EDIT: For updated pics of my Deathwing Terminators and the Venerable Dreadnought, look here. I've rebased them too.
Wow, these guys took me a long long time to finish. That's mostly my own fault for putting so many trinkets and details on them, but hey ... they're Deathwing. c'mon.
Wow, these guys took me a long long time to finish. That's mostly my own fault for putting so many trinkets and details on them, but hey ... they're Deathwing. c'mon.
The longest and most tedious part was getting the bone color just right. I had to basecoat them in Bestial Brown, then add two layers of Bleached Bone (second one slightly mixed with water) to get it creamy enough. Some areas took a third coat. Most of the trinkets were pulled from the 'Dark Angels Command Squad' box's leftovers. The DA specific Assault Cannon, for example, was in the Command Squad box, as well as some of the DA specific shoulder-shields and the Sergeant's power sword (which is much larger than the standard one they send you in the termy box). The shoulderpads I got from Forgeworld. Basically, I tried my very best to make them look amazing and not 'your average run-of-the-mill terminator. They're Deathwing. This turned out to be a double-edged sword as I found myself with quite the job ahead of me, but looking back ... it was worth it. I'm really pleased with them. That power-sword on the Sergeant is by far the best looking power sword I've ever painted. It looks exactly like I wanted it to, a sword with bluish energy coursing through it looking like a cross between lightning and fire.
Deathwing are the best of the best. Not just any Space Marine veteran can become a member of the Deathwing. They need to be trusted enough to know the secret shame that plagues the Dark Angel Chapter. The Chief Librarian Ezekiel reads a nominee's mind to determine whether or not this person can handle the truth, and if they can be trusted with it. If he passes, he's let in. If he fails, he's mind-wiped and made into a servitor, already knowing too much. In essence, the Deathwing are the REAL Dark Angels, for the rest don't even know about the Fallen.
Terminators have a 2+ Armor save, with a 5+ invulnerable incase the first is negated. Add to this both a close combat weapon and a ranged weapon, and they're useage is clear. While the option is available to ONLY have close combat weapons, I opted not to go this route since the rest of the army is themed for balance. I intend to teleport these guys in via my Ravenwing bike squadron, which means they can't assault first turn anyways. ...but they can shoot! Each one comes with a Storm Bolter. 24" Assault 2. One was upgraded to an Assault Cannon. Everyone except the Sergeant has a Power Fist. That means they're hitting with Strength 8. Ridiculous.
With these guys painted, I'm so very close to finishing my first Army goal of 3,000 points. I have half of my third Tactical Squad to paint, and 3 Landspeeders for my Ravenwing Support Squad. ... then I'll be able to call them "done." This doesn't mean I never revisit them, just that I've reached a goal. I'm already playing with the idea of changing my Chaplain to have a Power-Fist ... but I'm going to do some play-testing before I make a decision like that.
... next up on the workbench, I'm taking a short break from the Space Marines to paint up the new Eldar Wraithlord I bought last week ... then I'll probably finish off the DA.