It’s been a long while since I tinkered around with Genestealer Cult and Tyranids for my 40k projects, but like the void-call of the Hive Mind it’s hard to stay away forever. Necrons are my primary focus (trying to keep it that way, hah). But still, always need to be brewing a few side-projects. Back with Shadow War: Armageddon, the set of skirmish rules that pre-dated Kill Team, I started up a Behemoth-themed set of gangs: one Genestealer Cult and one Tyranids proper. I finished squads for each, and was pretty happy about them. You can check out the color scheme here: https://leviathancult.com/2017/05/03/the-behemoth-approaches/ in full, but the pic below shows the generations as they looked.

Having made some significant inroads into forces once I got on the painting track in 2021 (Night Lords, Necrons, and Tau all had huge strides in progress), I also felt that I wanted to get back to some more Genestealer Cult–especially with rumors that by the end of the year they may be getting a new Codex. They also are always fun in Kill Team, which I’ve been playing a fair amount of recently. So onward to some new cultists.

However, I didn’t want to stick to the Behemoth scheme. Needed something a bit different. So I experimented with a Leviathan scheme–which I ended up really liking the look of.

With the excitement of getting those models done, I swung into a number more of them to start to fill out a starting force for myself. Had to paint the Patriarch next, as that model is just so essential to the feel of the Genestealer Cult.

And I finished up another squad of Acolytes as well.

So far so good, they take a fair amount of work so may be the slow-grow side project for a while (at least till new Codex). But they make for a fun version of that!

Also, update on the Marvel side of things. Had a brief lull after finishing Sabretooth last time, but got back into my groove and finished up Ebony Maw. I’m actually really pleased with how he turned out, and got to field him in a game alongside Thanos and Black Dwarf, which was pretty cool.

Miniature Painting Goals 2021 – Totals so Far

40k Power Points Painted 298/366

Marvel Crisis Protocol Miniatures Painted 13/12

Don’t worry, frequent readers–I’m not starting another Warmachine faction and painting a big nasty for Khador. Rather, this is the inital set-up for my new 40k project. With the new rules coming out for 8th edition 40k, and the promise that starting a small new team for Shadow War holds, it’s time to explore some Genestealer Cult.

I’m envisioning them as a preparatory force, hiding and making way for the arrival of Hive Fleet Behemoth to a system. There’s a little note in the fluff about the second spot the Hive Fleet struck and consumed: Occulus. The 5th edition codex has the following mention: “Occulus was a moon-sized observator station caught in Behemoth’s path as it pushed onwards past Tyran. The station was a bio-artefact claimed by the Imperium nine thousand years earlier and was devoured, along with its crew.”

I figure that a bio-artefact would be a popular mining spot in addition to the Observator station–to research the artefact and what resources it might provide. In some way (I’ll determine later) a Genestealer Cult could have formed on the planet, and been a part of the lure of the fleet to the system. With splinter cults on a variety of other planets in the system (to represent the other types of battles/foes they may face), it is a fun way to origin my force. At least that’s my starting notion about the force.

In deference to the picture above, I wanted to work on painting the different generations first to get my sense of how they would look. And I wanted them to be of the strain that would lure Behemoth, so figured the distinctive red chitin with blue plates look from that Hive Fleet. This is my first shot at the different generations (akin to the art above).

I’m pleased with how they turned out, and they’re going to look really good as groups I think. For a special added bonus, the guy on the far right is in the colors of the Macragge planetary defense force that my good gaming buddy Justin painted up as allies for his extensive Ultramarines force. I figure that clashes against him made sense, which is why I chose the Hive Fleet Behemoth look in the first place.

Now that I’ve got the colors down, my first stop is to get a full group painted up for Shadow War: Armageddon. That way I can get some games in while still working on the basic building blocks of my force.