Gray Tigers 
Unlike Codex Astartes Chapters (such as the Ultramarines), the Fighting Tigers do not organize themselves into companies. Instead, the Tigers divide themselves into two castes, or jatis, one based on each of Veda’s continents, Mahaduyana and Ghuyarashtra. Each jatis is identical in size (about 500 Marines, plus attendants) and organization. Each jatis takes its name from its home continent and its markings from the tigers found there.

Fighting Tigers are bound by strict and holy vows. A few of these vows are: 

• To always defend civilians; 
• To serve bravely and selflessly; 
• To uphold ancient Vedic traditions; 
• To welcome guests; 
• To seek knowledge and enlightenment; 
• To shun earthly desires; and 
• To never harm sacred animals. 

Despite what they have done, each Gray Tiger has the chance to redeem their self through heroic actions. To accomplish this, each is given a new suit of armor, painted gray, and permitted one weapon with a minimum of ammunition. Usually only two or three Gray Tigers exist at any time, but sometimes a handful will gather together as a squad to fight for their lost status.

The Harijan
Gray Tigers are also known as harijan or "untouchable" because they are forbidden to have any human contact. In creating harijan for use on the tabletop, I wanted to visually emphasize their separateness from the rest of the Fighting Tigers. Merely painting a few standard Marine figures gray (instead of orange or brown) just wouldn't cut it for me.

Fortunately, an alternative arrived in the mail. As part of a promotion, I received a free sample of several i-Kore VOID miniatures and I thought the Tactical Androsynths (below) would make great Gray Tigers.

What I like about these figures is how they resemble the latest Games Workshop Marines, yet have many subtle differences. Each figure is a smidge slimmer, not quite as bulky as a GW Marine. This inspired me to describe the harijan armor (in the story "The Gray Tiger") as being lighter, intended for one do-or-die mission.

As you can see from the accompanying photos, each suit of armor--with its blank facemask and single-eye targeter--has a slightly sinister look that I thought was appropriate. I suppose I could have used Chaos Marine figures, but that might have sent the wrong message: Gray Tigers aren't (necessarily) evil, they've just broken the rules. 

The weapons are another feature I really like about these figures. I treat the weapon in the photo  below left) as a plasma gun--and what an intimidating plasma gun it is, too! By the way, the Marine aiming the gun is my "Sudra Patel," figure, named after the hero of "The Gray Tiger."

At first glance, the rifles (below right) look like GW plasma guns, but I treat them as bolters. Each has a sleek, hi-tech look--perfect for Space Marines--and has an ammo belt running from the trooper's backpack to the gun. 

Painting the Gray Tigers
In addition to the way-cool armor, I also wanted a different paint scheme for the Gray Tigers. Fighting Tigers belong to one of two castes, or jatis: Jatis Mahaduyana (whose colors are orange and black), stationed in Veda's northern hemisphere; or Jatis Ghuyarashtra (whose colors are mustard and brown), stationed in Veda's southern hemisphere. 

Harijan, however, no longer belong to either  jatis and thus wear gray. In addition, they only have tiger stripes on their left shoulder pad. To paint these Gray Tigers, I used Codex Grey with a wash of thinned Chaos Black to add definition. Weapons were Boltgun Metal and bases were Goblin Green (to match the rest of my army). 

The Gray Tigers were easy to paint and I think they look quite striking when placed next to my other Tigers. In addition to the story, I've created entries for Gray Tigers in Codex: Fighting Tigers of Veda and in the Army List and Tactics.
 
 

Next page (pg 5): Troops, Part I Previous page (pg 3): Elites

Related Pages
Gray Tigers
Tactics: Gray Tigers
"The Gray Tiger": Fiction
Writing the story of "The Gray Tiger"
 

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© Copyright Kenton Kilgore, June 2001 

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