Artifactor Space Marines, v.3.0

[TheReclusiarch]

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/header_zpsb87e3c47.jpg

Hello and welcome to the home of my Do It Yourself (DIY) Space Marine chapter - The Artifactors! Long time rivals to the Relictors, these two Chapters are similar in that they follow the same general dogma; use artifacts and relics to vanquish the enemy. The Artifactors, however, have a much more narrow mindset than their Relictor counterpart; they (The Artifactors) believe that any artifacts used must be of Imperial origin and free from Chaos or Xeno taint. And so it is that the Artifactors searches the galaxy for archeotech, old tech from the very beginning of mankind, for it is their firm belief that the technology from the Golden Age will make a significant difference at the End Times.

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/Artifactorsmaller_zps72d5c88f.jpg

Artifactor art by Jason Heuser

Hello, my name is David and I, just like many of you guys, love the Warhammer 40,000 lore and I find it very rewarding to build and create stories within this great universe. But, I'm a painter as well, and I really like making the chapter I have spent so much time on fleshing out in my mind come to life under the brush. So, how good am I? Am I a Golden Demon winner? No, not at all! My painting skill is about average but I'm more than happy with that - didn't use to be, but I've come to understand that with the free time I've got I can only go so far, and I'm content with what I put out! Content enough to show it off!

My previous iterations of the Artifactors were either drybrushed (V1) or had brushstrokes (V2). This time I've gotten a lot closer to what I wanted the Artifactors to look like. Also, to make this project a little more interesting I wanted the chapter to have many of the "right" markings and symbols. That meant commissioning custom made shoulderpads for the Chapter Logo! I ended up with a skulled chalice. I found a chalice to be a very potent symbol for artifacts, but wanted a 40k twist!

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/chalice_zpsee311cf5.jpg

Artifactor shoulderpad by Ben

Other challenges I had to tackle were getting used to decals and how to apply them (never done that before!) as well as learning how to use metallic-based paint (Vallejo gold). In the end, things turned out OK! So, enough chatter, here's two pictures of my Artifactors! I've only completed two squads as of yet, but as I complete more I'll post them here.

Artifactor Tactical Squad Nathaniel - "The Watchers of Tabbris"

http://img01.deviantart.net/f94a/i/2016/087/7/0/and_they_shall_know_no_fear__by_reclusiarch-d9wsjvm.jpg

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/Tactical1_zps94d42c68.jpg

Comments:

Used the new texture paint to make the bases, worked well! I also really like the new Tactical Models in terms of quality - it's just so much easier to shade these models than the previous ones. Highlighting are still the most problematic phase for me, though, but I'll get the hang of it.

Artifactor Sternguard Squad Maximilian - "The Heralds of Judgement"

http://pre08.deviantart.net/2597/th/pre/i/2016/086/3/c/sternguard_advance_by_reclusiarch-d9wo2pp.jpg

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/Sternguardsmaller_zps63de9dd9.jpg

Comments:

The Artifactors do not use coloured helmets to show of rank, instead they use intricate armour and red to represent seniority (one of the few deviations from the Codex Astartes by the Artifactors)

Brother Dominic

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/Dominic_zps12073e5a.jpg

Comments:
Time for some more green and gold, this time with Hellfire Dreadnought Dominic! Experimenting a bit with a more subtle highlight.

Also, golden tipped missiles, yay!

Venerable Brother Cormachttp://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/209/d/6/venerable_brother_cormac_by_reclusiarch-d7slm0o.jpg

Comments:
Scrollwork, candles and skulls, Here's Venerable Brother Cormac!

Land Raider Crusader - "The Chalice"

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/Chalice_zpsc223971f.jpg

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/Warhammer%205_zpsw2yuty1f.jpg

Comment:
The Chalice is one of the most revered Land Raider's in the Artifactor armour and have been in service for almost three millennia. The Chalice has been deployed in many of the major engagements in the Chapter's history and although it has been badly damaged time and time again, the chapter's tech marines have always been able to to nurture the machine spirit back to health so that it might once again vanquish the enemies of the Imperium.

That's it for now! I'll post more as I get things done!

/David

EDIT: Removed Imperial Knights and formed a thread dedicated to them.

[deathspectersgt7]

Very Cool, like the chapter will be keeping an eye out for updates.

[Ratboy1664]

Lovely colour scheme and paint job, looking forward to seeing more

[GrandMagnus]

Nice scheme, this chapter looks great!

[Brother Argent]

Wooo! They're back. Must say your artifactors were one of my inspirations years ago when I first looked at the idea of a log here on the Bolter and chainsword.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Oh my, I remember these guys! Good to see you and the Artifactors back Brother Reclusiarch. :)

 

Now, I don't recall his name but I seem to remember the Artifactors had a Captain or Chapter Master before, big hulking chap, wore Terminator armour with a shiny gold helmet and used a Thunder and Storm Shield if my memory is correct. Any chance we'll be seeing the ol'chap again? Or has he gone to join the Emperor?

[reckoning]

Very cool paint scheme and well executed too.

[battle captain corpus]

Awesome work so far! :)

[TheForgottenAngel]

These are awesome! Love the color choice and the gold and green really pops! Can't wait to see more!

[recon0321]

Great scheme....like the idea

[Astartes-ULTRA]

Very nice scheme and execution brother,

 

I'll bet just like the Relictors these guys probably arent much loved by the inquisition, but I'll bet they are favoured by the Mechanicus.

[Monstra Sumus]

Very smart uniform army there, do you have much more? 

[Seathal]

I lile the idea of making a DIY chapter and fluff based on other existant fluff, it helps a lot with the inmersion. From what I see here they are quite an interesting bunch and you've captured their essence in your models. Congrats! Can't wait to see more!

[TheReclusiarch]

Thanks for all the comments, always nice to read! :)

 

@Silver Phoenix - That's so cool to hear! That made my day! :)

@SanguiniusReborn - Ha! I can't believe you remembered that guy! =) His name was Constantine, Captain of the Artifactors First Company. He will most likely be back, but he's in the planning stage right now (need to find some good bits for him!). Maybe he's even been promoted to Chapter Master! 

@Astartes-ULTRA - True and True, you hit the nail straight on the head actually! Opposed to the Relictors however, the Inquisition don't really have too many things on the Artifactors since the Chapter is very careful with using anything but pure Imperial Artifacts. That said, even the Artifactors have some dark history relating to old relics. ;)

 

There will be more pictures, but it might take a while. I'm a rather slow painter and I have too many hobbies. That said, I'm really pumped to paint more now! :)

[Nomus Sardauk]

@SanguiniusReborn - Ha! I can't believe you remembered that guy! =) His name was Constantine, Captain of the Artifactors First Company. He will most likely be back, but he's in the planning stage right now (need to find some good bits for him!). Maybe he's even been promoted to Chapter Master!

Ahh yes, Constantine! I knew he had a long fancy name but couldn't recall what it was! Well then, if the good Captain is indeed getting a new model then might I suggest the TDA Praetor model from Forgeworld: http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/The_Horus_Heresy/Legiones_Astartes/Space_Marine_Legion_Army_List/Legion_HQ/LEGION_PRAETORS.html

 

Given the Artefactors relic-gathering nature it makes sense their Captains (or Chapter Master) would have access to some pretty ancient gear, not to mention such relics would likely be lovingly restored and/or embellished by the chapter's artificers. :)

[alejandrinus]

Great background for a great paint scheme, very nice work overall, great attention to subtle details as the handwriting on purity seals and gems.

I'm intrigued by Captain Constantine, do you have some photo of his first incarnation :) ?

[Heru]

Great background for a great paint scheme, very nice work overall, great attention to subtle details as the handwriting on purity seals and gems.

I'm intrigued by Captain Constantine, do you have some photo of his first incarnation ?

His old thread:

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/172025-artifactor-space-marines/

There is also a piece of artwork for him there too.

[Vadskær]

Cool color-scheme and very nicely executed! One suggestion/thought - I think the weapons would look better in black & metal instead of gold. For me, it kinda takes away from all the cool gold on the armor, which I think is a shame on some very nice models :-)(

 

/vadskær

[TheReclusiarch]

@vadskær I can totally see what you mean about the golden weapons. I did what I did because I wanted the Sternguard (ranged weapon specialists after all) to stand out a bit, thus the golden weapons. Still, I am personally not that bothered by it, but I will probably wont be doing that again with any other squads (perhaps a commander, we'll see).

 

@SanguiniusReborn That model is actually quite awesome, might use it if I find a way to get a stormshield on there. We'll see! :) Thanks for the tip!

[Trysanna]

Don't know how I missed these guys, but I'm glad I took a look! Brilliant work on the green and red, they contrast nicely. You've also not made them look like holiday Marines, so that a plus! I look forward to seeing some more of these guys.

-Tarvik

[Brother Cambrius]

Aha! I remember these old legends from days yonder! Great to see them back TheReclusiarch and I can't wait to see what will be coming next! The colour scheme is beautifully smooth and is a great choice of colours. Will we see some beret wearing Scouts soon? ;)

 

Cambrius

[TheReclusiarch]

Back with another update, this time the Artifactor Gunship "Skylord"

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/gunship1_zps7a44af46.jpg

Ok, so first things first; I'm actually not overly happy how this model turned out, but it's been a very good learning experience. I've always struggled a bit with highlightning, and I just recently started to mix paints to be able to make a much less aggressive kind of highlignting. It's still difficult for me to highlight, but it's slightly better.

I'll also try and use a spraygun (when it wants to work) for any other larger models, since it makes the surface so much better looking. This model became a bit coarse and textured because of the heavy drybrushing.

A final lesson this model gave me was that large brushes pick up a lot of glaze paint, and when you apply it ot the model it changes the colour much more than if you'd use a smaller brush, since you have more glaze on the brush. It's all very logical, but I didn't quite think things through until later when the model was already a shade of brighter green than the rest of my army. D'oh! Not sure how to remedy that as of yet.

I think most of us have had a model like this, a model that didn't quite turned out as awesome as you thought, but gave a few important lessons.

And yes, that's a golden cockpit window. It's there to make sure the gunship fits the army aesthetic.

That is all for now!

[LordOrdGermany]

cool!

[JeffTibbetts]

How did I miss this thread? Found it because of your Knight. They look great! I dig your green. It's subtly different from my own Eagle Eyes. I didn't catch that your Stormtalon cockpit was actually metallic. Maybe a different angle would help? 

[TheReclusiarch]

Imperial Knight "Mercykiller"

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/mercykiller1_zps94441ada.jpg

 

 

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/mercykiller3_zps4715c0ee.jpg

 

 

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag319/unovian/mercykiller2_zps8aeafd52.jpg

Comments:

This Imperial Knight have fought beside the Artifactors ever since it was saved from certain doom by a Artifactor Strike Force attached to a Inquisitorial fleet coming to investigate a Tyranid threat. When the fleet arrived the Knights defending their world of Kallaxis Prime had all but been destroyed and only by the selfless sacrifice of the Artifactors' strike force Commander, Brother-Captain Kael, did the Space Marines successfully evacuate the two last remaining Knights. Moments later the Inquisition performed Exterminatus upon the devoured world, killing anyone and everything.

 

Instead of turning freeblades the Knights offered their allegiance to the Artifactors. After a decade of service, during a great ceremony that lasted two full days, the Knights Mercykiller and Last Judgment changed their official colours to the Artifactor green and gold, becoming one with the Chapter.