Officia Monstrosa – Iron Warriors

[apologist]

Minor, but important work on the yellows completed last night.

 

I wrote an article for my blog which is  a bit long to copy here in its entirety, but if you're interested in how and why I glaze with red-brown, here's the link.

 

 

 

Not an immediately arresting stage, but one that I often gloss over is the way I approach the yellow markings on my Iron Warriors: a warming glaze of red-brown. It's a very – very – quick stage; I think all thirteen were completed in less than two minutes, but it's one that vastly improves the look of things. Why? Well, that's what we'll look at in today's inload.

 

Beware, it's got uncensored footage of poor Brother Engel, one of my first metal models! :D

 

+++

 

I've particularly enjoyed this upsurge in activity from you. Your Iron Warriors are really nice, and are making me want to create a Heresy force of my own! I recently considered making a few truescale Sons of Horus... (but then White Scars would be cool!) 

 

More to the point, I hadn't ever seen your Iron Hands, and I thought I was on top of all of your projects! Very cool stuff, and particularly enjoyed the narrative. 

 

Thanks for the kind words about May You Live Forever; by the sounds of things I'll have to do some more work there soon...

For what it's worth, I'd love to see some White Scars from you, though my vote goes for Sons of Horus – not nearly enough of 'em out there for the arch-traitors!

 

 

I'm always learning from you, man. Your commentary on your work is always appreciated, much like listening to any great artist speak about their work. I've been stumbling recently with my own projects and might have just come across one of the reasons why. You make an excellent point about finding balance across a squad's posing. I was aiming for too much motion with my own work and it really has created a disharmonious group. Fine for individual characters, but across a squad it's too overwhelming and it does the exact opposite of the intended effect.

 

Also, I really enjoy how your Iron Warriors emanate a more grounded politically-motivated/civil war side of the coin and less "False Emperor!!!" side. It shines not only in their aesthetic, but the writing where you mention things like 'Warmaster-loyalists', rather than 'traitors'. Really thoughtful and executed perfectly as always!

 

Thanks for the kind words. In general, I find the concept of a civil war based around a conflict of ideologies much more compelling than black-and-white heroes vs villains, so I try to emphasise why legionaries (whatever their loyalty) have made their choices. No-one's the villain of their own narrative, after all. Very happy you enjoy it; I'll try and keep it up

 

Looking awesome as usual dude!
Your IVth legionaries look like something straight out of the old BL HH covers.

 

Ta! I love the epic sweep of massed infantry – it's so compelling.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Apologist

[Brother Aiwass]

I love your iron bastards.

[Commissar Molotov]

My original thoughts were White Scars or Blood Angels so I could do some Terran defenders... though I've been looking at the Loken model and wondering about splicing some bits onto a truescale. 

 

You know my modelling, though - I'd take years and get nowhere near the size of your force!  

[Jarkaira]

Apologist how do you guy's minis dance on their own? This aawsoom as is aawsome too to type this with and the words have their own life in a text. Beautiful!

 

Thanx mate!

[apologist]

+ 242nd Company, LII Muster, SOL Theatre, Compliance of Zero-zero +

 

'Footsore', they called us. It was intended as a slight; their sneering, supercilious tone masquerading as barracking humour. We understood all too well what they meant.

 

The recognition did not draw us together. We did not wail and clutch at each other in private. It did, however, bind us. We became a fascia of sticks, or a gabion wall of stones bound in a cage. It gave us strength.

 

For buried in that 'honorific' was a recognition that we had become as iron; instruments of a fearful will that drove sentient, sapient and valuable beings to march across fields of mines, traps and obstructions.

 

We would come to use this iron cage.

 

Remarks Vol I, Episcopi Artabas, 242nd Company, IVth Legion Astartes

 

+++

+ Muster LII +

 

+ Designate: Phalangite Cantacuzenus +

+ Aegis: Mark IV 'Maximus', Beta Cornix Forge +

+ Agency: Boltgun, Umbra forge
+ Remarks: Auxiliary besagew 'tilt shield'; marked with personal honorific; 66-Compliance. Note Lodge medals integrated into breastplate. Poss. ritual significance?

 

+++

+ Designate: Phalangite Glyce +

+ Aegis: Mark II 'Crusade', Mars Forge +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Pentos forge manufacture (Phobos license); Chainsword, Ur-haven forge manufacture
+ Remarks: Molecular bonding stud reinforcement of legionary's left greave.

 

+++

+ Designate: Phalangite Ronon +

+ Aegis: Mark III 'Armorum Ferrum', Cyclothrathe Forge +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Phobos forge manufacture
+ Remarks: Unremarkable

 

+++

+ Designate: Phalangite Marillion +

+ Aegis: Aggregate hybrid 'Mark V', Forge origin principally Beta Cornix Mark IV, with underlying Anvilus Mark II 'Crusade' powerplant . Spec. field replacement? +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Pentos forge manufacture (Phobos license)
+ Remarks: Honorific loincoth 'Balteon'. Etymology obscure.

 

[+SPOOLING+]

[lionofjudah]

Moar goodness!!! So sweet to see it all coming together

[apologist]

Ta very much. Here's the rest of the spool – I'd love to hear what you think of 'em; who's your favourite? :)

 

+++

+ Designate: Phalangite Murtzuphlos +

+ Aegis: Mark II 'Crusade', Mars Forge +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Boltgun, Pentos forge manufacture (Phobos license); chainsword INDETERMINATE
+ Remarks: Belt buckle honorific – inlaid ceramic. QUERY Chainsword taken from battlefield?

 

+++

+ Designate: Phalangite Vatartes +

+ Aegis: Mark II 'Crusade', Mars Forge +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Pentos forge manufacture (Phobos license)
+ Remarks: Helm adaptated with additional reinforcement: utilisation of Mark III spares.

 

+++

+ Designate: Phalangite Komnen +

+ Aegis: Mark III 'Armorum Ferrum', Cyclothrathe Forge +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Cyclothrathe forge manufacture (Phobos license)
+ Remarks: Unremarkable

 

+++

+ Designate: Phalangite Botaneiate +

+ Aegis: Aggregate hybrid 'Mark V', Forge origin diverse. Underlying powerplant Martian Mark II 'Crusade'. Mantilla helm. +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Pentos forge; deployed combat blade, Luna forge.
+ Remarks: Helm, chain-loincloth and pauldron indicate adoption into Basilikoi corps.

 

+++

+ Designate: Mandator Paphlagon +

+ Aegis: Mark III 'Armorum Ferrum', Cyclothrathe Forge – helm retrofitted with additional heat vents, visible immediately behind faceplate. +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Cyclothrathe forge manufacture (Phobos license)
+ Remarks: Minor boltgun honorific indicates non-commissioned rank.

 

+++

+ Designate: Phalangite Rinon-Fell +

+ Aegis: Mark II 'Crusade', Saturnine Forge (Mars Licensse) +
+ Agency: Boltgun, Fortis Binary forge manufacture (Umbra license); Chainsword, Saturnine forge manufacture
+ Remarks: Chainsword hilt adornment appears to be [GEN.SPEC. Canis Lupus], extinct Terran predator. PERSONAL: Odd; there are no Wolv[REDACTED]

 

 

 

+++

I got two Rapier gun platforms tied off last night, too, so they'll be going up soon, along with my Siegemaster, Artabas.

Edited February 21, 2017 by Apologist

[Brother Aiwass]

The minor details and brief description of wargear/marks makes them come to life. The [REDACTED] reference to the [REDACTED] is [REDACTED].

[apologist]

+ Rapier platforms +

Rapiers are semi-autonomous tracked weapon platforms used by many arms of the Imperium's military, from the Imperial Militia to the Legiones Astartes. Rugged and reliable, their distinctive grumbling forms are rarely the stuff of legends, instead occupying a humble supporting role in the Imperium's military history.

 

Most commonly armed with a bank of linked laser weaponry called laser-destroyer arrays, which operate on similar principles to lascannons, the Rapier is versatile enough to mount other weaponry too heavy, specialised or bulky for infantry – even Astartes – to handle. Common Rapier mounts include quad-guns, heavy bolter banks, mass-drivers and the feared graviton cannon.

 

Graviton cannons emit a distinctive sub-sonic thrum as they wash the target area with massless spin-2 boson particles, displacing resident scalar and vector particles through a process called quantum spin-weaving. This is manifested in a localised and temporary apparent increase in mass and weight with no concomitant increase in size or displacement of the target, resulting in catastrophic stresses to the target. In layman's terms, it increases the gravity of an area, flattening buildings, crushing armoured vehicles and reducing infantry to a thin, gritty paste.

 

The Iron Warriors Legion made great use of the Rapier platform, adapting it to bear everything from direct-fire weapons to comms-arrays and orbital links. In addition to these standard uses, the Iron Warriors also commonly utilised Rapiers as transports during deployments in dense terrain like jungles. In these cases, the Rapier platform would typically – though not always – be stripped of their primary weapon and used instead to bear palettes and crates of arms and ammunition for a Muster. These allowed infantry-heavy deployments to operate for longer and range further than otherwise advisable.

 

Displaying their typical ingenuity and practicality, the IVth Legion also employed the platform for many unique improvised uses, ranging from creating temporary mobile bridges across the racing waters of Vortigern, to carrying the honoured dead back from assaults. There is even one recorded (though uncorroborated) instance of an entire Iron Warriors platoon piloting hastily-stripped-down Rapiers during the Retreat from New Mars, allowing them to outpace their furious pursuers and draw them into a fatal ambush.

 

+ The army... complete? +
With these big guns done, I've now got a balanced 2000pt army all ready to go for my game tomorrow. :)

Doubtless there'll be more to come for the Iron Warriors. I've got a few bits and pieces (including a third Rapier which seems to have gone AWOL) left to paint up, and some more specialists. With a pile of regular infantry done, I can have fun working out what weapons will best take down Dorn...

[lionofjudah]

Righteous!!! Looking forward to seeing the full army shot!

[Brother Aiwass]

Excellent work, as always. I really hope that "army complete" means full battle reports, army pict-capures and further updates on IW reinforcements, instead of the archiving of this wonderful plog.

[apologist]

+ inload: Episcopi Artabas +

 

Iatayu Artabas, who met his end during the Siege of Terra was a polymath, a pragmatist and an amoral monster from the planet Kush Tertial. While he was a capable warrior – he was, after all, and Astartes – his rise through the rank to become a leader of men was due more to his pathological obsession with minuteae than charisma or ferocity. In any other Legion, he would have made a capable Line Officer. In the Iron Warriors, his detail-led approach gave him an overview that saw him command battalions.

 

A rank specific to the IVth Legion, Episcopi were roughly equivalent to Lieutenant-Commanders, with a similar breadth of roles. Senior to the line Centurions, an Episcopus was a special designate who operated alongside a Grand Battalion; though with no special connection with it. An Episcopus could expect to be sent where he was most needed; where his abilities best suited the Legion's need. They included linebreakers, siegemakers and medical, morale or technical specialisms. Artabas excelled in all aspects of planned warfare, making him a vital cog in planning the assault on Terra.

 

Pictured with his armament of choice – a simple power bludgeon and umbra-pattern bolt pistol – immediately prior to the assault on Pradesh Novum, Artabas limped out of this engagement, only to fall mere weeks later. A temporary tilt shield bears a simple stripe marking him as attached to the 242nd. His armour is otherwise unremarkable, save for the enhanced optics and data-gathering upgrades to his helm and powerpack.

 

The most striking feature of this understated officer's appearance was his vulture familiar, Sampatu. Startled during a clash between the Iron Warriors and an infestation of Hrud, the bird rose up and spoiled the aim of an infiltrated hrud fusilier – an act which likely saved Artabas, though its perforated wing rendered it flightless. In a peculiar act of charity, Artabas recovered the bird and spent many months training it and assisting its recuperation using flight-recovery technology usually reserved for psychic cyber-familiars, servitor-putti and the like. larger, stronger and more resilient than the extinct Terran vultures which it closely resembled, the avian became both a totem and a preternaturally fast and vicious helper to Artabas.

 

Artabas was an unusual choice to oversee the Officia Monstrosa, but then the very nature of the task – to subdue and capture a Primach during one of the greatest and most complex campaigns before or since – required something quite unique.

[Noserenda]

Awesome work as always mate, ofc now youve got me thinking of unusual rapier conversions... :D 

[Isengrin]

After reading through your most recent posts and looking at all those reinforcements, I keep coming back to Cantacuzenus. Make no mistake, the last batch is fantastic from first to last, but that little detail with lodge medals melted onto his breastplate made him stick in my mind and I was wondering about his reasons. Did he want to proudly display his affiliation, or maybe something else? (Could be one of your background pieces shed some light on that and I missed it  ) I'm just saying those little things enhance your marines tremendously. 

[apologist]

Excellent work, as always. I really hope that "army complete" means full battle reports, army pict-capures and further updates on IW reinforcements, instead of the archiving of this wonderful plog.

 

In this instance, it means I get to play a game, but rest assured there'll be plenty more to come for the Officia Monstrosa – after all, they haven't captured Dorn yet! I've also got at least one robot to add to the army, and I think ol' Erasmus could do with some Terminator buddies. However, reaching a temporary plateau for the Iron Warriors means more time for other projects... After a chat with Bob Hunk last night, I think Isengrin and Luna707 should be pleased with my next Space Marine plans...

 

As to army pict-captures, here's a couple of images from the upcoming battle report:

 

 

 

 

After reading through your most recent posts and looking at all those reinforcements, I keep coming back to Cantacuzenus. Make no mistake, the last batch is fantastic from first to last, but that little detail with lodge medals melted onto his breastplate made him stick in my mind and I was wondering about his reasons. Did he want to proudly display his affiliation, or maybe something else? (Could be one of your background pieces shed some light on that and I missed it  ) I'm just saying those little things enhance your marines tremendously. 

The relationship of the Legion lodges to the Heresy is an important one to me. It's slightly shadowy appearance in the background recently reflects a fascination I have for these secretive groups, as they offer tantalising hints of what the Legionaries do when they're off-duty – no wonder Guilliman wrote the Codex Astartes to keep the Space Marines occupied all day every day!

 

The lodges have a real appeal, and I like to throw cryptic hints to them in occasionally in my . Even when I don't have a particular 'end-game' for such hints (as with this example), they often get me thinking more and offer hooks to come back to later. Either way, thanks very much – I always appreciate your thoughtful commentary.

Edited February 24, 2017 by Apologist

[Luna707]

I am waiting with bated breath :) lovely stuff as usual!

[Gorgoff]

Could you please make some pics of your Leviathan?

[Isengrin]

(...) After a chat with Bob Hunk last night, I think Isengrin and Luna707 should be pleased with my next Space Marine plans...

Fantastic news!

 

Regarding the lodges I think they offer a lot of potential, which was never explored enough in the novels for my taste. When reading the first few Heresy novels I (maybe unfairly) didn't care much for the lodges, and I saw them as a vehicle for spreading corruption among the Legions firstly and mostly. But the way you continue to treat this topic gave me a greater appreciation for them.

 

Using them as a distant relative to the common mess for Space Marines - and with that as a peek into their off-duty time as you wrote - sounds much more intriguing to me. Those warriors may be transhuman, but they are not inhuman after all and they need a place to talk, to grief, to clear resentments and conflicts. A place to mend their minds. Something like "Out this door, nothing" you could say. 

[Commissar Molotov]

Your shots (and the ones I've seen on Bob's thread) look very interesting and evocative! I look forward to seeing more from you soon. 

[apologist]

Could you please make some pics of your Leviathan?

 

I'm certain I can. He's not the most exciting, but I'm pleased with him. Watch this space.

 

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Part 1 of the Battle of Pradesh Novum is up here [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+]

 

Here're a couple of visual highlights:

 

 

 

 

The Fists (and Custodes), of course, are from Bob Hunk's awesome Team Fisto.

[Gorgoff]

 

Could you please make some pics of your Leviathan?

 

Yeah

 

I'm certain I can. He's not the most exciting, but I'm pleased with him. Watch this space.

 

+++

 

 

Part 1 of the Battle of Pradesh Novum is up here [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+]

 

Here're a couple of visual highlights:

 

 

 

 

The Fists (and Custodes), of course, are from Bob Hunk's awesome Team Fisto.

WOOOP WOOOP

 

The lights in the marines and Custodes are Photoshop, aren't they?

Edited March 5, 2017 by Gorgoff

[Dantay VI]

I believe nope... Bob hiunk, drills em out and LED's them up :)

 

His is a really good WIP, although I haven't looked in for a really long time

[apologist]

No Photoshop here - all down to Bob Hunk's wiring skills. The assault cannon on his Contemptor spins, too!

[Bob Hunk]

 

Part 1 of the Battle of Pradesh Novum is up here [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+]

 

Excellent report so far, Apologist, looking forward to the rest! 

 

 

The lights in the marines and Custodes are Photoshop, aren't they?

 

Hehe, no Photoshop here my friend! 

[Gorgoff]

 

Part 1 of the Battle of Pradesh Novum is up here [+noospheric inloadlink embedded+]

 

 

Excellent report so far, Apologist, looking forward to the rest! B)

 

The lights in the marines and Custodes are Photoshop, aren't they?

 

 

Hehe, no Photoshop here my friend! ;)

You know that you are crazy, don't you? ;)