Epic: Chaos Marines - Whole Army

As a closing post on the Epic Chaos project, I thought I'd sign off with some photos of the whole army gathered en-masse.

Personal events have overtaken me so I'm not sure when these guys will actually get to take to the field - it could be some time before I get to actually play again - so I thought I'd grab some quick snaps of the army as the chances of me getting any "in action" photos are slim for the foreseeable future.

And just for a laugh, I thought I'd do it with a little bit of fiction, inspired by a comment my would-be opponent Mike made when I sent him one of these photos. If you laugh at the end of this, it's all down to Mike.

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This is Recon flight one-alpha-seven. Do you read me, Command?
Command reading you twenty-by-twenty. All still quiet?
Not sure, Command. Reading something over a ridge a few clicks South West. It's outside my grid and I'm pretty much off the clock here. I'm heading back in. I'm transmitting the Bogey's co-ordinates now so you can get one-alpha-twelve to check it out - it's in her grid.
Negative, one-alpha-seven. We lost contact with one-alpha-twelve a couple of minutes ago. We need to you check out that Bogey, but proceed with caution.
OK Command. Going into overtime.
The Emperor doesn't pay overtime, one-alpha-seven. Adjust your heading and report back ASAP. Out.

One-alpha-seven laid in a course to take him on a circuit around the ridge, his Valkyrie bucking and juddering as it got nearer the location he was scouting. That in itself was unusual - the Valkyrie's sleek design and powerful engines normally cut through atmospheric turbulence as though it wasn't there. More unusual were the energy disturbances his dials were starting to show. He almost didn't notice the fact that the sky was brightening up to daytime levels even though it was 02:00.

For the love of the Emperor! Command! Command!
What is it, one-alpha-seven?
Chaos force pouring out of a fissure in the sky! Massive numbers - Titans, Tanks and foot troops. Too many to count. Going to get some images and get the hell back. Transmitting scans, data and images back now. Confirm receipt.
Confirmed - we see it. Good work. Get out of there.
Coming under fire. Doing my best. <FOOM> Damn! That was close!

One-alpha-seven made it back. The maintenance crew weren't quite sure how.

Command this is flight-deck maintenance. Reporting in as directed. We're stumped on how one-alpha-seven made it back. His Valkyrie was almost completely out of fuel, its afterburners are completely burnt out. He must have given it some hammer getting out of there. It's going to need a complete refit. As for the interior - could you dispatch a seat-cleaning servitor down here?

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+++ Images received +++

+++ Transmission Ends +++

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Overall working time on this lot - 3.5 months. That's about 45 mins per day, 4 or 5 days per week. So roughly speaking, about 54 hours work (so about 3.5 models per hour given that it's an army consisting of 183 playing pieces). I'm happy with that, especially given all the build-and-conversion work I did on the Command Tanks, Titans and Death Wheels.

The complete list of posts (including links) for the project is as follows:

• Epic: Chaos Marines - Whole Army (This post)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Bloodthirsters (Greater Daemons of Khorne)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Havok Marines (3 of 3)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Havok Marines (2 of 3)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Havok Marines (1 of 3)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Rhinos (also Post Number 100!)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Land Raiders
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Beastmen (3 of 3)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Beastmen (2 of 3)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Beastmen (1 of 3)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Daemon Engines of Khorne (4 of 4 - Cannons of Khorne)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Daemon Engines of Khorne (3 of 4 - Death Dealers)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Daemon Engines of Khorne (2 of 4 - Cauldrons of Blood)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Daemon Engines of Khorne (1 of 4 - Towers of Skulls)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Command Stands
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warhound Titans - Complete
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warhound Titans - WIP (Part 1: Building)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warlord Titans - Complete!
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warlord Titans - WIP (Part 4c: Third Titan painted)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warlord Titans - WIP (Part 4b: Second Titan painted)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warlord Titans - WIP (Part 4a: First Titan painted)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warlord Titans - WIP (Part 3: More Green Stuff and some Bitz)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warlord Titans - WIP (Part 2: Green Stuff)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Warlord Titans - WIP (Part 1: Magnets)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Death Wheels
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Death Wheels - WIP
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Minotaurs Squad 3 & 4
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Minotaurs Squad 1 & 2
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Trolls Squad 2
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Whirlwinds
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Trolls Squad 1
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Tactical Squad 3
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Tactical Squad 2
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Tactical Squad 1
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Tactical Squads (WIP)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Raptors
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Fleshhounds
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Squats
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Bloodletters (Completed)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Juggernauts (Completed)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Bloodletters (WIP)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - Juggernauts (WIP)
• Epic: Chaos Marines - "Tanks a lot"
• Epic: Chaos Marines (my next project)

Next Project: Warhammer 40,000 Tau. Stay tuned.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Bloodthirsters (Greater Daemons of Khorne)

This is it - the end - the last of my Epic Chaos models all painted up and ready to murder stuff.

So here we have two Bloodthirsters (Greater Daemons of Khorne).

Painting these took me back about twenty years to when I painted the full-size counterpart that I use these days as a "counts as Daemon Prince" model in my Fantasy Warriors of Chaos army. I tried to keep the colour scheme as close to my original model as possible, just 'cos I liked it.

So aside from a "whole army" family photo post, I'm done with this project.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Havok Marines (3 of 3)

Here is the third and final unit of Havok Marines:

So nearly finished...

Just two Bloodthirsters left to go to finish this army off!

I'll try and get the Bloodthirsters and a whole army pic posted up next week.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Havok Marines (2 of 3)

Here is the second of my three Havok units:

One more to go.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Havok Marines (1 of 3)

This is the beginning of the end - the penultimate troop-type for this army.

I have three units of Havok (a.k.a. Devastator) Marines so will put one post up for each over the next few days.

Here's the first unit:

 Unit 2 later this week.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Rhinos (also Post Number 100!)

Wow - my 100th post! 

I never thought when I started that my little blog about my painting and modelling activities would be as well received as it has been. Thanks to anyone who's ever looked in and a special thanks to those of you who have "followed", "+1d", left feedback, added me to your circles or visited more than once. I'm honestly grateful.

Now, on with the Chaos!

I've done a little more work on my Rhinos which is the unit that started all this Epic Chaos work off.

I've added some colour to the top-hatches and side-doors in order to show unit membership (there are loads more Rhinos than this in my collection, but you get the gist from this shot showing two units of three Rhinos:

I've also done as I did with the Land Raiders and added some tentacles and chains to denote Rhinos that will be carrying Command Stands:

My next post will be about my penultimate unit in this army: Havok squads (a.k.a. Devastators, in Imerial parlance).

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Land Raiders

Here's an update from my earlier "Tanks a lot" post.

I've added some unit markings to my Land Raiders - slightly indistinct from the photos but they are Roman numerals.

Each Land Raider company consists of 10 tanks - three detachments of three tanks plus a command tank shown here with chains and tentacles added. 

I have two companies like the one above.

Next post - Rhinos.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Beastmen (3 of 3)

The third and final unit of Beastmen for my Epic Chaos army:

That just leaves updates to my Land Raiders/Rhinos (unit markings, command tanks), Havoc squads (devastator marines) and a couple of greater daemons to go to finish this project off.

Nearly there.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Beastmen (2 of 3)

More Beasties for the Chaos army:

I've got one more unit of these guys to upload later in the week. Stay tuned for further bulletins.

After that, I'm going to revisit my Land Raiders and Rhinos in order to give them a bit of an uplift - I need to decorate some to represent vehicles that commanders might ride in and add some unit markings so that the others can be put in recognisable battlefield units and distinguised between.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Beastmen (1 of 3)

Time (long past time, in fact) for another update on my rapidly-nearing-completion Epic Chaos Marines force.

It's been two full weeks since my last update - not due to idleness - these guys for some reason just took a long while to paint.

As I have one more, similarly sized unit to go after these guys and I don't want another long gap between posts I'm going to drip-feed these guys out in three instalments.

So without further ado - meet the Beasts!

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Daemon Engines of Khorne (4 of 4 - Cannons of Khorne)

Here's the last of my Daemon Engine units - Cannons of Khorne:

Now that these are all out of the way it's time to get on with some more infantry!

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Daemon Engines of Khorne (3 of 4 - Death Dealers)

More Epic Death of a Chaosy bent: Death Dealers!

These guys are horribly-beweaponed siege towers with a giant possessed Chaos robot nailed to the front for good measure:

I think they may have been the inspiration for the much later produced "Lord of Skulls" model:

This isn't mine - this pic was nicked from the GW website

The Death Dealers will sit alongside the Cauldrons of Blood and Towers of Skulls models to form two Daemon Engines units.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Daemon Engines of Khorne (2 of 4 - Cauldrons of Blood)

Some more horribleness ready to roll across the battlefield in order to obtain Blood for the Blood God!

And these guys come ready to collect it and bring it home too, all in one easy package!

I struggled with these a little due to some miscasts along the seams that join the upper half of the model to the lower half - some of the eyes on the row of three smaller skulls are a little "smushed" as a result.

Each of these will join one of the "Tower of Skulls" models to form two units of "Daemon Engines". They'll each be accompanied by a "Death Dealer" model which I'll start painting tonight to form two units of three models each.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Daemon Engines of Khorne (1 of 4 - Towers of Skulls)

The Epic Chaos train keeps on rolling - this time some very, very old (25 years or so) Daemon Engines of Khorne.

These are still supported by the NetEpic rules and have been sitting in my "Box of Epic wonder" for a very, very long time. I honestly can't remember how I came by them, or the other Engines I'll be painting for the next few posts.

The Daemon Engines are fielded in mix'n'match units of three, so each of these will be accompanying a "Cauldron of Blood" and a "Death Dealer". They will form parts "2 of 4" and "3 of 4" of my Daemon Engines posts and part "4 of 4" will be a unit of 3 "Cannons of Khorne".

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Command Stands

An army needs Generals. An Epic army may need several.

Here are mine:

These were made from leftovers. I didn't have a huge number of sprues to build this army from so I had to rope in bits and pieces that shouldn't really be standing alongside a Chaos Warlord to fill out the "honour guard" - a Chaos Devastator Marine and an Imperial Marine (the mutations just haven't kicked in yet).

This isn't a blurry photo - I painted him like this. It's a holo-field mutation.

I've just realised this is my 30th post on this project making this my most blogged-about piece of work so far. Wow!

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Warhound Titans - Complete

And another troop type for my Epic Chaos force is completed. Here are the painted versions of the Warhounds I built last week:

I'm pleased with the way these fellas turned out (the models more than the photos, anyway - I must start following my own advice rather than just taking snaps with my phone).

Anyway - I'm getting more used to using greenstuff - I think I've done OK with the Tentacles on this fella:

I was initially not sure about this guy - I sculpted the hair first and didn't really like it. Once I added the horns, though I was much more pleased. I think it works. I angled him backwards to try and give a "howling at the moon" look.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff

Epic: Chaos Marines - Warhound Titans - WIP (Part 1: Building)

The ever faithful companion of a Chaos Warlord (be it a mighty Titan striding across the ravaged battlefields of the Grim, Dark future, or the Mighty Warrior King leading his hosts across the tundra of the Old World) is the Warhound.

Warhound Titans in this case.

My efforts with greenstuff whilst making the Warlords pleased me, so I decided to try and do something similar for the Warhounds. Now, when I got these models stripped and started to look at them, I got a bit nervous. They're not designed to be modular like the old plastic Warlords, and are also a lot smaller too. Not as much room to muck about and not as much margin for error.

I started by adding a mass of tentacles to the first one. I'm more or less happy with this:

My second Warhound was inspired by the Warhounds I have in my Warriors of Chaos army:

That is to say, it's hairy and has bony protrusions:

Well, that's Chaos for you.

Other Epic: Chaos-related stuff