s_o_r_r_o_w wrote:
First, I better be on that notify list too!
I'm trying to think if I pm'ed you when I saw that as well, but it was quite some time ago, and there'd be 700+ pm's to comb through...
Now, regarding your question--I do not consider that model to be a "transition" Marine. I consider the 9 Corvus marines, and possibly the handful of alternative at our sculpts, to fall in that category.
Yeah, CCM doesn't consider them
real "transition beekees", either, but they were made right between First and Second Edition, and were much more robust than the earlier First Edition sculpts... especially those hideous ones based on drawings by Ian Miller.
Miller's artwork is boss, but I'm not a fan of the models it inspired.
Just because my ladz take plastic arms is no reason to throw them out; at least they have the exposed power lines on the chest and the long greaves sans poleyns:
[ Click to Enlarge ]
The fellow on the right with the winged skull on his greave, in particular, took me forever to find. I picked him up by complete luck in a lot of horribly painted Space Marines that came from the UK, and scrubbed him clean!
... and either one of my ladz has wandered off, or I'm actually lacking
two of them. So many squadboyz waving bolters and chainswords around here, I may have overlooked
another one!
[ Click to Enlarge ]
I couldn't tell you if I've had my hands on this specific fig before, but my instinct is that he is not that rare. A problem I've had with collecting "trooper" figs in the past is that they are not as "sexy" and are often also misdescribed.
Sometimes you have to have a good eye to tell them apart as well. I had to look twice at the painted models below, and was trying to reconciling the angle at which they are holding their bolters when I realized that Brother-Sergeant Infernus is standing with his legs apart while the marine next to him is taking a step forward.
[ Click to Enlarge ]
Still, if you want to have an army that doesn't all look like they all rolled off the assembly line on Kamino, then finding as many different looking models as you can is an admirable goal. From Third Edition on, it's easy, but I like the challenge of tackling the earlier releases. Plus, I have a good head start, since that's where my army began!
I suggest you PM Dakkar98, the leading expert here on 2nd Ed+ Beakies and see if he has had one.
I just might do that!
