Horus Heresy Blood Angels - Questions and Thoughts

[evildrcheese]

Hi all,

 

I'm itching to start a 30k Blood Angels army but obviously the Legion hasn't been covered in the FW HH books yet, so there's no lovely plates for me to get inspiration and confirmation of the 'correct' heraldry and 'look' of the legion. Obviously there is an argument for variation of styles within the legion, between the different chapters...but I just don't want to deviate too much from the accepted look and end up with an army that isn't 30k themed once the BA HH book arrives, if you see my meaning.

 

So my questions are:

Helmet colours, did BA differentiate between units types with helmet colours within the legion. Red for Tacs, yellow for jump pack assault squads, blue for Heavy Weapon Specialists, gold for vets.

My first incline was that they didn't but when flicking through the collected visions (p174) there's a BA veteran with what appears to be a gold helm, so was it just the vets and everyone else had red or were the other colours used to denote role?

 

I know the collected visions has some errors in, but is it generally accepted that HH era BA colours revolved mainly around red, black and gold. I want to add some green in there too for lens on helmets and tanks, cloaks and other fabric too. Would this be acceptable?

 

I'm thinking I might try and build an army with lots of tanks whilst I wait for the infantry upgrade kits to be released, does anyone know if BA had their Lucifer Pattern engines in 30k? This is more a fluff question, rather than looking for justification trying to use the fast rules.

 

Also on the subject of vehicles, were only the Deimos pattern chassis in use or were the 'current' rhino chassis also in use?

 

Finally on the subject of armour, would marines in 30k always use a consist armour set rather than having for example a mk4 helmet, mk2 torso and mk3 legs for example? What about squad composition, would a squad all share the same mk of armour or would there be a mix of sets in a unit.

 

Thanks in advance, I'm sure I'll think of more questions as I go.

 

D

[Atia]

first, have you read fear to tread? or the other blood angels HH short storys (mostly about amit/azkaellon)? there's plenty of information in there =)

secondly, here is the official FW paint scheme for a tactical Marine:

as far as the helmet colours go ... i would use blue for devastators, gold for vets and yellow for assault squads ... after all, as far as i know, the blood angels kept these colours from their legion scheme (that's why the colours are against the codex markings)

Finally on the subject of armour, would marines in 30k always use a consist armour set rather than having for example a mk4 helmet, mk2 torso and mk3 legs for example? What about squad composition, would a squad all share the same mk of armour or would there be a mix of sets in a unit.

for armour marks ... tbh, do whatever you like^^ you can go full mkII/III/IV for GC era, mixed armour for middle HH era and/or mixed armour with MKVI and VII for the siege of terra ;P

Also on the subject of vehicles, were only the Deimos pattern chassis in use or were the 'current' rhino chassis also in use?

all legions used both deimos and mars pattern (the normal GW ones) vehicles as far as we know^^ also, the Baal Predator was around during the GC era, i guess the blood angels used mostly that chassis for their tanks^^ so yep, lucifer engines were available^^

[Jolemai]

Lucifer Engines were available (under a different name), but only to Baal Predators. Apparently, it took almost 10,000 years for them to be retrofitted to our other vehicles during the second war for Armageddon.

 

Terminators will not have black power fists as this is a mark of respect for a bad Space Hulk campaign a lot closer to the current 40k era.

 

The above picture is remarkably similar to how to second edition Blood Angels were painted. So you can expect their Sergeants to have black shoulder pads as opposed to just the trims.

 

Armour-wise, feel free to mix and match. From what I can tell, we weren't stretched as thin as some Legions so there's no need for an overabundance of studded armour. I doubt we had a plethora of Mk VI though as it wasn't really our thing back then?

 

Also, avoid things like rad weapons and chem munitions. Something tells me they aren't a popular choice...

[Brother Heinrich]

I pretty much followed the scheme that Atia posted:

 

http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q532/mv8830/Blood%20Angels%20Project/5018CC84-AF47-41BB-A5B9-AD7722F2DA54_zpss4mkvtq4.jpg

[Leif Bearclaw]

Armour-wise, feel free to mix and match. From what I can tell, we weren't stretched as thin as some Legions so there's no need for an overabundance of studded armour. I doubt we had a plethora of Mk VI though as it wasn't really our thing back then?

That would depend what era your force was. GC and early Heresy? Yes, you'd be unlikely to see MkVI, the only known suits at the time were used by the RG and AL (plus any traitors that looted the bodeis at Istvaan V). But by the Siege of Terra it's a different story, with so much MkVI being used by the Legions defending the Palace that is still considered iconic in m41. It's 'THE' armour mark associated with the Siege for the loyalists, so it seems pretty likely the IX used it quite a bit.

[Brother Heinrich]

The thing is that you're gonna have to accept a certain amount of risk when doing a legion that hasn't been covered yet. I started World Eaters before Betrayal dropped thinking they would retain their old legion symbol, however when they came out they got a completely re-tooled Legion Icon and shoulder pads to go with it. Suffice to say I was bummed out enough to drop the project.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to put you off doing Blood Angels, just understand that unless you have a seat at Alan Bligh's table, the final product will likely differ (to varying degrees) from your force.  

[Beerhammer]

I pretty much followed the scheme that Atia posted:

 

http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q532/mv8830/Blood%20Angels%20Project/5018CC84-AF47-41BB-A5B9-AD7722F2DA54_zpss4mkvtq4.jpg

Beautifully done, love the poses and color scheme!!

[evildrcheese]

Thanks for the replies all. I think I'll just paint up the 2 min troops and then focus on vehicles until the book lands. It's gonna be a long ol' wait.

 

Brother Heinrich, your BA are brilliant, an inspiration to us all.

 

D

[The4thHorseman]

I pretty much followed the scheme that Atia posted:

 

http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q532/mv8830/Blood%20Angels%20Project/5018CC84-AF47-41BB-A5B9-AD7722F2DA54_zpss4mkvtq4.jpg

 

Dat Red!

 

I love it.

[Theredknight]

I believe they at minimum had overcharged engines, a certain someone ordered a certain tech marine to overcharge the rhino engines in vengeful spirit.

I have a 40k ba army, and will get done heresy ones to buff out a 30k one.

Looking forward to sanguinius

[Brother Heinrich]

Yeah I have to say I find it hard to believe that only Baal Predators had overcharged engines during the Heresy. Remember, technology regressed as time went on, not the other way around.

[DuskRaider]

I'd do the troops in Heresy era armor, use some brass icons or decals on the pads, and call it a day. If anything changes scheme or icon wise (which I doubt it will), you can always mix them in with future models. Honestly though, are you really going to do all of your Troops with Legion specific kits? That gets expensive really quick. I saved mine for Veterans, Characters, and Sergeants.

[evildrcheese]

I'd do the troops in Heresy era armor, use some brass icons or decals on the pads, and call it a day. If anything changes scheme or icon wise (which I doubt it will), you can always mix them in with future models. Honestly though, are you really going to do all of your Troops with Legion specific kits? That gets expensive really quick. I saved mine for Veterans, Characters, and Sergeants.

What kits would you recommend for the regular dudes? Does the new(ish) GW BA kit have any decent earlier armour marks within to add to the mix?

 

D

[Noserenda]

FW are hoping to get HEad/Shoulder/Torso upgrades done asap for all legions so hopefully BA are soonish for you :)

[DuskRaider]

I'd just use the Legion Kits... Mk. II - IV, maybe some V and VI. You could use the 40K pads and decals, also bare heads. You have a leg up on other Legions because your army has been popular in 40K.

[Olis]

What kits would you recommend for the regular dudes? Does the new(ish) GW BA kit have any decent earlier armour marks within to add to the mix?

 

Regular dudes. Hm. If you have the disposable income, buying some FW kits would be a good idea. If your money isn't an open resource, like many many people, then I suggest looking for second hand kits/squads. And as far as I know, there's enough bits in the BA kit to make one or two mk4 marines (judging by the legs and heads I've seen). Besides that and some mk6 bits, I would say that no, there isn't a decent amount of earlier marques in that kit (especially if, when you say 'early', you mean mk3 and older). 

[noigrim]

For my BA termies I'm just copying the livery from the collected visions. Since there aren' t any squad/sergeant markings visible I paint those as per the new codex.

[evildrcheese]

I'd be really pleased if the BA upgrade kits arrived soon. I think I'll concentrate on vehicles for the moment, a pred squadron, some dreads, LR variants, Vindis, perhaps even some jet bikes. Then 2 squads of troops in rhinos, HQs I might go for the Tech Marine equivalents, hanging back to repair vehicles...or on bikes.

 

D

[depthcharge12]

Run a full jetbike squad with a Primus Medicae in it and 2 full assault squads, add whatever you'd like after that because those 3 units are just awesome for Blood Angels.

 

Also, BA champions can actually do quite well! Give him the Photon Blade, and it gets master crafted. Proceed to stomp all other non 3++ EW models :D

[evildrcheese]

Run a full jetbike squad with a Primus Medicae in it and 2 full assault squads, add whatever you'd like after that because those 3 units are just awesome for Blood Angels.

 

Also, BA champions can actually do quite well! Give him the Photon Blade, and it gets master crafted. Proceed to stomp all other non 3++ EW models :D

When you say full assault squads, do you mean 20 man (also out of interest, what colour did you do the helmets?)?

 

What Special weapons would you recommend for the jet bikes?

 

D

[Olis]

If it was me, the helmets would probably be red. Although that would be subject to revision when FW get around to the Ninth in their HH series eventually.

[depthcharge12]

 

Run a full jetbike squad with a Primus Medicae in it and 2 full assault squads, add whatever you'd like after that because those 3 units are just awesome for Blood Angels.

Also, BA champions can actually do quite well! Give him the Photon Blade, and it gets master crafted. Proceed to stomp all other non 3++ EW models :D

When you say full assault squads, do you mean 20 man (also out of interest, what colour did you do the helmets?)?

What Special weapons would you recommend for the jet bikes?

D

I'd stick largely to keeping all of the legion units in red helmets, I believe the helmet coloring was post codex right? I mean the yellow looks great on them when done well though

 

And of course 20 man squads :D they might be points heavy, but if you have furious charge on them and hit and run if you take the Angel's wrath rite of war, you can do wonders.

 

I'd recommend as many power weapons as possible too.

[evildrcheese]

 

 

Run a full jetbike squad with a Primus Medicae in it and 2 full assault squads, add whatever you'd like after that because those 3 units are just awesome for Blood Angels.

Also, BA champions can actually do quite well! Give him the Photon Blade, and it gets master crafted. Proceed to stomp all other non 3++ EW models :D

When you say full assault squads, do you mean 20 man (also out of interest, what colour did you do the helmets?)?

What Special weapons would you recommend for the jet bikes?

D

I'd stick largely to keeping all of the legion units in red helmets, I believe the helmet coloring was post codex right? I mean the yellow looks great on them when done well though

 

And of course 20 man squads :D they might be points heavy, but if you have furious charge on them and hit and run if you take the Angel's wrath rite of war, you can do wonders.

 

I'd recommend as many power weapons as possible too.

Holy cow that does sound pointy, but FC and HnR does sound brutal. I guess if I did red helms I could magnetise the jump packs and have the option of running them and bp/ccw tacs...hmmm.

 

I honestly don't know whether the helmets colouring was pre or post codex...perhaps I'll play it safe and go red.

 

D

[Brother Heinrich]

Personally I choose to ignore the helmet coloring. I hate it and think it makes Blood Angel armies look like a bag of skittles. Red, Black, Gold, Iron. Only colors you need in my opinion.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Yeah, I never cared for the odd helmet coloring either and ignored it when I painted mine way back when. I don't care if it was canon or not for 40k, I wasn't going to do it that way with my own figures.