Old Stuff Day - Rogue Trader Era Marines

Not a tradition I've been part of previously, but I have seen the Warhammer 39,999 blog and Old Stuff Day is something he started ages ago, so it was about time I joined in after being mentioned in two of my fellow Blogger's blogposts today - man, I must be getting old too...

So, to my throwback posts - I'm taking it literally, and looking at the Marines of time gone by...

My first painted Marine - 1989

RTB01 "Beakie" Plastic Space Marines

More RTB01 Plastic Marines from Squaduary

Mk1b Rhino APC

Rogue Trader Era "Venerable" Dreadnoughts Eddy and Fury

And a shout out to Old School Gaming for likewise today, and my blogger buddy Confessions of a 40KAddict who also gave me a thumbs up - back at you pal! Check out their throwback posts today for lots of goodness!

Cheers all, Siph.

Relictors Corvus Armour and Relic Armoury Mk1b Rhino - Old School Cool

Hi All, thanks for checking out these, its now after Squaduary 2018 where I finished my second squad of RTB01 Tactical Marines, and thought I'd share a picture of my newest reinforcements with last year's efforts too. Now a nice alternative core of troops to use if I require them.

Last year's Squad is shown on the left, the newest Squad is on the right. I'm rather pleased with these, a monkey off my back and another Squad off the to-do pile. Great stuff :)

Currently working on a Jet Bike Captain and some Necrons.

Cheers, Siph.

Squaduary 2018 - Relictors RTB01 Tactical Squad - Showcase

Hello All, thanks for dropping by and having a look-see, I am glad to report my Squaduary 2018 pledge is complete, based and sealed. I had a blast doing these guys, sometimes a lack of great detail akin to modern plastics is refreshing and helps keep a good pace!

What is it all about - a bunch of hobbyists getting motivated to do long overdue Squads... Rory at Stepping Between Games blog has done a great job corralling us all again this year to pledge to get some paint on our to-do piles. I loved it and the motivation of seeing everyone's efforts really helped me keep fairly focused (HBS aside) - Rory will be posting the final results report Thursday I think - loads of great minis completed or progressed further I hope!

So, here is Squad Cato of the 4th Company Relictors Chapter, hence the green on the banner. Sergeant Cato is a veteran (of the to-do pile!) so earnt Terminator Honours displayed on his banner and the bone colour of his helmet marks him out as a Veteran Sergeant.

I swapped the flamer nozzle for one from a combi-flamer which fitted nicely to the RTB01 sculpt, and added a banner from the Terminator Squad kit atop the Sergeants power pack, topped with a icon also from the Terminators kit. I coloured the gem with Soulstone Blue over Stormhost Silver.

The Flamer Specialist Marine also has some additional Promethium canisters taken from the combi-flamer bits I chopped up. The colours are my usual Dawnstone washed Nuln Oil, highlighted Administratum Grey with 'Ardcoated black Pauldrons and Leadblecher rivets. The Combat Blade handles were Scab Red washed Nuln Oil and highlighted Wild Rider Red and gold was Retributor Gold washed Reikland Fleshshade highlighted Auric Armour Gold.

I was lucky enough to have saved and entire Squad back in the 90's when ditching all my Orks and Marines :( when I put my belongings in storage etc, keeping only Squats (now sold) and these, plus Necromunda and Space Hulk. (So many Orky Looted Vehicles...) This squad has the Missile Launcher and a number of Boltgun accessories, blades and Chainblade attachment. Finally I can now stop saying "I'll paint these guys someday..."

As you can see, I stripped back most of the extra pouches, clips and knives and pistols they all had on every limb my younger self had attached, and where possible kept the lower limb greaves free of additions. The Sergeant has a Mk1 Auspex and the Missile Launcher specialist has some spare ammo on their lower greaves.

That's all for now, I'll post a few pictures together with my first RTB01 Squad from last year's Squaduary and the Mk1b Rhino for an old school cool collection. Thank-you very much fellow Squadu-teers and to Rory for this most excellent event of my hobby calendar - here's to Squaduary 2019... time to hunt for another Beakie squad? Ha Ha

Cheers, Siph. (10 painting points)

Squaduary 2018 - RTB01 Tactical Squad - End of Week 3

Hello All, thanks for checking up on my Squaduary progress. I made really good progress this week which I am happy to report, only bases left to do. Squad Cato is now at full strength and has all its Marines present and correct. My new favourite is the hazard striped chainblade accessory Bolter armed Marine! Although front row, second from left has really striking eyes :)

What is it all about - a bunch of hobbyists getting motivated to do long overdue Squads... Rory at Stepping Between Games blog has done a great job corralling us all again this year to pledge to get some paint on our piles of grey plastic. Loving it so far this year, really helps seeing everyone else's work - Rory will be posting the penultimate week progress report tomorrow..

Cheers for stopping by, and keep up fellow Squaduary-teers! Your progress continues to astound me in cases and motivates me to keep to the schedule, which I'm glad to say I might be ahead on now ;)

Cheers, Siph

Squaduary 2018 - RTB01 Tactical Squad - End of Week 2

Hi All, end of week 2 for my Squaduary pledge and I've made some decent progress I reckon, not as much as a few blogger buddies (Nick, Michael) but getting there - and thats the important thing, getting paint on this bit of the massive to-do pile.

Here is the progress so far, besides having to do bases and I've done the basecoat spray on all. 4 Squaduary members of this Tactical Squad down, and arguably the two most complex, the Veteran Sergeant Cato with 4th Company banner and the Heavy Weapon Specialist with the Missile Launcher. Pluss, two Bolter armed Marines meaning quite good progress I think for halfway through, I should make my pledge :)

What is it all about - a bunch of hobbyists getting motivated to do long overdue Squads... Rory at Stepping Between Games blog has done a great job corralling us all again this year to pledge to get some paint on our piles of grey (in this case cream coloured) plastic. Loving it so far this year, really helps seeing everyone else's work - Rory will be posting the halfway progress report tomorrow.

Cheers for stopping by, and keep up fellow Squaduary-teers! Your progress motivates me to keep to the schedule ;)

Cheers, Siph.

Squaduary 2018 - RTB01 Tactical Squad - End of Week 1

Hello All, thanks for checking in, so... progress has started on the RTB01 Space Marine Tactical Squad. Honestly, close up these guys needed a lot of work, my younger self cared not for moldline cleaning and thought nothing of cutting these from the sprue with blunt scissors! He was also very generous with Poly Cement and accessories on shin Greaves - as the now smoothed scars will attest to.

What is it all about - a bunch of hobbyists getting motivated to do long overdue Squads... Rory at Stepping Between Games blog has done a great job corralling us all again this year to pledge to get some paint on our piles of grey (in this case cream coloured) plastic.

Pictured here is my soon to be Sergeant with a Terminator Honours squad banner and his helmet on, like a sensible squad leader... and next to him a slightly modified Flamer specialist, I've used the nozzle from a combi-flamer rather than the funnel the kit comes with - this echoes my first squad modification of a Grav Gun specialist, adding a modern and recognizable weapon to these old miniatures - I really thought the old flamer nozzle was a bit naff. He also got two small Flamer canisters from said combi-flamers mag-locked to his left thigh (hidden in this pic, sry).

These middle one of these troops shows the Chainblade accessory to the Boltgun and you can see the moldline scraping I've been doing to all. I've also had a few in pieces, straightening or strengthening the old poly cement joins.

Here is the original paintjob I attempted all those years ago, now moldline scraped so looking worse for wear. The paint is thin enough and the others base coat is thin all over not to need stripping.

Finally, the Missile Launcher specialist with his iconic over the shoulder missile launcher and the remaining Bolter troops. As you may have noticed, they've all had 32mm adapters fitted and the seams liquid greenstuffed and sanded smooth - all ready for the next stage of painting.

May the progress continue next week, Cheers, Siph.

Squaduary 2018 - Great Hobby Motivation - It's that time again!

I often join blogger buddy Hobby events, I find they help me focus my Hobby Butterfly Syndrome for at least a month anyway - In February last year I completed a squad of RTB01 Marines.

In September I participated in Spartember and finished a long overdue Spartan Heavy Assault Transport.

And in October its the annual Dreadtober event, my previous entries were a Contemptor and a Deredeo...

So, this year's Squaduary will see me painting up my last remaining squad of RTB01 Marines seen here in a pre-clean up and a light white undercoat from 1989, one has the paint job I first ever attempted as a homebrew Chapter that never was, it's not actually that bad, neat job at least anyway, but he'll serve once more in the new guise as a Relictor - as I stated in 2010 - I will paint these someday - well that day has FINALLY come!

Check out the updates and other hobbyists progress over at Stepping Between Games. Wish me luck, cheers, Siph.

Relictors Old School Rhino APC Mk1b - for my RTB01 Marines

Hi Readers, thanks for dropping in our humble corner of the blogosphere. Today I have a gem, a reconditioned original Rhino Mk1b, I was lucky enough to get this in a job lot of old Warhammer gear that someone was clearing out.

I sanded and resprayed the Rhino with Army Painter Uniform Grey which is a great match for Codex Grey (Dawnstone). I washed the Rhino with Nuln Oil and drybrushed with Administratum Grey.

The Rhino is ideal for the RTB01 Squad I finished for Squaduary in February, they are in the 4th Company as I already have 6 Tactical Squads in my 5th Company. The Company colour is green, hence the green background. The old rhino had some cracked rear lights which was quite fitting for its age.

I replaced the bent aerials with skull topped aerials from the SM Bike kit and added a modern Storm Bolter as the original Bolters were missing.

The front got the same treatment of the other Rhinos with a Chain and a Skull Motif.

The Tactical Arrow was masked off using tape and painted on, which worked really well and matches the others with FW Transfers.

And finally, a shot with the RTB01 Marines and their new ride! A great addition to the Relictor forces, albeit the growing 4th Company! Next up, something bigger, time to start that Spartan Heavy Assault Tank as part of Spartember.  Thanks for dropping by, Cheers, Siph.

Squaduary - RTB01 Tactical Squad Completed

Hi Readers, thanks for dropping by and having a look-see. Here is my completed pledge for Squaduary for the month of February.  I had these RTB01 marines sitting about for an age, and another squad since 1989...

For those who might be wondering what Squaduary was, its all about building and painting a squad in February and was a hobby related event being run by Stepping Between Games. A great way to get motivated to paint some of those miniatures lurking in the cupboard of doom To-Do pile. I'm sure it will be a regular feature for upcoming years!

These were painted my usual scheme for the Relictors Chapter. Using Codex Grey/Dawnstone or Army Painter Uniform Grey spray, washed with Nuln Oil, highlighted Administratum Grey.

The Banner stripe denotes a Tactical Squad, and the green colour denote the 4th Company, I already have 6 Tactical Squads for the 5th Company, and one for the 4th Company... quite a few Marines now!

I had to re-arm the Sergeant with a FW Bolt Pistol and the Specialist with a Spellcrow Gravity Gun as a counts-as Grav Gun. The original weapons were damaged.

The Missile Launcher is the original, FW do an updated version if you like this style, I also painted the Missiles yellow to match the rest of the force, and the Sergeant has a few spare reloads.

The second half of the squad have the Bolters, on the left the empty hand was replaced with a modern grenade hand as the pose was a asking for it. The middle Marine has his original Bolt Pistol drawn, They are tiny!

The rear shot showing the Combat Blades and the holstered Bolt Pistols.

Thanks to all the participants of Squaduary for the motivation, and to Stepping Between Games for organizing this great event, cheers. Siph.

Squaduary - Week 3 Progress - RTB01 Tactical Squad

Hi Readers, thanks for dropping by and checking out my progress. So, a little more done this week, two more Marines finished and a third at the highlighting stage. That's now over the halfway mark, 6 finished, 4 to go. Should have these all finished and showcased by the end of the month, easy. Thanks Squaduary, great motivation from reading other participants progress and seeing their squads come together.

For those who might be wondering what Squaduary is, its all about building and painting a squad in February and is a hobby related event being run by Stepping Between Games. A great way to get motivated to paint some of those miniatures lurking in the cupboard of doom To-Do pile.

Here's a close up of the newest members to this RTB01 squad, the old school Missile Launcher and a Bolter marine. I added a Bolt Pistol to the leg of the Bolter marine, and some spare missiles to the heavy weapons trooper. Missile Launchers are very meh... at least in my battles, but the rule of cool won for this squad, I had the bits so he had to have one.

Right, that's any tricky bits now completed, just Bolter armed marines left. It's a shame that when these were glued together half a tube of glue was over-used on each marine! They have needed a lot of filing and smoothing to get to this stage, but I think they look quite passable.

Cheers for stopping by, Siph.