Also where did you get all of the shoulder pads to outfit your squads? Made? Just Painted?
Off the rhino drivers / scratch built.
The first lot were rhino drivers, for the heavy weapons I carefully cut out the blanks, and put in a mechanicus pad and spare arm cut off to the right length (plasma pistols, if i recall, keep the pistols for CSM Terminator combi plasma conversions / IG plasma gun conversions)
I asked my local club if they had any spare, and got about ten more (many thanks, the finished project will include a list thanking all gererous people involved, and where i got my ideas from)
I did a couple using minus T's shoulder pad green stuff stamp (there's a post somewhere on here, it was a front page post once upon a time)
I got some very generous bits off people, but most were without the left hand shoulder pad, so i filed down the pad slighly, added 2x 0.5 and 1mm plasticard rods, filed them down, drilled out the 1mm after it had set so it's hollow and you can't tell the difference unless you know where to look.
for the vehicles i got the basing kit small cogs (run out after 2x tanks. poot) and cut off the "skull aquilla" IG tank accessory's wings, so it's just a flat skull. It fits nicely on top, for a perfect Adeptus mechanicus symbol.
That's a good idea, but there are a few holes with the logic behind it.
1) Almost all of the marines sent to serve with a Forge World for techmarine training are sent back to their chapter after 30 years, hardly ample time to learn all that they must and fight the Mechanicuses battles. The marines aren't sent there to fight battles so it would be a rare occasion where they are forced to take up arms, almost exclusively in the defense of the Forge World and even then the tides of battle would be desperate indeed.
Each individual chapter sends few techmarines to serve at a Forge World at a time. Most of the time there would only be one or less marines attending "tech school" from a single chapter at a time. Some chapters such as the Iron Hands wh have closer ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus may send more marines, or they will serve for a longer time. Many chapters may be based on a Forge World and would have numerous marines sent to train as Techmarines.
The Emperor Protects
Okay, can you provide references (This isn't a negative post, i'm just trying to find as much history as i can.
I went away, and decided to do a 1750 army, and got it stuck into my head it's 30 at a time, so i did three tac squads.
I have been poking around, and found battlefleet gothic has an entire section of adeptus Mechanicus Cruisers - Maybe i can do a adeptus mechanicus strike force. Maybe in desperation the crews have been dispatched planetside. (I know a story of a space wolf cruiser crews defected to CSM, and they were actual marines, so maybe the adeptus cruisers are crewed by actual marines.)
I may just say it's a Iron hands sub chapter and be done with it.
Very nice looking models! Certainly there are chapters that revere the Mechanicus more than the Emprah, and your chapter could be one of those. You could have them all be tech marines in training, or more simply they are aligned with one of the more progressive AdMech factions and simply have, for whatever reason, a similar mindset to the Iron Hands.
May do. does anyone have book and page references of techmarine training / even ancient white dwarves (I think my collection spans from 89 - 280 but I haven't read it in time.
I still want to do them as adeptus marines. I know that fleet and ground forces are never under the same command, not since the Horus Herasy, but i also know that there is an exeption - The Grey Knights. They have a base on titan, the moon orbiting Mars, ( The Adeptus Mechanicus base) - If control like that is only given out to the chapters in close proximity and trust to Earth, and the emperor, is it so unfeasable that the Adeptus Mechanicus, who have such a bond with the imperium that it affects it's edicts, wouldn't be given the same right?
I recall that worlds have been purged and wars lasting centuries have been fought over just the possibility of a STC lost to mankind, surely it would make sense that the adeptus mechanicus, if they had the power would send out their men for just this endeavour.
What i really want is some info on techmarines, and their induction, quoting somewhere that they keep some recruits, or that not all are returned. Something i can quote and put a reference on, as i want to do a presentation booklet and enter the armies in tournament competitions (It won't come first, it's not competitive - it has servitors, and pap wargear like dozer blades and combi meltas / power weapon (instead of hammer) on the master of the forge.) But i do want to have a go as best army, and it'd be really nice to just have it. I want to develop my drawing skills, and i'd like to do in the booklet every entry has a hand done sketch, they'd probably be basic to begin with, but over time i'd re-do them with charcoal etc. I love the art you find in books, like the Dark Angels sketches, or the real prize winner is the Witch hunters Dex (the page with henchmen is, quite simply candy to the eyes)
I have however decided to do a 1750 army list:
1x Master of the forge,
3x tac squads with rhino's
1x Assault terminator squad
1x Whirlwind
1x Land Raider Redeemer
1x Venerable Dread
1x Ironclad Dread
3x Servitors
The Tac squads are all the same type (although i got the ravenwing sprue techmarine helmet and greenstuffed the inset ravenwing symbol - head used on all sgnts, I may go back and fix the 1st one as it's so good.)
Absolutely everyone has a bolt pistol and grenades (well, er i left the bolt pistol off two bionic legged marines, but only as it would utterly ruin the detail.) I have laid my paws upon 15x krakgrenades, which i'm considering cutting in half, and mixing and matching with frags so every marine has exactly, and i mean exactly every piece of wargear it should. Perfection. (ahem, exept the sgnts have signums. Maybe i should rip them off and do something else. I could cut off the "light" top and make them some sort of mini servo arm - Every sgnt has a power fist, and one more attack, so it fits quite nicely. (maybe with the Devastator missile launcher arm, lengthened a bit witha joint. Anyone got better ideas? All are welcome)- Opinions?
The Rhino's are similar, but I added leman russ tow hooks as they look far better and bigger, I may do a winch / tow chains on the third. (And I laid my hands on a baneblade tow hook set.) A cut down dozer blade from the IG upgrade kit looks fantastic on them.
Master of the forge and servitors are basic models, but based on industrial styles.
The whirlwind and redeemer are going to be basic, but adeptus mechanicised (Baneblade tow hooks may go on the redeemer)
The assault terminators are going to be thunder hammer marines, with terminator upper torso's, on either old school epic land raiders (A golden demon entry (about 3 years ago) inquisitors servitor did this - It was so good, i remember it clearly), or scratch built from spare ig tracks and bogey wheels (A current project on librarium online with ? Gregatian ? mining chaos cultists hade scratch built counts as obliterators using similar. If i do this i'll ask his permission) I haven't worked out how to do the heads - I may cut down the muzzle bits and replace them with some mechanical filter - The planetstrike comms relay has 3x interesting bits on it's base plate, maybe with guitar wire coming out of it.
Plastic tubing, made like hydraulic pistons with guitar wire will attach the torso's.
The ironclad will be a boxed one, just adeptus mechanised (I'm considering scratch building it, using the hurricane bolter leftover from the redeemer kit)
The venerable will be a special job. I saw a gentleman who i won't name without his permission making a awsome dreadnaught (I traded some IG track guards for it with him) - we'll call him mr. metal for now.
He used sentinal legs, with IG track guard plates as shin guards, and a computer part for the body attachment, then a terminator chest plate for the upper half.
I also saw on LO in conversion of the week a dread that used the adeptus mechanicus building plate that had been cut out and filed down as the front plate on a dreadnaught.
I have a spare forgeworld Ad Mech symbol, which is going to be the base, and sentinal/track guard legs, then i'm undecided. I have one large forgeworld adeptus mechanicus skull from the warhound titan spare, I may go buy some cogs off ebay from a watchmaker, or go smash up a old broken clock (fleabay or charity shop) for the cogs inside to set it on.
I was considering the weapons to be "Mechwarrior Mad Cat" slung, if i go for missiles on the left arm, but scratch building a "Aliens" power loader hydraulic claw for the dread ccw is also there. That also means i can have heavy flamer (still aliens) and multimelta (Land speeder spare or the old metal Demolisher nozzles? they are big. hmm..)
And, today, after discussing some scratch built tanks....
I have decided to scratch build an Ordinatus Super heavy "counts as" shadowsword. I'll be using alot of plasticard, and some suitably ornate ray gun off a fleabaye'd toy for the main cannon. It'll be done last, but will be the mother of all conversions i've ever done. It won't be started until at least a month into next year, probably more. (Must finish and paint standard army first)
), anyways I think your army idea for the Adeptus Mechanicus would work as techmarines aren't sent to just any Forge World in the area, they are sent to Mars to train. Because of this there may be arouns two full chapters worth of marines training here (this was just my own estimation), and should Mars come under attack the marines training there could feasilbly make quite a fighting force. Anyways Crunchy I'll throw you up a link to the Techmarine page on Lexicanum you should be able to find out just about everything you need there. 
