He could probably do with a few small touches here and there to finish the paintjob properly and he needs a coat of Dullcote to remove the glossy look he’s got going on, but I’m pretty pleased with the result.

As a bit of fluff for him I’ve given him the title of Guardian of Names. He carries and protects one of the Grey Knights sacred tomes, a book that records the name of each and every Grey Knight to have died protecting mankind. If that’s not a role for a Chaplain I don’t know what is.

On the subject of Grey Knights, there’s now some chatter on the old interweb of a new Codex and new miniatures, hopefully this year. Personally I’m hoping for a surprise August release. This does mean that I’ll probably put some conversions on hold until I can see what new models I can use for converting my own Actual Scale Grey Knights and also what is potentially in the Codex. Whilst searching for rumours about this I came across one mention of Grey Knights getting Jetbikes, and I have to say I really like this idea. I hate the notion of giving them Jump Packs, but for some reason Jet Bikes sort of seems very appropriate to me as a Fast Attack selection. I’m sure we’ll see Stormravens and I’m hoping for Storm Troopers and GK Chaplains (for obvious reasons).

So I finished a number of projects recently and have managed to clear a bit of space on my desk for some fresh stuff.

I’ve just started piecing together 2 Actual Scale Salamanders characters that will count as Kantor and Khan. The challenge of an Actual Scale bike is proving challenging, but I’m starting to make progress with it (pics incoming).

I figured I would try and have a few different projects on the go at once, so I can keep switching over whenever I need a break. My second currently running project is a set of 3 more Red Scorpions captains. These will be regular scale (for a change) and painted.

I also decided I wanted to do some work on my own collection, else I’ll never have any Space Marines of my own. I’ve been quite keen to make a Grey Knights Chaplain for quite some time, and whilst there are a hundred other models I want to work on, this is the one that’s peaked my interest right now. I was also highly inspired by this amazing image.

I’m sure some of you would argue against the existence within the fluff of GK Chaplains, but I rather like the idea, if nothing else just for aesthetic reasons – Chaplains always look cool, but a Grey Knight Chaplain should be something really special.

I started this with a few ideas in mind. When finished it will fit approximately the description of the Chaplain mentioned in Ben Counter’s Grey Knights book, ie: all black power armour and a gun metal skull helm. I also had this idea of him carrying a thunder hammer that looks similar to a crozius arcanum. I’ve made a largely scratch built double headed TH, but I’m not entirely sure I’m satisfied with it yet.

You can probably see where the parts have come from. The legs are from the Grey Knight Terminator Brother Captain, and the torso/head is from one of the standard Chaplain models. Normally I would make the torso from plastic and green stuff to give it extra depth and position the head properly, but in this case I felt it look good as is. I’m not decided yet on his final pose or weapons. You can see a selection of possibles here (swords, thunder hammer (crozius), stormbolter and storm shield). Any thoughts?

I do know I want him to have a large book (in photo), either on a chain, or held in his hand, as imagine one of his roles in the chapter is to record the names of the Imperium’s greatest unsung heroes.

In games terms, he will “count as” one of the Grey Knight Squad’s Justicar.

The Alpha Legionnaire Badge on the shoulder pad was first made in greenstuff and then casts were made using silicone rubber putty as a simple one piece mold. At some point I’ll make a post about this new material, but I’ve only just started experimenting with it, so I’ll wait till I’ve had a chance to try a few things first.

The whole squad has come together nicely, whilst they aren’t perfect conversions, there is definite progression occurring over time, which is obviously nice to see. For anyone who’s interested the client plans to use these as “counts as” Grey Knight Terminators.

Anyway, here’s the pics:

Click for larger image.

Emperor's Spear Assault Marine

I’m a real fan of this colour scheme, and only made this marine as a test piece really. The battle damage on the armour could have been painted better, but I guess my next attempt will be an improvement.

My first atempt at a Mk V armour. The head was taken from the Black Reach Missile Launcher Marine.

My first Grey Knight. Technically he's not finished yet. I'm planning to make myself a Daemonhunters army all in actual scale.