+ inload: The Nature of the Warp +

+ Gaze into the warp + 

Since the dawn of time, every man and woman has heard a deep, unnameable and urgent yearning. It is those who first heeded the urge that were driven to band together, to grow, to build, to resist the vicissitudes of an uncaring cosmos – and to fight. The urge spurs us to excess, to conflict; fills us with an addiction to knowledge and the will to resist subsumption or dominance by other wills.  

The urge has a metaphysical root – and a physical dimension, a location deep in the heart of the galaxy, a region where the material universe and the true reality intermingle. More than our adopted homes, more than the Cradle-world; it is this region, this Eye of Terror, that is humanity’s natural domain.

Here, time and space become one with metaphor and thought. Here, a man’s worth become written into physicality; as his very mind and soul become woven with his corporeal flesh. It is here that humanity will achieve its Apotheosis.

+ Apostle Uralak Hein +

The warp

The warp is an alternate dimension that co­exists with the material universe. Some know it as the Sea of Souls, and these perhaps understand it best of all, for every creature in the material universe also has an existence in the warp: a spirit-self or soul. The emotions and thoughts of the creature stir the stuff of the immaterium just as its physical self affects the material world around its body.

Such ripples as mortals make are tiny; but across populations and aeons, great waves and currents build up, shifting and rewriting the unreal landscape of the warp. Wars, conflict and intrigue – and the emotional highs and lows they effect – cause the warp to churn and curdle, throwing up deadly storms of energy that wax and wane in power.

All such storms represents an aspect of emotion, such as desire, anger, ambition, or hope; and the more powerful the emotion, the more urgently the energy is drawn into confluence with similar energies. Most such storms dissipate, dissolving back into the indifferent and limitless substance of metaphor and dreams that is the stuff of the warp. Others, however, grow to become self-sustaining, attracting more and more analogous energies to themselves, and thus building into colossal tempests.

These confluences of energy can attain a form of self-consciousness; alien to our understanding, but nevertheless present. These inhabitants of the warp are daemons, voracious beings who would consume the material universe to feed their hunger. Such is the paradoxical nature of the warp that such independent daemons are simultaneously created and destroyed in an endless cycle, while remaining ever-present and immortal.

Independent daemons

Daemons are simultaneously formless and recognisable. Should a choir of psykers have the strength of will to gaze into the warp without going mad, each member would see a daemon differently; uniquely. Some might see shifting bands of colour, or a great lightning-wracked clouds of emotion. Others might see a shapes similar to his or her own species, albeit with spindle limbs, wings or great claws, as the daemon’s whim – and intrinsic nature – shape it.

Such independent daemons can engage in metaphysical battle with their kin; the victor absorbing the loser just as a weather system engulfs another, or as a predator swallows its prey. Such death is meaningless, for daemons are immortal; and – being composed of emotional energy – they simply live on in another form, as part of a yet more powerful daemon.

Such minor powers can grow to great influence as emotions in the material world rise. Wars and famines and plagues feed the daemons – and, as the war is won, or disaster relieved – the warp grows calmer once again; and the daemon’s influence is reduced. Some even dissipate into nothingness, swallowed back into the sea of souls itself.

Daemons thus crave the power that the actions of mortal souls gives them. Just as the material world affects the warp, so the actions of daemons can have a mirror in the real world; stirring vague thoughts of injustice into a sudden urge to murder, or inspiring a politician to take a grave risk in search of a great reward. Attracted to passions like those that make them up, daemons can be drawn into the real world through the expenditure of such emotion – usually focussed through ritualised actions. Here, they exchange their energy for physicality, burning swiftly through their reserves. A daemon that materialises must feed – in the only way it knows how: by inspiring the heightened emotions that make it up.

To daemons, the material universe is a dry, suffocating place lacking in the life-giving psychic energy of the warp. Daemons seldom enter the material world save at one of the handful or places in the galaxy where reality is fractured and the warp vomits psychic power into the void. The biggest of these places is the Eye of Terror, a region of the galaxy where entire worlds are overrun with daemons capering in the energy flow.

Psykers and possession

All mortals stirs currents and waves in the energies of the warp. A few, known as psykers, can – intentionally or not – draw energy from the warp and into the material universe. With experience they can give form and purpose to the raw power of the warp, reading minds, sending mental images or messages, locating people or objects, or perhaps seeing into the future or the past – as time is as meaningless as any other dimension in the warp.

Even the strongest psyker is at risk from the daemonic entities in the warp. Just as a psyker can draw energy from the warp into the material universe, so his actions will inevitably draw daemons, too. Sometimes the power of Chaos corrupts the psyker gradually, tainting his mind with alien ideas and motivations. Sometimes a daemon is strong enough to overwhelm the mortal’s soul entirely, displacing it from the physical shell and launching itself screaming with triumph into the material universe. Such events are known as possession; the soul of the previous occupant either devoured, dispersed across the warp or horrifyingly entrapped as an impotent spectator in whatever atrocities the daemon wreaks.

+++

The Great Powers

Beyond independent daemons are the Powers, the very greatest warp-tempests of all; primal and eternal aspects of the immaterium. Khorne, the Blood God, draws those whose lives have been drenched in slaughter and who thrive in battle. Nurgle is the god of physical corruption and disease and gathers all those who died in its grip. Tzeentch is the Lord of Change, the great conspirator, who constantly feeds the ambition and intrigues of mortals  before he consumes them in the greatest betrayal of all. Slaanesh the Lord of Pleasure, the purveyor of secret excess and secret vices, collects those whose deepest desires remain unquenched.

Each of the great powers can be pictured as fell and terrible deities, monstrous personalities akin to the gods of myth. Constantly at war with each other, they stride over landscapes of dream and metaphor, directing their armies of subservient daemons to harry and raid and claim new lands from the contested regions between their dominions and those of their rivals. Equally, they can be envisioned as immense and timeless tempests; mindlessly buffeting one another, continually swallowing up and regurgitating smaller storms whipped up in the narrow regions between their realms. Neither interpretation is true, for in the maddening nature of the warp, ambiguity is all. Khorne is at once a cyclopean dog-faced giant, enthroned on an ever-growing throne of skulls; an abstract and recondite clash of swords on bone; and a cyclopean and unknowable storm of spirit.

The Realms of the Powers

At the heart of their realms, each Great Power holds their court and exercises their absolute, unbridled power over their innumerable subjects as the whim takes them. Here they are truly godlike, the nature of the place and their will as one. The Great Powers are simultaneously the monarchs of a region of the warp, and their dominions themselves. At the centre of the realm of Tzeentch, for example, is no mere personality (though indeed at the heart of the Infinite Maze stands the Tower of the Great Sorcerer) for Tzeentch is also the very crystal-laced ground and numinous aether that makes up his kingdom.

Within the spaceless infinite extension of the warp, like attracts like. Thus, with the death of its physical body, the soul of a mortal creature is cast adrift in the limitless sea of energy. Eventually the souls of all but the strongest are drawn to the most powerful influence – and into the realms of the Chaos gods themselves, there to feed their lusts.

Between the Powers

Further out from, and between, the cores of the four Great Gods of Chaos – if such a concept can be grasped for an inherently dimensionless space – the Power’s direct influence wanes, and eventually breaks down into the broader, infinite sea of chaos; just as a raging stormfront fades imperceptibly into the ocean. Here, beyond the reaches of the broad collections of strong emotions that make up the Great Powers, there is the potential for smaller squalls and minor powers to exist – composed of subtler, more complex, or less universal emanations of spirit-stuff. Here dwelt, and in some sense, still dwell, the Gods of the Eldar.

Between the storms of pleasure and rage, for example, lies the potential of Khaine – a dead god currently swallowed up by the swollen strength of Slaanesh and Khorne, whose waxing influences have subsumed all between them into a fatally tempestuous region of countervailing anger and fervour. Within the border country of fertility and hope, meanwhile, lies the dormancy of Isha; a powerful tempest long-swallowed up by a burgeoning and cancerous growth of Nurgle’s realm.

+++

Legionaries and the Warp

Renegade Space Marine Legionaries often lead brutal, fearless – and emotionally stunted – lives, in which decisions are instant. Stripped of the full spectrum of human emotion, an Astartes’ metahuman mind draws what remains into hyper-focus, simultaneously offering some measure of protection against some forms of daemonic temptation, and opening them more fully to others.

Imperial Space Marines follow a strict regimen of ordered prayer, devotion and duty. This is a spiritual shield against the darkness, for without such obsession, their minds could wander in dark places.

The Legions of the Eye, meanwhile, have cast aside such restrictions and duties in favour of pursuing their own ambitions. Far from a danger to be flatly rejected or avoided, most see the Warp as a source of power. The focussed, single-minded and disciplined nature of the Legionary, together with their raw physical prowess, makes them inherently attractive to the powers of the warp. Where the Astartes go, war, desire, unrest and despair follow, as surely as night follows day.

So it is that the Great Powers have become patrons to the Legions – not in any understandable sense, for how would mortals, however powerful, treat with forces of nature? – but through the living message of each Legion’s mysterious, warp-touched Primarch. These extraordinary beings, who straddled the material and spiritual realms, all crossed over into the warp itself, ascending to become a serried pantheon of Daemon Primarchs.

Such symbols have power in the Eye of Terror, and whether their sons accepted the pacts or not, the Primarch’s Legions intrinsically came to belong to the Gods of Chaos. Some, like the Emperor’s Children, were claimed whole-heartedly by a particular patron, and enthusiastically accepted the role; others, like the Word Bearers, came to honour and serve the Gods as a pantheon. Even those who resisted – in part or in full – like the World Eaters, found their very resistance itself a form of twisted devotion.

The Sons of Horus, in their hubris, attempted to claim all the gods, seeking to play one off against another – but in so doing, they winnowed away the favour and attention of all...

+++

+ inload: Various projects +

+ A Gathering of Might +

+ A hotch-potch update of what's on the hobby desk. For whatever reason, the hobby butterfly has been fluttering from project to project and not settling. Rather than force it, I've been doing little bits here and there. +

+ Kroot Killteam +

+ I like Killteam, and I like Kroot. With the new kit coming out imminently, I wanted to get ahead of the game and paint up some of these models. In particular, I wanted to make sure I had some kroothounds sorted out, as I'm not so fond of the previewed plastics as the originals. In terms of paint scheme, I'll be going with brown-oranges for the skin. +

+ I'm always a little sad that the Kroot never got a Codex of their own. Brian Nelson's sculpts are stellar, even now; and the background is characterful and compelling. I think the Kroot could have been a wonderful xenos faction all of their own. +

+++

+ Endworlds and the War of the False Primarch +

+ The Gatebreakers haven't had any reinforcements or attention for a long time – back around the dying months of 2020, I think; but in pulling the Silver Stars out of storage for the long-delayed Stage IV of War of the False Primarch, I ended up putting in a little more effort on the Gatebreakers' Land Raider. Not vast quantities of progress, but I have since the picture below developed the base a little. I think this is one of those deceptive projects which is suddenly going to fall into place. We'll see. +

+ ... and last and probably least, I also pulled the Vrag-Rana out into the light, to carry on with the Kill Team vibe. +

+ Lots to work on – to mention nothing of the 15mm Emperor's Children and Salamanders – but perhaps the best idea is picking one and putting away all the other distractions! 

+++

+ inload: Vrag Rana +

 + Hail the Hand of Hesh +

+ The Vrag Rana Kolossan, and other renegades +

A sub-sect of the Vrag Rana, the Kolossan had formed O Colmen Corm's personal bodyguard. Though the bulk died during the Second Invasion, a number of these masterless warriors escaped and came to positions of prominence within the Red Hand. 

Distinguished by crimson armour, the Kolossan were feared and hated by the Imperial invaders, for their resourcefulness and inventiveness as much as their brutality. Serving both as large formations and smaller special forces and honour guard. The sect were frequently deployed as linebreakers for larger Vrag-Rana deployments ahead of major assaults and similar high-importance strategies; and were also used to provide steel to mercenary collations. As a result, they built up a fearsome reputation amongst the line troops of the Augustine Crusade – often their reputation proving as effective as their actual actions.

+ Equid mounts were rare, but well illustrate the resourceful nature of the Vrag-Rana in general, and the Kolossan in particular; using low-tech solutions to continue persecuting Imperial advances without the need for extensive supply lines. +

+ If you'd like to read more about the Vrag Rana, accessinflow this inload: [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]

+ Vrag Rana frontline forces during the Invasion of Slav-Mundi. Note the presence of Kroot mercanery auxiliary. +

+++

+ In case you've been sheltering under a rock (and in which case, probably a good idea to pick a damp one) it's been very hot indeed recently. Amongst other reasons, painting and general hobbying has been on pause – but while idly flicking through some old pict-captures I stumbled upon a package that I received during lockdown, and had never got round to writing an inload about. +

+ These are Heretics from Reptilian Overlords, a company that sells both stl files and physical prints (as above). I ordered these quite literally years ago, for the Augustine Crusade – they were intended as the Vrag-Rana; the non-Imperial opposing force. Now, I'm very happy to cut Reptilian Overlords a lot of slack – it was, after all, a global pandemic that delayed them being sent out – but I would recommend buying the stls over the prints if you'd like a set yourself. +

+ With the delivery speed out of the way, I have no other complaints. I'm absolute delighted with the quality of the prints; a great balance of flexibility and rigidity that I think will serve them well as game pieces. Everything was packed clearly, and the supports were very well-designed, so clean-up took minutes. +

+ I was determined that these weren't going to lurk unpainted, and so began a giant batch paint of my Vrag-Rana infantry a few months back. I got a bit further than this, but they're still not quite done. More to work on at some point soon, I feel. +

+ The recent release of the Chaos Renegades for Kill Team has reinvigorated my interest in the Vrag Rana; and the idea of having to finish off just a few from the giant batch paint is a relief. Above you can see a couple of specialists that I bought as individuals, purely because I love the models! +

+ inload: The Call of Chaos +

+ Prelude to Pleasure +

+ 16th Millennial, Emperor's Children +

A cry came up from the rabble – far from cowering, as had the denizens of Old Paultney, here the population had, to the Lieutenant's amused surprise, come out to line the streets. Clearly, the Legion's harbingers had found one of the cities ripe with rebellion.

The advance felt more like a parade – and while the crowd was clearly agitated and nervous, the destruction of the Arbites Precinct garrison by the 16th Millennial had been cheered.

The Legionaries, clad in purple, moved with little caution, enjoying the sensation of being heralded as liberators rather than conquerors. Freedom! That was what they promised the populace. Freedom from tyranny, from Imperial taxes and oppression, and from more besides. Freedom from propriety, freedom from the repressive mores of society – until eventually they would be ripe for the ultimate freedoms of the Prince of Pleasure... freedom from the chilling confines of the flesh, from sanity, and eventually – from life itself.

+++

+ Slaanesh Space Marines + 

+ The Emperor's Children – for our 15mm project [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] – are ticking along nicely. Last night, the last ten received their highlighting (a single edge highlight on the boltguns and powerpack ridges, and a two-stage form highlight and edge highlight on the purple armour), and then I went back to paint in all the eyes. +

+ The front ten are pictured prior to the highlighting; compare with those behind. +

+ I'm pleased with the results. As hoped, the 15mm scale means that I'm finding them more enjoyable to paint than their 6mm Epic cousins, without feeling the pressure to tick in lots of time-consuming detail. It's a nice balance for me, particularly at the moment, when I'm hard-pressed for time. +

+ This pict-capture shows the highlighting on the Rhino nicely – again, the small scale means tanks, which I normally find a bit of a chore, are much more in my comfort zone. It's great to push your boundaries with your art, but it's also useful to bear in mind that familiarity can be a great escape, too. +

+ Still to add are the Legion markings and a few bits of gold trim here and there; but they're largely ready to fight Bob Hunk's Imperial Fists next week. +

+ Aerial view of the figures +

+++

+ Comparisons are odious +

+ Apropos of nothing, I thought it an interesting lesson to compare the 'en masse' army photos at different scales: my 15mm Emperor's Children and 'truescale' (i.e. 32mmish) Ultramarines. +

+ When viewed like this, without any scale reference, it's easy to think they're both similar sizes. The overall effect is similar in feel. More than that, I think it highlights (ho ho) how the smaller size has resulted in my highlights being starker and more obviously contrasting with the underlying tone – something I avoid at 32mm, as I generally prefer more subtle, less eye-grabbing highlights. +

+ Having said that, I think that the Emperor's Children look considerably more striking. Part of that is likely ten years' worth of experience and gradual improvements in my painting overall, and part of it might be the inherently simpler form of Mark VI over my Praetor-plate. Whatever is causing it, it's making me consider things again – and that's useful. I try to avoid cutting off any technique, style or approach entirely – all tools are useful for something, even if you use them rarely. Taking a few moments to compare and consider allows me to reconsider whether I'll aim for stronger, bolder highlights on larger-scale models in the future. +

+++

+ Uprising +

+ Also lurking and recently uncovered is my Renegade Guard army, originally ordered for The Augustine Crusade project, which I thought I'd kick off with a Kill Team, using the 'Blooded' rules from the recent Kill Team box. A nice way to ease into a force without getting bogged down in batch painting! +

+ inload: The Yranus Landings +

+ Yranus: Birthplace of Mongrels +

Ynwirm. Lost a lot of good men and women there. Lost time, too. By the time we managed to mount an extraction, the Red Hand had bled twelve regiments white, and their fleet had skipped the system. In the aftermath, Lord General Klottin found himself short of a third of his front line forces, and Major-General Jil found himself short a head. Even today I'm not convinced there was a victory to be won there.

– Sen. Opprobius Mazeran.

+++

+ Yranus +

+ The Ynwirm system contains three planets orbiting a sulky, ancient, red dwarf star. While all three support life, only Yranus was of strategic worth; Imperial Intelligence having established the presence of a significant military presence. These were initially believed to be independent, though their ties to the Red Hand quickly became obvious. +

+ Twelve Imperial regiments, including three from Ha'qua and two specialist heavy artillery Regiments from Balto, were initially tasked with rendering Ynwirm Compliant. Major General Jil was given operational theatre command. Extremely well-versed and regarded in ground warfare, Jil is now infamous for having been promoted beyond his capabilities. Given void command, Jil struggled to muster his forces effectively; his hesitant commands being further twisted by Hesh's agents. +

+ The result was the infamous Yranus Landings. With the taskforce being made up primarily of bulk transports and escorts, Jil adopted a cautious approach, in order to maximise the ability to bypass minefields and system monitors. The Imperial taskforce thus translated a huge distance out from the System's Mandeville Point, and began the slow burn towards Yranus itself. The strategy seemed solid, and within two weeks the fleet had achieved orbit, with little organised hostile activity, and no casualties. +

+++

+ Planetfall +

+ General Jil +
Image credit: [Kordhal]

+ Pioneer forces from six Regiments – notably the Jedder's Rim Own and Port Bromwic 2219th – were the first to deploy, and moved to secure and control the principal spaceports. Meeting only patchy resistance, the main problem that the Imperials faced were the squally storms that disrupted deployment and movement. In addition to causing a number of shuttle collisions and crashes, contributing to the force's casualties, the storms frequently prevented medical evacuation. +

+ Frustrated with the slow progress, Jil's lieutenants requested an immediate full-scale deployment, eager to catch the seemingly unprepared defenders on the back foot. The Major-General refused; instead insisting on waiting out the storms. As days stretched to weeks, resistance began to stiffen. Worse, orbital defences came back on line in a number of enemy-held batteries, and the mass transports were forced to retreat. +


+ Support for the infantry forces in-field was reduced to orbital bombardment, the accuracy of which was in turn hampered by atmospheric conditions. Indeed, after two weeks, many of the initial urban targets – Ushen Moros, Surimor and the ancient mountainholds of Baraccu were reduced to rubble – and all to apparent little effect on the enemy, whose light infantry guerilla assaults seemed undimmed. Indeed, stinging attacks on Imperial sorties had been mounted near-continuously – and all under the cover of the battering winds and rain. Lamb's World soldiers were called in as unlikely advisors to other Imperial regiments, but even their experience of a rain world home proved less effective than hoped. +

Embattled troops of the Lamb's World 88th secure the ruins of Ushen Moros.

+ With casualties mounting in-field, and little progress, Jil at last gave in to his subordinates requests, and ordered a full-scale deployment. Even here, he sought to minimise Naval losses, and ordered the mass transports held back. The result was a flotilla of dropships being forced to push their fuel reserves while running a gauntlet of orbital fire – effectively giving the Imperial troops a one-way ticket. Only if they were successful on the ground, the troops were told, they could reliably refuel and re-arm. Intended as a call to arms, this had a predictably deleterious effect on morale. +

+ Red Cardinal +

+ Even taking Jil's hesitancy and half-heartedness into account, the sheer scale of the Imperial deployment should have proven successful. While the target-rich nature of the assault meant inevitable casualties to the orbital defences, the forces on-planet had successfully and substantially degraded the defender's emplacements. +

+ Eve of battle. Lamb's World 88th forces perform another fruitless sweep of the streets of Ushen Moros, prior to the events of Cardinal Qi's Day of Revelation +

+ Such was not the case. In a masterstroke, the enemy's commander – the hitherto unknown Cardinal Qi, revealed the full extent of his forces for a brief instant before orbital communication was cut entirely. To the Imperial Command's horror, the entire planetary battlesphere went dark for a crucial fourteen hours, a harrowing period during which the deploying forces were buffetted both by the elements and by a reinvigorated enemy. +

+ In orbit, the Navy frantically fought to re-establish communication, but for three months the only communications that broke through were increasingly desperate requests for aid – or failing that, information. +

+ On the ground +

+ Stripped of their communications and support, and frequently scattered across the battle theatre, Imperial forces found their Operational Command became devolved to individual Company – or even Platoon – level. While there were a number of experienced forces in the field, such as the Verringian Warjacks and an Honour Company of the Vanitor 45th, the majority of the forces were relatively raw, and proved easy pickings for the resurgent Red Hand. +

+ Vrag-Rana infiltrators terminate a rare on-field Astropath. Imperial communication came to rely heavily on psychic augmentation, but the Red Hand was clearly dominant in this area; and sent kill teams to investigate and destroy any detected psychic activity. +

+ Worse was to come, as Cardinal Qi deployed a brigade of the infamous Vrag-Rana in support of the Yranian's native forces. These battle-hardened soldiers, including a number of Armoured Companies, completely changed the texture of the battlescape. Unaffected by the communication breaks caused by the storms – later confirmed to be because Qi's network was heavily based on psykers – the Vrag-Rana tore through their opposition. Over the course of two bloody weeks, two Baltan Artillery regiments were rendered combat ineffective, and a Ha'Quan Regiment was decimated. +

+ As Imperial forces entrenched, the war broke down into a turgid and bloody counter-occupation, with Red Hand forces keeping the Imperials bogged down in the abandoned cities and townships they had fought so hard to claim. Sallies from the seemingly worthless urban areas were brutally beaten back, and the spaceports were reclaimed by the Red Hand. +

Lamb's World survivors retreat, sheltered by Armour from the Port Bromwic 2219th.

+ As weeks turned to months, a number of Imperial forces were rumoured to have surrendered in detail to the Red Hand. Such reports were scrubbed from the official record by Colonel Brasher of the Port Bromwic Mechanised Infantry, who assumed Operational Command over the forces within the city of Surimor. Fortunate enough to have sheltered a potent mix of surviving artillery, heavy infantry and engineers, the city of Surimor and its surroundings became a relatively secure stronghold for the Imperials; a place to weather the storm. Nevertheless, casualties continued to mount, and counter-assaults proved fruitless against the native Yranian forces. +

+ When the storms broke, and communication was re-established, the resolved picture was grim. Wholesale defeat and destruction was on the cards for the Imperial forces, and retreat was the only salient option – further fighting would have further slowed the Fourth Army, and abandoning the forces would have potentially led to mass defection, strengthening the mysterious Cardinal Qi's armies further. Jil's vacillation may have doomed the deployment, but his logistical talents proved to be excellent in retrieving those few who survived. Targetting region after region, a hotch-potch armada of Naval transports ranging from emptied bulk fuel-landers to Arvus lighters settled on the world, and retrieved the grateful soldier, and leaving their abandoned armour and vehicles rendered inoperable or physically destroyed. +

+ Retreat from Yranus +

+++

+ New beginnings: Klottin's Mongrels +

+ In the wake of the order to retreat, battered and shell-shocked survivors were gradually retrieved and withdrawn from the wartorn world and returned to the Crusade's staging post worlds of Mu-Scorpii and Slav-Mundi, where they were temporarily tasked with patrolling and monitoring the Compliant regions of the planets – far from onerous duties that were seen as a tacit reward from the Lord General by the Guard. +

+ In the wake of the Battle of Buir's Reach, however, Third Army Reserves were growing scant. To request transfers from the unbattered Fourth Army Group would have been seen as a humiliation that even the sanguine and pragmatic Lord General Klottin – Master of the Third – could not reasonably endure for fear of losing his immediate underlings' respect. Instead, he called for a Regimental re-founding, combining the elements of the Yranus veterans with newly-arrived soldiers from Sector Cetus-Scorpii. +

+ This met with mixed results. The Galvinax/Elirian Combined proved to be a surprisingly well-mettled alloy; while the newly-created Mu-Scorpii 149ers (made up of elements of the Termeran IVth, Jedder's Rim Own, and Baltan 9th Artillery) nearly tore itself apart in its first deployment as the Jedders common soldiery jealously refused to acknowledge orders from anyone other than their own – comparatively junior – surviving Command Corps. +

+ The 88/2219th – the War-Orphans [RECORDS FRAGMENTED]

[SPOOLING]

+ The delay led to the events of Priad's Folly +

[SPOOLING]

+ PICTCAPT IMAGE CAPT NOT INLOADED +

+ HAILHESHHONOURTOHESH +

+ PICTCAPT IMAGE CAPT NOT INLOADED +

[SPOOLING]

[SPOOLING]

[HAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESHHAILHESHHONOURTOHESH]

[SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT]

+ inload: Clotho Harphagos and the Mazzikim +

+ Clotho Harphagos and the Mazzikim +

Following their shift in fortunes on the surface of Calth, the XVIIth were forced to scramble into the subterranean arcologies alongside those whose world they had murdered. The surviving force was substantial, but as organisationally disrupted as their former Imperial allies. Operating on standard battle protocols, the Word Bearers quickly formed scratch-squads – improvising swiftly to remain battle-ready.

As the Underworld War began in earnest, the formidable resilience of Ultramarine Command and Control began to demonstrate itself, and the Word Bearers found themselves on the back foot. Both Legions were forced to reconfigure themselves – and quickly – for neither side could afford the luxury of underestimating their opponents.  

The Word Bearers were, after all, far from broken. Their fanatical zeal remained underpinned by Legionary discipline, and the Ultramarines continued to struggle in their attempt to adapt to the Word Bearers' broad use of warpcraft.

 +++ 

+ The Mazzikim +

+ Typical of the temporary field-squads used by both sides during the opening skirmishes of the Underworld War, the Mazzikim were made up of Astartes from various different Word Bearer Chapters. Individual identification is further complicated by the False Flag operations the XVIIth used to mask and conflate their numbers – a problem that caused the organisationally-minded Ultramarines particular concerns when accounting for their enemy's losses. +

+ At last – a whole squad of Word Bearers complete, ready to rampage and burn down a galaxy they helped to build. This is always a rewarding stage, and I think it's worth enjoying a completed piece – whether a squad, an army, or a single figure – before moving on too quickly. +

+ The new additions are Sergeant Clotho Harphagos, and the flamer specialist Sart Kayi. They're pictured here alongside an existing figure: I usually keep a previous model nearby to ensure some semblance of consistency! +

+ Clotho Harphagos +

+ Having pistol and sword opens up the pose, so I had a lot of fun with freehand work on the sergeant – more astrological symbols and script. Note also the use of more parts from the Chaos Marine kit. I've selected the parts I'm using quite carefully; avoiding the more warped organic/mutated parts and sticking with parts that could reasonably be simple stylised designs – the idea being that the Word Bearers have their own distinctive 'look' that they apply to their armour. +

+ For example, the helmets I'm using within this force are restricted to a particular look: there are three different examples of what looks to me like a stylised Mark IV helm. I've used the one with horns for the Sergeant, as the 'Horns of Colchis' are mentioned in passing in Battle for the Abyss (not a stellar entry in the Horus Heresy series, but it does have some redeeming cool details and naval battle scenes). +

+ To me, it makes more sense for the Chaos aesthetic to have some grounding in the Legions' own choices – simply warped and exaggerated. Models like these help to blur the lines between the clean 'standard' Horus Heresy-era armour and the M41 Chaos Space Marine look in a way I think particularly well-suited to Word Bearers. After all, the Word Bearers got into Chaos before it was cool, so it only make sense that they'd adapt their look. +

+ Sart Kayi +

+ Repetition of the helmet style helps to reinforce the impression that they're manufactured to look a certain way, rather than individually warped – and deliberately restricting the variation to a set group stops things looking too bespoke. Note also that I've tried to restrain myself when using the Chaos Marine parts. Here, I've got a chaos gun, pauldrons and helmet, so I chose an Imperial backpack and a techno-looking forearm to help make sure things don't tip too far into the Chaos visual camp. +

+ Of course, you don't want your figures to be boring, so there's always space for individualisation. The freehand work is a perfect way to add some character within an otherwise uniform look. +

+ Consistency in scheme helps to tie the different elements together. The sergeant has a particuarly opulent backpack, but the use of the same steel-grey makes it look like a heavily decorated – perhaps artificer-made – variant on the others; and helps to mark him out as important. This is good both from a background point of view and a gaming one: along with the horns, it makes him immediately identifiable. +

+ This is particularly important for a boardgame figure, which may well end up being used by someone who isn't intimately familiar with the minutiae of Space Marine legions. If you know the background, hopefully there's some cool bits that you can pick out, but if you're interested in the miniatures simple as particularly complicated counters or markers, then it's good to know it's 'the one with the horns'. +

 + Note also that the backpack is not just heavily decorated; it was selected because the lower part has clearly been based on one of the older marks of armour – compare it with the Mark III and IV packs here, and the lower part looks 'right', for want of a better word. This sort of detail, built-in by the designers, is a godsend when trying to do the sort of visual blending I'm doing here. +

+ But enough of this, let's see some group shots – that's the fun bit of finishing a squad! +

+ Note that I've tried to keep the Imperial helms as uniform as possible – reducing the options here is another attempt to help blend in the Chaos helms. All but one of the 'standard' helms is one particular sculpt, with the grille/vents pointing downwards. +

+ Note that Clotho has the beginnings of the Legion markings, too – I got stuck in on his shoulder pad, and it's proving quicker than I'd feared. I hope the use of Chaos parts on him and a couple of others helps to blend in the more obviously warped Possessed marine. +

+ A nice gunline shot of the squad, just to finish off. +

+ inload: Bleak Vespers and Word Bearers +

+ We could be heroes +

+ Death Guard +

+ Series 3 of the Space Marine Heroes collectibles were these Death Guard Plague Marines. PCRC packmate TrojanNinja was heading out to Japan, and kindly picked up a box for me. Apparently, Japan applies a 'no gambling' rule to things like collectibles, so boxes of random packs like these have to include every possibility – very useful for me, as it guarantees a box of six contains all six, with no duplicates. +

+ A very enjoyable day of hobbying (and a belated Burns' Supper) with the PCRC lads over at Chateau Stuntwedge gave me some valuable building time. Fantastic models to put together, and I've left them uncoverted save for the head swaps to better fit the theme of my Bleak Vespers Company. For those of you tempted to pick 'em up when they come over here, they're push-fit, come with cool sculpted bases, and – to my eye at least – there isn't much 'filler'; all the poses are cool. +

+ Beyond that, there's not a huge amount to say. They'll make a nice Kill Team as well as being a good – and oddly affordable – source of specialists. While the kits aren't cheap, to get a champion, icon bearer and Plague Marines with flail and plaguespewer from GW would be considerably more expensive. +

+ Word Bearers +

+ The same day out saw me build another couple of Word Bearers, using some Chaos Marine parts that I traded for. +

+ Very simple conversion; little more than kitbashing, really. I've trimmed the kneepad trims and ankle bobbles, removed the Imperial eagle on the chest and reduced the collar height. The remainder is kitbashing – heads and shoulder pads from the new Chaos marine kit fit without adjustment, as do arms from the Revier kit (these lack the forearm reinforcement on the Intercessor kit, if you're being very fussy about 'historical authenticity' – I just wanted them for the cool boltguns with the front handles). The backpacks from the Mark III power armour kit require a bit of additional trimming at the top of the back. +

+ Not quite sure about the horned helm and chaos backpack – perhaps a bit too on-the-nose for Heresy-era stuff – so I might swap a couple of bits on the melta gunner. +