Chainsword Surgery: Apothecaries Part 1 - Rouge Trader Era

My apothecaries ended up being red for the same reason that my chaplains ended up slate gray, I simply have no ability when it comes to painting solid blocks of black and white and making them look like anything but an undercoat. The upshot of the red armour was the fact that I flipped the colours for the weapons and eyes of the helmet.

I know that I have a real thing for the RT era marines, but the apothecaries really stretch that affection to its limits. I'm grateful to have these guys in my collection and enjoyed painting them, but the proportions and detail on this miniature really highlight some of the worst aspects of that period for GW in terms of uniformity and general quality. Take the chainsword for example; it looks as though it was made by a drunken squat on his lunchbreak. And what's the story with the massive crotchplate and no discernable waist? The marine equivalent of nappies?

At least this guy has a waist, but it seems that he's been afflicted with some strange wasting disease that has left him with the legs of a sickly teenage eldar. You'd think that an artificier would have been able to make his legs look more manly in power armour, not leave him to be the laughing stock of the battlefield. And what's he got in his right hand? I presume that it's some kind of medical device that eventually evolved into the narthecium. But to my eye it always looks like some random engine part the guy just found lying about on the ground.