Okay, I'm currently in the process of selling my Blood Angels off and it has gotten me to thinking - why did I buy them in the first place? Aside from a small campaign and a tournie they haven't done much. When I look at the army list I can't help but shake my head and ask just what I have become. Whilst it is true that I do enjoy playing competitive games I just didn't enjoy the list that I made - it really did just devolve down into your usual net list and it sapped all fun out of the game when you realise you have the exact same army as the bloke opposite of you.
So today I have decided that I will sit down and actually think what I want from a space marine army. Consider this a self referencing rant or a log for various notes. Use it as a plan yourself if you want.
Time to delve into the depths of an amateur dramatic wargamer.
Why do I actually want a Space Marine army?It's Warhammer 40,000. Space marines are the Iconic race, the main image of the game. It has always been an army lurking at the back of my mind. Yes, there are alot of space marine armies out there. but I wanted my space marines to be special. The vast majority of space marine armies that I have seen have been quickly drybrushed and washed with very little attention to detail. If I was going to do a space marine army I wanted it to make peoples day, the best damn space marine army they have seen.
Unfortunately that idea seems to have been lost along the way.
I suppose the ultime answer to the question as to why I want a space marine army is because I am still a child inside when it comes to Warhammer 40,000. The very earliest images of this game are of space marines. Well, space marines and Orks. And I still harkon back to those days. Images of massed bolter fire, of robotic like warriors, acting like a well oiled machine.
Put simply
It is all down to the art work.My love of warhammer is very much image driven. These are not playing pieces or toy soldiers. They exist to act out a battle that never happened. When I think about an army I get multiple different art works in my head that just conjure up the image of what I want. However, there is something very disturbing about the current generation of space marines and it is this:
Notice anything? How about if you campare it to this early Dark Angel cover:
Bling. There is far too much bling in todays space marine models. Too much stuffthat just clutters up the image of what a space marine is. Yes, some might say that plain old powered armoured bodies are boring. But adding a million purity seals, skulls, gold decorations and numerous chapter symbols just smothers the actual models, hiding them and turning them into something they are not. Not only that - but look at the weapons that those in the first picture are holding. Thats an aweful lot of close combat weapons for an army that praises the Bolter.
But this change of making things far more detailed than we actually need worms it's way down to out miniatures. Heres marneus calgar, circa 1997:
And compare him to the current model of him:
Not much in the way of change I know. But they are there, it is already present on the old power armoured model, and I guess that it is OK for the grand pimp of the ultra marines, right?
So what about this chap?
He looks like his power armour became all magnetised. But I digress.
I don't want to turn this into a rant about the current space marine models, but it does explain why i haven't taken to the blood angels as much as I did. Put simply, as far as I am concerned, when it come to space marines less is more. And this is a plan for a space marine army.
Nostalgia first, models second, history third and army list somewhere down the lines.Nostalgia first...In other words, the space marine army that I have always wanted. When I started thinking about these space marines I decided to take a look at some of the past artworks that really set my imagination alight, whichever Image I choose will most probably influence everything from colour schemes to army list composition.
Apologies for the poor picture, I really did struggle finding a better quality picture. But here it is - one of the very first pictures that I saw when I started Warhammer 40k. A collection of Black Templars going to battle. I like it in comparison to alot of modern space marine art as it actually shows tactical squads at the fore front of the fight instead of a collection of honour guards and a beefy hero doing majority of the work. I'd also really like to see a nicely painted black templars force, something with a little class. It would pretty much be plain Black and white, with none of that red stuff, but it would most likely be a shooty army, just because thats how space marines should be played. Only problem is that it might be a very plain looking army over all. There isn't all that much that you can actually do with black and white.
Quite possibly the most iconic image of space marines since 40k's conception. Space marines defying the odds and coming out on top. This one piece is probably responsible for the reason as to why I prefer my space marine captains to be rather plain. Just look at the figure in the centre. He doesn't demand your attention because he forgot to take off his dressing gown when he got up in the morning, he doesn't have a whole wardrobes worth of capes and ropes. He warrants your attention because of his actions, he's just beaten the snot out of an Ork warboss and is demanding that you try and best him, and the odd little embelishment established that he is the hero, the man of the hour. Colour wise, a dark blue would be a rather entertaining colour to run with for an army, just different enough from the ultramarines to make a difference. Plus, it would be nice to see one of the rarer chapters represented on the table top. If I get one kid, just starting out on his adventure on the tabletops, asking what chapter they are and where they come from it will be worth it.
and last but not least theres this:
Better known as the cover for the second edition box. It's images like this that made me want to collect blood angels in the first place, and the fact that they were finally getting a full book just went a sweetened the deal. Only problem is that I made my army list with the tournament brain on, rather than the modellers brain so I ended up with an army list that I did not find entertaining in the slightest to actually use on the table top. I suppose the smart thing to do at this point would be to stick with the army I still have and just modify it to suit my nostalgia. Thats what the smart person should do. Only problem is - I am so very tired with painting red. I have played speed freaks for what amounts to a third of the time I have been alive. Thats alot of time to be painting red. Sure, I could paint them a new and fancy colour scheme, something like a second founding chapter, but that would just ignore the point that I actually want to be playing Blood angels, not the angels sanguine or the blood ravens.
So thats a little source amterial to go by when considering which chapter to choose and the types of models to include. But what else is missing from nostalgia. Go and find a collection of space marine net lists. How many vulkan lists, razorback spam, ironclad drop pods, assault terminators did you see? How many space marine armies did you encounter that actually had good amount of tactical squads? Something like this:
It's probably a very effective army on the table top, I'll grant it that. But it is boring! The game is currently saturated with space marines (like it never has been) so why do the same? At least make a unique list for a common army. If anything it will throw off people inner calculations when they no longer have to deal with tanks and are instead met by lots of tough soldiers.
I know that this can most probably be saved for the section discussion the army list, but I am to bring the general image of space marines onto the table: letting tactical squads do what they do best and be the bread and butter of the list, rather than the blokes that sit on the objectives. Im not sure what the points are just yet, but I would love to be able to fit in a whole space marine company (say, around 100 models) into 2000 points. But that might not work too hotly on the tables. But that can all be thought out later.
It will not be the most effective army on the table top, that is for certain. But then again, I plan on playing the game using tactics, rather than sitting back and rolling dice. Just like we had to do
back in the day.Models secondHi! I'm Silk! I like making toy soldiers. It's why I am in this hobby after all and not playing chess instead. Models are there to set your imagination alight, to make the game visually interesting. Mass producing some space marines, drybrushing them three colours and then attacking it with badab black isn't they way that this is meant to be played. If you do that, especially when you know that you can do better with a little more effort, then you have no true grounds with wich to complain to games workshop about their models. It is my humble opinion that the words
"That will do" should never be used in conjunction with warhammer 40k. I have a friend that has been painting his space marines for the last decade, and all that it consists of is a quick undercoat, a light colour drybrushed on top and a bit of metalics for the weapons. Sometimes he paints his models with a little flesh if they actually have it on the models.
No. Space marines may be one of the most common armies in the game, but that does not mean that they have to be a poorly painted army. And ithey can still look impressive. A good paint job, a slight conversion with every model, weathering, exotic bases and a well rounded army composition can go along way to making the army stand out from the crowd. I want my space marines to not only be the best damn space marines that you see, but hopefully the best damned army that you will see. I want every model to impress individualy and to still work coherently. With that in mind I have hatched a plan:
Photo realism: Not only a good paint job, but one that matches with those that paint real-world models to a silly high standard. I don't want you to be able to tell that I have actually painted the modle. No paint strokes should be visible in the entire army. Im talknig about fine airbrush work. Not the usual 2 stage airbrushing either, but multiple stages of thin paint that blend together to look like natural light with every stage between the colours as smooth as my name. And whilst we are on with making toy soldiers look real, there will be weathering. Not just the odd chip here and there, but dirt, grime and oil. Little touches that reinforce that these soldiers have been fighting the tough campaign that they are in. This is probably where the crimson fists will shine, darker colours are easier to get right but highlighting the black templars will leave them turning grey and highlighting red never looks too natural as it turns to orange or pink too quickly. Blue on the other hand is far easier.
Small conversions: Go and look at your space marines, and if you don't have any go and look at the ones on Games workshops sight. How many on there are actually looking down their guns and physically aiming their shots? A little cut here and a little green stuff there and we can easily get aiming space marines rather than having them lazily aiming from the hips. Sure, theres probably something in the fluff that says that they get cameras linked up to their helmets about where they are aiming, but that doesn't come across on the tabletop. Little stuff such as this will be done to every modle to make them unique and that little bit more interesting.
A pre-heresy army: It's been fairly often, but I cannot resist those lovely forge world models. They really make me interested in everything space mariney as they breathe new life into a rather stagnant army. Such as shame they were not released when I first started my Blood angels, I might not be writing this otherwise. And combining the various kits on the site will make that army have that special something that I am looking for in my space marines, if not a considerable bill for them.
Special stuff: I am seriously thinking about using the forge world variant armours for these space marines. They are all interesting in their own way and each on of them is cut above the standard plastic space marines. Maximus armour for the black templars to get away from the whole chivilrous knights in spaaace routine, Heresy armour for the Blood angels just becuase I think that they will look cool in it and Corvus armour for the crimson fists to match the artwork above.
Clever basing: To go with the realistic paint of the space marines, I aim to give them a plausible base. Now, we already have loads of references to good bases from forge world. I want to do something other than brown sand with clumps of green grass. We've been doing that since the end of second edition. It's time to grow up and look to the real world for a lesson. For example, in the real world you really don;t get (with a few rare exceptions) perfect boreder between dirt and grass. In a battlezone the dirt will have been turned into mud in short order and the grass will have been tramples into it.
I think it is time for a break. Part 2 can come later I feel. Would you mind digesting this and adding some input? Any and all would be appreciated. Thanks.
