Luther's Finest: Behold the Thunder Dragons! *Fixed*

Finally, after a long period of delaying and procrastinating, I have completed 3/4ths of my Space Marines: The Thunder Dragons. In Total, I have roughly 80 Marines. I only have about 50 painted, and only 35 are present in the picture to the right.
I have names and ranks for them, I will fill out the list complete wit pictures when I finish my remaining Astartes.

Command Squad 'Praetorians'
Lord Hector Apophys
Honoured Brother Gabriel
Honoured Brother Jeremiel
Honoured Brother Michael
Honoured Brother Rafael

II Tactical Squad 'Lupus'
Brother Sergeant Dante
Brother Sirus
Brother Homer
Brother Desolae
Brother Klaus
Brother Yule 
Brother Enri  
Brother Maximillius  
Brother Yongir
Brother Augustus

III Devastator Squad 'Hades'              
Brother Sergeant Virgil           
 Brother Machiavelli                  
Brother Marx                              
Brother Ingles                                
Brother Ester                                      
Brother Vex                                       
Brother Jevai
Brother Karl                                        
Brother Hongirr                                

IV Tactical Squad 'Jericho'
Brother Sergeant Bismark
Brother Dale
Brother Uriel
Brother Lucifer
Brother David
Brother Mica
Brother Jevai
Brother Sammuel
Brother Gablia
Brother Delphos

Venerable Brother Solomon                                          
(Entombed M.36)    
                       
Predator Tank
(Cazador)       
                                
Land Speeder
(Esper)




The Fluff: Long ago in M.31 when the Lion ordered the Destruction of Caliban, A select few of Luther's followers were ordered to leave the planet and spread to the farthest reaches of Imperial Space to bring unite the true followers of the Emperor to be witness to the traitorous actions of the First Legion. Their Leader, Hector Apophys, acted as a shepherd to the lost flock that was now called "The Fallen", uniting them into a singular force that quickly vanished into the unknowns of space. It wasn't until M.38 in Abbadon's Ninth Black Crusade that an unknown Astartes Chapter was seen fighting alongside Imperial forces on Corillia against the traitor marines. These Astartes wore blood red power armour with white trim, white streaks in a warpaint fashion, and deep sea blue eye visors. In the field of battle these Astartes were fearless in their assaults on Abbadon's forces, often going to suicidal lengths to destroy their enemy. The only battle cries they cried were for a man named "Luther."
At the end of the crusade when Corillia was finally relieved by the Ultramarines, the Astartes vanished from the planet without a single trace of their being there.
In various conflicts following the Ninth Crusade, these same Red Warriors would appear and smite the enemies of the Imperium. It wasn't until M.40, when questioned by an Astartes from the Black Templars about their Origin that the a Red Warrior finally spoke to an outsider. "Who are you, Brother?" The Templar was said to ask.
To which the Thunder Dragon replied: "I am a Thunder Dragon, and I fight in the name of Truth and Revelation."
The Templar was confused. "Thunder Dragon? Who do you follow?"
The Thunder Dragon stood tall. "I serve the Emperor, and follow my Lord Hector."





 These are the two pictures I have. To the right is a picture of my 'Hades' squad. The front four marines are 2nd or 3rd edition marines courtesy of Colonel Scipio. The picture is a bit bright due to the flash, but you can just make out the detail on them. Each one has a purity seal on the right pauldron to help distinguish them from the rest of the squad.

My Chapter Master is equipped Artificer armour along with a Thunder Hammer. I wanted him to look more unique, so I used Grey Knight bits along with a Commander kit to formulate a special appearance. I trimmed him with gold and silver, and added a great many purity seals and other small trinkets that I feel really bring out the model. The banner to his left I hand painted, attempting to make a Watcher in the Dark holding a sword. Considering the freehand, I feel it turned out nicely. The man to his right is my Chapter Champion. I used a Deathwing shield and a Grey Knight sword to give the appearance of an old 14th Century knight. The two guys behind the Shield-Bearer and the Standard carrier are just holding Halbards, not finished painting at the time of this picture.


Anyway guys, hope you enjoyed the pictures and the fluff. Any questions, comments, or recommendations just leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Stay frosty out there!

Been keeping busy

During my absence, I've been quite busy, although not with writing. Sorry folks. To the right is a little something I threw together using spare parts. I don't have a name for him yet, although he could be used as an Inquisitor or as an Primarch. Originally it was my attempt at a Primarch, but The size ratio isn't right..

Recently I've acquired Dark Eldar, and some substantial upgrades to my Space marines. Including Five older model space marines, courtesy of Colonel Scipio, which have been folded into my Astartes quite well. Additionally, I've expanded my guard slightly, but I still have quite a bit to paint.

Anyways, I'm keeping busy, and hopefully next time I have a chance I'll upload some pics of my Dark Eldar. This is just a small post to keep you all semi-updated, so enjoy. Adios Amigos, Stay frosty out there.

A brief look into last weekend: A collage

For those of you who don't know, I play airsoft actively. Airsoft is a military simulation sport in which two teams of multiple people use tactics, communication, and strategy to best the other team.
Our squad (that's myself, Cameron, Alex, Taylor, William, And Jokob) Were assigned to 2nd platoon for the course of the game. The objective of 2nd platoon was essentially search and destroy.  I'm not doing an after action report, just sharing some pictures. Hope you all enjoy

Jakob, Cameron, William, Myself, Alex

The game was taking place at an old farm. Around 250 acres to play on, about a hundred players. Fifty players each team. Two day game with night-fighting allowed.
A river divided the farm, and thick forest overgrew around the fields of the farm. There were a few abandoned buildings within the forest as well.

Me on the horn with the platoon lead
letting him know we've setup a position
across from an old barn

2nd Platoon Medics relaxing after a firefight

2nd Platoon scouts pinned down in an old Animal pen

                                                      This guy was our platoon leader



Myself in the back of the truck our team used
to get around quickly



2nd Platoon holding up on a trail while waiting for
the rendezvous with 1st and 3rd platoon.







 

Me enjoying a tactical snack while our squad took

a fiver. This was during the first day after a nice, hour long firefight with the other team. 



Taylor Crawling under a barbed-wire fence that ran
Parallel to the river.

 

Myself and Another returning to our Forward HQ for the night.

This was my favourite picture. Anyways. Hope you all enjoyed the pictures

Things will be posted soon, I know I keep saying that but I keep getting distracted. This time I'll make sure things are done.

A little Fluff: Vatarian Plate

This post is born from a discussion we had during Dark Heresy after getting spaced. Several times. It goes into light detail of the various suits of Vatarian plate Armour. On a side note, expect more posts soon.





Mark I-A - The Vatarian Mark I-A suit of armour is a reliable design from early M.37. It is expensive, but is durable, easy to maintain, and strong enough to withstand most types of ballistic weaponry.Additionally, the power cables on the suit are covered by a light carapace coating. The joints are also reinforced with additional padding to protect the wearer from shrapnel. It's internal systems give it the ability to track targets, provide multiple vision settings to see in a higher spectrum, and allows the wearer to patch into local computer and navigation networks. More recent upgrades have increased the vox range to nearly a kilometer without having to tap into an external vox link.

The suit also has capacity to go into space for limited time. The wearer can comfortable stay in an airless/toxic environment for about forty five minutes without having to find another air supply. Along with the internal air unit, the suit also has mag-boots to allow the wearer to walk in a Zero-G area. This is the suit preferred by spacers, assassins, and units on long-range missions that expect little to no supply.

Mark I-B - The Mark I-B suit has all the aforementioned capabilities, with the edition of an improved logic engine. This suit can track multiple targets at once, provide an improved HUD for the wearer, as well as increased motor units that allow the wearer to better move around and fight.


Mark II - The Mark II suit loses some of its internal systems, but has gains in mobility. Now unable to track more than one target at a time, it now can allow the wearer to run faster, just higher, and have overall better gyroscopic control.

The upgrades also mean that Zero-g movement has become much simpler with the addition of Mag-gauntlets. However, this comes with a sacrifice: The suit is only able to operate in airless environments for half of an hour. The power consumption of the suit is also led to exposed power cables along the chest and back. Normally the wearer of the suit would be a scout, a medic, or a light infantryman.

Mark III -  The Mark III suit was developed in mid M.38 as a replacement for the aging, and flawed Mark I and II suits. It has an extended battery life to allow to the wearer to operate for several days without having to recharge. It's internal systems were improved to allow the wearer to track multiple targets at once, have an integrated HUD system that connects directly to the user's weaponry, improved communication and navigations modules, and a wireless logic tool that can hack into various frequencies and signals. The power cables on this suit have been covered by several layers of Carapace plating, and the joins have been reinforced with flak/carapace fibers to protect the wearer from explosive and ballistics damage.

This suit also has external hardpoints to mount various devices and equipment, further freeing the wearer from having to carry cumbersome bags and pouches. There is also an optional Vox Caster unit that can be mounted on the back of the suit, but this would definitely limit the wearer's mobility and maneuverability. This suit is preferred by Commanders, Vanguard Units, and Technicians.