I think this model qualifies as my longest-running work-in-progress.  It’s a leftover from my 2nd/3rd edition days, although it sat as bare, so wasn’t really in progress.  In May 2012, I played in  a “de-escalation” event at KublaCon.  After each game, there was a chance that any models killed would stay dead for the next game.  There was a bonus to vehicle rolls if you brought a Techmarine or equivalent.  I wasn’t as strict about only playing with painted models then, but I gave this guy a quick red spray with the airbrush so at least it wasn’t completely bare.  And there he sat, unloved, for two and a half years.

Part of my backlog is anything with paint, so I needed to get this guy done. I decided to do most of the detail work (wires and stuff) in blue, to try to tie it into the rest of the army a bit.

The model has a power axe, so WYSIWIG demands I take it on my list.  It’s kind of a silly upgrade though — he already has a servo arm, which is S8 AP1 Unwieldy.  For 15 points, he has can use the axe instead, which is S5 AP2 Unwieldy, but grants an extra attack, since it isn’t a Specialist Weapon.  That’s a lot of points for very little utility.

I can’t bring myself to change the model, though.  Maybe I could call it a lightning claw.  That would give the option of Shredding at S4/AP3, plus give an extra attack with either the servo arm or lightning claw, since they’re both specialist weapons.

I try to shoehorn any newly completed model into my next game, so I took this model in my campaign game last weekend.  He pulled his own.  I gave him an Auspex and put him in a drop pod with Sicarius and half a tactical squad.  He ended up mostly being a cover granting/denying dude.  He bolstered a ruin which contained snipers and a missile launcher combat squad, and used his auspex to remove the cover from a pile of cultists.

His unit ended up charging an inquisitor and his retinue, which included a servitor.  I was very sad that a random marine took out the servitor before the techmarine could disassemble him.

I think I’m going to turn my attention to a few Reaper models I’ve had primed for a while before coming back to the few remaining marines.

Updated July 2018 with improved images.