Pre-Heresy Iron Hands

[Doghouse]

Cheers guys! :D

 

Yeah she's still a bit messy at the moment but the extra width really does the trick. She's in not too bad a shape seeing as she's seen over twenty years of gaming and been in about four or five different armies over the years. :rolleyes:

[Shadow Nugz]

May I ask how many Iron Hands and Emperor's Children you plan to have eventually? Will they be mirror forces or complementing (1 tact/dread each or tact and dread/ tact and assault?)

[Doghouse]

It'll be around fifty or sixty Iron Hands eventually for the main force. I do have a land speeder that I want to add and some pre-heresy Predators as well as a Ferrus Mannus sculpt I'll be making from scratch.

For the time being the EC will just be the twenty men but I may expand it later.

[Brother Masariel]

ferrus!?..less chat more pics! :lol:

 

You made the Land Raider from an original one, just increased in width?

..or you scratch built it all? :)

[Slyen]

Loking wonderful Doghouse. I look forward to your next update!

[Doghouse]

Cheers guys. :huh:

 

The land raider is the old model (in this case twenty three years old...) with an extra track section added to each side. To be honest though you could just widen the tracks by adding a spacer because they are split down the middle but I was being lazy and had some spare track sections.

I then used milliput to widen the track hinges, I could have probably made a better job of it had I made it more recently but this conversion was made before the new version of the raider came out and I just added a few bits to tidy her up.

 

Ferrus will be on the way but I'll be sculpting him completely from scratch rather than just have a conversion. The armature I've made for him stands at 43mm which is just about the right size when stood next to the FW marines.

 

I'm also making a Fire Wasp (an armoured boarding drone) stratagem for boarding actions using the FW ship fighting rules and really want to sculpt some true 26-28mm humans to use as objectives or maybe for the ship crew stratagem.

 

Just waiting for the camera to charge then I'll be sticking up some more WIP shots. B)

[Doghouse]

Still haven't got a lot done but have a few shots I can post up.

 

The army so far.

 

http://i53.tinypic.com/20iym50.jpg

 

The land raider is nearly finished for now. I've varnished her but the old school style banner has reacted to the varnish and clouded so I'll need to go back and clean that up.

 

http://i51.tinypic.com/bvms0.jpg

 

http://i55.tinypic.com/rusemb.jpg

 

This is how it looked before I varnished the banner, nothing flash just old school simple.

 

http://i55.tinypic.com/29woih1.jpg

 

The Emperor's Children are on hold for now whilst I focus on the IHs, wait for the aquilas and try and find one of them that has gone awol. :D

 

http://i53.tinypic.com/28k4n6h.jpg

 

I've got a couple of speeders that I'm going to add to the army as well but not started on them just yet.

[Brother Masariel]

In this last picture the EC purple looks a bit more like Alpha Legion purple instead of the redish one of the children...

Maybe just a light issue..

[Doghouse]

Yeah I think it's the lighting. The colour I've gone for at the moment is the one they used in the heresy artwork books which as more of a royal purple rather than the Warlock purple as seen in the IA.

 

To be fair they should really be more warlock purple to be honest and I may change it.

[Natanael]

I enjoy the HH-artwork of the ECs, and think that colour suits them a lot better then the more bright and pinkish purple of the IA. That is, however, you choice since it is your models. I look forward to seeing them done anyway! =D

 

- Natanael

[Dorns Padawan]

Awesome stuff Doghouse! Love the LR!!!!!! Nice little unit you got going there :P

[subtlebrush]

Looking really good. Love the Land Raider.

[Doghouse]

Cheers guys!

 

Yeah I prefer the darker purple as well to be honest but it is niggling at me a bit to change it. :P

 

 

Bit of an update. Started work on a wound marker for Mordecai in the form of Edmun Thrace, an archivist from Terra. I don't think that Remembrancers were around at this stage in the crusade so he will be one of the guys charged with recording and assessing all the new finds that the expedition makes. The idea is that when Mordecai takes a hit Thrace's sense of self preservation gets the better of him and he leaves Mordecai's side to take cover.

It's basically a spare putty sculpt at the moment whilst I work on a few other bits for people. I'm giving him a scalf at the moment and will add little bags and bits to carry his notes and pict capture device.

 

http://i56.tinypic.com/15hekxt.jpg

 

I've also dug out my old predator conversion and after a bit of a reworking of the army list will be adding it to the army.

 

http://i55.tinypic.com/t987r5.jpg

 

Lastly I've also dug out my old 2nd ed Dark Angels speeder after seeing Daemon Forge's brilliant conversion and will also including that in the force as well.

 

http://i52.tinypic.com/1217sw2.jpg

[Dorns Padawan]

Doghouse I have noticed in your previous threads you use these silver men to GS up & make wonderful sculpts from. I am desperate to improve my less than ammeter GS skills on before I let loose on my own GW models. Mind sharing where you get them from? Back on topic the Pred looks awesome, can't wait to see it all painted up. The silver dude with GS looks pretty Doghouse quality as usual, looking forward to seeing more of it.

[Doghouse]

Yeah the silver dude is an armature or also known as a dolly, you can get them from hasslefree miniatures but they are 28mm which is a bit small compared to heroic scale but good for practice.

I normally make my own though for 36 and 43mm models.

 

If you search for 32mm armatures or sculpting dollies you should be able to track them down mate. :D

[Doghouse]

Next up I've made some progress on the first six guys but not really sure what colour to paint the bases. I want to avoid the red martian soil thing because it's a bit of a myth that the surface is that colour anyway and am thinking that it'd be cool to maybe include bits of the civilisation that the are currently bringing to the way of the Imperial Truth on them.

Ideally I think the way to go would be maybe a light desert style base. As it stands these first twenty guys are pretty much built as stock with a few minor conversions, what I'm planning with the next fourty MKIIIs is to have them clambering over stuff and mix it up a little.

Just working on the bolters at the moment getting them all to the same shade of white before weathering them up a little.

 

http://i56.tinypic.com/rsez5k.jpg

 

http://i54.tinypic.com/2vla7h2.jpg

 

http://i55.tinypic.com/jq6byt.jpg

 

This guys is the first of the bare head guys that I'm adding here and there throughout the force. Turns out the head I've used for first sergeant mordecai wasn't a guard head after all and I think might be from the WFB Empire Great swords set.

This guy's head is from the Cadian Command set and I'm trying to include as many guys with scars as possible to show how they are quite resistant in the face of adversity. I do plan to chuck in the odd bionic eye here and there though but nothing too over the top. He's still WIP as I've just started the face but the smaller head does make the armour seem a lot more intimidating.

 

http://i56.tinypic.com/zt7sm1.jpg

[Dorns Padawan]

Thanks for the tip Doghouse :) . Love the unhelmed guys faces, great detail there. Looking real nice as usual, you gonna do anything in particular with the bases or just paint them up?

[Doghouse]

Thanks mate. :)

 

No problem. :D

 

Yeah I think it depends on how I'm going to convert the next forty MkIII guys to be honest in terms of basing. I want something fairly light coloured to contrast with the dark armour but am thinking something themed like they are currently in mid campaign against a world that is resisting the light of Imperial Truth.

 

I might have them clambering over the ruins of an alien civilisation or working their way through a small human desert town or city. Ideally it'll be something that says that they are the invaders.

As they are quite worn looking I'm leaning towards something desert based with the sand storms wearing the paint down on their armour.

[lucian]

Hmm I can´t see any pictures. :sweat:

[Doghouse]

Sorry mate, not sure why that's happened. :)

 

Pictures aren't great (need a new camera) but here is my Fire Wasp for the force. The army is heavily infantry based mainly because I want to be able to make full use of the army in boarding actions using the FW rules set which is why I went all Mk III.

For those not in the know, the Fire Wasp is a pre-heresy drone that is sent into ships during boarding actions to scout ahead and spring enemy traps. It's armed only with a flamer and has a search light.

 

I used leftover parts from the plastic Iron Clad dreadnought kit, bits of some old power field generators from the old BoM set and a spare landraider gun targeter.

I originally was going to add armour plated shields but instead figured it'd be more interesting to have power field generators that flare into life once a trap has been sprung.

 

Going to have a bash at the demolition drone stratagem next.

 

http://i52.tinypic.com/21aa2ds.jpg

 

http://i54.tinypic.com/28rmgll.jpg

[Doghouse]

Nearly finished the first sergeant now. I've gone for a desert base mainly to make him stand out a little from it but also because the setting of the army will be on a dead world. I'm still working out the details but I want the general theme to be that my force has dropped to the surface of what was once a great human civilisation only to walk into a trap. This will form a theme with the bases that will hopefully tie all the models and any allies I make for them together.

 

http://i52.tinypic.com/8yvoxz.jpg

[Honda]

Love that sergeant and I am extremely impressed with how you've brought the black armor to life. Very realistic patterning on your scratches and such. The faces are to your usual high standard and very impressive.

 

The only part that really bugs me is the white gun casings. I know they're supposed to be white, but...don't know. I'd maybe try a lighter grey with white highlights if it were me. I think you're doing awesome, so please don't change anything.

 

I think the desert basing is a very good choice. Really let's the figure stand out.

 

As you can probably tell, I am very much enjoying this thread.

 

Cheers,

[subtlebrush]

Thats a sweet demolition drone! The new damages look great and really give the black some depth.

[SincaiN]

Nice work on the drone.. for some reason it reminds me of the robot Vincent from "The Black Hole" crossed with Wall-E.. :lol: the sarge is coming alone nicely as well.. looking good.

[Doghouse]

Cheers guys! :P

 

Honda: The guns are a little greyer in person but the camera doesn't handle white very well so washes it out a little. I've done a fifty fifty mix of skull white and Astronomican Grey then highlighted with skull white.

 

SinCain: Same here mate. :unsure: Although it was far from intentional, I just grabbed what bits I had to hand and slapped it together.

 

Got a bit more done on the Iron Hands and am not far off finishing the first five guys. Still need to clear up a few areas, finishing the white on the bolters and add the oaths I forgot to put on them and they should be ready for varnishing.

 

http://i53.tinypic.com/2zyydg1.jpg

 

I've also converted one of the Mk IIIs into a plasma gunner using one of the old first edition plasma guns. I think I may have some more in the loft somewhere so will need to have a hunt around for a few more because I think they look really nice.

 

http://i53.tinypic.com/8vp8r6.jpg

 

I've also been doing a lot of thought into how to represent the army in it's setting. The idea I have now is that it is somewhere around sixty or so years into the Crusade. Ferrus and his sons have been re-united and have begun to adopt the ways of their new homeworld.

After receiving faint radio transmissions from a distant world a small flotilla of the 52nd Expedition has broken off with a Conservatory team to investigate. Upon arrival they find a world shrouded by dust storms and so decide to do a full combat drop to the surface just to be on the safe side.

After a bit of digging around the Conservatory team discover that at some point in the history of the planet the humans there began to incorporate Eldar DNA into own for reasons unknown.

Unknown the the Imperials when the Eldar race fell rather than destroy the hybrid race it mutated them into sightless vampiric mutants and it isn't before long before they come under attack.

Having foreseen that the race that dwells on this planet may one day make it's way to the stars a force of Eldar emerge from the Webway portal on the planet only to run into the marines.

To make matters worse an Ork Waaargh drawn by the massive battle going on planetside emerge from the warp smashing into the rear of the Iron Hands flotilla leaving the second company of the Kaargul clan stranded below.

 

This means that once the Marines are out of the way I can knock together two other forces of pre-Heresy Orks and Eldar with a theme to tie them together.