The Legion of Taurus - a Chaos Marine army log

[firestorm40k]

INTRODUCTION

Hello, if you're visiting this plog for the first time, you may find this index useful if you want to find a specific part of it:

Page - Contents
1 - Introduction; index
2 - First Painted LoT Marines
3- Brass/Bronze tutorial
6 - Combat patrol size force, May 2008
8 - 1,500 Points army, January 2009

9 - Campaign Space Hulk with Zombies and Giant Tentacular War-spawn!
10 - Lesser Daemons wip, FW Brass Scorpion assembly
11 - Completed Lesser Daemons & Tauran, the Bull-headed God; army progress pic August 2009; BFG fleet construction
12 - Thousand Sons 'counts-as' Brotherhood of All-sight construction
13 - Obliterator conversions construction
14 - Plague Marine & Raptors conversions construction; Lord Minagoroth painted; Brotherhood of All-sight painted
15 - Painted Berzerker Squad; Painted army Pic - Dec 2010
16 - Unpainted (rest of army) pic - Jan 2011
18 - Painting units in progress for Tournament
19 - Painted Obliterators & Plague Marines, Tournament Painting award winning-army; Painted army pic, Dec 2011
20 - Raptors PIP; Decimator construction
21 - Raptors painted; ZOMBIES!!!!!1one
22 - Call of Chaos V

* * * * *

Hello! Well, after many months working on terrain for our gaming centre (see more of the terrain here), I finally have some time to work on an army for myself! My main army has always been Marines - for me they're the most fun to work on. But in my time I've made no less than 3 Chaos Marine armies (Slaaneshi, Death Guard, Iron Warriors)... well, I've been drawn to make another Chaos army (probably something to do with the new stuff that's been released! ). Anyway, I will fill you in with some details about this army...

INTRODUCTION: ANSWERING THE CALL OF CHAOS

To set the scene, here's a really bad piece of fan-fiction:

"Fall back! Regroup!" yelled Sergeant Venturius as he ejected the spent clip from his bolter. He turned on his heel and leapt over the ruined wall, just as Sagar's head jerked back, and his body collapsed in a heap amidst the ruined administratum.
Now they were three.
Vergen fired as they ran, the figures of the traitors emerging from the palls of black smoke behind them.
"To the insertion point! Call for extraction!" Venturius barked through the comm-link. They turned the corner, and Venturius' heart sank. The Basilica had collapsed, creating a sheer, unscalable dead-end.
In a heart-beat, Venturius steeled himself, and slammed a fresh clip in to his Bolter; his last. Vergen and Basta stood beside him, bolters ready to face the traitors. "Open fire," ordered Venturius, his voice even, calm, matching the determination he now felt. If this was to be the end, he thought, then these scum would pay tenfold before their blood spilled.
Then the traitors charged around the corner, their battle cry a murderous, inhuman roar.
Venturius and his men had mere seconds to fire, but they emptied their clips on full auto, dropping a few of the traitors, before the overwhelming numbers slammed in to them. Venturius drew his chainsword, and met the charging Chaos Marines witha snarl of hatred.
He and his men fought like animals, like beasts possessed, but every traitor for they fell there was two, three to take their place.
A brief yell of anguish snapped in Venturius' ear piece, and Vergen fell to his knees, a bloody gaping whole across his chest.
Venturius slip his blade across the throat of a traitor, but his satisfaction was short-lived as Basta's broken body crumpled in a heap beside him. He felt a momentary pang of horror sieze him, like a clawed hand grasping at his chest. Then he turned to face the traitors, sucking in a deep breath, ready to bellow his hatred as he made a final charge in to the midst of the traitors.
He has like a tornado of fury, slicing limbs, kicking at heads.
But something was wrong.
The traitors began to move away from him, gradually parting to allow a figure in massive armour through. The Chaos Lord, a gleaming black blade in one hand, strode towards Venturius, who stood poised to meet this new challenger.
The Lord stopped a few feet from Venturius, and spoke.
"You have fought well, Marine. You have proved yourself worthy." His voice was deep, with a growl like water flowing over bedrock.
"Worthy of what, traitor?" spat Venturius, snarling at the figure who towered a full head over him in his skull-covered Terminator armour.
"I am Minagoroth, Lord of the Legion of Taurus; We crush the weak and fight to raise glory to our master. You have proved your self as a warrior worthy of my host, Marine. I offer you a place at my side, or your life will end now. Make your choice, Marine."
Venturius was poised to leap at this traitor, to show him that he would rather spill his own blood then turn against his Chapter and the Emperor.
But then he caught something in Minagoroth's eye, like a dark shadow, and he felt at that instant as though something had whispered to him, a voice that penetrated to his very heart.
In that instant he felt as though every ambition he had ever felt, for glory, for power, to be the most powerful warrior, could all be granted; if he wanted to take them...
The snarl melted from his face, and he lowered his chainsword, letting it fall to the ground. His arms swung limply to his side, and without moving his gaze from Minagoroth's eyes, he sank to his knees.
"Then I will follow you, my Lord," he sighed.
Minagoroth nodded, and Venturius thought for a moment he saw the faintest ghost of a smile curl Minagoroth's lips.

I'll start by saying two things about this army: firstly, the clour scheme is not mine. About 5 years ago my regular opponent collected a Chaos Marine army, an undivided army with a Khornate leaning (Berzerkers, Bloodletters, Blood Thirster). Sadly he sold the army a few years ago, but two things that struck me about his army, and never left me were the colour scheme he chose - a shining brass (the only photographic example I have is the helmet on this Marine's base) - and that he cut the horns from one of the Marine's helmet so instead of sticking up, they were lowered forward. This truck me as a really cool idea, and could be a great basis for a new Chaos Legion. So over time, as I've been drawn to carry on my friends army, I've been thinking of an entire background and narrative for them. Because I liked the bent forward horns motif, I decided upon a name for this army: The Legion of Taurus.

I'll add more detailed bits of their background on this log over time, but in a nutshell they are a Legion that have sprung from a Feral-World in the remote galactic South-east, near to an area of Warp Storms. This region has seen many Chaos cults over the years (mostly centred upon one particular daemonic entity), and on many worlds there have been many Chaos-led uprisings against Imperial rule.

So, without further ado, on to the miniatures, which is what I expect you're here to see! This log will be split in to Four distinct phases:

• Design and Concept
• 400 point Combat Patrol
• 1500-1750 Tourney force
• Expading for Apocalypse - including Mutants, Cultists, and a Daemonic Character...

PART ONE: DESIGN AND CONCEPTS

As I stated, the colour scheme has been pretty much decided, but I've been playing about with the horns on the helmets, which I intend to be a prominent motif of this army. In the pic below are a couple of WFB Chaos Warrior helmets with horns that I'll cut off and use, but that show the kind of thing I'm aiming for; also are some other Chaos Marine helms I've been cutting to reposition or add different horns.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Concept_helms_1.jpg

So here are the first attempts at helms. There some Green Stuff filling in to do, and I must admit I think the larger horns stick out too far to the side (something I can remedy by trimming them at more of an angle next time), but the other two I'm very pleased with.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Concept_helms_2.jpg

Next, here's the shoulder pad I'll use as the Legion Icon - a skull with down-turned horns, again the 'motif' of the army. As you only get these on the Chaos Biker Sprue, I'll be making some green stuff casts to apply to normal Chaos Marine Pads to carry on the icon throughout the army (rather than buy dozens of expensive bikes! ).

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Concept_shoulder_pad_1.jpg

So, having converted some helmets, I couldn't resist having a go at making a Marine - here he is:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Test_Marine.jpg

Fairly standard, but I hope he looks kind of imposing, like the threat of malice (or something). I actually sculpted some horns on the Shoulder pad, I'd do this on all of them but a) it's time consuming, and b ) it won't look as good as the Biker Shoulder pad one.

Anyway, thank you for looking (and for reading if you took the trouble ), in the next few days I'll be able to show you if my first attempt at Green Stuff casting works, as well as (maybe) a few more Chaos Marines!

[Octavulg]

Awesomeness, most truly. I look forward to more.

[Xanthier]

That's very nice indeed, and kudos to you for setting out some fluff and personal background. I'll be watching how your army develops with interest, since it's a nice concept and I altered the horns in an identical fashion for one of my Aspiring Champions in the previous incarnation of my army.

[firestorm40k]

Thanks for you positive comments, glad you're liking what I'm doing.

 

Work continues; yesterday I was messing around with the helms; the ones with the big horns I wasn't happy with so I messed about with them, cutting them down a bit more. I've got to a point where I'm starting to feel happier with the look, but I still think 1) they're not pointing down enough, and 2) I can't get them straight enough. So I'll have to continue experimenting.

 

Also, although my first attempt at GS casting got as far as making a reasonable cast, I couldn't reproduce it: after several attempts the mould got clagged up with Green Stuff, so I've had to make two more...

 

In the meantime, I've also made another Marine. This one uses parts from a conversion I made 5 years ago, so some of the parts need a bit of Green Stuff repairing; I also sculpted horns on the shoulder pad in lieu of being able to cast them!

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Next_Marine_1.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Next_Marine_2.jpg

 

Thanks for looking, more pics soon! ;)

[firestorm40k]

Well, I've been chipping away at some more marines, here's some wip shots (still quite a bit of tidying and some sculpting to do on them):

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Another_wip_1.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Another_wip_2.jpg

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Autocannon_wip.jpg

 

In the meantime, the next moulds I made look good so I'll have a go at some casting at some point during the next 3 days. thanks for looking! :P :lol:

[jester262]

I liked it better when you had the chapter symbol on the right arm. That's what I did with my black legion. The opposite of the imperials. Don't wanna do anything like them do we :D otherwise looks great

[Ju'kosian]

Looks nice.

Looking forward for more !

[Xanthier]

Very nice work there, though for some reason it looks like all your marines have pet rocks.

[firestorm40k]

I liked it better when you had the chapter symbol on the right arm. That's what I did with my black legion. The opposite of the imperials. Don't wanna do anything like them do we otherwise looks great

Thanks Jester; to be honest, I'll vary it with every Marine; I think that although a unified look is important with Chaos, it's also worth bearing in mind that each is an individual warrior with their own ambitions and I think little variations in armour would ba a part of this.

 

Very nice work there, though for some reason it looks like all your marines have pet rocks.

 

Ha! :P Yeah, I suppose they do, I've still got a bit of work to do on the bases. Still, this comment made me laugh, it reminded me of the episode of Father Ted where Father Jack has the pet brick! :P "I love my BRICK!!!" ;)

 

Any-hoo, I've been chipping away at a Standard Bearer (Chaos Glory):

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Standard_wip_1.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Standard_wip_2.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Standard_wip_3.jpg

 

I've spent the afternoon doing some Green Stuff sculpting, putting some more little horns on shoulder pads (I'm still waiting to see if the Green Stuff casting is going to be viable, should tell in the next day or so). I also took the time to repair some bits on the other minis I've done so far, like on the Autocannon dude:

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Autocannon_green_stuffed.jpg

 

So, other than adding a hand on one Marine, cleaining Mold lines, and doing the bases, these first Marines are done. Only another 30-odd to go... :)

 

More pics soon, thanks for looking! ;)

[Lady_Mournival]

I dig the fluff and the models so far. Keep up the good work firestorm40k! :)

[firestorm40k]

Thanks, Battle Brother Mecharius!

 

I'm still waiting to see if the Green Stuff casting is going to be viable, should tell in the next day or so

Well, the first attempt was reasonably successful - even though a) the cast tore in two places as I seperated the icon from it <_< and b ) I stuck the icon on at a slight wonk :rolleyes:

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/1st_Successful_Cast.jpg

 

I've made a couple of more casts, so if they tear each time I should be able to keep going.

 

Also, I've added a hand to the Marine that needed one; at the moment it's just empty, but I was just after people's opinions whether it needs something, like a knife - or a grenade, which I'll most likely add.

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Hand_1.jpg

 

Finally, I thought I'd do a group shot of all I've made so far:

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Group_so_far.jpg

 

Thanks for looking, more pics soon! B)

[Asmodeus' Swordhand]

WOW. well done it's got its own feel to it... like a squad of black legion noise marines in all it's glory.

Nice work!

 

the Swordhand

[Chaoswolf]

Nice work!! Keep it up! Seeing stuff like this gives me motivation to go back and do some work on my own chaos guys.

[Xanthier]

Again that's some very nice work you've done there. You know, you could seriously get a small collection of slate pieces and, on a big 60mm base, made what is essentially a snowman shape, put a collar on it, and you have the ultimate pet rock Greater Daemon.

 

... aaanyway, not too bad a result on the green stuff mold, though it does look like it'd need to be cleaned up a bit.

[Cornelias]

coming along very nicely! ;)

 

this maybe help you :lol:

 

CLICKME

[JaredSmith113]

Really like the look of the horns, especially the ones that seem to arc up and then down.

 

One thing I'd suggest to add to your legion's theme... stick some down-turned horns on the dragon head of the heavy bolter!

[FuriousFerret]

I love your work! Very inspirational. I like the Autocannon guy the most, I will most definitely have to steal that idea.

 

Chaos Space Marine horns have never been my thing (I habitually cut them off), but I like the direction you're taking these: "we don't wear these horns because we're EEEVIL, see, we wear them because we're MAD FROTHING BULLS EVIL!"

[vhizsi]

OOh they like good.

 

Scary ;) But good yes i like them =]

 

*thumbs up*

 

Cheers - Sarah -

[firestorm40k]

Thanks everyone for your comments! :)

 

not too bad a result on the green stuff mold, though it does look like it'd need to be cleaned up a bit.

Yeah, true, hopefully each one will get better with each attempt...

 

this maybe help you

CLICKME

Ahh, thanks Cornelius, that's a great find! :D Shame they've only got one in stock though; that, and the cost of buying lots of them mean I'll be carrying on with the Green Stuff casting for the time being...

 

One thing I'd suggest to add to your legion's theme... stick some down-turned horns on the dragon head of the heavy bolter!

Hey, that's a great idea, i may well just do that...

 

Chaos Space Marine horns have never been my thing (I habitually cut them off), but I like the direction you're taking these: "we don't wear these horns because we're EEEVIL, see, we wear them because we're MAD FROTHING BULLS EVIL!"

 

 

Scary :o But good yes i like them =]

 

Thanks very much; clearly, this army is doing what I hoped they would *cackles maniacally* :lol:

 

Anyway, here's todays Marine, another fairly standard Bolter dude :D

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Bolter_Dude_wip.jpg

 

Thanks for looking, more pics soon! B)

[Lord Oxius]

Superb! Love the way you gave that unique feeling to the guys. Keep it up. ;)

Oh, and update on regular basis FOR THE GLORY OF CHAOS!

[firestorm40k]

Superb! Love the way you gave that unique feeling to the guys. Keep it up.

 

Thanks Lord O, it's comments like that which encourage me this army is coming out how I hoped and imagined. :)

 

No update for a few days, but I've not been slacking; I've been chipping away at the next marine, wich will be a Plasma Gunner; but he needs a bit of Green Stuff work on the conversion I have in mind for him (it's nothing major, but if I can pull it off it'll be quite characterful). Also I have been painting 36 Epic-scale Daemonettes (for an unrelated army, but also as a Competition entry on Epic_fr.

 

More pics and background after the weekend, thanks for looking! ;) :)

[carnage]

Rocks are obviously very popular pets in their homeworld. Maybe thats why they wanted the mine! to gain the assistance of a new breed of living rocks! I just solved your dillema.

 

ROCKS FOR THE ROCK GOD!

[Xanthier]

Rocks for the Rock God? Suddenly I'm reminded of Galaxy Quest -

 

"Go for its weak spot!"

"It's a rock! It doesn't have any weak spots!"

 

Nice fluff by the way. I take it you'll be writing most of the fluff from the viewpoint of the Imperium then? It adds a nice amount of mystery without being too cliche, as if Imperial forces are, slowly but surely, piecing together snippets of information to try and get a bearing on who they are. Nice work.

[Kikunosuke]

Ooo, I love the fluff. Looking forward to see the actual colour scheme of these bad boys.

[rosac]

Also, I've added a hand to the Marine that needed one; at the moment it's just empty, but I was just after people's opinions whether it needs something, like a knife - or a grenade, which I'll most likely add.

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c274/firestorm40k/Legion%20of%20Taurus/Hand_1.jpg

 

 

i would say a severed head would be interesting, maybe make him look like a matador :ph34r: as for the story, i love the idea you have set for these warriors. Any chance of a khorne element?

 

rosac