XIII Legion: The Ultramarines, sons of Robute Guilliman

There are a lot of models from different eras of play here.  I was not interested in the Ultramarines very much until Guilliman was brought out as a playable model.  I've grown to really enjoy this Chapter quite a bit and their colors are fun to paint.

I didn't start collecting or painting Ultramarines for myself until they released the Guilliman model.  8th edition followed shortly after that and I found myself painting up new Primaris Space Marines, starting with the contents of two sets of "Dark Millenium".  Here is the main core of the army.

Primaris Captain.  I left the cape off.

I wanted the Primaris Ancient's banner to really pop so I outlined it in the 2nd Company color of yellow.

I like the Primaris Librarian, I do wish he had more options, like a staff or axe.  The cloak is fun to paint and gives you a space to add a splash of contrasting color to the blue.  I chose red for most of the cloaks, rather than the yellow I initially used on the Gravis Captain.

Gravis Captain. I liked the checker board decals that came with Dark Millenium.

The Primaris Chaplain, like most Primaris characters, doesn't have a lot of options but he really looks imposing and his Crozius Arcanum is awesome.

Marneus Calgar has gone through many incarnations, some of which are in my collection.  I like the new sculpt quite a lot.

Suppressors from "Shadowspear".  I like their mobility and they work well in Ultramarines with their special Tactical Doctrine benefits.

I was NOT a fan of the original base for the Primaris Apothecary.  He is sold standing on the chest of a Primaris Space Marine that he has just harvested Progenoid Glands from.  To me, that's really disrespectful and doesn't fit with how the Space Marines would operate.  These are beings who will fight to recover the bodies of their dead, to have their medics, of all people, be depicted that way was really off-putting for me.  I used Green Stuff to sculpt up a rock for him to stand on instead.

I enjoyed building and painting up the Repulsor.  It's a center piece for the army as a whole and aside from Guilliman himself, it draws a lot of attention.

I was going to field ten of these guys but ended up reassigning the other five to my Raven Guard, which I started to work on in earnest once the initial build and paint for the Ultramarines was winding down.

I still struggle to find a good place in my lists for Reivers.  They just seem to be missing something to make them a harder decision when it comes to whether or not to include them.

I did not like the acrylic flight stands that came with the Inceptors so I modeled them taking off rather than in mid flight.  I did a similar thing with the Suppressors.

On the left we have the newest version of Marneus Calgar.  On the right we have the version that came out in 2nd Edition.  I have them both painted up because part of this army is compatible with 2nd edition.  This is partly scale creep and partly scale correction for Space Marines.  It's still funny to see them side by side like this.  You can see the 1st edition Rhino there on the far right.  I'll need to get a good shot of it to add later.

Eliminators are quickly becoming a favorite unit of mine.  These hail from the Shadowspear box set and work well in Ultramarines because they benefit from both the Devastator Doctrine and the Ultramarines special Tactical Doctrine rules which lets them stay mobile.

I recently reassigned this Phobos Armor Librarian to my Raven Guard. I will be adding a new one to the Ultramarines eventually, though.  The Phobos Armor Captain is also a favorite of mine.

This Lieutenant can only be purchased at conventions.  I picked him up last year at Adepticon.  I'm very happy with how he turned out.  He has a lot of character.

Rounding out the stable of Lieutenants, I have both from the Dark Millenium Box, the "Wake the Dead" Lieutenant, and the Phobos Armor Lieutenant.  That's five Lieutenants for this army.

The Victrix Honor Guard are pretty useful and were fun to paint.  They really add a lot to the look of the army when they're fielded.

I have two units of 2nd Edition Terminators for this army, both with Cyclone Missile Launchers.  I love how they turned out and they're a staple of my 2nd edition lists.

This Tactical Squad is from the 4th Edition starter box "Battle for Macragge".  They're totally compatible with both 2nd and Modern era 40K.

I love Calgar in 2nd edition because he has a Strategy Rating of 6.  This means that Orks can't just always go first against him...

...especially with this Attack Bike which is clearly upgraded for Recon!

I always loved the original bikes with their axle mounted Bolt Guns and their really sketchy side cars.

In case I don't want to use the Techmarine Trike but want to field vehicles, I also have this amazing Rogue Trader Era Techmarine on foot.

Here's the very first Marneus Calgar model in all his glory!