A Lesser Son of Greater Fathers: Dabbling in Epic

[Monstra Sumus]

Dude, whoa. 

 

Now I don't feel so bad turning traitor for 30k! Knowing you're at the head of the XIIIth with these guys is excellent. Really stellar work here. I'm also very happy to find out I can use Mars pattern Rhinos for 30k, that saves me a buck! 

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Hello, I just joined the B&C and this is one of my favorite threads so far!   I think adding a bit of black into the mix with the typical Ultramarines blue/white color scheme really makes them interesting.  I like all the models you've done here, but the sergeant in the MKIV armor (with face mask breather) is certainly at the top of my list.  I may have to try a few Ultras myself at some point with black armor sections - it gives them an interesting dynamic.  The fluff you have been writing is also excellent.  Keep up the good work.

 

Cheers fella! Big praise indeed! Sgt. Coriolan is probably one of my favourites too. Love to see what you do if you do decide to do black/blue Ultras. I think gritty is best, but then I'm biased. :)

 

Dude, whoa. 

 

Now I don't feel so bad turning traitor for 30k! Knowing you're at the head of the XIIIth with these guys is excellent. Really stellar work here. I'm also very happy to find out I can use Mars pattern Rhinos for 30k, that saves me a buck! 

 

Haven't seen you around in forever, brother! What happened to make you turn from the path of honour? I feel the same about the Mars rhinos, I think it's lucky that I'm running a force supposed to be poorly supplied, heh. Just took a look at your Iron Warriors, will be along shortly with my own comments...

[CplHicks]

Looking good matey. Recalling liking the black and blue colours. How did you get the dust effect on the lower legs?

[Monstra Sumus]

 

Hello, I just joined the B&C and this is one of my favorite threads so far!   I think adding a bit of black into the mix with the typical Ultramarines blue/white color scheme really makes them interesting.  I like all the models you've done here, but the sergeant in the MKIV armor (with face mask breather) is certainly at the top of my list.  I may have to try a few Ultras myself at some point with black armor sections - it gives them an interesting dynamic.  The fluff you have been writing is also excellent.  Keep up the good work.

 

Cheers fella! Big praise indeed! Sgt. Coriolan is probably one of my favourites too. Love to see what you do if you do decide to do black/blue Ultras. I think gritty is best, but then I'm biased.

 

Dude, whoa. 

 

Now I don't feel so bad turning traitor for 30k! Knowing you're at the head of the XIIIth with these guys is excellent. Really stellar work here. I'm also very happy to find out I can use Mars pattern Rhinos for 30k, that saves me a buck! 

 

Haven't seen you around in forever, brother! What happened to make you turn from the path of honour? I feel the same about the Mars rhinos, I think it's lucky that I'm running a force supposed to be poorly supplied, heh. Just took a look at your Iron Warriors, will be along shortly with my own comments...

 

 

I've been in America for 3 months and I've been dealing with some medical issues that have slowed my hobbies to a crawl but I am determined to get back on the saddle. Very inspired by your Ultra's! I can't wait to see more! 

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

VIII

 

A Lesser Son of Greater Fathers

 

 

It should have been Diocletian.

 

I found myself thinking that several times over the months that followed the retreat from Valdenhold. In the chaos following the slaughter outside the capital city, Diocletian had been the one to lead the company out of the mire Lepidus had got us into. I'd helped, true. Perhaps there are a few of my brothers who wouldn't be alive today if I hadn't broken the chain of command, like Diocletian. But I wouldn't claim any glory from that. Diocletian was the one who understood what that bastard Lepidus blinded himself to - that the Eldar had the superior position, had amassed overwhelming firepower and had been expecting us - and ordered a fighting retreat, in the face of our company captain's incandescent rage.

 

It's amusing, in a way. All the Legions have their own flaws. The Fists will never bend, never yield an inch no matter the blood price, and that's their greatest strength and flaw. The sons of Manus obsess over stamping out the weaknesses of mortal flesh and in so doing lose the very thing we were geneforged to protect. The warriors of the Khan favour speed above all else, so that their reach exceeds their grasp.

 

But only we of the XIII build statues, palaces and monuments to commemorate the tales of our own heroism, and think it somehow makes us invulnerable to defeat, to shame, to the bitter, numbing pain of simple, utter failure. A warrior dances between victory and defeat every time he draws his blade, and has to treat one just like the other, free of ego or self-aggrandisement. Anything else and he's lost that balance that makes a warrior worthy of the name. And we of the XIII forgot that. We started to believe our own legend.

 

Diocletian led us out of that disaster and died doing it. He was the leader we needed then and the leader we desperately need now. They found the corpse of Lepidus, afterwards, prideful Lepidus who lost half a hundred warriors of his company to a battle that should never have been fought, vain Lepidus who sold his brothers' lives for a chance at being the first into Valdenhold to raise the Eagle over its walls in triumph.

 

Yes, they found Lepidus' body. I made sure of that. I wouldn't have wanted such a proud leader of our glorious Legion to lose his chance at internment in the Halls of Hera.

 

They came to me, long afterwards, when Valdenhold had finally been sacked and another score of us had died breaching its walls. I still think they knew. They must have. But none amongst the Legion's commanders mentioned it, and Lepidus was interned with full honours, and I - I, who had disobeyed my commander to save my brothers - was cast out of the company into the ranks of the censuria.

 

So I will never rest alongside Lepidus, in the great Halls of Hera on Macragge. I'll never lie next to that bastard's corpse in glorious repose for future generations to wonder at and dedicate victories to. My name will never be known in the Legion's rolls of honour. The men I lead now will just hear the rumours that the man who leads them committed a sin far worse than any of theirs, and question all that they'd been taught about our glorious, honourable, noble Legion.

 

Yes, it should have been Diocletian. He'd have taken these men and given them something else, some idea that would have transformed them, a fire in their spirits that would have rekindled the glory of hallowed Macragge in their hearts and reminded them of what it means to be Ultramarines.

 

But the universe does not like a happy ending. So it falls to me to lead these men, in these darkest of days when the galaxy tears itself apart and Horus proves to us all what a beguiling joke the brotherhood of the Legions really was.

 

I am not Diocletian. I am a lesser son of far, far greater fathers. But no matter how far my brothers have fallen, they deserve a chance to redeem their sins. I will stand alongside them and lead them from the darkness that threatens to swallow us all, and if there is any measure of redemption to be gained in this grim existence, I swear by the last drop of my life's blood that there is no force in this life or the next that will stop me from leading them to it.

 

 

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020953_zpsxymafwnl.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020956_zps0zmbicrh.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020955_zpsl24mz0oc.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020954_zpstx4ndhcy.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020958_zpsnnko0wpi.jpg

[disease]

Cant wait to beat his face into a bloody pulp.  

 

Great Stuff as always

[Soric]

Awesome work as always Arkhan. The fluff really reflects the somber mood of the character and the model itself just gives off that impression of the grim leader that he is. As questionable as the Ultramarines movie is for its quality, as soon as I saw your praetor I imagined him shouting the line "We March for Magragge!" and hearing his men in the background yelling in reply before charging into battle. I do have a question though, are his heads magnetized or pinned?

[GrandMagnus]

Pure awesomeness!

[Brother Pheidias]

Wonderful writing, befitting of a magnificent model.

[BeatTheBeat]

Absolutely magnificient. Probably the best Ultramarine model I've seen, when considered as a whole - painting, fluff, conversion and general atmosphere is just on point.

Cheers,
BTB

[Kobrakei]

Oh yes indeed! I'd follow that guy into hell. Great work with the model, but that fluff is sublime. 

[deathspectersgt7]

HELL YES !!!!!

[Luna707]

Amazing. Just the right amount of Roman influence, outstanding work

[Rangaman]

Fantastic! I love all the story driven elements you use.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

That guy is a beast and honestly, I think your XIII Legion figures are probably the only ones I've seen that really feel like they deserve the moniker "War-Born" (even if they're not Terran). These are not the shiny, polished, regal Astartes that most would associate with their Legion, but grimy, solemn, masters of brutal warfare in pitted, dented armor. And not to disparage your painting, as you're much better at it than I am, but as good as that bare head is on Augustus, it pales in comparison to the grim terror that helmet will inspire in his foes.

[That Guy Matt]

That guy is hard core. I love the cloak and I agree with Kage, good as the bare head is, the helmet is better.

[Warpedpath]

Sir... I shall not call your marines Ultrasmurfs, because they are a pice of great work in my eyes! I can´t stand Ultramarines normaly but these guys... they look awesome!

A bit darker colours, a bit of gritynes... and something soft becomes something solid and eye pleasing!

*bow*

[Morngrym]

Again, great work here.  The story fits the character perfectly - you skill at writing these short fiction pieces is notable.  I wouldn't be surprised if you were an inspiring writer of some sort in addition to a model maker!  Keep it up...

[KrautScientist]

A really fantastic model and some utterly compelling narrative to boot. Brilliant! :)

[hushrong]

Everything in this log has been taking my breath away! You have an outstanding XIII Legion force!

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Humbled by the kind words, brothers - thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it. Any comments for improvement always welcome.

 

 

Awesome work as always Arkhan. The fluff really reflects the somber mood of the character and the model itself just gives off that impression of the grim leader that he is. As questionable as the Ultramarines movie is for its quality, as soon as I saw your praetor I imagined him shouting the line "We March for Magragge!" and hearing his men in the background yelling in reply before charging into battle. I do have a question though, are his heads magnetized or pinned?

 

Funnily enough I sometimes listen to the soundtrack for that film when painting, so maybe something came across. Thanks for the words, brother. His head's magnetised - have some tiny rare earth magnets that were just right for the job.

 

 

Wonderful writing, befitting of a magnificent model.

 

Cheers fella, much appreciated.

 

Absolutely magnificient. Probably the best Ultramarine model I've seen, when considered as a whole - painting, fluff, conversion and general atmosphere is just on point.

Cheers,
BTB

 

I think you're too kind but I consider that a massive compliment, so thanks man.

 

Oh yes indeed! I'd follow that guy into hell. Great work with the model, but that fluff is sublime. 

 

That might be where they end up going ;) Thanks kobrakei!

 

 

Amazing. Just the right amount of Roman influence, outstanding work

 

Yep, trying to mix in a little bit of Greek too but mostly Roman so far. :)

 

Fantastic! I love all the story driven elements you use.

 

Thanks, I think it's necessary when making a 30k force.

 

That guy is a beast and honestly, I think your XIII Legion figures are probably the only ones I've seen that really feel like they deserve the moniker "War-Born" (even if they're not Terran). These are not the shiny, polished, regal Astartes that most would associate with their Legion, but grimy, solemn, masters of brutal warfare in pitted, dented armor. And not to disparage your painting, as you're much better at it than I am, but as good as that bare head is on Augustus, it pales in comparison to the grim terror that helmet will inspire in his foes.

 

I'll take that as the highest possible praise, Kage - thanks very much :) I tried to make them look like believable warfighters and I'm glad that seems to have come across.

 

I agree on the head, by the way - I like the idea of magnetising Warlord heads to add a bit of character to the man under the mask, but I think it's difficult/impossible (?) to match the same level of character a unique war-helm gives, especially when the Legion in question has a rather traditional appearance (e.g. the Romanesque features of the Ultramarines, as opposed to the Scars or the Wolves).

 

Also, a friend of mine from way back said the small head looked a little like Russell Crowe without the facial hair, so after hearing that I couldn't very well not use the head being a fan of Gladiator (good source material :) )

 

That guy is hard core. I love the cloak and I agree with Kage, good as the bare head is, the helmet is better.

 

Cheers brother. Agreed also. I weirdly am least happy with the cloak on that model, it wasn't a great cast.

 

Sir... I shall not call your marines Ultrasmurfs, because they are a pice of great work in my eyes! I can´t stand Ultramarines normaly but these guys... they look awesome!

A bit darker colours, a bit of gritynes... and something soft becomes something solid and eye pleasing!

*bow*

 

Haha, believe me, I used to be the same regarding the Ultras. I think their 30k incarnation is a vast improvement over everything in the 40k-verse they've suffered in their depictions. Thanks for the kind words :)

 

Again, great work here.  The story fits the character perfectly - you skill at writing these short fiction pieces is notable.  I wouldn't be surprised if you were an inspiring writer of some sort in addition to a model maker!  Keep it up...

 

Again, high praise, thanks very much! I really enjoy the writing aspect (almost as much as the painting in some respects).

 

A really fantastic model and some utterly compelling narrative to boot. Brilliant!

 

Cheers, Kraut! High praise from yourself :)

 

Everything in this log has been taking my breath away! You have an outstanding XIII Legion force!

 

Thanks, hushrong - it's been a pleasure (mostly) to build so far, hope you continue to like what you see :)

 

Many thanks, all! Not sure what's next but it won't be too far away!

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Now, about that painted motif on the bottom edge of the cape... is that painted or a decal?

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Now, about that painted motif on the bottom edge of the cape... is that painted or a decal?

Sadly that's a transfer. I wasn't going to experiment with freehand on this guy, bit too risky for a Warlord level model.

[jimbo13]

It looks beautiful. As far as the head vs helmet goes, I definitely side with the helmet. For the strict reasoning of as a group of outcasts I don't feel like you should "know" who lead them. As far as what they look like. The should be just another jarhead, which makes them more ominous from the story telling aspect, much like chaplains.... Although he has quite the mustache (goofy voice)

 

On a modeling note, good use of transfers and the use of black. Not too much not too little. Also you used the perfect amount of weathering!!! In gold it doesn't look like he got thrown in a blender. Lol.

 

Will we see a moritat to go with the destroyers?

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

It looks beautiful. As far as the head vs helmet goes, I definitely side with the helmet. For the strict reasoning of as a group of outcasts I don't feel like you should "know" who lead them. As far as what they look like. The should be just another jarhead, which makes them more ominous from the story telling aspect, much like chaplains.... Although he has quite the mustache (goofy voice)

 

On a modeling note, good use of transfers and the use of black. Not too much not too little. Also you used the perfect amount of weathering!!! In gold it doesn't look like he got thrown in a blender. Lol.

 

Will we see a moritat to go with the destroyers?

 

Yeah, I expected a lot of people to come out in favour of the helm. Actually, I get your thinking, and there's a lot of truth in it, but one of my goals when I started this force was to see how far I could take the idea of Ultramarines who had been brought down to earth, by the slings and arrows of fortune, to a much more human level than most of their noble and larger-than-life Legion.

 

Remember, the guys in the Black One Hundred aren't heroes. They're failures. They're killers, sure, some of them fearsome ones, but they all failed to live up to the standard set by the Legion and expected by the Primarch. Whatever they achieve in this life they'll never be held up as exemplars of the creed of the XIII Legion for future generations to follow. I figured that there was two routes to go with this: one is to represent them as faceless, inhuman killers good for nothing else but to fight and die for the Legion in wars and battles that will never be remembered thanks to the wider context of the Heresy.

 

The other route is to try to get under the skin a little and try to show the effect that utter, soul-destroying failure has on men who were gene-bred for one purpose and now find themselves lacking. They can't fix their flaws, but they'll try anyway, and they'll fight even harder for it. I think that coming to terms with that must have an interesting effect on the psyche, especially so on a transhuman intellect that's been condemned for failing to live up to the standard it was bred to achieve.

 

That's why all/most of the fluff pieces on this blog so far have been introspective and exposition-based, rather than action-packed, terse recollections of victorious engagements. I figured there's a chance to flesh out a darker side of the XIII and a more human side of the Astartes in general. Maybe I'm wrong - and I certainly don't pretend my writing necessarily achieves all or any of this - but I'm enjoying trying to hit that mark, anyway.

 

And to finally bring this back full circle, I figured having both helm and (relatively normal-but-grizzled-looking) bare head on the figure of Augustus would encapsulate both sides of the above paradigm. The faceless killer and the transhuman beneath who really doesn't look that different from any other Astartes.

 

Having waffled and waffled on, I do agree with you that there's something strong in the faceless killer vibe (my profile pic, the RG captain Alaric Tyr, has no bare head for that exact reason) and it's something I'll probably try and capture with a future Moritat and/or Chaplain. Both of which will eventually be made, but they're months away as I only have access to paints and brushes and no bits and kits for the time being.

 

Waffle over. Hope some of that made sense and/or was vaguely interesting...Always happy to hear contrasting thoughts, I've learned a lot from feedback on here so it's good to hear your thoughts, Jimbo. :)