Monday 16 June 2008

020 Veterans [Work in Progress]

Well, I've been meaning to post these boys for a while now...so here they are. They are as yet unfinished, so do please bear with me; but (a) I'm quite pleased with a couple of the tweaks I've made, and (b) the work-in-progress pics actually serve to illustrate some of my earlier posts (see below).

So - here are some of the mismatched crowd that constitute the 'hardened veterans' of the Cadian 24th:
Firstly, their trusty vet sergeant, who sports a jaunty little greenstuff cap, a power sword and a bolter, as well as assorted grenades. Sadly, his photos were a little disappointing (this model actually looks better in reality - unlike the other pics, which are pretty accurate):
Next - the sniper. Yes, I know vets oughtn't really to have snipers, but I really couldn't resist converting this; especially if you compare it to the old, old one in the A/P hvy wpn squad I posted previously! I love this model - the rifle really seemed to work well without being too chunky, and goes very well with the FW head with eyepiece:

The missile launcher. I love this model, too: it's the normal IG missile launcher but sawn-off, and with the small Space Marine rockets as ammo (on his back, in this case). The purity seal is an early hand-made one, too:

The grenade launcher and flamer vets speak for themselves:

Next we have the vet with the hvy bolter. This one is interesting because it is an example of how I used to model my tripod hvy wpns: on a separate base and therefore interchangable. I have since changed this (as you can see with the A/P hvy wpn squad I posted) to a converted ovoid base - far more practical! Note the ammo box on the hvy bolter and the demolition charge hanging from his webbing.

The wonderful Forgeworld (FW) shotgun veterans models - I haven't even finished making these, but the models are so cool they had to go in!
And finally, two more basic works-in-progress. From this you can note that the DPM camouflage is in its second stage (obviously it's based on British temperate DPM - maybe these days I'd choose something different, but that's what I started off with and I quite like it): it's a base coat of Dark Angels Green, followed by splodges of (in this order) Bleached Bone, Scorched Brown and Chaos Black.
My usual caveat applies here: I'm not in it for the painting! I only use flat colours as a rule, and I can't do faces. I have particular difficulty with 'white' skintones and eyes - that's why so many of my troops look very scared (blanched and wide-eyed)!

A final word on basing and finishing: these models show my old style basing (a flat, untextured dark green base). They are not yet furnished with transfers or insignia and they have not yet been varnished. These might be the models upon which I try out a matte varnish: it's about time!
Hope you enjoyed some of these...

- Drax.

9 comments:

  1. My Mother's brother died in WW2. His name was Ellis Knowles but I'm not sure which Canadian unit he was with. He was from near Bathurst N.B.

    Thank God for the brave men. And God bless them.

    Jannie

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  2. Nice work on these Vets! The heavy bolter is a good reference to compare to your new way of doing hvy weapons. I do like the new way better. However, I am going to have to steal your hvy bolter ammo box mounted on the side of the gun idea. That solves a problem I've been pondering myself!

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  3. Jannie,

    Thanks for the comment - I should draw your attention to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website: http://www.cwgc.org/

    - They do a marvellous job of maintaining and recording the graves of Commonwealth servicemen around the world (but mostly in Europe) - the grave sites are spotless, peaceful and extremely emotive.

    You may be able to locate your uncle's final resting place through their search facility, and I wish you every success.

    - Drax

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  4. I like the work on the Veterans. It's always very refreshing to see dark skinned humans in 40k! Look forward to more.

    - http://andygomez.wordpress.com/ -

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  5. Thanks, Ian,

    And I'm glad it's been noticed. Yes, the 24th Cadian are a diverse bunch - something that I've often noted seems if not 'absent' then certainly much overlooked in GW's published paintwork and artwork.

    Obviously I'm not claiming any sort of moral highground: I just thought it seemed a bit less exclusive and a bit more varied for painting.

    Glad you liked the Vets so far...any thoughts on more interesting insignia for them than the rank-and-file of the 24th? Any suggestions gratefully received, for I'm really not much of an 'ideas' man.

    Cheers,

    - Drax

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  6. I like the missile launcher myself. Nice looking and suitably "nasty" in its appearance.

    I like the greenstuff cap on the Sergeant, that's a nice, subtle touch that adds a lot of character to the model and unit overall.

    Details, that's what makes the difference. Good job.

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  7. Drax I think these vets are a great addition. Their camo finish makes them stand out brilliantly against the standard troops. With regards to insignia; the elites or vets should ave a number starting with 00 or starting with a 1. I cant wait to get painting my elites, Im just so stuck on whether to give them camo on their cloth as you have or the camo print on the armour as per the gw images???

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  8. Thanks, Kings.

    I don't follow the standard Cadian numbering patterns (all my normal troops have their regimental number, '24' instead), so I'm literally pondering insignia.

    Actually, since I posted this, I did my 'self-build' (linked from the second image down in the left column of my blog) and I really liked the curlicue design on the shoulder pad, so I might look to use that for my veterans.

    If you were wondering, the reason the cloth is DPM and not the armour is by way of reference to the British troops out in sandy places, whose armour when first they deployed was often flat olive green, rather than desert DPM. It stuck out like a sore thumb!

    - Drax.

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  9. Kings, you may just find the following of my posts interesting too:

    http://admiraldrax.blogspot.com/2008/09/040-painting-dpm-camouflage.html

    And there's a link on it to the snipers in their finished state.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment!