Ordo Xenos Expedition Force "Hammerhead"

[Icepick]

Hello everybody!

 

I'd like to show my first project in 40k since the end of my year-long hobby-hiatus. Since my first contact with the Guard, i really liked the fluff and models of the (then) stormtroopers. I was especially fascinated by both their cadian incarnation in the form of kasrkin, as well inquisitorial stormtroopers, so when i decided to start again with the hobby about three months ago, i knew what my first project would be. Now, without further introduction, i present to you the first five models i've built and painted in years:

 

(Disclaimer: I don't take credit for the skull helmet print, in that regard i was heavily inspired (in order to not say i basically stole the idea) by Vash's awesome Scions: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/297796-vashs-am-plog-battle-report-p12/?p=3831056 . I hope you don't mind, Vash)

 

Scion Squad 1:

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Scions%20Trupp%201_zps3eotpnyr.jpg

 

Close-up of Plasmagun, details and skull helmet print:

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Scions%20Close-Up_zpsql4v69yx.jpg

 

What do you think?

 

Organisation-wise these five guys are the first part of a stormtrooper/scion kill team that (hopefully) will grow into a full AM/MT regiment later once i am able to afford the time and money. As you may have guessed from the writing on the shoulder pads, the regiment has close ties to the inquisition and the whole army will have a strong inquisitiorial flair. After all, it basically exists because it's founding was effectively demanded by Ordo Xenos Inquisitor von Claussen, in order to accompany him on his travels to bring the Emperor's light into the far reaches of the galaxy! More on that topic will follow in the next weeks.

 

Concerning the army theme: i'm not completely sure that it is ok that i've put this thread into the AM subforum. But i reckon that since the main focus of the army will be on the imperial guard, i thougt this was the better decision compared to posting it in the Inquisition section. What do you guys think about that?

 

I'll post more about army fluff, structure etc. once i've decided on a few things. And of course more pictures will follow. Currently i'm working on a commissar, an additional scion with a plasma gun and three veterans of the regiment who were given the honour of joining von Claussen's personal retinue (aka acolytes with bolters); all of them are kitbashes. I hope to finish them soon, so i can post more stuff!

 

Until next time

TimmiABC

[WarriorFish]

Welcome aboard Timmi :tu: You're not alone in the skull mask idea, Vash was just one of the first because he paints faster than a Punisher shoots :P They look great, a nice colour scheme well executed :D Will you be doing something with their bases?

[Akrim]

Looks pretty bad ass man!

[SyNidus]

Not gonna lie - this is almost exactly what I'm doing with my MT. Except instead of red, I'm planning to paint them in the night lords colour scheme. Hell, I'm even planning on picking up an inquisitor.

 

Suffice to say, I think it's a great idea and you're doing solid work. Can't wait to see more!

[Icepick]

Thanks for your replies and kind comments! I'm planning to do a desert style base with sand and the occasional rock thrown in here and there... Nothing too fancy, as i don't want to draw attention away from the model. Besides, i'm way less confident in my basing abilities than with my painting (where i'm pretty satisfied with my current standard). The base color will be the same as the bedroll-things on the scions' backpacks, or maybe a slight shade darker. I want to keep consistency and tie base and models together. At this time however i didn't get around to actually acquire the materials for the bases, thats why they are not done yet. I will probably finish the mentoined models, and then do the bases of the whole group.

 

@SyNidus: the nightlords scheme sounds like a fantastic plan! I look forward to seeing your work once you're done with it.

[WarriorFish]

Maybe GW's Mars basing stuff will be worth a look?

[Icepick]

Do you mean those texture paints? I didn't think of that yet, but i will try it. Thanks for the tip!

[WarriorFish]

Yeah, they released them a little while back and they do a variety of effects. I'm using a textured one for my new army but there's specific ones for sandy types and more so plenty to peruse :)

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

You can also make your own texture paints as well. Some PVA (white elmer's school) glue, some grit (playground sand, quickcrete, or fine gravel) and a bit of acrylic color (cheap stuff from the dollar store, walmart, or the equivalent), and you have your texture paint. Then give it a drybrush of a lighter color and Bob's your Uncle. Based and done. 

 

I did not do that with my bases, I just used quickcrete and pva glue, which I'm regretting. The benefit the straight quickcrete has is that it dirties up the model, making it look like it's been moving around in the dust.

[Icepick]

As you may already have seen in the Assault on Lutum thread, i have finished my priest model, Confessor Grayson. I was very fortunate to obtain this awesome model from a friend of mine who is in the process of getting rid of his Sisters of Battle army; stay tuned for a few additional goodies from that purchase! Also, he is the first model in my group which has a finished base and i think i will stick to the way i have done it for the rest of my troops. Thanks again to WarriorFish for the tip with the texture paints.

Alright, i present to you Confessor Grayson, the spiritual counsellor and leader of the 1st Vidarian and Inquisitorial Expedition Force "Hammerhead":

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Confessor%20Grayson%20350%20x%20578_zps1eyyjme2.jpg

What do you guys think?

On a related note, i would like to dump a few ideas in this thread for later reference, so i don't forget all my good (or not so good ) ideas i had lately.

Fluff notes on Vidaria and the regiments founding:

• Vidaria is a planet in the outer reaches of the Imperium that was basically isolated and forgotten for a couple centuries, until being (re-)discovered by Ordo Xenos Inquisitor von Claussen on his travels
• The Vidarian population at large considers itself to be a part of the Imperium, but neglect and lack of contact with any official imperial institution cause imperial rule (as in administration, faith, etc.) to take a backseat when faced with the day-today-struggles of a star system left on its own.
• At that time, Vidaria is in the middle of planet-wide uprisings and rebellions, started by yet unknown chaotic elements. The inquisitor moves in and plays a vital part in exposing the chaos influence and later crushing the rebellion. Imperial rule is restored and faith in the God-Emperor reinvigorated.
• Since the planet is waaaay behind on its tithe to the Imperium, a new imperial guard regiment is founded (among other measures): The glorious 1st Vidarian. The regiment is promptly requisitioned by von Claussen to accompany him on his expeditions and conquests on the fringes of the Imperium.

Notes on regimental structure and doctrine:

• Recruits are mostly scratched together from fighters from the rebellion and with the help from military advisors (a few cadians among them, hence a lot of cadian equipment and doctrines) requisitioned by von Claussen, these already somewhat experienced warriors are turned into an organised and even more formidable force.
• Hailing from an industrialised planet, the 1st Vidarian (and there successors) has access to high end equipment. The inquisitor also supplies a number of nice toys to the armoury
• Regimental training emphasises discipline, flexibility and initiative in combat, as well as exceptional marksmanship (again, these guys are trained by cadians, they are drilled until they can shoot damn well) as individual skill. Therefor, the basic vidarian soldier would be considered a veteran in most other guard units. High training standard is also due to the inquisitors demands, who on his often long and isolated travels can't count on an endless supply of cannon fodder, but rather needs to make the best of what he has and thus needs the best fighters he can get his hands on.
• Training and equipment standard is represented on the tabletop by using veterans and scions/kasrkin, i don't want to use a lot "regular" guardsmen. Also, the army will be mechanised and/or airmobile in some way (except for forward observers and deepstriking scions)
• The regiment follows a Combined Arms approach where all the different branches and specialisations work in concert to be able to take on any foe and master every challenge. The focus lies on Special Operations, as well as fast and hard strikes to break and outmaneuver the enemy, mopping up the remains later.

Hobby notes & possible future projects:

• More scions! (I hope to finish the next 5-6 guys in the upcoming campaign segment)
• Veterans as forward observers; along the line of camo cloaks+autocannon/missile launchers+snipers
• Sentinels (Also hopefully in the campaign). Love the models and they fit perfectly with the "strike hard and fast" modus operandi
• I'm toying around with somehow including a number of landspeeder storms from the space marines, to give my scions a helicopter style method of reaching targets on the battlefield
• A Deathwatch detachment (count-as sternguard)
• taurox (primes) with wheels
• Generally adding vehicles, although that probably won't happen for some time (due to constraints on the hobby funds)

Ok, that's it for now. I need to go to bed I would love to see you guys giving me some feedback on both the model and the ideas!

Good night (or whatever time it is in your zone )!

[P3AKHOUR]

Cool fluff.  Ever since reading abount Gaunt's occasional run-ins with inquisitors in the Gaunts Ghosts series I've been really interested in all things inquisition. Cant wait to see an Inquisition-liveried valk.  Those spec-ops boys look badass too.

[Icepick]

Reinforcements incoming! The last few days i finished a few models. Let me hear what you guys think of the newest additions to Ordo Xenos Expedition Force Hammerhead!

Starting with the Psyker i made for the Assault on Lutum campaign:

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Psyker%201%20400x585_zpspy1iiycs.jpg

Next up is one of the models i bought from a friend's SoB army: an acolythe model that's probably going to see most of it's use as a psyker, though he might also be used as a generic Inquisitiorial Henchman. I'm really proud of how the flames turned out.

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Psyker%202%20400x503_zpsisrsdggv.jpg

Now, something a bit more guard-y: A kitbashed comissar, to keep morale up and the troops in line! Also, there are few things as badass as a simple human wielding a huge boltgun one-handed and BLAMMING the enemies of mankind, while wearing an awesome black leather coat and a peaked cap

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Komissar%201%20400x369_zpscvwcipks.jpg

And last but not least, some bolter-equipped acolythes, who might also see use as squad sergeants:

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Bolter-Akolythen%201%20600x787_zpsxdaenayw.jpg

What do you guys think? I very much appreciate any ideas that might help me get better!

Since this update is a rather Inquisition-centric one and a lot of stuff i'm thinking of for the future is not strictly imperial guard, i'm wondering a bit if it would be better to move this thread to the either the Inquisition forum or the general WIP thread. Is there a general board policy for cases like this one?

Another question: Is it possible to change the topics title? And if yes, how do i do that?

And finally, i would like to give you a quick peek at what's still on my to do list:

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/DSC04003_zpshqyxcm0k.jpg

Front (left to right): Inquisitor, Crusader, Servo-Skull

Back (left to right): Melta-Scion, Scion sergeant /w plasmapistol & power fist, regular scion, vindicare assassin

[Guilloom]

Well Timmy... that escalated quickly !

Your MT guys looks brilliant : those minor conversions for bolters are efficient and make them look like a strike force more than with those weyrd hot-shot lasguns.

The way you painted their faces gives your model an Asiatic look. Was it intentional or am I just dreaming ?

Keep going with the good work

Oh, btw... I'm no mod, but stay in the barracks ! here is much warmer than the cold palaces of the Inquisition. And we have Ogryns !

[WarriorFish]

Lovely colours! In particular the Scions are very similar to how I'm pondering my own scheme.

 

As to the topic title, you can change this by editing the OP in Full Editor mode :)

[Icepick]

Lovely colours! In particular the Scions are very similar to how I'm pondering my own scheme.

As to the topic title, you can change this by editing the OP in Full Editor mode

By all means, do. Black and red go so well together (although admittedly, it is a somewhat unispired combination. But the execution is what counts )... You do realise though that now i'm expecting to see those scions from you in the future?

Also, thanks for pointing me in the right dircetion for the topic title. I was sure that function would be somewhere, but was unable to find it. Thanks for clearing that up for me, WarriorFish!

Well Timmy... that escalated quickly !

Your MT guys looks brilliant : those minor conversions for bolters are efficient and make them look like a strike force more than with those weyrd hot-shot lasguns.

The way you painted their faces gives your model an Asiatic look. Was it intentional or am I just dreaming ?

Keep going with the good work

Oh, btw... I'm no mod, but stay in the barracks ! here is much warmer than the cold palaces of the Inquisition. And we have Ogryns !

Yes, i found the idea for this conversion somewhere on the forum (i can't find the link right now though) and immediatly knew that this would be the way to go with these guys. What i find especially cool about it is that they look a bit more streamlined and stripped down compared to an astartes bolter. These guns look more like they would be easier to handle by an unaugmented human. And shaving down the scope make the sights look like a fancy holographic sight. I like doing these small conversions and improvising with what i have on hand (which often is rather limited, given my restraints on the hobby funds). It's loads of fun to do stuff like that!

The way i paint their faces just came to be through some experimenting. Actually i hate painting faces... why did i want to do a guard/inquisition army again? I just tried out repeatedly until i got something that looks like it could be an actual skin colour. I'm somewhat okay with the current results, so now i'm going to stick with it.

So for now, thanks for your comments, rock on guys!

[Icepick]

New stuff! Completed my vow for the ETL, so here's the melta-armed scion command squad:

 

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Scions%20Trupp%202%20600x355_zps2kfp3txv.jpg

 

 

For sake of documentation and completeness, also the shot of the old-school stormtrooper squad (also part of the ETL-vow):

 

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu227/ferrus-x/Scions%20Trupp%203%20600x295_zpsn9cei48e.jpg

 

While painting the old-school stormtroopers i gradually realised that i don't really like the models. The armor style is less impressive than i expected, there is pouches and other equipment everywhere in the weirdest places (and a lot of those look like they were placed to cover gaps or were added just because "there was still some room on the model") and the helmets look way better on photos than in person. Coupled with the generally inferior quality to todays models i'm all in all rather underwhelmed. Of course, the comparison to todays sculpts is not entirely fair, but compared to some other minis they just don't hold up very well.

 

I will definitly not complete the other six i still have lying around unpainted, especially since i will probably use the recently released anvil regiments models for most infantry models in the future (provided that i still love them as much after i have actually held them in my hands). Considering the work i put into these guys it's a bit of a shame really, but they will probably see a stripping bath and will then be ebayed off to someone who can appreciate them more than i do.

 

 

Upcoming projects for the next few weeks (not necessarily in that order):

• 9 old metal kasrkin
• Inquisitor von Claussen himself: based on the cypher model with an enormous hammer and the eagle from the Deathwatch: Overkills box, to be used ingame either as Ordo Malleus Inquisitor in Terminator-Armor or as Coteaz counts as
• yet-to-be-named Interrogator with a (quite literally) handfull of magnetized weapon options: based on the witch hunters inqusitor
• Creed & Kell (man, i love those models)
• Officer of the Fleet based on the metal cadian colonel model from 4th edition
• Vindicare assassin
• Some light conversions on my already existing scions to make them look more like the kasrkin (mostly headswaps) so i can mix those on the table without anyone noticing on first glance. This will enable me to field three to four squads of kasrkin.
• Refurbishing of an old Chaos Predator turned Chaos Vindicator to turn it into an Inquisitorial Rhino/Razorback (if you want to know the story behind that, i can post it up)
• Another priest model

That's quite a number of single piece models, mixed with the group of kasrkin and the rhino; i'll probably jump back and forth a little between all those projects. I have all the parts for that and most of the assembly is done, so all that's needed is a few coats of paint! After i've finished that (i did impose on myself a rather strict "paint stuff you already have first, then buy new stuff"-rule after this stormtrooper (miss-)purchase), i want to get my hands on some of those sweet anvil models!

 

In any case, i'll keep you posted!

[our_baz]

Great job. The skull helms on the scions have come out really well.

[HackedDuck]

Great job. The skull helms on the scions have come out really well.

I agree those are excellent

[steellegionnaire85]

Nice models. I would trade you scions for the old school storm troopers if I could I love old schools.

[WarriorFish]

Looks like we have plenty more to look forward too :tu:

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

The Kasrkin are a better sculpt as far as metal goes. Still, you're going to see that metal is generally inferior in detail to the newer multi piece plastic kits. Which is why I pray for plastic kasrkin. The scions are a pretty cool looking model, but their aesthetic is a stark and glaring contrast to the current range of plastic guard minis. They look out of place in a guard army. They do however look completely at home with inquisitors and such, which is why I think they should be classed under Inquisition and not guard. Give Us our old Stormtroopers back and let the Inquisition have the Militarum Tempestus. Plastic Kasrkin and 5E Style Stormies would be a better aesthetic fit for guard.

[KasrkinRyu]

I really like your force and fluff. The bolter equipped acolytes are especially great! I love the old school stormtroopers too. The Sergent/Officer with the boltgun on a sling is probably one of my all time favorite models. From your idea list it seems like we have a lot of similarities in thinking. I pray the Emperor places us togeather on the battlefield one day. :D

[Sete]

I'm going to shamelessly steal that psyker and Acolytes ideas.

[Icepick]

@KasrkinRyu: You know what they say: "Great minds think alike." ;) :D I shall look forward to that day!

 

@Sete: I don't mind if you do (and it's not like i could stop you even if i wanted ;))...

 

Also, small progress update: i've completed the headswaps, and started working on creed... Going to put up some pics in the next few days, once i get the chance for some decent lighting.

[Sete]

Do have any converted inquisitor?

I'm thinking on going for a scion body with empire general cape SM arms GK power sword and Stormcast eternals shoulder pads. Ofc this is just on my head hopefully it will look nice.