+ inload: Updating old models +

+ Remus Ventanus redux +

+ It's not frequently that I go back to old models to update them. There's always more to do, new ideas to explore, and there's also the not inconsequential risk of spoiling the old ones. +

+ No, usually I like to leave things as they were, as a record; or to create a completely new version, as with the second iteration of Roboute Guilliman. Apart from anything else, I like the idea that all the models we see are representations of a particular viewpoint in-universe. Everyone has a slightly different take on a character, whether that's an individual or the broader character of a force. +

+ Theoretical: changing figures +

+ Nevertheless, I do occasionally return to figures to change particular aspects. This is usually when I'm very happy with the majority of it, but a particular aspect has nagged at me. This was the case with Captain Remus Ventanus of the Ultramarines. You can read about the original diorama in this inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], in which I explain how I converted a scout head. +

+ The updated version uses the head of the Sergeant Jovan anniversary figure. I used the rest in my Word Bearers force [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], which provides a nice symmetry! The idea of replacing Ventanus' head has hung around for a while. I was pleased with the original [VIZREF: below]; don't get me wrong, but when I first saw the Jovan figure I thought it would be an improvement. + 

+ The original, for comparison +

+++

+ Practical: a delicate balance +

+ Stage one was painting up the new head. I did this on-sprue to give me something to hang onto – a technique I've not used much, but have been practising with my Gatebreakers [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], as the armour on this army requires multiple layers of oils and acrylics, with varnishing in between. Since the heads don't, I thought it an unnecessary risk to keep the bare heads on, and have been painting them separately. +

+ In practical terms, I used the techniques covered in my step-by-step tutorial on painting faces here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and decided to have a bit of fun with using a couple of Ultramarine-themed colours. I started from Calth Brown, and used Macragge Blue alongside Vallejo off-white and golden yellow. A hint of Vallejo flat red finished things off. +

+ A bit of brute force and ignorance took the old head off, and I carefully trimmed down and cleaned up the join before attaching the new head. The set-up above shows how it looked. I was pleased for about five minutes, but then the traditional problem of updating models crept in. +

+ Your painting style – and ability – inevitably change over time. I'd used a loose, painterly style for my Ultramarines. This was partly an intentional decision to match the Visions of Heresy artwork that was my inspirational, and partly my limitations as an artist. Looking back on the figure, there were lots of bits that I'd do differently... and that started to nag at me. I knew I didn't want to completely repaint him. He's from a period of which I have fond memories, and in any case, repainting him would mean repainting the others (or that would nag at me more!), and so forth: 'mission creep'. +

+ In the end, I contented myself with a couple of minor tweaks. The first was a little tidying up of the cables around his chest. These had been particular loosely done [VIZREF: above], and I felt a little tightening would improve the look of things around the focal area without committing me to a full repaint, or markedly changing the style. Secondly, you'll notice the original stance, again shown above, is leaning back slightly. I removed him from the base and slightly carved down are where the front foot stands to sit the figure in a more balanced position. +

+++

+ The revised figure +

+ Here's the finished figure, set up as for the original diorama – itself styled after Neil Roberts' artwork for the Black Library novel Mark of Calth. Details of the individual marines are below: +

+ Sergeant Selaton +

+ Captain Ventanus +

+ Brother Genericus +

 

+ inload: Mark 5,256,000 +

+ Ten Years of the Praetors of Calth +

+ It's been quiet here on Death of a Rubricist, hasn't it? Well, don't worry, there's been stuff pickling away behind the scenes. (Not too much, as it's also been jolly hot). First off, a bit of a celebration. +

+ June 2nd 2018 marked the tenth anniversary – or Mark 5,256,000, to use the Ultramarines' method of record-keeping – of my pre-heresy Ultramarines blog starting [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] on the Warseer forum, which seemed like a nice excuse to add some new bits and bobs. With 866,236 views, it was – and perhaps still is – the most viewed project on the forum, and undoubtedly the most successful of my projects. +

+ Way back in 2008, the blog began:

A time of hidden conflict and secret warfare; when battle-lines were drawn and re-drawn between brother and brother. This is a record of those times, set forth by autolocutor Apologist. 

The ancient and crumbling Apocrypha of Davio, a relic of the Second Founding, lists eight successor Chapters to the Thirteenth Legion. 

The later Apocrypha of Skaros states there were twenty-three successors to the Ultramarines, but does not list them all... 

Herein lies the tale of the brethren of the Praetors of Calth. 

+ Largely inspired by Dan Abnett's seminal Horus Rising, the earliest models predate even that, being refugees from my converted Adeptus Mechanicus army. It's seen the construction of over one hundred Astartes; each converted using gradually developing truescale, sculpting and painting techniques, and accompanied by their own background. Some models have been repainted, re-purposed, re-armed or repaired. Not one, but two iterations of Roboute Guilliman have led it into battle. The army has survived being (briefly!) stolen after someone broke into my car and subsequently abandoned over the street. It has been rebased twice. It has been involved in countless battles on the tabletops of the far future. +

+ Most of all, I've benefitted from the expertise and encouragement of hundreds of fellow hobbyists, so I really regard it very much as much theirs (and yours) as I do mine. +

+++

+ Theoretical: Gaming plans +

Lieutenant Holion makes landfall on Akkar

+ To celebrate, I'll be taking the Praetors out to the Jungles of Akkar event in Southampton (Hampshire, UK) on October 10th–11th. Run by 30k Frontier [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], I've heard great stuff about this group's events, and am really looking forward to it. At the time of writing, there are tickets still available, so if anyone fancies meeting up for a beer (and possibly a game), let me know. +

+ Practical +

+ Of course, It wouldn't be me if I hadn't immediately decided to build something superfluous to take in place of the already-built and painted parts of the army. I've got the following on the bench; some of which are brand new; others of which have been patiently awaiting paint for upwards of three years(!):

+ Tactical Support squad with volkite calivers +

+ Jetbike squadron +

+ inload: Painting pre-Heresy Ultramarines – part II +

+ Set new heading +

+ Part I of this painting guide can be found here +

+[+noospheric inloadlonk embedded+] +

+ Theoretical +

+ At this point, we've got the Ultramarine painted a mid blue that fades to a deeper blue-purple in the recesses. As you can see in the small picture to the left (the stage we left them at last night), the figures are pretty dull to look at – nothing much catches the eye. To fix this, we need to highlight the figure. +

+ The aim with any highlighting or shading is to create a contrast in tones; and the reason for this is that the eye is drawn to areas of visual impact. Strong changes in tone are one of the key things to concentrate upon if you want an eye-catching model, whatever your personal style. +

+ Trompe l'oeil is an ecumenical matter +

+ It's also worth noting that the other aspect of tonal contrast is to increase visual complexity. Essentially, we're aiming to creating the illusion that the figure is large and far away, rather than small and close-to. +

+ In order to do this, we need to make it look as though the large surfaces are catching more light, and that the areas in shadow are deeply recessed – or in other words, alter the tone of the local colour (the main midtone – Mordian Blue in this example) in the appropriate areas on the figure. This requires you to decide upon a light source for the figure. Typically, this is above the figure, as we're used to seeing people in daylight, with the sun acting as the light source. +

+ As a general rule, you should pick a light source and stick with it. All the highlights should point towards the light source, and the areas that are blocked from it – whether by an intervening object or simply by being on the bottom of an area should be in shadow. +

+ The shoulder pad to the left shows the lightest tint at the top (nearest the light source), fading into the midtone local colour, and down to the darkest shade at the bottom. Note the highlighting on the scratches follows the opposite rule – the light tone beneath the scratch and the shadow above it. That's because the scratch is meant to look like a dent in the surface. The top edge thus casts a shadow, and the bottom edge catches the light. +

+ My typical approach when painting is to lay in a midtone, then add shading, and then highlight. That's because deeper shades are more forgiving than light tints, and because shaded areas tend to be 'within' the figure – it's physically easier to get the brush to the raised areas than the recesses; so painting the highlights afterwards means less chance of a stray brushstroke getting paitn where you don't want it. +

+ Practical +

VI_ My highlighting is done with a combination of blending – for smoothness – and edge highlighting, for tabletop impact and to add crispness. I'm not a particularly neat painter, but some finer lines helps direct the eye and delineate shapes that might otherwise look soft. Mix Mordian Blue with Fenris Grey (a cool blue-toned grey) and dilute with a little flow enhancer. Pick an area and add a spot of paint on the area nearest the light source – for example the part of the shoulder pad pointing straight upwards; (usually the top, but this will depend on the pose) – then rinse your brush, dry it, and make small circular movements around the edge of the spot, drawing the paint outwards. If the paint is thin enough, you'll see that some of the underlying local colour shows through. This is the essence of blending. +

VII_ Repeat on all of the other plates. The skill here is not so much in applying the paint as it is working out how each area catches the light. Exposed directly to the light source, the shoulder pads and helmet will be relatively lighter than the lower legs, which are sheltered somewhat from the light. Both are catching more light that the undersides and recesses – such as under the marine's arms or between the foot and greave. You need to apply the paint intelligently – if you get stuck, just picture the light source and try and draw a line straight to the area. Can the light fall flat on the surface? If so, highlight strongly. Does it hit it only obliquely? Work closer to the midtone. Is it obscured? Leave it unhighlighted.

+APPENDNOTE: This is a bit of a simplification: light doesn't just fall straight down. It will bounce off nearby surfaces, creating a secondary light source of reflected light. For this reason, you might need to add some subtle highlighting bouncing off nearby armour plates, the floor, or other areas. Just remember that reflected light is always less intense than direct light; so you should never highlight parts lit by reflected light with tints as light as those used for those under the direct light. +

VII_ With the soft blending done, you can – if you choose – add some edge highlighting. This is essentially the lightest tint you've mixed, added in fine lines to areas under direct light. You'll see these on the tops of the pauldrons, outer edges of the feet and greaves, top of the torsos and so on.

+ Edge highlighting is a shortcut – if you spend more time blending and work cleanly, you'll simply not need them as you'll create the effect naturally. However, there's a balance between speed, effect and enjoyment – find a balance that suits the way you like to work. I don't believe painting should be a chore; though if you're aiming for competition standard, you'll need to practise blending far more, as it's the dominant style that judges like. Of course, if you're going for competition standard, you're best off taking technical advice from better painters than me! Artists like the Massive Voodoo crew [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+] are a great place to start: friendly and expert advice there. +

VIII_ The next thing to work on is the focal point. In the marines here, I want the heads to be the focal point. On the bare-headed Sergeant Tulian Aquila, it's simple enough – the changes in tone, texture and hue used for the skin and features immediately draw the eye from the mass of blue armour. For Brother Septival, the chap with the rotor cannon, it's a bit harder to draw the eye. You can add a contrasting tone – helmet stripes are a good idea – but I've decided to simply go with bright orange eye lenses for the moment. Orange is opposite blue on the colour wheel, making it the complementary hue. As a result, the two colours interact strongly, creating maximum contrast – and thus creating visual interest.

+ That's all I got done last night – I was getting a bit impatient and decided that I'd rather look at the figures in daylight to assess them before going any further. +

+ Looking at your figures under artificial light and daylight really hits home the difference. Compare the picture below, taken in the dawn light, to that above, taken under a daylight bulb last night. +

+ inload: Painting pre-Heresy Ultramarines – part I +

+ Meanwhile, back on Calth +

+ The Ultramarines and I go back a long way – I'm sure somewhere along the line I've written down a recipe for how I paint them, but techniques (and paint ranges!) move on. Seized by inspiration for some Ultramarines, I thought I'd note down a stage-by-stage process for a couple of marines. I hope it's useful. +

+ Praetor of Calth: deep blue; yellow banding; personal heraldry +

+ Theoretical +

+ For those of you familiar with my Ultramarines, you'll know that I've tried a couple of different approaches – a deep dark blue and lots of personalisation for my veteran Praetors of Calth, and a mid-tone uniform approach for my 190th Company. They're close enough – not least stylistically – for the two to sit comfortably together on the table, but offer me a bit of variety depending upon what I want to paint. + 

+ Member of 190th Company: Mid blue; gold banding; uniform +

+ The two marines used for the demonstration below are something different again. They're based on Gav Thorpe's Honour to the Dead [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+], and as such don't need to stand alongside my other marines. This is a nice chance to try out something new. If it fits with the others, brill; if not, they're an example of the slight variation in uniform within the Legion. +

+ As an example, I've long wanted to try to get some more Rogue Trader stylistic touches into my Marines, and these are a great opportunity. I'm planning to include some Rogue Trader rank markings, to use all-metal backpacks and probably a few other retro-styled bits as they occur to me. Planning is useful, but restricting yourself on these experimental mini-projects is a surefire way to kill your enthusiasm as dead as a dodo. +

+++

+ These were popped up on the new Facebook group for the blog [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+] as an experiment in 'live painting'. I spent two hours, and took a pict-capture after every 30 minutes to give more of an idea of my painting style. Please excuse any bits mentioned in the text that are missing from either of the figures. At each stage, at least one of the figures is 'correct', but I wanted to be as honest as possible with the timings. +

+ Terminology: Glazes and washes are two slightly different things:

+ A wash should flow away from raised areas and into recesses – be careful not to let it pool too much, or you'll end up with backruns and odd textural effects. Washes should flow readily on your palette, and once dried, should create the impression of a gradient on your model; from the unaffected underlying hue in the raised areas to deeply shaded areas in the recesses. You typically apply just one or two washes to create the effect. +

+ In contast, a glaze should cover the object evenly, tinting the raised and recessed areas consistently. Glazes are typically thin and should flow, but the consistency can vary – the thinner the glaze, the more subtle the effect. Typically, glazes are built up over time, using many thin layers. The consistency you use should ideally cover the area you want to glaze evenly without obviously obscuring the colour underneath. Once dry, repeat the application and repeat until you achieve the effect you want. +

+ You can make either by thinning regular acrylic paint with water or another medium – the terms refer to the technique, not the material. With that said, different paints react differently: some split, others granulate, and it takes a lot of time and experience to know how to water down and utilise the colours correctly. For this reason, it is sometimes easier (and certainly more predictable) to use some specialist materials. +

+ Inks are perhaps the simplest to understand. If you've ever used inks, you know how they sit on the model and enrich the colour. They can be used as a wash, but they tend to dry unevenly, resulting in glossiness in recesses and patchiness on the surface. They are, however, ideal for glazing straight out of the bottle. +

+ GW produce a range called Shades, which function as ready-made washes – indeed, the previous iteration were called 'Washes'. The carrier (the colourless medium that carries the pigment) for these is not water, but a medium that alters the surface tension and encourages the colour to flow smoothly into recesses. GW also produce a range called Glazes, which function (drumroll please) as glazes. Both are an excellent ranges; I thoroughly recommend them as useful tools. Though not the be-all and end-all, they're great to use as part of your palette. + 

+++

+ Technique: I very much admire the clean, jewel-like qualities that other painters achieve, but stylistically I'm more interested in impression and texture – my inspirations are GW artists like Karl Kopinski, Blanche and Gary Harrod; along with Goya, Degas and the Impressionists. I use a technique that I call 'selective glazing' – it's a quick and dirty effect that results in a rougher, more textural effect than glazing. +

+ The idea is essentially to apply a smooth glaze, but remove it from the areas of highlight – either with a brush, cotton bud or with a clean finger. This 'forces' the highlight and gives a greater contrast, but also introduces a little dirt and unevenness:

+ The result of the selective glazing technique can be seen clearly here. You can see a 'curve' of uneven shadow around the big screws at the front of the shoulders here. It's this slightly ragged, textural effect that I'm after. +

 

+ Selective glazing is used extensively in the robes here. Since it's the raised surface that is wiped, the recesses remain rich, dark and with heavy tonal contrast. +

+++

+ Practical +

+ Pre-stages: Build your marine, attach to a base and use texture medium to build up some texture – I use coarse and extra coarse pumice gel medium from Golden [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+]. Note that this is added after the figure is glued to the base. This helps set them in the soil, rather than perched on top of it. Texture medium glues rock hard, so it also helps secure the figure. I've also added some fibrous mesh from my bits box to help create semi-urban terrain interest. Once dry, prime the marine. I've used Halford's grey primer [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+]; note this is primer, not spray paint – they have different qualities. +

I_ Paint any metal areas on the figure with watery Abaddon Black; and any metal areas on the base with Solar Macharius Orange straight from the pot. Note how messy I am here. I find it more important to get the recesses of the areas covered than to be neat at this stage. The 'flow' of the work is speedy and energetic and fun.

II_ Use slightly watered-down Mordian Blue to paint the bulk of the armour. Again, I'm not too fussed about being neat; spots of blue pop up on the black areas, and doubtless some areas are missed. If necessary, quickly touch in any mistakes using some of the paint remaining on your palette from the previous stage. overlay the texture gel with Stirland Mud (or just a dark brown like Rhinox Hide).

III_ Water down a little Charadon Granite to the consistency of milk; it should not quite drip if you tip up your palette, but it should definitely start to flow. Use this to paint the soft armour ribbing along with Use acrylic medium to dilute Chainmail – using water can 'split' the paint, causing patchiness – and paint in the metal areas.

IV_ Dilute Liche Purple with acrylic medium and water to create a thin glaze. Working area by area, paint this over blue parts, right into the recesses. While it remains wet, quickly rinse and dry your brush, then use the dry brush to wipe away excess purple glaze from the surface, leaving it in the areas of shadow and deep recesses – this is the selective glazing technique. Next, apply Seraphim Sepia (or better still, slightly dried-up Gryphonne Sepia) to the shoulder pad rims and any other areas you want to be gold. This is painted on neat and as densely as you can get it without dripping. The important thing is not to let it flow off the area, nor to pool too heavily – you want it to dry naturally to create the impression of form. 

V_ Dilute Necron Abyss with medium and water to create a glaze; exactly as for the Liche Purple in step IV. As before, work area by area and wipe the glaze away while it is still wet. Once dry, use GW washes – Nuln Oil – to wash the metal areas and the Charadon granite areas. While that dries, drybrush the base with successively lighter mixes of Calth Brown and Dheneb Stone.

+ That concludes part I – the figures now have their midtones and shading in place; the entire undercoat is covered; and the base is pretty much there. From here, we'll enrich the colours and add the highlights that'll create tonal contrast. With that complete, it's down to details and freehand – but that'll have to wait for another day. +

+ The figures in the cold light of morning, once the paint has dried. +

+ I hope this has been interesting – I'd love to hear your thoughts either here or on Facebook [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+]. +

+ inload: Ultramarine Master of Signal +

+ Upilio Constantine Pullo +

+ The XIIIth, perhaps more than any other Legion, relies on smoothly interlinking command and control, with orders percolating downwards for swift enactment. Some Ultramarines excel at particular roles – the strategic leadership of the Legion falls to those most able to command; while line sergeants provide staunch tactical direction. +

+ Being equal in ability does not necessitate heterogeneity, of course. While some Officers of Ultramar achieve their rank through skill at arms – we think of Tauro Nichodemus, or the glittering blade of Salvio Fenn – others, like Constantine Pullo, possess some of his gene-father's genius for organisation and administration. +

+ The post of Master of Signal is the official designation for the post known to the Iron Hands and Death Guard as Watchmaster, to the Raven Guard – unofficially at least – as Whisperchief, and to the Ultramarines as Upilio. The role varies slightly, but all who wish to master it must possess an ability to parse, sort and filter a tide of often conflicting information, acting both as filter and codifier of the ebbs and flows not just of battles; but of entire theatres of war. +

+ Owing to their multi-levelled thinking and superlative calculatory abilities, most Signal Officers excel at void warfare, and many are drawn from void-captains and Astartes fleet staff. They are commonly placed in charge of Expeditionary sub-fleets, a responsibility far above most Centurions' duties. +

+ Never the most fearsome in combat, nor the most charismatic, nor yet the most indomitable, Constantine Pullo is nevertheless a terrifying man to make your enemy; as he has the ten thousand arms and ten thousand eyes of the Ultramarines beneath his command to turn against you. +

+ Decked out in artificer-adapted Mark V hybrid (II/IV) plate with inbuilt cognitive-memhancer, arm-mounted augur-board and multi-spectrum vox-beading, Pullo is capable of directing an entire battlefront; as indeed he demonstrated during the Syrinx Annihilation, the closing events of the Hypon campaign, and the Nekuli void-war. In addition to this equipment, he carries an eminently practical boltpistol sidearm and the vitis, the short staff that serves as mark of office, as a visual directional tool when his high-tech equipment fails him or is impractical, and – in extremis – as a bludgeoning weapon. +

+ The Master of Signal is a role that sits at the heart of the Ultramarines' way of war. Serving in the 15th for nearly three decades, Constantine Pullo's experience and knowledge saw him promoted after the Nekuli campaign to a new role with the Evocati, overseeing the training of future Ultramarines on Armatura. This was a role he took on with characteristic seriousness. Redeployed to Calth alongside the final intake of Inductii before the Ghaslakh campaign muster, Pullo was caught alongside the warriors of the newly-created 190th when the Word Bearers attacked. He was lost on the surface prior to the Underworld War; just another of the 160,000 or so Legionary casualties of the Atrocity. +

+ inload: Officers of the 190th +

+ Chains of Command +

+ A couple of work-in-progress officers for the 190th today. First up, a Chaplain:

+ Epulone Tiberial Highheart +

+ Roboute Guilliman was famous for encouraging the close study of all the Legiones Astartes; with the intention of encapsulating and refining successful approaches within his own Legion. Several innovative tactical and strategic structures and squad types pioneered by their cousin-Legions were fielded – both broadly and in more limited test-bed structures – by the time of the Calth Atrocity. +

+ The Chaplaincy spearheaded by the Word Bearers was one such office. Lorgar and his closest advisors were zealous in the dissemination of the post across the Legions. Rejected by some, the post was taken up by the Ultramarines on a limited scale. In truth, the office sat poorly within the Ultramarines Legion, where zeal and passion were firmly subsumed beneath a structure of logic and analysis. As a result, some historians suggest that the adoption was a personal sop to Lorgar on Guilliman's part – an extended hand of reconciliation. +

+ Nevertheless, while not widespread in the XIIIth Legion, the Chaplaincy was no useless appendix. The post was stripped of duties distasteful to the ruthlessly sceptical and fact-focussed Ultramarines; and grew the morale-shoring role of inspiration through demonstration. Selected as exemplars of duty and honour, Chaplains operated across the Chapter command structure, such that any Legionary, from Aspirant to Tetrarch, could seek their advice and wisdom. They thus formed an underpinning web across the Chapter that bound the warriors together as brothers. +

WIP Chaplain

+ Tiberial Highheart holds the honorific of Epulone, a role whose duties extended to organising feasts, festivals and events of martial and physical competition within the Ultramarines, providing the Legionaries with a close focus for their peacetime role. +

+ The role of Chaplains fell under suspicion after the events of Calth, with many being withdrawn from front-line roles, but this was never a general rescindment. +

+++

+ Lieutenant Pullo, 190th Signals corps +

+ This model is built from a variety of unusual parts including a Space Hulk powerfist (from Brother Omnio), the helm from the FW Master of Signal and – probably my favourite bit – the rod of command from an Alpha Legion special character. +

+ Both figures are WIP. While the metallics are largely complete, the blue armour is midway through the process. I start from a midtone blue (Mordian blue) which gives me tonal range to both shade down and highlight up. At this point, you're seeing them with just the shading added (a variety of blue and purple washes applied topically, plus a glaze of Liche purple paint). The next stage is to add the highlights, and that's when they start to 'pop'. +

+ inload: 15th/190th disposition +

+ Mark -1.57 sidereal +

Sergeant Santiagon

The column's footfalls crunched as they marched through the snow. Lieutenant Holion's breath misted in the air. 

'Forces at our disposal, sergeant?'  

'I've taken the liberty of preparing a dataslate, sir.' Sergeant Santiagon frowned as he handed it over. 'It's far from complete, but all told we've got the best part of a demi-company here, plus auxiliaries.' The column continued marching over the deep snow, warily scanning the ridgeline to the east and bare trees to the west. 'Not all in fighting order, I'm sorry to report.'

Holion nodded, absorbed in the slate. 
'Until we get a solid practical on what's happening here, we've got to make to the Muster. This doesn't feel like orks...'

+++

+ It's easy (and quick) to compose a snap of an individual model, but I find getting shots of a whole army is always a pain – so I'll be working up to it. I thought I'd collect together a list of what's what in the army. Not exactly an army list as, owing to the changes to the rules and restrictions, there are a number of odd models that don't quite fit. +

+ This project is going to (hopefully) resolve this, and step one is to work out what's what:

Warriors of the line

• The Apaesians (Sergeant Epipatros) – Rhino carrier Spear of Iax [Seeker squad]
• The Ciconians (Sergeant Mox) – Rhino carrier Quadriga [Seeker squad]
• The Locrians (Sergeant Santiagon) – Rhino carrier Odius [Seeker squad]
• The Carnassans (Sergeant Ordustin) [Tactial support squad?]
• The Corinthians (Sergeant [REDACTED]) [Heavy Support squad]
• 190th Squad Secundus (Sergeant [REDACTED]) – Tactical squad
• 190th Squad Quintus (Sergeant [REDACTED]) – Tactical squad
• 190th Squad Duodecimus (Sergeant [REDACTED]) – Assault squad
• 190th Squad Viginti (Sergeant [REDACTED]) – Breacher squad – Land Raider Proteus carrier Legacy of Armatura
• Shield of Sinon, Predator

Command and Specialists

• Captain Orpheus Orkbane
• Lieutenant Holion
• Ancient [REDACTED], Chapter Standard Bearer (15th)
• Lieutenant Pullo, Master of Signal
• Brother Yppocampon, Apothecary
• Brother [Redacted], Apothecary
• Brother Arius, Techmarine
• Brother-dreadnought Avulus
• Brother-dreadnought Strix
• Brother-dreadnought Cestus*
• Brother-dreadnought Telcion*
• Brother-dreadnought Icelus – Deredeo pattern
• Brother-dreadnought {REDACTED] – Leviathan pattern

* Previously a marine of the 15th; killed in background.

+ Expect a few edits to this over the course of the project, as I dig out models or change my mind and pull bits apart! +

+++

+ Let's face it, all this is useful for me, but a bit boring, so I thought I'd do a gallery of a few old faces:

Brother Eumon, Locrian

Brother 'Young' Holion, Locrian 

Cassie, Mother to worlds

Brother Atlion, Corinthian

Brother [REDACTED], Squad Secundus

Squad leader [REDACTED], Squad Secundus

Brother [REDACTED], Squad Quintus

+ You'll spot a number of [REDACTED] notes here. Normally, that's the in-universe way I list things if I haven't decided on a name, but here it's that I'm fairly sure I've named him/it, but have no idea what the name is... I would check Warseer, but sadly it's still down. If you can help fill in a blank, please let me know! +

+ inload: Lieutenant Holion +

'The Word Bearers thought they killed me on Calth, just like the greenskins thought they killed me on Hypon, and the Nekuli thought they killed me in the cold, cold void above Sirius.'

'It is a curious pleasure to prove your enemy wrong.'
+ attr. Lieutenant Holion, 190th Company Ultramarines +

+ A resurrection of arms +

+ I've got a couple of armies that I can play with, should I fancy it, so I'm at the happy period where I can attend to a project when I feel like it. Previously, when I was building a single army with the specific purposes of playing games, it always felt a little like hard work. As a result, various projects have lain fallow for some fairly long periods. +

+ I've been building my Ultramarines army since 2008 (yikes), and like any project, enthusiasm for them has risen and fallen over the years. This has the happy result that they contain some of my favourite pieces, which document how my painting, conversion and sculpting work has developed. The past couple of years have been exciting for me, with lots of (happy and welcome) changes in circumstances. In a small way, then, the Praetors of Calth (my Ultramarines) have become a bit special to me; I think I'm unlikely to sell them on as I often do with my other armies. +

+ Anyway, enough self-indulgence! Onto the meat of the inload: a new Centurion to lead my troops. I've never been a big fan of HQs and leaders in my armies; I've always liked to look more at the stories of the individual soldiers, as that helps me get into the mindset and attitude of the project. The army has gone through various quick HQs that have been pretty much bashed together for a particular campaign weekend, and often they haven't had much relevance to the army's background – conversions of characters written especially for the campaign and the like, instead of full members of the 15th or the 190th. +

+ Holion is a character from my original blog, which was themed around Hypon, a campaign set during the middle period of the Great Crusade. I always liked the conversion, which had him protecting a small girl called Cassie. The idea was to symbolise the Ultramarines as protectors, and it seemed to catch people's imaginations. +

+ I had the intention at the back of my mind that I'd like to follow Holion and Cassie's story through the Heresy since I first built them – hence describing him as 'Young Holion' (though this was also a nod to Ancient Greek epithets from The Iliad and Odyssey which informed the Praetors of Calth), but it's taken until now to actually get to it! +

+ The painting was intended to marry the Praetors of Calth (my old 15th Chapter) with the newer models of the 190th Company. As a result, the armour is painted with the new approaches for blue and gold I've developed for the 190th (rather than the old Necron Abyss and yellow based scheme I used for the 15th, seen in Young Holion above). However, the new model incorporates his personal heraldry – a feature I added to all my Ultramarines). +

+ I wanted to include some references to his previous models on the new one; such as the small tilt shield on his pauldron. Young Holion hailed from Talassar, and his personal heraldry reflected this. Now I'm a bit more confident painting, I've replicated his original heraldry on the tile shield, rather than the main pauldron – a fun challenge! +

+ Holion has now worked his way up from the ranks to become a line officer. I've chosen to arm him with the equipment of an Invicatius Suzerain – an honour guard reserved for paragons of the Ultramarines' way of war – and so he bears a Legatine axe and Boarding Shield. The new model will be a low-level HQ; a Centurion in-game. He's not quite at the apex of his powers (and perhaps he might not survive Calth or the Underworld War), so I wanted to save something back in case I move him on again in future. +

+ The shield is painted with a marble effect, and the cloak with a dull grey so as not to overwhelm the focal point – the head. The feathery faceplate is awesome, but potentially visually confusing. I was careful to avoid gold (which would have blended in with the should trim) and create strong contrasts here to balance the scheme. +

+ As a marker point in the army's history, I thought it was important to continue experimenting, and so the helm is also slightly experimental – I used gold leaf (left over from another craft project) to create his helmet stripe. +

+ This gold helmet stripe, along with the shoulder design here, was drawn from the notes Forge Wrold have written for the Ultramarine's heraldry in the Age of Darkness book VI. When I first started the army, I was making up the heraldry and markings on my own (great fun), and while I'd like to continue that to an extent, it's nice to marry the markings into more 'standard' ones, as that's part of the appeal of the Ultramarines. +

+ I hope the figure's an exemplar of both parts of my army, the older 15th Chapter and Newer 190th Company, and that he can lead them both to war! Don't worry, Cassie hasn't been forgotten, either – she's as important to the theme and army as Holion, so keep an eye out for what she decided to do with her life after Hypon... +

+ Love to hear what you think, and what you'd like to see me add to the army in the future. +