21 November 2010

Sunday Update: Veteran Sergeant


Never one to be content with a couple of miniatures on the go, I was flicking through the Blood Angel codex and saw the pair of legs from the Death Company sprue that caused me so much tension six months ago. Upon closer inspection I saw that they were actually quite good, they had just been used and photographed poorly. The double handed Thunder Hammer also caught my eye and a cunning plan was born.

The above photo was taken mid-afternoon today, having just finished sculpting the right shoulder pad and adding studs to the left. As you can see I removed the thigh of the right leg and added a replacement after posing the lower part of the right leg on a rock. I scraped out the ornamental blood drops with a knife and replaced with greenstuff for effect.


I used the lower (bionic) arm from aforementioned two-handed Thunder Hammer to add to the guy's veteran status, attaching a chainsword blade.


Later in the day I added the stowed bolter (I'm a big believer in WYSIWYG and he needed something to shoot with!). I rolled out some greenstuff on foil and let it harden a little before adding it as a strap. The only thing missing is a clasp at either end of the bolter to hold it in place.

Elsewhere, paint had been added to Multimelta guy and the Chaplain is progressing slowly.

13 November 2010

On The Workbench


So now that my Multi-melta Templar is close to the paint stage I'm already thinking about the next couple of models. I have a huge backlog of things bought for the army 5/6 years ago that are jostling for attention. However, I have a couple of character models waiting patiently in line.

The figure above is the limited edition Black Templar Captain Draco figure which I picked up off ebay a long time ago and has been based and stripped of his icons for quite some time. He will become my Brother Captain Torgiir model, and will be a Sicarius stand-in. As well as a weapon swap, I have to file down the ridges on his shoulder pads, sculpt a suitably heroic DT symbol and personal heraldry to said shoulder pads and give him a sweeping cloak. This will be a big test and I can see frustrating times ahead as my green stuff skills don't match my vision, haha.


Before I get stuck into that mammoth task I shall complete my first Dark Templar Chaplain. At present he has no name, but is already taking shape. In true DT tradition he has no aquillas on his armour, so he wields a mace rather than the usual crozius (same outcome in gaming terms). I shall be borrowing ideas from Ron's skull helmet tutorial for his head, or I may try to emulate the LotD skull beaky helmet – I haven't decided yet. He already has his DT symbol on his shoulder (albeit largely covered by the parchment) – his other shoulder will be a massive skull which I'm looking forward to sculpting.

12 November 2010

Friday Update


After the text heavy posts this week I thought it only right to have some mini images today. This is the second Dark Templar model so far.


Sculpted icon on shoulder again – skull is a bit skewed but I will be covering that in another post soon. I replaced the green stuff 'feet' as I wasn't happy with the originals.


He's pretty much good to go, but I want to add something else, probably GS purity seals, to his left leg just to move things on a little from the original test model last week. Hopefully this guy will see some paint on Sunday.

10 November 2010

Dark Templar Who’s Who

Thought it was about time to briefly explain some of the main players in the Dark Templar story. All the characters listed below have been around (in my head and/or on paper) since the late 90's – maybe there will be some more to add to this list with the current re-incarnation of the army.

TALON DUUN
Chapter Master and figurehead of the Dark Templar, Duun (pronounced Doon) commands reverence and loyalty befitting a god, men follow his every word without question. Quiet, brooding and unmatched in combat he leads by example.

BALE NYGAARD
Younger brother of Talon Duun and former captain of the First Company. Ferocious and very outspoken, Nygaard led The Revolt and now resides in The Warp with his twisted brethren.

KAMOR TAAL
Master Chaplain and leader of the Faith, he has the ultimate responsibility of keeping the Templar on track. With the voice of a god and an intimidating presence, Kamor Taal is the most respected and revered of the Templar Chaplains. 


BROTHER SUUL
Chaplain of the Faith. Drawn by Chaos, Suul walks the fine line closer than most. His unreliability is tolerated only because of his fighting skill, insane bravery, and his ability to instill such heroism into those about him.


BROTHER CAPTAIN TORGIIR
Right hand of Talon Duun in all things strategic, Torgiir is the voice of the Chapter Master in his absence. Clever, cunning with bravery to match, he is a natural leader and a focal point on the battlefield.

INQUISITOR JAREK LORE
A man on a mission – all will be revealed in time...



(Chaplain image by pabelbilly, used without permission)

09 November 2010

Who Are The Dark Templar?


The Dark Templar are a chapter in turmoil, treading precariously along a knife edge of extinction. Their beginnings are unknown, their history sketchy at best. What is known is that they were originally named The Emperor's Templar and they were a light in dark places.

The entire chapter was dispatched to face a massive Chaos incursion from the warp – it was a trap and the world on which they stood was swallowed into the immaterium, marines and all.

For hundreds of years the Templar hunted their captors, but spending such an extended period in the warp will have long-term effects on the strongest of wills. The constant whisperings can twist perceptions and send the most stoic man mad.

Divisions started to appear within the Templar ranks and before long there was all-out civil war – known as The Revolt – which lead to half of the chapter, instigated by the first company, turning to Chaos. The constant warring, combined with the losses incurred during The Revolt, has left the chapter a fraction of the size it was.

Battered, bruised, mentally scarred and feeling the shame of Chaos taint, the Templar and their home planet for the last two centuries were spat back into the real world, where nearly a thousand years had passed since their disappearance. They were changed and would be hunted down by the very Imperium they fought to protect. They were depleted in number and the chapter's Chaplains faced the overwhelming battle of maintaining the sanity of the remaining Templar.

They were no longer The Emperor's Templar and would have to live in secret, hidden from not only the authority of the Imperium but also their tainted brethren who would both see them wiped out.

The now Dark Templar had a new look and a new mandate – to survive by any means and destroy those who had brought this shame and destruction. They would be retribution incarnate and death would follow them.

03 November 2010

THE DARK TEMPLAR


So finally I can reveal my benchmark Dark Templar marine. He is actually my third test piece, the first being an original RTB01 plastic and the second being a rogue trader metal marine. I'm pretty happy with this guy, given the brief amount of time spent painting him (compared to my recent Blood Angels). The purple is a little shiny at the moment – went a little crazy with the ink wash – but hopefully a matt varnish will resolve that issue.

 THE COLOUR SCHEME...
As you can see the basis for the armour is purple body and black shoulders and helmet. The idea is that the more experienced you become the more black armour you are allowed to wear. Therefore scouts will be almost exclusively purple whilst Terminators will be almost exclusively black. White/Bone colouring will be used as a contrast and will be used very sparingly.

These colours were actually inspired by several sources but primarily the Flesh Tearers scheme. Other influences are my original DT scheme which was in turn inspired by the original Salamanders green/black. I wanted something akin to the Eldar Dark Reapers scheme that just signified death and foreboding, without looking like Slaanesh (well maybe a hint but definitely not pink!).

THE ARMY...
I'll go into the background in a future post, but the idea is that the Dark Templar have had an internal civil war – some turned to chaos, some stayed loyal – so faith is a big issue. The Chapter Master is such a solitary and intense individual, nobody's quite sure which side he is on. I have something big planned for his conversion model – keep watching!

WHAT'S NEXT...
I have a couple more test models on the board right now. I need to sculpt a master shoulder pad too so that can be duplicated. I also have a handful of models purchased a few years ago, intended to be part of this new DT army, that I would like to finish building and paint. This will involve no cash outlays for a few months, hopefully well past Christmas, which will keep my wife happy too!

See you next time...