WilHarris Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Hello! This is, I think, my first post (having lurked here for about 6 months now :D ) As a spotty teenager I, along with all my school friends, was a Warhammer 40k nut - this is around 2nd/3rd edition I think. I played Ultramarines, since their whiter-than-white (or should that be bluer-than-blue?) adherence to the Codex Astartes resonated with me. Anyway, after a few years we all pretty much gave up in favour of video games. Anyway, on my way back from holiday in the Lake District last year, I had the sudden realisation whilst driving that my route home would take us past Nottingham, and promptly (and whimsically) talked my wife into letting me go to Warhammer World (which I'd heard about as a kid, but never managed to get to). I was blown away by the way the hobby had developed, the new miniatures etc - and resolved that I would get back into it, not least because my job now involves computers and video games and the last thing I want to do as a hobby is play them, generally! I bought a bunch of minis and paints on the spot (Ultras, obviously!) I also managed to convince all my school pals to get back into it, and now we have regular games at Warhammer World (which, handily, is about the centre point of the map of where we have all ended up living). Over 6 months I've managed to build up a fairly decent army of about 1500 points - 2 Tactical squads, a 5 man Assault squad, some Terminators (from Space Hulk), Sniper Scouts, a Chaplain, Land Speeder, Venerable Dreadnought and, of course, a Thunderhawk. I remember when the metal Thunderhawk came out I was absolutely desperate to get one - and when I saw they had new resin ones, my staggeringly awesome wife bought me one for Valentines Day this year. Anyway, on with the pics - one thing I've discovered is that all that video-gaming has done wonders for my hand-eye coordination, and I am a lot better at painting now than I was as a kid! I've just picked out a few of my faves to show off. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5539908517_f739548718.jpg Here's the army in all its glory (excuse the Laura Ashley wallpaper...) http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/5539906709_0d6f7624ce.jpg This guy is my force leader at the moment. It's a standard metal Chaplain, but I added on a jump pack so he can ride with my Assault Squad. He's standing on top of a crushed Genestealer, grabbed from the Space Hulk box. The Genestealer is actually crawling down the wall, but placed on his back it looks like the Chaplain has just nailed him! http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5293/5539907133_75aa434401.jpg One of the things I love about all the new GW figures is that they are mostly plastic, meaning you can pull some outrageous poses - this one has his foot pinned to a bit of wall from Space Hulk (which is a source of awesome conversion goodies). http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5258/5540487278_757522f416.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5540487546_293f4750d9.jpg I shamelessly stole the idea for these from Winterdyne, who did a great assault squad pouncing on Eldar commission. Again, these are Space Hulk Genestealers that have a bit more character than the normal GW ones, especially if you pose them in different ways. I had to weight the base of these with 2p coins to keep them upright but I think the effect is nifty. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5539906993_09a040a033.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5540487944_16a0decf89.jpg These are my two favourite tacticals. The one missile launcher chap is looking out to see if he's hit anything, and the other guy is taking a brief pause to get his breath back! http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5539907545_0defdc2691.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/5540488590_d4d2b30652.jpg As has been well discussed on these boards, the Space Hulk Terminators are staggeringly good models which make the standard GW Termies look like hack jobs. Once I saw them, I knew I had to Ultramarine them - so I have resolutely removed blood decals etc and added in Ultramarines shoulderpads from Forge World as well as other little bits of Ultra detailing. They look pimp. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5539908229_3062f14b55.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5540488746_c41fa50361.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5540488896_f194aa78c6.jpg Sniper Scouts should be amongst the coolest models out there, but the standard GW ones just look ridiculously boring to me - so little variation in pose. I wanted to give mine some character and a little more 'movement', so used a mixture of Sniper Scout bits, standard Scout bits and Catachan Jungle Fighter bits to obtain the look I wanted, as well as moulding my own cloaks out of green stuff (surprisingly easy). Since I often play on an urban table, I wanted their camo cloaks to have a suitable pattern - in fact, the guy lying down has been 'lost' on the table more than once, so I'm pretty pleased with the job I did! http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/5539907691_91c28966fc.jpg I wanted my Land Speeder to look just a little different, so I wound some GW razor wire around the bumper, and added the 'Courage and Honour' plaque from the Forgeworld brass set. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5215/5540489216_b5608cf246.jpg The Forgeworld Venerable Dreadnought has to be one of the best models in existence for 40k, in my book. I took a long, long time painting that banner and I'm really pleased with the outcome. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5291/5540489506_786b85312d.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5058/5539908975_1826697de6.jpg The Thunderhawk isn't actually done yet (it's only blu-tacked together since I'm still painting it in pieces) but I thought I'd throw it in anyway. It is a ridiculously complex model to build, requires so much work just to get the parts to line up straight, but looks absolutely killer when done. The challenge I found was how to shade the armour panels - on normal minis I use ink, but that is too streaky / patchy on large surfaces like this. I found that the Forgeworld weathering powders were great for this as you can work them in and around the plates where you need them, and they blend really nicely. Anyway, that's all I've got to show off for now. A big thanks to a couple of board members in particular - Winterdyne, from whom I have blatantly stolen a lot of ideas that have made me look good to my friends (who don't read this board ;) ) and Cosmic, who's 'recipe' for painting Ultramarines (a silver basecoat, who knew?) has allowed me to paint a good number of marines quickly, and well. Thanks for looking, C+C welcome, and thanks to everybody for participating in such a great community - above anything else, the big thing that's changed about the hobby since I was a teenager is the invention of the internet, which frankly is awesome :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdriftQuasar Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Validar Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 some of your assault marine poses are a bit weird, but your conversion and paintjob on the space hulk terminators are excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schultzhoffen Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Looks really good. Ultramarines look better with a darker blue covering. I especially love that dreadnought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Fisting Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Nice army. My faves are the snipers. I too feel the GW poses for the sniper scouts are incredibly bland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Nezulius Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Your work is very nice. I love the conversion work you have done on your models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Mike Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Hate to put a downer on things but. MOULD LINE ON MISSILE LAUNCHER! Sorry, but the painting is so good, and the poses so dynamic this came out of the page and punched me. The rest is excellent though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Emperor's Champion Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Jeeezz.....is there ANY Space Marine unit that doesn't look best in Ultramarines colors? First Gareth's Stormraven, now your Space Hulk Terminators... Sanguiniary Guard might look odd... Hmm.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psy-Crow Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I think the most impressive thing here is the quality of the paint job given the time period. True there are a couple of "Flash....Arrrrrr" spots but as captain mike said, the flash areas stand out so much due to the high calibre of the painting. Hope to see more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbabyjesus Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 That's a pretty awesome army you have there, and painted in a relatively short amount of time too. Kudos to you sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintgeo23 Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I only can say: "Great job!" But mould lines somewhere need to be removed (man with rocket launcher). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
empty choke Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 wow, your army looks very superb my friend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatcrusade08 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Jeeezz.....is there ANY Space Marine unit that doesn't look best in Ultramarines colors? First Gareth's Stormraven, now your Space Hulk Terminators... Sanguiniary Guard might look odd... Hmm.... i agree these are great and really highlight the superior colour of the ultramarines :) (dont flame me it was a joke) thantoes used soem sang bodies for his recent ultras and they looked prett good.. im not sold on the nipples though ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Mike Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I do think blue shows up the details well. The smurf scheme is indoubtedly effective. Could we have some pics of the interior of the Thunderhawk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeddon Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Wow...great job WilHarris, I especially like the assault marines! Gives me some ideas for Bloodclaws... :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I like the way you've themed it all about the slaughter of Tyranids. With the FW dreadnought and SH terminators having such bits 'built in' I'd thought it might not work well, but using the extra models really helps. :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqui Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I've always prefered "dark" coloured Ultras to "lighter" ones. Especially like the 'Stealer on one of the bases :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 40k Hobbiest Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Wow! Very well done! It's good to see another well-painted Ultramarines army! It's in many ways better than my own army which is shamelessly plugged and linked to in my signature. But seriously, well done! I would like to point out that I've seen a mold line or two. I'd also like to suggest that you drill out your barrels. But the paint job is phenomenal. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilHarris Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 OK, an update! So that whole batch above I painted in my first six months back in the hobby. Unfortunately the next 6 months have been a bit slower, as unfortunately the pressures of work have rather taken their toll on my weekend time. However, I've found enough time to push through with 3 Razorbacks, 2 Dreadnoughts, another Tactical squad and some further work to the Thunderhawk. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6082/6042563039_19b2a8a7d6.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6081/6043119442_3e249a20ac.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6130/6043122492_5b45fd322b.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6189/6042576707_82c30b0e14.jpg Here's the three Razorbacks - I did some easy customisation work on them. A lot of the doors and panels come from Forgeworld. I added on parts from the Battlefield Accessories set to a couple of them, and also made a 'tarp roll' out of green stuff. The twin assault cannon comes from a Land Raider set. None of the weaponry on top is fixed - it's all removable to be able to convert them into Rhinos should I want to. I tried a quicker way to paint Ultramarines which I found worked well. Instead of undercoating with black, I went straight in with a base coat of Regal Blue, which created a nice flat blue base. I then highlighted all edges with Enchanted Blue, and also dry brushed the same over flat surfaces to add a bit of texture. I then highlighted corners with a 50/50 mix of EB and Shadow Grey. The mud effects were all done using Forgeworld weathering powders. I fixed these with Citadel Purity Seal. It took me a few goes to get this right - at first I dappled on the weathering powder, but found that the varnish basically either blew the powder away with the force of the aerosol, or just wet the powder to the point it disappeared. So I found I had to apply two or three times the amount of powder I actually wanted to get it to have the right amount once the Purity Seal had dried. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/6042571673_1a95a71023.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6149/6042573829_a485a1912b.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6137/6043112478_cb295564c0.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6210/6043114100_8fa4dec0cf.jpg I made two Dreadnoughts - one basic one from the AOBR box, which I customised with a couple of little Forgeworld bits. A second normal Dreadnought box model was customised with Forgeworld bits, and some bits box scenery for the base. Paint method was the same as the Razors. The big thing I learned doing this different from the Venerable Dread above was the difference between undercoating black and dry brushing Mithril Silver for the metal bits, and painting on Mithril Silver then washing with Badab Black. I found the latter a much better method for picking out metallic detail. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6201/6043109382_0c98cb210f.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6066/6042709669_97cd7152ac.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6181/6043250592_ca89cb47cb.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6202/6043234378_5d5cf44a1a.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6206/6043244002_22027f95fd.jpg These tacticals were painted with the same paint method as above. I previously tried to highlight all the way up to a sharp white on edges, but have found that I prefer this slightly more subtle highlighting with only very sharp edges highlighted with the 50/50 EB/SG mix. Again, Forgeworld powders were used across the models, giving them a suitably flat and dirty look. For the bases, I took foam and stick it down with a mix of superglue and plastic glue, which melted it into a nice busted-up rubble look. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6182/6043123886_ace18f7cfd.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6127/6042581199_9d16fdb3df.jpg I finally finished my Thunderhawk - what a tonne of work! Lots of paint, lots of weathering powder, lots of varnish. Having finished it, I realised the one thing I hadn't thought about - a flying stand. It's way too heavy to mount on a standard flying base, and Forgeworld doesn't make anything. I don't really have the tools, expertise or space to craft something myself, so I got in touch with Jeff at DragonForge. His flying bases are a bit more substantial, but I still figured wouldn't be enough for a THawk. So I asked him if he would drill me a custom base and ship over three stands in order to make something strong enough. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6189/6043126898_4db7e5e70c.jpg I mounted the three DragonForge flying 'receptacles' to the bottom of the Hawk. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6139/6042584503_c6660a9b10.jpg I asked Jeff to drill the base in an arrow formation and the 12" acrylic rods slotted in perfectly. I fixed them with araldite and added some green stuff to provide a bit of added stability. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6134/6042583963_fcfeb67fa9.jpg This is what it now looks like - obviously I need to model the base. It's very stable and looks great on a gaming table. For the $20 it cost to get the base from DragonForge it was a bargain compared to the money I'd spend making a mess of it myself... With these bits down, I'm now moving from the 'have to haves' for an Ultramarines army onto the 'nice to have'. First up - Marneus Calgar, which is now a much more attractive proposition in Finecast than metal. Would love any CC! This forum is a constant source of inspiration so I love to hear what you guys think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaplain belisarius Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 wow! very nice looking army! how did you paint them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 These are awesome. Nice conversions and good paintjobs. I really like the darker blue you are using. Ive picked up a few Imperial marines lately and have been in turmoil as to what chapter to choose but seeing these Ultras ( My first 40k army way back in late 94) has made the decision for me. Once I am finished with my Worldeaters I will go back to the glory boys :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shan vener Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6182/6043123886_ace18f7cfd.jpg i've been *puts on sunglasses* thunderstruck YEEEEEEEEAAAH but seriously, nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrox Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Very nice. Great job on the Space Hulk Terminators More please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slyfox1990 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Really nice looking models. With painting ability like that it would have been a shame for you not to get back into this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cain Tiberius Kondrad Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I've said it before, I really do not like the Ultrasmurfs. But man you're force is awesome. Especially concidering the time away from the hobby. Seriously good job bud :huh: I have to laugh though. I know you said your wife bought you the Thunderhawk. But i find it funny that the Thunderhawk is in the 'must haves' and Marneus is relegated to the 'Would like to haves' lol. CTK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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