Techmarine in Full Servo Harness

Swapped out the original head with a Ravenwing Command Beaky helmeted head.

The Servo Harness arms really make it an interesting, if not over-the-top, model.

Looking at the pictures, I now realize I forgot use the Micron pen on the purity seals.

The right shoulder guard and weapon housings retain the Marauders' chapter colors.

Techmarine WIP

Just a quick update - finished the Servo-harness arms.

Being magnetized and removable made them easier to paint.

The arms were first sprayed with Krylon Silver and then given a wash of Vallejo Black Ink/Stain. The Marauder's Chapter colors can be seen on the plasma pistols.

Chaplain for McQueen's Marauders

This is the Chaplain for McQueen's Marauders - in Terminator armor, no less.

The black armor includes only a little bit of the chapter's colors - orange right shoulder guard and part of the bolter.

With the basically black armor, this figures is fairly easy and quick to paint. Even the edging around the armor wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - thanks to the clear sculpting/details.

I used an old Micron pen for the squiggly lines on the purity seals/scrolls. It was kind of dried up, so I may get another pen for stuff like this - it works pretty good for this.

Next up is the Chapter Techmarine. I plan to swap out his head with a Ravenwing Command head with a Corvus Mark VI "beaky" type of helmet.

I magnetized all of the peripheral mechanism as well as the right arm with the bolter. This allows the parts to move up and down a bit - as well as make them less likely to break as they just come apart.

40K Land Speeders

Here is the Land Speeder once piloted by Chapter Founder Steveonious McQueen from the days of the Great Crusade. No longer used in battle, it is brought out during ceremonial occasions in memory of Chapter Master McQueen.

It could, however, still be a formidable vehicle on the battlefield if needed, especially with it's upgraded weapons systems.

That said, it is still a cherished relic and is housed with the rest of the chapter's honored artifacts out of harm's way.

Here is the current version of the chapter's Land Speeder.

Although not as fluid in style as the original, it follows the color pattern closely.

McQueen's Marauders are waiting for the arrival of their Chaplain in Terminator Armor and also a Techmarine.

40K Land Speeder(s) - WIP

Just a quick update to show the basic color pattern - highlighting and decals still need to be added. This follows the color scheme of the famed Gulf Porsche 917s which dominated Le Mans in the early 1970's.

The 1:32nd scale Airfix Porsche 917 kit has been chopped and reconfigured to approximate the footprint of the GW Land Speeder. The crewmen, weapons and ancillary parts have been magnetized to allow the use of the Porsche model in friendly games with non-GW models. Conversely, the parts can be used on the proper-GW model for more model-restrictive games.

Here is the "regulation" GW Land Speeder.

All weapons are magnetized and interchangeable between the two models.

Here are the magnetized components off the models.

My Very First 40K Game

I guess it's called "fortuitous" that I brought my Space Marines along with my Empire army for a Fantasy game today. My buddy Pat (Socal Warhammer) invited me over to the GW Store across the Narrows Bridge ($5.00 toll) on his side of Puget Sound for a Fantasy game. I recall him saying he'd give the store a call to reserve a table for our game. Lo and behold, I show up before Pat and there's a massive 40K Apocalypse game going on. Having brought my recently painted Space Marines just to show them off to him, he suggested I get in on the game. The local crew were super cool in getting my feet wet and I had a great time.

McQueen's Marauders Terminators moving up for an assault.

The Terminators wiped out the enemy Space Marine unit.

The Tactical Squad did well too - even after losing their Sergeant when his plasma gun overheated and blew up. They did well enough without him against the enemy's Chaplain too.

A huge Necron thingee - not sure of the exact nomenclature.

No idea what all of the models are called, but there were a ton of them.

I believe this one is called a Stompa? It looked awesome.

As an aside, here is a something I am working on - kind of like a Frankenstein's monster right now, but it will, hopefully, be a Land Speeder for McQueen's Marauders. It's based on a 1/32nd scale Airfix Porsche 917 model kit I picked up off of ebay.

McQueen's Marauders - Tactical and Terminator Squads

Went ahead and based them using coffee grounds mixed with sand for the flocking. For the coloring of the bases, Vallejo Field Grey and Green Grey were dry-brushed over a black basecoat. The colors were chosen mainly because I had them from painting up WW2 Germans in the past - and it looked close to what I envisioned their planet LeMans' ground cover might look like.

Terminators out in front of the Tactical guys, as well as the Captain in the center rear. The buildings are from another close-out sale many years ago - I bought them for my youngest son who used to play with Star Wars figures. Never thought I'd use them myself, but they look perfect for 40K.

40K Space Marine Terminators

Here is an Elite unit of Terminators for the McQueen's Marauders Chapter.

I've been reading up a bit on the rules and think these are a good unit to have - they look pretty cool in any case - especially the guy with the wings.

The bases still need flocking - I think I'm just going with sand and some pebbles (or kitty litter). Going for an urban environment; maybe some debris and such - no static grass.

WHFB Helblaster Volley Gun

Another kit picked up from the recent 50% sale. Opted for the Volley Gun over the Helstorm Rocket Battery as the rockets are way too temperamental. They can be switched out later if needed though as the upper portions fit into a slot on the carriage without the need for gluing.

The crew are painted up as Marienburgers as the recent Handgunners. The guy with the ramrod has a Pistolier's head, and the Engineer has a helmeted head from the Order Knights kit.

This gun will be used in the next game - possibly next weekend - against Pat's Lizardmen army. Hopefully it'll do better than the Steam Tank did during the last game where it had two Misfires in a row trying to build up Steam :Points.

I'm also waiting for a Space Marine Terminator Squad to arrive from an ebay purchase.

WHFB Marienburg Handgunners - Reporting for Duty

Here's a small unit of handgunners attired in the colors of that rich and aloof city Marienburg. The city that bought its independence from the Empire with gold during the reign of a corrupt emperor. Because of their great wealth, through trade, they can afford to hire mercenaries for their protection. They can also afford the best in weaponry and gear, as attested to by the latest style handguns and also helmets normally only seen on elite troops of the Empire.

This particular unit is assigned as Air Marines for the Marienburg Air Ship used in trading and also to impress and intimidate other less fortunate peoples.

They can also fight on land in close order formation.

Good as they may be, I wonder how they'd stack up against a unit of Space Marines?

WHFB Marienburg Handgunners - WIP

These are the guys I picked up at the going-on-of business sale last week - 50% off remaining GW stock. Most of the good stuff was already gone, but thought I'd use some of these handgunners to crew the Airship. They are painted in Marienburg colors - which is similar to the current Vatican Guard colors; yellow, blue and red. Here they are below after a fresh wash of Minwax Tudor Satin stain. I still have about a quarter of a can left - once it's gone, I think I'll switch to Future Floor Wax "magic wash."

The block painting only took a couple of hours as I only used the base colors over a white undercoat. Colors used were Flat Flesh, Flat Yellow, Blue and Red for the uniforms; Saddle Brown for the gun stock, leather accouterments, hair and shoes; and Silver and Gold for the metal parts. I did use black as an undercoat for the silver and gold areas too. I used the larger brush for all of the painting except for the stripes on the Marksman with the Hochland Long Rifle - the smaller brush was used for that. BTW, the cleaner-looking bottles of Vallejo were also picked up for 50% off at the sale.

It's funny that just last week I thought I wanted to paint more Empire stuff, but I'm now feeling the urge to paint up Space Marine stuff. I felt obligated to paint these handgunners up before moving on. Oh, I almost forgot to mention some of the heads are from the Pistolier/Outrider and Demigryph kits.

WH 40K Space Marines - Captain Papillon & Sergeant Bullitt

Here are Captain Papillon and Sergeant Bullitt (saving the name of Jake Holman for the Terminator leader).

I'm not good at free-hand lettering, so left off any clever writing on the scroll of the Captain's banner. I did try my hand at painting those electrical currents on the sword.

Still need to get some nice flocking material for the bases - rubble and possibly skulls would be in order. I will take a group photo once I flock all of the bases - including the previously painted Space Marine troops.