His Not-So-Loyal Subjects - a 3rd Edition Project

[CommodusXIII]

My circle of plastic addicts is celebrating 20 years of 40K.  Well, technically 21 years, but we've agreed that last year was a complete wash.  In honor of this occasion our annual event was a blast from our past - a resurrection of 3rd Edition.  And, in my case, a continuation / reimagining of an old Shadow War: Armageddon project.

 

In my typical form, I always have to find some way to complicate matters.  Nothing will be what it seems.

 

First, the books selected to cobble together this project:

 

 

This project has been on my mind for a very long time - the general concept is an abandoned idea for a Dark Heresy RPG campaign.  I'd made a few aborted attempts to build Kill Teams or Combat Patrols around it while the 3rd-7th Edition paradigm survived, and this event is the perfect opportunity to get some closure.

 

I'd also tinkered with a Lost and the Damned army during the Eye of Terror campaign.  Unfortunately, my childhood budget was not sufficient to bring it to the table.  That's another bit of closure to obtain here.

 

I had considered sourcing only period models, but the current miniature line is too good to pass up:

 

 

 

 

Like many hiveworlds, Acropolis has a sizable mutant population.  House Cawdor is perfect for a mutant horde, with its ramshackle weapons and several design cues in its garb and armor seemingly stolen from the other sets that I'll be diving into.  I made several head swaps with leftover bits from Empire Flagellants, Rogue Psykers from Blackstone Fortress, and mutant heads that I found on Cults and printed after upscaling.  Additional mutations were sourced from the Resin Mutation Sprue from Shadows of Brimstone - in particular, I liked the pickaxe-wielding tentacle to further tie the mutants with the rest of the army.

 

 

Supporting the horde are five Big Mutants, used for heavy labor in areas deemed too unsafe for the regular citizens of Acropolis.  Genestealer Cult Aberrants were used as the base, with their chitin scraped and sanded off.  Additional heads and arms were sourced from the OOP Chaos Mutations sprue.

 

More to come!

[Doghouse]

Fantastic stuff, this is a great looking force and a really cool project. I'll be watching this unfold with interest.

[MithrilForge]

Wow very Cool idea, those books brought back some nice memories   I started playing 40K proper with 3rd Ed.

 

Look forward to the rest of this... 

 

Mithril

[CommodusXIII]

 

 

The first sign that all was not well on Acropolis was when the mutants of a particular sub-hive rose up against their normie taskmasters.  This was not, in itself, an unusual occurrence and civilians tend to keep a variety of personal arms (of dubious legality) for this very reason.  In practice this is a squad of 10 Traitors with autoguns and shotguns, and an Agitator with an autopistol and close combat weapon.

 

Genestealer Cult Neophyte Hybrids were pretty much designed to represent the working class of the Imperium, so they were the natural choice.  The Cawdor gangers also incorporate salvaged parts of their suits, tying the two otherwise-disparate sets together.  I simply scraped off the hybrid ridges from their foreheads, and substituted all-4th generation heads for the more alien 3rd generation.  If I had more time I would remove their cult icons as well, but that won't be noticeable on the table.  In the future they'll be able to double as the original bonded members of a genestealer cult, before gradually being replaced by their hybrid offspring.

 

Besides shared design cues, I think that an army also has to be linked by a shared color palette to appear cohesive.  That's a bit difficult when the individual units are meant to be so diverse in origin - this is not at all a professional fighting force.  Keeping with the grimdark grittiness, the overall scheme will be shades of grey.  For this unit I chose the bluish-green of Celestra Grey for their industrial suits.  Small flashes of dark red will also provide some contrast - here, on their right shoulders and some of their toe caps.  I've frequently abused Nihilakh Oxide in the past for LED-illuminated lights and panels, so I decided to use more of a lower-tech incandescent glow of Cassandora Yellow over a white basecoat.

[Smoke Frog]

They look great, as does the terrain!

[sockwithaticket]

As another 3rd ed starter, I look forward to seeing how you progress. Lost and the Damned armies can be great opportunities for a really coo, personalised force and it certainly looks like you're starting off that way.

[CommodusXIII]

 

 

The first to respond as the civilian population of Acropolis spiraled out of control were the local Arbites.  I briefly considered reusing the classic models from my previous project, but opted to continue with the new model line.  The Palanite Enforcers kit was relative a joy to assemble after fighting a bit with the Cawdor gangers.  I simply replaced their heads with Imperial Judge Heads found on Shapeways.  The color palette of black and charcoal blends well with the previous two units, while the flashes of white and larger use of dark red also help set them apart.

 

 

 

I've wanted a Repressor ever since I first read in Imperial Armour that they were originally used by the Arbites as riot control vehicles.  It just took this long to find the parts.  The crew compartment was a pain to mate with the Rhino kit, but I'm pleased with the end result. 

 

Imperial Armour Volume II missed 3rd Edition by four months - but even if it had made it, the Repressor still wouldn't have been on the Lost and the Damned army list.  On the table, this will not be a Rhino but a Chimera (with a hull-mounted heavy flamer, a pintle storm bolter, smoke launchers, and rough terrain modifications) for a squad of 10 Traitors with shotguns, autopistols, and close combat weapons.

[CommodusXIII]

@Doghouse, @mithrilforge, @Smoke Frog, @sockwithaticket - Thank you very much!  3rd Edition seems to have been a gateway for many players - I'll admit that it was very difficult to let that system go when 8th Edition rolled out, as bloated as it had become.  The time before Formations, Allies, and Superheavies is very interesting to explore in hindsight.  This coming as an avowed lover of Titans and Imperial Knights!

 

The terrain that you'll see is largely the result of repurposing old toys for one of our previous annual events.  This starts about here in my older plog.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I'm loving your models, especially the chaos horde.  Looking great!  Such a fantastic premise and execution.  You might want to share it in the Lost and the Damned subforum: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/forum/224-x-the-lost-and-the-damned-x/  - I'm sure the folks there would love seeing it.

 

I too used neophytes as chaos cultists, and its pretty easy to cover up the genestealer cult symbols with chaos stars.  Here's a post where I detail doing so: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/346143-the-judgment-on-kadeth-dr-ruminahuis-emperors-children/?p=5247463  Not sure if your models need them, but they would be easy enough to add to them if you did.  Or if not, there may be some future unit.  Here's a post with my completed squad if you are curious:  http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/346143-the-judgment-on-kadeth-dr-ruminahuis-emperors-children/?p=5543284

 

Now that you've added arbites, I take it this project is going to be both sides of the rebellion?  Any intent to draw in other combatants (imperial guard, marines, mechanicus, chaos space marines, etc) or are you keeping it "local"?

 

I always wanted a repressor too - I played sisters of battle at the time of the Apocalypse campaign, but was a student in North America so didn't have the money to order one over... and by the time I did, I had drifted away from my sisters to other projects (plus, my sisters army all uses the old rhino model, so I didn't think it would fit in with those).  Still a bit jealous though of your lucky acquisition.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Dr_Ruminahui

[CommodusXIII]

That trick comes out very well!  I'll have to keep that in mind - I'm sure I'll be (ab)using these Genestealer Cult kits quite a bit for future projects.

 

You're starting to see the story developing here.  Only a few units to go for this particular army!  And right on queue with your question:

 

 

 

 

With the fall of local law enforcement, the planetary governor of Acropolis was forced to activate the PDF.  I wouldn't be surprised if everyone had a box or two of Cadians knocking around.  The majority of these actually date back to the launch of the second 3rd Edition Codex - still, I argue, the best book the Guard ever had.  They've sat untouched all this time and have finally found a purpose as four 5-man fire teams of Traitors with lasguns and missile launchers.  I preferred to field Troop-heavy armies and it wouldn't be 3rd Edition without a little min-maxing!

 

I supplemented the standard kit with the new upgrade sprue to give every soldier a unique head.  The color palette continues to be shades of grey with dark red accents.  The right shoulder pad has the unit marking.  I hemmed and hawed on the proper icon for the left shoulder pad and settled on a simple barcode.  The PDF aren't a proud force, being mostly conscripts that didn't make the cut for the Imperial Guard tithe, so a more utilitarian approach seemed fitting to me.

[RazorDaemon]

At first I thought I saw a Lord Voldemort or two in there, but I think they are just the mutant heads you linked. Very nice mixture, I love variety in armies.

[CommodusXIII]

Thank you!

 

 

 

As the population of Acropolis spirals into madness and heresy, the local Watch Fortress of the Deathwatch launches a desperate mission.  Here, Kill Team Sextus stands resolute, having witnessed their supposed allies in the PDF suddenly turn their weapons against the Angels of Death themselves.

 

The Deathwatch was another abandoned project of mine from 3rd Edition that found new life here.  I was very disappointed that Codex: Alien Hunters never joined Daemonhunters and Witch Hunters, but the clock ran out on that golden age and the cycle had to restart.  Say what you will about the Primaris - in a setting prior to the return of Guilliman, they're the perfect base for truescale Firstborn Astartes in Mark VIII "Errant" armor.  I love how they tower over the mortals.  The bodies were leftover Primaris Intercessors from my stalled Black Templars project and the rest of the parts are from the Deathwatch Kill Team kit and Deathwatch Upgrade Frame.  Easy peasy.

 

On the table they'll be Aspiring Champions with the Infiltrate (Raven Guard), Counter-Attack (Space Wolf), and Furious Charge (Flesh Tearer) veteran skills.  A little extra oomph for the cannon fodder - and, more importantly, a little extra Leadership.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent works.

[CommodusXIII]

And so this little project draws to a close, and the true horror of Acropolis is revealed...

 

 

 

 

 

A keen eye and a knowledge of obscure 3rd Edition trivia would catch the US issue of White Dwarf 291 in the very first post.  This issue was notable for a Chapter Approved article that brought enslavers (and Catachan devils, and other famous 40K fauna) to the tabletop.  Sure, they require opponents' permission to use, but so do many things in 3rd Edition.  This is about fun and fluff, not competitive edge.

 

These are actually my third attempt at incarnating the enslavers.  The first two were kitbashes of various Tyranid models with middling success.  In the time since, AUS30K put out this incredibly faithful adaptation as their Puppetmaster, which you can still obtain through their yearly Kickstarter campaigns.  I just made some minor modifications for use with Primaris Inceptor flying stands.

 

With that, my initial goal of a 1,000 point army has been reached.  The beauty of this concept is that it allows for the addition of just about anything, as long as it can be shoehorned into the Lost and the Damned army list.  Servitors or menials?  Hive gangers?  Planetary nobility?  Xenos and other foul creatures?  Conceivably, this could continue through 7th Edition army lists as well, with some adaptation.  And taken off the chain of tabletop 40K, it's entirely up to my own imagination.  Maybe I'll explore this again in the future!

[Monstra Sumus]

Excellent army and great representation of the Enslavers! 

[Noserenda]

Excellent work! I remember building some enslavers myslef when that issue was new out of spore mines and many lash whips :D 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Impressive work. Does anyone else think the Enslavers look like Zerg Overlords, from StarCraft?