Vigilus Must Fall - A Black Legion Escalation Force

[Son of Carnelian]

"As the Warp changed my flesh, my brothers in the Eighth legion shunned me. But the Black Legion welcomed my brotherhood and showed me a new path. We are not shackled by our fathers. We can become something greater." - Legionnaire Tor Valdred, Formerly of the Night Lords, Oathsworn of the Black Legion.

Pictured below while deployed for the Vigilus conflict, Valdred displays the mutated facial features that drove him out of his former legion, likely as a form of psychological warfare against the human defenders of the world. Note the extreme coloration of the skin and the yellow, glowing eyes.

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So, after all these years, it would appear that Games Workshop will finally make good on their promises and release a refreshed range of Chaos Space Marine models. Coincidentally, I have an escalation league themed around the Vigilus conflict starting on the 22nd of January and almost everyone signed up has chosen some form of Imperium force. That will not do, no sir. So begins my journey back to the faction that started it all for me!

As a head up, this will probably be more of a "Hall of Honor" thread as I personally don't want to provide updates on unpainted miniatures at this point in my hobby life. You'll also notice I've gone with a decidedly more old-school basing scheme. This comes from my formative memories of White Dwarf around the time of Medusa V and this thread will certainly pay homage to the days of that campaign and the 3.5 Chaos Space Marines Codex.

Anyway, let me know your feedback! Cheers!

[Panzer]

Oh wow those look really great and you managed to take proper pictures as well. Gonna follow this thread for sure!

[Deadass]

Valdred looks ace, I'm really excited to see what you'll create for your army!

[Dragonlover]

Is that a Death Guard helm? Also I love your highlights, they're so crisp!

 

Dragonlover

[El_Dicko]

Looks killer, great use of that helm!

[Gederas]

Hmmm... This looks like it'll be interesting.

 

The use of the Death Guard helmet is very clever. Gives me ideas for my own World Eaters or Emperor's Children.

[N1SB]

 

So begins my journey back to the faction that started it all for me!

 

...and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time.

 

Outstanding work, outstanding theme, loving these Black Crusaders, Brother.

[Pearson73]

That's a nice paintjob and headswap, I think the face may have benefitted from a lighter colour, to make it stand out a bit more.

[Son of Carnelian]

Oh wow those look really great and you managed to take proper pictures as well. Gonna follow this thread for sure!

  

Valdred looks ace, I'm really excited to see what you'll create for your army!

  

Thanks guys! Right now I have the contents of Blackstone Fortress plus a few assorted Plague Marines sitting on my painting desk. Lots to do before the 22nd!

 

Is that a Death Guard helm? Also I love your highlights, they're so crisp!

 

Dragonlover

  

Looks killer, great use of that helm!

  

Hmmm... This looks like it'll be interesting.

 

The use of the Death Guard helmet is very clever. Gives me ideas for my own World Eaters or Emperor's Children.

As you all correctly surmised, it is a Death Guard helm. While I won't get into my intense dislike of the kit in this thread, some of the individual bits are quite lovely and work perfectly well with any traitor force, such as this broken helmet.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So begins my journey back to the faction that started it all for me!

 

...and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time.

 

Outstanding work, outstanding theme, loving these Black Crusaders, Brother.

 

Thanks, brother! It means a lot to me to hear that from you. Keep up the good work in the N&R topics!

 

 

That's a nice paintjob and headswap, I think the face may have benefitted from a lighter colour, to make it stand out a bit more.

Hmm. I see what you're saying but I wanted to get across the Warp shifting his flesh into something more demonic and I wanted to keep it consistent with how I will paint demon flesh on other models. I'm going of Garfy's formula on Tale of Painters, so it comes out into a rich sort of purplish-red (if I do it correctly).

[Pearson73]

 

That's a nice paintjob and headswap, I think the face may have benefitted from a lighter colour, to make it stand out a bit more.

Hmm. I see what you're saying but I wanted to get across the Warp shifting his flesh into something more demonic and I wanted to keep it consistent with how I will paint demon flesh on other models. I'm going of Garfy's formula on Tale of Painters, so it comes out into a rich sort of purplish-red (if I do it correctly).

 

 

I was thinking a paler purple, so still daemonic, perhaps like some of the Slaanesh stuff. Regardless, if it's going to be across several models in the force as a unifying/consistent element, I think it'll look good.

[Lord Abaia]

That is a fantastic looking model. The headswap turned out great.

 

I was planning on finishing building and painting the rest of the BSF models before I touched the CSM, but I think I'm going to change that. I've been trying to decide if I want to paint them as Black Legion to go with the game or Night Lords to match my army. I think you just convinced me to go with BL. Your model looks great in black.

[Brother Mayhem]

Awesome work mate, can't wait to see what you have in store for us. The helmet is a great idea, will have to use it myself on a fell champion of the Black Legion!

[Midnightmare]

That’s really cool man :tu: :tu:

[MaliGn]

Nicely done, although they are well painted I think the highlights are almost too much in some places - like the back of his right hand. They are very sharp lines though and round some of the fiddliest bits too so kudos for pulling that off! I suspect this may be one of those situations that is less noticeable in person than on camera though.

 

Looking forward to seeing more.

[Doghouse]

That is amazing mate, I love the head you used it gives it a proper chaos lurking within look.

[Draakur]

Looking forward to this :tu:

[Xenith]

Great work as ever - those extreme highlights are crisp - although they look a little stark on the black - would you consider making the mid-tone highlight thicker to give a less steep gradient?

 

What's up next?

[Son of Carnelian]

"They never tell you about the beatings in the recruitment reels, do they? No, they save that for later. Ceaseless beatings at the hands of the commissars. 'Hestar! You're late again!' Beating. 'Hestar! You fired your weapon without permission!' Beating. On and on until one day you finally beat them back." - Guardsman Hestar, formerly of the Jumael 27th "Bear-Baiters, Cult of the Blackened Sky

Pictured below in the midst of a firefight, Guardsman Hestar still bears both the wooden lasgun and the fur cloak issued to him after joining the Jumael 27th. Note the Imperial Fists helmet at his feet, likely discarded in the intensity of the urban combat on Vigilus.

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Small update, but it heralds big things. I've redone my formula for highlighting black and now I've started a production line of cultists that should see them finished sooner rather than later. How about those Shadowspear models though, eh? I'm splitting boxes with both Soldier of Dorn and BlueBelly1863! Twice the Chaos Space Marines for me! Onto the replies:

That is a fantastic looking model. The headswap turned out great.

I was planning on finishing building and painting the rest of the BSF models before I touched the CSM, but I think I'm going to change that. I've been trying to decide if I want to paint them as Black Legion to go with the game or Night Lords to match my army. I think you just convinced me to go with BL. Your model looks great in black.

Glad I've swayed you onto the true path Magpie Knight! The Black Legion is the legion created for The Long War... And there are no others like us.

Awesome work mate, can't wait to see what you have in store for us. The helmet is a great idea, will have to use it myself on a fell champion of the Black Legion!

Thank you Brother Mayhem! The Death Guard kit has lots of stuff that can work across any faction of Chaos (with the right paint job, of course).

That’s really cool man

High praise coming from Midnight Runner, one of the lords of the Black Legion! I'm basing my color scheme on yours, truth be told (though it won't look quite as good).

Nicely done, although they are well painted I think the highlights are almost too much in some places - like the back of his right hand. They are very sharp lines though and round some of the fiddliest bits too so kudos for pulling that off! I suspect this may be one of those situations that is less noticeable in person than on camera though.

Looking forward to seeing more.

MaliGn, you are 100% right and I've spent most of the past few weeks fiddling with my black highlight formula. The new results are above. Better, don't you think?

That is amazing mate, I love the head you used it gives it a proper chaos lurking within look.

It's within us all, Doghouse. Thank you for the kind words!

Looking forward to this

Hopefully I can meet your expectations, Draakur!

Awesome paint job and the helmet choice really ‘caps’ it off.

Will be checking back in on these traitors for sure!

Thank you Brokejaw Gutripper! Does this update whet your appetite somewhat?

Great work as ever - those extreme highlights are crisp - although they look a little stark on the black - would you consider making the mid-tone highlight thicker to give a less steep gradient?

What's up next?

I agree completely, Xenith. I'm in the midst of redoing his highlights now. But the new formula for highlighting the black is on display with this cultist. What do you think?

[Xenith]

 

 

 

Great work as ever - those extreme highlights are crisp - although they look a little stark on the black - would you consider making the mid-tone highlight thicker to give a less steep gradient?

 

What's up next?

 

I agree completely, Xenith. I'm in the midst of redoing his highlights now. But the new formula for highlighting the black is on display with this cultist. What do you think?

 

 

A bit too extreme the other way! The greave looks great, but I think the helm could do with another pass.

 

What I mean, is that the literal thickness of the brushstroke of the mid, and extreme highlights are the same on the helmet - this means the middle shade is kind of lost, giving it a starker appearance. On the shin, the mid-light is 2-3 times thicker than the thin edge highlight, and looks more natural to me. 

[Midnightmare]

Love the guardsman fluff, class mate :tu: The model himself is great, a mass of these guys on the table will really look the part.

 

Nice work B)

 

(And thanks for the high praise of my stuff :tu: however I disagree, the way it is going it will look as good!!)

[Son of Carnelian]

"The Ecclesiarchy teaches that flame cleanses impurity from the galaxy. I proved them right when I lit up our regimental priest like a match. He had grown fat off the bribes I gave him for looking the other way when it came to my... proclivities. As the flames dimmed and smell of human meat filled the air, I knew I would eat well serving the Black Legion." - Guardsman Yorr, formerly of the Jumael 27th "Bear-Baiters, Cult of the Blackened Sky

Guardsman Yorr can be seen below wielding a flamer and wearing a Cadian standard-issue gas mask. Yorr's cannibalistic diet alienated him from many in the Cult of the Blackened Sky, but his effectiveness in urban operations made him a favorite among their Black Legion masters.

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So! I repainted the black on my test miniature and cranked out another cultist. Pretty happy overall with the... 4 models I've managed to paint thus far. But, as a man once said, let's crawl before we can walk and walk before we can run. What do you guys think with the redone black on the Legionnaire?

Great work as ever - those extreme highlights are crisp - although they look a little stark on the black - would you consider making the mid-tone highlight thicker to give a less steep gradient?

What's up next?

I agree completely, Xenith. I'm in the midst of redoing his highlights now. But the new formula for highlighting the black is on display with this cultist. What do you think?

A bit too extreme the other way! The greave looks great, but I think the helm could do with another pass.

What I mean, is that the literal thickness of the brushstroke of the mid, and extreme highlights are the same on the helmet - this means the middle shade is kind of lost, giving it a starker appearance. On the shin, the mid-light is 2-3 times thicker than the thin edge highlight, and looks more natural to me.

I see what you're saying Xenith, but I'm just not sure how much finer I can make it. I'll do my best (like with the repainted Black Legion chap you see up top), but I'm really pushing the limits of my eyes and my brushes. Maybe with practice I'll get better!

Great update for sure! Really tempting me to start a dirty traitor force of my own...

The heretic guardsman looks just as good as the marine, and I’d say you could have a nice Imperial Fist force done up too based on that helmet you did.

Awesome job all around. Can’t wait to see what you do with the new box when it drops.

Thank you for the compliment, Brokejaw Gutripper! I dream of someday having a full Imperial Fist army. I have a Sigismund conversion all ready, just awaiting paint. This force is also going to let me practice my yellow in a less stressful environment, as I can easily cover up any mistakes as battle damage.

And I'm getting at least two of the new box. One to assemble as-is and one to convert. The Warmaster has delivered!

Love the guardsman fluff, class mate The model himself is great, a mass of these guys on the table will really look the part.

Nice work

(And thanks for the high praise of my stuff however I disagree, the way it is going it will look as good!!)

As always, you presence is a honor to my thread, Midnight Runner. Maybe someday I'll hop over and we can get in a legion war! Out of curiosity, did you ever paint any cultists for your Black Legion? I don't recall seeing any in your thread and I surely would like to see your take on the dregs of Chaos.

[Midnightmare]

Liking the black on Valdred, the highlights aren’t as bright (they are very neat btw) and Yorr is great - I do like the colour pallette you are using on the Cultists/Renegade militia - just enough black to show their allegiances whilst still looking rag-tag.

 

Just an idea, have you thought on blackening the heat shield at the end of the flamer? I usually drybrush black in the end, then a really light dry brush of a dark blue :tu:

 

For my own dudesmen I have never painted a squad of cultists as I have always concentrated on the more fun stuff and find them unfun!! It is something I do need to remedy however hopefullyster this year. I affectionately call my Cultists ‘The Smear’ as that is usually what they end up quick sharp in games :D

[Are Verlo]

What can I say!!? I love the models, but the short background you wrote for the renegade guardsmen really brings this thread to a new level. Keep writing those.

 

Great job mate.

[Vesper]

Looking great SoC.

Glad you've taken the black and thank for sharing it with us.

[MithrilForge]

Really nice!, the highlights you have (very sharp indeed) probably don't look as over the top from 1-2 feet away (perfect table top viewing distance  ) so in my mind they look awesome,

only golden deamon models and display stuff really stands up to 6 inches away inspection!!.

 

makes me want to do a Black legion force...(damn you Abaddon...) 

 

cheers, Mithril

 

p.s. i'll second the use of black /blue on the flamer tip