Warhammer 40,000: Hive Fleet Behemoth

 

Something a bit different, a post that showcases my wife's amazing work completing the Tyranids from the Leviathan box, bought over two years ago now.

Winged Tyranid Prime

I think the first thing I should mention is that my wife has only been painting miniatures for about as long as its taken to complete these Tyranids.

Screamer-Killer Carnifex

While I might have guided her on colours and techniques, I think its fair to say its her own talent that's produced this amazing finish.

Neurotyrant, Neuroloids  and Von Ryan's Leapers

Obviously, having chosen Macragge as the landscape for my marines and the Ultramarines as the chapter, the Hive Fleet Behemoth colour-scheme was a no brainer.

Psychophage

I think she's used all Citadel Paints, contrasts for base painting, washes to add depth, and colours for highlighting - with maybe Vallejo for basics light white, etc.

Barbgaunts

Basing was the traditional black rimmed base with liberal use of Games Workshop's 'box'o'skulls' and various manufacturers' tuffs.

Termagants

This was to represent the mountainous, rocky north, where the Ultramarines had their last stand, and we tied in some base colouring with the marines I'd already finished.

Hormagaunts

I think there's a box of Hormagaunts in here from the Tyranid range as well, an addition which my wife graciously accepted into her painting queue - because they didn't come in the Leviathan box and I *really neeeeeded* them 😝

Neurogaunts

I really do think she's done an amazing job with these Tyranids and I'm stoked that I have a completed army of them.

Ripper Swarms

I guess its up to me now to finish the Ultramarines from the Leviathan box, which is in the queue after I've completed my AWI collection.

Random Stuff Challenge

We've been a bit pushed for space for the last few years and have been hell bent on actually reducing the amount taken up by the pile of shame. Above is my wife's amazing efforts with some of the Tyranids that came with the Leviathan box, and her work on my stepson's Krieg, Leman Russ - the Salamanders were a joint effort from all three of us.

But we've got a "doesn't go back in the box" rule in that, if I take it out to swoon over, I now have to fully paint, base, and store it properly - so it does actually go back in another box... in any case, here's what was 'out of the box' over the last few months.

First, from out of a small salt shaker box, some 28mm cowboys from a manufacturer I forget, for a game I forget, with a group of friends I vaguely recall. My wife took over to finish them after I drew a complete blank with them, after putting base colours down.

Next some Crimson Skies aircraft that were rattling around in bubble wrap for years. Bought about ten years ago because they looked cool when I was browsing the Iron Wind Metals website.

Finally, some random peasants from a Saga box of random peasants, carts, and bits and bobs. I've armed them with pikes because I had hundreds of metal spears from Aventine.

Random. Not sure there's much stuff left outside of the collections I'm hoarding, er, I mean collecting. But if I find some more weird and wonderful in amongst my mountain of shame, they won't be going back in the box.

 

More Retro Epic Astra Militarum

 

Another quick post for the last lot of Cadians done, a mechanised infantry company to go with the last lot of Cadians.

These are older, pre-Epic Armageddon Imperial Guard Chimeras, Griffons and infantry from way back, which have painted up OK.

Pretty sure Epic Armageddon companies were 12 stands plus a commander, so that's 7 Chimeras to carry them and a platoon of Griffons attached for direct support.

I've included a Commissar mainly because I had the figure. 

Again, I borrowed some decals from 40k sheets and meticulously spent hours giving the IFVs some numbering 😆.

 Think I might do some Orks next or maybe splash out for Steel Legion figs.

Warhammer 40,000: Ultramarines

Back in the darkness of winter 2023, my wife and stepson went to the UK and came back with an amazing present - the Leviathan box for 40,000, by Games Workshop. Amazed and a bit stunned, more space marines and Tyranids arrived soon after.

I've been painting them all in dribs and drabs since then and have a growing collection of finished minis. My wife has taken on the task of painting up the Tyranids, which is as equally stunning as it turns out she's an amazing painter 😆

Primaris Veterans

Some first company vets from the Leviathan set. Painting white helmets against blue armour... sigh... worth the effort in the end and for the terminators, I'll spray their helmets white before assembly.

Primaris 3rd Company Flamers

Gotta have some 3rd company, but who the hell wants ten flamers. Will beg, borrow, or print some different heavy weapons for the other five of these dudes from the Leviathan box, and do some converting.

Washing the flamer's heat cowlings was easier than I thought it was going to be. I used three different Citadel shades for the job and applied and mixed them while still wet.

Heroes of Macragge

Bit of second company fun. These guys came from the Warhammer Heroes boxes, which were a fun thing for me and my stepson for a while. We'd head down to do shopping and head in to the local GW shop (Iron Knight Games), anticipating which ones we were going to get.

First Born Tactical

From the pre-10th Edition box of Tactical marines... did not dry fit enough and hate the pose I made for the sergeant 😆

The others came out pretty well, and really went for a grimy look for these guys. These were the first ones I did. 

I think I've gotten less grimy as I've progressed onto the Leviathan box minis and love they way the weathering ties in to the bases.

Chapter and Setting

Picking a paint scheme was a no brainer. Having painted an entire Ultramarine Epic army, and not having any 28mm SMs since the 90's, the Ultramarines were still my only choice.

I liked the ascetic of the 'grim dark' of recent paint schemes so have gone full on dirty, 'mid-campaign' look... without the rust. Its more grim than dark, and I just can't paint rust on equipment that's meant to be serviceable... it your equipment is rusty, its dangerous and won't work... rant over.

So with the Behemoth colour scheme chosen for the Tyranids, the only other thing to do was to weather and base the SMs as if they were doing their last stands in the twisting and turning concrete tunnels, beneath the frozen northern laser defence batteries on Macragge.

Still a truckload of minis left to do, but slowly getting through them amongst other projects.

Painting

For anyone whose interested here's the painting guide (nicked from a mix of Youtubers):

Step 1: Undercoat spray Citadel Macragge Blue.

Step 2: heavy wash 50:50 mix Citadel Agrax Earthshade and AV 73.201 Black Wash (or Nuln Oil).

Step 3: sponge 70:30 mix Citadel Macragge Blue Base and either Vallejo 72.021 Magic Blue or Citadel Caledor Sky.

Step 4: Detailing equipment with whatever blacks, reds, greys are on hand, washing with Nuln Oil or Agrax Earthshade, and line highlighting lighter colours.

Step 5: Aquilas and highlights using Citadel Retributer Armour, Reikland Fleshshade, and Retirbuter Armour again.

Step 6: Line highlight armour using Citadel Calgar Blue and shade pauldrons between edge and plate with Drakenhof Nightshade.

Step 7: touch ups using mix from step 3, and doing step 6 again if necessary.

Base: Citadel Dawnstone, wash as per step 2, highlight using Administratum Grey.

Tie in Base: Lightly dab Administratum Grey on marines using a drybrush, focusing on legs and feet and angling brush from the bottom (opposite of zenithal highlighting) - with hardly any paint on brush.

Helmets: Red - start with Blood Angles Red contrast and highlight up. White - start with a white and use Apothecary White Contrast and highlight from there.

Epic Astra Militarum

To celebrate the recent release of Legions Imperialis, - or more precisely to spite it coming out in a scale that is incompatible with the thousands of Epic miniatures previously purchased - I decided to revamp a vast swathe of my Imperial Guard 😂

This included stripping the second hand stuff bought over the last twenty years, fixing a whole lot of broken stuff, and touching up previous paint schemes. This gets them more in line with the 40,000K Armageddon lore which has become a thing in our household now that my step-son is into 40,000K.

The result is a plethora of Cadians, Elysian Drop Troops, and Valhallans.

Cadians

First up a horde of cannon fodder in the form of three companies of foot, with another company with Chimera IFVs in the works. I think these are all from 1991's Space Marine and came based and painted. But after several days in stripping agents of varying types, I couldn't get them off the square bases, so this is how they've turned out.

Next a regiment of Lemann Russ from another early edition of Epic.

Finally some broken up Shadowswords, stripped from my previous dark green and purple, with some decals from the 40,000K vehicle decal set. I've tried rescuing the two broken weapons by making them Stormshadow-ish.

Elysian Drop Troops

Some Troublemaker Games, Mk I Valkyries and Vultures. Long story short, purchased back in the day and all but one had broken rear spurs. So in a fit of recent rage at Legions Imperialis, I got down to work with some thin brass rod and superglue... many fingers were glued in the saving of these birds. I also couldn't help but buy the giant flying brick like thing, very cool now its painted up.

The drop troops are plastics and also from earlier editions of Epic.

Really liked how these turned out.

Valhallans 

Finally, I stripped almost every tank I could find painted in my pervious dull, grey, standard 'Cadian' paint scheme and dark green and purple. I went for a more somber dark blue-grey. Also figured the plastic soldiers looked more like Valhallans than anything else, so touched up the previous dark green and purple with a lighter green and red.

The Leviathans have come out well, especially the white one - the only deviation from the dark blue-grey. With more decals from my step-son's vehicle decal sheet, they finally look more 'Epicy' if that's a thing. Which leads into the raft of self-propelled artillery and tanks that got treatment.

First up a company of metal Bombards and Basilisks from way back.

Next a company of Basilisks with not so older metals in the back row and some Forgeworld resins in the front row.

Last, all Forgeworld resins with a platoon of Manticores rear-left, some Thunderer siege cannons rear-right, and Demolisher pattern Lemann Russ front row.

There's still many companies of Epic Armageddon Lemann Russ, Chimera, Hellhounds and Griffons to go. At some point I'll treat myself to Vanguard Miniature's Industrial Waste minis, if they're still about, and use them all to form a Steel Legion.

Then my Armageddon Epic IG army will be ready to play...........

Empire Halberdiers: AWL and long overdue

What does, 2 new horses, permanent employment with weekly travel, 2 house moves, and a new partner with munchkin in tow equal? Absent Without Leave from wargames and blogging for nearly two years!

And, it's only been 18 years since I started painting my Empire Warmaster army, but I have just completed another, entire single unit: Games Workshop's Empire Helberdiers.

This also completes the first full brigade of halberdiers for the army, of which 3000 points worth were purchased and nearly 1000 points worth have been painted. Extrapolating (because we can), this means the army will be finished some time between 2058, or at one unit per eighteen years,  2559... hmmmm.

I went for the additional skirmisher stands for the first brigade, although not sure anyone ever used them.

There is however, an amazing amount of detail on them as there is on the halberdiers themselves

I was nonplused by the time I'd mostly finished the unit and left for eight months requiring shields and flocking to be completed. But once the unit came together with the other completed units, I was happy with the result.

Not bad for 10mm figures at all and with an entire brigade finished, maybe its time to actually crack out another few units to complete a 1000 points.

Warmaster: Empire Crossbowmen

Yes, Warmaster - fantasy at that.  Continuing on with the Clear the Desk painting challenge, I found a unit of undercoated Empire crossbowmen sitting at the back in one of the alcoves.


These figures and Warmaster itself are fantastic, although long OOP - but one can hope. The rules are now a 'living rulebook' and available for free online at Dark Press, and Rick Preistley has his own site, but more focused on ancients rather than fantasy.


You'll notice that there are three units finished, even though I only found one in the desk. Well, it turns out I forgot how many figures made up a unit and painted half in blue dominant scheme and the other red dominant. Then counted. Then went - "oh dear" (I didn't really, but the expletives used do not bear repeating).


So then I went on the hunt for another blister, found one, got confused as to how many I had, then had a panic, then found another unit I'd bought painted from the interweb, amongst the finished Empire stuff.


Greatly relieved that I could still field 3000 points when I finish  the rest of the army (its only been 17 years!), to go with the finished Tomb King army, I realised that the painted one looked a little dull compared to the new units, and touched it up.


Had an 'OMG! These guys are so cool!' moment when I uploaded the pics. So cool... so single... :)

So, that's one alcove of the painting desk completely cleared of prepped figures and now the home for glues. On to the next alcove and I see two 15mm armoured behemoths from GZG undercoated, washed, and drybrushed - and I ask myself why didn't I just finish those megaliths of death at the time?