Saturday 12 May 2018

Flesh Tearers Re-visited

Like most people who read this blog I am something of a hobby butterfly... starting projects at a whim, getting overly enthusiastic about my latest army and buying far too much plastic...before promptly painting only ten models and then getting bored and moving onto something else.

It happens to all of us I suppose... in fact on reflection it seems that my Crimson Fists are the one story of success where I have built a viable force and steadily been adding the them since 2002... Jesus has it really been that long. 

Anyway I digress.






One of my many abandoned projects is my force of Flesh Tearers Space Marines that I started back in 2011 then boxed away for the last seven years. I initially began work on this project after being injured at work and having some time on my hands as a result. About that time there was an article in white dwarf about this specific chapter along with a quick and easy paint scheme. I followed this paint guide and did about five squads before losing interest.

Anyway I uncovered these models this week and although the paintjob is nearly a decade old and not up to my current standards it is perfectly serviceable. With that in mind I decided to give it a bit of a touch up. 

Predominantly I have gone over the bare metal blades on the power weapons with something a bit more exciting. I think these blades now look a little more interesting and set off the dark crimson armour nicely.



I went through the entire force identifying models with power weapons such as my company command squad and the above squad sergeants and then pulled them out for an upgrade.

Annoyingly when I put this force together it was during the time of 40k fifth edition (we’re now on eighth) and there were a lot more options for apothecaries (sanguinary priests) in a blood angels successor force. However these rules have since been retconned and I was left with a load of cool conversions for these models that I could no longer use. So I decided to some give these guys some heavy upgrading!



For my two Sanguinary Priests in power armour and equipped with power weapons I simply broke of their apothecary arm/reductors and added a plasma pistol arm to each of them. Now the Ivory helmets will be used to indicated that they are Lieutenants. Excellent ... two extra HQ choices should come in handy during games.

Next I had to deal with the apothecary in Terminator armour that I had made all those years ago. The rules for this model were completely gone in the new edition...


As such I decided he would now serve as the Captain of my First Company. To give him a bit of back-story I decided to give the model some Deathwatch connotations. You see warriors who fight in The Deathwatch are allowed to keep their markings and shoulder pad when they return to their parent chapter. I like the idea of having my force led by a veteran warrior who has served in this elite formation and so I have given him a new left arm marking out his status as a former Deathwatch Kill Team member. The arm itself is a Grey Knight Paladin arm with a Deathwatch shoulder pad.

Well that’s my first set of upgrades for this force; I’m sure I’ll be doing some more to it soon! 


12 comments:

  1. These are real nice. What’s the technique for the white helmets?

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    1. Cheers mate. Dheneb Stone base (old citadel paint); agrax earthshade in the recesses; ushabti bone highlight; very fine white highlight and that’s it. They are relatively simple

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  2. They look great. The swords look brilliant.

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    1. Cheers mate! They took ages but well worth it in the end!

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  3. Looking awesome!
    best regards and have a nice day!

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  4. Five squads is an incomplete project? I wish I could finish five squads of almost anything!

    They look great, especially the power blades!

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    1. Hahaha you raise a good point! But I have an end goal in mind and they aren’t quite there yet!

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  5. Beautiful. The colours you chose transmit so much strenght. I love these!!

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  6. Firstly, your execution is great. I'm not faulting your work here, which is top notch.
    I would argue that thematically, the bare metal power weapons suit Fleshtearers more than the glowing blue. The Fleshtearers are explicitly not a glorious chapter- the colours are muted and not resplendant, they are made up of frothing madmen, not heroic knights. The ornate gold and artificer bits similarly convey a nobility that the FT are not supposed to have.

    That's my interpretation of the chapter though, and yours is equally as valid.

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    1. Cheers. I feel that the power weapons are better in their new blue colouration; it provides a useful spot colour and shows that these are ultra high-tech powered blades as opposed to simple metal.

      As for the armour pieces I think it’s important to remember the chapter is still a second founding blood angels formation. Thus they would have been given an equal share of the Legion’s Artificer Armour and relics. It’s clear from Gabriel Seth’s actions and conversations with Dante in ‘Devastation of Baal’ that the Fleshtearers still revere relics of the Legion and take their legacy very seriously. As such I think it’s fair to assume that chapter champions would use and preserve artificer crafted equipment which is what I have tried to convey. Admittedly they are not the Ultramarines where every single warrior is a statuesque embodiment of martial pride and glorious artifice.

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