Ragsta returns to the Imperium

SO. So. I'm going to bite the bolt shell and do this - I'm going to share my hobby again.

Back in the mists of time Warseer was the first miniature hobby forum I discovered as a youngling. It was also the first place where I shared pictures of my hobby and exchanged banter and toy soldiers with anonymous sprites on the interweb. University happened and my updates became exceedingly rare. Warseer also got rather comprehensively nuked by a series of unfortunate events - its own version of Old Night and the Cicatrix Maledictum. As a consequence I fell out of the habit, and when I finally returned all my old sprite chums were long gone - the astropathic ducts dead and transponder beacons silent. I miss them and hope they are all in a better place :p

I had developed a rather annoying self conscious aversion to posting pictures of my stuff - I felt my photo skills were painfully bad and my models were looking like assorted squig dung piles. This has since been diagnosed as Heavy Metal Syndrome (for those of you who have access to the relevant Inquisitorial archives the more modern description may be classed as Get Over Myself - Life Is Short). I am now ready to do it anyway.

My old threads are still here, and recently I went back through the dust and cobwebs of the ancient crypts to repair all the links and pictures where I could. Warseer has done alot for my hobby and the least I could do is reboot my old stuff in the hope it will help entertain and encourage others.

That's it! Thanks for bearing with me! I don't have any concrete goals and my updates will likely be irregular but I hope people like what they find, and any and all comments gratefully received!


Kind regards

Ragsta

The fact that I'm posting Primaris models on my new thread amuses me. I'm a somewhat veteran of 2nd edition, and was fading out of the gaming aspect by the time 3rd edition came along. I like any game system that flows relatively quickly these days - if the latest edition is doing this then all power to 'em! I just wish the fluff had taken a different direction re. these latest models. I picked some up cos they were going cheap and I wanted some Marines that were actually 'truescale' against my other forces. Going forward I would use older marks of helmet and the original boltguns and backpacks to try and ground them in the older background. I worked hard to get some weathering on the armour, which came out kind of okay. The photo set up is also a first for me! Some of the colour and details are a bit washed out and lost but I'll work on it, and I do like the overall outcome. Hope you like :)

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...5&d=1589716176


Of those 400 men
Only 4 would come home again
Regardless of faith and how hard they trained
Only bitterness and doubt remain

Man, those look amazing. Hope you stick to Warseer updates, the start looks great!

Welcome back Ragsta.

A new thread is a fresh start.

Cheers,

CB

Muette - that is rich praise indeed coming from you, sir! You are too kind but thank you anyway :) I am learning lots - I won't change the Marines picture now but I think I would do things differently next time.

Captain Brown- thank you, Captain! I am using this opportunity to sort out my current projects and touch up a series of things, it's been good giving them some extra love.

I am stuck indoors due to a certain illness in the household. Happily this means I can see about further updates sooner than I'd planned!
I always enjoy reading the bestiary section in the ancient Rogue Trader rule book. Lots of strange flora and fauna to fire up the imagination for a sci fi universe! Inspired by this, here are some terrain pieces my sister very kindly gifted me several Christmases ago:

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...9&d=1590081357

Definitely still learning - this shot used daylight instead of artificial lighting. Out of whimsy I continued to dabble with photograph effects and I like where they're going so far.
I ended up using the sponging method for the bulk of painting these and I quite enjoyed it - pleasantly therapeutic slopping paint on some man eating plant matter!
Come to think of it, I wonder if these colours would work for Orks? Maybe some day.

Ragsta,

Those plants are...disturbing.

Cheers,

CB

Great to have you showing your work here again Ragsta. The photos look great; whatever effects you are using seem to be working well, suiting the subject.

Codsticker - Thank you very much, I really appreciate it. I am very glad to be adding to Warseer again :) I am slowly grasping some photo stuff that passed me by in earlier times but we'll see what happens. The beauty of editing :shifty:

Captain Brown - Haha yes, they are rather weird! Someone was asking me about them on the gallery but unfortunately I can't find out where they came from at all. I think it's a resin terrain maker on evilBay but my searching powers are weak. I have other weird plants and beasties to come :)

One of the first forces that came to be for me was a rather rag tag force of Imperial Guard comprised of very hard plastic troopers from Prinz August miniatures. I was able to get something like 80 of them for £20. This coincided with the release of the first GW layer paints and washes (Charadon Granite and Devlan Mud era!!). My original Warseer thread had multiple units created back then thanks to the ease of assembly and ease of painting. Years went by, the warp grew in strength yet I couldn't seem to shake my fondness for the 'Flexberg 17th Infantry Regiment'. The background and painting style has evolved steadily from its original form. I will be showcasing all of what I have here and performing some wee touch ups as I go along. I hope you like what comes.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...2&d=1591040546

Recruited from the industrial slums and urban sprawls of Flexberg, the Flexberg 17th Infantry was assigned to 4th Army Group under Lord General Menelaus as part of the Augustine Crusade forces.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...3&d=1591042782
One of many patrols winkling out rebel fighters in an unidentified township. Primarily composed of former gang members and habworkers, the fledgling regiment could count on a certain level of combat experience among it's officers and men. This was offset by disciplinary issues caused from an ingrained distrust of ‘outworlders’ that would quickly earn the regiment a prickly reputation.

I'm liking the dark and gritty vibe.

Echoing lost egg I think that the gritty atmosphere is very interesting, really like the weathering on the primaris marines.

Lost Egg - Thank you, sir, I'm glad you are getting something out of these posts! I like dark and gritty too, I'm really pleased you're picking up on that as I didn't want my eventual force of Guardsmen too come through as too polished.

Mr Joeingtons - Thank you very much, I'm glad you like the weathering. I took an inordinate amount of time working on those 4 and it felt like my eyes were bleeding by the end haha! :D

So I had planned to post some more IG but I need the time to get some larger group shots set up. In the meantime I have more exotic flora to distract you with!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...8&d=1590081357

I am not mad. I know I am not. Because I saw them! Plants the size of men! Plants that ate men!! When the others return they will tell you the same!!

These are Triffids from CP Models. I like to paint up random beasties that I could potentially use for random encounters or even as background pieces on the tabletop - at a pinch these could be used as rather bizarre scatter terrain! Random models like this are also a really nice palette cleanser after slogging through a squad of infantry.

These models were lovely and I based the paint scheme on some Leopard plants that rather resentfully live with us. There are other plant monsters in various online places and I'm pondering adding to these using the not Triffids from Crooked Dice...

Had my eye on those minis for a while and you've done a nice job on them sir.

Yeah, love the colour choices- great looking carnivorous plants.

Lost Egg - Oh you should get some, they are very nice models! As I said, I may well end up getting some of the Crooked Dice ones too.

Codsticker - Thank you so much! They took a wee bit of time but I was pleased with the outcome.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...1&d=1592861584
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...2&d=1592861584
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...3&d=1592861584
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...4&d=1592861584

3rd platoon led by Lieutenant Grunled, part of the 19th Company Flexberg 17th Infantry Regiment. 3rd platoon carried the company's heavy bolters with them and operated in a fire support role for their companions. These pictures show their heavy weapons being carried by certain individuals of either great strength or augmented supporting body armour. It is very unlikely they would have been fired in this manner, however.

Much of the original equipment for the Flexberg belonged to the recruits themselves, with a modicum of Munitorum supervision to ensure standardised ammunition types and spares. The Commissariat found that indoctrination of the new recruits went more smoothly if they were permitted to retain certain original possessions like these. Integration of rival gangs was another matter entirely.

I don't want to bombard you lot with picture after picture of Poor Bloody Infantry but at the same time I feel like it's only fair that my weary Guardsmen get their moment in the spotlight!

I never intended to create so many infantry for this force but it seemed to develop organically. Many somewhat whimsical side projects ended up getting integrated into the project - so abortive Necromunda gangers along with zombie apoc survivors all ended up pressed into service by the Commissars!

3rd platoon uses the spot colour of yellow and many bald heads as it's 'accents'. I've made an effort to introduce different ideas like this to each of my platoons to help give them some sense of identity and hint at some vestiges of their past as gangers and other rabble.

Thanks for looking :)

Some really nice kit bashing there Ragsta.:cool:

Cool work there Ragsta.

Cheers,

CB

fantastic some are very detailed, I would like to have some collection, I am just an amateur but I enjoy seeing how you collect.

Codsticker - Thank you sir! There are very many kits mixed into my Guardsmen, I've used loads of the Wargames Factory Shock Troopers with different heads and weapons, plus there are some Space Marine Scouts, randome IG metals and plastics and Schaeffers Last Chancers scattered amongst the company. It would be nice to have a clean cut and uniform force some day but I like the organic and rag tag look the 19th Company has developed.

Captain Brown - Thanks, Captain! I appreciate the kind words alot.

Cinelongs - Hello Cinelongs! Thank you very much, I really appreciate it! I am still very much an amateur too. Do you have any projects yourself? I'd love to see them!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...7&d=1595193330



So I have been working on some very random alien gribblies for some random encounter types in sci fi and post apoc.
I'll be brutally honest - I did not enjoy these sculpts AT ALL. The clean up was very bad for me and the finished job not my best work but at least they are done, and now I know to be more careful when I buy models on a whim!

I don't mind buying minis out of whimsy sometimes but this particular experience has made me reconsider the way my projects stand. I have 40 infantry I was GOING to use as a wee stand alone platoon but now I am going to fold them into my Flexberg as reinforcements because I know I will enjoy the painting scheme!


Emperor save me, even the picture is bad haha! Oh well, at least the miniature mountain has been reduced :biggrin:

Ragsta,

Keep fighting the pile of shame.

Cheers,

CB

Thanks Captain!

++M42.037 Augustine Crusade - Imperial fleet assets under Admiral Krenzler launched strikes against orbital defences in the Minos system among several others. The INS Victory, Rampart and Dominion participated in each of these actions.++

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...0&d=1596002981

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...9&d=1596002981

These are some of the oldest models in my collection. One of my goals for 2020 was to finish off and update my Imperial fleet - usually my tweaking paint jobs and tidying up odds and ends. The nice thing about this thread is it helps encourage me to do so! I have also given each of my ships a nameplate from the excellent people at Versatile Terrain. The Imperial Navy is not free from vanity it seems :p

I will continue to post the Navy as I go along, and I will include some backstory from the Augustine Crusade background that the mighty Apologist has been pioneering here. The same goes for my Imperial Guard, which I've already started doing a little of.

Thank you for looking everyone :)

Nice work Ragsta.

Cheers,

CB

Thanks Captain!

I'll slowly post up my entire Imperial fleet collection, each with a little bit of fluffery for them. The nice thing about returning to Warseer is I've been able to perform a series of wee touch ups to some old paint jobs. The patient little fellas deserve as much.

When the ship exited warp space we gave thanks for three days. Primary power was out - it took the techs that long anyway to get under way. We attempted to pick up one of the Telepathica relay signals but there was nothing. Proxima Salvator. Gothrika. Flexberg. All silent. My ward did not speak for all that time - he spent the hours in the small chapel behind the bridge. I am his bolter bearer, and honoured to be such - it is not my place to question and yet he seemed deeply affected by the silence around us. The Emperor Protects.


https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...6&d=1596002981https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...7&d=1596002981https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...8&d=1596002981

I went through a multitude of colour schemes for a Space Marine force. Grey. Black/ purple. Red/ blue. I'm pretty sure most of us have done so during our thrashing around in the hobby!
This figure represents the culmination of what was my Brazen Guard Marine Company project, resplendent in a delightfully straightforward paint scheme that still looked good en masse. Okay okay - I discovered the GW washes and they pretty much saved the day!! You can find them in my old thread :)

He was also my first attempt at true scaling a Marine model, and attempting to get some dynamic movement in what were then rather static sculpts. Some plasticard boosters in the boots and waist coupled with some hefty armored shoulders. After these pictures were taken I pimped out his base a little more - always room for improvement. Looking at him now there are things I would change but I still like him alot. He also looks like a total bampot!!! :D:rolleyes::p

You know, the skin tones of the face remind me of the baddies in Dune(1984):
Attachment 242405
Very nicely done.

Some more solid work Ragsta.

Cheers,

CB

Codsticker - Haha he really does doesn't he! I can't unsee that now, thank you so much :rolleyes::biggrin:

Captain - Thank you, sir.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...4&d=1598734580


Not everybody gets the gene boosting, the mind wipes, cybernetic enhancement and ceramite armour. Special security detachments, my friend - mucking out every infested sewer, burned out and lab and nightmare haunted asteroid you can think of!

I painted these after I plucked up the nerve to try painting white armour. It turned out okay - who doesn't like a wee homage to Imperial Stormtroopers? The models themselves are from Heresy Miniatures and the heads are from Pig Iron. I picture them as a security team for some mad scientist or holed up Inquisitor somewhere, the poor blighters who get called in as soon as there's a security breech by something horrible breaking out of containment! :biggrin:

Yeah, they would do nicely as Inquisitional Storm Troopers or some such.

They would do, wouldn't they? I was also partly inspired by the white suited elite Combine troops in Half Life 2 and wanted anonymous helmets like these. Pig Iron have quite a few cool options for generic sci fi in general, I've made great use of their stuff!


I have just finished 30 more infantry for my Flexberg Guardsmen - the Warseer Painting Group really helped drive me to finish them. Also yes, maybe a little bit of lock down helped too :p It was an exercise in perseverance to get this mass of bodies finished but I'm happy with the results!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...5&d=1599683817

I will post better pictures eventually!

I need to paint 12 more infantry and 12 heavy weapons (I already have the foot soldiers to crew them done), at which point my envisioned force will be labelled "Complete". I'm hoping I can get this done by 2020's end.

I have managed to finish off all my BFG ships this year already so I want to post more of those, plus I cleared out all my zombies and Ork pirate ships that need to be shared too.
One of my reasons for starting this thread is to list all the projects I've managed over the years so they at least have a wee space on the internet where people can see them.
The Flexberg infantry will need some proper fluff written out for them, they've been floating around for years and deserve that much at least! Maybe one day they'll even get a game :biggrin:

Hello everyone

I continue to photograph all the varied bits I have painted over time. What I am driving towards is posting up ALL my painted projects as a wee message in a bottle on the fickle tides of the interwebz.
While I am happier with the photographs these days I'm beginning to think a light tent and actual camera rather than my dodgy iPhone may be an idea. One day perhaps. There's clearly some issues I'm having with focusing my shots so I think a wee tripod and time delay is called for. Also lighting in general. Anyway!


https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...7&d=1601760279

Here is a cyber thief and attendant droid for all sorts of random sci fi shenanigans. The thief is cobbled together from Wargames Factory, GW and Anvil Industry parts. The droid was bodged together using Tau parts and some tow hooks for little manipulator arms underneath. Think I used some BFG antenna too.

I really enjoyed the varied colours I used for them, it encouraged me to branch out and do some more rather random chaps:

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...6&d=1601760279

A droid from Pig Iron, a VERY random adventurer I put together using Frostgrave and Heresy Miniatures parts, a bounty hunter/ mercenary using GW, Pig Iron and Wargames Factory pieces and a smuggler sort from Heresy Miniatures. He does have a head swap though, much happier with the swap :nod: My friend Scarper very unkindly nick named him 'Fry' and now I cannot unsee the similarity!!

Again, while I do like my wargaming stuffs in regimented squads and whatnots, having the oportunity to kitbash and paint up random space opera options like this was very therapeutic. I particularly liked the Frostgrave conversion and his pose - he looks like he is questioning his life choices :D



Happy Sunday all! Be kind to each other!

Great bit of bashing Ragsta; I think the Frostgrave pose my be my favourite too.

Interesting conversions there Ragsta.

Cheers,

CB

Thank you both for the comments! I think I put the most effort into that Frostgrave figure - I even went so far as to ensure he had a warm hat because I felt sorry for him!?

Some very random fantastic beasts and aliens that were lurking in my cabinet. Many moons ago I actually stumbled across a small stash of Warhammer models at a car boot sale - hardly ever happens to me! Both of these hounds come from that stash - one is an 80s Chaos Hound and the wee mutt with the pink hair do is a Kroot Hound.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...3&d=1601727031

Their self appointed Beast Master is a Sharclon from Heresy Miniatures. Very nice chunk of metal - I could see this figure being used as a Demiurg or some other Abhuman. He was a refreshing change of scene at the time :)

My apologies for any lack of focus here. I use my iPhone for pictures but I am beginning to think I should get a camera and wee tripod. Does anyone have any wisdom surrounding how they photograph their own stuff?

Thank you for dropping by!

Ragsta

I've always liked the concept of Imperial Navy Armsmen. I remember the original artwork of navy personnel moons ago by Jes Goodwin, I think when Spacefleet was a thing.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...4&d=1601739102

Fluffwise they seem to be a take on Royal Navy Marines, providing protection for ships and offensive capability for operations. When I think about an Imperial force attacking an enemy world it makes sense to me that any forces capturing orbital facilities would consist at least in part of Imperial Navy 'Marines'. Imperial Guard regiments have Elysian Drop Troops, who have a history of ship to ship combat, but not ALL forces would have the luxury of such troops. That's where the Imperial Navy comes in!


https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...5&d=1601739102

Legs are Unity Council Marine legs from Anvil Industry. Armoured arms, Void torsos and different shotguns are also from Anvil Industries. Some of the heads are Space Police (?) from Mad Minis, and some are Imperial Navy pilot heads from... erm the Valkyrie set maybe? Och I don't know, it was a big pile of bits!
Painting wise I was initially going to go for white armour and grey fatigues considering the ship to ship combat, but then I hesitated. My painting ability isn't strong enough to do white armour justice, PLUS when I think about the Royal Marines they're usually rocking camouflage fatigues. Plus camo seemed cooler to me, so ultimately there ya go! :biggrin::p

As with many of my whimsical projects I eventually folded this idea into my main Imperial Guard force. They now comprise part of 1st platoon, and when I eventually get around to some proper group shots I will wax a little bit lyrical about the composition of those forces a little more.

Thank you for reading!

Ragsta


P.S. 1400 posts!! Whoooo!! :P

Really nice looking minis, and I love the painting.

Great conversions and painting Ragsta.

Cheers,

CB

Thank you so much guys! Really pleased they've gone down well, they were a fun kitbash of parts. I'm glad the painting has been well received!

I continue to grind my way towards completing my IG infantry company - 9 more infantry painted! I have 3 more troopers to paint and that's ALL the foot soldiers for this force complete. I am holding back from giving too much info as I would really like to do a big roll out of pictures and background in due course!

I have 12 heavy weapons to paint up - they will be on 60mm bases and I'll be providing crates and sandbags to make them more diorama style. I am semi optimistic that I'll be able to sort these out by Xmas time but we will see!

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...erg%20done.jpg

I sat down and planned, replanned and then planned again how the structure of my company and squads would look. Despite many scribblings and toting up what models I already had I still ended up many missile launchers short! What you see here is my solution, plus some extra ground pounders to fill in the gaps amongst my squads and platoon HQs. Parts from Victoria Minis, Pig Iron, GW and CP Models all in the melting pot.

3 launchers came from G Dubs - I kitbashed the users as best I could. Having run out of stock parts I ended up scratch building two more launchers and scrounging another back pack one from Pig Iron:

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...unchers%21.jpg

Styrene rod and strips, handles from an IG heavy weapon hand grip and targeters from Victoria Minis. I was pleased with the results and they painted up just fine. They make me think of lighter LAW style anti tank weapons.

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...d%20%3A%29.jpg

Other things on the table? Well, if I paint up those 5 orbital facilities then my Imperial Navy would actually have somewhere to dock...

Excellent conversions and paint jobs Ragsta.

Cheers,

CB

Thank you, Captain, you're a gent! Unless you're a lady, in which case thank you ma'am! :biggrin::shifty:

I continue to grind away at the final (ha!!!) pieces for my Flexberg infantry - I don't tend to post WIPs so I have something completely different to show you for now:

'Cobalt Security' mercenaries in carapace armour and armed with hell guns. Two of them are wearing Breacher style void helmets, giving them protection against vacuum and small arms fire during ship boarding actions. They also appear to have acquired some form of xeno tech drones for additional fire support, which suggests their usual operations are far away from Imperial administration... If you hear some mook broadcasting for Cobalt then just remember this - we're pretty sure they're deserters from their original outfit and the nasty little bastards have now ripped off enough people or shifted enough illicit product to afford these shiny toys. Now if you would be so kind as to tell me where you heard about them...

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...3/1080131-.jpg

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...3/1080132-.jpg

A friend of mine donated me a box of Scions many moons ago. At the time I didn't have any real forces to tag them onto so I just bashed the models about and painted them in colours I usually don't use. A small merc outfit emerged, and I bolstered their hi tech appearance with the addition of some old drones I had bashed together from SM pouches, Tau lenses /sensors and some vents from Cities of Death terrain sprues!

Afterwards they reminded me of the Protector Sentinels from HALO. The merc helmets come from Heresy Miniatures Sharclons and I really like them - they look like you could actually fit a human head inside with some room to spare for a wee HUD. Just saying.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ragsta

Thank you, Captain, you're a gent! Unless you're a lady, in which case thank you ma'am! :biggrin::shifty:

---

Sorry to dash your hopes Ragsta. Mrs. Captain Brown has already placed a ring my finger.

Cheers,

CB

As the mighty Captain Brown would say, the long painting war continues... I've recently been feeling a bit battered as I've had a trapped nerve in my shoulder, some arthritis in my right hand and a wee bit of RSI from all this home working. I do intend to get a better desk setup but that needs time and of course money. We will all get there in the end :)

Nonetheless I have made progress on one of my projects - 6 heavy weapons are now based and varnished and ready to have their attendant crewmen man them.

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...20Part%201.jpg


I won't be basing crew on the bases themselves. Part of the reason is I have actually been working on using up all the infantry figures I already painted - in order to do this I wanted to have crew on separate bases. It makes sense in my own head okay!! :question: :idea: :P
The tripod stands for the heavy bolters are from Anvil Industries. All the crates you see on these bases are also from Anvil, as are the carriages for the lascannons. I do like the parts Anvil do! >:E
I will be posting better pictures in time, but I was pleased with progress so far and wanted to share. The weapons and bases were painted and varnished separately then glued together. This will be even more important for me to do when I tackle the auto cannon emplacements and mortar pits.

SO this leaves me 6 Heavy Weapons and 3 infantry left to do. I'll be really chuffed if I can nail this by Christmas. I do like completing projects, it's a wee bit OCD of course and no wargaming project is ever really 'finished'. I can already see some armour I'd like to add for example... :facepalm: ;)

Stay safe everyone!


Ragsta

Ragsta,

So are you using regular infantry models standing behind to represent the crew or actual crew figures on separate bases?

CB

Really liking your heavy weapon conversions, the stock GW plastics are boring. Basing scheme is attractive also.

Captain - You'll see what I mean below. I suffer from hobby butterfly syndrome like most of us, so when I finally returned to this Flexberg project I realised I had far more infantry than I had originally planned. So I decided to use them to crew my heavy guns :) PLUS this meant I now had a load of kneeling legs that I could use for... Something else... :shifty:

Imperator - Thank you so much, really glad you like the builds! The stock plastics are... getting on a bit. Weirdly, I found some very 'splodgy' casting around parts of the heavy weapons so I was glad to bash them up a bit. Really pleased you like the basing, I wasn't sure about it but I like a wee bit of colour in my forces despite their drab military fashion sense!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...1&d=1607869035

Being the 1st platoon of 19 company 17th Flexberg Infantry. Lieutenant Darrul Dreyd commanding.

The Flexberg regiment would deploy into the Gethrika sub sector in the opening stages of the Augustine Crusade M42.037. Numbering over 10, 000 fighting troops they would lead the pacification effort in that region of space and comprise the backbone of those forces intended to 'pinch out' the pockets of resistance the flying wedges of 1st and 2nd Armies had left in their wake. The Gethrika sub sector was not considered to possess any key worlds at that time. What it did possess was a conjunction of stable warp routes that the Crusade forces were able to use as a springboard to further conquests. The consolidation of this hub was considered important, and later vital, to the security of reinforcements and resupply.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...0&d=1607869035



Heavy bolter fire support from 4th platoon. I don't like the fact that heavy bolter muzzles are massive yet their ammo belts are tiddly. The shells on Marine HBs are significantly larger!! Therefore, to my mind these HBs fling out shaped charges like the auto grenade launchers we see on the news these days. I therefore replaced their ammo belts with drum mags trimmed from IG grenade launchers. That way they now look like they might hold a clip of shells that might fit those muzzles! I added random crates from Anvil Industries. The crew members are Pig Iron pieces.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...9&d=1607869035

Lieutenant Dreyd, one of the original founding officers from the regiment's raising, accompanied by Commissar Grell and command squad. Formally Flexberg PDF. Sporting modified carapace armour plating to the torso and lower body, probably acquired from battlefield salvage. The use of chainswords was actually quite uncommon amongt the junior officers and NCOs in the early stages of the Gethrikan campaign, yet it would appear that Lt Dreyd took to its usage and intimidation factor with practised ease.

These are 4 of my oldest cruisers, and therefore some of my most long suffering models in the collection :P There's been some minor kitbashing for the prows and bridges/ superstructure on some of these. Those were my smallest steps towards modifying 40K kits at all. The name plates come from Versatile Terrain and I recommend them if you want to add some personalisation to your forces.

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0cruisers.jpeg

Happy New Year and a Merry Christmas to all of you, as the fresh winds of a new year stir the swathes of dust covering the crumbling halls of this noble forum :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

My apologies - posting a single picture of but 4 space ships is hardly a return to proper coverage of past glories. I now return with the eyes and ears of the fleet - again some of the oldest ships amongst my BFG collection.


https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...2&d=1609620830

Dauntless light cruisers. Happy memories of these babies popping like pimples under the guns of Ork Savage Gunships :shifty:

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...0&d=1609615517

Sword Frigates and Cobra Destroyers. If memory serves the single band painted on the Cobra prows was a major step forward in my detail painting :p

There isn't much point in me doing a hobby recap really - I lack the painting prowess or modelling kung fu of other mighty users around here! However, for myself I am still quite pleased with how things have gone, for a couple of reasons:

1. I finished all my Battlefleet Gothic models this year
2. My Flexberg Infantry Company have also been finished
3. My Chaos forces had their last few models at the very start of 2020 too!
4. I plucked up the nerve to start posting my toys on Instagram and Warseer again

Being a hobby butterfly any 2021 goals set need to be very open ended so I don't fail immediately! Here goes:

1. Complete the Flexberg vehicle park for 19th Company - I have a pair of Sentinels to add to them
2. Add the heavy support for the Chaos force, and start posting them onto Warseer! Several vehicles and heavy weapon squads to do for this
3. Refurbish my zombie horde, really just tweaking some paintjobs and replacing somewhat natch modelling with fresher efforts - I would like to round up to a 200 strong horde :eyebrows::rolleyes:
4. Um... I may have bought a primarily 2nd edition Eldar army earlier this year... Might need to get started on them too...

Thank you to everyone who's looked at my stuff, I really appreciate your comments. It's nice hanging out at Warseer again - I hope things continue to get more populated around here :)

Cheers everyone! Ragsta

Your BFG fleet looks fantastic. I look forward to what you have planned for this year- best of luck meeting your goals!

Ragsta,

Just found your thread mate excellent job. I really think the grittiness of your IG force comes over very well.

Well done for 2020 there Ragsta.

Cheers,

CB

Codsticker - Thank you so much! I love me my BFG, glad you like them so far.

Captain Brown - Thank you Cap'n :)

Colonel Jacka - I am very glad you have found me, Colonel! Thank you so much for the kind words, I am really chuffed that the grittiness comes through! Do you remember the 2nd edition IG rules for veterans? I often think it would be cool to model squads as 'Grizzled', 'True Grit' etc


Ooooft. This is my second attempt at writing this full post. That figures. 2020 was a slugfest for me and my family, as with so many others. I was the only member of my family who didn't end up being treated for serious illness (not that one, no). Happily they have all recovered well, and now my dad has been released from hospital this January. He has a ways to go yet but we're just happy to have him home. My thanks to the health service, they are the mightiest of awesome.

I wasn't going to bring this up at all - there are so many worse off than I. But my latest news from so early into 2021 has really knocked the wind out of me. I was told on Monday that my role is being made redundant. 5 and a half years of solid work with my team doing so very well during the pandemic and now I have this hanging over me. Again I'm sure I will come through it but I'm more hurt than anything. At least I can use my company's sociopathic tendencies as fodder for fluff in the grim dark Imperium :thumbsup: Also, I am treating this event with positivity as best I can - it's a golden opportunity to start something new darnit! Just give me the money and I'm gone :shifty:

So that implies I'll have even more hobby time right?! I completed 107 models in 2020 - my best effort since I started tracking it so if I can achieve anything like this I will be really chuffed!
Some photographs to set me up for my hobby drive into 2021 (it can go hang already, I tell ya!):

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...093375_sm-.jpg

This is my second purchase from Sphere Products in the UK and I would recommend their products if that's the kind of thing you like to accessorise your hobby!
A lovely new paint rack holding my array of paints, including two new sets from Vallejo to give me much needed 'new blood' in my paintstream!

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...093376_sm-.jpg

A very humble light tent to photograph my toys in. Cheap as chips - I didn't want to go too crazy in case I end up sucking at this but fingers crossed! I am hoping this will give me a regular setup so I can work out how to take consistently decent pictures.

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...093377_sm-.jpg

My draw of hobbyness. I count roughly 80 28mm figures with a selection of other larger pieces. These will keep me busy with enough variety to keep me engaged I hope!
Worryingly this doesn't include the Eldar forces I have amassed but we'll see what happens.



We'll be resuming normal programming going forward, thanks for looking and I'll see you all aroond toon!


Ragsta

Sorry to hear about your redundancy, especially after having a year like 2020. It does look like an opportunity to get some hobby work done and bit of a reboot.

Thank you Codsticker!

I have actually been rather productive recently (still currently employed but that will likely end very soon). However, I still have lots of basing to do and don't really want to show you WIPs yet :)

I want to continue cataloguing my whole collection, and as such here are the beginnings of my rather worryingly significant collection of random robots!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...9&d=1613842069https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...0&d=1613842069

These pictures are my first tests of the wee light tent I picked up. I added an additional lamp behind the camera to remove some shadow but I am pretty pleased with the result. Plenty of improvement for me to work on no doubt!

The two wee dudes come from Zombiesmith miniatures and they are adorable - if you like random sci fi and Rogue Tradery style miniatures then give them a look. The big droid is a kit bash using Warlord Games Gates of Antares pieces. I like the idea that the two small droids guide their more ponderous big brother around the action only to hide behind him when things get rough!

Your new light tent works very well. I have always liked the Ghar battlesuits (I think that is what they are called) and you paint job on them is excellent.

They're good sets, I have a couple of kit bashes using them and I'll be sure to share! Thank you for the reply :) I'm slowly learning the ropes with the light tent - it's a cheapo set up but I'm liking the pictures so far. I'm working hard to have the paint jobs look as life like as I can, even if it highlights where I need to improve!!

More robots for the horde - I promise they're not all painted green and white but there's a reason for it that may become apparent eventually..!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...1&d=1614378520

Pig Iron Productions do some really nice stuff - these are from their War Droids set with bio hazard heads from Max Minis. They could make nice alternative Ogryn for techy Guardsmen or of course Ad Mech :rolleyes: Really enjoyed weathering these guys up.

I have around 50 infantry to base up now - it's been a bafflingly productive start to the year and I'm not even a bum yet! Officially unemployed as of Monday...

You have done some excellent work on this plog. I particularly like the painting and conversion of the flexburg company that you have done, and the BFG fleet is a highlight as well. Interesting idea on the "imperial Marines." I believe that there is some part of the BFG rules where in a campaign setting regular Space Marines can step in and provide some training to some of your crews to make them more potent for boarding, running assault boats, etc., so it is nice to see someone go with that idea.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rogue

You have done some excellent work on this plog. I particularly like the painting and conversion of the flexburg company that you have done, and the BFG fleet is a highlight as well. Interesting idea on the "imperial Marines." I believe that there is some part of the BFG rules where in a campaign setting regular Space Marines can step in and provide some training to some of your crews to make them more potent for boarding, running assault boats, etc., so it is nice to see someone go with that idea.

---

Thank you so much, Rogue, I really appreciate your comments!

Yeah, I remember that campaign feature re. Space Marines assisting. It's a good campaign system actually, I just never had the opportunity to play it :rolleyes: Really pleased that you're liking my stuff.
I think I would like to have another go at the Imperial Marines idea - the ones you see here have been pretty much amalgamated into my rag tag Flexberg company so there's definitely room for new recruits haha.

So I have been unemployed for two weeks now. I'm slowly ramping up on actually finding work again. Good news is my dad had a very positive post operation report from his doctors, so it looks like the family are continuing to be fortunate where it matters :) We have also recently fostered two guinea pigs (the warhamster is not impressed) so that is keeping us occupied!

Some pictures of my old collection to keep people amused - I have a HORDE of new toys to show you but they need their basing finished as I have previously mentioned. I don't want to take short cuts- I must stay strong :nono:

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...chmen%201.jpeghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...Droid%202.jpeg

Some kitbashes I cobbled together using my bits box. I didn't really know what I was building until they were finished but it looks like I've ended up with some suitably grim looking henchmen for an Inquisitor type.

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...Droid%202.jpeghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...Droid%201.jpeg

We call them Perceptors, 'cos of that big ol' burning eye they pierce ya with. Don't get too close... I don't know what it is they're roving around here for and I don't want to either.
The Cogheads out at Fortuna won't speak of 'em but they don't go out after them either so I dunno - maybe they're Imperial? But that means there's gotta be someone inside there right? Yeesh...

Fantastic creations Ragsta.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Codsticker

Fantastic creations Ragsta.

---

Thanks buddy! Glad you like them! I like cobbling things like this together as it fleshes out the 40K universe for me. Plenty of nefarious characters that can fit and flesh things out. Maybe some good guys too? Nah...

I have been unemployed for c. 3 weeks now, so my hobbying has been chugging away quite nicely. You may have noticed my 2021 goals from earlier in the thread so we don't need to go there again - needless to say I have a small heap of models I would like to finish off sharpish so I can move onto new projects!!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...5&d=1616152117https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...4&d=1616152117

I have been hacking my way through a random mob of Wargames Factory, Mantic and Victory Decision zeds and here's my progress so far. The WF sculpts were very soft but the end result came out nice. The zombie dog picture figs were not painted by me - I bought them from the mighty Wyrmalla on Dakka and performed a refurb on their basing and painting touch ups. It's still progress!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...7&d=1616152507

Edinburgh Miniatures Company figures with parts from Pig Iron, Anvil Industry, Northstar Miniatures and Victoria Lamb. I bought them on a whim and painted them to suit my Chaos forces only to laugh when I realised they looked a bit like Death Troopers from Star Wars!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...8&d=1616153152

A small work in progress Imperial Guard project. I have my Flexberg infantry company but I wanted to create a smaller force to contrast with them in style and doctrine. No further info for you guys as yet - want to take better pictures wth a larger force and fluff to back them on my blog in due course.


Thank you for looking. I am so very close to having a 'finished' zombie horde, a 'finished' Flexberg infantry company (HA!!! flippin' Guard...) and a 'finished' Chaos force but it will very likely take the rest of the year to beat them into submission. Luckily I seem to have the time... :shifty:

EDIT:

Progress continues - 9 more zeds for the horde, and that FINISHES my current collection of zombie stuff to do!! This picture highlights the limitations of the old Wargames Factory zombies - they're all pretty much dancing to Thriller... But I'm not complaining as the horde I bought ended up barely 50p a figure :nod:

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...ombies%202.jpg

Greetings

And now for something completely different - I shared a fleet of Orks on these hallowed pages many moons ago and this will be me sharing their current state. They've been bashed together using kit leftovers, pen lids and all manner of McGuffins.

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...2&d=1620143921
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...0&d=1620143867
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...1&d=1620143867
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...3&d=1620143921
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...4&d=1620143921

I hijacked a blissfully straightforward paint scheme from The Beard Bunker for these ships - I wanted a relatively quick and dirty scheme to be able to churn out a time effective project!
It's a spray base coat followed by heavy silver drybrushing, then weathering powders. The powders I used can be found here - I'm not convinced they work quite like other weathering options but I'm pleased with the tabletop quality. The name plates come from Versatile Terrain.

I have plenty more where these examples came from, so I'll work on getting larger pictures that don't look like bottom.

In other news I have managed to get a new job! I don't have a start date yet, and I've been warned that their HR can be between 6 and 12 weeks but I'm still really pleased!
But that also means I better get a move on and churn out more projects while I have the time... :biggrin:

Wonderful work Ragsta- really creative stuff.

Thank you very much, mate! I was really pleased with the end results, and it's pretty fun knowing none of the ships are official models either. I can get away with using them as pirates, Orks or Chaos! Probably won't stop me picking up a Chaos fleet at some point to avenge the one I sold off in the mists of time... :rolleyes:

Another picture deluge of my Reaver fleet. I have pictures of the flagship too but that deserves a separate post, I think.
While I am okay with the pictures it's clear that I still have a way to go. My lovely lady says she likes how they appear to be hanging in the blackness, so that's good - gotta love fiddling those settings eh :)

The smaller multi based ships are Vanguard's civilian ships. I bought some and couldn't work out what to do with them until I rewatched Serenity haha. I would use them as counts as Ramships.
There are also multiple metal Klingon models assimilated into this host - again because I had no better place to put them! They are from Studio Bergstrom's Sing On range and they are lovely chunks of metal.
Name plates from Versatile Terrain.


https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...5&d=1620546839https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...3&d=1620546839https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...4&d=1620546839https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...1&d=1620546839https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...6&d=1620546872https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...2&d=1620546839

Orks?... flying Klingon Ships?... We're ALL DOOMED!

Nice work sir, hadn't realised you had come ack to doing Orks in BFG. Now my recollecting it seems somewhat less... special... :p

Nice work Ragsta.

Cheers,

CB

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dannage_Reborn

Orks?... flying Klingon Ships?... We're ALL DOOMED!

Nice work sir, hadn't realised you had come back to doing Orks in BFG. Now my recollecting it seems somewhat less... special...

---

You'll always be special, mate lol!

Captain Brown, thank you for the kudos too, mate!

It's been a while since I've posted but I haven't been idle. I have been magnetising the bulk of my collection so they can sit neatly inside Really Useful Boxes. The tutorial I followed can be found here. One advantage of this is I've been able to properly organise my display cabinet so there is some structure and attractive organisation of figures instead of the mass scrum there was before - the Really Usefuls came in really handy as a 'transit' stop during this process.

I have also been churning out Imperial Guard - I intend to post some group shots of my infantry company very soon.

I have decided to post my whole bloomin lot of 160 zombies in a mob of pics! You can see an example of my magnetised basing in the first picture too:

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Horde%201.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Horde%202.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Horde%204.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Horde%208.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Horde%205.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Horde%206.jpg

I also have some more progress on my Ork Reaver fleet, being their flagship the War Bastard. I was tinkering with this model for literally years, slowly adding more and more junk to the hulk until I was happy enough to paint it. Painting was primarily several different spray cans, some heavy metal drybrushing then numerous weathering powders.
I will have some more pictures using my starfield battle mat in the future - I have a few escort ships and cruisers that need to be touched up before then.

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...astard%202.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...astard%203.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...astard%201.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...astard%204.jpg


As we march into the second half of 2021 I have taken stock of my hobby progress in the year so far. I've managed to paint 90 models this year, creeping up on my 2020 total of 107 rather quickly!! Here's a list of what I hope to finish in the next wee while - I always tell myself NOT to post To Do lists like this on my hobby threads but it helps keep things in perspective!

• 3 BFG Ork escorts to refurbish (weathering powders/ some modelling)

• 6 BFG Ork cruisers to refurbish (weathering powders)

• 15 assorted Imperial Guard infantry to paint

• Inquisitorial Henchman kitbash to paint

• Giant lizard to paint

• Giant spider to paint

Thank you everyone for looking at my pile of junk, I really appreciate you guys!

Ragsta

Smart work Ragsta. I am also a fan of the RUB but I haven't magnetised them yet; I do use them for storage and transport though.

Thank you Codsticker, you're a gent. Yes, the RUBs have helped me organise my collection significantly as I've said. They've come in handy as a motel for relocating models to stay in haha!

There's also the risk that once my display cabinet is full new projects could live in them with at least some visibility... Hmmm...

The weather in gloomy Scotland continues to be awesome. I have recently discovered that actual daylight photos of my hobby makes me feel better about what I'm achieving for some reason. Therefore, I have exploited our front room to maximum potential while I still can!! My new job starts at the end of July, so I still have SOME time to eke out a bit of hobby...

I took the opportunity to refurbish some of the cruisers as mentioned in the last post. Oh, and post them all up here of course:

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Fleet%201.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Fleet%202.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Fleet%203.jpghttps://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...0Fleet%204.JPG

There are 4 Ravagers to be added as they need a little bashing before I consider them done. Also got the chance to use my lovely star mat that a mate got for me. Good times!

Impressive fleet Ragsta!

Thank you, Codsticker!


We've been away on a lovely 2 week holiday (highly sanitised and restriction aware thank you very much) and now I'm back. I am still waiting to start my job but I have a suspicion I will be getting official confirmation any day now so I REALLY want to finish some stuff off before then.

With this in mind I have finished off an allied force for my primary Flexberg company, being light infantry elements of the 44th Proxima Salvad Prosecutors:

https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...cutors%201.JPG
https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...cutors%203.JPG
https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...cutors%202.JPG
https://images.dakkadakka.com/galler...cutors%204.JPG

I wanted to reflect their being a more self sufficient, hi tech force than the grizzled Flexbergers. They therefore all have respirator heads or gas masks (BIG thanks to Skinnereal) to make them more sci fi and capable in hazardous environments. They also have backpacks and extra kit aplenty, with each squad carrying a comms pack and weapons with extra bling.

Heavily influenced by the excellent converting skills by The Rook Archive to make the standard Cadians look more dynamic in action I shaved wedges out of waists and ankles, repositioning and bodging accordingly.

They were a refreshing change from my previous Guard sure enough! I'm pondering giving them APCs using Leman Russ hulls, reflective of the WW2 Kangaroo APCs used by the Allies. BUT then I start thinking maybe I should use the tanks to add to the Flexberg instead? Any thoughts?

Thank you all
Ragsta

Great painting Ragsta and your hacking and slashing are subtle but a big improvement on the figures. No strong feelings either way on the Russ; if time is a consideration use them as for the Flexberg, if that's not an issue turn them into APC's.

Codsticker, thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated as always! Yes, I have decided to bundle all the armour into another allied formation - that gives me more scope to use different paints and aesthetics again :)

I have been nearly two months into my new job. It was a massive change for me - leaving the financial office management side of life for working in the NHS in theatres. I am glad I made the change. The change in lifestyle has been formidable, and the learning curve and different shift pattern is proving to be quite something!? As a result my hobbying has been a little less significant, but I welcome the changes and look forward to adjusting my hobby pattern accordingly.

Recently I shared with you my gribbly zombie horde. I would now like to show you my similarly sized post apocalypse mob of zombie survivors!

https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...0&d=1631475389
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...9&d=1631475389
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...8&d=1631475389
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...7&d=1631475389
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...6&d=1631475389
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...1&d=1631475482
https://www.warseer.com/forums/attac...2&d=1631475482




The bulk of the horde have been cobbled together using the now defunct Wargames Factory zombie apoc survivor kit. It got to the point where I was running out of weapon arms so I made a few unarmed civvies too - that was strangely satisfying.

Also figures from Hasslefree and Pig Iron Productions. Some vague resemblances can be seen here including Chuck Norris, Bill Clinton, Gordon Freeman and the father of Arseface (if you get that reference right away well done you lol).


Stay safe out there, and for goodness sake wash your hands!!

Ragsta

These are really good Ragsta, I really like the lady in the trench-coat with dual pistols (in between Lady Who's Date Was Interrupted and the stripper). Scooby Do right below her looks ready to unmask some "zombies" (he's super confused when their faces just rip off, but he keeps trying).

Zombies, Ork ships, Imperial Guard, all very awesome sir!