As one of the eight fabled Disciples of Khorne, Warhammer TV presenter Wade Pryce favours armies that spill blood in rivers on the battlefield. When he began a collection of Primaris Space Marines, only one Chapter was bloodthirsty enough to match his exacting standards – the Flesh Tearers. These famously murderous Blood Angels successors are feared by friend and foe alike for their bloodlust in battle.
Wade: I’ve collected the mighty World Eaters of Khorne for a long time, and have been fortunate enough to see my army appear in White Dwarf, some campaign books and even an edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook over the years. This collection has had many updates and revisions as new miniatures were released (I converted the new Chaos Space Marines into Khorne Berzerkers last year), and has been my primary army for more than 20 years. I also have a battlegroup of Legio Vulpa Traitor Titans for Adeptus Titanicus, a Corpse Grinder Cult gang in Necromunda, and a Blades of Khorne Warhammer Age of Sigmar army – I like angry red things. So it’s not entirely surprising that I’m currently working on a Flesh Tearers army for Warhammer 40,000. Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows, and nor do the Flesh Tearers.*
The Flesh Tearers have been my favourite Space Marine Chapter since their appearance in the pages of White Dwarf 20 years ago, during the Third War for Armageddon. These murderous, chainblade-wielding Space Marines, and their dark reputation for indiscriminate violence, instantly appealed to this long-term World Eaters collector. I never committed to starting a collection of them, burning worlds as I was with the World Eaters during many campaigns. However, I followed the fortunes of the Flesh Tearers with interest in The Devastation of Baal, Blood of Baal and their recent Index Astartes article in White Dwarf, which brought them up to date with events in the Era Indomitus. It was when Warhammer TV’s Nick Bayton offered me some precious, long out of print Flesh Tearers transfers, that I finally set about assembling a Flesh Tearers army.The Flesh Tearers look like a grim and gritty reboot of the Blood Angels – a darker red and black colour scheme, with no brightly coloured helmets, alongside weapons and iconography that would be at home in a horror movie. Inspired by the original portraits of Chapter Master Gabriel Seth and (now former) High Chaplain Carnarvon, who both looked like patchworks of scar tissue with teeth, I favour especially bald and scarred heads for my Flesh Tearers. I describe them as “looking like a blind carpenter’s thumb”. Basically, if they’ve got their helmet off, I want them to look like they headbutt Deff Dreads to death. I also added various blood drop decorations, mostly taken from the Blood Angels Tactical Squad and Death Company kits.
Intercessor Squad Harkan was the first complete squad I painted after setting about building and painting this army. It’s made using a combination of models from Dark Imperium and the Intercessor Squad set, tricked out with various phials of blood and blood drop decorations from the Death Company kit. Sergeant Harkan is armed with an unsanctioned pattern of chainsword (from an old Chaos Space Marine kit), double-edged for maximum flesh tearing, and has a back banner from an older Space Marine Tactical Squad – all the Sergeants and officers not wearing Phobos armour will have these.
Company Champion Caleb is made from Blood Angels Primaris Lieutenant Tolmeron with a bald, scarred head from the Intercessor Squad, and uses the rules for a Primaris Lieutenant with a power sword.
The Primaris Ancient has a blood drop hanger from the Blood Angels Primaris Upgrades, and the finial atop his banner comes from the Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard kit. The banner itself features the colours of the Chapter together with the number, heraldic colour (red) and device (bend sinister) of the Third Company, together with the Chapter’s name and other honour markings.
I started painting this Reiver Squad when the models were first released but have only just finished them after being distracted by other projects. The Seventh Squad are equipped with grav-chutes and combat blades and are tasked with deploying silently from above to cause havoc.
Next, I got to work on another, noisier Reiver Squad armed with chainswords and additional combat knives for throat cutting and trophy taking.
I also built a squad of Death Company Intercessors, kitbashed from Dark Imperium models and multi-part Intercessors, with pauldrons and additional decorations from the Death Company kit. The angriest of them is armed with a power sword from the Vanguard Veteran Squad kit and a Death Company chainsword.
Captain Cain Severan of the Third Company needs a little green stuff, but you get the idea. He’s armed with an ancient, master-crafted blade from the days of the Horus Heresy and the Chapter’s Founding (again, from the Death Company kit), and his boltstorm gauntlet is fitted with a (cosmetic) chainfist chainblade from the Cataphractii Terminators kit. His iron halo is from the Terminator Squad, his decorated back banner from the Space Marine Commander kit.
Currently on my painting table are some Eliminators and a Veteran Intercessor Squad (featuring several Sergeant models, a Lieutenant and lots of conversions) that will form a Command Squad alongside the Primaris Ancient and Company Champion. After that, I’ll paint the Infiltrators, Hellblasters and Aggressors, followed by even more Intercessors.
While I’ve been working on this army, my frequent collaborator in narrative games, Warhammer TV’s Chris Peach, has been creating an Adepta Sororitas army of the Order of the Argent Shroud. During the Third War for Armageddon, the Order of the Argent Shroud formally requested an Inquisitorial investigation into the Flesh Tearers Chapter following a regrettable incident involving some berserk Flesh Tearers and dead civilians. I recently read the short story At Gaius Point by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, which details the subsequent interaction between the Sororitas and the Flesh Tearers. Peachy and I are looking forward to picking up the story between these forces when our armies are complete…
Thanks, Wade! Remember that you can hang out and get your hobby on with Wade, Nick and Peachy every weekday on Warhammer Live from 4pm BST.
* …Allegedly.