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Hey all,

I returned to the hobby last year after about a decade away.

Since then i've been steadily building an Imperial Guard army. I really enjoy buying models that have been neglected via ebay, paint stripping them and trying to rebuild them into something half-decent. I'd say about 75% of my models are second-hand. This also has the additional benefit of being much more affordable as i've gone back into higher education and am getting married this month so money is very tight at the moment! I am always looking at ways to save money whilst building an army that has my mark on it.

I have been painting this army for about 8 or 9 months now on and off and to be honest I am becoming a little frustrated at how slowly it seems to be coming together. I guess this is what you get for choosing an IG army though so i'll have to live with it!

Anyway, the following photos represent about 30% of my total army. The remaining 70% is mostly assembled but is unpainted or awaiting paint stripping, refurbishing etc.

I decided to go for the 4 colour urban woodland camo scheme with green flak armour as it seemed quite a unique scheme that I had only seen before with Tau players. It isn't a difficult scheme, just quite time consuming!

To paint the camo I start with an undercoat of vallejo black, then I used to put a base coat of codex grey over that but have dropped that recently to cut down on painting time. So now I just start the camo scheme with Codex Grey, followed by Shadow Grey and then Skull White, working around the black to make the urban woodland pattern. Then for the flak armour it's Dark Angels Green over the black undercoat then a heavy drybrushing of Camo Green. Then it's just a matter of doing the skin and faces, for which I use Bronzed Flesh or Elven Flesh, followed by a Brown Ink wash, then a light dry brushing with Bronzed Flesh over that to bring out all the details (nose, cheeks etc).

All in all quite a simple process. I have never been great at painting so didn't want something overly-complicated but still wanted a tabletop standard which looks decent and fairly unique.

The aim of this blog is to keep me motivated! I start a summer job next week which will seriously impact my progress, so hopefully this blog will help keep me motivated during the summer.

I know some of these photos are quite poor quality, and I am sorry about that! I had to do them in a rush last night. I will definitely be reshooting a lot of these later.

Hope you enjoy!







Backbone of the Guard!





Vendetta (Got the lascannons from a stormraven kit for a cheap conversion!)







Some need finishing here, like this guys face and the shell he is carrying etc.



WIP Hydra converted from the Aegis defence line kit. I chopped the autocannons from the Aegis kit and then added the ink cartridges you find inside regular pens to extend the barelles. Quite a fiddly job but turned out okay I think. It makes it look much more AA which is what the Hydra primarily is. Then I just glued it onto a Basilisk platform where the Earthshaker once was. I can slide it in and out so I can use the same chasis it for multiple artillery pieces. I found this was a much simpler solution than trying to mess around with magnetising.



Chimera.









This photo is awful and doesn't do my Commissar justice! Will be reshooting this.





That's it so far.

what colors did you use for the camo?

FifteenHours wrote:To paint the camo I start with an undercoat of vallejo black, then I used to put a base coat of codex grey over that but have dropped that recently to cut down on painting time. So now I just start the camo scheme with Codex Grey, followed by Shadow Grey and then Skull White, working around the black to make the urban woodland pattern. Then for the flak armour it's Dark Angels Green over the black undercoat then a heavy drybrushing of Camo Green. Then it's just a matter of doing the skin and faces, for which I use Bronzed Flesh or Elven Flesh, followed by a Brown Ink wash, then a light dry brushing with Bronzed Flesh over that to bring out all the details (nose, cheeks etc).

thanx looking good by the way!

I like the idea here, but I think for the vehicles, the colour needs to be a bit larger. The cammo is effective, and really does blur the outlines of the vehicles/ soldiers, but it does this a bit too well, in my opinion.

I like the log so far, and the scheme is truly striking. I was wondering if you had a list of the different models you have? it would be neat to see what's in store.

Hi there,

Thanks for the feedback!

A bit too well? haha. In some ways I consider that a compliment.

So you think for the vehicles the camo patterns need to be larger? I might try that out. Actually I already made the pattern larger after painting the Chimera (my first experiment with this scheme). I think the patterning on the Chimera is too small, but on the Vendetta it's considerably larger and I think looks much better. I may go even larger when I get around to testing on another Chimera.


As for what's in store, here is the list off he top of my head.

Very nearly complete:

Hydra (conversion)
Manticore (conversion)
Catachan Veterans.
Vahallan Veterans
Mixed veterans (some interesting old models from 2nd edition!)

Future:

Troops
Platoon Command Squads (Flamers)
60 infantry

Characters and HQ etc
- Colonel Straken
- Command Squad
- x2 Commissars

Fast Attack
Sentinel

Elites
Stormtroopers
Ratlings

Vehicles:
Griffon (2nd edition model!)
Leman Russ Demolisher


Models I desperately want:
Another Valkyrie
Marbo!

I am also going to start switching entirely to vallejo paints when I finish each pot of citadel over time. I just really like the texture and how much more you get for your money. I may just use Citadel for drybrushing.

Unfortunately I probably wont be posting again here for a couple of weeks due to various commitments I have. However, the good news is that the Hydra and Manticore only need a couple more hours work and they will be done! So I estimate the 15th June I will have photos up and a new log.

After June 15th I am likely to do the next batch of models in this order:

1. Finish off all the Veterans, because I fancy some infantry after all these tanks!

2. Another Chimera experimenting with a larger camoflague scheme as suggested.

3. Command Squads: including Colonel Straken and Platoon Command Squad with flamers!

4. New Vendetta: As soon as I can afford a new one I will buy one! Will use the larger camo scheme on this one if I feel it works on the Chimera.

*Somewhere amongst all this I will buy and paint Sly Marbo.


Those are my plans for now. Until the 15th!

FH

keep doing what your doing,consider this sub'd

Thought I may as well add some Grey Knights I am painting for a friend. Nothing at all special really, just painted them to have a break from my endless amounts of Guard!

Have to say I am slightly jealous of GK players: You only really have 15 models to paint, and they are quite straight forward! I can't deny they look mindblowingly awesome next to any Guard model...











Right Shoulder seriously needs re-doing as the gold drybrushing was far too heavy to the point you can't distinguish the writing! . Left shoulder is how it should look. Should be easy to fix with some black ink and then simply light drybrushing gold over the writing again.

I like the list so far. When you do the camo scheme, try and play around with the size/ shape of the blotches, maybe making some of the colours thinner, yet longer, and other ones short and fat would help. Just my opinion.

What era are the Stormtroopers from? I've always liked seeing the older models compared to the new.

They are the newer Kasrkin models. I don't have any of the old-skool "red beret" ones.

It's a shame they aren't very competitive in this edition as I do really like the models. I will paint them eventually, it's just I really need to make progress on the models I will play with. Things like Ratlings and Stromies will have to wait.

I generally play 1k-1.5k point games but my ultimate goal is to have a collection that is flexible at the 2k level. So probably 3k points altogether.

I refuse to use pure mech lists because I don't consider them at all fluffy and a bit cheesey...Also the Hyrbid "hammer and anvil" lists i've always run with suit my style and give me much more choice in models. Overall, it's just more fun playing hybrid lists in my opinion!

Do you have any example pics of what you have in mind for the camouflage?

Also, I need to make up some fluff. The general direction it's taking is being a mixed regiment while the camo-scheme suggests maybe a tundra or arctic theme.
I'm thinking maybe survivors from different regiments banded together during a "nuclear winter" type event on a planet they were fighting on and have now formed a new regiment out of it.

Not sure. Might just say they are an iceworld regiment instead!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hey,

Well just thought i'd show you what else i've got in store in terms of old-skool models since you seem to appreciate them!

This 2nd edition Lieutenant will act as my Platoon Command Squad leader. I think he looks extremely cool and i'm sure it wont be a problem using him in this role!

http://www.battlebarge.com/wp-content/gallery/the-goats-imperial-guard/2nd-edition-cadian-lieutent-b.jpg

I also have a couple of what I think are Rogue Trader era sergeants or something similar. I will take photos and put them on here to get an I.D when I have time. They are bald and are holding boltguns, but haven't been able to find them online.

FH

Okay, I have been appalling at updating this blog, mainly because all my modelling and painting has ground to a halt over the past month due to various lifey things getting in the way (like getting hitched!) and taking priority.

Also like pretty much everyone else, I have been playtesting and working out what to drop and what to add now 6th edition has arrived.

So far, I have settled on a new Creed list that mixes gunline behind an Aegis with some offensive punch in outflanking Leman Russ and at higher points levels Chimera Vets with plasma, along with my Vendetta!

In reality this hasn't really effected me that much, because I have always run a hybrid list. The only changes are that I will now run MSUs instead of a blob - which hasn't affected my painting of infantry squads - the dropping of Straken for CReed, and a greater quantity of Heavy Weapon Squads than before.
Oh, and I have decided to dismantle my Hydra - a shame, because I had nearly finished it! Nevertheless, I can still use the Chimera-Basilisk chasis and slot the Aegis Defence Quad Gun (that I extended the barelles of to make them look more like an AA gun) in if I do ever want to use a Hydra again. But for now I am using it for my Aegis Line.

So, obviously this is going to require a total re-shuffling of my projects, but the good news is that I don't need to buy much else other than several Heavy Weapons Squads. I am currently looking to trade some stuff for that (mainly a boxed on sprue Chimera I will never use!).

I am in the mood for some serious painting starting Monday, so will update on my plans and my WIP then.

Until then, here is my new Creed list at the 1500pts and 2000pt levels:

2000pts of Creedness!

Lord Creed, Company Command Squad, w/lascannon: 160pts

Lord Commissar: 70pts

Terrain:

Aegis Defence Line, w/ Quad Gun: 100pts

Troops:

Infantry Platoon 1:

Platoon Command Squad: x4 flamers: 50pts
Infantry Squad, autocannon: 60pts
Infantry Squad, autocannon: 60pts

Heavy Weapon Squad: x3 lascannons: 105pts
Heavy Weapon Squad: x3 autocannons: 75pts

Infantry Platoon 2:

Platoon Command Squad: x1 autocannon: 60pts
Infantry Squad, autocannon: 60pts
Infantry Squad, autocannon: 60pts

Heavy Weapon Squad: x3 lascannons: 105pts
Heavy Weapon Squad: x3 autocannons: 75pts

Veteran Squad, x3 Meltaguns w/ Chimera: 155pts

Veteran Squad, x3 Meltaguns, w/Chimera: 155pts


Elites:

Marbo: 65pts


Fast Attack:

Vendetta: 130pts


Heavy Support:
Leman Russ Demolisher: 165pts
Leman Russ Battle Tank (outflanking): 150pts
Manticore: 160pts

Total: 2000pts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1500pts of Creeeeeed!

HQ:

Lord Creed, Company Command Squad, w/ lascannon: 160pts

Lord Commissar: 70pts

Terrain:

Aegis Defence Line, w/ Quad Gun: 100pts

Troops:

Infantry Platoon 1:

Platoon Command Squad: x4 flamers: 50pts
Infantry Squad, autocannon: 60pts
Infantry Squad, autocannon: 60pts

Heavy Weapon Squad: x3 lascannons: 105pts
Heavy Weapon Squad: x3 autocannons: 75pts

Infantry Platoon 2:

Platoon Command Squad: x1 autocannon, x1 grenade launcher: 65pts
Infantry Squad, autocannon: 60pts
Infantry Squad, autocannon: 60pts

Heavy Weapon Squad: x3 lascannons: 105pts
Heavy Weapon Squad: x3 autocannons: 75pts


Heavy Support:
Leman Russ Demolisher: 165pts
Leman Russ Battle Tank (outflanking): 150pts
Manticore: 160pts

: 1500pts


Laters!

- FH

Hi all,

So here are photos of my almost finished 2000pt Imperial Guard army!

It has been an extremely long project that has taken 12 months. In those 12 months I probably averaged an hour a day of painting. So that's 365 hours!

Actually in retrospect it felt like more than that. Much more. So maybe I put in more hours than I thought? Who knows, because I don't!
Perhaps it's the fact that for much of the project I was doing an assembly line process. 50 Platoon Infantry is more than it sounds (it's extremely monotonous). Then add all the veterans, command squads and tanks to that...

Okay, so it was hard and monotonous. But on reflection this wasn't actually a bad thing: With all the models I had it meant I painted more, which allowed me to improve my painting skills more so if I had painted Grey Knights.
This was my first serious project so it was actually a good decision to pick Imperial Guard: They don't require a huge amount of skill to paint and put together at all, yet the model-count will inevitably mean you gain the experience.

As for the army itself, I went for a mix of Cadian and Catachan with a sprinkling of Mordian Iron Guard and Vahallans. This was partly out of choice but also partly because I got an amazing deal for a HUGE Imperial Guard joblot on ebay which included all of the above.

I decided early on that I was going to buy all from ebay. At the time it was solely due to keeping costs down, but even when I have had money I never buy first hand anymore. This is because during this project I have seen how easy it is to paint strip (with Dettol here in the UK) and have really come to enjoy taking neglected models and giving them a new lease of life.

For the most part, the Catchans and Vahallans are used as Veterans, Mordians as officers such as Platoon Officers or Veteran Sergeants.
The whole army is a mixed regiment and so eventually I am going to write a short background story behind them based on this.

The Camoflague scheme is based on the urban woodland camo scheme, with green flak armour.
The camo was painted using Vallejo black, shadow grey, codex grey and vallejo white. The green flak armour was created using Dark Angels green with Camo Green then heavily dry brushed over it. I wanted a fairly straight forward scheme that looked good, so I think the camo green dry brushing was a good idea to bring out some detail on the flak armour quite easily.
The Camo scheme while time consuming wasn't that hard. At first I used different shapes for each pattern, but I admit towards the end I just went with 'dots' as it was just far too time consuming to do all these unique shapes and patterns for each model. A shame perhaps, but I can only do what time allows and I know from past experience biting off more than you can chew with a project can lead to disinterest and deterioration.

Anyway, now for the photos. Apologies for poor quality, I will work on getting better ones when I have more time!

So here it is in it's entirety:



Mr. Creed, with his Lord Commissar and Company Commader:




Lord Commissar (Old Vahallan officer model)




A fat Platoon Commader (Rogue Trader-era?) with his PCS, all with flamers




The Platoon!


Sergeants


Plasma Veterans:


Leading from the front!


Catachan Vets


Vendetta


Leman Russ - I experimented with rust effects/damage on this and really liked it! (I just used boltgun metal mixed with fiery orange, dry brushed) I have a Demolisher cannon if I want to turn it into a Dem.






Chimera


Manticore - converted using leftover hellstrike missiles from Valkyrie kit and a Basilisk Chasis. The Missile rack can slot in and out, so I can turn it into a basilisk or Griffon if I would prefer. No magnets required. I love the old Chimera chasis for doing this!


Same with this basilisk chasis - It has a Griffon mortar on at the moment (that needs paint stripping and re-painting) but I have other weapons that can simply slot in. Basilisk earthshaker cannon, Medusa canon, Hydra etc


You'll notice some of my models are incomplete, but this guy is barely even started. Think I will use as a vet sergeant.


And last but not least...Aegis Quad Gun (the aegis line itself is not on display). I converted this to extend the barelles using those ink cartridges you get in pens. It's fragile as hell but make sit look more like an AA gun, which is pretty cool I think.



Ok. So that's it. There are bits and pieces that need finishing, and there are units such as stormtroopers and ratlings that I will get around to paining in the future, but since they aren't really in my core lists they can wait and I consider my Imperial Guard project pretty much done and dusted!

So what next?

A couple of projects. The first being a Ravenwing-Deathwing army, using all the terminators I got from a joblot last year and some very old bikes and a 2nd edition (old-skool!) landspeeder.

Here are the pics. As you can see they need A LOT of work! I have just put most in for a soak of paint stripper and will probably strip tomorrow.











I am going to do the Angels of Redemption colour scheme as I just think it looks much better on terminators than the boring regular skull bone Deathwing, and the boring black Ravenwing!
So something like this:

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/115/9/b/9bbf63faa1c7c6b1ca5c3032942cb7d3-d4xiohq.jpg


And finally, I am going to start a Gue'vesa Tau army with the leftover IG models I have! So far I have just been experimenting with fire warrior - guardsmen conversions. However, I have a Leman Russ chasis (in very poor run down condition!) that I will refurbish and probably paint Tau colours to use for this.



Hope you have enjoyed!

SF