They're The Best There Is At What They Do, But What They Do Best Isn't Very Nice...
Until now I've never given mch thought to how much my love of Wolverine as a pre-teen may have influenced my obsession with Lightning Claws...
Today I'm taking a Big Build victory lap with 2021's first completed models, a Close Assault Deathwing Terminator Squad armed with Lightning Claws. The way way these models turned out makes me very happy and were well worth the time I spent clipping, filing, and dry-fitting that I put into them. Taking inspiration from some great articles written over at the awesome Death Of A Rubricist blog, thoughtful posing can really add a sense of dynamism to miniatures. Considering I bought these five Terminator bodies for $10 and then built them out with extras from other kits, this squad turned out cooler than I imagined.
The poses of Lightning Claw Terminators on the GW box were very same looking and I was happy to find that swapping around arms combined with head placement could make five models that were similarly armed but looking distinct from each other. I gave them all tilting shields with a very Dark Angels specific shield for the Sergeant. They also have crotch armor, which I didn't even know was a thing and I have been playing space marines for a long time. However regardless of my lack of knowledge, close assault Terminators come with an extra groin sized tilting shield which I guess you need when you charge into combat 38,000 years from now carrying only electrified claws as a weapon. Thanks for reading for another day, this project continues to gain momentum as I bask in the glow of fully built unit success...
- Terminator Captain - most likely using a spare Cataphractii Terminator Captain from Betrayal At Calth.
- Interrogator Chaplain Sarpedon - the old school version of the Terminator Chaplain which I have conveniently already painted.
- Terminator Librarian with Force Axe - picked up on Ebay over the summer.
- Deathwing Ancient - Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield
- Deathwing Apothecary - Storm Bolter and Narthecium
- Deathwing Champion - Halberd of Caliban
- Deathwing Knights - one Master and eight Knights armed with Power Mace and Storm Shield. - Built from one of my Deathwing box sets.
- Terminator Squad - 5 man squad with Storm Bolters and Power Fists, one marine with Assault Cannon - These will be the Deathwing Terminators from the Dark Vengeance Box Set.
- Terminator Squad - 5 man squad with Storm Bolters and Power Fists, one marine with magnetized Assault Cannon/Heavy Plasma Cannon - These are the Nova Open 2019 rescues.
- Terminator Squad - 5 man squad with Storm Bolters and Power Fists, one marine with Assault Cannon - These are two RT Deathwing pewter minis, plus three lead RT 1st generation Terminators, they will be painted as part of the WH40K 2nd Edition painting challenge Season 2.
- Terminator Close Assault Squad - 5 marines with Lightning Claws, one also armed with a Cyclone Missile Launcher. - Nova 2019 rescues with Deathwing bits.
- Terminator Close Assault Squad - 5 marines with Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields, one marine armed with a Heavy Flamer.
- Brother Azmodel - Relic Contemptor Dreadnought of the Deathwing - completed in 2019.
Looking good!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what it all looks like painted!
Thank you! Hopefully we can get a random nice day in the winter soon so I can get them primed.
DeleteGreat work! I've actually been working on some Deathwing Terminators this week too. They are pretty awesome in the new rules.
ReplyDeleteThanks! This is as close as I come to playing to the "meta", when a project I've been planning for a long time accidentally occurs at the same time a unit becomes favored in the game :-)
DeleteNice work mate! Lightning claws have always been my favourite wargear; I used to love the bear-hug attack in 2nd Edition, which could wreck tanks, and the parry was very useful.
ReplyDeleteThank you! These are my first lightning claw armed models, I could never save up enough for several blisters of them to make a unit in one go back when I was a teen.
DeleteIf I get in some 2nd edition games with a geographically close comrade from the painting challenge I will have to try that bear claw attack :-)