My Raptors journey. (WIP)

[Sergeant_Angle]

I've dabbled in 40k since the start of 5th edition when I got my very first set, Assault on Blackreach. I was pretty young back then and over the next couple of years I built a modest space marine army and a small Sisters of Battle army (all that metal back then...) 

 

After a few years I sold all those models as they were poorly built and painted by me.

 

Since then I started building a new army around 7th edition and now have a sizeable marine army again. Although I never played 8th I did get some Primaris models around the time Dark Imperium released. Then I got rather disillusioned with the hobby as medical issues meant that I have trouble with my hands and painting is very hard for me. SO I ended up putting my army in storage unpainted.

 

With 9th here I've got excited again and have decided to push on and try my best anyway as the boys in green deserve to be fielded in full colour.

 

So I haven't painted many yet but I will share what I have done so far. My Raptors I've decided to go for a pretty dirty look, like they've been fighting in a jungle for a while. Please let me know what you think.

 

Here is my conversion WIP for Lias Issodon: The bolter is a conversion I made by chopping the upper receiver off a normal gun and attaching a new one from a sniper (an Anvil industries part i think)

 

 

WIP scout snipers: I did a smilar thing with some of their guns and gave them gas masks to give off a special forces vibe.

 

 

WIP tactical marines: I wanted to try and get as many scoped bolters as I could in their hands.

 

 

Almost complete Las/Plas razorback: This conversion uses plasma cannons (I know the rules are plasma rifle) because i think it fits a vehicle better.

 

 

Lastly a quick test for plasma as I want to paint some hellblasters after I finish these units.

 

 

 

 

 

[WAR]

Welcome to the Ravenspire Brother.

 

For scopes I would normally recommend Anvil Industries but i see that you have some of their scopes and bits already. 

 

And is your user name from Hot Fuzz? 

Edited July 14, 2020 by war009

[Sergeant_Angle]

Welcome to the Ravenspire Brother.

 

For scopes I would normally recommend Anvil Industries but i see that you have some of their scopes and bits already. 

 

And is your user name from Hot Fuzz? 

I had lots of spare scoped bolters from the sternguard kit i think? Yeah I got some anvil stuff a few years ago I need to check what sort of stuff they have these days.

 

Yes it 100% is! (Leslie Tiller WAS murdered just saying)

[WAR]

I love that movie. 

[Dracos]

Welcome to the Ravenspire. I feel you on issues with painting after a year of chemo myself. I do most my base stuff with spray cans ... because I'm too old and cheap to invest in getting good with an airbrush. I would suggest it as the way to learn to paint to anyone starting out. 

 

I did want to mention that even though Lias Issodon has been relegated to Legends, that a Phobos Chapter Master can be worked up to be a pretty good replacement on the table top. DOesnt mean much usually except in a competitive setting but thought I'd mention it. I love the Raptors and always picture them as the mentors to my Warhawks. I was hoping Lias might cross the Rubicon ... and who knows he just might when the new Forge World books come out. I doubt it but hope :)

 

Hobby On

[Sergeant_Angle]

Welcome to the Ravenspire. I feel you on issues with painting after a year of chemo myself. I do most my base stuff with spray cans ... because I'm too old and cheap to invest in getting good with an airbrush. I would suggest it as the way to learn to paint to anyone starting out. 

 

I did want to mention that even though Lias Issodon has been relegated to Legends, that a Phobos Chapter Master can be worked up to be a pretty good replacement on the table top. DOesnt mean much usually except in a competitive setting but thought I'd mention it. I love the Raptors and always picture them as the mentors to my Warhawks. I was hoping Lias might cross the Rubicon ... and who knows he just might when the new Forge World books come out. I doubt it but hope

 

Hobby On

Yeah funnily enough my problems are from immune suppression too (not chemo specifically) I feel my Deathguard green spray is going to be my crutch. I plan to get the start collecting vanguard set soon so maybe i'll play with the phobos LT. Though I have about 90 marines and half dozen vehicles to paint before i'll let myself buy that box....

[WAR]

Don't feel bad about your pile of plastic. Its all part of the hobby. I have more unbuilt and unpainted models than I possibly could have time to build. 

[Dracos]

I use army green from army painter paints as it’s cheaper. I’ve never had a problem with them as long as weather was okay. It’s not a crutch ... it’s a tool. Just like a brush though I suggest using light coat at proper distance. I found when I get rushed or lazy I get to close or spray too slow it ends up thicker than I like.

 

PS: easier to add some in the hard to get places with a brush later than to take off too thick on the surface areas

Edited July 15, 2020 by Dracos

[Sergeant_Angle]

Don't feel bad about your pile of plastic. Its all part of the hobby. I have more unbuilt and unpainted models than I possibly could have time to build. 

 

I've never fielded a fully painted army in game before so i'm determined to get there in 9th!

I use army green from army painter paints as it’s cheaper. I’ve never had a problem with them as long as weather was okay. It’s not a crutch ... it’s a tool. Just like a brush though I suggest using light coat at proper distance. I found when I get rushed or lazy I get to close or spray too slow it ends up thicker than I like.

 

PS: easier to add some in the hard to get places with a brush later than to take off too thick on the surface areas

That's some good advice. I had to strip one or two because the spray dried with too much moisture in the air. For future sets I buy (after my horde of grey men are green) I will probably spray before assembly. 

[Sergeant_Angle]

UPDATE 1

 

So for my first update I feel that I have been quite productive (despite hand pain). I've managed to paint a full unit for the first time in years, I'm quite pleased with them.

 

 

Moving forward I'm torn between:

 

Another tactical squad

 

Or some Hellblasters

 

I think I'm leaning towards doing the hellblasters as painting another 10 tactical marines might feel monotonous. Onto a modelling project. I'm just playing with a Librarian from the Dark Vengeance box. Does anyone have advice on the best way to remove all that DA iconography?

 

 

 

[WAR]

 

Don't feel bad about your pile of plastic. Its all part of the hobby. I have more unbuilt and unpainted models than I possibly could have time to build. 

 

I've never fielded a fully painted army in game before so i'm determined to get there in 9th!

I use army green from army painter paints as it’s cheaper. I’ve never had a problem with them as long as weather was okay. It’s not a crutch ... it’s a tool. Just like a brush though I suggest using light coat at proper distance. I found when I get rushed or lazy I get to close or spray too slow it ends up thicker than I like.

 

PS: easier to add some in the hard to get places with a brush later than to take off too thick on the surface areas

That's some good advice. I had to strip one or two because the spray dried with too much moisture in the air. For future sets I buy (after my horde of grey men are green) I will probably spray before assembly. 

 

 

Only fully painted armies iI have fielded was my 1st all Scout army that was painted OD Green and My 10th Company Raptors in the start of 8e.......It is a nice feeling compared to all the games with partial painted models.

 

 

UPDATE 1

 

So for my first update I feel that I have been quite productive (despite hand pain). I've managed to paint a full unit for the first time in years, I'm quite pleased with them.

 

 

 

 

 

Moving forward I'm torn between:

 

Another tactical squad

 

 

Or some Hellblasters

 

 

I think I'm leaning towards doing the hellblasters as painting another 10 tactical marines might feel monotonous. Onto a modelling project. I'm just playing with a Librarian from the Dark Vengeance box. Does anyone have advice on the best way to remove all that DA iconography?

 

 

 

 

 

 

My suggestion, paint in small batches. Do 5 tactical marines then 5 hellblasters then the other 5 tactical marines. It will help. That is how I was able to paint my Grey Knights so quickly compared to trying to paint almost 50 models at one time......yeah what was i thinking.

 

On the DV Librarian i did for my crimson fists....never painted him I ditched his sword army and replaced it with another marine arm made him like he was two handed casting. I used an exacto knife to scrape off the DA chest logo. 

[Sergeant_Angle]

UPDATE 2

 

It's a pretty small update this time.

 

I have a large box of older metal GW models. I was looking through when I founds this old metal Vindicare Assassin. I couldn't help but paint him up immediately. As Raptors take pride in being marksmen it might make sense to have one of these guys on board.

 

 

I wasn't confident painting and highlighting the armour as black. So instead I primed grey, dry brushed black in one direction and then dry brushed again with deathworld green. I'm pretty pleased with the result. My Raptors are supposed to be jungle fighting so I think the assassin being camouflaged somewhat isn't too out there. 

Edited July 18, 2020 by Sergeant_Angle

[Sergeant_Angle]

UPDATE 3

 

It's time for another update. It's been just over a week since last time and i'm pretty happy with what I have got done.

 

First... Is a second completed tactical squad. I used the same method of painting my plasma on the power sword for the Sgt. I'm fairly pleased with the result.

 

 

Next up... Speaking of plasma. I have also finished a Hellblaster squad.

 

 

So I decided to turn 5/15 of my Intercessors into "Veterans" I gave these guys a bit more kit than the regular guys will have. They will also have veteran markings on one their knee pads when I paint them.

 

 

I gave the Sergeant a hammer. The internet says they are good  to add

 

 

And finally.. Though I have a fairly sizeable pile of shame. Inspiration struck and I bought this box.

 

 

If you notice the bag of heads. It's all beaks  my plan is to give every Phobos marine a beak (including 10 Reivers I already own) I found this image when browsing some second hand models that inspired me.

 

 

I am going to paint some stuff I have first before I get my teeth into this box (Well maybe i'll make one test model...) I also have some Ideas for the Supressors but that can wait for now.

 

I'd love to hear some thoughts. What do people think?

 

 

 

 

 

[Alcyon]

Nice work, always feels good to finish a squad. I always loved that Veteran Sergeant model with the auspex and the HH-era Heavy Bolter looks great. All beaks on the Phobos looks pretty cool and I think your Veteran additions add a lot to the ETB Intercessors. 

 

If I had to be critical I'd say your scheme looks pretty flat, even for reasonable marines with stealth inclinations. At the end of the day these guys are display models for a tabletop game and I think people often go very subtle with their colour choices. Personally, I think red and green tend to clash, and I would experiment with something like a lighter drybrush/highlight colour or a contrasting "highlight" colour you could use for company markings or something that would help the minis stand out on the tabletop. It could even be grey, black or white as long as its crisp and highlighted pretty aggressively. I know you're going for a dirty jungle look though and I think that's often hard to balance with making them fun to look at with contrast. I also see some mold lines and pieces of sprue you could scrape off for a cleaner look before priming.

 

All that said, you've already painted these guys up and they're certainly Battlefield ready - Miniac would say, keep them around and play with them so you always have a benchmark for where you were as you continue to improve. Keep it up and I'm stoked to see the finished Phobos!

[Sergeant_Angle]

Nice work, always feels good to finish a squad. I always loved that Veteran Sergeant model with the auspex and the HH-era Heavy Bolter looks great. All beaks on the Phobos looks pretty cool and I think your Veteran additions add a lot to the ETB Intercessors. 

 

If I had to be critical I'd say your scheme looks pretty flat, even for reasonable marines with stealth inclinations. At the end of the day these guys are display models for a tabletop game and I think people often go very subtle with their colour choices. Personally, I think red and green tend to clash, and I would experiment with something like a lighter drybrush/highlight colour or a contrasting "highlight" colour you could use for company markings or something that would help the minis stand out on the tabletop. It could even be grey, black or white as long as its crisp and highlighted pretty aggressively. I know you're going for a dirty jungle look though and I think that's often hard to balance with making them fun to look at with contrast. I also see some mold lines and pieces of sprue you could scrape off for a cleaner look before priming.

 

All that said, you've already painted these guys up and they're certainly Battlefield ready - Miniac would say, keep them around and play with them so you always have a benchmark for where you were as you continue to improve. Keep it up and I'm stoked to see the finished Phobos!

I also love the HH-era heavy bolter if I recall correctly I got a tactical sprue from the Betrayal at Calth box on ebay a few years ago. I'm trying to get one auspex per squad in my troops. 

 

I appreciate your honestly in regards to the finish and painting. I am, to be frank, not a talented painter and struggle for various reasons. But I certainly agree that, the reds especially need to stand out more. As for the mold lines these units were already basecoated a long time ago. Going forward i'll be sure the make everything cleaner.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Sergeant_Angle

[Alcyon]

No need to give any excuses - painting and hobbying is a challenging, time-consuming pursuit and to have finished models for the tabletop is a bigger artistic accomplishment than many others ever achieve. 

 

What's your recipe for the plasma coils?

[WAR]

I like the mix of armours in the tactical squad and the idea of all beaky vanguard is nice.  A way to make the red pop (on scopes and eyes) is us Storm host silver and either the contrast reds or spirit stone red from GW.  Thats what I did for my chaplains helm eyes

[Frater Cornelius]

Aw man, those LasPlas RBs. The nostalgia is real!

[Dracos]

Aw man, those LasPlas RBs. The nostalgia is real!

 

I know it's getting close to (American) football season .... at first glance I saw LasPlas Running Backs lol. 

[Sergeant_Angle]

Aw man, those LasPlas RBs. The nostalgia is real!

I hope they don't get shoved in legends I have two 

 

 

The second Las/Plas it is an original one behind the other tanks. The three in front are two OG vindicators (i have a third just not in my apartment right now) and the middle one is an OG Immolator I converted into a heavy flamer Razorback

 

OLD SM TANKS ARE BEST SM TANKS

Edited July 28, 2020 by Sergeant_Angle

[Frater Cornelius]

 

Aw man, those LasPlas RBs. The nostalgia is real!

I hope they don't get shoved in legends I have two 

 

 

 

The second Las/Plas it is an original one behind the other tanks. The three in front are two OG vindicators (i have a third just not in my apartment right now) and the middle one is an OG Immolator I converted into a heavy flamer Razorback

 

OLD SM TANKS ARE BEST SM TANKS

 

Legends? These things need to be put into the Chapter Relics sections by now. This is history right there, boys.

[duz_]

Great work! And excellent choice going beakies all the way :tu:

 

That HH heavy bolter is awesome

[Sergeant_Angle]

UPDATE 4 - It's Been A While

 

I had intended to stick with this but lack of motivation and general life just got in the way. Towards the end of last year, I made the pilgrimage to Warhammer World, with some friends. I got massively inspired to pick back up where I left this project. So, since the start of this year I picked up my paint brush and have made a lot of progress, so I thought it might be a good idea to finally update this post. So there may be a wall of images and text inbound.  

 

First of all we have my Chapter Master Lias Issodon that I finally got around to painting. Though I am feeling doubtful that he will get Legends rules for 10th edition, I plan to make an updated version of him in Phobos armour that will stick to the spirit of this first model of him I built.

 

 

 

 

Next up we have various Characters that I have completed. Including A tech marine I made using an old Gravis Captain I kitbashed with a Master of the Forge to create a tech marine. It was one of my first more ambitious conversions so it's not my finest work.

 

 

This next one is a Primaris Apothecary I made using an Intercessor as base and then I added Apothecary parts from the old command squad box.

 

Next Up is Phobos Characters. I fell in love with the aesthetic of Phobos (with beaks) and have leaned heavily into it for my army.

 

 

 

When Leviathan dropped I was fortunate to have a friend who plays nids. So swapping ensued leaving me with two marine halves of the box. One of the Phobos Lt's in the box was converted purely for looks and the second was fully converted into a Phobos Captain using various bits from phobos kits and some 3d printed beaky heads.

 

 

This is the character section done, overall I am pretty pleased with them.
I am beginning to realise this will end up becoming monstrously large so I am going to post this for now and add more of what I have completed later on today or tomorrow.

 

I'd love to hear what people think of them!

 

 

 

 

 

[WAR]

Welcome back to the Ravenspire @Sergeant_Angle nice update!

[Sergeant_Angle]

UPDATE 4 - Continued

 

So earlier today I posted my completed characters. Next up is my completed infantry and vehicles. I'll post the models I am currently working tommorow.

 

 

Like I have said before I have leaned heavily into Phobos with beaky heads. The second Infiltrator squad was converted from Reivers, with the coms antennae and bolt carbine scopes from the Infiltrator/Incursor kit. They need transfers and basing but i'd consider them complete as i'm doing that this weekend.

 

 

Some vehicles now.

 

 

 

Finally, something I am truly proud of, a fully magnetised Gladiator which has been converted to be on tracks.