The new Emperor’s Children miniatures are lovely. Chock-full of exuberant detail that befits their role as Slaanesh’s elite fighting force, they exude an aura of excess. From their mighty Primarch Fulgrim, to the elite Flawless Blades, these are some of my favourite 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Warhammer 40K models in a long time.
Last month, I enjoyed steering away from my usual gritty palette to create some anti-grimdark Noise Marines, but I couldn’t paint an army like that. Besides, I’m a totally loyal worshipper of the Emperor. Don’t look at my 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Adeptus Mechanicus. I said don’t!
I’ve always enjoyed the grey area between loyalist and traitor in Warhammer 40K. We all know there are no good guys in this futuristic universe, but there are some who come off as gooder than others. This is what drew me to the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Iron Hands when I was choosing a Space Marine Chap𒐪𝕴ter (although I flirted with Dark Angels in my youth, another flawed Chapter).
Aside from building an 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:army of Dreadnoughts, I wa♛s enticed to the tenth by their corrupted minds and hatred of their own flesh. Self-flagellation feels like an act of Chaos, and yet ಌIron Hands are considered a loyalist Chapter? I’m not sure the Codex Astartes would approve, but sign me up.
What If Ferrus Mannus Had Won?
As time went on, I crafted a narrative for my army. After reading Fulgrim, the fifth Horus Heresy novel, I saw the parallels between the Emperor’s Children and the Iron Hands. Both are dissatisfied with their flesh. Both seek to improve on perfection, to risk perverting the Emperor’✱s finest creation in order to strive ever up the evolutionary chain. If a certain daemon-possessed sword had got into Ferrus Mannus’ hands instead of Fulgrim’s, the roles of the Chapters could have easily been reversed.
My Iron Hands army is a force from an alternate universe, one where the Iron Hands were corrupted 🍨and the Emperor’s Children remained loyal. A timeline where Ferrus Mannus beheaded Fulgrim. Sure, part of this is because I wanted a Primarch in my army, but it’s also a compelling narrative thread to lead my conversions. And that’s why I turned the new Emperor’s Children Flawless Blades into corrupted Iron Hands Bladeguard Veterans. I just didn’t realise how expensive this conversion was going to get.
Excessive Conversions
In the spirit of eliminating the flesh, I went all-in on these conversions. As you can see from the images, the Flawless Blades are practically unrecognisable other than their poses. Arms, legs, and heads have been switched out, I added shields and new weapons, a🥃s well as a whole servo-arm. Go ahead and try to find all the kits I used.
Figured it out? So we’ve got the Flawless Blades as the base models, with heads from the Sicaran Infiltrators and Horus Heresy Mechanicum Thallax Cohort. One robotic leg also comes from the latter kit, while numerous weapons 🐠are from the🐈 Infiltrators. I think the pistol was ripped off my Cybernetica Datasmith, and the servo arm and large axe are from Iron Father Feirros. The left shoulder pads are from the Iron Hands upgrade kit, and the right shoulder pads are from the Horus Heresy Mk III Command Squad, because it was cheaper than a full Tactical Squad.
I grabbed the shields from the Forgeworld Medusan Immoღrtals kit, but that’s perpetually out of stock, so I found them on eBay for a fiver a pop. Finally, there are bonus wires and servo arms from the Legions Imperialis Dark Mechanicum. They’re either from the Stalker Constructs or the Serperos Heavy Stalkers, my memory is understandably hazy at this point.
Now, the important thing to remember is: don’t add how much all that would cost. Don’t do it. Stop! Most of the bits were already in my bits box, but if I’d have bought everything new, I don’t doubt that this would be my most expensive conversion to date. That includes an Imp💙erial Knight with the weapon from a Warlord Titan. However, the results speak for themselves.
I think these are some of my favourite conversions. My Iron Hands army is getting on a bit now, and some of the conversions look a little dated. Necron arms for mechanical bits? Really, Ben? I was a teenager at the time, so I can forgive myself, but this unit takes things to the next level. I can just imagine my opponent’s face as they hop o⭕ut of a Land Raider, ready to launch a deadly assault. They’re a fitting centrepiece for my army, and tell the narrative of a corrupted Legion better than any unit I’ve created before.
The only question now is, where next? I could add another three to the unit to create a proper deathstar, but I’m not sure where to start. 🍎The Lord Exultant, maybe? But he would make an excellent Iron Father. Besides, I never got around to making a Primarch reborn. Maybe it’s time to take the plunge.
