The Neurode Crusade - Updates and Fixes to HQs and Elites

[The Pounder]

I like the added script on some of the armour plates, I’d forgotten that was a thing, I’ll be adding some to my Primaris.

Thanks.

[Brother Christopher]

Update, April 2019

 

I didn't make much progress in March, but there's some movement in April! I managed to finally get around to priming some miniatures, so I should be slowly posting pictures of my works in progress. Since in the initial stages of my Crusade, back in 5th edition, I didn't pay much attention to what Codex-compliant chapters call "devastator squads", this area of my army was virtually non-existent: it included a total of one missile launcher Marine from AoBR box. Over the years, I acquired bits to make 4 of each heavy weapon but didn't care much for painting them, leaving the heavy support element of my army in a state of neglect. Now, my "devastators" are finally getting some attention. In addition to the painted models, all remaining "devastators" are primed. This means that there should be a steady stream of updates on some Marines wielding (some unwieldy) big guns!

 

I also have something to report on my purchases. I am proud to say that despite faltering, I remain true to my resolve not to buy anything new. As a reminder, around the release of 8th edition and the first Primaris models, I decided not to buy anything new because 1) I have a gynormous backlog and 2) I am not happy with the "product" (mainly the rules) GW tries to sell me.

 

This week I needed to get some hobby stuff (paints and primer), which almost resulted in me buying a Stormhawk (I like the model and hate GW for releasing it after I bought two mono-kit Stormtalons, flyers which infuriatingly are also extremely over-costed in the game) or a Repulsor. The extent of flawed logic behind the purchase-to-be is excruciating - I figured that since I need to pay for shipping, I might as well buy something more to offset the fee... Luckily, reason was triumphant and my no-purchase streak continues!

 

On the subject of reason and lack thereof, I have a new idea for a "project". Since I am at the same time determined not to buy any Primaris infantry and annoyed that I like the rules of some of their units, I keep coming up with ideas how to proxy them for potential future friendly games and thusly generally "future-proofing" army. Most of my ideas depend on my hope that my opponent will show good will and agree to just consider some of my miniatures as Primaris. One thing that is helpful here is the base sizes; since I'm using the legacy 25 mm bases for most of my army, the "Primaris" marines will be clearly distinct because they'll be using 32 mm bases. There!

 

But what about Inceptors and the new guys with auto-cannons? Their rules, especially their guns, are pretty cool and it'd be a waste not to have an option to include at least three guys with two D3 plasma guns, I thought. How could I proxy those? Initially, I thought about flying "Terminators" - to somehow kitbash Terminator armour with regular jump packs and use the Primaris' arms. Now, however, I think I'll go with jetbikes converted from regular bikes. That should work just fine... I hope.

 

Yeah, so that basically sums it up for the state of my crusade: 1) I started working on some devastators (with a stop watch in hand! I am fixated about the time-to-quality ratio on my miniatures and want to attempt to speed paint "regular infantry" but make sure that they're roughly in line with the quality and aesthetics of what I've painted so far), 2) I almost bought a new kit and 3) I want to take a stab at converting some Space Marine jetbikes and call them count-as Inceptors.

[Marshal Vespasian]

Brother Christopher, I think we all know your pain on getting more than we can paint. So good on you for staying zealous and strong in the face of those delicious purchases.

I am excited to see some more heavy weapons marines coming along.

[Brother Christopher]

I've finished the first 5-man squad out of the 15 Marines I've recently primed. I must admit, I failed spectacularly in my attempt at "speed painting". I persisted in measuring the actual time I needed to paint the squad and it took me on average shy of two hours per Marine.

 

It becomes more and more clear to me that I am doomed to slow labour. Despite my efforts to cut some corners and hasten the process (e.g. painting fully assembled models with weapons covering the chest detail), it seems that I can't reduce the time I need to get a result which I'm content with and which is consistent with my previous work.

 

The one thing I managed to improve is the edge highlighting - now done by drybrushing. The results are comparable to what I did before, the time per model remains almost the same with the added work required to clean up the grey paint from areas I don't want to be painted, but the process isn't as tedious and annoying as it used to be.

 

Overall, my two hours per marine is... I don't know. I have no comparison to other people's standards but I imagine my the time-to-quality ratio isn't good; this in turn 'frustrates' me a bit because with so much time and effort put into the hobby (both in terms of minutes per model and years in the hobby), I'd kind of expect to get better, more 'professional' results. At the same time, paradoxically, I am not willing to

 

At this point, I suppose I should explain myself - I'm so fixated with time and quality because of the size of my collection. I'm still trying to find the perfect balance and reinforce what I think is the right thing to do, that is to have a fully-painted army. With roughly 140 models still to paint and limited time for the hobby, I can't justify spending more time on single models to improve their quality. At the same time, I can't seem to be able to convince myself to further streamline the process by lowering my standards. With a smaller collection, I'd surely not be bothered so much with all this stuff - I'd do my best and push the limits of my technique and strive to get better and better results. However, with the state of disarray that my army came to be, it seems that I'd rather have all my models painted and have a consistent look. That is why, I'm also updating my older models to the current standard and aesthetic.

 

These were my complex feels about the place, or rather corner, I've found myself in by pursuing a constantly fleeing idea of a "perfect army" through online auctions and bargains. The thing is that to me, it turned out that there is no such thing as a "perfect army". GW make sure of it, all right. Every time I felt content with the collection of units, vehicles and weapons, rules changed - at first, we've lost our independence; later new units (flyers, centurions) were introduced. With my stabs at scratchbuilding and new purchases, the collection grew and grew out of control. This is only the second year that I started to properly sort the crusade out - assembling models, organising "units" and painting miniatures.

 

Lucky for me, GW introduced Primaris Marines - this was the last straw; something that helped my see the GW-driven hobby for what it is: to see the Space Marine range a product which is supposed to work like an addicting TV series - to give some of the familiar, but keep new content flowing and make sure that the fanbase is not only looking forward to new additions, but also - and more importantly - buys them. The changes made to the plot and the new marines drastically changed by experience of the hobby. Looking forward to a different type of Primaris Marine, with their superior looks, superior guns, superior rules and superior price isn't something I find enjoyable. I find this "hobby model", with regular releases of new stuff fundamentally altering the game experience, acceptable for trading card games, not 40K. With 5th and 6th editions, sure there where rules changes, but the units remained fundamentally the same and were a constant - something that'll surely be out there. Now, I feel uncertain about my squat marines' future in the game; luckily, I'll one day have my fully-painted army on display.

 

But I keep on sharing my reflections about myself: my approach to the hobby and the state of my crusade. But that's not all! It's time for something "proper" - some painted Black Templars! All photos are available at imgur in the gallery:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brother Carpenter]

Oh man I envy you for managing only 2 hrs a marine with that result. That would take me at least a day per marine to achieve that kind of quality. It took me almost the whole etl to finish hellbrecht grimaldus and his retinue of cenobytes to give you an example of my painting speed.

[The Pounder]

Great looking Devastators! Especially at that quick rate.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Two hours a marine for that quality is basically a humble brag.

 

I also like the SB's pose. It's like he's sat there at the back, with the longer range guns, knowing his weapons are out of range and just taking casual pot lob shots.

Edited April 13, 2019 by Brother Adelard

[Marshal Vespasian]

I cant say enough good things about the look of your models. 2 hours per marine seems good for what you put out to me. In my internal planning I usually speculate with 5 marines in a week. Vehicles are quicker.

 

Concerning your thoughts about the hobby: your situation is more extreme than mine ever was. Approxinately double so. I only ever had some 70-80 marines to paint, which I have almost knocked out completely by now. And I have to say one thing: If I am completely honest I dont even know why I pressure myself to be quick about it anymore. A) I have a functional 2k pts army with some options by this point. B) I play maybe one game of 40k in two month.

Also I came to realize that there is no point in "keeping up" with releases as long as there are still unpainted models in my cupboard. If there is one thing that was true for GSC, Orcs and the knes chaos range its this: they looked like must-buy scenarios when they were unveiled and new and mysterious. They did look like pretty cool models, but I got other stuff to paint right now a week or two after release. The same is pretty much true for the whole primaris range. I still think some models are really cool, but I will finish what I have first and see what Hot New shiny things will be available then for me to paint. I mean I dont know, maybe I'm done with the last gellerpox guy and the delivery Person hands me my tainted grail kickstarter the next day.

 

Also: dont repaint "old" models. A substandard paint job is better than no paint job. And tomorrows squad will always be slightly better than todays squad, because the beauty of the Hobby is that we always make progress.

Edited April 13, 2019 by Marshal Vespasian

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the feedback. From now on, I will appreciate what I have going on here more. I promise not to complain, nor brag (though, it's never been my intention). As I said, I had no way of comparing my pace of work to what others are doing and I've been meaning to ask about this for some time.

 

I also like the SB's pose. It's like he's sat there at the back, with the longer range guns, knowing his weapons are out of range and just taking casual pot lob shots.

 

That's great to hear! I had mixed feelings about the pose but couldn't (or didn't bother to) do anything about it - the head, torso and legs were glued by the previous owner of the miniature firmly in place - the binding was impossible to break without risking damage to the plastic so I decided to make the best out of the pose and roll with it. After all, I rather treat all these miniatures as individuals than parts of an entire squad; that's why I don't care too much about poses - I imagine that the battlefields of the 41st century might be brutal and thus may justify all kinds of poses ;)

 

I cant say enough good things about the look of your models. 2 hours per marine seems good for what you put out to me. In my internal planning I usually speculate with 5 marines in a week. Vehicles are quicker.

Concerning your thoughts about the hobby: your situation is more extreme than mine ever was. Approxinately double so. I only ever had some 70-80 marines to paint, which I have almost knocked out completely by now. And I have to say one thing: If I am completely honest I dont even know why I pressure myself to be quick about it anymore. A) I have a functional 2k pts army with some options by this point. I play maybe one game of 40k in two month.
 

 

Brother, I fully empathize with you on planning and 'pressuring oneself to be quick' about painting. In my case, this is something I have to do to get things going with my collection. I found myself losing interest and passion zeal once I had falsely realised that my fully-painted army is unattainable. Scheduling work and estimating the time needed to get all the stuff ready is something that helps me make the notion seem feasible. Thanks to that, over the last 1.5 years I managed to get to the point where I have more or less half of my stuff painted and (what seems to me) 80% of stuff assembled, including Sterngruad Veterans and Centurion kits that I bought when they were first released and which were just moved from one apartment to the other. The resolution not to buy new stuff definitely helps here...

 

Also I came to realize that there is no point in "keeping up" with releases as long as there are still unpainted models in my cupboard. If there is one thing that was true for GSC, Orcs and the knes chaos range its this: they looked like must-buy scenarios when they were unveiled and new and mysterious. They did look like pretty cool models, but I got other stuff to paint right now a week or two after release. The same is pretty much true for the whole primaris range. I still think some models are really cool, but I will finish what I have first and see what Hot New shiny things will be available then for me to paint. I mean I dont know, maybe I'm done with the last gellerpox guy and the delivery Person hands me my tainted grail kickstarter the next day.

 

I also share your attitude and thoughts about new releases. That's awesome to hear what a like-minded person has to say - it reinforces certainty and helps combat the "pressure" from both GW and the nerd inside me tempting me to buy new, good-looking kits. Probably the most annoying thing about the new releases is the leap in technology and design - new kits feel crisp and neat and somewhere down there I am annoyed to miss out on the potential... and it suck to be "stuck" with 'inferior' products that I've already bought.

 

On a positive note, being in the hobby for so many years means that I have bits and pieces from an extremely wide range of kits: old and new SM plastic kits, BT upgrade sprue, old pewter models, BA Death Company, DA Veterans, Terminators of various sorts - all of this helps to add the much needed variety to a collection of over 200 PA Marines and 50 Terminators. Thanks to this, most of my models feel unique - something that I imagine could be difficult with a comparable Primaris force (I kind of feel that Primaris weren't designed to make up large collections).

 

 

Also: dont repaint "old" models. A substandard paint job is better than no paint job. And tomorrows squad will always be slightly better than todays squad, because the beauty of the Hobby is that we always make progress.

 

I'd like to clarify what I mean: I don't repaint them as in stripping the old paint and redoing them from scratch; I rather update them with new 'techniques' I learned and/or started using over the years (using two layers of highlight, using washes and shading for parchment/cloth, adding a basecoat - in the beginning I used to treat the black primer as the base colour - to have a uniform black on all the models). I used these models in my games and since I can be quite sentimental, I think that they've earned their right to retain that heritage. The update is something of a middle ground.

[Marshal Vespasian]

Adding to the previous paintjob seems like a good way to do it. Once everything I own is painted I will have to go backe and paint some of the old weapons I did yellow to fit with my crusades colour scheme.

 

We just have to find a way to portion out the work, so the amount of time we want to or can put into one marine doesnt seem so disproportionate. Having gotten off the new chaos release craze right now I am actually thinking about getting another Box of tacticals and doing at least two further crusader squads for deepstriking anti-tank and then maybe another one for long ranged anti-infantry firepower.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Marshal Vespasian

[Brother Christopher]

I just want to let you know that I'm still around. What is more, I'm making progress (!) with painting my Crusade.

 

I'm testing a new approach to the hobby - I try to find 30-60 minutes every day to paint something (anything, really), relax and have the feelings that things are moving forward. So far, this attitude seems to work really well. Without the usual frustration, and seemingly in no time, I managed to do edge highlighting (my least favourite part of painting black marines), white pads and base metallics on six marines.

 

At the moment, I'm still working on two things - more heavy and specialist weapons marines and upgrading/restoring some of my first miniatures. Mixing the two projects also keeps things a bit less stale, which is nice.

 

By the way, I went through some of my photos on my hard drive and were able to pinpoint my first model ever (the guy second from the right in this photo). Despite that I want all my forces to use the same style, I'm thinking about leaving him as he is and not upgrading the paintjob and preserve the brave soldier for posterity, as a reminder of how far I've come. What do you think? Should I upgrade him to my present standard or leave him as-is?

[Marshal Mattias]

Given that he looks perfectly adequate as he is, I would preserve it. To anyone who doesn't know, it's still a great fig. To you, it's a visual reminder of hard work and perseverance:tu:

[Marshal Vespasian]

Always great to hear and see from you.

To be hones I would leave that model as it is. I am kind of miffed that I don't have my first models anymore, only what I painted first when reentering the hobby, so that will have to serve as a reminder of improvement.

Your current approach to hobbying sounds a lot healthier tbh. I have decidided for myself to approach hobbying way less agressive as well. I always feel like I absolutely have to finish my back log or else.

Well a) my backlog is looking pretty okay right now b) or what? I have more than 2k of templars painted and about 3 kill teams, so I can just chill

 

Anyways I am looking forward to your further output. Keep on keeping on.

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the feedback! I'll leave my first Marine as-is. I shall see this as honouring him as the chosen marine who introduced me to the hobby and was the entry point of all these beautiful and frustrating years, as well as this (sub)forum.

 

@Marshal Vespasian: Yeah, I think my attitude is healthier indeed. In a strange way, I finally find the hobby rewarding. There's no rush - at least if you're a casual gamer or a painter/collector. I imagine that things look vastly differently if you're into the competitive stuff. Recently, I were at a nerd convention and I saw a force of new Chaos Space Marines there. It was a strange sensation. With my pace of progress, I can't imagine painting 30 marines in a month (or how long ago was the release?). But my approach is unhealthy and an anomaly - it's probably odd to require 3-5 years to paint an army, but here I am. Once again, thank you GW for releasing Primaris ;) Despite the heartbreak (and thinking about quitting on several ocasions), this really helped me to finally stop buying new stuff. Now, I can appreciate the feeling of being on track and actually seeing the end of the line.

[Brother Christopher]

Another batch of freshly painted Initiates with heavy and special weapons. The good news is that I have over 2/3 of my 'Devastator Marines' done. The bad news is that I still need to paint 7 to have the full squads of 4 marines with each special weapon type. That's a lot of ordnance... before I get to doing some more exciting stuff, like Honour Guard, Sword Brethren and HQs.

 

 

[Marshal Vespasian]

Thats a ton of dakka going out. Again I am impressed by how crisp your freehand is on those shoulders

[Brother Christopher]

I've been away for a holiday. Now that I'm back, I discovered that my hobby morale are near an all-time low. Regrettably. The persistent focus on Primaris is like rubbing salt into the wound. What really bugs me is the indifference I feel towards this year's ETL. It seems to me that despite my efforts, the rule support for the models in my collection really gets to me and extinguishes the kindling motivation I might otherwise have.

 

I could forget about my disappointments, give in, enjoy the new releases and be a part of the excited community happy about the new GW, but this seems a bit dishonest to myself.

 

I could sell my collection and never think of 40K again, but 1. it's too dramatic of a step and 2. it's way too reckless and unreasonable. After all, no money can make up for the countless hours I've spent on collecting, building and painting my miniatures.

 

But instead, I'll do the only reasonable thing to do: stop feeling sorry about myself, persevere and do something hobby-related. I'll pledge a couple of miniatures to paint for the ETL and this will hopefully reignite the zeal and passion I used to feel. In this spirit, to combat the doom and gloom, today I've started prepping a couple of characters for the event.

[Marshal Vespasian]

Well the last primaris release, to me, was a huge letdown. I am still waiting for models for that range that make me go ":cuss yeah" in the same way oder models do.

 

I did a small bit of converting on an old games day model from way back when, 2007 or so, the captain with a two handed grip on a thunderhammer. That Kind of Model just has way more flavour than anything in the primaris line and I propably wont play that guy ever, but he looks awesome.

What I am trying to say is: dont think too much about the new Releases. From what I can gather from more competetive players that primaris models arent really that much better than classic marines on the table anyways, so not really worth loosing sleep over.

 

The largest Part of 40k for me ks hobbying anyways, so just do stuff you find enjoyment in. Maybe it'll be useful in apocalypse or next edition.

Edited June 27, 2019 by Marshal Vespasian

[Brother Christopher]

Marshal, your leadership skills are excellent! Your words motivate me to persevere and I recommend pursuing a career in the Reclusiarchy!

 

True, Primaris appear to be nicer models thanks to their bigger size and seemingly better proportions - that's their biggest appeal. But, as you say - the older models usually appear more characterful.

 

With my resolution to paint again after the holiday, I joined the forces of the Space Marines in this years ETL. For starters, I pledged to paint 8 Marines and, for the purposes of the competition, I declared that they are: 1 Lieutenant with plasma pistol and lightning claw, 1 Chapter Champion, 1 Company Champion and four Company Veterans (1x combi-plasma, 2x combi flamer).

 

[Brother Carpenter]

Good.

Looking foreward to your painting and modelling.

It's a huge inspiration for me. Good luck with the etl.

[Blender]

I love those conversions! keep on zeal-ing on brother!

[Majkhel]

Great to see you chugging-out quality miniatures again! :)

[Brother Christopher]

You guys are just amazing! I shall keep zealing on and painting, even when/if GW's policy lets me down! Your positive feedback is such a morale boost, I appreciate all of it greatly!

 

There isn't much progress to report but there is some. I chose helmets for the miniatures and primed them. For the "Company Champion", I decided to go with a SM: Captain's head instead of the usual, knightly/templary choice. Firstly, I want to save these cool helmets for my other HQ choices and Bike Command Squad members that I plan to build.

 

Secondly, no other helmet seemed to work with the torso. I used second-hand parts for the model which included a mutilated back (with cloak) part which in a strange way affected the positioning of helmets, regardless of how I trimmed the usual neck part. It was positioned too high, caught the protruding collar... and just just didn't look right.

 

I also decided to paint the cloak and tabard differently than usual: red with a black. Apart from practical aspects (i.e. I struggle to reach certain parts of the cloak with my brush), I think it's quite fitting to represent a unique role/rank in the Neurode Crusade.

 

[Marshal Vespasian]

Those conversions look great.

 

I am interested in what you do with said cloak. I am trying to Experiment with colour placement more and more these days, so seeing, what you guys do is always interesting to me

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks! I have to say, I'm pretty proud of these models. I haven't been converting models for a long, long time and most of these are results of... having broken things. Take the sword and shield guy, for example - I almost discarded the sword altogether because I had got a miscast box of Vanguard Veterans that I didn't complain about and didn't request for a replacement (regrettably!!). Among other bits from the kit (including stormshields and chainsword), the relic blade had a ruined point which I replaced with a more even point of another sword and some greenstuff (hence, the sub-par quality of the blade which, admittedly, isn't visible in the picture). Had I not wondered what to do with the nice, but ruined part, I wouldn't have come up with this stance.

 

I found some time today to work on the models, too. Here are some photos of the progress I've made:

 

 

 

 

To be honest, I wanted the heraldry on the shield to be more ornate. I intended to brave a BT coat of arms of sorts; however, since the model is already assembled, access to the front surface was quite cumbersome and also came with the threat of breaking the super-glued point of the sword off in the process - I tend to catch the point on the surface of my desk when looking for ways to conveniently and firmly prop the model for some of the more tricky work. But I think that the simple white cross with (some random) script gives him a rather stern and elegant look too. I'll save the freehand coat of arms idea for a larger surface.