Where many were, how few remain - A loyalist SoH project

[MrBear]

*coughs from all the dust whirling around*

 

 

 

Well, 'time flies' I guess? Been almost a year since the last post... There have been plenty of time when I could have been painting, but for some reason I haven't felt like it, until now. Still w.i.p. I'm afraid, but we're moving forward again.

 

 

 

 

Some people might remember this guy. Being somewhat clumsy I managed to break his axe, and instead of fidgeting with broken resin I decided to make him more 'Sons of Horus'-y by using a CSM power axe in its place. 

 

There is still lots to be done, but I should be able to finish him up without running out of steam this time (hopefully  )

 

Cheers!

[Brother Dallo]

Nice to see you posting MrBear.

 

See you in 2023? ;)

 

Dallo

[MrBear]

Nice to see you posting MrBear.

 

See you in 2023?

 

Dallo

 

Nice to see you around aswell buddy! Thought about posting this at 20:23 to fit the joke, but couldn't find time to do it. 

 

Will hopefully be able to be a bit more active than the latest year though, more updates than once a year at least 

 

 

Anyways, while there has been some more painting, the lighting for taking pictures is really dreadful so since I nicked the CSM axe for the techmarine, I had to find some new solutions for the guy I took it from...

 

 

 

 

Still not the most active of poses, but the possibilites are rather limited with this sculpt. A Legion Delegatus from the SoH high command, casually leaning on his cane while gesturing with his power fist for the rest of the Company to join him (in Heresy) works much better than my previous attempt with the axe and a plasma pistol. Proof that accidents may have beneficial concequences I guess...

 

Cheers!

[Gorgoff]

The Black Pearl *droll in pirate*

[MrBear]

Well, time does fly doesn't it? I didn't intend for things to take 5 months, but you know how things are, I even joined 'Club Covid' for a while (a mild case fortunately) for example. Anyways, time for a proper update...

 

 

 

”A house divided against itself cannot stand” Ibram Lenkon, Merk Emperor ca. M2

 

No boy, that was not all that happened that day. My… ’discussion’ with the entombed Ancient earned me more than my meagre insights regarding immortality, I fear that I also gained the cold ire of someone I’d rather have had good relations with…

 

You see, no sooner had Matthyam left the deck before I felt the vibrations of armoured footsteps rapidly coming our way. As I turned around to see whom these steps belonged to, I froze in place, as would most anyone seeing an Astartes Techmarine stomping towards them with a scowl upon his face. Mosty anyone but another Astartes that is, and especially Grishal Baar whom I think would have been completely unfazed even by a herd of feral grox charging him.

 

”Drephos,” he called out in his usual, thunderous but cheerful way. ”Well met Brother! What brings you out from your workshops after so long time? A longing for more intelligent conversations than what your servitors can provide?”

 

The Techmarine, Drephos I presumed, halted an arm’s length in front of us, and to my surprise spent several seconds visibly struggling with his composure, something I’d never seen an Astartes bother with before. I later learned though that, as members of the Martian Priesthood, many Techmarines strived towards being… ’emotionally detached’ and ’fully logical’ in their behaviour. Something that Drephos obviously found hard to achieve in the face of Grishal Baar’s greeting.

 

”Rest assured Baar,” he finally said in a voice so ice cold that his anger could not have been more obvious if he’d shouted at him instead. ”That if such an unlikely event would ever happen, I would not start my search with you.”

 

“You wound me Brother,” he answered with a wicked grin. “So many memories of Cthonia we could share and discuss.” To my surprise those seemingly innocent words made Drephos grit his teeth, and there was more tension in his voice when he spoke again.

 

“What did you and your…pet mortal do to the Old One?” he said. “The emotional readings went way beyond the optimal mental state of the occupant which is why I hastened here.” Only the Emperor knows why lad, but for some reason I answered before Grishal Baar could…

“We spoke to him,” I spluttered out. “About his past, to record it and to learn from…”

 

Drephos dark gaze silenced me, looking down at me not only with the amazement of someone meeting a talking dog, but also mixed with the anger of hearing insults coming from the mouth of that canine.

 

“You. Spoke. About. The past.” he said through his teeth. ”Blindly rummaging through a mind tenuously attached to the present as it is. Not caring for how such acts can unbalance and damage the Machine Spirit of the Sarcophagus.”

 

“I... I just…” I tried to answer, but he would not let me finish.

 

“Do such a thing again mortal, and there will be one more Servitor in my workshops.” He said harshly, his Servo-arm opening and closing less than a foot from my face.

 

“Peace Brother,” Grishal Baar said as he stepped between us. “He was simply fulfilling the duties of his Order.”

 

“And I am fulfilling MY duties!” he snarled. “Be glad that I let you walk your pet off this deck while he still can, and hope that I find no reason to do more than to ban him from meddling in Mechanicum affairs!”

 

Thus, we left. Grishal Baar as unfazed as ever, me with legs shaking, and a heartbeat that felt as if it should be heard one Sector away. So learn this young one, even by doing your duties to the best of your abilities, and meaning no harm, you can still make dangerous enemies...

 

 

 

  

 

 

Grishal Baar later told me, that he found Drephos hard to stand for many reasons, of which he said that ‘prayer-muttering bastard’s lack of humour’ was the least thing he objected to. No, it was two other things that grated him more, the ‘prayer-muttering’ and Drephos’ attachment to Cthonia.

 

The first of them was the easiest to understand given the spread of the ‘Imperial Truth’ which sought to eradicate religion from the galaxy, and I know that Grishal Baar was not the only Astartes that found the Mechanicum’s belief in the Omnissiah, and Machine Spirits to be dangerously close to the very things that the Great Crusade was supposed to destroy.

 

That he disliked Drephos’… ‘Cthonian tendencies’ was stranger to me at first, but grew clearer as he explained. You see boy, Drephos was Cthonian only in the loosest sense, having been born upon its surface to off-world parents, working it’s main star port for the Mechanicum.

As such he tended to act ‘more Cthonian than a Deepstink Death Cultist’ to make up for his lack of ‘ganger credentials’ as Grishal Baar put it, something that rubbed him off the wrong way.

 

The thing is that my friend could not care a damn were someone was born, or raised, but pretending to be something that you were not? That was something sure to irritate him, which is why he took every chance he got to needle Drephos with comments about ‘their’ home world and its traditions. A petty reason to dislike someone you say? Perhaps so, but even Astartes can act in such ways at times.

 

 

 

So there we are, neither my best paintwork ever (there are a few mistakes I've corrected after seeing them up close in the photo), nor my best photography either. Its progress though,  and given how little I've painted these last 1,5 years I'm quite satisfied anyway. I've also gotten plenty of ideas these last couple of days that I want to turn into models. They require an FW order though so I'm thinking about first painting a couple of Apotecharies that have been gathering dust, but who knows?

Cheers!

 

[Pearson73]

NIce work, the lens of the bionic eye is great!

[MrBear]

So, in order to try keeping the steam up, these two, caring gentlemen has been assembled. Straight from the box, no conversions (if one doesn't count the SoH shoulder pad on one of them) so the paint job is going to be what makes these guys fit in with the rest of the gang.

 

 

There will probably be an order from FW at the end of the month so I can stop those conversion ideas I've been having from itching too much in my mind though.

 

 

NIce work, the lens of the bionic eye is great!

 

Thanks for the praise man! Plenty of lenses coming up with these two guys

 

Cheers!

[Brother Dallo]

Lovely fluff. It’s an interesting triangle of relationship dynamics you’ve captured.

 

What are your ultimate goals for this project?

 

Dallo

[Pearson73]

The Apothecaries are great models, really fun to paint!

[MrBear]

Lovely fluff. It’s an interesting triangle of relationship dynamics you’ve captured.

 

What are your ultimate goals for this project?

 

Dallo

 

Thanks buddy! Fluff is one of my favourite aspects of the hobby so glad you liked it.

 

When it comes to ultimate goals... I have a rough idea of where I want to go, to follow this merry gang to the point where the brown stuff hits the fan and they realise that the Heresy has started, and the aftermath of that. This 'Masterplan^TM' is very vague though, where I paint//write dependeing on what I feel like doing, the Apothecaries were bought over 2 years ago for example and have been gathering dust since. Ideally it will involve other Legions, tanks (please, please Heresy 2.0 bring me plastic Deimos pattern and other plastic tanks!) and more of everything.

 

I have both Reavers and Despoilers waiting for me to paint them just to mention a few things, but after the FW order I have a plan for some special conversions/kit bashes 

 

 

The Apothecaries are great models, really fun to paint!

 

Really great models, crisp and detailed without feeling 'flimsy'. Just got to decide how much white to paint them (leaning towards very little), and where.

 

 

And speaking of painting, on the level of 'Least Exciting Update Ever"-awards, but they have an undercoat at least...

 

 

Cheers!

[MrBear]

There has been... some painting this last month, but not very much. That's not the reason for this 'update' though, it's this guy and his future friends:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's just a rough 'sketch' at the moment, with every part just 'tacced' together for now, and actual modelling/painting will have to wait until it 'fits' with how the story of my army progresses in my head. I've said before that other Legions would feature, and the first one will be my old favourites the VIIIth. It wasn't always meant to be so, but last autumn I couldn't resist the conversion bits from Artel W any longer (they are fantastic) and placed an order which proved rather fortunate considering the present... eh, 'difficulties' regarding buying from Russia. Another order from FW arriving last week gave me the last pieces I needed, so to summarize my ramblings; I will paint some Night Lords again (eventually).

 

 

Cheers! 

 

[Marshal Mittens]

Oh, oh my. That cape is from Artel W? It looks insanely good.

[MrBear]

Oh, oh my. That cape is from Artel W? It looks insanely good.

 

It is from them, and it is as good as it looks. I have 2 cloaks draped over the shoulder, 2 regular cloaks, 10 'aprons', 5 pieces of skin to cover shoulder pads with, and 15 heads, everything is really crisp, and every piece I've tried so far fits without any trouble. Really glad that I bought them when I had the chance 

[Marshal Mittens]

I have to check them out, those are very tempting!

[Pearson73]

Those are some really cool parts!

[SkimaskMohawk]

 

 

Oh, oh my. That cape is from Artel W? It looks insanely good.

It is from them, and it is as good as it looks. I have 2 cloaks draped over the shoulder, 2 regular cloaks, 10 'aprons', 5 pieces of skin to cover shoulder pads with, and 15 heads, everything is really crisp, and every piece I've tried so far fits without any trouble. Really glad that I bought them when I had the chance

Is it not KFStudio's? They seem to sell through a few different places like liber daemonica and ArtelW.

[MrBear]

I have to check them out, those are very tempting!

 

They are well worth getting your hands on, though it might be a bit hard given that they are from Russia...

 

 

Those are some really cool parts!

 

Really characterful pieces, I regret not getting more...

 

 

 

Oh, oh my. That cape is from Artel W? It looks insanely good.

It is from them, and it is as good as it looks. I have 2 cloaks draped over the shoulder, 2 regular cloaks, 10 'aprons', 5 pieces of skin to cover shoulder pads with, and 15 heads, everything is really crisp, and every piece I've tried so far fits without any trouble. Really glad that I bought them when I had the chance

Is it not KFStudio's? They seem to sell through a few different places like liber daemonica and ArtelW.

 

 

You are 100% correct, my mistake. I went to Artel W's homepage to check, and I misrembered the pieces being from them. Probably because I bought other stuff that were Artel miniatures at the same time and my brain mixed things up 

 

Still great conversion parts though, and equally troublesome to get at the moment no matter what Russian company that makes them. 

[MrBear]

The Warp might  at times seem silent and calm, and those things long since lost to it gone forever more. Sometimes though, things emerge once more into the realm of mortals...

 

 

 

"Eh…What? I… Oh, don’t look at me like that my boy. I… will confess that I closed my eyes for a few moments, just so that I could gather my thoughts. That gives you no reason to look at me with such shock though, as if you had just seen me rise from my grave, rather than see me wake from sleep."

 

 

 

 

 

So, after a rather long inactivity, I guess I'm back? I've painted things for the first time in 1,5 years, and as soon as I finish writing up a background, there will be a proper update in the log again. 

 

Yeah, there is still no real plan to this project. It 100% follows my whims, and it is a story rather than a 'proper' army.

[Pearson73]

Nice! Good to see you back and looking forward to seeing what you've come up with!

[Brother Dallo]

He lives? :D

 

Nice to see you back.

 

Dallo

[MrBear]

So, 'hot tip': Don't catch the flu, it messes you up and leaves you with little energy to do hobby related things. That being said:


   

 

 

 

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising up every time we fail.”

Ralfwal Domerson, Merk philosopher M2.

 

Eh…What? I… Oh, don’t look at me like that my boy. I… will confess that I closed my eyes for a few moments, just so that I could gather my thoughts. That gives you no reason to look at me with such shock though, as if you had just seen me rise from my grave, rather than see me wake.

Drephos? What? Yes, that’s true. I did tell you of how I awoke his anger, didn’t I. Flammable temper he had, ‘He must have drunk all those “sacred” oils instead of smearing them on his damned machines.’ as Grishal Baar said to me. That being said, I believe that I left off where I and Baar walked away from Drephos and his hostility…

 

You see, I had thought myself fairly… ‘hardened’ in regard to the Astartes, as if I, in my relative short time, had magically crossed the threshold of becoming one of the jaded veterans of the fleet. Those that had seen Horus’ sons as often as a Hive Worlder sees corps starch at their dinner table… A laughable delusion!

My heart would hardly have beaten more loudly if the Warmaster himself had seen fit to dress me down, and it was a wonder that not every single human crew member we passed did turn their heads at it’s sound. So much for me being used to the Astartes. Though to be fair… I reckon few enough of the people onboard would have kept their calm with a servo-arm in their face.

 

Don’t think I don’t understand that look boy, I will get to the point! You should have learned by now though that a true Remembrancer is always establishing atmosphere before they move on to the important parts. If you hope to take my place one day it will be good for you to remember that fact…

So, as I walked off from the landing decks, Grishal Baar looked at me almost somewhat… ashamed. Yes, I know that it sounds like an alien concept for one such as him, but it makes some sense. You see, Baar enjoyed his reputation as an obnoxious prankster, facing the results of his antics standing straight, with a twisted grin on his face no matter if it was laughter or anger, he received in return.

 

That someone else faced consequences for something that he had done though? That did make him… ‘uncomfortable’ one could say. Not the ‘true shame’ that he would have felt if a mistake from him would have caused harm to a brother during a battle, but something loosely akin to that feeling as far as I could tell.

So I guess that it was as a form of compensation that he led me to what could be considered the ‘holiest’ of places onboard the ship, even for Astartes fighting for the‘Imperial truth’, the Apothecarion itself!

 

Yes, before I knew it I found myself walking through a door I would never have imagined getting access to. Why, might you ask? Well, the Apothecaries of a Legion were those responsible for the continued existence of their Gene-Father’s line, and it was a mission they took upon themselves with great responsibility. Quite understandable given how there were whispers that loss of gene-seed stock had almost doomed some Legion at a time, even though such a thing does strike me as unlikely…

 

I reckon that you see in your mind, how I walked into a great chamber of gleaming metal and pristine glass, with the ‘magic’ of gene-science displayed before me? Ha! Thank you boy! There is little enough to laugh at in this age, but your face there? You really did have those thoughts... Know then that the room which I entered was no bigger than the kitchens here, and not as clean.

 

Not dirty, as such, but any Astartes in need of medical care would not need the same sanitary precautions that we would worry about, and there were little enough to see besides a few data terminals, and an operating table as everything sensitive was always kept in locked cabinets. No, what was there to be seen was two Apothecaries going through their everyday routines.

 

The one closest to us, reading something on a data-plate, looked up from it as we walked in and said in a mocking tone:

“What have you done this time Baar? Cut yourself while shaving with your chain-axe once again perhaps?”

 

Then he stood up, a true giant even among Astartes, and clasped hands with Baar who was grinning as wide as I had ever seen him.

“Ah, watch yourself Remembrancer!” he said. “You hear how sharp these tongues are. Imagine then how sharp their blades must be given so many Astartes that had shed their life blood upon them!”

 

The one that had greeted us, roared with laughter at Grishal Baar’s rather morbid joke, but his fellow Apothecary just gave up a tired sigh in response.

“I know you’re both from the Vilewater Tunnels Ethiganos,” he said. “But could you perhaps learn your fellow ‘barbarian’ some respect for our trade? Not making us sound like Orks?”

 

“I’d say you wound me Xerixes,” Baar answered him back. “But you are right! Vilewater Tunnels have spawned nothing but barbarians for millennia after all. Though you give the Orks too much credit, surely none of them has heard the last breath from one of our brothers as often as you two have?”

 

“Oh, Baar”, Xerixes finally chuckled back. “You have done the impossible, I have finally found some sympathy for Drephos! If you’ve been half as irreverent to him as to me, then I understand why he wants to turn you and your pet mortal both into servitors.”

 

He then turned towards me for the first time, and spoke:

“I remain hesitant regarding the purpose of your… ‘order’ Remembrancer” he said in a serious voice. “And your wisdom is certainly questionable given the company that you keep. The fact that you have antagonised Drephos however, that speaks well for your character if not your intelligence.” he finished with a hint of humour in his tone.

 

And where Grishal Baar’s ways and personality had given me an… ‘antagonist’ earlier that day, here it gained me… not friendship, as I would rank him as the only true friend I made among the Astartes, but a kind of ‘conditional welcome’.

 

Normally, they would have no true interest in someone like me, but I was ‘fascinating’ since Grishal Baar found me fascinating, and that was something that those of his brothers he was closest to wanted to understand. So, as much as I studied them, it pales in comparison to their studies of me.

What neither of us knew though, was the fact that there were others studying us all…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, Ethiganos. Almost as spontaneous in his personality as Grishal Baar, but where Baar’s total focus was upon warfare, Ethiganos was more focused on intellectual matters. There was a burning curiosity in him, a need for knowledge that one could feel had few true restraints. That lack of limits? I admit that it gave me shivers at times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Xerixes was calmer in comparison, less given to bursts of action or emotion, and more analytical in his ways. Curiously enough he was also less Cthonian in most of things, being something of a cosmopolitan one could say. So, even though he was slower to ‘open up’ than Ethiganos had been, I can say that our conversations gave me deeper knowledge in the end.

 

 

 

On 1/9/2024 at 7:46 AM, Pearson73 said:

Nice! Good to see you back and looking forward to seeing what you've come up with!

 

Thanks man! Been a longer time away than I imagined, but such things happen at times. I've started to build the next bunch of guys though, so the next update shouldn't take too long.

 

On 1/9/2024 at 11:55 AM, Brother Dallo said:

He lives? :D

 

Nice to see you back.

 

Dallo

 

"What is dead may never die..." and all that 

 

Good to be back though mate, hopefully not to disappear into the shadows again.

 

Cheers!

[Brother Dallo]

What is dead may never die.

[Pearson73]

Those lenses are really well done. Good job!

[MrBear]

I guess that one could say that "something wicked this way comes"

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the first bunch of Night Lords for this project. There will be more to come...

 

On 1/19/2024 at 11:28 PM, Brother Dallo said:

What is dead may never die.

 

It will hopefully keep going for a long time

 

On 1/20/2024 at 7:12 AM, Pearson73 said:

Those lenses are really well done. Good job!

 

Thanks mate, for some reason lenses tend to be something that works really well for me.

 

 

Cheers!

[MrBear]

So, the last of the bunch (more or less) put together:

 

 

 

It will probably be some time before I start painting them though. Partly due to work, partly due to the fact that it has been so long since I painted Night Lords that I feel like I need to do a test model first to find my steps again...

 

 

Cheers!