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Ok so i managed to get hold of some thin plasticard and began work on the armor (shoulders mainly)

So i tested on this figure on the left and right shoulder with different methods
so i here are the results





Ok so my initial thoughts are the panels may be too think but the left pauldron seems to give a better result.


What do you guys think?

Cheers
Wolf

*edit*i tried to get better pictures for you

It's to blurry to make a judgment.

Yea they do look a little thick. You CAN see what your going for tho. I also was thinking the left looked better, before you said the same thing lol.

Maybe a lower angle, or better yet, multiple angles may help. Cool idea but from this image they do seem thick.

I think that looks good, though plenty of room for improvement, though this will come with practice I feel. I think that those shoulder alterations, the Romanesque groin hangings and the crested helmets should give the impression you are looking for, Especially as many space marine parts look like they can be adapted (Power weapons into a Gladius anyone?)

I agree, i am currently working on a second model trying to refine the technique for applying the shoulders, woprking on the crest and 'groin hangings' hur hur hur will come later.

For the crests i was thinking of using the top of the dire avenger helmets, as they seem to have a desirable shape to them




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok so i come back with my second prototype, it has a few rough edges where measurements need changing slightly but this is the general end product.









This is a comparison with my last attempt, the strips of plasticard are thinner by 2mm

I don't know as you may be using them for support but what if you removed the SM shoulder pads before adding the paldrons? This may lower them somewhat and make them less bulky. Personally I love the idea and can't wait to see how they look painted up.

Hey! There you go! I rather like them! The new ones are not too thick at all in my opinion.

Ok so my first prototype is now finished !

I added 2 items which i think makes it look a whole lot better so here it is !





All the parts on the shoulders will be corrected when i build my next prototype, my next step is to paint.

what you think?

Cheers
Wolf

Space Wolf and Ultramarine backpacks would look great on these guys, as the Wolf and Eagle play major parts in Roman iconography and myth.

Also, you should put the gladius on their hip as per normal and hook their tower shields across their backs instead. I'd rather be practical have my sword at my hip, ready to go, rather than having to reach over my shoulder for it. You may have a scheme picked out as it is, but in case you don't, might I suggest the following? A sort of dried blood color (maybe mixing blood and scab red?) for the limbs/groin, a Dark Bronze for the heads, and then either a darker sort of iron or a chainmail with black ink wash for the chest and shoulders. As well, you should give your Sergeants or at least your standard bearer a nice big Wolfskin cloak. Changing out the SM arms for some Catachan ones would also look good and give them more of a Romanesque feel, what with the shortsleeve tunics and all.

Overall though, great conversions. I'd recommend looking at some pictures of the different styles of Cohorts throughout the timeline of the Empire.

I most certainly will cheres for that ! The sword was just there from a previous model

And I would definalty put it on their hip. Are you suggesting each soldier should have a shield strapped to their backs ? or just those that will be using them ?

And funilly enough I was looking into a very similar colour scheme as to the one you suggested, and each squad will have a standard and centurian as did the Romans per unit. But the standard will not count as anything. And I already have plans for standard bearers and their wolf pelts .

Cheers for the assit Metallifan

You should give shields to all units - Towers to your Marines and Auxilia shields to your Scouts. From what I remember, when the Romans marched between battles, they wore harnesses over their armour which they strapped all their supplies to (Cold weather furs, rations, flint and tinder, etc...) and them placed their shields over top of their supplies to protect them from the elements, and to free up their hands if they had to stop to gather supplies, build camp, or unbuckle their harnesses in the face of an attack. You should give your models all shields just to keep to this, though obviously only your Close Combat squads would be bearing theirs.

If you put together any veteran squads for these guys, don't forget to totally overhaul them with the whole Legionary First Cohort feel. Lots of Golden Eagles and Wreaths for them.

I most certainly will cheers for that, ill model upa mock shield to test.
i'll update shortly

Here's a good shot of the classic Pre-Christian Tower Shield. Y'should be able to Imperium-itize it
http://www.spanglefish.com/legionxxxiii/pictures/big/wintamarch2.JPG

A shot of the Torso/Shoulder Armour colour I was describing. Chainmail with black and blue ink washes would probably work best.
http://legionarybooks.net/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Legionaries3.25583035_std.jpg

And a set of standard Legionary "Banded" Armour. Alternatively, you could do the chest plates in the "Molded form" like the Praetorians of late.
http://www.legionxiiii.com/images/roman-legion-armor.gif

A Gladius. Personally I think your CC squads should be armed with power variants.
http://wiki.rpg.net/images/b/bc/Gladius.jpg

Anyway, hope these help ya some.

They look spot on to me.

these guys are going to look cool I think. Unique, but still very spacemarine style.

Ok so just a small update, i quickly built up a shield and
blutacked it to the back of my marine, I am unsure of the results so what do you think ?







I think the shieled turned out well,

It needs more of a curve if you look at the real ones it curves with the body and there should be banding on the edges.

I agree, I did try with that shield but the plasticard I am using is increadibly hard to bendi am trying out another shield and trying to bend it as much as I can.

Use a hair dryer get it warm but not hot use oven mitts if you have somthing with a curve that will help as well.

I agree that it does need a curve to it. Nothing a hot-air gun won't do. The banding is often painted on, but raised lightning bolts or something would look neat. You should also maybe trim it down a bit thinner. Not a lot, but just shave a little bit more off of the edges. Otherwise, it looks really good. If you're finding it sticks out too far, you can always sand/file down the backpacks a bit too. Seeing how they'll have shields covering them, it's not like anyone will really tell the difference.

I was planning on my next prototype i will try shaving down the backpack to get the shield to 'protrude' less

With the Idea of them having their shield over their backs while they march, I think some stowage would look good on or hanging from the backpack, along with some straps around the whole thing. Mainly to make it look like he doesn't have easy access to the whole thing.

On another note, I had a look a the codex today while planning my own command squad and saw another opportunity, the command squad can all have Storm shields which will help the whole thing, something I had never realized before.

Wolf wrote:
I am unsure of the results so what do you think ?

The shield itself looks good, but I don't like the look of it tied to the backpack - it seems far too cumbersome for a marine to bother to carry. However, maybe you could hang them on the hulls of their vehicles (plus you could count it as extra armour if you want ) It would also solve confusion that the only models that actually carry shields are the ones with storm shields.

Neato work. Are these some how related to Praetorian Imperial Guard that I keep hearing about? Or are you just using the word Praetorian?

djphranq wrote:Neato work. Are these some how related to Praetorian Imperial Guard that I keep hearing about? Or are you just using the word Praetorian?

The Praetorian Guard were elite Roman troops under (latterly) the direct command of the Emperor, hence the roman-esque styling of his marines. The IG regiment was an (initially) special-edition regiment that were inspired by colonial-era British soldiers (pith helmets and all) though iirc they were later put to general release for a while. So not really related apart from the name.

unistoo wrote:

djphranq wrote:Neato work. Are these some how related to Praetorian Imperial Guard that I keep hearing about? Or are you just using the word Praetorian?

The Praetorian Guard were elite Roman troops under (latterly) the direct command of the Emperor, hence the roman-esque styling of his marines. The IG regiment was an (initially) special-edition regiment that were inspired by colonial-era British soldiers (pith helmets and all) though iirc they were later put to general release for a while. So not really related apart from the name.

I figured as much. Looks good just the same.

I really like the pauldrons and head ruff, however I'm not a fan of the shield - I think it just looks ungainly on the back.

Making some termies or assault marines with it as a storm shield I think would be kick a$$, but I don't like it on the back.

An army of these guys would look really effective!

Alrighty cheers, I like the idea of strapping the shields to vehicles and stuff,that would look really good.

Cheers for the input chaps

more spartans (sigh)

Romans actually

Anyway, I thought I would pop in and say I too like the idea of the shields on the vehicles, rhinos and the like, which would give them the whole Roman "Tortoise" feel, almost making the rhino their equivilent of this: