Category Archives: 40k

Ultramarines: Old School Whirlwind

This is the third and final tank from this batch.  This was the first 40k tank I bought with my own money (as opposed to a gift), way back when it was released in 1995.  I painted it at the time, although not nearly to my current standards.  Unfortunately, I failed to take a picture before I re-primed it.

The chassis is a white plastic, and the turret and radar dish thing are pewter. I’ve mostly been using Reaper’s Brown Wash on metals, before the final drybrush highlights.  On this model I decided to try Secret Weapon’s Armor Wash.  It’s a lot darker, and gives more of an oily look.  I like it, although maybe not for the Ultramarines.

Whirlwind

I used the weathering powders here again.  I think it added a nice dirty look to it, although I need to play with other weathering techniques.  I went from bright to dark browns on this one, reversed from the Stalker, I went from bright to dark browns on this one.  It ended up with a much sandier look, which wasn’t really what I’m going for here.  I like experimenting, even when it’s not quite the result I want.

For bonus geek and/or hoarding points, I’ve kept the White Dwarf introducing the kit.

Updated July 2018 with improved images.

Ultramarines: Stalker/Hunter

This Stalker (and Hunter) is the second tank I finished in time for last week’s Inquisition event.  It’s the new anti-flyer tank added in the 6th edition Space Marines codex from last year.  I guess this isn’t really a new kit anymore, but I still haven’t seen one in the wild.

Space Marine Stalker

I went a lot heavier on the Secret Weapon weathering powders on this model than I did on the Land Speeder.  On this one, I started with the darkest earth tone I have (Dark Earth), covering maybe 60% of the area along the bottom that I imagined would be dirty.  Then I went lighter and covered the remaining 25% and 15% (plus overlap) with progressively lighter tones (Terracotta and Dark Yellow).  I think it worked pretty well.

Space Marine Stalker (side)

I also put on some Exhaust Blast around the smokestacks.  I think I should have applied it to a smaller area.  There’s also a touch of Exhaust Black applied to the end of the gun muzzles, which I think turned out well.

Space Marine Hunter / Stalker (front)

I used Secret Weapon’s fixer, dabbing it over the parts that I applied powders.  It then spreads itself out.  It did leave quite a bit of a sheen as tide marks, since I didn’t cover the full model.  I hit the whole thing with dullcote after, though, which pulled this back pretty well.

Space Marine Hunter

I tend to try to make all the stuff out of the box.  This gives me lots of options, although it does keep stuff from making it into the bits box.  I don’t really intend to play this as a Hunter much, but I do love how the lenses turned out.

Of course, since I had just finished this, I had to shoehorn it into the games I played on the weekend.  In the first, I was one of two players attempting to rescue a Inquisitor which had been taken hostage.  The defender got a bunch of fortifications (two bastions, an aegis line with two quad guns, and a couple of bunkers).  That left little room for flyers.

Space Marine Hunter (turret detail)

The Hunter/Stalker doesn’t have Interceptor, so it can only fire at full BS at flyers and skimmers.  Fortunately, I knew the defender was playing Eldar, so I figured he’d probably have a couple skimmers.  Unfortunately (for the Stalker), the one Fire Prism on the field was destroyed before I had a chance to shoot.  It spent the rest of the game taking BS1 potshots at random units.

Updated September 2018 with improved images.

Ultramarines: Land Speeder

Just in time for the second Inquisition War event on Saturday, I completed a set of three Ultramarines vehicles.  First, I’ll talk about this Land Speeder.

As usual, it’s all magnetized up.  The missile launchers are swappable for plain hull walls, and the hull/pintle weapons can be added or removed.

Land Speeder

The U on the top is from the Ultramarines brass etch set from Forge World.  Most of the VII decals are actually from a very old Space Marine Bike Squad decal sheet, purchased in about 2000.  They still work pretty well, although I ended up using Future to get a couple of them to stick well.

Land Speeder (top)

This is also the first time I’ve used weathering pigments.  I went for a pretty minimal look on this one.  Since it’s supposed to be a skimmer, I figured there wouldn’t be so much dirt on it. I just put a bit on the grav plating and along the bottom.

Updated September 2018 with improved images.

Inquisition War: Deathwatch Kill Team


As part of the Inquisition War campaign over at Endgame, I decided that Inquisitor Volta should call on a favor from the Deathwatch.

In the fluff, the Deathwatch is an extra-bonus-elite set of Space Marines, with individual members coming from different chapters.  I wanted these guys to be badass, so everybody needed a sculpted shoulder pads.  This meant a combination of bits from my stash, Ebay, and the Deathwatch shoulder pad set from GW.  Most of the rest are from the plastic Sternguard kit.

The bases are all Secret Weapon’s Urban Streets set, with some of the static grass I use on the rest of my Ultramarines.  That ties them both into the Marines army, and the Inquisitor and his retinue (which get Urban Invasion bases).

Brother-Librarin Joab of the Genesis Chapter

Joab is the Dark Vengeance librarian, the first I’ve actually used from the set.  I scraped off the DA icon on the chest and printed out a decal for the Genesis Chapter.   I also swapped out the Dark Angels shoulder pad for a metal Deathwatch one, although you can’t really see it in the picture.  That means that this dude has a blob of ProCreate  as an upper arm.

Brother-Captain Garran of the Red Scorpions

For some reason I really love this head.  It’s like the perfect combination of Picard and Riker.  This head alone sold me the Sternguard kit.  Garran’s chapter shoulder pad is an individual bit from one of the Forgeworld sets.

Brother from the Mortifactors

This guy’s skull shoulder pad is a green stuff experiment.

Brother from the Salamanders

Another Forgeworld individual bit on the shoulder.  He’s also magnetized to take the heavy flamer.

Brother from the Space Wolves

I originally didn’t have a Wolves head, so he was helmeted.  I thought he looked a little tame, so I traded some bits with my friend Ann to get a proper space viking head.  The legs are Sanguinary Guard.

Brother from the Iron Hands

This guy may be the most expensive of the set.  He’s got an Iron Hands shoulder pad and torso front, as individual bits from the GW upgrade set.  He’s got the Deathwatch shoulder pad plus Deathwatch bolter.  He’s got a Mk2 Iron Hands bionic arm from Forgeworld.  Plus, he’s got a bionic leg I cut off an old metal metal inquisitor (it seemed appropriate).

I noticed after I had attached it that the bionic leg was a few mm longer than the other one.  Fortunately, one of the bases had a curb/step on it that was just about the perfect distance.  Crisis averted!

Updated April 2018 with improved images.