The Neurode Crusade

[Firepower]

The filigreed edges are a nice touch.

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks to all those who took their time to take a look at my finished project and for the words of encouragement regarding the exam. With the battle fought, I can turn to more regular service for the Emperah!

 

In the meanwhile, I spent some of my free time to paint my Land Raider Spartan a bit up, What can be inferred from the images below, I went with a gold approach to the tank - the bottommost layer of the tank's armour is gold to represent the vehicle's 'blessed hull' and venerable status.

 

But what is more important is the freehand I attempted to do today. Disregarding the (mad) artistic skills of a child, the first one depicts my Crusade's Monastery Keep on Neurode, the largest planet in the Neurode sector where my Templars fight. With most of my models, and especially the more important ones, I attempt to add a personal touch.

 

http://i.imgur.com/PAUlzpi.jpg

 

As such, the  Keep itself is a rendition of the town hall in my home town, Nowa Ruda.

 

 

The other one is a random knight on his duty.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ENT19i1.jpg

 

With my non-existent artistic skills, I needed a base to work with. The design was adjusted into a more 40K aesthetic from a picture I found on my hard drive of a stained glass window with some Templar knights.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Brother Cristopher

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The artwork on the tank's sides are well done.

[Marshal Wolfhart]

This is far above any kind of freehands i would be capable of, don't you keep saying you got no artistic skill :P

[Brother Christopher]

Sorry if my mentioning the 'poor skills' comes of as some kind of fake modesty. I just know how hard it is for me to produce the quality of work as in the photos above and I know how far this is from what good painters can do. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the results as they are nearly at the top of the quality that I can confidently achieve. And I plan to continue this kind of work because it gives my quite a lot of satisfaction. Having said that, I know they are somewhat silly - like the Disney Castle Monastery Keep I painted ;)

 

In the meantime, I did a black base coat of the sides/tracks sections. At this pace, I'm terrified to think that the tank could be done in a week or two. And this is something unusual for me and my painting!

[Honda]

I do not have enough words or "likes" to tell you how much I love your Storm Raven.

 

I would sell mine today to get kits to build your version. Just brilliant.

[Firepower]

The gray gothic architecture in your free hand is what most impresses me.  That sort of thing takes restraint.  I'll applaud subtlety (in painting) any day of the week.

 

The colored portraits may not be 'professional' level, but the important thing is your satisfaction in the end.  And you don't get better without diving in at all.  

Edited July 12, 2017 by Firepower

[Brother Christopher]

A small update on the painting progress of my scratch built Land Raider Spartan. Not much to show, but it took me some time to paint.

 

http://i.imgur.com/9Rt5XvI.jpg

 

Most of the sides is base coated. Also the details are mostly done; the seals and ribbons need another layer of highlights and some inscriptions (any ideas, apart from 'Templar'?); some scripture and crusader badges are added. I am particularly happy with the blue, 'Gothic windows' at the front - I recently discovered that I like adding more colour to my models and thought that the arches and the small grilles/vents below (for which I had no 'practical' purpose in mind during the design and construction stages) might act a a cooling system (I've already incorporated a fan, which is a part of the vehicle's cooling system, on top of the tank; so the little windows may be kind of connected with that). Also, I realised that there are no lanterns attached That's why I decided to go with a blue that is lighter in the middle to represent plasma cores (or laser cores, not sure yet) providing an auxiliary power source (either for the tracks or weapons systems) and also serving an aesthetic function. Maybe power cores are not like our Templar lanterns, but I find them to be appropriately impractical and dangerous for 40K... Uhm, I mean - they may also symbolise the burning light which disperses the darkness of blasphemy and heresy.

Edited July 13, 2017 by Brother Cristopher

[Marshal_Roujakis]

Wait... just realized, but where will the Quad Lascannons be mounted? or is there a magnet piece that I haven't seen?

[Brother Christopher]

Over the front 'door', like in regular Land Raiders (though, as you can see the quads are not ready yet - I need to add more barrels).

 

http://i.imgur.com/eZKXT0O.jpg

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

I LOVE to see your ZEAL in progress! Your scratch-built SR is MAGNIFICENT!

 

I always look forward to the progress you make on these builds. Your LR build is turning out very nicely, and don't sell yourself short on your freehanding skills (it's something I've never really tried due to my poor brush control ATM). Keep up the Emperor's work!

[Brother Christopher]

I need advice from the only people whom I can trust on the most important, most sacred matter for any Black Templar, the Armour of Faith and the Black Sword.

 

With the new edition, I need an army list. And by 'army list,' I mean a painted army. And there's no BT army without the Emperor's Champion (especially when we consider how affordable and awesome he is). So today I decided to repaint my EC, one of the first models I've ever painted. I remembered that I were not that happy with the pain job when I last inspected my collection; however, when I opened my bag today and found the model I though "hey, that's pretty good."

 

http://i.imgur.com/HQar3L3.jpg

 

Without doubt, I want to upgrade the way this important model is painted using some of the techniques I've learnt, some of the new paints and some of my improved brush-control. Having said that, I'm torn:

 

a) Do I proceed with my plan to strip the model and repaint it, from scratch. The obvious upside is that I'll have full control over the model and may apply all of my skills to get the best result I am capable of getting)

 

b) Or should I just update the miniature as-painted. Now, just before stripping the paint, I unearthed levels of attachment/sentimental value; updating and modifying the way the model's been painted would probably leave its 'soul' untarnished, but there may be areas of overly thick paint visible upon scrutiny? Back in the days when I played the game a lot (5th edition), he was often my only HQ choice and disposed of countless enemies, despite not having that impressive of a stats line.

 

The question probably boils down to: should I be technical or can I afford being sentimental?

[TheOneTrueZon]

Is it metal or finecast?

 

If metal - strip and start fresh, those layers of paint add up. Clean slate, I say! Take all the experience and things you've learned and really put it to use, the EC deserves nothing less! 

 

However when cleaning be take care on the inscriptions on the sword, too much abrasion from cleaning might dull the lettering. 

[Marshal Mattias]

Honestly? I'd keep him as-is. He looks great. If you want to do a new version, pick up another copy and start fresh - I'm a bit sentimental though so feel free to laugh at me and strip it as you like :lol:

[Psykic_scribe]

I agree with the Marshal.  This current EC has history, so keep him in hand and start with a new one - no worries about leaving stripper damage behind and a fresh base coat will inspire you.  

[Marshal_Roujakis]

+1 on Marshal from another Marshal... I had a similar issue with my previous Champion which was metal, then I just decided to grab a new one and start from scratch...

 

But if you're not keen on grabbing a new one, then just do your touch ups and updates with much thinner but highly pigmented paints so that they don't go too thick... although, those types of paints might actually cost more than just buying a new EC model :p

[Marshal Wolfhart]

Make that three Marshal sharing one opinion :P

The brother served well, let his armor be repainted as it is passed on to the next champion after he found a glorious death in His service.

(If cash for models is a concern - take a few last pics and let him soak in whatever you use to strip paint i guess)

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the feedback! I won't be getting another Emperor's Champion because I already have this one (metal), a finecast one and an EC conversion. The decision I came to, largely thanks to what you wrote, is that I'll touch the metal model up a bit, with extreme caution, not to make too much of a mess.

 

The metal EC will probably also be the first of an 'update project' for some of the miniatures I painted a while back.

 

I also cannot wait for the Codex to become availible as I really want to write a list and have a fully painted army. This sounds like a nice target. Well, not only nice, but also achievable, as the bulk of a potential army list is already (mostly) done.

[Brother Christopher]

I've started retouching the Emperor's Champion. So far so good. I added another layer of highlights, more sepia wash to the loin cloth, removed some of excess base elements and started working on the blacks (which includes tidying up the lines). The added paint mostly does not show, only in a couple of places there's a slightly visible texture. It also turns out that I did not apply a base coat and rolled with the primer-black.

 

I'm also considering exchanging the backpack and replacing the current one (which is quite plain) with either an older mark from the Sternguard box or with one with an Iron Halo (probably from the Death Company box). Not sure, though, 1. if I want an Iron Halo on the EC model and 2) if I want to try remove any bits as this might easily result in damage to the model (considering that there's super glue in the armpit ribbing, I'm not so ready to trust my 'past self').

[Psykic_scribe]

If you are following the 8th Edition Index, the EC is a Character and only "out of the box" - no wargear options, and thus no Iron Halo.

[Brother Christopher]

I know that, but the Halo I'm considering would be there just as additional bling - so I don't factor the rules in (and I rarely play and if, I play friendly games, so I doubt this would be an issue for my opponent as well).

 

I'll probably post pictures soon. I'm happy to report that most of the model, and especially the armour, is redone - I only need to paint the little gem stones and the hilt of the sword. O am also rather happy with the result of the upgrade: I only messed up with one shoulder pad.

[Brother Christopher]

And now, for something completely different. As this is my 'personal' space, I'll share a personal thing here and tell you how I feel about the hobby now. Maybe putting it 'on paper' will prove to have some kind of therapeutic potential, who knows.

 

With the new edition and the new Marines out there, I feel like I'm on the verge of quitting the hobby completely and selling my army. The only things that keeps me from doing so are 'reason' and a certain stubbornness typical of dwarves and Templars. Stubbornness because I don't want GW to 'win'. Reason because selling the models after all these years of hoarding them would be contrary to reason and this is something I cannot stand to do. To assemble my Crusade cost me too much time, money, effort and devotion. Money, I can reclaim a fair bit of it, but the remaining things would be lost forever if I made this drastic decision.

 

I endured much - like many of us - the removal of C: BT, the ongoing lack of consideration, the unfriendly meta of 6th and 7th edition favouring armies with psychers, I even came to terms with the disappointing rules in the new Codex (when I started in 5th edition, the rules in our Codex were not that good at the time either, but I had some fun and many a victory).

 

But the exponential presence of the Primaris is something that wears me off. This may probably be traced to three major reasons. Firstly, I do not like the concept of better Marines - I tried over and over again to give it a try, but no. With my tinfoil hat on, I cannot see past the conspiracy: Primaris are there to manipulate me into buying new, fancy-looking stuff. And I don't like feeling manipulated (or even coerced, considerign my addiction to buying toys) into doing things. Secondly, there's the "buying stuff" aspect. How wrong have I been to believe that the presence of Space Marines are a 'constant' - that even though I don't have much time for the hobby, I can assemble a Crusade that I want to have, slowly paint it and have it ready in 2-3 years' time. Considering the gradual increase in prices, I bought new kits from time to time to have them ready for building and painting in the future. As a result, I have around ten near-mint boxes of stuff, with only the plastic removed. The first annoyance was the switch to the larger bases - had I waited, I could have had way more units on the new bases, but well. Now, there are the new units that I probably could have bought instead of the regular Marines. But apparently this is my fault - I shouldn't have hoarded units. Thirdly, I feel 'deceived' because I invested money into units (that I haven't used, or even assembled for that matter) that are now worse than some new units, that probably shouldn't be in the universe at all. Everything with the Primaris key word is just superior to the regular options. Sure, I would like to have troops with better bolters (the AP-1 makes a huge difference), two wounds and attacks (which make 'proper' chainword Initiates obsolete). Or the boosted plasma. Or the insanely cheap Aggressors (or whatever they're called) as opposed to Centurions who easily clock over 300 points instead of around 120 and can only shoot once. Or the uber-dreadnought who eclipses any other mark of dreadnought we have...

 

But I can't. And the fault is mine, probably. Because I just don't feel like buying more stuff from a 'dishonest' producer who runs business like a TV show, offering cliff-hangers to its customers, instead of a publishing schedule. It probably is exciting to learn a month after buying a book that it's going to be replaced, right?

 

Still, I know that my disappointments and feelings are somewhat ingenuous - the world of business does not really care for the things I care. But no other decision sits so wrong. And I probably am not a purist/conservative who cannot accept new stuff because I bought all new kits released after 2013, like Talons, Centurions or Ravens, all kits that I did not really like, as well as a Stalker tank and plastic Veterans and Tacticals. I just cannot accept the Primaris. I invested my money in the wrong place, but nevertheless, I would like the investment to work. But it seems it won't/doesn't now, because of how better are the Primaris as compared to regular Marines. Because of this 'failed' investment, I am not willing to make further commitments (or do not have the funds to do so). I also feel 'bad' about missing out opportunities: for new models and, to a way larger degree, for models with better rules. Particularly that I am concerned about the future of my non-Primaris Crusade in in 2-3 years.

 

So, in my stubbornness, I can only continue to ignore the Primaris. But we all know that this is tough because they are everywhere.

 

This stream of weakness goes on for too long now, I will stop now. I got most of the major gripes out of my system.

 

The Crusade goes on.

 

I need an army list and a proper opportunity to kill some heretic, mutant and xenos.

[Marshal_Roujakis]

On that similar topic... good thing that I may have that Space Marine implant that can turn off certain parts of my brain... or is it just Jerusian from Helsreach

 

In that sense, I just tend to ignore Primaris completely... I had a similar dilemma with the base issue, to the point where someone literally called me out on playing for advantage during 7th ed. because I haven't re-based any of my existing Marines... apparently I can hug cover better 

 

I changed the base, not entirely from a gaming perspective, but more on a modelling perspective, they were right that Marines looked better on a bigger base...

 

I traded my Primaris to my brother, but kept the Nurgle Marines as I liked their model better than the plain boring static Primaris... those Nurgle Marines are deliciously disgusting...

 

And if you think that hoarding 10 unbuilt boxes was bad, try 50. (I have a problem...) .... and I'm still going to purchase more mind you... the best way to continue imho, is to set a modelling goal instead of a gaming goal, build up some sort of fluff of your entire Crusade, establish an end point to your number of models and gaming capabilities be damned to focus more towards rule of cool... for example, I recently added a unit of 5 Assault Marines, the squad leader is armed with a Power Sword, while the squad has 2 Flamers... would they be good against any MEQ, most likely not, they will probably get shrugged off and it would probably be better to arm them with Plasma Pistols instead... but I still built them with Flamers... why? They look cool, they're established in my head canon and they are posed pretty damn well for what they are... do I play with them? Yes! they don't kill very often, but I always mourn their loss when they get wiped out...

 

Sure gaming may not be a fun if your list isn't optimized enough and you lose more often than you win, but focus less of just winning or losing, but focus more on having fun and just taking the good parts out of your hobbying... for me, I realized that efficiency be damned and I should focus more on making my army look better, it doesn't matter if I lose a game or two, the look on my opponents face as he stares into a fully painted detailed army is reward enough...

 

And the Primaris? yeah maybe they have better rules, but I don't like their models as well, sure they are slightly better proportioned, but they look like copycats of Master Chief from Halo or some other armor mark from another Sci-Fi universe... for short, they just lack the originality that can be found with the original Space Marines... and you need a bit of effort to make them look unique and better... they lack the steampunk/gothic aesthetic as well... too sci-fi, less grimdark... atleast that's my opinion...

 

And as for those cool looking Assault Squad?

Here, make the Inceptors look better than this, and I'll consider buying them...

http://i.imgur.com/VZGqemK.jpg

 

guess I didn't notice how zealous I was and posted a massive image... on someone's Crusade thread... sorry about that :p

Edited July 29, 2017 by Marshal_Roujakis

[Marshal Wolfhart]

And now, off you go to the pain glove!

 

More serious: Primaris aren't really better than our beloved marines. They are at best situational and if anything offer little variety (even with what's in the codex, imagine a primaris only force... it'd be dull repetetive and bland). So far i didn't see a single role primaris fill better than choices we had before.

This might (will?) change in the future, but then again, we still can buy standard marines and noone has to buy primaris.

Don't get yourself dragged down with all the internet gloom and doom. Look at your army, and your to-do list, and think if you like what you're seeing and what you're envisioning to add, convert and paint. If that gives you joy, forget primaris and get back to your painting corner ;)

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the support, Brothers!

 

I'm also tempted to buy the 'new' assault squad box because the only ones I have are the old sculpts; whereas they aren't bad, the 'new' kit with an eviscerator looks so crisp, and the legs are better posed. I might get one in the future (if they'll still be available) because I made a commitment not to add any new, regular models to my collection before I sort at least 30% of my stockpiles out.

 

Regarding the Primaris, they really seem quite bland, but make up for that with better standard-issue weaponry. The sculpts look impressive, but that's mostly due to their size, proportions and the fact that they are new. For instnace, I'm not a huge fan of their armour marks and prefer the 'patchwork' nature of classic SM armours.

 

Marshal_Roujakis, on 30 Jul 2017 - 01:29 AM, said:

 

Sure gaming may not be a fun if your list isn't optimized enough and you lose more often than you win, but focus less of just winning or losing, but focus more on having fun and just taking the good parts out of your hobbying... for me, I realized that efficiency be damned and I should focus more on making my army look better, it doesn't matter if I lose a game or two, the look on my opponents face as he stares into a fully painted detailed army is reward enough...

 

 

And the above is probably the most important thing - definitely a philosophy I try to follow and in fact do, to a large extent. With the exceptions of the rare instance when I falter. But I am no Primaris, I'm your squat Marine - I am entitled to err or fail, just to get up and retaliate with twice the strengthen. (By the way, I always found Helbrecht to be an exceptional character in 40K, due to his failures. Unlike others, take Sicarius as an extreme example, he is believable, 'interesting' and has some of the hallmarks of a decent fictional character.)