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The Mantis Warriors - A Badab War Log


Pfreck

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Hey guys,

Ever since I saw the new Imperial Armour Badab War books I’ve been tempted to start a Badab War army. This is a test miniature from the Mantis Warriors, one of the four secessionist chapters who rebelled against the imperium. I really liked their fluff and the colour scheme got a nice update from the Forge World team, I didn’t really like the older colours and chapter symbol. I want to do a couple more chapters to see which one I can paint relatively fast and see if I can paint an army of them!

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f323/Pfreck/Space%20Marines/mantiswarriors_testmini.jpg

Conclusion: I really dig the scheme, the fluff is also very nice as mentioned. They’re a successor chapter of the White Scars, which means they are mongolian-like in appearance which I like a lot! However, the chapter symbol takes a long time to do properly and I still feel like I could’ve done a better job on it. I’d love to do an army of them if Forge World decides to make a decal sheet for them (as they did for the Carcharodons, Astral Claws etc.), but for now it’s probably a no..

The next test model will probably be either a Lamenter or Carcharodon.


I decided to build an army of Mantis Warriors, the first goal is 750pts!

I’d love to know your thoughts!

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Hello Pfreck,

 

Wow, thats a really cool looking mantis warrior! I like the weathering very much. I believe you are being a bit too critical of yourself when you say you "could’ve done a better job". I see your point about the transfers. That chapter symbol could be difficult in that it requires symmetry to get it to look just right. Doing this freehand could be tedious to say the least for an entire army. I myself am waiting for some sons of medusa transfers to come out from forgeworld to finally pull the trigger on them. I'm sure its only a matter of time before both of those transfer sets are released. That being said, I'm eager to see what your lamenter and charcaradon test mini look like!

 

Esponjabob

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Man, am I a sucker for a Mk.V helm. Very nicely done. The colors are well done; the yellow really pops against the green. The bolter looks suitably ravaged by use as well.

 

I do think the weathering on the armor looks a bit too much like rust, however. The scratches are really close to the same color as the dirt so it looks a bit like he just had some mud thrown on him. I don't know if that was the intention, but it just gives me the impression that his artificer is on vacation.

 

I'd really like to see a test of the Lamenters. Lots of bright yellow for you to dirty up in that scheme. Their heraldry also happens to be one of my favorites.

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Thanks a lot for the replies, guys!

 

Now to answer some questions;

 

Great work! Painting recepie alsjeblieft?

Thanks!

 

Green Armour

  • Undercoat Skull White
  • Basecoat of Gretchin Green
  • Wash of 50/50 Traka Green/Devlan Mud into the recesses
  • Re-apply Gretchin Green basecoat
  • Highlight of 50/50 Gretchin Green/Kommando Khaki
  • Final highlight of pure Kommando Khaki
  • Apply Scorched Brown with a blister sponge for the chipped armour
  • Highlight underneath the chips with pure Kommando Khaki

Yellow Shoulderpads

  • Undercoat Skull White
  • Basecoat of Iyanden Darksun
  • Wash of Devlan Mud into the recesses
  • Re-apply Iyanden Darksun basecoat
  • Apply Scorched Brown with a blister sponge for the chipped armour
  • Highlight underneath the chips with 50/50 Iyanden Darksun/Skull White

 

Hello Pfreck,

 

Wow, thats a really cool looking mantis warrior! I like the weathering very much. I believe you are being a bit too critical of yourself when you say you "could’ve done a better job". I see your point about the transfers. That chapter symbol could be difficult in that it requires symmetry to get it to look just right. Doing this freehand could be tedious to say the least for an entire army. I myself am waiting for some sons of medusa transfers to come out from forgeworld to finally pull the trigger on them. I'm sure its only a matter of time before both of those transfer sets are released. That being said, I'm eager to see what your lamenter and charcaradon test mini look like!

 

Esponjabob

Hey Esponjabob,

 

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. Indeed, I'll probably wait for Forge World to release decals for the Mantis Warriors. However, that doesn't stop me from trying the other colour schemes as well. The Carcharodons already have a decal sheet, so who knows I might just do Carcharodons instead. Gonna try the schemes first though! ;)

 

Man, am I a sucker for a Mk.V helm. Very nicely done. The colors are well done; the yellow really pops against the green. The bolter looks suitably ravaged by use as well.

 

I do think the weathering on the armor looks a bit too much like rust, however. The scratches are really close to the same color as the dirt so it looks a bit like he just had some mud thrown on him. I don't know if that was the intention, but it just gives me the impression that his artificer is on vacation.

 

I'd really like to see a test of the Lamenters. Lots of bright yellow for you to dirty up in that scheme. Their heraldry also happens to be one of my favorites.

Hi there Haunter!

 

I can see what you mean, the main reason I painted the chips with Scorched Brown was because I wasn't sure how black chips would look like on the armour. Though I don't think they look like mud splatters, mainly because I highlighted underneath the chips which gives the impression of depth than just dirt. I'll try some other colours for chipping on the Carcharodon and Lamenter, just to see how much of a difference it makes. :)

 

I say stick with the Mantis Warriors. Just paint them up without chapter symbols and wait on decals. An army painted up to that standard would look crazy!! :)

 

You know what, that's not a bad idea. Though, how would I know Forge World are planning to bring out decals for Mantis Warriors? If they don't, I'm screwed.. :P

 

Great job! I love all the Badab baddies, but the mantis warriors are seriously cool!

 

Chaperhouse do some reasonable mantis ish shoulder pads, which might save waiting for forge world to do decals.

 

Or you could make your own decals if you have

a decentish printer and some patience.

 

Cheers man! I've seen the Chapterhouse shoulder pads, can't say I'm a fan of them though.. The rims look a bit silly to me, and so does the mantis head. I prefer the new symbol from the Badab War books, they gave the original symbol a nice upgrade! Thanks for the suggestion though. :)

 

 

Thanks again for all the replies, it really gets me motivated to try the other two chapters as well! I think the Carcharodon Astra is next, a little break from the light colour scheme I did for the Mantis Warrior. ;)

 

 

Cheers!

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  • 6 months later...
I myself am waiting for some sons of medusa transfers to come out from forgeworld to finally pull the trigger on them.

 

In the Downloads section there are two Sons of Medusa Decal files. You'd have to print them onto Transfer paper to use them, but they may be worth a look ;)

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...amp;showfile=68

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...mp;showfile=345

 

As for the Mantis Warriors themselves, a great job! Love the use of the Mark IV ? helmets. Suits them down to a tee :D

 

Also, in the download section, Mantis Warrior Decal files:

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...amp;showfile=54

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...mp;showfile=191

 

I've never printed my own Decals, but if I recall, there are "How to" guides on the site somewhere. Hope that helps somewhat ^_^

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Thanks guys!

 

It's been way too long since my last post! So I figured that I should be working on a couple more Mantis Warriors for my army, I really dig this colour scheme! This unit of 4 + a Sergeant will be one of my entries of this years "De Lage Landen" Painting Competition 2012. For those not familiar with this competition you read more about it here.

 

They're obviously still WIP, painting the chapter symbol on the other marines will be a paint in the butt though!

 

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f323/Pfreck/Space%20Marines/MantisWarriors_Squad_I.jpg

 

 

 

Also, if a mod could move my thread to the "Works in Progress" section I'd appreciate it!

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