Raptor Devastators

Here's my first Devastator Squad. Initially a 5-man unit, I'm planning to expand these guys to a full ten in compliance with the standard squad compliment. Made this from a standard Dev Squad kit, the only thing I don't like about the set is that it only comes with one missile launcher (with the updated backpack). I'd rather have two those and one less plasma cannon.

Raptors Command Squad

Here's my WIP Command Squad - I've got some details to paint, some decals to add and of course, the bases. This unit is strictly built from the Command Squad box, with nothing special. This squad is attached to the 2nd Company. I'll probably paint some white laurels on the helmets to denote veteran status.

Raptors Captain

Here is my completed Space Marine Captain. I've decided to start off with the 2nd Company. I'm not sure if he'll be that company's commander, but he'll do for now. The Rhino along side him is assigned to the Tactical Squad I of the 2nd Battle Company. I used the standard kit for that with a few IG bits thrown on like the backpack and the pick (on the other side).

Sorry for the poor lighting - it's getting dark and my lighting in the kitchen sucks.

Raptors Colors

Using the Space Marine painter over at Bolter & Chainsword, I've come up with the paint scheme that I'll be using to identify sergeants and veterans. I'm thinking of going with red helmets for sergeants (squad leaders) and white helmets for veterans. The apothecary will probably have a white helmet with a red stripe down the middle and sergeants of veteran squads will have white helmets with a black stripe.

Crimson Fists - Gone

Very recently, a friend who was in town and took up (thanks to me) the game of 40k made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse, so I sold him my Crimson Fists army. Under normal circumstances would I have done this? Nope. I enjoyed building the army. But in today’s trying economic times, I needed the extra cash, so I did it.

But not to fear, my friends. All is not lost. I have re-dedicated Kantor Base to honor ALL chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. And so going forward and for the foreseeable future, I’ll be working on the Raptors Chapter.

For those die-hard Crimson Fist fans, I apologize and sincerely hope that you continue to follow my posts that will now be more frequent as I have officially completed my Bachelor’s Degree (it only took me twenty five years) and the children will be getting out of school next week which means no more fifth grade or second grade homework. With three more weeks of coaching softball, I won’t know what to do with myself.

I do plan to play a few games of 40k in the coming weeks and even Warhammer Fantasy. I'm also chomping at the bit for the new Galahdrim Elves for the War of the Ring. This is going to be a kickass summer for gaming.

A Little Update

Even though, I've been freakin' crazy busy, I have managed to spend some time (usually in the wee hours) working on stuff.

Crimson Fists
I've primed a squad of termies and they're about to go under the brush. I have since finished painting my second Tac Squad and put the 1k list through a small battle. Didn't do so good, so I'll change a thing or two. I'm about to start building the Scout Bikers set and hopefully throw down with those in play. I'm also going to assemble a Devastator Squad and see how that can help.

Imperial Guard
I'm continuing to assemble every single plastic trooper that I can find and just dug two Leman Russ. Time to get these boys some heavy support. I've been kind of motivated to get the tanks built after watching the lastest episode of Patton 360 on History Channel.

Pirates
I played my first games of Legend of the High Seas last week with a gaming group that I belong too. That game rocks. I think it's got the right combination of rules from LotR and Mordheim. The rules were quick to pick up and it was a pretty fast paced game.

Let's see, I think that's about it. I'm toying with the idea of making a 1,000 Grey Knights army, but we'll see.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Crimson Fist Terminators - Step 1

I finished building my Crimson Fist Terminator Squad. I had used the Forgeworld shoulder guards on part of the squad, but not all. I'm still trying to give each model that sense of individuality, so I mixed some of the standard Terminator shoulder bits that were included with the kit. I'm thinking the FW ones are more representative of the 'ancient relic' theme and the 'kit' guards are the 'newer versions'.

The next step is to scrub the resin bits and then prime these bad boys.

Crimson Fist Update

I finally completed the Tactical Squad and got it just the way I wanted it. I added several details including a campaign badge, some random striping on some of the helmets. The goal her was to give each model it's own look. While none of them are Golden Demon material, I'm finally happy with the squad. Now I can move on.

It's in the details

Hand painted tactical arrows

scripture on armor and scrolls

armour scrapes

I was working on my Crimson Fists the other night and kept thinking that something was missing. How can I add something that would make them just a tiny bit different than your run of the mill space marines. So I figured that I'd add a little detail here and there on ever model. For me, it does two things. First, it makes them different than generic marines. And second, it makes each model unique.

In my research, I did learn that the Crimson Fists had conducted joint operations with the Black Templars, another chapter descended from Rogal Dorn. During the Declates Crusade, battle brothers from both chapters exchanged iconography as a symbol of unity. So, my plans are to display that exchange on some of the models. I'll paint a templar cross or use some of the black templar shoulder guards throughout the army.

I'm kicking around a few more ideas and using scripture and hand painted tactical arrows, just to change things up a bit. So let me know what you think.

More Rohan pics

WotR - Muster of Rohan

As I mentioned yesterday, I've started collecting a Rohan army for the new War of the Ring game. Last night I decided to take a break from my space marines (only a day or two) to get started on the Riders of Rohan. But not before I flew past the Bunker and bought a box of Warriors of Rohan and a pack of infantry movement trays.

With softball practice cancelled, the kids' homework finished and the wife at work, I thought I'd take advantage of the time and get started. I spent a couple of hours cleaning and assembling the whole unit. I assembled the horses and then glued the grass bits to the bases after I positioned the horse (didn't glue those guys yet). The next step was to clean and assemble the riders. Only one of five riders needed assembly (the spear arm needed to be glued to the torso).

The shields are seperate components that I'll paint before attaching, except for the two bowmen. I glued those two to the Rider as it will not hinder painting.

I test fitted all of the bases to the movement trays and they all fit beautifully. All in all, as painless an assembly as I've ever had. Over the weekend, I base and start priming these bad boys. One of the things that I like about the kit was that there were no left over bits, which means I won't have mountains of extra sprues piling up.

Crimson Fist Update

Yesterday, I sat down (after the wife headed off to work) and started painting some of my Crimson Fists. Then I started to hear these voices in my head. I looked around and found that it was coming from a nearby box of Sternguard Veterans. The next thing I remember is two hours have gone by, five Sternguard models stood assembled in front of me and none of the other models I had set about painting were finished. Wierd. Anybody else experience missing time?

While I'm on the topic of Sternguard. Anybody know of or see any articles out there on converting other SM models to Sternguard? I'm kind of neurotic about duplicating models. If I can make reasonably distinct conversions, I think it will enhance my collection. I'd like to explore converting plastics as well. Let me know if anyone finds any. I'll post pics in the next day or so.

Sternguard Squad - 155 points
sgt w/ powerfist
veteran w/ combi-melta
veteran
veteran
veteran

Dreadnought assembled

I finished assembling the Dread. It's out of the AoBR box. Now I just need to prime that bad boy and paint him up. Although I was going to add a few bits to it before I painted it. Ooh - just got an idea. There's CF plaques that came with the Drop Pod.

I used the pin vise to bore out the holes in the multi-melta, then used a round file to widen it. Quick and easy. Wish I would thought of that one sooner.

Latest Pics - Kantor

Here's my most recent version of Master Kantor. Like I said, he doesn't look much different except for some color changes. I went with blud trim around the right shoulder guard instead of the boltgun and went with red on the ridge of the left shoulder guard instead of boltgun. I tried to drybrush a little metallic highlight around the laurels and other bling, but the shot doesn't really show it.

Another Update

Okay, it's really late, but I did get some painting done. I finished painting Chapter Master Kantor and three more marines. I'll post pics tomorrow. This 2.0 version of my Chapter Master doesn't look much different other than some color changes. I tried him on a 40mm base, but decided against it because it wouldn't blend in with the Honour Guard that he'll eventually have. Man, I'm getting way too indecisive about this army.

But anyway, I surfed the net a bit today and found some pretty cool poses for future models. I've also decided not to be so anal about the boxed sets (metal ones). I'm going to try and utilize some of the metals in different ways other than the standard textbook examples I've seen in catalogs or the codex. Hopefully, I can come up with a few cool looking conversions.

First Squad

Here are some pics of 2nd Company's 1st Squad. I used a flash while taking the shot, so they seem a lot brighter than they actually are. The lighting in my basement is horrendous. But, like I've been saying in recent posts, the new process I'm using looks a bit better and the fact that I'm not mixing any colors is speeding up the process. I finished a second Rhino and I'm half way through the 2nd Squad.

The third shot is the model that will represent the sergeant for 2nd Squad. I had a couple of boxes of the MkI and MkII veterans that I was keeping to the side for something later, but after extensive internet research, I think using the models as squad leaders gives each unit it's own distinctive look. I think it also gives a better 'collector's' feel to the army.

Army Update

For the Emperor!! I finished painting the Tactical Squad and the second Rhino. I have also started painting the first half of the second Tactical Squad. I like the new painting instructions. No mixing colors, so once I sit and pick up that brush, I can make pretty good time. I also assembled the Dreadnought, so I made pretty good headway over the last couple of nights. I just got tired last night and didn't have the energy to get the camera out. I'll post some pics tonight or tomorrow.

Crimson Fist Pics

Check the model on the left. That's an example of when a decal turns out right. I used the 'ardcoat (as shown on the model, second from the left) before applying the decal. Then I used the sealant (Testor's - the GW stuff sucks).

Of Space Marines and Lizardmen...

It was a rough weekend. All three kids were sick with flu and fever, so I spent my entire weekend checking temperatures, spooning Children's Motrin and pouring chicken soup. But the good news is...I got to go back to work today to get some rest.

I did spend the wee, wee hours of the morning painting and assembling. I started putting together my lizardmen models. This being my timid return to fantasy after being absent for some time (except for that High Elf game against, my buddy John last year), I didn't want to pour through a book and structure a list. So I just dove right in and starting building stuff and was going for volume. I got ten skinks built then called it a night on Saturday. Yesterday I sat down to assemble my Kroxigors foolishly thinking that it would be a snap, everything dry fit nicely - except for the arms. What a pain in the ass. That took the whole day. That's why I hate working with metal models.

On to the Crimson Fists. I set to work painting my space marines and I have found the new paint instructions much easier and quicker. I abandoned the metal shoulder guard concept for the most part. Although I still have a few left, I thought that I'd try the decals. My first two attempts were pretty aggravating. I was using Microsol, but still not getting the result that I wanted. I finally decided to find a nice pair of sharp Fiskar scissors and trimmed along the line as close as humanly possible. This seemed to help matters a great deal. I took some pics of the models, but I forgot the memory card at home, so I'll post 'em tonight.

Oh, and I altered the army 1k list a bit in order to fit a dreadnought into the first phase of the project.

Don't Laugh

So last night while I was working on my Crimson Fists squads, I decided to try to finish assembling one of the Death Korps. models. After toiling with super glue and cutting myself numberous times AND gluing my fingers together on at least four occasions, I have grudgingly decided to lay that little project aside for the time being. First, I don't think anything you do for enjoyment should be that frustrating. Second, all things considered - the Death Korps. as cool as they look, are going to be very, very expensive to collect. With that said, I haven't given up on collecting an IG support element to run along side my space marines. With the impending release of the new Imperial Guard Codex and the sizeable box of IG models that I have in my basement, I thought that it would be more cost effective to work with what I've got.

The new plastic Valkyrie is also a nice motivation. So...I'm putting the Death Korps. on hold...for now...and going with standard IG.