Ultima Ratio

So things are taking a little longer than expected. The green stuff work on the small squad of Arbites is quite involved, but not the main problem.

The baby waking up and reducing our nights to just a few hours sleep is also taking a toll, but again, not the main problem.

Having all my work deadlines meet at once sucks up a great deal of time, but, yet again, this is not the main problem.

No, the main problem is my complete lack of attention span. I got about a third of the way through the rest of the Arbites Enforcers when I found another little project to work on. It's a piece of hardware for them, but I won't go into any further detail here. I promise I'll get both jobs to a stage worth sharing at some point in the near future, but in the meantime I thought I'd post some pictures of another old model.

A few years ago my good friend Sergeant Gavertson, the man who introduced me to Airsoft, and the person who played the best game of Space Hulk I have ever witnessed (quickly earning him a promotion to Brother Captain) asked me to do him a favour. He wanted me to paint him an Ultramarines Baneblade.

So I did.

And it took ages. 

But I enjoyed the experience, and used the opportunity to learn a few new techniques. Here are the results.

I haven't seen this model for years. I miss it a little

It's a bit weird to miss a toy tank, right?

In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, France was the era's equivalent of a major superpower. This seems to have had a great deal to do with a single individual, Louis XIV. Without turning this into a half-baked history lesson he seems to have been a little bit like a certain Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, in that he successfully consolidated domestic power, and used it to further extend his influence across the world (or in Guilliman's case, worlds).

On the side of Louis XIV's cannons he had the words "Ultima Ratio Regum" stamped. Latin for "the last argument of kings". I'm not sure Guilliman would ever refer to himself as a king, but I thought the sentiment of resorting to warfare only after all other avenues have been pursued was a nice fit for the Ultramarines. And a rare superheavy tank, more of a relic than part of their regular arsenal, felt like exactly the kind of weapon upon which such an idealistic name would be bestowed.