I've been pretty quiet on the blogging front over the last few month; a combination of too many projects, burnout, wedding planning and new job all took the wind from my sails in quarter 1 this year... then Coronavirus hit and everything went to pot!
My brush hasn't been idle in that time, just my keyboard, and I've been working diligently on a few projects, top among which are my Blood Angels!
So welcome to my Blood of the Angel series - a #BashtheBacklog project showing off my mission to finally get a competitive Blood Angels projects running, and clear out a chunk of backlog in the process.
Why the Blood Angels
My love affair with the Sons of Sanguinius goes back 10-15 years. In my teenage years I was a Chaos-worshiping heretic through and through, drawn to the aggressive and visceral nature of the Blood God above all others. Then came the 5th (I think) edition Chaos codex and the "time of the renegade", and things changed a little.
The 5th Edition CSM codex introduced Huron Blackheart and the Red Corsairs into the 40k Lore, and pushed the First Founding Heretics into the shadows for a while to allow the more recent Renegade Space Marines a chance to shine. Whilst this wasn't the most popular thing for the wider community it gave the chance to visit a previously unexplored part of the lore.
As an ardent follower of the Blood God I began looking for ways I could create my own renegade chapter true to pledge to the Skull Throne... and I could think of none better suited than a Blood Angel Successor
Of course... this also meant I could run 5th Edition Space Marines and Blood Angels lists too, and gain access to all the lovely plastic SM kits whilst also keeping my questionable loyalty to the Ruinous Powers... the perfect combination of greed and thriftiness!
I grabbed the BA codex and read up on all things Baalite, then began delving into the extended Black Library lore via James Swallows Blood Angels series (Deus Encarmine/Deus Sanguinius and Red Fury/ Black Tide)
Forum opinions would have you believe you'd fall to the Black Rage after just one chapter of these books, but I found them pretty entertaining (if somewhat ridiculous) reads, and my Chaos-worshiping ways began to melt in favour of the God-Emperors light.
After a few year break from 40k I found myself coming back to the Blood Angels, enticed by their lovely bespoke plastic kits. I painted a Blood Angels Furioso Dreadnought (probably my best painted 40k model at that time) and didn't look back!
That was all in the pre-primaris days, and whilst I collected a small force of regular marines, my focus at the end of 2019 and into 2020 was to look at updating the army, adding to the small Blood Angels Primaris force I'd built up over 2019, and augment the force with some real competitive staples.
It's no secret that the Blood Angels have seen some serious power upgrades thanks to the Psychic Awakening: Blood of Baal release, and I started 2020 with a pledge to turn my Angels into a force to be reckoned with!
The Lament of Angels Chapter
At the head of 2020 I made the decision to re-brand my Blood Angels as a successor of my own devising; the Lament of Angels.
Why?
The main reason - I'd started collecting these BA models as a joint 30k/ 40k project, then moved away form them as a 30k project and needed a reason to have both Primaris and Normal Marines in pre-heresy colours 🤣🤣
But I also prefer the narrative freedom of having my own chapter; I'd feel too constrained to paint "second company" up as they should be in a true Blood Angels force. This gives me a little flexibility to pick Company colours and configurations as I see fit, and to mix and match new a legacy kits how I want!
The Lament of Angels are, for the most part, "Codex compliant"... in that they follow the Chapter configuration of the Blood Angels (complete with Death Company and Sanguinary Guard) in the same way the Blood Angels do.
Their Chapter Badge is the same Winged Blood-drop as the Blood Angels, with wings of white feathers set either side of a blue sapphire tear drop.
Why the change?
When an initiate of the Lament of Angels Chapter completes his ascension to full Astartes he is told the origin of their Chapter. It is said that when the great Sangunius first set eyes upon his fallen brother, the Archtraitor Horus, in the closing moments of the Heresy he wept a single glistening tear.
He did not cry for Horus; whilst they had once been kin the monster that stood before the Angel was far from the loving brother Horus had once been
He did not cry for himself; gifted with foresight, the Angel knew he would die by Horus' hand and gave his life willingly, knowing his death would pave the way for the Emperors victory
He cried for us; his future sons. Sangunius saw with clarity what his death would do to his sons through the ages; unleashing the rage and the unending thirst. He shed a tear for the bitter legacy he would leave for his sons - a curse they did not deserve.
The Lament of Angels replace their ruby blood drop with a sapphire tear to remember the great Angels lament, and to office his spirit forgiveness at the emperors side.
2020's progress
Heading into 2020 I had a fair number of models lying around in need of a splash of red paint.
I'd acquired a load of Sanguinary Guard and Death Company 2nd hand, and added some Scouts, ETB Primaris and the Crimson Spear Strike Force to create a pretty significant pile of shame.
And it was my task to paint all these mini's up ahead of any more Blood Angels purchases! Something I was adamant I'd achieve... until I bought myself the new Mephiston model in February! My painting desk was looking busy, as you can see below!
On the pile:
15 Death Company
14 Sanguinary Guard
5 Scouts (with Snipers)
16 Primaris Intercessors (3x5 Squads with an extra Thunder Hammer Sergeant)
Primaris Chaplain
Slam-Captain
Primaris Mephiston
Converted Lemartes
Sanguinary Ancient
Converted Sanguinor
That photo was taken on the 7th Feb 2020, and I'm writing this three months on to the day!
Better check in with where I'm at!
Up first - the Space Marine Scouts
A a far cry from the competitive scene staple (that spot is reserved for the cheaper Bolt pistol/ chainsword variant), I couldn't resist painting up some classic sniper scouts. I certainly helped that they were only £9 through Warhammer Conquest!
With more and more people opting for the digital camo schemes on the newer Eliminator snipers I decided to keep things simple on the cloaks, a classic white/grey to complement the snowy bases
The Intercessors
These guys drove me to madness...
They're nice models, but painting 16 of the blandest mini's GW have ever produced was pretty soul-destroying. The upscaled Marines are great and a load easier to paint than they're smaller, older brothers but the total lack of detail and embellishment on them made this part of the project a bit of a slog!
I opted to paint them in three batches (5, 6, 5) to stave off madness!
The keen eye'd of you will probably notice there's lot of recurring poses! That's because these guys are mostly ETB Marines picked up though Warhammer Conquest, with a few extra's added thanks to the Crimson Spear Boxes (plus a nice chainsword conversion from the Bitz Box - thanks Sanguinary Priest!)
The Sanguinary Guard
14 is a pretty odd number for Sanguinary Guard... but there's a good reason! I had 10 kicking around from my 2nd hand BA bundle, 4 of which were armed with Melta-pistols. I know the Melta weapons aren't great in 8th, and so I used the new SG kit from Crimson Spear to "replace" the Melta-models with standard Angelus Boltgun guys.
The remaining SG I had on sprue was used to create my Slam-Captain
I couldn't really leave 4 models unpainted, so I opted to paint all 14 in two batched (5 and 9)
One thing I'm particularly proud of with these guys are the Encarmine Blades. I leveraged my experience with my Grey Knights to create the blended burning red/black blades; an effect I think really stands out against the gold and blue/white of the model and helps keen the red/black theme of the rest of the army in the unit.
And last, but by no means least, the Death Company
Probably my favourite multi-part plastic kit, the Death Company are oozing Blood Angel from every surface. I already had 5 of these guys with bolt pistols and chainswords, but I know in 8th the way to go is Boltgun and Chainswords. So I dug through the bitz box and gave all the models the "Skywalker-treatment" (losing a hand for those that need it) to make a full 15 man squad.
Limitations on the number of Thunder Hammers I had means this squad will need some extra recruits at some point, but I've offset that with 2 Power Fists to give them some extra... punch...
At the time of writing this I've finished the first 5 Death Company, with 10 more needing final highlights and a touch up on the bases.
(these guys are basically done... right?!)
Checking back in - 3 month update
Let's go back to the list and see where we're at:
15 Death Company - 5 done, 10 within a few days
Primaris Chaplain - Incomplete
Slam-Captain - Incomplete
Primaris Mephiston - Incomplete
Converted Lemartes - Incomplete
Sanguinary Ancient - Incomplete
Converted Sanguinor - Incomplete
All things considered... not bad! 40 Marines down, 10 more 2-steps away and the whole plan reduced to only 6 Characters! Compared to my usual prolific painting speeds 50 models in three months is pretty tame, but I'm calling it a win because I'm finally past my burnout and excited to further the collection!
Next steps
One thing you may have noticed about my Primaris Marines is that they're all lacking Iconography; no squad/ company marking, Chapter badges, etc... While I was sitting on the fence about Chapter choice this was acceptable, but now I have my Successor cemented in my mind it's time to go back and add these important details to the models. I'll be free-handing lots of these details, using transfers for others, and hoping they look reasonably consistent!!
I'm weirdly looking forward to planning the different elements of the Chapter to this level of detail, adding these little narrative touches, and seeing the collection come more to life as I integrate it into the 40k mythos!
Beyond this detailing, I still have characters listed above to work on and complete
I've also found some extra ETB Hellblasters, Intercessors and Interceptors in my Primaris Backlog which I'm looking forward painting up. Maybe this is my excuse to add some Death Company Intercessors???
I've also found some extra ETB Hellblasters, Intercessors and Interceptors in my Primaris Backlog which I'm looking forward painting up. Maybe this is my excuse to add some Death Company Intercessors???
I also have an ETB Redemptor Dreadnought, a Repulsor and a Repulsor Executioner awaiting a drop of red paint too... muahahaha!
The Tanks will take a back seat until Forge World reopens since I'm hoping to add some resin doors to the models. They'll have to sit neglected for a short while.
I also have the Baal Predator from the Crimson Spear box sat on Sprue which will make a nice Lockdown project.
Add to that the demi-company of old marines I still have in my backlog and you can see the Blood Angels aren't going anywhere for a while!
I'll try to be better with blogging moving forward, and will provide another #BashtheBacklog project update soon
Lockdown is the perfect time so why not post below, tell me what you're working on, and join me in bashing your backlog too!
'till next time! Stay safe all!
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