I March for Macragge! Part 1

Let me tell you... that's a little weird for me to say!

Quick backstory for those that don't know me/ haven't read my "Story so far" blog post:

I played in, and helped organise and write rules for, a Horus Heresy campaign that lasted three years (starting before the Forge World books were released, and finishing afterwards). During that time my Heresy army grew from a 1000pts Space Marine army, to a 7500pts Horus Heresy army with Daemon Allies...
It was big, flashy, and ultimately drove me over the edge Hobby-wise.

It was also a Word Bearers army (hence why I feel a little uneasy praising Macragge).
I've included a few photo's below just to show what the army was like, and how big it became:

That army has since been sold off to fund other projects, mostly because I couldn't stand the idea of playing Horus Heresy anymore. The release of Betrayal at Calth has changed that. For the first time in a number of years I'm seeing 30k as an affordable hobby to start, and with all the new resin upgrade parts and a host of new kits available from Forge World it's now a good time to restart the hobby.

But what Legion? That's a big question, even though there are only 18 possible answers (17 at the time of writing, since there's no Space Puppies resin upgrades out yet!)

I sat down and had a good think, and eventually settled on the Ultramarines. Why? Well... they're cool. Visually they look heroic and strong, without the darker/ gothic imagery that some of the other Legions have. They're also loyalist, meaning my army is compatible with 30k and 40k (aesthetically speaking, along with rules). They're also a really nice blue... which is a weird thing to say I guess, but given my other recent painting projects (Yu Jing = Yellow/ Orange/ White, Nomads = Red/ Black and PanO = Sky/ Blue) I just fancied a change of colour, and the deep, regal blue of Ultramar is a perfect choice for a pallet change.

My first squad choice is an Assault Squad, show below.

Why an Assault Squad? Laziness/ cheapness basically! I still had a MkIV Assault pack laying around from two Christmases ago when I was really into HH. One cheap order to Forge World for the Ultramarines resin shoulders and these guys were complete.

As you can see from the photo's they've all been fitted with standard Bolt Pistols and Chainswords. The main reason was because I don't know what I want to give the squad yet, especially given the diversity of equipment in the Legions rule books. I also chose not to include a Sergeant model, as I want all the Sergeants in the force to have full 'Ultramarines' armor (including head, torso and shoulder from the resin upgrade kit) and those will have to be ordered later on.

Since these photo's have been taken they've been base coated, and I'll be sure to upload completed pictures displaying the finished models, alongside a discussion on what's coming next.

Of course, if you guys have any suggestions about what I can add to the force I'd appreciate them, and I may even take your advice. Not Guilliman though... need some practice at blue first!

Thanks for all the support, and I'll post again soon!

Medge