BT EmpChamp, Marshals / Castellans + other ICs

[Kastor Krieg]

ORIGINAL VERSION / PAINTJOB

http://www.minishoppa.com/store/images/WH40K/Space%20Marine%20Masters%20of%20the%20Chapter.gif

 

I can't hope to get the actual HQs for my BT army, so when I came across these 4 SM Captains / Chapter Masters in +++ METAL +++ and cheap to the boot, I never though twice other than "Hello, Marshalls and Castellans!". Since these are supposed to be proper Templars, I thought of a similar headswap, like the one done here:

 

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n97/_79_Aceman/DSCF0977.jpg

(picture taken from one of the B&C threads here, my apologies for being unable to attribute!)

 

So I used one of the helmets from the BT Upgrade sprues and decided that I will go for a "black with red accents" paint scheme. It has a lot of bits coming its way, and I will likely place the storm shield more to the side, so that it does not cover the lovely detail. But I gotta say, I love how BADASS the helmet looks, even now. Yum.

 

I'm also thinking about sawing the head of the power axe off and giving him a thunder hammer instead. Not an option ATM though, since my five assault termies are TH/SS now. Anyway, how would you go about it? What tool to reach the axe head's base, without destroying it?

 

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/213/img20120720144237.jpg

 

Stay tuned. I'm not exactly the world's most talented miniatures painter, but I intend to pull off the most of those minis Black Templar badassery! ;)

[GooseDaMoose]

You're really not supposed to, but if I can't get somewhere with a metal saw, I just use clippers. It messes them up if you do it too much though, so you really shouldn't but hey, it's a last option sorta thing.

 

Anyway, it's a really cool start, I love Black Templars so this is great. The headswap makes him look very "don't piss me off, son."

 

Have you considered giving him something other than a storm shield in the other hand though? I don't like it on the original model cuz his stance is very calm and composed, whereas the shield is held at the ready, which kind of creates a dissonance.

 

A hand resting on a sword hilt or pistol holster would be very cool to see, kinda: "I'm chilling now, but in a second I'll have this axe at your throat and a pistol in your face."

[Kastor Krieg]

You're really not supposed to, but if I can't get somewhere with a metal saw, I just use clippers. It messes them up if you do it too much though, so you really shouldn't but hey, it's a last option sorta thing.

Yeah, I was also thinking about getting that kind of a "razorwire", because it's fairly soft metal. That'd solve the access issue.

 

Anyway, it's a really cool start, I love Black Templars so this is great. The headswap makes him look very "don't piss me off, son."

Thanks - that, especially with the head tilt and the change of the direction it's looking, was my aim. I'm glad it comes clearly across.

 

Have you considered giving him something other than a storm shield in the other hand though? I don't like it on the original model cuz his stance is very calm and composed, whereas the shield is held at the ready, which kind of creates a dissonance.

I need the SS there, because he's supposed to take artificer and likely be the other option join my TH/SS termies, while the Chaplain will lead the Command Squad. That's also why I want a Thunder Hammer there, too. I intend to make his shield stance more open, to the right and outside. Will balance the composition, give the mini a kind of a "come at me, bro" open gesture and allow it to show off the details all the better.

 

A hand resting on a sword hilt or pistol holster would be very cool to see, kinda: "I'm chilling now, but in a second I'll have this axe at your throat and a pistol in your face."

Cool idea, if I went the opposite way and wanted to calm down the mini. I'd rather have him aggressive, challenging - hence the "come at me" posture mentioned above.

 

Thanks for the input, mate!

[Kastor Krieg]

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/9238/dsc01931lg.jpg

 

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/9641/dsc02001co.jpg

 

The Marshal is slowly progressing forwards, with the time taken away slightly by the kitbashed EmpChamp and the Crimson Fists 25th Anniversary Captain. As you can see, the EmpChamp's armor is drybrushed with Charandon Granite, while the Marshal's armor is left pure black for highlights. I'm unsure which method I like better. The worn Charandon look is nice, but a bit toned down. Pure black is more in-your-faced, but makes the armor a bit "waxed and polished".

 

I also have another black armor technique I came up with, with the TH/SS termies. I primed them white and then used a watered down black, just so that the "underlying color" of black shows (this was Vallejo Game Colors - Negro Black) and then painted the armor with that, with a wash brush. Surprisingly, it covered well, while allowing the detail to stick out brighter and created realistic (because REAL) wear patterns for me to fill in with Mithril Silver and the like.

 

Choices, choices. :lol:

[Marshal van Trapp]

:lol: but can we have a pic of the termies? i'm reviving my templars now and was going to go about repainting them and need to make them look a bit nicer than they were (flat black, with shoulder guards)

 

ok now back on topic, the marshal is coming together nice, i like the red and black contrast! on the point of painting options, one of my friends gave me an interesting way to paint a semi detailed black: basecoat black, drybrush dark grey (for mid-tone), light drybrush light grey (for highlights), then wash with black (to bring it all back to black) said you could even cheat it a little by painting their weapons a bright silver before the washing step (thus getting shaded weapons too), final step is obviously to paint the pads white and dot the eyes with your color of choice, and VIOLA! instant a-little-better-than-tabletop-quality black templars! (obviously this method is for base marines that you have loads of, as its CRUCIAL to spend more time on HQ's as it helps them fight better ::proven fact::P

[Kastor Krieg]

^_^ but can we have a pic of the termies? i'm reviving my templars now and was going to go about repainting them and need to make them look a bit nicer than they were (flat black, with shoulder guards)

Of course. These have just the process I described. It's hard to show off the slight browniness of it, so it's either glaring white to see what's happening in the black and see the wear & tear or flatter black to see how they look like in "room temperature". You can also witness the masterclass technique of "fingerbrushing", where I smear the light black coverage off the detail, to get shadows without losing the highlight that will go under the bone and metal colors :D

 

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/9053/dsc02131iy.jpg

 

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/3254/dsc02161z.jpg

 

And welcome back to the Crusade, Battle Brother!

 

ok now back on topic, the marshal is coming together nice, i like the red and black contrast! on the point of painting options, one of my friends gave me an interesting way to paint a semi detailed black: basecoat black, drybrush dark grey (for mid-tone), light drybrush light grey (for highlights), then wash with black (to bring it all back to black) said you could even cheat it a little by painting their weapons a bright silver before the washing step (thus getting shaded weapons too), final step is obviously to paint the pads white and dot the eyes with your color of choice, and VIOLA! instant a-little-better-than-tabletop-quality black templars!

That's a nice idea. What I tend to do, and you can see that on the Venerable Dreadnought project [ http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...howtopic=257169 ], is lazy drybrushing or what I call "fakebrushing". You skip the "dry" part in the process, instead just very lightly "feathering" the details and flats, as desired. It's fast and if done properly looks VERY MUCH like an airbrush. I can't afford one, so there! :P

 

(obviously this method is for base marines that you have loads of, as its CRUCIAL to spend more time on HQ's as it helps them fight better ::proven fact::)

This, Quoted for Imperial Truth!