“The War of the False Primarch was a dark and bloody episode of the Imperium’s history, now largely lost to myth and purged from all records, that plunged the Segmentum Pacificus into anarchy from 780.M33 to 860.M33. The conflict was finally ended when the High Lords of Terra convened the Pentarchy of Blood and tasked five loyal Chapters to destroy eleven others that had been declared Traitoris Perdita for their actions during the war.”

IMPERIAL ARMOUR VOLUME TWO – SECOND EDITION PG. 17

Concept

The Flesh Eaters space marine chapter, a key member of the Pentarchy of Blood, bring the will of the High Lords to the Partisan naval base of Interlude Quay deep within Segmentum Pacificus. Following the trail of intelligence gained from civilians captured during the Pacification of Logan’s World, Brother-Chaplain Uriah Grimm sets the world of Interlude Quay aflame, disrupting Partisan supply lines. Amidst the chaos, elements of the Flesh Eaters first and third companies launch a strike against hidden bases belonging to the Silver Stars chapter. The hunt continues for the Abomination known as the “False Primarch”.

This year’s board is continuing the story from last year’s Armies on Parade contest entry, the Pacification of Logan’s World. The army has grown over the past year, so a larger board would be required. I quickly arrived at the concept of an attack on a hidden base or bunker complex. This idea would allow me to showcase detailed close-up action and also a sweeping battlefield.

Designing & Building the Board

The board was built from a large picture frame, giving it a pre-made border. The middle of the frame was filled with layers of foam board, which are cut into the shape of the hill at the rear, and the earthworks disguising the hidden bunker at the front. The foam boards were then textured with a mix of sand and Vallejo model texture paste.

The various structures on the board are mostly made from Games Workshop kits. The ruins at the rear of the board are made from the Sector Imperialis Ruins kit. The tank traps are from a very old Games Workshop battlefield scenery kit. The partially ruined defence line in the middle of the board is made from part of the discontinued Wall of Martyrs kit and layers of cork board.

The fires burning in the ruins are made from flickering LED tealights covered in soft toy stuffing. The stuffing was given a spray of Chaos Black to make the smoke darker. The burning ruins were intended to both hide the transition to the background image and sell the idea of the burning city. I wanted to give the impression that the Flesh Eaters were pouring out of the city to overwhelm the hidden base of their enemies.

The background image of the burning city skyline was a royalty-free image taken from Freepik.com, printed out A3 size, and then glued to a sheet of foam board. Unfortunately, now that I’ve looked more closely, I’ve realised this was an AI generated artwork, which I don’t support on principle. Next year I think I’ll investigate painting the background myself.

The Silver Stars & The Hidden Base

I knew from early in the planning that I wanted some antagonist miniatures on the board for the Flesh Eaters to fight against. It gives a sense of life to the battle scene and helps give context to the muzzle flares and bullet impact effects.

The Silver Stars chapter are a creation of my good friend and regular opponent, Apologist. They are the instigators of the War of the False Primarch and the leaders of the Partisan faction. I have quite a lot to say about modelling and painting the Silver Stars, so I’m going to devote an entire separate article to them soon.

Going back to the board and the hidden bunker, he internal walls were made from the Zone Mortalis Columns and Walls kit. The lighting is simply two red LEDs connected to resistors, a switch and a battery pack underneath the bunker floor. I bulked-up the shape of the LEDs with acrylic gel and then painted a silver frame around them to give a utilitarian look. The propaganda posters were designed digitally and printed on paper, which I then stuck to the walls using Pritt stick.

Conclusion

There we have it, another ‘Armies on Parade’ project concluded! If you were following this project via any of my social media accounts, then you may have seen that it all came together very hurriedly in the end. In fact, I only finished painting it on the evening of the deadline, and only finished photography and sent the submission email with ten minutes to spare! Despite all this, I’m pleased with the outcome, especially the hidden bunker elements. I’ll start earlier next year, although I always say that…

Given a bit more time, would I have done anything differently? In hindsight, the bunker foreground could have been lower, and the rear of the battlefield could have been higher. This would have allowed a better lower angle for photography to capture a sweeping panorama without the bunker walls blocking the miniatures behind them. I would also have liked to have had some Partisan Imperial Guard fighting alongside the Silver Stars, if I’d had the time.

What’s Next?

What’s next for the Flesh Eaters? This certainly isn’t the end of the project. You may have noticed a Dreadnought in the pictures which I haven’t shown elsewhere yet, so he will be getting his own photography session and blog article soon. I also have more Assault Intercessors to finish, plus a Terminator Librarian, Terminator Captain and a rather large tank! I’m already thinking about what next year’s Armies on Parade board theme will be, but I think it’s safe to say it will be a continuation of Brother-Chaplain Uriah Grimm’s adventures in the War of The False Primarch.

That’s all for today, I hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s Armies on Parade project. Thanks very much for reading today’s post, and please remember if you’re on Instagram, Threads, Twitter/X, Bluesky or Mastodon you can also find me posting my work there.