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Well, It's been far too long since I've posted anything here on Dakka. My apologies, but I've been a very busy Moltar lately. My business is busier than ever and I'm expecting my first child here in the next few months. I cannot promise that this blog will get all the love and attention it truly deserves, but I am really pumped about starting this new project. I'm building a CSM army and I'm actually pretty ecstatic about this commitment. I've been collecting bits and ideas for years, so when I finally sat down to get to work, I was pretty amazed by how fast this started to come together. Every army has to start somewhere. Mine will start with a 10 man CSM squad armed with bolt pistols and CC weapons and their dedicated rhino. I hope you enjoy following along this gnarled and twisted path I'm forging.

The Everliving. Relentless in their hatred for you and your pathetic existence, they will stop at absolutely nothing in their eternal conquest. They are not so foolish as to worship one God, but willingly accept all four Ruinous Powers to guide them in their efforts. They are grotesque, in both size and appearance. Their time spent in the warp hardly goes unnoticed. They have grown claws, spikes, talons and fangs. All gifts, joyfully accepted by those deemed worthy enough. Their armor is adorned with foul trophies hung by dangling chains, dark rituals, ancient symbols, and litanies of hatred. They have fought countless wars over thousands of years and will yield to nothing. They gather under the symbol of the All Seeing Crow. The Ruinous Powers see and hear all actions and thoughts throughout the galaxy and whisper them into those worthy enough among The Everliving to hear. They will not stop. They will not die. They are Everliving.



Here is essentially the power armor paint scheme for The Everliving. The dark trim will actually be darker than the grey here. They will most certainly have some nasty mutations and quite a bit more decoration than this Bolter & Chainsword mock up allows.


Nothing slips past the baleful gaze of the All Seeing Crow. Expect to see this (or a variant) hand painted on the shoulder pads of The Everliving.


Here are four of my CSMs that I'm currently working on. They look a little less intimidating without their backpacks. So far, I have six csms that are almost ready for painting, but here and their they all need a couple touch ups and such. Though they may look it, they are not Possessed CSMs. These are my run-of-the-mill, nothing special, dead 'ard CSMs and they're going to kill you.



Progress is only slightly ahead of these pics. I have a melta gunner and aspiring champion also on the table right now (I know I can't take melta and plasma in one ten man squad - Don't jump on my case, I have a way around it ). I can take new photos today and tomorrow as I get some more work done. My plan is to build the squad and their rhino before I start painting them. Since, I don't actually have any one to play 40k with, I'm not in a big rush to get these dudes on the table top. This (for now) is a good thing. It means I can spend adequate time on each one of them, since their will be a good mix of airbrush, paint brush and freehand on each. I am really stoked to be doing this. It feels good to be back in the hobby, so needless to say any and all encouragement and C&C goes very far and is very much appreciated.


Thanks for looking and stay tuned for updates!
-Moltar

This is looking like a really nice start. I am really digging that color scheme and can't wait to see one painted up. I will be following this one for inspiration!

Thanks, Uncool Villain! It may be a bit before you get to see any paint, but I hope not to disappoint.

I've began work on my Aspiring Champion who is seen here with a plasma pistol and a shield. This arm is magnetized to swap out. Currently I have a combi-melta in the works, but sadly no pic yet. Here you can see the addition of chains and such. His additional leg armor is chained in place, so they're not just sticking there for no clear reason. His trophies are from here and there. Maybe a zombie dragon and the chaos warriors from WFB. It's all there to add some girth and make him look bulkier.



I'm planning to add a little more work to his helmet, but that is definitely the base of what he'll look like.

I've also done some work on his backpack to help him stand out even further.



I had also stated that I had begun work on my meltagunner, who can actually stand in as a normal CSM if I need him too. He's shaping up, but still needs more work, especially on his lower half.



Using this newer sculpted backpack, I can totally use him as a melta dude, if I don't want my plasma guy around.



In new developments, I have managed to piece together the start of my 7th CSM. I'm fond of the posing here. More pics as he's fully put together.



He's definitely out to get someone.



I also threw together this little tutorial of how I'm assembling these CCWs. This is nothing special, but if you're interested, they're fairly easy to do....

I love the clawed marine! Personally I would use the arms from the Seekers of Slaanesh kit; making the arms longer.

Haha Dakka_Dok. I have those. My Aspiring Champion is possibly getting one. They're pretty huge though. They are longer than a CSM is tall Probably better suited for terminators. They do look awesome, though

 Dakka_Dok wrote:
I love the clawed marine! Personally I would use the arms from the Seekers of Slaanesh kit; making the arms longer.

Spoiler:

I agree especially since you pulled the pic off my web store

Whoopsy.. My bad. Would you like me to remove the link?

Very cool start. Can't wait to see more.

 Dakka_Dok wrote:
Whoopsy.. My bad. Would you like me to remove the link?

Heck no I appreciate you looking on it .

Sorry to all for the poor-ish picture quality. I'm just using my phone for these WIP pics.


@LeadLegion: Thanks!

@Dok & Empchild: Haha. As I said, the size is a little too much for my tastes. Comes off a little cartoony to me on the regular CSMs. I think it still has potential on the termies though.




Now remeber, despite his little loin cloth. ALL these marines still need GS work and extra bits. Definitely still a WIP.

Didn't get as much done as I wanted to, but here's where my Champion stands...
As I said, I've started work on his combi-melta. It's magnetized to swap with the plasma pistol if I need to. It is taken from an old, metal CSM lord. The mutated aspect really fits my aesthetic.



For his left arm. I've decided to use this Warp Talon's claw as a Power Fist, Lightning Claw, or plain CCW. I'm debating if it is worth magnetizing or just gluing it. Again, you can see what I'm drawn towards. The claws erupting out of the armor goes with the look of the rest of the mini and the whole unit.



That's about it for today. I leave you with the combi- build for now. Supposedly I get out of work early today, if that's the case I plan to be back at my workbench later this afternoon.



Stay tuned for more updates.

Wonderful job so far. Waiting to see em painted.

Okay, I'm definitely following this project. Looks like you're off to a great start, Moltar. This army looks like it's going to bristle with character.

I, too, particularly like the twin-clawed charging-forward Marine-number-7 guy.

@Whiskered: Thanks!

@Tinfoil: Glad you're tagging along for the ride. More work on CSM#7 too!

Not a whole ton of stuff to show you guys. I managed to finish off the overall look for my seventh CSM in this squad. His backpack has had some work done to it. It's compact and chained up. More motion created with this addition.

Here he is:



Here we can see how I've condensed his backpack. It has chain around the inside and chains that attach to the GW bits.



In other news, I've begun picking bits for my 8th CSM and here is where I've gotten so far:



In addition to marine number 8, I've been trying to get something decent out of these descending sanguinary legs, but I'm not sure about them. Please let me know your opinions on this basic structure and such.

From This:



To This:



I'm just not sure. Maybe they're too goofy looking. They would have a ring of chain or something else that surrounds the skull on the left leg, I just didn't finish it off as I'm unsure of the whole thing. I may fiddle around some more, but not really feeling them. Marine number 7 (top of this post) has sanguinary legs as well.

Thanks for looking!

Whoah excellent start. Can't wait for the first painted miniature.

Looking great Moltar !!! Can't wait to see them painted !

The addition of chains is a nice touch !!

Those are some awesome models and a great paint scheme! Can't wait to see more!

Thanks guys! Definitely appreciate you looking and commenting.

If I can keep this rate going, I should be able to start painting in just a couple weeks. Got to finish off this squad and then their rhino. After that, it's painting time!

I like where this is going! Some nice conversions there, the 7th looks especially good! The head and claws fit great and you really captured a sense of movement in him

Thanks Tobber! The movement was key. I definitely wanted him to look like he's in a full on charge towards an enemy (or small child). Glad you're diggin' my stuff.
.

Your conversions are inspiring me. I just spent a good hour putting together a Tzeentch CSM list with lots of conversions. As if I have time for that!

How are you stiffening the jewelers chain? Superglue?

Yes! Slowly dripping super glue down the chains and bending them to the shapes I want (for the dangling ones). But it's important that they are all fully super glued in place. Leaving them actually dangling will make them difficult to paint and over time they may damage paint on the model if they swing wildly enough. So, all the chains are in place.

Hope that helps!

Awesome cant wait to see them painted and congrats on the little one on the way...

Thank you, Commander OB!

Still trying to get some serious work done on these guys. I keep going back to them and rethinking possibilities. Most recently, I'm thinking about dropping the (alternate) melta gunner and making an additional plasma gunner. I've been reading here and there and seems like I would get more consistent success with my two specialists having the same weapons and since meltas are not what they used to be, double plasma may be the best bet. Down the road, with the addition of another CSM squad, maybe one more focused on ranged attacks, I could then mix it up, but for now I think I'm going to go with two plasma guns. Since, this is the new line up, I may be retooling that would be meltagunner quite a bit. Wish I had some stuff to show you today, but no pics worth anything. More work has been done on the 8th CSM and the squad has been getting minor tweaks all around. Hopefully before the end of this week, I can get some serious hobby time in and will get some pics up to share as well.

Thanks for looking! I'll post new stuff as soon as I can!

Awesome work so far!

Regarding the melta / plasma issue, it all depends on what you're aiming at, whether looks, efficiency, fluff, etc...

In my most recent games, I often wished I had taken a few meltaguns to deal with, for instance, a pesky Chaos Land Raider :(

Thanks MetalOxide!

Yggs,

I know what you mean. In all fairness, I should follow the rule of cool more than anything at this point. I don't really see myself playing anything more than casual games. I had sort of intended to run two meltas with a squad of Raptors as support to the plasmas in the CSM squad. Seems like decent fun to be had with raptors dropping in and doubling up the melta fun.

Definitely appreciate your thoughts on the topic. Thanks!

Fantastic looking conversions.

The choice of chain is exceptional. Looks to be scaled perfectly with the marines.

Out of interest, what size/diameter of chain did you use?

Truth be told, I've always been a "plasma guy", even when everyone was all about meltaguns, and even before that... I've always loved their aspect (coil, muzzle, cables), the OSL potential, and the S7/AP2 (or whatever save modifier it had in 2nd Ed) !

But now that I'm playing a bit more, I've learned to appreciate the meltaguns, and their looks too...

As for the specific case of Raptors, I definitely think they should tote meltaguns :
- Their Jump Packs allow them to cross the distance quicker to / deep strike near the enemy armour ;
- Raptors are "assault troops" (even if they're not the most efficient at it), so you shouldn't have to weigh the option of rapid-firing a plasmagun : if I shoot, I cannot charge vs. If I charge, my plasmaguns are then useless...

All in all, to me, Plasmaguns are more a "tactical" weapon, while the melta should go to "assault' squads...

And to make up for it, nothing prevents you from giving a plasma pistol to the Raptors champion

Medium of Death wrote:

Out of interest, what size/diameter of chain did you use?

Thanks for the kind words! I'm at work right now, but I'll let you know the size of the chains as soon as I get the chance, Medium.

Yggdrasil wrote:Truth be told, I've always been a "plasma guy", even when everyone was all about meltaguns, and even before that... I've always loved their aspect (coil, muzzle, cables), the OSL potential, and the S7/AP2 (or whatever save modifier it had in 2nd Ed) !

But now that I'm playing a bit more, I've learned to appreciate the meltaguns, and their looks too...

As for the specific case of Raptors, I definitely think they should tote meltaguns :
- Their Jump Packs allow them to cross the distance quicker to / deep strike near the enemy armour ;
- Raptors are "assault troops" (even if they're not the most efficient at it), so you shouldn't have to weigh the option of rapid-firing a plasmagun : if I shoot, I cannot charge vs. If I charge, my plasmaguns are then useless...

All in all, to me, Plasmaguns are more a "tactical" weapon, while the melta should go to "assault' squads...

And to make up for it, nothing prevents you from giving a plasma pistol to the Raptors champion

I totally get what you're saying and again, sincerely appreciate it. I'm pretty sold on the 2x meltas with raptors and the extra punch from a plasma pistol could add some more fun to that assault squad. I don't know all of my initial troop choices yet, but I do know that I want raptors and I want raptors more than Warp Talons as fast attack assault. So, they will probably be toting the meltas and CSM squad will get plasmas for now, at least. I also agree about the aesthetics of the plasma gun. Something so unique when compared to the melta/flamer/h.bolter! And the OSL oppurtunities! They are already keeping me up, debating which color to use for my plasma coils.

With beige, I've found that blue is a perfect OSL colour... Purple could work as well... Or green ?