Israfil is the first painted assault squad that I’ve ever fielded. Over all of the years I’ve played Space Marine armies (Crimson Fists, Space Wolves, Dark Angels, and now Blood Angels) I’ve always relied on tactical squads to get the job done. However, this being a Blood Angels army I finally felt that the time was right to utilize jump troops. Since they became “Troop” choices in the White Dwarf Codex: Blood Angels I wanted to include them even more.
Sergeant Israfil is named after Israfil, the Angel of Judgment Day, who is assigned to blow the horn on the day of judgment. I like to think that one sure indication that your judgment day has arrived is if Blood Angel assault squads are raining from the sky onto your head…
Sergeant Israfil wields a power fist and his model is one of two “Assault Marine Sergeant” models released during the second edition. The other one, the model shown below with the Mohawk haircut, is also a member of this squad. To commemorate the shared history of these two models I play each of them as the leaders of their half of the group if the squad breaks into combat squads.
This squad also carries two plasma pistols. Because this squad was assembled and painted prior to the release of the new Codex: Blood Angels I didn’t have all of the latest fun alternative weapon options now available to assault squads. With Sergeant Israfil's power fist and the moderate strength and AP of the plasma pistols this squad is often tasked with taking out enemy vehicles and heavily armored infantry from close range. They are frequently supported by Arel, the Furioso.
The Death Company squad was the first squad that I painted for this army pool. I selected them as my first squad to build and paint not only because of their effectiveness in the game but moreover because they are a uniquely Blood Angels unit. This unit was a persistent element in my list prior to the release of the latest Codex: Blood Angels and the completion of my two assault squads (Israfil and Harbiel) but has since seen action less frequently.
These models are the metal versions released and made available preceding the release of the newer plastic Death Company boxes. I’ve got a box of the second edition “Death Company” box, made up of the old “Blood Angel Marines” models, but decided not to utilize them. The chaplain model from that box will likely see building/painting/playing before any of the troopers.
I always intended to field this squad with jump packs. As such, I needed to add the jump pack straps to the figures by sculpting them out of green stuff. This was done in two groups of five marines. My skill in working the putty grew from the first attempt which is why the later five marines sport better sculpting jobs in my opinion. To add to the look of the squad I modeled each member with Dante’s backpack which sports some Blood Angels iconography. I was able to buy these in bulk from the GW Battle Wagon during its last visit to Danger Planet.
Over the years I have added several Forgeworld models to my collection. This drop pod has the distinction of being the first of them to be assembled and painted, or to be more accurate, it was painted and then assembled. I painted each of the component pieces before the final assembly. After the final assembly I added the scorching from the control thrusters to the top and from the atmospheric entry to the bottom.
This drop pod was added to my army pool to serve my Furioso, Arel. The killer was that after it was all done I went to place my dreadnought into it only then realizing that the back-banner I had previously embellished my Furioso with prevented him from being able to fit inside.
This model was selected as a finalist in the WH40K Open category by the judges of the Golden Demon painting competition in Baltimore, 2010.
Many of the Blood Angels cards in the initial space marine starter deck of Sabertooth Games’ WH40K CCG were fast attack units. One such card was called something like “multi-melta attack bike squadron”. Despite the name, each bike in the illustration was depicted with a heavy bolter. This card gave rise to my squad of attack bikes.
With my Blood Angels I prefer to field attack bikes instead of a devastator squad for heavy weapons fire. Their ability to move quickly and still fire their heavy weapons makes them a great fit in a Blood Angels army in my opinion. They are also relatively durable and hold their own in close-combat quite well.
This squad is named after the Angel “Aglasis” who is said to be able to carry anyone or anything anywhere in the world. Equipped with turbo boosters these attack bikes can really get around.
The models comprising this squad are loaded with bitz from various space marine bike kits in my collection. All of the bikes feature stowage from the scout bike squad boxed set. The multi-melta bike also bears the faring of the Space Marine Chaplain’s bike and the rider was originally the pilot of a landspeeder Typhoon. My favorite bit in this squad however is the sidecar gunner with the binoculars. I recruited him from my original Rogue Trader metal attack bike kit where he ably manned the sidecar gunner’s seat as well.
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