The Fourth Tyrannic War is well underway, and no-one’s got a grudge against Hive Fleet Leviathan bigger than the Sons of Sanguinius. Fortunately, we can trust Sanguinary Steve from the Warhammer Community design team to raise morale on Baal with his own Blood Angels successors. The Grail Guard appeared in White Dwarf 488, and Steve’s giving us a closer look at this gorgeous army.
Steve: Ever since I started the hobby, WAY back at the start of second edition, my favourite Chapter of Space Marines has always been the Blood Angels – mostly due to John Blanche’s cover art for that edition, as well as Mike McVey’s incredible diorama of Horus vs the Emperor, with a slain Sanguinius at Horus’ feet. I love their story of flawed nobility, and the tales of inviting nosy Inquisitors to see what the howls coming from the Tower of the Lost on Baal are caused by… only to lock the door behind them.
When the Indomitus box was announced three years ago, I knew I wanted to paint the new Space Marines red – only this time with a twist. I wanted to create a Chapter purely of Primaris Space Marines, who would be easily identifiable as Blood Angels successors, while also being quick to paint. My previous colour schemes tended to take me a long time to complete, and meant I never truly made a dent in my pile of shame/opportunity.
I’m the kind of player that always needs a backstory for their army, and I took inspiration from a campaign badge on an old Blood Angels transfer sheet when coming up with my Chapter icon. The Chalice with blood drops on either side made me think of the Red Grail held by Brother Corbulo, so I decided that my Chapter would have been created with the goal of escorting and protecting the High Sanguinary Priest as he travels the galaxy in search of The Cure. Thus, the Grail Guard were born! My army is the 5th Company, nicknamed the Taxiarchs.
Having built up a large Adeptus Custodes force, I was thoroughly sick of painting gold. I decided to have little or none here. One small problem arose in the fact that I wanted to make my armour a metallic red, by applying Contrast paint over a metallic base for a quick and painless process. Unfortunately, Blood Angels Red over Leadbelcher just didn’t give me the rich red I was looking for, and I had to reach for my trusty can of Retributor Armour. So much for no gold!
With (almost) no gold, I had to come up with a different way to denote veteran status, and quickly decided that silver would be a fitting substitute. I thought the black of a typical Sergeant’s pauldron might be a bit flat against the metallic armour, and so decided to use bright silver there as well. Lieutenants would then get silver on both pauldrons. After much deliberation, I truly broke my no-gold rule for Captains, and gave them gold helmets.
The Death Company has always been one of my favourite parts of Blood Angels lore, and their presence on the battlefield can be truly devastating. After all, what’s worse than genetically enhanced superhumans charging towards you? Ones that are howling mad, lost in time, and insist on calling you Horus!
I wanted their black armour to fit in with the metallic look of the rest of the army, but Retributor Armour didn’t give the look I was after – it was too warm for these cold-blooded killers. I went back to Leadbelcher and was instantly pleased with the result – a quick-to-paint and easily weathered black that fit the theme and looks great. My next addition to the Death Company’s ranks will be a Brutalis Dreadnought (or two) – a fitting nod to the Death Company Furioso Dreadnought in Primaris form.
After working my way through the collection of Primaris miniatures I had acquired over the years, as well as having painted Mephiston with what turned out to possibly be the best paint job I’ve ever done, I decided that I really needed to have Corbulo to lead my force… that was the Chapter’s whole raison d’etre, after all.
Unfortunately, the High Priest’s classic model has yet to cross the Rubicon Primaris – so I decided to convert one. Starting with the Primaris Apothecary as a base, I used the legs and rear tabard from Lieutenant Zakariah, the Grail arm (with a wreath added from Valerian) and backpack from the Sanguinary Priest, and a head from the Blood Angels upgrade set. I was really pleased with how he turned out, and once added to a suitable “boss rock” he has a commanding presence on the battlefield.
I’m now working my way through the contents of Leviathan, having just finished a squad of Infernus Marines mere hours before my collection was due to be photographed for this article… Next up will be the Terminators, which I have been looking forward to painting in the Grail Guard’s colours – they have always been my favourite Space Marine infantry unit.
Thanks Steve! If you’d like to tackle the Grail Guard for yourself – presumably the 1st-4th or 6th-10th Companies – then check out the painting recipes below. Make sure to share your own encarmine efforts with us on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
