Saturday, September 26, 2009

Admech counts as Straken

Hey everyone. As i am making an admech army slowly.. I needed a suitable Magos to command it. So I decided to do a counts as commander. I chose Straken mostly because he is cool. So lets see the results:


I used a techpriest model base. I put a big obnoxious gun on the servo arm part. It represent the shotgun although i made it look like a large laser on purpose. The rest is self explanatory. I like him. he is a bit silly but I like him. The camera likes to show the red bleed through the metallic parts.. but that is not the case on the actual model. Oh well... Just a quick painting update. I do enjoy how the model turned out.

All your Base... Space Hulk themed

Hey everyone. Its been a while. I meant to put this up for over a week now.. So here we go finally. I know I did a post about my space hulk bases before but with Space Hulk out and since I am working on more deathwing I figured I would do a all your base segment on making space hulk bases or at least how I do it. Its going to be similar to the older post but with WIP shots.

Alright so firstly you need your bases. Since it is deathwing they are terminator bases. But you could do this with any size base in theory. What I used to get the grate effect was plastic screening for doors. Why the plastic one? Well the metal screen doesnt bend it will just kink. Also the metal one can cut or rip your skin so the plastic one is safer. Anything will work for grating though if you don't have window/door screening you could use stitchery canvas which most art supply places should have. That also works very well. As in the picture lay the screen down and then apply a small amount of pva glue all over the base and push it down onto the screen. Less is more! This is because the glue will bleed through the screen so do this on a glass or glass like surface as they clean easier and you can get the screen off the glued table part easier.

Alright After letting it dry for at least 8 hours or more (I suggest a full day) you are ready to trim them off. The best way to lift the bases is from the screen that way should it be stuck to the table a bit from the glue (and by the way you should periodically lift the screen from the table and clean any glue off the table to be safe). If you grab the bases them selves you could pull them off the screen if not careful. Then with a xacto or hobby knife (a scissor or razor could even work.) cut around the outside of the base to free it from the screen. A cutting mat is preferable. As you can see with the picture above you do not need to make it perfect. Any excess screen can be clipped flush with hobby clippers. Should some screen lift from the base you can make spot repairs with superglue.


Alright after you trim the screen flush with the base its time to add some. Plasticard works great for this. Cut some strips of card longer then the base and glue it to the base. Once dry clip it so it is flush with the base. Add as much or as little as you would like. You can even add extra bits like unused rhino doors to represent a door blown out or ammo crates etc etc.


Once your done its time to paint. Start with a black base coat to every part of the base. Be sure it gets between the screen to the base itself below but do not clog the screen with paint. After that drybrush the entire thing with boltgun metal. be careful not to get too much down on the actual base. After that paint the accent parts whatever you want. I suggest some plasticard strip be painted some color to make the base pop and not look monochromatic and boring. After that semi drybrush some bestial brown over areas to give a weathered grime look (this is a space hulk after all). Add some blood spatter if you want then wash the grimy areas and a bit of the non grime areas around the grimy section with devlan mud. This will make the grime. Once that is fully dry give a nice heavy wash of badab black over the rest of the base with a bit of an overwash into the grimy areas. This makes the metal really pop and show the grating. it will also cover an bolt gun drybrush that got onto the bottom of the base.
And that's pretty much it. Don't worry about the pva glue clogging the screen it wont as long as you do not add way too much. Remember less is more. Well hope you enjoyed and this is just my way of doing it. There are other ways out there. Take care.



Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Angels Of Fury Fluff

Hey everyone. I have been working on this successor chapter's fluff for at least 2 years now and while I only have 7 models painted for the army I thought I would share the fluff I have done now. Its not much for such a long time working on it but I had other stuff to do aside from this. So here we go!

Name: Angels of Fury


Parent Chapter(s): The Unforgiven... This meaning that this chapter was formed by not just the Dark Angels but the Angels of Vengeance, Absolution and Redemption chapters as well (Kept it to the second founding unforgiven)


Color Scheme: Battle grey armor, flat red emblem and weapon, black robes.


Chapter symbol: A skull with a red triangle behind it.

Knightwing symbol (first company): Crossed swords.

Razorwing symbol (second company): stylized lightning bolt/wing through a circle. The


Knightwing is there version of the Deathwing and the Razorwing is there version of the Ravenwing.


Special Characters (Not Necessarily relating to a codex special character to "count as"):

Uriel - Supreme Grand Master

Mezarius - Grand Master of Librarians

Jarus - Grand Master of the Knightwing

Mikael - Grand Master of the Razorwing

Camael - Grand Master of the Offices of Chaplaincy

Zephon - Grand Master of the Apothecarium

Gridael - Grand Master of the Forge

Azamiel - Interrogator Chaplain

Kurmael - Venerable Dreadnought The Ancient One


Battle Company Masters:

Behemial - Company Master of the third company

Sangrel - Company Master of the fourth company

Xerxes - Company Master of the fifth company


Reserve Company Masters:

Varcan - Company Master of the sixth company

Kyrial - Company Master of the seventh company

Asron - Company Master of the eighth company

Cassiel - Company Master of the ninth company


Scout Company Master:

Batarel - Company Master of the tenth company


The Chapter holds there helmet in high regard and every member wears there helmet into battle. Every piece of wargear is cared for diligently but the helmet takes on a special significance for the chapter.

Battle cry: Brothers! Release the Fury of the Lion in the name of the Emperor!!

Chapter Location:

The Angels of Fury is a fleet based chapter as far as can be told by outsiders, as it appears the entire Chapter moves as one from one system to another. Even with this the case the majority of the chapter hangs back or orbits a dead planet in the area while the chapter disperses throughout the entire system quelling rebellions and aiding in any fights against the xenos. The Chapter also takes this time to find promising recruits. Also due to this method of movement the reserve companies see more regular combat as a company as well as individual squads reinforcing battle company positions.

It is unclear why the bulk of the chapters fleet chooses to orbit over dead planets but it is thought that those not in conflict are training on the planets surface where the different terrains encountered from ruined cities to harsh deserts cannot be truly imitated onboard training vessels. This cannot be confirmed as the chapters presence at these planets is enough to divert local patrols to other areas of space less defended. Some scholars point to this fact as evidence that the chapter is doing more then training on those planets, speculating that they are searching for something.

The chapter never stays for long however and rarely communicates with local armed forces unless helping against large Ork attacks or other xenos problems and even then only rarely. The Angels of Fury hardly ever fight intermixed with local forces unless the situation is absolutely dire. Without word the entire fleet dissappears into the warp towards another system once the system has become as one imperial commander remembers one of the higher ranking Astartes saying "Purified".

In some cases vessels in orbit over dead planets have suddenly broke orbit and made for an adjacent system. These rapid response strike vessels are followed by half the fleet not in direct conflict within two standard days and the rest of the chapter once the current sytem is purified.


Chapter Traditions:

The Angels of Fury chapter like all chapters has certain rituals and traditions that they follow. One of these traditions that is noticed by anyone who bears witness to the chapter is that everyone from the Supreme Grand Master down to even scouts wears a helmet. It is a source of pride amongst the chapter and even when part of a council or meeting the Angels of Fury members always come with helmets on and only after formalities will some of them remove their helmet. A second visible tradition is that when not in armor every member of the chapter wears there robes. When in armor all battle company members must wear there robes. The razorwing are not required to wear there robes unless in attendance of an important ritual. The Knightwing is also not required to wear there robes when in there armor. Scouts have not yet earned the honor of wearing there robes into battle and as such usually wear a cloak. instead. The only command staff that is not required to wear a robe while in armor at any given time are Techmarines. This is thought to be for practical reasons.

Being founded by the unforgiven as a whole instead of one parent chapter the Angels of Fury maintain communication with all members of the unforgiven. In line with this the entire chapter is known to link up with the Dark Angels at times although imperial personnel cannot confirm this. The Angels of Fury invest great effort in keeping there link up with The Rock low profile. If reports are true then this fighting force of astartes navy assets and Marine personnel is frightening indeed. It is during this time that watchers in the dark are present onboard Angels of Fury vessels. All other times the Angels of Fury have no Watchers in the Dark present.

Purity above all else is critical to the chapter so to is there Apothecarium. The chapter has some of the finest apothecaries mostly due to the greater demand placed upon them. Constantly monitoring the geneseed is strictly adhered to while performing the additional duties demanded by the chapter. These include there usual battlefield and non battlefield duty, aiding the Techmarines in creating and maintaining the honored Dreadnoughts, Monoriting the Librarium from Grand Master to potential Lexicanian, Monitoring any official dealing between there brethren and other officials, and lastly monitoring the serfs and the organic portions of a servitor. Because of this the Apothecarium consists of a larger number of apothecaries then the codex astartes would dictate. It is thought that with such a good apothecarium that the chapters strength at its largest is around 2000 marines. As they are constantly in battle ths actual number is probably around 1600. This estimate would seem to be supported by its large navy and the fact that it recruits from nearly every suitable world they visit.

Chapter Layout and Honor Guard

1st company: Knightwing. This company is always fielded in terminator armor

2nd company: Razorwing. This company is always fielded on bikes and speeders regardless of chapter organization. Rarely utilize the Storm variant land speeder.

3rd-5th companies: Battle Companies. Standard battle companies. Each battle company has a number of company veterans who are members of the inner circle and assist the Company Master directly when on the hunt. When the chapter is not organized into an "unforgiven" pattern these veteran sqauds are deployed in 2 specific ways to help hunt the fallen. The Vengeance pursuit squads (Vanguard Veterans) are squads that hunt the fallen. When given jump packs they can assist any part of the battle line as well as locate and pursue the fallen often workin in concert with knightwing and razorwing detachments. The 2nd way is as Interdiction squads (Sternguard). These are veterans marksmen who go to battle almost solely in drop pods. These squads are given access to the chapters ranged weaponry and are the sole users of heavy flamers. The squads also have the honor of utilizing the chapters combi weaponry as well as the chapters special ammunition. Given the right combi weapon and with there ammunition these squads become effective against many targets and are adept at cutting off escape routes. When hunting the fallen these squads are used to sow confusion and terror in the ranks of enemies at key locations to cut the enemy off from itself and establish covering fire for the other elements of the hunt. It should be noted that these squads can also handle themselves in close combat if necessary.

6th-9th companies: Reserve Companies. Standard reserve companies that also have there own veterans which are broken into vengeance pursuit squads and Interdiction squads.

10th company. Scout company The only company that is not a part of the razorwing that is permitted to use bikes. As the company master of this company is a member of the inner circle like all masters he knows of the ongoing hunt. His company maintains a force of scout bikes that have the heraldry of the razorwing on them. These units are not a part of the inner circle but when in battle alongside there razorwing brothers are treated as an element of that company. They are not used to directly go after the fallen but rather are useful for guiding in other members of the inner circle as well as trapping parts of the battlefield. It is also noted that at times scouts will be used by the razorwing as fire support or as assaulters jumping out of the Storm variant speeder. The Scouts are never used for direct confrontation with fallen but rather to help with enemy resistance freeing up the inner circle to go directly after the fallen.

Chapter Fleet personnel: The fleet of the chapter is one of the largest astartes battle fleets that always moves as one. This is a double edged sword as it makes the fleet very powerful but it also means in large campaigns the fleet would be more vulnerable to boarding actions. This however is not the case as the entire chapter from serfs to the leader are well trained in boarding and counter boarding actions due to the Knightwings vigilance. Even so serfs are not space marines and can only do so much. This has given rise to a unique practice that the chapter uses. It is not known when this has started. The Chapter has what it calls Naval Sentries. These sentries are battle brothers of the Chapter that are dispersed throughout the fleet whose sole duty is to protect from boarding actions. There actual number is not known but due to the nature of a large fleet it is estimated that they number atleast 600 strong. These Sentries are not permanently assigned this duty but rather are cycled. Each sentry squad is a part of a company from 3rd to 9th company and are cycled from sentry duty to standard astartes duty. While this sentry duty is there sole duty while part of the naval sentry detail they also help train the scouts in anti boarding actions as one day should the scout survive they will be a part of the sentry detail cycle.

The Honor Guard: The Honor Guard has just one objective and that is to protect the Supreme Grand Master. Currently that man is Uriel. The Honor Guard number roughly 10 men that are hand picked by the Supreme Grand Master although when he dies the Honor Guard is not replaced by choices of the new Supreme Grand Master. Currently Uriel has hand picked 4 members from when he was elevated to the position. They are picked from members of the inner circle and only Chaplains, Librarians, Company Masters and Techmarines are not allowed to be picked. This means that company veterans to Knightwing and razorwing are eligible. Once picked the marine is given terminator training if they are not members of the deathwing and more importantly are assigned a suit of artificer armor and a relic blade. The relic blade is only used in battle if the Supreme Grand Master permits and is rarely used by the Chapter Champion. If the Honor Guard's duty is to protect Uriel then the Chapter Champion is akin to the personal bodyguard. The champion is the first to step in the way of anyone approaching Uriel in battle or in council. He will only step aside when Uriel orders him to. The Current Chapter Champion is Sangriel. The Honor Guard never take there helmets off except when they are by themselves or when they are alone with Uriel.

So that's the fluff so far. I know some of it is unorthodox but I took creative license as its my home brewed idea. Also the chapter uses the new space marine codex. Why? Well I am doing everything from the Dark Angel Codex with my Dark Angels Armies. If I used that for my Angels of Fury it would be the same army and play style with a different color and that would be boring. The new Space Marine codex play differently and has some fun units so I went with that.
Hope it was not too boring. until next time..