KBA's Raven Guard - Tearing out the carpet! - 3-10-14

[KBA]

Hello!

 

Over the last few months I've fallen hard for the Raven Guard. Their fluff, models, and paint scheme (Yes, Black!) floors me something special. Over the next few months, I'll be updating this thread with fluff, modelling, and paint. Who knows, I may even swear an LPC vow. I've noticed the board already has a couple extremely well put-together RG armies in Strike Force Unguis and Shadow Force Dragomir, and I feel like it would be lame of me to leave the aforementioned unmentioned as they have both inspired the hell out of me. I don't have a strike force name yet, though Strike Force Fury (read on) makes me chuckle. The Force will be gathered from elements of the 1st, 2nd, 8th, and 9th Companies and is led by the Shadow Captain from the 9th.

 

To the WIPS!!!!!

 

The Baseball Furies from the comically awesome movie, The Warriors, lent loads of inspiration to the first model I'm showing: my Chaplain.

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8yzec89Yr1r70puno1_500.jpg

 

Enemies of Humanity, come out to plaaaaaayyyy

 

The sullied black-eye face paint always reminded me of a skull, and when I saw the Dark Angels' new power maul baseball bat, I had to go for it. It irks me slightly that there is no badge on his badge of office skullcracker, but I like where this is going too much to really care!

 

I've got him tacked in three swinging stances:

 

Medium:

 

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/9624/rgchapmed3.jpg

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/1640/rgchapmed1.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/7480/rgchampmed2.jpg

 

 

 

Low:

 

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/6234/rgchaplow3.jpg

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7388/rgchaplow1.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5299/rgchaplow2.jpg

 

And finally, very bad ass High:

 

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/4092/rgchaphigh2.jpg

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/3306/rgchaphigh1.jpg

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2135/rgchaphigh3.jpg

 

 

When I switched the arms to a higher position, it really hit me. He's ready to take someone's head off in a challenge! But I still think the other positions have merit. What say you guys?

[GrandMagnus]

High, definetly that badass high. BTW where is the bat from?

[ShadowSong7007]

I like the high swing (3rd pose) but bring the head in a bit. I like the idea of the Baseball Bat Of Righteous Fury!

 

 

 

Ork Be Good Stick

Chaos Cranium Cracker

Tau T-Baller

Tyranid Teeth Tenderizer

 

 

I seriously could come up for names for that thing all day. 

[Tellos05]

Warriors come out to play-a. I'll throw my vote in for 2nd pose.

[Razerz]

Third pose, and position him so that the swing would connect with an enemy head in each close combat.

[The_Chaplain]

I'm not gonna vote on a position, as I think they all have merit- but I just wanted to say, that your chaplain has a very nice assortment of bits and looks the part of a raven guard chaplain!

[SCC]

Subbed, I'll be watching this with interest KBA....

[deathspectersgt7]

Batter Up - the last pose looks the best it rocks.

[KBA]

Anazeil: The bat is from the Dark Angels' Ravenwing command set. The hands are from the FW assault weapons set with the heavy chainsword blade chopped off :) (always nerve wracking hacking up forge world stuff)

 

Thanks for the comments and compliments, guys. I'm leaning toward the third myself, though my girlfriend thought the second looked best. And thanks SCC, and anyone else, for subbing. With your talent watching, I'll be under all kinds of great pressure to keep my brush strokes honest, my hobby knife true! Next up is a good old, plain-jane Tac squad.

[Daemon2027]

Looking really good made. The bits you have used are pefect for the chaplian.

 

S for pose id say number 3. Will we be seeing a guy with a powerfist diving for a catch?

[Tyrannicide]

That's sick!

 

Will add my voice to the vote for the high-swing pose. Love the bits you've used. 

[Clavicus Vile]

high swing all the way its blunt so always head height swings! (3rd pose) :)

[Yosef Hausakluif]

high swing looks good to me, the low swing makes his amrs look like they are at a strange angle at the wrists.

 

The high swing is the perfect balance of over dramatic and sense of motion too.

 

Look forward to seeing the rest of your work.

[KBA]

Thanks for the comments and criticisms, guys :). I think I will be going with the third pose. I was thinking of swapping the bat out for a true crozius in order to submit it to the Chaplain Challenge, but I still think it'd be an illegal build based on those rules anyway, that, and I love the bat too much!

 

While I thought I was going to jump into a tactical squad, I couldn't resist the lure of doing an elite unit. Vanguard Veterans! I've always loved the winged raven skull torso from FW. It screams Vanguard, with the wings on the chest akin to a badge of jump wings. I loved it, but with it was covered in purity seals which proved to be a road block in using it en masse. After accumulating a bunch of experience slicing up resin with a modelling knife through my Nurgle Space Wolf Renegades, I felt confident enough to give it a shot anyway:

 

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/617/vanchests.jpg

 

A little rough, but not too bad I think. I left two as is, completely scraped down five, and took off opposite seals on two. The Sarge will be using the Mark IV Red Scorpion body.

 

All veterans will be getting the nifty avian raven-ized FW head with pads to boot!:

 

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5438/vanheads.jpg

 

The next step will be picking up magnets to mag jump packs and weapon load outs. I'm thinking a completed test model within the next couple weeks :)

[KBA]

I like the high swing (3rd pose) but bring the head in a bit. I like the idea of the Baseball Bat Of Righteous Fury!

 

 

 

Ork Be Good Stick

Chaos Cranium Cracker

Tau T-Baller

Tyranid Teeth Tenderizer

 

 

I seriously could come up for names for that thing all day. 

 

 

I can't believe I sped past this post LOL. High-lighted the now official name of the bat, thanks! :)

[KBA]

Some stuff came in and I couldn't resist putting the first of three rhinos together! Love the old school feel of these, though warped resin can be a pain to set right.

 

 

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img32/425/rgrhino1.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img716/2791/rgrhino3.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/7286/rgrhino2.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img823/149/rgrhino4.jpg

[Knight of the Raven]

I find the position of the headlights odd, but that's down to personal taste and the Deimos kit, not to any issue with your building.

I can't help but wonder if you should cut off the rear eagle's left head to fit with the Raven Guard's symbol.

Excellent work on scraping off those purity seals too.

[KBA]

Thanks for the comments and criticism, Knight of the Raven :) Normally, I'd have no problem chopping and hacking away at beautiful FW stuff, but I feel like that door design is just too aquilla to deface!

 

Here's peak at a test Sternguard:

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img818/7311/rgsg11.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img194/7002/rgsg12.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img195/4673/rgsg13.jpg

 

As you can see, he's just blu-tacked up right now, but it should give a general idea of what I'm aiming for! I was tempted to use the cool optic Mk IV heads, and may yet hack off that part and put it on the current heads, but I figure the Mk VI design already has just as if not more efficient systems in place already.

 

The obvious thing to remind me is that, yes, I did hack away a perfectly good Mk IV recon suit of armor while I could have just greenstuff'd my way to something similar. After looking at the kits, it was something I did consider, but the price of bitz buying the guns and backpacks and my piss poor GS skill made the decision easier :)

[Dosjetka]

Loving your work so far, KBA :tu:

[KBA]

Thanks, Ludovic!

 

After a very hectic move, I'm finally settled in and able to do some bitzing. Grabbed an old venerable dread I had done up for my Wolves force and decided to convert it to my Ravens instead. I love the look of so much of the Ven kit, but I really needed to add an Ironclad. So I took a look in the bitz box and found the plating. Chopped it up and slapped in on. Might be a little too bulky, but I figure there's a big difference between AV 12 and AV 13:

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img189/8293/rgdread11.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img443/4813/rgdread12.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img826/8976/rgdread13.jpg

[KBA]

After knocking out the dread, I found myself on a heavy armor kick and decided to continue the trend. I know I'm jumping all over the place like some ADD kid, but I'll take on a vow to get the grinding of painting done soon enough :)

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img46/1692/rgtermwip11.jpg

 

I used the torso from the FW Space Wolves Terminator Upgrade set. The one with the gem diamond replacing the Aquila. After shaving it down, it became a nice even surface to slap on the brass emblem. The legs are from the new Deathwing kit. What I love about a lot of that set is how they're covered with extra little detail. When you have a black color scheme, having contrast in details like this is more than welcome! I'm particularly excited about the legs with the studded left shin echoing the studded left shoulder of the MKVI the Ravens love so much. Slapped an emblem on the knee cap of this one.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img833/1007/rgtermwip12.jpg

 

Bottom line here: I can't stand the standard terminator lightning claws. They just look like the stuck spikes on the end of powerfists, and while suspending disbelief is a foundation of this hobby, I just couldn't get over how they could be more nimble than initiative step 1. I wanted the lightning claws (which are magged) to feel like talons of a bird, so the Cataphractii Upgrade set from Forge World felt the best to me. Also, the imagery of a quick flick from the talon-ed finger slicing and dicing made it okay upstairs :)

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img547/4443/rgtermwip14.jpg

 

For the head, I wanted a head that exuded speed. The Justerian bit worked. Undecided if I'll put on the top knot.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img18/603/rgtermwip13.jpg

 

One final mod I may do is glue something inbetween the legs and torso to give a little more height to the model to balance out the length of the claws. But I'm not minding the giant knives-for-fingers look going on currently.

[Knight of the Raven]

I don't know if I'd keep the topknot, but I agree that the normal lightning claws are lackluster, except a few exceptions (such as the Blood Angel Terminator from Space Hulk). These look much meaner.

 

Good work.

[KBA]

Thanks for the feedback, Knight of the Raven :) Yeah, I've decided against the topknot. Need to keep 'em feeling as RG as possible. I've already made quite a few departures from the norm with my terminator!

 

WIP shot of my Grotsmasha Libby Contest entry:

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img14/9471/grotsmashasneak.jpg

 

Just need to gather some librarian-esque gribblies, and finish the force weapon. Ever since the Forge World Master of Signal came out, I thought the helmet looked perfect for a psychic hood-less Libby! Gives off that powerful psyker look from the extended cranium of the helmet. I'm not really sure if it's legal in his contest - his percentage of parts breakdown leaves a bunch of grey area imo - so I've magged the head and have a greyknight terminator bare head waiting in the wings if it's deemed cheating :)

[KBA]

Epistolary Castis, 3rd of his badge from Adeptus Astartes Raven Guard:

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img839/2669/rglibbyfront.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img404/4759/rglibbyleft.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img689/3374/rglibbyback.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img850/9223/rglibbyright.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img89/4114/rglibbyover.jpg

 

Loved by his Chapter for his ability to meld his psychic talents with those from his garnered battlefield experience - creating a commanding yet soothing presence; something held in high regard to a force usually out-manned and out-gunned - Castis has climbed the ranks of the Raven Guard Librarius fairly quickly. Etched in his Mk VI greaves are the words 'Fate' and 'Doom': familiar faces to many librarians, but those which hold a special meaning to Castis. While striking against Orks on a key system in the path of Waaagh! Skullkrak, Castis was nearly laid low by an incredibly powerful Weirdboy psyker whom was not only channeling the psychic energies of his ork comrades, but, astonishingly, also absorbing the disciplined powers of Castis himself. The then-Lexicanium collapsed into a coma, powerful protective energies surging over his limp body. The Apothecarion was unsure what had saved him: divine intervention from the Emperor himself, an advanced psychic mutation in the astatre's Sus-an Membrane, or sheer will. Upon awakening, Castis became even more vigilant in his discipline, empowered by the impending doom becoming a beacon of light guiding him to rise to his fate. Castis is still currently active in the theatre of war against Skullkrak - calm, not crazed, in his vindictive search for the Weirdboy psyker.

[deathspectersgt7]

Dam !!!!!!!!