X The Colour of Iron

I 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.

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.

A long way still to go to finish him.

IX. Wall of Iron

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.

~J

The build of my first art-scale marine is pretty much complete and he's ready for some paint.

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.

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.

VIII. Building on a Theme

When 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'.

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.

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;

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.

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.

Thanks for reading and a Very Merry Christmas.

VII. Evolution

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.

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.

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?

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.

Is that man a giant? Oh, wait, no … he’s just standing on a box.

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.

There are several people who have modelled amazing art-scale marines, but I’ve been studying how both Migsula and the Spikey Rats 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.

As always, thanks for reading.

VI. Oleg Miletus

"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.

"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.

"It reminds me of what we stand to lose, should we fail", he once told me. 

"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."

~J

V. The Iron Hand

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.

IV. The Astartes Arrive

Work 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.

However, work on him was slowed down when these chaps turned up to distract me;

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.


And to distract me even more, my lovely over half bought me a present off ebay;

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.

Thanks for reading.