Call for War, Callius' VII Legion, 5/11 Spartan finished!

[Brother Callius]

Oh dear sweet jesus, I never thought of the Blackadder jokes when choosing his name. I may have to rename the poor guy or he is going to get picked on in the locker room...

 

But anyways, thanks for the kind words guys.

[The_Chaplain]

The sergeant looks good - I want to get that same head for my Iron Warriors but I have to ask. If this is Sergeant Baldrich where is Captain Blackadder?

 

Blackadder is no doubt off somewhere dealing with the repercussions of one of Baldrich's "cunning plans". 

 

On a serious note, Baldrich looks great.  Nice and gritty, the way fists should be.

Edited February 9, 2015 by The_Chaplain

[Brother Callius]

The heresy truck just keeps on trucking...

Thanks for the appreciation guys, Baldrich is very proud that somebody remembered the work he did on ancient Terra as the best sidekick to come up with plans...and cunning ones at that.

I've begun work on the rest of the tactical squad and have decided to break it down into two 5 man squads for painting (or one 5 man squad and one 4 man in this case). I am currently waiting on the mk. III upgrade set from FW so I can give these guys the vexilla and nuncio-vox upgrades, hence the missing backpack.

The first layer of paint has just been applied to the 5 man squad and depending on the postman I might get the four man set undercoated this week.

Once again I have thrown in some bits from the Fists upgrade set just to give the squad a more diverse appearance and I am really loving the heads and torsos from that set, very nice Forge World

Not the most exciting update but even the run-of-the-mill legionnaires need painting and I need to keep the painting standard I've set previously so my finished company will look awesome...

[Brother Callius]

Long time no see...or posting.

I have been away from home the last week and as such the progress has been slowed to a crawl. The first five marines are just about done, just the weathering to go. The last four are primed and are awaitning the completion of the others.

On a different note; I have finally started my newest project yesterday: home made bases!

Since GW released their Blood Angels on 32mm bases I wanted to rebase my few Fists on those since they are just a better size in my opninion, but at the same time I would like to have a urban feel to my bases and since no one is making 32mm urban bases I really like, I have to make them myself.

An added benefit to making my own bases is that I am sure the minis fit on there and I don't have to search through my sculpted bases to find one where the scenery matches the minis feet, and I can also give them more variation as I am not limited to ten or so different sculpts.

The thing I'm a bit curious about is whether or not I should prime the bases after assembly. I have found several tutorials on the old interweb but they vary greatly on the priming stage; some prime them while others do not. The only point I can find in priming them is to seal the cork so to speak, but I am not sure if it makes any difference.

But on to the pics, here are some of my newest supplies:

And a quick pic of the test base before any painting or priming:

If any of you have some tips or pointers on base making I would love to hear them, this is the first time I'm making bases thats more than just dirt and grass so I'm abit on the deep end...

Edited February 28, 2015 by Brother Callius

[MagicMan]

Looks good to me mate! Im a sand and slate guy, so can't help much.

[deathspectersgt7]

Like the base . What size is the plastic I-beam? 

[Brother Callius]

Thanks guys

I decided to go with no primer since I actually want to finish a base in less than two days. (PVA drying and primer drying takes forever)

The result is the best base I've ever done if I say so myself, I'm actually quite proud of this since the only bases I made myself in the past where just brown paint with some static grass. I know it's not rocket science to make a base but a good looking base gives the mini tons of character and gives the whole army a better feel. I darkened the brown for a more earthy tone to match the weathering on my marines legs, so I am moving away from the arid style that I initially wanted to opt for a colour that fits better.

@ deathspectersgt7: The I-beam is actually a T-beam that measures 3mm wide by 3mm high. I also got some I-beams, L-beams and pipes from the same company that will be put to good use on upcoming bases.

Here is the finished result:

So what do you think, good, bad or somewhere inbetween?

[deathspectersgt7]

GOOD 

[Fangbanger]

Awesome work mate. Love the sicaran, picking mine up this month and will be returning for more inspiration for sure!

[Brother Callius]

Time for a quick update!

Thanks for the feedback guys, glad you like the base.

I got the first half of my tac squad done just a few minutes ago and I thought I would share the progress.

The main focus point have been my bases and as seen on these newly finished guys the switch to 32mm bases is a great one, the bigger size allows for more room on the base for scenery and the mini is much more steady although I weigh mine down with a washer glued to the bottom just to be safe.

Here the newly finished minis are, I apologize for the pic quality but I didn't bother with my photo light setup so just bear with me...

[paz]

Marines really do look so much better on the bigger bases, will need to get some myself!

 

Gorgeous colors!

[Pearson73]

Great work on the weathering.

[Flint13]

Those are looking pretty darn awesome!

 

I think this is the first time I've seen a take on that half armored comb-over head that I actually like. Great job there!

 

Keep this business up. I need all the VII legion inspiration I can get so my own stay up to par ^_^

[Brother Callius]

Thanks for the kind words

I've finally managed to get my tac squad done after a long time, my work has taken alot of my time recently and I just ran out of spare time...

But the squad is done and they have all recieved the new 32mm bases which are just awesome for normal marines, I will begin to get the remainder of my company onto new bases shortly, luckily there's only seven of them. The thing I'm worried about is my contemptor base as my dear Mannfreid is pinned to the base so how that goes are up to the Emperor or maybe the omnissiah since it's a dreadnought...

I've tried to incorporate some water effects on some of the bases to give them the illusion of mud and it worked out beautifully.

I used the realistic water from Secret weapons miniatures and it was very easy to work with, the only thing about such effects is that it takes forever to dry. I also did some quick blood spatters on the two guys with the bayonet thingys, since they are in the middle of an urban engagement close quarters combat are bound to happen, the vox/radio guy got some serious stabby action done

So there they are in all their lion motif badass-ness.

++EDIT: New Photos++

Edited January 23, 2016 by Brother Callius

[Kizzdougs]

Awesome work dude!! I love the gritty, stained armour. Very realistic :tu:

[Brother Callius]

Greetings my fellow hobbyists!

It has been a long time since my last post, one of the main reasons for that was my pc broke down and fried the motherboard and graphics card so I had to get a new one. The only problem is with me being a picky gamer it was quite a difficult and expensive task...

With that out of the way I got my Rhino completed and that threw me into a new problem, believe it or not I do not have any 30k things left to paint, and with a lot of my spare cash going towards a new computer there was no room in the wallet for more resin crack

Whenever I get around to buying some more Fists goodness I am planning on some HQ choices, some troops and some more contemptors but I am not too sure what else, if anybody has some good suggestions I am more than willing to hear them, at the moment my army list consists of 1 troops, 1 dedicated transport, 2 elites and 3 heavy support. Not exactly what you would call competitive...

So whithout anymore minis to do I got a groupshot of my finished 41st company so far, please excuse the lighting and quality:

With that I leave you until I can get my hands on more FW goodness, whenever that might be.

Stay classy B&C...

[Packe]

It's looking good!

 

A shame that you are out of minis, oh how I envy you.

 

Looking forward to you next update. :)

[Brother Callius]

Well, I'm back at last...

 

I am genuinely sorry for my lack of progress but the last half of 2015 was a very, very bad year for my economy. So the FW goodies I was planning on had to be delayed.

Within a three month span I recieved a dentist bill of 1000£, a ticket because I have a heavy right foot of 450£ and finally the gearbox on my car died so another bill of almost 500£

 

But now it's a new year and I am moving foward with the project once more.

 

I had noticed that all the photos of my minis where different in shade of colours, background and light since my photo setup was different everytime I would shoot my minis.

As such I have build a DIY lightbox out of an old cardboard box, wax paper, duct tape and some cheap Ikea lamps, a very effective combo I might add.

So now I have retaken all the photos of my minis so they look much more uniform than before. I will be changing all the photos on B&C with the new ones shortly.

 

On the shopping front I am waiting on my newest order which includes: A Leviathan siege dreadnought with siege claw and grav-flux bombard, 5 mk. II armour, 5 mk. IV armour, 10 Tigrus bolters, a Fists command squad, various Fists bits and pieces and finally a BaC chaplain from Bitzbox which I will convert (if all goes well) to my Castellan Emmerich Bhalen, to command the 41st.

 

With that I am back in the heresy game with renewed vigour after an unintended time-out, and hopefully you'll soon see some more progress on the good old Fists as I can't wait to get going again  

[Dantioch]

Sorry to hear about the bad luck man, but looking forward to seeing more of your Fists! 

[Big Bad Squig]

I've just flicked through your thread (having missed it previously), and I've gotta say, I love the stuff you have churned out in the past.  As hollow as this may sound from a newcomer, I'm glad to see you back 

[Pearson73]

Good to see you back, looking forward to seeing the Leviathan.

[BeatTheBeat]

These are insanely nice, love the weathering and execution in general!

Cheers,
BTB

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

These are among my favourite Imperial Fists of all time. Something about the battle damage and weathering just clinches it for me. Jawdropping work, there's nothing I don't like about these guys and that's not an exaggeration. Looking forward to seeing more.

Edited January 23, 2016 by Brother-Captain Arkhan

[Luna707]

Definitely my favorite version of the Fists

[Brother Callius]

Thanks for the kind words brothers, It makes me feel proud of my humble Fists that they are so well recieved.

 

Both my packages have finally arrived and I have begun to take invontory and will move on to the cleaning process tonight.

I have decided that the Leviathan will be first in line as I am really looking foward to that kit.

 

I can't begin to describe how good it feels to be back in the game and I can't wait to begin painting again, it has been sorely missed.

So if all goes well I can get going on the Leviathan proper on friday and I'll keep you in the loop.