Introducing Librarian Rorschach, fresh from the dropship!
What do you see in me?!
Left side!
Right side!
Rorschach was started earlier this year and I finally dusted him off and finished him up this week. The core of the model is a Terminator Sergeant from the Black Reach box. The banner is from a Command Squad, spliced into a Terminator arm. Both arms are magnetized so I could attach them for play before he was painted, and for easier transport now that he’s done—no re-gluing that banner every time I open the box! Other details and photos from construction are in the WIP post.
My arms! My arms! What have you done?!?!
I think the paintjob came out a bit more gritty and dark than I wanted, as well as a bit sloppy, but overall I think he looks good and interesting. From most angles and lighting the banner puts his entire body into a shadow so he doesn’t really stand out well and the details are lost, but to a large extent that’s intentional. He’s supposed to be a dark, brooding, introspective danger.
I ignored the standard Librarian coloring because having a little Ultramarines blue in every army is great to let all those other guys know which chapter’s the boss, but I don’t think it looks good. Despite being awesomely painted technically, I think a lot of the GW Librarian paintjobs outside of the Ultramarines really don’t work well within their armies.
Rorschach also differs from the standard Kingbreakers khaki/blue/green because he’s part of the death mindset that’s settled in the chapter since the Exterminatus of Forestway, their home planet. The Librarian and many others, notably the Kingbreakers’ Ghosts (Sternguard), have painted their armor black and helmets white to reflect the attitude that they’re all already dead and fighting on borrowed time, purely for revenge.
Librarian Rorschach, Sgt Harmon, and a few of the Kingbreakers’ Sternguard.
That narrative is important to me and well established in the chapter’s background and history of play. They originally got this story because Kingbreakers’ Sternguard are known for hurling themselves into almost certain death, sacrificing their lives for tactical or strategic advantage. Rorschach is no different, and even more overtly effectively a high stakes gambler. His disconnect from reality and those around him leaves him unable to fully process consequences and thus he never hesitates to throw around the Vortex of Doom and other highly perilous spells, even within close quarters.
In terms of actual gameplay though, Rorschach most often deploys with my Sternguard. Those guys were given a variant paintjob to differentiate them from Tactical Squads on the table without actually breaking the cohesive, muted look of the whole army. Rorschach got similar styling in order to fit in with his usual fighting companions.
The Kingbreakers’ Ghost variant compared to the standard paint scheme.
Up next for painting at some point is probably a similar Ghost color-variant Drop Pod for these guys, and then moving on. I kind of want/need another five Sternguard painted up, but after doing all this black I’m actually a little eager to do some standard Kingbreakers.