The Reaper's Hammer Crusade: New Fluff!

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

This is my first attempt at a thread, so I hope it goes well. I figured, after reading several threads for the various other Crusades, and seeing the outright AWSOME work being done, that this might be the Power Boot in the (4-point-of-contact) I need to actually get the various projects I have either unstarted or in various stages of completion up to par with what I had envisioned for them when I started. After seeing the constructive criticisms here from various members, I'm excited to get feedback that will aid me in getting better. I'll try to post some pics of my crusade so far after RL obligations have been met for the day.

For anybody reading this NOW, sorry for the text. More to follow soon!

Edited October 5 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN

[Eberious]

Welcome and well met Sword Brother Ryan. No need for apologies. Looking forward to seeing your Crusade progress. 

[Brother Christopher]

Yet another Crusade thread! This is indeed a spring of ZEAL. Please accept my official welcome to the Eternal Crusade!

[Honda]

Welcome to the Eternal Crusade brother. Indeed you are in good company and your timing could not be better.

 

There are many dark days before us, but we can take comfort in the light of the Emperor, the wisdom of Dorn, and the successes of Sigismund.

 

Ignite the fires of your wrath and unleash your ZEAL, for there is much work to be done.

 

IMPERATOR VULT!

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

 

Ok, I finally got this pic up. This is my total playable force as of now. Sorry for the size, I'll work on that in the future. Also, a closer look and descriptions will be coming soon.

 

Until next time!

Edited April 25, 2017 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

 

Okay, in this Crusader Squad, I have:

1x Sword Brother (Red Terminator Honors[RTH]) w/ BP & CS

1x Initiate w/ ML+BP

3x Initiate w/ BP+CS

5x Initiate w/ BG+BP

5x Neophyte w/ BP+CB

 

 

Here, I have:

1x Sword Brother (RTH) w/ PlasP+CS

1x Initiate w/ BP+PF

1x Initiate w/ MG+BP

2x Initiate w/ BP+CS

5x Initiate w/ BG+BP

5x Neophyte w/ BP+CB

 

 

And finally:

1x Sword Brother (RTH) w/ BP+PF

1x Initiate w/ BP+PS

1x Initiate w/ PG+BP

4x Initiate w/ BG+BP

 

Edited April 25, 2017 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN

[Brother Christopher]

Ah, group shots! I like those a lot, they remind me of what I should strive towards. I like the composition of your force; this is something I would like to run. Hopefully the new edition will make such lists more viable.

 

Sorry if I'm a pain in the neck, but I must say that I'd like to see some close-ups of individual Marines, especially some of the nice collection of commanders and the dreadnought.

 

Oh, and I hate to see a Stormhawk in such a neat Black Templar livery (love the white, looks really, really well). I really like the model, but I can't buy it as I've made a pledge not to until GW 'mends the game'. I also feel that 'fighter planes' with their special rules should not be included in the game. And I'm a bit sad that I got two Stormtalons a couple of years ago, flyers that I feel are now rather obsolete (I don't want to mention their looks), as the Hawk appears to be so much better. Sorry for derailing your thread with these personal musings, I hope you won't be too crossed with me!

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Before someone asks: "Why are some of your Neophytes in that pic wearing blue jeans?"

The simple, if embarrassing, answer is that I didn't read ANY fluff about BT uniform code when I painted them in 2003ish. Heck, I was mostly going based off of the color scheme that the guy I bought the army off of began. I'm slowly working on correcting this issue, but as we all know, IRL seems to throw Ork Chunks into the mechanism of our well maintained Chain Swords a little too often!

 

Ah, group shots! I like those a lot, they remind me of what I should strive towards. I like the composition of your force; this is something I would like to run. Hopefully the new edition will make such lists more viable.

 

Sorry if I'm a pain in the neck, but I must say that I'd like to see some close-ups of individual Marines, especially some of the nice collection of commanders and the dreadnought.

 

Oh, and I hate to see a Stormhawk in such a neat Black Templar livery (love the white, looks really, really well). I really like the model, but I can't buy it as I've made a pledge not to until GW 'mends the game'. I also feel that 'fighter planes' with their special rules should not be included in the game. And I'm a bit sad that I got two Stormtalons a couple of years ago, flyers that I feel are now rather obsolete (I don't want to mention their looks), as the Hawk appears to be so much better. Sorry for derailing your thread with these personal musings, I hope you won't be too crossed with me!

Never to worry, Brother Cristopher. All will be revealed as soon as Gene-Enhanced Humanly possible!

As for your issues with the flying brick, while I do not share them, I do not take offense. *Crosses arms over chest* Your input is always welcome.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

 

 

This is the "Red" Squad Terminators, Break-down as follows:

 

1x Sword Brother Sergeant w/ SB+PS

1x Sword Brother w/ HF+PF

8x Sword Brother w/ SB+PF*

 

*note: I will point out that one of the Sword Brothers is NOT wearing Shoulder Pads. I am working on fixing this in the near future.

 

​

 

In this lovely Terminator Squad, you can see:

 

1x Sword Brother Sergeant w/ SB+PS and the Armageddon Crusade Banner

1x Sword Brother w/ AC+PF

1x Sword Brother w/ HF+PF

7x Sword Brother w/ SB+PF

 

I color-coded the (struts?) on the legs in order to differentiate which squads they belonged to. I like the look, but may have to alter them after seeing Brother Hondas' Terminator GS conversions. I have to get better with using GS first, as I only just started this last weekend making press molds for the crosses on the shoulder pads for all 20 of these Terminators. So, these guys are still a little WIP, but not too much.

 

More tonight after this break for IRL obligations (Have to keep the roof overhead, food in the fridge, & Clothes on my families backs!)

[Honda]

Ah...Armageddon...well done brother. A worthy Crusade indeed.

 

I look forward to close ups of your Storm Raven. It appears you have done an excellent job integrating white with our livery.

 

Cheers,

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Okay, by popular request, I give you...

 

 

Just as a little background, I received this in the mail the day before my medical retirement from the U.S. Army, and spent day and night of the 1 week in between that and starting a new civilian job working on this bird. At the time (and depending on your POV, still) some of my best work.

 

I got a little crazy with the decals, so I really hope I didn't put something on there that doesn't belong to us. If I did, please let me know.

 

More to come soon!

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Here are some close-ups of my HQ Models!

 

 

This was acquired circa 003-004 M3, and is the metal version. I originally had him painted in black armor, but with the improvement of my skill & the addition of many new paints from other projects, I stripped him down and gave him the more common paint scheme. I also machine-crafted a larger base for him, as the slotted 25mm base just seemed too small & not befitting our High Marshal.

 

 

I originally acquired this model already converted from EC parts and what I assume is an old Sword Brother body. It was modeled with him wielding his BP, and as cool as it was, I was never quite satisfied with the look. When I saw the pointing arm from the SM Tactical SQD, I knew what I had to do! Luckily, the BP arm was plastic also (Cut to fit the metal shoulder pad), so swapping was all too easy.

 

 

My first Techmarine! Old Metal model I acquired about the same time I got the High Marshal. I used to be a mechanic in the Army, and a fellow GK player always likes to point out, "Of course the mechanic would take a Techmarine!"

 

That's all for now. IRL calls. If you'd like to see more, shoot on over to my gallery where I have more HQ and Air Power pics uploaded.

 

Until Next time!

 

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

More Individual shots...

 

 

I always wanted the Techmarine with the full harness, and acquired this one last year. The only thing I didn't like about the overall model was the static look of him with the axe upright. Using a small triangular cut of the sprue, I cocked his arm out a bit away from the body & repositioned it as shown. I thought it made him look like he's charging into either battle or racing to the Honored Machine that needs battlefield repair.

 

 

This metal Chaplain came with the army when I bought it. The paint has been redone within the last year though, as the model was never sealed & had chipped quite a bit. I also took the opportunity to add the BT upgrade pad to the right shoulder. Chaplain Rusius has been leading this particular Crusade for a VERY LONG TIME indeed!

 

 

This all metal model has been used as my Marshal/Castellan since purchasing the army. I'm not entirely sure where the guy I bought it from got it, but it serves well enough.

 

 

And lastly, the Apothecary. Another metal model with the only plastic on him being the axe arm. The paint is a little rough, but still looks good when I cobble together a CMD SQD for Rusius!

 

Hope you all enjoy!

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Well done.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Well done.

 

Thank you. I'll post up some more pics tomorrow. I'm looking forward to further feedback.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Getting back to my air power, this has been a welcome addition to my army!

 

 

Below it are the additional weapons options. This was my first attempt at using magnets, and I think it worked out pretty well for the nose cannons. The other options are all press-fit, not glued or magnetized.

 

I try to incorporate our heraldry in tasteful ways, but after seeing some other threads, I may have to go back & redo the bright white with some more weathered tones. I'll have to try with smaller models first before I try to do this, because I'm not going to just go off half-cocked & ruin things.

 

C&C welcome.

Edited April 27, 2017 by SWORD BROTHER RYAN

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent work on the Stormhawk.

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

Now for the Tread-Heads (I am one!)...

 

 

After receiving the BT Upgrade Kit, I painstakingly remodeled this Razorback to full Templar Glory! (At least with the bits. You guys will be the judge)

 

 

My Rhino currently needs a LOT of love. Fortunately, I do have some more upgrade kits in route, so this will be getting a similar overhaul as my Razorback.

 

 

This bad boy has been with the army since its purchase. I am planning some minor alterations with iconography, but otherwise, this is my big baddie!

 

Any C&C is appreciated.

[Marshal_Roujakis]

retro Raider... I like :D

 

I've been looking for one with a similar side-sponson, unfortunately E-Bay sells those but overly over-priced... so I ain't buying until the price is decent enough...

good job on yours though...

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

retro Raider... I like

 

Yeah, that brick of a model was acquired in'03. It's a beast compared to the LR my son recently got. I have another on the way along with the BT upgrade kits, so I'll get to side-by-side them to see the differences. I'll be posting some WIP of the kit when it arrives.

[Castellan Cynebald]

Loving the thread brother! Your white looks so clean! I really like the old LRC sponsons, those big ammo boxes look better somehow.

[M@verik115]

I personally prefer the 'cleaner' look of the old BT builds. 
I was a fool to sell my old LRC :( 

[Honda]

I try to incorporate our heraldry in tasteful ways, but after seeing some other threads, I may have to go back & redo the bright white with some more weathered tones. I'll have to try with smaller models first before I try to do this, because I'm not going to just go off half-cocked & ruin things.

 

 

Yes, take the time to practice and experiment until you are happy with the result. Since you'll be looking at the result for a long time, you want to be sure that you're happy with how it turned out.

 

So approaches to this are:

 

1. A thin brown wash (not thinned paint, use a wash), maybe 2:8 ratio, painted over the white area. If you don't have an eye dropper for dispensing water, you should consider getting one.

 

2. Some people like a warm cream color for their contrasting white, so mix a little light brown into your white, thin it down a tad, then paint over your white.

 

3. After either #1 or #2, you can go back with a thin layer of white on the central portion of the panel to give it a little depth.

 

4. I would do this anyway regardless of how you paint the panel, but always frame the edges with a brown wash. I use Army Painter Strong tone, but the GW equivalent is just as good.

 

Practice, practice, practice. You can use shoulder pads (3-4) to test your technique on, plus once they are used up, you can toss them into some Simple Green, strip the paint and then start over.

 

Keep up the good work brother!

[Psykic_scribe]

That's an excellent crusade.  I especially like (a)  the trouble you have taken over the Stormhawk interior and (b) the retro Land Raider. 

[SWORD BROTHER RYAN]

All very positive points! TY!

 

Brother Honda, I can't thank you enough for the advice. I will most definitely begin small, possibly this weekend with a regular initiate I still need to paint up. I also plan to try out a new (to me, at least) way to highlight black that I picked up on another thread. It seems kind of counter productive, but the finished products all look amazing, so I'll try it out.

 

I'm happy that everyone is loving the old LRC. The interior is also completely done up, but the pic is too large for this site. I'll work on editing it up if anyone is interested, but it's only a front access shot.

 

Once again, thank you all for the positive support!