tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90718498530151594872024-02-20T17:03:56.415-08:00Those whom the gods would destroy ...MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-73249985059067415592016-01-04T14:34:00.002-08:002016-01-04T14:34:12.692-08:00A New BeginningI've decide to move over to Wordpress. Having been persuaded that it will suit my needs better, the new year feels like the right time to make a new start. It will also signal a change in direction for my hobbying as I go back to making some 40k stuff.<br />
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The new blog can be found here;<br />
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<a href="http://thosewhomthegods.com/">http://thosewhomthegods.com/</a><br />
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I'd be delighted if any of you dropped by.MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-49538887137490731892015-12-29T06:44:00.000-08:002015-12-29T06:44:25.785-08:00XXIII. Iron Hands and Future PlansI finally finished my second Iron Hand Astartes. Yes, it did take far too long. I've been suffering from complete hobby burn out for the last few months, but I realised just a couple of days ago, that the way through it is to force myself to paint.<br />
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With the new year looming, I'm in resolution mode and I've been agonising about the future direction of my hobbying. I feel like I need to adopt a more disciplined approach and I'm considering a fresh start.<br />
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In the new year I'm almost certainly going to replace this blog with a new one. The main reason is I'm being persuaded that Blogger isn't the best platform around, but I also want to find the discipline to make more regular posts. I think a fresh start will help. I'm aiming for a post a fortnight - if I feel that every two weeks I have to have something worth posting then it'll motivate me to actually do something :)<br />
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However, I also feel like I'm at a potential crossroads in subject matter. The truth is I remain torn between the Horus Heresy and more traditional 40k as a setting.<br />
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When I look at what Forge World is putting out and compare it with GW's current work, the decision is an easy one. I love FW's models and the quality of those big, black Horus Heresy books is unsurpassed in the entire hobby. However, I find myself missing that part of the 41st millennium that GW seems to (mostly) ignore. Hive worlds, Death Cults, Genestealer covens, Inquisitors, cultists and the Adepta Sororitas. It's a tough choice.<br />
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The catalyst that made me start doubting my choices was a novel. Having ploughed through another Horus Heresy novel (and it really did start to feel like a chore reading another 200+ pages about space marines fighting space marines and feeling like the series has just stagnated), I bought the first book in the new Beast Arises series, "I am Slaughter". Halfway through and I'm gripped. The post-Heresy setting is so rich and characterful.<br />
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Now, admittedly, I felt the same reaction to the first Horus Heresy novel, "Horus Rising". Perhaps I just like beginnings? But when I made this mini (next thing I intend to paint) some time ago;<br />
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I sat back and thought, "That looks a lot more 40k than Heresy". Perhaps I was trying to tell myself something?MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-39440038263361448602015-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:002015-08-25T14:16:41.436-07:00XXII. Swordmaster<span style="color: #ffe599;">"There may be a hundred stances and sword positions, but you win with just one"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffe599;">~Ancient proverb</span></div>
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Not all sons and daughters of Knight Households go on to inherit one of those machines of war. Many a younger son is forced to make his own way and find his own fortune. Some become scholars, some become priests of the Omnissiah; but others, lacking a Knight to be master of, become warriors of a different sort.</div>
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MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-52865907462683182382015-08-11T14:20:00.001-07:002015-08-11T14:20:39.458-07:00XXI. Death ComesLast weekend I had the absolute joy of attending an Inqvitational event, which was a huge amount of fun and my first introduction to Inquisitor. However, in the rush to get things ready and painted I forgot to post up my finished tech-assassin here. So, here she is.<br />
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She was inspired by the Cydonian Sisterhood assassin from the novel Mechanicum, but she'll be a tech-assassin in the employ of House Orasto.MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-7468855092702084632015-08-02T02:18:00.003-07:002015-08-03T05:36:33.255-07:00XX. The Emperor ProtectsWhat's better than one guard? Two guards!<br />
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I had a few weeks where my job took all the energy and concentration I had, but summer is here and I'm back at my hobby desk.<br />
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The second guard was originally going to have a visible face, just like the first one. I even made a head for him but scrapped it after I decided it wasn't up to scratch. Then I hit on the idea that the heads from the Sicarian Ruststalkers would made good Mechanicum issue gas masks.<br />
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Other than the different head, he was made in the same way as the first Household Guard; a Solar Auxilia lasrifleman as a base, backpack from a Forge World Chaos Renegade and lots of greenstuff.<br />
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As always apologies for the terrible photography, thanks for looking and your comments are massively appreciated.</div>
MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-58034117161642107482015-06-14T05:51:00.000-07:002015-06-14T05:51:39.516-07:00XIX. Guards, guards!I seem to have a problem actually finishing miniatures at the moment. Very good at starting new ones, but not very good at finishing ones I've started.<br />
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This mini was something of a test. He's one of the foot soldiers of my Knight Household. Converted from a Solar Auxilia rifleman, I wanted to create a fusion of the deiselpunk style of the Solar Auxilia and the Gothic design of Imperial Knights. I'm very happy with the way he's worked out so I'll be making some more to create a small squad.<br />
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The foot soldiers of the Household are equipped with armour supplied by their Mechanicum allies and made from salvaged Solar Auxilia suits. Each man goes into battle with the 'Litany of Striving' fastened to their armour, a invocation of the power of the Omnissiah. This man wears a 'virtutis' on his right shoulder, a large medallion awarded for bravery in battle.MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-85660723131168234262015-06-01T09:59:00.000-07:002015-06-01T09:59:11.208-07:00XVIII Onward!It's been a whole month with no news, but I've not been totally idle. I've started painting a couple of minis but, so far, finished neither.<br />
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Duke Ko is coming along nicely. I'm delighted with how he manages to look both regal and creepy. I've also started work on my second 'Art Scale' Iron Hand.<br />
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<br />MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-24157228164980554202015-04-22T13:38:00.001-07:002015-04-22T13:38:28.156-07:00XVII. Duke Ko
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I must confess that, when I began the ‘Euripides’ project, I
had only the vaguest of ideas of what I wanted to do. I certainly had no definite
end product in mind. I knew I wanted to explore the Age of Darkness. I also
knew that the idea of a rag-tag group of shattered survivors appealed more to
me that the full glory of an Astartes Legion in all its strength. Like everyone
who starts a project without a plan, I suffered false starts and dead ends, but
recently I have begun to feel shapes, structure and themes emerging organically
from the chaos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My last finished model, the Astropath Jaysha Kree, now feels
like a turning point. She is a miniature that grew and evolved and took on a
life of her own. It almost feels like I built her and then worked out what she
is. I fear now I may have been slightly wrong in saying she is of the
Mechanicum. Time to rewrite history, or at least tinker with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the last few days, I built a new miniature and again, I’ve
had to work out what it is I have built. The answer feels like for the first
time, I know what I’m doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is Duke Ko, the Herald of Myleth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Knight World Orasto was discovered late in the Great
Crusade. A Mechanicum Explorator fleet made first contact and were welcomed as
long lost brothers. Orasto had been isolated so long that they were surprised to
learn that other humans existed. When these new machine-men were able to repair
ancient, long dormant knights, surprise turned to delight. Treaties were
signed, oaths sworn and the Mechanicum established an embassy in Orasto’s chief
city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, a mere twenty five years later, the Knights of Orasto
find themselves caught up in the wars of the Age of Darkness. Their loyalty is
to the Omnissiah and they eagerly joined the forces who combat the Traitor. Given
the short time that the Mechanicum has been on Orasto, the Knight Houses still
enjoy a large degree of independence. Unlike other Mechanicum aligned houses,
which have become virtual thralls to their Forge Worlds, the men and women of
Orasto regard the Mechanicum as allies and brothers in arms rather than
overlords.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Euripides found a small group of battered and bloodied Orastian
Knights, survivors of a massacre, and rescued them to fight another day. Their
leader is Yol Myleth and Duke Ko is his herald. Proudly displaying the colours
of his house (now incorporating the symbol of their Mechanicum allies), Duke Ko
announces his leader, reciting the litanies of blessing, the lineage of his
house and the deeds of notable ancestors: all of this amplified through the
speaker of the cyberskull which never leaves his side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Right now ideas are coming thick and fast of things to
build. I feel like I have to get them started, so painting might be put on hold
for a while as I concentrate on forming plastic and resin into interesting
shapes. I’m really quite excited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-90126634720913529462015-04-12T10:30:00.001-07:002015-04-12T10:30:29.293-07:00XVI. Building in IronI did some work on building Iron Hand number two today. He's more or less finished and ready to paint, but I'll probably set him aside for a while. I'm increasingly finding that if I come back to a mini after a break from it, I can spot how it needs to be improved.<br />
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<br />MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-33715959245864942142015-04-10T14:09:00.000-07:002015-04-10T14:09:08.475-07:00XV. Super CreepsEveryone has gone a little Mechanicum/Mechanicus crazy, including me ... and I haven't even bought the new kits yet. The last couple of days has seen a 100 percent increase in the number of Murder Servitors I have built. I can now boast a squad of two,<br />
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Meanwhile, work continues on my second Iron Hand astartes. The legs have been extended and I've finished the torso.<br />
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The next step will be to finish the legs by adding the armour plates to cover the pteruges.MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-11012903328658841682015-04-03T08:49:00.000-07:002015-04-03T08:56:47.453-07:00XIV. Broken Things<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f6b26b;">Jaysha Kree is the personal Astropath to Magos Kalindra, mistress of the Mechanicum contingent aboard the Euripides. A telepath of extraordinary talent apparently, but the Soul Binding took an awful toll on her young body. It left her broken, but did not kill her and the Mechanicum took her did what they could. I've seen tech adepts with whole new bodies of brass and steel, but Jaysha refused to give up so much of her humanity: instead her shattered form is kept alive by Kalindra's machines.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #f6b26b;">~J</span></div>
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It's been a long time since I picked up a brush. March is the busiest time of the year for me at work, and that, followed by a couple of weeks of flu has kept me away from my minis.</div>
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Now with work easing off and the flu gone (apart from a lingering cough), I've had time to finish a mini I started a long time ago now.</div>
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Thanks for taking the time to look.</div>
MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-64230825351699935412015-02-09T11:52:00.000-08:002015-02-09T12:26:32.760-08:00XIII. The Medusan<span style="color: #f6b26b;">Legionary Azuhk has joined the Immortals. The gloom that has enveloped the Astartes lies heaviest on him and, despite all protestations, Azuhk is convinced he has failed his Primarch.</span><br />
<span style="color: #f6b26b;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f6b26b;">"I will find redemption in killing the traitors", he told me. I hope the Emperor watches over him.</span><br />
<span style="color: #f6b26b;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f6b26b;">~J</span><br />
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Finished and I'm very happy with how he's turned out. I'd love to say he will be the first of many, but more likely he'll be the first of a few.<br />
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<a href="http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/2/9/685745_sm-Iron%20Hands%2C%20True%20Scale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/2/9/685745_sm-Iron%20Hands%2C%20True%20Scale.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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And because size does matter, here's a couple of scale shots;<br />
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<br />MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-23996039632235567292015-02-04T13:05:00.000-08:002015-02-04T13:05:26.896-08:00XII. Auto-cladeThis is a busy time at work and I'm not getting as much hobby time as I'd like. My first Astartes is coming along though. I'm going to try a big push this weekend to get him finished.<br />
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As always though, a big reason he's taking time to complete is my total inability to stick to one job at a time. I've been distracted working on a couple of other miniatures.<br />
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The first is a Murder Servitor. These appear in the third Horus Heresy rule book from Forge World and are described as skull faced and armed with crude cutting and stabbing weapons. I kit-bashed this creature from a Dark Eldar Wrack with a head made from a servo skull.<br />
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The second is a Cydonian Sister, one of the tech-adept assassins of the Mechanicum. More Dark Eldar bits, a Fantasy Dark Elf witch and a head made from half a servo skull, half a sister of slaughter head and a bit of green stuff to blend it all together.<br />
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<br />MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-19900334212652320532015-01-29T12:51:00.000-08:002015-01-29T12:51:49.406-08:00XI. The Solar AuxiliaI freely admit that I have a problem when it comes to sticking at a task. I'm just too easily distracted. So, I broke off from working on my art scale Astartes to finish painting my first Solar Auxilia.<br />
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I bought these chaps on a whim because I loved the sculpts so much, I'm not trying to build an army here, so it may take me a very long time to get round to painting all twenty of them. However, they may also turn out to be a nice change of pace whenever I want to take a short break from converting. It could be good to just have a few miniatures which I build straight out of the box, as it were.<br />
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So, this one is a colour test, using the same restricted palette as I intend to use throughout the crew of the Euripides. Hopefully I can keep a unified look without it all merging into one murky mess.<br />
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<br />MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-48309428684725442272015-01-18T05:41:00.000-08:002015-01-18T05:42:38.904-08:00X The Colour of IronI know some people like to see work in progress photos, so here is the Astartes in his current form. All dark and grubby and awaiting ... well pretty much everything.<br />
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I've developed a painting style which could best be summed up as, slapping it on and hoping for the best. Like my first attempt at an Iron Hand Astartes, I'm avoiding painting him black. I'd rather suggest black using shades of slate grey. This time I've added some brown in some of the recesses to add interest and warm him up a little. This Iron Hand is going a bit rusty, I think.<br />
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A long way still to go to finish him.MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-14122053978681295912015-01-05T12:53:00.003-08:002015-01-05T12:54:52.820-08:00IX. Wall of Iron<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #e69138;">The Astartes terrify me. Each is a colossus of ceramite and iron. Each is a glowering, melancholic presence on the ship ... and I fear, that since that terrible time I am forbidden to mention, each is slowly loosing his mind.</span></div>
<span style="color: #e69138;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #e69138;">~J</span></div>
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The build of my first art-scale marine is pretty much complete and he's ready for some paint.<br />
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Since I'm aiming for the Iron Hands after the death of their primarch, I want them to look slightly unhinged and as much a danger to their allies as to their foes. This first Astartes has a chain, ending in a cruel hook hanging from his belt, next to the skull of an executed traitor. Oaths of moment are nailed to the armour of his left leg.</div>
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I was wary of taking these element too far and perhaps making him look like a traitor, rather than a loyalist who's loosing his marbles. Maybe with the next one I'll push it a but further.</div>
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<br />MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-29976435002178103272014-12-25T04:15:00.000-08:002014-12-25T04:16:59.502-08:00VIII. Building on a ThemeWhen I first decided that the Horus Heresy was where my interest lay, I was faced with the problem of having to decide what the ordinary men and women of that time looked like. The release of Forge World's Solar Auxilia has been an absolute godsend in this regard and they have really helped me cement my ideas. I see many people online describing them as having a 'steampunk' look but to me they are definitely more 'deiselpunk'.<br />
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It's a slight distinction perhaps to some people and I think often anything with a retro look gets lumped in with 'steampunk', but to my mind the difference in clear. The Solar Auxilia would not have looked out of place in an episode of the old 1930s Flash Gordon. So, out with the 41st Millennium gothic medievalism and in with the Art Deco retro-futurism. Think Flash Gordon and Metropolis with an injection of the grimdark.<br />
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Someone on Dakka suggested that I might want to use cataphracti pattern terminator legs to build art scale marines. They were spot on. The cataphractii legs have that wonderful cog pattern running around the soles of their feet which fit perfectly with the Iron Hands. This is where I'm at;<br />
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What started as an experiment, seems to be working beautifully. I've hopefully managed to build a marine with the bulk, height and power I was after.<br />
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The Quartermaster is getting a bit of a make over too, to fit better with the deiselpunk aesthetic. I've lost track of how many months I've been working on this one miniature, but I want to get him perfect to be the benchmark for everything else I go on to create. Gone are the medieval, ruffled sleeves and the sword (which I was never happy with) is being replaced with an Art Deco looking laspistol. I'm also thinking of trying to remove the purity seal from his waist. Is it just too 40k looking? I don't know; some of Forge World's Horus Heresy miniatures do have what look like purity seals modeled onto them so perhaps I can get away with it.<br />
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Thanks for reading and a Very Merry Christmas.MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-80649877146829608402014-12-07T10:56:00.000-08:002014-12-07T10:56:03.509-08:00VII. Evolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I’m embarrassed about how long it has been since I posted an
update. The truth is that other things kept me away from modelling and painting
for a while; I lost all momentum and the muse deserted me. I’ll been 2 months
in the hobby doldrums and now I must make an effort to get back.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have started to make some progress on my cairn wraith
conversion. My initial thought with this miniature was that she was going to be
one of the ship’s astropaths. However, as I finished working on the conversion
I found myself adding more cables and a servo skull and, by pure coincidence I’m
sure, was also reading “Mechanicum” by Graham McNeill. Now I’m coming round to
the idea that she may be a servant of some Mechanicum Adept who has taken up
with the crew of the Euripides. I love how a miniature can evolve as you work
on it and how I don’t always know what I’m building.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So having decided on a Mechanicum contingent, I’m thinking
of all the weirdness I can make. The Imperial Enforcer who was going to lead
the ship’s armsmen may end up being a Mechanicum servant too – perhaps the
Adepts factotum or herald?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Something which has troubled me is the thorny issue of
scale, or rather the scale of Astartes. We all know that in the background of
30/40k, the Adeptus Astartes are now portrayed as giants; towering slabs of
power armour and muscle. The miniatures, sadly, do not convey this. I had hopes
to create the illusion of them being towering warriors by elevating them on
their bases. It does put their heads above the heads of ordinary men, but I’m
still not happy that it works. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Is that man a giant? Oh, wait, no … he’s just standing on a
box.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This problem bothered me enormously until I got my hands on
Horus Heresy Book 3 – Extermination. This was my eureka moment. Book 3 has
rules for Strike Forces … 1 to 3 characters plus up to 350 points of troops,
vehicles etc. That’s potentially just a very few models and it means the
prospect of creating an art-scale, Heresy period Strike Force is not an
impossible dream.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are several people who have modelled amazing art-scale
marines, but I’ve been studying how both <a href="http://legionofplastic.blogspot.co.uk/">Migsula</a> and the <a href="http://spikyratpack.blogspot.co.uk/">Spikey Rats</a> do it. It’s
inspiring stuff. I’ve got as far as a simple test using grey knight terminator
parts as the base for the marine and I love the height and bulk it gives.
Obviously it needs a lot of work, but I’m going to set myself the challenge of
making a few art-scale Mk3 Iron Hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, thanks for reading.</div>
MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-87585040617686715662014-09-27T13:03:00.000-07:002014-09-27T13:03:01.181-07:00VI. Oleg Miletus<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #ffe599;">"Below the embarkation deck lies a small chamber, unadorned and lit only by worklamps. This is where Oleg Miletus spends his waking hours, surrounded by his tools, stripped down weapons and chattering servo skulls. Most call him the Quartermaster and it is Miletus' role to maintain the arms and equipment of the Euridipes' crewmen.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #ffe599;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #ffe599;">"Oleg Miletus is old. His shaven head, with its hardwired data cable and the servo arm, of his own design, sprouting from his back gives him an odd appearance. Kal opined that Miletus wishes he was one of the Mechanicum. I cannot speak for the truth of that, but he does spend time deep in conversation with the Magos, when he can. At his hip he carries an armour plate from one of Mars' metal men, as though it were a sacred relic.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #ffe599;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #ffe599;">"It reminds me of what we stand to lose, should we fail", he once told me. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #ffe599;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #ffe599;">"Miletus joined the Great Crusade as a young man and has given all his adult life to serving the Euripides, but though his body may be frail, his mind is still as sharp as a knife. He does not rest in his work and the ship's Armsmen often find that Miletus has 'improved' their weapons with his own modifications while they slept."</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #ffe599;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="color: #ffe599;">~J</span></i></div>
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<br />MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-19740093465149027912014-09-21T02:34:00.000-07:002014-09-21T02:34:51.978-07:00V. The Iron Hand<div style="text-align: justify;">
My first Astartes and a test of the paint scheme. I'm trying to avoid just painting the Iron Hands black. Instead I want to suggest black using a dark, slightly slate blue, grey. It just looks better I think and also gives the painting more depth.</div>
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MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-90556395726732714142014-09-07T12:21:00.000-07:002014-09-07T12:22:38.244-07:00IV. The Astartes ArriveWork on the Quartermaster is continuing. His face is done and I'm starting on the fiddly details. Photographing him close up has made me realise there's a massive mold line running along his left hand though. Having seen it, I must fix it.<br />
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However, work on him was slowed down when these chaps turned up to distract me;<br />
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These are the first of the Euripides' Astartes, Iron Hands in MkIII armour. Once the Quartermaster is completed, I'll be starting work on them, probably painting their armour in a similar manner to Q's black breastplate.<br />
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And to distract me even more, my lovely over half bought me a present off ebay;<br />
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This is the Imperial Enforcer, the Forge World event only miniature from a few years back. Now, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him, but he's such a beautiful miniature, I'm too scared to hack him up. I can't just go out a get a new one if I balls it up. I've recently finished reading "Battle for the Abyss". This book is really what inspired me, more than anything else to collect the crew of a single ship. "Battle for the Abyss" features the Armsmen, the chaps responsible for maintaining discipline and security among the crew. I'm thinking perhaps the Imperial Enforcer could be the basis for the Captain of the Euripides' Armsmen. I've got a rough idea for a simple head swap, but the difficult part will be working out how to make some Armsmen for him to lead.<br />
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Thanks for reading.MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-45346742130686395912014-08-30T01:08:00.000-07:002014-08-30T01:08:07.563-07:00III. The Quartermaster<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes, when I'm kitbashing, I have a definite idea what I'm trying to make but often I just playing around with no idea. There are those wonderful, organic kitbashes where everything just seems to work and then you sit back and try to work out what it is you've actually made. This was one of those cases. A while ago I made this chap;</div>
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Then he sat in a drawer ...</div>
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Now he's finally starting to get some paint and an idea is forming about who he is. He's still a long way from finished. I'm calling him the Quartermaster, though I don't have an actual name for him yet. He is the one who keeps the weapons and equipment of the ship's crew and he cannot resist tinkering with them, like a far future version of Q from the Bond movies.</div>
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Neither FW or GW make rules for spaceship crews and I doubt they ever will, so I'm going to use the Inquisition rules for my crew. The Inquisition is perfect in that it allows me to have a collection of the weird and wonderful that still feels human, far more so than any other published codex. With the Quartermaster I realised I could get a (counts as) Jokaero into the crew. Jokaero's are physically weak but can shoot powerful weapons so the Quartermaster is an old man and his weaponised servo skull provides a rational for his ability to shoot.</div>
MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-10644939843384559572014-08-29T15:57:00.004-07:002014-08-29T23:14:13.200-07:00II. Work is in Progress<div style="text-align: justify;">
There is more to life than space marines. One of the things I love about the Heresy era is the way that each fleet is a real community. Astartes, Imperial Army, emmisaries of the Mechanicum and the ship's crew all live and work together. So, having blown all my money on massive, leather bound books, I decided to begin on some crew ... while I wait for the Iron Hands to muster.</div>
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Lycia Jesh is the youngest, but perhaps most talented astropath aboard the Euripides.</div>
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Sooner or later, anyone who likes to convert GW miniatures must make something out of a cairn wraith. It almost feels like a rite of passage. How to make something both interesting and original out of a miniature which has been done so many time before? Well, this is my attempt. I'll write up some background on young Lycia when she's finished.</div>
MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071849853015159487.post-79735544539528942762014-08-29T15:01:00.001-07:002014-08-29T15:14:49.655-07:00I. The Death of Hope<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #ffe599;">"Regardless of where the blame truly resided, many within the Iron Hands Legion, now fatherless, dealt with this traumatic crisis on a personal level in a simpler and more direct fashion; they went violently insane."</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599;">- Horus Heresy Book 2 : Massacre</span></div>
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For me, if the Horus Heresy is about one thing, then it is about the death of hope. Mankind stood on the edge of a golden age, a pax imperialis, free from fear, free from superstition; but that fragile dream has come crashing down, and in the best traditions of tragedy, the Imperium contained within itself the seed of its own destruction.</div>
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It is a setting that I find perhaps far more compelling than the 41st millennium. Its characters seem more recognisably human and that makes the darkness all the darker, the tragedy all the more tragic.</div>
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For a while I had been in a hobby slump that I couldn't shake, this is until I realised that it was indecision which had made me grind to a creative halt. On the one hand, what had enticed me back to this hobby after a gap of over 20 years was the amazing miniatures I had seen coming out of the Inq28 community. So, my first tentative steps to rediscover the joys of painting and modelling revolved around acolytes and death cult assassins and their ilk. On the other hand, I had begun reading the Horus Heresy novels and had fallen in love with the stories and setting.</div>
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Yet the Horus Heresy hobby seemed the complete antithesis of Inq28. One was about creating small bands of lovingly crafted conversions, the other about 20 man tactical squads and giant tanks.</div>
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The solution was so obvious that I could not at first see it. The novels I loved to read were not just about huge battles; they were also about individuals. They were as much about small bands of Astartes, as much about the ships' crews, the astropaths, the remembrancers as they were about Drop Pod Massacres and Titan Legions.</div>
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An idea began to germinate and it has taken a long time to take shape.</div>
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<b>The Doomed Ship</b></div>
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<i><span style="color: #ffe599;">"... in the aftermath some Iron Hands units and, in some cases, entire Clans shunned the Medusan Council's assumed authority and went their own way, consumed by their own hatred and need for revenge."</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #ffe599;">- Horus Heresy Book 2: Massacre</span></div>
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Ferrus Manus was dead. This terrible news filtered through the galaxy, astropath to astropath, until it reached the escort ship Euripides. Now, lost and leaderless, the Iron Hands astartes will have their revenge ...</div>
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One ship, its crew; the space marines and mortal men who call it home.</div>
MonkeyBallistichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078203818827191921noreply@blogger.com0