Bring Out Yer Dead

So far, my journey into the maelstrom of the Badab War hasn't required very much in the way of creativity, and has largely involved spraying some old models silver.

However, as I move past the basic troops and units, I can start to look at some of the more unique elements of the Tyrant's Legion.

For example, the Corpsetaker Apothecary.

'Corpsetakers' is a name given by the human soldiery of the Tyrant's Legion, to the Astral Claws Apothecary Vivisectors who would stalk the battlefields of the Badab War looking for dead and injured Space Marines, much like any chapter's Apothecaries.

However, unlike other Apothecaries, the Corpsetakers would not limit their search to those of their own side, they would also track down the enemy Marines and harvest their gene-seed, whether they were dead or not, to help expand the Astral Claws chapter.

To be clear, according the the rules of the Imperium, this was NOT ALLOWED!

In the Tyrant's Legion army list that featured in the Imperial Armour: The Badab War books, the Apothecary Vivisector could be fielded with a unit of between two and ten Dissection Servitors.

For my purposes, as I'm using Chaos rules for my Tyrant's Legion, I'll be using the profile of the Dark Apostle (who conveniently comes with two Disciples). It's not a perfect fit rules wise in the main game, but it works really well with the version that appears in the old Chaos Combat Patrol - which conveniently is the one I'm using for the next stage in the campaign.

The Apothecary Vivisector is really nothing more than a standard Firstborn Apothecary that I picked up second hand with the second squad of Tactical Marines.

The white armour was done with a base of Grey Seer, a was of Apothecary White and a dry brush of Heavy Titanium White (from Pro Acryl). I'm happy enough with how he's come out and he does look better in real life as I always struggle to photograph white models.

However, the fact that the Dark Apostle comes on a 40mm base gave me some room to be a bit creative.

Taking some inspiration from a Pete The Wargamer video, I set about using some spare and damaged bits and pieces, along with chunks of cork, to put a dead Space Marine on the base, and as this was a Corpsetaker, I could make it from one of the Loyalist chapters to give a nod to the nefarious background of this unit.

The Salamanders ended up being the unlucky chapter, mainly because I had a single transfer left from using their iconography for some undead cavalry (it's starting to look like I have an issue with the sons of Vulkan), hence the reason why the unfortunate soul has black skin.

Also, choosing Salamanders gave me the opportunity to use this ancient pot of Emerald Green paint, which is still in good condition, despite being as old as the original Badab War article in White Dwarf.

I decided to add chip damage with a sponge to the symbols on the shoulders as it seemed appropriate given that a building has fallen on him. However, it also covered up the fact that the transfers, which are also pretty damn old, had started to tear.

The two Dissection Servitors make use of some free models I got at Salute several years ago. They are appropriately from a game called Maelstrom's Edge and have been robotified with the use of spare heads and other bits.

All in all, I'm really pleased with this little unit, and it means that I'm only a squad of Devastators/Havocs away from completing everything I need for the Combat Patrol part of this challenge.

I'm a little bit gutted that I won't be able to attend the Kill Team tournament that's being held as part of Arbitor Ian's Tale of Four Gamers due to it clashing with a family event. However, it does mean I don't need to learn a new set of rules by November.

Acquired: -66
Painted: 341
Lead Mountain: 656