A New Chapter: RT Space Marines +++Reinforcements!+++

[Shadespyre]

Thanks, I'm happy with the colours, now to sort out the fiddly bits...

 

Here is my first go at transfers, on my good old guinea-pig marine:

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/FirstDecal2_zpsd21a6dc5.jpg

 

A few things I've found:

 

• round transfers are hard to cut out neatly, I'm thinking of making the badge smaller and putting it in a diamond which would be easier to cut out with a scalpel.
• for some reason my inkjet printed BLACK pictures as DARK GREEN - which looks okay against the turquoise as it happens, but on the yellow???
• I should have found those out before I printed a whole A4 sheet of round, green unicorns!
• my brush on gloss varnish is too thick to leave a smooth surface - I've now thinned it down
• Microsol/set worked really well
• I ended up with small creases top and bottom which while -nearly- invisible are a bit annoying once you spot them

overall, I think I'm happy that transfers is the way to go. Now I'm going to try the diamond shape and try printing them out on the laser printer at work to see if I get better black.

 

I've also now got 10 more (nine plus this guy) marines based up ready to paint as February's tranche. And I've worked out an approximate 500 points army list - two tactical squads, a captain and an attack bike - which I want to get ready to play some first games with, probably around Easter time. I reckon with that basic structure and a few extra models - a librarian, some ordinary bikes and a Rhino - I can get to try out most of the rules mechanics.

[Shadespyre]

Still no answer to the backpack problem, or the transfers, but here are the second 10 Tactical Marines:

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01204_zps4eb8af52.jpg

 

New basing materials include big plastic pipes ( a bit too big for small bases in fact) and some I shaped girders - plus of course some Nurgle Rot paint.

 

For my March effort, I might try a few command models, to try out the rank variant colour schemes, and maybe something bigger so I can go to town with the basing.

[Inquisitor Eisenhorn]

I love how the Rogue Trader sculpts are so "bad-ass comic" style--your scheme really brings that out!

[deathspectersgt7]

THEY ARE LOOKING GOOD.

[MasterBuilder]

Absolutely brilliant!

 

I'm loving the inventive bases with the concrete/supports and black scatter. Brilliant for a proper urban army, and it just so happens I'm working on a siege vanguard at present... :p

 

I'm so glad you went with the turquoise and yellow. They look fantastic as a scheme and the white stripe unifies them all nicely. Often on halved schemes the helmet can look off with the halving, especially so with an old school beakie. Seems you got around that one nicely!

 

The melta marine aiming is awesome too by the way. The positioning is very well done. Congratulations on a seamless head swap for the bare headed guys too. Looks great!

 

Perhaps for the veteran sergeants you may consider a white helmet with a red stripe down? That way you get to keep some of the scheme with some unity too. I wouldve suggested red/white halved but not sure how that would work...

 

Still, I'll be following this closely. I did originally cringe a little at the thought of all RT but this is great!

[Shadespyre]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys, it all helps. I get a bit dispirited with the technical issues (which I know will be sorted once I put my mind to it, really) but seeing them painted in their bright "cartoony" colours cheers me up.

 

I think Inquisitor Eishenhorn is spot on - there is a comic book feel to the sculpts which I thinks works well with a restricted palette of contrasting colours. These are "proper" marines for a gamer of my age! 

 

Masterbuilder, you're not the first to notice how the white stripe brings it all together, I'd like to claim it as genius but it was the first thing I tried to be honest. Just one of those accidents. Let's hope I can solve the problems of rankl colouration as easily!

 

I'm having fun doing the bases. It would be easier if I cut the slotta tabs off the models, as the few I have that already them missing do allow for more variation in the posing. Although the bases are by no means the focus of the models, I've found they make a huge difference to how a project looks - this army follows on from my vampire WHFB force which has its own distinctive basing scheme. I can't overstate how important basing is to the look of a unit!

[Shadespyre]

New models! Oh, actually: old models newly painted!

 

It is past time I tried some less ordinary space marines, so here are my first officers and specialists.

 

First up, a sergeant. This is actually the old Lieutenant model, but I always like this one so he's been demoted to fit the modern army list.

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers2_zps2111f5e2.jpg

 

For a long time he had a plain red helmet, but a MkVI just looks incomplete without a stripe, and on balance I prefer this.

 

 

Next is a tech marine. I don't know how relevant these are nowadays, but I love these models, with the big claw shoulder pad and the steampunk accessories...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers4_zpsfad9c777.jpg

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers5_zps00069944.jpg

 

I went with a straight Chapter colour scheme, plus the red claw. I like the idea that techmarines are still marines first, techies second.

 

 

My Librarian. I never had these models back in the day, I always used other "ordinary" metal marines for my psykers. This is probably my favourite of the Librarian models of the day, the big sword is truly bad ass!

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers6_zps89b49933.jpghttp://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers7_zps432092ec.jpg

 

I was tempted to try the modern "force sword" paint job, but the design of the sword doesn't really suit it, so it's got a much simpler ice blue paint job. I like how the Ultramarine blue clashes with but sort of complements the Chapter colours, for me it's this almost cartoon-like disregard for colour clashes which marks a Rogue Trader paint scheme from today's slick fashions.

 

 

And now a Chaplain...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers8_zps549738c0.jpghttp://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers10_zpsd6847ebc.jpg

 

This is the first time I've tried the blue plasma glow, and the first time I've tried OSL. This is basic but I hope effective. I saw the blue glow done on some tanks recently, I think it might be easier to do a nice colour transition on a bigger weapon. Any advice on this would be very much appreciated!

 

 

And last but not least an Apothecary. I love these guys, and it saddens me they can only appear in Command Squads, and so this may be the only one I paint. And so for this guy, I pulled out the Rogue Trader classic checks.

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers11_zps6a80712d.jpghttp://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Officers13_zps10b96837.jpg

 

He's got 4 colours on his uniform and a random splash of blue - he's a colour theory mess and I love him for it. I feel like I've got a proper RT army going on now I've painted him! I'm even less certain of the blue glow on this guy, what do you think?

 

 

 

A few general notes....

 

Still no backpacks or transfers, these "technical issues" might be the next thing to deal with, they are starting to stack up.

 

I decided to paint all of the eyes in the same orange, even though I think some of them would look better in other colours (green with the red helmet, for example). I hope this ties the force together, along with the turquoise and yellow on every model of course.

 

Next up? I'm not sure. I would LOVE to try some vehicles, but the backpacks and insignia should probably get some time and money for a while...

 

 

[deathspectersgt7]

Good looking update.

[Shadespyre]

Thanks - though I can see this morning that the checkerboard on the back of the sword is pretty ropey, so I'll spend some time tidying that up!

[Blissful Brushes]

These are coming along nicely, from before my time so I've not got any myself, though they'd probably be wasted on me.

 

The scheme is really good, goes really well. The one thing I would say for your metals - the guns etc. is instead of painting them a boltgun metal (or whatever shade you've got) and then painting black bits, just give it a heavy black wash - Nuln Oil now? - and give it a very light dry brush of a lighter shade of metal.

[LtSwifty]

Love the techmarine, your painting style is really vibrant and lovely. The colour choices are great. I think the bases let the overall product down a bit, maybe some grass outcroppings, and/or some of the army painter flower tufts?

[Shadespyre]

Thanks for the input everyone :)

 

The weapons are a bit "clean" I think, so yes, I will look at adding a wash stage or two.

 

As for the bases, the idea is to keep them as industrial as possible, so I'm shying away from plants for now. Do you think they need additional colour? I want to extend the use of the green goo, and also will probably add some brightly coloured "rubbish" (broken chemical drums, warning signs, general litter) to some bases, but that will have to wait until I get the accompanying scenery / board underway so I can harmonise everything.

[Shadespyre]

I thought it would be a good idea to stop and have a sort out of the miniatures I've gathered over the last few months. Umm, it's not looking like a small project any more!! Somehow I have accumulated over 100 Marines, and a bunch of vehicles.

 

Here is what I think I could put together from what I've now got:

 

EDIT - from now on, anything in bold italics is completed!

 

HQ:

Captain

Terminator Captain

Librarian

Chaplain

 

Troops:

3 Tactical Squads

1 Tactical Squads

 

Elites:

1 Sternguard Squad (using Terminator Honours marines)

3 Dreadnoughts

1 Terminator Squad

 

Fast Attack:

1 Assault Squad

1 Bike Squad

1 Attack BIke Squad

 

Heavy Support:

1 Devastator Squad

2 Predators

1 Whirlwind

1 Land Raider

 

Transport:

3 Rhinos

 

 

That is a lot more than I was ever planning for!

 

I'm still not sure what models to use for a Command Squad, there is a temptation to use Chaplain or Medic models as there is a great selection of these that will otherwise not get used in my force.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Shadespyre

[Shadespyre]

Having a sort out of my miniatures has allowed me to reorganise my squads a bit, so this month I have been painting a mixture of models. This bunch allows me to complete two tactical squads and a Devastator squad...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01283_zps310a3f92.jpg

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01282_zps7ae9ddab.jpg

 

I'm glad now that I haven't done any markings yet, as it means I can swap models between squad types at this point, which I can see myself doing a lot before the end of things!

 

I was very glad to finally get hold of the models I wanted for sergeants

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01285_zps9dd35579.jpg

 

The one with the sensor will be the Devastator sergeant of course.

 

I've also found time to do an objective marker, and my first attack bike

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01286_zpse78a2721.jpg

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01290_zps56c1c0c7.jpg

 

As you can see, I still have to sort out backpacks, and there is a small matter of crew for my bike too!

[Dragonkin Arenis]

Can't believe I missed this thread. It makes me smile to see how far GW's modelling department has come since these ancient models, but this Rogue Trader lot have so much more character than some of the more recent models.

 

Looking forward to more! :D

[deathspectersgt7]

Man they look Good.The bike looks great.

[Shadespyre]

Thanks guys. I'm really enjoying doing these, it's a total contrast from my fantasy projects. Anyone got any suggestions for what I should tackle next?

[Dragonkin Arenis]

My knowledge of RT-era models is pretty non-existent, with the models being way, way before my time. Still, a Rogue Trader/Space Crusade Dreadnought might be a good addition to the force.

[Aqui]

That attack bike takes me back! It was the first metal 40k mini I ever had (now long gone )

 

As for your next project, no Rogue Trader Era Space Marine army is not complete without a Chuck (Contemptor), Fury (Furibundus) or Eddie (Doredeo) Dreadnought

[Darth Mustard]

Ooooh man

Now I really feel like a living ancestor :)

Good old vintage space marines !

It would be nice to see them complete with their original backpacks.

One of my favorites was the techmarine with a keyboard on is arm

[Shadespyre]

In no particular order: I have that Techmarine; there will be original backpacks but you will have to be patient as they are hard to muster in numbers; I have those dreadnoughts!

 

My slight issue with the Dreads is the old weapons don't really match the new army lists - I'm thinking magnetised arms so I can swap them around, and choose the "classic" designs or newer / converted weapons for WYSIWYG gaming. But I like working with the big bases, so it may well be Dreadnoughts next!

[JeffTibbetts]

Keep on cranking these out, man. These take me back in all the right ways. Even the colors are spot on for the era. 

[Shadespyre]

Making some good progress on Dreadnoughts, but I wanted to stop and gather some opinions. So, white line or no white line?

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/Dreads_zps2d569da0.jpg

 

 

It also occurs to me that there is less logic for the white line down the bottom half of the model (it is only on the SM helmets after all) so half and half would be an option too.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Shadespyre

[Aqui]

White line, but just for the head

 

Boy, it's good to see a Fury Dread again!

[deathspectersgt7]

White line head only +1