28 Dec 2020

Imperial Knights - Vassal Knights of Legio Astorum - Knight Gallant Sir Taurus in "Carnivore"

Hello All, hope you are enjoying the TitanGuard/Holidays/Christmas season - I wish you a better 2021!  I have added to my Vassal Knights Banner with the meaty addition of a close-combat orientated Questoris Knight Gallant, this one has been christened "Carnivore" and is rode by Sir Taurus (names generated from the Engine War supplement (puns intended)...
As with my other Astorum Vassal Knights, I adapted the Terryn pattern livery, substituting whites with Astorum Yellows and the heads are painted yellow. Gold trim and decals from Legio Astorum Titan Transfer sheet - now running low! Come on Forge World, they've been OOP for over a year and i'm not paying scalpers £200 for a £20 sheet! £20 was steep!
The bases follow my standard pattern with slate chips, sand and PVA glue and Mournfang Brown / Karrak Stone / Ushabti Bone drybrush highlights. 
The under structure got some Balthasar Gold 'brass' detailing and the characteristic green power cables common across all my Imperial armies.
Sir Taurus' personal heraldry appears on the right forward pauldron whilst the rear pauldron's show Legio Astorum's unyielding devotion to the Imperial Creed.
The tilting shield heraldry is again from the Legio Astorum Titan decal sheet, with a few purity seals added.
The Legio Astorum sigil proud on the Knight's cockpit cover.
The carapace Rocket Pod is detachable, with a brass rod into the centre mounting. Good for swapping between mounts for the ease of list building.

Cheers, hope you have plenty of Crimbo pressies to keep you entertained. Siph. (20pts)

 

22 Dec 2020

Legio Astorum - Reaver Titan "Aquila Oculus" Addendum - Banners!

Hello Titanseers, a bonus post before Christmas, my good friend Drake from TOC and Battle Bunnies sent me the banners we designed (well I sketched a rough pencil scribble - he did the graphical design wizardry!) and now Aquila Oculus proudly displays her allegiances to the Imperium, Astorum and Titan Owners Club ;) 
I hope you agree the banners do finish off this fine Titan quite well, and for those old enough to remember, envoke a little feeling towards the pictures found in 1st Edn Adeptus Titanicus and WD's of the 90's... big banners from Titans was all the rage!
I asked for the same style blue and yellow sections as all the banners of Astorum at the time were of similar designs.
Now hopefully the banner poles and odd shaped rear Void Projectors make more sense!

Cheers all for following along with this build and now I have started the next Titan, a strip and rebuild of  a Mars Warhound Titan. 

Have a great Christmas all.

Siph and Lord Halfpenny

21 Dec 2020

Legio Astorum - Reaver Titan "Aquila Oculus" - Walks!

Hello All, thanks for dropping by - "Aquila Oculus" Walks! I am really pleased with my efforts, Legio Astorum has a new addition Engine, meet the mighty 'Disco' Reaver - dual Triple Laser Blasters and a carapace Twin Turbolaser Destructor! No longer 40K compliant with the pared down rules (or lack of options except the Apocalypse Missile Launcher) but we play Adeptus Titanicus 28mm at Titan Owners Club Walks so happy with that.
I continued the stripe work of the Maniple with a striped rear carapace quarter, and what's noticeable is the Astorum old-school flame effect on the legs, it was strange painting red on an Astorum blue titan!
The reverse of the Banner has the Titan Owners Club crest. I also added some Mechanicus Cog motifs on the Laser Blasters and a makers mark on the rear Carapace.
Here you can see the striding forward pose, all guns blazing!
Here you can see the personal heraldry on the carapace and the heat stained Laser Blasters.
The banner was printed and then adapted with the Titan's name.
The kneepad shows the titan name, and a close up of the flame effect.
And the other leg the personal heraldry, the red aquila repeated on the chest armour.
And the Certificate number on the armour.
Here you can see the rear Void Shield Projectors made from Warhound internal lights, as a banner pole base, topped with the Void Shield Projectors from a wrecked Lucius Warhound. I am awaiting banners akin to the banners seen in the Adeptus Titanicus 1st Edn artwork.
The Banner Poles will have a couple of these type banners atop the Carapace.
The arms are all magnetized with 8mm x 20mm rods and small 2mm x 2mm magnets in the hose connectors, meaning all the Battle Titan class weapons can be swapped out easily. The magnets are all the same polarity so either arm can be placed on either side.
Hidden under the top carapace is the neck armour, which I decorated with a nice decal from the Astorum sheet, however its hidden when constructed - but I know its there!
Here is the proud crew, Princeps and Moderati. 
And in the back, the Titan Techpriest monitoring the reactor output and systems.
With all of the removable panels and weapons taken off she is ready for future releases and extra weapon releases.
All painted up and ready to go, I've used Clear Lacquer spray for car body trims to seal the titan and protect the bodywork and restore the shine to the trim and armour panels. I like the factory fresh well maintained holy war Engine, of course weathered and battered Engines are also entirely suitable for long campaigns. 
Here she is next to her twin, Reaver "Honorum", a fine set of Battle Titans
And finally, a fine picture of my Titan Maniple so far! The Emperor's Halo Maniple ready to wage war in the Holy Emperor's name! Legio Astorum Walks!

Cheers all for following along with this build, pleased to get this addition done and onto the next Titan, a strip and rebuild of  a Mars Warhound Titan. 

Have a great Christmas all.

Siph (60pts)

14 Dec 2020

Imperial Knights - Vassal Knights of Legio Astorum - Knight Questoris Crusader

Hello All, thanks for dropping by. The backlog of Imperial Knights continues, I want these done and in the display cabinets to free up some space under the games tables for potential Christmas presents...
So here is a Imperial Knight Crusader 'Selwyn' riding 'Honour Intractable' of the Vassal Knights of Legio Astorum, in the scheme of the Legio Astorum, very similar to the box art cover of the House Terryn Knights, just substituting the cream for yellows and lacking horse head decals!
As before, the reverse heraldry proudly displays the Imperial Aquila, for all to see the loyalty of the Legio Astorum. A few hoses were picked out in green for interest and the Machina symbols painted black and white.
I added slate to the base for interest and drybrushed it to match the drybrushing highlights of Ushabti Bone and Karak Stone.
The Legio Astorum decals were from the Forge World Titan decals sheets, I am dangerously running low on these now as they are OOP and scalpers charge £200+ on eBay for a sheet - I am not willing to pay that for a £25 sheet, even RRP was steep!

The Carapace weapons are all removable, just a pin which inserts into the top carapace socket, so easily transported and swapped amongst the force as the List demands.

Cheers, Siph (20pts)

7 Dec 2020

Relictors Librarian in Power Armour #9 and Librarius Conclave

Hello All, thanks for dropping by. The latest in a line of Librarian Psykers, No.9 for the Battle Company if you include Tigurius and the RT-era 4th Company Librarian... I think my Librarius Conclave is now complete (with the exception of newer Battle Brothers who cross the Primaris Rubicon...)
I added a variant of the Command Skull as the Relictor Chapter badge, seemed fitting to have a red halo coming from the skull cranium! I also chose yellow as an accent colour on the tabbard, a throw back to the Insignium Astartes uniforms book states all Librarians wear Blue Armour and Yellow Tabbards.
The shoulder Pauldrons are in Relictors Chapter colours, and the scrollwork was picked out in Skeleton Horde contrast.
The haft of the Force Stave was again picked out with Magos Purple contrast over an Ulthuan Grey base. Simple and effective looking, love it... I'm tempted to go back and repaint the Force Weapons elsewhere to match...
I was rather pleased with the face and beard, Ratskin Flesh, Kislev Flesh, washed Reikland Flesh, highlighted Kislev Flesh and eyes picked out in a psychic blue clear paint (FW Calth Blue) over Ulthuan Grey. The beard is simply the same armour colours, Dawnstone, Administratum Grey washed Nuln Oil.
And a shot of the Conclave so far... roll on Primaris Psykers...

Cheers, Siph (10pts)

30 Nov 2020

Legio Astorum Reaver Titan "Aquila Oculus" - WIP #9 - All about the Base

Hello Titan-seers, welcome back, I am progressing the Reaver build to the Base - I base the Titans, its not necessary but I feel it makes them a lot more stable and the legs form a strong triangle with the base being the third side of the triangle so really solid.
I used a Forstner Bit to make depressions for the screw head and washer that will complement the glue bonding the feet to the base, a screw up into the foot helps hold the foot down whilst the glue dries and forms a strong bond in addition to the JB Weld.
The base is 6mm MDF and sanded smooth on the sides, layered with PVA and glue and some slate chips. Where the foot is flat on the base, I scored the surface to increase the surface area and avoid gluing sand on those areas.
Here is the finished article, painted my usual Mournfang Brown, Karak Stone and Ushabti Bone and tufts and flock patches. Above shows the personal heraldry of "Aquila Oculus", the red Aquila is repeated on the chest armour and the carapace shield - black sun of Lucius and the 'eagle eye' bird design, "Aquila Oculus" meaning eagle-eye (my Action Man reference).
The flame designs look great with the base and against the blue. The right knee cap is the Titan name. 

So, just the trim to go on the Torso. Almost complete!

Cheers, Siph

23 Nov 2020

Legio Astorum - Reaver Titan "Aquila Oculus" - WIP #8 - Weapon Arms and Power Couplings

Hello Titanseers, more progress on the Reaver No.2, Aquila Oculus now has some arms to fight with! I chose a 'disco' Reaver, two triple-barreled Battle Titan Laser Blasters and a carapace mounted dual-barrel Turbolaser Destructor. As you can see from the above WIP pictures, I have used 8mm x 30mm rod magnets for the arms and small 2mm x 3mm for the hose connectors. A trick is to mark the poles different colours so you dont mess up polarity - this way I can swap out and exchange weapons between Battle Titans (Reavers and Warbringers).
The cross hatching and no paint ensures a strong bond for the Armour Plates, and the magnet sits flush with the gun casing so the Arm mounts have a strong connection. The slot on top of the weapon fits snuggly with the Armour Panel so they sit in the correct position for the Arm mount and magnet. Simple to do.
The weapons come with right angled hose connectors, these are the re-modded Battle Titan weapons, I find it easier to glue the hoses to the torso and add the hose connectors to the hoses rather than the individual weapons, meaning the weapons simply pulls downward at the arm joint and lifts away leaving the hoses on the torso - a simple clunk into place, the hose magnets ensure the hoses sit correctly on the weapon mount regardless whether it is a left arm or right arm - the weapons are interchangeable - if the right angle connectors were fitted, they would not be exchangeable between left and right.
The hoses are pinned for strength at the torso connection point, and a small magnet in the dome of the hose connector to fit into the concave of the weapon mount.
In preparation for the coming together of the Rites of Construction, several of the Armour Plates were also finished off. The Aquila is red to match the red half Aquila heraldry on Aquila Oculus.
And the completed 'Disco' Arms, two Battle Titan Laser Blasters, I kept the blue armour free from kill markings or star map motifs as these are both completely interchangeable between left/right and Reaver/Warbringer. The Armour plates were painted separately and then clamped and glued into place afterwards, making sure to roughen up the surfaces for the JB Weld to better adhere.

The metal is simple, Leadbelcher washed with a mix of Nuln and Agrax, drybrushed with Necron Compound (oh the heresy!), gold is picked out with Vallejo Model Colour Brass (70.801) which is an almost perfect match for Citadel's Retributor Gold and washed Reikland Fleshshade. The central barrel sections had a drybrush of Soulstone Silver and further Nuln Oil at the extremities, to add some interest.
The muzzles received the same heat staining effect as the carapace Turbo Laser Destructor, just a simple drybrush of black around the muzzle, then a sequential washes of black, blue, purple and sepia - Nuln Oil, Drakenhof Nightshade, Leviathan Purple and Seraphim Sepia going backwards along the barrel. It adds some much needed colour and interest to plain barrels.

Just the base (not required but all my Titans are based for extra stability and the base acts as a third side of a triangle making the legs super rigid and strong) and the main torso section to complete now before it all gets sanctified and Walks! I'm hoping to have this Titan completed before the year is out - I may not be the fastest but this is 3.5 times faster than my Warlord build time! :)

Cheers, Princeps Seniores Siph
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