Xeno Race WIP

Lepidosaurians are on the way. Now they have a shaman leader (will play him as an Ork weirdboy) a powerful psyker.

Some of the Skinks are basically finished. I like how the blue stands out against the yellow and orange colors.

With toughness 2 and no armor save it is wise to stay together! Stay tuned for more and guides on how I painted these wonderful lizards.

Merry Christmas!

The Phoenix and the Raven will be back after the holidays. Hopefully with tons of new models to asseble, paint and play with. See ya! Ho ho ho...

MKIII done and painted

What is that rumble? The sound of heavy ceramite plating stomping the ground as my newly painted squad of mkIII advances on the enemy.

Note the different colors of the helmets. Slight variations which makes each model more individual.

I love the amount of bolts which makes the armor seem so robust. Compared to mkIV these are much larger. Even though I want mkIV to dominate my army mkIII could possibly be the coolest looking armor.

Saul feels comfortable now that he is backed up by the new squad.

Painting the Lepidosaurs Part 1

I got some Skinks from GW which I plan on playing as Gretchin (Ork codex). I basecoated them with Skull White and used three shades to get the basic color of their skin. A very simple technique but the results are awesome!

Skull White spray.

Shaded Casandora Yellow (all body).

Shaded Fuegan Orange (Scales, shield and tips of extremities).

Shaded Carroburg Crimson (Scales, shields and very tips of extremities).

I will later add some blue as spot color and paint the spears. The base will have a dessert feeling.

Saul Painted

Here he is in all his glory! Captain Saul Tarvitz, Captain of the 10th Company. The fact that the model was clad in mkIII armor makes it look ancient like something out of 30K. I painted him using the same scheme as I described in an earlier post.

A nobel but stern gaze watches the battlefield. One can feel the intelligent mind constantly making decisions in the ever changing conditions of a firefight.

I am looking forward to seeing him on the table at the head of his Company.

New Xeno Race in 30K

So there are some differences concerning which Xeno (non-human) races that were active during the great crusade and horus heresy compared to the ones that are played in 40K. Eldar, Dark Eldar and Orks appear in both 30K and 40K but Tau, Necrons and Tyranids for example are not mentioned. There are also numerous 30K races that are mentioned in the Horus Heresy Novels that don't occur in 40K such as the Hrud, Laer and Megarachnids (the latter two are far too familiar for the Emperor's Children). What I have in mind is to create some more Xeno races which could be played and used in a great crusade era campaign. The good thing about 30K is that there were countless worlds brought to compliance by the Imperium with just as many races driven to extinction.

I would like to create a reptillan race using Lizardmen from Warhammer fantasy. The models look great and even though I am not a fantasy player I have always wanted a Lizardmen army.

I think I am going to call them the Lepidosauria which is the scientific name for the group including all lizards (and snakes). Lepidosaurs sounds cool enough :)

 These two pictures are stolen from the web (I take no credit for them!) and illustrate how lizardmen could be used in 30K. I however have other plans. Instead of making them look high-tech I will keep them fantasy-looking as a primitive race. But their strength and psychic powers will still make them a dangerous enemy!

Emperor's Children Painting Guide

My goal when painting miniatures is to find the perfect balance between spending too much time per model and not spending enough. Sure it would be nice to have an entire army painted in Heavy Metal style but lets face it we also want models to quickly look good enough for table-top so that we can start with the next project. I have tons of stuff that I haven't painted because I moved on to the next thing. How fun is Hormagaunt nr 16 out of 20? HQ and tanks can get extra attention because they stand out but the regular troops need a reasonable color scheme that gets the job done in good time. Here is the one I use for my Legion and I am happy with the results!

Primed in Chaos Black. White shoulder pads are a 70:30 mix of White Scar and Screaming Skull.

Main color is of course purple and I use Xereus Purple.

Metal details in Leadbelcher (including the ones that will be gold eventually).

To get a nice golden tone I paint Gehenna's Gold on top of Leadbelcher (and this is important because the tone is completely different if you add the gold over black or Runefang Steel).

Clean up any splatter for the first 4 colors. I painted the crest in the same way as the shoulder pads. Black details such as the chainswords and bolt pistols are 70:30 mix of Abaddon Black and Dawnstone.

Highlighted black details with Dawnstone. The lovely wash or shade with Nuln Oil really binds the colors together.

Painted eye lenses with Lothern Blue and then White Scar. Also used Runefang Steel on all bolts, this makes them pop out in a really cool way (especially on the MKIII which has a lot of bolts).

Final results by sponging with Leadbelcher to give a worn appearance. There we are! I skip any further highlighting which saves a lot of time. Hope you liked the guide (sorry about the lights changing but I took the pictures at different times of the day). I will also later post how I make my bases.

Assault squad on the way!

Yo! Another Emperor's Children update. Hopefully we will be seeing some Ravens around here soon but they are known to lurk in the shadows and appear when you least expect it. Anyhow, here are five assembled assault marines in MKIV armor, ready to strike from the skies! I'm not sure if the poses are different from the ones of the tactical squad in mkIV but the chainswords and pistols shure are different. I gave the sergeant a heavy chainsword (from the power weapon upgrade kit FW) because it looks awesome. Not sure if it is something I will play him with, strength +1 AP5 but no extra attacks because it is two-handled, but the rule of cool always wins :)

Note also the crested helmet which is a combination of an Emperor's Children helmet and the command helmet. I personally think it is good if not all sergeants have identical heads (but I still want the crests).

These are the guys I am currently painting and preparing a painting guide for EC. I will post it as soon as they are done. Plus some mkIII, Saul, 30K xenos and possibly some more EC special characters known from the series. Stay tuned!

Saul Tarvitz

For those who have read the Horus heresy novels from Black Library the name Saul Tarvitz is almost held in the same respect as that of Garviel Loken (well perhaps us chosen Children think he is even cooler compared to those ruffians in the Luna wolves, oh shit I am turning into Eidolon!). In short he was the Captain of the 10th Company (1st Company in the opening books but this was later changed to allow Julius Kaesoron to take that position and I think that works better) and described as a good and noble fighter but only a line officer. Most members (including Solomon Demeter) thought that there was no potential in Tarvitz, something he disproved leading the defiant last stand of the loyalists down on Istvaan 3, but now we are getting ahead of things, my army is peacefully still before the events of the heresy. For now...

 Here are some inspirational paintings of Saul and I wanted to include the long hair as well as his charnabal broadsword into my model.

So this is what I did: The base for Tarvits comes from the Masters of the Chapter kit from GW (yes I have soon used all 4 of them but they do make great special characters and the detail is awesome). The head is also one of the 4 from the kit. The hair as well as the plume/crest of the helmet is modelled on using green-stuff. This was my first time using green-stuff (GS) for such detail-rich parts but it went pretty well. For the hair is flattened a piece of GS and covered the head with it, then used a fine scalpel to draw lines resembling hair and pressing it thinner over the head. Finally, I rolled some individual pieces of hair which I used on one side to give a flowing sensation, They became a bit too thick and resemble dreadlocks and the crest of the helmet is also a bit fat but I am still happy with the result.

He is going to be fun to paint!

MKIII work in progress

Yo! I'm posting some older pictures of assembled tactical marines clad in mkIII armor. I have already painted these models but need to take some better photos before I can publish the results. This mark of armor is awesome and definitely more detail-rich than the mkIV. Nevertheless, I will keep my army mostly in mkIV since its appearance is more artistic and fitting of the 3rd Legion.

Ideas for an Emperor's Children 1000p army list

Yo! So I thought I would share my initial ideas for a 1000p force of Emperor's Children and the models needed to complete it.

HQ: Solomon Demeter (Legion Centurion) Artificer armor, Refractor field, Combi-weapon, Heavy chainsword. 90p.

Troops: Assault squad. 9x assault marines 1x sergeant, 2x power weapons. 270p.

Troops: Tactical squad. 9x tactical marines 1x sergeant. 150p.

Elites: Contemptor dreadnought talon. Heavy conversion beamer, heavy flamer. 220p.

Elites: Palatine blades. 4x warriors 1x prefector. 135p.

Fast attack: Legion jetbike sky hunter squadron. 3x hunters. 135p.

Total: 1000p

Perhaps not the best, balanced or competitive list but it contains cool units and is reasonably "fluffy". The points can be re-arranged in many ways to create variation. For example, the conversion beamer is expensive and a cheaper weapon could allow the jetbikes to have a multi-melta. Or perhaps allow for more power weapons in the Palatine blades squad. The list has some anti-armor and long distance fire-power in the dreadnought but that is it. It is mostly dedicated to close combat with a lot of mobility coming from the jetbikes and jump infantry.

At the moment I have plenty of HQ-models, a full tactical squad and a half assault squad so there is quite a lot of work to reach even the low level of 1000p. Stay tuned in other words :)

How to play Eidolon

So Lord Commander Eidolon is an arrogant bastard, we established that, but perhaps he has some rights to brag about his abilities. The rules for Eidolon are awesome. He wields a master-crafted thunder hammer which doesn't give any penalty for initiative on the turn that he charges into combat. As a bonus to that, his sonic screamer give him initiative 6. With his 4 attacks, 5 on the charge, he can easily kill 3 marines per turn and later overrun them (which you can do in 30k, I guess marines were more frightened back then, or they didn't like fighting their brothers which is understandable).

I think Eidolon would suite best together with a close combat unit such as assault marines or palatine blades. Imagine 5 blades plus Eidolon plus power weapons plus jump packs! (Drooling) The only downside is that he is quite points heavy. At 185p base or 205p with a jump pack I find him a bit too expensive in games of 1000p. One fifth of the total points is a lot for a HQ. Easily a nice choice for 1500p and more though. Look forward to seeing him in action!

Tactical squad MKIV Painted

Yo! Here is a sample of my first 5 tactical marines clad in the finest of mkIV armor. I realize that I really should publish a painting guide for the scheme that I use and I am working on one at the same time as I am coloring some assault marines (woho death from the skies!). Anyway, enjoy these first troops for my part of the 3rd Legion.

I use a turquoise blue as my spot color to contrast against the purple and gold. The background states that the Emperor's Children were clad in red cloth as a ceremonial symbol, possibly before battle but it was a while since i read Fulgrim (will do it again soon). In this case I have chosen to go against the "fluff" following the rule of cool. I am very happy with the results.

I have incorporated the crested helmet from the command upgrade kit from Forge World (FW). The radio guy also has a helmet and backpack from that kit. I also have a Emperor's Children upgrade kit helmet on one of the marines and the sergeant wears a torso with the Imperial aquila (FW).

Note the purity seal on the sergeants shoulder plate which I think is from the Land raider kit. I love how it flows and gives him a regal appearance.

Can you find the non-forge world backpack?

Tactical squad MKIV

Whoho! Forge World delivers as usual! The start of my tactical squad with 5 mkIV marines and upgrades for the Emperor's children. I want my force to be mainly mkIV because it looks soo good and seems less bulky than both mkIII and mkII. The 3rd Legion prefer speed and mobile units and the mkIII seems to cumbersome. I want to try to paint all types of armor so they will probably also be in the army but not in as large quantities. Assembled and painted models inbound.

Eidolon

Undoubtedly one of the most well known Emperor's Children, Lord Commander Eidolon is second only to Saul Tarvitz and Lord Fulgrim himself when it comes to popularity. I knew that I just had to have him in my collection!

I based my version of Eidolon of one of the four Masters of the Chapter models (GW). The thunder hammer works perfectly since it is his weapon of choice and the pose as well as all the ornamentation really makes him look as the self centered arrogant bastard that he is, I love to hate him!

Once again I swapped the back pack to a MKIV version to better fit in the 30K universe. I love that the shoulder pad already had a wing modeled onto it. It really looks like the Emperor's children icon. I also like that most of the Masters of the Chapter models have the aquila on their chest which doesn't matter since the 3rd legion had copyright to wear them. Mohahah

I wanted to make the hammer look as though it was made out of marble and I think the effect is really cool. Unfortunately I have forgotten which colors I used because my local Games Workshop manager helped me in the store. If anyone wants to know I could probably ask her once again.

Solomon Demeter 3

How to play the Captain of the 2nd Company? I thought of basing him of the Centurion in the FW Horus heresy books. The Centurion has a solid statline befitting a Space marine of high rank. With BS 5 he will perform well with shooting and WS 5, I 5 and three attacks will ensure that he is dangerous in close combat as well. At the same time the Centurion has significantly lower stats than the Praetor which is good because Solomon shouldn't perform as well in combat as his superiors (Vespasian and Eidolon).

I was considering upgrading Solomon into a consul but there weren't any profiles matching his personality. The Champion of the Legion would make him much better in close combat but I was planning on giving that to Lucius (unless FW gives him special rules as with Saul and Eidolon). Perhaps upgrading his weapons to master-crafted could represent the customization he put into them. Please comment with any suggestions on what profile YOU think would best fit Solomon Demeter.

Solomon Demeter 2

Following up on the fate of Captain Solomon Demeter today. I painted him in the classical purple with golden trims. The cape is black, highlighted with dawnstone. The left shoulder guard became white which I plan on giving my assault squad later. I heard some arguments about white not being used according to "fluff" and that this was a bad thing introduced by the guys at Forge World but I say that it looks cool and therefore stays. 

 The chainsword is golden which I think brings out Solomons extreme care and modifications of his weapons. His friend Marius (Captain of the 3rd Company) accused him for being superstitious, note befitting a man of his rank nor appropriate in a universe free of gods (haha jokes on him!).

 Not sure what mark the armor is supposed to be but it doesn't look too new and could work even for a 30K model. I added a MKIV backpack which gives the model an older appearance.

 Blue is my spot color and doesn't it work well with the purple? I will ad a painting tutorial later explaining in detail which colors I use.

Ending with a nice close up. Demeter is described as having short dark hair and a tan from the light of several suns. I used cadian fleshtone with a wash of ogryn flesh and highlighted with more cadian fleshtone. The hair is a mix of chaos black and dawnstone, small stripes of dawnstone and a wash of nuln oil to top it of. I like how he is a contrast to what most of my other characters will look like: pale and very blonde, the very image of their Primarch.