++ To Reign in Hell - The Siege of Brigannion Four ++ Interlude: Mud, Blood and Death

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nice work - they're imaginative and unique kit-bashes.  

 

I like the daemon-hound

[Pearson73]

Really excellent builds, the marines capture the classic art and older codex style very well, particularly the Fallen. 

 

The cultists and hounds are inspired. Great job!

[Brother Ezra]

VI - The Scions of the Plague God

 

 

 

 

++ In the name of the Death Lord ++

 

Brigannion Four’s tumultuous re-entry into the material realm sent ripples of aetheric energy through the Warp, driving Astropaths and psykers in the local region of space to madness and insanity. As reports of the planet’s sudden reappearance moved up the Imperial hierarchy, orders were issued to place a cordon around the Brigannion system with all due haste. Fleets were redirected and manpower was mustered in the local volume, as Imperial commanders sought to contain this threat to the sanctity of Segmentum Obscurus.

 

But the Imperium were not the only ones to take notice of Brigannion Four’s reappearance. In the depths of the Eye of Terror, the ripples of power emanating from the world attracted the attention of mortals and daemons alike. Hungering eyes and slavering maws turned towards this bright speck of possibility, and like moths to a flame, began to move upon it.

 

First amongst those who sought to lay claim to the world was the dreaded Daemon Primarch Mortarion, the Death Lord. His interest in the planet was twofold. By taking it from the Night Lords, he would assert his patron’s dominance in the Great Game between the gods, and especially over its rival power, Tzeentch. Secondly, its conquest would grant his Legion a bulwark in the material realm from which to strike at the hated Imperium.

 

From his throne upon the Plague Planet, he thus declared that Brigannion Four would be conquered in the name of the Death Guard and the Plaguefather. Three warbands from his Legion were chosen to accomplish this sacred task, and were henceforth known as the Triumvirate of Pestilence – the Blind Prophets, the Corpse Brethren and the Ruinbringers.

 

Led by their commanders, Sorcerer-Lord Kurnapulax, Apostle Eretrax and Lord Urgulax, the Triumvirate first acquired a means to breach the confines of the Eye of Terror: the Space Hulk known as the Cathedra Infernis. After tracking the hulk through the Empyrean for several weeks, the Triumvirate’s forces finally boarded the colossal vessel only to find it infested by hordes of Genestealers. A horrific battle unfolded, as corrupted flesh met alien physiology in the dark corners of the Space Hulk. With great effort were the Genestealers expelled from the halls of the Cathedra Infernis, the last of their kind dying in agony as whole sections of the hulk were bathed in noxious gas.

 

With their transport secure, the Triumvirate then set its sights upon Brigannion Four. The sorcerers of the Blind Prophets guided them through the Warp in lieu of a true Navigator, the power rippling from the world a beacon in the roiling madness of the Immaterium. As they travelled, the hulk began to change, the malign influence of Nurgle steadily settling into the vessel like a canker. Hellish forges, fleshpits and shrines to the Plaguefather were erected in its bowels, even as corrosion and rot began to spread in its innards. Slowly but certainly, the conglomeration of ships that had been known as the Cathedra Infernis was transformed into a diseased, monstruous fortress – from then on to be known as the Plaguemaw.

 

After several months of Warp-travel, the Plaguemaw ripped the veil around Brigannion Four, and descended upon the Night Lords with ravenous hunger…

 

++  ++

 

Additional inloads: 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

++ A Plague Marine from the Corpse Brethren ++

 

The Corpse Brethren formed the strong core of the Triumvirate, its ranks of Plague Marines the anvil upon which the Triumvirate's enemies broke themselves. It is said that once battle was concluded, the warriors of the warband would turn their attentions on the remains of the slain, to sate their unholy hungers upon ruined flesh and broken bones.

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

++ One of the Blind Prophets' many Sorcerers ++

 

Hated and distrusted for their reliance on sorcerous means, the Blind Prophets were nonetheless a vital part of the Triumvirate's forces, primarily acting as a countermeasure against the Night Lords' own Sorcerers. Later, they would prove invaluable in shoring up the manpower of the Triumvirate by the mass summoning of daemons.

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

++ A warrior of the Ruinbringers ++

 

Masters of artillery and chemical warfare, the Ruinbringers were the Triumvirate's sledgehammer. Under their careful ministration, vast swathes of the world were rendered uninhabitable wastelands, and many a fortress was reduced to an irradiated crater.

 

 

 

More to come soon!

 

 

 

[Brother Ezra]

Interlude - Tactical Objectives

 

 

++ What does one fight for, when one lives in Hell? ++

 

Across the ravaged surface of Brigannion Four, resources are few and far between. Those fighting on the world struggle as much with hunger, thirst, and the slow decay of their weapons and equipment as they do with their rivals - in some cases, even more so. What few reliable sources of food, potable water and prometheum that remain on the world are either jealously guarded by the Iron Warriors, or bitterly fought over by the warring factions. Raids on supply columns and outposts are commonplace, as are excursions into the murky underworld of Brigannion Four, where yet undiscovered stockpiles of weapons and food may occasionally be found. 

 

The depths are also home to relics from bygone eras. Trinkets from Brigannion Four's original garrison, sorcerous scrolls written by Zagon's disciples, the broken-down remains of old invasion forces - all of these and more can be found amidst the detritus. While many of these hold little actual value, some of these objects have, through the weight of history and bloodshed, gained otherworldly powers. It is therefore not uncommon to find forces squabbling over seemingly mundane items, or bartering oddities for other uncommon goods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

++ ++

 

Some objective markers - had a lot of fun with these! 

[Terminatorinhell]

Lots of cool grimy conversions here. It's got this sort of old school look to them that I really like.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Really cool objective markers

[Brother Ezra]

Interlude - Visions of a Legion in Black

 

 

 

Pict-captures of various warriors in service of the Black Legion - taken during the fighting on Brigannion Four.

 

Hi there! It's been a hot minute. As you can see, I've not been entirely idle when it comes to this project - a couple more models received the gift of colour, including one I'd been putting off a long time. I still have a lot of things in the works: two Night Lords in the painting queue, a bunch of Black Legionnaires awaiting their coat of primer, a Defiler (that I've also been putting off quite a while now), a Biker conversion, ... Lots more I could (and should) post about! I can't commit to blogging very frequently just yet, but I'll certainly try to pop in here a couple more times to show you the progress I'm making.

 

Until next time!

[Firedrake Cordova]

I really like the berserker

[Brother Ezra]

Interlude - Mud, Blood, and Death

 

 

++ What lives, where all else has died? ++

 

As mentioned in a previous post, the sons of Mortarion, the dreaded XIVth, also stalk the ruins of Brigannion Four. I'm still working on the second part of the lore-blurb for them, but long story short, the Death Guard eventually end up stranded in the wastelands between the various fortresses dotting the surface. I imagine this as a quite bleak, oppressive place - a ruined, blasted landscape stretching as far as the eye can see, broken up by the detritus of wars long past and the remains of the slain. In other words, something akin to home for the dour sons of Barbarus.

 

I have a few Death Guard models in my possession: a single squad of Plague Marines, purchased at the advent of 8th edition alongside some of the - then brand new - Primaris Space Marines. I must admit - I personally don't love the Death Guard sculpts. They're a bit too... tentacly for my tastes, and their proportions are all out of whack, even for GW models. Nevertheless, they're fun conversion fodder. I've used bits and pieces of them for Horus Heresy models, Black Legionnaires, ... pretty much everything except for the Death Guard themselves.

 

As I embarked on this project proper, however, I realized that I could slot them into this quite easily. I only had a few actual Plague Marines remaining at this point, however (three, to be exact), so I had to get a bit creative. Rather than making a full squad, I decided to make each of the three models a representative of one of the warbands comprising the Death Guard's forces on Brigannion Four - which eventually led to the creation of the Triumvirate of Pestilence. 

 

 

In between other projects, I got the first of those three models painted up! Meet this lovely chap from the Corpse Brethren, vile carrion-eaters. I imagine these guys as the core of the army - implacable waves of infantry that drown the enemy in disease and filth, and gorge themselves on whatever remains afterwards. Fun guys, really!

 

He's not the most complicated conversion - I just gave him arms from two other Plague Marines, and a plasma pistol from the Berzerkers kit for some extra pizzaz. Basing was likewise quite easy, just a matter of slathering the base in one of AK Interactive's earth textures and adding some choice bits in between. For the colour scheme, I also didn't venture too far outside of my existing skillset - although I am quite proud of the effect on the fleshy bits, which I achieved through glazing. The base was also livened up a bit with some Nurgle's Rot.

 

Around the same time as I was finishing up this chap, a friend of mine bought a 3D printer. Ever-eager to help people test out their expensive equipment, I asked if he'd be willing to print me something... which led to this:

 

 

This was a really fun build. I started with a ruined Rhino STL, to which I added a Predator turret and some other Chaosy bits. I then went a bit nuts adding other bits and pieces across the base!

 

Lore-wise, I was thinking that this could be a tank from an Iron Warriors supply column, caught in an ambush and then left to rot. I haven't painted any Iron Warriors yet (or at least, not in the gritty style of this project), so this was a bit of a test case. The main inspiration for the colour scheme came from the official pictures for the Chaos Predator on GW's site, and most of it was done through an airbrush. Adding the hazard strips and decals was a lot of fun - definitely looking forward to painting more of these guys in the future!

 

 

That's all for now - I'll try to get some more pictures up here soon! I still have a couple of things to show off... 

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

The ruined Predator is a fun scenery piece, and reminds me a bit of the old ruined Rhino you could buy from GW.  

 

I'm wondering if the body of the tank is a little too close to the colour of the ground, or was it intentional to have it blend in with the surroundings?

[Brother Ezra]

6 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

The ruined Predator is a fun scenery piece, and reminds me a bit of the old ruined Rhino you could buy from GW.  

 

I'm wondering if the body of the tank is a little too close to the colour of the ground, or was it intentional to have it blend in with the surroundings?

 

It was intentional, but the effect is magnified a bit in the picture - the colours have gotten a bit washed out! I really wanted to give the impression that this thing's been here a while, killed during some long-forgotten engagement and left to rot ever since. If I ever get around to painting some of the not-quite-dead Iron Warriors, I'll make the colours shine a bit more 

[Firedrake Cordova]

I guess if you wanted to separate it out a bit, "blacklining" with Coelia Greenshade or similar to imply a "moss line" could do it.