The Neurode Crusade

[Brother Christopher]

Hey man, any progress is progress. The enemies of the emperor won't start dying until we start killing them, amirite?

 

You are absolutely right!

 

Well, fluff and banter aside, slaying the foes of the Emperor - including Imperial forces who stand in the way of the Neurode Crusade - is the reason I'm making a push for assembling my collection. This has partly been motivated by my last year's efforts on the Thunderhawk and partly by my frustration with having models and wargear in boxes in my flat, but not being able to use the same on the battlefield when I play. Knowing that I bought the right wargear, but not being able to add it to the list because it's in a state of disrepair was both a huge bummer and the spark that I really needed to get around to sorting my collection out.

 

Urkh is right, surely the Emperor smiles on your dedication. When your Terminators do march to war it will be all the sweeter for it!

 

However that's not to say you're not right to feel frustrated. Is there a 'reward' model you could purchase/work on at a specific milestone on the Terminators?

 

I can't wait to get them undercoated - I am still worried that the paint, glue and remnants of their previous owners' work I weren't able to remove will ruin my models, but I also remain hopeful that they won't be such a huge issue.

 

No, there are no rewards connected to buying new stuff involved. I have neglected my collection for way too many years and I'm doing my best not to fall back into the bad habit of adding to the work-in-progress pile without really reducing it. I must admit, however, that it's not easy - in the last two weeks, I almost bought a Repulsor or Invictor and am ever tempted by the Heavy Intercessors (the models seem awesome and I'd like to have some to work on). Luckily, with some support I remain "sober" ;) Honestly, while I'd love to get my hands on some brand new kits, it is more than reasonable for me not to get any.

 

But painting these miniatures will be reward in itself!

 

Good progress! Can't imagine what they looked like BEFORE you did your magic (BLAM! HERESY!) purifications. 

Definitely keep the maces! They're really cool and will make excellent stand-ins for Thunder Hammers or Power Swords if necessary.

 

Lucky purchase btw, considering how DA and Deathwing in particular are on the rise atm

 

Thank you, mate! The Terminators were quite okay - they were painted up to a decent tabletop standard and they were assembled nicely, at least on the 'outside'. However, when you got around to disassembling them, problems started to pop up. I must confess that right now, should anyone wish to do the same with the way I assembled the models, he'd have a way worse time - I used ridiculous amounts of super glue strengthened with pins in the joints to further reinforce the binding. However, that was a necessary evil considering the state some of the bits were in.

 

Luckily, this helped me save time in the future by painting assembled models - since they aren't in mint condition to begin with, I won't bother that much when painting them.

 

I bought them years ago; I wouldn't even bother recalling, but I'm sure that was before 8th edition. This is how much I've been neglecting my army. In retrospect, regrettably I were focused on the wrong things - getting models to fill force organisation chart slots and being content with having them. Hoarding miniatures for future use hasn't worked out well for me :D

 

[Brother Kraskor]

But painting these miniatures will be reward in itself!

 

Hear hear! No pity, no remorse, no fear! 

Edited March 23, 2021 by Brother Kraskor

[Brother Christopher]

Thank you, Brother Kraskor!

 

And here's probably far too many photos of my today's conversion efforts. For many years, I wanted to make a marine holding a shield not by it's handle, similarly to the Primaris Captain with Relic Shield, but couldn't really find the right model for it. My modelling choices were motivated by rules and, way back, Power Armoured models weren't that great with Storm Shields; on top of that, I already had my Marshal with a Storm Shield. But just recently, it hit me - why not do this with a Terminator?

 

I used a spare (probably re-cast) Black Templars Storm Shield and removed the hand and handle. For the arm, I used the one from the Dark Angels two-handed halberd thingy (Halberd of Caliban?). I removed the hand, flipped it and carefully cut the fingers off, including the thumb. I cut a deeper groove to fit the top of the Storm Shield in and glued the hand in place. With plasticard, I built a count-as thumb and attached it to the hand and edge of the Storm Shield. For the handle, I used plasticard and a spare part of the DA mace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It all looks a bit rubbish, especially the poorly-cast shield, but I've tested it - after applying paint, most of the defects are not that obvious as they are in the close-up shot.

[Pearson73]

Don't think it looks rubbish at all, that's a really cool pose and there are some cracking details.

[Urkh]

Yah, the guy looks great. In fact, it even just lead me to have some inspiration for a mini. Thank you!

 

When it comes to "reward minis", it doesn't have to be a new mini. It can be any mini you really want to work on. For example: I am painting a lot of terrain right now. I just finished the pipes and one of the bigger two ruins from the command starter, as well as an aegis defense line (that I've had for forever). I rewarded myself by painting a farseer from the start collecting craftworlds box, and now my next reward will be a kitbash chaplain that I am going to make into a master of sanctity. The second guy I came up with just by going through my bits box and I saw a certain parchment and an idea just came to me. Maybe just go through your bits and see if anything inspires you, then say "I'm going to finish these terminators, then do this thing!"

[Brother Christopher]

Don't think it looks rubbish at all, that's a really cool pose and there are some cracking details.

 

The quality of the shield itself isn't great and the photo exaggerates the issues, but thanks for the positive feedback! I appreciate it!

 

Yah, the guy looks great. In fact, it even just lead me to have some inspiration for a mini. Thank you!

 

When it comes to "reward minis", it doesn't have to be a new mini. It can be any mini you really want to work on. For example: I am painting a lot of terrain right now. I just finished the pipes and one of the bigger two ruins from the command starter, as well as an aegis defense line (that I've had for forever). I rewarded myself by painting a farseer from the start collecting craftworlds box, and now my next reward will be a kitbash chaplain that I am going to make into a master of sanctity. The second guy I came up with just by going through my bits box and I saw a certain parchment and an idea just came to me. Maybe just go through your bits and see if anything inspires you, then say "I'm going to finish these terminators, then do this thing!"

 

I'm glad to hear that - it's a big part of this community, to inspire one another.

 

Regarding the reward, I'll actually maybe either work on some miniatures for a board game (to paint something that uses a wider colour palette) or start the Emperor/Celestial Knight mini. I'm curious what I'm able to do with it - I feel the model deserves a better paintjob that I think I am able to deliver - I feel that my skills are limited to painting black armour, but I don';t now why ;)

 

So, assembly of Terminators is moving along. I managed to pre-assemble this many models:

 

 

To some models, I still need to add some details, like chains and my DIY accessories, and shoulder pads. I have had fun with these miniatures - finally, I've reached a point where I have interesting challenges to overcome. For example, due to the nature of my purchases, I have limited access to bits. I don't have enough of non-power fist arms or shield-bearing arms, so I needed to be creative and adapt storm bolter or power sword arms, which sometimes required repositioning them. It isn't much, but it took some time and was oddly satisfying.

 

I also wanted to remove some DA iconography and proceeded accordingly. I decided to leave some ornaments, even though they are obviously not Templar. Luckily, I find the BT to be so individualistic that I don't have a problem with justifying one brother having some (broken) swords as ornaments. I remove DA feathers, however, I'll probably leave them on the Dark Vengeance Terminator Sergeant.

 

 

After removing the original DA details, I added little GS accessories in place of knots on the string on the chest.

 

My DIY plasticard, green stuff and hobby chain accessories:

 

Repositioned bolter arm, DA detail removed:

 

 

I still need to assemble my two designated Marshal models (I plan to magnetise their arms to have the option to swap weapons, including a left- and right-handed storm shield, thunder hammer, storm bolter, power sword and power fist), remove DA iconography from three Dark Vengeance models and take care of two storm shields. In the meanwhile, I'll be adding more minor details to these models - I'd like to have them as diverse as possible, especially since the old Terminator Box - in my opinion - hasn't aged well and I kind of want the bunch to not look alike (considering that these are made of 4-5 boxes and there are only 5 unique leg poses). Luckily, green stuff and Dark Angel tabards appear to be quite enough to hide the matter of fact, i.e. identical models.

 

After that, I'll proceed to stripping Blood Angel paint from my Space Hulk Terminators; with these things out of the way, all of my Terminators will assembled.

[Brother Christopher]

More updates to come, hopefully, before the weekend. I'm planning to make some green stuff details for my remaining things (hopefully, this is going to be my last encounter with green stuff and press-moulding) and bling the Terminators up. Yesterday, I made some moulds - a selection of purity seals, Maltese crosses and other crosses and skulls that I'll be using to add details, personality and flavour to my models, as well as to hide other chapter's iconography: after all, I have the whole BA bunch from Space Hulk to process and I don't want too many tears/droplets and goblets on my Templars.

 

Keeping focused on my collection helps me cope with my hobby schizophrenia. It seems that even today, I struggle to properly cope with the introduction of Primaris and Primaris-related things I see on the Internet truly bum me out; I can't get rid of the feeling I have in the back of my mind that the products I bought and enjoyed are clearly inferior to what's available now. It's not the rules, it's not the particular look of Primaris armour and design (I like and dislike some of the choices) - it's just the better proportions (not size, per se) and a sense of missing out on a great opportunity.

 

At the same time, I refuse to buy into the new model lines because I: 1. don't want to fall (again or even deeper) into the sunk cost fallacy, 2. don't want to support the company with whose business practices I don't agree with, 3. don't want my marines to look ridiculous by comparison in their own Crusade Keep, alongside their new and superior brothers. The contrast between Gravis and 'Firstborn' is particularly startling - as if the miniatures are from completely different games. I also had the unfortunate privilege to see, in a Warhammer Community article, a side-by-side photo of an old Sword Brother model and a Primaris Lieutenant (?). Ouch.

 

I find the situation quite funny - I know that I shouldn't care about these things - after all, it's just a hobby. But at the same time Primaris are the only nerd-tragedy that really got to me to the point that over the few years since their introduction, I were on the brink of selling my army at least three times. The trauma is recurring, however. So is a sense of bitterness towards GW. This is silly. Still, I continue to redirect my thoughts to the positive things - the fun I have had with collecting, painting, converting and using the models in my Crusade.

 

I also realised one more thing - on 30th June 2022, my Crusade thread will have had 10 years. (I'm getting old, haha. This realisation also brought back many memories of how this subforum used to be and of some users that were key Frater, but have long been offline. I do miss the quirks such as paddlings and texts in large red fonts!). That is also my deadline to finish the Crusade Project - 10 years should be plenty enough.

 

Let me reiterate this: the one good thing about Primaris is that their introduction made me stop buying more new stuff and allowed me to redirect my efforts and focus on the existing collection. That is why, I am motivated to assemble and paint all my official models* in the upcoming year and successfully close** this chapter in my life.

 

Apologies for the negativity in this post, but I had to share this with a wider community - these few weeks were particularly tough.

 

*Not including my scratch-builds; they might require more time.

 

**As opposed to closing the chapter unsuccessfully, by not painting my collection or - even worse - selling it.

[Master222]

I was feeling the same when I first saw the primaris line (I was out of the hobby at that time) - it felt scummy to all the players that where collecting the minis in the past to now basically say "You can toss it all out of the window and buy those new ones". However I must say the scale just makes them look so much better. I absolutely cannot stand now the look of regular midget marines (only some of the running leg poses still look ok to me). 

 

As for coping with the "scummy" GW practices - well in the end that is the reason the company exists - to extort money from me. I can either continue to be extorted or just allready ditch everything. At the moment my wallet is still being drained :D

[Brother Christopher]

Master222, thanks for leaving a comment! I can see that you understand my situation pretty well; however, I'm doing my best not to indulge my need to buy new shiny cool things... yet. I must be strong, cool-headed and reasonable - after all, I still have >100 models to paint (I should repeat this like mantra). I don't need more, even thought I'd love to get more.

 

On the subject of dealing with the >100 models, I'm still working on my Terminators. I blinged them up a bit and now moved onto my two designated HQ models and am in the middle of the process of magnetising their arms. The "primary" build for my first Marshal is a Storm Shield and Relic/Power Sword, while the other will be armed with a Thunder Hammer and Storm Bolter.

 

I plan to have the following options:

- right arm: Thunder Hammer, Lightning Claw, Storm Bolter, Assault Cannon (not for HQs per se, but I'll have it for reasons) and Storm Shield;

- left arm: Storm bolter, Relic/Power Sword, Lightning Claw, Power Sword, Power Fist and (maybe) Storm Bolter with Combi options.

 

I just need to hope for the best that I'll never need to field 10 Storm Shield Assault Terminators and two Storm Shield + Thunder Hammer HQs...

 

I also realised that I forgot about a set of original (and painted) Thunderh Hammer and Storm Shield arms I have and decided to reconfigure two of my already-assembled Terminators. I am happy to report that I glued them the way I intended - ripping the arms off (which are reinforced with rods) was very difficult which should mean that they are safe and nothing should happen to them in transport.

[Brother Christopher]

Here are some more photos of the details I added to my terminators. I wanted to customise them and, I think, I managed to some personal touches to each battle brother.

 

Aesthetically speaking, I sometimes wonder whether the approach I adopted is the right one. I mean, I didn't care about squad uniformity and always tried to add individual flavour to each model. I can also mix and match units to fit into any army list (which wouldn't be as easy if my models had squad markings). On the flip side, my squads have this patchwork aesthetic, which I'm not sure I like. What I want to say is that over the years, something changed in my awareness of "squad aesthetics": I continue to like having personalised individual models but am not a fan of how a squad of these looks like.

 

Striving to have diversified models is definitely fun from a hobby perspecive and, I think, very much in-line with the lore behind Black Templars and the ad hoc nature of their organisation; however, entire squads with the same gimmick (or lack thereof) appear to have a more appealing presence on the table - there is something cool in an entire squad of guys in tabards or an entire squad of bare-bone Primaris dudes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a WIP of my Marshal model:

 

 

 

The fact that press-moulded green stuff elements (not to mention my poor sculpting skills) and real chains don't look as nice and as crisp as plastic injection-moulded details; still, I've been having so much fun with putting these knights together! I don't remember the last time I enjoyed 40K this much (note: I somehow don't consider my Thunderhawk as part of "40K" - working on it scratches a different hobby itch and gives a completely different kind of satisfaction).

 

Let me know what you think about the Termies! I hope that after they're painted, the custom details will look better than they do now.

 

Today, I will also be priming some of the models - the ones that I feel are ready and don't require any more assembly work.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Brother Cristopher

[Brother Kraskor]

Nice detailing. So easy to go overboard with details but you've struck the right balance, they're there to be found but they've not been bejazzled. And they look crisp enough to me! Good you are enjoying it.

 

Priming! Exciting.

[Brother Christopher]

Thank you, brother! I appreciate the feedback - an opinion of a third party is always welcome, especially that I'm not particularly confident when it comes to choosing details. Over the years, I made some decisions that I've come to regret later (such as introducing turquoise to my Centurions, yuck!).

 

It also seems that you have a better eye when it comes to evaluating quality of details - in their raw, green stuff state, I felt that they were a bit fuzzy/uneven, but with a black undercoat applied, they look way better.

 

I am also happy to report that I made new acquisitions for the Neurode Crusade. While my embargo for the currently available models continues to be in effect, at least until I'm satisfied with my efforts to reduce my backlog, I am on the hunt for OOP models. I managed to get my hands on my old-time favourite metal Techmarine model that I wanted to get, but back in my college days I couldn't justify the price (and then it went out of production) as well as a Marneus Calgar in TDA (unfortunately, a Finecast model; admittedly, it'll be easier to remove the UM insignia!).

 

I'm still on the hunt for a Pedro Kantor model, as well as old metal/resin Chaplains, especially the one in TDA.

[Brother Kraskor]

Removing UM logos from their Chapter Master *laughs in Templar*

[Brother Christopher]

Haha, this made me chuckle! You're a good sport, Brother Kraskor!

[Brother Christopher]

I am pleased to report that the first batch of Terminators is undercoated:

I am also extremely happy with how they turned out. I mean, it's just an undercoat, but it hid the damage left from stripping paint of models and somehow improved (made crispier) the green stuff details.

I also got myself a Terminator with Storm Shield and Thunder Hammer (after assembling and reorganising my Terminators, I found that I'd need one more model to make a squad of 10 TH/SS Termies), a Finecast Marneus Calgar (I really like how angry he is!) for cheap and my old-time favourite OOP Techmarine! All models are second-hand, so I kind of remain true to my decision not to buy more new stuff.

 

I am pretty much still in shock how much stuff I bought over the years. The great assembly continues!

 

Next things on my to-do list:

- stripping paint of Space Hulk Terminators and removing BA insignia;

- assembling Calgar and removing UM insignia;

- assembling and adding details (or removing DA insignia) to the remaining Terminators, including my two Marshal models (plus magnetising arms);

- assembling and adding details to the bulk of my Bikes (with the exception of my Marshal on Bike model, which is going to be a separate large-ish project);

- undercoating my Neophyte models.

 

I also should inspect my motor pool and see how many Rhino-chassis vehicles I have and what configurations I can use.

[Brother Kraskor]

Motor pool made me chuckle!

[Brother Christopher]

Okay, so I couldn't help myself and started painting two terminators (one with a Power/Thunder Mace and Storm Shield, the other with a Cyclone Missile Launcher). After overcoming some initial obstacles and dealing with a selection of GW's paints which stratified and needed a good stir before I could proceed - after all, I haven't touched my paints in over a year - I proceeded with painting for the first time in what feels forever. And I utterly loved it; I enjoyed the experience and got so deep in the zone that it was a real pity that I had to stop and get some sleep.

 

The one thing that bums me out a bit is that I reminded myself that I'm an extremely slow painter. With three hours spent, I managed to paint, let's say, three-fifths of two Terminators. Hopefully, I'll finish them in another painting session or two!

 

I also decided to retouch my bases; so far, I left the rim black, but I suppose that painting the rim brown will look better. I use old-school bases with bone-coloured sand and some grass (see the photo below), so I suppose that the brown rims will make the ground 'pop' more and be a good counter-balance to the black armour.

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Brother Cristopher

[Brother Kraskor]

Painting something you enjoy is what makes the hobby so great! In part why I have succumbed to chaos at the moment and am getting a Death Guard collection going, found I loved assembling and painting them. Keep at it frater!

 

Edit: And agreed re:rim of the base. Will provide better contrast to the armour, and complement the lighter-coloured sand better. Black rim against that sand is too stark a contrast imo.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Brother Kraskor

[Majkhel]

So good to hear you took up paints and brushes again! And even better to hear you enjoyed it  
Don't bother yourself with notions of quick- or slow-painting. It doesn't really matter and everyone has his/her own pace. What matters are the personal goals and the pleasure we can draw from the process.

[Brother Christopher]

Painting something you enjoy is what makes the hobby so great! In part why I have succumbed to chaos at the moment and am getting a Death Guard collection going, found I loved assembling and painting them. Keep at it frater!

 

Edit: And agreed re:rim of the base. Will provide better contrast to the armour, and complement the lighter-coloured sand better. Black rim against that sand is too stark a contrast imo.

 

Thank you, also for the feedback on the rim; I'm going with the brown ones!

 

So good to hear you took up paints and brushes again! And even better to hear you enjoyed it  

Don't bother yourself with notions of quick- or slow-painting. It doesn't really matter and everyone has his/her own pace. What matters are the personal goals and the pleasure we can draw from the process.

I try not to bother, but at the same time I feel that my painting skills and the quality of my output is not worth the time, especially considering how many Marines I still have the paint. There are certain caveats to my current painting style - the most important one is to have a uniform paint scheme across my army and this requires some effort since -- with major breaks -- I've been painting for over 10 years and, understandably, my skills improved and style changed. To combat that, I introduced a couple of methods thanks to which I can easily update old models and which should reduce the time on newly painted models. With these, I kind of forgot about keeping the time down ;)

 

Also, with the size of the backlog, I want my models to be finished and look good on the table top. Unfortunately, I can't seem to paint something so that it bears scrutiny of an extreme close-up. Everything considered, I feel that if I am to spend 2-3 hours on a model, it should be absolutely gorgeous and painted to a higher standard than I can achieve - but this is just my subjective view on the matter.

 

Nevertheless, here are my two new additions to the Neurode Crusade.

 

Black Templar Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Templar Terminator with Power Maul and Storm Shield

 

 

 

 

The blue-robed angel is my missus's recommendation - personally, I'm not sold on the colour due to heraldic reasons but since I asked her and she gave her opinion, it'd be rude not to follow it. Oh, and the blue looks pretty cool!

 

 

They are still a bit gloss from the brush-on satin varnish I'm trying out, but the gloss will mostly go away once it properly cures.

[Majkhel]

...I feel that if I am to spend 2-3 hours on a model, it should be absolutely gorgeous and painted to a higher standard than I can achieve - but this is just my subjective view on the matter.

 

See, that's what I'm talking about - if I were to spend 2-3 hours on a model I wouldn't move past basic colour application :D Maaaybe a single level of highlights, but that's it. Forget any work on the base or decals.

 

Very nice work overall. I like the deep brown hue of the golds and vibrant reds. Lovely freehands too!

I think the contrast between the recess shade and highlights on the cream robes is a bit too stark for a cloth. I would personally add a few more steps between the extremes, but that's me :)

 

Keep up the good work!

[Urkh]

I spent 4 hours on a mini a few days ago and didn't even finish blocking colors out!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Fine work on the Terminators.

[Brother Christopher]

Okay, wow - regarding time spent on minis, what you said puts things into perspective. Apparently, I've forgotten how much time it takes and gotten fixed on a memory that I managed to cut time on one power-armoured Marine to 1.5-2.0 hours.

 

Majkhel, thanks for the comment on the cape - I did feel it's not right, but wanted to leave it as-is and pretend I like it ;) Your much appreciated comment pushed me to at least redo the cape on the Maul and Shield guy!

[Brother Kraskor]

Gorgeous Terminators! Really nails the Templar aesthetic.