u/Salmon_1935

These guys looked like they are ready to play backward baseball to me, but they’re still kind of endearing.

Their old colorscheme was quartered dark green and blue and honestly, it was bad, like really really bad, so despite not having any lore this wardrobe change really helped them out.

Anyway, I think these guys have a very literal name.
They are fleet based and move from planet to planet and start to bombard the living hell out of them, or just straight up commit exterminatus.

They usually do this in the harshest environment possible, stirring up forces much bigger than them.

At that point they usually bring the fight on the planet’s surface as the chapter tries to rally any glory hungry faction and mercenary willing to join in in the fight.

They keep bringing in new people and escalating conflicts to ridiculous degrees

But there’s a catch, as the enemy is busy in the ever escalating conflicts, their scouts would infiltrate other unguarded planets and take over key positions with ease since a majority of them are too busy with the ensuing war that the Warmongers have started.

The Warmongers would even send messages to other enemy faction, increasing the scale even further to keep the fornace running. At the end of the day everyone is so busy killing each others that the chapter’s losses are fairly maneageable to replace.

Naturally the chapter is more than happy to assist in any other conflict where an allied faction is involved, where they proceed to do the exact same thing, having everyone focus on a big loud conflict while they cut off the main foe from the supply Line.

This might lead to a bigger foe to come knocking, but in the milky way, for every big fish, there are thousand of smaller ones ready to feast on it’s carcass

How would you embellish the Warmongers?

Introduced only in name in the 3rd edition Codex, The Angels of Purgatory haven’t seen much love since then, so let’s change that

The Angels of Purgatory are a chapter of unknown founding that specializes in prisoner escort and interrogation.

They use their Librarians to inflict psychic torture to their prisoners, literally forcing their secret out of their heads.

Prisoners are reduced to shambling husks, just sentient enough to remember that they are a person, but not nearly enough to remember who they are.

These Prisoners are then turned into meat fodder for the Angels of Purgatory to throw at their foes, with bombs implanted in their stomach that their techmarines can detonate at will.

They often visit penal colony to take the most hardened criminals they can offer to ease the facilities of “dead weight”

If a Prisoner could be possess by a demon they don’t even risk entering their head, they just strap them all together in a Cage and turn them in a “Warp bomb” to use against the Xenos.

These warp bombs unleash an amalgamation of Demons and Gore that spread corruption through the enemy lines, giving them another problem to deal with while the suicide troupes and the Marines advance.

These warp bombs are a dangerous and questionable practice that the chapter make sure to keep as a well guarded secret.

Their Symbol could be a caged skull

How would you color the Angels of Purgatory?

The Fire Lords are a Codex compliant chapter of unknown founding and genetic origins, though many in the fandom attribute the lineage to the Imperial Fists.

Frankly I’m one of those people that supports this theory, mainly because we need more Imperial Fists chapter that break the mold.

The fire Lord use special incendiary missiles, followed by a battage of Flames weapons.

They operates mainly in the eastern fringes where their homeworld of Mundus Pyra lies and they perform ritualistic crafting similar to that of the Salamanders, though lineage wise they seem to have very little in common outside of this.

To reinforce their connection to the Imperial Fists however is their presence at the Feast of Blades, the solemn games in which all Imperial Fists successors are invited to take part in, though they are not always able to take part in them

Overall their track record is pretty solid and even saved other chapters from extinction like the Emperor’s Swords on Bellicas, yet they rarely shine in major conflict

What do you think of the Fire Lords? Them taking part in the Feast of Blades is enough to confirm them Imperial fist successors?

The only piece of lore we have of the Crimson Blades gives us a partial but compelling view of the whole chapter

In the novel “Wrath of the Lost”, Flesh Tearer Thuriel mentioned that they were once a noble chapter that he Personally respected until they tainted themselves with the superstitions of their feral homeworld like the Mortifactors and the Flesh Eaters.

So we know two things for sure, they take recruits from a feral world and they are very likely cannibals

I imagine that they used to be extremely knightly before getting their own planet, but then they met the people that loved there.

They warmed up to them, visited their villages, helped the community develop until the two cultures combined to create something new.

The tribes started worshipping Sanguinius, founding comfort in his take and sacrifice, while the Crimson Blades started partaking in their ritual of eating the bodies of the freshly deceased, quelling their curses.

Their death company will lose the Crimson of their scheme as blood is sacred in their culture and a symbol of life, so it would be sinful to give it to something that can only kill.

These battle brothers are then sent off in a a shuttle straight into the eye of terror or a highly hostile region as a ticking time bomb with a huge supply of animal or human carcasses to sustain them. Once the shuttle lands or it’s opened, all hell will break lose

The Black Rage is Unfortunately still relatively common despite them not suffering much from the red thirst, especially during conflicts.

Their armors have experimental suppressors in them to inject a mixture of Blood and natural sedatives, a ritualistic concoction that the tribes of their homeworld use in rituals to calm down the marines, but being experimental, the mechanism doesn’t always work

The Crimson Blades might also use this mixture to paint their faces before war to represent Sanguinius rage in his stand against Angron.

How would you color the Crimson Blades?

A colorless chapter that took part in the Punishers Wars alongside the Dark Hunters, The Dark Sons, The Doomsayers and the Shadow Hawks.

After these wars they fell into obscurity without even receiving a color scheme

I can see them being a very aloof chapter, big overthinker that need to be ready for everything at all time, micromanaging the smallest aspect of their fleet.

They perform drop pod assaults after creating safe landzones through orbital sweeping

They often use shields as cover when firing and as effective weapons in close quarter combat, squashing the enemy once they push their back to a metaphorical and quite physical wall.

Their meticolous planning is their greatest strength but it makes them very slow at taking action, making them exhausting to deal with for more abrasive chapters like the Dark Sons

Naturally Their Insigna would be a Brazen version of the Imperial fists one

How would you color the Brazen Fists?

I almost forgot about these guys from WD 505, but my god if This isn’t the best time to bring them up now, especially with the Legion of the Damned new minis

These guys hail from a Shrine World that venerates the cleansing power of fire and devote themselves to burn the forces of chaos.

The dark color of their armor isn’t paint, they actually rush into the fires they themselves create, scorching themselves and setting themselves ablaze as they keep spreading the flames

The visual cool, they make for amazing counters to Nurgle and they have a strong gimmick, if you want to paint your Legion of the damn in a different way or use their bits to make some fire kitbashes, these are your guys

What do you think of the Ignus Hortanium? Do you enjoy the idea of fire obsessed zaelots basking in the Flames of their own making?

This sub managed to find images of chapters that the wikis weren’t able to find like the Unsung Hero or the Furor Marines, si I want to challenge you in finding more chapters who’s colorscheme had been lost to time

Mainly the chapters that took part in the Fall of Medusa V, such as the Ashen Angels or The Emperor’s Thunder.

These chapters all had to appear physically at one point, so they must’ve had colors

Are you up to the challenge?

It took months for me to finally put this guy together and though he’s still extremely fragile I think it’s about time to give him some colors

I really want to shine the Spotlight on a REALLY obscure chapter and see what I can make with him

Any suggestions?

One of the most obscure members of the Astartes Praesis, these guys have never been described once to us, but as a chapter with such a significant role in the setting, I think it’s only fair to polish them a bit.

The Knights Unyielding would be famous to their unwillingness to retreat, even when beneficial, leading them to have a consistently reduced number of battle brothers.

So the rest of the Astartes Praesis have urges them to keep more defensive positions to prevent further damage to their rank.

Though bitter about this, the Knights were forced to admit that they were right, still they vowed to never leave their posts even if defeat was certain.

They don’t discriminate which weapon to use, though when possible they will always choose to face their enemies in melee.

On their Blades they keep a tally of all enemies they defeat with it, and upon that, that sword is proudly displayed in the chapter’s fortress monastery.

There’s no use in preserving the body, but it’s important to remember a brother’s deeds

Naturally, Their Insigna would be a hand wielding a sword upwards

How would you color the Knights Unyielding?

The chapter’s of the War of the False Prophets have some of the hardest names in the setting, but, just as the previousely covered Twilight Magisters, none were given the respect they deserve, so I’m once again here to pay tribute to another of the 7 chapters of the War of the False Prophets

I like to think that the Silent Vigil is an Iron Hand successor bound by an oath of silence, seeking strength through meditation.

They surgically remove their jaws and tongue and replace with a metallic prosthethis effectively forcing them to never speak and instead listen.

Aspirants stand in meditation for month in dark cells, adapting to their new way of life, and listening to the currents of the warp cascading through the material realm.

Like mountains they train to stand the wind, preventing it from altering them

No better chapter to face the very voice of the Chaos Gods, the Word Bearers.

I like to think that the Vigil is the chapter that started the war, calling on other chapter to assist them as they would be a mainly defensive force, focusing on patient and solid defense rather than brutal and reckless assaults.

They probably have serfs that speak for the chapter, likely a member of the Ecclesiarchy.

How would you color the Silent Vigil?

Another chapter from the Prosperan Rift war, this time from the Chancyll suppression.

They fought side by side with the much more popular Dragonspears and another colorless chapter called the Knights of Doom.

Unlike most colorless chapters deployed in this war, we know from which world the Crimson Raptors come from: Bloodpeak, from the Imperium Sanctum

I think Bloodpeak could be a tropical savage world with extremely high peaks covered in an oppressive jungle and Boiling humid weather

I doubt the planet is hospitable to humans, so the only settlement, might be the chapter’s Fortress monastery, which serves as a city as well.

The city sorrounding the fortress might have a colorful market that sells very unique flora and fauna, attracting many rogue traders into the chapter’s juristiction

The Crimson Raptors are usually specialized in jungle warfare, but they also patrol the city to fight off illegal smuggling and illegal animal fights.

This gives them a good understanding of urban warfare as well, making them a prime candidate to assist the Dragonspears and the Knights of Doom in “suppression” operation on the planet/city of Chancyll

Their Insigna is a red eagle with spreaded wings and their company color is depicted on their right knee

How would you color the Crimson Raptors?

One of three obscured chapters involved in the Prosperan Rift Wars against Magnus The Red.

Alongside the Raven Covenant and The Death Hunters chapters, 2 orders of sisters of battles, 3 guard regiments and 2 knight houses they took part in the Relief of Harlecrypt Tertius, which judging by the name was a fairly successfull campaign against the forces of Tzeentch

Harlecrypt Tertius is to this day stuck in a stand still however.

It’s a mausoleum world with mainly religious importance in the grand scheme of the war, however, similarly to Orar’s mausoleum, some ancient artifacts might lie inside one of those tombs.

Personally I think the Vipers are extremely paranoid zaelots, believing the taint of the warp is a mark that the human spirit is born with, and only the Emperor his sons and the Blanks were born without it, thus pure of sin.

Naturally they despise psychics and purge themselves of the taint of chaos through grueling self flagellation rituals that leave their body horribly scarred

The only one who do not perform these rituals are their Chaplains which double as librarian.

They are all Blanks, thus there’s very few if them and the chapter values them greatly.

They think the pain they feel around their chaplain is due to the chaos taint in their souls, thus they spend countless hours around them in an attempt to remove the mark on their spirits

With time their geneseed mutated due to these practices, giving them major resistance to the warp and the effects of being around a blank, sometimes, the geneseed might even give the host the ability to develop pseudo blank ability or, more rarely, even turn them into a full fledge blank.

The chapter takes great pride in this development believing themselves to have become purer than most and reinforcing their self harming tendencies

Their tendency in having a significant number of Blanks made them ideal to fight against the Thousand sons during the Prosperan Rift Wars.

Their Insigna could a Red facing forward snake head, with a spiked Halo behind it.

How would you color the Vipers Penitent? Are you more interested in covering their allied chapters, the Death Hunters and/or the Raven Covenant?

This isn’t your avarage Chapter Embellishment.

I have a real soft spot for these guys as they were the very first chapter I properly painted.

So here is my take on the Angels of Damnation

The Angels of Damnation were founded around the 3rd founding with chapter master Ken Tallioris as their leader

Ken was a young aspirant during the Horus Heresy and witnessed the horrors it brought first hand

During this conflict, Ken lost his faith in the Imperium and it’s vision and rised through the ranks of newly founded Raven Guard chapter in the attempt to stir it in his own direction.

Instead, he was chosen to lead his very own chapter.

The Angels of Damnation are non-compliant and fleet based.

Their main flagship is the Barbarossa, now a grotesque amalgamation of vessels that the chapter welded together, in time each Ship of the fleet joins the Barbarossa, contributing to create a gargantuan space traveling fortress.

The crew is the chapter private militia and main source of new aspirants.

When you join the Angel of Damnation you become part of a family, with the Astartes taking care of their smaller mortal siblings, who in return will assist and fight alongside them.

The chapter is much more similar to the T’au when it comes to losses, no man’s left behind and no life wasted to prove a point, family always sticks together, through thick and thin

So each strike is thought through extensively, and they rarely assist other Imperial factions

Hence why treachery is the biggest of sin among the Barbarossa and it’s fleet, and there’s no hiding from the Chapter Master.

Ken Tallioris augmented himself through an implant that allows them to mildly predict an opponent moves, that when interfacing with a special throne allows him to see everything that happens on the ship at once, connecting his mind to a network of cameras.

The members of the Barbarossa have named him “Big Brother” a revered father figure and spiritual guide that opens his arms to the damned and misbegotten

If it wasn’t clear already, Ken is very much a Godfather type of figure, his crew and battle brothers would even kiss a ring he wears on his hand depicting the chapter’s symbol

The chapter survives by either assaulting alien ships or protecting various systems for a year or two, asking for a generous compensation for their service of course, sending some recruiters to scout the slums to search for lonely orphans, rebellious workers and repressed mutants

The payment could even be a couple of ship, to house the newer recruits

Their first company is completely composed by raptors, mutated veterans of the Horus Heresy that barely survived Corax’s Culling, some even speculate that the first Captain, Kaleb Drago, was one of those mutated Marines that was supposed to die by Corax Hands, though he was never seen without his helmet to confirm this theory

A chapter with a fairly unique color scheme created by Steve Barret for White Dwarf 484.

I haven’t found anything else about them, so I thought to bring attention to them through the Chapter Embellishment series.

I believe they are in charge of capturing specific target, a more polished version of the Emperor’s Havok

While the Havok prioritize keeping the peace among the population, the Hound Stalker take care of more high profile target in urban areas.

Like a rebelling noble, a T’au emissary or an undercover cult leader

How would you embellish the Hound Stalkers?

All we know about the Doom Griffons is that they took part in the cleansing of the Fenris system following Azrael request

This immediately suggests that there’s a connection with the Dark Angels, but nothing is openly stated about it.

Taking part in the cleansing was the chapter’s fourth company, lead by Captain Bohemund

Personally I believe that they are indeed Dark Angels successors, but they could operate in a similar way to the Prime Absolvers and the Stewards of the Sanctum, separating themselves from the Unforgiven

Unlike the previousely mentioned chapters however, I like to imagine that the Doom Griffons are real sticklers.

They follow the Codex Astartes to a T and still condemn all form of religion as the Emperor truly intended, often ending up starting fights with the Ecclesiarchy, and most importantly scold Azrael for hiding their legion’s shame, as the fallen are just as much as a threat as any larger warbands and they cannot fight them on their own.

However their adaptive nature has made incredibly usefull to the Inquisition and various rouge trader houses, allowing them to recieve a homeworld of their own where they worship the True Imperial creed.

They are also incredibly blunt, as they believe the horde of secret that their brothers keep so close to themselves is a burden that will inevitably drag them down, so they vow to never lie, something that might attract the hostility of Tzeench in the long run

Still they believe in the Unity of the Imperium and if any chapter will call for aid, they will send a company running

I like to think that their symbol is a white version of the Golden Griffons insigna, as I think it would be interesting to see more variation that don’t copy the Howling Griffon depiction of the beast.

I like the idea of them distinguish companies through their shoulder pads, a gimmick I’ve used previousely, but I believe to be grossly underappreciated

How would you color the Doom Griffons

Another colorless chapter from chapter approved 2001.

Excubant is an adjective descriving someone who guards or watches over, implying that these guys are likely a guarding chapter similar to the Castellans of the Rift or the Astartes Praesis

I choose to make them orange and yellow because these color represent hazard and watchfullness

I Imagine these guys watching over a planet bear the Halo Stars, preventing rogue traders and pirates to steal and sell Halo devices.

Their juristiction ends outside of the region, so they do their best to patrol the Halo Stars and detect possible smugglers.

These criminals are handed to the local branch of the Inquisition that appropriately dispose of them.

Any Halo device recovered is swiftly destroyed and occasionally if there is a possible bonding with one of the cursed machines on a planet not so far away the chapter will send two full companies to deal with the threat

Each chapter is recognized by the color of their Aquila and I believe their symbol would be a knight’s helmet with a peering eye at it’s center

How would you color the Excubants?

The Last chapter from 505 WD to be covered on the subreddit, and frankly one of my favorite schemes from this magazine.

Jonny paints this chapter in a very positive light, with their symbol representing a beacon of hope for the citizens of the Imperium and a warning to its enemies.

Still he leaves plenty of room for interpretation when it comes to this chapter, and though I’m aware that some people prefer to leave these chapters untouched out of the respect for the employees that created them, I feel like creating your own interpretation of these scheme is a way to further elevate and recognize these artist’s work, so indulge me one last time as I cover the last of the 505 chapters.

I believe the Pharos Blades to be a fleet based chapter, they often stop on various isolated planet for some time to give the population news from the greater Imperium and the hope that comes from seeing the Emperor’s Angels.

I feel like these guys would focus greatly on the T’au’s spheres of expansion, using jump-packs and aerial vehicles to get the higher ground on the Xenos while prepping the battlefield in advance with remotely activated landmines, essentially crushing the aliens in a Giant press.

They are noble warriors that prefer to fight the enemy head on, even if their subterfuges would be enough to hit them hard.

Despite hating the Xenos They cannot deny that the T’au are somewhat honorable compared to the Savagery of the Greenskins, The Tyranids or the Heretics, so they intend to show their appreciation by staring them in the eyes when they die

Their name derives from their main Flagship: Pharos’ Blade, an ancient Space Ship From the Age of the Horus Heresy

How would you embellish the Pharos Blades?

Another well founded chapter from White Dwarf 505.

Quartered Black and Red with a White helmet, the Blade of Unity are a sort of specialist chapter, charged with the most dangerous missions following only Guilliman’s himself.

The Chapter is comprised of almost exclusively experienced veterans and highly promising marines.

Overall the Blades of Unity feels very Dark Angels coded with how much they are controlled by their Primarch, but frankly I appreciate this different approach that Jack took with them.

The chapters of the Ultramarine lineage are tools for very different purposes, some are Shields, some Scalpels and others like the Blade of Unity, are Bombs

What do you think of the Blades of Unity? Do you like the idea of an Élite chapter? Do you prefer the idea of Guilliman valuing all his sons equally?

One of the most fleshed out chapters from 505 chapter approved, The Knights Encarmine are a crusading chapter that descends from the Blood Angels.

They follow a strict chivalrous code that pushes them to throw themselves into the most dangerous of missions.

Though a fairly short paragraph it tells us exactly what we need to know about their personality, aesthetic and battle doctrine:

Aggressively honor-bound vampire daredevils Knights

I think there’s some sick Kitbashing that can be done with these guys, combining the Dark Angels and some Black Templars bits with the Blood Angels aesthetic

What do you think of the Knight’s Encarmine? Do you like the idea of combining the Blood Angels with a more knightly aesthetic? What’s somewhere in the Galaxy they would definetely deploy to prove themselves?

The fact that these guys don’t even have a scheme is crazy to me.

Apparently the Crimson Lament’s fleet is big and strong enough to fight Abaddon’s Balefleet head on as stated in Arks of Omen

Okay? Where the fuck where they then during the Black Crusades?!

We only know of some strikes they performed on some of the Arks, but the details are murky at best

The implication of this information feels crazy to me, they are one of the strongest fleet a in the setting and we know nothing about them

I don’t think they’re blood Angels but rather Ultramarines’ successors that are still trying to amass a big enough fleet to overpower Abaddon, hence why they often avoid conflicts, so that they can maintain this giant fleet at full power

It’s like the Blood Lord’s vehicle hoarding, but with a greater purpose in mind

I think their symbol could be a crying face shedding red tears

How would you color the Crimson Lament?