As the tactics of the Nighthawks Chapter focus on lightning strikes and rapid redeployment, battlefield speed is of the utmost importance. Due to this universal truth, dreadnoughts do not have as prominent a role among the Chapter as they would among others of the Imperium. Dreadnoughts are even more rare among the Chapter and internment is considered the greatest honour. Only the brightest and most capable of battlefield minds receive this honour -although battle brothers oft consider it a curse. To be forever removed from the ability to ride into battle is a destiny that no true Nighthawk would long for. Despite this, those that prove their leadership abilities and strategic acumen over centuries of battle will inevitably fall and be interned inside a sarcophagus to provide their tactical expertise for centuries to come. It is said that no war council or campaign has been prosecuted in Nighthawk history without being overseen by a dreadnought of the Chapter.



Nighthawk dreadnoughts are typically armed with long range firepower and powerful auspex units so as to provide them with the ability to oversee engagements from afar so that they may provide intel and long range fire support and not be left behind and without use. It goes without saying that the redeployment of a dreadnought is not without its problems so they do not usually accompany a strike where a tactical withdrawal is a high probability. Instead they will provide the Chapter's limited siege capability in situations which demand it.

More pictures here

Nice

but where did you get the autocannons from - Aegis defence line or FW?

I converted the arms with venerable dreadnought shoulders and cut up some autocannons from the aegis defense line. I've seen a lot of people simply glue those guns to the dreadnought but they look really tiny and the attachment is too weak. Adding these shoulders makes it actually look like a dreadnought and is super easy. Especially since the venerable dreadnought kit comes with like 3 pairs it's not hard to have extra. The body is a Mark IV Ironclad from forgeworld.

Librarians within the Night Hawks chapter are as prevalent as in any other and are an important force in battling the enemies of the Imperium. The Librarius holds a place of special office in the Night Hawks chapter and its higher ranking members are often granted Mars-Pattern jetbikes. The librarians spend much of their time in deep meditation divining the ebb and flow of the warp to predict where the Night Hawks will be needed most. Aligning themselves as receptors to the wind of fate is not a process easily undone and many librarians are struck with painful visions while deployed. The battle brother will awake from a trance with strands of fate written within their tomes and no memory of the incident. It is common for librarians to display this journal of their visions at the forefront of their charge to battle to dispel any thoughts that they are anything but the drivers of their own fate.

More photos here

"Sgt. Arkavius pull your squad to the east and flank these hellspawn" shouted Captain Thule. "Squad Thorus flank to the west with Argonought support, I'm going up the middle and we'll spread their fire". The Night Hawks sped quickly apart in an effort to confuse the chaos fire teams and prevent them from firing.

Sgt. Arkavius quickly throttled up and moved his squad beneath the abandoned landing platform while the western flank roared away in the opposite direction. Streams of dust trailed across the plateau as two of the heretics were outright destroyed by krak missiles from the Typhoons.

"May your arrows fly true" crackled the vox with the slighly inhuman voice of Techmarine Markus piloting one of the Argonauts.

Get the full story (With Pictures) here

Oops I fixed the link

I've been saying I'd finish these for the last week so I finally did. Strangly there was so little to finish I don't know why I procrastinated so much. I'm now 5% done my space marine company

Looking back at all of my past models I went a little crazy on the static grass so I toned it down a lot on these guys and put it in far smaller clumps.

Its really hard to capture the true colour of these though. Maybe my next photos if done outside on a good lighting day will show them better. The models are primed black then airbrushed dhenab stone then from above with wych flesh followed by devlan mud. I drybrushed them with wych flesh then skull white afterward. It gives them a creamy white ceramic look.



Anyway 5 down, 95 to go! Next up I'll tackle the 10 assault marines that are already basecoated and highlighted.

And if anyone is interested, Fluff for these guys is ->here <-. I'm trying to incorporate these models as both imperial and chaos.

Hmmm....now I know what paints to invest in for my Tau...

I'm not sure what took over from dhenab stone with the new paint line but the wych flesh and white do a good job with minimal effort if you airbrush the wych flesh on. These models pictured were also stripped and repainted twice so there's a bit of lumpy texture on them which isn't from the white.

Anyway pretty easy if you're looking to do some white. I'm working on 10 assault marines right now.

Also some fluff for those devs

Devestator Squad Mullor of the Emerald Fists was paramount in the defence of Truvort IV in 816.M41. Shown here Sgt. Mullor issues target priority commands to his squad as the enemy hordes encroach. A veteran of nearly two centuries of battle, Mullor is a calm and calculating man who prefers the cleansing heat of plasma at his side. Determination and strength of will have kept him alive this long; carrying a man-portable plasma reactor to battle with sufficient calm to accurately level it against an enemy time and time again would require no less.


The Emerald Fists

The origins of the Emerald Fists are unknown; however records of their deeds can be traced back as far as M35 near the Eye of Terror. The Fists have functioned as a fleet based chapter as far back as records are available. They specialise in siege warfare and prefer frontal assaults to more subtle methods of war holding strength, fortitude and resolve as the three pillars of their training.

As early as 152.M41 stories of strange sightings began to trickle in to the Inquisition involving the Emerald Fists. Picter-feed images relayed out of system show Emerald Fist forces landing planet side amidst fierce fighting with chaos forces. Images however show the Fists seemingly fighting alongside the traitor forces against the Imperium. The fleet has since moved away from their last reported coordinates and has been persecuting a crusade for the last 900 years and have not responded to Imperial Summons.


The Inquisition has not yet branded the chapter traitor as the wheels of Terra are ever slow to move especially with conflicting stories. Many in the Inquisition have their own thoughts on the matter. The following communique was transmitted shortly after the Fernixa incident:

***decrypt***

Inquisitor Hornel, I have been attempting to investigate the Emerald Fist chapter for the last decade. My findings are inconclusive however I believe that the Fist's gene-seed was corrupted sometime in M40 with a carrier strain of the Destroyer Plague. I believe this strain idle and corrupted the chapter from within and was masked from all who seek to expunge the taint of chaos from the Astartes. Slowly as the chapter replenished battlefield loses more and more marines were inducted and transformed with infected progenoid gland. Whether this initial infection occurred during fleet based action near the eye, or from indiscriminate recruitment following the battle of Invus where the chapter suffered near catastrophic loses I can't be certain. It appears that the chapter is completely infected and the virus has begun to mutate to its original form. With the souls of its victims now corrupt it has moved on to the flesh. I have seen horrible things, the Emerald Fists fight alongside warp spawn and wade through pestilent environs with impunity.

***end transmission***

The following was recorded on the Truvort IV planetary governor's palace wall in 817.M41:

During the darkest days of the coldest Winter when our world was besieged by xenos spawned from the deepest depths of the void the Emerald Fists descended. Like a god-wielded hammer they smashed the xenos threat into oblivion. They asked for nothing and left without a trace. We are forever indebted.

Conflicting accounts surround the Emerald Fists. Is there any truth to the tales of their dealings with the warp? Was the Truvort IV battle merely a subtle way to create a testing ground for the next plague? Has Nurgle grown tiresome of outright corruption and now seeks to dabble with the slow rot of society? Time will only tell.

Background for my chapter, and fluff for the rise of my daemon prince (WIP on my blog)


The motivations which sowed the seeds of the Schism of the Fists were known only to Chief Apothecary Sextus Roscius, whom has long since transcended his mortal existence. The following details the compiled records pieced together following the Schism.
Some time in early 800M41 Roscius began tampering with the Emerald Fist geneseed; making minor alterations which lay dormant and unknown to any within the chapter. Gradually, as the crusading fleet suffered battle losses, the corrupted geneseed was implanted into new recruits and their training was enacted as it had been for 5 millennia. For nearly 100 years the chapter continued its campaign around the eye of terror persecuting whatever mission chapter command had ordered and slowly the composition of the chapter swelled with battle brothers host to a dormant corruption.

In 898M41, acting on intel suggesting a potentially massive incursion from the eye of terror, fully one half of the Emerald Fists were dispatched to meet this building threat. The 5th, 6th, 7th and portions of the 1st, 2nd, 9th and 10th along with Roscius travelled at speed through the warp to reach their target. During the journey the fleet became stalled within a savage warp storm and a plague of immeasurable horror was spread throughout the fleet. Escorts, strike cruisers and the battle barge Intangible Force were enveloped one by one. At this moment the truth of the introduced gene flaw became apparent; the Emerald Fists knew fear. As the plague ravaged the crew and space marine alike, the marines with the corrupt geneseed felt anathema to the thought of rotting a slow and painful death. Apothecary Roscius spread word that his battle brothers could protect themselves from the plague by cutting a three ringed mark on their chest. The veteran marines knew this for what it was and steeled themselves against this threat for no true son of Dorn would cower before hand of death. The marines carrying the corrupted gene seed however saw the result of the plague before them and their iron resolve crumbled. In scores they followed Roscius’ instructions as did most of the Imperial crews. The veteran marines moved to take Roscius but the plague had ravaged their strength and those marines now loyal to Roscius rushed to his aid. The plague slowly and mercilessly destroyed the bodies and minds of the veterans as the traitors held them at bay.

Witnessing these events from the bridge of the Dawn Imperitus and piecing together reports from the veterans aboard other ships in the fleet, veteran sergeant Titus Latinius of 1st company, 4th assault squad gave the order to disengage. Guided by the Emperor’s light the chief navigator aboard the strike cruiser managed to escape the warp storm and bring word of the treachery to chapter command.

Over the next 5 years as the chapter’s chaplains and apothecaries unearthed the depth of the corruption and nearly half of the remaining loyal marines were purged for the good of the chapter. Chapter master Gneaus Claudius swore vengeance and set the chapter about its last crusade, to bring the traitor fists to heel. This event would be forever recorded as the Schism of the Fists within chapter records however no word of this would be spoken to the Imperium.

The crusade fleet, now cleansed of the pure geneseed bearing marines was under Roscius’ control. He now controlled nearly one half of the chapter’s strength; materiel and men.

As reward for his patient deceit and the corruption of a chapter he was elevated to daemonhood. Roscius, Daemon Prince of Nurgle now directs the tainted marines through the warp, targeting systems seemingly at random to further the goals of his master. Though he cannot lead his fleet through realspace his captains are more than capable of enacting his will and summoning him should the barrier between the realms be weakened.

wow, gene seed manipulation, dormant corruption, warp storms, and a self impossed chapter wide purge. that is some serious stuff

If half the chapter split, and then half of the remaining loyalists were purged, does that mean the emerald fists now stand at 25% strength?. Those are dire circumstances indeed. Id be anticipating one heck of a grudge match when Claudius catches up with Roscius

Great Job Ambit, very entertaining read. Count me as officially intrigued.

now please excuse me while I go find some cover for my terminators against that plasma team

Yup approximately 25% strength indeed. definitely there are some parallels with the Crimson Fists it would seem It explains the very high amount of veterans that will be in the army that I'm painting up (my veteran shoulder pad casts worked out better than the non veteran ones so I needed to explain that).

Now to learn to paint rotting flesh.

I was going to draw a parallel between fists chapters and the sons of Dorn tending to suffering catastrophe, but decided not to temp fate and risk the welfare of my templars

Behold, Roscius, Daemon Prince of Nurgle



Since I already have his fluff posted, there are more (and larger) images posted on my blog: The Hobby Ambit

Brother Librarian Teldris - "Snatch and Grab"

"The Orks have secured the Inquisitor within the courtyard of their makeshift fortress. We estimate their numbers to be between 30-35 Orks, the rest have all left again to conduct another raid on the nearby energy stations."

"Confirmed Initiate Augimo." Sergeant Llurus looked to the rest of the Initiates under his command. They were hidden well, but not well enough to his liking. Using a set of simple hand gestures he indicated his squad to take up supporting firing positions and to take denser cover further below them in the thicker brush. He moved to follow, silent as the predator he was, like a wraith moving unseen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Now is the time to strike Brother Teldris, while their support is away and their attentions are drawn to defending their gates, a strike from above, swift and decisive. We will take the high priority targets surrounding the Inquisitor."

A soft spoken voice entered Llurus's head +Confirmed Llurus.+ He hated that. The wind took a sudden shift and he gave the signal to his squad to prepare to engage. "Await the signal."

"What is the signal Brother Sergeant?" As if in answer to that question, the screaming of overhead jump jets came a split second before the trail of fire heralding the arrival of "The Signal". Twenty black dots came crashing to the earth, led by one whose armour bore not the midnight black of the Raven Guard, but a blazing blue.

Their impact shook the earth and they crashed into the centre of the courtyard headlong into the Orks in its perimeter. The Orks manning the wall turned their guns inward and began firing indiscriminately into their own, the sheer excitement of a boring guard duty turned battle driving them into a berserk frenzy. Disciplined sniper fire began taking down the heavy guns on the battlements, and several Orks moving to reinforce a concrete bunker housed in the south-eastern section of the fortification.

"+Sergeant Valinias, prepare to move to the bunker and extract the target. I will hold the Orks+"

"Acknowledged, moving to disengage and secure the Inquisitor." The sergeant moved to secure a path to the bunker, his crackling powerfist throttling Orks as he passed with impunity. In such small numbers, they need not worry about getting bogged down and swamped by the beasts. Orks in great number were known for their fearlessness and ferocity, but this attack was well planned to strike when the Orks were at their weakest. Their patrols had been committed to memory, their weaponry, every detail to ensure that the assault would catch them at their most vulnerable.

Teldris cleaved greenskin after greenskin, his battle practise drills in the Ravenspire giving purchase to the melee he found himself in now. The attack was proceeding well, when from the eastern wall a new group of Orks had made their way into the fray. Bigger than the others, more of a threat. Teldris fired his bolt pistol into them, each round striking precisely where he aimed, but the bolt shells would not slow them and within moments three of them had surrounded him, their crudely fashioned weapons brought high and swinging swiftly towards him. Teldris parried, ducked, and rolled to the clear. He turned to face them as they charged headlong into him again. His closed his eyes and opened them again, the eyes of solid black that came as a curse to his geneseed, had been replaced with two blazing white orbs. His Force Axe blazed into life and he brought his hands together in front of him and just as the first Ork was preparing a shoulder charge, unleashed a roiling, avatar of flame, a projection of a massive raven came flying towards the Orks, incinerating one of them instantly. The others pushed through the torrent of flame, and dove for him arms outstretched and they both went crashing to the ground and rolled towards the center of the embankment. The second came stomping over, not quite sure whether it would be better to strike once and cut both of the combatants heads off, or to simply kill the other Ork and take the glory for himself. Before he could decide though, a loud crack resounded from the nearby brush and he found himself with a new set of ear holes before crumpling to the dirt.

Teldris managed to force the Ork off him with a strong kick to the chest and brought his axe across his body in a violent turning motion, catching the Ork off guard and stunning it backwards several steps. He used this instant to take leap at the brute, his power armour enhanced frame propelling him skyward, arms both with a firm grip on his weapon. He brought it down hard , directly into the cranium of the Ork, and flooded his weapon with raw psychic power, bringing its head to steaming boil before it burst open like a soft fruit.

"Brother Teldris, the Inquisitor is secure, extraction underway, casualties minimal. We should rendezvous with the escort to get him off system."

"+Agreed Valinias, the Orks will soon commit to the chase, and something darker, more sinister lurks at the edge of my sight....forgive me. Let us rendezvous with Lhurus and link up with the battlegroup.+"

And with that the Ravens took their prize in hand and made good their escape, unaware of the eyes tracking them in the distance.


The preceding will formed the basis for a 4-way, 5 player apocalypse last week.

During the Schism of the Fists, a grievous blow was dealt to the Emerald Fists with nearly 3/4 of their chapter turned traitor, purged or killed. Much of the chapter was reorganised into functional companies. Since this restructuring the Fists have not worn company colours on their shoulder guards although each marine remains a part of a standard company. As many of the younger battle brothers were purged, when it came time to promote a new sergeant due to battle field loses, the pool from which to draw was limited and had the Schism not occurred sergeant Larcius may not have been granted a promotion. He does not excel in combat or marksmanship however his ability to capture objectives without friendly loses earmarked him for leadership. In these dark times when the Emerald Fists are rebuilding their strength, every battle brother's life is sacred.

Lookin' good Ambit,

I think most of all I like the plasma glow on the pistol. Ace work there.

Are you calling these done or is there some shading still to happen?

modelglue

They're done. The photos just don't show the shading well. It's fairly subtle. Goes from skull white to Dhenab stone. I shoot the pictures a bit overexposed though since I don't have a light box and I was indoors. The shoulder trim could use a bit of highlighting but I'm too scared to start painting that close to the cream colour usually. I've settled there for a wetblend basically of dark green and light green with no edging.

Aulus Villius was inducted into the ranks of the Emerald Fists near 844.M41 after passing successful genetic screening tests. Like all inductees to the chapter, he was a survivor. After losing his mother and father at age 10 to the ork horde ravaging his home world he fled to the nearby forests. Alone and constantly avoiding speed freak patrols he was forced to fend for himself for over a year before relief came to the planet in the form of the Emerald Fists. Flushed from the forest during a whirlwind attack he ran straight into the leg of apothecary Roscius. The apothecary was amazed that a human boy could survive in the wilds amidst a tide of greenskins and had him taken by rhino to the fleet's apothecarium for implantation.

Mission after mission passed with Villius honing his skills amid the 7th company under the paternal eye of Roscius. Eventually he received the order to deploy to the eye of terror with his company for what promised to be the largest operation he had yet been apart of.

When the plague began to ravage the Emerald Fists fleet his fall should have served no surprise to any who understood his survival instinct. When Roscius offered an escape Villius quickly scarred the 3-rings of nurgle to his flesh; Roscius would watch out for him. As one of Roscius' favoured, Villius became a champion of nurgle and is indentured for eternity; his life and more importantly his soul are no longer his own to safeguard.



Full squad picture here: Source

Particularly unsettling transition going on with the figures, particularly coming late to your thread and seeing a progression of putridness.

ugh..shudder. Nurgle.. the only Chaos force that actually makes me recoil some.

I recall a friend who heavily inked his Nurgle force, then dried them quickly with a hair dryer. The resulting pungent tang of baked acrylic and ink wash would rise up out of his miniature case each time he brought them forth, it was truly inspiring theatrics.

Have you been dabbling with new citadel paints long enough to form an opinion of them yet?

- Seb

To be honest I have only 2 new jars of the new range of citadel paint. I bought a textured one to try and simulate rust bubbles (which I'm sort of happy with) and wych flesh.

The wych flesh is a lighter tone than dhenab stone and as far as consistency and such go, it's identical to the old stuff. The only thing I've noticed from looking at the new paints (based on my single layer paint purchase) is that the range is larger so less home mixing is required. I still have probably 3/4 of the old range and will be using/stretching those out until they're useless (some are 4 years old now so I figure I have a year or two left).

So my experience is limited but has been positive; though I know people that really dislike citadel paint and the new range will be the same thing.

PS. I sprayed an army once with a dull coat that used banana oil as a nozzle lubricant and every time I openned my figure case the room/gamestore smelled like a smoothy shop.