The Neurode Crusade - Updates and Fixes to HQs and Elites

[greggles]

To be fair, the dreadnought/whirlwind turret was not my idea.  I got some sisters off a fellow from craigslist years ago.  He did the conversion. (don't want to take credit for that!).  It's basically a dreadnought torso, with a whirlwind half on one arm, and the dread launcher on the other.  He used them as exorcists, and they definitely stand out from standard whirlwinds because of it!  Not a cheap conversion though! LOL

[Brother Christopher]

An update, and a ton of images!

 

I completed something!! Finally! And this something is my four Terminators with a set of green stuff tabards. I wanted to take some quick, but fancy (or even a bit artistic - the reflection was mean to be artistic, you know :)) pictures of them, however, I kinda failed at that. While I was taking the shots, the images in the camera visor seemed brilliant. Unfortunately, after seeing them on the PC screen, I regrettably noticed that they're not what I expected The light was too strong and I ended up overexposing the pictures (as you can see below). Nonetheless, I've uploaded them as they are. Maybe I'll take proper pictures of the Termies after I'll be done with the bases.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img850/987/wk0t.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img24/6717/1no5.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img21/4889/jwr5.jpg

 

I just want to say that I remember about the barrels in the Assault Cannon... I just need to get my hobby drill back.

http://imageshack.us/a/img820/867/wpz9.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img845/1571/19sl.jpg

(I have to find a replacement shoulder pad for this one. Apparently, I either lost his pad or overlooked its absence when I primed him months ago)

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img96/2913/7h42.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img189/5589/3xjc.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img163/1517/drlz.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img5/2056/qmt9.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img5/8347/jt0m.jpg

As a bonus, my Master of Sanctity conversion. I painted him for the last ETL competition.

http://imageshack.us/a/img21/7408/tzy3.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img543/1281/nktr.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img17/7873/mbla.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img842/6488/axcm.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img34/1169/jqz.JPG

Here's a group photo of the whole lot:

http://imageshack.us/a/img703/6939/3t1l.jpg

I'm still struggling to paint white, but I see some improvement. The whites on the Chaplain turned out to be extremely thick (I haven't seen that before taking photos). But overall, oh boy - am I proud of these guys! After all, they're the first finished examples of my "new" painting skills level.

 

Any comments or feedback? How do you like them?

[greggles]

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful!

 

How did you do the tiny tiny lines on the purity seals...every time I try, I screw them up.  Do you have a shrink ray or something?  That master of Sanctity definitely needs the terminator armor to move around.  That's bout 500 lbs of templar bling! Loving it!

[deathspectersgt7]

They look Sharp.

[Dark Scipio]

I like everything I see here.

[Sir_Isenhar]

Really nice! good work! I really like the way you photographed them with the reflection... makes them look super

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks!

Greggles, with the scriptures on purity seals... It's always a lottery. I use a detail brush and sometimes the lines are fine, sometimes they're not.

 

I've started working on my new Marshall ("chapter master") and would like to ask for your opinion about my upcoming conversion. Which one do you like more? The one with the small shield (I'll file of the unneeded symbol and maybe add a templar cross) or the one with the original bit?

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img546/9567/zcfo.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img401/9443/xwnh.jpg
 

Also, do you think that such a plain torso front will do the job? The guy will be pretty "Imperial" with the eagle on the greaves and fancy shoulder pads and s FW Storm Shield. Or would an aquila front be better?

 

Initially, I went for this torso because it reminds me of power armours of old. And this is supposed to be an old, relic armour, which could be used as Armour Indomitus.

[greggles]

I think if the shield was blended a bit more into the torso (maybe some greenstuff on the sides), it would be a win.

[Brother Christopher]

Oh, it will be. I just dry fitted it for a general impression, because I'm not yet sure about how I'll handle this section of the Marshall. But when I make my final decision, I'll get rid of the original belt ornament, and replace it with the shield.

[Naglfar]

I agree to the note about the shield being too far out from the body. Get it closer in and it'll look great. Alternatively, you could probably also make it work if you made it obvious that it was held a bit loosely in place by something like a rope or a chain around his waist.

 

Also, why remove the fleur de lis? Maybe the shield serves as a crusader badge where the BT worked closely with a SoB force? The exchanging of iconography between fighting forces when the bonds are strong and all that.

[The_Chaplain]

The original belt ornament is really one of the more characterful things about that model. Why not just file the rosarius style ornament off it and sculpt on a maltese cross?

[Sir_Isenhar]

Yeah me too.. I think the shield looks out of place..

Maybe replace the torso part with the Black templar sergeant one? so it has a nice cross in the dead centre!

 

I think you can still keep the bottom part that way you will make a unique torso..

As that type of torso you are using now is from my understanding used alot for jump pack marines... So maybe try another one?

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for your feedback. After due consideration, I decided that trimming down the belt ornament to fit the shield is too risky. I could have unwillingly trimmed more than intended and ruin the model. And that would mean more work to repair the damage. Also, I was afraid that the shield would be too much. I have a heavily ornate MoS, and he was supposed to be like that: a walking reliquary, so to speak. But the Marshall in a Power Armour... He has to carry a big shield in front of him, so there's no need to burden him with additional ornaments.

 

Sir Isenhar, I'll stick with this torso front. I'm not entirely convinced by its looks, but the work's been done - no turning back now.

 

I wanted to give his armour a "relic" character. It's dated back to the older days of the Imperium. Initially I considered using a Maximus front, with the pipes/power cords - like the one we have in our chapter upgrade sprue. Unfortunately, I must've used up all of those. So I decided to choose a different old armour pattern. The front I chose is (as I understand it) from a Mark V Heresy era armour. Also, the studs on the greaves are typical of those armours. You're right, the piece I gave him is sort of similar to assault torso fronts, because of those "belts". But it can work to my advantage, if one day I'll decide to equip my Marshall with jump pack.

 

I somehow didn't mention it yet, but the Marshall is to be equipped with a holstered pistol, a Storm Shield/Shield Eternal (I guess that FW Storm Shields are fancy enough to count for SE) and two "hand" variants: one with a relic blade/Burning blade and one with the Teeth of Terra.

 

I started with the relic/Bruning blade. I found somewhere in my bits resources and old, metal powersword arm. I have no clue from which OOP model it comes from, but I figured that it fits my idea of a heroic, yet leisure pose for my Marshall.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img593/6514/aj0d.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img841/7439/3tf8.jpg
 

Do you happen to know where does this arm come from? It bothers me for a long time, this little mystery.

 

The Teeth of Terra will be wielded by the Emperor's Champion's hand. And the Black Sword's blade will serve as a relic/burning blade. I'm very glad that I got one EC miniature virtually for free and can cut it as I please. The cross guard of the blade is made from the bit in the shadow: an ornament from DA veteran box (a standard top, I think).

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img826/9625/l5i6.jpg
 

Now, for the Shield Eternal. I have a set of miscast FW Storm Shields. They are in awful shape, but they were dirt cheap. I tried to fill most of the holes and imperfections with green stuff. Sure, a lot of detail is lost. But I'm no Eavy Metal painter and I hope that my "messy" painting skills will cover up the rest of the damage. I replaced one of the skulls on the shield with a more regular skull. The other (top left corner) perished. I had to add a crusader seal on the right side of the shield (to make 2 layers of purity seals) because of a gaping hole there. But the coolest miscast is the additional "notch" on the shield's left side. That works pretty well and alternates the shield from the original FW pattern.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img196/5702/wyvu.jpg

 

The inside of the shield. I tried to filled all the holes, obviously. As you can see, the cast was REALLY messy. For the commander's hand, I used a regular arm from the old tactical squad: the one holding a boltugn. The shield-holding hand comes from an assault squad's combat shield. As the shield is enormous for a PA marine, I tried to "reinforce" it by adding green stuff elements and power cords. The idea is similar to what I understand applies to power fists: if something is heavy, add more power cords which direct more power to the heavy bit. By the way, power cords are made from guitar strings.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img542/1464/eude.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img33/1221/z0b0.JPG

http://imageshack.us/a/img822/1353/40x2.jpg

 

Now, for the body: there isn't much philosophy here. I trimmed the triangular bits around the cross on the belt ornament, I filled up the gaps with GS, and I added a GS collar.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img600/6898/4kfc.jpg
 

http://imageshack.us/a/img24/5430/6l4x.jpg

The sword! The best part, I'm extremely proud of it! The blade is supposed to be the burning blade, so I found this image of the Emperor and did my best to make my sword look like his. I used the fancy metal arm, added the wings from the DA box and attached the Black Blade. I also added a Templar chain - a symbol of our chapter and an assurance that even when he falls, the venerable blade will not fall from his hand. I glued on top of the chain an eagle head ornament (I figured that the Burning Blade from the picture also has it). Maybe it's a bit too short to be a burning blade, but that can't be helped. Anyway, it'll probably more often be treated as an ordinary relic blade.

 

Now I'm not that sure about the chain. Do you like it? Does it give a more "Templar" feel to the miniature, or is it unnecessary?

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img809/1847/1eck.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img196/938/hkt7.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img30/7678/yts2.JPG

The other arm:

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img853/5778/6m0j.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img24/8061/g1k7.jpg

The head is also a problem... I really like Centurion helmets, but on a PA marine they seem to be a bit too big, displaced, whatever. The other head is the only "knightly" helmet I currently have at my disposal. I was also considering a beakie helmet, but now I know that it'll be either centurion's or company champion's.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img849/6825/avnf.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img571/5854/e3ba.jpg

And now, the full splendour of the Marshall. He is not yet finished (there are some final touches to be done), but behold

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img69/917/cvhh.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img29/6949/ivx1.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/4445/hiff.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img856/1536/cvzr.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img89/2576/7dln.jpg
 

http://imageshack.us/a/img593/7606/b3rc.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img809/7648/xstq.jpg
 

And with the other head:

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img593/3968/bdhy.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/1089/bn9m.jpg

 

I like those "knightly" helmets, but a Centurion helmet also has its appeal. Especially that my Crusade is a "siege force", and a more cumbersome helmet of its leader sort of adds to the character of the army. I donno...

 

Any comments? I can't wait to get him primed and painted. And to make the Teeth of Terra. I have a pretty sweet idea for it, but I don't have all my bits where I am now.

 

Cheers!

[greggles]

I kinda of like the centurion head.  It looks really mean, and definitely stands out.  It looks a bit snake like.  I bet salmanders would have a field day with those.

 

It's funny.  Your miscast FW shield, is better quality then my "clone cast" FW shields from russia. LOL  The paint will cover them up nicely!

[The_Chaplain]

I would have never thought about using a centurion head on a power armor body; the end result is actually somewhat interesting.  If you don't use it on the marshal, maybe you should save it for if you ever make a "indomitus armor" relic conversion.  It looks like the bastard offspring of power armor and a suit of tacitcal dreadnought armor.

[Brother Christopher]

It's funny that you mentioned "indomitus armour". I wanted this to be an "IA" too. That actually was one of the incentives to use an older pattern of torso front. Unfortunately, as I understand it IA should be more like those retro power armours from the times of old or be extremely ornate, like armours of the Emperor and primarchs. My project is much more cumbersome or graceless.

 

Yet, I'm still inclined to paint the armour gold in order to show how super it is. I remember that in Helsreach, the Champion's (?) armour was so special, so fine, that it was gold. Along those lines, I thought that his armour can be so relic, that it 1. cannot be even painted, because the materials used and the inbuilt force field are making it impossible to even apply a layer of paint (How awesome is that?! a bit of a "fluff overkill", I guess, but it's 40K. And that would make the armour more "indomitus") or 2. the armour is so revered by the Crusade's Techmarines and the Marshall, that they do not wish to dim its magnificence and splendour, even by applying Chapter Colours.

 

All in all, I'm not totally sure about a gold armour. That's why I put of painting Helbrecht for such a long time.

[ShottyScotty]

HOLY TERRA WHERE ARE THOSE LEGS FROM?

[The_Chaplain]

Scotty those legs are from a metal space marine sergeant that was available in orders over a certain amount a few years back. He had a power fist and a bolter as his kit.

[Brother Christopher]

http://www.solegends.com/citle2000/promotions/web2008smsgt/uswebmarinesgt.jpg

 

Someone before me had the courage to tear this model apart and I got the result of his work for about 2 pounds. It was worth it, because I'd never have the courage to cut up an otherwise expensive and cool model. By the way, I'm also a happy owner of the original model in mint condition. That... was more expensive, but still worth it. At least from a collector's perspective. Because the original model isn't that great. Sure, the power fist and the leg pose is cool, but other than that he's just a regular marine. But he

[Marshal Rohr]

The champions armor was the original gold tinted ceramite underneath the black paint.

 

 

Nice sword too :) I might have a go at using that EC sword I have lying around.

[SunshineDragon]

Wow, honestly I never looked in your crusade thread till now (which I regret doing). If it makes up for it my mind is blown and I appear to now be incapable of writing psudocode for a robotic arm o.O

[Brother Christopher]

Well, I have a pretty serious question: can a crusade have too many chaplains?

 

Sure, sure: THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH CHAPLAINS and BLACK TEMPLARS ARE A CHAPTER OF CHAPLAINS, but I want to stop you there and ask from a fluff perspective, does it make any sense for a Crusade approximately 150 man strong (not including vehicles) to have a Master of Sanctity, and 4-6 Reclusiarchs? (including Grimaldus)

 

I sort of feel that Chaplains are a very important part of BT structures, we seem to have more of them (because of the nature of a Crusade fleet and our more strict "purity" requirements), but I guess that they are not THAT numerous. And I don't want to ignore any of the guys in my fluff.

[Arthanor]

Do we have more chaplains? To me, they are an angels' thing: DA for interogators / the keeping of secrets and BA for keeping the flaws in check. I have always considered that chaplains for BT had more impact due to the fervor of our chapter, but not necessarily that we had more of them.

 

If you go by the crusade that's detailed in the back of our 4th Ed. Codex, there are 2 chaplains for ~450 marines (1/225 marines). I think that's a bit small, personally, since codex chapters have 1 chaplain per company (= 1/100 marines). I would go with one chaplain per fighting company, counting the marshal's household separate.

[Netsu]

Maybe it's some kind of a pilgrimage? Then it would make more sense to have an unusual amount of chaplains present.

[Dark Scipio]

To be honest, I think Chaplains dont really fit the Templars theme very
much. Dont get me wrong I love chaplains and their apperance and
background. But the fit every chapter better than Templars. Why you
might ask. Because we are Crusaders, every Marine of us is as zealus as a
chaplain of another chapter. And we are knights and crusaders not monks
or priestes. We are lead in battle by the fines knight not by a priest.
A priest should always be a supporter to the crusaders not their
leader. Spirtual support? No, Ultras or Angels might need that, we only
need another swordman because or faith and zeal are unyielding.