The Lichborne - Homebrew Warband

[Volgon]

Hey all! Have been a lurker mostly, updating my thread in the WIP forum, but was invited by @Dr_Ruminahui to post here (I didn't want to double up threads in case it was against the forum rules), so here I am! This project is primarily of the Kill Team variety (Legionaries specifically), but I have done conversion work branching into other game systems (I have a few characters representing the warband's Leadership that could be used in 40k, for example). I'll be porting my work here a bit at a time, and will keep updating whenever I have something new to share. To start with, let me post my tester Marine to show off the basis of the color scheme:

 

This is the first thing I've ever hand painted, and I'm super proud of the way it came out! I wasn't very happy with him after applying an oil wash but it has grown on me. I skipped out on some steps and rushed others, because I really just wanted to get a good look at an end result, so future testers will have more work put into details and color separation.

 

Onto the real meat and potatoes, my conversions! I try to make every conversion unique, trying to infuse some level of personality/character into each one. I'll start off with some generic operatives, my Gunners. I tried to have a few unified themes for this trio: combi-weapons (not completely WYSIWYG for Kill Team, but I planned on painting the various non bolter parts different colors from the bolter section to differentiate. Think hazard stripes on the melta gun casing, bright red on the flamer casing, and plasma has its obvious coils), CSM Havoc bodies, and Anvilus-pattern backpacks.

 

Melta Gunner:

My favorite of the three. The gun is from the Chaos Terminator Lord/Sorcerer box and is such a cool piece, I had to use it.

Spoiler

 

Plasma Gunner:

My second favorite, with a pose I'm really happy with!

Spoiler

 

Flamer Gunner:

I made the mistake of gluing the knife arm, so I know it's going to be a real pain to paint now that I've done my tester Live and learn!

Spoiler

 

That's it for now, let me know what you think!

[Terminatorinhell]

These are really cool, I like that shade of blue too. 

[TrawlingCleaner]

Rad conversions and Rad colours schemes, I'm looking forward to seeing more of the Lichborne!

[Volgon]

11 hours ago, TrawlingCleaner said:

Rad conversions and Rad colours schemes, I'm looking forward to seeing more of the Lichborne!

 

Thanks! You don't have to wait long, I just finished my second mini not long ago:

 

I am super stoked about the lenses, I think they came out super well. I was somehow able to paint just the lens and left the recesses black which adds a ton of definition to a very small area. I also tried to highlight more this go round: I did the black, some of the blue, silvers, and brown. Not sure how noticeable it is for colors other than the black but it's there. Lastly, I added a bit of blood spatter on the chainsword to make it pop more. My weapon schemes leave a lot to be desired at the moment (truth be told I just haven't though about them that much, they are a bit of a bore to do once I'm closing in on the end) so I think the red is a nice splash of color and visceral weathering that matches the rest of the paintjob.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Glad you came and joined us!

 

They look good - I like that the red blood on the sword is quite reserved and adds a nice bit of colour.

 

Really, my only quibble is the colour of the tabards - I understand the benefits of a narrow colour pallet, but it does seem a bit strange that the tabards and corrosion are the same colour.  Not sure what I do them instead, though... maybe dark blue or dark red?

[Volgon]

1 hour ago, Dr_Ruminahui said:

Glad you came and joined us!

 

They look good - I like that the red blood on the sword is quite reserved and adds a nice bit of colour.

 

Really, my only quibble is the colour of the tabards - I understand the benefits of a narrow colour pallet, but it does seem a bit strange that the tabards and corrosion are the same colour.  Not sure what I do them instead, though... maybe dark blue or dark red?

 

That's a fair critique! I think if I were to change one color or the other, I would probably keep the leathers as the current brown and then modify the weathering recipe a bit. You are correct in that they are both the same color, but adding just a slight bit of black into the brown for a darker mud look, and/or an orange for a rusty brown. I'll have to do that next time. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Volgon]

Hey all, nothing new painted since the last update but I should be getting back at it soon. I got the trio of Gunners primed over the weekend, just waiting for that motivation to kick in Here's a few more of my conversions, the Heavy Gunners. I had two themes I was trying to go for with these guys: one was "big guns, big armor" and the other was trying to go for 3 different holding stances: underarm, over the shoulder, and rifle style.

 

Heavy Bolter:

For a long time I was stuck on the weapon. I like the Eradicator melta rifles (which forms the basis of the weapon conversion), but could never get over the fact that the barrel was too distinctly melta (obviously!), so I just had to come up with something different. I came up with what you see here: it looks ridiculous, and ridiculously cool.

Spoiler

 

Reaper Chaincannon:

This guy is a conversion that actually hasn't changed a ton since its inception. I knew from the get-go I wanted him to be the "big guy" of the Kill Team. I envisioned him in the lore to be the tall, hulking member of the squad. I knew the body of the Havoc Champion was perfect for this (the Havocs are also my favorite style of armor out of both loyalists and traitor forces). I also REALLY like the Chaincannon I made up for him. The chained barrel isn't something that would actually work, but rule of cool won out.

Spoiler

 

Missile Launcher:

I had a LOT of trouble over a long period of time trying to think up something for my ML gunner. I was stuck in a rut because I really wanted to make use of all 5 bodies from the Havoc kit. Unfortunately that last body (the one that GW depicts on the box art holding the Reaper Chaincannon) lacks any sort of dynamism or personality, so nothing I came up with ever worked for me. I finally cut ties with the idea of using the Havoc body wholesale and was able to come up with this conversion by merging a normal Chaos Marine body (the one used by GW's depiction of the Butcher operative from the Legionary kill team) with the pieces of the 5th Havoc that I actually liked (the torso, the hip armor, and the plated tabard). It ended up being one of my favorites of the entire team!

Spoiler

Thanks for taking a look, and as always feel free to comment!

[Volgon]

On 5/7/2024 at 1:16 AM, Trysanna said:

I cannot express how :cuss:ing rad that Heavy Bolter is, good stuff

 

Thank you! I really like it as well. I especially like the bayonet for the added ridiculousness of the concept.

 

I decided I was ready to start working on the kill team itself rather than testers. Picked the melta gunner first: the 3 regular gunners are fairly similar to the regular legionary testers I was doing so didn't have to worry about any new techniques.

 

I am super happy with the result! This was the first time I used the embossed shoulder pad with the symbol and I am very happy with how it came out. It was a little flat at first because I used Bold Titanium White so didn't have any color to highlight up to, but the weathering added some complexity so I think it looks pretty ok. No oil washes this time, I haven't had much success with them, so I want to sit down on some throwaways to work out how to best use them. My oil washes seem to keep separating, leaving some particulates that I have to clean up and not staining the recesses very well, so I think I may be thinning them too much. Will have to work on that.

 

Lastly, I chose a different color to highlight the black. Originally I was using Stormvermin Fur after seeing a result on reddit I really liked. I found it not a very compelling color IRL however. This time I tried a silver and REALLY like the result. It adds a bit of brightness/pop that I think looks great. Also it's in line with the weathered aesthetic; it has a chipped paint look to go along with the mud/dirty weathering. I find it much easier to sell my poor edge highlighting as paint chipping with the silver.

[Volgon]

Have started working on the Plasma Gunner today. Took me 2.5 hours just to block in the blue armor and clean up mistakes Trim takes so long! I think I can be more efficient by being less clean when blocking in the blue and to save doing touch ups until all the colors are on so I can do them all at once.

 

Here are some more conversions for the Kill Team, this time the bespoke operatives! These guys are kind of where the whole project got started. Originally I just wanted the bespoke operatives + a leader but the scope expanded to one of each option for every member, so here we are.

 

Butcher:

This is one of the oldest members of my team. This iteration was pretty much set in stone a while ago. I have been going back and forth on the axe arm lately. I do like the over the shoulder look but I have been considering a different arm holding it downward in a loose grip (if I can find such an arm to use) or an arm out to the side (though I don't want to encroach on the look of some other conversions I have which use a similar pose). Either way, I think this conversion really evokes that kind of duellist/challenger personality that I'm going for.

Spoiler

 

Balefire Acolyte:

This guy originally started out as a pretty uninspired conversion using the Aspiring Champion from the Shadowspear box. For a long time I was content with it but over time it gnawed at me that I kind of phoned it in. I came up with this guy and am SUPER pleased with the result. It's pretty much completely unique: I made it from a Sword Brother base with a Chaos torso and Chaos Havoc shin armor (something that I picked up from a Reddit user and have used it pretty extensively since).

Spoiler

 

Anointed:

Pretty simple conversion for this one. I keep these conversions completely free of both fleshy bits (primarily heads and unarmored arms etc) and Chaos mutations for lore reasons, but I liked the idea that no matter what, nobody escapes Chaos. I try to evoke an undead/death knight vibe with this warband so the most logical mutation to me was bones, and the base Chosen mini I used has those in spades. I added a Warp Talon claw that looks like bone claws (very Wolverine) to complete the look.

Spoiler

 

Shrivetalon:

Similar to the Balefire Acolyte, the Shrivetalon had an old iteration that I decided to rework for creative reasons. He was my first foray into using Black Templars minis as the basis for some conversions. The reason is pretty simple: I love their gorget/bevor collar piece, same as the Chaos Havocs. I wanted to make him a bit of a trophy taker so I used a shoulder pad with skin on it from the Shrivetalon, and a minor chain aesthetic with the idea that he would hang various bits and bobs from.

Spoiler

 

Icon Bearer:

This conversion was what the Shrivetalon was for a long time. After changing direction with the Shrivetalon, I pivoted it into my Icon Bearer. I've had that trophy piece (from Zhufor) for probably a decade and knew I absolutely had to use it here. VERY fiddly though as the pole is extremely skinny and prone to breakage. I managed to pin it into the backpack but I'm certain even a slight knock would snap it in two.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 10 by Volgon

[Volgon]

Finished up the Plasma Gunner. First time trying a plasma effect and it came out ok but not great. Would like to try it again with some fluorescent paints or contrast paints instead; I think they would be much easier to get a good result from. Nothing else too different from the norm, just working through the more basic guys before moving on to the more exciting operatives.

 

[TrawlingCleaner]

These are rad conversions and paintjobs to match! I also used the Judicar body as a conversion for a duelist (Master of Executions), it's a really great pose as you say!

[Volgon]

6 hours ago, TrawlingCleaner said:

These are rad conversions and paintjobs to match! I also used the Judicar body as a conversion for a duelist (Master of Executions), it's a really great pose as you say!

 

Thanks TC! I haven't painted fabric yet so the Judiciar body will definitely be a challenge with his robed look.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I love their custom symbols and the way you painted them - they look ace! I also like both ways of highlighting the models - both the grey and the silver "chipping".  I bet they would look great combining them on one model, but that is likely more work than you want to do.

 

As for the plasma, its good but could use a bit more, I think.  Maybe working some of the lighter colour up the side and top of the coils, and/or adding a glow effect?  Or maybe going dark red for between the coils rather than orange?  Plasma guns are hard to get looking right and its something I've struggled with myself and have yet to be completely happy with (though, mine are blue, not orange).  Good choice of orange for your glow colour, though - its a great contrast to the blue and black of your models.

[Volgon]

Thank you for the compliments @Dr_Ruminahui! These last two paint jobs were the first time doing the chapter symbol so I was excited to see they turned out really well! As for the chipping, I actually recently saw a very well done mini using brown as the "chipping" paint. Now, I have seen this a lot before, but I have never tried it myself. I might experiment with it soon, skipping out on the sponge weathering but using brown as the primary chipping paint along with the silver to add complexity. I do really like the way the sponge chipping comes out though and it is a pretty satisfying step.

 

Re: the plasma. I did try a glow OSL effect at first. I don't have an airbrush though which makes it more difficult. I tried both drybrushing and stippling the area around the coil but the stippling left a texture that didn't make sense for a glow and the drybrushing was difficult as it is a flat surface I am trying to deposit paint on (I have almost no experience with drybrushing as well so I am not very good at it). Some of my conversions down the line have plasma and/or glow effects so I'll have to get some practice in and figure out what to do.

 

As for the coil itself, I was trying to do a "reverse" (?) plasma effect. So the recesses are the brightest parts and the coils are darker. That is how it's depicted in the Darktide game and I used that as my reference. The first picture kind of washes it out but you can see the darker coils at the top on the second picture. I could definitely have tried to work a midtone color halfway up the coil. I just wasn't really happy with how it was coming out so I just moved on. Next time I would like to get some contrast paints (or fluorescents) as they seem to be tailor made for this type of painting.

[Volgon]

  

Another gunner done! Flamer this time, last of the regular gunners.

 

Edited May 23 by Volgon

[Volgon]

Have a few updates! First off I finished the Missile Launcher heavy gunner:

 

I'm a bit ambivalent to the result. On one hand, this was one of my favorite conversions so I am really happy to see him painted up. I like the weathering; I went heavier on the silver chipping inside of larger spots of brown. I've been trying that technique on the last few minis but did more of it this time. I also really like how the ML barrel came out. I've been slowly adding more colors to the scheme and with this one I did Canoptek Alloy on the barrel trim with the same Ratling Grime wash I use for all my silver metallics. I think it came out great! Just different enough to break things up.

 

On the other hand, I had a LOT of trouble getting coverage on the gold and red. I was layering over the black primer which was probably my first mistake, though I haven't had too much trouble with that before. Those times were on smaller details though so maybe that was why? On the small red lens details on the ML I got fine coverage over the same primer. At some point I just moved on so I could finish the mini.

 

Lastly I picked up some of this:

 

Hopefully the color about matches the brown I've been using for weathering. Haven't used any of this stuff before but will try it out soon.  I would like to do some muddy battlefield/trench style bases. Scatter some detritus around the base like bones, skulls, armor pieces. Maybe some display barbed wire if any companies sell it? Will have to look into that.

[Volgon]

Reaper Chaincannon is about finished:

 

Might clean up some of the weathering a bit, the helmet and the Terminator shoulder pad need some touch ups. First time doing stone which came out ok? I just winged it.

 

Not sure what the next project will be. I could start the Heavy Bolter gunner to round out the heavies. The other option is painting another normal Legionary to work on some techniques. I'd like to really try some glazing so I can add a bit of depth to the blue. I love the color but I'd like to elevate my skill a little bit.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I think he looks great - I love his white skull mask and your army symbol continues to look stellar.  And the stone is great, especially for a first go.

 

My only quibble is with the optics - they are kind of "flat" and too close (IMHO) to the colour of the blood on his knife.  Personally, I would do a gem like effect with a blob of evil sun's red and then small dots of white - so, like the gem effects I got in this post but red instead of green.  If I'm permitted a second quibble, it would be that his knife arm and his boots could use a bit of edge highlighting.

Edited May 28 by Dr_Ruminahui

[Volgon]

@Dr_Ruminahui Good call on the optics, I had attempted something similar to your idea on the Missile Launcher's helmet with the white dot, but doing the optics on the Chaincannon was an in the moment idea that I didn't really flesh out beyond painting the red. I can touch it up a little bit. Maybe mix up a brighter red instead and keep the duller red for the blood stains on the knife.

 

As for the knife arm, any spots in particular you think need highlighting? I dotted the rivets and did the scratching in the usual silver. I mixed up a brighter blue highlight to put on the armor plate on the back of the hand but the regular blue is so vibrant it kills any highlighting. For example I also highlighted the blue "arms" of the power pack and it's not noticeable there either. I suppose I could highlight the fingers or re-establish some of the silver weathering as the brown covered up some of it. And the boots: I admit I completely forgot to highlight those. I can add it in next session.

[sitnam]

Love wat you've done here. Can't wait to see that Butcher painted, I used that same axe for my Lord of Executions conversion

[Volgon]

@sitnam Thanks! The Butcher will be a challenge for sure because I haven't really done fabric before. A few tabards but that's the extent. I have been having trouble deciding on a color as well so that's also a WIP.

[sitnam]

1 hour ago, Volgon said:

@sitnam Thanks! The Butcher will be a challenge for sure because I haven't really done fabric before. A few tabards but that's the extent. I have been having trouble deciding on a color as well so that's also a WIP.

I like the Brown you have used previously. I feel like using a red would detract too much from that awesome blue

[Dr_Ruminahui]

16 hours ago, Volgon said:

As for the knife arm, any spots in particular you think need highlighting?  I suppose I could highlight the fingers or re-establish some of the silver weathering as the brown covered up some of it. And the boots: I admit I completely forgot to highlight those. I can add it in next session.

 

One of the places I thought could use a bit was the fingers - though I do understand that fingers are really difficult to do, given the very limited space available.  The other was the edge of the black trim just in front of the elbow - I feel it needs some edge highlighting somewhere on the black arrow, the bolt on the arrow, and/or the trim that it extends from.  In your first picture, this is the black trim in the space on the arm below the face.

[Volgon]

No painting recently but have decided I'm going to go with a zenithal prime using glaze consistency paints to see if I can get some color volumes. Did this with a rattlecan as I don't have an airbrush:

 

Looks decent to me? I would have liked a better gradient on the shins but you just don't have the precision without an airbrush. Curious how the speckled look of the white paint will be underneath a few layers of blue. Never have been a fan of that look but it's what you get with a rattlecan.

[Volgon]

Hey all, was able to finish the new tester but unfortunately could not get any sort of glazing/blending to work. I ran into issues pretty much immediately where it seems the white spray paint I used was either gloss or semi-gloss so I was having problems with the paint adhering to the light areas. I pivoted to trying the "normal" approach, so painting two sections and attempting to glaze the transition into a smooth-ish blend, but also could not get that to work. I feel like the two colors I was using (Andrea Blue which is the regular blue armor color I have been using and then a bit darker one called Magic Blue from Vallejo Game Color as the shadow) are close enough that I should have had some success getting a decent blend but it just wouldn't work for me. I also tried the Pylar Glacier contrast paint as an attempt at a "ready made" glaze-esque paint but it's so thin it just wasn't giving me any coverage on the stronger blue tones. Here's what I ended up with:

 

As you can see, all was certainly not lost! I still had other stuff to work on. For one, this was the first time I worked on a base. It's simple, just Vallejo Diorama FX Brown Mud. It's pretty much perfect for the look I'm going for and a good color match for the browns I use for weathering the mini. I also picked up some modelling barbed wire by Army Painter for some decoration. For other minis I'd like to use things like broken armor panels, shoulder pads, bones etc as battlefield detritus in addition to the barbed wire to keep things varied. I also got some AK Fluorescent Orange to use as plasma glow and tried it out on the pistol. I'm pretty happy with it! Also I finally found a good color mix for highlighting the brown leathers I'm pretty happy with, so that was a good discovery.

 

So, where do I stand on blending? Well since I started this guy I've done a lot of reading and watching about glazing so I think I'll have a better idea next time. I was practicing on bases and shoulder pads throughout the process of painting this marine as well to try out stuff. I got a decent result from wet blending on my first try which was good to see, that's a possible route though does seem harder to work with thanks to the drying time. I think I should also try glazing the darker color into the shadows rather than the lighter color into the highlights. I would think the darker color would provide better coverage over the lighter one? I'm not 100% on that though, so if anyone has any advice I'll take it. I was struggling to get good consistency with the glazes as well. Even thinning a lot (from a dropper bottle I was doing anywhere from 1 drop of paint to 5 drops of water up to 10) and wicking moisture off I felt like I was still leaving too much paint on the brush which resulted in the gradient just getting colored over by the glaze color rather than just a filter. At the end of my last paint session I felt like I had a better grasp on consistency and how to properly use a glaze so I'm excited to try again soon.