Painted: Heresy-era Salamanders Land Raider Phobos Mk IIa

Greetings once again InterWebs!!! Still busy here but I am ever so close to being completely ready for the trip on Friday. Next up on my paint schedule was my attempt at a wrap-around tracked Land Raider Phobos MkII. I really enjoyed painting this model even though it was done quickly and the weathering/chipping is not done yet. I am also thinking of adding Roman Numeral XVIII decals on the larger tanks like this one. I am calling this model the 'Pride of Nocturne' and here she is:

I am not sure why this picture makes the model look brighter than it really is.

I used the Chapter House Studios doors because I really do not like the Forge World doors at all:

Showing the warp around Heresy-era looking tracks:

The Multi-Melta I made out of an Assault on Black Reach Dreadnought arm.

Again with a shot showing how the tracks wrap around the back end.

Another final look at the 'Pride of Nocturne'.

This conversion was a struggle to pull together but I think it really works well. I am just happy that all the little issues I had with the conversion are nicely covered/hidden by the paint. I promised myself that I wouldn't make another one of these but after seeing it all painted up I am leaning towards doing another.

That is all for now, I am off to finish up the last little bits of detail on the Legion Glaive. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Heresy-era Salamanders: Land Raider Mk IIb Ready for Paint

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! It has been a very busy time here including a fair amount of hobby time! I hope all of my US readers had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I managed to get the Salamander's Land Raider conversion all finished up and primered over the long weekend. I would like to present to you my Land Raider Mk IIb (fully tracked) conversion which I have named Superbia Nocturne (Pride of Nocturne):

I knocked this 'master-crafted' Multi Melta out rather quickly. I think it turned out OK, the angled sides tie in well with the armor plates of the Land Raider.

The side weapons elevate/depress and rotate. I think the Chapter House Studios doors work well.

Rear view showing the tracks going all the way around.

The opposite side showing the other door. I added some Green Stuff Salamander logos to both sides of the Land Raider which I think is subtle but helps ensure people know what Legio the Land Raider belongs to.

Top down view showing the extensive work involved to track the Land Raider fully.

All in all I am pleased with the way the Land Raider turned out. There are things I would have done differently in hindsight but overall I think it turned out OK. I wish I could have done something a little better with the twin-linked Heavy Flamer conversion (looks to much like the Heavy Bolters they were) but I can change it later.

Next up will be the last of the infantry models (apothecary and librarian), thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Heresy-era Land Raider Mk II with Wrap Around Tracks WiP

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! I have been a busy person lately but have had some time to spend in the hobby room and I have managed to get some work done on my Heresy-era Land Raider. I have always wanted to try my hand at a fairly significant conversion: a fully tracked Mk II Land Raider. I followed a general guide from Tom McBride who did the first conversion of this type. I am still working on the beast but here is where it sits now:

I was VERY intimidated by this project but I think it is coming out alright. I still have a bunch of work to do like: rivets on the sides, greenstuff gap filling, greenstuff scales and icons (must look a little more Salamandery), etc.

I just realized this is post 99. I wonder what I should do for post 100? Thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Heresy Era Salamanders Legion Cataphractii Terminators WiP part 1

Greetings once again InterWebs!!! Time for a mid-week look at my current build process for Legio XVIII; this time I would like to present my version of Salamanders Cataphractii Terminators. Here are a bunch of shots of the build process so far.

The gathering of bits needed for the build:

 Resin components from a sculptor in Russia. These are not Forge World kits as will become evident later:

The Russian kits require the use of 'normal' Terminator legs and arms. In the Heresy-era there are rivets on most of the armor plates (especially the legs) so I wanted to make the modern legs look more Heresy-era; Mordian 7th to the rescue (yet again) with some rivets he brought over for me to try. Here are the rivets:

One set of legs with the rivet locations marked out:

 With a very small drill bit the holes were made for the rivets to slip into:

A group shot of the legs:

 Some close-up shots of the legs:

Time to mount the upper torsos:

Figuring out the weapon and shield arms; basically trying to find posses that I like:

The Salamanders Legio can take proto-storm shields in the Heresy-era so I wanted to make sure they had them! Since they are currently the only Legio that can have them this unit should be a center piece of my army:

 The proto-storm shields I used are a mixture of Spellcrow and Chapter House Studios bits:

Here are some close-up views of the various members (of the yet unnamed squad) starting with....
Squad Sergeant with Master Crafted Thunder Hammer:

 Not everyone has a thunder hammer, I want a dragon-looking power fist.......

 For when I want a heavy flamer in the unit I built a guy to swap out for the power fist guy:

 The heavy flamer say 'Inferno' on the side, I think that is appropriate:

This is were the squad sits at the moment. I still have to bend and attach the leather (resin) looking straps that hang from underneath the shoulder pads and somehow figure out how to make/convert some drake scale mantles for them. I also plan on making some fetish/trophy strings and little sections of Salamander Scales hanging from certain areas, still a bunch of work still to go. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

PiP: Various Blood Angel Special Characters

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! It has been a wonderfully warm weekend with a bunch of stuff happening! I managed to get in a couple of games of Ogre Miniatures on Saturday which was quite fun and a little bit of hobby-time on the painting desk on Sunday. I am still working on the last of the Blood Angel special characters which are the last of my normal Blood Angels army; I still have a bunch of Death Company but that will be a later project, I need to step away from the Sons of Sanguinius for a bit. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are some pictures of the painting process so far:

The Four Lords of War:

Here are some close-up views:

Brother Corbulo:

Close-up of the face:

Mephiston, Lord of Death:

Close-up of the face:

Captain Tycho:

Done in metallic gold.

Close-up of the face:

Lord Commander Dante:

 Done in metallic gold:

Close-up on Dante:

"I am going to hit you with my axe!"

 Nightlord coming along:

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! These are still very much paint-in-process and I would love to hear your thoughts. Take care!