Vintage Captains Project: Complete

After a year and a quarter the first of my ongoing projects is complete. This Space Wolf Captain is the final one in a set of six that were introduced by Games Workshop in the early nineties.

This is also the latest in a set of models which I've collaborated on with Poot. He prepared this model with an airbrushed basecoat which was then oil-washed to give it more depth. A full description of the process is available here, and you can see all the minis that we've worked on together by clicking the 'Airbrush Projects' tag below.

My combat cards project has encouraged me to experiment with freehand and I continued on this mini with the markings on the kneepad, shoulder pad and chainsword. I did chicken out from doing the back of the sword though!

Here is our small but growing collection of second edition style Space Wolves. Next we have an old fashioned Bjorn the Fellhanded which I am part way through restoring. Seeing this shot makes me think I'll bump him up the painting queue because he will look lovely when's done using this scheme.

Here's the finished product - the entire set of old fashioned metal captains. This was been great fun, and I've deliberately used as many different techniques and basing styles as possible. I think that my favourite is possibly the Blood Angel but I am very happy with them all.

Here they are in the formation that they appeared in the Citadel catalogue of the time. It was the picture below that gave the idea for this project. Job done!

So close! Space Wolf Captain WIP

I don't like doing Work in Progress posts really, but I would like missing out a weekly blog post even less. I've already given myself a day's extension due to the bank holiday. My vintage captains project is so close to being finished! Here's the last one:

I could have rushed to have him finished today but as you can see chainsword needs some attention because it is looking nasty at the moment! I also want to have the time to take a proper picture of the entire set. This project has taken me over a year so I want to get it finished off properly.

1990s Crimson Fists Captain

I am far better at thinking up projects and buying the minis required than I am at finishing them, but this is one that is very close. This is the fifth of six vintage space marine captains that I am slowly working my way through.

I had originally earmarked this model to be painted in Mentor Legion colours, but I did a test mini which turned out to be hard work, so instead he become a Crimson Fist. Despite the hours I have spent gazing at the cover of the Rogue Trader rulebook over the years, I had never painted a Crimson Fist until now.

This file is called "Fist Rear" [Beavis and Butthead laugh]. I opted for a green purity seal because there's already a lot of red on this model. It is GW Ogryn Camo washed down with brown if I remember correctly.

I am pretty sure that this model is well over twenty years old and he has had a few bashes here and there, like on the edge of the powerfist.

He's pretty flat, but that was what the technology of the time allowed and I think these models have a lot of character.

Here are the finished minis. A handsome bunch even if I do say so myself...

...and here they are in the formation that they appeared in the Citadel Catalogue. The final mini is the Space Wolf captain. Poot is going to give him a oil-washed basecoat like our other vintage Space Wolves.

As usual, 40k cat joined in the fun.

1990s Blood Angel Captain

One of my ongoing projects is to paint a set of six space marine captains that were released in about 1990. The latest one to be finished is this Blood Angel.

The gold armour is based on Vallejo Model Colour Gold. I started with a black undercoat, and then "dusted" the model with Army Painter Desert Yellow primer. The idea is that the gaps between the armour plates are still black, but the raised surfaces have a nice coat of yellow, with a nice gradient in between. It's a cheap and cheerful version of the preshading techniques that airbrush painters use. It makes the gold go on a lot more easily than it would over solid black and gives it more depth. After the base coat goal was done I gave him a coat of Army Painter Soft Tone which is the equivalent of GW Seraphim Sepia, and the finally a drybrush with GW Gehenna's Gold. This is a lovely reddish-gold which is one my favourites in the new(ish) GW paint range.

So far four models in the set are finished. Here's the entire set photographed in the formation that they appeared in the Citadel Catalogue of the time.

1990s Dark Angel Captain

I am working through a set of six Space Marine Captains with capes which were released in about 1990 or 1991, and the latest to be finished is this Dark Angel.

Finishing this model marks the halfway stage in this project. It is six months since I finished the Ultramarine, and seeing I have just started two new projects with vintage models, it is time that I got my act together.

Below is the whole set. Next is the Blood Angel who I am going to clean up and spray immediately... I think that he's going to be pretty quick to get done if I put my mind to it. The Space Wolf is just about to go off to Poot's airbrush station to be oil-washed like the Space Wolf Terminator that we worked on together. Finally, I think that the Captain with the power fist is going to be painted up as Mentor Legion. I am bit scared of painting white armour so I think that a test mini is in order first. I have a white metal beakie veteran lying around who fits the bill. Might as well get him sprayed too.

As usual, 40k Cat's input into the composition of these photos was essential to getting this post fit to be published.

For Ultramar! Rogue Trader Ultramarines Captain

The next model to be finished in my collection of Space Marine captains from 1991 or thereabouts is this Ultramarine.

This is another model that I remember well from the period but never actually scraped the pocket money together to buy one. The short, Roman style sword and the "brush" on the helmet make this a really memorable sculpt and I'm really pleased to finally have one fully painted in my collection.

I have been using the captains project as a way to improve my painting technique. I've reached the point where my main Salamanders army pretty much paints itself and doesn't really teach me anything new.

This model was the first time I had experimented with mixing paints for highlights, and I've started using it quite a bit since. The blue armour scheme goes like this:

Base: GW Caledor Sky
Wash: GW Badab Black
Retouch: GW Caledor Sky
Highlight: GW Caledor Sky and GW Ceramite White approx 2:1

I chose Caledor Sky because it is a shade lighter than the current recommended GW base for Ultramarines and I wanted the model to have a really nice strong blue similar to the 2nd edition era box art. I showed it to Kobrakei this week and he immediately said it looked "well 2nd edition" so it's mission accomplished as far as I am concerned!

Here are the two captains I have finished in the project so far...

...and here is the entire group as they look at the moment.

Next on the list is this Dark Angel. I am really looking forward to working on this mini as I've never painted Dark Angels before, though I have adapted Dark Angels minis for my Salamanders army.

Finally, here is a bonus picture of 40k Cat getting involved in my 1500 point league game this week. The Chaos Terminators had just outflanked their way onto the board, and she thought that they warranted close inspection before ordering me to declare Storm of Fire and pulse rifle them to death.

Rogue Trader: 1991 White Dwarf Compilation and Space Marine Captains

As well as collecting Rogue Trader minis, I also love reading the rulebooks and sourcebooks from the era. Recently I managed to find a copy of the White Dwarf rules compilation for 40k which was released in 1991.

For me, these books are a much more enjoyable read than their modern day counterparts. When this book was published, 40k was less than five years old and there was much more of an RPG feel to some of the rules, and things were still changing fast. Looking back it seems like Rick Priestly and co were having new ideas almost every week. Today's stripped down, D6-based rules work very well in the most part, and allow very large games to run quickly and effectively. In my opinion however, the 40k universe was a more interesting place when one of the rulebook's most important messages was "the universe is enormous and anything can happen, use your imagination and have fun playing."

Anyway, there are some important pieces of 40k history in this book, and loads of stuff that is still common in the game today. This compilation includes the rules update that made Space Marines Toughness 4, and the early ancestor of the And They Shall Know No Fear rule.  It also contains the White Dwarf pages that introduced Thunder Hammers, Storm Shields and Cyclone Missile Launchers, all of which are still staples of Space Marine armies today.

On the inside cover of this book are some catalogue pages including these Space Marine Captains:

One of my long term Rogue Trader projects is to collect and paint this range, and I have recently managed to get hold of the Space Wolf Captain which was the last one I needed.

As you can see, while the collection is complete, only one has been painted so far. The "Veteran Captain" is in theory part of my Salamanders Army, although in practice he rarely sees the table. When he does he tends to get demoted to Sergeant and serve as a glorified LD9 marker!

The rest will be painted in their respective chapter colours. While building my Salamanders army is incredibly satisfying, it is not a great way to develop my painting technique, so doing these minis will be really interesting and help to learn new ways of doing things.

Here are a few pictures of the finished Captain:

A note on Salamanders Skin Tone
I know that Salamanders are supposed to have a dark grey or black skin tone, but when I started my Salamanders army it was fifteen years since I had picked up a paintbrush and had no idea how to achieve a decent result, so I chickened out and gave my Sallies fair skin. If I started again I'd do it differently, but there you go.

A note on buying old rulebooks
Do not automatically assume that eBay is the best place to buy. I have seen books go for £50, £60 or £70 on eBay that can be bought immediately from independent booksellers through sites like Amazon for £25-£30. My copy of the 1991 compilation cost me £25 + modest postage and packaging and was in absolutely mint condition.

On the other hand, a savvy eBayer will find that some people don't list things carefully, and don't really know what they could expect to sell them for. I was lucky enough to get a hard-back copy of the main Rogue Trader rulebook including all the card cut-out pages for just £19 from a careless eBayer. I've seen tired old copies go for much, much more. My next target is 'Ere We Go which contains the rules for Orks in Rogue Trader, and I suppose could be considered to be the first ever codex...

My collection of Rogue Trader books received 40k cat's seal of approval...

...she also enjoyed playing with packaging a great deal.