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Hey Apologist, you might have seen this already, but maybe the Ultramarine related pictures will give you some ideas for your markings and such: LINK

Need a Family pic? hahahah... sorry, my imagination fills with stupid BBQ day snapshots of marines, hotdogs, burgers and rampaging Chapter familiars (pets).

As for my marines Malika - The Scythes of the Emperor.

More about them soon, thanks too Apologist, Migsula and Modhail's combined inspiration waking the slumbering conversion-bear within this disillusioned hobbyist.

Great stuff Apologist.

~ Tael.

Hey cats,
Hardrockfreak1337 wrote this on the art-based (true-scale) tutorial topic:

This is how they should look. The current GW models look like guardsmen in power armour. Why for the love of whatever god-like figure you believe in did they have to be Ultrasmurfs?

(My emphasis)

I thought I'd take a little break from painting and modelling to explain why I went for Ultramarines, so apologies for the discursive break in piccies!

I think that the way to make the biggest impact with a project like this is to make something simultaneously recognisable and unique: it's easy to make a big tank; but hard to make a big tank that's obviously a Leman Russ. Similarly, it's easy to make a big armoured model; but hard to make it look like an Astartes. The 'poster boys' of the Astartes are thus a good way for people to recognise them easily: a custom chapter would have been fun, but risked not being instantly recognisable.

I've been a long time guard player – Rogue Trader veteran! – and I finally decided I wanted to make a more elite army. What better than marines? Like pretty much everyone who started the hobby in those long-gone days, I'd fooled around with collecting a Blood Angels army, so I was initially tempted to create them.

However, I've also long had a regard for the Ultramarines – call it love of the underdog. There're a lot of people who really dislike the Ultramarines for their generic and hidebound conservative reputation, and there's a huge amount of background for them that I thought was ripe for development. What a shame that it couldn't be mined to make a cool army!

I really enjoy the creativity allowed by the mysterious 40k background, and thought that it would be great to try and make an Ultramarines army that got positive reactions; so I really got my head down with some research, and was careful when making up new background that it fitted in correctly. I'm not sure how successful I've been, but hopefully I haven't made any glaring errors!

It was important to make an army that was sympathetic to the GW interpretation of the Legion, but I feel it's equally important to be creative with the background: expanding and developing it rather than sticking ruthlessly to the letter of the law. A good example of this is my interpretation of the Primarch. He's never really been described in detail, and he tends to give the impression of being a rather stuffy, overblown character, which I thought was a huge shame. He was a Primarch, one of the most charismatic and interesting figures in the 40k universe – and more than that, he was in charge of the whole Imperium for a time: there's gotta be something going for him!

It would have been easy to make Julius Caesar in space, wielding a sword and with a wreath on his head, but that would have been a bit dull: at best pleasing ultra-conservative interpretations of him. I decided to cast my net a little wider, bringing in other classical references: Roman, Greek, Persian and even a sort of Conan-like imaginary feel. This guy, after all, is about twelve foot tall and built like a tank!

I also thought that the names Macragge, Konor and so forth had a bit of a Scottish feel, reinforced by its background as an 'inhospitable and rocky land', so I introduced a few subtle touches that hinted at that too; which led on to my view of Macragge in general. This is where the idea of Guilliman wielding an axe came from – it may be pure Hollywood Scottish, but I just thought that an axe was a suitably unusual weapon that'd add a little interest, and I also figured that the Axes of Ultramar used by the Honour Guard in 40k had to come from somewhere...

I've had a few negative reactions from die-hard Ultramarine purists, but I'm really pleased with how he's worked out, and the overwhelming majority of people really like the interpretation. In the end, it's your army, so when setting out on a project like this, have courage in your convictions and make the army you want to make. Take other people's opinions on board, but if you've got a vision for something, stick your neck out: it's the only way you'll make real progress.

WIP Roboute Guilliman

The Primarch! The Primarch!
Pre-eminent amongst his brethren in these benighted days, Guilliman was – and is – lauded as the Keystone of the Imperium; its greatest Champion, bar none.

It is of Guilliman that children learn; his example is demonstration even today of humanity's primacy amongst the stars – and his sacrifice and fate; betrayed by the perfidious Fulgrim, is well-known across the Imperium. Whether lectured from dusty tomes to impressionable young scholars, or re-enacted in barbarous firelit feasts, the tale of Guilliman's fate one of the few common tales, known from edge to edge of the Imperium.

Haunted by superstition, shrouded in ancient mystery, and muddled by telling and re-telling, all of the Primarchs tales have been debated for Millenia by archeoscholars and lexmasters. In all likelihood, none but the broadest strokes can be regarded as absolutely true – namely that the Primarchs waged war with genius never seen before or since; that they led their troops with unmatchable courage, and that they were never defeated, 'til fate led them against each other.

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However, the Hypon Monolith is a precious relic of the times of the Great Crusade, and paints a seldom-seen picture of Guilliman as a man – with flaws as well as strengths...

Great post, I agree completely on utilising a recognisable image to ensure a more defined impact. Your comments on puritanism and the interpretation are something every modeller should read. It's your army, build it how you want too.

Admittidly, your project is more realised than most would do, but the story carries so much gravitas.

Enjoyed that explanation alot.

best,
Tael.

Wow, I had been following your work on Warseer, and had managed to totally overlook that you had posted them here as well. Great stuff, and certainly a big inspiration!
Many people seem to gloss over the fact that, even before being inducted into the marines, when still a mere human, a boy at that, each of them had already performed several deeds worthy of legend. Once a marine they will only add to their warrior-epics.
Your marines just ooze that realisation from every armoured joint, they give a real sense of being invidiual warriors of legend. The background write-ups are great!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts behind your approach to this project. I found myself nodding in agreement several times.

This is excellent, definately inspiration to try my own termie truescales!

BTW: 'Archaon class armour' on Orar? Excellent!

this looks really awsome , I am going to make this a project after my guard get done .

On with the show!

Speculatores WIP
The Intelligence corps of the Ultramarines legion contained full but inexperienced battle brothers, who form Recon and Scout squads; hardened veterans, who impart their knowledge to the green troops; aspirants, who form scout squads; and a number of specialist Astartes staff who formed command and control nodes for large-scale engagements, supported by failed aspirants, intelligence agents and legion serfs.

Aspirant Wenham of Dilios

A Talassarian, Wenham is coming to the end of his aspirancy unusually quickly. The Sergeant-at-Arms has recommended his promotion to the tactical corps, being favourably impressed with Wenham's keen-wittedness and courage.


Equipped with a Talassarian-pattern combat shotgun and Macragge-pattern combat blade, Wenham also bears a set of webbing that contains additional Compac protein-feed (essential for the still-growing Aspirants for operations out of regular supply line), ammunition, hydro-plus water, and most prominently, a hard carapace of Martian Plate.

Aspirant Scout squads use carapace armour near universally – lacking the black carapace and plugs that allow full battle brethren to use power armour.



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Speculatores (as Aspirants are called in dialect: Macragge), are organised into loose groups and sent to support the main advance – either fighting alongside the full brethren, reporting intelligence, or performing sapping and sabotage actions.

This pict-capture shows Sergeant Marcon reporting to Brother Eumon on a successful vox-intercept mission. The remainder of the squad stand ready to fight off assailants.


Astartes scouts, or Speculatores in Macragge dialect, perform vital reconnaissance and intelligence work. Recruits and aspirants make up the bulk of their ranks, but a number of veterans are tasked with training the cadre, and some battle brethren cycle through to pass on skills. This may be due to personal inclination, a request from a superior, or due to the Astartes' squad being temporarily disbanded due to a reshuffle or casualties.

Aspirant Temitope

Proof, if any were needed, that scouts serve valiantly in the line of great danger, Temitope has a Calthan-mark bionic arm and Condor-pattern mulitspectral visual bank as a result of injuries sustained in battle against the orks of Hypon. A native of Iax, Temitope is proud and stubborn, and fought on while badly wounded and half-blind, earning the approbation of his superiors.

Aspirant Corinon

Drawn from the habs of one of the small coastal cities of Macragge, Corinon is serving with skill and distinction, especially in the ballistic arts.

Aspirant Nikias

Another Macraggian, Nikias is equipped with a standard Astartes-pattern bolt pistol. Note the webbing and equipment carried as standard. Bereft of armour storage and often away from supply lines, scouts and Brethren in carapace carry small amounts of rations and equipment, but are expected to forage and scavenge as necessary. This edict may seem harsh, but these are hard (if glorious) times for mankind.

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I've been trying to go for a more boyish look than the full-grown marines: these guys are supposed to be around eighteen or so, so no heavy stubble or wrinkles. I'm relying on lighter skintones and hair colours to get the idea across. Successful so far?

Techmarines Arius, by John Gravato.

A really great image, and one that I wanted to emulate.

I went for a looser, more painterly feel on this guy. I keep vacillating between really liking it and thinking 'I ought to tighten this up more'. I'm going to leave him as is for the moment, as he's definitely got something I really like.

Techmarine Arius
Like many Techmarines, Arius hails from the tech-savvy world of Calth, and was raised in the orbital shipyards in a minor Techniclan before submitting himself for inclusion in the PDF. Skimmed off the regulars by an Astartes chapter-serf overseer, Arius was sent to the training grounds of Macragge for suitability selection.

Arius' ken for machines was obvious from his first days in training, and he was quickly sent to Mars for induction into the Mysteries on his graduation to full Battle Brother. He served under the tutelage of Polonin, the Master of the Forge.


Techmarines are all capable and powerful warriors first and foremost, and tasked with electronic warfare duties, such as communcations jamming, IADS suppression, DE/LASER attack, expendable decoys (e.g., flares, chaff, blind), and counter remotely- or psychically-impelled explosive device systems.

Arius carries a heavy servo-harness, which incorporates spread-spectrum technologies, a Joint Restricted Frequency Vox, a Sightseer Targeter Array, twin Servo Arms, a Mark 1337 Hacksaw, plasma-impellor and Techpriest Haynes Manual.


Like all Techmarines, Arius had become distant and aloof from the day-to-day concerns of the Fratry by the time he had returned. He bears no heraldry; a symbol of his severance from worldly affairs into the brotherhood of the machine.
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Boo and hiss, all it says on your piccies is bandwidth exceeded :(

Maybe put them on Dakka´s gallery? I reaaaaally want to see what you´ve come up with for this guy.

Edit: (Wow, double post beat me to it, the techmarine is ace, I was referring to the scouts...)

Apologies for the bandwidth blowout – the photobucket account gets renewed tomorrow, so please pretend that the scouts are wearing 'leet stealth armour' until then.

Apologist wrote:Apologies for the bandwidth blowout – the photobucket account gets renewed tomorrow, so please pretend that the scouts are wearing 'leet stealth armour' until then.

Don't forget, you can use Dakka to host photos as well ^_-.

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I dig the new techmarine. I do think the servo harness could be more dynamic like in the pic though.

Fantastic stuff! I am baffled!

F'ing cool! Like some already said, maybe you could host the stuff on the dakka galleries, easier for here I guess!

Roboute Guilliman
Remembered chiefly through the hymnals of the Codex: Astartes, Guilliman is a figure of devotion and adoration in the current time; remembered as a diplomat and strategist. The common vision is of Guilliman during the Scouring: stern, taciturn and calculating. With little of the cold wrath his brothers Dorn or Manus unleashed; or the burning anger of Vulkan or Angron; Guilliman's phlegmatic approach to war was unequalled in its breadth and vision.

In these latter days, Guilliman grew brooding and dark, issuing brief, stern commands from the heart of the Fortress of Hera. Shouldering the titanic burden of overall command of the entire armed forces of the Imperium, even his superhuman intellect and physique was taxed by the nigh-impossible task of staunching the writhing Imperium's hundred-thousand wounds, and shepherding the Traitor Legions into exile.

In contrast, a unique (and whose veracity is hotly contested) record of the Primarch's speech from the Compliance of Sotha during the Lion's Paw campaign is quite at odds with the official verses of the Codex: Astartes. Containing none of the grandiloquence of the Codex, the Primarch's voice is quite otherworldly; a gravelly and heavily-accented murmur, speaking in curt and simple sentences dripping with menace and command in equal measure.

The speech is fragmentary and the other voices (tentatively identified as Ultramarines and officers of the Calthan XI ExPed) are frequently interrupted by the subsonic shells of the enemy; but the dour voice of the Primarch cuts eerily across the majority of the distortion.

In these benighted times, it is often difficult to imagine the glory days of the Crusade, but Guilliman's inspirational if brutal voice cuts across more than one hundred centuries like a blade.



Pictured here atop the ruins of Sotha, Guilliman's face is twisted by righteous wrath as he strikes down another of the Palisade Guard. Note the sheathed sword on his left hip. Guilliman was presented the double-handed clai-mour on his inauguration as Battle-King of Macragge, and wielded it in his early campaigns – hence the common image of him as a Crusader of Imperial Truth: a knight-paladin bearing a sword; as skilled with his tongue as his arm.

The Hypon monolith paints a different view: a noble and just king – but a king of warfare. The men of Macragge are brooding, dour and strong; and the Battle-King exemplified this beyond anything in their history.


Guilliman's personal heraldry was recorded in an enormous banner during his time as a High Lord, and is far too complex to decipher in this meagre space. His battle-regalia, shown here, is split in three. A white field at the top bears an inverted blue Legion symbol over a solid blue line; the ancient sign of Libra. The Emperor privately is believed to have presented Guilliman with a signet ring, believing him the best of His children to represent a balance of humours.

It is clear that Guilliman himself was not entirely convinced: the Crab and the Chariot overlaying this were incorporated into his Arms at his personal request at a later date, though he humbly subsumed them into the overall design. It is believed the circular field represents the Moon; though why this would be the case is debated by arcanologers.

On the lower half on the left, the yellow and black quartering of Konor, Guilliman's adopted father, is overlaid by a white circle with three 'V' designs; representing the three virtues of Macragge shielding the memory of Konor and his legacy.

On the right, a simple black-and-white chequered pattern symbolises The Myriad: the ten-thousand strong Fratry that greeted Guilliman upon his discovery.



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Pleased overall with how he's come out, though the shield might get reworked. It looks a little messy to me, and I think the crab would be better replaced with the astrological sign for cancer – it'd certainly help clean up the colour scheme. I'll have a think.

wow, this is a really inspirational log, i have to try your biggerising technique on a black templar, one of these days.
small question: what did you use for the legs on your scouts?

themightywarhamster wrote:small question: what did you use for the legs on your scouts?

I used Rackham's AT-43 UNA range of infantry. Star Troopers, I think.

Have any pics of Roboute next to some of the other SM's? Did you make him larger? Since the Primarchs were supposed to be larger compared to even the Astartes.

dashrendar wrote:Have any pics of Roboute next to some of the other SM's? Did you make him larger? Since the Primarchs were supposed to be larger compared to even the Astartes.

I worked towards a height of nine foot tall (around three metres), based on the description of the Lion's height in Descent of Angels. This puts him just over a head's height taller than my marines (who are around seven foot six tall), and puts puny humans (around five foot six) at just over his belt buckle!

There's a vague size comparison in the silhouetted pic at the top of the page, though bear in mind that he's on a raised scenic base – that's what's making him as tall as the dreadnought.

Great update, I had missed the scouts due to the outage of bandwidth problem, having seen them it was cherry and icing on the cake. Enjoyed the background, models and interpretation of the background. It does bring up the oddity there is little mention of voice recordings of these Imperial Legends, surely they were transcribed and recorded virtually every foot step they made. Something had to have survived

Inspiring stuff!
Tael.

Wow, just wow....
I missed the scouts last time round (bandwith...)
And I read the ill tidings over at Warseer...

But Guilliman is one hell of a comeback! Very impressive.

WOW! He's a real Primarch. Great! He could kick some Tyranids asses.

"This is Ultramar!"



EDIT: The rest of your Marines are some great Tyranidasskickers, too.

Primarch loks great.... especially his face, his expression is just spot on, exactly how i would imagine a primarch would view his foes with a mixture of hatred and contempt...

Oh God. Three weeks to go.

:blink:

Where did all the time go? Scrapshunt chronoshifting!

Not quite in full-scale Corporal Jones mode yet, but definitely shifted up a gear. I find I have to be in the right mood to paint: last-minute panic!

On the plus side, the remaining infantry are well on their way.
Here are the Metaeans, the veteran recon squad led by Sergeant Telcion (a special character similar to the scout sergeant in the 40k 'dex.

(L–R Misenon, Autolycus, Atreon Skotos, Sergeant Telcion, Bitterstone)


Sergeant Telcion


Detail of recon squad helmets.

[cont.]

[cont.]
I've only got a little time 'til the event now, so expect some rapid updates over the next few days – which'll doubtless include close-up individual shots, and lotsa background for the army.

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WIPs
I had a very productive weekend with the PCRC. It was QWERTY's (our club's resident mysterious überstrategist) birthday , so we ended up in an 80's theme bar on saturday night – and I ended up with a very sore head!

Collectively, my friends in the PCRC cracked the whip, trimmed mould lines, cursed at resin, sent encouragement and refreshing cups of recaff and were generally very helpful indeed. I thus have plenty of stuff to show, thanks to Omricon, Lord Blood the Hungry, Lucifer216, Bob_Hunk, grahamgilchrist and QWERTY (not to forget Omricon's wife, who baked cakes to keep my blood sugar above hangover Zombie level!)

Brother Teletas of the Ciconians


Various Praetors

Back row L–R Caius of the Furlong (Locrian), Mercution(Ciconian), Isathon (Ciconian), Fulgor Abraxas (Ciconian)
Front row L–R: Eudox (Ciconian), Albus of Iax (Locrian), ???, Ganymon (Locrian)

Fulgor Abraxas

I actually ended up making too many in the end, so this chap might be swapped with the ??? fella above. Can't quite decide which I think should make the final cut.

The remaining half-finished marines

Holy Emperor's left toenail...

..in the time it's taken me to get to new primer status on my first marine, you've churned out three squads.. hahaha.. you're a Forge machine.

I'm pretty much spent on all the great models for adjectives, but I do like the recon marine on the left (out of focus) his helm look very interesting.

Overall, massive update of some great models man

Didn't realise you had a deadline TBH.. look forward to this rash of updates!

~ Tael.

firstly, love what you have done with the true scale concept, really shows how marines should look and the Primarch, is dead spot on with the look and the body language.

but i have came upon a snag because I'm creating a true scale company master and well... I'm stuck, I'm up to the stage when you have to create the stomach area, i think i have the idea but I'm not quite sure. (the stage after filling in the legs).

thanks for the tutorial and good luck with the dead line!

One of the great advantages of unhelmeted marines is the opportunity to really make the face a focal point.

WIP Bitterstone of the Metaeans

Haven't finished by a long shot, but I find having the face done really helps stamp some identity on the figure. Note that I've already highlighted up the blue etc around his head, and base-painted the rebreather. This is so I don't accidentally paint over the face later.

Since he's a Terran, I'm pretty free with hair colour. Any ideas? I thought he'd look good mousy-brown, or perhaps redhead...

No such thoughts with Sergeant Telcion: this grizzled veteran keeps his hair cropped short. Still WIP, but again I've gone ahead and painted the face. Since this is the part I enjoy the most, you can see that I put a lot more time into it than the rest of the model.
I've always found that a good focal point will forgive a lot of errors. I'm not a particularly good technical painter – but a strong colour scheme and attention to detail goes a long way.

Note the bruising around the eye on the right. There's a little cut on the model here (I used the head from the Chaos Warrior sprue to get the grizzled, furious expression), so I developed this up with some purple glazes.

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WIP Teletas of the Ciconians

Really cracked on with this guy last night – he took up most of the evening after training*, but that does mean that he's nearly finished! I've long been a fan of black lenses in helmets, but it does strip the head of an eye-catching point. To ameliorate that, I've added some stark reflected highlights and a freehand legion symbol on his forehead.

Note also that the face area is highlighted up to an ever-so-slightly lighter tint than the rest of the armour, particularly round the eyelenses. This has the same effect as black lining does on light areas: creating a high tonal contrast between the dark blue faceplate/brow and the dark eyelenses; which draws the eye and helps it distinguish details.

I read on another blog that a painter that doesn't see room for improvement either doesn't paint, or doesn't improve. Well, I can see a lot to improve on here, but I am pleased with the face and the foremost shoulderpad trim: it's got a nicely subtle gredation of colour that doesn't draw the eye from the head too much.

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WIP Hetus

Of course, a decent base also adds a real sense of realism and gravity – even to something as fantasy/sci-fi as an Astartes. Hetus is nearly finished now – I've blocked in his basic heraldry (red and yellow diagonal quarters), so it's just a few dings and scratches, then a nameplate and he's done!

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Quick question: I'm in two minds about painting the Metaeans as the rest of the marines, or in the same camo scheme as the Rhino (blue and white stripes, with yellow dags). Any thoughts on which would look better?

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*I'm running the Edinburgh marathon in aid of Hospices for Hope at the end of May – if you would like to support the charity, please feel free to PM me and I'll send you the details.

These guys need weathering and an army badge each, but are otherwise complete.

The Metaeans
The Metaeans are a veteran Tactical squad hand-picked and led by the inimitable Sergeant Telcion. Each of the Metaeans has been awarded the Marksman's honour, being presented a gold-plated boltgun shell fired by Guilliman himself; and carries a Stalker-pattern boltgun into battle.

These boltguns are equipped with advanced Foestalker sights, which enhance the power armour's autosenses and enable the Astartes to keep up a fearsome rate of fire at longer ranges than usually possible. They are also equipped with stummers, nullifying the distinctive 'crack-boom' of the boltgun to a muffled thump.


This pict-capture was taken during the Annexation of Jyriad, one of Sotha's outlying moons. Note the muted grey shouldertrim – a nod towards camouflage that would not compromise the armour's Machine Spirit.

The marines each carry extended supplies necessary to their task: smoke, blind, krak and frag grenades, rations, entrenching tools, cameleoline blankets in addition to extensive communications and electromagnetic warfare gear for their role as reconnaissance and sappers. Sergeant Telcion himself bears a jamming beacon built into his backpack.

Recon squads work alone or in support of larger taskforces. Their presence in a warzone allows scout squads to operate to peak efficiency, with their Sergeants confident of immediate support if it proves necessary. This back-up is rarely revealed to the Speculatores themselves, however – self-reliance is a vital skill that must be learned.

Hope you like 'em: at this rate, I might even get the army finished in time...

Brother Teletas of the Ciconians
Teletas, like Telcion, is a Terran veteran, and trained under the auspices of the Unification War veterans. A solid soldier, Teletas excelled at his duties in the line, and was honoured with the task of protecting the ill-fated Chapter Master Valin Fain, Orpheo's predecessor.

Fain was assassinated during a diplomatic mission to Moracre, along with two of his honour guard. Teletas and the other guard, though injured, managed to fight their way clear and successfully transmitted the treachery of the Moracan's to the orbiting fleet.

A series of seemingly-impenetrable energy shields had been erected across major population areas and military installations, preventing orbital strike; and Fain's corpse lay unclaimed for a week, until a strike force of the First Chapter (the White Consuls) was able to make contact with the two marines groundside.

Teletas and his comrade guided the force back to the Palace of the Grand Poobah, and executed the entire court in retaliation for the outrage. The planet was made compliant the following month after a short and relatively bloodless campaign.


Teletas bears a Legion symbol on his forehead, marking him out as a veteran of the Moracre campaign. His yellow and black quartered heraldry marks mourning and vengeance; and is surmounted by the club symbol of Fain's personal heraldry in memorial.

Like many of the Terran veterans, Teletas is known for his pragmatism and unsentimentality – hence his standard Crusade helm. While his lack of creativity and imagination makes him unsuitable officer material, he is an excellent infantryman.