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Well with the advent of an escalation campaign that I'll be participating in with a few friends of mine, I've finally found the kickstart to creating my own project log. Herein you may expect to see my slow (but hopefully steady) work on the Deff Skullz Orkz of Mekboss Gitstompa's Krumpin' Krew, terrain projects, fluff ramblings, battle reports from the escalation game, and eventually more of my armies that will work their way into the narrative of "The Rhamnos Convergence" that I have dreamed up, as well as miscellaneous endeavors such as the Salamanders command squad that I am (intermittently) working on. C&C is most certainly welcome!

As my orks are the most logical introduction to the Rhamnos campaign, one of the armies I have the most fun working on, and also currently has the least points painted, I'll be using them for the escalation campaign to help build their "background".

Orks were an army that I never quite intended to start when I first got into 40k about a year and a half ago. However I had bought the Black Reach box for its cheap marines and convenient rule book, but painting Raven Guard eventually began to wear on me (much as I love them) I started to consider the orks. Ork fluff had always amused me, particularly that of the Deff Skullz rampantly looting whatever they could get their grubby hands on. When I started reading IA8 I found myself even more tickled by the "creative" madness of mekboyz and the ramshackle contraptions of ork vehicles, especially their walkers. Originally intended as a deviation from the extensive process of painting my third drop pod, I started to paint the black reach greenskins in Deff Skullz colors and quickly found myself hooked.

Da' Krew

Mekboss Gitstompa
Gitstompa's Krumpin' Krew was the name I settled on for my theoretical Mekboss one night when I realized that I didn't have a proper name for my band of orks. Likely influenced by the Dread Mob list of IA8, I'd already decided my theoretical Mekboss would have a fascination for krumpy klanking killing machines. Less than a couple minutes later it came to me a glorious vision of mekanikal stomping glory (I love how easy it is to come up with a good orky name). I imagine that if Gitstompa had a page on a dating website, it might look something like this:

Likes: Dreds, Nekron Skrap, Krumpin' Gits.
Dislikes: Gribblies, Gits, Skrap dat teleyports.
Lifelong Dream: Keepin' dos walkin' Nekron skrapile gits frum telyportin' off.

He probably has a rather fluid definition of what exactly constitutes a "Git." Sadly he remains model-less for now, an error I must endeavor to correct.

Warboss Zagordz da' Grabba

Zagordz da' Grabba is nominally Gitstompa's second-in-command, strange as that arrangement might seem to the average ork. Their relationship is quarrelsome at best, but they usually come to terms yet again after Gitstompa offers Zagordz some shiny new machines to wreak havoc with or Zagordz brings back some particularly notable skrap. Zagordz is responsible for keeping the boyz of the Krew in line, ensuring that the best pieces of loot find their way into Gitstompa's workshops, and leading periodic raids to satisfy the Krew's blood and scraplust. His epithet of "da' Grabba" is double-sided. Zagordz would like to believe that it stems from his sizeable power klaw. Behind his back, the boyz complain that it's because he grabs all the best skrap and then krumps anyone who dares to protest with his klaw.

Da' Skrappy Boyz


These are the first ten boyz from the Black Reach box, along with a few newer experiments. I'm currently working on the last ten of the Black Reach boyz and then will probably do the last four and a nob to round out the whole mob.

Da' Shooty Ladz

These were an absolute blast to assemble, finding all sorts of ways to better kustomize and "orkify" them, especially their weapons. I can't wait to do more.

Da' Kanz

I really started fiddling with washes when I worked on this guy and figured out just how useful they could be. I really need to get around to doing the other two, even if their armaments will be completely nonsensical because I only had the one box.

Da' "Assistants"

And last but not least, there's these two adorable little counts-as "Big" Meks. Sadly, I cannot take credit for their creation as I got them in an ebay lot, but they're too cute not to share. I should probably give them names....

Da' Fluff
This is just the first bit I've written up, I "plan" to do at least one fluff update with each project completed. Hope you enjoy.

UTILITATUM ADMINISTRATUM TORICH
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
+++Transmitted: Astropath Jassiker
+++++Received: Astropath Nura
+++Destination: Inquisitor-Lord Landel Kev
++Mission Time: 4 298 006.M42
Telepathic Duct: Tangentius Galain
+++++++++Ref: OrdoXenos/589286079/PV
+++++++Author: Autosavant Kuider

Thought for the Day: "The keenest blade of the righteous is hatred."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

By the Authority of the Immortal Emperor of Mankind, this transmission is classified, for use by the Conclave of Emurlahn only.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

I, Inquisitor Sicarius Vincullum, hereby submit this initial report of my surveillance of developments of orkish activity in the Cadian sector, specifically those occuring upon the occupied forgeworlds.

Despite the numerous and ongoing conflicts within the sector, the momentum of the orks as a whole has relatively slowed over the last five years. Though the initial invasions that occured during the same period as the 13th Black Crusade of the Arch-Enemy had all the initial signs of an evolving Waaagh under the Bad Moons Warboss "Skulltoof 'da Tuff", two years ago the fervor of the greenskins was stunted when the 2nd and 8th companies of the White Scars undertook a daring, but ultimately successful, strike against Skulltoof's warband. Although the warboss survived, a mob of Death Skull orks appears to have used the disraction of the White Scars' assault to raid the Warboss' extensive "treasury" of ork teeth. As Skulltoof had been using his wealth to build influence and control amongst the sundry ork warbands in the Cadian sector, its sudden disappearance scuttled his ascent and the other warbands he'd previously commanded abandoned him, reducing him to the status of an ordinary (if unusually bitter) ork warboss.

And yet, despite a collapse in central authority, the orks scattered throughout the sector did not immediately collapse into a rut of self-destructive infighting (though conflict amongst the greenskins briefly spiked after the theft of Skulltoof's hoard). The disproportionate number of xenos, daemonic, traitor, and Imperial forces within the Cadian theater have ensured that the greenskin warbands have not lacked for opportunities to sate their primitive drive for bloodshed. Furthermore, Skulltoof's clout had been only newly emergent, and the orks had not yet gathered together in the concentrations that would have provoked the bloody, internecine warfare that we might have hoped for.

More troubling still, the numbers of the orks are growing beyond the rate that their profane reproductive cycle would suggest. With the end of the Third War of Armaggedon and the disappearance of Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, orks throughout the segmentum that would have previously been drawn into Thraka's horde seem to instead be gravitating towards the Cadian Sector. The numbers are not yet alarming, however the rate of greenskin interest in any given warzone is generally proportionate to the number of orks already present, so unless precipitous action is taken to exterminate them planet by planet (unlikely given the pernicious threat presently entrenched on the soil of Cadia) or the greenskins are neutered by a non-Imperial force (a treacherous hope to rely on, at best) it is a sound prediction that the rate of orkish influx into the sector will only increase exponentially as the time wears on.

But perhaps most distressing, however, is the alarming scale at which the ork "mekboyz" have continued to manufacture (a term I use loosely) weapons and war machines. On nearly every occupied forgeworld at least two or three of the rough orkish equivalent to Warhound-class titans ("stompas") have been constructed. My investigations indicate that a half-dozen or more "gargants" ranging from Warhound to Warlord equivalency are also in the midst of assembly across the sector. Despite this frenzy of production, the greenskins have barely begun to employ a fraction of the materials they have at their disposal, and their periodic assaults only bring in yet more raw scrap.

In summary, the orks have the numbers, the weapons, and the foes to provoke a conflict to rival even those of Armaggedon. All that remains is for an ork to rise above the rest and galvanize them into a destructive avalanche of a greenskin fury that will rampage across the Segmentum. This is an eventuality that we cannot allow to develop any further in a warzone where a vast array of the Imperium's might has barely been able to lock itself in stalemate with a single foe. If the orks were to cut an indiscrimate swathe through the worlds we cannot afford to defend, then the defenders of Cadia will shortly find themselves cut off from reinforcement and resupply, the entire sector will surely fall, and the tide of unholy Chaos will pour out upon the Imperium and almost certainly engulf the entire Segmentum Obscurus before sufficient Imperial force can be mustered to contain its spread, likely forcing the abandonment of at least one or more of the other Segmentums.

It is therefore my recommendation that the Conclave should instigate action against the greenskins in a strategic manner. Though we cannot anticipate and destroy every potential warleader and we lack the sheer force required to decimate the orks' numbers, we may instead direct assaults to eliminate their massive warmachines. To this end I have attached detailed intelligence of the occupied forgeworld Rhamnos, located in the Mahenea System of subsector Cadia, obtained over the course of the last year by a squad of Raven Guard scouts generously loaned to my command by Shadow-Captain Korvydae. This forgeworld's occupation appears to be nominally under the dominion of one "Mek Boss Gitstompa." I have estimated that this world is ideal to begin our sabatoge of the greenskin's war efforts.

By my hand and in His Immortal Name,
Inquisitor Sicarius Vincullum



If you have comments or criticisms, please share!

Nice orks, cant wait to see more!

Da Kan looks really killer by the way, lovin it!

The fluff was very well written, interesting and it kept my focus. on the painting front i think you need some more definistion on the skin of the boyz, at the mo they are kinda looking one shade of green with no highlights or dips. if you did a wash of thraka green or even just a devean mud or black wash it would make them look a lot better. same sort of thing on that kan, i think the whites are just too white, maybe some sortof brown wash? anyway all in all very cool and im subscribed


Automatically Appended Next Post:
oh and i really like those big mek grots

Just a quick update to show you what I'm working on.

I started to work on these guys shortly after I finished the first 10 boyz about a year ago, but then other models suckered my attention away and I shelved them. It was easy to fix up the mediocre job I'd done with their skin, but I really didn't feel the desire to completely redo the sluggas. Fortunately that was about as far as I'd gotten so the rest is fairly straightforward.


The four in the middle are all done except for touch-ups and washes. Used my 30/0 reaper brush for the first time to write "WAAGH!" on the helmet of the second ork in the middle row; was rather pleased with the amount of control I got out of it. Hopefully this will help me to improve my freehand skills in general.



Re: Bigfish

Thanks for the comments, I see what you mean about the lack of definition. I used a wash of thraka green on the shootas and liked the results, but their picture doesn't seem to show it well. I'll be washing these ones I'm working on now once all their paint is on and then I'll go back and rewash the five sluggas (apparently I didn't used enough the first time), but unfortunately I don't think it'll help the oldest boyz out very much.

if you went over the skin in its lightest areas with golbin green and then give it 2 washs, it makes the deapest areas stay quite dark green and makes the over bits more defined. just do a test if you can and see. that and i quite like the 4 boyz in the middle there btw

Coming on nice, i like the "horde" picture. Your bases are nice.

My painting has been largely inderdicted by Skyrim this weekend, but I did manage to write up this bit of fluff for our escalation league:

Hydaxes System Survey
Segmentum: Obscurus
Sector: Cadian
Subsector: Agathon
System: Hydaxes
Surveyed: 682947.M30
Planets: Seven

Inner Planets
Hydaxes Prima rock, no atmosphere, irradiated
Hydaxes Secunda rock, thin atmosphere, irradiated
Hydaxes Tertia desert world, thin atmosphere
Hydaxes Quara shattered world
Hydaxes Quinta shattered world

Outer Planets:
Hydaxes Sexta gas giant
Hydaxes Septa ice world

Asteroids: Two asteroid belts developing from remnants of Hydaxes Quara and Quinta
Comets: None known

Summary:
Imperial archaelogists theorize that the formerly temperate worlds of Hydaxes Qura and Quinta were colonized somewhere between approximately the 23rd and 24th millenia, during the Dark Age of Technology. Shortly thereafter a secondary colony was established on the desert colony of Hydaxes Tertia to extract raw ores from the desert planet. At some point during the chaos of the Age of Strife the fourth and fifth planets engaged in escalating hostilities that culminated with the nuclear devastation of Hydaxes Quara.

In the 30th Millenium the system was brought to compliance by the Astartes of the Word Bearers Legion of the 1,301st Expedition Fleet. The Word Bearers spent two months subduing the fifth planet, however for reasons lost to Imperial record, the primarch Lorgar subsequently ordered the planet annihilated. Hydaxes Tertia submitted to compliance without conflict and the 1,301st Expedition moved on soon after. Bereft of the support from Hydaxes Quinta, the populace of the third planet soon began to regress to a state of techno-barbarism. The mining facilities and refineries soon ceased operation and the population dwindled rapidly, the survivors eking out a bleak survival in the wastelands and ruins of the planet.

The entire system disappeared from Imperial records during the Horus Heresy and would not be re-accounted for until the newly founded Brazen Destroyers chaper of Space Marines began to recruit initiates from the barbarian tribes of Hydaxes Tertia in the late 38th millenium. Two centuries later the world was selected for further settlement and restructuring to begin strip mining operations. The wasteland tribes initially resisted the influx of new colonists, especially where former ruins were razed, however an understanding between the Brazen Destroyers and the planetary governor was reached before the tribes were wiped out. The nomads continue to be selected for the chapter's recruits and the occassional damages caused by the tribes are negligable when compared to the benefits of a watchful force of Astartes.


Hydaxes Tertia - Planetary Survey

Summary: Mineral rich world, extraction and refining. Inhabited by techno-barbarian tribes.
Size: Equatorial distance - 18925 miles
Gravity: .96 G
Satellites: None
Population: 2.8 million approx
Rotation Speed: 1025 mph
Orbit: Mean orbital distance is 140 million kms from star
Climate Classification: Arid (stable)
Mean Surface Temperature: 15.6 degrees C
Tithe Grade: Exatis Prima [Departmento Munitorum conscription exempt]
Aestimare: D2
Seas: 21%
Climatic Regions: Northern polar cap, small
Mountain/Highland: First quadrasphere, uninhabited
Plains/Lowlands: Strip mining/refinery operations, techno-barbarian tribes, ancient ruins
Climactic Phenomena: Intermittant dust storms
Flora: Sparse shrub-grasses
Fauna: Several small species of reptiles, mammals, and insects
Economy: Restricted internal markests, regulated by Adeptus Administratum officials. Principal export markets: Segmentum Obscurus forge-worlds.
Society: Hierarchical (Imperium) Workers, supervisors, administrators, new planetary governors appointed by Adeptus Mechanicus.
Tribal society of techno-barbarians: scavengers, raiders, warlords. Fractious and prone to inter-tribe conflict.
Water Supply: Inert bodies of water, limited natural precipitation
Principal Exports: Refined basic metals: iron, steel, tungsten, copper, zinc. Astartes recruits.
Principal Imports: Foodstuffs, water, engineering equipment, fuel, manpower.
Food Supply: Imported, supplemented by hydroponics.
Urbanisation: Urban structures erected in the surroundings of industrial compounds in the equatorial regions. This includes space ports, habitation blocks, hydroponics, and related infrastructure.
Tectonic Activity: Negligable.

Known History
356848.M38 Barbarians from indigent tribes begin to be recruited by the Brazen Destroyers Space Marines
084064.M39 New wave of Imperial colonization begins.
270097.M39 Mineral extraction and refinery commences.
695894.M41 The Brazen Destroyers 2nd Company suffers crippling losses while repelling a Dark Eldar raid.
927999.M41 Several space ports are crippled during lightning raids conducted by the Night Lords traitor legion, nearly crippling export functionalities
903002.M42 Ork pirate raid destroys an extraction facility before being repulsed by the Brazen Destroyers 3rd company.
021004.M42 Invasion by Ork Mekboss Gitstompa
055004.M42 Tyranid splinter of Hive Fleet Leviathan repulsed from the Belis Corona shipyards initiates infestion in the northern hemisphere
079004.M42 Majority of PDF forces destroyed or dispersed, orks begin undisputed looting while tyranids begin to sweep into regions already defeated by the orks.
121004.M42 Space Marines of the Brazen Destroyers and guardsmen of the 1st Odin Rifles make planetfall to repel Xenos forces.

A very nice start to an Ork project blog - I will be watching! I really like those "Big Meks" too...

Well we escalated up to 400 points a little sooner than I expected, and my Imperial foes took the opportunity to bring in Devastator marines and a couple of Leman Russ tanks. Thus, I decided to work on a couple of Deff Koptas for next week. Here's the first one all done except for washes.

Have to say i love 'da assistants' even if they arn't your idea, can't wait to see them all painted up. =] good fluff too, keep it coming.

Got a package this week, including a nobz, trukk, warbiker, and stormboyz kits. Now I have no particular intention of building either of the latter two, but I figured they'd be good forage for extra bitz. With all this I'll soon be making some proper nobz, but first I need to figure out what I'm doing for my skin tones. Thus, I've put together these test models.



The grotherder head on the third one amuses me, keeps reminding me of that orc from the Two Towers movie that kept trying to eat Merry and Pippin.

Are they the running legs from kromlech in your last photo? Deffkopter looks good, and the group shot at the start is great. Love seeing Orks in a group shot! best way to show them.

The running legs are really nice, gives it a nice dynamic =] And lol it does! 'Lets put a maggot hole in your belly.'

Ugh, that last term of school was crap. But it's over and I've finally made some progress on the greenskins. Unfortunately the upcoming change in Citadel paints has mostly invalidated the skin test I was doing, but oh well.

I primed them with Armory grey primer then gave the skin a coat of Goblin Green. Here they are all done short of washing the skin with Thraka Green.


And with Thraka Green:

The one on the left received three coats, the one in the middle two, and the one on the right originally had only 1, but then I upped him to 2. 3 coats is definitely far too much, but looking at them later the other two seem a little dark to me. A little lighter and I think they'd be just right. Hopefully the new washes won't be wildly different.



And finally I present my first Nob, 'Ead Loota!

Early on in our escalation league the proxy model I'd been using for the Nob of my first boyz mob got into assault with a squad of guardsmen. On the last turn of the game both of our squads had been whittled down to my Nob against the IG sergeant who subsequently ate power klaw. The next week he and his boyz charged across the field into the teeth of a Space Marine gunline. The rest of the boyz fell to boltgun and plasma cannon fire, but he survived to chase down and defeat a lone, retreating Space Marine sergeant. It seemed that this nob enjoyed krumping enemy "nobz" to prove his superiority. Of course no self-respecting Death Skull would leave an enemy unlooted, and so I named this nob 'Ead Loota for his habit of collecting the heads of those "nobz" that he's killed.

And on his base you will find the former owner of the helmet that he's just acquired.


Coming Soon(-ish): Moar of 'Ead Loota, moar boyz, some terrain, and mayhaps a painted Realm of Battle board....

really like headloota, especially the base, very nice and gory. also are you going to rehighlight the skin or are you leaving it as is?

I don't think i've ever noticed your bases... they are really nice.

Since I changed my mind and won't be going to a team tournament in Salem this month I'm no longer in a hurry anymore to finish up a whole gob of WYSIWYG slugga boyz. Instead I'm going to start polishing up what I do have, which will mostly consist of semi-organizing them into mobs, adding some basing to the Black Reach and shootas, adding some nobz, and making some transports. I'm going to (try) to do this on a mob by mob basis of 12 boyz each (trukk size). I'll probably just make trukks for the first three, and maybe two more at a later date.

At any rate, I had a fit of madness yesterday and took about twelve hours through the night to carefully kustomize 'Eadloota's ride. Behold:















Credit where credit's due, I did "loot" the general idea of this from this fine fellow over here. The choppa in the console was all me, though. But now I just need to decide from which chapter of Marines did this rhino get looted? Was kind of thinking of Ultramarines for the blue, but that's a bit generic. Anyone have some suggestions?


@bigfish: Thanks, it was my first attempt at using greenstuff for something more than just reposing and I'm happy with how it turned out. And I did go back and rehighlight those last three orks. Got their skin tones closer to what I want for the most part, but I've wasted enough time on them so no more fiddling about on them. I suppose I'll upload another pic sometime.

Choppa in the console is a nice touch - I approve. A few mold lines that could use cleaning up (unless it's just the photos) - but otherwise looking great!

There is a lot of great character in your models-specifically da assistants and 'eadloota's ride, along with 'eadloota himself of course. It seems like you have an endless supply of bitz at your disposal

really like this conversion weather original or not you pulled it off really well, and space wolves, blood ravens, dark angels , nova marines or imp fists?

Awesome! What is Eadloota's claw and...head?

And for the Space Marines I suggest Crimson Fists.

Squigsquasher wrote:Awesome! What is Eadloota's claw and...head?

They're both bits from Kromlech's "Orc War 2" range of bits.

As for the looted rhino, I'm thinking either Imperial Fists, Blood Ravens (thanks bigfish!), or Steel Confessors. And speaking of Steel Confessors, I've been up to something else.... To distract me from orks for a bit I started doing some test models for my Steel Confessors using 9 standard Black Reach tactical marines. I did three in leadbelcher (boltgun metal), three in Army Painter plate mail metal, and three in ironbreaker (chainmail).

I then intended to wash one from each set in Secret Weapon armor wash, badab black, and the new nuln oil. However the armor wash ended up turning them gold-ish, bizarrely enough, so I scrapped that after two tries.


These three got badab black and I was pretty happy with how they turned out. The leadbelcher one (right) was too dark, but I was surprised to find that I liked the ironbreaker (left) the most (as I didn't like how they were looking pre-wash).


I then did these in nuln oil to see how different it is from badab black. I didn't like it, something seemed off about the way it flowed and it seemed a bit harder to work with. I think they're alright, but darker than I wanted them to be and I wasn't sure if that was the nuln oil being different or me using it too heavily.


With the one leftover plate mail (on the left here) I did another wash of badab black. I decided that I was probably going too heavy on the wash because it turned out darker than one I'd originally washed with badab black (on the right).


So I'm going to try to duplicate this fellow's scheme for the rest of my Steel Confessors (ironbreaker with badab black).

I'll probably strip a few of the others (at least the two armor wash catastrophes) and try redoing them in that scheme to get the hang of it. Hopefully I'll figure out how to use just the right amount of wash consistently.

Well between finals, girlfriend, flying to Ohio unexpectedly for a funeral, and general lazyness I have been woefully negligent in my posting. So here's a general update on what little I've managed to accomplish over the last two months, as well as some older projects that have been sitting around.

Salamanders Command Squad
First of all there's the woefully neglected Salamanders Command Squad that I'm doing as a gift for a friend. One of them I finished a long while ago (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/281824-TH%252FSS%20Marine.html), but the other four are languishing in disarray on one side of my desk.


Here's what they're supposed to look like:


And here's the lone finished model:



Malazan Imperial Guardsmen
While I was still working on my Orks I occasionally took breaks from all the green to try putting together some kitbashed IG with various bits from Kromlech, Max Mini, Pig Iron, and Anvil Industries.

So on the left two we have Kromlech Armoured Torsos & Backpacks, the middle three are MaxMini Combat Armour Torsos, and the right two are regular Cadians torsos. All the heads are Pig Iron Heavy Infantry Visored Heads, and each set has one with Cadian legs and one with Scout Marine legs. Overall I like the MaxMini torsos the best, particularly because of the integrated pouches on their backs (which you can see in the second picture), however they don't fit right at all with Cadian arms and need greenstuff for even basic poses. As for the legs, I prefer the scout legs for their bulk, the pouches, and their distinct lack of the blouse that extends onto the Cadian legs (though instead they get the most absurd groin protector, but eh). However the lack of poses and needing to cherry pick a single bit out of scout kits (the legs, no less) isn't something I'm too keen on. I'm going to try to get my hands on some Catachan legs and see if I like the look of them any better.

Finally you can see the guy in the middle, the latest of the batch and my favorite so far. You can also see that is not holding a lasgun. Instead that is an Anvil Industries Exorcist rifle with box magazine, and I fething love it. But like every other option in this side-project that I prefer it has additional drawbacks, specifically that the fething Cadian arms have the fething lasguns integrated into the arms!@$!@$#! Now while I could try Catachan arms (as they do not have their lasguns integrated), the shoulderpads on the Cadian arms are something that I really want and the Catachans lack these (not to mention their gorilla syndrome). I suppose I could always hope that Joel will make human-sized arms with shoulderpads that are compatible with his rifles, however he seems to be working on the Steam Lord range for the most part.


On a fluff note I've decided that this regiment is going to be atypical in a number of ways, particularly that they use autoweapons instead of lasweapons for the most part and conveniently 6th edition added rules for autoguns that are exactly the same as lasguns, so no problem on the counts-as front! Overall they're going to be something like N7 meets the Malazan army and I'm looking forward to working on them more intensively, though that'll probably be at least a year or two.


Gitstompa's Krew
Next up are some orks I was making to fill out one of my mobs to thirty boyz, but I couldn't be bothered to tack their arms back onto their bodies. I've still been using them in games recently as the rejects squad (along with another one that's just a pair of legs on a base).

Nothing too special aside from a couple kromlech heads, some less common bits, and a cybork-gun arm that's not pictured.


Steel Confessors
Finally there's my current bout of madness, Task Force Bellicose of the Steel Confessors. For those of you who read the bit of fluff earlier, these are going to be the Imperium's answer to the Orks' desecration of Forge World Rhamnos. But before I even had the Rhamnos scenario cooked up I decided to start making a second Chapter of Space Marines as a contrast to my Raven Guard and a more fluffy way for me to start fielding more transports and heavy support. If my Raven Guard are this then I wanted the new chapter to be this. For a while I was waffling between them, the Marines Malevolent, and (I think) the Executioners, all of whom fulfilled my requirements of fielding heavy armor, paint schemes that I liked, interesting fluff, and having a nasty streak by Space Marine standards, no less (though Characadons fit all these criteria and I'd love to do a detachment of them someday, they're Raven Guard successors so that disqualified them ). Eventually I settled on the Confessors because I liked their scheme and their fluff (AdMech ftw!) the best and the bionics would make for some fun modeling opportunities.

I've already posted the results of my extensive test model phase, though I forgive everyone for not showing keen interest in the millionth iteration of Black Reach Marines. Prior to those, however, I'd constructed some other Confessors that were too high quality to waste on testing paintjobs, so I didn't start working on them until afterwards. Here they are before:

And after:



Yes, those are roman numerals I-XIII on the sergeant's shoulder banner and they represent the eight mysteries of the Cult Mechanicus. Also, when in doubt, cog patterns.

Here I managed to use a micron pen to scribble a litany of purgation against all of the Steel Confessors' least favorite things. It reads: "Purge the Heretek, the Soulless, and the Devourer.

I hate how metallic paint never looks right in photos. But overall a lot of fun to work with, and I'm happy with how the heavy bolter guy's face turned out, especially considering that I was away from home at the time and had none of my skin tone paints except for Dheneb Stone and Ogryn Flesh. And you may wonder why I'm using the Dark Angels robes in an Iron Hands successor chapter. It's because I wanted to mix the feel up a bit from the fairly straightforward Iron Hands and give them a bit of a more monastic attitude and because it would give them some visual similarities to the Tech-Priests of the AdMech who are always wearing their red robes.

Now we're moving on to my current project, the first squad of a 2000 pt army that will be titled Strike Group Remorseless. Meet Tactical Squad Menaras:
Pre accessories/basing details:

And post:


And finally here's a Combi-Plasma I made for a sergeant in another squad. Because I really don't like the GW one where the plasma is underneath the boltgun barrel.


I won't clog this thread with even more photos of each individual squad-member, but you can take a look at them in my WIP gallery here. You should take a look, there's a bunch of Ork abuse (given that they're fighting Gitstompa's Krew on Rhamnos) as well as other little ways that I tried to make them look more unique than your average Space Marine. I'd love to get feedback on what you think works or not and any suggestions you might have!

Wow, really big picture update of awesomeness, I am liking the new marine unit youve done and those salamanders look great as well. keep up the good work

Hi there just checked out all of your photos and blog, super awesome mini's man i really like your steel confessors paint scheme , i like all the customization work you've done to them. Your Orky rhino is one of the coolest conversions ive seen, its well done, its cluttered but done so in just the right way.

Only took me nine months, but I finally have something significant enough to post. I bought a set of Armorcast's overhead pipelines as I thought it would go well with the Mechanicus theme of terrain that I want. There were some issues with the casting that I had to spend a bit of time cleaning up, but they weren't too dramatic overall.




I also experimented with weathering pigments for the first time, mostly using Secret Weapon's "terracotta earth." I'm not sure how I feel about the results, they seem to be very overpowering, and they diminish the contrast with the board that I'm using and dull the metallic. Maybe I could tone it back down by putting another black wash on it? Regardless, I'd like to hear any comments you might have about this.

Just a quickie, thought I'd share this Master of the Forge conversion that I finished putting together today.

Pretty sweet ride he's got. Where have you been? I've missed your work.

Thanks Moltar, nice to know I have a fan. Made that guy up for a tourney list and I had to share. As for my absence, I've been alternately busy and lazy. Last term was pretty rough, but it's finally over, for better or worse. I'll try posting smaller updates, maybe that will help to keep me more motivated. Hopefully the new year will see more painting and less video games. Now, without further ado...

...more proof that I can't stick with any project from start to finish without getting distracted. This should be a briefer interlude, though, since these are going to be Christmas gifts for some friends.


So we have an Ilic Nightspear that I'm doing as my part of a model/gift exchange. Minor problem, I've never seen the paintscheme of the eldar army to which they'll be going, all I have to run on is that they're "forest green." I think I'll make his armor green, the soft gloves and leggings a pale blue-grey, and a tan cloak with green and brown smeared camouflage.

The Cryptek is an appreciation gift for the guy who organizes our group's weekly game days. Fortunately I have better direction on this front (black armor, green-washed metal bits).

And last of all, the BSG Viper Mk VII is for a non wargaming friend. Bit of a why-the-hell-not, as well as a chance to practice my airbrushing and weathering skills.

Aight, enough dillydallying, time to get started.

Take pics before you ship them/package them!