Celestial Lions Chaplain (Part 1)

 Recently I decided to slightly upgrade my Celestial Lions from being a 1st edition Kill Team to a small force with just enough models to fill out 750 points. One of these models will be an additional character model and this time it's a Chaplain.  A metal Chaplain from the mid-'90s specifically. 

A metal Chaplain.

He was primed white way back in the late '90s with the intention of painting him for my Brother's Ultramarines but clearly that intention was unfulfilled. 

Pin in place for his arm.

While digging around the Neverness Archive in search of an appropriate character model to add to my first born Celestial Lions, this model really seemed to fit the bill. I attached him to a 32mm base and set about drilling out some holes to pin his arm on. 

Arm pinned and attached. 

Next I dug through my pile of printed Celestial Lion shoulder pads that The Bob hooked me up with aeons ago.  Most of my Celestial Lions have crudely painted on chapter icons but I thought it would be appropriate for this particular model to have a more professional look. I say that because I imagine that the other models I have may have had to update their armor in an ad-hoc manner as they likely had to scavenge serviceable parts from wherever they can find them. 

Next up, I will prep the base and begin the first proper stages of painting...

The Santa Dwarves Demise (Part 3)

Finally, I have finished this unit. But before I celebrate that,  let's get to know Bluebeaed.

 

And here is Bluebeard, the Champion who leads the former Santa Regiment. Adorned in garish color choices, most of which are metallic, and a crude attempt at portraying a bloody Warhammer.  Rather, this is how he was when I bought him, and clearly he is ready for a bloody good yule celebration. 

Before. 

Like the rest of his kin, I opted to paint right over this existing scheme. For the most part, this seemed to work out just fine. I made an exception for the Champion's bluebeard which, I must confess, kind of grew on me. I guess where I grew up reading 4-color comics I have always had a fondness for the blue/black hair style. I did tone it down by applying Nuln Oil over it to mute the metallic sheen of the beard. 

New colors applied. 

As I got to final steps I decided that I would honor the original painter's desire to have this guy wielding a bloody hammer. I used Blood For the Blood God technical paint to get the point across. 

Finished model 

Once I was satisfied with the highlights and touch-ups, it was time to flock their bases. As a call back to the original dwarf painted oh so many moons ago, I used static grass on the base in addition to the grass tufts that I have become so fond of in recent times.  Being so squat and stunty as they are, I wasn't too eager with the application of the tufts because I didn't want to obscure the models' too much. Therefore I took a more conservative approach and used them sparingly. A few of these models might not have any tufts at all! 

Hang tuft.

They rank up so much better on the 25mm bases vs. the old 20mm from the previous editions of WFB. They also seem to have a bigger presence as individual models as well, and the option to put a few additional things to their bases gives them more options for characterization that he 20mm bases simply didn't allow. 

Here's the command section. I think the standard bearer is my favorite of the whole bunch. 

So there you have it, my first painted unit of Warhammer Fantasy Dwarves.  Next up, probably another unit from the same deal, also from the Battle For Skull Pass set. 

Celestial Lions Retro Tactical Squad (Part 1)

 It's been bugging me for a good while now that my Celestial Lions are sitting in limbo. They were made for the first edition of Kill Team (the one that used 7th edition rules) but haven't been playable since.  When Da Masta Cheef returned for his monthly work visit, he proposed a 750 point game. With such a small points level in mind I  contemplated playing one of my smaller factions and the Celestial Lions stuck out as a potential candidate for such a game. Sadly I couldn't join that game anyway, but he'll be back one day, and I plan to have these guys waiting for him. 

I know some Necron players who would consider this paint job 'done. 

These miniatures are from the 2nd edition era of Warhammer 40,000. Specifically these are the Space Marines from that edition's main box. Although only the Sergeant and flamer are from that. The others, all cast in blue plastic, were from a Waldenbooks exclusive set. I uncovered a bag full of these guys, that Warfrog gave me ages ago, when I was looking for a single one of these guys to paint for their anniversary event last summer. These miniatures are definitely iconic and were the default space marine miniature for most of the 1990s. 

The full squad.

After cleaning up the flash and mold lines I  applied grit to their bases. A few guys got a skull on their bases too, because it's just the Grim Dark thing to do. 

Gritted and ready for paint. 

The loose shoulder pad is for a character I'm doing for these guys,  but I'll talk about that in a future post.  So  I cracked open my old Krylon 18k Gold paint and blasted away. 

Solid fool's gold. 

And with that, these models are now primed and basecoated. Well the armor anyway. The rest of their details will be picked out soon. 

Awaitng the next steps...