Rubrics Cubed

Yes, I know it's near-identical to the previous Rubric Marines, but you just have to look at the intricate filigree armour - I had to paint it.

This particular box was sat on my shelf for a few months, as I contemplated their allegiance: more troops for my Thousand Sons, or Sons of the Cyclops for the Black Legion?

Much as I am tempted by the thought of Black Rubricae (don't rule them out in future), it was getting to be somewhat embarrassing that I owned a fairly large Thousand Sons army with so few examples of their signature unit. So it was back to blue and gold!

The previous unit of Rubrics were actually the first 40k unit I ever painted, and I remember moaning about the length of time it took to complete them.

Thus, I had a useful yardstick to see if I've made any improvement in the last two years. It turns out: these guys took me half a long to get to the same standard. Remarkable what a wet palette, a painting handle and a bit of practice can achieve.

So these Rubrics were not the ordeal that painting their brothers gave me. It helps that I still love the colours - one of the reasons the army draw me in - so I had a blast with the gold-and-turquoise power armour.

Another reason for getting these off the production line is that, with Bolter Discipline being an official rule now, a big squad of Rubrics with Inferno Boltguns is quite formidable. They no longer have to worry about moving upfield into rapid-fire range, just find a cosy spot of cover in the middle of the battle and blaze away.

(It's one of the reasons this squad were assembled in a more deliberate 'shooty' poses.)

It almost makes the Soulreaper Cannon redundant (though I like the model too much to remove it). I also included a Warpflamer, with a few of the other Rubics magnetised, so I can still run a flamer squad if desired (although without a Rhino, it doesn't make sense for them - and I'm not keen on adding a Rhino).

Finally, the Aspiring Sorcerer. To make sure he was different from the other champion, I gave him a regular Rubric's legs (some lucky trooper gets the heroic foot-on-rock stance) and an Exalted Sorcerer's torso. This needed a bit of jiggling to get right, but he does look chunkier and more aggressive than his brother-aspirant. Must be Cult of Pyrae.

And so the dusty ranks swell further. Can't wait to get them on the table en masse.