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Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

In the beginning, the Great Emperor created a new race of warriors, not a race of robots or machines, but a race molded from the clay of human flesh, Homo sapiens warriors, whose chromosomes retained the genetic heritage of the human race but who were much more powerful and deadly than even the strongest of humans.


The Apothecary

These new creatures, these warriors called space marines, were organized into chapters of one thousand, military units that were spread throughout the Emporium of Mankind to defend and support the armies of the human race from those aliens and traitors who threatened the very existence of these upstart creatures, the sons and daughters of Earth, the children of the flesh of the man and the woman. In time, all but one of these chapters was named.

What of the one unnamed chapter? After the Lord High Admiral has been frustrated dealing with arrogant chapter masters each time he asked for fleet support, he demanded creation of his own space marine chapter to do the grubby little missions that these chapter master had refused to do. Unlike the other chapters, however, this chapter was not at first created from their own or a single predecessor chapter’s gene-seed. Instead The Master of the Administratum responded by requesting that each chapter provide one or more units of their best space marines to be permanently transferred to this new chapter. The chapter masters took advantage of this request to rid themselves of all their troublemakers, hot-dogs, and embarrassments. Thus, this chapter started as an unholy mix of irreverent space marines, mellow blood angels, and forgiving dark angels. Moreover, many of these were bitter at being removed from their former chapters to which they had devoted their lives and being forced to serve with equally demoralized strangers.


Space Marine with Mixed Blood Angels and Dark Angels Insignia.

This chapter gained a reputation, unusual among space marines, of being ill-disciplined and unruly. In response, the Lord High Admiral stripped them of the use of heraldic uniforms and insignia. Instead, the fleet space marines were dressed in a dull camouflage uniform more typical of scouts or Imperial Guards. In final insult, the Lord High Admiral refused to name a space marine as the chapter master but instead assigned the position to General Quantum Wells, an aging military bureaucrat who had distinguished his career by avoiding risks, factious attention to obscure regulations, and petty military politics. Thus, assignment to this chapter was a dirty duty with little glory, much boredom, and ugly and extremely dangerous missions.


Side View of the Space Marine Showing Shoulder Patch of the Unnamed Chapter

The fleet space marines were especially galled about wearing a camouflage uniform. In the early days of the Emporium, space marines and others became aware that the non-human races such as Orks, Necrons, Tau, Eldar, and Daemons had much different vision than humans. These non-human races were unable to distinguish colors in the human’s visual spectrum. Thus, camouflage uniforms were unnecessary in fighting non-human races. Elite combat armies such as space marines, who regularly fought against the non-human races abandoned camouflage uniforms for bold color heraldic uniforms and insignia. The bold colors allowed space marines to easily distinguish each other in combat, giving them better battle command and control.


Former Blood Angel in Camouflage - Front View

The only camouflage worn by space marines was the scout’s camouflaged cloaks and even these were usually uniquely patterned for the vision of each specific non-human race. These cloaks did not appear camouflaged to the human eye unless the space marines were using cloaks specifically made for fighting a traitor human army.


Former Blood Angel with Camouflage – Side View

Thus, camouflage uniforms become associated only with armies that regularly fought other human armies, usually on uncivilized planets with no central government. Of the major armies, only the Imperial Guard retained units with camouflage and these represented units that were recruited on more primitive and lawless planets. The space marines and other elite armies came to look upon soldiers in camouflage as little more than gang members or street thugs. When the Arch Admiral ordered the space marines to wear camouflaged uniforms, many of the fleet marines felt insulted.


Former Blood Angel with Shoulder Patch of the New Chapter

Although the chapter was organized under code name of the 157th Security Detachment, no formal name was ever assigned. The members of the un-named chapter started to sarcastically refer to themselves as the servitors after Chaplain Jambalaya “Dry” Bones gave a rather unfortunate and maudlin sermon on the Dying Servitor. At first, they referred to themselves as the Servitors because they felt that their own chapters had rejected them. In time, however, they called themselves servitors to represent their willingness to submit themselves to the Emperor’s will in all things just as a servitor submits to the most humble of tasks.


Insignia of the Unnamed Chapter



This message was edited 28 times. Last update was at 2023/02/27 14:02:02


 
   
Made in gb
Potent Possessed Daemonvessel






The pictures aren't working for me .
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Sentient OverBear






Clearwater, FL

Oldmanronald, use the Forums link:



And not the Dakka articles link. You can edit your post to fix this.

DQ:70S++G+++M+B++I+Pw40k94+ID+++A++/sWD178R+++T(I)DM+++

Trust me, no matter what damage they have the potential to do, single-shot weapons always flatter to deceive in 40k.                                                                                                       Rule #1
- BBAP

 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Thank you Lorek for the help. Also, thank you Little Lord Fauntleroy for pointing out the problem.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/05/25 20:58:40


 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Welcome to my Painting and Modeling Blog for the 6th Biker Troop, Schrödinger’s Apocalyptic Raiders. The 6th Biker Troop is the ground reconnaissance cavalry of the unnamed chapter created by the Lord High Admiral to support his fleet. The 6th Biker Troop is generally organized as Ravenwing so the troop follows the Dark Angels Codex although, since the unnamed chapter is composed of former blood angels and space marines as well as dark angels, for gaming purposes the unit is often deployed with allied detachments.


Captain Cat Schrödinger (Pseudo-Sammuel) with Ravenwing Command Squad

I have been writing this blog since May 2010. The blog includes not only pictures of my finished models, but tutorials on the modeling process itself. Generally, I don’t spent too much time talking about the fluff or the rules except as the fluff and the rules impact my modeling. In fact, I amended my first post to start out with the fluff because the fluff so impacts the design of my models including the camouflage and the many non-traditional modifications to the standard models. While I enjoy the 40K universe, I find it very rigid. I have created a chapter where orthodoxy is ignored so that I can freely modify my figures to give them unique and different personalities.

Although I love to modify my models, I have evolved a few rules. They are:

• All models have the same camouflage regardless of its origin. Thus, even if the model is a Ravenwing dark knight, a blood angel, or a space marine, the model has the basic camouflaged pattern although some of my models will be trimmed in an original color.


Ravenwing Darkshroud in Camouflage

For example, some of my blood angels uniforms have blood red trim.


Blood Angel in Camouflage with Red Trim

• My bling is limited and must make some battle sense. For example, my librarians do not have the huge books on their heads like the full model does.


Librarian in Terminator Armor with Force Axe and No Book Above His Head

• All weapons must be shown and must be WYSISYG. That is, if the character has a melta-gun and a pistol, they must he shown with a melta-gun and pistol. At first, I didn’t even allow a holster but I have since relaxed that requirement. If the model has krak and frag grenades, the model must be carrying krak and frag grenades. Sometimes this is a hard requirement, especially since Games Workshop does not always illustrate all the weapons and I have to research what exactly they mean by a grav-amp or other items they describe in the rules. Sometimes the object doesn’t exist and I have to find a substitute.


Grav-Cannon and Grav-Amp Gunner with Pistol in Holster

• The models have a bias toward action rather than a static pose. Thus, I often have my space marines holding a bolt pistol in one hand and a bolter in another. These are space marines, genetically modified super-heroes who should be able to two weapons at once. Of course, for a heavy weapon such as a grav-cannon or heavy flamer, they only use one weapon at a time. I have been questioned about this for some of my bikers who are not holding the handlebars on the bikes. As anyone who has ridden a bike knows, at high speed the bike is turned by leaning and with their highly developed genetically modified butt muscles, these space marines can control the movement of their bikes without touching the handles.


Dark Knight

• These troops have some discipline problems. Thus, they will modify their uniforms with unauthorized equipment including Chaos and Ork knives, flamboyant helmets, and on their transports, trophies such as head of their enemies and other such decorations.


Flamboyant Heavy Flamer with Dragon Head

• Although they have not turned their hearts over to Chaos, they are willing to display as trophies the heads of their enemies.

The Bulldog - Land Raider Crusader with Ork Heads

• They don’t always wear their helmets. Still, they are not stupid and in the harsh combat environments, always have their helmet ready. Thus, every bare-headed soldier has a helmet within close proximity, whether mounted on their belts or on their bikes.


Bare-headed Biker with Helmet and Chaos Knife

• All finished models are posed against a fantasy world background.

Firebase with Thunderfire Cannons

I didn’t necessarily start this blog with these rules, but as I have built these models, I have tended to follow these rules.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2015/10/27 16:49:14


 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Hints for Building a Bike Army.

Bike armies are expensive and take a long time to build. I find painting a bike much more tedious than painting an infantry model, although less tedious than painting a vehicle. Still, I have to paint a lot more bikes than vehicles so painting bikes is tedious.

The best way to build a bike army is to build it from the Dark Angels Ravenwing Battleforce. At full price of $90, the battleforce contains six normal space marine bikes, one normal space marine assault bike, and one normal space marine land speeder as well as a number of Dark Angels upgrade spruces. Since normal bikes are 3 for $45, the Battleforce is a comparative bargain.

The bikes in the Battleforce are the same as regular space marines except for the torso, arms, and heads of the riders. I like the Dark Angel riders better than the regular bikers. I did buy one regular Space Marine bike squad and the rider’s arms, torso, and heads were each a single metal component. One of the biker’s torsos had a multamelta, one had a plasma gun, and one had a sword. These metal models are difficult to customize and the only one I could use was the one with the meltamelta. The arms, torso, and heads of the Battleforce are regular marines but are made of a much more workable plastic.

Even though I had no intention of modeling my bike army as Dark Angel’s, I found the Dark Angel’s upgrade pack extremely useful for my bikes and for some of my other models. For my bikes, I especially like the Dark Angel’s bedroll and side pack. I was able to restore and upgrade to a Tornado an old damaged landspeeder using the extra bits. This was in addition to making the Battleforce’s other land speeder. I have also used the bits to customize my flag, add banners to my predators, and a book for my librarian.

However, the best sources for customizing the bikers are the Space Marine Assault Squad and Space Marine Commander multi-part plastic sets. Both are filled with weapons, arms, heads, and other bits. Of course, the marine captain parts are wonderful for making the marine captain but there are plenty of bits left over. But it is the space marine assault squad that provides some of the best bits including great pistol arms, a hand grenade throwing arm, a shield, and frag grenades. Fortunately, my son is actually building a Space Wolf Assault Squad so he keeps the legs and jump packs which he adds to his Space Wolf bits and I keep the arms.

I also had some left bits from a Warhammer® Bretonnia army which my son had started. These bits were great. I also ordered a package of meltaguns bits from Warhammer.

Notice in the pictures below the use of assault pistol arms for giving variety to my six regular space marine bikers, the Commander heads and meltaguns on my six meltagunners, and the Bretonnia heads and powerfists for the three sergeants.

White Biker Sergeant



Red Biker Sergeant



Bikers with Pistols



White Meltagunner




This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2010/05/27 17:44:17


 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Land Speeder Typhoon



Land Speeder Storm with Scouts



I have almost finished my command squad and will be taking pictures of them and of my captain and librarian this weekend. I will post them next week.
   
Made in us
Hardened Veteran Guardsman





Danbury, CT

Nice take on the camouflaged marines. You don't really see this kind of stuff often. Good Job!

Ultramarines Legion 138th Company
Ultramarines Legion 19th Reserve Armour Company

Merican 1st Infantry "Merican Legion" 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

WARNING: This picture may be a little gruesome. I noticed in the pictures of my land speeder storm, one of the scouts seemed to be aiming their bolters at a Ork. Then, I remembered the cover of the Space Marine Codex that the central figure was shooting a bolt gun at a Chaos marine. The Chaos marine’s guts are flying out of his back. I couldn’t resist. I drilled a hole through an Ork, took a little green stuff, cut a short length of piano wire that I use for my antennas, and with a little painting and posing, created the following picture.



Trooper Cat Schrödinger disinfects a fungal infestation that is threatening one of the Third Fleet’s space ports.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
I just added a poll at the beginning of this blog. I am looking for feedback on my biker captain. In a bike army, the captain is critical. A captain on a bike allows bike squads to be counted as a troop choice. When I first started building the army, I built a captain in a bike with sidecar and a separate driver. I wasn't happy with it, so after I finished most of my bikes, I built a second captain astride his own bike. I like the second better, but in part because I improved in techniques as I built my army. For example, I pounded out the second captains relic blade out of a copper wire so it would be extra long and I made the storm shield out of plastic card. I think it is a better model than the first. But my son likes the captain in the sidecar. What do you think? Please vote in the poll above and make a comment if you have any suggestions.

I am thinking of rebuilding the captain in the sidecar to add a longer relic blade and to fix up the sidecar to place the captain more forward on the bike and to add a custom storm shield.

Although I added the pictures to the first post, I am repeating them here. Here are four pictures. The first and second show the captain in the side car. The third and fourth pictures show the captain astride his own bike.

Front Left View: Captain in Sidecar with Driver.



Front Right View: Captain in Sidecar with Driver holding combi-melta.



Front View: Captain Astride Own Bike.



Side View: Captain Astride His Own Bike. Notice the storm shield with the Cherry Blossoms.



This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/06/01 19:13:23


 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

A Big Thanks to the Orks.

The Orks are feeling unappreciated and are upset with me. They did not complain when I made them background for the biker army. They did not complain when I expressed no thanks for them appearing in almost every picture that I have taken. They did not complain when I never even mentioned their help. But yesterday I went too far even for Orks when I showed a picture of one with his guts being blown out his backside and labeled the picture, “Trooper Cat Schrödinger disinfects a fungal infestation that is threatening one of the Third Fleet’s space ports.” I can see how Orks might take offense. So in part to make up from my oversight, I am offering a big thanks to the Orks without whom these pictures (and Warhammer 40K) would be a dull and lifeless affair.



Thank you Orks. We love you.

   
Made in us
Rotting Sorcerer of Nurgle





IMO, his own.
It's the most RAW answer I can give.
Though I think his sword looks cooler on his own bike than the sidecar.

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

The Command Squad:

Fortunately for me, I built my three basic bike squads first and then decided to build a command squad. The command squad was the most fun since I had to do even more customizing than before. I ordered some bits for a Company Champion and an Apothecary and grafted these parts onto the basic biker body. I added a chainsaw to another command squad member to make a basic command squad member, added a pair of lighting claws to fourth biker, and a thunder-hammer, storm shield, and company standard to the fifth. These last two were really fun since I used terminator claws, thunder-hammer, and storm shield and had to cut all of the parts down to fit the standard biker torso. The shoulders required a lot of carving to fit but all the carving was covered by the shoulder pads so any flaws are hidden.



The Command Squad.

Not all the command squad is complete. I still need to finish painting the company standard and the Apothecary.

Here is a close up of one of my biker veterans. I will post the rest of the command squad later.



Biker Veteran with a Pair of Lighting Claws



Another View. Notice the grenades on his right leg. I would carry as many as I could if I were going into combat.

And yes, also notice the Orks on each side. Aren't they handsome.

   
Made in se
Stabbin' Skarboy





Malmoe, Sweden

Lol +1 for the orks oh and also, great work on the rest mate! the camoflage is something you don't se much on marines, but yours look good

monkeytroll wrote:
In the grim darkness of the future there is only boar.

Waagh Nazdreg!
 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Biker Veteran.

Although this veteran is the only member of my command squad that has not been upgraded with lighting claws, thunderhammer, storm shield, or upgraded to a Company Champion, this may be my favorite biker. I like his uncluttered simple lines

Right Side of Biker Veteran carrying chainsword. Notice the grenades and bolt pistol.



I am fairly serious to make all my models to be WYSIWYG. I make sure that each model is showing all the weapons authorized including grenades. I love grenades. For each bike and infantry model, I tried to include at least one krak grenade bit and one Frag grenade bit. For my assault squad command bikers I fitted on as many grenades as I can get on so that each has a least two bits of krak grenades and two bits of frag grenades, if not more. Likewise, each model that is authorized a bolt pistol is carrying a bolt pistol, either in his hand or on his uniform. Not only is this WYSIWYG, it looks neat. It is not just for the sake of the game or for my opponent; it is for me to remember exactly what each model can do.

Likewise, I am careful not to include unauthorized weapons on my models. Sometimes this means that I have to remove a weapon that is already on the model. I use superglue rather than plastic cement which makes it easier to remove parts.



Left Side of Biker Veteran carrying chainsword. Note the knife and frag grenades. Also note the purity seals on the front fairing of the bike.

Bits are fun. Some, like the purity seals and other tokens, I tend to use sparingly. I put them mostly on veterans and others I need to identify as special. Still, I find too many clutter rather than help the model.

Company Champion.

Left Side of Company Champion with a set of melta bombs. Notice that he is holding his power sword but has his chainsword on the side. As I am reading the rules, he keeps his chainsword and pistol when he is upgraded to the Company Champion. Again notice the frag grenades on the belt and the purity seals on the front fairing.



Front View of the Company Champion. With all the upgrades of chainswords, pistols, meltaguns, powerfists, and such on my bikers, it is easy to overlook the twin bolters on the bike itself. These may be the most important weapon that my bikers have.




   
Made in us
Tail Gunner





Somewhere

Really nice conversions....
The camo scheme is a cool idea

one problem: I (and your marines, im sure), think that it might be a bit hard to ride a bike with two lighting claws..... and use them for combat at the same time.....

2355 points of
2417 points of

"Are you telling me that Mister Bumpy, that old monster who lives under your bed and eats socks, is really an agent of the Orks, sending them socks, pants and all other gettups through the warp for them? Mind = blown...."
slarg232  
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Veteran with Standard.

The standard is the flag from the Warhammer® Bretonnian Knights. This is more dynamic and looks better on a bike than the normal space marine standard. I replaced the flag's plastic pole with a brass pole to make it break resistant. I added bits from the Dark Angels upgrade trees left over from the Dark Angels Battleforce. I have not yet finished painting the flag, specifically I have not added the unit designation and other writing to the flag.



I will post more pictures of the flag when I finish it. I also will post the Apothecary when I finish painting him.

I have replaced most of the the plastic antennas and flagpoles with metal wires. This is primarily to make the antennas and flagpoles unbreakable. Even in building my models, the plastic antennas and flagpoles were already breaking. It allowed me to lengthen the antennas and to bend them for a more dynamic look.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Thank you Calgar 2.5, Sanctjud, Rose Mountainz, and Budgie for your kind remarks. I appreciated the encouragement.

Budgie, the short answer to your comment about riding the bike with two lighting claws is that the rider is a space marine and with his super dumper enhancements he can control a bike just by flexing his butt cheeks.

The longer answer: I actually wondered about this myself. In fact, one of the reasons I put my captain in a sidecar was so that he could wield a two handed relic blade without having to drive the bike. I then looked through the codices and several blogs on two handed weapons and bikes in 40K. Apparently in an earlier codex, a biker could not take a two handed weapons but no such requirement now exists in the 5th edition. So since I don’t have to worry about the rules, I merely have to worry about the fluff. So here is how I explain it.

As anyone who has ridden a bike knows, at higher speeds, a bike is turned by rider leaning in the direction of the desired turn, rather than by turning the handlebars. Thus, a person can ride a bike with no hands on the handlebar. I did so on a bicycle as a kid and even turned it without using the handles, although I am never had the confidence to so on an actual motorcycle. Moreover, it is probably within today’s technology to place a feedback computer in a motorcycle that would stabilize the bike and the handlebars for a rider even if the rider does not put his or her hands on the handlebar.

Now for the fluff, the space marine bikes have been enhanced with such feedback systems and the space marine bikers have been trained to wield even two handed weapons in combat without actually having to touch the handle bars. All space marine bikers have mastered this art and the very best do it routinely. The veteran with the two lighting claws is especially proficient with this and was issued two lighting claws in recognition of his great skill. When he is in combat, the bike responses to his movements as he wields his lighting claws and moves with him in combat. He and his machine have become one in thought and purpose.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/06/04 20:28:05


 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Two Space Wolf Guard Terminators

My 14 year old son is slowly building a Space Wolf army. He enjoys Space Wolves and I must admit, the Space Wolves have a real personality. Each space wolf has a unique look. He asked me to take some pictures of some of his models. So here is a picture of a couple of his wolf guards in terminator armor. I think they look great.



The terminator on the right looks like Mr. T.



Both the Orks and the Space Wolves are ready to rumble.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/06/06 04:09:45


 
   
Made in au
Snord





Australia : SA

Looks to IG for my liking sorry.



Kreig - 2850 pts
Skaven - 3450 pts
Orks - 1950 (pro painted)


 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Scout Biker Squad.

Scout Bikers Reconnoitering Ork Mob.



I made three scout bikers. These are my experimental squad, the squad that I first try out new building techniques. The first biker I made was one of these scouts. I glued on the torso and then when it had dried, I added the arm. The arm didn’t properly fit on the handlebar unless I put the arm too far back on the torso. I learned from this that the torso of the biker and any arm with a hand on the handlebar must be put on at the same time. I usually glue the hand to the handlebar, glue the torso on the legs, and then immediately move the arm and torso to the correct position.

Scout Biker Squad with Sergeant with location beacon.



The first real conversion I made on the bikes was adding the location beacon to the scout sergeant’s bike. I had to trim the back fender to give it a flat surface to add the location beacon. I think the resulting model looks neat and I have been carving, gluing, and green stuffing my models since.

Even though I like my biker scout squad, I see little use for them with my bike army. I especially see little use for the location beacon since; so far at least, I have no troops that would be teleported in. I will keep the scout bikers, however, because they may be useful in the future but for now they will remain on the shelf. Sometimes I made a model simply because it seemed fun to make rather than because it would be useful to my game.
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

The Biker Librarian.



With the new emphasis on psychics in the 5th edition and the new codices, I thought I needed a librarian to keep up. Beside, this was a fun conversion. Fortunately, I had lots of bits, including books and hooded heads on the Dark Angels spruce from the Dark Angels Ravenwing Battleforce.

So I built the biker Librarian as follows:

The Basic Bike and Torso.

All my bikes, except for three scout bikes, are identical with identical legs for the bikers. These parts come on the basic bike spruce and are easy to assembly. The bike itself comes in a left and right side which are held together by the wheels, legs, the pipe assembly, and the handlebars. Unfortunately, the left and right assemblies do not always mesh perfectly and I usually trim and blend the seam with an Xacto knife.

Once I complete the basic bike, I then add a torso. The torso is in two halves and I first assemble the torso then put on the space marine backpack before I put the torso on the bike. I have finally discovered that often I need to trim the back of the bike seat to fit the space marine backpack.

Almost all of my bikers have one hand on the handlebar. The torso and the arm with the hand on the handlebar must be put on at the same time. I usually glue the hand to the handlebar, glue the torso on the legs, and then immediately move the arm and torso to the correct position. I discovered on my first bike, that if I didn’t do it this way, if I first put on the torso and let it dry, the arm would not fit correctly on the handlebar. The handlebar grasping hands and arms, both left and right sided, are on the basic spruce. Once I have the torso on, I am now free to create the biker’s function and personality.



The Librarian Upgrade.

Basically, I looked at pictures of the librarian in the Space Marine Codex and the How to Paint Space Marines book. I notice that all the librarians had a book. So with some scrapping and cutting, I fitted the book from the Dark Angel’s spruce onto the front fender of the bike. Then I just added bits as inspired, including scrolls, insignia, and fancy shoulder pads.

The psychic hood.

The psychic hood is the hooded head from the Dark Angel’s spruce. It is a much more attractive head and hood than the ugly hooded heads found on Warhammer 40,000® librarian models. I especially did not want my head to look like Ultramarines Chief Librarian Tigurius. His head looks what my Grandmother used to look like when she put her hair up in coilers and covered it with a little plastic shower cap. Add Tigurius’s expression, which looks like my Grandmother smelling something rotten in the trash bin and Tiguruis’s apron and dress, and Tigurius looks like an elderly grandmother with a few skulls hanging from her belt. As much as I loved my Grandmother, I do not want to model my space marines to look like her, especially when she was looking her worst.



I noticed that all the Warhammer librarians have a couple of hoses hanging from their psychic hoods, somewhat resembling dreadlocks. I am not sure what they are but I assume it is for some type of happy gas that librarian inhales or it is heavy duty wires to the librarian’s head to give him some electric shocks when he needs to rearrange his brain cells. So I took some Green Stuff Modeling Putty, rolled out a few green stuff ropes, and hung them from my librarians hood. I am not sure that any of the pictures show the dreadlock hoses, but they are there.

The Force Weapon.

The Force Weapon was the most customized item for my librarian. I took a Bretonnia® Knight bit which was a combination heavy lance handle, hand, and arm. I drilled out the center of the handle and inserted part of a heavy brass wire through the handle. I slipped a plastic tube over the rest of the brass wire to thicken it up. In the picture below, the handle of the Bretonnia® Knight bit is blue and the plastic tube is black with flames. I glued a couple of Space Marine bits to the top of the tube. The Force Weapon is a little big but I went for dramatic and I like it.



This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2010/06/08 20:56:13


 
   
Made in jp
Krazy Grot Kutta Driva





Chiba, Japan

Were you tempted to take the Japanese scheme further at all? You could add things like force katana and samurai back banners, things like that...

In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium there is only Devlan Mud Agrax Earthshade.
My Scientific Scavvies (WIP)
The Free Mechanised Goblin Republick
Malifaux (so far just Hamelin the Plagued) 
   
Made in us
Renegade Kan Killin Orks





San Francisco, CA

I like the pics. The armies looks good. The gruesome shot is great.
I think the captain should be riding his own bike. I could see an ork boss having a driver to get him closer while he waved two glorious big gunz or somefing, but I feel like the SM captain would be too prideful to not be driving.

   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Thank you Jackanory and The Good Green for your kind remarks. Scar, based on my own fluff, the space marines of the 6th Biker Troop would agree with you. They dislike their camouflage uniforms precisely because it is too much like IG.

Red Melta Gunner.



Jackanory, I was intrigued by your question about taking the Japanese theme further. I hadn’t realized that I had a Japanese theme until you asked your question and then I realized that I had used a Japanese name for Arch Admiral Isoroku Takano (the birth name of Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet during World War II) and I had chosen the cherry blossoms as my symbol. Still, I never was tempted to have a Japanese theme, in part because I lack enough knowledge of Japanese culture to do a good job with such theme.

Attack Bikes.



As shown in the picture of the three attack bikes, I always drill out the barrel of my guns which makes them look so much better. For any serious conversion or finishing of the gun barrels, Warhammer’s wonderful little hand drill is great. For small holes such as the bore of the bolt gun, I just use the hand drill. For the bigger holes such as the bore of the multi-melta, I use my power drill, but only after I use the hand drill to make a starter hole. Every man should have a power drill. No man is a real man unless he owns a power drill.

In addition to the gun bores, I also drilled out the exhaust pipes on the bikes. See the exhaust pipes on one of my favorite picture below and on the scout bikes above.

Blue Squad on Point.



I also use the drill to drill holes in the back wheels of some of my bikes and in the bases so that I can pin the back wheel to the bases so the bikers were each doing a wheelie. As an experiment, I pinned the front wheel of one of my bikes to the base. It is the nearest bike in the above picture. I like the effect so much, especially when the near bike is coupled with a bike with the back wheel pinned, that I plan to pin more front wheels on my bikes. It makes the bikes look like they are moving.
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Thank you Jackanory and The Good Green for your kind remarks. Scar, based on my own fluff, the space marines of the 6th Biker Troop would agree with you. They dislike their camouflage uniforms precisely because it is too much like IG.

Red Melta Gunner.



Jackanory, I was intrigued by your question about taking the Japanese theme further. I hadn’t realized that I had a Japanese theme until you asked your question and then I realized that I had used a Japanese name for Arch Admiral Isoroku Takano (the birth name of Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet during World War II) and I had chosen the cherry blossoms as my symbol. Still, I never was tempted to have a Japanese theme, in part because I lack enough knowledge of Japanese culture to do a good job with such theme.

Attack Bikes.



As shown in the picture of the three attack bikes, I always drill out the barrel of my guns which makes them look so much better. For any serious conversion or finishing of the gun barrels, Warhammer’s wonderful little hand drill is great. For small holes such as the bore of the bolt gun, I just use the hand drill. For the bigger holes such as the bore of the multi-melta, I use my power drill, but only after I use the hand drill to make a starter hole. Every man should have a power drill. No man is a real man unless he owns a power drill.

In addition to the gun bores, I also drilled out the exhaust pipes on the bikes. See the exhaust pipes on one of my favorite picture below and on the scout bikes above.

Blue Squad on Point.



I also use the drill to drill holes in the back wheels of some of my bikes and in the bases so that I can pin the back wheel to the bases so the bikers were each doing a wheelie. As an experiment, I pinned the front wheel of one of my bikes to the base. It is the nearest bike in the above picture. I like the effect so much, especially when the near bike is coupled with a bike with the back wheel pinned, that I plan to pin more front wheels on my bikes. It makes the bikes look like they are moving.
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

How I take my pictures.

I am having fun taking these pictures. I have found that with a few tricks, these pictures look pretty good. My studio is just a card table on our front north facing porch so I can use indirect sunlight. I mount my camera on a tripod since it needs to be steady for miniature work. My camera has a Macro mode and a super Macro mode for close-ups. I find that the Macro mode works best. I also use a timer so I don’t shake the camera while taking the picture.

I had painted an abstract oil several years ago. I never finished it or framed it but it makes a great background for some of my shots. I may paint a gas-giant background which would be impressive.

My Studio.



Setting up the picture takes a little time, especially getting each model at the right place. At these close distances, I need to look at the shot on the camera screen which can appear quite different then what I see when I look at the image directly. I individually move each model to get it in the right position. I try not to overlap the secondary models such as the Orks or any background models with the centered primary model.

Three Views of the same Figure. In each I adjust it to improve the picture.

First Picture of Blue Bike Sergeant with Powerfist.



Oops. I am not sure the overlapping of the Orkz with the Biker works. I also noticed that I missed some gold paint on the winged skull icon on the front fender pack.

Second Picture of Blue Bike Sergeant with Powerfist.



Another view, this is better and I like the Orks in the background. The gun sight on my bike sergeant’s left covers his face and is somewhat confusing. The gold paint is still missing on the winged skull.

Third Picture of Blue Bike Sergeant with Powerfist.



With a little gold paint and a third pose, this is even better. This is one of my favorite pictures.

My son and I have experimented with some other armies and I started an Ork army. As a result I have a number of Orks, some painted, some not, that I can add to the picture to give it depth and drama.

Just Orks.



Creating depth and movement.

A realist artist uses at least three techniques to create depth in a picture. They are:

1) Make close objects large and far objects small. In other words, draw prospective. This happens naturally in the pictures but to exaggerate the effect, I bring the critical figures in as close to the front as possible, merely inches away from the camera lens.

2) Focus on the near objects and keep the far objects less defined. Again, this happens naturally when I use the macro function on my camera and focus on the nearest figures.

3) Include bright colors on the near objects but have the far objects more dark and monochrome. I got lucky on this. I have a number of Orks, some painted with details, but many with just a black undercoat sprayed on. I put the painted Orks in front, either next to the model or if in the background, towards the front of the Ork mob. I put the unpainted Orks behind the painted models. This gives the picture depth since the unpainted Orks look further away than the painted models.

In the picture of the Orks above, several are unpainted including the Nob with the standard and power klaw and the DeffKoptas in back row. Notice how these unpainted models give depth to the picture of the three bikers on point below. Especially notice the Nob standard and weapons in the yellow orb on the background. This looks like more Orkz just coming into view on the battlefield.




This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2010/06/22 19:17:10


 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Assault Terminators.

In large point games, I plan to use an assault terminator squad. Assault terminators are expensive, five terminators plus a land raider is about 500 points. Still, assault terminators are the ultimate hammer unit and I think they would be a great supplement to my Biker army. As much as I like my biker command squad and have made them up as a rapidly moving assault force, they do not have the hitting power of assault terminators.

Five Assault Terminators.



My son painted these terminators. He used the same camouflage paints scheme as I am using on my bike army. Actually, I copied his camouflage scheme. He made these terminators before I made my bike army. But he is moving on to space wolves so I am recycling his old space marine army. Notice that his paint scheme, although using the same colors, has a different feel. He has given them more of an ultramarine feel by using more blue on their armor.

Assault Terminators in Battle.



The backside of these terminators shows the camouflage pattern in more detail. Notice that my son has highlighted the armor. I plan to add a gravelly texture to the bases to match my biker bases and to repaint the terminator sergeant’s face. I did paint the red eye lenses of the four other terminators as shown in the first assault terminator picture above and the picture just below.




Assault Terminators surrounded and outnumbered by an Ork mob. Too bad for the Orks. They are doomed.
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Stripping Three Assault Terminators.

Although almost all of my bikers are built and painted, I am also building some support troops and vehicles. I am thinking of adding an additional one or two terminators and a librarian in terminator armor to the five terminators I already have. I already have the librarian on a bike but I would like the option to have the librarian ride in a land raider and support the terminators. I want the librarian in terminator armor to look like the same person as the librarian on the bike.

I have an old space marine army that my son and I built so rather than buy new terminators, I am going to strip off the paint of three old terminators and repaint them. I will be rebuilding one of the terminators into a librarian.

Step 1: Soak the Terminators overnight in Purple Power, an industrial strength cleaner/degreaser purchased at WalMart.

Three Old Terminators Contemplating Their Fate.



Note how dark the terminators are in comparison with the rest of the picture. Although this picture is taken in the same place as all the others that I have posted, the figures are dark because they are against a light background rather than dark gray. I retook the picture using a flash, something I did not have to do with my models with a dark background.

Three Old Terminators with Flash.



I am also stripping down a powerfist that I took off another model. It is for my Sternguard sergeant.

Step 2: After soaking, take an old toothbrush and scrub off the paint. While scrubbing, rinse with the excess paint in the cleaner. Be sure to wear gloves.

Three Old Terminators after Steps 1 and 2.



Not bad. I still have some old paint spots left in some of the crevices and a little grass on the base near their feet. I may take my knife or a toothpick and scrap these spots and I may re-soak these terminators again. Notice how much better they already look but in part that is because I have put them against the dark gray background rather than the light.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/06/22 19:22:15


 
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Can this Land Raider be saved?

If I use assault terminators I will need a land raider to carry them. Fortunately, I already have a land raider that my son used for his space marine army. Unfortunately, it needs some major work to fix it up.

Front View of My Old Land Raider Crusader.



It has several problems. The bottom half of the front door is missing. The heavy bolters on the left hurricane bolter sponsons and the shield are missing. The paint job does not match the rest of my army.

Right View of My Old Land Raider Crusader.



This view shows the damage on the hurricane bolter sponsons.

Left View of My Old Land Raider Crusader.



This side looks better but notice that the multi-melta at the top is hanging loose.

Another Front View of My Old Land Raider Crusader.



Can this old Land Raider be saved or is it garbage? Do I have to buy a new one? Wouldn't I rather spend my money on a model I don't have like a Vindicator? Wouldn't my wife rather I spend my money on her? We shall see what happens in the next few weeks.
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

The 1000 point army.



Captain on bike with artificer armor, storm shield, and relic blade.

1st Bike Squad (white) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns.
2nd Bike Squad (red) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multi-melta.
3rd Bike Squad (blue) with Powerfist, 2 extra bikes, 2 meltaguns, Attack Bike with Multi-melta.

Land Speeder with Typhoon missile launcher.

Land Speeder with Typhoon missile launcher.

Unfortunately I just discovered that I forgot to include the points for the relic blade. It looks like I may have to revamp this army. I may drop an extra bike or one extra bike per squad and add an Attack Bike with the Heavy Bolter to the white squad. Decisions, Decisions.

Although this is just a 1000 point army, it would be both fun and a great learning army for me to master bike rules and tactics. The white squad would act as the Captain’s escort squad.
   
Made in us
Focused Dark Angels Land Raider Pilot





Virginia

Support Troops.

I am building some support troops for the bikers. I am considering the following.


1. Assault Terminators in a Land Raider. This is an expensive choice of about 500 points but I have both the terminators and the land raider although the land raider needs to be rebuilt.

Assault Terminators ready to Rumble.



2. Predators. I am finishing building two. Predators are reasonably cheap point wise and may give my opponents a target to shoot at rather than at my bikes. They provide good mobile cover that can block the enemy’s avenues of approach. This is probably what I will use for my 1500 point army. Besides, I have enjoyed modifying them by putting a shield on the heavy bolters and adding the whip antennas.

Two Predators. I still need to finish painting them.



3. Vindicators. These are a little more expensive than Predators but may be a perfect match for a bike army. A bike army is fast and maneuverable. It should fight best against an army that is broken down into smaller units because the bike army can quickly deploy and outnumber a small unsupported enemy unit. The bike army may have a more difficult time against an enemy army that remains undivided and concentrated. Two or three Vindicators, however, would love an army that is undivided and concentrated. The Vindicators aim for the middle of the mass and if they scatter, so what, the blasts hits other targets. The problem with Vindicators is that I would have to spend about $100 to buy three and then would have to build them. I don’t think they would offer fun conversion opportunities.

4. Whirlwind. The main advantage is that I already have one that I stripped the paint off. I just have to repaint it. It is a good low point tank for killing horde infantry.

5. Sternguard. I took some old space marine models which I stripped and a bunch of bits that I had and that I ordered and custom built some Sternguard. I love these models. I need to give them a Rhino to protect them and to keep them up with the bikes. I am not sure how effective they would be with the bike army.

Four Custom Sternguard Space Marines.



6. Land Speeders. I have two landspeeders, each with a typhoon missile launcher. I consider them an integral part of my bike army. One should be stripped and repainted. I will do that someday.

Land Speeder Typhoons.



7. Land Speeder Storm with five scouts. I already have this built. This may be an effective unit to seize second story objectives or other objectives that may be lightly defended.

Scouts in a Land Speeder Shooting Orks.



Support units can help booster some of a bike army’s weaknesses. However, they also bring in weaknesses.

It appears that the more competitive Warhammer 40K armies are built with balanced offensive weapons but have a specialized defensive built. That is, they are able to destroy all possible enemy targets but only present one type of target to the enemy. Unless the army is custom build to fight a single type of enemy army, for example against a single opponent who always brings an infantry mob Ork army, the best armies are built to fight all comers. Thus, the best armies will have weapons and units that can take out monstrous creatures, heavy tanks, light tanks, MEQ infantry, and horde infantry. However, a defense against such well balanced army is to present only a single type target. Thus, a pure tank army fighting a balanced army will lose a few tanks to the anti-tank weapons but will cause those models with anti-infantry weapons to become mere spectators. The tank army need only target the balanced army’s anti-tank weapons. Of course, it is fairly easy to create such a specialized defensive army with a balanced weapon load. One need only choose all tanks but arm some with anti-infantry weapons and others with anti-tank weapons.

Thus, if I add non-bike units to my bike army, I may be making up for some weaknesses in the bike army but I am also creating targets for the enemy’s under-employed units. This is more a tactical issue rather than painting and modeling issue. One has to consider such tactical aspects, however, when making modeling decisions.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/06/22 19:30:29


 
   
 
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