Black Templar Command Squad Scouring Era

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

In the Shadow of Mighty Wings; 2015 in the rear view.

What can be said of 2015? I think when I look back it will bring a smile. It's been a positive year. The painting studio has grown from the year before and looks to grow again in 2016. But writing up a finical report of the year would be a little dry, so how can I sum this year up personally? 

2015 is the year I became embroiled in the Heresy. After Forgeworld's weekender I knew I had to collect a legion force, and that could only be the IXth. If you are attending this year's Weekender let me know and we'll grab a beer or a game (hopefully both). The army has come together slowly but I feel it will be in a playable state come February. The command squad (pictured in this artivle) are around 75% complete and I have some major reinforcements in the form of a sicaran, contempt or and assault marines inbound. 

Professionally I've managed to do some things I aspired to when I first became a commission painter. I've worked on a brand new line of miniatures (maelstroms edge), created box art for MDP, held painting classes for the basic use of air bushes and painting as well as produced a video tutorial. So what's next for 2016? More of the same. I want to flesh out the tutorial section of this blog site, create even more armies to showcase here and keep offering the same level of customer service. I also ant to work on a few pieces that will be for competitions  although I'm not a come prion painter, it's always fun to enter something when you attend shows. 

I feel that I will be painting a lot more marble next year. I'm getting quite good at it now thanks to all the practice. These models are a kit bash from scibor, forgeworld and the sanguinary guard kit. I used vallejo's air gold paints shaded with inks. 

To every one of my readers, and to those who have supported me this past year with comments, buying models or commissioning me I want to give a heartfelt thank you. Cheers! 

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

Black Templar Scouring Era Leviathan Dreadnought Commission

Leviathan Dreadnought for the eternal crusade. I know how incredibly rare these creations are even during true Heresy so I decided to base this in the Scouring era, where the Imperium was cleansing its  borders of insurrection. This beast marks a high point in Imperium might soon to fade from the Galaxy. 

This forms part of a larger Black Templar commission that I will be showcasing this week. If you enjoyed this please like, share with your friends and comment below to share your support.  

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

In the Shadow of Mighty Wings; Chaplain Faustino WIP

In a follow up to the last blog entry The Chaplain Dilemma, I thought I'd post up a work in progress shot of Chaplain Faustino. 

I wanted something that was visually distinct from the boarding marine so that you can instantly recognise him as a ranking officer. The embellished death mask looks a little at odds with the antiquated armour. I imagine that Faustino is very recent to his post as Chaplain, the previous encumbent having his head blown clean off in his role as imperial herald.  The armour is a relic from the wars on Terra and has stood in the presence of the Emperor. Such relics are a living link to the core beliefs of the crusade and not easily dispensed with. The armour salvaged and repaired it is bestowed to Faustino to carry a legacy 200 years in the making, soon to be sundered by the Heresy. 

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

Nathaniel Garro Dusk Raider. The Red Right Hand of the Emperor Commission

‘Can one betrayed become the betrayer?’ He pointed with his other hand. ‘You are deceived, legionary, as much as I was. We’re all just weapons in the end. But they lie to us, they make us think we are more."

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

Iron Knights Atrapos

There was a Legend on Ancient Medusa, of a coterie of warriors bid to protect the Vanadium Vault. Who bound them to this task and what they protect is subject to dark legend. These are cold, inert monsters from a lost age tasked never to awaken until the apocalypse of Old Night falls over mankind once more. The coming of Ferrus Manus brought about the reactivation of the Knights and they strode once more across the planet in vengeance. 

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

Iron Knights The Brothers Grimm Knight Ma Megaera and Styrix

There was a Legend on Ancient Medusa, of a coterie of warriors bid to protect the Vanadium Vault. Who bound them to this task and what they protect is subject to dark legend. These are cold, inert monsters from a lost age tasked never to awaken until the apocalypse of Old Night falls over mankind once more. The coming of Ferrus Manus brought about the reactivation of the Knights and they strode once more across the planet in vengeance. 

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

Iron Knights Acheron Commission

There was a Legend on Ancient Medusa, of a coterie of warriors bid to protect the Vanadium Vault. Who bound them to this task and what they protect is subject to dark legend. These are cold, inert monsters from a lost age tasked never to awaken until the apocalypse of Old Night falls over mankind once more. The coming of Ferrus Manus brought about the reactivation of the Knights and they strode once more across the planet in vengeance. 

Of all the Forgeworld Knights I think this is my favourite. The long barrel of the flamer is a nice balance to the chainglaive. 

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

Iron Knights Iron Hands Knight Lancer Commission

There was a Legend on Ancient Medusa, of a coterie of warriors bid to protect the Vanadium Vault. Who bound them to this task and what they protect is subject to dark legend. These are cold, inert monsters from a lost age tasked never to awaken until the apocalypse of Old Night falls over mankind once more. The coming of Ferrus Manus brought about the reactivation of the Knights and they strode once more across the planet in vengeance. 

This is the first part of a full Knight House painted to be a part of the Iron X. The client specifically wanted a dark monotone paint job with battle damage and the signs of wear and tear. I went with a a red weathering powder add interest to the armour. 

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

Iron Knights of Medusa Cerastus Knight Castigator

There was a Legend on Ancient Medusa, of a coterie of warriors bid to protect the Vanadium Vault. Who bound them to this task and what they protect is subject to dark legend. These are cold, inert monsters from a lost age tasked never to awaken until the apocalypse of Old Night falls over mankind once more. The coming of Ferrus Manus brought about the reactivation of the Knights and they strode once more across the planet in vengeance. 

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

Perturabo Primarch of the Iron Warriors Commission

"Tell them ruin has come to their world, death, despair and red war...

Tell them their hopes and pride have come to nothing.
Tell them their empty whispers fall upon deaf ears - their gods are dead, human logic has killed them.
Tell them the Angels of Death have come.
Tell them that nothing can save them now."

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More

In the Shadow of Mighty Wings; The Chaplain Dilemma

It's come to the point in my collection where I've started to write out some lists. The Horus Heresy books offer a dearth of knowledge, back history, colour plates and interest for the fluff gamer. But it also offer rules which are by all accounts excellent. I feel that I delve into the history and the painting side, but I'm missing out on the gaming aspect. 

All the lists I've written so far include a Chaplain. It's a fantastic consul choice for small games and augments units in larger games. But what does a 30K chaplain look like? What is his function within the legion? Did they exist as an organisation before the council of Nikaea?

There are few facts concerning this organisation. In the Word Bearers section of the Forgeworld book we learn that they had a corps of Imperial Heralds who would travel to newly discovered worlds and iterate the teachings of the Imperial Truth, welcoming that lost branch of humanity back in to the fold of the Imperium. Unsurprisingly there was a high attrition rate with the Heralds. It is unclear whether this role was prevalent in other legions or was unique to the XVII. Another thing we learn is that there Heralds were garbed in black to signify that they are under the direct order of the Emperor himself (as an aside banner bearers were garbed in imperial purple, a colour later adopted by the Emperor's Children). These Heralds would be given a sigil of office, a Crozuis topped with the Imperial Aquila. 

Although Forgeworld have not released a model for the chaplain the plastic Word Bearer fro the Battle at Calth boxed set gives us some insight into how the 30K predecessor differed from his 40K counterpart. For one there is little in the way of iconography embellished in the armour. In 40K we see a recurring motif of Death's head, skeletons and the such, motif's prevalent in Medieval art reminding us of our mortality and salvation in the next life. This iconography can be construed as Chaplin embedding the heart and soul of the Chapter - the bare bones if you pardon the pun - that underpins the ideology by which the chapter functions. 

We do have descriptions of Chaplains bearing the death's head helmet. In Fear to Tread the Warden has such a helmet, his role within the Legion to uphold the edict of Nikaea and morale (perversely he seems to have the opposite effect on his brothers, badgering them over the most minor lapses in protocol). 

So what we know:

1) Chaplains wear black (although this is not a universal factor. Parts of their armour may be painted black)
2) They bear a Crozius (a badge of office, normally topped or adorned in some manner with the Imperial Aquila).
3) They embody the tenets of the Legion, recalling it's history and maintaining morale. In some cases they act as heralds to newly found human worlds. In effect they are part of the council that decides whether new worlds are suitable for compliancy (if their genetic stain is to divergent from main stream humanity, or if their ideologies are to far removed to join humanity).

From here we can start sourcing some suitable models. The Battle of Catlh boxed set is an excellent model but is unsuitable for my needs as he will be armed with a jump pack, and we can't have that pretty cape going up in flames now can we?

The second choice is simply buying a chaplain model. Again I don't see this as a suitable fit as the ornamentation on the armour is to much for the stripped back functional legions.

A conversion it is then. There are some excellent examples of Chaplain conversion out there, but nothing that quite scratches the itch for me. Then I remembered this:

The Games Day event only Forgeworld Boarding Marine. I wasn't fortunate enough to buy one first time around but this model is just perfect for how I envision my Chaplain working within the force. My expedition is a Vanguard fleet at the edge of the known galaxy in the latter days of the Great Crusade. The heat and fury of the Imperium's forging has begun to cool. This Chaplain acts as a herald, announcing the Imperial Truth to human civilisations on the rim of the Galaxy. He has a big beefy Storm Shield with a teleport homer to help him escape those court who do not like his declaration. 

Paints used: Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Games Workshop Washes, Com Art Medea Airbrush Airbrush: Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH Airbrush Paint Brushes: Rosemary & Co. Raphael 8040, Broken Toad Brushes, Windsor and Newton Series 7

Read More