IG Alternatives?

Something I've always loved about the Imperial Guard fluff is that IG regiments hail from all over the galaxy and no two are the same.  Each system boasts it's own unique guard such as the Catachan Jungle fighters, Cadians, Elysians, and Valhalla.  Games Workshop currently only offers models for the Catachans, Cadians and Vostroyans.  So if I want to field an army of Tanith, Vitrians or a regiment of my own creation it is up to me to customize, kitbash, and find alternatives.  Below are examples of some third party alternatives that are out there and links to their online stores.

Mantic Games

Mantic Games tabletop wargame "Warpath" provides gamers not only with alternate models for IG, and Ork, but an entire alternate game which includes races overlooked or forgotten by GW.  Veer-myn are space Sci-Fi ratmen and Forge Fathers are Sci-Fi dwarves.  At $75 US for a 43 model starter army these models are priced right for anyone looking to add a custom feel to their GW army or looking for a more affordable alternative game.

Pig Iron Productions

Pig Iron Productions produces near future and Sci-Fi 28mm miniatures and miniatures bits.  Whether you're looking for completely unique miniatures or just some bits to add some flare to your minis Pig Iron has a solution for you.

Victoria Miniatures

Victoria Miniatures has a wide selection of highly detailed guard alternatives.  They have their own Penal Legion Squad for example which is truly breathtaking.  In addition to the penal squad they have a line they call "Border World Rangers" which would make a great Tanith substitute.

Maxmini

Maxmini produces a wide variety of bits for any army you play.  They also have some complete miniatures including the above pictured Ogryn alternatives "Space Ogres".

Puppets War

Puppets war produces bits and many alternative models for the 28mm wargaming community including many vehicles.  

Secret Weapon Miniatures

Secret Weapon Miniatures offers an amazing selection of bases and weathering pigments.  I personally use their line of weathering pigments on my models.  In addition to pigments, they also sell some great bits and a few models like the badass tank pictured above.

Anvil Industry

Anvil Industry produces some sweet weapons and other bits for 28mm miniatures.  I have a few of their heavy weapons and a bionic legs kit.  The also produce some unique miniatures like those shown above.

Brother Vinni's

Brother Vinni's produces high quality custom miniatures and even do commission work.  They have a few alternative IG models including the above pictured commissar.  I'm currently using this model as my Lord Commissar and will be using him in the future for General-Commissar Gaunt.

Chapter House Studios

Chapter House Studios produces some great bits for use with IG including the above pictured wheeled Chimera conversion kit and a female guard unit.

Custom Space Wolf Stormraven

So I picked up some bits for a Space Marine Stormraven off ebay.  I didn't really have any plan when I picked them up, I just thought for the price ($13) that I could use them for something Orky in the future or maybe a piece of terrain or a kit-bash of some kind.

When the parts showed up I cleaned them up and started playing around.  I was happily surprised to find that for $13 I nearly had a complete stormraven.  That's when I knew that I would have to create a Space Wolf Stormraven in hopes that it would be completed by the time the new Space Wolf Codex hits shelves sometime next year.

I will be using styrene to fabricate the missing parts and to add some custom flare to it.  For instance I don't like the vertical thrusters on the current model or the intake ports on the main engines.  I plan on diverting from the original designs on those.  I also plan on magnetizing the crap out of this so I can adjust the weapons load to meet the unforeseen options in a future codex.  I also want to make adjustments to this and my dreadnoughts so that I can attach them to the rear section of the aircraft.

So far I've only gotten as far as creating doors from scratch.  Here they are,

Space Wolves Drop Pod- WIP

My Space Wolf Dreadnought is still a work in progress but it is coming along so well I thought I'd post the progress to date.  First off this was a great kit for the price ($37 at my local retailer).  The kit is very detailed and the moving pieces are well articulated.

I base coated the model with The Army Painter Wolf Grey spray Primer/Base Coat.  I then masked off the areas which I wanted yellow and applied The Army Painter's spray Demon Yellow.  I again masked off the areas I wanted black and sprayed those with a generic black primer.

 The interior portion of the pod was painted black and dry brushed with GW Chain Mail metallic paint.  I then detailed the lights with various colors and painted the dome and sergeant's screen with a light green color and added additional details to those screens in white.  I then weathered the metal areas with Seceret Weapon Miniatures rust powders.

The same metallic technique was used for the engine.  I still need to add the rust weathering effects.

I was going to leave the edges of the drop pod doors Wolf Grey but I decided they would look better in the matching metallic.

This is the pod door prior to weathering.

 In the above and below photos you can see the first stage of weathering which I have applied to the outside of the pod.  I have done this by underlining the the edges with a dark wash from The Army Painter and then pulling the wash downwards with a dry brush.

After I finish the rust and oil staining on the outside I will apply burn effects to show the scorching caused when the pod burst through the atmosphere from orbit.

Custom Space Wolf Dreadnought #1

My first dreadnought was a vanilla marine I picked up off of ebay for about $10.  My goal was to turn it into a Space Wolves Dreadnought.  To accomplish this I used a combination of Apoxie Sculpt, Green Stuff and a little tough love. I began by removing the paint with Super Clean.  This normally works very well but will sometimes not remove black primer.  In this case it worked well enough to move on.

I used Apoxie Sculpt for all fur, and Green Stuff for more minute details. In this photo you can see one of the furs on the first Dreadnought.  I use dental tools to sculpt the fur. I also went about magnetizing the Dreadnought and the arms so that I can change up my list to meet specific threats.

You'll notice that there is still some paint on these.  I soaked them in Super Clean for a couple of days and what you see left is the tough stuff that stained the plastic.

The Lascannon received a Green Stuff wolf icon. The hash marks help the Green Stuff adhere to the plastic. I then spread a ball of GS across the side of the lascannon and carved out the wolf using a x-acto knife and dental tools.

The Missile Launcher got the same treatment.  I also added a bit of small chain to the missile launcher. I got this from Michael's craft store. Check out their jewelry section. There are a lot of great necklaces that can be used as chain and power cords.

The legs of the dreadnought were missing the shin guards.  I fixed this by cutting a piece of styrene tube to length and then cutting it in half.  I applied those to the front of the legs and finished them off with some more Apoxie Sculpt fur and a Green Stuff banner.  I "Wolfed up" the feet by cutting notches into the toes and cutting some sprue into claws.

For the classic wolf skull and cross bones I created a push mold of an original using Apoxie Sculpt and used that to press a Green Stuff duplicate.

A coat of Wolf Grey primer and base coat from The Army Painter  really starts to pull it all together.

Next came paint. I don't have any in process pictures but the colors used were Wolf Grey, Dragon Red, Greedy Gold, and Weapon Bronze, from The Army Painter as well as various craft paints.  The mechanical details were blackened out out and then dry brushed with Games Workshop Boltgun Metal.  I used The Army Painter washes for shadows and Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments for rust/weathering.  The base was flocked with Army Painter snow and some other snow flock I had on hand.

Tada!

Space Wolf Dreadnoughts - WIP

So I recently picked up a couple of Space Marine Dreadnoughts off Ebay for about $10 each.  One was a vanilla marine and the other Dark Angels.  My goal was to turn these two Dreads into Space Wolves Dreadnoughts.  To accomplish this I used a combination of Apoxie Sculpt, Green Stuff and a little tough love.
	I used Apoxie Sculpt for all fur, and Green Stuff for more minute details. In this photo you can see one of the furs on the first Dreadnought.  I use dental tools to sculpt the fur. I also went about magnetizing each Dreadnought and all the arms so that I can change up my list to meet specific threats.

For the close-combat-weapon I added a fur pelt across the top, a skull  and trim on the front face, removed a cable and replaced it with "Power Cable" made out of a section of necklace I picked up at Michael's.  Lastly, I cut notches into the fingers and cut out sharp finger tips from styrene card stock.

You'll notice that there is still some paint on these.I soaked them in Super Clean for a couple of days and what you see left is the tough stuff that stained the plastic.









The Lascannon received a Green Stuff wolf icon. The hash marks help the Green Stuff adhere to the plastic. I then spread a ball of GS across the side of the lascannon and carved out the wolf using a x-acto knife and dental tools.



The Missile Launcher and Multi-Melta get the same treatment.

I also added a bit of small chain to the missile launcher. I got this from Michael's craft store. Check out their jewelry section. There are a lot of great necklaces that can be used as chain and power cords.


The legs of Dreadnought number 1 were missing the shin guards.I fixed this by cutting a piece of styrene tube to length and then cutting it in half.  I applied those to the front of the legs and finished them off with some more Apoxie Sculpt fur and a Green Stuff banner.  I "Wolfed up" the feet by cutting notches into the toes and cutting some sprue into claws.


Dreadnought number 2 still needs a lot of work.  I'veadded plenty of fur, some wolf details, a banner, and I've used some green stuff, styrene tube and a space marine head to create a "Venerable" feel.  I added a skull to the shin and claws to the toes again.  For the classic wolf skull and cross bones I created a push mold of an original using Apoxie Sculpt and used that to press a Green Stuff duplicate.


A coat of Wolf Grey primer and base coat from Army Painter really starts to pull it all together.

Looking for some great paint? Look no further!

The Army Painter

For many years I've relied on cheap craft paints for all my painting needs.  Often I've been frustrated by thin coats and unwanted textures.  I primarily paint Games Workshop miniatures and I was never very satisfied with Citadel paints, they always seemed to dry out before I got to use them all.  I'm happy to say that I've found a new brand and a brand that I can happily recommend to my fellow gamers and artists alike.

I recently started using Army Painter brand primers, paints and washes.  They produce spray primers with 100% match bottled paints.  This makes the painting process a breeze.  No longer do I spend hours applying base coat after base coat.  Now in minutes I can apply a solid primer and base coat in one.

Using their bottled paints for touch ups and detail work has been the single best experience I've had with a paint product.  It goes on one smooth coat each time, every time.

You can buy online or check your local retailer.  The primers are a bit pricey at $14.99 a can, but believe me when I tell you the quality and time you'll save more than make up for it.

Imperial Guard - Leman Russ Battle Tank

I've been fairly busy lately, playing and painting but neglecting blogging.  This tank has been a long time coming, I've finally finished one of the Leman Russ Battle Tanks.  This Model is equipped with my custom cannon collar which allows for quick swapping between the Battle Tank, Punisher, Demolisher, and Vanquisher cannons.

I used a tank accessory kit from Tamayo, necklace chain, wax rope, and decals for detail.  It was painted using the hairspray technique for added weathering effects.  For additional weathering I used dry brushing techniques, detailed application of metallic colors, and I applied dry pigments from Secret Weapon Miniatures.  It was all topped off with multiple coats of clear matte finish.