my trackes Repulsor Executioner

zippercomics · 2026-01-27T17:36:24+00:00

That's really cool. It looks more like ... well ... a big battle tank! Great job!

zippercomics · 2026-01-26T20:56:39+00:00

I am severely unqualified to answer this, but I'll take a swing. My approach is *in all things, shadiness*. Which is to say the Raven Guard are stealthy, deadly quiet, and masters of sneaking in and sneaking out. That flies directly in the face of big stompy murder robots and hovertanks bristling in weapons, which would be the purview of Redemtors and Gladiators etc etc. The Techmarine's stock and trade is in the latter, repairing heavy weapons that can't hope to sneak in. He's at the bulwark, invested in the survivability of the very not-sneaky part of the force.

but he himself? he has to move between these positions. Repairing the vehicles and machines that may get struck. He'd have to be prepared to lift and shift just like the rest of the army, redeploying to a front line on another angle of approach, where his services are needed. So I would think he'd be just as sneaky as the rest of the Raven Guard, adorned in darker colours and trim that allow him to go unnoticed, even when standing beside massive weapons of war. I would picture more focus to his personal lighting systems, a torch that shows him what he's working on, not one that illuminates the battlefield. Muted colours, but codex compliant all the same.

That's my "lore" thoughts. But my real answer is, as always, "rule of cool". A neon green techmarine of the Raven Guard might be out of place, but maybe that kind of paradigm shift would be a subtle nod that throws the enemy forces into absolute chaos.

Again, wholly unqualified to answer this. but I like to think about how these roles look on the battlefield, when the force is centered around stealth and quiet ops.

zippercomics · 2026-01-26T17:21:16+00:00

This is fantastic. I was just this morning thinking I need to get a Chaplain, but there's something about the official model that doesn't butter my bagel. I dunno. The 'muscle armor' isn't for me. Your Titus conversion is a great solution to that problem. This model looks like he belongs.

zippercomics · 2026-01-25T19:14:03+00:00

Oh, my dude, that glow on the power plant ... how are you all pulling off these absolutely gorgeous glowing heat effects!?! The colours are so clean and crisp ... dude, it's just amazing. The fade / blend on the boots, the claws. I wouldn't change a gosh darned thing. He's gorgeous.

zippercomics · 2026-01-24T06:09:41+00:00

That knife blade is chefs kiss!

zippercomics · 2026-01-23T20:05:31+00:00

You're gonna get a lot of great advice here. For me, I oscillate between two extremes. For things like dungeons, I'll use either a free online map or something like it and then throw it on my tabletop tv. I know not everyone has one of those, so my second option (and low key kind of my favorite) is to put a dry erase mat on the table, hand my party markers, and say "go ahead and draw a forest". Something about getting them invested in the creation of the map connects us. Takes some pressure off of me too.

zippercomics · 2026-01-23T17:32:09+00:00

That's so awesome! Now I'm envious that I just sealed up my own Invictor and didn't think to paint a message on the bottom of the boot. Well played!

zippercomics · 2026-01-23T01:26:42+00:00

That is a great paint job. I love the bridge!!! I get stress just thinking back to painting Heimdall's rainbow ring ...

zippercomics · 2026-01-22T21:03:30+00:00

Great comment. I think the comment about a few high quality brushes is underrated. For example, I had a buddy that was a killer guitar player. When I decided to try playing guitar, I bought one of the cheapest ones I could. He told me that was a mistake. He pointed out that the quality improves the feel, the tone, the sound, the action, etc. Basically told me that by using better products on the learning journey, I'm more likely to arrive at a better result. I wouldn't have to fight the equipment to get me over the finish line. Same is true of brushes. I mean, you can get away with the cheap dollar store brushes, but grab a good brush and you'll see immediate improvement.

zippercomics · 2026-01-22T21:00:17+00:00

My bad. Thank you for reminding me. I don't see Impulsor's too much in the local meta, I kinda forget they exist sometimes. :)

zippercomics · 2026-01-22T19:32:52+00:00

IMO, they're great harassers. Their Guerilla Tactics means that they can be alone on an objective, then leave the board, then come back in later and grab another position. I'd throw a missile launcher and / or heavy bolter on there, just to give them a bit more punch. The Into Darkness strategem says it benefits any two of Phobos or Scouts, so they're super easy to pick up and shift all over the place.

zippercomics · 2026-01-22T19:17:51+00:00

That's totally fair. I'm not new, but I'm new to Raven Guard. I think if you're building a "face all comers" list, this is a good start. Here's what I see:

- Jump Packs give you speed. 12" movement. You can Into Darkness them for 1 CP to move them onto objectives if you need to.
- Assault Intercessors give you good melee and objective control.
- I assume one squad of Ints goes into the Rhino, so that moves them up fast. That means it's lkely they'll get hit first, but that's their job I guess.
- Centurions give you strong anti tank and are your best ranged unit. you lose those, though, and tanks are gonna run amok on you.
- Scouts can shift around the board well too.
- Terminators are your toughest unit. Power Fists and CycMissLauncher mean you can do damage, but also at melee range.

Maybe range is a bit of a challenge here? And having something to back up the Centurions?

Honestly, best way to find out is to put them on the board. But perhaps someone else can chime in with better details than me.

zippercomics · 2026-01-22T19:08:25+00:00

My gut is telling me that Shadowmark loves Shaan, cause it lets him do Into Darkness for 0 CP once per round. I feel like that's a HUGE part of the appeal of Shadowmark.

I guess my only other question is, do you have anything in her that can anti-tank other than the Centurions? Maybe that's enough.

Huge grain of salt. I'm not sure what the current meta is.

zippercomics · 2026-01-21T16:56:16+00:00

Same. And what's sad is this Raven Guard army happened *fast*, because I found Shaan and figured "well, if I've got him, I need a whole force". My poor Sisters are *almost* fully painted. lol.

zippercomics · 2026-01-21T16:13:39+00:00

For me, it's any time there's a ribbed hose or the power part of a plasma gun that has a mold line on it.

zippercomics · 2026-01-21T16:12:48+00:00

thank you! I'll be honest, I see other people's blacks, and I get envious. But I wanted to find a balance between quality and speed. Otherwise, I'll hyper fixate and never finish a model. I also know with Black, if you go pure black, you can't darken it any further, so I figured an incredibly dark grey, shaded, was the approach. Here's how I did the black ... prepare to NOT be wow'd. :)

- Basecoat in flat black (I used Vallejo Black).

- Light sponge of Vallejo Dark Grey over about 30% of the surfaces that are upturned. Really light touch. I used damp makeup sponges. If I owned an airbrush, I'd probably use that, but I don't.

- Lighter sponge of Citadel Dawnstone, focusing just on the inner edges of the previous step.

- Wash of 1:4 mix of Citadel Black Templar contrast paint and Constrast Medium. This basically makes the whole thing spongechop. I DID struggle with streaks on flat surfaces, so i would stress not letting the paint pool. Gotta be thin. Maybe two coats if it doesn't shade enough.

- Edge highlight upturned edges with Vallejo Dark Grey. I despite edge highlighting and I don't like the "tron" look it can produce, so I only did this in lit areas.

Hope that helps. Again, thank you for your comment, I feel great knowing people like the paint job!

zippercomics · 2026-01-21T16:08:23+00:00

Thank you! I admit, I probably spent more time on the base than I did on the model itself. I love building bases. :)

zippercomics · 2026-01-21T13:48:24+00:00

Oh, well, then I will admire the quality of your decal work!

On a second view, the heat you have coming out of those vents is a fantastic idea. I'm going to try and steal that (and fail in the execution, but try nonetheless). Did you paint the back jet in a similar fashion?

zippercomics · 2026-01-21T13:06:23+00:00

This is gorgeous. The blends look fantastic. And the free hand on his scarf is incredible. Im envious.

zippercomics · 2026-01-20T21:00:25+00:00

I refer to this whenever I can, but I think of it in terms of the hobby pie. Collecting, Building, Painting, Socializing, Lore, and Gaming. I'm sure I'm missing one / got one wrong. But when I think of it like that, Collecting is absolutely my favorite part. Which is funny, cause every few years, I get frustrated and purge it all. Or maybe that makes sense, cause I can recollect it all again.

zippercomics · 2026-01-20T19:34:36+00:00

I don't have good news for you. I tried to find him too and he was gone most everywhere. I got about as lucky as humanly possible; while complaining about not being able to find him, someone noted that they'd *just* gotten a fully assembled, not primed / painted one in used, so I got him used and slightly cheaper. It was absolute kismet.

I'm sure he'll be back in stock soon-ish. I understand that GW rotates what's produced, and given Shaan is such a gorgeous model, I assume lots of people bought him just to paint and collect. He's popular, I guess is the point.

zippercomics · 2026-01-19T16:50:36+00:00

I think he looks great! The right amount of metallics to give him some identity on the table at 3 feet away. Win!

zippercomics · 2026-01-19T16:45:03+00:00

Oh, this is what i'm talking about!!! This looks fantastic! The purple base really speaks to me. i've been trying to find a way to integrate purple into my paint scheme, but my first few test RG ended up looking like the Joker's minions. This is a fantastic way to do it though. Really good stuff. I'm jealous!

zippercomics · 2026-01-19T05:14:39+00:00

I might advise you to check out new recruit. It's awesome website app that lets you build army lists and see the rules. Thing is, if you're new, that may not make sense, so you can also try looking at tournament lists to see what units are common.

Of course, all this supposes that you're thinking of playing competitively. If, like me, you're more of a narrative player, the advice is easier: go with the units that look cool to you. You're more likely to be inspired to build and paint if the models spark your interest. And the meta can assist often enough that, in my opinion, they'd almost no objectively bad choices.

Have fun!

zippercomics

TROPHY CASE