Star Wars Legion. BigGrim’s Ever-Growing Separatist Army!

So, I gave myself 6 weeks or so to get as much of the special offer built and painted.  While I didn’t QUITE get there, (I missed two squads and 2 Commanders.) my Brother bought a third Dwarf Spider Droid and box of B2 Super Battle Droids and I got them finished instead, so I more or less got there. Frankly, the hobby mojo has been lacking, with my 40k painting having stalled. Legion has been the breath of fresh air that has got me hobbying again. I got more done in these six weeks than I have the last couple of year

I have attached pictures of my army, as it is now, at the start. I shall detail how I got here and, once that’s done, where I intend to go. I hope you enjoy the project!

So there I was, considering selling my Rebels Vs Empire box. The game is excellent. But when it became obvious that FFG couldn’t keep up with the demand for new Commanders and units, interest in my area fell away.

Suddenly, Atomic Mass Games takes over and when they do, they unveil May the 4th offers. Ever since the Clone Wars Core box was released, I knew I had to have a Droid Army. The Droids themselves are so stupid, yet sorta endearing.

In case you didn’t see the deal, I have an image of the Separatist deal. A Core Box, Commando Droids, B1 Droid upgrade box, Darth Maul Operative, a box of STAP Riders, a box of Separatist Specialists and a choice of Count Dooku or Super Tactical Droid Commander! From my local store, this came in at less than £100! Obviously, I bought two.  Had to get both Commanders and that offers a solid core for an army. I also buy 2 boxes of B2 Super Battle Droids and 2 Dwarf Spider Droids, along with an AAT. That was it. I was invested HARD.

The day of delivery arrived and I picked up my (obscene) pile of toys. I built all 52 B1 Battle Droids (Fiddly!), both squads of B2s, the Droidekas (my god, what a pain in the bum they are to build.)The Spider Droids, Specialists, STAPs (worst yet to build, especially as they’re in subassemblies for ease of painting.) the first specialist box, Maul, Dooku and two Grievous’ (Grievii?), as well as the Magnaguard I bought and a squad of Commandos.

I glued 3×2 mm rare earth magnets under the bases and put the into magnetised Really Useful Boxes. (4 and 9 litres). You find you use an A4 sheet and a bit extra from another. The sheet cuts easily enough with a sharp craft knife and a steel ruler.

Really Useful Box. 4 litres: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000KN4DQ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Really Useful Box. 9 litres: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0146PSD9O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Self-Adhesive Magnetic Sheets: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TS85WR8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Once done, I primed the B1s in Wraithbone, by GW, the Commandos, Magnaguard, and characters in Army Painter Uniform Grey and the rest in Army Painter Platemail. The measuring tools for both Legion and Marvel: Crisis Protocol snuck in too.

With the building and priming done, (Mid June-ish) I made the decision that I’d give myself 6 weeks, until the 6th of August, to get most of the primed infantry completed.

First on the painted table, the B2 Super Battle Droids. Primed in Army Painter Platemail, they were given a good wash of Nuln Oil (GW) then a heavy drybrusht with Ironbreaker (GW), then a much lighter drybrush Stormhost Silver (GW).  The targeting (?) light on the left shoulder for squad one is Clonstrast Blood Angel Red (GW) and the second is Talasar Blue (GW).

The basing is Vallejo Dark Earth texture paste. Once applied, I used the flexible GW tool to sorta ‘pat’ the paste to bring it to a peak, making the base look a bit more interesting. Once dry, it gets a heavy wash of Agrax Earth Shade (GW) and then drybrushed with Rakarth Flesh (GW). A few of the bases get Army Painter tufts applied with a spot of PVA.

With the success of the B2s, I moved on to my Destroyers (what a pain in the backside these are to build) STAPs, (Also a pain in the bum. Especially attaching them to the flight stems.) and the Dwarf Spider Droids.

As with the B2s, I started with a Platemail primer by Army Painter. Again, we had a heavy Nuln Oil ink wash, followed by a drybrush with Ironbreaker, followed by Stormhost silver.

This time however, I created a mix of 1 Flesh Tearers Red to 2 Contrast Medium and I painted two thin coats of this mix on the carapace of the Destroyers, the dome of the Dwarf Spiders and the bodywork of the STAPs.

The eyes of the Spiders are Ironbreaker with a stipple of Stormhost towards the center. Then I applied a coat of Talassar Blue.

The B1 riders of the STAPs were primed Wraithbone by GW, then washed with Agrax Earthshade. Following that, a drybrush of Ushabti Bone (GW). The Riders were glued to their mounts and then the STAPs mounted to their flightstands. However, this took both poly cement and Gorilla Glue gel to EVENTUALLY get the gits to stick together.

Finally, I based them all in the same manner as the B2s.

The Pop Shop, our local hobby store ran a small tournament to keep interest going, called “Never Tell Me the Odds”.  I was amongst the first to sign up and on the run-up, completed my range tools. These were painted Uniform Grey Primer by Army Painter. Ink washed with Nuln Oil then drybrushed with Mechanicus Standard Grey followed by Grey Seer. The shallow area with the movement pips were painted Pro Acryl Coal Black, the pips themselves were painted Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White followed by a coat of Blood Angels Contrast Red.

I also finished the T1 Tactical Droid. Bone, then Agrax, and bone again, same as the B1 Droids. This time I added coloured markings using Ultramarines Blue Contrast. Then Black Templar Contrast was used for the blaster, followed by my standard basing thus far.

The Viper Probe Droid was done in silver in the same manner as my B2s and Dwarf Spiders but with the shell painted with Black Templar Contrast and the optics with Blood Angel Red Contrast.

I also painted the mighty Count Dooku! From a base of Uniform Grey (Army Painter), I drybrushed Dooku with Grey Seer (GW).From here, his tunic, breeches and boots were painted Black Templar (GW). His belt was painted Snakebite Leather (GW), the inner lining of his cape was with Nazdreg Yellow (GW) and the outer side of the cloak was with Aggaros Dunes (GW). Hair was Apothecary White, with a gentle highlight of Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White. Skin was Darkoath Flesh followed by a highlight of one part Bugman’s Glow to 2 of Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White. Finally, the lightsaber and cloak chain was Ironbreaker, a wash of Nuln and a highlight of Stormhost. The blade itself was two coats of Stormhost followed by Blood Angels Red Contrast and a coat of gloss varnish. He was then based and it was 04:00 in the morning. I was getting up in 4 hours. I put the army in my Really Useful magnetise box and got my tokens sorted in their sewing thread box. Then, to bed!

Saturday morning! Surprisingly awake, I head into the Pop Shop to get set up. What followed was three fantastic games against fellow hobbyists who were taking their first steps into a larger world. I honestly find Legion reasonably balanced (though Shadow Collective feels a touch under-pointed for what they can do.) and we all had a blast.

My first game was against a work colleague, Elliot, who fielded his Rebels. They did a reasonable job of killing my Droids, but not before they killed Luke Skywalker with massed fire. Though hard fought, I win the game8 to 4.

Game 2 was against an excellent Empire force, with Inferno Squadron and Operative Darth Vader. I move up my Destroyers too far, not realising Operative Vader is faster than his Warlord version. He eats them for breakfast after appearing outta nowhere. Dooku moves up however and in 2 VERY uneven rounds of combat, slaughters Vader. I am coming to the realisation that Dooku, while selfish with his command cards, is EXTREMELY potent. The Empire forces are systematically destroyed and I take their objectives, winning the game. We shake hands, having had a whale of a time and break for lunch.

After nipping to a nearby pub to eat with a handful of friends and fellow attendees (trading war stories of the day so far), we return to get our third and final game in. I am taken by surprise to find myself on the top table. I am facing off against Ben and his rather disgusting Shadow Collective list.

An extremely tight game is had. Droids have trouble dealing with the armour and resilience of Maul’s troops though Maul himself dies fairly quickly. He tried to hide from Dooku, force pulling two squads of droids into combat. One is halved but by pulling away the correct minis to form a corridor, Dooku strides into combat and leaves Maul with two wounds. The Droids finish him off with their metal fists. Dooku proceeds to destroy each and every foe I throw him at with the Droids picking enemies off through weight of fire even with Ben’s notoriously jammy dice rolls. I keep my focus on objectives. We get to the end of the game and it’s a draw! We are told to tally points left on the field. Ben has Gar Saxon and a Super Commando left. I have Dooku, a Dwarf Spider Droid and B1s left, putting me far ahead on points remaining and am declared winner. We shake hands for what was a fraught, tense and amazingly enjoyable game.

Pete, owner of the Pop Shop tallies the results and I have taken the top spot by a narrow margin and received a rather nice trophy plaque by a local craftsman and a choice of boxed product up to £40. I choose an Air Speeder for my future Rebels army. Second, third and last places are announced receiving prizes or the Wooden Spoon and we hang out for a bit chatting about the games of the day. Hell of a day and plenty of us are jazzed for the game. Never Tell Me the Odds 2 is announced for October. My name is third on the list.

I had a wee breather after the tournament but swiftly started on Viper Probe Droids and Sith Probe Droids as a quick bit of fun. Typical priming with silver, the inked and drybrushed as previously described.  Then, the shells were painted Black Templar, with the lens painted Blood Angel Red. Based as usuual.

Then, my younger Brother sent me a third squad of B2s and a third Dwarf Spider! Those got built and painted immediately!

Finally, I finished my T Series Tactical Droid and got the fearsome General Grievous finished. Tactical Droid got the typical B1 colour work. Then detailed with Ultramarine Blue Contrast (Surprisingly dark.) with the blaster in Black Templar.

Grievous was the same bone work but brought up to a brighter finish. Then, Black Templar for his exoskeleton, silver for the lightsabers handles and blades. Talassar Blue and Warp Lightning Green for the blades. Gloss Varnish to finish. The Cloak was Grey Seer with two coats of Black Templar with the inside being Blood Angels Red, a drybrush of a fire dragon orange followed by a second Blood Angel Red coat. Based as usual.

Dice Bag.

Having found myself quite heavily invested in the game all of a sudden, I decided I needed a few other odds and sods. First. a dice bag specifically for my Separatists from an Etsy seller, The Printers Guild:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ThePrintersGuild?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=942301530

I rather love it. Will likely get one for my Rebels in the future too! But that’s for a future Project Log. 🙂

Terrain. (Sorta.)

With a couple of mates having found U-Wings for the tables (one of which has been BEAUTIFULLY repainted!), I decided I wanted some Droid Fighters. A search of Ebay turned up the “Trade Federation Star Fighter” toy from the Phantom Menace era. It has three Vulture Droids which are of the correct scale. The lead Droid can even transform into it’s walker form. After the box arrived, I put one next to Dooku (pictured) and, confirming it’s indeed correct (they are smaller than normal star fighters as they do not need to cram a pilot inside!), I bought a second box for a total of six droids. I will be repainting these into the later grey and blue colour scheme of the Confederation of Independant Systems eventually.

“Trade Federation Star Fighter” search term if you want some yourself. I have also included a picture of the box, so you can see exactly what your’re after.

I also had a look for the Hyena Droid Bomber but the one I bought is a shade too large and the lower half of the wing extends back further than most of the art shows. Still, as a piece of terrain, it’ll work nicely enough. It’ll also need repainting.

The Wrap Up

So after a bit of a slump, the “easy” deadline I’d given myself was fast approaching and I had 52 B1 Battle Droids to actually finish, I pulled myself up by the socks and got the blighters on the paint mat!

It occurs that I didn’t describe the start. Primed with GW Wraithbone then hit with a heavy Agrax Earthshade wash. Heavy drybrush with Rakarth Flesh. By the gods, these guys are super easy.  I painted the guns and magnoculars with a coat of Contrast Black Templar.

Then, problem. I’m not a fan of painting base rims for squad differentiation. So what to do? I decided I DON’T give a toss about all squad leaders having yellow head tails. So the shoulders and the base of the neck get contrast squad colours with the leader head tails (not sure what you’d call them. Eh.) getting a coat as well.

Colours used were: Blood Angel Red, Warp Lightning, Luxion Purple and the ever amazing Talassar Blue. I am rather pleased with it.

Golden Button?!?

With them done, I decided I’ll take a break and input what I’d done in my first BoW Project log. and here we are! What I did NOT expect was the Golden Button I received from the BoW crew and the glowing words said during the Back Stage video and write up Ben gave me in the spotlight!

If this has inspired anyone, then I’m beyond happy and I hope you have as much fun with Legion and silly Battle Droids as I am!

Next?

Well, what’s next? I have an AAT, a Persuader Droid Tank, 2 squads of Commandos, Darth Maul, 2 more boxes of T1 Series Tactical Droids and friends (I’m considering three squads of B2 Super Battle Droids, each with a Tactical Droid upgrade) and a squad of Magnaguard. I absolutely WILL buy a Separatist Invasion Force.

Ventriss is coming with an official mini though I have 2 3d printed ones. I also have the Crashed Escape Pod, Vital Assets and Priority Supplies boxes to sort(need those additional mission cards, don’tchaknow?) so I will try and have something new for the force painted soon, though I DO have a Rebel army, Crisis Protocol figures and my beloved Eldar to work on. Maybe I’ll do projects for all of those.

In closing!

That’s me for today. Again, I’ll try and get some new bits added to the force soon though there is a lot on the ol’ hobby plate. Again, if this Project Log has inspired, then I’m beyond chuffed. Catch ya soon. 🙂

Well, that was a hell of a lull!

The mojo abruptly left again for a good 6 months. Never Tell Me The Odds 3 is coming this Saturday at the local shop! I need more units for a different army build! As such, I return to my Project Log! YAY!

So, I have a lot of units built with much more waiting in the wings. As such, I have gotten a Super Tactical Droid, a squad of Magnaguard and a box worth of Commando Droids with the main squad armed with Vibro Swords! My main reason for these three units was simple. The core colour is the same.

All three units have been primed Grey Seer. The Super Tactical Droid and Commandos were given a wash of Black Templar before I realised, “This is not Nuln Oil!” D’oh”! Well, I Nulned the Magnaguard.

All would be given a drybrush of Mechanicus Grey, then Grey Seer. That is where we are now. Next, I intend on doing the cloaks of the Magnaguard and Snakebite Leather for the Commando joints and details, so the next update will be soon!

Well, the tournament is in 6 hours. I finally finished the Magnaguard and Vibrosword Commandos, who are coming with me, as well as the Commando Sniper/Spotter team and the Super Tactical Droid, Kraken, who are not.

Admittedly, I still have the gold detailing to do for Kraken but it’s good enough for now!

Magnaguard cloaks are two coats of Rakarth flesh, followed by a wash of Agrax, then a final drybrush of Rakarth. Eyes were picked out in white and the gem in the chest was Stormhost Silver. Both then got a coat of Flesh Tearer Red Contrast. The energy of the electrorods was grey seer, dry brushed with Pro Acryl Bold Titanium White. We followed that up with two coats of Magos Purple Contrast and two dry brushings of Army Painter Hot Pink Air Fluo.

Commandos detailing is Snakebite Leather Contrast. Guns are Black Templar Contrast.

Kraken’s green panels are Dark Angel Green Contrast. The black is Black Templar Contrast.

Now, bed. G’night!

Well, this weekend, I got a little hobby done. Friday evening , before leaving work, I was pinged by my local shop, The Pop Shop, to be told Asajj Ventress was in stock! I have picked her up and last night, built her! She’s gorgeous and is gonna be a delight to paint and a monster on the tabletop!

Also, having two repair droids nearly completed, I started working on the third, base coat of Leadbelcher, ink wash of Nuln Oil. I also Nuln oiled the three laser cannons for the spider droids. The Repair bots and one spider droid with a laser cannon are to be used in a game with a newer player this Thursday.

Finally, I forgot to take any pictures of this, so I have a couple of pictures for a toy I picked up months ago. I picked up an old Phantom Menace toy Trade Federation MMT! The motorized carriage for deploying droids still works and one day, I will repaint this to-scale behemoth in Separatist grey and blue. Hope you enjoy! 🙂

A wee update here! 3 Repair Bots and another Probe Droid. The Probe Droid was done in the same manner as the other two.

The Repair Droids are all primed with Army Painter Plate Metal, inked with Nuln Oil, drybrushed with Ironbreaker, and finally with Stormhost Silver. The B1 Droid head and “loincloth” were painted with two coats of Rakarth Flesh. Finally, the loincloths and eye lenses on each were then painted with either Talasaar Blue, Blood Angels Red & Luxion Purple. Bases follow the usual recipe.

Hope you like em! I’m looking forward to trying the Repair Droids soon. See how they perform.

Been a while since I’ve updated this. I have done a few more character Droids (Mostly Tactical Droids.) but I was hit by the bug yesterday and got to work on my Persuader Tank Droids. Paints are GW unless specifically noted otherwise.

Built into subassemblies of main body, eyes, weapons and side track units, I masked off the points of contact for the above and primed everything Army Painter Platemail. After given a heavy wash of Nuln Oil, they were drybrushed with Leadbeltcher, then Stormhost Silver.

I mixed a new batch of the red I’ve used for the Spider Droids, STAPs and Droidekas (2 Contrast Medium to 1 Flesh Tearer Red). Two coats of this were carefully applied to the main hull, eye covers and track units.

Talessar Blue was painted into the slitted eyes, with the cover? white of the eye? painted Pro Acryl Coal Black. Finally, the eyes were given a coat of ‘Ardcoat for that glossy shine. Talessar Blue was also painted into what look like power coils in the middle of the main body and on a piece of the guns I thought could be glowing with power.

Once everything was dry, I unmasked and glued the units together. They were then mounted on the base and once dry, I covered the base with my Vallejo Model Color Stone Textures – Brown Earth. With that, I left it to dry overnight Tonight, I will give it a heavy wash of Agrax Earth Shade (GW) and then, once dry, drybrush with Rakarth Flesh (GW). Finally, I will apply some Army Painter tufts. (I don’t remember the type I’ve been using. Will double check.

Hope you enjoy!
Grim

And finished! I really like how they came out. The tufts are Army Painter Mountain Tufts.
Next up, I gotta finish the part done AATs.

~ Grim

Two tanks built, one with a magnet in the cupola. Primed with Army Painter Army Grey, they were inked in Nuln Oil, then overbrushed with Mechanicus Standard  Grey. This was followed by stippling Grey Seer all over the tank. I then masked off the main hull of each tank and gave them two coats of Contrast Talassar Blue. Once dry, I peeled off the tape and found minor leakage. Covered that with Mechanicus Standard Grey and stippled Grey Seer again.

The cannon, side guns, cylinders on the sides and mechanical gubbins on the underside of the turret platform are painted Iron Breaker, washed in Nuln Oil, drybrushed Iron Breaker again. The recess rectangle in the side cylinders are stippled with Stormhost Silver.

Bases covered in Vallejo Earth Texture and left to dry.

Worked on Ventress. Based with Grey Seer, drybrushed with ProAcryl Titanium White, washed in Contrast Apothecary White. The wraps on her arms and waist are Contrast Space Wolves Grey and a Grey Seer drybrush. Her belt buckle and sash are painted Contrast Nazdreg Yellow. Sabers are Ironbreaker, inked in Nuln Oil, drybrushed up to Ironbreaker again, followed by Stormhost Silver. The blades were coated in Contrast Flesh Tearer Red. Not happy with that.

Robes are given a coat of Contrast Luxion Purple. Not happy with it.

The Tanks have been completed. Their bases were drybrushed and Army Painter Mountain Tufts were added. Contrast Blood Angel Red was put in the smaller rectangles of the power cylinders on either side, Contrast Imperial Fist yellow went on the turret lamp and done.

Ventress required more work though. Her dress was repainted Xereus Purple, then highlighted with Genestealer Purple and Lucius Lilac. MUCH better! Repainted the saber blade silver then two coats of Contrast Blood Angel Red and finally, Gloss Varnish. Then finished of the base in the same manner as before.

Also in the pics, my tank Commanders. Will detail them in the next entry. 🙂

The previously shown Tank Commanders were painted at the same time as two more Tactical Droids and a set of barricades. The Droids were primed with Wraithbone, the barricades with Army Painter Uniform Grey. Once dry, the Droids were all inked with Seraphim Sepia, the barricades with Nuln Oil. When dry, the droids were drybrushed with Wraithbone, the barricade Mechanicus Standard Grey followed by Dawnstone.

The barricades got panels painted in two coats of Contrast Ultramarine Blue and varnished.

All the Droids got their midsections painted in Contrast Black Templar. At the same time I did the Magnoculars and blaster.

The Droid with the blaster then got two coats of Contrast Ork Flesh.

The pointing Droid was given two coats of Gryph Hound Orange.

The Tactical Tank Commander got a coat of Magos Purple. By the Gods, that’s a lousy colour. Instead, he then got two coats Shyish Purple. Much better. The hologram was painted Grey Seer, drybrushed with ProAcryl Titanium White and washed with Contrast Aethermantic Blue. I was very happy with that result! The puck was painted ProAcryl Coal Black and highlighted with Mechanicus Standard Grey.

The B1 Tank Commander had his head tails, throat and shoulder panels painted with Nazdreg yellow. Both he and the Tactical Commander had their leg plugs painted ProAcryl Coal Black.

The standing Tactical Droids had their bases done in the standard way I’ve described in other entries.