A Miniature Odyssey: The Forge Awakens

I can't believe it's been a whole year since Shazam or I have posted on this blog. That's shameful! Equally awful is the fact that in that time I don't think either of us have painted a single model either. So when some friends of mine suggested a 'Tale of Four Gamers' style challenge I jumped at the chance. The rules were simple, 250 points of 40k each month. I decided quite quickly that I would try an army that I've always wanted to do, the Ultramarines. I've always been a sucker for the heroic and chivalrous good guy and in the 40k universe, for me, the Ultramarines are it. However, because the models are designed as generic Space Marines, I feel they lack the gaudy and glorious pomp that the Ultramarine artwork depicts. So there stood my challenge, an Ultramarine army with more bling than Mr. T.

Having been out of the hobby for a little while I thought it best to start with a single model that I could really sink my teeth into and be really inspired by, hoping that would keep me interested as I am notoriously bad at finishing projects. So what better than an incredibly ornate Land Raider, fit to carry the finest of the Emperor's finest into battle?

Drawing inspiration from the Land Raider GW created for Marneus Calgar I knew I wanted mine to also look like a shrine and monument. GW chose a Gothic feel, however, I decided on Roman imagery, in particular an idea I had a while ago of creating a great stone battle scene, like in ancient Roman architecture, but using Epic models.

The first stages involved using plasticard to cover over the side doors and create a new panel on which to work. I then used strips of thin plasticard to edge large sections of the tank that I would later paint as gold trim to make it all stand out. Once the whole tank was done I then started the fun bit of adding detail, starting with a few pillars based on Roman styles using more plastics and some sculpting.

After a few days scouring ebay I managed to get hold of some Epic models to make the battle scenes. I wanted two battle scenes on the roof and since the models I'd bought included Eldar and Orks I decided I would be commemorating the battles of Armageddon and Commrath. Along the sides above the pillars I then lined up a few spare marines ready for battle. To add the models to the tank each one needed to be sliced in half and filed down so that it didn't stick out too much...a very fiddly job!