Heldrake

I got more painting done. Took me about 6 hours or more, but I finished the painting for most of my miniatures. Okay, my Adeptus Mechanicus force is far from complete because I still need to paint their bases, but without the Martian Iron Earth stuff, I can't paint them yet. I'll have to wait a couple of weeks before I get a chance to purchase it, and then I'll be able to paint their bases.

So what did I paint? More Kasrkins, so now I have a full Kasrkin army. Or storm trooper army. Enough for a single Battalion (or Patrol if I'm using them as allies). A stormtrooper Colonel and a major (basically the Tempestors Prime), a command squad of Kasrkins with 4 hot-shot volley guns, a command squad of Kasrkins with 4 plasma guns, a 10-men squad with 4 hot-shot volley guns, and 2 5-men squads with 2 plasma guns while their Sergeants have a plasma pistol and power sword each. They are equipped with 2 Tauroxes Prime with hot-shot volley guns and a Vendetta gunship with 6 lascannons, because they are mechanized infantry. They specialize in mechanized assaults, jumping down from transports to pour down a devastating hail of fire into their enemies. They are usually seconded to the Inquisition, hence my Ordo Maellus Inquisitor in Terminator armor, who travels with his Interragor, a psyker (represented by a Primaris Psyker). I have half a mind to get Grey Knights, but given how I won't get Tides unless I field a full Grey Knight army, I probably wouldn't bother.



My Astra Militarum forces aren't the only one with reinforcements. I finally painted my Serberys Sulphurhounds. Yay! And also 4 Kastelan robots and a Thanatar siege-automata for my Legio Cybernetica. Cool. I don't know how it will work. Without the Forge World books, we don't have rules for Mechanicum battle-automata in 8th or 9th edition, which is kind of sad. I always wanted to field my giant Mechanicum robots in the 41st Millennium. My forge world, Draconis IV, is well known for producing robots and battle-automata, after all. I also have 4 Castellax battle-automata, and though they are usually requisitioned by the Thousand Sons, I'll be happy to field them as Loyalist Cybernetica units along my Skitarii.



I also painted an Exalted Sorcerer, my last Rubric Marine, and a Heldrake! Amusingly enough, the Heldrake is actually smaller than my Vendetta gunship. Huh...interesting. The Exalted Sorcerer is a former Sapphire Drakes Librarian, Egnis, who joined Ignatius after he rescued his Chapter from extinction at the hands of the Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence. He is responsible for controlling the Daemon Engines for their thrallband. As he travels more with Ignatius, he embraces his mutations and even revels in them, much to Ignatius and Makhat's disapproval. Makhat is the former Chief Librarian of the Sapphire Drakes and is now Ignatius's second-in-command. He's basically the other Sorcerer in Terminator Armor. Anyway, Egnis manages the Daemon Engines, which is why you see that amazing Heldrake above him. He guides the Heldrakes and Forgefiends in the thrallband and unleashes them upon the enemy. His sanity is slipping, especially as he embraces more of the Change and mutations that wrack his body, so Makhat has to keep an eye on him.



The non-psykers of the Sapphire Drakes have...turned into Rubric Marines. How? I don't know. Sergeant Acastus, formerly of the Sapphire Drakes, has manifested latent psychic potential and is now an Aspiring Sorcerer who leads the Rubric Marines and other automatons. If we ever get rules for the Castellax battle-automata for Thousand Sons, I'll be throwing them in too, but they will be under the control of Ignatius because he has them from way back, during the Horus Heresy. Before the razing of Prospero. He was of the Pyrae order and controls battle-automata back then. Nothing has changed much, if I were to be honest.

Hmm, that's about it for now, I guess. I'll probably have to wait for news from Forge World. In the meantime, maybe I'll get an Indomitus box (I pre-ordered one from my friendly local gaming store, but whether they will have enough in stock for everyone is another question...). If I do, I'll paint them as Black Templars because...come on. Assault Intercessors, a Marshal with a relic shield and relic power sword, and Bladeguard Veterans? And a Primaris Chaplain? That screams Black Templars to me no matter how you look at it. And because I've been reading all the Black Templars stories like Helsreach, Forge of Mars (they have a squad of Black Templars in there), the Beast Arises (which features most of the Imperial Fists successor Chapters, including...you guess it, the Black Templars), Sigismund's stories in the Horus Heresy and probably in the Siege of Terra, and The Black Legion where Abaddon duels Sigismund after his fleet gets ambushed by a Black Templars fleet, I think I'm taking a liking to them. Maybe. We'll see. Anyway, that's what I have for now. We will see!