Ultramarines - Old Time Rock 'n Roll

Technically this is the Mentor Legion blog, so you'd think I'd post more Mentor Legion stuff. The truth is, I'm having too much fun collecting and painting UltraMarines.  I've done an inventory and discovered I'm very close to a complete collection of Rogue Trader era marine minis.  Close enough that I'm actively working to complete the collection.  One recent big addition was a set of nine pre-Rogue Trader marines.  It's not the whole set, but it's several new ones, and with the two from the line I already had, I now have more than a full squad of these very distinct marines. Even though it's not yet a full set (I've dupes of some and none of others in the line), it's still become my favorite squad in my collection.

The full squad 10+ marines, including the sarge.

The sarge is my favorite.

Look at those strange guns. We'll just call them all bolters.

I added a graphic (stripes, checks, shapes) to a few of the shoulder pads on the identical minis. I liked it so much, I added the designs to most of the squad. Each one a unique design and/or color scheme.

Heavy Bolter Marine.  Not the same style as the squad, but still very old. Note the green/white checkerboard pattern.

-Adam!!!

Magnificent Magnetics

In my Speeders post I had an unpainted Rogue Trader Space Marine Land Speeder.  Since posting that the speeder has been (mostly) painted, as you'll see.  Also since posting my first package of wee magnets has arrived from Hong Kong. I had never even heard of magnetizing miniatures until just the last few weeks, but now that I've seen what they're like, I can see the appeal. All that and it's pretty darn easy to do.

You can see the magnet  just above the red 'bottle' next to the marine seated on the right.  It's the silver disk. Originally there was a post  that was used to mount the weapon.

This was originally an Attack Bike Multimelta, but I've got lots of them and the  Speeder I bought was missing its weapon. They're the same, except I had to hack the mount off of this, which I wouldn't be using anyway.

I just pop that baby right on there like so...

And there it is.  The "green stuff" that's holding the magnet on the weapon isn't quite dry, so I can't paint it quite yet.

Here are my two speeders together. The one on the right has an old fashioned glued-on weapon.  Yuck!

I have a whole bunch of magnets, and from what I gather, other players go crazy magnetizing almost anything.  I bought three Imperial Guard Sentinels off Ebay and every little thing on them is magnetized. I'll may have to remove some of those for a sturdier model, but then again, maybe not.  It's clearly a great solution for a lot of situations.  I can't wait to find out what else might work.

-Adam!!!

The beginning. The very beginning.

I've decided I want to collect all of the 1st edition "Rogue Trader" Space Marine models and turn them into a playable modern 40k army. I'm already well on my way, with just a few holes to fill.  I just put a big dent in my missing minis list winning an auction of not just 1st edition mini's, but pre-1st edition minis. I have two of these guys already, so now i'll be able to field a full squad of 10.  YESSSSS!!!!

This is the eBay photo. I'll be stripping them and painting them Ultramarine.

I can't wait until they arrive.  I've never been happier about winning an auction, ever!

-Adam!!!

Speeders, Speeders, Speeders.

One of the worst miniatures in the history of Warhammer 40k is the original Rogue Trader Land Speeder.  So naturally, I have three of them. Painted up it looks ok, but the mold is bad so there's lots of flash, nothing fits together right, and it's just plain weird looking.  Usually I prefer the older stuff to new, but this is the one exception. Modern speeders (including the chunky 2nd version, which I don't have) are simply better.

My three old-time speeders.  The middle one was just completed today.

Space Marine Land Speeder. 95% completed. I'm going to copy the antenna that goes on the back so I have a second one for the unfinished speeder (pictured on the right, above.)

One version of the Genestealer Cult army list allowed them to have speeders.  Like this one, I would expect.

Even I have to admit, this is a much better model.

-Adam!!!

Heavy, Heavier, Heaviest

Heavy

I'm almost finished mounting my heavy weapons teams on 60mm bases. Note the three unfinished ones in the back.

Rogue Trader era heavy weapons team. The 'helper' was originally a medic.

These guys can be added to my Valhallan squad but may find themselves in a heavy weapons squad.

Same Valhallan base, just from the rear.

That heavy bolter was scavenged from an old Imperial Robot. Kinda wish I still had the robot.

These guys are part of a command squad. 

This might be my favorite.

Heavier

Heaviest

My "baby"

I've still got a Leman Russ and a Chimera on sprue, but I'm thinking I want to build something a little less vanilla with at least the Leman Russ.  I'm not sure which of the variants is coolest. I would hope none are "best".  Another plain Chimera would probably be handy, and I may put that together next.

I've got a couple more 60mm bases to transfer heavy weapons to, but I'm not sure how many I really need.  I may save the bases for some other things.  I love how the teams look on the big bases, and I'm really happy how they turned out.  I was planning on doing some fancy stuff with the big bases, but they look so nice as-is and I'd rather move on to other minis.

-Adam!!!

Mentor Legion Scouts

Damn, Space Marine Scout minis are fiddly.  I want to paint 10 of them and even assembly-line style it's taking AGES. Too many pockets, pouches, and do-dads for my taste. The three I've (mostly) painted do look pretty sharp, though.  I'm getting my painting mojo back, finally.  I used to be a lot faster, though.

Sargent, Scout, and Scout with Heavy Bolter.  Scout (middle/back) had to have nose replacement surgery. Not a complete success.

The rest of the squad still needs a LOT of detail work.

-Adam!!!

The Dip

I don't think anyone likes stripping paint off miniatures.  It's a dirty, tedious, process.  Now, it's not without rewards.  When you pull a mini out of the dip (I'm using Simple Green, because I've got a big jug of it handy) and a big chunk of horrid paint job slides right off the thing, revealing clean metal underneath, it's a good feeling. You're bringing a dead miniature back to life, and when it's finished being repainted, it's extra special for the journey.

Ten old-fashioned Grey Knights getting a bath. 

Tonight's dip is a little different, however.  I'm stripping minis that, at least for me, have really good paint jobs. It's just that I have no use for them painted the way they are.  A few I'm selling, and stripped Dark Angels are worth a lot more than Dark Angels painted up in bright green and white (very non-standard colors, nobody would use them like that but me.) A few are being transferred from my Mentor army, where they'll never make it on to the field again, to my Ultramarine army, where they will be go-to units for years to come.  I don't need them green and white, I need them blue.  Into the dip for all.

I was proud of those paint jobs, and for the ones that I'm keeping, I'll be even more proud of their new colors when I'm done.  For the ones that I'm saying goodbye to, their new owner will appreciate them far more than I, but I do hope they get the new paint job they deserve.

-Adam!!!