Sons of Ultramar

My alterego has been extremely busy the last month or so working 50-60 hours a week, but I've not been completely idle on the hobby front - I just haven't had time to sit at the keyboard and post. The newest edition of Warhammer 40k, which I think is the best in decades, has prompted the start of a new army...

The new Primaris Marines are fantastic models. These are Intercessors - the equivalent of Tactical Marines. These new 'true scale' marines have much better proportions and some really dynamic poses. So far most of the offerings have been single pose kits, but for the most part I've been happy to build them as they come. Games Workshop will be turning out flipping great piles of Primaris Marines in the future so there will be plenty of scope of customizing units then.

It's taken me weeks to decide which chapter to paint my shiny new models. Although the background story GW has come up with allows you to field Primaris Marines along side their existing brethren, I didn't want to mix them with my Red Scorpions. I don't really like the idea of my rank and file towering over my terminators so I'm going to build a new army composed of all Primaris Marines and possibly some mortal servants of the Emperor (I have a full set of the Execution Force Assassins I've been looking for an excuse to paint) that won't seem out of place being a head shorter than these mighty warriors.

As you can see, I settled on Ultramarines. I did this for several reasons. My first inclination was to paint them as Imperial Fists. I even did a test model. The yellow armor looks great, but it took forever to get a clean finish, even over a white undercoat. Somehow I also only have ONE squad's worth of Imperial Fist transfers... I must have a hundred sheets of Ultramarine transfers, plus all of the new kits come with them.

Secondly, it is still unclear exactly how the new Primaris Marines are incorporated into the chapter company system. Some of the squad decals now sport numbers higher than ten - the new Space Marine Codex is due out in a week so we should have more answers then, but I was going through this process over a month ago. The poster boys for GW's collection has been the second company of the Ultramarines, so I knew I couldn't go wrong with choosing them. I intend to add squad markings to my units when I have more concrete info.

I'm happy with my choice. These have been relatively quick to paint and if I weren't away from home so much right now I could have had the entire box set finished by now. I haven't decided if I want to add some battle damage or weathering yet - I'm kind of enjoying the factory fresh look of these guys so far.

I'll have lots more Ultramarines (so far I have one box of everything they've released and more on preorder) in the future and post some thoughts on the new 8th edition of 40k as well. We've played more 40k since the launch of eighth edition than I think I played in the entire run of the last edition. I've been using Orks (LOVE these guys in eighth), but I'm looking forward to getting enough Ultramarines painted to get them on the table.

Chapter Master Pedro Kantor

I mentioned a few weeks back that my brother currently has my Crimson Fist Space Marines. He has added some models of his own, but he really wanted to add Pedro Kantor to the army and asked If I'd paint him to match my others. I already had the model tucked away in the closet and spent a few hours getting him ready for the table...

The net is rife with rumors that a new Space Marine codex is on the way in a few weeks (Really? I mean I play Space Marines and will no doubt benefit from the latest round of power creep, but the life span of a codex has become ridiculous - maybe I should stick to Rogue Trader). Hopefully he will still be in the book! For that mater, I wish they would include Red Scorpions so I can drop the stigma of having a Forge World army. I actually don't mind running the Red Scorpions as vanilla marines, but I did paint up a few extra medics to serve as tactical squad leaders...

Crimson Fist Space Marines

These photos were some of the biggest draw from my old website so I thought I'd recycle them here...

These models are currently in my brother's possession. I've added a few models since I took these pics and promised to add a few more to make the list more my brother's style. I'd like to add some more anyway as the Crimson Fists were always one of my favorite Space Marine chapters.

I'll be adding more content from the old site in the following weeks...

Commander Culln

Here's the newest addition to my Red Scorpions Space Marine army - Commander Culln! The addition of the Commander places me somewhere around 2600 points for this army, though I would need to use two force structures because I now how three HQ choices... not a problem since I have four Troop choices!

I have a pile of Rhino/Razorback (I plan to leave the top hatch unglued so I can use the kits for either) and Drop Pod transports hanging around which will probably be up next when I get around to more Space Marines.

Red Scorpions Devastator Squad

More reinforcements for my Red Scorpions Space Marine army, this time in the form of some much needed Heavy Support...

I'm going to add another four marines next week and I'll have the option of fielding a full ten man squad, a five or six man squad if I want to place them in a Razorback (a hint for something else coming in the near future), or I can leave the heavies at home and field an extra six man tactical squad.

Ultramarines

The most vanilla marine yet... from the photo I see this guy needs another coat of matte varnish on his shoulder pad. I sealed all of the decals with Games Workshop's Lahmian Medium which does a great job in dulling down shiny details, but this joker needs a little more attention...

Someone asked about the paints I used for the Ultramarines. I presume they were primarily interested in the blue. All of my models start with a black undercoat. All of the paints were from the new Games Workshop range. I painted the armor with Macragge Blue, leaving the black showing in the recesses between plates. Then the model was given a wash of Drakenhof Nightshade. The next step was the most time consuming, though not nearly as much so on the modern marine models. I painted all of the armor plates again with Altdorf Guard Blue and left the darker colors showing in shadow areas - the underside of the legs and arms, around obvious joins int he armor, etc. In large flat areas, this meant blending the color out, but in small areas I simply left a fine line of the darker color showing. The final highlights were fast and consisted of Calgar Blue painted on the sharp edges of the armor (seen best on the helmet above).

Other colors were far simplier and applied in only two layers - Leadbelcher and tiny highlights of Runefang Steel for the metallics, Mephiston Red and Evil Sunz Scarlet for the visor (with tiny dots of White Scar and a coat of 'Ardcoat Vanrnish to make 'em shiny), and Celestra Grey and Ulthuan Grey for the white details such as the stripe on the helmet and studs on the shoulder pad. I don't remember what the browns for the pouches were, but any earthy color will do.

The battle damage was done by adding small chips and cracks with Abaddon Black and highlighting the underside of each with Lothern Blue. The mud and dust was built up by stippling and drybrushing in two coats, first with Mournfang Brown and then very lightly with Karak Stone, but you should use the same colors you would normally use on the base of your models. These colors are focused primarily on the feet and lower legs, but the errant splash here and there (such as the shoulder guard above) is not out of place.

Hope that helps! More Ultramrines and Red Scorpions on the way and don't think I've forgotten about the Grand Alliance period...

Medic!

One of the special rules in the Forge World Red Scorpions army list called PURITY ABOVE ALL. The fluff is that the chapter closely monitors it's geneseed, screening for mutation and corruption, to the point of fanatiscism! The game rule allows you to upgrade any Sergeants in Tactical Squads to Apothecaries for 25pts which will give the entire squad FEEL NO PAIN (Ignore unsaved Wounds on a 5+).

This use to seem overpowered to me before the Blood Angels Codex came out. Forge World rules are not allowed in most of the national tournaments, but I don't play in those kind of events - my local group is fine with the rule. In any case, I still have the original Sergeants I painted.

In light of the post from yesterday, I should also mention the other special rule for the Red Scorpions - HAVE PRIDE IN YOUR COLOURS. The Red Scorpions shun the use of camouflage and it's attendant tactics such as covert operations, stealth, and infiltration. This means no model in the army may use the INFILTRATION or SCOUT special rule so my Scout units will set up in the same manner as the rest of my troops... still worth it for the Sniper Rifles!

Red Scorpions Snipers

In the Kill Team event last week, my Plague Marines were nearly annihilated in two turns by a combination of Space Marine scouts armed with sniper rifles and a missile launcher - this after weathering a storm of heavy bolter fire and Tau pulse weapons without flinching. My brother has been after me to use this combo for a decade, so this week I finally painted up a small squad to add to my Red Scorpions army.

The camo cloaks sport the chapter approved scheme used during the Angstrom Incident during the Badab War. These are the first of many new models I plan to add to my Red Scorpions this year...

Ultramarines

I have four or five different styles of Ultramarine decals (I never seem to throw anything away) and I want to use all of them in this collection, emphasizing the personalization of armor. The black and white checker pattern made a great background for this style decal and adds another unique element to this trooper.

Ultramarines

This Veteran Sergeant is marked by his red helmet (on his hip). He sports the slogan 'ULTRA' on his should in case there is any doubt. I forgot to mention the addition of battle damage on the other models. This was done by simply adding small chips and cracks with Abaddon Black and highlighting the underside of each with Lothern Blue.

More next week as well as more Warfare Miniatures!

Ultramarines

These posts will not be long beyond a few comments on specific details.

This is one of my favorite Space Marine models of ALL TIME! He just looks like he means business with that Multi-melta.

Rogue Trader - Ultramarines

One of the first wargames I ever bought (after Operation Warboard by Gavin Lyall and Charge! by Brig. P. Young and Lt.Col. J. P. Lawford) was Warhammer 40k - Rogue Trader. Along with White Dwarf magazine, this book was the one that really started my focus on painting models. I had painted Dungeons & Dragons minis in the 80's and some 1:72 WW2 stuff even before that, but the concept of collecting an ARMY and moving beyond simple base coats was spurred on by the photos in this book and the subsequent Warhammer 40k - Chapter Approved that introduced the earliest army lists for the game. 

Anyway, recently my brother came across all of the models I had from that era. Some have been lost, sold on e-bay, and a few take the field in my brother's Eldar army, but there is still a substantial collection. There has been a renaissance of collecting and painting Rogue Trader era minis (see some of the blog links to the left) and I carrying on the tradition I started last year of painting models I already own I decided to mix in some of these old minis among the other projects I have planned for this year.

Of course, I HAVE to start with Space Marines. I have two tactical squads, an assault squad, and a squad of terminators plus some extra marine troopers and characters and a couple of vehicles in the form of an original Rhino kit (still on the sprue) and a Dreadnought. This would have been a substantial force using the 1st or 2nd edition lists - well over 2000 points, but by modern standards is probably closer to half of that. I am actually going to paint without regard to point values as I haven't decided what version of the game to use them with. I may just go old school and simply throw models on the table without regard for lists or points at all. Besides the Space Marines, I have an equally large collection of the original Chaos Space Marines (including a Dreadnought), sixty or seventy Orks, a small group of Genestealers and Genestealer Cult hybrids, and a large assortment of pirates, mercenaries, and various Imperial characters like Inquisitors, Sanctioned Psykers, and Adeptus Mechanicus Priests. I'm going to come up with some sort of narrative campaign that allows me to field various combinations of all of these!

Back to the Space Marines. I had to decide which chapter to paint. My initial instinct was to go with Crimson Fists who are on the cover of the Rogue Trader book, but I already have an army of those.

I definitely wanted it to be one of the chapters from the original book. Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Space Wolves, and White Scars are also iconic and featured more than once in the early books, but in the end I decided to go with maybe the MOST iconic of the Chapters - The Ultramarines. The others have either evolved beyond the concept of the original models (like the Space Wolves) or doctrine of models I have available (like the White Scars). Besides I have always liked the bad pun of the Ultra-Marines (they have to be the best, they're Ultra) and in all the years I have been collection 40k stuff I have never painted an Ultramarine!

Finally after all of the long winded prattle, here is the first of my Rogue Trader Space Marines...

The classic artwork is filled with images of individualized embellishments to the Space Marine armor. In fact, in the Chapter Approved painting section (Battle Colours)  this is canonized by the story of Jon Blanchisan which relates 'the need for personalized iconography on all forms of armour and equipment.' I intend to take full advantage of that with these models and the model above sports a 'KIL KIL' slogan on his shoulder pad, a popular addition among the Adeptus Astartes.

There is no set schedule for this project, but there will always be some of these classic models on my table amid the mix of more modern 40k, Warfare Miniatures, AWI, and whatever else draws my attention. I'll post pics whenever I finish something new...

A Tale of One Gamer - Part Eight

November sees the completion of my Red Scorpions army at 2000 points!

Of course, I've already shown the Land Raider. The remaining additions gave some much needed speed to my force. The bike squad and attack bike will be fielded as one unit and the Assault Squad will normally support the bikes or the Vanguard Veteran squad.

So the final tally...

HQ
Space Marine Captain
Space Marine Command Squad
Space Marine Librarian

Troops
Space Marine Tactical Squad (10)
Space Marine Tactical Squad (10)
Space Marine Squad Squad (8)

Elite
Space Marine Terminator Squad (5)
Dreadnought

Fast Attack
Space Marine Bike Squad (3 + Attack Bike)
Space Marine Assault Squad (5)
Vanguard Veterans (5)

Heavy Support
Land Raider Crusader

Basically painted over the course of four months! I discovered that by alternating between the Space Marines and Tyranids, it was easier to keep the drive going and not burn out slapping the same colors on models day after day. It was also easy to paint 500-points a month and left me time to work on other projects.

When I started this project, part of the goal was to paint things I had tucked away in my game room. The only thing I purchased for the Red Scorpion army were the Assault Marine box and the Land Raider doors from Forge World. After all this, I STILL have enough unpainted kits to add another 1000 points easy, but I am planning on starting ANOTHER Space Marine army for 2013 that I've wanted to do for a very long time...

Anyway, this was a fun experiment - next month will see the completion of my 2000 point Tyranid army!

Red Scorpions Land Raider

Ok - I was supposed to be painting Tyranids for my 'A Tale of One Gamer' this month and I have made progress on that front (pics next week). However, I have also been working on a Space Marine Land Raider Crusader for my Red Scorpions army and rather than wait for next month I wanted to feature the tank in a post of it's own.

I am extremely pleased with the results. The skull and wings emblem on the upper hull was painted freehand which was something I've never really attempted. I took a photo of the top of the model, imported the image into CorelDraw, and designed the graphic to size. I printed this to use as a reference. After painting the hull grey, I used a white colored pencil to sketch my design on the hull and then carefully blocked in the shapes. When I was satisfied with the emblem, I highlighted in the same manner as the rest of the tank.

The side and front hatches are from Forge World. I painted the crew model as a Techmarine rather than a standard trooper to break up the monotony of grey and gold. Right now the model is in pristine condition, right from the manufactorum, but I plan on adding battle damage and weathering.

Tyranids coming next week...

A Tale of One Gamer - Part Six

This month's 40k painting has brought me to 1500-points...

The addition of the Space Marine Librarian gives me psychic support that my force has been lacking so far and it's never bad to have an extra character. The Command Squad adds extra support for my Space Marine Captain and helps keep from being so easily targeted. Finally, I like to field lots of Troops in my army for those all important objective grabs so I painted up a second Tactical Squad. My army is up to 46 models which is very respectable for Space Marines!

I've decided to target my armies for 1850-points for now which seems to be a fairly popular tournament point total... not that I'll be taking part in such events, but the logic behind the total is to allow a good variety of stuff while still finishing battles in a reasonable amount of time, which suits me perfectly. For November expect to see my Red Scorpions gain reinforcements in the form of a couple of Heavy Support choices! Back to Tyranids for October...

A Tale of One Gamer - Part Four

After a fast start (I finished my Vanguard Veterans way back on July 9th) I didn't have as much time to paint as I'd hoped, but I did manage to add two units to my Red Scorpions army...

These units bring me up to 1020 points and (more importantly) the addition of the Scout Squad gives me my second Troops choice - I now have a legal army for the game table. By the end of August, with the gribblies sitting on my desk, I should have at least 1000 points of Tyranids as well and I'll be able to play my first game!


Badab Bloggers

40k Friday

Progress on my 'A Tale of One Gamer' project so far for July...

Red Scorpions Vanguard Veterans

Still going through the new 40k rule book - I'll have some general impressions by next weekend, maybe for my 40k Friday post. 

40k Friday

WIP update on my ToOG project with the first of my Vanguard Veterans in action with the help of Photoshop!

As a vanilla chapter, I've chosen to paint veteran Red Scorpions models with the codex white helmet (and the sergeant with red).


Badab Bloggers

A Tale of One Gamer - Part Two

This week for 40k Friday, I want to show the results of May, my first month of my ToOG project. I set out to paint the Space Marines of The Assault on Black Reach box set as the core of my new army - The Red Scorpions! Right off the bat, I decided to replace the captain that comes with that set with the multipart kit I also had in the closet. The rest of the models are from the set, with the addition of brass Red Scorpion badges from Forge World.

Just realized I complete forgot to 'weather' the Dreadnought - oh, well, I'll fit that in later this week. This comes to roughly 635 points which is a good start for the army and I am rather pleased with the results so far. I haven't decided exactly what to add next except a second Troops choice to make this a 'legal' army. I'll probably add a Command Squad to back up my Captain as well...

WARHAMMER 40K PLAYERS TAKE NOTE: I am a terrible Warhammer player. I tend to build armies with units I want to paint that look cool. I rarely spend a lot of time weighing point values other than to get the totals right. Do not follow my growing army list as a path toward victory on the table. You have been warned!

Ok, June is the month of Tyranids! My next ToOG post will feature my first 500(ish) points of my SECOND new army.


Badab Bloggers

40k Friday

With the new 40k collections underway, I thought I'd keep the theme up with 40k Friday! I already have four large armies and thought I'd take the opportunity to feature more on them - I'll be pulling photos completely at random from my old collection and maybe take the opportunity to take new photos or post 'artsy' photoshop alterations in the style of the 'combat photos' seen in Forge World books.

I'll kick off this new feature with a unit I've never photographed - my Crimson Fist Terminators (as usual, click on the photo for a larger image)!