Mustering for Vigilus: Medge's Adeptus Mechanicus, End of Month 4

The first four months of the year are behind us, and it's bloody terrifying! Where oh where does the time go! Best to not dwell on all the things I haven't done, and focus on all the things I have - namely paint loads of models!
Vigilus' stands defiant... just about! Abaddon and the Black Legion gave it their best (worst???) but still the Imperium hangs on - defiant till the last!

This month saw me add a few more mechanical warriors of the Adeptus Mechanicus to the Imperial defenders still standing.

Up first, a second Onagar Dunecrawler to accompany the first one I painted in Month 1

This time I've equipped the walker with the Icarus Array - a powerful anti-air weapon that fires a blistering barrage of munitions at the foe. I've played a few games with this model already and I'm seriously impressed. Like most anti-air weapons it suffers from a -1 to hit penalty against non-fliers, but I'm able to mitigate that negative thanks to the stratagem "Protector Doctrina Imperative" - a very efficient stratagem that gives a SKITARII unit +1 to hit in the shooting phase (or +2 if they are equipped with an Enhanced Data Tether... which this walker is!) for the paltry cost of 1CP! This humble stratagem helps my little friend hit all targets on 2+!!  Brilliant!!

This marked the end of my months pledge, and I've got to be honest... I wasn't really feeling it this month. I've done a whole lot of painting already this year and I was starting to get a little fatigued.
But a welcome Easter game with my fellow Warlords helped get me right back on track!

Ignore the beers... 😜

With my hobby enthusiasm refilled I spent the last week of the month painting at full speed, completing the Kataphron Destroyers I mentioned as a stretch pledge last month.

The Kataphrons are the first non-Skitarii model I've done for this army, and so I elected to paint them a little differently. Unlike the Skitarii, I've elected to go include far mode bare metal (silver and bronze) on these guys, limiting the purple and white counter-change to only the armor in the chest and the Plasma culverin casing. Whilst exceeding powerful (arguably more so than the humble Skitarii Vanguard and Rangers) the Kataphrons are only servitors, and likely care nothing for their colours/ livery.  The Tech-Magi in charge of Forge World Pitar Tertius recognise the importance colour designation can have on both the mortal psyche (for those cursed with such things as emotion) and on enabling clear determining of designated allied operatives in warzones. They also, however, recognise wastefulness... and sevitors do not have the capacity to recognise colour nor feel emotional response, rendering the need to paint their component obsolete. 

I'd have been happy to complete only the Onagar and the Kataphrons this month... but the cogs of the Mechanicum do not readily fall idle, and I instead pushed though to complete a Cybernetica Datasmith and Kastelan Robots

Sticking once again to the White and Purple counter-change I opted to paint these two "brothers" in opposite colours to reflect their similarities and their differences. Each one is a relic that pre-dates the Imperium, and so are treated with a holy venerance by their Tech-priests and Datasmiths that tend to them. 

I've got to be honest and say that I didn't really enjoy painting them... too many flat panels and soft curves for my taste. I'm yet to take them onto the field of battle though, so I expect I'll change my mind when they complete a shooting phase!

That wraps up on what I've painted this month... but I will give a final special mention to a salvaged project. Many moons ago I painted a Forge World Questoris Knight Styrix, but I heavily weathered it to give it a dirty, rusty look suitable for a Renegade Knight (it's a past I deny vehemently!)

Over the bank holiday weekend I diligently scrubbed and scrapped all traces of my shame away... reforging the mighty beast!

He now stands ready to serve the Imperium of man once again... after a lick of paint! I'm super pleased to finally have recovered this model... and will bring him back to Imperial glory soon!

May represents the penultimate month of our little Tale, and so there's not long left to complete our forces.

After a test game this month I've decided I don't really have much in the way of back-line threat. 

So in May I pledge to add another Sydonian Dragoon to my forces to augment the one I already have. If he's done in short order then hopefully I'll finish restoring the Knight Questoris too!

Best of luck with all your hobby endeavors everyone, and if you like what you see/ read here and want to follow along don't forget to subscribe to our mailing list and check me out over on Instagram (#DrMedge) 

Thanks again, and see you soon!