+ inload: Blood Angels techmarine +

 + Brother Mirandola (Maltiel 4:01)+

+ Blood Angels Techmarine +

Yours is to heed the machine as others heed their kin. Tend to the war spirits all about, but do so in the knowledge that you do the Emperor’s duty. Without your ministrations, no bolt may be fired, and no enemy slain.

— Extract from the Apocrypha of Eons, Verse III, Chapter CIV

+ Techmarines during the Nova Terra Interregnum +

Owing to their split loyalty between Chapter and the Martian Cult Mechanicus, the Fraters Astrotechnicus – or techmarines, to use the Low Gothic – have long held an uneasy position within many Chapters. The hidden mysteries of the Cult make them shadowy servants to two masters; a position that means they are often held in barely-disguised suspicion.

The uneasy balance of loyalty is held in check in different ways by different Chapters. Some force their techmarine corps to swear terrible binding oaths, while others some disbar their techmarines from the standard rank progression. A few – chief amongst them the Iron Hands and many of their successors, but also Chapters such as the Star Leopards and Horizon Lords – adopt a contrary approach, heavily integrating the teachings of the Adeptus Mechanicus into their own Chapter Cult.

The swelling wave of faith that caused the Nova Terra Interregnum brought further scrutiny and pressure upon the office of Frater Astrotechnicus. As the Astartes as a whole became more isolationist, the presence of the techmarines was often seen within Chapters as introducing a potential fifth column. There are no recorded instances of the techmarines being attacked or disbarred by Chapters, but that it did not happen is by no means a certainty – merely that the Inquisition knows little of the Astartes' internal workings. 

Should any Chapters have executed or destroyed their techmarine Corps, this would likely have contributed to rapid and deleterious loss. Three Chapters that suffered rapid and unexplained losses were recorded at different periods during the Nova Terra Interregnum; all of which are suspected to have purged their Techmarine pool. 

Of these, the most notable were the Sons of Antaeus, a fifth-founding Chapter whose name was passed into the annals of the lost within three decades of the commencement of the Alien Wars. Reports of this storied Chapter's final campaign – against the recidivist squats of the Ulgur League – were classified; but eyewitnesses of the Mercian 2000th Regiment remarked that the Astartes' vehicle seemed badly depleted.

The truth will never be known; and as the Chapter has been reported lost, the re-use of its title will be forbidden for millennia to come. Such is the fragile nature of the Astartes Chapters: powerful in theory and practice; but brittle when deprived of Imperial succour. The imposition of such an inherent preventative measure demonstrates both the foresight and suspicion of their founder, the Thirteenth Primarch. 

+++

+ Brother Haynes Mirandola +

+ Like the rest of the Blood Angels force, Haynes is an homage to the period – I call it Retrohammer, but I rather like the #oldschoolnouveau tag used elsewhere. +

+ The above composite pict-capture shows the finished miniature alongside the inspiration. You can read more of the theoretical and notes on building in this inload: [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. Here I'll concentrate on painting notes. +

+ The Opus Machina – the bisected skull and cog motif – is moulded on. I think it's from an old Space Marine vehicle accessory sprue that has lurked in the bits box for years. I used ivory and deep grey tones, rather than black and white. This helps to prevent it from becoming too dominant and eye-catching. +

+ I was pleased with the little haptic keypad thing on his belt. I painted a lens effect in grey, then added a fine grid over the top with diluted light grey. The effect is to glaze the underlying gem effect, creating a result a little like a car headlight. +

+ A nice simple approach to painting the backpack means the unusual sculpt (from a Forge World Horus Heresy techmarine, I believe) isn't overwhelmed. I added a blue claw glyph to the back of the toolbox. Having taken the decision to swap the shoulder pad for the modern equivalent, I couldn't resist this little nod to the original. +

+ The drill at his waist is another element translated from the original. I built it using the drill from the Primaris Apothecary sprue attached to a communicator widget from one of the Primaris sprues. The paint job is simple metals, apart from the tachometer dial. Unlike the Machina Opus, I used pure white, pure red and pure black here. It's so small that it needs all the help it can get to read out. +

+ I was also pleased with the studded shoulder pad. I feel that I've got my method of painting red working nicely now, and the gradient here works smoothly. +

+ A final finished shot from the front. I matched the colours of the lenses to the original model from WD139. As the sculpt doesn't match, I wanted to make sure that there were some details to make it clear it's intended to be the same character. +

+ To this end I've also added some yellow and black to the shin. On the original, this marking covers the entire lower leg; in my reimagining, I've restricted it to a single fine strip. This is a favourite technique of mine: painting details freehand within an area of the sculpt, rather than painting the entire area. It makes things a bit more subtle, and heightens the sense of scale. +

+ Hope you like him – would love to hear your thoughts. +