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So anyone whose seen my posts lately in the "Today in the Hobby" thread knows thst for the Everchosen painting competition I decided to paint Guilliman, and that I'm going to be tackling this as a project to also nail down NMM (as well as other things, like faces). My goal is from now until my store's Everchosen selection day (TBD as it won't be the 29th due to being closed) to make some kind of progress on painting Guilliman, even if it's something small. And trust me some of the details are pretty small. For June 29th's update here's the gold NMM I did for his shoulder pad:

TL;DR version: I discuss some possible ideas on how the modern Codex Astartes came to be, and explore a bit of Guilliman's reaction to it when he returns. ------------ Okay, to preface this: I'm not a peer of the Imperium, and I'm well aware that I really only vaguely understand strategy and tactics (and how they're different) and I can say "Logistics wins wars" with the best of them (and that's about all I can do in that particular domain), but I wanted to talk a bit about the Codex Astartes. So, Guilliman's magnum opus was expressly written to break up the Space Marine Legions, and I dare say, to encourage the Space Marine Chapters to scatter across the Imperium. Why? To ensure that building up the might of a Legion under one person was extremely hard. Further, the evidence suggests that, occasional incursions aside, the Imperium was largely at peace following the Scouring - presumably Guilliman foresaw that. Rather than cast the Space Marines aside as no longer needed, Guilliman set them up as "Guard Precincts" - the Space Marines could be the first-to-the-fight, should any hotspots erupt. The Space Marines thus have a purpose in helping to hold the Imperium together, and it works for a couple millenia. Which brings us to the War of the Beast. To my mind, this represents an early failure of the Codex Astartes - not through any fault of its own, but because the War was an outside context problem, something that Guilliman couldn't foresee (I mean, an emergent empire of Orks? Come on, Orks can't organize like that). Luckily the Imperium managed to pull themselves together and not fall apart in the War, but I'm sure the various commanders were concerned about how the Codex applies to future events, even though it wasn't really written for that purpose. I'd guess that the Codex-as-written worked extremely well in the Inter-War Periods, but any new conflicts would show potential flaws in always following one way of thinking. So this is probably the period when Space Marine Commanders begin adding to the Codex Astartes; not altering it per se, but trying to keep it up-to-date as best they can. They'd be trying to fling a light to the future by saying "here's how we dealt with such-and-such problem". If we assume that this organic process (or something similar) happened, then we can jump to the Dark Millenium and see what Guilliman's work has become. The Dark Millenium is the culmination of multiple wars, Black Crusades, and so on. As the Space Marines struggled to do their part in keeping the Imperium together, they likely would have multiple versions of the Codex floating around, all expanded into shelves of encyclopedias. No doubt that some versions of the Codex would contradict other versions; it'd be a mess, the kind of mess you get when centuries of ideas accrete around a core. I'd bet that every so often, a particularly ambitious commander would get the bright idea of trying to synthesize a "master Codex" out of the various versions, but all he'd really do is add another version to the pile. One thing to keep in mind, is that the core work is intended for the post-Great Crusade era, and the people adding to it haven't experienced that time period. The Great Crusade would be outside their context, other than as stories and legends. And then, Guilliman comes back. I've no doubt that Space Marines mentioned using his Codex Astartes as a guide/holy tome/big book of war, and Guilliman would have probably been both horrified and fascinated to see what it had become. I would think that he'd spend evenings reading through the various amendments and suggestions, comparing editions, and just taking it all in. I'd also wager that he sees the parallels between the Dark Millenium and the Great Crusade era - he'd be able to fill in the foundation that the Codex Astartes needs, and he could do it in the same manner as the previous commanders: "this is what we did during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy". He would have the knowledge and experience to be able to synthesize a new Codex Astartes. Maybe it wouldn't be one that restored the Legions of old, but it could explain legion strategies and tactics that Space Marine Chapters could adopt. At the very least, Guilliman would be able to give the Codex Astartes another point of context. With that, the Codex would come full-circle(ish) - it'd cover the important parts of logistics, strategy, tactics, ... warfare, really, for the vast majority of the conflicts the Space Marines have fought. It would still be several shelves of encyclopedias, but it would provide useful doctrines, nonetheless. And, with the implicit approval of Guilliman, commanders would still add to it as they saw fit, there would just be a central authority that can double-check the additions. It would be quite the book. Thoughts?

This is something I wanted to bring up but have hesitated because of the heated debates it often gets bogged down in. So I wanted to share this info, and enjoy conversation about the future without so much negativity and I will shut the thread down if it heads into that sort of grey cloud of negativity.... WARNING: The conversation that follows undoubtedly contains minor spoiler information regarding the events surrounding Vigilus, Dark Imperium / Imperium Nihilus, the Cicatrix Maledictum, and the time frame following the Indomitus Crusade specifically. That said I found some very interesting information surrounding conversation about Vigilus, and of course Primaris. The nuggets of info come from the latest Vox Cast Podcast, which is also published on youtube. If you are unaware of the content, you can check it out here: I, personally, am a big fan of Calgar and I wanted to understand the motivations here and only some of this information is actually held within the pages of the Vigilus Campaign book (Part 1.) What motivated Calgar to do it? At first it seems obvious he may be experiencing a bit of inferiority complex. We can draw that from the novels surrounding the events of Dark Imperium. There are scenes where Calgar shows moments of feeling almost a sense of obsolescence. His own interaction with Primaris marines during that conflict show a level of tension and uncertainty. The Primarch's decree: Phil Kelly refers to this in broader terms during the interview stating there is a need here for the Primaris as the Imperium is on the 'precipice', but these new comers are not entirely welcomed. Firstly the original Primaris are thousands of years old. They come from a different era, they speak different, they act different. Culturally they are a different breed. Secondly there's the trust issue. Phil states not all Chapters have been as welcoming of Guilliman's ideas as the Ultramarines have. He uses Dark Angels as an example of this. (shocker, I know!) I am your Cousin but we don't get along: There are some interesting examples of the challenges between the new and the old marines establishing trust in the sequel to Dark Imperium in the pages of Plague Wars. I recall a few scenes where veteran marines call into question the questionable skill level of the Primaris marines. At one point a veteran mentions several Primaris dying in basic fire fights due to lack of experience. The Primaris on hand establish they do not share that shortcoming but the friction is there. At one point Guilliman gives command of an important operation to a Primaris marine. In my view this is to establish that the Primaris are -worthy- of the role, and not superior to the older marines. But do even the Ultramarines see it this way? On the Primaris side of it there is a character in that novel who was a Grey Shield and now sent to the Nova Marines and he is experiencing a disconnect from his new chapter. So the challenges are from both sides of the fence. Bridging the gap: So it's established that Calgar felt sidelined perhaps, even if it was a ridiculous thought.... this is the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines after all, but it shows a human side. Beyond that we see there is obvious divide is the Astartes themselves. And then there's something else that's mentioned in the Phil Kelly interview I thought that was interesting; the need for Calgar to bond with his Primarch is also a motivating factor. As we know the conversion of marine to Primaris marine is life threatening. (* In the interview Phil throws out "60%" as a ball park number for survival rate of the process.) It would be a bonding moment between Calgar, his geneseed father, and the Primaris to go through this process. In the first case, Calgar would die in the process of becoming a Primaris (Vigilus part 1), and that would be a shared experience with Guilliman who also died in the process of being renewed by Eldar trickery and Cawl's techno-magic. In the second case, the resurrection of Calgar as a Primaris would be the marriage of the old and the new, blurring the line, and creating a new breed of warrior. Phil Kelly referred this to the '3rd' Generation of Primaris. Primarily speaking: A few interesting tid bits came out of the conversation. Some of it I found interesting because we've debated it here on the BnC. As we know Cawl was set with the task of creating new war machines and Primaris. The Primaris were continually created in Guilliman's absence to the tune of thousands, and thousands of marines held in stasis on Mars. He never stopped making them.... why? Cawl was acting like any diligent Mechanicus discipline would. He kept building them because no one told him to stop.... no one filled out that correct form and had it processed. Welcome to the age of bureaucracy. Sometimes it works in a back handed sort of way. In the interview they spoke of creating the risk associated with the change. There's a serious chance of death, and Calgar died, but pulled through in the end. They didn't want it to be a simple procedure considering the history of becoming a marine, and the risks associated with attempting the conversion in adulthood. I think the future's going to be very interesting. The Vigilus campaign itself sees the Imperiun trying to plant their back foot. They're on the edge, and Abaddon is pushing hard. It becomes apparent during this interview that Phil saw the creation and use of Primaris as essential for the continued existence of the Imperium. I found the conversation entertaining and I particularly enjoyed the added understanding of why Calgar became the first of the 3rd Gen Primaris.

So Macragge’s Honour was revealed to still exist in Gathering Storm - Rise of the Primarch. The ancient Gloriana-class flagship apparently had been used for the past eight thousand years or so, with only the Primarch’s personal quarters being sealed off until his return. Guilliman uses it as his flagship in Gathering Storm, but the last we saw of it in that book was when the remnants of the Terran Crusade were captured by Kairos Fateweaver and the Red Corsairs. The ship was presumably taken along with the rest of the crusade’s vessels to the Blackstone Fortress that Abaddon had gifted to Huron Blackheart. When Dark Imperium kicks off, however, Guilliman is in possession of Macragge’s Honour again, this time at the head of the Indomitus Crusade. With all that being said, i’m waaaaay on the current timeline: is there a story that details how Guilliman got his flagship back?

...or Roboute Guilliman... who came up with that crazy name and how do you REALLY pronounce it? Hail Brothers and Sisters of Ultramar and the Greater Imperium! After many years of lurking I've come out of the shadows to post my first major topic. Wish me luck. I hope you like it. Here gooooes........ Ever since being sucked into GW's mad and wonderful universe of 40k I've had a special interest in the fluff. And I've had an extra special interest in the origins and symbolism infused in the fluff. Some is more obvious than others. Take that crazy mixed up Konrad Curze (call me Night Haunter) and his troop of happy go lucky Night Lords. It doesn't take much of a Google search to see the inspiration of Joseph Conrad and his works ('Heart of Darkness', 'Nostromo', etc.). Then there's your favorite chapter and mine (at least mine) the Ultramarines. If you read just a bit of the fluff it's easy to see the Greco Roman influence and the idea that Ultramar is the Roman Empire with a smiley face. But what about some of the details. Why Ultramar, who came up with the name Marneus Calgar, and how do you really pronounce Roboute Guilliman and how do you know? Perhaps you asked Matt Ward over a pint at Bugman's. Perhaps Graham McNeill confided in you that Uriel Ventris was really named after his great grand uncle Uriel Ventris McNeill. I'm very interested in any stories you have or any undocumented ideas you may have. I know this seems a rather broad topic, but I suspect there really isn't a lot of information out there. I could be wrong, and if I am...JACK POT! Just a few rules to remember before we get started: Ultramarines lore only This is not a discussion of actual lore origins and ideas behind the lore only Official GW sources are great Your own personal ideas are great too Thoughts?...... The floor is yours.

Good day, lads. I want to ask you about how you deal with Ultramarines with Guilliman armies. I have played several games versus them and suddenly realized that I can't actually win these games against Guilliman + literally anything. I would not lie, my opponent is quite experienced player, still the army he plays is actually nothing special. It's all bout endless rerolls of everything, and I'm not that good at safe rolls (if this can be an issue ). When your opponent hits with 90% of everything and wounds with 80% of them hits, it's pretty difficult to survive, and I have no actual idea on how to counter this thing. It's usually Guilliman + centurions + any kind of heavy support, for example predators or land raider. My army is a mixture of detachments of different chaos legions. Commonly I bring some Spearhead detach. on Alpha (havocs, obliterators) and Batallion with Berzerkers + Chaos Lords in Rhinos (sometimes Chaos Land Raider) on World Eaters. I'm eager to hear your opinions on this topic, please share your thoughts and experience, thank you.

Hey guys, So like everyone else, I love playing with Roboute Guilliman on the table. Anyone have any ideas on tactics for how to best use him best with Deathwatch? Keep in mind I'm just looking to use Guilliman as a Lord of War attachment to a solo Deathwatch army list, so no <chapter> Ultramarine units being added to boost his effects. Thanks guys! For the Watch!

Morning all! I have decided to do some Night Lords to be allies with my Word Bearers. This is still very much a works in progress but thought I would share. I wanted to have a much darker scheme then the standard as I think if you wore darker armour then you would blend into shadows much easier C&C welcome as always Nemac

Hail all, just a quick question, and if it's been asked already I'm sorry. In "Know No Fear" Guilliman mentioned that he has four or five 'favored brothers' who he would want by his side in any impossible mission, or in any apocalyptic showdown, and I wanted to know if anyone has the quote or could remember which Primarchs they were. I know one was Leman Russ, and another was Ferrus Manus. I think another was Rogal Dorn, but thats mostly just an assumption. If anyone can help me with the last few I would greatly appreciate it.

'They say of the Astartes that we are war personified. With only my boltgun and my armour, I can destroy empires. They forget that the true weapon of a Space Marine is hate. Hate for my enemies, hate for the traitor and the xeno. My armour can be broken, and my boltgun can have no ammunition. But my hate can never run dry.' Kaynt Leodor, III Company, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes http://lh3.ggpht.com/-QG9shD8x0Dc/UjXL8XzkP7I/AAAAAAAAAVU/iSVClUsFAfw/s640/20130915_160036.jpg

I have been working on this figure for a while. I wanted a true scale Commander for the true scale marines I have been building. I started making the figure with green stuff and have since switched to 'Pro-create' (Grey stuff?) for everything. The mini is completely made from scratch. I have plans to get it cast, I was in talks with someone to do it but they haven't got back to me. I have had trouble finding a mold maker and caster of resin products online in the UK, does anyone know of such a company in the UK? Perhaps someone could PM me? I don't know the first thing about making resin casts. There are gaps at the waist and neck, this is where it comes apart, he's 'blu-tacked' together for the pics. I didn't have a regular marine around for a scale pic but I took a pic next to my true scale terminator captain conversion to give some idea of his size. Next I am working on some more true scale pieces that I'll put pics up of as they're finished. Hope you like him, all c&c and questions welcome.

I'm wondering how many people read this... I've always been an ultra fan but very rarely enjoyed the fiction surrounding them.... Until Abnett fleshed out Calth etc... I know some people dislike Abnett here, but whatever... we all have different tastes. This is more about Guilliman because I'm wondering who's picking up that torch now that Abnett has more or less stopped writing about him. For a while I had hopes of other authors stepping in and then this book was announced. Honestly I didn't read it for a long for fear of hating it. Now I've almost completed this and I'm extremely mixed. I have personally met David Anandale and wanted to love it. Before I say anything to colour anyone's perception of it (especially someone who hasn't read it), I want to hear what you guys thought of it.