Showcase: Tactical Squad Nithael

2nd Squad, 5th Company: 

Finally getting around to loading some party shots of the tactical squads that were finished late last year - these were on SLR rather than my usual WIP mobile phone snaps; I've still got a bit more to work out on the light & studio-type setup, but getting there. 

Few individual shots of the specialist roles...

Sergeant Nithael: Armed with chainsword and plasma pistol. I'm tempted to add some airbrush glow to the plasma pistol when I finish off my devastators; otherwise pretty happy with the finish. As the 5th Co. icon is a black drop, the green-stuff icon on the right shoulder has helped make it stand out. 

I discovered a bit late that there are 4 black-drop transfers on the blood angels decal sheet that have a thin white border (so they stand out on black) which I'll likely use if I make some spare arms with bolter/combi weapon. 

The melta bombs on the base are magnetised so these can be removed from the mini if not equiped. Some people have them stuck to a leg, but this saves having an obvious round patch from the magnet on the mini itself. 

And with the arms off... for the assault & devastator squads, the banner packs will also be magnetised so they can be swapped for jump packs or targeters, but the tac squads are glued on. 

2nd squad 'corporal', for leading the other 5 man combat squad if splitting the 10x. No practical implications on weapons etc - but I liked the idea of adding a bit more bling to a designated marine. 

Heavy weapon (bolter): does what it says on the box. This bolter (plus the pile of shells) are from the devastator sprue (rather than the BA tac squad) as the dev has the badass ammo feed. I added some extra bits of clipped wire to the base to make extra shells strewn around. 

Plasma gunner: stolen from one of the minis that Eggroll had built years ago - every army needs a marine worried about being blown up by his own weapon. The number of times I had these misfire in 2nd edition 40k it was only fitting to have one here. 

Combat squads: may or may not get used in this way, but since I like adding lots of flexibility, the 5-man units were intended to look a bit like this. Note that the squad markings on the knees are on 6 of the marines - the specialists (plasma & bolter) don't; the plan was to allow them to be squad-interchangeable while the 'marked' marines are essentially all bolters (plus magnetised sergeant).