My Sisters (Order of the Vermilion Veil)

[tvih]

Didn't get around to starting this topic before, so I guess now's a good a time as any, as I got some new reinforcements.
 
http://www.tvih.net/stuff/wh40k/sisters-and-steel-legion.jpg
 
Excuse the Steel Legion in the pic, too lazy to crop and upload a new version of the old picture
 
Basically included is a Canoness, Celestine, four heavy bolters, two flamers, two meltas, two Superiors and nine bolter Sisters. Sadly currently the Canoness's wargear is missing save for the Eviscerator... moving to a new apartment in May has wreaked some serious havoc on my ability to locate my models and bits. As is I've supposedly looked everywhere, but no luck. For example also missing a drop pod, not exactly the smallest thing. Missing from the pic is my Immolator, and from that too is missing one of the turret Sister's arms... sigh.
 
Anyway, here's today's reinforcements acquired second hand for a low low price:
 
http://www.tvih.net/stuff/wh40k/sisters-reinforcements.jpg

Excuse me for the lazy copy-paste from my BT Crusade thread about the contents:

The rundown:
- two Sister Superiors with plasma pistol and chainsword
- Sister Superior with Combi-Melta and (broken) Power Maul
- two Sisters with Multi-Melta (plus an excess heavy bolter)
- a Canoness with... uh, well a pistol on the right hand, and for some reason some sort of heavy bolter strapped to her back, as well as a marine backpack - hopefully not too damaging to remove
- a... uh, seems like the heavy bolter sister but equipped with an eviscerator and melta pistol - the eviscerator arm looked really off, because the arm looks far too long given where it is positioned, so I snapped it off after taking the pic, luckily it came off easy
- an older very nice Canoness with combi-flamer and some sort of inquisition symbol, might just give her a sword though
- perhaps the weirdest of the lot, a Canoness with a Halberd and a Psycannon - no idea what I'm gonna use her for, admittedly looks kinda cool though! Too bad no power-armored inquisitors who could use that loadout. In any case the weapons seem very firmly attached, so not sure I can remove them or anything
- five Seraphims with dual bolt pistols
- Seraphim Superior with bolt pistol and power sword
- two Seraphims with dual hand flamers
- nine Repentia
- a kinky dominat... uh, Mistress

In addition there's the two power swords, two bolt pistols, two scroll hands and a book hand. Sadly there's two backpacks missing, or three considering the one model with the marine backpack. For some reason there were three mutilated backpacks included, it seems the "knobs" where marine backpacks have the vents have been cut off, no idea why. Perhaps I can manage to make new knobs from putty or something, ought to be easier than making entirely new backpacks. Also missing is one Seraphim jump pack, not sure how I'm going to replace that. Also none of the Repentia had bases, but that's no biggie.

Nicely the only models I already had were the power maul Superior (love that model), the newer Canonesses, and the heavy bolter Sister. Not sure what I'm gonna do with so many Canonesses or Superiors, but I reckon I'll think of something.

There's certainly some cleaning up to do, since everything except unpainted models need to be stripped (of paint, you pervs), but of course I forgot to buy some stuff to do that with to get the restoration started dry.png Also the sockets where you attach a weapon to an arm on the models with loose arms seem to be full of green stuff residue, as if that was tried as a glue replacement huh.png

Now, to get those Repentia a transport...

---

I still haven't fully decided what Order(s) I'll paint them as. I like the color scheme of the two mainly black ones (Valorous Heart and Our Martyred Lady), but then I already have so many other black models so I'm not sure if I want at least all of them to be of those Orders. Then there's Argent Shroud who would go well together with my Black Templars and Steel Legion, but while I may paint some as Argent Shroud, likely not the majority. In the end I'll probably do the unthinkable and just paint models of the various Orders and make 'em play nice with each other Although a good question is when I'll even get around to painting, with so many other things to paint and not progressing with those things either. I really want to paint at least a test mini soon, though.

Edited October 12, 2021 by tvih

[WarriorFish]

What about a DIY order? They definitely deserve some paint on them, whatever you decide to do :) Let us know when you get that test model done :tu:

[*Furyou Miko]

For replacing missing parts, there's some wonderful stuff called Instant Mold. It goes for about £6 for as much as you'll ever need (unless you're recasting or something, in which case there are better things to use and we don't talk about it) and it's infinitely re-usable. Just put it in some hot water for a few seconds, then press the backpack into it until it cools. Pull the backpack out and you can make another.

 

As for green stuff as a replacement for glue, the old manager at my local GW actually taught that. >< Because he had NO idea how to use green stuff and refused to admit it.

 

I find that Canonesses and Sisters Superior make for excellent Command Squad Celestians.

 

The Order of our Martyred Lady fought alongside the Black Templars and the Steel Legion at Helsreach Hive. The Ardent Shroud fought... in the general vicinity of the Flesh Tearers during that war.

[tvih]

I briefly considered DIY, but it seems a bit pointless since there's such nice "official" paint schemes to use.

Also, I managed to cleanse about 98% of the green warp taint from the pistol+heavy bolter Canoness. Still some problems with the left arm socket and whatnot, seems to be a mix of glue and remnants of green stuff there still, might have to drill it a bit. It was easier to clean the old Canoness model's wrist attachment point. Ugh, green stuff as glue, such silliness.

For some background about acquiring my army, I got the bunch in the first pic (plus the Immolator) September last year. Since then I think I've played a total of 7 matches of 40k, of which 4 were with a combined Sisters + IG list. Two wins, two losses. I like using an Eviscerator Canoness with the EW relic, I used it in all of those games. Inferno pistol was used in all of them too I think, though she never really killed anything noteworthy with it. But in the future it's nice that I can finally play BT+Sisters properly together, and even put the Canoness in a BT LR so she can get to assault more easily!

 

I'm probably going to paint my original Canoness as my first SoB model. I'm crazy like that - I should start with "less important" models, but I always end up starting with my favorites or in general HQs, even when I haven't painted a particular color scheme yet! Now if I could only find her Inferno pistol (and obviously the other bits too), I want her to have hers and not some other one. Though of course I can paint the rest of her in the meanwhile.

 

By the way, I suppose there's no relic or other piece of wargear that the Icon carried by the old combi-flamer Canoness could be used to represent these days? At least doesn't seem so looking at the Sisters armory and relics. I suppose I could use her as a female Inquisitor, the Icon carried by her would certainly make her easily identifiable as such to opposing players. I don't have any actual Inquisitor figures - not that there are many to begin with.

 

And Furyou, I do actually have some Instant Mold, but my previous attempts with it have been... less than stellar. Currently I'm also out of green stuff - though I should actually get some other type, that you can actually sand and such.

 

Superiors would work OK for Command Squad I suppose, but sadly while they look nice the weapon selections of the Superiors aren't that great. Could still do it, but it's a pain at least in close combat with SoB transports having no assault vehicle options and all that. Not that big of a deal in friendly games though.

 

As for OoOML and AS.... AS was at Helsreach. They were elsewhere too, but they fought together with Templars and Steel Legion at the Temple of the Emperor Ascendant, even if only briefly since things went down the drain quite fast there. OoOML was mainly at Tempestora to my understanding, I'm not aware of them having any contact with Templars though it could've happened. Of course that doesn't prevent me from painting some in any case, but for the Temple battle which I sort of plan to re-enact at some point some AS Sisters would work marvelously with my SL and BT models.

[*Furyou Miko]

Superior weapons are easy enough to change

 

Oh! The "sort of inquisition symbol thing" is actually an Ecclesiarchy symbol. It would make a good Power Maul (Crozius) or possibly Simulacrum or Litanies.

 

Me? Wrong about Sisters fluff? I guess its possible...

[tvih]

Well, all my OoOML knowledge (what little there is of it) is from Lexicanum. The AS at Helsreach part I know mainly from having read Helsreach by AD-B twice due to BT goodness. I quote from the book: "Elsewhere in the Temple of the Emperor Ascendant, the sisters were making ready for war. The Order of the Argent Shroud were not in Helsreach in any significant force, their contributions thus far being little more than a series of fighting withdrawals from churches across the city." Anyway, happens to the best of us, no worries

 

As for changing the weapons, not so easy for me at least. Like the combi-weapon on the maul model, it's pretty much integrated. In general not many are what I'd call easy. Especially since it's nasty metal stuff. Anyway the weapon combos make it hard to make the squad either properly shooty or properly choppy, so they're just something in between.

 

And oh, yeah, Ecclesiarchy... didn't remember the two had such similar icons. Well there goes that plan I guess, I suppose I'll just use her as a shooty Canoness or a Superior instead. I was thinking of giving her a melee weapon but I'd rather not mod these metal swords I have to fit it, as it needs to be the hand just from the wrist to the fingers, and the weapon. And I don't want to mod the forearm itself, it's not exactly a common model these days so I don't want to potentially mess it up. I guess one option would indeed be to just claim the icon is a maul, though it's kinda short for that. But she could always bonk in the head anyone who disagrees with what it is representing One idea, though again requiring evil modding, would also be to attach a sword blade the icon. The icon itself could well pass as a hilt for an Eviscerator, for example. Though for a one-handed grip the model's grip on it would be quite awkward... and I reckon getting any blade to not snap off from the icon all the time would be a miracle.

Edited August 20, 2014 by tvih

[*Furyou Miko]

... is that what it says?

 

So much for the Armageddon campaign notes from white dwarf that said that the Sisters defended the Temple of the Emperor Ascendant almost single-handedly until they were wiped out to a woman.

[tvih]

Well, maybe A D-B retconned things, I don't know (though of course the BT presence at the Temple goes at least as far as the BT 4th Edition Codex). But that's directly from his Helsreach novel. I mean, that's prior to the battle for the Temple itself, soon after they fought to the last at the Temple, though not single-handedly as they had Steel Legion and the remaining few Templars with them as well. I don't recall if any numbers were given on how many SL or Sisters there were at that point. A few of the SL and BT's Grimaldus survived, but no note was made of any surviving Sisters that I can recall.

 

Fate doesn't seem to be very kind to the Sisters in novels that I've read, they usually don't seem to accomplish much and then die. The Legion of the Damned novel was pretty much like that as well. Kinda sucks, it'd be nice to read some good Sisters novels where they're not just some weird version of Star Trek redshirts that conveniently die off. But sadly it seems Sisters novels are pretty much as neglected as the model range.

Edited August 21, 2014 by tvih

[Jacinda]

For replacement back packs, have you seen these?

http://maxmini.eu/conversion-bits/torsos-and-arms/gothic-backpacks-bits

 

They would work on Canoness, Celestians or Superiors but maybe not the Seraphim.

[tvih]

Those certainly look nice. I'll definitely keep them in mind if I can't fix the cut-up ones.

[zatazuken]

For replacement back packs, have you seen these?

http://maxmini.eu/conversion-bits/torsos-and-arms/gothic-backpacks-bits

 

They would work on Canoness, Celestians or Superiors but maybe not the Seraphim.

I ordered some of those a while back and they were enormous when placed against the my Sororitas. I think they are more suited to Space Marines. I wish I could give you a picture, but I gave them all to a SM buddy of mine.

[tvih]

Oh booger... seems like I got carried away again, and as a result these fine ladies will be joining my army as well, probably next week:

 

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMlgxNjAw/z/IMUAAOSwDk5T72nb/$_57.JPG

[*Furyou Miko]

What are you gonna do with the useless one?

[Jacinda]

What are you gonna do with the useless one?

:lol:

 

She's not useless.  She marks the spot on the shelf where the rest of the army goes after the game.

[tvih]

Useless one? Are you referring to the Storm Bolter? If so, I dunno. Don't have the Sisters' storm bolter models yet, so it's nice to get one in a collecting sense - would be cool to have one of each Sister model, or at least as close as possible without paying obnoxious amounts. May even use her if I want to free up other special weapons for use in a Dominion squad or something. Right now I only have two meltas and two flamers, from that lot I'll get a third flamer. Would still need a fourth for a full flaming Dominion squad. I suppose I'd prefer a melta squad though. Wish I had more special weapons, but the prices have kept me from acquiring more so far. Then again I wish had the four heavy flamers to make a flaming Retributor squad as well. Would be fun to put 'em inside a flamer-equipped Immolator for maximum flame projection I do need at least a second Immolator at some point as well. Not to mention probably an Exorcist, rather than just proxying a Whirlwind as one.

 

And there we go again, as if 20k+ points of 40k models isn't enough  Paid more for this lot than I intended already, though it was still cheaper than buying new. Also got some additional Steel Legion models.

[*Furyou Miko]

I can threaten to bar you from the subforum if you buy more models if it will help?

[tvih]

Unlikely, plus then I'd end up spamming my BT Crusade thread with Sisters stuff even more than I already do

 

Alas, I'm looking at buying an Acolyte model to act as a Ministorum Priest, seems he'd look the part well enough.

[*Furyou Miko]

Well, maybe A D-B retconned things, I don't know (though of course the BT presence at the Temple goes at least as far as the BT 4th Edition Codex). But that's directly from his Helsreach novel. I mean, that's prior to the battle for the Temple itself, soon after they fought to the last at the Temple, though not single-handedly as they had Steel Legion and the remaining few Templars with them as well. I don't recall if any numbers were given on how many SL or Sisters there were at that point. A few of the SL and BT's Grimaldus survived, but no note was made of any surviving Sisters that I can recall.

 

Fate doesn't seem to be very kind to the Sisters in novels that I've read, they usually don't seem to accomplish much and then die. The Legion of the Damned novel was pretty much like that as well. Kinda sucks, it'd be nice to read some good Sisters novels where they're not just some weird version of Star Trek redshirts that conveniently die off. But sadly it seems Sisters novels are pretty much as neglected as the model range.

Having done a touch of research, I discover that I was a little confused. The Martyred Lady defended Hive Tempestus, not Helsreach, and it was the Sanctorum of the Martyred Lady that they defended to the last. However, because they're Sisters, not Marines, they don't get to grip on by their fingertips and just... all died horrible. What does a girl have to do to get some respect anyway?

[tvih]

Yeah, it really sucks that they always get treated badly in the fluff. Sadly unless the army suddenly becomes a lot more popular (which, as we know, won't happen without a revamped model range, which in turn we know...... yeah ), I don't see them coming up with novels that'd buck that trend either.

 

On other news, I found my missing Sisters bits! The Canoness's gear, Celestine's sword and Immolator gunner's arm. A relief  I had checked inside the Immolator, but alas the parts were lurking inside the Whirlwind that had been posing as an Exorcist, doh. Maybe Canoness Alyendra won't chop my head off now that she got her stuff back.

 

I also tried to buy even MORE sisters including an Immolator, but it seems the seller isn't answering my messages... pff! Well, if he won't, I guess my wallet thanks him 

[tvih]

Canoness Alyendra of the Ebon Chalice, WIP:

 

http://www.tvih.net/stuff/wh40k/canoness-wip1.jpg

 

Funny how the Ebon Chalice paint scheme is pretty much identical to the Black Templars If only I wasn't having such a hard time with it. Painting white is such a pain, and sometimes red isn't much more fun either. Both are being annoying this time. Biggest problem however is that despite the usual precautions and preparations for metal models, paint just doesn't want to stay on her. Every extremity or sharp edge is losing paint faster than I can pour it on. It's been a problem with some other metal models to a point, but never this much - not that I've painted too many so far, I think four or so? Can't handle the model at all without paint coming off at the edges. And if I can't handle it, I can't properly paint it (I can't do stable enough brush strokes if I just try to hold a model by the base or such). Not really pleased with the result so far anyway, just looks... I don't know, messy.

 

So far she also looks like she's from Nocturne, since I can't find my Ogryn Flesh paint pot.

[*Furyou Miko]

was wondering what was with the drowface

[Willy Pete]

There are only a couple of actual Sisters novels, Faith and Fire and Hammer and Anvil.  The first is the better of the two.  The Sisters actually kick ass and take names, accomplishing the mission and defeating the enemies of the Imperium without getting slaughtered to the last woman. They also explore the use of Sisters Repentia in battle.  Let's just say that if the game rules were anything like how they were in the book, then Repentia would be an almost autoinclude in all Sisters armies.:)

 

 In Hammer and Anvil, the Sisters retake Sanctuary 101, but it's as much about the (then new) Necron Codex as about the Sisters.  In places it almost seems as if the Sisters are bit players in their own novel.  At least they survive, defeat the enemy and reclaim Sanctuary 101. 

 

Other than that, Sisters seem to show up in other books just to get slaughtered, sometimes by Imperium forces, (cough, cough, Grey Knights, cough, cough.)

[*Furyou Miko]

They gave a good accounting for themselves in the first Ben Counter Grey Knights book. They weren't wiped out, they successfully held the line against a renegade guard plus daemon incursion while Alaric went off to slay the warlord.

[Willy Pete]

Fair enough, and there have been others where they've done well.  I guess I'm still a little peeved about the fluff in the first Grey Knight Codex.

 

And the really disappointing thing about that entry was how easily it could have been changed to still show how ruthless the Grey Knights were without implying they were secretly followers of Khorne.  Two small tweaks. 1) They couldn't teleport in because of perturbations in the warp keeping them too far away from the demon lord. 2) Intense hurricane class winds keeping their planes from flying to the target.  Thus, they are forced to land near the Sisters' Sanctuary.  Realizing that they haven't sufficient forces to reach the demon prince through the army of demons in the way, they ask the Sisters to go first, carving a path for the Grey Knights.  Knowing that they're going to their deaths but aware that it will allow the Grey Knights to destroy the demon prince, the Sisters march out of their Sanctuary locked and loaded and singing hymns to the Emperor.  Eventually, of course, they are all pulled down, but the path they carve through the enemy by their sacrifice allows the Grey Knights to reach and destroy the demon prince.

 

The Grey Knights are still shown as totally badass, accomplishing the mission by ruthlessly expending the most faithful and loyal servants of the Emperor even knowing that they will all die in the attempt, while the Sisters are shown as totally fanatic and loyal followers of the Emperor by gladly giving their lives to destroy His enemies.

 

Of course, that would have to be rewritten in the purple prose that GW favors, , but I think it would fit the background a little better and disses neither the Sisters nor the Grey Knights..

[tvih]

With no pending purchases right now, figured I'd take a combined full army pic of my Sisters:

 

http://www.tvih.net/stuff/wh40k/sisters-full-army1.jpg

 

It's good that I got most of the infantry second-hand now, considering the price... the one Immolator and the two front rows were store-bought new and even with a discount cost more than the rest of the infantry and the second Immolator did The Rhinos on the right are actually from Whirlwind and Predator kits, so not Sisters-specific purchases originally.

 

So while the bulk of the army is now done - this is a bit over 1500 points total I think - now it just sucks that the rest of what I'd need happen to be expensive models, as stated previously... meltas, heavy flamers, 1-2 Exorcists. As it is I have too many bolters compared to special weapons. I believe now it's 23 bolters, 2 melta guns, 3 flamers, 1 storm bolter, 4-5 heavy bolters and 1-2 multi-meltas.

 

Currently I'm suitably "enamored" with my Sisters that they'll be my secondary army, and once I get to play some games again will likely see the table in most games at least in some form - assuming my opponents don't mind their unpainted state.