Siege of Terra; IX Legion, 83rd Company "Crimson Thorns"

[Tyrannicide]

Awesome work! We're going to need to see a group shot soon. :)

[hushrong]

Everything looks top notch! Can’t get over the greenstuff pauldron. Lordy!

[The Nephilim]

Just caught up with the whole project. The Siege of Terra part is what caught my eye. I'm loving the fluff and models. My only real constructive criticism is to drill the barrels, but that's just me.

[OakRiver]

Everything looks top notch! Can’t get over the greenstuff pauldron. Lordy!

I'd love to take credit for the greenstuff work, but my skills have gotten as far as gap filling. I press molded some shoulder pads to help customize the 83rd.

 

Awesome work! We're going to need to see a group shot soon. 

I want to get a group shot of the Support Squad soon, but my photo set up needs some work. I currently hold completed minis up against my desk protector and take pics with my cellphone.

 

Just caught up with the whole project. The Siege of Terra part is what caught my eye. I'm loving the fluff and models. My only real constructive criticism is to drill the barrels, but that's just me.

Funny thing was that I started off drilling the barrels, but as I kept bare heads separate to paint I stuck them to the drill before I had finished the barrels and made a bad habit out of it.

 

Before we get to our narrator, Veteran Sergeant Alessio, IX Legio, 83rd Company, 4th Squad, The Crimson Knight, I am working on the final four members of Veteran Squad Laertes to get it up to a legal size in the event I actually want to play some games. Looking over the fluff for that squad they operate as two separate but inter dependent units; assault and fire support, so I am working on fleshing those out. So far I have Laertes, Drago, and Silvio as the assault element and Tito, Sergio,and Kul as the fire support element. That means I need four more Legionnaires, and I'll probably mix and match their armor a little as I just noticed that the rest of the squad is predominantly MK4 power armor. 

 

Edited April 23, 2018 by OakRiver

[OakRiver]

Two more Legionnaires for Laertes's Veteran Squad. These will be part of the 5 man maneuver element with Laertes. I have the last two of the fire element assembled, but no undercoat yet as I've found it easier to pair my Blood Angels in pairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two as yet un-named Legionnaires have had their red armor and battle damage completed, and the non-gold metallics base coated and washed. These are the first two minis that I have painted using a wet palette too, and I have to say that it really helps manage the consistency of the paint, especially when working with multiple layers of red, or keeping the paint thin enough to apply battle damage.

[hushrong]

These look great! The battle damage really adds a great, grizzled look to the Sons of Sanguinius.

[OakRiver]

Thank you. I like the contrast between the noble aspect of the IX Legion, and the savage wear and tear to their armor as the galaxy is in revolt. It's a little more challenging to get good, visible wear and tear on figures that have their chests obscured by their weapons.

[hushrong]

I do think it looks good. Something about the Blood Angels has the essence of nobility and elegance. Yet they can become so brutal in battle and it shows well on their armor where they have fought tooth and nail against their foes. So definitely keep that coming.

 

As for the arms, have you thought about shopping online for different arm bits for holding the bolter away from the chest? Brother Heinrich used a lot of different arms on his BA so many of his marines were holding up their bolters in one arm and in the other he used the knife wielding hand with an arm. That way you can show more of that wear and tear across the armor.

[OakRiver]

Having only gotten back into the hobby with this project I've been sort of limited in what I have to work with, all my old collections are in another country. I must check into that plog to get some ideas. I do want to vary the poses more, but I'm also trying to keep poses within a squad consistent. 

 

Looking around at some of the bits I have (B@C, the BoP Marines, and a BA Tactical Squad) I have enough parts to expand Laertes's squad to a full 10 man squad, but I may also have the opportunity to add a few more to the Honor Guard squad to get those numbers closer to 10. Looking at the heavy flamer on the 40K sprues I'm considering expanding the Crimson Thorns to have a flame heavy squad (combi-flamer, flamer, heavy flamer). Now that I think about it getting those extra sprues, or another B@C set will give me enough bodies for a Legion Support Squad with either missile launchers or heavy bolters. I might be able to shoehorn in a Warden and a Techmarine.

[OakRiver]

The last two members of Laertes's maneuver element, Brothers Nikus and Deo, are now complete. First the pre-assemble shots to better show the battle damage;

 

 

 

 

Brother Nikus, Veteran Sergeant Laertes's Squad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Brother Nikus was the last of the Terran Born members of Laertes's squad, and much like Silvio had served in our Legion before Leartes took command of that band of noble brothers. Like all veterans of the 83rd he was a storied warrior. The ornate crest on his right pauldron had been commissioned for him earlier in the Crusade by Laertes himself when he still served as Company Champion. It was a mark of honor and gratitude between them. In that campaign the enemy had compromised our vox communications, and Nikus had acted as a runner between his squad and our supporting artillery. Laertes was leading an assault element in close proximity to the enemy, and thanks to the swiftness of our Brother the shells did not fall on friendly heads." - Veteran Sergeant Alessio 

 

 

 

Brother Deo, Laertes's Squad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Brother Deo was imbued with similar humors as Captain Ennius, but with a distinct bent towards the dour. A quiet, taciturn brother almost the foil of Drago in temperament. He was rarely rattled by any event on the battlefield, his broad shoulders and thick armor proof against whatever could be thrown at him. Early during the Siege when the Rebels first launched their assault a bolt shell clipped the gold wings on his left shoulder armour and detonated in his face. The resulting explosion was enough to ruin the occular connection between his suit and his black carapace. When Tobias attempted to offer aid Deo shrugged and remarked that "Next time the bastards better shoot straighter than I do".

 

In the dark days that would become known as The Scouring I happened upon him when my humors were melancholic. As I tried to start making sense of the madness I asked him if he thought we'd done enough for our Lord. As gruff as ever he just bluntly stated "Our Legion is still alive. As long as our Father's blood remains we win" " - Veteran Sergeant Alessio

 

Group Shot of Laertes's assault element;

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Well done.

[OakRiver]

As I approach the end of the minis that I have I'm thinking what else I would like to add to my force, and a Warden is starting to appeal to me. I'm thinking of using Ortan Cassius from the Deathwatch game as the base mini, but I'm struggling to find a skull helm to replace his bare head.

[Gederas]

As I approach the end of the minis that I have I'm thinking what else I would like to add to my force, and a Warden is starting to appeal to me. I'm thinking of using Ortan Cassius from the Deathwatch game as the base mini, but I'm struggling to find a skull helm to replace his bare head.

If you're looking at Skull Helms, what about either of these?

 

The second one has the added bonus of having Blood Angel iconography on it already.

 

Or you could see about the ones from the Legion of the Damned sergeants:

[OakRiver]

I never really warned to that recent vanilla Chaplain, the head seemed too cartoony and out of proportion. For the BA specific Chaplain it seems more 40k to me; the fangs a clear nod to the dwindling purity of the geneseed. 

 

I have always liked the LotD Sergeant with plasma pistol, but the armor might be too modern for me. Of course if I get him in Finecast **shudders** I might be able to solve that issue.

[Gederas]

I never really warned to that recent vanilla Chaplain, the head seemed too cartoony and out of proportion. For the BA specific Chaplain it seems more 40k to me; the fangs a clear nod to the dwindling purity of the geneseed.

 

I have always liked the LotD Sergeant with plasma pistol, but the armor might be too modern for me. Of course if I get him in Finecast **shudders** I might be able to solve that issue.

Remember: Mark VII armour was made during the Heresy, its first en-mass fielding was by the Imperial Fists in the Siege of Terra. So a Blood Angel at the Siege could easily have a set or Mark VII

 

And I was more saying use the helmet from the LotD Sergeant, not the entire model :lol:

[OakRiver]

The challenge with the LotD Sergeant now that I dig into it more is that I can either hope my FLGS has one in stock, order the full LotD set direct from GW, or buy a metal one off ebay. I had a poke around the Forgeworld site, and there is a Night Lords specific helm that could work. I didn't realize that the shipping was not so bad, even if it is a 13 day ETA. 

Edited May 8, 2018 by OakRiver

[marine7312000]

Depending on the specific NL helm, I may have a spare I can hook you up with. Send me a PM and we'll see if I can sort you out.

[hushrong]

If you are interested in getting that LotD Sgt let me know. I have one sitting in my bitzbox untouched since it was released. Well, I did take it out of the box and stuff but he's just bare metal. He's sadly been sitting there since I have no real use for him.

 

*Edit* Another good skull helm idea is the Dark Angels chaplain that came with some copies of dark vengeance. Just throwing that out there. Geez. I might actually have one loose somewhere too.

Edited May 10, 2018 by hushrong

[OakRiver]

Thank you both for the offers of help, I may take you up on that once I get the base body ordered.

[OakRiver]

As I put some more thought into this conversion and the loadout I have a question; can Legion Chaplains take archeotech pistols?

[JDizzle]

Only Praetors can I'm afraid

[Pearson73]

The assault element of the squad have come out well, the pose with sword and shield is just right.

[OakRiver]

Only Praetors can I'm afraid

 

Thank you, that's what I was afraid of. Making this force blind (the most recent GW rules I have is from the 54mm Inquisitor game) has its drawbacks. There were a few nice Ad Mech parts I saw which might have worked. Maybe I'll still get them and Rule of Cool it as a volkite serpentia.

 

The assault element of the squad have come out well, the pose with sword and shield is just right.

Thank you. I was a little worried with how it would all turn out because he was an early conversion, the shield arm from the DA set seems a little small because it was released around the 3rd Ed., and the sword itself was a conversion (B@C sword onto the hilt of a BA chainsword) and I was hoping that it was straight enough. 

 

The pose is actually what served as the inspiration for Laertes's background. I honestly don't know if he can even have a shield in game, but again Rule of Cool. I might put together the previous Sergeant in case I decide to run him as Company Champion 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2018 by OakRiver

[OakRiver]

Could it be? A month with two painting updates? Why yes it could. 

 

The final members of Laertes's squad. Legionnaires Cino and Arturis, as well as the freshly assembled former Sergeant of the squad, Salvi.

 

Brother Cino - Laerte's Squad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"While Laertes and I both had different philosophies in how to best lead our squads we each learned from the other. Brother Cino's role with the fire support element was proof of that. Recognizing the value of having a Brother who could provide pinpoint fire on priority targets Laertes asked that Cino train under Bertrando to better learn the art of being a marksman. With little specialist sniper weapons available to our Chapter as we journeyed to Terra our Techmarine was able to make Cino's weapon more accurate. 

 

As we fought the Traitors on the wall the additional range and accuracy of Cino's weapon allowed him to assist in disrupting enemy command and communication efforts. When the wall was breached his precise shots caused more than one Traitor hesitate, and bought time for our Brothers to fall back" - Veteran Sergeant Alessio

 

[i don't know quite how I managed it, but Cino's pose reminds me a little of the infamous 2nd Edition "tea tray" bolter pose]

 

 

Brother Arturis - Laertes's Squad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The last member of Laertes's squad, Arturis, was solid and dependable. Almost boring so as his Brothers would jest with him. Unlike many of our Brothers who were natives of Baal Arturis was not given to much ornamentation. Truth be told the most decorated piece of his armor was salvaged from a fallen Brother, his only real indulgence in his appearance was painting the face of his helm back after Signus Prime.. He was much more minded to utility and function, his time between missions not given to any artistic pursuits or spent with Remebrancers. Instead he found comfort in the arming chambers, working diligently on his wargear.

 

During our mission on Terra his coldest fury was directed not at Horus's offspring, but be made sure they felt his ire, but those of the Iron Warriors. On more than one occasion I could tell that his shots were meant to debilitate and cripple an enemy rather than end their wretched lives. He clearly felt that those who would tear down the walls of The Palace itself deserved a special response." - Veteran Sergeant Alessio

 

Here is the fire support element all together

 

And here is their former Sergeant, Salvi, in case the 83rd actually make it to the table top and I feel the need to have Laertes be Company Champion;

Just the addition of a BA chainsword and shoulder pad, otherwise everything else is from B@C

[Jarka]

Amazing!

 

I'm looking forward to see Veteran Sergeant Alessio since we are sharing the same name! :)