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Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

Hey Everybody!

I've been actively playing 40k since 2nd edition, changing armies through the editions but always staying more towards the gaming side than the hobby side. With the way things are going in the gaming sphere I felt it was time to take a step back from gaming to focus on my 1st army: Valhallans. The 1st model I bought with my own money was a Valhallan LT the weekend it was released and I've been collecting them ever since. Sadly I never focused on them to the degree they deserved, other projects kept me from getting around to them up. Finally, just before the lockdowns I had started to work on my Valhallan collection only to be derailed by the lockdowns and a new job. Since then I've sold off several of my other armies/projects and gathered a few dozen additional Space Soviets, so I feel now is a great time to restart my project efforts. I'm hoping to show off the great model line that has honestly held up pretty well, with a little innovation these sculpts will drip with character.

This blog will cover the Expansion of the 5th Valhallan Guards Regiment, nicknamed "The Black Guards". The unit was formed on Valhalla, before it became the iconic Ice planet it is now. Serving during both the Planetary climate shift and then in the ork invasion, the Regiment is amongst the longest serving Valhallan formation. They earned their sobriquet after holding the line while the ice boring machines were deployed during the final battles on Valhallan. Members of the regiment were covered in the ash and soot of burned Orks, ever since their Sashes, Collars and Shoulder mark/Boards have been black to mark their steadfastness.

I'm really striving to keep the Red Army eastern front theme in both uniform and basing. As a Northerner in the USA I wanted to convey the dirty winter, the kind of muddy affair a late fall/early winter would produce with grass poking through the snow. My heavy weapons will be based on Soviet style shallow trenches, rough cut, dirty and practical. There are several conversions lined up, with the vast majority of this project count being Valhallans (nearly 250 models all told) with modern models being heavily converted to ensure they line up with the Valhallan aesthetics.

Conversions will be a major aspect of this project, I plan to have the full war gear arsenals represented on my models by the end, yes that includes Valhallan plasma guns. You can find WIP and further photos in my Image Gallery, I love to talk shop on conversions so feel free to ask any questions or request better pictures

I'll start off by showing the Battalion I had painted up before the lockdowns, I'm looking to drill out some barrels and add another layer of grey to their bedrolls in the future.

Officers and Priest


Squad 1- Autocannon & Plasma gun

Squad 2- Autocannon & Plasma gun

Squad 3- Autocannon & Plasma gun

Heavy Weapon Squad 1- Mortars


Some shots of the Autocannon bases




I hope you all tag along as I paint up a proper Valhallan Horde, next unit is my 1st Lascannon battery!

This message was edited 7 times. Last update was at 2022/01/04 22:59:38


 
   
Made in gb
Drop Trooper with Demo Charge





Hailsham

Seriously good work, the paint job oozes Valhallan. Love the little details on the weapons team bases

Road to 5k Points current standing - 5,200

Astra Militarum army thread: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/801034.page

Army fiction thread https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/801004.page#11222210 
   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

lordbickerstaff- Thanks, I'm glad the paint job conveys the character and stacking some extra bits in the trenches to add a little flavor.

I just finished cleaning/basing and priming a quick squad of Valhallans, these guys are next after my current Heavy Weapon Squad



More to follow Comrades
   
Made in us
Guard Heavy Weapon Crewman




USA

Excited to see where this goes. Are you planning on building terrain to suit them?

Guard, Templars, Dungeons & Dragons, Terrain & More.

Way too little free time. 
   
Made in no
Boom! Leman Russ Commander






Oslo Norway

Love valhallans! These look like proper space russians, great basing

   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

Thanks for the support blockade23 and Illumini! I'm glad the basing/paint scheme is fitting the flavor of the Valhallans, Army theme is a big party of my projects

I do have a terrain board planned for them, I'm thinking of a war torn Promethium Refinery on the frozen steppe. I can finally put the old OOP terrain kits like the FW Command Dugout and old Imperial Entrenchment to use along with some of the newer Mechanicus industrial terrain.

   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

As anyone who has seen the 2nd edition Imperial guard lines knows, the old range's are lacking in certain wargear options, a major issue that requires some conversion work. Additionally with the same pool of poses you'll quickly notice repeat models as the number of troops increase. Things like having only 2 sergeant poses may not be noticeable at 2-4 squads, but once you break the 6 squad mark it starts to get pretty repetitive. To address this I've made a point of hunting down damaged or incomplete models for my conversion projects to cover these model range gaps. I thought I'd share some recent work

Valhallan Medic
I started this medic from a spare Rocket Launcher Loader a few weeks back but after looking him over I thought he needed more than a simple Catachan medic bag/ cadian hand swap. So last night I finished making a hand holding a bandage canister and an arm band from GS. After that I added the grenade ammo from a GSC kit to serve as fluids/blood canisters. I need to do a little work on the armband but this should be done.




Valhallan Sergeant, Helmet
Next I was able to convert up a new Valhallan Sgt from the classic Valhallan sgt by remodeling the sword arm and mounting the Bolt pistol hand to a Valhallan Lieutenant's sword arm. The head comes from a Valhallan tank rider who had a busted lasgun I got in a bits lot awhile back. I feel the posing and helmet sells a more active front line combatant, aiming down at a foe. I have to do some minor work on the Green stuff, like trimming the width of the elbow, but this should be the overall look


I'll post an update for the Valhallan Lieutenant who donated the arm, he is the 1st subject of the Valhallan Officers Project I've been planning.
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot





Leicester, UK

Great stuff, i'll be following with interest. Can't wait to see some vehicles. As I remember it was quite a limited range, so it's a good job you are into conversions! Those mortars are very cool. I would love to see you do some proper artillery gun emplacements, eventually.

My painting and modeling blog:

PaddyMick's Chopshop: Converted 40K Vehicles

 
   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

Thanks PaddyMick, I really appreciate the support! I have 2 ideas for getting some artillery and vehicles done in a Soviet theme that won't disappoint. I'm trying to workout terrain pieces that show field fortifications without full trench networks, once thats done I'll give these guys a proper home.

I was traveling for work last week so I was just shy of putting the last touches on my most recent painting project, they should be done by tomorrow.

I was able to complete my 1st entry to a personal goal of mine: The Valhallan Officer Project. The task is to make a Valhallan officer to match every wargear option in the current codex(Power Axe/Power Maul will be included towards the end, I need to source parts)! The limited range of Chenkov and the hand flamer Chainsword Lieutenant has long been a bane for model line, with so many weapon options available but no effective way to represent them, well that will no longer be an issue.

That means I'm aiming to make an Officer with every combination of Laspistol/Bolt pistol/Plasma Pistol/Bolter and Chainsword (or normal sword), Powersword, Power Fist!

At first this may seem like a great way to have a large number of Valhallan Lieutenant's with poorly converted arms and weapons at awkward angles, you'd be right if it wasn't for a secret that has been sitting in the 2nd edition models for decades: Commissar greatcoat arms are an exact match for Valhallan great coats! Since coming to that realization I've started buying up every broken/converted Valhallan and 2nd edition commissar I could, looking to give the a new life as a fully realized converted Officer with realistic posing. If you have any damaged models let me know, I'll happily put them to use

Valhallan Firing Line Officer- Bolt pistol and Chainsword


I took this battered Lieutenant along with some spare Commissar arms, one missing its hand flamer, the other is a regular sword arm I have a few of as the base for the model.


Trimmed off his head (saved the hat) and his sword arm (that went to the sgt shown earlier) followed by a cutting down his pistol arm, saving the epaulette. After some pinning, adjusting the foot to be in line with the gun arm, and a properly fancy bolt pistol from a Vanguard Vet sprue we had the basics of the pose


I added a head from the Cadian Command Squad and reattached the old hat, after which it was a bit of GS to built the collar back and fix the sash. I still have to make the shoulder braid and some minor cleaning/smoothing but I think the pose works.

I wanted him to match the stern officer on the line archetype we get in the old black and white artwork while keeping the appearance of the original model's attire.

Next update will be painted models, I promise

More to follow Comrades
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

_That_ is a very interesting conversion! Cuts are well-executed and the final result is seamless- looks like it was cast that way. I'll be keeping a close eye as you go to see what other things I can learn here. Always been a fan of the Space Russians....er, Valhallans and have been collecting pieces here and there since they came out. Pride of place is for a mounted Captain Chenkov purchased in Britain around 2000, haven't seen another one since. Rock on!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in gb
Shas'la with Pulse Carbine






These are very good conversions, they fit in well with the original sculpts.
Looking forward to seeing them painted up

My hobby ADHD, mostly Necromunda, with a splash of regular 40k... 
   
Made in gb
Mad Gyrocopter Pilot





Northumberland

Really nice stuff so far, love those conversions. I'm a big fan of the Valhallans, love their models.

My only slight gripe is that they look a little too WW2. I know that is the look you are going for but I'd consider adding in a touch of contrast with some red or similar. Just personal preference of course but I think it would really complete the models.

Keep up the great work!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/10/19 12:34:54


One and a half feet in the hobby


My Painting Log of various minis:
# Olthannon's Oscillating Orchard of Opportunity #

 
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

I like where this blog seems to be headed. One of the things I've always loved about the guard is how diverse ideas for regiments can be -- a great playground for people who love historicals, but want to use them in 40k.
I'm excited to see this army expand. And also, my hat is off to you for converting metal models. No easy task that.

   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

Thanks for all the support everyone! Sorry for the delay, I held off on posting as I wanted to force myself to knock out some painted models before updating. I'm glad the conversions are matching the model line in your eyes, . I love making models that slot into a creative theme, I have ideas for regimental advisors/astropaths, tank crew and Enginseers that all have cold weather gear to fit the winter conditions.

Brushcommando-I fully agree, the diversity of guard is one of their best traits and makes them very relatable. Adding minor things like weather gear, tools, different weapons or weapon modifications and camouflaged patterns truly tell the story of your troops at a glance. My more modern Guard army is a city fighting 110th Cadian Shadow crops army that I added minor details like 1 in 5 guardsmen having a GSC autogun or patrol cap to show a veteran force adapting to the conditions. Yes, the struggle of converting metal models is very real, lol, but it pays off at the end. (Just don't think about the 4 hours spent on a 5pts model while you're doing it, the pay off is always validation)

Olthannon- Thanks for the feedback, you've got a fair point on the colors, as everything is very muted. I've tried adding a dry brush of lighter grey over their bedrolls on this unit to see if that helps address the issue. Let me know if that works to break up the scene

Guardling- I'm glad they work, and don't worry about painting, I follow the old motto- Unpainted conversions don't count

Meer_Cat-Thanks, its always good to find another Valhallan collector and I really appreciate the high praise! I actually have a few more conversions in the works, I'll post more wip process photos this weekend. I get most of my cuts using a small hobby saw, that and pinning the arms in place will save you so much time on alignment while giving a natural looking product. Sounds like you're in a similar state to me, I'd love to see what you've got, that rough rider Chenkov sounds fantastic! Valhallan Rough Riders would be a sight.

So after a week of painting and pinning painted models onto bases I have my 1st painted unit update- a Heavy Weapon Squad of Lascannons

Aside- I've always had an issue with how GW shows the old Heavy weapon crews, the same 2 models on the same weapons on a barrel base.

Compelling and interesting unit here, right?


I've always been a huge proponent of making heavy weapon bases into mini dioramas, its one of the best ways to convey the spirit of your army. as such I've made my lascannon teams lying in ambush, in small gun pits with no floor boards, manning battered guns, just hiding in wait for a tank to expose their flanks to Imperial retribution. Though the 2nd edition ranges have only a few sculpts, things like commlink troops, other loaders or just normal lasgun troops can be slotted in to add some crew variety without effort.

I had a ton of fun designing the basing for them, with minor details like running a spare wheel through a channel of green stuff to make wheel tracks paying off in the end.

That said I learned a lot getting these finished:
1. order of operations for pinning them in place- Paint everything before pinning, then pin the heavy weapon before the crew
2. be more aggressive on the flock
3. these Lascannons are a beast to try to paint, all these minor details tucked away. I am happy with painting the charge level icons on the side of the power packs though
4. I need to figure a paint/sand/pva glue mix to make better mud for the wheels
5. more sandbags next time, maybe some camo nets...
6. The battle damage on the shields came out well, I'll have to add more to it. Dented pewter makes a nice natural metal impact mark

In the end I think I got a good AT gun battery, further helped that 2nd edition heavy weapons are pretty much Maxim guns and WW2 AT guns

Valhallan Lascannon Squad














Now its back to the relatively easier to paint normal guardsmen and single officers

More to follow Comrades

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2021/10/22 19:47:21


 
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

Those look pretty sweet. The lascannons do look a lot like the 45mm anti-tank guns the soviets used in WW2. I like the diorama effect as well. I think I was always hesitant to use sandbags or anything on my bases for fear I would forget to actually put them in cover when playing...

This may have been asked already but is there armor in the pipeline? Manticores converted into katyushas or something like that?

   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

I'll admit, I've done that before as well, lol, basing a heavy weapons team behind a built up wall then forgetting them just outside a city ruin's base. Sometimes a themed board can cost you when the basing terrain matches the real terrain.

Armor is certainly in the pipeline, in fact the Manticore to katyushas are currently waiting on an Ebay order. I'm also bidding for a Vanaheim gunshield for... lets say related reasons

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/10/22 18:48:47


 
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot





Leicester, UK

Nice work, keep it coming. I like the idea of HW's as mini dioramas. Nice tips.

My painting and modeling blog:

PaddyMick's Chopshop: Converted 40K Vehicles

 
   
Made in se
Longtime Dakkanaut






 ValhallanWinter wrote:
I've always been a huge proponent of making heavy weapon bases into mini dioramas, its one of the best ways to convey the spirit of your army.

Very much agree. Those large bases are such a great canvas for some fun stuff you don't have room for on individual bases. They came out well.

I'm impressed by that officer conversion. I had a metal Valhallan project going myself a lot of years ago, and while the models are really characterful and nice, they don't exactly lend themselves to be easily converted. My struggles to create plasmagunners were probably a big reason for why that project never really got going.

   
Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

Ah. That bit about the gun-shield intrigues me...

   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

Brushcommando- Glad I've got your interest, fortunately I won the lot and I just got the Manticore in. I've gotten to work making it fit the role, but I'm committed to using 100% GW parts in case anyone would like to copy it. I'm trying to avoid BA or scale model kits to get the soviet theme, I think a bit of kit bashing and creativity can get the vehicles in line. If I've worked it out right that gun shield will make a nice tank for the armor park with a very Soviet fit.

Zywus- Thank you, its great to know I'm not the only one who loves adding a bit extra to basing. That is the unfortunate truth about 2nd edition guard, conversions are almost required. Fortunately since I found the Commissar arm trick a few years back I've been plotting out ideas and I've nearly got a plan for each wargear combo. I fully agree, the Plasma gun gap is a major issue, I used to use grenade launcher models as conversions, with cadian hands, as shown in the squad pictures. The different sized hands have since started to bother me from an immersion standpoint, so I have something in the works to address this, a tutorial on it is in the pipe. Feel free to use anything you see here if you're looking to pick up the Valhallan flag again, I was in a similar boat myself not so long ago.

PaddyMick- Thanks so much and I'm glad the times helped out, the basing takes a bit but I feel it better than weapons team on flat featureless ground

Quick hobby update, after collecting a sizable number of Valhallans over the last few months I decided to chip away at the old paint jobs, stripping them in batches of roughly 25. I've gotten this first set finished and ready for the next phase with roughly another 2 batches soaking.



There is no real reason for the selection of models, well accept for those 3 at the bottom. The mangled commissar, converted lieutenant and Officer of the Fleet were purposefully chosen for the next step on the Officer project.

I also got a package of these old plasmas, made at the tail end of 2nd/dawn of 3rd these weapons are the same scale as the Valhallan range's weapons (modern plasma is a touch wider) so these will give a few good men a nice warm day.


More to follow Comrades
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

I meant to ask earlier, are you going to go for a soviet theme for your commisars -- the blue trousers and all that -- or stick with the traditional black and red?
Also, excited to see the ranks and files get some paint as well. As it is said, "quantity has a quality all it's own..."

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/10/25 05:37:37


   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

I'm looking to keep the classic Commissar look, Black/Red with gold trim, as giving them Soviet commissar colors would look like Bolt Action/Flames of War in space. Though the colors and themes are very WW2, I'd like to keep the army as a 40k army with the Imperial institutions appearing as they're defined.

Though you can strike a balance by using Imperial structure in a Soviet way
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

Yeah. That's fair enough. I find it's fun to mix and match 40k with real world concepts. I have a bunch of Cadian Armor in the traditional Khaki and Green uniform, but I came up with a unit numbering system that closely mirrors that of WW2 German armor. Plus there's something really fun about painting the ostentatious Commisar uniforms.

   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

brushcommando- I agree, mixing minor real world details into 40k helps make the army feel realistic. The commissar look is a 40k classic and one of the 1st things someone thinks of when talking about Imperial guard, it hard to improve on it!

I spent a few days looking to address the lack of a Valhallan Plasma gun outside of buying loads of recasts of the unreleased model. After using Grenade launcher troopers for my first 3 squads I've decided to try using the vast hordes of flamer troopers any collection of valhallans will inevitably contain. I picked a pair of Flamers, one had the front of his flamer chopped off by a past owner who tried to give him a modern cadian flamer nozzle and the other had a cast void in the pipe, as subjects. After clipping and setting the 1st model with a plasma gun I realized that I could swap in the lasgun from the Chimera stowage rack to make a hip firing lasgun trooper!

Valhallan Lasgun Trooper, a 9th Lasgun Model!


I started with the Flamer trooper with a manufacturing defect I got from a recent blister purchase and one of my several lasgun stowage racks.


After some careful clipping and filing, I was able to cut a trench in the hands that the lasgun's width would set into. I also cut the flamer tanks and hoses of the model, I'm looking to cover these trimmed areas with packs made from GS


I cut the stowage rack up and carefully filed down the cut points, trying to reshape the guns as best I could. I'm using the lower lasgun for this conversion, as the trooper's hand already has a grip and the model already has the flamer's stock seated, making the weapon look naturally posed. The other lasgun I'll use to decorate a heavy weapon base or give to another lasgun conversion.


After aligning the lasgun to the stock I was able to fit it into place for a solid end result. The model looks like he's blazing away like a Russian Tony in Scarface, which it pretty funny




Here are the ending shots, with some green stuff details added to the cut up packs/lasgun and a small pack made from gs. Overall I'm happy with the result, I have a few of the trimmed nozzle flamers, so I might make 2-3 more of these guys and sprinkle them into upcoming squads.

Valhallan Plasma Gun


I used a 2nd/3rd edition Space marine metal plasma gun (you can still get these in resin from GW to this day) that I trimmed the hand and gun stock off of. This follows the same trimming as before, except you need to take off his left hand, the plasma gun has a cylinder poking out of the bottom that buts into the flamer hand.




A while back I GS cast some of the Valhallan headwear, unshanka/helmet/pilotka, and I thought a change would add a little variety to make the sculpt more distinct, plus none of the special weapon troopers have a helmet. I do need to resculpt the helmet's winged skull, that didn't come through at all. After adding in packs and a hand that properly follows the contours of the gun, I think I got a solid result!

Let me know what you all think, I'd love to hear any input/feedback you might have!

More to follow Comrades
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

Nice conversion! I I like the greenstuff helmet. I definitely wouldn't have the patience to pull something like that off myself.

   
Made in us
Guard Heavy Weapon Crewman




USA

"Here son, when you get the honor of wielding the company's plasma gun, we must ensure you are protected from yours-... I mean, you will be targeted by the enemy. Here's a helmet."

Love the Greenstuff work.

Guard, Templars, Dungeons & Dragons, Terrain & More.

Way too little free time. 
   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

Blockade23- The helmet will be the only thing left at the end lol. Thanks, its good to hear the model works visually.

Brushcommando-Thanks, I've been using some of the homemade casting sets, once you get the cast set up it's easy to churn out parts.


Here is one of my recent 2 part molds for helmeted Valhallans (originally of a rocket team loader), the block on the head is for overflow of green stuff (a piece of sprue glued to the head). The face normally needs to be trimmed off but the helmets are pretty consistent. I highly recommend using the stuff, it's about $8-12 and just requires some hot water.
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

 ValhallanWinter wrote:
The face normally needs to be trimmed off but the helmets are pretty consistent.

Things you never want to hear your surgeon say...
lol.

That's a pretty cool process though. I'm pretty worthless at the modelling side of the hobby. Some hard plastic head/hand swaps are all I can usually manage, so I always think it's cool when someone
can find a way to mass-produce their own sweet conversions.

keep em coming!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/10/31 03:01:41


   
Made in gb
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





UK



Love the plasma gun and helmet conversion.

Nice use of the heavy weapons as well.

   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka







Can't go wrong with some Valhallans - will Captain Chenkov be making an appearance?

2021-4 Plog - Here we go again... - my fifth attempt at a Dakka PLOG

My Pile of Potential - updates ongoing...

Gamgee on Tau Players wrote:we all kill cats and sell our own families to the devil and eat live puppies.


 Kanluwen wrote:
This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.

Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...

tneva82 wrote:
You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something... 
   
 
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