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Work work, zug zug, Lokar! Took the opportunity one sunny afternoon to stick my airpods in during a particularly long work presentation/meeting thing and crack out the rattlecans to get some basecoats down. Specifically: θ-⍴ Elysium Mechanicum and the Theta-Garmon CXI.
Taghmata Omnissiah
There is no truth in flesh, only betrayal.
There is no strength in flesh, only weakness.
There is no constancy in flesh, only decay.
There is no certainty in flesh but death.
– Credo Omnissiah
Lovely people, the Martians. Excellent taste in crimson paint, too. I picked up the Mechanicum Battle Group box with the explicit intention to build some kind of fun allies for my Astartes armies - but then the Mechanicum Heavy Support box came along and turned that into an army of it’s own :)
My initial plan was to basecoat in black (Taschengelddieb/MiniatureAid’s Pitch Black spray is very good value for money) and then spoop a zenithal/directed spray of Colour Forge Reliquary Red over the top (colour matched to GW/Citadel Khorne Red). But, the shipping gods were SO against me you have no idea: My initial preorder of the colour from The PinselKnecht didn’t work out as they didn’t get any. Sad. I found that FantasyWelt were stocking the new Signature range sprays too so I ordered a can of it from there - only to receive a can of Midwinter Ice instead. As much of a fan of Guy’s channel as I am I had no intention of using that colour whatsoever so it went back for store credit. Boo hiss etc.
I ended up just using Sanguine Red instead which has turned out great. I’ll probably use the Two Thin Coats darker red triad (Dread/Asmodeus/Evil Eye Red) for the main panel detailing and then just do simple metallics and transfers and boom - done. Although they’re intended to be a Martian cohort I’ll probably go more light brown with the base texture to keep them visually interesting as a force on their own.
Solar Auxilia
There’s something super appealing about the vulnerability and general squishiness of baseline humans as an army in the Heresy. I love the idea of fielding an army that would have so little chance of winning against the ‘usual’ factions in the Age of Darkness that every wound dealt and every vehicle damaged would feel like a little victory. And the strategic decisions that would make other players have to make - because Auxilia have a looooot of bodies on the table to score points with. Just marching around and sitting on objectives long enough due to their strength in numbers sounds like fun! Their aesthetic is very cool too, I really like their sealed armour and the antique look and feel of their vehicles and mobile armour.
So, borne again out of the purchasing of the excellent Battle Group box - the idea of an allied detachment grew a little more after the odd eBay pickup here and there to what you see here below.
Again I used a Colour Forge Signature Series rattlecan, Dead Animal Bits. Matched to GW Rakarth Flesh I had hoped to provide a good warm and sandy base for a zenithal spray of some kind of white over the top. Fingers crossed I can just use Black Legion contrast and metallics on these to get them zoomed through and onto the table with some transfers.
I’ve got a Medusa/Basilisk(excellent review by ChaosBunker, a pair of Malcador heavy tanks and another Leman Russ waiting to be built - then I guess after a test game or two I’ll figure out where I want to take the force. I like the idea of the new Tarantula batteries for some more artillery laughs. And if I can get my hand on a Valdor Tank Destroyer on the cheap, well… 🙄