Building a Greater Brass Scorpion part II

After a brief intermission from working on the Brass Scorpion, I dared to continue. The model has been primed and has received a leadbelcher basecoat. Since the actual construction of the model involves overlapping armour plates and other areas I can't reach well, and seeing that the model is quite a hassle to put together right (ball joints, many flimsy legs), I decided to paint each part individually and put the whole together when done.

However, I'm a bit lost in the creative process. Clearly, this scorpion won't be Khorny red. I want it to be a mean heavy metal machine, with lots of wear and tear, rust and weathering. The thing that halted the process is the matter of hazard stripes. Should I put hazard stripes onto this model, or should I not?

If so, where would the hazard stripes be best? On its pincers? One of the armour plates perhaps? I just can't decide. I don't know if it would compliment the model either. If you read this, and have an opinion on this, please share. I'm at a complete loss!

Perhaps some hazard stripes on (some of) its legs? Hnnnghh..

Best belly there is!

Storm of Iron: Iron Warriors 10th Grand Battallion WIP II

Hi folks,

Time for a hobby update. I have not been sitting idle the last few days. Time did not allow me to take better photos, so bear with me on this one.
I've completed work on two Chaos Space Marine squads, a Possessed squad, a Vindicator and two Rhino transports.

Last but not least is my Daemon Prince, which I am going to paint using an experimental method of washing and drybrushing. Please stick around for more update on the Prince.

Meanwhile, the work on my Brass Scorpion has progressed, but I'm still deciding on where and how to go about with the hazard stripes on that model.

- Revan

Building a Greater Brass Scorpion part I

I haven't worked on my Guardians for some time now. Nevertheless, they still receive much gaming love, the hobby aspect has shifted to my Iron Warriors for the time being. I have recently bought myself a new toy to work with: a Greater Brass Scorpion of Khorne. And my, is this a monstrous kit. It has so many parts, that the washing and cleaning all the parts felt more like doing the dishes.

I've started building it and gradually giving it a base coat,but it's nowhere near finished just yet. The legs connect with ball joints and are really flimsy. So I plan on putting the body on a large lump of clay just to keep it in position while glue the legs together. If that doesn't work, I will turn to pinning the model, which I actually want to avoid if not necessary.

I will keep you updated with the progress on this beast.

Storm of Iron: Iron Warriors Vindicator

Hey guys,

Been a while since I posted. I've had a several month hiatus from the hobby. Nevertheless, my Iron Warriors army is nearing completion. I've been steadily building towards a list of around 1500-1850 points. I expect it to be fully done this month. Expect some very cool pictures when it's completed.

On the other hand, sticking with the Iron Warriors, I've been planning a small Horus Heresy army. Due to the high cost of the models, it will be a long-term novelty project. But painting worn metal and hazard stripes have proven to be such fun, that I'm willing to do some more.

Cheers and have a nice weekend!

-Revan88

Legendary Guardians of the Covenant

In a Chapter of but a thousand warriors, each and every Space Marine is a legend on its own.

Having endured a gruelling training, surviving to become a Battle-Brother and carving his legend through the annals of the Imperium itself, each and every member of the Chapter is a hero beyond belief. Though even in this brotherhood of heroes, there are a few warriors that truly stand out. They are warriors whose prowess of battle and keen intellect are second to none. They and they alone have achieved singular greatness and are the purest exemplars of their Chapter.

They are the epitome of what each Battle-Brother strives to become.

They are legendary.

Xandor Solaceon - Supreme Grand Master of the Guardians of the Covenant,  The Lord Guardian, the Crimson Angel, Satrap of Sub-Sector Halcyon

Even for an Astartes, Xandor Solaceon is ancient. Taking the mantle of Chapter Master almost four hundred years ago, the story of Solaceon is one of many legends. Solaceon, the current Supreme Grand Master is believed to be over eight centuries old. His ornate suit of artificer armour is as much battle plate as it is life support. His armour sports an ancient single-thruster winged jump pack and he wields a large power falx.
He is a fearsome warrior, wise and pious. Many Mortikans revere him as a Saint, entire generations growing up and dying, taking comfort in the fact that Solaceon is always there as an avatar of the divinity of the God-Emperor.
To the Battle-Brothers of the Chapter, Solaceon is the ultimate authority. An individual with the wisdom of ages. It was Solaceon that single-handedly slew the Daemon Prince N'zar, he also turned the tide in the Lelith Incursion and successfully led the 77th Halo Crusade, which led to the creation of a new sub-sector at the edge of known space.
By ancient tradition, the position of Chapter Master will be vacant only after the passing of the current one. Due to his extreme age, the Lord Guardian shares the burden of leading the Chapter with his fellow Grand Masters and spends a lot of time in the Spire in study and meditation. However, when the Lord Guardian enters the battlefield, the tide of battle will surely turn.


Galax Trayarch - The Knight Eternal, Grand Master of the Convenio Mentoris, High Suzerain of Mortikah VII

Clad in a suit of baroque terminator armour, Grand Master Trayarch is a giant, even amongst his brother Astartes. As Grand Master of the Convenio Mentorus, he is the Master of the Knights of the Covenant, and thusly named the Knight Eternal. Trayarch has held his post for nearly two centuries, and can always be found at the forefront of any large theatre of war. He typically wields Deicide, an archaeotech thunder hammer, with origins in the Great Crusade, which he wields with devastating effect.
The Knight Eternal earned praise from the wider Imperium, when he boarded a Hive Ship of a splinter fleet of Hive Gorgon, slaying the Norn Queen after a battle that is said to have taken over a day to complete. Of the thirty elite Knights and Mentor Terminators that boarded the Tyranid vessel, only five survived. Those survivors currently form Trayarch's command squad, named The Five.
Through great sacrifice, the Guardians of the Covenant eventually turned the tide of the war halted the progress of Hive Fleet Gorgon significantly.


Parcival Drachyon - The Stygian Prince, Grand Master of the Convenio Venator, Praeses of the Black Knights

The illustrious career of the Grand Master of the second company is one steeped in glory. Parcival Drachyon currently leads the Black Knights, an elite faction within the fabled Convenio Venator, the gathering of hunters. Drachyon, like his knights, wears jet black armour. This, together with his noble Mortikan heritage, earned him the title, the Stygian Prince.Drachyon rides into battle a relic without equal: Mercurion, an ancient Scimitar-pattern Jetbike, a precious heirloom from the days of the Great Crusade.
The Stygian Prince is a veteran of centuries and his wisdom knows few equals, despite this, he is considered hot-headed by some, hungry for glory by others. Drachyon is the absolute master of rapid attacks, often hitting the enemy with surgical strikes, breaking the foe's will even before the main assault. The Praeses of the Black Knights rose to fame with the wider Imperium after fighting alongside the Ultramarines Third Company in a gruelling campaign against the corrupted hive world of Virago, where they clashed with their traitorous brethren of The Purge, a Chaos Space Marine warband.


Luthenas Vairez - Master of the Convenio Armatura, Master of the Forge, Lord of Mechanisms, Keeper of the Last Guardian.

The Master of the Forge, Luthenas Vairez, has spent decades on Mars and Ryza, learning the secrets of the Adeptus Mechanicus. He came back after almost a century of absence, the annals of the Spire registered Vairez as lost to the warp. The stalwart Techmarine was immediately promoted to Master of the Forge and he went to work on The Last Guardian, an immobilised but nonetheless fearsome Fellblade super-heavy tank, which he made battle-ready after a decade of intensive work. Vairez is legendary within the Chapter, both as a mechanic and an innovator. His unorthodox armour sports an arcane conversion beamer and he himself wields a thunder hammer, often with a storm shield.


Kaesar Lucius -  Former Grand Master of the Chapter, The Doomed Crusader

The story of Kaesar Lucius was a grand one, albeit with one that ends in misfortune. He was a fearsome warrior. A Battle-Brother of great wisdom, and unmatched skills in battle. Lucius was an active crusader, and claimed a lot of uncharted space for the Imperium. Over two millennia ago, Kaesar Lucius stood on the eve of embarking on the biggest crusade into the uncharted territory of the Halo Zone. The crusade would later be christened as the Armeneus Crusade. Hundreds of thousands of troops, Spireguard, tanks and a full five companies of Guardians of the Covenant would travel with a fleet of such magnitude, that it was said the stars themselves were blotted out.
All would prove for nought. The crusade left, and would never be heard of again. The final fate of Kaesar Lucius and many Battle-Brothers and brothers in arms would be left to question for eternity.


Leicas Huriel - Legendary founder of the Chapter

Leicas Huriel was a Dark Angel and the arch-father of the Chapter. Not much is known about Huriel. He was a member of the Inner Circle and was known as an oddity within the Dark Angels Chapter, in that he though the scholarly arts were equal to the martial arts. Despite this, Huriel was considered a font of wisdom. When the High Lords of Terra created a new Chapter from Dark Angels' Gene-Seed, it was only natural that Leicas Huriel would be the one to lead it.


Lenko Hollix-Varnus - Librarius Dominus, Chief Librarian, Keeper of the Seven Keys

The Chief Librarian of the Guardians of the Covenant stands in stark contrast with Brother-Librarians from other Chapters. The Librarius Dominus of the Sons of Mortikah is not a keeper of secrets, but a giver of knowledge. Even within a brotherhood of warrior-scholars, Lenko Hollix-Varnus takes the moniker to a new level. He a scholar in extremis, when not at war, he leads the Librarium in documenting and categorising every piece of knowledge and art the Chapter brings into existence.
Formally attached to the First Company, he wears dark blue and gunmetal terminator armour. Hollix-Varnus is the name of an influential noble Mortikan family, which has provided the Guardians of the Covenant with many recruits.
Aside of all this, Lenko is a formidable battle-psyker, wielding the devastating powers of the warp to great effect.

Ivanh Olmas - Hero of the Lelith Campaign, Chaplain of the Convenio Fides

Olmas is perhaps the most recently forged legend within the Guardians of the Covenant Chapter. He is a Chaplain assigned to the Convenio Fides. Olmas was chosen to lead the expedition against the Lelith as Force Commander. Despite heavy losses, Ivanh Olmas stood his ground and none found him wanting. His selfless actions prevented even heavier losses amongst his Brothers, and due to this he was named the Hero of the Lelith Campaign, Saviour of Choris. He refused any official commendations, for he stated that he was only doing his duty and expected his brothers to do just the same. Nevertheless, his star shines brightly and he is well liked -and feared- by the brothers of his ministration.


Sajanus Mordecai - Dark  Reclusiarch, Keeper of the Faith, Grand Master of the Reclusiam

A dark and brooding figure, Sajanus Mordecai is amongst the oldest Astartes in service of  Chapter. His ornate artificer armour is bedecked with sinister memento mori and numerous texts from holy scriptures. Mordecai is said to embody the spirit of the Chapter and carries the title Keeper of the Faith.  Though a fully trained Interrogator-Chaplain, even holding two of the fabled black pearls in his keepsake, Mordecai currently uses his skills to interrogate the many vile Xenos the Guardians of the Covenant encounter, and he does this with terrifying succes.
Aside of his Crozius Arcanum, Mordecai wields Spiritbreaker, a master-crafted power fist and is commonly seen donning the Angel's Pinions, a winged jump pack akin to that of the Chapter Master himself.

Apocalypse: Guardians of the Covenant vs. Iron Warriors. PICTURES!

Hey folks,
Been a while, I know. Even though my very own Iron Warriors got a little more love than my Guardians last month, I haven't forgotten my well-dressed marines. In fact, I've had an apocalypse match the other day with the entirety of my (painted) army, around 6000pts. It was an awesome match that took the better part of a day to finish. Unfortunately I lost due to my opponent being in favour with the Dice Gods.
Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun. Apocalypse has both the best and the worst 40k has to offer. 10/10 Would play again.
Enough words. Check out the epic pictures.

 

Storm of Iron: Iron Warriors 10th Grand Battallion WIP

Hey folks,

Last month was a bit calm when it came to the Guardians of the Covenant, hence my lack of posts.
Still, I would love to share with you my current creations: Iron Warriors. It will be an army that can be played with both the Crusade army list and Codex: Chaos Space Marines. That means: a lot of Mk3 Iron Armour and Forge World units, together with a healthy mix of Chaos Space Marines. It's still a work in progress, but nevertheless, sharing is caring! (And I do care.)


-Revan88

Ancient Bartellus, a Chaos Dreadnought

The Warpsmith

Havoc with autocannon

The Despoilers

Havoc Squad with Champion

Group shot: Guardians of the Covenant - What's finished thus far

The other day someone asked me what exactly I've got finished for my Guardians of the Covenant.

Well, here it all is. It's too much to list it all, but you might just be able to see it for yourself. And while I acknowledge that the pictures I took (despite it being a real camera, not a phone) are kind of crap, it took me some while to un-shelf and unpack all the units for this group shot. I put it all back where it belongs before realising I used a close-up setting on my camera. Too bad.

Bad pictures aside, the images give a good idea as to what I can field.

I've got another tactical squad, 5 company veterans, a Land Raider, Predator and 5 terminators still in various stages.

Anyway, enjoy and feel free to comment!

-Revan88

P.S

Don't mention the table. Just don't. It's a so-called IKEA-hack made by the misses of the house. I had nothing else.

Real group shot

Because Contemptors are worth a close-up

Company Veterans

The Masters of the Chapter

Top-down view

Showcase: Guardians of the Covenant Fellblade Superheavy Tank & WIPBelial

I am proud to tell you that my Fellblade is quite finished and ready for heavy tabletop warfare. Though all my models are forever in state of flux; I may change some minor things and to touch-ups over the months or years. I must conclude that it's no longer a WIP.

Another thing, I've been working on Master Trayarch, the commander of the First Company, which is my Belial stand-in. Armed with a thunder hammer and storm shield, he will be followed by a command squad. He's still WIP and I will dedicate a post to the guy when he's done.

Lore of the Guardians of the Covenant: Famous Campaigns and Battles. Part I

During their long history, the Guardians of the Covenant have fought a great many wars and crusades. Though most have been lost in the sands of time, forgotten save for a tattered banner of withered scroll somewhere deep in the Spire, there are some battles which have shaped the history of the Chapter and the people of Mortikah as we know it.


Castellax Campaign

The Castellax Campaign was a joint operation by the Ordo Xenos and the Guardians of the Covenant. The campaign was centred around the forge world of Castellax which was beset from all sides by a vast ork invasion fleet. Castellax had been an important forge world during the Great Crusade, producing all manner of war gear of the Legiones Astartes. As of the forty-first millennium, the world was heavy with war relics that could never be replaced if lost.
The Inquisition answered a desperate plea by the Adeptus Mechanicus that a vast ork fleet was approaching. The xenos were bent on looting the the planet and moving on to the nearby heavily populated sub-sector. If the orks succeeded at Castellax, the Imperium would be thrown into another bloody war of attrition.
Warp travel is fickle, and it took a good part of four months to journey from Mortikah VII to Castellax. During that period, the vile orks gained a secure foothold on the south pole of the planet. Using it as a staging ground to invade the rest of the planet by looting enough precious war machines to build their own ramshackle abominations. The Mechanicus-aligned knightly House Rajax together with the Legio Silentium and the local Taghmata Omnissiah barely held back the green tide.
At the beginning of the fifth month of the journey, the Black Ships of the Inquisition together with several battle barges and strike cruisers of the Guardians of the Covenant, translated back to realspace near the Castellax system. The Space Marines deployed with drop pods and thunderhawks and even a few storm eagles made the descent, bringing the Emperor's Fury upon the vile orks. The battle was costly, as the orks already looted enough to make gargants and other heavy weaponry. In the end, the forge world of Castellax was liberated. The Adeptus Mechanicus, as a token of gratitude gifted three precious relic dreadnought chasses, which were kept in stasis for millennia, to the Chapter. And thus was the bond between both factions was further strengthened.


Kheres Crusade

The Kheres Crusade, or informally named the Crusade of Angels due to the Space Marine Chapters involved, was an operation between the Blood Angels and the Guardians of the Covenant. The former were exacting revenge on the vile hrud. The fighting was fierce and both forces fought to a standstill. Ever more hrud poured from the warp and the strike force consisting of the Blood Angels third company simply did not have the numbers and resources to wage a bloody war of attrition. What the Blood Angels were doing in a remote corner of the Imperium battling the hrud, no one but they themselves knew.
Though far from Imperial space, their pleas for assistance in battling the hrud were not misplaced. The Guardians of the Covenant Fourth Company answered the call in force, relieving the embattled Blood Angels and driving back the vile warp-spawned xenos. In gratitude of this timely intervention, the Blood Angels gifted a dozen ornate angelus-pattern jumppacks, resplendent with ceramite wings. Normally worn by the Chapter's elite, the Sanguinary Guard, the Grand Master of the Guardians of the Covenant fashioned them for his own armour and the remaining others for his Honour Guard. They can still be seen wearing the jumppacks to this day.


Lucian's Folly

The undertaking which eventually became known as Lucian's Folly started as a crusade into the Halo Zones to claim several uncharted sectors for the Imperium. By request of the High Lords of Terra, fully half of the Chapter was committed to the crusade. This force, led by Grand Master Lucian crusaded forth to bring the Emperor's light in the remote darkness of the Halo Zones. To Imperial scholars, this event is known as the Armeneus Crusade, but to the people and brothers of Mortikah VII, this tragic even will be forever etched into public consciousness as Lucian's Folly.
The undertaking begin with great applause and fanfare, as a great many Mortikans gladly joined the Astra Militarum in order to partake in the crusade. The departure of soldiers for the crusade was of a magnitude so immense, that the place where the many ships lifted off eventually grew into a bristling spaceport, named in honour of the lost Grand Master.
Where the Armeneus Crusade began full of wonders, glory and Imperial prowess, it ended in utter tragedy. Five months into the campaign, all astrotelephatical communication was lost after a warp surge seemed to brutally end the lives of every telepathic choir tuned in to the location of the crusade. Attempts to re-establish communication has proved futile, all traces of the crusade, which had numbers well into the hundred thousands as well as half a Chapter worth of Astartes, went cold. No contact was ever made again. The Imperium was set back by this loss, but the Chapter was sent reeling by the loss of five hundred battle-brothers, including the Grand Master and many veteran members of the Chapter. Never again would half the Chapter be committed again to one single campaign.

Guardians of the Covenant Fellblade Superheavy Tank - Part IX: Post-Weathering & Decals

I just had to take some pictures of the Fellblade next to a Predator,  this morning. The sheer mass and size when compared to the already fearsome Predator tank is just stunning. Since my last update (which was tomorrow), I managed to give the Demolisher Cannon a weathering, adding some black soot to the barrel. and I gave my decals a little weathering as well as completing the Tank Commander and all the lenses on the turret and said commander. I'd reckon it's 98% done now. I am still planning some minor detail work here and there, and maybe increasing the dirt on the tracks, but not much more.
I can't wait to lay waste to some Imperial Knights with this thing before I end up as D-weapon target practice.

Look at the size of this thing, even with the Predator on the foreground.

The Tank Commander has a home-printed decal on his pauldron.

The mighty barrels and the equally mighty turret

Guardians of the Covenant Fellblade Superheavy Tank - Part VIII:Weathering

Hello folks,
To celebrate the warmest 8 March ever in  recorded history, I decided to put some effort into bringing this beast of a tank a giant leap further to completion. I've started weathering heavily. Using a lot of carefully applied Typhus Corrosion on the bottom of the hull, near the tracks and on the wheels supporting the tracks, I made it nice and dirty. I made sure to include the many rivets as well. Nothing beats a little rust on the model to give it an ancient feel.
The red areas saw some weathering as well, with Typhus Corrosion in the corners and  carefully application of Boltgun Metal with a piece of foam (from an old GW metal blister) to give it the impression of chipped paint. After that, I went to work with Forge World's weathering powders, as seen in the background. I used some dark earth pigment on the tracks and some black soot pigment on the cannons. Afterwards I sealed that with some Army Painter matt varnish.
Last but not least, I started to work with transfers, or decals whatever you wish to refer to. I used a lot of GW transfers around the tank and the turret dome, such as aquilas and hazard stripes and first and foremost, my very own printed decals with the crossed swords Chapter device, that makes it distinctively Guardians of the Covenant.
I'd say it's 90 per cent done here. With the Demolisher cannon, the Tank Commander and some various other details still needing some work.
I'll keep you guys updated.

-Revan88