Pre-Heresy/Heresy Era Night Lords

[Doghouse]

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s196/Mutt2050/nightlords.jpg

 

 

The crowd cowered together in the courtyard of the great Myotis Palace. It's once majastic pearl white spires stood pitted and scarred, blackened by the swift brutal attack of the Astarte invasion forces.

Nobility and servants alike huddled together. All divides of class, creed or wealth eradicated by the overwhelming aura of impending death that surrrounded them.

Captain Lasiurus Artibeus stood impassive on the second tier of the courtyard looking down over them. The faintly glowing red lenses of his visor giving the skull terror marking on his dark blue plate armour a horrifying life of it's own. For all intent and purposes he and his men ressembled death itself.

"People of Myotis," He bellowed over his helmet's external vox caster "you have been found guilty of violating Imperial law!"

"Murderers!" A woman screamed as she defiantly stood to her feet.

No, Artibeus thought to himself. Not murderers, killers.

Murder was an act of extreme emotion, uncontrolled and indiscriminate. An unfocused and blunt action, fueled by passion and rage, ignorant of the consequences. Killers acted with a cold sense of efficiancy and logic, unquestioning in their purpose.

Artibeus recognised her as the Minister who'd first greeted him apon his arrival to Myotis over two years ago. She had openly welcomed the Astartes of the VIII Legion along with her people and through their conversations he had grown to appreciate her company.

She had brilliantly argued her people's case despite her youthful appearance, which harboured the wisdom of someone many times her age. Her skills had proven a worthy addition to their cause persuading the other nations of Myotis to join without a single drop of blood being spilt.

She had proven to be a visonary among her people, a true master of wordcraft and diplomatic ability that commanded even the respect of a seasoned Astarte like Artibeus.

With the simple gesture of his head to his first sergeant a single bolter round rang out striking the Minster cleanly in the chest. The force of the explosive round lifting her off her feet and carrying her across the courtyard to crash down amongst the serving tables.

"You have been found guilty of consorting with aliens," He continued impassionately as the broken form of an Eldar was flung into the courtyard "and taking up in arms against the Imperium." The shattered remains of General Hrantyu were thrown over the balcony landing before the wailing and screaming crowd below.

Having said all that needed to be said, he simply turned and left.

Around the top of the courtyard Astartes of the Night Lord Legion stepped out from the shadows onto the second tier.

As one they raised their bolters and began firing into the crowd.

 

 

 

 

Foreword

There are a number of eras that can be classed as Pre-Heresy (The Wars of Unification, The Conquest of the Terran System, The Great Crusade) so to clarify what the army is all about as I post pictures I'm adding background material and the occational story to describe the army in greater detail and hopefully give a clearer picture of how I see the original Night Lord Legion before the Heresy.

It's not quite an Index Astartes article, focusing more on the modeling aspect of the hobby, but should hopefully prove an entertaining read as well as giving Frater some ideas for conversions and guidelines on making their own.

The army is set a year before the events of the Heresy. The Great Crusade continues and the Legion is begining to attract unwelcome attention from Terra as reports of the Night Lords brutality reach the heart of the Imperium.

Curse has yet to confide in Rogal Dorn the details of his terrible visions concerning the Emperor's betrayal and no-one is yet to accuse the Primarch outright of their brutal attrocities. But now it seems only a matter of time befoe Curze is made to answer for his brutality.

The Legion has just been issued with the MkIV Maximus Pattern plate armour and is in the process of replacing the older MkIII variants. Due to the rigors of campaign the Legion lacks the resources to fully commit to such an endevour and so older armour patterns and parts are still in use.

 

 

Warhammer 30,000

 

To begin with I'm keeping the army selection to the basic compulsory choices of HQ and two Troops with the addition of a Heavy Support option in the form of a Devastator squad. This is to keep me focused on the project at hand and allow me to concentrate on the rather extensive conversions that I'm undertaking for each Astarte.

The way I see Pre-Heresy Legion Plate Armour (that's Power Armour to us contempory Marine Commanders) is that it has a mass manufactured feel to it. My interpretation is that the modern Marine Power Armour is almost seen as a holy relic in some cases. The suits being composite of parts from any period in the chapter's history, with each part steeped in history and glory and in some cases spoken of as though it has it's own spirit.

To the Pre-Heresy Astarte however it is seen as a more functional piece of equipment. If it stops an enemy bullet it is because of the superior construction and protective capabilities not because the suit's spirit or the Emperor himself intervened.

The Great Crusade is in essence about spreading truth and enlightment, driving away what they see as the ignorance of superstition and faith in ancient myths and Gods.

So for my Astartes I'm going for a mass produced feel to the army. I'm using the Forge World Red Scorpion Veteran MkIV Maximus pattern head and torso, the legs from the WFB Chaos Warriors heavily converted and a mix of Space Marine and Chaos Marine arms, shoulder pads and back packs. I'm also limiting heavy weapons to Devastator Squads and vehicles like Predator or Dreadnought to give the Astartes a very Spartan feel, carrying only what they need to get the job done.

[Daeothar]

Nice idea. :P Setting a period in time for your army to operate in greatly adds to the narrative and feel of the army.

 

I'm basically doing the same thing with my IF, their setting being the defence of the Imperial Palace during the Heresy, making them set a little later than your Night Lords.

 

I'm very curious where you'll take them. I always liked your use of the WHFB Chaos Warrior legs, as I thought they worked well for Dark Angels. I'm not so sure about those legs for the more nimble/mobile/aggressive Night Lords though. Also, the Red Scorpions torsos are a tad smallish, while the CW legs are largish again, so I'm looking forward to see how you'll use them to create the right proportions and convey that Night Lords feel (which is basically the same at that time as they are now I guess, they strike me as one of the Chaos legions that have changed the least over the millennia).

 

So, all in all; cool! :eek Let's seen some stuff quickly now eh? :yuck:

[Doghouse]

Captain Lasiurus Artibeus

 

Originally one of the recruits from Terra, Artibeus rose steadily through the ranks of the Night Lords to eventually be given command of the fifth company.

Although among the Astartes of the other Legions he has earned the reputation of being an abrupt, humourless and emotionless man none can deny his focus and clarity of foresight on the battlefield.

Like the rest of his fellow Terrans he lacks the pale skin pigmintation and black eyes of the rest of the Legion recruited from the Legion homeworld of Nostramo.

 

WIP Captain Artibeus

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s196/Mutt2050/NightLordsCaptainArtibeus.jpg

 

Artibeus has been given the backpack from the new plastic devastators sprue with the large sensor removed.

The idea is that this is an improved comms system that allows him to command his troops with greater efficiency and to make him easier to tell apart from his troops in games. I'm giving him a simple selection of wargear with just an Auspex (Improved Comms Pack), Bolter and Close Combat weapon. The idea is that he doesn't set himself above his men with exotic weaponary, he is armed and fights in the same manner as those he leads in battle.

I've just started to GS the feet and cover up the Red Scorpion detailing and have yet to clean up the moldlines, etc.

[Doghouse]

daeothar: Thanks mate! :rolleyes:

Yeah the FW stuff is generally a little smaller than the regular plastics but I'm willing to overlook that to get the look I want.

I'm yet to try out the paint scheme on these guys (doing a regular plastic marine test model first) but I'm hoping once it's all in place it'll look ok. :unsure:

Your IF idea sounds very cool, being a one time Crimson Fist player the IF Legion are a very appealing Legion to put together. Hope you're going to include Sigismund in your army in defence of Terra. :D

[Kradle]

Ah the glory of the Night Lords.

 

I like the fact that you have a strong setting for your army. I always enjoyed the background people give their armies and since yours is my favourite legion.. Ace!

 

I like the model of your commander although im not a particular fan of the chaos warrior legs. That said you seem to have pulled it off nicely. Im looking forward to seeing him painted!

 

I'll be watching closely!

 

Peace

[Brother Nihm]

I'm sorry but the Chaos Warrior legs doesn't do it for me. The pose is great though. :)

 

And where's the images of death that they adorn their armor with!? :)

[TheDarkApostle]

It's still WIp Nihm, he even said he had jsut begun GSing the feet of the mini :devil:

 

Looking good so far Doghouse, I'll stay tuned :cuss

[Brother Nihm]

I know.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out! :devil:

[Doghouse]

Update

 

Test Piece

 

This is a test piece for working out the colour scheme and to see how it's going to fit together. I only spent about fifteen minutes on this guy using a heavy drybrush of regal blue so this is far from the final standard of the painting.

I did confirm one suspicion though, in order to make the face plate terror markings work I'm going to have to fill some of the vents with GS so that I can fit the teeth in.

 

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s196/Mutt2050/NightLordsTest.jpg

 

Here's what I have done so far for the first tactical squad.

 

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s196/Mutt2050/NightLords5.jpg

 

And Devastators

 

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s196/Mutt2050/NightLordsDevastators2.jpg

 

 

Kradle: Thanks mate.

 

Brother Nihm: I know how much you like the Night Lords so I'll do my best to be as accurate as possible. Terror markings will come once I've built the minis themselves, after that it'll be painted on stuff with stuff like shrunken heads and bits made from GS. General nastiness but I don't want to go too overboard. Should look pretty evil when finished. ;)

[The_Chaplain]

wow, those minis look flippin' sweet! Personally, I think the "doghouse" pattern legs with the Red scorpion torsos, makes a really convincing "antique" marine. I can't wait to see these done!

[HolyCrusader]

I like a lot... Using that set of legs make them look like an very disciplined army

[Chaptermaster Graymantle]

Wow, that's a great start you have there and this is going to be one wicked looking army once your done!

I loved the intro story! :(

But, didn't the Emperor know and befriend one of the Eldar Lords, meaning the Imperium was originally more alien friendly?

 

Out of curiosity:

How did you make this guy's chest plate?

 

http://www.codexguardianangels.com/temp_material/chest-armour.jpg

[pinkbunny]

looks like a FW red scorpions plate with detail removed.

 

I've allways been a fan of clean, unblinged marines, nice stuff.

[Tyrannicide]

Awesome idea Doghouse i've never seen such an idea yet, mini's look great. Just curious how big do you think the army will grow too?

[Badaab]

Fun idea... I'll be tracking this with some interest, as I've also been working on a Night Lords side project (although mine are post-heresy).

-Joe

[Doghouse]

Thanks guys. ;)

 

Chaptermaster Graymantle: It's a FW Red Scorpion veteran sergeant chest with the aquila filed off. :D

 

Darth Potato: At the moment it's a Captain, two tacticals and a Devastator squad. I'll definately be adding a command squad for the Captain, maybe another tactical squad, I'd like a Land Speeder and some Jet Bikes, a Predator Destructor is a very good bet and maybe a dread. Night Haunter may make an appearance further down the line as a full sculpt and maybe a Warhound in June if I can get the cash together in time. :P

 

Badaab : Sounds cool to me, having seen your pbase gallery I'm sure they'll be excellent.

 

Quick Update

 

I've been playing around with the paint scheme a bit and have come up with a way of doing the blue that I'm happy with.

I've drybrushed the model Regal Blue over a black undercoat, gone over the model with watered down Regal blue leaving the darker basecoat in the recesses and highlighted with Regal Blue with fine highlighting of Regal Blue/Skull White.

This guy being a test model is a little rough around the edges but is fine for now.

I'm going to fill in with GS a couple of vents on the face plate so that I can see how many need filling in order to get the terror markings in place.

I'm going to use the lightning only on the left greave to balance the model out a bit. The IA article only has a pre-heresy picture of the MkVI so the left pad is shown as studded. I may have ago at the studs but the proper ones are pointed which may prove a bit time consuming for thirty odd Astartes.

Not sure what to include in their place though, maybe a unit number or should I leave it blank?

 

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s196/Mutt2050/NightLordsTest2.jpg

[LordSion]

im pleased you have decided to join us...

 

i am a fan of the 'doghouse' pattern marines, although the chaos warrior legs do seem abit restrictive.

 

as for that other shoulder pad, how about some nice lightning effects?

[Gree]

I like it. But you might want to change it from being the 5th to something else as I think someone had already claimed that position.

[Kradle]

They are looking good Doghouse! I like the test scheme you have come up with, looks very promising for a force of these guys.

 

I cant wait to see the paint start on your actual guys. I think the terror marking on your test guy looks fine. although the vents look like they do prevent any fine detailing, i think you could get away without it! Maybe just give it horns or something as additional detail. just a thought, they are yours so you can do what you want, I'm sure they will turn out great!

 

I'll be watching...

[Pulse]

Bloody good work mate, bloody good. I cant get over just how well your "Doghouse" pattern legs work for the space marines, they work with anything. Also the painting on the test mini looks fine to me, but then again i have never painted any Night Lords myself. :angry:

 

I will also be watching!

*does shifty eye movement* :P

[Doghouse]

Thanks guys! :blink:

 

LordSion: Yeah, they are pretty restrictive in pose but they're ok for rank and file troops. I think what I'm probably going to have to do is sculpt some different positions at some point. Judging from the Heresy artwork books it's a little unclear whether scouts were all neophytes or if power armoured scouts were in use. I may do some more dynamically posed legs for them if it's the latter. :)

 

The_Night_Lords_Hero: Thanks mate, but are we talking fluff-wise here they had a different Captain or another gamer has claimed them as his/her own? If it's the latter it's not a problem as these aren't in any way official so won't conflict with their army.

Just look at how many second company Ultramarine Captains there are out there or Deathwing Masters. ;)

 

Kradle: Yeah the vents are a bit of a problem, I've been playing around with the terror markings and it appears that the best approach is going to be filling in the bottom four vents so that I can paint the face better. :)

 

Pulse Thanks mate, they're pretty versatile, just got to be careful that I don't get typecast as "that guy that makes space marines with chaos warrior legs." :)

[Pulse]

Pulse Thanks mate, they're pretty versatile, just got to be careful that I don't get typecast as "that guy that makes space marines with chaos warrior legs." :)

 

I think you already have, nothing to be worried about though, its a good reputation to have. :D

[Tyrannicide]

the plan for the army sounds great! also the form of a skull on his helmet (for what i guess is a type of pre-heresy terror marking), looks wonderful. and one more question: what color are the eye lenses going to be painted, a glowing red would probably go well with the Night Lords

[Doghouse]

Darth Potato: Definately red lenses for the eyes, it should look pretty evil with the terror markings. ^_^

 

Update

 

Well progress has been a little erratic of late, mainly due to creating my own pre-heresy/heresy site and finally finishing the Gothic Pattern tutorial but I have got a bit more bit done.

 

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s196/Mutt2050/DSC02002_00.jpg

 

This guy was formly of my World Eaters army but as the project is well on the backburner I decided to strip him down and sculpt some details like the skulls so that I could use him for the Night Lords. I tend to use bolter only squads and this guy will provide additional firepower for the squads.

I've extended the width of the shoulder pauldrons and the height of the legs to make him a fair bit bulkier. Not sure if he's what you would call truescale but he's pretty darn big.

I've used the FW pre-Heresy dreadnought for the sarchophogus, the twin linked auto-cannon combined with an extended barrelt assault cannon and the drill arm.

I've given him a couple of coats of drybrushing with Regal Blue and am in the process of going over this with a Regal Blue wash to blend it together. I've begun to map out the details in Brazen Brass and started on the Legion icon and unit number.

[Tyrannicide]

The dread. looks great Doghouse, sweet AC arm on the monster Dread. (muhahahahaha) :)