I have had a couple of major projects come up that took all my hobby time, but they were worth it. There was also a small disaster that had to be recovered from, but more on that later, in another post.
I did however, solidify the new Chapter Banner and decided on the back-story for my made-up chapter of Space Marines. I wonder if anyone can tell that they are an off-shoot of the Black Templars? Am I that obvious? LOL. Designing that chapter banner took WAY longer than I would have ever imagined. It is not very artistic, but rather highly stylized. All the imagery on the banner has a meaning. (I will make a post later to explain all the elements of the banner.) My Templars Mordain are a rather plain jane chapter, but I did not want to create a chapter that stretched reality or bent/broke rules. They have no special abilities and are in fact, Codex Marines. The one thing this allows me, is Librarians, unlike the Black Templars.
The backstory is kind of simple, add 1 part angry Helbrecht, 1 part rebellious crusade Marshall and two parts very angry Adeptus Terra and you have the idea.
Mother Terra calls Helbrecht and says they have kinda had it with his lies about his chapter strength. They are going to found a new chapter of Astartes and he has to provide a large part of the forces. Mostly because he has skipped out of gene-seed tithes and has gun-decked his strength reports for a few hundred years. My Marshall, and I shall call him Joachim (and hug him and squeeze him....), has been summoned to Helbrecht to answer for his crime of using the witch in his crusade. (ok, ok, he borrowed a couple of Librarians from a brother Ultramarine friend to help fight the 'Nids). Helbrecht sees a golden opportunity to get rid of a heretic to the black templar way, some old equipment and make Terra happy, in one fell swoop. Happy Helbrecht, Happy Joachim.
There is a little more to it than that. I have been working on the fictional back-story as well the chapter layout for a while. Will post it here if anyone asks for it. (and probably even if they don't...) What you really have is a new chapter with no history, no traditions and some older and junkier equipment. In game terms, I get to have a regular Space Marine Codex force, but painted up somewhat similar to the Black Templars. I can use the existing BT iconography and decals on my stuff and not have to re-invent the wheel. So I ordered all the good BT stuff from Forgeworld (Brass symbols, rhino doors, land raider doors etc.). I also ordered a Storm Eagle from Forgeworld, and am totally jazzed to start on that model. It looks gorgeous. It also kind of fits the 'old crappy' equipment idea of Helbrecht forcing all the old crap onto the new chapter. Having this kind of background also allows me to use allies in a way that seems more logical to me. To fold in some Wolves, or blood angels or Dark Angels (i.e. my Dark Vengeance guys) is now very easy. They're not so much allies as they are new recruits to the chapter still trying to fit into the growing new organization but maintain a little of they're own history. Joachim was always willing to try new things (which is why Helbrecht hates him) and he made friends in other chapters on his rise to Marshall-hood.
Now then, about the paint job. Yes, it is not great, but I learned a lot from these guys and I forced myself not to start over 20 times (like usual, I have stock in paint removal companies). The colors are, of course, black, Sotek Green and Caledor Sky. I like the look, and it is rather subdued, rather than garish. I leave the garish for my necrons, they're dead already, no need to impress the chicks. The scheme is easy to arrive at. Black primer, then the Caledor sky, then the Sotek. Wash and edge and move on. It was harder than hell to remember I'm painting a squad, not a sculpture. While these minis don't look great close up, they are pretty decent from tabletop height and I think the scheme works.
So, without further ado, here are the pics... I know, the decal job was horrible. I forgot to 'ardcoat the mini before the decal. I'll do better next time, promise!!!
See ya round the war torn universe of the 41st Millenia!
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