A little bit of progress this week, and getting back to my Vostroyans, an army I adore, love painting, but just have so…many of them it is difficult sometimes to get the motivation to paint them all!
Luckily, I managed to power through most of the line officers, leaving only Commissariat and Fleet officers left, of which I have the Lord Commissar done, so my HQ section for this list is done!
These guys were a royal pain in the butt to acquire, but having the ability to issue more orders is never a bad thing!
And I replaced the grenade launcher in the Command Squad with a sniper; maybe not the best list building option, but I really like the model!
It has also occurred to me just how much of a task lies before me, as I have 8 infantry squads and 2 heavy weapon squads to do as well! While they all might be metal and covered in bling, they are still a horde army…no time for anything too fancy, got to get them painted and on the table! I’ve got the idea to do them a squad at a time, as 8 days worth of painting seems a lot more doable then 80!
Of course, as with any Guard player worth their salt, I do have a few armored vehicles to paint up as well to go with them. 2 Wyverns, 2 Basilisks, and a Hellhound to burn out any stiff opposition. So, best to get cracking!
I’ll see you folks in the next one, and as always, Ave Imperator!
Hello again! It has been a very long time since my last post. Suffice to say, I had some stuff going in my life that sapped my hobby energy, and brought this blog to a standstill. Sorry about that! But, without any further ado, time for some juicy content!
Kitbashing is the art of taking multiple kits, and well, bashing them together to make something new. Sometimes you go further and it’s a full fledged conversion, and out comes the green stuff. But, my skills are not quite up to that yet. But I’ve been kitbashing for as long as I have been in the hobby, and while some of my early stuff is quite dire, my newer stuff isn’t half bad! While doable in the Middle Earth SBG, it tends to be easier in Warhammer 40k, which is what we will talk about today!
Certain factions in 40k lend to this better then others, and in my case, it is the varied forces of the Inquisition, and their chamber militants(basically, factions that work alongside them) that tends to be my focus for it. As I’ve mentioned before, this blog was inspired by the myriad of conversion and kit-bashing blogs on the web, and imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I couldn’t help but fall into the trap as well!
The Inquisition lends itself well to kit-bashes, as the faction as a whole is about unique, bespoke inquisitors leading equally varied acolytes and agents. Really, as a 40k army they don’t make a lot of sense; they are a more behind the scenes force. But, often, an Inquisitor takes to the field, and can do so in carapace plate, flak armor, power armor, and even terminator armor! The skies your limit, really. (ignore what that silly thing called “Rules” likes to say!)
So, here is my rogues gallery of kit-bashed inquisitors. Some I’m proud of, some, not so much. But there is easily 10+ years of kit-bashing on display here! And…not a lick of paint…for shame, me.
My first, and probably the least interesting. The power armor is clearly astartes still, and the frilly sleeves don’t quite work either. Still, I don’t hate it as much I thought I would, after digging it out of stasis.Not much better, and personally, I think too close to the original model. Still, in a pinch it could get the job done. Probably my least favorite, which is a shame because that sword bit is amazing!MUCH better I think, and the first that reads as an inquisitor! Honestly, I keep coming back to this one, should get some paint on it. He exudes an air of haughtiness and pride, and would make a good Ordo Xenos inquisitor!And we enter the phase the internet was crazy about; Using stormcasts as a basis for Inquisitors! I quite like this one, but he still really looks like a stormcast eternal. However, I think the head, the severed daemonette head, and force sword make it read “Inquisition” fairly well.Easily my favourite of the bunch. He exudes malice, a burning puritan hatred for the daemon, as befitting his Ordo. Needs a little bit of work, but I really like this guy.
So, there you go! Another faction that lends itself well to kit-bashing, perhaps even surpassing the Inquisition, is the Ordo Xenos chamber militant, the Deathwatch.
A chapter made up of all other chapters; A more perfect Marine army for me to play could not exist. I couldn’t ever commit to just one flavor of space marine, I find them all fairly interesting! So, when the Death Masque box-set promised a full range of Deathwatch miniatures, I became an early adopter. As each chapter who sends a marine to the Watch is an independent army of its own, it stands to reason that the more “out there” chapters would send Marines in fairly distinctive kit.
Almost completely made from the Space Wolves terminators sprue, I quite like this Space Wolf. He looks like a veteran with a hard edge.This one has a name! Watch Captain Titus, of the Ultramarines. Yep, I was inspired by THQs great Space Marine game, and while we will probably never get a sequel, GW being cheeky and putting heads in the Sternguard box that look VERY close to Titus and Sidonus was too much to resist. Lore-wise, the game is widely considered non-canon, but either way, this Ultramarine was sent to the watch for his more “liberal” interpretations of the Codex Astartes, and has taken to the role with gusto. This was built from the “Shadow Force Solaq” captain model, with a new bolter and xenophase sword to go with his new head!
And of course, when the Primaris Marines dropped, while I had my reservations about their lore integration, I loved the models. As soon as Deathwatch could take them, I purchased a box of Reivers and Intercessors!
I really like this one, a kick-ass pose. All I added was the proper Imperial Fist and Deathwatch pauldrons, and a chainsword. A pouch is mounted on his chest, similar to how the Deathwatch Veteran’s kit mounts their ammunition.I’m not sure how I feel about the large deathwatch pauldron, but I like the running and reloading pose. I went with the bolt carbines; they look like just the sort of kit a bunch of Tier One Space Commandos would use!
Which brings me to today. Looking at my eclectic collection of Deathwatch, I couldn’t help but feel, given this edition, that my Chaplain Cassius and Librarian Natorian looked under-armed, having just pistols. While pistols have their use, I prefer having a longer range weapon, and since neither have a special profile, I decided to reequip them!
Natorian needed something beefier then a mere pistol, so considering his Blood Raven heritage, I had him “acquire” a Grey Knight storm-bolter. Whilst looking fairly simple, this took a little bit of time to look good! But, in the end, I think the added firepower makes up for the time I took!A really simple looking conversion that took a surprising amount of work! I quite like the look of this, and the added range lets him contribute more to the fight!
So, now that I’ve made my small contribution to the kit-bashing side of the hobby, it is time for a little catch up. I have taken, and been in, a lot of photos at my local store and the clubhouse I am blessed to be a member of, so I figured I’d do a mass image dump! Have a peek, and I’ll even caption a few. I know, it doesn’t make up for such a long hiatus, but I’ll try to get a blog post a week at least!
Which, I think, makes the end result all the sweeter. I’m really happy with this; I know there is more I can do but I’m pleased as punch with it.
I even did the cockpit!
My Mechanicus fighting the hordes of Nurgle!
I got distracted painting Skitarii! I have a full 1000 points of them done, and have been playing games using only my painted models. It really feels good!
“Big boned chap, on that hill there, 5 rounds rapid if you please”
Good ole Papa Cawl himself. He has…interesting lore, that both makes me hate and love him. The model though, is gorgeous!
But, I think, I’ve taken enough of your time today. As always, Ave Imperator, and happy wargaming, wherever you are!
