The Burden of Duty: The End of the Beginning

[Capt. Jack]

Said before but begs saying again; Rael Donovan looks like a total tank.

 

I love the subtle meshing of different bits, the utilitarian feel, which is fitting for the VIIth but especially so for a siegebreaker, and I also love the use of bits like the limited siegebreaker legs and the modified gauntlet from the Cacharodons character.

 

Keep up the excellent work dude!

[brother tycho]

I'm looking forward to seeing this one in yellow plate, nice innovation on the chain fist.  Your work is to my taste, like strong coffee

[Vairocanum]

Great bit of fluff and an excellent model! The chainfist from Tyberos works really well, looking forward to seeing him painted!

[Son of Carnelian]

Congratulations on the milestone, brother! The miniatures look great!

[Soldier of Dorn]

[+++inload+++]

Work in progress

Still work to be done, especially on the base and the basing material, but this... this is bringing me back. Reminds me of what I love about this hobby. Part of it's always been the community, but the other side of it... I'm not the best modeler, nor the best painter in the world, yet still there is that joy in creation, however slight. The artistry of taking something and making it your own. That feeling: this is mine. I made it. No one else could, it's a product of my mind. That is one of the greatest feelings in the world. That's what I love about this creative side of our hobby. My creations are not perfect, but that's okay: neither am I. They ref

Said before but begs saying again; Rael Donovan looks like a total tank.

I love the subtle meshing of different bits, the utilitarian feel, which is fitting for the VIIth but especially so for a siegebreaker, and I also love the use of bits like the limited siegebreaker legs and the modified gauntlet from the Cacharodons character.

Keep up the excellent work dude!

Thanks, man. The utilitarian feel is something I've been aiming for throughout this project - it's something of an underpinning theme, I think, even if not every model holds strictly to it - and I've tried to convey that in many different ways: through gear; through lack of decoration; through pose, and yet I think Donovan is the purest expression I've created so far of that ideal.

I'm looking forward to seeing this one in yellow plate, nice innovation on the chain fist. Your work is to my taste, like strong coffee

Great bit of fluff and an excellent model! The chainfist from Tyberos works really well, looking forward to seeing him painted!

Thanks, guys. Really enjoy the chainfist myself. It's not the fanciest bit in the world, but it is unique in it's design. Part of the struggle with coming up with this model (and indeed, with many characters in this force) was making a figure that didn't look especially fancy or ornate, per se, but still stood out from the ordinary marine in the army. I believe I've succeeded here, but as with all things, only time will tell.

Congratulations on the milestone, brother! The miniatures look great!

Thanks, bro. Your input is always invaluable. Always enjoy our conversations.

Thanks for looking, all.

[Isengrin]

Here's to another 3000 posts. I'm glad you're back with renewed vigor and furthermore with such a wonderful praetor to boot. He looks like he came straight out of the trenches, and I'm surprised that a MkII helm works so well on a terminator. I never would have thought of that.

[jimbo13]

I love it man. He's simple which I think adds to the models characters. 

 

His armor is certainly not parade ground regulation. For shame....

[Vazzy]

[++inload++]

Wallbreaker Prime

“There are two sides to everything. All things begun are one day ended, all born surely die. We call ourselves the keepers of the Walls, we are the builders – upon our shoulders rest the Imperium’s foundation. So also, are we the destroyers of our enemies’ walls. We will break them. That is why I am Wallbreaker. There is no difference between the two identities.”

Born to a common family of Terra, the child known as Rael Donovan would only gain his second name after his induction into the Seventh Legion and the Siege of Roma – that of Wallbreaker, Fist of the Emperor, for actions undertaken during that engagement.

Part of the earliest intake of recruits for the VII Legion, Donovan was a member of the same training unit as Heinrich Eilings, and served with him through the fires of late Unification and the Conquest of Sol, and served as second to him for many decades. When Eilings was first given the order from Legion Command to first raise the 284^th Storm Battalion during the Jovian Campaign, Donovan unsurprising was among the core of Veterans that formed the Battalion’s rock-steady heart.

Given the rank of First Lieutenant, Donovan formed the Battalion’s primary specialist Terminator Cadre, a unit that would be come to be known after its commander as the Wallbreakers. They formed an iron hammer against the Battalion’s foes, crushing any that the rest of the Battalion could not defeat.

At the Siege of Terra, Lieutenant Donovan commanded one of several detachments of the Loyalist Battlegroup Nehvra, under the over-arching command of Shield-Commandant Eilings. In the battles of the Nevhra Caelix sub-district of the Palace, he fought not with mere fury or anger, but with stalwart will. He died as he lived, standing, bound by the weight of his Terminator armor, pierced by a thousand wounds caused by the Emperor’s enemies.

[pict-capture: First Lieutenant Rael Donovan, Wallbreaker Prime, Commander of Wallbreaker Cadre, VII-284BTN.]

[+++inload end+++]

*blows dust off thread*

Well then. Been a while. Been even longer since I worked on my Fists.

Various reasons have to do with that. School's been a bit hectic the past couple quarters, and I've honestly just not had the motivation to do much for a while. Today though, I sat down with my tools and decided to kitbash something. This was the result. Some of you might recall this fellow from a couple pages back, Rael Donovan, my Terminator Praetor/Centurion. While I liked him... there was always something missing. Something I couldn't quite figure out. He just didn't look different enough from an ordinary Terminator to be set apart. So, using him as a jumping off point, I decided to build a new version. Not perfect, no. But I am very satisfied with him. For the first time in a while, I'm actually looking forward to painting something again, which is good. He's also probably the most complex kitbash/conversion I've ever done, interestingly enough.

This post is also a bit special to me since it's my 3000th post on the B&C. As much as I realize that post count is, ultimately, meaningless here, it's still a neat milestone to hit, and it fills me with a little satisfaction. Got a bit of other stuff in the works right now for both my Fists and my Cruel Angels and was planning on saving this post for that... but as mile-markers go, I think I'd rather mark it with a single model I'm really happy with then a bunch of them I might not be. And of course, it would be waiting to post for a while, taking into consideration how slowly I work on my models. But anyways, it's been a good 3000 posts and a good few years on the B&C. I never cease to be amazed by the quality of both the community on this forum and the work we produce. Very much looking forward to whatever the future might hold here.

Thanks for looking!

Ahhh. So it was your siege breaker I saw in HHG.Dude looks stunning man, no offense intended but I'm likely going to make a similar one now.

[Brother Pheidias]

He looks stupendous. A Juggernaught.

[Dagoth Ur]

Mate, now that's a stunner :)

[lionofjudah]

Dude... welcome back with a vengeance

[Soldier of Dorn]

Here's to another 3000 posts. I'm glad you're back with renewed vigor and furthermore with such a wonderful praetor to boot. He looks like he came straight out of the trenches, and I'm surprised that a MkII helm works so well on a terminator. I never would have thought of that.

 

Thanks, mate. Appreciate the kind words. Indeed, the MkII works well, better than I was expecting, in fact. Used that particular head for two reasons: one, I wanted some dynamism and subtlety in the angles of the head that simply wasn't possible with a standard Cataphractii head (if you look at the pictures, the head is slightly angled upwards relative to his torso,) which required the use of either a power armor or Tartaros helm, and two, that particular head, with the monolens eyepiece, is my absolute favorite design from all the available bits. There are other helms I like for particular usages, but as a standard, use for anything helm, there is nothing I'd rather have then a MkII Early Crusade helm such as this. Such a beautiful bit. It also has the added benefit, because it's a bit smaller compared to the standard Terminator helm, of creating an optical illusion where he appears a bit bulkier proportionally to other Cataphractii Terminators.

 

I love it man. He's simple which I think adds to the models characters. 

 

His armor is certainly not parade ground regulation. For shame....

Man, have my boys ever been parade regs? Nah, we fight in the trenches while our prouder brothers stand on the fields of glory, grimy and beaten where they are shiny and clean. :D As much as I do love ornate regalia and ornamentation at times, there is a beauty in the basics. In any regard, thanks, bro. Appreciate the kind words.

 

 

Ahhh. So it was your siege breaker I saw in HHG.Dude looks stunning man, no offense intended but I'm likely going to make a similar one now.

 

Heh. Yeah, that's me. Been drawn to HHG through their associated Discord server. Been spending a lot of time there in my low tide in the hobby, there's constantly... interesting, shall we say, conversation there. One of many factors that's brought me back into the hobby, as a matter of fact. And by all means, borrow as you'd like. One of the things that really had me looking back at the Event Praetor was the version you posted in your thread recently, funnily enough, so, tis only fair play, right? :D

 

He looks stupendous. A Juggernaught.

Mate, now that's a stunner

 

Thanks, gentlemen. Glad you think so, both of you have provided invaluable input and inspiration to me over the past while. :)

 

Dude... welcome back with a vengeance

 

 

But yeah... it's good to be back. For a lot of reasons, not least of all I get to reconnect with a community I lost track with. Been breaking my word more often than I've kept it in the past... 6 months or so, and that cannot continue, for both my own sake and others.

 

Thanks for the comments, guys. Really appreciate all of them.

[Reaver Lord Soul]

Nice to see you back Psycho :-) looking forward to seeing what's next for this thread :-D

[Vazzy]

Yeah mate! It's a great resource and is a little less...serious than here. I use it a :cuss ton as its a granted laugh.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

How have I not commented on this yet? Some great looking Fists, and I'd like to think you stole the MkII helm in Cat armor from me 'cause it looks great. The mud effects on these recent figures is incredible and immediately made me think of Hyaenidae's IV Legion. Good job, man.

[Soldier of Dorn]

[+++inload+++]

"I have traveled far and seen much. Yet nothing warms my heart so much as the sight of a gun so massive that its fury makes the very world tremble."

[pict-capture: Legion Shadowsword, 284-BTN, VII Legion]

+++

So, I've had this for a while now, unassembled. Shadowsword's my favorite of the Baneblade variants, and so... yeah, decided to build one. Should hopefully look good if I ever manage to get it painted up.

Nice to see you back Psycho :-) looking forward to seeing what's next for this thread :-D

Thank you, appreciate it! :)

Yeah mate! It's a great resource and is a little less...serious than here. I use it a ton as its a granted laugh.

Ha, indeed! It is... an interesting place. What little time I've spent there has been enjoyable. Very different to here, but enjoyable.

How have I not commented on this yet? Some great looking Fists, and I'd like to think you stole the MkII helm in Cat armor from me 'cause it looks great. The mud effects on these recent figures is incredible and immediately made me think of Hyaenidae's IV Legion. Good job, man.

Thanks mate! It's entirely possible I got the idea for the MkII helm from you, though if it was, it wasn't entirely conscious. :D Funnily enough, my mud recipe is actually based on Hyena's old thread( with some modifications,) though if you were referring to the most recent model, I'm afraid that pictures somewhat deceptive, as I actually took that picture before things had fully dried. Haven't actually had the chance to mix up some of my proper mud recipe in a bit, so threw some texture paint I had lying around on him as a temporary solution.

[Vazzy]

A Shadowsword ehhh? Looking forward to seeing what you do with it, I'm considering picking one up myself tbh. No sponsons though?

[Soldier of Dorn]

Indeed, no sponsons. I find them a bit silly looking on the Shadowsword and can't put my finger on exactly why. No matter. The sponsons will find use on my next Baneblade chassis tank... ;)

[Dosjetka]

The First Lieutenant is looking terrific, mate. Glad to see you back among us with such fine creations. :tu:

 

And as was said previously, here's to another 3'000 posts. *raises glass*

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Sponsons on tank destroyers just look weird. I dunno what it is but I refuse to put any on my TDs.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Brother Chaplain Kage

[Soldier of Dorn]

The First Lieutenant is looking terrific, mate. Glad to see you back among us with such fine creations.

 

And as was said previously, here's to another 3'000 posts. *raises glass*

 

Gratzie, brother. Appreciate it.

 

 

 

 

Sponsons on tank destroyers just look weird. I dunno what it is but I refuse to put any on my TDs.

 

Agreed. It's something to do with focus, methinks. On some subconscious level, I associate sponsons with being used against... lesser targets than the main guns, used independently, even though that might not be true in real life (I'm not as educated on military matters as I might like to be) or in game, and that, to me, stands contrary to my (perceived) nature of a tank destroyer: the pinnacle of focused firepower, dedicated solely to executing a single target with maximum effectiveness. But perhaps that's just me.

 

Anyways, just a quick update tonight, no pictures. Currently building a few Tactical marines (I need lots of them, and the ones that I've posted previously just didn't cut it for me, so starting from scratch) and considering whether or not to strip and repaint the Cataphractii and Contemptor I did for the Imperial Fists Expansion last year, seeing as I was in a rush when I painted them, and they are just simply not up to my own standards. Probably will end up doing that soon.

[Soldier of Dorn]

Quick update for the night, the first of my Templar Brethren. Not a fan of the official heads, so grabbed one from the Blood Angels upgrades. Quite fond of how it looks.

Looking to get back into writing fluff, so that will come when the unit is completed. But... yeah. Just a standard Templar. Still needs a bit of cleaning, and the bolt pistol needs drilling, but... I'm happy with how he looks.

Thanks for looking, at any rate.

[Dosjetka]

Glad to see you back again, brother. And with a good-looking Templar to boot. Keep it up. :tu:

[hushrong]

Give that guy a crusade fleet!

 

Also, any chance of a black helm with a white cross painted on it?

[Vairocanum]

Great looking Templar! Looking forward to the fluff and more models!