Zebraoutrider is Reborn…

2022 was my annus horribilis with the passing of my father. He was 84 (so a good innings) but it was sudden and it fell to me to find him. Thanks to this community, I’ve bounced back from my doldrums (shoutout to @scribbs for his kind words which will mean more to me than he’ll ever realise.) It seems apt then to gain a sense of rebirth as I close one life’s chapter and begin a new one – and where better than exploring ‘The Reborn’ for Warhammer 40K through my love of kit bashing and painting. A legion born from the chaos of life…

Background to ‘The Reborn’

So, what do we know about ‘The Reborn’? Frankly, not much!

Looking at the Warhammer 40K WIKI we can learn the following: (https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/The_Reborn)

“The Reborn are a warband of Chaos Space Marines of unknown origin and allegiance. They have been observed using very ancient, almost antiquated, patterns of weaponry.

Imperial forces first encountered The Reborn over a thousand Terran years ago in 795.M40.”

“The Reborn wear heavily corroded orange-brass power armour with rusted joints and black trim. The Reborn’s badge is a black, unidentified skeletal bird on a corroded orange-brass background.”

“Notable Campaign:

Death of Cygnax (557.M41) – By the middle of the 41st Millennium, the heavily militarised Hive World of Cygnax, located in the star system that bore its name, was the most populated sphere in the northern Maelstrom Zone. Having long been a lynchpin of Imperial control of the region, Cygnax was a key world, forming a bulwark against aggressors and serving as a safe port for Imperial merchant and naval vessels. In the year 557.M41 disaster struck with the suddenness of an onrushing storm as Cygnax succumbed to corruption from within and attack from without. The planet rapidly fell into bloody civil war between its Imperial garrison and Death Cult nihilists, backed by the intervention of the dread Chaos Space Marine warband known as The Reborn. Despite the intervention of the Mantis WarriorsChapter, which itself had made a home in the nearby Endymion Cluster, the death toll rose exponentially into the millions. The Death Cultists managed to gain access to part of the world’s missile defence network, and in a suicidal rage unleashed a rain of atomic and plasma warheads upon the doomed world, shattering its hive cities and disrupting the planet’s orbit for several Terran years. The resulting permanent nuclear winter, radioactive fallout and tectonic upheavals annihilated all life on Cygnax. With the fall of this key world, Imperial control of the northern Maelstrom Zone swiftly crumbled. Without Cygnax, combined with other losses in the region over the previous few centuries, vital Imperial military supply chains stretching as far as Bakka and Terra itself were threatened, forcing the Adeptus Terra to act.”

They are mentioned in the Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 21 and in Imperial Armour Volume Nine – The Badab War, Part One, pg. 18

So… I think I’ve got a bit of leeway to mix Chaos Space Marine parts from various kits and the ‘feel’ of the warband (or my interpretation) lends itself to even introducing chaos mutations from possessed marines to truly embrace the spirit of being reborn?

Next up… selecting the models.