Its Good to be an Ultramarine Player!

Its never been a better time to be sporting Ultramarine Blue. The Ultramarine movie is ready to launch in a few weeks and collectors edition is up for pre-order. Also, GW has posted some very cool UM models painted be fellow blogger Stahly from Germany. I have been a big fan of his blog for a few months now.  His blog has been on my blog roll for some time now, and even though he is painting Eldar I stop by everyday to check out what this young man is producing.

Image: Stahly and GW.com

Games-Workshop has also been blessing us with lots of Ultramarine love in their daily blog last week, including these awesome Sternguard models. Gotta love the Sternguard!

From GW.com

And of course the picture that makes me melt with pride and joy, is the 20,000 point UM army below. Perhaps one day I can own such an awesome amount of models!

Another GW image

 Well that is more than enough blue for most of you today, any more and I run the risk of having everyone starting an Ultramarine Army. 

Ultramarines- Done!

Hello all- tonight is a glorious night... my Ultramarines are finally done!!!  Seven years later, and I can finally say the army is fully painted and all of the pieces are dry. So now more than 4,000 points of Ultramarines sit on the table. Its pretty cool!

I love banners... on my sergeants.

I've talked about this before, but one the things I love about squad leaders and characters in the 40K universe is that they have giant banners on their back. A friend of mine who is quite the military historian says that this is crazy and guarantees that he will be targeted by enemy fire. Apparently, in the 40th millennium you want the big bad crazies coming straight to your space marine leader.

With Adepticon looming near, I have taken two of my Sergeants and converted some banners to their backs. In the future, all sergeants will be getting a banner.

For these models, I scanned a copy of 'Insignium Astartes' and copied the image of the sergeant into photoshop and resized the image to fit on a standard banner. From there, I painted over the image with my standard colors to give it a bit more "hand drawn" feel to it. The final results are good for my table quality Space Marines.

I need a ride!

Oh, I nearly forgot- their rides!
Not quite done yet, still needs a couple of touchups and a coat of sealer. Other than that, they are ready for action against whomever stands in their way!

Legio and Crixus together, waiting unleash hell upon their foes at Adepticon!

Ironclad Crixus

My March entry will probably have a theme that is familiar to some who have chimed in on other posts of mine. To no surprise, I bring you another Ironclad Dreadnought- Crixus, Champion Ironclad Dreadnought of the Second Company of the Ultramarines.

Sorry, no WiP this month. With Adepticon coming soon, and I was asked to paint some stuff for the rest of the team, I started on this before I remembered to get some pictures. However, after doing another Ironclad, 4 dreadnought drop pods, objective markers, and getting my tactical squads ready for travel, one of my keys to success has already come to past- get plenty of sleep the week before the big con! A couple of my teammates have already confessed that they will be painting right up until the time of the event. Boo to that I say!

March Update

No WiP pictures today, perhaps a few tonight. However I wanted to let you know what I was doing and what came in the mail last week.... two FW dreadnought (Lucius) pattern dreadnoughts! Combine that with another Iron Clad Dreadnought- I'll be painting three things this month (if you count the dedicated transports). Why do this??? Well getting ready for Adepticon and the team tournament. :) The Lucius Drop Pods allow the dreadnought to charge the turn it drops! Each team member will be dropping 4 Ironclads in DP's on turn one (if the setup goes well).

Also, I have been watching Sparticus on Starz. Lots of great Latin/UM names in that show. I think that I'll name this Ironclad "CRIXIS" after the badass rival gladiator in the in the gladiator school.

Ironclad Dreadnought: Legio

Here is 'Legio' all completed. One of the things I am attempting to do with all of my models (in fact, I'll be going back to old models) is adding banners to them. Its one of the coolest things about the 40K fluff IMO that characters run around with big giant banners on their back- saying come get some! So cool. Of course, its not how the current military would do such things, but perhaps things are different 38 thousand years from now.

Anyway, since my free hand is so bad- have taken some readily available banners and placed on the the dreadnought banner section, then painted over it- a sorta color in the numbers type of thing. So far, I am happy with the results. Of course one problem with this banner is that it didn't go flush on the banner, but it came close. From a distance, it is hard to tell... only with the macro lens and the magnification does it show up.

Anyway, what all do you think of the banners?

Captian Sicarius Completed

I finally finished my favorite HQ/Special Character in my Ultramarines Army. This guy was a blast to paint, however I have been very intimidated about the banner. However, it only took me a short bit to do the banner, and I am happy with it. Across the table, this looks great (IMHO!). I do need to paint his name on the banner, which intimidates me even more! I will post more pictures of my Ultramarine army soon as it is closer and closer to becoming complete. In fact, I've even started to *gasp* like banners.

Chaplain Aggripus

Finally some Indepent Characters are getting done. Chaplain Aggripus is the first to get a finished touch. One of the things I tried with this model is doing a banner. One of the things I like about the 40K lore is that characters wear ‘come get me’ banners. Its totally against what the modern army would use, but dang it looks cool 38 thousand years from now!

One of the things I need to do is to glue down banner as I see that slides around while in his storage facility. Other than that I like the banner, a lot.

Oh, and my secret? Glad you asked, because it is simple. I printed out a banner from Games Workshop and using Photoshop I shrunk it down to size suitable for the model. After that I painted over the banner so that it looks more free form and doesn’t look like I printed off a banner. Perfect for the person (like me) who can’t paint or draw in freeform!

Let's Bring in the Big Dudes

Its been awhile, but I have managed to get a few more models painted.

First off- My Landraider Crusader is nearly complete. I need to finish some of the decal work and the storm bolter. This model had been sitting on my shelf for around 5 years (maybe longer, can't remember). So its a major accomplishment that it is now painted with the honorable colors of the Ultramarines!

Close up of the LRC 'Extremis'

Now what to put in this machine? Well, terminators would be the most obvious choice. I have started some terminators from the AoBR box set. I am still deciding on getting LC or SH/TH bits from GW and make some close combat terminators.

Still plenty more to do with this army, but I got some new shinnies - Imperial Guard Vehicles!

Some Vehicles

Just to answer a couple of questions and address a few comments:

The paint scheme is based off of third and fourth edition codecies along with the Index Astartes book, with a few modifications along the way. I do plan to add Sicarius, in fact is he nearly done... before my ADD kicked in. Future plans include adding all of the characters, the non-UM will be 'counts as' with some moderate amount of conversions.

The unit cohesion was on purpose- my early tournaments (early 90's) included a lot of painting points on cohesions and being able to ID the 'leader' of a unit. That has just stuck in my painting head all this time.

Yeah- I get a lot of heck about having Ultramarines, more now that the new codex is out. Of course of most of the ribbing is from people with non-painted armies!

But its all good- people usually hate the best. :)

Question I want to add 'warning' stripes (yellow and black) to the landing gear of my dropods. Any ideas where I can pick that up? I know the decal sheet for vehicles has a big one, but I am not too keen on slicing that up. Can I get one the "right" width? I am not going to paint that on.

Dakka Predator

I have one. Like everyone else. But to be honest I don't see a huge advantage to it. Perhaps I use the wrong- but infantry has been avoiding them like the plague (as they should), and so far have been unable to make 'great' use of them.

Lascannon Predator

Mega-points, but still fun. If I ever get a larger game going, this will probably make an appearance. But until then the techmarines will continue to clean the hull, check the radar system....

Command Squad WIP

My last entry in this blog showed my tactical marines squads I - IV. Squad V & VI are assembled from the AoBR box set and awaiting to be primed. For now, I am working on my command squad and rhino/razorback.

Still no word on my first game with these guys. The past weekend, my wife and kids were sick- leaving me home to care for whichever one was well for that day. Oh well, at least I got a few hours to play Dawn of War 2!

I have had this captain for several years (and two editions). Back in the day, we was the cheap captain with plasma pistol and power weapon. Now, I don't know how much play he will get. However, he is finished and perhaps will get a retirement plan from the Company one day.

My jump pack armed chaplain. Nothing special. Of course he is nearly permanently attached to my assault squad with remarkable results. I have another chaplain on foot that is ready for primer. However, it might be awhile before gets any paint on him.

Here is my command squad. It was originally a 10-man squad under the old codex and has been trimmed down. I also ditched my old standard bearer for this metal one that I never knew I had! Finally the last member is a new build- I am going for a kneeling on the ground with a power weapon bowed low kinda look. We will see. I still need to get the green stuff out and perhaps even pin a couple of places. It will probably be a little bit before I get him done.

Right now the command squad transport is getting attention- its a rhino now, but I have some RB bits on order. Since the command squad was going to be 10-men all of the time, a RB was never in the works. But a new codex, brings new challenges!

I don't have the link right now, but I added extra armor and Inquisitorial Rhino bits to it (double eagle). I'll get some pictures up soon.

More Work Done

This past weekend saw me finish a large number of models. Here are a few that I got some pictures of.

First, the 4th Tactical Squad:

This was largely a group of models that I had laying around from other squads and ideas (a couple from previous game editions!). They all got tactical and squad markings- which took awhile to tiddy up. Several of them were demoted from members of the command squad (suddenly only allowed 5 members!). Anyway, I like this squad. When combat squaded I think its tank hunting abilities will be very good.

Tactical Squads 5 and 6 are on the priming table. They are from the AoBR sets- ML/Flamer. Kinda boring, but tactically important.

Speaking of CS- Tactical IV unloads from its Rhino.

Tactical Squad I- Plasma Death unloads from its Rhino.

Ok a couple of things- I used plastic card on top of the rhino's for the 'arrow' designation. I used an entirely too thick card, and can't cut straight lines to save my soul. Emperor bless me, I couldn't even do this when I was 5 in grade school. I don't know what I'll do but something must be done. I am thinking about putting the 'razorback' top on and have an extra bolter on each rhino. I intentionally took the pictures from this angle, so as not to make the arrows to obvious. I hate them.

I do plan to put some weather effects on all of my vehicles soon. The only problem is that I haven't decided how far to go with the effects. Hmmm.. there is plenty of time for that.

Now, some last minute changes to my predators and I'll have them posted as well.

Tactical Squad III

In my first update, I forgot to post a picture of my third tactical squad.

I think my unhealthy obsession with plasma weaponry is starting to come through.

I also see know that the barrels on the multi-melta need to be addressed at some point, though it does look good from a side angle.

Currently, I talked with some gaming buddies of mine, and its uncertain when my first game in 5th edition will be. We have been playing plenty of co-op board games, RPG's, and *gasp* Lord of the Rings- but the mood my parts of the world towards 40k has grown soar for reasons that I don't really understand. To add some insult, the local GW store closed last month leaving most players in the metro St Louis area to play in their basements. In other words.. the local gathering spot has been killed. There are still a couple of Independent stores around, but each of them have their issues (driving time, odd store hours, etc.).

Over the weekend- I completed a large chunk of the army. I'll post more pictures tonight.

All totaled, right now I have over 2,000 points painted and ready! And over 2,000 points left to go!!

A Humble Start

I hope you all enjoy this blog that will chronical the creation of my second company of Ultramarines. Before I go too much further, I'll give you a little big of background on my army.

I've been playing Space Marines since the first time I saw 40K back in the days of second edition and Dark Melinium. Wow, that was such a long time ago. The only problem is that I never stayed with any Space Marine army for too long. It was orks off and on, a new chapter of marines, back to orks, and then a long time with Emperor's Children. Four years ago, I sold off the Emperor's Children and started this army. Yeah, its been taking me a long time. The end of 3rd edition, all of 4th edition, and now the early part of 5th edition. As a result, some of the squads presented may look a bit odd to tournament vets and meta-gamers. Not that I care much, since I rarely play these days.

With the newest Space Marine codex, I decided to collect a full company. Since my partially completed army already consisted of the second company, it didn't take me long to get the rest of the army nailed down. I asked a few questions on the Ultramarine forum about how to consider making up the company (follow the company in the codex, or do my own thing). For the most part, I decided to use the codex as a guideline while at the same time allowing for flexibility.

The army will consist of 6 full tactical squads with Rhinos or drop pods, 2 assault squads, 2 devastator squads (no rhinos!), command squad, terminators with a landraider, speeders, at least one scout squad, predators, and dreadnoughts. I'll also include plenty of command and elite/special options and special characters. Like I said, I've been collecting these marines for neary five years- just without any cohesive plan! Clearly, I'll have a full company with plenty of auxillary troops. Currently, I own all of the needed models except a few assault marines.

So there will be a few odd troop compositions- since the first tactical squad was completed almost 4 years ago. Several have had subtle changes to them, and all of the tactical squads have had a heavy weapon added with the new codex. Many of the squads will get an 11th/12th man to help increase their flexibility.

Ok, so enough of the boring words... here are some pictures!

(I need some fluff ideas for naming squads- hint*hint!)

Tactical Squad I

Lots of plasma. Clearly a melding of the last three codex.

Tactical Squad II

The second of my tactical squads that have been completed for a few years (minus the newly added heavy weapon).

Dreadnought

Dreadnought

This metal dreadnought has been in my collection for nearly 10 years and has been painted a number of times and then stripped. A few bits have been added here and there over the years. I *think* this was initially a dark angles dreadnought.