YoungWolf7's Meanderings - Ork Charity Army and Necrons

[YoungWolf7]

It's been a long time away, but I have been lurking for years. I semi-officially "retired" from the hobby back in 2015, deciding to put my free time into video games as they were simpler and I could stay in touch with friends scattered across the US. The bug never left though, even through the myriad of sell-offs I undertook. I couldn't part with the massive SM collection I had amassed or my beloved Orks. I did part with my entire CSM Bits collection (a whopping 10 pounds worth) which I still regret. Ah well, the new CSM sculpts are light years better than the previous ones.

 

I've been reacquainting myself with my hobby tools, paints, brushes etc. Tossing out old paints that are no good, etc. My kids bought me an airbrush package a couple of Christmases ago, so I've broken that out and started that (steep) learning curve as well.

 

As an exercise, I pulled out a 3 man set of Primaris Intercessors and spent a couple of weeks with them. The first one I painted to "completion", not worrying about clean blends and niggling details, just the joy of painting again. It's always been my zen place. The place where I have lost thousands of hours over the last three decades. Also the first steps towards cementing a scheme for my massive army that I've never painted. The airbrush gives me hope.

 

 

Pics are all from my iPhone. My light booth and camera setup are all still stuffed away, so it might be some time before I can get better images. This is all brush work, using P3 paints exclusively as I know exactly what they can and cannot do. It felt good to not only paint a model for the first time in 4 years, but actually allow myself to call it good enough. No worries about smooth blends and clean lines, just exploring the sculpt with the brush. I'm my own worst critic (as are many hobbyists) and I'm trying to put that aside in favor of enjoyment. Painting & converting at the professional levels sucked all of the joy away from the hobby which led in large part to my retirement.

 

With the first model wrapped up I mulled it over for a few days and went on to the second. I went for a lighter gray base color, wanting more of a "cool" white. A bit neater this time, playing more with the hard edges and recesses. The first one used green on the lenses, so I went with blue on this one to see the difference.

 

 

I didn't bother finishing the base as these are not the bases the army will be standing on. A bit closer now, much smoother. Muscle memory starting to come back to me.

 

The third I focused entirely on the white, ignoring pretty much everything else. I'm not going to have any bare heads in the army, so no point in working on the head. Still working out whether or not to add a dark red to the helmets for sergeants. I've added a skull to the backpack of the sergeant to indicate rank and to make them easier to ID on sight. (Not that I play or anything.)

 

 

The lighting in the pic almost makes it look unpainted, but the white is indeed painted and the smoothest white I've done in years. Trouble is, it was with the brush and if I want to finish the army some time in the next decade I will need to focus on the airbrush for the majority of the work. Fortunately power armor lends itself very well to that.

Edited July 25, 2022 by YoungWolf7

[YoungWolf7]

And now the Call of Chaos has me looking to my Khorne warband: the Blood Reavers. I've been playing around with a technique that I've used many moons ago. It involves painting a thin layer or two of Tamiya Clear Red over a metallic base. It's amazing when pulled off correctly. I didn't really pull that off with these test models. I was more concerned with which metallic to go with as I'm after a super deep red.

 

 

 

The winner so far for me is number 3. Sadly though, it would be a tough technique to pull off well for an entire army. Into the stripping tub they go.

 

I did play around with crackle medium last night with a flat red over a metallic base. That wasn't even worth taking a picture of as it didn't work right at all...

 

 

 

 

[Lexington]

Always glad to see you ‘round the old watering hole, YW7. :)

 

Loving the Marines. I’ve seen people doing similar tricks with the new Contrast paints over a metallic base, so you may want to give that a shot before giving up the idea entirely.

[YoungWolf7]

Always glad to see you ‘round the old watering hole, YW7.

 

Loving the Marines. I’ve seen people doing similar tricks with the new Contrast paints over a metallic base, so you may want to give that a shot before giving up the idea entirely.

Thanks Lex.

 

I've tried a few glazes of red ink, but it's just not the same. The Tamiya Clear series is like painting with alcohol based cough syrup. It make easy gems, lenses, etc. It was designed to replicate tail lights on scale model cars. Just paint it over a chrome part and it's magic. Granted my bottles are all over 10 years old, but they still work great. I'm letting the theme process in the background while I focus on the Star Phantoms + airbrush today. So far the results are great.

[brother tycho]

I'm a fan of your take on star phantoms, the first has a lot to offer.  You will hear an audible chime when you get some black decals on those shoulder pads :)

[YoungWolf7]

I'm a fan of your take on star phantoms, the first has a lot to offer.  You will hear an audible chime when you get some black decals on those shoulder pads

Thanks mate! I guess I need to take pics from the side. All 3 have 3D printed chapter icons on them.

 

And here they are!

 

Edited September 29, 2019 by YoungWolf7

[YoungWolf7]

Here's the results of last night's and today's work. Both were airbrushed for the white armor and the brush for the rest. I tried a different green for the lenses, not sure what to think of it. The orange came out kinda cool. The "official" scheme uses red lenses, which just looks bad in the FW paintings.

 

 

Nothing like super close up pics to highlight your flaws in brushwork.

[YoungWolf7]

*blows dust off of thread*

 

I haven't been too idle these past... 5 months. (sheesh). I just got discouraged with my photography setup. After some things I attempted didn't work out I just put the whole thing aside. I've been tinkering on builds & whatnot. Mostly Dreads and Primaris. With the Back to Badab thread active now, I'll have to switch back to my massive pile of "mini" marines. It's a good thing though. Get me out of my hobby funk and doing what I enjoy.

[YoungWolf7]

Just posting a small update on my Star Phantoms. I've been working on a prototype Tac squad. Here's the Veteran Sergeant:

 

 

The whites are almost done, just need edge highlighting and battle damage/wear & tear. C&C welcome.

[YoungWolf7]

I'm hoping to get some input from the community at large. I have my own ideas and opinions, but it's always fun to hear other people's ideas.
 
Right now, I'm working on some fiction for my Phantoms and a good portion of it revolves around their "Chapter Mortuary Cult Imperialis".
 
For those who might not be too familiar with Imperial Armo(u)r vol. 10, here's some excerpts. All text I'm quoting is copyright 2010 from Games Workshop / Forge World. My quotes won't be in the order that they appear in the book, but they make more logical sense to me in this order.
 

The Star Phantoms’ initial deployment as a Chapter was to the shrine world of Haakoneth on the edge of the ravaged Sakkara sector where they fortified one of the planet’s mountainous mausoleum-complexes to become their base of operations. From this bastion they sallied forth against the numerous foul xenoforms that plagued the region. The Star Phantoms’ neophyte-recruits were drawn from the technologically regressive barbaric remnant-populations of the surrounding systems, and their first tasks were to guard against the numerous horrors that plagued the fallen seat of the Imperium’s power. Since this time, the entire Sakkara sector has been lost to the outer void for more than a millennium, but these dark beginnings appear to have left an indelible mark on the soul of the Chapter that has remained to the present.

 

The Star Phantoms Chapter is one with a shrouded and sometimes troubled history. Their victories, though they have been many, have largely remained unsung and unremembered. For much of their past they have been left to operate alone at the edge of the Imperium breeding in them an isolationist and fiercely independent streak that has seldom embraced outside command. These vicissitudes of fate have led to the Star Phantoms clashing with Imperial authorities and fellow Adeptus Astartes on numerous occasions, and they have gained a shadowed reputation for themselves with other Imperial commanders. Matters concerning the Chapter’s relations with their fellow Space Marines have been further worsened by suspicions caused by the Star Phantoms’ secretive operations, seemingly unnatural obsession with death and strange mortuary traditions. These factors have been the cause of dark suspicions of them in the past, although full Inquisitorial investigation of the Star Phantoms after their role in the wars of the Macharian Heresy exonerated the Chapter. The Inquisition uncovered no overt heresy of thought, spirit or biology, although the Holy Ordos did note with concern the depth and complexity of the Chapter’s unique funerary cult beliefs.

Addendum: Chapter Mortuary Cult Imperialis
The existence of indigenous and often unique cult belief systems, martial philosophies and variations on the Cult Imperialis within the Adeptus Astartes is far from uncommon. They range from fairly minor ritualized Chapter traditions such as are found in many Ultramarines successors to the entirely individualistic culture of a highly unorthodox Chapter such as the Space Wolves. The so-called Mortuary Cult of the Star Phantoms is one of this more extreme variety and embraces the divinity of the God Emperor of Mankind as "Imperator Mortfiex" – Judge of the souls of the dead and keeper of martyrs. Accordingly, the brethren of the Chapter see themselves as divinely ordained killers: Angels of Death in the truest sense. Grim solemnity accompanies their proceedings at all times, and they care little for the individual glory of the warrior but are instead consumed by the task of bringing death those that defy the Emperor's will or seek to thwart his holy purpose. True to Imperial dogma, they hold as a central tenet of their beliefs "That only in death does duty end", and while they give little leeway or respite to the living, they deeply honor those who fall in the Emperor's service and hold the many martyrs of the Imperium and the dead of their Chapter with extreme reverence. As a part of their practices the Star Phantoms have been observed to hold many strange and elaborate funerary customs, and it is commonplace for battle brethren of the Chapter to maintain a personal reliquary containing votive items such as the ashes of fallen comrades as a talisman, and are also apt to use the ground dust of their enemies' bones compounded as lapping powder for their armor. The keepers and high priests of these cult practices are the Star Phantoms Chaplains. Each company and detachment has its own attached Mortuary Chaplain to administer its rites, with a separate chantry of four Reclusiarchs and a Master of Sanctity maintained as a key part of the Chapter's command structure.

 
So, my question to you is this: what do you think the Star Phantoms "strange and elaborate funerary customs" would entail? They're enough even to raise the concern of the Holy Ordos, so they probably involve a bit more than just burying a dead Space Marine or putting him on a funeral pyre. I have my own concept, but I want to hear what you think. Thanks!

Edited March 3, 2020 by YoungWolf7

[Yosef Hausakluif]

From that last part it sounds almost like the Mortifactors a bit. Funerary rights may included mummification, consecration of the deceased armor, weapons, and maybe something involving their gene seed; like a ritual where the chaplains or Libby’s go into a trance to pick the next warrior neophyte to be blessed with the legacy of the fallen warrior. Or with the phantom theme they may believe in spirits or ghosts of the fallen informing their decisions and deeds. Hope this helps.

 

And I’m partial to then green eye lenses you tried.

Edited March 3, 2020 by Yosef Hausakluif

[YoungWolf7]

Thanks Yosef. Those are ideas that I hadn’t considered.

 

I’m kind of partial to the green lenses as well. I just tried some red ones and I’m not too happy with them.

[YoungWolf7]

Further musings as I work on nailing down my color scheme and unit markings. Unfortunately, the illustrations in IA 10 are kind of all over the place. All images in this post are copyright 2010 Games Workshop / Forge World.

 

These first two don't even line up with each other.

 

 

The first is a Tactical Marine and has no discernible company marking, but a squad number on the left knee. What does the stripe on the helmet signify? I do dig the loincloth though.

The second is an Assault Marine and has inverted (black) pauldrons, and a black left knee with squad marking and a skull indicating command on the right knee?

 

 

The next two are Devastator Marines. The first has a company marking on the left knee, and a squad marking on the right superimposed over the (redundant) Devastator icon. Another with a loincloth and it does mention in the caption that he was in a command position. The second retains the redundant Devastator icon on the right knee, but moves the squad number to the right pauldron.

 

 

The last 3 are at least mostly consistent. 2 and 3 have the same company marking, 1,2 & 3 all have the squad marking on the right pauldron. 1 has a sword icon as part of the company marking. Significance? 3 has the command skull on the right knee.

 

Right now, I'm leaning towards company marking on the left knee and the squad number on the right pauldron. I'm not a fan of the "Gothic" numerals, I'll use roman numerals instead. I'm going to put loincloths (using Sternguard Vet legs) on my sergeants.

[YoungWolf7]

First prototype bolter grunt completed using the airbrush. The shadows are a bit too dark and the armor reads as gray to me, not white. I took a gamble by putting the company marking in red. It stands out too much I think. Went a little overboard on the battle damage.
 

Edited March 5, 2020 by YoungWolf7

[Noctus Cornix]

Oh boy.... yeah looks like trying to pin down literally anything for Star Phantom markings looks like a total nightmare. 

 

I've been trying to do the same for the Astral Claws (particularly when it comes to their use of lapis blue on their armour) and I thought I had it bad. I never once looked at Star Phantoms markings with any great detail and I can safely say I'm quite happy I'm not in your shoes, mate. 

 

Company Marking - As far as I can tell, this is reserved for the left knee. now the weird thing is that you have the first couple guys who are using numerical designations. However the Devestator squad from 9th company uses a heraldic pattern in a similar vein to the Dark Angels (though with different patterns as the closest pattern used by the DA was for the 6th company where these Star Phantoms are of the 9th.) At the end of the day, I'm going to say you honestly just need to pick one. It's up for your personal taste on which you prefer so go with the one you enjoy most.

 

Squad Markings - From what I can tell this either belongs on the right knee or right shoulder inset. 

 

Knee Skulls - I don't believe these have any correlation to the use of command skulls that are often implemented by other Astartes Chapters. Far as I can tell, this is just a liberal use of the Chapter Emblem through personal choice. It's the same design used for the skulls on the Chapter Heraldry, so I wouldn't honestly take this as any kind of sign that they belong with command groups, especially since some of the grunts in the Devastator squad have it. 

 

Helmet stripe - no idea. He's third company, and he's not a sergeant, but based on the use of silver trim and special tabard, perhaps it represents that he's one of the company command squad. That's purely a guess work, but it's at least an semi-educated one.

 

Black shoulder inset - Honestly I'm at a loss on this one. I was going to say that maybe it's because he's 1st company (or at least I assume he is as indicated by his left knee marking) but the Terminator also shown in the Imperial Armour book doesn't have black shoulders. Sooo yeah, I have no idea.

 

Ashen Grey - Black Helmets - As it's used only by the Terminator and the veteran sergeant, this is clearly an indicator of belonging to either veteran status. That being said, the assault marine doesn't have it. Then again they don't call the assault marine a veteran....   if I know, man.

 

 

At the end of the day, there's a lot of 'options' present here but no consistency. I think that ultimately it's up to you on what you think would look best. I have a couple thoughts, but I have to shove off for now. Hope it helps at least to some degree.

[YoungWolf7]

Thanks for the input NC. I've been following your similar efforts with the 'Claws. :)

[Noctus Cornix]

Yeah, at least with the Astral Claws it's been generally pretty easy to figure out and decide on what goes where. It's just the damn blue I can't quite figure out! 

[Grotsmasha]

Let me start off by saying the paintwork is outstanding, and your delve into, and intention of following the established markings will be fantastic.

 

But I have to ask, about the waist. Is the intent to leave it as is? If not, perfect carry on. If yes, may I offer suggestions, because as it is, it's a little jarring to look at.

 

Cheers,

Jono 

[YoungWolf7]

Let me start off by saying the paintwork is outstanding, and your delve into, and intention of following the established markings will be fantastic.

 

But I have to ask, about the waist. Is the intent to leave it as is? If not, perfect carry on. If yes, may I offer suggestions, because as it is, it's a little jarring to look at.

 

Cheers,

Jono 

Cheers.

 

I wondered if someone would point out the waist. I was experimenting with "tall scaling" as the proportions of a standard marine are all wrong. My attempt to correct it was to add a bit of height at the waist, which I tried to sculpt to match the other soft armor joints and failed miserably. I built an entire squad like this a few years back, so I'm using them to sort out my scheme and practice with my airbrushes. Primaris don't suffer from not having a waist, so no need to correct them. I've got enough parts in my bins to build 200+ regular marines, so I've got a sizable investment in the old models. Just need to find something I'm happy with before going on a building spree.

 

What would you suggest Jono?

[Grotsmasha]

Just a minor modification. Once the torso is assembled, using a razor saw ( or knife if you don't have the saw), cut the entire belt section from the torso, and then add your modelling putty (Greenstuff or milliput etc) between the belt section and upper torso. doing it this way will put the belt at the correct height, and give you a better guide for the dimentions of the waist :tu:

[YoungWolf7]

Good idea. A bit more time-consuming, but building & converting brings me the most joy.

[Yosef Hausakluif]

Regarding further ‘fluff’ for death obsessed / mortuary practices among Astartes; I seem to remember a good and lengthy description from one of the Uriel Ventris Ultramarines novels when he first visits the Mortifactors’ chapter keep/Basilica Mortis/asteroid base. It not only describes some of their funerary practices for lost brethren, but also their divining ritual amongst the chapters leaders in consulting the ‘ultimate warrior’ as they call big E. Likewise any fluff of material I’ve read about the Death Spectres has also seemed to be in line with what the Star Phantoms might believe.

 

On a codex/painting note; as others have said pic a scheme and squad/company markings you like and can execute and stick with it across the painting project and models. The Badab books give a real variety of ideas, and all different types of individuality among marines for the same chapter and not much explanation. For a unified look on my executioners; regardless of color scheme; I made their one knee pad in their chapters codex color to tie them all together visually and keep it simple too!

[YoungWolf7]

As I work from home normally, the "social distancing" efforts here in the US haven't affected me much, other than I can't go to my favorite restaurants. I've not been idle, working in projects as the muse strikes and I have bandwidth.
 
Today I thought I would share a project that I built about a month ago. This is my first Redemptor Dreadnought. I went into it knowing that I wanted to magnetize all of the weapon options. I've seen requests on other forums on how to do this, so this is my method.
 
First off, here's a torso shot as I didn't take pics as I went, just after the build.
 

 
The waist turrets have 3x1mm magnets added to them as close as possible to the two raised guide keys. (Much easier to do before you start building.)

 

 

The waist weapons had a corresponding 3x1mm magnet added. Always make sure you keep the polarities straight!

 
The right arm had the raised pegs clipped off and a hole drilled all the way through. I stacked 2 3x1mm magnets in the hole and it's a flush fit on both sides. You could use a 3x2mm magnet, but I went with what I had.

 

 

For the big guns, I used 5x2mm magnets on each side, keeping the polarity matched. In hindsight, the 3x1mm magnets would likely have been enough. But hey, these are Star Phantoms and "there ain't no kill like overkill!"

 

To illustrate what's going on here, the magnets line up like this: [+-][+-][+-]

 

 

With that sorted, I tackled the part that most folks might get stuck on, the fist. I used an old trick from the wayback machine. I dabbed a blob of paint on the mating surface of one of the guns and quickly set it in place. Once contact was made the paint transferred to the fist housing and I had a guide for where to place the magnet.

 

 

For the guns themselves, the outer wall is very thin and not conducive to holding a magnet. I filled the hollow body with Apoxie Scuplt and let it set. Green stuff or Milliput would work too, you just need to have something solid in there to glue the magnet to. Again I used 3x1mm magnets, but I stacked 2 to give it a bit of extra pull. I didn't bother doing anything with the weapon feed mounts at they are a snug fit and the friction helps hold them in place.

 

Here's the finished product:

 

 

"Bulletstorm" config.

 

 

Plasma/missile/flamer death config.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

[YoungWolf7]

*shakes off cobwebs and blows dust from the thread*

 

Well that was a bit longer than planned.

 

2020 sucked as bad for me as everyone else. But I did embark on a hobby journey which took a completely unexpected turn. I ended up diving headfirst into the realm of resin 3D printing back in Feb 2021. In the past 6 months my Mono X has consumed more liters of resin than I care to admit, but I am happy.

 

The journey took me through learning the printing process, to supporting my own prints, and to meshmixing and creating my own sculpts. Something so liberating about it that it's hard to describe. But enough of that, on to the results!

 

First off, I found a great set of STLs for Firstborn torsos. Here's a side by side example:

 

Same width, but the chest is slightly longer which drops the belt about 1mm. Which frankly it needed.

 

Here's a stock plastic Firstborn with 3D printed arms & bolter that I combined into a single piece for ease of assembly:

 

 

Mold lines and all. Bleah. Plus he's short compared to a Primaris.

 

Now here's a Firstborn using only the plastic legs:

 

 

My Star Phantoms vision is beginning to take shape. The printed shoulder pad is a custom sculpt that I had commissioned. And then another sculptor I follow released a set of "true scale" Mk.6 & Mk.7 legs. I was taken aback by what a huge difference they made:

 

 

100% 3d printed. Proportional? Check! Custom look & feel? Check! no mold lines to clean up? Triple-check! (The bases were tests for a different supporting style that still need some work.)

 

Finally, here's the evolution of my journey in picture form:

 

 

Finally! Marines I can be proud of. The entire Star Phantoms 3rd company is underway. More soon...

[Shovellovin]

Wow! What a difference seeing the size of your first models compared to your most recent. Looking forward to seeing more. 
The truescale legs make a huge difference. I’ll have to hunt down that sculptor you follow. Excellent stuff. 
 

Will you be putting together an entire company?