30k Terminators - More (Doomed) Terran Defenders

Cataphractii Terminators in VII Legion colours - ready to defend Terra (and, of course, get stomped in the process)

Here we have more stout, loyal defenders dupes of the so-called "Emperor", a squad of Space Marines in Cataphractii Terminator plate, wearing the roughed-up yellow of the VII Legion Astartes, the Imperial Fists. These are plastic multi-part figures from GW, with the exception of the heavy weapon, which is a resin accessory from Forge World.

When the going gets tough, the Space Marines are sent in. When the going gets, er, even tougher, the Space Marines send in the Terminator companies. Terminators are rarer, elite units in the Space Marine Legions, but at the same time, these elite units figure prominently in each Space Marine Legion, and many (if not most) of the Legion have Legion-specific elite Terminator formations.

Sergeant on the left, and corporal "fist-bump" on the right...although maybe he is just getting ready to punch someone...

In this case, we have "just" regular Terminators wearing the heavy, slab-looking Cataphractii armour variant. Ten of these models came with every new "Age of Darkness" box, so, suffice to say, I have a few more of them now than I did previously, and I thought a squad of them might be used to add to my small, yet growing, detachment of VII Legion loyalists. 

These are tricky to assemble, particularly the varied levels of shoulder plating on the models, and they are also tricky to paint - particularly the tiny heads, which seem to disappear under all of that armour!

The numerous segments, overlaid with more slabs of armour, give an ominous and ponderous feel to these guys...they will smash you to bits, but, you know, only at a certain pace...

Painting-wise, these were done using my more traditional, black-base coated approach. It has serious limitations for this kind of yellow, but it mostly worked, and in any even I gave them a heavy dose of weathering and chipping, to keep them looking consistent with the rest of the force - they are busy defending Terra, not keeping their armour looking sharp for a parade. 

In a setting awash with bonzo, over-the-top weapons, the Reaper Autocannon is a favourite! Look at this whacko weapon! It's so...so...30k!

In the 30k game, Terminators can be equipped with pairs of lightning claws - indeed, you receive enough claw bits to equip the entire unit if you wish. But I have always felt the claw equipped terminators look, well, silly - especially whole squads of them! I wanted a boring, "regular" Terminator squad, and so the load out is pretty standard, combi-bolters supported by one heavy weapon. For that heavy weapon, I opted to equip the reaper autocannon in place of the heavy flamer. The Reaper cannon is so...bonkers...it looks so, so, so much cooler than the flamer, and the whole "flamethrower" thing is overdone (and not that effective, as sometimes units can back out of range before you use it). Unfortunately, the reaper cannon is only available as a resin upgrade bit for the Cataphractii armour kits (although I've no doubt some clever 3D printer people out there could offer their own alternatives).

"We can hold out! Right? I mean, isn't Roboute on the way? And The Lion? Right? They are coming, right?"

As with 40k, in 30k the Terminators never perform on the table to a level that justifies their points cost (or even matches the narrative performance achieved in the various Black Library novels). I'll note one exception - the Iron Warrior Siege Tyrant Terminators are among the most effective/broken units in the game - but in general, the inclusion of Terminators into your force is more about fun and looks-cool factor, and that is the case here. They will look great, standing there stoically as they wait to be mowed down by the heroic followers of Horus Lupercal!

That's all for now, but watch this space for further 30k madness, along with other assorted hobby diversions. Thanks for reading!