Two Grey Hunters

Apparently, I have lost the right arm of one of the previous Grey Hunters of this pack. Though nothing like a disaster, this is nevertheless annoying, and I'm not sure yet if I'll end up finding it or replacing it with another one.
In either case, time to go on with the show.

 Time is a factor these days, so I decided to have both of these Grey Hunters wear their helmets. In a happy coincidence, this one ended up having mostly Mk.VI armour parts, including the left pauldron (invisible in the picture). I tend to forget to add the bolt pistol, so I had him aiming it, with the bolter mag-locked to his backpack.

I wasn't initially going to make another Deathwatch Veteran, but after I decided to give the model a Deathwatch bolter arm, I just went with it and also gave him the appropriate left pauldron. To set the model apart, I gave him an extra helping of grenades, too, with one attached to the torso, two glued to his left thigh and one attached to the bolt pistol holster.

I plan to paint the models by next week, as usual.

Three Grey Hunters

Building a 40k army involves modelling and painting a few special characters with exotic wargear, a few elite choices and sometimes a few tanks, but most of all, it involves a lot of troops. To keep things interesting, I try to keep in mind that every Space Wolf is supposed to be a hero of his own right, and by the time they're Grey Hunters, they have a human lifetime of combat experience.

 I still have relatively few figures with long hair and long beard, even though it should be more or less the standard look for Space Wolves. I wanted to do something about that, so I gave the bareheaded Hunter both of the aforementioned. The model also has some grenades and a Phobos pattern bolt pistol on him.

 I ended up assembling a Mk.VI armour almost by accident, but decided to put a chapter-specific spin on it. I gave the helmet a reinforced nose guard (not that I think a power armour helmet really needed it, but it suits the look), put a wolf cloak on him and chose a pair of legs based on the Mk.VI armour from the Vanguard veteran kit.

The third of the models had a mixed armour, with Mk.V legs and Mk.VII helmet and torso. I wanted to have a model with bolter running forward, so I gave him a pair of hands from the Space Wolves Pack kit and an Umbra-Ferrox bolter. I also sculpted some reinforced "spectacle" form of extra protection around the eyes.

I intend to grow the pack to full 10 men, with no special weapons or pack-specific Wolf Guard leader. The plan is to give the pack a Rhino, drive to the opponent's deployment zone and just be a general nuisance.
I should have them painted by Sunday, assuming I still remember how Space Wolves in the newer colour scheme are painted.

Two Wulfen, painted

With the upcoming Thousand Sons releases, it looks like it's high time I returned to my Space Wolves. They're going to need reinforcements soon. Luckily, I had already started last week (actually much earlier, but I had these two finished last Sunday). Should probably also get to work on a pack of Long Fangs, but all in good time.

 I had originally planned to make the pack look like they had just been changed by the curse, while still wearing most of their original equipment, but the Wulfen models don't really allow for that, as they are wearing pelts etc. over their black carapace, as well as pieces of armour specifically made for their changed physique. I then decided to use one of the Blood Claws pack markings shown in the Codex to be a part of Ragnar Blackmane's army in the battle for Alaric Prime, but switched the yellow in their marking for white, to fit the Wulfen scheme.

 I don't want my packs to look too homogenous, as their members are recruited from all over Fenris, so I decided to paint the chainsword wielding Wulfen with a slightly darker skintone than the other one. I used Reikland Fleshshade for shading this model, but I have to say I prefer Seraphim Sepia for most lighter fleshtones.

 The Wulfen with the improvised weapon was given a lighter fleshtone of Kislev Flesh, shaded with Seraphim Sepia and highlighted with Kislev Flesh again and finally with Flayed One Flesh. I also painted the Great Company badge on his knee, as his left shoulder pad couldn't really display it with all the studs. The Blood For The Blood God was added to the improvised maul after the model had been varnished.

The smaller backpacks seem to fit the Wulfen just fine, and I may choose to use some to model one more pack from the previously lost 13th Great Company in the future. I expect I'll put that off at least until the next Horus Heresy book from Forgeworld is published, though.
This pack still needs three more models, however. I'll continue working on it once I've finished sculpting a few more Wulfen heads.

Two Wulfen

When the Wulfen returned in the first War Zone Fenris, they were described being the lost battle-brothers of the 13th Great Company in the aftermath of the burning of Prospero. However, it was also made clear that the contemporary members of the Space Wolves chapter started to fall to the curse on their return, and I wanted to explore this aspect of the curse. Blood Claws are the warriors most suspectible to the curse, so I decided to convert a pack of Wulfen who until recently were just a pack of Blood Claws under Ragnar Blackmane's command.

 Unlike the 13th Great Company, who had 10 000 years to craft their weaponry, and were granted access to the Chapter's armoury, I decided that a group of whelps who have surrendered to the curse would not be given much in the way of hallowed relics of the Chapter. I imagine them having been outfitted with just some armour better suited for their altered physique and not much else.
I took one of the model's hands off a Thunder Hammer and used it to fit a chainsword in his hand. I also used a standard power armour backpack with the model. I also attached two normal shoulder pads to display the model's pack and Great Company markings. The most work intensive part of the model was to sculpt him a whole new head. I also decided to sculpt a tall mohawk, using similar structure to the one included in the Space Wolves Pack sprue.

Having sculpted one head with a closed mouth, I wanted another one with slightly parted jaws. The backpack came from the Mk.VI armour, as did the shoulder pads. I decided the model should have an improvised club, and glued some pieces of resin sprue to the base, with some iron wire through them to represent rebar.

I aim to get these jolly fellows painted by next Sunday.

Three Grey Hunters, painted

Though Codex Deathwatch was released a few weeks ago already, I still haven't really started building my Kill Teams for it. I have one plastic kit, and I recently made a related order from ForgeWorld, but it will still be a while before I'll get to it.
In the meantime, I'll keep building up my main army, as evidenced here by me finishing another pack of Grey Hunters.

 All of the models in this batch had somewhat unusual knee pads. This model's right knee's zigzag pattern didn't really correspond to the pack markings, so I decided to make it an honour marking instead. I decided against repeating the pack marking on the left kneepad, painting Ragnar Blackmane's army badge there instead.

 This model had plenty of warm tones on his shoulders and kneepads, so I decided to paint the gem in his chest blue for contrast. I noticed the right side of his face was a little rough, so I painted some reddish scar tissue there to explain it.

 The meltagunner's face was painted black, even though there was another model with Mk.VI helmet in the pack with a black face already, although without the wolf tail crest or the runes on his face. I decided the two warriors would have been recruited from the same tribe, with the meltagunner having seniority.

Here's a shot of the entire pack. Instead of just having them standing around, I decided to arrange them in a fighting formation. I think they may come in handy with the new Kill Team rules now out.

Three Grey Hunters

While special characters are fun and a big part of an army's flavour, it still remains the troops' job to carry the army. So I decided to go back to my third Grey Hunter pack, and as it turns out, it had seven models to it. My plan being to build it up to ten models, and my current trend of posting three models at a time, this suited me well.

 Another stroke of luck for me that I needed two bolters for these guys, and I happened to have the two from my latest Thunderwolf Cavalry kit unused. This model's chainsword is also from the same kit. The bolt pistol on his hip came from Forgeworld's Phobos-pattern bolt pistol pack.

 I already had one meltagun in the pack, and with the number now coming all the way up to ten, I could include another one. The previous one was from Forgeworld's Legion Meltagun pack, and I didn't want to have two of them in one pack, so this one came from Space Marine Tactical Squad kit, if I remember correctly.
The model's chest and shoulder pads came from Mk.VI armour set, with Ragnar's symbol sculpted on the left pauldron.

The empty eye socket was originally a minor sculpting mistake. Instead of fixing it, I decided to use it to give the model some more flavour and made a wire going from the empty socket to a cybernetic implant over his right ear (which I now conveniently didn't have to sculpt either). The reason I sculpt many of the models' heads myself is to avoid making them all look like they're cut from the same cloth, so I believe taking small mistakes and using them to give some of the models a unique look makes perfect sense.

I expect the next update will show these three painted, probably along with the whole pack in a group portrait. That is assuming I manage to not assemble my Deathwatch Kill Team all of next week...

A Trio of Blood Claws, painted

Between Leman Russ being on the way from Forgeworld and Codex Deathwatch being published, it was a pretty good week for my tastes. Of course, I preordered my copy of Codex Deathwatch straight from GW, not stopping to think that I could have received it a lot quicker if I had waited to order it from an independent stockist in the country. As it is, I have to wait for the delivery for about a week, because there are no GW stores within a reasonable driving distance.
In the meantime, I'll continue on my first Blood Claws pack (I keep saying "first", because I consider Skyclaws to be just a subset of Blood Claws, and because I intend to have a couple more packs in the future).

 The mullethawk guy was possibly the blandest of the trio, with just a nose ring and some facial tattoos (repeated on the helm in yellow) to show off his individuality. Some warriors are marked for greatness from early on, and this guy is probably not one of them. Then again, his stance shows considerable discipline for a Blood Claw, so he may yet go on to do great things. All up to the dice, really.

 I decided to paint this guy with a dark skin and bright red hair, just to make sure he stands out from the rather large pack. The decorative left shoulder guard suggests he already has earned himself some renown.

 Finally, the facial tattoo man, who, prior to painting, was definitely the least interesting. I decided to simply paint some deep red tattoos on his face, again repeated on his helmet. I like to imagine that a warrior who has chosen a specific set of decorative elements on his skin will usually also have them on his armour in the appropriate colour (yellow for Blood Claws, red for Grey Hunters, white for Long fangs etc.).

Here's the whole trio posing together. The whole pack now numbers 13 Blood Claws. I intend to field 15 of them in a Stormwolf, very possibly with a Wolf Priest, so the pack is nearly done now.

A trio of Blood Claws

My first Blood Claws pack's strength is currently at 10 men. Most of time, that would be enough for me, as I intend to usually load them into a drop pod with no upgrades, but my original plan was to have a 15-man Blood Claws pack loaded into a Stormwolf, to attack an already weakened enemy, so I want to at least have the models for it.

 I decided to leave one of the models completely bald, though I plan to add some medium to heavy tattoos or face paint in the painting stage. I may also paint some stubble on him. The Mk.VI legs from Forgeworld look somewhat less than agile, despite the fact that agility is supposed to be one of the major points of the armour mark. However, for a Blood Claw recklessly charging into battle, that works well.

 I decided to give this model a somewhat wilder hair. Once I came up with the idea, I also decided to make his chin and nose a bit pointier, to give an overall troll-like look. I'm thinking of painting him in a little more unusual skin and hair colour combination, too.

This model is a fairly standard Space Wolf, with a mohawk and some longer hair in the back. A mullethawk, if you will. Space Wolves are supposed to be scary, and for any fashion conscious xenos, this guy would be a living nighmare.

As was established last week, I expect to paint these by next update.

Two Grey Hunters and a Pack Leader, painted

As I stated on my previous post, my plan originally was to paint these models and finish another group for this post, but turns out it didn't work like it did with the Fenrisian wolf pack. The wolves are very simple to paint, involving mostly just drybrushing. Grey Hunters have a few different coloured layers, as well as talismans, pelts, individual markings etc. I should have known that just based on the fact that my previous pace was three painted models per week, but as usual, hindsight tends to be very sharp.

 The bareheaded Grey Hunter was largely a very standard model with standard bits, with the exception of the custom-sculpted head and left pauldron. I had only sculpted a moustache on him, but I didn't want him to look too neatly-shaven, so I mixed some Stormvermin Fur with Lahmian Medium and painted stubble where his hair and beard would be. I'm fairly satisfied with how the overall effect turned out.

 I didn't take a picture of his axe pre-painting, but it was fully custom-sculpted, too. I decided to make it look like the axehaft was mounted at the end of the femur of some large animal. It could be the Fenrisian Wolf he hunted down to earn his promotion to a Grey Hunter, or some other native Fenrisian beast.

 One problem I have with the Mk.VI helmet is that the smoother shape makes it somewhat harder to paint identifying marks on them. In this case, I decided to leave the conical face area black, instead of painting it in the standard Russ Grey. I like the effect.
Assembly-wise, this was the simplest of the three models, consisting of all standard parts, but it works fine, proving that though I like to add some custom sculpting to as many of my models as possible, it's not strictly speaking necessary.

 I didn't want to paint the pack leader's skin in the standard pale skintone I so often use for my Space Wolves, so I decided to go for an olive skintone instead. The glow effect on the power spear was achieved with Temple Guard Blue, as usual.
I recently bought some new, darker grass tufts, and I'm not sure if I actually like the effect with the frozen earth bases I use. I will have to try using them together with the darker winter grass before I form my opinion.

Here's the whole trio in one shot. The smaller bases these three still use all fit well on the pedestal I use, even with these poses that are less than economical with their use of space. I'm reasonably happy with how they turned out. Each one looks individual enough to be a Space Wolf, yet is clearly part of the same unit.

Two Grey Hunters and a Pack Leader

I recently purchased a pack of Mk.VI armours from Forgeworld. I like to use some older models of power armour (generally just Mk. IV and newer, though), as it helps reinforce the sense that the chapter has had a long history over which it has accumulated ancient armours and weapons. Also, while Mk. VII is by no means a bad looking armour, it does get a little boring if other models aren't occasionally seen.

I decided to continue building up my most recent Grey Hunters pack. My aim is to make the pack 10 models strong, with close combat weapons and as much melta weaponry as possible. The pack's task would be to drop right next to a heavy or medium vehicle, shoot it to slag on the first round and then force the opponent to either deal with them or have them charge at their infantry.

 The first of these three Grey Hunters is a fairly standard model with a bolter, bolt pistol and a close combat weapon (mag-locked to his power pack). I decided to leave the model relatively clean shaven at the sculpting phase, with just a moustache to remind that he is, indeed, a Space Wolf.
The left shoulder pad follows the pattern occasionally seen on older Space Wolf armours. I assume this type of shoulder pad was in wide use among the Rout during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, but has since been mostly supplanted as the Chapter has been supplied with new armour from the Adeptus Mechanicus. Some traditionalists, however, would still remain.

 This model was done very simply, just by throwing pieces from different kits together. Mk. VI helmet, Mk. II shoulder pads, the rest is Mk.VII (Fenrisian variant). I did glue a targeter to the bolter, though.

Finally, my Pack Leader is armed with a Combi-Melta and a Power Spear. I keep trying to include spears in my army, though it's probably not a great idea to use them as normal close combat weapons, as that might easily be confusing, especially since I don't usually paint too overt glow on my Power Weapons.
The torso comes from Forgeworld's Space Wolves upgrade packs. It's Mk. IV and hence more treasured than most armours, but for Wolf Guard, that's to be expected.

I plan to paint these three at some point in the coming week. In fact, I believe my future schedule will largely be an unpainted model on Sunday, then the same model painted during the following week. There will be exceptions, so don't take that as a law, but more like a vague plan at this point.

Dreskor's Fifth Skybolt

And so I've used up my five Mk.V jump packs. Most people would just continue building the pack with the standard jump packs, but I'm not most people, and since jump packs are as dominant a feature on the model as they are, I want them to match within the unit.

The way I rationalize the use of an antiquated jump pack model in the 41st millennium is the difference between Space Wolf and codex organization. Usually, Assault Marines are already established warriors capable of looking after their equipment. Skyclaws are not, and they need equipment that can be repaired again and again reliably, even from situations that have gotten their users killed. Mk.V equipment, already being a mishmash of various models, could be more rugged and easily repaired, which would be more important for Skyclaws than thrust power or fine control.

 I decided to make the model bald-headed again, but this time with a couple of eyebrow piercings. It would make sense for a Skylaw to have a shaved head, as they deal with wind more than most Space Wolves, apart from maybe Swiftclaws and Land Speeder crew. That said, it would be more important for a young Sky Warrior with everything to prove to be recognised than to have a practical haircut, so if he wants to be known as the guy with the long, flowing locks, getting them blasted at his face is just the price he'll willingly pay.

 I again decided to use practice of chaining the weapons to their armours. Again, for a Skyclaw, who won't want to drop his weapon while mid-air, this makes sense, even if this isn't a habit Space Wolves are known for (I think it's primarily the Imperial Fists and their successors who do that).

The model is actually very un-wolfy in many respects: the only Space Wolves specific accessory is a bone-handled knife from the Wulfen kit, and he doesn't even have a beard or a long hair. I intend to make up for this in the painting phase.

To other news, I'm now officially changing my update schedule to once per week, specifically, Sundays. I plan to make longer, more involved and hopefully less hurried posts that I keep honing throughout the week and then just finish and post on Sunday evening. The subject won't (usually) be a single miniature, unless it's a vehicle or an otherwise bigger project.
We'll see how this will turn out next Sunday.

The Blackmanes' Grey Hunter with a Bolter, painted

Grey Hunters present an interesting painting challenge in that their more advanced age should somehow show, being between Long Fangs (who I generally paint with all-grey hair) and Blood Claws, who I'm in the habit of sculpting myself to make them look appropriately young and beardless.
I usually do this by painting some grey in Grey Hunters' beards or hair. Of course, not all Space Wolves ever go grey, Njal Stormcaller being a canonical example. In this model's case, I decided his hair would have kept it's colour, but not the beard.

 I painted the plate over his lost eye bronze, both on his face and on his helmet. The helmet's "face" was left black.
I painted the model's hair slightly reddish brown, with plenty of gray in his beard.

 The wolf's head on this model of bolter has always been something I've struggled to decide on, until now, when I simply painted it in the same metal shade as the rest of the weapon. The solution was simple and effective.
I painted the forward grip in deep red, as I usually do.

The helmet's crest ended up having a red zigzag-line on it.

I now have four models in this Grey Hunter pack. Just one more and it's rules legal.

Dreskor's Fourth Skybolt

So far, my Skyclaws have looked worryingly levelheaded, no more berserk-y than other Blood Claws. I decided it was time to fix this, so I started to sculpt on a somewhat wilder-looking head. Here are the results.

Sticking out one's tongue is a pretty effective way to look crazy and possibly somewhat intimidating, or at least silly. It wasn't really any more difficult to sculpt the model with its tongue out than any other head with an open mouth either. I may try this again with another model in the future.
I have also been wanting to have a Space Wolf with Obelix-style braids for a long time now, and decided this guy would be the one to have them.

 Again, I didn't want to use any of the more decorative shoulder pads, so I took one from a vanilla Marine kit and sculpted the wolf's head symbol on it myself.
I also decided to carve some runes on the jump pack.

The Mk. VI helmet may look a little out of place on the model, as it came from the Devastator kit and has the extra targeting bits on it, but I didn't want to use another Mk.V helmet, nor any of the more decorative Space Wolf helmets on a Skyclaw. I decided that during his more lucid moments, this Skybolt is an exceptional marksman, and will become a fine Grey Hunter if he lives long enough to temper his rage.

The Blackmanes' Grey Hunter with a Plasma Pistol revisited

I have been putting off posting about this model for a while now. I usually choose a model I have just finished, or a much older one that could use some touching up. This one, however, I managed to finish pretty satisfactorily the first time around, so it was sort of an inbetweener. This time, however, I don't have a finished model to post about, nor many that need touching up, so here it is.

 The face was painted before I had developed my current method(s), mostly by drybrushing. The effect was a little more cartoony than I usually prefer, but I like it.
The white wolf's head on the bolter was a choice I ended up on when I didn't want to paint it bronze. Eventually, I decided that it's a personal memento from the white Fenrisian wolf the warrior slayed before his acceptance to the Grey Hunters.

 The red around the mouth grille was inspired by the Imperial Armour 11 book. Now, those forces were in fact Redmaws, for whom a red maw makes more sense, but I don't think it looks out of place on a Blackmane either.

One of the few touches I added to the model, in addition to varnishing, was adding the Evil Sunz Scarlet on the pack marking.
The pose of the model was designed to clearly show the plama pistol, but not to make it too much of an issue, hence the model aiming primarily with the bolter.

The Blackmanes' Grey Hunter with a Bolter and Chainsword, painted

In the Horus Heresy novels, the Mk. V Power Armour is described as an umbrella term for all the non-standard suits of armour cobbled together by the Isstvan V survivors. It's also used to describe a type of armour that was rushed into use during wartime emergency when its design was still unfinished. In my headcanon, I have combined these two to mean that Mk.V featured a wider variety of various non-standard solutions to design problems than most other marks, possibly excluding Mk. VII simply because it has been in constant production for far longer than all the other models combined, and during that time the various self-sufficient Chapters have had far less authoritative oversight than the original Legions did, giving them more opportunities to customize their suits of armour.
That went on a bit of a tangent, but my point was that I think suits of Mk.V can diverge a great deal from the standard model and still be described by that term.

The spectacled helmet on this Mk.V suit is one example, though truthfully, even Ultramarines customize their suits more than that without a second thought.
The Mk.II arms are more unusual for a later suit, though it would make sense for an Astartes specializing in close combat. Mk. II limbs are described as being more protective than the later models, though more difficult to mass produce, and the weapon hand is often the most vulnerable target on a fighter's body.

 The weapons themselves both came from a Thunderwolf Cavalry kit, which makes the gauntlets hodling them Mk.VII. The gemstone on one of the gauntlets was painted red for a greater contrast with the cold grey armour.

I find the wolf paw symbol on the pack marking still a little tricky to paint. However, each standard Space Wolves transfer sheet only contains one of those symbols in black, and the pack is supposed to have 10 marines, so it's either freehanding them or trying to sculpt them before painting, and I need to practice my freehand painting.

Dreskor of the Skybolts, painted

We're currently celebrating Midsummer in Finland. You can tell by how the few population centres that exist are nearly empty and people are in their cottages drinking (as opposed to most Finnish holidays, where the people don't leave their hometowns before getting drunk). To celebrate this, I'm presenting a miniature of a stubborn man who's been in disproportionate number of fights for his age and doesn't think there's anything wrong with that. He might be a Finn if he wasn't Fenrisian.

 I sculpted most of the model's scarring on one side of his face and specifically around one of his eyes, so I decided to paint that eye red to show that he has actually lost the eye and has had a bionic replacement put in. Presumably, this took place when he lost his original arm as well, and managed to solidify his reputation as the alpha of his pack.

 I decided to paint the chainsword yellow for a change. I had also planned to add some decorative patterns on it, but decided against it, as the bright yellow colour looked fine on its own.
I painted lightning bolt tattoos on both of the model's temples. I imagine he's fond of the design and got to decide his pack's markings.

 The model's battle helmet also had the same thunderbolt patterns painted on it in Blood Claws' colours. When and if he lives to be a Grey Hunter, he presumably has those repainted in black and red.

Dreskor brings the pack's strength up to three models, so not large enough to use in a game yet. Also, in Codex, the pack strength was listed at 10 men, so I will have to get another kit of Mk.V Assault Marines. I probably won't leave it at that either, since I already have quite a number of the newer jump packs.