Project - Der H's Custodes

Bit of a crap week this week...my little cat, Sam, was hit by a car and killed on Monday. Died instantly, no pain, didn't suffer, etc, etc. Our other cat has been looking for him and needing a lot of support so not had much hobby time.

Sam when he was about 12 weeks old. He would be one year old next month.

My wife and I have been supporting each other and trying to distract ourselves (and Lyro, our other younger kitten). I haven't managed to paint anything, but did sit down and build for a few hours to distract myself.

I'd seen some great conversions of Ixion with shield (see below) or with different weapon options, and If you've watched the video/read my earlier blog post then you'll know I intended to use some small magnets to given him the shield option.I didn't have any magnets small enough, so a small 1mm brass rod has served well enough.

Ixion Hale with shield - Marcel Kinrade found here

The project started with some VERY careful drilling and dry fitting to make sure I could preserve Ixion Hale as is.

Few pictures of the options!

What do you think guys? Good use of spare plastics?

I've also built my Aquilon pattern terminators. Need a bit of gap filling, might get to that over the bank holiday!

....and finally I have my plastic Custodes built (Brother Handro: "How long have you had these now?.....")

 I went for 4 with spears, 1 with standard and sword, and 5 with sword and shield. One of them has a magnetised arm with a converted chaos power talon - I'm not sure if I like this given how nice the actual talons are...I have a Blood Angel power fist somewhere that I might convert to a claw instead...more bling and all that!

What do you guys think? check out a video for Ixion and the Terminators below:

Hoping to get some more painting done - end-of-the-month pledge rush and all that!

Der H

Thought for the day: "Yime spent with cats is never wasted"

Unboxing - Ixion Hale

Another unboxing for you guys - Ixion Hale!

Lovely black character series box! It really does add to the boutique feel of some FW kits!

Blister pack style inset?

Checked by cards - seems this one was boxed a little while back now!

The packaging is very tidy - good protection with blister foam

The picture gallery above shows the key parts in nice detail - we discuss this more in our YouTube un-boxing video (link below!) but the details are slightly softened. The detail is all there, nothing is lost, but as compared with several other FW character series kits (Eidolon & the Terminator librarian as examples in my own bunker) the kit seems slightly softer. It may be that this is due to the numbers cast, simply a one off bad cast (although the details are still stunning) or perhaps this is how it is meant to be. Several videos on line (Here and here) seem to show slightly better quality - pot luck some times!

Here the details can be compared - are my standards too high?

Brother Handro and I discuss the options for this character in the video - essentially it's a build your own as a Legio Custodes Shield Captain.

In Inferno this chap is a very flexible character with a range of equipment and weapons. I'm imaging a build including a paragon spear to represent the halberd will do nicely. There are some conversions replacing the helmet holding arm with a plastic Custodes shield (like that by Marcel Kinrade found here) - this would allow the WAAC tactic inclusion of a Praesidium shield for extra -1 to hit & re-roll failed invulnerable saves. 2+/4++(re-roll) and -1 to hit is strong, but not what I'd run all the time - Magnets? Watch this space.

Overall, I like this kit. The finish is a slight disappointment, but if you haven't got him already (Brother Handro: "and like this sort of thing!") then buy him now!

Der H

Thought for the day:"Do not question the Will of the Emperor!"

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Unboxing - Custodes Aquilon Terminators with Infernus Firepikes

Today I'm going to jump on the un-boxing band wagon and show you the parts for the new Custodes Aquilon Terminators with Infernus Firepikes

As with many Forge World products, these beauties come in a free box! Huzzah!

This is the first Forge World kit I've bought with instructions and a leaflet explaining the models.

There is a brief guide to working with resin and a label for the parts and how they go together! 

Lets look at the parts eh! 

My first thought was  "wow, these guys are big!"  Brother Handro and I regularly complain that the models look so small at Warhammer World, but these actually feel bulky. The pads are several leagues larger than Terminator pads!

This picture, odd as it is, shows the hoods. I've included it for a) completeness b) a demonstration of the quality of the kit and the reliability of casting. The eagle claws! Look at how perfect they are!

The pikes themselves are beautiful! 

It wouldn't be a Forge World kit if the claws/blades weren't bent! This has already been fixed under a hot tap - if this is all I can complain about then....we'll, then I guess it's quite good....(Der H:   "I've never been one for words...") 

Torso parts, leg guards and daggers - the story behind the dagger means every Custodes must have one! 

Three helmets and one bare head - descisions desicisons....probably all helmets! These chaps will be Ixion Hale's bodyguard and so they need to be faceless!

Look! They can be painted! The proof is here! 

So in summary I am very pleased with this kit! It is crisp, well checked and well boxed. I suppose my only criticism will be revealed in the summary of my discussion with Will Hayes - stay tuned for that later this week!

Der H