Officia Monstrosa – Iron Warriors

[apologist]

The move went very, thanks. All settled in, and even have my hobby space set up now. As a result, here's some stuff!

First off, a WIP Erasmus Golg (and a Legionary for scale) who is serving as a test piece for Cataphractii armour:

 

 

Quite a bit to do, but I'm happy with how he's coming along.

 

Secondly (and with a rather better crop), I was the happy recipient of this chap, from my friends in the PCRC:

 

All cleaned and ready for building :)

Edited April 12, 2016 by Apologist

[Commissar Molotov]

Interesting progress on the Cataphractii. Looking at it from behind I fear his hips are too narrow (his bumplate looks small!) but from the front his waist looks okay and it just looks as though the upper thigh is a little off. I think hip plates like the Indomitus terminators would be an idea. Will his spine receive detailing? Giving him some pouches or equipment might be a way of bulking them out. 

 

I think it'll be interesting to see him with some arms on - should be very promising. 

Edited April 12, 2016 by Commissar Molotov

[Luna707]

God our projects are so serendipitous it's ridiculous. I am about to purchase a dominator as well and my cataphractii is about in the same stage as yours. I believe you can make that hip gait on your cataphractii work with extra packs and weapons to diminish the ballerina effect but I do think his boots are way to big. Other wise looking great as usual :) Your green stuff work on the back of the thigh and shin plates is outstanding

[apologist]

Regarding Golg, the greenstuff around the waist is just for spacing at the moment, I'll be bulking out his belt area and arse a little more to avoid the hips looking so off. I quite like the big feet to be honest, as it helps give that ponderous look. However, I will be sinking them into the basing surface (to suggest the weight), so they'll be minimised a little visually by that.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, fraters, in any case. Doing a one-off character as a starting point is a good way to explain any divergence, but the suggestions I get at this point will be taken in when I move to a short run of 'standard' cataphractii.

 

The arms will be from the Gorgon Terminators kit (they're slightly bigger, oddly), with some additional cabling for bulk, and I've received my order for spiky shoulder pads from Master-Crafted. 

 

 

 

God our projects are so serendipitous it's ridiculous.

*Withdraw psychic tendrils* ;)

Saw you were over at Nottingham this week; hope you enjoyed your trip up. :)

Shame we couldn't have met up to compare notes; maybe next time?

Edited April 15, 2016 by Apologist

[Luna707]

*gasp* I knew there must have been a reason! I loved Nottingham, had an absolute blast! I'll let you know if I'm ever in town again :)

[apologist]

Batch painting. A horrid process, but one that has the benefit of good return on time, useful when you're a bit pushed for it, or simply aren't feeling particularly inspired but want to do some painting.

 

I've been following my notes from earlier in this blog to get a pile of Iron Warriors on the go. Here they are with the metal in place, and the black on the shoulder pads still wet.

 

...and a little later on, with curiously shiny shoulder pads as a result of my tutorial omitting the 'add acrylic matt medium' with the sepia ink (d'oh).

 

As it happens, I quite like the effect, but not enough to go back and alter the existing troops. For the sake of consistency (and because overall I think I prefer the matt effect), I'll be toning these down with matt medium and paint to match the earlier marines. 

 

'Happy accidents' like this do go to show two things: firstly, it's good to experiment. Even if you don't end up using the resulting effect, it's good to add to your store of techniques. Secondly, if you are going to make notes for yourself, be thorough!

 

These are coming along quite nicely now, so I'll be switching over to individual painting to finish them off and bring some character into them.

 

Finally, here's a WIP of a second-hand Land Raider Proteus that I'll be fielding.

[apologist]

I am bound not by fetters, but simply by the knowledge that the figure opposite me, injured as he appears, is capable of killing me. We are squatting in a trench dug – maddeningly – into a soaring buttress over three thousand feet in the air, which itself is deep within a distant wing of the Palace. I am not sure why I am alive. The Iron Warriors, when they marched into the local square, were unopposed.

 

The Palace is so vast, and the horrors of the invasion so widespread, that it is possible this area was forgotten or overlooked. I tell myself this to bring sense and comfort to my heart. The alternative is that the Emperor, and his generals and his mighty armies – that have spanned the galaxy, yoked worlds by the thousands and driven out all enemies, have decided that this place is simply not worth defending – an area of little strategic worth.

 

With little else to do, I have plenty of time to think in the trench.

 

My thoughts churn and curdle in the unhealthy atmosphere. There is another possibility. Perhaps they cannot defend us. The Warmaster's title is said to be more than mere pomposity. Indeed, it is said to be a tautology – that Horus defines warfare. Never mind this down-at-heel district of his Palace; in the face of his perfect creation, can the Emperor even protect himself?

 

The Iron Warriors entered the square uncontested, but not unmet. Over fifty thousand souls – scribes, servants, charwomen and the like – had gathered to watch the grimy procession. It was a peculiar parade. The tanks had whispered in, some form of sound-muffling technology masking the advance of even the largest. The Space Marines had followed, marching in perfect lockstep, as silent as cats. Even the heavy artillery gun carriages had been silenced by padding – discarded clothing? – to muffle the noise of the great metal wheels on the cobbles. There were no cheers. Somehow the creeping way the soldiers arrived was worse than a crashing, crowing triumph. 

 

Worse than the stomach-knotting thought of being conquered was the uncertainty. Even then, we were uncertain whether these troops marched for the Emperor, or for the Warmaster. The kernel of hope made the fear colder in contrast. I do not know what happened to the crowd. Someone, perhaps overwhelmed at the curious quiet, panicked, tried to fill it. The crowd bucked as though vomiting, pushed, cried out, fled. I do not know how or whether – the Iron Warriors reacted. Suddenly there was pressure and sweat, and the stink of urine. I was trampled.

 

When I awoke, it was to the reverberation of an Astartes' voice, reciting what seemed like a catechism or meditation. I am sure he knew I had awoken. I am told that their senses are finer than the rest of us. If he did not detect the change in my breathing, he might have heard my heartbeat race. 

 

'Saramanth, I was there.' Unconfessional, the words had the air of a legal statement, given with little emotion. 'Dheneb, I was there.' The statements were accompanied by the sound of a whetting knife being drawn slowly, repetitively. The scraping was so quiet that my ears, quite unconsciously, began to pick up the myriad other sounds of the trench. The crackle of a smokeless, lightless chem-block fire. Occasional trickles of dust as distant ordnance fired off, setting the hurriedly-dug trench walls trembling. Dead soil settling.

 

'Tallarn, I was there.' I do not think the litany of planets was for my benefit, though I had heard of scant few he mentioned. Distant worlds, unheralded, unmarked. Certainly none of interest to me. 'Compliance – hm. I was there.' This last campaign was punctuated differently by the Legionary. I could not be sure whether the warrior had coughed, hesitated, or given a mirthless laugh. He paused, and I tensed, and then he continued sharpening his blade, and I relaxed.

 

Perhaps that is the wrong word.

 

My name is Anatol Charas, and I am a captive.

 

+++

WIP

With the time of meeting approaching, I've got to knuckle down to painting. Things continue apace:

 

Basilikoi (Veteran Legionaries) and walking wounded

 

Phalangites (Tactical Legionaries)

 

Euthytonoi (Heavy Support Legionaries)

 

These are getting there. Next stage is basing, then highlights, markings, detailing and weathering. With these complete, the army is nominally ready for the weekend, and anything else is gravy. Of course, it'd be cool to have some more tanks, robots and the like to sprinkle in, so I'll be pushing on with those, too.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Apologist

[apologist]

Phalangite-ordinary Kingdom Ixander

Tallarn had left him with a twitch in his index finger, an all-but-impercetible limp, and the slightly scaly skin that was the mark of a chem-attack survivor. It had curdled the soldier into a brawler, a murderer, a monster. 

 

A rad-grenade is belted at Ixander's waist, alongside the standard krak grenade. Such armaments were only slightly unusual during the Siege, as both sides armouries were emptied to provide their warriors with any advantage. 

 

Clad in prototype armour later folded into the Mark V category, Ixander's helm, torso and shoulders are heavily reinforced with molecular bonding studs; likely a result of the poorer quality raw materials used in its manufacture. 

 

The power pack is Martian manufacture – of recent manufacture – and the presence of Armorum Ferrum greaves suggest Ixander has had the pick of plunder from the fall of Mars.

 

Specific muster identifiers are lost under the bonding studs on Ixander's pauldron, though the broad yellow vertical stripe marks him as a member of XIX Muster; showing the advantage of simple geometric designs for identification. Note also the hazard markings on his boltgun – while common as honorifics across the Legion as a whole, the 242nd were notable in their restrained use of the decoration, reserving it for acts that benefitted the Duty-muster as a whole.

 

+++

A big push last night saw a great deal of progress, and aside from a few final details, the fourteen on the desk are complete:

 

That brings me up-to-date with my army for the WHW trip; with the notable exception of Erasmus Golg (needed for our refight of The Taking of the Contrador) everything from here on in is just a bonus :)

So, what next? I’ve got a half-finished Predator and Land Raider Proteus, an untouched robot, and bits on my desk to make a few Cataphractii. I’ve also got enough bits to bulk out the Basilikoi Veterans (the spiky-shouldered chaps at the back), so what do you reckon would be best?

[Bob Hunk]

Looking good Apologist! 

 

That brings me up-to-date with my army for the WHW trip; with the notable exception of Erasmus Golg (needed for our refight of The Taking of the Contrador) everything from here on in is just a bonus

So, what next? I’ve got a half-finished Predator and Land Raider Proteus, an untouched robot, and bits on my desk to make a few Cataphractii. I’ve also got enough bits to bulk out the Basilikoi Veterans (the spiky-shouldered chaps at the back), so what do you reckon would be best?

 

I'd go with Golg, then the Proteus (so you're not foot-slogging in the second game) and then the Cataphractii. :)

[Luna707]

I love the atmosphere in your short story, The image of silent tanks rolling by with hundreds of mute soldiers in toe gives me the chills. Everythkng is looking great as usual!

[Soldier of Dorn]

Beautiful! I love your style of painting, it's so wonderfully gritty. The rad-grenade on the last guy is a nice touch!

 

I'd second Bob's suggestion for what you should do next, but I also think you should bulk out the Basilikoi Vets soon, when you get the chance. Probably right after or concurrently with the Proteus and then the Terminators, though waiting after the Terminators is probably good, too.

[Commissar Molotov]

The sheer scale of this project is mindboggling, and the fact that you've been able to construct such a sizeable force is testament to your skill. It's always something I've been jealous of!

 

I did think you were making an "Erasmus Golg" who would actually be a character of your own - or will he be renamed afterwards? Does this mean Bob will be making an Alexis Polux?

 

I agree that seeing your vehicles completed would help round out the force.

 

Love the idea of trenches inside a building 300 feet above the ground!

[apologist]

Cheers all :)

 

+++

 

+ Phalangite Promastis +

'Ident! Two hundred metres – heavy vehicle!' The call, from further down the rampart, heralded a fresh series of crackling thumps and chest-shaking impacts. Hearing flattened by the din, the supporting fire of the invaders' heavy auto-fire and solid rounds was reduced to a tinny distraction. Lines of red and green tracers spotted through the air, raising clouds of dust in the hot, heavy air beneath the void shield.

 

A stray ricochet clipped a nearby wall and flipped upwards, spinning crazily. Most of its momentum was immediately converted into a series of wild flips, too fast for the eye to see, but the remainder somehow sent it up in a leisurely arc. The glint catching his eye, the Janissary watched as the bullet spun, end over end, tracing a perfect arc through the dust.

 

Fixated on this inconsequential bullet, the Janissary's over-stimulated brain filtered out the rest of the assault, straining all the din away in the vain search for peace. All the roar and glare seemed to drift into the background. In what seemed like an age, but must have been less than a second, the bullet reached the apogee of its path and descended, falling directly down the open collar of a nearby soldier, who reacted as though stung – dropping his rifle and flailing madly, his mouth open in a roar, his eyes wild.

 

The Janissary blinked at this absurd detail. He was still prone, half-laughing, half-terrified as the Iron Warriors overran his section of wall.

+++

 

+ Clutching a Phobos-pattern boltgun – possibly looted from Mars, but given the casing colour, likely older – Promastis is equipped in a complete and intact suit of Mark IV armour. It is likely this was issued some time prior to the Isstvan Drop Site Massacre, when the Warmaster's reasons for preferential treatment of some Legions became apparent. +

 

+ The backpack is the giveaway detail for the issue date, being an older pattern of Mark IV, since superceded. Promastis' armour is only lightly damaged, and he holds a full complement of grenades. +

 

+ One detail of note is the small kylix at his belt, beneath his ammunition pouches. These chalices were used in Iron Warrior Lodge ceremonies, and its presence on the battlefield, while unusual, may have had some ritual significance for the Phalangite or his Mustermates. +

 

+ Promastis was marked missing following the Siege of Terra; though whether reduced to his component atoms by volkite beam, or simply buried in rubble is impossible to determine. +

[apologist]

The sheer scale of this project is mindboggling, and the fact that you've been able to construct such a sizeable force is testament to your skill. It's always something I've been jealous of!

 

I did think you were making an "Erasmus Golg" who would actually be a character of your own - or will he be renamed afterwards? Does this mean Bob will be making an Alexis Polux?

 

Thanks very much – always good to hear from you; in turn I admire the attention to detail on your Deathwatch

 

Regarding Golg, I'm building him for two reasons. First and foremost, Bob Hunk and I are playing The Taking of the Contrador scenario in a couple of weeks, and that requires both Golg and Polux (go check his Team Fisto blog for some WIPs – and if he hasn't put them up yet, pester him! I've had a sneak preview and he looks awesome).

 

Secondly, I wanted to use him as an opportunity to play around with true-scale Terminator armour. As a special character, he can look slightly different from the line troops, and so it's a good chance to experiment before I create a final design (hence why it's good to have feedback at this early stage).

 

Once complete, I'll probably just use Golg as Golg. I prefer using my own characters, but it's nice to have some recognisable personalities for special scenarios.

 

+ Speak of the Devil +

Here's the brute himself, alongside a Basilikoi for size comparison purposes.

 

 

The arms are tacked on for the moment to check the general proportions, and I still need to add a bit of bulking around the torso, but he's coming along nicely.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Apologist

[Bob Hunk]

 

Regarding Golg, I'm building him for two reasons. First and foremost, Bob Hunk and I are playing The Taking of the Contrador scenario in a couple of weeks, and that requires both Golg and Polux (go check his Team Fisto blog for some WIPs – and if he hasn't put them up yet, pester him! I've had a sneak preview and he looks awesome).

 

Haha, yes will definitely put up pics sometime this weekend. :)

[The Pounder]

You remain the master of true scaling!

[apologist]

Cheers all! After a day building painting, I've got lots of exciting stuff:

Golg is starting to come together:

 

...a proto-member of the Iron Circle* has his mask completed:

]

 

Tanks got built and base-painted...

 

As did the Leviathan and a couple of vox-troopers:

 

...and then it was on to more regular painting. Nothing hugely exciting, but a good opportunity for some WIP shots of the army as it stands:

 

 

+++

 

*Well, sort of. I'll be getting a couple of the proper Iron Circle; I just fancied trying my hand at sculpting a skull mask on this Conqueror.

[Rangaman]

I love how fast you can knock these out now that so many Terminator leg variants are available, the Leviathan fits in perfectly with the truescale marines too!

[lionofjudah]

Loving the scale of the marines with the tanks... Realize the scale of each complement one another nicely. Then there's the iron circle automata which is monsterous and the leviathan whose size is truly shown here.

Look forward to a side by side galg/perty shot- Galgs waist looks better and I just feel like he 'needs' something on the top of his war plate- what that would be, I don't know. I know the warriors are not ones for ornamentation but this guy is a beast and it might make him 'look' bigger with something on top.

[apologist]

+ inload: Phalangite Bakkal +

 

+ The essence of warfare may, as has been demonstrated, be reduced to an equation. This should incorporate identification of the enemy's weaknesses and strengths – whether cultural, ethnic or species-wide. Such observations can be founded on historical study in concert with modern scientific principles such as scryomancy and haruspicy. +

 

+ For this reason, all efforts should be made to subdue enemy specimens as soon as possible during a campaign for enlightening vivisection, omophagy and, where possible, torture. +

Attr. Lokhagos Vukovic of the IV Legion

 

+ The typical Iron Warrior was shaped by his Legion culture to be fastidious and focussed. In the best cases, this encouraged cool-headed reliability in warmaking, but for many the training resulted in insular, mercurial personas who struggled to connect outside of delineated tasks or roles. As a result, while the Iron Warriors sent and received members of other Legions in exchange programmes meant to improve and alloy the Astartes, the Iron Warriors rarely flourished, many returning with little beyond a sense that their knowledge – hard won through grinding suffering – was taken with little of value returned. +

 

+ A notable exception to this rule was the IVth's relatively cordial relationship with the Warhounds – later the dread World Eaters. Iron Warriors who were quick to read slight into the attempted cordiality of their cousin Legions found themselves at ease with the straight-talking Legionaries of the XII, who in turn found the Iron Warriors' company more agreeable than the boastful Emperor's Children or subtle White Scars. +

 

+ Legionary Bakkal wears a variant helm drawn from a Forge World commonly used by the World Eaters, and the distinctive patterning applied recalls the Compliance of Django undertaken jointly by the IV and XII Legions early in the Great Crusade. +

 

+ The remainder of his armour is unremarkable, save that considerable effort has clearly been put into integrating the antique Mk II variant with the Maximus suit. Sentimentality was seldom an accusation levelled at the Iron Warriors as a whole, but it is possible that Bakkal regards the helm as a totem piece that marks an honour done, or debt as-yet unpaid. If the latter, it is typical IVth Legion stubbornness that keeps him wearing it decades since the event. +

 

+ Light 'hazard striping' has been carefully stitched into Bakkal's bolt pistol holster, designating him as receiving a minor battlefield honour from his Muster Company Lokhagos. +

[Soldier of Dorn]

Golg's coming along real nice. I'm eager to see him completed, along with the Leviathan. The army shot in that same post really showcases the magnitude of this project you've undertaken, and although I know you've already had experience doing a true-scale army, it's still awe inspiring.

[apologist]

Progress report

I've been working on tanks, the Leviathan and a few odd infantry. We're off to WHW on Friday, so I've essentially got one evening and a bit to get everything complete. While not on schedule, I've left myself just enough for the traditional PCRC panic painting, I think!

 

 

Golg yesterday evening:

 

Golg in the cold light of day:

 

He's nearly there; a little more detail around the face, the shading on the yellow, some weathering and he'll be all ready to smash Polux in the chops, just like in the background [citation needed].

[Xin Ceithan]

So shiny!

[apologist]

Closing time
Back from Warhammer World, with the army finished (insofar as any army is complete), and filled with enthusiasm :)

 

+ Erasmus Golg directs the defence of the Contrador +

 

 

+ IVth Legion Armour rumbles through the shattered streets of Ysp. +

 

Had an absolute blast, and hope to have a battle report or two to share at some point. In the meantime, I've got some army shots and a short story about the upcoming Basilikoi veterans that I hope you enjoy:

 

 

+ An Iron Warrior Muster advances though urban terrain. +

 

+ Charge! +

 

 

+++

The Monstrous Hunt part I

Xung-hau, a Terran native whose forefathers had hailed from the Yndonesic Bloc, idly toyed with a lodge token as he waited. The Iron Warriors' pauldrons and breastplate were strung across with dozens of examples of the tiny silver medallions, each dangling on a fine bluesteel chain. They tinkled gently against his armour as he moved. Earlier in the war, he had dutifully bound each one with black adhesive tape, preventing it from moving or glimmering, but flame, water, time and wear had freed many of them.

Deep, deep in the Palace now, those entrusted with the Officia Monstrosa trod the long-forgotten haunts of vermin and the dispossessed. The Basilikoi prowled the area, clutching their esoteric weaponry. For days, they had bought scars from the Scars and met the Fists with clenched gauntlets of their own. Now, in this bell-shaped factory space, they hunted different prey.

Angels.

A crackled chime in his helmet alerted Xung-hau. The Seventeenth Step was complete; each of his brethren in place. Hefting his charger, he nodded to Dromos, his brother with the mass-accelerator, then began sidling, crab-like, down the cobweb-strewn pipe in the old manufactory. Indulging an old habit, he counted backwards from twenty in his head, dismissing the rune countdown that had emerged on the Maximus plate's display. He looked back to see Dromos heft the heavy anti-materiel rifle, his blank faceplate betraying as little strain as it did emotion. His vision and audio-feed blanked out momentarily, his autosenses kicking in to protect him from the actinic white of the mass-accelerator's firing-cycle.

Almost instantly, the black flicked back to a grainy green and white view before popping back to multi-spectrum, and a wash of sound filled his helm. He emerged from the other end of the pipe into a scene of chaos. The catacomb-still factory space had erupted into a mass of choking dust clouds, shot through by shafts of golden light – some form of artificial sunlight, thought Xung-hau. It was certainly impossible for the natural sun to penetrate so far underground, even if it weren't turned from the tortured globe of Terra by the roiling clouds that choked the surface. Brickwork was still falling from the gaping hole in the achingly distant roof, made balletic and slow by the sheer scale of the factory space.

It was not only bricks that fell. Xung-hau's armour picked out a larger mass. A Legionary tumbled, his limbs grasping fruitlessly. He hit the ground with a sickening dead thump, audible to the Iron Warrior even at this distance. Their defensive redoubt undermined, the Angels were falling into the long-forgotten factory space, cloaked in the dust.

Not all the red-armoured warriors were dying. The boiling clouds of dust were lit from within by flickering red-orange lights, like the equatorial storms of his youth. Not jump-packs; the silhouettes were too narrow for that. Grav-chutes? Archeotech? Whatever was slowing the Blood Angels' fall, Xung-hau realised that the flickering lights he had taken for thrust exhaust were muzzle flashes. Some of the Ninth were firing as they fell. Hefting his charger, he and his squad returned fire, the ringed red beams stabbing out spitefully into the smoke, scorching and twisting the particles into weird, whipped curls and crests.

A moment of dead blackness told Xung Hau that the mass accelerator had fired again. Xung-hau grunted, grudgingly impressed, as he realised Dromos had struck one of the falling Angels with a direct hit. Two-thirds of the unfortunate legionary had been instantly crushed into a perfect sphere no larger than a ball bearing, the extreme physical effects of the weapon instantly arresting and reversing the warrior's fall. The tormented remainders whipped away into the darkness of the manufactory.

Those few Angels that landed were recovering impressively from the ambush, but too slowly, too fitfully; and the Iron Warriors were dug in. Within twenty seconds, perhaps a dozen were fighting fit, though nearly three score were returning fire in some way. The number dwindled rapidly, the cover afforded by the settling brickwork offset by the Iron Warriors' preparation, position and element of surprise. Nevertheless, the Imperials were undaunted. Seeing the situation to be hopeless, one of the IXth signalled a sally from their meagre fastment.

Xung-hau put the de facto leader down even as his hand fell, the beam of the death ray playing over the red plate momentarily before penetrating and reducing the Astartes to a cloud of superheated steam and blackened gristle. Before his weapon could recharge, those Angels able to move erupted from the dust with startling speed, a scant few evading the bitter storm. Perhaps three or four of the Blood Angels made it through the storm of fire into the blackness...

 

+++

Edited May 9, 2016 by Apologist

[Luna707]

Golg is looking great and the atmosphere in your story is fantastic. I would love to see a bat rep!