Calth: An Apologist and Doghouse True Scale Project Log

[Slave to Darkness]

OOO very nice indeed sir. 

[deathspectersgt7]

Dam ran out of likes. !!!!!!!!!!!

[apologist]

Thanks chaps. I got some better pictures in daylight, and took some individual shots, too.

 

 

 

 

Brother Scaena

Part of the 'Troublesome' Fourth company under Captain Remus Ventanus, Scaena survived the initial assault during the atrocity of Calth, and fought in the Underworld War. He was reported lost during the fighting at Meridian, where he was presumed to have been buried in the collapse following the detonation of the atomic stack.

 

Equipped with a composite suit that included Mark IV, Mark II and reinforced Mark II plate (Praetor variant), Scaena is a fairly typical example of the Fourth, a Company reknowned for their occasionally idiosyncratic prosecution of warface. The reinforced Mark II plate proved especially useful in the Underworld War, owing to the additional sturdy plates on the front facing of the legs. These helped to protect against the inevitable ricochets and impacts during the tough tunnel fighting, where cover was in short supply and means of redeployment limited.

 

The rear, in contrast, retained the difficult-to-maintain hooped design of Mark II at the surface. This shot also shows a typical variant of the Legion symbol, with a wreathed design (symbolising victory) and crossed thunderbolts beneath the symbol. This latter device marks the wearer as a veteran of the Unification Wars (more properly, the Pacficiation of the Sol system) if rendered specifically in silver, or – more commonly – simply as a Terran. The device, being an offshoot of the Emperor's own heraldry during this period, was used across the Legions, but it became a symbol of reaffirmed loyalty during the events of the Horus Heresy.

 

Unlike true Mark III armour, Praetor plate was not void hardened, so it would prevent direct penetration from boltgun-equivalent weaponry only ten to fifteen per cent of the time. This drop in direct protection meant that it was not quite as useful as the dedicated Mark III suits, which were given in preference to dedicated Despoiler and Assault type units.

 

The eagle-faced helm (or Galeati Aquillo), was a decorative flourish added by artificers to an individual' battle plate. It was pioneered in the early days of the Great Crusade by the famed Praetor Mymis, who dictated that his own Company would wear it wholesale.

Its usage was unusual: Ultramarines of other Companies who wished to to wear it were required to ask their own Captain to petition Myrmis (and later, his successors) personally. The wearer was expected to act in the highest ideal of the Ultramarines Legion. Seeing it worn by a member of the cantankerous Fourth is thus slightly surprising!

[MagicMan]

http://i.imgur.com/2RJMssr.gif


^ me



Have 1 Billion likes, good sir. They are amazing.

Even the scout head looks good. Where did you get the awesome helmet on Scaena? Or did you sculpt it? 

[Captain Nameless]

I just have to say it, these are beautiful.

[EdT]

Wonderful, and a perfect match with the artwork too. Brilliant stuff!

[apologist]

Even the scout head looks good. Where did you get the awesome helmet on Scaena? Or did you sculpt it? 

 

The scout heads get a lot of – fairly justifiable – stick, but one really seemed to work here. The biker scout heads have a bit more shape than the regular infantry scouts, so it's worth looking at them. I did a little bit of reshaping with a blade and file to give Ventanus' head a distinct ear, and to turn the vox bead thing into the distinctive jaw from the artwork. Scaena's helmet is one of the honour guard helms from the Sevrin Loth pack. I trimmed the crest away and used a tiny bit of greenstuff to add the eagle.

 

 

I just have to say it, these are beautiful.

 

Wonderful, and a perfect match with the artwork too. Brilliant stuff!

Thanks chaps :)

 

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Captain Remus Ventanus

Remus Ventanus, Captain of the Fourth company of the XIII Legion, needs little introduction. A hero of the Underworld War, and unstinting in its prosecution, Ventanus never ceased to remind his warriors that while Calth as they had known it was gone, its people – those precious survivors – represented its potential: its future.

 

A distinctive spiked shoulderpad marks Ventanus out. Captains in the Ultramarines were afforded great freedom n their battle dress and appearance. Like many of his peers, Ventanus chose to demonstrate his qualities as a warrior through his appearance – eschewing a flashy cape or striking heraldry in favour of a brawling, opportunistic man-of-the-line.

 

Also visible in this shot is Ventanus' gilded forearm, a battle honour awarded during the Neo-Akkadyan Pacification, and the scabbard for his combat blade.

 

The latest mark IV backpack powers Ventanus' trusty suit, mainly made up from his reliable Crusade armour. Note the sidearm and ammo pouches within easy reach.

 

Ventanus' Legion Ultima contains a IV numeral to indicate Ventanus' Company, and a grenadier honorific to indicate his command. This archaic icon dates back to pre-Imperial days, and symbolises courage, honour and bravery in the line of duty.

 

A heavy command belt girds the Captain's waist. Despite Ventanus' reputation amongst the command staff as slightly irreverent and unpredictable, he is equally regarded as an exemplar of the Legion – indeed, his questioning and occasionally contrary qualities have ensured that his more by-the-book colleagues are always reminded that there's more than one way to skin a cat. In the confusing and dangerous days of the Underworld War, these qualities were sorely needed by the XIII Legion.

[apologist]

Sergeant Selaton

The Ultramarines Legion's great strength is its organisational capability. Each marine knows his role inside-and-out; the commanders trusting in their men's ability to put their orders into action, and reciprocally, the legionaries confident in their officer's thoughts and plans. 

 

It is the task of the sergeants to confidently communicate their officers orders – and to translate those into practical action. Possessed of courage and clarity of thought, Selaton is an exemplar of the breed.

 

Gold-trimmed but practical, the Mark II 'Crusade armour' remains de facto standard issue amongst the Ultramarines, though many Companies are decked out with more modern or more specialised armour marks. This image shows unrepaired damage to Selaton's pauldron, and also the personal name inscribed between the lightning bolts that jut from beneath the Legion symbol.

 

Unlike the newer packs that power Ventanus' and Scaena's armour, Selaton's is the original mark II pack with which the suit was issued; indicating excellent maintenance on the sergeant's part.

 

Unusually, Selaton's right pauldron is unmarked. The reason for this is unknown.

 

Recovered from outside Numinus starport, the banner – of a Legion symbol surmounting a double eagle – the standard was issued to an honour guard of Ultramarines murdered immediately prior to the disaster. It became a symbol for Selaton and his Captain as they began to rally and, ultimately, strike back at the Word Bearers.

[lionofjudah]

Fantastic! The story and execution is great... I'm so looking forward to seein what you do with the under city fighting

[deathspectersgt7]

Great story for some great looking models.

[KrautScientist]

Those three are absolutely and utterly amazing! The truescaling is wonderful, and I love the paintjobs! Brilliantly evocative pieces -- and I don't even like Ultramarines, for crying out loud!

I'd like this multiple times, if that were possible!

[That Guy Matt]

I haven't been keeping up with this as well as I should have. These have to be the best Ultramarinea I've ever seen. Really inspirational. It's making me want to do my own.

 

Though I'll probably just get round to reading Battle for the Abyss instead.

[apologist]

Mekholta Dmalachi, Twiceborn of the Chapter of the Blasted Cedar

 

The deep blood-crimson of the Word Bearer's armour came as a shock to XIII Legion forces during the Battle for Calth, though nowhere near as shocking as the presence of the twisted forms of the Word Bearers' elite Twiceborn.

 

The daemon-ridden Twiceborn were at the Vanguard of the Blasted Cedar's assaults on Trenchant Ridge. It proves impossible to meaningfully quantify the Twiceborn's effacity, as their combat effectiveness seemed to vary substantially from engagement to engagement.

 

The distinctive sigils of Colchisian script dotted their armour, but much more alarming was the corona of nameless colours that danced around their bodies, crackling and arcing onto the ice and snow of the region.

 

[Calgar 2.0]

Hey Apologist, where's the Laser-Cut terrain from?

[apologist]

It's from the Wolsung game, I think. I backed a crowdfunding thing for the terrain years ago. I think it's supported by MaxMini now.

[apologist]

I've been building and painting in stops and starts recently, and decided to bite the bullet and buy the Legion Astartes army book from Forge World. That arrived last night, so I celebrated with a stiff amasec and mustered the Ultramarines as they currently stand.

 

 

As mentioned, I've made plans to integrate the 15th (Praetors of Calth) with the newer 190th. The first big step with that was to move everyone to the 30mm bases, which as you can see, has gone pretty well! I've also made a few alterations to the figures themselves – mainly swapping out old plastic special weapons for FW boltguns, and replacing plastic backpacks with 'period-appropriate' ones. All very nerdy, but good fun :)

 

I've been umming and ahhing about altering the Praetors for a long while, and think I've made the decision that I'm going to repaint the yellow bits gold throughout – as you can see from the overall picture, the gold on the newer models helps make the blue pop, and in any case I don't like having two accent colours.

 

However, that's for the future – or as inspiration strikes. I tend to work a bit here and a bit there, to keep my enthusiasm up and stop anything turning into a chore. As a result, I worked on some highlighting and the face of another standard bearer:
(Suggestions for what to put on the banner are gratefully received.)

 

...worked up the blue on a legionary and sergeant from the second new tactical squad:

 

...and built a Legion Champion/Captain/Officer/Praetor to chop things up real nice...

 

Next up will be to complete the second new Tactical squad (giving me three full-size Legion Tactical squads), and then... well, by that point, it seems only fitting that a new Guilliman should come to inspect the troops, doesn't it? ;)

[Sons_of_Erebus]

very impressive army picture! loving the thread! Keep up the good work!

[apologist]

Death from above

Contact made with assault squad elements – deploying:

 

 

[apologist]

Started sculpting the straps that keep the jump packs in place. 

These'll be developed a bit further, but harder edges are a pain to get if you try and do it all at once. Better to let the underlying layer cure, then come back.

 

 

I also finally ran out of my pre-prepared helms. They've become a bit of a calling card for my Ultramarines (I'll be slightly sad when Forgeworld release their version... but on the other hand they'll be a lot better than mine!), so I've started using spare greenstuff to make new helms whenever I have some left over. I've got quite practised with them, so they only take a minute or so to make these days!

 

Here's a new tactical marine with the head made last night:

 

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On a tangentially-related note, Death of a Rubricist reached it's 100th post today. I'm celebrating with a little group project. Head on over if you're interested (link's also in the sig) :)

[apologist]

Hmm... chainblades or gladius-style combat blades on the assault squad? How about for the Rhino-borne breachers?

[Hyaenidae]

Gladius, beyond a shadow of a doubt. 

 

As always, your work inspires, brother. I have no true word to describe how awesome that 'Mark of Calth' piece is.

[apologist]

Ta very much! :)

 

Building on Mark of Calth, I received the bits to start Guilliman (late Crusade-era, as opposed to my older mid Crusade-era version) last night:

 

 

Any thoughts on which shoulder pauldron type looks better would be appreicated. 

[deathspectersgt7]

The 2nd IMO.

[MagicMan]

The 1st, IMO.

 

Keep them blue-tacked for now, and let us sneak peak the finished model (bar paint... ) ;) .

[Slave to Darkness]

1st