Relictors Terminator Tactical Squad No.2

Hi All, I'm continuing to hit the to-do pile this year, a long time delayed squad, I converted the metal Chaplain, now fittingly skull faced Relictor Sergeant to have plastic legs years ago. The Genestealer Cult Sentinel I got last year came with a Missile Launcher I thought would look good as a Cyclone Missile Launcher, so the seed to get these finished was again bought forward.

These two are from the Space Hulk set, I must have shaved off twenty or more blood drops off of these! I cut away the bases they have so they could be mounted on 40mm bases and swapped the arm on the pointing Terminator to a less elaborate Storm Bolter arm - the original went to the Sergeant.

The amount of detail on these monopose sculpts is awesome. They are quite detailed enough to be Sergeants, or in this case decorated Elite Veterans. I like that they both are pointing in opposite directions.

The Sergeant is a conversion using the older metal Chaplain torso and head with plastic legs to give the correct height. I had to use the plastic waistband of the newer marines too, the older terminators were tiny. I chopped up the metal banner pole and used the banner top as his standard - I don't use banners for Terminators, preferring the smaller more compact and practical adornments.

Here you can see the Space Hulk arm for an unusually lowered pose and the plastic waistband. I also used Cullen's shoulder pad as its got loads of details.

Here are the two remaining squad members, both from AoBR plastic Terminators, I added a Chainfist Arm to one, the other received an old RT era Cyclone Missile Launcher targeter arm  - cool bits box use I think. The Sentinel Cyclone Launcher looks suitable for the Terminators I reckon.

Here is a close up of the Targeter arm.

And the Squad all together, checking the arcs left and right, great addition to the Relictors army.

And next up for me will be starting this years first hobby event, February's Squaduary! Can't wait to get cracking, this year I am again painting up another squad of RTB01 Marines I have loafing in the to-do pile. Check out the event at Stepping Between Games blog.  Here was last years results:

Thanks for dropping by, Cheers, Siph. (Termie Squad nets me 10 painting points)

Imperial Knights - Questoris Knights - LED update

Hi one and all, Crazy week with work, so a quick post.

I've managed to update all 7 of my Imperial Knights with the new LED light fixtures, and here are the results, I'll do a bigger post once the knights are finished with weathering and decals, banners etc.

So far there are 7 knights complete, with another 5 to add lights to, these being the Forge World models. I'm need to order a different battery pack as the body cavity isn't big enough for the battery pack I've used so far.

Lights on, lights off..

I'm really happy with the way these models look when the lights are on, and the overall feel to them.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers, LH

Grey Knights Dreadnought - by Blogger Buddy John Stiening

Hi All, thanks for dropping in. A lovely Dreadnought to add to my slowly growing ranks of Grey Knights / Imperial Agents. I saw in December that John at 40k Hobby Blog was selling off a selection of models to make room and fund new projects, so I asked if he'd send across the pond to the UK

I really liked the idea of having a John Stiening original to add to my other Blogger Buddy purchase from Jeff at The Beard Bunker and suddenly I have two mighty Grey Knight Dreadnoughts!

I like the little touches, the converted frontal plates on the Sarcophagus, the banner made from a book and a SM knife, the ample purity seals and the Combat Shield, great stuff from a AoBR plastic monopose Dreadnought!

I repainted the base earth and bevel edge to match my own armies, but other than that, its all John's work - go check his blog, there is some great stuff over there.

I also re-painted the Rifleman Contemptor shoulder plates to match the scheme John used, which I think adds a lot to the Contemptor, it was missing something and now I know what, a bit more colour. They look great now and of the same force, which is great - here is the sum total of my finished Grey Knights! I have more from Jeff to re-base, but this one I painted myself to match his scheme, so all together they should look like a cohesive force.

And don't forget to partake in this years' Squaduary next month - check out Stepping Between Games for details soon, and drop Rory a message detailing your pledge. I am looking forward to this great hobby event of my hobby calendar, really fun and motivating to see other hobbyists proceeding with their pledges - I will conquer some of this To-Do pile!

Thanks for dropping in, Cheers, Siph. (1 pt for re-basing this significant Dread and the Shoulders of the other!)

Imperial Knights - How to add LED lights to your Knights

Hi one and all,

Thanks for viewing this guide. To start, I've never really done anything with electronics other than plug in the PS4 to the TV, so the thought of adding lights was quite daunting at first. I wanted to add lights to make them 'stand out' but also I think the model is made to have them.

The knights were built- during the build I added 2 holes straight through the head, around 2mm, with the holes in the back of the head extended to allow the 3mm LED to be placed inside the head. Another hole was then added to the torso for the wires/leads to pass through.

For the Lights I used:

2x 3mm LED's

A wire connector

2x CR2032 batteries

Battery holder pre-wired

The LED's were poked into the wire connector, and the wire from the battery holder was added to the other side to correspond with Live wire to live part of the LED.

The switch on the battery pack was turned on and done - we have light (maybe I should have used a resistor in this circuit, however I opted not to for ease of build, as well as some guides online indicating that a resistor isn't really necessary for lights this size).

From here the LED's are poked thought the holes in torso, and the head then is positioned and glue to have the LED's in the correct position for the light to be seen. I checked this, and that I was happy prior to gluing the head into position. The body of the knight is great as there is loads of room to store the battery pack and connector.

The light from the LED lights up behind the head and within the torso- which I quite like the look of. I also added a deflector between the helm and head of the knight to produce the 'glow' of the eyes. This was simply a piece of plastic cut from a milk bottle.

Thanks for looking! I hope this guide is useful for anybody who intends to add LED's to their models. I am working on lights for my Forge World Cerastus Knights - these are a little trickier due to limited cavity space.

Cheers, LH

Space Hulk Blood Angels - Converting into Relictors Terminators

Hello Readers, I thought I'd kick off the new year with some more to-do pile work and as a few dedicated followers may recall (?) I did my first Space Hulk Terminator back in February 2011... well, enough time languishing in the to-do pile - these are seeing light of day once more!

To add to my ranks of Terminator Assault Squads, I love some Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield action, so the Sergeant of a new squad will be the TH SS Sergeant from Space Hulk - but with a suitable skull shaped Storm Shield made from the Arcane Ruins set. I've used these before as vehicle adornments on my Whirlwind Tanks - and their size is ideal as a Storm Shield.

The hand and handle was trimmed off of the existing Storm Shield which was discarded, I plan on adding a small Terminus Crux embellishment on the forehead to avoid too much of a chaos vibe.

Here are two other Space Hulk Blood Angels undergoing transformation into Relictors Terminators, both of a shooty variety, they will be joining a converted metal Chaplain who has become a mean looking skull faced Sergeant and a Cyclone Launcher marine with an old school targeter arm... should be completed soon.

The final Space Hulk mini I'm converting into a Relictor, or in this case a originator Fire Claw Terminator, the Chapter the Relictors were once before starting their penitent crusade... as no canon scheme exists I going for a black with fiery orange red gauntlets (Fire Claws!) and a Space Wolves chapter badge of a clawed paw... so far the base is complete. This will make a nice objective, I included the building as he wouldn't be slumped in a throne in the middle of a battlefield, so a ruined building serves well - now a relic to be fought over and reclaimed for the Chapter!

Imperial Knights - Questoris Knights WIP - LED update

Hi one and All,

I've recently decided to change the LED's I've added to my Imperial Knights. Previously I opted for a simple system with the LEDs running into the torso of the Knight, and adding a coin/tablet battery between the two poles to connect the circuit.

However this was found to be quite temperamental, and often the lights would go out mid game during moving. So, the decision was made to redo the lights within a solid circuit, and a battery pack with a switch to make it so much easier!

I've connected the two LED's into a wire connector, and then connected that to the battery pack. This uses 2 Batteries, and the results are so much better - the lights are brighter, and there is a nice 'behind' glow from behind the head which I like.

Below is the finished result, the glow is definitely 'bright' which is what I wanted, this is helped with the plastic deflector I've added between the LED and the helm.

Next will be to do this to all my knights... (7 Imperial Knights, and 5 Forgeworld) and then to add decals and weathering. I am also looking to add further banners to each knight with honours etc.

I am also looking to try something similar with the Reaver, that is still a WIP..

Thanks for looking! Cheers, Lord Halfpenny

WeeMen 2018 Hobby Goals - Not Resolutions, more like Guidance ;)

Following on from last year's Hobby Goals, I thought we'd share what direction we will be going this year... and firstly, how well we fared last year! We don't really do the Resolution type thing as that is usually the path to disappointment and the dark side. But, some hobby goals to focus our HBS (Hobby Butterfly Syndrome) can't hurt - how did I do?

I started 2017 with piles - blessed huge piles... not the painful Farmer Giles type - a serious plastic and resin krak habit... I am very fortunate to have, I know many hobbyists would love to be in this situation, but I think I had a good krak at some of it - and failing miserably at some too - I'm sure these Devastators moved from the table to the desk... and nobody mention the "New Year, New Army" fail with Tau....Jan 2016)
Some quick wins, Necron Deathmarks to join their part finished squad and a start on the Goliath Necromunda Gangers, and another alternative Sister of Battle. Basically clear up the hobby desk of part finished projects before starting new ones!

Now, this pile shrank only by one box - really must address the elephant in the room - or the Warlord Titan in the room! Yes, do I make 2018 the year for completing the Warlord - its only sat half done for near on 2 years.... oh dear.... send me the encouragement I need to brave the Airbrush on this beast!

Now for the positives - my goal was to krak on with the to-do pile, and avoid adding to the pile in size - I painted a Daemon Prince, a Thanatar, a LE Chaplain, an alternative SoB, four Scyllax, an RTB01 Tactical Squad for Squaduary; a Tesserach Ark, Ghost Ark, Triarch Stalker, 5 Lychguard, 5 Praetorians, Vargard Obeyron, 15 Warriors and 5 Destroyers and a Tomb Stalker for the Necrons, one Genestealer and a Sentinel, some Craters; Space Marine Banner Bearer, RTB01 Rhino and a Spartan for Spartember and a Deredeo for Dreadtober and an old school Landspeeder for the Relictors; one Emperors Scythe Primaris Marine, 3 Plague Toads, 2 Assassins, 5 Exo Armoured Squats and finally 3 Ursarax... and had blogger buddy Nick Thrower paint some of my Daemons too!

That's not bad, shows my HBS, and totals just shy of 200 painting points! And did I achieve my goal - well I bought/received Necromunda and Dark Imperium, the Tesserach Ark (painted) and some Primaris - so goal achieved, the to-do pile is slightly smaller :)

Next year - Siph I aim to continue driving down my to-do pile, the stuff pictured above (especially the stuff on the gaming table!) and maybe take forward more progress on the Warlord! Plus get some battles in!

Lord Halfpenny achieved posting on the blog more regularly (four posts in 2016 compared to a good 50+ in 2017) and progressed the FW Reaver Titan he bought on first release, This year saw the completion of several other kits including Magnus the Red, Skarbrand, another bloodthirster and of course, Gulliman. Also repainted were Calgar, Cassius, Sicarius and Calgar's Honour Squad. The Techmarine of a jetbike was completed too - just waiting for a single 'U' transfer to be added. A quick tally up and around 115 painting points. Not bad, he'll be looking to use the tally next year as he goes.

Favourite part of the year - Completing Magnus the Red, as it was a big project and he was really happy with the result. Starting the Reaver and really getting a good way though the build/painting. And lastly, the addition of Gulliman to the force- seeing him in action vs my Necrons at Warhammer World was amazing, and of course the Guilliman Gauntlet!

Not completed was the plan to re-base his Ultramarines to new 32mm bases; finish off his vehicle using transfers or finish 2nd Company Ultramarines, however after the addition of the Primaris marines LH now has more possibilities with squad numbers etc. (Maybe he knew how the year would play out), failed to complete some Terrain; still to finish his Imperial Knights and we both failed miserably to have more actual Battles! Arrgh....

Next Year for Lord Halfpenny is to attack my Ultramarines, aiming to have them all re based, and transferred up. Also there is a load of Primaris stuff to start and Deathwatch - although this will wait until the codex is released. The Imperial Knight Banner army will be completed in 2018 with new LED fixtures and transfers. And the final project is to complete the Reaver Titan. Lord Halfpenny told me "2018 is the year of Space Marines!" whatever he meant by that!?   

6thDegree had more modest goals, start painting again, get his mojo back; and if that happens paint the Decimator; Perturabo; his 2nd Warhound Titan; some 30k Characters and an Alien 1:1 scale Face Hugger - he didn't find his mojo, did paint the Face Hugger for MonsterMarch but sparks of interest once again fly with Necromunda peeking his interest! Come back to us mate!

What are your hobby goals? Let us know in the comments if you didn't already. Its good to be in all-of-one-company :)

Cheers, and have a great Hobby Year! Siph.

A review of Lord Halfpenny's 2017 Weemen

Hi All,

Firstly I hope you all had a great Christmas, and happy New Year!

I thought I'd post a quick review of 2017, and some of the projects I've completed and those to be finished in 2018.

Space Marines

2017 saw several new additions to my Ultramarine force, including Leviathan Dreadnoughts and the completion of my Master of the Forge on Jet bike.

Also added was the completion of several Forge World Super Heavy tanks. These will be finished with decals this year as I intend to make a sizable dent in my Space Marine 'to do pile'.

Also added to the ranks of Ultramarines during 2017 was Guilliman himself, as well as updating my Ultramarine commanders, including updating Marneus Calgar and his Honour Guard squad, Chaplain Cassius and Captain Cato Sicarius. Guilliman was a beast in 7th, as seen in the Guilliman Gauntlet (Part 1 and Part 2). It'll be interesting to see how he fairs in 8th.

I started work on a small Custodes force, which is well on to its way to being completed.

DeathWatch

Here is my Watch Master- converted using the Eagle from Corteaz.

Daemons

The addition of a Daemon Prince from the Ultramarine Chapter made a change to the normal UM colour scheme. I really like the look and feel of the model with him flying really makes him stand out and appear completely different to the similar Daemon Prince models.

My Daemon force had a few new additions including Skarbrand and Magnus the Red, 

 Also completed was a Slaanesh Greater Daemon

To be Finished...

Legio Crucius Reaver Titan, well, its coming along nicely so far...

Imperial Knights

I've started to re-do my Imperial Knights LED lights, so that its easier to switch them on/off. All will be redone this year and then decals applied.

 There is still quite a few models left to finish too...

Hobby Goals

In 2018 I intend to make a real dent in my to do pile, hopefully in the next 12 months..

• Reaver Titan completed
• Ultramarines to be updated with bigger 32mm bases and transfers on everything - and to start my Primaris pile that I've not touched yet!
• To finish off my Imperial Knights Banner.
• Work on Chaos Daemon pile.
• Start Deathwatch force which is hiding in the loft.
• Necromunda

Also, and the main point is to try to fit in as many battles as possible, Siph and I failed miserably last year.

What are your Hobby Goals? Let us know in the comments. Thanks, Lord Halfpenny.