Ventures into True Scale

Like so many others before me, I have begun to create my own true scale 40K miniatures. I plan on using them as minis for games of the RPG Deathwatch, Rogue Trader, Only War, Black Crusade, and Dark Heresy etc in which a better sense of scale between "normal" humans and Space Marines can really add to the narrative.

I've found that I like the approach of using Terminator legs, arms, and shoulder pads and standard SM torsos, heads, and backpacks. This creates what I feel is a very acurate representation of the Space Marine form without having to do a bunch of cutting and plastic card/green stuff work. I think the results speak pretty well for themselves.

The first one I made is a Black Templar sword master. I probably wont give him the wrist mounted bolter that goes to the Grey Knights left arm. I will be filling out the waist areas on all these models with pouches, grenades, holstered pistols etc.

The second TS Marine I made is a Salamander armed with meltagun and power fist. I used one of the new bare SM Tac Squad heads because I've always wanted to show off the Salamander black skin and red eyes.

I used a Space Wolves power fist and had to carefully shave off the wolf head molding on the power cord. This made the remaining skull  look a bit more like something the Salamanders might use to decorate their gear.

The generic chapter shoulder pad on the right is just a place holder. I hope to pick up some Forge World shoulder pads after Christmas.

You may have noticed that I've been using DA Terminator Command Squad legs for all the marines so far. I think they give a really nice sense of ornamentation that your standard Space Marine minis are always lacking IMHO. The artwork for WH40K always shows Space Marines so decked out in bling they almost look too fancy to be killing xenos and heretic scum... Almost...

Last for this round was a Dark Angels Apothecary wielding a plasma pistol.

This pic shows the True Scale Marine along side a "standard" Marine and a guardsmen for the normal human sized mini. The TS Marines stand a good head taller than the normal marine and even more over the human!

Now just a bit of clean up and green stuff in some of the gaps and these guys are ready for paint. I'm sure I'll get to that part really soon...

Evolution of a Hobby

Today I wanted to share with you two minis. Each represents rather well the evolution of my Warhammer 40K hobby.

First is where it all started. I purchased a small container of various 40K bits from a local comic book shop. The bits sat in their box for over a year, and every now and then I would glance at them and say to myself "I really should make something with those". Finally I bought some paints from that same comic book shop and broke out some old brushes from my time as an art student. I put together a Space Marine and began painting. It took me about 18 hours to paint my first mini, I worked well into the night and would stop periodically to watch YouTube videos on how to do effects like power weapons. The result was something that I am still proud of to this day.

Lots of time and overly cautions perfectionism went into this guy. The shine came from using a glossy sealer, and sharp-eyed viewers will notice a missing shoulder pad. I cannibalized it as the shoulder was a unique one I have yet to find elsewhere and is now part of my stand-in Inquisitor. I didn't do any light effects or shading, no washes or basing. The only thing "fancy" about him is the lightning effect I did on the sword which, at the time, I was quite pleased with.

Now the next model is a project I finished just a few weeks ago. I am not a fan of some of the HQ models that GW has put out. This is especially true regarding Chaos HQs like Abaddon. That damn refrigerator box he calls a demon weapon is ridiculous looking, and the Talon of Horus looks a bit small for a primarch's weapon... I could go on but suffice to say, I have always wanted to build my own Abaddon. For any who might not know, this is Abaddon in his current incarnation:

       

Not garbage by any measure, but for me it leaves much to be desired. So after about a month of planning and taking what I had learned from making my own custom Typhus model, I created this:

Lots of over-the-top ideas got crammed into this guy. The dead marine with battle damage, the carefully crafted Talon of Horus made from a storm bolter and an Anvil Industries claw and ammo belts, an Ork top-knot replacing the compensation effort of the original model. Of course to start I had to find a replacement for the 2x4 looking Drach'nyen, which was done with a lovely Bloodletter sword.

The Obliterator legs, arms, and shoulder pads really helps make my Abaddon look like the bulky force that all four Chaos Gods feel they can rally behind.

Its a bit harsh but you can see the OSL effect I put coming from within Abaddons armor and shining out around his head. I used a really cool pinkish purple color who's name escapes me at this moment.

In game terms, Abaddons claw weapon gives all Blood Angels the Hatred (Abaddon) rule (since they kind of lost their own Primarch to that weapon during the Horus rebellion and all). So naturally I had to make the most recent victim of said claw a Blood Angel! It really helps visually drive home the reason why the Blood Angels hate him so much.

In this pic you can see the considerable beefing up the base and body used gives my Abaddon. He towers over all those around him as only a true Warmaster of Chaos Undivided should.

I look at these two models and I can clearly see the evolution of my skills as a 40K hobbyist. Washes, shading, converting, green stuff use, basing, the list of skills I have picked up over the years goes on and on. I could never claim that I am a master of any of them by far, nor would I want to. So far some of the greatest enjoyment I have taken from my 40K hobby is stepping back and seeing how I am improving. I also could never claim that my improvement was due to my efforts alone. Help and inspiration from local hobbyists and those of you online who also take the time to share your beautiful works all deserve the lions share of the credit. Its been a long journey to this point, but my hobby train isn't slowing down any time soon! I hope you have enjoyed this little expose into my oldest and newest works. Look for more to come soon.

Hobby Blog Reanimation Protocols!

So after a rather long dry spell, I will be once again updating my blog with some regularity. I have a metric ton of new stuff to show you all so lets just jump right in!

Here are some of the minis I made for my Flesh Eaters chapter, two of which I used in my recent introduction to Kill Teams:

First up is the Sergeant (or Chaos Champion, depending on what I am playing my Flesh Eaters as). I never used him during this past Kill Teams competition at my FLGS, as I was running my squad with a Lone Wolf to lead them. I modeled him with storm bolter/combi bolter and power sword. A quick apology about the pics as I am working with some rather harsh lighting at the moment. One day I'll get around to making a light box...

I scrapped off all the fur from the Space Wolves pelts and painted the pelts like skin trophies. I even went as far as green stuffing some thumbs on the back pelt so it looked like hands instead of paws.

 I found that the GW pewter World Eater shoulder pads were perfect to use for my Flesh Eaters. A gaping mouth that looks just the right mix of chaos and non-chaos.

 I have yet to finish it, but there will be a horn from the Beastmen kit that sits above the Sergeant's knife on his hip. I thought it added a nice touch and helped enhance the hunter feel of the model.

I think this model has a great air of authority about him and just the right amount of "jazzing up" to convey leadership. I actually had to paint him twice due to an unfortunate sealer frosting incident. I really hate when that happens... But I digress...

Next up is the Plasma Gunner of the squad and my Preferred Enemy specialist in the Kill Team.

I gave him a power fist to use as an "oven mitt" of sorts. Helps protect him from those nasty plasma burns and thus explaining his re-rolls from Preferred Enemy in a fun way. This guy racked up quite the kill count and never died during the competition due to Gets Hot rules!

Now for one of my favorites in the squad so far, my Ignores Cover specialist. I wanted to go for an "expert gunman" look so I took inspiration from over the top action movie hero poses. The result is pretty good if I do say so myself!

I called him "Two Guns". To help explain visually how he can shoot in such an extreme manner, I used the advanced targeting array on his helmet and matched one eye color to each gun. Blue for the boltgun and green for the bolt pistol. To also help illustrate his "two is better than one" mentality I gave him the double knife setup and a chainsword for good measure. A true expert soldier can never have too many weapons after all!

Now lastly I have the other model that was never used in any of the Kill Team games so far, but will come in handy should I run a list that is either Chaos Space Marines or Loyalist Marines other than Space Wolves (who have a distinct lack of heavy bolters and melta in their standard infantry apparently...)

I picked up some new micro pens and they cam in handy for doing cool little designs on the purity seals and weapon adornments! I also need to touch up his organic eye so it doesn't look so lazy...

Overall I feel that all four of these models have a very nice continuity about them. Lots of bone charms, trophies, skin cloths and armor that looks just on the verge of full chaos. I am very pleased with how they turned out, and I wish that the pics were of a better quality. Its really hard to see the washes and dirtying I put the models through to make them look like a Kill Team operating behind enemy lines with no support should. Anywho thanks for looking and stay tuned for actual regular updates within the next few days!