Ultramarines the Movie

WHile I may be late to this party, I just got my copy of Ultramarines on saturday. I decided to watch it right away, and probably need to watch it a second time to take it all in. However I did like it, for a first movie it is pretty good. For those of you who may listen to the Gamer's Lounge, you may be familiar with the negative review they gave the movie. In that vein, I can say I agreed with Jay on the company banner, it was like a plastic placard more than a cloth banner. Every other piece of cloth would wave in the wind, or from movement - even the purity seals on the banner, but that banner just hung perfectly straight. The other element I wasn't such a fan of was the animation for the Thunderhawk, for some reason, I thought it could have been done better, but it seemed like a computer game animation (and not a cinematic one at that). WHile there was a bit of walking in the buidl up, I don't think it was as never ending as the GAmer's Lounge made out either.

I will say i haven't read the comic yet, so I'm not sure how that would impact my viewing of it. As an Ultramarine fanatic, the fluff elements that were changed are irksome, but I can get past that as interpretation switching from a table top game to a movie. Though mayabe McNiell should have help Abnett write the script.

I really like the detailing of the power armour, it gave me some inspiration for making some new Ultramarines - though I'm not sure if I even need to do that (I mean I don't think I need any more Ultramarine's infantry). The opening scene with the Imperial Fists in the shrine was cool, and the end certainly was as well. Overall, I thought it was a good first effort, and I hope they do more.

Executioner's Chaplain

This is my favorite chaplain model that Games Workshop has made so far. Even without the jump pack it is a rockin model. Like the other Executioners, it has an industrial base.



The main elements of the model are painted with my standard painting schemes. The only changes I made were to replace the pewter bolt pistol arm with a plastic arm and studded shoulder pad.



I painted the one shoulder pad that would have the Executioner's symbol with Necron Abyss, a 50:50 mix of Necron Abyss and Regal Blue and then Regal Blue. Once I get IA:10, I will go back and add the Executioners' chapter symbol.

Ultramarines Predator Part 2

I finally finished the Ultramarines predator from a couple posts ago. It was intended as a ride for Chronos, so I chose to show off my Chronos at the same time.



I chose not to do any weathering for now, as I wanted to depict the tank before Chronos has made any emergency repairs.



I used my standard palette to paint the tank.



The predator still needs to be named and a bit of script for the purity seals.



Here is the predator with its storm bolter cupola.



I chose to paint the interior silver, with layers of Boltgun, Devlan Mud and Chainmail.



The screens are painted black with Scorpion Green used for writing on them.



The lights are red and yellow, and the computer keys grey.

Work in Progress Executioners

Here is a first look at my Executioners. Sadly I don't have the second Badab War IA book yet, so I haven't seen a solid pic of what they now look like. However, going by older pics I do know they used the studded shoulder pad, so all of the models have that, as well as the hose chest plate. I wanted to make all of the models ready for close combat, as they were a chapter with a brutal close combat reputation during the Badab War, so every model but the sergeant has a combat knife modelled on him in some way. I have to admit, I do like how the knife looks on the bolter, I wasn't so sure of it. Brings back memories of when I first started in Warhammer 40,000 back in '93 or so.



I used resin cast bases throughout the squad to represent a space ship's interior, as this army is intended for a boarding action campaign. I also used a combat squad boxed set for the stationary legs, and an assault marine boxed set for the running legs - to show how the squad would split for its two different roles during a game. The only other detail, is that I intend to have all the squad sergeants carry power axes, any special weapons to be meltaguns, and any heavy weapons to be plasma cannons.

Ultramarine Whirlwinds

One of the first 40k vehicles I ever bought was the Whirlwind. I remember thinking how cool it looked when I first saw it in the pages of White Dwarf. At the time I didn't have much money to burn on this hobby, but I was able to pick one up in college when I found a local gaming store in my area.



I have nine Whirlwinds for my Ultramarines all together. The first two are the only MKIIb Whirlwinds I own. The one with the red is the very first. It hasn't aged well, and has been repaired numerous times, but I feel obligated to keep it because of the venerable place it has in my collection. One can see the evolution of my painting style with the side by side comparison of it to the other MKIIb Whirlwind.

Ultramarine's Predator Destructor

Today, I have my interpretation of Sergeant Chronos' personal Predator Destructor. I wanted this model to reflect a couple of things. The first is a level of ornamentation commensurate with Chronos' standing amongst the Ultramarines.



That is why the model has a number of brass etched pieces used throughout (plus followers of this blog know my preference for brass etched over water slide transfers or hand sculpting). I also added the antennae on the turret - this bit was taken from the bastion sprue, where it is part of communications array.



I also used a few purity seals taken from various places to add a degree of reverence to the model. Some are from the Forgeworld Purity Seal pack, and some are from the Baal Predator kit. I also used the Heavy Bolter sponsons from the Baal Predator kit, as well as the front plate to make the model unique in the ultramarines rhino and give the sponsons strength that the current kit doesn't offer.



The last time I participated in a local painting contest, one of the judges asked me if I had painted the interior of a predator, to which I replied, 'Why bother, it isn't modelled correctly." I felt like I should try something here that would reflect the character of Chronos as a battle field mechanic who keeps his tanks going long after they should have broken down.



Sadly, some of the pieces I wanted to put into the interior were a bit to big, but I managed to pull something off here I think. I took one of the side plates from a land raider and trimmed it down and did some filing to make it fit into the rhino, thus giving Chronos an array of tools to choose from if need be.



I also added a fuel can from the Razorback sprue and a chest or tool box for some added repair equipment. My reasoning here being that all of the heavy bolter ammo would be on the sponsons already, as there is no external to internal links for ammo feeding. As for the turret, that ammo would be stored in a housing up there I suppose.



Finally, I wanted to be able to use the model with or without Chronos. This is why the cupola with the storm bolter can detach. Sadly, I realized upon building the model that I put Chronos in a cupola with no storm bolter, no doubt to offset his cost and make the model easier to paint.

Imperial Bastions

I was finally able to finish off my Imperial Bastions this past week. They have only been sitting in the box since I bought them way back last spring. I decided to paint them grey to make them usable with all of my Imperial armies. I also decided to build one bastion with only one level, to make it more of a bunker than a bastion. At some point I want to add a third one, but for now I'm pretty satisfied with being able to scratch these off my "to paint" list.