Stoneburners - Chapter Champion (Dueling Master) WiP Model

[FinylCut]

Bryan Blaire:

 

Your freehand work is always inspiring. How are you getting the whites so fine and vibrant? Are there several, thin coats, or are you using an oil based paint?

 

Now, about those 1990's style bases...

 

FC

[Bryan Blaire]

So I'm going to be honest, I haven't posted much in the WiP threads everyone has going, and yet I come here and see a bunch of really nice comments with good CnC and then I feel like a total schmuck. So I hope to spend some extra time this afternoon responding to all the really good work all of you Fraters have done.

 

Love the models!

Very good work.

Bryan Blaire your freehand detail work is outstanding -- seriously good design and application :tu:. It's waht turns 'excellent' into 'stellar'.

 

Cheers

I

Thanks you guys! I'm glad that this log has do many comments, really means a lot that you each took the time to appreciate my work. It really is motivational! Hopefully it keeps being interesting and not just "Yeah, more Marines with black legs and a bunch of word art." :D

 

Do you use a paint pen for those fine details??

Nah, Crusader_Weber, I use 00 and 000 brushes and slightly thinned paint, and then just try to carefully clean up my messes.

 

....drool....droool....

 

god if I only had your skill. Very nice work!

:) Thanks a bunch! That's very kind of you. All I can say is that it really is a learned skill that anyone can pick up (yes, I firmly believe that).

 

I really am not using any kind of fantastic techniques:

-I'm using simple base color block, shade wash, color block repaint, edge highlight 1, edge highlight 2 steps.

-Use the edge of the brush and run it along the edge at an 45-90 degree angle to the edge, don't try to actually paint the edge straight.

-Always paint on a steady surface where you can rest your hands against it and breathe well. I actually use a pistol firing technique while painting, replacing the trigger pull with "paint lines" and that seems to really help steady my hands.

-Try and draw out your free-hand plan before putting it onto a model. Concept/line art isn't everyone's cup of tea, but by drawing it a time or two on paper, you can really refine your work before trying to do anything and it will hopefully help your hand make the same movements to "draw" the free-hand work onto the model.

-Take breaks on big surfaces.

-Use as little "curve" as you can. Outline everything with dots first and play a big connect the dot game on the free hand. It produces more even results.

 

Looking great mate,

I'd vary the size sand on the base to avoid the rockyroad biscuit look though.

Love those lenses!!!

 

S

Thanks Stobz! I don't like those lenses as much, don't think the depth on them came out great.

 

Those bases are from a long, long time ago and look like crap IMO. They are very much not permanent and will be being redone to match the completed squad (Gathrael the Ven Dread will also be getting his base worked over in the same fashion).

 

I am bored of praising yours, Sempers and Stobz skills, so i will silently applaud.

Brother Immolator, I'm always glad to see you post though. Thank you for following my log so much. I will gladly accept the silent applause. How are your Aquila shoulder pads coming?

 

Fantastic work Bryan - the attention to detail is amazing.

 

I especially like the way you have done the silver cross-hatching on the bolter and the knee pads rock!

 

2 little points :P

 

You ARE going to something fantastic with the bases arn't you?

 

Have you thought about gloss varnishing the was on the purity seal? Was is normally a bit shiney and I started doing it on mine a while ago and it makes a big difference (in my eyes anyway ;) ).

Thanks Elmo! The bases will definitely be redone. I have a 40K resin basing kit, some razor wire strand, and sand plus larger grit and scorched grass. Also have some Chaos bits to use on the bases, but I'd really like some Ork skulls, not sure where to get those though.

 

On the gloss varnish, it actually took a bit to figure out you meant on the wax. I thought you were saying the parchment was too shiny and I was trying to figure out how glossing that would help. Definitely a good idea on the varnishing the wax, I'll do one and post it, see what you guys think!

 

These are outstanding Bryan. The free hand markings make for a very individual force indeed.

 

What I'd do differently? The only thing would be to tone down the wear on the metal part of the bolters. SMs are notorious for the maintenance of their equipment and these look too worn out for even a guardsman. I think the effect works well on the larger items, like the Dreradnought were wear is inveitable even during the course of a single battle but so much wear on the single bolter? I don't know...

Very good point. These may stay the way they are, since redoing all of them from the beginning would be a bear, and it just happens that Squad Detoriah has some of 4th Company's oldest and most treasured bolters.

 

Criticism? None to offer. Amazing work! Love the dreadnought! Glowing lascannon muzzles, beautiful! Keep it going!

Thanks a bunch, Brothet Kovash, but I don't believe you have no criticism to offer! :) I'd actually really like to hear anything you might think of.

 

That's a beautiful green you've got the Bryan, along with some lovely miniatures overall. Well done!

 

Can I ask about the W&N Series 7 brushes though?

 

My local Hobbycraft carries these (at an, I'm sure, inflated price) but they're not the Miniature versions of the brushes. Does the Miniatures Series 7 relate the the size of the brushes handle, and not the bristle size?

 

Really want to invest in a set of these.

 

Cheers,

 

WW

WraithWing, thanks, and I do apologize for not getting back to everyone else's threads, but I will, I promise! The green is actually kind of weird. It's about 3-4 layers of the old DA green over an original spray of primer plus satin black paint. It's pretty glossy and somewhat hard to get the acrylic to stick to, especially thinned, but it did provide a neat effect. I have 4 pots of DA green left, but no more satin black paint + primer spray, so I'm working with the new glazes to try and figure out a similar effect.

 

Honestly, unless they are talking about the very little difference in bristle length, I see almost no difference between the handles or bristles or thickness or points between the Miniature W&Ns and the regular ones I have. I will take some photos tonight and let you decide for yourself. As far as the quality, to me, they have been fantastic. I'm obviously overusing my 00 brush some, because I'm having to reform the very tip of the bristles a bit much, but they do always make a very nice thin tip. All the other brushes have also been great, but for some reason I really love the 00 brush. They are definitely better than my Army Painter brushes were, but it's a very slight increase, not some huge drastic gulf, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend those either, but obviously I'm hard on brushes. If the W&Ns last longer than the Army Painter ones, I'll be very happy. I am still using the Regiment size Army Painter brush for the majority of my priming and base coating.

 

For cost, I spent about $2 more than online per brush at the store to be able to pick out my own, plus the cost of gas to the store. Any more than that and I think I'd have just stayed with the Army Painter brushes, the W&Ns are very fine brushes, but the AP ones are about 1/2 the cost and are still very good brushes. My Character and Master-Class brushes by them got quite a bit of work out before I considered them lost.

 

How in hell did I miss this... I love it :)

Thanks Arkley, I really love your rich, deep red DA Blades! You've achieved a fantastic color and I really like the yellow accents! Hope you keep those for your "Ravenwing" figures.

 

Bryan Blaire:

 

Your freehand work is always inspiring. How are you getting the whites so fine and vibrant? Are there several, thin coats, or are you using an oil based paint?

 

Now, about those 1990's style bases...

 

FC

FinylCut, thank you very much! All the paints I'm using are actually the new GW line. I'm not the biggest GW fan boy but I do really like the new paints and I haven't had the grit problems in the light colors others have. I use just a little bit of water mixed with the paint on a wet palette. I wish I would use deionized water, but I don't, so I just pick up left over bottles of spring water I find scattered around my house to use for painting water (so it could possibly have a little saliva mixed in with it, but I don't think spit is a magic ingredient).

 

Hahaha, would you believe those bases actually are from the 90s, probably 2-3 years before I left for college? That's actually how long they've been sitting in that horrible state. :D

[elmo]

On the gloss varnish, it actually took a bit to figure out you meant on the wax. I thought you were saying the parchment was too shiny and I was trying to figure out how glossing that would help. Definitely a good idea on the varnishing the wax, I'll do one and post it, see what you guys think!

 

Looking forward to seeing it :P

 

You're right - I re-read my post and realised every time I meant to press X for some reason I pressed S - Damn you 15 year old malt whiskey ;)

 

I did mean paint and shade the WAX seal on the parchment then paint over it with gloss varnish :P

[Brother Immolator]

Brother Immolator, I'm always glad to see you post though. Thank you for following my log so much. I will gladly accept the silent applause. How are your Aquila shoulder pads coming?

 

You dont really want to see them :P

 

I will take a second try though, after Christmas where I will have access to my stuff again.

[Wraithwing]

That's a beautiful green you've got the Bryan, along with some lovely miniatures overall. Well done!

 

Can I ask about the W&N Series 7 brushes though?

 

My local Hobbycraft carries these (at an, I'm sure, inflated price) but they're not the Miniature versions of the brushes. Does the Miniatures Series 7 relate the the size of the brushes handle, and not the bristle size?

 

Really want to invest in a set of these.

 

Cheers,

 

WW

 

WraithWing, thanks, and I do apologize for not getting back to everyone else's threads, but I will, I promise! The green is actually kind of weird. It's about 3-4 layers of the old DA green over an original spray of primer plus satin black paint. It's pretty glossy and somewhat hard to get the acrylic to stick to, especially thinned, but it did provide a neat effect. I have 4 pots of DA green left, but no more satin black paint + primer spray, so I'm working with the new glazes to try and figure out a similar effect.

 

Honestly, unless they are talking about the very little difference in bristle length, I see almost no difference between the handles or bristles or thickness or points between the Miniature W&Ns and the regular ones I have. I will take some photos tonight and let you decide for yourself. As far as the quality, to me, they have been fantastic. I'm obviously overusing my 00 brush some, because I'm having to reform the very tip of the bristles a bit much, but they do always make a very nice thin tip. All the other brushes have also been great, but for some reason I really love the 00 brush. They are definitely better than my Army Painter brushes were, but it's a very slight increase, not some huge drastic gulf, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend those either, but obviously I'm hard on brushes. If the W&Ns last longer than the Army Painter ones, I'll be very happy. I am still using the Regiment size Army Painter brush for the majority of my priming and base coating.

 

For cost, I spent about $2 more than online per brush at the store to be able to pick out my own, plus the cost of gas to the store. Any more than that and I think I'd have just stayed with the Army Painter brushes, the W&Ns are very fine brushes, but the AP ones are about 1/2 the cost and are still very good brushes. My Character and Master-Class brushes by them got quite a bit of work out before I considered them lost.

 

Bryan, thanks for coming back to me with such a detailed response. I picked up the Army Painter Detail and Insane Detail brushes a few weeks ago, but haven't used them for any prolonged period, as I think the triangular handles were putting me off. I'm planning on giving them another go this weekend with my November vow, so I'll see how I get on.

 

Cheers,

 

WW

[Brother Immolator]

Army painter brushes are the way to go. I made the switch a while ago, and I never looked back!

[Bryan Blaire]

Bryan, thanks for coming back to me with such a detailed response. I picked up the Army Painter Detail and Insane Detail brushes a few weeks ago, but haven't used them for any prolonged period, as I think the triangular handles were putting me off. I'm planning on giving them another go this weekend with my November vow, so I'll see how I get on.

Cheers,

WW

Honestly, as I worked with the Army Painter brushes, I really liked the triangular handles, but they did take some time to get used to.

Here's an image of the full brushes:

As you can see, the handles of the Miniature brushes are actually longer than the non-Miniature ones, but are no larger, and probably smaller, than the Citadel ones.

I've got pictures of the tips, if you want to see them, but I can give dimensions:

Size 2: tip length between 7 and 8 mm long, width at ferule almost 3 mm (Miniature brush)

Size 0: tip length 7 mm, width at ferule a little over 2 mm (Miniature brush)

Size 00: tip length 8 mm, width at ferule a little less than 2 mm (regular)

Size 000: tip length 6 mm, width at ferule just over 1 mm (regular)

[Bryan Blaire]

So here's the combat squad picture for Squad Detoriah from the PtR November vow:


While I was painting on this squad, I realized that I kept blocking myself and not wanting to work on my miniatures because I kept looking at the 4th Company marking for the knee-pads and really not feeling like doing it five more times to match the first five marines I had painted. Then I realized that I have body parts to make about 30 to 40 more Marines with heavy and special weapons, so I looked back at my order of battle for Task Force Furael and decided that Squad Detoriah just got moved to 5th Company, hence the new marking (CPT Semper, first look at a new company badge, mebee I'll get around to writing that Codex at some point).

Here's some images of honor/individual markings the guys have:
Veteran Sergeant Detoriah's sergeant marking (haven't decided if this is the one for all 5th Company sergeants, or for the whole Chapter and I need to go back and paint one on the other guys or what though) and his honor marking for his chainsword:

Some of the other markings:


So there we go, the start to Squad Detoriah (I'm not sure who the five previous bolter Marines will be going to, but they are obviously going to be finding homes in Tactical Squads for the 4th Company). CnC are always welcome!

Also, some of my original purity seal writing work:

Proof that I actually got better!

At this point, I think I'm ready for a little bit of a painting slow-down so that I can comment more on the great work all my fellow DA battle-brothers are churning out. I want to keep taking part in the PtR, but I want to be able to return the favor of all the wonderful comments you guys put in my thread.

[Adeptus-Alaska]

wow BB, just wow. you are an inspiration!

[Interrogator Stobz]

wow BB, just wow. you are an inspiration!

+1,000,000,000

One bazillion :(

Nice idea to make the markings more doable, it'll help keep you sane(ish).

 

-_-

stobz

[Captain Semper]

Riiight... *lifts his jaw from the floor* Let me take a deep breath here... Let's start:

 

Things I like:

 

• * The new knee pad marking - the simplicity of the 5th Comp. markings stand their ground admirably compared to the much more complex 4th Comp. markings. Besides, DAs are generally known for the simple geometrical designs (apart for the 4th that has the more elaborate chequers).
   
  * The sergeant's stripe that goes down the middle of the helmet. I vividly remeber the discussions we had about this feature - it sure paid off, making the sergeant a tad more sinister that the rank 'n file marines. I works really well!
   
  * This might sound a bit trivial compared to all your excellent free hand work but I sure like the plasma coils - the blue glow is really well done! :(
   
  * The sergeant's chevron markings: is it a wink to the RT era? I know you have a soft spot for them so it's not beyond reason to assume that. What you've done though is really original as you avoid the helmet or the arms (thus breaking any link to real life military) and instead you use the leg - a very 40k location for markings! -_-
  

 

Things I'd do differently:

 

• * I'd avoid gold as a complemetary color and stick to gunmetal. I find it somewhat clashing with the overall pallette and I usually reserve it for high ranking individuals like Masters, Librarians etc.
   
  * The yellow on the grenade. I know it was a bet and it also boils down to personal preference but it looks a bit out of place with the rest of the colors and frankly it's a bit cartoonish. Would you consider covering it with either black or metal? Love the krak grenades btw!
   
  * The plethora of special markings with no clear meaning. Don't get me wrong, I really REALLY like them as I do like the idea of each marine being an individual but I'd like them even more if I knew what each marking meant (modelling overlapping to the bacground here :D). So I encourage you to work out a list of markings (particular to the Stoneburners) and delve even deeper in the background of your Chapter - and let us in on it too!
  

 

Look fwd for more... :)

[Dark Rage]

Looking great as always and so much detail! for some reason though I find myself looking at the plasma weapons effect as it seems to stand out really well, probably cause its a contrasting colour but the effect looks great.

 

The marking on the chainsword is a nice addition was always trying to think of a way to make a chainsword look better without putting gore all over it.

 

Will be nice to see them completed with the bases done.

 

Great stuff!

[facmanpob]

I have to second the comments about the plasma coils, the sergeant's stripe, the chainsword honour marking and the company logo. They are looking great! :D

 

Also, have to agree with Semper about the grenade, sorry. Although I disagree with him about the gold, I like it....although that probably has something to do with the fact that I plaster my guys in gold bling! :)

[Brother Immolator]

BB delivered a platter of awesomeness again. While I do agree on the grenade as well, If I were a judge in a competition it wouldn't affect the perfect score Id give you.

[Bryan Blaire]

Something I realized I didn't post, and maybe it will make a couple of the below comments have a little more meaning. Here is the back of the missile launcher marine:

The krak missile is marked with the red tip, and the frag missiles are the dark grey/black with the yellow tip and yellow line marking.

Nice idea to make the markings more doable, it'll help keep you sane(ish).

Thanks Stobz. If you go back to this post, you'll see my original company marking sketches. From what I have written up on my order of battle currently, I think I have one squad from each Company except for the 3rd and 6th Companies (so I won't be painting up those, I don't think).

• * The new knee pad marking - the simplicity of the 5th Comp. markings stand their ground admirably compared to the much more complex 4th Comp. markings. Besides, DAs are generally known for the simple geometrical designs (apart for the 4th that has the more elaborate chequers).
  
  * The sergeant's stripe that goes down the middle of the helmet. I vividly remeber the discussions we had about this feature - it sure paid off, making the sergeant a tad more sinister that the rank 'n file marines. I works really well!
  
  * This might sound a bit trivial compared to all your excellent free hand work but I sure like the plasma coils - the blue glow is really well done! :yes:
  
  * The sergeant's chevron markings: is it a wink to the RT era? I know you have a soft spot for them so it's not beyond reason to assume that. What you've done though is really original as you avoid the helmet or the arms (thus breaking any link to real life military) and instead you use the leg - a very 40k location for markings! :D
  

Thanks dude! On the Company markings, see my comment to Stobz. In regards to the helmet stripe, that's too funny, you say that each time. The sergeant's mark is a nod to the RT sergeant marking, as well as to the modern US army sergeant chevrons (with a little bit of added fun).

Things I'd do differently:

• * I'd avoid gold as a complemetary color and stick to gunmetal. I find it somewhat clashing with the overall pallette and I usually reserve it for high ranking individuals like Masters, Librarians etc.
  
  * The yellow on the grenade. I know it was a bet and it also boils down to personal preference but it looks a bit out of place with the rest of the colors and frankly it's a bit cartoonish. Would you consider covering it with either black or metal? Love the krak grenades btw!
  
  * The plethora of special markings with no clear meaning. Don't get me wrong, I really REALLY like them as I do like the idea of each marine being an individual but I'd like them even more if I knew what each marking meant (modelling overlapping to the bacground here :D). So I encourage you to work out a list of markings (particular to the Stoneburners) and delve even deeper in the background of your Chapter - and let us in on it too!
  

Look fwd for more... :)

With regards to the gold comment, I actually don't have any gold on any of these models (and I've been slowly going over all the gold I did have to obliterate it). :lol: It's all just brass, which I really like to match to the Chapter icon with the brass cross-guard and pommel on the sword. On the grenade, I was really trying to match the marking on the grenade to the marking on the frag missile. I have really mixed feelings about how it turned out.

The markings! Some do actually already have meaning, but I agree that they all really need to. The ones I just did: the triple lightning bolt indicates a drop assault veteran. Sadly, that's all I have right now. :D

Thanks for the comments, as always. Let me know how you feel about the grenade in conjunction to the missile markings.

Looking great as always and so much detail! for some reason though I find myself looking at the plasma weapons effect as it seems to stand out really well, probably cause its a contrasting colour but the effect looks great.

The marking on the chainsword is a nice addition was always trying to think of a way to make a chainsword look better without putting gore all over it.

Will be nice to see them completed with the bases done.

Great stuff!

Thanks a bunch Dark Rage! I like the plasma coils, I was trying to paint the weapons as if they were powering up, but not yet ready to fire, but I think they can be improved some. I am definitely going to be working on the bases in the future.

I have to second the comments about the plasma coils, the sergeant's stripe, the chainsword honour marking and the company logo. They are looking great! :tu:

Also, have to agree with Semper about the grenade, sorry. Although I disagree with him about the gold, I like it....although that probably has something to do with the fact that I plaster my guys in gold bling!

:thanks: bud! Not sure if the frag missiles will change your opinion on the grenades, but I'm also reconsidering the markings. They are pretty easy to identify as frag grenades just due to their shape, so I'm not sure they colored marking is needed.

BB delivered a platter of awesomeness again. While I do agree on the grenade as well, If I were a judge in a competition it wouldn't affect the perfect score Id give you.

Thanks Bro Immolator!

[facmanpob]

I have to second the comments about the plasma coils, the sergeant's stripe, the chainsword honour marking and the company logo. They are looking great! :yes:

 

Also, have to agree with Semper about the grenade, sorry. Although I disagree with him about the gold, I like it....although that probably has something to do with the fact that I plaster my guys in gold bling!

:thanks: bud! Not sure if the frag missiles will change your opinion on the grenades, but I'm also reconsidering the markings. They are pretty easy to identify as frag grenades just due to their shape, so I'm not sure they colored marking is needed.

Maybe its simply a case of not being used to seeing them painted up that way.....it actually makes sense for there to be visual markings on the missiles and grenades so that they can be quickly identified, even if it is only so that the Chapter serfs can make sure they get stored in the correct stowages! The missiles are growing on me the more I look at them :lol:

[demio]

How in the world have I not seen this thread before!

 

I'm not going to comment on your painting skills as I think everyone else has said everything I could ever hope to about how great it is.

 

What I will say is how amazing it is that you give your models so much character!

 

Really looking forward to seeing more!

 

Demio.

[lhg033]

liking these a lot.

 

also, as a recent enthusiast of brass on marines myself, the brass looks good! adds a nice, rich colour to the models but less ostentatious than gold.

[Bryan Blaire]

Maybe its simply a case of not being used to seeing them painted up that way.....it actually makes sense for there to be visual markings on the missiles and grenades so that they can be quickly identified, even if it is only so that the Chapter serfs can make sure they get stored in the correct stowages! The missiles are growing on me the more I look at them ;)

Well, I think the missiles are definitely staying marked as they are and I blame Stobz for that: his Whirlwinds gave me ideas. The grenades may be a little much though, I haven't really decided. I think Semper really just wanted something to complain about though. :lol:

 

There used to be a joke about Claymores that the reason they were shaped the way they were is that some idiot Private could be blind, deaf and stupid and still set them up without blowing up his squad by placing the inner curve against his stomach. The military equipment for the Marines might be similar, because really, can you trust those Chapter serfs to have done an accurate job of loading just based on markings? :) God knows you can't trust Privates that way...

 

How in the world have I not seen this thread before!

 

I'm not going to comment on your painting skills as I think everyone else has said everything I could ever hope to about how great it is.

 

What I will say is how amazing it is that you give your models so much character!

 

Really looking forward to seeing more!

 

Demio.

Thanks Demio! You probably haven't seen it because I paint so slow as to always have this thing on page 3 or 4, and I'm a schmuck that doesn't post/respond enough to bump it. :D Glad you enjoyed the minis, I really like trying to give them some character also. Hopefully I'll be able to submit a complete IA for then soon.

 

liking these a lot.

 

also, as a recent enthusiast of brass on marines myself, the brass looks good! adds a nice, rich colour to the models but less ostentatious than gold.

:lol: Battle-Brother! Yeah, I'm really liking the appearance of the brass on the minis, I think it gives them a nice tied together feel as it spreads across the army.

 

Well, I finally have decided on the Chaos Marine warband they will be fighting against, so I can get started on some better bases for these guys soon! Hopefully it will help tell the story of the Quelling of Hybreon IV.

 

This final line is reserved for blatant taunting of CPT Semper! :D

[Captain Semper]

I think Semper really just wanted something to complain about though. ;)

 

Maybe... but you gave me a damn good excuse! I mean, a yellow grenade? C'mon! :cuss

 

http://rufiojones.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/wile-coyote.jpg

 

Well, I finally have decided on the Chaos Marine warband they will be fighting against, so I can get started on some better bases for these guys soon! Hopefully it will help sell the story of the Quelling of Hybreon IV.

 

This final line is reserved for blatant taunting of CPT Semper! :P

 

This Hyberion IV could do with some quelling! ;)

 

 

EDIT: Actually the Stoneburners deserve a full-blown Index Astartes article! how is this project coming along?

[Brother Captain Arkley]

EDIT: Actually the Stoneburners deserve a full-blown Index Astartes article! how is this project coming along?

 

They certainly do... :)

[Bryan Blaire]

LOL, I actually found a full solid yellow fragmentation (pineapple) grenade while I was looking up mil-spec grenade markings, but that's neither here nor there, that sergeant's whole grenade isn't yellow! :) It's very cunningly painted with a single yellow panel around the top and a thin line on the bottom panel to mimic the frag missile tip. Yeah, I know, the bottom "thin" line is a little thicker than I wanted. :( The center set of panels is darkened boltgun metal with the edges highlighted.

 

I'm glad you guys want to see an IA, I'm hoping to have something to turn into the Brotherhood of Angels soon-ish (which for my perfectionist tendencies means next year... Good thing that's not very far away now, huh?).

 

Edit: that should have said "tell the story," not "sell the story."

 

Now, CPT Semper, I shall taunt you a second time!

[Avon Rekaes]

Bryan, your stuff is an inspiration to anyone working on their own successor chapter. I love your unique company symbols. I was debating wether to use the standard DA ones for my Knights Immaculate, but looking through the history of this thread, I've decided to make my own.

 

Now, I'm not nearly as good (or patient) a freehand artist as you, so I'm planning on making custom decals. I notice you abandoned using your 4th company icon cause you didn't feel like painting it over and over. If you don't mind using decals, I would be happy to offer my graphic artist skills in creating custom decals for you to use for your chapter's iconography. Interested?

[Bryan Blaire]

Thanks a bunch for the kind words, Avon Rekaes, I'm glad both that you have enjoyed all of this work and that it's been even somewhat inspirational to you! I really enjoy it, but I probably do need to put some more planning into the fluff behind the things I create. As far as the 4th Company Badge, I didn't abandon it so much as just really didn't feel like painting it again on those five squad members and needed to display some other companies anyway (I'm hoping to have one Company badge done for display for my IA soon). I really appreciate the offer of decal creation, but I'll probably return to painting them soon, I take a perverse pleasure in torturing my fingers and eyes with freehand like that. :tu: I really look forward to seeing what you come up with for company icons!

[Bryan Blaire]

So, here's the majority of the article I've put together for my Chapter, over the next three or four posts. It is somewhat liberally borrowed from differing sources. Hope you enjoy, and I will be continuing work on this as I work on the bases for my squad. Let me know what you guys think, CnC always appreciated.

 

I apologize up front, it's somewhat long.

 

"Until the Stones Run as Blood": Stoneburners

 

Origins:

The Stoneburners were formed as part of the 6th Founding, subsequent to losses from the previous Black Crusade. The High Lords of Terra were loath even then to use more gene seed originating from the sons of the Lion, but the tactical and strategic brilliance displayed by Companies and components of three different Chapters of the Unforgiven in driving back disparate arms of the Crusade's attack gave them cause to reconsider. They agreed to the new Founding on the condition that the new Chapter pursue campaigns directly against remaining groups of Marines from the Traitor legions In the Segmentum Obscurus. This suited the character of those slated to lead this new Chapter perfectly.

 

The Third Company Master of the Angels of Vengeance was presented as the head of the training cadre for the new Chapter and de facto Chapter Master. He brought with him several members of the Angels of Vengeance First Company and other veterans from his prior Chapter to round out the trainers. The Chapter was presented at the Rock in a new Battle Barge with a bare compliment of Marines. Aetrion was asked for the name and panoply of the new Chapter. Aetrion spoke quickly, naming it in the old form of Caliban as the Order of the Burning Stones and for the Imperium to know them as the Stoneburners. After the details of the Chapter were set down, Aetrion took the fledging Stoneburners to his home world of Akhundras to begin a massive recruiting campaign.

 

Given the harsh nature of Akhundras and Aetrion's need to keep the world ripe for recruiting, only aspirants from families that had more than one son were allowed to be considered, and even then, the clans were decimated or worse throughout the pan, salt flats and ergs they inhabited, though they supplied fully half of all the Marines for the Stoneburners. Aetrion promised each clan leader at the trials that his Chapter would not take any further sons from the clan until at least four generations had passed. Aetrion guided the fledgling Stoneburners toward the Segmentum Obscurus, where they completed the initial build-up of Marines for the Chapter.

 

The Stoneburners were first truly blooded at Grayllon Four, where they confronted several squads of Death Guard twisted by their devotions to Nurgle. The initial confrontation saw the veteran Traitors tear through two squads of the Sixth Company and the majority of the Fifth. The First, Third and Seventh Companies were immediately deployed to the surface to support the remaining Marines and annihilated the Nurgle-tainted enemy. The remaining members of the Sixth Company made a point of finding all the remaining long bone fragments they could from the enemy and incinerating them with plasma and melta-weapons in an effort to cleanse the taint of Chaos from the battlefield and prevent it from spreading further through the planet. This action would be repeated afterward on multiple worlds and eventually even to people on the worlds where the battles took place in the Stoneburners ever expanding efforts to stem the tide of Chaos in the arm of the galaxy they patrol.

 

Per their mandate, the Stoneburners' bolters and blades tasted Traitor blood repeatedly over the millennia, and the implacable advances and stubborn refusals to retreat in the face of overwhelming odds has reinforced the name of the First Company, Deathwalkers, many times over. Like their forebearers and due to the influence of the people of Akhundras, the Deathwalkers have flung themselves into the jaws of Chaos and repeatedly walked back out carrying shattered teeth and horns as trophies and the bodies of their brothers-in-arms, determined to sell their lives for as high a price in Traitor blood as possible. The battles have spurred several hunts for a Fallen, leading to more than one black pearl for their Interrogator-Chaplains.

After Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade and with the continued excursions from the Eye of Terror, the Stoneburners find that they have less and less time to replenish losses. Luckily the Chapter is girded with thoughts of duty in their war against Chaos and the hunt for the Fallen, enough that they bear up well under the cost, caring not for respite, for in their future, there is only war...

 

Present Activities:

-Notable Characters

-Notable Battles

-Narrative about the Chapter at the dawn of the 41st Millennium

-Are they hunters of the Fallen? Do they even know about the Fallen?