+ inload: converting Saturnine Terminators +

+ Of a saturnine disposition +

I picked up a few models from the release, and have been working on this Saturnine terminator. The conversion's pretty minimal; I just wanted to remove the eagle from the chest and swap out the ray gun for a good old-fashioned boltgun. I also reshaped the eagle's head that forms part of the 'collar' to make an oval setting for a spirit stone pinched from a Striking Scorpion exarch, too. Finally, the helm spikes were trimmed off, and a loincloth was added.

As an aside, what a pain in the [SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT] these models are to build! Forty-odd pieces to build a single infantryman? Six pieces just to build the power fist arm? While so many bits makes converting more approachable, I can't help feeling that some further refinement could have made things a bit more... fun if you just want to build them out of the box?

While I like the result very much, it took me two evenings to get the model from sprue to this point. I'm all for posability and modularity, but... oof. Perhaps I've just got to the point where time is becoming more of a factor in my enjoyment of the hobby – or maybe I've got too used to single piece metal models again.



Anyway, back to the conversion: the forearm is from a Squat prospector model (the power fist equivalent), which was fairly simple to integrate by trimming the ball of the elbow flat. The storm bolter itself was from my bits box – I think it's from a Justaerin Terminator, though I wouldn't swear to that.

Size-wise, these are absolute chunks. Mine is pictured here alongside a 'truescale' marine and Captain Aethon in Terminator armour (a conversion based on the FW Custodes Terminators). I've put the Saturnine Terminator on two bases to account for the height of Captain Aethon's base.

+++

+ inload: Painting the Partisans III – Red Fish +

 + Sword, Plough, Trowel, Quill! +

+ Happy new year, all – and welcome back to another year of Death of a Rubricist. We'll kick off 2025 with some painted figures, my own contribution to the Hidden Armies challenge event (of which, more soon). +

+ Sporting one of my favourite colour schemes in the War of the False Primarch project, and bafflingly underrepresented (in my view), are the Red Fish, a partisan Chapter that are the creation of @eatdrinkdeath. +

+ The Hidden Armies challenge event, which finished just before Christmas, seemed perfectly fitting to give them a go – though in all honesty, I’ve been working up the courage to tackle them since pretty much the start of +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+ got started, as there are so many neat little concepts folded into them that I wanted to include. +

+ The scheme itself is quite tricky to start – it’s based on the sockeye salmon, which becomes a vivid red. I’m not sure I’ve quite got the hue right, but I’m pleased with the pinky-maroon result. It’s a mix of Screamer Pink and Vallejo Black Red (Gal Vorbak red is a good alternative), highlighted up with the addition of Army Painter Mummy Robes (Bleached bone or the equivalent would also work). Over the top of this, I added glazes of Bloodletter Red, one of the old (and vanishing) Citadel glazes. +

+ Company colours are shown by a band on the right arm – a very cool concept that I’ve not seen anywhere else. @eatdrinkdeath’s example marines belonged to the sixth company, which had a yellow band. I followed suit initially, then changed my mind – I thought one-off models like this were a good opportunity to illustrate a different company. +

+ I opted for turquoise (Sotek Green, I think), as the Chapter has some Native American/First Nation themes threaded through, and I thought it’d work well with the rich red. Plus turquoise is a favourite of mine – and I never need much of an excuse to include it.+

+ The chapter icon is a lantern-jawed salmonid – the Red Fish of the Chapter's homeworld. The red circle is easy to lose on the deeper red field, so I added a little visual flourish of turquoise beads/dots – perhaps a personal honorific, or some form of squad marking. You'll spot similar dots and zigzags on the pouches and holsters of the two marines, which also look a bit like coarse Wild West-style leatherwork. +

+++

+ The addition of the gyrinx served two purposes – firstly, a nod to the Chapter creator's pet cats, and secondly a chance to say something more about the the Chapter, visually. The Red Fish are deeply embedded with the Delphurnean League, their pocket empire (and really more of a commonwealth), and so I wanted to have something that made this more of an action shot. The brief, after all, was for a diorama, so I liked the conceit of the Red Fish working hand-in-glove with the wildlife of their region. +

+ A few extra shots for your (hopeful) enjoyment +

+ inload: Red Fish and Reavers – painting in progress +

+ What's this? Painting? +

+ WIP, but getting there +

 

+ Oof. It's been months since I've managed to put brush to model, and what better way to come back than with some utterly unrelated projects – a pair of Red Fish marines for +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+ and paint on Ferratus Tertius for my Iron Skulls (Legio Metalica) maniple, for The Ashes of Armageddon. +

+ Ferratus Tertius – pleased to meet you. +

+++

+ War of the False Primarch +

+ Dealing with each of these in turn, let's kick off with the news that new articles are going up on +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+, so go check 'em out – and there's also a painting challenge event, if you'd like to have a go. +

+ I even worked up a little infographic for it ... and a noospheric link for quick response: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] +

+ I don't know about anyone else, but I find these challenges a periodic nudge to dig out models and just put a bit of paint on things. No great plans, no big army, no expectations. A lovely palate/palette cleanser (ho ho) that you can just lean into. +

+ Contributors have been so generous with their ideas and models and enthusiasm for the project over the past few years, I really want to make sure that I do my part and paint up as many of the various factions as possible. For that reason I've got a handful of unpainted Space Marines lurking in boxes – and yesterday I was seized with the urge to paint up a pair of Red Fish. +

+ Will this be my entry for the challenge? I don't know – and happily, it doesn't really matter. The point is just to enjoy painting! +

+ 'Sword, Plough, Trowel, Quill!' +

+ You can read the Index Astates for the Red Fish, or Marines Orcinus, here [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], and they're a beautifully imagined group. Very nicely developed, they rather resist a quick summary descriptions, but if you don't have the time to inload the link above, they can be seen as generalist marines with a pocket-empire modelled after Macragge. +

+ The creation of @eatdrinkdeath, they're also refreshingly diverse, taking their recruits from hundreds of worlds with very different cultural traditions, and alloying them into making flexibility a key strength of the Chapter. They've got a particular subtle appeal, and I'd love to see more hobbyists made aware of them. +

+ In terms of painting, they're worked up from a white undercoat. I've used Seraphim Sepia on the legs, followed by Balor Brown(?) highlighted up to Mummy Robes. The upper body is a base of Vallejo Red Black, highlighted up with Screamer Pink and Vallejo Cold White... but I'm not quite sure it's captured the vibrancy I was after – hence why they're still WIP. +

+ I sat back and realised I was spending far too long going back and forth over them, trying to get the red right, so decided to call it a night. I think coming back with fresh eyes and properly dried layers should mean these polish up relatively quickly. +

+++

+ The Chapter also offered an unusual modelling opportunity, to tackle a female Space Marine – on the left here. I've used smaller hands, by using a Black Templars scout boltgun (the hands are in gloves, rather than gauntlets) and also reduced the size of the feet by trimming down the soles, which also reduces the figure's height a fraction. The helmet and chestplate have been reshaped – to soften the 'jawline' and to reduce the width of the upper chest respectively – though not particularly strikingly: as with the height, I figure that you wouldn't need a great deal of modification to accommodate the physical differences in power armour. +

+ The most complex change was to cut off the legs and reattach them at a slightly inward-turning angle. In concert with shaving down the groin plate and narrowing the thighs at the outer knee, this gives a slightly different posture, with broader hips. The final change was to shave down the shoulders, pinching in the arms and making them slightly narrower than the hips. +

+ The overall result, I hope, reads 'Space Marine' first and foremost – compare the two figures above – I think it's a nice quirk of the Chapter, but I wouldn't want the presence of female marines to overshadow the rest of the great development work of the Red Fish. +

+ The bold yellow band that runs down the arm is the company colour. Still to go are the other markings (not least the sockjaw salmon Chapter icon on the other arm), and then polishing and cleaning things up. The base is a stand-in for the moment, but I'm rather liking the semi-diorama effect of the two alongside one another. +

+ ...and a minor note to finish; I'm quite pleased with the eyes – I went with an amber approach. It's surprising how much adding the eyes can turnaround a frustrating painting experience; the model suddenly seems to pull in around them, and I find I can then better see what needs work. +

+++

+ And speaking of cool Chapters +

+ Here are some of the other War of the False Primarch WIPs, which I thought I'd share (in some cases again, in some cases for the first time). +

+ Headhunting jungle specialists, the Jade Talons , creation of @adam_james_creates end up making some rather dubious decisions late in the war... You can check out Adam's latest works on Instagram if you'd like a preview of their eventual fate. +

+ The Firebreak: Desert-walking ronin space monks who lost their homeworld (and most of their Chapter) early on. @dizzyeye.01 has come up with a really charismatic take on these Dark Angels successors. +

+ Cryptic, atomic, mystic. The Wormwood Sons of @K0rdhal are a fan favourite – a result, I suspect, of his awesome modelling and mastery of esoteric lore-writing in equal measure. +

+ ...and finally my own Silver Stars – and you'll not have long to wait to read their (sort of) Index Astartes. +

***

+ Ferratus Tertius +

+ ... and at the other end of the scale from very instinct-driven, relatively fast painting on the fly, I spent a very enjoyable evening starting the paint on this Engine in a very leisurely, pre-prepared (arguably too pre-prepared!) way. +

+ Lots of layers, close focus on just a couple of areas – the head and making a start on the upper carapace. +

+ Very pleased indeed with how he's turning out. I'm toying with bringing in some oil washes for this projects, but I'll see how they work out with pure acrylics before making the decision. +

+ The name plate is from Battle Builder – they're running a competition on Instagram (@battle.builder) for some free plates until the 17th, so go give it a try. +

+++

+ inload: War of the False Primarch Stage V +

+ War of the False Primarch closing stages +

+ Hobby projects often drift off into open-endedness as interest wanes or something new pops up. Following the hobby butterfly is fine for personal projects, but for collaborative projects like + Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten + or The Ashes of Armageddon, I want to make sure that things have some sense of resolution – even if some elements are left open for people to explore and expand upon in the future, should they so desire. +

+++

+ Stage V – Starfall +

[+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] 

+ This will be the last active stage in the War of the False Primarch, so if you've been waiting to submit an article or build a killteam/army/character that you want featured, now's the time! +

+ As always, all you need do to get involved is build and paint miniatures set during the War of the False Primarch – and it's a big palette! If you'd like to show them off for Stage V, then use the hashtag #mournstarfall +

+++

+ What's on the blocks? +

+ I'm back to working on the Silver Stars – who won't get an Index Astartes article, but will get a rather less reliable Index Apocrypha. +

+ As part of that, I'm painting up a large-scale bust that I was given. In fact, it's a combination of pieces from two very kind friends; Ilmarinen and Warmtamale. Thank you both very much! +

+ The basic colours are blocked in, and I've laid in a couple of very basic washes to establish shapes. It's going to be fun to try some different things. +

+ Also emerging from the bits box are some more Silver Stars. +

+++

+ 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. + 

+++

+ 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:

+++

+ Spotlight: Wormwood Sons + 

Credit: Nick T/@k0rdhal

 
+++

+ Spotlight: Riven Lords + 

 

+++

+ Spotlight: Inheritors + 

 

+++

+ Spotlight: Iron Guard + 

 

+++

+ Spotlight: Void Barons+ 

 

+++

+ 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. +

+++

+ 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. +

+++

+ 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? +

+++

+ inload: MMXXIV +

+ Scouting out MMXXIV + 

+ A felicitous Sanguinalia and Annual Re-Cycle to you all, and – once more – my thanks to all the autoscribes, rubricists and postlocutors that read this little corner of the noosphere. +

+ As a blog, +Death of a Rubricist+ doesn't have many traditions, so there's no great round-up of things – it's all too easy to let plans get in the way of enjoyment of the hobby. Instead, I thought I'd simply pop up what I've been working on:

+++

+ The Ashes of Armageddon +

+ The inter-continental scrap between Waa-Ghazghkull and the Steel Legion moves to a new scale, as I've been painting up both Salamanders and Goff orks for Epic. +

+ Very pleased with how the Salamanders have come out, and thanks to a bountiful Christmas, I've got rather a lot more to paint up! I've spoken quite a lot about this in the inloads leading up to the new year, so let's have a look at the forces in the other green corner – the orks: 

+ These figures are by Wakes Emporium [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], and are charming little figures with a great variety of poses and unit types. Highly recommended: I had a grin plastered over my mug the whole time I was painting them. +

+ I used a very simple scheme:

_1  Spray prime with Halford camo brown.

_2  Base as you like – I used the same Armageddon scheme as for my Steel Legion, which is essentially lots of drybrush layers of increasingly light yellow-browns.

_3  Pick out the skin with various green paints – the more the merrier.

_4  Paint the weapons black, then pick out some areas with Iron Warriors (the new Boltgun metal).

_5  Wash with Agrax Earthshade

_6  Pick out details – this was essentially adding a couple of highlights to skin here and there, along with various bits like hair, back banners and so forth.

+++

+ The figures scale well with the new Legions Imperialis models, standing ~8mm tall. Note that the integrated round base adds another 1mm or so, making them as tall as the new marines when on flat bases (like the new Epic ones, or the tupenny bits I'm using). +

+ If that bothers you, then look for bases with recesses. Personally, I don't think this is noticeable at table-height, so unless you've intending them for display them besides other figures, it's not really a problem. +

+ Having said that, the little roundels are a personal bugbear of mine. They're hard to hide, awkward to paint around, and generally make painting more of a chore. With the increasing relevance of 3D sculpting and printing in the hobby, I hope that there's a trend to offer models both with and without the little roundels as options. I'd much prefer to paint them separately from the bases then attach them. +

Scale comparison with Legions Imperialis tanks and Marines. Note the right-hand ork base is a Nob/Warboss.

+++

+ Heroes and Villains of Armageddon +

Work-in-progress

+ There's a challenge event running for The Ashes of Armageddon, which you can read about here [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. In short, it's an invitation to paint up a leader or important personality for the Orks or Imperials by the end of January. +

+ I'm using the opportunity to create a General for the 7th Steel Legion Army Group, a fairly simple head swap that combines parts from the old Cadian Senior Officer model with bits from a Steel Legion lieutenant. +

+ I'm quite pleased with how he's looking, and while he's not going to win any prizes, he'll fit right in with my army. More importantly, he'll be popping his head over the trenches of Instagram to remind/spread the word about the event. + 

+++

+ In other news +

+ '2023 is the year the kroot get painted', I said – and a mighty half-dozen or so emerged... Not quite the battleline! However, with the promise of a PCRC campaign gearing up, I've pulled my finger out and started painting these charismatic figures once more. +

+ My first model of the year, therefore, is a Kroot – you can see him nearly finished alongside the WIP General. +

+ Eats-the-Fingers-First is currently picking his way through the jungles of Paradise XXII, and with a geekend meetup scheduled around the start of February, I'm aiming to have at least a Kill Team completed, and hopefully a little more. +

+++

+ Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten +

+ ...and with a suitable rest and recharge, The War of the False Primarch will conclude this year. If you've not heard of this project, or fancy a refresher, there'll be a summary article up on the blog [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] soon enough – and in the meantime I encourage you to explore the existing shadowy lore. Just watch out for the Inquisition! +

+  My aim is to add the final mysterious polish by September, in time for the (yikes) eleventh anniversary of the +Death of a Rubricist+ blog. Once again, thank you one and all for continuing to read. +

+++