Modeling CSMs

[Ming]

I'm caretaking and painting up a friend's Chaos marine army while he is off in Army Boot Camp. Hope to have it done when he gets back on leave in December, so he can get a game in around the holidays. I figure its a patriotic gift for this guy.

 

The question I have is a gear fluff question - apparently the CSM boxes all come with lots of extra bits like pistols, swords, etc., as CSMs are supposed to have grenades, pistols, swords, and bolters on every CSM.

 

I never seem, however, to see these bits used? Does anyone have a good picture of a gerneric plain CSM showing a good use of modeling these parts onto a CSM? If a CSM is using the pistol and sword, what does he do with the bolter? Drop it?

 

Overall, the guy I'm doing this for glued the basic CSMs together, all with bolters, +/- a meltagun here and there. I want to rectifit bits onto them, so they look more geared up than the blue marines I usually model.

 

Any help is welcome.

 

He basically had collected/traded before he left:

 

Abbadon

Chaos Lord in terminator Armor

Chaos sorceror (tzeentch)

3 spawn

Squad Chosen

Squad Berzerkers

Squad Nurgle

Squad Terminators

4 Squads CSMs

Rhino

 

Some stuff will need to be unpainted and started over, most is in black primer, good for me because he wants mostly black legion.

 

I may have some old CSMs around to maybe build a small havoc squad.

 

I already added in plasma pistols, etc., power weapons, a fist, and am building a squad icon bearer since he had parts for one.

 

What is typically used for a personal icon?

 

Any help is appreciated. I'll soon be posting progress on my blog. Hoping to have everything primed and the rhino done by Sunday.

[aeroplane]

Modeling all the little bitz is totally up to you - there is no requirement for the standard wargear to be modeled. Meaning, if the marine is holding a pistol and a CCW, the bolter is still there even though there is no bolter bit on the model. And then the opposite, if he has just a bolter, the pistol and CCW are still considered to be there. So don't worry about it.

 

Special weapons, upgrade weapons, icons, etc... must be modeled. For example, if the marine has a plasma gun, use the plasma gun, and don't worry about the pistol and sword bits, they are assumed to be there.

 

Examples -

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/aeroplane_album/_6090811.jpg

Left to right these guys are; Normal, normal, Champ with powersword OR another normal guy (tell your opponent), Plasma, Plasma.

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/aeroplane_album/DAFbanner.jpg

Icon/banner, Powerfist, Normal, Flamer, normal

 

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/aeroplane_album/ECts1specials.jpg

Normal w/Icon, Champ w/fist, normal, plasma, plasma

 

 

 

Hope this helps

[Magnus Thane]

Mine always have a pouch attached to their hip. Positioned front, side or back depending on their pose.

Some have a bolter, others chainsword+bolt pistol. And of course some have a special weapon.

Out of the bits i occassionally give one a chain or something on their backpack.

Never used the knifes thoughs.

[Ming]

Aero - thanks! As for your dark legion painting - Go black, drybrush boltgunmetal to raise details, then drybrush the pads scab/bood red , then bronze/gold trim, drybrush hair? That will help a bunch.