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MT's Project Log (currently: Deathwatch)

Started by Masked Thespian, September 03, 2016, 03:53:28 PM

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Masked Thespian

Hey everyone, how's it going?

As a global moderator of this forum, and a member since 2008, it's a little sad that I've not really shown much in the way of modelling or painting here.  The recent Deathwatch release has reinvigorated me and inspired me to actually get some models glued up and painted, so I thought I'd start a Project Log here.  It's going to be mirrored over at The Independent Characters' forum and maybe the Bolter and Chainsword forum too, with parts of it posted over on Facebook in the 1 Hour A Night Facebook group, so if you see this stuff in any of those places, it's not someone plagiarising me.

Anyway, onto the models.




So far, I've managed to purchase the following Deathwatch models:

1 Watch Captain Artemis
1 Deathwatch Venerable Dreadnought
5 Deathwatch Vanguard Veterans
5 Deathwatch Terminators
10 Deathwatch Veterans
5 Deathwatch Bikers
1 Deathwatch Corvus Blackstar



Over at the The Independent Characters forum and in the 1 Hour A Night Facebook group, I'm participating in their Hobby Progress Challenge and 1HourANight Challenge (respectively).  Mostly, that means that I have to pledge to paint a certain amount of miniatures each month and I get points and badges for doing so, with the chance to win some prizes at the end of the year.

For my first month of these two challenges I'm committing to doing 10 Deathwatch Veterans and 5 Deathwatch Bikers.  That's mostly because I'm completely undecided in what I actually want to field in my army (specifically, how I want to arm my models), and Bikers only really get one choice of weapon whilst I've somewhat decided what I'm doing with my first squad of Veterans.



The Bikers, as a Fast Attack choice, will also count towards the combined challenge called the CAD in a Quarter Challenge.  To finish this I'll need to have painted an Elites choice, a Fast Attack choice, a Heavy Support choice, a Fortifications choice, and a Lord of War choice by the start of December.  I already have an Elites choice that I can paint up (my choice of the Terminators, the Vanguard Veterans, and/or the Venerable Dreadnought) and I have several Fortifications choices I can take, due to me buying things before I left England for Japan 7 years ago, but I'm going to have to buy and paint a Deathwatch Land Raider at some point, as the three Land Raider types are the only Heavy Support choices the Deathwatch get, as well as work out what kind of Lords of War the Deathwatch can take, then buy one and paint it up.

I'm going to have to search out some of my old Dark Angels Ravenwing bits because I want one of my Bikers to be a member of the Ravenwing, specifically he's going to be the one with a Locator Beacon (seeing as that's what the Ravenwing do for the Dark Angels, it didn't seem like much of a stretch to do that within the Deathwatch too).

At this point I'm unsure how I'm going to base the army.  I'm considering basing it as urban ruins, as one of my to-do projects is an entire Cities of Death cityscape, with modular tiles and buildings, though I want to do a bit more research into how Cities of Death works in the current edition of 40k before I approach that project.  Failing that, I might just do your average "wasteland" base in order to fit in with as many tabletops as possible (sand and small stones, painted brown or grey).

In terms of the background of my army, I've got a few things I need to decide.  I want the option to use Watch Captain Artemis (seeing as I'm a huge fan of the Inquisitor game where he first debuted), Venerable Dreadnought Nihilus, and Kill Team Cassius as themselves as special characters, but I'm not especially fond of the idea of having my army come from Watch Fortress Talasa Prime (where Artemis and Nihilus are from).  I think the best way to explain them away is to have my Watch Fortress run some kind of exchange program, to allow Kill Teams and Watch Companies to come in and fight alongside the KTs/WCs of the Fortress and share tactics and strategy.

I'm thinking of adopting Fort Excalibris, located in Segmentum Obscuris, as my Watch Fortress as nothing has been written about it as far as I'm aware.  In particular, I'm tempted to take the name of the Fortress and 'create' a relic located there that gave the Fortress its name: a legendary sword of power that is wielded by the Fortress's Watch Master in place of a Guardian Spear.  My Watch Master could be converted from the original limited edition Emperor's Champion model (of which I have one spare and able to be used for this) with both shoulder pads removed and replaced appropriately, the Black Templar symbols removed, and appropriate extra bits added (Clavis, wrist-mounted Boltgun to replace the one on the Guardian Spear, etc.).

I'm tempted to include one of my other characters in my Deathwatch army, Magnus Blackwolf from my Space Wolves army.  I've written quite a bit about him, though mostly in aid of my then-current Space Wolves army, but since I no longer own that army, and I don't intend to collect another Space Wolf army any time soon, it's the only way I'm going to get to use the background that I've written for that character.  I'd have to rewrite some of it to match him being part of the Deathwatch rather than being in a Great Company, but it wouldn't be too hard for me to do so.  I'm assuming that he'd be a Watch Captain, but he might end up being my Watch Master or even just a regular Veteran.

That's about all I've got time for now.  Hopefully I'll post again within a short time with more on the army, not least of which I hope will be models assembled and/or painted.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Narric

This all sounds absolutely fantastic!

I may have some Ravenwing bits floating around. May not be much, but they're just collecting dust on my bits bots. I think I also have Space Wolf and Black templar, though I'll double check if you'd like them.

Weapon options aside, how do the models look to you compared to some of their previous Space Marine model releases? Sturdy design, or just made to look cool?

Masked Thespian

Quote from: Narric on September 03, 2016, 11:04:04 PM
This all sounds absolutely fantastic!

Thank you very much   :D

Quote from: Narric on September 03, 2016, 11:04:04 PMI may have some Ravenwing bits floating around. May not be much, but they're just collecting dust on my bits bots. I think I also have Space Wolf and Black templar, though I'll double check if you'd like them.

I definitely want to include some of the plastic bits from the other kits.  It'd be great if you could check what spares you had.

Quote from: Narric on September 03, 2016, 11:04:04 PMWeapon options aside, how do the models look to you compared to some of their previous Space Marine model releases? Sturdy design, or just made to look cool?

The models are definitely designed digitally, and seem to fit together well.  The Mark VIII armour that each of them is equipped with is quite different from almost all other Space Marine models I've seen before, both being taller and seeming taller because of the Mk. VIII high collar, and the pouches and ammunition that get glued onto the front of each torso.

They're both sturdy as well as made to look cool.  About the only thing I'm disappointed in, model wise, is that GW has designed the doors on the Corvus Blackstar, which are the same size as Rhino doors, to NOT be compatible with Rhino kits.  I should be able to kitbash something, but they haven't made it easy.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

BigToof

BigToof Points:

Cammerz: 8
Waaaghpower: 1
The Man They Call Jayne: 3
Mabbz: 6
Archon Sharrek: 3

Narric

Quote from: Masked Thespian on September 03, 2016, 11:15:31 PM
Quote from: Narric on September 03, 2016, 11:04:04 PMI may have some Ravenwing bits floating around. May not be much, but they're just collecting dust on my bits bots. I think I also have Space Wolf and Black templar, though I'll double check if you'd like them.

I definitely want to include some of the plastic bits from the other kits.  It'd be great if you could check what spares you had.
Mix of Space Wolf, Vanilla, and little bit of Dark Angels. Should I include the chaos btis for some base fodder? :P

Masked Thespian

Quote from: BigToof on September 04, 2016, 02:28:08 AM
Oooh...
Looking forward to this one!

-BT

Thank you.  I hope I live up to your expectations   :)


Quote from: Narric on September 04, 2016, 06:43:59 PM
Quote from: Masked Thespian on September 03, 2016, 11:15:31 PM
Quote from: Narric on September 03, 2016, 11:04:04 PMI may have some Ravenwing bits floating around. May not be much, but they're just collecting dust on my bits bots. I think I also have Space Wolf and Black templar, though I'll double check if you'd like them.

I definitely want to include some of the plastic bits from the other kits.  It'd be great if you could check what spares you had.
Mix of Space Wolf, Vanilla, and little bit of Dark Angels. Should I include the chaos btis for some base fodder? :P

That'd be awesome.  Drop me a PM, either here or on Facebook, and we can discuss it further.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Masked Thespian

So, here's my first update.  No models, sadly, but I'm getting there.

Having returned to England after living in Japan for 6 years meant that I've had to take all of my old tools out of storage.  I've spent the last few days sorting out what I had and getting myself a work area set up.



Here's my old GW paint station that I've owned for at least a decade now.  I usually use it for modelling more than painting (mostly because I prefer modelling to painting and have, in the past, done my best to do as little of the latter as possible).  I tend to keep my tools in the box on the right so I have easy access to them whilst keeping them together so they don't roll everywhere.



This is a box full of...  stuff.  It's all tidied up now, with my tools on the left side and my consumables on the right (consumables being things like basing material, green stuff, glue, etc.).  It's sitting next to where my paint station is so that I've got easy access to it all.





Here are all of my old paints that I've been able to salvage.  I'm actually quite surprised at how many of them are still usable after around 7 years without any use or motion (to agitate them inside the pots).



These paints are still usable, but have lost a lot of liquid to evaporation to the point that they resemble the texture of blancmange and will probably need to be watered down somewhat before I start using them.



These paints are almost dried out, resembling firm jelly/Jell-O.  I'm not certain I can save them, but I'll give them a go.



And these are the paints I'm having to say, "Goodbye," to.  The Purple Ink, Scab Red, and Red Gore are all bone dry, the Goblin Green's separated and the pigment has hardened at the bottom of the pot, and the three metallics have all had their metallic elements settle to the bottom and become stuck to each other.

With all of that out of the way, I'm going to be free to start assembling my models.  I've almost finished the first draft of the backstory of my Deathwatch Watch Fortress but I need to sort out some niggling details before I post it.  I also need to finish planning out which Chapters my initial models are going to be from, as I'd prefer it if each model in an individual Kill Team were from a different Chapter and I'd like to reduce the number of First Founding Chapters in my army as possible whilst using the Chapter shoulder pads that come in the Deathwatch Veterans box as much as possible.  There's going to be lots more research to do and a load of spreadsheets to work everything out, but I'm confident that I'll have some modelling photos within the next day or two.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Narric

Such organisation!

I'm quite the same when it comes to models :P I prefer customising to painting XP Still work hard at the paintjob, and it will make the conversion stand out even more! ;)

Have you double checked the glue still adheres? I've found opened glue thats been sitting around doesn't work quite as well. If you need replacements, I'd avoid the GW glues, as in my experience they're like weaker super glue, as they do not chemically bond the pieces together as they used to. Humbrol PolyCement has been reliable for me in recent years, though be careful with excess glue clogging the lid :-\

Masked Thespian

The first couple of tubes of superglue I tried were solid.  The third one exploded over my hand and foot.  I've since gone out and bought some more, in particular a pot with a brush applicator (which I prefer to a nozzle).  I also bought some Liquid Polystyrene Cement a couple of weeks ago, but have found my old pot, so even if the old one doesn't work out I've got a backup.

My epoxy glue, on the other hand, is over 20 years old, as it was one of the first glues I ever bought (back when big models with heavy wings made of lead were all the rage).  I haven't tried it in a very long time but I wouldn't doubt that it's all but useless now.  I'm planning on possibly assembling a Forge World model in November for one of the painting challenges I'm participating in, so I'll probably have to buy a new one in a month or so.

I've mostly planned out how my first 15 models are going to be armed.  Only 3 of them are able to be assembled out of the box (from all of the Deathwatch things I've bought so far, including the Vanguard Veterans, for example), with the others requiring additional parts from my collection or bits box:

Kill Team

Model
|
Left Arm
|
Both Arms
|
Right Arm
|
Outside bits
Watch Sergeant x 1
|
Magnetised Power Sword/Power Maul/Auspex/Boltgun
|
N/A
|
Storm Shield
|
Magnets, Auspex, Left Arm with Boltgun
"Hand-to-Hand" x 1
|
N/A
|
Heavy Thunder Hammer
|
N/A
|
N/A (buildable out of box)
"Heavy" x 2
|
N/A
|
Magnetised Frag Cannon/Infernus Heavy Bolter
|
N/A
|
Magnets
"Combi-Weapon" x 2
|
Chainsword
|
N/A
|
Combi-weapon with magnetised Plasma/Melta
|
Magnets, left arm Chainswords
"Bolter & Chainsword" x 2
|
Chainsword
|
N/A
|
Boltgun
|
Left arm Chainswords
"Bolter" x 2
|
N/A
|
Boltgun
|
N/A
|
Paired Space Marine "firing" Boltgun arms

Bikers

Model
|
Left Arm
|
Right Arm
|
Outside bits
"Power Weapon" x 2
|
Magnetised Power Sword/Power Maul/Power Axe/Power Lance/Chainsword
|
Holding handlebars
|
Magnets, Power Lance, left arm Power Axe, left arm Chainswords
"Ravenwing" x 1
|
Holding handlebars
|
Holding handlebars
|
Ravenwing bits, teleport homer
"Chainsword" x 1
|
Holding handlebars
|
Chainsword
|
N/A (buildable out of box)
"Rider" x 1
|
Holding handlebars
|
Holding handlebars
|
N/A (buildable out of box)


It's strange, but last night I was looking through the Kill Team sprue and there are no Chainswords on there, and all of the Chainswords on the Vanguard Veteran sprue can only be wielded in their right hands, forcing me to look to my bits box to make up the numbers.  I also intend to "convert" up a pair of Deathwatch Marines holding their Bolter in both hands (as per 90% of Tactical Marines) but I'll need to grab some from other, unassembled, Marines in my collection.

Since I don't know how I'm going to be fully arming all of my models, the ones that can take significantly different weapons are going to have their left arm magnetised at the shoulder.  It does mean that I'll have to use extra amounts of the Deathwatch shoulder pad one glued to each spare arm), but it means that I don't have to worry about matching the "Chapter" shoulder pad on the right arm.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Thantos

Those are retro paints! :P Ahh how i love the old names so much better than the new system

Good luck with the project, will follow this one :D


Mabbz

I have a few of the really old paints somewhere, I wonder how they're holding up...

Masked Thespian

#11
Quote from: Thantos on September 14, 2016, 11:44:24 AM
Those are retro paints! :P Ahh how i love the old names so much better than the new system

Good luck with the project, will follow this one :D

Thanks   ;D

The old names really were better, in some ways.  Amongst other things, I remember that Smelly Primer really was smelly.


Quote from: Mabbz on September 14, 2016, 04:28:13 PM
I have a few of the really old paints somewhere, I wonder how they're holding up...

Go take a look.  I was surprised at how many of mine were still usable, albeit some of them needing watering down.










Today I don't bring much in the way of models, but I offer a glimpse of things to come (in a way).

I spent a couple of hours today searching through my old things.  As mentioned before, I needed to find some bits that the Deathwatch boxes didn't have (including, for some bizarre reason, left arms holding Chainswords) so I went looking for my bits boxes and old Space Marine sprues.  And other than a single item, I found exactly what I was looking for (and more).



This is a pile of random Space Marine sprues, ranging from Tactical Marines circa 2004, through Dark Angels upgrade sprues, and Command Squad sprues.  Everything there has at least one bit on it that I'd like to use in my army, and that I intend to use.



I also found this lot, including a plastic box of Space Marine bits that I took to Japan, never used, and brought back to England with me.

Amongst other things, I intent to field an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor alongside this army at some point in the future.  Now, other than special characters, I've never fielded an Inquisitor model as an Inquisitor before, preferring to convert them up from other moels.  My Daemonhunter Inquisitors, for example, are converted up from an Archaon on foot Games Day model and the Sisters of Battle special character Saint Celestine.  And I'd like to continue that tradition with any Ordo Xenos Inquisitors I take.  Currently I have a couple of ideas, but nothing solid, so until then I'll keep these two in mind: Solomon Lok from The Anphelion Project and Gregor Eisenhorn from... well...  the Eisenhorn Triology, both of whom are Ordo Xenos Inquisitors.



Eisenhorn is part of a limited edition diorama, limited to only 500 pieces.  I managed to get this one back when they were still available and kept it for a long time (intending to incorporate it into my Daemonhunters army at the time).



And here's the man himself (in the top left corner) with Pontius Glaw in the top right.

I'm not the biggest fan of the 28mm version of Eisenhorn, but as a huge fan of him in the fiction I'm willing to overlook that.



In the big brown box at the bottom of the picture above is an Aquila Lander (like the crashed one you got in the Battle for Macragge starter set from 4th Edition, but fully intact) from Forge World.  I'd purchased this years ago with the intention of using it for my Daemonhunter Inquisitor to ride in (WAY before Flyers were part of the core rules and were Forge World only) but never got around to assembling it.  So, I'm potentially co-opting it for my Ordo Xenos Inquisitor.



Here's the first of my bits boxes.  Almost all of the compartments have something in them, mostly being bits but occasionally being an old project I sheved for one reason or another.  What's that on top of it though?



Ooh...  A Battlefleet Gothic Imperial Cruiser on its sprue.  I wonder what that's doing there...



Here's the second of my bits boxes.  Most, but not all, of the compartments have something in them.



And my final bits box.  This one definitely has some old projects in it, of which I'm about to show you some.  They're not going to be part of my Deathwatch army, but hopefully they'll give you an idea as to what kind of things I'm capable of.



So this is an interesting one.  Back in 2006 I'd decided to try and "get back into the hobby" (after just putzing around for a while and relying on my existing armies) by updating my Dark Angels army with the then-new 4th Edition release.  I decided that I'd try and make an entirely plastic Dark Angels Techmarine out of bits from the Dark Angels Veteran sprue and Dark Angels Vehicle sprue, along with cutting up the legs of two Imperial Guard Sentinels.



Now, amongst other things, the 4th Edition Dark Angels Codex was... a little restrictive.  If I recall it correctly, Techmarines were Elites choices that didn't count as Elites choices but only had very limited wargear and weapon options, as you can see here.  They could have a Servo Arm or a Servo-Harness (with 2 Servo Arms, a Flamer, and a Plasma Cutter (twin-linked Plasma Pistol)) and could have a Bolter, a Plasma Pistol, or a Bolt Pistol, along with a Power Weapon (this is before Power Axes had different stats from Power Swords).  So I magnetised this model to be able to have any of those weapons.





Here's how he would look with just a Servo Arm.  He's wielding the unique-looking Bolt Pistol from the chap in the Battle for Macragge set, as I figured a Techmarine would have access to antique weapons like that.







And here he is with the full Servo-Harness on.

It's really a shame that I never finished it (I think all I needed to do was to finish off his Power Axe and do a bit of green stuffing here and there), especially as some of the magnets seem to have corroded since the last time I looked at him and will probably need replacing.

It's doubly a shame, because I found this guy in the next row down:



He's the direct-sales only Techmarine who doesn't have a helmet.  Admittedly, my version is a lot more unique and customised.



Here's another one of my projects, one that I sunk a lot of money into but lost interest before completing.  It's an Arbites biker, using a Space Marine Scout Biker for the most part, but replacing the torso with a Cadian Torso and using the Cadian head with sunglasses (to give it that full Judge Dredd/Adeptus Arbites look).  I bought a whole bunch of Scouts, Cadian Torsos, and Cadian heads with sunglasses, along with several boxes of the Necromunda Enforcers to make an Arbites army (either from using the rules in Codex: Witch Hunters or from using the Bell of Lost Souls Adeptus Arbites fan codex, which was relatively new at the time) but never really got past a couple of test models, including this one.

When I do get around to finishing it off, I'm going to have to do some more bits ordering as the giant Aquila shoulder pad that comes in the Veteran Vanguard box will be perfect for giving them the Judge Dredd/Arbites look.


The final thing I'm going to share tonight is a hobby oddity.  I'm starting to assemble my Deathwatch, starting with the Bikers, and I came across a bit of a weird situation.



On the left there is the rear torso of the Space Marine Biker kit.  On the right is the front torso that comes on the Deathwatch upgrade sprue.  At some point between these two pieces being made (2002 and 2016 respectively) Games Workshop changed around the format of Space Marine torsos from having the front be the "male" part to the rear being the "male" part.  Just a little oddity and it didn't really bother me that much.  I suppose the torsos of my Deathwatch Bikers will technically be slightly more prone to breaking apart, but I'm using Liquid Poly so I doubt it'll ever be an issue.

At this point I've gotten two Bikers almost completely done, though I need to find my pin vice to drill out their Bolters.  I've had a look around but I can't seem to find it (though I have found plenty of drill bits for once I do find it again), so I might have to bite the bullet and buy a new one if I can't.  Pictures of models will follow when I've got something to actually photograph.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Narric

So many old projects and conversions!!!

Think you'll do whats needed to finish them off?

Thantos

No guitars were harmed in the making of MT's conversions? ;)
Love that mega tech marine especially.

Eisenhorn is a neat rarity!
Reminds me how I was going to try shrinking a 54mm inquisitor mini down to 28mm (which chaos magics!) which may or may not look cool xD

So many great things in the bitz box chest of drawers!


Masked Thespian

Quote from: Narric on September 15, 2016, 05:16:51 AM
So many old projects and conversions!!!

Think you'll do whats needed to finish them off?

Hopefully.  The Arbites project is one that I really want to do, to the point that I discussed the possibility of including them allied to my Sisters of Battle (that are also another project that has barely gotten off the ground) earlier in the year.

My main concern with the Arbites is the lack of a decent Codex to run them as.  The Inquisition codex doesn't really do them terribly well (though it does let me field them), with very overcosted Troops (9 points for an Arbite with Bolter or 14 for one with Hot-Shot Lasgun Arbite Shotgun) and I doubt that the Astra Militarum codex (which I've yet to pick up since I'm not planning on playing with my Imperial Guard any time soon) will give me the option to field something like them.  Whilst I don't play to win at all costs, playing a distinctly underpowered army and losing most of my games doesn't sound like the most fun.

With rumours of Genestealer Cults coming soon I'm probably going to be a lot more invigorated to complete the Arbites.  I guess you'll just have to watch this space.


Quote from: Thantos on September 15, 2016, 07:13:29 AM
No guitars were harmed in the making of MT's conversions? ;)
Love that mega tech marine especially.

Eisenhorn is a neat rarity!
Reminds me how I was going to try shrinking a 54mm inquisitor mini down to 28mm (which chaos magics!) which may or may not look cool xD

So many great things in the bitz box chest of drawers!

Nope, no guitars harmed whatsoever.  I went into a music store and bought a set of replacement strings a long time ago in anticipation of conversions like that one.  They're not as useful as you'd think, as they're a lot less flexible when you're working with small lengths, which can mostly be seen in the three coils hanging down from the Servo-Arm backpack (which aren't really hanging in a natural pose).  Recently, I bought one of those green stuff tube/tentacle makers so hopefully any future endeavours like that will look a bit better.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty: