Julius Kaesoron WIP

All but complete! I only have the base left and then Julius Kaesoron can take command of the 1st Company. I just have to get some models to represent the 1st Company... Anyway, compared with my previous paint-job on Moloc this is a great improvement. One more character checked off my to do list.

 Even added some free-hand to his cape :)

Here is a nice comparison on before and after. Nice to see that your skills are improving :)

Bequa Kynska

The inspiration for my collection of Emperor's Children has always been the Horus heresy novels (Fulgrim and Angel exterminatus in particular). As such, I have also wanted to add non-astartes characters to my army and have now started that process with the stunning Bequa Kynska! Kynska is a famous composer who joins the 28th expedition and is lauded for her work by Fulgrim and Julius Kaesoron. After visiting the Laer temple she is driven slightly insane and produces her master piece: The Maraviglia. During its performance the entire audience basically turns to Slaanesh and Bequa is killed by a daemonette. But what if she didn't die? What if she became possessed instead? I bring you Bequa Kynska as I envisioned her during her performances:

I based Bequa on the Vampire Counts model Isabella Von Carstein but replaced her sword with a microphone stand and transformed her goblet of blood into a microphone. Now I know that Kynska is described as foremost a composer but also talented in all forms of music and so I don't consider it impossible for her to be able to sing. True, during the Maraviglia Bequa wasn't the one singing but she might have been at other occasions. The rule of cool will have to win this time.

Not the small round base of the microphone stand.

I plan on adding a cable running from the microphone to the base.

Can't wait to color her hair blue! Really cool model to paint.

Metamorphosis

The decision has been made. I am converting my Minotaurs-marines into Emperor's Children. There is only room for one Legion in my heart. I sent my tanks to my friend "the Raven" who is going to air-brush them purple. Later I plan on doing some free-hand painting on their large flat surfaces. What's more is that I am re-using the special characters from the Minotaurs (Moloc and Enkomi). The Chaplain will remain an unnamed character in power armor (I want Charmosean to be in terminator armor), but Moloc will be converted into First Captain Julius Kaesoron!

 Enkomi will simply go through a re-painting.

 To convert Moloc into Kaesoron I had to cut of the helmet which was part of the mold for the upper body (a real pain but then pain is pleasure). I also removed the spear and shield and exchanged them for a Grey Knights sword and a plasma pistol. The head is from the Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard with some added green-stuff hair. I've always imagined Julius with long flowing hair like his Primarch.

I like the face and how it fits with the model and the hair. Look forward to painting this guy as I'm sure I will do a better job than the previous one.

Assault squad finished

You may have seen these guys before during my painting tutorial but this is the first time they are completely ready for inspection. I painted the left shoulder pads white this time to make the assault squad stand out from the tactical squad (where the right shoulder pad is white). I am also considering painting future elite choices with both shoulders white or perhaps add a black shoulder. 

The sergeant is of course a favorite. I want to continue giving sergeants crested helmets but with slightly different colors of the plumes (previously I have alternated between black and white).

The jump packs make these guys massive and I can't wait to complete the unit with another 5 marines. Will it be more mkIV or perhaps mkII? For the Phoenician!

Bye the way I just finished reading the Horus heresy novel Scars and I can recommend it. The first time I got any depth into the White Scars and they seem much more interesting now than just a bunch of wildlings on bikes. Still, compared to the magnificent of the 3rd Legion they appear quite barbaric, ta ta.

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.

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!

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.

Solomon Demeter

Captain of the 2nd Company, Solomon Demeter is a charismatic leader within the Emperor's Children. He is described as being very confident in himself and not afraid of going into the part of the battle where the fighting is as fiercest. Almost as predictable as the master-tactician Horus himself:
"How can we defeat the enemy, master?"
"One word.... Spearhead!!!"
Anyway, as a prominent character in the novels I of course wanted to add him to my force (well it isn't much of a force yet...).

I based my model on one of the Masters of the chapter from Games Workshop (GW). The head is from a blood angels kit as is the chainsword, both added to my bitz-box from "the Raven". In the novels Solomon fights with a heavily customized bolter and chainsword. I think that the scope and ammunition-pack makes the bolter seem customized. I exchanged the power sword with a chainsword and the extra details makes it seem lavish enough for a captain. The sword is described as having an eagle worked into the handle and this is something that I failed at representing but I'm still happy with the result.

More on how I went about painting Demeter in the next post!