The 339th Armageddon Steel Legion "The Iron Heads" WIP

[steellegionnaire85]

Guys,

 

After almost two decades I have decided to blow the dust off of my models and complete my army. I have so much to paint it's not funny. I don't have any problems building, converting, or customizing my models. But painting is another story. I just laid it all out on the table and I think I bit off more than I can chew. I need help on how to push myself to completion on this undertaking. I will take a picture of it soon so I can post it up as well. And I would like comments and criticism on my choices as I go. Thanks ahead of time.

[Father Mehman]

Well, first things first, Trooper: welcome to the fold! We have refreshments over there and lemonade on that table. Wait, no. I'm being told that this is the Guard and all we have is cold recaf and stale MREs. Sorry.

 

But seriously, take it squad by squad. Go so far as to "assembly line" paint them and it'll feel like no time when you have your army completed (well, we never have a complete army). What that mean is get a colour, paint that on the same area that it appears on each trooper, and then progress to the next colour and area (eg do all the great coats in khaki or whatever you choose for your Steel Legion and then do all the helmets in brown, etc).

 

What I like to do is paint five troopers, then paint a "reward" model, and then paint five more troopers. Of course, that works on Scions better than Guardsmen. They should probably be done in whatever number you'd like but keep it small.

 

Also, keeping up-to-date pictures on this thread should help. My thread has pushed me into service when it 's been a bit stagnant at the painting table. The Lord Commissar and the Commissariat will really keep you motivated. Trust me.

 

Don't think of it as painting your whole army, rather, think of it as painting Infantry Squad 1 or Heavy Weapon Team 3. Give them names and a backstory (at least the Sergeants). You'll be painting representations of people instead of Trooper 41.

 

Hopefully that'll get you started and give you something to think about when it gets monotonous. It certainly helps me!

[steellegionnaire85]

Thanks. I will have to try that. I have 50 vehicles and 300 infantry to paint it's a daunting task I'll have to try it your way instead of one model at a time. I was going to do my own camouflage scheme, but I may just go traditional on all of them. What do you guys think. Edited February 21, 2015 by steellegionnaire85

[Father Mehman]

Do you have pictures of your camo scheme? Always do whatever painting scheme you think looks the best and that you won't get tried of doing, even after 10 Infantry Squads.

[steellegionnaire85]

I am having a hard time uploading pictures I don't know why my phone won't let them uploading. I take them with my phone if that makes any difference. I apologize for being such a newbie. Edited February 21, 2015 by steellegionnaire85

[lionofjudah]

i upload my pics to photo bucket and then copy and paste the links into my response here... look forward to seeing your work man....welcome back :)

[Akrim]

Two decades?! Wow, that is a big hiatus, Im assuming you have a ton of metal guys on your hands then?

 

Maybe you could give us an overview of your collection and we could help tell you what's worthwhile painting (a good chunk is probably still perfectly usable, the biggest changes are probably ordnance weapon rules of tanks, Valkyries/Vendettas. But Infantry based armies are still quite good.

 

The good news is, GWs paint system is now pretty easy to use with base coat colors, layers and washes/shades. The inks of yesteryear are gone.

[WarriorFish]

Welcome to the B&C and back to the hobby steel! :D Much has changed in your time in the warp but in some ways things are more similar than they have been for a while. I'll add to what has already been said in that bite sized chunks will make it far more manageable and the new paints are very good especially the washes and technical paints. There's a wealth of information on the B&C about them and you can always ask if you have a question :)

 

Of course you can't beat a good WIP topic to help motivate you especially when you have people like me pestering you for updates - all part of the job :lol: I'm keen to see some pictures even more so of such a large collection. What sort of colours are you thinking about painting them in? The B&C gallery is simple to use, let me know if you need any help with anything :tu:

[steellegionnaire85]

Thanks again, guys. I will take extensive pictures in the morning. I have been playing on and off over the last two decades. I call it a painting hiatus more than anything. Over the last year I have been trying to bring the army into it's new codec with lots of upgrades and conversions. As for an overview, here goes nothing.

 

Overview:

 

Motorpool:

13 Leman Russ Battle Tanks: 3 Vanquishers, 2 Punishers, 1 Executioner, 2 Eradicators, 2 Exterminators, 3 Battle Tanks

10 Chimeras

2 Manticores

3 Wyverns

3 Hellhounds

3 Vendettas

4 Sentinels

1 Bombard

1 Stormlord

 

Manpower:

4 10 Man Veteran Squads

10 10 Man Infantry Squads

3 Platoon Command Sections

2 Company Command Sections

9 Heavy Weapons Squads

2 10 Man Tempestus Scion Squads

1 5 Man Tempestus Command Squad

11 Ogryns

7 Commissars

3 Primaris Pyskers

3 6 Man Special Weapons Squads

 

I think that's everything I have. Most of my weapons teams have been converted to using newer guard heavy weapons some are magnetized mainly heavy bolter/autocannon/lascannon. And I have done numerous conversions within my ranks so they don't get too much of a cookie cutter affect. Like I said I'll start taking pictures and photobucket them since that works. Thanks again for all the input and encouragement in this grand undertaking. I'll keep y'all updated.

Edited February 21, 2015 by steellegionnaire85

[Father Mehman]

Quite the collection! Personally, I would start by painting some basic infantry just to get the "painting juices" flowing again. After that, maybe go with a Commissar just to break things up. Painting black is always good for cleansing the mind. Then, another infantry squad. Really when all is done there, time for a tank, perhaps? That's just me. Feel free to use that method or think of something else.

 

The Steel Legion has always fascinated me and I think it's right time we see some of it done !

[WarriorFish]

That's a fine collection indeed, it'll be a grand crusade worthy of your time when you're done :D

[elmo]

Nice collection of models, now all we need is to see progress ;)

[steellegionnaire85]

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll32/steellegionnaire85/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0012_zpsqilh24uq.jpg

 

Let's see if I did this right. The first two are of a flecktern camouflage I did a test model of. I like it but it takes forever to do one individual. I think for now I am going to simply do standard steel legion colors. I just based the whole steel legion infantry in zandri dust and that should speed things up. I also have some 2nd edition Cadians in the army. I am going to give them a different color scheme. The second two pictures are of the whole infantry and armored portions of my army. Being able to use this post seems to help drive me in this crusade. Thanks for being here, the comments, the criticism, and the advice.

[hendrik]

That looks good!you can post the images directly by copy pasting the IMG link(on the right of your image) in your Post here.

[Father Mehman]

Yeah, Flecktarn does take a while. My whole 7th Company is fitted with it. That's probably why I never got around to really playing Guard when I could have been doing so. Oh well, no more gaming for me. Now, let's take a look at these pictures.

 

Alright. Will you be doing all your Armour in Steel Legion colours or will you be splitting it up somehow? Having all those tanks in the grey and bone white of Armageddon would be a grand site on the battlefield. The Kaiser would be proud. Same question about your birds, really. Are they Steel Legion specific or something else? I know about the Imperial Navy and all that but they still paint their birds for whoever they're carrying (eg Jungle Green for Catachans, Iceworld Camouflage for Valhallans, German WWII Camouflage for my guys [don't steal that idea from me, Steel. So help me... ]).

 

There's a lot of potential here and I want to see it done correctly. Think about when you have a united Guard army. You'll be proud and people will be envious!

 

Don't do like I did and squander away time trying out all sorts of fancy painting schemes. You'll wake up ten years from now with very little to show for it- trust me.

[steellegionnaire85]

Mehman, I am going to do all the tanks based in Eshin Grey first then all chimeras are going to be camouflaged with Ogryn Camo and all my artillery is going to use Steel Legion Drab for camouflage. I am torn on my Leman Russes though. I thought of maybe mixing up their camouflage a bit. My vendettas are going to be lead by the Red Baron the other two need to be repainted and camouflaged. I have more pictures to take and upload just trying to get the basics done right now. Plus my wife wants the dinning room table back. I will keep on plugging along. Keep the comments and criticism coming. And I have squandered 17 years of trying different camouflage patterns endless amounts of paints and time. I know it's going to get done soon just have to keep on trucking along. Edited February 21, 2015 by steellegionnaire85

[Father Mehman]

You pegged down a painting scheme! That's half the battle, truth told. Per Kierdale and his awesome models, medical gauze seems to work great for camo netting, if you are so inclined.

 

Well, keep it up. And ask your wife this: how can it be a dining room table if all my guys are mustered onto it? That'll throw her for a loop! Actually I'm getting a "no-go" look from my wife about that question. Abort mission. Abort mission!

[steellegionnaire85]

I told her, it was the company parade grounds, she just about knocked me out of the chair. Mehman, your in east Texas,too. Maybe when I am done we can play a game. It may be a while though.

[steellegionnaire85]

Pictures of the work in progress that is how I am going to paint all my chimeras similar to this.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll32/steellegionnaire85/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0015_zpsqhrlpogt.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll32/steellegionnaire85/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0017_zpsjgzyudsj.jpghttp://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll32/steellegionnaire85/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0018_zpsphlao9sv.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll32/steellegionnaire85/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0019_zpskxnrexgz.jpg

 

I think this will be Steel Legion ish of a scheme now I just have to figure out if I want my Leman Russes that way too.

Edited February 21, 2015 by steellegionnaire85

[Father Mehman]

Very cool camouflage job! It looks like the Armageddon Wastes to me. Don't get too lost in the camo and forget about the details (eg exhaust pipes, ladders, Omnissiah shrine, etc) because that actually happens. Leman Russes would look nice like that, as well.

 

I quit playing the game for health reasons but I don't see me refusing a fellow Guardsman a little practice . Whenever you're ready just send me a line- we'll figure something out.

[hendrik]

you don't have to stick to a single sheme! armageddon has seen plenty of wars, and a multitude of different regiments working together. In fact, an army consisting of vehicles and infantry would in most cases (assuming othodox regiment guidelines) be two different regiments fighting together anyway! sure they can all be steel legion, but there's nothing stopping you to make all those russes belong to another regiment! you could use simple things like a campaign badge to help and tie them all together, but it's not needed fluffwise!

[WarriorFish]

Very cool, keep the pictures coming :tu:

[steellegionnaire85]

So I've base coated my artillery 3 Wyverns, 2 Manticores, and 1 Bombard in Eshin Grey. I don't know what I like better for a camouflage pattern. I was thinking either Scorched Brown or Castellan Green. I want your opinions before I start.

[WarriorFish]

Both colours would work well, but I would probably go towards the brown. The green is good, but it depends on the shade of grey. If it's a darker grey then a darker green might be better.

[steellegionnaire85]

Also do you guys think that bi color or tri color camouflage vehicles look better I am torn on this topic. Any opinions are appreciated.