Re: All things Rogue Trader and Warhammer 40K (May 2022: SPACE DWARFS!)

[Blackwolf]

Wow,great stuff!

[Ockman]

All I can say is 

[OSHIROmodels]

Superb 

[Curis]

Space Marine Chapter founders love a good animal name. Mythical beasts of terror (Howling Griffons, Minotaurs, Silver Drakes…), apex predators (Space Wolves, Celestial Lions, White Panthers…), birds of prey (Hawk Lords, Necropolis Hawks, Raven Guard…), venomous reptiles (Iron Snakes, Viper Legion, Salamanders…). But I’ve just painted these Deathwatch, the Chapter named after tiny insects that burrow into your wooden furniture.

Deathwatch Aggressors on secondment from (left-to-right): Emperor’s Reckoners, Ultramarines and Imperial Fists.

They’ve come to destroy the xeno-filth of the galaxy just like the beetles destroy your antique furniture. I suppose they’re not the only Space Marine chapter named after insects – there’s Mantis Warriors. But Mantises are cool insects that do decapitation and look like samurai. Maybe my problem with the Deathwatch name is just me, growing up binging on episodes of Antiques Roadshow and Lovejoy, and Joe Public just thinks it’s kewl as it starts with “Death” and death is kewl.

Other Space Marine Chapters named after insects: Emperor’s Caterpillers, Ladybird Legion and the Astral Lice.

The Primaris Aggressors’ poses are entirely fixed, so the closest thing you get to choice is slicing the tag off the heads so you slightly twist them, though not too much as they’ll just end up staring at the inside of their armoured hoods. Fixed poses aren’t a bad thing, if they’re dramatic, but all three are “video game character selection screen” poses. It would have been cool to them pointing their guns not at the ground, and have the Sergeant pointing dramatically. But attempting any of that requires a filthy amount of modelling work, re-engineering all the pipes and ammo feeds.

Detail close ups.

So, with no reposing potential, I stamped these Deathwatch as “mine” with a big freehand banner on the Sergeant. It’s taken from the Ironclad Dreadnought kit – just like my Nemesis Chapter Intercessor Sergeant. The design is a combination of the Deathwatch and Ultramarines chapter icons, bordered with black and white checks. I was super-keen to get Ultramarines icongraphy front and centre since both the Sergeant’s shoulder pads are taken up with sculpted details.

Sergeant Amorgaudium leading his squad aboard the Eye of Kea.

I picked out the Deathwatch skull in red with a white stripe (along with the skulls on the fist, leg and shoulder), echoing the Codex Astartes veteran sergeant helmet markings. He’s named Amorgaudium as it’s High Gothic for Lovejoy – a rascally antiques dealer who understands how terrifying Deathwatch Beetles are.

The six steps to crisp black power armour.

I’ve photographed and written up a masterclass tutorial with all the steps, paint mixes and theory for the black on these Deathwatch. If you’d like access, it’s over on the Ninjabread Patreon page, along with over a dozen other masterclasses.

Deathwatch supporting battle-brothers from the Nemesis Chapter.

The squad’s now ready to join my Nemesis Chapter army as an Auxiliary Support Detachment. What next for the army? Maybe some Troops, maybe some HQ, (Death)watch this space!

More of my miniatures at: https://www.ninjabread.co.uk/
Painting tutorials at: https://www.patreon.com/ninjabread

[Suber]

Man, your primed minis look better than any of my finished ones. Your work here is out of scale

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Nice.

[aliensurfer]

they look great, and thanks for the painting tips/guides.

[Curis]

Buenos dias, Ninjabread readers. Today my Mexican-flavoured vintage Space Marine army gets some Adeptus Mechanicus reinforcements. An “Adeptus Mexicanicus”, if you will.

I’m gonna paint all my Techmarines with that big blue hand symbol so they can rub banners with each other while solemnly chanting “high five” in High Gothic.

This Marine is one of the vintage Mark Copplestone designs, wearing a modified suit of Mk 6 power armour – instantly recognisable from its chest cabling and beaked helmet. What makes the Copplestone Techmarines really stand out is the wealth of bonus tech details – the toolbox, the magnifying lenses, the drillbit and equipment mounted on the belt. They’re a joy to paint.

“A day like today is not a day for soundbites, we can leave those at home, but I feel the hand of history upon our shoulder with respect to this, I really do.”

The gnarly witch hand sculpted onto the right shoulder is the original symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus, before it changed to the skull cog of today.

Check out the standard Mk 6 backpack, before Techmarines started on their journey to becoming grimdark Doctor Octopuses festooned in servo-arms and mechadendrites.

Back in the olden days, Techmarines were just basic lads with a bolt pistol, who you had to field one for each vehicle or support weapon in your army. Over the years they’ve grown in stature and are now mighty HQ choices striding around the battlefield with an exotic array of wargear and special rules. So that I can field this miniature in modern games of 8th edition Warhammer 40,000 and still have it backwards compatible for Rogue Trader, I modelled his modern wargear as a separate little drone.

Three more of the planned 36 Techmarines this army will feature.

The drone’s chassis started life as an upside-down 6mm Epic-scale Land Raider with the smoke launchers and sponsons sliced away. The weapon is the business end of the standard Rogue Trader Imperial Conversion Beamer, mounted on the much meatier body of a Eldar D-Cannon.

To descale it, I added big chunky rivets made from sliced down plastic tubing, and a big fat radio-control antenna with a pennant with the classic Beamer identification symbol.

Crimson Fists Techmarine happy to see action. “Positively beaming”, you could say.

In games of Warhammer 40,000 he’s been great at zapping enemies, but has yet to unlock his full potential as the army has precisely zero vehicles for him to repair. But I plan to remedy that soon with some solid lead Dreadnoughts, Landspeeders and support weapons!

Ninjabread communication complete!

More of my miniatures at: https://www.ninjabread.co.uk/
Painting tutorials at: https://www.patreon.com/ninjabread

[JollyBob]

  Mmmmm. Spicy.

[Ockman]

It's beautiful, all of it!

[Griefbringer]

Actually, I was just a day or two ago reading through the 40K 2nd edition wargear list, which specifies that the conversion beamer was usually mounted on a self-propelled chassis (rather than fired from shoulder), so your model would fit just right that concept.

I think I have somewhere two conversion beamers of that kind, plus a 1/35 scale Goliath that could be used to build a self-propelled chassis...

[Keith]

Brilliant update Sir!

[CookAndrewB]

I really liked WH40k when it was all beaky helmets and rivet studded shoulder pads. The new stuff just doesn't do it for me (or my wallet). Thanks for putting some outstanding paint on some classics. Muy bien!

[Dr Mathias]

Awesome stuff, beautiful painting. 

I really liked WH40k when it was all beaky helmets and rivet studded shoulder pads. The new stuff just doesn't do it for me (or my wallet). Thanks for putting some outstanding paint on some classics. Muy bien!

I'm the same, not quite sure why. The beakie look was the standard for a short time, only about four years- before MK VII came out in the 'Strike Force' box.

[Suber]

The paintjob is awesome as usual, but I'm particularly in love with the whole concept of the conversion beamer on the land raider