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Entos Pharsalis, Sergeant of the Heroditians

These pict-captures of Sergeant Pharsalis are drawn from the Iobetian campaign, waged against the Thyrran Hegemony in the one-hundred-and-fortieth year of the Great Crusade.


Pharsalis wears an additional osmotic gill, indicating his presence in the marshland theatres of the temperate zones. The campaign was fought across a number of battlefields – land, sea, void and air – that sorely tested Imperial Army support. The indomitable Ultramarines of the 15th, 19th, 21st and 121st Chapters, armed and equipped with the finest wargear known to humanity, were undaunted.


The key pattern on Pharsalis' upper chest is a relic of pre-Unification Macragge. The sergeant bears the pattern as a reminder of his heritage as a human. Guilliman's teachings encouraged meditations upon the nature of being post-human, and to consider what was traded for such advancement.


The chequered field of his banner was a traditional detail used by the 19th, while the central wreath remains a common sigil of victory used throughout the Legions.


Such was the increase in Legion numbers during the later Great Crusade, it became near-impossible for the Legions – especially those based far from Sol – to be restocked and resupplied efficiently. These logistical problems led to a lack of uniformity in armour marks for the Astartes of the XIII Legion until the establishment of treaties between the ever-increasing worlds of Ultramar and the Forgeworlds paying fealty to Mars. The famed 'Praetor pattern' armour became increasingly common towards the events of Calth, but this was supplemented with standard Martian pattern arms and armour, as well as numerous minor marks and patterns.


Pharsalis' hybrid plate incorporates this Mark III Martian pattern 'Armourum Ferrum' helm, topped with the white, red and black crest that represented the rank Squad Leader or Veteran. The grim-faced helm and forbidding appearance was utilised only on sufferance by the Ultramarines, who recognised the propaganda value in appearing intimidating but not frightening to newly compliant worlds.

Assault and Despoiler squads were, however, issued with this mark in preference, owing as much to the fierce visage as the increased protection!


A Saturn-pattern 'sun-gun' plasma pistol glows with lambent heat. This pattern of plasma weapon was relatively low-powered, by had an excellent reputation for accuracy and relative reliability.


Despite bearing an honorific meditation note on the artificer-enhanced armour of his left leg, Pharsalis was not known for his depth of strategic knowledge. As a staunch and courageous line officer, Pharsalis fell short of being ranking officer material – a failing that he recognised and channelled into a fiercely competitive close-tactical mind.


Sergeant Pharsalis lost his arm to ork raiders on the backwater world of Pharrel Green, and had it replaced with this bionic by the artificer Tsin Cheung of the Forgeworld Aramiss.

Simply beautiful.

He means business!

Very nice, love the gritty/realistic look

Very cool model, I dig the backstory and the helmet really stands out. Nice work!

An Ultramarine that I like! Most people try and do clean, polished smurfs but the used, gritty look you've gone for makes the usually garish blueness work really well.

Always love seeing people get some use out of the Bane-head marines.

Where are those legs from?

Thanks all. The legs are from Tartaros terminators.

Here's a group pic at an earlier stage:

I wish all space marine helmets looked like that!

Simple and effecive.
Beautiful.

Thanks! Here's another:

+inload: Brother Bastapol Einhorn, Chapter 190, Ultramarine Legion+


Legionary Einhorn

+ Brother Einhorn is a typical member of the post-Centesimine Chapters; a catch-all term that refers to all of the Chapters of the Legion beyond Chapter 100. Sometimes interpreted as a perjorative by outsiders who guess that those serving in Chapters 1–99 are somehow privileged above those later brethren, the term is meant as approbation. It is meant as a celebration of the Legion's success in gathering and maintaining such high numbers.


Telacos of the 15th Chapter, demonstrating greater use of personalisation, including heraldry.

+ While no Ultramarine courts anonymity – the Five Hundred worlds from which the Legion draws its intake take their cue from Macragge's tradition of 'Pride with dignity' – the post-Centisimine Legionaries tend to have less variety in their appearance than the older Chapters, who served through the early years of the Great Crusade. Contrast Einhorn with Telacos (see above), for an illustration of the greater customisation of the older Chapters.

+ That said, some decoration and variety is almost inevitable in a warrior brotherhood – whether through honorifics and awards achieved, battle damage to equipment and armour, or the myriad personal fetishes and charms that even the warriors of the Imperium hold close.+

+ Einhorn is a fairly typical example, then, of an Ultramarine of the later Great Crusade and Horus Heresy period. Like most amongst his Chapter, he wears mark II Crusade armour. The Legion was relatively isolated from Terra and Mars by both sheer distance and because the manufacturing might and organisation of Ultramar ensured that the Legion could mostly meet its own needs through allied Forge worlds and vassal manufactoria scattered across the region.


Assault tank crew, Praetor-pattern helm

+ Like many in the Legion, the 190th were kitted extensively with Praetor-pattern armour, a locally-manufactured pattern peculiar to the Ultramarines that owed much to the standard Mars pattern internally. Naturally slightly less efficient in overall protection owing to the difference in materials from the Martian ur-example, Praetor armour was sometimes reinforced with additional plates at the hips, across the chest and on the outside of major long bone areas; bringing the level of protection back to comparable limits. Most famously, the helm often had a flat plate added over the front, giving the armour – and Legion – a distinctive appearance. This can be seen in the image above.



+ Einhorn's torso plate, a common variant, has the central sternum reinforcement decorated with inlaid ivory in a key pattern, which represents the interlocking and fluid nature of Legion warfare. It is a common decoration, widespread through the realm of Ultramar at large.

+ Einhorn's helm is not only lacking this additional frontispiece, but also the top section! This neatly demonstrates one of the great advantages of power armour; namely the modularity and redundancy. Presumably damaged beyond utility, the Legionary has removed the top section while retaining the frontal grill. This lower section of helm contains the vox-system, aural dampeners and much of the atmospheric systems, while also protecting the rebreather – and face – beneath.

+ While loss of a section of armour during combat is not unusual, removal of the helmet (while frowned upon) was sometimes done deliberately; allowing the terrifying Astartes a more relatable human face in order to win support on human worlds. The removal of the helmet does allow us a visual record of the strip haircut, a practical style that offered some cushioning to the head inside the notoriously uncomfortable Crusade armour helm if a skull cap was not worn. This image also shows Einhorn's main rifle, a Tigrus-pattern boltgun. This was not uncommon in the Legion, though most of the 190th Chapter bore the Umbra pattern that was common across the Legions during the Great Crusade. Note the three kill stripes near the muzzle.



+ This shows how the reinforced rim of the pauldron in the upper portion provides protection to the critical area of the upper torso and head. The distinctive size and shape of the Astartes shoulder pad, along with the unmistakeable icons of the respective Legion left no enemy in doubt as to who they were fighting.

+ Einhorn bears a small skull-and-crossbones honorific on his forearm, marking him as a tactical assault specialist. Perhaps this explains his unusual Tigrus-pattern boltgun – it may be recently issued to allow him to join a standard Tactical squad, rather than his preferred Tactical Assault (bolt pistol and combat weapon) formation.



+ Unfortunately, the answer to the question is muddied by the absence of tactical markings on Einhorn's left pauldron. This area would normally include Chapter markings, squad designation and sundry other information. Instead, Einhorn has merely a hastily-stencilled tactical arrow perhaps added in the field.

+All of these slight variances from the norm point to Einhorn's being attached to a unit that is not his usual squad. It is likely he is a fully battle-fit member of a unit mauled in combat – and he has thus been attached to fill a hole left by a casualty in another squad. This may be temporary or permanent, depending upon the level of damage the two units sustained, and whether the other members recover sufficiently. Astartes were, and are, extremely survivable; with a fatality rate of casualties being circa 6 per cent in 'normal' conflict (compare this to standard Imperial Guard figures of 16 per cent of casualties being fatalities). This is adjusted for the additional protection of the Astartes and capabilities of the enemies against which they were deployed, making their resilience all the more remarkable. A marine who is incapacitated on the battlefield – damaged to the point he cannot continue as an effective force – is still likely to heal and return to the field within weeks, if not days.+



+ The mark IV power pack here indicates this pict capture was taken towards the end of the Horus Heresy, after the War on Calth. It is almost certainly a replacement of the original suit. Note also the chequered pattern on Einhorn's mag-holstered boltpistol, a common decoration of the period.

+ More chillingly pointing to this date is the Mark III helm of an Iron Warrior from the IV Legion, upon which Einhorn is treading. The Ultramarines, by dint of their numbers, were instrumental in clearing the Imperium of pockets of resistance loyal to Horus. It is likely that these images date from the clearances of the Olympian Hegemony, Perturabo's micro-empire around his homeworld, a black mirror to Ultramar. These worlds were honeycombed with ingenious fastnesses and terrifying holds, and were only won through blood, toil and sacrifice.


Detail of the Iron Warrior helm.


Legionary Bastapol Einhorn, 150th
+++

Awesome work!

Heck yeah, great work, I especially enjoyed reading the photo descriptions.

Is this marine supposd to be true-scale?

These really are excellent!

I have to ask - how well do the Tartarus terminator legs fit with the standard torsos? The GW terminator legs are way to big compared to GW power armour, so how do the Forgeworld ones compare?

Great models and very good fluff

Great work, love the weathered blue, the gritty look and the background on every model. Very fitting for these great heroes to have a story attached to every model. ^^

Thanks all – much appreciated

sing your life wrote:Is this marine supposd to be true-scale?

Yep. I built an army a few years back – this is a return to the project.

Warpig1815 wrote:These really are excellent!
I have to ask - how well do the Tartarus terminator legs fit with the standard torsos? The GW terminator legs are way to big compared to GW power armour, so how do the Forgeworld ones compare?

Tartaros legs are near identical in size to the plastic terminators; I prefer them because of the additional detail, lack of support struts (which makes conversion simpler), more upright posing and also because the abdomen is attached, which makes hiding conversion work easier and leads to more coherent models overall. I think they'd look a bit odd with an unconverted plastic (power armour) torso personally, but as always, it's a matter of taste.

Great work!

@Apologist - Sorry for the confusion, I should have clarified that the 'standard torsos' I was referring to are the Foregeworld torsos (Mk III preferably). I may take a look into converting some Mk III's using this method so I was just looking for an indication of how they fit together - quite well from what I can see on your UM's

Pre-heresy Ultras and true scale no less. Please provide us with a full army shot.

They look incredible!

Warpig1815 wrote:@Apologist - Sorry for the confusion, I should have clarified that the 'standard torsos' I was referring to are the Foregeworld torsos (Mk III preferably). I may take a look into converting some Mk III's using this method so I was just looking for an indication of how they fit together - quite well from what I can see on your UM's

Ah, fair do's. I think that should work fine, though I'd recommend you add a bit of breadth and depth on the back. I've used a combination of plastic bits and full sculpts for the basis of the bodies (see below); but I've seen people use the standard torsoes with a bit of filling in to deepen them, which worked nicely too.

Pre-heresy Ultras and true scale no less. Please provide us with a full army shot.

I've got a few group shots, but no recent full army shot. The current bunch, from a couple of weeks ago:


...And here's the original army, that I built over 2008–2011(?)

That's quite an old shot, though – things like Guilliman's legs and Orar's arms have been altered, and I added some jump pack marines, too.

Hmm. *Searches for a more recent shot*
There's this – it doesn't include any of the vehicles, but it's my Ultramarines fighting my Sons of Horus. Any good? It's got the assault marines in.



Here's today's marine. Love to hear what you think; and what you'd like to see in the future.
+++

+inload: Brother Aper Vipsanion+
+ Aper Vipsanion is a native of Manes Otra, an obscure system rimwards of Macragge. Manes Otra orbits its star closely, but habitable zones exist near the Marco Culumo mountains thanks to the prodigious amount of cloud generated through hyper-evapotranspiration. As a result, the people live in mist-shrouded heathland despite the vast majority of the surface being rad-scarred wastes.


Legionary Vipsanion
+ Manotrans, as the natives are called, traditionally wear great torcs around their necks fashioned from sea-ivory that turned from peach to a blotchy pink under dangerous levels of radiation. Since Compliance in the mid-decades of the Great Crusade, these have been replaced with rad-counters, but the natives continue to regard items worn around the neck and chest as protective. Such superstitions, though officially frowned-upon, are generally tolerated as part of the cultural heritage of the planets of Ultramar. Guilliman regarded diversity – where it did not conflict with the Imperial Truth or the aims of the Imperium of Man – as beneficial; offering unique insights into specific theatres of war.+


+ Vipsanion has hinted at his heritage by decorating his chest armour with the legend 'CXC'; a numeral representing the 190th Chapter to which he belongs. Besides this forgiveable indulgence, Vipsanion has embraced the culture of the Legion like almost all Astartes, subsuming his personal desires to the good of the squad; and to the Legion as a whole. This is demonstrated not least through his name – like almost all Ultramarines, he has chosen a new name from the Core Worlds of Macragge, substituting it for his birthname Jorés Joréssen as an act of personal compliance.+


+ The mark II power generator pack is Martian standard; containing a stacked fusion core. The mark IV suit saw number of marked improvements over the Crusade armour, most notably in the 'under the hood' power generation.
+ This pattern of power pack produced prodigious amounts of heat, which needed to be vented through three fanned heat sinks, and necessitated bulky cabling vulnerable to attack. It also produced a low hum that set the teeth on edge when brought in close proximity; though autosenses inherent to even the earliest helmets filtered this out.+


+ Vipsanion has a white helmet stripe running down the crest of his helm, a common tactical marking on campaign that marked the marine out as a standard line trooper. This was largely redundant, but it was nevertheless common amongst older Legionaries, or those who preferred to keep campaign armour markings where they did not interfere with current duties.
+ This shot also shows the chemical snows upon which the 190th were deployed during the lamentable campaigns of the Olympian Hegemony Clearances, a notorious set of actions that foreshadowed the actions of the Great Scouring. The Clearances involved a number of Chapters, though the 190th, under their Honour-Captain Sulla Proxemides, were notable for their aggressive prosecution of the Iron Warrior defenders. A number of Ultramarines of the Chapter were censured following the campaigns.+

]
+ Vipsanion has been deployed with an augmented auspex set to defeat rad-interference and the iron Warriors targetted baffling measures. Early in the campaign, many Ultramarines of the 121st were lost to minefields shrouded to even sophisticated narrowband auspex scans – a lamentable oversight that well illustrates the dangers the Imperial forces faced when attacking rebels loyal to Horus, who had access to standard protocol measures.
+ The augmented auspex set required heavy cabling to feed its prodigious power consumption, and the high-gain pick-ups also required modifications to the bearer's armour to override interference – these can be seen embedded on Vipsanion's forearm bracer.+


+ Having served for just over fifty years in the Legion, which included Compliance actions on thirty-eight planets, numerous xenocidal campaigns, and seven tours of duty following the Calth Atrocity, Vipsanion was killed in action during the Clearances by Iron Warrior action in the Carybid pass of Sorrow Peaks.
+His body was unable to be reclaimed in the narrow pass, and his geneseed had unfortunately decayed beyond viability by the time the Ultramarines could force the route.+

@Apologist - Cheers for the advice and the latest marine (and background) is looking ace! Keep up the good work

How'd you make the standard? Specifically the pole?

+ The Legiones Astartes were created to be undefeatable. They are plated in nigh-impenetrable armour; receive biological, alchemical and chirurgical alterations that increase their bone density and muscle mass, and give them preternaturally acute senses. Their reactions are many times the human normal; their minds burn with myriad unconscious calculations and observations in every moment. They do not flag, or tire. They can fight at peak efficient for days on end, requiring little rest or sleep.

+ Physical redundancies and back-ups abound in their post-human flesh. Their core refined into perfect machines, they are all-but-immune to disease; their enhanced blood and immune systems defeating chemical attacks, shrugging off lethal radiation and – so perfect in its ability to replicate – even degradation and death.

+ Bound into mutually-supportive groups, they are experts in all forms of warfare; capable of adapting to any terrain or worldscape. Thanks to their physiques and equipment, they can fight and defeat anyone or anything from the crushing weight of ocean trenches to gas-swathed hellholes to the inimical vastness of the vacuum.

+ Most crucially, they are psychologically altered and indoctrinated to be the perfect killing machines; balanced, poised, terrifying – and immune to fear responses or the idea of defeat. Every part of them is designed to keep advancing, victoriously, under any forseeable circumstance.

+ The Legiones Astartes were created to be undefeatable. They were never designed to fight each other.+


A Contemptor-pattern Dreadnought stumbles across a dead legionnaire during the conflict with the Iron Warriors.


+++
This dead marine was a tester for the paint scheme, hence he's a little scrappy. He'll make a nice base decoration for a Dreadnought, but I'd like to look into creating lots of dead or injured marines to scatter about and add to the feel of a battle.









+++

feasible wrote:How'd you make the standard? Specifically the pole?

The hand-held signum? I think it's a Grey Knight halberd for the basis, but it's built from scraps from my bits box.

This is some extremely impressive work. I love the realistic color scheme and small bits of background story for each marine.

Stunning work. Keep it up.

Thanks chaps

I got cracking on building more last night. Here's the work-in-progress. Apologies for the confusing bits, variously in black/blue/grey and white. A lot of my models get to an early stage and then abandoned, and when I next get enthused I notice that such-and-such a bit would be perfect just here. You can probably see everything from resin to plastic to ProCreate putty, as well as undercoated and even fully painted bits!

Number 1: Pleased with this chap – the pose is not super-dynamic, but sufficiently open to interpretation to provide interest. Is he reaching for a door handle, or tenatively signalling for caution? I like to imply cross-model interaction, as long as it doesn't compromise the pose for the individual. I think some of you will like the return of my Praetor-pattern helms. Kudos for those should be paid to the ever-inspirational Iacton, who did (as far as I'm aware) the first version of these distinctive helms back in 2007ish, and provided the direct inspiration for my version.



+ Number 2: Hmm, least successful of this batch so far. The smaller Mk IV shoulder pads rob him of some presence, and the shield confuses the angle of movement. I'm tempted to strip these shoulder pads and go to the usual Mk II ones I had printed. He will likely receive a combat blade or similar weapon in his right hand – or have his arms replaced entirely with arms aiming his boltgun. Thoughts?



Number 3: Definite potential here. The reloading/reaching for a new magazine pose is working fairly well. He needs a pouch (obviously!) and I'll probably tilt the head differently – he's staring off into space at the moment, which robs the piece of immediacy.




Where possible, I'm trying to add distinctiveness and interest through minor variations from the basic set of armour. It's a delicate balance between making the model interesting and keeping it looking uniform. Number 1 has a Praetor pattern helm, an Umbra(?) boltgun and a different powerpack, but is otherwise standard. Note that number 2 sticks out the most due to the absence of the big Mk II shoulderpads, a very distinctive part of my vision of marines. Aside from this change, he is the most standard, which shows what an effect changing iconic/focal points can have. In contrast, number 3 has non-standard legs, non-standard torso, but still looks more like the basic marine pattern of this army.

Love them!