First Models - Squad Ramos

As promised, here are the first models that I have finished painting. Aside from the crappy prime job with GW's ultra thick Chaos Black spray primer, I think these turned out okay, considering my amateur painter status.

The one dilemma that I am wrestling with are the shoulder guards. There are currently no red tactical arrows that I'm happy with. The ones that I ordered from Greenfield Games are way too bright, in my opinion and I had some trouble free painting them. For the time being, I added the white tactical decals that GW produces, but I'm not completely sold on those either (even if they are easy to work with). I may order the metal shoulder guards from GW and fill the recesses in with green stuff and then paint them red.

Tactical Squad 1 is now designated as Squad Ramos.

Background - Part III: The Aftermath

The Rynn's World Incident resulted in many losses by the Crimson Fists, with the Chapter almost wiped out completely. As a result, Kantor's primary focus is rebuilding the Chapter, while the Crimson Fists can only be fielded as infiltration-size squads. Snagrod's Waaagh! has induced a deep hatred of Orks within the Chapter, and it is said that Crimson Fists Marines will go to any lengths to defeat any Ork forces they encounter.

The Crimson Fists has made great strides in re-building their chapter, currently at half-strength, Master Kantor continues to serve the Emperor, yet fiercely determined to restore the Crimson Fists to its former glory.

Okay, that's the short version of the Crimson Fist history. In the meant time, I've been working on my army and I've finished building a Rhino, the Assault Squad and I've started painting Tactical Squad 1, which I will post pics of soon.

Background - Part II: Rynn's World

In the 989th year of the 41st millennium, an Ork Warlord known as Snagrod, the Arch-Arsonist of Charadon, united many of the warring Ork factions surrounding the Loki sector and began a massive Waaagh! Taking several colonies with minimal resistance, Snagrod boasted that his next conquest would be Rynn's World.
In response, the Fourth Company of the Crimson Fists was sent to stall the Waaagh! and gauge its strength. The size of Snagrod's forces had been significantly underestimated, and only a few Space Marines escaped to relay vital intelligence back to Chapter Master Kantor. Kantor ordered the immediate recall of all Crimson Fists, and set about organising the defences of Rynn's World.

When Snagrod's Waaagh! hit Rynn's World, it was with a force unseen since the Second War for Armaggedon. During the initial invasion of Rynn's World, a great tragedy befell the Crimson Fists.

A single missile, launched by one of the planetary defense installations, faltered in its trajectory and struck the Crimson Fists fortress monastery. The missile managed to strike an unknown weak point in the fortress' design, detonating the Chapter's entire arsenal of weapons. The resultant explosion levelled the monastery, the mountain it rested on, and wiped out everything within a half mile's radius. Of the forces stationed around and within the monastery, there were just over a dozen survivors, Kantor among them.

The survivors, forced to move stealthily through territory captured by the Orks, were able to link up with a detachment of Crimson Fists assigned to defend Rynn's World's capital, New Rynn City. Taking command of the Imperial forces, Kantor was able to eventually repulse the Orks from Rynn's World, although the siege of New Rynn City lasted eighteen months, and the effort to cleanse the planet took many years.

Check back for Part III - The Aftermath

Background - Part I: Chapter History

Seeing as how this blog is dedicated in large part to my Crimson Fists project, I thought it fitting to post some of the history surrounding the chapter for anyone not familiar with this noble chapter. This is taken from official Imperial records.

The Crimson Fists origins lay in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy. When Roboute Guilliman presented the Codex Astartes, Rogal Dorn (Primarch of the Imperial Fists Legion) was vehemently against it. Rogal Dorn saw the break up of the Legions as an insult ot his honor, after all it was Dorn and the Imerial Fists, not Guilliman and his Ultramarines, who stood beside the Emperor at the defense of Terra. The matter came to a head when the Terrible Angel, an Imperial Fist Strike Cruiser, was fired on by the Imperial Navy. Famous for his temper and stubbornness Dorn proved a noble leader when he relented rather than plunge the Imperium into another civil war. The die hard followers of Dorn kept the uniform and title of the Imperial Fists, while the more zealous battle brothers took on the name the Black Templars. The newly initiated and youngest brethren of the Imperial Fists however were formed into a new chapter named the Crimson Fists.

Each of the new Chapters was given a single Battle Barge, a number of Strike Cruisers and Rapid Strike Vessels and departed to make their mark on the Galaxy. While the Black Templars became a force of zealouts and crusaders, sailing across the stars on unending quests of conquest and vengeance the Crimson Fists exemplified the teachings of Dorn, carving their way into the annals of the Imperium. The Crimson Fists first Chapter Master Alexis Polux did almost as much to mould the character of the newly formed Chapter as the legacy of Rogal Dorn did.

Alexis Polux remained the Chapter Master for eight centuries until he fell in battle in an unnamed system codified HR8518. The system was occupied by the previously unencountered xenos now known as the Scythians. The vile aliens made use of repulsive venom based weaponry, and a dart from one such poisoned weapon pierced the temple of Alexis Polux and brought him low. Polux fought the toxin for many days before he finally went to stand at the side of the Emperor, but before he passed he instructed his warriors well. After Polux's death the Crimson Fists enacted his plan and the Scythians were driven from the system in a short but very brutal xenocidal campaign. The Scythians suffered such a defeat that they now rarely engage Imperial forces openly and rely on assassinations and covert strikes instead.

Check back soon for Part II - The Rynn's World Incident

Tactical Squad 1

I have begun work on my first thousand points of Crimson Fists. The initial list will consist of:

• HQ - Pedro Kantor
• Tactical Squad (10) - sgt (pf, plasma pistol), m/l, melta gun, rhino
• Tactical Squad (10) - sgt (pf, bolt pistol), m/l, flamer, rhino
• Tactical Squad (5) - sgt (bolter)
• Assault Squad (5) - sgt (pf, plasma pistol, flamer)
• Whirlwind - stormbolter

At this point, I have assembled Pedro Kantor and all of Tactical Squad 1. The next step is to prime and paint these, while I begin assembly on the transports and second tactical squad. I'm hoping to complete this first phase relatively quickly and then push on to the next phase, which would be 1,500 points.

Merry Christmas

On behalf of myself and my family, I'd like to wish everyone and their families a Merry Christmas and a safe and blessed Holiday season. Personally, this is my favorite time of year and it has been for as long as I can remember. Even moreso now, because of my three beautiful daughters. My wife and I run ourselves ragged every year, doing everything in our power to make Christmas a magical time for them. We take every precaution to keep that most important secret and so far we've been successful. But I really tend to stress myself out trying to keep it classified. But at the end of the day, all of it - every second is worth the smiles that I see on my kids' faces on Christmas morning and throughout the season. It's a time that their eyes shine brighter than the North Star itself and words can't describe the sense of wonder it leaves me with. So, to all of you new parents out there take a bit of advice from Uncle Hammer. Make every moment count and don't rush through the season, because the reality is that when you have kids - there is a finite number of magical Christmases. Don't waste any of them.

Happy Holidays

I swiped the pic from a previous post over at BTP because that image pretty much sums up the last two weeks (weather-wise) here in Chicago.

It Begins

Welcome to Kantor Base. I’ve started this blog for several reasons. First, to document and share my latest experiences with my newest Space Marine project (I’m kind of a Space Marine fanatic): Crimson Fists. Second, I’m hoping this blog will help discipline me enough to actually complete, play and add to a project. If any of you are like me, I have dozens of partially completed projects in my work room. I’m hoping this phased approach to collecting will make me a better hobbyist.

The inspiration for this particular project came from White Dwarf’s most recent series of articles entitled ‘A Tale of Four Gamers’. One of the GW staffers (Neil Hodgson) collected a Crimson Fist army which was simply, but very nicely painted. A monthly phased approach shows Neil’s army progress to a nice, completely painted collection. It’s funny how someone else’s cool stuff can motivate you to paint your own stuff. Now, I carry those White Dwarf issues with me when I paint. The only danger is that my stuff may not look as nicely as Neil’s. A third bit of inspiration came from a manager at one of the local GW stores who has collected nearly the entire chapter of Ultramarines. Now how frikkin’ cool is that?! To have an entire army displayed in your basement or study! Nice!

Finally, the best (and most practical) reason for me to collect a Crimson Fist army is the story behind the chapter. They are a chapter on the mend, meaning that the entire chapter was nearly wiped out when their fortress monastery exploded on Rynn’s World. They have since begun re-building, which fits perfectly into my budget.

In the days, weeks, months and hopefully years that follow, I’ll post my progress to this blog and see my collection grow and perhaps maybe motivate other fellow gamers. Now, I doubt the posts will be daily – I’ve got a wife and three daughters that tend to be a bit high maintenance, but we all have our crosses to bear so I won’t bore anyone with my home life…much. Anyway, check back soon.