# Renegade Samurai Space Marine



## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

Howdy folks!

So I decided to foreswear my oaths of loyalty to the Emperor and Gork 'n Mork this month to do a little test mini for my upcoming Renegade chapter. They're based off my loyalists so they're all dudded up as samurai. 

Here are some pics of the first test mini:


























I still need to sort out how I plan on basing them but this will be the overall scheme for 'em!

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Loving the effect you have going on the armour, looks sort of like bamboo. Which would also make a cool looking base, if you could get some sort of bamboo grove for him to stand in.

These lads might help if you were going to do a large force.


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## Loli (Mar 26, 2009)

Sex has never looked so good


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

Thanks for the kind words folks! 

Thanks for the link, Khorne's Fist! I've seen that Kromlech stuff before. Couple of friends of mine spotted 'em a while back and suggested them for my loyalists :biggrin:! In fact, I'm going to be basing some of my own helmet conversions off their work. Little greenstuff and plasticard combined with tedious work and I can have my own lol. 

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## wide_ocean (Dec 14, 2011)

They do look awesome. But don't they deserve a pair of ritual swords?!?!


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## 18827 (Oct 23, 2009)

Very nice work. Be waiting to see more of these, It will be a very unique army.


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

wide_ocean said:


> They do look awesome. But don't they deserve a pair of ritual swords?!?!


Actually they will have a mix depending on what they're armed with. Some will have daisho (paired katana and wakizashi), some nodachi, single katana, kusari-gama (sickle and chain), yari (spear), naginata (spear/polearm), kanabo/tetsubo (bat-like hammer), etc. 

Thanks again for the kind words folks! :laugh: I should be starting an army of these guys come the new year.

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## Mortarman178 (Dec 21, 2011)

hmm i can just see these guys in battle. that would be soo cool and i love the paint job you did. very amazing. keep it up cant wait to see more.


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

Damn Nate that is badass looking. I would go with a long grass look for the base perhaps.


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## Moetle (May 23, 2010)

This is pretty cool and i love the idea. If your interested in a cheap easy and quick way to make some bamboo bases for your marines i made up some for my Kirai crew. can easily be made for 40k marines. http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=101066

Did i mention it was cheap easy and quick?

Hope it helps or gives you some ideas

Moe


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

The Wraithlord said:


> I would go with a long grass look for the base perhaps.


Hmm... You know I never thought of that one. I've been busy trying to think up wild base ideas ranging from lava/daemon world to swamp but that would go with the iconic image of a samurai. Standing amongst tall grass with weapon ready... I also have some modelling grass I've never used before. This might be a damn fine place to give it a go :biggrin:. Thanks for the idea!:victory:

@Moetle-I shall be giving your link a look! I might be able to work it in as well!

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions folks! It looks like it won't be until February when I can get started on them. So many projects (including painting up some Perry Miniatures samurai I got for Christmas LOL), so little time :headbutt:... 

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

He does look very badass. Most impressive concept and execution. I second the long grass idea for the base. That would work well.


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## C'Tan Chimera (Aug 16, 2008)

Wow, talk about a break from conventional styles! Like most others, I'll be keeping a close eye out for these. I imagine its a very long conversion process?


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

C'Tan Chimera said:


> Wow, talk about a break from conventional styles! Like most others, I'll be keeping a close eye out for these. I imagine its a very long conversion process?


The conversion process actually doesn't take too long as I've been doing it a while on my Loyalist samurai marines (along with the recent rediscovery of my ancient dremel tool which will speed up the process immensely :biggrin. Generally I do each armor piece in batches. The kusazuri (armored skirts) are done in greenstuff, three pieces at a time (the main front part and two smaller side parts) and done in groups of ten (for a whole squad). The sode (shoulder pads) used to take the longest as I manually filed the inside of half-round plastics down and then hand cut them with a jeweler's saw. Thankfully I found the aforementioned dremel tool. What used to take several painful hours (even with a sharp round file and saw) of filing/cutting to make enough for ten now takes me 15 minutes tops (I was never so happy when I found that blasted thing LOL). The mon (crests) for the kabuto (helmets) are now made from plasticard, making the process much faster (and the materials much stiffer lol) with any helmet conversions done with a mix of greenstuff, plasticard, and other bits. 

The sad thing is my loyalists will never be as converted as my chaos. I started my good guys thirteen years ago and over the years came up with new ideas to add to them. I don't want to go back and redo all the previous work I've done on them so it's all going to go into my chaos. Since I'm starting from the ground up on my Chaos, the sky is the limit (and I plan on pushing that limit for all it's worth :biggrin

Some new conversion ideas for future miniatures... Well, I plan on doing a lot more to make the armor closer resemble samurai armor. Armored sleeves (gote) to cover the forearms, converted kabuto with mempo (masks) and possible chest armor more resembling the do worn by ancient samurai. The weapons mentioned previously will also be a project. I'm also thinking of war fans (the solid ones called gumbai-uchiwa) for commanders/champions.

Apologies if I've bored anyone here recently by waffling on :biggrin:. When I delve into a project, I try to learn as much as I can (which can lead to said waffling when it comes to this and that).

The real major problems I have facing me: What to name the bastards, background and clan/chapter symbols... :headbutt: Honestly... You can't have a whole bunch of nameless samurai running amok amongst the stars for no reason without proper identifying marks!:threaten: 

My loyalist name came about while reading a Druss novel by David Gemmell. I named them Void Stalkers (and then the other shoe dropped and BFG came out... :headbutt because it kept mentioning the Void. So now I have to find a perfect name for them; one that personifies their samurai nature of arrogant pride and honor along with their beliefs that there is a greater chaos power hell-bent on the destruction of order/light/all things (but not limited to)warm/fuzzy/cuddly. And then do background for them. I reiterate ":headbutt:". My loyalist background isn't even finished. It's over twenty pages and still grows on occasion. I dread to think what I'll do with my chaos...:hang1:

Mayhaps a project log is in order for when I get started on these guys properly. At least I'd have some place to show my progress and bang out more heretical ideas. 

Ah well, enough waffling :wink:! Thanks again for the kind words (and help and patience and on and on...)!

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## C'Tan Chimera (Aug 16, 2008)

Oh no, that was fun to read! I thought I was the only one who went to ridiculous extents to fluff up his army. I really love the idea of renegade Samurai marines... I guess the only other question is, are they renegade in an actively traitor sense, like Chaos worshiping, or are they just outcasts that didn't want to play by the Imperium's rules?

Either way, the idea sounds great. The concept of Ronin and renegades go hand-in-hand, and I've always been a sucker for the combinations of Kabuto and mempo masks, especially the more demonic looking kind.


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## wide_ocean (Dec 14, 2011)

Background wise, the apparent conceptual clash between honor and loyalty opposed to technically "betraying" the Golden Throne, reminds me of Saigo Takamori, whom you might have heard of. I only briefly studied him for an exam years ago, but his loyalty to the samurai caste and traditions ultimately led him to oppose the rapidly changing and modernizing Japanese government and military during the Satsuma Rebellion. Back to your dudes, fluff-wise, the Imperial government must obviously have done something deeply insulting to their traditions as chapter and to their beliefs, more than the whispers of chaos simply corrupting them from the inside.
Just my 2 cents


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## Dave T Hobbit (Dec 3, 2009)

Excellent conversion, and the bamboo areas look great.

My only niggle is that the green areas do not look quite right smooth.


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

Dave T Hobbit said:


> My only niggle is that the green areas do not look quite right smooth.


I'm curious as to how so? :biggrin: Is it because of the extra depth in the bone color as opposed to the uniformly green with only highlighting? Do you think it needs a little more in the way of flames? The scheme is based off the Company of Misery in the Chaos 'dex but if I'm thinking what you're meaning, mayhaps combine it with the differing levels of flame found on the Bleak Brotherhood (I think that's what they're called..they're right above the Company of Misery picture)? That would break up the smoothness of the green. :biggrin:

As for the reasons they broke from the Imperium, you can find a brief mention of it in my loyalist chapter background in the fluff section. It's very long-winded and a bit cheesy but thankfully it's close to the beginning. 

My Loyalist background can be found here: 
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14660&highlight=Shogun_Nate

Their worship of Chaos didn't come until later. They worship a god they call "The Dark One". They believe him to be the true nature of chaos. More than just a god, the Dark One is the primordial darkness that was present at the beginning of all things. It was only with the coming of the spark of light that drove back the shadow, forcing it to coelesce into a more sentient state that the Dark One was 'born'. As the Dark One could not stand the 'light', it retreated into a domain of its own creation, which became the Empyrean. The coming background will also delve into the belief that the current universal timeline is but one of countless, part of the constant battle between Light and Darkness. The battle always ends the same; the universe is swallowed by Darkness and Light hits the reset button, beginning a new dawn of creation with the hopes that one day the universe will finally throw off the shackles of evil and live in harmony (personally, I wouldn't hold my breath...:biggrin. Basically, this current timeline is the latest in a long line of failures. 

In this current timeline, the Dark One has been betrayed by his three most powerful sons (in this case Khorne, Tzeentch and Nurgle) and imprisoned in a powerful weapon created by them to hold him in check called the Dark Blade. A shard of the Dark One's essence still exists in the Warp in the form of a being known as the Emissary of the Dark One. Its sole purpose is to free the Dark One by destroying his prison and, in doing so, bring about the end of all things. The Dark Blade was smuggled out of the warp into real space as a last act by the most powerful greater daemons who follow the Dark One, known as Messengers of the Abyss. Their sacrifice denied the Chaos Gods their ability to keep an eye on the Dark One. Now the Dark Blade passes back and forth throughout time and the hands of the mortal races, searching for someone foolish/powerful enough to open a rift to the Empyrean and allow the Emissary to destroy his prison.

Now all this waffle leads to your questions C'tan Chimera! The purpose of these renegades isn't so much to run amok, causing havoc and death and destruction as it is to bring about the release of the Dark One. To that end they wage war against the followers of the main chaos Gods and everything else. They leave in their wake the seeds of the Dark One as the galaxy has no knowledge of him. By bringing his name to the galaxy through worship and idle whispers, they empower the Dark One (as any form of worship to the known gods would) along with searching for the Dark Blade.

Again, thanks for all the kinds words, comments, suggestions and questions! :biggrin: All are valued and welcomed!

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## Dave T Hobbit (Dec 3, 2009)

Shogun_Nate said:


> Dave T Hobbit said:
> 
> 
> > My only niggle is that the green areas do not look quite right smooth.
> ...


Actually a typo there: it should have read, "My only niggle is that the green areas do not look quite smooth", by which I meant that the highlights look a touch thick in places. Possibly a lighter fine highlight and wash would draw them into a transition.


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

Ahh...now that's a totally different kettle of fish! :biggrin: I'll go back and see about fixing that! Thanks for the input!

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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