Space marines new player

Hello, this is my first post for my new space marine army. I've just bought a few models and am now starting to build an army. Here's what I have so far:

2 ten man tactical squads
1 five man scout squad
1 five man scout squad with sniper rifles
1 five man tactical squad
1 rhino
1 five man assault squad

My goal is to have a functional army by Christmas so I'll need to get started soon. My "Idea" for this army is similar to the Crimson Fists with a chapter rebuilding after something goes wrong. My first thought is to follow along the lines of the Raptors (maybe be the Raptors) after they were marooned on a heavily jungled death world. I was leaning towards a heavy scout presence for the force with an emphasis placed on the few squads that survived the encounter. I'm leaning towards camouflage being being a heavy presence for colour. The few vehicles that remain should be heavily armoured so they to survived. Few heavy weapons since the lack of long range in the thick jungle. More reliance on flamers, close combat weapons, and automatic type weapons perhaps. I'm not sure yet so open to ideas.

The idea of this is that there were few survivors, mostly in the veteran squads and elite squads while there is a dearth on the regular marine levels and a large number of scouts or new recruits. I'd like to make an order from forge world for dozer blades and heavy armour. If the Raptors seem like a good idea then I'll order some shoulder pads as well. I plan on buying the blackreach set as well to round out the squads I have and for the rules. Does anyone have any suggestion?

As I build stuff I'll start posting pictures here.

Thanks

James

Hi, have been working on my army. Still waiting on the forge world order before I start work on my rhino. In the mean time I've built my sniper scouts and the ABR set of marines and the commander and the dreadnought. I still haven't gotten up the nerve to try the terminators. The large bases look intimidating with what I can do and how I can pose them. In any event, I've put images of what I've got built on my site. I also got a regular unit of scouts built for assault. Next time I think I'll build a few with bolters instead though and the AP is better. In any case. I've still got 15 marines to build still and an assault squad and another 5 man scout sniper squad so I have my work cut out for me.

As noted on the my site I used automotive primer to spray the dreadnought. it seems to work well but you really need to give it 2 or 3 really thin coats to work well. Otherwise the ground is sand that's been painted. Let me know what you think. I've not picked out a colour scheme yet. Suggestion are helpful. I'm leaning towards something camouflage-ey but still want something simple and bold. As I mentioned in the previous post I liked the story of the Raptors from Armageddon who crashed on a death world and had to survive until rescue. Hence the increased number of scouts and the colour scheme to help them survive.

http://www.jamesedwardhare.com/workshop/workshoppage.html

I'll post some more stuff as I get it finished.

J

I like the dread's pose. great capture of movement! keep at and maybe we'll see the army for next league?

Its a goal I have. Right now though I'm up to 50 hours a week with work. I'm hoping to have the time.

J

I like that you have a story to explain your force. I find those types of armies the most enjoyable to collect. Just remember though, if you want to win games as well as have a story based army you will have to alter your story a bit to take some more effective units. Scouts are good at certain things, but they'll never outdo tac marines in the over effectiveness of a troop choice.

Oh and don't put camo on space marine armour. It tends to look silly. Scouts would be ok as they tend to operate behind enemy lines.

I know the tactical squads are really effective. I'm currently got two full squads and another at half strength. I'm planning on putting them in rhinos with extra armour and dozer blades to give them that jungle clearing survivability. As I said I'm leaning towards green as the colour but not a dark green like the Dark Angles. Something a bit lighter. Thinking about making them a successor chapter to the imperial fists (playing on how successor chapters of the firsts get into trouble) or perhaps space wolves (Wendigo, Bunyip or something). I've not settled but the basic theme will be closer to Vietnam era forces. The scouts either infiltrate etc. or are loaded onto speeders a-la gunship helicopters. Its really just the feel I'm going for right now. I'll add more to balance the force is necessary once I get a few games in.

J

They look good.

Ok, I got the paint scheme worked out I think. I'll get some images posted tonight of the dreadnought. Let me know what you think and how it can be improved upon. I'm not sure yet about the tan colour. The rest is green and metal. I think I'll use a little bronze/ rulic gold sparingly.

The chapter name with will be the Emperors Ground Squires aka The Go-Furs

Anyway, thought it was funny, also gives good reason for the tan colour. As I said I'm not sure about it right now. I think part of the problem is the shadowing/highlighting colour. Let me know what you think

http://www.jamesedwardhare.com/workshop/workshoppage.html

Thanks

James

Sorry forgot to add, I'm just uploading the images to the site. Its easier then putting them here. Its 930 now they should be viewable by 950.

J

Thanks, I've been trying to get the edge lining to work but it still looks a bit harsh. Would it be better if I put images on HoW? I've been trying to figure out how but not much luck.

J

Like i said before they look good!!

Things look like they're coming along nicely. Don't worry about Greg and his anti-scout sentiments. Scouts are a perfectly viable option. Scouting rule is great and camo cloaks are very handy (try shooting a 10 man unit with camo cloaks, gone to ground out of cover).

On a side note, I was checking out your site a bit. I noticed some buildings in the works on the Header to your sculpture page. They look fantastic. Are they something you're working on?

I do make buildings. I'm hoping to have some images up tonight. I'll post the link as soon as they are up.

J

Some of the building are now online. I'll get the rest on tonight.

http://www.jamesedwardhare.com/sculpture/sculpturepage.html

james

I could only see the first house, but it looked great. I did some mordheim buildings a while back, but they were not as nice as this. Thanks for posting it up. Seeing work like this can really inspire the rest of us to try just a little harder.

Hi gluvzer,

The houses are now on the website:

http://www.jamesedwardhare.com/sculpture/sculpturepage.html

James

awsome

Thanks for the vote of encouragement. I've just uploaded the new images of the dreadnought with more painting done. Let me know if you have tricks or suggestions or can recommend links for transfers and wear and tear.

http://www.jamesedwardhare.com/workshop/workshoppage.html

J

The houses look fantastic, nice work. Are you building them for anything specific?

The dread is coming along nicely. For the transfer on the leg I would recommend using a decal setting solution over top of it. It will get rid of the shine you see when looking at it from certain angles. For wear and tear, If ScottRadom doesn't reply to this thread consider PMing him about it. I know he has a ton of links to great painting articles and I'm pretty sure he's done some successful experimenting with it himself.

Yeah, decals work best if you use some gloss varnish and a decal setting solution. It helps avoid the air pockets that are under your decal right now, and lets the decal sit into the surface much better.

Teh best product is a two part product called Micro Set and Micro Sol. They're super easy to do!

-Paint gloss varnish on the surface getting decaled. It's much easier to get a good mate between the decal and the surface if the surface is smooth.

-Add a liberal amount of Micro Set to the surface of the mini where the decal is going. Do this right before you put the decal on. The solution helps "Suck" the decal onto the Surface, pulling it in tight.

-Add Micro Sol to the top of the decal. This solution softens the decal to aid in all of the above. DO NOT touch the decal until it's dry. If you're decaling on a wierd surface you can add additional layers of micro sol and it will aid the process. I've put decals over joins in armor, and really, really ragged surfaces and this technique works very well.

I prefer to add a little paint over the edge of the decal as well. Helps naturalize the thing I think. Also Once the decal is finished you might want to zap it with some brush on gloss varnish for a little more durability.

As for the Tamiya weathering stuff. If you want some, I can sell you a couple of sets. 'Cause they're the worst. They truly suck. Application of the stuff is awful. I would strongly reccomend MiG products weathering powders instead. I also have some Tamiya Weathering pens I could sell you. Also they are awful. But I do take cash!

Hi gluvzer

The houses are build out of pink solid Styrofoam insulation (1/2 inch and balsa wood. the roofs are made of cereal box card board. The sub structure of the roofs is mat board available at any frame shop or art supply store (including michaels). The yellow one is a little more complicated. Its made out of foam core (the yellow bit) with wood filler cut slightly with water and then coated over the foam core. The windows have to be cut before you coat but are then fitted afterwards. The wood filler when it gets dry is lightly sanded so it has that spread plaster texture. The roof was built using mat board for the sub structure and then sheets of thin plasticard were glued to it. I then added the rivets using a 1/16 hole punch (thanks Martha Stewart) after cutting and fitting more plasticard to give the roof that lead or copper sheet look.All the stone pattern is drawn on and textured by hand using a pencil and come wooden dowel which I rounded the ends of. That's about it. Almost everything can be bought at the hardware store or at Michaels. I used wood glue to stick the Styrofoam together and masking tape as a clamp till it dried which here doesn't take to long. If you want I can come by and show you one Sunday or an evening during the week. I've also got a link on my site to a gentleman in Germany who does larger more elaborate tables using much the same technique.

ScottRadom, can you get the varnish and Micro Set and Micro Sol at the Den? I can't remember seeing them there. Also where can I find MiG kits? Can I do weathering with paint or is it better to use more of a kit?

Thanks

James

That dred seems to coming along just nicely. Can't wait for more pictures.

jhare wrote:Hi gluvzer

ScottRadom, can you get the varnish and Micro Set and Micro Sol at the Den? I can't remember seeing them there. Also where can I find MiG kits? Can I do weathering with paint or is it better to use more of a kit?

Thanks

James

No the Den doesn't carry them. You'll have to either order the Micro Sol stuff online or go to hobby world. Hate that place, man. MiG pigments are only available here from an online source. eBay has lots. I can't remember where I got mine from. Michigan Toy Co maybe? There not that cheap, at about 8$ a small jar, but they WILL last a lifetime. You'll likely want their thinner for making washes too, if you're interested. Ryan Glover borrowed my Forge World weathering book last night and it's full of good weathering stuff. Most of it requires likely new equipment, like oil paints and turpentine, but I really like the results.

Weathering with paint? You can do anything with paint. Though I see you use the craft type paint and I reccomend against it. It's not really designed well for mini painting. The pigment is very coarse and it doesn't take very well to being thinned down which is a really way to get great results painting. But having said that there are lots fo people who use that stuff to great effect. I think Robyn used to use it (might be wrong). But for weathering using specialized stuff like the pigments or oil washes saves time and gets grreat results, but I am sure most things can be emulated with regular old paint. Sponging battle damage on is easy, and just takes the sponge from a blister pack and some paint. I think Cam has some experience with it. I did it a little on a fig and I liked it.

I'd do a google search on "painting model battle damage" and get ready for lots of results. CoolMiniorNot.com has an extensive article section with tons of priceless stuff. Check it out!

I believe that one of the sites that gets into the use of oil paints and battle damage can be found in this old post. Must sign up for the forum though
https://huntersofthewarp.forumakers.com/painting-and-converting-f3/good-painting-article-t295.htm


More info here:
https://huntersofthewarp.forumakers.com/painting-and-converting-f3/paz-t38.htm

Might have something useful
https://huntersofthewarp.forumakers.com/painting-and-converting-f3/cyrils-marines-t367.htm

At the very end of this post there is a picture of my attempt at using mig pigments.
https://huntersofthewarp.forumakers.com/painting-challenge-army-blogs-f12/lex-s-ork-cult-of-speed-aka-the-meff-boyz-t417.htm

And after much searching i finally found the 2 test marines i did
https://huntersofthewarp.forumakers.com/painting-challenge-army-blogs-f12/cams-fell-hammers-t325.htm

As Scott said, if you really want to get into more advanced painting techniques you will probably have to take a step up in paint quality. I have been away from painting for a bit, but i know the choice of most pros was vallejo. Depending on your style though, i know Ryan Glovzer uses reaper to good effect. The only person i know that did nice work with craft paint was Robyn on his Khorne. However when i got my slaanesh army done and starting beating him for best painted at all the tournaments we went eventually came over to vallejo.... or GW, or maybe a bit of both.
I hassled RObyn to put up pictures of his Khorne army for a long time, but finally gave up. Here is a link to some of the stuff from my now defunct slaanesh army. Not great by current standings, but it was pretty nice a few years back. Man the saskatoon hobby group has come a long way.

https://huntersofthewarp.forumakers.com/painting-and-converting-f3/lex-s-slaanesh-warband-t10.htm