Stabbin' and such: Triumphant at Last! 2/9/17

[AndrewChristlieb]

Flames on candles are fine for guys who are just standing around, but our Zeal at least should push us around fast enough to put out those flames so I left mine "out". ;)

[Firepower]

Flames on candles are fine for guys who are just standing around, but our Zeal at least should push us around fast enough to put out those flames so I left mine "out".

 

I originally painted them black on top, but after painting the lantern, I decided it would help to tie the whole theme together if I painted them orange instead. :)

[Marshal Mattias]

I'm willing to suspend my disbelief over burning candies ;)

 

"In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war and windproof candles."

[Brother dean]

I'm willing to suspend my disbelief over burning candies

 

"In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war and windproof candles."

I tend to agree and I have a few candles myself...

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/fred40k2002/Dark%20Angels/DSCN9540.jpg

[Acebaur]

@FP: The tabards do look pretty cloth like, so you hit what you were aiming for there. Though I will say that it looks more like a rough cloth material.  As for the rest of it, it looks pretty good.  I think it could do with a bit more blending so that the transition from shadows to lights isn't so stark.  It's a bit hard to tell though as the resolution on the images is a bit low. 

 

 

The candles from what I can see look awesome. I really dig it, I may have to steal that from you ;)

 

The Lanterns need some help. Some lighter colors at the bottom will help achieve more of a glow.  I did pretty much the same as you with mine as I got tired of painting and took the easy way out :p

 

These were painted with the VGC Bone White? Looks much better than the scouts pads.  Though I still prefer the traditional true white, but that's a preference thing. 

[Firepower]

16 pages and 5 years in, and now the off white becomes an issue.

 

Funnily, if I spend too much time painting, then go online to look at someone else's army, there's a moment of confusion when I see Templars that aren't off white.

 

The transition from light to dark in the tabards is a bit extreme in some spots, but it's much more stylized than realistic. Still, it works much better with some tabards than others.  Ones with really sharp, angular shapes work much better than the smoother, swooping ones.  

 

I actually try to use the same technique with the red, which always has really mixed results.  In fact, I highlighted the upper side of Grimaldus' crozius with that technique, which was one of the times it worked great.  On the back of these guys' tabards, not so much.  But of course, they're hardly visible, so no big loss there.

 

Come to think of it, with my obsession over consistency, I'm actually kinda surprised I allowed myself to depart from my previous methods of blending.  

Edited April 7, 2015 by Firepower

[Ciler]

Come to think of it, with my obsession over consistency, I'm actually kinda surprised I allowed myself to depart from my previous methods of blending.  

Fellow OCD sufferer, I say to thee, you'll know you've made it when after having tried a number of options for painting tabards you realise you have made all your bretheren in white, and your initiates in brown cloth and decide "ah well, they get the white one when they rank up !"

[Brother dean]

To further mess with OCD.  The Laundorium may have changed brand of soap they use on tabards or the chemical properties of the soil of "Umbrox" just wont come out of fabrics...

 

I got bored painting all robes the same and have a vets squad in several different shades of cloth just like war movies have the raw replacement in perfect greens and the veterans all in tans and faded greens...

Dont sweat it.  Plans only last until contact with the enemy is made.

[Ciler]

Plans only last until contact with the enemy is made.

I fail to see how "kill them all" changes once enemy contact is made ?

 

To go back on topic though, FirePaddle, you haven't actually explained how you paint that texture, I believe.

[Firepower]

 

Plans only last until contact with the enemy is made.

I fail to see how "kill them all" changes once enemy contact is made ?

 

To go back on topic though, FirePaddle, you haven't actually explained how you paint that texture, I believe.

 

 

Gahhh, wish I thought of that when they had the 'Change your name' option at the new year.  FirePaddle...damn.

 

Anyway, I did indeed.  The horizontal slashes are what creates the texture. Very thin, as close together as possible without overlapping.

[Firepower]

Inspiring the fealty of thousands of knights is no easy feat, but the High Marshal never seemed to think so. The mantle of leadership rested as naturally on his shoulders as any piece of his armor. By unshakable faith in the Emperor, he found a purity of faith in himself. Even as Reclusiarch, such certainty never failed to impress me.

"Zeal makes all things possible, duty makes all things simple." He was an exemplar of those hallowed words, wisdom from the very first of the High Marshals. There was never hesitation or worry in the man, never room for doubt or dread, and yet it didn't come with the oafish bluntness of a braggart or the stubborn self assurance of a fool. For all his skill with a blade and insightful strategy, it was the effortless radiance of authority that made Ludoldus a hero to follow.

I stood among his coterie of advisers with Thamos at my shoulder, ever the shrewd observer. Besides the presence of my lord's Honor Guard, an uncommon soul joined in our planning. A mortal with hawkish features, slight and narrow bodied under a heavy coat, but it was easy enough to see a warrior's guile in his eyes even under the shadow of his wide brimmed hat. I have never been one to savor the company of the Inquisition, but if the High Marshal allowed his attendance, I was not one to question it.

But still, it was the failure of his little cult of God worshiping fools that brought us to this new Crusade in the first place. Missionaries of the Imperium could not manage to bring a piss bucket of a system on the outer rim into the fold, and now my brothers would bleed for their blunder. The galaxy is the Emperor's, and resistance to that truth is intolerable, but I am grateful still that my helm of office hid my distaste for this whole farce. If I knew then just what this Crusade would cost us, I would have pulped Inquisitor Kine into a red paste then and there.

Regardless, it was easy enough to see why we were petitioned for aid. The tactical read outs and assessments of the system's main Hive City painted a bleak picture of tedious siege craft, once we broke the pitiful resistance on the lesser planets.

"There will be no siege," the High Marshal declared, stating it not as an order, but a declaration of fact. The gathered Marshals and Castellans focused on him, while I focused on them. I knew what was to come, and my duty charged me with hunting out uncertainty in the eyes of my brothers. A pointless effort in this case: no one could ever doubt a word Ludoldus spoke.

"We are sons of Dorn and Sigismund. It is not the place of severed supply lines and water shortages to win a Crusade. We do not starve out heresy from the safety of bunkers and trenches." A subtle gesture magnified the image of the Hive City, and the Sword of High Marshals rose to cut a slow swathe through the flickering holo display. "We will tear down this city."

Ludoldus looked to every soul present, glaring out from the ancient red eyes of the Crown of Crosses, evaluating and inspiring every warrior under his command.

"Brothers. The Jerulas Crusade begins."

The strategium echoed with the gunshot reverb of our armored hands crashing into our chests in dozens of aquila salutes.

"Imperator Vult!"

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Not entirely happy with the magnetization here, but it's as good as it was ever gonna get. The glisten of 'repairs' around the cloak's cross weren't entirely drowned by the varnish, either. Anyway, pics!

A special thanks to Krikey for kindly bringing my Crown of Crosses design to life for this project! I just wish a did a better job painting it. :lol:

[Ciler]

Yep, that's awesome.

[Metic]

So when does the book come out? The Jerulas Crusade: By FirePower. awww yisss.

[Honda]

I really like how he turned out. I'm not totally sold on the execution of the crown, not that I don't love the idea, I just need to look at it some more.

 

I do want to say that you did an amazing job on the sword. I love the shade of purple and your highlighting is very impressive.

 

Well done!

[Firepower]

Thanks much for the replies folks.

 

I regretfully mucked up the crown a touch.  The silver paint was a tad too thick, and sorta ate up a lot of the detail on the front.  Unfortunately, two of the studs also fell out at one point or another, leaving little holes at the top and bottom of the crown's front.  Looks great in profile though :D

 

Thanks for the note on the sword, too.  The blade's mostly airbrush, but the center groove and the white line around it are both brushed on.  Tedious work, that, seeing as there wasn't any room for error post-airbrush.  I had the same issue with the cape, but over a much greater surface, so I didn't quite dodge any mistakes on that bit :(

 

Frankly I'm not satisfied with the lantern either, but it's way too much of a pain in the ass to readdress. :P

[Acebaur]

Finally got that sword attached eh? ;) He looks great. The only nitpicks I have are that I think the cloak is a little too dark. It could be the picture, but I'd prefer a little brighter red. Not too much, of course, but something a little more crimson than burgandy. Otherwise he looks great. To your own criticism of the lantern. I think it looks good, just the colors are reversed. Like the orange should be at the bottom(where presumably the candle is that is illuminating it) and the darker red should be a the top. But it's only a minor quip, I think it looks fine as is and I probably wouldn't have given it a second glance if you hadn't of complained about it ;)

 

Also the story was badass. When will you be writing your novel? :D

[Firepower]

The brighter reds of the cloak got a wee bit washed out in the second spray on coat of red wash, but they're still there.  My photography skills are...well, I haven't got any really.  So the red is a bit off in the pic, but not by much.  As for the lantern... :cuss .  Yeah, the glow is upside down.  Can't believe I didn't notice that.  Then again, I was pretty burned out by the time I got to the lantern.  Still, :cuss

 

If I could write well in more than fits and starts, the Jerulas Crusade would already be up in the fluff subforum.  Might be worth a go, all the same :)

[Flint13]

That is an awesome crown and a badass mini.

 

I think that's the best purple power weapon I've ever seen you do too.

[Acebaur]

If I could write well in more than fits and starts, the Jerulas Crusade would already be up in the fluff subforum.  Might be worth a go, all the same 

 

 

DO IT! :D

[Krikey]

Nice freehand on that cloak, and the sword looks amazing! I wish I'd considered doing a white faceplate on my own helmet - that looks really smashing. Now all you need is a bit of tartan.

 

~K

[Marshal Mattias]

Your story is great, and the model truly does him justice. An exceptional marshal to lead your crusade and no mistake. Perhaps I'm blind but I can't see the cloak/helm issues, although I agree that now you pointed it out, there's something a touch off about the lantern (and I think Ace nailed it). I like the 'crown' helm a lot, it's different, but I think you pulled it off so credit to the pair of you for that. I must say, it's odd to get to critique the Firepower when usually it is the other way round! This just means you must increase your output brother ;)

[Brother Montressor]

It's been a long time since I've been to BnC, but coming back and seeing firepower painting again is awesome.

 

Despite the models, you've done an excellent job on the neophytes FP.

 

You should consider writing up a novella for your crusade, too!

 

Keep up the fight!

[Firepower]

Well, I got in my first game in year(s?) today.  I came ready for a tide of 1500.  I ended up settling for a mini-tide of 1250.  Ludoldus and a Crusader Squad of 8 Initiates and 4 Neos in a LRC, 2 squads of 6 and 5, and 2 Vindicators. 

 

Against mech IG.

 

On a map entirely covered by ruins and craters.

 

Guess how it went? :P

 

High points- the very last model I had on the board was an Initiate, whom stayed locked in combat from Turn 3 to Turn 5.  Also, hitting Coteaz in the face with a Vindi shot was very gratifying.  Challenging a guard sergeant with Ludoldus was every bit as gratifyingly one sided as it should be, too.

 

Low points- Ludoldus and his squad was full strength, and within charge distance of 2 transports full of guardsmen, with just the itty-bittiest amount of crater terrain between them.  I turned on the KILL! button, and...failed the charge range.  The following turn saw the squad reduced from 13 models to about 5.

 

Also, I was misinformed about Vindicators.  I thought ordnance hit targets from the center outward, ignoring cover.  Evidently, that's only barrage weapons.  6 shots from Vindis against a single squad hiding in a building resulted in 2 dead Guardsmen, because of incessant 3++ cover saves.

 

So I was tabled, with a final KP score of 4 to 7.  The lessons learned: terrain screws tide, Vindis are still crap on account of cover saves, but Guardsmen are delightfully, properly squishy once you manage to get into arms' reach.

 

Anyway, thanks for the outpouring of support and critique.  2 Dreadnoughts, 2 Storm Talons, 3 Drop Pods...so much I still have to paint.  Just cutting and cleaning the plastic is likely to drive me mad :(

[Honda]

The lessons learned: terrain screws tide, Vindis are still crap on account of cover saves

 

 

Vindi's are still awesome, but you have to pick your targets more carefully. Where Vindi's shine is when you give them the Siege Shield and then drive them willy nilly over all that terrain, much to your opponent's chagrin.

 

For bodies hiding in cover, you should consider the lowly Whirlwind or a TFC with the non-cover save ammo. It roasts them right where they lay. ;)

[Metic]

Also, I was misinformed about Vindicators.  I thought ordnance hit targets from the center outward, ignoring cover.  Evidently, that's only barrage weapons.  6 shots from Vindis against a single squad hiding in a building resulted in 2 dead Guardsmen, because of incessant 3++ cover saves.

 

 

That's why I can't leave home without 1 dreadnought with flamer weapons in a pod. because 3+ cover saves are every where in every army all the time. And usually they are on a model with a 4+ or worse, so the Ironclad really shines at ruining their life.