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So with the release of Codex: Space Marines, I wanted to do something new. I realized every army I've ever painted has been dark, drab, or muted in their color scheme. However, I've always had a thing for old models from Rogue Trader and 2nd edition. Seeing an opportunity for something cool and different, I went ahead and started up an Ultramarines army, painted as you'd see them in the early 90s:








Now, back when I was a teenager I actually had an Ultramarines army of sorts as well. I tried to paint like I saw on the old box art and rulebooks, and ended up with really gloopy (but bright!) miniatures. Here's one of my old ones with one of my new ones for reference:


I've got heaps more to come, but I might be doing Scouts next.

My eyes! The light hurts!


M.

That's some good stuff. Bust a Move would do well as their Ride of the Valkyries.

Bust A Move is slightly too old! I'd need something a little more early-mid 90s!

i LOVE it. Brings back so many memories of the back covers of white dwarf of battle scenes...the good old days. A worthy endeavor i hope to see more of it.

BB

I painted up a squad of the old metal scouts for my Ultras. I've always loved these models; they came out right at the end of 2nd ed and they've aged absolutely beautifully. I've never really gotten to paint them before and it was really fun - I can definitely see more in the future!

Loving the continuation of the retro.

The green bases seem a bit much now, but I think it looks really great together and really suits the force. Makes me want to read my 3rd edition rulebook again.

Think I just might, cup of tea + rulebook. Late night nostalgia. Agree with the scouts having aged well.

Go for it! I couldn't tell you how many hours I've spent poring over that rulebook. Hell, that rulebook is why I have a huge Valhallan army and one of the reasons I started this army. My first exposure to the game was through that awesome rulebook.

Love this. First starter box I every had was the 2nd edition with marines and orks. I sold the orks but still have all of the Marines. Well, minus one flamer guy that I gave to a friend. Great job!

Thanks! I don't think I'll be doing those starter Marines as I did a squad for my Crimson Fists a while ago:

The repetition of poses and quality of sculpting pretty much murdered my painting enthusiasm for doing more of them though. No "I love my bolter" Marines in this army!

You often see posts about what minis need to be redone. Less often are the "what's the oldest mini that still looks good" Those scouts are up there. You can mix them in a squad of modern plastics, and they fit right in. Look better in some cases. I like how you've painted yours up.

One of these days I'm going to strip my 2nd ed marines and repurpose them into terrain. At least one squad of them (I have two) While the "I <3 Bolters" pose sucks for the battlefield, I think it would look fine on top of a pillar, painted either as weathered bronze or a marble statue.

Oh yeah, they're way better than the plastic ones in a lot of ways. Their hair, for instance, is WAY better on the metals. The "I love my bolter" Marines do make great statues though, I've used them a bunch.

These marines are great! I love the old style ultramarines colours, and I agree that the old scout models are better than the plastic kit, I have some of both and the old metal ones look so much better when next to the newer ones

Oh the nostalgia is strong in this thread.

Those old 2nd ed. starter set Marines take me back. My Dad painted them for me as Imperial Fists, though we decided on yellow with a black trim. I thought they were the coolest things ever! Then, when it came out I bought the Imperial Fists Supremacy Force (exalt to anyone who can remember it!), and those were painted yellow with a red trim, which was loads better. Even the multi part plastic Marines from 2nd ed. were so much better than the ones which came as standard in the starter box.

Anyway, great, crisp work on those Ultramarines. Goob job

I'm still kicking myself that I never grabbed the Supremacy Force when I saw it at a wargaming flea market years ago! I was even working on Crimson Fists at the time, but didn't think I needed more Marines or the three bikes the box came with. Those multipart plastic Marines will be coming up for this army soon, but only after they get a captain and some assault Marines.

If those scouts were to truly resemble the early 90s ones, they'd have the poofy sleeves and mohawks.

"I love my bolter" Marines ... HAHAHA, i'd never seen that. Yeah I slowly moved away from those guys as I picked up a few boxes of wolves over the years

Never thought of using them on statues ... awesome!

 Archonate wrote:
If those scouts were to truly resemble the early 90s ones, they'd have the poofy sleeves and mohawks.

They're still from 2nd edition, which is my only requirement for this project! The very tail end of 2nd, but 2nd nonetheless. Painting those specific models in that color scheme is what made me want to start this army in the first place. I also already painted some poofy-sleeved scouts for my Crimson Fists a whiles back:

I have a type, what can I say

Painted this guy up to lead the force. His cape was a pain to attach after painting, but I'm happy with how he came out. It's pretty clear to see that this dude from 1989 would serve as inspiration for Cato Sicarius almost 20 years later, and I'll be using him as such in games:

Painted up 5 more scouts and a test model for my Sternguard:








My next unit will be a squad of Sternguard made entirely from old marks of power armor, and here's the test Marine in Mk.VI armor:





And a little WIP of what's coming up next:

Wrapped up four more Sternguard over Christmas weekend:









And with the other veteran:

Love the vets. The crisp white goes well with the bright yellow of 2nd ed.

GW did make some vets back in the day with sculpted terminator honor shoulder pads. I have a blister or two of them; some of my favorite models. If you could dig some up they would make good sternguard for a retro army like yours. Assuming you want to add more.

Do you know what vintage they are? I'm assuming they're Rogue Trader, while the era I'm going for is 2nd ed with a little overlap into transition models, like the Captain there. I'm building up my Sternguard with old armor marks only, but I'll look into em!

 Brother SRM wrote:
Do you know what vintage they are? I'm assuming they're Rogue Trader, while the era I'm going for is 2nd ed with a little overlap into transition models, like the Captain there. I'm building up my Sternguard with old armor marks only, but I'll look into em!

Doing some reaserch, they are from 1989, so a little early for you. Sorry

http://www.solegends.com/citcat911/c2009smmarines-00.htm

First three on the second row.

There aren't a whole lot of vets with bolters out there, particuarly old ones. Which is why these guys came to mind.

Oh, I've actually painted that middle guy for my Crimson Fists! But yeah, they're not quite in the 2nd ed aesthetic that I'm looking for, like a few other RT models. I've got some of the Death Eagles models, which were later called "prototype mk7" but I'm not sure if I'll paint em up for this crew yet.

Painted up another one of the 1989 captains for use in my Ultramarines - I figure in games where I want to use someone cheaper than Sicarius and use that cool relic bolter, he'll be a good model:







And some detail shots:



I thought I'd try doing up a sergeant banner, but I'm not crazy about it:

I don’t recall ever seeing that captain before. I might have used that mini as a sternguard sergeant or Tyrannic war veteran. I forget how understated captains used to be. So used to the massive bling these days.

Nice and bright, keep rocking the retro!

He came out at the same time as the Ultramarine, Blood Angel, and Dark Angel captains of the time; I've got the Blood Angel one (proto Tycho!) lying around too, but I don't plan on doing Blood Angels anytime soon. He gets used in veteran squads fairly often from what I can tell.

I really do love the relatively simple look of these minis, it's been really fun painting models that are so straightforward. I feel like a lot of Marine units have kind of lost their soul, design-wise since they're so busy and hard to recognize by their silhouettes these days. The older models are so straightforward and identifiable.

First they assault your senses, they they assault you!

Nick job.

Finished another combat squad, finishing the second Tactical Squad:






The whole squad:


And a group shot of everything so far:


They come out to about 900 points as is, a little more if I deck out the second captain with more than just the relic bolter.