers that Forge World has been putting out lately? That could make a great addition, you'd have a lot of freedom with the iconography. They remind me of the freeblades of the Imperial Knights, fighting for their own cause.

Yah, exactly. I've got a lot of fluff in mind for them. I'll get around to writing it all down at some point

Thanks for the tip, I hadn't seen the blackshield stuff before.

shasolenzabi wrote:Hey, I liked the burnt effect, so I started using a purplish blue (transparent) wash leaving some silvery behind it towards the main gun body, so it looks like the metal-blue-use a ancient bronze(tin bitz), then finish off with the end blackened as you did there.

Thanks Shas. I really like the "heat" effect you described, honestly I wanted to try it but it looked a bit harder... I chickened out

Once you learn how easy it can be, you will never fear it again

Just a quick update on my traitor Mantis Warriors marine

Looking good man, like the Mantis Warrior in particular, they have a very striking scheme

It's also nice to see a force of armour-thieves that isn't the 13th Company

Highlights on the green are looking great.

EDC

 evildrcheese wrote:
Highlights on the green are looking great.

EDC

I was worried they were a little stark, considering doing a midtone glaze over the armor. Any thoughts?

Kurnost wrote:
Looking good man, like the Mantis Warrior in particular, they have a very striking

Thanks Kurnost.

A bit more progress...


Sorry for the low quality pics, it's not very apparent, but I even out the shadow to highlight transitions with a little glazing and did a bit more detail work. I'll do my best to get some good pics when I finish him up.

Looking good, I think the yellow really helps him stand out (and differentiates him from his Nurgle ally). Are you going to attempt a freehand Chapter badge next? If so, good luck! I'll attempt the Star Phantoms badge too out of solidarity

You've edge highlighted (really well) in green on parts of the model that I'd do metallic, like the shoulder pad rims. Deliberate?

 thebuilder wrote:
You've edge highlighted (really well) in green on parts of the model that I'd do metallic, like the shoulder pad rims. Deliberate?

Thanks builder. All my reference pics for Mantis Warriors showed them that way, but there will be a good bit of metal showings when finished as I plan to weather this figure (relatively) heavily.

 juptrking wrote:
Looking good, I think the yellow really helps him stand out (and differentiates him from his Nurgle ally). Are you going to attempt a freehand Chapter badge next? If so, good luck! I'll attempt the Star Phantoms badge too out of solidarity

Thanks juptr, I am indeed going to attempt the chapter symbol and your show of solidarity is greatly appreciated

The flamer can also benefit from that "Burnt" look

The weapons are a little flat. But that yellow is awesome.

Looking good so far! I second the heat weathering on the flamer it is super easy and makes them look great

cormadepanda wrote:The weapons are a little flat. But that yellow is awesome.

that's because I hadn't painted it yet, when I took the last update picture the weapons just had a base coat of generic metal color. I promise it looks much better now. And thanks for the compliment, that yellow was a bother

shasolenzabi wrote:The flamer can also benefit from that "Burnt" look

Ustrello wrote:Looking good so far! I second the heat weathering on the flamer it is super easy and makes them look great

Thanks guys, I plan to give it another try, hopefully with an improved end result.


Another update: Now I just have to do a bit of (dreaded) freehand on the shoulder pads and then weather the armor and he'll be ready for basing.

Here's my finished Mantis Warriors traitor marine. Feedback welcome!





Heretic Tom

Looking good Tom, I like the corrupted Mantic/Tactical symbols a lot. The green is nice as well. Only thing I would recommend is a little tidy up on the black rim of the base.

I am going to stop looking at the rotate-y photo as I am now feeling a bit queasy...

 Thraxas Of Turai wrote:
Looking good Tom, I like the corrupted Mantic/Tactical symbols a lot. The green is nice as well. Only thing I would recommend is a little tidy up on the black rim of the base.

I am going to stop looking at the rotate-y photo as I am now feeling a bit queasy...

Thanks thraxas, I will definitely clean the base up a bit. I hadn't noticed how much adhesive residue that tape left behind. Also, sorry about your motion sickness

Next in line…this CSM is meant to be one of the few surviving members of the Blades of Rage Warband

It's going to be a busy week, but I'm going to try to finish my Blades of Rage marine by the weekend and get started on another csm. With only 5 figures left unfinished, out of the two sets I picked up to get started, I find myself more and more anxious to complete them. Then I get to start trying to decide what to grab next. I'd really like to add a corrupted inquisitor and a daemonhost to this motley vanguard.

Nice work on the Mantis Warrior, like what you've done with the battle damage.

EDC

The Mantis Warrior is looking great, the chapter badge/weathering trick worked a treat too. Rogue Inquisitor sounds good to me, a great opportunity to make a really unique mini.

Blades of rage guy looks interesting, dual wielding chain swords!

Love the mantis warrior ToM! I really like how bright the red is in contrast, it might not be realistic gore but i like it a ton. Also very very much like the really jacked up shoulder pads. Your progress is very evident!! Keep up the work man!

evildrcheese wrote:Nice work on the Mantis Warrior, like what you've done with the battle damage.

EDC

Thanks EDC, much appreciated.

juptrking wrote:The Mantis Warrior is looking great, the chapter badge/weathering trick worked a treat too. Rogue Inquisitor sounds good to me, a great opportunity to make a really unique mini.

Thanks, freehanding the chapter symbol went about like I expected, luckily so did my plan to hide it

shasolenzabi wrote:Blades of rage guy looks interesting, dual wielding chain swords!

Right?! Thanks man, glad to know it wasn't just me

bebopdrums2424 wrote:Love the mantis warrior ToM! I really like how bright the red is in contrast, it might not be realistic gore but i like it a ton. Also very very much like the really jacked up shoulder pads. Your progress is very evident!! Keep up the work man!

Thanks bebop, I appreciate it! I was mostly pleased with how he came out. I have a tendency to be very critical of my own work, but I try to keep reminding myself that given my lack of experience and quality supplies, I'm doing alright.

Here is my Blades of Rage Chaos Space Marine, not my cleanest looking paint job but I did learn a lesson or two doing this one and hopefully that will be apparent in my future efforts.


One of the only Chaos Marines to survive the First War for Armageddon, and perhaps the last surviving member of the Blades of Rage warband, his only concern is finding more blood for the blood god...and the occasional skull for the skull throne. But mostly blood

Here's a closer look at the blood splatter, I used a slightly different technique this time.

Looking good Heretic Tom, nothing says bad ass quite like double chainsword.

Blood splatter is looking good, I'm sure Khorne would approve


EDC

Yep. Looks good. Nice colour scheme.

Good start to the hobby! My suggestion is to let the fluff guide you. Read the back story on the Traitor legions and decide which one you most closely have an affinity. Take your time and remember thato it's better to do several thin layers of paint rather going to thick and obscuring detail. Welcome to the warp brother! Do you hear the voices too!?

Looking good and bloody Heretic Tom

evildrcheese wrote:Looking good Heretic Tom, nothing says bad ass quite like double chainsword.
Blood splatter is looking good, I'm sure Khorne would approve
EDC

Thanks EDC, wh40k is full of cool weapons but I've got a bit of a soft spot for the 'ole chainsword.

corpuschain wrote:Yep. Looks good. Nice colour scheme.

Thanks, I kinda pulled it out of my [censored by order of the Adeptus Ministorum] but I just went for something generally Khorne-ish.

genom.cor wrote:Good start to the hobby! My suggestion is to let the fluff guide you. Read the back story on the Traitor legions and decide which one you most closely have an affinity. Take your time and remember thato it's better to do several thin layers of paint rather going to thick and obscuring detail. Welcome to the warp brother! Do you hear the voices too!?

Words of wisdom. Do I hear the voices? No (blood for the blood god) I don't (blood for the blood god) hear (blood for the blood god) any (blood for the blood god) voices.

shasolenzabi wrote:Looking good and bloody Heretic Tom

Thanks Shas!



I'm working on a Violators marine right now, I didn't plan on having so many hedonistic Slaneesh devotees in my warband but apparently I like painting garish ceramite. I'll get some pics posted this weekend.

Heretic Tom

Here's a quick wip pic of my Violators CSM, progress has been slow…stupid everything besides painting keeps interfering with painting

Progress on my Violators marine has obviously stalled recently, I just started a new job and have had tons of family commitments lately but work shall resume soon.

In other news, I ordered a chaos terminator lord today!
I'm almost as excited about what it will add to my bits box as I am about the figure itself. More on that when he arrives.

Heretic Tom

Congrats on the new job. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Lord.

EDC

That's exciting, hope the new job is going well What warband /legion are you going to pick for the Lord?

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. It's a job, ehhhh…I could do without 'em, but it pays well and that means I may actually get to buy decent paint and brushes.

I'm not sure where I'm going with the Terminator Lord, but I'm open to suggestions
I may just choose a group without colors and emblems listed in the official fluff and use it as an excuse to do a custom scheme, like with my blades of rage marine, but something more outlandish this time around.

My Chaos Terminator Lord arrived yesterday, so I thought I'd post a picture of the sprues.

I've decided to do the terminator lord as a Fallen Angel, the fallen are cool and it should unite my warband nicely in terms of fluff. First things first, I'm going to finish my Violators marine. I have today and tomorrow off work, so I should be able to finish him if I can keep the kids distracted long enough

Here's a look at the Chaos Terminator Lord mostly assembled...





And here is the (finally) finished Violators CSM

Didn't get a chance to start the terminator lord today, but I did nearly complete his base. The unholy lord will have to wait until my next free day.

Sounds good to me!

I finished the base for the Fallen Angels Terminator Lord. I also picked up some blood for the blood god and gore-ified several other models. I'll post updated pictures of them at some point.

Base is looking good, nice work on the stone effect.

EDC

Thanks EDC!

Here are some step by step wip pictures of the terminator lord's cloak

Not checked in in a while, cracking work all round! The HB Marine is looking great, and that base and cloak bode very well for the Termie lord.

Thanks paradigm, I appreciate the encouragement. I was pleased with how the HB marine turned out, edged a little closer to nmm with that blue I'll get there. I'm trying to glean as much as possible from the Society page, and your posts in particular, in regards to my work on the Terminator Lord.

Here's the cloak, finished.

Nice work on the cloak it's looking really good. The fur bit looks especially good.

EDC

Here is the Fallen Angels Terminator Lord finished…mostly

I'm considering putting a little more work into him here and there, but I'm mostly pleased with how he turned out. Of course, looking at the images I found several mistakes and oversights, so I'll work a bit to fix those at very least.


Note: the image is pretty hi res, though only 30% of the original, so click on in there and zoom to your heart's content.

Looking good Tom, nice work on the black armour and the flashes of green look great.

EDC

Thanks EDC!

Another look at the (mostly) finished Terminator Lord. My finger snuck into the second frame, could photoshop it out but I'm too lazy...far, far too lazy.

He looks great! Did you end up using my black armour method in the end?

Agreed, he looks great - I especially like the cloak and fur pelt!

Lovely work. The base and the cloak look really good! Did you do a little conversion on the right leg? He looks like he's got a Pegasus boot!

@paradigm : I did! And I learned it's not quite as easy as you make it look I think I went too thin on my color splashes, or too heavy on the nuln oil, as I seem to have obscured them a bit more than intended. Practice, practice, practice right? I was terribly afraid of doing black armor before this though, now I've got a grip on it and just need to refine my application. Thanks for the tutorial, big BIG help!

@juptrking : Thanks for noticing yeah, I clipped that wing off of one of the back "spikey things", along with the space marine head laying at his feet. I thought the old Pegasus boot would help convey the Dark Angels origin a bit. I am the master of the "barely noticeable, but still technically a conversion" conversion.

@aryllon : Thanks!

 Heretic Tom wrote:
@paradigm : I did! And I learned it's not quite as easy as you make it look I think I went too thin on my color splashes, or too heavy on the nuln oil, as I seem to have obscured them a bit more than intended. Practice, practice, practice right? I was terribly afraid of doing black armor before this though, now I've got a grip on it and just need to refine my application. Thanks for the tutorial, big BIG help!

If you don't mind the critique, I'd say it definitely looks like the Nuln was a bit too heavy. The helmet is where it really tells, all those sharp lines would ideally be showing through silver (see the Deathwatch Terminator I recently did for an example) and that would really make the 'face' a focal point, as it is it gets a bit lost and looks a little flat. I normally don't recommend thinning GW washes, but maybe it's worth a go here just to let the edging show a little more. If you can, use Lahmian Medium to thin rather than water, as you want the wash to be less opaque but keep the same consistency.

Do keep practising, though, it took me most of an Iron Hands army to finally nail the method! This is a great start!

Thanks paradigm. I don't mind a bit, honestly I appreciate it a lot. After looking at your DW mini its painfully obvious what you mean, I'm definitely gonna keep working on it.

So, I picked up some nurgle rot yesterday and today I got out my death guard marine (the first chaos marine and sixth mini I painted) and I gave him a touch of the plague. Here's the end result:

Disgusting!

Meaning, nice work

EDC

That is one rank Nurgle Marine, if I were in the same squad as him I would want a five mile exclusion zone around him!

Some great progress here, the Terminator Lord is especially good.

Thanks guys!

Here's what I'm working on at the moment, a black legion icon bearer, though he'll have to wait until Sunday to be finished.

Good work Tom! That PM looks right, though can I suggest coming back in on the armor trim with brass to help it pop a bit, and the legionaires' coming along nicely. In fact that color would look good on the plague marine (be even better with some rust though . Keep up the good work!

Thanks genom. The pm was one of the first minis I painted, normally I wouldn't go back and mess with one, but I finally got my hands on some nurgle rot and couldn't resist. I'm to the point now where I'm comfortable doing all the trim and what not but at the time I painted him I found it a bit intimidating. The next one will have rusty trim everywhere instead of just the shoulder pads



I'm almost finished with my icon bearer, just have to finish some skulls, paint a book and then base him. No time for pics now though, need to get at least a few hours of sleep before work

Finished the Black Legion Icon Bearer, turns out all I had to do to find time to paint was forgo sleep.

Looking good. I really like the detail on the book that's hanging off the icon.

EDC

Thanks EDC. The book was a late addition, but I thought it looked pretty cool.

It's a shame I forgot to remove all of those mold lines

Great stuff, you've nailed the armour on that guy!

Thanks paradigm, he's definitely an improvement on my last attempt. I did go back and touch up my terminator lord too, I'll post an updated pic later today.


Update: So, I didn't get around to rephotographing theTerminator Lord yet, but I did start a Night Lords marine tonight, here's a quick pic…

I want to put in some more time painting my Night Lord, but I've run out of steam. My next day off we're going to a local comic convention my wife won passes for, and I'd rather meet William Shatner than paint. But Monday I'll try to finish this guy. I really like this model, but the one I saved for last is my favorite, so I'm anxious to get started on that.

After the last marine in this initial group, I'm considering doing a chaos dreadknought. I still need to decide between either the venerable, ironclad or standard dreadknought to use as the base model.

I ordered some Rogue Trooper miniatures from warlord games today, they're having a pretty excellent sale at the moment. Even got free shipping to the US.

It's a pretty cool set of minis, includes a nort and a souther in addition to Rogue. I'm really excited to paint them

Pictures!


Added Blood (for the blood god)


Made a small change to the torso


Some new pictures of my icon bearer


Some new pictures of my Fallen Angels Terminator Lord, I touched up the highlights on the "head" a bit


And finally a wip shot of my Night Lord, without much progress to show not sure why I bothered to photograph it…

Cracking stuff! The Termie's helm looks way sharper now, good job!

Good stuff HT! The rate of your painting progress is impressive! Looking forward to seeing toy tackle the lightning bolts on that NL.

Thanks guys! I appreciate it.

I picked up some more paint today, slowly but surely acquiring decent supplies. I also ordered some more minis from warlord games, a set of 5 samurai from "pike and shotte" and titus pullo & lucius vorenus from "hail caesar." I loved both characters in hbo's Rome (not to mention Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico) so I'm really looking forward to painting them in particular.

I also picked up a hellbrute, an aspiring champion, and the six chosen from dark vengeance on eBay.

Here are some more wip pictures of my night lords chaos marine:

The Night Lord is coming along nicely. Keep up the good work.

EDC

Thanks EDC. I finished the Night Lords marine, now to get a few hours sleep before work...



Larger, for your zooming pleasure...

That's some nice posing you've got there. Good to see a diverse collection of the faithful

Thanks lindsay40k, I appreciate the compliment. Starting my first army (and my first attempt at painting) has been a lot of fun so far. Having to choose a single war band/legion just didn't suit the exploratory nature of this endeavor. In addition, I think trying so many different things has definitely helped me learn at a relatively faster pace than would have been possible painting an army with a more singular theme. I'm rather pleased so far with the group and I'm excited to be receiving some new additions in the near future. Stick around and feel free to offer suggestions and tips.

Heretic Tom

With regard to building up to a full army, an idea might be to build up units with a fairly uniform background - like a mostly/all World Eaters Berzerker unit, a mostly/all Iron Warriors Havoc unit, etc - with a shared army insignia or banner or heraldry that identifies them as all being in the same Dark Crusade together. Back when I started, this was an established approach to collecting Loyalists as there was only one SM Codex and painting varied uniforms was regarded as a good way to avoid hobby fatigue. It certainly aids with distinguishing members of units when a scrummage occurs! And, as you say, it is a good learning exercise with the paintbrush

Nice work on the Night Lord, you've done a fine job on the lightning on his armour.

EDC

Thanks edc. I'd seen it done enough times I thought I could pull it off. I think it was a success, as far as first attempts are concerned.

Thanks for the advice Lindsay, I may just do that. I have certainly enjoyed painting most of these guys enough to expand some of them into whole squads.

Picked up a hobby drill today, so I went back and drilled all of the gun barrels on my chaos marines. I think I got the hang of it now…mostly

I also grabbed some more paint yesterday, including some blues for my rogue trooper mini, which should be arriving any day now. The collection grows!!!

I'm currently working on the final chaos marine from my original 10 man box. Should be finished just about the time the next wave of chaos filth arrives, hopefully in the next few days.

Heretic Tom

Nice to hear you're drilling barrels, it's a small touch but makes a big difference.

EDC

Here are some wip pictures of the last of my first ten chaos space marines, a wayward abomination from the Exquisite Host...


And here are some new additions to my warband...

A Hellbrute

The Chaos Chosen from the Dark Vengeance boxed game

And an Aspiring Champion for whom I decided one axe just wasn't sufficient





Heretic Tom

Double axe is looking rad. Shame there's no in game incentive for running matched weapons, as double sword and double axe models look awesome. I guess the second weapon would also have to be discounted to make it viable too...

EDC

Dual Axe man pleases the God Khorne! More skulls for the skull throne, more blood for the blood god!

Thanks guys! I couldn't resist the second axe, I'd been planning it since I bid on the model. I got all those new models for less than $20 USD, hurray for eBay.

Thanks for the info EDC, I doubt I'll ever actually play the game though. I'm far too antisocial. Maybe I'll teach my kids to play at some point, after I teach myself

I found these little baskets at Target, they've helped me organize my work area much more efficiently.






Here are the models I ordered (and just received) from Warlord Games.



Heretic Tom

More chaos stuff on the way too, including a lot more cultists and some pieces for a squad of custom possessed and a bit-by-bit cultist leader conversion.

I built two of the Pike & Shot Samurai last night, they are a bit smaller than I expected and they were definitely a little more of a chore to assemble than a space marine.

Here's an image for scale that can also serve as an update for my Exquisite Host Chaos Marine, as well as a look at what's on my desk at the moment.


Heretic Tom

I got some cultists (20 to be exact) in the mail today. I got the whole lot for $12 USD, so a great price for sure, even considering that the "leader" was already painted and looked like this:
I've already stripped him

The group includes seven figures I don't already have, since I began with the $10 five cultists starter kit back in February, and they are all great models in my opinion.

Heretic Tom


"Later, that same day…"
Here are few quick conversions I did for the new group of cultists.

Wonderful variety. Looking forward to seeing them done.

Conversions on the cultists look good. Simple weapon swaps can be incredibly effective.

EDC

Cultists look almost ready for action! (Paint them up!)

Thanks! I'm excited to paint these guys. I like all of the cultists models, but there are definetly some stand-outs. The heavy flamer model and Anarkus are two of my favorite, so I'm looking forward to those two in particular.

Earlier today, I told my wife I was doing the texture on the bases, so she played the song "all about the base" at high volume

I finished the Exquisite Host Chaos Marine...


A close-up 360° version:

Here is a group picture of all the models I've finished so far. I've been painting for about nine months and I think I've made a fair bit of progress.



And here is what I have left on my desk at the moment...



Heretic Tom

Nasty looking bunch of chaos touched!

Group shot of your completed stuff looks great.

Your really making some great progress.

EDC

That's a cool warband you're building up there!

Glad to see that the Walmart purchases helped with your organisation. Cool looking group shot as well, a truly Chaotic force.

Thraxas Of Turai wrote:Glad to see that the Walmart purchases helped with your organisation...

I found them at Target actually

Thanks guys! I appreciate the kind words.


I got some more stuff in the mail, including the first two members of what will eventually be an Inquisitor and his retinue. I found both on eBay, the scribe was in dire need of a good stripping. The preacher is savage looking, probably one of my favorite figures.

And some Not Fallout and a Not Ragnar mini from Brother Vinni's. I like the models, and while they're not GW quality, they're pretty damned decent.
Heretic Tom

Nice loot. Those Not fallout minis are soo cool!

Nice catch with the eviscerater priest too, great model.

EDC

Nice metals you caught for the Inquisitional retinue!

Oh and Brother Vinni does some nice works!

Thanks guys! Inquisition is really my first love in the 40k universe, so naturally I'm really, really excited about building an inquisitorial retinue.

It's been a busy week, but I did manage to start one of the new cultists.

I have used a bunch of the Reaper minis with some slight add ons for my Inquisitional retinue, only my tech priest is GW.

I finally received my bitsbay.it order! A torso I ordered didn't arrive (they said it was out of stock) so I was only able to make 2 Possessed Chaos Marines (using bits from this order as well as some I picked up a few weeks back) along with a leader for my group of cultists.


Here are the two possessed chaos marines, the first will be a Death Guard marine and the other a Night Lords marine.








and here is my cultist leader:




Heretic Tom

Nice work, that cultist leader is particularly cool! I need to get me some of those GS Cult bits and have a play around with them...

Thanks paradigm, I was really pleased with how well the tempestus scions head suited the GS cultist body. And that blade for a hand arm might be my favorite bit ever. It wasn't what I had planned to use, but it was just too cool.

These are looking fantastic, inspiring stuff, keep it up.

 Camkierhi wrote:
These are looking fantastic, inspiring stuff, keep it up.

Thanks, much appreciated.


I have made a bit of (slow) progress on the cultist. Here are some wip pictures:

Double club cultist loved beating Imperial slime to death.

Nice work dude.

EDC

Some really nice kitbashes here, a great use of various kits to create a suitably Chaotic force. Even the simple ones like the added club cultist work really well, keep it up HT.

Thraxas Of Turai wrote:Some really nice kitbashes here, a great use of various kits to create a suitably Chaotic force. Even the simple ones like the added club cultist work really well, keep it up HT.

Thanks Thrax, Some day I'll get some green stuff and try my hand at something more complex, it's a lot of fun trying to make a mini unique.

evildrcheese wrote:Double club cultist loved beating Imperial slime to death.
Nice work dude.
EDC

Thanks EDC.


Here's an update on my quest to build an Inquisitor and Retinue...


I also ordered some of the "made to order" Inquisition figures GW is currently offering, which are only available for another day or two if you are interested. I actually called and complained that a week wasn't a long enough sale, because I like to make official complaints

Another burned and bitter manufactorum worker, driven to seek revenge against the uncaring dead god that is the emperor of mankind.



Obviously I still haven't learned my lesson when it comes to mold lines

Excellent work, tones and style are brilliant, nice job.

Unfortunately the moldline on the head needs to be sorted dude, we all miss them, but thats a bad one. Would be a shame to leave it as the model is such a great job otherwise.

Finally got around to hanging a shelf so my finished minis didn't have to stay in a cabinet

You will need more, trust me.

You're gonna need a bigger shelf!

EDC

Definitely, I'm thinking I'm going to pick up a glass display case, The tall kind that stands up in a corner. In the mean time, I've got to go shelf shopping again...

I picked up an Arbites (w/ shotgun!) for my inquisition force today. I'm super happy, it was near the top of my wish list. I also grabbed another servitor, this one comes equipped with a plasma gun. Now I just need GW to get my "made to order" stuff out to me and pick up an astropath, a pilot, a Valkyrie and a squad of space marine allies. And maybe a small detachment of imperial guard. And some psykers

Made some progress base coating the remaining cultists, but nothing worth showing. I also picked up a "master of ordinance" model that I'll use for something in my Inquisition force. I can see two full armies forming now, slowly but surely, and it's exciting. Now if my crazy work schedule would just allow me some painting time…

I recieved my "made to order" figures from GW, now I actually have an Inquisitor for my Inquisition force.


Also on the way, two more Imp. Guard figures (an aquila lander pilot and the aforementioned master of ordinance mini) along with 8 space marines from the Battle for Vedros boxed game. And a couple of additions to my chaos warband as well.

I'm interested to see where that Inq Warband goes. Color me intrigued

Thanks! I'm excited to see it growing.

Here is a group shot of what I've got so far...

And the space marines I ordered for my inquisition force arrived today!

Cool stuff. You doing the SM as Death Watch?

EDC

Yes, I'm going to do them as a group of Death Watch noviciates being battle tested by the terminator armor clad marine and the captain.

Seriously nice models there, looking forward to seeing them painted.

This should be awesome! So jealous you got that female Hereticus Inquisitor, I've wanted one for ages and didn't see that she was in one of the Made To Order lists!

Camkierhi wrote:Seriously nice models there, looking forward to seeing them painted.

me too thanks Cam

Paradigm wrote:This should be awesome! So jealous you got that female Hereticus Inquisitor, I've wanted one for ages and didn't see that she was in one of the Made To Order lists!

Sorry paradigm. I can sorta relate, there were some awesome figures in the made to order batch that followed the imperial agents group, but I had aleady spent so much last month on models that I just couldn't do it. There's always oop originals on eBay, but that female inquisitor is a bit pricey. There were actually two very similar female inquisitor models, I went with this one because I thought the face was better, but I really liked the weapons the other version carried.

Can't wait for the new models! Just went through the thread! Keep it up

 Stevefamine wrote:
Can't wait for the new models! Just went through the thread! Keep it up

Thanks Steve

Here's a wip shot of what I'm working on at the moment.

That DV chosen looks great in the green scheme.

Nice work on the Cultists Champ too.

EDC

Thanks EDC, I've got some pretty lofty plans for the DV Chosen...at least by my standards. They are really cool, detailed minis.

Seriously nice work on those two bud. Really nice feel to them.

Good acquisition of the classic metals. Painted minis looking good as Cam has said.

Thanks guys. I finished the Death Guard Chosen Chaos Marine. Feedback appreciated!


Heretic Tom

Excellent work. I'm echoing what I said previously but that marine really does lend itself to the green /nurgle work.

Really looking forward to seeing what you do with the other Chosen, as like you say, they're fantastic models.

EDC

Thanks EDC. I appreciate it. I agree that the theme suits the model well. As soon as I saw it, I knew what I wanted to do with it.

Picked up an old chaos terminator and some torso bits, which allowed me to build another csm. I had so much fun painting that Death Guard Chosen that I went with another Death Guard marine.






I also got three more models for my Inq. force, but I'm going to strip them before I get around to taking pictures of them.

Heretic Tom

Cool stuff. You gonna put the old hammer termie on a 40mm base?

EDC

 evildrcheese wrote:
Cool stuff. You gonna put the old hammer termie on a 40mm base?
EDC

I'm actually thinking I'll put him on a 32mm base, because I ordered about 30 of them for my inquisition minis. Other than a pile of 25's, I also have a spare 50mm base around here...somewhere...

A few more models for my inquisition force, including an old necromunda ganger I converted into a merc zealot.

Inq warband is coming along nicely as is your painting HT! Keep up the good work!

What model is that on the right with the pistol and the case? I see it all over the place and I have no idea where it's from!

That latest marine is looking great btw, your painting has come a long way

Thanks guys.

Juptrking, that model is the Imperial Navy Aquila pilot from the Battle for Macragge set. I'm going to use him as my Valkyrie pilot. When I get a Valkyrie

I really like how your multi-coloured warband is turning out, they still come together as cohesive group even though they're all so different. (In many ways we could all learn a lesson from the armored sadists)

I've started working on a similar project so it's good to see someone else getting good results further down the line.

Looking at your finds I'm tempted to start looking for some old second hand models and bits to mess around with. Even if it does mean stripping paint/dissolving the skin on my fingers

Thanks stabby. I think they're shaping up well, the idea suited my indecisiveness. I say buy models wherever you can find models. It's a necessity sometimes, you can't really build a proper, interesting inquisition force without a bit of adventurous shopping. Good luck with your current project!

Mr Stabby wrote:I really like how your multi-coloured warband is turning out, they still come together as cohesive group even though they're all so different. (In many ways we could all learn a lesson from the armored sadists)

I've started working on a similar project so it's good to see someone else getting good results further down the line.

Looking at your finds I'm tempted to start looking for some old second hand models and bits to mess around with. Even if it does mean stripping paint/dissolving the skin on my fingers

Heretic Tom wrote:Thanks stabby. I think they're shaping up well, the idea suited my indecisiveness. I say buy from models wherever you can find models. It's a necessity sometimes, you can't really build a proper, interesting inquisition force without a bit of adventurous shopping. Good luck with your current project!

That's very true, I think some eBay purchases, individual bits (bits and kits, bits box etc.), or even 3rd party bits are almost a must for an interesting Blanchitsu style inquisitor army. Also paint stripping isn't nearly as dangerous if you use acetone free nail polish remover. You can even paint strip plastic and resin with it

Cool conversion making the ganger into a zealot. Simple but effective.

EDC

Stripping models isn't nearly as hard as I originally expected it to be. I use "Mr. Clean with gain" to strip both metal and plastic models. It strips a plastic model in about 10 minutes. You can buy it in the cleaning section of most stores, look for the glowing nuclear green liquid...

Thanks EDC. Full disclosure, while i was vigorously brushing the ganger after soaking him in the nuclear green cleaning chemical I referenced above, I broke his hand off...D'oh.
Rather than trying to reattach it, I took the opportunity to replace it with something that would better suit my Inquisition group.When Life hands you lemons, make a zealous madman to serve the god-emperor.

New arrival for my Inquisitor's force. I'm super excited to paint this…

You're really amassing a cool selection of models for this force. Can't wait to see some paint.

That a penitent engine? Hope you plan on pinning that!

EDC

Seeing a heavy metal model like that brings me out in a cold sweat. I used to apply industrial quantities of glue on the damn things and they'd still fall apart if I looked at them too hard.

Back in the days of metal dreadnoughts I'm surprised there weren't GW branded welding torches.

Paradigm wrote:You're really amassing a cool selection of models for this force. Can't wait to see some paint.

Me either

evildrcheese wrote:That a penitent engine? Hope you plan on pinning that!
EDC

Yes it is and thanks for reminding me, I would have undoubtedly regretted forgetting to pin it.

PathologicalLurker wrote:Seeing a heavy metal model like that brings me out in a cold sweat. I used to apply industrial quantities of glue on the damn things and they'd still fall apart if I looked at them too hard. Back in the days of metal dreadnoughts I'm surprised there weren't GW branded welding torches.

I will keep that in mind and pin/glue it like some kind of multipurpose pinning and gluing machine.

Here's a better look at the Penitent Engine and a peek at the base I'm doing for it. He'll be stomping that heretical scum's broken corpse into the mud.

Nice work on the base. I love the smell of squashed heretics in the morning.

EDC

Ah those were the days, nice model and good start on the base.

Thanks Cam!

Here are some more new arrivals for the Inquisition Force I'm building. The Grey Knights are going to form a personal guard unit for my Inquisitor and the fellow on the end is a Frateris Militia figure.

Cool. Who gets the cape with the cherubs?

EDC

The guy on the left will be the lucky cape wearer, he'll be a sergeant or some such. He has a few nice details that set him apart from the group. He'll also be carrying the staff in the picture.

Funny aside, the cape cost me as much as the three grey knights on the right did together. But it's a sweet cape, and the faces of the cherubs are one of my favorite things I've come across since I began collecting models.

 Heretic Tom wrote:
The guy on the left will be the lucky cape wearer, he'll be a sergeant or some such. He has a few nice details that set him apart from the group. He'll also be carrying the staff in the picture.

Funny aside, the cape cost me as much as the three grey knights on the right did together. But it's a sweet cape, and the faces of the cherubs are one of my favorite things I've come across since I began collecting models.

That sounds like a good investment then as it makes you happy. That is one of the big things that count in this hobby, what makes you happy to work on and make to play with?

^Exactly.

Some really nice models there. And it is the little bits that make it special and unique to you that makes this hobby so brilliant. I know things can be done cheaply, and somethings cost ridiculous amounts, but in real terms do they, I bet it cost less than a pack of beer, which would last you maybe a couple hours, where this model will give you joy for a very long time.

Look forward to seeing what you do with this.

Well said. And an excellent point, we wouldn't buy any of this stuff if we didn't find some joy in it.

Here's the last (maybe) figure for my Inquisitor's retinue. This is an old Necromunda Bounty Hunter circa 1995-97.



With the exception of a Valkyrie for my Inquisition force and a Rhino for my Chaos warband, I'm not planning on adding any more models to either group (wait, ok, I'm still debating on adding some Imperial Guard shock troops to the Inquisition group).

I have the day off tomorrow, so I'm hoping to finish a couple of cultists I've already started.

Heretic Tom

I didn't get a chance to paint on my day off work, too much going on. Maybe I'll finish the cultists when the kids are grown and out of the house

Very nice variety in the Inquisition force. Also, your Nurgle marine is delightfully diseased. Any big plans with the old Termie? I find they're a bit small in a squad of more recent sculpts

Kurnost wrote:
Very nice variety in the Inquisition force. Also, your Nurgle marine is delightfully diseased. Any big plans with the old Termie? I find they're a bit small in a squad of more recent sculpts

Thanks! No solid plan in place right now. I'm open to suggestions though


It's been a while since I posted an update. It has officially been (a little more than) a year since I started in the miniatures hobby. I finished 18 figures, not too bad I think.
Anyways, I acquired the last two pieces of my current WIP armies:


And a Preacher figure I really love and some bits to do another chaos Terminator Lord, because both armies needed at least one more figure each



And something I'm even more excited about, stuff to start a terrain project. I'm planning on doing a group of six (or nine) 12"x12" modular pieces in a sort of "Mud Hell" style, lots of bombed out craters and mud of varying depth/texture. Hopefully with a few yet to be acquired set pieces, but here's what I got to start...




Heretic Tom

Good to see you, nice additions to the collection, look forward to seeing them develop.

Ah terrain, don't get me started. Looks like you have gone all out on it. Well any questions, I have a bunch of friends (League of Extraordinary Rivetters) and we run competitions for terrain, between us we have a wealth of knowledge and ideas, be sure to keep me posted on how you are doing and any questions you may have.

Some nice additions there! Looking forward to seeing the terrain project kick off.

EDC

I got two more arbites, so my first space constable won't be so lonely. I'll throw a pic up later.

I also finally put something together with those chaos Lord bits.



And I ordered the deathwatch overkill box today, so I'm pretty excited about that.

He looks spectacular, nice work bud.

Thanks Cam..

Here are the 2 additional arbites (on the right)

I like the obscure models you are using here!

Thanks corpuschain. I've really enjoyed tracking down cool minis for this project.

Also: I'm very happy today...

I got a third servitor for my savant/scribe's personal retinue. He's probably my favorite of the three.


And another EBay find that I am indescribably happy about...

I went to a warlord games con in okc, got some cool stuff in the swag bag (some doctor who minis and some wwI figures) and stumbled across a cool game called counterblast (which I picked up a mini from, I'll post a pic), I also of course found someone selling some 40k minis and picked up some orks for next to nothing, I think I may have enough for a skirmish game or I may just use them for dioramas...

In any case, I picked my three favorites and did some simple conversions.

So you finally bought some proper models!

Looking great bud.

Wicked Ork conversions dude.

EDC

evildrcheese wrote:Wicked Ork conversions dude.

EDC

Thank you nefarious cheese, M.D.

Camkierhi wrote:So you finally bought some proper models!

Looking great bud.

Proper indeed. They are going to be fun. I looked through the recently acquired ork models and bits more closely and I have enough for about 23 different minis.
I told my wife I need to go buy some green paint and she looked at me like I was crazy, so I then had to explain that the twelve or so shades of green I already have aren't quite right for ork skin



Here are the minis I got in the swag bag from the local Warlord Games Con


Some Daleks and Cybermen from the new Doctor Who game Exterminate! (http://www.warlordgames.com/new-exterminate/)

And some WWI minis, a doughboy and General of the Armies, John "Black Jack" Pershing.




And here's the Counterblast mini I picked up at the convention

I loved all of the minis from this game and had a really hard time choosing one. You can check out some more of them at http://store.bombshellminis.com/counterblast/


I also wanted to spend my every last dollar on minis from this game, Arena Rex (https://arenarex.com/)

Nice swag. I really like that counter blast mini!

EDC

I started an arbites last night on a whim, here's a wip pic...

That Arbite is looking real good!

i made a first attempt at terrain today.
















This consisted of a lot of firsts for me and I greatly appreciate all feedback! Thanks!

Heretic Tom


!

Nice first piece man! Planning a board in this style? It's kinda WW 1 ish

Yes, I'm planning at least three more pieces in this style. As you guessed, I am going for a sort of ww1 mud hell, bombed out feel for the majority of the field but there will be at least one tile with a fair amount of greenery and I'm going to attempt some varied, unique stuff on each piece.

Well that is a great start bud, really nice natural feel to it, good tones, though could go a bit more scorched in the craters. Grass is looking brilliant, nice little touches.

To add to it, maybe some small tufts of longer grass, but certainly not necessary. You will possibly save for further build, but a tree stump might go well.

Brilliant work bud, you want to enter the next round of the LoER comp. Always lots of hints and tips there.

Thanks cam, giving the craters a more scorched appearance is a great idea. So is a tree stump, I'm going to look into options for how to do one. I'll definitely join in on the next round of LoER.

Good touch excavating the craters a bit. I'd recommend getting a bag of gravel and scattering a few rocks on the texture medium when still wet - and give them a brush with PVA before painting.

Here's a peek at my next terrain project...

 lindsay40k wrote:
Good touch excavating the craters a bit. I'd recommend getting a bag of gravel and scattering a few rocks on the texture medium when still wet - and give them a brush with PVA before painting.

Thanks! I will give that a try.

Terrain looks awesome dude. Nice use of different tones and textures. Looking forward to seeing more.

EDC

Very interesting pieces, look forward to seeing where you go with them.

Link to current LoER comp....
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/720769.page

Thanks guys, and thanks for the link cam.

Here are some new wip pictures of my second terrain piece

That's looking really excellent.

Thanks cam, I've still got a lot of work to do on this one but I'm pretty happy with how it's looking at this stage.

I grabbed a few more things for terrain projects today...



and I also came across a few items I wanted to ask you guys about. First of all I am looking for some foam cutting/burning/shaping tools and would love some suggestions. I came across this and wondered if it might work for some applications...



I also came across this stuff today and wanted to know if you guys had any experience with it. Seems like it might work great for blood/slime stringing effects...




Thanks for all your feedback!!

Heretic Tom

Oooh exciting! like the boards, you've got the knack right off the bat! only thing I can suggest which was mentioned earlier is some different size rocky rubble and maybe some muddy water effects but that's probably because my head is all about the water effect at the moment lol!

Great little haul of materials.

On heat tools:

I have this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HOT-WIRE-CUTTER-FOR-MODEL-MAKING-CRAFTS-DEPRON-EPP-POLYSTYRENE-NEW-/132205816079?hash=item1ec814a90f:g:dpoAAOSwnDZT33o5

And a normal cheap soldering iron, which I modified the tip on, the one you have shown is a little pricey because they are labelling it "craft" and you are getting a bunch of tips you may or may not find useful.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60W-60-WATT-ELECTRIC-SOLDERING-SOLDER-IRON-c-w-FLAT-CHISEL-TYPE-TIP-STAND/361190790366?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D43782%26meid%3D67969ab5d7124cd490f160a7cea9597b%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D151217227129

I also have one similar to this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Butane-Gas-Micro-Blow-Torch-Lighter-Welding-Soldering-Brazing-Refillable-Tool-UK-/112235824629?hash=item1a21c6c5f5:glsAAOSwnHZYT9U0

Hope that helps, it is not exhaustive and there are are many alternatives out there. Others may have some better options.

Thanks cam, I definitely want one of those cutting tables and I have one of those torches actually, though I've yet to try it out. Good to know about the soldering iron.

Also, I've prepped some trees and vines!



Update:
Here are some new wip pictures from my current undertaking

One last wip picture before I call it a night.

Looking good so far.

EDC

Nice! from shell hit mudhell to a fortification

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words.

I added a bit more "wet" mud, tried for a scorched look in the craters, and added a small (limb-stripped, likely dead) tree to my first board. I carved a sort of beveled edge on this first piece, which I think looks nice but of course I have since realized that this will make for a very poor fit with the other battlefield boards. So, I guess this one will just be a first go/display board.

That is looking fantastic sir, awesome work.

Thanks cam

Those are some very cool looking terrain/display pieces!

Thanks Ustrello, I've been having a lot of fun working on them. As someone who has never actually played the game, I primarily had display in mind when I started. Because of that I think finishing a terrain piece has given me a sort of sense of completion, not that I'm done

Now that is looking fantastic absolutely brilliant work sir. Stunning.

Thanks cam, you're too kind.

Lots of progress on this piece of terrain.

Brilliant colour choices and really nice work, humble beginnings as in a piece of cardboard packaging, now looking like some kind of long forgotten bunker. Great work.

Wow, I really like the pics of the cultists on the hills! They're quiet retro but also grimy. The grey sky is perfect!

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