In remembrance of loves lost: my Flesh Tearers army

Once you’ve been gaming long enough, been desperate for cash enough, or simply let that fire go out for one particular army, you’ve sold off an entire force.  Sometimes you put a lot of effort into a force of models, only to let those minis go for some cash you could have gotten by taking some overtime or selling blood.  To every thing, turn turn turn.

I have only sold one army: my Flesh Tearers Space Marines.  You may recall from previous entries that I won the initial seed of this army in the very last auction held at the Games Workshop in Novi, Michigan (now out of business).  That was a huge emotional high.  After years of seeing Joe’s Angels Sacrosanct take on all comers, I wanted to start some Blood Angels.  It was originally my idea to have a Space Marine army for each primarch.  Blood Angels seemed like the next logical step as a second army.

First I had to figure out WHAT Blood Angels to play.  Joe’s army was a “normal” Blood Angel army, and so I wanted something a bit different.  I remembered the Flesh Tearer list from the Index Astartes article and thought that would be perfect.  Lots of great conversion opportunities, neat color scheme, and a doomed, heroic background.  Plus, the extra chance of Death Company made it so I wouldn’t need a lot of Elite troops, as they were less worth it to take because they would be Death Company more often.  It would keep the Tearers from getting out of control like the Azure Flames, who are barely contained in their new case.

The Index Astartes article had an “Imperial Chain Axe” and so I thought that would be my signature.  I begged, borrowed, and bartered for Khorne Berzerker chain axes and used my trusty multi-tool file to file the chaos-y details off.  I then custom sculpted double-eagles or Flesh Tearer logos on each axe.  These details were 1/8″ wide and looked fantastic.  These Axes would go on every sergeant, as by the rules the sergeant was the FIRST chosen for the Death Company, and I didn’t want to pay for power weapons.  When these rules changed, I simply painted the teeth of the chain axes bone and said they were the teeth of the Dinosaurs of Cretacia, the Tearer’s homeworld, and they counted as power weapons.

At the time, Chapter Master Seth had no special rules of his own.  (he now has some and a bitchin’ ass model too!)  So I used the Salamanders Chaplain Xavier model, Dante’s Melta Pistol, and a wicked looking jagged sword.  Seth was my stand-in for Dante, just as my modified Tigirius (the OLD Tigirius as the new one has a stupid face) was my Mephiston.

I also had (not pictured below) four Rhinos with the Razorback hatch.  When I wanted a Razorback I popped in a gun.  When I wanted a Rhino, I popped in a custom hatch with a berserk Flesh Tearer popping out, or a hunter-killer missile!  These Rhinos had custom rear doors and openable side doors!

All of my Death Company were modded onto flying stands so that they flew.  My greatest triumph (sadly not pictured) were my Veteran Assault Marines.  These were all RIDICULOUS conversions.  Almost all of them had Woo-style pistols.  One was modeled after the art of an assault marine kicking two orks in the face while shooting two pistols.  Another was actually shooting a pistol BEHIND HIS BACK.  One was diving to the side, another had two plasma pistols firing two directions.  One had a flamer, holstered to the side, while he was wielding a chainsword as tall as he was!  One had a Dante melta pistol and a melta gun!  I modded all of these during the power outage of 2003 to keep from killing myself from boredom.

Sadly, I lost interest in the Tearers as the White Dwarf list came out and made them a little boring.  Yes, the list was more balanced and fair, but it also took some of the randomness out of the army and therefore some of the fun.  I took them to Adepticon 2009 and sold them piecemeal.  One guy bought the Rhinos, saying he was going to strip them.  They had fully detailed and painted interiors.  *sniff*  My painted characters and Death Company went like hotcakes.  The converted Assault Marines went almost immediately.  Finally, the remaining Tactical Squads, loose minis, and the custom made case was sold to a kid who was buying his FIRST ARMY.  I felt a lot better about selling them at that point.  I made a kid really happy and and made a bunch of money.

The bottom line is that I sold the Flesh Tearers because even though I owned them, they weren’t MINE.  The Azure Flames were MINE.  I made their stories.  I rose and fell with them.  I felt the pain of their losses and the joy of their victories.  Some other dude created the Flesh Tearers and it was fun to play them.  But I realize that it’s hard fo rme to want to build, paint, or play with an army that wasn’t my own creation.  So I abandoned my dream of owning a Space Marine army for each Primarch and instead found armies that I could create.  This led to Poindexta Smartyskull’s warband and the Saratogan 58th.

Sometimes I miss the Flesh Tearers.  I did some INCREDIBLE paint jobs and conversions.  But I don’t regret selling them, no matter HOW overpowered the Blood Angels are now.  For your viewing pleasure, here is an image dump of all the pics I took of the Tearers.