The Pilgrym – Ghost legion ReduXX

by Migs

“Of the fabulous hydra it is said, cut off one head and two will grow in its place”

– antique proverb

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Rhisienne, Reckoning

They needed to find him and find him they did. Didn’t feel that way now, did it. It was fething cold, the humidity of the earlier thunder rains was whisked around by the brisk sea wind flowing through the forgotten docklands. The full moon cast a pale, icy glare that froze the shadows of the stand off. 

There he was, in rugged civilian clothes, armed with a brace of pistols, Sgt. Jargassor, whom all needed to find – the least of their concerns now. 

The entire hunt team had their retinas transfixed on the massive being next to him. A dozen weapons of different make pointed at him for what little difference it made. Standing two and a half meters, a god of war, clad in a huge suit of armor the color of night, the giant stared back, immoveable like a statue, yet radiating explosiveness like an unstable flux core reactor. 

The wind turned only to punctuate the stalemate.

‘I am Alpharius, We are Legion‘ The giant announced in a distinctive, flowing, silky, yet authoritarian voice.

 

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Terra + three zero years

The memory of that night still makes me smile. A life time of the most dangerous, the most secret war. I am old now, augmented and technically dead many times over.

I check the pistols over and over again as a way of meditation, in readiness for the drop. I know them better than anything else. Hecuter S77 full auto, solid slug 8.88, 30 rounds a magazine and deadly to half a kilometer. The best pistol in the world and I’ve tried enough to say so. I’ve been remade, retrained, re-wrought, re-tasked, but gunslinger is a gunslinger and that is my art.

He sits opposite of me. Eyes closed. Dead still and not breathing. A face of scar tissue is all that stands out from the armor of night. Mangled, yet somehow handsome, a grotesquely heroic mask of granite.

We are  Legion. On our way to meet the carcass.

 

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The Ghost Legion

The Emperor created the Astartes to Conquer the galaxy in his name. Each Legion  of the god warriors were made in their Primarch image, to fulfill not only a the perfect all around warrior aspect, but a specific battle field expertise. The Imperial fists were made to defend and build fortifications, the Iron Warriors to destroy enemy strong holds, World Eaters were created for devastating shock assaults and the Ultramarines for crafting Strategies and empires.  

Three legions stood apart from their brethen. By the Emperor’s design, to stand against the enemies from without, but also from within! That the “Trefoil” of these proto-astartest had a hidden role was only ever known to Emperor, The Sigllite and a handful of most trusted advisors and they were largely veiled at birth even from the other Legions. The VI, The Space Wolves became the Emperor’s executioners and sanction – of even brother Astartes. The XVIII, The Salamanders, were imagined as the Astartes conscience, Humble, noble and utterly unflinching protectors of mankind. The XX, The Alpha Legion, were designed as the Emperor’s covert special operations forces, his personal Ghost Legion.

Where the VI and the VXIII became widely renowned in the Great Crusade, perhaps even earning some of their brother Legion’s trust, but certainly their respect, The Alpha legion stayed in the shadows. One mystery created another for this infamous Legion. 

In the early decades of the XX legion’s existence, they were linked to constant anomalous reports of targeted strikes, abductions, assassinations and worse, on both Terra and and beyond. Rumors of un-marked Astartes forces moving through war zones with unassailable clearance codes, occult and arcane associations became part of the Ghost Legion myth. Contrary reports spoke of timely arrival of Astartes in critical junctures in the Crusade to turn the tide to Imperium’s favor.

If this was indeed the XX Legion, then it operated in the shadows of the expanding Imperium and it’s heart, Terra, for more than a Century, building a wealth of influence and resources and undertaking the most secret war parallel to the Great Crusade. There even remains evidence , that this last “Alpha” stage Legion of the Emperor led to later development and creation of the Legio Custodes. When the Ghost Legion finally openly joined the Crusade, espionage, infiltration, sabotage, overwhelming force and cunning intelligence remained its hallmarks. Their approach was always tacitly accepted, or perhaps tolerated, by the Emperor and later Horus as the Warmaster. The results of this incredibly imaginative, meticulous and multifaceted Legion spoke for themselves. 

Fellow Primarchs did not share the  tolerance of their father or Warmaster brother. The XX Legion famously clashed with the Ultramarines and the Death guard, and most graphically Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists called the entire Alpha Legion “Honourless Assassins, not fit to bear the Emperor’s mark”, and only the Emperor’s direct intervention prevented blood shed between the two legions.

Today, Declared Excommunicate for ten thousand years, and purged from all imperial archives outside of select tomes in the forbidden libraries of Ordos, the Ghost Legion is as formidable as ever. Considered, perhaps ironically, Diabolis Alpha by the Inquisition. The Ordos stand divided in their arguments of the Legion and its war cry “for the Emperor”. It is a cruel mockery of days past in the eyes of vast majority, but perhaps a mark of ultimate devotion in the eyes of a few knowledgable and free thinking Inquisitors. All of them agree on the terminal and ever present danger the Ghost Legion and its proposed pursuit of freeing the Emperor from his prison presents. 

 

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Phew,

There is work and there is Work. This has been a labor of love. The Alpha Legion has since the pivotal premise of the “Legion” Horus Heresy book captured my imagination unlike no other force in the universe save perhaps the Ordos of the Inquisition.

Where the vast majority of folks develop their style, keep honing their craft, turn mannerism into excellence and generally focus on imprinting their style on a miniature, I think of myself as a scientist of sort, seeking out to reduce the model in to a truth fitting for the character and the impact I am trying to achieve. Agnostic of my own personal style, but surely influenced by my whims and likes. I can pick two models from the previous years and they would be shockingly different in execution. One might be a Daemon toy of a radical Inquisitor, born of blood and smoke, liberally bled to existence with inks and paint splatter and another might be Fenrys weathered to life with stone grey mist and oily sleet.

Seven years ago we were kicking off the Jade Vessel Campaign that to our knowledge was the first time anybody used the word +I+munda and combined the best of Necromunda and Inquisitor and the spirit of the Games Workshop hobby to a unique adventure and group of war bands. I had just finished the Shaddes Offe Greye and wanted to build a proper Space Marine. Of the Ghost Legion. And I built and painted Alpharius.

In the first of our games, a Cadian NPC Sgt with a las-pistol went on an unprecedented rolling spree of 6s and single handedly altered the course of the game and was immediately recruited to work for the XX legion. Original Sgt. Jargassor was born.

The two were painted in “water color” as one of my mad experiments, and hugely influenced by Second Edition Warhammer 40000 nostalgia. They had quite an impact on people. And myself too. And the experiment grew to a full army in the following years.

In the subsequent years I’ve learned so much. I’ve experimented left and right, acquired a lot of new tools (most importantly an airbrush) and many new “paints” (most importantly oils and Scale 75 metallics). I’ve really come to understand myself as a designer and “artist” like I described above.

So it was inevitable that for the project of projects, as a reward of finishing the  Vlka and the Inquisitor Trilogy, as a culmination of the last decade in the hobby really, I would dug out the truth from my very favorite subject matter.

ReduXX 

I wanted to make a Space Marine that really looked like he walked out from a painting, put previous “truescale” marines to rest and was about to run through a wall and kill a mountain. He would be paired by a mysterious human gun fighter, experienced and altered. They would be an item together, enhance each others impact. They would fight at night like before, but free of nostalgia, just my dreams turned into a weather that painted them.

And here they are.

(Alpharius and Jargassor will also be key Narrators of the campaign, providing a voice for the intelligence and role playing that precedes the actual game.)

 

Alpharius and Sgt Jargassor of the XX Legion

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I wanted  to provide images to show them in daylight too, to appreciate the subtleties of the paint that fluidly changes from grey blue to egg green, all the weathering and the extensive, velvety oil work on Jargassors jacket.You can see the faces better here too.

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It is quite shocking what a stark contrast Alpharius built and and converted from Forge World Gal Vorbak has to a regular toy marine. I cannot get my head around this continued discrepancy in the product line, when Games Workshop has been producing stunningly gorgeous models in recent years.

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And last but not least it is time to compare the original duo to the ReduXX consider both the bulk, momentum, tone and technique differences here and the fact that both are still very much intended to be takes on the same subject, secret war in the night.

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Very much looking forward to your thoughts and comments,

Migs

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Migs

62 thoughts on “The Pilgrym – Ghost legion ReduXX”

  1. Awesome Migs… I love that smokey blue/gray you’ve got going on there mate, makes an already imposing hulk of a Marine look even more deadly. Spectacular stuff… I’m just going to stare for a while if that’s ok mate.

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  2. That my friend is utterly stunning!

    …writing, weather and incredible talent in one beautiful piece of art (the sergeant and Alpharius as one).

    I must say that this is, very much in the same way as the Vlka was, a testimony to your devotion and talent. Your first take on Alpharius was very good, but the reduXX is – and this is were it is similar to your Vlka – weather incarnate. They do look as if the walked right out of the moonlit night of a weathered 40k world.

    Hats off!

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    1. And what you just said my friend makes me very happy. It’s a testimony all right, poured everything I’ve got in to these two. Just all the love and care and passion I have for this amazing hobby. And having you guys recognize it means a lot. One of those philosophical things, if a tree falls in the forest without a witness, did it really fall? When I share the work and have all of you react like this then the work really matters and echoes in the 40k imagery for a long time.

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  3. Wow, do I love this. Having those two iconic characters designed anew makes me so happy it is hard to describe. And reading that they will act as the narrators for the campaign is probably my favorite thing I have heard about the Pilgrym project yet, which is saying quite a lot based on all the excellent things that have been shown so far. I admit, like you I am partial to the Alpha Legion and Inquisition, but they just set the mind racing with possibilities, and narrative opportunities.

    I love the contrast between the two models in terms of size, yet both seem equally deadly. The painting is top notch too, fitting the theme perfectly. Dusty and bleak. I love how the glowing bionic eye accents everything as well.

    I really wish GW would rescale their Space Marines. If they did, they could take full advantage of the incredible strides made in casting and digital sculpting. While the Gal Vorbak have been great for conversions towards realizing a better Space Marine, they look too much like a scaled up version of old sculpts, retaining all the flaws and adding none of the extra detail and refinement that is possible. It would also be great to get larger SM backpacks, as they are pretty hard to create to look natural. I think the model you modified to create Alpharius here is good, better then pretty much any currently available models, save the primarchs, but I feel his legs are thinner then I would ideally like; they do not convey the bulkiness of this breastplate. But honestly, I feel that is an issue potentiated in most of GW’s newer Space Marines (Blood Angels chaplain I am looking at you…).

    Regardless, excellent work!

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    1. Eric, thank you sir. You brothers are kindred spirits and real curators and creatives of the imagery and hobby.

      I’m confident GW eventually will – replacing the entire Marine range is the exact best business decision they can make and the right thing to do. It will be spectacular. And instantly energize the hobby. Until then, its up to us to challenge and inspire them. Sometimes I fantasize about a little sabbatical and just doing it myself. Just doing the CAD, and tooling and everything myself and showing how epic it would be. I’m so grateful for this amazing company and everything it gave me growing uo and how they keep churning a better model after a model and taking risks, and falling and standing up again… If the newly re-established specialist games really come out firing I will be one heavily spending kid again.

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      1. Firstly, what a bomb to wake up to! I’m so happy you still have love for the XX and what a fine way to cement what you gained from the Vlka! It must be truly gratifying to see the two marines next to each other.
        Secondly, what Eric said is so true. The Gal Vorbak can only help so far.
        Let’s just do it.

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  4. The Alpha Legion is what brought me to your work. I think they’re one of the most, if not THE most, compelling and interesting groups in the 30k/40k setting. Of course, I loved your Inquisitor Triptych, but in my opinion, your Alpha Legion models have always been the be-all-end-all of your work. It’s great to see you return to them, even if it’s only for one model. And that model is easily the best model I’ve ever seen from you. I can’t rain enough praise upon it. I can try to do better myself, but man, have you set the bar on this one.

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    1. They are the defining work aren’t they. The perfect match to my personality and interests, the eternal enigma and my favorite colors even. Thanks so much for the comments!

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  5. What a glorious return to the Ghost Legion! Returning to both of those characters was a wonderful idea and you have really managed to create something special with the two of them. Their composition and painting really makes them look a part of the grim darkness of the far future!

    I too really really wish Games Workshop would address the huge scale discrepancy with their space marine models. I suppose they really don’t want to have to go back and redesign the entire Space Marine range of models… Maybe they could release a standalone game, along the lines of Execution Force or Betrayal at Calth where they create a few true-scaled Space Marines alongside some human size models? That would be a way they could get around not reworking the entire line and give hobbyists more to work with when making their own true-scale marines. Currently it is really difficult to get helmets and backpacks scale properly with considerable sculpting skills…

    The Pilgrym project just keeps getting more and more exciting! I would love to somehow be a part of the event, even if it would be just sending some models to be used. 🙂

    Keep up the fantastic work!

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    1. Thank you! See my response to your brother, I’m confident or atleast hopeful they will soon knock all of our sad efforts out of the park. The amount of plastic they would sell… It is time. The old plastic image in miniature form is nearly 20 years old.

      I would LOVE to have you guys build endpoint, or even just build some models for this if you so prefer and I can paint. I would love to own some of your work too, so would happily commission something. Feel free to shoot me an email anytime if that sounds interesting 🙂

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  6. It was a combination of seeing your Alpha Legion and Kari’s true scale chaos marines that inspired me to try my hand at true scaling. I love the new chap. So atmospheric and such power.

    I also wish GW would do something drastic and reinvent their marines. I can understand why they don’t, but I just have a hard time taking standard marine minis seriously. There was a massive missed opportunity when FW started to tackle the Horus Heresy. It would have been possible to say that the two product lines were not meant to be compatible and 30k marines could have been made to match the actual description of Astartes in the Horus Heresy novels!

    Sadly, that ship has sailed.

    It feels that GW has painted itself into a corner and it will take something like a 40k end times and a total relaunch of 40k before anything changes. In the meantime the 40k game seems stuck with miniatures that look nothing like and play nothing like the way marines are portrayed in the art and books.

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    1. Thanks!

      GW will paint them selves out of that corner in style when they see the light. It will be spectacular. I’m a believer, even if I have absolutely zero data to back it up and am guessing Jes is still totally stuck thinking there is no problem – But lets try to help him out with nice projects so he can then get together with the digital sculptors and humiliate our efforts.

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      1. One thing worth bearing in mind is that the back-ground of the Astartes originally (like in Rogue Trader )had them really as just humans in powered armour with a few enhancements. By the time of 2nd edition 40k, the background had been fleshed out closer to where it is today, and the miniatures beefed up a bit in size.

        What has happened since is that when the Perrys sculpted the Imperial Guard in the 1990s, they made them bigger than the Space Marines (they are way bigger than the 1980s Guard), and nothing has changed since…. And, the back-ground has subsequently made the Space Marines truly super-human….

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    1. Many thanks. I am so grateful for all of your insane inspiration over the years. Love the way you describe the basing. You do have a way with words sir. That’s what I tried to do, the dreams of Terra in ashes.

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  8. Too cool to be true.. My exact first thoughts. First of all they are just purely excellent. The dystopian world you have layed out in the previous posts just oozes from both. And combined with the fact that they are indeed XX makes them most interesting. What a combination.

    Your Legion is my all time favorite of projects (The Pilgrym sure is catching up!). Scalewise, the colourscheme, versatility and story behind the Alpha legion is what makes them so perfect. Now that you have tackled the same backround with all new surroundings and style really proves your worth as an artist. Somehow this turned my interest for The Pilgrym skyrocketing 🙂 Bravo!!

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  9. Alpharius really is a stunner here. In contrast to your earlier version, he does look like a painting rather than “having been painted”, if you catch my drift. The paint looks flatter from a textural/layered perspective, as if the model itself contained the color, rather than color been applied to it. It’s very nice work.

    There’s one thing about the new version that sits oddly with me, and I know that it’s a totally irrational mentality about a figure that I had nothing to do with, but for some reason your original version of Alpharius feels…more sentimentally valuable, maybe? I can see the work that you put into the new version (which is a massive amount of work), but I can’t get it out of my head that the older version has more value because it looks like an up-scaled marine that you hand crafted into truescale, teasing size and volume from the base figure, whereas the new version looks more “off-the-shelf” despite being able to see the transformation from the original Gal Vorback figure. Perhaps, combined with the excellent paintjob, he looks too clean and factory manufactured – which really speaks volumes about the progression of your abilities, so maybe that ‘s a good problem to have. Ah, but now I’m rambling…

    Excellent work.

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    1. Thanks Odie. Our feelings and attachments about art are a funny thing. I know exactly what you mean!

      For me the original, nice at is was, was still stuck in the way everyone else did try scaling, beefing on terminator parts. This was a look at the entire range, everything GW and FW does, and ordering the exact parts that best fit. And the entire left arm side of the marine had tone rebuilt, re sculpted, and the new models pose seems so natural that it could be a shipping model in my opinion.

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  11. Narrative is such a gamechanger! I absolutely love the way you use it to set the characters. The scale is just right honoring the concept of a space marine, though I have agree with Eric Wier that legs are a bit too small for such a breastplate. But then i never figured them out myself – either the underlying hips are too wide or the legs too thin. It seems to me that most of the artists try to avoid ending sm legs in shot. Eh. Anyways, making a physiologically probable and heroically bulky space marine is no small achievement – which you have justly claimed!

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    1. Thanks. Bringing the models alive in ones imagination through stories is a really powerful way to get the right vision and feel for the finished model.

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  12. It’s funny, I remember seeing your original Alpharius years ago and being so impressed by it. At the time it really stood out to me and it still stands (in my opinion) as a truly iconic true-scale marine. The new one though just knocks it very casually into a cocked hat. However I would add that the gunslinger really completes him, I’m not sure he’d have the same punch without him.
    Looking forward to seeing the role they play in the campaign itself. In many ways the inclusion of the Alpha Legion is both logical and original – I hadn’t considered it until now but where else would the last loyal legion to be fighting the wars of the Heresy be but lurking on Holy Terra itself?

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    1. Thank you. Agreed. Massive improvement. But also a very different style on purpose. When I first had the idea for Pilgrym, it didn’t include the legion, but an ahah! Moment followed a few days into it. I first thought I would not share these until the summer and keep it a surprise but there are so many surprises in store already and we really need an NPC narrator that is inspiring.

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  13. Splendid painting as always, but the bulk of that marine… very… Marine-y. That is what they should feel like, look like, raging bulls in armor, crushing and smashing their way through lesser, mere, men.

    As for GW re-sizing the figures… never going to happen now, although I suppose we could hope for any new IG to be resized back to where they ought to be, which would at least help the current marines look bigger.

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  14. You’ve really pushed yourself to a new level since starting the vlka fenrika project. Quite a feat. The last picture says it all, the new incarnations are truly characters set in the 40k universe whilst the old ones are simply great miniatures.

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    1. Thank you. The old ones really tried to bottle what 2nd edition meant to me in a modern way. So your comment is actually fitting. At the time the models were a rare departure from seeking “realism” but oh was that important for over all development and learning that has followed.

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  15. Brilliant – the colours are fantastic – a perfect improvement/evolution of the originals. I especially like Jargasson – what a great miniature and the coat is perfect.

    Sorry to be a lone protestor – but I (and I must be almost alone in terms of followers of this blog) don’t like true scale and don’t want the Space Marine range re-scaled! I love your efforts and your fellow artists as works of art in and of themselves – but I don’t want it to go wider than that, like onto my games table! I hope that makes sense.

    Great stuff! 🙂

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      1. Thanks 🙂 As said I love what you are doing and I love to look at your pictures but I have no interest in attempting it myself! 😉 Also, I forgot to say, I love the background you have written too.

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  16. Damn no one told me this was a sequel to The Jade Vessel! Now I’m even more excited to finish my current project (deadline is still 23rd Jan) and get started on some pilgrims.

    As for Alpharius and Jargassor I’m torn. The new pair work together very well with their joint sense of movement and colour palette (for a pair of heretics sneaking about on Terra) and the painting is top notch as always (the weathering on the backpack is my favourite bit). What you have done to the Val Gorbak to make this new Alpharius is amazing I had to double take. The new version has the unconverted feel to it which is always the goal imo.

    Jargassor’s new rendition is great and he has a much more secretive and sinister quality to him. The original miniature was never one of my favourites, I think, due to the pose and head.

    Alpharius on the other hand was one of my favourites, seeing him in the flesh and geeking it out with you a JB in that bar in St Pancras :-). This new face and paint scheme leaves me a little cold. The thing I really liked about the original was the pale skin tone and how the faces on all your Legion had a unique smooth faced vibe to them. This new face just looks too standard marine and pink (though I guess he is not under moon light this time). The armour has also changed in tone so much, though this also happened with your newer Legion models getting bluer too. I really liked the lime yellow armour edging and I’d have liked to have seen that here. Perhaps I don’t like change and my nostalgia button is switched on.

    But as always I look forward to seeing them in the flesh.

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    1. Thank you! It’s going to be so incredible.

      I absolutely knew you would say this. (And that was a nice geek out!) You are the exact opposite of me, never change a thing, just keep of tweaking that perfection of yours 🙂 And I love you for that. It’s fantastic to see the consistent creativity that studies the universe from such a mature and stable angle with such beauty.

      For me the whole point of reduXX is to do something different. Everything is still under moonlight. Faces are still super pale, just with hints of purple (used to be hints of copper) and the scheme I wanted to be completely different. I’m at ease and love the differences. The original are vintage, important models for me – with huge nostalgia, even being born out of my second ed nostalgia at the time, to bolster design and palette – but the new ones are miles ahead in my own mind to the new goals I’ve pursued this time in my multi angle barrage of the imagery.

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      1. I’m kinda with Pete here. The new Alpharius is a beautiful mini and expertly converted, but the old one is so iconic. It really is the perfect truescale marine – hard to top that. Also he looks a lot sneakier which suits the Alpha Legion better.

        That said this revisit is a really cool idea! I for one would love to see more versions of your old minis – perhaps some truescaled tau suits? 😉

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  17. This is just terrific – when the hobby fires were burning perilously low (I was even considering packing it all in for a few months to get some fresh air), something like this comes along and reminds me of what I really love about it all. Experimentation; pushing boundaries; getting back to the books. It’s just what I needed – thanks Migs.

    *Grabs keys, drives to nearest art shop to grab a bunch of watercolours*

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      1. Already an owner of a bunch of them, but have only used them for vehicle weathering, up to now. If you would, could you summarise your method with the water colours, so that I might be pointed in the right direction? Cheers!

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  18. I’ve been such a fan of your work and this project shows how much you have developed and improved over time.

    Seeing those pairs compared like that illustrates the leap your skills have taken – I remain in awe of your talents and extremely jealous!

    I have to agree with some of the other comments – GW won’t be able to replace their SM range. It is their signature product and too many people have invested too much time, effort and money to ever consider replacing their models!

    I’m afraid “true scale” marines will remain the product of artists such as you and your fellows on this board.

    I shall now respectfully sit back down and just look at those pictures some more – hoping that by doing so some of the magic will rub off! 😁

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  19. Great to see you revisiting these characters. And taking them further. A lot has already been said – I am particular fond of that subtle touch of egg green for the final airbrushed highlights (thats it, right?). Gotta have a go at this colour myself. It adds a little but all-important change in temperature on the minis. I like the fact that there is no red at all on these. The little touch of warm colour resting subtly in the shading is awesome. Also, the way the bright cold light seems to flicker on the basing is amazing. Thanks for returning and reworking your imagery. I wonder how the next revisit will look 5 years in the future…

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    1. Thanks 🙂 Vallejo Model Air has a brilliant egg green and similar matching pale blue. I used these two from different angles to create a sort of nebulous shift of blue and gree. Under neath I had “german grey blue and russian dark green” or similar. The egg shell green is brilliant. I painted the entire Knight with that color and keep wondering when I should come back an do a full army or something with the shade…

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  20. I just had to return to say this is phenomenal.
    It just keeps on making my day!

    Also, what kind of a fool takes a three week holiday? I am torn apart!

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  22. Blast from the past – and then some!

    The original Alpharius was the ONE that I used as a model when I did my first art-scale Astartes. I studied it very much, every little bit and detail to try to understand the art of modifying dwarfs to giants. Luckily you had very good WIP-shots that helped a lot, so thank you for those.

    And now there’s a new king in the hall. I really like the fierce movement and dimmed palette in the new version. It’s a great combination of your evolved style and taste.

    The new Jargassor stands proudly next to Alpharius and as a pair they look brilliant. But to me Jargassor’s older version has that something, guess it’s sympathy or something. He’s like Han Solo of the grimm dark future.

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  23. Thanks Kari!! Good to hear 🙂 it’s really interesting how we all have our favorites. PDH disliked the old one, you loved him. Something for everyone between the two takes perhaps. Either way this has been an absolute treat for me to get to work on the ReduXX and to have this much feedback from so many incredible artists.

    Really curious to hear what Father Mikko thinks when he gets a moment of rest!

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  24. Another incredible pair from you Migs!

    Even though I haven’t been following this blog for long, everything you guys put out really captures the grim darkness of the universe for me. This has got to be one of the best true-scale marines I’ve seen and I’m sure if GW get a glimpse of this, they’ll definitely think about a redesign of their current range!

    I know you like to keep your work a mystery on which kits/parts/GS you use etc. but do you have any suggestions for making my own true-scale marines? I too really want to capture the shear size of them the way you have with this Alpharius.

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    1. Thanks Adam. This one is based on the Forge World’s Heresy series Word Bearer Gal Vorbak. It is not the easy way as it requires a lot of cutting and re sculpting but in the past I’ve built a bunch using terminator legs and arms and green stuff beefed up regular marine torsos. Kari referred to earlier builds of mine that show the WIPs. I think these can still be found at my old blog. The legionofplastic blogspot.

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  25. I love the new Alpharius, I think this style of paint – the oils and the shadows and realism – is great. It’s the military modelling style of Forgeworld but with extra dramatic flair and artistry. I do like the old Alpharius’ skin tone, this new tone is quite purple but it goes nicely with the teal. I also really like the use of Korvydae’s head, a really great bit.

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    1. Thanks. I’m hoping people see these in real life some day. The purple is used so sparingly and the overall skin tone works so well IMO where the original was really like a ghost, like parchment or something, not skin. That worked a treat on that model but it had such rich color elsewhere. Here the dynamic is different and I needed to tweak the rules accordingly 🙂

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  26. This is some truly amazing work, to see how your work has developed from the “Legion of Plastic” days, just awesome, finding the “Legion of Plastic” was one of those random finds whilst looking for inspiration, and from that day the work you’ve produced and all the other guys from “Iron Sleet” has always inspired when I’ve been stumped, so thank you. I can’t wait to see the outcome of the Pilgrym series.

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  27. Hmm, I wouldn’t be that surprised if GW/FW will eventually make the marines more ‘true scale’. Take the current marine (or any other GW model) and put it next to their old stuff, it’s quite clear there is some sort of scale creep going on here. And GW does seem more than capable at making true scale ‘marines’, look at their whole Age of Sigmar range…

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  30. Wow, came back to the beginning as I’m done with all the models and vehicles and terrain… for the game. Your responses to this are going to be cherished for a long time. While taking on and failing and trying again on the next mad experiment 😉

    Here’s to an EPIC game soon, with so many models I’m dying to see in real life playing it.

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  34. Oh my — been trying to figure out how to bring Alpharius to life for a 30k army, and stumbled upon your artwork. Really, really amazing work. If you are open to it, do you mind sharing what bits you used to create this masterpiece? I’d love to try something similar. Mostly curious about the head, torso and legs. If you don’t want to share your secrets, I get it — but if you are open to it, I’d really appreciate it. Regardless, great work!

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