Chapter 888 (Ultramarines...kinda)

[Kierdale]

888th chapter Mentor Legion, 1st Company, 2nd Squad [Terminator assault]

Sergeant taking a swing.

Rogue Trader-era veteran sergeant decal on left leg

Hammernator one in the process of crushing an enemy

Hammernator 2. Probably my favourite pose of the squad.

Claws One.

Claws Two.

Question: the airbrush accidentally blew some blue onto the fingers of the lightning claw hands. Keep it as OSL or clean up the fingers with white?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Terminators look great!

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

I assumed that the OSL was intentional, it looks great.

[WarriorFish]

Great work, they look really nice :tu: I didn't notice the extra blue, as it's very slight probably best to go proper with OSL or not at all?

[Kierdale]

Thanks for the comments.

I’m going to leave the slight blue glow for now. I’ll see how I feel about it when I next crack open my pot of Ceramite White for other minis.

 

The scouts are coming along slowly. 20 in a production line.

And I basecoated the two captains and the sternguard yesterday with rattlecans. Next is a going over with the airbrush to get into nooks and crannies.

 

The scouts were repaints so were already put together but the sternguard I kept as sub-assemblies so I could basecoat the appropriate parts the appropriate colours. Next time I might spray the parts while on the sprues (after cleaning up mold lines, of course) - something I’ve heard of but never done.

 

While doing this army I’ve noticed I really like scouts and Indom’ terminators. I know I may be one of a rare few when it comes to the former! Looking forward to getting more of both in the future. I want to kitbash a box of scouts and a box of sniper scouts (into another sniper squad and a bolter -or shotgun- squad) and give the kneeling (sniper box) legs to a bolter/shotgun scout...perhaps have the heavy bolter and missile launcher scouts with pistols out, carrying their heavy weapons on their backs... try to mix up the kits and poses a bit.

[WarriorFish]

Sounds good to me. Scouts are pretty solid, my squad has a fearsome reputation but I still need to get round to repainting the snipers. On the attack they're the equal of Tacs or Assault Marines which counts for a lot :)

[Kierdale]

It’s good to hear they should be useful if when I get around to playing again. :)

Doing 20 scouts in a production line started to take it’s toll so I’m doing them in 5s.

Black: done.

Green: done

Brown: basecoated. I switched from Gorthor (Layer) to Steel Legion Drab as the latter is a Base paint and goes on in less layers. Will highlight and shade it next.

Then there’s still some metallics, Deathworld Forest for grenades, and of course the white shoulders, gauntlets and boot plates. And based...and lenses after decals and matt varnish.

And I got the SMH captain’s white done (sprayed with a rattle can, cleaned up with airbrush, weathered and blacklined). I look forward to doing his beautiful big sword with my airbrush for more practice!

[Race Bannon]

Grrr that Heavy Bolter dude is totally brilliant.

 

Which means I am likely to steal it for my own awesomeness.

[Kierdale]

Grrr that Heavy Bolter dude is totally brilliant.

Which means I am likely to steal it for my own awesomeness.

The scouts from the LS Storm are really nice! As you say, the heavy bolter guy’s pose is great...though looking at him now, I may have used the heavy bolter from a ‘normal scout squad. The LSS one is made to fit the gun rail of the speeder. You have a spare heavy bolter?

I just found this image of the scouts in the LSS:

69-73 is the HB scout. If I get another LSS it would be interesting to use the parts to make a very different pose. Remove that left shoulder and give him normal bolter arms, a pistol and a comm set or something. Cut the torso from the abdomen and put a turn in there, etc.

60-63 is the sergeant. A good chainsword arm (gesturing “Charge!”, “Forward!” Etc.). I think I still have the open right hand in my bitz box.

64-68 is the pilot. Best leave him in the LSS ;)

55-69 gives you a marine reloading. I used the open right hand for my grenade-thrower in the squad I’m painting now. And gave the body bolter arms (in the current squad). I must still have the mid-reload bolter somewhere too! Must do one reloading next time.

47-50 bolter scout, leg raised.

51-54 a leftie!

I hope that helps!

[Race Bannon]

In fact I do have a spare HB from a regular Land Speeder.  I need to check on the bipod though because that's what makes it work imo.

[Kierdale]

It was a heavy bolter from a scout squad, not a speeder, that I used. I’m not sure a speeder one would fit the bipod, as you said, nor the hand positions.

[WarriorFish]

Great poses, keen to see them finished now :D

[Kierdale]

Mars camo done on the snipers.

I’m getting each squad to the point where there’s just the white to do.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The camo cloaks' camo pattern looks great, but why isn't it applied to the snipers' armor and the gun stocks as well?

[Kierdale]

Quite simply as I didn’t want to cover the minis in those colours. I wanted to have a fair bit of them still the Mentors green-and-white. :) It’s not realistic or sensible, but 40k rarely it.

I may at some point in the future see what a full camo’d up Squad looks like - some Reavers perhaps, or other scouts - but not yet.

Edit: And the captain’s relic blade is done. I have only a cheap airbrush (and I got it for free from a mate, making it the cheapest airbrush ever!) but I could never have done anything like this without it (and I did try: my TDA sergeant's power sword).

[WarriorFish]

Love the camo, the red goes well with the Mentor's scheme. Sword is fancy too of course :tu:

[Kierdale]

Gearing up for Armies on Parade 2018 I’m doing my Mentor Legion versus Genestealer Cult in a vertical diorama* and managed to secure an Imperial Sector (box full of manufactorum, Sanctum and basilica sprues) which seems to now be OOP :tu:

* I mean something like:

Except mine will be double-sided with doors going through.

And lights. Maybe.

The plan is that the top level is ground level: scouts and tactically advancing on a Basilica from across Mars-ground.

Next level down: Basilica catacombs (basilica and Sanctum bits). Sternguard.

Further down: manufactorum levels. Terminators.

Bottom level: mine tunnel. Terminators.

And I ordered a FW venerable chaplain dreadnought before they disappear.

...all arms have pretty much already disappeared though so I’ll have to get a plastic dread too sometime for some arms.

Dear oh dear. :D

But then again, doing the army as 1st-and-10th, dreads may be a good way to get heavy weapons in.

WarriorFish is probably happy anyway.

[WarriorFish]

You can never have too many Dreadnoughts ;) You did well to get the big box set so your diorama is off to a good start :tu:

[Kierdale]

Captain WIP

Red and gold is still in progress. Outside of cloak will be Mars camo.

I also, at last, finished the leather of the scouts’ 40 boots, 20 belts, 20 holsters, and at least 60 pouches!

[Kierdale]

Mentor Legion captain (1 of 2) is done!

And close-ups:

Hidden Content

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Why are there black streaks on the Captain's cape? I doubt it's a camouflage pattern, considering the rest of his armor is brightly colored. Are the streaks scorch marks from enemy weapons fire, and the cape a Chapter relic with protective properties?

[Kierdale]

It’s camo. Same as the camo cloaks of the scouts. Logical? No. Supported by rules? No.

Perhaps it’s something symbolic.

All of the tactical squad have rolled up camo-sheets.

 

On the other captain I might not do his cloak as camo though. Or maybe I will, as the whim takes me at the time :D

[Kierdale]

This knee had been bugging me since I finished the captain. I should have done the wreath in gold but chose a light green and I couldn’t help but look at it on my shelf whenever I painted other minis...

So rather than repainting it I shaved it off and put a quartered campaign emblem on it, same as my 1st TDA sergeant.

Much happier.

I can post him in my Hall of Honour thread now :)

[Kierdale]

Layer upon layer upon layer of white... :(

Fifteen of those twenty were repaints, and the five snipers I put together before painting. In future when I get more scouts I’ll spray the arms, legs and heads white, and the bodies Caliban green -before any construction- in order to save me all these layers I need to brush on.

The tedium!

THE TEDIUM!!

[WarriorFish]

Worth it, though definitely better to save yourself the effort if you can :P