The cybernetic lens has now been filled in. oops!
And now the final pair of my “Legacy” Iron Warriors. We have the original Aspiring Champion/unit leader, along with the Champion/Lord kitbashed from the original metal Iron Warriors Warsmith model, who is still actually available from GW.
The leader (at present) of the entire motley crew is this guy. As mentioned, the base model is the Iron Warriors Warsmith. The head was removed and replaced with one from the 2nd edition noise marines. The marine’s entire head and visage has become an Iron Skull, reflecting the chapter icon, with the Xenomorph-esque tongue tying in with the copper cabling found across these models. A Fleshmetal Exoskeleton under the current ruleset.
The left arm comes from an Assault Marine, capped with the metal 2e Iron Warriors Shoulder pad.
The backpack’s trophy spike comes from a 2e-era Chaos Terminator.
The right arm of the Warsmith was completely removed. It was replaced with a slightly-dodgy-by-today’s-standards rebuild, made of a Berserker arm and a glove, hand and Hammer from a Chronopia model. The guitar wire cabling was added to help sell it as a powered weapon – a Thunder Hammer of unique fabrication with a rather wicked looking rear spike. In-hand, the hammer and hazard-striped chestplate draw the eye away from the dodgy join. Thankfully, it doesn’t stand out nearly as much in-hand as it does in these photographs.
The breastplate and bionic legs on the original Aspiring Champion are from the Iron Hands upgrade pack, an excellent source of “official” bionics for any Astartes, and especially so for heavily-augmented Chapters and Legions such as the Iron Warriors. The rest of the model is pretty much stock, excepting the trophy spike that once again comes from a metal Chaos Terminator and the head, which is a Khorne Berserker head with some bionics cut from a SM helmet grafted onto the side. Damn, I missed that lens. I’ll have to paint that in now.
Like I said, the rest of him is pretty much stock. Well, arms, shoulderpads and backpack, anyway.
Since taking these photos, I’ve cleaned up the base edging and fixed the odd lens I’ve missed on these and the others in this series. Along with their “red dot” targeters on their weapons. Not that this helps you.
I took some group shots the other day alongside these. I might hold off posting them and take some new ones today to post tomorrow, now that I’ve touched these guys up. I also re-black-rimmed their bases and darkened the metallics on the bases slightly to help distinguish the metallic models from their metallic flooring, which was another thing I’d missed in my haste to complete them and excitement to photograph them.
Damn you, Enthusiasm!
Azazel's Bitz Box. 
Awesome again mate – that noisemarine head was an inspired choice! Cracking unit, looking forward to the new’n’improved group shot
🙂
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Thanks Alex. I’ve since realised that his head pretty much perfectly represents a Fleshmetal Exoskeleton, which is now an actual thing in the rules. If I ever play something based on the current rules. 😉
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Very nice and the kitbashing seems to be appropriate somehow for Chaos’ answer to Iron Hands … or perhaps (another, possibly better part of me whispers seductively inside my own head) … perhaps Iron Hands are The Imperium’s answer to Iron Warriors? 🙂
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Thanks Ann – and I always find that Iron Hands stuff is oddly great for bashing Iron Warriors. Such a missed opportunity pairing them against the Fists instead of the Hands! 🙂
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Very nice miniature. The addition of bionic legs works well with the other guys in the squad. One almost wonders how much human is left of him. Maybe alone his head, further enhanced by implants. It as almost a Ghost in the Shell quality to it, but also a strong “Robocop” theme about identity and loss thereof.
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Yeah, that’s something I like about the fleshed-out Iron Warriors background. They’re not especially bothered about Chaos and will amputate limbs that mutate into tentacles or what have you, replacing them with bionics. They hold themselves above other fallen marines, while slowly divesting themselves of their last vestiges of humanity all the same – just with mechanical replacements rather than “chaotic” ones.
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That adds even more depth to the miniatures. Interesting backstory. I am not really aware of the 40k fluff, so this stuff is always good to know.
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Yeah, they’re one of the Traitor Legions that got somewhat de-chaosified over the years, becoming embittered and filled with hatred towards the Imperium of Man and seeing chaos as a tool that can be harnessed for their long war, rather than being – as they say – Slaves to Darkness. They were all pretty well much of a muchness for the first years (decade?) of the background, with an unfortunate stop as “Space Chaos Vikings” slathered in horns and furs.
Nowadays they’re fuelled on hatred and bitterness along with a degree of justified disgruntlement rather than simple devotion to dark gods. I like it because I feel it gives them more agency of their own and hell, there are still plenty of other legions to be the devoted of .
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