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.

The prototype

Arch Magos stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard of the third vestibule for lesser forge gate number three. He was here to greet a delegation of the Echelsiarchy, The most holy Deacon Augustulus.
The Deacon thought he was here to discipline the arch magos, but no one disciplines an arch magos in his own forge.
The duumvirate had sent notes to his forge when the flow of tribute began to slow, curious as to why this might be.
When the trubute of manufactured goods stopped altogether the demands become strident and even insulting which had led to this, the most outrageous sleight of all: A Deacon of the false omnisiah, standing as if he had any right to in this holy place, making demands of his Forge.

The most vexing aspect of this interruption was that the machine that he'd been working on an secret for months was ready. He had only had to do was switch it on and prototype would comence its operation it would begin to produce a material wealth not seen in the Forge for many months. All the machine needed to function was a small amount of raw material to function, a few common earths mixed in with an incantation, plus a sprinkling of powdered soul.
For many months now, the more exotic materials had been quietly harvested from the helots of other forges, a small price to pay to restore the wealth and power that were the due of his forge.

The Deacon stood surrounded by his retinue in what he undoubtedly thought was an intimidating pose. to his left stood Sister superior Shira, Palatine of he Ark Angels, resplendent in here full battle plate. Behind the Deacon drawn up in battle array stood ranks of sisters of battle, proud adaptus sororitas, committed devotees of the false emperor.
Two bearers came forward with a great scroll held before them. A third servitor, used its Maniples to unroll the great scroll to the appointed place.
The deacon stood before the scroll and began to read:

"by order of the Duumvirate the most holy Govenor X and Arch Magos Y rulers most justly and rightly appointed by the god emperor of the Demesne of Vanadian. Arch Magos Amun is reqested and required to Open his forge to the just and righteous inspection by Deacon Augustulus of His Holy Church.
This Comands the Lords of the Duumvirate in the Name of Him on Terra,

Silence fell over the inner bailey, High over the courtyard perched Sister Superior Sabine Sabbat.
Arrayed about her were her battle sisters, members of the holy order archangels they were silent but for the whine of the suspensor which allowed them to carry the massive heavy Bolters, typical armament of the Retrobutor squad she commanded.
Sabat and her squad had dismounted one block back and made their way to their current vantage point through the plasterboard interior walls of the jab block behind this one. Sabat now saw the wisdom of the move. While her eyes gave her an in paralleled view of the courtyard below, the prey sight of her 'Sabat' pattern helm showed her so much more.
Behind the wall of the reception courtyard the palatine stood in, Sabat could see several war machines. Prey sight painting them in blood red, power levels were spiking as servos warmed and guns were cycling through arising rituals.
With a thought, Sabat clicked open a channel to Palatine Shira. And sole the code word "Goge".
The Palatines response was equally brief: "Fire"