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.

056 - Minotaurs Test Model

I finished my Minotaur test model which is a metal Space Marine Captain. I was quite happy with the finished paint job and it wasn't too difficult to complete. The bronze went on quite well and I can do the red easily as well.

I think this colour scheme is easy enough for me to complete a whole army with. I am going to do a tactical squad of old plastic marines next just to make sure the colour scheme is okay for a group of miniatures.
Overall I am quite happy with this test and can't wait to make a start on the rest of the army!

055 - Maybe Minotaurs?

I love Space Marines in 40k. Well what's not to love about an armour genetically enhanced super warrior? They are such a deeply developed faction with great power and horrendous flaws. As iconic factions go Space Marines are the poster boys of the universe. Stripped of their humanity they are the bulwark against the dark for all of the people of the Imperium.
As you probably know the Space Marines were organised into many different chapters after the events of the Horus Heresy. They all have different character depending on the chapter and are fairly autonomous however some are rigidly adherent to the Codex Astartes than others.
I chose my chapter from an existing one rather than create my own. I saw the Minotaurs in the Badab war books and was bowled over. The High Lords of Terra use them as their personal attack dogs and they put chapters which don't tow the line back unto place. They have the pick of equipment and fight as a whole chapter rather than break off which makes them a little different to normal chapters. The psycho-indoctrination process is more rigorous and this makes them ultra loyal to the High Lords.
So with this background floating around my head I cracked on with my first model. Here is a work in progress picture of the test model.

I wanted to do a test model as the main thing I look for when starting an army is if I like doing a colour scheme and find it fun to paint. I will do this guy and a small squad of plastic marines to see if I can stomach doing fifty or more of these guys.
Hopefully this will turn out well and lead to a whole new army.

038 - Deathwatch Marines

I was really excited when Deathwatch: Overkill came out. The game looked good but the thing that seemed to really catch people's eye was the miniatures. The Genestealer Cult is great. It is an update of iconic models and concepts which were a fundamental part of what defined Warhammer 40,000 when I first got into the hobby. However the thing that really got me was the Deathwatch!
The Deathwatch are a cool idea and the new models represent the diverse chapters working as different parts to become more effective as a whole. This mirrors how the original twenty legions were designed by the Emperor to work together and compliment the strengths and inherent abilities of each other.
One Deathwatch marine stood out for me was the Iron Hand Ennox Sorrlock. I wanted to use that model as the basis for a Heresy era Techmarine. The body fit in with the right armour but this left me two Deathwatch arms and and a combimelta which didn't fit in with the time period. So having a few marine spares I cobbled together a Deathwatch Iron Hands marine which I intended to be just a one off model for a bit of fun.
But Games Workshop brilliantly released rules for both factions in the board game. So armed with rules I began thinking I could make my own Deathwatch team with the same wargear and use the rules that have been released.
It may only be eleven models but I can stretch this out and do a few models at a time and use it as a bit of palette cleanser between bigger squads and vehicles for other projects. I won't feasibly be able to substitute certain models without putting in alot of work so the Salamander, Imperial Fist and White Scar will be bought off Ebay and converted somehow to make them look a little more individual.
So my first models that are going to get made is my version of squad Donatus.

I have the basis for the models and the parts for the weapons in my bits box. I will have to buy the Deathwatch upgrade sprue for the shoulder pads but I am okay with that. as that will give me enough pads for all eleven and a few spares as well. 

Here is a quick work in progress picture of my Dark Angel, Space Wolves and Iron Hands marines.

I am quite excited about this small project and hopefully it will keep my creative juices flowing in the future. 

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!

010 - Space Marine Predictions

A few months ago we all saw the pictures of new mkIV plastic sprue for the rumoured 30k boxed set (the link is here). They were plastic space marines apparently for 30k but seemed to have codex weapon options like the normal tactical squad rather than the more simplistic weapon load-outs of just bolters which would follow the the larger Legion army list. This seemed a little strange until I saw this news report here.
Putting two and two together (and possibly coming up with five) I asked myself what fits in with really old armour marks in a codex formation? Bingo! Mk4 Astartes fighting Orks in the 31st Millennium. This fits in the time line with the Space Marines following the Codex Astartes but having easy access to older marks of amour. Hopefully we do get the rumoured 30k boxed set but I think that that a 31st Millennium (31k?) boxed set might be a real possibility to support the new 2016 campaign.
As a disclaimer this is a super duper shot in the dark!