Welcome Folks and Folkettes, back to normal(ish) service from Ex instinctu Imperator!
For once I will be living up to the blog's name with some pictures of my Space Marines, the Brotherhood of Fire. Way back when, I did a post about repainting them in a new scheme after nearly a decade and a half. Amazingly, it is only recently that I've actually managed to complete a full squad! So, without further ado, I present to you the First Squad, Third Company of the Brotherhood of Fire.
At the moment they don't have a proper name, so feel free to suggest one for them in the comments below.
Let me tell you a little about them; in a Chapter that specialises in breaking sieges, these guys take it a step further. All of their weapons have been modified by the Chapter's Techpriests to be short barrelled versions, more suited to rapid aiming in tight environments such as the cramped hallways of fortresses. As you might expect, the squad is equipped with a Flamer for clearing rooms and bunkers. In lieu of a Meltagun for breaching bulkheads though, they utilise a short-barrelled Lascannon. The Sergeant carries an ancient hand-flamer, in addition to his Boltgun and Power Fist, to further augment the squad's specialist weapon and fuel the inferno that consumes their targets.
Speaking of whom, lets take a closer look at the model.
In game terms, the hand-flamer and Boltgun (mag-locked to his thigh) count as a combi-flamer. Taking a Power Fist makes a pistol more or less redundant, but this way he won't be out-ranged by the rest of the squad and still matches up to the background I came up with for the unit. I added the Censer to his backpack to help him stand out even more from the squad (as if the big, brazen fist didn't do that all ready). For those interested, the model is the old Blood Angels Veteran Sergeant model, so a one-piece metal except for the backpack and left arm. I also added the Boltgun, but that was more an afterthought.
Thought I have always maintained that the Brotherhood is an Imperial Fists successors Chapter, everyone is encouraging me to use the Salamanders' Chapter Trait (understandable, given the burny nature of the Chapter!) What this does mean is that, as a character, he can Master Craft one of his weapons for free. Now, re-rolling to hit with the Boltgun could be useful, but is obviously waster the turn the flamer fires. The Power Fist again could really use those extra chances to hit, but is likely to get used in far fewer turns. If he gets in a challenge, he could be lucky to actually get to use the Fist. Bit of a conundrum. Let me know what you think in the comments, but I think I am leaning towards the Combi-flamer. Between the Heresy-style hand flamer and the old pattern Bolter, it also fits quite nicely as it being an ancient and venerable weapon.
So on to the next squad member, the Flamer;
I'd hazard a guess that this is the most pointless of the short barrelled weapons. Yes, these guys are less vulnerable to fire, but you'd think they'd at least have a healthy respect for it... Still, it is a visual cue that ties the unit together, so why not? Something I didn't realise until as I was writing this post is that his helmet is the only one without a grill on the front or any holes (even the Corvus-pattern helm has some ventilation holes). There, at least, is something that makes sense for the guy spray corrosive/flammable liquids all over the place! Those of you who know about such things have probably spotted that he is a model from the Assault on Black Reach box set, identifiable but the static pose and the detail on his left leg. Rather than grouping them all together in one unit, I have spread them throughout my army, making the leg detail a commendation worn only by the veterans of a certain campaign. In time I'll come up with a back story for that, but for now it's just a nice little easter egg.
Possibly me favourite model in the unit, and yet the one I hated building. I love the idea of a short-barrel Lascannon, however useless that may actually be in the real world, but why oh why did I decide to make it out of the old metal/plastic hybrid Devastator model? This guy is about 1/3 pin now. That said, I am really pleased with the outcome; it is certainly unique but very obviously still a Lascannon. I can just imagine him trotting up from the back of the unit, kneeling down and blasting through multiple bulkheads or obliterating the barricades set up by over confident defenders.
Aaaaaand, the Rest;
All of the squad members have a Tactical marking, with the squad number in the middle on their right shoulder guard, except for the Sergeant. They also all have the Chapter symbol, Flames with two linked circles in white and gold, on their left shoulder. Most have at least one purity seal, with black squiggle text on.
I have a few more pictures of the guys at different angles, but for now that is it from me. Let me know what you think of these walking conflagrations in the comments below. Also, don't forget to tell me any suitable names for the unit you come up with!
Matt
For once I will be living up to the blog's name with some pictures of my Space Marines, the Brotherhood of Fire. Way back when, I did a post about repainting them in a new scheme after nearly a decade and a half. Amazingly, it is only recently that I've actually managed to complete a full squad! So, without further ado, I present to you the First Squad, Third Company of the Brotherhood of Fire.
At the moment they don't have a proper name, so feel free to suggest one for them in the comments below.
Let me tell you a little about them; in a Chapter that specialises in breaking sieges, these guys take it a step further. All of their weapons have been modified by the Chapter's Techpriests to be short barrelled versions, more suited to rapid aiming in tight environments such as the cramped hallways of fortresses. As you might expect, the squad is equipped with a Flamer for clearing rooms and bunkers. In lieu of a Meltagun for breaching bulkheads though, they utilise a short-barrelled Lascannon. The Sergeant carries an ancient hand-flamer, in addition to his Boltgun and Power Fist, to further augment the squad's specialist weapon and fuel the inferno that consumes their targets.
Speaking of whom, lets take a closer look at the model.
Thought I have always maintained that the Brotherhood is an Imperial Fists successors Chapter, everyone is encouraging me to use the Salamanders' Chapter Trait (understandable, given the burny nature of the Chapter!) What this does mean is that, as a character, he can Master Craft one of his weapons for free. Now, re-rolling to hit with the Boltgun could be useful, but is obviously waster the turn the flamer fires. The Power Fist again could really use those extra chances to hit, but is likely to get used in far fewer turns. If he gets in a challenge, he could be lucky to actually get to use the Fist. Bit of a conundrum. Let me know what you think in the comments, but I think I am leaning towards the Combi-flamer. Between the Heresy-style hand flamer and the old pattern Bolter, it also fits quite nicely as it being an ancient and venerable weapon.
So on to the next squad member, the Flamer;
I'd hazard a guess that this is the most pointless of the short barrelled weapons. Yes, these guys are less vulnerable to fire, but you'd think they'd at least have a healthy respect for it... Still, it is a visual cue that ties the unit together, so why not? Something I didn't realise until as I was writing this post is that his helmet is the only one without a grill on the front or any holes (even the Corvus-pattern helm has some ventilation holes). There, at least, is something that makes sense for the guy spray corrosive/flammable liquids all over the place! Those of you who know about such things have probably spotted that he is a model from the Assault on Black Reach box set, identifiable but the static pose and the detail on his left leg. Rather than grouping them all together in one unit, I have spread them throughout my army, making the leg detail a commendation worn only by the veterans of a certain campaign. In time I'll come up with a back story for that, but for now it's just a nice little easter egg.
Aaaaaand, the Rest;
I have a few more pictures of the guys at different angles, but for now that is it from me. Let me know what you think of these walking conflagrations in the comments below. Also, don't forget to tell me any suitable names for the unit you come up with!
Matt
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