Genesis Chapter Land Speeder Typhoon (new pics)

Thanks to my friend Vojta, I have some new beautiful pictures of my Land Speeder Typhoon (check link for full article about the model).

 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! They definately remind me how cool the classic Games Workshop designs are.

Genesis Chapter Bike Squad

I had these models finished for quite some time now, only thing left to do was the iconography. Working on these models made me realize how much I enjoy the armored, knightly look of Space Marine machinery.

To build my Bike Squad, I bought the old Ravenwing Battleforce, so these three are just the core of a larger bike squad - in total, it should have six bikes and one attack bike. The squad will be armed with plasma guns so it can reliably engage heavy infantry and light vehicles; I'm still not decided about the Attack Bike weapon, though.

I had fun working on the bases of these models. The base was covered in green stuff (though any putty would probably do); after that, I took the bike wheel and rolled it over the green stuff to leave its track on the ground. Later, I painted the base and added gloss varnish (or should I say, 'Ardcoat) to make it look like wet mud.

I tried to give different feel to each of the bikers. The first one above was more or less a test model; the second one is a sergeant (blue helmet denotes sergeants in the Genesis Chapter), and the third one is actually a homage to Terminator 2 (with a plasmagun instead of shotgun!). Various details from the Ravenwing sprue were added, like the large purity seals and ammo boxes. The rather clumsy flag on sergeant's bike was made out of greenstuff; next time, I'll have to think out something better.

Genesis Chapter Predator: Wallpaper

Is this a filler post? Yep, I guess it is... sort of. But sometimes even filler posts can be inspiring, right? I sure hope this wallpaper-sized picture of my Genesis Chapter Predator is one of those. Kudos to my friend Vojta for taking this sexy picture.

 In too deep, against all odds brothers!

Edit 2019: So, it has been five years since I shared this picture, and it hasn't aged well with its puny 1280w resolution. Therefore, please enjoy the new reuploaded wallpaper in 1600 width resolution above. There is also a 1920 width version available at my deviantart page for download. Cheers!

Genesis Chapter Vindicator

In too deep, against all odds brothers!

It has been some time since I posted an update for my main army, the glorious Genesis Chapter. So here is the assault gun of Index Astartes, the Demolisher-wielding Vindicator.

This is the first vehicle I painted mostly with Mephiston red instead of Mechrite red and Blood red and I'm glad the difference from Blood red is only minimal. Regarding the dirt on the Siege Shield, it has been done with Stirland mud and some washes. A picture from my (rather crappy) camera follows:

The model is not much decorated - and for a reason. I love the Vindicator kit, so I bought another one, which will serve as a command vehicle for the army (or perhaps for an Apocalypse formation). I want that one to clearly stand out, so the first one has been left rather bland. Therefore, the only decorations on this one are the ammo loader on the back, and an aquila sign.

I guess some additional scriptures or purity seals wouldn't hurt though. Perhaps I will revisit the model when I will have the "command" Vindicator finished. At the moment, I'm working on a Razorback for a Veteran or Command squad - I'm undecided on its function yet, though it will surely be much more decorated than this one.

Thanks for reading and for any possible C&C!

Genesis Chapter Land Speeder Typhoon

Edit (08/2015): New, beautiful pictures of this vehicle are available in this post.

I have finally finished my Typhoon Land Speeder - and I've spared way too much time with this contraption. It came with the Dark Angels Battleforce box - a great buy, but with outdated LS kit; be sure to have some rubber band handy in case it doesn't hold together when glueing.

I've spent quite few weeks painting this one and I'm happy with the result (though I'm quite annoyed by my low photographic skills, still have a lot to improve in that!). The crew was inserted after painting the cockpit, which delayed me quite a bit, but it was definately worth it.

As mentioned earlier, the assembly didn't go well, and it can be seen. The spoiler at the back is slightly curved, no matter how hard I tried to make it straight - it came like this right from the box! I was quite worried about the flimsy support of the missile launchers too, but in the end they are just fine. I guess these bugs are not present in the modern kit, though.

Since the beginning I wondered how can the rather weak flyer support mostly used for jetbikes and deffkoptas hold something as big and heavy as is the Typhoon. Oh well - it can't! It didn't take long and the support pole broke. I improvised and used a small plastic rock (coming from a toy) with green stuff for a new base. Now I wish I would have put more thought into this, but hey - at least it stands, and in a more interesting angle too!

I tried to follow Index Astartes while working on the markings. This Land Speeder actually comes from the 7th Company, which functions as a reserve of bike- and landspeeder-trained Assault Marines. Their codex colour is steel, therefore the Boltgun Metal shoulder trims. I think reserve companies are greatly under-represented on the table.

Anyways, see you soon, and sorry for the big delay!

Finished: Magnetized Predator

Edit: Be sure to check out the wallpaper-size picture of this tank here!

It took ages, but my Predator is finally finished! I decided to make its weapons magnetized - after all, you never know whether the Annihilator pattern won't be worth it when the next Codex gets released. Anyways, let's see the dakkapred first!


I tried to make the vehicle more detailed and more weathered than my Rhino. More bright colors are used (mainly for targeters), and I've done some weathering around the exhaust pipes - nothing more than a simple drybrush, but it feels good.


A side view on the Destructor pattern, showing the weathering and a heavy bolter. I use a 1:1 mix of Tin Bitz and Chaos Black for the black metal on weapons.


I've already tested the Destructor in a small battle and I have to admit it is a beast (at least when it comes to putting down Orks). Yet, somehow, I like the design of Annihilator more, and I guess it can be seen on the model. A sniper tank with four lascannons (ok, three and a half, technically) just deserves respect; I wish this setup would be more worth it in-game. As a side note, I'm glad I got all the insignia right this time (gotta love that Insignium Astartes).


Finally, the controversial Maverick (or "autolas") pattern. Somehow this pattern actually feels the most basic for me, since it was the only one featured in Final Liberation, the game that got me into this hobby.

Anyways, let's take a short look on the magnetizing!



The turret wasn't really hard to magnetize. What you need are 3mm wide, 1mm high neodymium magnets; they fit the holes almost perfectly. I also advise glueing a small piece of plastic on the turrets lower side, so that the weapon holds firmly and doesn't fall down (which is always a risk with small magnets). If you look carefully, you can see on the picture that I used just a small piece of sprue there, and it works great.



The sponsons are harder to magnetize right. I decided to go the easy way and replace the whole weapon support with a line of magnets - it works pretty good and is not really noticable on the model. Just be *very* careful to glue everything right and even, so you don't end up with the weapons leaning in sloppy angles. Drilling a correct size hole into the weapons themselves is annoying as well; perhaps a bit of green stuff might help there (didn't try though).



So here's the model with all its parts separated. The army building possibilities are great with magnetized models, but to be honest, if you are a perfectionist, go with the normal, un-magnetized look. If you are more into gaming, though, magnetizing will allow you to try a lot of options without proxying or buying multiple models and the Predator is a good model to get a grip on it, since you need magnets of only one size. Be sure to get a good bunch of them, thought - the turret part requires at least 6, and the sponsons require anywhere from 4 to 12, depending on the way you deal with it.

Anyways, I hope you like the vehicle! See you soon.

First Genesis Chapter Bike

I'm working on my new Ravenwing Battleforce and I have just finished the first Bike. Since I still have six more to do, I thought I'd share pictures, in case I'm doing something wrong.

So, here it is!




As you can see, the marks show that the marine is an Assault marine of 2nd Company, 7th squad. I didn't put squad number on the bike, even thought it should be there according to Insignium Astartes. It seems illogical to me that the bike should show squad number, but not a company marking, so I didn't paint the squad number at all. After all, according to the fluff, bikes belong to the chapter Armoury, and not to Companies (as do Rhinos and some other vehicles); the Companies instead request them according to mission requirements.



This picture shows a better detail of the base. I modelled the base according to a tutorial that was available on the Games Workshop site, but it looks like they took it down now! The base is covered by a thin layer of Green Stuff - and the bike track was made by pressing a spare Bike wheel into it. The effect is pretty cool, and complements my idea of a swamp planet pretty well, although most of the track is covered by the bike anyways. Here is a detail shot of the base, before I put the bike on it:


Regarding the bike model itself, it can be seen that it's mould dates back to the third edition. The detailing is simply not that good, but luckily a good paintjob can cover that well! I hope I have achieved that.

And that's about all for now, so - thanks for reading! As always, comments are most welcome. After all, I still have five more of these to do, and an assault bike as well!

Genesis Chapter Tactical Squad Revisited

You might remember my first Tactical Squad. It missed squad markings and consisted (mostly) of basic AOBR marines, so I've decided to revisit it by adding markings, and mixing in more "advanced" marines.


Probably the most important change is the Sergeant. I've decided to supplement the flamer combat squad with a new Sergeant; particularly because I wanted to arm the squad with a stronger close combat weapon, and particularly because I've grown quite allergic of the stock two-dimensional AOBR sergeant.


Sergeant Malleus, 3rd Tactical Squad, 2nd Company

As you can see, the new one is quite an improvement. The axe is a power weapon from Assault Squad sprue, and the other parts are standard Tactical Squad bits. I got quite bored of bare head marines, so I gave this one a helmet - in blue color, to represent sergeant status. I also stopped to paint marine eyes in Blood Red and instead went for Iyanden Darksun.

I've made minor changes to my first Rhino as well; after reading Insignium Astartes, I've found out I got the markings all wrong. So I've replaced them with a 2nd Company insignia and a tactical mark; note that the large tactical arrow is yet to be added. I also added a large Genesis Chapter logo on the back doors.




I'm still solving out my army list, and I'm thinking about actually putting this Tactical Squad into a Razorback, so that's why the Rhino still doesn't have squad markings. For some time though, the squad will use it as a dedicated transport, so here they are together:


And here is a better look on the squad markings, which are variously placed either on shoulder-pads or knee-pads:


As you can see, the squad is the third squad of Second Company (indicated by the golden shoulder-pad rim), Genesis Chapter. I'm afraid I quite messed up the Sergeant's banner, because the squad number insignia there looks too similar to a company badge - see the picture with Rhino to understand what I mean. I'll definately use different style of markings on future banners.

Anyways, thanks for reading! I hope you like the squad. As always, any comment or criticism is welcome. Do you think I should re-do the banner, to make it more apparent that it displays squad number? Or is it apparent enough?

Genesis Chapter: More fluff

Hi. I'm sorry for missing a few updates; I am currently working on my bachelor work and don't have much time for modelling, and even less for writing on the blog. I'll be sincere now - this post is in fact a filler. It still might be worth reading for anyone interested in the fluff of Genesis Chapter.


"In too deep, against all odds brothers!"

I've been digging through Insignium Astartes and warhammer40k.wikia.com and found some interesting information that haven't been mentioned in the introductory post.

Unsurprisingly, Genesis Chapter follows Roboute Guilliman's Codex Astartes to a tee. The chapter is traditionally split into ten companies, which are distinguished by shoulder pad rim colours, most probably in the same manner as the Ultramarines. Therefore, the classic colour scheme of Genesis Chapter (yellow/golden trims) refers only to the 2nd Battle Company. While veteran's badges are white/silver, sergeant's badges are blue.

Note that the Chapter's Apothecaries have most of their armor painted red. Only their helmets, left shoulderpads and right shouldepad trims are white. Left kneepad is colored according to the Apothecary's company.

The chapter keeps close ties with their Progenitor Chapter, the Ultramarines, and its Astartes commonly undertake at least one pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Primarch on Macragge. Genesis Chapter frequently undertakes joint operations with the Ultramarines, and their squads and even specialists such as Techmarines and Librarians routinely fill gaps within Ultramarines' companies.

There are two recent notable campaigns that involved the chapter. First is the Cleansing of the Ulik Sector. In 997.M41, Space Marines of the Death Strike and Genesis Chapters conduct a series of Exterminatus missions in the Ulik Sector on worlds not yet consumed by Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan to prevent it from gaining resources.

The second campaign is Waaagh! Irontoof in 998.M41. A combined force of the Genesis Chapter and the Ultramarines engaged the growing Ork Waaagh! Irontoof and successfully pushed it back.

Sources:
Insignium Astartes, 2002
Genesis Chapter at warhammer40k.wikia.com
Codex: Tyranids, 5ed


Genesis Chapter 3rd Battle Company captain.

If you would have any relevant information on Genesis Chapter which hasn't been mentioned here, please leave me a comment here. I'm especially curious about the campaigns conducted by or with the help of the chapter. Unfortunately, I didn't notice anything about the Irontoof campaign in Codex: Orks.

Also, once again sorry for missing out the update (and for this filler post as well). As any good marine, I have to adhere to my duties first. In December, I'll either continue with the trend of filler posts, or I'll actually finish some of my current projects and post them here. I'm currently revisiting my first tactical squad (expect squad markings and a new Sergeant), painting up a Predator, and basing my three Bad Moons Deffkoptas.

Anyways, thanks for the patience. See you soon!

Genesis Chapter Scout Squad finished!

It took time, but my first squad of Scouts is finally ready for battle! I consider them my first truly finished unit, because they have both Genesis Chapter and squad markings!


I decided to make them a melee unit, therefore they are equipped with shotguns and combat knives. The sergeant has a Melta Bomb, shamelessly stolen from Assault Marines sprue.

I hope you like the color scheme; it is inspired by the only official Games Workshop picture of a Genesis Chapter scout marine I know of (you can see it here). The blue color used for trousers and shirts is basically Ice Blue with a heavy layer of Asurmen Blue wash.



I had some problems making the pictures sharp enough due to extremely odd weather here, so I experimented with background a bit. I've found out that red background makes the picture much more sharp, and I've stick with it for this serie of pictures. I hope it isn't too disruptive for viewing.

Next picture focuses on the shoulderpads; left shoulderpad bears a small Genesis Chapter transfer, while the right shoulderpad has a written squad marking (number I for this squad). I'll have to add squad markings to my previously finished squads (especially the Tactical Marines), although I'm a bit unsure about where should I put them - on shoulderpads, or somewhere else (eg. on a kneepads)?


Anyways, let's finish the post with some more detailed pictures of 'dem Scouts. I really can't wait to see these guys in battle with my Bad Moons! I hope they will be a worthy match to them. Somehow the Scouts look much more hardcore than Tactical Marines to me!







Anyways, I hope you like them. These guys were definately fun to assemble and paint, even though it takes quite some time to finish them - but the result can look so much more lively and personalized than an average Tactical Marine! I'm definately looking forward into getting more of these guys.