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508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/14 15:01:03


Post by: Cothonian


Greetings all, here lies my Dakka PM thread, primarily to showcase my Guard works, as well as their many enemies.

There's a loosely put together plot for all of these, I figure a means to present everything in one place might actually help it develop a bit.

First off, for some of my already completed works:

Leman Russ Punisher "Bane" of the 508th Hammerhead:







Leman Russ 14 "Lucky" of the 509th Armored Division:





Now that I actually have a place put together to present everything, I'll be able to start posting updates fairly quickly. I'm also almost always doing something with conversion work, so Imma start posting up pics of those stuffs soon enough.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/14 17:36:39


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


Definitely following this. Those russes are quite cool.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/14 18:46:54


Post by: Cothonian


This is by far one of my favorite pieces, Guard Missile Team running through the ruins of their once proud hive city.









508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/15 20:42:35


Post by: Cothonian


Having heard rumor of humans joining xeno factions, the Inquisition has deployed some of it's assets to investigate the situation.

As such, I present to thee my Inquisitional Storm Troopers:











I typically run these guys as Imperial Guard Scions. Alas, setting them up using the actual Henchmen rules is just not points-efficient.

Eventually I'd also like to get a unit of Ogryns and paint them in Inquisition colors. Suffice it to say, my Inquisitor has interesting bodyguards.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/16 18:36:41


Post by: Cothonian


Sniper team, deployed to the mountainous regions south-west of the Hive city. Their job is primarily to observe xenos deployments, and try their hand at taking out the occasional high-value target. In the late war they were called back to the city, hence why some have outdoors bases, and others have urban bases.















Below is the "I missed!" sniper, one of the funnier miniatures.





Being a "Special Forces" type unit, I got to have a little more fun with the paint job, deviating from the standard infantry colors to include black jackets and dark green armor plates (as opposed to the usual drab grey.) For those of you wondering, this unit serves as a Special Weapons Squad in game.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/17 21:13:03


Post by: Cothonian


The 509th Armored is composed primarily of Russ Vanquishers, best adapted to the long range warfare in the plains outside the hive city. After the initial xeno assault on-world, the 509th was the first to stage a coordinated counter attack against their landing zones.















Vanquishers are by far my favorite Russ variant, so much so that I've gone to absurd lengths to make them effective on the tabletop. It's fun throwing two of these with pre-science at enemy armor.



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/18 09:09:51


Post by: evildrcheese


Awesome. I love the pics of the tanks in the dirt! So cool.

EDC


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/19 21:34:15


Post by: Cothonian


Human cooperation with xenos forces confirmed. Mobilizing additional resources to counter threat. Praise be to the Emperor.





I assembled and painted my Gue'vesa years ago, so the paint job isn't exactly stellar. Definitely up to tabletop standards though, so that's alright.

Also worth showing off is the sheer amount of conversion work that went into these guys, you can find the full thread here: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/643936.page


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/20 05:52:25


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


I did some Gue'vesa conversions a while back, mostly just sticking marker lights onto lasguns, but that guy is awesome! I really love this thread!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/20 14:03:47


Post by: Cothonian


 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
I did some Gue'vesa conversions a while back, mostly just sticking marker lights onto lasguns, but that guy is awesome! I really love this thread!


Thank you much!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/22 18:01:08


Post by: Cothonian


In the late war the presence of traitor humans increased ten fold, having been deployed en masse by xeno forces. This is largely attributed to the fact that the second most populous planet in the sector surrendered almost immediately during the first xeno incursions. Presumably, the majority of traitor forces came from that world.







A "normal" xeno warrior:







Again, I must emphasize that these guys were painted up years ago. I actually have a ton of Tau that I need to paint up... perhaps I should get to that...


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/23 15:50:31


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


I would love to see more tau. Goforit!!!!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/23 17:05:27


Post by: Warboss_Waaazag


I'm a really big fan of "human auxilliaries" in Tau forces. Yours look great.

Also, is there a possibility that we can get a group shot of all your guard models together in one picture? I love large tank formations.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/23 17:14:46


Post by: Cothonian


I can make that happen. Currently I have a few pics of my full force, but they are "meh" quality-wise.

I've been considering trying to do a large scale photoshoot of a larger force with the outdoor scenery. Unfortunately it's going to be close to a week before I'll actually be able to lol.

Until then, I think I could prep up a nicer indoor picture.


Also, in regards to my Tau (and more specifically the human auxiliaries), I'm actually going to try and make my Tau forces predominantly Gue'vesa. Style-wise I'm taking inspiration from the Soviet satellite states, with the human auxiliaries driving "outdated" or "well used" Tau equipment. Think of a Hammerhead tank, but its paint is chipping and it is covered in rust.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/24 16:14:18


Post by: Cothonian


Defensive lines, common in the urban areas of the world.









Painting walls is so exciting. Love every moment of it. So amazing to be painting large grey areas.

Jokes aside, these actually did come out pretty nicely. Still a few more wall sections to finish up.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/24 16:22:41


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


How did you paint the walls? Grey?

Jokes aside, I love those bullet holes. Keep it up!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/27 20:22:05


Post by: Cothonian


Sentinel Walkers, relatively common as fire support throughout the 508th Hammerhead.







I'm going to base this guy eventually, quite unfortunately he is currently very well glued down, so I'll likely have to paint around the feet.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/30 12:03:28


Post by: Cothonian


A Ministorum Priest, in place alongside the Commissariat to keep the men in line.









This guy is a kit bash of a few different models. Space Marine head and banner, Space Marine Scout arm, everything else is off the Guard command sprue.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/30 13:30:08


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


That is super cool. I might have to steal that conversion idea...


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/05/31 03:31:19


Post by: Cothonian


 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
That is super cool. I might have to steal that conversion idea...


Heck yeah!


On a random note, finally started working on that Tau Hammerhead. I'm totally going to Gue'vesa it up.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/06/09 21:41:35


Post by: Cothonian


Actually a picture of something work in progress:



Finally got around to actually painting something, only to realize that I have to research the Tau language to actually get the markings right.

Being a Gue'vesa vehicle it's going to feature both human and Tau markings. Not really sure how the Tau label their human helpers other than "Gue'vesa"

By any chance, anyone know if the Tau use acronyms? I'm considering just writing "GV" (in Tau alphabet of course) rather than fully spelling out Gue'vesa. Eh, I think I'll just go ahead with it.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/06/10 05:42:46


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


I would guess so. In any case, Gue'vesa is probably not spelled with the tau equivalent of G-U-E-V-E-S-A, but probably more like GU-E-VE-SA, if that makes any sense.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/06/10 05:54:58


Post by: Aetare


This is some really nice work!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/06/10 15:28:41


Post by: Cothonian


 Aetare wrote:
This is some really nice work!


Thank you much!

On a random note... one the the primary colors that I was going to paint up the hammerhead with got all weird. Kind of chunky, not great at all for painting lol. Minor setback, there are other parts of the hull that I can work on.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/06/10 15:47:46


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


If you're using GW paints, you can mix Lahmian Medium directly into the pot and it should be fine


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/06/10 21:24:57


Post by: Cothonian


I don't use GW paints specifically, but I do use Model Master oil paint. Would you happen to know if the medium would do the same thing for those?


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/06/14 15:08:33


Post by: Cothonian


Chimera 17 of the 508th Hammerhead, equipped with an auto cannon.















Chimera were one of the primary reason I got into guard. I put a fair amount of effort into this one. The auto cannon setup is custom, using the heavy bolter mantlet and the barrel of an auto cannon from a heavy weapons team. I also put forward a substantial effort to build the turret's interior, which as you can see, is cramped to say the least. Somehow I managed to fit the gunner and the auto cannon breach in there. Lastly, extra hand holds on the upper portions of the sides. Though subtle, these do make the APC as a whole look just a bit meaner. They're also super practical which makes me happy.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/11 01:49:45


Post by: Cothonian


Military advisor from Krieg. In the late war, as the drain on men and equipment became too much for the 508th, units from other Guard regiments were called in to assist. Few arrived.



I have actually based this guy... but I don't have a picture of him based. I put a fair amount of effort into making this guy look like proper Krieg, albeit without the GW colors. I got a bunch of WWII historical paints that worked out nicely.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/14 11:58:18


Post by: Cothonian


Sergeant with latent psyker abilties, manifesting violently.



This was an experimental piece that I did. At the time I had just started painting lightning on my power weapons, and wanted to see if I could take it a step further. On the tabletop he serves as a Primaris Psyker.

In regards to his backstory... there is a long winded "alternate timeline" of sorts which explains why he wasn't just executed on the spot. Other words, this dude isn't officially "508th Hammerhead." None the less, I wanted to show him off


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/14 12:30:11


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


That's pretty cool, especially the Krieg guy. I'd love a unit or two of them as an allied detachment of Imperial Army for 30k, but the minis are soooo expensive.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/15 21:14:12


Post by: Cothonian


Yeah mah dude. I managed to get my Krieger squad at a good price off of ebay, but even there it is hard to find a good deal.

One quick lament while I'm here; last I checked Forge World stopped selling the "at ease" Kriegers, which is a shame because those were the coolest poses.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/15 21:40:21


Post by: kitbashermagos


I love the tanks, Keep it up good sir


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/15 21:50:30


Post by: Dreadclaw69


 Cothonian wrote:
Sergeant with latent psyker abilties, manifesting violently.



This was an experimental piece that I did. At the time I had just started painting lightning on my power weapons, and wanted to see if I could take it a step further. On the tabletop he serves as a Primaris Psyker.

In regards to his backstory... there is a long winded "alternate timeline" of sorts which explains why he wasn't just executed on the spot. Other words, this dude isn't officially "508th Hammerhead." None the less, I wanted to show him off

Nice effect. If you want to justify him in your army just say that when the Commissar attempted to execute him his head exploded and an allied Inquisitor sanctioned the psychic


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/16 08:04:47


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


^^^That's clever...


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/16 22:03:35


Post by: Cothonian


 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

If you want to justify him in your army just say that when the Commissar attempted to execute him his head exploded and an allied Inquisitor sanctioned the psychic


I don't know why, but that bolded section struck me as particularly funny. I'll roll with it though.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/19 22:55:02


Post by: Cothonian


Lieutenant of the 508th Hammerhead.



This particular model came out very, very well, and yet ironically is probably one of the least useful dudes in my Imperial Guard force. Right now he serves as an unmodified member of a command squad... In the previous edition that could be useful. Quite unfortunately, that time has since passed lol.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/21 19:55:29


Post by: Cothonian


Spent a little more time working on the Gue'vesa Hammerhead. I did actually write "Gue'vesa" along the side. Going to be filling in details, followed by damage, then more details!



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/22 17:33:59


Post by: Cothonian


Damage and details have been applied to the Hammerhead, as well as Sept markings.

Alas, when I went to apply the mud, I opened my new Earth Brown jar to find that it was the consistency of muddy water... completely unusable. I then opened up the older jar and found that it had separated into two parts: clear liquid, and a thick white rubbery material. Also unusable.

Cry for me lol

That aside, it is coming along well. It's not common to see Tau painted up as "Battle worn" so it is cool to see equipment in such a state.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Managed to fix one of the mud colored paints. I have since applied said mud and all is well, the tank itself is pretty much done. I'll e doing some photography stuffs when the sun finally comes out.

However, I will admit that the drones and Gue'vesa commander are still in need of completion, 'tis no issue though.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/23 14:46:37


Post by: Cothonian


In the late war the so called "Gue'vesa" arrived in force, traitorous men who had turned away from the Emperor's light. Surprisingly, the xenos invaders had provided these traitor humans with an array of advanced weaponry and vehicles. However, it is worth noting that the equipment provided appeared to be in rough shape at best, likely drawn from xenos reserve stockpiles.













For those of you who want to see the vehicle in a less "artistic" photography setting, here's a picture of it on the workbench, before mud was applied:



The tank itself is pretty much done, now I need to work on the drones as well as the Gue'vesa tank commander. One thing I will say though, the pictures of it lacking the drone does convey a "well-used" feel.

One more note while I'm here: Here is a full sized version of the picture to view within the spoiler, you can really see the work that went into the damage in this pic:

Spoiler:






508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/07/25 16:04:26


Post by: Cothonian


Next up on the agenda: Bullgryns.

I was thinking of doing them up in Inquisition colors, red BDUs and black armor plate. However, blood spatter does not show up well on those colors. So while they'll still be "Inquisitional Henchmen" of sorts, they'll be wearing some other color scheme. For some reason light grey is appealing to me...

(BTW for those wonder, the local Inquisitor on-world brought with him a company of storm troopers, and an assortment of "specialists", including the Ogryns)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/08/03 16:32:39


Post by: Cothonian


Turns out Bullgryns are surprisingly large models, they are actually fairly imposing in size compared to a lot of other miniatures. I still don't think that justifies their $15+ per model cost...

Moving along, almost finished with assembly. Soon enough I'll be painting them. Again, still stuck on colors. Currently the choices are Inquisition (black, silver, red), Urban (lots of grey), or 508th (Dark grey, olive drab). Honestly, the only reason why I am not automatically putting them in inquisition colors is that at least two of them are going to be drenched in blood from smashing things with their clubs... gotta choose a color palette where the blood will be visible.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/08/03 18:15:30


Post by: STG


Grey will look good with blood splatters aswell as the 508th colours. Good luck with the ogryns


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/08/05 13:57:46


Post by: Cothonian


508th Hammerhead with elements of the 509th moving into one of the lower levels of Konor.





The 508th takes up the center and right flank, as the 509th hold the left side against advancing enemy scouts.





To give a little more context, my opponent was playing Raven Guard marines. We Rolled off and he took up the role as "chaos." Early game I took the lead, knocking out a devastator squad. As turns out though, Primaris marines are surprisingly resilient.

Mid game he started advancing his forces, getting a dreadnought close to my tanks on the left side along with some Reavers. In the mid-field his Primaris and Sturmguard held their ground in cover, inflicting casualties among my guard hordes.During my next turn I got lucky when my Basilisk turned and successfully one-shotted the dreadnought that was an incredibly good roll.

Late game my opponent took the lead, finishing off three injured guard units.

By this point it was turn 5, and 10:30pm. I probably could have pushed back and brought my score back up,but we had started late and I was a full hour away from home, so I called it there. Overall it was an excellent match, neck and neck the whole way.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/08/07 06:23:09


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


Sounds like a fun game. Although I do expect an apology for killing those raven guard...


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/08/08 16:25:42


Post by: Cothonian


 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
Sounds like a fun game. Although I do expect an apology for killing those raven guard...


Hehe, for that match I was using an Ork model as the place holder for a commissar. The running joke throughout the game was that my guard were not attacking the marines, just retreating from the one Ork coming up behind them.

That Ork has sat in as a placeholder for my commissar multiple games now, and I'm honestly thinking of making it into a permanent addition to my force. Kommissar Kcirray, an Ork who lost his hand fighting a Guard sergeant, before killing the sergeant and taking his powerfist (human hand included) to use as his own. 'Dis Ork is also particularly mean, staring down men with his "Evil Eye."


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/08/09 15:03:17


Post by: Cothonian


Kind of a crappy picture... but none the less. here it is. Guard sergeant striking down someone with a shovel.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Work in progress pic: Working on Bullgryn #1, nearly all base coats applied:



This is an interesting model in that it has A LOT of exposed skin. Them majority of my guard by far wear gasmasks and gloves, and the ones with exposed skin do not have a lot. None the less, I have a method. I typically start out with a coat of Burnt Sienna, letting it dry thoroughly. I then apply details such as eyes and teeth, and finish by dry brushing on tan until the model's skin tone is good to go.

As you can probably tell, right now just the Burnt Sienna is applied.



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/09/25 01:17:29


Post by: Cothonian


Progress on the Bullgryn:



Again, emphasis on work in progress, skin is hard to paint well lol. He's also going to have just bit off a dude's head so expect more in the way of gore on him...


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/09/25 11:36:51


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


Nice job on the hazard stripes.

Although it does look like you missed a little bit there


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/09/25 12:28:43


Post by: Cothonian


Yeah I gotta do some cleanup work with a razorblade, shouldn't be too bad.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/09/27 14:09:19


Post by: Cothonian


Work in progress pic, Gue'vesa Hammerhead Tank Commander:



Fairly easy kitbash, he'll be commanding the Gue'vesa Hammerhead pictured above. Just ignore his mildly deformed feet.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/10/10 19:51:49


Post by: Cothonian


Forge World is finally bringing back "at ease" Kriegers!

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/10/06/this-week-from-forge-world-the-death-korps-return/

Probably my favorite kit. It's nice to see warhammer models that are not locked in eternal battle.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/10/11 06:07:56


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


I really like the tank commander. The arms don't look too big on him, which is nice.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/11/05 03:21:54


Post by: Cothonian


Kind of a miscellaneous post: How I transport my vehicles, without wrecking the paintjobs.



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/11/05 14:14:16


Post by: ghostmaker


Cool IG ! like the little details !


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/11/07 02:26:23


Post by: Cothonian


More work on the Bullgryn. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the whole model when based is going to depict this Bullgryn as having just bit a guy's head off. Wookies rip off arms, Bullgryns bite off heads, am I right?



I actually kind of preferred him pre-bloodied. I think once the base is put together he'll improve dramatically though, as there will be context for his messy appearance.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/11/10 18:12:06


Post by: Cothonian


The 508th Hammerhead prepares to charge against traitor PDF.



This pic is actually from a Warhammer match I played about a week back, Guard vs Guard. Game mode was Blitz and I was the attacker. As game modes go it was actually really enjoyable, of course I will admit that I much preferred being on the attacking side.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/11/13 02:07:32


Post by: Cothonian


I was in the mood for another banner man, so I'm starting to put him together.



The majority of my infantry wear respirators, and slowly but surely the majority of them will be wearing long coats. This is of course done with the excellence that is greenstuff. In the above picture you can see one of my green stuff gas masks, created via press molding. I'll be creating the long coat soon enough - also with green stuff.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/11/13 04:36:02


Post by: Demented duo


I really like everything on this blog, buy my favorite things are the 'artistic' photo's keep it up!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/11/16 00:12:26


Post by: Cothonian


I promise I'll get some more fancy photography photos out. For now, here's another WIP:





I like long coats. Long coats are hard to get, so I started making my own. Right now close to half of my hundred or so infantry have them. Actually does make them fairly unique on the tabletop. The fact that nearly all of them are wearing balaclava or respirators makes them look mean too.

Only thing I forgot to do with this one, I usually try and shave down the bottom o the guardsman's jacket before applying green stuff, makes the long coat fit better.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/11/23 19:05:46


Post by: Cothonian


In the late war elements of the 508th stationed in the northern parts of the world responded south, attempting to re-direct xenos reinforcements away from the collapsing Hive city.





As promised, more fancy photography! Unfortunately, this particular tank did not come out as nicely as some of the others. Also the wet weather as of late has put some of my better photography spots in the yard out of use...

At some point I should also like take some photos of a whole armored formation advancing. It's not easy though.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
That moment when you count only 9 of the members of the squad you used for the photo shoot, and have to go out in the dark to find the tenth man...

Fear not, I did find him. He was just chilling in the mud.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/12/23 13:06:35


Post by: Cothonian


Finished two more Kriegers at ease. I'll get pics up soon enough.

They came out pretty nice... made one little mistake. With earlier Kriegers I did not put the nuln oil wash over the armor pieces (which are painted gun metal), this time I did. Still looks alright, kind of preferred the shinier plates though.

Also finally started work on the Bullgryn's base, and found the butchered remains of a Guard torso from an earlier project that will work nicely for it.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/12/27 16:56:02


Post by: Cothonian


During the initial xenos attack, the Sororitas Convent, as well as the local Administratum were hit with near total losses.

As such, the 508th immediately found itself with a lack of experienced officers. Krieg answered the call, sending command staff and troops to assist. Their combat style was not well received on all fronts, as the troops of the 508th found themselves repeatedly hurled over open ground against xenos lines.









Unfortunately the pictures came out a bit grainy, my lighting situation is less than fantastic at the moment.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/12/28 07:46:25


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


Is the colour scheme slightly darker than the FW one, or is it just the lighting? All in all, great work.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/12/28 12:41:48


Post by: Cothonian


The Forgeworld paint schemes do seem a little lighter, using a more grey-blue color as opposed to the feldgrau I tried to emulate. Also Forgeworld's helmets/other metal bits have a lot more "wear" on them, faded sections of metal and such. I used gun metal with steel highlights on my armor.

Only thing, I wish I hadn't put a wash on the helmet and shoulder armor. Still looks alright, but the first Krieger I put together does not have nuln oil wash on the helmet and shoulders, making for a slightly nicer looking glint.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/12/29 12:52:38


Post by: Cothonian


That moment when you are trying to apply the base coat for a new and awesome model, but the spray paint nozzle keeps clogging up for no reason.

Been happening a lot, and what is weird is that I am careful with the spray paint cans.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/12/30 07:14:56


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


 Cothonian wrote:
That moment when you are trying to apply the base coat for a new and awesome model, but the spray paint nozzle keeps clogging up for no reason.

Been happening a lot, and what is weird is that I am careful with the spray paint cans.


How warm/cold is it where you're spray painting? If it's below 15ºC or above 20ºC it doesn't stick very well and can clog up details and the can itself.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2017/12/30 23:46:51


Post by: Cothonian


Temperature is a little higher than that... Honestly not sure though. I swear that I have done painting in hotter environments that I have now...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, work in progress pic:



Almost done. Custom female Imperial Guard Commissar. Always wanted one, recently received it as a gift.

Also, it would seem that my phone's camera is dying. I swear it used to take better pictures...


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/01/05 23:14:02


Post by: Cothonian


Custom base that came with the female Commissar:





Not quite finished, probably going to paint the sides of the base black for a cleaner look, as odd as that may sound. Maybe a little mud for the tiles there too.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/01/08 04:50:46


Post by: Cothonian


Commissar Jannis became known for two things: Her brutal antics in close quarters battle, and very public displays of turning men into servitors as punishment for cowardice.





I desperately need a new phone... and with it will come a good camera.

Also, I'm going to be gone for a little while. But fate willing, I'll be back.



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/03/07 17:49:27


Post by: Cothonian


Bullgryn squad complete, and they came out good. Pics will come soon enough.

Got back to finding that all of my white paint had turned into rubber... Also multiple of my spray paint cans, despite being three quarters full, half clogged nozzles. Maybe I could buy just new nozzles for cheaper. We'll see.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/03/08 10:45:02


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


The commissar looks awesome! Too bad about the paint, I sometimes have problems with white paint too but never with clogged nozzles. I don’t know how or if you can fix them.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/03/13 18:06:30


Post by: Cothonian


Work in progress pic:



I love my Kriegers to death but man are they a pain to paint.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/03/17 18:20:00


Post by: Cothonian


Shout out to the regular infantry, painted en mass by the hundreds!

This was in preparation for a tabletop battle so I had a lot out and organized ...as usual, my camera is still dying on me.







Funny enough the tabletop set up that day kind of looks like the 508th's home world, so that's cool.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/03/18 01:41:27


Post by: Elnibbus


There's some nice work in this thread Cothonian and the background fluff along with each unit/figure is a nice touch.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/03/24 11:16:41


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


Looks like a fun game. Can't wait to see those Krieg guys painted.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/04/02 00:23:26


Post by: Cothonian


Mud bases for my Kriegers:



Overall came out nice. Simple enough. Must admit that I cannot stand basing... but I do it anyway. For these ones I went with mud puddles on a battle field, honestly simplifies making them up quite a bit. They'll look better with Kriegers knee deep.

The "rocky" parts of the bases are composed of ash from a wood stove, I've found the dust to be perfect for modeling applications.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/04/28 20:43:59


Post by: Cothonian


In the inner cities the Wyvern Mortar Tank proved a brutal adversary for the advancing xenos hordes, tearing through structures with hails of munitions.









New camera finally, takes really nice pictures. I was hoping that the natural light would bring out the detail of the wear and tear on this model a bit more. Alas, in 7th edition this thing saw constant use. Nowadays It serves primarily as a Basilisk "counts-as" on the tabletop.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/05 17:01:53


Post by: Cothonian


Custom Company Commander incoming...



Also working on a Hellhound. It is assembled, and I am starting to paint it.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/05 17:21:46


Post by: Briancj


I beg you to drill out the gun barrel of this officer's CLEARLY STOLEN Space Marine Bolt Pistol. Uh, I mean, gift. Yes. A gift of appreciation for his actions on Terennix IV.



Looks good!

--Brian



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/10 13:59:10


Post by: Cothonian


The damage on the Hellhound is coming along so well that I almost don't want to apply mud and ashes over it. T_T



We shall see.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/10 14:51:51


Post by: Emperors will


Just scrolled through the whole thread and got to say I love your guard style. One question how do you make the long coats for your guardsmen?


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/10 15:11:08


Post by: Cothonian


Emperors will wrote:
Just scrolled through the whole thread and got to say I love your guard style. One question how do you make the long coats for your guardsmen?


I use green stuff. Typically I flatten out some of it to a good thickness, then cut a rectangle out of the appropriate size (using a guard model as reference.) I then press the long coat on and add wrinkles/folds to my liking. As for painting green stuff, just make sure you apply primer first and it is easy enough.

One other tip if you need to manipulate green stuff but sticking is an issue, vegetable oil or wax paper may be used. (You may have noticed that a significant number of my guardsmen have respirators, I create those by press molding with green stuff, using vegetable oil to prevent the molds from fusing with the green stuff.)

Hope this helps!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/12 03:23:54


Post by: Cothonian


Mechanized troops of the 508th advance to hold a key junction.





This was a "Multiplayer Battle: Carnage" with four players. On my right flank were 20 Death Company that charged me almost immediately. After wiping out 20 of my infantry my Tank Commander in a Punisher mulched them. On my left flank was a demon prince and four dreadnoughts (all forgeworld, I cannot recall the names) who charged head first into the Tau in the opposite corner. Early game I moved one of my APCs and its load of troops to the middle, securing points. Ultimately I won the match, both by points and the fact that the Death Company and Tau were wiped from the board, and my Chaos opponent only had two heavily damaged Dreadnoughts to take on my APCs, Hellhound, Tank, and Bullgryns.

(As you may have guessed, it was a relatively small match - each player had up to 55 power level)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/18 15:40:03


Post by: Cothonian


Damage and mud has been applied. Really not looking forward to writing the vehicle name into the side banner.



Better pictures will be coming soon. Lighting conditions as of late have been awful.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/19 14:31:48


Post by: Cothonian


In the late war the hive city was considered a total loss. Thus, the defense of key points gave way to scorched earth tactics.









For this vehicle I tried a new method of painting, applying a coat of black primer followed by green. The objective was to get a more dull/"burned out" color. Overall I'd say that was successful, though I honestly think the hound would have looked better with a camouflage pattern like the rest of my vehicles.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/21 00:59:32


Post by: Cothonian


I was looking over the Devil Dog's stats and would not mind having one... and I have an idea.

The normal Hellhound model looks good for Hellhounds and Banewolfs. However it seems a little odd that a Devil Dog (a vehicle with energy-based weapons) would have large barrels/fuel tanks in the back.

I'm thinking of getting a Chimera kit and customizing it. 3d print a custom ventilation section to take the place of the back hatches on the top and official looking covers for the lasgun array ports. I could then use the left over Melta Cannon barrel and attach it to the Chimera Turret. I'll also create some other bits to represent extra armor attached to the hull.

Should be interesting.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/23 01:42:00


Post by: Cothonian


Captain of 3rd Company, assigned to the defense of the monastery.

In the beginning the monastery escaped the initial xenos bombardment. It held as a strong point within the city until the late war where it was finally demolished by advancing xenos forces, effectively wiping out the local Ministorum.







I was in the mood to do something different with my infantry paint jobs, and this company commander fit the bill as a test case. I'll likely start filling out the ranks of third company soon using the white/red armor pattern.

The Commander's bolt pistol is from the Company Command Squad sprue... but I am wishing that I had grabbed a bolt pistol from a tank crewman instead (the vehicle crew bolt pistols are wayyy small than the company command ones, also a little sleeker.)



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/05/29 23:52:17


Post by: Cothonian


Completed a banner man. Overall he looks... completely average.

Came out effectively at tabletop standard but was hoping for better... Biggest thing is that the banner came out looking really rough. I tried doing some things with some new colors and it didn't come out 100%. I might try re-painting the banner, as honestly that is my primary issue with the model.

Added bonus, he keeps tipping over lol. I'll be gluing pennies in his base to get him to stand. Pictures will come eventually.

Speaking of command squad members, the majority of my command staff were painted long ago. They look good, but are not up to my current standard which is a bit awkward honestly lol. I'll put them all in one picture, paint job strength in numbers!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/02 17:33:53


Post by: Cothonian


"Confirmed, hostile armor inbound. Fire at will!"

Heavy weapons team engaging a xenos armored group South-West of the city.





This is actually a refurbished model believe it or not. It was among some of the first miniatures I painted, but fell apart recently. Rather than just gluing it back together, I elected to sharpen up the paint job a bit and based the unit. Overall it came out nicely, albeit the gunner is not as perfectly aligned with the gun as he could be. Only other downside was that my mould line removing skills weren't as good back then... still look good though.

In other news, I'm in the process of putting together another unit of infantry, but this time the whole unit will sport long coats. I've already finished two long coats... I'm now remembering how much time it adds to making troops. Regardless, they're looking good.

Old pic, but a good reference to what they look like half-done:




508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/09 13:06:06


Post by: Cothonian


Elements of the <redacted> Auxilla engage xenos on the world of <data expunged>.

Year <redacted>, Colorized.



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/09 13:19:02


Post by: Briancj


YES. MOAR OGRYNS PLZ.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/09 22:09:41


Post by: GloomyFenix


 Cothonian wrote:
Elements of the <redacted> Auxilla engage xenos on the world of <data expunged>.

Year <redacted>, Colorized.

That's so SCP-like

Didn't know the bullgryns were the same height as the wraithguard, tbh


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/09 22:31:26


Post by: alabamaheretic


I really enjoy seeing updates on this blog always brings a smile to my face,.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/10 01:47:58


Post by: Cothonian


 Briancj wrote:
YES. MOAR OGRYNS PLZ.


You got it

 GloomyFenix wrote:
 Cothonian wrote:
Elements of the <redacted> Auxilla engage xenos on the world of <data expunged>.

Year <redacted>, Colorized.

That's so SCP-like

Didn't know the bullgryns were the same height as the wraithguard, tbh


SCP Foundation is a nice place. I'd like it even more if they allowed me to leave... >_>

 alabamaheretic wrote:
I really enjoy seeing updates on this blog always brings a smile to my face,.


You honor me


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/10 01:50:36


Post by: alabamaheretic


I'm a sucker for guard blogs I been through a many a guard army my self (I'm currently build catachans as we speak)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/15 22:02:07


Post by: Cothonian


"The Inquisitor has some interesting friends."

"As long as they stay away from my quarters everything will be fine. Even filth has its place in the Emperor's service."










508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/18 02:13:14


Post by: ghostmaker


Coll stuff!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/19 23:12:59


Post by: Cothonian


Mechanicus liaison, assigned to the 508th.











So I need to build a proper light box... alas, the black spray painted cardboard just isn't cutting it. My lighting conditions for indoor photography are abysmal, and as a result even with a super fancy camera everything still looks grainy. Soon...

One more note (also a reason for needing better lighting): The techpriest's robes are really a much darker, deeper red. I really could not get that across with these photographs.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/23 03:58:32


Post by: Cothonian


"All sections, advance!"







Was messing around with the camera to see what I could come up with.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/23 04:14:33


Post by: Private Benjamin


 Cothonian wrote:
Sergeant with latent psyker abilties, manifesting violently.



Just awesome...




Sloth Fratelli !!!! <3 <3 <3


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/23 18:06:29


Post by: Cothonian





Almost could be a picture in the codex.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/30 17:20:13


Post by: Cothonian


That awkward moment when you find out there really isn't an easy means to thin oil paints... turns out that all the "mediums" I was looking for, for thinning, were for non-oil paints. I'm a little sad as I have a number of oil paints that could be just a little thinner...

I also prefer the Model Master and Testors to GW paints because I often use historical colors. Though I will admit, GW paints have the appeal of also offering their mediums, which would make thinning so much easier. Eh, I'll figure it out eventually.

In other news, managed to get ten sets of Imperial Guard legs off of Ebay cheap. I have so many extra torsos, heads, arms, and bases that I will finally make use of. Added bonus it that it means another infantry squad for only $18.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/06/30 18:38:38


Post by: Briancj


Turpentine is the traditional oil paint thinner, but there are other options.

Oil paints are difficult to master, but you can do things with them you simply cannot achieve with acrylics! (and vice-versa).

Here, I hope this helps:

https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-thin-oil-based-paint

--Brian



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/07 18:08:00


Post by: Cothonian


Advisors from Krieg, at ease.



I think I need to clean my camera lens or something... there are some unusual distortions.

Pics of individual Kriegers to come.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also thanks for the note Briancj!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/09 20:46:49


Post by: Cothonian







It is worth noting that I went into "mass production mode" with these Kriegers to get an idea of how hard it would be to paint up a larger force. It would be difficult.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/11 01:00:41


Post by: Cothonian


A little while ago I mentioned that I was looking to create a custom Devil Dog. I have finally found 3d modeling software that is not obscenely difficult to use but is still effective, and have created the first custom component:



The Devil Dog looks like an interesting vehicle in terms of stats. However, it does not make much sense that a vehicle with energy based weapons has massive fuel tanks in the back. As such, I intend on getting a Chimera model and replacing the back hatch with the above component to represent cooling for larger power generation systems. Furthermore, I'll be creating covers for the gun ports. I think it'll come out quite nicely.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/11 13:17:48


Post by: Briancj


What software are you using?


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/11 22:43:53


Post by: Cothonian


I am using Fusion 360. It's so much easier to use than Blender (seriously, I spent close to five hours over two days trying to make the above hatch in Blender and could not get it to work. Got it done in two hours with Fusion 360.)

Also you can get Fusion 360 free for a year. If you look it up on youtube you can find the download links easy enough. Bonus is that it's all 100% legal.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, gun port cover done for the Chimera to Devil Dog covnersion:



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/12 17:59:50


Post by: Briancj


Yeah, Autocad is the way to go for hard-edged designs. Great stuff, can't wait to see the physical results!



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/19 01:37:22


Post by: Cothonian


The limited infantry assets of the 509th Armored (stationed outside the hive city) are ferried across the battlefield in up-armored Chimera APCs, and are trained for the open warfare of the plains as opposed to the close quarters slug fests endured by their counterparts in the 508th.







I put this model together a while ago, making each section of reactive armor individually by grinding down pieces of sprue. Now that the magic of 3d printing is readily available I should like to try this conversion again, but with better standardized reactive armor plates.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/25 01:22:31


Post by: Cothonian


Advisors from Krieg.







508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/07/29 15:33:38


Post by: Cothonian


I love custom poses.



(Obviously work in progress)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/08/04 20:05:29


Post by: Cothonian


Commissar, welcome to the 508th. Here is your respirator. Keep it on at all times during daylight hours. You may remove it at night, but we recommend limiting your exposure to the outside air. Also, sir, might I recommend caution when disciplining the troops. Our irregulars have been known to shoot back...















Decided to finally get this guy assembled and off the work bench.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/08/29 16:05:25


Post by: Cothonian


20 guardsmen and a Carcharodon marine underway.

10 guardsmen compose a veteran squad with three flamers and a heavy flamer. Doubt this'll be the most points-efficient unit but by the Emperor is will be fun to use (combine the unit with the "Burn 'em out" Catachan order.)

The other 10 guardsmen are a regular infantry unit. Nothing fancy. All 20 guardsmen have trench coats.

The Carcharodon marine is a gift and will also serve as good practice painting marines. I don't paint many anymore.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/09/23 16:45:11


Post by: Cothonian


Throughout the 508th's service outside of their home system, it is said that they served alongside the Emperor's honored Astartes. Thus far these reports have gone unconfirmed.











My first attempt at a Carcharodon Marine. First time ever painting up Primaris. It came out alright.... I needed a slightly lighter shade of grey for his armor plates. I also need to learn the magic that is decals.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/10/13 15:15:42


Post by: Cothonian


Standard bearer of the 508th Hammerhead, in standard infantry uniform.







A while ago I mentioned that I painted up a banner man and he came out completely average. This ^ is the guy. Sufficiently tabletop standard so it's alright.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/11/21 17:50:29


Post by: Cothonian


The sarge is angry again...









508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/11/22 20:04:38


Post by: Cothonian


Squad 6 of the 508th's first infantry company. Squad 6 specialized in close quarters fighting, and prior to the xenos invasion was used alongside the Arbites in anti-partisan operations in the lower hive city.

















508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/12/02 17:48:51


Post by: Cothonian


Ten more infantry (all with trench coats) are on the way. As they currently stand, about halfway painted. All of them have custom poses, as I used catachan legs with them as opposed to Cadian. I had (and still have) numerous extra guard torsos, arms, and heads, so I ordered a bunch of catachan legs off Ebay relatively cheap and made myself more troops out of spare parts. The fun part, should I ever get my hands on some more spare guard legs again, I still have many torsos ready to go.

Also on the work bench is a funky objective marker. It looks like an imperial weapons rack. Coming along slowly... it's a back burner thing.

Another Primaris Marine is on the way as well. Again, he's a gift, and will be painted up in Salamander colors. About halfway done.

Last but not least, I have a Leman Russ in need of assembly. I'm scheming a way to get a spare demolisher turret, so that I may run it either as a Battle Tank or as a Demolisher. Only issue: Russ turrets cost almost as much as the tanks on Ebay. We'll see how that goes.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/12/03 02:55:39


Post by: Minigiant


Those are some of the best Cadian Trenchcoats I have seen. I can see one or two fingerprints however, may I suggest investing in some clay shapers. When I purchased my first set, it immediately boosted my greenstuffing skills


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/12/18 16:49:55


Post by: Cothonian


Miscellaneous Post - How I transport my infantry:



I've built four of these trays thus far. 30 to 40 models can be carried in each depending on their size and how I position them. Two are used for line infantry, one for specialist troops, and the fourth is for command staff. I've been scheming a way to create one giant carry set up for everything... but ultimately the plans look like they would either be too large or too heavy to be practical.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/12/18 18:56:10


Post by: Captain Brown


Cothonian,

Your trench coated infantry are great looking conversions.

Cheers,

CB


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2018/12/22 18:26:46


Post by: Cothonian


Salamander Marine











I can see this picture becoming some sort of meme... ^



This is my attempt at doing the dragon scale leather that Salamander Marines often don. The brown highlights are semi-gloss, which simulates a bumpy looking texture in the light.

This is a Christmas gift for a friend who recently got into the hobby. He is full on embracing the Salamanders, flamers, melta, and all. Now that is a weapons selection I can roll with.


Automatically Appended Next Post:


Captain Brown wrote:
Cothonian,

Your trench coated infantry are great looking conversions.

Cheers,

CB


Also, thank you! It takes forever, but is totally worth it. It often surprises my opponents when they see a whole army of trench-coated miniatures coming across the table at them. (It's also uncommon to see fully painted armies at my local gaming place...)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/01/25 22:46:29


Post by: Cothonian


More 508th Hammerhead infantry on the way:



Tabletop standard of course. These are conscripts after all.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/01/26 09:21:34


Post by: EmberlordofFire8


I really, really like the pattern on the salamander's holster. Great work!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/01/26 17:11:40


Post by: Cothonian


 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
I really, really like the pattern on the salamander's holster. Great work!


Thank you much good sir! Also, good to hear from you!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/05/28 00:08:00


Post by: Cothonian


Late in the war the it was not uncommon for the local Munitorum to re-issue the gear of fallen guardsmen, often without a fresh coat of paint. Furthermore the 508th's recruitment pool rapidly diminished, and it was not long before the Arbites were sent into the lower hives for fresh recruits.



More pictures to follow. Soon.

Usually my problem is that my pictures end up washed out and under saturated. Strangely enough, the picture saturation came out WAY higher than usual. The olive drab on the uniforms is honestly a lot less GREEN.

Lastly it is worth noting that these are tabletop standard (I can do better, y'all have seen my better works.) It's not easy getting over a hundred fully painted miniatures onto the tabletop.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/05/29 19:50:26


Post by: Cothonian


"Our god Emperor chose us! US! Not the filthy xenos or some rabble of abhumans. We are his chosen, and we will not let this filth maintain its foothold on our world! Not one step back! OORAH!"










508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/01 18:54:45


Post by: Cothonian


One thing which I have started doing with my warhammer miniatures is placing Imperial Aquilas on the bases of the sergeants/commanders. First and foremost, it looks good. Second, it makes for quick ID when actually playing the game.





I need to start playing again... can't say I'm looking forward to buying the update book.

...and now for something completely different, a work in progress pic of a terminator I'm putting together:



I've been trying to achieve a Roman themed paint scheme for misc. units. Honestly hasn't really worked out... end result of this guy will still be worth showing off when he is done though.

Last but not least, I'm starting a mini project. I don't like Taurox APCs. At all. As such, I'm going to be playing around with a Rhino I have, painting it up in 508th colors and modifying it to look like it's in active service with the guard. I think it'll make for a nice Taurox stand-in.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/04 22:25:38


Post by: Cothonian


Hellhound #3 of the 508th Hammerhead.

Most of the 508th's home world consists of hot, dry plains, with swamp lands around the poles. Jungles are dotted around the world, though they are sparse compared to the aforementioned biomes.









This Hellhound has been pictured previously, but the previous photography was kinda terrible. I decided it deserved more interesting lighting to better show it off.



On another note... Simple Green has failed me for the first time. I soaked the Rhino in Simple Green for two days before pulling it out and scrubbing it with a brush under hot water. Much to my surprise, nothing happened. Literally. Nothing.

I'm not sure what paint the previous owner used, or if perhaps there is a clear coat on the model, but I literally cannot get this paint off short of using a chisel. If it is a clear coat, I want to know what it is, as it would be the most matte clear coat I've ever encountered. So, after rinsing the rhino six more times, it still reeks of Simple Green. Obviously I don't want the next coat of paint to chip off due to residual cleaner underneath, so I need to give it a few days to air. With any luck, I will soon be underway with this project.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/04 23:34:30


Post by: Briancj


Chances are, that paint is an enamel of some kind. You could escalate to brake fluid, but do not soak for more than an a couple of hours, since it is a plastic model.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/08 12:34:42


Post by: Cothonian


In all honestly, I think I'm going to give the model a little longer to air out, then just paint over it. Must admit I'm a little nervous about using high strength cleaners on Warhammer models... just too expensive to lose one. Thank you for the note though.

Moving along...


Up-armored Chimera APC of the 509th Armored:









Like the Hellhound, this was already featured but the photography was shoddy. So I'm giving it a second go with better lighting.

Regarding the reactive armor, if I ever get my hands on a 3d printer it'll be worlds easier to make. Right now the process involves grinding down pieces of sprue...


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/08 16:02:41


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


The ERA looks AMAZING though, it really makes the Chimera-line look more Cold War, an interesting mix between WW1/Interwar tanks and the Cold War at the very least. If I ever start a Guard army I'm certain to do something inspired by your armour here!

I wonder how it would look on Space Marine vehicles? Probably would be odd on the M113-based Rhino to be honest, I've never seen an M113 with ERA...
(Edit: I of course do a search and do find an M113 variant with a turret with fake ERA. It looks identical to a Predator tbh!)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/09 13:26:08


Post by: The Riddle of Steel


I just discovered this blog. Great stuff here. I love the look of these tanks, the weathering is very nice, and the sergeant with latent psychic powers from page 1 is pretty terrifying.

-Rids


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/09 15:14:38


Post by: Briancj


Painful to make, but a good use of spruebrik to achieve a goal!

--B



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/13 20:06:26


Post by: Cothonian


 Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:
The ERA looks AMAZING though, it really makes the Chimera-line look more Cold War, an interesting mix between WW1/Interwar tanks and the Cold War at the very least. If I ever start a Guard army I'm certain to do something inspired by your armour here!



Thank you very much!

The reactive armor really worked out on the Chimera. Really beefed it up a bit and made it look like Soviet armor.

I've also played with the idea of putting ERA on other vehicles... but unfortunately it just doesn't seem like it'd work out. My focus being guard, I took a look at what a Leman Russ might look like, and unfortunately due to how it's designed there really just isn't anywhere to put the armor on the hull. Turret might have some desirable results. We'll see.

Ultimately the Chimera has turned out to have the best results with that kind of modification. I really want another one.

Moving along...

The Rhino has finally aired out, it no longer reeks of Simple Green. I'm probably going to start bolting modifications to it first, then apply standard 508th Hammerhead colors to it (see any of the grey and green vehicles in this thread.) Lastly, I'll attach guns, backpacks, and other bits of guard equipment to finish it off. Overall I'm legitimately excited for this mini-project. 1. It's going to look great. 2. On the tabletop I get to use it as a Taurox stand-in, and Taurox stats are great.

I'm also going to be assembling a Hellhound in the near future. I'd like to get the Hound and the Rhino painted up at the same time if possible.




508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/13 23:35:50


Post by: kestral


Lots of heart in this blog - I love the outdoor pictures and I'm going to copy that psyker sgt!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/14 02:10:39


Post by: Cothonian


 kestral wrote:
Lots of heart in this blog - I love the outdoor pictures and I'm going to copy that psyker sgt!


Do it!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/14 09:21:57


Post by: Flapjack


Great stuff. I like the camo paterns and the greatcoats on your infantry.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/14 20:53:39


Post by: Cothonian


Preview of the Rhino (technically Razorback) to Taurox conversion:





I got this model pre-owned, and the previous owner had assembled it incorrectly. That is why the Razorback turret ring is on backwards. Unfortunately, this thing was glued together in such a way that disassembly was not realistic, so I'm making do with what I have.

Also worth noting is that this is the notorious bullet-proof paint job that I've been talking about. I'll be painting over it soon enough.

Last but not least, I was originally hoping to have the auto cannons closer together, but because of the amount of cutting required to make that happen elected to make a wider turret-type setup. The idea here is that the cannons have a limited forward arc. Ironically enough, that works out just fine with the 7th Edition Taurox rules dictating that as the case.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/14 22:44:32


Post by: Briancj


Looks pretty solid to me!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/18 23:39:23


Post by: Cothonian


Progress on Rhino, Razorback, Taurox, thing: (Obviously Work-In-Progress)





Rhino 4, Second Platoon, 508th Hammerhead.

Rhinos look great in 508th colors.

Also, managed to grab a Rhino off of Ebay for $22! Finally a price that doesn't make me cringe. Seriously, people are selling used and damaged guard models on there for brand-new price!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/06/19 16:34:39


Post by: shasolenzabi


Very nice conversion work! works as Taurox, looks great in that camo.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/08/01 20:01:17


Post by: Cothonian


A mechanized detachment of the 508th engage an unknown hostile force. Location redacted. Action from the Ordo Hereticus pending.









Another pic that makes people say, "Wait, Bullgryns are larger than Terminators!?"

This was a buddy of mine's first game of 40k. He runs Salamanders, and puts a TON of effort into painting them up right.

Lore-wise the 508th is not a traitor Regiment, which makes it awkward when they end up fighting Space Marines... over and over again.

regarding painting progress, not much unfortunately. I rather suddenly found myself quite busy. The other issue is the GW price increases... Kind of put me in shock for a bit. I really like their models, but I can't really justify how much they cost at this point. Makes me sad.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/08/07 23:07:26


Post by: Cothonian


Vehicle crewman of the 508th.





I've been experimenting with backdrop color/lighting levels with my photography. I really need to build a light box... Anyhow, here's more pictures of the same dude but with a different backdrop:









I had some spare time so I decided to put a little extra effort into this guy (more so than the hordes of conscripts.) Slightly fancier brush work to try and highlight the creases in his jacket, multiple coats of paint for the leather tanker helm, and extra effort on the face. Finished off the helmet and jacket with some agrax earthshade. Ultimately I really needed some extra practice with faces, so that was a major motivator to put some extra time in. Not my best work, but I'm happy to get the practice in.

(Also most of his face is going to be hidden by the twin auto cannons he is manning...)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/08/25 14:55:54


Post by: Cothonian


Update on the Taurox Counts-As:











The conversion is almost complete. The gunner's base (that hold him at the correct height) needs to be painted black to make it less obvious, then he just needs to be glued down. Also some minor touch ups. I think I'm going to go ahead and leave this vehicle not-mudded. I think it looks good as it is.

Also I am beginning work on a funky side project of sorts. If it works out, I'm hoping to build out a squad or three of 3rd Company Ministorum Guard. One of my models has already been done in this style:







508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/08/27 00:32:59


Post by: Cothonian


That moment when you start researching some new methods for weathering and realize that your work looks downright cartoonish compared to some...




At the very least, there are a few things I've been doing right.

First off, sponge. Been using that since forever. If you watched the video through, you probably saw the part where he mentions that you should avoid overloading the sponge at all costs. For raw damage (which is the focus of the video) this is perfect. I take to using similar methods. For mud on the other hand, overloading the sponge is great. See below:



Going back to the damage tutorial, the part that stood out to me the most is applying damage as multiple layers. For the majority of my models, this is what is missing. Is most cases I "apply damage" (semi-gloss dark grey applied with sponge) then finish with thin silver highlights for "deeper" cuts in the armor. While this is certainly passable, it seems that applying the lighter colored layer first would come out better. Ironically, I did accomplish this once accidentally, which explains why that particular model came out so well (see below.)



If you focus in on the turret, those dings came out excellent, likely for the reasons discussed above.

So what am I to do now? Imma try the method in the video on my Taurox/Rhino conversion. Curious to see how it looks...


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/08/29 02:07:09


Post by: The Riddle of Steel


Thanks for sharing the video. Good stuff.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/09/01 18:10:56


Post by: Cothonian


How exactly the manufactorums of the 508th's home world obtained the STC for the Rhino APC is open to debate. Whether or not the adaptations and adjustments made to the design to better suit it for use with the Imperial Guard were techno-heresy is also open to debate. Ultimately, the world fell before any serious inquiries could be made. Regardless, the Rhino "copy" that served with the 508th proved very effective during its service.



















Finally finished up this model. Ultimately, I did not get to use the weathering method shown in the video from my previous post. The weathering method shown was dependent on me starting with that method, and I was already to far along to really change course. None the less, it came out looking good. One thing which I like about running a guard force is the wide variety of vehicles the faction has to offer. If the guard were reduced down to only a few core vehicles, I might very well quit the hobby.

For future projects, I want to get one of those gene-stealer rock grinder vehicles. I think it'll look like an excellent utility vehicle in guard colors (and, of course, would be another very nice Taurox stand-in. By the Emperor, my opponents will hate me...)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/09/01 20:06:35


Post by: Briancj


If your opponents hate you for this kind of thing, you're playing the wrong people.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/09/02 08:29:49


Post by: shasolenzabi


Looking Good there!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/09/07 02:42:36


Post by: Cothonian


"Sir, another errant transmission."

"Best not to focus on them too much, Corporal. The warp is a funny thing..."











Remember that time when that starter kit came out and you could get a squad of Dark Angels Terminators for $10 on Ebay?

So this was an experimental piece, the result of a screw up then deciding to just go wild with the paint scheme. First and foremost, something went horribly wrong with the steel colored oil paint. It was thick, and dried with looking like it had a thick clear coat. But... it looked kind of cool. So I kept going. The paint job on the model isn't the greatest, but in all honesty it does look better in person. The pictures really don't convey the weird way the armor catches the light.

Also, a funny thing. Remember these guys?



A long while ago I bought some Kriegers on Ebay. After some asking around, and putting the bloody things together, I came to realize that they were recasts.

Just recently (within the last week) I think I figured out what they're made of. The bloody things are milliput! Doesn't really matter to me, honestly. But, I wish I could send my compliments to whoever made them. For recasts, they were spot on (like, seriously, for the longest time I thought they were original Forge World.)


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/09/27 19:58:35


Post by: Cothonian


Work-In-Progress gift for a friend:





My attempt at a Firehawk. I really need to get into this whole decal thing.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/10/01 13:09:15


Post by: Cothonian


Elements of the 508th engage an unknown traitor legion.





When the least important terrain feature on the board becomes the biggest point of contention...





The shock of the Bullgryn assault sends the marines back.







The marines counter attack into the center trench.



The game mode was Firesweep. Ultimately, I won, but it was hard fought. Myself and my opponent essentially held an equal number of structures for the majority of the game, until the second to last turn when I blitzed forward and wiped out his units in one of the key buildings.

Overall, it was really nice having two fully painted armies on the table. Now I just need to make my gaming table look as good as the models on top of it...

Also, question for y'all. How long does an 1850 point game typically run you? For us, it was 1 hour setup, 4 hours of game play, and a 30 minute pizza break in the middle. My opponent is brand new to the game and I'm rusty as all heck, so it's not uncommon for us to be double checking rules.

As for speeding things up, I'm considering finding some sort of dice roller app for large amounts of dice. Rolling 40 dice every time the Russ Punisher or a fully furnished squad of guardsmen fires takes forever, and is frankly a little annoying.











508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/10/01 14:57:15


Post by: Briancj


For totally new/rusty folks? About right.

Once you get used to it, and stop having to refer to rules, you'll fire right on through these, aiming for about 2 hours each game.

--Brian



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/10/04 19:36:12


Post by: Cothonian


508th armored personnel carrier outside of the major hive city.











Needed to get some guard love on this page before too many peeps looked at it wondering why there are so many space marines running around...

That, and it's good to show off how paint jobs look like in natural sunlight. Reveals some details ... and some mistakes for that matter.

Also, I am seriously considering switching to Acrylic water based paints from oil. Through the years, my oil paints have done a variety of odd things. The most recent incident occurred yesterday, when I opened up my favorite sand/tan color (British Gulf LT Stone) to find that the oil had separated from the pigment, and what was left was a dark grey/brown sludge that is unable to be re-constituted. That, and even brand new a few paints have arrived way too thin, or way too thick.

As for Acrylic, it sounds like there may be more color options available, and it can be thinned with water unlike oil paints which... have a variety of problems even with the right materials. Of course the issues with acrylic are peeling, chipping, and visible brush strokes. Supposedly acrylic coats are less durable too. *shrug* I might pick up a few and experiment, see what happens. Either way, not too happy.

Also also also, on a more positive note. I want to turn this dude into a home brew IG character:







508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/10/04 20:36:35


Post by: Briancj


the sheer # of acrylic paints are AMAZING. Reaper, for example, has tons as well as GW. All manufacturers also have nice systems for blending/painting. Reaper, for example, has "triads" of mid, low, and high tones for their entire range of colors.

As for chipping/durability, you put a gloss clearcoat and then a matte clearcoat, and you're set. Bonus: the gloss clearcoat is perfect for applying decals to!

Hope this helps!

--Brian



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/10/08 00:44:56


Post by: Cothonian


It does, it does.

I might end of having to keep a little of both on hand. One key thing about the way I paint my vehicles is that damage/wear is more shiny than the rest of the model, so they end up glinting in the light like real vehicles (think WWII T34 paint.)

That's also an interesting detail on my guardsmen: their armor plate is a a semi gloss while their BDUs are matte. It's really a cool effect.


So, to get to the point, I might end up keeping a few key oil paints on hand for the vehicles then switch to the acrylic for bulk work. Dunno, we'll see. New learning curve here I come!


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/10/18 21:30:46


Post by: Cothonian


The 508th moves to engage a Renegade Knight House near the Eastern Fringe.





These pictures are ancient and I cannot remember if I have posted them before, but they came out nice enough to warrant sharing.

This was back in 7th edition, and my opponent... was not the nicest fellow. I was very much a newbie at the time and this guy brought three Knights, a Librarius Conclave, and some assortment of Space Marines. He then proceeded to cast invisibility on the Knights making it so I could only hit them on a roll of a 6.

To add insult to injury, he willfully tricked me into engaging his psyker with mine, resulting in a wasted psychic phase (emphasis on me being new at the time.) He was also moving his bikers around without taking into account accuracy penalties for advancing and shooting (which practically doubled his firepower for three turns.)

Really the only funny moment was when we realized that vehicle ramming was unaffected by invisibility. My Russes literally did more damage by ramming than anything else in the game.



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/10/18 21:34:31


Post by: Briancj


I'm so very sorry you had to put up with this.

--Brian



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/12/07 15:26:08


Post by: Cothonian


I've been playing around with a "hairspray chipping method." Essentially, apply a base coat of the "damage color", followed by a clear coat, then hairspray, and finished off with the actual vehicle color.


To get the weathering effect, you then apply water to the model and start brushing/scraping. The water soaks through the paint and reacts badly the hairspray, causing the top paint layer to chip away.


Results are nice:









508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/12/28 00:37:39


Post by: Cothonian


Do not fear the xeno. Hate them. Loathe them with your very being. Stomp them out and demonstrate that we, the Emperor's chosen, are the inheritors of the galaxy. -Imperial broadcast, Hammerhead.





This was a test piece I did some time ago on a very old model.

I haven't been posting much lately, primarily because I've taken a dive back into historical kits, which pretty much have zero relation to the themes of this thread. It's incredible how detailed historical kits are. Added bonus - no mold lines. It's amazing.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2019/12/29 21:44:17


Post by: Pyroalchi


Some really great work you did here. Conversions, paint jobs and also your thoughts on your regiments and the Gue'vesas background (I especially liked the Krieg advisors and now consider something similar for my own regiment). My utmost respect for all the work you did on vehicle damage and mud. It really bringe a lot of depth and realism to them.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2020/01/05 00:56:28


Post by: Cothonian


Pyroalchi wrote:
Some really great work you did here. Conversions, paint jobs and also your thoughts on your regiments and the Gue'vesas background (I especially liked the Krieg advisors and now consider something similar for my own regiment). My utmost respect for all the work you did on vehicle damage and mud. It really bringe a lot of depth and realism to them.


Thank you very much, I really appreciate it. One thing I love about the 40k universe is that it's structured enough to build upon, yet flexible enough that I can still have original ideas within it.

...and yes, I really love the idea of different regiments working together. Whether that's providing logistical support of tactical advisors, it brings some interesting ideas to mind.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it earlier in this thread, but the 508th is a "wannabe Cadian" regiment, utilizing the Cadian pattern weapons and equipment, but failing almost entirely in tactical and organizational respects. This is hardcore represented on the tabletop during the few times that I play - I never use Cadian doctrine.

Also while I'm here, pictures of some of my new weathering work:









The above pictures show the Pz. V Panther ausf G. that I've been working on. Getting back to 40k, I have a second Rhino APC that I grabbed off Ebay and will be converting into a Taurox. I think I'll try this new weathering method on it...

Also, I made the mistake of listening to Hell March while scrolling through this thread. Now I only speak Russian and my family and friends are concerned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvH5WXovz0c


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2020/04/01 16:58:35


Post by: Cothonian


Awesome thing. I was browing the interwebs and started watching a video on 40k lore. Suddenly one of my pictures showed up! That's awesome!

My models are featured in 15:57 in the video:




Here's the original picture:



This really made my day.

Also, at some point I'm going to get back into painting things. I've moved into a new place so it's been interesting.



508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2020/09/09 01:53:14


Post by: Cothonian


"Come, my child. It is indeed true, this is an end. An end to suffering, an end to hardship. Though those around you will crumble to dust and the universe fade, you will endure. Yes, this is an end. But it is not your end. Now come, my child, it is time." - Mechanicus Liaison speaking to the planetary governor's youngest son prior to his induction into the Cult Mechanicus.



So I'm getting back into painting, and have found the mass majority of my oil paints to be thoroughly dead. As such, I went ahead and ordered a Vallejo acrylic paint set before doing any serious research, was that a good idea?

I've also heard good things about Tamiya?


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2020/09/12 14:06:23


Post by: Cothonian


Storm Trooper of the 508th's 3rd Company, assigned to protecting the monastery.









I'm finally getting back into painting, this time with acrylics. Until I figure out all of the acrylics that I need to complete my color palette I'm periodically pulling from my dried out oils. So far, the acrylics have actually been way easier to paint with. Better coverage and generally smoother. The only downside so far: The metallic acrylic paints kind of suck compared to oil. I think I'll stick to oil for my silvers, steels, and golds.


508th Hammerhead and Friends - An Imperial Guard Story @ 2020/09/28 02:22:20


Post by: Cothonian


Elements of the 508th engaging traitor astartes on the world of <redacted>.







Been slowly getting back into the game... fighting Space Marines. My opponent has been purposely bringing weaker lists for my re-introduction into actually playing the game but by the Emperor, Space Marines are borderline impossible to fight. Not terribly enjoyable if I'm being honest.

On a more positive note, this same buddy of mine is printing out custom storm troopers for me and they look great. They'll be making it onto this blog soon.