Ben's Blood Drinkers - HQ Month

A quick post this month as we're on holiday at the end of it.  In May, I painted two key members of the of the Blood Drinkers 5th Company HQ: the Battle Standard Bearer and Captain.

The Standard Bearer is a 2nd Ed model with a banner modified from the 5th Company design in the Ultramarines codex.  This was to continue with the idea that the Blood Drinkers stick more closely to the Guilleman's Codex Astartes than other Blood Angels successors.  I now see there are a couple of bits I missed or need to tidy up but I couldn't have a post without a banner...

The Captain is a later model, but one that so perfectly fits the art on the 2nd Ed box cover that's inspiring my project this year I felt I had to use it.

These two add 176 points to the army total:

Ben's Blood Drinkers Space Marines - Rank and File Month 4

This month, I painted two five-man combat squads: the 5th Company 8th squad, an Assault Squad with Jump Packs plus a Chaplain to lead them, and the 1st Company 3rd Squad, a Veteran Squad with additional Rhino.

The first squad I painted were the veterans.  They are led by Veteran Sergeant Eidolan (using the lovely Veteran Captain with Bionic Leg miniature) and have a mixture of armour marks.  The battle brother in Mk4 armour I also gave an older backpack which I thought fitted well.

Their Rhino was another rescue job with 3d-printed Ram and Hatches, bike Bolters and WWII stowage.  I wrapped a tow chain around the Ram partly in homage to a RT picture I remember and partly to cover where the printing didn't come out quite right.

The assault Marines I found oddly hard work, having to paint the models without their jump packs to start with until their transfers had been applied, then attach them and finish the highlights.  I haven't quite done them to the standard of my other models so they may get revisited later if I have chance to add further details.  I tried to make the armour look battered like they had been in a good scrap.

They include a Veteran (using the Sergeant with Power Fist miniature) and a battle brother converted from the Sergeant with Grenade for a variety of posing.  They are led by a chaplain with a later edition Jump Pack from my bits box.  He is so bloodthirsty he has some dripping from his mouth.

Both squads are pointed using the combat squad rules that came out in White Dwarf, and the total for April comes to 487 pts:

Ben's Blood Drinkers Space Marines - Rank and File Month 3

This month sees my Blood Drinkers 5th Company receive reinforcement from the 1st Company - so not so much rank and file as highly elite, given that 11 models cost a whopping 849 points!

Whole intact squads are somewhat expensive, so they are pieced and patched together from various damaged and incomplete lots, including the plastic Terminator Squad which I think came out with a second edition of Space Hulk - I'm not a massive fan of the whole models, but they provided some useful parts to combine to produce whole suits.

First, squad Galin, the second Terminator Squad of the 1st Company who are close-combat specialists.  The sergeant is based on a Deathwing Sergeant's body, with RT arms donated by my friend.  I bent the Storm Shield arm to cover his front, partly to pose it more naturally, but mainly to cover the detail that had been roughly hacked off the model in a former life.  Two of the Lightning Claws use the plastic Terminator bodies to allow for a little twisting at the waist.  One set of Lightning Claws was liberated of its shoulder pads in a former life, so I mounted them on plastic arms giving them a slightly different pose to the rest of the squad.  Whole metal banner poles seem to be particularly hard to come by so this plastic terminator one was mounted with greenstuff and topped off with a later component from my bits box - unfortunate, but I couldn't justify the expense of an era-appropriate icon.  And lastly, the Heavy Flamer model once was a Wolf Guard, but he seems to fit in OK.

I considered the classic hazard stripes for the power fists but in the end I  felt there was enough contrasting colour with the helmets and skulls all over the place.  (And also I chickened out when I was quite happy with the base colours I'd laid down and didn't want to paint over it with something that might come out worse...)

Second, Squad Calibur, the fifth Terminator Squad, laying down some heavy supporting fire before charging in to chop things up with their chainfists.  I seem to remember the Assault Cannon being the heavy weapon of choice in 2nd Ed, but the Emperor provided me with a Cyclone Launcher - who was I to argue, and the silhouette is pretty cool.  Plastic Terminators again came in handy to replace the Sergeant's missing Power Sword and banner pole (fortunately the banner itself hides the socket that I 'sculpted' from greenstuff).

They are led by Chaplain Grimaldox who is there to provide some spiritual reinforcement and keep these valued veterans firmly away from the path of the Black Rage.  He was a late addition to the force when I decided it needed a character in Terminator Armour to lead it; I didn't think he needed any converting so he is exactly as he was straight out of the paint stripper.  I've slightly modified the half-and-half colour scheme I've been using for my specialists to take into account that Terminators carry the chapter badge on their right shoulder pad, so I made his right half black (the specialist colour for Chaplains) apart from the red shoulder pad, and vice versa - I'm pleased with the effect:

All in all time-consuming to paint but an intimidating presence on the battlefield.  They also complete and surpass my first objective which was to put together a force roughly equivalent to that in the first ever 2nd Ed battle report (Tacticals, Devastators, Terminators, Rhino and Dreadnought).  Next month I plan to go back to the 5th Company (or maybe even draft in some reserves from the 8th Company) for some much-needed mobility and paint some Assault Marines!

James WRR’s Rank & File 3: Big iron

 “And lo, on the day of judgement, great tides of flesh of claws and chattering teeth did descend upon the castle man had built.
He dared to scrape the heavens with the glory of plasteel and concrete. 
And the gods punished him by breaking the seal and sending forth his monsters.
Three years of torment followed, and man crawled to the heights of his towers to survive.
Until the Emperor on his throne felt pity, and saw man had repented.
The Emperor sent his angels, clad in burning ceramite and carrying the torches of purification. 
And they did smite the monsters from afar,
driving them forth into the wilderness from whence they came.
But the angel’s wrath was great and their swords sharp.
The tower that man had built was reduced to rubble,
a reminder to all the price of pride.”

• Canto 6 of the Great Book of Helvellin

_______________________________

Hello again, Imperial Citizens,

This month, I bring to you the very long arm of the law: a Grey Knights Devastator Squad. 

Devastator Squad Apollo

When I’d first picked up my little horde of RTB-01 Marines for this project I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. Would I just paint a couple Tactical Squads, as they were mostly all armed with Bolters? No, that would have been too repetitive and boring. Would I make one an Assault Squad? Hmm, tempting, but a full squads’ worth of authentic metal jump packs and weapons would run me well into the three figures. 

The answer hit my square in the jaw when I found a lot going for a set of Beamer-armed metal marines. Right, that’s it, I thought. Devastators!

Rogue Trader Space Marine squads had some strange restrictions on heavy weapons. For example, you couldn’t just pick and choose a medley of guns, you basically had two lots of two different weapons for each Devastator squad (Missile Launchers and Heavy Bolters, normally), which could be swapped out entirely for another set. For Grey Knights Devastators, one of the options to replace Missile Launchers were Conversion Beamers — one of the most insane weapons in 40k history.

What do you mean it’s a laser beam that turns matter into pure energy and becomes more powerful the further it travels? The Tech-Magi of the Adeptus Mechanicus were really smoking something strong that day. 

Heavy weapons specialists

And so, by picking up a couple Heavy Bolters and tacking them onto two of the previously Beamer-armed Devastators, I was able to create a full, functional squad of these heavy weapon freaks for the first time in my decades-long Warhammer career. Now to aim them at something.

I’ve always found this older style of heavy weapons a bit goofy. How the hell does a human being, even if they are a Space Marine, fire mobile ordnance that size with one hand, from the shoulder?

Logic be damned, the sculptors of the day were clearly embracing the rule of cool, and gave us a wide array of incredibly wacky weapons as a result. Most of these proved so iconic, they’re still with us today. Though you probably won’t see Space Marines in 11th edition rocking Webbers…

In terms of painting these guys, there’s nothing particularly interesting to add this month. I was inspired by the inimitable Curis of Ninja Bread for the Conversion Beamers, interpreting the little hollows around the edge of the weapon’s… ahem… bulbous head as little lenses. I imagine they must channel the destruction energy towards a single point, sort of like how the Death Star powers up.

Danger: Do not look directly into light.

The rest of the Marines in the squad, including the Sergeant, were painted in exactly the same way as my Tactical Squad, with a healthy smattering of checks, flames and saucy slogans. I had a lot of fun painting the big ol’ eyeball on one of the bases, and playing with different skin tones as well. I promise there’ll be some slightly more varied models to come next month…

But I’m proud to have built and finished this unit. With two squads of Marines on the table, a bit of armour and at least one character, this is really starting to feel like an army.

Slaughter of the daemons on the planet Helvellin

And remember everyone, as a certain Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens would say, “walk softly… and carry a big gun.”

_______________________________

Army list as of March

Techmarine Tarantus
Techmarine
Basic equipment
Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle
97 points

Brother Bethor
Deredeo Dreadnought
Missile Launcher, Heavy Plasma Gun
Standard Sensor Package, 2 Power Fields, Power Field Synchroniser
270 points

Squad Heliod
Tactical Squad
Sergeant with Bolt Gun, Bioscanner and Power Glove
1 Marine with Missile Launcher
1 Marine with Flamer

7 Marines with Bolt Guns
275 points

Bright Sword
Rhino APC with Techmarine Pilot, assigned to Squad Heliod
2 Bolt Guns
387 points

Squad Apollo
Devastator Squad
Sergeant with Bolt Gun
2 Marines with Beamers
2 Marines with Heavy Bolters

5 Marines with Bolt Guns
379 points

Ben's Blood Drinkers Space Marines - OWAC IX - Rank and File Month 2

This month, I painted some Devastators, a Techmarine, and my favourite, a Furioso Dreadnought (weighing in at a mighty 290g - so heavy I had to pop this guy on the kitchen scales just to see).  Each have had to have some kind of repairs due to the battle scars they have picked up in their long campaigns, but there's something quite satisfying about restoring these guys to their rightful glory.

The Devastators, from the 5th Company 10th Squad, are armed with tank-busting lascannons and missile launchers.  They have standard Codex markings, using shoulder pad symbols to show they are a devastator squad rather than helmet colour like the Blood Angels, their parent Chapter.  I'm painting my sergeants with blue helmets because red would not stand out.  The sergeant had lost his head so I had to add a new one culled from Warriors of The Imperium plastic set.  I've also snuck in another converted Long Fang for variety, clipping off some of the Space Wolf icons and covering them over with green stuff purity seals.

Unfortunately I've not been able to give banners to the veterans leading the second combat squads, as they did in 2nd Ed, because the backpacks with banner poles are so hard to come by.  However, I've tried to follow the RT/early 2nd edition paint jobs where the heavy weapons are brightly coloured and decorated with flames and checks.

The Dreadnought had lost his banner pole, so I had to replace that with some brass rod and the top from a Dark Angels banner - I carefully scraped away the sword the angel was holding and suggested a grail with some greenstuff.

Finally, I had to include a Techmarine because he is mandatory for the force to include any vehicles.  He had lost his handheld thingummy, so I replaced that with Mephiston's pistol from my bits box - it will be a Master Crafted Plasma Pistol that can fire every turn.  I've continued with the half-and-half colour scheme I intend to use for my characters, half the brownish orange red of the Chapter, half a contrasting more pinkish red of the mechanicum.

Altogether, this came to 751 points:

Ben's Blood Drinkers Space Marines - OWAC IX - Rank and File Month 1

Time flies eh?  I started this year's challenge, painting the Blood Drinkers 5th Company, appropriately with the 1st Tactical Squad and their attendant Rhino, managed to squeeze in a couple of pieces of terrain(a 3D-print designed by Doctor Spork, not scratch built I'm afraid), and all of a sudden it's the end of the month.

My aim was to combine some of the brightness of 2nd edition Space Marines with some Rogue Trader inspired features and some of the markings from John Blanch art.  I used a few new techniques to help things along.  After priming with dark red all over and bright red from above, I used a wash of contrast paint mixed with medium and brown wash to establish the brownish red scheme.  I used a makeup sponge to quickly apply the mid tone and first highlight, and contrast paint to start off the yellow markings, which made the aquilas much easier to paint than I remember.  After finishing the main colours I used a coarser sponge to apply chipping damage.  

I spent a bit of time cutting and repositioning arms to get a variety of poses.  The marine armed with heavy bolter is a Long Fang with some of the Space Wolves detail clipped off, he has a really nice advancing pose I think goes well with a Tactical Squad.

The Rhino started off in an extremely battered state.  I used aluminium tubing to repair the exhaust pipes, WWII tank stowage to replace the missing storage box and cover over badly battered areas of hull, restored the boltguns with those from a bike, and used my son's 3d-printer to replace the roof hatch and dozer blade.  The smoke launchers I unfortunately had to replace with later edition spares.  The paint scheme is mostly 2nd Edition, but with placement of markings somewhat inspired by rogue trader Rhinos.  I may come back to it and apply some more rust and weathering but for now I'm happy enough.

For a bit of variety I painted a Medic in a half and half scheme; I plan to paint all the character models this way.

This came to a total of 431 points:

Lastly, here is my offering, a Kev Adams night Goblin:

James WRR's Rank & File 1: Knights in not-so-shining armour

Hector grimaced as the grill-faced servitor aimed its ultrasonic scrubber at his bruised ribcage. Caked blood and grime of a dozen different hues fell away from his pale skin, away from the sockets that would connect him to his holy power armour. Another servitor slaved away attending to this discarded silver shell not far away. 

“And then, get this,” laughed Brother Donovan as a serf tightened knee bolts on his mechanical leg, “the thing started weeping. Can you believe it? Actual tears.”

“Haven’t seen tears for a quarter century.” said Brother Kristos, urging the other Knight to continue. “Not up close, at least.”

“It was saying ‘no, no, we’re not the enemy.' The wretch!” Donovan clapped the serf around the shoulder, forcing him to crumple slightly under the weight of one monstrous hand. “‘All the beasts are slain’, says it. Aye, ‘sure thing, witch’, I say to it.”

“Then what, brother?” Kristos asked.

“Well. We torched the lot of em. Put the survivors to the sword.”

“Mightily well fought, brother. No quarter for the unclean.”

Brother Hector beckoned the servitor to leave his side. “Clean enough”, he thought, his nail-beds still stained red with gore. He sat heavily on a pew, the metal creaking under his weight, and put his head in his hands.

“I grow weary,” he said, “of the wailing.”

Brother Donovan and Brother Kristos paused in their laughter and caught one another’s gaze. In a moment, the two demi-psykers had sniffed out an off spoor, communicated like wordless predators, and felt their righteous anger return. Donovan felt for the butcher’s blade still dripping on his hip.

“Servants, begone from us. We have knightly matters to discuss with Brother Hector.” 

_____________________

Squad Heliod, in the flesh(world)

The first month of Old World Army Challenge IX has come and gone like a flash. In that time, the world has changed fast, grown mightily scary and very real brutal forces have made horrifying manoeuvres.

Maybe a trip to the grim darkness of the far future is needed in the grim darkness of 2026. And so here are my first suitably grim Grey Knights. 

Squad Heliod is my first ever unit of RTB-01 Marines, from a revered plastic kit I’ve wanted to play with as long as I’ve known they existed.

Working with these models was… interesting to say the least. Most of these second-hand Marines came painted as Blood Angels to a pretty neat standard. Apart from some horrific mould lines to scrape off, all I had to do was give them a nice blast of Leadbelcher to update their livery. 

The real challenge was the fellow armed with the missile launcher who was, let’s just say, not exactly built or painted with the greatest of attention to detail. I had to strip him right down to bare, creamy plastic, fully disassemble him then rebuild with plenty of gap filling. The original Marine kit might have been a landmark of design, but they don’t exactly glide together like today’s plastics!

But hey, awkward posing and mismatched parts are the price you pay for versatility and weapon options. 

Special weapon troopers

The two metal models are gorgeous and grungy, perfect examples of very early Citadel sculpting, when they were still trying to find a standard. One of them is half naked, for crying out loud. You wouldn’t see that today.

Painting up the Grey Knights is proving quick and fun. I simply had to wash down the Leadbelcher with black, then build back up with drybrushed metallics until I finished off with pure silver highlights and battle damage. A bit of orange Contrast paint for rust and job's a good 'un. 

The real challenge was how to differentiate metals. Pure metallic armies are always tricky, but I found that simply hitting things like Bolters and powerpack vents with Agrax Earthshade was enough to make them appear made of a much grimier, more functional metal than the shining armour. 

Brother Donovan, real bastard

I knew I wanted these guys to look suitably mean and grimdark, so I took a few cues from Blanche by adding flames, checks and brutal litanies wherever I could. Breaking up the big flat panels this way really helped to liven them up, I feel.

Another detail setting these guys apart from modern Grey Knights (apart from, you know, everything) is their iconography. I very consciously wanted to stay clear of both Rogue Trader-era Grey Knights iconography (an aquila holding an axe and a staff) and the modern equivalent (a book pierced by a sword). Both of these are complex, time-consuming designs. But I didn’t avoid them purely out of laziness. 

Rather, I’ve gone with a big white Inquisitorial seal to suggest these guys truly are nothing but an appendage of a despotic Ordo Malleus Inquisitor. They’re branded, living weapons, not holy knights. It also gives me more flex to put them on the table as generic Space Marines in later edition games in which Grey Knights no longer fielded regular Tactical Squads. 

Squad markings and iconography on display

A final note this month is on the bases. I went in knowing I wanted these Grey Knights to exist on a field of Mars-like red. I thought this would make a nice contrast to the silver armour and white details. I sculpted a few fleshy blobs on these bases, as well, to give the idea that they’re battling through a daemon world.

I wasn’t super sold on my painting of these bases at first, having simply drybrushed up from dark, cool red to a fleshy colour. But as soon as I hit the sculpted detail with Blood for the Blood God, it all came together. The organic looking bits suddenly came alive. Horrible! Gross! Wonderful!

Graffitied armour — it was the style at the time

And so, that’s month one of my second challenge in the bag. I’ve also, of course, painted and sent our friend Jaakko the customary entrance-fee model: my second version of the infamous “big-armed administratum clerk” with some suspiciously Genestealer-shaped tattoos… where could this fellow show up, I wonder?

Possible cultist heading to Finland

Finally, it’s not lost on me that I’ve dedicated myself to painting a group of violent, oppressive thugs in an environment where we’re now seeing more and more of them on the march in our real world. I’m currently rethinking some approaches and model choices as I go to avoid inadvertently valorising any such characters. I want to bring out that classic Rogue Trader/2,000 AD punk spirit, instead — channeling that righteous anarchy to paint these monstrous soldiers in as ridiculous of a light as possible.

Because the grimdark should stay in the far, fictional future. 

_____________________

Army list as of January

Squad Heliod

Tactical Squad

Sergeant with Bioscanner and Power Glove

1 Marine with Missile Launcher

1 Marine with Flamer

275 points