Iron Warriors: Command and Specialist Units

G'day, Macca here, with a rather picture heavy update. Today, I will cover the Iron Havoks, Destroyers, Command Squad and 3 HQ's for my Iron Warriors.

Iron Havoks:

My Iron Havoks had to stand out from the regular space marine devastator units, (in case I ever use them as well), so in order to do this, I used Iron Hands MK III Legionaries. Although a slightly more expensive option, it was well worthit, as these squads look great to me.

The heavy bolters use shrapnel rounds, so they aren't as effective as regular ones thanks to the lower AP, but I wanted to take them anyway because fluff.

The Autocannons here are must-have weapons on these guys. They compliment their special rules nicely. The only modification I made was to use the spare drum magazines off the heavy bolters to replace the large (and a little annoying to model) belt feeds.

Destroyers and Moriat:

I have 20 Destroyers in my Raven Guard. I decided I am a bit over the MK IV, so I chose to arm these guys with MK III. Why? Rule of cool, and there is some vague fluff to allow it. I just imagine these guys running through the breach, first into the fight.

The twin-volkites for the Moriat are a must-have. Thanks to the massive (and a little bit silly) changes to the Moriat, these are essentially the best option available now. This is ok however, as I love volkites and I always wanted them over plasma in this army.

Command Squad:

The Dirty Not-Quite-Half-Dozen. I started playing Warhammer 40,000 back in 2nd ed, but one of the first kits I loved (but could never afford) was the original metal space-marine command squad. The idea of half a dozen different individuals (in those days, techmarines, apothecaries, etc were all in a command squad, not their own entries, and they were WAY less effective thanks to the apothecary and his awesome 'ignore 1 wound only per turn' rule). So yes, cool visual, terrible rules.

Cue the Legion Command Squad. I started by using Medusan Immortals from the Iron Hands (again), and then some clever scalpel work and some upgrade bits later, I came up with a unique squad. These guys are ruthless, each one wants to be elevated to command, and I can jsut see them stabbing their commander in the back.

Here's 'Eric Banner' (pre-hulk)

There's "Buzzsaw"

This guy is wannabe "Hellboy", but his face is less weird then Ron Pearlman. Come at me Ron.

"Tickle-me Elmo"

"The Lumberjack"

Siege Breaker and The Warsmith of the 77th Grand Battalion:

Yes, 77th Grand Battalion, the Siege of Paramar. These are loyalists, they will take the fight to the other loyalists, I mean, the Alpha Legion. Simple builds, I used a Sons of Horus commander, with parts from the Titan Tech Priest and the loading arm off a marine missile launcher to create his servo arm. I decided to keep it small and delicate, as he is a battlefield commander, and I think he would be a little less 'large-scale' or 'industrial' than a Techmarine.

So that's it, a little variety is the spice of life, and I converted a lot here to get what I feel is a very Iron Warrior feeling force. Like it? Dislike it? Feel free to comment below!

~Macca

A Galaxy In Flames Tutorial: Secret Weapon Bases- Urban Streets

Tutorial number 3..... URBAN STREETS!

Hey hobbyists, hope you're well! Today we are doing Urban Streets. The stock bases and most of the parts I am going to 'do them up with' are all Secret Weapon Miniatures parts. Their stuff is great, that's why I use it, however other people make similar products, for example Forge World does etch brass barbed wire and weathering pigments. Keep an open mind and find the materials which suit the job you're after.

I would also like to point out that, keeping in line with the previous basing tutorials, we are all about simplicity here. Even where I use a technique that's not well known to a basic painter, I will provide plenty of pictures an commentary on what I have done, as my aim is to help even the newest of people to get some great bases done.

Now onto the base. To start with, I have some secret weapon shell casings, and etch brass barbed wire. I also have some florists wire from my local hobby shop.

I cut and cleaned half a dozen shell casings, and glued them in a random pattern in one part of the base. From there, I grabbed the florists wire, and twisted it into a loop, before trimming it. I did this twice in order to get a pair of '9's.

I drilled two small holes into the base and glued the 9's into the base. These are the pickets for my barbed wire to go into. Next, I twisted the wire around a clear tube in order to get a rough coil, before gluing it into place.

Next, I applied a little grit around the base to help tie in some of the elements, namely the concrete bollard and the two pickets.

I undercoated with a regular black spray, before hand painting some Tamiya XF-24 Dark Grey on. I love this colour (shade~ for 'that guy' who will tell me otherwise). From here I did a rough drybrush of Russ Grey to help define my textures, and added some wolf grey in order to do the bollard.

Next up were pigments and metallics. Simple GW Leadbelcher foundation was used on the pickets and wire, and GW Auric Armour Gold for the casings. For the pigments, I applied a little 'Rust Orange' and 'Dark Earth' from Secret Weapon, before using some GW Agrax Earthshade to spread the pigments, and adding water to dilute it. I then added more pigment as required in order to get just the right tones. I also sponged a mix of Blazing Orange paint and Rust Orange pigment onto the wire.

Once I was happy with the tones, I simply brushed over the base with more Russ Grey and painted the edge of the base in Chaos Black.

The Final Result:

This technique is very simple, with half a dozen colours and a couple or pigments I have created a nice simple base, which has an element of narrative to it. In my mind, someone was firing over this wire, it may even be the model I pose on it. Who knows?

~Macca

A Galaxy In Flames Tutorial: Secret Weapon Bases- Bonefields

BONEFIELDS

Ok, here with the next basing tutorial. This time out, it's a gory bonefield. As always, we start with a clean, a prime, and a basecoat. The base is Steel Legion Drab, and the next coat is a 50-50 mix of Zangri Dust and Steel Legion Drab.

Next, I used a mixture of these three colours to apply the texture to the base and rough out the skeletons.

From here, I mixed in a lot more white and picked out the bones with a detail brush.

At this stage, you have the option of leaving it as is, for a dry open grave, or, filling it with some kind of bizarre Hellraiser style gorish insanity. I chose the latter. I poured in my wet effects. I also mixed up my 'gore', by mixing wet-effects and Tamiya Clear Red.

I now dripped droplets of my 'gore' into patches on the base. From here, I 'swirled' it around the base with a toothpick, slowly spreading it a little at a time until I was happy.

Once dry, this was the result:

It's a simple technique, and the whole base only took about 10-15 minutes to paint, and about 24 hours for the wet effects to set properly. The gore looks like it is permeating through everything, I love it. Until next time, take care,

Macca