Vox Stellarum: The Unyielding Adamanticores

[Bjorn Firewalker]

As their color scheme is EXTREMELY similar to that of the Black Legion, the Adamanticores should do as the Black Templars do, and put oversized Chapter symbols on every surface of their armor. Doing otherwise will lead to misidentification and subsequent "friendly fire" incidents.

[Custom Hero]

These guys are brilliant. Conversion work is spot on. I live that you make each of these guys at least a little personal.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Steel Panthers. 

What happened here was we had a few gorgon terminator legs around which, for various reasons, hadn't been turned into truescaling. Partially it was the somewhat 'awkward'/'waddling' poses; and the very heavily 'accessorized' look with the cabling, ablative plating, ec. that's moulded on. One got used for an Adamanticores techmarine [assembly/conversion-work as done by Umbral] ... but the rest ... 

I guess I wound up setting myself a bit of a 'challenge'. Inspired somewhat by the fact that Umbral managed to turn a bunch of Red Butchers terminator legs [which looked seriously awkward imo] into some very cool truescales, and the fact that we've used pretty much every other 'standard' set of heresy-era Terminator legs at least thrice ... I decided to try and turn them gorgon legs into something worthwhile. 

But what? Well, I took their tech'd up and cybernetically enhanced appearance, and ran with it in a bit of a different direction. Not the 'predictable' Iron Hands style approach. But rather something different ... and *harder* -well, more heavily 'armoured', at any rate. 

Building upon the various "it just makes sense" principles underpinning Astartes directly interfacing with their vehicles via the black carapace etc., I figured that these Astartes would be specialist tankers - that would be their Chapter 'hat'. Not all of them would fight as vehicle crew, of course - in a manner similar to Israeli Merkavas carrying infantry sections for 'organic' support, and built upon just how many Astartes combat vehicles are in fact actually very heavy, very well armed transports ... there'd be a logical 'place' for something closer to the more 'traditional' Marine infantry. 



In order to show this, i covered over the gaps in the rear armour build-ups that I do with my no-greenstuff truescaling approach, with cabling and jacks. I figure this particular Marine is one of those tank crew - hence both those, and the fact that his close combat weapon is a rather small knife [the better to fit inside his fighting compartment with him in comparison to the massive chainsword of the other line marine, to be shown in a moment]. 



Here's the first one I did, from the front this time. The legs are striding the wrong way for an easy 'charging and shooting' pose, so I went down the other approach of an Astartes getting ready to take a shot, or inspecting the field as he 'cautiously' advances. It was inspired, i suppose, by the 'classic' Marine feel that comes across in various art of really  big hulking Marines that look like a sledgehammer given vaguely human form. "Transhuman Dread", indeed. 

I went with a nicely customized Mk.VII helm from the Space Wolves plastic kit - it seemed to have the right 'vibe' for a chapter that's presumably also pretty good at the artisanal and artificerial customization of their wargear. Mk.III arms also go nicely with the enhanced [even by , well , you know, marine model standards] bulk of truescaling; and the Mk.X power-pack ... well, it's a nice silhouette - very classic, very cool. And also goes to show that these Marines , at the same time-period as the Adamanticores, *also* have something a bit .. odd going on, and probably require enhanced power output for all them heavy plates and upgrade systems in their armour. 



This Astartes shows the 'opposite' facing on the legs - although didn't quite match up for a running/charging and firing pose. Perhaps he's inspecting the results from his previous precision shot [which will have been made easier with the ocular augmentation visible on his helmet]. I also experimented with Mk.III pauldrons for a change of pace from the previous sharp lines of the more regular rims. 



Finally, I figured that it'd be interesting to try a close combat oriented vibe - the sort of Marine who jumps out of a Land Raider and charges through seemingly "hard" cover to start tearing up the entrenched defenders. I've found it pretty difficult to 'realistically' pose lightning claw armed truescales previously, so this was an interesting and welcome shift. Another Space Wolves helmet, a downsized power-pack [sternguard veterans this time] , and vanguard claws ... plus a fine lightning-bolted tartaros torso to complete 'the look'.

Colour-scheme wise, the dark grey and very light silver, I felt it'd be an ideal place to give it a shot. And lighter/hard green, mid-hard blue for accenting, in addition to the various metallic tones also in place elsewhere [not that you can see it, but bronzy-gold on the shoulder-circle, golder-gold on the lightning bolts on the crux  terminatus, etc.] 

Oh yeah, and an incredibly obvious reference with regard to the chapter name, there :D 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the Steel Panthers. Edited April 26, 2019 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Ryltar Thamior]

Finally managed to finish these four Adamantia Auxilia. If you haven't caught my ruminations upon this topic before ... due to the way in which Adamantia [the Adamanticores' stellar-domain within the Imperium] is set up, the Auxilia are rather different from many regular Guard formations - with the easiest point of comparison probably being the Ultramar/Macragge mortal pdf/militarum. 

For a start, they're designed to operate alongside or in supplementation of the Adamanticores - keeping up with an advance, then mopping up, and holding territory so the Astartes can keep driving as the tip of the spear, in particular. 

They're also rather better equipped than the average Guard, in part due to the strong manufacturing capacity and tech-base of Adamantia [you may have noticed the AdMech contingent a few pages back, as well as just how ... suspiciously advanced some of the Adamanticores' own gear is]; and both due to strong training and the innately high quality of the recruitment-pool [a result of the entire stellar domain being geared up to keep an Astartes force in continual peak operation - hence all the eugenic efforts to produce a human population that's genetically/physiologically/psychologically ideal for Astartes implantation], aren't 'cannon-fodder' . Indeed, they're the exact opposite. 

Not least in those situations wherein they're fighting directly alongside their Adamanticores lords - figures whom they've been brought up from even before birth to revere and serve to the best of their ability with highly proficient aplomb. 

So in terms of modelling the Adamantine Auxilia ... this called for a bit of a different approach to the usual Guard contingents. Something that caught a spirit of an elite soldiery with an eminent, imminent warrior tradition and ethos; and the suitably high-quality [but not 'flashy' - more rugged and powerful] gear to go with. 

One way or another, I don't think these'd be easily confused for 'standard' Cadian-style Astra Militarum. And that's even *before* you notice the power-armoured transhumans fighting alongside them. 



First up, a commander. 


Now, I'd been very keen on the field cap head from the Cadian HQ sprues for awhile, although hadn't really had an opportunity to 'put it into practice' on an actual officer yet. 

Photo doesn't *quite* capture how heart-warming seeing the dawn rays of sunlight reflect off that gold-painted Aquila gorget was when taking the photo, but hey .. it looks decent enough :D 



In terms of his wargear, the green-screened device seemed like a logical thing for a commander in the field, the gorget may perhaps conceal a refractor field or similar, the power-sword I could have done a better assembly-conversion job on, although considering that arm's made up of about five to seven pieces, it's probably alright as-is. Not quite sure what the skull-fronted grenade/cannister'll contain; and the other thing that was integral to the conversion as far as I was concerned, was that Orlock-sprue sourced drum-mag autorifle ... with a foregrip I'd added made from a scion dagger handle, and a suitably (over)sized scope - which helps imo to convey a more 'discerning' and 'high-tech' feel , as well as a 'can operate from long distance' appropriate for a leader ... balanced by the 'walk me closer, i want to hit them with my sword' in the other hand.



Next up, a weapons-specialist (perhaps another officer - he's got the skull shoulderpad for a command unit) with a suitably modded autorifle. I'm a big fan of the Orlock heads, especially those with the masks and flash haircuts - there's something extra-warrior-y about them, perhaps vaguely Germanic. The rifle itself waas from the neophyte hybrids sprues, with the gloves actually working rather well here ... and a stock built from a Guard lasrifle, plus a scope that I think may have been from a primaris kit. Perhaps i could have added an underslung grenade launcher or flashlight, but ehh. 


Once again, despite the scope .. is also very capable of hitting you in close assault. Rather pleased also with the mounting for the combat-blade, as i couldn't find an appropriate belt-space for it. 



Close assault veteran armed with a shotgun. Bearing a much larger/thicker left shoulderpad, in recognition of this role [it's probably the direction fire'll be incoming from also]. 

Again, the Orlock heads are great, particularly with the sense of 'realism' added by the goggles .. and, once again, cool haircut plus facial hair. 

There may be specialist ammunition on his person, also. 





Sniper. Ever since I saw the effect on, iirc, StraightSilver's Macragge PDF log, some time ago, i've been interested in the idea of using the Cadian HQ greatcoat legs with a sniper rifle, and some form of masked head [he went, iirc, with one from the Catachan Command box]. Once again, Orlock heads serve admirably - not only with the haircut .. but also a mask, and are-they-goggles-or-are-they-augmetics [or, perhaps, some *very* cool shades!] upon the eyes. 

I did think about attempting to do an urban or ash-wastes camouflage pattern on the camo-cloak, but decided against it [for the moment] .. at least partially due to the possibility that it might be a very flash active-camouflage fabric that adapts to its surrounds *itself* ... and largely because I hadn't find a decent camo pattern to apply [although the ones put on the Eliminators in the GW studio paintup from Shadowspear did have me reconsidering]. 

Anyway, there's four Adamantia Auxilia - some of which, to be sure, have been partially-complete spotted in this log before [often as 'size-comparisons' for their larger comrades-in-arms from the Adamanticores]. I've a few more in various stages of assembly and painting, and a ... very large vehicular build also in perma-partial state of completion, so we'll see how those shape up in the possibly not *too* distant future. 
 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the auxiliaries. Are their bases meant to represent asphalt, i.e., paved roads? They look plain and unadorned.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Adamantia spec ops



Manticlaws? Haven't thought that far ahead. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

Adamanticore and Adamantia Auxilia veterans 

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Excellent painting and conversions in this thread, they look really great!!

[Ryltar Thamior]

Adamanticore 'Iron Masks' 



These have been a ... long time coming. I would have started work building and painting them sometime mid-late 2018; and then done most of the paint-work and just kinda left them there on the painting-desk glowering back ominously at me. Well, with lock-down protocols in effect, I've somehow wound up doing quite a few 'almost done' rather than building new miniatures ... which can be a rather frustrating experience due to the building and painting choices younger and less experienced me had made that require a bit of touch-ups. 

Anyway, a few individual shots:







Rear shot showing some of the additional equipment these Marines are bearing - grenades, side-arms, melta-bombs, close combat weapons, and a rather suitably intimidating looking axe. [Which is a traditional Adamantine symbol of authority]



Oh, and a fetching winged-lion ornamentation/honorific. These are Adamanticores, after all! This particular Astartes is a homage to some classic Index Astartes art, but that's another story. 

 

Now in terms of who/what the Iron Masks are - they're 'internal security', and will either be deployed to lead and oversee relevant Adamantia Auxilia dedicated forces (*also* termed Iron Masks, and built from Orlocks with greatsword helmeted heads), or in greater concentration where there's a serious threat of the kind that actually mandates squad-level or higher Astartes deployment. 

Adamantia being the sort of stellar realm that it is, subversive uprisings are an occasional hazard - as it's a twisted prize much vaunted by certain enemies of the Imperium to corrupt and usurp especially that which seems most ordered and pure. 

Umbral and I had a plan for a 'pre-campaign' to Divine Founding featuring the Iron Masks [both Astartes and Auxilia] up against a Chaos cult uprising, for which he's built some rather excellent daemons ... 

... although Chaos is not the only threat to Adamantia which makes use of subversion and insurrection as its prime tools ...