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I'm not sure the height is quite right on your truescale SM's as this is the correct scaling:

Dear Veteran Sergeant, your blog has inspired me in my continuing work on my crimson fists, I redid my wip tac squad and geared them up like your marines, and borrowed the wrist-auspex
pic in spoiler, so as not to jack your thread

AnUnearthlyChilde wrote:I'm not sure the height is quite right on your truescale SM's as this is the correct scaling:

I'm not so much worried about getting them 100% anatomically correct. I'm just trying to make them a bit more "epic" looking compared to the rest of the figures. They need to be about a head taller, or just over. They are pretty close, and I've tossed around the idea of adding another .5mm or 1mm at the lower leg/foot, but so far haven't pursued it. Though, the problem with Marines as they are posed without modifications to the feet or hip joints, is that they are slightly squatting instead of standing straight up.

Of course, the problem with that picture is that its own scale is off slightly. The 7'6" mark isn't where it should be based on where the 5'9 mark is.

Battle Brother Lucifer wrote:Dear Veteran Sergeant, your blog has inspired me in my continuing work on my crimson fists, I redid my wip tac squad and geared them up like your marines, and borrowed the wrist-auspex
pic in spoiler, so as not to jack your thread

Spoiler:

I like it. Glad the wrist auspex thing worked for you.

It almost didnt, I sliced the viewscreen wrong on the first 2 auspexs and had to scrounge another

Also, I love your cadian sergeant

Well, the good news is that you might be able to use the screwed up ones as "closed" auspexes.

So, this project has evolved... again.


Originally I wanted to stay away from any "advanced" modeling techniques for the time consumption. But, apparently my ability to keep at this project has little to do with the time used rather than the time allotted. Unsurprising.

So, since time isn't really an issue anymore, I decided to see what can be done with the standard legs, but re-posed entirely, rather than just extended and shifted slightly. I took a set of standard, wide-stance legs, and cut the feet free. After filing the the soft armor at the hips, I came up with a taller, closer together stance. The test model happened to end up as one of the Special Weapons troopers from my Assault Squad.

Here you can see how he measures up next to one of the Marines with the "running" legs from the Assault Marine sprues.



And here his is next to the classic Cadian who has served in a lot of my scale comps:



I will probably start doing this with more of the figures, even though it will actually require some green stuff sculpting, and more than basic gap filling. The bulkier pouches for the flamer fuel tanks/plasma coils/melta canisters were made with sprue and .5mm card for the flap, and need a bit of work, but the model itself isn't really finished.

Your technique looks solid. Really like the Raptors... er... Jump Infantry.

Here's a big update. First, the Assault Squad, minus a Sergeant, is done. 9 troops, two with magnetized special weapons arms.




And second, finally there is an HQ option, a Librarian.


This guy is a true bits mish-mash. Sanguinary Guard front torso, Grey Knights PA rear torso, biker helmet, Severin Loth arm, command squad leather belt, two different sets of legs combined, GK book bit with =I= filed off. GK Nemesis Falchion mounted to the Assault Sergeant arm, 2nd Edition Backpack, loose bolt pistol.




I had been struggling with what bits to make what command models out of, and I finally just decided "Screw it, enough pussyfooting around" and made him up. I've had the parts for this guy for a while. Hopefully you guys like him. I'm relatively pleased with how it turned out. Originally the legs were going to be for the Multilaser Devastator, but the stance didn't work with the way I had to pose him. As a commander/sergeant model, he was given an antenna helmet to show an upgraded comm suite for coordinating actions. Couldn't decide which one to give him, so he got the unaltered Biker helmet since I decided the others were too jumbled for a Librarian figure.

That puts the Battle Company at 41 Marines strong plus three Rhinos, a Razorback, LRC, Predator and Vindicator (Assembled (mostly because I bought them that way, haha). There are more vehicles still on the sprues, lol). I'll probably either whip up the Assault Sergeant next, or start on the second Devastator Squad. However, the fact the army is officially viable for the tabletop(even if perhaps not 6th Ed optimized yet) is kinda cool.

Oh, and I've got great news for RT fans, and it isn't just that I saved a bunch of money switching to Geico.
An image apparently taken from the 6th Edition book:


The Squat ban is officially over. I doubt they will be new models or a codex, but it's nice to know that the "We Don't Mention Squats" stupidity is finally over, and hopefully that erases the absolutely stupid "Ate by mysterious mid-galaxy Tyranids" unofficial story is gone too.

SQUATS!

Sorry, but that got me excited. Space Dwarves rule!

I'm picking up my 6th Ed book tonight from my FLGS and taking a crack at it Saturday night.

SQUAAAAAAATS!

Yeah, the Squats being officially acknowledged again made me pretty happy. I don't know why, lol. It isn't like they're going to get new models or rules, but I always thought the whole "We Don't Ever Mention Squats" thing was a rather childish response to a disappointed player base whose models were made entirely obsolete because the guys at GW were too lazy to give them rules. I mean, it would have been incredibly simple just to give them a WD codex that made them a sub-list for Imperial Guard (that's all they ever really were. Same tanks, same basic weapons and armor) and would have kept 90% of their model range usable. I mean, that's essentially what they've done with the Sisters of Battle. Though, perhaps the response to the SIsters is the result of "lesson learned" in regards to how they handled the Squats.

That said GW did the same with Chaos Dwarves, but in the end, they got their own showing as a Forgeworld list... so it isn't that unlikely we'd get new models... plus the Demiurg were a way to reintroduce them to the game also... so they have options... and the squat homeworld was officially eaten by a Tyranid splinterfleet. which is what gave birth to the Demiurg, as a distant reletive to the squats which is why the demiurg became independantly advanced from the squats and the Imperium.

Actually, it was never "officially" eaten by Tyranids because it was never actually in any official material. The developers got tired of being hassled by Squat players and it was mentioned once by Jervis Johnson that the Tyranids ate them, lol. Except the Squat Homeworlds (there were many of them) aren't really near any of the Tyranid Hive Fleets and other members of the design team have since said they'd never heard anything of the sort. The "Et by Tearnidz" can be loosely translated to "Go away, stop bothering us about Squats" from guys who were tired of having the same discussion over and over.

Hopefully this is GW's way of apologizing for flippantly dismissing Squat fans. And since there was really never any official mention of the Squats being eaten, it doesn't even retcon anything. The funny part is, I was never a huge Squat fan back in the day. They grew on me as I got older, probably because nostalgia makes everything look cooler. I'd love to see them get a more modern treatment. I mean, all of the factions were a bit silly in Rogue Trader, even the Space Marines. If they got rid of the walking trash can Exo Armor, and perhaps made the bikes and trikes less silly and more modern (or just dispensed with them), they could bring them back. The reason people look back and say "The Squats didn't fit" is because the only version of the Squats that exists is the RT one. They never got grimdarked like everybody else did. But anyway, I don't want to turn my plog into a discussion of Squats (only because this isn't the place for it).

Any publication that is made by GW is classed as offical canon, as such it was printed in an issue of Fanatic when it was still in print that their homeworld was Devoured. It was a splinter fleet of Kraken that ate them.

Okay, here's my latest work, some new Sergeants.

First, I finished the Assault Squad by adding its Sergeant. The jump pack was an Ebay purchase that the previous owner didn't take much care in assembly and I'll have to fix later, but otherwise, he's pretty standard except for the Dark Angels power fist and the Sanguinary Guard legs. I modified the legs to lean a little less far forward by filing the base along the bottom to be a different angle. The arms are both magnetized, though the fist is the most dynamic option so I took the pictures with it.




Sorry for the poor image quality. Not sure why these two didn't turn out too well.

The second model is a Veteran Sergeant who will probably be part of the Command Squad, or a Sergeant for the 1st Squad (which will be Counts As Sternguard). He's a mish mash of bits like the Librarian. Wolf Pack legs, FW torso from the Red Scorpions Honor Guard, antenna head (vehicle sprue?), Commander sword arm with blade from the High Elf Archer command sprue (looks like the Roman Maintz pattern gladius/spatha).

Here he is with that combi-melta from the other Sergeant.

Storm Bolter arm and standing next to the Librarian:


Just how tall is this beast?



Yes, they're on the same level and the sword cuts at a regular Space Marine's throat. The metal standard bearer was stripped to be used as a test model for paint schemes.


As far as the Stormbolter, that's another of my creations. I don't like the fact that all the Stormbolters are only usable with one hand. Makes sense for Terminators, but there should be models for regular power armored Marines. So I present the Cerceus Pattern Stormbolter:



Box mag cut free and moved back. Rear of bolter extended in order to accommodate the new position for the pistol grip. Piece of sprue cut and filed to fit as a forward grip. While the model is one-handing it for dramatic effect (and because the arm is magnetized for easy swapping), this weapon can now be used with the standard left arm support hands were you to want to put one on a "regular" model.

The ASM are looking great, dare I ask when these beauties might see some paint?

D

Amazing conversions! Glad I stumbled upon this blog, it may just inspire me to get cracking with my own marine army!

That IG vet has inspired me so much I may just give up on what I was painting and start putting some more guard together right now.

Subbed! Keep up the great work.

Cain

I'm glad to have derailed all of your projects Cain. Glad you've enjoyed it so far.

For those interested about paint, I finally have a color scheme I like, and even a background and name for my chapter. That was nearly as hard as assembling them. The count is up to 44 assembled Space Marines (out of the 110 to 115 that will be necessary).

Number 44 being this guy:


Obviously, he's a bit of a departure from the others who are modeled to appear to be completely functional, no nonsense Marines. However, the company needs a Standard Bearer, and I decided that I'd key in heavily on the Greco-Roman imagery of the Ultramarines, of whom this chapter will be Successors of. He's a true bits mish-mash like the Librarian. Sanguinary Guard torso front (with blood drop icons filed off. The central chest one needs a little work to round it out still). Sanguinary Guard laurel head. Space Wolf pelt torso (Roman legionary standard bearers were often draped in pelts). Standard Bearer pole arm. The chainsword arm is magnetized. The legs are standard Marine legs cut and re-posed to give him the lurching appearance.

The standard itself was a bit of a challenge. I knew that even with the somewhat dressed up nature of the character, that I didn't want a banner. A giant flapping flag is a hindrance and liability on the battlefield. So, again drawing inspiration from the Romans, I decided to make a Space Marine styled imitation of the classic Roman aquila/signa. The top is actually from an ancient Goblin Spearman. The "U" is the Ultramarines standard pole top with a hole drilled through it. I had to file the tip of the pole down slightly to accommodate it. The Aquila is from the Rhino sprue, with a second set of wings glued to the back to give it texture on both sides. However, I was at a loss as to how to imitate the discs. Then, inspiration struck and I turned to an old standby. Bits of sprue. Cut off carefully, they become perfect circles (well, to the limits of science obviously) and just thick enough for substance. These ones were cut from Landspeeder sprues. The original thought was for the standard to double as a weapon, and while it does to an extent, I may decide to go back and redo it a little.



And here he is with his two Standard Bearer buddies:



He has the wolf pelt back because of the pelts worn by the classic Roman standard bearers. I'm figuring I'll paint it up as a lion pelt or something as soon as I figure out how to do that. Having the lion's head draped over the helmet seemed like it would be impossible to do right, so I abandoned it early, opting for the laurels head instead, since that's another classic Roman image/icon and it's actually associated with Standard Bearers in the universe already. I chose the torso front because it had all of that other laurel iconography too. This guy's definitely in "parade dress" but hey, these are seven and a half foot tall genetically modified psychopaths. They can do that if they want.

Love the bearer. You sure put a lot of thought into it and that's what gives your marines a character of their own. Lookin great so far, and btw what is the color scheme you have decided on? please tell me its not ultra smurf blue...? x.x

Keep up the cool work !

Wh40kPicasso wrote:Love the bearer. You sure put a lot of thought into it and that's what gives your marines a character of their own. Lookin great so far, and btw what is the color scheme you have decided on? please tell me its not ultra smurf blue...? x.x

So we're sticking with Ultrahate even though Dark Angels are now the posterboys?

Hey, i don't hate the ultramarines, i just think they look kinda preppy. Don't get me wrong, all space marines are BA's, but the bright blue and gold says preppy to me! plus rowboat girlyman is a poon.

P.s. Oh and Great job Veteran Sergent so me and calgar 2.5 don't hijack your post! U know i got love for your space mahreens!

Wh40kPicasso wrote:Hey, i don't hate the ultramarines, i just think they look kinda preppy. Don't get me wrong, all space marines are BA's, but the bright blue and gold says preppy to me! plus rowboat girlyman is a poon.

So getting sigged

Haha. It's fine. I don't care as long as the discussion doesn't get carried away. If anything, it gives people a chance to see the blog who might not have and offer feedback I might be able to use.

Actually, I think poor Guilliman is the least understood of the Primarchs (as in misinterpreted). He's actually one of the more complex of the Primarchs when you analyze his motivations and actions. Some of them are the result of a fluff that was constructed before the primarchs were, but it ends up making Guilliman a pretty interesting dude. The 1d4chan rants are amusing, but they shouldn't be taken too seriously as they're actually pretty flawed since most of the stuff they blame Mat Ward for was actually created by Rick Priestley and crew twenty years ago, lol. In the end, somebody had to be the one to put the Imperium back together, somebody had to be the best. Seems kinda pointless to hate the Ultramarines for being chosen. After all, the other three "Big Four" chapters (Blood Angels, Dark Angels and Space Wolves) have gotten more than their fair share of spotlight. Only Crimson Fists fans should be irritated. Their chapter went from the cover of Rogue Trader, to being the successors of a chapter that wasn't even in Rogue Trader.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:Only Crimson Fists fans should be irritated. Their chapter went from the cover of Rogue Trader, to being the successors of a chapter that wasn't even in Rogue Trader.

QFT, and I've wondered about that more than once. GW needs a fluff historian, not a history re-writer.

Standard Bearer is AWESOME! He could be leading Roman Praetorians!

Well, it's that there are really 2 eras for 40K. Rogue Trader, and "modern" 40K, which started with 2nd Edition. Fluff and other such from the pre-2nd Edition days has to be taken for what it is, lol. Who knows why they chose the chapters they did when they consolidated the fluff for 2nd Edition, to be honest. There was the "Big 4" of BA, DA, SW, and UM in 2nd Edition, and it's remained that way. The Crimson Fists falling in prominence has always seemed a little strange to me, considering how much stuff they were featured in during the RT days, and how little the Imperial Fists were, by comparison. /shrug. If you started in 2E, you might haven't even known who the Crimson Fists were. Somebody should find Rick Priestley and ask him, haha.

Ultramarines hate has always amused me though. I mean, even though they were touted as "The greatest of all Space Marine Chapters" on the back of the 2nd Edition Codex: Ultramarines, they've been, traditionally, the weakest list because GW never packed their codex books with exotic, undercosted unit types and overpowered SCs. And since GW decided it was a better marketing decision to rename it to Codex: Space Marines, they even lost their own codex (even though C:SM is still Codex: Ultramarines since the fluff and painting guides remain about them). I mean, at some point, GW had to choose a "flagship" chapter to be the poster boys. Since they had four well established chapters, the Ultramarines were the only ones that were generic enough. The UM don't need any additional explanation. They don't have fangs, or hoodie bathrobes, or fur. If you know what a Marine is, in the real world, if you imagine one 38,000 years in the future, the Ultramarines fit that bill. Square jawed, short haired Big Guys in Big Armor with Big Guns (BGBABG). Funny enough, before Mat Ward, people just complained that Ultramarines were "boring", so the Ultramarines hate is far older than the most recent codex. It's just evolving, driven by a small, angry minority who apparently think that their favorite color of plastic toy soldier needs to be the "best". I think my favorite bit is the quip in the 3rd or 4th Edition Codex: Space Marines which has a poke at the fans who were complaining about the Ultramarines in one of the fluff bits. I don't have the books with me, but I'll post it when I can find it.

Anyhow, someone on another forum asked how they stack up, scale wise, with the standard vehicles. Please don't give me a hard time about how sloppy the Predator is, heh. This one was a pre-built EBay rescue on the cheap, so the clean-up work will be worth it. Plus, the side weapons hadn't been glued on, so it makes for easy magnetizing.



So here's the model next to a Predator (balanced on bases for a more accurate height comparison). I mean, yeah, they look a little too big, but, then again, they always do. I should have included an unmodified Marine, but as you can see that the changes in height don't throw off the comparative scale that badly. Real world APCs are pretty cramped, and you have to duck coming out the doors. So while, yes, a 10 or 15% increase in Rhino size might help, it's not that bad. I can't bring myself to even contemplate modifying all of the company's vehicles too, haha. For the sake of my sanity, they're going to stay standard in size and the modifications or conversions will be cosmetic (or magnetic) in nature.

.....I'm in love with the 31mm style, my Imperial Fits might have to get an upgrade

I know you've said you're not interested in doing true scale vechicles, but I'll leave this here anyway

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/398049.page

The standard bearer looks wicked by the way.

D

Yeah, I've seen that thread. I'm a fan of the True Scale vehicles. The problems are thus: Many of my vehicles are already assembled and disassembling them is a lot more work and dangerous than disassembling the Space Marines that I have, lol. That's just a lot of work. I have a hard enough time sticking with assembling these little bastards simply because at least an hour of work goes into just the basics for each guy. It's a lot of back pain being hunched over tiny plastic models for somebody like me who humped heavy packs, body armor, ammo, etc for so long, heh.

Glad you guys have enjoyed the project though. I really like the Standard Bearer too, even though he's a little outlandish compared to the more no-nonsense look of the rest of the army.

The good news is that the project isn't dead. I do think about it from time to time. I just haven't have the time and motivation to work on it. I have my full time big boy job, school in the afternoons and evenings, my compulsive gym habit, a new girl (who I haven't been willing to expose to my hobbies as I'm a closet nerd), and well, it's been summer and I live in San Diego near the beach, lol. One of my buddies has expressed interest in doing something crazy like actually play 40K, so maybe I'll get motivated. After all, I have a few hundred dollars in unassembled plastic models in the closet right now, haha.

I've always thought the Rhinos were *way* too small. The NEW Rhino would fit the RT Space Marines (barely), but the new buffed out models make the Mk I Rhino look like a golf cart, and the current Rhino is still a clown car. The closest they have come to getting it right is the Land Raider.

Models are looking good.