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The (re) Building of a Black Legion Warband This Thread ~ In the future, this thread might get folded into my blog here at B&C. I want to document these projects, but at the moment the blog is concentrating more on the actual tools and techniques I use in building my army. This thread will show some W.I.P. of the things I build, using the methods shown in my blog. I won't show as much technique here, just results. I want the army itself to be a balance between some fluff and being effective on the table. (As effective as the current Chaos Codex can be) To that end, I won't be 'min/maxing' all of the squads, and a few points will be 'wasted' on some things. Once the Black Legion core has enough raw bulk, I'll be adding forces devoted to each of the Dark Gods. Each of the five blocks will have one or more center-piece model/s that I want to make really over-the-top. Some of those projects are already in progress, but those are future entries. Edit: I wanted to mention something here at the beginning, since I know it can be hard to find information in a long thread and this has come up a few times. Taken from later in this thread: All my ideas, plans, and musings are put out there to teach and inspire. Anyone, please feel free to take what you see and run with it. Once I get some more articles done I will even share some of my work and designs, and might even consider commissions someday. Word of mouth is a good thing, and if you want to show appreciation, just give your inspiration a little credit. That's all I'll ask. Any designs shown in this thread are CAD software files that have been exported to JPG files, and re-sized, so I doubt they will print to the right scale without a lot of trial-and-error. You are still welcome to try, but I will consider how I would like to share accurate files and designed in the future. My Inspiration & Theme ~ In honour of the 1st-of-the-9th Air Cavalry from 'Apocalypse Now' (Charlie... don't... surf!) the working title for my force is; Long: 1st-of-the-9th Black Crusade, Heavy Armoured Cavalry - The Black Hand of Horus - War Guard of Tithonus the Unending Short: 1st-of-the-9th, Heavy Armoured Cavalry To emulate the terror tactics from Apocalypse Now, most vehicles will have a place to mount a Dirge Caster. (Ride of the Valkyries, anyone?) Most vehicles will also have the ability to mount a Havoc Launcher plus a third mount point in many cases for even more options. I use Rare Earth magnets, so Casters will be more for show, and swapped out on the table. As another tip of the hat to Apocalypse Now, at some point I want to build some Air Cavalry. But, the grunts get the work done, so they come first. Known for employing 'Scorched Earth' tactics, the 1st-of-the-9th will be based with an Ashen Waste scheme punctuated with jagged rocks - very simple but effective. In an effort to keep the army looking 'cold' and ruthless looking, I am avoiding 'warm' colours in general, and trying to stick to lots of blues, purples, greens, and greys for accents. This will even go so far as to change the Eye of Horus icons from yellow to blue. I'm still deciding if helmets will have 'classic evil' red eyes, or follow the theme with blue or green. I prefer red for Chaos eyes, but it breaks my own theme. However, being some of the only red in the army would make them stand out. Hummm... decisions decisions. I'm going to lean heavily on a few things I feel are accurate within the current Warhammer 40,000 fiction, but I'm not too worried about being overly strict. First, the 13th Black Crusade is currently at its height. The Cadian Gate has not been broken, but the forces of Chaos have struck hard are dug in deeper than ever before. The balance can still tip in either direction and both sides are not pulling punches, committing everything to the effort. Second, the forces of Chaos do have Forge Worlds. Time travels in strange ways in the warp, and I can only imagine the effort those Forge Worlds would have put forth for the 13th Crusade. That combined with many decades of raids and preparation, has the Legion as well equipped as they can be. Spoils of war have been turned on their loyalist foes, and many dark engines of war have yet to reach the battlefield. I hope to build a few of those Chaos War Machines. Since I can get a little... distracted... with all of my different projects and ideas, I need to make things a bit more focused. I'm going to break my current army into blocks and concentrate on finishing each block. That's how this thread will be structured. I'll introduce a block, and document its progress. First block up, a simple 10 Marine Attack (Tactical) squad, their Rhino transport, and Predator support. http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Attack_Squad_01.jpg These marines are at the highlighting step - They have an Aspiring Champion and Heavy Weapon on the way, but this is just the basic squad I'm going to change the Plasma 'cell' to a blue colour, to better match the theme. I've decided to be more strict with the cold-colour theme, so it will mean changing some details on several in-progress miniatures. But I'm willing to lay in the bed I've made. I really enjoy swapping horns and changing their position to add variety to my rank-and-file troops. Combined with other small conversions (Bayonets and top-knot swaps, for example) and kit bashing, so far no two marines are exactly the same. I don't want to spend too much time to go really over-the-top on troops, but a few simple changes goes a long way. http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Legion_Plans_02.jpg Before ~ The plans of the first of three (to start) Rhinos designed by me I was never happy with GWs, 'Just Add Spikes' solution for many Chaos vehicles. I want my chaos vehicles to have the same look and feel as the Power Armour that the marines wear. So, with some inspiration from the internet and some trial-and-error I designed my own Chaos 'banding' for my vehicles. Once I had the base angles and measurements, it's been easy to change the initial design completely, and create unique vehicles that still feel cohesive. I'm also not completely happy with the stock Havoc Launcher, and I plan to scratch-build something else in future, but for now they'll do. I've left them loose so I can switch them out later. http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Legion_Rhino_01.jpg After ~ Freshly primed and waiting for some paint - See some 'before primer' pictures in my Gallery if you like http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Legion_Rhino_04.jpg http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Legion_Rhino_02.jpg http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Legion_Rhino_03.jpg Magnets make even the humble Rhino completely customizable Next up is my first of several Extra Armour Predators, and my inspiration for the weathered effect I've started to use... http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Legion_Predator_01.jpg I started this Predator several years ago, but it needed to be set aside for awhile - Tomorrow it finally starts seeing paint! http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Legion_Predator_02.jpg http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j332/SubtleDiscord/WIP Thread Photos/Legion_Predator_03.jpg Happy accident - I think the damage on the corner looks good considering... Funny story; my toddler son innocently pulled at a piece of paper on my desk, and it happened to have a corner under this (freshly primed) Predator which was sitting a bit precariously. Naturally, it managed to fall, landing on its corner on a hard floor, leaving a big dent. Frustrated, I just let it sit and worked on some other things. I didn't want to completely fix the corner with filing and greenstuff, but what choice did I have? Then it sunk in. I'll be adding weathering and wear to the vehicles while painting, why not add some mild physical damage to the model? The plastic is soft enough to use a simple metal tool as a 'dent-and-scratch maker', and so that's what I did. I know I'm not the first to do this, but I had not planned on doing anything like this and was inspired to take a little more time to give something different a try, all by an annoying accident. (The Dark Gods have their ways...) The damage was smoothed down some and now blends in nicely. On the metallic banding, I think the effect will add to the desired feel. Once washes start going on, the effect should really pop. Well, that's it for now. I'll post some progress shots sometime soon. Keep an eye on my blog if you're curious how I actually plan and create these things. Over the coming weeks and months I'll be talking about all sorts of things, with a lot of pictures along the way. *The Basement Troll turns his gaze to his work bench...*

+ ++ Irradial Cogitator ∙ Online ++++++ ++ Establishing Comm-Link ∙ Connecting… +++ +++++++++ +++++++ +++ Productivity Protocols ∙ Initialized ++++ ++ Inquiry Request ∙ COROT ++++++++ ++++++ Request ∙ Access Authorization ++++++++++ Confirming Scan ∙ Stand-by… Confirming Scan ∙ Matched +++++++ ++ Compiling Data Results ∙ Displaying… +++++ ++ COROT-Exo-7b ∙ Atrum Laboris ∙ The Dark Works’ rotation is tidally locked to the orbital period of the planet; temperatures and geologic conditions on the sides of the planet facing towards and away from the star are dramatically different. Where the night-side hemisphere plunges to -350°F forming a stable planetary surface of desolate splendor, in stark contrast the day-side hemisphere is as hot as the tungsten filament of an incandescent bulb, resulting in the formation of a vast ocean of lava. The only natural atmosphere of this planet is produced from the vapors arising from the molten silicates in this vast ocean, causing weather events comprised of stone, as pebbles and rocks condense out of the air to rain down into the molten hellscape below. A round world made ostensibly flat, the division between the hemispheres is referred to as Horizon, and revered it as a sacred divide; the population of The Dark Works understand that while their world is a sphere it also has a very real edge, beyond which a hellish oblivion lay, but from that oblivion their power is drawn, quite literally. ++ The Mechanicus of The Dark Works have taken the concept of Forge World to a literal culmination with the construction of Mundis Fornax ∙ The World Furnace; where other Forge Worlds might hollow a planet for raw materials and build massive structures upward into the sky, the vast majority of The Dark Works burrows carefully into the night-side crust surrounding the molten mass that comprises the majority of the planet. Constructed over several millennia, with further progress continuing, a linked series of colossal geo-thermal extraction complexes of unparalleled scale harness essentially the entire planet, producing the massive amounts of thermal energy and motive force required for large scale production, power a multitude of experiments and explorations, and to maintain the remarkable equilibrium that has been created. The planet itself is considered so sacred by its population that it is never used as materials in common manufacturing, with the vast majority of any extracted material being ceremoniously returned to the molten ocean; only very small portions of specific constituents are extracted and reserved for the production of exceptional wargear and deeply sacred objects. A tiny sealed ampule containing a few grains of stone precipitation, presented to those servants of Atrum Laboris who have distinguished themselves in some significant way in their service to The Forge, is one rare and revered example. ++ The extremely close and rapid orbit of COROT-Exo-7b around its massive Blue Giant host star provides other pronounced advantages that have combined to make The Dark Works essentially unassailable, permitting it to assert its independence. Any spacecraft attempting to reach the Forge World has no choice but to follow a very small corridor, using the planet itself as a solar shield as it approaches; any attempt to flank the planet at ranges close enough to launch a meaningful attack must contend with solar energies and gravitational forces so intense that a fleet would be twisted, mangled, and turned to carbon cinders plummeting towards the star in short order. The intense gravity in particular, which was somewhat crudely compensated for during the construction of Mundis Fornax, became a force that could be carefully studied, experimented with, and ultimately harnessed, once the output of The World Furnace was online and able to internally sustain the required gravitational stability for a habitable environment. ++ In turn the Mechanicus of The Dark Works applied their uniquely deep understanding of gravity to construct a trio of Super-Heavy Graviton Cannons of unprecedented proportions to act as the ultimate gatekeepers to the planet. The brilliance of this Graviton Array lay in the way it operates; not only can it produce and manipulate its own gravity field, it can also create a form of gravity well to act as a giant amplifier that can harness, focus, and project, the massive gravitational forces of the star itself to catastrophic effect. Approaching craft that are expected will have the extreme gravitational forces of the massive star carefully compensated for, providing an effortless approach to the Forge World. Should anything undesirable attempt to close on the planet a series of options are afforded by the enormous Graviton Array; simply denying to compensate for the natural gravitational forces of the star is generally enough to stop an unwanted approach. However, the colossal array can easily use its effects to twist, sheer, and/or implode, dense or heavily armoured targets into so much raw material ready for harvest and re-purposing. Alternately, lighter targets that may attempt to rapidly advance on the planet can be effortlessly deflected out of the small safe-approach corridor and be forced to contend with the unrelenting solar energies of COROT-7. Given the abundance of motive force that can be directed from Mundis Fornax to the Graviton Array at a moment’s notice, it can be charged and ready to activate remarkably quickly for such an enormous device. ++ Given its uniquely defensible position, Atrum Laboris has chosen to carefully assert and maintain an autonomous standing. Understandably (and justifiably), there is considerable suspicion surrounding the nature of the research, experimentation, and development, undertaken in the darker recesses of this secretive Forge World; the Fabricator Generals, Locum, and High Priests of The Dark Works understand only too well that they must walk this path carefully and are therefore very adept in the manner of their negotiations with any given outside party. Great care is taken to conduct themselves accordingly through a selection of appropriate representatives who can engage in negotiations with a wide range of clientele, who in turn have a wide range of needs. Despite having a broad selection available that is absolutely unsanctioned, the care with which transactions are conducted has kept direct links to the Forge World well protected and obscured. With appropriate tithes consistently delivered, and quality legal munitions, weapons, armour, and wargear, on offer to those who can accommodate the price, suspicion alone has not been enough to warrant an attempt to test the intimidating defenses of this entrenched Forge World. +++ +++++ ++ Data File ∙ End ++++ +++++++ ++ Compiling Data Results ∙ Ongoing… ++ Stand-by… +++ ++ Comm-Link ∙ Active… +++++++++ +++ +++++ +