Behind the iron: 122nd grand company - a brief history.
Towards the end of the Great Crusade, some 20 years before it came to a close, the Iron Warriors Companies began to split in to ever smaller companies. It was a tactic aimed at hiding their strength from both friend and foe, for Perturabo, ever cautious of his brothers and father, did not wish his might to be seen. So it was ever smaller Grand companies, measuring between 90 and 900 marines began to spring up. There's no precise figure on how vast his legion grew during this sprint siege tactica, but most estimates put the figure in the region of 15000-20000 Astarte, granting him one of the largest legions, save perhaps the Ultramarine and word bearers.
It began standard practise for these adhoc companies to number themselves, each on representing a single detachment, though they were often working in groups of three or four grand companies during sieges. The most remarkable, but un-noted of these was the 122nd grand company. Due to the unique circumstances which gave birth to the 122nd, it was given the unusual detchment size of 1500 warriors (note; sourced from several of the primary companies, as well as a number of the sub-GC's). Quite what these were are lost to the chaos that followed, but it is worth noting they appear in the records of no less than nine major mechanicus outposts (several of which were 'returned' to the mainstream fold, having been seperated since the Long Night). It is believed these frequent encounters lead to an usually close alliance between the legion and machine cults.
This friendship would later lead to dark and more damnedable things... but during the time crusade it gave rise to a newly developed STC.
Scorpion Assault Vehicle; or by any other name....
The scorpion is in fact a rare vehicle, rarer indeed that almost any other tank in use, because scorpion was in use for only 20 years. During the Horus heresy it became lost on one of the major manufactorum worlds. The Scorpians design would later be discovered and adapted into a vehicle known to modern historians as the "Razorback".
There is some conjecture as to the exact origin of the Scorpion, many placing its first use as a refitted group of rhino's during the siege of Kharlax IV where an unidentified race of terran origin had formed a great defence, it's final stand against the might of the ever expanding crusade. The trenchs had been designed wide enough for the defenders own tanks to fit in and move freely, but were far too small for the heavier support of either the Imperial Army or the Space marines own notable designs would fit.
The MK1 Rhino had, however, shown a great deal of fortune in moving through the enemies on networks. So it was a rear mounted turret on the rhino's came to be, earning it the nickname the Scorpion. Though it had a host of turrets crafted during the siege (usually anything they could get to work in a pair) it was later decided that three basic designs would be mass produce, and fourth in smaller quantities. These were the Twin linked plasmagun and lascannon, design to deal with both heavy infantry and the light armour of the trench enemies, a twin linked lascannon and a twin linked heavy bolter. Later the Repear Autocannon found its way into the arsenal in smaller numbers due to its high flexibility in smaller city skermish fights, but due to the hybrid nature of the tank it was the most difficult to engineer in any great quanitity and with any form of quality.
When the Horus Heresy struck, and entire worlds sank back into the night, the Scorpian became little more than a faded memory, a handful of unusual rhino's sat in the great arsenals hidden deep with the 122nd's fortress on Medrengard.
Now it's WIP time. Here is a handful of basic assembled models, blured due to the basic pre-modified nature of them. I'm also waiting on some shoulder pads.
And here is a model from the 122nd chaos army i have, which will give you some clue as to how the scheme will look once completed.
So begins this tale of ancient myth and mkIII armour.
-hawke
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Looking forward to this!
Originally Posted by Red Skullz
