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Siege of Terra; IX Legion, 83rd Company "Crimson Thorns"


OakRiver

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Crimson Thorns


 


Veteran Sergeant Alessio, IX Legion, 83rd Company.


 


"We'd come a long way from the Signus Cluster.


 


We had lost many brothers, in one way or another, to the Warmaster's monstrous betrayal. The Imperial Truth was no more. The Emperor's vision of an Empire of Man thwarted by the son he had entrusted to complete his mission. We were now embroiled in a civil war the likes of which Mankind had never seen before. The galaxy burned as son fought son, and brother fought brother.


 


In spite of all all our losses, every backwards step we had taken, we were here.


 


Terra.


 


We were each veterans of this long war. The 83rd Company was a shadow of what it once was. Captain Eco had fallen before we reached our destination. Slain by a Traitor. He was being interned in the hull of a Contemptor chassis as we entered the Sol System. After he named his successor it was his dying wish to be permitted the chance to fight on. Even in death he wanted to strike out at those who brought us low. He had been born on Terra and served our Legion before we were reunited with our Father. Captain Eco wanted to be there to defend it until all life was truly taken from him. His service to the Emperor started here, and he meant for it to finish here too. Our new Captain Ennius had been born on Baal, one of the first of that breed to be admitted to our Legion, and had been the right hand of Eco. He called the sounds of battle his marching tune. There were few others I would rather have been lead by in those dark days.


 


The orders for our deployment came from The Angel himself. Our Primarch had chosen us to be his Crimson Thorns. His curse on our enemies. His moniker for us came from one of Baal's few native flora that could survive in the radiation soaked plains. The plant was known to ensnare and entangle the unwary, its envenomed barbs inflicting terrible pain upon those suffering even so much as a graze.


 


The importance of our sworn task was not lost to us. Neither was the heavy price that we knew each of us would pay in blood. It was an arduous task, but an elegantly simple one. Every Traitor we brought down, or stopped from reaching The Palace, was one less that our Father and Brothers would have to face. Our mission was to slow the invaders down by holding the walls, and when they were breached to fall back in good order and harry the enemy sowing confusion and disarray in their ranks. Like the thorns we were named after we would be an ever present nuisance to our foes, slowing them down, slowly bleeding them, and causing pain far greater than our presence. No quarter was to be given, and none asked. It was a long way from how we typically fought our foes. No longer would we fight as the wrath of The Angel striking down from the heavens. Instead we would be an extension of his implacable will, defying the foe at every turn.


 


We were to relieve the survivors of a detachment of the VII Legion, the Imperial Fists. Lord Dorn had sent a force to guard a weak point in the defenses in the lower levels by the hab zones. The wall there had the potential to be breached, but the terrain to any opening would be narrow and unforgiving for the attackers allowing only infantry. Their formidable armored units could support their attack, but they could not follow them through any breach. Should a breach be forced it would be so narrow it would be a fatal funnel for attacker and defender alike.


 


The traitorous Sons of Horus had calculated that because of the limited utility of any breach at that point the wall would be minimally guarded at best. They underestimated the pride and ferocity of the Legion who had built the mighty walls of the Imperial Palace. If the Traitors wanted though they would pay the price in blood.


 


When we got there the butcher's bill had been steep, yet the walls remained unbreached. Of the hundred or so Imperial Fists scarcely a handful remained who were fit to fight. How any of these Astartes had survived the onslaught was beyond my comprehension. It was only when our cousins spoke of how the Sons of Horus were being aided and abetted in their efforts by siege experts of the Iron Warriors did we understand their determination.


 


On the eve of battle we were joined by a stranger to us who beseeched Captain Ennius for an audience. He wore our colors and our livery, but he was not of our Company and not known to me from another. After a short while he and our sire emerged, the order came that the stranger would aid us in the fight ahead. Brother Soddu would later claim that he heard the stranger say that he was of our Legion and was an oath sworn brother to the commander of the Sons of Horus contingent that we faced and had come to seek him out to purge the stain from his honor. Some claimed he was another Son of Sanguinius who had served with Amit on Signus, but had become estranged from his Company after the Cathedral of the Mark was toppled. Others claimed that he was of a loyal son of a Traitor Legion and had donned our colors to fight against those he had once called Brother. Whatever the truth was in the days ahead we were grateful for him.


 


We did not have to wait long for the enemy to present themselves.


 


To this day I will never know if it was intentional, used as an omen or seeking the favor of some false deity, but the former Luna Wolves attacked by the rising of the moon. Captain Ennius was first to see their furtive advance and he called us to arms;


“For The Angel!! Death to every foe and Traitor!”  "


 


 


Greeting B&C, this is the start of an ambitious hobby project for me. I am returning to the hobby after almost a decade since I last picked up a paint brush. Rather than ease myself back into the hobby I wanted to maximize what little free time I do have by painting a display army from my favorite Legion.


 


The theme as you can no doubt tell from the opening fluff is a force of Blood Angels at the Siege of Terra. Initially I had intended to start this project with the Battle for Prospero box set, and have it based on a Blood Angels force tasked with escorting the Sisters of Silence to fight the daemons coming through the Imperial Webway. When I started to look at the actual number of Astartes I would have in that box I was disappointed and re-thought my starting point.


 


Without Forge World or GW having released a dedicated book for the IX Legion, and knowing that this is primarily a display army rather than a gaming army, I will probably take some liberties with unit designations and armament. The main one for me as a 40K Blood Angels player will be that the unit designations used on the Astartes helmets will not be utilized.


 


Because this army will be based around the Siege of Terra I want to have a weathered feel for them, as well as scenic bases - both of which will be new challenges for me as I have never previously weathered a miniature before, and the pinnacle of my basing for 2nd Edition was flock (occasionally badly painted with Goblin Green). I will be using the 'official' GW paint scheme that was shown on Warhammer TV and will be using this video as inspiration for my bases;



 


"So it begins"


 


http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/DSC02773_zpsisjyccr1.jpg


 


Every good tale has a start, and this is mine; modelling putty for adding details and filling gaps (having never used any modelling putty before this could have some interesting results), cork board for rubble, Betrayal at Calth box set for miniature goodness, drill (a new tool for me, no more badly painted muzzles on bolters), clay shapers, aluminium pipe for basing, plastic I-beams for basing, Blood Angel bitz for additional details, base stamps, concrete basing kit, ash grey weathering pigments, 1/48 bricks, sponge brushes for weathering, dental tools for sculpting. Not pictured are Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes, GW and Vallejo paints.


 


Not only will this project be a test of my skills I am doing it without a dedicated hobby space yet as the office I am renovating is not yet complete (thank you Indiana winters). It will also be a test of my patience as I am working full time with a very elastic schedule and potentially beginning a Master's Degree soon.


 


So TL;DR;


- Blood Angels 30K display force


- 10+ years since I was properly involved in the hobby


- ambitious ideas far beyond my previous abilities


 


What could go wrong, right?


Edited by OakRiver
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My first progress shots, really exciting basing;

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/DSC02775_zpsurlek1tf.jpg

 

For those interested I used apoxie putty, and a Happy Sepuku base stamp. Once the putty was on the base I smoothed it to the desired height (and removed finger prints) using water. I then used canola oil to lubricate the stamp. I'll let the putty cure for 24+ hours before I start adding the sand, bricks, and other debris.

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great writing and an excellent set up. Can't wait

 

Echoed, am taking my first steps into building up a IX legion force too, already envious of your basing. Will be keeping a close eye on your weathering too- it's something I've never really done and will be leaving until quite late on so looking for easy tips from others unfamiliar with it.

Edited by Mirbeau
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Currently in the progress of also going my IX legion. God that writing made me start again on them.

Think I might be stealing that basing idea as mine are set around the seige of terra too. Hey you never know they may have ran in to each other.

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I have started work on the Contemptor. Nothing says welcome back to the hobby like getting ready to carve up a $60 miniature 

 

 

great writing and an excellent set up. Can't wait

Thank you. I'd been mulling the fluff over in my head for quite some time, so after the Nth revision it wasn't quite so bad as when I started

 

 

Echoed, am taking my first steps into building up a IX legion force too, already envious of your basing. Will be keeping a close eye on your weathering too- it's something I've never really done and will be leaving until quite late on so looking for easy tips from others unfamiliar with it.

 

For the weathering I will be using this tutorial;

 

 

I figure that if I start with the Dreadnought that it should be the easiest because it has the biggest surface area. And if I get it wrong I'll break out the isopropyl alcohol :biggrin.:

 

Damn it man, now I want to work on 30k Blood Angels, and it's all your fault. :tongue.:

 

Your fluff is excellent. Looking forward to your progress.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

 

Thank you for your very encouraging comments. I am not so patiently waiting for the bases to dry so I can get to work. Because I used canola oil as a release agent I have to wash them first.

 

Currently in the progress of also going my IX legion. God that writing made me start again on them.
Think I might be stealing that basing idea as mine are set around the seige of terra too. Hey you never know they may have ran in to each other.

It is a really simple but effective tutorial. I plan on painting the stones as black and white marble.

 

And there were a lot of Blood Angels defending the Imperial Palace :wink:

Edited by OakRiver
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First cut is the deepest

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/0113170855_zpszjhvtndf.jpg

 

The Contemptor ironform for Captain Eco is in progress. As I was starting to slice and dice this expensive kit not only was I humming Cat Stevens's 'First Cut is the Deepest' I was also congratulating myself on being so witty. Then the knife slipped. First blood to the 83rd (hence the shaky picture).

 

When I said that this was an ambitious project for me I was not joking. I had never attempted a more complex conversion than a simple weapon swap, or kit bash. With the ridiculously rigid stock pose of the plastic Contemptor that had to change and I scoured the internet looking for inspiration (one of the many reasons why I ended up here). What I wanted was a centerpiece miniature that did not look like Frankenstein's monster so I went about chopping up the kit. 

 

The simplest conversion was the Dreadnought close combat weapon, specifically the built in weapon. In the fluff I had in mind Captain Eco wielded an inferno pistol, and upon his death the Company's Techmarine incorporated his pistol into his new form. I just had to cut away the bolters, their ammo boxes, cut the melta gun off a combi weapon from the B@C set, and add a cut down melta bomb to act as a new ammo source.

 

To get a more dynamic pose I wanted it to look like Eco was looking at a foe while shooting the melta gun, so I cut away the head and shaved some plastic off so I can tilt it. For the right leg I cut it away at the hip, separated the thigh from the lower leg, and accidentally stabbed myself. Once the glue is dry and the parts are better cleaned up I can repose the leg to have it standing on a pile of rubble. I also cut the torso away at the waist to help with the posing.

 

Now comes the waiting game for the glue drying, the parts to be cleaned up, greenstuff applied, and the posing to begin.

Edited by OakRiver
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Go big or go home!

 

Excited to see this project develop, and happy to see someone else going for the weathered look too. Despite it looking difficult, in my experience, the weathering techniques are actually pretty easy to accomplish with the right tools, which it sounds like you've stocked up on. Just remember, less is more, and work in layers and you'll be all good.

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Now comes the fun part - greenstuff and getting the sub assemblies ready;

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/DSC02779_zpsryjm6g7x.jpg

 

I washed off the base to remove the oil, then pinned and glued the left leg to the base. With some left over GS I shored up the pin on the other side. The assault cannon got cut off at the elbow so I can repose it (I even drilled out the barrels) and I filled the elbow pieces with GS for more surface area when I assemble those pieces. For the bigger pieces I started the gap filling. The hole in the waist joining it to the torso was filled with GS, and the torso had a small piece of sprue glued in to act as a lug come reassembly time. For the right leg the upper thigh part was flipped 180 so the back was now the front to show the mechanical details that I would not be able to resculpt myself. I then filled in the gaps from the re-positioning. The right leg will be leaning on rubble etc. so I shaved away part of the connecting hip pieces to tilt that assembly out from the hip. I want to use the chopped up Storm Raven door under the foot (it could be an access panel that was torn away). Finally I filled the gap where the head was cut away. Had I planed ahead I would have glued something on the inside of the gap to give me something to work against.

 

Go big or go home!

Excited to see this project develop, and happy to see someone else going for the weathered look too. Despite it looking difficult, in my experience, the weathering techniques are actually pretty easy to accomplish with the right tools, which it sounds like you've stocked up on. Just remember, less is more, and work in layers and you'll be all good.

Thank you. I'm a huge believer in doing my due diligence so I have quite the folder of pics and videos for inspiration and guidance in case I get stuck.

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While waiting for the GS to cure so I can finish up the Contemptor I started on our mystery guest;

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/DSC02780_zpskhjbvha9.jpg

 

Just a very simple conversion. I exchanged his stock load out for two more obviously Blood Angel weapons, and added a GS blood drop to his chest. I did have to pin his right hand after I trimmed out the existing one and added the new assembly after it broke for the third time unpinned. 

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Darkness

 

It enveloped him

 

It felt like it had for an eon. Everything was hazy. His extremities felt heavy beyond measure and his body felt cold. This was not the sus-an state he had rested in before. This was...different.

 

Memories burned like embers in his mind. He remembered the fight. It was a boarding action.

 

Voices.

 

“Status?”

 

“The patient rests. The damage to his body was most severe, he should not be alive. One of his hearts was beyond repair and the only reason the life remained in him was the battlefield ministrations of Brother Tobias”

 

Tobias. Alessio's squad. Yes, he was earmarked to be trained in the ways of the Apothecary. Had this war not broken out he would have been absent from the company and I would be no more.

 

“For that we are grateful. The Warden and Captain Ennius were there with him to hear his last wish”

 

Last wish? Had he died?

Noise, like someone rubbing their hand on metal but he could hear it as if it was just outside him. Yet it was distorted like he was underwater.

 

“He is adapting well. There are not many possessed of the indomitable will to endure and adapt to their new form. Especially with his injuries”

 

Muzzle flash seared his retinas. The clash of blades was deafening. The smell of blood. Pain.

 

“When will we know if he is ready to be woken?”

That was a new voice, but it was familiar.

 

“My Lord, our fallen Brother will let us know. His ironform's reactor has been online since his internment. When he is ready he will let us know”

 

With those words Brother Captain Eco's vision became clear. Were before he could see as only a gene enhanced Astartes could his vision was electronic. System readiness alerts flashed and targeting matrices took in his surrounding. The familiar voice spoke again;

 

“Brother Captain Eco. I see you are finally awake”

 

His voice was now distorted as he spoken through the grill of the Contemptor ironform;

 

“Aye Brother Ennius, that I am. What news?”

 

“The Angel has ordered us to Terra. You will have your wish”

 

The helm of the Dreadnought hid his ruined smile.

 

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/DSC02782_zpskaxqwenx.jpg

 

 

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/DSC02783_zps6vzajpum.jpg

Picture to show some more of the base detail, and the integrated meltagun

 

The reposed and based Contemptor, just missing the paint. In hindsight the re-posing of the right leg was a little more tame than originally planned but I think it adds enough movement while being within my skill set. I have started to put paint on several bases so I can do some tests before I work on the Dreadnought and Enigma. I might assemble some basic Marines to test the paint scheme on too.

 

 

 

 

 

Also if anyone has any tips on improving the quality of my photos it would be appreciated.

Edited by OakRiver
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Thank you. Had I planned it out better, and been slightly more comfortable with a more intensive repose I should have separated both legs from the hip to allow for a greater sense of movement, and also cut the knee pad of the right knee off for a more dynamic pose. But even with that said I am still very happy with the miniature.

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On the hobby front today I finally finished the bases for the project (except the Contemptor)

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/0123172250_zpsuyap1gvp.jpg

 

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/0123172252_zps3z7ag59z.jpg

 

 

The only thing left to add is a little blood on the bases, but I'll wait until the minis are ready to be attached

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YES! This blog is so well structured, the fluff is so good, and the models are (so far) looking really nice! Keep it up! :smile.:

Thank you very much

 

 

For anyone interested in the recipe for the bases;

- basecoat Vallejo basalt grey

- drybrush with Ulthuan grey mixed with basalt grey

- drybrush the larger debris with basalt grey mixed with a cream color (it was cheap dollar store acrylic paint)

- Any metal debris basecoat Rhinox Hide and drybrush Runefang Steel 

- paint the black stones black using your preferred manufacturer (I use a mix of Vallejo and GW paint because the Vallejo stuff was on sale locally)

- paint the white marble with two thin coats of Ulthuan grey

- mix Ulthuan grey and Dawnstone 50/50, then add the same amount of Lahmian Medium as paint. Use this mix to paint parallel (not not straight or even) lines on the white marble to give the impression of veins

- mix Dawnstone with the same amount of Lahmian Medium. Use sparingly to add depth to the veins

 

Also when starting the checkered pattern I decided that I wanted to plan out each base so that the black marble was the predominant color to keep focus on the miniatures

Edited by OakRiver
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With the bases for the Marines and Terminators now complete I have started working on a test mini;

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/0126171414_zpshptdsidv.jpg

 

 

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w213/mp7a1/0126171420a_zpsccmmnpvx.jpg

 

The only parts that I added to him were the device on his right pauldron from the BA upgrade kit, and a set of pouches also from the BA upgrade kit

 

The color scheme will very closely follow the GW scheme;

- undercoat black

- basecoat Mephiston Red (in this case four layers)

- recess shade Agrax Earthshade

- neaten up with Mephiston Red

- highlight with Evil Sunz Scarlet

 

For the soft armor joints I'll basecoat with Eshin Grey and shade with Nuln Oil

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