Cloud Giants - Homebrew Space Marines

[primeministersinister]

Okay dudes. These are my homebrew marines.

Name: Cloud Giants
Home-world: Respite
Gene-seed: Unknown - Records lost
War cry: "By His blood and light."

The Cloud Giants are stalwart and implacable warriors, preferring a slow, steady advance, but only after enemy supply lines and fortifications have been disrupted through a series of simultaneous lightening raids. One of their favoured tactics is to pull an small segment of an enemy force away from the main body, through use of strategic retreats and terrain features, and then overwhelm that segment with vicious force.
Most historians believe they were formed in response to the Emperor's Tarot predicting a great upheaval near the Dalburtus Sector. 101 years after that reading, the planet Respite in that self same sector was given to the Cloud Giants.
Early in the history of chapter, The Cloud Giants had, within their ranks, two sects. Those that believed that The Emperor a God-being, a Divinity which gifted Itself to mankind, and those that believed that He was a leader of men unparalleled, but not a supernatural being. Fearing a rift that would lead to decreased battle field efficiency or even rend the Chapter apart, the first Masters of the Chapter decreed, after much passionate debate, discussion and scholarship, that both views could be held simultaneously. The Emperor was a man who elevated himself to Godhood for the future of men. The white the Cloud Giants wear symbolizes His purity and divinity, and the red represents the body and blood that He gave up for the unity of his Imperium.
Rumours of this open discussion within the chapter has put them at odds with members of Ecclesiarchy and has even earned the undue attention of the Ordo Hereticus at times. This has led the Cloud Giants to be reserved and standoffish with outsiders, even other Astartes. Though, once trust and respect is earned in battle, the Cloud Giants are allies whose commitment to honour is unparalleled. It is often said that the Cloud Giants repay friends and foes with equal totality.
As a relatively young chapter, they lack many of the more advanced or ancient pieces of equipment that older chapters can muster. There are less than 20 suits of Terminator armour in the whole chapter and only 2 landraiders.

I've noticed that better photos lead to better criticisms and comments, so to that end I went ahead and made myself a light-box. I think it really makes a difference. I'll likely repost some of my finished squads and minis as I put up new stuff. I've also started the process of re-basing and retouching the entirety of my Cloud Giants army while replacing some of my less dynamic models with more interesting ones. This initiative has been spurred on by the rumours of the new codex and the fact that I have finally settled on a chapter symbol -- the skull in a red/white halo.
So if anyone knows where to get some Sons of Medusa shoulder pads for a sensible price, hit me up, please.
Now, please check out Tactical Squad Angriff. Missing from the group photo is the battle brother armed with a heavy bolter.

The Sargent, brother Roddert Krelwich, is a bellicose commander who encourages fierce competition between the Astartes under his command. He is armed with a Rivitsgard pattern power maul, awarded to him for his heroic actions during the dark campaign which proved to be the bitter salvation of the forge-world. Over Krelwich's twenty years of command, he has honed Squad Angriff into a vicious anti-infantry force, and has managed to requisition several full and partial suits of MK IV armour for the squad, preferring the agility provided by the advanced suits.


Noteworthy is Brother Helio's Rivitsgard pattern flamer. Instead of an external pilot light, this pattern uses an electrical arc to ignite the promethium.

Brother Testa's helmet bares the yellow stripe of a Devastator, designating him as the heavy-weapons specialist for squad Angriff.

What do you guys think?

[Dragonlv8]

Looks pretty solid. Would like to see more!

[energongoodie]

Nice stuff BOLS chum. More please

[primeministersinister]

Thanks guys! It's great to get so much encouragement from BOLS.
I finished another tactical squad at the same time as squad Angriff and I managed to get some pictures of them. So I present to you, Tactical Squad Obcisor.

Squad Obcisor is one composed of the youngest members of the 3rd company, and as such they are often the most eager to prove themselves to their more elder battle brothers. To this end, Sargent Jad Abbenrod has expertly drilled the Astartes in his charge with plasma weapons --a rare weapon set among the Cloud Giants. This load-out sees that Squad Obcisor is usually found in the path of enemy armour and heavy infantry; each battle brother can proudly point to a dozen scars earned in combat.

Sargent Abbenrod himself is armed with an ancient plasma pistol, Sunspit, and chain-sword, Hextor, awarded to him after The Crowley Incident where Squad Obcisor played an instrumental role in disrupting the armoured columns of a traitor guard force. He strides into battle wearing a heavily modified suit of MKIV armour, with the notable addition of a MKIII helmet. This helmet lacks the targeting systems of the more advanced suits of power armour, something that the Sargent is proud to tell his fellow battle brothers. Abbenrod is also a skilled diplomat, a trait fostered in all commanders of the Cloud Giants. And as such, he and his squad are often seen in advisory roles to Imperial Guard forces in the systems near Respite, expecting that their favours will be returned at some point.
Obcisor's 2IC is a brash and argumentative Astartes named Barter Reynard (he's they 3ed Veteran Sargent from the old, metal command squad box. One of my favourite models named for a friend and pillar of the hobby who isn't with us anymore). In diplomatic matters, Abbenrod often unleashes Rynard's verbal fury before himself stepping in to smooth things over, allowing the Sargent to look like the good brother.

Brother Timmin is armed with one of the few plasma guns in the 3rd company's armoury. His power armour is modified with a MKIII chest plate and a MKVIII helmet with integrated ocular targeter.

Squad Obscior exclusively uses the Tigrus pattern bolter, prized for its light weight and simplicity of action.
What do you guys think?

[primeministersinister]

I'm working on some scout bikes right now. They're mostly finished, but something about them feels a bit underbaked to me. I can't put my finger on it.
I love running these guys in games, but I haven't used them in 6th, so I'm not sure how they'll fare.
Anyhow, I'd like someone's keen eyes to let me know what they're obviously lacking. I need a hand with this one, fellas.



I know I have to finish this guy's scope.
I am at a loss. I love the models, but I feel they're not done. Has this happened to you before? Ideas?

[interrogator_chaplain]

Umm, they all look really solid except for minor edge highlighting and the transfers on the shoulder pads. Otherwise they look pretty good.

[Cap'nSmurfs]

These look great, nice colour scheme, conversions and background! Looking forward to seeing more.

[primeministersinister]

So, I just finished some work on my scouts. They had dark-brown fatigues that looked at home in a muddy trench, but once they were re-based, I found them a little too blah. They did blend in, but not in a way that was fun for me, so I repainted their fatigues and did some work on their faces. You can see the old paint job a few pages back along with a bit of fluff about the squad.
Check them out.
Here is Scout Squad Furtiue.


Not being full Astartes, they aren't permitted to wear the chapter's white livery. They're only permitted to wear their red scarves, representing the blood and flesh of The Emperor, once they get their first kill with their knives. Normally used for small search and destroy missions, Squad Furtiue earned a large amount of glory for the chapter when they reclaimed an ancient Predator during a scouting raid in the early days of the Crowley Incident.

The scouts use the ash from incinerated vegetation to blacken the blades of their combat knives to cut down on the chance that glare would give them away while hiding in the bush. This is a tradition among raiding parties in the forests of Respite and has found its way into the Cloud Giants' practices. Even full Astartes sometimes go though this pre-battle ritual.

Aspirant Asche is the only member that has found much success with the Astartes shotgun.

[Cactus]

Awesome, I love the color scheme!

I would suggest finishing off the sides of their bases with either black or some of the brown from the soil. I think that will really make your mini look finished and not a WIP.

Have you done any vehicles yet? Land speeders seem to be a natural fit for your theme.

[primeministersinister]

@Cactus I think you're right. I will be cleaning up the base edges with black. As for the speeders, I'm going to get a Stormtalon next. I feel that they would allow a rapidly re-deployed, floating firebase that these fellows would really dig. Though I just bought a gently used Contemptor from the internet, so my model budget is done for July. A man needs limits.

I've mulled this over and I think it's okay for the scouts to be a little plainer. So I've not done a whole lot with them, aside from adding some highlights to the wheels and some streaks of grime and dirt on the flatter areas. I also repainted the locking mechanism of the grenade drums to a metallic. I love those weapons. They're such a nasty surprise.
I'm glad you guys like the fluff too. That's the biggest draw for me in collecting.

So moving on, here's the completed Recon Squad Crimea.
The Cloud Giants' 10th company, as per codex rules, maintains a small motor pool of reconnaissance vehicles. Only the most senior of the aspirant Astartes are allowed to ride recon bikes well beyond the safety of secure territory to harry enemy supply lines and strike at supposed safe zones. The mortality rate of these troopers is astonishingly low considering how isolated their engagements are.

Each aspirant that has been inducted into the 10th's Mounted Recon is then referred to by the title of trooper. Troopers of the Cloud Giants are known for their independent, yet highly fraternal, mentality, often adjusting their orders in the field to allow for attacked on targets of opportunity. It is in Mounted Recon that Cloud Giants learn in earnest to depend on their fellow Astartes and bonds formed knit the strongest armour a warrior is ever clad in: brotherhood.

Trooper Sargent Crécy has been offered the honour of bringing death to the enemies of the Emperor with a Pugilist Model powerfist. He is often called vainglorious by other aspirants in the 10th, but his superiors know him to be an effective and reliable asset.

Trooper Allyent is the foremost tracker in the 10th. With his guidance, Squad Crimea has ridden down dozens of foes and struck at dug-in enemy HQ elements, teaching those that would oppose the Cloud Giants that shelter nor flight will keep them from their wrath.

Recon Troopers are cosily at home in the field, and to that end, their bikes are often loaded with whatever supplies they might need to survive days or even weeks without re-supply. Trooper Vasque is the squad's expert in demolitions, and is known for his smirking glee when setting cluster-mines.