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

[OakRiver]

Amazing!

 

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

Then I guess I really need to do the mini justice :D  Truth be told every time I think about painting him life distracts me and I take a break from painting for weeks, so I feel off my game and put together new minis to get back into the groove. This time part of it is that I may need to repurpose his "back banner" for another mini, but I want to wait until that figure actually arrives.

 

Looking at the stack for B@C sprues I have I counted up and found that I had more than enough parts to make another Veteran Tactical Squad, so work was begun to clean up the parts and create the bases;

 

 

 

As you can tell from the picture this is an all flame squad, with a combi flamer for the Veteran Sergeant, a heavy flamer, and a regular flamer. The sergeant was originally assembled with a power fist and bolt pistol, and was intended to be painted as a member of the Death Guard just to take a break from painting red. Instead he finds himself leading the 3rd Squad of the 83rd Company. His left arm is a bionic from the Devastator box set, thunder hammer from a bitz order, and the head of the hammer replaced with the one from the Death Company. 

 

For the bases I learned from my last batch and added more tile area this time to make it easier to attach the BAs to their bases, and less likely to have them looking off balance. That's why Arturis is posed so far forward, there was no other way to get him on the bases, and the Iron Warrior hand was there to break up the empty space.

[hushrong]

I love finding extra plastic to put to use. Looks like you are going to have a sweet flamer squad.

 

Also, what is with the heavy flamers shoulder pad? greenstuff cast?

[Marcus Arias]

Great stuff mate! I love the fact that you are constructing an individual story for each legionarie at the Seige.

 

As an aside, have you tried the Primaris Reaver helms for your Chaplian?

[OakRiver]

I love finding extra plastic to put to use. Looks like you are going to have a sweet flamer squad.

 

Also, what is with the heavy flamers shoulder pad? greenstuff cast?

 

My initial thoughts for this squad will be that once their section of the wall was breached these Brothers were ordered to hold their ground and sell their lives so the others could fall back. 

 

It's a press mold I've been using to stretch some bits. This squad might be a little more vanilla than the others as I run down my parts supply

 

Great stuff mate! I love the fact that you are constructing an individual story for each legionarie at the Seige.

 

As an aside, have you tried the Primaris Reaver helms for your Chaplian?

Thank you. The stort telling part really appeals to me, and helps occupy me while I assemble and paint the minis. 

 

Good thinking on the Chaplain helm too. I just might look into that.

 

Edited May 14, 2018 by OakRiver

[OakRiver]

To follow up on last week's update the bases for the third Legion Veteran squad have been completed;

 

 

As with the previous minis the bases are the same, white marble with assorted rubble and battlefield debris. The challenge here was that it has been 15 months since the first bases were completed, and I did not write down the recipe. So using only eyeballs and guestimates I got them pretty close to the first batch.

 

With the bases completed I finished assembling the squad that will be mounted on them; 

 

I don't know how well it came out in the pictures but all the Legionnaires with bolters have had their default mags replaced with drum mags. My initial thoughts for the fluff of this squad is that on the eve of the wall being breached all the squad leaders meet and acknowledge that one squad will face the initial brunt of the Traitors to buy time for the rest of the Company. Veteran Sergeant Ortiz volunteers his squad for this duty, earning them the honorific The Martyrs. Each Brother is equipped with the higher capacity magazines to make the most of their firepower before they are inevitably overwhelmed.

 

That this Squad should have an honorific similar to the Terminators has me thinking that I may need to add similar names to the rest of the squads. For Laertes's squad they might adopt the moniker of their leader and become known as The Champions, Vizioso's squad are also candidates for this title, but given their history and loss of Captain Eco I'm thinking that they may be known as The Vengeful, Constantin's squad will be called The Guardians as they hunt the biggest threats to the 83rd, and Alessio's squad will be known as The Knights, taking their name from one of Alessio's personal honorifics.

Edited May 20, 2018 by OakRiver

[OakRiver]

Quick update to show that some progress has been made;

 

Veteran Sergeant Salvi, former Sergeant of Laertes's Squad. He has a very basic load out, with extra ornamentation and chain coming from the Chaplain Cassius mini.

 

Veteran Sergeant Ortiz. You can see that I have added some more embellishments to his armor. Part of his back story will be that he is the last surviving member of his Breacher Squad (hence the thunder hammer), and that after The Martyr's lost their Sergeant he was placed in command, taking up his predecessor's combi flamer. I used a small shield from the B@C kit and added it to his right shoulder pad, and I have a scroll affixed to it which will have the names of his fallen brothers. With the gold detail on his chest and helm I'm planning on keeping the face plate black.

 

Not shown are the heavy flamer veteran who has had some amateur greenstuff work done to his helm to mark him as previously being a member of a Destroyer Squad, and also after getting a box of Reivers I have my Warden conversion almost completed. 

[hushrong]

Glorious last stand for this squad? Just imagine the fireball the heavy flamer could create to take himself and several traitors out. The drum mags are also a nice touch to fit in with their final orders. Where are those drums from? Terminator combis? It looks good!

 

Also great to see some paint!

[OakRiver]

Hmmm, I never thought about that for the heavy flamer. But that has got the wheels turning on that Legionnaire's last stand.

 

Yeah, for the bolter armed I took the drum mags from the Terminators in the B@C set because I had so many spare and it helped establish their background.

[hushrong]

Promethium can make you got out in a blaze of glory. Literally. Want to see how it turns out for him.

 

I really like the drums you used. I tried using vehicle combi bolters back in the day for vanguard. Again, I like the idea about it, they are given high capacity rounds so they can keep on firing without having to stop and reload.

[OakRiver]

I have a rough idea for his backstory to tie in his service in a Destroyer Squad, which is probably a strange calling for a Blood Angel; being born on an irradiated planet and then using the same type of weapons that devastated your homeworld.

 

The Terminator mags are the perfect size for regular Marines, and I can picture The Martyrs forming up a firing line in front of the breach as the roar of charging enemies grows closer. 

[Lord Fancy Pants]

Oak, how are you doing the marble effect? I’m loving the look of your bases.

[OakRiver]

Oak, how are you doing the marble effect? I’m loving the look of your bases.

Good question, and that should help me for the next time I have to make these bases. After I make the flagstones with apoxie putty and a press mold, add the debris and basecoat it black my recipe is;

- paint the flagstones with a light grey. I used hobby store paint for this because it was cheap (Deco Craft Acrylics Amish Grey). The closest color I can see on the Citadel Paint range is Longbeard Grey

- paint the recess between the flag stones with Eshin Grey

- for the veins in the marble I used Dawnstone with an almost 50/50 mix of Lahmian Medium to paint the broader veins

- I added more defined veins using Dawnstone and a 75/25 mix of Lahmian Medium

- the final thinest veins were added with Eshin Grey diluted with a small amount of Lahmian Medium

 

It was pretty much this tutorial, but using the paints I had close by and also choosing a slightly darker base color;

Edited June 6, 2018 by OakRiver

[Shovellovin]

I really like the honorifics you've added for your squads and agree that you should give them to all of your models. Having a backstory for your legions/squads/characters always adds to the enjoyment of both the builder and those of us following the thread. I especially liked the explanation for giving all boltgun wielding members of The Martyrs drum magazines. 

 

I look forward to seeing more of your work.

[OakRiver]

Veteran Sergeant Salvi, Deceased - Signus Prime

 

 

 

 

 

 

"My Brother Salvi had lead his squad with honor and distinction for many long years during our Great Crusade to reunite Humanity under The Emperor's banner. Some years my senior in length of service he was always willing to share his hard fought experience with me. While his service and record with the 83rd would have entitled him to his choice of weapons from our armory his only concession to the benefits of rank was his plasma pistol. The chainsword he carried was the same one Captain Eco presented to him when he was chosen to lead his squad after their previous Sergeant fell to Greenskins. He told me that he preferred to wield it to remind him of the honor bestowed upon him.

 

Salvi met his end, like many of our brothers, on the world of Signus Prime. When all order broke down as we fought the Neverborn he and Laertes fought shoulder to shoulder against the unrelenting, maddening tide. It was his dying wish that Laertes stand beside his men as their Brother as he had stood with him. It was a request Laertes could not refuse"

 

 

Veteran Sergeant Ortiz, Breacher Sergeant, Leader of The Martyrs

 

 

 

 

[Pic Cap 0617EI0; honor scroll listing names of Ortiz's fallen brothers from his Breacher Squad. Archivist's note; the shield device was not present on this subject's armor until after the attack on the Night Lords where Captain Eco fell]

 

"Ortiz had, since he joined our Legion, served as a Breacher. Like Constantin he favored the heavier MKIII war plate which, in combination with his shield, offered significant protection is the extreme close quarters combat he would be engaged in. 

 

During the ill-fated boarding action against a force of Night Lords Ortiz would lose his squad as they ground through the Traitor's defenses. As we re-organized on the journey to Terra Captain Ennius asked him to take leadership of a 3rd Squad, who had lost their Sergeant in the same action. So it was that the Sergeant with a squad, and the squad without a Sergeant were made whole again. In order to bring 3rd Squad up to strength survivors from other units were drafted in, including the last surviving Destroyer in our Company. 

 

At the wall on the eve of what we all knew would be the wall being breached I met with the other Sergeants. None of us would voice our thoughts and fears to those we would lead into battle, but peer to peer we each knew the truth; for us to succeed in our sworn duty one squad would have to stand their ground and sell their lives to give the remains of the Company time to fall back in good order. There was no hesitation from Ortiz. His squad was optimized for close quarters, and their specialist weapons would be more of a liability in the fighting retreat. Each squad turned over their drum magazines to Ortiz's men so they could greet the Rebels with a second wall, of bolt, blade and flame.

 

Thus The Martyrs were born, and their flame would burn briefly but bright. Were it not for their sacrifice a great many of us would not have survived to exact our revenge on the enemy."

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent works.

[OakRiver]

My hobby time today has been spent doing prep work on the rest of The Martyrs (exciting things like drilling the feet and attaching paperclips for painting and basing), undercoating the squad's two specialists, and undercoating the Warden of the 83rd. For him I think I'll follow the GW tutorial on painting black armor;

 

 

Until I have more to show here is a blast from the past; some Scythes of the Emperor from late 2nd/early 3rd Edition (if the bases were not clue enough)

 

 

 

 

 

These were some of the last Space Marines I painted before I took an extended hobby break, and I'm glad my painting has improved a little bit since then :D

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The 2nd and 3rd Edition models are well done.

[hushrong]

The veteran sergeants are great! Looking forward to more of the Martyrs! I am also loving the narrative behind them and their sacrifice.

 

The Scythes are also great!

[OakRiver]

Thank you both. The Scythes are going to take a dip in some isopropyl alcohol to strip off the paint. I haven't decided what their new scheme might be yet; I'm thinking either a paint scheme with green and bone being the main colors, or a darker scheme with black and Kybalite green. 

 

The specialists have been undercoated (along with the Warden) and will be next up; former-Destroyer Ludovico and Lazzero

[hushrong]

I think Dark Angels have some bone or black with green schemes Cisco as the Angels of Redemption and the Disciples of Caliban. If you want to go with an existing chapter. If you go with some5hing of your own I’d like to throw in a suggestion and say paint either combo quartered!

[OakRiver]

I think Dark Angels have some bone or black with green schemes Cisco as the Angels of Redemption and the Disciples of Caliban. If you want to go with an existing chapter. If you go with some5hing of your own I’d like to throw in a suggestion and say paint either combo quartered!

 

I'm thinking of a much lighter green than The Unforgiven. My initial thought was to have it be celtic themed, but I'm still working out how to do that and not be Space Wolves.

[OakRiver]

Here are former-Destroyer Ludovico and Lazzero pre-weathering and battle damage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2018 by OakRiver

[OakRiver]

I ended p making more progress with these two than I thought, as well as starting to work on my Warden.

 

Former-Destroyer Ludovico 'The Vulture', Veteran Sergeant Ortiz's Squad - The Martyrs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Destroyers are a rare breed in any Legion; doubly so for our Legion given our radiation soaked homeworld. It takes a certain temperament, even among those bred for war, to turn such devastating weapons on your foes. Our Company had but one squad of Destroyers, The Vultures, and of those Ludovico was the only Baal native to volunteer to join their ranks. His service as a Destroyer had marred his body. The radiation and alchemical weapons had left him rotten with cancers that defied even Astartes enhanced physiology, and distorted his voice when he spoke. 

 

The last survivor of his squad he took their shared moniker as his own, and he was folded into 3rd Squad to fill the role of heavy weapon specialist. With the ammunition for baleful weapons he bore as a Destroyer no longer available to him he gladly replaced his prosphex and rad missle launcher with a heavy flamer. His damaged war plate was replaced with pieces scavenged from our dead, with only his left greave, right shoulder pad, and helm serviceable.

 

I did not see his passing, but I heard from others who had. Like all The Martyrs he knew his duty. Separated from the rest of his squad, and the tank in his weapon dry he did not have time to reload his weapon. Instead he took the only option he had left. He detonated his reserve tank - bathing the Traitors who encircled him in burning promethium."  - Veteran Sergeant Alessio

 

Brother Lazzero, Veteran Sergeant Ortiz's Squad - The Martyrs

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Brother Lazzero was one of the more recent members of our Company. He was elevated to Battle Brother following the Amaranthe Campaign. Where Draigo's humors burned hot and he could be given to rash actions Lazzero by contrast burned cold. I confess that I wish I knew more of my lost Brother, but as we made preparations for travel to Terra opportunities for social encounters were limited.

Lanzo did have opportunity to spend some time with him in the arming cages, and did see potential in the young warrior. It was a shame that his promise was to be squandered because of the Warmaster's folly.

 

As the wall fell and his weapon ran dry Lazzero walked to the fore of the Martyr's formation. Arms outstretched he sacrificed himself to the Traitor's opening volleys so that the rest of his squad could sell their lives dearly, so that we in turn may avenge them. They kept their word, and we kept ours" - Veteran Sergeant Alessio

[hushrong]

Ludovico and Lazzero look great! great paint jobs with the added wear and tear! That is also some great fluff you've got accompanying your martyrs!

[OakRiver]

Thank you. I need to try and spend a little more time working on my photography, because it is really not doing the minis justice. For The Martyrs more than any I want to try to embody the noble sacrifice of those who know that death is coming, but that others depend on them holding it off for as long as possible.