Penitents

The Adepta Sororitas has one unit specifically made for close combat: the Sisters Repentia. Normally these girls look like scantily clad dominatrix nightmares with huge chainswords (Eviscerators), accompanied by a Mistress of Repentance with her neural whips. Naturally, this scheme just won't do for my conversion army. The Celestine Monks certainly have their share of rule-breakers in need of punishment, and the unit has its uses during gameplay, so I started building my own 'Penitents' from bitz and greenstuff.

The main idea was to find a model that looks generally unarmored (the penitents get only a 6++ save) but could still wear a helmet and fit in with the rest of the monks. The plastic Cadians fit the bill, and with some more DA Veteran hooded helmets I had the base model.

Their robes (I took inspiration from the white medieval penitent robes worn during public confessions) came from the new Skitarii models, severely cut down, really only using the bottom half, and rebuilt with a good amount of greenstuff to fit around the larger Cadian torso. A greenstuff belt to tie around the waist completes the look.

The large eviscerators are just two normal Cadian chainswords cut and glued together, with an extended handle made from Grey Knight halberd handles and/or Cadian flagpoles. I may put some card on either side of the blades to better hide the seam between chainsword bits but for now I think it's OK. I can't take credit for the eviscerator design, I copied it from someone else on the web and I would link to their site but I can't find it anymore.

The Penitents can't go into battle without their Confessor (AS Mistress of Repentance), and he's only slightly different than the normal monk, in that he carries two neural whips. I took whips from some Dark Eldar (or Dark Elf? I can't remember), cut off all the extra hooks and spikes, then mounted into Grey Knight falchion handles to make his neural whips. Just to give the confessor a little something extra, I used the cape of a Space Marine Commander that will also be a dirty white to match the rest of the squad. I also briefly considered a hood for him as well, but decided so many have hoods already and he's not repenting, he's kicking ass, so no hood.