Vox Stellarum: The Unyielding Adamanticores

[Ryltar Thamior]

DID SOMEBODY CALL FOR TECH-SUPPORT?! 

 

 

More Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priests!

 

 

First two, we have one affectionately referred to as "THE CLAMPS" for unfathomable reasons ... and another who's been given the excessively menial job of reading a book full of binary code into a receiver.

 

 

Bodies are the plastic IG Enginseer and the Blessing of Sigmar warrior priest; with CLAMPS from various servo-arms [we uh .. have quite a few of them sitting around at the moment ...], and the receiver-unit from the Skitarii. 

 

 

 

Next up ..

 

 

One rather 'standard' tech-priest, who's considerably less armed and augmented than most of his fellows but at the same time seems to have slightly more gravitas thansk to he heavy robing. ANd another rather more unsettling chap that clearly likes his servo-skulls [as well as, going off the hand, skulls in general... 

 

 

Bodies are the Titan tech-priest and the plastic Vampire Counts necromancer. 

 

 

 

 

Finally ... 

 

 

This pretty expansively gesturing figure. "BEHOLD - THE GLORIES OF THE OMNISSIAH" indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

Body from the Genestealer cult magus, with hte collar cut down somewhat.

 

 

Yyyyeah. That's um ... that's something like *nine* Tech-Priests we now have assempbled and in various states of paintage. Which means in conjunction with the Praetorian-style waepons servitors, that the Adamanticores are almost outnumbered by their 'support' :P 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on Mr. "BEHOLD- THE GLORIES OF THE OMNISSIAH".

[Charlo]

Huge fan of all of these.

 

Certainly going to nick a few ideas ;)

[Ryltar Thamior]

alright, i've been a bit slack in updating proceedings here ... but in the interest of clearing some backlog, here's the recent additions of unpainted AdMech; and will try putting up the latest round of painted Adamanticores following.

 

 

The idea with these guys is that they're a Data Recovery Team for the local Mechanicus - in situations wherein a Mechanicus facility or other site of interest has fallen into questionable possession, they're dispatched to scour it for important information in the data-looms and such ... and either protect themselves under fire whilst doing so, or ruthlessly purge any non-sanctioned life [or, for that matter .. *un*life] in the vicinity. 

 

 

First two are a sort of rapid-incursion heavy unit, made from a combination of thallaxi and Tomb Kings sepulchral stalkers. 

 

 

Idea is that they move in swiftly through a combination of the jump-jets mounted on theri backs for additional acceleration, and superior all-terrain locomotion through the slitheryness. 

 

 

Weapon combinations, of a photon-thruster [plus gripping hand], a heavy flamer and lightning-claw [with attached uh ... USB-finger?] make for some variable-threat on the battlefield; while the tails support heavy armour plating. 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up, some rather more straightforward sicaran-based recovery units; main conversions on them are grav-chut thrusters to help convey additional mobility and speed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haven't decided on a full-on colour-scheme yet; but they'll no doubt have the teclis blue common to the Adamantia Mechanicus anad some rather darker , flatter colours to represent their 'spec-ops' nature. Maybe. 

[Pearson73]

Those snakey Thallaxi look smashing, really well executed idea.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Like no doubt countless other hobbyists, I've found myself pretty positively enthused by the new Armigers that come in the ForgeBane box. I'd never really given substantive thought to starting a Knight force before them, but for whatever reason, they just kinda grabbed my imagination in a way that their larger cousins hadn't. 

 

And because we do all our 40k-ery around here in a strictly narrative context, the immediate question was which of my forces and our time-periods they'd best fit into. Given the strong Persian theme of my Adamanticores, and the open scope of Adamantia to encompass a Knight World in amidst its stellar borders and political chain-links, the thought of adding some pretty spiffing 'Cavalry' to same seemed a very viable prospect indeed.

 

Yet as nice as the Armiger kits are ... I just *can't* bring myself to leave them (or, for that matter, just about anything else that crosses my desk, ever) unaltered. Not least because that aforementioned Persian theme gave me such ample points of inspiration and incorporation to work from! 

 

So pretty much as soon as I'd gotten a few bits glued to something other than my fingers, I immediately started throwing around concepts in my head for 'modding' these Armigers for their new life in Adamantine service. 

 

The first step was to change the head to something a little more 'unique'. It's since evolved a bit beyond this point, but here's an early WIP mock-up of what I eventually went for, featuring a Necropolis Knight/Sepulchral Stalker face mounted on the Knight 'neck'

 

 

But next ... I found myself with this sudden urge to explore up-gunning and altered combat role ideas for them; as it seemed ot make relatively little sense to me to have such relatively fragile creatures as the Armigers attempting to run up within striking distance of far larger (and better armed/armoured - often with standoff weapons!) prey in order to make use of their thermal lances and chainblades. 

 

Fluffwise, the motivation for such experimentation came as a result of their probable difference in employment in Adamantia - wherein these much swifter war-engines would be expected to operate much more autonomously of larger and slower 'true' Knight support for extended periods, engaging all comers (from infantry to medium armour and fortifications) in the process ... but also, the idea of "Parthian" style horse-archers to fit in with my Persian-ish theme. 

 

To those former ends, I considered a number of potential weapons augmentations, ranging from chin-mounted guns through to altering the arm-mounted weaponry for other gear. One concept I've found myself particularly enamoured with is the addition of 'cheek' missile launchers either side of the head-unit ilke so:

 

 

However, the element I've actually chosen to take forward into the prototyping *proper* stage is something altogether different. 

 

I earlier mentioned the Parthians with their famed and eponymous "Parthian Shot"; however, it's occurred to me that the greater *direct* point of inspiration for these is probably actually Soviet [and, to be fair, West German] mid-COld War IFV design doctrine - wherein somebody realized that the addition of an ATGM capable of firing from a hull-down position effectively turned an otherwise humble transport into a seriously credible threat to enemy MBTs! All without the immense weight of main-canon [although iirc a) hte West Germans tried *that* on one of their previous IFV designs; and b) the BMP-1's "proto-bolter" :P 73mm turret-mounted main weapon was certainly capable of making a mess of NATO armour of the period anyway], and with arguably greater facility for 'shoot-and-scoot' employability [the West Germans, to be fair, then taking this to its next logical step with an easily dismountable system in the Marder]. 

 

So what I had to do was obvious ... I had to swap out the rather puny auxiliary weapon on the carapace for some very hefty longer-range and presumptively anti-armour firepower (no doubt it can take other warheads). 

 

I haven't yet gotten the carapace launcher to a viable standard to post a picture of, so imagine with me if you will two parallel vertical rows of 3 missiles made out of the Taurox Prime launcher, and fixed to a pivot mount made out of hte heavy stubber, with requisite guidance systems  on the centerline between the launchers. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

An Adamantia "Iron Masks" mortal agent. 

 

 

This is actually the third one of these I've put together, albeit due to my own laxness in not getting photos pre-undercoating and colourscheme experimentation, the first one I'm posting. A comparatively minor conversion in the scheme of things - replacing the Orlock head with a Greatsword one; although in this instance, in order to get a bit of 'variety' going, I carved down one of hte hatted Greatsword heads to place in one of the empty helmets that comes with the kit. 

 

 

Now as for just waht an "Iron Mask" is in the first place ... my vision for Adamantia is, as I've mentioned perhaps upthread, a very well ordered society (it's what happens when you've got Marines making a lot of the governance and such decisions) with some pretty strong inspiration from a span of Iranian/Persian eras ranging from the pre-Zoroastrian to the post'79 Revolution. 

 

 

The Iron Masks are basically internal security forces - a mix of Astartes and Mortal operatives and small-unit formations that're highly specialized for counter-insurgency, kill-team style operations, 'political' efforts, and straight-up counter-espionage/counter-intelligence activities. Perhaps they are like antibodies in the organicist conception of the Adamantine state. 

 

 

In any case, when i've been modelling these up I've generally had organizations like the Basij [in their more modern from rather than the storied fanatic-levies of the Iran-Iraq War], the Quds Force, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a whole foremost in mind [i'm also a big fan of Major General Qassem Soleimani's work, but you'll hear more about that in due course :P ] [another source of inspiration, somewaht, was the Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary from Ba'athist Iraq .. but that's a bit of a different vibe]. 

 

And yes, I have actually done a few 'Iron Mask' Marines as well, just pending the finalization of paint-jobs. 

 

I also have ambitions to do some up-coolery work on a Taurox or two to make wheeled transport/command and control/fire support vehicles in a manner not entirely dissimilar to ultra-modern[ish] MRAP systems. If anybody knows ahead of time whether Goliath tires fit for this ... now'd be the time to tell me :P 

 

Now as for the name ... well ... part of it's because of the simple fact taht the Orlock miniatures have this intriguiing grinning skull desgin on their belts. Another part is because the Marines i'm doing for this are using .. well .. you'll see the heads soon enough :P A third part was due to me recalling the "Man in the Iron Mask" , and noting that it seemed an interesting 'inversion' if you like to take the symbol of a political prisoner and uh ... give it over to the guys responsible for handling same [inter many alia]. 

 

And, of course, it's a pretty boss sounding name which instantly conveys both authoritarian and "steely" strength vibes. 

 

Perhaps I might model up some Mortal troops or characters *also* wearing Iron Masks sometime. We'll see. Will have to find appropriate heads, of course. 

 

Could perhaps take a spin on Scion helmeted heads, but i think i'll keep looking. 

 

I've also nearly completed one Adamantia mortal auxilia trooper to go along and provide fire support - so we'll see how long he takes to make an appearance on-thread. 

 

As applies the Iron Mask agents based on Orlocks, i'm still umming and ahhing over equipment beyond the tommy-gun smg style autoguns and automatic shotguns. Those have obvious applications for particulary the quasi-policing style of operation these guys'll be embroiled in [yes, there is an Inq28/Inquisimunda campaignish thing in the works for it...]. I've made a point of equipping many of the Astartes Iron Masks with various forms of axe almost as a badge of office [both because they use 'em for executions ... and for door/wall breaching ... and to recall the Lictors of Ancient Rome, sot ospeak], and may do similar for the Mortals, or give them scabbarded swords, machetes etc. instead. Maybe some maces/lathi/truncheon style things -shock-mauls, even?. 

 

The real sticking point is whehter to upgrade from the revolver-style stub-pistols and drum-mag machine pistol-ish weapons to something closer to Guard issue or even Storm Trooper equivalent weaponry. And, for that matter, waht to do with heavy and special waepons - grenade launchers and webbers from the Neophyte Hybrids boxes I have around the place are probably a pretty good call; although given some of the more "interesting" threats that are likely to turn up in Adamantia, i can definitely see heavier equipment being employed on the reg. I may attempt even to whip up something overttly resembling the classic Soviet-produced RPGs so familiar from many a news-reel footage of forces in the contemporary Middle East. Oh, and scimitar-style power-swords may also be a very decent call and perhaps i'll procure a Tallarn officer into the bargain. 

 

Anyway, enough rambling from me. I should start undercoating. 

[Doghouse]

Fantastic conversions all around, I especially like the Primaris and Ad Mech conversions. Ad Mech stuff is really imaginative, really liking those. :tu:

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Are the Iron Masks Chapter serfs? Will you represent them in-game as Tempestus Scions who wield boltguns instead of hotshot lasguns?

[Ryltar Thamior]

Fantastic conversions all around, I especially like the Primaris and Ad Mech conversions. Ad Mech stuff is really imaginative, really liking those.

 

Churr, the AdMech conversions were Umbral's handiwork if i recall, as were the older Primaris bits and pieces. However with the growing development of my own skillz with the blade (and my 'vision' if you like getting ever more ... "vivid" in my head to guide it), I've started doing things myself. Although it's just occurred to me that I haven't actually *posted* any of the Adamanticores that i've worked up over the past few months of down-time, so i'll have to sort htat out post-haste!

 

 

Are the Iron Masks Chapter serfs? Will you represent them in-game as Tempestus Scions who wield boltguns instead of hotshot lasguns?

Hm, hadn't thought about what to use them as in regular 40k games as that's not really what I do - I've literally played perhaps a single game since the most recent edition came out. We basically do these sorts of efforts for our ongoing narrative wargaming projects a la Inq28 and such - hence why you see so many things that would be a little odd on the tabletop, so to speak. 

 

Now as for what they are ... I *really* need to write up a proper thing on Adamantia, and an Index Astartes on the Adamanticores themselves so as to explain what's going on here. 

 

The long and the short of it, i guess, is that Adamantia as a stellar domain is functionally ruled over by the Adamanticores themselves in a manner not entirely dissimilar to Ultramar or Badab. In addition to furnishing recruits and wargear for their Astartes overlords, the worlds of Adamantia also provide a Mortal Auxilia levy that's functionally comparable to the Guard, and optimized for operations alongside the transhuman warriors who sit at the domain's heart. 

 

However, alongside this are other forces which fit into the overall structure of Adamantia (and some which uh ... kinda don't - and the local Mechanicus isn't being entirely straight-up about some of its assets in the region, nor are (as is their habit) the Inquisition), yet which aren't exactly "military" in the sense of being intended to provide force-projection capacity externally.

 

The Iron Masks are one such incidence of these, functioning as I suppose we'd call it a "paramilitary", dedicated to protecting Adamantia from *internal* threats and covert actions including externally originated subversion; with the overall goal of keeping Adamantia running and the Adamanticores' divinely mandated rule unchallenged (at least in public...). A reasonable parallel in some ways, I suppose, might be the Adeptus Arbites or some elements of the Inquisition. 

 

Or, from a "real-world" perspective, any number of "secret police" or "internal security" forces from the 21st century - entities like the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (yes, I'm aware they also have quite the exterior area of responsibility too...), the Basij, or Syria's National Defence Forces. 

 

So to address your question a bit more directly - as to whether htey're Chapter Serfs ... well yes and no. Mostly "no".

 

Yes, insofar as they're mortals who're operating under Astartes direction and jurisdiction towards the Chapter's overall goals and welfare ... but no, insofar as that pretty much describes almost every human within Adamantia in some way; and in any case, there'll be particular mortals who're much more closely 'bonded' to particular Astartes in a manner more conventional for "serfs" [i'll go off and find an appropriate Persian term for this, no doubt :D - something i'd omitted to start modelling, as well so thank you for the kernel of inspiration!] as servants rather than i suppose 'underlings', while the Iron Masks are very much an organization if that makes sense. 

 

Interestingly, I've just discovered while idly googling some bits and pieces taht apparently Ultramar had/has something similar - the Vigil Opertii and Praecental Guard. I guess that means I'm on the right track then :P 

 

Thanks for asking the question,  btw - it really helps me to focus and start teasing out elements in my creative process that'll be useful for explication and detailing .. and subsequent modelling, of course :D 

 

 

 

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

It would make sense for a Chapter to shoehorn its serfs (those taken into the Chapter and given initial training, but weren't given gene-seed for some reason) into the Chapter planet's defense (PDF, SDF) and security forces (Arbites equivalents), to strengthen its control. It would be embarrassing (and potentially disastrous) if the planetary governor decides to join a Slaanesh cult and/or declare independence from the Imperium right under the Chapter's noses, after all; having an executioner's sword hanging above his head (and those of everyone else on the planet), ready to behead him the moment he even thinks of betraying the Chapter, will help prevent that.

[Shovellovin]

Holy smokes! I love your Ad Mech conversions. Great stuff in this thread. It's always interesting to see cool conversions with explanations along with them. In my opinion, a model's narrative is an essential part of the hobby.

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

 

Now, these aren't the first two Adamantia Auxilia I've done ... but the other one's presently still painting in progress, and you know how i hate posting incomplete work. 

 

I felt it important to emphasize that these aren't "just" regular Guard, but rather supremely well equipped, well-trained, well-lead and well-motivated elite Human soldiers who've been geared up to fight alongside Marines - and thus, to meet the exacting standards and demands (operational and otherwise) of their Astartes overlords. [which doesn't explain why they're not wearing helmets, but uh .. yeah]

 

 

At the same time, while the Cadian (command) plastics contained a number of useful elements to integrate in pursuit of that (the flakk vest armour, for instance, as well as the gaiters and some of the accessories like the pistols, combat knives/bayonettes, and stowage) , i also wanted to get away from the 'conventional' Cadian silhouette to produce something altogether more 'distinctive' and recognizeable as something else. Between the asymmetrical shoulder-pads and the rather striking haircuts, I doubt anybody'll confuse them for standard Cadians. 

 

 

In terms of armament, I started by building the rifle from an autogun sourced from the neophyte hybrid box - which was handy also for the somewhat armoured gauntlet ... although much to my consternation, they almost entirely lack stocks! So one of those plus a reasonably quality looking scope were the first orders of the day; with my head-canon justification for all of the above being (apart from rule of cool/realism - and yes, those two can and should co-exist more often! PARTICULARLY around Guard-alike forces) that he's using high-powered penetrator rounds (with additional recoil as a result) and is something of a crack shot. 

 

Why's that? Well, like I said ... they're optimized and equipped for taking on a similar tier of foe to those you'd send for Astartes to deal with. Regular lasguns just simply won't do! 

 

 

As for the shotgun armed Auxilia ... I noticed that most of the autoguns I'd sourced weren't prime suitable for conversion into the aforementioned weapons; while i could tolerate the lack of a sickle-mag (which i much prefer over the simple box], there's simply no space to put a stock in there without removing the weapon from its firing hand - which I could have done, but was a bit much effort for my energy-level at the time. 

 

So instead, one of them got a shotgun. Partially because i was interested in doing some more 'active' poses with htat set of legs (it's the same as the other Auxilia - hence hte necessity of doing something different), but also because i felt that with specialist ammunition etc. in mind, the shotgun would be capable of adding greater versatility to proceedings. 

 

He's also got a different and more reinforced shoulderpad (Scion-style rather than Cadian), perhaps as a recognition of hte likelihood he'll be uh .. up closer and more 'personal' with the enemy. (Which may also explain the facial hair :P - something to 'remember' him by..)

 

 

Incidentally, i'm particularly pleased with the expression on the rifleman along with his posing. Definitely conveys exactly the arrogance and quasi-hateful disdain you'd expect of a soldier who's more used to operating alongside Astartes than rathre more fragile/fallible humans. 

 

I suppose the next step (assembly wise - there's a certain amount of painting yet to complete on the Adamanticores i've done recently and the Iron Masks, as ewll as the third Auxilia) is to do a few more Auxilia of different specializations, and perhaps round out a full fire-team of 'em. Oh, and some Iron Masks with webbers, shock-mauls etc. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

been some slow progress with the various denizens and factions of Adamantia; but here's the most recent effort:

 

 

Now, the rationale behind these chaps is that they're an escort-retinue of genehanced and otherwise improved warriors drawn from the barbarian peoples of one of Adamantia's fringe worlds; accompanying a Priest [who's still frustratingly half-built waiting for the right kernels of inspiration to strike...] who's 'created' them. 

 

 

The Priest is from an order devoted to carrying out the ongoing eugenics efforts in Adamantia which both a) assist in the long-term efforts to create and maintain a human population ideal for Astartes implantation, and b) all the other contributions to the demesne and broader Imperium which bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, etc. etc. etc. humans en-masse are capable of [e.g. Guard/Auxilia and such]. 

 

But they're not just rather 'passive' or indirect overseers in this role - they also carry out more 'active' duties vaguely akin to those of a Space Marine Apothecary; implanting and otherwise augmenting particular chosen Adamantine subjects towards necessary roles, as well as taking charge of coteries of what would otherwise perhaps be seen as "Chapter Serfs" in other Astartes fiefdoms - individuals who've managed ot make it through an array of hte gene-seed implantation stages etc. for the transformation into fully fledged Astartes, but who for whatever reason haven't been able to make it all the way through (yet haven't either died or been put to death - although that's uh ... weeeell, that's one of the reasons for hte rather large shotgun...so to speak]. 

 

 

These three warriors are part of the former category, being individual creations of a particular Priest and drawn from a tribe he's either hailing from himself or otherwise closely affiliated/engaged with; and made with the goal of both protecting him and facilitating his duties with their bodies, minds, and armaments. 

 

Now, as applies the assembly/conversion-work - which is relatively minor - I didn't want to use the Goliaths stock, for obvious reasons. That would have been lazy, and in an array of elements, very much the wrong vibe. I *could* have gone with something based on marauders or blood reavers or whatever, but I wasn't sure if that was the right 'feel' either [and the Marauder kit, while i've used lots of stuff from it which you'll be seeing hopefully before too long, is kinda showing its age in terms of proportionality etc.] . However, I was also keenly aware that *too much* conversion-work [or adding full-on fur-cloaks and such] would seriously obscurate useful features of these very, very nice miniatures. 

 

So instead, I attempted to 'barbarize' the Goliaths somewhat - hence the flail, axes, and hide-sheathed blades - while still keeping elements that'd help convey that they were reasonably high-tech warriors in terms of their outfitting, fully capable of benefitting from the manufacturing capacity and armouries of an Astartes stellar domain [hence .. automatic shotgun, a combi-plasma weapon, and some shared equipment with Marines here and there]. 

 

 

All up, I'm hoping that they're a bit more 'regimented' in some ways than what one generally assumes of techno-barbarians or whatever [or, fo r that matter, Goliaths] ;while at the same time, quite clearly showing htier 'barbarian' origins in their fighting-style and such. 

 

The fact they're relatively the same size as my Truescale Astartes, is also an interesting thing. 

 

I need to work out the Indo-Iranian(-Bactrian?) naming and other elements to 'fully' flesh 'em out and do a proper fluff writeup. And, of course, finish that Priest! Particularly with a few other of his 'creations' and charges, it'll make for a rather interesting warband. 

[Honda]

There is so much inspiration leaking  out of  this thread. I love coming here just  to gaze.

 

However, I'm also willing to steal.

 

Your "Stalkers" are an amazing concept  that I'd like to borrow...for a friend. ;)

[Ryltar Thamior]

There is so much inspiration leaking  out of  this thread. I love coming here just  to gaze.

 

However, I'm also willing to steal.

 

Your "Stalkers" are an amazing concept  that I'd like to borrow...for a friend.

the best compliments we could receive :D 

 

The data-recovery team stalkers are Umbral's handiwork so all props to him; I really should finish painting and post 'em!

[Ryltar Thamior]

Took me long enough .. but finally managed to finish a truescale plasma-cannon Adamanticore. The idea here is that he's part of a particular sub-clade of veterans within the Adamanticores - who uh ... weeeelll, they wind up with a few screws loose, so to speak. Go deeper into some of the epigenetic [epigeneseedic?] issues , perhaps become paranoid and tend to get a lot more into technical engineering and/or (other) highly (self?)destructive pursuits. 

 

 

This is reflected on the miniature himself, not just with the plasma cannon (which is both highly destructive *and* highly self-destructive .. while also being technically sophisticated); but also his armour, which is a heavily customized composite of Mk.III, Mk. VII, and and other - even more custom -componnets. 

 

 

His veterancy status is in part signified via the lion shoulderpad; while some hint of the bionics etc - pherhaps resultant from his weapon uh .. suffering  a bit of a malfunction - is displayed on the right-hand side of his Mk.III helm. Probably also aiming augmetics and assist with predicting how the unstable currents of plasma will disperse nad flow onece they're out of the end of his cannon. 

 

 

Meanwhile, all them bonding studs and spikes speak ot further ablative armour perhaps. 

 

Thought about putting a close combat weapon on him, but coulnd't quite figue a way to make it make sense. 

 

 

ALso, the main eason it's taken so long to finish him was working out a) how to fit the plasma cannon onto a truescale torso .. and b) because i've been hung up on a relatively minor touch to the lower left torso to add cabling from the abdominal/'love-handle' region into the backpack. Tried using scion cabling but that uh ... yeah taht was going to be quite an effort. So went with a lead from a scion flamer instead.

 

 

The reasoning there, apart from 'gap-filling' due ot hte wasp-waist effect of the Siege Terminator legs ... was to sort-of imply that he's getting "more machine now, than man" in some regards. And has been wired directly into his weapon and armour suppor system in a developing synergy of Marine and panoply of war :D 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Devastator looks promising. Is the lion on his pauldron the Adamanticores Chapter symbol, a Chapter-specific Devastators unit insignium, an honor marking or campaign badge?

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

So this'll be a bit different :P As you may have noticed by now, I prefer all my Marines to be truescaled. This can lead to some interesting situations wherein we have Marines several millennia before the 'current' time wearing what appears to be Mk.X armour. Except, of course, since they're not *Primaris* marines ... well, obviously it's prototype which extends the design-lessons from Mk.VIII, right? 

 

But uh ... that leaves an obvious [i say "obvious"] question. 

 

Namely - what does a truescale Primaris look like?

 

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeellllll

 

 

Base-miniature is, obviously, Guilliman [in his 30k incarnation - much nicer sculpt imo]. Backpack courtesy of iirc Vulkan; Primaris head, Inceptor ... whatever the name of the bolt-weapon is, and Sanguinary Guard sword. Ornamentation is provided by some lions prised off Scibor (iirc) shoulderpads; the non-Ultra shoulderpad is a Gorgon Terminator, while his left arm comes courtesy of Horus. Grenades are from various sources - a cut-down Goliath potato-masher, a Guard one, and a Devastator big-meltabomb-looking-thingy. 

 

 

The grenades were one of the more 'fiddly' design choices - both in terms of affixion to the miniature, but also finding grenades which were large enough for him and his rather sizeable fingers (hence why *that* Guard grenade - he can presumably just click in the top; and the goliath sourced potato-masher due to the large-sized ring. The maybe-melta-bomb - well, i'm sure he can hurl it a prtty significant distance, and it easily fits in his [massive - dare I say 'cyclopean'?] grip!]. In retrospect, I'm not entirely sure how he'll be getting stuff out of that tiny pouch :P Breath-mints, perhaps?

 

 

Now, credit where credit's due. The idea for a 'truescale Primaris' came iirc after finding something on Pinterest that may or may not have been Migs' rendition of something like one for his Thorn Moons Crusade XXth Legion. And in terms of conversion-work, this has been a real joint-venture between myself and Umbral. That excellent left arm holding hte rather large sword is all his doing, for instance, as was the lion-ornamentation - the blade-arm being because I wasn't keen on keeping hte original Guilliman powerfist both because other people had done it but also because then it'd have been *far* too much like the original base miniature. 

 

I also found myself weighing up what to do in terms of ballistics. Like, I considered the standard bolt-rifle - it would certainly be a nice tie to the M42 era Primaris, and iirc Migs' one looks quite dashing with it. Firing single-handed such a large weapon also underscores the sheer bulk of the miniature. 

 

I additionally considered a range of other hardware - grenade-launchers, Marine special weapons .. Marine *heavy* weapons .. kitting him out for close-combat iwth a lightning-claw style arrangement .. or even wrist-mounted ranged weapons like on the Sanguinary Guard or Grey Knight Terminators [another style of grenade launcher, perhaps? or bolt-guns / storm-bolters etc. for the helluvit]. 

 

In the end, and I think this was an Umbral suggestion [although i wound up executing it because I'm indecisive upon occasion so had to cogitate upon it for awhile] , I went with the [incredibly creatively named, now that i go and look it up :P ] 'assault bolter' from the Inceptors. Followed by feeling that it needed an additional 'something' and building an incredibly long chain for it. Followed by gluing mishaps. Because tehse are de-rigeur in enhanced probability the more fiddly something is. 

 

End result?

 

well, with a bit of 'luck' with the head-posing [just falling into place during test-fit almost iwthout my intevention .. and then me attempeting and uh ... perhaps not *quite* managing toreplicate it with the glue for realz] .. I reckon I've managed another 'dynamic' pose that's capable of looking like it's outta the pages of a comic-book :D 

 

 

perhaps reminds one of a certain scene from Pulp Fiction, now that I think about it :P 

 

and I'm sure he'll look seriously legit done up in Adamanticore colours! 

 

Now as for why there's a very large, extra-super-human Astartes wandering around in M37 [or wheever it was we were setting htis - will need to check the logs again. Might be M38, come to think of it?] ... well ... you'll just have to keep watching/reading/scrolling for future updates ;) 

[Ryltar Thamior]

The Devastator looks promising. Is the lion on his pauldron the Adamanticores Chapter symbol, a Chapter-specific Devastators unit insignium, an honor marking or campaign badge?

Legit question, and churr. He's uh .. preseently sitting in hte 'development hell' stage of partial-painting :P 

 

Now, as applies the pauldron, in predictable fashion I uh .. I haven't quite thought that far ahead with any firmness. Most likely, an honorific - in particular due to the Mk.III-ish raised parts to deflect/absorb incoming fire from  the direction the Marine'll be facing , thus implying a likely position in the heat of battle [and 'compensated for' somewhat by the relatively svelte Mk.IV or VII on his right] . 

 

I actually have to both i) sit down an properly hammer out, and ii) then photograph and write up an (in-universe, probably) fluff-explanation for the heraldry, panoply, unit insignia, and other such stuff for the Adamanticores.

 

Because it's ... complex. And while I *might* have had certain things very much in my head at the time - as with anything in a memory not committted to parchment or pixels, it can degrade or go missing entirely as the months roll by. 

 

Now, to start with some of the first miniatures I posted - those were partially a result of me not having settled on hte eventual pinkish brass/bronze trim idea; and trying out different metallics as a result to see what looked "right". This was also caused because I felt that due to the nature of that *particular* squad, they'd a) have specialists in their ranks from different internal-to-the-Chapter sects and paths and ranks and functions (like iirc the chap with the Mk.V helm iis an apprentice techmarine - hence why he's got that coppery trim to his armour, a colour shared with the local Mechanicus); b) are veterans in their own right (so the more gold-ish but not quite colour  to some other trims); and c) have a respected NCO at their head [with hte runefang trim iirc] - the ranking-system being easily displayed via armour trim ... bronze/brass for regular Astartes, silver for NCO, gold for higher officers still, etc.. (simple, easy, and visually effective/looks good)

 

This then got standardized once i rolled out the rapid response squad [the frag-cannon operator was initially supposed to be in the first squad, hence why he's got a different pauldron, but wasn't built until *much* later ..] and went with the aforementioned bronze-brass [i'm not even sure what it is at this stage] for line infantry. 

 

Now *on top of this*, and due to the uh 'different' way the Adamanticores work in terms of hteir integration into the domain of Adamantia and some other doctrinal points of dissonance with more 'standard' Astartes ... there are additional specialist ranks, formations etc. which are further signified out in such a manner. I'm not sure if I got around to posting them, and they're still not painted to a standard I'm happy with , but the chaps we could perhaps describe as 'spooks' [lead by the one with the siege terminator darth vader style head - because ooOOoooooo .. scary not just for skull overtones .. [nearly went for bilingual reference points iwth a ks on the typo] .. ], htey've got trim in various shades of grey-purple [i think the colour's like warpfiend or something?] and grey-blue [Russ Grey or Fenrisian Grey iirc] - non-metallic both due to optics, and the way in which they stand a bit 'apart' from the regular chapter structure in that regard. 

 

And on top of *that* ... as has been seen with the Iron Masks [wait ... it turns out i haven't posted the relevant Marines .. will fix that once they're painted!] , particular unit-badges/formation insignia [[in this case, surprise surprise, a semi-literal *iron mask* much like the Mortal ones have on their person]] are also used. 

 

This is without getting into my intent as applies the Griffon shoulder-pads , to signify a clan(s)-company style approach recruited specifically from the more 'northerly' reaches of the Adamantia domain, and with a more overtly 'Scythian' flavour. Etc. 

 

So to bring this back to the plasma cannon armed Marine ... I'm uh .. still working a few things out, we'll put it that way - both aesthetically and fluff-wise. 

 

He won't be a standard devastator, though [and it's possible that there may be an analogous formation to the Iron Havocs or Long Fangs of certain other Astartes-based forces , in addition to Devastator-equivalents (yes, i know that Long Fangs aren't in addition to Devastators - however they *are* older and more veteran, etc. inter alia)]; so given that I took "Iron Masks" [what these longer-serving Marines who wind up suffering from the aforementioned a few posts ago mental condition were *initially* supposed to be called] , i'm still working on nomenclature. 

T

heir position within the Chapter will be one of a certain (vehement?) respect - but also a touch of fear and some level of 'stigma'. "Standing apart" in that regard, even though it's also "standing above" (in others?) due in part to the nature of their condition and its obsessive, compulsive, and 'disordered' ambit

 

So I'll have to factor *that* in as well. 

 

Oh, I also just recalled that one of the techmarines we've done also has a lion pad. So yee - honorifics, I suspect it is. 

 

However, in terms of chapter symbol ... hadn't actually put one on any Marines so far. Partially because I figured that kinda like Space Wolves they'd probably have insignia tied to smaller formations *within* hte Chapter [or adjacent to it], as has been partially covered above. But also partially because nothing realy seemd to 'fit' that waas .. paintable by me and/or easily doable out of bitz [i uh .. don't have great record with transfers anyway, even if i /did/ find something that looked "right" ] for many many Marines. 

 

But as can be seen from the truescale Primaris above [and one of the IRon Masks Astartes i haven't uplaoded :P so uh .. not seen :P ] , the Winged Lion device - which is kinda partially what a Manticore *is* in fantasy etc. fluff / heraldry / iconography - is pretty significant. signifier-cant 

 

And this will also be employed (but not in the way one might think) as applies another specialist formation i'm working on right now that does something 'sensible' [imo, anywya] with .. well, you'll see what I mean. 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The modified Primarch model looks promising.

[Ryltar Thamior]

It's been awhile ... and while it might have *seemed* like I'd forgotten the Unyielding Adamanticores in all the 'archaeological' excitement and Old Norse poetry with additional Sanskrit characteristics ... the Adamanticores [and Adamantia Auxilia, Iron Masks, etc.] have continued to grow. 



Adamanticores Veteran - likely a Company Champion or Headsman [that is to say ... head-taker.] Clad mostly in Mk.III armour, albeit with a Mk.II helm. 



Adamanticores Veteran; clad in composite plate, largely Mk.III; somewhat annoyingly, the photo has once again washed out the predatory lynx green-pupil effect :P [also, interesting fact .. "Lynx" itself likely derives from the same "Lewk" [iirc] Proto-Indo-European particle that underpins the modern "Look" and "Loka" - the idea, apparently, is that you can see the Lynx *looking at you* in the dark. And *just* its eyes, often... :D ] 



Adamanticores Company Command; clad in Mk.X plate. 

I do have to say - the old-school Raptor packs go *very* nicely with the enhanced bulk of the Mk.X; while I think from memory the head's from a Centurion? I'd umm'd and ah'd about what to do about that *particular* lieutenant or whatever it is from Dark Imperium ... because quite frankly the posing looked rather odd. We tolerate Jean Claude Van Damme about to do the splits. I'm not so sure about Marine officers, *however* flexible their extra-enhanced physiologies may have become. However, somehow, turning him into a jump-pack equipped assault leader seemed to make it far more 'plausible'; as did the very, very large blade. I *had* considered attempting to attach a storm-bolter or angelus style bolter to the pointing wrist, but eventually just went with the much more 'clean' look that you see here. 

At some point, I may do some honour-guard for him :D 

Brief reminder on panoply: the Adamanticores' traditions generally entail a Marine's rough rank and/or specialist branch to be addeucible from the trimmings of his armour. So, for instance, lighter bronze/brass signifies a full brother of the chapter, in a line formation; silver indicates a line officer - ranging in scope from an NCO to what would probably be a lieutenant in the 42nd millennium [daily reminder that despite the prototype/early issue Mk.X on show ... this is set about M.37/38] ; and gold, command-officers [i.e. captains and above]. [There's also them aforementioned 'specialist ranks' - so a reddish copper colour for a lower-ranked initiate pursuing admission to the techmarine cult; and a range of greys for recon Marines [amusingly, this was something modelled and *mostly* painted many months prior to Shadowspear becoming a thing], and by the looks of things, partially also for 'Iron Mask' Astartes; with 'Fire Priest' Librarians also having a much more 'traditional' Copper' tone as well as aforementioned  rank signifiers] . 

 

I mention all of that [again] ... because the two Veterans, as you can see, are in quite a variety of silver and gold. This was deliberate; as the idea with them is that they represent absolute 'elite' warriors who would technically be almost 'outside' the conventional command structure - in parallel to the officer ranks; but with a much more 'lethal' orientation than the company-plus command-oriented golds, or the squad-to-company command-oriented silvers. "Champions", I guess you could say. 

Anyway, up next will either be a 'consolidation post' of the already-done squads of Adamanticores; or some recently completed Adamantia Auxilia. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

As I signalled, a part of a 'consolidation' of already-done Adamanticores; first up, the first squad we did - a garrison for a backwater base where *nothing at all* is going to happen. Odd place for a veteran unit to be. 


On the left, an Adamanticore who's evidently pursuing initiation to the chapter's tech-marine cult, as denoted by his red-copper trim. And also, for that matter, his rather customized armour and weaponry. On the right, a veteran. 



Line-Marine, and an NCO;



Another NCO [iirc, a Techmarine Initiate] with yet another customized bolter, and a longer ranged veteran. 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The models are well done. How will you decorate their bases?

[Ryltar Thamior]

@Bjorn - I've thought about a few possibilities for basing, I do agree that it's a bit of a ... gap at the moment in the finishing. One possibility is sprue-rubble; another is attempting to do something more like the terrain of Adamantia itself - which is rather like Iran. 

In any case - ongoing 'consolidation' of yet-done Adamanticores ... 

First up, a rapid-response squad. 




As you can see, the bronze/brass of line Marines; and the significant diversity of hand-made and customized armour; plus bolt-carbines.
Also, one of the sets of legs is from Iron Warriors Siege Terminators, as Umbral and I continue to go through pretty much every set of Heresy-era terminators GW/FW have put out in the quest for more posing. 



Officers - Silver for Line; Gold for higher tier command again.



Techmarine , with rather extensive servo-harness [you can't quite see the missile launcher...]; Gorgon terminator legs. 



Recon squad. Note the various shades of grey on both faceplates and armour-trim; also, as a change of pace, a Siege Terminator helm on the sergeant.