My journey into 40k

[Predatorpt]

Good progress.

Shame about the Dreadnought though... Especially as that old AoBR model is the only way to get the plastic Multi Melta option which is the basic default weapon they come with in the army lists. 

An alternative option could be to see if you can sand/file all the big areas smooth, and up-armour them to make an Ironclad Dreadnought conversion out of it?

I suppose that worst-case scenario you can chop it up to use as a mixture of basing features, objectives, and terrain?

Anyway, I had a look to see if I could find that blue-and-camo scheme that I mentioned earlier, but I couldn't find it. I have a feeling that I saw it about ten years ago in one of those Space Marine Collector guides that GW put out before they pretty much stopped publishing printed catalogues. I seem to remember seeing a Pre-Heresy Ultramarines army in there too, where every model was converted in some way. If I ever find it, I'll post it up for you!

Thanks, this project wouldn't even have started if it wasn't for you.

I've got another painted dreadnought that's going to be converted into a Ironclad. Ironically I didn't want to clean it right away since it was a bit damaged and the Ironclad wasn't a priority  But I think I saved this one, so I'll try and paint it.

I think I can get some old Collector Guides so I'll check them out!

Good progress.

You could go for the aged cast hull look. You might need to remove and replace the iconography and the "Best of Show" rosettes.

You might inspire me to finish mine off.

I'm going to try and do that to my other dread I've read some articles about giving some "cast metal" texturing to vehicles and I'll try it for my Ironclad dread. This article is basically what I'll do: http://www.scalemodellingnow.com/tbmodelconstruction-addingcasttexturetoturrets

Then I hope to see your dread finished

Nothing in half measure Predatorpt !  You did go all in.  I have been having a wicked 40k modelling craving for a while now and some friends have been pressuring me ( ie twisting my rubber arms) to get to some Shadow Wars and maybe a modest army as well.  I'm up in the air but sorely tempted by the Nurgle models that have been poking around but seeing a big loyalist project doesn't help me commit to a plan.  Great start to an ambitious project but I don't understand why you tear down that "pro painted" dreadnought  .

You know, that Death Guard models they previewed are really nice, there's no harm in straying away from the light of the Golden Throne "Pro-painted" armies like mine are easy to find on Ebay and are a great way to start (or in my case complement) a project.

[Predatorpt]

So, like I said in my previous post, I managed to salvage the dreadnought. The alcohol further removed the primer and then I sanded some of it...and I'm happy with the results. In the following photos, there seems to be some pitting in the plastic but it isn't as bad as it looks (I blame it on the macro function of the camera).




I also finished assembling my third and final tactical squad. 30 Space Marines in roughly 4 days of work, not bad! (at least for me, ). This time I didn't take group pictures, just some highlights that I'm "proud" of.

I made a SM using a missile launcher while kneeling, using a set of legs from the old Command Squad sprue.

Of course that then I found out that there's a pair of legs just for that in the Heavy Weapons box...but I was pretty happy until then

I drilled all the weapons 


It's a pain to do it, specially getting the hole of the barrel centered. Any tips on doing that? Drilling the lateral holes seem to help but even so...maybe making a pilot hole with a small drill and then the larger one?

The 10th and final member of my 3rd Tactical Squad was a salvaged SM.



There are some parts still in blue, but those are impossible to clean even with acetone since they are mixed with superglue. But since the main offenders will be covered by the shoulder pads and the head, I just need take care when paint the hand/bolter zone, checking if the blue doesn't show.

I'm going back to work on Monday so that will slow down my hobby time, but I'm hoping to assemble a drop-pod and start working on more figures (maybe the Assault Squad).

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Excellent.

At one point the command and heavy weapon sets used the same bodies sprue, which lacked the Womble head (even though the examples on the box included one).

You can use your remaining kneeling body with one of the missile launcher from a tactical set,or with some cable modifications as a lascannon sniper (I have an unfinished Alpha legion figure that needs the cables replacing - the supplied ones foul the knee)

I have finished one dread (http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/venerable-bede.html) but have at least three under construction (and a modified original) somewhere.

I am in awe of your 30 marines in four days, I have not finished this tray yet (http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/work-in-glacial-progress.html)

Keep up the inspiring work.

[Michka]

When I go to drill out barrels of Bolters and Lasguns I poke a small hole in the end of the barrel with either my x-acto knife or a dress pin. The plastic is soft enough that the point goes in easy, and that tiny little pilot hole is usually enough to guild the pin vice so long as I'm careful.

The amount of work your doing on this whole project is impressive.

[Predatorpt]

Slow week for me, I'm waiting for some bits I won on Ebay, with enough parts to do all the weapons on a Dreadnaught. Meanwhile I'm only working on the old dreadnaught, doing some damage on it prior to painting.

Excellent.

At one point the command and heavy weapon sets used the same bodies sprue, which lacked the Womble head (even though the examples on the box included one).

You can use your remaining kneeling body with one of the missile launcher from a tactical set,or with some cable modifications as a lascannon sniper (I have an unfinished Alpha legion figure that needs the cables replacing - the supplied ones foul the knee)

I have finished one dread (http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/venerable-bede.html) but have at least three under construction (and a modified original) somewhere.

I am in awe of your 30 marines in four days, I have not finished this tray yet (http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/work-in-glacial-progress.html)

Keep up the inspiring work.

Wow, you sold me the idea of the conversion with that mention of a lascannon sniper. I'll have to try that one for sure. I still haven't glued the arms for easing of painting but I can see why a bulkier weapon (or one with cables) will bash against the knee of the model :\ Get those dreads finished! The Black Templars one is already great And remember that your marines are assembled and painted in some way. I only assembled 30 models, without heads or pauldrons attached so you are at least 2 steps ahead of me.

When I go to drill out barrels of Bolters and Lasguns I poke a small hole in the end of the barrel with either my x-acto knife or a dress pin. The plastic is soft enough that the point goes in easy, and that tiny little pilot hole is usually enough to guild the pin vice so long as I'm careful.

The amount of work your doing on this whole project is impressive.

I need to start doing that trick with the pin. Using a small drill for the pilot hole isn't very accurate. And I've also found out that the holes that I do seem to be very small if compared with the ones most people do. Guess bolt slugs are really big, .

And your output in terms of projects puts mine to shame but thanks for the compliment  

[Predatorpt]

And I've been bitten by the Shadow War bug. After buying a Spanish version of the box, I ended up buying another one but this time in English! Now I have 2 gigantic boxes at home 



So now I'm working on all this great terrain



using magnets so I can swap the pieces around





and even stack them



In other news...while waiting for the SW boxes to arrive, I've assembled some terrain from the old Robogear boxes (Hexagon pieces only, at least for now):



Need to assemble Scouts and Orks and finish my Dreadnaughts - I now have 3 of them since I found another one in an old Robogear starter set (I was going to convert it with bits from their mechs and that's something that I need to do since its missing its feet). And I'm now the owner of a box full of Dark Templar bits and figures that I don't need o_O

[Elbows]

Nice work, I'm enjoying following this project.  One of the highlights of doing my rather large Eldar recovery project was the rescue aspect.  It's soooo much more fun to "save" a miniature than paint a new one (to me at least).  I, sadly, love the idea of saving a miniature and giving it another 10-15-20 years of tabletop service.

[Dr Mathias]

Magnetizing the caps? That's crazy. In a good way!

[Predatorpt]

Thanks for the support gentleman. In these last days I haven't done much:

I assembled barrels (Tamiya and Italeri 1/48 and GW) because you can't have a Promethium refinery without a place to store it, right?


Finally cleaned up the mold lines of the walkways (the supports are a real pain  ) and glued some of it together. Having some walkways with the support columns gives me the opportunity to assemble the terrain in various configurations. Still have some columns and an extra platform to glue.




Still have lots of stuff to assemble 

[horridperson]

Neat!  That magnet set up will make the build and paint phase more labour intensive (more angles to see things from requires more care) but once you have it up and running it will be well worth it.

[Predatorpt]

Neat!  That magnet set up will make the build and paint phase more labour intensive (more angles to see things from requires more care) but once you have it up and running it will be well worth it.

Thanks  The walkways were the only thing that I didn't magnetize but I have to say that if I had enough magnets for the task I would do it - most of the clips that hold the scenario together have a tendency to fall. I hope that with the painting they'll get a more snug fit. If all goes well, tomorrow I'll prime most of the scenario.

[Kamandi]

Ooh, original Rhino, in the days when you got three in a box.

I'm afraid the first Rhino's didn't have housings over the exhausts - they had bare mufflers. This is a later kit.

[Major_Gilbear]

Looks like a good start... although talk about increasing your workload!

Having playing lots of Necromunda over the years (and other terrain-intensive games like Infinity), I personally think it's best to build the "buildings" as standalone parts, and then have the "walkways" as self-supported standalone terrain too. The walkways can then be placed between the buildings.

Now, this does limit you a bit in terms of varying the walkway height (i.e., they are all fixed at the height you modelled them at), but it's much more sturdy and the models are less likely to take a tumble if you catch the scenery with your sleeve or knock the table during play.

It also has the benefit that the walkway supports can be "filled in" to make them solid blocking terrain, or to have light scattered cover like barrels and such placed around their supporting legs. This increases the model stability further, and provides some much-needed cover too.

So if you're finding that some of the SW:A terrain is a bit rickety, this may be a good solution for you too. The scenery bases can even be rectangles of plasticard detailed and painted up like big metal plates (and will therefore suit any terrain you put them on).

What led me to try this style of terrain setup in the first place? Why all those old 1995-1997 White Dwarf mags with pictures of Necromunda in them! 

[Elbows]

I agree with Major - but I also think the GW kits are not set up to support that - though you can buy heaps of MDF walkways to link the pre-made GW sections.  I think the GW stuff would make nice ornamental pieces on a much larger (much more cost efficient) MDF setup if you could paint it all to match up.

[Predatorpt]

Major_Gilbear; Elbows - Thanks for the feedback, I really need to spend some thought and effort on how to assemble everything so I can get true "Necromunda" looking terrain, instead of just some walkways stretching to nothing, . When I have all the furnaces/silos/etc. assembled I'll have another go at the different configurations. And I'll also be using some stuff made by myself, like this big "silo":


Like Major_Gilbear said, all those old WD inspired me to buy these 2 boxes (and some others that will be arriving soon) and the moment I saw the battle report on this month WD I had the idea about doing a similar battlefield. Since I also found out that Armageddon is the "new" name for Ullanor (and I'm finishing reading the "War of the Beast" books) my project was to build the Hexagon terrain sets as "Orkish" terrain that would be the foundations of the Mechanicus refinery stacked on top of it. Unfortunately I can't afford to have that much terrain in my house at this moment and I was forced to sell the Hexagon sets and start everything from scratch.

Since yes, I love to be overburdened with projects  , I've also started to assemble my Scouts for the game (the Orks are another story, I bought a box full of already assembled ones some months ago, just need to stat them, ). I have exactly 1000 points.

My Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Chainsword) and Scout Gunner (Heavy Bolter; Photo Visor). I used a Scion beret head for the Sergeant


The Scout Gunner again (he's using the legs of one of Snipers- had to remove part of them so the Bolter would sit right) and my Sniper (he's the most loaded one - Sniper Rifle; Clip Harness; Telescopic Sight; Camo Gear)


2 Novitiates Scouts (using Scion heads for both and also legs in the case of the guy on the right. Their loadout - Boltgun; Red Dot; Camo Gear)


Really love the Scions boxes for the sheer amount of bits and variety of poses you get. After reading some posts of Facebook groups I'm thinking about buying some Neophyte Hybrids to convert them into..something Also I think I need some Steel Legion so I can run a IG force 

If everything goes according to my plans, next week I'll start priming everything that I did until now.