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The Lost and Forgotten: Building the II Legion

Athrawes

By Athrawes
in + WORKS IN PROGRESS +

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  • 4 weeks later...
Athrawes Venerable Brother

Athrawes

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The Ghost Crusade

 

As the fires of organized resistance on Ancient Terra were smothered out by the Triumph of Unity, The Emperor set his eyes to the stars and launched his Great Crusade. While this war of Ideals and ambitions spread from the Solar system in fanfare, another war began in silence.

 

Old Night had seen the collapse of countless Golden Age societies. Empires and individual worlds found themselves suddenly isolated, cut off in a galaxy where threats loomed abundant. Many worlds found themselves besieged by Xenos of varied and unknowable qualities. Many more worlds were torn apart by civil war and self immolation as resources dwindled and panic reined. Great swaths of the galaxy faced a darker fate still.

 

For millennia, the warp had served as a means of empire for nascent human cultures spreading throughout the galaxy. With the psychic awakening, and the Terror of Old Night, the boundaries between material and immaterial realm wore thin on thousands of worlds. Here it was that madness reined and neverborn creatures stalked and ravaged the life that they had for so many eons craved with envious eyes.

 

In a galaxy which the Emperors Imperial Truth claimed was sterile and Godless, the existence and rediscovery of tainted worlds and the malevolence that held sway over them proved a dire threat to unity. For if such worlds were encountered in abundance by crusading hosts, dangerous questions might arise.

 

For the sake of Humanity, and the success of the great Crusade; knowledge of these worlds and their malevolence must be sought out, purged and subsequently sequestered from the records of humanity.

 

Such was the Mandate of the Ghost Crusade.

 

From the very beginning of the Great Crusade, it had been a direct  imperial Dictate from the Emperor to enact exterminatus upon worlds discovered to have substantial warp breaches. While all Legions and Expeditionary Forces were tasked to obey this edict, the Emperor; realizing the threat exposure to such warp anomalies could inflict upon warriors and the foundation of Imperial Truth, sought to craft warriors with a mandate to seek out, and war upon these malevolent threats, far from Imperial Eyes. For this purpose, he created the II Legiones Astartes.

 

++++++++++++

 

 

 

First, Some artwork from Mr. Swaid:

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/webway%20C21s.jpg

 

++++

 

The Warlord has been eating up a great deal of my time, expect an update on that later in the week. That being said, I have been able to chip away at my Lightning Bearers.

 

And here is the design Brief that I have been using as the foundation for the look of the Oni Specters:

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/ONI%20CONCEPT.jpg

 

Here are some of test models for the Spectres. Once I'm satisfied with them, I should be able to finish up a unit of 10 fairly quickly.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/2393DD06-3824-4947-9555-BBD1697EE02E.jpg?t=1438056391

(LIne Oni Spectre in modifid Mk II Power armor, bearing Teleport Shunt Pack)

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/21FAD679-94EA-46BC-92B9-9E74A205A029.jpg?t=1438056433

(Here an Oni Altus or Sergeant bears an alternate helmet pattern)

 

I'm hopeful that the paint scheme and the minor alterations hide the fact that they are basically just the plain Iron warriors torso and head upgrade.

 

Let me know what you think.

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SalvationOfReason Veteran

SalvationOfReason

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First thought; damn those are pretty.

The fluff bit is nice, not much leading into the Oni, but provides more background to the II Legion.

The sketches are probably my favorite part of this process so far. As much as I enjoy your mini work, just looking at the design process going into them, building up a solid reference while removing the parts which don't fit your vision, it's all very appealing. I wish FW would show us some of their concept work, just so we could get an inside look.

 

Keep it up. You do your Legion proud. Hail, Athrawes, Lorekeeper of the 2nd.

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jimbo13 Veteran

jimbo13

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Just wanted to pop in, I know i've been bad with updating regularly, but its been a painful process rebuilding my hobby materials and drive after the fire. That being said, I wanted to share with you two pieces of incoming progress.

 

The first is directly related to the fire.

 

One of the most painful miniatures that got destroyed in the fire was my avatar, my version of Sentinel Athrawes. He was one of the first models I made for this project. He inspired the beautiful artwork by Ibrahem swaid.

 

He is gone now, but my significant other ended up having a miniature of him commissioned as an anniversary present so I am proud to say that Raiden lives again!

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/2c360e48-31fb-47c3-88ac-83e9d480506b.jpg

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/4f7be063-31a9-4f6b-ae42-38d65ad9b1bd.jpg

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/a5e279bc-ff57-4bb3-9e77-a242a3c8863a.jpg

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/a40781c2-5b2a-4903-89c0-1ef67a74b829.jpg

 

Curtesy of Mr. Myles David.

 

A few things of note about this design, I wanted to tie him more closely with the Oni order so I opted to trade is cloak for a Kisai robe which I have been modeling on the Oni Spectres. His Pistol is interchangeable with the new plasma revolver from the Mechanicum Datasmith, but I wanted to give him weapon options for running him as a standard Praetor. Finally, like all god FW character his head is swappable for a helmeted version. I think it is both true to Ibrahem's artwork, and stands on his own and something separate and beautiful.

 

And News point #2: I received this confirmation in my inbox last Thursday....

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/Screen%20Shot%202015-07-04%20at%2011.19.15%20PM.png

 

 

~We stand for Madrigal

Never let that woman go!!!! Also I love the reworked head from the minotaurs chaplain. Glad to see this thread is back on track though. So much inspiration, I have to echo the community comments.

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Daemon2027 Veteran

Daemon2027

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As other have said, great to see you still working on this. I have said before, your II legion are compleatly canon in my world, I would love to one day make a II legion model. The Specters are great, distinct enough to be an elite unit.
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Athrawes Venerable Brother

Athrawes

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I've made a few minor adjustments to Raidens miniature that my girlfriend commissioned for me. I wouldn't be a hobbyist if I didn't want to tweak everything just a bit! 

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/99c11497-95ba-4afa-9ede-8255f76c9131.jpg

 

First off, I ended up altering his armor color a bit to more closely match the way the rest of the Legion has been painted.

 

I also ended up giving him a lightning Bolt Belt buckle, as for some reason, the waist area just didn't seem balanced to me without a little something in to pull attention in that direction.

 

I added a helmet crest inspired by a unicorn horn (in the shape of a thunderbolt). 

 

Finally I finished painting his new pistol. I fell in love with that plasma revolver and thought it would look slick on the model, bonus that it fits Angrons holster which is hanging from his belt!

 

++++

 

I think he still is a fair representation of Ibrahems artwork, just with a few unique flourishes. 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/commission__raiden_athrawes_by_saint_max-d7zpmi4.jpg

 

More to come later!

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Athrawes Venerable Brother

Athrawes

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The young Legion

 

(Excerpt from “Tales to Astound: The Story of the 20 Legions” A pulp publification in the Hives of Scclax VII)

 

Apocryphal records and treatise dating from late unification and the early great crusade recount several of the cognomen utilized or placed upon the II Legion Astartes. “The Liberators,” “Thunder Legion” and “The Storm Host”, all appear regularly alongside their official designation of “Lightning Bearers” in such accounts. Less understood however, is the usage of  “The Young Legion.”

Some records, claim it as a title derogatively heaped upon the II Legion by the elder I Legion Astartes. In these accounts, I Legion officers are claimed to have utilized the descriptor as means to deride II Legion efforts as novice, and as examples of the Legions lack of worth being of secondary lineage.

Other Texts claim the title “Young Legion”  for the II Legion as referencing their continual, and apparently remark worthy, youthful appearance. While many biases are inherent in such accounts, it becomes clear that many of their brother Legions viewed the youthful appearance of Astartes bearing II Legion Geneseed as a curiosity. In one account by the poet Skylathis Moore during the Razing of the Xxetul Xenos Hold, that the VI Legion Primogenitor Leman Russ Remarked, “(The II Legion) are an army of Whelps, perpetually wet behind the ears. But bastards with a sword.”

These accounts paint an unclear but intriguing picture. A more disturbing rumor has on several occasions been brought to light.

These sources claim that the youthful appearance of the II Legion is owed not to some random quirk of their geneseed but to the actual Sidereal age of their Legionaries. Rumors circulate that Legionaries of a certain age, veterancy or experience are in fact removed from active service and replaced by younger, newly raised aspirants.

A deathbed account by a dying II Legionary to a V Legion Apothecary is the only know corroborative evidence to this rumor.

           

The Purged

 

(Source Redacted. Clearance Level: Alpha-Novermber-347/b)

 

It was a mandate by the Emperor, to the Fledgling II Legion. We called it the Silence Protocol.

 

It was Grim but it was our duty.

 

We learned from the earliest instances of fighting on warp tainted worlds that no matter how stalwart the warrior, the Corruption finds a way.

 

It starts with a madness in the eyes. The sapphire Iris gifted by our fathers Geneseed gives way to Darkness. And like a sign, the soul follows suit.

No warrior, no matter how noble can fight this war without cost. That is why we count our battles. Watch for signs.

 

We all try to fight the coming storm. But each and every one of us will fail, and will become “retired from active duty.”

 

You know what it is we say to the mortals we fight for?

 

Only in Death Does duty End. 

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simison Venerable Brother

simison

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Interesting and unexpected. Out of instinct, I wouldn't have thought that youthful looks wouldn't be an issue for marines to maintain. But then I remembered not everyone is as blessed as the Blood Angels. Oh well.

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Athrawes Venerable Brother

Athrawes

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I thought it was about time I share something with you, that I have been slowly chipping away at over the months. 

 

This is pretty much just the base coat and color blocking so that I could make sure the color scheme from the painting translates to a miniature. Now that I'm satisfied that it works, adding detail will commence.

 

This is still extremely WIP but hopefully it will buy me some time until my next update.

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/4834cfdb-343d-45b8-b330-ca109725c6fa.jpg

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