Finished Black Templars Sternguard - photo extravaganza

Yes, they're the Sternguard, veteran space marines who specialize in using firepower to take down specific targets or reinforcing other positions (special ammo and combi-weapons for the win...)

Actually, though these aren't just any old sternguard, these are Black Templar sternguard, and naturally that makes them twice as hard as any other Space Marine Chapter. 

It took me 4 months to get these guys done (the journey began after scouring eBay and getting a ton of bitz in January)

You might think that being BT makes these guys easier to paint. After all, BT painting is usually about black and white (with a dash or red) but in fact, it took me ages to get my colour scheme together. It was the fluff that actually threw me a bit. Usually, Space Marine veterans are a colorful lot, with Sternguard particularly fashionable - lots of braid, gold and other bits and pieces to indicate their status. 
So what to do though with BT Sternguard? 
After all, BT are a pretty serious lot, and (to my mind) not as likely to go for all the bling that others might. They have a bit of a puritanical look after all (some seriously unfashionable hair cuts around). 

For that reason I decided to have the majority of these veterans stay with gunmetal/ silver ornaments, and kept the gold for the sergeants or other senior looking lads. Ornamental braid are in red or yellow (just for a change...)

And here are the results. Hope you like them!

Heavy flamers...Burn, baby, burn!

Cheers!

Sternguard Update #1: The Squad Assembles...

*Squeek*

Over the new year, various Sternguard bits and pieces arrived from eBay, and I finally got around to putting them together over the last week or so.

What a hassle!
:-)
Pretty fiddly to be honest, especially the hands and weapons...

After consulting the wisdom of the WH40K community on G+ about what loadout to take for these veteran warriors, I decided to do the following with the bits I had:

1.) Have x1 large squad of 10, armed mainly with special ammunition (rather than combi-weapons) and a heavy flamer or two.
2.) Have a smaller squad of x5, again with special ammunition.
3.) Keep the Grav weapons and other weapons for a later project to upgrade my Black Templars bikers.

Squad of 10 Black Templars Sternguard.

5 Sternguard veterans, most using regular SM lower bodies.

Unfortunately, although I had lots of weapon bits, I didn't have all the parts I needed...

...I didn't have enough special ammo bolters (even in my bits box), so I had to make some by taking some larger magazines from other weapons and add them to what normal bolters I had. I also took some scopes from some old bolt pistols...

Bolters with added special ammo magazines.

They didn't come out great, as you can see, but they shouldn't be too noticeable on the table.

I also didn't receive any heavy flamers, so I made my own by combining Heavy Bolter parts (I got lots of those!) with some flamer nozzles. They could do with a bit more care and TLC (fuel bottles added, some cutting of irrelevant parts like ejection ports etc.) but you can see them below:

(As you may have read in caption above, I was also short of Sternguard legs, so I broke up some junk Space Marines I had received in an earlier auction and added SG torsos, arms and parts.)

Tonight I added some texture to the bases, and over the weekend I will undercoat them!

Roll on the weekend...

Cheers!

Templars for the New Year.

Squeek.

Not going to be able to get in any gaming or painting time over the holiday season unfortunately, and that is a REAL shame, as thanks to the generosity of some family members I was able to order some models on ebay.

The models in question?

More Black Templars.

As you can see here, this haul included a Drop Pod and a set of ten marines (approx half with bolt pistol and close combat weapon) and also a Dreadnought (a separate purchase). Everthing I read seems to indicate that to get across the table, some kind of distraction in the enemy backfield is going to be necessary, and one way to do that is with drop pods. I only have one at the moment, but I didn't want to go over budget...

I also picked up a load of Sternguard veteran parts (not shown) from some separate sellers, because I really liked the idea of how flexible they can be because of their access to different ammunication types (as outlined on this truly excellent post over at Dakka Dakka by Sir Arun - I nod respectfully to you sir!)

These additions should help me have a more flexible army. Over time, I will pick up more drop pods, but this is a good start. I'm going to have to stop acquiring, and start painting more, as once the Sternguard get here I really will have quite a backlog to clear, as shown by the image below.

As well as the new units I bought most recently, I still have to paint the two Whirlwind units I have. Although my opponents here won't mind me proxying them "as is", I'd like to add some parts so they can be played as Anti Air units too (or at least look a bit more like AA units!)

It is the end of the Hobby year for me, and overall, it has been a good year. 

As I have exclusively been a Tau player to date, it is quite a different ball game getting my head around Space Marines and the different units and play styles they have (although, for the aesthetic alone, Tau will probably always be my favorite.) As I don't get to play often, I am only at the beginning of understanding how to use the Space Marines, but it is still refreshing to try a new army.

I only wish I had time to play more games (of either 40K or WFB). Still, being gainfully employed allows me to feed my habit, even if it precludes me from playing very often. It has also been an adventurous year in terms of painting (at least for me) because I tried some new techniques and overall I was quite pleased with the results.

The Tau Riptide model was my first try at a diorama and some weathering techniques, and the armoured units in my Black Templars were a good test bed for getting my hands dirty with mud (and more weathering!)

Here is hoping for more time next year for more painting and gaming adventures.

I'll finish by wishing everyone in the gaming world (or actually, the world in general!)  all the best for 2014 - may the Dice Gods be on your side...

Play fair and Roll well!