+ inload: Who? What? +

+ Who and what in the War of the False Primarch +

+ Who are these guys, anyway? Who are the goodies? +

 + As a storm gathers, and the War of the False Primarch enters its final phase, I'm trying to put together potted summaries of each of the principal Chapters (and in theory, any other group you fancy) as a way of re-introducing the factions for hobbyists new to the project. +

+ A key theme of the project (and where much of its appeal lies) is the grey-on-grey and murky nature of the war. However, that equivocation makes getting involved harder than it needs to be – so quick hooks are important to help people dive into the deeper lore. + 

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+ Spotlight: Silver Stars + 

 

Emblematic of – and indivisible from – the sole conflict in which their actions were reported, the Silver Stars were labelled ‘Pseudolegion’; the term symptomatic of the ambiguity surrounding this most enigmatic of the War’s belligerents.

Their cryptic and occluded reputation, however, belied the seemingly straightforward way in which they were said to have waged war.

+ The Silver Stars above gives an example of the sort of thing I mean – just a couple of sentences to summarise the faction's iconic identity. If you'd like to take a stab at writing one for another Chapter/faction, please pop it in the comments, and I'll try to work up a picture in the same style using what I've got. +

+ Here are some for you to start with, if you fancy a go:

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+ Spotlight: Wormwood Sons + 

Credit: Nick T/@k0rdhal

 
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+ Spotlight: Riven Lords + 

 

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+ Spotlight: Inheritors + 

 

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+ Spotlight: Iron Guard + 

 

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+ Spotlight: Void Barons+ 

 

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+ And of course, if you're unfamiliar with any of them, feel free to peruse their respective Index Astartes articles on the +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+ blog. +

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+ inload: Did I forget something? +

+ Did I forget something? +

+ Some things, so I'm led to understand, are best left forgotten  – but not a collaborative project that so many people contributed to and poured so much effort into. Having stepped away from it to recharge my creative juices, The War of the False Primarch returns for its conclusion in Part V. +

+ There's a preview article up on the blog [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], and in between stuff for The Ashes of Armageddon (let's keep those plates spinning), I'll be posting the Stage V summary fairly shortly. +

+ If you've not yet heard of the project, then please do consider this your invitation into the post-Heresy, pre-M41 galaxy, when humanity is dominant – and thus promptly starts fighting itself. There is a lot of information there, both explicit and implied, so if you enjoy picking up threads and following them, then it should be a delight. +

+ If you're feeling a bit unsure where to start, look for the grey sidebar – that has an overview and summaries of each stage at the top, and popular posts underneath. +

+ This is the final stage of the long-running project. Originally planned for a few months, it rather gathered a life of its own and seemed to catch lots of wonderfully talented hobbyists' imaginations. I hope this last stage does justice to it, and gives everyone a sense of satisfaction. +

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+ On the desk +

+ These collaborative projects are a great chance to get involved with one or two models that catch your imagination. While a couple of hobbyists have got close – looking at you, @spacedhulk and @freelance_pesh – I'm not sure anyone has one of each Partisan and Pentarchy Chapter – certainly not me! +

+ Below are three Partisan figures I'm working on. +

+ I think it's a mark of how imaginative and varied the contributors were in creating their own Chapters that they're so distinctive from one another, despite all ostensibly simply being 'Codex Space Marines'. +

+ Without the benefit of a colour scheme in each case, can you guess the Chapters? +

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+ inload: Krootiful models +

+ 'Avast there, my krooties' + 

+ Blimey, don't Kroot lend themselves to bad puns? +

+ It's been rather hectic recently, but I've been working on painting up some more kroot, and thought I'd share them. Pictured here are another four that have been polished up, along with a couple of others I had on my painting table for reference. +

+ GW have been previewing some new figures, so I've been beavering away – and told myself I can't buy any more kroot 'til these are finished! +

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+ Coming from the Killteam Farstalker Kinband box, which is intended to create distinct archetypes, the models have lots of individual detail and unique bits, which means I've had to work on them individually or in small groups. It's been time-consuming, occasionally challenging, and quite different from the Epic models I'd been working on most recently; but a change is as good as a rest. +

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+ The Kill Team +

+ Dusty Harj-Wald, Pistolier +

+ Please forgive the rather poor pict-captures (evidently the natural fieldcraft skills of the Kroot extend to servoskull-borne pict-capters). Here's the pistolier, 'Dusty Harj-Wald'. +

+ Lurks-Within-Tent +

+ A notoriously work-shy Kroot Warrior, armed with a flintlock and scattergun, Lurks-Within-Tent. +

+ I've used some bright blue-pink tufts to suggest the alien jungle of Paradise XXII – the planet the PCRC campaign is set upon), which are both nice and eye-ctaching, and set off the earthy palette nicely. The risk is that they draw all the attention from the figures, so I've used some flashes of purple, pink and orange on the models themselves; such as the goggles here. +

+ Looking again, it wouldn't hurt for me to push these accents a bit further – a little bit of vivid colour never hurt anyone, right? +

+ Some very simply patterning on the cloak adds some personality and narrative, but the sculpts already have it in spades – just check out the dogtag looped round the handle of the chainsword. A trophy? A gift? Spoils of war? +

+ Krake Well-beloved +

+ Bow-hunters bear Accelerator Bows, which provide an interesting weapon that can be used in a variety of ways, from picking enemies off silently to explosive warheads. +

+ Another example of accent colours; you'll see orange, blue and pink used to sing out against the burnt orange skin. +

+ Krake has an tanned ork-skin cloak, too – mainly because I had some green on my palette. +

+ Eye-eater +

+ And finally for today, the Long-sight (or sniper), Eye-eater. +

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