Legio Nikator (Sons of the Temple) and Legio Validus (Amber Kings)

[Mendi Warrior]

I love it! 

[Fajita Fan]

So what base are you using for your orange? Jokero? I see some people use yellow or red to base orange and I’m having a really hard time unless my oranges have separated.

[apologist]

So what base are you using for your orange? Jokero? I see some people use yellow or red to base orange and I’m having a really hard time unless my oranges have separated.

It's Solar Macharius Orange – I've still got a pot.

[Brother Dallo]

Some really awesome looking god-engines here.

 

I've had zero enthusiasm to pick up any of my Titanicus stuff, since I finished my first Warlord all those months ago, but that might just change, having read through your plog.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

[apologist]

 

On the march...

 

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by apologist

[malika666]

What model did you use for that puny human next to the giant gun?

[Rabenga]

Yes, do share! Excellent pose on the Nemesis...

[Mandragola]

That pose looks good. Great work on that back foot.

[apologist]

Thanks all. 

 

+ Raising the Dread Hellespontion +

As part of Legio Sumer-Nikator, The Sons of the Temple, Hellespontion needed a couple of extra tweaks. When assembling, I trimmed away all the posing tabs, giving me free reign.

 

My advice for creating a slow walking pose is simply to assemble the stable leg first (usually the front leg, or it'll look like your Titan is walking backwards). Secure the foot flat and slightly off-centre on the base, set back a short distance from the front of the base –as the Titan's centre of gravity will be biased towards this point, you want to leave a space for the upper body and weapons to fill; otherwise you'll make it hard to bring it into base contact.

 

Once that's in place, build the leg above it, canting the lower leg forward, so the knee is over the front toes. If you go straight up, or lean it backwards, the sense will be that the Titan is coming to a halt.

 

Next, attach the upper leg, canting it backwards so the leg is bent. Don't go with too extreme an angle, or you won't sell the idea of a ponderous pace; it'll look too dynamic to be convincingly weighty. Such high-speed poses are generally better-suited to Reavers or Warhounds. 

 

 

With the stable leading leg fixed, you're virtually home and dry on the pose. Glue the pelvis in place, tilting it slightly so that that it's higher on the trailing leg's side. This ensures there's a sense that the rear leg is lifting.

 

The rear leg can then be built in relative safety. Working down from the pelvis, mock-up the pose by holding the upper and lower legs and the foot roughly in place (use some blu-tak or similar to hold it, if you struggle to hold them). Depending on how fast you want the Titan to seem to be moving, you can swing the foot inwards or outwards.

 

Swinging it in towards the centre of the Titan will imply speed (the foot is pulled in and up towards the centre of gravity as it trails), while leaving it further out will give the sense of a steady walk (the foot remains underneath the shoulder, ready to be placed for stability). +

 

 

I've picked a mid-pace stride here. The forefoot is placed flat and secure, the leg slightly bent to brace it. This helps to suggest the immense weight of the Titan is almost all over the front leg. The trailing leg is lifting away, only the front two still in contact with the ground. As the pelvis is raised, the leg is lifted vertically, and the foot therefore swings in. However, because the pelvis is not swung fully (as it would be at greater speeds), the foot doesn't move too far towards the centre of the Titan, ending up slightly between shoulder and groin.

 

 

I couldn't resist adding a little Epic Space Marine to the base. These aren't available any more, but I've no hesitation in recommending Vanguard miniatures' ranges. The Tusculum Nova Elites are ideal. The base itself  which came from Silverback Games' (formerly Gladius Game Arts)

Titan City range. Really nice quality.

 

To help sell the pose, I needed to bend the toes. This was easily achieved simply by cutting in between the main toes and the little armour plates, then bending them with a little brute force and ignorance. While the side and rear toes were bent downwards to suggest weight, the front toe was bent upwards,leaving as much in contact with the floor as possible. This was to avoid it looking too dynamic – as though the Titan were tip-toeing along.

 

That completes the pose; you just need to balance the upper carapace on top. For a walking pose, this should cant slightly towards the stable leg. The angle should be more extreme for greater speed – but you should also bear in mind that Titans can turn as well, which might affect the angle you want to place it at.

 

Some spare 6mm figures help to fill the upper deck, and give a sense of scale to the city-ending ordnance of a Titan! Again, these particular figures are not available, but you might try Vanguard's Novan Regulars Nuclear Waste Specialists as an equivalent.

 

Hope that was helpful. This is a repost from my blog, which has some further thoughts and a review of the Warbringer, if you're interested.

[Rejects of Anvilus]

I’ve got a Warbringer sitting waiting to be built, and I’m going to have to shamelessly copy this. So thank you, for such a great guide!

[Sandlemad]

Excellent review of the Warbringer, a lot of really useful info there. I hadn't been able to figure out the situation with the arms so that's good to know and flagging the improvements in design is also good.

[malika666]

Thanks for the shout out to Vanguard Miniatures, as for their Novan Elites...anyone here check out the 'Dominion the Wars of Tusculum Nova' group on Facebook?

[Interrogator Stobz]

Great advice Brother apologist!

I just had a look at your Vanguard link too, the Cybershadow dudes are mini techpriests and will be coming to a home near me as soon as possible.

[bluntblade]

I'm continually impressed by your consistently bang-on naming conventions.

 

Also the modelling and painting, but you know, everyone says that :P

Edited April 12, 2020 by bluntblade

[Mendi Warrior]

I love the pose you achieved for the Warbringer, very nice!

[apologist]

I’ve got a Warbringer sitting waiting to be built, and I’m going to have to shamelessly copy this. So thank you, for such a great guide!

Thank-you; looking forward to seeing what you come up with :)

 

Excellent review of the Warbringer, a lot of really useful info there. I hadn't been able to figure out the situation with the arms so that's good to know and flagging the improvements in design is also good.

One thing I did neglect to mention is that the Warbringer arms include one minor tweak – they include slots that marry up with tabs on the Warbringer arms to give a set pose. These aren't present on the Reaver's weapons. Being recessed, they don't make any practical difference to swapping them out with magnets, but the tabs on the Warbringer's arms will prevent Reaver arms being used. However, it's a simple case of trimming away the tiny tabs to make things hunky-dory.

 

Great advice Brother apologist!

I just had a look at your Vanguard link too, the Cybershadow dudes are mini techpriests and will be coming to a home near me as soon as possible.

 

Thanks for the shout out to Vanguard Miniatures, as for their Novan Elites...anyone here check out the 'Dominion the Wars of Tusculum Nova' group on Facebook?

Credit where it's due – there are loads of cool bits and bobs on there. It's worth a dig through all the submenus!

 

I'm continually impressed by your consistently bang-on naming conventions.

 

Also the modelling and painting, but you know, everyone says that

Ha, very kind! :)

 

I love the pose you achieved for the Warbringer, very nice!

Cheers.

[apologist]

 

It's been a while since I've exloaded anything about my Titan Legio, The Sons of the Temple, but I had the chance to play an outside game for the first time in a long while. 

 

The game itself was part of the PCRC's Antona Australis setting, during the War on Halicarnas. Here, a coup d'etat has been staged against the planetary governor, Amphimachus the Thin. To cut a long story short, the world is now the battlefield of a number of Titan Legions fighting either for or against Imperial Commander Amphimachus.

 

Our game saw the Legio Sumer-Nikator advancing on a city loyal to House Amphimachus; stoutly defended by Legio Kerberos, Lucifer216's beautiful Titan Legion.

 

 

A short and bloody affair, the Legio Kerberos maniple retired from the field as the heavy guns of The Sons of the Temple struck home.

 

The result rather flattered my tactical skill: Lucifer216 had a real uphill climb after we opted for a straightforward shoot-out. Unable to bring his numbers to bear or flank my force, the Legio Sumer-Nikator maniple was able to focus fire and bring down two Titans before the survivors opted to withdraw from the field.

 

 

I did pick up some lessons on armament. I had set up my Warbringer, Dread Hellespontion, as a dedicated heavy Titan killer, packing a volcano cannon and Laser Blaster alongside its Mori quake cannon. Complementing this was an all-rounder Warlord

Edited September 11, 2020 by apologist

[apologist]

Finding another pot of the – increasingly rare and precious! – Foundation Macharius Solar Orange has been a real boon. I've been plugging away at the God-Engines, though since I'm working on bits and bobs of all seven, progress is slow.

 

I did make a concerted push to get three to tabletop readiness, and had an enjoyable few minutes writing the blackletter nameplates: 

 

 

 

 

I've opted to put these on the back of the bases, to avoid drawing attention from the front.

 

I also painted up another three Princeps to add to my collection. Teutates Polassar has some more underlings to boss around (according to the will of the heavens, of course):

 

 

As a bit of fun, I tried to suggest that the Princeps Majoris is referring to the Quick Reference Sheet from the boxed game:

 

 

[Sherrypie]

That's some beautiful fractura on the names, but the Reference Sheet is even better :D

 

Lovely details.

[Mandragola]

That is excellent work indeed. The reference sheet is inspired. Where do the models come from? I only recognise the guy on the left.

[apologist]

Thanks both. The Princeps are a motley collection of limited edition models and ones I'e bought second-hand from 40k-scale Titan owners. The details are in this blog inload, if you'd like the details.

 

I've been collecting the Titan crew for years, and always on the lookout for more of them.

[malika666]

Hmm, didn't Forgeworld many moons ago also have those helmeted crewmen? Found these. And then there are these really old school models.

[apologist]

Yeah, I've got the Forgeworld moderati on the painting desk, partway through. They came as a set of three alongside the leftmost Princeps above. I've been looking over eBay for the Rogue Trader ones, but most are a bit steep for my liking. I think there are a few later lead sculpts, too.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the Titan Princeps.

[malika666]

Yeah, I've got the Forgeworld moderati on the painting desk, partway through. They came as a set of three alongside the leftmost Princeps above. I've been looking over eBay for the Rogue Trader ones, but most are a bit steep for my liking. I think there are a few later lead sculpts, too.

I've been looking around as well, it seems to be a bit varied, some of the models are sold for almost $100 whilst others are around $15. 

 

One thing I've been intrigued by is variations in aesthetics for each Titan Legion's crews. I've always had a soft spot for the old Eldar Titan crews (check this fan made update on that). The aesthetic of those crews might no longer fit with the current Eldar, but they might make for a great alternate Imperial Titan crew...