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I've been in and out of this hobby for a long time. Now it's essay season at Uni, I haven't done any Warhammer since I got here, and I'm looking for a reason to procrastinate

So here is a log for my Salamander Chapter Space Marines. I'd almost rather be working on my Guard, but since this is a far smaller force (44 models vs 126) it's easier to transport to-and-from local stores...and since I haven't gamed in over 2 years I'm thinking it's about time I got some playing in ASAP!

Although I have showcased some of the WIPs around before, I'm essentially starting this army from scratch. As such there'll be models that have been seen before as well as some new Characters and so forth that I'm busy working on as we speak. Imagine I'm starting from nothing, and you'll see the rate of progression (I'm a slow painter - I swear glaciers move faster than I paint) based on that.

To start with, I'll show the Army List that I'm working towards. There may be some minor equipment changes (most notably in the Land Speeder, Razorback and Sergeant Taiyewo's weaponry) this list is what I'm aiming to field - please don't bring in army list comments here, I don't care if it's not too effective, but it should be helluva fun to build and play with. I'll also chuck in a bit of background on the force and the named characters to see what you think.

I hope you like the naming conventions, as and when they appear, they're a subtle link to a subtle background element of the Salamanders


++The Army - 1500 points++

HQ

Captain: Bolter, Thunder Hammer, Hellfire Rounds, Power Armour & Iron Halo.

Command Squad - Apothecary: Bolt Pistol, Chainsword & Narthecium. 3 Veterans: 3 Flamers & 3 Storm Shields. 1 Veteran: Flamer, Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield. Razorback: Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter.

Elites

Dreadnought: Twin-Linked Autocannon, Heavy Flamer & Dreadnought CCW.

Troops

Tactical Squad 1 - Sergeant: Bolt Pistol & Power Weapon. 9 Marines: 1 Meltagun & 1 Plasma Cannon. Rhino: Storm Bolter.

Tactical Squad 2 - Sergeant: Bolt Pistol & Power Weapon. 9 Marines: 1 Meltagun & 1 Plasma Cannon. Rhino: Storm Bolter.

Fast Attack

Land Speeder Squadron - 2 Land Speeders: 2 Heavy Flamers & 2 Heavy Bolters.

Heavy Support

Devastator Squad 1 - Sergeant: Bolter, Power Weapon & Signum. 4 Marines: 1 Bolter & 3 Multi-Meltas. Razorback: Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter.

Devastator Squad 2 - Sergeant: Bolter, Power Fist & Signum. 4 Marines: 1 Bolter & 3 Multi-Meltas. Razorback: Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter.


++The Background++

Captain Obatala obtained his promotion in the 2nd Armageddon War for his staunch defence of civilian refugee columns. However he truly earned his fame in the 3rd Armageddon War by pioneering the method of attacking Ork Rokks, which had landed in the Hemlock River Basin, from within - a template of attack so successful that it became standard practice for the entire Chapter during this campaign.

It was because of these new tactics that the Command Squad came to be armed for close-ranged warfare. They were able to seal off internal corridors in a wall of Storm Shields and rout the counter-attacking Orks with waves of burning promethium and brutal assaults. These men, ever loyal to their Captain and their Chapter, have retained their equipment ever since in memory of their fallen comrades. The squad is led by Fire-Brother Eleggua when the Captain is required elsewhere; a Marine ordained as a Warden of the Promethian Cult by the Chapter Chaplains. He is responsible for upholding the spirit of his fellow warriors and conducting Chapter Prayers when the Company Chaplain is seconded to the remaining sections of the Company on different missions.

Honour-Brother Olokun was interned in the Sarcophagus shortly after the Second Armageddon War. He had been serving in the Firedrakes, fighting alongside Chapter Master Tu'Shan on the Bridge over the River Stygies when an Ork missile took both his legs and a large portion of his abdomen. It is testament to his iron will and the stalwart nature of the Men of Nocturne that he did not succumb to his wounds. Upon his internment he was permitted to rejoin his former company, with whom he now fights with pride and righteous fury.

Brother-Sergeant Shango and Brother Sergeant Oya lead the first two Tactical Squads of the company. They are both veterans of many battles, and fight with the weapons they made for their Trials as befits a noble Artificer chapter such as the Salamanders. Having fought alongside Brother-Captain Obatala for half a century or more they are always the first-picked squads for any mission, such is their experience and skill in the field.

Squadron Ochosi is a vital element of this Strike-Force, they are Land Speeder Pilots of fine renown - the conditions on Nocturne make it difficult to train with Jump-Packs and Bikes, but these Marines took to handling the Land Speeders as well as those of more specialist chapters, such as the White Scars or the Dark Angels' Ravenwing. Acting as the reconnaissance and fast-strike elements of the force, their daring knows no bounds. Using the speed of their craft to avoid even the heaviest fire they utilise their fearsome weaponry to remove enemy artillery emplacements as the Strike-Force closes on fortified enemy positions. Cutting off the enemy retreat in a heartbeat, they are often instrumental in ensuring the complete destruction of any force opposing the Marines.

The Company's first Devastator Squad is led by Brother-Sergeant Taiyewo, an experienced Marine who has survived service with the Ordo Xenos Deathwatch and been returned to his chapter. He will not comment on specific actions of his time with this organisation, and remains silent and aloof even for a Man of Nocturne. Yet the advice he offers when he does speak is second to none and even the Chapter Master does not cast his comments aside easily.

The second Devastator Squad is, unusually for a Codex Chapter, led by Brother-Techmarine Kehinde. He took over from Brother-Sergeant Ibeji after the latter was killed in an Eldar strike in the Octavius system just before Hive Fleet Leviathan struck the sector, and Kehinde took it upon himself to rally the squad in preparation for the coming battles. Though this has a detriment to his standard Techmarine field operations, such was his success in this Leadership role that no aspiring Sergeant has been able to match his in-field prowess, and so has never been removed from this highly unusual position.

++++

That's all I've got for now, this is the first time I've written down the ideas floating about in my head, so it likely needs refinement.

Pictures of models to follow really soon - I need some advice on a query with my Captain (just waiting for batteries to charge...typical).

Anyway, I'm after a force with highly-converted characters to make them look unique and inspiring. The actual squads will be buffed with inclusions from those lovely new Legion of the Damned models (with some modifications of course), and the Dreadnought is a major modelling project for somewhere down the line - it's not going to be a "plain" plastic kit dreadnought, but something with a lot more Chapter-specific iconography and style. Just not sure whether to base it on the standard kit or one of the Forgeworld Dreads!



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok well here's the first dilemma I talked about.

This is a mock-up of what Captain Obatala will look like...but I can't decide between a bare or a helmeted head.

Which of these do you think looks best?

Helmet:



Bare:



Regardless, here's how the pose looks from the back. I'll be giving this a proper Salamander Mantle look, to represent the Iron Halo.


Well, what do you think of the first character?

I think your character looks pretty damn nice, but I would go with the helmeted head for sure. The Unhelmeted one looks really strange IMHO.

Yeah, i'd say helmet too, it looks more threatening.

The bare head looks incredibly "proper," as if he's saying "I say, perpare to be vanquished, you foul fellow." All in all, I like it.

I say helmet head aswell looks alot better also have you checked out chapterhouse bits yet? some its a bit iffy but they have some real nice salamander bits, you might be able to use some of em

The helmet looks more truen to He'stan but any unhelmed marine can become a salamander.
Helmet= better.

Helmeted head looks better. Mind, I tend to avoid bare heads wherever possible

So far all but one vote (across 4 forums) has been for the helmet. I'll certainly be doing that - though the I symbol will be simply switched to a hammer-symbol with a little trimming and greenstuff.

Here's a few other blokes I've been working on - some are older models that you may have seen from the last time I tried a painting log :sweat:

Command Squad Apothecary:

Going to have the "classic" Salamander Apothecary colours, just done in such a way that it looks less "Mexican flag". Also need to reposition the light on his backpack slightly so it's looking the same way as he is. For reference, here's the official colour - it's not my model, I found it online.


Promethian-Cult Warden (Veteran that "counts-as" company Champion/lesser Chaplain - I hated the fact you can't customise the Champ wargear so created my own from a normal Vet).


He's still equipped with a Flamer too - this will be slung off his back on a length of chain. Still, clearly, a mock-up.

Tactical Sergeant Shango:


His squad's Rhino, Ozain:

Small flames along the front of the drivers' compartment. I wanted something to personalise every vehicle in the force as I think they're a little plain, whilst reserving the FW kits for the Command Vehicles and Land Raiders.

Tactical Sergeant Oya:


Their Rhino, Erinle:

I have since turned the thing on the front into a pair of crossed Hammers - it looks a little odd in this picture haha.

Devastator Sergeant Taiyewo:



Awesomely proud of this model (as you can tell from the 3 shots haha). He's the ex-Deathwatch member. I normally don't like to add equipment to Marines, but it seemed strangely appropriate here. Still needs Greenstuff to fill the gaps on his arm, foot and power dagger cross-guard and to add cables to his camera. The camera and spines on the backpack represent the "signum" all Devastator Sergeants carry. His pose is supposed to be one of checking the switches on the side of his bolter by the way!

Well, I think that's it for the moment. Sergeant/Techmarine Kehinde is a massive Greenstuff project, with his legs, arms and helmet all re-modelled, as well as a custom "servo-backpack" (which counts as either a Power Fist or a Power Weapon + Meltabombs depending on my final army list). He's all in half-completed bits at the moment so I couldn't get a photo.

What do you think?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here's a little experiment I'm trying out. I've never chipped any Marine armour before now, preferring them to look "well kept", however after exploring some absolutely amazing projects online I'm re-considering.

What do you think at this attempt of chipped armour (it's on an old test model, hence the lack of highlights etc). This is only a quick test, so don't expect anything miraculous.



I think it needs neatening up a little (I slipped with the green highlight), and on "real" models I would use a mixed colour for the highlight (I usually go Thraka Green - Snot Green -50/50 Snot/Scorpion - Scorpion for painting; in this case I've just slapped Goblin Green over Snot Green). You can see the chip on the foot went a bit wrong - the black line was too thick, and the paint of the highlight was too thick and gloopy too.

Should I continue with this method? Do you think some "battle-worn" Marines with this kind of damage will look good?

good work on the ex-death watch marine. can't wait to see it painted.

Ok I've managed to get hold of these bad boys:

That's 2x Multi-Meltas, 1x Heavy Flamer & 2x Bolter (including the leftie) Legion of the Damned.

The original plan was that I would have one Bolter guy in each unit, swap the Heavy Flamer with the Multi-Melta from the other pack and use them as a MMgunners in the Devastator Squad.

However these guys have an awful lot of flame details on them - I was surprised at just how much. Salamanders are known for their honour-markings of flames on the armour, so this wouldn't normally be a problem. But I am concerned that having so much detail (on a "random" Marine too in the Tac cases, and a Heavy in the case of the Devs) will "overshadow" the plain (by comparison) Sergeants - who obviously I want to be the main focus of the unit. I will paint some markings on them, but the LotD are swamped with them which might prove to be an issue.

What do you think I should do with them:

1) Chuck them in the relevant squads and pass them off as "Squad's 2ic in case the Sergeant is killed" - ie experienced Marines (hence the markings) that haven't yet qualified as Veterans (hence no Salamander hides). This may look odd in the Devastator Squads where the Sergeants will already have alternate paint schemes (Deathwatch guy has mis-matched shoulder pads and black arms; Techmarine is mostly green but with red "accents" on certain overlapping plates).

OR

2) Use the models as the Command Squad members to show their reams of experience and create a very "custom" unit - but here they may overshadow the bling-but-no-markings Captain (and I don't have room for Lefty if I do this).

I really don't know which at this stage, so I'm throwing it out to any suggestions.