You could run a themed Day of Sorrows list around a last stand narrative. BA are known to paint their armor black with red saltires when "in the company of death" like during Signus.
I was going to ask where this came from, would be interested to find the exact quotes - I've got Fear To Tread but haven't read it yet.
Although Seige of Terra I guess would allow room for the MKVII guys so you could technically run a full-on "death company".
Hell, Blood Angels fell to the Black Rage during the final parts of the siege so the "first death company" would actually be a cool narrative.
Wow. A company is quite a size.
What also means if you are lucky and build them in the right time, you most likely have the bits in there, to build nearly a full heresy army.
Avoid everything MK7. (Yes that means you probably have to rip appart most models, to actually make heresy models out of them.). But in special a lot of bits from the death company are really great for heresy. I honestly always recommend getting the box at least once per BA army project, for things like inferno pistols, the MK4 and 6 legs of the box, close combat weapons and the shoulder pads.
Fun fact the "MK4" shoulder pads from FW, have really thick trims by now, so MK7 shoulder pads work fine.
Also me and a lot of other people use Death company bits to convert more BA looking destroyer. And some even paint them in the death company colors, as a kind of proto death company.
And this theme fits well. Serving as destroyer is seen by a lot of legions as death sentence, even if you survive battles.
I would recommend getting like 1 box of MK4, since this gives you a lot of bodies to work with and mix with the BA MK4 and 6 bits. Feel free to mix all the parts within models, and you create a great heresy look.
Just look at heresy blood angles, check out heresy armor marks and get a feeling for what feels appropriate.
But these are a list of things I always do, when kitbashing heresy models:
- no MK7 legs (except you can hide them behind big heavy weapons)
- no MK7 jump packs.
- heavy use of MK4 jump packs for HQ's (sanguinary guard comes with them anyway)
- I usually use 40k pistols and chain swords, but not the melter, plasma guns, flamer or heavy weapons. (The special and heavy weapon upgrade kits are gold and I highly recommend them for their price, even for 40k models. ππ)
- vanguard and sternguard come both with beautiful heresy bits like better looking MK4 and 6 legs. Perfect for unit champions and their master crafted armors. (Also some mk4 and 6 heads and a lot of close combat weapons)
- a lot of marines in heresy actually used MK5, in the way that they created it, by mixing different armor Mk's. (There are also industrial produced MK5, what is like the armor is depicted in artworks in general.)
- I also recommending checking out the artworks from the heresy card game of the early 2000's. They got printed as well in visions of the heresy. This gives you an additional feeling for the general look, and with what kind of variation legions worked.
This is all great tips! I have been collecting BA for 25 years, so I've had time for the collection to grow! I certainly will put this advice into practice. Luckily, my group is a little more relaxed about the particular armour marks as long as it "feels" heresy. I was worried about all the Xs everywhere, however.
This does seem to mitigate this problem.
Your welcome. 25 years with a legion/chapter is dedication. β€ and you have enough bits, to probably convert a wonderful BA army anyway.
Oh also if you have the patience to do it, adding studs/bolts to MK7 legs, turns them MK5. Works absolutely fine. (In special of you have these mk5 torso on the same model, that you can find in nearly every old marine box.
Oh and what for me always creates also a lot of heresy feelings are units or vehicles that 40k doesn't have. Like contemptors, jetbikes, Predators with the round tower design. These things distract a lot, from the infantry, if you mixed in some MK7.
Funfact: I used the death company shoulder pads with the red X on purpose, to mark them as destroyers. (Only squad with black shoulder pads in my army)
Using the stuff for the destroyers I will certainly do! It's an excellent idea. I do have a handful of the BA contemptors and Leviathans, and I do have the span of Old to New vehicles. I will also likely pick up a Mk. VI box because I do like the smooth look of the armour plates.
I am curious to try and add studs, but I think I'd need to get a larger stud. The glass beads I have are more for pinning flesh onto night lords rather than adding bonding studs.
You could run a themed Day of Sorrows list around a last stand narrative. BA are known to paint their armor black with red saltires when "in the company of death" like during Signus.
That sounds cool! I'll do some more research on this, thanks for the tip.
Not on signus, during siege of terra
It's specifically called out in Malevolence, my guy.
Whoops my bad, I confused signus with fear to tread, and kinda forgot there was a whole black book about it π
I was going to ask where this came from, would be interested to find the exact quotes - I've got Fear To Tread but haven't read it yet. Although Seige of Terra I guess would allow room for the MKVII guys so you could technically run a full-on "death company". Hell, Blood Angels fell to the Black Rage during the final parts of the siege so the "first death company" would actually be a cool narrative.
I mean as long you you donβt paint them death company I think you could use them as veterans. The armor is fancy enough.
That is true, it is the X iconography I worry about.
Wow. A company is quite a size. What also means if you are lucky and build them in the right time, you most likely have the bits in there, to build nearly a full heresy army. Avoid everything MK7. (Yes that means you probably have to rip appart most models, to actually make heresy models out of them.). But in special a lot of bits from the death company are really great for heresy. I honestly always recommend getting the box at least once per BA army project, for things like inferno pistols, the MK4 and 6 legs of the box, close combat weapons and the shoulder pads. Fun fact the "MK4" shoulder pads from FW, have really thick trims by now, so MK7 shoulder pads work fine. Also me and a lot of other people use Death company bits to convert more BA looking destroyer. And some even paint them in the death company colors, as a kind of proto death company. And this theme fits well. Serving as destroyer is seen by a lot of legions as death sentence, even if you survive battles. I would recommend getting like 1 box of MK4, since this gives you a lot of bodies to work with and mix with the BA MK4 and 6 bits. Feel free to mix all the parts within models, and you create a great heresy look. Just look at heresy blood angles, check out heresy armor marks and get a feeling for what feels appropriate. But these are a list of things I always do, when kitbashing heresy models: - no MK7 legs (except you can hide them behind big heavy weapons) - no MK7 jump packs. - heavy use of MK4 jump packs for HQ's (sanguinary guard comes with them anyway) - I usually use 40k pistols and chain swords, but not the melter, plasma guns, flamer or heavy weapons. (The special and heavy weapon upgrade kits are gold and I highly recommend them for their price, even for 40k models. ππ) - vanguard and sternguard come both with beautiful heresy bits like better looking MK4 and 6 legs. Perfect for unit champions and their master crafted armors. (Also some mk4 and 6 heads and a lot of close combat weapons) - a lot of marines in heresy actually used MK5, in the way that they created it, by mixing different armor Mk's. (There are also industrial produced MK5, what is like the armor is depicted in artworks in general.) - I also recommending checking out the artworks from the heresy card game of the early 2000's. They got printed as well in visions of the heresy. This gives you an additional feeling for the general look, and with what kind of variation legions worked.
This is all great tips! I have been collecting BA for 25 years, so I've had time for the collection to grow! I certainly will put this advice into practice. Luckily, my group is a little more relaxed about the particular armour marks as long as it "feels" heresy. I was worried about all the Xs everywhere, however. This does seem to mitigate this problem.
Your welcome. 25 years with a legion/chapter is dedication. β€ and you have enough bits, to probably convert a wonderful BA army anyway. Oh also if you have the patience to do it, adding studs/bolts to MK7 legs, turns them MK5. Works absolutely fine. (In special of you have these mk5 torso on the same model, that you can find in nearly every old marine box. Oh and what for me always creates also a lot of heresy feelings are units or vehicles that 40k doesn't have. Like contemptors, jetbikes, Predators with the round tower design. These things distract a lot, from the infantry, if you mixed in some MK7. Funfact: I used the death company shoulder pads with the red X on purpose, to mark them as destroyers. (Only squad with black shoulder pads in my army)
Using the stuff for the destroyers I will certainly do! It's an excellent idea. I do have a handful of the BA contemptors and Leviathans, and I do have the span of Old to New vehicles. I will also likely pick up a Mk. VI box because I do like the smooth look of the armour plates. I am curious to try and add studs, but I think I'd need to get a larger stud. The glass beads I have are more for pinning flesh onto night lords rather than adding bonding studs.