Zone Secundus: Ratling Sniper

So now I know where snipers come from.

The Church of the Red Athenæum has always had a favorable view towards mutants in their congregation, recognizing their devotion, even though they are often persecuted throughout most of the Imperium. Unfortunately, we have not converted too many models to represent this, with only one in the original Pilgrym warband, and one from the newer one. When looking through some of our old model cases I found a trio of Rogue Trader era Ratling Snipers, the first GW miniatures we ever purchased. It seemed fitting to convert one a little and repaint it as a new member for the Red Church, their diminutive stature being welcomed with open arms.

I sculpted a stock on the rifle using Milliput.

I sculpted a few small scars on the model's hands.

I trimmed the model's right foot and sculpted a combat boot over top of it. The model's left foot was trimmed down to look like a prosthetic.

Using a pinvise, I drilled a hole in the barrel of the rifle and inserted a small brass tube to represent the bore.

Below is some lore we wrote back in 2016 pertaining to the Church of the Red Athenæum’s stance on Mutants:

When Dorian Chandrakesan, the founder of the Church of the Red Athenæum, was cast out from the Ecclesiarchy and his congregation was immolated, the wool was pulled from his eyes and he saw the Adeptus Ministorum for what it was, a corrupt entity that concerned itself more with politics and wealth than venerating the God-Emperor. Despite his complete devotion to the Emperor of Mankind and dedication to spreading His Word, he was condemned by the very organization he was serving. This led Chandrakesan to form the Church of the Red Athenæum, a place where he could worship without persecution, away from the petty matters of humankind, in the shadows of the glorious chapels and spires of Terra, in the slums and underhives beneath the Steps. These squalid conditions were the home of a vast array of mutants, mutants who were forced to live in hiding, lest they be put to the torch as heretics, as well. A persecution due to genetic deviation that is beyond the capacity of the Imperium to even understand, a regime founded on superstition and myth outside of science.

Chandrakesan quickly learned that many of these mutants were as staunch believers in the Emperor’s divinity as any he had come across, despite the intolerance shown to them. Chandrakesan saw something of himself in these mutants, faithful spurned by Adeptus Ministorum due to fear and ignorance, and began letting them become members of his congregation. Their life of misery was perfectly suited to the Church of the Red Athenæum’s ethos of suffering and pain. To this day, the Church is home to a vast population of mutants, souls’ whose dedication to Him is peerless. It is rumored that some 50 percent of its members harbor some phenotypic abnormalities.

- Adam Wier