So I got the heresy bug and decided to go traitor, which didn't last long. I quickly settled on the IV Legion because, damn. Those guys are hard. And they seem like they wage war the way one should when one possesses all the guns. But once I read Kyr Vhalens story, I was loyalist again. I especially liked the part of his apothocaries dragging him away, seriously wounded, as he cussed out the Alpha Legion. So on to the army.

I found myself with a big pile of Mark IV marines I couldn't give away. So I decided they would be my veterans. Figure it matches up with Iron Warrior culture, best gear to the best troops. They will ride in 3 Rhinos and act as the "Mechanized Company". They will be supported by a Sicarian.

Next will be the "Heavy Infantry Company". 3 big Tactical Squads and 2 Tactical Support Squads. Supported by a couple Contemptors, a Leviathan, and 10 Tyrant Siege Terminators. All these will be in Mark III armor. This is gonna be the meat of the army.

2 Legion Medusa, 3 Quad Mortars, Iron Havocs, Destroyers, will make up the "Support Company". Gonna try to put as many in Mark III armor as I can.

Finally the "HQ Company". The command staff and Seekers. Again, trying to load up the Mark III.

I know it sound ambitious, but I already have most of the models. So I got that going for me.

So a small squad of Destroyers. Haven't decided if I will make a Moritat or not. These guys were kind of my test models. The gold is different as are the eyes. I settled on a gold using washes insresd of paints to make it duller and not stand out as much from the armor. I also decided against hazard stripes on infantry. Maybe a few guys here and there, but I think it looks too busy for everyone. I should also point out the FW transfer sheet is on the way. So they will be marked appropriately.

Army fluff wise I figure these would be a nice compliment to the fast moving "mechanized company". Either mop up or break through with their unusual weapons.

I was always a fan of iron warriors, I'll be following your path with them. Very nice clean paint job you got going on there.

Really great iron warriors going down. Love the valence of the caution stripes..

Theophony- thanks. I'm going for simple. I'm thinking the FW transfer sheet will give me enough markings to bling them out.

Panda- yeah those stripes are good on the larger models but I don't think are really infantry friendly.

Speaking of hazard stripes, I'm adding some to the Rhinos, otherwise too plain. Same for the bases. I added some green grass to the second veteran squad. I don't really love it, but think it gives some needed color.

Nice to see you putting another army together. Off to a good start.

Hey Nevelon, thanks for stopping back by. Yeah it's nice to build up a new army, need to do a better job of updating this thread. To illustrate my point, one lousy picture of the third veteran squad. I going to work out the last 2 Rhinos next. Also ordered the Iron Warriors sheet from FW. Should be here in a couple weeks. I'm going to really load these guys up.

And of course the pic is sideways. I mean, why not right?

Always nice to see more Iron the FW sheet is fantastic, I'm on my second one now. I agree that hazards on infantry can be too much, the left leg (as you look at it) on the mkiv armour has that lovely plain knee plate which is perfect for them. It looks good on the destroyers, will you be adding them to the tacticals?

I'll be watching your iron grow

Are you going to plasma effects on the models? They seem to be coming along splendidly.

@JamesY- Hey man, thanks for dropping by my thread. I've been watching your IV Legion and they look great. Haven't decided with the hazard stripes, may be something I save for the vehicles and dreads just to break up the gun metal armor.

@Panda- Yes, I'm going to put on an orangish color. And thanks, they are coming along pretty quickly.

Speaking of which. My first order from FW is on the way. Im done with the 3 veteran squads so the "mechanized company" is effectively done. Well, except for 2 more Rhinos and the Sicarian. I'll post better picks of those when they get the transfers.

Ok so some actual WIP pics for my WIP blog. As I was going through JamesY's blog I noticed he used some Tamiya masking tape for the hazard stripes. An excellent idea I promptly stole. I need a little more work in the spacing but think I got it overall figured out. Final product looks great. Very sharp lines. I think the front panel makes the Rhino look too busy, I'll probably paint over it. I plan to put some of the larger Iron Warrior emblems on the hatches. Should look good against the black and yellow.

Also a quick shot of the finished veteran squads. I'll post better ones after they get the transfers.

Nice work here mate, and always good to see some more Iron Brothers.

Looking good. Are you planning on hazard striping shoulder pads?

What I did for stripes was to cut 1cm strips from tape. I then places a strip down. I took another strip and laid it against that one, followed by a third. I then removed the middle strip. Leapfrog across the surface. This way I ended up with evenly spaced and parallel lines. Something I didn’t get on my first try out.

Looking good so far!

Azazelx- Thanks man.

Kavika0311- Thanks, and no do not plan to hazard stripes the infantry. Probably will in the terminators. I believe the Tyrants have stripes molded into them. Maybe a few characters to give them more personality.

@Nevelon- thanks for the tip sir. I'll probably give that a shot on some of the larger vehicles I'm working on.

In the meantime, got some FW awesomeness to include the Iron Warriors transfer sheet. These sheets are worth every penny. Quick shot of my tests from last night. More to come!

Looking very nice there FSU!

Lovely stuff mate, the hazards look great. I'd recommend having a 2mm tape as well, it's great for terminator shoulder pads and fists, but also for large vehicle panels when you get to bits the 1cm stuff is awkward to use in.

The tyrants do have moulded lines, and they are very easy to reach even if you are painting them fully assembled.

Look forward to seeing more

I am liking your iron warriors, I can't wait to see more.

Great metals! I started iron warriors once, just because they were great to paint. Seeing your stuff makes me wish I'd stayed with it, though yours are much nicer!

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. It's encouraging to get all this feedback. Let me ask a question, I've never played a game in my life and I don't have any rule books. What is the point of having the Medusa's if the quad mortars get the same thing done. 2 units of mortars seem better than a unit of 2 Medusa because you can target 2 opposing units. Or am I wrong? Trying to plan next FW purchase.

And speaking of Siege Tyrants.....

Medusa fires one big shell that can kill harder targets like terminators or be used to hit tanks but at a moderatly short range, where as the mortars fire multiple shells ( 4 small blasts), have a selection of ammunition types that can specialise at killing light infantry, ignoring cover or damaging vehicles and at a longer range, both can fire at targets that are blocked by line of sight iirc. They also it in different slots of the force organisation chart if that matters to you.

Both are fairly overpowered in the current rules when you have a "Siege Breaker" consul as one of your 3 HQ choices as he allows you to take a type of amunition that makes them better at killing marine infantry, this site has a pretty decent run down on the unit types and their strengths: https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Space_Marine_Legion_List_(30k)


FW's decals really are a thing of beauty, they've really come in leaps and bounds since they started making them.

Awesome work so far, not my legion since I don't envy you painting that much metal.

Hey Noodles, thanks for stopping by.

Yeah, the FOC does matter to me. If I can get powerful indirect fire from an elites slot, do I need it in heavy support? Especially since an IW RoW allows for 4? I think I would like tanks instead, especially those cool new Sicarian variants. And Ive got that link. Its where I learned whatever I know about HH armies. When I look up IW armies, everyone has the dual Medusa and Quad Mortars. Just wondering if there is another way to do it.

Also a little work on this dude....

You can 1d4chan and their legion list/unit list

https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Space_Marine_Legion_List_(30k)#IV_Legion:_Iron_Warriors

hit expand on the top right of the entry for iron warriors to get the drop down

The army is coming along really well. A cool scheme that is carried off really well. The hazard stripes and transfers are used effectively as well. Am eager to see how your Tyrant Siege squad looks when completed.

Great advice from Ustrello as well, for its faults 1d4Chan is great for HH tips, advice and army building.

Thanks Ustrello. I've been reading up trying figure out what direction to go. More on that in a bit.

Thanks ListenToMeWarriors. Got some WIPs of the Tyrants. They are pretty cool

So I was reading up on the HH stuff. Im definitely grabbing a quad mortar battery but have become undecided on the Medusa. I kinda like the idea of a bunch of Sicarian variants. That new missile launcher Sicarian looks like it could do the trick right?

If you are going for fluff the medusas would make a lot of sense especially with the IW rolling artillery RoW.

As for the missile variant, if it has the same rules as the normal one I would say it is worth it

@Ustrello- you are right, Medusa are a must. Especially after reading up on that link.

In the meantime, stuff ready to go.

Good choice on the leviathan, it is one of my favorites

Agreed on the Leviathan and the Xiphon(?) , A nice selection of things to add to the legion.

Great work on the termies. The reinforcements look ominous....

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. I'm going for the rule of cool as much as possible. Incidentally, that Mark III apothecary will serve as the medicae guy. I'm gonna kit bash the other 2. Just for variety. Anyway, how about some Tyrant Siege Terminators!!

Ok, so some actual WIP pics. This Leviathan is freakin awesome! I love this model. Not much else to say. Got a pic of the finished Rhinos and Vet squads just for kicks.

Ok, so he is pretty much done save the guns. This guy is absolutely awesome.

One of my favorite 30k models by far

Very nice work there!

Thanks Ustrello, I think it's one of mine as well.

Frazzled- thanks for the comment. Always nice to hear from a fellow dachshund loving Texan.

And........armed to the teeth!!

The leviathan is such a nice brutal model, great work!

Quite a nasty little force you have together now.

That monster--- of a dread. One of my favorite models by far. It would be way cool if you painted the lights in with some OSL on the front.

Noodles- thanks man, but this ain't the half of it! Got a ton more stuff.

Panda- OSL is a good idea but a tad out of my skill set. No airbrush.

So a boring update picture wise. I got the first big Tactical squad and the Tactical support squad built and mostly painted. Got like another 30 or 40 I think to go.

 40kFSU wrote:
Noodles- thanks man, but this ain't the half of it! Got a ton more stuff.

Panda- OSL is a good idea but a tad out of my skill set. No airbrush.

So a boring update picture wise. I got the first big Tactical squad and the Tactical support squad built and mostly painted. Got like another 30 or 40 I think to go.

You can do OSL without an airbrush (often better too, because it is cleaner, but it takes a long time!) Of course you can just send me the army to do it. Cant promise it will come back.

Great stuff, mate. I love that Leviathan.

Now I forgot did you say if you were going to be keeping this one or not? Cause I hope you do!

Thanks again for the comments gents. Haven't been updating as often as I planned in fact, this unit is almost done. Also my wife has initiated several home improvement projects around the house so my budget for this army has taken a significant hit. Gina have to turn to a few 40k era tanks. We'll see how it goes. And no, Ustrello, I won't be keeping this one either.

Looking good on the metals and blacks.

Thanks Panda. A big ole pile of infantry ready to go. It's the first Tactical and tactical support squads. 30 guys so far. Still need the grass but it can wait. I'm gonna knock out that awesome Land Raider next.

 40kFSU wrote:
Thanks Panda. A big ole pile of infantry ready to go. It's the first Tactical and tactical support squads. 30 guys so far. Still need the grass but it can wait. I'm gonna knock out that awesome Land Raider next.

Dude looks great. I am highly interested in howthe land raider turns out.

She's a beaut. Great fun to paint too. Looking forward to seeing it when it's done.

All right. Some pics of the Proteus. This thing is freakin awesome! Also my Master of Signal converted from a chapter master.

Great stuff, mate!

Thanks man! Got the Proteus done and it is freakin sweet. I did have some nerd rage when one of the IW transfers slid a little off center. It still looks good, but man what a beating. I wasn't able to right it. Anyway, here he is.....

Looking sharp! I wanted to get one of those for my blackshields. But I needed room for 10 guys

Love your Leviathan! Looks sharp!

Tank looks great , for some stupid reason I always paint the tracks black which takes away from their color scheme.

Thanks guys! I'm glad you like what you see. On another note. Got the guns done for those 30 Mark III marines. Decided on 2 5 man Tactical support squads, one plasma and one melts. May add to it. Then there is the Sicaran. ordinarily I love this model and would be really excited to paint it. There are some stray mold lines and fitting issues that make me question its origin. Oh well, buyer beware I guess.

Wow, great progress. Loving how this is coming together.

The silver is so smooth. I am jealous.

Looks awesome mate - the Proteus, the leviathan and termies and the WIP Sicarian. As for the mould lines and ill-fitting, that could mean it's from China Forge, but I've gotten enough stuff directly from Forgeworld and GW over the years with WTF double mold lines and fitting issues that it could well just be their (sadly) sub-par QC.

Remember, they're a akin to a boutique shop doing mass-market production numbers.

I saw this video on the weekend that was shocking at first and very much ...yeah, that seems about right actually after some reflection.
https://youtu.be/oXCD_60MylI

And a couple extras for good measure!
https://youtu.be/kF13c0EsyrI
https://youtu.be/OFzsXF8IJO0

As a large amount fo forgeworld buyer, I will say you get some wonky stuff from them. It happens, and they are usually delighted to work with if you can easily call them. I made an international number just for it.

Just see if you can work model errors into your favor.

The Proteus looks great, nice work it's such a cool model. Support squads sound like a good idea.

Just to echo others, those are all issues I've had with FW models in the past and expect in the future.

Generally if you've bought a model second hand, the easiest sign that what you have isn't genuine is the resin type, ignore the colour, just go by the how flexible when heated, how resistant to cutting and how it smells when cut.

I try not to do that to my models unless unassembled! Chewing on them, on the other hand...

But yes, I have FW stuff purchased directly from them over the years in both yellow and grey, and certainly more than 1 shade of each.

@Nevlon- Thanks man, I digging your Primaris Ultras and am looking forward to seeing the Repulsor painted up. I like how you made that Destroyer squad with plastic Mark III's. Probably comments I should drop on your blog!

@Eldanari- Thank you. Im surprised a little with how well it turned out on the vehicles since I wash them then dab away the excess with a cloth.

@Azazelx- Thanks for taking the time to post those links. Very cool of you. Makes me feel a little better. Thing is I will eventually sell this army and wont feel right about calling the models FW if Im not sure they are. So Ill just have to make sure the buyer knows. I mean, overall I cant tell a difference. Once again, its just another of my first world problems I invented to stress about.

@Panda- You own the FW buyer crown. I think I have been spoiled over the years. Ive been buying mostly GW, some FW, for nearly 20 years and I dont think I have ever had an issue of even a missing base. Maybe I was due a poor cast.

@Noodles- Always a pleasure and thank you. Interesting your points on the resin. Color is one of the ways I try to spot recasts. The resin does react well to heating and bending. So thats something. As for the odor when cut, my allergies are so bad here in the Great State of Texas I cant smell a damn thing!

Words words words. How about a couple pics.

FSU! Great to see another one of your project progressing brother.

I was just about to ask how you make such beautiful hazard lines. Looks really sharp brother.

I have to agree and chime in on the WTF double mold line shenanigans. My sicaran I finished for my 30k Dark Angels also had a lot of WTF going on it sadly. Got some practice in with greenstuff. It happens unfortunately.

I did order a China Forge Spartan, I'll let you know how it looks when it comes in.

What else do you have planned for your loyalist IW? I have a side project for loyalist Night Lords - the last of the Terran born. Love being able to field them non-chaosified

Hey Azalle, thanks for dropping by. I have been following your Primaris army. They are pretty sweet. Going back and forth myself about building an army. Glad you like the Iron Warriors and good timing with your question.

My budget was slashed significantly for this project. My wife thinks built in book shelves/vacation/kids dentist should take priority over GW and FW. Im not sure she is clearly thinking this issue through, but she disagrees. So I have a pile of infantry, the Xiphon, a Drop Pod, Contemptor, and maybe another tank. Wasnt able to get the artillery and mortars. That one hurts, but whats a guy gonna do? Im surfing ebay to see if I can pick something up on the cheap.

I have finished the Sicaran and have pics of what is left.

Ok. Kind of have the assembly line going. They will all form up into their respective squads when the guns are ready. Contempt or almost done. Decided against the hazard stripes on this guy. I think he looks cool as an oversized marine.

Not even a tiny little hazard stripe? But without warning labels, someone might get hurt?

Nice job!

Maybe a little bit of hazarding on the gorget portion of the torso?

I mean... you gotta be safe!

Like I said before, your painting is, as always, very crisp. Great job on the matallics

are you priming white or black?

Nevelon, be safe!?!? Azalle, someone might get hurt!?!? Gentlemen, I believe that's the whole point!!!

So, I use Army Painter Gunmetal as a base. I do it pretty solid ten wash with Nuln Oil and dry brush necron compound. I actually surprised at how smooth it turns out.

So, picture of all the Mark III infantry. 61 of them all painted, based, and decals. Pretty cool! I'll post up some close up pics later on.

Also got my Sicarian finished. Just got some command guys and the Xiphon to go.

This thing just looks fast.

Dude that is amazing amount of work you have been putting in. I am deeply impressed.

Eh fw quality control has been all over the place for me.

Hey panda. Yeah, I was laid up with a couple rough dentist trips. On the up side all I could really do is sit around and paint. Also got the Xiphon done and here is the last of the WIPs.

Awesome army, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the kind comment Kid. Here's a little more.

That is a nifty looking army there! Now all it needs is perty and his baneblade

Thanks Ustrello. How about some Xiphon! Also the Kyr Vhalen WIP.

I've been doing a good job at painting and a poor job at updating. Here's a quick army shot. I'll post some close ups of command squad and Vhalen later today hopefully.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So as I was going about my day the doorbell rang. Seems my wife got me two FW Medusa and they arrived today. Talk about awesome! Got one ready. The sides are Going to be a challenge I think. Probably have to bust out the hair dryer

All looking good. The sides on the medusas are a flippin nightmare to line up, I couldn't get a flush finish on either of mine. Hope you have fun with them

JamesY- yeah I can’t get a flush finish either. But the sides have fit together fairly easily. My first dry fit was a night mare I thought I would have to bust out the hair dryer and green stuff. In the end they at least lined up. Gotta say I enjoyed this model and like it far more than I expected. Some WIPs.....

Ok. Second Medusa and the Drop Pod are finished. That should pretty much do it I think. Still need to tidy up a few things and finish the Lord of Iron. I’ll try to post some better pics tonight.

Ok, all done. I’ll post some close up pics later tonight I’m hoping.

Wow, that was fast.

Congratulations, it's a beautiful tide of iron.

Are the medusa actually built from the basilisk hull then?

Impressive looking army! Well done. Looking forward to the closeups.

Very cool work, mate!

Beautifully characterful army

Very nice army man!

Thanks for all the positive comments gents. This army did come together kinda fast. Figure I will take my time on the next one.

Noodles, yes the Medusa is built on the Basilisk kit. It’s the hull plus the inside half of the treds. The other side is resin. And the gun and sides too. It’s actually a really cool kit except for the sides. Which stink. Anyway, better pics...

Wow fantastic Work brother!

An excellent army!

Thanks Azalle and Panda. Always appreciate you guys hanging out.

So the Primarch is done. I really like his pose and his story. Although he seems to be a massive jerk. Anyway that wraps up this army. Thanks to everyone who stopped by.

Great work as always! Excellent job the Primarch!

Nice looking army, and Pert looks much better on a matching base, I regret not making a different one for mine. I'm surprised you went with the hammer though, with you doing loyalists, or is that to help sell them?

Thanks again Azalle, Ive never really wanted to paint a Primarch but enjoyed him. I think Ill get another, spend some more time on him. As I was working on this dude I was thinking a deep grey may look nice instead of the silver. So many Primarchs differ from the color of their legions, I dont think it would be that big a deal and still look cool.

JamesY I appreciate it. Yeah I really like the thing Pert is standing on but I figured he cant possible find a wrecked Knight everywhere. Then again maybe he could being the Lord of Iron and all. I think the same base helps him blend in. As far as the hammer, I like it.

And dude your Iron Warriors are the standard.

I dig what you've done. It's served as inspiration to finish off some Iron Warrior rhinos that I had lying around. It's also encouraging to see Perturabo on a non-scenic base as that's what I was thinking about as well. The scenic base is just so unwieldy for gaming.

Cheers!