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Curis' Painted 40K: Primaris Space Marines, Rogue Trader and more! (May 2022: Actual SPACE DWARFS)  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





As it's Orctober, and as my initial plan to model and paint a Warhammer 40,000 scale Ork Spleenrippa has stalled, I fired out this David Bowie inspired Squig. Presenting Squiggy Stardust.



He could lick you by smiling.


Other musical Ork mashup ideas considered were:

The Notorious S.Q.U.I.G.
Red Grot Chili Peppers
Squig Squig Sputniks
Björk
Tina Turnork

(Presented there in descending order of cringe. The ones you find most awful were the work of either cheetor, Crooks or AJ.)



This Squig is one of the first models in my collection of Warhammer 40,000 2nd edition Orks, which will include all the Kev Adams and Perry classics. This level of pun will not run through the rest of the project.

This message was edited 15 times. Last update was at 2022/05/06 09:36:32


 
   
Made in ca
Yellin' Yoof on a Scooter




Eastern Sierra

This is a hilarious idea. I love it.
   
Made in au
Unstoppable Bloodthirster of Khorne





Melbourne .au

As I've said elsewhere - this is a great idea, executed really nicely.

   
Made in au
Tunneling Trygon






Part of me wants to point out that the lightning bolt was Aladdin Sane and not Ziggy Stardust, but I love this too much for such pedantry
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





You are right, Tim. I did not actually know that till you pointed it out. Ho hum!

I painted my first Primaris Space Marine! He’s Nemesis Chapter – an Ultramarines successor chapter with origins in the dark days of the Horus Heresy.



Sergeant Glaucon, 2nd Battle Company, 3rd Squad, Nemesis Chapter. His banner reads ΝΕΜΕΣΙΣ – “nemesis” in Greek capitals.


This Intercessor Sergeant, from Games Workshop’s Dark Imperium starter set, is largely indistinguishable from the squad he leads. Traditionally, Space Marine sergeants have a different weapon configuration (something Napoleonic like pistol and swords), bare heads and big banners to mark them out. I originally finished painting the mini, but was uneasy with how he looked alongside the rest of the squad. Only thing to distinguish him was the helmet being red.



The eagle-eyed amongst you will also spot the checks added to his right pauldron since this photo was taken.


So I added a dirty great banner. This one is from the Space Marine Ironclad Dreadnought, which matches the swollen proportions of the 2017 Space Marine iteration. Here’s Glaucon next to some classic Space Marines with flags to show the scale creep over the last 30 years.



Left to right: 1987 Blood Angel; 2013 Ultramarine; 2017 Nemesis Marine.


Yeah yeah, I know you’re gonna say “Marines got swole cos of Guilliman’s super-seed”, but I reject your fluff-lead view of Games Workshop’s miniatures and state flatly that Primaris is the new de facto Space Marine and is directly comparable to the other two Marines above. Nurrr.



Glaucon leading his little brothers from Ultramarines Squad Varenus.


The Dark Imperium box is overwhelming with the amount of Marines in it, and I’m going to trick myself into thinking it’s one of the smaller starter sets so I’m making better progress through the purchased model pile. Next off – the rest of the Intercessor squad!

More miniatures on my blog: http://www.ninjabread.co.uk

 
   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






Your painting is stellar, and that iconography is magnificent. I also love the Astartes evolutionary chart.
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Thanks youwashock! Hoping to do load more banners on the rest of hte Dark Imperium box by the end of this year.

The day school broke up for Christmas when I was thirteen was also the day I got my teenage nerd-mitts on two legends of the Warhammer 40,000 mythos – Marneus Calgar and Leman Russ. As an adult, both vignette pieces still give me such an intense festive tingle that I want to repaint them and have them in my cabinet. First up, Imperial Commander Marneus Calgar.



Marneus’ components stripped and based up individually for ease of painting.[/i]



There are two sources for colour schemes – the first is the original studio paintjob, now in the collection of Bryan Ansell. It stood out from the rest of the 40K range at the time because the figure was not in a battlefield setting – Marneus is sat on a throne with the Ultramarines motto “Our presence remakes the past”, ceremonial cloak and honour guard behind him. (Not that that stopped teenage Curis using him in a battlefield setting – there were lots of games with increasingly desperate conceits why the Ultramarines had brought furniture to war.)



Thanks to Steve Casey for permission to use his photo.[/i]


The second source is the Dave Gallagher painting used as a frontispiece in the 1988 Warhammer 40,000 Compendium. Sadly Dave’s choice of black-and-white floor tiles make it look like Marneus is on the toilet, which is further reinforced by the sheet of toilet paper he’s holding.



“Lord Macragge? More like Lord Macrapping!”[/i]



Tantalisingly White Dwarf announced Marneus “…is the first in a planned series of specially sculpted vignette releases for WARHAMMER 40,000…”. Tantalising as there could have been dozens of these figures to collect and love. The second and final was Leman Russ. I reckon there was also a Imperial Commander Nisk Ranthawll being dressed in experimental armour planned. That’s an idea for a future modelling project.
So, anyway, drawing on both I blocked out the base colours. I went for quite a tight rendition of the Dave Gallagher piece, with blue chest cabling and Mordian Blue plate. I started with the bolter and the cloak so I could reward myself at the end with the actual character model. I added a Mk 6 plastic backpack as, although the studio example doesn’t have one, there is an attachment nub.

[/i]


Calgar’s base took a little thought. I made a set of stone flags, using the tops of 25mm square bases (who needs them now we’ve got Age of Sigmar). Then the first thing I tried was painting them cold grey stone.

[/i]


It didn’t work. The blue armour blends in with the grey base. Then, I remembered the Forge World Roboute Guilliman and his polished marble base. It screamed quasi-classical. How very Ultramarine. I got the marble recipe from a helpful peep at the Forge World store.



I hammed up the veins more than I would if I were painting the modern Roboute – it felt more in keeping with the pudginess of the 1980s sculpt. Everything about the older models is a bit more cartoony than their 21st century descendents.

[center][/i]


Additionally, he made it into the 30th Anniversary of Space Marines issue of White Dwarf! Sadly I wasn’t credited with the paintjob, but I’m happy with readers assuming it’s a ‘Eavy Metal paintjob like the other two Marneuses/Marneuī on the page.

[/i]


Now, let’s see if I can give Leman Russ the same treatment this Christmas.

 
   
Made in ca
Powerful Spawning Champion





Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Your skill is incredible! That's is so cool you made it into the White Dwarf. Congratulations!

   
Made in au
Dakka Veteran





Australia

Gorgeous work. Congrats on the white dwarf!

   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





This time I present Battle Brother Groma from the Crimson Fists Space Marine Chapter, and Ruin Priest Theodolitus from the Adeptus Mechanicus.



Only the strongest will surv-ey.


This pair came into being as I've already painted iconic archaeologist Indiana Jones for the project, and it's made me want some more Warhammer 40,000 excavation personel.

Theodolitus is an Adeptus Mechanicus Ruin Priest (not to be confused with the Rune Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus or Space Wolves), specialising in archaeological investigation. You can see from his hunched back and tattered trousers Theodolitus has spent his entire career painstakingly trowelling back trenches hoping to uncover archaeotech secrets and alien artefacts from ancient times. He is a very different adherent of the Cult Mechanicus to the Techpriest Enginseers normally seen repairing machinery mid-battle; Theodolitus only works on battlefields abandoned centuries ago. Actual warfare – he wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole.



Check out the holstered trowel added to the Ruin Priest's belt.


Theodolitus is a minor conversion of the standard RT601 Adventurers Tech-priest. I replaced his staff with brass wire, but kept the original top with its 1980s Adeptus Mechanicus wing symbol – simply flipping it backwards and adding a ball of putty painted like a survey lens. On the back of his belt I added his trusty archaeology trowel – "Trenchbane" – made from a diamond of plasticard, a length of wire and putty.



Theodolitus recording an ancient battlefield containing wreckage of an original Mars Pattern Warhound Titan.


Battle Brother Groma has been temporarily requisitioned by from the Crimson Fists chapter to serve with the Explorators of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Groma served in his chapter as a Fire Support Specialist, relaying co-ordinates the rocket strikes of the Crimson Fists' Whirlwind formations. He is equally at home operating the las-survey devices of the Adeptus Mechanicus to record their archaeological digs, though it took him time to adjust to the tedium of measuring points on a landscape without witnessing their fiery destruction seconds later.



Groma's graffitied survey case and his freehand Crimson Fists Chapter icon.


I converted Groma from the biker-with-scanner torso from the 1980s Space Marine bike range. His legs are a mongrel of metal biker legs and RTB01 plastic legs. The tripod is plastic rod, and bits box spares.

I decided on Crimson Fists colours as it's the iconic Rogue Trader look, and it might lead in to a Battle at the Farm project later in the year. I experimented with several different blues, trying to keep him away from the Ultramarines Blue as seen on my Rogue Trader Marneus Calgar, settling on a mix of Citadel Mordian Blue, Citadel Mechanicus Standard Grey and Vallejo Royal Purple. The key to a classic Crimson Fists scheme is staying away from white and gold, and getting in a lot of crimson.



Groma sometimes imagines Theodolitus and his ******* pole obliterated in a storm of rocket fire when he glimpses him through his sights.


More of my 40K Rogue Trader minaitures here.

More of my every sort of miniatures here.

 
   
Made in gb
Beast of Nurgle





Nottingham

Echoing everyone else - these are genuinely incredible!

Daerekh Dynasty
check out my Death Guard progress here

DC:90S+G-M++B--IPw40k17-D++A+/sWD-R++T(B)DM+ 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Thanks ww!

At the start of the year me and my mates realised we were all keen on painting Titans, and March of the Titans was born – paint any Titan at any scale by the end of Mars’ month. I fancied rewinding time to 1989 when Warhound Titans first appeared in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and painting one in the seminal War Griffons colours.



The original advertisement for Codex Titanicus in White Dwarf 116.


I’ve been the proud owner of a secondhand 40K scale Armorcast Warhound Titan for years now, and it was the perfect excuse to repair and repaint him. Here it is with the previous owner’s, frankly terrifying paintjob.



The Chaos Titan Sclera Morphiosa ready to stare down opponents.


Several baths in various chemicals melted away the thick paint, revealing the bare naked resin. I prised away the putty embellishments like the Chaos Star forehead and the odd groin-face, thankful that these were additions made without damaging the original model. Evenings were spent refilling casting bubbles, reshaping with car body resin, sanding and preparing the kit for a glorious War Griffons paintjob. I bought greenstuff rollers and brass wire to do some extra greebling, and planned designs for the legio’s banners.



Reconsecrated for Imperial service.


Only now the March deadline was looming. And I’d never painted a kit this size before – the biggest things I’d painted recently were a couple of small Blood Angels vehicles in 2015, and vehicles are not my strongpoint. Excitement had turned to dread as the remaining timeframe meant the paintjob would have to be chronically rushed.

Fuuuuuuu…

And so I changed tack. I paused the 40K scale Titan and painted an Epic scale one in the same scheme. I could lie to you and say it was a deliberate move to practise the colour scheme and study the challenges of painting its 40K scale counterpart, and the matching weapon options back me up. But it wasn’t. It was a cop out. A tactic to avoid getting bullied by the likes of Asslessman and Rochie who had already finished their March of the Titans offerings.



Introducing Improcerus Compromissum, with Vulcan Mega-Bolter and Turbo-Laser Destructor.


I spent a while squinting at the original Wayne England illustration, trying to work out what the dappled grey pattern on the carapace was. Was it WW2 German dapple camoflague? Was it an attempt to emulate the airbrushed textures of H. R. Giger? Was it depicting a beaten metal texture as opposed to the trimming’s chrome? Was it the artist trying to give a sense of immense scale? Twitter consensus was that it was a dapple texture, so I painted and highlighted a series of blobs on the carapace. I refined the technique as I worked around the Titan – you can see the inside of the Titan’s right leg in the photo above being different to the other areas.



I’m dead chuffed with the freehand Legio Gryphonicus devices on the banner and the calf.


I interpreted the golden yellow areas as actual gold, rather than matt yellow (as Rochie has on his Legio Gryphonicus). I’m unsure if this was the right decision, and I might switch it to yellow for the Armorcast one. Yellow is much bolder than gold, and would give the Titan a much more toyriffic vibe that’s completely in keeping with the goofy anthropomorphised animal design. Let me know what you think in the comments.



Improcerus Compromissum supported by the 2210th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing and Dark Angel Space Marines.


Check out Asslessman’s Warlord here. And you can check out Rochie’s Warlord here, which is accompanied by a Warhound from the War Gryphons just like mine.

Stay tuned to Ninjabread for the completion of the 40K scale Armorcast counterpart.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/05/09 11:23:09


 
   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

The warpuppy looks great, appreciate the interpretation on the War Gryphons' speckling. FWIW, I look forward to seeing the proper warhound in time - and had a hearty chuckle at the original paint, chaos af groin-face and all

Since the links to the other titans didn't paste over, here they are for the curious:

http://leadplague.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/march-of-titans-imperial-warlord-titan.html

http://buriedunderlead.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/march-of-titans-malleo-hominis-warlord.html

- Salvage

KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Thanks Salvage! That's a little odd that the formatting didn't preserve.

With a Strontium Dogs game on the horizon from Warlord Games, my mind is all a-flutter with 2000AD miniatures. Games Workshop had the licence in the 1980s and put out a sweet range of figures just before creating the iconic Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader, and this is the first release in that range – Judge Dredd himself.



“Taking photographs of a judge on a blue fade background – that’s five years in an iso-cube, creep.”


Fascinatingly a number of 2000AD figures were recycled into the nascent Warhammer 40,000 range. Figures either had their parts cannibalised (like Traitor General‘s head reappearing as an Imperial Inquisitor’s), or were simply rereleased with new names (like Slaughter Margin “Mek” and Mega Hound becoming Imperial Assault Trooper and Robo-Dog).



“Rotating a judge on a blue fade background – that’s fifteen years in an iso-cube, creep.”


I went for blue and an NMM yellow on the uniform instead of black and gold to emphasise the comic book nature of Dredd. The figure was an experiment but I’m really pleased with how he turned out and will happily roll the colour scheme out to the rest of my Justice Department miniatures.



Dredd guarding N[sub]2[/sub]0 canisters – bet that’s a … barrel of laughs.


The chemical barrels and wooden pallets are advance castings from the excellent Fogou Models – they should feature in a Kickstarter soon. While Asslessman and axiom have taken the approach of simply drybrushing and weathering their advance castings, I’ve went utterly overboard with biohazard symbols and other freehand.



In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only Warhol.


As well as more judges, I fancy painting a gang of the classic 2000AD alien mercenarys – Kleggs – for a Necromunda campaign. Or Rogue Stars games. Watch this space!

 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Time to collect a new Space Marine force! Crimson Fists – the Rogue Trader poster boys. These Fists are hand-picked from the 1987–1989 Imperial Space Marine ranges sculpted by Bob Naismith, Aly Morrison and Mark Copplestone. I have a real soft spot for this era of Mk6 design. There’s a certain je ne sais quoi to the early Warhammer 40,000 aesthetic that was lost when the Mk7 Jes Goodwin designs were introduced in 1990. There’s a joyful bulbousness to them that reflects the early days of Rogue Trader, before it settled down into the tightly-codified juggernaut that endures to this day.


Fist in, last out – Squad Onan.


Veteran Sergeant Onan’s casting had a damaged head, and has had a new one grafted on from a Golden Heroes Supervillain. I added the bionic eye during painting to hide the incredibly long eyeball that continued round the side of his head. The banner is tomato puree foil mounted on a brass rod pole. The bladed bionic arm with its super-awkward pose is entirely original – if anyone know what he’s actually meant to be doing please leave a comment.



The backpacks and other elements were sculpted with a beautifully ham-fisted assymetry.


I’ve settled on the rule of left-hands-crimson on Battle Brothers, and both-hands-crimson on Veterans. The Heavy Bolter Marine has Veteran status to justify him wearing a Power Glove. I particularly love this model as his nonsensical wargear (that’s illegal in all future editions of Warhammer 40,000) places him firmly in Rogue Trader territory.

Freehand Fist Icons


My rendition of the Crimson Fist icon is based on the banner from the Rogue Trader cover, but I’ve experimented with simplifying the thumb/forefinger area between Marines. Since their armour designs differ so much I’m not going to revisit and amend any designs once I’ve settled on the final iteration.



This hobby is called: The Freehand Fists Hobby.


I couldn’t resist adding the correct weaponry icons and armour graffiti too. I’ve got to add a Medic to the force simply so I can scrawl “FIST AID” on his armour. I also fancy a Marine with “FIST BUMP”. In fact I’ve got a whole list of quickfire “FIST” and “HAND” phrases ready to deploy.

Crimson Fists Grand Plan

I’ve planned 1,000 points using the Whitescars army list from the Book of the Astronomican. This era of army list is the sweet spot for me. Space Marines have been rounded out from the single squad type presented in the Rogue Trader rulebook, but it’s before a lot of their iconic troop types have been dreamed up – no Terminators, no Scouts, no Rhinos, no Techmarines. On one hand they’re recognisable enough to a modern Warhammer 40,000 player, but on the other hand there’s a smattering of ideas like “Cobra squad” and “Reconnaissance squad” that have since disappeared from the background. I love this particular early incarnation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe where the concepts are still crystallising.


SQUAD ONAN

1 Marine Champion [9], Bionic Arm [30], Bionic Eye [30]
69 POINTS

3 Marines [3*8], 3 Bolt Guns [3*2] and 3 Frag Grenades [3*1]
33 POINTS

1 Marine [8], Heavy Bolter [15], Power Glove [15], Targeter [5], 2 Suspensors [2*2]
47 POINTS

Basic Equipment (all models): Bolt Pistol [1.5], Knife [0], Powered Armour [6] (with Communicator [0.5], Respirator [0.5], Auto-senses[0.5])
45 POINTS

TOTAL: 194 POINTS


The full force (17 Marines on foot and a Dreadnought) is partially based on the seminal Rogue Trader Battle at the Farm scenario (which was Pedro Cantor plus fifteen Tactical Marines), but I’ve spiced up the weapon choices for the sake of variety and model availability. Here’s the first squad defending make-shift farm barricades!



Bonus Ninjabread points if you can spot where Tech-priest Theodolitus is hiding.jpg


Sho3box has very generously lent me Skabsquig’s Skallywags for these Battle at the Farm photos. You can see more of them here and here.



Crimson Fists parading their farm candy.


This terrain I’m using as the iconic Rogue Trader farm is going to launch on Kickstarter imminently from the excellent Fogou Models. Mr. Fogou sent me an advance casting in return for me taking photographs like this.

Coming soon – another Rogue Trader Crimson Fists squad and maybe a character!

More of my miniatures at: http://www.ninjabread.co.uk

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/05/24 12:41:02


 
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka





6 foot underwater

Lovely work. Squiggy is inspired, and I really like the fist squad, takes me back.

cyborks & flyboyz : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/300067.page
heretical ramblings : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/302773.page
imperial preachings : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/303365.page
Da Waaagh-ky Races : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/325045.page
Briancj: You have the Mek Taint, MT, and the only thing we can do is watch in horror/amazement.

 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Thanks monkeytroll! Those beakie helmets are a huge part of the brainspace from my childhood.

*********


At BOYL (Bring out Your Lead) it’s become a community tradition to create one-off figures to celebrate the three-day extravaganza of Oldhammery painting and gaming. Here are three from 2017 painted up just in time to pick up 2018’s without any leadguilt.



Left to right: Helsreach Mayor, Grox Egg and Olivia Neutronbomb.


I really like event-exclusive miniatures as they’re tethered to a set of memories of friends, games, meals out, heavy drinking, stupid decisions and hangovers. Lemme explain why these three minis came to be.

Olivia Neutronbomb

Olivia was the 2017 event’s commemorative figure, sculpted by John Pickford. She’s a 28mm metal incarnation of the classic 1987 Rogue Trader illustration by Martin McKenna.



I painted Olivia to slot into my Rogue Trader Godbreak 84th Imperial Army. Her animal-print trousers were repainted a few times as I wrestled with various animals’ colours clashing with the Godbreak’s grey-green and black. Then I realised I needn’t be constrained by real animals in the distant alien future of Warhammer 40,000! Hence the “Greyscale Giraffe” was born in my imagination. (Geeez Curis, all that creative potential and possibility and all you come up with is a desaturated giraffe.)



Olivia leading the Godbreak 84th, showing her head for strategy.


Grox

Grox are the cattle of 41st Millennium. They appeared as an illustration in the 1987 Rogue Trader rulebook, though they’ve never had a miniature incarnation.



That was until axiom commissioned John Pickford to sculpt this cheeky little hatching Grox. Why? Cos axiom was running a Grox-herding participation game and going several egg-stra miles to realise the world of grimdark ranching.



Mungo Beefhead lassoing a hatching Grox. Find out more about this Space Cowboy here.


I painted the egg with green spots – obviously channelling Yoshi from Super Mario. The shell fragments are cut-up plastic carton lid glued onto the base after drybrushing. I planned on making a small nest diorama with several unhatched eggs (my sculpting ability just able to cope with unhatched eggs), but I ended up doing something more ambitious…

Mayor of Helsreach

Curtis at Ramshackle Games sculpted this miniature to celebrate his massive participation game at BOYL 2017, set in Helsreach – the iconic Rogue Trader townscape. This miniature is really characterful and fun to paint, and on finishing it I immediately went and jumped some other Ramshackle bits to the front of the painting queue. The game is running again at BOYL 2018, and I recommend stopping by to drink in all those square feet of his miniatures and terrain Curtis, Aidan and Danny have put together.



The Mayor touring the Cullentown Grox Incubation Facility. His Techpriest tour guide is regarded as the Helsreach’s leading "egghead".


The Grox incubation chamber is a cut-down cryo-stasis piece from Games Workshop’s Sector Imperialis Objectives. The transparent “glass” component needed great care to resize – the plastic is so brittle any stress on it will cause massive white cracks to shoot through the whole thing. There were a few near-misses and lots of eggs-pletives.

More of my miniatures at http://www.ninjabread.co.uk

 
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka





6 foot underwater

Very nice

Olivia Neutronbomb is fantastic, what a great choice of figure, pure RT. And a lovely paintjob you have bestowed upon her.

cyborks & flyboyz : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/300067.page
heretical ramblings : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/302773.page
imperial preachings : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/303365.page
Da Waaagh-ky Races : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/325045.page
Briancj: You have the Mek Taint, MT, and the only thing we can do is watch in horror/amazement.

 
   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

Wow... some phenomenal work in here.

 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Thanks monkeytroll! I loved doing her trousers.

Thanks Insaniak!

The Crimson Fists are getting reinforcements, hand over fist. My 1980s Rogue Trader Space Marine grows with the addition of another 5-man Tactical Squad composed of vintage metal and plastic Citadel Miniatures from another era.



Squad Huerta, ready to put the huert on.


To my amazement and envy, in the time taken to finish this second squad of Battle at the Farm Crimson Fists, Nico has painted every Crimson Fist for the scenario, plus he’s modelled an evocative scenic base, plus he’s painted all the Orks and – if that wasn’t enough – some Ork reinforcements. I feel like Falcon running round the park and being lapped repeatedly in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Freehand & Crimson Fist Icons

Again I had some fun adding freehand chapter icons and armour graffitti to the squad. “THE TRUTH HUERTS” is just punning off the Sergeant’s name. “INFINITE PLASMA” is a reference to the Battle at the Farm scenario, which Zhu points out gives the Space Marines unlimited Plasma Missiles (as they normally cost 1 point each, it technically means the Marines outclass the Orks by INFINITY POINTS).



I now need to paint a second Missile Launcher so I can reference Elton John’s Rocket Man.


“FOR NOW WE SEE BUT THRU A SCANNER DARKLY” on the Marine with scanner is a 1 Corinthians 13:12 / Philip K. Dick reference simply because he’s holding a scanner. “FIST OR FAMINE” is from my handy stockpile of fist-based puns. It’s a treat at the end of the painting process to choose some scrawly handwriting to give the battle-brothers an additional touch of the Rogue Trader era

Crimson Fists Grand Plan

To fit in to my planned 1,000 points (using the Whitescars army list from the Book of the Astronomican) the five Space Marines come out as:

SQUAD HUERTA

1 Marine Champion [9], Power Glove [15], Bolt Hun [2]
26 POINTS

3 Marines [3*8], 3 Bolt Guns [3*2] and 3 Frag Grenades [3*1]
33 POINTS

1 Marine [8], Missile Launcher [30], 12 Plasma Missiles [12] Targeter [5], 2 Suspensors [2*2]
59POINTS

Basic Equipment (all models): Bolt Pistol [1.5], Knife [0], Powered Armour [6] (with Communicator [0.5], Respirator [0.5], Auto-senses[0.5])
45 POINTS

TOTAL: 163 POINTS

Here are the two squads in action alongside each other, with a sneaky eleventh Citadel Miniature tucked away somewhere … can you spot it?



Squads Huerta and Onan fighting in the ruins of Blas in the Gallego system.


Crimson Fists Painting Tutorial

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I paint Crimson Fists, so I photographed a Marine inbetween each step of the blue power armour process.



If you want to see these steps broken down, with the techniques and theory behind them spelt out the tutorial is available on Patreon. The skills you’ll learn are transferable to all colours of power armour.

Coming soon – more vintage Crimson Fists to creep the army closer to game legal.

More of my miniatures at: http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/
Tutorials at: https://www.patreon.com/ninjabread/

 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





British comics lost an icon this week with the death of Carlos Ezquerra – the creative genius behind Judge Dredd and Johnny Alpha. Carlos’s character designs and universes underpin a lot of subsequent science fiction – including Warhammer 40,000. Two years before Games Workshop gave birth to Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, they were dabbling with science fiction miniatures such as this trio of Strontium Dog characters.



Left to right: Wulf Sternhammer, Johnny Alpha, Gronk.


I’ve been painting this triumverate of bounty hunters with an eye on Warlord Games’ new Strontium Dog game. Excitingly they can also be shoehorned into modern Necromunda with the recent bounty hunter rules.

The miniatures are from Citadel’s 2000AD range produced for the 1985 Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game. Though technically Johnny Alpha and Judge Dredd inhabit separate universes, they have crossed over several times for reasons of awesome.



Johnny Alpha and Judge Dredd, Judgement Day, 2000AD #799.




The Rogue Trader universe borrows a lot of its overall look from Carlos Ezquerra’s artwork. The amount of time and artwork the Rogue Trader rulebook spends on the (non-Chaotic) random mutations tables is testament to Strontium Dog’s influence. There’s a lot of Strontium Dog wargear that pops up in the forty-first millennium too, such as gravchutes, stasis grenades and electro-mauls.

But wait – there’s more…

There was a mystery for almost thirty years about the miniature that appears in a single murky black-and-white photograph on page 11 of the Rogue Trader rulebook.



The mystery figure, top left corner.


The figure never made it into production, appearing only in this photo. Only in 2013 did details of the figure emerge thanks to Steve Casey’s Eldritch Epistles – it was a one of several Judge Dredd figures that had been converted and cast up in-house to playtest the upcoming Rogue Trader rules before actual miniatures had been made.

It was released a couple of years later by Wargames Foundry, so people like me and Rochie can paint and play with our own copies of this odd curio.



Inquisitor Ezquerra and Johnny Alpha.


I plumped for white and papal purple to spin the figure as an Imperial Inquisitor. (It was tempting to paint him in green and yellow trousers, as if it’s Johnny improvising a disguise as an Imperial Inquisitor.) He’s so wee. being from 1985 when sculptors tended to 25mm scale, that I built up his base to help him keep some sense of imposing Imperial authority over the rest of the Imperium’s servants.

More vintage Crimson Fists coming soon!

More of my miniatures at: http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/
Tutorials at: https://www.patreon.com/ninjabread/

 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Golden Demon! Games Workshop’s prestigious painting competition I’ve dreamed about winning since I was an eleven year old boy. Like the Oscars – there’s big statuettes. Like the Nobel Prize – the winners are selected by internationally respected judges. Like the Turner Prize – there’s a no contribution to the actual world of art. It’s the ultimate battleground for miniature painters. And these Sisters of Silence Prosecutors took home the bronze statuette at the Warhammer 40,000 Vigilus Open Day.



Silence is golden (demon).


I spent three weeks of hobby time getting these miniatures from sprue to plinth, sweeping all my ongoing projects aside to focus solely on these Sisters. The pressure of an immovable deadline and the harsh scrutiny of the judges meant I pushed myself hard to make the squad’s copper Vratine armour truly shine.



Prosecutors in early November, broken into sub-assemblies and looking intimidatingly unfinished.


The Prosecutors are each designed with one fixed pose – your only real choice is the way you point their head. Assembled out of the box, all have their Boltguns held across their chest. Reposing is a challenge, but with lot of cutting, putty and spare arms I opened up three of the poses to make the squad more action-packed.



Silent. But deadly.


I was itching to introduce a bit of component variety into the squad, such as a heavy weapon, or a fancypants sword for the Sister Superior, but the Index Imperium wargear options forbade it. To get the squad to (silently) scream “LOOK AT ME” I added a massive banner from Wood Elf Eternal Guard kit. The original detail has been carved off and sanded away so I could paint on my own Adeptus Astra Telepathica designs on both sides.



“Exigua est virtus praestare silentia rebus, at contra gravis est culpa tacenda loqui.”

I wracked my brains for a phrase to freehand onto the banner. I considered Latin versions of “Enjoy the Silence” and “Hello darkness my old friend” – but tongue-in-cheekiness didn’t suit these dour space nuns. So I found two high-minded lines in Ovid’s Ars Amatoria which translate as “Slight is the merit on keeping silence on a matter, on the other hand, serious is the guilt of talking on things whereon we should be silent.” I’ll save the Depeche Mode for some goofy Rogue Trader or Blood Bowl nonsense.

Patterns in the Ivy



The ivy on the banner was originally a Captain Crooks suggestion. I used swirly ivy creepers on the breechcloths and cloak outsides, and angular ivy leafs on cloak insides. In folklore, ivy is taken into the home to ward off evil spirits much like Sisters are taken in your Imperial force to ward off evil. Aaaaand, ivy is mildly poisonous to humans, in the same way Sisters of Silence and their Pariah gene are psychically unsettling for humans to be around. I’m so happy with the symbolism of the plant that I might spin it out to the iconography of the whole Sisterhood Vigil (equivalent to a Space Marine Chapter), if I do any more. Call them “Crimson Ivy”? Mmm, no, too burlesque. “Ivy League”? Mmm, also no.



The skullrific bases are from a Shadespire warband (Magore’s Fiends) with their footholes sculpted over. To ground them in the Warhammer 40,000 universe I added a helmet from a Thousand Sons Scarab Occult Terminator.



Squad Philomela supporting the Nemesis Chapter battlelines.


Patreon Painting Tutorial

Last week the Patrons of Ninjabread got access to a detailed stage-by-stage write up of the paints and techniques used to paint the copper armour.



If you become a supporter today and you’ll get access to this in depth masterclass tutorial, and also the back catalogue that also covers two varieties of Space Marines power armour, and human flesh. Thanks to everyone’s that signed up to date, I’m really enjoying spending the time sharing the secrets.

Now the competition is over, and the intense focus has ended, I’m enjoying picking at preslotta odds and ends on the painting desk, toying with possible future competition entries. I need to blast through some gaming level paintjobs for a bitand get back to my Space Marine armies over the Christmas break. Watch this space!

More of my minaitures at: http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/
Painting tutorials at: https://www.patreon.com/ninjabread

This message was edited 5 times. Last update was at 2018/12/05 13:25:52


 
   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

Brilliant squad and an award well deserved

One of my first thoughts was "Damn, maybe I should check out some Sisters of Silence, that kit really snuck past me" - but apparently it's not much of a 'kit' so much as you doing work to breath life into an under-developed few minis. Which makes me appreciate your end result all the more. Bravo dude.

KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






Amazing. Congrats on the Demon!
   
Made in ie
Executing Exarch





London, UK

Great looking squad and an excellent idea to open up the poses more. I didn't even realise that you'd changed them from the stock models until you'd actually mentioned it! Well done on the Demon!

   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Thanks Salvage! You're pretty spot on there – the kit is a bit like the Tzaangor from Silver Tower that have a limited potential you have to really work through. But GW followed them up with a much more versatile kit – pray they do the same for Sisters.

Thanks youwashock. Cheers Tyranid Horde!

I love doctors. And I love Space Marines. Put them together, and you get Doctor Space Marines, dispensing healthcare and the Emperor’s justice across the battlefields of the 41st millennium.


Brother Herophilus on the Nemesis Chapter battlelines.



Here’s the 2017 Primaris Apothecary alongside his very own primogenitor – the very first Apothecary miniature Games Workshop produced back in 1987. Oh, how far miniature design has come in thirty years.



“Here child, have this necklace.”



The Primaris Apothcary is absolutely loaded with so much detail he crosses the line from miniature into micro-diorama. He stands over a fallen Battle Brother, having removed the progenoid glands, and every surface is festooned with details like cannisters, helix motifs, lenses and surgical tools. However, I have become obsessed with one detail – the mysterious skull strapped to his arse.



“Dad, your bum is looking at me.”



During the long evenings of painting, I came up with my own backstory about who this skull belonged to…



“Ultracurses. Thus I die.”


The Rogue Trader Apothecary came from Rochie of Buried Under Lead. Rochie has converted and painted up this mini already – you should check it out here. Thanks for the gift, Rochie!

If you’d like to learn how to paint white exactly like this, I took super-detailed stage-by-stage photos on the Ninjabread Patreon, and have written up the method, colours and theory.



A twelve-step tutorial teaching twelve steps to crisp white armour.


On top of this tutorial, patrons get instant access to the whole six month back catalogue with five more masterclasses covering other colours of power armour, cloth and my Golden Demon winning piece.

I’m really keen on collecting more Apothecaries now, and am taken by the idea of one with a Crimson Fists one with a bike or jump pack with “Fist Responder” armour graffiti.



Brother Rochfort supporting the improvised Crimson Fists defences./


The sheet-metal walls you can see above are a preview casting of a Fogou Models terrain set that’s coming soon! Keep your eyes peeled!

Coming soon: even more Space Marines, old and new!

More miniatures at: https://www.ninjabread.co.uk/
Painting tutorials at: https://www.patreon.com/ninjabread

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/02/04 13:28:00


 
   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






Truly you have many talents. That comic is hilarious.
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Thanks youwashock!

Thanks Oshiro! Thanks Suber! Thanks Sgt!

It was Christmas 1987, and Games Workshop celebrated the festive season by releasing two limited edition Space Marines (or “Spaced Out Marines” as the advertising called them). I’ve painted the pair for my growing Crimson Fists force.



Crimson Fists, more like … Crimson Pisseds.


These castings came thanks to @DocRods – who’s been sending me an absolute surfeit of vintage beakies and 2000AD bits. Thanks Doc! A very merry Christmas to you, more of them appearing painted very soon.



The Battle Brothers have I FEEL FISTIVE and PUNCH DRUNK graffitied onto their armour.


The cigar-smoking Space Marine has a wisp of tobacco smoke sculpted onto his cheek, which other painters have misinterpreted as a casting worm to remove, or a facial scar to paint pink.



“Everyone! Let’s … hic… get (war)hammered!”


There are two varieties of plastic mk6. backpacks – identical except for the placement of the depressions where they attach to the Marine. One hole is so high up that when mounted on the metal Rogue Trader Space Marines it looks like it’s sliding down his back – but on this one Marine it’s perfect for the drunken dishevelled feel.



The Crimson Fists stagger back from the Candlemas celebrations. But who-ho-ho is lurking in the woodlands?


I’ve brought a pile of metal Space Marines away with me, so hopefully it won’t be too long before I can post up some new squads, characters and vehicles. Will 2019 be the year they can reach the critical mass of a workable army?

 
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Curis,

The good old days when GW sculptor's consumed too much Squig beer when designing models (like the pogo stick riding Goblin).

Cheers,

CB

   
Made in ca
Damsel of the Lady





drinking tea in the snow

The world needs more space marines with cigars, thank you for showing me that this is a thing that can be true.

realism is a lie
 
   
 
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