The Astro Dogs WIP

[Motorbike Mike]

The following report is to be classified level ‘double black’. This report contains detailed and sensitive information on the Astro Dogs Space Marine Chapter. If you do not have double black clearance, cease the reading of this document immediately. If you are found to have revealed any of the secrets of this document to even yourself, you will be sentenced to Servitude Imperpiptuis. Only the elite members of the Bolter & Chainsword warrior brethren have clearance for this report and it is intended for their eyes only.

 

Destroy this document after reading.

 

 

 

 

The Astro Dogs

 

Chapter Name: The Astro Dogs

Founding: 17^th (M.36)

Home Planet: Macbeth (Moon)

Star System: Thanian System.

Fortress: Castellum Nebulis

Geneseed: Imperial Fist

Chapter Master: Derek Stormdog

Current Strength; 614.

 

 

 

‘Let them come, my brothers. We fear not evil and we fear not death; they will break upon our lines like water upon rocks. Bless your weapons and remember your oaths. We are their oblivion.’ –

Chapter Master Derek Stormdog at the battle of Excellcis Gorge. (861 M.39).

 

 

The Astro Dogs were created in the wake of a relatively large Ork invasion into the Thanian and Uris systems from a neighbouring sector. Local PDFs were morbidly underequipped to deal with the battle and the Imperial Navy with a full battle company of Thunder Sons Space Marines was called in to rid the systems of the Greenskin menace. The Thanian system in particular is highly valuable to the Imperium due to it being rich in natural resources. It is the 2^nd largest exporter of Cobalt and the 5^th largest exporter of Promethium in the entire sector. It also has rich supplies of Lead and Adamone one of the raw compounds smelted to make Adamantine.

 

The Astro Dogs were founded using the geneseed of Rogal Dorn, Primarch to the Imperial Fists. However, they do not share many traits often associated with their progenitor chapter. They still hold all of the righteous zeal, stubbornness and fury that is associated with Chapters such as the Imperial Fists, but are fairly humanitarian like Chapters such as the Salamanders. They believe that human life is very valuable and will always put themselves in harms way to protect the people of the Imperium, regardless of tactical strategy.

 

‘Life is sacred, my brothers. These people are not cowards for clinging to it so dearly. They serve the Emperor as we do, just because they are different to us. Does not make them wrong.’ –

High Chaplain Alastor Grimjaw (890 M.39)

 

 

Combat Disciplines

 

The Astro Dogs are jacks of all trades when it comes to warfare, they are not masters in one field as some other chapters are. They are fond of mobile armoured assaults and keep a great number of Rhinos, Razorbacks and Land Raiders assigned to each Company. It is Chapter teaching that a handful of well-placed Marines can do more damage than all the might of the Chapter battering against a fortified front gate. Thus, they often deploy small 5-10 man squads in transports, supported by Outriders on Bikes and even tamed Astro Dogs.

Dreadnoughts are a fairly common sight among the ranks of the Astro Dogs; they are often deployed via Drop Pod straight into the middle of the melee. It is chapter belief that any brother who has earned the right should be given every opportunity to continue to smite the Imperium’s enemies long after his mortal body has abandoned him.

 

Due to the Thanian systems large Cobalt mining programmes it is an abundant material in the system. It is used as a hardening compound on metals and is mixed to form super-hard alloys capable of slicing through the thickest of armours. All blades for the Chapter from the lowest ranking Battle Brothers to the Stormdogs own Spear of Macbeth are coated with the chapters custom cobalt alloy, hardening and sharpening them beyond the sharpest of normal blades.

 

 

Common battle cries often heard before engagement are as follows;

 

Commander; ‘For Cawdor and all her beauty!’ Marines; ‘For the Imperium and the Emperor!’

Commander; ‘Send them to oblivion my brothers!’ Marines; ‘For Mankind we will!’

 

 

 

The Thanian System

 

Thania is a mid-sized, 2^nd generation star around 1.2x the size of the Sun which Holy Terra orbits. It burns a deep rich orange and is quite prone to solar flares, which routinely knock out communications relays to deep space. This was all factored into the decision to home a Space Marine Chapter in the valuable system.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/thania_zpsf31547ad.jpg

 

Thania.

 

Thania has 4 planets orbiting her, the closest is Eve. It is a small, scarred and scorched rock that orbits very closely to the star. It has surface temperatures ranging from between 350 Celsius and 1000 Celsius, depending on the position of its slightly eliptical orbit. It is largely uncharted, save for a few Imperial probing vessels capable of landing on its surface or orbiting for short periods. They have detected small deposits of valuable minerals. But the planet is unsuitable for a mining programme and would not yield significant enough financial benefit to warrant the required resources for an operation in such extreme conditions.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/eve_zps60240bda.jpg

 

Eve.

 

No indigenous life recorded.

Av. Surface temp; 652 C.

Day; 10 standard hours

Year; 41 standard days.

Moons; none.

 

The second planet in system is Jolanis, it is a mid-sized habitable planet with an Oxygen and Nitrogen atmosphere orbiting just to the inside edge of the habitable distance of its star. It is used largely as a system defence platform and has many barracks; those habs that do exist there are used for miners. The citizens are often incredibly poor and are often ex-convicts from Carcere, the Thanian Systems Prison, housed on the southern lip of the planet. It has not been colonised fully due its lack of liquid water.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/jolanis_zps397236a7.jpg

 

Jolanis.

 

No indigenous life recorded.

Av. Surface temp; 46 C.

Day; 31 standard hours.

Year; 101 standard days.

Moons; Julior (Adamone mine), Elanis (Cobalt & Prometium mine)

 

Right in the middle of the stars habitable distance zone is the third planet, Cawdor. It is a small to medium sized habitable planet rich in life. It was colonised by the Imperium in the days shortly after the Horus Heresy and has thrived since that date.

 

It has suffered many invasions in the past due to its rich resources and luscious climate, the Orks are particularly fond of the planet due to its population of 9.6 billion. It has a planetary garrison of 1.3 million battle ready soldiers, this was recently increased from 900,000 in the last 20 years due to the cataclysmic damage the last Orkish incursion did to the Astro Dogs Space Marine Chapter.

 

She has mining facilities all over her surface that dig for everything from Cobalt and Adamone, to Promethium and Tin. The planets surface is highly diverse, there are two large northern continents and one smaller southern continent. Its northern hemisphere is roughly 50% desert, with 12% being made up of polar ice and the rest being the Krakentooth Mountain range and colonised cities.

 

The southern continent is where the majority of cities reside, the Capital city Medorlean is located 100 miles south of the equator, it houses the Cawdorian Government and is mostly forest and grassland. There is a large polar cap at the southern pole. 41% of the planets surface is land mass or solid polar ice. The remaining 59% is broken up into the planets 5 oceans.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/cawdor_zps2b602e97.jpg

 

Cawdor.

 

Lots of indigenous life recorded.

Av. Surface temp; 28 C

Day; 26 standard hours.

Year; 382 standard days.

Moons; Macbeth (Astro Dogs home)

 

Macbeth is the only moon of the planet Cawdor. It is only 1/5^th the size of its parent planet and features none of her luscious life or climate. It is an altogether colder and more inhospitable place. It has a very thin atmosphere that increases and decreases in density and breathability depending on the planets location in its orbit and the pull from Thania and Hastor. This is due to a ‘planetary stretch’, in which the moon is subjected to such great pull from Thania and Hastor that it is stretched by almost half a mile, until the moons orbit takes it away from the giant Hastor and it is able to contract again. This causes intense friction and gives the moon its core heat, the only reason it is able to stay above unbearably freezing temperatures and support life. It also causes large eruptions of nitrogen and oxygen gas from the core on an almost clockwork scale. It is home to only a few of the hardiest indigenous creatures. No human can survive on its surface without a rebreather for more than a few minutes.

 

The top natural predator of Macbeth is the infamous Astro Dog. It is capable of surviving days with very little breathable oxygen and can go months without food. It is a ferocious predator, standing the full height of an adult man at the shoulder with large muscular jaws and an incredibly thick coat of shaggy fur. It is a right of passage for all new initiates of the Astro Dogs Chapter to go out onto the moons surface, track and kill one of these deadly beasts armed with nothing but his wits and Combat Blade.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/astrodog_zps2db065de.jpg

 

An artists impression of the Astro Dog.

 

The Astro Dogs home fortress is Castellum Nebulis, built during the creation of the Chapter. It has stood proof against all those who would seek to take the system for over 3 and a half thousand years, nestled snuggly between the Baldaur Crater and the enormous Dragontooth Summit.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/Macbeth_zps9d07dfc3.jpg

 

Macbeth.

 

Some indigenous life recorded.

Av. Surface temp; -12 C

Day; 19 standard hours.

Year; 382 standard days.

 

The final planet in the system orbits far outside of its stars habitable zone. Hastor is an extremely large gas giant planet. It has been measured as 14x the size of Jupiter of the Solar System and is the 3^rd largest planet known to the Imperium of man. It is constantly under siege from impossibly volatile atmospheric storms which render landing on it a pointless endeavour. Unusually, Hastor’s axis is over 90 degrees, it doesn’t have a north and south pole, it has an eastern and western pole. For all intents and purposes and despite its size and apparent violent beauty, Hastor is useless to the Imperium and any other Alien races.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/hastor_zpsa54ed17b.jpg

 

Hastor.

 

No indigenous life recorded.

Av. Surface temp; -91 C.

Day; 158 standard hours.

Year; 799 standard days.

Moons; Cibis (machine mined for Adamone & Cobalt), Villior (dead world), Betelgen (dead world), Rigal (machine mined for Cobalt & Promethium).

 

 

Recruitment

 

The Chapter draws recruits from both the Thanian and Uris systems, but their primary recruiting grounds are that of Jolanis and Cawdor. There most common recruiting ground is that of Carcere, the Thanian systems prison where the hardest and most dangerous of criminals are housed. Members of the Cawdor International Guard and the Jolanis Defence Force are also ripe for recruiting, as they are highly trained warriors. Thanian Soldiers have had to become hardy and efficient fighters as the system is often attacked by Xenos.

 

Upon selection by the Chapter, the recruits are taken via Thunderhawk to the middle of the Halakari Desert in the northern hemisphere of Cawdor. There, each recruit is stripped naked and dumped into the desert with nothing but a water bottle, a flint and a short combat blade. Their objective is to make it back to the Thunderhawks which have landed 50 miles to the south on the edge of the desert.

 

Temperatures in the desert can reach as high as 55 C in summer during the day and as low as -5 C in the night. The going is extremely tough and it takes at least two days to cross the desert. The recruits will need to find a way to keep the sun off of their skins or risk heat stroke and literally cooking themselves alive, find shelter from the numerous night hunting predators and make fire in order to stay warm. Very few recruits make it back to the Thunderhawks and those that do will soon learn their challenge is just beginning.

 

Those that survive their trial in the desert are then flown to the rain forests of the southern continents where they are subjected to the Trial of Blood. The trial is literally a Battle Royale. An area of 20 square miles is cordoned off by the Chapter and the neophytes are thrown into the jungle. All they are told is the amount of them have entered the Jungle and the amount of them that will be leaving. They are again given only a short blade and a flint. The forest holds anything else they will need.

 

The recruits are not encouraged into any type of behaviour in the trial; those that form loose gangs to team up and eliminate the weaker members often find themselves on the receiving end of a stab in the back towards the end. But those that try to go it alone and hunt solo can find themselves outnumbered and constantly on the run. It is every man for himself. When the Chapter returns, only the strongest have survived.

 

Those that have survived the Trial of Blood are then afforded the luxury of being taken to Macbeth for their final test. They are screened by the apothecaries and librarians to determine whether or not they are suitable for the implant process. Of the few that are left, even fewer pass this process.

 

The implantation process is a long one as it is with any Chapter, often only a single recruit survives the process.

 

 

Organisation

 

The Astro Dogs use their own organisational systems for their companies. Rather than having Tactical Companies, Assault Companies, Devastator Companies etc. Each Company has members of each discipline. This renders each company a miniature Chapter in itself and allows them to function alone without support from other companies unless deemed necessary in campaign briefing.

 

Each Company is led by a Captain or as they are known to the Chapter, Alphas;

 

Chapter Master; Derek Stormdog.

High Chaplain; Alastor Grimjaw.

Master Librarian; Okin Ice-Blood.

 

1^st Company; Chapter Master (Alpha Prime) Derek Stormdog.

2^nd Company; Ragvard Bonebreaker.

3^rd Company; Magnir Ironfist.

4^th Company; Lukan Wulfhart.

5^th Company; Groth the Bear.

6^th Company; Kaleb Dragonwing.

7^th Company; Beiner the Bloodyhanded.

8^th Company; Stanoth Shieldsplitter.

9^th Company; Magnus the Swift.

 

The 10^th Company was completely wiped out in the last Orkish invasion to the system (989 M.39) and has not been rebuilt as of yet. Companies 1, 2, 5 & 7 also suffered heavy losses in the fighting and are still understrength.

 

 

Appearance

 

Space Marines of the Astro Dogs Chapter have armour made of the same Ceramite and Adamantium as all Space Marines, the difference however is that the Astro Dogs armour is coated in a very thin layer of bronze. This weathers with age and if left uncleaned for a while will develop a coat of verdigris. They also bear white and red details on their shoulder pads and occasionally on kneepads. Veterans and Squad Sergeants are bestowed the honour of having their helmets powder coated with the bone of the Astro Dog of their home world. Captains paint their helmets half red and half white in keeping with the livery of the chapter.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/Battle_Brother_zps36379530.jpg

 

A generic impression of a Battle Brother.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/Squad_Sergeant_zps0ce8841e.jpg

 

A Sergeant or Veteran, known as Betas.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/spacemarine-2_zps761d5ad4.jpg

 

An Alpha of the Chapter.

 

Chapter Iconography

 

The Chapters symbol is that of a stylised Astro Dog set against a red and white background. It appears in variations, that of a white background or a red background. When the chapter is in mourning, it will be seen upon a black background. The battle brothers will repaint the red and white sections of their armour black as a sign of respect and mourning for those they have lost. This happens once every fifty years at the Caerimonia Recordationis (Ceremony of Remembrance) where the Chapter pays its respect to fallen heroes that have shaped their history.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1358232068934243_zps68bbd3db.jpg

 

A rough sketch of the Chapter Symbol.

 

The Chapter motto is ‘Nos furoris Canes notis et nos det spen ad astra.’ Loosely translated, it means ‘We are the fierce dogs of Macbeth and we give hope to the stars.’

 

 

Heroes of the Chapter

 

Derek Stormdog

 

Derek Stormdog, Lord Macbeth, 13^th Chapter Master of the Astro Dogs Space Marines is the most successful Chapter Master in their 3500-year history. He has lived for 540 years and has been at the head of his Chapter for 330 of those years. He epitomises the fury his chapter can wreak upon those that deserve it and also the unshakeable faith that he inspires in those that follow him. He is loved by many, but feared by more. To cross the Stormdog in battle is to invite almost certain death in as painful a manner as it may come.

 

Fond of ale and even more of friendship, Derek always leads from the front and doesn’t back away from a fight. He believes that to protect humanity is not for them to fear you, but to love you and occasionally leads his Space Marines on parades throughout Medorlean (Capital City of Cawdor) to show the might of the Imperium to its people, to show them the power that protects them. In these dark times, the citizens of the Imperium need faith in their protectors more than ever.

 

Veteran Sergeant Atlas Stone

 

Veteran Sergeant Stone is the second in command of 1^st Company, he also heads the Stormdog’s Fanguard. He weilds a beautifully intricate, yet magnificently deadly power sword taken from a Eldar Dire Avengers Autarch he slew in one-on-one personal combat 50 years ago. The blade has since been sharpened by the Chapters master artificers with their cobalt alloy, only increasing its lethality.

 

The most notable victory Atlas has ever won was the reason for his promotion to Alpha Fanguard and second in command of the company. The Astro Dogs 1^st company was under heavy assault from an apparent plague of Nurgle on the most northern wastes of the planet Ubris, the outer most planet in the neighbouring Uris system. The Stormdog was grievously wounded by an uncontrollably fierce Greater Daemon of Nurlge, it didn’t look like he would survive the wound. With the rest of his squad incappacitaed or killed. Atlas slew the daemon single handed and protected his Lord for long enough and managed to kill enough of the rotting corpses assailing them so that a Thunderhawk could be called in for evac, saving the Stormdogs life and the lives of several of the Fanguard.

[zxyogi]

Love the fluff!

Look forward to seeing your Marines!

[Motorbike Mike]

Love the fluff!

Look forward to seeing your Marines!

 

Thanks, I've got some stuff in the works and it should be up within a week or so, just finishing off a commission job at the moment (26x Space Wolves).

 

I worked really hard on it and wanted to cram as much detail into it, theres still more I want to write. More detail on recruitment and more Chapter Heroes, but I don't have much time at the moment.

 

Mike.

[Motorbike Mike]

Evening all,

 

A small update today, we've had some pretty bad weather here lately and its messed up delivery on some of the models I ordered.

My marines came the other day and I've put a couple of them together on breaks from University. They're also part of my WIP for the Librarium challenge, with the Chapter Master, but I'll update that thread when they're all built and ready to rock. 

I just wanted to post something here and keep the ball rolling as I'm really enjoying making a whole Chapter from scratch.

These guys are a couple of tactical marines, but I've cut and reposed them for a more dynamic pose as the tactical marines are pretty static and getting on in years now.

 

I've just tacked them for now, I'll green stuff them properly when I've cut and built the rest of them.

 

I'd love some feedback from guys who've built chapters before, with both creating new models and also on my fluff.

 

 

This guys drawing his combat blade while hefting a grenade, I tried to put motion into the model.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/marine3_zpscd07bbe8.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/marine2_zpsc452e759.jpg

 

I liked the 'at ease' kind of position this guy has, as if he's just put a target down and is beginning to lower his weapon.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/marine_zps54c8befa.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/marine4_zps6838e0cc.jpg

 

This is my Chapter Master; Derek Stormdog, Lord Macbeth. Some of his fluff is in my original post. He's going to be a counts as Grimnar.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/DSCF0421_zpscbfab4ce.jpg

 

Thanks,
Mike.

[Octavulg]

The Astro Dogs

I'd recommend Astral over Astro. "Astro" smacks of fifties sci-fi, and not in the good way. Astral Hounds might be even better, but Dogs is OK. Then again, I kind of have to say that.

Founding: 17th (M.36)

The 17th founding would have taken place in M35 (the Cursed Founding (21st) now happens in the very closing years of M35).

‘Let them come, my brothers. We fear not evil and we fear not death; they will break upon our lines like water upon rocks. Bless your weapons and remember your oaths. We are their oblivion.’ – Chapter Master Derek Stormdog at the battle of Excellcis Gorge. (861 M.39).

...Your Chapter Master is over 2000 years old?

Nice quote, mind.

The

Astro Dogs were created in the wake of a relatively large Ork invasion into the Thanian and Uris systems from a neighbouring sector. Local PDFs were morbidly underequipped to deal with the battle and the Imperial Navy with a full battle company of Thunder Sons Space Marines was called in to rid the systems of the Greenskin menace. The Thanian system in particular is highly valuable to the Imperium due to it being rich in natural resources. It is the 2nd largest exporter of Cobalt and the 5th largest exporter of Promethium in the entire sector. It also has rich supplies of Lead and Adamone one of the raw compounds smelted to make Adamantine.

This is what the phrase "extensive mineral resources" was designed for.

Also, Space Marine chapters need to defend about a thousand worlds on average, each. Important to remember that.

The Astro Dogs were founded using the geneseed of Rogal Dorn, Primarch to the Imperial Fists. However, they do not share many traits often associated with their progenitor chapter. They still hold all of the righteous zeal, stubbornness and fury that is associated with Chapters such as the Imperial Fists, but are fairly humanitarian like Chapters such as the Salamanders. They believe that human life is very valuable and will always put themselves in harms way to protect the people of the Imperium, regardless of tactical strategy.

Then they'll all be dead pretty quick. This is the grimdarknessofthefarfuturewherethereisonlywar. Even the Salamanders don't ignore tactical strategy in favor of saving people. They save people, mind, just not if it's going to lose the war. Such is my impression, anyway.

Common battle cries often heard before engagement are as follows;

Commander; ‘For Cawdor and all her beauty!’ Marines; ‘For the Imperium and the Emperor!’

Commander; ‘Send them to oblivion my brothers!’ Marines; ‘For Mankind we will!’

Personally, I like a simple battlecry over complicated ones. but that's me. Talking about the beauty of a place feels quite unSpace Mariney, though.

The top natural predator of Macbeth is the infamous Astro Dog. It is capable of surviving days with very little breathable oxygen and can go months without food. It is a ferocious predator, standing the full height of an adult man at the shoulder with large muscular jaws and an incredibly thick coat of shaggy fur. It is a right of passage for all new initiates of the Astro Dogs Chapter to go out onto the moons surface, track and kill one of these deadly beasts armed with nothing but his wits and Combat Blade.

I'd actually see them being the Void Dog or something like that. Feels more cold and vacuumy than Astro.

Also, there's a lot of detail about planets here that I'm not sure is really necessary to the reader. It definitely takes a while to get through.

The Chapter draws recruits from both the Thanian and Uris systems, but their primary recruiting grounds are that of Jolanis and Cawdor. There most common recruiting ground is that of Carcere, the Thanian systems prison where the hardest and most dangerous of criminals are housed. Members of the Cawdor International Guard and the Jolanis Defence Force are also ripe for recruiting, as they are highly trained warriors. Thanian Soldiers have had to become hardy and efficient fighters as the system is often attacked by Xenos.

There is for places, their is for people.

Space Marine recruits range from about ten to about fourteen. They're not apt to be in militaries.

Temperatures in the desert can reach as high as 55 C in summer during the day and as low as -5 C in the night. The going is extremely tough and it takes at least two days to cross the desert. The recruits will need to find a way to keep the sun off of their skins or risk heat stroke and literally cooking themselves alive, find shelter from the numerous night hunting predators and make fire in order to stay warm. Very few recruits make it back to the Thunderhawks and those that do will soon learn their challenge is just beginning.

As a rule, in 40K you're better off with adjectives than numbers - "sweltering heat" Is always better than a hard and fast number.

Not least because, looking outside right now (-35), I'd KILL for it to be -5.

Those that survive their trial in the desert are then flown to the rain forests of the southern continents where they are subjected to the Trial of Blood. The trial is literally a Battle Royale. An area of 20 square miles is cordoned off by the Chapter and the neophytes are thrown into the jungle. All they are told is the amount of them have entered the Jungle and the amount of them that will be leaving. They are again given only a short blade and a flint. The forest holds anything else they will need.

Battle royale may be a movie title, but you don't have to capitalize it when it isn't used as one.

The Astro Dogs use their own organisational systems for their companies. Rather than having Tactical Companies, Assault Companies, Devastator Companies etc. Each Company has members of each discipline. This renders each company a miniature Chapter in itself and allows them to function alone without support from other companies unless deemed necessary in campaign briefing.

So, basically, Battle Companies?

The Chapters symbol is that of a stylised Astro Dog set against a red and white background. It appears in variations, that of a white background or a red background. When the chapter is in mourning, it will be seen upon a black background. The battle brothers will repaint the red and white sections of their armour black as a sign of respect and mourning for those they have lost. This happens once every fifty years at the Caerimonia Recordationis (Ceremony of Remembrance) where the Chapter pays its respect to fallen heroes that have shaped their history.

A nice little touch.

I think the drawing of the dog itself'd make a better symbol than the head, actually.

The Chapter motto is ‘Nos furoris Canes notis et nos det spen ad astra.’ Loosely translated, it means ‘We are the fierce dogs of Macbeth and we give hope to the stars.’

"Nos det spen ad astra" makes a better motto by itself, I think (and a very good one, I might add).

* * *

You're a bit too attached to detail that really isn't interesting. Broad strokes let people fill in the details in less space. Things like the battle royale and the details of the planets go a bit too far, IMO.

That Chapter Master's looking pretty cool.

[Heimdall Skullcrusher]

Haha, I like the gold chain on the Chapter Master.  You should definitely keep it that color when you paint it.

[Motorbike Mike]

Good evening,

Thanks for your words, I'll rework my fluff to make it a little more cannon, its always nice to get feedback on the stuff I've been working on.
I'll post some more of my models a little later.

Mike.

[Veteran Sergeant]

I love the models so far. Your posing suggests life and movement, which is good. Stormdog is a little over the top with his gigantic storm bolter, but hey, it's 40K. Though I'd suggest getting one off of a Terminator. Will look a little less oversized.

 

 

That said. Astro Dogs. Before I even opened the thread:

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110206031015/hanna-barbera/images/3/36/Dogs-astro.png

 

And Thunder Sons reminded me of Thunder Gun from Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but, then again, I saw that episode again yesterday. "We'll come back for youuuuuuuu!"

 

 

They serve the Emperor as we do. Just because they are different than us, does not make them wrong.

I fixed the sentence for you. It was all goofy sounding the way you had it.

 

Perhaps a bit too much science in the background. A lot of details about planets with nothing on them. Kinda wonder how effective a "system defense" platform is if it orbits around a planet that might well be on the other side of the solar system from the enemy at any given time. "Don't worry guys, we'll just attack next week." What Octavulg said about recruits. Implantation process starts between Age 10 and 14. When you're considering how your chapter selects potential recruits, remember they're going to be little kids, most likely from 8-12. Atlas Stone sounds like a porn name, lol.

[Motorbike Mike]

' Atlas Stone sounds like a porn name, lol.'

 

This is the best thing I've read all day, hahaha.

It was supposed be because he's dependable, like a rock. I got the name from Greek mythology, Atlas was punished by Zeus and forced to hold up the world on his back.
They have a strong man event called the Atlas Stones, where competitors must heft enormous boulders onto platforms.

 

I tried a Storm Bolter from a Terminator, but to me it just looked a little wimpy. Its one I got from a Rhino, or Raider I forget, I thought someone as important as he would have something with a little bit more poke.

 

For the recruits, I was unsure as to how they'd actually select them, do they just go around and pluck them from school and the like? I thought it would be more like them selecting young soldiers with exemplary combat records.

 

Thanks for the input though, its much appreciated.

 

Mike.

[Octavulg]

Most Marine chapters'll recruit from hive gangs, barbarian tribes, that sort of thing - places where ten to fourteen year olds are a bit tougher.

 

Keep in mind, you can recruit outside your home system.

[Motorbike Mike]

Thats a point yeah, the idea for Cawdor is that its an Imperial haven, a civillisied world. Obviously there'd be scum there, but its by no means a feral world.

I suppose violent, almost psychotic criminals would make good recruits, I'll swap it out for them recruiting primarily from the system Prison and a feral jungle world in the Uris system.
 

Is it the same for all chapters? I read the Space Wolves saga and they went for tribesmen, but would more humanitarian chapters, like the Salamanders, recruit the same?

I know they're all killers, but its the temperament I'm after, I want the majority of them to be more Pedro Kantor and less Alessio Cortez.

 

Mike.

[Octavulg]

But is the prison going to have enough ten to fourteen year olds?

 

Also, if there are ten to fourteen year olds there, might they not, y'know, be horrible people?

 

The Salamanders recruit from their home cities, though I believe Nocturne is a pretty rough place.

 

You CAN recruit non-tribespeople and such. Genetic compatibility's probably more important than anything else. But most chapters apparently prefer feral worlders or other rough and tumble sorts. Supposedly makes the organs take better.

[hufferg]

If you are looking for a more civilized angle you could have the recruits be selected from the best kids at the worlds military schools. With a PDF as large as the one you described there would be a fair number of places needed to maintain the force.

 

I'm not entirely sure about the battle royale angle as a trial however, it seems dangerously close to a Khorne style ritual and would also seem to discourage teamwork, which would cause later problems when trying to work together as a chapter. Furthermore the angle of recruiting psychopaths and criminals really clashes with the humanitarian aspect you want them to display later in life as marines.

 

All in all however its a really nice start, and your models look good.

[Motorbike Mike]

I like the idea of using the recruits from military schools, airforce cadets and similar establishments. It would mean they've been disciplined and raised in society. Its a nice angle, thanks for your input!

 

Mike.

[Heru]

Reading the planetary descriptions, you wouldn't happen to be a fan of the Mass Effect series would you?

[Motorbike Mike]

Reading the planetary descriptions, you wouldn't happen to be a fan of the Mass Effect series would you?

I've never played them, but my brother has and he swears by them.

I will get around to it, but I'm really busy with my University dissertation at the moment and I prefer painting to gaming, so my free time is split between; coursework, commission work, girlfriend and painting.

 

I got my inspiration for it from  Prof. Brian Cox's Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe DVD's. I've always been a space nerd and those films blew my mind, some of the numbers, like the core temperature of the Sun - 5,000,000 degrees celsius, are mind boggling. So I put extra effort into writing about them, because to me, it was possibly the most interesting part about it.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike.

[Veteran Sergeant]

 

For the recruits, I was unsure as to how they'd actually select them, do they just go around and pluck them from school and the like? I thought it would be more like them selecting young soldiers with exemplary combat records.

 

It really depends on what you want to do.  There are only a few "rules".  Since the implantation process begins between 10-14 years old and has to be completed before being 18, one would assume, for the lowest margin of error, a Chapter is going to take younger candidates over older ones.  

The thing about creating Space Marines is that, ultimately, it doesn't really matter what kind of kids you recruit.  Chapters recruit from feral worlds, and death worlds, and such out of tradition and superstition.  However, the process of geneseed implantation and all of the surgery turns everyone into a seven and a half foot tall, seven hundred pound murder machine.  It really won't matter if you recruit the scrawny kid, or the stocky kid.  And the recruits go through years of training and indoctrination, so it doesn't really make much difference whether you take the most disciplined military school recruit, or the most feral tribal child.  You just want a kid that is biologically compatible with the gene seed, and free of taint or mutation.  The chapter is going to build a Space Marine out of him.

 

So you can make up pretty much any recruitment process you want so long as you keep the "Probably 8-12 years old" in mind.  The 2 year buffer assumes that a chapter will do at least some pre-screening, testing, etc to ensure the recruit is physically and mentally sound before they risk stuffing gene seen in them.  But the recruitment process is irrelevant.  It's part of the "grimdark" of 40K.  If Space Marine chapters burn through dozens, if not hundreds of children to find one good one, that makes them seem more grimdark, lol.  When, in truth, they could probably just take blood samples and do basic aptitude tests.  ;)

[Motorbike Mike]

Evening all,
 

Good news and bad news today.
Unfortunately, the Stormdog model I was working on has gone missing. I took him to a local club I was thinking of joining to show some of my friends there and I swear I brought him home, but the day after, I was unable to find him. He was just wrapped up in a piece of tissue paper and kept in my pocket, so it could have been thrown in the bin with someone mistaking it for a scrunched up tissue, or it could have been lost or stolen. Either which way, I'm no longer in possession of it. I was rather gutted because I'd worked hard on him.

 

This left me feeling quite dispondent to the hobby for a few days, but after looking through some of the other vows people have taken in the Winters Advance and Librarium Challenge, I pulled my finger out and made Derek Stormdog Mk. 2.

 

The model isn't finished yet, I still need to liquid green stuff some of the joints, especially the spear and attach him at the waist.
I still want to do some more Green Stuffing too, I want to do the purity seals wrapping around his spear again and I was considering turning the top of the cloak into a large Astro Dog pelt. Any input or advice you guys could give me would be much appreciated, naturally.

 

I've also been working on more marines with GS, they'll be finished within the next day I think, so I'll post up more when I have it.

These shots are just naff rough ones, I couldnt be bothered to spend ages getting a pefect one, because he's not finished yet.

 

Thanks,

Mike.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/DSCF0468_zpsabfa96be.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/DSCF0470_zpsd3abb979.jpg

[Octavulg]

The loss sucks. The new guy's awesome.

[Calgar 2.0]

So....... you should have a Captain in your fluff that hold's the title "Thane of Cawdor".

Excellent fluff and WIP's.

[Uaronain]

 I love watching a fellow DIYer get to work making his chapter come to life. I like the new Derek Stormdog and you sir have inspired me to give green stuff a try! Keep up the good fight brother and take a lot of pics so we can see the journey for ourselves.

[Motorbike Mike]

Hahaha, Thane of Cawdor - I like that, I think I'll have to make one, It'd be most certainly rude not to.

 

Thanks all, for the kind words. I'll have some more to show you later on today hopefully.

 

You definately should try out Green Stuff, I hated it and never used it until a couple of weeks ago. I found it impossible to use, I still don't like it that much and you can see I still get fingerprints in the putty. Best advice I can give for it as a fellow rookie is to not expect too much from yourself at first, there are a couple of simple tutorials on youtube I found a big help. Things like purity seals are pretty easy to make and a good place to get started.

 

The cloak I made by flattening out the putty into a sheet and cutting the shape out with a pair of wet scissors, I then folded to fit and hung it off of him so it would look like he's just lunged forwards. Putting motion into the models really brings them off the table I think.

 

Mike.

[Motorbike Mike]

Good morning,

 

A huge update today, I woke up early this morning, 2am early… Rather than lay in the dark listening to my girlfriend talking in her sleep I got up and finished off building the models for my Librarium vow.

 

This is Veteran Sergeant Atlas Stone, Thane of Cawdor (thanks to Calgar 2.0 for this title). Some of his fluff is up above. He's second in command of first company and would be an Alpha in any other company, but the Stormdog leads the company as Alpha Prime. He wields the Eldar Power Sword as described above and I've also given him a combi-melta. He is Alpha Fanguard, in command of the Stormdogs personal bodyguard.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360833945645798_zps5c359703.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360833983367681_zpsd4f818dc.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834029434737_zps61716aa3.jpg

 

These are just a couple of tactical marines.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834074878747_zpsa655e58b.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834117251421_zps7b2a0c9a.jpg

 

This is Brother Brutus of the Fanguard. He wields a hefty two-handed battle-axe, I'm gonna use it as a counts as Powerfist. I'll also give him a combi-flamer, but I'll need to magna clamp it to his backpack.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360833698570690_zps96623499.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360833647110808_zps7a865d0c.jpg

 

This guy doesn't have a name yet, he's a member of the Fanguard, name suggestions are welcome! I've given him a 'cleaver' that he wields upside down, I've put motion into the model as he brings it down in the same motion a kick boxer would use his elbows. I've also built a custom combi-melta, I saw something a bit similar on here, but I forget who'd made it, credit to the chap who did.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360833868807707_zpsf4c75741.jpg

 

Finally, is Alpha Prime, Derek Stormdog, the Lord of Macbeth. I've finished him off, sculpting a chunky Astro Dog pelt onto the top of his cloak. He'll be used as a counts as Logan Grimnar in the game, so I tried to stick closely to his war gear. 

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834162423630_zps2e127a97.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834207737607_zpsefa7b075.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834234477069_zps7d538fbe.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834264858111_zps07d25a0c.jpg

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834289047508_zps826f8e41.jpg

 

Heres a group shot.

 

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad114/Motorbike_Mike/image_1360834315515194_zpsba6eafb6.jpg

 

Any C&C is more than welcome.

 

Thanks,
Mike.

[Ch@oZ]

I really like the conversions you've done. Keep it up, definitely.

[Brother Christopher]

Cool Grimnar-count-as. Nice green stuff sculpting as well (minus the fingerprint on the inside of his cape). You couldn't have made him more epic and dynamic, could you?