Inspiration

Well, I have just realized why I havent explained my need to mutilate myself by making a fully customized, and highly detailed horde style IG army. Like snow flakes, so far out of 150+ models, not a single one is the same or even similar. They are all in different poses, using different weapons in different positions, all have seperate gear such as extra knives, or swords, or weapons, and all have different battle damage. Because of my color blindness, painting battle damage takes some time as I can only work on a couple at any given period. If I let the black dry too much its too hard to find to paint the boltgun over it, giving it that worn and shot up look.

I wanted to build this army as the IG army I had before was about the second army I ever had, and I started collecting it at 14 or 15, and the 512th Cadian Heavy Infantry was founded. Suffice to say my hobby skills were not that up too par. I got a lot of models for this army and it became a color jubilee with how many different paintschemes were used. After a number of years the new edition of the Guard Codex was released.
This was also about the same time I went to the 2009 Games-day in Baltimore. Deffinitly not one of my favorite GD's I was captivated by Armies on Parade. The armies looked amazing except for a few, mostly the IG armies. The IG armies were tabletop quality and the only thing really bringing them out was the scenic display's they were in. This I noticed was the case with most IG armies. Cadians are Green, Catachans arent used. Thats the norm. Where I hobby its more often a sea of Black Figures though which is even worse.
So I decided to build a new Guard army, based loosely off the fluff of the Gaunts Ghosts (from a dead world, using stealth and infantry), but most of my inspiration actually came from the Sharpes Rifle's books by Robert Cornwall and the movies Terminator Salvation. I loved the battle damage on all the vehicles and the beleagured look of the troops. So, I got the new codex and a battalion, and before making any figures, sat down and thought about the background for my army.
I do this any time I start a new army. I dont look at the best units, I dont build a list to the best of my abilities and buy based on that. I sit down and think about what my army will be based off of, what is their mentallity, their character, their morals.
I decided on a nobility based army where a family leads them. Then I came up with the resource rich homeworld of Adventus. From there I looked at what the economic impact that a nobility based government would have on a people, and how such important resources would affect the way they fought and thought. Then I began building based off of this idea. I always loved the Japanese idea of Martial Honor and ancestral weapons so I incorporated that into my armies background, it also helped add some character to every model.
When building my list, I do impose personal limitations. I dont use many tracked vehicles. Adventus was a heavily mountainous and forested region. Ground vehicles would have been nearly impractical. Thus I limited myself to only 1 Heavy Support choice and emphasized Scout Sentinals and Valkyries. I also have stuck to the older Guard ideal of Psykers being wierd and not trusted and too it to the next level where my army loaths and despises psykers. My army can never take a Primaris Psyker or Psyker Battle Squad.
I love technology, and always wondered how the Imperium would be if they didnt have their irrational fear of technology so I decided that, with conflict comes innovation. Because of the intense resource wars that would have inevitably sprouted up on the planet of Adventus, many of people would begin innovating and learning technology. This of course would lead to horendous punishments by the Adeptus Mechanicus so I had to incorporate a shadowy element to it. This opened up my list to a prevelence of high tech weapons, Melta, Plasma, Executioner and Punisher Leman Russ tanks.
Now, with the background, idea for their paint scheme, and mentallity thought out and done, the 17th Adventus Light Rifles was born. This is a very enjoyable army for me and keep finding myself buying more and more for it. I have also not tired too much from painting them too, because of the small details every model has. I found a way of incorporating female models without much hassle as well. I figured they wouldnt custom make armor for women, they would get the same uniforms and make of them as they will, so I simply use wood elf heads to denote females and they fit in seamlessly for the most part.
My army uses a great deal of 'Counts-As' to get it to work in a way that it needs too. I can, more often than not, get the entire army to outflank using a combination of Lady Seras(Counts as Creed), Lt. Telmar (Counts as Al'Rahem), and Gunnery Sergeant Harker(I liked the name so I simply kept it). I have done well with them so far, I have won a few more than I have lost, and this list has thrown opponents out of their comfort zone, especially in the two tournaments I have been in. One opponent (no matter how much I told him) didnt believe the entire army was coming on his flank so he set a gun line facing forward. This led to a complete massacre as he couldn't maneuver in time to prevent his entire flank from falling.
In conclusion, this army will be my primary army and for the first time I have no aspirations of collecting another. I am happy to sit here with the current one and keep converting.