The Neurode Crusade - Updates and Fixes to HQs and Elites

[Brother Carpenter]

Group shot group shot.

You have done Telion justice.

Really like the face

 

But then again, what sm does not look good in black. 

Edited January 17 by Brother Carpenter
Thicccc finger syndrome

[Brother Christopher]

Thank you brother, I'm particularly happy with how he turned out. As I've mentioned: I do like the sculpt, probably to the extent that he's in my top 10 pewter SM models

 

And thanks for the word of motivation ;) I'll get around to doing a group shot soon. However, I'm thinking that I probably should glue some sand on the remaining bases before that.

[Brother Christopher]

I humbly ask for your opinion; I'm reworking an old model to use as a count-as Judiciar. This is what I kitbashed; obviously, please disregard the mess, the blue tak - the question is of a general basis: what do you think about the pose?

 

 

 

 

 

At the moment, I think it's pretty okay, given the bits I have. But I need third-party feedback to ensure that the pose isn't clumsy or wrong in some fundamental way. The 'lantern' will be converted so that there is a handle in the hand of the marine.

[Marshal Reinhard]

Go for it

[Helias_Tancred]

The pose is good. Fitting for a Judiciar. Ditto that guy ^

[Brother Christopher]

Thank you, Brothers. I will go through with this then.

 

***

 

In other news, I'm in the process of finalising the assembly of my army. I've been (re)organising the contents of my ever-dwindling bits box and adjusting the allocation of wargear to models, as well as planning on the composition of my "armoury," i.e. magnetised weapons.

 

Boy, oh, boy. I'm rubbish at this. I think I've wasted spent over three hours this week on looking at bits, dry fitting them to models and obsessing about the right make-up of squads and/or use of bits... I think that I'm quite mentally tired of it (i.e. wasting this much time of such quibbles) and just go with whatever on the table. It's not like anyone cares how I arm my 4th edition Tactical Squad Guy, right?

 

There are already many models - past conversions and failures - that I'm not particularly proud of; models that look clumsy or my conversion work was thwarted by GW's later original sculpts so I probably shouldn't obsess about the quality of my dudes and just get it over with.

 

***

 

Speaking of... Watch out, hell will freeze soon. I'm joining the Primaris Thing... To be honest, I'm quite excited about having the opportunity to add some Primaris dudes without having to pay GW for that ;) However, I'll need to temper my enthusiasm not to loose track of what matters: my rubbish marines.

Edited January 24 by Brother Christopher

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Well, I think I like the direction that the 'Counts-as' Judicar is taking, and can't wait to see it completed. As for the rest... I guess a belated welcome to Primarus is in order. You resisted much longer than I did! They have the potential to be awesome models in a BT army, but the heart and soul will always be the First Born.

 

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the feedback on the Judicar; I'll deal with the details and will go through with this 'idea' - it's not perfect, but I think it's good enough/

 

Regarding the Primaris additions, I'm thinking about 'going crazy' od painting them in a custom colour scheme, as a side project. However, I am determined to keep the project well under control. In addition to the contents of the Leviathan box, I'm planning on adding a maximum of 5 models, I'm thinking Intercessors, to add some rifles, sourced from a second-hand seller.

 

I've been considering doing a BT detachment but I don't like how GW handled the Primaris Crusader Box - the 2 sprues of 5 bodies is quite frankly unacceptable. Having said that, a BT detachment quickly started to spiral out of control in terms of items on my wishlists and I don't want to repeat the mistakes I've made with my core army. Also, I think I'll enjoy a more vanilla-flavoured Space Marines, focuse on less bling and a bit more Tacticool ;) I'm toying with the idea of using Sotek Green as the primary color and mix black elements as the secondary colour (e.g. arms and helmets) or going in the direction Tempest Guard/Storm Wardens with very light (grey or white) lower legs and blue as the primary colour.

 

I thought about doing an oldchool take on Primaris, i.e. doing heavy conversions of the armour and using classic weapons but have decided to give this idea a pass. Cool as it is I think it'll be too time-consuming. Also, I feel that working on the primarised, tacticooler weapons might be an interesting experience and I do like parts of their designs.

 

***

 

In terms of my proper army, I've been killing myself while restoring, reclaiming and fixing second-hand bikes bought from various sources. I mean, oh boy, I'm glad it's over. I really am. I wasted way too much time on these things. The pace of work was absolutely appalling but now that they're assembled, I feel a bit of satisfaction.

 

 

I'm particularly happy with my Banner Bearer - the banner, I think, comes from some kind of IG kit, plus I've used an old power axe arm from a SW kit. I think that it'll look cool once painted.

 

 

Also, I've added an assault cannon as an option for my assault bike which will be a count-as Primaris ATV-thingy.

 

The AC is a bit too long, which is a bit annoying, but I don't feel like redoing it. It's a bit clumsy, but, well. I've got to live with that.

[Brother Carpenter]

Nice bike squad.

I also have to finish my 6 bikes and ass bike. Might nick the ac idea.

 

Love the judicar.

Fitting use for a traitor body. 

Remember Ephilium!

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the feedback. I shall remember the treason of the Dark Angels! Back then, I was up-to-date with the lore :D Now, not so much.

 

Good luck on your bikes. The models have aged pretty badly but, I think, are nicer than the over-designed Primaris bikes. And the old bikes have a way cooler presence 'in person' than they do in photos. And feel free to use the AC idea, although, I'd recommend shortening the barrels.

 

***

As you can gather, I'm in the final stages of putting my army together. And I, once again, require feedback. The matter is not a trifle: I'm wondering what to do with my 'proper' Marshal, my go-to boss of the Crusade, Brother Arthur. Now without a backack, the model was finished a couple of years ago and over the years led my armies to surprisingly many victories. He's future-proofed since he sports magnes in his shoulders but his primary loadout is a Relic Shield and a Relic Blade.

 

 

 

I think I finished him around 6th edition and back then he was intended to wear the Armour Indomitus, wield the Shield Eternal and the Burning Blade. The shield and sword will remain as-is; I'm wondering about a redo of the armour.

 

The original idea was to go with an old, rugged, utilitarian look, dating back to the Heresy. That's why I intentionally went with a no-fills brestplate and no tabard, just a Maltese Cross on a chain. Now, however, I'm sort of considering blinging him up by giving him a 1. loin cloth or a 2. 'tabard' (i.e. loincloth + cloth on the breastplate). Do you think that the model needs option 1. or 2.?

 

I am pretty much torn on the matter; on the one hand, I've grown to like him as-is. I also think that he's pretty ornate for a leader character thanks to the other stuff: cape, shield, seals and a unique armour (also adding cloth will hide some of the nice armour details, like the 'belt' or the cabling on the breastplate) . On the other hand, he's not very templary, in the traditional sense.

 

Right now I think I'm 70:30 in favour of leaving him as-is.

[Brother Carpenter]

Leave him as is.

He looks great.

And in my experience, if you start to fiddle with nice models to make them even nicer it almost always fails, and strips them of any possible lucky charm on the battlefield.

 

(repainted some of my early marshalls and OG EC and they never hit the side of a stationary LR again)

[Marshal Reinhard]

22 hours ago, Brother Christopher said:

I've been considering doing a BT detachment but I don't like how GW handled the Primaris Crusader Box - the 2 sprues of 5 bodies is quite frankly unacceptable. Having said that, a BT detachment quickly started to spiral out of control in terms of items on my wishlists and I don't want to repeat the mistakes I've made with my core army.

Yeah, I never felt the limitations of the initiates side so much (You may recall my repeated wailing over the neophytes however...) of the crusader kit, but I realize this was always because I was pretty much swimming in intercessor and assault intercessor bodies prior to the crusader squad's release. While I had had them as intercessors prior to Primaris crusaders being and official thing, there was no way in heck I wasn't reorganizing them into crusaders now that I could

 

Given that I already had sourced/been sourcing BT style shoulder pads (via the singular deathwatch BT shoulder pad... I chanced upon an absurd number for cheap way back even before primaris from an online bitsseller), they pretty much fit right with the new boys... Especially after I started swapping in a bunch of the new heads and what not. I got no less than 4 Swordbrethren kits, so i had plenty to spare... and my bit sourcing habits, meant that soon pretty much every body in the crusade had a knightly BT style helmet...

 

*Ahum* But yes. Crusader kit. It's great in pretty much every way, excepting if you want multiples. You pretty much NEED to fill it out with intercessors of some kind, fortunately, there's quite a few options for those, and with the upcoming scout kit we will have the neophyte side covered too.

[Brother Christopher]

I finished the refurbishment of my Judiciar from a couple of posts above. The process was at one point extremely upsetting since I struggled to get the arms into position. I used salvaged, old, bolter arms and couldn't glue them into the desired position. And it shows; I think that the way he holds the lantern and the entire pose is a bit awkward, but, yeah. It is what it is ;) It's not like GW's design studio's models are always flawless Regardless, that's over.

 

The new paintjob is definitely an upgrade over the original one, though. I'm particularly happy about the lantern. I didn't have a specific idea how to go about painting it and just improvised. Quite accidentally, the glow/heat effect looks quite natural and cool, at least in person.

 

However, with the old models in my collection, I aim at keeping as much of the original paintjob as possible out of nostalgia, as well as 'respect' for the miniatures and their glory days on the battlefield, when I actually played the game. This chap, although without a lantern, was my power sword Initiate and did particularly well against some Mega Nobz.

 

 

 

 

 

[Brother Christopher]

I'll start with another photo of the Judiciar, as well as my updated 'chapter champion' - I had to redo his shoulder pad and used the opportunity to glue some sand on his base.

 

Both models are a bit clumsy, but well - that's the charm of DIY conversions, right?

 

 

 

Speaking of conversions and kitbashes, here are a couple of more Marines - some of my final power armour infantry models:

 

 

 

So, the direction the cloth on the shoulder pad flows is all wrong but I salvaged that bit from a second-hand model and appreciated someone else's idea. The torso, I think, is from an old Khorne Berzerker, the legs are from a Blood Angel, the backpack from our old upgrade sprue and the head from a Primaris kit. I don't' suppose you think that the bits are sourced from too many kits spanning too many years, don't you? :P

 

Similarly, here's another dude, a count-as Bladeguard:

 

 

At this point, I don't care and I've also embraced the foreign iconography, as well as the silliness: the scabbard that's way too long and clunky and an arm that's a bit too bulky for the pewter body.

 

And finally, another Bladeguard vet:

 

 

This one with a custom shield arm and sword arm. I HAD TO use that sword: I probably bought it 12 years ago and have been saving it for a special model. Unfortunately, it seems I've ran out of models to use it on and decided to chop it up and attach the sword-hand to another arm to get this stance.

 

Overall, I've probably had a bit too much fun kitbashing these almost final models. They're not perfect but I really like them. Maybe because they are some of the last models that I have to assemble for this army?

[Brother Christopher]

 Over the last whatever period of time passed, I've been laboriously assembling the remainder of my crusaders. The process was mentally straining but I think I'm done with 95% of my forces. The worst bit was magnetising weapons for three Centurions. Yikes, that was something I definitely don't want to go through ever again. Now there's only for me to hope that GW won't invalidate them with the next Codex.

 

After the GRAND ASSEMBLY, I found myself yearning to do some painting. Yearning, I say! The zeal is strong and I decided to jump in at the deep end with the ancient (and the two converted Bladeguards that I particularly like).

 

 

Aaaaaaaand I'll probably end up painting the best freehand that I don't like.

 

 

I did some scribbles of the freehand and it looked way better in pencil. Don't get me wrong, I think this is about as good as I can make it with my skills but there's something off with how I designed and executed the Aquila. I think I don't like the shape of the wings; I should've make it more truncated towards the edges of the banner. Like so:

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Well, but considering the colour of the banner, I'd probably have to start everything from scratch to redo it the way I'd prefer it to be... So, it is what it is. The worst thing is that I'm to blame with rushing to paint this without sleeping on it or consulting the design with this community.

 

I think I'll paint the ribbon at the bottom red.

 

[Marshal Reinhard]

That freehand's too good to hide behind the banner pole

[Brother Christopher]

Aw, thanks! But, unfortunately, the front is already taken ;) So I figured I'll just try to do something on the back.

 

And after some deliberation, I decided to basically leave it as it is:

 

I wanted to make the 'ribbon' at the bottom red but I think it would be too stark of a contrast. As always, due to my lack of artistic training, I have some doubts about my choices but I think it'll do.

 

I've also managed to paint two more Marines for my army, count-as Bladeguard Veterans:

 

[Brother Christopher]

I tallied and assembled the remaining infantry and bike models and it turns out that I still have 49 models to paint. Considering my pace of work, that's a lot... but I feel like it isn't. I think it has mostly to do with the fact that the number is finite now.

 

The list of models is as follows:

9 Power Armour Models

10 Jump Pack Models

3 Servitors

16 Terminators

3 Centurions

8 Bikes

 

Apart from that, there's the matter of finishing vehicles but that's a matter for another day. I think I want to focus on the infantry and cavalry first.

 

All in all, I suppose, I hope to get the army ready by 11th edition and maybe get back into gaming. Maybe :P

 

In addition to assembling stuff, I also managed to do some progress on the front of the Crusade Banner:

 

[Brother Christopher]

I finished painting my two custom Scout Sergeants/Elite Scouts/Elite Neophytes (sic!).

 

After my various purchases, I found myself left with two scout torsos but no legs. Since I weren't able to find legs to buy anywhere, I figured why not give this a try.

 

 

 

Initially, the shouty-guy was supposed to have a power fist, while the stern-guy was supposed to dual-wield a gun. After subsequent changes of rules, as well as many frustrations with customised models, I figured I shouldn't bother and just gave them chainswords. Both models are fitted with a magnet in the gun arm so I can given them other weapons - pistols, combis or whatever. I admit, the poses are a bit clumsy now, but swapping the guns for pistols should help with that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, I am relatively happy with these. I mean, combing power armour legs with a scout torso could've goon way worse than it did :P

[Brother Christopher]

Over the last week, I didn't manage to finish anything but I made some progress.

 

I painted a fully-magnetised set of weapons for Centurions:

 

 

And finished the banner:

 

[Brother Christopher]

I've finally finished the standard-bearer:

 

 

 

As a bonus, my three count-as Bladeguards.

[Brother Christopher]

Black Templars Ancient Metal Techmarine:

 

 

 

 

 

[Brother Carpenter]

I really love the old metal techmarines. I've got a few of them myself as well.

[Brother Christopher]

Yeah, I remember that really, really loved them. Now, I can't unsee how old the sculpts are but they still have a very special place in my heart.

 

Unlike Librarians...

 

In my defence, I feel old enough not to care. I just wanted the model and the option to use a psycher in a game should I opt out of proper 40k or should I want to use my miniatures as vanilla Space Marines.

 

Here's my //spits in disgust// Black Templars Librarian.

 

 

 

 

I hope that my seniority will save me from being banned from this subforum ;)

 

After all, I am a oldschool, devoted, renegade Templar!

Edited April 11 by Brother Christopher

[Marshal Reinhard]

Abhor the witch, destroy the witch