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Thanks guys!

It's been way too long since my last post! So I figured that I should be working on a couple more Mantis Warriors for my army, I really dig this colour scheme! This unit of 4 + a Sergeant will be one of my entries of this years "De Lage Landen" Painting Competition 2012. For those not familiar with this competition you read more about it here.

They're obviously still WIP, painting the chapter symbol on the other marines will be a paint in the butt though!





Also, if a mod could move this thread to the "Dakka P&M Blogs" section I'd appreciate it!

this is fantastic, if I'm honest I prefer this to gits scheme (sorry Gits) just because I prefer the realistic look as opposed to the bright. The battle damage is excellent. All round, top notch work!! Well done. Look fowad to some vehicles in this scheme.

No offense taken IM, this is a great interpretation of the chapter! There's plenty of room in the Imperium (and dakka) for many versions of the MW. I'm just delighted that for the first time in 20 years, I'm not the only person I know of building Mantis Warriors!

Like the down and dirty look and, I have to say, the mk4 helm is a particular favourite.

Very well done Pfreck, good colour composition and a steady hand. Also good work on the freehand.
A point of critisism would be the metallics, it's not bad but it is not as good as the rest. You are trying a bit too hard with the weathering and metallics are a bit tricky when you do that. Your net result here is messy and you would be better off with doing a finished metallic surface with highligts and all and -then- weather it down with a little dirt, rust and nicks. The trick with metallics are being neat and a bit restrictive since it's a naturally reflective surface. Best of luck to you.

Those look nice and dirty, keep it up Rick!

Appreciate the comments, guys!

@ Imperial Monkey: Thank you kindly, Sir. As for the vehicles, there will be a Rhino/Razorback or Drop Pod for this unit once I finish them. The colour scheme for the vehicles will be similar to the artwork in the Badab War books, with some minor alterations probably.

@ Gitsplitta: Wow, really? I thought that interest of this chapter would've increased once the Badab War books came out.. Guess I'm wrong!

@ STC_LogisEngine: Cheers man. Good thing you point out the metallics, I wasn't too sure about them either to be honest - I just couldn't put my finger of what the problem was. Somehow all the metallics I did looked sloppy and messy - and not in a good way. Thanks a lot for the feedback, I'll try to keep the metallics simple this time - I'll keep you posted on the progress!

I read that people are especially fond of the Mk.IV helmets I gave some of my Mantis Warriors. I have question regarding the painting of the helmets. As you can see on the regular helmets, I painted the lower half in yellow, like in the artwork of the Badab War books. Though, as you can see the Mk.IV helmet looks like a solid helmet instead of the "two parts" like the regular helmets; this is why I painted the entire helmet green. So, do you guys reckon it would look cool if I painted the lower part of the helmet yellow anyway? As some sort of freehand or marking rather than just a different piece of the helmet? I hope this makes sense, I'm having a hard time trying to explain what I mean..


I just finished assembling the Sergeant. I took a photo of him two days ago, so this picture still shows some mold lines on the arms. Don't worry though, all the mold lines are taken care of as we speak!




Cheers!

A vine or tribal marking would look awesome on the mkiv

Hey guys,

It’s been quiet on the Mantis Warriors front. I actually finished the first 5 Mantis Warriors way back in March, I just forgot to post pictures of them. I blame the summer and the great weather, and maybe my lack of motivation. However, with summer almost gone I guess it’s time to get back into gear.

I do have to mention that I actually finished them in time for the "Lage Landen" Painting Competition, and was fortunate enough to place second in the Warhammer 40,000 Squad category! At the event they actually took professional pictures of the unit, they only posted them on Facebook however. The pictures didn’t turn out as good as I expected so I decided to take some myself.







Believe it or not, but I would love to make a playable army of these guys. At this pace it might take a while, but eventually I’ll get there. I do still have a Contemptor Dreadnought lying around which I’m planning to assemble pretty soon. Also an additional 5 Marines to finish this unit off, some special and heavy weapons might be a nice addition.

I’d love to know your thoughts!

They look stunning Pfrek. Some of the best new-style mantis warriors I've seen. Congratulations on your finish in the painting competition... well deserved.

Really awesome Mantis Warriors. Probably up there with my favourite non-First Founding Legions. Love the muted green and yellows, and the weathering is top notch too. Going to keep an eye on this with great interest.

Love your muted colours, really works well. Nice job!

Yes..... just yes! these are great! I like all the attributes the others have commented on so i won't rehash, but they are lovely and I'd be very interested to see your take on a MW Contemptor!

These are beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!

Cheers guys!

It's been about 1.5 month since the last update so I thought I'd show you guys some progress. I've mostly been working on my Contemptor Dreadnought for my Mantis Warriors, I've had this particular kit for over a year now so it was about time I'd start cracking on it! Personally, I'd had a hard time getting the legs right - it just didn't seem to work the way I had in mind! Eventually I got the pose I wanted, I'm quite happy how he turned out but I'll probably put more thought in my next Contemptor Dreadnought (that's right, another Contemptor!).

I magnetised the arms so I'll be able to field my Contemptor with whatever weapons I feel like using - at the moment I only have the fist and the Assault Cannon. At the moment he's mostly held together with blu-tack. Unfortunately the cast of the fist wasn't great, it was terrible to say the least. You can see I fixed most parts with Milliput, but it was in terrible condition when I received it. I was thinking about giving Forge World a call but unfortunately I bought this one off eBay, I'm pretty sure they ask for a order number to help you or to send a replacement kit.

Anyway, onto the pictures! Everything is obviously WIP, the dead marine will probably hail from the Minotaurs chapter!

Wow, love those ! Congrats on the painting comp !

If you could turn them into an army, that would really be awesome !!

Awesome unit! I agree this would be an amazing army!

These guys look stunning, looking forward to seeing more mantis warriors and then some of the other chapters in the war

Young Logan

These models are amazing Pfreck. The muted dank green is really nice, a stark contrast from the almost brighter green used to represent them in the book's artwork. It's a nice take on a Chapter which always tickled my fancy. Love the Seargent too. Keep going you have me subbed!

real impressive start! Excellent freehand symbols on the shoulders. I like the muted green your using for the primary armor color too, very realistic and gritty. The weathering is what really ties the models together...the brown chipping effect is the perfect color choice to compliment the yellow and green. So far, your project is off to a great looking start!

This is sort of a thread Necro, but I must inquire... How did you do the colour for the chest aquilas and the sergeant shoulder pads? Was it just a metal and a wash, or was there more to it??

Thanks guys!

@latrodectus: It's just Chainmail with a few layers of Gryphonne Sepia, then I retouched some places with Chainmail again.

I finally managed to finish the Contemptor Dreadnought for my Mantis Warriors, just in time for The Fang Painting Competition 2013 – I placed second in the Warhammer 40,000 Vehicle category! The reason the model turned out semi-glossy is because I didn’t shake my Lahmian Medium before usage.. I’m scared to use matte varnish as I’ve heard it usually ruins the metallics – any suggestions for a matt varnish that is safe to use?

Exquisite! Congratulations on your placing in the competition.

That is wicked cool. I love the colors you chose to use, very nice change.

Pfreck,

Good luck, best of wishes on the Army and the pictures are wonderful. Great paintjob.

Matte varnish has never ruined my metals....

Wowza... I really like your MWs. The grassy green and yellow suits them very n'cely, and the battle damage is done well.

Contemptor looks awesome too. I just got one myself for my Marines Errant. Such a gorgeous model... Grats on the competition- It was well deserved, from the look of things!


As to Matte Varnish, Ive never had it mess up metallics, and I actually prefer the look of varnished metals over non-varnished.
Primarily it is ultra-high polish metal areas that get ruined by matte spray (like the chromed bits on car models). The varnish dulls the high luster the chrome gives, leaving it with a cloudy appearance.
Boltgun Metal and the like aren't nearly as shiny, so you should have little to fear.

I use (and swear by) Testors Dullcote, though I've heard it can be difficult to get outside of the states.

These are great! Subbed! I love the Mantis Warriors!

Awesome stuff! subbed

Great looking miniatures! Big fan of chipped and battered marines, and your interpretation of the MW scheme is well done.