40k Army: Salamanders 4th Company Detachment

[Xisor]

Hello all,

After much faffing about with my Dark Eldar this year, I dug out my Salamanders in anticipation of Nocturne coming out soon.

I totalled them up, I have almost exactly 4k of models for them, depending on whether you count a unit as a Command Squad, a Sternguard or a Legion of the Damned. (I may proxy them as Legion of the Damned by up-flaming some of them and marking on of them as a lexicanum, hence their 'magicness'.)

Not only that, but on Friday I popped into GW Stirling and harassed folks in there with my unfaltering run of references to BLP books. I should run a GW Bookshop, it'd be excellent. I'd have a big urn of tea to serve in Bugman's mugs and some comfy throne-chairs to peruse things in.

Anyway, that Friday I bought a box of Grey Knights to finally put my "convert a version of Vulkan He'stan" to allow the army to actually function properly. (Too many techmarines, dreadnoughts and terminators means I can rarely field the army I actually like in the background!)

Thanks to having the spare GK bits, I set about converting up some Sternguard too (using spare meltaguns, storm bolter and combi-plasma to make four which can sit happily with my bolter-veteran to make a neat SG squad.)

Now, here's the outlook for my models so far:

Captain Dac'tyr's 4th Company Detachment

Captain Dact'yr with Lightning Claw and Combi-Melta.
Command Squad Champion, Banner, Plasma Gunner, Plasma Pistol

Chaplain Regon - Crozius & Relic [as Melta Bombs & Digital Weapons]
+ Codicier Ikon - Force Axe & Bolt Pistol

Tactical Squad #2 - 10 Tacs, Multimelta, Flamer, Serg's Plasma Pistol
Tactical Squad #4 - 10 Tacs, Multimelta, Flamer, Serg's Plasma Pistol
Tactical Squad #5 - 10 Tacs, Multimelta, Flamer
Tactical Squad #7 -
5 Sternguard - 2 Meltaguns
5 Sternguard - Lascannon & Plasma Gun, Apothecary {may be used as Legion of the Damned[/i]
Assault Squad #2 -
5 Assault Marines, Plasma Pistol
3 Bikes - Meltagun, Attack Bike & Multimelta
Devastator Squad #3 - 10 Devs, Plasma Cannon, Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter

Dreadnought Fermat - Twin Linked Lascannon, Heavy Flamer
Dreadnought Kla'tu - Twin Linked Lascannon, Missile Launcher

+ Scout Detachment (#2) - 6 Scouts, Bolters, Heavy Bolter

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As you can see, it's not terribly effective. Or indeed, legal, to field it all at once. (Sternguard/Dreadnoughts compete for slots.) That said, there's other folks whom I'll have in my possession ready to be deployed!

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Household, 1st and 7th Company Detachment to Captain Dac'tyr

Firedrake Squad #7 "The Abortionists"* -
5 Terminators, Assault Cannon and Chain Fist
5 Sternguard, 2 Meltaguns, Storm Bolter, Combi-plasma
Firedrake Squad #8 "Saviours of Gehenna" - 10 Vanguard Vets, 3 plasma pistols, 2 power firsts, one thunderhammer, one storm shield, five power weapons, one lightning claw
Firedrake Squad #11 "Talons of the Night**" - 10 Assault Terminators, 6 TH&SS, 4 Pairs of Lightning Claws

Brother Argos, Master of the Forge - Conversion Beamer {and possibly a Bike as he's wearing the warp-jump-pack from the GK sprue}
Techmarine Venitor - Servoharness
Techmarine Ik'ind - 3 Servitors
Forgefather Vulkan He'stan {converted from a GK w/Nemesis Halberd and the incinerator-nozzle on the gauntlet mount, Signum-link Helmet}
Scout Squad #5 - 5 Scouts with Sniper Rifles, 1 Heavy Bolter
Scout Squad #6 - 7 Scouts with Bolt Pistols & CCWs


* They were instrumental in the destruction of the Star Child cult as noted in Warhammer 40k 3rd Edition.
** Don't like this name, open to other non-Fire/Anvil/Hammer/Dragon/Forge suggestions.


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So, as you can see, it's a big old army with more than a few expensive options in it.

(The Vanguard Squad 'Saviours of Gehenna' are utterly ridiculous, but they're composed of all the sergeant models I have, as well as the pre-Stern/Van Veterans and the rather excellent 'Masters of the Chapter' models [now kitbashed with some GK parts]. Comes out at just under 500pts for a squad of ten veterans in power armour. Apocalypse Material, I think!)

You're also likely noticing a major problem with it: the almost complete lack of vehicles.

I have two Dreadnoughts and that is it. I aim to buy some Rhinos/Drop Pods/Land Raiders/Razorbacks soon enough, but haven't really a clear plan ahead. I'm tempted to hold off on the Land Raiders 'til I can afford Forgeworld ones. The Imperial Fists' own pattern land raider is delightful, I might pair two of them with two Redeemers for the giggles. (And they could be fielded nicely; transports for Terminators!)

I'm very tempted by Drop Pods as I think it's an awesome aspect of the game, but then I also fancy myself some Rhinos and RBs too. Suggestions are quite welcome.

Also, as I finish (re)painting/arranging the models, I hope to get some pictures and background worked out for them too. I'm particularly pleased with Argos, Master of the Forge. I'd bought the mail-order only Techmarine about six years ago (and adored it), but never finished building it, and so in the meantime have lost most of the bits of his Servoharness.

Desperate for a way to repair this I had all sorts of considerations, 'make him Grey Knights techmarine to accompany my Inquisition troops' was a big idea. But I relented: when you give them Conversion Beamers they loose their big backpacks, so I just lumped the GK WarpJump-Pack on his back as it looks suitably 'high profile'. (And the Salamanders by concept have access to a lot of cool doodahs; best artificers outside of Mars, don't you know?) So, add on some GK arms, file off some iconography from the shoulder pads and, ta-da, Bob's your uncle! I'll get picks up as soon as I'm done painting 'em.

(My painting's atrocious, but it's better than it was before. Now they don't look well painted, but they're painted well enough to look 'quite good', if that makes sense? Poor quality, but enough to not look like poor quality.)

[Gaius Marius]

Nice Xisor. But I thought that salamanders coudln't use bikes/assault?

[Xisor]

Nice Xisor. But I thought that salamanders coudln't use bikes/assault?

Nope, they can and do. It's just somewhat rare. They eschew rapid deployment formats (e.g. unlike the Scars/Both Angels/Raven Guard), but do make use of them from time to time.

If I remember right, the ratios for the Salamanders goes roughly: 6:3:1 for Tactical:Devastator:Assault. Indeed, the only assault squads in the entire Chapter are two each in Companies 2/3/4, their battle companies.

[Mossy Toes]

I seem to remember in the Codex: Armageddon (or was it the White Dwarf Index Astartes on Salamanders) that Assault Squads, bikes, Land Speeders, etc were all were 0-1 choices on a "Salamanders List."

I dislike the idea of giving sternguard special and heavy weapons. The largest thing they bring to the table is their special bolt ammunition; by giving them other weapons, you take that away. Find other places to fit in your meltaguns, I say (shouldn't be too hard in a Salamanders army), and let the Sternguard operate with elite bolt precision.

I admit, I am amused by "The Abortionists" as a title.

[shadowhawk2008]

The thing with the Salamanders is that their responses are slightly slower than that of other Space Marines, IIRC their background, therefore they don't prefer lightning assaults using Land Speeders and Bikes.

[Xisor]

It is indeed true, they were certainly 0-1. Nowadays the only restriction is how many you can fit in to the FO chart (usually 3 squads). That said, my concept even when expanding the army is to allow no more than '20' Assault Marines in the Fourth Company.

(Any others, such as the Vanguard, have to be Veterans. [Except that given the difference of Salamanders, I'm happy to play up the fact that, sometimes, Tactical Squads will be deployed with Jump Packs. Indeed, the +Scouts in the 4th Company, I'm tempted to list as actually a Devastator Squad operating 'as' Scouts; e.g. just deployed without their power armour/heavy weapons!)

I dislike the idea of giving sternguard special and heavy weapons. The largest thing they bring to the table is their special bolt ammunition; by giving them other weapons, you take that away. Find other places to fit in your meltaguns, I say (shouldn't be too hard in a Salamanders army), and let the Sternguard operate with elite bolt precision.

I thoroughly agree, to be honest. I should note that the first post list is by no means the 'desired list' as much as it is the most sensible 'format' for all the models I have: there's absolutely nowhere else those meltaguns/plasmaguns can go!

When it comes to picking a smaller army list, I'd be selecting from 'smaller' uses. Any army list which doesn't have all Tactical Squads, Sternguard and Devastators (which given my preference for Dreads and Termis is highly likely), the spare 'bolter bodies' will very quickly be moved over into the Sternguard squads.

(Actually, I'm very tempted to buy some extra Deathwatch conversion packs from GW, along with some Dark Angels/Blood Angels/Black Templar/Wolf packs for the 'extra bits' packs: convert up a couple of Deathwatch squads of only bolter marines to use as Sternguard! That way I'd get a few 'other chapter' colours in the army too.)

I admit, I am amused by "The Abortionists" as a title.

Glad to hear it. It serves to remind everyone that Salamanders are not as happy-go-lucky as they appear. Exterminatus-deploying gits!

Moreover, I'm hoping to get a background down for the 'entire army', so I can be wasteful (e.g. non-bolters in Sternguard) when it's deployed at Apocalypse, but in normal games I can trim out the daft bits (because there's so many to choose from).

Hmm, 3 Drop Pods, 2 Rhinos and a Razorback could be fun for a 'normal use' army.

Edit @Shadowhawk : Indeed. They were Init3 in Third Edition, which was a bit silly. The lore behind it was that they weren't actually slower, but that they acted with less haste. They preferred standing still and thinking through a problem first before rushing in. The emphasis was always away from haste and on stoicism/pragmatism. I never really like the idea that they're actually significantly slower.

[schaferwhat‽]

the legal issues are in the first list can be counteracted by combining the two sternguards because you can always combat squad thinto two squads of 5 if you so desire. Or have a master of the forge in that side of the force and dreadnoughts count as heavy support. Sternguard rules are perfect for deathwatch.

Vanguard units can be messy, I have a non-jump packed one which is expensive, so much so they've only played one game, they chewed through many orks though. Actually considering the lack of game play they've had (and their land raider delivery system) I can maybe gleam a "not being a total downer" for my realisation that the chaos guard army needs to be a slow burn development due to my finances (damn the cost of things).

As for renaming the firedrakes "Nocturne's Anger" "Hammers of Wrath" "The teeth of the Dragon".

[Lord of the Night]

Ah very nice.

After you've read Nocturne you'll have a lot more material to make your army, including Captain Dac'tyr's title in the Chapter. If you like I can PM it to you, its not spoilery and its a really awesome title.


Lord of the Night

[Xisor]

Ah very nice.

After you've read Nocturne you'll have a lot more material to make your army, including Captain Dac'tyr's title in the Chapter. If you like I can PM it to you, its not spoilery and its a really awesome title.


Lord of the Night

I'd rather you just send me the book! I'll be pre-ordering it ASAP, then I can go into much, much more detail!

[Xisor]

Right, did a spot of organising this evening, here's some photos of the list for y'all!

I've still to sort out a few of the eyes and weapons & things, and to really begin with all the flame/drake motifs (notably the shoulder-pads), but once I get a system down, it shouldn't take too long to whack 'em on. I hope...

Anyway, enjoy!

Brother Argos, Master of the Forge


Techmarine Venitor


Techmarine Ik'ind


Forgefather Vulkan He'stan


Captain Dact'yr, Master of the Fleet


Command Squad, Codicier Ikon & Chaplain Regon





Tactical Squad #2 & half of Assault Squad


Tactical Squad #4


Tactical Squad #5


Tactical Squad #7, Devastators & Saviours of Gehenna


The Company Venerables




Scouts!


The Abortionists

















The Saviours of Gehenna








The Talons of the Night

[LordLucan]

Love the conversion of the techmarine with the tesla blaster!

I know the salamanders have pitch black skin, but I honestly think it doesn't look good on models. I think a good way around taht would be to make their eyes a more vivid red. Perhaps paint their eyes white first, or use a orange foundation paint before applying the red? Their eyes are described as glowing iirc, so it might help make their head paint schemes stand out.

Otherwise, I like the armour colour scheme, and you are brill at conversions.

[Xisor]

Cheers, LL.

I'm working on the eyes: a lot of them don't actually have them painted yet!

My thoughts on the skin, at the moment, are this: base of Charadon Granite (I know, it's not obsidian, but as noted: plain black looks unpainted!), intending to very lightly drybrush Skull White then give a wee wash of something or other to give depth to the granite. Currently it's been dabs of Blood or Mechrite Red for the eyes but, to tell the truth, I might just skimp on that and go straight to Macharius Solar Orange on the end of a toothpick. Eyes are fiddly enough as it is, they don't need to be superb!

As for the conversions: the vast bulk of them are simply kitbashes or mixing up old/new models. Fortunately the Marine range rewards this. Unlike the DE. *shakes fist*

[LordLucan]

I know, the best I could manage conversion-wise for DE was a couple of arm swaps between kits (giving my arena champion and whip, etc)

I haven't tried the tooth-pick technique, but it sounds interesting. Luckily I get to steal my dad's really thin brushes which he uses for his insanely detailed WWII warship models, so I can usually get into the sockets easily barring shaky hands/mistakes.

[Mossy Toes]

I'm going to echo LL on the need for brighter eyes--and possibly that white drybrush you mentioned. At this point their skin looks almost the same as their pauldrons...

Still, great job on them. Seems like a very characterful army.

[schaferwhat‽]

may a dark grey/brown drybrush be better? I'm thinking codex grey, graveyard earth or Kommando Khaki would be better suited to add tone but not overly lighten it. The other alternative is to lowlight, and add depth to the tones by drybrushing black so that the areas that you're thinking of lightening would go darker though if you're going for a dark wash that'll happen anyways.

Does look very cool, I'll see about stealing a camera for photos at some point of my lot. Actually that reminds me I got paid so can buy two veterans to be sergeants.

[Xisor]

may a dark grey/brown drybrush be better? I'm thinking codex grey, graveyard earth or Kommando Khaki would be better suited to add tone but not overly lighten it. The other alternative is to lowlight, and add depth to the tones by drybrushing black so that the areas that you're thinking of lightening would go darker though if you're going for a dark wash that'll happen anyways.

Does look very cool, I'll see about stealing a camera for photos at some point of my lot. Actually that reminds me I got paid so can buy two veterans to be sergeants.

The trouble with going earth/khaki on the face is, I fear, that it'll take it slightly too far back towards brown skin. I might have to go back to the more natural skin-tones, I fear, but I'm keen to try'n keep it on a grey-scale for a bit. Well, the granite isn't really grey, but still.

They used to be natural toned, e.g. browns as you'd get for painting up black skin tones. Since the 'revelation' that they're obsidian, glowy-eyed freaks...well, that all had to change. So much for tokenism.

I'll experiment tomorrow after I've been to stand in the dole queue like a drunken, worthless bum for a while.

[Mossy Toes]

I'm sure the "worthless" part, at least, isn't true. Kidneys are worth something, right?

[Xisor]

I'm sure the "worthless" part, at least, isn't true. Kidneys are worth something, right?

Quite so! *pats side*

I'm feeling kinda confident about the drybrushing tomorrow, actually. One of the lighter greys, then an ink wash, then a dab on the eyes with toothpicks & Macharius Solar Orange.

It'll be jawesome. Or jawribble.

[schaferwhat‽]

Maybe a dark red? Like Guinness dark. It'd contrast with the green armour, meet the eyes well and give their faces a sharpness.

Be careful not to fall for too blue a grey, that may be bothersome.

[Vivia]

Don't the Sallies have red eyes? Scab Red, Blood Red and then Fiery Orange could work.

In my opinion, I would skip the drybrushing, it doesn't compare to regular highlights. But that's just me.