+ inload: Marines Mendicant +

+ Vent heat +

You'll have noticed updates and exloads to this noospheric node being rather sluggish – clearly the plasma reactor is running hot! Let's make up for that by taking a look at a newly-painted figure representing one of the Marines Mendicant:

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+ Wait; who? +

The Marines Mendicant are part of the War of the False Primarch project narrative – you can read more about the broader project on our sister noospheric node +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+.

The Marines Mendicant are unusual in that they aren't a Chapter in and of themselves, rather they're a collective group of agents and operatives that... well, their aims are rather opaque – but suffice to say that they're a perfect excuse for skirmish gaming within the setting if you don't fancy painting yourself up a force of (say) Void Barons or Death Eagles.

You can read more about them here: [+noopshericexloadlink embedded+] 

This split scheme is based on the secondary colours of the Silver Stars (and keep an eye on the other blog for an upcoming Index Apocrypha...); the aim of which was to make it a bit easier to paint and join in with the project. If you'd like to give it a go yourself, the magenta is Screamer pink, the turquoise Sotek green.

The miniature is now in the possession of spacedhulk – go check out his amazing collection of over 50 different Chapters on Instagram, where he posts as @spacedhulk. He's been contributing loads to the project, and when he mentioned that he thought the scheme was a favourite of his, I said I'd post over the miniature in question.

... only to then find I couldn't find hide nor hair of the damn thing – and a rather embarrassed rush to paint up this replacement figure to send!

Matt was very gracious about the mix-up, and he's posted up some great shots (and a very atmospheric short story) with his Golden Hands Chapter – another group that I'd love to feature on Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten.

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+ Gallery of pict-captures +

And so some pics for you to have a look at. The markings are covered in this inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] – though part of the fun of the Marines Mendicant is that they're almost deliberately obtuse and confusing, so you have complete freedom with how they're detailed.

Even the specific scheme is up for grabs – while both Mendicants I've painted have been this vertical split, that's purely because I was trying to make sure spacedhulk got the scheme he'd noted he liked. Background-wise, every Mendicant can have a completely different scheme, making it a nice chance to play around.

Pictured here on the terrain my brother and I played on decades ago!

Leading a squad of Silver Stars – doubtless on some cryptic mission...

If you've painted a Marines Mendicant, or something for the War of the False Primarch, let me know – I'd love to share them on the Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten blog.

+ 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.

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+ 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. +

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+ 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: 10 days 'til Hidden Armies are revealed +

+ 10 days to go +

+ For those following along with the #HiddenArmies challenge event  [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] for The War of the False Primarch, there are 10 days remaining (though if your contribution goes up after the 21st, I daresay I'll find a way to slot it in). +

+ Today's inload looks at some Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten material – a mix of Partisans and Pentarchy. Haven't decided whether these will count as part of my own Hidden Armies or not just yet. +

+ Here then are a few odds and sods, and some notes: 

+ Death Eagle (I) marine. You can read some of their exploits in the War by following the tag here. Of all the Pentarchy, I think their very retro paint scheme (patchwork magenta and white) and their are-they-aren't-they background intrigues and repulses in equal measure. They haven't proven as popular as (say) the Carcharodons or Flesh Eaters, but those who have painted them seem to harbour a particular enthusiasm. I'm looking forward to painting up an example myself – I do love a bright heraldic scheme. +

+ Silver Star with grav gun. No particular reason behind this choice of special weapon beyond it lurking in my bits box for ages. Sometimes serendipity prompts things! +

+ A rather splendid character. Perhaps we'll see some more info on him in particular..? This command/veteran squad of Silver Stars has been a good opportunity to explore the Pseudolegion's decorative side – up 'til now they've been deliberately rather anonymous for narrative reasons, but as things close in on the False Primarch and his Astartes(?), I wanted to explore some more hints as to their origins. +

+ A banner bearer (or rather, a banner bearer-to-be, as I haven't got a plain banner yet. I was pleased with the floating laurel wreath on this figure. ++

+ Curved sabres have turned up here and there for the Silver Stars, and I needed another Sergeant or junior officer. +

+ Empty hands are something that I like to include in my armies – somehow it adds to the pose, to my mind. +

+ And a second Death Eagle, in arty monochrome as the base body is distractingly blue. A couple of decades ago, Mark VII helmets were use only as conversion fodder for me and the PCRC – how nostalgia changes things! +

+ ...and some flashes of the Silver Stars colour scheme and markings, if you fancy a little colour. +

 

+ 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. +

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+ 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. +

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+ 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. +

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+ 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. +

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+ 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. +

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