Mantis Warriors Reborn - 24/9 Primaris Librarian progress

[Naryn]

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In 912.M41, the renegade forces of the Tyrant of Badab were finally defeated by a combined Imperial force. Several renegade chapters, deemed redeemable by Inquisitorial agents, were sentenced to penitent crusades rather than destroyed outright. This was the fate of the Mantis Warriors. Their homeworld forfeit, they became a fleet-based chapter, doomed not to recruit new Astartes and forbidden to refuse a cry for aid for a century. Their Chapter Master, Khoisan Neotera, was imprisoned by the Inquisition. So their crusade began: leaderless, friendless, homeless.

 

The next century saw engagements ranging to the Eastern Fringe to the far reaches of the Imperium in the galactic north. The chapter saw constant combat, often reinforcing beleaguered Imperial forces. Forced into the meat grinder warfare of the Imperial Guard, or hopelessly outmatched in void naval engagements, the Mantis Warriors began taking extraordinarily heavy casualties. By 994.M41, the last recorded report numbered them at just under 500 Astartes.

 

That report detailed their ongoing skirmishes with a splinter of Hive Fleet Kraken, just outside Imperial Space. They had pursued the Hive Fleet across an entire sector, mounting constant offensives, in a desperate attempt to slow its ravenous progress.

 

The chapter was still in pursuit of the splinter fleet in 999.M41, when the Cicatrix Maledictum ripped the Imperium in two. Without the light of the Astronomican, the Mantis Warriors were effectively marooned in the Imperium Nihilus. They, like many other chapters, were presumed destroyed.

 

In 019.M42, a single Astartes Battle Barge exited the Warp near the Maelstrom. All exterior markings were invisible, obscured by heavy damage. Rift Stalker Astartes elements, boarding the vessel to investigate, discovered less than 250 Mantis Warriors Astartes, in heavily-damaged battle plate, with fewer than a thousand chapter serfs in attendance.

 

Later that year, acting Chapter Master Ahazra Redth, believed dead at Badab, has personal audience with Lord Guilliman. He asks that his chapter to a man undergo the Primaris treatment. The Lord of Ultramar assents, and even makes a gift to the chapter of 100 units of tithed geneseed, recovered from vaults on Terra.

 

It is now 030.M42. The Mantis Warriors number just under 500 Astartes. A fleet-based chapter, they have not relinquished the burden of their crusade, but embraced it. Under the leadership of Chapter Master and Chief Librarian Ahazra Redth, they plunge into the Dark Imperium with a single goal in mind: to bring glorious battle to the enemies of the Imperium, and to strike them down in the name of the Emperor.

 

And so kicks off yet another army on my part, this time a full Primaris one to take advantage of all the lovely new Space Marine models coming out. Even if I haven't quite finished painting the last one. So, these guys are a continuation of the venerable Mantis Warriors army I've been working on since fifth edition. They're close to my heart, as the first army I really put a lot of work into. Although I'll be keeping them around mostly as a legacy force, I figure I'll pay them homage when I put together the new guys. I have a lot of fun conversion ideas to make this Primaris force stand out from the herd, which I'll elaborate on in greater detail as I get going with them. I fancy the idea of a homebrew ruleset for these guys, which I'll be working on as well, although this log is strictly for pictures and fluff. Hope you all enjoy!

Edited September 24, 2017 by Naryn

[Naryn]

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//By the pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes...//

 

http://i.imgur.com/UTs1ZFh.jpg?1

 

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Former Chapter Master of the Mantis Warriors. Disgraced by siding with Huron Blackheart during the Badab War. Imprisoned by Inquisitorial forces following the resolution of the conflict. Of late, however, Mantis Warriors forces report seeing a strange figure fighting alongside them in the thick of battle--a figure in green and yellow Terminator plate, wielding an enormous chainsword and power first. A figure, in short, matching in every way the description of Khoisan Neotera, who is confirmed by Inquisitorial agents to remain in captivity. Who, then, is the unknown combatant?

 

Meet the first model of my revised Mantis Warriors force. Obviously based on the Dark Imperium Gravis Captain, with a Chaos Terminators back mated to his torso via heavy application of greenstuff. My goal with this conversion was to create a figure that could read as either Imperial or Chaos-aligned. I think the tattered cape, modified helm, and brutal weapons really sell that image, and I'm very pleased with the end result. I can't stress enough how bulky and intimidating this guy feels next to my regular plastic Terminators. Thanks for looking!

http://i.imgur.com/tcvBC6p.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/g35TOgw.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/WpdI7fd.jpg?1

Edited September 2, 2017 by Naryn

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Looks promising. The modifications are well done.

[FuriousFerret]

The termi helmet looks rad, and somehow samurai-y, which seems appropriate for Mantis Warriors. Do you have any WIP shots of integrating the terminator back?

[The_Stray_Idea]

What did you use for the cloak? Very different take on previous primaris conversations.

[Naryn]

I, Naryn, pledge to convert Ahazra Redth for the Adeptus Astartes in the Character Conversion Challenge and finish on or before October 2nd 2017 to be eligible for judgment.

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/QUah5a9.jpg?1

 

 

@The_Stray_Idea, the cloak is from the Dark Imperium Death Guard HQ. I had to do a little bit of cutting to get the back of his Cataphractii armor away from the cloak bit, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well it fit.

 

@FuriousFerret, I don't have any WIP pics, but there wasn't much art to it. The Terminator back only extends about as low as his ribcage, everything below that was just greenstuff.  I wasn't planning on giving him a cloak initially, so i threw a ton of bits on the torso to make it look better that I ended up hiding under the cloak anyway.

 

@Bjorn Firewalker, thanks for the kind words!

[Vairocanum]

That gravis captain conversion looks brilliant! I think the different parts work really well together. Looking forward to seeing Ahazra Redth!

[Calgar 2.0]

For the Emperor! For Redemption! For the Mantis Warriors!

 

Looking forward to seeing how your Mantis Warriors turn out.

[Bob Hunk]

Nice, I've always had a soft spot for the Mantis Warriors, looking forward to seeing him painted. :) 

[DaBoiKyknos]

Not a bad conversion, but I must say the position of the head looks quite awkward.

[Naryn]

@Vairocanum, thank you! I'm very pleased with the gravis captain overall, even if there are still a few things about it that bug me. I've been casually tinkering with it, trying to iron them out, but nothing's really spoken to me yet.

 

@Calgar 2.0, cheers! I've actually got a full 2000 point army of Mantis Warriors that I put together from 5th-7th, but the universe has changed so much that they really don't feel like they fit the 42nd millennium.  I'll be keeping them around and using them when my group feels like playing older editions, which happens from time to time. I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into what promises to be an army of in-depth conversions!

 

@Bob Hunk, I'm afraid it might be a while before I start putting paint on him. The last model I painted was almost a year ago, and I want to get a few practice Intercessors under my belt before starting on either HQ. I've been bitten by starting a new scheme on the prettiest model too many times.

 

@LordVelype, thanks for the feedback. I agree that the position of the head is a little awkward, but I tried quite a few different positions when I was fitting everything together and this was the closest I could get. Part of it is that the base head from the Deathwatch kit is a little awkwardly angled to begin with, and part of it is that the head is on a curved bit almost like a space marine pauldron, and was a real : to wedge into the body at all. Given the parts I was working with, I'm reasonably pleased, but I made sure to acquire duplicates of all the bits used in making him so that I can tinker with another one when i get a chance.

 

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So, let's talk about Ahazra Redth. This is what I'm currently working on for the Mantis Warriors, and it's pretty frustrating. I was extremely pleased with the conversion I made for my last Space Marine army:

I had three goals when I put this first conversion together. One, that he be a mirror image of the other notable Badab War librarian, Sevrin Loth, whose model I based mine on very heavily. Two, that he be wearing a helmet. I really struggle with Astartes going helmet-less, and the look of a helmet under a psychic hood is something I find really compelling. And three, that he balance the archetypical independent character look of ancient armor and bling with a very measured and functional look. So, this is the sort of thing I want to carry over into my next conversion.

 

My Ahazra Redth, however, is also going to be a Primaris marine. This means that the range of bits I'm working with is much more limited, but I also have a few more visual markers that I want to unify my more futuristic marines. The Imperial Space Marine anniversary model heavily informs this style. I love the beaky helmet with tubing connecting it to the belt, and the slimmed-down backpack. So I'm going to carry those over to my Primaris, which will hopefully tie them into a sort of retrofuturistic Rogue Trader-esque look.

 

Anyway, that's a lot of talk for a pretty modest prototype as of right now. I'm debating a few different changes to be made, but this is the model as it currently stands:

You can see how I'm trying to carry over the same visual language as the first model. The gravis face will connect to the rebreather tube, and echo the Mk IV helmet of the first model. The Mk III Deathwatch torso looks somewhat similar to the Mk IV one on the earlier model, although it's going to take a lot of work to blend in. And of course the Apothecary legs are in a roughly similar pose as well. 

 

Now for my dilemma. I'm not thrilled with the Apothecary tabard as it stands. There's not much movement to it, it's covered in medical detailing, and I don't really dig the loincloth look on marines in general. The issue, of course, is that cutting it off (probably for a crotch purity seal as in the earlier model) will leave a lot of weird plastic that'll take some sculpting to make look right. Do y'all think it's worth the effort, or should I try to de-Apothecary the tabard first?

 

My other progress on this model has mostly involved accumulating bits. The biggest departure from my previous model in the 8th ed rules is that the Dust Prophet's force sword is now specified as a force tulwar. This puts me in a bit of an awkward spot because I absolutely adore the Grey Knights longsword I used on the last model, and there are surprisingly few good curved sword bits in the Space Marine range. I've got some Nemesis falchions on order, and have been experimenting with other solutions, but it's still a really tough nut to crack. This, however, is what I have so far:

I've decided to take the sword in slightly more of a saber direction, for the simple reason of how much I love that Blood Angels hilt. I was initially planning on putting the ricasso from the Nemesis force weapons on it, but a few dry runs convinced me it might look weird. I'm still holding out hope, though! I tried to extend the Overkill scimitar with a leftover Sanguinary Guard blade, but unfortunately I just can't get them to match up smoothly enough. I really like the Overkill blade, but the dragon detailing on it makes it much too short to use by itself. Which leads nicely into my next project:

A very tentative attempt at carving my own blade out of plastic card. It's been slow going so far, and I can't imagine it'll pick up much once I start gapfilling on it, but I was almost pulling my hair out trying to come up with ideas. I'll do some more work on it in the next week and keep you all posted.

 

So, there you have it! Not as much progress on the Dust Prophet as I had originally hoped to report back with, but a decent amount nonetheless. Would love to hear any input, especially on bit selection. Thanks for looking!

[Naryn]

Hey all! Unfortunately I don't have much progress to report, I'm still waiting on the arrival of a few key bits. I've put a lot of work in on the sword and the torso over the last week, so here goes:

With a lot of sanding, gapfilling, and sanding again, the sword arm is now almost complete. I still want to add the power weapon nodule on either side of the blade, but my order of plastic tubing is nowhere to be found so this is the state of things at present.

Although it doesn't look that different from the last progress pic, I've put a lot of work into the torso/legs as well. Much sanding later the chestplate is starting to look like part of the body, and I've added a book, some knives, and a scabbard as well. I'm very pleased with the way the two knives came out; I like the idea of Redth carrying ceremonial knives at all times.

I've also been busy with this guy as well, a sort of trial run for my tactical marines. This is going to inform a lot of the visual language I hope to carry throughout the army--reinforced pauldrons, beakies with cabling, and slimmed-down backpacks and bolters are all what I'm using to distinguish this army from the last one.

I'm especially pleased with how the bolter turned out; before I got it in place with the head and backpack I thought it looked a little too much like an Anvil Industries piece, but now I think it fits the model pretty well.

Unfortunately, it does obscure all the work I put in mating a Reiver torso to the Intercessor legs. Hopefully on models with other poses it'll be a little more evident; I was unpleasantly surprised by the squatting legs i ended up clipping off the sprue for this test model.

 

So, that's my progress for the day. I have guitar wire, plastic tubing, and a right arm for Ahazra Redth on order that will hopefully arrive in the next few days so I can finish this up in time for the contest deadline. Thanks for looking!

[Calgar 2.0]

Looking good. I like the style of that Marine's armor.

[Bob Hunk]

Wow, amazing work on that Tactical Marine, Naryn; I really love the design!  Where did that MkVI helmet come from, if you don't mind me asking? I don't recognise it, but I really love the retro aesthetics. 

[hushrong]

Sweet! Glad to see you doing the Mantis Warriors proud!

[Calgar 2.0]

Looks like the Imperial Space Marine head if I'm not mistaken.