Khalil and Piers – Azure Flames Primaris Captain project complete!

In 2024 I set out to replace all of my older and almost never used Space Marine Captains with Primaris versions of themselves (which also probably would rarely be used).

2025 sent that for a curveball with all of my painting competitions.  There were only two left and they sat on the backburner.

In truth, they were 99% done until today.  I was waiting for a custom waterslide transfer order.  Now, they are finished.

I’ll start with Khalil.  He uses the new (but not the newest!) Space Marine Captain with Jump Pack model.  Because the newest model allows for Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield, I used Vanguard Veteran bits for the arms.  Additionally, older players will recognise that head from the 3rd edition Tactical Squad box; the same head I used for Khalil in his two previous models.

Standard paint job, but I’ve added a glow effect that I practiced on my Inceptor models last year for the jump pack.  I also gave special attention to the script on the shield and pauldron.

Khalil was recruited from an ailing Hive world past its prime; where being able to climb the rotting superstructure of the domes meant the difference between life and death.  He broke the record for shortest time in the aspirant trials, and was, after serving in the reserve companies, to a Land Speeder squadron.  His squadron was destroyed by the forces of Victor Kalan during his dark campaign with The Alliance, but Khalil managed to crawl from the wreckage with what remained of then Lieutenant and soon-to-be-Captain Edgard.  Khalil continued to serve and was promoted to Captain during the opposition campaign against Grimgull the Red.  Khalil himself had the distinction of ending the Red Ork, but not before Matthius, Prophet of the Four had reclaimed the daemonsword Ba’arzunipal.

After the Chasma Spica war, Khalil struck out with a portion of the fleet after the fleeing Chaos Warlord Esharradon of the Sicarii.  The relentless campaign of vengeance earned him the nickname “Fury of Iperin” as he was a living embodiment of the wrath of the Azure Flames’ new homeworld.

Before the Omega War, Khalil almost lost his Battle Barge, His Anvil (additionally most of the 7th company and his own life).  However, due to the brave actions of Zeraf Antonius, His Anvil was salvaged and refurbished.  Now, Khalil lives every day trying to live up to the name Fury of Iperin, slaughtering the foes of the Imperium with speed and precision.

Piers was named by my friend Joe during our writing of Big Game V.  I chose his first name after Virgil from the 90’s television adventure cartoon Might Max.  Piers’ voice is Virgil’s haughty British one on the occasion that I hear him speak in my head.  He uses the new Space Marine Gravis Captain model, modified with a bit of green stuff at the shoulder to cover one of the WORST MODELING GAPS I HAVE SEEN in a modern GW model.  Additionally, the helmeted head had the neck clipped and was attached to the hip, and the head replaced with the pewter head that Piers’ previous model had (the Captain with the Thunder Hammer from the old pewter Master of the Chapter box set).

Piers has a small OSL effect on his wrist, and the VII on his leg is a custom decal that I ended up painting over.  The “purple” from the printer was a bit more like dark purple and red pixels, probably due to printing limitations, and the top had an unsightly white stripe.  I covered it gently with the same purple as the cloak.

The Azure Flames have a policy; if they answer your distress call and fail, they save whoever they can as Chapter Serfs.  If the succeed, they ask for a percentage of age-appropriate boys to take the tests to join the Chapter.  This policy has been in place since the Azure Flames were the Sons of the Salamander.  One year after their Founding, the flagship His Hammer responded to a daemonic incursion on a small space station.  Few survived, but Chapter Master Logain himself led the counter-incursion and banished the last of the daemons back to the Warp.  With a successful mission, the station owed a portion of its youth to the Chapter, and that was Virgil Piers, the only surviving child on the station.

Born in the void, trained to operate high tech void weapons for the majority of his life, and possessing a once-in-a-generation genius, Piers showed tactical acumen that made him a Sergeant faster than anyone else in the Chapter (only later surpassed by Zeraf Antonius).  Ambushes, sieges, counter-sieges, line duty, covert actions, and any other scenario was understood, enhanced, and executed superbly under his leadership.  His experience in Void Combat let him eventually be appointed Master of the Fleet by Atrus himself.  Piers rarely leaves the Command Throne of His Hammer II.  Now that the Chapter has a homeworld, he tends to lead expeditions on behalf of the Chapter.  Only recently during the relief of the 4th company on Altea has he commanded the fleet in its entirety.

And that wraps up the Primaris Captain project!  Now all ten captains plus the Chapter Master have new models and backstory.

Next: Legion Imperialis Astartes Infantry!

Ork Warbosses!

Just in time for the new Warboss model to come out and add a machine gun Grot to the Warboss’ unit, I have completed two older Warbosses to lead Lads and Nobs alike!

The distinguished gentleman on the left is Finecast, with a plastic Nob power klaw and a Squig added.  Note that the cloth on his bosspole is unique; the Finecast pole snapped and there was no way to pin it, so I sculpted cloth to compensate.  The wonderful customer on the right is the Assault on Black Reach boss, with a custom resin base he had from his former owner.  Once again a squig was added.

Next: Two Space Marine Captains are almost done, and I’m going to finish my fourth box of LI Astartes Infantry to finally be able to field maximum units of specialty troops!

Fourstrands 15th anniversary! AFK swap meet!

This past Saturday I celebrated the 15th anniversary of Fourstrandshobby.com!  I’m a bit bad at remembering to post about it though.  However some really cool stuff happened!

AFK Games in Holt hosted a swap meet, and I’m glad to say I sold a bunch of stuff sitting in my basement gathering dust.  I also picked up a Star Wars board game.  But the best part was meeting a younger guy and another guy my age who play Battlefleet Gothic!  Expect a battle report and possibly a campaign!

Further, Lexington and Andy were there and we caught up on old times!  Great memories.  I also brought my Bitz Boxes and gave away some bitz to some younger kids who were just getting in to 40k!

Next I have some vacation planned, but I’m adding to my Ork Kommandos and trying to finish the Primaris Captain project!

Finish It – Tau Orbital City and Defences

Long ago I won an ebay auction for some leftover bits from a Tau Orbital box.  From them, I cobbled together two stations; one to be a Nicassar Caravan, magnetized to hold four Nicassar Dhows, and another with the leftover bits.

Additionally, I managed to snag a Forge World Tau Kor Caste Orbital City.  All three of these were one “project” for the Tau fleet “finish it” competition.

The Orbital City is important enough to have a real T’au name like a capitol ship.  Kor’shutto Y’eldi’retha directly translates to “Air Caste Orbital City Winged Ones University/Temple,” but more accurately tranlsates to “Air Caste Elite Pilot Academy.”

Basically,

…but for Tau.

The Orbitals were cobbled together from pewter bits and pieces of Tau Drones, as well as Tau Battlesuit Drone Controllers.

Next: I finish the 6 month 1/2 Army challenge with eight Leman Russ Battle Tanks for my Legion Imperialis Solar Auxilia!  After that, four Nicassar Dhows to finish the “finish it” challenge and twenty Grots with two Runtherds and I am done with all of my painting challenges!

Finish It Addendum – Tau Orbital

Long ago I ordered a bunch of Tau Battlefleet Gothic stuff including a partially used Tau Orbital box set.  For those who don’t know, each box has two tops, two centers, and a variety of arms of which each center can hold four.

I used the center and one of the tops to make my Nicassar Rig.  However I had a bunch of leftover bitz for a long time.  For the Finish It challenge, I flexed my dormant conversion skills and took a Tau Drone piece and a Space Marine Melta Bomb to finally use up these leftover parts to make this:

She’s an ugly baby and she’s not optimized for the best play, but it can put out a lance and a squadron of attack craft while also having two shields, a Tracking System, and another HP to make it moderately durable.

This will be painted at the same time as the other Tau defences such as the Orbital City and the Nicassar Rig.  Next: the Ork Nobs that are currently in progress and then Tau transports!

September Random Painting Competition – Hail Caesar Epic Carthaginian Elephants

September’s Random Painting Competition started off with an exchange.  Long ago, I participated in the Reaper Bones Kickstarters 1-3.  To participate in this competition, I had to bring a mini that was the size of one normal figurine.  Me and my wife pawed through my unused Reaper minis, and found this gem:

This is Darkrasp, an Evil Priest, and seemingly out of stock on Reaper’s website.  He’ll hopefully make one of the other competitors in the competition a wonderful subject for detail.

After handing over Darkrasp, I chose two folders at random, with the intent of picking one of them to be the mini I paint this month.  One contained a Star Wars Legion Clone Trooper.  Wonderfully detailed but a bit boring.  The other envelope contained this:

This is a base of Carthaginian War Elephants from Warlord Games’ Hail Caesar Epic Battles.

The shields on the sides are perfect for freehand details.

The figures on top are also highly detailed.

Finally, I based the mini with gravel that I used to use for Warmachine, and some green flock that I have no idea where I got it from, but this is my first use of it.

Next: Ork Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun!

Year Long Army Painting Q2 Complete! Ork Kommandos!

Ork Kommandos are complete!  These models date to before official Ork Kommando models were released!  Most of them, anyway.  The Nob is a pewter model from the first Kommando box set.  I found the Boyz in that box to be extremely ugly, but I love this Nob with his casual pose, cigar, and over-eager Grot helper.

To model “stealthiness” before the Kommandos were released, I cut apart some of the old 3rd edition jungle terrain leaves and added them to the Boyz to cover some of their profiles.

The Bomb Squig is a pewter model from a separate blister when they used to be sold separately.

The Distraction Grot is the modern model from the Kill Team set, with leaves added.

With this squad, the Q2 of the Army Painting Challenge is complete!  I’m officially halfway done!

Next: LI Astartes Rhinos which will finish June, and then I’m preparing for the second half of the year!  1/2 army will be LI Solar Auxilia, and July will feature an “All the same” challenge which will be a model decided by AFK Staff.  Additionally, there will be a whole lot more Orks!  Stay tuned!

AFK Year Long Army Paint – Two Squads of Stormboys!

Two squads of five Stormboys, each with a Nob with Power Klaw!

These Stormboys were made with old pewter Stormboy torsos and rocket packs.  One even has the old pewter Stormboy head!  Others have heads from the Ork Boys, Warbikers, and Loota/Burna box sets.  The Nobs had their legs created from Nob Legs that I clipped off for my Nob Biker project long ago, grafted onto normal Boy legs, and with heads and arms from the Ork Nob box.  An Old School addition to the Ork army, heavy enough to bean your opponent with the power of pewter!

Next: LI Fast Attack sprues to complete May, then more Escher, Orks, and LI for June!

Primaris Inceptors 19th Squad, 4th Company – February AFK Submission

February’s submission completed in five days!  These Inceptors just fell from orbit, making their armor streaked with grime and their thrusters and anti-grav tech overheated with exertion.  The burning grass effect was done with cotton from a Q tip.

Because of all the painting challenges, my year is full of things to do!  Here is what I’ll be working on:

• Monthly Challenges:
  • January: Single Model – Valerien (Complete)
  • February: Unit – Primaris Inceptors (Complete)
  • March: Large Model – Redemptor Dreadnought
  • April-June: Skirmish – Finish all Escher Gangers, pets, and hangers-on
  • July: All Paint the Same Unit – Unknown
  • August: Mono Hue – Space Marine Sergeant, Star Cyclones (Orange)
  • September: Random – Unknown
  • October-December: Finish it! – BFG Tau Kor’or’vesh fleet including Nicassar and defences
• 6 Month Challenges:
  • Jan-Jun: Legions Imperialis Space Marine Box Set (Infantry, Fast Attack, Support, Rhino, Kratos)
  • Jul-Dec: Legions Imperialis Solar Aux Box Set minus Baneblades (Infantry, Support, Dracosan, Leman Russ) and an additonal Leman Russ Exterminator box set
• Yearly army challenge (quarterly split) – WAAAAGH! Gitsmasha!
  • Q1: Warboss, Meganobs x5, Trukk, Squighog Boys x4
  • Q2: Deffkilla Wartrike, Warbikers x3, Boys x10, Stormboys x5, Stormboys x5, Kommando x10
  • Q3: Beastboss, Beast Snagga x10, Flash Gits x10, Lootas x10, Trukk
  • Q4: Big Mek w/SAG, Nobz x10, Trukk, Shokkjump Dragsta

Next: Orks Galore and Legion Imperialis Infantry!

Primaris Captain Project – Alain Valerien, Captain of the 9th Company – January AFK Submission

Valerien’s new model is mostly the new Primaris Black Templar Marshall, just as his previous model was the limited edition Captain that was painted as a Marshall in the Armageddon codex.  I did some arm swaps with regular Primaris arms to get rid of the massive amounts of chains.  I also clipped out the stockaded skeleton in the Iron Halo as that’s not Valerien’s style.  I added a brazier to the axe from the Salamander upgrade kit.  I also swapped the shoulder pads.  His left pad (on the right in the pic) was a huge pain; the original was a sort of straight line pad instead of curved, and I stupidly did not dry fit before priming.  I had to take a dremel and some putty to the shoulder and re-paint a decent part of the cape.  Always dry fit, kids!

–

Alain Valerien is the only recruit from Nouvelle Provence, an unassuming moon populated by an unusual group.  Strict discipline has kept their language from changing at all for forty millennia.  They are proud of their odd way of speaking, only learning Gothic to speak with outsiders.  In their tongue, they refer to it as “La Langue Douce” or “The Sweet Tongue” in Gothic.

Valerien was recruited during routine resupply long ago before the Azure Flames had changed their name; back when they were the Sons of the Salamander.  He rose though the ranks through perseverance and skill.  Unlike most Chapters, Valerien shares duties with the 10th Company in the newly created role of Master Instructor.  He prepares anyone from full battle brothers to the newest Neophytes in matters dealing with anything other than combat.  However, unlike the Master of Recruits, Valerien maintains an emotional distance from his pupils.

–

This will be the last part of the Primaris Captain Project I upload for a while.  Thanks to the staff at AFK games in Holt, I’m kicking my hobbying into high gear!  I will be participating in 11 different painting challenges over the course of 2025.  Valerien is my entry for the January challenge of a single model.

Next: February’s challenge will be a unit of Primaris Inceptors (full unit of 6).  Additionally, I will be starting the 1/2 year challenge of a roughly small force which will be an entire Legiones Astartes starter box for Legions Imperialis to add to my Sons of Horus.  Finally, the year-long project will see the revitalization of my Orks under the leadership of Gargatok Gitsmasha!  Stay tuned!