327 replies to this topic

[Vykes]

Thanks dudes.  Man, the mastodon is a beast of a resin shoebox.  It's also done.  Juuuust waiting on a few more things (3 jetbike bases) and I'll get a whole picture of everything new.  Well, took both your advice, Sicarans are going to the Angels.  Man, gotta get a new army pic soon enough. 

 

Hmm, I'll have to double check the full numbers Pearson, mate, but I think with just the what ya see upgrades, the 65th is about 13,500 points.  

 

 

But as a bit of a preview, I did get the Vindi done.  I was gonna put the mine plough on it, but meeeeh, that thing sucks to build.  It also looks surprisingly fun like this. Still gotta think of a name but I've just been calling it "Pug".

 

[Pearson73]

Nice grime and oil on the Vindicator, the glow around the hatch is a cool touch.

 

13,500pts is one heck of a lot, I barely have 2000pts of my two forces, though I think that's down to my super low productivity.

[hushrong]

The vindicator is looking great. Love the colors and the weathering.

 

Also cannot wait to see that shoebox of doom in all of its glory!

[Vykes]

Weeell, still waiting on getting my 2 Apothecaries, 10 veterans, and 3 scimitars (the bikes and riders are done, the bases are drying now... but it's oil so maybe it'l be done by tonight for an update). 

 

But here's the latest numbers and additions!  

Frustrating bit: I forgot to put on the autocannon squad, gah. 

 

That's it, that's the last of my upgrade sets, the last of my resin mk. IV.  I've been saving them for something special and realized, "That's gonna be it for me."  I feel kinda empty about that... I literally have 2 heads, 2 helmets left for a special project in the near future (that involves cutting up a space wolf special character). I even had to beg a few spare mk. VII legs to fill out the numbers here and there.  I hate purity seals. Even if I can call them oathes of moment. 

 

Also I just realized I forgot to attach the melta nozzels to the front of the Massivedon, GAH!  Always something.  

 

My 40K support squad was split and added to: Missile launchers become its own section. 

 

autocannon squad: heavy bolters and some spare Fire Raptor autocannon barrels.  yay. Flamer support squad snuck in the back there. 

 

And Squad Hail got that much wished for boost up to 10, because it's 30K and plasma guns are scary. 

 

 

Update: Aaaaand done.  Scimitars, if I still have 1 head left over I'll probably push it up to a group of 4 and make a dedicated sergeant.  All weapons are magged out of course. 

 

The rest of the projects should get done tonight or tomorrow at latest, then hopefully I'll get a chance to test them in the field rather soon. 

Edited by Vykes, 07 November 2018 - 12:57 AM.

[Pearson73]

Solid update there, it shames me to say but your 'additions' outnumber either one of my armies.

 

The squads and attached vehicles are all looking great, as per.

 

Sad to hear that you're out of key parts, I sincerely hope that this doesn't spell the end of the project. I have a few MKIV parts kicking about which are unlikely to see much use, if you're interested?

[Marshal Rohr]

The Mastodon is beautiful, man! That is a solid armor spearhead right there.

[Vykes]

Thanks mates, heh, yeah I'm kinda at loggerheads at figuring out where a continued 65th would go.  And thanks Pearson, heh, I might very well keep that in mind.  Hey, ain't nothing wrong with it, this outnumbers my 3E marine armies, too, and that is also a lot more Rhinos than I owned total between 2E and 6E.  Heh. 

 

And thanks Marshal!  Yeah, add to it the Glaive and 3 Raiders and it looks big and beefy.  Do love armour (not as much as aircraft but it's second).  

 

Part of it is that as of yesterday I'm down to, like, 6 infantry transfers and I always said that my limit for building an army was when the transfer sheet ran out (I totally cheated and bought the moulded pauldrons to get around it).  But it means I'm more or less stumped as to where anything more would be headed.  Maybe a few recon (with shotguns or sniper rifles, I have no idea).  Always open to suggestions!

 

Well, my bit of a surprise, I got an 'apex' unit finished yesterday, again, hold outs from a project of yeaaaars ago that I ended up doubling down on and bought at the same point as my last few Sons of Horus bits.  The veteran unit (that I'll have to add 2 claws to in order to make it a legit functioning unit), the survivors of the 64th that got folded into the company, veterans of Istvaan, and Visions of Heresy honour unit. 

[Pearson73]

I like that squad in the old legion colours, they remind me well of the marines on the cover of Horus Rising (presumably a big inspiration source here). I'm seeing a mix of Death Guard and Emperor's Children parts?

 

With regards to the extra bits and pieces, just shoot me a pm if you ever fancy them.

[Brother Pheidias]

Absolutely lovely, they're just perfect.

[Arion]

That Visions of Heresy veteran squad is absolutely amazing. I spent a few solid minutes behind my monitor just oggling at the pic, trying to figure out where all the pieces came from. The color scheme is really reminiscent of the Luna Wolves but the shoulder pads tie them in to the rest of the 65th. I guess that was your intention? Are you finished with them or will you work the bases a bit more? I would really love to see a batrep with that unit. Always wondered how power weapon vet units fare. Amazing army, awesome fluff. You're stuff is truly inspiring!

[Vykes]

Ah thanks mates, it does mean a lot.  Still open to hearing some thoughts on the future of the project too (although I mentioned that this afternoon to a mate and he stole my phone and in five minutes said, "There, you're getting some recon troops." So, apparently I'm getting recon troops -shrugs-  Are snipers the best for that, or shotguns and melta bombs?)

 

Ah, Pearson and Arion, you definitely got it, but man it's essentially a bits box bash at this point: there's a few torsos left from my ooold Death Guard army, I bought the helmets from FW, but you got the Emperor's Children Palatine sword there and there's also: Custodes arms (awesome for 30K legion close combat squads), Sisters of Silence top knots, plastic mk.III legs, power weapons from the resin mk. IV upgrade set, a head and some limbs from the Chapter Masters set, and most of the pouches from some space marine scouts.  

 

Aye Arion, -laughs- they were a fun but vaguely scary group to work with.  Most of the bases are done, might just give a bit of a burnt parts a quick grey drybrush but it tends to look nice and dusty and like a ruined city up close (and weirdly, melds into most gaming boards pretty decently).  I figure that if I'm already going with some seperate units for the 17th Reavers, and I mentioned that the 'Luna Wolf' portion of the 64th company got folded with the 65th, I better have some visual representation for them, right?  And aye, I'm hoping to get them into a battle pretty quick. Seeing if I can set up a 30K game sometime soon.  I want to know how close combat power weapon vets work too: kinda figure I'm going to need a Phobus to keep them alive, though. What I wouldn't give for an open topped assault Rhino. 

 

Glad ya like it, Brother Pheidias!  It was definitely a bit skittish about getting this group done up because, well, they're weird.  

 

And thanks Pearson, mate!  I might very well take ya up on that too when I figure out what I'm gonna do to actually expand the company.  And quite right, the inspiration was from the cover of Horus Rising and the Visions pics of a few Squads, like the one on the right. 

Edited by Vykes, 07 November 2018 - 10:53 PM.

[Chaeron]

Such a superb thread Vykes - glad I've now caught up on it! Looking forward to seeing what comes next

[Vykes]

Thanks a ton Chaeron!  I'm just glad that I put this up in the first place, it really was a big motivator for me   Always open to people's input, suggestions etc too so all well and good. And what do you know, there's something 'next' right now. 

 

Two updates in two days, always good.  I finished up a few command staffers that were sincerely needed in a group this big.  Still looking for other logistical gaps are there.  But for now, Medicae prime Keniel Nizan in the mk.II plate, and the 'rookie' apothecary Effrom Rei. 

 

 

+++

“For more than sixty years I've served the whims of this Great Crusade. I was there when the company was formed, I was there when it nearly died. I recall hearing the Emperor's speeches, the great golden icon perched upon flag draped balconies across the sector. We were all captured by his dream and inspired by his vision: mankind free to make choices based on reason and unified for the common good. Damned, but that sounded like a dream I could devote my life to. But, like the tales of old Terra, wasn't the devil an orator? He who presumes a pleasing shape?

 

We went to the stars to liberate mankind from alien threats and pagan priests who trapped their subjects in chains of ignorance. Now we chain the liberated by lashing them to the tiller of Terra's doddering idiot-kings. The bureaucracy of the throne world is a self propagating relic of an aging world long past its prime. It is a sickness, no, it's a cancer. It was uncontrolled, beyond control, and instead of being painfully excised like the blight that it was, the Emperor kept it slaved to him to create the phage that serves his means. It's a damned scourge that will drag mankind to its doom just like it did in ages past.

 

Effrom, we're an audience watching a play as old as time act itself out among the stars. You want me to say it? Then I'll said it. The Emperor's dream is a golden ideal that could become reality, it really could! But, it's bound to the corpse of a fallible king who fancies himself a god. The Emperor is a fraud; a silver tongued warlord shrouded in the trappings of greatness that says what we want him to say, and appears the way we want him to appear. But that doesn't make what he said an impossibility.

 

Mankind must ascend, it must thrive, it has to travel the stars and expand beyond them. It can only do so by hurling the corpses of every last priest and petty noble from the parapets of their own cathedrals. And the last of them all will be the Emperor. Who'll be the one to do that? I can't say.”

 

~Audiolog delta-rho-22. Personal musings of Keniel Nizan, Apothecary prime of the 65^th Company, 16^th legion.

 

+++

 

'Two-five. Two-five, come in. Hey! Rei, where are you?!'

 

The apothecary seethed as he skidded the last few meters down the incline and crouched as another autocannon round shrieked overhead. Kicking off the rotted duckboards, Apothecary Effrom Rei threw himself against the crumbling trenchwall and finally drew a breath.

 

“Copy AP. I just reached the rally point. How's your day going?” Effrom glanced up and down the trenchwork, spotting the concealed Seeker rise from a heap of twisted scrap and subtly bob his head. The apothecary heaved himself up, the pressure in his lungs from a wild sprint having already dissipated as he hurried himself towards the silent trooper.

 

Apothecary prime Nizan's voice crackled as it was sifted through the vox's high level ciphers. 'Main assault on the Residency is delayed five minutes. RH-twenty-one threw a track. Be advised and keep your charges alive out there.'

 

Following the seeker around a sharp bend in the trenchworks, the empty albeit derelict defense works provided perfect cover from even the most vigilant snipers in the rusted refinery spires. Wading through the ankle deep ash mounds, the apothecary quickened his pace to catch up with the Seeker.

 

“Right, AP.  Copy tha-” Effrom stopped abruptly, almost toppling over the kneeling Seeker who had paused in his implacable rush. This section of trench had buckled inward, dumping shattered steel, scree, and ash into the defenseworks and leaving long rays of dingy grey light lancing into the gloom. They could have appeared as some holy god-rays in the few moments the tumultuous clouds had parted and shown the rolled up star-spangled heavens. That was, if it weren't for the faint dappling as Istvaan's sun tired to filter through the refinery towers overlooking the cankerous wound in the bulwark.

 

The Seeker held up a hand, nodded silently to the far side, a distance of some eight meters, and counted down. Effrom nodded, waiting for the sign.

 

Three....

 

          Two...

 

                    One..

 

                              Crack.

[Pearson73]

Apothecaries are looking good, the off-white almost bone colour does well for them.

 

Nice writing too, interesting to see Sons of Horus still chasing the noble dream, though I know that was the rhetoric used to convert many of the traitors, I felt that in reality many of them seemed to just instantly turn evil (prime example the slaughter of the remembrancers upon the Vengeful Spirit). Cool ending to the second section too.

[Vykes]

Thanks mate.  That bone colour was a weird one as the basis of it all was actually more of a cold blue (Vallejo wolf grey, layered with silver grey, then cold white) aaaand Then I realized 'oh yeah, weathering'.  So add in some ochre and it went right to bone, then got a stippling of cold white after to punch up the contrast again.  Kinda wish I could think of more ways to use white as a highlight colour in the company. 

 

You're definitely right, a lot of the Sons of Horus just kinda flipped a switch and went evil which seemed odd.  I'd rather go with the notion of 'rebels' rather than purely 'evil', Kinda the way that Aximand was leaning, and even the conflicted Iacton Qruze.  It had to be prevalent enough, so I figured why not work through it too?  Get a somewhat more phlegmatic Warrior Lodge 'prime' as a contrast to the upbeat and sanguine apothecary..  So a little short story compare and contrast seemed like fun.  -laughs- might have to do that with each principle individual.    

[Brother Pheidias]

Great writing, very gritty Apothecaries. It suits them immensely!

[Vykes]

I figured that the apothecaries would be stuck doing a lot of the dingy grungy work, so I think it suits 'em too. Man, now I'm tempted to snag another one just to fill out the detachment, but two kinda feels like it's 'enough'. 

Thanks mate, glad ya liked the fluffy bits for writing, too.  Makes it feel right (lovin' the stuff you've got for the Vth legion Brotherhood, so right back at ya dude!) 

[Pearson73]

Thanks mate.  That bone colour was a weird one as the basis of it all was actually more of a cold blue (Vallejo wolf grey, layered with silver grey, then cold white) aaaand Then I realized 'oh yeah, weathering'.  So add in some ochre and it went right to bone, then got a stippling of cold white after to punch up the contrast again.  Kinda wish I could think of more ways to use white as a highlight colour in the company. 

 

Wouldn't have guessed at a colder base! It's worked out very nicely though.

 

You're definitely right, a lot of the Sons of Horus just kinda flipped a switch and went evil which seemed odd.  I'd rather go with the notion of 'rebels' rather than purely 'evil', Kinda the way that Aximand was leaning, and even the conflicted Iacton Qruze.  It had to be prevalent enough, so I figured why not work through it too?  Get a somewhat more phlegmatic Warrior Lodge 'prime' as a contrast to the upbeat and sanguine apothecary..  So a little short story compare and contrast seemed like fun.  -laughs- might have to do that with each principle individual.    

 

That's my only complaint with the otherwise fantastic opening trilogy of the Heresy, the Sons suddenly go from noble warriors, first amongst the Emperor's sons to butchers spitting on the ideals they once championed. This seemed to be of greater magnitude with their father who had been almost a compassionate figure, when you review his dealings with Loken, to full-on evil. The contrasts worked well in your piece, the informality of the second struck me, however the Sons always were less hidebound and dogmatic, authority was respected, yet they remained brothers of the legion unlike, for example, in the IIIrd where legionnaires and line captains were kept at arm's length from the aristocratic officer elite.

[Vykes]

No one would blame ya for calling it exactly what it is --laughs- just yellow ochre really does a number on changing the surface tone and it goes from that crisp frost-style blue to bone almost immediately.  I wasn't even gonna do the stippling but I couldn't draw enough of it off the colours, so I kinda had to just to get the contrast up. 

 

Aye mate, absolutely agreed.  Like, I can see if the Sons of Horus were under direct orders and the Remembrancer thing was done effectively under protest (with a better reason on why it was required in the first place).  but if that was the cause, then it really needed to be stated.  It is true, and I think the only one I can think of that kinda retained that Sons of Horus warrior brotherhood ethos into the later sections was Aximand and Marr.  Instead, they all end up kinda feeling like Targost and Ekkadon (and even Ekkadon in Slaves to Darkness kinda had a good reason in that he was always that way).  Aye, the Sons of Horus always felt like a more rough and tumble 'modern' army, drivenand a little bit informal which broke down a lot of their stricture hierarchy under the Principia Belicosa.  Torgaddon, I suppose, is kinda the figure that I like in that respect, and I kinda wish that was shown a little more under the Legion order.  You nailed it for the third, they have that Victorian military 'feel' that separates officers and legionnaires and keeps it that way.  

 

-laughs- so I'm gonna try to work in that direction, the long descent rather than the lightswitch approach. 

[Pearson73]

Couldn't agree more, looking forward to seeing you tackle the more drawn out approach. In my eyes, characters like Loken and Tarvitz were true Astartes, loyal to their brothers, the dream of the Crusade and, above all, the Emperor. Working out just how such principled men would fall is a tricky one (of course these two remained loyal unto death), but, when their ideals are preserved, is all the more tragic for how the war ultimately ended.

[Vykes]

Totally agreed, and yeah I'm definitely looking forward too it.  I have a few things planned for when my next FW order gets in to add a liiiittle more depth to the formation of the company itself.  Hopefully it'll shape up right, though Loken, Aximand (his reluctance at the Lodge meeting and getting pressured by Erabus and Targost always got me), where they had their ideal and in a sense their self doubt just feels 'right'.  I'm looking forward to having a mix of men and monsters too, just like one would expect.  

 

Well, not a ton of movement today, got 5 models left in the 65th  to go through, but I did take a few pictures after I did up some work on an AoS thing for a mate.  So, some more white backed shots of some units from before.  

 

First of all, turns out the 65th has a fair number of Terminators in its ranks, this one includes the Justaerin unit that I basically don't count as part of the 65th at all.    Hidden 'cause it's an idea.  Now, lots of writing and just toying with the caption bars.  

 

QUESTION: Whatcha think of the min-max picture views in the side bars?  

Spoiler

 

 

+++

 

Heavy Support Squad Culkas, loaded up on autocannons and spoiling for a fight.

         

The autocannon barrel flashed again, each juddering shockwave from the weapon lifting motes of dust that swirled and eddied across the roof of the idling Rhino. Sergeant Culkas squinted, trusting his natural genhanced eyesight as he picked over the flitting images in the crepuscular gloom. Among the twisted scrap heaps of the refinery he'd seen movement once or twice.

 

Korass braced his weapon on the Rhino's hood, resting on a rivet to steady his aim. His power pack whirled and whinged, overtaxed, overcharged, as thick choking dustclouds drifted down from Myscera's last shot to clog the intake of the aged Iron armour. The staccato bark of the cannon lit up the night in blinding starburst muzzleflashes. The whip-crack of the high velocity munition's ricochet filtering back after a full six seconds in the thin air.

 

“Target do-” a keening whistle, the sound of a mallet on wet meat, and Korass toppled back with a spastic shudder. Culkas slipped back behind cover as the echoing report of the sniper's work mockingly drifted over the distance a moment later. He was the only one left. Culkas' eyes drifted over the still shivering form of his remaining squadmate, three other crumpled figures draped silently behind the Rhino like broken dolls. He licked his parched lips, checked the munitions drum of his autocannon, and took a steadying breath. The aged sergeant rested the cooling vanes of the autocannon on the lip of the rhino, and slowly eased himself up above the side to fire.

~Istvaan III: D+55:02:26

 

+++

 

Missile Heavy Support squad Myscera, split off from Hail to form a new task force.

         

The armoured assault proceeded like any other exercise or compliance on dozens of different worlds over the years. A wide sweep of armoured vehicles rolled across the landscape, thick smoke plumes launched in rhythmic waves by the encroaching armour with straggled lines of infantry loping behind the armoured carriers and clanking battletanks.

 

Two hundred astartes and a dozen armoured vehicles rolled up the ashen dune towards the small jagged outcropping as the 'morning' sun beat down in waves of unfiltered orange turning the white smoke swatched land into a virtual hellscape of billowing orange flames.

 

Traggan slammed the last rocket into its magazine housing and shouldered his multilauncher again. “Right, full volley, adjust seventy meters.” the sergeant's voice rasped across the vox link. With nary a heartbeat between order and execution, the gunner tapped the trigger. A brief puff of overpressure and the thin reedy contrail of a rock spat out into the void and arced down over the wave of advancing warriors to the little round top. Four others accompanied it, and after another moment and trigger press, yet another, and another joined the flight.

 

The little pinpricks of streaming tails of white fell among the far-flung crags, the distance far too great to make out any individual foe. The small puffs and churned up pillars of grey and yellow flash in the sunlight with a guttural thump and little else.

 

“Reload.”

 

It was war over a distance of kilometers, as cold and impersonal as the dreary Istvaan dawn. But war it remained.

~Istvaan III: D+55:09:01

+++

Flamer support Squad Dakon, honestly I never expected I'd want or need one but they're kinda just too cool to pass up!

         

A whirling gout of searing heat and flame scoured the corridor, crackling paint untouched by the firestorms that had swept over the planets surface. The aged bunker's thin air supply was choked in the stench of charred meat and boiled lubricant oil. Two black clad reavers hurried down one smouldering hallway, bolt pistols outstretched and chainswords revved to life.

 

“C'mon Dakon, keep up!” The small team of legionnaires waded down the blackened halls, pilot lights jumping and illuminating little of the verdigris armoured host. One of the five walked backwards, swaying the flamer to and fro like the fitful dancing of a will-o-wisp.

 

“Yes, yes.” The five hurried after the reavers just as the 'leader' of the pair quickly holstered his pistol, pulled a grenade from his harness, and tossed it blindly around a corner.

 

A few cried of warning echoed in the dark before a thunderous bang shook dust free from the hall.

 

The second reaver twisted the pistol around the corner, a few shots barking off into the dark before withdrawing after a return clatter of bolter fire stitched harmlessly across the rockrete walls. The deafening din bouncing deep down in the bowels of the ancient hab block. The reaver's grin was almost visible through the pale faced skull helm as Dakon licked the promethium tinged air and pursed his lips. His lean face contorted into a wry smirk as he broke into a run and sidled up next to the reaver at the corner.

 

“Good dog, finding me someone else to play with.” he twisted the barrel of the combi-flamer just over the lip and squeezed the trigger. The burning gale of searing white flame spat into the room, drawing desperate cries of pain that fought with the unending roar of the flamer. All the while, Dakon's hollow unblinking gaze remained fixed on the Reaver even as the last few tails of liquid fire guttered and died.

~Istvaan III: D+59:15:46

 

+++

 

Aaand of course a full plasma squad has to be included with a legion of any large strength, so squad Refute was rearmed and reinforced.

Silence reigned over the interior compartment. Not one of the ten figures said a word, none needed too for the moment. Resigned sighs and the low thrum of the vehicle's engines were enough sound compared to the cacophony of war that played on outside. Weary digits poked and prodded the ceramic and metal fittings of the plasma guns still crackling with dissipating heat from recent use. The barrel shroud of Trooper Castian's rifle still trailed a noxious waft of vapours like an censor as he waved it back and forth to cool the overheated weapon.

 

“Six-five, Catalyst team reporting in.” Dexor Haas's thunderous voice broke the silence and echoed in the rhino's cramped interior. A reedy confirmation and perfunctory congratulations from the driver's compartment vox responded after a harsh static click.

 

Haas sighed, slumping back against the hard metal seat. “We're headed back to Rassus Rally point to restock.”

 

Trooper Fentyn slowly turned his gaze from the grated floor to his commander, “Sir, we were just at Rassus point. Unless they have a resupply, we took the last hydrogen cells. Unless this is a rest stop.”

 

The awkwardly asked question hung awkwardly as a few other troopers unfixed their attention from empty spaces and turned to their commander. Haas clicked his tongue, “Ammo haulers from the twelfth brought in more with them. We'll be rearming and heading out again.” there was a moment of silence, “We're Ahazaar's firefighters right now, so step to it. If the Marshal needs something dead, then we'll make it real dead.” The sergeant's craggy face twisted to a rictus grin, “Besides, you have the whole ride back to relax before I want you to kill something again. Now aren't I generous?”

 

A few wry chortles melded with the affirmations as Haas chortled and rapped his knuckles against the overhead spar, all but spurring the armoured carrier to life.

~Istvaan III: D+59:23:51

+++

And a clear and simple shot of the Mastodon MS-3301 "Vitanii" 

“T-minus ninety seconds!” Captain Kademius roared from the command deck, locking the armoured helm on the neck seal. The massive trundling Mastodon echoed with the clang of richocheting anti-tank rounds and scintillating crackle of recharging void shields. From the command deck he could see everything, a wave of Raiders, Spartans, Rhinos, and Predator tanks of a half dozen companies grinding over the flattened walls and mounds of ruined masonry that littered the Precentor Palace's inner courtyards. The glittering sapphire lances of lascannons stabbed into the pitted grey stone as billowing black pillars of smoke shrouded the horizon. From the commanding position safe aboard the Vitanii, Kademius was privy to a full view as the line of defenders collapsed inwards towards holed and chewed through portions of the palace. They fled like startled gyrinx, bounding back away from the looming tide of armour that poured through the shattered defences made by the titans.

 

Legio Mortis war-sirens bleated in the near distance, audible through the dampened vox pickups. Kademius pinned his cloak on his shoulders and turned from the command deck as the hazy wireframe projector of the marshal's face dissipated. The captain of the 65^th returned to the ladder connecting the command deck and assault decks of the company's command vehicle. The massive vehicle swayed as it pitched down an incline and shuddered, bottoming out as it swung its mass towards a seemingly undamaged wall.

 

Sliding down the ladder, Kademius heard the whirring promethium pumps as they funneled heated promethium through the series of conduit pipes between decks to the melta arrays combustion chambers. Landing with a bang, the captain turned, looking at the line of readied breachers already prepared for the assault. Yet, each one made way for him as he strode through the assault chambers towards the red lit assault ramp. It was blocked with a single massive slab of ceramite, crouched low like a boulder, limbs ending in shimmering barrels of adamntine.

 

Sixty seconds.

 

Kademium chortled as he strode to the massive inert figure, patting the dreadnought's armoured hip. “It's been a long time, Gorros.” He thumbed the activation stud of his thunder hammer and breathed a sigh of anticipation as the plan ran through his mind in all its complexity. The tide of shields and armoured bodies settled around him in neat serried ranks.

 

Twenty seconds.

 

The vehicle didn't slow, it sped up. A high pitched whine roiled above him, held, and suddenly exploded to life like the scream of a ramjet engine. 

 

“Brace!”

 

Shields slammed down onto the decking, magnetic soles steadied the legionnaires further, and with a bone breaking jolt, the vehicle abruptly stopped. The manic click of locks melded with a whir of servos as the Contemptor Dreadnought Gorros seemed to rouse. A series of rhythmic bangs was dampened by the massive doors.

 

The interior light lit up green, and Kademius raised his thunderhammer aloft. “Come now, Ash Jackals. Charnel Hounds! Unto ash!”

 

The door burst open with a sweeping gale of pulped rockrete and fumes of vaporized metal. But the roar of his warriors cut through the haze like a living wave.

 

“Onto glory!”

 

~Istvaan III: D+75:09:55

+++

 

And just because I was kinda curious, I put together all my Troop choices to see what it looked like en mass... I kinda feel like I need 40 more or so legionnaires or at least despoilers. 

Spoiler

Edited by Vykes, 10 November 2018 - 08:14 PM.

[Brother Pheidias]

That's a lot of Infantry!

Loving it!

[Arion]

Great pictures and fluff, we're getting used to the quality of your output, brother Vykes! Really liking the clickable min-max pics. Your stories are very well written, perfect balance of description and action. Some parts are really cinematic, like when you describe the legionary moving his flamer to-and-fro or the scene in the Mastodon right before the assault. Such vivid moments, you can really see them playing in your mind. These small details give a lot of life to the fluff and make it believable. It's not always about the bang-bang of bolters or clanging of chainswords, but all the things happening between the action! 

 

Noticed what I believe to be a few typos? Hope this helps clean up:

"staccato bark of the cannon light up the night" I think you wanted to write "lit up", as the rest of the text is also in past tense.

"all but spurring the coaxing the armoured carrier to life." I guess you decided to change spurring to coaxing or vice-versa, but forgot to erase the other one?

 

Always know I'm going to have a nice time when I see one of your 65th updates!

[Vykes]

Thanks mates -laughs- you know, Brother Pheidias, there's still a few more (seekers, vets, heavy support squads, etc) but it still feels like a company should have more.  I dunno if it's purely perception or not.  Again, the last picture doesn't look like 150 troopers to me either so maaaybe that's just me. 

 

And thanks a ton, Arion!  Writing is one of those things I do just kinda like, bit of a jaunt back to me ol' university days (I say it like it's some distant relic but meh) and probably too much D&D at the same time.  Aye, you can really tell when I stopped to think about something or picked up the phone, eh?  Aaaah, my job is editing most days so I guess I hate doing work myself?  Heh, either way, thanks for pointing those out.  It always helps so I can clean up my act   But I definitely agree, a lot of the fun is mulling over the people rather than just doing the kill count, eh? I'm also glad the pic min-max is good!  I'll probably incorporate more of that in the near future. 

 

I have been toying with something for a special character or two when the FW parts come in, I already picked up the necessary space wolf component of a fun little build. 

[Pearson73]

Continuing with the quality writing, I agree with Arion regarding the value of the non-violent scenes, I particularly liked the detail and thought put into Kademius' view and actions from within the Mastodon. The interaction between Dakon and the Reaver was interesting too, an animosity between the line troops and Catulan elite seems present there?

 

The red glow of the handheld device in squad Myscera is well done.

 

The infantry shot looks great, I see what you mean about not looking like a hundred-and-fifty men, perhaps because of the more narrow arrangement of the larger squads? I'd like to see you add in another Breacher squad, two are always better than one and the current one looks so good, both in its own right and as a contrast to the less bulky regular marines.