# Into the fires of battle - More salamanders



## Varakir

This log will be a continuation of my Ashbringers (Salamanders 3rd company), the log for which can be found here:

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=46698

I've decided to chuck up a new log as i'm intending to move away from the 3rd company, and expand the other sections of my army. Hopefully this week i'll be re-shooting photos of my force to date, and uploading them all to the Army Showcase, as it's a great feature of heresy and it'll be nice to have them all in one place.

So, the aims for this log are:

2 x scout squads
1 x vulkan he'stan
1 x sternguard squad
1 x assault termie squad

In addition i'll also be reworking my master of the forge, adding a new chaplain, a librarian and hopefully brayarth ashmantle from IA10 once forgeworld has him on sale.

These are all things i've wanted to do for a long time, but i think my skills have developed to teh point where i can really pull my ideas off now.....so here we go!

I couldn't leave you without some pics, so here's the first 2 projects being undertaken.

*Scout Squad caudata:*

I've done scouts before, but they were one of my first paint jobs after coming back to the hobby and i'm not really happy with them. The metal ones have been stripped and will be re-painted soon, but i also had some plastics lying around. The problem with the plastics is I loathe the heads....they look ridiculous, and I like to have all my marines either wearing or carrying a helmet. I've seen Pig Iron heads used to solve this problem in several places, so i decided to give them a try. The results aren't half bad, and i like them a lot more than the plastic scout heads.









*
Vulkan:*

I like the official sculpt, but his pose doesn't sit well with me. I also like trying out new things and creating my own characters, so i really had to convert my own Vulkan.

I've spent countless hours looking through Vulkan conversions, and this is an amalgamation of ides i've nicked, and a few of my own ideas.



















The body is sicarius, with a wolf fist chopped together with a lightning claw to make the gauntlet. 










I got quite lucky in the last 2 months with the release of the FW sallie pads and the GK kits, as they filled 2 gaps in my model that I was struggling to source parts for. The staff is perfect for the spear shaft in conjunction with sicaruius (i might mount him higher up to straighten the spear out though), and once i've decided on what to use for the tip I think it'll look pretty sexy.

The next step is to complete the obvious clean up work, then start sculpting the loin cloth and mantle. I'm not sure whether the mantle will be formed from the cloak itself, or if i'll sculpt it on top like the space wolf pelts. Either way i'm a bit anxious about my abilities to pull it off well, but nothing ventured as they say.....

C&C is very much welcome, and any thoughts on the spear tip, mantle or anything else to do with these conversions will be appreciated :victory:

*Unto the anvil of war!*


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## Midge913

Looking good Varakir. I am much more impressed by the unpainted FW shoulder pads. I was hoping that the horrid pictures on the FW website was just due to a hasty paint job and that seems to be the case. The conversion is going well, I like the Pig Iron heads on the scouts, and I am really looking forward to seeing Ashmantle completed. I will be following your progress.


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## Bane_of_Kings

Nice, I love the He'stan conversion . Can't wait to see it painted.


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## Hammer49

Superb conversion on vulkan.


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## spanner94ezekiel

I like the conversions, but something's bugging me about Vulkan's staff...
In the pics in the codex it was more of a halberd, and that just looks too much like a libby's staff.
Or maybe that's just me :laugh: and great work on all the rest.


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## Varakir

Thanks for the warm reception on Vulkan, i'm really looking forward to getting him completed 



spanner94ezekiel said:


> something's bugging me about Vulkan's staff...
> In the pics in the codex it was more of a halberd, and that just looks too much like a libby's staff.


You read the bit where I said I was replacing the top right? :wink:


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## spanner94ezekiel

Man I need to open my eyes more :headbutt:


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## Varakir

spanner94ezekiel said:


> Man I need to open my eyes more :headbutt:


I wouldn't worry, my eyes are always drawn to the pretty pictures too :grin:


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## spanner94ezekiel

Pretty pictures opcorn:

Oh crap, there's writing too!


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## Scathainn

Solid work.

The only thing that bugs me is it seems like Vulkan has a really long neck...anyone else seeing that? :search:


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## DijnsK

subscribed to this thread... as my army, the sons of hephaestus, is a successor chapter, it wont hurt to take a look here for inspiration so once in a while


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## Gothic

Hey V great work as usual, i'll be keeping my eyes on this one like i did with your ashbringers plog.


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## Varakir

Scathainn said:


> Solid work.
> 
> The only thing that bugs me is it seems like Vulkan has a really long neck...anyone else seeing that? :search:


Yup I am :wink:

I haven't done anything on the head yet, so I still need to remove the neck and the scorpion motif.


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## Dicrel Seijin

Subscribing to this thread too as I need all the inspiration I can get for my Salamanders company.


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## Vokshev

Awesome..the original sculpt for Vulkan He'stan is slightly out of proportion and cartoonish in my opinion.

YOU HAVE TO MAKE HIS CLOAK DRAGONSCALED.

Good job so far, can't wait till you complete it.


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## kickboxerdog

where did you get the scout helmets from?


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## Gothic

I believe the scout heads are from pig iron production ( http://www.pig-iron-productions.com/ ) if I am wrong someone correct me please.

Also V when's the next update.

Gothic


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## papa nurgle

thats a great vulkan conversion! as a fellow lizard myself, i understand how frustrating the vulkan conversion gets... aargghhh... been trying to get mine right for a year.


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## RedHotMagma

hey, I'm starting (well close to finishing) my Salamander army as well. I saw all of your plog and it looks amazing! So I was wondering if you could visit my plog and advice me or give me suggestions about conversions or painting techniques... thank you in advance


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## CMDR_VELIK

nice work on the conversion.


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## Varakir

*yawn* 

Well that was a rather long break, time for updates!

Got some more prep done for vulkan this week:

Dry fit parts:









Spear:









Gauntlet:









Green stuff kesare's mantle:









I'm very happy with the spear, it looks huge and properly pretty. The flamer glove isn't too bad either, it looks fairly close to the art and distinctive enough for my tastes.

I haven't really played with GS much before, so that's been a bit of a learning curve. I'm pretty happy with the mantle, but the loin cloth just hasn't played nicely. I'm going to try and get it a bit smoother before paint goes on.

I decided to do the mantle rather than stick scales straight on the cape, as one of the key reasons for using sicarius was how pretty the cape is. I couldn't put scales straight on without obscuring the detail, so i think this is a decent compromise.

Finally here's the first of my scouts with a lick of paint:










I like this infinitely more than the regular scout models, and it'll be a pretty nice unit once they're all done. When all 5 are done i'll take some proper pictures as the light is killing some of the highlights here.


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## Xisor

Excellent stuff, Varakir. Dare I say it - about time too!

The work on your Vulkan is pretty brilliant. I like the pose and composition a lot. (As you've probably noticed - my own conversion is much more crude and not quite as captivating...but also very easy as it involved only kitbashing plastics, so it comes out as 'nice' rather than decent.)

Anyhow, I love the feel on the scout. I may well set about chopping up the scouts I have to repose them along these lines. 

I look forward to seeing future development!


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## Dicrel Seijin

When I first saw the scout conversions on the first page, I was curious how they would turn out. I must say that with the paint that figure looks fantastic.


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## Midge913

I like the Vulkan conversion so far mate, though I agree with you that the loin cloth looks a little rough. But for a first time GS attempt things are looking great! The scout is looking good as well, the helms worked out nicely.


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## Varakir

Vulkan is finally ready for primer, and hopefully will get paint on him this month :victory:

I also assembled some of my sternguard, and got some more GS practice along the way (which i really need...)









Re-posed marine with converted bolter









Heavy flamer chap with HUGE backpack. Not sure if it looks stupid or awesome, but that fits with most of my army :grin:


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## Varakir

Slowly getting there with Vulkan. haven't had as much time to paint this month as i'd like, but he has been fun to paint. I cheated with the loin cloth in the end, and just covered it with scales. Still looks a bit rough, but better than it did.

I'm not sure about what freehand to do on the cape - thinking about flames but not sure how they will turn out on a red background. I'll probably do some tests, but if anyone has some examples to share that would be appreciated!


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## Cold86

Re-Crunk-U-Less!!!!!!!!!!!

thats a combo of crunk and ridiculous +rep for the guy with the crazy backpack!


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## KjellThorngaard

Vulkan is looking really, really good. For a newbie to GS you are doing it very well. Way better than my ham-fisted attempts.


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## Magpie_Oz

nice work all 'round mate, I am taking a lot of inspiration from this Plog for my own Salamanders.


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## Scythes

I love the scales you've done on Vulkans mantle, they look really good. As for the loin cloth, it looks like the scales are just stuck on kind of. You should do them a bit more to the edges, maybe smaller ones on the outside of what you have already. Other than that it looks great, and the painting is looking excellent too. 

+imaginary rep (I guess I've given you some lately, for a great special character.


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## Dicrel Seijin

Vulkan's coming along nicely. Can't wait to see what he looks like fully assembled and painted.


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## cranvill

Very nice my frend and love the scales i would to be able to sculpt like that.


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## Varakir

Can't believe i started this plog 2 years ago....

I'd say 'where has the time gone?' but i'm well aware that it's gone into Work, Family, Biking and Dota 2!

Anyway, I am back on the horse - mostly due to organizing a semi regular gaming group with a few friends. It's been so long since i've played a proper game and i really enjoyed a little 500pt skirmish last week. Looking forward to fielding a decent sized army so i can field Vulkan, who is now finished :victory:










I think he's gone as well as i could have hoped - i might build a scenic base for him at some point and maybe clean up the loincloth, but i'm pretty happy with him.

Next task is to convert my scouts to snipers (as i can't find anything useful for shotgun scouts to do)!


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## Ddraig Cymry

Your paint on those Pig Iron heads is great! They actually don't look too bad when put on Scouts like that.


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## Jacobite

As I said in it's stand alone thread, nice work. Re the shotguns. Put a scope on it and some brass tubing for the barrel, a slightly thicker piece on the end for a flash suppressor and boom sniper rifle.


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## Varakir

Jacobite said:


> As I said in it's stand alone thread, nice work. Re the shotguns. Put a scope on it and some brass tubing for the barrel, a slightly thicker piece on the end for a flash suppressor and boom sniper rifle.


Thanks again, i totally forgot about the project log until i saw it in my signature  I've already bodged some together with bolter muzzles and a tau burst cannon, i'll try and get some pics up later. I'm thinking of using my sergeant as a counts as Telion, but i think he'll need a few more gubbins to look like a special character.

Edit: Picture of Shotgun -> Sniper rifle










Quite happy since i didn't have to stray outside my bits box, but any tips to make them better will be welcomed.



> Your paint on those Pig Iron heads is great! They actually don't look too bad when put on Scouts like that.


Thanks! One of the things i really wanted to do with my army is make sure everyone had a helmet (either wearing it or with them). The pig iron heads need a bit of help around the neck but they fit pretty well on the scout body. Good value as well


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## SwedeMarine

I really like this conversion. Its simple and neat. Im looking forward to seeing it painter and mounted in a model


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## Varakir

Scout squad is finally done! Scout Sergeant Rae'kwon (Counts as Telion) and a unit of 10th company snipers.

I played these guys on Saturday with my MOTF and they earned their points back by the bucketload - ireally like this unit. Some of the rifle conversions aren't 100% straight, but this was a nice and easy conversion if you have shotguns lying around. 

Just noticed the barrells need drilling, so hopefully i can sort that tomorrow and get some better pictures in the sunlight. Picasa is being a pain so current image attached for now.

Tonight I also did a head swap on my MOTF (from previous plog)and finally finished up his backpack, so i'll have pics of him up soon as well.


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## Jacobite

REally love the orange on the helmets, such a vivid focus point. What is it you are using for the sniper barrels?


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## Varakir

Thanks guys  The sniper barrels are from a Tau burst cannon with Bolter muzzles stuck on the end. Forgot to drill them again :/

I did get some better pictures of the finished MOTF though:










He still needs work but i think i am done with this model and i'm going to move on. I still want to try a servo harness conversion, so I've got some bits prepped for an alternative MOTF model somewhere down the line. Just need to decide on what to use for the armour.

Progress today was making a good start on my DV conversions for a Bike Captain and Librarian. 










The bike will be getting flames sculpted over the wings - similar to my other bikes but a lot more extreme.










The libby was pretty easy to sort out with a bit of filing and an arm swap. Not sure whether to sculpt scales on his robes or free hand some flames, but i'm leaning more towards the latter.


My next project was going to be sternguard, but that's on hold until the new boxes hit the shelves - i'll be picking up a squad ASAP and that will be the next priority.


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## Jacobite

Nice work on the MOTF, what pieces have you used for the CB? If you were to return to the piece I'd recommend re-working the join at the waist as it doesn't look as smooth as the rest of the convserion. The paint job is really smooth however.


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## Varakir

Jacobite said:


> Nice work on the MOTF, what pieces have you used for the CB? If you were to return to the piece I'd recommend re-working the join at the waist as it doesn't look as smooth as the rest of the convserion. The paint job is really smooth however.


Absolutely - he has lots of poorly converted bits that i should have paid more attention to. If i start fixing him though i'll just end up ripping him to pieces and doing most of it again. He looks pretty sweet on the table and i've learnt a lot from my mistakes, so i feel it's time to move on.


The CB is a terminator assault cannon, the back half of a razorback lascannon and the front of a missile launcher. I hand cut the cog and the cables are paperclips wrapped in florists wire.


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## Jacobite

Fair enough at a certain point you've got to say enoughs enough. I know I get to that stage myself enough!


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## Khorne's Fist

Some stunning work here Var. That He'stan conversion is way better than the GW one, and the paint job is excellent. The scout snipers are a very simple but very effective conversion as well. Are those Pig Iron heads on them?

The MOTF is a great as well. The weapon looks suitably archaic and complicated. +rep.


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## Varakir

Khorne's Fist said:


> Some stunning work here Var. That He'stan conversion is way better than the GW one, and the paint job is excellent. The scout snipers are a very simple but very effective conversion as well. Are those Pig Iron heads on them?
> 
> The MOTF is a great as well. The weapon looks suitably archaic and complicated. +rep.


Cheers mate - they are indeed Pig Iron heads. I still have loads left so i'm thinking of getting a LS storm at some point.

Sternguard have been ordered now, and i have magnets on the way!


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## SonofVulkan

Some excellent stuff here. The sniper rifles are very good, an idea I will be stealing. I love your MOTF conversion. Paperclips wrapped in wire you say, thanks for that, you just solved my mechatendril problem.


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## Varakir

SonofVulkan said:


> Some excellent stuff here. The sniper rifles are very good, an idea I will be stealing. I love your MOTF conversion. Paperclips wrapped in wire you say, thanks for that, you just solved my mechatendril problem.


Aye, it's florists wire - you can get massive spools of the stuff off ebay nice and cheap. 

I'd love to say i thought it up, but i used this tutorial - http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=48233&highlight=florist

Cheers for the comments! :victory:


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## Varakir

Working on about 4 different things at once, which is very unlike me. I'll be painting the librarian first, then i'll have to pick something else to get started on, probably the sternguard :victory:

This is some sculpting for the biker captain. Covered up the ravenwing stuff and added some flames:










My sternguard box showed up (great kit) and i wasn't sure what to do with my homemade sternguard i had already started on. In the end i decided to make a 10 man unit with my original 6 models and the masses of bits you get from the sternguard box. There will be 2 heavy flamers, 1 bolter chap and the rest are magnetised for weapon swaps.











Next up is my first flyer, the Stormtalon gunship. I was considering a landspeeder, but after looking over the rules i'm quite intrigued to see how this plays. It's not very pretty though, so i've already started cutting bits off and i'll be making several modifications to it along the way. 











Once the storm talon is together i'll be getting on with painting the libby, but i'm not 100% sure what colour scheme to use yet. I'm leaning towards blue armour with green robes, though i'm a little worried it will look garish. Any suggestions?

Comments and feedback appreciated as always :victory:


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## revilo44

I love all these insane conversions that you have done . Can't wait to see more. How did You so the flames on the biker captain?


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## Dorns Legacy

Varakir said:


> Working on about 4 different things at once, which is very unlike me. I'll be painting the librarian first, then i'll have to pick something else to get started on, probably the sternguard :victory:
> 
> This is some sculpting for the biker captain. Covered up the ravenwing stuff and added some flames:
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> My sternguard box showed up (great kit) and i wasn't sure what to do with my homemade sternguard i had already started on. In the end i decided to make a 10 man unit with my original 6 models and the masses of bits you get from the sternguard box. There will be 2 heavy flamers, 1 bolter chap and the rest are magnetised for weapon swaps.
> 
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> Next up is my first flyer, the Stormtalon gunship. I was considering a landspeeder, but after looking over the rules i'm quite intrigued to see how this plays. It's not very pretty though, so i've already started cutting bits off and i'll be making several modifications to it along the way.
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> Once the storm talon is together i'll be getting on with painting the libby, but i'm not 100% sure what colour scheme to use yet. I'm leaning towards blue armour with green robes, though i'm a little worried it will look garish. Any suggestions?
> 
> Comments and feedback appreciated as always :victory:


Colour wheels, colour wheels, colour wheels. A basic colour wheel would show blue with the opposing colour of orange or yellow which will tie the colours together well and simulate the fire that burns inside of every Salamander. But on the flip side of that why not go something different for a change? Red Libby with green trim/cloak (colour wheel opposites) ?

Loving these minis so far and looking forward to seeing the work that comes next, Salamanders are one of my favs (admittedly i have a few) but i have never attempted them due to not being able to do all that great conversions which i feel a good salamanders army benefits from greatly (this thread shows what i mean)

Heres a basic colour wheel to show what i mean.










Ofc there are much better and bigger colour wheels but this serves its purpose.


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## Jacobite

Awesome flames on the bike, really stunning work. Libby wise, have you thought about going codex scheme with it (blue with yellow robes) but also working some green into the yellow robes in parts? Yellow and green work and yellow and blue work. Maybe quarter the shcme on the robes?

Just some random of the top of my head ideas for you.


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## Varakir

Jacobite said:


> Awesome flames on the bike, really stunning work. Libby wise, have you thought about going codex scheme with it (blue with yellow robes) but also working some green into the yellow robes in parts? Yellow and green work and yellow and blue work. Maybe quarter the shcme on the robes?
> 
> Just some random of the top of my head ideas for you.


Thanks Jacobite  I quite liked your idea of quarters, so i had a poke around and found this:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/324321

Personally the half and half scheme isn't working for me, but it does show me that green robes against blue armour actually looks pretty nice. I think i'll forge ahead with that for now and try to break teh robe up with some freehand instead.


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## Varakir

Libby is done - not too shabby for my usual speed of painting!

The blue is a little shiny, but I don't think it interferes with the green too much. 

Whilst painting him i managed to drop him and break off a finger - I always drop my models at least 10 times during painting, but this is the first time i've dropped one with such precision to break off an individual finger 

ANyway, to cover up the lost digit I had a play with some green stuff and manifested some pyromancy for my little psyker. Here he is:










Next up is the sternguard, or possibly go back and finally finish my whirlwind turret. :victory:


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## Ddraig Cymry

Great job fixing him! Looks great!


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## Varakir

Ddraig Cymry said:


> Great job fixing him! Looks great!


Cheers mate :victory:

Decided on the Whirlwind turret next - will hopefully have a rhino coming off ebay this week as well so i have something to put it on!


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## Lethiathan

Loving the DV libby, I did a similar thing with mine to convert it up into a different chapter! Looking really sweet.

Leth


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## Saintspirit

These things are looking really good! I love fire! Burn!


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## Varakir

Thanks for the comments guys :victory: 

Here's what i'm upto this week:

The whirlwind turret has been a bit boring (and i fucked it up) so looking forward to getting on with some infantry again. Here's the turret as she stands:










If I could be more like Cher and turn back time, i'd have painted the entire underside green and painted the supports black instead of boltgun. The flames turned out ok, but the middle just lets it down and i'm a bit disappointed with it. 

However - painting over silver is a pain in the ass, and it doesn't look horrific so it shall probably stay as it is. Just got the radar dish to do now and a few touch ups and she's done.


Stormtalon is also ready for paint:










In addition to removing the lower tail fin, I chopped down the cannon assembly and mounted the launchers under the wings. Looking forward to getting it painted and on the table, but need to make sure i choose a scheme i like first. I'm thinking of going mainly green with black tips on the fins.

Finally for today, these guys trundled over from ebay:










Annoyingly they brought lots of mould lines and interesting armour variations (double crux shoulderpads!) with them. 

A quick blast with a file, some pulling & gluing and I will finally have some TH/SS termies for Vulkan to play with, only 1 codex too late :laugh:

C&C welcome as always!


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## Jacobite

I think the whirlwind launchers look great! Flames are something I've never been able to do. The Storm Talon looks better with the moved launchers. Looking forward to seeing those Terminators. When buying second hand minis it is amazing how oddly some people put minis together.


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## SwedeMarine

I gotta second Jac on that. Launchers look great. cant wait to see some paint on that stromtalon.


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## Dorns Legacy

This entire plog really shows some amazing skill and brings forward the true feel of the Salamanders imho.

Love the work your doing here and as for the whirlwind launcher..... you are always your own worst critic.... that said i agree that they very nice and cant wait to see the finished article.

As with many plogs on here you keep making me want to start a new legion dam you  Salamanders have always been one of my favs (gotta love firey dragons of doom) but you truely do the justice have some rep and for the love of the Emperor KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.


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## Khorne's Fist

Those flames on the launcher are stunning, as is the sort of glow effect on the missile tips. And you thought you messed it up? Damn. Nice conversion on the gun ship as well. Doesn't look anywhere near as nose heavy as the original.


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## Varakir

Awww, thanks guys :wink:

I am really happy with the flames & missiles, it's just the rest of it that has irked me. You'll just have to trust me that in real life it looks a bit 'busy'.

Going to get teh dish done tonight, so pics should be imminent!


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## Varakir

Finished turret stuck on one of my Multipurpose rhino hulls ( I really need some more rhino hulls now):


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## Jacobite

This looks bloody great mate I have no idea what you are complaining about. Could do with a bit of weathering but I know that's just my personal taste coming through!


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## SwedeMarine

Seriously this looks amazing man. one can never have too many rhinos


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## kickboxerdog

wow really awesome stuff, i do feel a little weathering would really compliment your painting but overall a fantastic paint job.


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## Varakir

If i ever get around to trying weathering powders i might put a bit on - my other rhino has quite a few dings, scrapes and heavy dirt, so this is my clean rhino :grin:

I'm not really sure what to paint next - I'd like to get the stormtalon done, and my sternguard, but i know i'll get bored half way through a 10 man squad (as per usual)

Really excited to paint my new termies too, but i think the sternguard should get priority treatment. Decisions, decisions.......

Whilst procrastinating over my painting options i sorted out the termie shoulder pads and added a thunder hammer. They were stuck together with a year's supply of plastic cement so that was especially fun :angry:

I'm short a storm shield arm at the moment, so he has a powerfist for now until i can do a bits order or kitbash something. He does look pretty meaty, so i might just put the shield on his back.










I also decided to try out a drop pod in my next game, so i got the foamboard out and made a proxy:










It's turned out pretty nicely, so i'm considering not even buying a proper DP model. I'll build some removable doors for it at some point, texture the floor and add a kitbashed storm bolter assembly and it should be good to go :victory:


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## Jacobite

Scratch built drop pods! I am very interested to see how this turns out. Are you using a template?

It's a good start btw!


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## Saintspirit

It does look nice so far, will be nice to see how this ends up. Still, there are some places where it feels somewhat assymetrical.


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## Varakir

Jacobite said:


> Scratch built drop pods! I am very interested to see how this turns out. Are you using a template?
> 
> It's a good start btw!


Aye, i'm using the one that GW france put out before the official model came out - it's pretty easy to find and you can make the whole thing with 5mm foamboard and a cereal box. It's a tiny bit bigger than the GW one, it seems very similar to the FW dread drop pod.

I altered the design a little to make some space in the middle, as the original design is just a static lump - i wanted to be able to remove the doors during a game.



> It does look nice so far, will be nice to see how this ends up. Still, there are some places where it feels somewhat assymetrical.


The top is definitely wonky - it's my first proper scratchbuild and it was a little trial and error at times. I'm hoping i can cover the blemishes in paint :wink:


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## SwedeMarine

Varakir said:


> The top is definitely wonky - it's my first proper scratchbuild and it was a little trial and error at times. I'm hoping i can cover the blemishes in paint :wink:


Easy there mate that sounds a little like An ork mentality doncha think? WOuldnt want the Ordo Xenos to get suspicious now would we  Seriously looks good man can wait to see it finished


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## Varakir

SwedeMarine said:


> Easy there mate that sounds a little like An ork mentality doncha think? WOuldnt want the Ordo Xenos to get suspicious now would we


I do occasionally think i should collect orks, i really enjoy glueing random bits together :victory:

Got 2 sternguard finished - that's probably as many as i can paint at the same time without getting too burned out. Might do a couple more then get started on the stormtalon :grin:

Apologies for crappy phone pic - will take a proper one when i have a squad ready to go.


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## SwedeMarine

I need to get some lessons from you for painting flames. My Legion of the Damned are going to need a better paintjob soon.


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## Varakir

SwedeMarine said:


> I need to get some lessons from you for painting flames. My Legion of the Damned are going to need a better paintjob soon.


You may be in luck, I've recently written one  Should be up in a few days if the mods approve it.


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## zxyogi

Nice work on your Salvation army Boys. Still playing a tune or two on parade day?
Lol
As said awesome work as always!


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## SwedeMarine

Varakir said:


> You may be in luck, I've recently written one  Should be up in a few days if the mods approve it.


Sweet deal. In that case thats where you'll find me. hitting refresh every 10 minutes


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## Varakir

Been a long time since my last update, mainly as I haven't got anything finished. 

I have started far too many projects though - i've become one of _those_ people. My 'buy, build and paint 2 units at a time' rule has gone well out the window.

But that does mean i have quite a few things to share, so here they are 

First up - bits box inquisitors. I've been thinking about taking GK allies to field a small Inquisition army for a while, and the new Codex came along at the perfect time. I have some Warmachine proxies and other things en route, but these guys were slapped together out of spare parts in my bits box.

Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Salazar and 'Coteaz counts as' Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Nyallus.











Some progress on the stormtalon. Took ages painting the instruments in the cockpit only to realise it is very dark in there with a black base colour. Still at least i know they are done. 

As mentioned earlier I'vemoved some of the parts around to make it more aesthetically pleasing.










Another little side project is yet more options for my 2 rhinos ( i really should get more) - this time a demolisher cannon. My mate picked the old metal bit up in a ebay bits lot, and kindly donated it. I mounted it on some plasticard and added a few gubbins, and now it pops right on the front in place of the front panel. I can now run the same rhino as a vindicator, razorback and a whirlwind with no magnets :victory:










I'm going to add a targeting array to the top of the cannon and attach a dozer blade to make it look a bit more exciting.


Finally i have been making some terrain. This was constructed from an old coffee shop sign using the cityfight templates and based on some foamboard. Next job is to sponge on some paint and add sand to the base. I have 2 more of these to do, as well as some little area terrain pieces.










and that's it for now.

There's lots still on the painting bench, but having some diversity is actually keeping me more productive 

C&C welcome as always!


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## SwedeMarine

Im looking forward to seeing how you do a color other than green. (as im assuming the inquisitors will not be green). And i like the Storm Talon. While i like the model as is i really think ythat you did an excellent job on the conversion and it makes sense.


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## zxyogi

Great work as usual Varakir!!


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## CubanNecktie

awesome Inquis conversions!! Can you give a bits breakdown for em?


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## Jacobite

=I='s are looking good, how have you covered up the back pack joins?


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## Varakir

SwedeMarine said:


> Im looking forward to seeing how you do a color other than green. (as im assuming the inquisitors will not be green).


I'm interested as well, it's been so long since i painted anything else :wink: They will be standard white/red/black/gold inquis colours to help them stand out from the marines. Quite looking forward to it tbh 



zxyogi said:


> Great work as usual Varakir!!


Cheers!



CubanNecktie said:


> awesome Inquis conversions!! Can you give a bits breakdown for em?


The left one is the Dark vengeance captain with the DA iconography filed off, a sternguard shoulderpad, Dark angels upgrade sprue hooded head and a random power sword blade. 

The right is mostly sternguard bits, and i think the hammer is from either a DA or SW kit. I trimmed the edges off standard marine shoulderpads to get something a little more elegant.



Jacobite said:


> =I='s are looking good, how have you covered up the back pack joins?


The Ordo Xenos guy has a tau disk on his back to use as a shield. I thought this would be a nice way to represent his invulnerable save if he rolls the 'xenotech collector' warlord trait.

The Coteaz guy i just filed the back of the armour into a smooth curve and used GS to patch it up. Then i stuck a scout knife over the top to hide my hideous GS skills :wink:


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## Varakir

Stormtalon is done, and i've even started the Bike Captain for this month's painting deathmatch. Hurrah for progress!

Here is the Emberclaw:










The orange splodge on the back is a hand drawn salamander logo that actually looks ok in person, though i think the placement makes it look a bit awkward. Other than that i'm pretty happy with it, and it's a fun model to paint. Sticking little plastic canopies on things brings back fond airfix memories :victory:

Other than painting i got a few Inquisition acolytes converted from my DV cultists:










I've got some random warmachine and reaper models in progress as well, so it should be quite a rag tag band of weirdos when i'm done. Still haven't managed to source a Kroot for my xenos bounty hunter yet though.


Back with the sallies i started piecing together one of my xmas pressies from the wife - a hailstorm cannon to use as a thunderfire.











It's just tacked together at the moment, but i'll be converting it to make it more 40k, and will also be kitbashing a new techmarine to shoot it.

C&C welcome as always


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## SwedeMarine

Varakir said:


> Stormtalon is done, and i've even started the Bike Captain for this month's painting deathmatch. Hurrah for progress!
> 
> Here is the Emberclaw:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The orange splodge on the back is a hand drawn salamander logo that actually looks ok in person, though i think the placement makes it look a bit awkward. Other than that i'm pretty happy with it, and it's a fun model to paint. Sticking little plastic canopies on things brings back fond airfix memories :victory:
> 
> Other than painting i got a few Inquisition acolytes converted from my DV cultists:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've got some random warmachine and reaper models in progress as well, so it should be quite a rag tag band of weirdos when i'm done. Still haven't managed to source a Kroot for my xenos bounty hunter yet though.
> 
> 
> Back with the sallies i started piecing together one of my xmas pressies from the wife - a hailstorm cannon to use as a thunderfire.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's just tacked together at the moment, but i'll be converting it to make it more 40k, and will also be kitbashing a new techmarine to shoot it.
> 
> C&C welcome as always


I was thinking of doing the same thing with the hailstorm actually. And that stormtalon looks Awesome!


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## Varakir

SwedeMarine said:


> I was thinking of doing the same thing with the hailstorm actually. And that stormtalon looks Awesome!


Cheers mate - i do like the TF model, but the Hailstorm is a decent kit for a fraction of the cost and gives me a chance to add a bit of diversity.

My landraider turned up today (delayed xmas pressie) so I am resisting the urge to build it so i can finish my bike captain....resisting so far anyway....


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## Varakir

Varakir said:


> My landraider turned up today (delayed xmas pressie) so I am resisting the urge to build it so i can finish my bike captain....resisting so far anyway....


Well i managed to resist the lure of the machine spirit - Captain Jalal of sixth Company is done!










He is of course the DV ravenwing bike sgt with a few conversions. DA iconography was filed off, new arm and sword from the commander set, iron halo from a GK warding staff and some GS flames to cover the wings.

I will be trying to get on with sternguard next, but i will also be assembling a techmarine for my TF cannon, and putting together the lovely landraider.

In an interesting turn of events, the Hailstorm gun seems to be about the right size to replace the assault cannon on the LR.......Achilles conversion may be on the cards....


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## venomlust

Your solution to the wings on the bike is great. Very cool, Salamanders are badass.


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## Varakir

venomlust said:


> Your solution to the wings on the bike is great. Very cool, Salamanders are badass.


CHeers mate, putting flames on it is my solution to everything :wink:


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## Varakir

This month i've been mostly working on scenery, but i will be completing at least 1 mini for the painting deathmatch.

Here's the fruits of my labour - 99% free scenery!










Pretty happy with these, though in future i won't be using white to highlight - it's far too stark.

The ruins are made from a coffee menu board that was chucked out, rocks are bark chips and broken halloween decorations. The bases are foamboard (so not technically free but very cheap) and it was all painted with the dregs from some paint tins.

Next up is either Sternguard Sgt or Chaplain :victory:


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## Fallen

I am so upset that we do not live near each other to play a game together...and have you paint my models.:grin:


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## Jacobite

If need be just use a black or brown wash to take the edge of the white highlights. Terrain looks good!


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## Varakir

Jacobite said:


> If need be just use a black or brown wash to take the edge of the white highlights. Terrain looks good!


Was tempted to try some devlan mud but didn't want to ruin it (ruin? get it?  )

I'll try a little behind the rocks and see how it comes out, cheers for the suggestion :victory:


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## Iraqiel

Varakir, you are one talented so and so... great work!

Considered flocking or painting spares off the sprue to relieve the (albeit not monotonous) grey?


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## Varakir

Iraqiel said:


> Varakir, you are one talented so and so... great work!
> 
> Considered flocking or painting spares off the sprue to relieve the (albeit not monotonous) grey?


Cheers mate :wink:

Have thought about it, but I already have enough to paint! I may add some moss to the rocks and/or a sensor array/ammo dump when i get round to it.

No idea what to add to the building, so suggestions are welcome.


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## Iraqiel

drybrush brown into the corners and edges where the building meets the earth and then either wash with green or more brown, followed by a light PVA (brush it on with an earbud) and then a pinch of mixed green and brown grass flock, or whatever colours suit your gaming table. That should give a slightly dilapidated look whilst breaking up the greys.


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## Varakir

Iraqiel said:


> drybrush brown into the corners and edges where the building meets the earth and then either wash with green or more brown, followed by a light PVA (brush it on with an earbud) and then a pinch of mixed green and brown grass flock, or whatever colours suit your gaming table. That should give a slightly dilapidated look whilst breaking up the greys.


Cheers, i'll have to grab some flock and give that a try :victory:

Running out of space for gaming stuff so I stuck my new scenery on my display shelf and thought i'd take a few army shots whilst at it.










Think i'll need to put a new shelf up once the landraider & Vindicator are done.


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## zxyogi

Nicely done!!


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## torealis

Very cool!


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## Varakir

Though i've only painted one model this month, i've done a fair bit of scenery & built a vindicator so can't complain :victory:

Here is Reclusiarch Esolis, who will be swinging the burning blade.










Got this old school chaplain mini from a friend, swapped an arm out, gave him a converted backpack & added the sword from the DV commander. Not sure how he will perform on the battlefield but at least he will look good doing it :victory:

Next up, i will actually paint some of my poor neglected Sternguard. Honest.


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## Khorne's Fist

Fantastic work as usual Varakir. The sword looks great. Very smooth transition.


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## Varakir

Khorne's Fist said:


> Fantastic work as usual Varakir. The sword looks great. Very smooth transition.


Thanks mate :victory:

Hopefully it draws attention away from the bloody mould line I left on the plasma pistol. Even after god knows how many years in the hobby they always get me


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## SwedeMarine

Its not that noticeable in the pic. I had to actually strain to look for it AFTER you mentioned it was there so well done. Need to learn how to do that kind of transition for my own guys.


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## Jacobite

I wouldn't have noticed it hadn't you said it was on the plasma pistol. That's a great updating of a dated mini there. Nice work.


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## cole.mvb

I want those terrain pieces. They're amazing. What did u use on the foamboard to make the edges so cleanly angled?


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## Varakir

cole.mvb said:


> I want those terrain pieces. They're amazing. What did u use on the foamboard to make the edges so cleanly angled?


Thanks! I used a stanley knife/Scalpel, the edges on the ruins are mostly just due to the material. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's like a softer plasticard rather than proper foamboard. It's very sturdy but at the same time very easy to carve.


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## Iraqiel

Nice Chaplain, it's a very nice Salamanders twist on a classic model. I'm a particular fan of how you've worked those knee pads, instead of being rather comic as the overlarge skulls lend themselves towards, you've actually made them look deliberately stylised through the soft bone shading and the contrast with the armour lining adjacent to them. Your Salamanders 'red hot' powerswords also look great, in a straight from the forge sort of way.


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## Varakir

Been assembling my Landraider for the painting deathmatch this week. Did a quick paint job on the inside panels before it's sealed up to never be seen again. I'm lookong into fitting a little LED under one of the hatches as it doesn't seem too difficult to sort out.




























I've also been converting some more cultists and warmachine models for my inquisition. I'm going for a ragtag group of gangers, adventurers and oddballs for my retinue, trying to build everything from the bits box. They aren't 100% finished but they are coming along ok.




























Let me know what you think. I need to add more purity seals/eagles/imperial baloney to make them more characterful. The guy with the shield is my favourite so far.

Rest of the month i will be painting like a fiend to try and finish the landraider :victory:


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## Saintspirit

Interesting idea.The cultists work better as retinue models than I'd have though. I particularly like the guy standing to the right of the one with plasma gun.


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## troybuckle

Love the display shelf, I need to take a full army shot as well..


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## torealis

Loving the cultists/gangers/retinue stuff. Awesome GS work.


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## Iraqiel

Third try posting on this - stupid internet. Love the land raider, be aware you may need an led lantern or similar to show it off once the tank is assembled.

Like the cultist acolytes, more paraphernalia would be good.


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## Catman

Wow - this is an amazing army.. your sculpting is epic. I could only dream of attempting that kind of stuff. But threads like these are an inspiration to me.

Thanks for the tip on the basing... I will definitely be trying your method!


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## Varakir

torealis said:


> Loving the cultists/gangers/retinue stuff. Awesome GS work.





Catman said:


> Wow - this is an amazing army.. your sculpting is epic. I could only dream of attempting that kind of stuff. But threads like these are an inspiration to me.
> 
> Thanks for the tip on the basing... I will definitely be trying your method!


Thanks chaps!



Iraqiel said:


> Third try posting on this - stupid internet. Love the land raider, be aware you may need an led lantern or similar to show it off once the tank is assembled.


My mate has built me an elaborate LED setup with magnets and 3 modes, just need to work out how to mount it. I've assembled the damn thing so this may be difficult now.

There is some paint on the outside of the raider, it's progressing slowly. Probably going to go on hold so i can paint some sternguard for this month's painting Deathmatch.

Only thing i've done so far in April is weapon swaps and touch ups on some of my original command squad, as I've been using them in my kill team. Nothing new, but posting pics anyway since i had the camera out.



















My list is currently:

Company Champion, AA, TH/SS

Apothecary

2 x sternguard, one w/ HF

5 marines with Multi Melta

1 Scout

They got pretty pasted on Friday vs GK and Tau. Tau w/ jetacks are pretty harsh when you're trying to chase them on foot


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## Asamodai

Nice squad. Really like the Company Champion, the flame effects of the shield are great and I like the colour combination on his helmet.


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## Varakir

Actual updates ahoy! I have managed to paint a few more figures, and have bought my last few salamanders.

I've decided to move on to another project, so once this lot are done that 'should' be it for this army.

Stuff i have left to finish:

10 sternguard (5 painted now)
5 terminators
Vindicator
TF cannon
Landraider Redeemer (half done)
Ironclad dread
Chapter Master Tu'shan

That will take me a good while still, but it's nice to have something to aim for :victory:

and now, on with the pictures.....

I have finished up 3 more Sternguard so i have a full combat squad now.



















Just 5 more to go! These guys are really fun to paint and just look far too blinged up with all the gold and extra detail. Can't wait to see all 10 of them ranked up.

I also started playing around with some ideas for a techmarine gunner for my TF cannon










I'm going to use some leftover bits to build the servo harness using the HB backpack. My last attempt at a servo harness looked pretty shoddy so hopefully this one will come off better.

Finally we have my latest purchase - Marneus Calgar! I snagged this off ebay for £1 as it was missing parts , but he will make a great base for my Chapter Master Tu'shan. I will be gs'ing his cloak with some scales, adding a Sallie shoulderpad and doing something to cover the UM symbols (suggestions?)










I decided he need a huge fookin' hammer, and this was what i managed to scrape together from the bits box - let me know what you think. 

Thanks for reading, C&C appreciated as always!


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## Jacobite

Nice score, he's a good mini to convert off, it was what I used for the torso of my Libby. The Thunder hammer works well. As for covering the UM symbols, I'd say GS some circles on them and then you can either make them little medals or something, or you can GS some flame balls over them would be tricky though seeing as they are so small. The ones on the hip plates I would just dremel or file over.


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## Varakir

Flame balls could work nicely - i won't have much space for flames so that would be a good solution. Thanks for the input :victory:


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## Asamodai

I've seen on the Honour Guard models before just filling in the inside of the symbol and it turns it into a neat little shield shape you could then paint something else onto.


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## Varakir

Asamodai said:


> I've seen on the Honour Guard models before just filling in the inside of the symbol and it turns it into a neat little shield shape you could then paint something else onto.


That's genius, a good way to make them into purity seals for sure. I will have to try a combination of this and the flame effects and see which comes out the best.

I'm going to try and finish up the landraider this month, and start work on either Tu'shan or my ironclad. Hopefully have some WIP pics soon.


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## Varakir

In an effort to take more WIP shots, here's all the Salamander stuff i am doing at present!

Progress on the Landraider:










Green has been done and had a little highlight, the flamestorms and assault cannon are both complete. I've just put the first layer of silver on the tracks and stuff, so that will be getting some shading and highlighting next. I've put a lot of dings and scrapes on it so there will be plenty of weathering and battle damage to do once it's all painted up.










This is the interior light that my rather awesome mate wired up for me. It's magnetized to the top hatch so it can be swiveled around, and can either be on or flashing on a slow intermittent. Looks pretty cool on the table with the ramp open and light blaring out onto the battlefield :victory:

Next up is my conversion progress on the Thunderfire cannon and techmarine gunner:










The base kit is the Mantic hailstorm - i'm slowly adding imperial parts to the back to make it more SM looking. I also have some guitar wire on hand if needed.










The tech gunner is a fully bits box affair - this is his plasma cutter.










And here's his servo arms (one includes flamer). The flamer attachment i made ages go, the claw is some Las parts stuck together a tau weapon. These will be fitted with Doc Ock style arms in the near future.











Final picture is my termie sgt. He used to have a hammer, but since that's not a legal option and it was confusing i changed his weapon up for a sword/staff. This is made from the antennae on the stormtalon stuck together with a power sword blade.

C&C welcome as always, would like to hear your thoughts on the conversions :victory:


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## Saintspirit

Looks very good, although I think some highlighting (particularly on the green parts) would make it even better. I think the conversions looks nice, but that is a bit hard to say, as they are supposedly not really finished (?)


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## Varakir

Landraider is finished!

The light sourcing for this was a complete pain in the ass, so some of the pics are are a bit washed out from my lamps - it looks pretty good on the table though.

I've decided to call her 'Macropyre' - interior is panted, doors open and it has interior lighting :victory:




























Next on the list is to get my ironclad assembled & paint some hammernators.


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## SwedeMarine

Fuck me Varakir That looks awesome. You should have your mate give you a quick tutorial on how to do the light wiring so that you can pass it on to us


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## Varakir

SwedeMarine said:


> Fuck me Varakir That looks awesome. You should have your mate give you a quick tutorial on how to do the light wiring so that you can pass it on to us


Cheers mate!

It's not properly wired, just some button batteries and an LED that i've taped together and magnetised to the top hatch. I wish i'd thought about it in advabnce and wired it up properly but it does the job :victory:


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## Varakir

A month since my last post, and i've painted..... 1 model 

In my defence i have been busy with another project - my recycled game board which you can check out here: http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=158586&highlight=recycled

The model in question id the first of my assault terminators, who has been a stubborn and annoying pain in the ass to get finished.

I bought these guys off ebay, and it seems i wasn't as stringent as usual with model cleaning. As a result i have found rather a lot of mold lines as the painting has gone on. I also had issues with his base falling apart (crappy PVA glue) and a complete inability to get his lenses right.










It's far from a disaster, but seeing as i usually really enjoy painting terminators it wasn't the fun experience i was anticipating. C&C is appreciated as he will be getting some touch ups soonish.

Pretty sure the next deathmatch challenge will be a vehicle, so time to dig out my vindicator :victory:


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## raven_jim

I love how you have converted the raven wing bikes with flames on the front. I think I am going to use that idea to make a few HQ choices on bikes.


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## Khorne's Fist

Quality work as usual. The spear on the termie sgt is a nice little conversion.


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## dutchy1982

I love your painting style and freehand work. The land raider is awesome, great touch with the LED.


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