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In an effort to improve my motivation to build and paint the horde of Guardsmen bearing down upon my Hobby Desk, I gathered that getting some (hopefully) useful insight from strangers on the Internet was a good place to get started. After all, if some random bloke pipes up that he likes one of my models, it does give the spark of motivation just a bit more oomph. At least that's my reasoning. I'm aiming for tabletop quality though I'm eager to improve my skills while doing so. So please, feel free to leave your comments, for good or ill, and I'll paint away.
Anyway, here's the dealio. I recently got back into 40k as a serious hobby, having taken a decade or so hiatus courtesy of school, women, and moving around all over the place. Now that I'm a boring adult with a stable job and the like, and my younger brother is painting up a storm of Marines, I figured I would jump back into the hobby, lasgun blazing. Thanks to eBay and some older 3rd edition Catachan stuff from back in the day, I have a sizable force already. Most of the tanks had to undergo a serious repainting and rebuilding, and I'm still on the fence about stripping down over 40 Catachan plastics.
The army is based off of my upbringing in the deserts of New Mexico, hence the Fluff below. Enjoy!
Fluffy Fluff
Spoiler:
The Imperium is vast, the single largest human achievement in our unending saga, and home to so many diverse planets that not even the legions of the Administratum could ever hope to accurately categorize them all. Tucked away in this vastness lies the planet of New Llano, allegedly known for its vast fuel resources and agricultural achievements. Though the planet possesses a vast ecosystem that ranges from intense deserts and frozen poles, much of the populace makes their home on the mighty Staked Plains. Designated an Agri World, the majority of Imperial Citizens find themselves in animal husbandry and crop production; the remainder are typically employed in harvesting the recently discovered fossil fuels just beneath the surface for mass export to nearby Forge Worlds. Though the planet of New Llano is small and easily forgotten, the Administratum never misses a deadline where the Tithe is concerned: the men of New Llano march to war.
The 505th Mechanized Imperial Guard regiment was founded in response to a Chaos threat in a nearby system. The bulk of the 505th was raised from the Staked Plains area while additional reserves were drawn from the nearby Capitan Mountain district. Thanks to New Llano's massive fuel exports to several Forge Worlds, and the need to traverse the thousands of miles of dusty plains performing their former PDF duties, the 505th has a large number of armored vehicles at their disposal. Rapid vehicles, such as the Chimera and Hellhound, are numerous and prized for their speed and reliability. Leman Russes of all variants can be found in their arsenal, and a small artillery battery was recently added to the growing 505th. Though the Sentinel walker is typically frowned upon by more senior regiments, the 505th has turned several of their former Agri Sentinels into battle ready constructs. Re-purposed farm equipment is a mainstay of military history, and the 505th is no different. The majority of armored vehicles are painted in the traditional colors of the Staked Plains with a few older vehicles painted in the traditional colors of the minor Capitan Mountains region of New Llano.
The men of the 505th march into battle wearing the standard Cadian-pattern military loadout. The body armor segments are painted to match the various scrub grass of the plains. The khakis are dyed to match the healthy soil of the Staked Plains; the men were mostly farmers before serving, after all. Though the bulk of the men raised in the 505th serve in the Armored Company, the numbers of Infantry are beginning to grow. Small tribes of Ogryns, once impressed into service as reliable farmhands, have been captured from their tribesmen, given a crash course on the God-Emperor and basic training, and loaded up with the 505th. Rumors abound of Imperial Press Gangs scouring the dusty hideaways of the Staked Plains for the numerous gangs of brigands and thieves to serve as mounted Rough Riders and Penal Troopers. A lifetime of thievery earns such a fate.
The 505th continues to grow.
Status of Units
Spoiler:
HQ - Creed and Kell [Complete] - Commissar Yarrick [Needs Primer] - Primaris Psyker [Needs to be Stripped then Primed] - Lord Solar Macharius [Needs to be Stripped then Primed; also, yeah, I'm old] - 3 Commissars [Need Paint]
Elites - 10 Stormtroopers [Need Paint] - 9 Psyker Battle Squadmates [Need to be Stripped then Primed] - Marbo [Everseer Assassin Counts As complete] - 7 Ogryns [3 Fully complete; 4 more to rebuild entirely] - 3 Ratlings [Lord knows where they came from?]
Troops - 2 CCS [Need Paint] - 50+ Infantry Men [~35 need paint] - 6 Heavy Weapons [1 Complete team]] - 4 Chimeras [All complete]
Fast Attack - 1 Valkyrie [Tyr is complete!] - 2 Hellhounds [Max and Moritz are both Complete and Fully Magnetized!] - 2 Armored Sentinels [Both complete and magnetized!]
Heavy Support - 4 Leman Russes [Beowulf, Hercules, Grendel and Unnamed Russ #1 are All complete with several turret options to boot!] - 1 Basilisk/Griffon [Thor is Complete and Fully Magnetized!] - 1 Manticore/Deathstrike [Ajax is Complete and Fully Magnetized]
Fortifications - 1 Aegis [Complete with Converted Icarus Lascannon for shiggles]
Now then, how about some photos, eh? Thanks for reading. Have a good day and I'll update as I'm able!
Seems like Fate, that forever cruel mistress, had it in for me these past few weeks. On the downside, I didn't get enough painting accomplished as I had wished. I did get several games in (more on that later) but found myself unwilling to paint after a long day at work. As a tech writer, I spend all darn day at a desk. The last thing I want to do after another 10-hour shift is to sit at a desk trying to focus on painting details on plastic army men.
On the positive side, the company website has been rebuilt and is looking snazzy. Hobby-wise, I've played several games in the past two weeks alone, and I finished a tank today during my lunch hour. Now that the major work/real life task is out of the way, I can get back to having some breathing room a bit. So, please, enjoy the photos below and feel free to shoot questions, advice, tips, praise, mean-spirited comments, or other banter.
I would like to point out that this was my first attempt at painting battle damage on a tank. My opponents said my tanks looked too clean; I'm not trying to win the painting competition here, but the advice was well noted. I think it turned out OK for my first time; thoughts?
Furthermore, this Russ does not have any weapons glued on to it. I prefer the versatility of the kit and opted to simply paint all the options and leave them off the final product, allowing me to build a variant Russ for any situation. I also converted a Punisher Gatling Cannon out of an old Tau burst cannon. Easily one of my favorite variants simply for the joy of rolling 29 S5 dice a turn. Enjoy the grounding test, FMC!
As for the name, well, I decided to name all of my tanks after my favorite literary/historical characters. The next Leman Russ will be named Grendel of course. Thanks for reading, and have a good one.
Some WIP shots of the two Chimeras. The hull weapon will be magnetized and the multi-lasers will be added once all is raring to go. I think the camo stripes turned out well enough. Time to add some battle damage, ink washes, and minor details.
Haven't decided upon names yet, though I'm leaning towards famous historical warhorses. Bucephalus and Rakhsh immediately spring to mind as suitable names.
So, afore I sat down to another delightful day of tech writing and such, I decided to experiment a bit with some battle damage. You'll note that Beowulf (posted below) has plenty of metallic chinks in his armor plating, but because I used a different color scheme on the Chimeras (Hobby Lobby no longer stocking my color and me living in the New Mexico desert not really helping), I reasoned I should experiment with some colors before progressing.
On the underside of a Chimera (the one from 3rd edition, stripped and re-purposed) I've tried out a few schemes for the exposed green and mustard armor plating. At present, I think I dig the dull green with bright metallic silver (4th scheme in the top row). Per my research, the metal used to construct such vehicles in the modern age is quite bright when unpainted. If any shells were to hit the tank and scrape the paint, I figure this bright metal would be exposed. On the other hand, that subdued gray doesn't look half bad either.
Still a bit unhappy with the brown scheme but I might try mixing some paints to achieve a more subdued scheme. Thoughts?
And here's a shot of the (almost) completed Basilisk. I need to do his tracks in a black ink wash but my FLGS hasn't had my paints arrive yet. It's only been about a month now...
Scrazza wrote: I like the bottom row of battle damage more than the upper. The dark edges look more like burn marks.Which works better IMO.
Yeah, that isn't a bad look. I still have a whole slew of vehicles from 3rd edition that need to be repainted so I figure I can perfect it by then. And with the amount of plasma and melta these things catch, burn marks aren't a half bad idea.
In other news, I am planning a write up of last night's impromptu battle. A total hoot of a match!
I gave a Russ and three turrets their second coat of primer last night. In addition, two Armored Sentinels also received said coat. And now I'm beginning to think my color scheme is more New Mexico desert and less Swiss hill country too...
Anyway, after getting Thunderstomped by an irritable cat this morning, jarring me awake, I got back to painting the little details onto my vehicles. Buttons, the Aquila, hydraulics, shiny gewgaws, and bullet damage were added to each vehicle/turret. I think once I add the final ink wash courtesy of the airbrush all will be well. The guns on the Sentinels are primed in gray and fit in the slot without glue; versatility for all occasions! Although they've yet to shoot in a game...
Time to think of some names for the Russ and Sentinels. I'm thinking Hercules for the Russ, and Heimdallr and Cerberus for the Sentinels. Why? Because classical historic and mythological names are simply superb. And I find using classic guardian names for Sentinels is simply too good to pass up.
And enjoy that last photo! Taken from a game the other night where the Chaos beasty decided eating my Basilisk was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Zambro wrote: I really like the way you've done this camo scheme. Cant wait to see some more
Thank you! I will try and post some more photos today/tomorrow. I have a half-built Deathstrike sitting on my hobby desk I'm hoping to finish during my lunch hour today.
"Do not strike until you are ready to crush the enemy utterly, and then attack without mercy, destroy every vestige of resistance, leave no one to work against you."
Invicta wrote: Paint scheme looking good. Keep up the good work!
Thanks. I'm motivated to stay in there and keep at it!
Our FLGS is putting on a tournament here in the next several weeks, and I'm itching to get my rank-and-file troopers ready to go. Of course, one thing at a time. Today's flavor is the Manticore/Deathstrike, still in need of a name, detailing, and the final bits. I will definitely have him rarin' to go for my next match though. This time I tried the Afrika Mustard coat first, followed by taping, then a coat of Bomber Green. He turned out well enough I think.
Thanks for the support, folks, and enjoy the photos.
Mmmm sexy sexy Manticore is finished and ready to go! I decided to call him Ajax after the mighty Trojan hero, renowned for smacking Hector around with a large stone. In this case, the large stone is now a series of missiles and rockets. Damn I love mythology. Enjoy the photos! Oh, and my little brother got married this weekend hence the bumper sticker.
Phew, what a doozy I've been under lately. The FLGS decided to host a 40k tournament with 1250 and 1850 list options. I entered my Imperial Guard, got paired with a Necron player at 1250 for my first match, and was promptly eliminated after a lopsided battle. I need to brush up on my Necron knowledge because he had all sorts of crazy rules that threw me for a loop. No amount of firepower could stop those damned skeletons from marching across the field. Sadly, my brand new snipers and Manticore only managed to kill a whopping 2 bases of Scarabs throughout the entire game. Points well spent I say. Ah well, my 1250 list wasn't that good to begin with so I deserve the loss. At any rate, here are some photos of the latest and greatest the 505th has to offer.
I now have a fully functional Valkyrie/Vendetta in the lineup, complete with a painted interior, swiveling heavy bolters, and painted crew compartment. Pretty snazzy I do declare. I'm about 90% complete with it. Still have to add all the washes and battle damage before calling it finished.
I tore into the latest battle force set and assembled as many special weapons as I could for the tournament. I now have a few more plasma and melta gunners. And a priest! Priests aren't very effective in the game, I know, but they are so fluffy! And the model was a hoot to convert no less! He's like a chain-bladed Darth Maul.
Finally, I got around to priming and painting my horde of Ogryns that have been languishing in disassembled agony. He turned out pretty well, following the color scheme of my army, and makes a nice nostalgic addition to my ranks. I might use him as a Heavy Weapons Team for now until I get the squad assembled. Then it'll be time to run a Priest, Lord Commissar, and Ogryn mob for hilarity...
Howdy folks! With the weather being finicky and the holidays rapidly approaching, I've found myself with a bit of free time. Well, most of that free time has been devoted to courting a very charming girl, but I have managed to get some 40k in too. I'm pleased to say that I've managed to get a few games under my belt including a couple rounds of Kill Team. Not only that, but I've been painting and assembling stuff too! That's always the best part I think. Nothing like having a squad fully completed. They just look so much better painted than as a mass of gray models. Now then, enough jibber jabber. Enjoy the photos! I'm going to enjoy the rest of my snow day and paint some more!
Just a few of the things I've finished up recently to be used in Kill Team and friendly games. Enjoy the photos!
Say what you will but I do love the Ogryns. They've bagged themselves a Hive Tyrant and squad of Assault Centurions in the past few games.
These two mooks were made for Kill Team. The gentleman on the right, Veteran Sergeant Richard Kutter, slew a couple of Terminators on his lonesome, hence the Purity Seal. He's proven his metal and now proudly leads a squad of Veterans in my regular games.
And this charming chap is Morale Officer Steinhand. Managed to take out a Dreadnought with that pistol my last game. Has yet to use his "power fist" but I'm hopeful he'll put it to good use.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/12/03 00:28:08
Nice mug really liking the scheme reminds me of the GW scheme when the plastic Catachans came out.
"But me no buts! Our comrades get hurt. Our friends die. Falkenburg is a knight who swore an oath to serve the church and to defend the weak. He'd be the first to tell you to stop puling and start planning. Because what we are doing-at risk to ourselves-is what we have sworn to do. The West relies on us. It is a risk we take with pride. It is an oath we honour. Even when some soft southern burgher mutters about us, we know the reason he sleeps soft and comfortable, why his wife is able to complain about the price of cabbages as her most serious problem and why his children dare to throw dung and yell "Knot" when we pass. It's because we are what we are. For all our faults we stand for law and light.
Von Gherens This Rough Magic Lackey, Flint & Freer
Mekagorkalicious -Monkeytroll
2017 Model Count-71
Llamahead wrote: Nice mug really liking the scheme reminds me of the GW scheme when the plastic Catachans came out.
Thanks, chum. I pilfered the mug and keg from the Bretonnian Men-at-Arms set. I think he turned out well enough for being the product of one too many beers.
So here's a few more photos of junk I've been working on. A couple of Special Weapons, a Master of Ordnance, and some converted Plasma Gunners.
The Special Weapons follow the standard color scheme so nothing too special there (except now I have painted dudes!). And I finally got my hands on some Nuln Oil. I love the look a quick wash gives to the weapon.
The Master of Ordnance is an older conversion from back in my 3rd Edition days. I think he's built from the Cadian Leman Russ gunner with some Catachan bits added here and there. It's been a spell so I'm not 100% on that. My favorite bit about him has to be the red stripes and laurels. For those of you non-US prior service types, red is the color of the Field Artillery. He's basically my mini tribute to my chums and comrades that got suckered into artillery.
In my last match, my Veteran plasma squad took out a Dreadnought and some Centurions using their rapid fire deliciousness. I promptly decided I needed more of the things, but I was unwillingly to pay a hefty fee for a mere two models. After scouring Dakka, I found this brilliant tutorial on how to create passable plasma guns from spare bits. I had just enough spare plasma pistol bits to create three new plasma gunners. I figure they aren't uniform because, well, the Imperium is vast and not everything is made exactly to standard. So there. The extra bling comes from various kits; I just wanted them to stand out a bit more from the standard trooper, due to being Veterans and all.
Man this is a great blog. Awesome work on the guard and everything looks great. It's always nice to see a big well painted IG force. And I like the sword on the platoon leader. He is definitely ready to hit something with that!
40kFSU wrote: Man this is a great blog. Awesome work on the guard and everything looks great. It's always nice to see a big well painted IG force. And I like the sword on the platoon leader. He is definitely ready to hit something with that!
Thanks for the kind words, mate. Good to know that someone likes what I'm doing!
Sadly, I was recently laid off from work due to corporate downsizing, or whatever is the fancy term for the company is going bankrupt so we're cutting the peons. On the downside, I have to look for a new employer. On the positive side, I have plenty of time for painting. Life just gave me an opportunity to do something spectacular, so I'm going to seize upon that. But first, let's finish the Imperial Guard army...
Veteran Sergeant with some cronies. These were some of the first guys I built when I started the army, but It's taken me this long to give them some paint love. Shame on me. The Sergeant is equipped as Bastonne, just in case I every feel like dropping too many points on one character. Here's the reverse:
There's my demolition charge veteran, good ol' Bastonne, and the vox operator. The shortened lasguns are my lame attempt at futuristic shotguns/carbines so I can use them as needed. And because only a pimp has a pearl handled pistol, Bastonne is armed thus. I'm getting better at painting the eyes, and though that's a labor-intensive chore, I think it really brings the models out even further.
Here we've a couple of snipers. Now now, I know snipers aren't all that hot owing to their average To Wound roll and finicky chance of Rending, but the Dice Gods have really blessed my rolling when these guys get up to bat. To date, these two mooks have paid for themselves a dozen times over. Not bad for a 10-point model. As such, I felt they deserved some paint. These two use a new primer undercoat; the one I originally was using tended to clump up and look nasty. This new stuff is smooth, takes paint easily, and looks good in my opinion. The uniform matches my standard troopers as does the color scheme of their weapons. The heads are a bit unique, taken from one of the various tank kits I had laying about, but I think gives them a bit of a personality. Snipers are their own lot after all. Here's the reverse side camo cloaks:
Forgive the shoddy camera(phone). These cloaks were painted by applying a dark green layer, and then taking various browns, blacks, and greens and stippling them unto the cloak itself. The end result looks a bit like old timey US BDUs but in a different pattern. Hell, I like it just fine. Here's to more Rending shots and dead Terminators.
Phew. What a busy few months it's been! What with the moving, the schooling, the jobbing, yadda yadda. Finally. Some Warhamma time!
I was given a Leman Russ Demolisher for Christmas. Like Beowulf, no weapons are glued in so I can field him as needed. No need to buy three kits you know. Behold, the finished Grendel! In addition, I finished magnetizing and basing my Sentinels too. They are doneskies and ready for battle. Finally finished up my Valkyrie. He's been languishing in Almost Finished hell for so long. Well no more! Gave him the final colors, some ink washes, and a sweet name! Oh, and a pretty rad base I do declare. Now, back to work. These models won't paint themselves... Enjoy the photos!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/03/26 02:26:01
Oh boy! An Ogryn! A Nork to be precise. A black Nork to be even more precise. First attempt at painting black flesh. I think he turned out pretty good if I may say so. He's my current squad leader of the Ogryns; might supplement them with a box of the new ones coming out this release.
Egads! A Commissar Yarrick! I usually run him as just a Lord Commissar but I felt bad. Such an awesome mini deserves paint! The blue cord is a nod to all my friends in the Army Infantry. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading, and have a good one.
