WiP: Heresy-era Salamanders Flamer Tactical Support Squad

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!!! Just a brief update on my Heresy-era Salamanders, I managed to get some build time in on a Tactical Support Squad armed with Flamers. I am still working on some green stuff in areas among other things on the minis but I thought I would share the WiP shots so far.

Basic assembly of the Mk IV armor for the 10-man squad:

Basic assembly of the Sergeant. I used a Spell Crow Miniatures torso:

Legio XVIII (Salamanders) are known as all being master artisans when it comes to their equipment and they often customize their own weapons. I decided to use some various different styles of flamer and also add a little customization to the flamers as well. Here is a look at the gathering of bits and brainstorming process:

Here are 5 of the flamers after customization:

Here are a couple of looks at the current state of the squad. Still working on fetish ropes and blending the scales in a bit more.

The (as yet unnamed) Sergeant which still needs a bit more work. I am trying to figure out a nice crest for his helmet.

The thought of these 10-guys rolling around with their flamers (which are higher strength than all the other legions) really appeals to me. I don't think this unit will get charged in an assault what with them all having nasty overwatch weapons, of course there are only 10 guys so they will get shot off the table fairly easily.

Thanks for coming by and taking a look! Take care!

Painted Heresy-era Salamanders: Tactical Support Squad

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! Well the mad dash to get everything painted up is continuing along at a frantic pace and this morning I would like to present to you my Tactical Support Squad which are armed with meltaguns.

I used all sorts of bits and greenstuff to make my Salamanders look 'feral', they are from a deathworld after all. I also wanted to show that the Wolves of Fenris (which is not a deathworld if I remember correctly) are not the only ones who can look feral and still be awesome! Here are some closer looks at the Sergeant:

My Sergeants all have helmet crests but I wanted something a little different for his helmet:

He certainly has hunted down and killed his fair share of large reptiles! I can only imagine the rattle he makes with all the bone trophies:

I think the bionic arm is a nice subtle touch and works well with the darker heresy-era green armor:

Now for the other troopers is the squad. The squad is currently at 5-man but I am expand it to 10-man at some point in the future. I think I might have gone a little overboard with the fetish stuff on these guys but I like it, proves they are some heavy hitters:

The meltaguns came from SpellCrow and they are OK, I think they are a little big and bulky and actually required some shaving and cutting on the backside to get them to line up with the hand correctly. If and when I expand this unit to 10-men I will be making my own Salamander meltaguns.

That is it for now, I am going to scurry back into the man cave and resume my painting. Next up will be my HQ choices including my Praetor. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Heresy-era Salamanders: Legion Glaive 'Kesare's Fury'

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday and the 'Resin Fairy' was good to you all! Thanks to Mordian 7th Xmas came a little early for me this year (August) and it came in the form of a large chunk of resin from Forge World. I spent some time these past few weeks slowly getting the Legion Glaive kit all sorted out, washed up, and cleaned up. I personally really like the Fellblade but thanks to Forge World's description of the Glaive " the Salamanders and Dark Angels have long been noted to field Glaives as a matter of course; the XVIIIth Legion’s artifice is more than sufficient to maintain and replicate the arcane Volkite technology" changed my plans about which model to get. So, without further ado, I would like to present to you Legio XVIII's Super Heavy Glaive 'Kesare's Fury':

This was my first attempt at such a large kit, I do not generally go for the super heavy vehicles, leaving that to Mordian 7th, but the Salamanders will have a very different outlook on super heavies. This is the last item to be built in 'stage 1' of the Heresy Salamanders project; with this 'lord of war' I am now at 2925-3000 points. Stage 2 of the Salamanders project will include another super heavy 'lord of war' which will be a Legion Falcion (space marine crewed Shadow Sword). 

That is all for now, thanks for stopping by and taking a look! I am now going back to the painting desk (yes I am putting paint to a brush!) for the next few days! Take care!

Heresy-era Salamanders: Storm Eagle Assembled

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! It has been a crazy busy time here as we approach the Holiday season but I have managed to grab some hobby time. I am getting 3000 points of Heresy-era Salamanders together and part of that is a transport option for the large squads in the Heresy-era (20-man Tactical squad for instance). I did not want to do a Spartan Transport (everyone does those) and I feel you don't see a lot of flyers in the Heresy-era games so I went with a Storm Eagle Assault Gunship!

I am glad I have clamps, huge rubber bands, and patience because the assembly of this model is a chore! Here are two shots of the build process showing what I mean about clamps!

I have no further assembly photos to show off, needless to say the model is not the easiest to assemble and I am glad I do not have to do multiple Storm Eagles! Here is the beast all finished and ready for primer:

Front overall view:

It is a Salamander vehicle so I had to add some drake scales somewhere. I thought this worked out rather well.

Overall side shot:

Close-up of the side doors:

Rear shot, nothing special:

Salamander icon on the wingtips:

My Salamander force is all wearing Mk IV Maximus Power Armor so I had to knock up a Mk IV armored pilot. There is a helmet array added to help with the pilot look:

I think the Storm Eagle turned out just fine after all the build struggles and it certainly looks like a Salamander Storm Eagle! Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Heresy-era Salamanders: Rhino Transport #2

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! The weather has warmed up a bit, however living in the Rocky Mountains means that a warm-up brings strong winds this time of year and the winds have been fierce lately (which is messing with my spraying schedule). What this means is the build process continues to crank along at a frantic pace! I would like to present to you my latest Rhino Transport for Legio XVIII:

I used a 'Blood and Skulls Industries' Heresy Rhino Conversion Kit for the sides and front. I also added some Chapter House Studios Salamander bits (top hatch and wrap around skirts). Of course there was some greenstuff icons added to the front and back.

I managed to dig up an actual 1st edition (Rogue Trader era) Rhino door (which had been lurking in my bits box since the early 90's) and I thought it would be a nice touch to add it to this throwback Rhino conversion.

I do really love this conversion kit! I think the exhausts and doors are a faithful rendition of the old original Rhinos from the early 90's.

I love this top hatch! I had thought of making something similar but this one was just perfect right from the get go. Also notice the throwback looking front top hatches with the 'bolters', again a very nice touch from Blood and Skulls.

You might have noticed that I also attempted to track this Rhino with the correct looking Heresy-era tracks (obtained from Blood and Skulls). Well it was a pain and it sort of works, you can see a slight misalignment in the below picture. Overall I learned a lot by attempting this tracking process and I am sure the future 'rhino chassis' models will be tracked better.

Here is a better view of the Heresy-era tracks. I am making an attempt to have all of my Salamander vehicles have the correct looking tracks. It is a small (and pain in the ass) conversion but I think it helps sell the 'old' look of the vehicles.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Next up will be a Storm Eagle! Take care!

Heresy-era Salamanders: My take on Cassian Dracos

Greetings once again InterWebs!!! Just a short post tonight to share with you my latest build; here is my take on 'the Fallen Master, the Dragon Revenant, First Commander of the XVIII Legion': Cassian Dracos.

I used the Bray'arth Ashmantle body from Forge World, Puppetswar arms, various bits from the bits boxes, and greenstuff. I think the model works for a Heresy-era version of Bray'arth Ashmantle.

Each arm and the power pack all have fetish/trophy ropes. I scratched together the banner pole for the cloth banner I will be using.

I went with large talons on the fists to help sell the 'oldness' of the model, that and I am not a fan of the Forge World arms that are used on the Bray'arth Ashmantle model.

I think I managed to get a bit of a sense of motion out of this otherwise fairly static model (all marine dreads are very static in my opinion).

I used a helmet from the venerable dreadnought kit instead of the helmet that came from Forge World. I did this because I think this looks more Heresy-era (with the rivets and knightly-look) and it helps make it not look exactly like the Forge World basic build.

I had to sculpt a tabbard to cover up the Bray'arth nameplate on his groin. I then added a fetish/trophy rope. I think this is a decent representation of the first Legion Master of the XVIII Legion although I am looking forward to seeing what Forge World ends up doing for the model.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Heresy-era Salamanders: Contemptor Dreadnought

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! The weather has been super cold lately which has meant a fair amount of indoor time in the hobby room/man cave. I was able to get quite a bit of build time in which is getting me ever so close to having 3000pts of Heresy Salamanders built. First off I started with my 'Heavy Hitters' and I would like to show you all my Salamanders Contemptor Dreadnought:

This is another gifted project which was abandoned by the original owner. The paint was thin and there is not a lot of surface detail on the model so I didn't strip the paint before starting the rebuild. I used plenty of greenstuff to make a base Contemptor a little more Salamander-looking.

I had to go with a Multi-Melta which will become 'master-crafted' when using the Salamander's Rite of War during games of 30k.

Flaming Salamander icon on the chest plate instead of the aquila (which is not Heresy-era):

I managed to primer him up while I waited for his missile rack to show up from Forge World. Here he is with his newly installed (and magnetized) missile rack:

That is all for now, I have my version of Cassian Dracos up next. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.