Quite the intimidating bunch, are they not? In the middle there is one I have modeled using the Champion bits from the command squad. The Honor Guard have an option to turn one member into a "Blood Champion" but he is unable to take gear upgrades and the trade off for that is WS 5, thanks but no thanks. I do however love the Champion bits, so I had to use them.
You will notice he is wielding two power swords. While this is technically legal, the only thing it does for you is remove the ability to shoot, as a second power weapon is the exact same as a bolt pistol in close combat. However, I used the swords mostly for looks and convenience- they will count as a pair of lightning claws in game, but as lightning claws are impossible to obtain I took some artistic license with him.
Next up is the Sanguinary Priest. In an Honor Guard he is actually called a Sanguinary Novitiate and does not have the ability to take upgrades, so that fancy power sword will count as a regular close combat weapon. I went ahead an modeled him with the power weapon though so that when I don't take an honor guard I can take him as a regular priest with a power weapon. I didn't use his Narthecium because I wanted to save that to use to make another priest. I figure with the apothecary chest with the vials and the apothecary helix shoulder guard he should be easily recognizable as a priest as it is.
This veteran I gave a thunder hammer and storm shield to give the squad some real punch and also to get a model with an invulnerable save into the squad for wound allocation. I did a small amount of conversion on this one, including chopping off the finger-pointing hand and rotating it 90 degrees, then cutting the hand off an Assault Squad shield to attach to the hand. I used the 2-handed thunder hammer from the Death Company box and just didn't use the bottom hand. I had to cut down a small piece of sprue to glue on to end and finish out the pommel, half of which is stuck to the bottom hand I didn't use.
Here is another storm shield-wearing veteran, this time with a lightning claw that looks like a power fist but isn't. I have already mentioned the lightning claw difficulty, and I tried to create a home-made one by filing down the fingers of the Command Squad power fist to look sharp, like finger claws instead of claws coming out of the back of the hand, wolverine-style. You can't really see it in the picture, and to be honest it isn't brilliant in person, either. C'est la vie. He also has the laurel-ed shield and shoulder guard and a laurel on his helmet. This is because he will also, should I ever choose the option, bear the Company Standard and the Codex Astartes states that a company or chapter standard may only be borne into battle by a veteran who has been awarded with the Imperial Laurel, a mark of valor. Loathsome though the Ultramarines might be, the Blood Angels are, as much as they are able, a codex-following Chapter and so the niceties must be observed.
The final veteran of the Honor Guard is a simple melta-gun toting marine. Nothing fancy here, just 12" of superheated energy coming at your face (thats what she said). When not running with the honor guard, this guy will surely see time as a standard Assault Marine thanks to that melta.
I don't think I will get these guys completely painted this month, as I am also itching to get another Priest and Chaplain made up and I've got a couple Baals and a Rhino that need putting together, and then there is also that delicious new dreadnought kit being released in a few days... well, you see how it is.
Brandon
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