Ace does a Thing - ETL 2016 - Vow 1 Completed!

[geektom]

Oh! I *hate* late discovery mold lines! Thank the Emperor for plastic and resin models- finding one of those on a metal model is enough to make you give up.

[Ace Debonair]

Oh! I *hate* late discovery mold lines! Thank the Emperor for plastic and resin models- finding one of those on a metal model is enough to make you give up.

I found more today.

UGH.

Better news though, since my Second ETL Vow is... COMPLETED!

*fanfare*

I'm glad bases aren't required though, since I'm missing one.

So I'm waiting until I have a replacement before I base the squad, but the terminators themselves are done!

So here's my hideously over-equipped Terminator Squad.

Just point them at the heretics and then stand way behind them.

The assault cannons: plenty of fun to paint and I'm always a sucker for high rate of fire guns.

Just spotted some crummy edging on the shoulderpad that needs fixing, but by the time you read this I'll be on it like a car bonnet.

The Cyclone I vowed for (the one on the right if you're wondering) and his equally well-armed comrade are ready to rain down merciless annihilation on the heretic, mutant and alien alike.

A close up on the sarge's sword. Much happier with the green this time!

And here's the man himself, the sarge in all his glory.

I've washed over the silver emblem he has in place of a banner since taking the pic.

Also there's more mould lines to go with the ones on the assault cannons I missed. Joy.

[Madwolf Shadowmane]

Awesome work Ace.  Congratz on finishing your second vow. 

[Ace Debonair]

Cheers!

It's going to be my last ETL vow this year, sadly.

I've got a ton of other stuff that needs doing, and also I've run out of models to paint, which is kind of a rare situation for me!

[Forté]

Wow Ace. I've not even managed to finish my first vow. Can see you've improved loads since your first painting posts too. Well done mate. Keep it up.

[Ace Debonair]

Wow Ace. I've not even managed to finish my first vow. Can see you've improved loads since your first painting posts too. Well done mate. Keep it up.

Cheers, matey!

It's startling how quickly I've improved!

To put it in perspective, my painting experience is as follows: Ten years of getting the same average results followed by six months of terrifyingly quick progress, all thanks to the advice this thread (and the odd tutorial thread here and there, of course! )

Regarding vow speed - I'm an impatient painter!

Also I really hate failing to deliver on promises, so not completing the vow ASAP was never an option!

I'd have finished them at the start of the month if not for all the blasted training courses I've had to do for the last few weeks.

[Ace Debonair]

*Dusts off ancient thread*

Good grief, it's dusty in here. It's been a while, though, so I guess that's to be expected!

Anyhow - I'm back in business!

Right. Now where was I?
Oh yes:

I, Acemund Debonair of the Index Astartes forum (but really the Liber), will rise to meet the challlenge, and vow the vow of E Tenebrae Lux. Under this honoured oath, I will complete one Tactical Squad from Codex: Space Marines of a total value of 165 points on or before August 1st 2015. My success in this endeavour will bring glory to the Index Astartes Forum (and also the Liber), and failure (which isn't an option) will doom me to wear the mark of shame until the dawning of the next ETL.

Unpainted Pics:






Today is a great day for new things!

First, I decided to try my hand with some greenstuff.
After all, what better way for the Monster Hunter Chapter to look the part than to have scales taken from the great beasts of Talhon decorating their armour?

BEHOLD!





Not exactly brilliant, I'll admit, but since it's my first time trying to do anything like this in about a decade, I reckon I'm not doing too badly.

The next step is to carve some details into those green bits once they dry, and hopefully make them look a bit more scaly.

Bit nervous, but definitely excited to give it a go!

But that's not all for the new stuff today!

Once this squad of mine is finished, I'm going to be opening up a new Hall of Honour thread - partly to show off my new stuff, and partly to tell part of a story that's been brewing since October 2013 - The great war of the Lauss Rift !

EDIT: Belay that, SP's going to be opening the thread in a few days, and we'll get more of the story in there.

The Lauss Rift is a setting devised primarily by Silver Phoenix (Brother SP), featuring snippets and ideas from Ludo (Dosjetka) Cambrius, Lysimachus, and myself.

In summary:

The Dark Covenant and their myriad heretical allies have come to claim the Lauss Rift and the prizes within as their own. The Imperial forces in the area are numerous, but disparate, allowing the inexorably advancing Chaos forces several key victories in the lead-up to the climactic battle, on the world of Transcendence, where the now-weakened Imperium makes a desperate stand against the forces of darkness.

I'll be telling the story of the battle from the point of view of the White Hawks (and Champions of Athlum), so as to leave room for the others to tell their own tales too.

Now I'm off to see if the greenstuff's dry yet, so I can crack on and get stuff done. I'm getting the painting itch again!

As always, any comments, thoughts, mockery, applause, encouragement, derisive laughter, random film quotes and opinions are more than welcome.

[Madwolf Shadowmane]

good to see you modeling again Ace

[Ace Debonair]

It's good to be modelling again, Madwolf!
I didn't know how much I'd missed painting stuff until I started again.

But anyway, here's the latest update on my 1st ETL IV vow:
Two marines down, guys and gals, eight more to go!



And the obligatory informative blurb:

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The White Hawks First Company isn't a veteran company in the strictest, Codex-Adherent sense.
However, they consider themselves as a sort of 'first amongst equals' within the ranks of the Battle Companies, and hold themselves to a very high standard as a result.

To get into the battle companies, aspiring battle-brothers have to hunt and kill one of the great beasts either native to Talhon or found on the worlds of nearby systems. The aspirant's target is chosen for them by the Chaplain of the Company they're wishing to join, and can be one of any number of huge, deadly monsters, each more than capable of killing the aspiring marine. However, the rules are always the same:

* No armour, Powered or otherwise, is provided for the hunt. Only a light robe and footwear are provided.
* Only your knife and whatever other tools you can find, build or improvise from your surroundings can be used in the hunt. The use of any kind of firearm is expressly forbidden.
* No other human contact is permitted while on the hunt, with the exception of brother aspirants.
* A time limit of two days to kill your given target and prise a trophy from it's corpse.

The First Company, amongst all others, expects excellence in this task. It is not unknown for the First Company to lower the time limit to a single day, or to impose other, more esoteric restrictions on the task.



With the prideful nature of the First Company in mind, it perhaps comes as no surprise to learn they have widely adopted the practice of decorating their armour with scales, or sections of toughened hides, all taken from the monsters they have slain.

-=-=-=-=-=-=

Monster Hunter Marines!

These guys were definitely fun to paint up, although the sheer number of mistakes I made while doing so slowed me down a lot.

I've also learned that once Greenstuff dries, it's very hard to actually carve details into it - it's just spongy enough that all but the most aggressive gouges with the hobby knife were essentially absorbed by it.

Next time, I'm just going to carve out some diamond shapes and detail them while they're still wet - I can always stick them to the armour later on!

[Ace Debonair]

Progress!

I'm not likely to get more stuff done until next week now, more's the pity, but at least I've managed to churn out marines 3 and 4 of my tactical squad!



The battle-brother with the purple bolter has also earned the honour of decorating a knee-pad with quartered heraldry, an award sometimes given to squad members for exceptional performance on the battlefield.

Rather than the typical quartered-blue-and-white pattern commonly seen to indicate such an honour, this marine has decorated his armour with purple, a colour often associated with Talhonic nobility.

Whether this is just the usual pride of the First Company manifesting in another boastful fashion, or whether this particular marine has ties to a noble house on Talhon is unsure at this time.

I reposed the arms on both marines slightly, but they don't really look much different than the stock poses you can get from the new tactical box.

... Still good practice, I suppose!

Note the scales with actual details this time - I learned my lesson with the green stuff quite well!
Admittedly they aren't exactly the most amazing thing ever seen, but still, it's another step on the road to progress.

Also pretty happy with the yellow-brown colour.

I also tried drybrushing some Etherium Blue on as edge highlights on the blue parts, but they looked less like highlights / worn paint and more like bits I'd completely missed ( ), so I wound up painting back over them.




And here's the squad so far, in all their hastily painted glory.
There's some edge highlights on the knife's blade and the bolter of the second marine - Kantor Blue over Etherium Blue actually seems to produce a not-awful edge highlight for these guys, so I might go back and try that again on a few bits.

Also I just spotted there's some mould lines on the legs of these guys, which is... annoying.

Oh, and some more bits that need a wash applying.

Still, this is a work in progress thread, so now's the right time to spot the mistakes, right?

[Brother Argent]

Nice going Ace.  Such a nice clean white.  Cant wait to hear their story/part in the Rift.... When I get the thread up... 

[Ace Debonair]

BEHOLD!

PROGRESS!

This has been one heck of a learning experience for me.

Firstly, I learned that painting two marines at a time is a much better idea than painting four.

I spent at least a week just doing the white paint - not exactly the most fun I've ever had, painting just one colour all the time.

I also kept mixing up which marine was meant to have which arms since I paint all the bits before assembly.

That got really annoying, really quickly.

I also learned that dry greenstuff is the very devil to shape properly, so sticking greenstuff bits on once they're 100% dry isn't a great idea.

Definitely getting the hang of these scales now, though. The last bunch turned out great.

Next to helmets, my least favourite part of painting standard issue GW marines is the backpack.

So I cheated slightly and settled for pure white colouring for some of them - with the washes it still looks surprisingly good, so that's a cheeky bonus.

And finally some group shots of the whole vow so far:

I'm pretty happy with how this squad's shaping up, but... it's taken me a month to get eight marines done, which is kind of disheartening.

Granted, that's mostly down to real life coming in and punching me in the hobby time, but still, there's no way this should have taken as long as it has.

In more positive news - I have some cool ideas for how to really obviously veteran up my Veteran Sergeant - hopefully I can make him really look the part!

Also, there's now only two marines to go before my First ETL IV vow is complete, so that's something!

[Conn Eremon]

Nice progress, Ace! Nice to see the Monster Hunter Marines again!

 

My only criticism is that the ceanataur-like pieces seem oversized in proportion to the Marines. Makes them seem a bit lopsided, and a little jarring visually.

 

I think they would greatly improve if you kept the number of pieces the same, but cut them down by a 1/2 to a 1/4 of their current size.

[Ace Debonair]

Ceanataur? That was unintentional - I was just playing around with the colours.

Good eye, though - it's not far off the right shade!

This gives me ideas!

Your criticism about the scale size is both fair and valid - I'm still very much a newbie with the greenstuff, and definitely appreciate the advice.

I'll try for smaller scales on the next part of my vow, for sure!

EDIT:

All things considered, I might possibly even try and pry the scales off of these guys for resizing.

No promises, mind, but it might be something I can do.

[Ace Debonair]

PROGRESS!



So I halved the size of the scales on these guys.
They're still probably too big, but I'm not cutting them up again, for the sake of my sanity.



Oh yeah, also there's a really shoddily made pelt now, on that other guy's shoulder.
It's not marvellous, exactly, but I figure it's unique enough. Also I'm pretty certain I know what I did wrong, so next time will be better.



Also, here's where I'm up to with the last two marines of my squad.
Note the extra armour on the sergeant's helmet: this isn't even half of the greenstuff I've been working on for this guy, but I'm keeping the rest off-camera until I'm certain it's turned out ok.



Oh yeah, and more of the same scruffy, not-quite-right pelt.
Next time I need to use more downward motion with the tweezers, also perhaps not squashing them all the way shut might help.

I still have quite a long way to go with working with greenstuff, but small steps on the road to progress are good enough for me for now.

[Conn Eremon]

The scales on that middle guy is a major improvement. :tu:

 

Also Ceeeeeeeanataur!

[Ace Debonair]

The scales on that middle guy is a major improvement.

Also Ceeeeeeeanataur!

The other guy still has too many, right? Or maybe they're just too big still, I can't quite decide.

...Also two of the scales are on sideways.

Really, really wish I'd realised that before I let the glue dry again.

But yep, Shogun Ceanataur armour for the sarge!

I have SO MANY PLANS for the rest of my Lauss Rift stuff, especially the veteran squads.

I intend to homage the out of my favourite Monster Hunter armours (It's a long, long list), if I can muster up the modelling moxie to pull it off.

[Ace Debonair]

VOW COMPLETED!

Took me long enough, though, didn't it?

Anyway. Onto what's new with the finished squad:



These two battle brothers are now rocking the latest in slightly-more-understated scale decorations on their shoulders, instead of the huge complicated mess they once had.




The reloading marine now has a pelt taken from one of Talhon's great semi-aquatic beasts decorating his armour, worn with the boisterous pride typical of the First Company.




And the two newcomers - another bolter brother and the sarge, the latter of whom is much richer in details than he first appears.



Here's a close-up on the reinforced monster-shell armguard that serves as an added layer of armour in case Sergeant is required to block or parry an enemy attack.

His other arm is decorated with a sash awarded by the Champions of Athlum for showing true brotherhood and honour in the face of peril, but of course the pictures of that all came out blurry.

And finally, the whole squad shown together.




I'm pretty happy with these guys, all things considered. My painting skill hasn't exactly come along leaps and bounds, and my greenstuff skill needs a whole lot of working on, but...

The last full tactical squad I worked on all looked like my first ever painted marine, complete with huge orange blobs for eyes and bright-pink shoulders.

Looked at like that, these guys are one heck of an improvement!

...Right?

[Ace Debonair]

"Soldiers of the Endless War,
Attired in blackest plate,
Servants who were broken Kings,
Now crowned by nightmare's Hate"

~Words crudely carved into the ruins of Selria Cathedral, found during 2nd Prontera Crusade~

++PICT-CAPTURE LOG PG/077/022/ARX++
--Access Granted--












++ DATALOG 678RB44AA1-Vyfra ++
-- Inquisitorial Report --
++ Requesting Clearance : ... : Clearance Granted ++
++ Accessing File...... ++

Honoured Inquisitor,

Regarding your request, Lord Inquisitor Ping has seen clear to reveal to you some of the information regarding the Warband your retinue encountered on Rhaydra IV.

Furthermore, I am advised to alert you to call in Adeptus Astartes reinforcements should you encounter any further trace of them. Do not risk further engagements without considerable support.

++Accessing supplemental datalogs++

++From Datalog 331AN50GT1-Renau:++
--Inquisitorial Report--

Lord Inquisitor Ping,

The black-armoured heretics we encountered were a taskforce from a warband we have come to know as 'The Hatecrowned', a vassal warband in thrall to the ][REDACTED INFORMATION][ , who are seemingly in command of the traitors arrayed within the impenetrable warpstorms of the Glastheim Rifts.

Not much else is known about these 'Hatecrowned', save that they appear to be the most numerous servants of the ][REDACTED INFORMATION][ warband, and that they are ardent worshippers of the foul pantheon of Chaos Undivided.

Your servant,
Scribe Allton

++From Datalog 910BG30AA2-Levat:++
--First-hand Account of Events, 2nd Prontera Crusade--

"-ell, the tanks were disabled before we even made it through the wall. We pressed on through the breach, and the grenade launchers took out their sentry turrets.

That's when they came for us.

Those black-armoured men... they were waiting for us. Inside the city... They ambushed us. I was up on the watchpost, looking down, and I saw them... they killed hundreds of our best men in minutes, and they made it look easy. The ones with the claws... they dropped in from the sky, mocking us with their words even as they carved our best soldiers into shreds.

I-I've seen Space Marines fight before, but it's always been alongside us, not against us. I've never been one to back down from a fight, sir, but nothing we did worked against them. Their reflexes, tactics, strength... all too much. I was thrown aside like I was barely there, like a man swatting a bug or something. My head hit the wall, and when I came too...

There were so many of us dead. Next to me, I could see Sergeant Deondri, impaled on his own sword, both his arms torn off. He died screaming, by his expression... I don't know how anyone is supposed to fight something like them. How can we fight them? How can we win?"


++From Datalog 903BY12DS4-Rasca:++
--Inquisitorial Report--

Lord Inquisitor,

Origins of the warband called the Hatecrowned remain uncertain, as do their exact numbers.

Though unlikely, the possibility endures that the Hatecrowned, whatever their origins, include the remnants of the ][REDACTED INFORMATION][ Chapter, assigned to protect the Glastheim Rifts before the formation of the Circle of Iron.

With regard to their numbers; either the warband is much larger than first assumed, or the traitors have found a reliable way to replenish their numbers. The possibility of the Hatecrowned drawing recruits from within or around the Glastheim Rifts cannot be ignored, although at present we have no proof of such activity.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

PROGRESS!

I finally have a name for my Easy-Mode-Cheat-Marines, henceforth to be called the Hatecrowned.

They sound like a death-metal band, but at least it's TONS better than Easy-Mode-Cheat-Marines as a name.

They're going to be the primary muscle for my other, greater-scale-threat Warband that used to be called the Rift Lords. I haven't settled on a new name for them yet, hence all that [REDACTED DATA] stuff.

As a result of their job working for the Big Warband, they're also the primary enemy of the Circle of Iron, and have battled them all over the Glastheim Rifts, with as many victories as defeats.

Back to the models, it's taken me about two years to paint these guys. Partly because I suck at painting orange and yellow, and partly because I couldn't decide what weapons to give them. In the end the claws won out, but only because I'm saving the chainswords for other projects down the road.

And of course now that I take pictures of them I can see a bunch of mistakes, mould lines, bits I've not painted (How? How did this even happen?) and other flaws that need correcting, so they're not exactly finished. Quite aside from the bases, in fact!

But anyway, that's enough rambling from me: A thousand thanks to anyone reading this for tolerating my badly-painted models (how did I miss bits? HOW?) and badly-written blurbs, and any thoughts, opinions, comments, scathing criticisms, mocking derision or general expressions of bewilderment you might have are always more than welcome.

[deathspectersgt7]

COOL!!!!

[Ace Debonair]

COOL!!!!

Many thanks! I'm glad you like 'em.

Those Warp Talons took waaaaay too long to paint. So many little details for me to make mistakes on!

I've got more loyalists on the way too. Nothing drastic, just test models for the Brotherhood of Crows and the Warminds.

So it probably won't take me all year to update this thread again!

[Ace Debonair]

"The Circle of Iron. A barricade of Space Marines, built to shield the Imperium from the growing darkness of the Glastheim Rift. They know only war. They fight the enemies of mankind without cease, unflinchingly spending their lives in defence of the Imperium and its peoples.

And despite their differences and their occasional disputes, no member of the Circle will sit by and idly watch the others fight a losing battle.

Yesterday, I saw the Brotherhood of Crows, normally so reserved and pragmatic, risk two hundred of their men in desperate battle, all to rescue thirty of the Warminds Chapter fighting and losing against a renegade Knight House on the surface of Einbech Secundus.

When I later asked Captain Gorgata about the risk he took, he simply said; 'When you fight for the Circle, you never truly fight alone'.

...I wish my fellow Inquisitors shared that sense of brotherhood, but alas, things are more complicated for us..." - Lord Inquisitor Ivan Ping, Inquisitorial Memoirs

So here we have it, the test models for the Brotherhood of Crows and the Warminds.
These guys are both going to be part of two small squads once I get some more legs, torsos, arms and backpacks.

...So, you know, more marines in general.



Shown here: The super-sweet Legionary Shoulders from Anvil Industry, and a bunch of mould lines.
Darn it.



Backpack shot!
Also check out the nifty leg armour, again courtesy of Anvil.



Finally, a shot of the Gladius that the Warmind's carrying, and some more mould lines.


I'm pretty pleased with these guys, all things considered. The green's come out a little Salamander-y, but the kinda-roman aesthetic and brown shoulders ought to help set the Warminds apart from Vulkan's sons.
Equally, the purple and gold on the Brotherhood representative looks a little Emperor's-Children-ish, but the Crows' relative lack of bling and blue-black shoulders are hopefully enough to make the Brotherhood visibly their own Chapter.

As always, all thoughts, comments, insults, mockery and other considerations are welcome.

[Brother Argent]

I am thinking I may need to borrow a few of these Chapters one day.  Maybe even for the ETL, as I might throw together some counts as Deathwatch... Now the old Brain is ticking...

[Ace Debonair]

I am thinking I may need to borrow a few of these Chapters one day. Maybe even for the ETL, as I might throw together some counts as Deathwatch... Now the old Brain is ticking...

Glad you like them, brother.

The squads these two belong to are probably going to turn up in the Lauss Rift, for when I need a break from painting white and modelling scales and pelts.

[QuarterPounder]

Love it, Ace! I've been reading your thread the whole way through. Great mini's!

 

Love the story ideas behind the Iron Circle, too. It's a great concept, and I think it's fantastic that you're modeling each of the sides and chapters that take part.