Pyroclast91's Forge = Salamanders Primaris and Death Guard

[Pyroclast91]

@ The Traitor thanks buddy I totally agree about life's carrot on a string conspiracy. And I'm glad you like where I decided to go with the helmet I also totally forgot that pic crops off what I did to the staff here's a better pic.

 

 

part of my background for this army which I'll get around to posting eventually is that they have a very strong emphasis on bladed weapons. You might have noticed everyone at the very very least has a combat knife or dagger. Fluffwise the story behind this is that every legionaire inducted into the Ash Vipers is stripped of there gear including armour and weapons. Then they're each allowed to choose a small bar of metal from one of several large piles of scraps left from the forges. Each prospective Ash Viper is then allowed 2 hours to forge a blade from there chosen stock of metal they are then dropped in the middle of the Aridian Plane with nothing but there newly forged blade. Should they return there armour and gear is returned painted in bloodied green of the Ash Vipers. So with that in mind I've started to try to emphasize on more bladed weapons and that's how the axe came to be ;)

 

@ Vairocanum thanks brother I'm glad to hear so much positive about my Ahriman conversion it's a wonderful model but one that's very recognizable which can be good and bad depending what your trying to accomplish. I Also totally agree on the battle damage and that's not to say I haven't seen some amazing battle damage done purely in paint because there are many examples of such things. However imho I think it always looks better with the added depth from real gouges and scratches. Also my paint skills aren't quite that good yet ;) This first batch of Tartaros are indeed going to be Salamanders. I do plan to do some for my slowly growing Iron Hands though along with some home made gorgons but thanks to my financial situation that could be a while off.

 

@ Hushrong thanks man I'm pretty happy with how he's turning out myself. And honestly the change in pace really has been sorta nice it's great having a painting event to stay motivated but there is a certain amount of stress that's inherent with anything that has deadlines so it has been nice to be able to take my time and do some conversion work. And as for the sculpting tools the brand I got is called RAIH and they work quite wonderfully I definitely see why so many people use them now. One thing I would recommend is since they come in varying densities it may be tempting to get a variety but the "Hard" ones which are white in this instance seem to work the best for me and if/when I get more of them I'd just get more of the "Hard" ones if you want a variety besides just tip shape I'd get different sizes rather than densities. Hopefully that helps either way I definitely recommend picking some up you'll wish you'd done it sooner I know I do.

[The Traitor]

Wow, that axe is so AWESOME! Really I think that it looks great and compliments very well the original model while giving it a new image, you are very good when it comes to using plasticard, specially considering the smothness you've achieved in such a curved and irregular shape! However are you planning to leave the glyphs on the cape and the chest? They're kind of cool but I don't know to what point they look like something Salamander librararians would wear... 

[Vairocanum]

Gonna have to echo what Traitor said, your plasticard skills are definitely amazing! All the smooth curves in the axe head are really well done, are there any special tips you have for doing curves? Looking forward to seeing what other things you'll sculpt with your new tools! 

[Pyroclast91]

Hello again my brothers and sisters I've been absent from these hallowed pages for too long now. Thanks to Real Life and all the fun she brings with her my hobby life kinda got put on the back burner and In the time I've been gone it's like our wonderful hobby world has been turned on it's head. But maybe this change is the big one we've all been begging GW for? I went out and picked up a set of dark imperium and I must say I haven't been this excited about 40k since I unwrapped my 3rd edition starter box what seems like a life time ago everything I've seen so far about this edition is amazing and it's a great feeling to have that passion rekindled im more excited than ever to to learn these new rules and jump whole heartedly into 8th. Why you might ask? Not only have I convinced my daughter's to give the game a try but I've finally talked my fiancee into giving it a shot and learning the new rules with me since I won't have such an advantage now. So on to the meat and potatoes I've got a rapidly growing to do list before my unplanned hobby vacation I had gotten a prospero box and only just started converting the minis it came with so I'll be reevaluating what I'm doing with all that MkIII and I'm thinking at least a few will be feeling the gifts of grandfather nurgle to bolster the somewhat measly force that comes with the starter. But here's my real dilemma my shattered legions are and always will be my favorites as far as loyalists are concerned I'm a black and green kinda guy. So how should I convey that with my new primaris marines? I was thinking doing the majority of them in my salamanders green and then doing the hell blasters as iron hands and the inceptors as raven guard? My back story to this being essentially the same as my shattered legion forces always have been. Being United by the bonds made at Istvaan these legions combine forces to do some traitor hunting in a nutshell that is. I'll have pics to post tonight as there are a great many things in the works but I'm away from my models at the moment so those will have to wait but I'm glad to be back and ready to get back to work. Edited July 8, 2017 by Pyroclast91

[Vairocanum]

Nice to see you back! A break is always nice to rekindle that hobby passion, cool that your family will be learning to play. Definitely looking forward to seeing some nurgle from you as well as the other primaris. Having a mixed traitor hunting force sounds interesting, looking forward to seeing what you'll make!

[The Traitor]

Welcome back Pyroclast!!! Glad to see you're fine, and hope you like 8th ed, it has brought some really great changes to the game. Can't wait to see what you make with the Dark Imperium, it has some awesome models on it, I'm seriously considering getting one myself even thought I don't collect any of those armies.

Hope to see you comment on the forums again, brother!

[Pyroclast91]

THANKS FOR THE WELCOME BACK BROTHERS I'm glad to be getting my hobby mojo back it's definitely been too long and I'm happy to be back at it. I didn't get quite the amount I planned on getting finished over the weekend because of unforseen adulting but I'm almost completely finished clipping and dry fitting the new starter box. I'm down to only having two sprues of primaris marines left to clip and dry fit.

 

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I Also clipped the entire promethium forge which I'm very excited about I've been debating buying some of gw's plastic terrain for years but always ended up buying models instead but I really want to build a cool somewhat small however visually pleasing game board for my garage to use for small house games and photographing minis. So with that ass my justification the terrain collection started with the forge and will soon see several more additions but I'll let those be a surprise. As for the kit itself I really am quite pleased it's rather intuitively built and completely modular both big draws to the gw terrain kiss in my opinion.

 

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And as currently unimpressive as it is here's the build box

 

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As those of you with good monitors may have noticed those aren't all models from the dark imperium box. I've added a few things first is one of my all time favorite characters and that's the infamous cypher a model I cannot wait to start painting. Accompanying Cypher are 5 of his fallen brethren wearing mk III and mk IV battle plate which are awaiting conversion. And since Cypher is hanging out there you know that means Guilliman is coming down the pipe as well. But back to what's in the box ;) I Also felt my newly formed death guard force needed a little reinforcements so my plan is for the plague marines that come in the box to act as my sergeants and each of them will eventually lead his own squad but for the time being I've added 7 legionaires 2 in mk IV 5 in mk III all of whom will be receiving the gifts of grandfather nurgle. But I didn't think that was quite enough death guard love so I decided that's what I'll do with my calth terminators I've been trying to decide a use for since forever ago now :) Meaning now I just need a couple more blight drones and a couple Dreadnoughts fire these fellas and I think I'll have a respectable DG force. Now on to the good guys and where my dilemma lies. I could really use some input here if anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them. My current plan is to build my intercessors as Salamanders my Hellblasters as Iron Hands and my Inceptors as Raven Guard. All of which will be backed up by there Astartes little brothers and son reinforced by the new shenanigans GW keeps releasing. But I'm really just not sure what to do with these primaris marines conversion wise for one I honestly really like the sculpts and two they're not super conversion friendly but that's never stopped me before Anywho I can't wait to hear your thoughts thanks for checking out my work especially if you read my rambling for this long.

[bluntblade]

He returns! :D

[The Traitor]

Well, I can't wait to see what you make on the Nurgle side, but I seriously recommend waiting until their now announced codex comes to make any conversions, as you may end up regretting those. For the filthy lotalist I don't think they need any conversions, though Salamanders always look better with fire and drake hides and you could make some bionic replacements for Iron Hands... I have no ideas for Raven Guards though, maybe trying out how the corvus pattern helmet looks on the Inceptors?

[Vairocanum]

Excited to see the models to come as well as the gaming board! It's great to have more people start nurgle forces with 8th edition! I think Traitor already covered salamanders and iron hands well enough, but for raven guards some feathers/other bird icons and small bones (ex bird skull) could look nice I think. 

[Pyroclast91]

Thanks for the replies fellas you kinda echoed what I was thinking probably nothing super over the top but I think some scale cloaks and bionics are definitely in order. As for the Raven Guard I like the feathers and bird skulls idea and that's what I'll possibly end up doing but I decided to wait til the next batch before I do any RG the force that comes in the box is big enough for two chapters but it would seem of the way three would balance out. So for now it's Salamanders and Iron Hands. I did manage to get the last of the box clipped and dry fitted and I've got the marines almost completely trimmed and they should see some sculpting and maybe even primer tonight.

 

 

On the left are Iron Hands on the right are my Salamanders and after clipping and dry fitting all of these I'm really interested to see how the stand alone kits for the Primaris come out when gw releases them as far as "easy assemble" oddly cut up models go I'm actually really pleased with these guys but I'm really hoping gw goes back to the way marines are normally made with gear and posing options. But until then I really dig the new models so I'm happy converting these for now.

 

 

 

As much as normally I'd probably make a career out of converting these guys and making them unique but my goal is to actually learn to play and maybe get in on this while konor campaign. But I refuse to play grey models I just won't do it even if it's allowed it's just a pet peeve of mine so I really gotta get these guys painted and I also want to have at least the contents of the starter box finished by the time my daughter's get back from visiting there grandma for the summer so I can teach them to play with me.

Thanks for checking out my work hopefully I'll have something more exciting to post later.

[The Traitor]

Well, that was quick... I agree with you in that trying to make three armies out of the box would be a bit forced, but the Inceptors REALLY fit as Raven Guard... However it is totally understandable if you plan to wait before getting more primaris, only three would look odd in an army...

[Vairocanum]

Wow you've been really productive! Definitely looking forward to seeing how you convert these!

[Pyroclast91]

Thanks fellas I'm always happy to hear your thoughts it really is a great motivator. I managed to get a pretty decent amount of work fine again last nite as the misses I'd sick and the kids are gone so it was just me and my little plastic friends. I've got left arms glued on all the marines and I've decided which marines well get what kind of conversion as I mentioned these won't be my usual super over the top conversions at least not this batch. I'm also trying to set plans and goals for myself to try and stay on track and and get playing sooner than later. For the salamanders the bulk of the conversions will be done on the Captain, Lieutenant , Squad Sgt, And the Ancient.

 

I forgot to get the Sgt in this pic

 

There he is

 

I already started tweaking the Gravis Captain as I've never been a fan of the sideways iron halo look. And the Ancient got a head swap cuz... well I sorta lost his original head :( but I think the MkIII helmets look awesome on the marines so I'm ok with it.

Tonight I'll knock the dust off of my sculpting tools and see about making them and there brothers true sons of Nocturne. Hopefully my GS skills aren't too rusty. I'm also hoping to do a little paint work tonight since I got all the salamanders who won't be converted primed last nite.

 

 

The Iron Hands will get the same treatment tonight however I'm still undecided how to do the converting on them. On one hand I'm always pro heavy bionics for any IH. On the other hand these are supposed to be the newer better stronger faster awesomer marines and they just got this new armour so I'm thinking the basic line troops wouldn't have a ton of visible augmentations yet. that being said anyone even kinda in an HQ role needs to be visibly an Iron Hand. So I'm thinking servo arms and bionic eyes for sure what other subtle IH touches could I give them? Any input it's always greatly appreciated thanks for checking out my work.

[The Traitor]

Well, Iron Hands don't care much abot their appearance so, even though they're kind of new, I'm sure they've already seen a battle or two, which is enough to leave their armour full of scratches. Also, and I'm not that sure here, I've seen engine symbols (like the ones Cpt. Jack did a while ago) work pretty well on Iron Hands, maybe you could try those?

[Vairocanum]

Looking good! For the Iron Hands primaris how about you give them more high tech equipment like the deathwatch marines? Some trim on the armor in the shape of gears could look nice as well (like the gorgon terminators). I think having visible augmentations is fine cause normal marines can be turned into primaris as well if I remember correctly. Maybe a mechanical powerfist could look nice, I think you could pull it off with your plasticard skills!

[Pyroclast91]

Thanks fellas you two are always a wealth of inspiration and I can't thank you weigh for your constant feedback it's definitely a great motivator. You've both given me some great ideas I think I will do a few field repairs or augmetics for the Iron Hands nothing major but a few little bus here and there to make them stand out. And I think Gorgon style shoulder pads are definitely in order for my officers. I've been a huge fan of jokaero weaponsmiths iron hands and I've been taking a lot of inspiration from his amazing conversions.

 

 

Aside from the officers the Salamanders have been primed and are ready for paint and basing. The officers will get some more attention hopefully tonight if I end up having time to work on them. I'm also planning to get started on my bases fortunately I've got quite a surplus of cork so my bases will stick with the same style as the rest of my Salamanders. I Also spent some time pondering my game board and how I want to do it and I decided I want to build my dream board the last house game board I'll every babe to build. What does that entail? first I want the table to be modular but I'd prefer the scenery be more modular than the table itself as for the table surface I'll use two 4x4 pieces of ply wood with pink foam insulation over the surface the two main halves of the table will be pretty bare as far as permanent scenery goes because I want to be able to switch things up. But one half of the table will be ruined city streets with one main semi permanent structure in the center something like a hive tower or a forge but mainly something that can be used to support other terrain. The other end will be more open area rocks and hills and such on the edge of the industrial zone. At first I was looking at how I could budget build this table but the more I thought about it the more I really just want the table I've always dreamed of playing on. Meaning just going all in and buying kits instead of scratch building everything. I'll write everything up and get a real plan on paper but as I estimate it now I'll probably spend another $450 on gw kits and about $150 between the hardware store and model train store. And at first $600 seemed pretty steep but if I were to build a realm of battle board it would end up being at least that and it wouldn't have near as much scenery as mine will have among many ornery justifications ;).

 

On a side note has anyone wise seen this little gem I was gonna post it in the rumours thread but I wasn't sure if maybe I'm just late to the party and didn't see it.

I've wanted a sicaran for a long time and now I want one even more. Anywho thanks for checking out my work I really really appreciate your feedback it really hero's keep me motivated.

[The Traitor]

Oh of course, I had forgotten about Jokaero Weaponsmith awesome IH, glad you already sought them for inspiration. As for the sicarian with the Gatling it was featured in Wharhammer Fest I believe, so images have been floating around for a while, but it isn't on sale yet.

[Vairocanum]

The gaming table sounds great! Will you be going for a permanent table or portable? Something I've always enjoyed seeing as part of the scenery are rivers of toxic sludge going across the board, especially with crazy water effects. Hope you have fun planning it out!

[BlueBelly1863]

Loving that headswap on the Primaris Ancient!!! Glad to have you back Pyroclast91, it has been too long. Looking forward to seeing these guys in that darned beautiful green.

[Pyroclast91]

@The Traitor I thought I may have been late to the party on that sicaran I really really want a couple of them tho just something I love about rotary cannons and I think it looks lovely in green.

 

@Vairocanum I think this table will be mostly permanent with the two 4x4 sections actually being tables which can be pulled together and will also be able to be built with storage built onto them for various gaming accessories. but everything on top of the plywood base tables will be as modular as I can make it. I was thinking of having some kind of foundry or something which of course wouldnt be complete without a toxic waste dump. That should give me a wonderful opportunity to not only do dune kind of water works but be able to make them some kinda cool toxic color and give them in game function as well. I too am a fan of modeled water scenery the main hobby store in my home town where I got started in 40k also sells model trains and I always loved looking at the dioramas those guys would build. This is also why I've learned model train stores are an absolute treasure trove for modelers like us they've been doing dioramas with little plastic dudes since before 40k was even an idea so that's where I do a lot of shopping for my modeling supplies. I think this will definitely be the most fun project I've planned and I think the perfect way to get me back into the hobby. Every could be better than an amazing game board to play on and display models on to get the hobby juices flowing :)

 

Unfortunately my oldest daughter managed to catch mono while visiting her grandma in eastern Oregon so an unplanned trip sorta happened yesterday so my hobby work may be slowed. But as I've mentioned before my Other Half being the wonderful loving woman she is told me while packing " you can probably bring your models since we won't be doing much" so I then proceeded to prioritize and figure out how to load my projects into a travel kit lol. Thank the gods gws boxes are sturdy as I packed most everything into the boxes for Calth, Prospero, and Dark Imperium. So The Nerding may be slowed but not stopped so now I've just got the arduous task of finding somewhere out of everyone else's way that I can work at my in-laws house fortunately I love my in-laws I got really lucky and they're actually great people to be around unlike some of my friends who can't stand there's. But now I'm rambling as I so often do back on topic.

 

Guilliman? golly gee should I do with this guy I pretty decidedly am going to convert him. Mad respect for the boys in blue and what not they've actually come a long way from the clean cut good boy ultra smurfs I once couldn't stand but I'm still not about to build a ton of them and if I were they'd be for 30k most likely. And I really like the model and I'll probably play him using Guillimans rules but I wanna do something different here are a couple options I've been tossing around.(the order of the list does not denote preference)

#1. A Salamanders Primaris Lord Commander(all those new troops need someone to lead them but I do already have a ton of Salamanders HQ)

#2. An Iron Hands Primaris Chapter Master ( I would do Ferrus but we all know why that won't work for 40k)

#3. Vulkan He'Stan (since I keep hearing rumours Vulkan is getting a plastic kit soon and I never really liked the old He'Stan sculpt this one is actually very tempting)

#4 Pelas Mir'San (the sword already works and I've heard he got decent rules this edition)

These are a couple ideas I've had I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on what they think I should turn my Guilliman into I'd also love any ideas for the GK Character as I really have no clue what to do with him as I'm not really interested in Grey Knights for anything but bits so if anyone has any ideas for him or has any other character they'd trade for him I literally have no use for his silly bald self. Thanks for checking out my work I live heading your thoughts.

@bluebelly glad to see you're still hanging around these parts too brother any plans for Primaris on your end?

[Vairocanum]

Your idea for the table is sounding awesome! As for Guilliman I'd love to see a giant Vulkan He'Stan! Since there are still 3 unfound vulkan artifacts with only the name known, I think you could definitely make up some fluff for him finding a giant suit of armor. As for the GK character, why not try to make an inquisitor? The chest plate looks pretty cool and if you could find some different legs to use on him I think it could look less like a regular terminator. Hope your daughter gets well soon!

[The Traitor]

In my opinion, Guilliman is too big to work as anything smaller than a primarch... or a Daemon Prince :P. But I guess that he could be a super bulky primaris in gravis-like armour. As for Voldus, he could work as an Iron Hands HQ, as you already have a Salamander one, with an armour that could be converted into a heavily modified terminator armour with your skills.

[Pyroclast91]

Finally back home from my unplanned adventure to eastern Oregon and I feel like I've got more ideas than I know what to do with. As so often happens when I go somewhere away from my usual hobby work set up where I could potentially make said ideas real. Fortunately I've learned this trait about myself I've started taking notes when inspiration starts. let's start with a what did Pyro got accomplished portion tho.

 

Since as I mentioned I was away from my usual hobby setup I mainly worked on trimming parts I deemed "extra" off of my poxwalkers and doing some sculpting and it turns out Im a little rusty I would imagine from my long break from touching GS I'd l love to hear what you guys think if there's anything you think I can refine . I'm still not %100 on what exactly Guilliman is gonna be I was kinda just playing around and wanted too see how he'd look with a drake on his shoulder.

The main issue I have with the emblem is I made it to thick and it just seems off to me.

Like I said nothing set in stone I still cant decide what to build this guy as but I was bored and figured I oughta get used to the sculpting tools again. I Also went through my unfinished pile of marines and picked a lucky few to receive the gifts of grandfather nurgle.

I'm gonna have a lot of fun corrupting marines I think in fact I've got some ideas a brewing for a Nurgle Construct involving a particular dreadknight that never really got used for much of anything. I really see why prone enjoy modeling death guard so much since they're so malformed and organic it's a very forgiving type of conversion that is extremely satisfying to see finished.

 

I Also realized I'd been carrying around this mark of Nurgle in my pocket is this how it all starts also does anyone else see the potential for a Nurgle plague caster flying around on a giant poopy fidget spinner? That might just happen

 

As I mentioned earlier I did a few small modifications to the poxwalkers to give them a little more variety then got them primed up (well they might need one more coat but I didn't notice til I was looking at the pics)

 

 

The Death Guard aren't the only ones who got reinforced by some of my unfinished projects.

 

 

that's about it for actual work on mussels besides just some reorganizing now I'm back home I should hopefully get back into the swing of things.

 

I do have a coupe more subjects I'd like to mention First THOSE REIVERS THO!!!!!! the new box coming out for them rekindled my hope in the unit honestly I don't even care If they're hot garbage rules wise my raven Guard will start with two boxes At least. I don't know about everyone else but I think they're freaking awesome I've always loved mussels with knives tho so it's kinda unfair. Secondly I'm kinda digging the Agressors to but I just hope they have more weapon options because if they do them they're basically just An updated version of what I found while reading the new shattered legions novel last nite.

 

And pictured here in what I first mistakenly thought was MK I Tactical Dreadnought armour

So after reading that and seeing these models I believe it's only rite I make them happen I'm thinking tartaros for the base models? Any thoughts on this would be awesome it'll be a while down the road tho as my to do list grows by the day ;) Anywho that's enough of my rambling for one post thanks for checking out my work I always love hearing your thoughts.

[The Traitor]

A vintage terminator conversion would be a cool thing to see, but I think that regular Indomitus pattern would work better than Tartarus as a base. I have to agree with you in that the drake head on Guilliman's shoulder is too bulky and doesn't fit well, but the Dark Imperium and Burning of Prospero conversions are looking great, I'm still a big fan of your Ahriman conversion!