Vox Stellarum: True-Scaled Horus Heresy

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Good grief. I think I've finally worked out why the Iron Warriors hated the Imperial Fists so much.

 

Painting yellow, man. It's ... WHY DID NOBODY WARN ME. 

 

Airbrush was how I solved that problem when I had a go at an IF army. Any attempt to do a full yellow figure with a brush usually ended with a lot of cursing and throwing the figure into a tub of Simple Green. If I was doing warning stripes, I used the old Iyanden foundation paint as a base because it had good coverage and wasn't as nightmarishly transparent as most yellow paint is.

[Umbral]

Night Lords looking spot on.

 

Liking the Word Bearer also, where's the weapon from?

Cheers man, the spear thing was a combination of a Stormcast Paladin Retributor's hammer and the blade is from an Empire Greatsword's Flamberge 

[Ryltar Thamior]

Something a little different. Iron Warriors' Ship-Master. 

We did mention we'd be building gameable interiors for a 30k-era Astartes voidship [or three], didn't we? :P 



I wasn't quite sure what we were going to use this Princeps figure for [i'd initially thought perhaps a pilot of sorts for my 40k Inquisition warband], but then Umbral made a most intriguing suggestion of putting him to use as a (human) ship's captain for my Iron Warriors' vessel, and it just all sort of seemed to fall into place... Wasn't initially sold on the idea of the Astartes-sized chainsword, but then had a flash of inspiration that it might be an Iron Warriors blade gifted to the captain for some previous act of daring on their behalf - a sort of mark of acceptance of a nominally 'inferior' being, if you will. Who can never be Astartes proper .. but might very well still be capable of fighting like one [in his own way, of cousre - i.e. at distances of between three and thirty thousand kilometers, subject to boarding actions] and doing his duty as a 'link in the [steel] chain' regardless. 

The vaguely Darth Vader-esque head is tbh a bonus. And his nicely 'fortified' chestpiece still further helps him to 'look the part' for a Human attached to the Glorious IVth [or, at least, their unwanted exiles] - whilst the shoulder-braid very much emphasizes teh whole "Officer" thing.

Can't wait to get some paint on! [minus the hazard-markings on the chainsword. I'm presently having quite some difficulty with those on my March of the Legions entry, as well...]



Sunfury plasma-pistols are imo some of the best for non-Astartes characters - whether in 40k or 30k. There's just something about the less-high and rectangular cross-section of htem that makes them seem more 'plausible' in human hands.





Dashing, don't you think? :D 

Next steps are figuring out what sort of miniatures will be useful to fill out the rest of the Bridge Crew [followed by important functionaries for other 'key' areas of the ship -which will, no doubt, also become combat-zones for what we've got planned] ... and uh ... well ... building the actual Bridge for him to occupy! [A key part of which will be  the requisite impressive Command Throne for this chap. I'm weighing up in my head whether to go with the Princeps one for a Warlord titan or whathaveyou ... or something rather more 'ornate' in some ways with the Inquisitor Karamazov Throne of Judgement [minus the legs and multi-melta servitor riding shotgun, of course etc. etc.]

So far, the list of positions I've got to fill is as follows: Captain [check], First Officer, Chief Enginseer, Master-At-Arms, Master Helmsman, Master of Ordnance, Master of Etherics [sensors and whathaveyou], Master of the Vox, and assorted flunkies/functionaries for several of the above. I'm trying ot think if there's anyting else obvious for bridge-crew?

 

[And, on top of that, for other areas of the ship ... a Chief Chirurgeon and his med-bay, a Choir Master Telepathica [and choir-room - perhaps with not so many still functioning/alilve astropaths due to events in teh warp at the time we're playing and setting our games - i.e. just after everything goes nuts around the 500 Worlds thanks to the Word Bearers et. co. ... ], a Navigator Primaris [and his quarters/tower], Drivesmaster [and a part of an engine-room .. whih will be suitably massive and hazardous], perhaps a congregation fo servitors, lower-level tech-priests etc. somewhere in the bowels of the shipas well, and some more local fire control rooms, 'air traffic control' for fighter co-ordination etc., and a landing bay] 

Whew! 

[Ryltar Thamior]

We DID say we were building a ship... :D 

First round of supplies for same - an Imperial Sector which was snagged for a discount [good GRIEF that is a WEIGHTY kit!], and the start collecting Storm Troopers box [again, for a discount]. Plus some Empire Battle-Wizards which will be seeing *various* uses in our Inq28 logs. 

[Umbral]

I had forgotten i still had another 5 Red Butchers lying around, so i decided to see how versatile these posses were, by making some more conventionally armed truescaled World Eaters

 

 

 

 

I think in some respect a few of them turned out almost too reasonable to be World Eaters. Which is why I used Gorefather for the the commander's excoriator chainaxe and made him a chainbayonet with a pointy bit
 

 

Edited May 29, 2017 by Umbral

[Luna707]

Always great to see more of your world eaters!

[Umbral]

So I have painted up the World Eater Captain

 

 

 

 

 

At first i wondered if i had over done the blood splatter but then i remember all the Jokes in the Heresy about "just paint it red"

[Umbral]

So remember how I said that the Night Lord Rogyapas were trained by Terrans? well here's the one mostly responsible.

 

Bya Gtor, Literally "Bird Scattered", Leader of the Jhator and Commander of the Nyonpa. Nyonpa is the name I'm going to use for this whole group of Night Lords, it translates to "Mad Ones" in Tibet these guys are your crazy Buddhist monks that hang out in graveyards and have weird wisdom and stuff. Now despite his looks this individual has not been mutated by Chaos, after their exile from the Legion, they found sanctuary in the Laboratories of the III Legion, O'l Bill has had a fun time tinkering with the assault marine's geneseed, as well as grafting new, uh appendages. The Tampering has had a weird effect on their minds, as the process has brought them closer to how their Primarch experiences time, in effect driving them all to the edges of insanity.

[Pearson73]

Nice gore on that captain. Gtor looks fantastic also.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Literally think the Jhator leader is your best work yet, man. Great use of precisely chosen bits to really bring him to life; and it's also been pretty cool to see you do all the concept-design work over a period of months to make it happen. 

[Knight of the Raven]

O'l Bill has had a fun time tinkering with the assault marine's geneseed, as well as grafting new, uh appendages.

Bya Gtor, showing dark eldar scourges how it's done since M31.

 

Lovely true-scaling, though I find the area between the red butchers/tactical legionaries' torsos and waists to look weird. But my all-time favorite is the Iron Warriors' ship master.

[Ryltar Thamior]

So a whole boat-load of scary Tibetan Night Lords bits wasn't all that came in our last order ... 



It's been long apparent to me that my IVth Legion needed something more 'line-Legion'y for a number of reasons; not least being the fact that whilst many of the BhutaGana [all uh .. four of them so far] have been very 'characterful', they haven't really fit the bill for more 'ordinary' troops. And the only one who's actually in recognizeably identifiable Mk.VI armour has been the Ribhus techmarine [who was entered as my March of the Legions contribution for this month just gone - I'll cross-post the extensive fluff and painted-pictures here in a moment]. 



This needed rectification. And where better to start, given the nature of our projected Horus Heresy narrative gaming [on ships, for the most part], than with some Breachers [who'll be accompanying Ribhus Vaja on the initial boarding action of the stricken Iron Hands vessel]. I've been particularly looking forward to this unit, because they really showcase what the AyasaBhutaGana are all about: namely, continuing to prosecute elements integral to the IVth Legion's way of war, despite being equipped in a manner that's deliberately not ideal for it. 



Conventional Breachers, as we all know, tend to be in Mk.III armour - because it's heavier [particularly towards the front], and therefore more obviously ideal for the conditions a Marine is likely to face in Zone Mortalis style engagements. Mk.VI, by contrast, is pretty much the exact opposite - thinner, quieter and more tactically flexible [particularly thanks to the relatively better on-board sensor-suite]. Or, in other words, due to its enhanced vulnerability, probably exactly what you *don't* want to be wearing in a boarding action [as the advantages - of being better able to stealth - probably aren't all that useful in the tightly confined nature of a corridor-clash; and the superior sensors may be of limited utility when armoured bulkheads are blocking much of their more-distant readings].



If you've just joined us - that's the "joke" with this force of Terran veteran Iron Warriors. They were cast out by Perturabo for some previous slight at about the same time that the IVth were field-testing what would become Mk.VI armour - and just as Perturabo had no love for the armour, seeing it as totally inadequate for his forces' habitual modus operandi, this group of Marines were regarded likewise. The end result being that they're condemned to wander the stars seeking the redemption of 'honourable' death in combat, clad in what's viewed as seriously inferior armour by their parent legion in order to hasten this supposedly inevitable result. 



Now obviously, as you can tell from these illustrious miniatures, myself and Umbral tend to be rather more governed by "Rule of Cool" than "Rules As Written". So these guys have a *decidedly* non-standard loadout for Breachers. It made little sense to me that a unit which appears, in their Red Book [and associated online tacticas] to be designed to be employed as a "thing that gets charged" wouldn't be equipped for close assault. So in addition to their boarding shields and ballistic weapons, they've [almost] all got bolt-pistols and chainswords. Other htan the heavy bolter marine ... who'll presumably be resorting to that tried-and-tested Astartes combat technique of using his heavy weapon as a club. 



And yes, we're aware that Breacher Squads can't take plasma guns as their squad special weapon. I *did* consider meltaguns or flamers; but there's just something about plasmaguns... Whereas as applies the Heavy Bolter, it was once again one of those serious 'rule of cool' decisions. He looks suitably badarse wielding what's nominally a SAW as some form of SMG [and as Umbral remarked, who's once again responsible for these beauties, it almost looks like a giant P-90]; and once coupled with suspensors [which would obviously be required for using a heavy bolter in this way] and specialist ammunition, it starts ot make a little more sense why you'd bring a heavy bolter to a corridor-fight [the computer-screen mounted on top of the heavy bolter perpays playing a role with controlling some of the ammuntion in question, setting ranges for airburst; or functioning as sensorequipment like an auspex]. One of the advantages of truescaling [other than that obvious sense of TRANSHUMAN DREAD you get looking at them, in comparison to 'Mortal' figures] is that it looks considerably less ridiculous to do these sorts of things. Indeed, I'd hazard 'not ridiculous at all'. 



Oh, and as for what they're standing in ...well, we DID say we were building a ship - and it turns out that the Departmento Munitorum Armoured Containers are pretty much PERFECT for making ship-corridor sections out of. They're wide enough in cross-section [due to octagonal shape] to accomodate even slightly 'dynamically posed' truescales; the floor-sections [which are narrower] fit the 32mm [or whatever they are]  bases we mount our Truescales on; and it's great to have the pre-constructed braced sections and what not, lights in the ceiling etc. I'm a bit ifffy about the hatches in the floor, but ehh - perhaps they're maintenance hatches or something for ducting. [still haven't worked out what colours to go with for the actual corridors, so have just basecoated abaddon black, and gone over in leadbelcher for preliminary coats before building up detail, and working out what colour to pick out hte ribbing sections with - if you've got any ideas for Iron Hans and Iron Warriors vessels internal' colourations, please don't hesitate to speakup]

Here's a top-shot: 



Now, for a bit of a scale/unit shot ... here's them alongside both the Ribhus who'll be attached to their unit [alongside another two Breachers - at this stage, a chap carrying extra ammunition, particularlyfor the Heavy Bolter as well as breaching charges etc. [who'll probably be depicted more 'immaculately' as a result of his odd ability to not wind up scathed, Colonel Kilgore style ... despite being a walking repository of explosives, and who'll have a Popski style 'problem-solver' (confident) demeanour], and a squad-leader, perhaps in a more 'artificer' variety of Mk.VI [maybe the more ornate legs from the Prospero tartaros sergeant].] , and two of the Remembrancers who're attached to the BhutaGana to chronicle their otherwise forgotten deeds. 



Also worth noting is that these chaps are a bit of a departure from our usual truescaling approach, in that they've used Deathshroud terminators as the base-miniatures for both legs and chest. The reason for this, is because the 'balllistic apron' effect of the armoured ceramite tabards nicely helps to convey the 'void hardened armour' rule, whilst stillll giving us the 'greaves' of Mk.VI [and they're somewhat more 'dynamically posed' legs than the conventional ForgeWorld Tartaroi]. The idea would basically be that the aforementioned ballistic aprons help to absorb shrapnel or other 'templated' weapons effects so as to lessen the chance of it hitting anything vital on the Marine behind. Even if the guy in front goes down, there's a fairly decent chance that his additional armour-plating between his legs will minimize hits to the rest of his unit behind him. As for the chestpieces - well, they combine both a nice chestplate which is less 'oddly shaped' in some ways than the Cataphractoi and Tartaroi torsos we've used quite a bit previously, as well as having a suggestion of armour about the neck [antoher vulnerability for shrapnel or sharpshoot-ing - albiet one that's dififcult to 'properly' plug on this armour, due to the 'beaky' nature of the Mk.VI helm [same deal as what happens with the questionable 'back-compatibility' of Mk.VIII torsos with pre-'Errant' helms in 40k for Deathwatch etc.]], and even the grille and cabling reminiscent of the actual Mk.VI [although with smaller cabling and less of it, which may represent either prototyping, or a refinement of the design for lessened vulnerability in the conditions a Breacher squad is likely to face].

Meanwhile, the shoulderpads are a mish-mash of 'authentic' Mk.VI [particularly the studded ones - because of the fluff-explanation for them of bolted-on additional armour with monomolecular bonding studs], and Mk.III [because, partially it's thicker; partially it's got that raised 'lip/rim' as an additional shot-deflector - hence its placement on their left-shoulders, the ones that will be most towards the foe .. also a nice tie to the Ribhus, who's similarly armoured; and on top of this to help suggest a 'scavenged', hand-repaired from wahtever's lying around [perhaps even their own pre-Sanction Mk.III armours] look, rather than strict regementation]. Belts being loaded down with grenades, meltabombs, extra clips etc is because Breachers should, ideally, be prepared for extended operations with limited resupply, and equipped for potentially diverse situations. A starship in 40k is a truly massive area, and easy extraction or respite is not something to be expected - so durational operation becomes quite key.

Oh, and as a final note - the plasma-gun operator's helmet comes from the Ravenwing Command  set. Expect to see a few more of these, as they're really nice spins on Mk.VI whihc add individuality without going OTT and often still having that 'classic' Rogue Trader Mk.VI set of design elements [one of these days I'll probably wind up writing up a thing on all the different varieties of Mk.VI and how it's evolved over the editions/years]. 

Next job [apart from painting] is going to be working out all the requisite Sanskrit terms and mythological 'resonances' to impart to them so they're a 'proper' part of the BhutaGana and Their story. 

Whew. End Wall of Text. [what can I say - Iron Warriors build Walls :P ] 
 

[Ryltar Thamior]

Alright, so ... the aforementioned cross-posted Ribhus material from last month's March of the Legions [which you can check out here]
 

Ribhus-Sainak Vaja

 

+ + + [Puranic Record Retrieval: AyasaBhutaGana] + + +
+ + + [subject: Ribhus-Legionary Vaja] + + +

 

The Ribhus represented one of the more obscure warrior-brotherhoods of the IVth, being only seriously attested at the time of the Heresy amidst the numbers of the loyalist Terran veterans of the exiled 'Ayasa BhutaGana' formation ['Battalion of Steel Ghosts' in the ancient Terran language in-use at the region of their original recruitment].

 

 

It is speculated that they represent some of the last holdovers of the earliest groups of IVth Legion Astartes to be initiated into the mysteries of the technoyagnic cults who created and maintained much of the advanced equipment used to power the later Armies of Unification and early Great Crusade; and who would form the template for the later spread of the 'Techmarine' and 'Forgelord' ranks throughout the Legions.

The Brotherhood of the Ribhus was never particularly large, even at its height in the eighth and ninth centuries of the thirtieth millennium; and it is therefore of little surprise that by the time of the Crusade's zenith some two hundred years later, the IVth Legion's habitual strenuous way of war had worn down their numbers to only a literal handful. This was a situation exacerbated by the rise to prominence of other, less anciently-rooted technologic and artificer societies within the IVth such as the Apolakron and Lyssatra - which lead to significant competition for what had once been the Ribhus' primary recruiting pool, and consequent further diminishment due to a lack of new initiates.

It is therefore a matter of some conjecture amongst specialist-analysts of the subject as to whether the comparatively limited evidence for there being any more than three Ribhus-Sainaks in service by the outbreak of hostilities in Ultramar is a function of the generally shoddy Imperial records of the time, or the above aforementioned factors.

In any case, the multiple pict-captures of Ribhus Vaja in action [as well as the extensive first-hand accounts still preserved of the mortal Remembrancer cadre which accompanied the BhutaGana throughout the later Crusade and Heresy] serve to admirably confirm his existence, at least.



And it is to the Legionary in question we now turn.

The name 'Vaja' suggests an Indic origin for the recruit, in common with many other of the Terran legionaries of his attached formation; and also with several other Astartes forces raised in the dying days of the Wars of Unification, before the Crusade had truly begun in earnest [cross-ref: 'Pishachas' VIIIth Legion detachment]. However, given the etymological analysis of the term suggests a meaning-field concerned largely with both 'war' and 'energy', it is entirely possible that this is a cognomen adopted at some later date [for instance, upon his successful induction into the Ribhus brotherhood], rather than any reliable indicator of his ethnic origins.

From what we know as the result of the accounts of those who served with him, Ribhus-Sainaka Vaja appears to have been something of an optimistic and 'up-beat' character; a situation arguably at compete odds with both the customary dour and fatalistic temperament of the stereotypical member of the IVth, as well as the more 'emotionless' presentation of many Techmarines and other Machine-Cult allied specialists.

This, once again, speaks to his early origins on Terra - before the later psycho-characteristics of the Legions and their ways of war had truly become set in stone, and quite possibly before the Adepts of Mars had been incorporated into the nascent Imperium and its war effort proper. Indeed, it has been remarked that quite a number of legionaries drawn from the Airyavarta recruitment-grounds of Northern Ind appeared similarly positive in their dispositions; although whether this was the result of a genetic or cultural influence from the origin-population in question, or merely a natural outcome of serving in the more hopeful times of Man's early re-ascent to the Stars is a question lost to the ages.



However it arose, Vaja's optimistic nature may possibly have induced his decision to carry to war with him a notoriously unreliable plasma-blaster weapon - with the ongoing results of its temperamental nature being plainly visible in the scorch-marks and plasma-burn corrosion covering much of its outer casing.

In the hands of other legionaries, the choice to continue to employ such an obviously temperamental device might have been regarded as either a penchant towards noble self-effacing sacrifice, or alternatively sheer bloody-mindedness. But with Vaja, it appears that he viewed the somewhat problematic service-history of his mainline weapon as being something of a challenge - acting under the (hopeful) belief that each new set of post-engagement tinkering would finally deliver a reliable and non-self-hazardous weapon.



The rest of his Panoply of War might also be read as connotating certain aggressive tendencies, with the combination of a Breacher Marine's boarding shield and 'Thunder Edge' chainsword suggesting a strong desire to engage the foe in close quarters - rather than the proclivity towards ranged support and behind-the-lines battlefield repairs more common for Techmarines of all Legions, and particularly the IVth.

However, in light of Vaja's attested expertise with shipbourne systems, it is quite likely that he had instead found himself attached to the BhutaGana's breacher squads due to his demonstrable utility at swiftly crippling an enemy starship from the inside instead of any overweaning bloodlust. The fitting of a custom-wrought duelist's hilt to his chainblade further suggests a Marine who let precision and skill guide his actions, rather than mere visceral aggression.

A final note of importance concerns Vaja's armour - a somewhat modified suit of Mk.VI.

This is, obviously, a pattern of war-plate entirely uncommon within the ranks of the IVth, both due to their innate preference for heavier suits such as the Mk.III as a function of the nature of their approach to warfare, and because the production-sets of Mk.VI had not yet been made available to many of the Legions by the time the Heresy's outbreak almost completely disrupted Galactic supply lines.

However, for reasons that are still not entirely clear, the BhutaGana appear to have been almost entirely equipped with the pattern. The main hypothesis at this time suggests this came about as the result of the same set of circumstances which saw them cast out in exile from their Legion by Perturabo. This appears to have occurred at a point roughly coterminous with the IVth Legion's field-testing of a relatively limited-number of prototyped Mk.VI suits [then referred to as Mk.V]; and given the demonstrable disfavour with which the Lord of Iron appears to have held both the armour itself and the BhutaGana, it appears likely that orders were made to pass off any remaining warplate of this pattern to them when they were sent away - on the understanding that it was a fitting punishment and visual signifer of those 'unworthy' of the Legion, and more likely to lead to their 'redemption' via death in combat.

Vaja's armour has been altered largely via the addition of improved plating about the legs, a larger and heavier pauldron on his left shoulder [presumably with the intent of absorbing the weight of fire likely to be coming towards him from that direction, given customary Astartes firing stance], improved power-transmission and plating about the chest [notoriously one of the production Mk.VI's weakspots], a ballistic-apron between his legs [a reasonable common feature amongst assault-oriented IVth Legion Astartes, with the presumption that the large plating would better absorb shrapnel from ordnance detonating near the bearer, and thus help minimize risk to his squadmates even in the event of his own expiry], and enhanced servos about the knees and thighs to better bear the additional weighting-load of all of the above.



[Pict of Vaja, accompanied by three of the Remembrancers attached to the Ayasa BhutaGana, and without whose works he would almost assuredly have remained entirely unknown to the annals of Imperial history] 
 

[Vairocanum]

Some cool looking true scale in this thread, Ribhus looks badass.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Wait til you see what comes next :D 

[Umbral]

I've Finished painting Bya Gtor

 

 

 

 

 

[Umbral]

I've also been working on the rest of the Jhator 

Starting with Bya Gtor's Sergeant 

 

 

 

 

Don't ask me why, but i get a real Starscream vibe from this guy.

 

these guys here are part of the Sergeants team 

 

 

 

 

And these are the guys that hang with Bya Gtor

 

 

 

[Ryltar Thamior]

I'm scared already :D 

[Pearson73]

Absolutely brutal.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Right, so this is going to be a fairly MASSIVE update ... so please bear with me. 



First up, we have the latest member of the Breacher squad. Now, Breachers can take as one of their upgrades the uh .. eponymous breaching charges. But that seemed a little small. So instead, we have a full-on satchel charge :D Being thrown by the Marine as a sort of living artillery-piece. [you'll see the companion piece a litle later in this overloadate :D ]. The idea, I guess, is that an Astartes is a seriously, SERIOUSLY strong and precise chap when it comes to his reflexes and what not. Therefore, whilst a Catachan soldier throwing a demo-charge is a potential risk to life and limb [dependent upon scatterings], a Marine is probably quite capable of throwing the explosives with much more precision. And, for that matter, can almost assuredly throw it *hard* enough to take somebody out even before it detonates [another act of precision]. 



There's actually some precedence for this in the Inquisitor rules [iirc] ... wherein an Astartes *throwing* his bolter is quite capable of doing about as much damage as the boltgun shell itself. 



Oh, and we came up with a nice narrative kernel wherein one of the Remembrancer crew asks if it's a bit of a hazard him walking around with a bag full of explosives ... followed up by the Marine using the charge as an improvised close-combat weapon to *thwockk* a foe, and saying something like "See? Totally inert. Perfectly safe." 



The other thing you might notie about this chap is that he's laden down like a pack-horse with spare clips for the squad's heavy bolter support weapon. And, for that matter, additional clips for the squad's bolters, as well. Like I said above in a previuos post, we saw him as a sort of 'problem-solving' guy [as befits a gentleman in logistics]. And, to be precise, solving problems with high explosive. [i think that's the Popski quote]. 



Head-wise, we went with one of hte bald-and-shiny un-scratched heads from the Prospero Mk.III - the idea being that he's sufficiently good at what he does to not have to worry about backblast, enemy shots, etc. So unmarked.



The lack of the Boarding Shield is because his place in combat is to be *behind* the other chaps iwth the shields, hefting breaching charges at the enemy. 



Scale-shot with one of the Remembrancers. 

 

[Ryltar Thamior]

Next up, we have the first of the Iron Warriors attached Mortal Auxilia. This basically happened because Umbral decided to play around with some bits from three of our favourite kits - the Greatswords, Genestealer Neophyte Hybrids, and Scions [although there aren't that many Scion bits on here - instead with hte Forgeworld Renegade Enforcers supplying the torso and bakckpack], as well as a Skitarii rifle. Originally, we weren't sure what he was going to be - potentially slotting in with our 40k InquisiNecronMunda project even. But affter looking at it for awhile, it seemed plausible htat the chap would be clad in Carapace armour, withthe tank on his backfor oxygen supplies, th gorget covering rebreathing gear, and so on and so forth. 

Or, in otherw ords ... Solar Auxilia! [the rifle handily subbing in for the extra potenet lasrifles]











He's got a plasma pistol out because in the tight confines of ship-fighting, things are much more often up close and personal. [although the cavernous internal spaces of Imperial vessels do also provide opportunity for the long-rifle ranged employment too]

[Ryltar Thamior]

The other weapon Solar Auxilia would presumably be bringing to a knife/gun fight wtih enemy Astartes would be Volkite. So that ws next on the agenda. Umbral's outdone himself with this one, I think - using one of the standard Scion weapons with a front-end of an Astartes-scale Volkite weapon to create something that looks pretty plausible ... and also like it's The Business. 

This is acutally a prettty 'hulking' miniature even given the hunched over pose, and really looks like he's been snapped mid-action, IMO. 

And, naturally, he's quite well equipped for close assault as well. Like I said earlier. Knife/Gun fight. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

Now, up in the Demolition/Logistics Marine post above, i mentioned something about a chap directing fire - i.e. asking very nicely for a satchel full of *boom* to be delicately placed at some precisely defined co-ordinates over *thataway*. 



This is the gentleman doing the 'ordering'. An Auxilia vox-operator. Really does look like he's captured mid-shouting, pointing to precisely where it is that doesn't need to be a thing anymore. 



Or, alternatively, asking his squadmates if they want garlic bread & anchovies with their pizza order. YMMV. 







I reallly need to learn not ot put my fingers in-shot.


Now, once again,despite the fact that he's a comms specialist - he's also fully equipped, armourd etc. for active duty. Being equipped with a sword, and a long-rifle from the Forgeworld Tallarns [as well as a pistol, and a groinplate/armoured tabard again from teh Renegade Enforcers - which has proven a surprisingly versatile & useful kit!]




THEY CALL 'EM FINGERS - BUT I AIN'T NEVER SEEN 'EM FING! 

OOP THERE THEY GO


 

[Ryltar Thamior]

What Auxilia force that's doing the job of Solar Auxilia would be complete without a Storm Section armed with power-axes :D 



Partsmix on this gentleman is slightly different, as I was quite keen to use some of the surplus Mk.III chestpieces we have sitting around [they're no good to us for truescaling unless they're in plastic, and with some slight shaving down of the shoulders, are a lot more 'human'-sized] [the lightning-bolts representing a callback to Unity is also pretty legit]













Once again, some real nice 'action' posing





with regard to the knife, it helps solidify the 'trench-runners' feel; and you can just imagine them sliding it in delicately through the jionts in the adversary's void-armour. Most probably represents a regimental tradition. Perhaps Bersagliari style. 
 

[Ryltar Thamior]

See what we mean? :D 



Plasmagunner - although with a subtle difference, in that the front end of the plasmagun from the Scions kit has been replaced with the front-end of a Heresy-era plasmagun, coz more historical err .. accuracy? Actually looks better, too, imo. 



Another great actoin pose, and really characterful face etc. - cheers Umbral!