For Those We Cherish

A lot has changed in that last 18 months. I started a new job, put my PhD on hold, sold the Moleslayer domain name, started painting a bit more regularly, and took a couple more classes with a local blacksmith (Alex Sowden at Hammer and Hound Forge). I’ve registered a new domain, to hopefully reflect what’s on the blog a bit more closely, and maybe one day make something more of this hobby. So: welcome to Ink, Iron & Lead.

And where better to kick things off than with the flagship Warhammer 40K faction, joining last year’s Space Marine and Assassin. I’ve expanded the Galactic Relief Imperial Expeditionary Force (G.R.I.E.F.) with a Blood Angels Captain, a Primaris Lieutenant, an Imperial Navigator, and a Furioso Dreadnought.

As a child I spent hours thumbing through the Citadel 1991 Blue Catalogue, with the Space Marine Captains coming a close second behind Genestealers on my wish-list. I don’t think any one chapter stood out over the others, at the time, but having finally, 35 years later, settled on Lamenters, I was pleased to find one variant of the current Blood Angels Captain is very reminiscent of the original. I painted this in ten sub-assemblies, with an intentionally limited colour palette. I’m particularly happy with the cape, with its reich reds and checkerboard on checkerboard.

Every captain needs a good lieutenant, and luckily I’d been gifted this one in exchange for a stack of 2000AD comics. This took a lot longer to paint than I expected (again mostly because of the checkerboard). I’m not sure the shield has quite worked – the limited colours ended up putting white skulls, white paper, and white banner together on the shield, and it would probably have benefited from a bit of variety – but from the front it’s a worthy addition to the force.

As I’m a logistician (and Dune fan) I of course needed to include a Navigator. I’m not a fan of the studio paint job with its purple robe – but its such a weird little miniature I had to see what I could do with it, and I think he looks very fetching and suitably sinister in yellow.

Lastly: the centre-piece of the army, a Furioso Dreadnought. I love the boxy, ’90s design more than either the taller modern version or the earlier ’80s sculpt, and the chapter-specific detailing of the Furioso is perfect for G.R.I.E.F., evoking a mission of mercy. I kept some parts – mainly the metal – simple, with quick washes and dry-brush work, because I knew the expanses of yellow and freehand checkerboard would take hours already. I’m very proud of the result. In fact, this may be one of my all-time favourite miniatures.

So, there we have it. Six months’ worth of Space Marines, and a fine start to 2026 (albeit in July). I’ve got a couple of dragons, some villains, and some metalwork to post later, then we’ll see if I can keep up the momentum into the third quarter of the year.