hushrong Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Recently I have decided to put my SM Codex to use and wanted to build a 'new' army. Astral Claws beat out the Imperial Fists in a landslide victory of 1-0. The army list has its roots in my idea of an appropriate force for the IF, Sterngaurds. Something about that image in the codex with two IF really made the two click for me. However this works well with the Astral Claws. Getting some pointers for my list and thinking of fluff, I envision many AC as boarding-action veterans. These troops plunge themselves into the belly of an enemy ship amidst a void battle and gut the the sucker. Besides having to battle through harrowing firefights, these troops also have skills in close quarters combat. Current State of the Army: http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010627.jpg Army List 6/27/2011: HQ -Pedro Kantor -Master of the Forge Elites -Sternguard (Full Squad, 6 Combi-meltas) -Dreadnought (Twin Linked Lascannon) -Dreadnought Heavy -Land Raider Crusader (Multi-Melta) -Vindicator (Siege Shield) -Predator (Lascannon Sponsons) Troops -Combat Squad -Scouts (Sct Sgt. Telion, 4 Camo-Cloaks, Sniper Rifle) Total Estimate: 1527 points And for the best part of any log, pictures! My first Sternguard: http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010550.jpg -Pictures are a great source for finding flaws...like his blue thumb and blue speck on his collar. http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010547.jpg -Armed with a 1000heathens-Pattern Combi-Melta http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010548.jpg *At the moment I plan on adding a few of those combi-meltas to each sternguard squad. I have also been toying with the idea of their usefulness in boarding actions. You can melt away bulkheads for new passageways, blast away a seal door, or if you are frisky enough, magnet-lock your boots, concentrate several metla blasts into the hull, and have a good laugh as surprised defenders are sucked into the void. I hope to complete this army one day and take them into battle! Thanks for having a look at my humble attempts at an army, C&C is always welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlebrush Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Oh man! Your Astral Claws are looking sick! Its a great start brother. Its funny because I was just thinking of doing a "normal" force and was leaning toward Red Corsairs. Cant wait to see more! Edit: Thumbs up for going all drop-pod! I definitely like where your going with this list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorenzen Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 looks good, although a little barebones for a sternguard.. he needs the gold trimmed shoulderpads of the 1st company for sure.. the metal looks as though it could do with some highlights and battle damage too.. and green helmet lenses.. because thats how hurons lot roll. its a good start though, i find that doing a metallic army is an interestingly different experience to doing a matte army and can be quite rewarding if you put the effort into it. *edit* list wise id say drop the pred.. it doesnt seem to fit with the mid range firepower of everything else..another dreadnought will probably suit the list better (all 3 with pods of course) and id suggest making at least one of them a chainfist & melta/flamer ironclad.. if your set on taking a master of the forge for the dreads as heavies thing.. id suggest valthex.. you can free up an elites choice and add some termies into the mix, by making one "sternguard" squad into a normal tac squad armed with the 2+ poison rounds.. essentially.. pedro valthex hammernators sternguard - pod sternguard - pod tac marines - poison guns + pod scouts ironclad - pod dread - pod dread - pod you know it makes sense :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushrong Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 Thanks for the comments and suggestions Mr. Malevolent and Lorenzen! Its funny because I was just thinking of doing a "normal" force and was leaning toward Red Corsairs. Cant wait to see more! Edit: Thumbs up for going all drop-pod! I definitely like where your going with this list. drop pods seem kind of appropriate but boarding torpedoes I think would be better :lol: Red Corsairs are cool and I think one or two of my guys will get a 'where are they now' version of themselves in the Blood Reavers colors. I must note it is sad to be building an army that, fluffwise, will suffer 98% casualties by the wars end...if they are lucky. looks good, although a little barebones for a sternguard.. its a good start though, i find that doing a metallic army is an interestingly different experience to doing a matte army and can be quite rewarding if you put the effort into it. *edit* list wise id say drop the pred.. it doesnt seem to fit with the mid range firepower of everything else..another dreadnought will probably suit the list better (all 3 with pods of course) and id suggest making at least one of them a chainfist & melta/flamer ironclad.. if your set on taking a master of the forge for the dreads as heavies thing.. id suggest valthex.. you can free up an elites choice and add some termies into the mix, by making one "sternguard" squad into a normal tac squad armed with the 2+ poison rounds.. One thing i am debating is if I should put gold trim for mist of my marines. I am using the sternguard rules for these guys but fluffwise I see them as boarding assault vets. Plus I am not sure if my guys will be from the first company. By being awesome and brutal, I felt the sternguard rules was a good match. I think I will do Sgts with gold trim however. As for painting, I suck at doing lenses and my highlighting is really subtle on him, plus, the lighting reflects it. The armor is boltgun metal, babad black, and a chainmail highlight. I do hope to get better at it to make awesome AC and redo my Iron Warriors. The list you have has me thinking and my wallet crying. Most of the stuff on them list are things I have, except the scouts and a Sgt telion that will be added. However, I do like the idea of Valthex. I can make one, somehow, and use him as a MotF with the SM codex or as himself if I can get my hands on IA9. I do hope to expand o this list in the future with a venerable dread, land speeder storm, and assault marines that can be used as retaliators. Or I could switch sternguard for vanguard And make a retaliatory army. Ideas, ideas.... Speaking of ideas I am trying to make an ornate centurion with mostly sang guard bitz and have been trying to think of a conversion Beamer and harness for the MotF, so no pics for this update :devil: Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorenzen Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 there is the option of making them into psuedo retaliator type squads, which would allow you a bit more leeway with trims and the such and some cool (if superfluous for normal games) modelling opportunities. in response to the highlighting thing, id suggest pushing them up to vallejo silver (or if not available to you mithril.. though its less reflective) just make sure that if you go down this route to keep them to spot areas (top and right hand edges of things i find works best) and keep they tidy. harness wise for the master of the forge, if you are feeling adventurous butcher one of the arms from a servo harness and get it to come round the front of the model like a stabilizing arm, then using a terminator heavy flamer as a base work in some funky conversion beamer esque madness. (my mof's was made out of part of a necron destroyers gun a heavy flamer, a few bits of tau then had the destroyer barrel wrapped with wire to make it look like a big ass electro magnet.) the centurion sounds like it could be interesting and i highly recommend getting hold of ia:9 the whole book is made of win imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushrong Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 Well, I did get some work done and have decided to paint gold trim to show a bit of veteran status among the Sternguard. I would still like to think of these as just battle hardened marines but my idea on their current background has made me think of different fluff ideas for them. http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010554.jpg All this marine got was gold on his left shouler guard trim. I am thinking about doing the rivets on his other shoulder pad gold as well but I am undecided. It does add a nice touch than just leaving it bare 'metal', next thing I want to do is try to free-hand a mini Tyrant's Claw on the same shoulder pad. Next up, I started to paint one of the metal Sternguard. http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010555.jpg He has his basic colors done. I will try to highlight him tonight and start painting all the little details on him. I want to finish these guys up before moving on to the others. Also, while waiting for a FW order to come in I will start to type up some fluff to go with a few of these marines. C&C always welcomed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlebrush Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Awesome job hushrong! I gotta say I really love the Sternguard models, have to be between them and the Vanguards as my favorite models from the first wave. Keep up the good work brother. Oh and I cant wait to see what your ordered from FW :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushrong Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 Thanks Mr. Malevolent! To start off is a small pic of an attempt at highlighting. It isn't my forte but I am happy with how I did: http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010568.jpg So while I am still waiting for some FW stuff (I see the folks in UK got theirs but mine still have an ocean & half a continent to cross) I decided to try out some free hand. It uh...didn't go so well... http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010579.jpg and to compare to my 'best' piece of work (and it fits since this guy squared off with the AC): http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010578.jpg I may have to invest in a better brush, like a '3-hair' brush i heard about, and find some way to keep my hand more steady. I have seen that FW put out decal sheets...but I am not a big fan because of how they look when put on a mini. Most of the time when I have tried it it looks like a put a sticker on a model kit. I also got my first sniper squad in...can you see him in the pic? http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010581.jpg If you lied and "No, i didn't", then thank you. I tried doing a boxy/digi style of camo since I think it would fit well for an urban setting. However, when I re-do this I need to make more rectangles and squares and perhaps bunch them a little. Plus, I think i need to get a new pot of codex grey for this. Suggestions for doing camo or a more fitting style would be nice. now the blank front of the same sniper: http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010582.jpg I am debating what colors I should do his fatigues and boots. I know the armor will be boltgun and his gloves might be blue like his full astartes counterparts. However, i am debating if I should do the fatigues a bleach-bone kind of color and either do the boots black or brown. The other idea I had was to have him completely blend by using the same grey colors as his cloak. I figure that would be fluffy if he is a sniper trying to conceal himself but I do not know if that will look bland. So I definite could use some advice here. In the meantime I hope to build another sniper or two and remove some "U" from a telion mini. Thanks for stopping by, C&C and suggestions would be most welcomed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulkan454 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 The highlighting looks good to me and the freehand is darn impressive as well, you just need to refine your technique and practice a little more if you're not happy with it. For the scout, maybe blue for the fatigues and silver for the armour or use the grey from the cloak for the fatigues as well. Bleached bone would be too bright IMHO. Hope this helps. Vulkan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crandall87 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Your freehand work is really good. I do like the colour scheme of the Astral Claws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Apostle Thirst Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I feel your freehand pain. However, I believe you could easily do it with a little more practice. I think that whatever you decide, you should make it very heavily worn, or that it appears to be - whether you choose to do this with smears and camo effects or actual weathering techniques, it would help with giving theme to the scout(s) while keeping in the colours of the army as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlebrush Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Awesome job on the freehand brother. Such an intricate design and you pulled it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushrong Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Thanks for the comments, interest, and support! It is the fuel that will keep me going! Well, I got some work done on my Astral Claws. YAY! Also, after I wrote that post I went to play a game where my Imperial Fists got creamed and when I got home a nice package was waiting for me! I got my FW order! So get ready for a bit of Fluff and pictures! So to start, a current ‘state of the army’ picture: I will update the first post with these pics like in my SoM thread. http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010586.jpg *Am also going to rewrite my army-list with some notes as well. So first thing was first, build a MKV Astral Claws. His pose is rather relaxed as I was hesitant to take a blade to it. Next up is my Pedro Count-As, Centurion Egor Hellstrom http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010591.jpg http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010592.jpg No longer a leading figure among the Tyrant’s Legion, the Astral Claw had kept his title in recognition that the Chapter Master himself had chosen him. Such a great honor would not be simply be forgotten by the veteran. His career among the mortal servants was however, short-lived, due to large figures of casaulties sustained before the outbreak of the war. It was not uncommon for the mortals to perish during the grueling training sessions or from execution due to failure, but Under Hellstrom’s command it was exponential and he was reassigned to serve among the Chapter Proper. Unique to Hellstrom from his peers is his wrist mounted Storm Bolter. Too few Storm Bolters exist compared with the high quantites of boltguns within the Chapter and priority calls for the veterans in terminator armor to receive such devestating weapons. Still, few varients exist where they can no longer be used by the hulking warriors as is the case with Hellstrom’s weapon. This weapons has proved invaluable within the chapter when engaging in ship-boarding action. High-rate of fire and the punishing devestation coupled with two ammo canisters of bolter rounds make the bearer an unstoppable force. *Fluff regarding the pistol, of “fist-ol” as someone I know likes to call it stems from the OSS Pistol Glove as seen in Inglorious Basterds. One idea was for it to be used by the USMC against Imperial Japanese in ship-boarding actions. It didn’t really come to pass…plus, that thing can break your wrist like a mofo. Seen here, unpainted, are various battlefield modifactions put in place by the Astral Claws during the Badab War. Originally starting with ship based Astartes, the popularity of such modifactions spread rapidly throughout the chapter. http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010594.jpg In the hands of the marine on the right is a standard ammo drum attached to the boltgun, being able to contain up to three times the amounf of rounds, such cansiters were invaluable during firefights aboard ships and on the ground. The need for less reloading allowed a marine to provide longer duration of support fire. In some cases, Astral Claws using older marks of boltgun patterns would utlize a belt-fed system where a box would be improvised and the belts of ammo extended to mimic the drums used by chapter veterans. On the left, the Astral Claw is utilizing a double-magazine that had been rigged using two magazines, metal scrap, and acidic salva to bond them together. A simple and crude modification, it allowed the seccessionist astartes quicker reload times. One major ploy used by the Astral claws were fire teams of three, where two astartes were armed with regular magazines and a third with a drum equipped to their bolter. During an engagement the two standard magazine bolters would open fire on an enemy position, and in most cases the enemy would take cover. When their magazines ran dry, the two Astral Claws would seek cover and very audibly eject their magazines. The loyalists, hearing the highly familiar sound would believe their oppoenets were reloading and would rise from cover to take a firing position. They would immediately come under attack by the third Astral Claw who would have sought a favorable firing area. *this is based of a Korean War tactic/myth in regards to the US M1 Garand and its very recognizable sound of an empty cartridge ejecting. Well that it for now. Hope you liked the update! I should be getting back to work with these guys soon and keep an eye on the first post as I update it with the same army picture and new army list! Thanks for stopping by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly_bear Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 really giid concept there fella, liking that alot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlebrush Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Holy crap! That Pedro conversion is freakin' sweet. Those two bolter mods are pure win. Especially the double mag one. Keep it up brother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushrong Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Thanks Dorns_fist and Mr. Malevolent! The ammo mods were easy but the double mag one is my favorite. Besides being a real-life thing, I actually wanted to make one because I am saving my other storm bolter drum boxes and needed something to keep up looks with the sternguard. Plus, I think the double mag was one of my favorite perks in a FPS. It was always great being to reload faster in a firefight during clan matches :P As for Hellstrom (aka Pedro), I am happy I made him work. Had that mini in it's blister for over a year so I'm happy to finally use him. Removing the metal was a chore, which is why there is random spots of black paint to test my handiwork. If I had been a better sculptor, I would have only file down the fist icons slightly and sculpt the tyrants claw in it's place. Cato Sicarius may be getting a similar treatment soon...unless I decided to go with Vulkan... *edit* I am also going to paint strip the mkV marine, his initial colors look too 'clunky to me. Going to roam around the painting support threads an see if simple green is safe to use with resin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorenzen Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 i know that degreasers like cillit bang are safe on resin.. as are ovenpride and dettol.. but as im not from "your side of the pond" i dont even know what simple green is actually meant to do (other than strip minis) keep up the good work, ive been very lazy with my updating of late and someone needs to hold down the fort for the metallic armies out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushrong Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 @Lorenzen: Simple green is like an all-purpose cleaner. An this weekend I found out that it works great with resin! So that marine will be getting a new lick of paint in the near future. as for an update now that the 4th of July is over, I thought to share some of my progress with Huron's Boys. To start this post, a pic of some of the work that was done: http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010601.jpg Last week I started by 'fixing' up my vindicator and gave it some more paint. At the moment it has no highlighting or anything. I do not plan to go any further (except paint the other side door blue) as I plan to paint strip this in the future and redo it. It's decent enough for the table but hopefully I can jazz it up when the time comes. I also built and prepped my snipers, made a fifth marine, and started what will become a Retaliator Squad Strike Leader (who can stand-in as a captain or a centurion as well). First 5 Astral Claws: http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010611.jpg I have been doing bases with what I hope comes off as an urban 'look-and-feel'. I feel inspired by the last scene of Saving Private Ryan with these guys. I just wish I could model them more like it. I also copied nurgling6688's paint color for the rim *giving credit to where it is due, also he has Awesome AC! These five are the start of 2 tactical squads. Next up to bat are some scouts: http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P101061a0.jpg The one scout that is dead center is how I think I want their armor to be painted. All of metallic save for blue on the shoulder pads. The rearview of the scout next to him is how I think i will paint the fatigues. A nice dark grey. It will really blend him in with his cape and base which theoretically is the point of being cloaked but could look like laziness on my part on paint him. any thoughts on this? Also, I planned for this squad to be all cloaked but I hated, HATE, the pose of the scout sniper standing around holding his rifle and scope. What is that guy doing? The rest of his squad is ready to fire off some rounds down range and he is just standing around. So that is why i have a cloakless marine...who I hope to replace with the previous metal sniper scout who is kneeling. If I can get that, I will be very happy with the looks of this squad. Not pictured is Scout Sergeant Rheznov (Telion). I discovered the mini was a horrible cast when I started to clean it up and tried to dry-fit his arms. So a replacement is on the way. *I think Rheznov is a good name for someone in that role. The Voice of Experience goes hand in hand with the inspiring character and Telion's ability. And for my current favorite piece, my Retaliator Squad Strike Leader: http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010604.jpg http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010605.jpg This (mostly) metal mini was originally an Imperial Fist Sternguard...but looking at him I decided he had more to him. I thought about making a centurion out of him as I still want to make an awesome one but he seemed more at home with a retaliator squad. I am most happy with how the shield and weapon worked out. I first tried to make it look like he was gripping the shield by his hands but it just didn't work. I also thought to give him a chainsword...but that didn't carry the same regal feel the mini gave off. So next I tried a power sword, it was better but still a little underwhelming. Then I looked at the BA axe and knew it was a good fit. Being what appears to be a two-handed weapon, having his shield attached to his gauntlet also worked out well. He can still shield himself while leaving the hand free to grip his weapon. Well, thats it for now. Hope you liked what you saw, C&C always welcomed! *If any of my photos come out oddly cropped or sized, its photobucket. It has been pissing me off to no end today as I tried to trim and combine pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlebrush Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Holy :cuss: hushrong! The boys are really coming along nicely. I have to say I also really like your Retaliator Squad Strike Leader. Just oozes bad ass :D Oh and if you dont mind, I gave a go with that double mag-bolter idea for one of my projects ;) I'll let you know when I get the thread up so you can gander at what I've been secretly working on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushrong Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Holy :): hushrong! The boys are really coming along nicely. I have to say I also really like your Retaliator Squad Strike Leader. Just oozes bad ass :D Oh and if you dont mind, I gave a go with that double mag-bolter idea for one of my projects ;) I'll let you know when I get the thread up so you can gander at what I've been secretly working on. Thanks Mr. Malevolent! I am happy with using that Emperor's Champ as a Strike Leader. *there is one issue I think which I will describe later in this post. He seems to fit perfectly. And i am happy that the double-mag will be seeing use in another chapter. Well, to start off, I am going to update the first pic in this thread with a look at the current state of the army. It is mostly the same stuff with more bodies in it. Anyways, I have had the urge to work on some 40K, so besides doing some BA stuff for somebody I went to work on increasing the Astral Claws number count. So to start off, Tactical Squads! http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010634.jpg http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010633.jpg I have just about 2 full squads built and primed. I had a good trip down memory lane as I paint stripped a lot of these guys. I got to see the black and red of my DIY Chapter, the True Word. I got see yellow with black trim from my Imperial Fists 5th company build up, and I even saw some Red from when I tried to make a couple of Blood Angels. Now I am happy to see them prepped for service as the Tyrant's Finest. The only thing left are two sergeants. I was going to use the GD 05 mini (Vet. Sgt with arms up in the air like he's screaming 'GOOOOOOOOAL!') but I need to fix up his Storm Bolter because of a drilling accident on the barrels. Then I have another powerfirst and an requisitioned storm bolter from a termie to make another sgt. So I hope to get crackin on them soon. Now here are the Scout Snipers who, for the time being, will be led into combat by a Power Armored marine. http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010632.jpg I will use him as a Telion count-as which won't be a problem if I ever play 40k with my group. A powered armored Brother-Sgt (he has the little skull on his helm) seems like a fitting replacement since he has a bolter and can teach the new scrubs a thing or two. The main reason why I am using the PA marine is that each Sgt. Telion that I have ordered I needed to send back because of problems with the mini. There was metal gunk all over the sides under the arms and attached to the torso and the arms didn't match up to hold telion's bolter. So i just got tired of ordering and returning what seemed to be the same exact problem-mini. Also, a bit of fluff for my snipers. The Badab War has opened a unique opportunity extended to scouts. While their fully fledged brethren gain victory on the field of battle, a decree has been issued by commanding Astral Claws that Scouts with high rates of confirmed kills will be advanced in their order to become astartes. This has led to all out aggression among scouts to gain greater amounts of kills...and do whatever it takes to keep themselves ahead of the race. *seems like a great way to motivate some hostilities. Last but not least is my Retaliator Strike Squad http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/rongboy/P1010630.jpg I was able to scramble extra bits to make a full squad. What I would like to do is fill up the squad with more marines and stuff them into the Land Raider Crusader. Nothing would be more cooler than that thing pumping shells out at ridiculous volumes as a bunch of pissed off Astral Claws rush out to 'get you off their :D lawn'! One issue I have though is that the EC mini...seems smaller in scale than his brethern. This is something I noticed with the Masters of the Chapter minis as well. Well, thats it for now. i need to go get some Boltgun Metal and Brushes and get to work...after i finish some BA. Thanks for taking a gander! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subtlebrush Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Looking really good so far brother! What are you using to strip your models? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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