Starting Over: Now with Truescale Tutorial Video

[Doghouse]

To cut a long story short I had a mild stroke at the beginning of the year. It was one of those moments of life telling you that you aren't the indestructible youth you still thought you were. It's easy to brush aside the stress and pressure as simple life stuff but it catches up with you without you noticing.

For the most part I'm ok, I'm very good at hiding this stuff with humour but I still get moments of confusion and bizarre forgetfulness that still feels a little surreal. I kind of phase out for a bit but that could be the medication.

I have to recheck threads to see if I have already written replies to topics and sometimes can't remember writing what I wrote.

 

So I apologise in advance should you come across my rambles in any other threads and I'm repeating myself or posting in the wrong forums.

 

That was actually a way lot harder to write than I thought it'd be.

 

So with that out of the way...hobby stuff...

 

I've not really been focused on 40k stuff of late as you can imagine but I feel it is important to get back on the wagon. I think over the last few years my attention span for projects has been terrible and the reality was I was trying to get stuff done in what very little free time I had which looking back was crazy.

 

So I'm going to do six models to begin with and flesh it out to a full kill team of ten and the captain. 

 

I'll be honest I'm not a huge fan of Primaris which is a bit crazy really given how active I was helping others with their truescaling stuff for so many years. But the Death Watch squad composition appeals to me as it adds in some much needed variety. So scrounging around in my many many bits boxes I scavenged enough models and parts to put together a kill team and a Blood Angels Watch Captain.

 

I've nearly got the Captain done below but still need to do a few bits to him yet such as more highlighting and some more work on the base. I find stealers an iconic enemy so put a hybrid arm on the base, the blood being reddish because it is not from a purestrain. 

The head is from the Japanese Space Marine heroes range. I went with this because it is fairly unique and is scaled a little better. 

On the whole the painting side has been frustrating, especially the skin tones. One thing I have started using though that are quite useful are those jewellery magnifying glasses things whose name escapes me, great little purchase.

 

 

http://i63.tinypic.com/2pq3n06.jpg

 

http://i65.tinypic.com/2zycu3b.jpg

 

What I would like to do is have 5 Intercessors with the auto-bolters, an Aggressor, a Reiver with a carbine and three hell blasters for a more mobile little group.

 

http://i68.tinypic.com/oruf88.jpg

[apologist]

Oh, mate; I’m dreadfully sorry to hear about the mini-stroke.

[Jukkiz]

You´re doing quite stunning job there. Minor nitpick that i too keep forgetting to do, is highlights on weapon edges. Deathwatch boys are on my list too to finish. Keep it up!

[sarabando]

welcome back DH go teach these whippersnappers how its done :D

[angel robertson]

I haven't signed in on here for some time but I saw this thread pop out and got excited.

 

Then very sorry to hear the RL issues. Glad you are getting through it and picking up a paintbrush hopefully helps. 

 

Made me laugh that you weren't a fan of Primaris after years of tru scaling haha. Guess nothing is as good as your original recipe! Funnily enough I decided I will use my primaris to make some deathwatch as well so will be following!

[Bryan Blaire]

Doghouse, sorry to hear about the health troubles, mate, but glad to hear you are working it all through.

 

You haven’t lost your touch with a brush, the Deathwatch BA looks very good! I’m less than a fan of the details on the Primaris armor types, although I appreciate the larger models themselves, but they are lacking the character of the Marines made before them. I tend to ignore most of the fluff behind them anyway.

 

Looking forward to seeing more Deathwatch and stay healthy!

[Captain Semper]

Doghouse, I hope you’ll be back to 100% real soon. I also hope the hobby has a therapeutic impact on you. Keep those Deathwatch coming and I’m sure everything will fall into place!

[Doghouse]

Thanks for the well wishes guys, much appreciated.

 

Apologist: Cheers mate. I think what I'm going to do is start off simple and see how it goes. I started planning a full crusade army then thought nah this take this slowly this time and keep it simple.

 

Jukkiz: Thanks. There are a couple of colours I need to get my hands on for some of the highlights like Eshin Grey and Blood Red I think it is called?

 

sarabando: Thanks mate

 

angel robertson: Hello mate, long time no see. Yeah the truescale thing is kind of weird, you'd think I'd be all over Primaris. I think it might be that (like Apologist above may back me up on) truescaling is more about the challenge of making the marines. For me once Primaris came out I was thinking wow they finally did it...oh wait that kind of puts me out of a job.

 

Bryan Blaire: 100% with you on that one mate! For me the older marines were a mix of seven types of armour which in itself could be embellished with honours and relics. The main problem with scaling up though is that you suddenly get all these big wide open area which the likes of say Mk V armour would have been perfect for breaking up with studs and cables. I am starting to be a bit more forgiving of the Primaris lore but it's something I had to consciously justify to myself.

 

Captain Semper: Cheers mate, I'm going to take it slow and easy for a bit and not aim too high project wise. I've been off work for a long while and returning to work I'm trying to get back into more of routine. The Death Watch team seem like a nice way and easy lower myself back into the hobby. Everything in moderation but I'm sure I'll be well on the mend eventually.

[Verux]

Best wishes on your recovery. Painting has always been very therapeutic for me so hopefully it works in a similar manner for you.

[Custom Hero]

Sorry to hear about the troubles brother, but I'm genuinely happy to see you back in the saddle!

[Pearson73]

Awfully sorry to hear of the health issues brother, hope the path along recovery is a swift one. The models are looking good, I especially like the squad member lurking a the back, checking his wrist interface, any chance we could get a better look?

[Markus_]

Sorry to hear about your condition, glad to hear you're doing better. You've been an inspiration for much of what I'm doing with my hobby.
Looking forward to what you come up with next, take care my dude.

[DuskRaider]

Hey Doghouse, hope all is well. The Deathwatch are looking great. The color on that Genestealer arm pop so much, I love it!

[MagicMan]

Sorry to hear about the ill health, glad to hear you're on the road to recovery.

 

 

Its awesome that you're still pumping out models, I remember way back when I first joined the site and you were doing the Chaos Warrior truescales.


I think Deathwatch are a great pick for Primaris, too. That first guy is looking great.

[deathspectersgt7]

Looking Good Mate. Health Issues are sure a bitch the last couple years have knocked out wind out of my sails health wise.  I am slowly coming around on Primaris but slowly like a snail.Looking forward to what Chapters the others will be.

[lionofjudah]

Welcome back home bro!! Grateful you’re still here with us and ready to bring your talent to bear on a smaller scale project.

I’m sorry to hear about your stroke and hope that you are working with a stress management program-meditation/yoga/qi gong/Thai massage/etc to integrate relaxation and mindfulness.

It’s funny to hear you say that about the primaris marines. I did a true/art scale space wolf army in 5th edition using a combination of your work and apologists. I sold that off when I got into the heresy stuff and after 3 small size armies I’m ready to do another biggerized army- going to use the cataphractii and Tartarus plastics and mix in some primaris for flavor.- probably only 25-30 marines to run with my guard for fun.

Back to you. I love the deathwatch stuff and am glad to see your brushstrokes upon one of their members.... excited to see more

[rednekkboss]

Welcome back! I can empathise with the stroke thing, had a little one myself in '08.  It sure does remind you that you are mortal and makes you appreciate life.  I know model building and painting have been my therapy and (in no small part) the encouragement of the gang here on B&C to keep at it.  Still have a bad day or two here and there, but its great to get encouragement from the gang here. Keep at it mate! Your B&C family is here for ya!

 

As for Primaris marines, I'm liking the models- having just built the Dark Imperium set for the ETL challenge, but the fluff,etc... still makes me shake my head and wonder if the writers of "independence Day" and "Godzilla '99" weren't behind it. There is also a perfect circle in the middle of the backpack that really wants me to paint a bullseye on it... but so far I have resisted the urge. So far.

[SW1]

Wow ... Mate glad to hear your on the road to recovery. Look after yourself and I'll look forward to seeing your output whatever form it takes.

 

I'm still in the "not sold on the idea behind the Primaris" bandwagon, but seeing yours and others work on them helps make them a little more acceptable.

[Honda]

Mortality, quite the harsh mistress, isn't she?

 

Then again, life is about the adjustments you make when you don't get the cards you were expecting. I had a savage bout of pneumonia last year and recovery was pretty tough. Just take your time and don't force things.

 

As someone who is trying to get used to Venerable status, getting some eyesight  assistance greatly reduced my frustration with some of my detail painting. So, I think  you'll like being able to see tiny things again. :)

 

You have always been one of the icons on these boards, so it's great seeing you up and running again.

 

As far as the  Primaris models  go...I love them. I just  won't mix them (paint them the same as) with older models. But for my Alpha Legion...just love them. As far as the fluff goes, GW couldn't really win that bit. Half the people don't want the story line to change, the other half do, but the way they would write it. I'm mostly indifferent to the overall changes. I see some pseudo-historical parallels in the break up of the Roman Empire (East/West), so I can accept what they did.

 

I think some of the challenges with the fluff come from a change in writing style that doesn't suit the topic at hand. It's not really Grimdark, it's "Eleventy!!! Bad Guys!"

 

Anyway, good to have you back brother.

[Steel Company]

Doghouse! I'm glad to hear that you are still around! I remember when i first stumbled across your "Doghouse" pattern True Scale Marines back in the dark days of 4th ed... But as ever, you are doing wonderful work.

[Vairocanum]

Welcome back! Sorry to hear about your stroke, but glad you're recovering! Your Deathwatch are looking really good, looking forward to seeing which chapters you choose!

[Ryltar Thamior]

To join the chorus of support - incredibly sorry to hear about your mild stroke; but, in my unqualified opinion as Not A Medical Professional, I definitely reckon that the activities involved in putting together some miniatures you don't have to work *too* hard at (as compared to your usual virtuoso work, of course) will help with some of the recovery.

And at least by going Deathwatch, you've given yourself more than the usual variety we find in Primaris based Marine squads and such as well as further opportunities for individuation. 

I have a number of misgivings about the Primaris myself, from both an aesthetic point of view and a ... "all my Marines are truescale, this leaves me in an interesting position as applies actually incorporating any Primaris proper should I ever find myself doing M.42 gaming" sort of vibe. 

Although I don't necessarily feel that I'm "out of a job" thanks to the Primaris - partially because I do a reasonable amount of Horus Heresy and other 'historical' 40k project-work, so Mk.X armour and its Primaris occupants aren't really around per se ; partially because I really do very much like the aesthetics on 'traditional' truescale'd Mk.III and Mk.VI suits etc. ; and partially because I've certainly found it a bit of a challenge (and not always an entirely welcome one!) getting various Primaris base miniatures (particularly the Dark Imperium monoposes) to do what I want some of the time. [One conversion in particular - based around me attempting to "rationalize" the Not-Assault-Marines whose name escapes me momentarily, has been battled with for weeks at this point]. [also the comparativley limited range of Primaris bitz in comparison to the old TROVES of 'conventional' Astartes line stuff, as well as the fact that the latter does not always 'play nice' with the former, means there's definitely been some creativity required here and there!]

As applies the fluff though ... well, I'll say it again. I do a lot of "historical" 40k gaming, so to speak. And while some of the newer waves of fluff have been *very* cool [c.f Custodes etc.]; and I can certainly understand hte justification behind a bolt-rifle existing as an example ... I think I'm very much happy with my general avoidance of M.42 for the moment. 

Not least because the [Loyalist] Primarch figures are better :P 

Although speaking of that ... here's an idea for you at some stage - I'm presently doing some preliminary knife-work on a Heresy-era Guilliman model in order to make a "truescale" Primaris. 

In any case, the Blood Angels Watch-Captain looks legit; very nice combination of that Japanese-edition head with the posing, and the subdued colour-scheme works well. 

Was going to say "can't wait to see the rest of 'em with some paint on" but then recalled that you shouldn't push yourself toooooo hard on what's supposed ot be a relaxing ease-back-in :P 

Will eagerly anticipate them all the same :D 

[Doghouse]

Duskraider: Thanks mate.

 

Magicman: Thanks mate, good to see you are still around as well. Ah yes, the chaos warrior leg marine conversions were really fun to make. I did do something similar recently to make a Thunder Warrior for Necromunda funnily enough.

 

http://i64.tinypic.com/v68bxw.jpg

 

deathspectresgt: Thanks mate, always had a great deal of respect for you and your stuff so thanks for that.

 

lionofjudah: Thanks mate. Yeah I've seen a couple of models by someone here on B&C that combined the Catapracti legs with the Primaris torso and it works really well. I'll definitely come check yours out if you post any here.

 

Rednekkboss: Thanks for that mate, glad you are doing well. Yeah i really like the Intercessors but the other aren't really my thing. As technically all the variants are Mk X with bits either added or taken off what I am toying around with is mixing the parts from all the kits and seeing what sticks like these:

 

http://i66.tinypic.com/fm185t.jpg

 

http://i64.tinypic.com/1sl304.jpg

 

http://i68.tinypic.com/30xhbao.jpg

 

SW1: Thanks mate. Yeah I know what you mean. They are growing on me but I'm really having to convince myself to accept the lore.

 

Honda: Hello mate, thanks for the well wishes. Yeah I need to get myself some of that Rejuvenation stuff I keep hearing that Imperial Nobles have. I know there might have been some outcries but I personally would have just scaled up regular marines to primaris scale. We have seen some scale creep in recent years and I would have gone with various armour marks in this scale. The lore is a little tricky and damned if you do like you say. My personal view is I would recon the Heresy so that proto-primaris units were used on special operations during the final days of the Heresy shrouded in secrecy. I think that sooner or later the old marines will step aside for the Primaris and that they will no longer be known as space marines, I'm 99% sure it's a long term marketing plan to get the copyright sorted.

 

Steel Company: Thanks mate.

 

Vairocanum: Thanks mate

 

Ryltar Thamior: Thanks mate, yeah the Death Watch are really nice for mixing things up and keeping it a bit more interesting. I've thought about the Primaris and truescale issue as well to be honest. At this stage I'm not certain I can say I've actually seen any official word on their height but I think a lot of people seem to throw around 9 feet. Because Primaris are so well scaled it's hard to know what to suggest if you wanted to go that route, maybe Aggressors would be a starting point.

I totally agree, historical 40k gaming certainly has it's place in the greater scheme of the hobby. Most armies are just made in the present tense, the moment of 40k that is now when in reality you have ten thousand years to set your army in. I think it is a bit of a lost aspect of the hobby these days, I remember when the Heresy craze first started before FW picked it up and a bunch of us spent our time pouring through novels and old codex to find stuff to create historically accurate armies within the setting. There are so many eras that go untouched in 40k and that is a shame.

The Blood Angels captain/leader is a bit of a mish mash of 40k starter set fixed pose Primaris, the boxed set Primaris and death watch veteran shoulder pas with the Japanese heroes head. I was quite a fun little model to make.

 

On the subject of the Japanese Heroes I've taken some scale pictures because I think they are great. I've got enough for an old school marine army that I would like to make at some point.

 

http://i63.tinypic.com/9r10fn.jpg

 

http://i64.tinypic.com/30mwad5.jpg

 

http://i64.tinypic.com/r1zg4o.jpg

 

 

Update

 

Still working on these guys but still short a couple of guys. I am aiming for 2 HQ and three Primaris Veteran Squads to begin with so hopefully will pick up up a second squad with some Aggressors next week. I'm mostly still blocking out the black and experimenting with transfers for icons.

 

http://i64.tinypic.com/28quc74.jpg

 

As these guys are going to be dependent on CPs quite heavily and I love the idea of a Crusade army with as many aspects of the Imperium as possible I really want to do some guard to go with them as a cheap brigade option.

I'm also toying with including questing Armigar knights. The way I see it would be these would be more like their traveling steeds and they may lack the entourage of more noble paladins and so are forced to keep their stowage and gear on the Armigar carapace. I would like a Don Quixote feel of a veteran (the unpainted one) accompanied by his trusty squire.

 

http://i67.tinypic.com/2jdrj4k.jpg

 

http://i65.tinypic.com/v6rek5.jpg

 

Lastly I'd like to do a 1000pt Raven Guard force. I really like the way they operate in 8th and the idea of their flexible deployment seems right up my street. For now though I'm going to stick with my Death Watch guys.

 

http://i68.tinypic.com/10n506a.jpg

 

http://i63.tinypic.com/2r3bdad.jpg

 

 

 

Once again, thank you for all the support and kind words. I've been a bit on and off about getting back into the hobby but you have all helped with your support. :tu:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bryan Blaire]

That Ravenguard Marine is lookin' very nice, and the DW squad looks aces! The only suggestion I would make is to hit those decals with a matte varnish to kill the shine on 'em.

 

But the piece d'resistance has to be the additions to the Armigers, that Hawkshroud Armiger is mighty fine!

[Pearson73]

The Ravenguard is very well done.