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I've been painting up some Ultramarines recently, and took this snap of one alongside some other Legions. Quite liked the effect, so thought I'd shar to see what you thought.


Some close-ups

They all look brilliant, love that yellow.

NIce!!I love the used and weathered look.
the yellow is great!How did you created this effect?

Walk into a bar?

Seriously though good job... love the Imperial Fist helm

These look true scale, am I right? They look great, you should post the rest of your Ultras.

Good stuff. I like the Imperial fist the best. The small amount of purple around the visor really works. The Iron hands dude looks like he might be taking a dump. Might be me though.

These look brilliant. Love the weathering and brown undertones on the IF.

I signed up just to ask you how you achieved that weathering!?
I've read the literature regarding paint chips and whatnot, but I'm in particular interested in the Imperial Fist? I love the gritty/grimey look combined with paint chips and what not.

Amazing.

Those
Look amazing. Seriously 10\10. So much character and depth to thje mm

That Imperial Fist, in particular, looks spectacular. Second the request for weathering tips!

Superb work, all 3 ooze character!

 Flippa wrote:
Walk into a bar?

I am glad I'm not the only one who thought to make that joke.

Count me in with everyone else who thinks you did a fantastic job.

Hey all, thanks very much for your kind words.

PiPaPo wrote:I signed up just to ask you how you achieved that weathering!?
I've read the literature regarding paint chips and whatnot, but I'm in particular interested in the Imperial Fist? I love the gritty/grimey look combined with paint chips and what not.

The short answer is to use a tiny bit of sponge to lightly dab a dark midtone on areas that would get scuffed, then use a fine brush and the paint highlight colour (very light yellow, in this case) to highlight the bottom of these areas. This makes the area look dented and recessed. It's a very simple technique; the only tricky bit is that you need is to think carefully about where to apply the weathering to give a realistic effect.

There's some more info and detailed shots of Brother Agonistes on my blog, here. Hope that helps; and thanks once again

BOOM!! Hero's of the imperiam right enough!! They look great...... lots of character...... top notch!

Brother-sergeant Ruon


The grinding hum of his protesting armour became a squeal as he rolled his injured shoulder. His left eyelid twitched. Even the Unsleeping of an Astartes couldn't completely compensate for the month-long denial of rest. Like every other Fist on the wall, his muscles burned.



He would endure. He was seventh Legion. He tightened his hand into a fist, suppressing the ache and pain. It trembled.



'Walls fail! Fists do not!', he cried, thrusting his arm upwards. 'At them!'



+ Ruon, Brother Sergeant; VII Legio, Chapter IV. KIA 30,014, I-day +37. +

+1 that was epic.

the little bit of story really helped!!!

Awesome! He looks like a good candidate for the Emperor's Champion promotion!

I would vote for Imperial Fist
1st due to very nice base
2nd Ultramarine - do not like base
3rd Iron hand its hard to paint black/grey models - you did preety well but in comaprison to rest .... its still 3rd

Just awesome mate! For Dorn!

Most excellant!! Makes me want to collect Imperial Fists!

+ inload: Brother Veridias +


Opening the helmet's grille, he exhaled raggedly. A mist of aerosolised blood hung briefly in the air, hot and still beneath the voids.


Blinking to clear his head, he chewed the side of his tongue thoughtfully; a childhood habit that hypno-docrination had not removed.


He took a tighter grip on his boltgun and looked down at the counter on the back. Seven rounds remaining. Sufficient.


Scarred and pitted, his armour wheezed and creaked as he turned to move out; its slick motions reduced in parts to juddering, squealing protest.


Still. The walls must be held. Sacrifices must be made. He chewed the side of his tongue.

They say you should always kill them. Ultramarines. If you make one your enemy, do not allow him to live. Do not spare him. Leave an Ultramarine alive, and you leave room for retribution. Only when he is dead are you safe from harm. That is what they say.

Highlighting completed on these fellas; just the bases, eyes and scratches to go. All the markings completed... unless I decide to add a fire-breathing horse.

Amazing stuff!

These are some solid looking dudes.

Warrior-Kings of Ultramar


Sixteen marines completed as of last night; so just four more to my first full Tactical squad. *Dances legs down to the knees*




Praetor-pattern armour

Three examples of Praetor armour in the new golden (rather than old yellow) scheme. What do you think?

I especially enjoy the Imperial Fist love!

These are amazing. I LOVE the imperial fists, but those last ultramarines make my pants tight.

Cheers chaps – here's some more!

+++

New jobs for old models


The sun sets on the Primarch and his Honour Guard outside the walls of Macragge.

Re-using or repurposing models from one army to another is something I do quite a bit. A fresh paintjob can work wonders in livening up a figure, and is – obviously – considerably cheaper and quicker than making another.

The three Honour Guard figures above are a good example of figures that are good candidates for re-use. They received quick paintjobs for a specific campaign weekend, and don't quite fit anywhere in the way I now see the Ultramarines.


The three started out life as Imperial Fists , a short-lived project that eventually got swept under the carpet (though check out the PCRC's Team Fisto blog, where we've Bob Hunk is doing some awsome LED-lit marines!) They were pressed into service for the Ultramarines when I was hard-pushed for time, but have languished, virtually unused, in my army case since that campaign weekend.

I can't get too excited about elite troops; I much prefer the down-and-dirty line infantry. For this reason, I decided that the Honour Guard would be re-used to help integrate the new Ultramarines (the 190th) with the old Ultramarines (the Praetors of Calth). The Praetors of Calth are an army of which I'm very proud, but the later models didn't quite fit with the original image I had for the army for one reason or another. With the thirty core troops in place, I flitted from expansion to expansion; adding five Vanguard or Recon troops... and then pulling them apart and repainting them when they didn't quite fit.

The 190th are an attempt to breathe new life into the army as a whole. With the release of the Forgeworld Horus Heresy range of bits, it's become a real possibility to create the army that I wanted. The first step was to build a relatively substantial force of the new models; I have a bad habit of breaking apart perfectly useable old models with the intention of updating them, then getting distracted by other projects; leaving me with fewer than I had before!

So, with a large squad of new marines complete (see my post) above, it was time to look at updating the older models, with the intention of creating a mixed squad of Breachers that would bridge the visual gaps between the older models and the newer ones. I started by creating some completely new models, being sure to add visual links to the newer models like updated FW helmets, equipment, and legs (taken from Tartaros Terminators).


I then broke up the Honour Guard and rebuilt them with a mix of the older and newer elements:


Notice that the focal points of the Breacher marines (weaponry, helmets) are updated – this is relatively quick work that really changes the feel of the models. I also updated the backpacks (as these are a strong visual identifier for the period, but the majority of the work was removing the excess decoration on the originals.

I like to think that these are perhaps the same marines; simply at an earlier stage of their careers. By the time of the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the rest of the squad must have been killed or promoted away, leaving just these three grizzled survivors.

As a group, I hope the newer and older models fit together well. In particular, the mix of newer and older shoulder pads in the squad (probably the most distinctive visual part of my particular method of making larger marines) links the unit both to the older and newer models. With a quick spruce-up of the paintjob – I think they deserve my best efforts – I think they'll work well.



While talking about the Breachers, note the additional marine in the back left of the image above. He's a 'transition' marine that combines elements of the older and newer aesthetics in unique ways: his backpack and shoulder pads are neither the new style nor the standard old style; instead being a unique mix that combines elements of both to assist with the unit blending together.

He required a bit of reposing. Here's the original construction (he's at the front):


While it's a pose I liked, it didn't fit with the squad. I'm being very careful with the 190th to make sure that they look good en masse; and that means occasionally sacrificing individual poses for the good of the group. With the new poses (and bits – his legs and right arm have been removed and are already the start of a new marine), the squad looks much more cohesive.

This concentration on the group rather than the whole also makes the most of limited resources. I only have eight Breacher shields and seven of the gladius-style shortswords. By planning ahead and scattering appropriate-looking chainswords (see the fifth picture from the top for an example) in the squad as it's built, I'll gradually work in these divergent bits of equipment on models that otherwise stick closely to the group aesthetic; further building on the integration of the squad as a whole.

On this note, it's part of the reason why one having something special (a bare head, a cool pose, a weird bit of equipment) often looks best on a model if it's set off by a group of standard marines – then the divergent bit becomes a point of interest in the overall arrangement as well as the individual figure.

Anyway, enough pontification! To end this post, here's a final shot of the Breacher squad from the front.

I have to say you have some of the nicest and IMHO best looking marines i have seen! They really do look bulky enough and the proportions look great! SOme really good and dynamic poses going on too! I think those breacher marines will be sweet!

Keep up the great work!

Wow...some very cool looking models here. Great job.