Noctis Crusade WiP Thread

[Mystech1]

Finally managed to get the models I needed to start my Initial ETL Vow after many delays caused by the W.A.R.P. (Work and Relationship Postponements). Had a 3 day weekend and spent the majority of it modeling for my initial and future vows. I'll start with the ETL Vow, which just so happens to be the 3 HQ elements of my Noctis Crusade. ;) I had originally planned on purchasing the Chaplain with Jump Pack finecast model, but I was literally 2 minutes too late as the last Chaplain model in my LGS was purchased as I walked in the door. <_< Never one to back down from a challenge, I picked up a Dark Angels Veteran box and with a little creative plastic carving, converted me a rather nice looking Chaplain IMO. Picking up that box must have been a sign from The Emperor, because while it cost me a bit more, not only did I get what I needed for my Chaplain, but I had parts and bodies to make a second Chaplain, the Emperor's Champion I'm posting here (I'll put up my 25th anniversary one later), an extra Missile Launcher and a Plasma Gunner.

 

Flood gates are open my friends. With time to paint and models a plenty, I'm going to drown this ETL challenge in a tide of black. :devil:

 

Commander on the left will be in my Codex Chapter Colors, for the moment he is receiving leadership training as a BT Marshal until I have more than 5 scouts in my Codex Chapter. :pinch:

The Emperor's Champion, Relentless-Brother Sebastian, in the middle.

Chaplain Broom on the far right. Face in the hood was drilled out and the skull comes from one of my WFB Beastmen Standard Poles, trimmed to fit, in case you were wondering.

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000240.jpg

Close up of the Marshal the show the Combi-Plasma and Holy Orb of Antioch (it's the wiffle ball lookin thing on his hip) for ETL purposes.

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000236.jpg

Blurry closeup of the EC.

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000237.jpg

Closeup of the Chaplain.

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000227.jpg

 

Hope to have them painted by this weekend, but there's a lot more detail than I had originally planned for.

[Idlem]

Very nice start. I really like how you converted the Chaplains helmet. I look forward to seeing them painted.

[Marshall Crimor]

Good work so far. I, too, like the chaplain hood and mask and I also like how each model appears to be challenging the enemy with the positioning of their weapons. Accept any challenge!... even those issued by fiends from the W.A.R.P!

[ConfessorTurpin]

Completely rad! Love the EC. That model just has a great look to him... very characterful. Great work.

[Mystech1]

Took a bit longer than originally planned, but here's the finished product. Haven't painted in over 10 years and I'm limited to 15 paints and no shades at the moment, but I like them. Except the bases, those didn't turn out how I wanted them to so may end up re-basing in the future.

 

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000282.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000307.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000291.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000290.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000289.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000288.jpg

[Mystech1]

MOAR!!

 

Terminator Marshal before: No that's not a scope on the Power Fist. It's TWO scopes of Master Crafty-ness on the Power Fist!! :D

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000263.jpg

 

Terminator Command Squad before:

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000259.jpg

 

Terminator Marshal after:

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000312.jpg

 

Better look at the Power Fist:

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000313.jpg

 

Terminator Command Squad after:

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000309.jpg

[Arthanor]

Looking good brother! Very interesting idea for the MC-Power fist. Now he can look (with both eyes!) across the battlefield and decide who he' s going to punch into oblivion! He just needs a jet pack to launch himself into the fray now ;) New interpretation of Falcon Punch!

 

The blue eye lenses look good too! We rarely see anything besides red but blue is a great accent color for templars. Good choice ;)

 

Also, I missed commenting on your previous models, but they are very nice! I did not have the guts to convert my own champion, you did and you did well :) If only finecast weren't so expensive, I think I'd get another EC to chop up and use as the basis for a conversion. The pose you have is nicer, the "Forward brothers!" pose of the GW EC is getting a bit old. Nice use of the icon for his backpack too! And cool chappie! Did you rip off the face of a DA to make it? :)

 

Do you have any info to share on your DIY chapter for the marshal? I read that in the ETL thread, but I'd love some details!

[Mystech1]

oooo... Jetpack Terminators... filing that one away for later.

 

I've never been a fan of the red eyes. I actually started to go red as I didn't have any blue paint, changed my mind, mugged the couch for spare change and made a special trip to the LGS for some blue. LOL

 

I have yet to work with any finecast, mostly due to what I hear about the lack of quality and brittleness of it. I will eventually have to break down and get some, hopefully it's not as bad as I hear. From what I understand it is a lot easier to chop apart, which is good as I tend to chop and rebuild things. Ten years ago, I chopped up a 25th anniversary EC and melded it with a tactical marine top and assault marine bottom to make my first custom EC :lol: I'd love to put the old and new side by side, they reflect my changes in play style from aggressive charge to measured advance. Just one of many things that have changed now that I'm getting older. :ermm:

 

And cool chappie! Did you rip off the face of a DA to make it? ;)

Yes...yes I did. Then I separated the rest of it's head from the hood using a drill bit so the skull would sit properly in a socket. :devil:

 

Ooooh Brother Arthanor... you have no idea the can of worms you have just opened with that question about my DiY Chapter...brace yourself and get a snack, here comes a book. My Codex Chapter's story is tied closely with my current crusade and as with most of my fluff incorporates elements of real life. Currently not everything is set in stone, but the story of origin goes something like this.

 

First a little backstory. When I first contemplated getting back into the hobby I figured I would pick up the AoBR set (Which I still have yet to buy! ROFLMAO!!!) and start fresh with all new models and an all new basic Marine army. I have a ton of Templars in storage in my parent's attic many many many miles away, so figured I would make a small Codex army starting with a box of scouts I managed to buy before all manner of financial hell broke loose, and then add the AoBR set to it just so I had something to play and fiddle around with until I could have my Templars delivered via visiting parents during the Christmas holiday. Naturally there was a disturbance in the warp and instead of being reunited with my Crusade, I was handed a small box of Blood Angels that had belonged to my brother before he quit playing. This started me down the path of working with what I have and figured I would play BA for a while until I could get my Crusade here. This brings me to the B&C BT forum which promptly smacked me upside the head and said what were you thinking! Now at that time I put the DiY on hold to focus on building a new Crusade. I figured I would keep the BA's as a collectable side army and base my crusade on new models as I had planned to do with the Codex Chapter in the first place. Financial hell caused many delays in this plan, to the point where I broke down and converted them all, except the BA specific Chaplain and Furioso Dreadnaught, to BT's. Finally managed to work my way back to financial equilibrium and saved enough to pick up the necessary models and kits for the above HQ's, which finally got things started on my rapid expansion thanks to ETL. The Terminators are but the first wave of former BA models now angrily awaiting their turn at the BT color machine. Now that the back history has been established on to what I have for fluff.

 

My Crusade fluff can be found in my profile if you're curious about that at all. LOL Based on the information in the above paragraph, you can see how some of that corresponds to what happened in real life. Now on to what you asked about.

 

The Ghost Hammers Space Marine Chapter is a completely new Codex founding, so new in fact, they barely have enough members to fill a Tactical Strike Team, much less a Battle Company. As a Chapter in it's infancy, they exist more on paper than in any real battle formation. They are a successor of the Imperial Fists, so derive their gene seed from Rogal Dorn. Having only recently been released from their initial testing and training period, they have been assigned to the recently rediscovered ++see Black Templar, Noctis Crusade subsection in my profile for details++ Salaci system and charged with establishing their homeworld there. Their first mission was to escort reinforcements to the Black Templar crusade stranded on planet and then join them in establishing a Templar Chapter Keep as well as their own Fortress Monastery, while simultaneously re-integrating the planet into The Empire. Salaci Prime is a desolate, dry, mountainous planet with no current value to The Empire. The majority of the planet has been taken over by bands of orcs and chaos warbands that roam the salty wastelands. The sole remaining human population center has entrenched itself firmly within the protective arms of the largest mountain ranges. With an already established small scale mining industry, the planet shows potential as a future forgeworld provided it can be cleansed of it's xenos and chaos oppressors. Now that the foundations of their Fortress Monastery have been laid and the recruitment process initiated, they have allied with the Noctis Crusade of the Black Templars in order to cleanse the planet and bring it fully within the folds of The Empire.

 

As new as they are, The Ghost Hammers have yet to establish any Veterans. Captain Jechar is the oldest and most experienced member of the Chapter at barely more than half a century in age. Despite officially holding the title of Chapter Master he refuses to accept the honor fully as the title was given to him by the Administorum and he feels he has not yet earned it. Due to the close relationship with their Templar allies, Captain Jechar has been given the honorific title of Ghost-Marshal, a title that has become popular with the local civilians.

 

Ghost Hammers favor hard hitting strike and fade tactics, but their relationship with the Black Templars seems to have led to an increased level of stubbornness. With an almost non existant armory they relay primarily on jump packs, bikes and drop pods for mobility. Some have compared them to the White Scars Chapter, a likeness the Ghost Hammers greatly resent. Their Chapter colors and tactics may seem similar on the surface, but once the forges begin producing armored vehicles the method in which Ghost Hammer tactics are delivered will shift significantly.

 

Chapter colors are white on gray over a black basecoat, as seen on the above model (with possible blue highlights or trim, I'm currently undecided), their chapter symbol is currently the same as the imperial fists, until I can settle on a design I like and can paint or get transfers for. Current operational strength consists of the Captain model above, 5 bolter equipped (yet unpainted) scouts and a single unassembled 5 man tactical squad. I did say they were new. :P

 

A side note, as part of the completely new theme, any additions to the chapter will come from a new on the sprue out of the box source. There will be no recycling of models in the chapter.

 

That's all I have so far. Priority is still my Crusade, but new models for my Codex Chapter will trickle in over time. Building their strength slowly and steadily, just like their fluff. I occasionally run some small at home games vs myself for "practice" against a proxied opponent. I have a system of checking to see if any casualties from the battle survive their injuries, my way of simulating the realities of war. It adds a fun way of earning experience and propagating the Chapter :D

[Mystech1]

Latest addition. Chaplain Myers.

 

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000322.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000320.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000319.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000318.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000317.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg543/Mystech1/Models/P0000315.jpg