An Introduction to the Salamanders

XVII Legion
Name	Salamanders
Successors	Black Dragons
Warcry	"Into the fires of battle, unto the Anvil of War!"
Primarch	Vulkan
Regent	Tu'Shan
Homeworld	Nocturne
Colours	Green, Black and Gold

"Into the fires of battle, unto the Anvil of War"

The Salamanders warcry tells you the core of what the XVII Legion belives. Salamanders live and die by fire on their death world of Nocture covered in magma and flame. Their missing primarch Vulkan is credited with saying “On the Anvil of War are the strong tempered and the weak made to perish, thus are men's souls tested as metal in the forge's fire.”

Every Salamander is first a smith, capable of maintaining and improving their equipment which accounts as much as their own forge ship for highly customized weaponry based around their affinity for heat and fire, melta and flamer.

The Salamanders believe that only through battle can be prove their worth, and one day hope to prove themselves and find their way through the clues left by Vulkan to find key artifacts for their survival and to bring Vulkan home again.

Chapter Ethos

The Salamanders as a Chapter are unusually concerned with civilian casualties compared to most other Space Marines and believe that one of their most important duties is to protect the lives of the man. Salamanders' have unusually close connections to the Nocturnean people, as they are one of the only Chapters of Astartes who continue to interact with their people after their transformation into Space Marines. It is not uncommon for Salamanders to serve as a clan leader among the Nocturneans and live with them when Chapter business does not require him to remain at the Chapter's fortress-monastery on Nocturne's moon of Prometheus. The Salamanders believe in protecting civilians so strongly that they have fought with other marine chapters, and have volunteered for dangerous rear guard actions to ensure civilians can escape, when all other chapters refused.

The Promethean Cult governs the beliefs of the Salamanders, placing great emphasis on self-reliance, loyalty, and self-sacrifice. These values stem from their training as smiths. The Promethean Cult calls on its followers to emulate the deeds and be true to the teachings of their Primarch Vulkan. They hold a firm belief in isolationism, the tenet that only through spiritual meditation and exploration performed alone and in isolation from others can a person gain a true understanding of both themselves and how they can best honor the legacy of Vulkan and serve the will of the Emperor. Prometheans make use of fire in many of their rituals and ceremonies and believe that they must be cleansed by the pain of fire before every major undertaking or initiative. Promethean believers also hold sacred the words of the ancient ritual book known as the Canticle of Immolation, which is often read by Salamanders Chaplains during the Chapter's various ceremonies. It is not uncommon for Salamanders Space Marines to engage in ritual scarring by branding and burning.

Those Salamanders facing advanced age, crisis of belief, or a lack purpose will sometimes choose to undertake a ritual known as the Burning Walk. The Battle-Brother departs dressed only in robes, and with a walking staff, to travel the deserts of Nocturne until their crisis is resolved and they return. Few who undertake the walk are ever seen again.

Symbology

The primary symbol of the Salamanders is the salamander, the fire drake native to Nocturne. The reptilian salamanders after which the Chapter are named can live very long lives indeed; the oldest and most legendary drakes are revered in the Chapter's legends, such as the mighty Kessare whose hide is now worn by the Forgefather Vulkan He'stan

The hammer, sometimes called Vulkan's Sigil, the forge and the anvil are also important symbols for Prometheans due to the importance of smithing in Nocturnean culture.

Achievements and honors are recorded in brands upon the flesh of each Salamander. These scars represented a living history of the Salamanders' many conflicts. Only the most senior Veterans of the Chapter, a Salamander with centuries of service, ever bore honor markings on their faces, as their entire bodies were covered in honor marks. Chapter Master Tu'Shan is said to possess so many of these honor marks that he has run out of room on his flesh and instead has to have fresh honors marked directly onto his battle-plate.

Pilots are the only warriors in the Chapter who may ritually scar their faces before the rest of their bodies, for pilots will traditionally brand the Dactyl's Sigil on their faces, the symbol of the Dactyl, an avian predator native to Nocturne. Captain Dac'tyr of the 4th Company bears a particularly large and detailed sigil as befits his rank as the Chapter's Master of the Fleet.

Chapter Structure

While the Salamanders is a Codex Astartes chapter they do not literally follow the Codex like the Ultramarines. The Salamanders are organized into 7 great companies alighted to the 7 great walled cities of Nocturne. Each company holds 120 Battle-Brothers instead of the usual 100 with the 7^th Scout company being a small company of scout marines.

The Fire Drakes (1^st Company) is lead by the Regent Tu'Shan. The Salamanders Chapter-Master is their Primarch, Vulkan, and he will remain until the Salamanders find proof of his death. The Fire Drakes act as the honor guard for Regent Tu’Shan and rarely deploy with other Salamanders unless an artifact of Vulkan may be found. The 1^st Company contains 120 Veteran Battle-Brothers with every technology the chapter can muster at their disposal.

Support: Dreadnoughts, Rhinos, Razorbacks, Land Raiders, Terminator Squads

Company Colours: White salamander head on black left shoulder

The 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th companies are the Salamanders Battle Companies that are deployed on campaigns. They contain a mix of 7 Tactical, 3 Devastator, and 2 Assault squads with Rhinos, Razorbacks, Assault Bikes, and Land Speeders in support.

2^nd Company

Captain: Pellas Mir'san

Company Colors: White salamander head on black left shoulder

3^rd  Company

Captain: Adrax Agatone, Master of the Arsenal

Company Colours: Orange salamander head on black left shoulder

4^th Company

Captain: Dac'tyr, Master of the Fleet, Lord of the Burning Skies

Company Colours: Green salamander head on black left shoulder

The 5^th, and 6^th Companies are the Reserve Companies that are deployed to support the Battle-Companies should they find trouble so great that one company is insufficient. They are geared for overwhelming firepower and contain 8 Tactical and 4 Devastator squads with a combination of Rhinos and Razorbacks for transport.

5^th Company

Captain: Mulceber

Company Colours: Black salamander head on yellow left shoulder

6^th Company

Captain: Drakgaard

Company Colours: Green Salamander head on yellow left shoulder

The 7^th Company is the Scout Company and contains 6 Scout squads preparing for their role as Battle-Brothers. Their captain is the venerated Sol Ba’ken, the Master of Recruits. They are rarely deployed, but when they are they are rarely seen without their bikes and Land Speeders.

Captain: Sol Ba'ken, Master of Recruits

Company Colours: Black salamander head on white left shoulder

Relics of Vulkan

No lore of the Salamanders would be complete without the relics of Vulkan. Vulkan left behind nine relics of advanced technology crafted or designed by his own hand for his prodigy to find and wield if they proved worthy. The Primarch purposely hid these artifacts throughout the galaxy to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands, but also because he knew that even the grandest prize was as nothing were it to be seized without challenge. The Salamanders have appointed one from amongst their number to seek the lost legacy of their Primarch who is known as the Forgefather. This quest has been handed down through the Forgefathers, the greatest heroes within the Chapter, who are always gifted with the name of the Primarch before their own. The Forgefathers seek across the galaxy for the artifacts of Vulkan by deciphering the clues the Primarch left behind. Of the missing artifacts only the names are known.

Found:

·        Spear of Vulkan - a master-crafted relic spear

·        Kesare's Mantile - Drakescale cloak

·        Gauntlet of the Forge - Mastercrafted Hand-Flamer

·        Chalice of FIre - Forgeship orbiting Prometheus

·        Eye of Vulkan - Defence Laser on Prometheus

Missing:

·        Engine of Woes

·        Obsidian Chariot

·        Unbound Flame

·        Tome of Fire

Modeling Materials

Sculpting Materials

Sculpting materials are those that you use to fill gaps in models, create new elements for your models, and to create depth and the impression of an environment.

Green Stuff is GW's very well known epoxy fill, its expensive for what it is but is also very good, has a long drying time, and is easy to work with. Its best used only for the very fine detail stuff, and your better off getting similar alternatives from other retailers. But I still tend to use the GW Green Stuff.

Selleys KneedIT Multipurpose is a readily available plumbers epoxy that sets in minutes and is sand-able in 15-20 min.  Make sure you don't get the Steel version as that will set like metal and is almost impossible to work with. I use it for large models (IE Superheavies) as a bonding agent and extensively for giving depth and variation to the terrain for bases.

A side note here, the Selley's Kwik Grip shown there I use extensively for large models where you want to have a little bit of give in the joins where a fixed joint would likely crack over time. An excellent example of this is the ball joints in Titan hips.

Lastly using copper etched decals is a great way to provide some personalty to models and make them unique. On larger models they help to break up surfaces and allow for a higher degree of detail in iconography.


Basing Materials

 

Basing materials vary greatly based on the environment you are trying to portray. Is it a ships deck, or a cityscape, or some dirty dusty backwater infested with Tyranids? Each will have different material requirements to match its theme.

Typically its easier to start with out door areas, and they scale well as you add further detail. Find some loose shale or break down some rocks with a hammer till you get some reasonably small pieces that will fit well on the bases.

You want a mix of fine sand, coarse sand and some small pebbles to give you a mix of textures.

After painting you want to add some other 'organic' materials using flock or pre made tufts. Scenic Kits will also go a long way to helping you introduce some realism into your bases. The Secret Weapon materials are particularly nice and high quality.

Modeling Tools

There are three five  types of tools you need to have handy when you model; Saws, Clippers, Blades, Files, and Drills. There are many other things like paper clips for pins, magnets, tweezers, that are used in modeling work but you need to have these to work effectively.

When you start working on the larger kits you will need to have a 'Jewlers Saw'. These are saws with a very very fine blade that has a thin cut that leaves a clean finish. These are especially good for the larger resin kits.

Regardless if your working with Metal, Resin, or Plastic you will need a good set of clippers. Preferably ones with a nice clean edge that are as thin as possible. If they are thicker you have to take more care when you cut parts out of spruces so that you don't scrape or dent the parts.

Blades are self explanatory. You want to have a decent set of blades. By this I mean you want to spend some money and get a set of metal handled blades so they will not bend or break when you put some pressure into them. Cheap blades WILL HURT YOU sooner or later.

You want to have a heavy blade for the large cuts, a medium sized blade for the bulk of your work, and a tiny blade for the detail work and for tracing outlines.

 Files are important to work into a clean finish. You want to pick up a set of files that give you a variety of shapes and finishes. You want to have small fine files that will allow you to get into the the recesses of the models.

You also want to get Emery Boards (the Games Workshop version shown in this photo) with a very fine finish on them to allow you to work your models till your changes feel like the mold.

Lastly you want to get a good set of drills that will allow you to fit a range of sizes. These drills are most often used for pinning, creating holes for magnets, or drilling out gun barrels (get into the habit of doing this!).

Introduction to Modeling

The first key with modeling is vision. You have to know what you want to achieve as your endstate. Now I'm not saying you will get there, I usually don't. But without that vision your models, and your army as a whole will not flow together, especially with bases. Your vision will likely change as you work on individual models, you will vary what you wanted to produce based on funds, materials, and time. Make sure that you don't break too far from the overall plan for your force or you will end up with something looking disjointed.

The second key is having materials. Collect all sorts of random things. You never know when that bit from another kit, that rock, that plastic, that cloth will be useful to create something impressive and unique. Try to ensure you can see something you would use it for so you don't turn into a pack rat. You don't need to buy basing kits (it does make it easier) when you can collect most basing materials around the house and garden.

The third key is making mistakes. You cant be afraid to fail when you trying to do something new, something different. It might not work perfectly the first time, but that's OK, just do it again. I have broken many things when trying something new, some were recoverable, some were wrecked. I have a Warhound Titan in pieces that I have to rebuild because I didn't secure a hip joint properly. But I also have a second Warhound that is rock solid because I learn't from my mistakes.

The fourth key is having the right tools. The right tools allow to to file just the right amount off instead of slicing too much with a blade. The right tools let you polish that sculpted part so that its indistinguishable from the plastic and resin around it.

While there is not much anyone can teach you about the first key, and the third key is inevitable, I can give you some ideas about the second and the fourth key.