Rogue Trader Space Marines - Tactical Squad complete.

 

 So with the last pair of rogue trader space marines finished this week, I've rounded off my five man tactical squad. 

 I've gone for Brother Leanman and my favourite heavy weapon marine miniature for the final two in what has been a very economical project as all five models were spares from when I finished painting my space marine army several years ago. 

 I've been delighted with the amount of positive response on various social media platforms regarding the colour scheme that I've opted for. I spend a lot of time working out colour schemes on all of my projects (more than the actual painting sometimes) so it means an awful lot!

 There is always the chance of adding to this chapter at some point but a tactical squad was all I'd set out to achieve for now but it's been an enjoyable little project so it's pretty likely you'll be seeing more of these guys down the line.

 As these guys are part of an Inquisition aligned chapter, the plan is to include an Inquisitor in terminator armour so I'll be working on that in the near future but also I'll be making a start on the next project which is a Chaos Renegade warband which is something I've wanted to take on for a long time but never quite found it to be the time.

 

 

Rogue Trader Space Marines - two new additions to the Tactical Squad

  So I've added a pair of classic Rogue Trader marines to my planned five man tactical squad. Accompanying the sergeant is one of my favourites of the RT space marine range, Brother Slater (with scanner) and Brother Quiff.

 Slater, another Mark Copplestone model is an all round belter. The helmet has a really nice shape to it. Quiff, sculpted by Aly Morrison, has a face only his mother could love, which has also doubled up as both the faces of Inquisitor Augustus and the Traitor General from the Rogue Trooper range.

 Brother Quiff, like his sergeant, is sporting a hairstyle befitting the time period in which he was sculpted. 

 Next up with be the final pair to complete the squad, including a heavy bolter marine before tackling the main man, the inquisitor in terminator  armour. 

Rogue Trader Space Marine Sergeant - my first 40k paint job in 5 years

 

 If someone said to me after I painted my Rogue Trader warband back in 2017 that I'd not paint another 40k model for five years, I'd have probably laughed in their face. If someone had said to me years ago after painting my space marine army that I'd never paint another one again, I'd probably have agreed with them.

 So, here we are. I'm not aiming for anything to big here, just a tactical squad to accompany an Inquisitor in terminator armour. 

 I've opted to kick off with my all time favourite space marine model, Brother Napier. Sculpted by Mark Copplestone, who is my favourite of the marine sculptors, Napier captures that classic 80's RT aesthetic, especially with that hairstyle. Like the army, I've gone for a made up chapter/colour scheme. No chapter name finalised yet, I'll probably wait until the squad is finished. 

 I wanted the armour to be predominantly grey and pale blue and decided to break it up with a small amount of orange. Also, he's sporting a classic rogue trader marine backpack with banner poles which aren't too easy to find these days. 

 I've nearly wrapped up man #2 with man #3 ready to go and the Inquisitor is currently being stripped so I'll hopefully post another update next week, all going well.

Rogue Trader Space Marine Lizard Riders Unit

 With a combination of being manic at work and slaving over this project, the blog has been a little dormant over the last month or so but here is the final unit that makes up my Star Reavers chapter; riding lizards.

 Made up of the limited edition space marine riding lizard figure, this is a unit that I have been aiming to get done for some time now. Part of the problem was not owning enough lizards for a unit of five; up until the end of last year I owned only two. Then, not long before Christmas I was extremely fortunate to win no less than FOUR riding lizards on ebay for £10.50 also with free postage. The bargains can still be found out there; living proof.

 Although initially designed for the plastic marines from the RTB1 set, I planned to use metal riders for the lizards just as I'd done with the first one I painted a couple of years ago.  Bike riders fit nicely but I was running out of options here having used most of them up on bikes already.
 So I set about using other marines that would fit onto saddles.

Unit leader - I had originally planned to remove one of the sergeant's power fists but a wise man (Rochie over at Buried Under Lead) convinced me he would look great left as is so I took his sagely advice. His mount is roughly based on an Agama lizard; I wanted something a little more colourful for the leader.

Standard Bearer - He underwent a bit of converting here and his left hand was replaced by a Blood Bowl Human lineman whilst his standard was made from brass rod and the banner of a Marine Chaplain; this part was a real bastard as I had to drill the existing banner pole out to accommodate the rod. One of those fine line between success and completely ballsing it up moments.

This guy was a lot simple. Originally a medic bike/jet cycle rider, he merely needes his medic symbols removed.

Originally painted a couple of years ago, he's a sidecar rider/tank crewman.

Lastly, this guy; another former medic. Just a case of file the medic sigils off again, cut the tag off and pin him on.

 So that's it; all units completed. All that remains is a medic, a techmarine and a librarian in terminator armour and I can draw a line under the Star Reavers chapter and tick off one of my goals for 2016 thus drawing my attention to some other important projects and works in progress.

Rogue Trader Space Marine Vignette - Salvation

SALVATION

Star Reavers Exploration Force

Medusa V

Rogue Trader Space Marine Vignette

 Bringing up my half century of posts, this has been a project that I have had planned out for some time now; I just needed to get my ass in gear and start it. There isn't a great deal of conversion work on display here, just a collection of great figs that have been sculpted in appropriate positions for me to achieve what I aimed for.

 I have stuck with my Star Reavers marine chapter but have painted them in the chapter's exploration force colours (that's not because I was running out of Go Fasta Red; I merely wanted to give them a little more scope).

 The centrepiece of the vignette may look a little flimsy but seems pretty durable. I drilled a hole up the left leg of the marine up to the knee and inserted some brass rod that goes all the way through the terrain and into the base. A second brass rod was fitted into his left forearm and travels nearly the whole way through the back end of the jet bike. Two part epoxy resin has been used to make sure it's not going anywhere unless I drop it. I have also used the last two of my rhino crewmen (all have now been used for other purposes), one being rescued, the other wounded and left to his fate.

Some work in progress shots. I should have taken many more really.

 Originally a Limited Edition, this is my personal favourite Chaos Renegade. Its colour scheme has been partially based on an entry from the 1988 Golden Demon Awards.

Rogue Trader Space Marine Sergeant on Bike

 Here is the last in a trio of bikes which rounds off my Rogue Trader Marine army for a while. This guy is the sergeant who I have used one of the limited edition Christmas Marines/Spaced Out Marines, giving him a pair of riders legs.

                                            

Using non original bike rider figures like Rhino tank crewmen and the Christmas marine gave me a bit more scope and envisaged that mounting up or parked up feel. Incidentally, the other Christmas Marine has been converted but he'll be mounted on something different.

But for now, the Star Reavers marine chapter comes to a close. All that remains is a terminator librarian, a medic, a techmarine and one more unit which will remain anonymous until I can amass them. A refreshing new project will begin this week so I should have one or two figures from that to post up very soon.

Rogue Trader Space Marine Devastator Unit

 This project is coming to a close and here is the final 10 man unit completed. The heavy boys were done some time ago but just had to get round to painting the bolter men. Nothing really new to say here what with all the recent posts. It does feel weird having them all done though. Bike squad will be the next post before I take another break from this lot for a while.

Another medic has been used here (centre) as a standard marine

Rogue Trader Space Marine Assault Unit and Dreadnought

 For years I have admired the splendor of seeing assault troops in units of ten all decked out in original rogue trader jump packs. Now I've finally doubled the tally of my own unit of five to complete the unit.

The guy on the left is another Rhino crewman used for other purposes. The battle hardened chap in the middle for is a brilliant fig and has to be the jewel in the assault marine crown.

While I was at it, I decided to add some much needed detail to what I was beginning to realise was a rather dull looking dreadnought devoid of the markings that have graced others depicted from the classic rogue trader era.