Update time! I've been kinda busy, so here are some pics. Enjoy.

That is some awesome work that you've done there buddy, your Red Scorpions are the first that I've seen painted up, and they really look the part!

I love some of the poses that you've flung in there to mix it up, the sargeant in particular is looking very dynamic ( I too have used Assault legs on one of my Raptors Marines to give them a sense of urgency )

Have you ordered any of the doors and icon's from Forgeworld ?

I'll be looking in on this WIP and getting some idea's and inspiration from it !

Thanks, Brokensword! I'll see about some close-ups when I get home tonight of the completed Tactical Marines. I'm very pleased with how they came out, and I'm eager to show them off. The Forgeworld icons and Rhino doors are going to have to wait, likely until I get to New Mexico in about five months. Once down there, we'll see.

The assault legs actually serve the purpose of deliniating which marines go in the mobile combat squad and which go in the heavy weapon combat squad.

Holy mackeral! It's been a bit. Right, so. I've put together an army list I like for 1500 points for my Marines, and I'm going to be focusing on gettin' this list together and painted up to the standards you've seen earlier in this thread. This is not a "rate my list" post, it's a way for me to track progress and (hopefully) keep me motivated once I set up my painting area. So, here's the list, and I'm working on getting some pics of each unit set up.




Some notes:
- The Preds both have their weapons magnetized, and are completely swappable in all configurations.

-The Terminators are being set up to be swappable between lightning claws and SS/TH arms.

-The Whirlwind actually has a missile removable, which I am likely going to mount it so that it looks like it's being launched, with cotton coming out the back and in line with the vents to look like launch smoke.

Anyway, that's the list. I'm aiming to take some photos tomorrow and get them edited into this post.

So, one of the things I thought really hard about was adding a Librarian to my Red Scorpions army. Now I kinda have too, with models like this:

Magister Loth

In particular, one of the Honor Guard has a Champion helmet with scorpion claws and tail modeled on. It makes me sad that I don't have my painting area or funds really put together right now.

Your work is looking really good!

And you are right about that 'champion helmet' it looks really awesome.

But luckily I am far away of starting another project.

Thanks, Che. I'll admit, I'm kinda proud of how they're turning out. I've already been told that we'll see about Valentine's day, so I could be looking at this by early next year. Could be fun. Means I'll have to finish my two tactical squads, their drop pods, the dread, two predators and a whirlwhind, though. Nothing like a deadline to keep me motivated.

You are looking forward for Valentines day and I am looking forward for my birthday

looks like I got a shorter deadline

I am looking forward to see your progress.

So, had the chance to use my Marines yesterday in an Escalation league. I'm three battles behind, but I still think my Marines made a good showing of themselves.

Here's the rules for said league:



I've started in the second week, so I had no experience for any of my models, but thankfully I was able to start at the full points value of the second week (1100pts). Anyway, here's my list. I'm not going to be doing turn-by-turns, but I will give some highlights.



Game 1

Game one was a beautifully painted Relictors army using Vanilla marines rules, so for all intents and purposes we were fighting the same codex.

Game: Capture and Control
Deployment: Spearhead
Terrain: No LOS-blocking terrain, but heavily set up with hills in all four quarters.

Highlights:
-This game right down to the nitty gritty. There was a lot of death and dismemberment on both sides. It came down to, literally, the last man.
-Vanguard, used properly, are ridiculous. When they came in on Turn 3, they decimated the combat squad and Dreadnought guarding his home objective, along with the Razorback that had been immobilized in Turn 2.
-The game looked to be handily in my pocket by Turn 3, as I had three combat squads within a turn or two of being able to move on the objective. However, the arrival of his Terminators and Chaplain quickly laid that particular idea to rest.
-If the game had ended at Turn five or six, I would've won, but with those extra two turns to shoot my Marines off the objective, he was able to force the Draw.

Game 2
For this game, I was going up against a Tau army that was painted up like the Cobra forces from the old G.I. Joe cartoon. The conversions were actually quite impressive, and I had a blast playing against the Irishman that was running them.

Game: Seize Ground (Four objectives)
Deployment: Pitched Battle
Terrain: Kind of a war-torn village; lots of cover, but again, not much in the way LOS-blocking Terrain.

Highlights:
-Vanguard once again proved their worth, smashing aside the Crisis team that obliterated nearly half my army.
-The Predator in area terrain was ridiculously hard to kill, lasting for two full turns against three broadsides that were targeting it for destruction. It finally died in Turn 3.
-I need to figure out a way to get my commander into combat. He was woefully under-used in all three games.
-Being able to sit on one objective and use ranged firepower to clear his two Fire Warrior squads off the objective.

Game 3
This last game I ended up going up against the second Tau army in the league, this one owned by one of our very own Gracian!

Game: Capture and Control
Deployment: Dawn of War
Terrain: Same as Game One

Highlights:
-This is what I've always imagined Tau to look like on the battlefield. Even with four lascannons, one of which was twin-linked, there wasn't a darn thing I could do.
-The Vanguard almost saved me, but while helping demolish the crisis suits that were causing so much damage, they were unable to make it to the Ionhead that obliterated most of my forces. It was definitely the MVP for this battle.
-Overall, it was an eye-opening experience in how Tau operate, and I'm really hoping to be able to emulate this kind of integration when my own Tau get down here from Alaska.

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Overall, I learned quite a bit about how my new army works, and I'm hoping that in adding some of the stuff I've already bought meshes well with what I've got to bring back at the end of this week.

Notes:
-Tactical Marines are excellent, but they really need a way to get to the battle more quickly. Unfortunately, as I can't take anything away from my previous list, I can't drop the Whirlwind and turn it into a Rhino for any of my Tac squads. I have a feeling that unless there's a lot of cover, I'm going to be using my Whirlwind as a Rhino once this league is over.
-Vanguard, as pricey as they are, are amazing. Despite paying 285 points for a squad of five, I really think every point is worth it.
-Predators rock. I think a Devastator squad or two would work better, but that's for once I finish getting my models painted.

Anyway, that's about all I've got, and I have to get ready for work. Thanks for reading.

So, an update on my terminators. I've painted most of their torsos, and they're turning out really well. They're actually mostly done, I just need to do the highlighting, finish touching up the lenses and do their arms. Unfortunately, I've apparently misplaced their SS/TH arms, so I'm left with lightning claws, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. They'll be painted and glued, but later equipped with magnets once I find their SS/TH arms and shoulder pads.

All of my vehicles have now been completely primed, with some detail work beginning on the Predators, though I'm having trouble with the yellow stripes on the vehicles, as mentioned in my other thread.

Anyway, onto the pics! As always, comments and criticism welcome.

Last update was October of last year. Yikes. Well, have no fear! I have gotten a buddy in 40K, and in the process of helping him out with his Black Templar, I decided to start work on my Deathwatch squad, which are counts-as Sternguard. For my first round, I'm simply using the Sternguard models painted in a Deathwatch scheme and the five chapters I'm using will have their emblems painted on. And here is the first pic:



Holy moly. I didn't realized the picture was that washed out on the silver. I will definitely need to build a small photo booth of cardboard and such to help with these pictures, as this guy is really coming along quite well.

Anyway, as always, comments and criticism is welcome.

And for those that are curious, the squad is going to look like this on the army roster:

Sternguard Veteran Squad (200)
-[1 Sgt w/ Bolter, power fist, special-issue ammo]
-[1 Vet w/ Combi-melta, bolt pistol]
-[3 Vets w/ Bolter, bolt pistol]
-[1 Drop pod w/ Locator Beacon]

They will drop with two out of three Tactical squads with support from a third Tactical squad, a Dev squad, fire support Las/Missile Dread and two Predator Annihilators. That's the plan anyways. Will have to test it out sometime.

Edit: For posterity, here is my buddy's first ever model. Period. I think he did pretty darn good.

Your Yellow looks very bold and crisp. Well done!

Thanks, Cypher! Though after checking the Yellow tutorial in your sig, I'll definitely be picking up the colors you specify. The yellow on my infantry is more luck than skill, and when I attempted to transfer that to my vehicles, it failed rather spectacularly. I'm eagerly looking forward to trying your method.

Well, I decided to go ahead and add some Sternguard to my army. Here's where I'm currently at. I'm using them as a Deathwatch Killteam, since that is the old unit they are based on, and I'm eagerly looking forward to using them in my next tournament, a 400pt Combat Patrol.

Sergeant




Standard Vet

Just got to love the Deathwatch.

I've been running the Role play game for my group recently and i too started to make models for each of them, but like a lot of my projects they are still awaiting some loving.

Oh were those models finecast or metal? I ask becuase I converted the Standerd vet model of yours into carrying a Plasma Gun. looks alright too.

Good to see that you're back painting buddy.

Tau'va

Well, the Red Scorpions made an appearance at the LGS in a 400pt Adepticon-style Combat Patrol Tournament. I ended up taking sixth out of 14, with a 2-2 W/L record, and also doing the best I have ever done in any 40K tournament. Below I'll have my list and some highlights from each battle.

The list (dun dun dun!)

Sternguard Veteran Squad
-[1 Sgt w/ Bolter, Bolt Pistol]
-[1 Vet w/ Combi-melta, bolt pistol]
-[3 Vets w/ Bolter, Bolt pistol]
-[1 Drop Pod]

Tactical Squad
-[1 Sgt w/ CCW, Pistol]
-[1 Marine w/ Flamer, BP]
-[1 Marine w/ Missile Launcher, BP]
-[7 Marines w/ Bolter, BP]
-[1 Razroback w/ TL: HB]

Game 1: Necrons

This is a guy I've played against several times, but he's definitely more of a recreational gamer. He plays decent lists, but nothing too over the top, and as such he's generally in the middle of the field. The game started with my Missile launcher and his ablative wounds (I mean Brother Marines) and Razorback deployed in my deployment zone and a squad of Immortals with Tesla Carbines in his zone. He also had a Wraith, a Destroyer that counted as his leader and a squad of Lychguard with shields and power weapons.

Everything effectively went as planned, with the exception of losing my Sternguard. However, they were the unit that won me the game. Annihilating his Immortals, taking down the Wraith in H2H and killing a Lychguard before they went down gave my Tactical squad the edge they needed to finish him off and table him for a wipeout in the first round.

Game 2: Blood Angels

I've sparred a couple of times with this guy using my Tau against his Eldar. For this match, he brought two squads of Assault Marines with a Melta and an infernus pistol led by a Sanguinary priest, all with jump packs. This was easily the most boring match of the entire day, as there was a sufficiently big piece of cover that we effectively were forced to try and dance around it. If I had deployed any more aggressively, I would've been assaulted and wiped. If he had come out of cover to try and get to me, he would have been shot to pieces. Towards the end of the game, he ended up spreading out to take two objectives while I was forced to attempt to make it to one of them to contest. It was not to be, and he ended up taking two objectives to my one, winning the game with likely the least amount of points lost in a single game that day in six rounds (103pts out of 800).

Game 3: Imperial Guard

I've never met the guy that showed up for this tourney, but I was admittedly a bit intimidated by his army: 56 Imperial Guardsman. He put 40 of them into a single squad with his Commissar, then had 10 as a reserve and his command squad sat behind the big squad to cover for them. 6 Grenade Launchers, two heavy flamers and a LOT of lasguns. A bad scatter took my Drop Pod into easy range of his massed squad and he spent two turns of First Rank, Second Rank in an attempt to remove them. He was finally successful, but not enough for my Heavy Bolter and Missile Launcher to whittle his squad down. During my 6" moves to get my combat squad up to engage, I was able to kill enough models that my Sergeant and associates were on favorable terms with the assault and ended up wiping him out. I ended up killing his last four models at the end of turn six.

Game 4: Space Wolves

All I have to say is, "Ouch." A bad scatter left my Sternguard in a horrible position, and I was unable to get forward in time to support them against a Wolf Priest with power sword, a Mark of the Wulfen and a Long Fang squad with four rocket launchers. I gamely tried to kill some things of his, but a faulty choice of side left me with little to shoot at and not a lot of options, and as such I went from second place to sixth at the end of the tournament, though I did walk away with favorite opponent and a $15 USD gift certificate for my trouble.

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Overall I had a lot of fun, and I'm really, really liking the Sternguard; they have certainly earned a permanent place in my army. I'm hoping to finish up a 1500pt list before too much longer and get in some practice games with it.

Thanks for reading! And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!