The Crusade Lions are Back... sort of.

[Rymeer]

Well, it took most of 12 years to make, but I have a well reinforced company's worth of my own Chapter, the Crusade Lions, aka: the Crusading Lions. I hope the link listed below works for you, since I don't know how to insert one the right way. Enjoy, and the Emperor Protects!

 

Using the full table picture: Front Center: 10 sniper scouts with faux Sgt Telon, and his Companion Lion. Far left and right front corners: two, 10 man Assault Squads, the left side one having a captain with mechanical winged backpack (this backpack is magnetic and the model has a standard backpack as well). Front left edge: 10 man Terminator squad, and three leaders in terminator armor. One Captain, One Chaplain, and one Librarian. Front right edge: 15 Assault Terminators, and faux Lysander.

 

2nd rank of models all have vehicles behind them: From left to right... 10 man Devastator Squad with four Las-Cannons. 10 man Devastator Squad with four Heavy Bolters. Three 10 man Tactical Squads (all Tac Squads have swap able light and heavy weapons, and the vehicles are Rhino/Razorbacks depending upon use of detachable upper hull plates and weaponry). 5 man Headquarters Squad, includes banner, Apothecary, and Sargent. In front of these five models is a Chaplain and a Librarian. Three 10 man Tactical Squads (again, same as previously listed above), and finally... 10 man Stern Guard Squad (this squad is the ONLY one with knee pads, studded shoulder pads, beakie helmets, and 2nd edition bolters with scopes. Their Rhino is 2nd edition as well) NOTE: ALL other marines do not use knee pads legs, and each squad has matching chest plates and back packs ( I did this for two reasons.. one, I bought a TON of marine sprues and could sort them by type, ending up with enough to do this... and second, The chapter is so new there has not been time to inherit gear from fallen brothers yet).

 

Left Corner front: Three Vindicators. Left Corner rear: Five Whirlwinds with spotter Land Speeder. Right Corner front: Three Vindicators (two of the six have detachable Dozer Blades). Right Corner rear: Five Predators (ALL predators have magnetic turrets and sponsons). Rear Rank left fore: Five Dreadnoughts. Two Iron Clad, Two Venerable, One Standard.  Tech Marine with full Servo Harness, 5 Servitors, and Companion Lion: aka: Tech Kitty (counts as Heavy Bolter Servitor)... Imperator Dreadnought, (The giant Dreadnought is scratch built by a friend and is literally twice as tall, deep, and wide as a standard Dreadnought. We call it the Imperator Class Dreadnought).  Rear Rank left rear: Land Raider Terminus. Rear Rank right fore: 10 Space Marine Bikes and 2 Assault Bikes. Rear Rank right rear: Damocles Command Rhino. Rear Rank Center Left: 6 land speeders (gunner model swaps out between Heavy Bolter and Flamer). Rear Rank Center Right: Land Raider Crusader. Rear Rank Center fore: Chapter Master with Lightning Claws, and his TWO Companion Lions, with 5 man Honor Guard.

 

Totals:

178 marine models (includes terminators, bikes, companion lions, and normal marines).

43   vehicles of all types (includes dreadnoughts and speeders).

(not counted in above list: swap able marines for all tactical squads, swap able parts, teleport homers, swap able parts for vehilces and other such items).

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/101774153@N04/albums

 

Comments welcome. This army started as an idea when 4th edition rules were released. The Sargent model in the command squad that has the banner and is behind the Chaplain and Librarian was the model first made. It was done for the Do It Yourself Chapter Creation Contest and placed 3rd at the Chicago Battle Bunker. This model's picture was listed with the other top three from every Bunker and Store in America at the time, and placed on GW's web page for a couple of years. I noted there was no Lion themed chapter, so I took the colors of a lion (tawny tan and an almost chocolate brown) and used them as the basis for my chapter's colors. I then got to thinking of where they recruited new members, and came up with the idea of a Feral World of near pole to pole rolling Savanna. The human inhabitants are sort of trapped in an early Bronze Age culture. The planet also is home to a Giant breed of Lions that roam the rolling plains. The chapter members recruited from this world feel 'more at ease' with bronze, so I made most of the metal parts of items and equipment bronze in color. The only exception being Bolter barrels, and other such items, like Plasma Gun barrel ends. When a Chapter member achieves enough honors, he is allowed to 'Hunt the Lion'. He is dropped with a small bronze knife and leather clothing. His quest is to either hunt down a Rogue Lion, who kills anything, including it's own kind on sight... or, to challenge the senior Pride Male in combat. If he loses, he's eaten by the Pride. Should he defeat the Pride Male, He steals a cub or two to be taken back to the orbital Chapter Base to raise and train as his personal Lion Companion. Such Companions fight along side their Marine and should he fall, drag the body away to hide or be recovered for it's Gene Seed. When a Companion Lion gets too old to fight, even with augmentation, the Lion accompanies it's Marine to hold off the Pride Male so he may 'steal' another cub. The Chapter's Marines do NOT know the lions are fully sentient and see such abductions as a normal way to fight the kinds of horrors that have visited their world before. Old Companion Lions join the Pride and either take command, or become the living history of the Pride, to roar their songs of the great battles in the stars.

 

 

Enough from me,

Rymeer, Chapter Master, Crusade Lions Chapter, Space Marines. (AKA: The Crusading Lions)

Purity of Essence! Purity of Faith!

 

[Jonny Roxtar]

Its an impressive sight all lined up and ready for war. I like the muted yellow colour scheme and some of the conversions are very cool and unique. I like the background too, one of the best things about homegrown chapters is the thought behind them and the imagination involved.

My question to you would be, now fliers are a part of the game, will there be any new additions in that department, or perhaps a knight allied unit ?

[Race Bannon]

The stand-alone lions are so choice.   This is a labor of love army here :tu:

[Rymeer]

Its an impressive sight all lined up and ready for war. I like the muted yellow colour scheme and some of the conversions are very cool and unique. I like the background too, one of the best things about homegrown chapters is the thought behind them and the imagination involved.

My question to you would be, now fliers are a part of the game, will there be any new additions in that department, or perhaps a knight allied unit ?

I am not sure I will be adding anything to the army in the next couple of years. I recently retired and funds are limited.

The stand-alone lions are so choice. This is a labor of love army here

Yes, a labor of love that took 12 years to get to this point. And I don't know if I'll ever get flyers into it. funds are limited.

[Rymeer]

Its an impressive sight all lined up and ready for war. I like the muted yellow colour scheme and some of the conversions are very cool and unique. I like the background too, one of the best things about homegrown chapters is the thought behind them and the imagination involved.

My question to you would be, now fliers are a part of the game, will there be any new additions in that department, or perhaps a knight allied unit ?

oh, that's NOT a muted yellow. It's actually a 'tawny' tan color. The brown is almost a milk chocolate color. these are the primary two colors of the army, along with the bronze, and gold for officers of course. I went with the colors because they are the colors of a lion's pelt and mane. I went bronze instead of silver because the chapter recruits from a very early Bronze Age culture planet that is also inhabited by the large Lions, known as Simbas. Even though you can see lions here and there in 40K, you don't see any lion themed chapters... so, I made one. I like it, and don't care if anyone else does or not. I think they are cool as all hell. Keeping to theme has limited me on some things, like fewer flamers, and plasma weapons... officers that think lightning claws are more 'lion-like', etc. Ah well... still a visually appealing army, if I do toot my own horn here. :)