After much, much consternation with finding my 'grove' with painting, I discovered that I enjoy researching a seldom seen chapter, looking at others' work and then trying my hand at completing a fig or two in a particular paint scheme. Then moving on, maybe returning to that scheme, maybe not.
This has worked for me and I have many models completed over the last few months. Well, many for me. I still paint by brush, so can not crank out whole armies in 30 days or anything.
Having accepted this is how I like to paint, I began mulling over how I can tie these guys together....and so the Pathfinder Space Marines were born.There mission is a simple but very important one. One that is overlooked I feel in the 40k universe. The Pathfinders look for lost brothers and return them to their brothers. They also track and retrieve lost Chapter relics.
They are basically the ultimate Search and Rescue team. I am using the previously known Iron Hawks as the foundation members of the Pathfinders. These are the actual members of the chapter.
The circumstances surrounding the search and rescue of a lost brother determines the length of stay and necessary evaluation process involved to determine if a lost brother is fit to return to their Chapter.So, every lost brother must spend some amount of time in the field under the direction of the Pathfinders. Thus their ranks will always be a panoply of different Space Marine Chapters.
Initially the Pathfinders faced opposition and suspicion from many existing chapters in the first 1000 years or so of their existence. The retrieval of many valued heroes and priceless chapter relics quickly launched them into a position of great respect and admiration.
For the Pathfinders also have many a victory banner hung in their haloed halls depicting their valor and success in battle.
From the experience of assessing, training, and serving with so many different Chapters, Pathfinder Space Marines are as adept in various Chapter Tactics as any Chapter of Space Marines (and thus I can field them with whatever chapter tactic floats my boat at the time).
Primarily though, they fight as either White Scars or Iron Hands, as their original leaders were successors of those esteemed founding Chapters.
The Pathfinders are organized similarly to a Tribal Nation. This is a salute to my Irish, Scottish and American Indian heritage.
So, with this I managed to tie myself, my interests, and my modelling motivation into fluff that works for me.
I plan to stretch out the Pathfinder fluff as I go along with the army.
Brother Kanton, a lost Sons of Medusa was lucky enough to be the last model finished when righting this post and is now immortalized in the inaugural Pathfinder post. I will post pics of his brothers soon.
Thanks for the read,
BDS