This Painting Log is a little different from many of my other GW army showcases. Instead of attempting to build an army on the cheap and create one from other players discards and cast offs, my Elysian Drop Trooper Army was pure Forge World Gamer porn. With almost every model coming directly from their shop in Nottingham (the exceptions being a couple of eBay purchases and a trade or two), now granted all purchases were made during Forge World free shipping windows, the figures were still very expensive and Mrs. Captain Brown still does not know how much I paid for them. The army was started in 2006 when the Taros Campaign and the Anphelion Project books were recent Forge World productions. It began when my former roommate Kelly (then of Sorcerer Studios) traded me 11 Drop Trooper bodies and parts for some other gaming books a few years before. These 11 were far from complete with missing shoulder pads and not enough right arms…but they started an idea to build a new Imperial Guard army, complete with air support. Now at this time only a couple of flyer models existed, they were all Forge World products and exclusive to the Imperial Guard (not like today were every army seems to have several flyers and they are a regular part of the game). The army was also inspired by the gamer Chaos & Evil who was a regular poster and his take on Elysian Drop Troops…sadly his PLOG is also gone as far as I know. I lost my original PLOG with the demise of WarSeer, but will try to rebuild it from the images I captured during the building and painting process. This was quite a while ago, so if some of the rare earth magnet work seems quaint just remember that almost no one used them over a decade ago.

Some shots of the army as it moved from D-99 formations into a complete Elysian Battle Group.

The start of my battle with the army of grey resin

More units added

More units added

More units added

More units added

More units added

The army continues to grow

Army with two of the flyers

Army without the three flyers.

Completed Army:



Now parts of my army have appeared all over the net with many photos being used by Russian and Chinese websites to sell re-casts of Forge World models. I have not given approval to any of that, but if you see some models you think look familiar that is likely why.

The long painting war continues…

CB

Edit: So while the army is complete, I have made additional updates like building a way to mount the all resin FW aircraft onto GW flying stands, etc.

Fantastic work, love to see a good Elysian force, don't see enough love for these guys in my book. Have a squad that I've started but never finished.
Keep meaning to get my Elysians to take off ( no pun ) may have to dig them out from the pile. Now get those wheels done. Shame forge world don't do a wheeled troop carrier like the troop hog in halo.

 xKillGorex wrote:
Fantastic work, love to see a good Elysian force, don't see enough love for these guys in my book. Have a squad that I've started but never finished.
Keep meaning to get my Elysians to take off ( no pun ) may have to dig them out from the pile.

Thanks xKillGorex, never too late to start a Forgeworld army...just keep in mind the price.

Now down memory lane.

So I began my Forge World purchases with a Command HQ Squad, two Special Weapon Squads (Flamer), a Veteran Squad, a Drop Trooper Squad and a Valkyrie model. This would let me build a small D-99 detachment when coupled with the almost squad I already had (and it would fill in some of the gaps like the missing arm, head and shoulder pads). Which item did you think I started on? The troops to start me on the path of the filling the Force Organization Chart…of course not I jumped into building the kick-ass aircraft model…even if that aircraft was a glorified transport…remember there just were not many flyers in 2006.

Some of the models (all purchased with the free shipping offer, but still far more expensive than I was planning…damn you Kelly and your pawning off Foreworld models to me!)

Parts

Parts

Valkyrie assembled in record time.

Crew painted first.



Now some of the things I learned was that the Command HQ pack was far better than the PCS pack as it gave you more options for the same price, but the Special Weapons (Flamer) packs gave you extra torsos which when matched to spare legs suddenly added some more Drop Troopers to my growing army.

The long painting war continues…

CB

Ah I've had the pleasure for forge world pricing by doing a Dkok force. How did you find putting the resin valk together, I've one still sat in a box as the two halves don't line up. Nothing a bit o a file won't cure I'm sure.
Damn you I spent some time last night looking at drop troops on the forge world site the wife will love this I'm sure.

 xKillGorex wrote:
How did you find putting the resin valk together, I've one still sat in a box as the two halves don't line up. Nothing a bit o a file won't cure I'm sure.
Damn you I spent some time last night looking at drop troops on the forge world site the wife will love this I'm sure.

xKillGorex,

While it is a little out of order, my second Valkyrie had exactly that problem.

So one side was not only longer than the other, but it was warped in two directions



So once I had lined it up as best I could I drilled several holes in each side for some brass rods, that way I could fit the pieces together and they would hold as I sanded away the excess and started to see where I needed to add putty.


I did all my internal painting before gluing them together (but another post later for that), the main goal was to line up the detail of the fuselage, as one end would join with the cockpit and the other was more critical as it had the rear ramp to fit and make certain it could swing closed...which was the reason for the pre-pinning. The pre-pinning meant that when I was ready to join the two halves it was easy with some 5 minute epoxy as the pins held both halves in place. After drying some epoxy putty but added in the cracks to fill the gaps.


I added more putty than necessary as then I could sand it down to match the other side.


Hope that helps.

Now back to the original start, I started fitting the Drop Troopers together and found some chronic issues, the heads tended to be hunched over (so the back necks needed some trimming) and the running legs would need to be pinned or the model was bent into an impossible position.



Sometimes I found troopers I assembled did not seem right (like the models on the left and right of this photo.



So I would break those up (used superglue for the first fitting) and try again.

I also looked for some regular GW models that were the same size as the Elysians and the First and Only Commissar fit the bill.



Loads more to come.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Looks like I'm going to have a bit of work on that resin valk. That God for the plastic one although I do like the look of the talon lifter.

xKillGorex,

Good luck on the resin Valkyrie, there is something rewarding about completing on of them, even though there are plastic one available now.

Back to the PLOG, I knuckled down and painted a complete Drop Trooper squad for my first Troop Choice under a D-99 list.



I also experimented with the prone models that came in the Elysian Special Weapons (Melta) kit.





Including building some of the longer converted basis for those Special Weapons Troopers, but they really looked odd when compared with the regular infantry models.

The long painting war continues...

CB

I think those bases look pretty good, actually. It does seem odd to have a sniper pose on a meltagunner, though, as they practically need to shoot someone from 2 foot away

Well dug out my squad of troopers. As they came with chute packs, a couple are modelled as if landing on the old size bases am I right in thinking gw have changed the base sizing now.
Had a thought for when I pick up some snipers to change the heads over to bare heads and sculpt boonie hats, think it could look pretty cool. Just need a suitable size head. Anyway keep up the good work. Sorry to jack your thread with countless questions lol.

Beautiful looking army!

EDC

 Cap'n Facebeard wrote:
It does seem odd to have a sniper pose on a meltagunner, though, as they practically need to shoot someone from 2 foot away

Cap’n Facebeard, thanks for the comments and I agree with you, fortunately I found another player who liked the prone poses and we worked out a trade that provided me with some extra troopers and a Weapon sprue that had only had the sniper rifles taken off it.

 xKillGorex wrote:
Well dug out my squad of troopers. As they came with chute packs, a couple are modelled as if landing on the old size bases am I right in thinking gw have changed the base sizing now.
Had a thought for when I pick up some snipers to change the heads over to bare heads and sculpt boonie hats, think it could look pretty cool. Just need a suitable size head. Anyway keep up the good work. Sorry to jack your thread with countless questions lol.

xKillGorex, thanks for the comments. No worries more than happy to share and you took the time to post comments. 

 evildrcheese wrote:
Beautiful looking army!

Thanks evildrcheese.

So back to the PLOG, next thing I painted was the Command HQ squad for the mandatory HQ choice.



I shot them later in the evening and this photo seems to be a favourite of Russian Forge World sites, it has been posted without permission on a couple of them. No even a great photo with the flash exposure.


Then like all gamers I rewarded myself by getting yet another model on eBay for the army before finishing what I had (that and the price was right, one did not see Forge World go for low prices that often and this model had some damage according to the auction notes).

Thanks for all the comments, the long painting war continues…

CB

Captain Brown wrote:
one did not see Forge World go for low prices that often

Unless you buy from Russia

I love your army. I had a drop trooper army also. I miss them I should of never sold them. I had the same problem with the Valk not lining up either but the Vulture cast was much more gooder.

Very nice looking army I can't wait to see more.

How much does the resin valk differ from the plastic version?

Command squad looks great dude.

EDC

 Cap'n Facebeard wrote:

Captain Brown wrote:
one did not see Forge World go for low prices that often

Unless you buy from Russia

I always trying to avoid that, otherwise we might see Forge World disappear.

rhesusforbreakfast wrote:
How much does the resin valk differ from the plastic version?

rhesusforbreakfast, not a whole lot different…it did not come with any sort of plastic stand and the canopy is more of a “do-it-yourself” plastic glass exercise, it does come with External Fuel Tanks which the plastic model does not have.

Thanks FabricatorGeneralMike and evildrcheese for the positive comments.

So back to the progress on the Elysians, first the Vulture Gunship. It arrived relatively intact with just some excess glue and the rear struts and one landing strut knocked off. Nothing some pinning and sanding could not fix. Removing the original colour took longer as it was such a large model.



Since the model had been so securely put together I ended up only getting off the Rocket Pods and installed some rare earth magnets to make the secondary weapons swappable.

Being on a aircraft kick I also started installing magnets in the Valkyrie and using old duo tang clips for the metal connection on the Missile and Extra Fuel Tanks.



A look at the hard point with the two magnets on each side.
Finally the rear ramp was also magnetized. You can also see I did paint the interior of the fuselage prior to assembly.


The long painting war continues…

CB

Returning to sanity I got back to painting infantry and completed a Veteran Special Weapons Squad.




The thought of two Flamers and a Demo Charge coming down with Deep Strike was one of the great attractions of a Drop Troop Army.

With three squads painted it led to my first progress shot:



More to come.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Looks good, I think I my fave part of these models is the special weapons.

What a gorgeous force. It's so nice to see a mass of bodies and the horses they rode in on. You did great work here Captain Brown.

Very nice work. It's good to see someone else giving life to those poor old Valkyrie kits!

Great work again. Hope this thread keeps going for a long time. Pulled my half built vulture down from the loft to give it a bit of love. Need to make a stand as its from the days before the resin/ plastic hybrid.
Packed this stuff away as my first littleone was born. He's loving looking at the cool spaceships now lol.

Cap'n Facebeard wrote:Looks good, I think I my fave part of these models is the special weapons.

Thank you Cap'n Facebeard, the trade for the Elysian Weapons sprue was an unexpected bonus and allowed for some experimentation, like this Elysian Officer, heavily converted to double grip on a Plasma Pistol.



Plasma Guns on kneeling bodies. This picture also shows how my heads looks up (usually by trimming the back of the neck), which is different from the Forge World standard poses.



Or whatever I could think of, in this case a Plasma Gun being held by a standing trooper.

Inevitable_Faith wrote:What a gorgeous force. It's so nice to see a mass of bodies and the horses they rode in on. You did great work here Captain Brown.

Thank you Inevitable_Faith.

Peregrine wrote:Very nice work. It's good to see someone else giving life to those poor old Valkyrie kits!

Thanks Peregrine, more work on the flyers is coming, although I decided that I should start on a smaller model as a test, so the Drop Sentinel is looking like a good starter.

xKillGorex wrote:Great work again. Hope this thread keeps going for a long time. Pulled my half built vulture down from the loft to give it a bit of love. Need to make a stand as its from the days before the resin/ plastic hybrid.
Packed this stuff away as my first littleone was born. He's loving looking at the cool spaceships now lol.

Thanks xKillGorex, if you keep taking a look at the PLOG I will continue to post.

Four more Drop Troopers painted up:




Thank you for all the views and comments.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Likeing these guys a lot, looking really good

It was particularly the standing plasma gunner I liked! That's the problem with guard conversions, only those who know the models well will realise how clever they are.

Il keep watching for sure. Absolutely love the Elysian miniatures. Shame forge world haven't added more to the range.

Alaricuk wrote:Likeing these guys a lot, looking really good

Thank you Alaricuk.

Cap'n Facebeard wrote:It was particularly the standing plasma gunner I liked! That's the problem with guard conversions, only those who know the models well will realise how clever they are.

Thanks Cap'n Facebeard, this is why I circled the parts to help out.

xKillGorex wrote:Il keep watching for sure. Absolutely love the Elysian miniatures. Shame forge world haven't added more to the range.

xKillGorex, I am sort of happy they have not, otherwise I might be tempted to get more and that is why I still have the Tauros Venator to paint still.

So next up was the Elysian Drop Sentinel, I had built several Catachan and Steel Legion ones and the basic chassis was the same...I just wanted to magnetize it for some extra flexibility.






Now one thing about rebuilding a PLOG is you can cut out your mistakes...I painted and then striped the model clean and started again as I was not happy with the first scheme, here is a WIP on the second that I was happy with.


However remembering the Imperial Guard (even Elysian Drop Trooper armies still need lots of PBI to do the dirty work I worked on some more. Some Special Weapons and a VOX Operator.




Just enough that when added to what I had already painted my Special Weapon Squad being broken up for a few days to allow for a legal D-99 Drop Troop force with Command HQ and two Veteran Squads. As D-99 did not have PCS units or the two minimum infantry squads per platoon.



With the painting of two more troopers I was able to re-add the Special Weapons Squad.





The long painting war continues...

CB

So I finished the Drop Sentinel...or at least the Heavy Bolter and Hunter Killer Missile version with the Multi-Melta and Advanced Comms on the way.



And some close-ups of the army shots so far.
Command HQ:

Special Weapons Squad:

Veteran Squad D-99

Veteran Squad D-99


Now I started to look at add more models to make a proper regular Drop Troop Army, but that would require a pair of PCS and two more Infantry squads...so like all gamers I picked up the Veterans with Shotguns to paint next.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Love that Sentinel

 Cap'n Facebeard wrote:
Love that Sentinel

Cap'n Facebeard, so do the Russians, just Google Drop Sentinels and you will see Forge Worlds as mine (hosted by all4wargames(dot)com)..without permission of course.

Back to the PLOG.

Veterans and Special Weapons WIP:


PCS and Special Weapons WIP:


Slow progress:



The long painting war continues...

CB

So the Junior Officer and Squad were finished next.




Completing these on the promise that I would get to work on the Shot Gun armed Veterans next.

The long painting war continues...

CB

The Veterans with Shot Guns were next.




I found the barrels very hard to straighten properly and always have wondered by the Drop Trooper Shot Guns were longer than the Cadian Shot Guns...especially when the Elysians were crammed into Valkyrie transports.

The long painting war continues...

CB

So more Veterans painted, these ones with a pair of Special Weapons and another Shot Gun.






Again using the Special Weapons pack to make up all the Special Weapons rather than the regular kits or the prone models that I had traded away.

The long painting war continues...

CB

More Elysians, a look at the army to date:




A Command HQ, PCS and two Drop Trooper Squads for one Platoon and a Veteran Special Weapons Team and Veteran Squad with Shot Guns and Melta Guns with a Drop Sentinel. A sort of D-99 and Regular Elysian list combined as I continued to expand the painted elements of the army.

No rest for the wicked...more Drop Troopers getting painted.




The long painting war continues...

CB

Slow down man, I feel lazy.

Looking good once again. Still need to see some wheels though lol

I love the sentinels, are they the Forgeworld 'drop sentinel' models?

Nice to see another Warseer plog raised from the ashes

xKillGorex wrote:Looking good once again. Still need to see some wheels though lol

Thank xKillGorex, this that because you are more of a Treadhead or that you want me to get to the Venator?

Aryllon wrote:I love the sentinels, are they the Forgeworld 'drop sentinel' models?
Nice to see another Warseer plog raised from the ashes

Thanks Aryllon, are you going to restart some of your PLOGs? The Sentinel is a Drop Sentinel with the reduced exhaust and roll bar pilot cage.

And thanks Cap'n Facebeard.

Just when I was getting on a roll with painting the infantry the Vulture arrived.



As mentioned it was almost fully assembled and about all I did was repair and add magnets to the second hard points as the Lascanons were glued in tighter than a tic.



Now something I learned next is never use a clay to cover up an area you intend to paint later...it will not go well.




It looked good at first.

The long painting war continues...

CB

I feel like I'm missing something, why is the clay there?

Always liked the Vulture myself.

I am a treadhead but an equal fan of all things airborne including any vehicle that can be dropped on to the battlefield. Think the venator is one of the coolest models forgoe world do.

Cap'n Facebeard wrote:I feel like I'm missing something, why is the clay there?

Cap'n Facebeard, you are not missing anything and that was my problem...the clay that I mistakenly thought would help as the painters tape was pulling off some of my primer and paint off the resin base. But getting the soft clay off was a pain...and it left an oily film that made painting a pain...so word to the wise...don't use it to mask your models.

xKillGorex wrote:I am a treadhead but an equal fan of all things airborne including any vehicle that can be dropped on to the battlefield. Think the venator is one of the coolest models forgoe world do.

Thanks xKillGorex, well here is the model parts:

Basic assembly:


Then, since I had been slipping into the wonderful models back to the grind of Imperial Guard with two more Drop Troopers.



The long painting war continues...

CB

More work on the Vulture. The crew was painted.









The long painting war continues...

CB

Continuing with the Vulture:

A look at the belly of the beast.



Port side forward view without canopy.


Starboard side view without canopy.


With canopy (no glass yet).


Port quarter view of landing struts.


Starboard quarter view.


The long painting war continues...

CB

I really like the colour scheme on your Valks and Vultures. Looking forwards to the Venator.

Thanks Gen.Steiner.

Built a base for the Vulture as the Forge World models did not come with one.




Also converted some Hunter-Killer Missiles for an alternate weapons load.





The long painting war continues...

CB

Six HKMs is a pretty potent anti-tank fit. I was always really cross that the Guard Codex pulled that silly gak with the Lascannon Valkyrie. There's a perfectly serviceable gunship already, just give us rules for the Vulture!

 Gen.Steiner wrote:
Six HKMs is a pretty potent anti-tank fit. I was always really cross that the Guard Codex pulled that silly gak with the Lascannon Valkyrie. There's a perfectly serviceable gunship already, just give us rules for the Vulture!

Gen.Steiner I believe you mean the much cursed Vendetta with it's three pairs of Lascanons?

Painted some more Drop Troopers to maintain the pace.



This gave me another completed PCS:



You might notice that my running Drop Troopers are quite upright and the heads are all looking up, I do a fair bit of really minor conversion work and pinning to make that happen.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Really dig that Vulture, will have to buy one myself now!

Always liked the Elysians, especially the venator model. It'd be a hard run thing to pick between these and the DKoK. 'Course, it's moot until the finances are there anyway!

Also, really digging the two-tone on the vulture. I think the colour partition on aircraft looks great. The light blue really works well there. Takes me back to old airfix kits...!

Yeah, the two-tone sand/blue is very reminiscent of Luftwaffe schemes in North Africa (although they mottled with dark brown too).

Vendetta! That's the fish. Pointless. Give us Codex rules for the Vulture instead.

Looks absolutely stunning.

The more I look at elysians, with the padded pants and shades, the more I find myself thinking they look remeniscent of the Paranoia-Vulture-Squad uniform of the original RT army trooper art.
I may have to look at using them for imperial militia...
....bugger. That'd be expensive.

Cap'n Facebeard wrote:Really dig that Vulture, will have to buy one myself now!

Sorry about that Cap'n Facebeard, did not want to add to your list of models to paint.

Rinkydink wrote:Also, really digging the two-tone on the vulture. I think the colour partition on aircraft looks great. The light blue really works well there. Takes me back to old airfix kits...!

Thanks Rinkydink

Gen.Steiner wrote:Yeah, the two-tone sand/blue is very reminiscent of Luftwaffe schemes in North Africa (although they mottled with dark brown too).

Thanks Gen.Steiner

locarno24 wrote:Looks absolutely stunning.

The more I look at elysians, with the padded pants and shades, the more I find myself thinking they look remeniscent of the Paranoia-Vulture-Squad uniform of the original RT army trooper art.
I may have to look at using them for imperial militia...
....bugger. That'd be expensive.

Thanks locarno24, I based my scheme on Chaos&Evil's impressive force as it was simple to paint and close to the samples in the Forge World books.

Painted three more Elysians, one for the Veteran Squad and two more for another Veteran Special Weapons Squad.



The long painting war continues...

CB

A bit of a dumb question as I'm painting a vulture at the moment as well. Did you put the base coat down, then add a wash to the recesses in the wings and then just go back to clean up spill over of the wash with the original base coat?

bogalubov wrote:
A bit of a dumb question as I'm painting a vulture at the moment as well. Did you put the base coat down, then add a wash to the recesses in the wings and then just go back to clean up spill over of the wash with the original base coat?

bogalubov,

No such thing as a dumb question. I did exactly as you described, base coat, wash in all the sunken rivet holes/recesses, directed dry brush over that with base coat, highlight dry brush with lighter colour and then detail (such as paint chips, fuel spills, weapon or engine dirt).

On the army painted up some more flamer Drop Troopers. I think I mentioned it before, how with the Flamer Special Weapon pack you get extra torsos, which you can use with Command packs that have extra legs to get yourself some more Drop Troopers for free.



This gave me enough painted figures for another Veteran Special Weapons Team.




The long painting war continues...

CB

So many drop troopers!

Demolition charges are tasty. Love the teller mine style version.

Thanks Gen.Steiner, I just wished my demo charges would always head towards the enemy with scatter instead of back at me.

Painted up yet more Drop Troopers.




So I now have a sort of hybrid between a D-99 Army and a Drop Troop army with Company Command Squad, 2x Special Weapons Squads, Veteran Squad, 2x PCS Squads and 2 Squads of Drop Troopers. If I paint some more regular Troopers and some VOX Operators I could incorporate the Special Weapons squads and make two proper platoons.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Two drop platoons, eh? Just short of a full drop company. You do realise that now that the Valkyrie is a plastic kit there is no excuse not to make the entire lot airmobile, right?

 Gen.Steiner wrote:
Two drop platoons, eh? Just short of a full drop company. You do realise that now that the Valkyrie is a plastic kit there is no excuse not to make the entire lot airmobile, right?

Thanks Gen.Steiner.

On the Valkyrie front I have two Forge World resin kits to complete.

However in the meantime two more Drop Troopers.




Because Guard Armies are painted two models at a time.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Two of the resins! Wow. Good luck to you sir!

Thanks Gen.Steiner,

However before I get to the Valkyries some more Drop Troopers. An Imperial Guard Army grows at two painted models at a time.




The long painting war continues...

CB

Is that trooper on the right a vox-man?

 Gen.Steiner wrote:
Is that trooper on the right a vox-man?

Yes, the head has a small mike and antenna and there is a back-pack with a VOX.

So I pushed and got four Drop Troopers done instead of just two as this when incorporating most of the two Veteran Special Weapon Squads I was able to build a legal regular Drop Troop Army.




Legal Drop Trooper Army from Forge World Book Three:



View from above:



Command HQ, Veteran Squad, two Platoons each with a PCS and two Drop Trooper Squads.

Thanks for the comments and the views.

The long painting war continues...

CB

This is looking good, would be great to see a shot inclusive of all the troops and vehicles together!

 Aryllon wrote:
This is looking good, would be great to see a shot inclusive of all the troops and vehicles together!

Thanks Aryllon,

There will be some, but as you see from the customized stands I made for the aircraft it started to get too large.

I then painted up some more Drop Troopers to start freeing up those models to go back to the Special Weapon Squads.


This one released a Flamer armed Trooper and a Lasgun toting Trooper and the new squad looked like this:



The long painting war continues...

CB

I love watching this army progress. It's such a nice looking army. FW really knocked it out of the ballpark with the Elysian line of models and the resin Vulture...the Valk on the other hand...Shakes fist at FW....

I can't wait to see more. The GW saw me looking at your Plog and was just like 'No Michael, not again." and walked off...she remembers the insanity.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 FabricatorGeneralMike wrote:

I love watching this army progress. It's such a nice looking army. FW really knocked it out of the ballpark with the Elysian line of models and the resin Vulture...the Valk on the other hand...Shakes fist at FW....

I can't wait to see more. The GF saw me looking at your Plog and was just like 'No Michael, not again." and walked off...she remembers the insanity.

More! More pictures! More everything!

FabricatorGeneralMike wrote:
I love watching this army progress. It's such a nice looking army. FW really knocked it out of the ballpark with the Elysian line of models and the resin Vulture...the Valk on the other hand...Shakes fist at FW....

I can't wait to see more. The GW saw me looking at your Plog and was just like 'No Michael, not again." and walked off...she remembers the insanity.

Thank you FabricatorGeneralMike, one of the things I have not mentioned that relates to your comment on the FW detail on the Drop Trooper was that with the initial 11 Drop Trooper I received from Kelly, he also gave me a nearly complete pack of well packs and I have been adding them to the special weapons Troopers. That really makes them look special without overwhelming the figures.

Gen.Steiner wrote:More! More pictures! More everything!

Thanks Gen.Steiner I will do what I can.

Next were some more Drop Troopers to free up Special Weapons Troopers.




Another two and I would have four squads, two PCS, Veterans, Command HQ and one Special Weapons Squad back.

The long painting war continues...

CB

The Elysians are really lovely figures, and your paint scheme and subtle conversions really do them justice.

Thanks Gen.Steiner,

Some more Drop Troopers, this pair both armed with Demo Charges.




The long painting war continues...

CB

Then I did another two Drop Troopers and this would free up one squad of Special Weapons out of the Infantry Squads.




The long painting war continues...

CB

Next up, some more models to complete squads or free up models to join other squads. Including one more Veteran using the spare long Shotgun:




Which was enough to get to here:

Command HQ, Veteran Squad, 2x Special Weapon Squads, 2x PCS, 4x Squads, and Drop Sentinel.

The long painting war continues...

CB

So satisfying to see so many troops lined up ready for war. Great work, keep it up.

CB you churn out models at a standard way above what mortals would find viable given the pace you're painting at, I have no idea how you do it!

I manage about one infantry model per month haha!

Inevitable_Faith wrote:So satisfying to see so many troops lined up ready for war. Great work, keep it up.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith.

Aryllon wrote:CB you churn out models at a standard way above what mortals would find viable given the pace you're painting at, I have no idea how you do it!

I manage about one infantry model per month haha!

Thanks Aryllon, but these figures were painted a long time again, I am just rebuilding my previous PLOG which has vanished from the Web. When I get in the painting grove I usually finished 2-4 infantry models a week...more for Guard and Orks.

Now this update was not new figures but the touching up of existing and adding details like Regimental number and in this case Veteran markings.


The whole squad.



Some helmet markings for a Senior Officer and for a Sergeant.


Detail on the shoulder examples.


Thanks for looking.

The long painting war continues...

CB

How you keep up this grueling work pace is beyond me. Great work though, squad looks awesome. Keep it up.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith,

Next up was the second Drop Sentinel.




Sentinel has rare earth magnets to allow for the weapon swap.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Sentinals are such awesome models and you do it justice. I love the weathering and attention to detail on the workings of the legs. Great job.

 Inevitable_Faith wrote:
Sentinals are such awesome models and you do it justice. I love the weathering and attention to detail on the workings of the legs. Great job.

Thanks Inevible_Faith,

Now for some aircraft, a Forge World Valkyrie.



The various payloads.



The painting begins.




Now in these two you can see some paint came off when the mask tape was removed...and it was supposed to be the softest and least damaging.







Inking and engines.



Touch up.



The interior.


More to come.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Valkyrie continued...

Valkyrie with ordinance:


Starboard side no wear and tear.


Port side no wear and tear.


Adding some paint chips:


Adding some paint chips:



Rear ramp, which opens and closes like the side doors.


Starting to look like an Imperial Navy Aircraft.


Visor glass:


Side gunners:



Valkyrie #12, with various weapon configurations:




Vulture #4:


The long painting war continues...

CB

Sweet looking Vulture interior I will also have to steal that canopy glass idea, because some of my flyers also came with a sheet of clear plasticy material, instead of a moulded plastic canopy :|

Great work on the flyers. I've always liked the Valkyries and vultures. you've certainly done them justice.

Thanks CragHack and Inevitable_Faith,

Then I did the same thing for a base as I did for the Vulture and built a large flying base.



Both aircraft at low level flight.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Catching up on a model that has been posted as part of the Command HQ, the Commissar using Gaunt from the Ghosts.




I painted his cloak the same colours as my Drop Trooper greens. He also was a Commissar that fit with the scale.

Some I also scratch built three Sentry Guns as a Heavy Support choice...had enough spare Las Cannons to make two alternates using rare earth magnets.




These were built out of parts and some Guard Heavy Weapon spares.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Commissar looks fantastic and those sentry guns look great too. Are there any FW parts on the sentry guns or are they built from all GW pieces?

Inevitable_Faith,

Almost all the parts are GW with the exception of the bottoms of the legs, which are individual German light tank treads and connectors.

The parts for the base from some extra sprue, Lascannons from the Predator, Mark I and II Rhinos, etc.



Army so far shot:



3x Sentry Guns, Command HQ, Veteran Squad, 2x PCS, 4x Infantry Squads, 2x Special Weapon Squads, 2x Drop Sentinels...and two flyer bases on which the two flyers are below:



All together:



The long painting war continues...

CB

Thanks for the parts shot CB, you did a great job putting it all together. If I had an IG army I'd totally steal the idea for heavy weapons teams. The army shot is great, I'd love to face off against that in any game. The flyers look fantastic though I'm not totally sold on the thicker decorative base. That's truly a minor nitpick though.

 Inevitable_Faith wrote:
Thanks for the parts shot CB, you did a great job putting it all together. If I had an IG army I'd totally steal the idea for heavy weapons teams. The army shot is great, I'd love to face off against that in any game. The flyers look fantastic though I'm not totally sold on the thicker decorative base. That's truly a minor nitpick though.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith, I did one more aircraft with the large round base, but recently I picked up three flying bases (when you see them you will know I have caught up with my original PLOG)...I just have not determined how to connect them as the ForgeWorld models do not have a fitting hard point like the plastic Valkyries.

And back to painting Drop Troopers:




The long painting war continues...

CB

Wow. Very impressed with the painted Valkyrie (I really do love the underside's blue), as well as the kitbashed tarantulas. Tarantulas looks super cool but the forgeworld ones are a bit on the pricey side. Could I check what did you use as a connector between the weapons? (the thing in the middle that the cannons mount on to?)

Both valks look very nice, good looking bunch of elysians too.

Love the sentry guns and the interior of the Valk, great work again CB

Nice work all around. All the air craft and looming brilliant and I'm really digging the drop sentinel.

EDC

kakita wrote:Wow. Very impressed with the painted Valkyrie (I really do love the underside's blue), as well as the kitbashed tarantulas. Tarantulas looks super cool but the forgeworld ones are a bit on the pricey side. Could I check what did you use as a connector between the weapons? (the thing in the middle that the cannons mount on to?)

Thanks kakita,
The connector was made from more parts of the Predator Las Cannons.












Thank you Alaricuk, Aryllon and evildrcheese.

Next up some more Drop Troopers:



In case people are wondering the open visor head is in the Command HQ pack, with the Power Fist and a better deal than the PCS pack.

The long painting war continues...

CB

So these Drop Troopers will form another squad.

So far half way there:



Two more:



The long painting war continues...

CB

Imperial Guard armies are painted two models at a time.

Two more Drop Troopers:



The long painting war continues...

CB

Painted one more Drop Trooper and used ten of the last twelve to build another Drop Squad.






The long painting war continues...

CB

So as a break from all the single Drop Troopers I had been painting I switched gears to a Heavy Weapon Team, with one member removable to represent the wound...





The long painting war continues...

CB

Heavy bolter crew looks great. Awesome pose makes them looks like they're right in the action. The basing really brings the whole thing to life.

Excellent work with the Heavy Weapons teams, the removable guy to represent the wound is a nice touch.

EDC

Thanks Inevitable_Faith and evildrcheese,

I enjoyed building that so much I did the second.




When a wound is allocated:


The two heavy weapon teams together:


The long painting war continues...

CB

Another great addition to the heavy weapon teams, that crate under his gun adds some nice flavour. The wound allocation idea is brilliant too. How stable are the removable guys when on the base? How do you get them to stay on? I can hardly tell the spot he sits in too when he's gone so the blending is flawless in the basing.

 Inevitable_Faith wrote:
Another great addition to the heavy weapon teams, that crate under his gun adds some nice flavour. The wound allocation idea is brilliant too. How stable are the removable guys when on the base? How do you get them to stay on? I can hardly tell the spot he sits in too when he's gone so the blending is flawless in the basing.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith,

I just used some rare earth magnets and some small nails.

Underside of the bases.


The nail head was matched up to the boot heel and knee pad of the Loader in the case of a kneeling Trooper or a metal plate was fastened to a Trooper lying down.


I also had to do some extensive repair work to several of the models.

The bottom of the boot to the knee pad is two part putty due to a couple of miss-moulded feet.

It all worked out.







The whole squad.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Thanks for showing the WIP pics so I can see how it's done CB. It's a great idea I may steal for any models that I could do this for in the future.

Nice Elysians. I love the homemade tarantulas.

Inevitable_Faith wrote:Thanks for showing the WIP pics so I can see how it's done CB. It's a great idea I may steal for any models that I could do this for in the future.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith, feel free to copy in the future.

Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Nice Elysians. I love the homemade tarantulas.

Thank you Warboss_Waaazag, I might get a more detailed walk-through up some time.

And now for something completely different - 3rd Edition Stormtroopers painted in the Elysian scheme.




The metal 3rd Edition Stormtroopers were definitely closer in size to the Elysians that any other, more to come as I build the squad.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Your Elysians are lovely, oh and those Stormtroopers are great - my favorite version of them - they really look like special forces.

Thank you Oguhmek,

A few more shots of old Storm Troopers getting new life.





The demi-squad:




The long painting war continues...

CB

Now a Sergeant and Grenade Launcher of old 3rd Edition Storm Troopers.




Three more and the squad would be complete.

The long painting war continues...

CB

retro troopers are looking great! I don't think I've seen so many of them all together. I've seen some in person but all in ones and twos.

Fantastic read, very thorough & well-illustrated with plenty of photos!

I appreciate the work to not just be a studio painter, but a studio photographer as well; plan the units, position miniatures, lighting, take the photos... :sigh:

Superb paint job, nice & crisp with plenty of depth & detail; I am particularly impressed with vehicle wear & tear!

You put a lot of love into finicky Forge World resin, and retro Storm Troopers take the cake; the new Scions just don't do it for me as they appear too ornate in a grimdark universe in which attrition of PBI is incredibly high, and as such their equipment should appear more utilitarian imho.

Keep up the battle!

Nice work on the 3rd ed Stormtroopers, Captain - I still prefer the Kasrkin, but you're making these guys look good.

Still on the reupload phase at this point?

That wound tracking is a cool idea. I always have problems when magnetizing stuff.

Inevitable_Faith wrote:retro troopers are looking great! I don't think I've seen so many of them all together. I've seen some in person but all in ones and twos.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith, more 3rd Edition Stormtroopers on their way.

Private Benjamin wrote:Fantastic read, very thorough & well-illustrated with plenty of photos!

I appreciate the work to not just be a studio painter, but a studio photographer as well; plan the units, position miniatures, lighting, take the photos... :sigh:

Superb paint job, nice & crisp with plenty of depth & detail; I am particularly impressed with vehicle wear & tear!

You put a lot of love into finicky Forge World resin, and retro Storm Troopers take the cake; the new Scions just don't do it for me as they appear too ornate in a grimdark universe in which attrition of PBI is incredibly high, and as such their equipment should appear more utilitarian imho.

Keep up the battle!

Thank you Private Benjamin, for all your kind words and comments.

Dysartes wrote:Nice work on the 3rd ed Stormtroopers, Captain - I still prefer the Kasrkin, but you're making these guys look good.

Still on the reupload phase at this point?

Thanks Dysartes, I did Kasrkin for you over on the Necromundian Guard. Still catching up, when the second Valkyrie is done we will be caught up.

kakita wrote:That wound tracking is a cool idea. I always have problems when magnetizing stuff.

Thanks kakita, magnets are easy and great for those weapon swaps to increase your options.

The rest of the Stormtroopers:




The complete squad.


The long painting war continues...

CB

Squad looks great dude. Those red lenses on their guns are really well done.

 Inevitable_Faith wrote:
Squad looks great dude. Those red lenses on their guns are really well done.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith,

Back to regular Drop Troopers, somehow I convinced myself that I needed even more regular troopers from my spares and left overs...which meant another purchase from ForgeWorld to bulk out two squads (so a squad and a special weapons squad...and a Missile Launcher set to get the free Shipping).




The long painting war continues...

CB

Clearly it was a necessary purchase. Couldn't have those spares be... spares now could you?

The first rule of spares is, there are no spares

 Aryllon wrote:
The first rule of spares is, there are no spares

Second rule of spares is no smoking.

Inevitable_Faith wrote:Clearly it was a necessary purchase. Couldn't have those spares be... spares now could you?

Inevitable_Faith, not it seems to be a bad thing to have spare models around.

Aryllon wrote:The first rule of spares is, there are no spares

Aryllon, I broke the rule and paid for it with my wallet.

Dysartes wrote:

 Aryllon wrote:
The first rule of spares is, there are no spares

Second rule of spares is no smoking.

Dysartes, I think I have that one covered...but I might have missed an entertainment reference.

In the meantime the Elysians crew by two more Drop Troopers:



The long painting war continues...

CB

This is cool, always liked elysian drop troops. You have a sick army!

Those tarantula turrets look like they took some imagination working out the parts and also looked very fiddly. Well done.

Have you thought about getting some minis off mad robbot.com, always fancied trying to make some drop troops off there.

Nice work!

 stonned_astartes wrote:
This is cool, always liked elysian drop troops. You have a sick army!

Those tarantula turrets look like they took some imagination working out the parts and also looked very fiddly. Well done.

Have you thought about getting some minis off mad robbot.com, always fancied trying to make some drop troops off there.

Nice work!

Thanks stonned_astartes,

mad robot.com did not exist when I was building this army...and with the cost of Forgeworld when it is finished it will be done and I'll move to another army...likely one of my refurbishment ones (much more affordable).

Back to the build and two more Drop Troopers:



The long painting war continues...

CB

Two more Drop Troopers received their coat of paint.


The Drop Troopers are over halfway to another Squad.


The long painting war continues...

CB

Wicked smooth. Storm troopers and regular drop troopers are looking great.

EDC

 evildrcheese wrote:
Wicked smooth. Storm troopers and regular drop troopers are looking great.

EDC

Thanks evildrcheese,

Then I went on a veritable rush and painted 4 Drop Troopers to finish the squad.



The entire squad:


The long painting war continues...

CB

Looking good capt, how many painting blogs on the go lol

 xKillGorex wrote:
Looking good capt, how many painting blogs on the go lol

Thanks xKillGorex, five right now and only those I have no sold off when I start another. All filled with painted models and commentary and modelling ideas like this one.

These were the Heavy Weapons Team armed with Missile Launchers...and I have initially built them on 25mm bases...so I corrected them with 60mm bases.





The long painting war continues,,,

CB

Are these magnetised too to double up as wound counters?

EDC

 evildrcheese wrote:
Are these magnetised too to double up as wound counters?

EDC

No, these had running figures for loaders and the figures I would have magnetized as casualties would have been carrying the Missile Launcher in most cases.

Well then as rules changed and editions came and went I noticed the Demo Charges started getting more expensive and very random, while the simple flamer came into its own with Deep Striking units. A purchase of another Flamer Special Weapons Squad not only provided the six bodies in the pack, but eight (because the Flamer torsos are extra bodies). When combined with the extra legs from Regular Squads or Command HQ packs I had some spares, as well as the Demo Charges freed up for a Command Squad and another Regular Squad.

Two more Flamer armed Drop Troopers and a Drop Trooper with Lasgun made from spare parts.





So that is one way to get more bang for your buck with Forgeworld Elysians.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Then it was time to slot in the next batch of figures.

Special Weapons Squad with 3 Flamers #1:


Special Weapons Squad with 3 Flamers #2:


A second Command HQ:


The long painting war continues...

CB

Really digging the guy with the pistol in that bunch. He looks so angry, I love it.

 Inevitable_Faith wrote:
Really digging the guy with the pistol in that bunch. He looks so angry, I love it.

The Officer in the second Command Platoon ... i would be too swinging a Power Fist

I like those flamers with the longer barrel, really cool.

EDC

Thanks Inevitable_Faith, Private Benjamin, and evildrcheese.

I have been away from this PLOG for a little bit while I finished the Orks and then the Sisters of Battle armies. But I am back working on the last few infantry models and then the Tauros Venator...and then rebasing my FW aircraft.

But first up a tutorial for the sentry guns that I promised as I was able to recover this from my WarSeer PLOG with the restoration of that site:

Now this is just my take on how to do this, feel free to take any part of it, do your own thing and create something else. This is just my way, as I have seen lots of variations on the theme of Sentry Guns, most seemed to be a little bit different than what I was looking for which was something like the FW version, just not as expensive.

The base uses 2 pairs of Predator Lascannons for the strut parts, with some sprue from the old Vehicle Accessory Sprue (or anywhere else just as long as it is thin and has an angled part and you can get 4 identical bits of sprue), some track bits from a Tamiya Kit (or use GW bits), 4 hinges from the old Hunter-Killer Missile, an old Rhino hatch, a new Rhino Door and some little bits for detail work (again your imagination is the only restriction).

Picture of the parts for the base:



Now let’s begin with the legs, cut the lower support from each side of the Predator Lascannons, carefully along the join to the main body and near the end (one side has an extra length that can be removed). Save the body, we are going to use some of them later. You will need eight support pieces (four of each side and when paired up they make part of our leg supports), so that is two complete sets of Predator side sponsons (which are actually remarkably easy to acquire as most folks use the Heavy Bolters on their Predators and usually buy them in pairs…tanks that is).





Then use your angled sprue (I use a bit from the old vehicle accessory sprue, but you can use almost any sprue as long as it is narrow, we just want it to be equal on all four ends so whatever you pick make sure you can get duplicates) and make the main part as long as the support pieces. Again, I just choose this length as it seems right, as if the parts slide together into the compressed Sentry Gun box, you can make them longer, just remember then your model’s footprint will get larger.



Then you trim the vertical end to your desired length, mine is about 5 mm, it really does not matter as long as it is equal between all four legs (a file is your friend here to make the all equal length as cuts are not that accurate…at least with my knife).



Now take the pairs of supports and a light layer of glue down the long end to secure it to the angled sprue. You want to extend the centre sprue out past the first indentation and raise the angled sprue a little higher than the supports. Again this is my choice to try and create the feeling that the leg slides out of the supports to extend the leg, it also creates the feeling of depth even though your legs are quite fragile. Once those start to dry set them aside and grab your hinges.



The four hinges start by cutting off the interior knobs (you might want to keep them if you have sanded too much off your supports or your angled leg sprue is really thin, but I find a quite test fitting should suffice to determine if you need to or not). Take them and glue them to the underside of your central support (in my case a Rhino door). This one you can eye-ball pretty easily, there are even nice little visual queues on the Rhino door to help. Let that dry and grab the legs again.





Your legs now need the foot support, find something to support the higher end (in my case a little bit of laminate flooring serves the purpose, but a book or magazine would probably suffice). You want the support to keep the body of the leg level as you glue on you feet. I used upside down tank treads from a Tamiya kit, you could use GW treads or some other bit, let your imagination wander.



Once these start to set go back to your main support body and find something to keep it at the desired level without legs (some stacked bits are good for this, or perhaps some blu-tac or something similar. Now take you legs and glue them to the insides of the hinges. With the object supporting the central base you should have no trouble letting the plastic glue set and give the legs the strength to support the body.



Next step is to glue the old Rhino hatch in the center of the Rhino Door and attach your little detail bits to add some definition to the sprue (so that it looks a little different than just cut up sprue).



Then add some of your neat bits to disguise the sprue. I have added some more Tamiya track links to the ends of my angled sprue.



Then we start on the turret. Remember those Predator Lascannon parts we cut the support strut off that I said we would use again. Grab two of the outer shells (the parts with the skull on the side).



Then cut them down, a cut at the join where the outer shell joins the Lascannon barrel (it will see like a logical part to cut leaving you a flat edge with a couple of rivets in line) and at the bottom where the power coil attaches to the bottom, again the cut should be natural making you a sort of box.





I also trim off the back bone parts of the symbol, changing it from a Marine icon to a simple skull icon on so many Imperial Guard weapons. Just personal preference as it cannot really be seen once the side sponsons are glued on.

Another image of the turret bits.



Now you will also need to cut out the inside tube and the plastic that extends out from your main body. Be careful when you do this (I used some clippers to remove the tubing), what you are trying to achieve is a smooth join between both halves.

Now glue them together to make a turret section (you may have to file down some of the edges to get a perfect join, especially if your saw cuts were not perfect).



Now build the targeting array, using the vent from an old Hunter-Killer Missile. Her is an untouched one and one I have filed down and trimmed a little section out of the middle of the front side.



Next, take a fuel tank from the vehicle accessory sprue and saw off the top half at the obvious join between the main can and the handle.



Sorry, that was not a great photo, but you get the idea.

Then take the handle and remove the lid. This part here:



Then file down the bottom until you reach the 45 degree angle. Cut a little bit back from the end and attach to the fuel tank bottom and the turret body. Attach the targeting array to the top and you should have something like this:



Now I used the top of the fuel tank to make the angled portion, you could use any bit of plastic I just found the excess plastic from the last job useful. The half tank covers the space at the front of the turret and the angled plastic makes the join look more natural. I glue the bottom of the fuel can along the line of the main turret side, so there is a bit of space between the bottom of the main turret and the fuel can.

Next up is adding the weapons, at this point I found several of my photos were really bad, so perhaps I will take some more in add them later, but in the meantime here is what it looks like with a couple of Heavy Bolters added.



Yes, it was about this point I realized that I had not drilled out the barrels yet, always something when you are rushing through a tutorial.

Here is what we have so far:



OK, some mid-point pictures to help with the guide. Here are some photos of the Lascannon Side Sponsons getting cut to make the centre of the turret.

The cut along the bottom (note power cable already removed).


The cut between the housing and the Lascannon barrel


I also added a Rare Earth magnet to the undercarriage and to the bottom of the turret for ease in swapping between a Lascannon or Heavy Bolter turret.





Now I have added some discs made from cutting up some thin plastic rod to simulate rivets. I really like the effect on the base.



The rivets were a little large compared to those already on the model and while I am looking to achieve the effect that this is a Guard weapon and not some Space Marine version. In the end I removed them, but have left them in the guide to show you what they look like.



Here is a look at the rivets version.



Here is the two types beside each other.



Next the Lascannon Turrets, the change is the need to create a couple of plastic discs to act as a joint between the Lascannons and the turret. I have used some of the spare parts left over from the conversion. The cut off Lascannon barrels have a couple of great spots that can be used to create discs. Just cut out one of the braced joints and to the same from another side and glue together.

This particular shot the half disc has already been cut out as it was being glued to the turret when I got my camera set up.


Here is what a disc looks like glued to the turret.


The Lascannons attached to the turret.


The completed alternate turret (which with the Rare Earth Magnets makes for an easy swap) with Lascannons.


Now since we used two pairs of side sponsons for each Sentry Gun we have enough parts to make two separate turrets for each one, with the Rare Earth Magnets the swap is a snap.

I also ended up removing the old Rhino hatch and tested out an alternative.

I discovered something else that could be used as the round swivel portion of the sentry guns. An old slotta base for doors and barracades from an old game.

I just remove the raised plastic tabs and get this:


Support with Rhino Hatch


Support with Slotta Base


I went for the same colours on the Sentry Guns as I did for the armour on the Drop Troops, rather than the Desert Yellow of the aircraft and Sentinels. This was because the aircraft and walkers were painted by their crews while the Sentry Guns are maintained by the Adeptus Mechanicus and thus have no ‘personality’ per say.

All three:


Two Heavy Bolter Sentry Guns


Two Lascannon Sentry Guns


The long painting (and converting) war continues...

CB

Finished two Drop Troopers with Shotguns. So I have added these to my Veteran Squad to make it legal in 8th Edition.






The entire squad.


The long painting war continues...

CB

Holy moly! Those Sentry guns look brilliant! Amazing work dude.

Top work on the shotgun dudes too.

EDC

What a genius build for sentry guns, just brilliant

Sentry gun guide is awesome dude, really love the work put into those. The elysians are shaping up super nicely.

evildrcheese wrote:Holy moly! Those Sentry guns look brilliant! Amazing work dude.

Top work on the shotgun dudes too.

EDC

Thanks EDC

Cap'n Facebeard wrote:What a genius build for sentry guns, just brilliant

Thank you Cap'n Facebeard

Inevitable_Faith wrote:Sentry gun guide is awesome dude, really love the work put into those. The elysians are shaping up super nicely.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith

Here are two move VOX Troopers completed to get closer to finishing up the last Command HQ and PCS.





However I wonder how many times they will be fielded with the new Force Organization for 8th. Command Squads look like they are going to be much rarer than the old Guard standby of two Command HQs and larger numbers of PCS to keep the orders flowing.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Looks pretty nice. Im deffinately going to try making some turrets for my KSons, but probably make them some sort of living statue. But thanks for inspiring me!

This is some amazing work! Love the feel of the army.

Really good sentry gun tutorial, Captain - and the new recruits for the Elysians aren't too shabby either!

EmberlordofFire8 wrote:Looks pretty nice. Im deffinately going to try making some turrets for my KSons, but probably make them some sort of living statue. But thanks for inspiring me!

Thanks EmberlordofFire8,

Glad I could give you a little inspiration, that is the reason (besides the feedback) that I like doing PLOGs.

Thank you Aetare and Dysartes.

So three more Elysians, two of whom are conversions - one with arms from the Tauros crew to carry the Grenade Launcher and the other a Demo Charge arm changed into one carrying the medi-pack.







So with these three I will make a second Command HQ and a third PCS.

The long painting war continues...

CB

And with those three figures I complete to more Guard Command Squads. One a second Command HQ and one a PCS.





Taros Venator is next.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Great work dude, these are such characterful models and you've done them justice. Those grenade launchers are positively massive in their hands

Thanks Inevitable_Faith,

OK, have a question for all you modellers out there. I want to mount the three old Forgeworld flyers on the new GW plastic stands. Looks like my only option is to drill out the bottoms of the aircraft (I already have one hole made for the thick brass rod I am using now), but if anyone has an easier method I am all ears. Suggestions welcome.

Cheers,

CB

So I finished the Tauros Venator.

Rare earth magnets for the Hunter Killer Missiles.






I see an army shot coming.

The long painting continues...

CB

That`s one of the models I sincerely wish GW could make and put as a staple of the guard army, it`s really cool. You`ve done an excellent job on this one, the weathering is great. Looking forward to that army shot.

 Inevitable_Faith wrote:
That`s one of the models I sincerely wish GW could make and put as a staple of the guard army, it`s really cool. You`ve done an excellent job on this one, the weathering is great. Looking forward to that army shot.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith,

Here is the army shot:



Next up is getting my old Forgeworld aircraft to fit properly on the GW plastic flying bases.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Such a gorgeous force dude, I love it. It looks like it'd be a ton of fun to play too with all that infantry.

That's one kick-ass Drop Troop force you have there, Cap'n. I just hate that Forge World appears to be thinning out the Elysian line. And Elysian Sergeants got screwed over with wargear in the 8th, iirc.


In any case, superb work on this army.

Very impressive Elysian army, so rare to see them these days,

Those sentry guns are really cool thanks for sharing the tutorial for them.

Inevitable_Faith wrote:Such a gorgeous force dude, I love it. It looks like it'd be a ton of fun to play too with all that infantry.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith.

oldravenman3025 wrote:

That's one kick-ass Drop Troop force you have there, Cap'n. I just hate that Forge World appears to be thinning out the Elysian line. And Elysian Sergeants got screwed over with wargear in the 8th, iirc.


In any case, superb work on this army.

Thanks oldravenman3025,

I have not seen the FW update book yet. My group has been playing exclusively Force Points and WYSIWYG for all 12 of out battles so far, I have been using my Necromundians and Orks so far. But we have been allowing some amendments as many of our armies are so many editions behind.

OneManNoodles wrote:Very impressive Elysian army, so rare to see them these days,

Those sentry guns are really cool thanks for sharing the tutorial for them.

Thank you OneManNoodles,

I corrected the links broken by Photobucket and moved my images over to Imgur.

Going to post up the neat little idea I came up with to mount my FW aircraft of GW flying bases so I can field this army easily.

The long painting war continues...

CB

So I have repaired all the Photobucket images in the PLOG.

The long painting and repairing images war continues...

CB

So now that I have fixed all the those links it is time to return to some painting and modelling. While the army was finished I have never been completely happy with the three ForgeWorld aircraft's bases I built, they are heavy and hard to transport (great for display). Now that GW has produced a decent flying stand when they brought out the plastic Valkyrie I have finally decided to act.

So first getting the parts.



Then figuring out how to do the clear plastic without making it cloudy from a varnish spray. I glued them to the three bases with some wood glue.



Then I painted some more PVA around them and added the sand.



Followed by black spray paint.



Then some colour to bring out the sand and rock. Followed by varnish and then Dulecote to make a nice mate seal.



While the bases were drying how to attach them to the Vulture and the two Valkyries was next. Here I decided to make a plastic socket to fit the flying stands.



These were made from sprue glued together with plastic cement. While they look a little rough, they would be on the underside of the aircraft.

Here they are fitted in place underneath the two Valkyries before painting. Those little white areas are where I added thin plastic card to make perfect fits with the plastic flying stand tops. They were secured to the aircraft with 5 minute epoxy for added strength and a braced against the bottom of the side door slides.




More to come.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Now the first fruits of my labour:




The Valkyries worked like a charm and there was no issue manhandling them around the table-top. The GW plastic flying stands fit right in snugly...and these are heavy completely resin models.

Now the Vulture (whose plastic fitting I had to modify for the narrower body) did not work this way...my Vulture was the original Forge World version with the entire aircraft being resin (unlike the later version that had plastic wings and tail to lighten the model...and a proper mount for the GW plastic flying stand). So back to the drawing board for that one.

The long painting war continues,

CB

Very nice, the weathering came out great.

Thanks Inevitable_Faith,

Now the Vulture did not work with the plastic bracing I built, which was really annoying as I had to adjust the plastic brace first to fit the narrower fuselage. After all that extra work the balance was not right because the older ForgeWorld Vulture was entirely resin. No plastic parts or pre-built mount. Here I had to resort to pins to get it to work.



But the result is a Vulture that can use the GF Plastic Flying Base.



The long painting and converting war continues,

CB

Some more shots of the various army parts.

The Command HQ, Stormtroopers, Veterans, Special Weapon Squads and Heavy Weapon Squads.


Drop Trooper Platoon


Drop Trooper Platoon


Sentinels and Sentry Guns


The long painting war continues...

CB

Such a great looking force. Does it perform well with 8th edition rules?

Inevitable_Faith,

Honestly I have not tried. My other armies are all getting played and since my Necromunda Guard are more robust they have been getting the Guard playing time.

Cheers,

CB

Oh man, another excellent blog! Fantastic stuff, love the infantry-heavy style. Keep up the good work!

Do all the ellysians have slumped shoulders? I mean the army looks great, but every single infantryman looks like he's caught in prop wash.

Cosmic wrote:Oh man, another excellent blog! Fantastic stuff, love the infantry-heavy style. Keep up the good work!

Thank you Cosmic.

Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Do all the ellysians have slumped shoulders? I mean the army looks great, but every single infantryman looks like he's caught in prop wash.

Warboss_Waaazag,

They all do, and much worse than mine as I trimmed a little of the back collars off and lifted the heads.

Thank you both for your comments.

Cheers,

CB

Looks great! Love the detailed guides too. Very jealous

Lovely work. Your army was my inspiration for starting my own Elysians.

Yup, Captain Brown's the name a lot of people surely think about first when it comes to Elysians. Great dedication and motivation for this project; great to see it here as well!

Reading this article has been an absolute pleasure, and as a fellow Guardsman I have drawn inspiration from your devotion to the hobby!

I particularly enjoyed the Flyers, which I have been building recently myself and appreciate your attention to detail!!

Thank you cmurphy96, Elnibbus, Sigur and Private Benjamin.

So a member of the community sent me a PM asking for the process used in painting the troopers. The original scheme was devised by a gamer who went by the handle Chaos & Evil.

-White primer first for the troopers.
-Desert Yellow with a small amount of Black on the fatigues.
-Add first highlight with Desert Yellow with a small amount of Bleached Bone.
-Second highlight with Desert Yellow and more Bleached Bone.
-Final highlight of Bleached Bone and the fatigues are done.
-Watered down Catachan Green and apply to all the impact protection patches.
-Catachan Green onto the elbow and knee armour, trouser pockets and plastic parts of the lasgun.
-Second highlight to the same with Catachan Green mixed with some Skull White.
-Final lighter extreme highlight/edging with Catachan Green and more Skull White. Use the same mix on the re-breather and the gravjet clamp on the back of the model.
-Black wash over the oxygen piping.
-Apply black to the rifle, boots, anything that will be painted metallic.
-Apply any black lining at this point to parts painted.
-Make a mixture of Codex Grey and Black and paint the helmet vison and the panels above. Used the same mixture to highlight the boots and gloves.
-Second highlight mix a lighter batch of Codex Grey and Black to highlight what you just painted.
-Final highlight on all of the same with Codex Grey.
-Boltgun metal to boot buckles, air hose and rifle parts.
-Paint the air hose clips and visor clamps with Brazen Brass.
-Paint the face with Dwarf Flesh, Flesh Wash, Dwarf Flesh highlight, Dwarf Flesh with Skull White mix for extreme highlight of the face.
-Blackline the edge of the face where it meets visor, strap and chin strap.
-Drybrush the chest skull with Bleached Bone.

Hope that helps anyone who was also curious.

The long painting war continues...

CB

A very impressive work you have done here. The paintjob and attention to detail you put in are quite inspiring. Also special thanks for the Tarantula tutorial, that might come in handy in the future.

All in all a pleasure to look at your work, cheers

It is a wonderful looking army, both up close on individual models, and group shots from a distance.

I love this sort of army. Never liked Cadians or Catachans, but Elysians look bloody great and you've done them just right.

Nice army, love the look of those old stormies.IMHO there's Kreig Grenadiers, Tempestus Scions, Cadian Kasrkin and 2nd edition commandos in space, but there is only one that comes to mind with the phrase 'Stormtroopers'.

They also seem to be the most suitable for Elysians, and tie in very well.

Very nice work on the Elysians, you've done them more than justice, and the vehicles are stunning. The counter colouring on your flyers is simple but really sets them off.

Very cool army.
Cheers

A great looking army! Always loved the Elysian models and you've certainly done them justice.
Do they still have rules in 9th Edition?

Thanks Capt. Hodgeheg.

I am not certain if there are any rules for the Elysians since they were squatted. I have not checked as the army has been in storage for years now.

Cheers,

CB

Late thanks Pyroalchi, Fifty, and OldMate

Nice army so far. I particularly like the fliers.