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

[Ace Debonair]

Looking really good, man. Strong theme, and you are executing the basics well!

Many thanks.

It's a funny thing, but reading about highlighting, weathering, washing and so on makes it sound much harder than it really is.

I'm amazed at how just listening to advice and trying new things has raised my paint game - I've come along a lot further in the last few weeks than I had in the previous few years, all because of the top advice in this thread.

Looking nice, Ace!

The bases might look more finished if you paint the trims too (I know some people like to leave them black, personally I think they look neater matching the ground colour). Also, if you have a brown-ish wash, adding a layer to the base can add definition to the rocks.

Highlights can definitely be a pig, but this looks like a good start. Like Reyner said, I find it's easiest to get a reasonable amount on the brush and then lightly slide the edge of the brush against the edge you want to highlight?

Fluff sounds good to me, where(ish) is the Glastheim Rift? I think the Iron Circle sounds fine, as long as it's not on the level of the Adeptus Praeses or Maelstrom Warders in numbers of Chapters involved. Same principle as those examples, which is why it makes sense that the HLoT might order it to happen, just on a (presumably) smaller scale?

New Tac squads are lovely, both in terms of sculpt quality and cool bits. Well worth checking out online shops for discounts, from what I've heard Darksphere and Element Games are pretty good, or there's always ebay!

Highlights are even tricksier than hobbitses, but practice and persistence are probably good tools for mastering highlights, just like learning to paint each bit before assembling it.

So in ten years' time I should be really good at it!

Washing the rocks, eh? Might be worth a bash. I'll give it a try on the chaos champion's base when I get around to that, and if it turns out well I'll go back and slosh some more Earthshade over the rest of his mob's feet and see how they go.

The Glastheim Rift is in Segmentum Obscurus, fairly close to the border with Segmentum Solar. Although on second look that part of space is already pretty busy, so I'm open to moving it if anyone can think of a better place to put it.

Truth be told it's all still a work in progress anyway, which I suppose is at least fitting for the thread!

I can't find any information about how many Maelstrom Wardens there were, but I was thinking *roughly* six or seven Chapters in the Iron Circle, and the occasional temporary alliance with passing fleet-based Space Marine forces.

Element Games I've heard of, but this Darksphere sounds intriguing. I'll take a look at them shortly, methinks!

EDIT:

Erk, ninja'd by Madwolf!

Glad you're enjoying the thread so far. I'll hopefully have more Iron Circle related news tomorrow after I chat to my nephew about getting his stuff up on here!

[Conn Eremon]

I'm keeping the total number of Chapters in the Iron Circle deliberately vague, in case one day anyone decides they'd like a Chapter of theirs to join the Circle.

I might need to put some more work in to start swaying people though!

Hm. Hmmm. *looks at list of 39 DIYs* HMMMMMM!

I see two possibilities. One is I list off the eighteen minor DIYs that will be never be anything more than random names to slip in for minor character development. Enough info to give them a super basic, small Chapter blurb like the Codex gives the minor Chapters. You can pick out one(s) you like and utilize them for the same purpose.

The other is that I use the Iron Circle to help fluff out a couple of my major DIYs that I haven't spent enough time developing yet. The Salamanders' successor, Storm Bearers, have character, but no history yet. The Cursed Founding turned Renegade Chapter Conclave of Shadows has character and recent history following their fall, but no history as loyalists. Either of them could benefit from this.

I don't know, but expect messages in the future regardless!

Back when my DIYs were first being developed, and I only had enough to count on one hand, I had contemplated creating such a force to gather them together. Then I realized that by adding the character I did to them, it made the force seem too jumbled, widespread and bloated. And I had become addicted to using the Deathwatch Chapter Creation rules to form a backbone for new DIYs. Now I had a successor for each Founding Legion. Now I had doubled it. Now I looked at the computer folder, and realized I could add eight more to the list and still see them all at once. Now I am expanding out from just Space Marine Chapters, and got renegade or traitor warbands, Imperial Guard regiments, Sisterhoods, Hive Fleets, WAAAGH!s, Tau Cadres, Tombworlds . . . I decided it would be best to spread them around the galaxy, and not simply create a Cormac Airt Sector of Everything Cormac.

Aaaaanywho. Latest models look pretty nifty, though I have seen a decided lack of white/black/red, pale green and gold n' purple. You might need to start rectifying this.

[Forté]

Stop improving so quickly ;)

 

Nah. It's good to see you're enjoying it.

[Ace Debonair]

Multiquote hates me, so I'll reply the old fashioned way.

Forte:

It's the B&C's fault for being chock-full of awesome. This forum in particular is a banquet of inspiration!

Cormac:

The Iron Circle welcomes any brothers who will willingly fulfil their sacred duty to the Emperor and eternally safeguard the Glastheim Rift.

Right now the only condition is the Chapter needs to be 18th Founding (so you can have a stasis-locked original copy of the High Lords' Charter), but if that's a problem I'll have a go at coming up with further solutions.

Also, it might be worth waiting for a bit before committing any chapters to the Circle so I can iron out some more details first.

I also can't help but notice you have a LOT more DIYs than me.

I've got, what, eight in total counting the Sons of =][=DELETED=][=. Eleven if you count the alternate White Scars, Emperor's Children and Astral Wolves.

Regarding throwing down more alt-legion goodness - that's going to be a while in the making, I'm afraid. I mean, you only get 10 marines per tac squad box, and I already have a couple of colourschemes vying for my immediate, combat-squad-based attention...

...Although I won't rule out doing a heresy-era member of each of our alt-Legions somewhere down the road, time and money willing.

Look on the bright side, by the time I get to them I might get better at highlighting!

[Forté]

Did you say Emperors Children ;)

[Ace Debonair]

Not the ones you're thinking of, mon ami.

Think like the first guy in this thread, but with more heresy-era gear.

[Forté]

Nothing wrong with that. My Kakophoni are Heresy era. The rest won't be though. Need to go a little crazy with the painting ;)

[mactire]

Just saw this post, have to say that's really good work Ace. The improvement from the first pic is immense keep up the good work. As a fellow paint-then-assembler I find this the best way to get at all the little details ( I also think I'm a little OCD ). I would agree with the other poster who said about glueing the torso's together this will save a lot of time and save the paint on fingers. Also get a few brushes, this will really help speed things up, I'd recommend fine detail, standard, basecoat, wash and small or medium drybrush, these should cover nearly any job. Hope this helps and keep at it.  

[Conn Eremon]

Cormac:

The Iron Circle welcomes any brothers who will willingly fulfil their sacred duty to the Emperor and eternally safeguard the Glastheim Rift.

Right now the only condition is the Chapter needs to be 18th Founding (so you can have a stasis-locked original copy of the High Lords' Charter), but if that's a problem I'll have a go at coming up with further solutions.

Also, it might be worth waiting for a bit before committing any chapters to the Circle so I can iron out some more details first.

I also can't help but notice you have a LOT more DIYs than me.

I've got, what, eight in total counting the Sons of =][=DELETED=][=. Eleven if you count the alternate White Scars, Emperor's Children and Astral Wolves.

Regarding throwing down more alt-legion goodness - that's going to be a while in the making, I'm afraid. I mean, you only get 10 marines per tac squad box, and I already have a couple of colourschemes vying for my immediate, combat-squad-based attention...:whistlingW:

...Although I won't rule out doing a heresy-era member of each of our alt-Legions somewhere down the road, time and money willing.

Look on the bright side, by the time I get to them I might get better at highlighting!:teehee:

Hm. Well, the Conclave is definitely Cursed Founding. Maybe the fact that the Conclave is made later than the others, and is added in out of the blue, creates contention? Or I can exclude them from the possibilities and say Storm Bearers only, as they currently have no Founding set.

And it will be quite some time before I get to the Storm Bearers. I think I have two or three more DIYs to get to first, and it takes me about four, five months each. :p

And yes, I know I have a problem. In one thread, I took the time to calculate all of my DIYs. Not just those listed, but taking into account that I am involved in two Alternate Heresies, and particularly liked another, and so have a total of three different variations for all of my power-armored DIYs, making my grand total pushing past 200. But I only have plans on posting the major 20 Chapters and Warbands here, hence the project name in my sig.

[Ace Debonair]

Cormac:

200 DIY Chapters.

Egads!

I forsee many headaches in your future, and you have my deepest condolences for when they reach you.

On the bright side, I've got more time to work out any faults in the Iron Circle before you commit a Chapter to it. Nothing would be worse than getting a bunch of Chapters written up and only then discovering a fatal flaw in the whole idea!

Forte:

The Emperor's Children I'll be making (eventually) won't even be from the Horus Heresy - rather they'll be from a community alt-heresy Cormac started that we've nicknamed 'Corax's Coup'.

In that reality, the Emperor's Children are a legion of Monster Hunters - always seeking out the biggest, baddest threats to the Imperium so they can kill the ever-loving heck out of 'em before they get started, the same way Fulgrim did back on Medusa. (it's a long story)

And they might be the legion that's changed the least, now I come to think of it.

Mactire:

I knew it wasn't just me who painted bits before assembly. Bits painters of the world unite!

I have a lot of respect for people who glue most or all of their stuff together before painting, but when I start doing that I tend to miss details when painting, and it bugs the heck out of me.

With regards to getting my greasy mitts on some other brushes, I'm going to find myself in the mysterious land of Warrington later, so I might drop by the GW there and pick up a tactical squad and a new brush or two.

Although I'm given to understand GW's brushes aren't considered particularly marvellous, so maybe I'll just get the tactical squad and shop about for other places to get brushes. Hmm. Decisions, decisions....

EDIT:

Ok, I bought a tactical marine box and completely forgot to look for other brushes. Or other greys.

Also, I forgot which colour replaced Hawk Turquoise, so I left that for now as well.

Now all I have to do is wait for bitsandkits to restock chaos warrior or chaos knight hats.

[Conn Eremon]

No, no, DIYs in general. While Marines, of either loyalty, got the most of any other faction, I have at least one DIY for every playable army in the IP. I'm not that insane!

 

Just close to it.

 

But enough derailing about all the notches in my belt. Looking forward to what you got next.

[Ace Debonair]

Even so, sooner your than me. Sounds like a lot of work!

As for what's next, I'd planned to basecoat my new tactical squad, but thanks to traditional English weather that plan is entirely out of the window.

So I thought I'd try the next best thing and paint some more bits for my Chaos guys.

Namely, highlighting the legs I got from Anvil a while back, thus;

It looks pretty sloppy right now, but I have plans to go back over it with more black when I fix all the mistakes I made with the yellow, and see if I can't thin those lines out a little.

Those ten sets of legs will be for pistol & chainsword marines. I really wanted a posture other than the default squatting/braced-for-firing one, since it just makes assault marines look constipated.

But of course, I'm still out of Chaos Warrior / Knight helmets and need to get more so my stuff looks consistent across the whole force.

On the positive side, I have a LOT of chainswords and bolt pistols, so at least I can paint something while waiting for the bitz stores to stock up again.

[Adra'Melek]

I've got a fair few chaos knight/warrior heads if you want them. You're in the uk so it would be easy to post them. If interested PM me and I'll take a photo of what I have to make sure it's what you want.

 

 

Going back to touching up the black is a great idea. Really helps to thin the highlights down.

[Forté]

I've got a fair few chaos knight/warrior heads if you want them. You're in the uk so it would be easy to post them. If interested PM me and I'll take a photo of what I have to make sure it's what you want.

 

And this is why I like the B&C community.

[Ace Debonair]

So I just spotted that some of those legs are kneeling-down legs and would look pretty silly on mobile assault-type marines.

Bear in mind this somehow eluded me while I was painting them.

On the other hand, I've got two sets of ready-painted kneeling legs for future bolter or heavy weapon users, so... huzzah?

Thunor:

I'd feel like a scoundrel for taking sweet bitz off of a brother B&Cer, but a thousand thanks for the kind offer. You are officially awesome.

In other news, I got a few coats of yellow and orange (orange is the devil) done on some shoulderpads for my upcoming Easy-Mode-Cheat-Marine chainsword guys.

Sadly, that might be the last painting I get done for a while. I've got family coming to visit over the next few days, and people tend to be a bit dour if you're focused more on painting shoulder trims than talking to them!

[Adra'Melek]

Up to you dude. They were just wasted ones left. There are 7 knight ones and 19 warrior ones (discounting the ones I want to keep). I'm a beastman man myself, rather than warriors.

 

However I have also come across the awesome skull shoulder guards for the knights. Them I'm definitely keeping :)

[Ace Debonair]

-=-= WARNING - INCOMING WALL OF TEXT =-=-

I have done another thing!

After some debating with myself as to what should be done next, and in what order, I decided to try the whole 'throw on more Earthshade' approach on a brand new White Hawk tactical marine to see how it went.

I'm reasonably pleased with this guy. He's not as flash as my Deathwing, but then the model is decidedly plainer. There's only one part from the new tactical box on this marine, and anyone who can guess which part gets Internet Bonus Points.

Oops, I didn't paint the end of the barrel black. I knew I'd missed something.

Also, I went for a quartered knee pad. The White Hawks are keen on personal heraldry, and allow marines to deviate from the normal prescribed Chapter Colours as a reward for exceptional performance in battles.

I bought that knife a couple of years back and could never decide which marine to give it to. So, I built another one just for it!

I really like the bolter arms this guy's got. I'm kinda glad I waited so long before using them!

Also, here's the promised comparison pics of my first ever marine and my latest:

Yep, that's a plasma gun on his back.

Now that is what I call a good sidearm!

I'm pretty sure the marine on the right is nearly a decade old. His lower leg is painted half-blue and half-white, and check out that ginger Mohawk and the jumbo lenses.

Comparing him to my latest marine, I'm pretty proud of how far I've come.

Oh, and just in case he reads this - recognize the new guy's hat, Thunor?

I got permission to talk about my nephew's chapter, but I can't post any of the models until he's finished experimenting with them.

So, here comes the tale of the Champions of Athlum!

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

The Champions of Athlum hail from (of course) Athlum, a world of peril and beauty in equal measure. Be it the open savannahs, the sprawling mountain ranges or the densely packed forests teeming with life, Athlum's landscape is never short of breathtaking. The creatures that live there, however, are exceedingly deadly.

From the innumerable Dirgewolf packs of the woodlands to the thick-scaled giant lizards called Garthedions that dwell in the mountains, humanity's very survival on Athlum is a challenge. In spite of this, the nature of the colonies there tend toward the elegant - ornate towers and beautiful architecture that masks the utilitarian nature of the constructions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the enormous, continent-spanning jungle known as the Mallex Rainforest, where entire villages are built hundreds of meters up in the boughs of vast, ancient trees.

The Champions of Athlum built their home on (and into) the highest mountain on the planet - a magnificent white castle, surrounding an equally impressive white tower that can be seen from almost half a continent away.

On the surface, the Champions of Athlum and the White Hawks share many similarities. Both are sons of Guilliman, and both draw infuences from the knightly cultures of their low-tech homeworlds. However, any in-depth examination reveals significant differences between the two.

A White Hawk fighting an enemy in melee will mostly use simple, practical and straightforward techniques, largely inherited from either the Codex Astartes or the occasional stance or trick borrowed from Talhonic native styles. A Champion of Athlum faced with the same situation is more likely to use esoteric techniques, with an emphasis on mobility and distracting flourishes to catch their foe off-guard and unbalance them before striking a merciless killing blow.

This difference is reflected in almost all of their methods of warfare. Where the White Hawks are akin to a brutal mace, using strength and brutality to crush a foe, the Champions of Athlum are closer to a finely balanced rapier - misdirection, fluidity guile and adaptability are their watchwords.

Another difference is the way the Chapters interact with their homeworlds. The White Hawks are regarded as distant guardians on Talhon, keeping them safe from the nightmares amongst the stars. The Champions of Athlum have much closer control over their people. The First Captain bears the title 'Marquis of Athlum', and is considered the ambassador of the wider Imperium, able to directly influence the nations of their homeworld. On a few occasions, the First Captain has sent men to directly prevent warring Athlumian civilisations from wiping each other out.

This difference, perhaps, is also reflected in the two Chapters' general temperaments. The Champions of Athlum are likely to be the very model of sophisticated nobility as they understand it - proud, quiet, and despite seeming aloof they are ever-watchful of those around them. By contrast, the White Hawks are much more plainly spoken and at times brash.

A further small contrast is present in the geneseeds of the Chapter. While the Hawks' is still essentially in the same state as during the days of the 18th Founding, the Champions' was quickly found to possess a subtle quirk. The Melanchromic Organ bears a small mutation that frequently, but not always, causes the hair of an implanted marine to become white or silvery in colour.

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

So, there we go, a quick overview of the Champions of Athlum.

Fun trivia - the Red Lords are actually based on these guys, but taken in a different direction.

And while the geneseed quirk and somewhat haughty nature of the legion points to secretly being an Emperor's Children successor, they were actually mostly just inspired by Tolkien's Elves and my nephew wanting epic white hair to be fairly common in his Chapter.

So in a way they might have influenced the creation of the Stonebound, too, come to think of it.

[Aqui]

Champions of Athlum - awesome name I do like the effect the non standard Marine helms give As for the part from the new Tactical kit - the bolter arm (the right hand is separate from the arm itself. I can just see the join )

Painting that much white on a mini is quite brave. I hate painting it, unless I have no choice (one reason why my main army still doesn't have Chapter symbols on them for the most part )

[Ace Debonair]

Many thanks, mon ami!

I can't wait to get my nephews' stuff on here. It's got less flashy techniques like washes and stuff (unless he takes the plunge with his next few models) but they're painted really cleanly, which not only fits the chapter like a glove, it looks sharp.

A good guess at the bit, but not right - both arms are from the Dark Angel veterans' box.

That 'join' you can see on the arm is actually all Earthshade wash. I have no idea if that's actually a good thing or not!

[Aqui]

Many thanks, mon ami!

I can't wait to get my nephews' stuff on here. It's got less flashy techniques like washes and stuff (unless he takes the plunge with his next few models) but they're painted really cleanly, which not only fits the chapter like a glove, it looks sharp.

A good guess at the bit, but not right - both arms are from the Dark Angel veterans' box.

That 'join' you can see on the arm is actually all Earthshade wash. I have no idea if that's actually a good thing or not!

Taking another look, I can see that it is a wash Having had another look, it might be the back pack, but I haven't seen the new kit in the plastic yet.

Any HQ's in the pipeline? (I tend to start with HQ's than the regular troops)

[Conn Eremon]

Looks good. Definite improvement over the Hello Kitty marine (pink and white? Really? :p ).

 

I like your nephew's chapter (out of curiosity, how old is he?). Funny thing is, he has a similar genetic quirk as the Storm Bearers do, though for very different reasons.

[Ace Debonair]

Well, it's like this.

I have technically got a White Hawks Captain already made - he used to be my avatar, in fact, but he's looking a bit, well, dated next to my recent stuff.

Also since I've now settled on more of a look for my marines most of the bits aren't quite right (a few too many Templar crosses and BA symbols), but he does have a cool 'warrior's salute' pose that I'm rather happy with.

So... I dunno. Maybe?

Not in the immediate future, perhaps, but down the road.

Backpack isn't the new TacSquad bit - that's a Raven Guard one that I thought I could get away with using because HAWKS.

EDIT:

Cormac - that's the difference between Warlock Purple and Screamer Pink, the latter of which replaced the former.

Oddly, the one labelled as purple looks more like pink, and the one labelled as pink looks rather more purple.

My nephew's about the same age as me, since you ask.

EDIT EDIT:

Hold on a second, the difference in the purple bits is what grabbed you? Didn't you see all that damn orange? Ye gods, man. Orange is the devil.

I've had more success painting white over a black base with only a detail brush on a whole AOBR dreadnought than painting even a small amount of orange over ANYTHING. MY most recent Chaos stuff has taken at least ten thin, carefully applied layers so far and doesn't look even.

I don't know how I managed to paint a whole batch of marines with that much orange without exploding in rage.

[deathspectersgt7]

The White Hawk Looks Good Ace.

[Conn Eremon]

With my phone's backlighting at zero, it just looks like reddish pink.

 

I was curious about your nephew's age because my mind automatically assumed pretty young. My own nieces and nephews are between one and seven. Seeing LotR being used as a theme, and not even over-done either, made me think my assumption might be far off.

 

Hearing your difficulty with orange makes me a little relieved I have no intention of painting up some Emerald Tigers!

[Madwolf Shadowmane]

Ace the newest painted marine looks really good.  Left shoulder pad is from the new box? Keep up the good work.