Veteran Sergeant does True Scale + Blackstone Fortress

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Came back to this thread after a little time away. I like the reposed heavy bolter arms very much. I'm going to be unhelpful and prod you about the painting thing - I'm getting back onto the Deathwatch project soon and would like to do an Invector as one of the Marines if you're still happy to have the likeness of your Chapter used, but I'll do a new model rather than the old heavy flamer toting dude as I want to repose him. Would be great to have a template to follow.

 

Any plans for a Dreadnought at some stage? Was thinking a Contemptor or Ironclad might hold a lot of potential for your style.

[Veteran Sergeant]

Sorry, I didn't see this post. For sure you can use my Chapter for your Deathwatch. I'd be honored. All of your work is fantastic and I'd be happy to have these guys exist in more than just my imaginary version of the universe. Somebody else already did up an Apothecary, making it all the more pathetic that there are almost as many painted Invectors in other people's armies than there are in my collection (mine are all just mostly-completed test figures for color mix testing). ;)  But I'm not possessive about the Chapter or the paint scheme. The way I see it, if people like what I've done enough to want to use it for their own hobby, it means I've contributed something worthwhile. Heck, if I end up making a MkVI Marine for somebody I promised on Dakka, maybe I'll make him one of the Sons of Tyr. ;)

 

I'll get around to painting eventually. I just don't work on this as much as I used to, and I haven't painted an army in years. I want to make sure that by the time I put paint to these guys, that my skills are back to a level where it does justice to the conversion effort. Fortunately I have a ton of old metal Marines to practice on, whenever it is I get around to practicing. I keep trying to get my one buddy together for some painting days (he's quite valuable for tips and has a ton of supplies I don't, even if he typically does historicals, not 40K), but he did something silly like have a kid and I haven't seen him in a while.

 

Dreadnoughts present a problem for me. I want to convert them to be taller, but all three of my existing "modern" dreadnoughts are metal which complicates the process by making them already top heavy. I love the Contemptors, and I actually know how I'd want to do it, but it falls into the "not allowing myself to buy more high-dollar kits until I put together the literally dozens of unassembled Marines and vehicles I have sitting on sprues already" rule. I think my next project is going to be some land speeders. 

[Calgar 2.0]

Just saying. This has inspired me to tryy these conversions on a kill-team I have to make.

 

They'll be the Jade Dragons from the Damocles anthology.

[Veteran Sergeant]

I'd been discussing the fact that I had several Land Speeders to do, and how that would affect the scale project. So I set out to see how that could be accomplished. Turned out easier than I thought.

Though I must say I hate the Landspeeder kit. Maybe mine are just so old that they've warped to time or poor storage, but the chassis parts of this kit fits together ridiculous poorly. A lot of cleanup will be needed on this model just from having to re-glue portions of it. That said, it turned out pretty decent.

Of course, you're asking... are they tall scale too? Of course they are, lol.

What purpose does this serve? None. Just for completeness I guess.

"But you can't even see the legs!" Yeah.

The gunner is not peranently attached, so that he can be rotated along the guide-rail for the mount. You can see the interior details here, including the sidearms for the crew, and the spare box of ammunition for the heavy bolter.

Front on shot. You can see the pilots sit a little above the roof-line, but not too much. Both pilots have supplementary targeter heads to interface better with their heavy weapons.

[Armond]

Well done, shows how much work you put into things, great clean-up!

[Squeaky]

Dedication right there :D 

[TDF]

I like the upside down missile launchers. Makes the land speeder look more like an attack helicopter. I always think the standard LS typhoon looks like it should only fire missiles whilst stationary, like artillery, but this looks much more like a fast gunship should, imo.

 

You might not be able to see the leg extensions, but if they weren't there you would know, and you wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

[Megapope]

The lack of paint on these beautifully converted models is actually killing me. C'mon, step up! 

[geektom]

Land speeders are on my to-do list, also- thanks for the inspiration!

[Veteran Sergeant]

The lack of paint on these beautifully converted models is actually killing me. C'mon, step up!

Sadly, I wish I worked on this project more often. Truth be told, they've been boxed up for over a month, lol. My inspiration comes and goes, as well as my motivation, and I've never gotten further than painting up a few test models on my old metal figures working on paint mixes and just practicing techniques since it's beeb a while since I painted figures.

 

It's something of a shame I know, and I'm not willing to invest any more significant money in this project, so paying someone to paint them is out of the question, heh.

 

One of these days, lol. Until then, hopefully I can inspire people to do better things than I've done. Several people already have. There's actually a lot of potential in GW's bland little multi-part kits, and one of my goals has been to fashion interesting and exciting models out of some of the most basic parts.

I like the upside down missile launchers. Makes the land speeder look more like an attack helicopter. hould)

That was my intention. I was trying to reconcile a few different things.

First, aesthetically I just didn't like the way the kit looks out of the box. Second, the missiles couldn't be positioned to where it was likely for them to strike the gunner or his weapon while firing, lol.

 

While I'm not 100% happy with the final product, it meets the "Looks cool" and "Won't blow up the gunner" criteria.

[A D-B]

Man, you do absolutely breathtaking work. 

[Veteran Sergeant]

I appreciate the compliment. Though it's also important to never underestimate the power of taking good photos. ;)  Good lighting and well-chosen angles are key. And they help conceal imperfections too, heh.

 

That, and I don't take pictures of the ideas that fail, lol. I was very jealous. Brother Arkhan managed to pull off something quite similar to an idea I'd had for a while quite beautifully with those Kromlech legs. I wish GW made some good kneeling Space Marine legs.
 

[YoungWolf7]

It's too bad this project is languishing. I really like it and it's very close to my own Star Phantoms in ideology.

[Johnny Turbo]

Good work Marine! I think keeping the added leg length near the crotch is the best way to go.  Thank you very much for a more realistic take on the way a man should fire a rifle.  I'd love to see a correct kneeling pose or (god emperor forgive) a nice rifle sling wrap around the arm in true Marine fashion.  

[geektom]

If you ever want something painted, send it along to me-- I would be happy to do a few things for you gratis because of all you have contributed to these forums.

[Sheesh Mode]

Veteran Sergeant, I've been slowly making a true-scale army for my OC chapter. Your work is inspiring. How long does it take you to make a model? I usually average a half hour to break down a model and another 10 - 20 to add bits and poses to my liking. 

[Veteran Sergeant]

About an hour each, start to finish, is about average. Though obviously it's a multi-step process so when I started I would put together three or four at a time and cut it down slightly. The process got harder the more I added to it. Modifying the bolt guns takes another 10-15 minutes alone, lol. I counted it up. The Tactical Marines are now comprised of, on average, 39 different parts including accessories and spacers.

 

Compared to, of course, 10 if you're assembling them off the sprue.

[psnmario]

these are great! good work on the conversions

[Volt]

Why do you completely standardize the armor I've been wondering? While most of the marks are inferior to Aquila going by FFG, Corvus armor actually has some major benefits in the stealth department for infiltration. Or simply wearing the hounskull helmet so rounds will be deflected off it for assault marines/deflecting sword blows away from the helmet.

 

Also, have you ever thought about using the combat knives instead to put bayonets on the bolters? I do that time to time with my CSM's, although right now I'm avoiding conversion as much as I can thanks to the scars I've been collecting from hobby knives.

[Veteran Sergeant]

A few reasons. Aesthetically, I like Mk7 the best. Out of all the marks, it's the only one that looks both functional and futuristic. Less exposed cabling, no armor plates that would have glaringly obvious overlap problems. The early Marks like II & III don't look like power armor. They look like how power armor would look like if you never had the technology to build power armor in the first place. Which while you could argue is the "40k aesthetic" it doesn't really match up since this is still a spacefaring civilization we're talking about here. I feel like Priestly wrote that article about older power armor marks simply because a White Dwarf issue needed some extra page count, lol. Mk 4 Marines, especially the ones with the rigid front plates, wouldn't be able to turn or bend at the waist, nor properly move their wrists, lol. 

 

Beakie helmets look too much like Spy vs Spy or the old cartoon crows Heckle and Jeckle. Just an aesthetic choice. I didn't like hounskull helmets even when I was younger and into knights and such.

 

Space Marines in power armor don't sneak around. That's not their job. That's silly stuff I leave for mediocre authors writing about the Raven Guard. The Deathwatch RPG is goofy as all heck with a bunch of arbitrary rules in it. Especially the bit about the Corvus legs getting a bonus, which is especially funny since the original fluff about the armor marks said that "improvements were made to the knee joint articulation" in the mk 7 suits.  

 

Bayonets have their uses, but the combat blades that come with the models are huge. They're not knives, they're swords, lol. Which is fine, because they're being carried by Space Marines. But mounted as a bayonet, they exacerbate the fact that the bolters themselves are already too big at "heroic scale". 

[Volt]

A few reasons. Aesthetically, I like Mk7 the best. Out of all the marks, it's the only one that looks both functional and futuristic. Less exposed cabling, no armor plates that would have glaringly obvious overlap problems. The early Marks like II & III don't look like power armor. They look like how power armor would look like if you never had the technology to build power armor in the first place. Which while you could argue is the "40k aesthetic" it doesn't really match up since this is still a spacefaring civilization we're talking about here. I feel like Priestly wrote that article about older power armor marks simply because a White Dwarf issue needed some extra page count, lol. Mk 4 Marines, especially the ones with the rigid front plates, wouldn't be able to turn or bend at the waist, nor properly move their wrists, lol. 

 

Beakie helmets look too much like Spy vs Spy or the old cartoon crows Heckle and Jeckle. Just an aesthetic choice. I didn't like hounskull helmets even when I was younger and into knights and such.

 

Space Marines in power armor don't sneak around. That's not their job. That's silly stuff I leave for mediocre authors writing about the Raven Guard. The Deathwatch RPG is goofy as all heck with a bunch of arbitrary rules in it. Especially the bit about the Corvus legs getting a bonus, which is especially funny since the original fluff about the armor marks said that "improvements were made to the knee joint articulation" in the mk 7 suits.  

 

Bayonets have their uses, but the combat blades that come with the models are huge. They're not knives, they're swords, lol. Which is fine, because they're being carried by Space Marines. But mounted as a bayonet, they exacerbate the fact that the bolters themselves are already too big at "heroic scale". 

One thing I would point out though, knowing a bit about melee from fencing classes and researching it, having any sort of blade being drawn from your back may look cool, but in practice it can lead to a lot of fumbling. Especially when trying to shove it back into the sheath. Typically it's better to mount them on the belt, shoulder (like Spartans in Halo Reach), or on the leg. Otherwise though all looks good. Especially that MPK5 bolt pistol.

 

EDIT

 

Although for turning at the waist bit, space marines have a fused ribcage, so they're not going to be doing a whole lot of bending anyway.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Volt

[Veteran Sergeant]

Right, but the placement of the combat blade takes into account other factors, not the least of which being the manner in which Space Marines get transported in tight confines where space is at a premium, and the idea of minimizing the amount of stuff swinging around to catch or snag.They aren't sheathed anyway, just clamped. I always thought the idea of scabbards to be somewhat anachronistic. The only reason you'd have pouches for ammunition would be to secure the individual rounds better and prevent the intrusion of dirt and other particulate matter into the magazines. Anyway, the blade is a tertiary weapon for a Space Marine. Ease of access to ammunition and grenades would be prioritized over ease of access to a sword. 

 

The fused ribcage is something of a misnomer. The ribcage forms a mass of interlocking plates, not one solid plate. The exact biology of it is a bit fuzzy (like most of it since it was written by a gamer not a doctor or scientist), but the idea is that it eliminates the spacing between the ribs. I mean, if we're accepting Spess Mahreens as possible, we can assume the rib cage has been modified to allow the plates to slide over one another, perhaps like lizard scales do. What I'm talking about with Mk4 is that there are plates that will impact with one another preventing turning or bending past about ten degrees or so.

[Volt]

Right, but the placement of the combat blade takes into account other factors, not the least of which being the manner in which Space Marines get transported in tight confines where space is at a premium, and the idea of minimizing the amount of stuff swinging around to catch or snag.They aren't sheathed anyway, just clamped. I always thought the idea of scabbards to be somewhat anachronistic. The only reason you'd have pouches for ammunition would be to secure the individual rounds better and prevent the intrusion of dirt and other particulate matter into the magazines. Anyway, the blade is a tertiary weapon for a Space Marine. Ease of access to ammunition and grenades would be prioritized over ease of access to a sword. 

 

The fused ribcage is something of a misnomer. The ribcage forms a mass of interlocking plates, not one solid plate. The exact biology of it is a bit fuzzy (like most of it since it was written by a gamer not a doctor or scientist), but the idea is that it eliminates the spacing between the ribs. I mean, if we're accepting Spess Mahreens as possible, we can assume the rib cage has been modified to allow the plates to slide over one another, perhaps like lizard scales do. What I'm talking about with Mk4 is that there are plates that will impact with one another preventing turning or bending past about ten degrees or so.

 

 

Uh... what? Overlapping segments of ribs would actually be far more dangerous and impractical compared to a fully solidified ribcage or a honeycombed one. Leading to nasty things like pinching muscles or organs and almost certainly leading to incredibly serious, painful medical issues for the rest of their lives. Even worse then when an organ (typically intestines) pops through abdominal muscles, any tissue that got between the bone plates would be sheared apart.

[Sheesh Mode]

But that's based on the supposition that the muscles are not repositioned to mitigate such damage. 

[Marshal Rohr]

Layered armor like the mark 3 is the only way power armor will ever work in real life. The exoskeleton will have to be able to be stripped out and replaced frequently, if not after every battle. The mark 3 takes it's visuals from the Lorica segmata. In reality if would need the overlapping plates to assist with movement. The under suit would have to be a nonnewtonian gel layer that somehow provides continuous pressure across lines of non extension, because the armor itself won't be capable of being sealed for vaccuum. Solid armor like the mark 7 marks the least amount of sense because each piece of armor would need to be made to the exact specifications of the wearer, and even then it would suffer the same issues as our current space suits, wear a catastrophic breach requires the wearer to instantly go back inside the craft. A pressurized under suit can be sealed wirh duct tape, or if your high tech, the gel later is sheathed in memory cloth and can seal itself.