30K Raven Guard for Killteam

Hi All!

To switch things up a bit I've decided to follow my good friend Greg's worthy footsteps and take the plunge into 40K. Well, actually 30K to be precise. While I've enjoyed reading the Horus Heresy books, I've not done much for figures for it. That being said, the updated 'Killteam' rules now allow for cooperative play AND some enthusiasts have released a fan-based 30K expansion that looks quite good. Anyhoo, I thought I could put together a Heresy era Space Marine Killteam and perhaps run some cooperative games over Discord (similar to what I've been doing for 'Hametsu').

So with no further ado, here is the start of my 30K Killteam! I've decided to do up a group reflecting A 'Shattered Legion' force  - an ad hoc conglomerate of survivors who emerged from the 'Drop Site Massacre' on Istvaan V. Essentially, they are composed of the remnants of three legions: the Raven Guard, Iron Hands and the Salamanders. 

A Killteam is typically made up of 8-10 figures which I think is quite manageable. This first group is made up of three Raven Guard with jump packs. One is a close combat specialist with dual power blades, another has a groovy silenced bolter and the last one has a pair of arcane Dark Age of Technology pistols (which probably leak enough passive radiation to poison a good-sized city).  I envision that the completed force will mostly be Raven Guard with maybe an Iron Hand and Salamander popped-in for variety. 

Being a contrarian at heart, I looked for non-GW models. I was very happy to find a designer on Cults (RGANDALL) who concentrates pretty much exclusively on Raven Guard. As you can see, his models are absolutely stunning. The animation and detail are top-tier, with the added bonus that he includes all of this Legion specific iconography, gee-gaws and do-dads that really make them unique. The corker is that all his files are free (probably one of the reasons why GW lawyers have not given him static...yet).

I was surfing the net to get ideas for painting and found a YouTube channel that features GrimDark paint styles. I really liked this gritty approach and thought it fit nicely with this group of isolated survivors who've been conducting hit-and-run raids, and not having been resupplied for months. So, lots of chipping, muddy washes, AK Grime and Streaking Rust. 

The 'Apollo' rocket exhausts crack me up.

I had a load of fun with these, but each one took a good chunk of time to do. I think the process will speed up right after I'm finished. :)

- Curt