Knights of House Cydonia, Taghmata Omnissiah and Skitarii

[deathspectersgt7]

COOL !!

[Battybattybats]

Oh i should clarify, this is the icon that already has the cyborged skull built in, not a separate servo skull added to one by me.

[JeffTibbetts]

I'd like to see better pics, but those look pretty cool! I've always loved the Machina Opus symbol, and I'd buy all kinds of stuff with that logo if I could. Something to hang from the mirror of my car, in particular. Even better if it has an incorporated incense-scented air freshener. How awesome would that be? And maybe a tin of sacred unguents and a scroll with some RT-era litanies on it (strike the first rune...). 

[Battybattybats]

Request Granted!

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0023-1.jpg

I left the little pole part at the bottom of each symbol as to me it looked like it could contain a small memory drive. After all even a Mechanicus bookmark will be a weird mix of old tech and new tech in strange harmony.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0017-1.jpg

I also painted the cybereye on each terminal different colours, this end red as the other was green. In my force eyes are so far red, green, orange, blue and unilluminating black with some gloss. I also did different degrees of contrast in my drybrush (slightly more paint on the brush and less layers for a streakier effect, vs less paint on the brush and more repeats for a smoother effect) so the red eyed one looks older and more worn while the green eyed one looks paler and smoother in texture.

The length is designed to fit in the tallest of GW books I have, with just a little give on either end of the Imperial Knights Companion, and to drape most aesthetically don the side or spine of shorter books and over the edge of bookshelves.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0001-3.jpg

I find these bookmarks look really good especially in hardbacks.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0009-4.jpg

The brass crimps i bought when making my purity seal as they looked delightfully mechanicus-y. I didn't look closely enough when i ordered them as i was in a rush with Games Day approaching, i thought they had 400 in stock for $3 each.. i spent $3 and got a pack larger than my hand so i'm not running out of them any time soon. Technique is the most basic of beading techniques imaginable. Also note that i chose a different side of the topmost strut to loop the attaching ring through so each leans slightly toward one form of the mechanicus binary than the other.

As for car air-freshers, one of my Ex's had a skull and crossbones one where the crossbones spun behind the skull like a propeller. If you obtained one of these and removed the crossbones and replaced it with a perforated cog cut from plastic-card it may not be easy to make it rotate but all you'd have left to do would be to augment half the skull with a bionic eye and metal plate of greenstuff and visit upon it a blessed coat of sacred pigments. I'm sure that wouldn't be outside your current forging skills Magos JeffTibbetts.

As for purchased stuff, i am quite vexed that Forgeworld's clothes bags and mugs are event-only and that since the ending of Games Day these events are not taking place on my continent!

Even the pencil sharpener i have for using when i'm playing my Explorator in the Rogue Trader RPG is themed when i saw one shaped like a bolt the other day (it's pink, i haven't yet painted it as it's that shiny plastic that may require heavy duty paint) so having a Mechanicus mug for my coffee and hot chocolate and tea when gaming and painting would be nice indeed. As would carrying my gaming stuff in a Mechanicus bag etc. If they do an event-only model that's Mechanicus (a fancy-posed Thallax with the skull showing through cracked faceplate would be a good one to do) and don't throw an event in Australia i may go right off the rails.

[JeffTibbetts]

That's dope. I want one. As for the air freshener thingy, that would actually be a fun project. If you had to take a wild guess, where do you suppose this ex may have purchased said corny-sounding contraption?

 

I'm all for themed gaming accessories! That pencil sharpener sounds fun too. The geekery just never ends.

[Battybattybats]

They got it at k-mart. Though a quick look at ebay found one that might work even better for you. As this one has a rotating part that might be even easier to make into an opus. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Skull-style-Air-Freshener-with-rotating-Car-Truck-Air-Freshener-/251671125924?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a98c49fa4

[JeffTibbetts]

OMG. That's hilarious. I'm actually thinking about it...

[Battybattybats]

You totally should. I'm sure the blessed cog would keep the machine spirit in your vehicle much happier and thus much better behaved.

[Battybattybats]

I really need to focus more on painting and assembling the servitors for my Techpriest Auxilia/Necromunda Explorators and my Arch-Magos, but parts arriving in the mail is so darn inspirational i've spent my hobby time today building what i'll either have as a Mechanicus Psyker or a Mechanicus Culexus-equivalent-Assassin. I'll post some pics when i get the chance, but i started with the creepy robed guy from the Mortis Engine, added a blood angels head for that sun-wheel halo and a few creepy ideas based on a John Blanche artwork and the writing of Graham McNeil....

I'm also wondering how i might paint fantasy spirits i'll get my hands on soon as machine spirits without overtaxing myself on what will end up being objective markers.

[Battybattybats]

Ok so, crudely blu-tacked in place, mold-lines still need removing, there'll be greenstuffing for gap filling, the chaos icon will become an opus mechanicum as i did with the bookmark and at least one more part decision for the hand etc but here's the rough idea.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0009-5.jpg

What's that on their back?


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0018-1.jpg

Brains, from Black Cat Bases sitting in a canister made from a cut-down disposable ink cartridge for a calligraphy pen.

Now look closely at the back of the head...

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0014-1.jpg

There isn't one. From the back of the mask i'll run another cable into the brain-tank. I'll pour some clear resin in once i've painted the brains to secure them in place and represent the conductive fluid that enables the brains to sinc with the whole system.

So, former techpriests who left on the black fleet and returned astropaths conjoined into a neuromatrix psyker of magnified power using the dark Cydonian secrets the cults of New Ares and Forgeworld St Hoagland have been jealously keeping since the time of the heresy under strict religious compartmentalisation?
Or worse are those brains the last two victims of a psyker-hunting Culexus equivalent made using even darker Mechanicus secrets?

[miteyheroes]

Very cool!

[JeffTibbetts]

Very cool concept! Reminds me of something from the RPG games. Can't remember which one, but I think it was called the Rite of Duplicity or something. It allowed you to add a second brain. I love that it's external, in this case. There's something inherently wrong about it, but that's why it's cool. I'm also intrigued by the idea of a psyker in the AdMech. Fluff-wise, does that ever happen?

[Battybattybats]

While i've not seen it specifically mentioned in any of GW's fluff to my knowledge there must be some with them even if it's just astropaths stationed on forgeworlds and in explorator fleets for interstellar communication.

Be careful with the spoiler tags that follow, they are significant for each of the things i cite especially the novels so be sure when you click on them.

In the Dark Heresy 40k rpg FFG sourcebook The Lathe Worlds...

there are Psybernetic Implants, declared High Tech Heresy long ago nevertheless these are experimented with by some Radicals within the Calixis Sector which, quite dangerously, grant a non-psyker some psychic ability. So this at least does show some psychic Mechanicus though in this case it's Heretical.

Also in the same book there are...

Discordants, rare people with the capacity to suppress machine spirits causing machines to turn off, malfunction or even explode. As to be expected these are not very popular people to most of the Mechanicus, though some want to control them and use them against their factional enemies or Hereteks etc) This is an effect rather similar to the old 1st Ed 40k psychic power Jinx, though it is not described as a psychic power as such nor functions using the psychic rules of the game either, no other explanation for the effect is given though.

Also in Graham McNeil's 'Of Mars' trilogy (which i'm more than halfway through book 3 of) there is...

a character who is 'Machine Touched' and has an ability to make broken machine spontaneously work again. This is treated as Holy rather than Psychic, but that doesn't mean it's not.

Finally in the Horus Heresy Mechanicum material from Forgeworld there is the Cybertheurgy powers of the Magos Dominus which isn't specifically stated to be psychic as such, nevertheless uses rules like 6th edition psychic rules complete with failure tables, though as it's not specified as psychic perhaps Cybertheurgy is simply wifi hacking, i guess we won't know until more is done with psykers in the Heresy books when we get the Thousand Sons and the Silent Sisterhood and see if they treat Cybertheurgy powers as specifically psychic then.

[Battybattybats]

Got some work done on my abeyant, still needs lenses painted, gold and bone needs washes and highlights, a lot of parts aren't on it yet etc but i got the chipped red paint done on the parts that are assembled so far.

I had thought that maybe i'd do the paint crisp like on much of the Knight which i expect gets any battle-damage repainted often to preserve heraldry and keep the machine spirit happy, which is why the 1st Knight only has a little wear and scuff damage (The Errant charging right in, especially with it's history, will have recent battle scoring and it's ghosts will have a different attitude so that one will be a lot more weathered) but then i thought, this Abeyant is crawling and moving over twisted wreckage, with those tendrils whipping around, it'll get scuffed up pretty often and will go through regular battlefield maintenance which is always rough on the paint. Besides it should look great scuffed so...

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF00012-2.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF00022-3.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF00032-2.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF00042-2.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF00052-2.jpg

[JeffTibbetts]

Looking good! Now dump a pot of Agrax Earthshade on it and get it going on. Those lenses up front, are you going to do them up like gems or make them glowing lamps?

[Battybattybats]

I'l use Agrax on the gold, then an auric drybrush and brushed on highlights. Agrax and tyrant skull for the bone of course. I might go with some Agrax in blotches and streaks on the medusan tendrils dragging at the bottom of the pile but i'm not sure yet, i'm still deciding how much stone rubble and how much rusting tech to use on this base, and once that's determined i'll know if it needs it.

I'm thinking of doing the lenses like i did the ones on the knight, so a glow but not a really bright lamp type one.

[KBA]

Love your mechanicum. From the FW stuff, to the kit bashed insanity, it's all delicious. Man, I need to grab a knight kit..

[Battybattybats]

Thanks KBA, i look forward to seeing your knight when you do get one.

I'm continuing to work on the Abeyant today, also working on parts choices for building the eventual goal of my Explorator team (even though i'm still to finish them lol), the  Throne Mechanicum of from the remains of a fallen Knight. I was thinking of making the deceased pilot fairly skeletal, but now i'm leaning towards using zombie parts for a more naturally half-mumified remains look, i'll try to remember to post some blu-tacked bits next lot of pic-taking i do to see what people think.

Oh and a question, anyone had any experience painting over the top of Agrellan Earth? I want the cracked dried-out look but need a different coloured soil...

[JeffTibbetts]

Thanks KBA, i look forward to seeing your knight when you do get one.

 

I'm continuing to work on the Abeyant today, also working on parts choices for building the eventual goal of my Explorator team (even though i'm still to finish them lol), the  Throne Mechanicum of from the remains of a fallen Knight. I was thinking of making the deceased pilot fairly skeletal, but now i'm leaning towards using zombie parts for a more naturally half-mumified remains look, i'll try to remember to post some blu-tacked bits next lot of pic-taking i do to see what people think.

 

Oh and a question, anyone had any experience painting over the top of Agrellan Earth? I want the cracked dried-out look but need a different coloured soil...

 

I haven't used it myself, but there are lots of others I've seen that successfully painted over the top of it. Looks to me like it dries as totally normal but for texture, so you can simply overpaint whatever color you choose. 

[Battybattybats]

I've been working in my head on a lot of ideas for the background of my force and have made enough decisions to share a little more.

So the Forgeworld is named St Hoagland (for those not knowing the reference Richard Hoagland is the ex-NASA scientist who 'found' the 'face' on Mars and has pushed all manner of fascinating evocative and decreasingly credible notions around it for decades) The Forgeworld was named for one of the Binaric Saints (which are to my knowledge an invention of Author Graham McNeil mentioned in the books Knights of the Imperium and Gods of Mars) who spread the Omnissian Cult in the early days of antiquity.

Hoagland was one such of the Binaric Saints, an apostle of the Omnissiah who hailed originally from the Cydonian region of Mars and who was amongst the sacred Explorators who sought out the fate of the early colonists who had left Mars to found the Knight Worlds and bring them into the Mechanium fold. What Hoagland found on New Ares was a world already sharing very similar beliefs to that which he was proselytizing, that had evolved from the same mysticism that gradually had taken root in the survivors of Old Night on Mars to become the Omnissian Cult.

He and his coterie were welcomed in great ritual by the head of House Cydonia, the Knightly House who had become dominant of the Houses of New Ares by both their demonstrations of wisdom, their mastery of the Sacred Mysterioes and their skill in battling both xenos and especially also fighting the rogue cybeasts that periodically surge from the sacred taboo relic terraform-ship sitting at rest half buried in red sand on the far unpopulated side of New Ares that was only ever partially activiated and since Old Night malfunctions sending bizarre machine/cloned-animal hybrids built from the terraforming gene-stock searching for whatever metals minerals and organic materials the ship needs to keep itself in a state of semi-repaired semi-functionality.

The Head of House Cydonia, like all of their occult leaning, took great stock in dreams and coincidences, and had dreamed the night before the Explorators arrival in-system of a version of the House Emblem of the stylised face of Cydonia as a skull, already not an uncommon symbol, the halo of divine inspiration toothed as a cog, rising as the sun to the apex of the pyramid-keep from which his house watched over the recreation of the Cydonian plateau and sacred face. The similarity to the Opus Mechanicum borne by the Saint being seen as a sign of great portent by both sides so the negotiation of alliance was swift on both sides, the Houses swiftly pledged to the Mechanicum and the Houses given much greater leeway than usual, allowing the Noble pilots to be inducted into the mysteries of Techpriest training. Leeway that some in the Mechanicus have come to regret, techpriests of rank and influence that are embeded with the drives and restrictions of the Throne Mechanicum's brainwashing and unflinching intransigence and recalcitrance backed up by significant firepower is not something arrogant feudal lords in the Mechanicus like to deal with, especially when having to ask them for protection.

Through this the Knights of House Cydonia learned of the psycho-conditioning system built into the Thrones Mechanicum through which they piloted their machines. Rather than upset at this in any way this was embraced as a Holy Upgrade, yet another of the Sacred Mysteries that brings them closer to the Omnissiah by making them more fit for their purpose as cogs in the machine of his design. Because of this they see themselves as superior to the Knights of House Taranis of Mars! Seeing them despite their place as the first Knight House as flawed, incomplete and not as close as the conditioned priestly Knights to the Omnissiah. While the Knights of Cydonia are not overtly hostile to those of Taranis their lack of the usual fawning or deference to them, tendency to aloofness and condescension and an equal amount of arrogance and the regular presence of both on Mars where many of the House Cydonia travel to receive their instruction and induction as Techpriests and where many of the knights they pilot are manufactured means that duels of honour between the more hot-headed of both Houses have occurred many times through the ages varying from friendly rivalry to noble chivalry to on some occasions quite brutal feuds.

Swiftly after the alliance was signed the two similar religious faiths were merged, the New Ares Cydonian cult re-interpreted with new revelations. The Cydonian face recarved to hold closer similarity to the revealed face of the Omnissiah, the House Cydonian emblem of the haloed face being changed to that of the dream, the cog-haloed skull. Many of the face-masks worn when crossing the desert and in some ritual roles now often bearing a skull on the forehead, a cog-halo, made from the skulls of slain cy-beasts or becoming a skull faceplate stylised like the masks often worn by Knights.

No two objects in any collision emerge without absorbing a little of the other, and the beliefs of New Ares influenced the teachings of Saint Hoagland, becoming divergent, with greater emphasis on reading meaning in coincidence, in unconscious-derived inspiration. While not at all forgoing the Logic of the the cult nevertheless those worlds touched by Hoagland after New Ares were much more religious and more obscure secretive and revelatory than that of the other saints. When his physical frame could hold entropy no more at bay and like the other saints had to retire from endless wandering Hoagland returned to the Forgeworld he had founded to serve and be served by New Ares, a world that had been renamed after him in his long absence.

Eventually the Saint ascended from physical form into the vast data arrays of the Forgeworld via a Throne Mechanicum of strange make of his own construction... since then every Fabricator General of St Hoagland has been granted the title The Hoagland as the mortal representative of the Binaric Saint, though it has been a long time since the spirit of the saint has communicated with anyone other than the Machine Spirits of the great datascape of the Forgeworld. When their time approaches, if they have not been slain by Assassins or in times when war has reached the world or on battlefields afar, then each Fabricator General of St Hoagland is plugged into the unique Throne Mechanicum to also enter the datascape and receive what is called the Final Mystery or the Final Revelation. Their response at this varies, some have smiled, some laughed, some wept tears of apparent joy, and some have unleashed wailing screams... none have ever communicated with the mortals after merging with the datascape not even any of the later Fabricator Generals to be named The Hoagland.. yet the possible ominous implications of this blunts none of the ambition of those who strive and scheme for the position for it's incalculable access to Knowledge and Power.

So that's where i'm at with background currently.

Here's the rough parts idea for the Throne Mechanicum with long-dead pilot that my Necromunda Explorator team are searching for. The parts aren't at all cleaned up, i'm still trying to decide on it all so feedback very very welcome.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0008-1.jpg

Zombie torso head and arms on the same valkyrie cockpit parts i am using for the Knight Errant throne and the thrown-back hood from the Empire Battle Wizards.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF0012-2.jpg

I think the oversized zombie hands aren't a problem, and hope the pose, when the miu cable is added to his head and some seat-belt straps made, should look like he's slumped against that restraint.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/supreme_martian_overlord/DSCF00022-4.jpg

 

[deathspectersgt7]

Like the fluff. 

[JeffTibbetts]

That's pretty cool. Are you thinking you're going to incorporate the throne into scenery somehow? One wonders how it would come to rest like that. Unless the entire cabin is shattered in pieces around it. Not ambitious or anything... 

[Teetengee]

objective marker?

[Battybattybats]

That's pretty cool. Are you thinking you're going to incorporate the throne into scenery somehow? One wonders how it would come to rest like that. Unless the entire cabin is shattered in pieces around it. Not ambitious or anything... 

 

 

objective marker?

Yes to both of you.

The throne will be on a base nestled on top of scrap slices of pipes girders rust flakes and cogs and whatever bits i have in my bits box i don't need for other projects that I feel look like they might fit into an archaeotech horde on necromunda. It will be tipped at an angle along the lines the body and head is leaning.

 

The idea being that the knight was extensively destroyed and the wreckage looted (probably by orks, Necromunda has had 2 major bouts of major warfare in background that i remember, the first was a huge Ork invasion with small numbers of orks still inside the hives centuries after and the second was a massive Genestealer uprising after a cult had grown to disasterous proportions and Marines turned up to put it down that was a space-hulk campaign published in one of the earliest White Dwarfs i bought back in the early 90s and unless they infiltrated local Mechanicus the tech un-savvy Genestealer Cult is an unlikely culprit so the Orks i think would be the fiends responsible), but any attempt to interfere with the pilot to unplug the miu cables and loot the throne results in misfortune....

 

I'm looking at making a hostile Machine Spirit protecting the throne, perhaps magentised it or perhaps on it's own base. I'm still working on my plans on how i could represent a machine spirit, i'm getting some spirit host bits that might work as the basis (and if not will end up in my Vampire Counts warhammer fantasy army so won't be wasted!) though making them look like machine spirits without recasting in clear neon green resin or crippling myself trying to paint layers of binary code all over them is the challenge i'm trying to contemplate at the moment.

 

The idea being that the machine spirit must be defeated by anyone who wants to claim the arcaheotech horde, but once it is anyone may claim it. I'll have to make one or more Heretek hired-guns for other Necromunda players to hire that could also fight/placate the spirit and work out Necromunda rules for it so once the campaign gets to that point all participants can fight for the prize.

 

I can take my time though, as the talk of a local Necromunda campaign this year dried up so i'll probably end up organising it next year, with someone deputised to run and adjudicate anything decision involving my explorators to ensure i can play too without any conflict-of-interest issues.

 

You'll notice I chose parts for the arms that have sleeves with torn shoulders, some gangers or ratskins have got as far as tearing off the gilded shoulder armour pieces of the uniform before coming under attack from the Machine Spirit, a survivor managing to escape allowing rumours to slip out and trickle all the way to my penitent fallen-magos, forming the trail of clues that they will be following.

 

The parts i'm starting with are some spirit hosts from the mortarch kit and the skulls trailing smoke from the mortis engine.

 

I'm also making plans to represent a Cydonian Noblewoman, but more about that when i have some of the bits i need....

 

Actually, while i'm making this dead pilot for my Necromunda Explorators narrative goal, there's plenty of mention in the Codex background of Knights still operating after the pilot has died.

With Forgeworld's Mechanicus Knights i'm planned to make 5 Knights: Quod Erat Demonstrandum the Paladin, The Betrayed the Errant which i've started on but is currently paused, The Scholar likely another Paladin but maybe an Errant that currently is just the pilot, an as-yet unnamed Styrix i'll order soon and an as-yet unnamed Mageara I'll get after that. The Forgeworld Mechanicus-y knights haven't the pilot-hatch so i won't be making pilots for those and i've planned out and blu-tacked up the pilots for The Betrayed and The Scholar. But it would be cool to make a knight with a visibly dead pilot still operating under the control of it's Throne-ghosts.

Before Forgeworld showed their amazing Questoris variants i had been thinking of adding a Freeblade (and delving into my family trees extensive array of knights and their heraldry for colours and markings)... so maybe i'll need to consider the idea some more and maybe eventually add a freeblade who fought beside House Cydonia, the pilot died during the battle and the ghosts in the machine obstinately refuse to cease fighting beside them. That or prhaps someone wanting to do something similar might see the parts i'm using for this dead pilot and be inspired along the same lines for a ghost-controlled Knight. If i go with the idea rather than just hinging the hatch with a magnet I might expose the pilot with damage showing why they are dead and make a dead pilot with an obvious mortal wound.

 

This one though will be for Necromunda as an objective.

[Thrillhouse]

This sentence: "But it would be cool to make a knight with a visibly dead pilot still operating under the control of it's Throne-ghosts."

 

Now that image is going to haunt me for weeks. That could be so cool!