Sword Bearers and the Unforgiven (Updated 1/07/23: Angels Redeemed)

[Eternal Warrior]

The front view of the scout looks like he is wearing a funny hat. :) and the gauntlet blade is awesome. Those bodyguard are another kind of sexy. Between your writing and your hobbying you make us proud to be a part of the 1st legion. Please keep up the good work.

[recon0321]

Damn that scout is awesome...the pretorians are awesome, I knew the sternguard kits are amazing but you prove hoe by just adding a few DA bitz send them all over the top..

[Spaced Hulk]

@ Eternal Warrior: Yeah, the scout's visor isn't too distinct in those pics, hopefully will look a bit better when eventually painted. Like I said, I'm not 100% happy with Aldous, so I'll probably end up doing another version in the future.

And thank you for all the kind words brother, really appreciate the support

@ recon0321: Cheers brother, glad you like them!

Ok, update time:

Unknown Praetorian, Chapter Master Bodyguard, armed with meltagun & electro-magnetic broadsword:

Unknown Praetorian, Chapter Master Bodyguard, armed with electro-magnetic broadsword & power fist:

Thanks for looking, C&C are welcome

[deathspectersgt7]

                            SHOW OFF 

[recon0321]

Are those winged helms from the new raven wing sprues love these latest two...they scream "come get some"

[Eternal Warrior]

Tell me where to send the money order. I won't even make any requests you can just send me what you want and I will be more than happy.

[Spaced Hulk]

Cheers brothers! 

 

@ recon0321: The meltagunner's head is from the Sternguard box, and the power fist Praetorian has a Grey Knight helm. The wings are from the DA upgrade sprue, they're loose parts and can be attached to pretty much any marine helmet. 

[recon0321]

Spaced hulk

 

I would love to see your take on pre heresy 1st legion

[Gillyfish]

They look really good - ornate and fit in nicely with the broader DA 'look'.

[Larhendiel]

They look epic, I like their stoic poses that say "come unto your death"
Like real champions and heroes should look like.

[deathspectersgt7]

Man Brother you went to town on these they are EPIC!!!  your best to date now how about alittle fluff on them they deserve some prime time.

[Brother Excedis]

Excellent command squad!! The swords and crested helms really draw the unit together while still allowing for individual personality. The poses for each also speak volumes about the character, and ties in well with their personal wargear.

[Spaced Hulk]

@ recon1030: I am tempted by 30K, especially with all the truly inspirational projects that are showing up on the forum these days. However, lack of both time and money is the main stumbling block. What I have in mind (a pre-Caliban, Unification Era First Legion) will require a substantial investment in Forge World resin, which is more than I can afford to spend on the hobby at the moment. I also know from past experience that I can only really concentrate on one army at a time, and I still have loads and loads of Sword Bearer stuff to build, paint and write. There's also the factor that until FW releases a First Legion book, anything I build or think up could potentially be rendered obsolete or contradictory to the background (not having to worry about GW changing the fluff is one of the things I really like about creating my own chapter).

 

So for now, I'm sticking to the 41st Millenium, but hopefully at some point in the future I'll be able to start a 30K army too . 

 

@ Gillyfish: Cheers mate! These are actually the most ornate models I've built for the army, so it's almost a shame that they're only equipped with 'normal' power armour. If only we could upgrade Command Squads with artificer armour! 

 

@ Larhendiel: Thanks mate! I wanted each Praetorian to look like a hero in their own right. At one point I was considering building one as a counts-as Company Champion (the rules for the Blade of Caliban put me off that idea) so I decided that every member of the squad would be a Chapter Champion instead 

 

@ deathspectresrg7: Cheers brother!  The power fist/sword Praetorian is currently my favourite model that I've built. As for the fluff, they'll be appearing in the main story at some point but I think you're right, I may have to write about them before that!  As a taster, these were my original notes/outline for the unit:

 

 

Praetorians

 

5 man bodyguard, personally selected by the Sword Bearer's Supreme Grand Master. Sole duty is to fight alongside the Chapter Master and ensure that the twin swords do not fall into enemy hands. Chosen from amongst the ranks of the Battle Companies – not from amongst the Penitents (the First Company has it's own responsibilities that outweigh all other duties). When a Supreme Grand Master dies, any surviving Praetorians return to their original Companies. The next leader of the Chapter will then select his own bodyguards.

 

Each Praetorian wears an ancient battle helm, originally worn by a First Legion Captain during the dark days of the Horus Heresy.

 

Full access to the Armoury. In addition, each Praetorian wields a deadly electro-magnetic broadsword, relic weapons from the Chapter's Vaults.

 

Both war helms and blades are passed on to their successors.

 

 

@ Brother Excedis: Thanks mate!  I must admit, part of the inspiration for the unit was to find a use for some of the winged DA helms I've collected. They don't really fit with the standard Sword Bearer aesthetic (even the HQ characters aren't really that ostentatious, and are more likely to wear a hood than an ornate crest) so I figured a unique unit might be the best use of them. Have also been pleasantly surprised with how well the Empire Greatsword blades look on marines.

 

Have started working on the last Praetorian but progress is a bit slower on this one. Trying to decide on his secondary weapon (contenders are a storm bolter, storm shield, another EM blade or some sort of long barrelled plasma pistol), and also have two potential heads to choose from. Might post them up later to get some second opinions.

 

Thanks again brothers, appreciate the feedback    

 

 

Edited February 7, 2014 by spacedhulk

[Spaced Hulk]

Final Praetorian (eventually managed to decide on his weapons and helm )

Unknown Praetorian Bodyguard, armed with electro-magnetic broadsword & 'Outrider' pattern long barrelled plasma pistol:

Squad Pic:

Thanks for looking, C&C are welcome as always

Edited February 8, 2014 by spacedhulk

[recon0321]

Where's his plasma gun from? Excellent as always now the question is how does the chapter master manage to stand out from those amazing models?

[Spaced Hulk]

Where's his plasma gun from? Excellent as always now the question is how does the chapter master manage to stand out from those amazing models?

 

Cheers brother  The plasma pistol is from the multi-part combi-weapon in the new Tac squad. Just a couple of slight modifications and then added the scope/purity seal.

 

That's actually a very good question Will eventually be building three different Chapter Masters (from different times in the Sword Bearer's history) so at least I'll have three attempts to get it right 

Edited February 8, 2014 by spacedhulk

[deathspectersgt7]

The Plasma Pistol conversion looks good. And of course the Praetorians   .

[Fray]

Excellent poses as usual.  One suggestion though:

 

 

Get some darn paint on them!!! 

[Urael]

Somewhere, deep in the heart of the Rock, The Lion is smiling.

 

Awesome work!

[Spaced Hulk]

Thanks brothers As soon as the weather improves a bit I'll get some more models primed and start painting again (honest! )

In the meantime, here's some very early WIP pics of a new character: a Sword Bearers Siege Breaker Captain:

As you can see, he's still very much in progress and is currently just blue-tacked together. The reason I'm posting pics at this stage is that I'm not 100% sure about the sword. I'm considering cutting the end off to make it into an executioner's sword, something like this:

One of the DA characters in Unremembered Empire (an excellent book and well worth reading btw) wields a massive, six foot long executioners sword, which is what's tempting me to alter the DW blade. However, it's the only one I've got at the moment so I'm wary about modifying it unless I'm absolutely certain.

One advantage to shortening the sword it is that it would give me a few more options with the pose of the model, possibly bringing the blade forwards in a pose similar to that last Praetorian (incidentally, the helm on this captain was the other possible head for the Praetorian). I do quite like the current pose with the blade angled back though. The left arm will probably get either a bolter or a combi-weapon, as whatever I do with the sword, I'll be counting it as either a power fist or relic blade in game (depending on what codex I'm using) just due to the sheer size of it.

So, what do you think?

[recon0321]

Go for it! The sword seems a wee bit long

[deathspectersgt7]

Leave the Sword as is .But you have to be happy with it. 

[Spaced Hulk]

Well, that's one vote each for and against!  I know what you mean though recon, it's the fact that the sword's below the level of the base which seems a bit out of place. 

[recon0321]

One thing I have always thought about while posing models...we must consider their base "ground level" for the model otherwise we wind up with bits "below ground"

[deathspectersgt7]

Never mind I change my vote