Guardians of the Covenant by Trajan

Trajan's army has the honour of two firsts - not only the first successor chapter but also the first Guardians of the Covenant displayed on thedarkfortress.

Of all the recently revealed Dark Angels successors, the GotC look unlike any other as their colour scheme shares little of the green, bone, black of the usual Unforgiven palette. This is a good thing, and has proved popular with gamers/modellers too.

This collection has been thoughtfully constructed incorporating robed sergeants (a must for any Unforgiven force) and using dynamic posing throughout, and neat professional touches that extend to excellent basing and drilled weapon barrels. There are a few mould lines too but they don't detract from the overall the effect which excellent and that is what counts.

The basic boltgun and black scheme has been complemented by gold chest eagles, the dark blue of the eye lenses and the blue plasma coils and the treatment of the power weapons / lightning claws, adding contrasting colours to break the monochrome monotony. All without taking too much away from the enveloping dark menacing look of this chapter. The dark red robes are excellent on the sergeants and the Veteran squad, making these models look uncannily like member of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Some marines also have stubble applied to chins and shaved heads making them look like they've been in the field for a few days, a notion enhanced by some wear and tear on vehicles and power armour. Of the vehicles the dreads are particulalry good having freehand iconography applied, the Venerable with black "arms" to link in with the shoulder pads of the chapter. Other neat touches on the vehicles are the periscope and viewing lenses, and of course a very nice Rhino interior.

Careful attention has been paid to the application of decals used on shoulder pads and on the company markings that are liberally applied, items that finish an army fusing them together as a cohesive collection.