The Forgotten – Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Project

So where is this all working towards? The 500-point army is going to be as so…

• 1x Chaplain
• 1x Judiciar
• 10x Assault Intercessors (with Power Fist)
• 10x Assault Intercessors (with Power Sword & Plasma Pistol)

This gets me to exactly 500 points with the new points drops. Taking things to the next level, I will be going for 750 and that includes…

• Redemptor Dreadnought (with various weapons)
• Primaris Lieutenant (Plasma Pistol & Power Sword)

The Primaris Lieutenant is going to be “played” by the excellent updated Cypher model. I love this idea that Cypher has actually infiltrated his way into The Forgotten and is using them for his own ends. Cypher will then work as a Captain etc later on down the line as and when needed.

He won’t use the actual Cypher rules, unless my opponents are happy for me to use him of course, but I thought it would be a cool bit of extra lore.

I also got my hands on some character miniatures to use with this Space Marine force. They are led by a Chaplain in the background so I picked up one of the nice new kits.

I went with the same techniques as with the Assault Intercessors but also worked in more ideas from my Stormcast Eternals that were also done in a grimdark way.

I took more time and care with the mud and dirt on the cloak for this chap as well as some of the object source lighting on the crozius arcanum.

The second character is one of the followers of the Chaplain who has risen through the ranks. Meet the Judiciar.

This fellow got more of the object source lighting treatment as you can see. I quite liked how he came out although I might do a bit more on the sword, either with a bit of blood or something else.

Whether for good or ill, I decided to try and paint my way through an entire unit of Assault Intercessors in an afternoon and an evening. The idea was that I would need to do this before I lost interest in the project and left it on the pile of potential.

The process for the miniatures was pretty simple. These plastic kits go together quickly once you’ve got your eye in and I also added some skulls from the Skulls kit that Games Workshop do for terrain, kitbashing and the like.

Painting-wise, the idea was to make it quick. So, it was a lot of drybrushing over black followed by picking out details with gold, green, red and such here and there.

After about 8 hours, the miniatures looked like this.

After this step where the Agrax Earthshade had gone on followed by some rust and such, the ground was made muddy and there was just the need to wait for things to dry.

The thinking process for the whole project is that this can be quickly achieved and look decent. PLUS, I can always go back to the miniatures when I want to get more detail on to them or have different ideas.

Speaking of finished, here are some of the “finished” Space Marines with the extra couple of hours work. There was a drybrush applied to the bone and the dirt was tided up (or added) to the bases and boots/greaves.

The few things missing here would be on just making them pop a little more. So, there are going to be Skull transfers added to the halved shoulder pads (green and red) to match the theme.

I will also revisit the bases and add some tufts and other bits of vegetation on there so it doesn’t look like they are fighting through a muddy World War I-esque battlefield. But, the “finished” look has created some pretty dynamic (and importantly) quick Space Marines for the tabletop.

The lore for The Forgotten is that they are a Dark Angels Successor Chapter. When the Primaris were introduced to the different Chapters of Space Marines, the Dark Angels sent a contingent of their troops to hunt down The Fallen, thinking that it would be a good testing ground for these newcomers to the Chapter.

When the Chaplain leading the hunt didn’t return and communications were cut off, the Dark Angels decided to expunge all records of their hunt and soon The Forgotten earned their name.

The Chaplain and his Space Marines had indeed encountered the enemy and been reduced to a handful of their original number. Whilst dealing with the forces of The Fallen, The Forgotten had been ambushed by forces of the T’au Empire on a distant polar world and, with much of their supplies already spent, they were forced to retreat but with heavy losses.

After dodging the T’au patrols, The Forgotten fought their way back to Imperium space but were met with fierce resilience by the Imperial forces they encountered. Despite trying to hail the Astra Militarum and Adepta Sororitas forces they encountered, they were considered enemies and traitor Space Marines by their zealous brothers (and sisters) in arms and The Forgotten were forced to fight their way out of another situation.

Now The Forgotten find themselves in an impossible situation. No record of their Founding exists and so the Imperium sees them as a threat. They are no longer able to call on aid for resupplies and so make do with what they have. They are now fighting to find any remnant of their Founding…

They have taken to some drastic courses of action in the intervening years. They have stripped the Dark Angels symbol from their armour and iconography, thinking their progenitors to have abandoned them. They also mount the skulls of their enemies on their arms and armour, trophies showing the enemies of the Imperium they have destroyed in the name of The Emperor.

This has taken to many seeing them as a terrible spectre on the battlefield. Skull-festooned Angels Of Death, covered in blood and mud, dented and ruined armour making them look like corpses given life.

Maybe there is some truth to the worries of the Imperium. Perhaps The Forgotten have truly lost a sense of what they once were and would be better reduced to ashes like the records of their founding. Is it faith in The Emperor that guides their Chaplain’s zealous prayers or something far darker?

A becloaked individual wearing archaic and mismatched armour has been seen within their ranks…maybe that offers up a guide as to the fortunes of The Forgotten.