Mantis Warrior Forge World Tartaros Terminators

Our little Space Marine has kept us very busy but I’ve been able to devote a little time each night to finishing these Tartaros Pattern Terminators from Forge World. I bought 10 so I could have 10 tactical terminators, 10 lightning claw terminators, and 10 storm shield / thunder hammer terminators.

I gave them the standard loadout with a heavy flamer and chainfists because they look so damn cool. I love the dynamic poses of these models – they actually look like they’re shooting at something or getting ready to fist a vehicle. I’ve heard a lot of hate on these particular terminators and I’m not sure why. They look great and they’ll stand out as something different for sure.

For the bases I chose to go with a ‘Bros on the Bayou’ theme. I’ve done jungle bases for all the Mantis Warriors I’ve painted so far but these guys are in an actual swamp. I used the Secret Weapon Miniatures  blasted wetlands bases and their Instant Scenery Kit for Wetlands to make it look really swampy.


For their fists and swords I used the same method I used on my lightning claws of layering dark blue, blue, light blue, then dry brushing white, then washing with Guilliman Blue. I think they turned out fantastic. I gave them gold helmets because I wanted them to definitely stand out. I’ll have to think of some battle honor they received. Perhaps Reth.


Each guy got some damage painted on because they’ve been through a lot. These guys are gonna take even more fire in 6th edition now that AP values have changed; torrent after torrent will be sent downrange at them. Hopefully they’ll return fire in a good way and take some stuff out.


Anyway, on to the photos! 

Baby Steps

Charles really likes the changes to Tyranids in 6th edition.

I was working on my Tartaros terminators right as my wife started going into labor. My hierophant was also drying from some green stuff and dip. I’ve managed to finish one Tartaros terminator since Friday. I’ve only read about 30 pages in the rulebook =/ Bros weren’t lyin’ about time being dead when babies come.

The Night Before 40k

The last few nights have been pretty tough – my wife is ready to roll 3d6 and birth our gant at any time and Warhammer 40k rumors have been everywhere and Diablo 3 and and and…

I managed to get some hobby time in, however. I’ve been using a terrible terrible paint station to hold all my paints. My wife made it for me so it was great at the time but it has broken down pretty quickly. I found a local solution to my painting woes.

Paintier in Clinton Twp, MI provides really sweet paint bottle tray systems. I purchased one with four levels and managed to get almost all my paint into it. I did manage to combine some washes together and throw out a bunch of really old worn out paint.

It goes together really easily and came out to about $50 I think. It spins around so I can sort them all by color and pick and choose easily. I love it.

The old busted paint station will become a ‘miniatures in waiting’ spot. All the stuff I’m waiting on painting will be put here so I can stare longingly at it.

I managed to put some paint on my Tartaros Terminators…

I also managed over the last few nights to get the bases ready for these guys. They’re definitely stomping through the jungle. I followed the guide here at From the Warp.

Mantis Warriors Update – TERMINATORS!

I’ve been working steadily on my Mantis Warriors this winter. I am trying to get one squad done per week right now. This past week I’ve been working on my thunder hammer / storm shield terminators.

I’m also trying to focus on following the Forgeworld IA 10 book as closely as possible with my decals and coloring. There are some things I just won’t be able to do, like the lines on the rhinos – I just don’t think I have the ability to do that.

These terminators turned out way better than I could have expected. I did some heavy highlighting (something I haven’t done a ton of with Tyranids) and dry brushing and followed it up with badab black wash. I painted each one’s helmet a little differently to provide some variation. I ended up using Iyanden yellow on their shoulder pads just because it is a foundation paint and it goes on so much better than regular yellow paints. I think iyanden yellow will be my go to for the rest of the army. (Thanks Cerberus).

The thunder hammers and storm shields are from Maxmini. The one thing I messed up on are the crux pads. They’re not yellow like in the FW book. I think I can manage to deal with it… not every force will look the same.

You can see the yellow on their helmets in this photo.

 

All of my painted Mantis Warriors, minus two drop pods.

Geneguard painted up a Chaplain for me for Christmas. You might notice that he is very similar to the one in our blog header 🙂 He’ll be based and decaled tonight!