III Legion Terminators: seeking opinions

[Kizzdougs]

Hello all. I have a dilemma regarding the future direction on my Emperor’s Children project.

 

Since completing my Rylanor/Mortis Contemptor for the ETL challenge I’ve moved onto my next EC unit, Legion Terminators. I was planning to do a simple five-man unit using Phoenix Guard Terminators with their Phoenix Spears swapped for regular Tartaros weapons. I love the PG minis and knew I had to have them in my army but feel that I’ll get better utility from regular termies.

 

As I waited for the Tartaros weapons to arrive from FW I came to the realisation that this was the perfect opportunity to build an army that’s always intrigued me, an all Terminator force. As I see it, a PotL /Loganwing army would suit my relatively slow painting rate, allowing me to focus on quality over quantity.

 

So the question I have is, do I use Phoenix Guard minis with Tartaros weapons as the base of the entire force or do I limit them to sergeants/characters? The PH are beautiful minis and would make for a highly elite looking force. The regular Tartaros seem to be far easier to convert and as such would avoid the risk of duplicate minis/poses.

 

What say the fraters of the HH forum?

 

Is an EC Terminator army a good idea?

 

Should I base the army on the PG or regular Tartaros minis?

[Hyaenidae]

 

What say the fraters of the HH forum?

Do it, or I swear I'll hunt you down.

 

Is an EC Terminator army a good idea?

See above. 

 

Should I base the army on the PG or regular Tartaros minis?

PG for Sergeants, Tartaros for standards. Maybe use the EC Power Armour head upgrades for the Tartaros heads, to add that III Legion look?

[Nakuth]

 

 

What say the fraters of the HH forum?

Do it, or I swear I'll hunt you down.

 

Is an EC Terminator army a good idea?

See above. 

 

Should I base the army on the PG or regular Tartaros minis?

PG for Sergeants, Tartaros for standards. Maybe use the EC Power Armour upgrades for the Tartaros heads, to add that III Legion look?

 

 

I like the way Snrub Heathens thinks! Do it.

[Reyner]

Do it. I am tempted to do something similar for my Sons of Horus! I would have squad leaders/important guys in full on Phoenix Guard armour and regular guys with Tartaros - possibly with the PG shoulder pads if you can get a hold of them en masse. The EC veteran heads might fit in Tartaros armour too which would be quite cool.

[Theredknight]

I'm using pg as my terminator set (spare spears going to half my palatine blade squad) so i shall have 10 ph with spears as normal, and 10 magnetised weapon sets with tartoros weps :-)

[Captain Semper]

Do it!

 

You may want to consider buiding your force using the "Pride of the Legion" Rite of War. This will allow for as many Termies as you want plus the odd veteran squad - that, if nothing else, offers opportunities for kit bashing/conversions (and use of the EC specific upgrades).

 

I don't have access to my books now but I think (maybe wrongly) that the PG can take alternative loadouts.

 

Regardless, I think that the PG unit with the halberds (spears?) is the finest looking Termie unit in the entire HH Termie range in my opinion INCLUDING the Grave Guard. And that says a lot.

 

 

Oh, and I'd use the regular Tartaros - which I also quite like - for the bulk. Make them more individual with the use of the recent EC transfers and leave the PG for, well, PG...

[Hyaenidae]

Had a thought.... It might be worth taking a look at the Minotaurs Asteron Moloc to convert into a suitable Praetor to lead this force. Swap the arms for some PG arms, drill out the faceplate and replace it with something fancier (sang. guard mask painted silver, maybe?), and scrape away the bullheads and replace with some aquillas or the Legion numerals, and he could look pretty badass.  :)

 

 

 

Late night brainstorming. Gotta love it.  

[GhostMalone]

Had a thought.... It might be worth taking a look at the Minotaurs Asteron Moloc to convert into a suitable Praetor to lead this force. Swap the arms for some PG arms, drill out the faceplate and replace it with something fancier (sang. guard mask painted silver, maybe?), and scrape away the bullheads and replace with some aquillas or the Legion numerals, and he could look pretty badass. :)

 

 

 

Late night brainstorming. Gotta love it.

I've got a spare torso if interested free of charge

[Allart01]

That would make an awesome Julius Kaesoron's first company!

[Daemon2027]

Sound like a great idea. As others have said, use the PG for sgts and the like.

[Kizzdougs]

Thanks for the feed back everybody!

 

At this stage you’ve swayed me towards using Tartaros as the bulk of the force with PG for the characters (and maybe a Command Squad too). I need to put in an order for some Tartaros so until then I’ll be conceptualising and trying to come up with some ideas for characters using the PG set and my sizable bits box.

 

@1000Heathens: I guess I’m doing it then…

I’ve been checking out the Phoenician helmets on the PH torsos and I think they look much better than the regular PG heads. The Moloc mini would certainly fit with the III Legion aesthetic. I’m planning to build a Praetor who can also be used as Grimnar (so he’ll be armed with an axe. I’m thinking of the Sang. Guard battle-axe) if I decide to use the SW codex for 40K games. The army will primarily be a 30K Pride of the Legion list but I’d also like the option of running Loganwing if I decide to take them to a tournament. I’m really keen to try to add some character and depth to my army for this project so I might be sending you a couple of messages. Thanks for the brainstorming.

 

@Reyner: Yeah, there’d be so many great options for a SoH Terminator army. You could use the Justaerin set the way I’m planning to use the Phoenix Guard. Having a mini and rules for your 1^st Captain is also pretty great (although I’d be tempted to model my own Falkus Kibre instead of using Abaddon). The EC upgrade heads do fit and they look great! No sure how I’ll go sourcing a large supply of PG pauldrons but they would be perfect.

 

@Theredknight: Can’t wait to see how your Terminators turn out. The Palatine Blades will look amazing with Phoenix Spears.

 

@Captain Semper: I’m planning to build the Terminators so that they can be run using either the Pride of the Legion or SW codex but with a preference for the PotL. Unfortunately the PG can’t take alternative load outs. They’re stuck with the spears. I’m likely to give the sergeants spears though. So there will be PG minis with spears, they just wont actually count as FG. My EC transfers arrived yesterday so I’ll definitely be using them.

 

@Jaspcat: That is very generous of you! What kind of torso are you talking about?

[GhostMalone]

Asteron Moloc

 

if interested PM me and ill post it

[Tyrannicide]

Been browsing through this little topic and all I can say is I'm leaving a happier man. We're all in for a treat. Good luck, kizz! :tu:

[Hyaenidae]

My PM box is always open, brother.  :)   Glad to help!

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

On the standard Tartaros minis, you could always use the EC brass etch to add some filigree-esque detail, along the same lines as the Tartaros termi image from Massacre (I'd post a pic, but there doesn't seem to be one floating round the web)?

[Kizzdougs]

Asteron Moloc

if interested PM me and ill post it

You're too kind mate! Looking forward to it arriving.

Been browsing through this little topic and all I can say is I'm leaving a happier man. We're all in for a treat. Good luck, kizz!

Thanks mate! I always keep an eye open for some more of your 44th Company goodness (my fingers are crossed for some more soon ).

My PM box is always open, brother. Glad to help!

Thanks for the offer Heathens!

At the moment I'm trying to sort out the command structure. Obviously a Praetor is obligatory but i'd be taking one regardless. The heroic commander type fits the III Legion perfectly. A Primus Medicae also seems like a logical and characterful choice. A Command Squad would also be an appropriate choice. What I'm not so sure about are Chaplains and Librarians. I've read people saying that the Emperor's Children didn't have a Librarius because the psyker gene was seen as an aberrance and a genetic imperfection. Personally I don't remember reading this in any official material but could believe it, despite Fulgrim's support for the Librarian project. I suppose I could always model up my own Hathor Maat (XV Legion) to represent his stay with the III Legion. Obviously there is a precedent for a III Legion Chaplain, Charmosian. An officer who is responsible for discipline, moral, and perfection also seems pretty appropriate. Am I right to think that the skull and bones imagery of the Chaplains are a post Heresy thing, representing the Emperor's death? If this is the case how should I differentiate the Chaplain from the other Legionaries, apart from the black armour?

Iron Hands Fanatic:

On the standard Tartaros minis, you could always use the EC brass etch to add some filigree-esque detail, along the same lines as the Tartaros termi image from Massacre (I'd post a pic, but there doesn't seem to be one floating round the web)?

Thanks brother. I've got Massacre and I definitely plan to use some etched brass on the termies. I'll probably also try to add some greenstuff details as well.

[Dorns Templar]

This sounds like a great idea. After seeing your Contemptor, I'm thinking the whole force will look fantastic.

[Daemon2027]

I understand why the psyker gene may be seen as generic imperfection, but you could also argue the other side, that it's the next step to human perfection. The Emperor is a psyker and no one (pre-heresy) would say he is imperfect.

 

I think Chaplians used a skull helm in the Imperial Herald days so I would imagine that this practise would have gone over to the Word Bearers then on to the other legions. They may be less covered in parchment outside of the Word Bearers, but I could see them having Oaths of Moments.

[Bowlzee]

Probably to late to sway you but I would personally do the following:

 

2x Phoenix Guard, and buy extra Tartaros weapons. 

 

Model them all as Phoenix Guard, but magnetise those that have an arm free and give them an option to take a combi-bolter. you can then use these as Sergeants for Terminator squads, or as more Phoenix Guard if you feel you need more.

 

I would then buy sets of Tartaros Terminators and model them all as normal terminators, using the Brass etch and new transfers to pimp them up a bit.

 

As for HQ, I would obviously have Fulgrim. You could then play them all as Fulgrim with his personal Phoenix Guard force. A Praetor for times when you don't want to take Fulgrim, a Primus Medicae because you can give him Terminator armour. Then sprinkle in some Land Raiders and a Spartan for giggles, and because you can't deep strike with them.

 

I also love the idea of modelling up a librarian from the XV legion to represent they stay with the III Legion.... In fact I might steal that idea, as I really wanted to add a Librarian to my EC but couldn't bring myself to sully the perfect gene :)

[Kizzdougs]

This sounds like a great idea. After seeing your Contemptor, I'm thinking the whole force will look fantastic.

Thanks mate! Love your VII Legion in the ETL. Do you have a blog or a WIP thread were we can see some more of your work?

I understand why the psyker gene may be seen as generic imperfection, but you could also argue the other side, that it's the next step to human perfection. The Emperor is a psyker and no one (pre-heresy) would say he is imperfect.

I think Chaplians used a skull helm in the Imperial Herald days so I would imagine that this practise would have gone over to the Word Bearers then on to the other legions. They may be less covered in parchment outside of the Word Bearers, but I could see them having Oaths of Moments.

Yeah, I always imagined that it would have been seen as humanity's next evolutionary step.

Hmm, the Imperial Heralds info is interesting. Perhaps it's a Black Library/FW retcon. Either way I'll probably try to steer away from the skull and bone look and focus instead on Legion heraldry etc.

Probably to late to sway you but I would personally do the following:

2x Phoenix Guard, and buy extra Tartaros weapons.

Model them all as Phoenix Guard, but magnetise those that have an arm free and give them an option to take a combi-bolter. you can then use these as Sergeants for Terminator squads, or as more Phoenix Guard if you feel you need more.

I would then buy sets of Tartaros Terminators and model them all as normal terminators, using the Brass etch and new transfers to pimp them up a bit.

As for HQ, I would obviously have Fulgrim. You could then play them all as Fulgrim with his personal Phoenix Guard force. A Praetor for times when you don't want to take Fulgrim, a Primus Medicae because you can give him Terminator armour. Then sprinkle in some Land Raiders and a Spartan for giggles, and because you can't deep strike with them.

I also love the idea of modelling up a librarian from the XV legion to represent they stay with the III Legion.... In fact I might steal that idea, as I really wanted to add a Librarian to my EC but couldn't bring myself to sully the perfect gene

Thanks for the input mate! I'm certainly keen to paint up the Fulgrim mini even if I don't end up using him very often. It would seem wrong to not to paint the Legion's Primarch. The Primus Medicae and Land Raider/Spartan route is definitely looking most likely at the moment. The more I think about it the better the Hathor Maat idea sounds. It would be fun to break up the III Legion project with something a little different.