New Project Part 2: And so it begins...

As noted in my previous post, i've used the release of the new Space Marine Codex this month to begin a new army. After the deliberations noted previously, i can reveal my choice of chapter: 

The Rainbow Warriors.

Now i can practically hear the groans from here. This particular chapter has gotten pretty bad press amongst gamers in the past. This is largely due to misunderstandings over where the name originates, the actual colour scheme of the Chapter and let's face it, the name. 

 So let's address those issues, and why i went with the chapter despite them. First i'll tackle the elephant in the room: Homophobia. 

For a long time now i've seen pretty disgraceful homophobic comments made in relation to the Rainbow Warriors. Regularly they are denounced as "gay" or usually worse. And quite frankly i'm tired of it. For a start, they are Astartes. Gay or straight doesn't come into it when you're an asexual post-human killing machine. Secondly, so what? Even if they were a chapter of lovers, why is that a bad thing? It should be pointed out that multiple renowned fighting forces throughout history have been homosexual, the Spartans being the most famous. It's about time we ditched such ridiculous, offensive concepts and just accepted peoples sexuality for what it is. 

So i will use the Rainbow Warriors and show that bigotry has no place in this hobby.

The second issue that usually crops up is the name. Among the American hobbyists particularly, there seems to be the misconception that it is referring to the use of Rainbows by gay pride groups. This isn't the case. The name is actually a pun, relating to the infamous sinking of the Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior by the French. 

During the late eighties, when Rogue Trader was in the works, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior was big news in England. The French risked war with their actions, sinking the vessel in a foreign harbour.  Because of this infamy, the folks at GW decided to make a reference to it; first the Chapter name, and then the picture of a Soritas wearing clear French iconography shooting one of its marines.

Looking deeper into the name, and why Greenpeace chose it in the first place, reveals a Hopi legend about a group of multi-race warriors that would bring understanding and unity to the world. This little bit of mythology prompted some ideas about what i could do with the Chapters background, which again influenced my choice to use them.

So enough with the rant, here's some pictures:

 

 First we have Chief Librarian Brectian, escorted by the 7th Squad of 2nd Company, Squad Etienne. Squad Etienne routinely deploys as bodyguard to the Librarius, leading to the honour marking on their left leg denoting a horned skull.

Model wise it's the new Tactical squad kit along with the new plastic Librarian. The new Librarian in particular impressed me in the recent Marines release. It's by far my favourite GW sculpt.

 

 Sergeant Ideaus, leader of 2nd Company's 5th squad. He bears two notable markings: Firstly the red Star on his right kneepad which denotes his service in the Bloodstar Campaign. And the black painted left arm, a far rarer marking, denoting as it does that he was present during the fierce-some battle that led to the death of three Chapter Masters. Ideaus suffered extensive injuries during the campaign, leading to multiple bionic implants.

The army painted so far. 

So there you go, my new Space Marine army, the second company of the Rainbow Warriors. I'll be posting further updates on how the army progresses in the future. 

Until then i remain

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-pope.