Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader Chaos Terminators

When I first got into the hobby in the early stages of second edition there weren't many Chaos Marine miniatures about (or a codex), in fact all you had were the Rogue Trader minis.  This meant that there wasn't much in the way of options when it came to picking up my first unit however once I saw these in their blister packs I knew I had to have them.

Those first Terminator miniatures were unfortunately sold off when my interest waned in the hobby but when I decided to collect a second edition army I knew I had to have these for my Terminators rather than the actual 2nd Ed minis.

The paint job for these is much the same as the rest of the army but I wanted to give these chaps a little extra time due to who they are.

The Captain has some great detail with the bone armour and as he will also be used as a Lord in some games I wanted to give him a Daemon sword rather than a power weapon.  Contrast paints worked great for this and gave it the otherworldly feeling I was after (he really stands out now).

My original Skullface had a power sword and combi-bolter but he's had a bit of a mix up this time getting an autocannon and chain chainfist, for when he gets up close and personal.

The Heavy Flamer has a great flame motif on his shoulder which I painted in red at first but I felt the the balance of the miniature was off so I went over it in gold and he looks much better.

Last up there are a couple of standard termies to round out the unit.

Though they are quite small by modern standards there's still something about these sculpts that hasn't been bettered in my eyes and they've been a real joy to paint.

Warhammer 40k: Black Legion Noise Marines

After taking quite a while (understatement of the year) with the Raptors I really enjoyed getting some paint on the Noise Marines and actually finished them in good time.

These were released at the very tail end of 2nd Edition and the art for this design of Noise Marines showed up in the 2nd Ed Codex.  The very first Noise Marines/Emperor's Children miniature was the now classic Mohawked guitar wielding Marine while their successors were the first Noise Marines I owned but personally pale in comparison to these boys which still have a Metal band vibe about them.

I was very tempted to paint them in either Emperor's Childen colours or in their classic garish scheme (lots of bright pinks, yellows, greens and blues) but in the end painted them up to tie in with the rest of the army, which while maybe not that exciting I do like the cohesive look of the force as it's slowly coming together now.

I've already started on the next and last unit for my classic Chaos Space Marines, one which I purposely wanted to paint last as incentive to keep on going, the Rogue Trader Chaos Terminators. 

Warhammer 40k: Black Legion Raptors

Well hobby procrastination kicked in (thanks to the excellent Returnal coming out for the PS5), which means this is the unit I have probably taken the most time with to complete ever.  Definitely worth it though.

I think the prospect of more gold trim made me keep putting them off but once I have the finished paint scheme in front of me I'm always happy with it.

These are now sat on the shelf with the other old school Chaos Marines and they're really coming together as a force with only a couple of units to paint up along with some characters and a dreadnought.

Before I continue with the gold trim ;) I'm mixing things up and painting a scenery piece which will be handy for almost any game and that should be relatively quick to paint (for a change) but more on that later.

Warhammer 40k: Fabius Bile's Enhanced Marines

For my next elite unit I wanted to tackle Fabius Bile's Enhanced Marines from 1998 as they were not miniatures I originally owned.

I must admit the sculpts didn't really excite me however once I started to paint them up (particularly the faces) they really began to grow on me and now I think they make a great center piece elite unit for the army.

In game terms I'll be using these as Veterans and if Mr. Bile makes an appearance he can also have his way with them!

Somewhat unfortunately this is the first unit where I didn't have all the original parts so had to sub in some modern arms and weapons however saying that they don't look too out of place so I'm not disappointed.

I've already started work on my next unit which sees me take another dip into 3rd Edition for Raptors.

This won't be the last 3rd Ed unit as I have some Noise Marines in the wing but both fit nicely into the 2nd Ed aesthetic.  This is due, I believe, because the sculpts were based on art create during 2nd Ed and some of which appears in the Codex.

Explorers in the further regions of experience. Demons to some. Angels to others.

As soon as I saw the preview sculpts from Studio Miniatures I knew I had to have these.  Hellraiser has always been my favourite horror film/s and I couldn't wait to paint the Cenobites up.

You solved the box, we came. Now you must come with us, taste our pleasures.

Not only were these great to paint but they're going to see gaming use in Core Space as we start a new campaign soon, let's just say one of my current crew may have found a puzzle of some sort...

They fit really well with the Core Space range as they are true 28mm scale and I look forward to using them as my new custom "crew"!

Pain has a face. Allow me to show it to you

Warhammer 40k: Chaos Marine Lord

My first character is now finished, the 2000 Chaos Lord.

Though this means I'm dipping into 3rd Ed with this mini (and a couple a of future squads, namely my Veterans who are actually Fabius Bile's Marines and then the Noise Marines and Raptors) there wasn't a generic Chaos Lord released during 2nd Ed and this chap fits right in aesthetically with the rest of the force.

I've spent a bit more time on this mini, as his rank demands, with some highlighting etc. so he pops a bit more on the table top.

Warhammer 40k: Black Legion Heavy Weapons

Now that the core troops are done it's time to move on to the specialists and I chose the Heavy Weapons first as they will add a nice bite to the force once they finally hit the table.

As with the rest of the army these were eBay rescues so they've been stripped, disassembled and rebuilt.  The choice of weapons was purely down to the auction I won but it covers all bases well enough.

Before moving on to the next squad I'll be working on a character to lead them as it will be a nice change of pace for me.