Dan Abnett's Pariah

Dan Abnett's novel Pariah is the first in a new trilogy pitting the Inquisitors Eisenhorn and Ravenor against each other. The main character in this series is Beta Bequin, who is living in the city of Queen Mab on a planet in the Angelus Sub sector. The novel starts out slowly, showing how Beta is studying "functions" in her training to be an agent of the Inquisition. However, her world is quickly thrown into an uproar when various forces begin to act in the city of Queen Mab. This was a good novel, and what I hope will be a great beginning on a new series.

Ultramarines Razorback

This model was a project long in the making. Back when I decided to purchase the Land Raider Achilles, I also got a Land Raider Crusader kit with the intention of building two Land Raiders and this Razorback.

The Achilles and Land Raider (it's the one for my Salamanders) were built months ago. This kit has been waiting for me to build it, and during a binge of model building when I bought Dark Vengeance this was produced. Now I only have a few models left to build or paint on my painting desk.

This razorback was painted with the same pigments as I have been using on my other Ultramarine models. After sealing the model once, I then applied Decal Set, applied water slide transfers and then Decal set on top. Finally, the models were given a second coat of Dullcote.

Pre Heresy Predator

This is the Predator I have been waiting for. Not so much the Deimos pattern, as the Executioner pattern. The Plasma Cannon is my all time favorite weapon, and to have it on a Predator made this a model I had to have.

I used the standard Ultramarine coats for this model: Macragge Blue, Altdorf Guard Blue and an edge highlight of Calgar Blue. While these shades are lighter than the old colors, this is still a good approximation, and the edge highlight looks a lot more natural on the models.

I saved the conversion beamer weapon for a future project, so expect to see another Predator with lascannons and a conversion beamer some time in the future.

Pre Heresy Tactical Marines

One lesson working on the infantry component of my Pre-Heresy Ultramarines has taught me is - wait for the book. I made the foolish assumption that the basic unit of the Space Marine Legions would be the same as those of the Space Marine Chapters. The truth is they are completely different. Legion tactical squads either get Bolters or Bolt pistol and close combat weapon.

Having built the first ten marines with a plasma gun and missile launcher, I was forced to pull those two models out. leaving me with an initial eight tactical marines. Following on the five assault marines I already built and painted, these marines are given the same colors, being from the same company.

I painted the squad with the same GW paint colors as I have been using on the Ultramarines since the color change over. The lettering and numbers were done with a Micron pen, and then painted with Ceramite white and then White Scar.

Angel Exterminatus

While it took me a bit of time to read, I think Angel Exterminatus is one of Graham McNiell's best Horus Heresy novels to date. The main plot of this novel is the teaming up of Fulgrim and Perturabo as they venture into the Eye of Terror to discover some Eldar super weapons. back stabbing and lies ensue between the brothers while a force of Iron Hands seeks to disrupt there venture. What follows is a well executed and entertaining story that gives insight into one of the more mysterious of the primarchs, Perturabo.

Dark Vengeance Characters

Despite the order in which I have been posting model pictures, I actually alternated between chaos and Disciples of Caliban figures. I picked up the Limited Edition of Dark Vengeance purely for the Interrogator Chaplain. This model is a beauty to behold. I love painting it, and it was the second model I worked on after the Hellbrute.

The Master was a fun model to work on, and rather straight forward. I love the pose, and how it is reminiscent of Asmodai.

The librarian was a nice break from the other models, as it was almost like painting an Ultramarine. Those who know me personally know how much Ultramarines Blue once ran through my veins, now I guess it is Altdorf Guard Blue. Hard to tell.

Dark Vengeance Tactical Squad

The Dark Vengeance tactical squad is probably my ideal configuration. Put aside thoughts about point costs, min/max or in game value. I love plasma weapons. Period, end of story. My arch-nemesis HuronBH can attest to this, as I used to have an all plasma armed Ultramarines army that i ran - my fifth company.

I opted against modifying the models, mainly out of laziness, both in terms of the effort it would take to remove them, and in how much a pain in the butt it is to free hand the Disciples of Caliban chapter symbol.

The paint scheme I used was the same as for the other models in the chapter, substituting new GW paints where I have had to due to running out of P3 paints.

Dark Vengeance Bike Squad

The easiest models in the Dark Vengeance boxed set are by far the space marines. While at once detailed and simple, they make for ideal starters for any new player. Quite the contrast with the heavily baroque chaos models.

The Ravenwing element of the Disciples of Caliban was the one element stopping me from finishing up the one thousand point block I had envisioned building. However, when I finally was coming around to building something, previews for Dark Vengeance were popping up all over the internet. So I decided to wait.

While the Ravenwing bikes were painted similarly to the rest of the army, I did transition from P3 to the new GW paints for a lot of the Dark Vengeance models. Especially using Caliban Green and Warpstone Glow to replace the greens for my Disciples of Caliban. Like the terminators, the bikes are painted exactly like the rest of the army - this concept comes from some fluff I cam across on Bolter & Chainsword.