Warhammer 40,000 – Space Marine Terminators Pt 2
We already covered the introduction to the classic Terminators back in March on the blog, and now it’s time to move on to the characters and additional options.
As outlined in the previous article, the 1990s models came in three basic poses, plus a Sergeant, a Chaplain, and a Librarian in Terminator Armour. Naturally, depending on the projects you have in mind, that also includes the models for the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels’ Deathwing. According to the Codex Ultramarines for the second edition of Warhammer 40,000, a Space Marine Terminator Squad consisted of five models: one Sergeant and four regular Marines. “Regular” is a relative term here, as these are veterans of the First Company. This also means that, according to the Codex Astartes, Terminators wear the helmet colour of veterans, which for Ultramarines would be white. That would also apply to the Imperial Fists, although in earlier editions this was not always implemented consistently by the ’Eavy Metal team.
This squad was equipped entirely with a power fist and storm bolter, but one model could be armed with a Terminator Heavy Weapon. In addition, each model in the squad could exchange its power fist for a weapon from the Terminator Assault Weapons section of the wargear list. In practical terms, this meant that a model could be equipped with a storm bolter and Cyclone missile launcher, assault cannon, or heavy flamer. The melee options for Terminators consisted either of a pair of lightning claws, a chainfist, or a thunder hammer with storm shield, while the Sergeant alone could also take a power sword. All of these options were covered by the miniature range. The same applies to the Space Wolves’ Wolf Guard and the Dark Angels’ Deathwing. Options such as plasma cannons for Terminators only appeared after the second edition.
For character models, there was the option to be equipped in Terminator Armour. This was either the classic loadout of storm bolter and power fist, or alternatively a pair of lightning claws, thunder hammer and storm shield, storm bolter and chainfist, or storm bolter and power sword. The character models in Terminator Armour each came with a storm bolter; in the case of the Chaplain, a Crozius Arcanum, and in the case of the Librarian, a psychic axe. The Terminator Captain only appeared rather late in the 1990s (UK White Dwarf #229, January 1999) and is therefore, not just strictly speaking, not a true second-edition model.
Warhammer 40,000 – Imperial Fists Call to Arms Pt 9
This article covers the very last days before the event. Every evening, I painted for at least three to four hours, once the kids were in bed.
Tension was high, and there was no room for errors. I was trying to lock in the finishing line, but of course all the things you do not need suddenly come into play. For example, the Sergeant falling off the little pot from a height of only three or four centimetres, with everything breaking off instantly. That is something that would happen with some of the other multi-part miniatures as well, especially the Devastators.
To get the weapons done quickly, I glued the bolters and bolt pistols onto a coffee stirrer and gave them a black primer. Then I touched up the metal parts with AP Gun Metal and True Copper, followed by a quick wash of Nuln Oil.
Warhammer 40,000 – Imperial Fists Call to Arms Pt 8
We need to catch up on how I got my Imperial Fists ready for the Chaosbunker Classics. This article picks up where we left off in part 6 of the Call to Arms, with more progress on the core of the regular Space Marines.
I finished the base colours on all the infantry and added a first coat of wash, Casandora Yellow, on the marines. For both the backpacks and the shoulder pads, it was easier to paint them before attaching them to the miniatures. I finished the base colours on the backpacks and kept them on the small sub-assembly holders. That was incredibly practical for priming and further painting. I prepared everything that would get a metallic colour with a black primer.
Warhammer 40,000 – Imperial Fists Call to Arms Pt 7
The next thing I painted for my Imperial Fists was the Dreadnought, the heavy armour in my small force that supports the Space Marine units.
The old Dreadnoughts were chunky blocks of pewter and certainly a challenge for any hobbyist. You get a full metal kit, and quite often some of the smaller bits are missing, like the auto-launcher or the banner top. Sometimes the banner itself did not survive the 20+ years of service, especially once it was dropped from later edition boxed sets of the metal kit.
I managed to sub-assemble mine and left off the banner for now. I want to replace it with a brass rod, as the original metal banner pole is too soft for its size and tends to bend or break.
I assembled the pieces, cleaned up what I could, and unfortunately noticed some damage in the cast that I will have to turn into battle damage. I primed it white first and then added another coat of Imperial Yellow by Titan Hobby. Spoiler alert: do not do it that way. Unless you own an airbrush, prime that hulk of metal black, give it a heavy drybrush of metallic paint afterwards, tape off what you want to keep dark, and then go for the main colour of your Chapter.
Painting all the dark parts in the recesses without spoiling the yellow was certainly time-consuming. And after blocking in the base colours, I ran into my usual problem with this project: how to adapt the contrast colours for the 3rd Company of the Imperial Fists. As you can see, I made a collage from the Angels of Death and Ultramarines codices. I think there is a picture of an Imperial Fists Dreadnought somewhere in the 3rd edition, but I could not find it in the later codex. Most likely it was in a battle report. (Update in White Dwarf #226 from October 1998 includes an Imperial Fists Dreadnought, but I could not find proper pictures.)
We had a lengthy discussion about the Dreadnought’s base (not just mine, but the Chaos Dreadnought as well and so on). In later editions this is not an issue, as you get the 80 mm round base, but in 2nd edition there was a mixture of DIY solutions: some people crammed those models onto 50 mm squares, used the old flat Titan bases, or simply did not use a base at all.
Warhammer 40,000 – Imperial Fists Call to Arms Pt 6
As the remaining time got less and less, I even brought the miniatures with me on my family trip and finished up the primer and added first colours. I was painting at the kitchen table after the kids went to bed.
As mentioned before, I primed the miniatures white and gave them a coat of Titan Hobby Imperial Yellow. Those areas that I didn't fully cover, were touched up with Citadel Yriel Yellow. Weapons and the soft spots between the armour panels were painted in Army Painter Matt Black. Everything that would be red, received a AP Pure Red first coat, and everything that would be green a first coat of Citadel Deathworld Forest.
The bases were painted with IONIC Goblin Green.
Warhammer 40,000 – Imperial Fists Call to Arms Pt 5
Chapter Iconography
While I reached a certain degree of battle ready-ness for the event, as you can see from the coverage, I still want to show you how I got there.
I stood before the decision of going for decals or moulded shoulder pads, and went for the latter. I really liked the idea and while it is something that came around rather later to 2nd edition and was more prominent in 3rd edition onwards, I still think it looks quite fitting. For the Imperial Fists there were several designs of pre-sculped shoulder pads available (including terminators and some characters), and I managed to acquire quite a bunch and at least one for each character I had planned.
But the challenge would be, what to do about those, who already had a left shoulder (or right one in case of the Terminators). I could have cut down the entire pad and replaced it with a sculpted one, but went down a different route. Going with Oyumaru, also known as Instant mould, a reusable thermoplastic from Japan, that can be used to mould pieces from various materials and is easier to use than silicone moulding.
Warhammer 40,000 – Space Marine Terminators
Today we are going to talk about the Space Marine Terminators fitting for a 2nd edition Warhammer 40k project. We did something like this for the Chaos Terminators on this blog as well, and want to pick that idea up again.
Yet, this grew to quite the article in research that I decided to split it into, the first one - the one you are reading now - about the miniatures themselves and in the second article on how to implement them in my Imperial Fists project.
If we want to keep it very era appropriate, we have four different sets to choose from. Terminators came as squad boxes of five in metal, as well as blister, as well as a later repack of the Space Hulk plastic miniatures. Three of the "big four" had their own Terminator metal sets, with the regular Space Marine Terminators for the Ultramarines (and other Codex Astartes chapters), the Wolf Guard of the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels Deathwing. The Blood Angels did not have a special unit in Terminator armour.
Why is the third edition Terminator Squad plastic box in there? These are a repack of the Plastic Terminators from Space Hulk's 2nd edition from 1996) and as such era appropriate. You could pick these up back in the day from the board game (30 miniatures, 10 of which were Terminators for 99 DM) or later as an individual boxed set for 50 DM, and as they were part of the 1998 battle force, their market value dropped further. So using that 3rd ed box still results in 2nd‑ed era models.
Warhammer 40,000 – Imperial Fists Darnath Lysander
Darnath Lysander was announced at the Big Summer Preview and has finally arrived alongside other updated Space Marine sculpts. It is important to note that Lysander did not cross the Rubicon Primaris, but instead received a miniature wearing the upgraded Indomitus Pattern Terminator armour.
As the captain of the Imperial Fists' first company, he is renowned for wielding the mighty Thunder Hammer, The Fist of Dorn, and for donning ornate Terminator armour and a Storm Shield. His leadership has turned the tide of many battles, particularly defensive operations, in which his strategic mind excels. Fiercely loyal to the ideals of the Imperial Fists and their Primarch, Rogal Dorn, Lysander embodies the Chapter's unyielding spirit.
The new Darnath Lysander miniature has been available since September 20th and has an RRP of 37 EUR (35 EUR at release, increased with the October price update). It includes a small sprue, a 50 mm round base, and assembly instructions, including a datasheet.
Horus Heresy – Legiones Astartes Mk II Assault Squad
Along with the Fellblade Super-Heavy Battle Tank, a new infantry plastic box set is introduced for the Legiones Astartes in Horus Heresy: the Astartes Assault Squad in Mark II armour.
This new boxed set of ten Legionaries as an Mk II Assault Squad is available to pre-order for 44,50 GBP / 57,50 EUR from today, 20 September, with an official release date of 4 October.
As we haven't yet covered the standard Mk II tactical power armour, I would like to provide you with a brief description of this piece of equipment's lore. Mk II armour, also known as Crusade armour, was the first fully enclosed, mass-produced power armour widely used during the Great Crusade. It featured environmental systems and life support, enabling Space Marines to fight in the vacuum of space and on hazardous worlds. The armour patterns were then further developed, enhanced and streamlined to suit the needs of battles beyond the Great Crusade, through the Horus Heresy and beyond. The Mk III power armour pattern was a modification of the Mk II, featuring heavy armour plating at the front (including larger chest, groin and shoulder pads), intended for use in boarding actions, tunnel assaults and void warfare, for example. It was never intended to replace the previous Mk II, but rather to provide an optional variant for certain operations. This boxed set is therefore the perfect addition to your force if you use Mk II or III and want to field assault squads in matching power armour patterns.
Horus Heresy – Legiones Astartes Fellblade Super-Heavy Battle Tank
More than 15 years have passed since I last covered a Super-Heavy Tank kit in 'full scale' on this blog. When the Fellblade teaser was shown at the Dropsite Preview, I was really excited about this kit. You know what that means: we're not doing things by halves here, so we've gone for a full review and build report with 100 (!) pictures!
But let's dive in. The Fellblade Super-Heavy Battle Tank of the Legiones Astartes for Horus Heresy is available for pre-order today, September 20th, and will be released on October 4th. It is a full plastic kit and has an RRP of 125 GBP / 160 EUR.
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