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It's finally time to start a thread here in B&C too, brethren. My loyalist splinter of XIV Legio Astartes, known as the Echoes of Eisenstein, is a labour of love that has now taken three years and lost all brakes a while back. When I got hold of my first Betrayal at Calth set, the path to damnation was set and I knew I had to go and start a whole army of truescaled marines. There would be no respite. There would be no models left unconverted. There would be only chopping and the laughter of ever growing mountains of grey soldiers waiting for their day. Inspired by Veteran Sergeant on DakkaDakka, the spiral into endless cuts and lenghtenings had begun. From so humble a beginning... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cxICLMQF8jr-Chm6sB_J4aXblfYqaEzYBsJ2k9Gc1NWiLbuoKvXLQvFOkMQ-hvNDA4yIzd1GABb6mrHXpiSKKQgQ7pL416dN2O5evQCZUuH7ni4O2l2z1fuSjmetKXD8_gaqeBPmCQlrzUlZKVghYNf7ILpwJyPR5YgS09srBpq30io8he9pjrklTKPBGsY8vqPltPUJn1h5ylmGu6PfztbuC3gwSRbcbvdd8q4EVA7dAaXavFEiM1Gx33J9n6yhYIX8rvIhsjtt83GovbT0XyRY1kBRwOb20kNbU2IxGmyQhb7BYfQSVaxeDfodfysz-kTpSKreino_UsLkzBIwZPkWbZNqN6Jb9fZ0mSfxyMYApIYH88HZrVC5zkQncqVsOZJypjt9eoP8f5WaZnaSSwYurw4Bhzc9xVu5_vXf1YOQPc5GD498D3sEUkgFjQpPLgKjO5c8EceDm8JW5vplLaZaK_diDdthqNd_jh732HkNSs1QT5Q6F-0wdu3TAN2fmHXPDD_WYb9fnBxTaAD0nI6bqv6C64z9Ht1hWvXHCTCnIBpwjoUXUM4VxkktYDTyuNAQnSbQEdt95HV2Qd4kO6syiYOFRBYYwxK7lJQC9i3W7cRgvTrU=w1625-h914-no https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nAJFauMlF32XU_l84vwul0467NkVzlz7hDszZllum2-Tvx_0d1zqAR_uu5H8JopFYqQ3DNO9Wedalvi6oHwyhEQdxuG1c8Y3Jcdg_NpQUxvDqB7k0Q24FKBvpc9oDBM4sGx23EO2kGsqKFyC6zBuK3emH-zsiF7FCYNn5MdbZM71cWnsT0dX8voaotIeHnwQrDKRV9Tr-jenA38Mi8TM9zTR4i2eWPtFKLa2DpBsrDGT9-et8c1hWlVv1UtJM5U9Z_uVxrUMbXmQOHj86355ju8Kye7JWWnUdc5bJ3TmIT7ZipKvs3KzZoDTXDuhQPZ6U0Ky1ex4XKvfvf4u4Ij2iffLzS8_50Llfl--ve4I0KMe_9ECAAfdAQMJLpWL4zK1qeSyQn_Y_JS_REI2gClSG1kK_A2F6VvcMr_NgI_rs_NRLSDdmghTLiCGDof42wbYjDT1V0VmUusiv4K2p614tqOSCnyDHm0LfHZMu2BCYRsbDl_stWYzxlNIxflv37vWjhLzrGRG6iBdBaPxeJMOw-7a5qyTA-Y32hyUzuIWFfS8UQnR6KYyl7E_8b0V_4-DpdSgtpyuPo91slwtbTnDmox1dAmKWFjxGLhOCVFEGiidx8e27dwq4qhMbZNehi3ZmSQxSegwuwJFy7bkEdcsXQ7z4oXnQe8nYruKuirsg=w1625-h914-no https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ljVjnlg5qVR09YTlMNXicoVr5qg8jiaUcSTvlQEUZXezj-va7HJnQQSt8bnmo_Rv860Jd2mTlKIJ8aKnnM2m2bxegQNee_Utw-iTKuLLOeaBq5t8jZIQ06skAA4mz80FywqO4yWx3OJoYRiKUk2IkpS0YVOa6mK12uWMwf44tsfx13W1V-emxNegOf-vdbAy43ZmQFKNyh4GOxRnF-4qe82k4136rRFxdMN09rrqrOVPLDYkWg2s0z6HnvexWmDVzH7-bbXBcgO93RyNExHeqk2ygQGFyTszItT3MAETmPVnHAPYuuQnW9ECphbl2mZ-yFs6t4ZCT3r3rWOAcDA9SeqgJ6BVeVkM9aog2sdJVw3Ub7hwOQvNTIdOZRIbyCRi78fCnVk0KcnzeEC_aznnXn9uTTg4baiTh99Zjb_ZYxATJmSA4ILACMPMn_UjRxauU08Bh9vWFSsn-hCSrdk9QAh52tvn2qXeudvHBvdc93ZnWOWBTRkVbyD7els41huAEDst1mc8xnkwTxigOKPYrFZFAEEMUMmLBaYJ3AJS4cPL626S0vhat0I2li54pSfGzC6FMMgSL0lapvPiDrO__PdYYTSdQdnyLsz5wqPaxgIKFfKMzlItUHulN7rYlW2bthgLKuLqK222hTioSl2VyW3YVp-Juo_qzU85qVe78g=w515-h914-no https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FfNn4GofoxtjCHkpAPCZZRqyHUtiuZk_xIvS-GuCo9m0B22ekmnVFgJX_F03lHjQt2pQVneFxqp5Ta0M1-dR22gQYo7Q3DKRAXN53pI-3vdRmikWOoAAlSa-Q2VYuQMFZdA5M3OAK2ZPsD9H_e0XjqH533B8ZvMPGQr3LUZnk4R4rPXVnlAv3djj_h4atMRgS-omODYiwKk_WPWX0S-sztxwAd76iFsioYP5ESm9UPvfXWepdbjyjbiOEEWtlcU-kMe4DwtK4hcDkBhO2BF7cuXLB3zIe8uNu3Uo0AJxGdM1Xd67SRSH7otj8X18zqGCRkDE6bzep6EO7Nxqj6fF2TpmZjDZ39XyuFskelCkLV8Ip-KUoMuxzCue78JkXw5urKCR7Oi4FiFvSyf6QEyZ0XVn3B_L6tYACl0PzmjcAiSlU3amZow7kL-5vqjPsVqTdk_pGcdoEngC5zVVn8FpanViXpaz3ZMk_h2GV18K7OdWB3Vk44qNgxi1EJrSol5YFitJeU2O6MUFRAgALk_wRN_tcA2jz6mFzlkTigN2Fi2I5uojwmIqJEaqj4QOF9Nz3LnqJHbTA67rBFth8_3sGiyqfJdSa7rSRYDtWTnBKPsG-lBU4NaWXgKZc1e5lBcxfGifN8rDk7RKasJjz1b727u2w15KDvJBtZk=w1632-h918-no https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LpSJW1UewQahBTvUubEPOGufqNde3DrCzbAO-34IcWKpn69yEDBGI1Xxder6c-5le6s7SFvC69EqKtVTzzFg9k5YYMCTVR_r2gbaA0oM8agFQcyWTpwFEC-ojRnSDqjSjBklrhwq2Lq2Ue76eoqfufWVID2TEIOUEfphUdk35HWU7gTp94YPN4wf5e2C6MpW0W3DOqItwEXVH5dKLvzzTaIiNnYKbenXfazdqm7i1IOdOMO59cL4ki1aIQPkxb-X61wP7hNo58S7cJd7NVGYsdXFol6C00va5ULlKXyjjftp7wetcvB7ED0XCJMCOGhRvWrR4ccTkqlA8uw9YC8vRJRiddmBs48e8QMCz9ytp1VxJt_-ecVS0tVm6fJKlqs-efPZ8TM0LnaFkFUAD8H64PcP_ioflWI3AoUEdZnzP4zOKmXZayQWH76ERecagvG9bkqkqQZM0BrUA4z4de3HI6h4JdWyTI4sDKQqd4DM5zVKSsb_oZYmpglVgxqasPOchh9nM2d-9HsuCWSWpXyV8bEXosnnZmZ28WiWs4bhTtuHgTmhzfIA2sMKeF_ExAGAu0AMufC6ORxabyWqJAzUyjt9e1dFib-GOLAtpXdWsXCWLFvEBMf7CAOLoEE1BJRuGfRtdO2VMzFzCiffO0hPy2c2jfeUVVU5=w728-h912-no https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gcyv841-Vo-snwW5vW0Yj72WWAUNWff_PKGD0IQnLP5FRNrKZAvrp6kd2OnX3yom07AkEX2ovnkiBLxC11iXGU-oQId377wmPOgoObXUMuAbHsK7lWyLbc9vpDkp45YcwdfrIScmlxlmXLBPquRLJ3k4ERIvC8C49gAlqF3pMDmOOFb-AfSZBz5_3KrGctIfbaRWbawdjMFvEqnkl_We8Q9EU-xpGQDma5-3wLB2cdgK0wb8cYummfvu5gtbxu8EbkkYLs9ny5ssv2OUWfLgS6cIQHKYZMNoTTU_89e28qpB-IVVrswCxS1PUn-gpMnYoiaEW0HNkmHffHuzAf-BUjhT6OUcl-_mIU60MXtejA7uEVcyB6rGnPakpPFX7hScwA9djIthR4rbOMicAmPKYrc0rZHQ6el9XuuRRw-aihDgUu7roxHzIc0CxaeDK47wiVpbGTKHNG5trC-_dtV_29oYwOcu6qX7uVLyaGkCIAlhvm804lXVdQVi0QGPhkZFviOKDNfe1_OJGzWs3h61qDAAkG23gh9QtDJb_Iqir3YwUCe7blZ2Axr6cjP8gpm5lk__MQZ_cqrl1tmSnCyMuR3_isetKvC4e-efQxss4GRBIFGguq4AtywTNTSfUthNqClLWLmV4Ak9yNzD1YRv7SBZR8lhKgk6=w770-h912-no ...we arrive to the present, three years later. https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2019/7/24/1019346-30k%2C%20Astartes%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Warhammer%2040%2C000.JPG https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2019/7/24/1019345-30k%2C%20Astartes%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Warhammer%2040%2C000.JPG https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2019/7/24/1019348-30k%2C%20Astartes%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Warhammer%2040%2C000.JPG https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2019/7/24/1019349-30k%2C%20Astartes%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Warhammer%2040%2C000.JPG https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2019/7/24/1019347-30k%2C%20Astartes%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Warhammer%2040%2C000.JPG https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2019/7/24/1019335-30k%2C%20Astartes%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Warhammer%2040%2C000.JPG With even an eager new recruit trying to sneak into the comparison picture! So, welcome to gawk at my insanity where I'll ever so slowly go through the same process with the rest of the 150+ guys I have either unbuilt or unstripped from previous owners of 5 boxes of Calth and Prospero, scratch tanks from busted Rhino carcasses, learn how to paint through my irrational biases ("dang my steel just looks bad in true metal but brass and copper, yaaaas queen!") and occasionally create piles of terrain out of ice cream boxes and my significant other's diabetes waste. Not even joking there https://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2018/5/11/29a28eef14b8eb0f1200cee0031753e2_103099.jpg https://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2018/5/11/1c925d506f8f5859e95907a73260983b_103099.jpg https://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2018/5/17/94358936b6f1a9b4335b0feb8a17e829_103099.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FPST-emK9xkOGZWBmgX0j77STx_FHmDr4R9PPKq1ruYkM4akNPB1hR4AEIQZlgcZuKv3sQURm8LmyYvcGbyGvp3LRuO48LW99v6EHO-9Sf4NOR6fVF2VJM8uF5fRPzUNGtMS-nJdp-tgq3r44dhngVDY7x3w0NWbO99imJpcepVXZ9E5NKBxB7njWNTQomF5ZPpYg34l8_7IoJ9mAB9rFrBTgp-5Ho0LMwmsPxGyZZ9I4X755wnGHe0FulklbM5fdHiGb3I0YHGk1yKHRVmtZwGEQ1yUvV3qz3jAet77cM1mpJRXMi2cizeduIlVPeVxsel1ggz7HtTEjHFtLfiCfYNuJlircb84ZOr-vvotAKtTQI-X-RQlwDI5V2BC82yH5lRG-k1fWqwAGPd4Ha8Flc1QbLAwWlFD-Bpq8qqZIsnlmDpl8080U0UKSlFlaIQfe33ofQhY3FxSC6ApC2hOGQ1-8tFmeANidaWE8HkZqxuCzJVKxdL1k2syYv_dGGv4iZcu6yHbuDucKfimDtHrOFWpZ4rBhX5KJpVnwgNfwW7QC2U9t3FN-I-6_9bRT5K3ywxS95JsC96-uThVmdCFeJ_brH_8EcoEcpinL-2HBXlCyQnZ6CCV48m7a_Yhm4fiQ2PT6G0aTFa4omttKkrlwcbfHBvd2RK8=w1620-h912-no https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0Ssx4RGNJIAvPYFx6Ok6F5amrVkJ5-jp2_77KnstQVwpc8d-zvOwkfrU_agihKzAJ__BFesdwrgNWH3uiQ08aYNBBlslTbFO43hKTRB72UwAheeq8wDUvJZA7PtOUMQq7ayxHaWGosDcnVkR8Gu6ZCVZQDW5AAZuB5JXSCmmAcNdyPSR3Atm7nEbSJhfMZoALGEfErpSYFYlnPdJfhYmes_dKKeWh5fSv55AUVjaEaKVSCSvH03-HcPu35rwaewFQYA4YgeGdShJrkiwAuK85sDKmxarNaAtO643Alt5uvTBkAv_4qlCBYep6KvPL1k0qmHh5sZHUrOlW0yyeEuKENg-LVnIjb818D8cvJCNzH3VSL-k2nsSKsSSG2e43RST5EQodjkz531viHa_6pfqvvq9vWkIEOiHQT0PtAItHqZ5LhrFJUd3gPS55rOwb1BFUCXfFmpE4IS2m_9TCGNTOX5idXBzpf6VSXKIvubVbuynLxs6HgNiZc1AxvJwtcK1ZYw0t1pPo39KlK_tmrxcVEoRxcAOKZd6jumJ2Ps_bLLSsIHq7deW2e12qkLkeBmAhYlhlg4oE_lDdLGqRfn8FxUY1RwvShQ-uZ_sakqOFt8wjXi0aXxj0jbPUQRkWMIBxqidvaAqtM9pzK68hTQA-JjuwBLnJE9i=w1620-h912-no Count the seven, brethren (and drop a comment while at it, yo!). EDIT: oh blimey, is there a limit how much pictures one post can handle or why did half of them turn to links? Hope those work, at least?

Before an extended hiatus from the hobby, my main army was blood angels. This year I’m remaking them in a new scale for armies on parade.

So as per usual I've been mincing around the idea and the willpower to kick back into a Tyrant's Legion force, but the thought of redoing auxilia that I did 50 odd years ago sort of killed the mojo. Anyway, I attended an amazing event called Preferred Enemy down in Melbourne Australia the other week, it was based very heavily around hobby, good looking/thematic armies and just having a good time (it was at a bowls club, so cheap beer always helps!). It has honestly sort of rekindled my enjoyment of 40k. Sure all the 8th edition issues are still there (who ever has more dice to throw at the enemy wins.. I hate to say it..but thats all that 40k is nowadays.. target priority and list building), but while there will always be those negatives, this weekend also showed the huge positives of 40k when played in the correct 'mood'. 95% of the armies where absolutely beautiful, and the other 5% are still leagues above what we normally see down around here as 'standard' 40k tournament fodder. Not only did the armies look nice, they all had a theme associated with them. Not to mention my 5 opponents where all absolutely stellar blokes!! (Thanks to Jason, Mark, Sean, James and Chris). So all in all, great day, atmosphere and hobby! Now the PE TO's are looking at doing a doubles tournament later this year which got a good friend of mines ears pricked.. as he always wanted to do guard.. but never had a direction to go with.. Cue me informing him about our one true savior, Lugft Huron... Thus we have our doubles project!! So I'll be doing a truescaled marine (god damn do the Primaris help with this instead of the hodge podge of terminator legs and assorted parts etc that was what had to be done 'before'... ) with him converting up some Guard to fit more with the Tyrant's Legion. I'll be running a super useless, overly elite army of only 14 models, that will no doubt get chewed off the table turn 1, young Byron will be running well over double that, but actually be bringing some bits and pieces that can do work. Our Current plan is something like this: Astral Claws Vanguard Detachment Lugft Huron 'Chaplain' Dreadnaught w/ Twin Lascannon 5x Veterans w/Assorted Gear 5x Veterans w/Assorted Gear Apothecary Chapter Ancient Tyrant's Legion Straken (has marine stats, so will be a marine commander in the guard contingent ) Leman Russ Tank Commander Gunnery Seargent Harker 3x 10 Man Guard Squads Wyvern Basilisk So as you can see, the armies don't have a whole lot of synergy, but will look cool on the battle field. Byron will no doubt crop up later with some bibs and bobs, but I'll just chuck up some of my WiPs. I Started with my Chapter Ancient as I really wanted this to look like the last hurrah of the Astral Claws, so Huron surronded by hard as nails survivors, with precious chapter relics around him (Thus the Chaplain Dread, will be more an icon of hate dread based on a Leviathan chassis, the chapter standard etc). So the reason I went Chapter over company ancient is I wanted to the 2+ save so I could 'fluff' him having terminator armour. I've done a single truescale termaintor before, but there was no way to really 'mass produce him'. I've had a bag of Custodes termies rattling around the house for 6 odd months now and after seeing what @apologist managed, it put my arse into gear to try it out! I opted to go the normal terminator 'cowling' as not to have it too show boaty, as Astral Claws alsways seem a bit more a functin over form sort of chapter. It also has the benefit of making the terminator marginally 'taller due to the location of its head, so it doesn't look too short next to Huron who is based off a Horus mode.. So next up I was just going to chuck one of the new primaris banners on him, but upon research, that just seems to be standard form nowadays and is a little 'eh'.. and after seeing the excellent picture of Ancient Galatan that has been around for years I wanted by banner to be (well not that crazy large) still pretty big and impressive given it is the 'chapter banner' which always had such a big emphasis in older fluff. Cue a large basic banner. This required a rolling pin, all the baking paper and over half of my remaining GS (off to ebay I go). It also required some dancing between running it under hot water and into the freezer so I could cut out the shape and get it thin enough. Here you can see the basic out lay of it, just to get the feel. So in this pic we have it next to Huron (who still after a year needs some tidying) which shows the termy scaling pretty well next to him. I've worked in major folds into the banner, but it will stil require more selective 'creasing' in areas tonight once the 'scaffold' of it has set. Anyway that's all I have to show at the moment, I'll be finishing another 5 veterans tonight so will get some pics up of them. Most of Byron's gear is on the way to him so we'll no doubt start to see his conversions cropping up soon (I'm looking quite forward to his basilisk and wyvern).

So after quite a long hiatus, I'm back on the B&C. These days I paint and collect a lot of different Space Marines Chapters, so I figured that the Hall of Honour is probably the best place for me to show what I've been up to recently. To begin with, here's a small selection of some of my painted Space Marine models. Death Eagle Veteran, in the classic Rogue Trader colour scheme. Captain of the Golden Halos Chapter. Flesh Eaters Veteran Sergeant. Carcharadons Tactical Marine. Angels Porphyr Intercessor. Red Talons Tactical Marine. Void Scorpion (homebrew Chapter). Howling Griffons Tactical Marine. Brazen Claws Assault Intercessor. Golden Hands Tactical Marine (homebrew Chapter). Blood Drinkers Space Marine (based on Rogue Trader artwork/cover of White Dwarf 137).

Apropos of nothing, I stumbled over a couple of 'true-scale' Thousand Sons that I made a while back for @Commissar Molotov's The War in the Eye project. I never got round to painting them at the time, but I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Tzeentch (my abortive Chaos Army in 2nd edition consisted of nine Thousand Sons, a Lord of Change and a pile of Horrors), and thought I might work them up. I don't imagine they'll ever be a proper army, but perhaps I might make a Kill Team one day. The conversion work is relatively simple apart from the torso, which is covered step-by-step here, if you'd like to have a go. Other than that, we've got Rubric shoulder pads, backpack, boltgun and head along with Primaris/Mark III arms. The legs are provided by Scarab Occult Terminators. As you can see, this gives them a bit more presence – and together with their ceremonial headdresses, they're quite imposing! Any thoughts on colour scheme? Can't decide whether to go retro, blue-and-yellow, red-and-gold, or something entirely different.

One of the first threads we did when I got back into the hobby some four years ago, was a pretty well-received effort entitled "Vox Stellarum: True-Scaled Horus Heresy". It's exactly what it says on the tin. An array of Horus Heresy Astartes , Auxilia , Agents of the Sigillite , and other more esoteric miniatures done by myself and my longstanding collaborator, Umbral. Now, since then, we've developed a whole lot. And I don't just mean my actual painting and conversion skills [umbral's were already pretty ace to begin with]. I also mean in terms of our ability to *actually present* our efforts in thread form, as well as the narrative for the area of space our efforts take place in - which now spans roughly eleven thousand years ... So it seemed high time to go back to the Heresy , and re-present for a hopefully broadened audience , some of our work in that light. With better photographs. With that in mind - here's the first few of my Heresy-era truescales . To begin , the four Space Wolves I've done relatively recently : Space Wolves were the first force I did even semi-properly as a young lad , and as with many people of Scandinavian heritage ... the Vikings In Space element has always had a strong appeal. Even though my professional area of expertise (Indo-European theologian , with rather strong Nordic incorporations ) means I occasionally wince a bit when GW art or official miniatures mix up various different Runic scripts etc :P With these Wolves, I was looking to convey a sense that they were 'hunters', 'trackers' - hence the pointing, the auspex, and the misericordia . And also the highly mobile look of what might otherwise be static-appearing gunners. In terms of truescaling method, we use terminator legs. *All* the terminator legs! Which occasionally presents a bit of a difficulty, because frankly ... some of them just aren't posed especially dynamically - or there's so many we've done with a particular set of five that it becomes a challenge to work out how to do a 'novel' pose rather than yet another repeat. The Grave Warden legs are a particular problem in this regard, because while many of them are really quite cool - and certinly help spice things up in the Mk.III department relative to more 'ordinary' looking Cataphractii .. there's one or two legs in there that are just standing still, in an excessively wide leg stance that's .. difficult to work with. Still, I like to think I've done a reasonable job even here. Detail shot - showing the Misericordia ... and also the Raptor Imperialis pad. I figured that as this particular Astates was acting as a direct agent of the Throne in hunting down whatever it was that these chaps were pursuing, it made a certain sense for him to be carrying a Custodes blade for the purposes of personally administering the Emperor's Sanction. And, given the pad, it really drives home the loyalties and the authority of the pack. The Headhunter bolter's also good for the 'stalker' theme. Next up .. the 'Oddballs' - which is not a designation, just a characterization. Umbral had an idea awhile back for a 'Dungeons of Terra' sort of campaign, wherein various Imperial forces would be fending off the undermining incursion salients of Traitor forces into the eponymous dungeons during the course of the Siege. The campaign never got off the drawing board ... but I nevertheless wound up building a few miniatures in general service of the concept. They may show up elsewhere in our storylines. I say 'oddballs', because each one was a bit of a twist or a subversion on the more usually expected characterizations of given Legions. This is partially because each one was suffering in some fashion from 'Post-Human Traumatic Stress Disorder' - that particular form of mental illness which appears to have afflicted many Astartes during the Heresy due to .. well .. their established and comfortable loyalties and allegiances and place in the universe going out the window in an immense way; and alongside that the particular traumas of betrayal, the witnessing of horrific spectacles of the mass-mortality of their brethren (in the case of the Shattered Legions), and in some cases even their Primarchs ; and, in the case of the loyalists from Traitor Legions, the losing of their brothers and their own former lives in an entirely different way. But on with the show - As applies the Night Lord - Indraj - this is one of those aforementioned loyalists of a traitor legion origin ... and is showing the 'subversion' theme by being an incredibly direct and pulverizing combatant rather than a 'strike-from-the-shadows' sort in terms of his armament. There's nothing subtle about a thunder hammer and a rather large shield; and I like to think that the posing, with the raised head and gaze indicates that he's going after something rather larger than himself - the direct opposite of what we usually see from the Night Lords deliberately choosing to prey upon those weaker than themselves. Now, in terms of the name ... Felt I should highlight the Raptor Imperialis . The Salamander, meanwhile, is a bit of a tribute / injoke to the third man of Vox Stellarum, who's also a longstanding collaborator with my academic / theological work . Hence the heavy flamer [due to the meme that's gone around for ages around getting the flamer .. no, brother, the *heavy* flamer] , and also the thunder hammer - which is a rather more ... curious theological reference. This brings us on to the next two ... First up, a *very angry bird* - an XIXth Legionnaire who's quite clearly rather furious. As in, has eschewed the more customary caution of the Raven Guard in order to be blatantly throwing himself at the enemy whilst wielding a rather large axe. It seemed the best way to get across that he's expressing his trauma through rather incautious rage ; as opposed to the more studious approach of some other XIXth forces post-Isstvan , who favour their Legion's own habitual modus operandi of stealth and conservation of force given their limited numbers. Next , a Son of the Emperor : Now, the idea with this chap is that he's a demolitions expert. Hence all the grenades and other explosives he's got on his person - as well as the hand-held gadget that seemed ideal for a detonator. Signal'll be broadcast via the comms antenna on his backpack. In the actual Dungeons game, I'd intended to have tonnes of the Necromunda sprue grenade-piles and suchlike, as traps that he could remotely detonate to frustate the advance of the Traitors. Hence also his pointing posture - he's gesturing to where something is about to become rather more heavily geographically distributed. The bionic leg may, perhaps, suggest that he's run afoul of ordnance in-the-flesh earlier in his career - and is a tangible mark of his own , i guess you could say .. imperfection. Both in terms of physical form, but also in likely terms of tradecraft to lead to the injury in the first place. The more interesting thing about him, however, is that he was a close friend of a now-deceased (blown apart, in fact) Xth Legionnaire ... and feels that loss quite keenly. So much so in fact that he's effectively absorbed and started expressing some of the dead Marine's personality traits - giving voice to the dead , almost as if the spirit of his former comrade had been blown into him during the detonation. Certainly, the rosary of prayer-beads about his wrist speaks towards an Astartes who has moved in a rather more overtly religious direction than many in response to his trauma. Meanwhile, the ballistic apron [from the Iron Warriors tyrant siege terminators] seemed apt for a marine with his combat specialization - as it would absorb shrapnel etc. from things going off in front of him etc., help protect his fellows. There is one nod to the more 'traditional' IIIrd legion vibe, however (other than the bejeweled shoulderpad) - these two paired master crafted power-blades, which he'll be fully capable of utilizing as a matched pair of dueling weapons. Perhaps that's how he got that fine scar across his face, Prussian style. Anyway, that's the first eight of my Heresy-era Truescales posted ... there's 22 Astartes to go , plus a whole range of other miniatures from the same period [the Auxilia , Agents of the Sigillite , a rather impressive truescale Custodes , etc. etc. ] . And then there's Umbral's various efforts ... I'm hoping that a fresh start log will help me get some motivation back to do more in this era. And perhaps do some writing a la what I've managed for the Adamanticores [ Hara Barazaiti ] and Haunting Harii of Hvergelmir . Really 'bring things to life' and tie up a few ends for your presentation and enjoyment.

[flash=250,210] "As for the Harii, quite apart from their strength, which exceeds that of the other tribes I have just listed, they pander to their innate savagery by skill and timing: with black shields and painted bodies, they choose dark nights to fight, and by means of terror and shadow of a ghostly army they cause panic, since no enemy can bear a sight so unexpected and hellish; in every battle the eyes are the first to be conquered." - Tacitus , Jermaniya ; M1 "No world shall be beyond my rule; no enemy shall be beyond my wrath." - The Emperor of Mankind upon the summit of Mount Vengeance on the world of Thor, circa M30, as quoted upon the first page of the Grimoire Assassinorum

Hello and welcome to yet another of me and Umbral's ongoing exercises in Hobby ADHD. This time, we step away from the grainy past of the Unification Wars and Horus Heresy - and, for that matter, recoil from the Inquisitorial goings-on of the Grim Shadows of the 41st Millennium - to present you something rather more straightforward. In this instance ... a chapter of Space Marines called the Adamanticores, depicted at their relative height in the early 38th Millennium. Now, a proper write-up of the fluff behind these absolute beauties will shortly be incoming [and the revelation for what might seem, at first, to be somewhat temporally inconsistent design-choices will arrive as part of that]; but for the moment, let's just enjoy the view. First up, a Veteran Sergeant equipped with a combi-plas bolter and power-sword; decked out in a composite hand-crafted armour which draws elements from an array of marks presently in Imperial service [note the Mk.III legs and hardened Mk.IV helm], plus a somewhat experimental power-pack not yet in common production... Next, one of his squadmates - a marksman by specialization, again adorned in a composite plate and with a longer make of bolter for additional range in his chosen battlefield role. [although he'll be no slouch in close assault, either - that chainblade bayonet looks rather nasty!] Third, is another weapon specialist - this time, another combi-plas wielder, who's steadying his main weapon whilst also holding his close combat blade ready for a swift employment. Of arguable interest is his choice of Mk.VI legs and power-pack for perhaps quieter operations than his comrades' predominant Mk.III stylings. Finally, we have a gallant captain for this small detachment - equipped with a fine artificer-developed plasma weapon and [potentially double-handed] power sword; as well as being clad in a most unusual and advanced pattern of power armour.. There'll be more along shortly [including a Truescale Terminator who absolutely has to be seen to be believed] ... but interested to see what you make of them :)

This may seem something of a diversion from the Horus Heresy narrative wargaming project I'm presently working on; but in truth, rather than being a dire manifestation of Hobby ADHD, it's actually a return to something that's been bubbling away at the back of my head since somewhen late in 2012/early 2013. InquisiNecronMunda. A basic fluff rundown for this is that after reading Fall of Orpheus (IA:12 - which did the wonderful job of putting the almost lovecraftian Terror back into Necrons following the ... controversial rework they got with the second 'Newcron' codex) , I had the idea for exploring a similar event from a vastly different perspective. Instead of witnessing an entire Imperial Sector falling to massed armed force, this narrative would follow a pair of rival inquisitors (one Ordo Xenos, one Ordo Hereticus) as one of them attempted to first piece together the pattern of dark events engulfing the region ... while the other became steadily more and more convinced that the first was some sort of dangerous, dire radical in need of a swift purging. The miniature pictured above (with a guardsman and a truescaled Astartes for scale comparison) is my Ordo Xenos Inquisitor (my associate's running the Hereticus). Planned additions to the warband include the usual stock characters (sanctioned psyker; grizzled Imperial Guard veteran; lexmechanic; xenoarchaeologist ... that sort of thing) ... as well as some perhaps less well-worn numbers (Kroot warrior sanctioned xenos; an Eldar guide - either a Ranger or a Warlock; and other dramatis personae that would swiftly raise eyebrows (followed by bolters/handflamers) in more Orthodox circles). But we'll go into those later http://b1.ifrm.com/static/emo/2.png As you can see, the base-miniature for this character is the rather excellent plastic Fantasy Chaos Lord figure, with all the obvious chaos iconography filed off. I seriously liked the roaring ram-daemon shoulderpad, so that stayed; as did some of the armour-detailing. The rationale behind this was that I wanted an Inquisitor in some form of powered armour (or potentially even terminator armour) - but without going for the 'lazy' approach of simply using regular Astartes power armour. The Chaos Lord seemed to have the requisite imposing bulk and baroqueness to suit a well-equipped inquisitor (albeit in a much more 'dark ages'/medieval flavouring than, say, the Renaissance-inflected Inquisitor Tyrus [the visual concept of which I absolutely love]). The head's drawn from the superlatively useful Empire Flagellant kit - I felt it was the most 'dignified' yet 'stern' cranium in the kit, and radiated a sense of both zealous piety, as well as steadfast determination. It's the sort of head which one could easily see silhouetted against blood-red boiling skies such as those we saw on the classic 3rd ed Daemonhunters codex. Possibly because Shouty. And with a definite level of "worried". But also, "powerful". And with a strong sense of aged wisdom conveyed by the beard (remembering one of the classic 'inversions' from the original Inquisitor game being the tendency of *older* Inquisitors to be more radical than young orthodox puritans). Now as for the armament ... that gave me pause for thought. I did initially toy around with the idea of keeping somewhat converted versions of the model's original weaponry. There's a multitude of potential staff-based weapons one could conceive for an Imperial servant; and the left gauntlet poised upon the pommel of a rather massive sword looked pretty intimidating. It would, no doubt, have looked even MORE intimidating if I went with my initial inclination and added a vambrace-mounted plasma-pistol to the top of it. But something just didn't feel quite right. So we kept playing around with the contents of the almighty bits-box ... until some unused arms from Forgeworld's excellent Hector Rex model stumbled into view. I was initially a bit lukewarm about this outfitting - not least because I was still struggling to see how to work in a ranged weapon (because in a game with the occasional rampaging inhuman monstrosity, it's always seemed a bit of an OSH violation for an old man - even one in power armour - to get up close and personal with the gribblies); however after thinking about it some more, and with some chopping to reposition the sword-arm, it just seemed to *click*. There's something delightfully barbaric about the image of a trusted agent of the Emperor clad in somewhat primitive-looking (powered) plate-mail, and armed with a great hacky sword and shield. I did contemplate adding a pistol-sized weapon (or potentially one of the old 2nd edition metal Legion of the Damned bolters I have lying around - we've decided these are perhaps more 'carbine' weapons than the much larger modern Astartes bolters) hung on his belt ... but this would probably have just overcomplicated the miniature. Besides, parrt of the background I'd worked out ofr him was that he's a psyker of some ability - so perhaps mortal-material ranged weapons are unnecessary due to the Inquisitor's demonstrable facility with MIND BULLETS. About the only thing that's still niggling me about him (other than the fact that the sword's broken in two twice now) is the back of the miniature. I felt that he might require some obvious up-techenning in order to more properly bring the miniature into the 41st millennium, in the form of a power-back for his armour ... but nothing seemed to visually work. I tried a 2nd ed metal Legion of the Damned backpack for that baroque skull-look, an older plastic Chaos marine backpack, a Kasrkin's powerpack - and even the backpack from an Eversor Assassin. All of it distorted the silhouette and just looked 'tacked on'. So eventually, he was just left as-is. Fluffwise, I rationalized the lack of an overt power-pack by looking at the back of the Hector Rex model - which, Terminator armour style, appears to have an internal reactor.

As the title implies, this is a log to chronicle our progress as a mate and I navigate our way through the conflagration of the Horus Heresy. We're both on fairly limited budgets, and much more interested in constructing narratives (and highly individualized miniatures) - so rather than go with the conventional route of building up massive forces of dozens of Marines and thousands of points a side in order to take to the tabletop, we're doing something different. Inspired by the chronic success of Inq28 and Inquisimunda logs which have proliferated across the more .. artistically inclined boards and blogs over the last few years (and in particular this EXCELLENT B&C log by a chap running under the moniker 'EdT') ... we decided to give a small corner of the Heresy the 28mm narrative-skirmish-wargaming-everything-must-be-converted treatment. At the moment, I'm working my way through a small unit of Loyalist Iron Warriors equipped in slightly ramshackle patch-jobbed Mk.VI armour. The idea is that they're a bunch of hard-bitten Terran-dominated legion veterans who've gotten decidedly on the wrong side of Perturabo - and been sent off to earn themselves an inglorious and ignoble end somewhere out among the stars (thus explaining, in part, why they weren't with the Legion for events like the purging of Olympia or the Betrayal at Isstvan V). This quite nicely plays into why they're clad in Mk.VI - as some of the first runs of 'prototype' Mk.VI were in fact delivered to the Iron Warriors for field-testing and evaluation. Perturabo wanted the design scrapped in favour of another heavy assault armour, so seems to have basically set it up for failure where possible. This unit remaining equipped with it even by the period just prior to the outbreak of the Heresy would both represent an ongoing mark of his disfavour, and presumably ensure them quicker, messier deaths. And Tartaros legs were what I had to hand, so yee. Alongside this initial deployment (which currently numbers three Iron Warriors in various stages of completion), I'm also adding a small group of Vlka Fenryka - to act as the local equivalent of a 'watch pack' in the unlikely event our protagonists wind up feeling more philosophical affinity for their gene-sire than the Imperium. There will also be the usual assortment of less-augmented humans you'd customarily expect to see trailing behind a Crusade-era Astartes force, including an Imperial Army veteran turned Remembrancer who's taken it upon himself to chronicle these otherwise forgotten sons.

Act I: He Who Roams the Ruins "Who the Lost One is? Depends on who you ask, I suppose. A daemon wearing the skin of the Emperor's holy warriors. A relic, birthed of betrayal. The child of a forgotten father. Many things and yet none of 'em. We fear and rever him, like heathens worshipping the lightning-born inferno. Sometimes he kills, yet other times he protects us. Such is the nature of fires, they do not chose, they simply burn." -Elder Grawh, Scryer of Clan Taurach "You have seen him, haven't you? The ashen black and blood red armour of the demi-god? Yes, yes, he is as ancient as the oldest of the Emperor's children. True, he does not wear any of the eighteen legions livery, but you seem to forget: They came as twenty." -Lord Ulrat, Scribe of the Rusted Coven "Once he might have been a hero. Now he is naught more than cinder. A relic of an age long past and best left forgotten." -Hag Elana, Fateteller of Numo's Inn http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/truescale20shot201_zpsnjgeq05d.jpg Beneath golden towers, amongst the dry and ashen wastes of Terra's true face, there roam relics of a hundred ages past. Ages of peace, Ages of blood. Disorder and Unity, back to back, face to face. Fabled tales and vaunted saga's are buried beneath the macropoles. Broken corpses, clad in sea-green and blood red, dark iron and proud yellow, have long since rotten away in their mass-graves, only leaving back bleached bones. Deep within these ruins walk schemes, wraiths and ghosts of the past, perhaps better forgotten. Or are they, perhaps, an eldritch omen of sorts? Those who would know might already be dead or not yet born, not that it would change a thing in the world. There is still one, roaming all of Terra, aimless yet with such a grim determination, that he still might have some purpose. He, known only as the Lost One, wanders on hidden paths and speaks forbidden words. The man is as old as the legions of yore, a remnant of those once forgotten by grandfather and kin alike. http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/truescale20shot202_zps4gbzgstu.jpg Rare are the sightings, yet all confirm the same. The giant is clad in ashen black, like blood-wet cinders left after a battle. He sports a giant cleaver, orkoid in appereance, yet too refined to be such in nature. Chains scratch against his swordarm's wrist, perhaps reminders of an existence sworn to war? Many tales are woven into his being, making him out to be a god, a devil or perhaps something inbetween the two. Some, a rare few, say that he is a harbinger, that he screams out into the void, calling for those that abandoned him. Perhaps, if I dare say so, he wasn't abandoned at all. Perhaps he was left back as a reminder. http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/truescale20shot203_zpsqdynzib7.jpg There was once a girl, born somewhere in the slums of lower B'gdalesh, who claimed having seen the Lost One. She spoke of hearing only whispers, like the crackling of a dying flame, untainted by vox yet still warped by age. The ancient giant apparently had spoken three words to her. "The Fire Fades." She died a short while after, having deteriorated like a fruit exposed to the sun. Her skin dried out like parchment and her flesh had all but atrophied. Her bones as frail as glass and her frame shivering and jittering with every step. The eyes I had found most unsettling. Pitch black pits, not like the eyes of the Rex Noctis or the Custodis Corvus, but actual pits. As if someone had dug out the pearly orbs of organic matter with spoons and replaced them with seeping, wailing darkness. I have seen many things in my life, dear friends, have bested daemon, heretic and xenos alike for almost three centuries, but never have I felt such dread as I do now, writing down these words. May the God-Emperor protect us all. Lord-Inquisitor Laurenz Kotophardi -------------------------------- Hello everyone! I'd like to welcome you to my very own Inquisimunda project. Perhaps some of you know this feeling, but sometimes I just get burnt out painting all the Horus Heresy stuff. Then I like to just build a character or two, completely unrelated, and muse upon the finer and deeper nooks and crannies of this universe we all love and share. This has spawned quite a sizeable collection of characters, cults and more. To this end, I have decided to start writing some more fluff to all the stuff I've built and actually expand on some more mysterious and eldritch stuff. I've been playing Dark Souls lately, so please do excuse the influences but I think that some of the stuff might intermingle quite well with the more metaphysical implications of the 41st millenium. Hope you like it, stay around, have a chat and I'd like to hear your opinions!