Word Bearers warband (name TBC!)

[legoman]

Hi all

 

To introduce myself, my name is Ben. I have been a lurker on B&C for a couple of years, keeping up with all the latest goings on in the hobby. However I have probably not painted a model in about 18 years (last time when I was about 17). My first models were Saurus Warriors (8 for £5) I reckon in about 1999. I then had a couple of small WHFB armies and also a couple for 40k (Space Marines, Dark Eldar, Tyranid), but all small - around 1000 pts in the day. I then paused the hobby as many do when I was about 16, but still kept an eye on what was going on as well as reading lots of BL (mainly Horus Heresy).

 

I have now decided to try and pick up where I left off 18 years ago, and start a Word Bearer army. The main reasons being 1) I love most of the new generic CSM models, 2) WB are a cool legion, I am a big fan of ADB's First Heretic and Betrayer, and I think there is more to them than the generic bad guys they are sometimes portrayed as, and 3) I thought painting red would be relatively easy (we shall see!).

 

My vision for the army is several squads of Legionnaires, backed up by Traitor Guard and a Knight. This is how I see the WBs fighting, as opposed to a warband of just Marines. I also think this will look really cool. Hopefully GW will make some more Traitor Guard soon, as I think the only that are available are those from Blackstone Fortress, that come with the Ogryn and Commissar. I see my WBs are still being quite regimented and disciplined, especially compared to say World Eaters or Emperors Children. I think this is because their devotion will have kept them this way, and will be influenced by the will of the Dark Apostle leading them. So rather than just rampaging aimlessly, it will be in the interest of the Dark Apostle to keep them as a coherent fighting force in order to better achieve whatever his objectives are (or the ultimate objectives of the Dark Council).

 

I have no idea if the above combination of different armies is available in the rules as I had not really intended to play after hearing about the bloat in 9th. However literally the day after my Combat Patrol arrived, the news of 10th was broken, with a simplified ruleset and rules for just playing with a Combat Patrol, so that has piqued my interest in playing.

 

In terms of painting, I have managed to put together 5 Legionnaires and paint 2 in a week. I have 2 young kids so I don't have a huge amount of time, so it is largely getting in 15 mins here and there where I can, and a bit of time in the evening after my wife goes to bed! 

 

This is my first guy (with the bolter) I followed an online tutorial as had no idea where to start after all these years. I was relatively happy but lots of room for improvement! I tried to highlight the red armour panels but with my brush skills not being great it just looks a bit messy so I don't think I will do that going forward. It is also quite hard when you are new to understand where you should and shouldn't highlight, if you go by the box art it is every single panel, which probably isn't particularly practical for people who aren't painting as a job! I also messed up immediately when I spray undercoated, I overdid it a bit and obscured some of the finer detail on the model! There are also numerous other bits to improve but I won't go through them all now. But overall as I said I was relatively happy, especially for my first model in a long time.

 

I was more happy with fella number 2 (with the chainsword), I think he is much neater and the highlighting is better (maybe a case of less is more). I have to say the models are great, they looks so imposing and I can't help but make the sound of a bolter or chainsword when I look at them! Again he defo needs work, and I will go back and tidy some bits up, but think he is a big improvement on the first.

 

I have some questions if anyone has time to answer:

1. Would appreciate some general constructive criticism and advice.

2. Need some advice on the base, I have used Armageddon Dunes but not massively happy with texture or the colour (washed with Nuln oil then drybrushed with screaming skull). Also I would like to put on some small rocks I see lots of people using, but not sure how to do it?

3. Advice on the blank shoulder pad. I know there are transfers but when I see them I always think they stand out too much and look too clean.

4. Anyone know of any good modern Word Bearers stories. As I said I have read lots of the Heresy so know them from there, and also Anthony Reynolds' WB trilogy, but not much else.

5. Recommendations of good hobby podcasts or youtubes to paint to. I have been watching the Painting Phase which I really like as enjoy the general hobby chat and banter, and also I think the type of painting Peachy shows is more in line with where I am at the moment (i.e. more aimed at beginners or people looking to paint an army quickly).

 

Anyway thanks for reading, I am hoping to add more models as I paint them. I have set myself a target of painting the Combat patrol by the end of June.

 

TLDR: Death to Guilliman, Death to the Lion, Death to the Emperor! (also probably death to Abaddon and anyone else who doesn't exactly agree with us!)

 

Thanks

 

Ben

 

 

[TheHyperion]

Welcome back!

I am rather new back in but have also been on my journey with Word Bearers recently. Since I am also recently returned and still have rather novice paint skills/knowledge I can’t offer too too much.

 

I have not used it myself but for transfers I have seen a lot of people recommend micro sol and micro set to apply them since it knocks back some of the shine and adheres it more to the shoulder pad. Personally I like sculpted shoulder pads to paint so I have been printing mine but there’s a few places you can find shoulder pads if you are just going with a generic word bearers symbol.

 

For bases for myself I was going to base mine like Nuceria for the shadow campaign so I was just going to glue some sand on the base and go from there. I know a lot of people use just normal bottled white glue with some water on the base to stick sand on and then prime it to have it stick or varnish it etc. Games Workshop used to sell sand but I don’t believe they do anymore. Other hobby places probably sell it for basing or model trains though if that’s more of the route you want to go.

 

For good youtube content I enjoy: the Remembrancer puts out good lore videos and just finished a series on all of the primarchs. Depending on what character they review it can be very short or around 20-30 minutes. For battle reports I like to put on Play On Tabletop for their 40k in 40 minutes series. It’s very well narrated, engaging and the camera angles are good. For somewhat more immature content or more beginner takes on lore there’s the adeptus ridiculous podcast where Bricky describes to his friend DK who knows less about the hobbt core concepts but I tend to watch this more for the entertainment value rather than lore accuracy etc. Bricky also has a channel where he sometimes talks about his tournament games or big 40k news and that can be entertaining as well.

 

Hope this helps!

[legoman]

Thanks BloodSpitter. I saw your posts about your Word Bearers, nice work, looking great. I think our guys must go to the same tailor! 

 

I had not thought about the sculpted shoulder pads, I will have a look into it. Only thing I am nervous about is if it would mean not being able to play in Warhammer stores? Maybe I will try the micro sol and micro set first and see how it looks.

 

Thanks for the recommendations for YouTube, I will give them all a try.

 

Cheers

[TheHyperion]

12 hours ago, legoman said:

Thanks BloodSpitter. I saw your posts about your Word Bearers, nice work, looking great. I think our guys must go to the same tailor! 

 

I had not thought about the sculpted shoulder pads, I will have a look into it. Only thing I am nervous about is if it would mean not being able to play in Warhammer stores? Maybe I will try the micro sol and micro set first and see how it looks.

 

Thanks for the recommendations for YouTube, I will give them all a try.

 

Cheers

I can't comment much on being able to play in warhammer stores or not with 3rd party shoulder pads. I know a lot of that ruling is done on a local level and for me I intend on playing more with friends and family so it shouldn't be a problem. Somewhere in the past I saw an 80% of the model must be GW or something like that as a rule of thumb. I personally try to only use parts that don't replace the whole model. If you plan on playing in stores I would say transfers and micro sol/set are the safe options. Another more expensive idea is forgeworld sells shoulder pads for horus heresy. They won't be as chaosified but it's an option

[legoman]

It has been a while since I have updated, but I have been busy, although painting at my very slow speed!

 

I have finished my 10 legionnaires plus a Hellbrute, and started work on my traitor guard. I currently just have the 7 guys from Blackstone fortress that I picked up on ebay. I am planning to expand with the Kill Team Blooded set, and then if I feel confident enough hopefully convert some of the new Guard models. In particular I love the Field Ordnance Batteries.

 

So I just have a couple more units to complete to finish the Combst Patrol. Although at my current speed it will probably be another 3 months!

 

I am happy with how things are looking now. I tried being a bit more adventurous on the Hellbrute, adding some scrolls I made from greenstuff, plus a dead space marine to the base (plus greenstuff guts!).

 

My main issue now is i am not sure i like the bases so have ordered some stuff i saw from a company called Gaming Geeks. So i will have to see how easy it is to redo those bases i have already done.

 

Thanks for reading and I hope you like the pics 

 

Ben 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by legoman
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[danodan123]

These look fantastic! 

 

The scrolls on the helbrute are really impressive, I'm collecting (slowly) word bearers myself and really want to know how to do these, just finished building a helbrute myself, never had much luck with greenstuff personally.

 

Loving the black shoulders aswell, I went with red for mine without thinking of doing black and wish I had done so.

 

I have a disco lord to build and doing a similar dead marine on my base, using the one left over from an old toxicrene I made. If and when I learn to take good pictures and gather the courage to do so I'd like to give my own army their own thread too, thinking of going slightly more demonic for my bearers though, allied daemons and a good use of daemonkin ! 

 

Keep it up!

[legoman]

Thanks for the kind words.

 

I think being able to incorporate daemons, traitor guard, knights, dark mechanicum etc is what makes collecting Chaos really cool (although I am talking from a collecting point of view, not sure what is allowed in terms of gaming). 

 

In terms of the greenstuff scrolls, it wasn't top difficult. I just pressed it flat, then cut out a load of strips with a hobby knife. I then pulled it apart a bit with my hands to try and make it a but more realistic looking, then tried various things with folding. I only used a small bit of greenstuff and that still made about 20, so I was then able to just pick the couple that I really liked.

 

Good luck with your Word Bearers, and I would encourage you to post your own pictures and updates.

 

Ben

[legoman]

Some individual shots as the group ones look quite blurred. 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Yeah, your guys look great and I think the bases look very nice.

[legoman]

8 hours ago, Dr_Ruminahui said:

Yeah, your guys look great and I think the bases look very nice.

Thanks very much 

[Brother Anar]

Those are some really crisp paint jobs.

[legoman]

On 9/28/2023 at 10:32 AM, Brother Anar said:

Those are some really crisp paint jobs.

Thanks very much. I have been posting all my latest models in the Chaos Call to Arms, and will update here with what I have painted recently. 

[Orion]

Minis are looking great. Good clean paintjob and basing. I love the addition of the banner.

 

Personally I'm a big fan of transfers. Worst comes to worse, you can just paint black back over it and rethink.

Varnish - Microset - Microsol - matte varnish. It's quick when you batch it. 

 

Only other nitpick is you missed a few barrels. Other than that, good job!

[legoman]

On 10/8/2023 at 12:08 AM, JayJapanB said:

Minis are looking great. Good clean paintjob and basing. I love the addition of the banner.

 

Personally I'm a big fan of transfers. Worst comes to worse, you can just paint black back over it and rethink.

Varnish - Microset - Microsol - matte varnish. It's quick when you batch it. 

 

Only other nitpick is you missed a few barrels. Other than that, good job!

Thanks very much. That's what I'm aiming for with the painting, just working on basic techniques - base coating/wash/highlights. Will try and be more adventurous later.

 

That's a good point re painting over transfers, I hadn't thought of that, so will give it a go.

 

For drilling the barrels, can you recommend an appropriate tool? Thanks

[legoman]

Some pics of the army to date, hoping to go to the local GW soon for my first game in 20 years! I basically have 1000 points now give or take. 

[legoman]

And my kitbashed sorcerer from the new librarian (about £6 on ebay!) - another CSM terminator next to him to show he is quite a big lad!

 

Next up him and a unit of terminators  

[legoman]

Some close ups of characters in better light. 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Your army is looking great!  Particularly like those close ups - you've done an excellent job with the faces.

 

As for gun barrels, if you are going to drill them use a tool called a "pin vise" - its basically a small finger operated drill, using a bit of whatever size is appropriate for the barrel (probably one of the smaller to mid sized ones).  To help get it in the right place, start by poking a hole in the middle of where you want the hole to go - I find an exacto with a sharp, unbroken tip works well for that.

 

Or, if you don't want the annoyance of miscentered gun barrels (and its bound to happen, with some of them) painting a black dot in the right place looks almost as good.

[legoman]

Thanks Dr, i will get one.