SHOWCASE: A new chapter

Warhammer 40,000: Talon's Reach tactical marine

So, I haven't posted for a while. It actually surprised me when I looked at the date of the last article. To say I've been busy in that time would be an understatement. Unfortunately, it's nearly all been work, rather than hobby related. I have done some hobby work though, and the image above is the first finished evidence of that. A brand new space marine chapter of my own. Want to know more?

Left side view

I've collected space marines since I first took an interest in Warhammer 40,000 in the early nineties. In recent years, I've focused primarily on the Horus Heresy range. I'm really enjoying my Imperial Fists projects and will have more of those to share soon. But alongside that I've had a desire to do something with the Warhammer 40,000 setting again. I've tried several times, but never really got past a handful of models. I still haven't finished the Blood Angels tactical squad I started at the beginning of 2015; I've painted five Space Wolves, and one of those in an actual wolf; and neither of the two very different Ultramarine models I painted made me want to paint more. So, what was I to do with all the space marine models I have sitting around unpainted? Well, since all those pre-existing chapters haven't held my attention, I thought I'd try and make up a chapter of my own.

Front view

I've identified two issues that have kept me from getting very far in the past. The first is that I'm a perfectionist with a short attention span. If something I paint doesn't look as good as I'd hoped, I quickly lose interest and start something else. The second is that I'm a slow painter... again with a short attention span. This isn't a good combination. If I'm going to get to the end of a project, it needs to be interesting enough for me to want to... at least until I get far enough for sheer, bull-headed stubbornness to take over.

Weapon view

I've seen several quartered colour schemes over the years. I've always been tempted to try it, but haven't been in a position where I wanted to start something new. This scheme was almost accidental. I have two colour palettes that I've used a fair bit recently—turquoise and bone—and a desk full of space marine sprues. Having finished a couple of bits for my Imperial Fists and grown (temporarily) a little weary of yellow, I thought I'd give this a shot as an experiment. It wasn't intended to be anything more than a single model—and I've still yet to see if it'll end up using more models than the other 'armies' I've tried—but I enjoyed it enough to want to try another.

Right side view

For the moment, I'm referring to the chapter as Talon's Reach. Whether the name will stick or not is yet to be decided. (If it's already taken, let me know. I haven't see anything like it.) I have several space marine bits with an abundance of bird/eagle iconography, so I've tried to incorporate that as best I can to reflect the name. The addition of the Brazen Claws shoulder pads from the Deathwatch kit (painstakingly gathered from eBay) gave me a chapter icon that worked pretty well. My vision is that this is a 'Codex' chapter, but with some modifications. I'll expand on the background later if this project takes off, but for now I'm happy with the results.

Rear view

What do you think? Should I do more?

UPDATE: Shortly after I posted this on Monday, I shared a few of the images on my Instagram page. Since then, at least one of the pictures has amassed well over 500 likes, with a couple of the others not far behind. I'm taking this as an indication that painting more might be okay.