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Primaris Tech Support


It's Christmas 2021, and my sister has broken the unspoken lifelong family reluctance to buy me plastic crack for Christmas as I draw ever closer to being... [checks notes] middle aged. Why have a partridge in a f---ing pear tree when you could have a Primaris Techmarine? I felt it would be important to paint it up quickly to indicate my enthusiasm and gratitude, and that's why, a mere 18 months later, I have painted Brother-Techmarine Sedayus Aristander.


I don't normally show off my newly painted toy soldiers to the family, as it's really not their sort of thing (although were I painting WW2 historics my Dad would perk right up). But in this instance, it seemed only fitting to thank my sister and show her what I'd done with her present.

"Wow. He looks um… charming," she said. "I appreciate the level of detail. Your ability to concentrate on one tiny thing for so long is impressive."

Like I say, it's really not their sort of thing.

Now if you're reading this, you probably are into this sort of thing, so I'll crack on with the hobby content.


Why the headswap?
Observant marine fans will have noticed that I've replaced the stock somewhat bionic bald man for a different somewhat bionic bald man. I find the 50% bionic face thing a bit on the nose. The helmet would've been fine, of course, but it's just fun being able to see your characters' faces; I don't imagine they usually walk around without their helmets.

Where's his hero tank?
The techmarine's hero rock is a giant chunk of tank hull, which is cool, but absolutely doesn't fit with my basing scheme and was duly replaced with a hillock of green stuff.

How'd you paint [colour]?
For the most part I stuck with the pre-established colour scheme, just with more red. The skin is Vallejo burnt umber and beige brown, with a bit of Citadel Kislev Flesh for the finest highlights and some Reikland Fleshshade to tie it all together. The yellow on the servo arm is Averland Sunset with a recess shade using Agrax Earthshade and Reaper's brown liner, with a highlight in Army Painter Skeleton Bone.

It also occurred to me that I've never shown how I freehand my chapter symbol, so I made this quick guide similar to my tutorial last time on painting the Apothecarion Helix:



Who dis?
In addition to his regular duties tending to the Cobalt Scions' wargear and vehicles, Brother-Techmarine Sedayus Aristander is an obsessive sculptor, creating busts and statues for the Chapter's various reliquaries and memorials of fallen comrades. In theory, such devotional artworks are the domain of the human artisans of the Phratry Munitorus. While his fellow techmarines' non-military endeavours would generally be limited to designing architecture that serves to inspire as well as defend, Aristander argues that art serves as a major political tool. His defence is halfhearted, however; in truth he sculpts because he enjoys it. As he sees it, the sculptor's challenge is not merely to perfectly replicate their subject's features, but to capture their character. If that happens to serve the political goal of showing the Thonician populace what has been sacrificed for their safety, then that is merely a useful bonus.

He worked at his craft throughout the Chapter's time in the Indomitus Crusade, and yet more since the Scions' arrival in Thonis. Many consider him an excellent craftsman, but he remains unsatisfied, knowing that decades of practice are required to achieve true mastery. His obsession makes him a withdrawn figure who never takes a joke well. Nonetheless, he enjoys a measure of popularity, for all who walk in the Chapter's mausoleum are grateful to look upon the faces of their fallen brothers.

Blast from the past
This isn't actually the first techmarine I've painted... because teenage me painted one 23 years ago. I think I'd been painting for 3 or 4 years at that point. Check out the goblin green:



Comments

  1. great paint job. The scale creep is why I gave up on 40K. So many new units, reissued rules books etc. Nah, time to move on to non GW games.

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    1. Thanks re: paint job 😊

      Scale creep in general is annoying, although with the primaris thing I have to say I really like the proportions and how they scale with other armies. Certainly though outside the GW ecosystem I can see the appeal of a more static ruleset.

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  2. Great paint job, and that seems like a very fast turn around compared to many of my own gifts from my sister... most of them still in their boxes after years (decades!)

    Re: scale creep, it is pretty clear to look at the new guy and see that he is better in every way. So if you were starting out now, it would be great to get on the primaris train... pretty disheartening though if you already had a hundred of the other guys though.

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    1. Thanks! Yeah when Intercessors first came out they looked so much better to me than firstborn that all my preexisting marines were dead to me overnight, and I was entirely ok with this 😄

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