Painting Progress and Conversion Chaos

Painting on the first squad of Steel Legion continues.  Weapon bodies painted black and helmets giving a coat of Castellan Green.  Both need a Nuln Oil wash and I've got at least one portion of a kneeling models coat to paint and wash since I somehow managed to miss it despite multiply passes over each model in the past week.  Lots of other details and clean up left, I'm sure, once I look closely at a given model.  Still it's progress.

The Steel Legion squad were occupying the corner of the mat holding the conversion pile I've been fiddling with the past week or so.  Ministorum agents, MicroArts mechanicus bodies, the one squad of new Scions I can't decide how to build...the list goes on and on.

Painting Steel Legion and Conversions

I have 70+ Steel Legion models plus a couple of Chimeras in my collection.  Mostly metal models but with some more recent additions from Mad Robot Miniatures for the heads and Anvil Industries for the rest of the models to round out units, model differently armed sergeants and even make a counts as set of Ratlings for the force.

Counts as Ratling snipers or a models for a Special Weapons or Veterans squad

I've never completed a 40K army in decades of buying and building.  This year I'm hoping to change that so I've started painting my Steel Legion and I'll take breaks to paint other models as I go.  After that there are many other 40K forces to work on.

Platoon 1 in progress paint job.

I also love to convert models and the counts as arco-flagellants and/or close combat servitors were made from Kromlech ork bits including their Mechanical Saw Arms.  I like that they are a bit beefier than other servitors I've bought or converted from ghouls or other models.

Arbites "Army"

I've long wanted to have an Arbites army despite their place in the background of 40K making army sized deployments extremely unlikely.  In a universe focused on war, amidst other Imperial organizational factions like the Inquisition and the Ministorium who are much more likely to field army sized forces, I wanted them to be able to take the field in narrative moments of insurrection, invasion and insanity.  

Over the years I have attempted to start such an army several times with the help of other hobbyists like Tim Hucklebery and BoLS.  There were conversions to go along with those attempts, of course:

March 2007

January 2013

Sometimes many conversions inspired again by other hobbyists like John's Toy Soldiers...

February 2013

...but like all of my 40K projects they got no further.  Maybe a few more years passing and blogging about the next attempt will improve upon my current track record.  

2020 Update:  Never finishing means you can always start over which I did in the summer of 2019 with bits from Anvil Industry including their medium armor torsos, shortcoat legs and armored arms combined with the Skitarii Vanguard heads which is another idea borrowed from the hobby community.  The plan has generally been to run them as Astra Militarum veterans with three special weapons.  The 2013 Arbites will be downgraded to local enforcers to fill out a basic infantry platoon and maybe a maxed out squad of conscripts.

June 2019