[taLLis]

Hey guys,

My Emperor's Spears Vs WE's diorama is coming along swimmingly and i am just waiting on some materials so i thought i would share my ideas for my next project with you.

Last year my Dad asked for a chessboard for his birthday but unfortunately didn't get one so i thought i would make one for him this year!, i saw one a while back and always wanted to give it a go

The board will see those damn emperor's children pitted against a yet unamed chapter. I will however be writing fluff for them as this project progresses. Below you can see my ideas for colour schemes:

As you can see i have gone for a very promenant black vs white theme that you see with a lot of chessboards, i wanted the loyalists to look unwaveringly bound to the good of mankind with their gleaming plate, abundance of purity seals and very visable markings of the Emperor (which will be golden). I have used this however to portray in a way what the emperor's children used to represent with their proud use of the aquila and almost pompous demeiner.

The EC will however be covered in Slaanesh markings and not the imperial eagle at all, i have also moved away from the black/pink themes that you see alot of (personally i am not a fan) and have tried to keep it similar to their pre-heresy colour, although the armour will be an extremely almost black version of purple.

As for the modelling all pieces will be running towards eachother with no pieces in a stationary position, i really want to portray how much both sides hate eachother and love the idea that they are charging to rip apart the enemy. I am also undecided on a basing theme as of yet so any ideas would be helpful.

As for the pieces here are the ideas i have so far:

Space marine force:

Pawns - Tactical squad (all running, heavy use of bolters, no power weapons etc)
Rooks - Terminators (heavily adorned with a greater use of gold)
Knights - Assault marines (as they can jump over other pieces )
Bishops - Chaplains (only minimal parts of their armour will be black to keep the white theme)
Queen - Unsure as of yet but possibly a Librarian (with force staff covered heavily in purity seals)
King - Will be using Captain Lysander as a base but will be changed alot/ or The master of the recruits model also changed alot

Emperor's Children:

Pawns - Squad of noise marines (not to much noisey stuff though lol, also running, minimal use of 'trophies'
Rooks - Again terminators (sonic weapons as their main arsenal, heavy use of 'trophies'
Knights - Chaos raptors
Bishops - Sorcerers (unsure if i like the gw models for these so may convert my own)
Queen - The masque, Eternal dancer of Slaanesh
King - Chaos lord with jump pack (although he wont have a jump pack, instead he will have a speaker unit which is so powerful he will be floating on its energy)


This is just a rough outline and basic ideas for my project, as ever any ideas are greatly appreciated, criticisms too as they help just as much




- tal

 

[surreal-mind]

cool sounds good, i cant wait to see the pics =D

 

[humakt]

Now I like you idea. How are you going to do the board itself?

 

[asianavatar]

Sounds like a great idea, just a suggestion.

Kings on a chess board are very important but aren't very powerful pieces. I think they would be better represented with a basic marine in charge of a standard. The chaos lord and SM captain would fit more of the queen's role on the chessboard, offensive strong pieces.

 

[taLLis]

Cheers guys

asianavatar: it's funny i see it in a different way. The King is a king because has earned that position, his role may not be full of much movement, but it is he who leads. With a space marine lord/ chapter master it is the same, he is a figurehead to aspire to. They are very powerful pieces because as soon as you get near him he will bite ya in half . I really like the banner idea but i don't think it is a king, to me it is a reminder of why you are fighting, where as the King/lord/master is much more than that.

I think i've gone off the point a bit there havn't i? lol!

I also see the 'queen' as the kings right hand man/lady, who does their masters bidding, and there fore takes a much more promenant role, darting all over the bloody place looking after everything.

humakt: The board is not yet made but my granddad has kindly said he will make it for me, i just told him what my ideas were for colours, models, themes etc etc, and he just said "leave it to me"



- tal

 

[asianavatar]

@taLLis

Humm, okie maybe not just a basic marine, but a commander or hero who is in charge of the banner. He leads the army with the banner and to lose it would be a tragic loss, so it must be protected, but if you get close he can still take care of himself. Having a space marine tooled up ready for battle or a chaos lord with a jump pack shouts run out and kill instead of the stay in the army and hold the line which fits the King more. Just my opinion

A cool board would be a glass board with the black squares etched sitting over some terrain, like static grass or a battlefield. So from above it looks like they are actually on a battlefield. Not sure how you could do it though haha.

 

[Munky]

this is sounding like a really cool idea, cant wait to see more progress

 

[taLLis]

thanks munky, i should have some progress up soon

asianavatar: i see what you mean now mate, and i think its a very good idea, almost combining our two ideas , its like the commander takes it upon himself to be the bearer of this sacred Artifact of the chapter, because he believes it to be of too much value to lose. The idea re-enforces the idea of superiority that i brought up before.

Good stuff!



- tal

 

[taLLis]

An idea a had for one of my assault (knights)

Thinking about having him in mid air, sweeping down. he's not stuck together yet and also not the final product.

Any ideas for this guy would be great.



have been making progress will the tactical squad (pawns) too but am missing certain parts to finish them off, hopefully will be getting them today and then will post.



- tal

 

[asianavatar]

How about a flying pose with the marine aiming his sword down like he is about to plunge it into someone.

To keep it up there, a clear or black rod in the backpack would be the way I would do it.

 

[taLLis]

That pose is a great idea, i will be having that for my second 'knight'

As for the black rods, where would you find some that are sturdy enough?


Keep the ideas coming guys they are great!



- tal

 

[asianavatar]

Thick paper clips work. One should be sturdy enough to hold up a plastic marine, even a metal marine actually. Its what I use to keep my seraphim up in the air. Although becareful with placement of the model on the base as it can mess up the balance, especially on the normal infantry bases.

 

[taLLis]

A WIP of my 'pawns' , bases have not been started but just to give you an idea, sorry about the crappy picture quality:

Also my 'knights', couldn't help but use this model just the way it was, and below is the previously posted assault marine just with a different jump pack:

- tal

 

[freaklord]

what about using a dreadnought for a queen

 

[DaemonsR'us]

That would be a cool idea but might be a tad big for the board

 

[Pirate Metal Troy]

just using movement and firepower as a basis for choosing which units represent the diffferent chess pieces, I'd have to say a dread is better suited to be the king, slow moving, but packs a whallop.

But that's just me.

Also, yeah, a little too big for 1" squares.

 

[dirty-dog-]

i really like this idea. i defenitly can't wait to see more.

 

[taLLis]

cheers guys ,

a dread would be awesome! but yea a little to big i think

bit more progress

The first of two chaplains (bishops)

I'm really happy with the pose on this model, think it looks really menacing and captures the spirit of a chaplain well, driving his men on with faith, i wanted to surround him with the aquila to show that the emperors always with him, there fore on the backpack to show the emperor looking down on him (guiding him) , crozius (for bringing the emperors might to the standing against him etc etc) , and on his chest (close to his hearts) , corny i know but i think it's pretty cool

Tell me what you think!


- tal

 

[KrythosMJarenkai]

its looking pretty good. but if you want a suggestion? look up white scars, its an actual chapter that happens to go along with white as their colour. it would be a good army to use if you want white, but dont want to do the whole unique army one side, very well known army on the other.

Also, what terminators are you going to use? you would have to make the board spaces bigger to accomidate the big stands, unless your useing the small stand termies on both sides.

 

[LVix]

It is looking really good so far, I'll be watching with interest. (I've always wanted a fancy chess board, so with a bit of jealousy too. )

I'd like to suggest a different approach to the chaos 'queen' though; the masque is a great model but alongside all the space marines she might get a lost in all those bulky armoured men. For a bit of radical (and mostly veering away from the fluff... a bit) choice I suggest using Celestine the Living Saint and converting her to a Slaanesh corrupt sister, she has the height and prescence to represent a powerful model. (The cloak would have to be changed as its a bit wide.)

Hope that wasn't too bold a suggestion. :blush: If you think its awful fair... I just thought the queen needed to be powerful and at least one of them actually a girl. (Not just a daemon.... or is there much difference there??? :laugh: )