The Last Army I'll Ever Do (and other things)

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Hey everyone, recently I decided to retire from wargaming forever (some folks would state that I am too young of a man to seriously consider retirement from anything, but I digress). I did some soul searching, and have decided to move on with my life into a different direction.
....

....

....

....

....

....

....

That being said, I decided it's time to go out with a bang  

I am returning to the Minotaurs chapter of Space Marines, an army left for too long unfinished. Although primarily having focused my wargaming efforts on 30k for the last several years, I have decided that this will be the last army I ever paint or collect. Once I finish I finish with this project, I'll be done for good. This army represents a point in the past when I was younger than I am now, and as such, the painting quality of my existing units is... not great. But that's all good! I'm here to have fun (though expect the new things to look particularly jazzy  ). I don't have my existing models with me as I write this post, so here is a sneak peak of the first members of my new Tactical Squad (my 4th Minotaurs Tactical Squad).

 

 

These Battle Brothers still have some work to do tidying up before they are ready to be painted. Both are kitbashed from the regular Tactical Squad and the Mark III Tactical Squad. The Space Marine on the left carries the Melta Gun that comes with the regular box yet wears Mark III Power Armour, while the one on the right wears the more common (as of M41) Mark VII Armour, yet carries the Heavy Bolter found in the Mark III box. I know it's not much so far, but I will have more on this Tactical Squad as well as overall Minotaurs progress very soon, so stay tuned.  


....
....

....

....

....

....

 

Surprise, I'm still here!

Although the Minotaurs are the last army I am ever doing for any wargame ever, and I will be proactively moving closer and closer to that end destination (and yes, I do have a set plan of exactly how many Space Marines that is), who is to say that I can't work on side projects here and there? It's a loophole  

Here is a (currently unpainted) Eldar Farseer:

 

Here's some quick lore about where this Eldar comes from (it's the homebrew kind of lore, so strap yourselves in for a particularly bumpy ride):

-The Farseer comes from the very minor Craftworld of Jhul'yllant. It's genuinely one of the smallest, and practically no one even lives there! (Even by Eldar standards). In ages long past, the Craftworld was hidden from the rest of the galaxy by the mystical powers of the Eldar, in a super secret location that NOBODY could ever find it. But the Eldar of Jhul'yllant have decided it is time that it left it's hiding place. 

Where is it hidden?

In the core of a massive ocean planet in a system now controlled by the Imperium. 

It's a backwater system, only one of the planets is inhabited (though two of it's planets are also occupied by the Imperium), and that's an Imperial staging world where forces being sent to fight in more important places are gathered together, but is currently manned by a solely by a light infantry regiment of Imperial Guard, an Imperial Guard Independent Tank Company, and a wing of Imperial Navy Valkyries. Will the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor that goes to investigate the rumoured Eldar sightings in the system be enough to stop the Eldar of Jhyl'yllant before it's too late? We'll have to find out.

Also, some quick notes:
-Jhul'yllant doesn't really have many forces. Instead, it's more just Farseers going on adventures around the galaxy, and bringing usually only a few dozen warriors at most as their personal bodyguard, and even then, forces THAT big are only in the rarest of circumstances. Also, multiple Farseers often work together to combine their efforts to achieve a common goal. Releasing the Craftworld from it's hiding place will require all the Eldar of Jhul'yllant to work together! How will they achieve this? Guess we'll find out eventually too!"

....

....

....

....

Next, I'll leave you some pictures of some of my Horus Heresy stuff (if you haven't guessed from my name and profile picture by now, they're Dark Angels Legion). These pictures were on my old thread, but everything I do now will be collected here so I will repost:

 

I might return to them, or maybe not, we'll just have to see. I also have some Forge World Badab War characters (not Minotaurs surprisingly) that I aim to get painted up super soon, at which point I'll share here: Carab Culln, Lufgt Huron, and Armenneus Valthex.

Thankyou for reading guys, and I promise that this thread, although not got much RN, will only get more exciting from here on!

[Beaky Brigade]

I'm sorry to hear about your pending hobby retirement, I'm sure it's the best thing for your own circumstances and I hope you enjoy the last project!

Will you be keeping your finished army as a memento or will it be a complete detox of plastic crack and rulebooks?

 

[Veteran Sergeant]

As somebody who has quit wargaming at least twice, it's always good to take breaks if it doesn't entertain you anymore.  I spent most of my 20s and early 30s with the Warhammer stuff boxed away, then randomly got the urge to come back.  Then I shelved it again for a few years when I lost interest in 40K, and when I came back again, I work mostly on Historicals skirmish games, board games, and the 40K Boxed Games I have (Space Hulk, Blackstone Fortress, DW:O, etc).  Stuff that tickles my modeling and painting fancy.

 

But, if this really is your last project, hopefully it's a good one.

[lhg033]

Dangerous time to quit given the rumors of a new 30k box coming out but then, as you say - going out with a bang!

 

Personally, I've never really quit but I have had some very extended breaks where things have been in storage/the loft etc and I just havent been interested. Randomly, it was terrain that hooked me back in the last time. I found it's almost therapeutic to make and paint sector mechanicus walkways. 

 

Anyway,.... Nice DA's and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do. Good luck to you with getting out (queue the music   "....Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place...") 

[BrandX]

As someone who is just now getting into this hobby, can i ask why you are getting out? If it is purely personal then i understand your silence, but if theres some reason that might be a warning for me to not make my first purchase, would you mind sharing that information please?

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Thankyou very much for the nice words everyone! Don't have much progress to update you guys on yet, but I'll answer some questions:

 

 

 

I'm sorry to hear about your pending hobby retirement, I'm sure it's the best thing for your own circumstances and I hope you enjoy the last project!

Will you be keeping your finished army as a memento or will it be a complete detox of plastic crack and rulebooks?

 

Good question! I will be clearing out a bunch of my stuff atleast (either selling it off or giving it away). Not sure what I'll do with my Minotaurs, it's possible they might be left in storage with a friend or relative for the future, though I think my dream for them would be if one of my friends that I'm tightest with from the 40k community took care of them

 

 

As somebody who has quit wargaming at least twice, it's always good to take breaks if it doesn't entertain you anymore.  I spent most of my 20s and early 30s with the Warhammer stuff boxed away, then randomly got the urge to come back.  Then I shelved it again for a few years when I lost interest in 40K, and when I came back again, I work mostly on Historicals skirmish games, board games, and the 40K Boxed Games I have (Space Hulk, Blackstone Fortress, DW:O, etc).  Stuff that tickles my modeling and painting fancy.

 

But, if this really is your last project, hopefully it's a good one.

Thankyou for the encouragement!

 

 

Dangerous time to quit given the rumors of a new 30k box coming out but then, as you say - going out with a bang!

 

Personally, I've never really quit but I have had some very extended breaks where things have been in storage/the loft etc and I just havent been interested. Randomly, it was terrain that hooked me back in the last time. I found it's almost therapeutic to make and paint sector mechanicus walkways. 

 

Anyway,.... Nice DA's and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do. Good luck to you with getting out (queue the music   "....Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place...") 

Yeah honestly the idea of curating a collection of terrain has in recent memory been more of a draw than it used to be. Thankyou very much! I'm glad the 30k community will be getting some new stuff

 

 

As someone who is just now getting into this hobby, can i ask why you are getting out? If it is purely personal then i understand your silence, but if theres some reason that might be a warning for me to not make my first purchase, would you mind sharing that information please?

I think it's a very complex thing. First up, wargaming and miniatures don't really appeal to me like they used to. I think its to do with interests changing (as they do with everyone over time), but for me personally wargaming can also represent the worst part of my psyche, the part that gets attached to material goods, and its kind of almost like I can get very zoned out and lose some of my personality when engaging with wargaming (something I have to be careful with), which is worse when you consider that 95% of the time I don't like it when I do it so it's over nothing.

I think this segues into the next point about consumerism. It is very easy to fall into the pit of just throwing away money at wargaming. Its easy to see something impulsively and kind of just deciding "I want" and buying, which like, is something that happens to all of us no matter what the product, but I think with wargaming that happens a lot to the best of us. We see something we don't really want, but GW and other miniatures manufacturers are good salespeople, and so you think you want it. My next statement is very controversial, but: Games Workshop is ridiculously overpriced. People have been arguing over this for many many years, but the price keeps going up at a ridiculous rate, even for kits that have less in them than older kits. Atleast that's the case here in Australia. Compare to other miniatures manufacturers and you'll see. Primaris Characters that cost AUD $50 or $60 or whatnot are a perfect example. 10 years ago, I don't even think an entire Tactical Squad of 10 (which, mind you, each model had more options) cost that much.  Also, compare to manufacturers like Warlord Games, where you get much better value. And when you get caught up in the hype or passion or whatever it is, its easy to not realise how much you are getting overcharged. I'll be the first to admit that this project is utlising overpriced goods, but whatever. Point is, I'm not saying don't buy, but I think the best advice I can give is to think about each purchase carefully, and make sure its what you really want, and always consider what else you could get for that money instead. This advice could go for any good or service, but I think ESPECIALLY with Wargaming, and ESPECIALLY with Games Workshop on top of that, keep that in mind.

Next up is the setting. Warhammer 40,000 is a very bleak, awful universe. It's that way by design. But I think as I've gotten older, I've realised it can be very gratuitous and that just because its part of this very extreme over the top setting, doesn't mean its always tastefully/artfully/appropriately done. Like 40k has the most horrific topics imaginable, which I wouldn't be able to repeat on this forum even if I wanted to, and I feel like it kind of desensitises you, which I don't always think is necessarily a good thing. I believe we as humans should be horrified at terrible and cruel things, so I think it's important to make sure that diving into the universe doesn't have that effect of desensitizing you. But then wargaming in general is depicting one of the most horrific ways imaginable, war, in an idealised, clean escapist way that you enjoy, and I think as I've gotten older I've just become more turned off by that in general, because I think its important that we as people still naturally recognise that horror for what it is.

Also, I think 40k in particular can be taken the wrong way, even with the direction the official lore goes in. Like I think originally it was more of a satire or like making fun of things in an over the top ridiculous way, and over time that gets lost more and more as the perception changes to a setting which should be taken seriously. Like the Imperium I think gets misinterpreted as being the good guys (I guess because they're human protagonists?). Space Marines are murderous fascist xenophobes, ideas of heresy represent the ultimate dictatorship where there are no personal freedoms, but the problem is that it can be easy to see these interesting characters and think they're good guys and I think sometimes people might have their beliefs and ideology affected by that. I think because of the depiction of this, people who seriously already have those bad beliefs and ideologies flock to things like 40k (whether it is intended to be a satire of that or not originally, it becomes what it was mocking).

Point is, you gotta be careful with this stuff. Most people who play are perfectly fine human beings who recognise the horror for what it is, and wouldn't try to justify it. Just make sure you stay as one of them. But for me personally wargaming in general is best described as being draining on my soul if that makes any sense, so this last project is kind of to recapture some of the excitement it brought me when I was younger, and to then be cleanly done for good after that.

However, despite all the negative things, I want to say that Bolter and Chainsword is, in general, a really awesome community. I read the forums here for years and years before I ever made an account, and I think the folks here are just people passionate about creatively exploring this setting through forging really cool collections and narrative (and having fun with the game too), so I think you will generally feel very welcomed here. Can't stress enough how awesome Bolter and Chainsword is, and it is probably one of the main reasons I've even come back to finish this off in a clean but exciting manner.

Anyway, those are just my personal reasons, but just so long as you remember yourself and know how to look at the material for what it is and not get caught up in it, and just are careful with what you buy, you should be all good! And you'll always have the nice community here to help you.

Sorry for the really long tangent essay, promise I'll try and keep everything much more fun from now on

EDIT: Also, forgot to say about elitism. I'll give you an example: I saw a youtube video a number of months back where a guy was talking about "is it ok to use 40k models in 30k" and he pulled up a picture of an Iron Warriors Land Raider, which, although the 40k model, was being used in someone's 30k army. Now, ignoring for a moment that that model of Land Raider was actually used back then so was canonically correct still, this dude just was hating on this model that someone else had painted that he found a picture of and stating that as a 30k player you have a right to get angry over such things and feel insulted. Now, if he doesn't want to have that model in his army, that's fine. But he doesn't have the right to go around dragging other people down because what they do with their own army that they have paid for themselves and is none of his business doesn't line up 100% with canon. Anyway, the point is, sometimes there is the rare person who has that kind of attitude, which isn't ok, and I think I also want to get away from that kind of.

Also, Games Workshop doesn't like third party parts, which I completely understand, but knowing you can't take your army into a GW store if its not the official model with no third party bits does tend to put me off a bit, but that doesn't really affect me since I haven't played in years, so I digress. Point is, do what you want, and don't let anyone deter you from doing what you want with your army (though you might be able to play in stores). But yeah, I think what I mean to say with this edit is that there can be a lot of toxicity, so it's nice to get away from that

Edited June 21, 2021 by Calibanite Knight Angel

[BrandX]

Oh wow.... thank you for you insights, that all  sounds awful. 

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Oh wow.... thank you for you insights, that all  sounds awful. 

 

It's not all bad, but I guess it's good to know about the bad things before diving into anything.

 

 

Here is a WIP of my Apothecary:

 

 

 

I'm thinking of calling him Ision, however, I'm not too fond of actually giving my Minotaurs names for the same reason why none of them are helmetless: I think they're some of the most dehumanized Space Marines out there, and so I kind of really want to portray that. These guys are the opposites of heroes, and the attitudes of the Minotaurs and their ways of war see each individual Space Marine as being more expendable than those in other Chapters (though this doesn't mean they'll just throw them away needlessly, but there is definitely less care there). I decided to have him carrying a Bolt Pistol over a Chainsword because, even though he's a Minotaur, I just wanted to stick to the image of him being primarily a medic above all else, so a side arm screams personal defense more than a Chainsword.

 

He's very much WIP at this point, and is actually the first model I've used the Minotaurs Shoulder Pads on (I bought them when they were going out of production a couple of years back)! The rest of the Command Squad, as well as the Captain, and a few lucky Tactical Marines, will get the rest of the fancy shoulder pads. There seems to be two main ways of painting Apothecaries: One way is in the chapter colours, with the helmet, Narthecium, and maybe a shoulder and knee pad in white. The other way is predominantly white, but with the shoulder pad carrying the Chapter Symbol in normal Chapter colours. I'm 90% sure I'll do it in the mostly white way so that he stands out, and also because making him a mix of whites, bronzes and reds might not work out so well, whereas this way he'll have a much more refined look (the shoulder pad will have a lot of red, as that's the colour the Minotaurs use to denote veterans).

Edited June 26, 2021 by Calibanite Knight Angel

[Brother Christopher]

Calibanite Knight Angel, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I can personally relate to most of the things you listed in post #6 in an eerily familiar way. Subjectively speaking, I think you've made the best decision possible and I wish you all the luck and resolve you need to stick to it. In a way I almost envy you - you have a decision and a clear, achievable goal.

 

40K as a whole isn't bad - the game can be fun, the painting can be fun, the collecting can be fun. But on the other hand, that can be very tricky and situational. The game can be fun if you have cool people to play with and/or your army has good rules. The painting can be fun, but it's not that great if your existing collection appears to be reaching its expiration date (say, classic space marines) or the core of the army you chose consists of 20-year-old sculpts. The collecting can be fun, but you really have to be cautious not to fall into marketing pitfalls and pursuit of limited availability of recent releases.

 

I'd love to close this chapter in my life, but at the same time I do not have it in me quit - I've invested too much time in collecting what I have and painting it (my purchases have gotten out of hand a couple of years ago and I ended up with ~330 models) to sell it off or - even better - burn it! The B&C community also helps a lot to keep me motivated. However, I'm not happy with what GW has been doing in terms of their pricing, publishing, manufacturing and marketing practices (as you aptly pointed out), as well as the recent lore appears to be far less appealing to me.

 

So, with a couple of relapses, I decided to stop buying new stuff and focus on painting my models to a standard that I am comfortable with and that should look great in an army showcase photo and/or on the tabletop. I think that even though I'm a generally reasonable, cool-headed person, I can't seem to get over the whole Primaris thing. So my army is my final project, too (if you're interested, please do visit my thread). It's just a big, bloated mess with probably enough models for 2-3 other projects. Let me stress that after reading your thoughts, I do think we're on the same boat and it was very nice and reassuring to meet someone with similar reflections.

 

I will be keenly following your progress!

 

Would you care to share how large of a force do you have in mind?

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Calibanite Knight Angel, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I can personally relate to most of the things you listed in post #6 in an eerily familiar way. Subjectively speaking, I think you've made the best decision possible and I wish you all the luck and resolve you need to stick to it. In a way I almost envy you - you have a decision and a clear, achievable goal.

 

40K as a whole isn't bad - the game can be fun, the painting can be fun, the collecting can be fun. But on the other hand, that can be very tricky and situational. The game can be fun if you have cool people to play with and/or your army has good rules. The painting can be fun, but it's not that great if your existing collection appears to be reaching its expiration date (say, classic space marines) or the core of the army you chose consists of 20-year-old sculpts. The collecting can be fun, but you really have to be cautious not to fall into marketing pitfalls and pursuit of limited availability of recent releases.

 

I'd love to close this chapter in my life, but at the same time I do not have it in me quit - I've invested too much time in collecting what I have and painting it (my purchases have gotten out of hand a couple of years ago and I ended up with ~330 models) to sell it off or - even better - burn it! The B&C community also helps a lot to keep me motivated. However, I'm not happy with what GW has been doing in terms of their pricing, publishing, manufacturing and marketing practices (as you aptly pointed out), as well as the recent lore appears to be far less appealing to me.

 

So, with a couple of relapses, I decided to stop buying new stuff and focus on painting my models to a standard that I am comfortable with and that should look great in an army showcase photo and/or on the tabletop. I think that even though I'm a generally reasonable, cool-headed person, I can't seem to get over the whole Primaris thing. So my army is my final project, too (if you're interested, please do visit my thread). It's just a big, bloated mess with probably enough models for 2-3 other projects. Let me stress that after reading your thoughts, I do think we're on the same boat and it was very nice and reassuring to meet someone with similar reflections.

 

I will be keenly following your progress!

 

Would you care to share how large of a force do you have in mind?

Thankyou, it’s really nice to have someone in the same boat as me. I’m away from my computer RN but I’ll give your thread a follow once I am able in a couple of days :) (Bolter and Chainsword on phone just confuses me TBH).

 

So here is the plan, divided into a list of already have (some of which is finished, some of which is half finished, some of which is finished but I plan to rework) and “new additions” (things that I have gotten since starting this thread or am going to add in the future to finish it):

 

ALREADY HAVE

-Asterion Moloc

-Ivanus Enkomi

-5 Assault Terminators with Thunder Hammer and Stormshields (have actually recently ordered some awesome third party Minotaurs Storm Shields that they will have to fit in as Moloc’s retinue)

-3 Tactical Squads

-Land Raider Crusader

-5 Vanguard Veterans (going to take apart and rework Sergeant with Assault Swuad and MarkIV parts to represent Sergeant Thoul, depicted in the Fall of Orpheus)

-Sergeant Kraatos (FW event exclusive from 2014, I got him back then thanks to EBay) + 4 other Devastator Marines

-Predator Executioner (unassembled. Originally for Minotaurs, then re-allocated to 30k Dark Angels, and now back to Minotaurs)

-Storm Eagle Gunship (same as Predator Executioner)

-Librarian (Assembled, unpainted)

 

NEW ADDITIONS

-Tactical Squad (some squad members shown already on this thread)

-Command Squad (same as Tactical Squad)

-Captain (big conversion/kitbash process to recreate an awesome Minotaurs Captain from the Bolter and Chainsword thread that inspired me to play Minotaurs in the first place several years ago. I have received that forum member’s permission, and will reveal more details soon)

-Tactical Squad (yes, I’m going to get a 5th one, but this will have boarding shields)

-Hecaton Aiakos

-Regular Dreadnought

-2x Rhinos

-2x Razorbacks

-Possibly 5 more Vanguard Veterans to bring the squad to 10 (but using Assault Squad kit)

-Possibly 5 more Devastators, but with Bolters (to bring Kraatos’ squad to 10)

-Honestly, I’d like a Land Raider Achilles too, but FW doesn’t make them any more, and if they did, they’d be way overpriced.

 

So yeah, that’s the army. Primaris and the new lore in general isn’t really my thing, and playing games isn’t either these days, so I’m just focusing on building a cool army of Minotaurs themed around Imperial Armour Volume 12: The Fall of Orpheus (one of the finest books to ever come out of FW).

 

That being said, I might not even make it to the end of this project, so I’ll ever quit once I have all that done, or even sooner.

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for responding, mate! This seems like a cool project, indeed. Can't wait to see more of your stuff. The Land Raider Achilles is a problematic model, for sure. It looks amazing - one of my favourite Land Raider patterns, but it being FW and OOP at the same time doesn't bode well for getting one for a reasonable price (at least reasonable for a chunk of resin). I'd recommend adding a regular, plastic Land Raider and maybe converting it. You need another Land Raider, trust me ;)

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Thanks for responding, mate! This seems like a cool project, indeed. Can't wait to see more of your stuff. The Land Raider Achilles is a problematic model, for sure. It looks amazing - one of my favourite Land Raider patterns, but it being FW and OOP at the same time doesn't bode well for getting one for a reasonable price (at least reasonable for a chunk of resin). I'd recommend adding a regular, plastic Land Raider and maybe converting it. You need another Land Raider, trust me

 

Ok, so now I'm thinking about how one would convert an Achilles from another Land Raider. I've decided that there are three core components to an Achilles that separate it from the regular Land Raider kit, other than that they are identical. Admins, please delete this picture if posting it here in any way infringes Forge World's copyright (it's a photo originating from their site when they sold the kit I believe). I have annotated with arrows.

 

 

 

A is the Achilles' main gun. At first I was looking at the old Thunderfire cannon kit, but that actually is different. I then went to Forge World's site and realised that it is identical to the Space Marine Rapier Quad Mortar, so plan to use that. However, if anyone has either an actual Achilles (not the Achilles Alpha, but the original) or the Rapier Quad Mortar, please let me know if there are any differences. 

 

B is the Achilles' Multi Melta sponsons. Apart from the fact I need four, I would only need to buy Multi Meltas from wherever they are sold. I might try and get Leman Russ sponsons or something, but the most difficult part will be putting in the cables and perhaps extending them. However, I would simply mount them where the Lascannons would be.

 

C is the most complex part, as I will most likely have to scratch build the front of the vehicle. This has to be strong enough to be able to hold the gun (A). I will obtain a Mechanicus cog from somewhere, but any advice for building the front section (or if there are any other kits to scavenge parts from to get the identical look) would be appreciated.

[Brother Christopher]

Well, to me plasticard is the way to go when it comes to these kinds of things. Also, I'd recommend that you don't stick to the original too much - use it as a source of inspiration but don't strive to recreate it 1:1.

 

A. The Quad Mortar should be a perfect replacement for the gun. The original TFC should also do the trick, but it also might be slightly too stubby. You can also quite easily recreate the gun with plasticard - just get some plasticard tubes, cut them to the right length and use 0.25 mm plasticard sheets to "bind' the barrels together. I did a similar thing way back and it's a simple solution that looks okay (the 'bands' I made were not perfectly circular).

 

B. The melta sponsos are probably the biggest difficulty due to their shape and complexity (rounded bits, cables). You could recreate the cables using guitar stings. I know for a fact that people also live in the 21st century (which I don't when it comes to the hobby) and use 3D printers to great success.

 

C. This is perhaps the most complex part (which makes the tank pretty iconic), but not the most difficult. I remember that there used to be a papercraft version of the tank with ready blueprints - once again, plasticard (or thick cardboard) is your friend. Without the hassle of figuring the dimensions and profile out yourself, you should be able to quickly reproduce the shape of the front (replacing the assault ramp) and track covers. Should you be interested in going the papercraft way, PM me - I should have the template somewhere.

[LameBeard]

Good luck with this. I have a land raider hull I was going to convert along these lines - using some vindicator parts and the Land Raider Aries as inspiration. But part C made me doubt I could do it, so it’s just another project on ice.

 

For B, you might consider some Blood & Skulls industry alternative sponsons, keep those cables inside an armoured sponson.

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Hey everyone, not a huge update here. Long story short, sometimes I take forever to do anything and only get a tiny bit done, sometimes I get a lot done really quick. That's how I work. So I'm working on a few different things, but here are a few work in progress models.

Firstly, we have a Captain for the Minotaurs
 

This is a work-in-progress conversion. He's actually based on the fantastic Minotaurs Captain Sciron by Marius Perdo (if you haven't checked out his page, I encourage you to do so). Marius' Minotaurs army on here was actually one of the biggest influences that finally encouraged me to start my own Minotaurs army. I had the Forge World books, but his work really made realise I HAD to do an army of them. I loved the conversion he did, so in the last few months I commented asking if it was ok if I copied his work for my own Captain. He was kind enough to agree, so here we are! Of course, my own work is not on the same level as his, but I'm sure I'll be happy with how mine turns out   He's still got a bit of work to do (still have to get some pieces, and won't attach his shield until the end), but I'm already very excited with how he's going!

Here is a URL to Marius' blog (if anyone knows a smoother way to hyperlink to other pages on this site, plz let me know)
http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/278184-death-guard-csm-iron-warrior-legion-diy-primaris-loplog/

 

However, it's not just a Captain that I am working on, but his Command Squad too. I already shared the work-in-progress Apothecary a while back, but here is the work-in-progress Standard Bearer:
 

I'm actually really pleased with this guy so far. I love Command Squads, but the kit doesn't have that much in the way of different options when you consider how varied each command squad is from one another throughout the entirety of the Adeptus Astartes. I think it's cool that they can have different armour, or wargear loadouts, or markings, or status depending on each Chapter and Company within that Chapter.
 

 

I actually came at this guy from three angles: Keep it themed around the Minotaurs, base it on the Mark IV Standard Bearer from Forge World, and give him a weapon other than a Bolt Pistol. These kind of all crossed over with each other in my head due to my perception of what gives the Minotaurs their flavour. The reason for basing on the Forge World Mark IV standard bearer was that I once saw a picture of that model with Minotaurs etched brass on the standard. Guess what I'm going to use for my own standard (yes, Minotaurs etched brass, not very original, but it looked awesome). And because I had the spare Mark IV command head from when I'd worked on the Captain, it was the perfect opportunity. Next up, I wanted to give him a weapon other than a Bolt Pistol. Standard Bearers are awesome, so I wanted him to feel like a Space Marine of action who has been honoured with carrying the Company Standard into battle, rather than some dude with a side arm waiting for someone else to protect him  I had the Power Sword from the Tactical Squad box, and so decided he'd be holding it as though he is ready to slice up any foe that comes near him and his standard. He does however still have a holstered Bolt Pistol on his hip, because sending your Space Marines into battle without proper protection is just... irresponsible. Also, I like to give Command Squads a few power weapons, because I imagine they're the Captain's entourage of death that follows him into melee and is unstoppable once they get into combat with you. The best of the best.

I also felt that the sword works well with the brutal and war-loving Minotaurs, also because I imagine Space Spartans would love swords. I decided to give him Mark III Shoulder pads, and it just so happens that two of the Minotaurs Shoulder pads are in Mark III so that worked out well! I just kind of decided to let my idea of how Minotaurs should look guide the process, so that's how I got where I got.


Lastly, I have a whole heap of spare Space Marine Captains, and many spare plastic parts. So it was obvious I should do something with them. But what? Well, I have always loved the lore around the Badab War, and at one point I wanted to collect (or convert) every named character with rules from the Forge World Badab War books. So I decided why not? I already have Asterion Moloc and Ivanus Enkomi of the Minotaurs completed (got them done years ago!), and also own Carab Culln, Huron and Valthex, who I should really get back to working on! 

So here is my first Badab War conversion. Lieutenant Commander Anton Narvaez of the Marines Errant.

 

 

So this guy is mostly finished construction and is pretty much ready to be undercoated. I just need to use green stuff and clean up some parts. So his body and sword is from the Masters of the Chapter (honestly, it is a really awesome kit. If you ever want to create a cool Space Marine character, I would definitely recommend kitbashing/converting from there). His other arm is from the Mark III kit (you know, because the model is in Mark III armour). I had to cut the arm in half since the top of the arm is already part of the existing model, and then cut away at that to make it fit on the right angle. I also had to cut the hand off at the wrist, and cut away at that to get it angled correctly. The Plasma Gun is from the Mark III kit, but since that one has a hand firing it, I cut that off. I found the Command Squad kit's Plasma Gun, and cut the trigger off that, and glued it onto Narvaez' Plasma Gun. The helmet is also from the Mark III kit, while the backpack is from the Captain that comes bundled with the Command Squad these days.

Reasoning: So this guy has really awesome lore. The naval aspect of his command being focused on made me think of using Mark III armour as it is perfect for boarding actions. But then I read that his armour is void hardened, and that just solidified that idea in my mind (80% of the time when the armour is void hardened, it's Mark III). Fortunately there was the awesome Master of the Chapter in Mark III so that instantly became the model I wanted to use. I decided he deserved a helmet (though some Badab War characters will be helmetless, I honestly want to mix up each character's look and use it as an opportunity to explore the Space Marine range and various aesthetics and equipment/wargear). The next decision was to give him the fancy backpack, since he has a super special Iron Halo, so that seemed like the best choice to depict that. Lastly, he is special in that he carries a Plasma Gun. However, this is meant to be a fancy relic so I used the ancient Mark III one rather than the pattern often used by modern Space Marines to convey this. This guy has really cool lore and I love the fact that he has a naval rank! Definitely a fan.

Also, I'm wondering if you guys know where I could possibly get high quality transfers for the Badab War chapters? I only have the Minotaurs sheet, and since none are produced anymore, am hoping third parties might make them. And most of the chapters never even got transfer sheets. Atleast the Salamanders are easy to come by

Alright, thanks for reading guys. I got a few things in progress but can't say when I'll post next. Appreciate the support as always

 

 

EDIT: I also have some cool ideas for some formats of how I'll do future posts, but I won't say until I decide for sure.

Also, I was recently reminiscing about Planetary Empires. Does anyone know if there's anyone on the internet who has designed a digital version of all the tiles? I would do one myself, but designing things digitally is not something I'm strong at.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Calibanite Knight Angel

[Brother Christopher]

I like the way your new kitbashed additions to your force look and appreciate how much thought you put into these models. Personally, I'm not sure about how Narvaez holds the plasma gun, but don't mind me (or maybe that's just the angle of the photo!).

 

I also agree on your remark about the available "stock" customisation options for SM Command Squads. Still, I suppose it's better than how GW's approach to Primaris has been.

[Xenith]

 

EDIT: Also, forgot to say about elitism. I'll give you an example: I saw a youtube video a number of months back where a guy was talking about "is it ok to use 40k models in 30k" ...as a 30k player you have a right to get angry over such things and feel insulted. 

 

I've yet to meet one of these in person. For a good long while the 30k community was a toxic place, riddled with this elitism. Again, not all 30k player,s but enough of them, and usually the loudest voices. There were several excellent, talented hobbyists on the B&C that just upped and quit when Calth was released and 30k became affordable, citing that it isn't what it used to be (elitist). 

 

The 30k forums are largely now pleasant places where folks encourage one another in their hobby.

 

Just remember that the vocal idiots on the internet do not represent every player. Just as you disagree with them, so will most others. 

[lhg033]

For the achilies / Ad-mech cog, An Imperial Knight player may have one spare (or a bits site) if they didn't do an ad-mech house version.

If you look a the collage pic there are lots of (6 i think....) list symbols or eagles that can be used around the torso and there is a big one on the carapace above the head

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Knight-Crusader-2017

 

 

Attack bikes or land speeders may be a good source of easy multimeltas 

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Hey everyone, quick update time:

I've basically stopped working on 40k stuff for the year, with the exception of completing Narvaez and a squad of five Marines Errant to accompany him in order to complete my Badab War vow. Life just gets in the way, but nevertheless I thought I would fill you people in! Now I don't really have much in the way of completed models, but I'm working on a whole heap of stuff simultaneously, so hopefully when I post a major update, suddenly there will be a whole heap of completed stuff simultaneously

Also, here is my WIP conversion for Corien Sumatris, Captain of the Astral Claws 2nd Company, "The Tyrant's Champion"

He is made from one of the Masters of the Chapter. I gave him a Command Squad head with a Laurel Wreath, an accessory where I removed his Bolt Pistol (not visible in this picture), the sword from the Captain that comes bundled with the Command Squad these days. His remote controlled Bolter was the most complex part, and for that I used the ornate Bolter from the Command Squad box, stripped it of any parts that would be used for a handheld weapon, and rigged up a mount for it by cutting up a Chainsword and Melta Gun (both from the Mark III Tactical Squad kit) and attaching them to his back power pack.

For the future:
I have a few projects that I'm doing on the side, yet am still working towards completing my Minotaurs so I can retire from wargaming. However, the Minotaurs are going to be slightly bigger than the last time I had a plan. In addition to what I previously laid out as my end goal for the army, I now also intend to add a 5-man unit of Terminators in Tartaros Terminator Armour, as well as a Whirlwind. EDIT: Forgot to mention a Drop Pod. Drop Pods are cool. I also intend to expand my Death Korps of Krieg army in parallel, as well as paint up small Ordo Xenos and Necromundan Imperial Guard forces. POSSIBLY a small group of PDF troopers too. This is due to me really being a fan of The Fall of Orpheus, and so I'm treating this Minotaurs project as being the core of a "Defenders of Orpheus" project, rather than just a standalone thing. Also, this means I will most likely paint a heap of Necrons to act as an OpFor for my Imperial forces, and may adopt a style for a number of posts on this log where I am going through the battles from Imperial Armour volume 12 and treating it as an account of those engagements, including quotes from the lore and my own additions, and with the models representing the forces from that specific engagement included in that post.

So not much to tell right now everyone, but I am making excellent progress (including on some small side projects I will reveal down the line)

Edited December 1, 2021 by Calibanite Knight Angel

[Imren]

I loke your Minotaur project! The models are cool and Asterion Moloc and Ivanus Enkomi are one of my favorite FW character sculpts great for converting to other chapters/legions.

 

What you wrote in post #6 I too can relate to. The things you write in that post is the main reason I detached from playing, hobbying and reading the fluff of 40k and only do 30k models and gaming (I love the 30k lore). I think the GW and FW prices are over the roof and buy my models from other (cheaper) controversial sources and only on occasion I buy decal sheets from FW, and I question every purchase way more. The thing is that most hobbies cost a lot (hunting/precision shooting, golf, surfing, aquariums, hiking etc) and I think in the end what you need to choose what really makes you happy. I think one big mistake lot of wargamers do is to buy too much models that get shelved for years, instead, buy a unit, finish building/painting it and move on to another. And live with the expectation/plan to to have an arny in 6 months or a year, and be happy with two-three armies instead of 10 of them.

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Alright, hi everyone, I'm back.

First off, I want to acknowledge my failure to fulfill my vow for the "Back to Badab" challenge. In all actuality, I haven't even wanted to go anywhere near wargaming at all for the longest time. I did get into Flames of War for a little bit, but I think that was really more of a phase than anything else. Recently I've decided just to do a little bit more :) In all honesty, the community here on Bolter and Chainsword is actually one of my biggest reasons for wanting to do it at all! You guys are actually really cool, so thankyou :)

Anything I do now, I don't really want to spend too much money on. I actually bought Lion El'Jonson way back, but haven't finished painting him yet. Painting him will be my  first task to complete. One thing I DID buy however was the new Loyalist Legiones Astartes army book for 2nd edition 30k. At this point, I should have most of what I will ever want for my Dark Angels army, perhaps will just get  a couple more tanks and Corswain (I saw he  is  getting a model, which is very cool to me, because he's one of my favourite 30k characters, and definitely my favourite Dark Angel). Now I can just occasionally work on assembling and painting what I  do have, and then maybe just play some games. I do have a few friends who still play 30k, so might be able to play against them.

 

With the Minotaurs, I've been a little bit  frozen with progress, but I think the next thing I will do is assemble this Razorback (probably for my Command Squad to ride in!)


One of my goals with the Minotaurs is to have a couple of Rhinos and Razorbacks. This comes back to them being themed around the Orphean War, and in Imperial Armour Vol 2, second edition, there was a bit of lore written as a quote from an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor about a mechanised charge from the Minotaurs against the Necrons during that war, where they rushed the Necron positions in Rhinos and Razorbacks, before dismounting and engaging the Necrons at close quarters. I always thought that was a very cool piece of lore, so it's something I'm keen to recreate with my own Minotaurs. My first unit I will aim to get finished is my heavily kitbashed Command Squad, along with the Captain (work in progress pics  can be seen earlier on this page). I also aim to redo some of my existing models.

This is Vanguard Veteran Sergeant Thoul of the Minotaurs. First introduced in the Badab War books as a Sternguard Veteran, at the time of the Orphean War he is a Vanguard Veteran Sergeant. Many years ago I bought myself some plastic Vanguard Veterans, and tried to make one resemble Thoul. Thoul carries a Power Axe, Plasma Pistol, and Combat Shield. I even used a spare Assault Squad combat shield and put a Minotaurs etch brass symbol on top to represent Thoul's shield. But I feel I never did the character properly. So my goal is to increase the Vanguard Veteran squad to 10 Space Marines, but  use the Assault Squad kit rather than the Vanguard Veterans for the next five members because IMO the plastic Vanguard Veterans are a bit too flashy and over the top (I prefer the look of the old metal/resin ones TBH). I will take apart my model of Thoul, and reattach the arms and weapons to the body, legs, and head of a Mark IV space marine, with Mark III shoulder pads. From there I will give him an assault squad jump pack. This will look far more like the art, and represents me getting the chance to redo a model that I felt like I never achieved what I wanted from it when I originally did it.

I know I have been away from a while, and I didn't show any ACTUAL progress today, but I just wanted to outline my plans now that I've finally figured them out myself.

[Grotsmasha]

The Lion is my favourite model in my collection, and can't wait to see your version.

[Calibanite Knight Angel]

Hey,

It's me. I've been able to get a hold of some of my stuff that I haven't been able to access in years.

Death Korps of Krieg Guardsmen:
 

Infantry Squad:

 

 

Platoon Command Squad (with attached Commissar):

 

Explanation: I've always been a fan of the Krieg Imperial Guard. Way back in the day I had a copy of Imperial Armour Volume 5: The Siege of Vraks Part 1. Apart from depicting the opening years of the titular conflict, it also contained a rich background on the Death Korps, as well as a guide to the uniforms of a number of regiments. It contained diagrams demonstrating the organisation of Infantry and Artillery companies. And it also contained the Death Korps of Krieg Siege Regiment army list.

 

Jump forward a few years, and Forge World releases Imperial Armour Volume 12: The Fall of Orpheus. Now some of you might know of my love for this book, from the fact that this very page is a blog about my completing of my Minotaurs army themed around that conflict. Well the Minotaurs weren't the only army I started when I got that book, I also started a Death Korps army too! The Death Korps receive a new army list in the Fall of Orpheus titled the "Assault Brigade". It's cool, and I guess could best be described as representing the Krieg siege (and other) regiments pooling their resources into a coordinated breakthrough force. So it has a lot more tanks and actually has Chimeras (but they're not regular Chimeras, but instead Storm Chimeras, which have autocannons and can be taken by Company Command Squads, Engineer Squads, and Grenadier Squads in this army list), a dedicated character, warlord traits (this book came out in 6th edition, I believe 2013), and other cool stuff that give it a distinct flavour from the older Siege Regiment Army List.

 

Anyway, I have a number of units, but only painted my first Infantry Squad and Platoon Command Squad (plus Commissar) back in the day. However, on looking at the models again today, they're definitely not painted to a standard I'd settle with today. However, I kind of like that. I remember painting these guys super quickly back then, and being happy with them. Back then I actually enjoyed 40k. That's the feeling I should be striving for. And I think I've realised that: I'd rather have a positive experience, even if what I paint isn't to an incredibly high standard, than worry about making it perfect. because I'm not a great painter, and I'm not a fast painter. So I'm going to try and get more of my Krieg Guardsmen painted, but they will probably only be to this standard. Because I think that's what will make me most happy with them. I'm still building them around the 6th edition rules and the army list in the Fall of Orpheus book. This isn't to say all of my models will be at this standard: My 30k Dark Angels, for example, are something that I try and paint (when any painting actually gets done) to the best of my abilities, but projects like the Krieg Guardsmen are just something I can have fun with and just paint to the standard of what is pictured. Next to complete: The Company Command Squad (the largely unpainted unit is pictured below):



A note on the colours: 

My Guardsmen most closely resemble the 134th Heavy Infantry Regiment depicted in the book, except mine have black rather than silver helmets. However, there were so many Krieg Guardsmen deployed in the Orphean sector that there is plenty of room to paint your own colours or variations of existing colour schemes while still adhering to the lore (this kind of stuff is one of the reasons why I think this book is so awesome).

What would I like to add? Well, apart from painting the other Krieg models I already own, and then seeing if I add anything from there, I would love to purchase a plastic Chimera (I think they're an awesome vehicle, I've always really liked all the pre-6th edition Guard Vehicles) and convert it to a Storm Chimera. I also think it would be cool to get a Hydra Flak Tank, simply for the theme of my battle group having some form of AA. Although the ones in the army list are the old enclosed ones that Forge World made models for, I think it would be cool to get the plastic kit, then get a resin Krieg artillery crew, and convert them to be operating the Hydra. Speaking of artillery, it would be awesome to get some Thudd guns (artillery is one of the most distinctive personality traits of the Death Korps), but considering how expensive these are, who knows?

So I think the best way of viewing the Guardsmen is as a component of my Minotaurs army. It's really an Orphean War Imperial army, with the core (and majority) being the Minotaurs. Speaking of the Minotaurs, here is a character I was always a fan of.

Sergeant Kraatos:

 

For anyone not familiar, Kraatos is a Minotaurs special character. He may be taken to replace the Sergeant of a Devastator Squad in a Minotaurs army, and he has some cool special rules and can use his Heavy Bolter like a Sniper Rifle. In the lore, he's the second-in-command of the Minotaurs 9th Company (That's the Devastator Reserve Company). The paint job is messy and needs to be cleaned up a bit (I painted him around 8 years ago), but at the same time, I don't intend to give him a makeover. This is a model I painted back in those same days I painted the Krieg Guardsmen, and so my attitude to him is the same as I have with them. That includes not moving him onto a 32mm base. But once I clean him up, I'll put on some transfers from the Minotaurs transfer sheet and varnish him, before finishing by doing his base!

This has been a little bit of a long post, but if you've read to the end, thankyou for reading!