Building the 2nd Company...

For the last 6 months, I've been busy building a new(ish) Warhammer 40k army.

Last year, I made myself a promise that I wouldn't spend any 'new' money on anything related to my hobbies, be it Airsoft, Comic collecting or Wargaming. Any money I wanted to spend would need to be funded by the sale of other hobby items. 

Problem was, I wanted a new Space Marine army, something that would challenge my painting skills, but also be fun to build over time.

The first couple of months of 2013 provided a 'fighting fund' of nearly £200 into my Paypal account (a sale of an airsoft rifle, quite a few comic books and a couple of games added up the sum). 

So I started to hunt eBay for the right starting deal.... 

Which came along almost straight away! - 
£54 (including shipping) got me: 
20 tactical marines 
10 assault marines 
10 old style terminators 
A squad of devastators 
The 'bionic leg' captain 
The old style Terminator Librarian 
Mk1 Vindicator 
Mk1 Predator Anhilliator 
4 bikes 
And a land raider crusader! 

Then the big deal landed - £60 for 120 marines, 4 Dreadnoughts (inlduing a venerable dreadnought) and quite a few character models, alongside £40 for 3 Storm Talons and a Storm Raven!

Along with a purchase of £30 which garnered me a Damocles Rhino, a command squad and a classic veteran sgt, it had the start of a new army.... 

But what Chapter to do?  Do I create one as I always have in the past, or choose  a Chapter already established?

I went blue...

I've always fancied doing an Ultramarines army, but never got round to it.  Well, now I was.... a whole bloody company no less!

I've gone for the 2nd Company, which is this one:

I've kept to the Insignium Astartes for the markings and icons, so that it's got a nice 'codex' feel to it.

In terms of collecting the parts, I now have enough to allow me to field the whole 2nd Company.  All I need to do now is build and paint it all!  

So without further ado, here's where I'm up to so far:

WiP Contemptor Dreadnought

Dreadnought

My Masters of the Chapter - the one in the middle is my custom Marneus Calgar (based on the Legion Praetor model

My Tyrannic War Veterans - looking forward to the Dataslate for these boys!

Sternguard Squad (using the Anniversary Captain as a Veteran Sgt)

More HQ Choices (Two Games Day Captains, the DV Librarian and a Master of the Chapter)

Assault Terminators (the Sgt is from the Space Hulk set)

Classic Terminators

Tactical Squads

Tactical & Devastator Squads

Scouts with Sgt Telion.

I've got a long way to go yet, but I've really enjoyed painting these so far - of course, other projects get in the way but these are now a labour of love!

Would love to hear your thoughts on these - constructive criticism is always welcome!