Space Hulk 2014 - The Flesh Tearers!

[Aqui]

After much procrastinating, I've managed to get some minis built for my DIY Chapter, the Steel Wings. I haven't finished sorting out things such as mold lines etc, but just wanted to show what I have so far.

My plan is to have two 5 man Tactical squads, with the view of adding more models to the squads later. I already have a HQ painted (Iron Lord Hubros), and a bike who will be in a HoH topic later on. My Venerable Dreadnought (Nishrai) is half finished so will be joining the bike and Hubros once I've finished him.

Sergeant 1:

Sergeant 2:

As you've no doubt noticed, I don't have banners for my Sergeants. It's not that I don't like Banners (I like them loads, especially ones that have been painted by hand), but my free hand skills are totally pants, and banners always seem to get broken in transit So instead, I've given them Mark VI legs and a Mark VI shoulder guard to make them stand out. I've also made them almost "mirror images" of each other.

Whilst building my erstwhile Sergeants and rummaging around in my bitzbox, I had an idea for another Mini. I had bought a Devastator box set a while ago with a view to making a squad of Amber Dragons, another DIY of mine. I painted one and started another, but I hadn't thinned the paints very well, and the result was....not good So, I shelved the rest of the bitz until I got another Dev boxset so that I could cannibalise parts. Any way, I noticed the kneeling down legs and a few other parts and came up with this:

Company Champion:

The "Shield" is a spare "knee guard" off my Venerable Dreadnought (it's not like Nishrai needs it after all )

I'm not sure where the Helmet is from (possibly from the Ven Dreadnought sprue as well), but whilst all three mini's still need a little cleaning up before painting, I'm very happy with them as they've come out better than I'd hoped, especially the Company Champion!

Just goes to show that you don't need to go overboard when converting a mini, sometimes less is more

When I get the rank and file assembled, Ill post pics (assuming my bloody minded computer doesn't take nearly 3 hours like it did to get the above downloaded - blasted thing is getting too much like it's owner )

Hopefully will start painting next week on my days off

C+C welcome

[georgeapg]

Sergeant 1s arm looks off but everything else looks great

[Aqui]

Sergeant 1s arm looks off but everything else looks great

 

Thanks for commenting ;)

 

I just had a look at him - it seems correctly positioned. It might be the angle the picture was taken. I'll take another one tomorrow to see how it looks, otherwise I may need to go back to the Opticians! :P

[Captain Semper]

Good start there Aquilanus, and brave one too! I don't recall seeing kneeling Champ before! Kudos to you for originality and courage!

 

Can't wait to see this taking shape! Good luck with your vow!

[Brother Argent]

Nice start Aquilanus. And great that your in the Challenge too. I love the idea of the Dread knee guard for the Champs shield. Its hard to get a unique looking Champion these days. Oh well, good luck in the challenge and look forward to seeing this develop.

[Aqui]

Thanks to you both :P

 

It's not much of a start, but with the shifts I work, it's more than I thought I'd get done. I've got a week off in a couple of weeks, so if I haven't done anything by then, that's when I'll make a fair bit of progress. Hopefully will have worked out if I can stretch the budget to getting another unit (not sure what though).

[nurglespuss]

Yes i love the position of that champion, that shield works excellently too!

 

Are you going to drill the barrels out before painting?

[Aqui]

Yes i love the position of that champion, that shield works excellently too!

 

Thanks! I'm really pleased with it, although he's currently lacking the right arm, as I had glued it on (with Humbrol liquid poly stuff - that stuff works too well!) and realised I wouldn't be able to paint what's behind it properly. Fortunately, I was able to take it off without any damage to arm or torso.

 

Are you going to drill the barrels out before painting?

 

Yes. I've been trying to find a small/thin drill bit for such a thing. Years ago, when I last did mini painting etc, I had one that worked flawlessly, but I got rid of my old tools ages (about 20 years) ago :devil:

 

I'll be going around all the various DIY shops this Friday to see if I can find such a thing again.

[Evil eyeball]

Concider the Knee guard shield idea totally STOLEN.... Love the champion, and once i move to my Green wing I'll use a similar idea.

[Aqui]

Concider the Knee guard shield idea totally STOLEN.... Love the champion, and once i move to my Green wing I'll use a similar idea.

 

I'll keep an eye (no pun intended :) ) out for what you come up with :)

[Aqui]

Had it not been for the fact that I'm currently at home with a hokey back (old injury ;) ), I'd not have had time to get anything done lately.

Hot off the press are these additions to my Steel Wings. Behold:

Steel Wing Apothecary:

This Marine is made up from various parts from the Devastator Box set. I wanted to be able to kitbash my own COMM squad, but I'm pretty pants at using greenstuff/Milliput. I eventually decided, that as the Steel Wings are Iron Hands successors, the Characters would have more of a "Tech" feel, even their Apothecaries. Here is the result. The reload arm from the Missile Devastator Marine and Servo Skull won't affect how he fights in a real game, but I added them instead of a "Nathesium". When I paint him, it will be much more clear that he's a Apothecary too ^_^

Command Squad Veteran #1:

I intend to have two other Marines with Power fists and a combi weapon, but I ran out of Marine Legs and Rear Torso parts <_< so they'll have to wait. I am pleased with the look of them all thus far, especially the Apothecary! ^_^

Which leads us to the obligatory group pose....

Command Squad (thus far):

Tactical Marine:

Not much to report on this guy, as he's pretty (h)armless.... :lol:

Venerable Dreadnought Nishrai:

Whilst this guy isn't part of my Vow, he is a WIP so here he is. The Former Chapter Master, now a Venerable Dreadnought.

Land Speeder Tyhoo(ooooooo!)n:

Not much to look at either, but I've fallen in love with LS:T's and am intending to get at least a couple more over time ^_^

I've managed to drill out the weapons using a craft knife. A bit crude, but at least they look better now.

C+C is very welcome! ^_^

[BassWave]

So will you be including stormtalons in your army? I've read your IA and you did emphasize their love of flight :P

[Aqui]

So will you be including stormtalons in your army? I've read your IA and you did emphasize their love of flight ;)

 

After I've gotten the bulk of the army done, then maybe (at £27.50 each, there are other units I want to get first, such as two more Dreads) :lol: But, I'm not totally sold on them yet in regards to looks. It seems to me whom ever designed it had a massive fixation on the small vehicle (Scorpion Chopper) in Avatar and "40k'd it". Plus, as far as I know there aren't any rules for them yet (I could be wrong though - it has been known ;) )

 

If I did have the money, I'd go all the way and get a T-Hawk (or three!) :wub:

 

But, I'd have to either rob a bank or win the Lottery.

 

Fat chance of either happening though! :lol:

 

I intend to get the bionics kit eventually, as the above Marines aren't especially "Iron Hands-y".

 

If I can get my hands (pun kinda intended ;) ) on specific parts, my next Mini will better epitomise the Chapter's predilection towards bionics far more.

[Machine God]

@Aquilanus - Great looking models!

 

You have missed out the p in Landspeeder Typhoon.

 

Great to meet you on Saturday and welcome to the descendants of the X Legion.

[Aqui]

@Aquilanus - Great looking models!

You have missed out the p in Landspeeder Typhoon.

 

Great to meet you on Saturday and welcome to the descendants of the X Legion.

 

So I did! ;) I knew there was something wrong, but I couldn't see it! :P

 

Thanks for commenting ^_^ It was good to see you and everyone else. I finally worked out that my DIY should be Iron Hands successors (after twenty years of beating around the bush as it were) and feels like coming home. It should have been a no-brainer, being as I'm a big fan of the Borg and the Cybermen! :lol:

[Captain Juan Juarez]

Land Speeder Typo?

 

I chuckled until I realised he wasn't called Iron Lord Hubris.

 

Looking good to my untrained eye so far, liking the sword and board on the Company Champion.

[Aqui]

Land Speeder Typo?

 

I chuckled until I realised he was called Iron Lord Hubris.

 

Looking good to my untrained eye so far, liking the sword and board on the Company Champion.

 

Er...it's Iron Lord Hubros :lol: Although that s the word I twisted to suit the Character. (in older fluff, I had him being responsible for a catastrophic event in the Chapters' history. When that changed, I left his name alone as I kinda liked it regardless. And I was watching an episode of Doctor Who with Davros in it, so it's a mix of the two ^_^ )

 

Blasted typos must have followed me from the Liber :P

 

Thanks for commenting. I'm quite pleased with the progress I've made so far.

 

Not looking forward to undercoating them all though. As I don't have an air brush, it's gonna have to be done by hand ;)

[Captain Juan Juarez]

See, make a joke about a typo and then make my own.. Dammit.

 

I chuckled because that's what I read first. Now that's cleared up ;)

[Aqui]

After much procrastinating, I've finally finished some stuff, namely both of my 5 man Tactical squads ^_^

I've also made progress on the Command (COMM) squad. Once I've finished them, I just have the LS Typhoon to do and I'm finished! ^_^

Tactical squads WIP:

Not really much to see as I should have taken the models in the foreground out of the way, but in the picture the squads are only base coated:

Next up are the final pictures:

Tactical squad 1:

Tactical squad 2:

Command squad WIP:

The Apothecary is finished, and the Company Champion is about 50% done. The others just need a couple of hours spent on them too.

It's been a fairly good experience painting them all. Whilst they are no where near as well painted as the ones I had way back, I'm satisfied with them, and I know that with practice I'lll get better ^_^

Will post more stuff once I've done them ^_^

[BassWave]

Great stuff brother! Can we get some close ups on the sergeants?

[Aqui]

Great stuff brother! Can we get some close ups on the sergeants?

;)

I realise that there maybe still some mold lines and the "highlights" aren't brilliant (I'm still learning that and my hands aren't as steady as they used to be :( ), but, still I'm happy with them ^_^

I modelled them to be twins, although I haven't worked out any fluff for them...yet ;)

[Aqui]

I have completed my Vow! :lol:

The painting isn't as good as I'd have liked :( However, I have learned a lot (such as making sure I'm a lot more motivated, and to try to paint as often as I can, even if it's a little every day/evening :cuss ), so the experience has been good :D

Anyway, the pics:

Completed COMM squad:

Land Speeder Typhoon!

Group shot:

I know the pictures aren't great (especially the LST, as it was still wet when I took the pic), but I wanted proof of completion for my Vow.

I'll take better photo's of them all tomorrow (Sunday) after I finish work when it's still light.

I'd have liked to have done a second vow, but I have too little time to even attempt such a thing, so I'll cash in while to goings good ^_^

However, once I have some time, I'm going to complete Venerable Dreadnought Nishrai and start on something that I've been planning for a while....details on that (for those who haven't seen me hint elsewhere) soon ;)

[Aqui]

Well, now that E Tenebrae Lux has finished, I will now change this thread towards all my DIY WIP stuff, currently turning to what was going to be a side project. However, after seeing Greyall's Picture of this fella, I knew that I had to get an army done! ^_^

So, after a lot of musing about what parts I'd need, I came up with the following parts below:

Parts list:

Space Marine Backpack (generic)

Space Marine Back (generic)

Space Wolf head

Space Wolf front

Spiky bitz/skull on chain from Terminator Lord/Sorcerer

Space Marine legs (Tactical)

Green stuff.

I decided on the Space Wolf bitz as it reduces the amount of work I had to do :lol: , plus he looks the part (My version of the Rainbow Warriors, like Phillips S' are Aztec in nature, although it was pure co-incidence that my version was so similar to Phillip S' )

I'm still getting back into converting again, and I'd have liked to have had the arms in the same pose as the picture, but I figured that as long as the general "feel" is apparent then I've accomplished my goal ^_^

Anyway, after a bit of a mess around with Greenstuff, I got the hang of it and started with the head. I've never used GS before, as back in the day Milliput was more prevalent. The GS Blue/Yellow mix was (more or less) 1:1.

I quite like the result, although I do have 3 other identical spare SW heads (and one SW torso) should I change my mind and try again ^_^

It took me a lot less time than I thought. It took about an hour to get to the assembled Marine. If the others I'm planning to do over the next few weeks take as long then I'll be very happy with that. The Shoulder guard edges were cut to mimic the ones on Greyall's picture. I'm not sure whether to paint them a "stone" colour, or a metallic to make him stand out from the rank and file. Any suggestions?

I intend to have all Ranking Marines (Captain, Chapter Master, Sergeants etc), have a head dress, but the higher the rank, the more ornate the head dress. I'll be making this Marine Brother Captain Varagol (whom I'm writing about in one of my short stories /shamelessplug=OFF ;) ), one of the few named Rainbow Warriors in the fluff. I've still yet to work out what other Characters I want to make yet, but as I figure it out, I'll post them here.

I'll be trying out a few colour combinations using the £5 "clip together" Marines to work out the correct shade of Blue etc for him ^_^

If anyone versed in the use of GS could give me a few pointers, I'd be grateful ^_^

C+C welcome.

[Aqui]

At the risk of double posting (and a little Threadomancy), I introduce a test mini for my Rainbow Warriors' colour scheme. I was going to paint stuff from my DV box set, but the Imperial Primer (both what I already had and the new tub) has turned so watery it's effectively useless. I can't be bothered to go through the hell that is Coventry on a sunny Saturday afternoon, so I'll deal with that some other time. However, I have done this:

I know there are mould lines, but as it's a test mini, I'm not bothered by it. The eyes need improvement as I've never been able to do helmet lenses very well. I'm especially pleased by the free hand Chapter symbol and helmet markings (even if one of the red lines is a little thick and shaky)

The pictures whilst better that the ones I took originally, still don't show acurately the shade of blue it actually is. A lot of the drybrushing isn't that visible either. The third picture is nearest to it's actual colour.....

However, I am very pleased by it.

"Recipe" for the blue:

Enchanted blue (I am still using some of the old paints, so I'll need to see what the new version is called)

Two heavy coats of Guilliman blue

Drybrush of Enchanted blue.

Hightlight of 50/50 mix of Enchanted blue/Ceramite white.

Lighter coat of Guilliman blue to "unify"

The mini will get it's backpack and arms (eventually) and some more attention (eyes corrected/highlights purity seal finished off etc).

C+C very welcome :P

[Kierdale]

Good job on the chapter symbol. I have a RW to do and dread coming to that!

I think it'd recommend thinning your paints a bit more, particularly for the detail bits like the red helmet stripes. Build it up in two or more careful but thin goes.

I use superfine black pens for scribbletext...I know they're available in red and wonder how they would be for such fine detail?

 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing more!