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Gitsplitta's Mantis Warriors


Gitsplitta

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Hey guys, I appreciate all your comments. I must admit that doing these two vehicles was far more never wracking than any of the other projects as I've never been comfortable painting them, nor do I think I ever did a good job with them. But... and airbrush cures all ills... and it certainly made getting an interesting base coat down on these puppies a lot easier. Still a lot of detail to do after that... but it got me off to a good start.

 

The only reference I recall clearly is the caption under the original drawing in the 40k compendium, I don't think they went into detail about it. I think IA-10 goes into it more, but that's 20 years after the first reference so I'm not sure how much stock I put into it (nothing against FW... I'm just ornery and old).

 

By all means, steal away! Nice to see an idea of mine being used and improved upon elsewhere.

Latest: Due to my use of the sternguard / Tranquility Snipers... using a Pedro Kantor "counts-as" for a chapter master was a natural fit. So here he is. *please note: I haven't read the IA books yet, I assume there is an "official" chapter master detailed there, please forgive my conceit in creating my own that fits my unique version of the chapter. No offense to FW/GW is intended.

 

The story of Phillipi Tarse, Chapter Master of the Mantis Warriors, Defender of Tranquility and Founder of the Snipers of Tranquility:

 

Phillipi Tarse, Chapter Master of the Mantis Warriors. Tarse was legendary in the Mantis Warriors long before assuming Mastership over the chapter. For centuries Tarse was responsible for the defense of the home world which, due to it's location near the Maelstrom and the many enemies the chapter had made nearby, was under heavy assault each time the chapter mobilized in any significant fashion. His hand picked, elite defense force were masters of defensive action... and while they used the full range of combat tactics they became known as the "Snipers of Tranquility" as their strikes against would-be attackers would have all the surprise and finality of a snipers bullet. All members of the Tranquility Snipers color their equipment in a unique pattern that is respected throughout the Imperium and feared by it's enemies.

 

Due to his unique responsibilities, Tarse was the only highly placed Mantis Warrior commander to not take part in any aggressive actions against another chapters during the Badab Rebellion (though he did defend Tranquility with unmatched tenacity, ferocity and guile). As such... he was the natural choice to lead his chapter through the darkness of the crusade in the hopes of eventually regaining it's status as a respected member of the Adeptus Astartes. He is also the only high-ranking Mantis Warrior commander who is fully trusted by the Inquisition or other Space Marine Masters.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/2/1/180069_md-Chapter%20Master,%20Kantor,%20Mantis%20Warriors,%20Space%20Marines,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg

Git, loving your vehicles man, you would make me very happy if you gave us a group shot of your Mantis Warriors.

 

The Chapter Master is so busy that it hurts my eyes, but in a really really good way. Love the fact he's got camo armour on and a big black, red, white and silver standard sticking out of his backpack. Is he gonna get some grass on his base like the others?

Thanks Tyro, those were the first vehicles I'd painted in about 15 years.. and the first real challenge with my new airbrush. I think they turned out OK too. Now I'm contemplating trying to find more Mk-1 vehicles and making a mechanized RT/Badab War army... not sure about that but I'm considering it.

 

The chapter masters and major characters are chronically busy... I tried limiting my palette somewhat but with the yellow and black camo behind all the other stuff I guess it was a lost cause. Glad you liked him though! Nice to finally have an HQ painted. I'll get a group shot together for you... no problem.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Loving the battle damage on the dread, especially the melta shot. Could I ask how you did the melta shot?

 

Can't speak for Gitsplita, but I'd use a soldering iron and allow the melting plastic to run down the armour piece.

 

The model is outstanding :D I especially like the base - red/brown sand and gravel for contrast :)

First: Thanks guys, I really appreciate the positive feedback. I'm a slow painter so when I get a big project like this done it's nice to get some kudos.

 

Second: You have no idea how happy I am that everyone picked up on the melta shot. Never sure about how my ideas translate into things that can be easily understood, glad this one worked out.

 

Third: The melta shot is easier than you might think. I just used a little round grinding bit on a dremel to make the original hole (you could do the same thing with a drill bit), then took some green stuff to make the melt-off around it. Lastly I tried to paint it so it looked like it was hottest in the center and cooling at the edges. I'm not good at OSL techniques so it's a crap shoot... but it sounds like I got the idea across at least. Though I think it would be more striking on a dread of another color... the yellow makes it kind of blend in.

 

Fourth: That's my standard base... kind of a fall / high plains design. I had other plans for making the back of it (which you can't really see) look like a cut-away from a hillside... which I've done before & looks quite nice, but I ran out of time. So for now I just put some fine gravel back there and washed it like the rest. Might even add some cascading foliage to disguise it a bit. If I get the chance later I may knock the gravel off and re-do it properly.

 

Thanks again for looking and taking the time to comment.

Gits

That dread is inspired man, the battle damage is fantastic [scratches, scorches, melta damage, bullet holes] makes it look like it's just walked through a s*%t storm and is still ready to dish out more, which I guess is what dreads are there for. Love the creativity in your minis [as well as the ridiculously high painting standard].

 

Bump on the group pic ;)

Thanks guys, very flattered that others find my work an inspiration. Kind of paying it forward for all the people who inspired me. :rolleyes:

 

I'm working on the last two sternguard. Once they're done, I'll get a group shot of all of the tranquility pattern marines together... which will be a nice bit of closure for me.

 

@tyranno: I wanted him to look heavily battle damaged, not neglected (i.e. rusty or dirty). I wanted him to look as if his life consisted of drop podding directly into hand-to-hand with the biggest, nastiest thing the enemy has to offer, while using it's higher AV to ignore gunfire along the way. Sounds like I succeeded in that image, so thank you for letting me know!

 

Hope to have those sternguard done by this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed... (I'm up against a deadline & it's approaching fast.)

Just love the melta guy...

 

Me too! The stripes over his eyes make him look badass.

 

Your models always make me smile, the giant knife is great, and like the fact he looks like he's just popped out from behind that tiny bit of grass... surprise!

 

Favourite army ever, your last post even inspired me to get some painting of my own done :P

  • 2 weeks later...

First drop pod complete. This will be used by the sternguard (tranquility snipers) even though it is not in tranquility camo. Based on the ephemeral nature of the pods I felt that all the pods would be in standard Mantis Warrior patterns irrespective of their occupants.

 

Each pod will have a litany or motto, (on the plates on the lower part of the doors) which is added by the engineer/tech marine that gives it it's final check before deployment. Some are inspirational, cynnical, humorous... it all depends on the mood of the engineer at the time. Tradition holds that the motto is then adopted by the squad as their battle cry for that deployment, reinforcing the bonds between technicians and front line soldiers... as they are all marines. The technicians will often know which squad is assigned to which pod, and will chose a motto specifically tailored to the personality of the squad.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/3/12/195634_md-Drop%20Pod,%20Mantis%20Warriors,%20Space%20Marines,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg

I'm currently working on two more and hope to have them completed in short order.

Thanks guys... I appreciate it. These pods have been a major ordeal from start to finish. Have the gradients done on pods 2 and 3 and hope to finish them up tonight (with a little luck). When I do I'll post a shot of the 3 pods together and the army to date.

 

I do have a Thunderfire Cannon or two, but they'll have to wait their turn as they aren't part of this specific tourney build.

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