Seventh Blood Claw, painted

Imagine that, I managed to finally get something painted again! Of course, Space Marines in power armour are pretty quick and easy to paint, and Space Wolves aren't that much tougher, though they do tend to have more bells and whistles, not to mention bare heads. Especially my style of Blood Claws are easy, since the aforementioned bells and whistles are kept to a minimum. Interestingly, though, I find that Terminator Armour is maybe even a little faster to paint, because there isn't that much more surface area, and the lack of external backpack makes things simpler. That's not what this is about, though.

 I decided on a fairly mid-range flesh tone, specifically Cadian Fleshtone. I also painted the hair brown, because not all of my Space Wolves can be blondes and redheads. I considered painting some decoration on the chainsword, but decided that the model included in the Thunderwolf Cavalry kit was fancy enough for a Blood Claw as it was.
The runes on the scroll on his chestplate spell "Knud", btw. I didn't plan it, but looks like I ended up naming one of my models.

 This time around, I decided to paint a couple of random runes on both sides of the helmet as identifiers. I didn't really worry too much about having them make up a word and instead thought the Blood Claw himself would know what they mean
I usually paint the gems on my Space Wolves red, but the warm yellow of the shoulder pad needed a colder colour for contrast, so I went with icy blue on that one.

To finish the model off, I painted the twin fangs pack marking on the right shoulder pad.
I think I'm going to keep building the pack up until 15 models with three flamers. That will give me the option to field all of them or field a smaller pack with or without special weapons.

The Blackmanes Blood Claw #8

I'm pushing to finally get my Blood Claws pack done. I started the project a long time ago, then buried it for a while and restarted it. It's been ages, and I think it's time to get it done. That's not to say I'm going to rush the project.

The chainsword is from a Mk.IV Despoiler Squad of Forgeworld's Horus Heresy line.
I decided to give the head an asymmetrical snarl, since I've already sculpted more than a few symmetrical snarls and howls. I may decide the pack needs a few more laughing models, though.

The left shoulder pad is the second to last old model Blackmane shoulder pad I had left. Not to worry, though, since the new Horus Heresy -era Space Wolves shoulder pads from Forgeworld look to be pretty much identical to the Blackmanes' company markings.

Again, I rememberd to add the helmet before photographing the model. I'm on a roll, which is almost definitely going to end now that it's been acknowledged.

I haven't decided if I actually leave this pack at ten models instead of the planned 15. My reasoning for the possible change is the Greatpack formation from Warzone Fenris, which would make a 10-man pack of Blood Claws boarding a Drop Pod a reasonable choice. It remains to be seen, though.

Seventh Blackmane Blood Claw, redux

Sometimes sculpting just doesn't go right. You may have done something just fine dozens of times, and then find yourself doing amateur mistakes (well, I'm not a professional sculptor, so technically, all my mistakes are amateur mistakes). Also, you may not notice those mistakes right away. My previous Blood Claw's face and hair just didn't look right on a closer inspection. The head was very slightly too small, which I could have lived with, but the neck was way too short and thin. I decided it needed to be redone.

 While I was redoing the model, I decided to change the pose a little, too. As I previously pointed out, there already was a Blood Claw in the pack aiming with his pistol, and I want my Blood Claws to focus on the assault more, so I swapped the weapons' places. The pose now looks like he might be blocking an attack, preparing to fire his pistol or just looking around for his next target.

I decided to swap the hair, too. There already are plenty of Blood Claws with mohawks around, so I swapped it with a high top knot. I imagine he looks up to his Wolf Lord, as many of his Blood Claws do, and wanted to somewhat imitate his hairstyle. The hair may still need some finishing touches before painting, though.
Also note that I remembered to add the battle helmet.

The weapons previously planned for this guy will be used for his packmates fairly soon. I may also take another look at the first head and see if it could be reused.

Blackmane Grey Hunter with a Power Sword

Grey Hunters are the backbone of a Space Wolves army, and I decided mine needed some more of them. As I haven't gotten around to buying the newer kits with 32 mm bases yet, I figured this would be a good time to try to use up the previous ones (okay, that's not happening any time soon).
I could have started with the vaerangi, but decided to go with a model armed with a power weapon instead because... well, why not. The model was partially inspired by Chris Wraight's novel Blood of Asaheim that dealt with runed swords a lot. Of course, the pack described in the novel wouldn't be rules legal (Heavy Bolters aren't available for Grey Hunters and the pack can only have one power weapon in addition to the Wolf Guard Pack Leader's), but I'm not really trying to recreate it anyway, just to take inspiration from it.

I wanted to finally use up the pair of Mk. IV legs I'd had in my bitz box for ages, but I don't generally speaking see Blood Claws using anything older than Mk. V parts, and even those only because of the armour mark's substandard performance. Grey Hunters, on the other hand, would sometimes get a chance to use some of the minor relics of the Chapter, including armour dating back to the (end of the) Great Crusade.
I wanted to change the hair a little from the standard mohawk. This Grey Hunter wears his hair braided in the middle and shaves his temples, which I feel bridges the gap between the pop culture's mohawk vikings and the historical ones with a penchant for combing and braiding their hair and beard.

 I decided the model should have a broken, runed power sword. The historical scramasax was at least sometimes made from a broken Anglo-Saxon sword, if I understand correctly. I also remade the pommel to fit the early medieval style of short grips (actually very important to the way they possibly were used -- I may make a whole post on this subject later).

The bolter was originally converted back in the late 90s or early 00s, when I first started 40k, and I decided it was high time to use it for something. I also remembered the battle helmet on the first try this time around, yay!

Space Hulk's Sergeant Lorenzo, painted

It's been a while since I posted an update on Space Hulk miniatures. At this rate, it's gonna take a looong while before the whole set is completed, especially since I've barely even started on the Genestealers yet. Anyway, here's Wonderw... Sergeant Lorenzo.

I don't know if it's because of the difference in miniature quality between Space Hulk and normal 40k miniatures, but for some reason, I had a lot of trouble with the face of the model. The colours kept looking weirdly flat. I did finally manage to get it done well enough, though Kislev Flesh does look a little bit unhealthy, in my opinion. Of course, the Astartes spend most of their time on spaceships, in their fortress monastery and wearing helmets, so some pallor is very fitting.

 The model's sword was first painted with a mix of Leadbelcher and Altdorf Guard Blue (IIRC), then highlighted with Runefang Steel. I like the effect that this gives, with the sword being blue enough to give the impression of being powered, yet metallic enough to make it clear it's not supposed to be a lightsabre.

Lorenzo's cloak's highlighting wasn't very successful, and I may have to redo it at a later date. I used too wet a brush, with too much paint on it. In hindsight, it would probably been good to thin the white with some Lahmian Medium first.
I may (and probably should) start to paint the Space Hulk models a little more frequently in the future. I recently relocated the Librarian Calistarius model included in Space Hulk set, which was a relief, as I thought I had lost the model. After all, with no Calistarius, there's no Mephiston, and with no Mephiston, who's going to scare the kids on Baal?

Seventh Blood Claw of the Blackmanes

Space Marines turned 30 yesterday, so congratulations to the big, genetically manipulated, typically either angry or at least grumpy supersoldiers.
Since my last few updates revolved around ancient warriors from the early days of the Imperium, I'll now go to the other extreme and continue making my Blood Claw pack.

 This Blood Claw is an fairly archetypical example of what he is, with the exeption of the variety of various types his armour and weaponry consists of. He's wearing Mk. VI legs, Mk. V arms, Mk. IV backpack and a variant of Mk. VII chest. The chainsword is an ancient type, used typically together with the Mk. II and III armours, and the bolt pistol is the one used with Mk. IV. Towards the end 41st millennium, Space Wolves (as well as most Chapters) would have necessarily combined the various pieces of kit in their inventory through the millennia to make functioning wholes.

 The pose is recycled from another Blood Claw in the same pack. I don't see a problem with that, though, as some things in combat are going to be repeated, such as firing a sidearm.
I forgot to add a helmet on the model, but will do that before painting it.

 Up until now, the model is admittedly rather generic, and I plan to add some decoration in the painting phase. Not too much, though, since I imagine Iron Priests frowning upon whelps overtly tampering with their wargear, and being turned into a servitor isn't a great way to be remembered, even if a servitor would probably stay "alive" longer than an average blood claw.

Fifth Wulfen, painted

Units of five models tend to not be all that useful. Smaller model mass means fewer attacks in assault and fewer wounds the unit can absorb before being wiped out. However, with the Wulfen, I feel like five-man packs is the way to go. If I have ten models, splitting them into two packs and using them as a Murderpack formation makes more sense than having one large pack that will be shot at by everything in the enemy army.

 I decided I wanted at least one of my Wulfen to have dark skin. The variance in skin tones helps make the pack look like it consists of individuals, instead of copies from one template.
I considered painting the skull's helmet in winter camo at first, but decided against it. The skull has clearly been on the ground long enough to be picked clean, and while it's impossible to know how long the winters are on whatever planet my bases represent in any given situation, the dark green is suitable pretty much anywhere.

 The 13th Great Company shoulder pads still work, which is good, because it would be a problem if they stopped working before the pack was done. The dark skin was painted by starting with Rhinox Hide over black undercoat, painting that Doombull Brown, shaded with Druchii Violet and finally highlighted with Gorthor Brown.

My first pack of Wulfen is now done, excluding transport (though the Land Raider Crusader or the Stormwolf could fill that role very easily), and I think I will focus on other stuff before starting on a second one.

Wulfen Pack Leader, painted

 Slowly but surely, I keep building up my Wulfen pack. The pack leader is arguably the most important challenge of the project. The standard model's goofy looks embodies much of why the Wulfen models are ridiculed, and my goal with the Wulfen is to distinguish the models enough from the originals to get rid of the goofiness, and at the same time keep them recognisable.

One of the more central ideas behind this model was the juxtaposition between the old Thousand Sons helmet on top of his power pack and the new(er) one on the ground. I wanted to give the impression the Wulfen had been fightin Chaos for millennia.
Other than that, the model was a fairly standard Wulfen. I did paint him pale and redheaded, in an effort to display the same variety of fleshtones and hair colours as the 41st millennium Space Wolves.

 In addition to the helmet driven through with a combat knife and the bone rack, I painted the Chaos Marine helmet in Black Legion colours, to show that the Wulfen hadn't forgotten who the archtraitors were (you could argue that the Word Bearers are the true archtraitors, but I'll let the Ultramarines worry about them -- if their Codex is so great, let them prove it).

 The Wulfen pack is now 80% finished, or 90%, if you consider the modelling part to be equal to painting. I haven't decided on a transport for these guys yet, but I've been considering adding a Godhammer pattern Land Raider to the Blackmanes for a while now. I may yet choose to kill two birds with one stone.

Sicarian Ruststalker, painted

I sometimes forget that I have an Adeptus Mechanicus army, too. The models aren't as poseable and easily convertd as Space Marine models tend to be (though I've noticed an unfortunate trend of chipping away this benefit in the more recent releases), and when I decided on the reddish-brown bases, I did pretty severely limit my basing options. However, I do try to grow the army, little by little.

 The freely rotating wrist joints of the Sicarians enable some martial techniques that would be very difficult, if not impossible, for an unenhanced human to perform. For example, changing the sword between what functions much like a reverse grip and a normal grip wouldn't work as well on normal wrists, as a normal hand would probably accidentally fling away any blade with actual weight to it. I decided that, since the Ruststalker is armed with two swords, it'd have the other one behind its back, ready to parry or counterattack as necessary, while keeping the point towards its opponent.

 The colour scheme on the swords is still pretty effective, with the transition from black to white through blue. It's pretty hard to imagine what the actual sonic-based blades would look like, and I have no idea why they'd really glow blue, but again, let's not overthink 40k.

I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome of the model. I'm still not sure how to avoid the clone trooper syndrome, but as long as I keep the army small, that shouldn't be a problem, and that, in turn, should be simple enough, because the assembling the models gets samey pretty soon.

Servitor (Work in Progress)

Servitors are some of the more disturbing pieces of 40k lore. The idea of punishing someone by repurposing their body to perform some menial tasks, while their brain is basically cut out of the loop, sounds like a horror movie's premise.Unfortunately, I think that the GW standard Servitor models look too lively for what they're supposed to be. For that reason, I made my own.

 At first, I thought of using pieces from the Kataphron Battle-Servitor kit for the servo-arm, but though I had built my Kataphrons as Destroyers and had all the close-combat claw weapons unused, they didn't really look like they'd fit the part, so I would have to build by own.
Servitors are supposed to have carapace armour. I decided mine was a Blood Claw who managed to cross an Iron Priest badly enough to be made an example of. His Black Carapace implant would serve the role of the standard carapace armour.
I don't really know why an Iron Priest would have a Servitor wear trousers any more than I have my screwdrivers wear necklaces, but the other options would have been to actually have a nude Servitor, probably with some strategically placed wire bundles, or to cut him in half at the waist. The latter is still an option for the other Servitors I intend make, but for now,  I decided the Servitor would have trousers on, just as the GW standard models do.
The face is something I paid a lot of attention to. I tried to make the model look as slackjawed as possible, to show that he only moves the muscles he's been programmed to.

 I tried to really make the model look bulky enough to have been a Sky Warrior, until he did something seriously dumb and had an Iron Priest decide he'd serve the Chapter better as a walking monkey wrench than as a warrior. I think the most effective way to get this across is to focus on the shoulders and the neck muscles.

There's still plenty of work to do with the model's servo arm. This is true of anything mechanical-looking made out of green stuff. I plan to still add a whole bunch of cables and possibly modify a Space Marine backpack and give it to the model as a power source for his bionic components, the hydraulic claw in particular. Not sure about that, though, as I'd like the model to be completely scratch-built, excluding the base.
I also intend to give the model suitably Blood Claw-esque hair.

Wolf Guard Terminator with Wolf Claws

Since I started to bring my oldest Wolf Guard Terminators up to my current standard (or at least closer to it), I decided I want to do my second-favourite model next.

 The pose was inspired by a piece or artwork in the 5th edition Space Wolves Codex. The picture showed a long-haired Space Wolf in Terminator armour and Wolf Claws fighting a large Tyranid. Once I saw how this particular pair of Wolf Claws looked like on a model, I decided I want to recreate that.
Again, the model's head was sculpted out of Green Stuff. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the head unpainted. Though I later learned to make the eyes look better and the face generally more natural-looking, I'm still reasonably satisfied with the way it looks.

I decided that I want at least this pack of my Wolf Guard Terminators to have their left shoulder pads deep red. I used Khorne Red with Mephiston Red highlights. The Crux Terminatus stone is basecoated with Zandri Dust, painted over that with Ushabti Bone, shaded with Agrax Earthshade and finally drybrushed with Terminatus Stone.

The right shoulder pads of my early Wolf Guard models have these stylized wolf head motifs. I decided against using them on all of my Wolf Guard models, but like them too much to replace them on the older ones.

Wulfen with Frostclaws and Stormfrag Auto-Launcher

I'm still working on the paintwork of the Wulfen pack leader, but decided to go ahead and finish modelling the pack. I have some (vague) plans for when I finish the whole unit, and to do that, I have to get on with it.

 The model is one of the two of the unit that have not had their poses significantly modified by heating, the other one being the model armed with the thunder hammer and storm shield. The only non-standard part of the model is the right arm that was actually promarily intended for an axe, if I recall correctly.
The skull in a helmet on the base came from a Chaos Space Marine banner.

I wanted to add some extra flavour to the model, so I quickly and simply sculpted a small pelt on the left shoulder pad. Although it's reasonable to assume any organic matter would have decomposed in the 10,000 years since the Wulfen's disappearance, the models have a few pelts and wolftail talismans as standard. I suppose that can be adequately explained by the Warp, the 40k universe's magic.

Once I finish painting this and the pack leader, I'll have to decide if I want to make another pack, or rather, how much I'm willing to put time in modelling another pack. If I was in the habit of being reasonable, I'd just assemble the other pack and try to make it unique by using the five other heads in the kit and possibly by using a different type of left shoulder pads. More likely, I'm going to end up spending months sculpting new heads for the whole pack and probably a whole lot more.

Ragnar Blackmane's Wolf Guard Terminator with an Assault Cannon

When I first got into 40k, the things that really got my attention in the second edition rulebooks were Terminator armour and Assault Cannons. Terminator models back then were metal and significantly smaller than the current ones, but they still looked big, bulky and mean, which I liked. The multi-barreled assault cannon looked like it went well with the big power armour of the Terminators.
When I returned to the hobby and started collecting Space Wolves, I particularly liked the belt-fed Assault Cannon in the Wolf Guard Terminators kit and knew from the start I'd have to make one. I decided to first make an archetypal Terminator as I saw it, with some extra wolfy bits to make him fit the chapter. So, this is another older model, and in fact the first Terminator model of the Chapter. I touched up the paintwork a little, but the model itself is mostly as it was back then.

 I wanted the model's helmet to differ from the rest of the armour, and black seemed an appropriate colour choice. The wolf's head pack marking was a simple, but functional choice. At the time, I used too much shade when painting yellow, which causes blotchiness. I mostly avoid yellow shade now.

At the time, I sometimes used Blood For the Blood God to give the weapons the appearance of having been used recently. I find I rarely like the end result, so I don't do that much anymore, and usually apply it after varnishing.
I don't know why, but I always liked the idea of deep red left shoulder pads on Wolf Guard Terminators. I think it goes well with the black-and-yellow colour scheme.

The assault cannon was painted with Warplock Bronze before thoroughly drybrushing with Leadbelcher, shaded with Nuln Oil and finished by lightly drybrushing with Ironbreaker. I still sometimes use this method for larger metal surfaces.