The Unnamed Crusade

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Hey folks,

 

I got back into the hobby at the start of this year - my mental health was deteriorating, so I figured some sort of art project would be good to focus the mind and block out the stress of work. As as kid, I'd collected Dark Angels, and still being drawn to the more knightly chapters, but wanting a change, I started collecting Black Templars.

 

Seeing the introduction of primaris, and thus having the truescale marines I'd always wanted (I seriously considered doing that as a project in itself once), I decided I wanted to go down a fully-primaris route. Given the mismatch between the primaris lineup, and how the Black Templars fight, a bit of theorycrafting was required for how and why a primaris fighting company would work.

 

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The Black Templars, along with the overwhelming majority of other space marine chapters, accepted primaris reinforcement at the beginning of M42. Initially, primaris marines within the chapter would have solely been veterans of the Indomitus Crusade, though within a couple of hundred years, there would be chapter-manufactured marines also. Thus, we would eventually come to see a mix of Unnumbered Sons of Dorn's genetic lineage fighting alongside marines from Templar recruiting worlds. These may, in some cases, act as small detachments alongside older marines, though in other cases may deploy as full crusading companies.

 

The Codex Astartes has historically not been closely followed by the Black Templars. However, with some of the dilution of chapter traditions by the induction of primaris marines, and the increased flexibility in the Codex since Guilliman's return, an all-primaris crusading company might show more similarities to a Codex-compliant company than an older Black Templars company. Thus, rather than a totally ad-hoc company of crusade squads with highly flexible armaments, we might see squad role designations, albeit with strong chapter traditions being maintained.

 

Command echelons would be much as expected from the Codex, albeit with the captain being designated "Marshal" and his lieutenants "Castellans". The company would have no librarian attached, the Templar's librarius being defunct, and the chapter still following the Edict of Nikea. Additionally, an Emperor's Champion (a brother having received a vision of the Emperor, and now carrying relics of the chapter) would accompany the marshal's household. Veterans would not be promoted out of the company, and instead would remain as the marshal's sword brethren.

 

The battle line would be made up of six ten-man intercessor squads, each led by a sword brother. Arms for close-quarters engagements would be favoured, thus squads would tend to be equipped with unmodified or auto bolt rifles, rather than stalker-pattern ones. Sword brothers would frequently carry power swords, power fists, and hand flamers. Vanguard formations of infiltrators or incursors would generally not be deployed.

 

Given the Black Templars' penchant for melee combat, the company's twenty close support marines would be much as one would expect from the Codex Astartes, with combat knife-armed reivers and assault bolter-armed inceptors being routinely deployed. However, rather than being deployed as terror troops, reivers would be used more aggressively, deploying where the fighting is thickest. The modularity of Mk X battle plate would allow them to be up-armoured compared to other chapters' phobos-clad troops, yet still lighter than those in tacticus armour.

 

Whilst favouring close combat, it is not possible to totally avoid longer-ranged engagements. Small, rapidly deployable squads of hellblasters would be fielded, though aggressors (both flamestorm and boltstorm-equipped) would be the favoured mode of deployment of the crusade's ranged support marines. Eliminators and suppressors generally would not be fielded.

 

The crusade's armoury would provide both transport for the rapid redeployment of squads, and also make up for shortfalls in infantry anti-armour firepower. Repulsors (standard and executioner-pattern) and redemptors would fill their conventional roles, but invictors would take on a role unique to the Templars, harking back to the knights errant of old Terran myth. Used as a steed by a particularly independent brother, they would rove the battlefield to smite the chapter's enemies with their power fist, or bathe them in the flames of their incendium cannon.

 

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Proper DSLR photos will follow once the sets en route to me right now arrive and are painted, but in the meantime, here's a quick taster of what I've done so far.

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by SufficientAnonymity

[Sete]

I like the Bronze Marshal.

Looking good, and nice summary!

[Gederas]

Yellow Plasma.... That's definitely the first time I've seen that. It looks good. Feels like bit of a throwback to the old "yellow Bolter Black Templars" of yesteryear.

 

Also, even though you're making it a Primaris Crusade, I'd still look into getting the Black Templars Upgrade sprue, if only for the sheer amount of bits you can get.

 

In any case, welcome :tu:

[Marshal Reinhard]

Welcome to the Eternal Crusade, brother!

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Yellow Plasma.... That's definitely the first time I've seen that. It looks good. Feels like bit of a throwback to the old "yellow Bolter Black Templars" of yesteryear.

 

Also, even though you're making it a Primaris Crusade, I'd still look into getting the Black Templars Upgrade sprue, if only for the sheer amount of bits you can get.

 

In any case, welcome

 

The yellow plasma was partly a throwback, and partly a reference to descriptions of plasma bolts as miniature suns - yes, there's blue-white stars, but there are also cooler yellow ones. Perhaps these plasma guns go blue-white when overcharging...

 

As for the upgrade sprue, I've already got one - the angle for that teaser shot was quite deliberate. See how many different bits and bobs from it you can spot.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Well done. Good job on the Standard. The Apothecary's bloodstained narthecium is a good touch.

[librisrouge]

Loving some of these models. The apothecary especially. Great work.

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Invictor all put together. Don't worry, it's all in subassemblies.

 

[vossyvo]

Welcome! Very nice looking Crusade.

 

Think I saw you enter the Invictor into Sons of Dorn?

Looking forward to seeing him complete. I really like how you covered the front with the armour pannel - it looks better with this. The exposed/awkward looking marine inside is one of the parts I disliked about this new kit but you've fixed that nicely.

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Another quick phone teaser image.

 

I assembled and painted most of Chaplain Luther a while ago, but on picking up a box of reivers recently, I finally had some skull helms knocking about spare. I know it's a small detail, and will probably be missed by most, but now he's got a skull helm like a proper chaplain, tucked away maglocked to his belt. I trimmed down the neck parts, and painted it on a pin, before tucking it in there, as there's no way I'd have been able to do the lenses or edge highlights otherwise. For those wondering, his crozius is made from two of the upgrade sprue axes.

 

[painting.for.my.sanity]

The three smallest subassemblies of my invictor are done.

 

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Is the Invictor going to be holding the pistol? The whole pose seems to be put together as if that was the focal point?

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Is the Invictor going to be holding the pistol? The whole pose seems to be put together as if that was the focal point?

The pistolised heavy bolter has been de-pistolised, and mounted under the fist. It's much more obvious viewing the model in side profile.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Ah, I see.

 

I think, if I ever get one, a sideways pistol is a must.

[IceWind]

Excellent work on the Chaplain, I really like the Reiver helmet on his belt!

I'm also tempted to do the Invictor cage like you've done it, did you have to cut the cage or does the Redemptor plate fit on top of it nicely?

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Excellent work on the Chaplain, I really like the Reiver helmet on his belt!

I'm also tempted to do the Invictor cage like you've done it, did you have to cut the cage or does the Redemptor plate fit on top of it nicely?

I had to trim away the lowest pair of bars extending back to the sides of the cockpit. I'll send you a photo of the underside of the front plate when I get home (the infinite joys of waiting for recalls to be fixed on my Polo) so you can see how I modified it. It's a simple conversion though.

 

EDIT: The machine spirits have been appeased and I'm home, so here's a shot of the underside - https://imgur.com/QJXIKtI

Edited September 30, 2019 by SufficientAnonymity

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Invictor complete...

 

 

...and here he is with some friends.

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the Invictor and the Dreadnoughts.

[painting.for.my.sanity]

The first five reivers are complete.

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job!

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Good job!

Thanks. I've got another five blocked out on my desk and needing detailing, plus (pending eBay auction success) a Phobos Castellan to go with them.

[Medjugorje]

Is there a picture from the whole army (not just a part of it)?

 

btw - i like your Primaris High Marshal

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Is there a picture from the whole army (not just a part of it)?

 

btw - i like your Primaris High Marshal

Thanks - I'm really proud of them :)

 

My current goal is to get to 6 battleline squads, 2 close support and 2 fire support, plus command echelons and armoured vehicles. Right now I'm one battleline squad off that (they're assembled and basecoated at the moment, and I've vowed them in Sons of Dorn).

 

Once that's all painted, I'll do full army shots with my D750, but I can't really be bothered to set up lighting etc until I've met the goal I've set myself - until then, I'm making do with phone teasers.

 

There are a few more shots in an old Reddit post though - https://imgur.com/a/S2updo5

[painting.for.my.sanity]

Reiver squad complete - I'm really pleased with the blood spattering on the knives and armour.

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by SufficientAnonymity