Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Modhail on October 14, 2015, 09:43:26 PM
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For those of you who haven't encountered the concept before: True scaling is converting/scratch-building/kitbashing a Space Marine so that the model is as large (compared to say Guardsman miniatures) as Space Marines are depicted in the Warhammer 40K background and art.
For my (long suffering) Space Hulk project, I had decided to paint my Terminators as Howling Griffons, as I've always liked the chapter and they contrast nicely with the dark Space Hulk corridors and the colours of the Genestealers. As I've also been dreaming of playing an =I=Munda (a story-driven freeform Inquisitor/Necromunda hybrid) and have been building/planning warbands for that, I also wanted to include them in that as well. Especially as it gave me the chance to really show off the strength and individuality of Space Marines that is so often snowed under in the larger scale of Warhammer 40K. To make that point visually, and as I would only need a handful of Marines anyway, I decided to build them true scale. Today I finished the first one:
I present to you, Brother Rolan of the Howling Griffons:
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h213/Modhail/WIP/InquisiMunda%20and%20Inq28/WP_20151014_021.jpg)
The last known pict-capture of Brother Rolan, during the height of the Luyvan Insurrection, early 997.m41. The image was recorded by a security pictor inside a manufactorum near the Luyvan spaceport, hours before the final evacuation preceding Exterminatus. The Howling Griffons 5th Company performed desperate rearguard actions to allow as many key personnel and civilians to escape. As the 5th Company hasn't fought in the subsector since, it is unknown if Brother Rolan was among the last evacuees.
Brother Rolan is a battle brother of the Howling Griffon's fifth company, second squad. Brother Rolan is a recipient of the Aureum Gryphe (seen on his right greave) and has been awarded the right to personal heraldry, as depicted on his right pauldron. Both are unusual, as the lack of other markings or awarded honour-gear seem to indicate that he is still young in his career among the Astartes. On his left greave you can just make out the badge of the Jülich Sanction campaign. The aquila beneath it indicates he was present at that campaign's culminating 5 day running battle in the great city of Lorimar's Fall. It is speculated his Aurum Gryphe and personal heraldry were earned with feats of valour during this conflict.
Here's a scale comparison:
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h213/Modhail/WIP/InquisiMunda%20and%20Inq28/WP_20151014_010.jpg)
Rolan is made using Terminator Legs with hip plates removed and the recesses greenstuffed in. A torso made from a Terminator torso front (minus the arch over the head) and a Grey Knight Terminator torso rear (minus the psychic hood) with a 2mm spacer between torso and legs. The resulting gap is filled with greenstuff. On the torso back, I narrowed the vents of the Grey Knight torso rear to accept the powered armour backpack. Shoulders are Terminator ones with gaps filled and plasticard rims, the Howling Griffon chapter icon I sculpted in greenstuff. The arms are power armoured ones, set lower inside the shoulder pads to add length, the gap filled with greenstuff. I thickened the arms, wrists and elbow pads with greenstuff to prevent the "T-Rex Effect".
Brother Rolan will be the first member of an all-Astartes =I=Munda warband or a guest-star in a Inq28 scenario. So basically for small, storydriven games.
The =I=Munda warband will be centred around the idea of a "diplomatic mission": a single character (either a Librarian or Chaplain), sent out as an envoy for some official event or conclave, or to act as an advisor to some Imperial official or warlord. With him will be a small honour guard of Marines (2 or 3 at most) with maybe a Scout to serve as batsman/aide de camp. Unsurprisingly they will get caught up in something, being the 8 foot trouble-magnets space marines are...
I'm planning to build them one at a time, at my leasure, which means, combined with other projects I have, it'll be a slow burn warband build.
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Fantastic work! He looks ace and it's good to see a Space Marine looking as imposing as he should. Can't believe GW didn't go down this route given their penchant for big massive plastics now. Howling Griffons are a cool chapter! 8)
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Very cool, another thing I need in my life. More true Scale Space Marines. Like the background too.
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Thanks, I'm glad you like him. :)
Gibby, maybe they're testing the waters with those Sigmarines? They're about similar size. I don't think they will, though, killing off and replacing an underperforming (saleswise) game and setting is one thing, invalidating your single bestselling line of miniatures is something else entirely. I don't think even GW are that brazen.
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...unless they put together a boxed game that had slightly taller marines and called it 'Days of the Primarchs' or something...
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Excellent conversion, he looks so much more impressive than the usual Space Marines. Well done, this is how they all should look like indeed!
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Great shots and Rolan is pretty impressive.
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I forgot to mention... Very cool conversion :) . I have seen lots of these and very few manage to get it right. You have :)
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Definitely a fan of truescale conversions. Excellent work, love it!
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Excellent conversion, he looks so much more impressive than the usual Space Marines. Well done, this is how they all should look like indeed!
x2 What Michi said.
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Its great to see more people doing true/art scale marines, Im currently working on two myself and enjoying it too as its surprisingly easy to do too.
I was having difficulty getting certain arms and weapons but sourced them all now.
Once these two are done too I shall convert the other 3 terminators too :D
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Thank you guys, I'm glad he's so well received!
Inso, you mean something like "Heresy of a dude with an Egyptian name"? lol
There's rumours floating around about an upcoming boxed set, but it's apparently filled with the same old pigmy-marines as always. (Which does make me wonder, should the Space Marines somehow recruit from a population of pygmies, how would this influence the resulting marine? Right, less sugary and artificially coloured snacks for me, I should think! :D)
Matthais-mouse, I agree, once you get a technique you're comfortable with, they're surprisingly easy to do. They just take some more time due to the greenstuff that needs to cure, compared to assembling a regular marine. I'm curious to see how your marines look, will you share them here?
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Terrific paint job on this guy, and the conversion is seamless.
Also, Thank you for explaining what 'True Scale Space Marine' means. I've been seeing the term thrown around here for a while and never understood what it was. Now I have to look at all those threads again.
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Matthais-mouse, I agree, once you get a technique you're comfortable with, they're surprisingly easy to do. They just take some more time due to the greenstuff that needs to cure, compared to assembling a regular marine. I'm curious to see how your marines look, will you share them here?
I shall indeed once I can get a photo or two, maybe others could share their truescale conversions too? :)
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Great conversion! It looks better indeed. :o 8)
IMO however SM are not too small, most of the other GW infantry is just too big for 28mm.
Best example are the bulked up Catachans humans. ;)
FW IG infantry is most of the better proportioned, see:
(http://www.adpublishing.de/assets/images/DG_and_IG_Krieg.jpg)
I was also positively surprised how well the HH Marines Mk III scales up next to a Forge World Imperial Guard. The Marine DOES look big enough!
But since I do not expect GW to make their other ranges smaller, it might be indeed a good idea to make SM bigger.
Thanks for sharing anyway!
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Nice work. I've always liked Howling Griffins too.
In my gaming group we call them Battenberg Marines. lol
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You can also use historicals for your guard, they are smaller usually
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Agis, they do scale nicely together, shame GW doesn't get their scales as right as that.
Diakon, funny, I sometimes refer to them as "Space Knights from planet Battenberg" myself. :)
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Looks really good! GW should have this style of spacemarines all the time.
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I love this, I'm also a fan of Truescale and I'm always peeping at what other people do ;D. Inspiring!
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Thanks guys!
No follow-up conversion for the time being. My son expressed interest in learning to paint so I've been doing that yesterday. I needed something to paint alongside him that was easy to put down to help him. Which means no involved paintjobs or custom mixed colours, ruling out most of my ongoing projects. So I've started on some Deathwing Terminators for Space Hulk, nothing worth showing yet.