+++E Tenebrae Lux II - Black Templars Strategium+++

[Andhil]

@Montressor: Sorry to hear that, Brother, and good luck on your vow!

@ Honda: 4 vows? not bad...not bad...

[Mystech1]

Holiday weekend for those of us in the U.S.

 

TAKE ADVANTAGE!!! LET THE EXPLOSIONS AWAKEN YOUR ZEAL!!!

 

More motivation is needed and I refuse to make a penance vow. Penance implies failure and the need to be forgiven. I have no need to be forgiven and will not resign to failure. However, in an effort to save my Brothers from their declared penance vows, I will complete my initial vow before July 15th. This is my word. In this I will not fail. I challenge my Brothers to do the same. 

Who's with me?!?!

[Captain Semper]

Ahh, here you are guys... I thought you were gone.

 

Well you only have a 6% completion rate in your first vows. Also out of the 3.9k points completed so far almost 1k comes from Andhil's efforts (who btw is in his 5th vow of 569 pts and then he'll be done).

 

So, will you turn your back on whatever is keeping you away from your bolters brushes and join the fray? Or will you let your brother to be vanquished by the might of the First Legion?

[Deadman Wade]

I finally got my hands on LRC box and ready to finish my first vow before weekend.

Also, can I use FW model of Valhtex as standard BT techmarine, if I'll remove it's hands with whips? I mean, he is a techmarine, but lack servo arm or servo harness.

[Honda]

One word: Skirts

 

"those" guys are wearing skirts, and they aren't even Scots.

[civsmitty]

Gah, stupid lousy work made me miss this. 

 

Best of luck, Brothers. Make it a back to back win. 

[Honda]

Brothers, my second vow is completed. <Capt. Semper, please bump up the points for this vow to 221 as there was a Hunter Killer on the second rhino>

For my third vow, I commit to completing before August 15th, one Predator Annihilator with lascannon sponsons and a Venerable Dreadnought with assault cannon and heavy flamer for 280 points. This will be done. I am a Templar.

Pre (Note: the Predator is the second model on the right)

[Andhil]

Well done Brother Honda! Those are some fine transports right there!

[Captain Semper]

Well done Honda! I really like your take on the BT black! These side door murals, they seem... agreeable to me. I have made the point adjustment too. Good luck with your follow up vow - and let's hope your fellow Templars will join you soon! ;)

[Brother Darklight]

Well done Honda! I really like your take on the BT black! These side door murals, they seem... agreeable to me. I have made the point adjustment too. Good luck with your follow up vow - and let's hope your fellow Templars will join you soon!

Easy there, Captain. There's no wings on those door murals ;)

[Honda]

Captain Semper, on 05 Jul 2013 - 13:05, said:

Well done Honda! I really like your take on the BT black! These side door murals, they seem... agreeable to me. I have made the point adjustment too. Good luck with your follow up vow - and let's hope your fellow Templars will join you soon!

Easy there, Captain. There's no wings on those door murals

Well, I got them as bits and not really sure what they were from. I take it from CS's comments that they must come from some Angels of Darkness building, perhaps the Fortress of Trait.., er Redemption?

If so, then think of those panels as evidence of our fury, displaying the remnants of an uncovered nest of vipers, now sanctified by the Reclusiam and used to armor my vehicles. Perhaps other crusades will consider displaying evidence that we have poured out a full measure of our holy wrath upon those who would hide behind their secrets and gowns, running into the shadows, thinking they are safe, not realizing they are only one sword stroke away from the Emperor's justice. The sins of Ophidium have revealed who you really are.

Angel of Darkness, know this. Though you may run until the end of time, our vengeance is eternal.

No Remorse. No Pity. No Fear

No Forgiveness.

[Captain Semper]

Hey, that last one comes from our repertoire...

[ShottyScotty]

Paint scheme test for my LRC. Kinda like it, but its not done yet. Opinions?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98231236@N08/9215439290/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98231236@N08/9212662607/

[Deadman Wade]

So, here's "before pics" of my first vow (got two of those in my thread, but just in case):

Land Raider Crusader http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1148/ozdn.jpg

 

Stormraven gunship http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1317/dsc00411pl.jpg

 

Sword Brethren Assault terminators http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/3685/dsc00431vm.jpg

[Honda]

<heavy breathing, catches breath>

Ok, here's vow #3, completed. Four day weekends can be force multipliers as far a productivity is concerned.

I'm going to have to sit and contemplate my 4th vow as it's not really a super vow per se, but it does involve 6 chaplains and I need to be sure I can pull it off. I'm not hyperventilating or anything, but it does give me some pause. However, I do think it's worth it as I get the feeling we're going to need all the points we can get our hands on and 1150, is nothing to sneeze at.

Besides, it seems like a cool idea.

Onwards Brothers!

[Metic]

Update: My second vow has been Completed!

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/277010-metics-etl/

 

The link to my ETL!

Also @Honda I really like the Dark grey you use, and the way you have the wear and tear on your vehicles with the rust. Gives it a good effect!

[tvih]

Honda, dooo eeeet! 6 chaplains, with ~5 weeks left on the clock - that's almost one week per model!

Is it just me, though, or have you switched to a lighter shade of gray at some point? Or could just be the pics, dunno.

[Andhil]

First off @Honda: Good job on completing your next vow, and you should definately try the 'Chaplain-mania-vow'. I'm also very intrigued by your use of grey instead of Black. It gives your Crusade a touch of 'je-ne-sais-quoi'. I like it. Also is it Codex Grey (or whatever it's called now) you use?

@Metic: Yet again some beautiful models completed! Well done!

And even though it's no excuse for a Templar, but it's waaay to hot to do some decent painting here. All my paint gets gritty and dries so fast I hardly have time to point the brush at the models.

Hopefully the weatherman is right for a change and temperatures drop on wednesday.

And just to keep you guys informed: If I finish the 6-man squad I'm working on, I'm almost halfway, with 14 models finished, and 15 to go, except 5 of those are Assault Marines and require more work.

[Honda]

Is it just me, though, or have you switched to a lighter shade of gray at some point? Or could just be the pics, dunno.

I'm also very intrigued by your use of grey instead of Black. It gives your Crusade a touch of 'je-ne-sais-quoi'. I like it. Also is it Codex Grey (or whatever it's called now) you use?

I think a couple of things are going on:

1. Lighting is washing out some of the color.

2. I do vary the application of the greys so that although the vehicles all look different, they all look like they belong together.

3. The grey I use is still the same, which is Vallejo Model Color 995 German Grey. If that color ain't for Templars, I don't know what is. After the base 995, I mix 995+990 50/50 for the overspray and highlights. Sometimes I get more highlights than on other vehicles.

4. Also, I've noticed that depending on what sealer I use, the grey can get lighter or darker after it dries. I used to be 100% solid user of Krylon Flat spray, but I've had a problem recently with their sealer making the grey darker than I want, so I shifted to Testor's Lusterless Flat to better preserve the color of the paint. I haven't sealed the last two yet, but will as soon as the humidity drops to something reasonable (like 50%-60%).

Summer in Texas can be interesting and I've noticed that the Angels of Darkness attempts to deter me through the use of witch weather shall become so much wasted effort.

Thanx for the comps everyone.

Onwards Brothers!

[tvih]

Vallejo Model Color 995 German Grey. If that color ain't for Templars, I don't know what is.

Hmm... maybe black? I must say that German Grey is much lighter than I'd like as a replacement for black. I'd probably mix in some gray with my black basecoat too if I wasn't using GW paints that seem intent on clogging my airbrush no matter how I dilute them. This also means I can't really make non-black vehicles at the moment because I sure as heck am not going to paint the basecoat of a vehicle with a brush! I gotta get me some airbrush-compatible paints for that.

[Honda]

 

I must say that German Grey is much lighter than I'd like as a replacement for black.

 

Fair enough, different  strokes, etc. and it is a valid perspective.

 

I went with this "grey is black" approach for a couple of reasons:

 

1. I much prefer softer contrasts to stark contrasts. None of my colors are pure, I will even use my brush cleaning water to add "something" to a color, even though it might be insignificant. The idea behind that is my perception of what happens to armor and vehicles after they've been in combat for awhile. They get dirty, paint is chipped, sun fades colors, and they get covered with dust and dirt. In other words, they aren't clean. So the style I've adopted is intended to emulate that effect. It's not to everyone's taste, I just know that of the BT armies that I admire a lot and use for inspiration, in general use softer contrasts.

 

2. And this is a biggie, there is no way to darken black. You can only lighten it, which means you can only work one direction in the light spectrum (i.e. up or lighter). A grey or dark grey can always be darkened. So the trick that I am trying to employ is to "imply" that my grey is black. Then I can darken it in the recesses, I can lighten it at the high points, and I can blend different shades up or down depending on the effect.

 

Again, I don't expect everyone to like what I've done and that's Ok. We're all expressing our artistic side in a fashion that suits us. Yes we really get a kick when others appreciate (and I'm not saying you don't appreciate the approach) what we do. However, at the end of the day, you have to like what you are doing or you won't get very far.

 

I like what I've done. It's not perfect by any means, but it's presentable and it looks decent on the table top. I intend to continue to improve my technique and push what I am able to do while not invalidating the rest of my army. I find that kind of stuff fun to do.

 

It's how we grow.

 

Thanx for the feedback.

 

Cheers,

[Captain Semper]

Congrats to Honda and Metic for their completions. The Templars are making some progress (we all do) but there is so much Andhil, Honda and Metic can do on their own... So finish up your fist vows - that's all it takes! The rest will be done by the painting daemons among you - but the bulk of points will be the first vow completions...

[Firepower]

Good work you little cadre of industry. As for the rest of you, I'm honestly a bit torn. I want the Templars to succeed, and yet that would mean I wasted my money on this new paddleum. It's got a lovely new leather grip I'm dying to break in, and it's spiked, for my pleasure.

But most important of all, Eberious must succeed! M.O.S. Firepower must be completed!!! :teehee:

[tvih]

Fair enough, different  strokes, etc. and it is a valid perspective.

 

2. And this is a biggie, there is no way to darken black. You can only lighten it, which means you can only work one direction in the light spectrum (i.e. up or lighter). A grey or dark grey can always be darkened. So the trick that I am trying to employ is to "imply" that my grey is black. Then I can darken it in the recesses, I can lighten it at the high points, and I can blend different shades up or down depending on the effect.

Yeah, what I said wasn't meant harshly. They do still look good and are well painted (certainly better than mine), of course. Just a bit light on the base color. But that, as always, is a matter of preference. It's never struck me as "off" with your infantry which I've always liked, but the lightness is somehow more pronouced with the vehicles apparently. Being able to both darken and lighten is nice though, which is why I'd use a mix of gray and black too, as stated, were it possible at the moment.

 

Regardless, the most important part is the successful swelling our crusades! I seem to be on track for completion of my first vow for weekly update 9. Overall our chapter doesn't seem to have completed all that many vows this week. Let us hope that we can compensate with a whole host of completions soon... Imperator Vult!

[Deadman Wade]

First vow completed. I absolutely, positively, suck at taking pictures with any camera, but I hope that it's acceptable quality =(

Sword (well, hammer, actually :D)  Brethren Assault Terminator squad

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/2302/gzsq.jpg

Land Raider Crusader

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/3740/jwz8.jpg
 

Stormraven Gunship

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/3793/py49.jpg

 

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/131/wgn3.jpg

 

Before making my second vow, I want to ask Captain Semper, if I could use these models:

Predator

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/1783/3fid.jpg

Land Raider

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1988/landraider.jpg

 

Also, I want to use Valthex http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Space_Marines/Space_Marine-Infantry-and-Accessories/VALTHEX-ASTRAL-CLAWS-MASTER-OF-THE-FORGE.html as a techmarine, but without his lashes.