The Vengeance of Angels: Legion Praetor Complete 11/10/18

[Spaced Hulk]

“Death makes angels of us all, and gives us wings where we had shoulders smooth as raven's claws.” - Jim Morrison, circa M1

“Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged, crimes are avenged.” - Samuel Johnson, circa M1

* * *

THE VENGEANCE OF ANGELS

Being an account of the Golgothan Campaign, a lost chapter of the Great Imperial Civil War, one of countless such tales that time, politics, fear and hatred have all contrived to purge from our history.

In these dark and troubled times, it is often said that some things are better left unremembered.

I prefer to say that such things should never be forgotten.

- Preface to 'Lost Battles of the Heresy – Book Three', by Arvane Mal, Remembrancer, 987.M31

***

"They are not our kin. The bonds of loyalty and fraternity that bound us together have long since been sundered. They are now nothing but the vilest of heretics and traitors, and their betrayal has stolen everything which we have fought and suffered and died to create.

Kill them all, and in doing so, let us remind all such vermin why they should fear the First."

- Address to the Faithful, attributed to Knight-Chaplain Acheron, 'The Kinslayer', 7th Chapter of the 3rd Host, First Legion Astartes, prior to the Second Siege of Sarum, 009.M31

[malika666]

Intriguing...can't wait to see some better pics! :)

[Augustus]

Great stuff, as always.

[Soldier of Dorn]

MOAR, BROTHER!!! GIVE US MOAR!!!

 

>ahem<

 

Looking good so far, man, like the color text a lot. But seriously: more pictures, please?

[Spaced Hulk]

Caal Acheron, Knight-Chaplain

7th Chapter of the 3rd Host,

Ordination of the Deathwing,

The Dark Angels Legion

A Terran Legionary of the 7^th Chapter, Caal Acheron served as one of three Knight-Chaplains aboard the infamous Mortuary Class battle barge, the Forlorn Hope. Similar in role to the Brother-Redemptors that were prevalent in many Dark Angel Companies, the Knight-Chaplains of the Seventh were responsible for enforcing discipline and preserving the myriad traditions and doctrines of the ideosyncratic First Legion.

The Forlorn Hope served as both the base of operations for the 7^th Chapter and the principle war-ship of the 38^th Expeditionary Fleet. As such, it operated independantly of the main body of the Dark Angels Legion and was not part of the battle groups assembled to undertake the Thramas Crusade.

Immediately prior to the outbreak of the Heresy, the Warmaster dispatched the entire 38^th Expeditionary Fleet into the Golgothan Wastes on an extermination campaign against xenos marauders, a task for which the 7^th Chapter, many of them veterans of the Rangdan Xenocides, appeared to be particularly well suited. By the time the Warmaster's treachery was revealed at Istvaan, the Seventh were already embattled deep within the Wastes, embroiled in a seemingly untenable situation and deemed to no longer pose a credible threat to the traitor's plans.

That the warriors of the 38^th Fleet should not only survive, but also prove such a persistent thorn in the Traitor Legion's side, is a testament to both their skill at arms and the relentless determination of the First Legion and their allied Imperial Army forces, combined with an unquenchable thirst for vengeance against those that had so callously betrayed their oaths of brotherhood.

Arms, Armour & Livery

As usual for a member of the Dark Angels, Acheron displays an eclectic mixture of heraldry and iconography, representing his rank, chapter, host and position within the complex organisation of the First Legion. Of particular note are the crossed blades on the right pauldron, denoting his membership of the Deathwing Order, the Legion's veteran elite.

Acheron is clad in Anvillus pattern Mark III power armour, a rare variant which by the time of the Heresy was already fading from use, replaced by the more heavily armoured Mars pattern Mark III and advanced Mark IV types. Acheron's battle plate has been further modified by his Chapter's artificers, including a more efficient and embellished power pack to prolong the suit's peformance.

Unusually for a Chaplain of the Space Marine Legions, Acheron wields a powered long sword instead of the crozius mace typically associated with his rank. The sword is of Caliban manufacture, and displays a number of features common to the highly skilled weapon smiths of the Legion's home world, although it is neither as baroque or as ornate as similar war-blades of the same period. The addition of an extended hilt and ricasso allows for a variety of one or two handed fighting styles, enabling the user to switch grips easily during combat.

A more morbid addition to the Chaplain's panoply of war are the pair of polished human skulls attached to his belt. Unlike the more barbarous Astartes Legions, for example the Twelth, with whom the 7^th Chapter would clash so viciously in the later stages of the Golgothan Campaign, the Dark Angels would not necessarily display such items as trophies of war. It is equally probable that in Acheron's case, these skulls represent important relics or memorials from the warrior's past. It should also be noted that the Chaplain's informal title of 'Kinslayer' actually predates the Civil War, and may instead relate to the harsh and deliberately callous recruitment practices of the original Terran First Legion.

* * *

Thank you all for the comments and likes . Chaplain Acheron is my first model for my 30K Dark Angels, and although I might try to tidy up the freehand a bit more more in the future, for now I'm calling him finished. The first wave of the army is going to mainly consist of Veteran Tac squads (to be run as Pride of the Legion list), so I'm hoping I might get better (or at least quicker) at painting the Deathwing crossed swords .

Incidentally, the long sword is kind of based on the one from this piece of artwork:

Thanks for reading, C&C are always welcome . The next update will be a Prologue and the start of my first squad, a unit of Rangdan Veterans.

[Soldier of Dorn]

Nice being able to see him better, he looks quite good. What's the source for the sword, by the way?

[Spaced Hulk]

Cheers mate  It's an Empire Greatswords blade from Warhammer Fantasy, combined with a Grey Knight's nemesis force sword hilt.

[Brother Pheidias]

Uuuuhm that's that 1st Legion stuff!

[Spaced Hulk]

A few WIP pics for today's update:

First Legion Delagatus

Paladin (Champion Consul)

Ravenwing Seekers

Rangdan Veteran Squad

And finally (just to prove painting is in progress ), a standard Tactical Legionary:

[Cloud Runner]

A few WIP pics for today's update:

First Legion Delagatus

What bits have you used for the torso on this guy? I don't recognise them from any kits, but he looks ace!

Great start to the army, and I'm loving the greatsword idea - may well incorporate that idea into some of my Dark Angels :D

Cheers

[Brother Pheidias]

That's looking all sorts of great, maybe a bit tiny bit too much robe-ness for my liking, considering this is 30k, but that's a very marginal critique :D

[Othniel's Blade]

Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous modelling.

[Soldier of Dorn]

 

What bits have you used for the torso on this guy? I don't recognise them from any kits, but he looks ace!

 

I believe it's a backpack topper from the Dark Angels Veterans Sprue grafted to the front of a normal torso, though I could be wrong. In any event, excellent use of bits on these guys. They look brilliant.

[Charlo]

srs 1st legion hype.

[sockwithaticket]

 

 

What bits have you used for the torso on this guy? I don't recognise them from any kits, but he looks ace!

 

I believe it's a backpack topper from the Dark Angels Veterans Sprue grafted to the front of a normal torso, though I could be wrong. In any event, excellent use of bits on these guys. They look brilliant.

 

Nah, it's one of the Landspeeder Vengeance torsos (which is probably why it's not overly familiar, when do you see those or their bits?).

 

Very cool models so far, though I think the Delegatus would look even better with one of tthe Spellcrow heads you've used on the Seekers

[Corswain]

Cool Ist Legion! Some nice coversions and a great mix of armour Mks.

[Soldier of Dorn]

 

Nah, it's one of the Landspeeder Vengeance torsos (which is probably why it's not overly familiar, when do you see those or their bits?).

 

Very cool models so far, though I think the Delegatus would look even better with one of tthe Spellcrow heads you've used on the Seekers

 

 

Well, that's yet another reason for picking up the LS Vengeance. There are some awesome bits in there, aren't there.

[sockwithaticket]

 

 

Nah, it's one of the Landspeeder Vengeance torsos (which is probably why it's not overly familiar, when do you see those or their bits?).

 

Very cool models so far, though I think the Delegatus would look even better with one of tthe Spellcrow heads you've used on the Seekers

 

 

Well, that's yet another reason for picking up the LS Vengeance. There are some awesome bits in there, aren't there.

 

I was fortunate enough to get the crew bits, pads and angel/skull icons from a bits site  during a sale (usually it rarely has them in stock and they're pricey when available) and they're brilliant. It's a tragedy for all astartes players that they're only in the LSV kit.

[exsanguis]

Dem Ravenwing Seekers!

 

Nice work mate. Keep it comin'!

[Lord_Ikka]

Very nice. Can't wait to see more!

[Spaced Hulk]

Thank you for the kind words guys! Apologies if I don't respond to all of you individually, but please know that I really do appreciate all the comments and feedback.

@ Cloudrunner: As Sockwithaticket said, that torso is from the Landspeeder Vengeance crew. They're very hard to find (unless you buy a Vengeance speeder, of course) but they do occasionally turn up on ebay. At least, that's where I got mine from.

@ Brother Pheidias: No worries, I think there will probably be only two robed units in the army (+ a few characters). I wanted to include some robed models as there are plenty of references in both stories and artwork to the First Legion wearing them during the Great Crusade/Heresy. I think it's in Savage Weapons where Sevetar asks Corswain why they hide their armour beneath cloth robes, to which Corswain replies that it's a knightly tradition from their homeworld. So I think it's safe to assume that once the Lion & Caliban are rediscovered, robes and tabards become more prevalent amongst the DA, and that it simply become even more common after the Fall of Caliban.

That said, I'm only going to use robes for veteran units and characters, partly to make them stand out more, partly because I'm thinking the DA elements of the 38th Fleet will include quite a large proportion of Terrans, and partly because even using third party bits like Anvil & Spellcrow, robed models are much more limited in their poses!

@ The Psycho: I reckon you could create a similar torso that way, but it would be really difficult to get the backpack icon to bend around the chest plate. A resin piece would be better actually, as you could heat it up to get it to conform to the right shape.

@ Sockwithaticket: That particular bare head is actually my favourite in the Marine range, so when I built that model, I just had to use it! I might use one of the Spellcrow heads when I build my Legion Praetor though. I agree with you about the Vengeance Crew bits btw, far too rare for what are some really cool marine bits!

@ exsanguis: I've read somewhere that the 30k Ravenwing weren't just bike & speeder mounted recon forces like their 40k equivalent, but that they also act as the 'First Legion's infiltration, information gathering and espionage specialists' (a bit like a prototype version of the Alpha Legion I suppose). So I figured a Seeker Assassination squad might fit their tactics, even if the other DA in the army might consider them dishonourable. I haven't decided yet, but this squad might get black robes rather than white.

Thanks again everyone.

So, my update for today is actually the second of the two robed veteran squads I mentioned above. I'm still building the other Ravenwing Seekers, but this unit is actually finished and ready for paint. I'll run them simply as a Veteran Tactical squad with everyone upgraded to power weapons, and they'll also get names and background when they're painted. I'm quite pleased with these guys so there are a lot of pics I'm afraid!

Calibanate Bladesworn Veterans

Squad Sergeant, with bolter-grenade launcher & Calibanate Warblade

Veterans with power swords

Veterans with power axes (although all power swords would have been more aesthetically pleasing, I wanted something to use against terminator and artificer armour, so I figured at the end of the day, axes are still blades )

And last but not least, a Veteran with a Calibanate flamberge and dualling blade:

The next update will definately be a background piece or some fiction. Thanks for looking

[Charlo]

So cool!

[DarKnight]

Excellent work, truly worthy of the Emperor's First Legion. Looking forward to reading more of your fluff too!

[BadDice0809]

These conversions are amazing. Awesome work man.

[Brother Dimetrius]

Those are some seriously cool conversions!