Painting Challenge Submission #10 - Raven Guard Assault Optae

"Assault Optae" - Raven Guard Space Marine officer - multi-part plastic kit from GW with slight conversions.

This submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge was just a single figure - but it is one I have been looking forward to posting as it is connected to Curt and Sarah's recent visit to my place in Toronto! As Curt mentioned in his post earlier in the challenge, he and Sarah would be stopping for a short visit here in Toronto on their way back to Regina, and we will be looking to squeeze in as much gaming as possible amid good food and wine. As part of the hospitality, I have painted this figure up as a gift to Curt, so he can join the ranks of his new Horus Heresy "Kill Team" Project. 

It's just one figure. But even a single figure can still throw up a larger word count...so...buckle up...

The Basics

This is Space Marine Centurion in Mark II power armour, a slight conversion of a multi-part plastic kit from GW's latest "Age of Darkness" starter box. The figure is meant to be wearing a massive, billowing cloak (as one does) while sporting an insane vexilla on the top of a slightly fancy version of the power pack commonly seen on Space Marine power armour. I have done away with the cloak and some of those other bibs and bobs to give him the jump pack of an assault marine instead. This was done for a few reasons.

Legion numeral on the shoulder plate - and a nice view of the insane jump pack. 

The first reason is the most important: I wanted him to fit in! Curt's initial "Shattered Legions" Raven Guard force for "Kill Team" looks to be built mostly around Raven Guard assault marines - the crazy(er) ones who wear "jump packs" and to get to grips with their enemies at close range. So if this fellow is going to participate in Curt's squad, he should be wearing the appropriate gear. In their recent wave of releases GW has issued a new set of plastic kit assault marines in Mk II armour (they are awesome - just haven't got around to panting any of em' yet), and the whacky jump pack from those kits fits perfectly on this fellow's armour. 

I added a custom shoulder plate with the embossed Raven Guard legion symbol to complete effect. I also tried my best to match the dark colours and dark look Curt achieved on his guys. Critically, I was able to find a washer-type base, so hopefully he'll fit in without too much trouble. 

Another view of the crazy jump pack - and we can see the "power maul" is large enough to be wielded with both hands, should the occasion call for it.

The MkII armour has lots to recommend it to fans of the Horus Heresy setting. Lots of segments and plates, a less-efficient-yet-more menacing overall appearance. This centurion model retains all of those elements, but adds heaps the "bling" associated with Space Marine Legion officers. The effect is tremendous in my opinion. You can't see his face, but he still "looks" annoyed. It's a great miniature, and really neat that GW has taken the time issue plastic kits for the Mk II marines.

And yet...up above, I say, "the first reason". That implies more than one reason I did not build this kit as GW intended...read on...

Adventures In Modern Plastic Modeling

I mentioned above that this figure, as originally designed, is wearing a big cape (as one does), vexilla etc. He even has a friendly servo-skull (probably an old friend that he wanted to, er, "keep around").  The "intended" finished figure is indeed a fine-looking 30k specimen, sporting all of the very best, whacky 30k Space Marine silliness that Horus Heresy fans enjoy. I did manage to complete a version of this original figure. Here is how he turned out, painted in the colours of the VI Legion Astartes, the Space Wolves.

Space Wolf Centurion wearing Mk II armour, accompanied by his buddy, a floating skull because 30k. Painted last summer/fall. 

He turned out OK. But it was a hell of an adventure to get here - and required a replacement of the left shoulder plate (of course, I am the sort of dork who would have plenty of those handy, but still). You see, the original figure, as conceived by GW, looks beautiful in theory but is almost impossible to assemble as-is in practice. There is no way in which one can assemble the cape, the power pack and the shoulder plates in a fashion even remotely/distantly resembling the method laid out instructions. 

There is no physical way to get this...

...when trying to follow this....

Trying to follow those instructions lead to desperate repair attempts. The cloak needs to, at once, go under AND over the vents of the power pack. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE once the power pack itself is already fastened to the back of the model. Even proceeding cautiously ended in desperate repair attempts as it became clear I had made a major mistake by following the published instructions..such repair attempts don't always go well, as we see here... 

For f*ck sakes!! This is what happens when you need to make repairs...

This is why you often see alternate versions of this figure posted online, as I have done here - because the cape, power pack and shoulder plates defy assembly in any reasonable fashion, or even an unreasonable one for that matter. This is what happens when the people who design things with computers are not the ones who have to build and paint them, IMO. Oh well. 

The Final Bit - A Back Story

OK. Enough about the modeling - let's get back to this specific miniature! I know Curt loves the story aspect of gaming, and so this fellow would need a back story too. While I have not named him, I have that story ready...

I see him as an "Assault Optae", a veteran of The Emperor's Great Crusade, hailing from Terra! He has served in the XIX Legion for centuries of fighting! This sort of provenance would be ideal in a warrior, one would think, but...well, in the Horus Heresy story, this would actually breed division within the Legions. 

The Great Crusade lasted centuries. The Space Marines Legions all started with Terran "recruits", but as the Crusade expanded across the galaxy, the sources of recruits expanded too, and ultimately shifted to whichever homeworld their Primarchs were discovered on. As Primarchs took over their legions, they tended to distrust those Terra-born officers who had been serving with the Legion prior to their arrival - they looked rather to the fellow Marines raised on the Legion's new homeworld.  

Now, those "Terrans" were still loyal - and desperate to prove it - but these were among the issues that led to divisions building slowly within the Legions over the decades, ones the Horus and his dark allies would ultimately exploit. The "Terran core" of each legion was gradually sidelined.

Handy Raven Guard symbol embossed on the shoulder plate.

Different Legions handled this generational distrust in different ways. In some, these Terran veteran officers were merely sidelined, while in others they were sent toward certain death in battle. Some were sent off on pointless missions to the other side of the galaxy. Some were just quietly fragged and re-processed. 

Corax, Primarch of the Raven Guard, took the "I'll just let attrition handle some and sideline the others" approach. I see this fellow as a survivor of that process. So he was still around when word of Horus' betrayal broke, and the Raven Guard were mustered to attack the Traitor Legions on Istvaan V. 

As Corax mobilized the Legion, this fellow was among the few thousand Marines left behind as part of the garrison to keep an eye on the Raven Guard homeworld. Nothing personal, of course, no official reason - someone has to keep watch, after all - but he would know why, everyone would know why. 

Crazy gun? Check. Crazy "power maul"? Check. Let's get some revenge...

Betrayed at Istvaan V, the shattered survivors of the Raven Guard would have been rescued by guys like this officer! So he is at the forefront now...he'll still never be fully trusted by Corax, but there really are not many officers left...not many Raven Guard left in general! This guy is now at the forefront of the vengeful battle to bleed and harry the forces of The Warmaster as they march across the galaxy toward Terra and destiny. 

He is gutted that he was not there to face the dire fate of the Raven Guard on Istvaan V. Even though he helped rescue the survivors, this twisted survivor guilt drives him. Maybe he will never prove himself to his Primarch - not fully - but he will work to ease his guilt by opening the skulls of as many traitor Marines as he can manage...the fan-made version of "Kill Team" is perfect for games/scenarios with these sort of dynamics at play. I hope Curt enjoys him!

Thanks for reading - watch for more AHPC catch up soon!

Some Raven Guard Reinforcements

More reinforcements for the XIXth Legion, the Raven Guard. Multi-part resin models from Forge World.

When you get into the rhythm blogging, it is easy to keep the posts coming. And when you take a break blogging, well, it is easy to keep taking a break. So it has been a while since I have posted - not that anyone would notice, as both Dallas and Frederick have kept things moving! That said, it is about time I got back on the blog-posting-horse once here, and to do that, we start with a little project from earlier this spring - a 10-man Space Marine tactical squad from GW's "Horus Heresy - Age of Darkness" setting, sporting the markings of the XIXth Legion Astartes, the Raven Guard. These are 28mm multi-part figures from Forge World.

Did a resin chain bayonet as an experiment...although on reflection, the Raven Guard seem more like traditional bayonet sorts...

Yes, that's right - these are resin castings. Seeing the classic "beakie" Space Marine helmets here in the pictures, you might have assumed these were plastics from GW's new and ever-expanding plastic "Age of Darkness" range. But they are not...they are, rather, extracted from my reserve hoard of Forge World stuff. After all, prior to the release of the excellent new plastics, the "beakie" Marines existed only as a difficult-to-access remnant option in the Forge World "Horus Heresy" range. 

Detail on the comms trooper's vox unit.

I certainly am not short of the new plastic Mark VI figures...so why dig these out? Well, it seemed like fun. Fun part one: I wanted to experiment a bit in terms of painting. How so? Well the Raven Guard are generally portrayed in black or "sable" armour, and most collectors try to follow this. But I first start painting them myself, I wanted a slightly different look, opting instead for a dark grey. I mean...hardly THAT different...but still different, and liked it. But there is now a hitch...that approached relied on the use of Nuln Oil, and GW's newer Nuln Oil formulation...well, it sucks. Not as bad as the new Agrax Earthshade sucks, but it still sucks - it has lost a lot of its ability to tint surfaces, and so loses the desired effect on the grey base paints I had been using for the Raven Guard in the past.

Squad sergeant and vox-unit operator.

So I thought, why not try a more "traditional" Raven Guard look on these models? I duly experimented and...well...the results were south of great. Black is a notoriously tricky colour to paint, requiring sharp edge highlighting on panels. This, in turn, calls for thinned out paints and a certain level of discipline and steady hand with a brush, and the results on that score were...mixed. Not awful, but far from sharp...clearly more practice will be needed if I want to try this again in the future. 

It's fun to compare! A plastic Mark IV Marine on the left, one of the Forge Mark VI Marines in the middle, and the larger plastic Mark VI Marine on the right (somewhat giving away which Legion may see new reinforcements next...).

Same comparison, from the rear showing the power packs.

The other fun part of this was just to compare the Forge World Mark VI Marines with the newer plastic "beakies". The contrast is interesting...the Forge World sculpts were, in may ways, an absolute tribute to the original RTB01 plastics, matching them almost exactly (although some notable differences are seen on the power pack), and even aping the quirky RTB01 poses to a certain extent. 

The newer plastics are bigger yes...but, to me, not much "re-scaled" as they are just standing taller, and seeing these figures reinforced that sense for me. For example, even though the new plastic Marines are taller, the plastic heads are smaller than the resin ones for the Forge World Mark VI figures. I find these contrasts interesting, and for me it reinforces how the re-scaling of the plastic Mark VI "beakies" was more of an artsy preference exercise than any commercial attempt to force a re-scale into the collector base (compared to, say, what was done with "Adeptus Titanicus", although even that is not a simple cut-and-dried issue either).

For Corvus Corax!

Anyway, my small Raven Guard contingent has another group of tactical Marines to join in various "shattered Legion" operations against The Warmaster and his oath-breaking bunch on the gaming table. The paint scheme won't match the others, but as you can see in the comparison photos, isn't so far off either, so no big worry there. Will I paint more Raven Guard in this way? Likely not, will probably still stick with the previous process, even though the outcome is not as great due to the lameness of the new Nuln Oil formulation. 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more posts soon - thanks for reading!

Primaris Hellblasters for 40k Raven Guard

Primaris Hellblaster models - multi-part plastic figures from GW.

These guys have been sitting, primed, on or near my painting desk for like a year and a half! So while I'm beavering away on some 30k projects in the background, I thought I would just get these guys finished off. This is a unit of "Hellblasters", Primaris Space Marines from GW's Warhammer 40k setting. They are multi-part plastic models, painted in my interpretation of the colours of the Raven Guard Chapter, accentuated with embossed Raven Guard accents from one of the relevant accessory kits.

I was trying to get an "aiming" vibe with this guy, but in the end, with the angle of his head, he almost looks to be more confused about whatever he is about to blast...that can't be right for a Space Marine!

As always, I try to use a "beakie" style helmet on the officer, even on the Primaris kits.

These newer, larger plastic Space Marine kits tend to offer a number of variations on the main weapon - in this case, a plasma incinerator of some kind. These models, with the extra power cables connecting their weapons to an additional auxiliary unit on their backpacks, are carrying to heaviest/hardest-hitting variant of the gun. So these particular Marines are less mobile, but their weapons are likelier to hurt heavily armoured enemies, a useful bit of variety for my 40k Raven Guard (although I find the "Eradicators" to be much more useful for that).

A view showing the enhanced power packs and cable connections for the plasma weaponry.

I had built and primed these guys quite a while ago, and finding the Hellblasters to be not-that-useful during games, they had not received any paint...but enough was enough, and I thought it was time to get them painted up. After all, I think it is good to try and appease the Hobby Gods by, every so often, painting up some of the longer-suffering figures, and I am trying to boost my available 40k Raven Guard force toward the 2,000 point level, so good to get these fellows painted.

Ready for some blasting on the gaming table...

And, as heavily-armoured, scary space soldiers with terrifying guns, these guys look the part, and fit in well with emerging range of new (in relative terms) Space Marine models. Hopefully they will get the chance to blast some poor heretic or Xenos form to bits on a gaming table soon. That's all for now - thanks for reading, and I hope that, where you live, "spring" is actually happening...because it certainly isn't happening in Canada this year...

Painting Challeng Submission 10 - 40k Raven Guard Contraption

Invictor War Suit for my Raven Guard Space Marines. Plastic model from GW.

Have I been asleep at the blogging switch? Well, yes, yes I have...work has been busy, eating into spare time (which is OK - it pays for miniatures!) but the remaining spare time has been ruthlessly focused on painting, and on meeting my commitments as a "Minion" for Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. So I have been posting stuff there, and neglecting here...enough of that! Time to catch up a bit.

Before I do, just have to acknowledge the work the Conscripts have been doing for this edition of the Painting Challenge. Frederick in particular is CRUSHING it, racking up huge points totals and keeping the honour of the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts up near the top of the league tables. Well done! Be sure to check out their work - as well as that of Dave (OGRE!), Mike F (More 30k! More!) and Byron (10mm Fantasy!) on the Painting Challenge Blog - and I hope they might also find the time to post here about it as well. And I know Dallas will be along soon to share some "Churchillian" efforts of his own...you guy have been doing great, and as the Challenge comes down to the wire, I'm sure you'll have more stuff to bring across the painting finish line!

OK - back to catching up on my own Painting Challenge stuff. Up first, another item for my 40k Raven Guard project. This is some sort of bonkers contraption known as an "Invictor War Suit". This is a multi-part plastic kit from GW, one of the newer releases for the newer Primaris Space Marine range of figures for their Warhammer 40,000 setting. It's a big walking thing with guns. 

Guns solve problems, right?

Followers of this blog will already be aware of how the grim darkness of the far future is in fact overrun with big walking things with guns. Some are big. Many are bigger. Some are quite huge. But they walk, and they have guns, and thus this "newer" design takes its place in an august lineup of universe-wrecking-walking-things-with guns. But it is also a little different, at least for Space Marines...

A view of the carbon-neutral power system...

That is because the pilot of the machine is, well, a Space Marine. Makes sense. But this is still different. You see, usually, Space Marine machines of this sort, called "Dreadnoughts", are 'crewed' by a near-dead Marine, who is essentially entombed in the machine, allowing them to fight for the Emperor for, like, nearly eternity. Lucky them. You don't see the 'pilot', because his remaining bits are plugged into arcane machinery, hidden under slabs of armour. 

So. Many. Guns.

But this thing...well, it just has a roll-cage, and the pilot can hop in and hop back out. Like a kind of regular machine. I mean, still a whacky, far-future, gun-festooned machine...but a pilot that can hop out, check things over, compare notes with fellow pilots...that seems borderline heretical! This design brings to mind the sort of "war-jack" type walker units seen in other sci-fi settings, such as the "APU Defense Sentinels" from the otherwise un-watchable "Matrix: Revolutions" film.

This kit was certainly a challenge to put together...GW made some heroic assumptions about what bits you might glue, and others you might not, and how the whole thing would work. I had major issues sorting out the cockpit, and a lot of trouble with the legs. Enough trouble that I am confident this will be the only such machine that will be joining my 40k Raven Guard forces...give me a normal dreadnought over this thing any day...

Some unsolicited feedback for the design of this model...

But for all the issues, more guns is more guns, and when you are defending The Emperor, it seems you can never have quite enough guns. This thing delivers - and for added fun, it can punch recalcitrant unbelievers into dust for sport. 

The cage doesn't exactly close, like it says it will in the instructions...but close enough. All aboard for fun!

I hope to bring this monster into action this weekend. That will be its first game. What could go wrong? We all know how newly-painted figures dominate the tabletop, right? 

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more shortly!  

Painting Challenge Submission 6 - Raven Guard Outriders

Space Marine Outriders move out for the gaming table.

More Raven Guard? Sure - more Raven Guard! My sixth submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge held a unit of Outriders - Space Marines riding cool motorbikes. Motorbikes with guns! And great big exhaust pipes! And they still have chainswords, because of course they would still have chainswords! And still have heavy pistols too! Because war everywhere! Right?

There are twin bolt rifles mounted on the bike, but of course it is more fun to hit people with your chainsword, right?

These are multipart plastic models from GW's "Indomitus" box set, the introductory 40k set for the 9th edition that issued a couple years ago. Or maybe a year ago? Who can tell. Whatever. Anyway, these were slightly tricky to assemble. In theory, these are push-fit kits, which should not require glue. But of course we all know "push-fit" stuff is mostly a fantasy, and it in fact the push-fit aspects made the kits harder to assemble, not easier.

These big, chunky bikes are fitting rides for the large Primaris-sized marines.

But whatever the trouble with the assembly, I love the look of these models. In fact, I have really enjoyed  all of the Marines from the "Indomitus" box. These bikers continue the theme and feel of just-the-right-amount over-the-top look for the new "Primaris" marines. Look at these bikes! The huge tyres! The massive exhaust! Not just one gun, but two - PLUS the weapons the Marine himself still carries!

Officer with a "beakie" helmet, as always...although his original helmet is clipped to his belt - there was no way to remove it. So he is all about safety!

As always, there was one Marine without a helmet, and as always, I hate that, so I swapped it out for a helmet. Of course, he still has his OTHER helmet pinned to his belt. So the guy has two helmets - one on his head, and a spare. Safety first, right?

That was all for this submission - stay tuned for more, and be sure to check out all of the other awesome submissions by Dallas, Frederick, Mike F, Byron and DaveV! The Conscripts are really dominating this year!

Painting Challenge Submission 4 - Raven Guard Specialists

Reinforcements for my 40k Raven Guard.

I continue to be a laggard when it comes to my Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge content posted to this blog! Apologies for that. Here is my fourth entry to the Challange - more figures for my Raven Guard forces in GW's Warhammer 40,000 setting. All of these figures are multi-part plastic kits from GW. This submission contains what might be described as "Specialist Marines" - a group of particularly tough fighters known as "Bladeguard Veterans", as well as an "Apothecary" and a "Librarian".

Bladeguard Veterans

Bladeguard Veteran Space Marines, painted in Raven Guard colours.

These are hard-hitting, veteran Space Marines, equipped with fancy swords, scary pistols and big shields - all rocking a requisite number of skullz, of course. You would expect these chaps to be found in the thick of the fighting, alongside the crazy Bladeguard Ancient, whacking and blasting the enemies of the Emperor back into their component atoms.

Rear view, showing some of the flash and flare on the models - and the one fellow with his shield stowed on his power pack.

As always, I stick a "beakie" style helmet on the commander.

I quite enjoy the OTT look of these types of Space Marines - they are more like a kind of "Space Knight", a sort of look which previously had been found among specific named Chapters (such as the extremely cool Grey Knights, the somewhat interesting Black Templars or the extremely pointless Dark Angels). The newer range of Space Marine figures is bringing this sort of "Space Knight" look to any Chapter you like. The design of the helmets even bears a striking resemblance to the look of the helmets on the Grey Knight Terminator models.

"Check it out guys - there is a Starbucks over there. Anyone else up for a latte?"

Of course the large, skull-covered shields are focal points for these figures, but there is all sorts of "flare" on these guys. They are covered in fun little features on them, like little religious icons hanging from belts, and copious parchment seals affixed to all manner of their kit. It's all quite whacky, and I find it all to be very enjoyable. On the gaming table, this is a small unit, but they will accompany their commanding officer and standard bearers into battle, making for a tough core of any Space Marine gaming force.   

Librarian

"You have some overdue books, and The Emperor is not pleased..."

Who's afraid of a Librarian? You should be! Not only is this guy a Space Marine - eight feet tall, a genetically enhanced super warrior with massive power armour and a big, scary sword - he has SPOOOOKY POWERS. Yes, he can fry your brain using his powers - before removing your head with his trusty sword! You know the powers are SPOOOOKY, because even though he has the sword handy, he is simply pointing in your direction, meaning whatever he can do just by concentrating on your is WORSE than what he do with a big sword. RETURN THOSE BOOKS ON TIME SON!

Light blue = SPOOOKY POWERS. At least, that is my interpretation.

The wardrobe on this fellow is kinda funny...he is clearly clad in Space Marine power armour, but he is also wearing robes over that armour, and then a huge Matrix-parody-level trenchcoat over the robes! You should flee from this guy BASED ON FASHION ALONE.

I tried to reflect/acknowledge the SPOOOOOKY POWERS by imparting something of a light blue glow to his helmet, the blade of his sword, and to his hand...the result was mixed, but it was fun to experiment. 

Apothecary

Raven Guard Apothecary contemplates some extracted bits while standing over a fallen comrade.

Medical care among the Space Marines is something of a mixed bag. On the plus side, as a Space Marine you have 100% medical coverage, pretty useful in a job where you expected to face off in battle against terrifying threats which the regular Imperial Army cannot handle. Knowing you can count on the best health care would give you peace of mind, right? 

On the other hand, since they are subject to intense pschyo-conditioning (with emphasis on the "psycho" part), "peace of mind" is not a state most Space Marines would strive for, and in any case, and seeing your "front line health care worker" might erase any peace one might have - meet the Apothecary.

Lots of extra kit comes with this job...

The Apothecary is kitted out in all manner of specialized equipment - the practice of battlefield medicine in the grimdark future being still, well, grim. Drills, saws, injection kit - much of this stuff intended to help keep brother Marines in the battle, but there is another aspect to the job that this specific figure sculpt calls attention to - let's call it "recycling". 

The extracted bits in his palm will provide a replacement for the fallen comrade under his boot...

When a Marine succumbs to injuries in battle, the so-called "gene seed" needs to be recovered so a replacement Marine can be created. With this figure, we can see a fallen Marine on the base, and the Apothecary has recovered some manner of gooey bit. Using the various lenses, he is inspecting it closely, before getting ready to place inside a specimen jar (hanging from his hand). Looking on his chest, you can see a number of other similar jars hanging from his neck...your service to The Emperor thus never truly ends, as your "gooey bits" fight on in other Marines...

That's all for this one - thanks for reading, and thanks to the other Conscripts who are keeping up an incredible painting pace during this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!

Painting Challenge Submission 3 - Space Marine "Cooking" Specialists

We're not here to negotiate...Space Marine "Eradicators" from the Indomitus box set.

My third submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge continued a theme...more scary Space Marines! These are multi-part plastic models for GW's "Warhammer 40,000" setting - they are "Primaris Eradicators", from the "Indomitus" box set released back in 2020. They are painted in the colours of the Raven Guard Chapter (or, I should say, my interpretation of those colours). The decals are from GW, but the embossed Raven Guard chapter symbols on the shoulder plates are from "Pop Goes The Monkey".

As ever, the Sergeant in the unit sports an old-style "beakie" helmet. 

In the setting of Warhammer 40k, space is full of dark, horrible things like rebels, aliens, monsters, accountants and other terrible monsters. Some of these terrors from deep space are so fearsome as to even give the fabled Space Marines a problem or two...or, at least they might, were it not for these sorts of Space Marines. Clad in very, very heavy powered armour (same as that worn by the Heavy Intercessors), these "Eradicators" carrying very terrifying fusion weapons that are quite useful for wiping out vehicles, monsters and other irritating gribblies blocking the great glory of The Emperor.

The "melta rifle" - for when it absolutely, positively has to be "eradicated"....

Yes, when the going gets tough for the Space Marines, they call in the Eradicators, ensuring The Emperor's enemies are rendered down to a few carbon atoms. I mean, the weapons are called "melta rifles" - truly, it's all in the name, as they say. Not much will be left of anything that gets hit with a few of these...

I find the little "explosion" symbol on the shoulder (used to denote heavy support-type elements) looks hilariously close to a Maple Leaf...maybe it is just the effect of the red lining on the shoulder plate. 

I quite like the OTT heavy armour these fellows wear - it is the same kit as the Heavy Intercessors. They are chunky, heavy figures, much taller and heavier than an "average" 28mm human, and in this sense the new range of Space Marine models aligns much more with the sorts of Marines described in the various stories published by GW's Black Library. Again, the design, look and feel of these models are very different to that of the classic Marine models of the Rogue Trader era, but these do have an appeal of their own. These are very heavy sci-fi infantry.

Rear view showing the heavy power packs and - naturally - holstered pistols in case things get a little too close for comfort...

 

Still more 40k Raven Guard in the Challenge painting queue, so watch this space - and also be sure to check out the amazing work by Mike F, Byron M, Dave V, Dallas and Frederick elsewhere on this blog! 

Painting Chalenge Submission 2 - Primaris Space Marine Judiciar and Heavy Intercessors

"Let's wreck some sh*t for The Emperor!"

Well, I have been asleep at the switch for January when it comes to blogging - but not for painting! The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is well underway (as you can see from our blog), with a heavy Conscript presence making itself felt. I have been busy painting, and busy posting and helping with the Challenge blog - and thus neglecting my own posts here...time to get caught up! This was my second submission to the Challenge, I continuing with my 40k Raven Guard Project. This post includes a lone character figure from the "Indomitus" box, and unit of Heavy Intercessors, all Space Marines painted to be part of the Raven Guard Chapter. These are multi-part plastic models from GW, enhanced with shoulder insignia from 3D print vendor "Pop Goes The Monkey". 

Judiciar

The well-dressed aspirant to a Chaplaincy in the Raven Guard - the Judiciar.

This Marine - surely a 100% emotionally well-adjusted individual, not-at-all-total-psycho - is a "Judiciar", a new sort of character figure introduced in the "Indomitus" box set. As with all of the Marine characters from that box, there is an affectionate tribute to the OTT nature of 40k in general and Space Marines in particular. 

Walking along with a giant sword and a spooky hourglass. As one does. 

A Judiciar is a sort of Chaplain-in-training in the Space Marine chapter. Taking a look at his battle gear, that training seems a little...specific? Spiritual comfort via a terrifying two-handed sword and oversize spooky hourglass? Premium on confession, I expect...

Let's go for a walk!

I did make one minor modification to this figure, swapping out the silly original head (which made the guy look like a cosplay reject) with a helmet (which a Space Marine should be wearing all of the time, even if he walks around with a bonkers sword). 

Heavy Intercessor Squad

No sneaking around for these Raven Guard - let's smash stuff!

Intercession, the act of intervening on behalf of another...it is a testament to the imagined terrors of the 41st millennium that the main line Space Marines of The Imperium are called "Intercessors". And when stuff arrives that even they have a little trouble with, the Space Marines call in "Heavy Intercessors" - some of the heaviest infantry to be found. These are even bigger dudes with even bigger bolt rifles and even heavier armour. These fellows are deployed when The Emperor has decided to wreck your sh*t.

Love the heavy bolt rifles, with the huge drum magazines...now THAT is some scary sci-fi heavy infantry.

I love how they still have pistols, even with all of that armour, and those heavy bolt rifles.

These "Heavy Intercessors" are some of the latest new-look Space Marines from GW - quite a long way away from the original "beakie" Space Marine models from the classic RTB 01 box released all of those years ago. While those original models will always be close to my hobby heart, I find I do like the look of these new, ultra-heavy infantry. The layered armour, the heavy bolt rifles with the extra-large drum-style magazines...these guys are fun.

Sergeant on the right, subaltern (at least, I call him that) on the left.

While the unit includes 10 models, in practice it would often break down into two different five-man teams, so I used different colours on the knee-plates the differentiate between the to sub-units. Whether in groups of five or 10, these Marines will lay down withering sheets of heavy fire on the gaming table. Then, when the inevitable "close combat" gets going on the table, these fellows will absorb a ton of abuse, hopefully holding out until their buddies with swords and other insane bits of kit come to help. 

Let us intercede!

The sergeant, of course, still gets a "beakie" style helmet, a tribute to the history of the old Space Marine models. Seeing that old style of helmet on the new "Gravis" power armour certainly underlines how different today's figure designs are, at least for an old grognard like me.

Stay tuned for more posts as I get caught up - and be sure to check out the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (while also keeping an eye on this space) to see so much excellent work from other Fawcett Avenue Conscripts!