Word Bearer's Colours

[Brother Keyaetus]

Hey there, so I'm planning on starting on my Heresy word bearers soon, but with the new Forgeworld schemes, and the Horus Heresy novels,  I've got myself confused on when their colour scheme changed, and when it did; was it widespread or bit by bit?

 

Originally I thought that only the Gal Vorbak (and maybe other possessed groups? Haven't managed to read Fear to Tread, Betrayer and Angel Exterminatus...stupid funds) took up the crimson armour and the rest were still the grey scheme, then after the Heresy they turned that into their full scheme.

 

But now with the recent Forgeworld weekender posters, and even the two painted Word bearer units on the Forgeworld site (Rotor Cannons and Vulkite Caliver's) I'm properly confused now, I'm maybe thinking that the crimson is some type of honour earned by your regular guy..or something taken up slowly but surely by each company?

 

Cheers for any help.

[nurgling6688]

In Know no Fear and Betrayer they all where the crimson. I'm not sure about at the dropsite massacre but I think FW is making it official that they had changed there color by then. In Fear to Tread they are actually wearing the grey still but I think its because they are an isolated group of Word Bearers and not with the bulk of the legion.

 

In Know no Fear one of them states that they repainted their armor to mark their new beginning. 

[Kol Saresk]

There are actually three color schemes to be completely one hundred percent technical. It sort of hit me when I saw the Forgeworld picks.

 

There is the grey scheme. This lasts all the way up to the Dropsite Massacre and is changed afterwards.

 

There is the red and black. This is the color scheme of the original Gal Vorbak as well. I believe page 357 of The First Heretic describes the general scheme of their armor being scarlet with black helms. We know that pre-Calth, the Gal Vorbak numbered about fifty or so(I don't know if Argel Tal had started making more at this point) and that when they weren't possessed, they did what they did before they became Gal Vorbak. Xaphen was still a Chaplain. Dagotal is still an Outrider sergeant. The Gal Vorbak only mutated during the Dropsite Massacre. They weren't mutated throughout the whole battle.

 

We know from Galaxy in Flames, at least Erebus had started wearing the red armor just before Istvaan V and in that book, the comment was made that the color was a change that was starting to spread through the Legion.

 

Neither source directly conflicts with the other as The First Heretic was told by the POV of the Chapter of the Serrated Sun, specifically the Gal Vorbak, which was largely isolated from te rest of the Legion. They may or may not have heard about this and there may or may not have been a big deal about it.

 

But as Nurgling pointed out, after Istvaan V the crimson armor became very common place and was much more similar to the 40k incarnation we associate with, at least that's how it was described in Know No Fear.

 

I know a few people have commented about the red-and-black scheme done by Forgeworld and its "weird", "non-canon" and "just magically happened". Personally, I think the Gal Vorbak should be a little different. If at least their helms are black, whose to say their shoulderpads aren't when nothing says otherwise?

 

It is possible that the Word Bearers just simply copied the color scheme. From The Underground War by A D-B in the Mark of Calth we know that through blood transfusions, somewhere in the neighborhood of two thousand "thinblood" Gal Vorbak were made. It is possible that they wore the black along with the crimson as well.

 

It might be possible that the entire Legion wore red and black and it just wasn't described in great detail. Something Forgeworld is taking advantage of is the rule "If it doesn't say no and it doesn't say yes, it doesn't say no." Basically, the 40K color scheme is the 40K color scheme. It doesn't have to be te Heresy color scheme just like the 40K color schemes of the Black Legion, Death Guard, Thousand Sons and World Eaters are not their Heresy color schemes.

 

Back on topic. Ultimately, what I'd do is paint my "Gal Vorbak" units as red and black and everyone else as grey unless this is a post-Istvaan 5 army. In which case it would then be personal preference, although I'd recommend a heavy preference of red-and-black.

[DuskRaider]

I always liked the dark grey w/ red trim I've seen in various places. I think it was like that in the IA article as well. You could always do the line troops in the FW scheme (which is what? Grey w/ silver trim, right?), Specialist squads in Grey w/ Red trim, and elites in the Gal Vorbak. Easier to tell your units apart, and it'll give them a sense of status in the Legion.

[Kol Saresk]

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm106/Linnear1701/40K/XVIILegionpost.jpg

 

That is the poster from the Weekender for the red-and-black scheme. If you notice, on one shoulderpad is somethign that looks like a sun so I imagine that Forgeworld is doing it that the Gal Vorbak and the Chapter of the Serrated Sun both wore red-and-black. Which sort of makes sense since Argel Tal is the Chapter Master of the Serrated Sun as well as the Crimson Lord of the Gal Vorbak. I don't know if The First Heretic contradicts this. I don't recall any specific mention of this happening but I could be wrong. I think it is another play on "If it doesn't say no and it doesn't say yes, it doesn't say no." Personally, I don't mind it and similar to how the Deathshroud now have more numbers, it allows multiple players to explore other options than "What is my limit?" I mean, an average 1500 point army is able to get what, fifty models on the field?(I'm guessing here although a more accurate guess is welcomed and much appreciated) so that means in order to have fully assembled Chapter would be if twenty players assembled their 1500 points in the same game. Not likely to happen I imagine. So it leaves room to do things like a whole Gal Vorbak/Serrated Sun army. Or to do as DuskRaider suggested, which is a fantastic idea.

 

On a side note, currently so far all possessed have been labeled as Gal Vorbak but nothing says that some of the possessed have started to label themselves differently since there are over two thousand now and I don't all of them died at Calth or even participated in the events in Betrayer.

[Xin Ceithan]

I' d like to add a fourth color scheme . in Betrayer, Argel Tar's unit, whose name escapes me right now, are crimson and have silver faceplates (and nifty arm mounted warp flame throwers ;) )

I pictured this along the lines of one of the minis in the new CSM dex. That's also post Istvaan. But the new FW pic -which I quite like- remind me of their description.

Always glad to add to the confusion.

[Kol Saresk]

Vakrah Jal, also known as the Chapter of Consecrated Iron. Yeah, I love those guys.

[depthcharge12]

Danggit, the Word bearers and Erebus were two things I loved to hate, but now the new circle of ashes destroyers and Erebus have been done justice by FW. 

 

Makes me seriously consider taking an allied detachment of Word Bearers for my World Eaters for a great and fluffy army.

 

It would make a totally bad@ss threat from the Imperium: to have your civilization and all records of it wiped off the face of the planet.

 

I call dibs

[Xin Ceithan]

Vakrah Jal, also known as the Chapter of Consecrated Iron. Yeah, I love those guys.

Yup, that was who I was looking for. Another shameless ADB admiration thing^^

But those WB are really getting some bad ass-ery here...the Circle of Ashes...the Consecrated Iron..

from fluffy bits like this I get hours...days...boxes of unfinished test models..for possible squads and armies...with my painting speed once I finish one or two there`s bound to have been some damn quote or release somewhere which makes me start up an all new test model...sheer agony^^

[Brother Keyaetus]

Cheers for the information folks, think I will go with grey for regulars, red for Gal Vorkbak and maybe those I'd imagine as being champions/deserving.

Cant wait to mix some mk2/4 with possessed box set.