Monday 15 July 2013

Group shot as promised.....

Ask and ye shall recieve....I have uploaded a group shot of my Rogue Trader Marines.

Apologies that the quality isn't great but I will try to re-shoot it when the lights better...

Sunday 14 July 2013

More Rogue Trader goodness

Greetings fellow Imperial citizens;

As promised I have taken a few more photographs of my Rogue Trader era Space Marines hailing from the Salamanders Chapter. As per my previous post I have tried to paint them in the style (and with the correct hand painted insignia) of the early Rogue Trader period (c.1987 - 1991).

Well every one loves a chracter and I decided that my Marines required a little spiritual support in the form of an original lead Chaplain armed with a bolt pistol and crozius....



I love this model; admittedly the skull mask is a little 'stylised' but the miniature oozes menace and character.

Next I decided to paint up a generic Veteran (maybe he will be used to fill in as anything from a sergeant up to a captain) with a massive power axe....


Again the sculpting is reminiscent of the times, but still....he's also very characterful.

Well it's time for a few more squads; and so I decided to give my Marine force a little more firepower in the form of two devastator units. 

The first squad is ten marines strong, four of whom who are armed with lascannons.  These models are the oldest Space Marines produced (some are pre-rogue trader and are c.1984 +) and are real gems; though they are pretty hard to get ahold of.  They were made as part of Citadel's generic sci-fi models to support Talisman Timescape back in the days before 40k existed; however whilst there are some differences it is easy to see the progression from these guys through to the RTB01 wombles we all know and love. Pictures of them feature heavily in the RT rule book....


The next devastator squad is made up of 'standard' RT womble Mk VI metal and plastic marines; 1 carries a heavy bolter, 1 carries a conversion beamer whilst another two are armed with missile launchers....


Next another tactical squad is added to the fray.  The sergeant is a plastic RTB01 marine with Power Fist and appropriate 80's rank chevrons. No heavy weapon as of yet, but you might like the special weapon trooper who has apparently mugged an Eldar and stolen his shuriken catapult...


Now it was time to up the existing assault squad from five to ten battle-brothers.  Once again I have utilised a mix of metal and plastic marines to add some variation. The sergeant wields  a power fist and bolt pistol whilst one marine is packing a hand flamer and another sports a plasma pistol...

I then decided to add an extra Rhino for increased mobility. Like my last Rhino (picture also included) I saw this a chance to go to town with hand painted insignia, honour markings and vehicle mounted flags.  I really enjoyed trying out my blending techniques (from old WD paint guides) on the flames and lightning strike.  I think they have turned out okay.



Well that's it for this update....I hope you've enjoyed seeing some old models given a new lease of life with a fresh paint job!

Stay safe out there....Legio
 

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Rogue Trader Space Marines

Well as this is a blog about all things retro I thought I would kick off with with some retro miniatures!

I love Rogue Trader Space Marines; as far as I am concerned they are some of the most characterful miniatures that GW have ever released for 40k. Admittedly they aren't as crisp or clean as the current range; but they are beautiful in their own way. Without further ado....


Having read through my pristine copy of the 1989 Space Marine painting guide I decided to paint these classic models as Salamanders (before GW retconned them into weird burns victims); and so I broke out the Dark Green paint and set about doing up these terminators and assault marines.  I wanted to go traditional and so all sigils are hand painted....not a transfer in sight! I also decided to knock up a Rhino....as I love these old APC's.


I wanted the Termies to be as 1980's authentic as possible; so I went for cheques and stripes on the Power/Chain fists; as well as a liberal application of Honour Markings.  These Veteran 1st Company brothers not only pound the battle fields of 40k; but also frequently find themselves smashing the Genestealer menace in my first edition copy of Space Hulk.

Well Terminators and Assault Marines are all well and good; but all of us know the cold hard truth...it is the humble Tactical Brother and his Bolter that bear the brunt of the fighting and end up holding the line....


This squad, led by a rather shaggy haired Sergeant will be responsible for the inglourious fighting in my retro battles. The majority of these boys are from the classic RTB01 boxed set, quality plastics that have really stood the test of time... 26 years and they still look good! There's also a few of the contemporary metal guys in there for a bit of variation.  I went with the classic flamer/missile launcher combo because it can deal with most threats....and more importantly that's what came in the box.

Space Marines are elite warriors however they have one flaw...you get so few of them for your points in 1st/2nd Edition.  They lack any real cheap troops and so I decided to build them some allies from the Imperial Army/Guard to support their endeavours...


Firstly I have build up a basic ten men squad armed with Lasguns, a grenade launcher and a lascannon.  The majority of these guys are the first plastic guard released, augmented by some metal character models.  I have gone for the classic paint scheme that was shown both in White Dwarf and on the back of the box. I am really happy with the way these guys have turned out.

Well we have our grunts and our elites so I guess all that remains is some characters to lead them in their battles.  Firstly I want a low level character who can command small operations....so I've gone for a classic lieutenant model with power sword and bolt pistol. I've also given him a classic jump pack for increased mobility....


This guy is pretty badass and can deal with most situations in any edition of 40k; however sometimes you need a bit more punch to your characters; and for these situations we have the classic terminator Captain from the late 80's....


As the Space Marines have their own commanders I decided the mortals should have some form of leadership too and so painted up a command squad led by the first edition Imperial Guard Captain model, with a medic, standard bearer and extra Commissar...




Well that's it for my first proper post; I hope you enjoyed my classic models and I also hope that my paint jobs have done them justice. I'll let you know how they perform in battle in the next few weeks!

Greetings Astartes

Greetings one and all!

I am starting this blog for a number of reasons!

Firstly I have only recently started reading blogs (I'm something of a technophobe if truth be told) and have been inspired by the well written and interesting articles that I have thus far encountered and feel that I would like to become part of this exciting new medium.

Secondly I am a 40k player of old, having played all of it's incarnations since those heady days of Rogue Trader all the way through to the current sixth edition.  Over this time I have amassed a sizable collection of models, including a full Battle Company and a half of Crimson Fists Space Marines (we've been recruiting heavily since the Rynn's World incident). I love my hobby and am looking forward to finding a new way to interact with my fellow enthusiasts.

Finally I have recently been by the nascent Old Hammer scene to get back into retro gaming with some old school rulesets.  Actually Old Hammer has really more provided me with the means to scratch an itch that I've been feeling for a while! I have been dabbling in RT and 2nd Ed 40k for a few years (when I can find a willing opponent) but it was when I was in the middle of a ridiculously sized battle of 6th Ed the other day that I realised under the new rules I was driven into a mindset where I needed to win at all costs as opposed to have fun or experience a cool narrative....I took a step back and decided that this was not why I played games and so I decided to take a step back in time to the Glory Days of the 80's and 90's!

So I will hope you will join me in my exploration of all things retro in the Dark Millenium!!