Clan Brannsar Rises: The Unmakers

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

REEEAL cool man. Like the Irony of a Salamander being burned too (by Phosphex no less...)!

 

Thanks dude - I wanted a physical reminder of Isstvan V, which becomes the symbol of the handful of Salamanders survivors who were on the ground which he leads. They're called 'The Branded' because each has a hand-print burnt onto his face in the same manner, in imitation of Ozymandius' - they super-heat their right gauntlet and scar their own faces, and leave the gauntlet burnt black.

 

I always thought Phosphex was like radiation in a fashion, only a hell of a lot more harder to scrub away (if at all possible outside of using a vacuum). If it melted the helmet, would it not also melt into his face utterly destroying the skull killing him? After all it was that one weapon that would utterly annihilate anything especially with the nature of the chemical weapon and spreading on movement.

 

Great to finally see more Salamanders though! loving the thread and looking forward to more!

 

Looking forward to seeing how the modelling sand cape turns out, Its an interesting Idea. Are there any examples of that being used? In the worst case, with your talents, I am sure you will be fine with green stuff!

 

As far as I'm aware, it's inspired by white phosphorous, napalm & greek fire, so the way I see it is that as soon as it comes into contact with something, the only cause of action is to cut it away to stop it spreading.

 

So the idea was that a tiny amount of phosphex splashed onto his helmet, which he removed immediately, but even in that fraction of a second, the residual heat managed to melt the inside of the helmet, so that even pulling off the helm (which probably started to collapse in on itself straight away) left searing hot ceramite fused to his flesh - his skin never actually came into contact with Phosphex.

 

I couldn't find any examples of the sand approach I'm looking at being used for this before, so it's a bit of a gamble, but not exactly an irreversible one if it doesn't work.

[Charlo]

BAD. ASS.

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Quick update just to show the direction I'm going with for the other B@C character:

Storm Proven Heios Yensa, Centurion of Void-Assault Cadre 'Ashfall'

He's another Salamander, so I'll be attempting the same approach to his cloak as with Ozimandius. There's a lot of filling to do to finish off the conversion work - one of my primary goals with him was to avoid removing / damaging any of the pteruges around the pauldrons, which meant grafting the lighting claws directly onto the wrists - this was easier with the chainfist arm, as it uses the same base as the cataphractii lightning claws / power fists, but the other arm was somewhat trickier, involving cutting away the forearm into the right shape to accommodate the claw, which itself had to be modified because the only left-handed claw in the Cataphractii set with the entire wrist exposed was gesturing in the wrong way. The pose relies entirely upon the positioning of the head, which can spell the difference between him looking like he's about to swing a fistful of energised blades through some poor fool's chest and straight up voguing (incidentally, the head is a Cataphractii helm transplanted onto the bottom half of Ahriman's helmet).

So yeah, plenty of cleanup to do, and I may even attempt to convert the wolf skull from Geigor's backpack into a drake skull, although that might be a bit too involved - we shall see. Other than that, there's the cape to rough up in preparation for applying the 'scales', and I may trim down the gorget so he can see a bit better, and to show more of the helmet.

Background wise, Void-Assault Cadre 'Ashfall' is a chunk of Salamanders who were left in orbital reserve over Isstvan V, should the Traitors' fleet suddenly re-appear, so they were slightly better prepared for the orbital battle, albeit against foes unlooked for. They escaped with Clan Brannsar's fleet when they jumped into system after the second wave had shown their true colours, although nearly crippled and suffering huge losses. The Grand Cruiser they were stationed on is also where any escapees from the ground conflict in my force took shelter, although that's fewer than 40 Legionaries.

If any of you are wondering where I'm drawing all this from, I'm basically cherry-picking from the organisational chart below, which is from here

Combatant Forces – Wars of the Cymaera Verge

Ref: Davorin Caminus Muster

Mustered Forces of the Imperium (loyalist) – Iron Hands ‘Clan Brannsar’:

• 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd 4^th & 5^th Orders: 1,050 Legiones Astartes of the Iron Hands (approximate), comprising the surviving elements of the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 5^th Orders (which sustained considerable losses during the Isstvan V Massacre); 4^th Order at full strength; independent armoured divisions consisting of 9 x tank companies
• Auxilia Forces: 2 x Chainveil batallions, 1 x Battle-servitor cohort, 3 x Medusan ‘Clanguard’ echelons, 2 x Battle-automata demi-cohorts, 1 x Attached Ordo Reductor Covenant
• Reserve Assets: Reserve vehicles equivalent to 11 x armoured companies, 1 x Battle-servitor cohort, 1 x Battle-automata cohort
• {Command}: Iron Lord Volos Phrixus (Clan Leader), Iron-Captain Fulvius (Auxilia Forces), Artificier Sorcha (Reserve Assets)

Mustered Forces of the Imperium (loyalist) – Shattered Legions:

• Imperial Fists’ 315^th Demi-Company: 43 Legiones Astartes of the Imperial Fists, 1 x Armoured Strike Sub-Division
• Salamanders’ Void-Assault Cadre ‘Ashfall’: 112 Legiones Astartes of the Salamanders, 2 x Gunship Squadrons, Assigned Void Assault Craft
• Dropsite Veterans: 29 Legiones Astartes of the Raven Guard, 14 Legiones Astartes of the Salamanders, 95 Legiones Astartes of the Iron Hands (varying Clans), various surviving wargear
• {Command}: Captain Vostler (Imperial Fists), Igniax Ozimandius (Salamanders), Shadow Warden ‘Pariah’ (Raven Guard), Ironwrought Petrus (Iron Hands)

Mustered Forces of the Imperium (loyalist) – Davorin Caminus Mechanicum:

• Taghmata Davorin: Conquest Macroclade (temporarily stationed at Davorin Caminus prior to the muster for re-supply) estimated at: 2 x Autokratorii brigades, 1 x Battle-automata cohort, 1 x Macrotechnika decimation cadre, 2 x Ordo Reductor Covenants; Davorin Caminus defensive reserve estimated at: 2 x Battle-automata cohorts, 4 x Battle-servitor demi-cohorts, Adsecularis reserve battlegroup (approx. 10,000 alpha through gamma grade combatants), 2 x Basilikon air-superiority wings
• Legio Astraman: Sub-Legio (1 x Primaris maniple, 2 x Venetarii maniples), 1 x Secutarii demi-regiment, 1 x Battle-automata demi-cohort
• Vassal Questoris Household Ny’zaar: 1 x Demi-Household (estimated at 87 Knight Armours), 2 x Questoris Yeomanry batallions
• {Command}: Archmagos-Belicosa Ilithyia Malus (Taghmata), Princeps-Maxima Alestia Reuvann (Legio Astraman), Marquis Valcair (Household Ny’zaar)

Mustered Forces of the Imperium (loyalist) – Excertus Imperialis:

• 3481^st Solar Auxlia Cohort – ‘Cinder Born’: Minoris grade Cohort (25 x Sub-Cohorts, 2 x Super-heavy Sub-Cohorts, 7 x Armour Sub-Cohorts, 3 x Sub-orbital Support Divisions, Assigned Planetary Landers, Attached Medicae, Enginseer, and Logistical Corps, 1 x Legio Cybernetica Demi-Cohort)
• Vulpes Anchorage 3^rd Reserve Flotilla: 3 x Sub-Cohorts of 2194^th Solar Auxilia – ‘Vulpes Sentinels’
• {Command}: Marshal Solar Ophelia Thrace (‘Cinder Born’), Legate-Commander Synthia Fon Drist (‘Vulpes Sentinels’)

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Because I have no idea how long I'll actually be able to continue doing mini stuff before I inevitably have to take another length hiatus due to life, I decided against waiting to get some brass etch & transfers, instead I'm committed to using plasticard & freehand for the insignia, so I've finally prepped all 3 for painting:

Hopefully once painted, the sand on the cloaks can be made to look convincingly like sand, as with the (slightly naff) flames at the top of the Igniax' Crozius. The fragments of Custodes gear isn't a subtle hint that these lot are in fact filthy traitors, but are supposed to be fragments of statues depicting the Custodians scattered across the ground, as I couldn't really find a lore-friendly way to shoehorn them into my force.

Anyhow, the next time you see them, they'll have had a lick of paint - I'm gonna start with the Castellan, as he's got the least freehand detailing, and he's my favorite model of the three - par for the course, I'm going straight for the 'treat'

[Calas Typhon]

Vostler looks great with the emblems. Really adds to the model.

 

I can't help but feel that something about the sand looks a little out of place seeing it now on the capes, however it clearly looks like scales. Its probably due to it being unpainted, any idea what shades of paint you will be going for with the capes? are you planning to go uniform or different colours for different models?

Edited August 10, 2017 by Warsmith Kroeger

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Vostler looks great with the emblems. Really adds to the model.

 

I can't help but feel that something about the sand looks a little out of place seeing it now on the capes, however it clearly looks like scales. Its probably due to it being unpainted, any idea what shades of paint you will be going for with the capes? are you planning to go uniform or different colours for different models?

 

Thanks, I'm a big fan of the array of iconography displayed in the FW books, so applying some of them to my models is great fun, and I'm really looking forward to doing the freehand work on these (some of the only miniatures I actually finished primarily feature elaborate banner / shield designs).

 

I know what you mean re: the sand - I think it might be the way it hides some of the shallower folds in the material? Hopefully once it's painted it'll be a bit more convincing.

 

I'm planning on having varying shades for the cloaks (which will continue on - planned - future models), representing different species of drakes & the variance in coloration within species. On one of the colour plates for Massacre, a rhino used by a Salamanders Igniax features an ochre Legion icon, so I'm thinking of giving Ozymandius' cape a more brown / orange colouration rather than the green tones I'll use on the centurion.

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

It's time for a *Direction Change*

_{And by direction change. I mean an alteration to my hypothetical plan for miniatures which I will almost certainly never fulfill / pursue to any conceivable degree of completion.}

 

Up till now, I've been super restrained with my plans for using the contents of B@C & BoP (which pretty much constitute all the miniatures I currently own), with long-running and elaborate plans of how to combine them with Forge World minis & components, ambitious conversion plans etc.

 

No longer. The upcoming release of Necromunda has made me re-evaluate the approach I'd like to take to the hobby, and a small number of minis, each representing a character who develops across a campaign is way more up my street (and that of my hobby group) than the large-scale Heresy force I'd (pretty foolishly, given current progress) envisioned. That and the realities of moving around & money over the next few years have made me put a hard stop (for the time being) on buying more stuff for the Heresy (although if there was another plastic box along the lines of B@C & BoP, my resistance would likely crumble).

 

That means I've been faced with scrapping extensive plans for a large force, but this has also presented me with a fun challenge instead: creating a fun, fluffy force with some variety using the two boxes I do have, for which the final outlook currently is:

 

Iron Hands Contingent: Heavy Assault Phalanx

* Contemptor Dreadnought

* 5 x Cataphractii Terminators (chainfists & combi-bolters, with a heavy flamer, grenade harness & thunder hammer)

* 5 x Tartaros Terminators (twin lightning claws, with a plasma blaster & volite charger)

 

Blackshield Contingent: The Graveborn

* 10 x MkIV Marauders

* 1 x Centurion (If I can dig up an old Space Marine mini from outside the boxes to convert)

 

Salamanders Contingent: The Branded

* 15 x mixed-pattern Veterans

* 1 x Chaplain Consul (Igniax Ozymandius)

* 1 x Cataphractii Centurion (Storm Proven Yensa)

 

Raven Guard Contingent: Coterie of the Ashen Feather

* 10 x mixed-pattern Veterans

* 5 x mixed-pattern Seekers (combi-bolters)

* 1 x Forge Lord Consul / Techmarine

 

Imperial Fists Contingent: 315th Demi-Company Remnant

* 10 MkIII Tacitcals

* 5 MkIII Support Marines (meltaguns)

* 5 MkIII Heavy Support Marines (Heavy Bolters)

* 1 x Champion Consul (Castellan Vostler)

 

Sisters of Silence Contingent: Black Ship 'Portent' Garrison

* 5 x Prosecutors

 

Obviously combining this into a single army would be pretty tricky, even with the Shattered Legions theme, but it feels like a fun army to build, something I can do in small chunks, and gives me a range of different styles to convert / iconographies to paint.

Edited August 26, 2017 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Finally assembled a full unit - this one is the first from the rearranged list: the (Chymeriae) Blackshield Marauder Squad

The ‘Graveborn’, Clan Brannsar Blackshield Element

The ‘Blackshield’ designation assigned to this formation is dually owed to the uncertainty surround the Graveborn’s origins and the nature of their iconography and panoply of war, the latter being one of the few details upon which all accounts agree. Each warrior’s power armour was bare ceramite, still bearing the forge-issue ident markings of the Davorin Caminus Mechanicum. The only identifying mark aside from standard unit designations displayed upon their armour was Brannsar’s Clan symbol upon the right pauldron, over the black iron plate of the X^th Legion which solely adorned the right arm.

The conspicuous absence of the Iron Hand’s Legion symbol has brought into doubt the origin of these Astartes, a factor corroborated by reports which seem to assign individuals traits expressed by the Geneseed of a number of Legions, as well as claiming that the ident-seals of the Davorin Caminus Magos Genetor were inscribed upon their flesh. It is notable that despite only possessing numbers capable of constituting a single Demi-Company, the Graveborn included in their ranks at least a trio of Astartes who carried specialised Apothecarian equipment, further inciting dark rumours surrounding the warband which would be met with only contempt by the Legionaries of Clan Brannsar.

[Charlo]

Mixed Mk III / IV looks great!

 

Can't wait to see them get some more personality with paint.

[Pearson73]

This fella is absolutely fantastic, great pose and sense of character about him.

[jeremy1391]

Outstanding work!

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Mixed Mk III / IV looks great!

Can't wait to see them get some more personality with paint.

Thanks Charlo - as the blurb indicates, the MkIII arms are gonna be in Iron Hands colours, and for the MkIV plate, I want to emulate the bare ceramite effect from this image, including the forge-issue ident markings and serial numbers:

This fella is absolutely fantastic, great pose and sense of character about him.

He's almost certainly the best mini I've ever assembled, but really I was just lucky that the parts I chose came together in such a dynamic way

Outstanding work!

Thanks! It's not really much, but there is something very satisfying at assembling even ten minis when I've done no hobbying in half a dozen years

[Charlo]

Oh that's a great use of some obscure art matey. Nice one.

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Next up, the Imperial Fists Heavy Support squad:

They're pretty 'vanilla' at the moment, but I'm planning on making some plasticard detailing to go on the MkIII torsos, to break up the uniformity a bit - an approach I want to take with all the squads that'll feature MkIII

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

The IF tactical support squad:

As with the heavy squad, these'll be getting some plasticard detailing, but I'm gonna wait until the IF tactical squad is assembled as well before I start making those

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Hey folks, no miniatures I'm afraid (boo, I know), but with good ol' Clan Brannsar pseudo-canonised by the Forge World bundle, I've vowed to try and actually make some progress on their background article here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/316214-clan-brannsar-of-the-xth-legion/

With that in mind, I wanted to paint something to kickstart my creative process, and settled on making a sculptural icon in the style of the illustrations from FW's Books, so I present to you the icon which sits at the top of Brannsar's Clan Standard:

http://bolterandchainsword.com/uploads/gallery/album_9225/gallery_53779_9225_1139.png

Edited March 20, 2018 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[Brother Heinrich]

God damn. love the posing, keep up the great work!

[Soldier of Dorn]

That is a lovely icon.

[bluntblade]

So one of the more savage Medusan Clans, I take it?

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

God damn. love the posing, keep up the great work!

 

Thanks - no idea when I'll be able to do more miniatures work, but considering how hard I've been trying to figure out if fitting Forgebane into my collection is feasible, there'll probably be *some* more

 

That is a lovely icon.

 

Thanks!

 

So one of the more savage Medusan Clans, I take it?

 

Not especially, actually. The symbol is supposed to represent the Clan in light of the Dropsite Massacre, with the Iron Hand gripping the skull representing both their thirst for vengeance and commitment to endure even after the pseudo-death of their Legion (the chains are a reference to their Clan symbol).

 

That said, not especially savage *for Iron Hands* is still nothing to sniff at - they're still of the Iron Tenth and all the cold brutality that entails.

[Chickenleg]

Good work all around! I especially love the sketches to supplement the models.

 

I have only one question, where is the paint?

 

The Chymarae need their color to really shine, can't wait to see what you do with their armor.

[bluntblade]

 

So one of the more savage Medusan Clans, I take it?

 

 

Not especially, actually. The symbol is supposed to represent the Clan in light of the Dropsite Massacre, with the Iron Hand gripping the skull representing both their thirst for vengeance and commitment to endure even after the pseudo-death of their Legion (the chains are a reference to their Clan symbol).

 

That said, not especially savage *for Iron Hands* is still nothing to sniff at - they're still of the Iron Tenth and all the cold brutality that entails.

Only just saw this. Very true, and an interesting take

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Consistent with my apparent box-set only approach, Adeptus Titanicus is looking very tempting over there on the horizon, and obviously, before I've painted a single miniature from either B@C or BoP, I've started to figure out Titan Legions / Knight Houses:

 

LEGIO EXHORTOR

Title: The Legio Exhortor Ordo Titanicus

Grade: Tertius

Patent: Pre-Imperial, Graian Mechanicum

Warden Domain(s): Davorin Statum, Davorin Caminas, Neverlight

Cognomen: The Proclamators

Allied War Houses: Sadavir, Ny’zaar

Allegiance: Fidelitas Constantus

 

HOUSE SADAVIR

Title: The Enduring Vassal Household of Sadavir

Grade: Mors Pertinacium

Patent: Warrant of Imperial Immediacy as conferred by the Sidon Protocols issued by the Imperial Court in 924.M30. Literae Patentes duly recorded by the Officio Militaris College of Arms.

Warden Domain: Neverlight

Cognomen: The Wraiths of Neverlight, The Ceaseless

Allied Legions/Forge Worlds: Bound Household of the Legio Exhortor and vassal domain of the Davorin Caminas Mechanicum according to the writ of the Sidon Protocols.

Allegiance: Fidelitas ad Mortem

 

HOUSE NY’ZAAR

Title: The Patrician and Unyielding House of Ny’zaar

Grade: Secundus

Patent: Autonomous, Warrant of Ancient Domain and Arms (recognised 922.M30, ratified 937.M30).

Warden Domain: Ashavan, de facto system rights recognised upon Compliance.

Cognomen: Ochre Blades, The Gilded Carnival (mocking term rarely used openly), The Greenscourge Host (informal title in use by human enclaves local to the Cymaera Verge)

Allied Legions/Forge Worlds: Ties to the Legio Exhortor, compacts of mutual exchange and accord with the Forge World of Davorin Caminas.

Allegiance: Fidelitas Tenax

[Supe robot gangster #1]

Very nice! Any thoughts on colour schemes as yet?

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Very nice! Any thoughts on colour schemes as yet?

 

I have - I'm also working on writing FW-style background articles for each of the above, so I'll link those eventually too,

 

Legio Exhortor:

So, the Proclamators' home Forge World - Davorin Caminas - is gonna be of Graian descent, so I figured that the Legio Exhortor would have evolved from the Legio Astraman, so I wanted some visual ties to their scheme. With that in mind, my current plan is for their plate to be predominantly emerald and bronze, with black trim and black & white detailing.

 

House Sadovir:

Neverlight is a planet shrouded in volcanic ash - hence the name, but its oceans are teeming with bio-luminescent life, so I want a pretty drab main scheme - maybe dark grey plate with silver trim, but heraldry and iconography in bright blues, purples and greens indicative of their homeworld's biosphere. I'm also tempted to have some less vivid swirling patterns in pastel colours over some parts of the plates, blended into the grey to mimic bio-luminescent algal / plankton shoals.

 

House Ny'zaar:

Ashavan is a desert world, and I want the knights of Ny'zaar to have predominantly orange / yellow plate (hence "Ochre Blades") with black iron trim, and heraldry in vivid white and lime green. Their knights will also have faceplates of varying colour metals to indicate rank / standing, which reflects the gilded masks their scions incorporate into their heraldry.