In Service of the Death Lord - DuskRaider's AT Project

[DuskRaider]

Greetings Fellow Princeps,

 

   This has been a long time coming. I wanted to hold off on creating a thread dedicated to Adeptus Titanicus until I had at least one finished model done and well... here we are.

 

This project is, like many of my others, related to and ties into my overall 30K / 40K army & world. A little background for those who haven't seen my other armies... 

 

   I've been playing 40K for almost 20 years now. I started with Death Guard and to this day I still play them. Although the army composition and models themselves have changed over the years, the core idea and tactics have more or less remained the same. When 30K was released and 40K was at it's worst (formations, horrible Chaos codex, etc.) I immersed myself fully into the Heresy rather than just making an historical fallen Death Guard army as I had previously. 

 

   With the release of 8th Edition, 30K more or less died in my area as those who were looking to escape the cheese of 6th & 7th were drawn back in, myself included. I began my 40K Death Guard anew and with them allies. I finally finished my decade old FW Warhound in Legio Mortis scheme as I had intended when originally purchased. I started a House Makabius Chaos Knight army to accompany my Death Guard (or just play on their own). Everything historically fits together, it all makes sense fluff wise and it looks great together.

 

   ... And then Titanicus was announced. What I had previously viewed as unattainable or at the very least unplayable (Warlord) was now easily transported and fielded to play against my friends without losing said friends. Best of all, I could create 30K incarnations of my larger models to give them a bigger sense of history and belonging in my 40K lore. 

 

So here we are.

 

 

This army will be composed of Legio Mortis and House Makabius but also incorporate elements of the XIVth Legion, mainly as base decoration and perhaps eventually permanently affixed on a Realm of Battle board. It was important to me to include all three of my 40K entities into this project as I love all three and find myself eager to explore the origins of my own forces.

 

So let's start out with some photos. I've posted these over in my thread in the WIP Forum but I'm sure some haven't seen it, so...

 

WIP Bases

 

As you can see, I've incorporated Legion bits to the bases to push a narrative and tie everything together. Since taking these pics I've finished the bases and also purchased some lovely Forumware Mk. III Marines and Cataphractii so I'll be ripping the old Epic Marines off of the bases and replacing them with much nicer pieces.

 

Next we have my first finished model:

 

 

This was mainly a test to see if my scheme would scale down well and I'm pretty pleased with the end result. The photos washed the sunburst from the red and black a bit but it's there. Currently I'm also working on a Cerastus to port my Makabius scheme as well. 

 

I'm really excited about this whole thing and can't wait to jump in to Adeptus Titanicus ASAP with some friends. Fingers crossed Titandeath has my Mortis rules!

Edited January 9, 2019 by DuskRaider

[CMDR_Welles]

wow man, nicely done.

I cut my gaming teeth with Battletech in the mid 80s, I've had a love affair with giant stompy robots as far as I can remember. My desire to get into AT is strong... but sadly, I am poor... lol

[DuskRaider]

Thank you, sir! You know, you don't have to jump right into the big game. You could always pick up some models here and there, paint them up as hobby and work your way up to an army proper. I was turned off by the buy in price as well but my friend picked up a GM box for me for my birthday / Christmas so I couldn't say no and found it much easier to stomach after that initial purchase... although now that I need Terminals and GW still doesn't have them in stock I'm getting a bit annoyed. 

[Mendi Warrior]

Very nice, love the bases and the first reaver, well done, very promising for the next ones 

[Rik Lightstar]

wow man, nicely done.

 

I cut my gaming teeth with Battletech in the mid 80s, I've had a love affair with giant stompy robots as far as I can remember. My desire to get into AT is strong... but sadly, I am poor... lol

AT is currently WAY cheaper than 40k or AoS for a playable force. It's less than £150 from a 3rd party store for:

-the Rules Set

-the Battlegroup Box

-either of Reaver/Warhounds/2 Boxes of Knights

 

That will get you a 1750 point force on the table, with all your rules and tokens.

 

They're a bit stingy on Warhound Weapon Cards in the core box, so you'll probably want another set of those at some point depending on chosen load outs.

 

But it's a lot more accessible than I expected.

 

Rik

[Mendi Warrior]

Looking once more at your pics, really loving the Reaver, all of it, especially the heat effect on the gatling! Have you drilled the barrels?

One little thing, not impacting anything, I noticed on the wip picture of the Reaver is that you put the upper part of the legs in reverse, the round vents should be on the back.

[DuskRaider]

Thank you, sir! I did not drill the barrels... I may go back afterward with my dremel and hit them all at once but so far I've not even thought of it. Regarding the heat staining, I kinda screwed it up a bit by being too impatient and adding the Sepia before allowing the Violet to completely dry so there's splotches here and there.... I may go back and redo it since it's bothering me. I realized after the first one that I did it backward but I didn't see much of a point in having the detail in the back, although in hindsight I guess it doesn't matter since the knee pad is obscuring it as well. 

[Fajita Fan]

You people are really going over the top with your bases and it's making me self conscious.  

[DuskRaider]

Well if it makes you feel any better mine are no where near as elaborate or detailed as some of the other folks on here, lol.

 

So I finished the Cerastus. I'm calling it a success and happy to declare that House Makabius has answered the call and will march to war. Now I just wish GW would release their detailed transfers..

 

... which reminds me, why the hell is Malinax included on Mortis' sheet when Malinax is more closely associated with two other Legios more? Xana has not one but two Legios which is unheard of for all but Mars and those chuckleheads. Ah well...

 

[Mendi Warrior]

Very nice, it is a very effective colour scheme. Excellent background as well.

[Pyroclast91]

Absolutely beautiful work so far man the reaver and knight are beautifully painted I can't wait to set the others.

[DuskRaider]

Thanks! I'm having fun with these and it's a nice break from everything Nurgle. 

 

While writing this I'm working on my first Warlord. Word of advice for those who haven't tackled one of these yet: sub-assemble like a mofo and INVEST IN LEADBELCHER PRIMER. I made the mistake of priming the frame Corax White instead of Leadbelcher and I've spent the whole night thus far basing and washing the damn thing. Not worth the trouble, IMO. 

 

Soon I will need some advice. I've decided to paint every single option in the box and see what I like most. So... both heads, all armour plates, etc. It's sort of like a choose your own adventure. I have an idea of the basic scheme this will be getting but I'd like some opinions on things like the optional parts to decide what works best. You'll all have a hand in this, WOW! What a deal!

[Mendi Warrior]

Leadbelcher primer is indeed a must. And so are sub-assemblies.

 

In view of the miles of gold trim I am even thinking retributor armour spray might be an interesting alternative to leadbelcher (but then you have tons to paint in leadbelcher so not sure this would be really efficient). I might try that for the next titans.

 

With regards to optionality, for the Warlord, I am magnetising the heads (but first I'll paint the lenses as I want to minimise the risk of messing badly later). I had thought of magnetising some of the armour plates (with 1x1mm or 2x1mm magnets), I haven't tried so far, maybe I'll test it on one engine (just for the challenge). Magnetising the arms is another must of course, and dead easy for the Warlord.

[DuskRaider]

Yeah... I'll admit I'm not magnetizing a single thing. I know it may hinder my options down the line but the way I see it and the way I've outfitted my Titans so far, the Warlords are long distance armour poppers while the rest are mid - close range and a mix of shield strippers and armour busters. That being said, I'll probably either pick up a third Warlord with the shiny new weapons or wait for the upgrade sprue before I tackle my second one so I can get a little variety.

[Zhiv]

How did you do the sable (i.e. black) on the knight?  Airbrush?

[DuskRaider]

Nope, I've never used an airbrush in my life. It's actually not black, it's a blue-grey (I know in the lore they say sable but in reality FW themselves paint it blue-grey). It's done the following:

 

1) The base is Vallejo German Grey. Believe it or not, this is what FW uses. Unfortunately, that's all they do. No washes or anything, it's... odd.

2) Wash with undiluted Drakenhof Nightshade. This brings the blue out more and darkens the recesses.

3) In a swirling motion, highlight each panel while leaving the outer edges untouched. 

4) Mix 50/50 German Grey & Citadel Administratum Grey and repeat Step 3 but concentrate more on the center of each panel.

5) Mix 80/20 Administratum Grey & German Grey, again repeat Step 3 but even more concentrated on the center.

6) Using pure Administratum Grey VERY LIGHTLY do the same thing in the very center.

7) Panel line using Nuln Oil (optional). 

 

It's more or less the same process as I do my 28mm Makabius. 

[Gore Crow]

Oh man, you've convinced me to get some cerastus knights; I really didn't think I was going to bother.

[DuskRaider]

Oh man, they're so much fun to assemble and from what I've read they're pretty nasty in the game too. Oddly, just about everyone that I've seen assemble them does it in an incredibly pedestrian pose and it's too bad because the kit allows much more dynamic posing, These Knights are running forward and putting the hurt on things as large as Reavers and Warlords in CC, they should look like they're in action. My other ones are modeled more like Hoplites, using their shields in a defensive manner while thrusting their lances around / over the shield. While they may use the knightly Lancer moniker, I see them more like Greek or Roman infantry and in larger numbers perhaps even using a quasi-Phalanx formation.

[Zhiv]

I figured it wasn't straight black buut I didn't really have better word for the hue either. It was just such a nice shade that I wanted to steal it for my upcoming House Devine (who are black and green). I dislike flat blacks as it is pretty hard to make them look really, really good.  Unless you are godly with your edge highlights.  I am not.

 

As for FW using German Grey, I am not actually even surprised. GW does not have a nice sable color. Their dark grey is too white. 

 

Cheers.

[Gore Crow]

Oh man, they're so much fun to assemble and from what I've read they're pretty nasty in the game too. Oddly, just about everyone that I've seen assemble them does it in an incredibly pedestrian pose and it's too bad because the kit allows much more dynamic posing, These Knights are running forward and putting the hurt on things as large as Reavers and Warlords in CC, they should look like they're in action. My other ones are modeled more like Hoplites, using their shields in a defensive manner while thrusting their lances around / over the shield. While they may use the knightly Lancer moniker, I see them more like Greek or Roman infantry and in larger numbers perhaps even using a quasi-Phalanx formation.

 

Sounds great, I'm persuaded to give them a try! Can't wait to see more of yours.

I think the early battle reports gave be a bit of an aversion to knights after seeing so many deleted.

[DuskRaider]

Yeah, Cerastus are much better than Questor.

[Fajita Fan]

 

1) The base is Vallejo German Grey. Believe it or not, this is what FW uses. Unfortunately, that's all they do. No washes or anything, it's... odd.

The primer?  I use that stuff and it brushes on pretty well but I'm always nervous that it's not really adhering the plastic well.  I'd feel weird using that as anything but a base coat but for an experiment I tried brushing that on and using gloss nuln oil over it as a test for Deathwatch the result wasn't bad, it's just a very blackish black with varnished highlights.

[DuskRaider]

No, they're all primed Corax White. It helps the colors pop more.

[Chaeron]

Superb work DuskRaider - pleasure to see your work as always! Can't wait to see the rest of the maniple grow in due course.

[DuskRaider]

Alright folks, decision time.

 

The Warlord has been painted and I'm reassembling the model. I have to choose between the red or white head and the three center pauldrons. The blank ones will receive one of the nicely detailed transfers. So let me know what you think I should use!