+ inload: Painting the Blood Angels medic+

 + Medic! +

Upon the seed of the Blood Angels there lies the ancient curse of mutation, a foulness which cannot be seen, which is covered over by the grace, intelligence, and high achievements which are the proud boasts of this most noble of Chapters. Yet the fire that burns behind the eyes of these sons of Sanguinius is bright with a thirst that only the blood of man can slake. Aye, it would be wise to but whisper the name that comes from times heavy with age and fear, a name which echoes in the march of the Blood Angels...

+++

+ Apothecary Euthan Sansavino (Varchiel 2:06) +

+ The inspiration and build process for this model are covered in this inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]; so as with Techmarine Mirandola, I'll concentrate here on the painting decisions. +

+ I went back and forth on the overall scheme, toying with a vertical red/white split; but ended up plumping for the scheme on the original medic from WD139 – white armour with red shoulder pads. This was mainly because – unlike the techmarine – the base model was very different from the inspiration. The robe, back banner instead of big hand-borne banner, the pose... all broke away from the old model. The paint scheme was therefore important to use to create some consistency. +

+ I tackled most of the equipment in a similar way to avoid the model becoming busy. A nice neutral layer of Charadon Granite was used for the hand flamer, the wrist-mounted narthecium, holster and pouches. The metallics were similarly tackled in a cohesive way, with wet-in-wet washes of Leviathan Purple and Seraphim Sepia over Ironbreaker. +

+ A little bit of freehand detailing on the holster, chainsword and text on the shoulder pad scroll add some interest, as does the blood spatter. The latter was achieved with a mix of brown and red. +

+ The robe didn't come out quite how I wanted – I was aiming for a softer, worn leather effect. I may need to go back with some further glazes of sepia ink. I don't think the result here is bad; but it's a bit busy – almost reminiscent of camouflage, which wasn't the intention. +

+ I am, however, pleased with the reduction of the big banner. Having freehanded all the other material in the army, I thought it'd be a cop-out to do something different for the banner. The key elements are faithfully reproduced, and I've turned the row of nine blood drops into three groups of three – a decision that serendipitously proved to echo the tweak I'd made to the Third company symbol across the army. Sometimes happy accidents turn up! +

+ I changed the banner top blood drop into a blue jewel; symbolising Sanguinius' tears of sorrow. This was mainly to add a contrasting accent and cause the viewer's eye to flick back and forth between here and the marine's eye-lenses, taking in the banner a bit more. + 

+ The white armour came out nicely, I thought. I used a Payne's grey ink wash to build up the shading; in much the same way as I use the purple paint and sepia ink to shade the red [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. +

+ Those who have kept their opticalinput augmitters at full will spot that there's a large blood drop honorific on his shin; something absent in the composite image above. I added this at the last minute at the suggestion of a reader. While I like it in and of itself, I am rather kicking myself that I overlaid the blood spatter, which I was pleased with. The two rather fight here, I think. +

+ One final shot of the apothecary/sanguinary priest/medic... and that leaves just three model to complete: the Chaplain, Librarian and Land Speeder. +

+ inload: Blood Angels Chaplain +

+ Blood Angels Chaplain +

Though workers of iniquity may consume my eyes and waste my flesh,

Though sinful agency weary my body and spoil my works,

I remain faithful to the ideals of my Lord,

Still I shall rely on my Lord to direct and guide me,

And though I die, I shall die knowing neither defeat, despair nor dereliction of duty

Great Angels! In his name! Sanguinius!

The Dirige Conspectu of the Blood Angels; known as the Lament of the Lost.

+ Well, here's the last one: every figure in the Blood Angels army is built, so it's just down to painting now. +
 

+ Inspiration +

+ David Gallagher's artwork of Blood Angels fighting genestealers inspired my Captain Tycho [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and it includes this interesting character, too – a silver-armoured Chaplain. In terms of miniatures and paint schemes, Chaplains have always been black, so he's a very distinctive figure that stands out beautifully against both the red of the line troops and the black of the Death Company. +

+ Part of the joy of exploring the Nova Terra Interregnum is that it's largely uncharted. Who's to say that – for whatever reason – Blood Angels Chaplains weren't routinely silver at this time? It's a perfect excuse to try something new out, and so I built the following miniature. +

+ The cape is from the Dark Angels Master Lazarus figure. Regular inloaders will remember that I used the front on the Apothecary [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]; I never like cool pieces to go to waste. It's attached to an easy-build marine, which demonstrates it's not about throwing money at a problem, but about finding the right pieces. +

+ The rest of the build is relatively straightforward. A period backpack fits nicely in the project. +

+ The weapons were picked to evoke the artwork – the boltgun is an Umbra pattern one (the modern take on the 2nd ed. boltgun). The only modification I've made here was to slightly shorten the barrel to better match the artwork. The crozius is a thunder hammer haft from the Mark III marine set, with a banner top from the Command squad on top. I've added a tiny ruby blood drop below the skull. The scale's slightly off the artwork, but the principle elements are thus still there. +

+ The head's the obvious big difference. I started with a head from the Sanguinary Guard kit and trimmed down the top of the head and 'brow' of the helmet, before sculpting the skull on top. The eye lenses and grille of the original helm was left in place to give fine detail. The latter part works as a hint of teeth; and – I hope – helps it to read as a sculpted helmet rather than a literal skull. +

+ I added a couple of purity seals and details to the belt. This area's not visible in the artwork so, as with the cape, I decided to improvise and riff off what was there. I think the cape's a good addition – he would have looked too plain without it. +

+ Theoretical +

+ Painting next, then. Left to complete from the basic army are:

• Techmarine
• Apothecary
• Chaplain
• Land Speeder.

+ I'm a bit undecided on whether to try non-metallic metal silver or metallic paints for the Chaplain. What are your thoughts? +

+ inload: Blood Angels apothecary +

+ Apothecary of the Third Host +

+ Following on from the reimagined techmarine [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], here's the army's medic – a Blood Angel apothecary. +

+ Whereas the techmarine was an attempt to copy the pose of a classic as closely as possible, here I've adhered less closely to the original model – though I have aimed to make it clearly reminiscent of the original through details. +

The original

+ There were two core reasons to my decision here. Firstly, that banner. It is lovely; but it always struck me as odd that the medic held it. Secondly as with the techmarine, I wasn't too fond of the original sculpt. In fact, besides the detail on the pads, none of the classic medics really had much that made them scream 'medical officer'. With a different scheme, they could easily be just another soldier in the line. Such aesthetics are great for the real world – after all, you probably don't want officers and specialists standing out – but I like the greebling that 40k adds to figures. +

+ My interpretation saw me keep the chainsword armament, mark VI armour and slightly left-weighted posture. The banner was reduced to a back banner, and I gave him some robes of office along with some apothecary equipment. He's intended to be a halfway house between the current sculpts and the classic one; so he shares details with both. While he has a forearm mounted reductor and belt accessories, his backpack is a standard one, for example. Similarly, his helm has no additional optics like the modern sculpts. I did toy with that, but decided that it overlapped too much with the techmarine. +

+ The pose is relaxed but alert. In losing the banner, I had the option of giving him a hand weapon. I opted not to do this, as I felt it made him look too much like a front-lines fighter. An open hand felt more appropriate, and nods to the original. +

+ Another nod to the original sculpt is the hand flamer. Clipped off to allow the medic to hold the giant banner, I thought it would be a fun detail to return his weapon to him after thirty years! +

+ Dark Angel Master Lazarus was the donor kit for the front of the body. Since I didn't want to include a full cape, it necessitated sculpting the back half of the torso and his arse. The detail is mostly hidden – which is forgiving. My sculpting's not the best, so it's nice to practise on areas like this which are not hugely visible in the finished model. The cape that he originally wore swooped over the leg you can see here, necessitating a bit of repair work on the pistol grip and holster, which is not sculpted in the original. Similarly, I filled in the semi-circles on the corners of the greaves left by the removal of the ankle details. I don't always do this, as I quite like the clean mark it creates, but here it felt right to clean up a bit more than usual. +

+ This detail shows the banner top that I originally had on him. The characters and sergeants have, thus far, all had unique banner tops. A comment from cowboyjesus on Instagram suggested that I match the banner top of the original – and who am I to reject advice from the (rootin' tootin' gunslingin') Son of Man? +

+ I think the suggestion improves the result, tying it closer to the original, so thanks for the idea. The banner top here is still unique – the wings are carved from another banner top and attached to the blood drop from the haloed original. +

+ Theoretical +

+ In losing the big banner, the figure becomes less of a focal point for the army, so one of my first additions will be a dedicated Ancient. These specialist banner bearers didn't exist in the Rogue Trader period in any 'crunch' terms, but since they exist now it seems a fitting addition. Here, the anonymity of the original sculpts should prove a benefit – perhaps I'll create a banner bearer that matches the pose of the original. In this way Tim Prow's model from the GW studio army will prove the seed of two new figures. +

+ inload: Gnostic and Gatebreaker infantry +

+ Endworlds: Landfall +

+COMPILERCOMPILERCOMPILERCOMPILERCOMPILERCOMPILER+

+Chronostamp:ABSENTIA+

+SPOOLING transmission.+

+–re you picking this up? Respond. All channels occup–+

+–that infernal noise? Sounds like... like clockw–+

+++

According to the Gnostic's masterpiece auspex-organ, nothing was coming back from the gate. Quite literally. Not even static. The background radiation was utterly absent; a literal zero. Doubtless this accounted for the chill.

Kills shivered. In her heated, sealed, stuffy atmosphere suit, it was quite unnecessary. However, like coughing to break a silence, it felt somehow humanising; as though introducing some measure of useless movement, of entropy, would break the hex of this perfect, disquieting order. 

Though his vox-clicks were muffled by the dead air, the Gnostic was busy. At his words, the Strikeforce coiled back in, ghosting back towards Kills and her team.

The monolithic structures were straight, and clean. Again, disquietingly so. These were not straight in an ordinary, everyday architectural way, but suffused with an unsettling purity of geometry; as though the walls and corners themselves were manifested mathematics; avataric emblems of some unaccountably Other reality.

Absently, she brushed her hand against the Inquisitorial seal, concealed beneath her cloak. It felt like wax, and vellum, and familiarity. For a symbol powerful enough to end worlds, she thought, with a grin, you feel positively wholesome.


+++

+ Painting +

+ Besides the Chapter markings, gunsights and tufts on the bases, the next batch of Gatebreakers are complete (hurrah). +




+ Two are on assignation to Inquisitrix Barbari Kills, one's the Strikeforce's Gnostic (a sort of non-psychic Librarian/Lieutenant hybrid, in charge of battlefield organisation and record-keeping). The remaining four are more Intercessors to bulk out the squads. +




+ I'll hold off background and names until they are genuinely finished (looking at the Gnostic above, a bit of battle damage needs further refining), but I wanted to show 'em off! +







+ Member-Ordinary with boltgun +






+ Member-Ordinary with boltrifle and auxiliary grenade launcher. +






+ Member-Ordinary with bolt rifle +




+ Coriolanus, specialist +






+ Septival, specialist +


We looked at these two a bit more closely in the last inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and they've received only minor updates. Still, it's sometimes surprising what a difference basing can make. +




+ I haven't yet added their Chapter markings (or the black purity seals that will mark them as seconded to the Ordo Propter), but I did add a specialist symbol in place of the usual Tactical/Devastator/Assault/Fire Support/Close Support symbol. I took this crescent moon device from an early edition of Epic. It's a nice clear symbol, with some mystical associations. +

+ inload: Lamb's World recruitment +

+ It's all been a bit quiet while I grind away at the next entry in the Creating your own army series [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], so I thought I'd post up some miscellaneous bits and bobs to feast your occulo-visors on; and look at some more of my Imperial Guard from Lamb's World – because who doesn't love the poor bloody infantry struggling through the grim darkness of the far future? +

+ New Recruits +

+ I've used the models of this latest Lamb's World army to represent different regiments – a new commander and some thematic auxiliaries/additions is enough to give an army a fresh feel for a different time period. This works particularly well for monolithic or unchanging organisations like the Imperial Guard or Necrons; letting you try a different approach with your force without painting a whole new army. +

+ Adapting an army for a different setting – and it doesn't need to be a completely different time period; it may simply be a different region of your campaign – changing the personalities at the top goes a long way to giving a sense of realism and verisimilitude. After all, your colonel/warboss isn't going to deal with everything personally, and can't be everywhere at once: it's good to let trusted underlings take charge. This also adds to a sense of scale; preventing your campaigns turning into the same old characters fighting each other, with all the tension of a saturday-morning cartoon. +

+ Introducing new characters – and allowing them to be captured, injured or even die – can be very immersive and enjoyable. The figures above show some reinforcements for Lamb's World, who will represent the army during the M35 time period. To fit with the Nova Terra Interregnum's 'retrohammer' concept (that is, to evoke the Rogue Trader background using modern miniatures), I've drafted in some classic Mark Copplestone sculpts kindly given to me by Stuntwedge. They're front and centre of the image above, and will be Caef Whittaker (named after the Commander of my very first guard army back in the 90s) and his trusted banner bearer. Note I've used Elysian arms, shoulder guards and weaponry to update them a bit, without compromising what I like about the originals. The other figures are a motley mix of bits and bobs, mostly Victoria Miniatures' awesome Arcadian Guard (and a characterful dog from Anvil Industries), and will swell the ranks of the infantry. +

+ To make sure that the Victoria Miniatures figures blend in with the existing guardsmen of the army – mostly based on Forge World's Elysian – I'm also building some figures that overlap and combine bits from both Forge World and Victoria Miniatures. +

+ Sicarian Infiltrator: Bezoa Forge [Pict-capture: Lucifer216] +

+ Why the renewed interest in Lamb's World? Well, fellow PCRC member Lucifer216 has recently completed a rather gorgeous Adeptus Mechanicus army from his Forgeworld of Bezoa [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] – you can see an example of his beautiful work to the right – and we thought we'd get a big game in. +

+ We're aiming for 150 power level, which is certainly the biggest game I've played for a long while – and possibly the largest I've ever played one-on-one. My aim is to get some shots for a battle report that I can post up here; so watch this space. +

+ My existing army just about reaches that level, but if I can get some extra stuff painted before the game (it's nice to field something new for a big game like this), that'd be the aromatic unguents on the tech-altar . +

+++

+ For every battle honour, a thousand heroes die alone, unsung, and unremembered. +

+ I've been posting up shots of individual Guardsmen – and how they mey their inevitable ends – on the Death_of_a_Rubricist Instagram account recently, so I wanted to make sure the main blog readers didn't miss out. +

+ XI: Morus Llew. Bezoa. KIA confirmed – background rads. +

+ XII and XIII:  Osto Eo and Broker Wyn. Bezoa. KIA unconfirmed – artillery strike. +

+ XIV: Harris Cain. Battle of Blosto Plains. KIA – confirmed.

+ XV: Zor Pirkens. Luther MacIntyre IX. KIA confirmed – local fauna. +

+ XVI: Asc Oakentop. Luther MacIntyre IX. KIA confirmed. +

+++

+ Also in the forges +

+ Some other projects that are bubbling under: +

+ Mordheim XIX +

+ The basic shapes of the warband are in place – some greenstuff work and then onto paint. +

+ Allies and enemies +

+ How's a Space Marine to show off how tough he is without guardsmen to provide contrast? These two are from Victoria Miniatures' [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] Arcadian line – a thoroughly awesome homage to the Cadian miniatures of late 2nd edition: perfect for the Nova Terra Interregnum period of my setting. +

+ A scale shot helps drive home the physical size of the underlying Plague Marine model. +

+ But being big isn't necessarily enough when you're fighting the worst the rim can throw at you. This space-fimir is from Knightmare Miniatures [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], who also made the Saharduin figures in this inload. He (and his species) will get an 'Anatomy' inload of his own sometime. +

+ A very cool figure with a great mix of pulp sci-fi and prehistoric Celtic detailing, I'm going to try out some green-grey glazing on the skin. I've therefore created a much lighter underlayer than I normally would. +

+++

+ inload: Simargi of Moroz-Morok +

+ Simargi of Moroz-Morok +

+ Argh! Where are my arms? +

+ A work-in-progress of Simargi of Moroz-Morok; the leader of my Death Guard during the Tzi'Na Crisis, [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] and one of Kainan's lieutenants (though like all champions of the Fell Powers, doubtless harbouring ambitions of his own!) +

+ Building the model +

+ The base of the figure is one of the new Deathshroud models, with the legs repositioned to improve the sit of the hips. It's also given him a bit more height, which I like. +

+ I wanted to change the silhouette, so I've trimmed away the arms, too. The distinctive cataphractii shoulder pads will be replaced with domed pads, like those shown (from Master-Crafted Miniatures). I'll likely use the original forearms, but replace the upper arms to give a distinctive pose. +

+ The remaining bits and bobs are details – thanks to our resident Khorne-worshipper Lord Blood the Hungry for allowing me to have some Tau skulls from this brazen throne. The barbed wire coronet wrapped around his head is from Hasslefree Miniatures, while the head itself is from the new Intercessors. +

+ I've popped him on a 50mm base decorated with some Anvil Industry rubble and bound together with sand paste from Golden Acrylic. +

+ While not yet tacked on, here are his weapons, Deathknell and Calcatrix:

+ Would love to hear your thoughts on the model so far. +

+++

+ Character +

It was clear, and bright, and fresh. A gleaming sun sat in a sky of astonishing clarity, warming a landscape of softly rolling hills, carpeted with glistening grasses and punctuated with copses of yellow-orange tree-analogues. Then came a sour scent on the breeze. 

His movements were halting as he lowering himself to the ground, bulky plates scraping and groaning against each other. Reaching out with a filthy gauntlet, he grasped a sod of the soil, and tore it from the ground.  

The grass here was almost emerald green, glossy; the earth black and loamy and rich. He lifted it to his face and drew a halting, sclerotic breath, inhaling the clear air of the world. For a moment, his expression flickered; though with anticipation or regret was unclear. 

"Harvest-ripe." His voicebox was clotted, his tongue septic and weeping; but his voice was as gold. It rippled out from the kneeling figure. Though a mere whisper, every one of his men heard it, and began preparations.

A great tocsin-bell began to toll behind him, sonorous and atonal. Then another. More. The warriors assembled, a host of Plague Angels gathered before their Master. 

He had borne many names, all inscribed on the Woe-Bell of Moroz-Morok. Son of Sorrow. Chosen of Daravek. War-king of Calcatrix. He was Simargi of Moroz-Morok; Captain of the Death Guard, and he would have these worlds for Nurgle.

+ The establishment of the Tzi'Na Enclave by the Tau has had the side-effect of creating many nascent cults, as freedom of religion was granted by the Tau to the masses. Believing the region to now be fecund ground for conversion to the Pantheon's paths, Simargi has – like many other Chaos warlords – pledged his arms to the Dark Apostle Kainan, adding to the Curdling Armada. Beyond duty to the Plaguefather, it is his belief that the veil can be pulled aside here to draw Mortarion himself to the region, dooming – or blessing – the worlds to the eternal service of Nurgle. +

+ As an officer of the Ferrymen, the Death Guard's Sixth Company, Simargi commands a Cohort (that is, a force roughly 500 strong) of the Legion, plus a large band of renegade auxiliaries. His forces – as well-disciplined and reliable as any in the Armada – thus represent a substantial proportion of the Astartes currently present in the region. Accordingly, he has placed a substantial number of transport vessels at the broader service of the Armada – though each remains crewed and maintained by the Death Guard. +

+ His appearance in a theatre of war is marked by degradation in the enemy's morale, for chief amongst Simargi's gifts is his softly insidious and beautiful voice – his demands and promises as corrosive to enemy morale as they are invigorating to his loyal warriors. He is also vector of the faith-fever, a dreadful disease that rapidly weakens its victims body with wracking spasms; while simultaneously besetting its victims with harrowing hallucinations that erode even deeply-held beliefs. +

+ Considering himself as much a herald and proselyte as a warrior, Simargi's forces contain large numbers of Blightbringers used to spread the word of Nurgle; and the toscin features on his Cohort's banner, along with his personal heraldry, a cockatrice. +

+ Clad in Terminator armour, Simargi is typically found in the centre of the battleline, directing his forces with the relic plague-blade Calcatrix. He also bears the grand bludgeon, Deathknell, used both as weapon and as a striker for the Woe-Bell of Moroz-Morok, a device borne to the field and sounded twice – once to announce the Host's presence, and once to declare the end of hostilities. +

+++

+ Rules +

+ Based on the Lord of Contagion stats with some weapon swaps (Calcatrix is a Plague Sword with an extra pip of damage, while Death Knell is a Mace of Contagion); and the Lord of Contagion's special rules substituted for rules from the recent Character Creation rules in Chapter Approved 2018. Feel free to give him a go in your Open Play games. +

+++

+ Thought for the day: All lies are told with a straight face. +