Alpha legion modelling question

[Brother Turok]

So every codex shows the alpha legion as chaos troops. However in Imperial armour five the siege of vracks it states taht they should be modelled as normal marines since they are basically spies. So my question is to be 'correct', would you model them as wolves in sheeps clothing (normal marines), chaos servants (chaos marines), or a mix of the two such as chaos marines with normal marine backpacks, etc? What has everyone else done? I have a fallen army and I use a mix of marine stuff and chaos stuff to model them to make them pre-heresy-ish.

[Legatus]

Vraks was just one specific campaign where they happened to chose to infiltrate the world disguised as loyalist Marines. They may have done this at other occasions, and if you like the idea you can model them to represent one such campaign. Their "regular" get up is the spiked and horned "chaos" variation though.

[Sniperjack]

I made these for my Alpha Legion Infiltrators (Mix of stolen Exorzist, Star Phantoms, Mortifactors and Heresy Alpha Legion colours power armours). I mixed both ranges of SM and CSM. At the moment i work at a suitabble stolen Rhino. We are all friends here:

 

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o207/sniperjack_photos/Meine%20Minis/PICT5217.jpg

 

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o207/sniperjack_photos/Meine%20Minis/PICT5179.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o207/sniperjack_photos/Meine%20Minis/PICT5184.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o207/sniperjack_photos/Alpha_Legion/PICT5198.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o207/sniperjack_photos/Alpha_Legion/PICT5191.jpg

[nurgling6688]

i made a squad if alpha legion once, i always envisioned them as being the least chaotic of the traitor legions. They don't worship chaos, live outside the warp and are all about practicality. Really the only connection i see with them and chaos is that they sided with horus, but not cause they like chaos, to them its probably a tool that they are not above using. So i never really saw them as being all about the spikes and horns. I would use a mix of the chaos and loyalist parts, trying to stay away from the over the top chaos parts. As far as looking like loyalist marines i only see them doing that when they need to.

[Adarul Greystalker]

I've been thinking of making an alpha legion squad, mainly as a display piece, but perhaps to use in the occasional scenario game, as I envision them as the primary antagonists for my space wolves and inquisition forces.

 

Has anyone used or considered using the Dark Angels hoods and such for Alpha Legion astartes? They're described as wearing hoods at times as well as using unconventional armor types in literature, partially in order to conceal their true nature. Perhaps a squad wearing Mark IV or V and using Dark Angels conversion kits for hoods and maybe some other pieces here and there?

[IronWinds]

I'm actually doing something similar with my IWs. Of course its not for stealth... but more because I imagine they scavenge parts from any Imperial marines they kill. So I normally order 2 boxes of CSM and 1 box of SMs and mix up the parts. I also don't like my marines to look to chaosy since they are IWs, so I'll trade the most chaos looking parts(especially the helmets with the really tall horns) for Imperial parts.

 

 

You could do something similar, and maybe even paint one infiltrating squad like ultramarines, and another like BA, ect.

[Brother Turok]

I see that almost everyone agrees that they are basically the most independant legion. In fact I believe in the last chaos codex they couldn't use demons since they operated so far behind enemy lines. I was going to use some chaos bits for the spikes, otherwise I'm going to use space marine bits to make them and let the paintjob do the rest of the talking.

 

However, I am stuck on what to do with arkos the faithless. In TSOV part 1, he is said to be big (I assume bigger than most astartes). It also said that he was full of spiky bits, etc. I was going to use the chaos sarg chest, chaos legs, marine bionic head, custom made combi-melta with old bolter bits, and a custom sword.

 

Did anyone else make Arkos? I assume he should be mostly chaos bits, but should he be void of chains and chainmail or no?

[Candleshoes]

I know in the old Index Astartes article for them, it mentioned that they hid any mutations or flesh perversions when facing an enemy - not out of shame - but to unveil it when it would give the greatest psychological impression.

 

This line of thinking, mixed with their loyalty to legion (over the ruinous powers themselves), their fierce independant and covert nature - I would say models with the representation of very little "spiky bits" would be very flavourful. This isn't to say that some of the legion isn't knee deep into the more zealous sides of the dealings with chaos, but it seems they have reason to do the actions (and theatrics) when they wish. Should in the operation it serve them to look the part of a tongue wagging, thoughtless brute - they will do it and make the enemy reap their ignorance. If the operation calls for stealth, for infiltration and the tile that they are really loyalist marines (how many humans will question an astartes of any stripe... let alone have the fore-knowledge to tell the difference between one who is lying to them) then they will actively look the part.

 

As far as a "what would they look like when they wage war simply as the Alpha Legion, rather than when they use their secrets and lies?" their armour should be more of a representation and honorificus of the Legion itself, not Chaos. The majority of Alpha Legionaries honor their Primarch, his secret, and his legacy more than anything, and this loyalty to the Legion would be the focus of how they would look when waging war. Uniform colors, uniform heraldry of their Legion, similair skin tones, bald/no hair, and lots of XX or Legio 20 markings, or the chain Style-ized A's. Older looking armor mixed with newer looking loyalist armor (as they most certainly would have to make do and scavenge off the dead when active as cells or operating.

 

Whatever you decide, make sure they still look "In control of their own actions".

[Lay]

Vraks was just one specific campaign where they happened to chose to infiltrate the world disguised as loyalist Marines. They may have done this at other occasions, and if you like the idea you can model them to represent one such campaign. Their "regular" get up is the spiked and horned "chaos" variation though.

Pretty much this. From 2nd Edition on to present, the average AL Marine has been portrayed as a generic Chaos Marine.

 

Regarding the infiltrators in the Siege of Vraks trilogy, they re-adorned their armour with Chaos iconography once their identity was uncovered.

Originally, Forge World planned some miniatures (or conversion sets) portraying them at this point of the campaign. Sadly, they never went beyond the concept sketches:

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...p;#entry1371681

Oh, what I'd give for defiled Mark 4 armour.

[WarpWhisper]

In general, AL players do indeed like to use loyalist parts for their AL troops, (representing them 'collecting' Loyalist equipment), although some prefer to keep them solely as Chosen, with the 'loyalist look' representing the infiltrate ability.

 

I only remember seeing one Arkos represented; in the fifth post in this thread