Black Templars: March’s Painting Progress
That's right, March. April was so Tau-focused that I completely forgot to post what I'd painted in March on my Black Templars army. First, a group of Sword Brethren Assault Terminators.
I did note that the Terminator in the middle didn't get his tilt shield finished, and I didn't paint the service stud on the bareheaded fellow in front (not a Sergeant, since Black Templar Terminator squads don't have those). Nothing I can't touch up later. Next up, the Emperor's Champion:
I went ahead and used a decal on his shoulder pad, since I didn't think my freehanding skills were sharp enough to make a really crisp templar cross. On the other hand, I did brave putting some extra detail on his tabard, so maybe I shouldn't feel so sheepish.
Finally, a Razorback for the Las/Plas Crusader squad from February:
I don't know if I'd do the black/white color so strongly for future Rhino chassis; it looks a bit more like a police car than a battle tank. Still, this one was fun to weather by liberally applying some Mourn Mountain Snow to the treads. Not a bad look overall, but I do think I'm going to go with solid black next time, or at least less white.
As far as April, well, between the new Tau codex and a lot of life happening, I didn't finish that month's goal of painting up a Venerable Dreadnought. I did make progress, but not nearly enough to finish it.
It's coming along, and I've made progress since taking this picture. I think I can finish it up in May, along with getting a start on some new Tau minis. More about that another time...
February’s Black Templar Progress
February was a crazy month. Besides being the shortest month on the calendar, we got snowed in, and I hunted for and acquired a new job. Despite all that, I managed to get another two Crusader Squads and a Chaplain done for my Black Templars. Granted, it's taken me two weeks to post about it (new job, remember?), but here they are in all their black-and-white glory. The first squad is pretty much like last month's squad, just with the bits arranged slightly differently.
Complete with Neophytes, of course. That completes the close-combat Crusader squads. Next up, the shooting squad:
After all the tabards and ribbons and seals on the close combat squads, these guys were actually a bit on the boring side. Fortunately, the lascannon and plasmagun mix things up a bit. The bases aren't as blue as they appear in this photo, either; they're more white drybrush, but for some reason the lighting picked up the blue background more.
Finally, my first HQ, a chaplain to act as my Master of Sanctity:
I wish they had plastic skull helms that weren't for Khorne CSMs, but they don't, so I kitbashed this guy with a bald head and a breather. He looks appropriately Chaplain-y with the skulls and the crozius and the rosarius and the scroll, so I don't feel bad about him. The only part I don't care for is the censer hanging from his belt; the wash didn't darken the recesses to my liking, but I'm not sure if I want to try to touch him up more or not. Otherwise, he looks great.
This month, I'm working on my Emperor's Champion and my Assault Terminators. It'll be nice to not paint quite as much plain power armor (and with a much smaller model count as well)!
Back In 2013 With Black Templars
It's been a busy couple of months here, with the holidays and family illnesses and such, but I'm back to my blogging. I've also been painting, and I finally have some of my Black Templars completely painted. My first Crusader Squad, along with a variety of special weapons users, was finished this afternoon, and I'm very happy with how they've turned out. I'm still getting used to edge-highlighting black power armor, but for the most part they've turned out how I wanted.
Here's the special weapons Templars - meltagun, power fist, power axe, and flamer.
And a side view of the power axe. I went with the traditional "blue lightning" power weapon effect, but for the background I went with Leadbelcher washed with Drakenhof Nightshade (okay, the newer GW paint names are just silly after a point).
And the Neophytes, with under-armor colored to match the Initiates' tabards.
I've got a second squad about halfway complete; I was hoping to have them done by the end of the month as well, but a couple of things came up and I had to delay my painting work a bit. I won't be horribly set back in my overall painting schedule, though, so I can get right back at it and finish up early next month. It's good to finally see these guys finalized and ready for the tabletop.
Army Challenge: June Progress
June was a busy month outside of the hobby, so I didn't get nearly as much done as I'd hoped. I did manage to get the Rhinos/Razorbacks built for my Templars, though, with interchangeable top doors so I can switch them back and forth. I also built the first of two Land Speeder Typhoons for my army. Now that I have the first one done, I have a better idea on what to do with the second one, so it should go pretty well. I added a scrollwork bit to the front hull also; I'm thinking about labeling them "Aequitas" and "Veritas", to add a bit of Boondock Saints action. After that, I've got a Venerable Dreadnought and a Drop Pod to build, and that should be it for my army... just in time for 6th Edition to change up my army needs. But more on that in a bit.
Oh, and I had a Land Raider Crusader to build as well. That one... didn't go quite as well.
Notice anything missing? Yeah, the top of the hull. When building my Land Raider, I made a bit of a miscalculation and treated it like it was an oversized Rhino. When it came time to put in the headlights, I figured they went on the outside. No, they go on the inside of the hull... and I'd already glued the top of the hull on. To correct this, I tried trimming the bottom flanges off the lights and inserting them from the front. That worked on one headlight, but the other fell inside the hull and couldn't be shaken back out. In the end, I had to pry and cut the top of the hull off, so I'll need to track down a couple of replacement parts. It's been a learning experience, to say the least. Fortunately, if I ever have to build a second* Land Raider, I know what to do.
* Yes, this is my second Land Raider, but a friend assembled the first one for me.
As far as 6th Edition goes, I'm not sure how much my armies will change. I'm going to reserve judgment until after I have the rulebook in my hands. I'm intrigued by a lot of what I'm hearing, and I think the changes will definitely buff up my Tau and Chaos armies somewhat. My Templars... I'm not sure yet. There, it might be a wash. Of course, the FAQs will end up making all the difference, I think. I'll find out soon enough!
Army Challenge: More Crusader Squads
Work continues on my Black Templar army, and I now have all 3 Crusader Squads complete. The last two are identical - 4 pistol/CCW Initiates, a meltagun Initiate, a power fist Initiate, and 3 pistol/CCW Neophytes. I had fun trying to keep the poses different and dynamic, and mixing up Assault Squad and Tactical Squad legs with the Black Templar bodies helped give me a variety of poses that made them look like they were all in motion (except for the meltagun guys; they look more like they're bracing to take a shot).
Here's a quick shot focused on the rear squad:
I also picked up a High Marshal Helbrecht model last weekend at the KC Games Workshop grand opening. He's almost perfect, but he did break my "perfect Finecast" streak; an air bubble on his back severed one of the cables on his backpack. Not a huge issue, and nothing I can't fix easily (even with my limited green stuff skills), but an annoyance nonetheless. From the front, though, he looks great.
He's not technically in my 2000-point list, but I wanted him for completeness' sake - and as far as using him in place of a Marshal, he's not horrible; I can just run a standard Marshal for cheaper, although not one kitted out the same way he is.
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