The Forge of Ferrus [Opinions needed 20/11]

[Ferrus Manus]

The Lions Eternal III Company

“They will endure. They will endure the storms and the freezing temperatures; and if the Emperor wills it, they will endure to enter our brotherhood.”

– Anon on the people of Ursrik.

Welcome to my latest plog and hopefully the one that will be on going. This will follow my progress with my Space Marine Company based on my DIY Chapter the Lions Eternal. Below is my latest offering, a so far unnamed Assault Squad. C&C is very welcome and some fluff is to follow.

The squad so far:

And some close ups:

Edited November 20, 2017 by Ferrus Manus

[Pearson73]

Nice posing, very dynamic.

[Lephisto]

Amazing work! Can't wait to see them painted.

[Draakur]

Terrific posing! They look fantastic :) Double points for being a DIY too! Hoping this blog goes places!

[Terimus]

Love the poses! I'm all about the high action in the minis. Well done!

[Ferrus Manus]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys! I'm a big fan of theming each squad to a pose type. For these guys it was very much about to charge into you feel. I think it's the quickest I've ever put a unit together, but that's probably down to the fact most of my marine bits box is 200 miles away so I haven't got the opportunity to tinker like I normally do.

 

I've started some GS work on then today, just tabards and purity seals. I'm a bit stumped for my next unit, it only occurred to me the other day that I need two units to complete the Tale of requirements for the month. My WIP captain is with my bits so I'm tempted to buy the Tartaros Pattern Terminators and do an Angelos inspired Chapter Master. Thoughts?

[Knight of the Raven]

Lovely posing, especially from the studded shoulder pad guy. I also like the name Lions Eternal, though I can't put my finger on why.

 

Out of curiosity, will you drill their weapons' barrels? It'd make them look better, but I know from personal experience how easy it is to screw that up so I don't actually ask it of anyone.

 

I must admit I'm not looking forward to the tabards since I find them to look good enough as they are. And I hope you don't intend to include Gabriel Angelos's Dawn of War III primarch size in your captain conversion.

[Brother Argent]

Looking good Brother.  Always good to see DIY chapters in the plastic.  Looking forward to the Chapter Master conversion too.

[Ferrus Manus]

Slight update, a very WIP Chapter Master. A very old rendition of him was armed with Lightning Claws, so to keep with the original idea so will this version. Once this guys finished I'll see if I can dig him out for a comparison shot. The next stage is to sketch out so ideas for right leg and chest plate detailing, any ideas appreciated.

Knight: I plan to but my pin vice is with the rest of my marine bits, so for now I'll paint them and the go back at a later date and drill them out. I'm having some second thoughts on the tabards myself, once I've finished one I'll post it up for opinions.

Brother SP: Thanks man!

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Loving the great posing and the very dramatic photos of the figures. :)

[Brother Argent]

Looking good Bro, though not sure why you de-studded the torso as I think that would have looked pretty sweet, but what can I say, I love studded armour...  Looking very bad-ass otherwise.

[Ferrus Manus]

Kage: From you, that's a huge compliment. Thanks!

Brother SP: It was mostly to give me a blank canvas to sculpt/ paint on something more ornate. That is when I can decide what to do.

+++

Update! Since the rule change of the B&C I thought I'd show off another project I've been working on for a few months: Eldar Corsairs. The idea behind these guys is that they're the remnants of a Craftworld that had to flee the wrath of the Imperium who have now resorted to piracy to survive. I've got nearly 1500pt worth so images of them will come up in dribs and drabs.

On a marine related note, the Assault Squad have been based and I'm planning on spraying them tomorrow morning.

So first up my Corsair Prince and half his Felarch retinue. He's pretty much ready to paint, just needs a cloak sculpting:

and his retinue:

C&C welcome!

[Sister Alessia]

Awesome Eldar. So full of character!

[hushrong]

I am loving that felarchs pose.

[Dosjetka]

Those Corsairs are gorgeous. :tu:

[Ferrus Manus]

Thanks guys, I'm glad you like them. Over the next few days I'll try and get some more pics of the other stuff before I pack it up to move house.

Anyhow, here's a slight update on my Chapter Master. Hopefully you can start to see where I'm going with it. In other news, the Assault Marines have been sprayed and painting has begun. I'm hoping to have at least one finished tomorrow.

One thing I am tempted to do is to scrap off his Mohawk and re-sculpt something more fitting with the Lions Viking/ Inuit vibe. Thoughts?

[Ace Debonair]

That Chapter Master looks like a bona fide badass.

 

I'm having a hard time thinking of anything you could replace the Mohawk with, but if you think another haircut would suit him better, then by all means go for it.

 

Also, I'm really digging the new name for the Arctic Lions (assuming it's the same Chapter)! Really conjures up the image of an unshakable predator, very fitting for the sons of Ursrik.

[Ferrus Manus]

Ace - Thanks mate, I'm glad you like him. At the rate the modelling is going he should be ready to paint by the weekend. 

 

And yes, they are the same Chapter. Feel free to have another look at their updated IA and let me know what you think 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I'm itching to do some Eldar myself, maybe Corsairs. I'll have to see how they look when the FW book drops.

[Ferrus Manus]

*Blows off dust*

 

Been a while and I’m looking for some opinions. Since the release of the latest fluff and rule sets I’ve put my corsairs on hold until FW can release some half decent rules for them, rather than just plugging them awkwardly into the current eldar codex and I’m still not sure where I stand in terms of the Primaris stuff, I’m not necessarily against the fluff - it’s more the lack of a defined close combat unit which I think is silly. After all, if they are supposed to be better and bigger surely the old Astartes close up advantage would be enhanced with them?

 

Anyhow, In the mean time I’ve been collecting and building a Tau army as my “out the box” force, which as it sounds I build straight from sprue, trying to make them as characterful as possible, and paint with the aim of having a playable army - for once ;)

 

However, it leaves the converter in me - pretty much my favourite aspect of the models - wanting. As such I’ve come up with two options for smaller, but very heavily converted armies which will slow grow alongside my Tau, with the aim of pushing my modelling, sculpting and painting abilities. I’m interested to hear your thoughts about the two. The options being:

 

1- Grey Knights Strike Force: they were practically the first Astartes I ever bought, back when they were the all metal and limited poses. For me they have always been one of the most characterful armies, something which only improves under their new codex. Plus, I’d be interested to see how much I could get out of the sprues - and there are some many art pieces I’d love to try and emulate.

 

2- Slaaneshi Chaos Marines - I’ve recently found myself developing the background for a warband which allows themselves to be possessed to further their ability to hear the “music of the spheres” and push their need for excess, which I think would be interesting to explore in model form. Also, I think chaos armies naturally give the modeller more room to explore than their loyalist counterparts.. that and I have a Chaos Decimator that I’ve been meaning to build for ages.

 

So what are your thoughts.. purity or damnation?

Edited November 20, 2017 by Ferrus Manus

[Pearson73]

Damnation, of course.

[deathspectersgt7]

damnation .

[Reyner]

DAMNATION (where is our support?!)

[Ferrus Manus]

Wow, that is some pretty clear opinions. To be fair I spent most of the day writing down all the ideas I’ve had in my head for the warband.

 

The path is set.