Ultramarines Assault Squad (preview)

I have a personal rule that only completely finished miniatures will be put up on this blog. The assault squad I'm working on as part of a commission of Ultramarines has a few interesting conversions that I'm quite proud of, so this is a sneak peak prior to a post with the full 10-man squad, which should be completed this week. I really wanted to show the marines in a state of carnage - I imagine chainswords to be fairly messy tools to work with. I'm pleased with the implied savagery, something that is usually associated with gore-soaked Khorne berzerkers and the like, as opposed to the paragons of humanity that the Ultramarines are often portrayed as.

The sergeant has the most 'technical' greenstuff work done to it, with winged skulls added to the jump pack, and bas-relief insignia on the pack and pauldrons. The soft join of the shoulder of the sword arm is also greenstuff. The Eldar on the base is made from a 2nd edition 2-part plastic guardian's legs, chopped up and gap-filled with greenstuff. The loincloth and gems are also greenstuff.

The flying marine has a resculpted right foot to replace the bent-toe foot of the Assault squad running legs. The legs are also pinned to the torso at a more extreme angle than could be achieved without pinning. The marine is supported by the chainsword, which was glued into a disc-cut slot in the Eldar's torso. Gore is a mix of debris from the cutting, greenstuff and Vallejo plastic putty.

The third marine is a very simple conversion, with more complex work on the Eldar. The Eldar's legs were modified to allow for a very strong backward lean, and the face was disc cut in a manner similar to the Eldar for the flying marine. Around the cut greenstuff was built up to where the chainsword would be, and smeared with a little vaseline. Another layer of greenstuff was applied to the chainsword and the whole was assembled prior to painting to smooth the join. Before the greenstuff set, the parts were separated in order to be able to paint.