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Hi Dakka! Having fallen in love with the Genestealer Cult minis from Deathwatch:Overkill I've decided to expand them out as my first true secondary army. While much beloved, my Tyranid collection has gotten a bit unwieldy and as painting techniques have changed the older models keep requiring extra touch ups to make the collection match across the board. For the Genestealer Cult, the goal is thus to get the entire army fully painted and based to a single standard.



Background:
Originating on the now dead world of Artemis IV, the Orion Mining Consortium (O.M.C.) was a simple mining cartel before accidentally acquiring a brood of Genestealers during the invasion of the Artemis system by Hive Fleet Scorpius and the subsequent evacuation. While the refugee fleet was able to evade the tendrils of the great scorpion and flee to the relative safety of deep space, the Genestealer stowaways secreted aboard found ample breeding grounds amongst the cramped corridors and loading docks housing the refugees. The resulting hybrid population initially hid amongst the vast furnace works and industrial garages of the O.M.C. mining fleet, gathering strength amongst the working populace and quietly abducting and inducting various key personal into the brotherhood. When the day of mutiny finally came, the fleet was plunged into anarchy as a handful of untainted security forces and cartel leadership stood alone against a sea of claws and frenzied militia. As the last deck was cleared of resistance, the carefully placed pawns in the consortium hierarchy ceded control to the newly formed Orion Cult and quietly erased all trace of the prior management from the O.M.C. records.

Dwelling in the guise of a legitimate mining fleet gives the Orion Cult a rare privacy to do as they will with minimal Imperial oversight while in the depths of space and offers extreme elusiveness in the event their activities are uncovered. Despite this freedom, the cult and its public face never remain in one place too long and rarely invest more than a fraction of their hybrid population to a given enterprise. This constant voyage and decentralized operations is partially due to the overly developed survival instincts of the cult's Patriarch. Within its alien mind, it has developed an all consuming fear of the creeping tendrils of its parent fleet, the synaptic echoes of which plague the creature's every waking moment. This paranoia is not unwarranted, for a tendril of Hive Fleet Scorpius follows closely behind the primary mining fleet housing the great beast, sensing something of itself in the flotilla. When the voices of its alien kin grow from mere whispers to something greater, the Patriarch dispatches a psychic imperative through the broodmind calling its children to uproot and continue their great journey. For their part, the faithful see these sudden exoduses as their great father simply becoming restless, eager to continue to spread his righteous message to the unenlightened with fervor - completely oblivious to the creeping doom not far behind. Indeed, such is the relative proximity of the Scorpius tendril that the hybrid creatures of the Orion Cult still bear the colorations of their ancestors in the Hive Fleet rather than revert to the feral hues common to most cults.

The Orion Cult is structured slightly differently than most due to its vast size and fleet-based nature. Rather than form a single dynastic order, each broodcycle is instead an entirely self-sufficient entity assigned its own flotilla of vessels and leadership to oversee operations. Each cycle fulfills its own role for the cult as a whole and has its own traditions, culture, and rituals that set them apart from their fellows, but all ultimately swear fealty to the Patriarch. The white robed entities of the First Cycle are unique in that they are mostly picked directly by the Patriarch rather than being born into the cycle itself. As such, the First Cycle possesses a far greater population of anomalous mutants than the other cycles, with rank after rank of Metamorphs and Aberrants forming an elite guard for the Patriarch and any who directly serve him. The first cycle is also the home of the high council of Magi who provide spiritual guidance to the other cycles in the Orion Cult as well as leadership for matters too mundane for their master to bother with. Members of the council are drawn from the most senior Magi in each Cycle and are headed by Arch-Magus Samuel Orion, the current high priest who attends to the Patriarch directly. The Second and Third Cycles in contrast are descended from the original infection, with the bulk of their population now being Neophytes and ordinary human hires who are oblivious to the alien monster at the center of their faith. As there are very few mutants remaining in these cycles, they serve chiefly as scouts and representatives when dealing with Imperial space, acquiring supplies that cannot normally be obtained and conducting trade as the face of the O.M.C. Due to this ability to interact freely with human society, both cycles have a greater amount of surplus military equipment available than do their more alien brethren in the younger cycles. In times of need or when traveling hostile space, either cycle may be recalled to serve as the guardians of the home fleet and the First Cycle itself.

The remaining cycles are generally tasked with resource acquisition by the Patriarch, gathering both mineral wealth and the supplies needed to sustain the populations of the Orion Cult. Be it genetic memories or coincidence, many of these younger cycles act in an unwitting imitation of their progenitors in the Hive Fleets with aggressive campaigns of strip mining resource rich worlds. The most active of these newer cycles in Imperial space are those of the Seventh Cycle lead by Primus Dravis. Unlike the other resource gatherers who prey upon unclaimed worlds, the Seventh Cycle instead seeks out planets that already have infrastructure in place to repurpose and twist for their own ends. Once planetfall is made, the children of the Seventh Cycle go to work subjugating any other mining teams present using both subtle manipulation and unsubtle intimidation where needed. These pawns are then put to work alongside hybrid work teams excavating new shafts and expanding the existing facilities to serve the O.M.C. mining fleet. Should local cartels or other authorities respond to these usurpations with force, a tide of weaponized industrial equipment and screeching mutants are dispatched to intercept and destroy the interlopers. Once the orbital vessels have filled their cargo holds the Seventh Cycle then departs with their stolen wealth and new converts, leaving behind a handful of free-roaming Genestealers to guard the mines and cultivate a new generation in preparation for the next cycle.


Pictures:

Primus: The Orion Cult is unique in that each of its Brood Cycles is assigned a Primus of its own to act as the overall commanders for those whose wanderings take them far from the Patriarch's psychic embrace. Their ability to operate relatively independently is unusually pronounced compared to those of other cults, as each serves a combination of warleader and figurehead of state for their cycle in the absence of the Patriarch or a Magus. It falls to the Primus to determine the course a cycle takes in their eternal migration, what worlds to visit, and ultimately when to employ brute force and when to manipulate from the shadows. The toxins employed in their unique weapons are secretions from vat-grown Toxin Sacs, cultured from the Purestrains originating from Hive Fleet Scorpius itself.


Magus: Magi are extremely important to the Orion Cult both in their role as spiritual leaders and as direct conduits for far-flung cycles to connect to the greater Broodmind. Each cycle generally has at least one Magus and apprentice attached for this reason, but some of the older cycles have multiples to insure the needs of their flocks are met. All Magi are treated as belonging to the First Cycle even if they have never set foot upon the home fleet, as each speaks with the words and authority of the Patriarch.


Iconward: Iconwards of the Orion Cult serve as the lieutenants to their cycle's Primus in addition to their solemn duties as the bearers of the cycle's colors. Each family clan within the greater cycle is represented by its own chosen Iconward which in turn represent the cycle's Primus to their clan. When not at war they are often the first line of authority in the mines or fleet and oversee their brethren directly, alongside them as much in peace as on the battlefield. While they are often dressed in white robes akin to those worn by the First Cycle, these are strictly ceremonial in nature due to their intrinsic connections within their cycle.


Aberrants: Aberrants are held in high esteem by the hybrids of the Orion Cult. Each is believed to be a near perfect symbiosis of the Acolyte and Neophyte, an ideal balance between the void-born Patriarch and earth-born man. While many are inducted to the First Cycle in honor of this, most are content to dwell and work alongside their "less balanced" kin. In such instances they are generally employed alongside Neophyte mining teams to take advantage of their vast strength and relatively humanoid form.


Purestrain Genestealers: While the Purestrain population of the Orion Cult is enormous after generations of successful cycles, the vast majority of the creatures remain in a state of stasis aboard the mining ships of the O.M.C. fleet. When a cycle approaches a fresh world, a handful of broods in each ship will snap to wakefulness and descend to the planetary surface alongside the faithful. Inevitably, a portion of these broods will breakaway from the main operation to infect the native population and form splinter cults of their own, thereby dooming the world to invasion long after the Orion Cult has left the system.


Acolyte Squads: Acolytes form the bulk of the labor force in the younger cycles, taking advantage of their void-born adaptations and strength in both mining and construction duties while undercover or unopposed. In battle they can be found both riding amongst mechanized teams and undermining the battle from below using drills and claw. Acolyte post-battle salvage teams and hijackers are also fairly common, as their claws are just as capable of dismantling machinery and shredding locks as removing extremities from the living.


Neophyte Squads: The rank and file of the O.M.C. and Orion Cult nestled within. Neophyte squads are often deployed in situations where secrecy is essential, such as the rare instances where attacks by other forces threaten industrial holdings and require cooperation with the local military. In open war they work to support their Acolyte counterparts, laying down suppressive fire and operating more complex equipment. Neophytes of the older cycles are known to take the field using military surplus gear acquired in their dealings with the Imperium while those of the younger cycles generally make due with repurposed industrial equipment and lower grade weaponry.


Goliath Trucks: The industrial garages of the O.M.C. fleets boast racks upon racks of Goliath Trucks readily convertible for combat purposes. They are most heavily employed by the younger cycles, who appreciate the flexibility offered by the rugged machines as both tools and as weapons if the need arises.


Goliath Rockgrinders: As with their transport counterparts, Rockgrinders form an armored core in the younger cycles due to their flexibility and readily available supply. They are often equipped with clearance incinerators and are used in demolition when employing intimidation tactics on rival mining teams or extermination campaigns on rival chaotic cults. In times of open war, Rockgrinders are generally issued to demolition specialists and deployed to interdict the heaviest armor the foe might employ while ambushers move into position, but are occasionally used to ferry leadership assets and their bodyguards as well. They are especially favored by Dravis Orion of the 7th Cycle for their shock assaults and linebreaker capabilities.

Finished up the first 5 Metamorphs and got a couple quick pictures at our gaming group. They started a kill team league last week so these fellows should get some heavy use soon.

(Once again, please pardon the picture quality and iffy lighting. Still waiting on the camera...)

Metamorph Leader:


Claw-morph #1:


As an aside, the head on this one looks oddly like a mini-Tervigon head to me (albeit one with an extra pair of eyes),

Claw-morph #2:


Lictor-morph:


Acid Maw-morph:


All together:



Also made a little bit of progress repainting the Firestorm Redoubt as well. It was originally bought back in the early days of 6th edition to provide AA for my Tyranid army. Once the 6th edition codex came out it fell out of use in favor of the new flying bugs. Still has its uses though and I think it will fit in with the Genestealer Cult far better.

Need to clean up all the non-yellow areas, especially the edges where the various details touch the grey concrete portions.

Merry Christmas one and all! Been busy with the holiday season, so haven't really had much time to work on my hybrids. Thankfully, things should start slowing down now and there will be more time to focus on hobby stuff.

The cult has grown quite a bit since the last post. Thanks to a combination of gifts and sales at our local shop, the OMC hybrids have acquired an extra box of Acolytes, two boxes of Neophytes, two Iconwards, two Goliath Trucks, a Sentinel, and an additional Overkill Box (to be split with one of my brothers who happens to have Deathwatch. ).

First up for assembly, 3 of the new Acolytes were built as Metamorphs, bringing the squad up to 10 in total (the other two bodies will be used to make more special weapons for the Acolytes):


Mild bit of repositioning on the talon-equipped guys. The first one had a sword replaced with their pistol and one of the talon arms trimmed off to allow a single talon arm on the right side of the model. The other one had a Rending Claw chopped off and replaced with a talon.

Next, two new Acolyte Iconwards:



One of the two was built as normal save for a head-swap. The other is intended to be used to represent the model carrying the Icon of the Cult Ascendant, so it had a bit of extra kitbashing to make him stand out.


Besides using the Tervigon metamorph head, the top of the banner was made more elaborate by adding the top of a Neophyte banner and one of the hybrid skulls from the Acolyte kit to hide where the stem connects to the original icon (the chains from the Neophyte banner cover up the gap on the other side).

Lastly, the first of the Neophytes and their Goliath have been built. As I already have quite a few with autoguns, these ones will be equipped for use with the Goliath Trucks (so flamers and shotguns).

Been awhile since I have been able to do any work on the hybrids, but with Adepticon long over and things settling back into normalcy I've had a bit more time to paint. The new terrain from Shadow War: Armageddon has been an excellent motivator, as it goes perfectly with my industrial theme and allows any board to instantly become "home turf" for the cult. While the larger pieces are still being worked on, the Alchomite Stacks are (mostly) done, apart from more weathering and maybe some edge highlighting. They are actually quite a bit bigger than I had been expecting, as our eager Iconward demonstrates. Not the best for hiding large squads of infantry, but they are large enough to obscure vehicles and monsters fairly well. The main stacks and pipes aren't glued, so they can be reconfigured as desired.



I ended up trading the Firestorm Redoubt with one of my brothers for a pair of Hemotrope reactors to go with the rest of the new terrain. While they aren't much use for the cult (no plasma) they do look nice in OMC yellow and should make for nice scenery. Any casualties from someone blowing themselves up while foolishly trying to actually use the reactors' overcharge ability will be viewed as a bonus.



And lastly, the final Rock Grinder has been completed along with a smattering of demo charge-equipped acolytes. A fresh Demolition Claw emerges, ready to blast away crumbling ruins, rock faces, and meddling Astartes Terminators alike.

I love the colourful look of your boys, the more earthly brown, yellow and flesh tones make them look a little more like infiltraitors instead of alien murder machines. I also very much like your clean style of painting, but if i could make a suggestion, a bit of spong'd on wear-and-tear on the Goliaths would make them look more credible in my opinion. They are heavy duty equipment after all.

 VyRa wrote:
I love the colourful look of your boys, the more earthly brown, yellow and flesh tones make them look a little more like infiltraitors instead of alien murder machines. I also very much like your clean style of painting, but if i could make a suggestion, a bit of spong'd on wear-and-tear on the Goliaths would make them look more credible in my opinion. They are heavy duty equipment after all.

Thank you kindly! The flesh is copied from my Tyranids for the most part to tie the two forces together when run alongside each other. As far as fluff goes, the parent fleet is probably close enough that the 'stealers haven't gone fully feral, so they retained their coloration instead of morphing back to the blue/purple scheme.

I agree with the weathering on the vehicles. I'm still learning the techniques to do it well (or at least hopefully well), as my main army has been Tyranids for most of my 40k career most of what I know for painting is doing flesh tones and chitin rather than mechanical.

Some new Aberrants have crawled from the quarry and are ready to join their cohorts:

Power Picks:


Power Hammers:


Also I have updated the original post with a some better pictures of the other units that are complete.

Finished the first of my Goliaths:





This was my first time attempting weathering, so hopefully it looks ok. I used a bit of foam from the army's carry case to sponge on the mud and exposed metal.

Nice work on those goliaths. I am intrigued by your cult's tan skin tone: will you paint your Genestealers (assuming you get any) the same way? I would also love to read more fluff, your army could really have an in-depth background story.

Ember

 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
I am intrigued by your cult's tan skin tone: will you paint your Genestealers (assuming you get any) the same way?

Yep! Most of my Genestealers are already painted (being inherited from my Tyranids) but I did have a couple Purestrains laying around from the Overkill boxes to do. Incidentally, Hive Fleet Genestealers don't have the clear-cut carapace plates like the Purestrain sculpt does, so oddly enough the Purestrains follow my Tyranid scheme closer than their cousins.






Also as a bonus, since this week's Fate of Konor provided bonus points for elites I picked up a second Haruspex to paint up and submit. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the big lugs (I already have one that is magnetized) and their new rules look to be rather fun.

 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:

I would also love to read more fluff, your army could really have an in-depth background story.

Thank you kindly. My brothers and I were working on a narrative campaign prior to the Fate of Konor, so once that is over I might make up some battle reports with them.

Apologies for the long period between updates (6 months? eep...) . Been working on the army little by little in the meantime with a fairly big jump forward in painting due to a local tournament. I'll be seeing if I can get a good shot of the completed portions of the army next time we're at our gaming group but for now I have a few pictures to share.

Firstly, all of my vehicles have been painted (more or less) as part of the aforementioned tournament. I'm particularly happy with how the Rockgrinders took to weathering. Two of them had a minor adjustment of their weapon from the Mining Lasers to Clearance Incinerators, while the third is magnetized to allow switching between guns as desired (only have the Incinerator painted, so no alternate weapons to show right now)

Group Shot:
]

First Rockgrinder:


Second Rockgrinder:



Third Rockgrinder:


Also painted up my last two Magi, though the second generic one still has some final touches to do before it is truly finished. For my third and final one, I did a minor head swap to make him stand out from the other two. I think I may use it to represent Samuel Orion or perhaps another Magus character.

Masked Magus:


Group:

First of all, love the fluff!
Really nice models too, always nice to see models in some unexpected colour schemes when they work as well as this.

Here's the army shot I promised, consisting of every painted model currently finished. Not the greatest picture since it was late by the time we got to our gaming group, but it does show the amount finished.



As it stands currently, the painted army consists of:
1x Patriarch
1x Primus
1x Acolyte Iconward
3x Magi
2x Genestealer Familiars
6x Purestrain Genestealers
8x Aberrants
11x Metamorph Hybrids
34x Acolyte Hybrids
32x Neophyte Hybrids
5x Goliath Trucks
3x Goliath Rockgrinders

craggy wrote:
First of all, love the fluff!
Really nice models too, always nice to see models in some unexpected colour schemes when they work as well as this.

Thanks!

I'm surprised i didn't notice this before, you've done a wonderful job with the cult, they're really full of character! The mask on the magus works very well. I think simple head swaps are pretty useful.

Small update on the Cult's status.

With the reintroduction of the relic banner in Chapter Approved I found motivation to give the kitbashed Iconward that was originally built to represent it a bit of paint:


No where near finished yet, but has the basic colors down. I really like how the bronze icons look so I might go back and redo the silver icons on my other banner bearers.

Also I recently acquired a few IG heavy weapon sprues from a brother's recent foray into the Astra Militarum, which combined with a couple extra Neophytes left over from a Goliath Truck and 60mm bases from rebasing my Carnifexes resulted in this:



The missile tube required one of the lamps be removed from the Neophyte carrying it (he's the one at the controls to the Rockgrinder's weapon arm) but otherwise very little conversion work was done. Regrettably, the other arm from the missile tube set doesn't fit with the industrial harness so I had to settle for a stick of blasting charges instead (guess he might be an explosive expert in general). Still, for something made entirely of spare parts I think it turned out rather well as a weapon team that keeps with my industrial theme.

Finally, I added a bit more fluff to the original post.

What a great blog and army. I am embarking on my own GSC adventures and will follow this closely now I have found it.

Good stuff Love a bit of cult action - slightly annoyed they appeared whilst I was away from the hobby, buddies mean there's now plenty to pick and choose from.

Also a fan of the colour scheme, like seeing different takes on things.

And I never really looked closely at a haruspex, that looks like I could do some lovely chaosy stuff with one.....

Awesome stuff Strat! Is that the old Stealer model for the Purestrains? I been trying to decide whether or not to use my own.

Finally finished up the cult's Armored Sentinel from last year's black Friday sale. I'm not sure if I should do all of the brood brother units in the industrial yellow scheme or not, but I figured Sentinels at least have an industrial variant in the powerlifters so it could be excused as a repurposed unit from cargo handling.

Front:


Side:


Rear:



The cult itself has been getting some field time in Necromunda lately, so I've slowly been working my way through my backlogged Neophyte models. The Shotguns and Webber-equipped Neophytes are new, while the Heavy Stubber team have been done for awhile (painted them back for Shadow War Armageddon) but they haven't had a squad to put them in.

Shotguns:


Webbers:


Heavy Stubbers:

 SHUPPET wrote:
Awesome stuff Strat! Is that the old Stealer model for the Purestrains? I been trying to decide whether or not to use my own.

Thanks! The Purestrain Genestealers are from the Deathwatch Overkill box. The sculpt is somewhat of a blend of the old 'stealers and the modern design. For most game purposes I tend to borrow my Tyranid Genestealers since I have a great many more of them and the color scheme matches anyway.

Doing a bit of work on a second Primus. This one had another head-swap, so it will probably be used to represent Dravis Orion when it is finished. I'm trying a new color for his coat. Up to this point I've been using the same grey used in my Tyranid chitin, but I found a fresh pot of XV-88 and noticed it looked a lot like the leather used in work gloves so I thought I'd give it a try.

(WIP obviously)


I'm tempted to go back and redo all of the grey cloth with this new color as it seems to go well with the industrial yellow used on the harness. What do you all think?

Nice work in here love the color scheme... It's really striking, and an unusual choice for GSC.

Bit of a treat. I picked up a Tooth and Claw day of release and have been making progress on the Abominant. Still work to do (needs his base done for one) but I think he is coming along nicely.





It is a bit hard to see with the lighting I had to work with, but the cloth of his overalls is the XV-88 that was prototyped on the Primus (who is also waiting on basing and final touch-ups...). Very fun model to put together and paint, but he is a bit smaller than I was anticipating. I kinda pictured something Ogryn-sized based on their game stats, but he's actually somewhere between a Marine and a Primaris.

His Aberrant brethren will be making an appearance sooner or later. Also I have some Acolytes that are ready for photography, but the weather isn't being cooperative (overcast and rainy).

 insaniak wrote:
Nice work in here love the color scheme... It's really striking, and an unusual choice for GSC.

Thank you very much for the kind words, especially given the quality of your own work. The color scheme as mentioned prior is mostly ported from my Tyranids with yellow added to tie into the industrial elements.