Tag Archives: Warhammer 40k

Dark Angels: 1 Section, 3rd Squad (Tactical), 2nd Octavius Crusade Company.

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Dark Angels Tactical Squad, Warhammer 40k 2nd Edition

Once again, Warhammer 40k 8th Edition takes the responsibility for inspiring me to dig these models out and resurrect them into a coherent force. Replacing about thirty kilograms of books, contradictory rules and scattered digital files with a Tabula Rasa has given me the opportunity to step back into an IP I’ve been engaged with since I was a young teen – when Rogue Trader was released and I stumbled onto a demo game being played at Games ’87 (Later Conquest) on a gigantic crashed spaceship put together by a bloke named Andrew B (and co.)

Dark Angels Tactical Squad, Warhammer 40k 2nd Edition

Stripping all of that convoluted mess back to a core rules of 12 pages, with the extra details to be added in via unit entries has annoyed many people who had been playing for years, as their very expensive book collections have been rendered null (excepting for the paint sections, photography and background) and while I understand their annoyance, 40k had grown to a bloated incomprehensible mess that was anything but friendly to new or departed players. The clean slate of rules gives us a very nice (re)entry point to the game, and hopefully GW can keep the meta and power spiral (known as Codex Creep) under control over time.

This force was originally inspired during 3rd edition, by Ed B of Powerfist fame (infamy?) when I was at his place one day and he showed me his Dark Angels. I thought they looked bloody nice – and not too difficult to paint. This was during the time when things weren’t yet especially blinged out. I did repurpose a Legion of the Damned backpack for him, inspired by Chapter Master Azrael’s own pack. You’ll note the models in this box are basically just regular space marines, with the exception of the Sergeant. The bright yellow fuel canister on the Melta is a bit of a 2nd edition throwback as well…

Dark Angels Tactical Squad, Warhammer 40k 2nd Edition

I also had a whole bunch of metal marine shoulderpads. I thought the Deathwing pad looked rather spiffy, though where to use them? The solution was to consider Veteran Sergeants (which were an upgrade option at the time) to be “Deathwing Initiates”. The background speaks of circles within circles amongst the Dark Angels, so I felt that the promotion to Veteran Sergeant justified that extra little bit of fluff – and bling. Hence the bone-coloured pauldrons and red Deathwing Chapter badge. Bone-coloured power sword? Why not!

Dark Angels Tactical Squad, Warhammer 40k

This trip of Tactical marines were built with the notion of being part of the Sergeant’s Combat Squad. I used 3rd ed Assault Squad legs to give them some movement, given that the Sergeant is armed for Close assault and his offsider carries a close-ranged Melta-Gun.

Dark Angels Tactical Squad, Warhammer 40k 2nd Edition

Thus we have the first Combat Squad: 1 Section. Kitted for a close support role and capable of doing some damage. Originally, these guys were built as a seven-man squad under 3rd edition rules with the role of riding around in a Razorback (which I never got finished). I shall folllow up with 2 Section shortly.

Officio Assassinorum: Cullexus Assassin (40k2e, 1999)

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Officio Assassinorum. The Order of Imperial Assassins. The face of death to whomever is unlucky enough to see them, and many who never even catch a glimpse of their killers.

This is the “Head 1” version of the model. I think I have the alternative version, unpainted, somewhere. It utilises the same torso and body, and given the “throwing grenade” pose of the torso, I doubt we’re going to get a radically different model when I do eventually find and paint him.

The Culexus Assassin, of course was released last out of the four (five?) Imperial Assassin types. The first, obviously was the Rogue Trader-Era “Ninja” Assassin, of no fixed temple. Now my memory is a little sketchy, but I recall the original being superseded over the course of three months worth of White Dwarf by the trio of the Vindicare (Sniper), the Callidus (Close Combat Shapeshifter) and the Eversor (All-out Psycho-Killer Berserker). Later on, with Codex: Assassins, they introduced the Culexus, who is a psychic “null” and a thing called the Animus Speculum bolted onto their gigantic, Xenomorph-like heads. When the eye of the Animus opens, focused “negative psychic energy” is unleashed and does a right number on any Psykers nearby, and in particular on its target.

Having read through Index 2 to see what this guy is like in-game, I can see he’s a bit of a glass cannon, and appropriately nasty against psykers. Assassins were a nasty surprise to anyone who came near them back in 2nd edition, which was when I most often employed Assassins – this fellow in particular against a friend who’s Slannesh army was fond of rather potent psykers.

I’m not sure how often a weapon like this will manage to see the tabletop in my games of 8th, which will largely be focused on smaller, friendly games for some time as the forces are built up. Perhaps he could be rolled out for especially large games? Certainly once we get to the stage of Daemon Princes and Greater Daemons being rolled out to the table, he’d have a place then.