As I said in my prior post, I’m looking to do a bit more of a narrative hook for my various Crusade armies of 40k. After completing the Archon, my next target was a model for me Genestealer Cult force. I want to also do a more modified Patriarch and Magus both, but I started with a model I’ve been dying to do since the cover of the new Codex. Tucked amidst the crowd of bodies (a whole lot of them very characterful in-and-of-themselves) was one certain figure that caught my eye.

The figure is in Astra Militarum armor to my view, has a bandage covering his right eye, and most importantly seems to be carrying a swaddled little baby… something… in his arms. I immediately told myself the story of him in my mind. As he seemed to have no particular sign of the Genestealer blood in him, I envisioned him as a Fourth Generation–the nearly human. But when 4th Generation hybrids have children they are 5th Generation Purestrain Genestealers. I pictured just that: his wife was pregnant with their little 5th Gen, and a segment of the cult was found out and attacked. He, learning of the attack, defected from his unit and ran to support his family. She was grievously injured, and in a moment of desperation het cut open her belly to save the child. It was born premature and stunted in this way, but it stubbornly clung to life, so he stubbornly clung to it. As I told the story more in my head, I pictured her as a Jackal Alphus and him as a soldier in a planetary Astra Militarum force. And as he was now in open revolt (having defected from his unit when he learned her forces were exposed), he simply picked up her sniper rifle and joined the swirling masses of the cult. The 5th Gen child won’t ever get older, and there are times when he believes it’s even dead, only to have it twitch with life. The man undertook training as a Sanctus, combining his military mind with his wife’s sniper rifle, and was even gifted a Soulsight Familiar by the Magus of his cult–which he’s taken to referring to as “older brother” in his frequent conversations with his stunted offspring. As a father, a caregiver, and a sniper all his patience is his strong suit: waiting for just the right moment to act.

With the model completed, I wanted to paint him up. I’m still exploring how I might add in Astra Militarum models to a force with the Brood Brothers rule. I’ve got a couple of boxes of the Death Corps Veterans models, as well as a few models that might be good Hades Breaching Drills (to carry the industrial theme forward). For right now not sure on what regimental colors I’d use, other than something that meshes with the existing cult tones. So I decided to do a slight variation on the Armageddon Steel Legion colors, where the greatcoats and gas masks could fit right in, with the splash of the deep maroon from the Genestealer Cult plus a yellow wrap or scarf somewhere. Pretty neutral still, and should fit in fine with my other Cult forces as the bodies of the Familiar and Baby both click to the rest of that force’s look. And it’s okay if they’re a bit rag-tag. Here’s the finished version:

I’m pretty pleased with the overall result, and he should have the desired effect of adding a fun character to my force that’s properly customized so I care about them a lot more. It’s worked enough that I’m keen on fielding my Genecult’s Crusade in my next Crusade game, so that’s a plus in itself.

Painting Challenge 2022 Progress

Warhammer 40k Genestealer Cult 2022 Power Level Painted Total: 75/365

Warhammer 40k Aeldari 2022 Power Level Painted: 57/365

Warhammer 40k Necrons 2022 Power Level Painted: 39/365

• Warhammer 40k