MBA++Blood Angels 5th Company - into the Leviathan's maw

[Majkhel]

Hey Bjorn
Your ideas definitely have merit if I wanted to tie this figure to the Death Company, but it's not the case. The title of Custodian of the Dmaned is already established in the Devastation of Baal novel and is related ta a different group within Blood Angels - the occupants of the Tower of Amareo.
While Death Company indeed are the Lost for the Blood Angels (battle-brothers lost to the madness of the Black Rage), the Amareans were never battle-brothers to begin with. Those poor souls became mindless monsters due to their gene-seed rampant malunction and hyper-activity after implantation. 

I really appreciate that Guy Haley presented a title that is noticeably (if subtly) different than those of both Lemartes and Astorath.
 

Edited September 28, 2020 by Majkhel

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I've yet to read Devastation of Baal. Thank you for the info.

[Majkhel]

The Custodian of the Damned emerged first, a Space Marine champion oathbound to remain within the tower until the end of days. Now those times had come, and he marched out with his sword flaring with energy, black armour glinting like oil. From behind him came the rattling of chains and the grinding of rusted doors forced wide by labouring machines, and howling and screaming of inhuman nature...
*
****************************************************************************************************************
*

I have completed the Custodian of the Damned (count-as-Judiciar)

Not the best quality of the pictures and sorry for the shine (varnish), but that's the best I could pull-off with the lighting. The reds are more vivid in RL, but the overall muted palette of colours is shown accurately enough.

He was a real pleasure to paint! As much as I don't like painting black armour, he doesn't have that much of it visible The robes are perfect for blending if you are patient enough. Also that was the first time I tried this way of painting the blade and I'm really happy with the result.
I wanted something extra for the sword, as it's big and a really prominent part of the model. The description cited above describes it as 'flaring with energy', but I thought it would be really not-smart to ignite a power sword while resting it on the shoulder... For this reason I rejected a classic power glow and this NMM style seemed like the best way of showing it off 'safely'.
The Tower of Amareo depicted on his left shoulder pad is intentionally dark and barely visible. It is after all a closely-guarded secret and for some Blood Angels - a source of shame.

Hope you like him
Cheers! Edited October 1, 2020 by Majkhel

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Fine work on the Custodian.

[Xenith]

Really nice conversion, and great freehand on the castle!

[SnorriSnorrison]

Well done Majkhel! Works a lot better for me than the actual model, and you did a great job both on the conversion and the paint job. :)

All that Primaris stuff really needs Blood-Angel-ifying, it’s like we’re back in 4th edition again. :D

[Majkhel]

Thanks guys :) It makes me really happy my works are appreciated.

Knife&glue evening Today for me. Made some hacking on the Indomitus Captain and removed the skeleton from the shield. Not sure yet what I will put in it's place, but some ideas are already floating around.

Also having a spare unit of Eradicators, I wanted to kit-bash some of the oncoming Gravis releases.
First draft on the Heavy Bolter-wielding Heavy Intercessor. Yay or nay?

Used a Terminator Assault canon arm and Centurion Heavy Bolter.
I got plans for the Multi-melta Eradicator as well.

Cheers!

[Spagunk]

I realize it's for a reason but I don't think the arm looks good that far low IMO. Just seems lanky and off. Any way you can bring it up a bit?

[Majkhel]

I see what you mean Spagunk and I totally agree. Thanks for catching that!
Here is what it looks like after the remedy action (before, after and with added Inceptor shoulder pad)


Side view:


Additionally I dry-fitted a standard Multi-Melta.

I went for the harder approach and removed the original Eradicator hand, but kept the vambrace intact. This has the added benefit of being able to rotate the Multi-Melta hand freely while searching for the perfect position.
Had to remove the targeting screen to make space for stabilising left hand (rotated slightly at the wrist). The original devastator left hand had to be filed down too.
Helmet is temporary. I'm just testing options looking for what I like. A little observation here - regular firstborn heads hardly fit under those cawls due to longer neck section.That is why he is currently looking down a bit. If I choose one of those, this will need to be adjusted. Standard Gravis helmets while fit, have very little place for rotation. Even the original Eradicators' helmets are filed on the lower edges

Thanks for looking, cheers! Edited October 3, 2020 by Majkhel

[SnorriSnorrison]

Looks better now with the adjusted arm. Even though it might be that the heavy bolter looks a tad long...not sure though. :) Probably will have to see it finished with the shoulders adding more bulk to the model!

[Spagunk]

It's subtle but I definitely think it looks better now.

The arm looks good too because it has the extra piston which lends towards the "Need some more power assist to host to hold this up" look.

[Majkhel]

Thanks again for feedback guys!
Spagunk, it might seems subtle, but in reality I raised it almost 3mm. Not that subtle in the scale of the mini

Here is the newest version:

I think he is complete now.

In my eyes, he has much of the Terminator feel, which I like. Head will be different - one of the DA Ravenwing 'knightly' ones.
Added purity seals to hide Imperialis imperfection and the seam between HB and assault canon on the inner side. The external one was masked with GS. I will still correct this one a bit to get more straight angles, but I think this improves the feel of the weapon a lot. I also cut another few millimetres off the rear section. The thing I dislike the most in it is the shape of the box magazine. Funnily enough it's the most standard part of the weapon Most HBs use this shape of the box magazine. If I build another guy, I would take a ready solution of the HH-style HB with the round box.

The other arm comes from the Inceptors' kit - a ready bulky Gravis bit. Removed the original Assault Bolter-holding hand and added the knife -olding one (from the Intercessors kit I think). This gives him additional dynamism and the feel he's in the thick of it, like a true son of Sanguinius should be.

Snorri, I agree that HB is long on this guy, but I wanted to show the weight and bulkiness feel that weapon has in the firstborn range. I've found out that HBs are generally rather short outside vehicles and IG heavy weapons sections. If you look at the place where the magazine is inserted, it becomes obvious that the weapons' barrel length is comparable to a standard Bolter. And that half of the actual weapon's length is taken by... something else. Suspensors or recoil absorption perhaps?

Anyway I really like how this project is progressing

Edited October 4, 2020 by Majkhel

[Xenith]

Great job on the multimelta dude - I'm glad this seems such a straight/easy conversion. I think the heavy versions are the way to go, especially with double fire. Shame there's not a 3 shot assault version...

[Majkhel]

Thanks mate! I agree, heavy version seems really strong. I'm just wondering how many we will be able to squeeze into a squad. I have some bits still left and could probably produce another one easily enough Just wondering how much I will be able to tweak the pose so that they are not identical. Aggressor body perhaps?
And yeah, 3 melta shots from a dude after advancing... Or perhaps even 6 with the double-tap? Yes please :D

while we wait for GW to realize the above fantastic opportunity, I have finished painting both guys:

This fella counts towards my Company strength and marks a beginning of the 3rd squad.

Both were a blast to build and a pleasure to paint (however definitely easier before attaching main guns). Looking at the pictures now, I think I should change the HB-dude's purity seal colour to purple (at least the one on his chest).
How do you find the blue version of one of the BA Legion helmets? ;)

Next up: some VanVets finishing/re-painting.
Cheers!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Fine works.

[Rhavien]

They look excellent. Very cool, though I agree with you that the purity seal color should be changed.

[Xenith]

Just noticed the icons on the MM, great attention to detail, can i see those up close so I can...erm... emulate them?

[Silas7]

They look excellent. Very cool, though I agree with you that the purity seal color should be changed.

If changing the seal color, might I suggest purple.

[WrathOfTheLion]

Could look pretty good with burgundy, maybe something like gal vorbak red/word bearers red. I do agree that you should change the color.

[Majkhel]

They look excellent. Very cool, though I agree with you that the purity seal color should be changed.

If changing the seal color, might I suggest purple.

Could look pretty good with burgundy, maybe something like gal vorbak red/word bearers red. I do agree that you should change the color.

Thanks a lot guys! Definitely will! I usually do my purity seals either green or purple (Xereus purple, highlited with some pink). Purple was also my first thought, but that burgundy suggestion got me thinking. Might give it a try especially since it will be on a black/grey setting of the Imperialis, not the usual red of the armour. Would be nice to increase colour variety

Just noticed the icons on the MM, great attention to detail, can i see those up close so I can...erm... emulate them?

So glad you noticed! :D

Those come from the IK Armiger decal sheet. Generally Mechanicus' and Knights' decals have plethora of such small signs/codes/numerals that are perfectly applicable for any type of weapon or machinery. Our own SM vehicles seem to be lacking in that regard, although I haven't seen the decal sheets for Impulsors and Repulsors. New servo-turret kit only has basic Ultramarines' Infantry decals, while ATV has what looks like a piece from the Indomitus box, which is nice as it has those tiny scriptures.

Cheers! :)

[Majkhel]

It's been a while since I added some content here. RL has been pretty hard recently, so I moved towards building and converting areas of the hobby as those come easier for me.
First up, a simple conversion of the Indomitus Captain:

Removal of the skeleton sections from the shield while keeping the purity seals required some effort and patience as I wanted to keep the skeleton itself for the future projects. Costed me some spilled blood, but I think it was worth it. I then pondered really long on what to put in it's place and finally ended up doing a mould of the Baal Predator's angel icon. This has given me a thinner and more flexible versionthat could be attached to the shield easier. The cast is not perfect and I will need to make up for it during painting, but I like it. I will still need to do some GS scroll-work on the angel's base later on.
Another thing was moving the small shield more towards the armpit. I wanted to use something more extra than the original one and finally ended up with a spare SW terminator shield. It's shape works really well here I believe.
Then a head swap (not that easy to fit the crest between the shoulderpads :P ) and as a last-minute thought - a backbanner. I do not have any backbanners in my army yet. I find them both impractical and strangely alluring at the same time, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to test how I like them.

Another small project - a Primaris Chaplain:

Obviously had to be helmeted and I'm really happy I found that skull-shaped chaos helmet in my bits box. Before I found it, a Reiver helmet was a go-to choice and I might still use it on a Chaplain on bike conversion. I admit I'm contemplating filing 2 of it's teeth..
I really wanted to do something special with his left arm. I started by cutting-off the original arm and searching for a hand that would speak to me. When I found a spare SG closed fist, I knew I had my winner. The arm is otherwise original only adjusted a bit to be more away from the body.
Addition of the Angle of Death from the Ravenwing upgrade sprue looks nice I think. I may still add something more BA-related to him, but I don;t think it;s that necessary as there is already a lot going on on the model.

Then there a still work-in-progress Invader ATV:

I bought it to see if I can do something with it to change the go-cart feel of it. I have started with raising up it's rear suspension to make it more an ATV. Still some smoothing out need to do, but I think the first picture shows nicely what I did. Cut wheels section were first joined with some plastic pieces covered over with plastic glue. Once dried, I built over this scaffolding with miliput which dries hard and stiff. Final layer will be GS to smooth it out.
Another obvious change is the addition of the BA icon from the FW Rhino front plate.
I think I will be removing the shield from the melta altogether. Another thing I'm considering is making some kind of mudguard for the front wheels perhaps?

Lastly, I have started work on the Chaplain on bike:

I'm not ashamed to admit the idea is borrowed from Debauchery (link) and to be fair, that's not the end of it :D

Currently on my painting table are some VanVets. I also have ideas floating around my head to build my own Primaris Techmarine.

Cheers!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The customization you made are most appropriate for Sanguinius' sons. I hope to see the completed models soon.

[Quixus]

Nice sissy bar on the bike.

[Majkhel]

Hah, imagine the chaplain taking a look over his shoulder to see that guy yapping at him :D
'Even in death, brother!'

[Majkhel]

Hey folks!

In the spirit of recent releases and a fantastic work by apologist, I started kit-bashing myself a Primaris Techmarine:

Still a work-in-progress, but I think current direction is pretty good

The base is Primaris Intercessor's legs and a torso from the Techmarine manning Firestrike turret. Backpack with a hanging mechadendrite is also from the Firestrike turret.
Arms are from Inceptor's kit (as is the HB) as I wanted to bulk him-up a bit, but not to the level of full-Gravis.
Axe and servo-arm is from my firstborn Techmarine. I might replace them at one point if necessary.
Additional mechadendrite is a cable from flamer-Aggressors.

Still thinking about the head. My problem is I'm spoiled for choices having almost all of the Devastator heads and the Techmarine head from the Firestrike turret to choose from.
Will definitely add some more tech-bit and some BA icons.

Hope you like him, cheers!

Edited November 1, 2020 by Majkhel