Nostalgia attacks - Questions about army development

[Montford]

I was seriously considering starting Alpha legion as a new Army, and I was recently given 35 Mark III armor Space Marines: this thread (particularly nusphigor's pictures) has now cemented that and so now I start another 40K army

[Excessus]

Welcome, operative :D

[nusphigor]

The 2nd ed codex: Chaos described the Alpha Legion as the only legion where aspirants failed or succeeded as a team instead of individuals, and it kinda spoke to me somehow. Brothers-in-arms, trusting each other and having each others backs. No backstabbing or betrayal (inter-legion at least ).

 

And being loud with many vehicles has always been in the legions arsenal, after all, the Alpha Legion flank on Istvaan V was a mechanised force with tanks and super-heavies. I imagine the difference between the Iron Warriors and the Alpha Legion would be that IW breaches from the outside, while the AL uses the discord inside the city under siege to open the main gate from inside...

 

good input mate! maybe i had the legion all wrong in my mind. there's lore support on what you say that i just ignored somehow (siege of paramar, Siege of Epsilon-Stranivar IX) 

It might be a good thing to re-read the lore (who would have thought of that?  )

 

 

 

 

I was seriously considering starting Alpha legion as a new Army, and I was recently given 35 Mark III armor Space Marines: this thread (particularly nusphigor's pictures) has now cemented that and so now I start another 40K army

 

Oh stop it you 

Edited August 27, 2021 by nusphigor

[Brother Nathan]

nice work but seems like i was with my iron warriors you are stuck. for me i found that playing around with rust has gotten me a push back to working on them. your skills are definitely there so its figuring how to get something that clicks so ill suggest a few things im planning for my iron warriors too. khorne bezerker plan i have is to filly paint them iron warrior scheme and then when thats finished blood splatter them alot , cleaning eye lenses or such but they will be visably bloody and mistaken for proper world eaters with the original colour scheme more visible away from the chainsword. the more elite the bloodier. havoks will have more kill markings as more proud and boosting up about killling bigger things. how would that work for alpha legion?  or how i like to think of alpha as hydra when they show who they finally are leaving sheild, true colours underneath, trading back their own gear, coming out of cover and throwing off disguise  and unveiling their colours, sapping out flags?ie, standard bearer throwing down a fake imperial flag to raise the legion symbol and trudging th old in the mud having imperial markings on one side and chaos on the other. rain washing different paint off the top of their hidden perfect plate. magnetizing a few imperial symbols over their chaotic ones? different squads doing things differently? one in perfect plate and others each doing differently so enemy force things to arrive in battle to take out single squad of alpha to discover a tank hidden in a building more squads rising from concealment and half their allies as more traitors? from that perspective theres probably more that you can do with alpha legion than any other army. looking forward to seeing you figure a direction cause those attempts you did were awesome!

[nusphigor]

nice work but seems like i was with my iron warriors you are stuck. for me i found that playing around with rust has gotten me a push back to working on them. your skills are definitely there so its figuring how to get something that clicks so ill suggest a few things im planning for my iron warriors too. khorne bezerker plan i have is to filly paint them iron warrior scheme and then when thats finished blood splatter them alot , cleaning eye lenses or such but they will be visably bloody and mistaken for proper world eaters with the original colour scheme more visible away from the chainsword. the more elite the bloodier. havoks will have more kill markings as more proud and boosting up about killling bigger things. how would that work for alpha legion?  or how i like to think of alpha as hydra when they show who they finally are leaving sheild, true colours underneath, trading back their own gear, coming out of cover and throwing off disguise  and unveiling their colours, sapping out flags?ie, standard bearer throwing down a fake imperial flag to raise the legion symbol and trudging th old in the mud having imperial markings on one side and chaos on the other. rain washing different paint off the top of their hidden perfect plate. magnetizing a few imperial symbols over their chaotic ones? different squads doing things differently? one in perfect plate and others each doing differently so enemy force things to arrive in battle to take out single squad of alpha to discover a tank hidden in a building more squads rising from concealment and half their allies as more traitors? from that perspective theres probably more that you can do with alpha legion than any other army. looking forward to seeing you figure a direction cause those attempts you did were awesome!

 

thank you mate!

since i've had these models from a long LONG time modelling differently might be hard because it would involve lots of chopping and cutting which i am not opposed to, but to be honest i grew up to be a lazy hobbyst XD

So i guess the best i can do at the moment is doing freehands to make each legionnaire an individual. However, that might be a bit opposed to the legion, so i guess i wil just work by squads.

 

Still, the main issue remains:

How to :cuss paint those minis?

I know i don't like the metallic teal scheme (or any metallic colors for that matter) and every blue scheme i try ends up looking like a very evil ultramarine or crimson fist (or night lords with artistic issues)

Back when i painted the old second iteration of my army i used a very specific color: Coal Black by P3. Which i can not get anymore sadly, so i'm stuck with gw paints (i actually love them even more)

 

The thing is i'm really stuck and i don't know how to progress with this army. i'm even considering painting them as sons of horus or the damned sons of proturbo (which, as an imperial fists fan, is a clear sign of desperation  )

 

I know there was a time in which the legion had a purple colour scheme. Might i delve on that option? 

Edited September 16, 2021 by Iron Father Ferrum
Don't avoid the swear filter.

[Brother Nathan]

fair enough. its just finding the magic result isnt it. and it never quite pops or works til near the end. why not have a handful of test models going at once and note what you try on each, try for a son of horus as its possible itll end up more alpha looking or give ideas how to get yo where you want. ie i painted my orks turquoise and used green wash which gave me exactly the sort of look i was looking with goblin highlights and dirty washes... people who saw me painting were very very confused til they ogled the end product. my storm angels have been purples with a red wash and got exactly right result for my reds. (i also used toi like in painting with inks and have a slight stock pile...)

[nusphigor]

fair enough. its just finding the magic result isnt it. and it never quite pops or works til near the end. why not have a handful of test models going at once and note what you try on each, try for a son of horus as its possible itll end up more alpha looking or give ideas how to get yo where you want. ie i painted my orks turquoise and used green wash which gave me exactly the sort of look i was looking with goblin highlights and dirty washes... people who saw me painting were very very confused til they ogled the end product. my storm angels have been purples with a red wash and got exactly right result for my reds. (i also used toi like in painting with inks and have a slight stock pile...)

 

Good idea! i don't know why it didn't crossed my mind but now that i read it it sounds so obvious 

I will try with some desaturated greens and with coelia or drakenhoff night shade and see what happens.

 

On another topic, i took out some marine minis from my shame box and added them to the chaos army to try and bulk up what i have to get a nice infantry army, so i ended up with these to work with:

 

Chaos Lord with power sword and plasma pistol (i was thinking of using the blade of the hydra on him)

Chaos Sorcerer with Power Axe (had the old dark angels librarian lying around and it looks so nice in an alpha legion army  )

Dark apostle and dark disciples (the only propper chaos minis i have right now)

 

3 squads of 10 csm with doble plasma and champions with combi plasma and power fists (i've always liked this configuration)

1 squad of 10 cultists with 9 autoguns and 1 heavy stubber (actually is a scout heavy bolter but who cares  )

 

1 squad of 5 havocs with 4 missile launchers and bolter on the champion (its a devastator squad but anyways)

1 squad of 5 havocs with 4 lascannons and bolter on the champion (mk3 goodness)

1 squad of 5 Chosen with 4 meltaguns, 4 chainswords and combi-melta and power fist on the champion (i call them The Suicide Squad)

1 squad of 10 Raptors with 2 plasma pistols and plasma pistol and power fist on the champion (because speed is always nice)

1 squad of 5 Berzerkers with 2 plasma pistols and a plasma pistol and power axe on the champion (you know berzerkers are always nice, even if they're only 5)

 

I was thinking that rhinos don't work that good on loyalists marines nowadays so i suppose i could take the 2 i have form my fists and use them on this chaos army, but i still don't know...

 

 

Any tips on how to use this army?

[Excessus]

 

However, that might be a bit opposed to the legion

 

Au contraire. :) 

 

The Alpha Legion have many markings that only they themselves can decipher. They might look random or unintelligble to outsiders, but to fellow legionnaires they can denote rank, mission or many other things. Just go to town on the randomness, after all if they all have different markings the opponenct can't tell the squads apart easily... :P 

[nusphigor]

Fair point
i have a ton of things in my head right now so i defaulted to old old lore in which squads advanced together or everyone died.

I was tinkering with the minis and battlescribe, so i changed the raptors and added them to the berzerkers, so i have a squad of 15 now XD

that leaves me in 1560 pts and me thinking that i should add both rhinos and a dread to the army...
any thoughts?

[Excessus]

Personally I always try to bring rhinos.

[nusphigor]

Personally I always try to bring rhinos.

 

how do you find them on the battlefield? are they worth it in this edition?

I stopped even looking at them when they started to cost more than 35 pts XD

[Excessus]

The Rhinos are multi-purpose, and in the very few 9th ed games I've played (damn you pandemic!) they have been very useful. Using them for shields to hide the units behind them, tying up opponent units with little risk, getting units to where they need to be quickly, havoc launchers are cheap and plink away att light units 48" away...many uses... :) 

[Brother Nathan]

had a brainfart, may be complicated and no idea how to implement but in the idea of colurs and confusion and warpyness... how about an oil like shimmer or paint style?  ie

https://www.google.com/search?q=colourful+oil&rlz=1C1GCEB_enGB956GB956&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=f0r2bhmaJN-1YM%252CnaMrlCZmrwo-WM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRU_Iere2D1KcPnYNFZrjPGT-I8Ow&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiTr9X5hYTzAhU8BWMBHZs4BdoQ9QF6BAgYEAE&biw=1920&bih=969&dpr=1#imgrc=oU7jQZnmnrJEWM

 

hydro dipping a white undercoated model maby?

Edited September 16, 2021 by Brother nathan

[nusphigor]

had a brainfart, may be complicated and no idea how to implement but in the idea of colurs and confusion and warpyness... how about an oil like shimmer or paint style?  ie

https://www.google.com/search?q=colourful+oil&rlz=1C1GCEB_enGB956GB956&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=f0r2bhmaJN-1YM%252CnaMrlCZmrwo-WM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRU_Iere2D1KcPnYNFZrjPGT-I8Ow&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiTr9X5hYTzAhU8BWMBHZs4BdoQ9QF6BAgYEAE&biw=1920&bih=969&dpr=1#imgrc=oU7jQZnmnrJEWM

 

hydro dipping a white undercoated model maby?

 

i know that some metallic paints that are made with liquid pigments can be used to create this kind of effect when applied via glazes.

it might be a neat look, but maybe too time consuming.

It's worth a shot, though