Shadow Force Dragomir - A Raven Guard Army

[Rhetoricus]

It has been an absolute joy to read this thread. 1st class work.

[NightHunters]

Strong work as always SCC, loved the rapiers of old and these new ones can look great as well it seems!

 

Regards the Storm Eagle interior, how about a nice light great, shows weathering very nicely and takes oss well to boot.

 

But to be fair you have probably already got a firm idea in mind which will be awesome so go with that! :P

[SCC]

@Rhetoricus: Thanks :tu:

@Nighthaunters: Thanks, still pondering the interior of the Storm Eagle for now...

So before we get to the Rapier update I've got a couple of Marines under construction following the arrival of a set of Mk IV Assault Marines and a pack of Tigrus pattern bolters.

The first Marine will join Dragomir's body guard unit drawn from the 4th Company:

I like this pose, it's got a menacing, almost hulking feel to it...

The second Marine will join my third Tactical squad (and incidentally build it up to a game legal 5 man size):

The detail in this Mk IV Assault set is top notch, here you can see the cool detailing on the back of his leg:

Other parts exhibit the same attention to detail, for example arms that are bent have the Mk.IV cabling cleverly withdrawn into the armour rather than exposed like arms at full stretch. Lovely stuff, may have to pick up another set just for the details...

OK, so on to the Rapier:

Front on:

From the front 3/4 you can see the markings nicely - etched brass RG symbol matched up to Devastator marking on the side and 4th Company marking on the gun-shield.

The markings are reversed on the other side with squad marking on the shield and Company on the side:

Rear 3/4 shot:

From the right side you can see instead of using the 'modern' RG Dev squad marking of yellow shoulder pad rims I've used the Heresy era yellow triangle:

I've done this for two reasons, one, I doubt my ability to get a nice smooth yellow over that thick shoulder pad rim and two, given the Rapier is an ancient machine it seemed fitting that it's crew, already clad in venerable Mk.III armour, should wear the markings of the era the machine was born in as an homage to its history and legacy.

[Dosjetka]

I'm definitely getting some of the Forge World armour sets, they're magnificent. I love the two new Marines that you've built and the Rapier looks good (though I think that the yellow looks a bit too bright).

 

Ludovic

[tagsta]

@Rhetoricus: Thanks ;)

@Nighthaunters: Thanks, still pondering the interior of the Storm Eagle for now...

So before we get to the Rapier update I've got a couple of Marines under construction following the arrival of a set of Mk IV Assault Marines and a pack of Tigrus pattern bolters.

The first Marine will join Dragomir's body guard unit drawn from the 4th Company:

I like this pose, it's got a menacing, almost hulking feel to it...

The second Marine will join my third Tactical squad (and incidentally build it up to a game legal 5 man size):

The detail in this Mk IV Assault set is top notch, here you can see the cool detailing on the back of his leg:

Other parts exhibit the same attention to detail, for example arms that are bent have the Mk.IV cabling cleverly withdrawn into the armour rather than exposed like arms at full stretch. Lovely stuff, may have to pick up another set just for the details...

OK, so on to the Rapier:

Front on:

From the front 3/4 you can see the markings nicely - etched brass RG symbol matched up to Devastator marking on the side and 4th Company marking on the gun-shield.

The markings are reversed on the other side with squad marking on the shield and Company on the side:

Rear 3/4 shot:

From the right side you can see instead of using the 'modern' RG Dev squad marking of yellow shoulder pad rims I've used the Heresy era yellow triangle:

I've done this for two reasons, one, I doubt my ability to get a nice smooth yellow over that thick shoulder pad rim and two, given the Rapier is an ancient machine it seemed fitting that it's crew, already clad in venerable Mk.III armour, should wear the markings of the era the machine was born in as an homage to its history and legacy.

the MKIV assault armour set is so incredible! especially the helmet with the reversed grill! looking forward to see what you do with it! (and also looking forward to next month when i can afford my own!)

rapier looks promising also, will you use the second MkIII marine straight from the box? Doesn't sound like SCC style who usually cleverly combines bits from different kits ;)

[SCC]

@Ludovic: Yeah, the yellow seems bright on that really dull black, but the IA shows the markings as pretty bright too, so I kept it as faithful as I could...

@Tagsta: Yeah, I love MkIV armour in general, but the new Assault kit is :D

On the second Rapier crew-man, well, I built him straight out of the box with a helmet swap and a regular backpack, I quite like him truth be told. But I've been having second thoughts...I really want to add some 'tech support' to SFD so I've been thinking about swapping him out for a junior TechMarine. I wish FW made TechMarines, the Finecast one is a bit OTT for 'junior' and the other ones I have are all metal and a PITA to work with, maybe a I can salvage something from the Storm Eagle pilot bitz...

OK, so in a mini-modelling frenzy I've used put together two more Marines for Dragomir's bodyguard:

As with the rest of the squad this battle-brother here is in 'guard' mode while Dragomir works his (psyker) magic, he's just tacked together so I think I'll lean his torso back a little and lift his chin to scan the horizon a little more, that should make him a touch less tense and allow me to bring his chainsword up a little, it's almost on the ground as it is...

The second Marine is one of Fourth Company's Apothecaries, in game terms he's just a Vanguard Veteran, but I can't see the Fourth Company's Captain sending out 40% of his force without one of his own Apothecaries going with them.

I've used the body of the new FW Mk.IV Apothecary but I chose to downplay his Apothecary-ness by switching his arms for regular assault arms and I'll also use a regular MkVI backpack. The switch has also let me give him a very different feel to the original pose that I really quite like.

In terms of painting, I'm undecided as to whether to paint his loin cloth white or red. I paint red better and it'll make him really stand out from the other Marines (they already use white as a primary accent colour). I also think the red cloth will play off Dragomir's blue robe nicely...

So with these two plus the one from my previous post that'll be the bodyguard sorted out...

[Dosjetka]

You could maybe use the Rhino Space Marines's torso for the Techmarine's torso and make your own servo-arm Edited June 10, 2012 by Battle-Brother Ludovic

[tagsta]

(...)

On the second Rapier crew-man, well, I built him straight out of the box with a helmet swap and a regular backpack, I quite like him truth be told. But I've been having second thoughts...I really want to add some 'tech support' to SFD so I've been thinking about swapping him out for a junior TechMarine. I wish FW made TechMarines, the Finecast one is a bit OTT for 'junior' and the other ones I have are all metal and a PITA to work with, maybe a I can salvage something from the Storm Eagle pilot bitz...

The second Marine is one of Fourth Company's Apothecaries, in game terms he's just a Vanguard Veteran, but I can't see the Fourth Company's Captain sending out 40% of his force without one of his own Apothecaries going with them.

(...)

In terms of painting, I'm undecided as to whether to paint his loin cloth white or red. I paint red better and it'll make him really stand out from the other Marines (they already use white as a primary accent colour). I also think the red cloth will play off Dragomir's blue robe nicely...

i thought of the same idea for my own rapier. once my FW stuff arrives I will likely use most parts of the nice MK III bits for other projects and replace the original crew with tank crew bits (e.g. AdMech shoulderpad + torso) and the "techy" looking head + bionic arms from the FW command update set.. The techmarine torso from the old metal BA command squad would work well also!

Have you thought of painting the apothecary white? would create a nice contrast to all the black. On the other hand it doesn't match the 'sneaky' nature of the RG..

Makes perfect sense to bring apothecaries once a few more marines are engaged in combat. Logically it would make sense to bring an apothecary EVERY single time a squad is engaged since gene-seed cannot be replicated..

One more question: Is the apothecary set finecast like the Tartaros Terminators?

Cheers and looking forward to the stormeagle!

[Lord Ragnarok]

Oh, I'm surprised there are any updates to this thread. :D love the apothecary. Would love to try a wolf priest conversion with it.

[Wicced]

One more question: Is the apothecary set finecast like the Tartaros Terminators?

 

thanks to the gods of chaos, it's resin, like the Tartaros Termies and not the finecast :pinch: GW is producing nowadays...

Edited June 10, 2012 by Wicced

[Tyrannicide]

Love how you've been able to use the Mk. IV Assault squad parts, SCC. They really offer a ton of conversion possibility and it's why I purchased a set too. One question though - compared to other armor sets that FW has produced, the Mk. IV assault parts seem slightly more downscaled than previous marks. Is that the case with yours as well? My set just seems more comparable to regular size of GW Space Marine plastics, than the slightly larger size of previous FW products. :pinch: Edited June 10, 2012 by Darth Potato

[Master Toddius]

SCC - So glad you're workin on these guys again. Love the results and I am going to use this thread as inspiration while i'm getting my pure RavenWing force done. The Black paintjobs with subdued color details is beautifully executed. I'm really liking what you did with the revamped control panels on your bikes. Gives me a lot of great ideas.

 

Why not throw some tornados/typhoons in there too? :)

[SCC]

Oh, I'm surprised there are any updates to this thread. :tu: love the apothecary. Would love to try a wolf priest conversion with it.

Hey, I haven't played that much Diablo 3!

@DarthPotato: Actually, they do seem a fraction smaller now it's been brought to my attention...

@Tagsta: Yeah, they're 'proper' resin.

A WIP of the redesigned Rapier crewman with a 'junior' or 'soon to be' TechMarine vibe:

I'm thinking that at this point he's a Battle Brother with a mechanical bent and yet to be sent to Mars so he isn't too TM-ish right now. MkII FW legs with MaxMini bionic replacing the right leg mated to a Mk.III torso and the original Rapier pointing arm. The left shoulder pad is the old IH Iron Father one, nice bit of kit that, but it does require a raised arm to get the servo-skull in the right place. The right arm I'm still unsure of, I quite like the Sternguard arm I've got here, but I'm not 100% sold so I'll keep rummaging around the bitz box for a while in case I've got something better I think. I'm also debating adding the cog and skull to his torso, simple enough to do and might give him a little more TM theming...

[the damned artificer]

Fantastic army you're building here, it really have inhuman amounts of awesomeness :D

 

I think you should definitely give your tech marine aspirant an opus machina on his chest, could fluff wise be a way to show that he has been approved by Mars for techmarine training and is awaiting his transfer from the chapter to Mars, which would off course mean that he'd have to pass his time in active service as any other marine until then ;)

[SCC]

@the damned artificer: On reflection I agree, the machina opus has been added...

AS well as that change, I've made a few others. I can't stop tweaking this guy, I hate it when this happens, I won't get anything done until I find a pose I like or just abandon it altogether :)

That said, this might be close to acceptable...

Swapped the arms, the left is standard bolter arm with a hand reposition and auspex added, his head is now looking at the auspex screen.

The right arm I've switched for a Mk.II arm with a Tigrus pattern bolter. I like those bolters so any excuse to use one, more pertinently I think the arm being turned further out and down meshes a little more with the slightly raised knee.

[the damned artificer]

Hehehe I know how you feel :) I can't seem to get my command squad for my crusade era IF done as I keep changing things on the models :)

 

He looks way better now, the new arm was a good call and now he just needs a good backack and a fancy shoulder pad :)

[celes]

I like how the servo-skull has a kinda "whatcha doooin'?" vibe to him. Please don't change that, that little gobbet of giggle against a tide of grim-dark black is just perfect.

[tagsta]

@the damned artificer: On reflection I agree, the machina opus has been added...

AS well as that change, I've made a few others. I can't stop tweaking this guy, I hate it when this happens, I won't get anything done until I find a pose I like or just abandon it altogether :)

That said, this might be close to acceptable...

Swapped the arms, the left is standard bolter arm with a hand reposition and auspex added, his head is now looking at the auspex screen.

The right arm I've switched for a Mk.II arm with a Tigrus pattern bolter. I like those bolters so any excuse to use one, more pertinently I think the arm being turned further out and down meshes a little more with the slightly raised knee.

really cool tech aspirant! blends in nicely with the rapier

I like how the servo-skull has a kinda "whatcha doooin'?" vibe to him. Please don't change that, that little gobbet of giggle against a tide of grim-dark black is just perfect.

haha, i noticed this aswell... it has a bit of a pet feeling now

[daemonclaw]

topclass work :)

[Wicced]

Junior looks top notch brother :tu:

the bolter held at ease fits with his pose very well.

[SCC]

Thanks guys, :)

However, there's a slight problem:

Now, are the two poses too similar? I can try and build a right hand auspex and find something for that left arm I guess. I do like the pose though (probably why I've used it twice!) and I'm hoping the different backpack, raised knee, lowered bolter and the servo-skull shoulder pad differentiate them sufficiently that I can keep this guy :)

The painted Marine also sits in a squad so it's unlikely they'll ever be so obviously side by side on a battlefield (or display board)...but, maybe I can un-bond his noggin and point it to the right, along the line of the right arm, that'd change things up...

++EDIT++

Tuck his chin down a little, doesn't look too bad, turn the servo skull into the same direction, might work :huh:

++END EDIT++

And a minor revision to the last Vanguard vet:

A simple change of torso as I used the Mk.III one for the junior TM. Obviously I'll need to RG-ify the buckle, simple enough with etched brass though. Not sure about the leather straps, although the 'Apothecary' does have a robe as does Dragomir, so perhaps they won't be too out of place.

Still, plenty of other torsos to try out I guess...

[Lord Ragnarok]

Now, are the two poses too similar?

 

Yes, I think so. I loathe when I do the same in my armies. I'd try to move the auspex to the right hand, like you said, and I'd also change his head to look right instead of left. I would probably not have the auspex raised maybe lowered and ready. My very humble opinions.

[lhg033]

maybe go for a conversion for the auspex so its integrated into his armor or the bolter? - he is a techmarine type after all so may have done things like this

[SCC]

Now, are the two poses too similar?

Yes, I think so.

Dammit Rags, I hate it when someone reinforces what I already know :huh:

Quick-fire version of the right handed auspex/head right pose:

Devastator sergeant auspex (I think) and BP arm, not sure if I should swap the BP for the Tigrus bolter or a different arm altogether...either way, I'll have to re-work the last Vanguard vet to avoid the same damned problem ;)

[Lord Ragnarok]

SCC, somehow I missed your edited update to the Tech Marine. I thought he looked just fine looking to the right and the auspex in the same position. Even with the arms in similar positions the energy of the pose is quite different (to me at least), enough so they don't look like twins.

 

In terms of the right hand auspex and looking to the right. I suppose he also be fine looking to the left as you have moved the auspex to the other hand killing the "twin" syndrome.

 

-----

On a side note, my eyes keep staring at the marine on the left. I really love your painting. I would love to be able to achieve a similar black and the non black colors are not striking and garish but also not muted against the black.

Edited June 12, 2012 by Lord Ragnarok