Penitence is the mark of the holy

Next on the agenda is three penitent engines. These models are almost as daunting in a way as the exorcist kit. They are giant walkers in the style if a crazy sentinel. Entirely made of metal, they weigh a tonne and are covered in intricate detail.
Doing the usual research on the interwebz proved fruitless as usual with sisters models. In some ways worse as not even sisters players take these.
That was till I found a website where the owner had decided to WIP a rusty penitent engine. Figuring they were mostly build cheaply, from scrap, to be cobbled together and thrown at the enemy. The salvaged and a new penitent strapped in for the fight! This gave free reign to weather the fek out if the penitent engine. Thereby bypassing the need to highlight and shade the intricate detail. This therefore became the plan:

Clean and de-spur
Assemble
Some ultra detail to differentiate
Undercoat black
Airbrush all over gunmetal
Zenith highlight VMA: Aluminium
Pick out bearing surfaces and sockets on Valejo Old Gold
Apply rust solution
Rub off excess with wetted kitchen towel

Three little Exorcists

Well, I think I will miss the Bolter and Chainsword deadline for the two Exorcists. I fly out on a three week holiday in a few days, back in April, so how they are now is how they will be at the deadline.
I have remaining to do:
- Fix the tracks and weather to European dust;
- Fix the front Glass to the last model
- some more pilot detail
- 2nd level weathering of rust and rain streaks

So close and yet so far.

The First Outing Of Sister D'Ark

This was a trial Game of the Wars of Armageddon packs written by Dean Carter for the event he is planning at Tabletop Nation.  Dean was using the Imperial Guard V1 codex, and I the Imperial V1 codex.  Play testing of the Sisters of Battle D'Ark entry.

So, they deployed in 1st turn by deep strike in Drop pod and scattered into a pond.  Th Grils Jumped out and fired their bolt pistols into the block of 25 guard, Hitting once and wounding no-one.  So far so-bad.

Guard Second turn, they fired and killed two with massed las-rifle fire.

My Turn two, the advanced to Assault and fired with bolt pistols, killing one guardsman.  D'Ark Calls on the Emperors Holy Radiance (Any wound causes blindness on the unit) through faith, which fails. Then they assaulted.  Snapfire killed another three, leaving only D'Ark in the melee

Where she went on to slaughter guardsman wholesale.

Lessons learnt:
- This unit needs a flamer or two to soften up the target before the Assault.
- Holy Radience needs some clarification in the Campaign pack. It is unclear whether it is for Assault, Shooting or what.

Sister D'Ark and her retinue

The first family shots of shots of sister d'Ark and her retinue. Still just iPhone photos, but needs must when the Devil drives.
They are still awaiting basing. I have a commission pending with Fantascape for more Gothic Ruins bases. I'm looking forward to that. Sister d'Ark herself is off on the right converted from a Seraphim. The rest are converted from sister superior of one model or another.
In the second picture Sister d'Ark is more in focus.
Still worikng out the blue veined marble effect. I thing i am probably not adding enough layers.
The squad gets its first outing Tonight. I even have their drop pod assembled. I suspect drop pod deployment for sisters is a *really* bad idea but you have to try these things. Perhaps inferno ammo or blessed rounds would help in the all important deployment phase. Oh well. Find out tonight.

Conversions Old and New

Firstly I will start with an admission.  I shamelessly plunder the interwebs for inspiration when it comes to modelling.  Whn I find somthing I like I will save the Image for later.  When it comes to making a model, I will then go back through these images and seek inspiration.  Sometimes copying diresctly, sometimes combining serveral ideas into somthing new.
What I have found since comming back to Sisters of battle, is that the Soroitas blogging / website comunity that once existed, has gone.  Blown away on the hard realities of no real "new releases" since the first batch in 1997, and a series of difficult to play codexes, culminating in the disasterous 5th Edition White Dwarf codex (Which as it turns out is a good 6th Edition codex, intentional?).

So I have set out here to recify this.  This post will be to "Sowcase" (no I am not that good),  as many of my surviving conversions from over the years.  These conversions span a ten year period, with most of them being done pre 2004 and the un-inspiring re-release of sisters, which gave us Repentia (A genuine addition to the range) and Sister Imagifier1 and Sister Imagifier 2.  These like the other "new" battle sisters were horrible re-casts of someones conversion of two battle sisters, rather than new sculpts.  This process gave rise to horrible loss of detail across the model.

Anyhow here goes, first up, the very old:
Winged Canoness Circa 2003:

She started live as a Seraphim Superior, The legs are from an Eldar Swooping Hawk model, while the wings are from a Swooping Hawk Exarch.  the Surplice is Greenstuff.  This was one of the first conversions I did.  She gets no play now as Canonesses can no longer be equipt with Jump packs (and are generally crap when compared poiint for point with a Living Saint).

Next Up:
Seraphim Superior Circa 2003:

Done at the same time as the Winged Canoness, she is a Seraphim body, with Eldar bitz, The Wings are Swooping Hawk, and the Sword is Eldar (Can't remeber which model).  The arm is from a very old plastic guardian arm, with the surpluce sleeve resculpted in green stuff.  The one major Variation is that the Wings are now attached with pins and Greenstuff to a cut down Sisters Back Pack.  She also gets no play any more, as she is painted in a colour scheme I no longer use.


Then came the Witch Hunters Release in 2004.  I had bult up much anticipation, and when it came, it was disapointing.  The new Rhino's I have grown to love, but at the time, I did not like.  The Exorcist is a nice idea, but so impractical in so many ways.  The real horror was the new sisters models.  So I decided to have a go at creating my own new Models, starting with the Canoness


 Canoness Circa 2005:
 Canoness Aria Deus, is a Seraphim. Her feet were cut off and re-positioned so as to make her standing rather than waftey-floatey.  Her arms were replaced with a Demon Huter inquisitor models arms, making her then blessed weapon a Power Hammer

Her backpack is constructed from a Sister of Battle back pack with the balls cut off aand replaces with Swooking Hawk wings and fares over with greenstuff.  The Icon above her head used to be the Icon of the original, and by then oop Canoness.

To bling her up, some scrollwork was added to the backpack, she is standing on a Skull covered base and has two forgeworld servo-skulls circling her as wound markers.


These days she stands in as my Living Saint model, and goes to the table every time I play.  My regular oppositiuon have learned to hate her.





Around the Same time I decided to try and differentiate my Celestians:
 Celestian squad, To Battle! Circa 2005:
In General the Idea was to replace the ususal side balls on the power pack with a Skull from the Chaos Marine Backpack, then paint it gold.  The sister superior has since lost her back pack conversio, but had a waepon swap instead. So she is still included here.

Celestian Superior

 Her Storm bolter is a weapon swap from an old metal terminator Storm bolter.

 Then cam the Celestians.  These are all headswaps from the Sisters of Sigmar.  Not sure it really worked. Never mind.  They dont come out often.  Celetians were always a bit rubbish.  They are neither fish nor foul being equiped as shooty troops but given faith effects of assault.

Sister Celestian 1

Sister Celestian 2

Sister Celestian 3

Sister Celestian 4

 Sister Celestian 4 also has a Weapon swap.  I spent hours carefull carving out her bolter to be replaced with a storm bolter.

Sister Celestian 5

Sister Celestian 6

 Sister Celestian 6 is also has a Weapon swap. Bolter replaced with a storm bolter.

 Sister Celestian is also a Storm Bolter from Bolter, with the head swap from a Sister of Sigmar.  She has since been demoted to a Sister Superior with the Retributors.

The last model from this preiod is a Heavy Bolter Sister into a Sister Superior using hands from a Seraphim and a plastic space marine chainsword blade.  a popular conversion done elsewhere.  I have noticed recently that her chain blade has snapped after the pin ends, So it miught not be long till she has a date with the detol and a re-construction.

Sister Noviate / Priest.
 

 This is a Sister of Sigmar with the Canoness hand swap.  Done as part of a Mad Scheme to remove all men from the army.

Battle Sister Flamers Circa 2005

Not much here, the front of the flamers have been replaced with ones from the imperial guard flamers, and given a Pilot light.  Tubing was added to connect the flamer to the back pack.

Now for the latest stuff.
Dominion Superior 2012:

The very same Canoness who gave up her Icon for Aria Deus, gained a Chainblade from the new Canoness hand options sprue.  She now serves as a Dominion Sister superior with an anti charge, combi flamer.  First time ever I have seen a use for combi weapons.
Battle sister Imagifier 2012:

An old OOP banner bearer who had had her banner pole clipped off in the mists of time.  She had a Comms Relay added to do duty as a Similacrum Imperialis.

Retributor 2012:

The Head is non-gamesworkshop.  Its a wood elf head from I know not where.  The Reliquary on her power pack is from the Sisters of Battle tank sprue ( I Think)

Dominion Sister Infernus 2012:

Simple Weapon swap, bolter for Melta.  The melta is an old metal Space Marine Bikers Melta.

Sister Superior d'Ark: Relic Weapon no 1

This is one of he Relic weapons the retinue can carry. Based in a Multi melta Sister, with Canoness hands and the Axehead from a Marine Sanguinary guard. All held together by a pin fashioned from a paperclip.
She has been painted in a different style from the usual. She has been sprayed in layers, then I have low lighted with Nuln Oil wash, then retouching with white. Still not sure I like it.

Then the relic blade was masked and airbrushed with VMA: White, Ice blue, French blue, seablue. The mask was moved and the other side of the blade sprayed.

Sister Superior D'Ark: Retinue No2

This is a more comprehensive re-work of the figure. Starting with a sister superior with bolter and power weapon (who was an old banner bearer who lost her arm Years ago), I have removed the bolter and hand and replaced it with a power sword from the Canoness sprue. For the missing arm I used a paper clip armature and the Canoness bolt pistol and greave. Around this i have rush sculpted he sleeve of the surplice. Mainly because i am an idiot in a rush. I should have blocked it in then waited then added detail one layer at a time.

And Now Base Coated.  Done with Valejo Spray Primer Grey:

Aftter airbrushing VA:DeepSeaGreen, VMA:Light Grey; VMC:; VMC:White,   I have varied my normal Method of White, with the addtion of a GW: Nuln Oil wash at the end, then touch uu with brush applied, very thin VMA:White:

Sisters of D'Arc: Retinue No 1

I have started on the body guard of Sister D'Arc. In general they will be equiped with power weapons and bolt pistols. A few will get fancy relic blades I will crib from a Canoness model. The first Sister is a straight weapon swap on a helmeted Sister superior. She has a power weapon clipped frpm the hand of another sister superior which replaces the chain blade she is normally carrying. Her plasma pistol has also been clipped of and replaced by a space marine bolt pistol. The detail on the power sword blade was damaged when it was removed.
To cover this damage, I will be taking a mold of sister Celestine's trailing flowers and using green stuff to cover the damage

Third oath of moment

I, Commissar Harris of the Sisters of Battle, vow to Him on Holy Terra to paint and present at least 5 converted Sister Superiors with Power Weapons and Bolters and 2 Immolator/Exorcist conversions on or before the 31st of March, 2013. I promise to provide at least two WIP updates, preferably with pictures, in that time. I vow that if I should fail, I will provide the Bolter and Chainsword Librarium with an article and wear the Signature of Shame until my penitence period is done.

These sisters will form the basis of a special character and her retinue: Sister D'Arc. She will be used in an upcomming Armageddon campaign being run by my local club.
I plan to use the existing Sister superior models and for most of them it will be a weapon swap only, usually a bolter for a bolt pistol or a chainsword for a powersword. Some will require a more drastic chop. For these I will be using a Seraphim model. All will be unique even if from the same base model. The suad can do up to 10. But the hardest will be d'Arc herself, who i have not comitted to yet.
When not used for this they will be used as regular sister superiors
The exorcists will be Immolators with magnetic weapon mounts allowing missile pods to be added on the aide. These will come from a Valkyries missile pods with appropriate levels of sister bling added to jazz them up.
These will replace my two aging forgeworld models, ehich are in desarate need of renovation.

Aegis Defence Line

One area the codex seems deficient in is Anti-Air. Now I know there are several options to cover this off (Allies with AA, Forgeworld Fliers etc), However one of my regular opponents in particular has recently been demonstrating to me the value of an Aegis Defence line with a quad cannon attached. These are good not only if the opposition brings a flier, but fantastic against ground targets.

I dont realy want to just use the one out of the box and I'm not a fan of the "Wall of martyrs" kit. If it was modelled with dead eldar on the barricades I might consider it, but dead Cadians? I don't play Cadians. I play Adepta. I kill Eldar and Tau.

I ended up going with the Quantum Gothic walls.  I have painted them quickly to get them into games.  Eventually I will get them aged a bit more with rust streaks of the bolts.

Origins of the Ark Angels

+++ To: All Perceptory Level Canoness and Above...

+++ From: High Lords of Terra

+++ Subject: Data entry of Minor Order Militant for accountability and tithe.

+++ Priority: Ultra High, Immediate Action Requested...

+++ Message Type: Warp stream litho --- *Zzzt*

+++ Adept Scribe: L. Avalon -- Data storage and purging...

+++ Date begun: 999.M41 (Terminal)

+++ Brief: *crackle*

All Canoness Commanders are to announce their Orders in an orderly an timely fashion to the High Lords.
By authority of the Immortal Emperor of Mankind, we request the following:

ORDER NAME....Order minoris Ark Angelis (Ark-Angels

ORDER FOUNDING...745.M41

ORDER MASTER.......Canoness Aria Deus

ORDER CONVENT...Convent Prioris

ORDER HISTORY......

The Ark Angels were founded by order of Arch bishop Legius Pius of Terra.  The Arch Bishop founded the order as the militant arm of a minor order dedicated to the repair and reconcecration of relics, based on Holy Terra.
Arch bishop Legius Pius was a far sighted man whos career began with glittering promise. Even as a young legate, many claimed they could see the glimse of the Highest offcie in him.  Some even went so far as  as to say he could have gone all the way to the talk of the High Lords of Terra.
In late M41 Arch Bishop Legius foresaw a time of trouble ahead for the Imperium. He began to preach of dark times comming, when the Imperium would not only need to preserve the things they held dear, but fight to protect them, and even fight to recover them when they were lost.  Legius began to be outspoken and even obsessive on the topic.  His vision of the Apocalypse was not widely accepted at the time, The 13th Black crusade was still centuries away, the Necrons had not yet awoken, and the 1st Tyrannic war was sill 100 years away.
His opportunity to do somthing about it came when the small and unremarked shrine world of Pechersk IV was attacked by Orks. Pechersk IV was the home and shrine world of a Pronatus order of sisters, the Order of the Eternal gate, guarded by temple guards of the Order of the Sacred Rose.  When the Orks of Waaaarg GitBag, finally overran the Carmellite Monastery, in the Highlands of the third continent, the thousands of relics held there fell into the hand of the Xenos warlord.  Warboss GitBag allowed his boys to profane the monestary and its relics in the most vile ways imaginable.  The Loss to the Imperial Creed was incalculable.
 In 740.M41 he won the support in the Holy Synod to found a new Millitant Order minoris, to be known as the Ordo Ark Angelis. Their charter would be not to protect shrines, but to roam the imperium, intervening where the temple guards had failed, and act to recover relics, holy artifacts and manuscripts from the hands of heretics.
A council was convened to oversee the founding of the new order, consisting of representatives of the Echlesiarchy, Navy, munitorium and Inquisition.
A young fiery Palatine was selected from the Order of the Argent Shroud, Aria Deus, to take the role of Canoness of the New Order.  Canones was given free reign to recruit from the Orders Militant of the Convent Prioris.  Her first choice was the survivors of the battle of the Carmelite Monestary.  Many had to be recued from penitent crusades, or Repentia Squads.  Many more came from the Order of the sacred Rose, also seeking redemption for the shame of their loss of such an important site.  A small number came from volunteers from the Orders Pronatus with the Zeal and fire to crusade.

A Covenant was signed with Battlefleet Terra in return for certain secret concessions: to provide ships of the line to support and transport the Ark Angels in perpetua.  This was key to the Orders ability to fulfil its wide ranging brief.  The fleet would remain under the command of the Grand admiral, thus preserving the spirit of the decree passive.
The Ordos was to be equipt from the Forges of Jupiter.  Better known as shipyards, The Magos of Jupiter jumped at the chance to expand their production lines with patterns not ususally produced there.
The Order was finally declared ready in 741.M41, and sent to the far flung region of space known as the Damolcese Gulf, to be ready to participate in the great crusade being prepared to Exterminate the Xenos empire of the Tau.

ORDER HOMEWORLD..Terra

ORDER HERALDRY... A Haloed Angel Decending on a

ORDER STANDARD.. Pending
 ~~ Vidpic of Battlesister Armor and Livery for records ~~

Retributors of the Ordo Minoris: Ark Angels, defending Sanctuary 9000 in Tortuga Marches.

The Ark Angels livery is Pure White power armour with Silver trim, Recalling the Ordos origins in the Orders of Sacred Rose and Argent Shrowd.

Habits are coloured Deep blue, representing the endless demesnes of the Holy Emperor seen in a Night Sky.  These are often trimmed in silver or gold, with Representations of the Wings of the Imperial Eagle.

Most Equipment is of a Standard patterns for the Echeliarchy, with one exception.  The Forges of Jupiter could not source the D'iaz pattern Jump packs, and were forced to use another less well, known pattern, where the thrust is given by grav vanes, which are highly reminicent of a set of wings.

Canoness Aria Deus, with a Jupiter Pattern Jump Pack

+++ END OF MESSAGE

Painting the Fantascape Gothic Ruins Bases:

Part of the Oath of Moment for the Repaint of the Ark Angels I undertook to re-base all of the models to somthing suitable for my Fanatically Religous Sisters of Battle.  To be fit for purpose the bases had meet the follwoing requirement:

• Ruined Cathedral style
• Functinal as a base with flat enough areas to accomodate the sisters flowing Habits.
• A range of standard GW base sizes including 25mm, 40mm and the Large Oval bases

There are a few manufacturers out there and in the end I went with Fantascape.

This is How I am painting them:

• Preparation
• Wash in warm soapy water
• Undercoat with Halfords Grey Primer
• Basecoat Citadael White spray
• Stone Surfaces
• VMA:MudBrown:Water in 4:5. Wash in stripes across the base
• VMA:DarkSeaGreen:Water in 4:5 Wash the Remainder of the White.  Pull and feathewr the Edges as you go.
• Heavy overbrush of VMC:Offwhite, 
• Drybrush of VMA:White once the overbrush is thoroughly dry
• VMA:Olive Drab: Water 1:1 Wash into the cracks and around edges.
• Drybrush of VMA:White 
• Darklight the cracks again with CW:Devlan Mud Wash
• Soil
• Paint any soil, or areas under stones like on the back of the oval base rather than the gravelly debris on the surface, with C:Calthan Brown
• Overbrush this with bleached bone, then wash all soil, and other sand-based debris with CW:Devlan Mud.
•  Grass
• Glue on C:Static Grass Clumps with CyanoAcrylate glue

This is an unashamed rip of the original article.  I have posted without the authors paermission and modified it to colour pallette I have at my disposal. I have reposted this for my own reference purposes.


Key
VMA: Vallejo Model Air
VMC: Vallejo Model Colour
VGC:  Vallejo Game Colour
C: Citadael
AOC: Windsor Newton Artists Oil Colour
CW: Citadel Wash

Glory to the God Emperor!

I have completed the Oath of Moment.  The Thunderbolt was the last item completed.

2 Imagifiers:

 One is a conversion of a very old and OOP model, the other is an out of the box from the latest catalouge.

10 Battle Sisters with Bolters:

Why have 10, When you can have 17!
  

 This part of the Oath of Moment was over subscribed by 7 models.  With these I can now field two complete units of 20 sisters of battle with Imagifiers and spevial weapons.  I wam slowly comming around to the idea that SoB units are best fielded around 15 members with Heavy bolter and Storm Bolter combinations.  I have run a few games with Heavy Flamers and Flamers, but they almost never get used.  Thes euints are castles.  flamers are wasted.

1 Heavy Flamer:

Another oversubscription.  I Pledged for one, and instead completed four!  NBow that I have them I am struggling to see how they fit in.  It would seem to me that they would be best suited to dominions, used in blocks of four in a fast vehicle to cut down enemies in drive by flamings. However Dominions dont bert them.  The Other option is the Retrebutor Squad.  But Exorcists are just too good in the slot.  SoBs have a very strong Heavy slot, and the competition is just too great to field one of these squads.

 

1 Thunderbolt:

Somthing to give the SoBs some presence in the air.

 A Multi role fighter, I have had mixed success with this, It has seen action three times and been shot out of the air every time.  It arrives, kills somthing hard to reach and is then Annihilated.

 

Once It turned up on second turn with a ground attack load out, blew appart an Avatar, then was jumped by two phoenix Bombers and destroyed.  The second time it came on, it splashed a squad of  Nurgle Marines, then was jumped by a Chaos Dragon thingie, and was destroyed.  The Most Recent game it arrived second turn, loaded for anti air, destroyed a Warp Hunter being used as hidden artillery, then was cut out of the sky by an aegis Defense line quad auto cannon.

I think it is still a must for any game as Anti Air role.

So what next?

Well, I think I will continue with the theme of no new purchases untill I have made a dent in the storage cupboards of unmade stuff.  While venturing into the grey cupboards of doom looking for parts, I have uncovered:

• 3 Sororitas Rhinos (Half finished)
• 1 Sororitas Exorcist (Half finished)
• 1 Sororitas Army Box (2nd Edition)
• 7 blisters of  Battle Sisters (Assorted)
• 15-20 loose Sisters of Battle of various types
• 3-5 Seraphim
• 1 Avenger Class Flyer

So I think another Oath of Moment is Required:

I will not purchase any more models from any genre

Until the Adepta Sororitas of the Ark Angles

 Have a Mobile Force Organisation

This I Swear before the God Emperor of Mankind

Ave Imperator! Domine Libra Nos!

I will complete:

• 2 Imagifiers
• 2 Heavy Bolters
• 10 Sisters
• 3 Rhinos
• 1 Exorcist

 This I will do before moving on to other, already purchased and unused models.