Joel is one of the Warhammer Community remembrancers, and as we’ve shown a few times before, he’s a big fan of the Raven Guard. His force is only growing, and it now includes the new Chapter Master, Aethon Shaan.
Joel: I began my first foray into Space Marines after a hiatus from the hobby, when a friend suggested an impromptu trip to Warhammer World.* We had a wander around the exhibition** and a good look around the store. Being something of a raven enthusiast (the bird) I was drawn to two factions – Raven Guard and Dark Angels. One of the staff excitedly showed me the recently released Shadow Captain Korvydae and that made my decision for me. I left with a little box of resin ready to start on this new journey.
While that army of firstborn is boxed somewhere in my parents’ attic, I now have another force that I started shortly after I joined the company. Shadowspear added a bunch of Space Marine units wearing Phobos-pattern armour, who were all about infiltration, special ops, snipers, and stealth. That being the bread and butter of the Raven Guard, I picked the box up to start a shiny new army.
I quickly added a few more bits and pieces, including Kayvaan Shrike, a Reiver Squad, and an Invictor Tactical Warsuit. The plan was to keep the project small, only using the vanguard style units… but as every hobbyist knows, things can get out of hand quickly!
Over the years, I have expanded my army, and even have a growing force of Heresy-era Ravens too. I was lucky enough to be granted access to paint the whole marine half of the Leviathan box in advance,*** which effectively doubled my collection. Now Aethon Shaan is our new Master of Shadows, and I have been fortunate enough to add him to my collection a little early.
There is of course a very gothic factor to the chapter’s image, but I also decided to look into other connections and cultures for ideas. My miniatures have war paint on their armour, inspired by my research, which is often on the helmets. I’ve seen a lot of people say that they love the “eyeliner” or “tears”, and I’m totally there for those interpretations too. I’ve actually seen other Raven Guard players replicate this on their own miniatures, which I can only say I am extremely flattered by and always encourage.
There is always a lot of discussion about how the Raven Guard heraldry works (white arms for veterans, yay or nay?) but as I’m consistent with my own rules, I’m happy. Opting for a more muted palette, my veterans and characters have white shoulders, cloth across my collection is painted in a dark blue/grey, and I use Liberator Gold to produce a white-gold for my more elite models, which keeps them from looking too bright.
At the end of the day I’m a painter first, and I always like to add freehand details like scribbles and text, which help break up the large black sections on the models. Lately I’ve also started painting some more unique weapons in an obsidian tone, just to add a bit more flair to some of my characters.
All my vehicles have names,**** words and phrases lifted from the famous Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven. Favouring lighter units and Dreadnoughts, I only have a single vehicle for this army so far, a Storm Speeder dubbed Respite & Nepenthe – but it is one of my all-time favourite models, with a dreamcatcher painted across the hull, reminiscent of the Leviathan Dreadnought I painted.
Though I still have a bunch of kits that need painting, including a Redemptor Dreadnought and a second squad of Eliminators, I’m already looking at what I want next… more Jump Packs and an Incursor squad, maybe?
We’re a quiet bunch, but the Raven Guard community is passionate about their faction, and it’s been great to see everyone get excited for our new Chapter Master. I can’t wait to see what everyone does with their own miniature!
* Many such cases…
** Back then, it was just a single room, but still inspiring to a young hobbyist!
*** I had a month to manage this, which meant a lot of late nights and lunch hours of painting, but totally worth it!
**** Not including my Dreadnoughts, of course, who are named after their occupant.
