CommodusXIII Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 I see where you are coming from with the bases issue, but how about going for clear perspex bases? There are options available out here, and I think it would seriously improve the overall look, whilst matching any tabletop you care to put them on. I'd honestly never considered this - I'll have to do some research and play around a bit! Some more cool models. Thanks as always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 I'm back!Real life intervened many times over the past year, and I was also distracted by an Astra Militarum side project. However, the impending release of the Skitarii have prodded me back into action. Since I last posted, I finally acquiesced regarding basing. I've chosen a sandy, ashy base to match my table as it turns out that my gaming group never really plays anywhere else. I'll have to hit them with a coat of varnish come warmer weather, but for now it'll do. I haven't tackled the Knights themselves quite yet - I'll get around to them later. Having based all of my models over the past 24 hours, I thought it a good time to take some updated group shots. Many of these you have seen before, but there are a few new items hidden in there somewhere. http://i.imgur.com/LwkYLvBl.jpg Various Fraterri Fidelis and Legio Fidelis personnel. Some represent characters for special scenarios, others are objective markers. I still have two Hastati (Knight pilots) left to complete - one for each of my five Knights. http://i.imgur.com/QsGX6eCl.jpg Magos Grievius and attendants. For now, this warband is represented by an Ordo Xenos inquisitor and henchmen. Who knows what wonders the AdMech Codex may bring? http://i.imgur.com/x0wwNGul.jpg No Mechanicus army would be complete without servo-skulls. They tag along with the Magos or serve as objective markers. The gun-skulls are great for models that lack pistols and other ranged weaponry. http://i.imgur.com/L8TO7wsl.jpg Skitarii and military Mechanicus personnnel. The five Tech Guard in the front will likely be filler Skitarii Vanguard if I need the extra bodies. The power armored priests in the back will be represented as Tech Marines, Masters of the Forge, Enginseers, etc. http://i.imgur.com/oVhglVel.jpg Combat servitors, a Rapier and a Thunderfire Cannon. http://i.imgur.com/N1lvGEyl.jpg Sentinels, which may be worked into serving as Dunestriders but will probably be allied in from Codex: Astra Militarum. http://i.imgur.com/zFnPTeMl.jpg Tarantulas with lascannons and heavy bolters. I wanted my AdMech to be more techy and less... bizarre, compared to the likes of the Dunestrider and Dunecrawler. There's going to be a heavy emphasis on fortifications and emplacements. http://i.imgur.com/LeWbhjgl.jpg Finally, an Aegis Defense Line made from parts from the Battle for Macragge kit. I did some measuring and found that the actual ADL is exactly 70 cm from end to end - the same as 12 WHFB cavalry bases. Two bases together represent a double section, one alone represents a single. It's not perfect, but I like the idea of the Skitarii using force fields and void shields rather than armor. As I mentioned, I still have to base my Knights. The fifth Knight, my take on Gerrantius, is being assembled agonizingly-slowly. I also have a rather large shipment of Skitarii pre-ordered along with a squad of Tessararii, or House Guard of Legio Fidelis. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathspectersgt7 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Great Update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Thank you!I'm working an odd schedule this week and finally had time to base my Knights. In retrospect, I'm pretty happy that I did it. http://i.imgur.com/NCc8Sthh.jpg I adapted the substrate technique I used for the snow bases of my Astra Militarum combat patrol army. I mixed 3 parts glue, 1 part water and 2 parts light-colored craft sand to make a slurry - I played around with the ingredients while working to keep it the right consistency, so this isn't entirely accurate. I gooped this slurry onto the base and pushed it around with a trashed brush, keeping it thick enough that I couldn't see any of the base peeking through the sand. While wet, I spooned additional sand on top. The slurry gives contours, while the dry sand coating gives texture. Once dry, I doused the base in a heavy wash of Agrax Earthshade. I found that different grains took the wash differently, giving the base a mottled appearance. I couldn't have asked for better! For my first batch, the Mechanicus figures above, I used white glue.This loosened under the wash and exposed parts of the base - as well as generally being a mess. I went back and filled these gaps with Agrellan Earth. The glue redried after the wash and I haven't had any problems with loose sand since. I was worried about the Knights, as their bases are much larger and would have longer contact time with the wash. I substituted yellow wood glue and didn't have a single problem with loosened sand this time, so I highly recommend that route. While the smaller figures could get away with just sand, the Knights have bases so large that I needed something to break them up a bit. I didn't want anything too large or elaborate, as these are tabletop figures and I don't like causing LOS issues due to bases. In the end, I settled on shell casings and small concrete barricades. The battlecannon shells are .22 Short casings - they're the perfect diameter for the barrels, and the perfect length for the magazines. I would have preferred a small bottleneck cartridge but the only one that met my requirements in dimensions was the Russian 5.45x18mm, which is damn near impossible to find in the US. The heavy stubber casings on Fraterrus Quartus' base is a bit from the Ork Boyz set. Fraterrus Secundus, being an Errant, obviously wouldn't have battlecannon casings. Instead, I used dried-out Abaddon Black paint to create a glassed sand effect - I never throw anything away! The half-burried concrete barricades were somewhat inspired by the film Automata. They're just leftover casting material from my Forge World models, with gouges and bullet holes added for flavor. Stay tuned for a ton of infantry. I have 30 Skitarii on order, a half-formed unit of Scions/House Guard, more fortifications and a small pile of servitors and tech-priests that I'll slowly be chewing through. I'm running a small narrative escalation campaign starting next month, so hopefully you'll get to see them in action! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOODSAINT Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 These are fantastic! So much cool! Keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 Another brief update: http://i.imgur.com/xak5eL9l.jpg Two Enginseers, some servitors and another gun-skull - this time, from the FW Titan Tech Priest kit. When I originally started my AdMech faction, it was meant for for roleplaying and filler than to be a full army. Having focused so much on conversions and oddball third-party items, I'm now circling back to collect the "established" GW models. http://i.imgur.com/sM8Qxzql.jpg Ranger unit 633-Rho-1, equipped with three transuranic arquebi and an omnispex. I learned a lot from this first squad - the following Vanguard units should be much smoother! http://i.imgur.com/wjakVFPm.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/Dz2P73Mm.jpg 633-Rho-1-Alpha lacks any significant wargear upgrades, as I want to keep my Rangers out of melee anyway. To differentiate him from his subordinates, I fitted him with a small auxiliary servo arm taken from the FW Magos Dominus kit and a holstered pistol from a Techmarine. http://i.imgur.com/6rnJ552l.jpg A garrison squad guards access to the upper levels of the complex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathspectersgt7 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 !!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 I've also entered the Fraterri into Part II of the Liber Challenge, in case anyone is interested in a little more background information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Cool army! I like your focus on the various pilots, mechanics and other hanger-ons associated with the Knights. Big mechs are bigger when they have lil' squishy buddies. Cool use of the Battle for Macragge pylons - gonna have to see if my 'nid-collecting friend has some of those in his bits box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'm steadily working through my Skitarii. Today's haul is Vanguard unit 633-Beta-2, armed with arc rifles and an omnispex. http://i.imgur.com/1dPzh0Vl.jpg While my Rangers are meant to be more lightly-equipped for greater mobility, I wanted my Vanguard to look heavier for slugging it out at close range. Most of the antennas have been replaced with bits from SM auspices, plus the odd taser goad prongs, which give them a more robust appearance. One also has the backpack from a heavy bolter servitor. http://i.imgur.com/WIGEIbsm.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/t603qB3m.jpg The axe has always been the traditional weapon of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and I was surprised to see that it wasn't an option for the Skitarii. No matter, I made one anyway! 633-Beta-2-Alpha has an arc pistol to match his unit, and a steampunk axe from MaxMini. Functionally, it will count as either a power sword or arc maul - always clearly specified and communicated to my opponent, mind you. Keeping with my theme for Alphas, 633-Beta-2-Alpha also has an auxiliary servo arm. This is also from the FW Magos Dominus kit. It's right-handed, which necessitated a bit of modification to relocate the rad counter. I have one more unit of Vanguard to go for this project, which will include my Warlord. Before tackling that, however, I'm wrapping up a small side-project. You never know when inspiration with strike, and I find it best to strike while the iron is hot. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 Thinking deeply on my growing Mechanicus force, I saw that I have no Psykers nor any real defense against them. 7th Edition brought the return of the Psychic Phase, but I've never really been able to participate in it beyond rolling a few token Deny the Witch dice. Psykers don't really fit into my vision of the Adeptus Mechanicus, but perhaps something else would. Reading through the Codex again and again, something was nagging at me. Something was terribly familiar about those Sicarian Infiltrators, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then, over the weekend, I was cleaning out my WIP cabinet and found a very old box.I kept only a handful of models from my original foray into 40K over 15 years ago for posterity. One of them was an old metal Culexus Assassin. This was my favorite, though by far the least popular. There just wasn't enough of a threat from psykers in that Edition to warrant a dedicated Assassin, while the other three were much more useful. Fifteen years later, though, things are much different.As soon as I saw it, I knew what had to be done.http://i.imgur.com/3q0pFYCm.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/7BVruqMm.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/mvbi7A9m.jpg Unit ███-Chi-█, "The Abomination of Cobol", is an experiment that never should have been.This monstrosity is the culminative work of Magos Organos Eriso Cobol in his study of psychic blanks or "pariahs". Magos Cobol attempted to enhance the latent abilities of these individuals through integration with Sicarian-pathway augementation. His goal was to create the ultimate weapon against psykers and other eldritch dabblers in Warpcraft, and he succeeded beyond his darkest nightmares. Upon completion of the surgery, Magos Cobol promptly left the test chamber, deleted his memory storage banks, forcefully decommissioned his research staff and self-terminated. Some say that upon realization of what he had done, he was filled with guilt for his heretekal actions. Others say that he was terrified of the reaction of the Ordos Juris: Trial, torture and eventual disassembly or even worse, being forced to create more of these abominations.The body of Magos Cobol's research has been utterly erased beyond any possibility of retrieval, and as a bitter irony Unit ███-Chi-█ remains his only legacy. Considered too useful to be destroyed, it is kept locked in stasis deep within the vaults of Forge Firmamentum as a desparate weapon of last resort. Typically it is deployed via teleporter, hunting its intended target before being reacquired and secured until needed again. Unlike the Legiones Skitarii, Unit ███-Chi-█ is individually directed by a single Tech Priest handler who is immediately and mercifully euthanized upon completion of the mission. Thus, its activation is a terrible omen for both foe and Forge.Unit ███-Chi-█ is fitted with hybrid Sicarian-pathway augmentations and several additional modifications. Its neurostatic aura is enhanced by the abhorrent effects of its genetic defect, and channeled through the feedback circuits and null-arrays packed into its hideous skull-like helmet to become a focused weapon. Unlike normal Sicarians, the fleshform of this unit was not the result of battlefield injury but systematic vivisection - and no level of neural reimaging can erase that memory. It is remorseless, fearless, soulless and utterly inhuman in any way that truly matters. It is as close as the Adeptus Mechanicus has ever come to true exorcism of the flesh, but instead of a sense of accomplishment this... thing invokes only horror. The kitbash is relatively simple. The body is almost entirely from the Sicarians kit and the head is from the old metal Culexus Assassin. I wanted to replicate the classic pose, so I used the pointing hand from the Rangers/Vanguard kit. Once assembled, I found that the larger Sicarian body works very well to offset the "Culexus bobblehead" effect. The result is something that strongly resembles the Fawn from Pan's Labyrinth as interpreted by HR Giger, with perhaps a dash of Cyberdemon. Just human enough to be completely unnerving.I'm trying to get as many of these little projects out of the way as possible. My narrative campaign kicks off next month and I hate playing with unfinished models. More importantly, however, is that May marks the beginning of ETL 2015. Last year I vowed with two of my Knights as the Mechanicus Strategium's only participant, and this year I plan to up the ante. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshall Egregorius Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Engage Noospheric conference Begin Data Transmission 01010011 01110101 01100110 01100110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01100011 01101000 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101100 01101001 01110110 01100101 00100001 (yes that is an actual sentence rendered into binary) Greetings Brother of the Cog, I have just now found this data-file. After perusing it's contents, I have subscribed to any further additions to it's length. Furthermore, I have found several different augmentations. I request permission to function-copy and function-use them from you. Especially with your anti-psychic sicarian unit. Regards, Arch Magos-Dominus Rathian X471 End Data Transmission Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 Noospheric conference engaged Data Transmission Received 01010000 01110101 01110010 01100111 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110101 01101110 01100011 01101100 01100101 01100001 01101110 00100001 By all means! Work only serves so much purpose on the shelf - the true value is in sharing results and spreading inspiration. Many of my projects have been likewise inspired by others (I try to post links when possible, so others can see the original) and I'm honored that I've elicited a similar response. I look forward to seeing your interpretation in turn! Best of luck on your projects, and thank you for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battybattybats Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I love your Culexus conversion. One of these days i need to finish my own ad-mech anti-psyker http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/293094-knights-of-house-cydonia-taghmata-omnissiah-and-skitarii/page-4?do=findComment&comment=3856612 now that i have a tentacle maker to make the cables i need. However i really like your use of the actual Culexus head, especially after we found out in the Skitarii Codex in the timeline of the War of the Golden Cog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Tonight I completed my third and final unit of Skitarii, fully a day ahead of schedule. http://i.imgur.com/N0lvtdGl.jpg Vanguard unit 633-Beta-1 features three plasma calivers and an omnispex, and accompanies my Warlord into battle. Also with them is yet another servo skull, because I freaking love servo skulls. You'll notice yellow and black hazard stripes throughout my models - this helps tie my green Knights to my red Skitarii/AdMech. http://i.imgur.com/sqVL886m.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/c9DNY52m.jpg My Skitarii Warlord, 633-Beta-1-Alpha-Prime, wields a power axe as with my other Vanguard Alpha. This too was taken from the MaxMini Steampunk Weapons set, and has had the head of an arc maul spliced into it. I'll be using it either as a power sword or arc maul, as needed - and as I said earlier, always expressly communicated. I wanted the option to choose between a phosphor blast pistol and the related Phosphoenix, so here is my take on the relic. The arm, barrel and rear sight are from the standard phosphor blast pistol. The hand, grip and receiver are from an Empire Handgunner, and the pommel is from the Skitarii power sword.As with my other Alphas, 633-Beta-1-Alpha-Prime also features an ancillary servo arm. This was taken from the Zone Mortalis Scribe Station from Forge World. What now? The fifth Knight from my original batch is not-so-patiently waiting for primer. I also have a 10-man unit of converted Tessararii (the house guard of my Titan Legio), an Imperial Bastion and a sixth Tarantula that require attention. Lurking on the horizon is a new Codex for the Imperial Knights, and probably two more Knights for my army - after that, the AdMech Codex and a truckload of new servitors, tech-priests and electropriests. On an unrelated note, I also have a project for my Soviet-themed Imperial Guard army waiting to be finished. All of that pales in comparison to ETL 2015, which is set to kick off in less than 48 hours. Less than two days until my descent into madness, and probably my divorce. Ka is a cog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targetlock Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 great stuff, plenty of cool ideas and inspiration :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshall Egregorius Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Love your skitarii as they are now, and especially your warlord with axe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilofix Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 I just realized you correctly predicted the Kataphron and Ballistarii a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 I got lucky - it's always nice to see your ideas take shape, even though GW's models blow mine out of the water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Lux Æterna, Warlord-class Titan of Legio Fidelis, walks to war. http://i.imgur.com/N1turRWl.jpg More pictures are available in my (now completed) WIP thread in the AdMech forum. For the sake of brevity, I won't repost them all here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 I promised myself that I would take a long break from the hobby after finishing Lux Æterna. A couple weeks later I was back at it again... http://i.imgur.com/k39wUzsl.jpg I have quite a backlog of unpainted models in my cabinet, and I couldn't resist the call. Here are four more tech priests of the Mechanicus Firmamentum. I was surprised at just how small the old TItan Tech Priest from Forge World is in comparison to the newer models. The aesthetics between Forge World's Mechanicum and Games Workshop's Adeptus Mechanicus differ significantly, but I suppose a lot can change in 10,000 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBoiKyknos Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 (...) http://i.imgur.com/oVlvNjUl.jpg Just asked myself, how can this guy hold his arm up ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted September 4, 2015 Author Share Posted September 4, 2015 Yeah... Even I look back on my earlier work and wonder what I was thinking. I think in this case it was a matter of having the bits and being bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuclear Fridge Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Glad to know it's not just me... This reminded me of a plastic Assault on Black Reach Ork nob I had five of (all identical), so I gave one a power klaw... made of metal. I painted it all up, it looked great... and then I took the model off the stand I had it on. Set the nob down on the table-top and it promptly fell over. Even with piles of ballast glued on underneath the base, it kept tipping over. I just wish I'd checked the balance of the thing before I painted it to completion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodusXIII Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 My fifth Imperial Knight was actually my first, depending on how you count. I began work on this conversion shortly after pre-ordering the five-Knight web bundle, before it even arrived on my doorstep. I decided to put it off until last, as I could already tell that it would be my favorite. This was supposed to motivate me to finish the other four. Well, here we are over a year and a half later. So much for that. You can actually sneak glimpses of various parts in the backgrounds of my other pictures, going all the way back to my first post. Now you get to see the final product. http://i.imgur.com/zWpqpnQl.jpg Fraterrus Quintus is the longest-serving and most bloodthirsty of the Fraterri Firmamentum. While most Hastati progress through their mandatory term of service as quickly as possible, aiming for higher positions in the Legio as Moderati and possibly even Pricepes, Gregor Lucan is truly in his element. He's formed an eternal bond with his Errant armor, and they are constantly pushing each other to new pinnacles of bloodshed. http://i.imgur.com/DFO9Oowl.jpg While the majority of my Knights are posed rather statically, I wanted Fraterrus Quintus to be much more aggressive. The spikes on its carapace were inspired by the original concept art for the model. http://i.imgur.com/sJz9eSwl.jpg The lettering on its fingers reads Deus Irae, or God of Wrath. A fitting moniker for such a murderous beast. http://i.imgur.com/ExQqqlOl.jpg?1 The Thunderstrike Gauntlet prior to installation. This was obviously inspired by Tommie Souje's work, which I'd already borrowed for the kill pennants. http://i.imgur.com/Ig7Mihrl.jpg With my original batch of Knights finally finished, I can move on to even more creative projects. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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