20 replies to this topic

[Juggernut]

I kicked around the idea of starting loyalists for a long time. I've always thought Salamanders were super cool, in terms of their background and appearance. I really appreciate that they're not just about "FOR THE EMPEROR!" all the time, but actually give a about your average pathetic human - so much so that they're willing to die for them. The absolute antithesis of my beloved World Eaters and Word Bearers, who would gladly sacrifice or murder for fun any of their cannon/ritual fodder.

 

The plan is for a combined First/Second Company force with elements from the scout company and whatever else suits my fancy over time. I would really prefer, if you're so inclined, that you avoid any sort of "that wouldn't happen, that isn't in the fluff, that isn't right blah blah blah" type comments. Absolutely don't care, just so we're clear. Otherwise, please share your thoughts and suggestions!

 

I'm gonna be painting them with the standard GW Salamanders recipe: Waaagh Flesh, Warboss Green, and Skarsnik Green.

 

To start with, here's my unit of first company vanguard veterans and their chaplain buddy:

 

 

Love this chaplain so much! He was still for sale in his individual blister pack at my local Warhammer store, so I picked him up and magnetized a spare MK IV backpack I had. Didn't want to totally ditch his awesome stock backpack:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's where I need some help. Since the kit only comes with 4 hammers/shields, I've had to use space wolves parts for the sarge's hammer and shield. The hammer was no problem, but the shield is giving me trouble.

 

I've removed the wolfy details and made the surface flat with green stuff:

 

 

I sculpted these flames to glue onto the surface, but I'm not really sure I like 'em. I'd paint the flames gold, on the shield's green surface:

 

 

The other option is to use something from the FW Salamanders transfer sheet. There are many cool options. I guess I could also sculpt something else, if I so choose. I tried sculpting flames onto the shield surface directly, didn't like the results, then had a very hard time scraping them away without damaging my work (since green stuff is somewhat soft).

 

Thanks for looking! Please let me know what you think.

 

 

 

[Pearson73]

The sculpted flames look good to me.

[Panzer]

 I really appreciate that they're not just about "FOR THE EMPEROR!" all the time, but actually give a about your average pathetic human - so much so that they're willing to die for them.

 

It's funny, I read that so often when people talk about why they like their Chapter. Mainly about Salamanders, Blood Angels and Ultramarines (well maybe they won't die for them as much but they actually make sure they can live a proper life unlike most other Chapters, Blood Angels included).

I guess at some point in the past most chapers got some line dropped like "unlike other chapters they don't see normal humans as below themselves yadda yadda" to make them special snowflakes and now that so many have that, it's become rather normal if you read more than just your own chapters fluff.

 

Anyway, looking forward to your Salamanders. Great start with the shield. Maybe the flame is a bit too big for my taste but it's hard to judge without paint.

[Juggernut]

Well, I'll be damned if I'm reading background fluff for every chapter out there, haha! 

[Panzer]

Haha...yeah...that would be riddiculous.  

[Aothaine]

The flame looks really good. But something else that would work really well is just salamander skin stretched over the shield. It is supposed to be really good for defending yourself. Or you can use it for cloaks. I would imagine most of First Company would have it. Also don't worry about Salamanders they mix things up a bit. As far as I have found they intermix their companies based on what they think might be needed. You're not going to run into too many fluff issues with Salamander players from what I've gathered. Most of them are just happy to have fellow Salamander players around.

 

[Juggernut]

You know, I think I'm gonna give that a shot! Those scales shouldn't be very difficult to sculpt, I've found a few tutorials out there so why not give it a go. 

 

Thanks for your comments, frater.

[Hellrender]

I really appreciate that they're not just about "FOR THE EMPEROR!" all the time, but actually give a about your average pathetic human - so much so that they're willing to die for them.

It's funny, I read that so often when people talk about why they like their Chapter. Mainly about Salamanders, Blood Angels and Ultramarines (well maybe they won't die for them as much but they actually make sure they can live a proper life unlike most other Chapters, Blood Angels included).
I guess at some point in the past most chapers got some line dropped like "unlike other chapters they don't see normal humans as below themselves yadda yadda" to make them special snowflakes and now that so many have that, it's become rather normal if you read more than just your own chapters fluff.

Anyway, looking forward to your Salamanders. Great start with the shield. Maybe the flame is a bit too big for my taste but it's hard to judge without paint.

There is a difference between salamanders and other chapters. Salamanders live amongst their mortal citizens. They care because theybsee it as their duty to fight for the common man.

Many ultramarines do not see it this way. They see themselves as superior to mortals. They fight for an imperium and themselves. Sure they do not butcher their mortal citizens or treat them actively as fodder/scum, but they certainly do not fight out of respect for the common man.

Space wolves and blood angels are quite similar. They view mortals as weak. But theyvhave grudging respect for those that fight. Wether that is aspiring recruits or mortal guardsmen they fight alongside. But neither fights for the common man. Space wolves fight out of honour and hatred for the enemy. Must admit i do not know enough about blood angels.

But salamanders fight specifically out of duty to protect the common man. That is where they find honour.

[Panzer]

 

 

I really appreciate that they're not just about "FOR THE EMPEROR!" all the time, but actually give a about your average pathetic human - so much so that they're willing to die for them.

It's funny, I read that so often when people talk about why they like their Chapter. Mainly about Salamanders, Blood Angels and Ultramarines (well maybe they won't die for them as much but they actually make sure they can live a proper life unlike most other Chapters, Blood Angels included).
I guess at some point in the past most chapers got some line dropped like "unlike other chapters they don't see normal humans as below themselves yadda yadda" to make them special snowflakes and now that so many have that, it's become rather normal if you read more than just your own chapters fluff.

Anyway, looking forward to your Salamanders. Great start with the shield. Maybe the flame is a bit too big for my taste but it's hard to judge without paint.

There is a difference between salamanders and other chapters. Salamanders live amongst their mortal citizens. They care because theybsee it as their duty to fight for the common man.

Many ultramarines do not see it this way. They see themselves as superior to mortals. They fight for an imperium and themselves. Sure they do not butcher their mortal citizens or treat them actively as fodder/scum, but they certainly do not fight out of respect for the common man.

Space wolves and blood angels are quite similar. They view mortals as weak. But theyvhave grudging respect for those that fight. Wether that is aspiring recruits or mortal guardsmen they fight alongside. But neither fights for the common man. Space wolves fight out of honour and hatred for the enemy. Must admit i do not know enough about blood angels.

But salamanders fight specifically out of duty to protect the common man. That is where they find honour.

 

 

Yeah of course there are tons of differences between the chapters. It's just that most people who say they like their chapter because of that don't really mention those differences. ^^
Salamanders live among the common people and fight for them, Ultramarines don't care about the individuals and their fates but aim to make the life better for the general population, Blood Angels don't care about how the people live or how they fare in their daily lifes but would sacrifice themselves on a mission to save a few civilists (when it's normally said that any Marine is worth more than hundreds of AM soldiers).

Also Blood Angels don't really see normal humans as weak. They rather think they're much stronger than they're given credit for to survive and carry on living in such a galaxy without the superior traits and technology the Marines possess. Blood Angels do fight for the common man, they just don't do anything for them outside of missions (or rather they didn't used to ... Guilliman now told Dante to get his together and help the common people on Baal to have a better life).

[Aothaine]

Yeah of course there are tons of differences between the chapters. It's just that most people who say they like their chapter because of that don't really mention those differences. ^^

Salamanders live among the common people and fight for them, Ultramarines don't care about the individuals and their fates but aim to make the life better for the general population, Blood Angels don't care about how the people live or how they fare in their daily lifes but would sacrifice themselves on a mission to save a few civilists (when it's normally said that any Marine is worth more than hundreds of AM soldiers).

Also Blood Angels don't really see normal humans as weak. They rather think they're much stronger than they're given credit for to survive and carry on living in such a galaxy without the superior traits and technology the Marines possess. Blood Angels do fight for the common man, they just don't do anything for them outside of missions (or rather they didn't used to ... Guilliman now told Dante to get his together and help the common people on Baal to have a better life).

 

Perhaps, and don't get me wrong here... I love Blood Angels, but the Blood Angels used their citizens as fodder and a first defense at the walls in the Devastation of Baal book. I don't think they were wrong in doing this. They needed all the help they could muster. But the difference here is that the Salamaders would not have done that. They would have moved all of the citizens into the fortress and bore the brunt of the attack on themselves initially and through the entire engagement. This is not to say that Blood Angels don't care. They do. They understand the importance of their citizens at least and are more than willing to make hard decisions like exterminatus when necessary. Where I think the Salamanders might just go for the hail mary pass and evacuate as many citizens as possible while holding back the tide with all their forces not dedicated to the evacuation. 

[Panzer]

Devastation of Baal was a really different situation to be honest. They asked the citizens to fight and they said yes so they let them fight. They respect the common people enough to let them fight and die for Baal if they are willing to do so on their own ... and it's not like they would've been more safe somewhere else anyway. The ones who didn't want or weren't able to fight didn't have to and got send to someplace 'safe'. Most just realized that a safe place just didn't exist against what they were about to face so they decided to fight alongside the Marines instead.

It was a pure fight for survival not just of a city or some random planet but for Baal and the whole system. They were with their backs to the wall. If the warpstorm+Khorne daemon thing didn't happen, nobody there would've survived anyway. And during preparation events before Devastation of Baal (in the Dante novel) Dante was risking his life and the life of several other high ranking Blood Angels just to be able to safe a few more on a planet they lost to the Tyranids as well. He even send huge parts of his fleet through gaps of the Hive Fleet to planets to evacuate other planets and bring them to Baal since that'd be the last 'safe' place in the system. So they do evacuate even during the worst circumstances were possible. It just wasn't possible at that point anymore. There was nowhere to run left once Leviathan reached Baal.

I mean, they are still Space Marines with everything that comes with it even if they care about the common people and Space Marines are just not nice people, even the best among them.

 

Anyway, this thread isn't about Blood Angels or who is the nicest Chapter. We went really offtopic here lol

Apologies, Juggernut. Let's see some more of your guys.

[Slan Drakkos]

You know, I think I'm gonna give that a shot! Those scales shouldn't be very difficult to sculpt, I've found a few tutorials out there so why not give it a go. 
 
Thanks for your comments, frater.

honest question, do you want to sculpt the shields and cloaks yourself or are you willing to buy the appropriate bits for them? I ask because kromlech and spellcrow both make some incredible salamanders related weapons and armor for cheap.

Btw, your sallies are looking good so far and I really like the look of that shield. Keep up the good work.

[Juggernut]

 

You know, I think I'm gonna give that a shot! Those scales shouldn't be very difficult to sculpt, I've found a few tutorials out there so why not give it a go. 
 
Thanks for your comments, frater.

honest question, do you want to sculpt the shields and cloaks yourself or are you willing to buy the appropriate bits for them? I ask because kromlech and spellcrow both make some incredible salamanders related weapons and armor for cheap.

Btw, your sallies are looking good so far and I really like the look of that shield. Keep up the good work.

 

 

Thank you! I'm currently taking a little break from my Salamanders, as I'm studying for my licensure and also working on my World Eaters terminators. And also preparing to move halfway across the country, as I scored a sweet job .

 

I plan to sculpt my own details, or at least attempt it before buying any bits. I've seen those 3rd party options, and they're decent, so at some point I may be open to the idea.

 

Thanks again for the kind words.

[Aothaine]

It is a bit expensive but you can take the cloaks from the Dark Elves from this box set and it would be GW completely. 

 

https://www.games-wo...nvil-Guard-2017

 

The cloaks look pretty damn good imho.

[Juggernut]

Yeah, I have been interested in those. Beautiful bits.

[Warbringer]

I've never been able to find the cloaks on eBay. I wanted to get them and then do Blustuff press moulds to get the details to allow me to reproduce them for my own uses!

[Juggernut]

Gotta search frequently and jump on the opportunity when it presents itself, I guess. Making a mold sounds like a great idea. Just need to buy 1 or 2 and then you can make all you want. 

[Saxxon the Dragoon]

If you are looking for salamander cloaks, tabards and such Spellcrow has a lot of salamander related bits. just search 'Salamandra' and you will find things from hammers, jump packs, cloaks, tabards, and even flamers and meltas with dragon iconography. I put in an order from them because I plan on using them on sternguard, vanguard and some other stuff I picked up on a sale at my FLGS awhile back. still waiting on it to come it, but some vehicle salamander stuff that I had ordered before went well on my relic contemptor salamander dread, and a deredeo I got.

 

http://www.spellcrow...amandra&x=0&y=0

 

most other bits sellers only have a couple things, if anything when it comes to salamanders. But it seems like Spellcrow seems to really love the chapter.

Edited by Saxxon the Dragoon, 24 April 2018 - 06:00 PM.

[our_baz]

I've used the spellcrow bits (torso's, legs, tabbards, cloaks, shoulder pads etc) on my 30K Sallies, they were really nice to work with.

 

Spoiler

I also manged to bag a selection of those dark elf cloaks a good few years ago, they were a bit of pig to get them to fit, but look great.

Spoiler

 

Look forward to seeing your progress.

Edited by our_baz, 25 April 2018 - 02:29 PM.

[Juggernut]

Wooooow cool stuff!

[Aothaine]

 

 

You're another Beaker fan!

 

Also those cloaks and tabards are top notch!