Crimson Tears, Deathwatch and Inq28 Updated - 05/02/23

[deathspectersgt7]

Techmarine looks great, FW & straight lines  . Merry Christmas!!!!! 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Looks great, man! You've inspired me to start working on the Quad Heavy Bolter Rapier battery I still have lying around.

 

What's next? A certain dreadnought? :D ;)

[Biohazard]

Tarantula looks awesome buddy. Good effort. You been back to work on Meph lately? As you know I love Dreads so looking forward to your Furiouso

[sockwithaticket]

Venerable Gadrael
 

Another  fallen veteran, Gadrael served with distinction in both the Second Company’s Honour Guard and Vanguard squads, Epistolary Oriphiel in particular favoured Gadrael as an Honour Guard member, for over a century before sustaining the wounds that left him entombed. In a Chapter of misanthropes and cynics, who tend to revel more in mourning the fallen than the celebration of victories, Gadrael stood out as much for his somewhat jovial disposition as for his martial prowess. The two dovetailed to produce a gifted warrior who wrought carnage on his foes as though each blow were a sacred, intoxicating triumph, ever hungry to inflict more damage and being elated by its causation. Upon ascending to the rank of Vanguard he showed a proclivity for utilising a pair of lightning claws whenever possible, developing a frightening dexterity with the weapons to the extent that it seemed they were truly parts of his anatomy. Now confined to a Dreadnought Sarcophagus, this has become so.

Gadrael’s internment became necessary after his heroic actions during the Wrath of Macharia incident at the close of M.40. Once again in pursuit of Eldar Corsairs operating in the Segmentum Pacificus the Crimson Tears 2^nd Company came across an Imperial Navy Dominator Class Cruiser, the Wrath of Macharia, drifting through space at the edge of the halo zone. After hailing it yielded no response a boarding party was readied and the Chapter’s Strike Cruiser docked with the dead ship to allow quick in- and egress. There were signs of struggle throughout the ship, but nothing to indicate the final fate or resting place of its crew until the vessel’s very heart was reached. The mound of mutilated corpses that greeted the boarding party was as foul as any vile monument to the Ruinous Powers, yet no such calculating an evil had eradicated the crew as the astartes would soon discover. Not long after the grisly discovery the score or so of Crimson Tears were assailed by seemingly numberless Tyranid lifeforms of the Genestealer class and were forced into an immediate, frantic fighting retreat back to the Strike Cruiser. Several of the boarding team were lost during this fraught withdrawal, though that they were not wiped out to a man is nothing short of miraculous. At the head of the retreating column was Gadrael whose crackling claws made short shrift of any Genestealers clogging the corridors between the boarders and the Striker Cruiser’s sanctuary. First to reach the boarding tunnel Gadrael was the last to enter it, refusing to seek safety until his more junior brethren –by the time the boarding tunnel was arrived at the other two veterans of the party had succumbed to the waves of xenos – were all en route to the air locks of the Strike Cruiser. His own return was torturously slow, a retreat of centimetres as he still fought against the press of chitin and claw. The boarding tunnel would not be retracted until Gadrael was safely inside the airlock, a decision commendable for its consideration to the veteran and his survival but that allowed the tunnel itself to become filled with Genestealers who erupted into the airlock as soon as Gadrael  cleared the tunnel entrance. Waiting in the airlock were the remnants of the boarding party and a few other 2^nd Company members who had rapidly armed and armoured themselves to help repel the invaders. Their numbers, however, were vastly inferior to those of the foe and Gadrael ordered them to retreat behind the airlock’s bulkheads, fearful that they would be overwhelmed and the vile aliens granted access to the entire ship.  

  As he saw the last of his brothers through the doors he swung his claws in a deadly arc, clearing himself enough space and buying sufficient time to shut the bulkheads and allow his brothers to regroup prepare to cleanse the airlock as reinforcements arrived. While he gave the last bulkhead commands via his vox unit he was speared through the lower back upon the talons of a preternaturally large creature, identified subsequently as a Broodlord class Genestealer of hitherto unrecorded proportions. Footage from the airlock monitoring systems showed how even this grievous wound would not fell Gadrael , his noble warrior spirit demanding that if his end were to come it would be facing his enemy.  He wrenched the creature’s limb from its body and drove it into the walls of the airlock. As the two grappled the rest of the swarm set their wicked claws to the bulkhead and interior of the airlock, gouging the surfaces deeply with every slash and thrust.  Finally despatching the beast with his own claws Gadrael noted the swarm’s actions and grew concerned that the bulkhead would not withstand the xenos’ unthinking, yet determined, assault. Surveillance footage shows that his next action was to plunge into the heart of the clawed mass, the Broodlord’s talon still protruding from his warplate, disappearing from view beneath the mass of chitin and fang, not sighted again until his eventual recovery.  Soon thereafter the bulkhead was opened and a counterattack party burst through it prepared to repel the xenos threat, meeting surprisingly little resistance. What greeted their arrival was not the hissing clawed mass expected but an ichor drenched space strewn with carcasses and limbs. The few live Genestealers capable of mounting resistance were summarily dealt with, many of these bearing fresh scars inflicted by the shimmering claws of Gadrael. Indeed he had clearly demanded a bloody toll from the aliens for daring to set their taloned feet aboard the Strike Cruiser.  His body was almost overlooked by the counter-attackers; with his armour re-coloured by the aliens’ bodily fluids and partially covered by corpses he blended perfectly with the scene of carnage he had created. The crackling of his claws, however, could not be obscured and duly grasped the attention of his brothers. Given the myriad ways in which his war plate had been rent and punctured he was assumed dead and borne from the airlock in an impromptu funeral procession, only discovered to still be alive, just barely, as the company apothecaries prepared to reclaim his geneseed. Despite their best efforts they could do no more than stabilise him, his body was beyond healing.  His actions had certainly saved the boarding party, perhaps even the entire Company and Strike Cruiser, in recognition of this feat, considering also his veteran status and previous battle honours, it was decided by Captain Nathaniel and his advisers to offer Gadrael the option of being placed inside a Dreadnought sarcophagus, an opportunity he gladly availed himself of.

Centuries have passed for Gadrael  inside his living tomb and have seen him involved in conflicts throughout the Imperium against all its many foes,  forever at the forefront of an assault and always a bulwark in the heat of battle, revelling in the destruction his armoured form is capable of wreaking. His counsel on matters of tactics and strategy is perhaps sought less than his similarly interred brethren, but he still has much to offer the beyond a mighty battlefield presence, His innate skill with his weapons, the character most sharply highlighted by his final deeds outside of his current form, both speak to a deep, natural understanding of the warrior spirit and as such his words on both the practicalities and spiritual side of war are highly valued by all members of the Chapter.

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/12/29/674191_sm-.JPG
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I know the twin Storm Bolters aren't a legal load-out, but he was inspired by some Forgeworld artwork of a Blood Angels mk. IV Furioso with twin Storm Bolters and it's not like my army's hitting a table anytime soon.




deathspecter - thanks, buddy. He was a fun piece to do, even if he exponentially increased the time it took to complete what is a 15 point model! Yeah, I know, Forgeworld wouldn't know what straight lines were if you gave them a box full of rulers (further reinforced by trying to highlight the Furioso's arm). Hope you had a good one.

Augustus - Wow, thanks! Glad to have had that effect. I look forward to seeing it, as I really like that model and haven't seen many of them done.

Now you may have noticed a conspicuous lack of the heavy flamer bit on Gadrael and that's because this:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/12/29/674249_sm-.JPG

Do you realise what you've done? You've forced me to start making a dent in my unpainted backlog! I'm going to build it up as a 2nd Siege Dreadnought to accompany the one I've already got. I've dropped mentions about the 4th Company being Siege specialists and as the 2nd Company nears completion I've toyed with the idea of building more of the 4th in accordance with the Siege Vanguard list from the Badab books where you can take 3 Siege Dreadnoughts as a single troops choice.


Biohazard - cheers, man. Certainly was an effort with the wonky lines and brushes that seem determined to lose their point when I need to do precision work! Hope you enjoy Gadrael. Regarding not-Meph I haven't actually looked at him for a while, he's been somewhat out of sight, out of mind. Now that my ongoing project are starting to diminish, now might just be the time to get back to him.

Edited January 2, 2015 by sockwithaticket

[The_Chaplain]

 

 

I've dropped mentions about the 4th Company being Siege specialists and as the 2nd Company nears completion I've toyed with the idea of building more of the 4th in accordance with the Siege Vanguard list from the Badab books where you can take 3 Siege Dreadnoughts as a single troops choice.

 

Do it. Seriously. I want to run a siege vanguard detachment eventually as well. It's a cool army list, and for whatever reason I have never seen a modelling blog for one. 

[sockwithaticket]

So here we with a new year and I've got a small update that's actually quite apt. A tactical marine! Wooo (said no one)!

Admittedly it's not the most exciting thing ever, but it does mean I have finished the squad whose first painted member appeared almost exactly one calendar year ago, it also takes me up to 90 members of the 2nd Company (discounting HQ models) and means I have a second legal troops choice after the BA codex changes.

So here's the fellow himself:
http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/1/674873_sm-.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/1/674872_sm-.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/1/674871_sm-.JPG
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http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/1/674869_sm-.JPG

And here's the whole lot, the squad it took 361 days to complete:
http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/1/674874_sm-.JPG


Happy New Year  everyone.


Chaplain - yep, it has the potential to be really cool and you're right, I don't think I've ever seen anyone do it before. Got finish the 2nd Company first, of course, but Tactical marines with siege mantlets sounds fun to me and a siege master conversion/kitbash definitely has to be attempted.

[Argent aquila]

Ran out of likes earlier today, but very nice work!

 

I love tactical marines when done with some energy, instead of the standard squatting bull poses that are typical oft he lazier sort, converted and dynamic tacticals can be really interesting and more than just guns in hands.

 

 

 

 

 

I do have to say that that is probably the record for longest time to finish ten marines though :P

[sockwithaticket]

Completely agree. To be fair some of them are gun in hand poses, but Ive tried to make even those a little bit interesting by actually aiming them properly. The number of static tactical marines you see who don't even seem to be pointing their weapon, just holding it in some nonsensical way...

Yeah, almost a year is actually quite shameful. I did do a lot of other stuff, too, but it shouldn't have taken so long to get the squad done.

Edited January 2, 2015 by sockwithaticket

[Augustus b'Raass]

Happy new year and congrats on this finish, SwaT. I too love tacticals and you have 60 of them?!?!?! I believe I speak for all of us when I demand pics of your entire company. Please? Also, do the Siege Vanguard list, mate. I'd love to see those dreads!

[sockwithaticket]

Ask and you shall receive! Not the greatest pictures, my camera can handle close ups of small groups of models but not wider shots of many, so you'll have to click on the image and do some zooming if you want to make out anything specific. I also feel the need to say that the assortment of books on the bottom shelf indicate my reading habits from when I was about 15 years old rather than subsequent years during which I have diversified my taste and even tackled some more 'high brow' stuff.

First a picture of 2014's board appropriate output:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/2/675098_sm-.JPG

Altogether that's :
For my Crimson Tears -
10 Tactical Marines, 10 Vanguard Veterans, 3 Breachers, 2 Penitents (counts as Death Company), 1 Captain Samael (counts as Tycho)

1 Captain Nathaniel (counts as Malakim Phoros), 1 Baal Predator (my first tank!), 1 Furioso, 1 Tarantula (with a Techmarine on its base).

Other servants of the Imperium -
1 Inquisitor, 2 Warrior Acolytes, 5 man Deathwatch Kill Team, 1 Angel Encarmine,1 Knight of Blood, Large scenic objective (60mm).


The 2nd Company en masse (currently 90 marines and 8 HQ's)

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/2/675099_sm-.JPG

On the left hand side we have (lef to to right)-

Front Row: Chaplain (in need of a redo) 10 man Assault squad w/ plasma pistols,
Middle Row: Venerable Gadrael, 10 man Assault squad w/ meltaguns.

The middle (l to r) -
Front row: Reclusiarch Sariel and 2 Penitents, Captain Nathaniel, Codicier Morael, 5 man company Honour Guard, High Apothecary Remiel, Epistolary Oriphiel, Reclusiarch Barachiel, Apothecary Zachriel
Middle row: 5 man Assault squad w/ meltagun, 10 man Assault squad w/ flamers, 10 man Vanguard squad w/ almost one of everything
Back row: Baal Predator "Traitors' Ruination", Revered Uriel, 10 man Devastator squad w/ 2 Lascannons and 2 Missile Launchers.

Right hand side (l to r)
Front row - 10 man Sternguard squad w/ 2 Heavy Flamers, Venerated Castiel
Middle Row - 10 man Tactical squad w/ meltagun and multimelta, Tarantula w/ Techmarine Nanael
Back Row - 10 man Tactical squad w/ plasma gun and plasma cannon, 2 Servitors



Supporting elements:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/2/675100_sm-.JPG

Left to Right:
Inquisitorial support - 8 Deathwatch, Inquisitor Constantijn and retinue of 9 warrior acolytes (plasma gun, melta gun, 3 storm bolters) and a Techpriest (Jokaero Weaponsmith)

3rd Company Captain Samael (Tycho), 4th Company Captain Ezekiel (Seth) and Breach unit Azazel (Vanguard squad w Storm Shields and 1 power axe), Ancient Raphael, Sons of Sanguinius envoy unit (Angels Encarmine, Blood Drinkers, Knights of Blood, Flesh Tearers and Angels Sanguine currently represented).

At the back there's my 3 objectives and 6 scouts with sniper rifles on scenic bases.



Augustus - thanks man, same to you. As you can see I do not have 60 tacticals,  but between the Assault, Vanguard and Honour Guard units I do have 50 marines kitted out for close combat  I chose to take a non-codex approach with company organisation for the Crimson Tears that more closely matched my vision for them and what the previous Blood Angels codex allowed for. Assault Marines having shifted from Troops to Fast Attack somewhat undermined that, but I'm going to stick with it. You and The Chaplain have convinced me that once I do wrap up the 2nd Company a 4th Company Siege Vanguard project will get underway (not that I needed much convincing!), you'll definitely see the dreads, though, as I'd do those regardless. Love the idea of siege dreads.
 

[Argent aquila]

So jealous of your work right now!

You could literally swamp the table top with awesome minis, get some air support soon though, a converted stormraven would look fantastic here!

(Not to mention I really wanna see you paint one. :P )

[sockwithaticket]

Right, after the frenetic update schedule the holidays permitted we return to more normal service. In the time since my last post I've finished prepping the new siege dreadnought and here he is all tacked together:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/14/678697_sm-.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/14/678698_sm-.JPG

Thankfully air bubbles were mercifully few and there weren't too many bits of flash/mold slippage lines/mold silicon to deal with either. Alas, it's too cold and wet to prime anything at the moment (good ol' Blighty), so he's going to have to stay as a hunk of resin for a little while longer.

In the mean time I need something else to do and while a Malifaux figure was a nice diversion the Crimson Tears really do have an awful lot of stuff I still want to do for them. First order of business, get the Penitents up to a minimum squad size and as a result I have a 3rd finished squad member:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/14/678695_sm-.JPG

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Nothing, too fancy as you can see, but a solid model nonetheless. I've also matched all the parts for another two including one with a hammer.



Argent aquila - ha, thanks. Eh, they're not all awesome, a couple of those squads are early works with no highlights, some missed mold lines and a much worse white than I currently have. I keep debating whether or not I should go back and redo them, but I've got too many future ideas to allow for that. Alas a Storm Raven does not feature among them. The only thing I've painted bigger than a dreadnought is my Baal, I'd like to get a couple more tanks under my belt before tackling anything bigger flier (plus my pile of unfinished plastic, resin and metal is big enough as it is!).

[deathspectersgt7]

A Nice Group shot. Liking the addition of another dread. 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Nice group shots mate! You *do* have a lot of finished models. Unbelievable what you've chruned out. You said you did a ten man tac squad in exactly one calendar year. Does that mean the whole 90 strong army has been in the making for 9 years?

 

The siege dreadnought is looking killer. Glad my heavy flamer bit is coming in handy so much. Any particular reason you're using the normal dread feet and not the FW dino ones or the actual siege feet (I have those to spare, so if you want them too, you can have 'm).

[sockwithaticket]

Back again and this time a few steps closer to having a minimum sized Penitents squad. Pads and packs are all that's left to do, so you can see how they're going to look and I'm particularly pleased with the poses. The Mk. VI marine looks more dynamic than I though he would (hooray!) and the Mk. VII one has come out a little slower and more purposeful as he let's his next victim know what's coming ('Hey, you!, Yeah, you. You're mine.')
http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/25/681697_sm-.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/25/681695_sm-.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/25/681696_sm-.JPG

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Hopefully I'll be able to post up the finished group shot over the next couple of weeks.

Had to paint up the bases for them as I'd run out of my last batch, but had plenty primed so decided to do up a new lot while I had the paints out:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/1/25/681701_sm-.JPG




deathspecter - I do love my dreads. Sadly, I don't know when I'll be able to crack on with him, conditions currently and for the foreseeable future do not lend themselves to priming. Sometimes I hate this island.

Augustus - thanks, buddy. It feels odd to receive praise for production rate from you as you are definitely a lot quicker than I am! Thankfully I'm not so slow that my current collection has taken 9 years, it's only been 3 and a half; it's just that one tactical squad that took a bizarrely long time to finally get done. I find that the longer I'm at this the easier I get distracted by new ideas for units.

Very glad that the platform for the flamer bit meets with your approval. Regarding the feet, I actually really hate ordinary FW dreadnought feet - the 'dino' ones as you called them - and very much like the plastic ones. I've trawled ebay to make sure that all my unbuilt/unfinished FW dreads have a pair of plastic feet! Thanks for the offer, though.

[Argent aquila]

your updates never disappoint!

Great work!

[deathspectersgt7]

New additions look great. Come to Michigan won't be able to prime anything till March Ihave 20 BA Tac Marines and 5 BA Terminators plus 30 other Marines Screaming for a Undercoat. 

[Biohazard]

Love the Mk7's pose mate. Great stuff

[Urauloth]

Some absolutely gorgeous minis here. Great colour scheme, excellent implementation. The recurring white death masks are a striking feature. Love some of the poses you've achieved, too.

 

What's the dark red you're using on your penitents?

[sockwithaticket]

The Penitents are done! They've been a lot of fun and have generated some great responses from members on here, I'm intending to do a Razorback for them in the future, but I have other things to crack on with before that happens. More of that when I make a few key decisions. For now though, pictures:
 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/2/2/683983_sm-.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/2/2/683984_sm-.JPG
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Group shot, the 2nd Company's Penitents are led into battle by Reclusiarch Sariel, who will note their battlefield deeds and help counsel them in the aftermath as to whether or not they have done enough to expunge their perceived failings:
http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/2/2/683991_sm-.JPG

Argent aquila - cheers, it's always the aim to produce stuff that's at least a little interesting and worthy of presenting to the internet. I'm glad you keep coming back to view the results andfluff my ego

deathspecter - Thanks man. Oh boy, that sounds rough. I forget sometimes that this board is international and that pretty much everyone outside of the UK and Western Europe has worse/more extreme weather than us and we really can't moan too much when ours is less than optimal.

Bio - thanks, buddy. Figured it was about time to use one of the many pointy hands I've accumulated.

A Kvlt Ghost - Thank you so much, you're very kind indeed. There'll be more death masks in the future, count on it; I've still got at least 4 special characters to do. Glad you picked up on the posing, it really makes a huge difference to models. Stock bits with no alterations can look awesome or dull and so I do take a lot of time to pose them. The Dark Red for the Penitents is P3 Sanguine Base. I love it. It covers surprisingly well for a red and yet isn't thick and in need of loads of thinning like Citadel base paints. This particular bottle has had a bit of Reaper Master Series Nightshade Purple (basically black, but not quite) added to it as it was a bit brighter than other bottles of it that I've used.

[Biohazard]

Loving the Penitents mate. What you thinking of adding next?

[deathspectersgt7]

Loving the Penitents mate. What you thinking of adding next?

This+1

[Augustus b'Raass]

Congrats on the finish! I have never seen the chaplain before - he's awesome! And yes! TANKS!

[Slips]

I envy your painting skills at making such fine, fine straight lines :x So crisp!

[Kierdale]

Really, really cool.

It's always a thrill to see your work.