Heresy Era Death Guard - New Army and Test Model

So last post I was talking about how I was about to get my Kreig on again after reading IA Vol' 12. I did write a list for the Assault Brigade (which i'll post up here sometime) but  I also started reading this again:

 

Then I started looking at these:

 

Then this arrived! The 3 squad bundle of MkII Legion Crusade Armour Marines, the 3 Deimos Pattern Rhino Bundle, and 3 sets of Death Guard Legion Shoulder Pads!

I quickly set about painting a test model, which I have to say, came out very well! Skull White basecoat, Brazen Brass and Knarloc Green for the shoulder pads, and the other colours are self explanatory. Metals and bronzes' were washed with Badab Black, and the rest of the model was washed with Gryphonne Sepia. Some small dabs of Adeptus Battlegrey for the chipped armour effect finished it off nicely. I think I might add some grey weathering powders around the feet to dirty it up a bit as well.

I struggled to make the shoulder pad iconography pop here. The black detail is to small to highlight, but I gave it a go!

I've got as far as this with the Legionnaires assembly:

Also got 1 of the Rhinos built as well.

 

These minis are fantastic, i'm so glad I gave into my impulse and bought this lot! I've nearly finished a 1,850pt list for these guys which i'll post up soon.

 

The GunGrave

Tau XV8 Battle Suit Team Complete

 

The first, of a probable 2, Battle Suit Teams is finished. Love how they came out, and the colour scheme ties in well with the rest of the army. 

 

 

This guy is best seen from the back as well to better see the pose:

Camo detailing:

 

Backpack detail. The disc in the middle of the backpack looked like a good object to use as a power source.

Plasma rifle detail. Just 2 passes with the airbrush to create a small touch of OSL.

Multi Tracker detail:

 

That completes the Tau models that I have right now. My copy of IA 12: Fall of Orpheus arrived last week, and my thoughts have quickly turned to my beloved Death Korps! The new Assault Brigade List is interesting, so i'm gearing up to put an army together. Fortunately my collection provides most of the models already, but a few purchases will be required! ;-) More on that next post.

 

The GunGrave



Tau XV8 Battle Suits

Just a quick one - I've built and started to paint the Battle suits.

I wanted some nice dynamic poses for these suits, so some minor repositioning of the legs was needed. The suits have been armed for anti-personnel duties; Burst Cannons and Plasma Rifles along with Multi-Trackers.

 

I've undercoated the Suits and made a start on the painting. They'll be panted using the same scheme and techniques as the Riptide - should have them complete by the end of the week!

The GunGrave

Apocalypse Terrain: Hall of Heroes Complete

I've completed the paint job for the Hall of Heroes. I didn't go to mad, just wanted to give it a splash of colour to break up the grey. After that I gave the whole building a heavy wash of diluted black oil paint.

A scale shot with some Vostroyan volunteers.

Again, I only added colour to the scroll's on the side of the building. I was going to do the skulls as well, but quickly realised how many of them there were!!

The upper deck:

Each section of the upper deck is large enough to easily accommodate a 10 man squad:

With this pleasant distraction out of the way, I'll be moving onto the Tau Battle Suits. Tonight im also going to visit a potential new gaming club in Cheltenham which will hopefully get the gaming side of the hobby going for me again!

The GunGrave

Tau Fire Warrior Squad 2 Complete; Hall of Heroes Update

The second squad of Fire Warriors is now complete. I'm not sure how many I want yet, but I usually have a core of about 4 infantry squads in my armies, so that's what I'll aim for.

I painted these guys a little differently. I used the same techniques I used on the Riptide for the Warriors here. The first attempt at the scheme was effective, but quite labour intensive. This new method is a little quicker and creates much more consistency across the squad.

Here's a few comparison shots so you can see for yourselves. I've added some weathering to the armour this time. Nuln Oil was selectively applied to the fatigues before a black oil paint wash was applied to the whole model. First scheme is on the left, new scheme on the right.

 

The definition on the second scheme is definitely more subtle, but the consistency is much better! I'll be rolling this scheme out across the army.

 

I've done a bit of work for the Crisis Battle Suit Team that's awaiting assembly. The bases are built and painted. I'll be building the Battle Suits later today.

 

I've been leaving the Drones until last, so I've got quite a few waiting to be painted!

The Army is growing quickly!

 

I've also been doing a little bit of painting on the Hall of Heroes. I've applied Army Painters Uniform Grey over the undercoat, the added shading by applying Fortress Grey with an airbrush.

 

I added some plasticard tiles to the base to break up the plainness a bit.

 

I wont be going to mad on the paintjob - just some colour on the fans, scrolls, skulls, and the Aquila at the entrance. Should look pretty good!

 

The GunGrave





Apocalypse Terrain: Hall of Heroes Build Complete

The latest of my terrain projects actually saw completion quite quickly. Now that its all put together, I'm not sure if it exclusively qualifies as Apoc' Terrain! The base board measures just under 2ft x 2ft, so could comfortably be used in a regular game of 40K.

 

The insides of the walls were braced with some pine strip to keep the shape. It also acts as a support for the second deck which was cut from 3mm MDF.

There will be a Space Marine Statue from the Honoured Imperium set in each of these 4 spaces around the building (if anyone has any going cheap i'm interested! Get in touch)

The top deck is a smaller version of the base deck, again topped with MDF.

A Shrine of the Aquila entrance way finishes the building off nicely! Now i'm just waiting for some spray paint to arrive from Army Painter (should be today) and i'll get cracking on the paint job.

I've also spent some much needed time on my pride and joy - Praetorian! This poor guy has spent the last 5 months in pieces since he got damaged in my move here. I made some minor adjustments to my display cabinet so I could get him in fully assembled. I have to say, he looks more glorious than ever!

 

Finally, on the table is some more Fire Warriors. I've also got a Battle Suit team in the box waiting to go. The Expansion is well and truly underway.

 

The GunGrave

Tau XV104 Riptide Battle Suit Complete

 

So my first Riptide is done. I'm very happy with the colour scheme, and will be quickly rolling this out across the rest of the force as it grows. The whole model has been washed with a black oil paint wash, which is much less 'aggressive' than using the GW washes. You get a much more subtle effect. I'll also be using this technique on the next batch of Fire Warriors as well.

 

The sharp eyed among you will have noticed the lack of secondary weapons and support systems. Being a new Tau player I'm not really sure what to choose yet so I've left them off for now. The Shielded Missile Drones are built but not painted yet - they've joined the Drone painting assembly line!

 

Ion Accelerator

I airbrushed a lighter blue onto the sphere at the top of the iconography - I wanted these to look as though they were some form of power source built into the aesthetic design of the suit.

Pilot detail:

The base was painted to fit in with the Urban-Snow theme of  the army.

I didn't go to mad on the colours here, as I thought it would clash to much with the white of the Riptide. A small amount of rust and scorch marks were added using weathering powders.

Now the Riptide is complete I'll be focusing my attention on The Hall of Heroes! More on that next post.

The GunGrave