Close Combat Terminators WIP, Part III

It took an embarrassingly long time, but the Close Combat Terminators are finally done:

The eight man Terminator Squad with Captain Agemman

As I've mentioned before, the squad is composed of eight Terminators: three with thunder hammers and storm shields and five with lightning claws. The unit was sized to fill a Land Raider Crusader, although it will probably consist of seven Terminators or less in most games to allow room for an HQ in Terminator armor.

Nine Terminators are noticeably more imposing than a full Tactical Squad

I'm pretty happy with the models overall; definitely happier than I am with the Black Reach Terminators I painted a couple years ago. Unfortunately, I've found that Terminators aren't the most interesting models to paint, in part because they're relatively featureless compared to models in power armor. I tried to break up the monotony here and there with script.

The Terminator in the foreground with the outstretched hammer is my favorite

This squad has finally convinced me that I shouldn't focus on more than five models at a time. My practice of doing most of my painting prior to assembly and the use of mass-production techniques mean that I usually don't have a playable squad until all the models are completely done. With the Terminators complete, I've turned my attention towards Sternguard and Tactical Marines. Fortunately, five man Sternguard squads are reasonably viable while the 6th Edition of C:SM has made five man Tactical Squads useful again.

"Give me a hug"

My only problem with the lightning claw Terminators is that the positioning of their arms is somewhat awkward and static. The lightning claw arms provided with the new Vanguard Kit are a lot more dynamic and characterful. The Terminators look like they don't know what to do with their hands while the Vanguard Marines' arms mesh very well with the poses of the models.

Vanguard lightning claws have much better poses

With the Idaho winter quickly approaching, I don't have much time left before I'll be unable to confidently use spray paint in my garage. My next project will involve prepping a lot of parts for priming before the weather becomes too cold and humid. At the top of my priorities is the Land Raider Crusader that will ensure that my new squad won't have to footslog through too many games.

"When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a xenos skull"