Carnfiex Progress

I've been waiting a while to see what the green would look like on this monstrosity.  And I have to say, I like it.  I was also afraid I would hate painting the Carnifex the same way I hate painting Space Marine vehicles, but it certainly is a lot more fun than your typical boring flat surfaces.

Shooty Carnifex WIP

More Painting Progress

I managed to get green on 4 more gaunts and 3 warriors over the last week.  Being without power for a few days definitely put a damper on how much progress I was able to make.  Currently working on the fluff behind my 2nd unique Tyranid unit, which hopefully I'll have done this weekend.

Ignore the elves in the picture below.  Completely different project. :P

Progress!

Warriors

Character: Phaseshifter (Lictor)

Behwan sprinted through the forested region his tribe regularly hunted.  Four others were on this hunting party with him, fanned out to keep their prey in front of them.  He knew Dersim was to his left, about twenty meters away, and the others to the right, spaced similarly.  As he advanced, Behwan could hear the two thexiera stumbling through the trees ahead of them.  The big cats were native to the rocky regions, rarely coming into the forest.  Had he had time to think about it, Behwan would have wondered why these two had ventured this far into unfamiliar terrain, but the thrill of the hunt and the bounty it would provide overwhelmed him.

A shrill bird call rang out through the cooling evening air.  Behwan paused, and hefted his spear a little higher.  The hunt leader, Hewre, had just called for them to stop.  He could hear the sounds of the two thexiera growling just ahead.  Behwan bent low over a fallen tree, and tried to adjust his eyes to the moonlight coming through from the clearing where the cats had stopped.  When his vision could finally make out their shapes, he could see that they were both growling at the opposite end of the clearing while lowering themselves into a striking position.

Without warning, the smaller of the thexiera was rent in two, spilling it's entrails on the ground, and perishing before it could utter a sound.  The killer seemed to shift in and out of the visible spectrum while killing the second large cat with ease.  Behwan was horrified at the creatures’ ability to kill and camouflage itself, so he made to turn and run back to the village.  However, the war cry bellowed by the impetuous Awedan brought him back.  Seeing his fellow tribesman run to engage this new creature, Behwan hurdled the log he had been behind and echoed the war cry.  The other three members of the hunting party followed suit.

Not wanting to get in range of the monster’s massive talons, Awedan launched his spear.  All he managed to do was take a small chip out of the light green chitin that protected the beast.  Within seconds the monster had shifted next to Awedan and rendered him unrecognizable.  It then rounded on Bedlis, the fifth member of the hunting party.  While dispatching him, Behwan, Dersim, and Hewre fanned out to surround it, with the intent of keeping it at bay.  It turned and considered which of them would be the easiest target, ultimately attacking the smallish Dersim, using its scythe like blades to decapitate him.  Behwan and Hewre dove forward and both drove a spear into its flanks.  The deafening roar and the thrashing that followed caused them to lose their grip on the spears, and stumble back.

The wounded monster cut off its’ roar and stepped back to the edge of the clearing.  This was strange behavior for a creature that could have easily finished him and Hewre off.  Behwan nudged Hewre, thinking he and his tribesman might be able to use the apparent opening to escape, at least to warn someone.  The monster then seemed to blink out of existence.  Behwan froze along with Hewre.  The clearing was silent.  The remaining two hunters scanned then forest, but could find no trace of the beast that had killed three members of their tribe with ease.  After a few minutes of complete silence, Behwan turned to face Hewre.  Before he could speak, the monster leapt from concealment and pinned both tribesmen to the ground.

With a quick twitch, the hunters were silenced for good.

Phaseshifter is the main lictor scout for Hive Fleet Tizheruk, surviving a countless number of battles thanks to it's ability to shift the spectrums of light around itself, which can render it invisible to the naked eye.  It prefers to attack from concealment and will not reveal itself to it's prey unless it is ready to strike.

Making Amends

So, I've been seriously neglecting this blog.  Here are some progress pictures, to show that I am actually working on this.  I'm back on the hobby horse, and should have more fluff on Friday, relating to Hive Fleet Tizheruk.

16 models are washed with Gryphonne Sepia.

4 models have also caught a coat of Scorpion Green.

Hive Fleet Tizheruk

Hive Fleet Tizheruk is the name given to one of the small splinter fleets that made up Hive Fleet Kraken. Arriving in the sector at the tail end of Kraken's reign of terror, Tizheruk hovered on the outside of the main path taken by Kraken. The Hive Fleet eluded detection for quite some time, owing to its propensity to attack planets and systems with very limited communications resources. Tizheruk’s first contact with Imperial forces came about by chance. The Falcon Guard Space Marine Chapter (alongside numerous Amarok Imperial Guard Regiments) was hunting down remnants of Hive Fleet Kraken on Devlan III, to the galactic west of Okassis, when Hive Fleet Tizheruk appeared in system. A fierce battle erupted on the planet, as well as in the skies above. The Falcon Guard emerged victorious, noting that this had been one of the easier battles with the Tyranids they had faced since Hive Fleet Kraken had begun. Finishing their mop up duty on Devlan III, the Falcon Guard and Amarok Regiments moved on to pursue other Tyranid targets, assuming Hive Fleet Tizheruk had been dealt with.

This was not the case. What the Falcon Guard could not know was that this was just a tiny portion of Tizheruk, the rest of which had gone off on a divergent course in the galaxy.

The Beast Within

After their tours battling Hive Fleet Kraken were over the Falcon Guard returned to New Vinton and the Amarok Regiments returned to Amarok for resupply and conscription. As with any homecoming, there were a number of desertions. It being easy to make one self scarce in the hive cities, only a token effort was put forth to find them. In the months that followed, there was a noted increase in gang activity in Hive City Daikoku that was chalked up to poor working conditions amongst those in the lowest levels of the hive. By the time the Adeptus Arbites finally put down the small rebellion, similar uprisings (of which many were lead by the same deserters from the fight against Hive Fleet Kraken) were occurring in the other hives. Effectively shutting down all outgoing production from Amarok, the Arbites determined they could no longer handle uprisings of such massive numbers and help was requested from the nearby Falcon Guard.

A Shadow Appears

Upon first arrival on Amarok, the situation reminded the Falcon Guard all too much of Hive Fleet Kraken’s original appearance on Ichar IV. They overwhelmed the rebellions and followed their trail deep into the underhive. Each trail ended in much the same way; a cavernous room directly below a ventilation shaft, littered with the corpses of an untold number of hivers. The genestealers struck from the shadows, but were quickly repulsed by the Falcon Guard. Not content to believe the genestealer cult was dealt with, much of the population of the underhive as well as a large number of the workers was culled. Satisfied yet wary, the Falcon Guard left Amarok unaware that genestealers had survived in hostile environs outside the hive cities, particularly disasterous now that their psychic beacon was strong enough to draw the Tyranid Hive Fleet to the Malina System.

Concept and Design

Now that I have the celestial bodies out of the way, I figured I'd give a little insight and background into what I'm doing here.

Years ago, my buddy Aaron got me into Warhammer 40k and I started painting my first army, Ultramarines. I picked them because I'm not the greatest of painters, and they had the most artwork.  My interest ebbed and flowed, and it took me forever to finish them (they're still not technically finished, but damn close).

I wanted to come up with a project that interested me, and could keep me in the hobby for longer stretches of time. I liked the idea of coming up with my own armies and their own fluff.  But that wasn't enough, and I needed something to tie them together.  That's when I came up with this project.  I've spent time on The Lexicanum, Bolter and Chainsword and DakkaDakka doing research and gathering ideas, not to mention many conversations with other hobby minded friends.

The system itself is based (loosely) on the Mu Arae star system.  I wanted it to have a relatively realistic feel, like it could actually exist.  The other system I had considered using was Gliese.  You'll see that both those names appear as Tau and Eldar respectively.

My main influence, at least in naming conventions, is Inuit mythology.  This started when I was trying to find a name for my Hive Fleet, and stumbled upon Tizheruk.  It fit well, and so did Malina and Amarok.  Secondary influences are Hindu (Lava and Kusha) and Japanese mythology (the 7 hive city names on Amarok).  Names of people in system will also fit into those three cultures with some exceptions (notably, the Falcon Guard, although Hayabusa is "Peregrine Falcon" in Japanese.)

The only army that isn't designed by me are the Thousand Sons.  When researching splinter groups of Chaos Space Marines, I felt my options were limited.  I could have created a Space Marine chapter that fell to chaos (and I still may, because the idea intrigues me), but the Thousand Sons fit in well with why the Gliese Craftworld was even in the vicinity.

So aside from their imagery, I'm doing my best to keep all logos, icons, and pictures as creations by me.  I don't have a ton of artistic talent, but I can create some stuff in photoshop.  All the planets were done using photoshop techniques combined with cool textures I found (as well as some help from Grey_Death when I couldn't get my water or gas giant looking right).  All the army logos were created by me in photoshop as well (they'll appear when I start putting armies up).  Any painted models that go up will also be by me, unless otherwise noted.  Chances are I might pony up for some commissioned work on the centerpieces (for example, my Commissar will be commissioned, because I know I can't do it justice).

In the coming weeks, I plan on putting up army backgrounds, character backgrounds, general fluff, army lists and anything else that I think relates to this project.

If you've got any questions, feel free to pester me in the comments.

Kusha

Planetary Datafax: Kusha

Class: Uninhabitable moon, Satellite of Ezochi (Rotation - 43 standard hours, 0.18G, Mass - 0.015 TM)

Designation: Dead World

Population: None

Tithe Grade: N/A

Climate/Geography/Biosphere: Atmosphere - Kusha has an atmosphere consisting mostly of sulfur dioxide, sulfur monoxide, and sodium chloride, making human habitation entirely impossible. Even if the air was breathable, Kusha is home to more than three hundred active volcanoes and a high core temperature, resulting in an ever shifting landscape of lava rivers and cooled magma.

Governmental Type: N/A

Planetary Governor: N/A

Adept Presence: N/A

Military: N/A

Trade/Economy/Notes: Kusha was not always as uninhabitable as it currently is. Originally it was near-barren rock with a minute atmosphere and little in the ways of flora and fauna. Thousands of years prior to the first human habitation in the system, Eldar from the small craftworld Gliese landed on Kusha to dispose of a chaos relic they were unable to destroy themselves. Upon sealing the artifact away, the moon underwent the volcanic changes almost immediately, rendering it the dead world that it is today.

Lava

Planetary Datafax: Lava

Class: Semi-inhabitable moon, Satellite of Ezochi (Rotation - 43 standard hours, 0.3G, Mass - 0.002 TM)

Designation: Ice World

Population: Human-imperial, 10,000 estimated

Tithe Grade: Solutio Tertius

Climate/Geography/Biosphere: Atmosphere - Lava's atmosphere is comprised of enough oxygen to support human life, yet the moon resides outside Malina's habitability range, resulting in temperatures that are never above freezing outside of man-made habitations. Those same temperatures keep Lava devoid of any naturally occurring flora and fauna. All food sources are imported from Kintaro. The earth below the layers of ice on Lava are rich in many minerals and natural gasses, which are mined and collected, and then sent throughout the Imperium. Many of these minerals are highly radioactive, making the mining of them a tenuous process.

Governmental Type: Appointed Governor-Warden

Planetary Governor: Governor-Warden Dai Kobushi

Adept Presence: None

Military: Imperial Garrison comprising the 31st Amarok regiment.

Trade/Economy/Notes: Lava produces materials used in production on Amarok. However, the radioactive nature of many of the minerals mined on world has slowly forced the labor to be made up of various prisoners throughout the Malina System, as there are very few who would volunteer for this work. The relatively high crime rate on Amarok coupled with the relatively high rate of death in the mines provides a work force that is constantly turning over. The small security force that was originally deployed with the convicts was quickly overrun, resulting is mass rioting. Governor-Warden Dai Kobushi requested more experienced units for security, and the 31st Amarok was sent, on the condition they were fitted with Individual Radiation Shielding (something not afforded to the convicts working the mines).

Ezochi

Planetary Datafax: Ezochi

Class: Gas Giant (Rotation - 10.5 standard hours, 1.07G, Mass - 24.2 TM)

Designation: Gas Giant

Population: None

Tithe Grade: N/A

Climate/Geography/Biosphere: Atmosphere - The majority of the atmosphere around Ezochi is made up of methane (>95%) and the rest being a combination of oxygen, ammonia and phosphine. Even if the air was able to be properly filtered for human habitation, there exists no true solid surface to land on.

Governmental Type: N/A

Planetary Governor: N/A

Adept Presence: N/A

Military: N/A

Trade/Economy/Notes: N/A

Igaluk

Planetary Datafax: Igaluk

Class: Semi-inhabitable moon, Satellite of New Vinton (Rotation - 54.6 standard days, 0.23G, Mass - 0.02 TM)

Designation: Dead World

Population: Human-imperial, 1000 estimated

Tithe Grade: Solutio Tertius

Climate/Geography/Biosphere: Atmosphere - None. The only geographical features are a small number of large craters that dot it. Human habitation is only possible in entirely self contained mining operations.

Governmental Type: Appointed Governor

Planetary Governor: William Morgan Shepard

Adept Presence: None

Military: None

Trade/Economy/Notes: Originally given up as entirely void of usefulness, Igaluk was found to be rich in various rare metals, so mining operations were hastily set up on world. A skeleton crew of workers is sent every six months from Amarok to live on site and maintain the various machinery for mining.

New Vinton

Planetary Datafax: New Vinton

Class: Sub-Terran (Rotation - 48 standard hours, 1.4G, Mass - 1.4 TM)

Designation: Feral World / Adeptus Astartes Homeworld

Population: Human-feral, 3 million estimated; Adeptus Astartes, 1000 at full strength

Tithe Grade: Aptus Non

Climate/Geography/Biosphere: Atmosphere - Native atmosphere has Terran levels of oxygen at sea level, but becomes thinner quickly as the altitude rises. More than 70% of the planet is covered in oceans. Due to high tectonic activity, mountains cover a majority of the available landscape. Temperatures fluctuate wildly, as the long day allows for the day to get very warm, and the night to get very cold. While this allows for human habitation, it requires a hardy individual to survive. Fishing is the main source of food for all that live on New Vinton, and most cultures have a number of settlements in direct contact with the ocean. Local flora and fauna have been domesticated to provide supplemental food and production sources.

Governmental Type: Chapter Master of the Falcon Guard

Planetary Governor: Chapter Master Rene Hayabusa

Adept Presence: Adeptus Astartes: Falcon Guard

Military: Any Falcon Guard Battle Companies not currently deployed, as well as one ten man squad from the 1st Battle Company at all times.

Trade/Economy/Notes: New Vinton was the first planet to be settled in the Malina System, albeit unintentionally. Originally lost knowledge, the first settlers history was pieced together upon finding two wrecked ships in the mountains. A failed warp jump placed them too close to the planet, and they plummeted to earth. Those that survived the crash as well as the harsh day/night cycles cobbled together some form of society. Left to their own devices for millennia, the world slowly turned feral. Upon rediscovery by the Imperium, society on New Vinton was home to a number of large warrior tribes, bereft of technology and living on their own while fighting for domination over one another. Lack of strategic resources coupled with the strong warrior clans made it an excellent recruiting world for fleet based Adeptus Astartes chapters.

Upon the first signs of weakening of the warp storm surrounding Tau space, the High Lords of Terra ordered the Falcon Guard to be founded in M40, and they were given the planet as their homeworld.

Amarok

Planetary Datafax: Amarok

Class: Sub-Terran (Rotation - 26.4 standard hours, 1.14G, Mass - 5.1 TM)

Designation: Jungle World / Hive World

Population: Human-imperial, 25 billion estimated

Tithe Grade: Exactis Prima

Climate/Geography/Biosphere: Atmosphere - Native atmosphere is high in oxygen, allowing the existance of human life without artificial aid. The distance from its' star puts the average temperature in the high range. Coupled with high rainfall totals, a majority of the planet is covered in a think, dense forest. The forest is littered with varied flora and fauna, a majority of which are hostile, not to mention larger than analogous species from other planets. Hive cities are frequently fighting the encroachment of the native species. The forest becomes a secondary food source (the primary being that which comes from Kintaro), because very little is needed to be treated once hunted/scavenged.

Governmental Type: Unitary Republic. One Planetary Governor reigns over the planet, delegating tasks to the administrators of each hive. The position of Governor is generally passed along hereditary lines.

Planetary Governor: Michal Dubcek

Adept Presence: Departmento Munitorum, Adeptus Arbites, Inquisitorial Garrison and Inquiry Task Force: Overall Command-Inquisitor Calia Hrendeux, Ordo Hereticus

Military: Imperial Garrison comprising 5th, 8th, 14th, 19th, 21st, 29th and 30th Amarok Regiments. Each regiment is assigned duty to a hive city between deployments/recruiting/conscription.

Trade/Economy/Notes: Building of the seven hive cities (Hotei, Juroj, Fukur, Bisha, Benten, Daikoku, Ebisu) began in M36, further population began in M37, and construction is ongoing. The lowest layers of each hive are designed for mining further and further into Amarok for materials that are moved to other lower layers for production, and eventually shipped off world as part of the tithe. As with most hives, the levels above the production areas are rife with gangs, crime, famine, and lack of power. It is not uncommon for the Adeptus Arbites to purge lower levels of the hives and anyone else found in various holding cells. Those in the upper levels reap the benefits of the hives high production, and are generally rewarded well by the Planetary Governor when quotas are met.

Kintaro

Planetary Datafax: Kintaro

Class: Sub-Terran (Rotation - 16.1 standard hours, 0.9G, Mass - 10.5 TM)

Designation: Agricultural World

Population: Human-imperial, 0.5 million estimated

Tithe Grade: Exactis Prima

Climate/Geography/Biosphere: Native atmosphere is poor in oxygen and high in carbon dioxide. Coupled with the fact that Kintaro is located very close to the star, Malina, human habitation would be impossible without sufficient technological infrastructure (extensive use of irrigation and domes). Subsurface water exists, but well below the crust of the planet. What amount is there suffices for agriculture (via irrigation) and maintaining a small population. The mineral rich soil does help make up for the low amounts of water. Little native flora is present, and that which is must be worked around due to its size and extensive root systems. Indigenous flora is not edible without treatment, and usually reserved for helping sustain the population on world. Native fauna lives almost entirely underground and is rarely seen, but will be used as an alternate food source when available.

Governmental Type: Demarchy. 3 members from each of the 3 main farming facilities are selected at random (from a list of potential candidates) to serve a 3 year term on the Planetary Council, overseeing protection, harvest quotas, and laws.

Planetary Council: Burnheim Facility (Paul-Andre Ujarak, Annabella Nuvuk, Eric Nasak), Dowlen Facility (Tagaq Nanoq, Irene Tupeq, Kenojuak Adlet), Pohl Facility (Nellie Uqalik, Tagak Sedna, Enoki Itigaituk)

Adept Presence: None

Military: Imperial Garrison comprising 4th, 12th and 13th Amarok Infantry Regiments assigned to defense duties.

Trade/Economy/Notes: First colonized in M36, shortly after the Warp Storm around the Tau Empire appeared. Original attempts to extract water from Kintaro failed until it was realized that the subsurface water lay much deeper than other planets. Once non-native plants were introduced to the extremely fertile soil, food production followed quickly, and Kintaro was soon able to produce enough to fill their tithe while feeding the rest of the Malina System. Such a food source did not go unnoticed, and Kintaro soon became the subject to ork raids. A stronger military presence helped slow this down, and now there are always at least three regiments from Amarok on world at all times. The Planetary Council keeps the planet running efficiently, despite obstructionist measures from the Pohl faction (which has a tendency to be self-interested).

The Malina Star System Overview

Location: Situated between the dead world, Doton, and the Tau Empire, just outside of the Realm of Ultramar in the Ultima Segmentum.

Star: Malina - Yellow Main Sequence Star, 1.08 Solar Masses, 1.39 Solar Radii, Habitability range between 0.69 AU and 2.16 AU

Planets:

• Kintaro - 0.090 AU, no satellites, Agri World.
• Amarok - 0.921 AU, no satellites, Jungle World and Hive World
• New Vinton - 1.497 AU, one satellite, Feral World and AA Homeworld
• Igaluk - Dead World, barren
• Ezochi - 5.235 AU, two satellites, Gas Giant
• Lava - Ice World and Hive World
• Kusha - Dead World, volcanic

Forces:

• Amarok 5th - Imperial Guard regiment currently responsible for security in and around Kintaro.
• Hive Fleet Tizheruk - Small Tyranid Hive Fleet that arrived in the wake of Hive Fleet Kraken.
• Falcon Guard - Space Marine chapter created in response to the warp storm around Tau space weakening.
• Mu'Arae Sept - Tau Sept that harbors ill will towards the Falcon Guard after the Damocles Crusade.
• Thousand Sons - Followers of Ahriman and his conclave searching for relics on the remains of Kusha.
• Freelootas - Orks hell bent on pirating whatever and whenever.  Made first contact on Kintaro.
• Gliese Craftworld - Eldar protecting a chaos artifact on Kusha from falling into the wrong hands.