Cutthroatcure wrote:Congrats on your higher placement, and being used as an example on the main page today on why you should disable your voting on non-model photos!
I'm usually pretty diligent about that. Glad KK is there to catch it when I slip up!
Automatically Appended Next Post: As I only had my camera phone with me (which is not very good), I only took 5 pics... only 2 of which are postable, so I'll have to rely on my teammates to provide the eye-candy.
This is my only pic of my army... first deployment vs. Nids. Doesn't have much depth-of-field but at least it's my army in action.
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FYI....
Most of our Adepticon experience won't be posted here... maybe a couple of pics as teasers... but Ice Angel started a blog for our team experience & that's where most stuff will live. I'll be doing a complete pictoral of the book and the crew will be uploading a lot of pics and commentary.
Sounds like you had a blast. And well done on moving so far up the table this year - if you can manage a 40 place rise next year you'll be in the Top Ten
Yes well.... at that point I think I'll need to be relegated to "Artistic Director" or something. We're going to have a pretty hard ceiling as long as I'm slinging lead on the table.
@WyFox: Actually they blanked us. 3 tervigons, hive guard... 2 large groups of stealers, two large groups of the flying things. I think we had a shot at a draw on the primary in turn 6, but the game ended in turn 5. (we needed the extra turn to thin them out). The mission could not have been worse for us given our respective armies. I think we played it pretty well... just couldn't be helped given the circumstances.
My favorite pic stolen out of Ice Angel's gallery so far. That's one of our team mates (Steve), administering the coup de grace on Ice.
They used them as a living screen (with a bite) and it was quite effective. Luckily for us there was a huge piece of Imperial building across the middle of the table so the gargoyles outran their support... allowing us to *just* deal with them before everything else started to pile in.
We did my (now patented) student body left (thank God for fast vehicles) and stranded 6 of the 9 Hive Guard on one edge of the table out of firing range for most of the game, along with one of the flank marching stealer mobs. But in the end, they won the game... so you'd have to say they had the better strategy.
Man I gotta go to Adepticon once in my lifetime! Well it looks like you had a great time too bad you did'nt take many pics! See when you have too much fun .
It's a blast guys. There are a decent number of UK folks in town too. Not just the FW and black library folks, but a fair amount of participants as well. Heck, Waaagh Gonads came all the way from the other side of the planet!
I signed up for 3 classes and missed all of them. Since I finally got to meet a bunch of folks... I was just too busy hanging out & gaming with everyone... trying new games, etc. to spend time in a class. However... there are excellent classes available if that's how you want to roll.
Last hint... this year's team tournament filled up just 17 hours after registration opened (120 teams). So I strongly suggest you familiarize yourselves with the Adepticon web site and get on their mailing list.
Same here cbj! Gave away the last one about 15 minutes before I left. It was like I was running for office or something. Thank God there were no babies around...
Gitsplitta wrote:It's a blast guys. There are a decent number of UK folks in town too. Not just the FW and black library folks, but a fair amount of participants as well. Heck, Waaagh Gonads came all the way from the other side of the planet!
I signed up for 3 classes and missed all of them. Since I finally got to meet a bunch of folks... I was just too busy hanging out & gaming with everyone... trying new games, etc. to spend time in a class. However... there are excellent classes available if that's how you want to roll.
Last hint... this year's team tournament filled up just 17 hours after registration opened (120 teams). So I strongly suggest you familiarize yourselves with the Adepticon web site and get on their mailing list.
Well, thankfully it's not going to be for a while until we save up and get finances sorted!
Fun fact - when I finish paying off 2 or the 3 things I'm having to pay off it will free up over £200 a month! Which could be most useful indeed!
Well now, its been FAR too long since i have braved the depths of Dakka to check in on my favourite plog.....far too long.....
and you havent disappointed Gits! loving all the new additions to the MW ranks, the Adepticon Wardens of the Maelstrom again look absolutely brilliant! i will be trawling through the Warden's galleries to see what other wonders there were... massive congratulations to all you guys, now to see how you ramp it up even further for next year!
congrats again, and i will try and not leave it so long till i catch up again (just so i dont have 50 or so pages to catch up on if nothing else!! )
Good to have you back RR! (and thanks for all the generous and kind words)
Well, before I embark on some new project, I decided I want to tie up some loose ends... partially finished projects and such. The first of which is Tycho who was on my Adpeticon list for quite a while before I play-tested him out of a job. To remind you, this will be Tycho as a Captain of the Mantis Warrior Tranquility Snipers (sternguard). Gold instead of yellow (as an homage to his BA identity & to make him look a bit spiffier) and he'll get the camo pattern same as the rest.
Face needs a lot of work yet, lots of details yet to paint and his camo pattern still needs doing. That doesn't happen until the end though. I'm debating (at this late stage) the adding of a scope... just not sure if I can get one to look right on that massive gun.
I like him, but he doesn't seem "Mantis-y" enough! I reserve the right to revise my opinion once you add that awesome freehand camo pattern on that your sternguard have .
Personally, I think you could have gone yellow instead of gold, but I look forward to being proven wrong
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, my post seemingly just disappeared...
@RiTides: That's the dreaded "page roll-over"... happens somewhere after page 100. Posts 30 through 2 on the following page disappear, then the third post on the next page makes everything snap into place again. Let me finish his shoulder pad and get his camo pattern on... then we'll see.
tycho looks excellent, always been a personal hated model for me, but your gold really makes him stand out.
vote #3 for no scope too. (i would try and make his other hand 'pop' if possible...it is meant to be the 'dead hand' isnt it...?or am i mis-rememebring the BA codex again, might have to check when i get home)
Nope, you're right. Have been mulling that over... saving that "fight" for later in the process.
I constantly struggle with GW's marine character models because there's so much fiddly crap on them. It's one of the reasons I like the Tycho model... he's pretty straight forward all things considered. Granted I'd pulled most of the BA iconography off of him prior to painting, but other that the physical form of the armor... he's pretty sane when you compare him to most of his counterparts.
Which is good because the camo pattern will make him look plenty busy.
@Yellowbeard: Cheers mate! Sorry, missed your post in the roll-over. Definitely black... though I do have a nice black metallic. I'm not trying to go over-the-top with bling... but I wanted him to be visually set-apart from the other sternguard so I went with gold rather than yellow. Plus (and I'll be honest here)... I get a bit tired painting yellow and green all the time, so the gold is a nice break (there's a reason I have a half-dozen libbys painted up & have delighted in the apothecary options the BA afford... SANITY). Will sneak in a couple of tech marines this year I think as well so I can paint me some red. Woo hoo!
ahh, nice to see ym mind hasnt completely slipped fair enough, i look forward to how you tackle it later on (one thing i do remember, is that he used to have digital weapons instead of the dead hand, maybe use those weird cables on the back of his hand to act as some sort of implanted laser tech?...nm, ill save my thoughts for when you get round to it )
i should have explained....its purely the pose that gets me with tycho, every time i look at him im willing him to drop his giant gun on his toes becuase HE ISNT HOLDING ANYTHING!! sorry...he should be holding it by the grip at the very least...but thats just my personal gripe with him.
Otherwise, the model is beautiful ,and ive always been impressed how much detail there is on the armour without it being crowded (Calgar im looking at you! i remember yours and Thing 1s battle with THAT model...). congrats on getting the gold to come out really well and not lose that definition sir.
i literally cant wait to see how the camo paint turns out!
I'll see if I can get that entered tonight... getting it all sorted out for the blog is a big undertaking and I've been trying to set some extra time aside each night to hang out with my family and help around the house (since I haven't done that in about... what... 2 months?).
Gits quick question: what age did you let your boys pick up a brush? my boy is comin up on 6 pretty soon and he is definitely interested, has been since he was 2 and did a reverse godzilla with my lizardmen army, now the survivors are bitz for my salamanders lol.
Hmmm... well, the youngest has been fooling around with painting since 6, but he got a *lot* of help from me. So it was more that we painted things together rather than he painted them himself. That's me being a perfectionist though and unwilling to let a really expensive model have a really crude paint job. I think the 9-10 slot is where they can really produce a good model on their own... but team painting before then is very positive and fun for both of you. And if they're really independent... just toss them some throw-a-ways and let them go crazy! Did that 2 years ago with my youngest. Tossed him some old ork/gorkamorka trucks and figs and he had a ball with them.
Cool fig Gits, I really like the gold as it really makes him "pop" as the leader of the sternguard (heck, I love gold and every warm metallic... I use it on everything, even tau! )
@hemmis92: Thanks mate. Should be all finished by the weekend... have to come up with something interesting for the base.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Another Mantis Warrior player has surfaced!
From muggins' post...
mugginns wrote:
Gitsplitta wrote:Thanks mugginns... there aren't many of us. Check out my MW thread (link in my sig). I'd be delighted to see some of your work! We are a rare breed and need to stick together.
I don't have a thread, but I've been highlighting my stuff on our blog, Fresh Coast 40k:
@proto: I've fiddled around some and the consensus is correct... scope just adds too much mass to the gun. It also doesn't work well with the existing bits of the gun. Would take a lot of modification to get it to sit correctly and it's way too late for that now.
I posted the book our team presented along with our display at Adepticon, you can follow this link right to it if you're interested. The Adeptinomicon
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Progress on Tycho. He's essentially done save for the camo pattern and the OSL on his eye and power glove thingie.
That involves a lot of lining with sepia, delvan mud & badab black, with some back-highlighting (after wash) with Valejo gold. Plus you need enough other colors in there to provide a contrast to make the gold stand out. I've struggled with the backpack... so far NOT doing anything to it has won out but that big skull on the back beckons to me like Ahab to the crew of the Pequod...
That... and the much scarier OSL with the airbrush. I've discovered that my aim tends to be off so the paint doesn't go where I think it's going to go. Terrifying prospect once you get a figure to this level.
Norn King wrote:Really liking the melta clip/ammo thingee. The orange to red looks nice.
First time I did one of those in that style... going to have to remember it as I quite like the way it looks.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Only one step left... and the base of course!
Very nice. The camo is interesting. It's obviously there, but the gold is so bright that you can almost ignore it. I like it. It would be interesting him next to some of the Tranquility Snipers.
Here's what I'm thinking at the moment... Since the backpack is the power source for the rest of the suit... the back of his left hand (a power weapon), the back-pack's eagles' eyes and probably his mechanical eye will be done in my standard "power" OSL... which is blue-white. In addition, as the center of the power pack, I could add the OSL effect to the skull as well. It's the last bit I'm not sure about, but it would draw the figure together nicely I think. Not very stealthy though (from the rear at least).
Problem with red is that red doesn't figure prominently in MW heraldry... mantis eyes, yes... but a big red skull on the back just seems a bit incongruous to me. I think it would be better off either left gold or bone colored.
Also in looking at him carefully here, I note that all the feathers on the various wings on his body are silver *except* the feathers associated with the eagle heads on his back pack. I may change that first... then we'll see how we feel about messing with the skull.
Just for fun... a pic in-context.
Another reason I like the Tycho figure... if you look at his face, he's got the whole Vulcan/Romulan thing going on... Pretty cool.
He really looks sweet in the group shot. I'm with you on the skull on his back pack. It's kind of randomly there of course. Red seems off and doing OSL on the skull just seems, almost goofy to me. I'd say leave it gold. Or maybe just do it in black. Doing it bone-colored might work, I'm just not sure how I feel about bone on gold. Although, I've seen it work here and there. Regardless, he looks dope. I think the gold armor set him off nicely as the head of the squad, but doesn't distract from the tranquility pattern.
My only complaint is that the camo pattern looks fantastic up close, but it's not as striking on the gold as it is on the yellow, but I still like how he looks as a MW rather than a BA.
I liked the sound of the gold camo, but wasn't sure how it would actually look. Looks good
OSL in just the skull's eyes? You know you want to try it
I think that leaving it gold is probably the best option, going to bone would require a real effort to stop it blending into the rest of the pack - that's just a gut feeling though.
Hey gits, have you ever considered putting the mantis warriors into an army profile? There are some pretty sweet armies out there and I reckon that yours would fit right in.
Thank you all for you kind words and input. Looks like the "don't mess with it" opinion is the majority... though mt's idea of the glowing skull eyes has merit, which I will consider carefully.
@proto: Not sure I know what you're referring to. Care to 'splain??
Sorry, its not the most coherent thing I've ever written. The army profiles on dakka, the links at the top of the screen next to articles. I just thought it would be a good idea.
Thanks Kevin! He's not quite done yet... needs OSL, I'm just too chicken to start it.
@Ice: I thought about that but the gun is so massive already and it would be completely redundant as he has a "named" power weapon already (his left gauntlet).
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OK guys, I'm diving into the OSL. Somebody bump this thread and the next update you see with either be victory or catastrophe!
Wolf guard 252 wrote:It's a really nice Tycho model. I have a question Gits-what do you use your Tranquility Snipers as? I'm guessing Sternguard?
They are the sternguard. The original thinking was that Gits wanted snipers, but Power Armor. Sternguard have the 30" shots bolter rounds, which I'm sure almost never get used ironically. They kinda spiraled out of control from there Sometimes I forget this is so long and people might not know what everything is.
I'm working on the base now. A bit more ornate than usual.
The figure doesn't lend itself to any of the normal Mantis Warrior adornments that I put on. I suppose one arm could have the chainsword teeth but it hardly seems necessary considering the other 3 clearly don't have them (due to the pose and the design of the figure). I think it's best left without them.
Don't apologize at all... good point. Just one I can't pursue because of the sculpt. When the base is done I'll post shots of the finished product. Hope it's worth the wait!
I like how the camo came out with the gold looks alot more neutral then i thought, and the group shot just makes it seem like hes too bad@$$ to bother to take cover with the rest of them lol
Duuuuuude! Tycho is freakin' sweet as! what a fantastic paint job on him, the golds are beautiful and you have added the camo in an understated fashion that accentuates him perfectly! he's just so neat and cleanly painted Gits i think he's now one of my favorites you've done!
Done. Closest thing to a plinth I've ever done... guess I never figured a model deserved one before. I also have a shot that's front and back views only in my gallery. The picture looks just a smidge out of focus, but I think that's an artifact of compressing a higher res image... seems OK when you zoom in on it in the gallery. The name on his shoulder pad is "Tyree", named after a Captain in one of my favorite westerns yet still sounding vaguely like "Tycho".
Hope you like it! He's just pinned on there so I can change the base (to say... a normal height) if I want to. Don't want to get accused of modeling for advantage.
Very nice, Gits. The OSL turned out great. I love the single glowing eye on Tycho and the Eagles. If you don't mind me asking, what process did you use to create the OSL?
@Vit: Well, the OSL on the knee is a bit dodgy in relation to the things around it... I'll have to go back in and tidy that up a bit. Damn. Thought I was done too... It's just so hard to do things that small without screwing them up. "Missed it by that much!" You guys will have to trust that I'll fix it (at least for a while), camera battery is dead and the charger has gone walk-a-bout.
@Yellowbeard: An airbrush set so that it just sprays in a tiny, tiny area... Major PITA.
Man it's irritating to think your done with a fig like this and then realize you've got to fire *everything* back up again for a major repair. * expletive deleted*
Well, buddy, I stand corrected. The OSL on that skull looks good. In fact, all the OSL looks really great. Maybe some of your best work at that technique, yet. He's turned out so awesome and imposing. Definitely a boss. I'm not sure how you'll feel about that plinth once competition starts taking early pop shots at him, with him being up so high, but it looks good. I was expecting more of the "tall" grass that the other tranquility vets have on their bases. I thought it would tie him in nicely with them and help add a "camo effect" to his camo pattern.
Solid work, Gits! Really a great job all around. It's rare to see Tycho from a different approach, let alone, a Tycho with a different approach done well.
Well, here's the tweaked fig. Not sure if this is better or worse... it's bluer... it's also at least consistent as far as where the glow from the glove would go.
can i make an observation? you may not like it, but if you are still happy to 'tweak'...
The eagle on the backpack (in the last picture shown, in between the gun and his head), its not as....bright as the others, and its been bugging me a little...sorry Gits. Of course, feel free to ignore me if you are happy with it, it still looks great.
also, forgot to mention how much i am in love with the charged effect on the melta!
Revenent Reiko wrote:The eagle on the backpack (in the last picture shown, in between the gun and his head), its not as....bright as the others, and its been bugging me a little...sorry Gits. Of course, feel free to ignore me if you are happy with it, it still looks great.
Just think of it as power fluctuations in the power pack's levels due to the melta recharging... or something
The shoulderpads don't have any light on them. Judging by the light given off by the eyes of the eagle, I'd say there should be a small amount of light on the pad.
Do you have a tutorial on how to do the tranquility camo schemes without blowing your brains out? I've been staying away simply because I don't feel I could do it (plus I don't like it a whole lot) but I feel like it would provide great contrast to my whole army. Any ideas?
First off... thanks everyone! Please excuse my not thanking everyone personally, but I wanted to answer specific comments without bogging things down in quotes. I'm happy with it. It isn't perfect, but still... all things considered I think it's some of my best work.
@Reiko: Your point is well taken my friend... and it was something I noticed myself when I posted that last pic. Here are my thoughts. While I post nice big pics here on dakka for feedback (the only way to improve) and enjoy the positive comments immensely (ego boost)... all my figures are intended to be played with and it is most important that they look good at a normal human being's "close examination" level. I fixed the leg because even on the table the discrepancy in shade really jumped out at me and looked odd... so it was well worth the "risk" to the rest of the figure to try and fix it. I was also pretty confident I could go back in, re-gold the leg and start the OSL over from scratch without too much difficulty. The eagle eye glow is a different matter however. It's not really noticeable to the naked eye, even at close-inspection distance. And it's in a very high profile area... so if I screw it up, trying to fix it is going to require a fair amount of re-painting that may in itself, distract from the quality of the overall paint job. I was lucky to get the OSL as good as it is... I'm just not good enough to do that work consistently. Redoing they radius of the eye glow would require spraying several shades and not screwing any of them up... just not worth the risk as I see it.
@Chowderhead: Good observation. I'm not sure if (given the radius) the right (his left) glow would show much, but the left should probably have a touch of blue on the mantis icon near the eye. I figured out that if I dilute my spray mix more than normal, the OSL process tends to be more forgiving... I *may* try to add some reflective glow on the pads *if* I'm feeling brave enough. No promises though.
@mugginns: You know... I started one years ago, but they're a lot of work and I wasn't sure anyone would really be interested. Since I know you're doing MW's too... I'll see what I can do. While it's very fiddly... it's not actually all that difficult to do. You do need a very good brush though.
Perhaps I could just do it with water slide transfers. Might be a pain but I've become better with them lately. I don't trust my hand to do the steady camo lines.
Steady lines comes with practice and a good brush. Just find an old model or piece of plastic that you don't particularly care about and practice. Thinning your paint also helps with controlling it's flow as you don't have a big blob on the brush.
Freehand is something I'm trying to improve upon and each time I try, it gets that little bit better
Transfers are much harder to deal with than painting these by hand, and the results would be much worse. Trust me muggins... its not that complicated. Give me a few days to throw something together by way of a tut and then practice as endtrans suggests... you'll be fine.
In liking the final version very much, I also have to comment on the elegance of the gem work on the termie-eagle atop his pack. I think it's awesome, but has got overlooked by your tremendous osl-fu.
The final OSL looks just right, well done for going back in and adjusting that.
Let's face it, he was going to stand out with that glowing, golden armour anyway, so he might as well be arrogant and stand on a plinth to pose. 'Yeah, you see me here, glowing and shining. What you don't see is my brethren methodically taking you all down from the flanks whilst you stare in awe at my awesome form.'
monkeytroll wrote:
Let's face it, he was going to stand out with that glowing, golden armour anyway, so he might as well be arrogant and stand on a plinth to pose. 'Yeah, you see me here, glowing and shining. What you don't see is my brethren methodically taking you all down from the flanks whilst you stare in awe at my awesome form.'
i did'nt get it at first and now i totally do thanks monkeytroll
and just to chip in,very very impressive paintjob and modeling 10/10
I wonder if I should've hit him with a satin varnish rather than my standard dull coat... he doesn't look very lustrous to me. Maybe it's just the screen on the lap top I'm using.
Still need to gloss the gems.
OH, and fix the little bit of brown wash that somehow got on the silver wings above his head and to the right.
WILL IT NEVER END!!???? (I'm beginning to hate him.)
Revenent Reiko wrote:The eagle on the backpack (in the last picture shown, in between the gun and his head), its not as....bright as the others, and its been bugging me a little...sorry Gits. Of course, feel free to ignore me if you are happy with it, it still looks great.
Just think of it as power fluctuations in the power pack's levels due to the melta recharging... or something
Good thinking endtrans, ill take that as an explanation...
Gitsplitta wrote:First off... thanks everyone! Please excuse my not thanking everyone personally, but I wanted to answer specific comments without bogging things down in quotes. I'm happy with it. It isn't perfect, but still... all things considered I think it's some of my best work.
@Reiko: Your point is well taken my friend... and it was something I noticed myself when I posted that last pic. Here are my thoughts. While I post nice big pics here on dakka for feedback (the only way to improve) and enjoy the positive comments immensely (ego boost)... all my figures are intended to be played with and it is most important that they look good at a normal human being's "close examination" level. I fixed the leg because even on the table the discrepancy in shade really jumped out at me and looked odd... so it was well worth the "risk" to the rest of the figure to try and fix it. I was also pretty confident I could go back in, re-gold the leg and start the OSL over from scratch without too much difficulty. The eagle eye glow is a different matter however. It's not really noticeable to the naked eye, even at close-inspection distance. And it's in a very high profile area... so if I screw it up, trying to fix it is going to require a fair amount of re-painting that may in itself, distract from the quality of the overall paint job. I was lucky to get the OSL as good as it is... I'm just not good enough to do that work consistently. Redoing they radius of the eye glow would require spraying several shades and not screwing any of them up... just not worth the risk as I see it.
Those are some good thoughts, thank you for putting them down.....first off, i must admit, i dont often get to see models in person these days, so i am far more used to seeing the big, blown up pictures here on dakka. As such, i do tend to forget they arent quite this defined in IRL...so i am more than mollified if you say it looks good on the table-top, especially when it looks this good in HD! So basically, I agree, the risk at this stage isnt worth it, especially not to ruin such a good model, and even more so if you are happy with it.
Secondly, i am glad all the comments are helping (either for feedback, or for a nice ego boost, because your models ARE great Gits, never forget that).
@Brian: Wise words my friend. OK, I'll just gloss the gems and fix the little brown stain. The rest will stand.
@dstein: Gloss coat is a bit heavy for what I had in mind. Vallejo satin vanished gives a nice, gentle shine without being so heavy handed.
@Radiation: Thank you, and welcome to the blog!
@Reiko: The feedback more than helps... it's essential to making me the modeler and painter that I've become. Keep it coming. I always appreciate good advice.
@weety: Thank you so much! Not yet... I usually figure about 10 days from the UK to me (or vise-versa). I'll keep my eye out for it. You'll see it here when it shows up.
So, here's a question for you. After I take care of the last two little issues, do you think it would be worth sending pics of this figure to CMON or GW? I've never done it before... not really something I need to do (emotionally)... but I know it's a possibility. Anyone with any experience want to weigh in?
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You know you spend too much time thinking about painting when you're doing your morning get-ready-for-work ritual and you're mumbling the things you have yet to do... and one of them is... "comb the hair, airbrush it..." (when you really mean blow-dry it).
I'd send it to GW or at least put it in their flickr pool. It's a unique take on something and quite different too. Also rather impressive. Bound to get some sort of commentary at least.
Nope. Have an MoTF to finish... Then two LS Storms. Then I'll work on some grot tanks while I do some research. THEN I might be ready for the special project. Maybe.
nononono..I'm not talking about giving the thing a 1/16" thick hardcoat or anything
... but gloss varnishes are not as scary as people think. You get different effects from the paint below by using different combinations of gloss, satin, and flat coats. so, glossing something, and then re-applying a flat coat over it gives a different effect than just a flat coat alone.
Models looking sweet as always Gits. In all honesty, I'm not too keen on Tycho's 'pimp my space marine' look and think he'd look better in yellow but the paint job itself is stunning.
P.S. I can't wait for the MotF to hit the paint station - good luck!!!
I'd like to comment on why Tycho is gold since it's clear it rubs some of you the wrong way. There is a method to my madness believe it or not.
1. When I "steal" a character from another chapter, I usually like to leave something on him that is a reminder of where he came from. My Master of Scouts (Telion counts-as), still has the ultra symbol on his bolt gun for example. Tycho is gold in homage to his origin as a blood angel commander... he also has one tear-drop shaped gem on his right forearm. 2. I wanted to set him apart from the rank-and-file. 3. I've already made this...
And one, hijacked, screaming yellow sternguard character is enough for any army!
Thanks everyone for your great advice and infinite patience while I spam the interwebs with mostly-finished Tychos... Here are the two pics I sent to GW... did my last little tweaks and now I'll be putting him to bed with his fellow Mantis Warriors.
"Good-night, sweet prince; And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
Automatically Appended Next Post: Feel free not to comment on them again... though you can always vote if the mood strikes you.
Gunner will be permanently mounted. I'll do one other scout per LS Storm that will be magnetized, so I can keep track of which squads are mounted/dismounted. I have lost track of that before believe it or not.
Gits nice OSL on Tycho!! I like that whole when I steal a character thing. But when I "borrow" a character I try to make it my own chapter, but understand with Tycho he is hard to make into a Dark Angel or any other chapter not related to the BA's. Great job!
Glad you've hamlet'd him, horatio-gits. Sometimes, you just have to walk away from the mini! Great work, look forward to seeing it in GW's big bag o' internet (fingers, toes and other appendages crossed).
@GDOne: Thanks! I usually try to keep the reference to the original chapter very subtle... just something to knowledge the fact that I'm chapter shopping.
@graven: *chuckle* Yes, well... "parting is such sweet sorrow"... but it was time to put him down. I haven't heard/seen anything from GW & don't know if it's even something they'll be interested in showing. But we'll see.
I hope to start work on finishing the MoTF today as it's a (pseudo) day off. Have to spend some time considering exactly what I'm going to "fix".
Automatically Appended Next Post:
I just want to state for the record what utter CRAP last year's paint job on my MoTF was. Seriously... if it wasn't for all the build work and unique parts that went into it, I'd have chucked it in the bin. Couldn't believe it when I took a good, close look at it this morning.
So, here's where I start the project...
It's worth noting that this pic is listed as MoTF WIP3... so it's obviously never been suggested that it was finished. I was also really, really sick when I finished this up for last year's Adepticon. The only reason I actually made it to the event was that Solar_lion showed up at my door and said "just get in the car, I'll do the rest"... and he pretty much did.
So, I'm working on the red first... that and the white bits. We'll see if I can save it.
Hmm, I guess, compared to some of your more rcent work (eg Tycho), I can see why you might be a little disappointed, but I like him. I especially appreciate all the onverion work, and I love the whole Doc Oc imagery
@Gir: Thank you sir, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
@Rogue: Wonderful stuff called Micro Kristal Klear. Trick I picked up from model railroading. Looks like thick white glue. Just spread it across a gap with a toothpick or some such and it dries like a pane of glass.
OK, today's progress. Worked on a little bit of everything actually. Hard to pin it down. Red, green, white, black, robot arms, clamps, skin... you name it.
Necronboy wrote:Is it just me or... does the MOTF resemble Dr. Octopus? (I mean this in a good way of course)
By desgn... good observation Necronboy.
@Gir: Yep, hazard stripes... more highlights. Yesterday was "the big fix". Now I can settle in on some details. Going to re-do the Mantis badges, work on the wreath, do some lining to bring up the contrast, add some detail, maybe some OSL. Still tons to do.
Gitsplitta wrote:@Gir: Thank you sir, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
@Rogue: Wonderful stuff called Micro Kristal Klear. Trick I picked up from model railroading. Looks like thick white glue. Just spread it across a gap with a toothpick or some such and it dries like a pane of glass.
I guess I didn't explain how I got the stained glass effect. I just painted the lines black, which dries leaving a physical border of sorts, then used washes of various colors to create the tinted panels. The black lines kept each tint in it's place.
I love your Tyho or whatever hes called Gits very cool! The MoTF is looking good too! Btw are you 'tuching up' the modle to make him look better once fully finished?
Great to see this guy getting some more love. Well done for actually picking up a 'done/good enough' piece and re-working bits, even if it was technically a wip, it's too easy to leave them as is.
Gitsplitta wrote:I just want to state for the record what utter CRAP last year's paint job on my MoTF was. Seriously... if it wasn't for all the build work and unique parts that went into it, I'd have chucked it in the bin. Couldn't believe it when I took a good, close look at it this morning. It's worth noting that this pic is listed as MoTF WIP3... so it's obviously never been suggested that it was finished. I was also really, really sick when I finished this up for last year's Adepticon. The only reason I actually made it to the event was that Solar_lion showed up at my door and said "just get in the car, I'll do the rest"... and he pretty much did.
So, I'm working on the red first... that and the white bits. We'll see if I can save it.
It's too much of a classic Gits project to " chuck" .. and you didn't have alot of time to finish. Glad to see your going back to do so. With all the technique youv'e picked up this year I sure you will to it justice. It is one of a kind. Stay tuned everyone..
I kind of took the weekend off. Got my boat, then cleaned out 1/2 of the garage so I could put the boat inside (that was a whole day... with probably two or three more to go before it's presentable again). Also played a lot of Fallout: New Vegas. Just had a need to mindlessly shoot things I guess.
Gitsplitta wrote:Yeah... I'm hoping next weekend will be nice. Time for a mother's day excursion around Lake Wisconsin & adjoining parts of the Wisconsin River.
It's been WAY too long since I've done a proper P&M Summary. So lacking in any substantive progress with the MoTF... here's a quick update on the last 3 months.
Some cool Adeptis Mechanicus painted by Hits_the_Spot.
And an Inquisitor done by same...
Mantis Warrior Penitent chaplain for Gathering Storm
Apothecary done by Knightley
Brother Ricoh, another GMS marine.
Army shot at about 4000 pts.
Assault Squad #1 - BA style
Assault Squad #2
Sons of Medusa Apoth done by Miss Dee.
Action shot of some assault marines that instigated the first Mantis Warrior Caption Contest!
Mk-1 Vindicator "Minos"
First MW apothecary
Second MW apothecary
Old-school Libby... last minute strip & re-paint.
Completed Adepticon Army
My ego... unchained.
Packed up for Adepticon!
Our Awesome Display made by Solar_lion: helped to earn us 56/60 pts. in both presentation and theme, and a 50th placing over-all which is over 40 slots better than last year!
The army in action in game one of the team tournament at Adepticon.
Couple of clowns... circus must be in town. (Ice Angel and his buddy Steve... team mates & part of the "Wardens of the Maelstrom" family)
Gitsplitta wrote:Here is the book that we presented along with our team display. It was originally bound and locked, with the key being presented to the judges by special order of the Inquisition. I've changed mundane names to dakka screen names for ease of reading. Each major section was it's own page, they are separated by a series of dashes in this document ( ------- ). The book also contained complete army lists, which I won't include here. The original is printed on heavy parchment... this is the best translation I can do for the web.
The Adeptinomicon
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The Badab War
by Rick Priestley
(White Dwarf 101, May 1988)
In 901.M41, as a result of Lufgt Huron's apparent mental destabilisation, the Master of the Tiger Claws and Lord of Badab attacked and destroyed an Imperial investigation fleet as it entered orbit around Badab. Huron's action can be understood with the benefit of hindsight. The Adeptus Mechanicus had long complained of the Tiger Claws' tardiness in submitting gene-seed for routine analysis, whilst the chapter had amassed a huge debt in planetary tithes stretching back over a hundred and fifty years. And when the Imperium moved against its wayward chapter, a full scale rebellion was initiated, the most serious of its kind since the end of the Fourth Quadrant Rebellion in 780.M41.
The Tyrant of Badab, as Commander Huron is known in Imperial histories, was a power-hungry and ambitious individual who should never have risen to power within a Marine Chapter. He was plainly a dangerous individual, able in many respects but lacking the absolute dedication to humanity vital in a Lord of the Imperium. It will never be known for sure, but current hypotheses suggest that the Commander was either an alien shapechanger, or otherwise subject to alien domination of a most unnatural kind. A sudden and unexpected manifestation of psychic powers may lie at the heart of the matter.
By 903 three other chapters, the Mantis Warriors, Executioners and Lamenters had joined the rebellion. Imperial shipping was attacked, and a ship belonging to the Fire Hawks Chapter was captured by the Mantis Warriors in 904. The Fire Hawks immediately retaliated, and soon five whole chapters were involved in the fighting. The Emperor recalled the Marines Errant from the Eastern Fringes, but they quickly found themselves fully occupied protecting Imperial ships in transit.
In 906 two more loyal Marine units, the Red Scorpions and the Minotaurs, had been brought in, and the threat to Imperial shipping was more or less quashed. In 907 the Red Scorpions and Fire Hawks were recalled to their normal service duties in the galactic east, and two more chapters, the Novamarines and Howling Griffons were committed to space-lane duties.
Meanwhile, the Star Phantoms began the task of besieging Badab whilst two other chapters were drafted in to investigate the worlds occupied by the Mantis Warriors and Executioners. The Lamenters were caught in an ambush by the Minotaurs in 908 and eventually surrendered after bloody ship-to-ship fighting. This came as a great blow to the Tyrant, and the rest of the war consisted almost entirely of close sieges. The uprising came to an end in 912 with the fall of Badab and final defeat of the Tiger Claws. Before the war was over, The Exorcists, Fire Angels, Salamanders, Space Sharks and Sons of Medusa all became involved for short periods of time; chapters replacing other chapters as pressures elsewhere necessitated their re-deployment.
With the rebellion over, The Mantis Legion, Executioners and Lamenters were granted the Emperor's forgiveness, subject to undertaking a hundred year crusade. The homeworlds of the Mantis Legion and Executioners were forfeited to the Space Sharks and Star Phantoms for their part in the war. The other legions received salvage rights to spacecraft and a proportion of the booty. The Tiger Claws were all but destroyed. Only a contingent of about two hunded fought their way through the Exorcists' blockade and escaped into deep space. They have not been heard of since. Of the fate of Imperial Commander Lufgt Huron, Master of the Tiger Claws and Tyrant of Badab, nothing is known.
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Listening Post Secondus (story by Ice Angel)
*file request*
*LPS information*
* request granted… data to follow…*
Listening Position Secondus (LPS)
Throughout the Badab and Endymion Clusters the successful defense grid of the Imperium counted on quick communication between the worlds and its allies. During M39 or possibly late in M38 the pre-Imperial worlds in these areas set up several small networks of listening posts. These stations used a technology that has since been lost to the Imperium but after the formation of the Wardens the use of these stations has greatly improved the response time in the clusters.
These stations once found, have been coveted by the Imperial forces and have proven to be extremely valuable assets. The LPS network is believed to be fully operational, however all logistical and documentation has been kept by the Tiger Claws and the other Warden Chapters. No information on the capabilities or locations has ever been sent to Terra despite dozens of requests by the High Lords.
*end file*
*file request*
*LPS grid*
* granted*
Per ancient text discovered on Cygnax, the Listening Position Secondus grid consisted of twenty one hundred stations throughout the Maelstrom and its surrounding systems. After the establishment of the Wardens these positions of high importance were sought out. Mention of the grid becoming fully operational has been documented in hundreds of reports yet no maps exist of their locations.
It is believed that only a fraction of the original grid has been located and brought to operational level; however the truth will most likely never be known. As the Badab War proceeds, the loyalist’s forces have located several of the LPS stations but all have self-destructed upon discovery.
*end file*
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The Mantis Warriors
by
Gitsplitta
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Mantis Warriors (story by Ice Angel)
Librarian Artemic knelt hidden, behind a grated panel. The ancient panel was covered in a fine layer of dust and hadn’t moved in a century. The still air around him smelled of aged copper with a hint of mold. He closed his eyes while taking a deep breath. When he opened his eyes his vision fell on the copper-armored marine working steadily on the other side, unaware of Artemic’s presence
For the last hour the marine had been replacing wires and reactivating panels and equipment that dotted the foyer. The marine had taken off his helmet and with diligent effort had made a truly impressive amount of progress. His technical expertise with this ancient equipment was surprising. Where other marines had passed by, this marine continued his quest to awaken the listening station that surrounded them. Clearly this marine from the Minotaur Chapter was determined to fulfill his superior’s orders as fast as possible.
A shout came from the Minotaur’s left. It was in High Gothic and filled with arrogance. Librarian Artemic didn’t flinch at the shout but continued to watch the marine.
“Thane!” the shout came once again. “Is this it?”
The Minotaur reluctantly set down his tools and looked to his left before responding. “No! We need a gamma-eight centrifugal divergent……you…. never mind. I’ll find one.” He got up and stormed off, clearly annoyed at his fellow astartes.
Brother Thane grumbled about his superiors and the lack of proper parts as he began to leave the foyer. Librarian Artemic couldn’t help but smile as he glanced to the floor next to his knee and saw the piece the Minotaur was searching for.
He checked his chronometer. Thirty two more minutes until he could evacuate his hiding place. As much as he despised the idea, he was looking forward to executing his strike on the Minotuars. The war needed to end. Two years ago Artemic was a Tranquility Veteran amongst hundreds of others, now he is leading his own task force. Unfortunately it wasn’t for his deeds in battle or his tactical skill—it was because most of the other veterans had been sent to the Emperor’s side. This war had taken a heavy toll on the Mantis Warriors. Only a handful of veterans were left, some of which sat in silence behind him in the service tunnel. They were his respected comrades, his brothers… but win or lose Artemic knew that this war would have to end soon, or there wouldn’t be any more veterans to turn into captains or any veterans to teach the future of the chapter.
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Order of Battle
Librarian: Brother Artemic
Apothecaries: Brother Tyberian and Brother Trauus
Tranquility Snipers: Sgt. Gnaeus commanding
Assault Squad primus: Sgt. Quintus commanding
Assault Squad secundus: Sgt. Vibius commanding
Vindicator: “Minos”
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The Lamenters
by
Solar_lion
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Lamenters (story by Ice Angel)
The Lamenter Chaplain Aanasius peaked over the ridge. Before him lay scattered around the rocky spires of the canyon, were signs of the hidden listening station. Two hundred yards ahead of him embedded into a cliff was the entrance to the ancient position. As the war had progressed the use of these ancient devices had become more and more vital to the success of the two sides. The chaplain examined the armor plates of the entrance before his eyes nestled onto a pair of space marines. Their copper colored armor was covered in red trim and symbols of the mythical minotaur. His lip twitched in anger. No other space marine chapter upset him more then the cursed Minotaur Chapter. They seemed to relish fighting other space marines. The Lamenters had already lost many of their numbers to those political pawns.
Calming himself he closed his eyes and refocused. He needed control. Slowly he lowered himself back behind the ridge. Behind him was his small detachment of astartes. Looking over them he saw the strength and power at his disposal. He wished he had more but the war wasn’t going well for the Lamenters as of late. Astartes on astartes combat was always costly and even now the words of Lufgt Huron were beginning to raise more questions then answers. The Chaplain had his doubts but he followed his orders and trusted in the Emperor to guide them through this. As he dwelled on this thought he reviewed his stoic marines. His quiet force was prepared but the typical fervor was gone. They didn’t show it but he felt it. It didn’t take hundreds of years of psychic conditioning to feel the doubt in his men.
A series of hand gestures came down a nearby line of assault troopers as weapons silently came up. The nearby vindicator adjusted several hull mounted cameras. They all waited for confirmation or orders. The Chaplain watched as a yellow and black armored marine seemed to materialize out of a nearby rocky out cropping.
Seeing the Mantis Warrior step out of the rocks gave him some hope. The Lamenter force may have already been defeated had the Mantis Warriors not intervened. After the loss of the listening station the Mantis Warriors were the first to arrive, but instead of investigating as the Lamenters wanted. They hid themselves waiting for the enemy. In typical Mantis style they disappeared amongst the surrounding natural environment setting traps and waiting to pounce.
The Chaplain didn’t know how many were here but seeing the lone marine made him smile. The Mantis Warrior stalked past the vindicator and the assault marines. Several silent greetings were exchanged before the Mantis Warrior stopped before the Chaplain.
Chaplain Aanasius held out a hand in a warriors greeting. “Greeting Mantis, you must be Buzka.”
The camo armored Mantis Warrior grasped his forearm. “Correct, Chaplain Aanasius. My commander apologizes for not coming in person but he is close to our objective and in position to strike from wthin.”
“Excellent.” Chaplain Aanasius quietly spoke. He did indeed want to move and quickly but the thoughts of attacking fellow astartes bothered him once again. “When shall we make our move?”
Sergeant Buzka looked towards the ridge that separated them and their target. “The blast will occur in seven minutes. Prepare your men.” With one final salute he began to walk away. “Continue radio silence, we will attack from the south while you dive at them from the east.”
Chaplain Aanasius watched as the mantis warrior melted into the rocky out cropping and disappeared from sight. With a simple left handed gesture his marines slowly crept towards the top of the ridge. They were spread out behind separate rocks and outcroppings, climbing as much as they dare. None looked over the top for fear of being spotted.
Aanasius walked down from the ridge towards an awaiting Stormraven. At his approach its engines began to warm up. As he reached the forward hatch the Stormraven he peered into the darkness of the opening at five white armored marines. They were restrained to the walls and were unmoving. He sensed their anger, he sensed their rage. They had been restrained and unable to move sense their last engagement. Their battle lust never sated, they waited once again for the Chaplain to unleash them.
Pushing thoughts of the death company aside he turned around to peer out the still open forward hatch. He hadn’t bothered to close it. With a thought, orders were issued. The raven leapt into the air, the vindicator began to move out as the hidden assault marines crested the ridge and flew towards the outpost.
Seconds before passing over the ridge an urgent icon from Brother Frealm blinked in his HUD. Consulting the map in his HUD he realized Brother Frealm was either in error or they were in trouble. Risking a look, Chaplain Aanasius ordered the Raven higher.
The listening station was the same as it was before but now several units of gray armored marines could be seen marching across the plateau to the north of the station. Numbers and tactics filled his thoughts. He pictured the oncoming explosion. The minotaurs down below would have to wait. The new enemies above the station would be their primary target or they would hold the superior position.
At seven seconds left, Chaplain Aanasius altered his detachments orders. He took in the view once more, observing the deployment of his adversaries. His men adjusted instantly.
As the yellow Stormraven adjusted its trajectory, the gray armored Carchodons began to bring up their weapons when the explosions erupted between them. Metal, fire, and a wave of heat passed over him during his descent. With a thought the restraints on the death company released, astartes or not, his enemies would pay.
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Order of Battle
Chaplain: Blood Father Aanasius
Death Company: The Lost
Death Company Dreadnought: Brother Matthias the Unmovable
Assault Squad alpha: Sgt. Marcus commanding
Assault Squad beta: Sgt. Gabriel commanding
Vindicator: “Bringer of Sorrows”
Storm Raven: “Hammer”
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The Minotaurs
by
Briancj
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Minotaurs (story by Ice Angel)
The auspex flew across the room and smashed into the steel wall of the control room. The hardy piece of war equipment clattered to the floor. Despite the inhuman strength of Librarian Tavros Spathi the auspex stayed in one piece. Tavros stood tall and monitored the fallen auspex with contempt.
Suddenly the Librarian began to pace back and forth in the room in front of a Minotuar assault squad that lined one wall awaiting orders. They stood perfectly still at parade rest, weapons were sheathed, their plumed helms were staring forwards.
After another glance at the damaged auspex Tavros stalked over to the window. The ancient pane of thick rubber glass was only two feet tall but ran the length of the room. Leaning on a console Tavros looked out over the rocky outcroppings before him.
“Why do they ignore our calls?” he asked to no one in particular. “What is the purpose of sending a detachment of Carchodons to our position?” he pondered.
“Dranicus, repair your auspex and continue to hail them.” Tavros ordered without looking back.
The Librarian heard the slap as the marine saluted and then quickly retrieved the broken device. Without a word he quickly took it apart and began the repairs.
Tavros sneered at the thought of dealing with the Carchodons face to face. His superiors deemed them allies but after hearing about their actions and tactics, Tavros despised them. Then again, he despised any one that wasn’t a Minotuar. Suddenly a thought filled his mind. His sneer began to contort into a grin.
Maybe the Carchodons weren’t as loyal as his commanders thought. The approach of the gray armored marines might turn into an amusing situation. Not a signal of any kind felt suspicious.
Spinning around the Librarian reviewed his assault squad. Squad Apateonas stood perfectly still, prime examples of astartes training and obedience. A side glance brought his attention to Dranicus.
“On second thought Dranicus, complete your repairs but do not hail the Carchodons. Clearly they don’t want to chat.” With several taps on his forearm communications controls he spoke again. “Be on alert for approaching Carchodons, intentions unknown. Do not hesitate if they prove……. hostile.”
Tavros felt a surge of warp energy as the thought of engaging the ferocious Carchodons tickled his lust for battle. “Squad Apateonas, with me.” He spat through his grin.
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Order of Battle
Librarian: Brother Tavros Spathi
Apothecaries: Brothers Marvo Kirkenizo and Foteinos Komistis
Assault Squad Apateonas: led by Sgt. Tyligo
Assault Squad Aspida: led by Sgt. Sfyri
Baal Predator: “Theristis”
Whirlwind: “Drepani”
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The Carcharodons
by
Mr. Malevolent
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Carcharodons (story by Ice Angel)
The engines of the Thunderhawk briefly roared before reaching its needed elevation. Only the whisper of the wind could be heard it sped off into the distance. The massive dreadnought watched it depart away from their flank before turning towards the units of marines ahead of him. “May the Emperor watch over you” his deep voice boomed as he resumed his march. None of the marines nearby paid him any heed. Once the march resumed no one spoke, only the steps of marines and the dreadnoughts heavy strides broke the silence.
On top of a rocky plateau the detachment of Carchodons moved towards the listening post. Brother Nikon, also known as Ancient Nikon or the Ancient Hunter, strode forward on powerful legs. He thought of all the planets his legs had stepped on, all of the ships he had traveled in. He then pondered how many legs he’d gone through in his long history as a marine and dreadnought of the Carchodon force.
As his massive and long strides took him towards yet another objective he looked around at his brethren. He knew they respected him and looked up to him, but over the past century he’d felt increasingly distant from his free-standing brethren.
Purple skies, orange plant life, cliffs of obsidian, geysers of liquid mercury, and countless alien structures flooded his thoughts. The sounds of alien life and unexplainable machinery flickered through his mind as if a memory filled concert was about to start. The bizarre smells of countless battlefields passed through his consciousness before a jab of sorrow interrupted his revelry. Ancient Nikon slowed for a brief moment as he realized he hadn’t smelled a battlefield in centuries. Nor had he smelled the tang of weapon oil, the once familiar stench of hydrolic fluid, not even his own genetically altered sweat. If he could have smiled he would have, but he silently laughed to himself as he realized he hadn’t sweat in several centuries either.
He reviewed his marines once again. His detachment commander, Librarian Cruviel “The Shadow Maw” was in front of him. Nikon stared at the back of Cruviel’s head. The Librarian turned around and met his gaze before turning back towards his march. Cruviel was agitated and Nikon knew it… but Nikon knew better than raise the subject unprompted. The edge of the plateau began to come into sight over the uneven rocky area. The mission’s parameters, objectives, and maps began to replace his ancient memories. Weapon systems rechecked themselves as he prepared for the upcoming engagement.
The likely Minotaur positions appeared in his heads-up display as did the known locations of the Lamenters. The count-down signal that they had intercepted appeared at the bottom of the HUD. Cruviel himself had broken the cipher and determined its meaning. As they approached the position he noticed the Minotaurs hadn’t withdrawn as they’d expected.
Nikon looked down at Cruviel once again.
Regardless of Nikon’s age and capabilities he wasn’t in a position to question orders or motives, but it seemed that the Carchodons didn’t plan on warning the Minotaurs of the hidden Lamenters and their impeding attack.
The units of Carchodons began to spread out. Still nothing had been spoken, their orders having been issued hours ago. Everyone knew their roles. The Red Brethren moved to Nikon’s left. The Devourers of Tranquility moved right. The Obliterators along with the Shadow Maw and himself continued forwards.
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Order of Battle
Librarian: Cruviel "The Shadow Maw"
Apothecaries: Corpse Takers Brothers Typho, Demius and Archelo
Assault Squad: “Obliterators“ in Drop Pod
Assault Squad: “Devourers of Tranquility” in Razorback
Assault Squad: “Red Brethren” in Razorback
Dreadnought: “Nikon the Ancient”
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Finis
My version of Tycho.
Thanks for sticking with me! 300 pages is coming up and frankly I've got nuttin' planned to celebrate it. Will try to get my MoTF done by then.
Ah, the old 'I have nothing new to show, so I'll put up a bunch of old stuff' trick hey?
Nice to see the recent progress all together, and I have to confess, I missed that chappy first time around (or at least I can't recall catching it ) - very nice.
Four pages to go and you've nothing planned yet? That gives you what, just under 24 hours to come up with something It's a job for Gitsplitta Bauer!
hey gits like the big update good to see all the stuff you worked on in one healthy post. glad you had a good time at adepticon im actually planning on saving some money to go next year as a vacation for me. at any rate keep up the awesome work. by the by i really love your redemption chaplain. I have a thing for chaplain models any way but he is too cool for school.
Tonight's progress... though I can't really see what I did. Painted the magnetic plates red, think I re-painted the clamps yellow as I botched the first attempt at striping them. Painted over the belt symbol. Worked on a few other things since the last pic.
Here's a beautiful Imperial Fist (I think) that I traded with weety for. Nice job weets, going to be a find addition to my Inquisitional Supplemental Forces.
I like. Nice touches on the Axe, the clamps and the armor touch ups. My only suggestion would be to darken the frame ( maybe another wash) of the window. Or perhaps the rock on the base so they don't blend so much together.
@Brian: For some reason I'm married to it. I may eventually completely re-do the gun, but for now I'm not going to mess with it.
As to what I did to the figure... pretty much touched up everything except the power axe. Even the arms, which were just grey, are now metallic... even though you can't see the difference in the pic. Armor, flesh, details, badges, clamps, skulls, laurels... they've all been modified considerably. Not sure if the end result was worth the time, but at least I can say it's done.
Looks good gits, nothing else really to say I am sure you will get much more adoration in a few days or posts. So what is a new/old project that's up next? I am really curious about seeing the post crusade getting started.
Well, as I mentioned before... it's my time for taking care of "unfinished business". I think I'll take a break from my marines and finish up the second grot tank I was making (it's mostly done... not quite at the stage the MoTF was at when I started to fix him up). During this time, I'll also be working on the build for Yggsdrasil's GMS marine, which is another part of the unfinished business I need to take care of... the three remaining trades that I've never made good on.
I have a lot of orky stuff I want to do, so I'll be bouncing back to that about every other figure/unit. They've been waiting patiently a long time for me to work on them, but I can't have Ifalna paint them all for me, or they won't really be *my* orks anymore.
When it comes to the post-crusade Mantis Warriors... perhaps you guys can help me out. My quandary is that I don't know exactly what unit to do. I don't just want to duplicate everything in my early period army... I want the later period army to be functionally different than the early army. I have a plan for that, though I largely executed that with early period models already (my coordinated alpha-strike list), but I'm OK pursuing some minor duplication. Also, I'm running two dexes at the moment (vanilla and BA). In order to do what I want to with the later army, I need to run them vanilla. I'd always intended the early army to be mechanized... as task that the BA dex is ideally suited for.
It would be fun to build an army around the IA Mantis Warrior character, even if I'm not allowed to play him all that often. I was going to challenge the gamers at my FLGS to come up with a list (or lists) for me to consider, as there are several national and regional 40k champions to draw from.
I know everyone wants me to do my vanguard... but I'm still a bit unsettled as to how to equip them, and they are a complete PITA to build and paint. Seriously... that one squad will take me months. I don't want to get bogged down in that, at least until 6th comes out and I can evaluate them in that context.
So... think no tracked or wheeled vehicles. Infantry, deep striking, land speeders, bikes (since I proxy jet bikes as bikes I can use them and be consistent with my fluff). I have all the GMS marines to serve as my Tac squads. My dreads and sternguard will carry over as the "ancient veterans" from the "old ways". Scouts, LS Storms, Pods are all good to go as well... pretty well stocked there. (though I do have 1 or 2 more pods I could put together) Flyers and skimmers are fine, but there's no way in h-e-double toothpicks that I'm going to pay GW's price for a Storm Eagle. Besides... all my unique bits are infantry things.
So... given that wall of text, what do you guys recommend?
Scouts and LS Storms are already on the docket... but there's nothing about them that's specific to the later era chapter.
Terminators, yes... Trick is what kind. I've got a bunch of old ones and some used new ones... but I may try to sell at least some of them in order to get a new boxed set where I can assemble the various components myself & customize on my own.
There will be multiple LR's... but they'll go with the early period army.
I really like the changes to the MotF. The axe, hazard stripes, and even the metallic arms stand out. Nice work.
As for post-crusade MW, I'd like to see your take on an old Mk 1 Land Raider, something left over from the old days, but still serving the chapter, and some terminators. Maybe you could do some minor conversions on the termies, like head swaps. I kind of like what orcpainternerd did with his Pre-heresy Blood Angel Terminators. Maybe something simple that would still set the apart. I'm not sure how beakies would look as terminators, though....
deathcompany for ba use cuase of the whole "battle haze thing" termies termies would be a good option.
I just thought of something it really depends on how big the force is going to be. I am going to assume it is going to weigh in at 2k. You could always add more sternguard. Do you have a Captain other than Captain Tycho? You could make one of those.
Wow Gits thanks for the review! you honestly have so much passion for the game that shines through in everything you paint! really nice stuff as always, the full army shot is impressive and your motf is fantastic too, the posing and paint makes him a centerpiece model easily!
If you go termies my i suggest getting hold of a box of GK plastics?
the lower collar allows you to use all kinds of heads on the termie torso which could allow you to add antenna and blades to the helmets.....but as I type this I seem to remember a mantis terminator helmet from somewhere in the depths of last year.. or god was it 2010!?!?!
There will be a bit of work removing the book and sword symbols from the chest of the GK torso but it is doable and will give you space for all sorts of Mantis symbol goodness... plus the odd one could be given a GK termie shoulderpad to show that he has fought as Deathwatch termie.
Using GK termies would also mean they come with Katanas (well, to all intents and purposes), saving you some time/money. Having said that, I'd consider using standard termie legs on them, if at all possible.
Well, different colors that usual anyway... be a nice break. To be honest I was thinking of sending that one to Ifalna for a very fancy paint job... but I suppose I could hack through it myself.
I would change the color scheme as Chapters seem to do with growing up and I would choose a personally fun list from the Vanilla book and build the army around that. Maybe put a younger character in your early period and have him older looking in the older army, show the maturity in your army, even if its just through one centerpiece HQ.
I think that the feel to see the two armies together would be quite satisfying
I'd like to thank everyone for your comments. I have been listening and considering.
The overwhelming majority of folks mentioned terminators... however a significant number of folks also mentioned some kind of "special project"... and I have had one in mind for about a year. So, come page 300 I will begin one of these two projects. I have to get my ducks in a row on this end...so hopefully page 300 won't happen too quickly.
BLACKHAND wrote:If you go termies my i suggest getting hold of a box of GK plastics?
the lower collar allows you to use all kinds of heads on the termie torso which could allow you to add antenna and blades to the helmets.....but as I type this I seem to remember a mantis terminator helmet from somewhere in the depths of last year.. or god was it 2010!?!?!
I'm not sure about this. Firstly, I do have the heads you made me, which should fit just fine on a normal terminator body (as they are modified, normal terminator heads). Secondly, the GK termies are SO identifiable... I'm just afraid it'll "tag" the squad in a way that distracts from their overall theme.
There are unique problems with any terminator configuration I choose... so I'll have to put some thought into this. In the mean time... I'm happily painting a grot tank which requires no real thought... just "creative flow" and humor.
Gitsplitta wrote:They just shipped... along with something else I ordered... (I can't remember... it's all a blur of money leaving my wallet).
And this is how we learn that Gitsplitta has just been stringing us all along for the past few days, as he has been planning to do terminators (maybe tartaros pattern) for the past month!
Hey Gits, sorry I haven't been posting recently, life and such cuts into my dakka time...
299 pages? I think last time I posted was about 100 pages back
well thanks for the invitation to see the summary of the past month... again i can onyl say this is so helpful... your thread moves on so fast... (even tho you state it otherwise...)
i like your creations... your style is smooth and unique... i really need to follw your thread now more often or i might miss out on the next 300^^
i wish you all the luck with your hobby...this is after all a hobby related upcoming celebration!
Yellowbeard wrote:And this is how we learn that Gitsplitta has just been stringing us all along for the past few days, as he has been planning to do terminators (maybe tartaros pattern) for the past month!
True to a point. I've always intended to do terminators as they're a cherished part of my early 40k memories. But... they've been to this point, a low priority. Also I've made it no secret that I tried to get the new FW terminators at Adepticon, but they were not selling them. So had to wait until I could order them direct.
shrike wrote:Hey Gits, sorry I haven't been posting recently, life and such cuts into my dakka time... 299 pages? I think last time I posted was about 100 pages back
Your presence has been missed my friend, welcome back! I hope the visit was worth your time.
Demdiddydizzy wrote:Either path you go, it's going to be very interesting!
I hope so.
Viktor von Domm wrote:well thanks for the invitation to see the summary of the past month... again i can onyl say this is so helpful... your thread moves on so fast... (even tho you state it otherwise...)
i like your creations... your style is smooth and unique... i really need to follw your thread now more often or i might miss out on the next 300^^
i wish you all the luck with your hobby...this is after all a hobby related upcoming celebration!
cheers, vik....my hat´s off to ye!
Thanks Vik! You know, you can just go to the OP once in a while. Whenever I do a P&M update or a battle report, I link it from there.
RiTides wrote:I finally got back in here and saw your finished Tycho. Well done! It really ended up working with the gold, after all
Yep. I felt pretty comfortable with the idea... but you never know until the paint is dry, eh?
I actually have a 3rd 300-page option... but I doubt you guys will go for it. I got my hands on some P3 paints and want to experiment using them with my air brush... so I got a color you can't find in vallejo air paints... screaming purple! So, I want to do a Mk-7 marine in purple and gold. Custom build... not standard... have a DIY chapter and motto all figured out already. No idea what I'll do with him when done... probably offer him up for trade. But for those of you who airbrush and are curious about P3 paints, it might be amusing (though much less grandiose than the other two projects).
If you want something purple and gold, I can shoot you some soul drinker pads. Loyalist marines that are csm, still loyal to the emperor but hate the imperium. Lots of fun to do in there.
You mean the 25 year? Yes, eventually. Though my "plan" was to save up some sheckles and give it to Iffy to do a top quality paint job on (as a Crimson Fist). That cover has a special place in my heart and it would be great to have a model to bring it to life.
@Alf: I'm gonna steal that image when the page finally rolls... OK?
Anyway. I just realised I hadn't commented on your painting of the Mantid Tycho and the MoTF. So...
Mantis Warriors Tycho: Fantastic details with the tranquility camo and OSL. It thematically fits in perfectly, and the gold is a suitable homage to the character's original chapter. Overall, I'd say it's fantastic work, and definitely compliments the other Tranquility Veterans.
Master of the Forge: It's a great improvement on the quick job you did last year, and the details really shine through now (such as the magnetic "foot" clamps which I had failed to spot on the original ). The hazard pattern on the servo-harness clamps are really neat as well. Also, I feel I should bring attention to the weapon change, as the Power-Axe is far more fitting than the bolt pistol.
By my count... this should be the very last post on page 299!
Keep in mind that due to page rollover... the first two posts on page 300 will get "lost" until the third post is made. Once we're safely rolled over, I'll make my decision on the project known.
The decision by-the-way... was made by you guys, not me. Though not in any way you're probably expecting (but will make sense once you see it).
Congratulations on the 300th page Gits. I have to say your blog has easily had more influence on the direction I have taken building my army than anything else on this blue earth. Thanks for sharing your endeavour with us here on Dakka and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
Thank you everyone for your constant and unfailing support over the last two years and 300 pages. You have been generous, tolerant, and kind... humoring my quirks and inflated ego. I hope you have enjoyed the time you've spent on this journey with me. I've loved every minute of it! I've learned so much from so many of you. This blog would not exist without your regular contributions of ideas, humor and support. I figure I'll never need to find a therapist as long as I have Dakka. All I can say is "Thank you!".
On to my special project....
The revenant approaches. It's searing plate is of the backest night. Each ceramite boot is wreathed in spectral flame. I look on as it's incandescent steps fracture and frost-shatter the metal of the deck beneath them. The ghost-fire curls and crooks it's way about the figure, as one burned at the stake. It slows to an appauling stop and looks down on my kneeling form. Before me is an angel of death. A brother of the beyond. Devoid of chapter markings, the armor speaks only of the grave, rachial nightmare of rib and bone, a skelleton set within the surface of the sacred plate. Beneath, the ghastliness goes on. The faceplate of its helmet is smashed and a ceramite shard is missing, the bleach-white of a fleshless skull lears at me. The glint of a service stud. The darkness of an eye socket that burns with unnatural life. Perfect teeth that chatter horribly.
"What are you?" I manage, although it takes everything I have left to brave the utterance.
It says nothing, but reaches out with a raven gauntlet. A bone digit protrudes from the splintered ceramite fingertip. I watch it drift towards my face with horror. The thing touches me. And I scream.
- Rob Sanders, "Legion of the Damned", Black Library, 2012
I've been planning this project for a long time, just wasn't sure when to undertake it... but Alf's 300 image and Brian & Graven's spartan enthusiasm pushed me over the edge. I have a rather unique take on the LoTD (I think). More ghostly apparitions than guys with cheesy flames and skulls painted on. I've wanted to make these true scale marines ever since they were first produced (thanks Hits & Chapterhouse), but wanted to find the right time and right subject as I didn't want to field an entire army of them. What better way to use them than as ghostly undead super-warriors that even scare the hell of out of Emperor's finest? The Greek thing on the other hand, just kind of happened. Though the Greek heads are actually a little bit larger than your standard marine helmet, which makes them a good match for the scale of the armor.
There are bits from 5 different companies in this figure (including the base). His size is accentuated by the base he's on as well as the fact that he's not actually mounted standing on the ground... this accentuates the "spectral nature" of the LoTD marine. The ground below him lies cracked and dry... as if the life had been sucked out of it by the passing of this horror. Each marine will have a shield regardless of the weapon they carry, which is my "fluff excuse" for their 3+ invul. These guys will have a ton of special effects. It'll take a miracle to pull them off. But what the hell? No guts, no glory eh?
Congratulations, Gits! The LotD project sounds great. I'm looking forward to all the special effects - positioning them slightly above the base is brilliant - they should be spectacular.
Yowser. It's great to see page 300 at last, and your special project sounds fab. That Weeping Angel doesn't know what's about to hit him... Really privileged to get the mention too, you crazy old man you. Onwards to your ghostly horde of doom!
Here's a virtual handshake Gits *handshake with Gits* on reaching your milestone! 300 is great i can only attempt to reach that myself with my own blog! it's not an easy road as you've shown but the best bit is seeing you overcome problems and produce some truly epic marines and models! I love nearly everything you do it's really great to see the progression of your models and you are a great guy too replying to us all and encouraging us as much as we encourage you! the whole blog kind of puts me in mind of a that bar scene from Star Wars but in a virtual sense :-) oh and we're all mates us in here!
it's also funny that you're doing LoTD! I am also doing a secret small squad soon! damn you! :-) lets race eh!
True Scale Greek Legion of the Damned Marines? Epic! I'm glad you're not doing minotaurs Gits because it's on my list of true scale dudes to do!
I've been working with those chapterhouse kits, In my opinion they either need bulking up or covering up. Spartan marines look great with flowing drapery... preferably that looks like it's blowing in the wind heroically... you should try some green stuffs. I also sculpted some true scale 'chest' armor for mine... looks awesome.
I should point out that these are NOT Minotaurs... (sorry Brian)... they're Greek-themed LoTD. Perhaps they were Minotaurs at one time... perhaps only the sergeant was a Minotaur and whatever mystical process occurs to the LoTD "recruits" they have adapted his armor style. The sergeant's singular force of will changes the spirits under his control into familar shapes. Even so, it only goes so far.
I quote Mr. Sanders yet again... Devoid of chapter markings, the armor speaks only of the grave, rachial nightmare of rib and bone, a skelleton set within the surface of the sacred plate.
My intention is to keep these guys... well... rather "Spartain". Devoid of skirts, drapes and robes. All the remnants of human vanity burned away by the unearthly fire that animates their lifeless bodies.
Gitsplitta wrote:I should point out that these are NOT Minotaurs... (sorry Brian)... they're Greek-themed LoTD. Perhaps they were Minotaurs at one time... perhaps only the sergeant was a Minotaur and whatever mystical process occurs to the LoTD "recruits" they have adapted his armor style. The sergeant's singular force of will changes the spirits under his control into familar shapes. Even so, it only goes so far.
I quote Mr. Sanders yet again...
Devoid of chapter markings, the armor speaks only of the grave, rachial nightmare of rib and bone, a skelleton set within the surface of the sacred plate.
My intention is to keep these guys... well... rather "Spartain". Devoid of skirts, drapes and robes. All the remnants of human vanity burned away by the unearthly fire that animates their lifeless bodies.
Waaaaait a tick!
Anyone that follows this blog and remembers crazy bits should have remember several page ago that Gits mentioned another Badab Era army... Several of us guessed that it might be Fire Hawks, since they are the basis of the LotD... He's been telling us for months!!!
Gitsplitta wrote: Black... with ghostly green seeping out of the cracks.
Oh, wow! Yes, these are going to be spectacular!
Oh, wait, do you mean "seeping" or "glowing"? Either way, they're going to look incredible, but I'd really be interested to see green light "seeping" from the armor!
Gitsplitta wrote:"Glowing" is more what I was after... though there may be some ectoplasmic tendrils wafting up here and there.
Ooooo yeah! that sounds GREAT!
saw a tutorial for blood/gore droplets using fishing line that may work really well for this (depending on how you are doing the tendrils of course...). Would only use a different colour in the PVA (i think thats the glue) for it to be ghostly green instead... EDIT: huh, found it... http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/446259.page#4214212
dont know if thats of any use to you Gits, but i read you post and thought of this straight away...
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You guys will have to trust that I'll fix it (at least for a while), camera battery is dead and the charger has gone walk-a-bout.
mea culpa
