+ In the Dust of Armageddon + – Themed project log

[apologist]

'The sorrows of Badab. Death of the Master. And now this.'

'A season of fire approaches. And the Salamanders will not be found wanting.'

 

 

 

+ In The Dust of Armageddon +

+ A narrative project log +

 

+++

 

 

+EDIT+

[Now this has become a proper project, I've edited the original post – the original is below.]

 

I'm interested in exploring the Salamanders during the Second War for Armageddon (BfA2).

 

Largely, the reason for this is that I've got a Salamanders itch that needs scratching, so I thought I'd turn to the Pantheon Council to see if you can offer any advice or thoughts on the undertaking.  (There's a broader club on this too, if the general events appeal to you.)

 

 

Of particular interest to me is a chance to try freehanding lots of heraldry. More specifically, the Salamanders are one of those Chapters with which – barring the most obvious characteristics – I'm pretty unfamiliar, and so it's proving a nice fresh area for me to explore. Being non-Codex, I think there's (fittingly) a few rich veins of lore to be mined and brought out through this project. I've looked over the (very useful) Salamanders Resources sticky thread, but I'd very much appreciate any notes or insights you can offer about this particular time period.

 

+++

 

The general lore on the Salamanders during BfA2 is relatively scanty:

 

A very old artwork (and apologies for its small size!), showing an unusually pale-skinned Salamander. Because of its age, 'big things' like this can be glossed over, and aren't of particular interest to me, but the details – like the heraldry and specific markings – are. I'd appreciate it if you can offer any insights, thoughts or speculation on what any of these markings mean.

 

Quote

Second War for Armageddon (941-961.M41) - During the Second War for Armageddon, the Salamanders fought with distinction, led by their Chapter Master Tu'Shan, whose tenure as Chapter Master had only begun 3 Terran years before the start of the conflict. Among other feats of their service on the Hive World of Armageddon, a company of the Salamanders managed to defend the bridge over the River Stygies from a thousand-strong Ork Speed Freeks force, and prevented the Orks from destroying a water purification plant, thus saving Hive Tempestora from a slow death by dehydration. [...] The Salamanders have been involved in many magnificent Imperial conquests and victories, but in recent times even these great achievements have been eclipsed by their stalwart record during the Second War for Armageddon. While the Blood Angels set about destroying the massive Ork horde, and the Ultramarines bent their strength to the defence of the surviving hive cities, the Salamanders took upon themselves the essential but neglected task of protecting the supply convoys, fighting rearguard actions against the Orks' advances and escorting refugee columns. So unstinting were they in these arduous but unsung duties that the Salamanders were to earn the gratitude and respect of thousands of Imperial Guardsmen and civilians. [...] At the end of the campaign, Commander Dante of the Blood Angels praised Tu'Shan in front of all the assembled Imperial forces -- a supreme gesture, for the Salamanders hold no honour in greater esteem than the respect of one's brothers-in-arms.

 

There are some nice juicy bits and bobs here, and in the years since this was written, we've had more info on what the Salamanders were doing on either side. For example:

 

• Three years prior, Tu'Shan became Chapter Master. Do we know who was Chapter Master previously? What position did Tu'Shan occupy before ascending to becoming the Chapter Master? Captain of the First?
• The Badab War was in recent memory (roughly thirty years earlier) – I'd like to have some veterans of that conflict, or battle markings. We're told only the Second Company was involved in the Badab War, so if I want to do this, am I stuck with using Second Company markings, or can you think of a compelling reason that a Salamander might transfer Company, or fight in mixed companies? Is this is a big no-no for the Salamanders' peculiar organisation?
• The bulk of the Sixth Company, and Vulkan He'Stan, are not available for Armageddon, as (barring wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey warp stuff) they're fighting in the Tochran Crusade. Besides these, is there any reason any other part of the Chapter would not be present?
• Can you speculate on who would be left to defend Nocturne and Prometheus if the majority of the Chapter is deployed? 

 

Thanks in advance, and please do feel free to be discursive, or throw in ideas, concepts, markings or questions of your own relating to the period. The more ideas, the better! :)

Edited May 15, 2023 by apologist
Change to project log; addition of opener.

[Lysimachus]

Love that art, it was the cover of one of the earlier WDs I bought, gives me nostalgic feels!

 

The colour scheme looks a lot more reminiscent of the Salamanders as per the old Space Marine Painting Guide (that came in the Space Marine Paint Set) so that might be worth a look through?

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure(ish) that the Sallies CM is the Captain of the 1st Co. (the Firedrakes)?

 

I'm also fairly sure that the various Companies are fairly autonomous (maybe even all Battle Co.s, though I might have that wrong?) but they can get promoted to the 1st Co.

Serving in the Badab War might well be something that might have got a Brother promoted from 2nd to 1st? So depends if you're planning on including any veteran units in your force?

 

I'm not sure about other Companies deployments, but presumably the Chapter's city-states on Nocturne could be defended by Chapter Serfs if necessary?

Edited May 9, 2023 by Lysimachus

[apologist]

That's brill, thank you! The Apothecary scheme in particular is awesome.

 

On 5/9/2023 at 9:41 PM, Lysimachus said:

Serving in the Badab War might well be something that might have got a Brother promoted from 2nd to 1st? So depends if you're planning on including any veteran units in your force?

 

Oh, absolutely – a squad of the new Terminators (from Leviathan) is high up on my list, and that old painting guide image gives me a good idea for the assault cannon... But that leads me to a question about the veterans in general. What marks our the First Company (the Firedrakes) from their rank-and-file brethren? Most of the art I've seen shows quite a variety of armour schemes. but I'm never quite sure which bits are personal honorifics, and which are Chapter markings.

 

 

This image, I think, shows a Salamander from the Badab War. The bronze/gold helm is very cool – but is a personal honorific? Marking him out as a specialist, veteran, or officer of some sort? Are the black leg, or bronze wrist armour explained anywhere? If you were to analyse the image above, what can you tell me about the marine? Is he of a particular company or squad?

 

I imagine most of this is simply 'it looks cool', but it'd be great to discuss. Having previously worked on the very formal Ultramarines and Iron Warriors, and the more elaborate Blood Angels, I'm looking forward to having a bit more freedom to personalise. Part of me is leaning towards having quite a varied look to lean into the idea that each Salamander makes and maintains his own armour. I'm picturing the lower ranks being slightly more uniform, but the more experienced members having quite an elaborate heraldry. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

 

+++

[Gamiel]

 

1 hour ago, apologist said:

What marks our the First Company (the Firedrakes) from their rank-and-file brethren?

Their left pauldron show a white "salamander" head on black, according to 8th edition Codex Space Marines.

 

And according to First Founding do their officers and veterans tend to favour a scaled pauldron (I think they mean the right one) "bereft of designations but denoting their reverence for the drakes of the deep earth".

[apologist]

While casting about for more info, I suddenly remembered that the Salamanders had a more recent starring role on the cover of a game, and that was Epic: Armageddon:

 

While (literally) overshadowed by the Warlord Titan, I do really like the proportions and details of this handful of foreground Salamanders, and think I'll have a go at recreating them. From the looks of their shoulder pads, these are either 1st or Second Company Salamanders – though I suspect that's down to it being the default studio scheme more than anything else.

 

Does the banner look familiar to anyone? Again, I imagine it's been whipped up by the artist more to evoke the Chapter than anything specific, but perhaps one of our more experience brethren can identify it as a particular company or something?

 

+++

Also of interest here is the skintone – I've always enjoyed squaring the circle of retcons in 40k (after all, everything you have been told is a lie), and want to have the freedom to tackle every sort of skintone and type in this force. On that basis, I think I'm going to use the glowing eyes and charcoal skin as a mark of veterancy. There's an interesting quote on the 40k wiki, and given its provenance, I wonder if anyone can shed any light on a source for this?

 

These venerable warriors are almost a breed apart from their fellow Salamanders; the transition they have made to the vaunted ranks of the 1st Company has changed them in myriad ways as they have fully embraced the full evolution of their genetic encoding.

 

If this is legit, it seems a great way to explain veterans exclusively having the distinctive eyes and skin.

 

 

[Gamiel]

I have the old Codex Armageddon, could scan the page showing the exemplary Salamanders figures.

 

In White Dwarf 475 they talk about the Salamanders fors that's part of the Nachmund fighting and that they paint their helmet black after finding what was left of the civilians after driving off a Death Guard (I think it was them) force. Whatever it was, it was horrible enough for them to not speak about it to others. 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Gamiel

[apologist]

20 minutes ago, Gamiel said:

I have the old Codex Armageddon, could scan the page showing the exemplary Salamanders figures.

That'd be brill, ta!

[Smoke Frog]

I found a bigger size version of the battle for armageddon picture on board game geek (link).

 

Each of the helmeted marines seem to have a yellow triangle wreathed in red flames on their right shoulderpads, plus what looks like a gold name-plate that ends with pointy trefoils, much more gothic-looking than I have come to associate with the Salamanders.

 

The blonde dude has the most interesting armorial scheme. I never noticed on this picture that the salamander on his left shoulder is a full-bodied salamander-lizard crawling through a blazing inferno, guess I never looked at the image up close. And his right shoulder is completely different, looks like something out of a medieval heraldry example book. First impression also reminds me of the state flag of Maryland. Plus he has a red roman numeral "1" on his left arm too? And the earring of course, can't forget that. 

[Lysimachus]

On 5/12/2023 at 1:11 PM, apologist said:

Does the banner look familiar to anyone? Again, I imagine it's been whipped up by the artist more to evoke the Chapter than anything specific, but perhaps one of our more experience brethren can identify it as a particular company or something?

 

Regarding banners: the very, very old fluff (either their IA, or maybe even as far back as a page from the previously mentioned Painting Guide?) said that Sallies have better than average infra-red vision*, and so their banners all look very similar to the naked eye and details are added in such a way that only the Chapter brethren can see them.

 

*referenced more recently in one of the HH novels featuring the Shattered Legions, can't remember which...

[apologist]

On 5/12/2023 at 4:49 PM, Smoke Frog said:

Each of the helmeted marines seem to have a yellow triangle wreathed in red flames on their right shoulderpads, plus what looks like a gold name-plate that ends with pointy trefoils, much more gothic-looking than I have come to associate with the Salamanders.

 

The blonde dude has the most interesting armorial scheme. I never noticed on this picture that the salamander on his left shoulder is a full-bodied salamander-lizard crawling through a blazing inferno, guess I never looked at the image up close. And his right shoulder is completely different, looks like something out of a medieval heraldry example book. First impression also reminds me of the state flag of Maryland. Plus he has a red roman numeral "1" on his left arm too? And the earring of course, can't forget that. 

 

That's brilliant, thanks @Smoke Frog. Your point, 'guess I never looked at the image up-close', is exactly why I keep coming back to 40k art even years later for inspiration. Likewise I don't think I'd really thought much about this artwork until – what, twenty years later? – I decided to paint some Salamanders. So rewarding to use as inspiration. 

 

On 5/14/2023 at 12:42 PM, Lysimachus said:

Regarding banners: the very, very old fluff (either their IA, or maybe even as far back as a page from the previously mentioned Painting Guide?) said that Sallies have better than average infra-red vision*, and so their banners all look very similar to the naked eye and details are added in such a way that only the Chapter brethren can see them.

 

Yes, I think that's in the painting guide noted; thank! Speaking of the guide, here's another period piece:

 

 

Fun little bit of nostalgia; and interesting to see the explanation for the Chapter's unusual apothecary scheme.

 

+++

 

Okay, so I think I have enough material to get started, so I hope you'll join me as I start another project and convert this into a project log.

 

Into the fires of battle!

Edited May 15, 2023 by apologist

[apologist]

I've started my test scheme on a model I've converted; who was in turn a bit of an iterative development of my old 'truescale' technique. Nothing hugely different in the process beyond using Heavy Intercessor/Gravis armour legs as the basis, rather than Terminator legs.

 

The process gives the resulting marine a slightly taller, more solid-based feel than (for example) my Primaris-based Blood Angels, but the two should stand side-by-side without looking too out of place.

 

Above is the work-in-progress test piece. He's clad in the remnants of in a suitably patchwork Heresy suit. While the bulk is production Mark V, there's a Mark II power plant, Mark III vambrace (perhaps some honorific or personalised bit) and a left arm that's more modern – perhaps Mark VII.

 

+ Painting the green + 

 

1.  The green starts as a flat coat of Warpstone Glow – I need to apply around three coats to get coverage over the patchy undercoat. 
2. This was then washed with Thraka Green.
3. Once dry, this was re-layered in areas of highlight with Warpstone Glow. The paint doesn't have great coverage, but that actually serves to make a smoother blend.
4. Highlights were then blended in on areas near the light source using an even mix of Warpstone Glow and Moot Green.
5. Once dry, a wash of Drakenhof Nightshade was applied all over. This blue wash serves to mute the yellow tinge of the Moot Green a bit, and help blend things in.
6. Once dry, sharper highlights were applied with a ~1:3 Warpstone Glow and Moot Green mix, and followed up with smaller point highlights of the same mix with a little white added.

+ Painting the grey +

This isn't yet finished, but since it was very simple, I thought I'd record the first stages here. It's simply Army Painter Dark Stone for the soft joints, shoulder pads and details, washed over with Nuln Oil.

 

 

The holster and pouches were a later addition – he looked a little wasp-waisted – which is why they've just got a Halfords grey undercoat.

 

+++

What next?

The heraldry and finishing will take quite a bit of research (and creativity!), I think, but I'm looking forward to populating those big flat plates with various markings. If you've got a favourite Company that you'd like to see me tackle, or have a lore snippet that you think might be fun to see included or nodded to, please do let me know.

 

In closing, I'll just note that I'm rather pleased with the eye lenses. This is something I toyed with on the lights on a recent Catachan vehicle, which I painted to look like glass – that is, with greys. I thought this might suit the Salamanders and help give a 'calm and collected' look to the marines, while also not fighting too much with any bright orange and yellow markings.

 

I've still not quite decided how I'm going to tackle the 'glowing red eyes' thing, and thought it'd be a fun little detail to have that glow emerging from otherwise clear lenses; perhaps as a bright ember in the very centre. I'll play around a bit more to see how that works; but I reserve the right to switch if it looks a bit duff!

 

Love to hear your thoughts.
 

[BadgersinHills]

Stunning mini. I've been looking forward to seeing this mini painted since you shared it :))

[apologist]

Ta very much! Just need to polish him off now. I’ve just finished adding some basing texture, which’ll need to dry. Perhaps tomorrow?

[Brother Tyler]

According to Codex Supplement: Salamanders, the Salamanders Chapter force that participated in defending Armageddon from Ghazghkull's first invasion consisted of "elements of the Salamanders' 1st, 2nd and 5th Companies."

 

According to the Forge World Badab War campaign books... …a force was hastily assembled under the Captain of the then under-strength 2nd Company, Pellas Mir’san… The bulk of the force was made up of the Salamanders 2nd Company… This was further augmented by reserve elements of the Nocturne garrison, as well as several veteran training instructors along with a core of Firedrakes thirty-strong… The force was further strengthened by a Hextad of Ancients; six venerable dreadnoughts of the Chapter…”

 

So while the 2nd Company is the most represented, it would be appropriate to see Firedrakes of the 1st Company that may have originated in other companies as well as members of the 5th Company in your force.

 

As far as skin color goes, the Epic Armageddon rulebook was published during the 3rd edition of the Warhammer 40,000 game. The Index Astartes article and Codex: Armageddon didn't have the skin coloration limitation that was later retconned into the Chapter, as you can see from the scan below (from Codex: Armageddon).

 

 

Personally, if I were going to use something other than the coal black skin and red eyes for any of my Salamanders models, I would just do it without trying to provide some rationale. At best, I would just say that I'm going by the 3rd edition lore and artwork which allows for different skin tones. A logical follow-on to that statement, however, would be a query about whether or not to use the company markings that were known at that time or to use the more modern markings (i.e., post-retcon). The Badab War books from Forge World appeared later, providing a middle ground of retconned (and fantastic) art.

 

Going with veterans (Firedrakes) having the coal black skin and glowing red eyes while other members of the Chapter might not sounds like an interesting plan.

 

 

Or you could use the older (i.e., Rogue Trader era) stuff, or use that as inspiration for your own unique take on the Chapter.

 

The battle-brother shown in your previous post (with all of the servitude studs) is (was) Veteran Brother Kai of Sternguard Squad Kadmaeus. He was a "Martyr of the Chapter" during the events of the Red Hour. All of the other members of the squad are also shown with the yellow helmets, and two of the other members also had the black left kneepad (though Kai is the only one whose upper boot is also black). Based on the Forge World Badab War books, I interpret the yellow helmets as being the marks of veterans (similar to the white helmets used for that purpose in other Chapters), though this doesn't appear to be universal within the Chapter as Veteran Terminator Brother Sa'kan has a green helmet. It's important to note, however, that the Badab War books did a great job of showing how all Chapters allow for a great deal of personalization in armour. Members of the same squad might have squad badges and/or numbers in entirely different places (or not at all) and each Space Marine bears personalized designs.

[apologist]

Ah, brilliant – thanks @Brother Tyler. That's a wealth of info, and gives me another great leg-up on the research.

 

+ Army Planning +

Musing on the composition of the army, I thought I'd start gathering some ideas and turning them over. The Salamanders 'thing' (or strategic disposition, if you prefer) during the Second Armageddon War was protecting supply lines and patrolling the ash waste desert:

 

While the Ultramarines defended the beleaguered hive cities of Armageddon and the Blood Angels assaulted the Orks head-on, the Salamanders lent their strength to the protection of Imperial supply convoys and refugee columns, ensuring the safety of the civilians caught up in the war. This was a task often neglected by the other Imperial forces fighting on Armageddon. The actions of the Salamanders in defending the Imperial citizens of the beleaguered world from the massive Greenskin onslaught has often been held up as a shining example of the role of the Adeptus Astartes in the protection of the Imperium.

 

...which could be used as the theme for the force. One of the great pleasures of 40k is that the 'canon info' is very much secondary to what looks cool and what I want to build. Having said that, some of the pleasure of doing a lore-themed army is trying to 'stay within the lines'. At root, I find having some restrictions helps to funnel my creativity; whether that's leaning into the tropes; playing against type (I do rather fancy some Salamanders bikes); or really trying to nail that pseudo-historical accuracy.

 

+++

 

+ Who's Who in the Second War for Armageddon? +

 

Warning – nerdery ahead!

 

A Salamanders Captain – likely of the 2nd , but possibly the 1st (maybe even a young Tu'Shan?) – leads his forces against the orks on Armageddon.

 

...And talking of pseudo-historical accuracy, let's unpick the info.

 

What have we got to choose from? Well, it's an army that's considerably beyond my scope for this project (perhaps one for a future Epic project..?), as I reckon there are between 250 and 450 Salamanders involved on Armageddon at various points.

 

As per Brother Tyler's notes above, we've definitely got the 1st, 2nd and 5th Companies to pick from, and I've also turned up a reference to Sergeant V'Reth of the Sixth Company in ADB's Helsreach. 

• While the Salamanders don't operate in a fully Codex manner, I think it'd be fairly safe to say that the 2nd Company probably represents the core of the army, with the 1st, 5th and possibly 6th there in support. So, ~120 Marines from the 2nd Company.
• As Tu'Shan is present, there's probably quite a substantial amount of the 1st, too – half, if not more of them. That leaves more than enough to support the Tochran Crusade (see below), whatever the other Battle Company is up to (perhaps garrison duties) or generally breaking heads on Space Hulks.
• As to the 5th, they're a Reserve Company – frequently, though not always, divided to support the Battle Companies. Therefore we've got anywhere between a single squad and all a hundred and twenty of them. Given the presence of the Chapter Master and the nature of the 2nd War, I'm going to err on the side of the majority of them are committed.
• The 6th Company are fighting in the Tochran Crusade in 943.M41 (i.e. during the height of the war on Armageddon), and are very badly mauled, losing forty Battle Brothers – a third of their strength. 
  • We can thus also likely discount He'Stan (who's chopping up Necrons) making an appearance – though it's not beyond the realm of possibility, I do like to focus on lesser-known characters where possible.
  • Perhaps, in the aftermath, the survivors are sent to Armageddon for relatively light duties while they recuperate/bed in the ascended Scouts – although it's a hell of a warp jump from Solemnace (near the Eastern Fringes) to Armageddon, on the galactic North of Segmentum Solar.
  • Another possibility is that a portion of the 6th went in support of another Battle Company (say the 3rd or 4th) to the Tochran Crusade, while another portion went with Tu'shan.
• The presence of the 6th, even in part, also opens up the potential for others to be there. There's nothing explicitly saying that members of other Battle Companies weren't there, and it seems unlikely there aren't going to be any Scouts. But that's very vague. How can we tie it into the existing narrative and get something convincing and compelling?
  • I'd suggest that the bulk of the 3rd and 6th, including their officer Corps, are going to have been involved in Solemnace, and have suffered nasty casualties. That'll have depleted the Scouts, and thinned out the Reserve Companies still further as they replenish the 3rd.
  • We also know that the 2nd were involved in Badab some thirty years prior. I think that's probably enough time to get things largely back up to speed, so by the time of the 2nd War for Armageddon, the 2nd Company will be made up of Badab War Veterans along with replacement members from various Reserve Companies.
  • As a result of this, the 5th Reserve Company is going to be relatively inexperienced* – made up of Marine ascended from the Scout Company within the past couple of years, and even their more experienced members with fewer than thirty years experience.

(*This being relative for a Space Marine!)

 

+++

 

 

Phew! Okay, so small seeds and all that. I'm going to kick off with a Combat Squad from 2nd Company. These will be led by Layman Hal'sar – formerly a Vanguard Veteran, freshly transferred to the 2nd Company in the wake of the Badab War to fill in a vacant command position.

 

 

 

Other potential Dramatis Personae

• Captain Pellas Mir'san of the 2nd Company, Winter Blade, Defender of Nocturne – Noted swordsman; might be fun to base him on the 3rd edition Captain with power sword, who appeared in Codex: Armageddon. Noted as old.
• Captain N'Kelm of the 2nd Company – An alternative to the FW and GW studio option, N'Kelm is from Nick Kyme's Salamanders books; he replaced Mir'San in one Codex, but Mir'san later reappeared. I toyed with having him as a Lieutenant, but unfortunately there's a third (deceased) Captain of the 2nd Company mentioned as his predecessor. I think I'll probably square this circle by picturing N'Kelm as being Mir'san's predecessor, and the events of the Salamanders book preceding Badab and Armageddon; an approach which keeps things as internally consistent as possible.
• Captain Mulcebar of the 5th Company –
• Master Apothecary Harath Shen, Defender of the Final Vault– 

Pyre of Glory – Battlebarge

 

+++

[apologist]

+ Building the squad +

Quick build of a second marine, using bits I had lying around – but I wasn't sure the heavy bolter was quite right, so that's been taken off and will likely be swapped for something else.

 

 

The arms and torso are made using the same process I used for my Iron Warriors of Officio Monstrosa. The step-by-step tutorial, if you want to have go yourself, is on my off-site blog, Death of a Rubricist, here..

 

 

The legs, as noted above, are an iterative development of my old approach for converting 'truescale' marines. Rather than being based on Terminators, the legs use a Heavy Intercessor/Gravis base with greenstuff work (above). I haven't worked up a tutorial for that yet, but if there's interest I'll aim to do one for the next one I make. 

 

+++

 

Here's a quick comparison of how my older process – the Ultramarine Ancient on the right – compares with the new. This isn't a deliberate decision to simply enlarge models for the sake of size, but rather new materials and my own development allowing me to better capture the image I have in my mind of Salamanders in particular. 

 

 

That mental image has the Salamanders being notably, but not excessively, larger than most other marines, and generally having a bit more variance in their ranks. This chap is probably as big as they'll get; as I want to be able to mix and match these marines with those based on Primaris etc.. My aim it to give a more custom, artificer-made and personal feel than the very uniform, structured and formal look I wanted for my Ultramarines.

 

I like the dichotomy between the slightly more humane attitude of the Salamanders and their monstrous appearance, and this seems a nice way to nod to that – as well as allowing me to be a lot more free with my modelling, and enjoy the creativity. 

 

+++

I also started laying down the colours – and as noed, I'm finding Warpstone Glow does not have great coverage. This is after two thinned layers and a wash of Thraka Green:

 

 

 

It's a good example of why doing test miniatures is important – if I'd got ten models up to this stage, I'd probably be feeling disheartened. Knowing that pushing through will give the result I want helps with motivation.

 

[SvenIronhand]

Looking great, apologist.

[Gamiel]

From Codex Armageddon - lets see if this works, this is the first time I'm trying this:

 

[apologist]

Ah, that’s awesome! Haven’t read this stuff for years! I never actually owned Codex: Armageddon, but the lore I read has lived rent free for years. Nice to have it nailed down here! 

[apologist]

 

 

A fun little shot of representatives of the three Chapters involved in the (Second) Battle for Armageddon. 
 

…and more directly relevant to this blog, I’ve got the first marine to a finished state. This is the first time I’ve used Microsol and Microset to apply transfers, and I’m please with they came out.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by apologist

[apologist]

Minor progress this week; mainly receiving bits and bobs in the post. I've primed some bare heads (from the lovely new Forgeworld character packs) and pauldrons (from Master-Crafted Miniatures), and depending on whether I'm in the mood for painting or converting, will either paint these bits in isolation or work on another set of legs and torsos.

 

One thing I am wondering, however, is if the Salamanders scheme I've used is a little dark. I think it looks okay in isolation, but next to the Blood Angel and Ultramarine above, I wonder if it looks a bit Dark Angel-y?

 

Perhaps it's simply the lack of orange, but do you think some brighter highlights would look better for future models?

[Gamiel]

29 minutes ago, apologist said:

Perhaps it's simply the lack of orange, but do you think some brighter highlights would look better for future models?

My first thouhgt is yes, but I think it's best to try with one first to see how it looks before finally deciding. 

[apologist]

Good call – I’m also wondering if a yellow glaze to warm the green would go some way to differentiating it from Dark Angels green.

 

Also, a minor update – some pauldrons arrived from Master-Crafted Miniatures and I also got some Forge World heads from the new character packs (via Egghead Miniatures).

 

 

Some really characterful heads in these packs, and it’s great to see some different facial structures becoming more available. These have been primed with GW’s Wraithbone spray, and I’ll be getting stuck into these soon.

[apologist]

The new system of making an army is now clear and the Index has been released. I think the inherent flexibility of the army-building process has opened up lots of possibilities, and wanted to scribble down some loose ideas I'm working up – I'd love to hear your thoughts on which sounds most fun.

 

The Space Marine Index is a giant pile of options . As with the previous edition of the game, I think a lot of these could be consolidated, but that's another discussion.

 

At this point I have quite a few Space Marine armies, and want to try something a bit different to my usual 'Thirty Tactical Marines and then start thinking' approach. As it is, I started going through and working out a vague army list based on models I had planned, and with an emphasis on using 'normal' Space Marine rules (i.e. not Primaris; I'll refer to the old marines as 'Astartes' from here). That looked like this:

 

+ Adeptus Astartes-themed list +

• Captain with Artificer Armour – 80 + 10pts
• Lieutenant – 80pts
• Librarian – 85pts
• Tactical Squad (10) – 175pts
• Infernus Squad (5) – 90pts
• Rhino – 85pts
• Terminator Squad (10) – 400pts

A neat 1000pts – and as an aside, I rather like the simple points system. Makes for quick, easy army lists.

 

That list is simple and straightforward, and since Primaris and Astartes are now identical in terms of stats, there are fewer weird mental gymnastics to explain why these Space Marines are twice as resilient as these Space Marines – something which always niggled at me since the introduction of the Primaris idea.

 

Sadly, there are still a few odd bits. The Rhino can't carry the Infernus squad, because they have the 'Tacticus' keyword – presumably the 41st Millennium version of wearing trainers to a nightclub. Secondly, Tactical Marines (for some reason) can no longer split into 5-man combat squads, either – a shame, because at this points level, I want as many squads as possible, rather than fewer, bigger squads.

 

I don't want to lose the Infernus marines primarily because I have a squad winging their way to me. They could join the Gatebreakers, but the idea of flamer-wielding Salamanders appeals too much!

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Primaris-themed list
As an alternative idea, I wondered what it would look like if I took the opposite approach, and used exclusively Primaris rules with the same models:

• Primaris Captain with Artificer Armour – 80 + 10pts
• Primaris Lieutenant – 75pts
• Librarian – 70pts
• Intercessor Squad (5) – 95pts
• Intercessor Squad (5) – 95pts
• Infernus Squad (5) – 90pts
• Rhino – 85pts
• Terminator Squad (10) – 400pts

First observation: the Primaris officers are generally cheaper than their Astartes equivalents – weird. Perhaps due to fewer options? Secondly, the Rhino is completely useless here. It could, at a push, count as an Impulsor (95pts, with the extra 10 coming from losing the Captain's Artificer Armour), as the weird Space Marine grav-tanks can't fly or anything like that. Doesn't strike me as ideal, though.

 

I could, of course, drop the Rhino and sub it in for something else, but I rather like the classic Space Marine tanks. Frustratingly, the Drop Pod and Land Raider, for some peculiar reason, don't have the restriction on who can get in them. Perhaps at higher points levels, I could swap out the Rhino for a Land Raider.

 

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Option 3: And now for something completely different
Okay, so both of those options have something weird going on. Rather than try to twist the list into being something GW clearly want to make awkward (a mix of Primaris and Astartes in the same army), I thought I'd try to make a virtue of the GIANT PILE OF OPTIONS and make something completely different.

 

Once I'd decided to try this, it suddenly opened up the option of having a Space Marine army that plays completely differently to any other I have, which has obvious appeal. I plumped for an all-Gravis-armoured list, on the basis that the models are big and bulky enough to be clearly something different, and slow and tough fit the Salamanders' theme well. Apart from anything else, my conversions are based on Gravis armour anyway, so it seemed fitting  to go for that as a theme:

• Captain with Gravis Armour and Artificer Armour – 95 + 10pts
• Apothecary Biologis and Bolter Discipline – 55 + 25pts
• Heavy Intercessor Squad (5) – 110pts
• Heavy Intercessor Squad (5) – 110pts
• Heavy Intercessor Squad (5) – 110pts
• Eradicator Squad (6) – 190pts
• Aggressor Squad (6) – 220pts
• Scout Squad – 70pts

Again, that tots up to 1,000pts on the dot. Completely different to the other forces, but looks like it'd be very different to play, too. I rather like the idea of army-wide Toughness 6(!), and the idea of hosing down hordes of the enemy with a few heroes.

 

The list is necessarily very limited, as there are only five Datasheets with the Gravis keyword. There are a couple of Chapter-specific characters, and if this proves fun, perhaps I'll try a counts-as character using Iron-Father Feirros' rules as some point.

 

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In all honesty, I don't think any of these will end up as the absolute final list – planning is all very well, but I just get dragged about by enthusiasms and ideas while building to promise anything. Theoretical list-building like the above is fun, but I use it mostly to help guide my thoughts and discover what I'm actually enthused about. Almost like consulting the Emperor's Tarot!
 

[apologist]

In any case, there's no army without soldiers, so building is continuing.
 

Above are three sets of legs from the Heavy Intercessor kit, which I'll be working these up into Mark VII armour. At this stage, I'm most interested in cleanly cutting away the excess detail, so there's a clear surface on which to sculpt. I've taken away the crenellated toecaps, reshaped the ankles, trimmed off the cables at the back and left off the hip thingies. Perhaps most obviously, I've also removed everything above the belt, as this will be replaced with a Terminator waist gimbal.

 

 

The overall silhouette is still thick-set, but now free of the heavy reinforcing that's so different from Mark VII. The detail that remains in place is largely greebling. The legs are now ready for greenstuff work to get them looking like this: 

 

 

The work on the front is essentially blending in the additional plating on the thighs to make them a single integrated piece of armour. You could instead file off the raised plates, but I prefer to add bulk to the upper legs. It creates a great sense of power and stability.

 

 

The back likewise requires surprisingly little greenstuff work; and that mainly confined to extending the calf armour down slightly. You'll note that the additional greenstuff on the thighs is mostly on the front – that's to stop the legs simply looking podgy.

 

It's at the sides that the majority of the work is done, and event that is largely filling in the gaps at the hips and reinstating the corner of the ankle. As you can see, my work isn't the cleanest – something which I'd like to improve – but I think it'll suffice for this project.

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