Badab War - Mantis Warriors Contemptor Dreadnought finished!

Hey guys,

I finally managed to finish the Contemptor Dreadnought for my Mantis Warriors, just in time for The Fang Painting Competition 2013 – I placed second in the Warhammer 40,000 Vehicle category! The reason the model turned out semi-glossy is because I didn’t shake my Lahmian Medium before usage.. I’m scared to use matt varnish as I’ve heard it usually ruins the metallics – any suggestions for a matt varnish that is safe to use?

Badab War - Mantis Warriors Contemptor Dreadnought WIP

Hey guys,

It's been about 1.5 month since the last update so I thought I'd show you guys some progress. I've mostly been working on my Contemptor Dreadnought for my Mantis Warriors, I've had this particular kit for over a year now so it was about time I'd start cracking on it! Personally, I'd had a hard time getting the legs right - it just didn't seem to work the way I had in mind! Eventually I got the pose I wanted, I'm quite happy how he turned out but I'll probably put more thought in my next Contemptor Dreadnought (that's right, another Contemptor!).

I magnetised the arms so I'll be able to field my Contemptor with whatever weapons I feel like using - at the moment I only have the fist and the Assault Cannon. At the moment he's mostly held together with blu-tack. Unfortunately the cast of the fist wasn't great, it was terrible to say the least. You can see I fixed most parts with Milliput, but it was in terrible condition when I received it. I was thinking about giving Forge World a call but unfortunately I bought this one off eBay, I'm pretty sure they ask for a order number to help you or to send a replacement kit.

Anyway, onto the pictures! Everything is obviously WIP, the dead marine will probably hail from the Minotaurs chapter!

Badab War - Mantis Warriors Combat Squad finished

Hey guys,

It's been quiet on the Mantis Warriors front. I actually finished the first 5 Mantis Warriors way back in March, I just forgot to post pictures of them. I blame the summer and the great weather, and maybe my lack of motivation. However, with summer almost gone I guess it's time to get back into gear.

I do have to mention that I actually finished them in time for the "Lage Landen" Painting Competition, and was fortunate enough to place second in the Warhammer 40,000 Squad category! At the event they actually took professional pictures of the unit - they also posted them on the Games Workshop website. The pictures didn't turn out as good as I expected so I decided to take some myself.

Believe it or not, but I would love to make a playable army of these guys. At this pace it might take a while, but eventually I'll get there. I do still have a Contemptor Dreadnought lying around which I'm planning to assemble pretty soon. Also an additional 5 Marines to finish this unit off, some special and heavy weapons might be a nice addition.

I'd love to know your thoughts!

The Badab War - more Mantis Warriors!

Hey guys, 

It's been way too long since my last post! So I figured that I should be working on a couple more Mantis Warriors for my army, I really dig this colour scheme! This unit of 4 + a Sergeant will be one of my entries of this years "De Lage Landen" Painting Competition 2012. For those not familiar with this competition you read more about it here.

They're obviously still WIP, painting the chapter symbol on the other marines will be a paint in the butt though!

The Badab War - Mantis Warrior

Hey guys,

Ever since I saw the new Imperial Armour Badab War books I’ve been tempted to start a Badab War army. This is a test miniature from the Mantis Warriors, one of the four secessionist chapters who rebelled against the imperium. I really liked their fluff and the colour scheme got a nice update from the Forge World team, I didn’t really like the older colours. I want to do a couple more chapters to see which one I can paint relatively fast and see if I can paint an army of them!

Conclusion: I really dig the scheme, the fluff is also very nice as mentioned. They’re a successor chapter of the White Scars, which means they are mongolian-like in appearance which I like a lot! However, the chapter symbol takes a long time to do properly and I still feel like I could’ve done a better job on it. I’d love to do an army of them if Forge World decides to make a decal sheet for them (as they did for the Carcharodons, Astral Claws etc.), but for now it’s probably a no..

The next test model will probably be either a Lamenter or Carcharodon.

I’d love to know your thoughts!