+ inload: Silver Stars markings and honorifics +

+ inload: Silver Stars Legionary markings +

+ We covered the basics of the Silver Stars paint scheme in this inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], but it doesn't really touch on the markings and so forth. Since I've had a couple of people asking about them – and very pleasingly, have seen some examples painted up by other hobbyists – I thought I'd scribble down my notes on the various sigils and markings. +

+++

+ Esoterica +

+ Before anything else, it's worth making the point that the Silver Stars are (out-of-universe) intentionally slightly unclear, and this has been intentionally built into their marking scheme. They are, after all, supposedly the returned Legion of a lost or forgotten Primarch; or possibly a renegade Chapter masquerading as such behind an abomination; or perhaps the time- or dimensionally-displaced results of some Other event. +

+[identquery: unresoved – all records REDACTED]+

+ I think a big part of the appeal of the lost and forgotten Primarchs and Legions is that we don't know who or what they were, what happened to them, or why. Giving definite answers to those questions misses the point. The key to their presence in the project, therefore, is to provoke curiosity – to cause viewers to think 'I want to know', rather than to answer said question. At root, I'm far more interested in creating a space for others to explore the Chapters of the Partisans and Pentarchy and the myriad groups of Imperial forces, both orthodox and secessionist, that are about in M33, than I am in the Silver Stars. They are effectively a plot device, rather than characters. In short, the qeustion of whether they are a lost Legion or something else entirely is more important than the answer. +

+ The downside to that, of course, is that it makes it difficult to give guidance or answers on markings and colour schemes – after all, if you're going to explore the space, you have to have some answers to create a sense of verisimilitude and believability – after all, even picking a name and colours is in some way pinning things down. To that end, I have framed my own answers to the various questions about the true nature of Volnoscere and his Silver Stars, but they will remain obscured. Is this scheme the scheme of one of the Lost Legions? If so, has it changed since Unification? Who can say? +

+++

+ The basics +

+ With that important proviso out of the way, let's get stuck in. Here's Legionary [REDACTED]. The basics of the scheme are armour as white as bone, as green as the ocean, as rose as coral; and with gold accents. In terms of placement, the helm and upper torso is turquoise (Citadel Hawk Turquoise), the remainder white (Army Painter Mummy Robes covered with Citadel Apothecary White, and highlighted with Valljo Off-white). +

+ The placements of accents varies according to armour mark and rank, but banding – on the shoulder pad rims and collar – is usually a muted gold. I'm afraid I'm a bit crap on metallics: I've usually stuck with my comfort zone of Boltgun Metal and Chainmail, and never learned the new paint names. Suffice to say it's a mid gold that's knocked back with a layer of Seraphim Sepia wash and Leviathan Purple added to recesses wet-in-wet. +

+ Legion markings +

+ Silver Stars bear what appear to be Legion symbols both on their left pauldron (as typical for Space Marines), and on the centre of their torso. The marking is a white, four-pointed star made up of four small, unconnected right-angled triangles. They typically appears to be rotating anti-clockwise on the pauldron and clockwise on the torso (both suggesting forward movement); but occasionally run in the opposite direction, which indicates a form of intra-Legion specialism or honorific termed Manawa. +

+ Whatever the direction of travel, and wherever it appears, the Silver Star symbol is near-universally rendered in white (that is, heraldic silver). This necessitates rose banding (Citadel Screamer Pink, for those painting their own) on the pauldrons in the form of an heraldic pale (a vertical stripe). +

+ Pauldrons are occasionally completely rose, or the rose band is a fess (a horizontal stripe) or a bend (a diagonal stripe from top left to bottom right). The colour also often appears on the belt buckle in a bend, and on the helm. Many Silver Stars wear plumes or headdress; any fabric or organic material is dyed coral-rose; and in their absence, a pale is applied on the top of the helmet, occasionally continuing over the faceplate. +

+ The right pauldron bears squad designations. Some appear to be alchemic symbols, commonly – but far from exclusively – those for Tin/Jupiter (♃), Gold/Sol (☉), and Bismuth (🜘). Others are more esoteric or unidentified, such as the example above. +

+ Besides the squad markings, the Legionaries frequently bear symbols on other areas, usually over the additional Astartes organs (symbolically, if not literally) – most frequently the secondary heart (right of the torso), and the sus-an membrane and catalepsean node (both on the helm). These are again alchemical symbols – occasionally modified – including that for calcination/Aries (♈︎), colgination/Taurus (♉︎) and scruple (℈) alongside the squad designation markings listed above. Considered unlikely to be personal honorifics owing to their frequent repetitions within groups (though this could equally demonstrate a close kinship or bond), these patterns may serve as markings to indicate larger formations, such as Company, Millennial or Wing. Equally, they may instead have a ritual, apotropaic function within the Legion. +

+ In addition to these markings are wedge-shaped numerals that usually appear within the belt buckle in black, but occasionally elsewhere, including on the front of the pauldron (as in the example above), on the helm, or on the rear of the backpack. These numerals are almost always identical, so do not seem to indicate squad, company etc. markings. Finally, the left knee appears to occasionally be decorated; seemingly according to purely personal preference. +

+ Notably, the Silver Stars rarely, if ever, seem to use numerals besides the aforementioned cuneiform. Similarly, script of any kind is notable by its absence. +

+++

+ Over to you +

+ I hope that's given a bit of clarity on how to go about painting and detailing your Silver Stars without giving too much away. If you do paint one up (or indeed any of the Partisan Chapters), I'd love to see and share it here – please post it on Instagram with the tags #somethingsarebestleftforgotten and/or #warofthefalseprimarch, or on the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group. +

+ inload: [REDACTED] +

+ Conceptinload: Silver Stars +

+ Honestly, I'm impressed with how long I went in this project before giving in to the temptation to have an inload called '[REDACTED]'. The figure above is one of the Dramatis Personae for the Silver Stars – and likely the nearest thing the Legion(?) Chapter(?) will have to a public face. +

+ I've deliberately kept the lids of the other Silver Stars on, in order to make them as anonymous and mysterious as possible. I want to provoke the reader to question 'what's underneath?'. The more questions I pose, without providing definite answers, the better: at least for this early stage. +

+ So why show this figure's face? A number of reason; not least of which is the simple fact that I like painting faces. After completing Volncoscere's own (oh – we haven't seen that yet, have we?), I wanted to play around with the skin mix I'd used. This character's skin is slightly different to the possible-Primarch's, but in the same wheelhouse. The Silver Stars have some Hawaiian/South Pacific island touches, and it was fun to try to bring that out by using more cream and orange in the mix than the yellow and white I would for caucasian tones. +

+ Secondly, this figure is slightly unusual in being a combination of two very old concepts – a Unification Wars model I built a few years back, but never painted, and Ulixis the Black [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], an Ultramarines' Captain based on the legends of Odysseus. I loved the idea of Ulixis as a wily commander, but on consideration, he didn't fit very well within my Praetors of Calth. He has a much better home here, in a possible-Legion surrounded by so many questions, and in a project that is concerned with lies and truth in the 40k setting. +

+++

+ Building and painting the Laka'i +

+ The legs and torso are unmodified – as with all the Silver Stars bar a couple made from Plague Marine bits, he's based on Txarli Factory's definitely-not truescale Crusade Armour [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. The arms are from the original model I had made for the Unification Wars; based on a Forge World Centurion (though I swapped out the power fist for a Mark III gauntlet). I also brought the groin-guard across from that figure, too. Although there are some South Pacific hints about the Silver Stars, I want them to be just that: hints. I've never liked the flanderization of the Space Marine Legions, and like my marines to be marines first and foremost: the cultural touchstones of each should be subtle. +

+ That goes double here, as the Legion needs to retain some level of mystery and anonymity. They need to be identified primarily as 'marines with curiously ancient armour', and so littering them with extras would dilute that very quickly. +

+ It's also worth noting that I find the best army archetypes are those that combine disparate, seemingly unrelated ideas to get a good fusion of influences. I find it helps to prevent an idea becoming kitsch, or worse, offensively stereotypical. To that end, the markings aren't a constructed South Pacific script (indeed, until relatively recently, Hawaiian had no written form), but rather combine alchemical symbols – familiar shorthand for 'esoteric' and slightly sinister to most Western audiences – and cuneiform script. Diligent readers might be able to translate the symbols and numerals about his person – but whether they read into them is entirely up to them... +

[APPENDEDIT]+ I wrote about combining disparate ideas to create a fusion concept a bit more in this inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], for those interested. +

+ The Chapter/Legion symbol is the 'Silver Star' itself; an intentionally simple icon. In trying to create a Legion that could conceivably have come from the same well as the existing Legions, I wanted to use simple terms – like 'Luna' or 'Night' or 'World', 'Silver Star' has vague astronomical hints, and is also a simple phrase. That's what (well, hopefully) gives it an iconic ring to it. +

+ The colours are unusual for Space Marines. Rose, white and turquoise were chosen to give a vaguely Pacific region/Far Eastern feel – but the placement on the figures is intended to evoke the simple block colours of the 'canonical' Legions. +

+ As a closing note, someone on Instagram commented that the unpainted model looked a bit like Keanu Reeves. I couldn't help seeing it afterwards, and it still makes me grin! Unintentional stuff like that is always fun – and why is a big of why I enjoy sharing my models. Thank you all. +

+ inload: Painting Marines Mendicant +

+ Painting the Marines Mendicant +

+ Or +

+ 'See, that's just what a liar would say' +

'Call that a knife? N-no – wait... argh!' *stabbing sounds*

+ Here you can see one of the Marines Mendicant; a sort of special forces set up by the Partisans during the War of the False Primarch – and if that's all gibberish to you, then why not transferinload to +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+, where you can delve and indulge in such depths of lovely collaborative models and background that even Slaanesh might say 'Ooh, not for me; couldn't manage another morsel'. +

+ For those of you who've come here to talk painting and modelling rather than lore, I thought I'd scribble down a few thoughts on painting these marines. +

+++

+ Off-road individualism +

+ Necessity is the mother of invention, and the creation of the Marines Mendicant was very much led by my desire to make the War of the False Primarch as accessible as possible. While there are eleven Partisan Chapters to pick from, along with six Pentarchy Chapters (owing to my desire to square a little circle about the multiple Death Eagles schemes and backgrounds), it was inevitable that some people who might want to get involved would be put off by having to pick an existing scheme. +

+ To avoid this, I created the Vigilants [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], a group of marines a bit like the Deathwatch, which would allow people to bring in one or two models of their favourite Chapter, whether of their own creation or not. Importantly, I wanted to ensure that people could share their Chapters' scheme, and so hit on the idea that the Vigilants simply painted one part of their armour red, with a yellow and black stripe (a nod to the ret-conned Field Police of Rogue Trader). +

+ That simple device means that people can join in with the minimum of effort – just by adding a panel to an existing model. Voila, a perfectly useable Vigilant marine ready to do battle. If that's all you want to do, perfect; but if it sparks a bit more interest, then that figure can be used as the seed of a Pentarchy kill team – or even army. +

+ Of course, what's good for the goose is good for the gander – and it seemed a shame not to let those hobbyists attracted by the idea of following a returned Primarch a similar avenue to get involved. I didn't want to make a direct opposite – that seemed a bit unimaginative, so instead I dropped a few hints into the ongoing narrative about a group called the Marines Mendicant, then let it stew. +

+ As the background of the project – and the Silver Stars – developed, the Marines Mendicant started to take on more of their own form. The results are in today's update on +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+ , in which I was able to hint at the Silver Stars' way of working without laying everything bare. +

+ As before, creating a uniform would likely put off as many people as it attracted; and in any case I felt that a single colour scheme would not really reflect the purpose or approach of these special forces/advisor marines. Intead, I picked a logo – the reversed silver star icon of the Legion, and gave some details on how it could be applied. Other than that, hobbyists are free to paint them exactly as they choose. As with the Vigilants, it can be as simple as slapping a silver star icon on an existing figure – but there's also the option of using the rose, white and turquoise of the Silver Stars scheme in alternative ways. +

+ White can be quite intimidating (even with this handy guide to painting Silver Stars [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]), while magenta and turquoise are both beginner-friendly hues and forgiving of mistakes. Allowing people keen on the Stars to get involved without the stress of painting white seemed like a sensible idea. +

+++

+ Putting it into practice +

+ All the well-intentioned lore in the world won't help if the scheme looks crap in reality, so I thought I'd double check that it works. You can be the final judge, of course, but I'm pretty pleased with how he came out. + 

+ I opted for a vertical split, turquoise on the marine's right-hand side, rose on the left. As explained above, this is arbitrary – the Marines Mendicant use highly individualistic schemes (though there's equally no reason you couldn't paint a kill team in a set uniform; that's well within their intentionally contrary modus operandi). +

+ There was an unintentional and unfortunate hint of Alpha Legion about the scheme when seen from this angle. I wanted the project to be a proper civil war; something more grey on grey and akin to the Badab War conflict than the Horus Heresy; and so Chaos – which is too dominant a theme and threat to be anything but the focus – doesn't really fit here. +

+ Secondly, memes have rather spoiled the XX Legion for me, and while I have no problem with planting a seed that 'the Alpha Legion did it' for the whole False Primarch thing – after all, lies and truth are the point of the project – it's also a bit obvious. I therefore used lots of iconography suggestive of the Silver Stars – and also Raven Guard and Carcharadons – to provide some equally plausible other interpretations from this side. +

+ Loads of juicy little icons and symbols here; mostly taken from logic and mathematics. The tau (upside-down 'T') is a logic symbol for 'false' – a little Easter egg. As with everything, background, lore and painting are all great, but they should all take a back seat to having fun with you hobby. +

+ A back shot. Not a huge amount to say or see here, beyond the fact that I've found I really like split schemes. There's something very focussed and rewarding about getting the lines with smooth strokes of the brush. All very mindful! +

+ Chequers helped to detail this side – again, a split scheme from this side looks a bit Emperor's Children. Not as problematic as the Alpha Legion side, but still worth breaking up to distinguish it from any extant force. +

+ Were I to do more Marines Mendicant, I'd be tempted to vary the scheme still more, and make more of the white area. If you're tempted to do a Marines Mendicant (or any other Chapter involved in the War), I'd love to see it. Why not share it with the #somethingarebestleftforgotten and/or #warofthefalsepriamrch tags? +

 

+ inload: White tutorial: Painting the Silver Stars

+ Painting Silver Stars + 

+ Some things may be best forgotten, but how you paint a uniform isn't one of them. I thought I'd exload my approach to painting the cool white I'm using for this mysterious possible-Legion of Space Marines. +

+ Silver Stars Astartes: painting white +

+ Whether the Silver Stars are a Legion of marines or not, they seem to favour Mark II Crusade Armour. The bodies and legs are from Txarli Factory [+noospheric exloadlink embedded+]; the remainder of the figures from a variety of GW and FW kits. As always, this proves the benefit of a deep bits box: I bought the Crusade Armour bits used here years ago, intending to use them for my Praetors of Calth Ultramarines. One side project after another, I decided that it was a shame they sat languishing, so I dug them out, and was pleasantly surprised to find I had a decent little pile of them – some twenty in all. +

+ Painting Silver Stars +

_1 Assemble your marine as normal. The bases I've used here are from Unreal Wargaming [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+].

_2 Prime using Halford's Grey Primer.

_3 Paint the base colours. I block in the metals with black (though note I've used Dryad Bark for the gorget, which will be gold. You can use them fairly interchangeably, but I think I'll proceed with brown for gold, and black for silver). I've used Sotek Green for the blue-turquoise, which seems to be nigh-identical to the old Hawk Turquoise.

4_I've used 'Mummy Robes' from The Army Painter's Warpaints range [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], a lovely smooth warm white. This takes two layers to get a smooth surface. Once dry, I overlay it with Apothecary White, one of Citadel's new Contrast range of paints. This is a lovely quick way to get some initial shading it – and perhaps more importantly, to help you identify where to pick out later.

5_ From here, it's essentially refining. This is a bit of a jump from the previous stage, I confess! Here, I've gone back over the white with more Mummy Robes, adding Vallejo's Off-White for highlights. I've also used Daler-Rowney's Payne's Grey acrylic ink, diluted with flow improver, to line the stronger shadows. I've used the same combination of colours to add weathering and scratches to the white armour – I suggest you do this sparingly, and don't make them so high contrast as you would on darker hues: white paint is obviously very high in value, and so marks look much more striking and obvious than on a low value hue.

The blue-turquoise highlights are simply Sotek Green with increasing amounts of Off-White. The gold is Balthasar Gold followed by Shining Gold, washed with two layers of Seraphim Sepia, with touches of Leviathan Purple added wet-in-wet. The two washes are also used over Iron Warriors (the modern Boltgun Metal equivalent) for the silver areas like the boltgun and backpack.

+++

+ inload: Epic assistance +

+ Forgotten Kings + 

+ One of the things I wanted to do with the War of the False Primarch was to use it to give depth to some of my existing forces. +

+ As things transpired, I've barely had a chance to keep up with the writing!  As a result, some planned 'scenes' have been glossed over – I had hoped to illustrate the first Siege of Ishim and the Machinedeath with Titans and Epic forces, for example – but simply ran out of time to do so. +

+ I hope to go back and fill in these gaps – particularly for the Machinedeath, which is a pretty key moment in the War. The key notes for the battle are:

• It's where the Silver Stars are first revealed as being Legion strength
• It knocks both sides flat, and leads to the Sorrowful Years, where everyone is forced to entrench and rebuild
• During the battle, we finally see the 'Primarch' himself leading his forces against two Titan Legions – and therefore get an image of what he's capable of...
• Crucially, the Silver Stars lose virtually all of their superheavy tanks – along with huge amounts of armour – in taking on the two Titan Legions and their allies.
• The Titan Legions – Legio Punica and Legio Validus – are rendered combat ineffective, and driven back into Heliopolis for repairs.

+++

+ Call for aid! The Machinedeath on Null +

+ If you've got a Titan – or some Space Marine Superheavies, tanks or aircraft – that you need a scheme for, perhaps you'd like to help out by painting some up using a scheme that would fit in? +

+ Primarily I'm after Legio Validus, Legio Punica and Epic scale Silver Stars tanks/aircraft, but if you've got any armour/aircraft of the Pentarchy Chapters (Flesh Eaters, Charnel Guard, Red Talons, Death Eagles I/II, Carcharadons) at Epic scale, that'd also be lovely. Finally, the following Partisan Chapters were also there: Argent Heralds, Inheritors, Riven Lords, Void Barons and smaller complements of Red Fish, Jade Talons and Firebreak. +

+ Any and all models – whether Epic or 40k scale(!) would be very much appreciated. If you want to go for bonus points, the world of Null, site of the Machinedeath, is an airless (though not uninhabited) desert. Blasted sand/dust wastes are the order of the day for basing – but as you can see from my own Silver Stars, far from essential. For painting guidance, the Silver Stars are covered in this inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]; and here's a quick pic. +

+++

+ The 'Twice-Bound': Legio Punica inspiration +

'Formed in the dark madness of the Horus Heresy, the origins of Legio Punica are lost, save for in the dwindling number of Titan’s machine spirits that have remained in service since the Legion's creation. Only the Princeps and Moderatii who pilot these ancient machines gain access to secrets as they bond with the Titans and are forbidden from sharing them with anyone but their crews. The nature of the inception is not one that reflects well on the Legio – and it is one they prefer to keep hidden.'

[//My Time Amongst the Machine-priests, a Memoir – Howtopher Buxcraft+]

+ Punica are the brainchild of Toby Harris, and very cool indeed! You can see  more of the Legio Punica's colours and read their background in this article [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], but if you fancy a pop at them, here's how awesome they can look! +

+ Legio Punica Reaver by Toby H +

Legio Punica Warlord

+ Amber Kings: Legio Validus inspiration +

+ Despite existing in shared PCRC background since at least 2005, and having had a number of differently-scaled starting points, I've only ever finished one of my Titan Legion – who may be vaguely familiar to long-time readers. +

+ Mercator Stipent +

+ I can hardly ask others to supply me with pictures of my own damn Legio without giving it a go myself, so here's our first WIP entrant. If you fancy giving the Legio a go yourself, the scheme is simple: yellow with silver trim and green lenses. Chequers and the flaming circle (seen above) are common motifs. +

+ As noted at the start, I wanted to use the broader project to help develop my own armies – I write a lot of advice on this noospheric node about creating your own army and lore, but the best thing I can recommend is listening to other people and considering how their forces and stories would impact your own. +

+ Legio Validus, for example, has a fairly dry existing history – supposedly, they were split off from Legio Victorum and settled in Sector Antona Australis. While I don't want to contradict that, I do want to add depth – and thus they've appeared, apparently asynchronously, embroiled in the War for the False Primarch... +

+ I love the secrets and lies of 40k, and felt that perhaps the reason Punica and Validus were the only two Legios sent to the region was that they aren't squeaky-clean in terms of reputation. Punica's background certainly bears that out, and Validus likewise has some secrets. Having those fall into Imperial hands has perhaps altered the political landscape for the Legio. +

+ In short, Validus was one of those Legios whose support for the Emperor in the Horus Heresy was not quite as enthusiastic as one might have hoped. As a result, their parent Forgeworld was censured and has found itself repeatedly deploying Validus in an attempt to demonstrate their (modern-day) loyalty. +

+ The Inquisition finds this 'volunteering' rather useful, and – sure of Validus' discretion – use them for operations that are perhaps best left forgotten... +

+ Orthodox troops follow in the footsteps of the Amber Kings +

+ inload: A constellation of Silver +

+ Look up to the Stars +

 

+ A quiet few days on the blogging front – though do be sure not to bypass the [+noosphericexloadlink+] to + Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten +, where I've been able to collate some of the amazing work people are conributing. Thanks in particular to those brave datascribes and inloaders who have contributed images and stories from here: they're very welcome. If you would like to contribute, pop over to the Facebook groupnode and I'll let you know how you can. There are no entry criteria beyond enthusiasm! +

+++

While I've been editing and uploading others' material there, I've also got quite a lot of my own painting and modelling done, so thought it'd be nice to show 'em off here.

+ Silver Stars +

+ Firstly, progress has continued on this are-they-aren't-they Legion of Space Marines. As with my M42 Chapter, the Gatebreakers, I'm delighted with the scheme. That always helps with my enthusiasm – nothing more draining than plugging away on a model whose colour scheme you've grown tired of. +

+ The figure front and centre here will be the model used for the Silver Stars' upcoming Index Astartes, which will (partially) explain the meaning behind some of the badges, logos and sigils here. +

+ A very messy shot of the desk that shows a few odd bits that are work-in-progress, from techpriests and Titan Princeps to Gatebreakers and Imperial Guard; not to mention a couple of more esoteric figures. A pile of Silver Stars is on the right of the image, which is the front of the desk. I often keep a couple of odd figures nearby, just to avoid getting burnt out on batch painting. A change is as good as a rest, after all. +

+ ...and the War of the False Primarch is not constrained to one scale – I've been painting up a detachment of Epic-scale marines for use in dioramas and scenic shots, in the style of the very old Adeptus Titanicus promotions in White Dwarf. +

+ Of course, there won't be any reason that I can't use these to play games – and I'm hoping against hope that I'll be able to get some tabletop gaming in against the PCRC at some point. Miss you, lads! +

+ A Deimos Predator – plucked from the Cupboard of Shame Opportunity – has been given a big 130mm base. Bit of a gamble this, but after experimenting with the base on my Blood Angels Rhino [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], I've decided I really like tanks on bases. For whatever reason, it makes me feel that they belong a bit better. Perhaps this'll be something I make a more general part of my planning. +

'We are Legion' [citation needed]

+ As you can see, the Silver Stars are swelling to be quite a force. The scheme [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] is relatively time-consuming, though a lot of this is down to drying times. Those with keen occulobes will spot that I've worked the white up on a lot of there, rather than starting with the black, as I suggest in the linked tutorial. A lot of my 'recipes' – particularly those of Space Marines or other heraldic scheme [+noosphericloadlink embedded+] can be approached in any order, as the parts are effectively separate: you just need to be careful and neat after the first stage is down. +

+ For that reason, I decided to start with the white on the majority of these – because it uses one of the new Contrast paints (Apothecary White), it's inherently a bit messier (as you need to slop it on). Better to go back and tidy any splodges with black and turquoise than add light on dark. +

+++

+ inload: Behind the scenes of The War of the Lost Primarch +

+ Make new blogs, but keep the old +

+ New exciting projects always take up focus; but it's always good to keep an overview of things. Otherwise it's easy to end up a bit swamped and disenchanted after the chrome wears off (an image quite fitting for 40k...). I wanted the new site, Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] to be as immersive as possible. As a result, it's very story-focussed, with little, if any, out-of-universe material like modelling or painting planned. +

+ Fortunately, that's exactly the sort of material I can put here (alongside the usual material) – and I hope these behind-the-scenes inloads help to shed some light on the project. +

+++

+ In the Emperor's footsteps: building a Primarch +

+ At the end of last year, lunax7070 offered me a cast of his awesome Mark II Crusade marine. When it comes to truescale, there aren't many bigger! It's a fantastic kit, with full poseability. It wasn't going to fit in any of my forces, but then inspiration struck – I could use it to build a Lorgar to face off against my version of Guilliman. +

+ Spool on a few days, and when I sat down to build, I just couldn't help thinking that I could use it for something else, and ideas started to percolate. To cut a long story short, I ended up combining some very old ideas to come up with a new setting to explore; a bit like the Alien Wars of M36 [REF: tab at top]. +

+ Foremost amongst these were the Silver Stars of an abortive Unification Wars project [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. I had really enjoyed exploring the period and playing with a different way of writing, but it had proven just too broad to give a decent result in a sensible amount of time. +

Seeds sown in late MMXV

+ Learning from that, and which bits of the Alien Wars that people seemed to like best, I hit upon theming it around the War of the False Primarch – one of those brief mentions in GW's colour text that always seems so ripe with potential. +

+ The text is very brief, and basically involves five named Chapters wiping out eleven. It's an intriguing idea, and so I went about contacting hobbyists who had already done some work on the named Chapters. Amongst them are the_midnightmare, count.hodo, the_iron_within and biohazardmodels –  I thoroughly recommend you check out their awesome work. +

+ With some talented allies on board, I started putting together some introductory text and having fun creating maps in between updating the Silver Stars. After all, if I was asking people to contribute their marines to oppose or follow a (supposed) Primarch and his (supposed) Legion, then I thought it was only right that I put my money where my mouth was! +

...and his big brother, six years later.

+ The first new marine popped up here a couple of inloads ago; and at some point I'll take the chance to talk through the updates and changes made. For the moment, though, I hope this gives some idea of where the idea for a collaboration comes from – and, more importantly than that, I hope it encourages you to get involved! +

+++

+ A call to arms +

+ This blog is blessed with a readership hugely talented in modelling, painting and writing. I'd love it if you would consider getting involved. The invitation to the project can be read in full on Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], but in short, if you want to help explore the M34 setting, then please do get in contact either via the comments section below, or via the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. +

+ Like the Alien Wars, it's a huge palette; which can make it a bit daunting to pick where to start. Pretty much anything will fit – and the broader the take-up, the richer the setting will become. However, I know some people prefer a narrower focus to give them a lead-in, and to that end, if you're a Rubricist who wants to contribute but doesn't have a clear point of inspiration, then I encourage you to turn your hands to one of the following options, in order of urgency:

• A Vigilant Space Marine (see below).
• A Space Marine from the Partisan Chapters, detailed here.
• A Battlefleet Gothic model.
• One of the Death Eagles (and whether you prefer the black and white modern scheme or pink and white originals, both will be fantastically useful).
• A Space Marine from the Silver Stars (pictured above)
• A model to represent Imperial Guard or Naval forces operating in the area.
• An Inquisitor or Inquisitorial team.

+ All will be used to illustrate articles on the new blog, and I'll preview those articles here in the hope that it'll inspire you talented so-and-sos to paint up some figures we can use to illuminate them. +

+++

+ The Vigilants +

+ The Vigilants are a concept I've created to make getting involved as easy as possible. I think a lot of people like the idea of invitationals, but are worried that they're 'not good enough'. I'm very keen that this project is as open as possible and want to break down any 'hobby gates'. +

+ To that end, the Vigilants are a Chapter of Space Marines that operate like the Deathwatch – individuals and small groups are seconded to the Inquisition's Ordo Astartes. They keep their original colouring, but supplement it with a red armour panel (usually the helm) with a yellow and black stripe. As I put it on the War of the False Primarch discussion group:

There’s an article going up this weekend (basically as soon as I have a figure painted). Vigilants are marked out by a red armour panel with a yellow and black stripe. This is usually, but not always, their helm. Other than that, they wear their Chapter colours.

The underlying concept is a reimagining of the Military Police from Rogue Trader – a militant wing under the auspices of the Ordo Astartes that allow the Inquisition to fight fire with fire. 

Set up during the Scouring, many of the original members were made of Blackshields that sought to rejoin the Imperium after Horus’ defeat. 

Two thousand years later, it’s now a position of honour for many Space Marine Chapters, with implied ties to the long inward-looking Adeptus Custodes, who use them as an intermediary (a relationship which eventually leads to the Vigilants being disbanded in a later period).

The Vigilants are really well-equipped during the War. They receive priority equipment and specialist weaponry in order to best their peers – lots of the weird stuff like conversion beamers, graviton weaponry and eradication rifles.

+ Long-time inloaders will know that I like to involve retrohammer touches, and so will probably have already divined that the visual inspiration for this is from Rogue Trader's Field Police:

+ The idea is simple. If you have a marine sitting around, you can get involved simply by repainting his helm. If you do so, please let me know either via the comments or on the Facebook group – I'd love to have as many examples as possible for the article. +

+++

+ inload: Painting the Partisans

+ Partisan Chapter paint schemes + 

+ The War of the False Primarch is in full swing over on + Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten + and I've been painting away. This shades-of-grey civil war is being fought between those who follow a mysterious figure hailed as a returned Primarch, and those who follow the edicts of the High Lords. It's open to anyone, so if you want to get involved, the info is here [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] +

+ The Chapters following the False Primarch are collectively termed the Partisans, and a very diverse bunch they are; from the stable and orderly Marines Orcinus – or Red Fish – to the rad-haunted Wormwood Sons. I've been painting up examples of each to help illustrate the Index Astartes articles, and thought I'd add some notes on how I approached them. I've tried to keep things simple and quick – each of these was painted in under two hours – just to show that getting involved isn't a huge time sink. +

+ If you're interested in giving any of them a go, we'd be delighted. It'd be lovely to see some more shared on the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook group or Instagram (with the #warofthefalseprimarch, #somethingsarebestleftforgotten and #partisanchapters tags). I've included the original creators of the Chapters so you can get in contact with them on Instagram to ask any questions; or you can leave a comment below and I'll do my best to get you in touch. +

+++

+ Inheritors +

"We are your shield, we are your sword, we are the light in the darkness."

+ These suspiciously handsome, white-haired and violet-eyed Space Marines are the creation of Lars J-D [+Instagram handle: @lars.j.dahl +]. They have lovely Slavic/Sikh inspiration to their background, are classic Paladin-style goodies, and the scheme is both striking and simple. What's not to like? +

+ I used Vallejo Cold White (GW: White Scar) for the pauldrons, helm and boltgun casing, building up from Halford's Grey spray primer. These areas also received stripes in Vallejo Flat Red (GW Mephiston Red). If you don't feel confident with painting clean stripes, then rest assured that: 

The helm colourings vary a great deal; with a reversed scheme – white faceplate on green helm – a common variant. Likewise the red stripe is frequently split in two, decorated or missing altogether, according to the whims of the squad sergeant. Some encourage individuality amongst their troops; others demand a uniform approach.

+ I'd suggest painting the whole of the helmet crest red if you want to include it in some way: painting to edges is easier than freehanding. +

+ The bulk of the armour is sea green. I used Vallejo 'Highlight USMC Tank Crew 70323', from their Panzer Aces historical range. (The nearest GW equivalent is probably Gauss Balster green, or perhaps Sons of Horus green mixed with white.) The green base was shaded with the addition of Thraka Green, an old GW Wash; though I'd suggest using GW's new Coelia Greenshade, as that's a cooler blue green –  I simply didn't have any to hand. I added highlights with the simple addition of Vallejo Cold White to the tank crew paint. +

+ I used a nice dark metal base – GW Iron Warriors mixed with Abaddon Black – for maximum contrast with this high key scheme, and washed this with Seraphim Sepia and Druchii Violet Shades wet in wet. The gold areas were based with GW Rhinox Hide, then painted with Balthasar Gold, highlighted with Retributor Armour. +

+ Tactical markings are dark grey – I just added a touch of white paint to black for mine. The Chapter Badge is identical to the Astral Claws, so if you don't fancy freehanding it, you can use transfers – and keep an eye out for these, as a little cyber-caryatid suggests that transfers for all the Partisans and Pentarchy Chapters might be available at some point... +

+ You can read more about the Inheritors here on Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten. +

+++

+ Void Barons +

"Who holds the stars? We do!"

+ Spiteful, unsentimental and pragmatic boarding specialists, the Void Barons are headhunting space buccaneers in racing team colours; and absolutely fantastic fun to paint. High impact and – besides the Chapter badge! – surprisingly easy. These are the brainchild of Simon V, part of the @heresyhobbyheadquarters collective on Instagram. +

+ A base of Macragge Blue had Drakenhof Nightshade added to the recesses for shading, and I used my old standby for highlighting blue, Space Wolf Grey (I think Fenrisian Grey is the modern equivalent). The pauldrons and helm with painted Vallejo Off-white, then washed with Gryph-Hound Orange contrast paint; fast becoming a favourite of mine. +

+ Once dry, I touched some Agrax Earthshade in the recesses of the orange areas to deepen the tone further, and highlighted with a rather awkward mix of Vallejo Flat Red and Winsor & Newton Cadmium Yellow Deep. This was purely because I don't own any bright oranges, and would suggest that you use GW Jokaero Orange, Trollslayer Orange or equivalent bright orange paint, to make things still easier. +

+ Metallic areas were treated as with the Inheritor above, and here boltgun casings, chest eagles and pouches were painted with GW Charadon Granite; but any dark grey would suffice, and highlighted with the addition of Off-white to the same grey. The pauldron trims were painted flat Abaddon Black, which both helps neaten the edges and really delineates the break between blue and orange, helping to further heighten the impact. +

+ The markings were made in Vallejo Off-white before being outlined with Daler Rowney sepia ink (you could just water down a little Rhinox Hide or similar dark brown paint). The Chapter symbol is an Off-white rectangle on top of a Macragge Blue circle, with the legend 'GVLF' written in orange. I'd suggest that you add a little red-tinged brown paint, such as Bugman's Glow, to help with contrast and legibility. +

+ You can read more about the Void Barons here on Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten. +

+++

+ Silver Stars +

+ The cause of all this fuss. There's an article here on the basic paint scheme [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and one here on the markings [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. I'm always very pleased to see other Silver Stars pop up, so if you do give it a go, do let me know!

+ Three new Silver Stars, polished off last night. + 

+ While the bulk of my hobby time has been taken up with Titans and writing, I've been working away slowly on these chaps, and they're starting to look like a cohesive force. After the highly varied mongrel armour mix of the Gatebreakers [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], it's been interesting to rein in my urge to personalise, restricting modelling differences to the occasional set of pteruges and crests. A uniform sea of Crusade armour – variously from Txarli Factory and Tortuga (c'mon GW, make Mark II available again!) – has a striking effect en masse. There are another nine in various stages of painting, and twenty being built... so much for side projects! +

+ The False Primarch and his warriors. +