Grey Knights - Part Two - Librarian & Chaplain

I've been smitten by the Grey Knight characters that I've painted so far (see Part One & Part Three &   Part Four). I'd had a taster from delving into the Terminator/Paladin kit box too. I still had a metal Librarian to paint, with one Made-to-Order (delayed by Covid) from Games Workshop coming at some point too. I was searching for a Chaplain, but I did manage to get a great deal on a rare 'store-opening' miniature from eBay. There were a couple of Paladin boxes and a Nemesis Dreadknight in the cupboard too (Christmas present - thank you Mrs!). So as you can see, there was plenty still to do... but I was reassured that I already had some practise under my belt.

Librarian

I picked the next most interesting miniature, and the Librarian stood out. There were a few 'firsts' on this miniature for me. The plasma weapon was great to do and enjoyable to learn as I went along with the bright plasma light splashing on to the purity seal and nearby areas of the gun. I don't think it was too bad for a first effort! Secondly, the force staff - Fantastic energy-rippling detail on the staff itself, and then the Imperial Aquila (two-headed eagle). Lastly, the psychic energy pouring from the eyes of the Librarian himself and spilling light onto his face. He had lots of detail and he was a delight to put some time in to. I did have a brief try-out with covering the bare head with a helmet (which I prefer on the army) BUT... it just wasn't working... as you can see for yourself below...

Helmet... No! Not this time.

...and I think I made the right decision to leave the miniature as he was.

Chaplain

I was so excited when I managed to land this Chaplain miniature. The purity seals and Terminator armour really made him perfect for a Grey Knight army. This was a plastic model but was no less detailed and fun to paint than the Librarian. Grey Knight Chaplains are meant to be all-silver/grey and not black unlike other Space Marine Chapters. I managed to give a nod to the black of a Chaplain by adding it to the outer-wing of the Crozius as well as on his right shoulder armour.

I also had a decision to make around the Storm Bolter weapon. Typically Grey Knight Terminators have wrist-mounted weapons, but this model came with a round bolter cartridge which looked great. I took to the Facebook GK forums and the community was split on the idea. In the end I went with what I felt looked best for the miniature itself and stuck with the original bolter. Did I make the right choice?

You will hopefully agree that the amount of detail on the miniature was worth sharing... You don't often see the full effects from just a front-photo. As you can see I added a couple of purity seals to the very top of the miniature... they break up the large amount of bare metal quite nicely, but also help cover up some iffy joins. I tried to get the purple cloak colour to look plush, rich and luxurious.

Paladin Squad

The boxed set comes with enough main parts to make five Grey Knights in Terminator armour. Apart from the different helmets I wanted to set the elite Paladins apart from the 'normal' Terminators a little more giving them Nemesis Halberds as well as the GK totems above the armour. Later I will look to freehand some heraldry shields for the shoulders, but that will come much later. 

I also magnetised the heavy weapons so that they could be interchanged too, especially as I have no experience of what should be carried by Paladins.

Terminator Squad

As I had already broken into one box to make the Paladin Ancient banner bearer and the Apothecary (see Part One), I was two miniatures short for a ten man squad. Fortunately, eBay helped out again and I grabbed a bunch of spare parts. The 'rule of cool' took over for me here, and bearing in mind I wouldn't likely be playing at any tournaments just yet, I went with Nemesis Power Swords... they also differ nicely from the Paladins and their Halberds, so should be clear & obvious on the gaming table.

Nemesis Dread Knight

I love this model, but it does have a 'Marmite' effect on some players... normally the description banded around is 'baby-carrier', which I understand, but for me it still throws back to Aliens load lifter or the Matrix 3 Armoured Personnel Units - which is a good thing. The kit comes with a variety of weapon options, and you could make it as a Grand Master Nemesis Dread Knight... which as far as I can tell is an unhelmeted head and probably more seals and decoration. I decided to keep my options open...

What next?

Well, strangely I've got some painting ahead of me... but at this time it's pouring with rain and I'm not going to get any priming done. So these bad boys are staying on the shelf for a little bit longer...

So, whilst the rain fell I delved into the cupboard of shame and freed Inquisitor Eisenhorn. Inquisitors can be added to the army without affecting any of the various 'same' army rules, and he should introduce a little difference to the army set up.

Soooooo... my next update will be a painting update, but I thought it was good to share the ugly bits before the lovely finished product. Watch out for Part 3... but it will be quite some time... that's a lot of painting for me!