Team Fisto - True Scale Heresy Imperial Fists with LEDs

[Bob Hunk]

Team Fisto 2014

 

They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them, and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines so that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines and they shall know no fear.

 

The Emperor of Mankind

 
http://i.imgur.com/3uZhx6y.jpg
 

 
Greetings fellow Sons of Dorn (and other noble Astartes).  One or two of you may have seen the PCRC's Team Fisto log over on Warseer. After a couple of years working on other projects, I've blown the dust of this log as I begin the revamp of my Imperial Fists. I thought I'd share my progress updates with my brothers here too.
 
When Team Fisto was last in full swing, I ended up making a semi-true scale army, while the others made actual true scale Marines. Although I was very pleased with the results, in some ways I’ve always regretted not going the distance. This is something I intend to make up for now.
 
http://i.imgur.com/D7eYfxd.jpg
 
My current project plan is to create a full 1500 point true scale army, all with LED illuminated eye lenses. I’ve drawn up two lists, one for 40K and one for 30K, both of which use the same 56 Marine models. In both cases the lists will consist of a demi-company, i.e. three tactical squads, one assault squad, one devastator squad, a command squad and captain, all Rhino mounted. My chosen company is the 5th, just because I prefer the black detailing.
 
http://i.imgur.com/BwplRwu.jpg
 
http://i.imgur.com/30nyv8z.jpg
 
These five Marines are the first half of the first tactical squad. I’ve chosen to do this army in MkVI plate for a number of reasons...
 
http://i.imgur.com/ibIs6cv.jpg
 
Firstly, it’s my favourite armour mark.
 
http://i.imgur.com/vUWqNIX.jpg
 
Secondly, as the Imperial Fists acquired their MkVI armour from Mars at the outbreak of the Heresy, this army will be thematically appropriate for almost any time period, from the Horus Heresy to present (hence "through the ages" in the title). With my take on MkVI armour I've tried to balance 'clean and modern' and 'archaic' in one model.
 
http://i.imgur.com/PihD9Ae.jpg
 
This is important to me as now that I’m married and have a young daughter I just don’t have the available army building time that I used to, so for my “final” project I wanted to build an army that 1) I could be proud* of, and 2) could conceivably fit into any PCRC (or external) historical or modern campaign setting.
 
* Not that I’m not proud of my other armies, but I don’t feel they represent the best work of which I’m capable.
 
http://i.imgur.com/LEWCjKg.jpg
 
Although I have the first 1500 points planned out, I then hope to reach 2000 points and maybe even 3000. I have some vague ideas regarding what I want to include when the force reaches that size, but I won’t make up my mind for sure until I get there.
 
http://i.imgur.com/kTaBljV.jpg

I’ve always enjoyed putting LEDs in models, and it has sort of become “my thing” now, so I often can’t bring myself to pass-by an opportunity to do it on new models.
 
http://i.imgur.com/RCewY2j.jpg
 
LED Off
 
http://i.imgur.com/JgjzXfw.jpg
 
LED On
 
Previously I’ve either drilled holes where the eye lenses should be or I’ve had the LEDs mounted on the surface. The former can look a bit “ugly” when the LEDs are off and the latter can be unintentionally quite bright! For these new Marines I’ve instead drilled into the helmet to just below the surface, allowing the LEDs to shine through without being too bright. Additionally, if I field them alongside the armies of other Team Fisto members that aren’t LED equipped then I can turn them off without it looking weird. I’ll add a tutorial on how to do this to this log at some point.
 
Stay tuned over the coming days, weeks and months for more Fisto(!) action.

[deathspectersgt7]

Very COOL !!!!

[helterskelter]

Any chance to be a delightful pest and ask for a tutorial of what you do for the adding the LED's. With pics? I have a feeling it might look good in red and I'm in no way worried about hacking beautiful resin minis.

some most excellent conversions

[Bob Hunk]

Bob Hunk's Imperial Fist Painting Guide
 
This is mainly as a reference/reminder for myself, but if anyone else is interested then here’s the paint scheme I'm using. All these paints are from the current Citadel range, unless otherwise noted.
 
Armour
 
Start of with a Skull White undercoat, then:
 
http://i.imgur.com/DCGtPAm.jpg
 
Averland Sunset base
 
http://i.imgur.com/gLfzQZU.jpg
 
Casandora Yellow shade
 
http://i.imgur.com/1X2ROmV.jpg
 
Yriel Yellow layer, leaving previous colours visible in the recesses. I found that two thinner coats of this colour gave the best finish.
 
http://i.imgur.com/uLgHM71.jpg
 
Flash Gitz Yellow (layer) edge highlight.
 
http://i.imgur.com/0jBB0ZK.jpg
 
Dorn Yellow edge highlight.
 
If you're going to apply any battle damage or insignia directly onto the yellow then do it now before proceeding.
 
http://i.imgur.com/jlGGJR3.jpg
 
Lamenters Yellow glaze
 
Boltgun and metallics: Abaddon Black base, Ironbreaker layer, Nuln Oil shade, Runefang Steel (layer) highlight
 
Bases: Abaddon Black base, Mechanicus Standard Grey (base) dry brush, Dawnstone (layer) dry brush, White Scar (layer) dry brush, Middenland Tufts for grass effect.
 
http://i.imgur.com/uNe2zHG.jpg
 
---
 

Very COOL !!!!

 
Cheers.
 

Any chance to be a delightful pest and ask for a tutorial of what you do for the adding the LED's. With pics? I have a feeling it might look good in red and I'm in no way worried about hacking beautiful resin minis.
some most excellent conversions

 
Absolutely. I plan to take step-by-step photos as I make the next batch of five. If you have a dig around in the original Team Fisto log (linked to in first post and my sig) then you'll find some Deathwatch Marines with red LED eyes. Although I made them by drilling out the eye holes, rather than the "just under the surface" method demonstrated in this thread, so they don't look as good imo.

[Bob Hunk]

In case anyone is wondering, or wants to build something similar, here’s a guide to the components involved in making these Marines.
 
http://i.imgur.com/BiW6S3p.jpg 
 
1. Head - MkVI head taken from the Ravenwing Black Knight sprue. Skull badge removed from forehead. Aerial removed from left side and left side resculpted in GS to match right.
 
2. Torso - Custom GS sculpt over standard Space Marine torso. Only the neck socket and plug for backpack remain on show unmodified.
 
3. Shoulder pads - The left shoulder pad is a plastic ‘blank’ Terminator shoulder pad with the recesses around the edges filled in and studs added. The right shoulder pad is the FW Imperial/Crimson Fist Terminator shoulder pad with a lot of the detail (like purity seals) removed and the recesses around the edge filled in.
 
4. Arms - The arms and hand are a mix of from the Tactical, Assault and GK Terminator sprues. They have had reinforced ‘cuffs’ added with GS (thanks to Apologist for the original design ).
 
5. Bolter - Forge World Umbra pattern bolter.
 
6. Backpack - Forge World Legion MkVI power armour backpack.
 
7. Legs - Forge World Legion Tartaros Terminator legs. The ‘sunken’ panels on the thighs have been filled in to increase the diameter of the thighs and give a smooth appearance.
 
8. Base - Plastic 30mm rolled shoulder base with milliput, sand and slate top.

[Bob Hunk]

Tyranid Terror

 

Two carried long devices resembling great golden drumsticks of tissue and cartilage torn loose from the shoulders of some flightless alien bird. Spurred contoured bone, with a menacing hole in the end, protruded.

The third waved two shimmering swords of yellow horn, one in each upper hand. A spike jutted from the pommels, the sting-tail of some mutated armoured worm which formed the hand-guard, stubby parodies of mouth-fingers clinging tight to the base of the blade.

Blazing gobbets erupted from the holes in the fronts of the drumstick-guns, streaking like conflagrating phosphorus, screaming through the air. One gobbet ploughed into a corpse hanging from the wall, bursting, spattering sizzling acids. The second struck Vonreuter on his thigh-armour, and began corroding, eating through plasteel, as the Lieutenant swiped at the clinging volatile smear. A hideous crackling noise issued from the swollen butts of those guns as the wielders, hands plunged deep within, cranked some trigger.

Already Yeri was returning fire.

Biff too.

And Juron, and the others.

Those eerie drumstick-guns did not fire again immediately. They crunched, within, and shuddered—in which short span of time bolts tore into the snarling nightmare-knights… so that when the guns did emit new flaming projectiles, the guns were already tumbling from the dying creatures’ grasp.

 

No bolts reached the sword-wielder, though.

Those razor-sharp horns swished through the air, aglow, in frenzied circuits, as the warrior advanced. Bolts were simply batted aside by the scintillating aura of force conjured in mid-air. Juron and a limping Vonreuter both converged, waving their power swords. Each attacked one horn-blade.

As the humming monomolecular edges of their swords met those force-field-spinning razorhorns in shuddering collision, rainbow energy cascaded. One horn split, its worm-handle shrieking. The other locked with Vonreuter’s blade, bearing down upon him from his alien assailant’s greater height. The creature lashed out with a hoof. This impacted on the acid-weakened zone of his thigh, buckling the fast-corroding armour. From between the towering alien’s legs its spiked tail jerked upward into the crumpled cuisse, piercing through into the Lieutenant’s muscle and carapace.

But its blades no longer wove that cordon of energy.

Lex had circled at speed. Firing upward, Lex shattered that great-brained head. The creature collapsed over Vonreuter, bearing him staggering backward to the ground,

impaling his thigh even further. Juron and Lex wrestled the monster off the Lieutenant, wrenching out the dripping tail-spike. Vonreuter moaned, then smiled as the pain caught up with him… before his suit’s opiates quenched the distracting pangs.

Juron hauled the officer upright. Vonreuter tottered, then stood firm, though momentarily greyfaced.

 

- An extract from Space Marine by Ian Watson

 

http://i.imgur.com/qk5hUbT.jpg

[Brother Pheidias]

Yesssss.

Great work so far, can't wait to see more!

[Bob Hunk]

Work is progressing on the next five tactical Marines. I'm also designing a couple of bolter muzzle flashes to be cast up in resin and have yellow LEDs inserted into them. WIP photo below. Hopefully I'll achieve a similar effect to my Ork kannon, just on a smaller scale.
 
http://i.imgur.com/Dbexeq9.jpg
 
Note: The bolters are just to give me a sense of scale while sculpting, these won't be included in the casting process.
 
 

Yesssss.

Great work so far, can't wait to see more!

 
Thank you. Hopefully you won't have long to wait.

[Bob Hunk]

Work progresses on the next combat squad (and the LED lighting guide). I've always been a fan of Marine bionics, so I've combined the Tartaros legs with a 3rd party bionic leg for the squad sergeant. I'll be resculpting the bionic foot to have more of an 'Imperial mech foot' look about it on it's attached to the base, rather than the 'robot in sandals' look.
 
http://i.imgur.com/igbJxes.jpg
 
Frustratingly I've got this 'bobbley' effect again with the GW Skull White. I got this on the last batch of Marines as well, and thankfully you couldn't see it once they were painted. I'm not sure what's causing it though. I've shaken the can well, sprayed at the right distance and at the right temperature, yet still I'm getting this. Anyone got any ideas? A bad batch perhaps?

[Grizzly_bear]

Wow fantastic work. And well done for the LED look. Very well done indeed

[Aoitora]

So very very cool! I'd love to see a true scale army in action!

[ImperialTemplari]

very interesting, and nice effect, look forward to more, will be following. 

[Bob Hunk]

Just a small update as we've had a relative staying with us for a few days, so I haven't had much chance to slip away to the games room and work on Team Fisto.

 

However I have been musing a bit more about LED special effects. I'm trying to keep things a bit more subtle than some of my previous LED-lit projects; I'm building an army after all, not a mobile disco.

 

Having said that, I'm trying to pick a colour for plasma guns, and would welcome feedback. If I remember my fluff, Imperial plasma guns use helium, and helium plasma is pink, at least at (comparatively) lower temperatures and pressures that I'd imagine a portable plasma gun could generate. So pink was my initial thought.

 

http://i.imgur.com/vaCDdTn.jpg

 

Here's an example of helium plasma for comparison. I use helium plasma at work sometimes, although this is a photo from Google rather than one of our systems.

 

http://i.imgur.com/BsDzJ81.jpg

 

Alternatively I could ignore that bit of 'real world' logic and go with what looks cool, like green...

 

http://i.imgur.com/ExwCjTd.jpg

 

...or white...

 

http://i.imgur.com/NpdohW5.jpg

 

...does anyone have any thoughts? I think I'm still leaning towards pink.

 

I'm also trying to decide which plasma guns to actually use. The old RT era ones, the modern ones, or springing for the Legion plasma gun?

 

http://i.imgur.com/nF2CRhu.jpg

 

Moving on the the bolter muzzle flash effect, my order of miniature yellow LEDs has arrived. I'll be using muzzle flashes sparingly, perhaps 1-3 per Tactical squad.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Bqq9NFa.jpg

 

I've also done a bit more work on sculpting the muzzle flashes, although these are still WIP. The larger one at the top of the image is for heavy bolters.

 

http://i.imgur.com/icPHDEM.jpg

 

 

Wow fantastic work. And well done for the LED look. Very well done indeed

 

So very very cool! I'd love to see a true scale army in action!

 

very interesting, and nice effect, look forward to more, will be following.

 

Cheers guys.

[Brother Pheidias]

I think blue, white or purple/pink would work best for the Plasma. As an aside, will you make the coils glow as well?

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Wow.

 

This is epic.

 

I love this, it's crazy and wacky and awesome and it's called Team Fisto. What's not to like? ;)

[Bob Hunk]

Bob Hunk's LED-lit Marines Tutorial
 

++ EDIT August 2018 - You can now find my revised and updated LED miniature tutorials at chrisbuxeypaints.com ++

 

As promised, here's my tutorial for putting LEDs inside Marine helmets. The photos show this technique applied to a 'true scale' Marine, but it can equally be applied to normal scale Astartes.
 
I strongly recommend reading through the entire tutorial before starting work, just to make sure you have the necessary skills and tools required.
 
I have a separate tutorial about selecting LEDs and designing circuits for models and basic soldering on the PCRC website. This tutorial assumes you've either read these, or are familiar with basic circuit design and soldering techniques.
 
1. Start by selecting the type of battery you want to use. I prefer the CR2032 or CR2025 coin cells. These are the lithium memory back-up batteries you find in PC motherboards, among other things. I like these because they last a long time, can power the brighter 3V LEDs and most importantly, because they have a low profile that will fit inside a standard base for a 28mm model.
You'll also need to select a suitable battery holder. Many types are available and a selection are show below. Again, it's important to pick one that will fit inside your base (possibly with a bit of trimming).
 
http://i.imgur.com/I2iQXZT.jpg
 
2. I've chosen the Keystone 1060 coin cell holder and the 30mm rolled shoulder base from Wyrd Miniatures. This is just personal preference, as long as your battery holder fits inside your base then you should feel free to use any brand.
 
http://i.imgur.com/jDiiE67.jpg
 
3. Cut out the interior of your base using a craft knife or similar. Make sure you leave the rim intact. Admittedly this is easier with this style of base. Also trim the corners of your battery holder so it will fit into the resultant hole in the base.
 
http://i.imgur.com/OIcApM9.jpg
 
4. Insert the battery holder into the base. Make sure the battery is in the holder for this step. Position the battery holder so that the side that you insert the battery is face down (this will allow you to change it without disassembling the model) and so that the bottom of the battery holder is flush with the lower edge of the base. This should mean that when you put the base on a flat surface, it is level.
 
Once you are happy with the position of the battery holder, secure it to the rim of the base with a couple of small dabs of superglue. Be careful not to get glue on the battery!
 
http://i.imgur.com/K7206T2.jpg
 
Note: Some battery holders have a clip that is pushed outwards when the battery is insert. That's why it's important to have the battery in place at this stage, otherwise you may find that when you insert the battery into the completed model, the clip now protrudes below the rim of the base and the whole thing is suddenly wonky.
 
5. Generally I think it's a good idea to include a switch. This allows you to turn the LED off when not in use without having to take the battery out each time. But if you don't mind doing that then I guess you can skip the switch!
 
If you do want to include the switch, then you'll need something very small. PCB slide switches will normally do the trick, but check the dimensions! A switch with a length of 5-10mm is ideal.
 
You can secure the switch to the top of the battery holder with a small dab of superglue on the outer case of the switch. Make sure you don't get any inside the switch though, as you risk either jamming the mechanism or accidentally insulating the contacts! 
 
http://i.imgur.com/Icgxi8v.jpg
 
6. Next add some wires. You can either use insulated or enamelled wires, but do not use bare metal wires as the wires will be touching and you'll get a short circuit. As you can see in the picture below, one of the wires is soldered directly to one of the battery holder terminals, while the other is soldered to the other terminal via the switch and a short length of wire.
 
Polarity is important for LEDs, so make sure you know which wire is positive and which wire is negative. Use different coloured wire to indicate this if you think it will help.
 
You'll want the two wires to be about a third longer than the intended final height of your miniature, just so you've got some slack to work with.
 
http://i.imgur.com/eXLbdmD.jpg
 
7. Drill a hole through the torso of your model, right down the vertical centre. As you can see in the picture below, the drill emerges in the middle of the neck socket. It's a good idea for the width of the hole to be slightly greater than the horizontal distance between the outside of the two legs of your LED. If the width is narrower then there is a risk the legs will be pushed together and short circuit.
 
http://i.imgur.com/P5I8bkM.jpg
 
8. Now drill a hole through one of the legs of your model. This hole should be wide enough that it can accommodate both of your wires side by side. Ideally the drill will enter through the base of one of the feet and emerge in the centre of the waist, that way it will line up with the hole in the torso. However this can be quite tricky, and as you can see in the picture below, I missed on this occasion! Not to worry though, any mistakes like this can be covered with green stuff later.
 
http://i.imgur.com/Aa84gA9.jpg

9. Feed your wires through the legs and the torso.
 
http://i.imgur.com/DEB1NOS.jpg
 
10. You'll now need to drill a hole in the base of your Marine's helmet that is wide enough to accommodate the LED. Don't worry if your drill is so wide it destroys the 'neck' of the helmet, you can always fix that with green stuff later. Remember that you can file down your LED if you need to make it a bit smaller to fit in correctly, just so long as you don't file all the way down to the p-n junction (the metal-looking bit inside).
 
In my ordering LEDs tutorial that I mentioned earlier, I explain that I prefer to work with 1.8mm LEDs. Here's a scale shot next to a helmet for reference; as you can see they're the ideal size.
 
http://i.imgur.com/w6Ebfx9.jpg
 
As I'm working with resin helmets, I've drilled the hole to just behind the eyes. As the resin is quite thin this has allowed the LEDs to shine through the eye sockets without actually having to drill them out. If you're working with plastic or metal helmets, then you're probably going to have to physically drill out the eye sockets with a miniature drill for the LED to become visible.
 
http://i.imgur.com/YWv79Py.jpg
 
11. Now insert the LED into the helmet, using a cocktail stick or pair of thin tweezers to help push it in if necessary (push on the LED itself rather than the legs). LEDs tend to emit most light vertically rather than horizontally, so you'll want to bend the top of the legs so the top of the LED points directly towards the eyes of the helmet. The easiest way to achieve this is to hold the legs with a thin pair of pliers or tweezers directly under the base of the LED and bend the legs around that.
 
Once you are happy with the position of the LED, secure it with a tiny dab of superglue. Make sure the superglue does not get between the top of the LED and the helmet's eyes!
 
http://i.imgur.com/z9XOwGL.jpg
 
12. Trim the legs of the LED and the wires (although you'll still want to leave a bit of slack as shown below) and secure them ready for soldering (I use blu-tack to hold them in place). Double check you have the polarity correct at this point. PRO-TIP: The longer LED leg is always the positive (a.k.a the Anode).
 
Re-read my tutorial on soldering LEDs if you're not feeling confident at this point, paying particular attention to section 3.
 
http://i.imgur.com/7qSS6ng.jpg
 
13. Now solder the LED legs to the wires! Once you have done this, operate the switch to check that everything works. The LED should now illuminate. It's always worth checking at this point because there's nothing worse than having to take an assembled model apart to perform fault finding. In fact it's worth operating the switch to check that everything still works after each of the following stages, just to make sure you haven't caused any accidental damage during final assembly.
 
If you're working with a resin helmet then you'll probably notice at this stage that the whole helmet glows rather than just the eyes. Don't worry though, any areas that are painted will block the light - so obviously paint everything but the eye lenses!
 
http://i.imgur.com/rtvFATQ.jpg
 
14. Now pull and slack of the wires through the bottom of the foot and position the legs, torso and head how you want them arranged on the finished model. When you are happy secure them in place with superglue. Any excess wire should be coiled under the feet at this point.
 
http://i.imgur.com/cExscPj.jpg
 
15. Once the superglue applied in the previous stage has dried, you can now hide the battery holder and any spare slack wire under a layer of milliput (or similar). Be sure to:
 
a) Not get milliput on the battery itself, and
leave the top of the switch exposed so you can still operate it. I tend to position the switches at the back of the base, so it isn't visible in this picture.
 
http://i.imgur.com/ysiZrGh.jpg
 
16. And there we have it, one LED lit Marine! All that remains now is to complete the assembly of the model, fill any gaps around the neck and/or cover any exposed wires at the hips with green stuff and paint it, but you don't need me to tell you how to do that. I do have one final important point to note though, during spray undercoating, make sure you cover the helmet eye lenses and the top of the switch with blu-tack (or similar) so that they don't get spray paint in them!
 
I hope this tutorial is helpful! If you have any questions then please feel free to ask.
 
http://i.imgur.com/btdioTV.jpg

[Bob Hunk]

I think blue, white or purple/pink would work best for the Plasma. As an aside, will you make the coils glow as well?

 

Yes, actually I wasn't really clear above, it's mainly the coils that will be glowing, with a little bit of light visible from the barrel. I'm still thinking pink. :)

 

Wow.

 

This is epic.

 

I love this, it's crazy and wacky and awesome and it's called Team Fisto. What's not to like?

 

Cheers. :) Plenty more crazy Fisto action to come. ;)

[Bob Hunk]

I made some progress on the sergeant last night.

 

http://i.imgur.com/pzB4A8z.jpg

 

I thought this pose looked quite natural when seen in the flesh, but somehow it isn't captured in the pictures. Hopefully you can take my word for it!

 

http://i.imgur.com/p0vbDX5.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/O7XdXAk.jpg

 

I can be a little indecisive at times about which special, heavy and character weapons are the best choice, so his arms are magnetised.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ByKUfOg.jpg

 

And as you can see, the rest of the combat squad are coming along nicely... 

 

http://i.imgur.com/S6gjeWK.jpg

[batu]

 Very impressive man !!!! 

[Bob Hunk]

 Very impressive man !!!!

 

Thanks very much.

 

 

Any chance to be a delightful pest and ask for a tutorial of what you do for the adding the LED's. With pics? I have a feeling it might look good in red and I'm in no way worried about hacking beautiful resin minis.

some most excellent conversions

 

Absolutely. I plan to take step-by-step photos as I make the next batch of five. If you have a dig around in the original Team Fisto log (linked to in first post and my sig) then you'll find some Deathwatch Marines with red LED eyes. Although I made them by drilling out the eye holes, rather than the "just under the surface" method demonstrated in this thread, so they don't look as good imo.

 

 

Going back to helterskelter's question about red LEDs earlier in the thread, although I referred him to my Deathwatch Marines in another thread, I realised last night that I had a more recent (and better) example...

 

Brother-Astartes Astrobel - First Legion

 

http://i.imgur.com/GXy4ju3.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/nc3URgu.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/nKW9kJZ.jpg

 

This holo-capture shows Brother-Astartes Astrobel of the First Legion at the conclusion of the Pluto Pacification. He is equipped with Martian-forged MkII pattern powered plate painted in the distinctive obsidian black of the First Legion. The chequered pattern on his right shoulder guard is personal heraldry and the red stripe on his head indicates squad designation.

 

Like all squad leaders his banner bears the Legion designation on the left and his Grand Company on the right. The pictogram is a campaign honour representing a united Sol system and was proudly displayed by all Astartes and Army veterans who saw combat during this time. His banner also bears the legend 'Nil Desperandum' which was both a rallying call to his brothers and a message of hope in these jubilant times.

 

Brother Astrobel is very much a veteran of close quarters combat, having cut his teeth in boarding actions against orbitals and asteroid bases in the vicinity of Jupiter. His Phobos-pattern bolter includes an assault attachment and his combat knife is secured to his shoulder guard so that it is always in easy reach.

 

I made this guy for a modelling competition over on the First Expedition forums (and to scratch a Dark Angels itch ). So yeah, that's what my LED technique looks like with red LEDs.

[Bob Hunk]

Last night I decided I'd better get on and finish the cinematic effects as I can't do a lot more on this combat squad until they're sorted, because I need to do all the wiring, etc.

 

http://i.imgur.com/qfAyrdr.jpg

 

I did manage to include some flare from the muzzle vents too in the end. I found this heavy bolter in my bits box, and I think it's the one I'm going to use. As much as I love the modern belt-fed heavy bolter, this shoulder mounted one fits the aesthetic of my Marines better I think.

 

http://i.imgur.com/zTImYAJ.jpg

 

I did a quick mock-up of the circuit required to power the helmet and cinematics LEDs simultaneously from a single battery and it worked nicely. Now all I have to do is squeeze that into a Marine.

 

 

 

Great tutorial Bob, thanks for sharing

 

You're welcome, I hope it's useful to someone.

[Bob Hunk]

Things have been a bit quiet on the Fisto front as I've been away on holiday for a week, but I'm back now and work can resume.

 

I've completed the mold for the bolter cinematics, so hopefully I'll get a chance to try the first batch of castings tonight. There are additional vertical resin channels on the underside, in case anyone is thinking the mold could do with a few more.

 

http://i.imgur.com/oEbXDSL.jpg

[Bob Hunk]

BOOM!

 

http://i.imgur.com/gYafMFJ.jpg

 

As you can see, the bolter cinematic works quite nicely. This is a mock-up of what it'll look like when it's finished. I just need to properly attach it to the boltgun and then attach that to a Space Marine!

 

http://i.imgur.com/xdPhU8X.jpg

 

For reference, here's what it looks like without the LED illuminated.

 

http://i.imgur.com/7quLErh.jpg

 

FREEM! Mock-up of the plasma gun. Note the light projected from the barrel on the plastic-card.

 

Right. That's enough mucking around with cinematics. Time to get back to actually building some Tactical Marines to use these things!

[Half Goat]

wow your work is incredible, looking forward to seeing more!  would love to see your take on the other legions too

[Bob Hunk]

wow your work is incredible, looking forward to seeing more!  would love to see your take on the other legions too

 

Thanks very much. :) Well, I do have a few other Legion itches to scratch. ;) I don't really want to do another full army after this one though, but I might add some other Legions to this army as 1HQ-1Troops allies at a (much) later date. :)