066 - Making Space Wolves Great Again

With my wolves renovation project in full swing I have several different group of Space Wolves.
First up is a slightly smaller than I'd hoped group of models which are 30k compatible.  They have the correct weapons and armour so I don't have to do  any work to them. This is my favorite group!
The second group consists of models which need a bit of a spruce up to fit in. There are a lot of bolters that need changing but I have used old rogue trader bolters to be able to fit in nicely. I have also used quite a few plastic mkiv legs to swap in for any mkvii legs that are floating about.
It's just been a case of taking four or five models at a time, repainting, repairing them and then getting another four or five and repeating the process. There were more that needed work than I initially thought but they are mostly weapon swaps and the like, rather than massive jobs.
The final group are models which sadly don't fit in at all. These were any metal models bar the  Dreadnoughts. This means my destroyers, Apothecary and Runepriest are being consigned to the reserves bench. I really liked the Runepriest as it was the old Nijai Stormcaller model. The apothacary was a conversion that I was really proud of but if it doesn't fit then it doesn't fit! Another small part of this group are my mkvi Seekers. I loved the Seekers and they were all in mkvi armour. However they were a little too wolf themed for my liking. The long wolf pelts were very 40k and they had Goodwyn pattern bolters which unfortunately aren't era appropriate.However the silver lining is that I can use the parts from this group to swap out parts that I need which will speed up the renovations to the second group.

The mkiii were an absolute joy to put together but I didn't like the backpacks. However I always seem to get a seam on the exhausts. The good thing with this project's theme is that I can use different backpacks from different marks of armour to get a mkv cobbled together look,
The army is now about 2500pts which is  a decent size for 30k gaming. When I have finished these few last models I can relax and move onto the next project.

065 - For The Wolftime...... Again?

This year was going to be the start of my second generation of Iron Warriors. However I couldn't get on with the colour scheme so I scrapped the project. I have done a more detailed post about it here.
So this left a gap in my hobby commitments and a box full of plastic waiting to be built. So I filled this metaphorical gap with the Vlka Fenryka. I originally kit bashed 40k plastic Space Wolves and resin MK4 marines to create my first 30k army. This was well before the Calth set came out so was hunting around for every last bit of Heresy era armour I could get my hands on.
The result is an eclectic mix of weapons and armour parts which was exactly the look I wanted for my Space Wolves. However the long awaited Inferno book has recently been released along with the Burning of Prospero boxed game.

I was inspired by the Inferno review on the Sons of Heresy podcast. A couple of years ago when he was on the Overlords podcast Jason Mullins infectious enthusiasm really cemented my choice of starting legion and now his excitement over the new book got me wanting to go back to the wolves. I have also been inspired by Big Jim on twitter. His kitbashed army and use of slightly older minis really gels with my own approach to the collection.

I decided I could re-purpose my Space Wolves as most of the models have the correct armour and equipment. It's a case of adding a few models here and there and possible bits. For example exchanging mk7 legs for mk4 legs. I had two Calth sets and a Prospero set so this mean a lot of bits to pick from.
I decided I would retire my metal models and add some more plastic troops. I am going to keep my big tanks and the dreadnoughts. The dreadnoughts might not quite fit being metal and have a few storm bolters here and there but I really like the models so I think I will keep them.
So here I am pulling apart models and trying to match arms with legs so I have to do as little painting as possible. This is a picture of my hobby desk at the moment.

I have now started this small (I hope) project. This won't be a full army. Just a refresh and a couple of new units here and there. After this I can turn my attention to a different Legion but I feel I can have fun with my space vikings for the time being.

035 - Winding up the Wolves

So I'm finishing one of my armies. I'm going to stop adding to my 30k Space Wolves. The intention before was to do a massive army but with my Word Bearers and other projects taking my time I decided to finish the models I had assembled and have a completed army.  If I'm honest with myself I won't keep adding models here and there and it would be best just to finish the whole thing rather than disappoint myself in the future.It's around 3000pts which is a decent size and I have quite alot of variety in there so I'm pretty happy with it.
I just finished my last model which was my Praetor which I made from The Betrayal at Calth Chaplain and some bits from the plastic Space Wolves upgrade sprue.

So I have got well into collecting my 30k Space Wolves. The initial plan was to kit bash most of them not only because of the lack of Space Wolves Forge World models at the time but also due to the fact I love modelling. However I didn't want them to look like 40k Space Wolves with a different colour scheme so I'm reigned in the use of the 40k kits. I was initially unconcerned about the "official" Space Wolves models eventually coming out from Forge World figuring when they came out I could either mix them in with the kit bashed models or use them as veterans or a command squad depending on how different in tone and style they are. But when I saw them they seemed completely different and wouldn't fit in with the other guys in the force. I don't feel like I've failed in making a good looking Heresy Space Wolves army but I wanted a cohesive force and mixing my kit bashed models and the new resin just wouldn't sit right with me.
As for the size of my army I intended to do a unit for each slot in the force organisation chart. This would have been a massive sized army and although the intention was to have this project last a couple of years, I feel it has ran it's course. I didn't rush painting and collecting this army and feel like I have a decent looking balanced force.
I will do a full gallery of the army in  the future as I'm quite proud of it. Until then happy gaming!

023 - Refurbishing Dreadnoughts

I have recently been scouring my model collection for additions to my 30k Space Wolves army. I have found some good models that will be able to be used with my army , however some need a little more work than others.
One of the pieces I found was an old plastic Grey Knight Dreadnought. It was a Mk V Castraferrum  Dreadnought so I had a look to see if they were suitable for 30k. After a bit of research I found that the boxy models of Castraferrum Dreadnoughts were in use well before the Contemptor Dreadnoughts which was quite surprising!
As you can see the Dreadnought is firmly in a Grey Knights colour scheme:

I repainted the main armour panels and took off all of the purity seals as they didn't fit in with the rest of the army. I had to clear off quite a few mould lines and clean up a few bits where it hadn't been put together carefully. I added a few bits of wolf paraphernalia to spice it up a bit. I kept the original front panel as it looking very legion looking.
I was going to add a havoc missile launcher made from an old Whirlwind tank but felt it was a little too big for it!

I finished off the painting with a couple of red jags to break up the dull grey. After a little drama rebasing it I had one finished Dreadnought!

I really like the look of the model so I'm going to have a good look at adding a couple more so I have a full Dreadnought Talon. And after that possibly a few Contemptors if my wallet can take the strain!

017 - Wolfacary

In the Legion Astartes Crusade Army List the Apothecarion Detachment consist of up to three Apothecaries as a single elites slot. However each Apothecary has to join a squad. The Apothecaries confer the Feel No Pain rule on units that they accompany. This addition to a large infantry squad makes them very durable.This is why I want some for my Space Wolves army. 

However the Apothecaries from Forge World only come with helmets which none of my Space Wolves are going to wear helmets and I am loath to chop up an expensive resin model for a conversion I am not really confident about. Also the Space Wolves Legion may not have Apothecaries in the army list when it comes out so I don't want to spend too much on possibly obsolete models.
So off to Ebay I trotted. After a little digging and alot of patience I got a suitable Apothecary figure for £2.50 including P&P. This is where it's really good to buy off Ebay when a model is slightly older and from a popular range such as Space Marines you can have alot of choice and get some real bargains.
To make this model suitable for my needs I needed to do a little conversion work. I clipped off the head and then ground the area down with an engraving tool. A little green stuff made the addition of one of the heads from the Space Wolves kit fit seamlessly. It had a long beard to cover some of the chest details as the Apothecary is wearing mk7 armour. I can explain this away as the armour looks non standard enough to fit in with the rest of the force.
I painted him up in the standard grey colour scheme and gave him grey hair to make him look old and wisened.
Here is a photo of the finished model next to the original piece.

Hopefully the Space Wolves list in the Prospero book will not get rid of the apothecaries as I am very pleased with this model and it fits in to the army brilliantly. 

015 - The Rout

So after deciding that I wanted to do a 30k force I had a real good think about what army I wanted to do. I am terrible at reading a novel or seeing a cool army and wanting t start that army so I felt with the added cost of Forgeworld models I wanted to be sure of what I wanted to do.
In the end it was a novel that inspired me but it definitely kept my interest for quite a long time. I read Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett which is one of my favourite Horus Heresy novels. It had a different take o the Space Wolves that really appealed to me. The novel showed that the Space Wolves aren't just jokey vikings in space and are one of the most ruthlessly loyal legions in the Great Crusade.
There was one piece of art that really made me go "that's the style for me" which is the cover to Prospero Burns.

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Its fantastic. From the drop assault in the back ground to massive sea of men on the ground. The Space Wolves are all there with the noble savage Norse stylings we all know and love. I'm a big fan of the juxapation of wooden shields and hyper advanced power armour.

It's also got Russ.

And Wulfen!

I listened to the "Joining The Horus Heresy" episode of the Independent Characters podcast (which is here) and was really inspired with Jason Mullins' description of how he built his Space Wolves 30k force. He described the various kit bashing methods he used and I thought "I could do that".

So I was in a position to buy some Forge World armour and a Space Wolves kit and I was ready to go! I have a a small force at the moment with a good mix of Forgeworld and regular 40k kits.

As you can see from the photo of my army I have made a start. I have used the old Njal Stormcaller model as a librarian and converted an old Apothecary into a Space Wolves style Legion Apothecary. The infantry are a seeker squad on the left all in mk6 armour and tactical squad in a mix of types of armour. Vehicle wise I have gone for a Land Raider which is the start of a squadron and a Dreadnought Talon.

I feel I have a made a good start to the force and I'll keep you updated on my wolfy antics in the future.