Deathwatch: From the Skies

 

I’ve been working on a selection of Deathwatch Marines for a client. The full squad will have 10 men, all from different chapters. These 3 Assault Marines are the first grouping. They were all built from the Vanguard Veterans box, with assorted extra head and weapon swaps from other sets. In addition, they use the Deathwatch metal shoulders from the conversion kit. Like all Deathwatch, they wear black armor and left silver shoulder pads and arms. The silver was made by P3 Pig Iron over black, washed with blue ink, then highlighted by Pig Iron/GW’s Mithril Silver.

First is a Black Templar. His color scheme is obviously the least changed from his normal colors; black is black for a Templar. Out of all the models he bears the most purity seals, as well as an appropriately knightly helmet.

Second is a Blood Angel. His red scheme is only represented by the right shoulder, swiped from the Blood Angel Death Company set. I gave him ornamented weapons and decorated scroll work on his jump pack. His helmet has a halo of spikes, further reinforcing the angelic feel. His shoulder has the name ‘Gaius’.

Third is a Raptor. His Mark 6 Corvus ‘beakie’ helmet and winged skulls on his jump pack link him to the bird theme of his chapter. He uses a pair of lightning claws, held in a close quarter stance. The left arm and claw is of course silver, contrasting nicely held across his body. His shoulder has the name ‘Falco’.

More to come!

In Death I Serve

 

 

I’ve gotten back to work on the Black Templars Space Marines. The next arrival is the Venerable Dreadnought.

He is nicely decorated, with plenty of skulls and campaign honors, as well as the ubiquitous litany text and purity seals on some armor panels. I opted for the exposed pilot helmet over the sarcophagus to make him visually separate from the army’s other (regular) Dreadnoughts.

The Dreadnought has alternate weapon swaps; either an assault cannon, lascannon, or plasma cannon. The assault cannon has its own arm, while the other weapons clip into the same arm. The left arm is a power fist. I used the ‘hand-like’ version of the first, again to distinguish him from the other Dreads.

More Templars coming soon!

Zeal and Honor

I return to the the Black Templar Space Marines after a brief hiatus…

The Marshal is one of the old metal Captains, with a plasma pistol swap and extra Templar purity seals. I like the no-nonsense style of the sculpt, compared to more recent ones. I kept the decoration to a minimum as well. He got an axe campaign symbol on one knee, a basic Templar cross banner, and the Chapter-standard cross on the left shoulder.

Accompanying him is a Dreadnought. It has swappable arms for every occasion (via rare earth magnets), either a twin-linked lascannon or an assault cannon. The left arm with the power fist is also loose, to allow some posability. The Dread gets plenty of decoration to honor his years of service. Like the army’s other vehicles, he gets some battle scarring, but I avoided too much (too much looks messy). I haven’t written anything on the scrollwork on his sarcophagus yet, waiting for a name from the client.

Let Fly the Colors of the Crusade!

The Black Templars grow with the addition of a Company Command Squad. These will accompany the Chaplain or Marshall, or just go off on their own in battle.

Being Veterans, I painted them as Sword Brethren, with red crosses and shoulder rims. However, I wanted them to stand out from the Honor Guard or Vanguard/Sternguard Veteran Squads, so I left their shoulders white.

The Squad so far:

-Company Standard Bearer. The miniature is from the old metal Command Squad kit. I swapped his bolter for a bolt pistol from the Sword Brethren kit (actually from one of the Brethren who himself had a weapon swap for a power fist). The standard is a basic, somewhat no-nonsense flag, with the chapter symbol, a couple of battle honors, and of course plenty of litany text. The old ‘holy hand grenade’ bit from the Templar kit tops the banner pole.

-Veteran with grav-pistol. He gets a bare head and ‘loincloth’ of parchment to add some character.

-Veteran with meltagun. He got the MK VIII power armor, because it gave him a more armored look, especially with the extra gorget around his neck.

-Company Champion. He has a power sword and combat shield. He was constructed from the Veteran kit and a Templar torso and helmet. While less flamboyant than the Chapter Champion from before, he stands out nicely.

The Apothecary is still underway, so not featured here.

Blades of the Crusaders

More Black Templars! These snazzy fellows are some Sword Brethren (Honor Guard Veterans to you heretics). In battle they will accompany the Chapter Champion (in previous post).

The models are standard Sword Brethren Marines, with weapon swaps. The first has a Relic Blade, so I changed his chainsword out for a seriously big power sword. The join for the hand was hidden by a wrap of parchment, held in place by a purity seal. Can’t have enough of those, right? The blade got a wash of blue and black inks, then an extra highlight of pure silver.

The second Brother has a power sword from the Tactical Squad box instead of his chainsword. Otherwise both are standard, since they already had tons of Templar iconography and those flowing capes.

Crusading Covering Fire

More Black Templars!

Here is a Templar Devastator Squad. Yes, this is counter to the chapter’s lore, since they tend to eschew Devastator Squads, but hey the client wanted some heavy weapons for his army.

The pics are the Combat Squads (5-men units). The first shows the Sergeant, with a pair of Bolter-armed Marines, and a pair of Plasma Cannons. The second is 3 Bolter-armed Marines and a pair of Missile Launchers.

Finally, a pic of one of the Honor Guard (aka Sword Brethren). He’s armed to the teeth, with a Power Axe and Bolter. The Marine was like the Chapter Champion from before, built from Sternguard Veteran and Black Templar bits. The pose is very aggressive, with the axe raised menacingly while he fires the Bolter at arm’s length.The Honor Guard, being Sword Brethren, use red cruxes and shoulder rims. The shoulder pads also have black fields, continuing the design used on the other squads’ Sergeants.

Righteous Challenge! (preview)

The Black Templar Space Marine army for 40K I’ve been working on for the last year continues. This is a preview, as I’ve been working on some units but haven’t finished enough of all of them for full unit pics.

So for now, here is the Chapter Champion, built to accompany the Honor Guard (aka ‘Sword Brethren’ for Templars). He was built mostly from parts from the Sternguard Veteran box, with some Black Templar bits and a spare power sword. I gave him a few decorative elements, like his knee icon, possibly an honored campaign badge, as well as the usual jewels, purity seals, cruxes, and plenty of aiguillettes (the braids). He also gets a nice Terminator cross on his shoulder. Despite the flair, his armor is kept low-key, befitting the rather spartan design for the Templars.

I like the pose, as he appears to be in the act of calling a challenge to some opponent, before the coming duel.

More to come shortly.

Templars Assault

 

The Black Templars get a fast attack option with the addition of an Assault Squad.

The Sergeant has the most Templar pieces, with a tabard, helmet, and pouch/scroll, as well as a censer trailing his jump pack. He also got an old metal jump pack versus the plastic ones the rest of the squad use. He has a sword and shield combo to recreate the crusading knight appearance.

The rest of the squad are a mix of standard Marine parts with some Templar bits mixed in. Purity seals and litany text accents their armor and weapons.

Divine Wrath!

 

The Black Templars get some needed HQ models coming soon. First up a Chaplain with a jump pack.

This model was a Finecast version. The one bad cast was the left arm (with the pistol), which had a few soft detail problems. So I simply swapped in a plastic Marine arm, pistol, and shoulder pad.

The Chaplain was of course in all black armor, with plenty of purity seals and trailing parchment to break up the shape. He got lots of gold and bronze decoration as well. His rictus helmet was made bone to draw attention to his face. Extra highlighting on the crozius arcanum helped emphasize his iconic weapon.

Next up the Emperor’s Champion!

Storm of Fire

The Black Templars make planetfall in a hail of storm bolters and assault cannons…

Adding to the ongoing Templar force for a client, here are members of a Tactical Terminator Squad. The full unit is designed for 10 members, with options for Assault Cannons, Heavy Flamer, and/or Cyclone Missile Launchers. The first few members were painted quite some time ago, as test schemes (see previous posts). The Assault Cannons pic has 2 angles of both Marines.

The members follow the usual color scheme, with extra purity seals, icons, lots of honor markings and trophies. The wide open plating allows for tons of scripture and text. Some members have the extra rondels on their pauldrons (the little shields over the armpit joint) with personal icons and decorations.

The Sergeant gets a nicely decorated shoulder pad, with extra purity seals. I chose a bare head from the Sternguard Veteran box to make him stand out form the rest of the squad. I painted him to sort of resemble Lord Commander Mormont from the Night Watch, since he has that level of gruff command and implacable will that would fit in the Templars.

Last is the 3rd Rhino for the army. It is a standard Mk II kit, with Templar-specific side doors and extra decoration. Like the other MK II it has a fully-painted interior and a loose top hatch to allow it to be converted to a Razorback.