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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 9, 2017 0:36:42 GMT -5
Hey all, rather crazy times in my life right now, biggest being that i'm going to be made a dad any day now.(very excited to meet my daughter)
But that is not why you are here, so lets get stuck in to the details you came to read about.
I've been playing 40k since 1999, (i'm a long time vet) and have had my Guard army for the longest out of all my current armies. It has models in it with so many layers of paint, that details are getting quite vague at this point, but no matter what I do I cannot bring myself to strip them, for sentimental reasons I guess.
I recently found myself getting tired of the color scheme I had settled on about five years back, but not the desert theme I went with, and I never liked how "Cadian" the models looked. If i'm being honest with myself, the units are dated how I built them, as the game has changed a lot over the years and the vast majority could use a major retool of their equipment.
So I figured I'd mosey on back here to the IGMB of my youth to chronicle the updating of my army.
The short of it is this: (1) I want a desert themed, Astra Militarum army, (2) Not strictly "Cadian" in looks, (3) More competitive and fluffy then how my current army stands.
It all started a few weeks ago when I gathered up enough money from commissions/selling old models that I decided to set out on this endeavor for realsies. Through various reason I decided on Praetorian guard; half because I have always loved their Pith helmets, and half because they are oop now and would be very unique for that reason alone.
So that became the first hurdle to jump. How in the Feth was I going to find oop models for decent a price. The solution wouldn't be revealed till later so I put that aside and began thinking of the updating of my army.
My armor is still looking good for the most part, and besides adding two more leman russ, and splashing some new paint on them, I am still good in that aspect of my current army.
I then looked into getting two boxes of the "getting started scions set" since they were the primary way to update the look, and the competitiveness of my force. (and are a steal btw price wise) I then remembered seeing a Taurox conversion that turned them into half tracks, which for some reason to me scream "desert themed!!"
So while looking for resin tire conversion kits for the Taurox I stumbled upon a website that would rock my Praetorian world. oop Guard goodness from Victoria Lamb
^This Australian based website/store has resin kits for pretty much any kind of guard army that's oop or currently metal. All legally changed slightly in name so as to not get nuked by GW. Best part of it is that its all very reasonably priced in my opinion, and orders of $50 or more are free.
I immediately bought twenty pith helmeted heads and am currently awaiting them right now. (and so are my twenty headless scions XD) As for the wheels, well, I wanted something I could use now, and for dirt cheap. So I resorted to browsing local dollar stores near me for scaled cars or something of the like that I could butcher for my uses.
Jackpot! Found the wheels, in exactly the right scale, (to my eyes) that I needed and after "adjusting" them with some wire snips and gluing some to a plasticard base, I was in business.
So next step after I get my order is to updated my newer, "less paint abused Cadians" to be veteran Praetorian guard in carapace armor (adding some pith helmets to them) Then its ordering some new heavy weapons teams and at least a full platoon of fifty flack armored Praetorians. I will hopefully post tomorrow with pictures of my current stuff, and anything related to my plans for my future stuff, as well as the assembled Scion conversions when the helmets arrive.
Feel free to post suggestions to add to my army if you wish and if I don't already have them I will probably add them to my list of updates.Cheers!
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Post by nutty on Mar 9, 2017 4:05:01 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeeing the army take shape. The IG is.. not in a really competitive place right now. Between the crazy formations available to some armies, and the high mobility to others (and some get both) the guard has a hard time keeping up.
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 9, 2017 12:33:02 GMT -5
So I was able to finish up stuff early today around my house and decided to make a post with my army before heading to work. So I'll post them here with minor comments on each picture. So without further ramble lets get stuck in. So this here is my Command Section and a Infantry squad (more or less lol) From Left to right: Platoon Command Squad, Infantry Squad, Hawkrin, (my Senior Officer) Master of Ordnance, Master Vox, And a couple misc sergeants and a guardsman at the top right. Some auxiliary units for misc reasons. Left to right: Guardsman Marbo (Yes its snake in a cardboard box conversion lol) 5x Psykers, and 2x Priests. Left to Right: 3x commissars, lord commissar, 3x Lascannon teams, Tech priest. Commissars are awesome and I plan to feature them with my army as much as I can. These units here are the ones that I will probably be selling or getting rid of, if I can, as they are remnants from different projects and ideas that haven't panned out over the years. I think the bodyguards and snipers will be the only things here that I'll keep as they still have their uses. Camo cloak squad that I used maybe twice and discontinued using. Random assortment of heavy weapon squads from guard armies I don't collect. (I love heavy bolters though so I may buy and replace these) Inquisitorial Troopers squad. (from my days of messing with grey knight allies) And two bodyguards which aren't even in the codex anymore. (loved these guys back in the day) Here we see whats left of my Kasrkin squads that have been the work horse of my army. (besides the tanks that is) Only reason I may keep these guys is for ally purposes and because they also discontinued, so there's that. The rest of my Infantry Squads here, I'll be replacing the Cadian heads with pith helmets to fit the new theme of my army. Two squads with flamer and vox and two with grenade launchers and vox. Standard stuff here, not sure hows best to equip them so suggestions are welcome. All my Armor for my Guard. Not much to say here other then omg tanks! Tanks! TANKS! These guys have won me games on their own sometimes lol I won't be changing these guys as much as I will be adding two more Leman Russ tanks and two or three more chimeras. I have always loved the look of the At-St.. ehem I mean "sentinels" But I have yet to really find a good way of fielding them. Any suggestions are welcome here as well. Loved these new commissars that came with the tempestus getting started boxset, I changed one of them so they wouldn't be too "same". Loved converting these guys. They remind me a lot of this here Added two wheels to be more future about it and it makes the model look bulkier too really happy with these. Here is all the Taurox bits that I plan to magnetize maybe. And finally all the scions I have assembled with the guns and arms separate, and organized in preparation for painting that's why the bags and tags. And that is the army where it currently stands. So any suggestions for additional stuff to add would be welcome and I'll update more photos when I get those pesky pith helmets in. Cheers!
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Post by Major Downer on Mar 10, 2017 13:43:19 GMT -5
Thats a decent set you've got your self.
I'm not 100% sure on the wheels for the taurox, I'd have to see what it looks like when theyre painted up. Good idea on magnetizing the weapons, wish I had thought that.
Looking forward to seeing more from you.
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 11, 2017 12:59:16 GMT -5
So I got impatient while waiting for my pith helmets to arrive so I did what any hobbyist whould do. I started a project using what I have at hand lol. So I built a really detailed proxy model of a Macharius tank to try out until I can afford the forge world model. Right Side Left Side Front or what I like to call the, "OH MY GOD RUN!!" side. The Rear Lots of fun, took me three days and luckily I had a lot of bits to give the extra detail. I am going to do some rivets using a white glue technique all over, before paint but other then that its done. Cheers!
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Post by nutty on Mar 11, 2017 14:14:44 GMT -5
That'd end up looking very close to the real thing once you get some paint on there. Looking forward to seeeing how it turns out.
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 14, 2017 12:36:52 GMT -5
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Post by nutty on Mar 14, 2017 13:38:16 GMT -5
Nice, should work on painting my own... looks like you are going to scratch-built and paint a macharius before I complete mine
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 14, 2017 17:13:23 GMT -5
Nutty are you building one? You should post progress and link it here. I seriously love the model.
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Post by Walk on Mar 15, 2017 2:19:01 GMT -5
Everything's coming along really nicely but damn that scratch built macharius is incredible. Congrats on your daughter too!
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 16, 2017 12:47:22 GMT -5
Good Day Gents! So a couple things going on and thought i'd post another update on my progress. I received my order from Victoria Miniatures and wow, just wow, these things are amazing to work with. There was almost no flashing on them and this resin is fantastic to work with. 10/10 am definitely going to be going ahead with my order from her for the rest of my army. I know you all want to see pics so here you go. The heads have a very small neck/base to them so I did had to bulk up them up before gluing them into the scion bodies but after the fact you won't even be able to tell for sure. Love them, love love love them.They almost look like they belong to the bodies anyway. I'm going to be doing red armor with gold trim and either dark pants or white pants depending on how its looking. Oh and I also got the rough wash done on my Macharius, so that is coming along nicely. And that's it for now but keep up on the comments I love reading them guys. Cheers!
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Post by emptyhat on Mar 16, 2017 20:21:24 GMT -5
This looks like a very promising start to the project. Paint it all now!
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 17, 2017 0:15:34 GMT -5
This looks like a very promising start to the project. Paint it all now! Oh i deff plan to do some this weekend for sure. Until then enjoy this short story i wrote today. It was the fifth night cycle of our assault against the orks on Kasteus II, about a year and two months by terra standard time. The only luxury I am afforded as a stormtrooper in this ceaseless downpour of precipitation, is my trusty pipe. While I find it hard to keep lit in this weather, its dull glow beneath my pith reminds me of the furnaces of my hab block back home on Praetoria. Small comforts men, small comforts. It was on one of the rare occations when the rain let up slightly. We were out on a night op of our camps perimeter, and I had just lit up for a puff during a much needed breather for myself and my squad mates. The roar came suddenly from the treeline as the foliage burst forth with our enemies. The two and a half meter tall scourge know as Orks. The first took down Reginald with a wicked shaped blade to his chest. It split his carapace open like cracking a nut. Then a second cleaved through Jerry's hot-shot charge line; causing a overload of his power plant, a crescendo lit up the clearing in white hot light. Both Jerry and the beast vanished with the light, vaporised. In that momentary afterglow I was awarded a glipse of my surroundings, and the chaos it held. Our hot-shots answered a quick return to meet the orks charge, and as a house of cards fell to wind, so did the enemy fall to the business end of our righteousness. Another flash as a grenade went off suddenly, knocking me to the soft ground and blowing out my ears. In the smokey mud filled aftermath I locked eyes with my foe. As we saw eachother time slowed to a crawl, the beast stood up as I did, as if mirroring my actions. Its dark green skin shimmering, slick with rain and blood. He roared a gastly warcry as I fumbled with my weapon. I only managed to bring it to bare at his chest and he had already crossed half the distance between us. I got two clean shots into him before his attack reached me. Not enough to stop the brute, but enough to slow him, so that his axe swing that had been meant for my neck, merely knocked the pipe from my lips, leaving the beast off balance. In all the commotion I didn't have time to wonder how it had managed to stay in my mouth up to that point. In a momentary burst of courage or sheer terrified panic, I pressed my hot-shot to his temple and fired sending him backwards. I fired again, and a third time into his brow until he was laid on the ground, brain and bone seared from his head. I laid into him a few more times for good measure before finally easing up on the trigger. It was about that time that my hearing returned and the last beast fell to us. I found my pipe at my feet and wiped it off returning it to my pouch before sergeant William had us sound off and form up to move on. There is no rest for the Emperors gentlemen.
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Post by nutty on Mar 17, 2017 4:38:18 GMT -5
Nice, a good reminder not to get between a Preatorian and his pipe
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 20, 2017 15:01:41 GMT -5
So got the first couple guys done. Uploading from work. Lemme know thoughts.
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Post by emptyhat on Mar 20, 2017 19:34:28 GMT -5
I like all the colours separately but the gold(?) at the collar seems to jar with the red in this photo. The bases look great and the faces have come out very well. Maybe you get used to the gold+red combo after looking at it for a bit?
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 20, 2017 20:36:18 GMT -5
You know, i was thinking the same. Maybe a darker gold. Perhaps balthasar gold with a sepia or agrax wash?
Or i could do tan armor and nix the red and gold all together.
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 21, 2017 1:10:32 GMT -5
Well i decided to try again before painting them all up so here goes secondary colors. Honestly though i think this one looks a lot better. Thoughts on color scheme #2?
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Post by nutty on Mar 21, 2017 12:23:18 GMT -5
I can't see the 1st version for some reason.. but the second version looks good
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Post by Major Downer on Mar 21, 2017 13:20:29 GMT -5
Personally, I actually liked the red Power armour. Instantly from the first glance, it screamed Praetorian.
Having said that I do like the other scheame too, the red cloth pops out from under the armour.
Great Job.
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Mar 25, 2017 20:29:08 GMT -5
So its been a crazy couple days here in my neck of the woods. My Daughter arrived two days ago and i've barely had time to sleep let alone paint but darnit i tried to make time. So here is what I got so far. Here are the first complete five guys and Its official I love the colors and am quite content with their choice. And heres the sum total of what I've got ahead of me. As well as some more commission work for my buddy in the background. (space wolves, knight titan, and new cawl and inquisitor) Ordered six heavy weapon teams and 30 pith helmet heads for my cadian armored guys that I plan to turn into praetorian veterans. Super excited to build and paint all these things now I just need the time lol CHEERS!
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Post by cheminhaler on Mar 31, 2017 10:49:11 GMT -5
The new storm troopers look great with the newer colour scheme. The red one wasn't bad either.
The scratch built Macharius is crazy..
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Post by emptyhat on Mar 31, 2017 21:54:11 GMT -5
I was pretty sad to see how much the red had been scaled back to get over the necklace effect of the khaki. But now seeing a bunch of them together I think it works much better.
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Post by nutty on Apr 1, 2017 17:27:31 GMT -5
the stormtroopers are looking great! I think that they look a bit more Khaki than a typical Preatorian;, But I Imagine it will help them stand out from the rank and file later on. Having a bit more camo/armor going on than the regular guys whilst still fitting into the theme.
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Post by Lt. Col. Hawkrin on Apr 1, 2017 23:28:57 GMT -5
Time for another update. I have finished another 5 troops and a tank, as well as had my first experience with some weathering and free handing. All in all I don't hate it but I do think I went a little heavy handed on the chipping and in the future i'll be pulling back on it. My free handing is passable too, but i'll also be either practicing more or investing in some printable decal sheets and going digital. My brush control needs a bit more work but its been getting better lately so not bad in my book. C&C is always welcome though so lay it on me. Up next is my group of 10 scions as they stand now. I included the last 5 as well so have fun picking out which are new muhahahaha lol. Also I agree that they look better as a group, and the idea of making them look different with more armor and camo then a line troop, was the idea all along. So I'm loving everything about these guys. Once again I love everything about these guys. And last for now I received my Heavy Weapons from anvil industries and assembled them but didn't glue yet for placement reasons but wow. Love the look of these things. anvilindustry.co.uk/ thats the link if you guys wanna check em out. Lots of cool scale minis. Lascannon counts as. Autocannon counts as. Super happy to hear today that 3 of my heavy weapon teams troops arrived and I'll do another update this week sometime. But for now, good day gents. Cheers!
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