It’s done!
My final 5 man assault squad is done. I really like how it turned out.
The Sergeant was an old pewter Space Marine Sergeant. I picked him up at a Gen Con long ago for a dollar. He had no right hand, just a pin sticking out as if someone was going to pin a new gun there. I added a Bolt Pistol and a left arm. This model actually has an earring and a ponytail! That’s OK, it fits right into Azure Flames fluff, as they recruit from all over the galaxy.
Also, see a close up of one of the flamers, as his face came out pretty well.
Finally, there’s a shot of the finished Display Board for the tournament with all models painted, based, and WYSIWYG. I hope to get a perfect score in the painting competition! The painting categories are graded from 1-5, and the categories are as follows:
1: Overall Synergy: Does the army look uniform? As I have a list drawn only from one chapter, the only standout is Leonidas, and that is because of his fluff. He still fits in with the same basing format.
2: Quality of Painting: is it detailed? I try to follow the “every model a character” ideal. I fall a bit short, but every helmeted model has jeweled eyes and little details stick out, like the pistol holster for the new Assault Marine sergeant. I made sure to ink the cracks to get them to pop.
3: Basing: is the army based and on proper bases? All my bases are GW standard, and are based, except the flying bases which are an exception.
4: Unique Conversions: are there any? Here is where I am a bit lacking. Although the Ironclad and Predator are fully magnetized to be any version, the judge told me that they were looking for visual conversions. In this case, only Leonidas and the Librarian on the Bike are “converted.” Leonidas is a standard Space Marine plastic torso with a head from the Space Marine Captain box. The hammer is from the old Salamanders Chaplain Xavier, and the Heavy Flamer is a Dreadnought piece. Finally, the backpack is the Chaplain Xavier backpack, converted to have a flame in the back. The Librarian is a pewter Librarian with a Force Axe, sawed in half and put on Biker legs. I added a putty tabard at the crotch, and the cape is Malus Darkblade’s cape, in pewter. The old pewter book from the Master of the Ravenwing in Land Speeder is on the front, while the side has a shotgun from the old Scout Biker pewter pack. He doesn’t use it; it just looks cool!
5: Display Board: do you have it? I do. It looks great!
I hope to get a 25 in the painting competition, and I hope that this list is competitive in the Tournament, despite all the cheese in 40K. We shall see! Next, the Tournament itself, and possibly a new Drop Pod courtesy of Lexington! Stay Tuned!