A New Chapter: RT Space Marines +++Reinforcements!+++

[Shadespyre]

Next job: 50 backpacks...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01929_zpse74e9878.jpg

 

Time passes...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01935_zps4efa0e23.jpg

Edited November 1, 2014 by Shadespyre

[Shadespyre]

And now, at long last, Marines with backpacks!

 

This squad are all sporting the classic metal Rogue Trader back pack:

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01949_zps623872df.jpg

 

These guys are wearing the resin Forgeworld Mark V pack:

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01952_zps50b8e16c.jpg

 

I've used a couple of my RT era packs with flag poles for the two tactical sergeants, I think a small squad pennant might look rather good. 

 

So, some questions for you:

 

What colour should the backpacks of specialists / officers be? e.g. Medic, Chaplain, Librarian, Techmarine? The same halved colour scheme, or something thematic to each rank?

 

Should my Devestator sergeant also have a flag pole, or should he be less keen to draw attention to himself?

 

What about flag poles for other officer ranks?

 

The RT packs with poles are obtainable but expensive, so I want to be sure I'm doing the right thing with them!

[Shadespyre]

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01984_zpsdc19812f.jpg

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC01983_zps757f7bcc.jpg

Edited November 15, 2014 by Shadespyre

[Aqui]

This army is really coming along!

[Shadespyre]

Not much progress on this army recently, but here is my third (and probably last) Tactical squad ready for undercoating...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC02253_zpsd568c8f0_1.jpg

 

I hope to get these done this month, and perhaps something more interesting too.

[apologist]

Lovely to see this great army progress. Startled by the amount of those RT metal backpacks you've managed to source! :)

 

In response to your questions from a couple of posts back, I'd be inclined to keep the backpacks uniform for specialists (as you have above). The scheme is already quite complex, so keeping additional differences between specialists and non-specialists minimal will look more effective, I think.

 

Banner poles are very evocatice of Rogue Trader, so I'd be tempted to put them on all sergeants and officers (maybe even combat squad leaders, too) to give the army even more presence. Lots of lovely opportunity for freehand designs and retro 'Kil' markings too.

 

Any plans for a squad of the classic scouts? I'd love to see what they look like in your scheme.

[Shadespyre]

Thanks, it's nice to get feedback, especially when it agrees with what I've done!

 

I've been thinking about scouts recently. At first glance I'm not a big fan of the older scout models, the 1997 ones are much nicer (and fit the modern Codex better).  I was half considering subbing RT Imperial Guard models - I love those guys, and there were a couple with bolt guns.

 

I'll have a look at ebay, if I can pick a few models up cheap to take a closer look at, I will.

[Shadespyre]

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC02315_zpsdca38d00.jpg

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC02321_zps78f56df5.jpg

 

My third tactical squad. No great revelations except that I painted a plasma gunner rather than a third melta-gunner.

 

Now to choose my March project...

Edited February 24, 2015 by Shadespyre

[infyrana]

Great stuff, brings me back a bit   Really not a fan of the split colours or brightness... but that's half the charm - since this is no longer the done thing it's now a blast from the past with sentiment, you're doing an excellent job at bringing them back to life once more!

 

Which are the scouts you were referring to - both the '97 ones and the RT Imp Guard models?  And is it bad that I still have my '97 catalog kicking about somewhere with the black and white legends catalogs (not to mention a host of the models) ? lol

 

Edit: minor word edit.

Edited February 24, 2015 by infyrana

[airinhere]

You have really done a great job collecting so many old school models.  So often RT era armies were all plastic with just a handful of lead models.  The army has a very clean look to it and your detail work is great.  The colors really do feel right for late 80's models.  I would say its time to get those bad boys some armored transport.  

 

Having played back in the Rogue Trader days, I also agree with the idea that each combat squad leader, sergeant, captain and specialist should have their own back banner.  The whole idea was to flood the enemy with intimidating banners.  Armored vehicles, dreadnoughts, bikes and land speeders would all have ornate banners and flags also.  

[Shadespyre]

Thanks guys!

 

@infyrana - yes, it's not tasteful or modern, but it is quite Rogue Tradery I hope. Ironically, my original RT Space Marines were painted in a subdued pale grey which everyone said was boring at the time! 

 

Regarding scouts, I think these are the earliest releases (from the 1991 Catalog, and Stuff of Legends)

 

http://www.solegends.com/citcat1991a/cat1991ap021smscouts-01.jpg

 

At this point, Scouts were very much "trainee marines", which I guess is why they look like Necromunda gangers

 

I much prefer the 1997 models which you are familiar with. And to be honest, I don't really consider 1991 to be true Rogue Trader era anyway, as MkVII armour was becoming the norm and Eldar Aspect Warriors had appeared, so I have no bones about using even later models alongside the classics.

 

There weren't any RT Imperial Guard scouts, but I had a small force of the original troopers that fought alongside my marines, and I do love the models. I am never going to buy enough to do a modern IG army though, so finding a good reason to buy 20 or so would be nice!

 

@airinhere - I've painted 45 Marines now, I have maybe 70 more stashed away. NEVER ASK HOW MUCH THEY COST!! I don't really plan to use all of them, so at some point I'll sell some of them on. 100 Marines - a traditional company - would be nice. Back in the day most of my troops were the RTB01 plastics, even in 1989  they were half the price of metal models.

 

And yes, I agree - time for some Heavy Metal. Time to dig into my tank graveyard and see what I can assemble...

[Shadespyre]

Work in progress on building / restoring two MkI Rhinos and a Predator Annihilator. I have a shoe box full of more bits and pieces to help complete these, and more.

 

The Predator has been busted right down to components, paint stripped, reassembled with the help of lots of green stuff and sanded back into shape. There is going to be a lot of that going on! The orange exhausts are recasts - sourcing undamaged ones is very, very difficult.

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC02336_zpsg37ztqdj.jpg

[infyrana]

Very nicely done !  If you were nearby... I'd hand you the half dozen I have to fix up like that!  Looking forward to seeing these when they've all been restored.

[oldschoolsavant]

3 ?

6 ?

 

I've 17 of the things ! Do love me some Mk I Rhino I do ! I certainly agree with the pains of restoration though, as only half of them were mint.......

[Shadespyre]

Maybe when I've had some practice I'll start a restoration service!

 

17 is a lot of Rhinos! Right now I have approximately:

 

2 Predator Annihilators

1 all plastic Predator Destructor

1 Vindicator

1 Whirlwind

up to 5 other Rhinos

 

The two Rhinos pictured are by far the best of them condition-wise (yeah, one of those is in bits but the paint job is smooth, good start).

 

I'd like a proper (part-metal) Predator Destructor; the plastic one will probably be relegated to another Rhino. It would be nice to have one for each squad which hasn't got bikes or jump packs or what not.

 

One thing at a time though! I'd like to get one of these fixed up so I can see how the colours look on them.

[Shadespyre]

Progress so far...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC02337_zps1gcefxqm.jpg

 

I hope no-one is too offended by the use of some much more modern bits of plastic (the top hatches and storm bolters) - it's just not practical to do everything in original parts. Yes, the open hatch does mean I'm going to try and provide a crewman for that one...

 

The Predator turret is not fixed in place, but I did fix the elevation of the guns as otherwise they droop. I didn't want to hack the turret around to try fitting magnets, which I'm not sure would work anyway. The sponson guns are free to move however.

 

I included a multitude of unbreakable stainless steel aerials / flag poles, I know that will be popular!

[Shadespyre]

More progress...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC02354_zpsl5mye9t7.jpg

 

First problem - Hawk Turquoise. My pot is 25 years old, and getting a bit low, so I thought I would crack open a new Coat d'Arms turquoise, as everyone tells us they are the same colours as old Citadel formulations. Yeah, only it is miles too bright, as I realised after I had put the first coat on these... I mixed half the pot with blue and grey until I got a colour I preferred, and this is the result. Still a bit streaky as these are quick look-see WIPs.

 

Second problem - that's a lot of neat white line to paint! Considering applying it as a decal? Or it might be easier to mask off on a part assembled model, and then stick all the doors and bits and bobs on afterwards. Though that horse has bolted for these three.

 

Usually white stripe questions... is this about the right width? Should it go full length of each vehicle?

 

I plan on weapons etc being black/bolt gun metal like the marine's weapons are.

 

Much more so than the Marines themselves, vehicles will ultimately get a lot of additional markings, possibly even whole panels in Company colours, big Tactical arrows and whatnot, so there will be much more to break up the big blocks of turquoise and yellow.

 

Finally, I may have accidentally ebayed myself a couple more tanks...

[infyrana]

If you really want to reduce the white load - try just painting the hatches of the rhino and/or turret of the pred, or just the frontal armour plates.  That's probably not what you wanted though :)  You could mask it off, try a shade of gray or something to allow the white to go on evenly and not show up the underlying split colours, white's a pain to paint over another colour!

 

Decal is another option for sure.

 

As for the turq paint differences, my eyes are saying that there's not much to be seen :P

[Shadespyre]

It's funny, in person the paints are horribly, horribly different, but can I get it to show up in a photo? Not so far!

 

I think the white stripe is part of the Chapter now. It may well only need to be on the fronts and turrets, like it is only on the heads of the Marines and Dreads. This is definitely the case if I go for the old "big symbol on the top rear hatch" look.  I think I will try cutting some white transfer paper into strips and see how it works.

 

I did wonder about painting some other symmetrical features two-tone, like the round doors on the sides, or the split hatches I added to the Rhinos. It might start to look messy though?

[infyrana]

Might get messy yes, personal opinion I guess.  Depends on how much other paint you will do - ie shading, battle damage and dirt etc.  Maybe - take some pics and then use paint / photoshop to test drive paint schemes ?

[Shadespyre]

A brief distraction - a marriage of old and new Space Marine parts...

 

http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC02358_zpsodvktseo.jpghttp://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/Shadespyre/WARHAMMER/Space%20Marines/DSC02360_zpsoppqlzih.jpg

 

This was a thing I had to do as soon as I saw the Kneeling Legs  in the current Space Marine sprues. I combined them with an old metal bike crewman to make this kneeling sharp shooter. As a bonus, he fitted nicely onto an old base I'd made to test the concept, so that saved some work.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Shadespyre

[Noble Korhedron]

Interesting sharpshooter model. That's what, the 2nd Ed. Heresy-era bolter?

[LokisSword]

I can't tell you how happy this project makes me! I started playing in 1990 and these RT marines were everywhere at the time. I remember an older lad in our group gave me a couple painted as Imperial Fists, unfortunately I traded them away along with a load of RT terminators when I started playing Eldar - such a shame. Dead jealous of your motor pool, currently looking for a decent early Rhino for my marines. Will be watching this closely.

[Noble Korhedron]

What Chapter is this anyway?

[Shadespyre]

Oooh, comments! Thanks, guys.

 

Korhedron, the sharpshooter is literally just an old upper half of a marine stuck to the new bottom half of a marine.  You can see him here:

 

http://www.solegends.com/citcat1991a/cat1991ap022smbikes-00.jpg

 

The Chapter doesn't have a name yet. I'm just painting everything in some colours that I liked! I had trouble making transfers of the Chapter badge I liked (a Unicorn) and so I haven't committed myself yet...

 

Lokissword, glad to bring back memories for you, this is very much a nostalgia trip for me too. If you have your heart set on one perfect MkI Rhino I would look for an unused kit, else just keep looking at the ones for sale on ebay. The hardest bits to replace are the side rails, exhaust pipes and the headlight blocks, so look out for models with those features intact. And unless you want to do some very tedious paint stripping, ones with a smooth / thin looking paint finish.