Iron Hands Clan Garrsak

[ShVagYeR]

I IRON HANDS CLAN GARRSAK I

I have to stop starting new armies, I promise, this is the last one for a while.

So I decided to start and Iron Hands army. The general idea was to build the infamous Chapter Master on Bike and then build an army around him. First it will be an allied detachment for my main army that consists of Ultramarines, Howling Griffons, and Marines Errant. Down the road it will evolve into a standalone main detachment.

Without further ado, may I present Kardan Stronos, de facto Chapter Master of Iron Hands:

Chapter Master Kardan Stronos

http://i58.tinypic.com/20h8vg7.jpg

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http://i61.tinypic.com/t5hz7r.jpg

http://i62.tinypic.com/f3gs4h.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/2uzxyd3.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/fbf388.jpg

http://i58.tinypic.com/fp2nnt.jpg

The model is fully magnetized for transport and future options. Right now the loadout is typical of Chapter Master , the widely known power build of an IH HQ from the Clan Raukaan supplement. I am planning to add the option of turning him into Smashbane with Shield Eternal instead of the Lightning Claw and without Betrayer's Bane.

The paintjob is based on Kardan Stronos artwork from the supplement by unknown artist. I am a fluff monkey, so I couldn't just do a random HQ.

Breakdown of parts or how you make do with very little:

- the Thunder Hammer is a modified Power Axe with plastic sprue parts;

- servoarms are kitbashed reclaimed bits and plasticard, cables were taken from servoskulls I had lying around;

- Betrayer's Bane is a standard bolter with a standard meltagun and a lot of knifework; the overall shape is kinda similar to Lion's Wrath from the Dark Angels codex, with the bullpup config and all;

Next up: five Iron Hands bikers. ETL may come into play as extra motivation.

[Rurik the blessed]

Amazing! i really love it!

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Awesome Smash:cusser, and that's a seriously cool bullpup bolter. Big props.

[Chrysaor the Giant]

Lovely model! This is an excellent start to your IH collection.

 

Can I ask what about the background makes you feel you can't create your own character? In the case of most other canon Chapters, I could see that argument as reasonable, but one of the best things about the Iron Hands for players who want to really develop the fluff for their force, and also do it in a manner which accurately reflects the Chapter's existing framework, is that you can create your own characters and stories with the Clan system. The Iron Hand's structure generally allows you a lot of freedom in that regard, so Kardan Stronos was certainly not your only option for a name!

 

As well, I see a very nicely drawn up Clan Symbol already in your avatar and photo watermarks. It is clearly not Clan Garrsak; why not make your own Clan, with it's own Clan Commander, and use that as it's mark?

 

Just some open ideas of course. Your army, your decisions!

[ShVagYeR]

Thank you Brothers!

 

@Chrysaor, it's not the background that prevents me from creating my own character. It's me. ;) I've always preferred delving into source material and taking some of that to coming up with my own characters in roleplaying games and such. For example I participated in a Star Wars PBF RPG that took place between episodes 2 and 3. I played as a canon character (Quinlan Vos) even though many other players chose to create their own unique characters. It's just a matter of preference.

 

The symbol on my avatar and watermarks is the logo of Łódzkie Manufactorum -- a combination of the Mechanicum cog and the coat of arms of the city of Łódź where I live (hence the name). If you take a look at the back of the bike, the Clan Garrsak symbol is there. :)

[ShVagYeR]

ETL has come!

 

Not that I have any experience in the matter since this is my first ETL. But still I'm eager to participate and expand this army using ETL as extra motivation. :)

 

I spent last week or so preparing five biker models. The bikes were bought on Allegro (Polish online auction site). I had to strip the red paint, reassemble some parts as they were badly misaligned by the previous owner, and do some general cleanup. But all in all they (plus 4 more incomplete bikes) cost me less than a GW box of 3 bikes, so it was worth the effort.

 

I also had only 4 pairs of biker legs, so the final one is a kitbash of a 2nd ed tactical leg and a command squad straight leg.

 

Biker bodies consist of bits from tactical, command squad, biker squad, and I think one helmet is from one of Blood Angels boxes. Kind of hard to keep track of everything I have in my bits box (most of it was bought dirt cheap on Allegro). ;)

 

I recently discovered magnets (as seen in the Chapter Master model), so I took this squad to the next level and magnetized or pinned all parts that I might want to switch in the future:

• special weapons and the combi-weapon are pinned and will be interchangeable across the entire army
• bolt pistol holsters on the gas tanks are magnetized so that they could be exchanged with chainswords
• melta bombs on sergeant's bike are magnetized (optional)

That way I feel like I really get the most out of these models, having all the options available.

 

Without further ado I present the "before" shots of five bikers that I also posted in the ETL thread:

 

http://i58.tinypic.com/2jb1up.jpg

 

http://i59.tinypic.com/rkyged.jpg

 

 

For the Gorgon!

[ShVagYeR]

Update!

http://i60.tinypic.com/zxu34h.jpg

http://i57.tinypic.com/2s9xelx.jpg

One down, four to go.

I really like the fact that after applying the Chaos Black primer I can go straight to highlights, in this case Eshin Grey (all) and Fenrisian Grey (upper ones). No base color, no wash, no touchups. I like black armor.

[ShVagYeR]

It's been a while, some stuff got in the way (I blame The Yak for his awesome Badab War thread). :) But I finally got around to do some work on my Iron Hands.

As a result all bikes and bases are finished. The only thing left to do is paint three bikers (including the sergeant).

http://i58.tinypic.com/2vbqv77.jpg

Comments & critique always welcome. :)

[paulJam]

Chapter Master Kardan Stronos

 

really like the 'reversed' combi gun.

 

the bullpup mag is a good solution though i'm not sure if it would fit tac marines (keen to break out some bitz now!!)...

 

i always though that the underslung bolter was wrong way round given you only get a couple of shots as most with the 'combi' part.

 

like underslung grenade launchers... main gun on top, bonus boom on the bottom.

[ShVagYeR]

Thanks! Like I said before, the overall configuration of the combi-melta is inspired by Lion's Wrath.

I totally agree that the bolter part of combi-weapons should be on top and the combi part underslung like a grenade launcher on a M4 rifle. But hey, it's the 41st millenium, there's people running around with swords, so it can't be too logical.

[ShVagYeR]

The bike squad is fully painted and ready to be fielded alongside Chapter Master Smashbro as an allied detachment. Yay!

Here's two group shots:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-te4k6nt_sUE/VYr4_nWoXoI/AAAAAAAAKhM/bcmheaascjI/s1600/bikerzygrupowo1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HGQTZg9zSU8/VYr4_aunFYI/AAAAAAAAKhI/hsFcTeEGr7Q/s1600/bikerzygrupowo2.jpg

And individual images of final three bikers (scroll up for the previous two).

Now for a change I'm going to paint something blue, so I'm returning to my Ultramarines army.