VI Legion Warrior

I recently made some acquisitions that are going to make an appearance on this blog soon-ish. Not today, though, today I'll just keep slowly building up my 30k Space Wolves.

I wanted to keep the miniature simple this time, so I just put together a Mk.III Marine with a bionically enhanced head from Forgeworld's Space Marine Character kit, gave him a pistol and a combat blade and added some cork to the base.
I thought the model would represent a veteran of the Rout from the pre-Fenrisian era. While many of the long serving members of the Legion would have completely embraced Leman Russ' reforms to remake the Legion in a more Fenrisian image, and would have had their experience used to the fullest by becoming officers, not everyone would transition seamlessly from the undisciplined berserkers of the past to the more controlled savagery.
The model has no Fenrisian honour markings, and while he hasn't done anything particularly shameful, he's unlikely to become a hero of the Legion.

VI Legion Destroyer

I still haven't upgraded to the 8th edition of 40k, and am currently thinking of waiting for the Space Wolves codex to come out before I make the shift. In the meantime, I plan to continue to build my 30k army, which leads to a curious situation where I have no army ready for the current edition of either system. To this end, I'll continue to build my VI Legion, albeit with a unit that doesn't really help much.

In the Horus Heresy Book VII: Inferno, it was mentioned that Space Wolves often mixed & matched parts from Mk.IV and Mk.III to supplement the protection of the newer, lighter armour as needed. Since Mk.III Power Armour is known for its protective capabilities, and the Destroyers typically wear reinforced armour, I decided it made sense for a Destroyer to use a Mk.III helmet, exchanging the more sophisticated autosenses for thicker armour (particularly because a Space Wolf can just remove his helmet and use his acute senses if necessary).
I also added some battle damage to the armour, and used one of Forgeworld's Mk.II Space Wolves shoulder pads for the left pauldron.

Space Wolves Legion Huscarl, painted

Though bareheaded models are both cool and appropriate to the lore of the Space Wolves, I like the earlier marks of power armour helmets, particularly the marks IV and V, enough to sometimes prefer them to bareheaded models.

One of the advantages 30k Space Wolves have over their 40k counterparts is the focus on the Viking imagery over the constant wolfwolfwolf gimmick. To that end, I wanted to paint the plume on top of the model's helmet in a colour that makes clear it's not a wolf's tail, and red plumes had been shown in previous 30k Space Wolves artwork.

The frost claw was painted in the same way I use to paint my 40k Space Wolves frost weapons. I also painted the specific 13th Great Company icon on the left pauldron, instead of the generic Legion symbol.

Space Wolves Legion Destroyer with a Missile Launcher, painted

Destroyers were the first Horus Heresy unit type that really caught my interest, so it makes sense I would try to finish my Destroyer squad first. No model in the unit is as iconic as the one carrying the rad missiles, so this guy is a fairly high priority.

I prefer to use a fairly limited palette with my Space Wolves, with Mechanicus Standard Grey -> Dawnstone -> Administratum Grey for the armour, Leadbelcher and Runefang Steel for grey metals and Warplock Bronze -> Hashut Copper -> Sycorax Bronze for yellow metals. That way, when I venture outside these colours, it will pop out better, and the army will look more consistent.
With this model, the only dabs of colour were the red eye lenses and the dark red markings on the shoulder pads.

I realize I'm still a few posts behind my schedule, and I hope to catch up in the upcoming couple of weeks. Helmeted Space Wolves are fairly quick and easy to paint, especially the non-Destroyer ones that don't need all that much weathering.

VI Legion Trooper

I know I still haven't uploaded photos of my last week's model, but the problem is that the model's chainfist fell off and got lost. I plan to keep looking, but if I can't find it, I'll just take a photo of an incomplete model and add another if I ever do find the missing weapon.

This time, I wanted to go back to the rank and file troops of the Vlka Fenryka. I had previously made one Grey Slayer model, and that one was wearing Mk.III armour. This time, I wanted the model to have mostly Mk.IV Maximus armour, partially because I really like its sleek look.

Most of the model's armour came from the Betrayal at Calth set. I exchanged the arms for Mk.III models from the Burning of Prospero set, because I didn't have Mk.IV arms posed the way I wanted. Having more protected arms does make martial sense, because in a swordfight, the fighters hands are the most extended and therefore the most vulnerable target much of the time.
I used one of Forgeworld's Space Wolves torsos, mostly because I could, and covered the right shoulder pad largely with fur, because I don't have as clear an idea how 30k Space Wolves Legion shoulder pad heraldry goes as I do with 40k Space Wolves Chapter.

I may decide to paint this model for next week's update, just to get back to the swing of things.

VI Legion Destroyer with a Missile Launcher

I haven't gotten around to buying the 8th edition Warhammer 40k box set, so there will be no Primaris Space Wolves to be expected any time soon. Instead, I'm going to keep my focus on 30k, largely because 30k Space Wolves haven't jumped the wol... shark the way 40k Space Wolves have. Of course, self parody is an important part of 40k, and 30k takes itself possibly a little too seriously, so I expect I'll get to it sooner or later.

The main point of Legion Destroyers, along with phosphex grenades, is probably the Missile Launcher with rad missiles. Therefore, the squad wouldn't be complete without one, even if it does look more like a grenade launcher than a missile launcher to me, at least.

I decided I wanted my missile launcer legionary to have a solid stance, so I took one of the Destroyer bodies with widely spaced feet and shaved off the empty holsters, then replacing one of them with a chainsword and the other with a holstered bolt pistol. Other than those modifications, I mostly went with a fairly standard Destroyer set up, just replacing the backpack with a plastic one, adding decoration from the 40k Wulfen frame to the Missile Launcer and sculpting some decorative elements to the helmet.

Mk.IV Vlka Fenryka Destroyer

As the Legion who was always willing to do whatever the Allfather needed done, the Space Wolves Legion had few scruples when it came to using Destroyer corps. This was brought to a sharp focus during the Prospero campaign, when Leman Russ had already decided to wipe out the planet, having been manipulated by the Primordial Annihilator.

 I wanted to make the model look battle-worn, chipping and drilling small holes to the surface of the armour. I also exchanged the model's left hand for a bionic one, and sculpted a head with heavy scarring on the left side. I imagine the warrior had taken friendly fire from a Phosphex grenade during an earlier battle.

I repositioned the legs slightly by heating them in hot water and raised one foot. This foot rests on pieces of cork I glued to the base, a technique I keep using fairly often because it works.

I still have two updates to catch up, but considering I have reasonably lots of projects in the works, that should happen soon-ish.

VI Legion Centurion in Cataphracti Armour

So I entirely forgot to post the picture for last week's model (will be corrected shortly). Apparently, my Horus Heresy army isn't off to a great start. Onwards and upwards, however. The Betrayal at Calth set comes with two character models, which at first don't really seem very space wolf-y, but I decided to go for it and make them into VI Legion models. I started with the Terminator Captain.

 One of the simplest and possibly most effective things I could think of to make the model look more like a part of the Rout, was adding a wolf skull to the model. I also glued one of the rondels from the Wulfen set to the gorget and added some green stuff to make it an amulet.

Having just plain capes doesn't really fit the Space Wolves style, but I decided to add a pelt to the mix. Originally, I was thinking of just adding some fur lining, but decided ultimately to add a head and paws to the mix.

The model may go through some more minor modifications before painting, but I mostly, I think it's ready. It remains to be seen if this will be painted by next Sunday.

Space Wolves Legionary, painted

Because 8th edition of 40k will be released soon, I'm probably not going to do any major additions to my 40k armies in the near future, but will focus on 30k instead, as ForgeWorld has stated that Horus Heresy will continue to use 7th edition rules. I alreeady have the Primarch, and the Fenrisian Wolves can be used for either time period. That just leaves everything else, ie. almost the entirety of VI Legion, a much larger fighting force than Space Wolves the chapter.

I wanted to link my 30k and 40k Space Wolves, and the way to do this were the Wulfen. I had previously painted the 13th Great Company badge on my Wulfen shoulder pads, so to tie them in with the 30k army, all I had to do was to have at least some of my models carry the same emblem.

The part I most like about 30k Space Wolves is their dark colour scheme. To that end, I painted the model's armour in Mechanicus Standard Grey, washed it with Nuln Oil and lightly drybrushed with Dawnstone, finally adding a few highlights in Administratum Grey. I also kept the bronze parts of the armour relatively dark.

Adeptus Custodes Custodian, painted

Painting mostly metallic armour is something I have been wanting to do for a while now. I'm not really interested in Age of Sigmar, partially because I hadn't gotten into Fantasy Battle's lore that much before they blew it all up, and am not really into getting into it now. Point is, I don't really have a reason to paint Sigmarines, so this Custodian is the first miniature in golden armour that I'm painting.

I used Retributor Armour for the base colour of the armour, then washed it with Reikland Fleshshade (interesting that I seem to use that for a lot of things, but shading flesh is barely among them) and then highlighted it with Liberator Gold. I could have gone brighter with highlights, but they seemed clear enough already to me, so I decided that was enough.
I painted the severed head on the ground in the Thousand Sons metallic red colour scheme (though my paint mixture could use some brighter red) and added some Blood For the Blood God to the ground around it. While this places the model fairly clearly at the Burning of Prospero (or possibly Terra later on, when the Thousand Sons joined the siege), I don't really mind that. I like to keep my 40k models' bases somewhat ambiguous, but 30k could be considered re-enactment, to a point.

Adeptus Custodes Custodian

While Space Wolves and Thousand Sons in 30k were certainly anticipated, the probably biggest thing about the Burning of Prospero was the publishing of new Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence models. While I'm not planning on building that many 30k armies, I think I will have to at least make the models in the box, and I wouldn't be too surprised if I ended up supplementing them with the army's Contemptor Dreadnought.

While the model's legs weren't positioned in a too unnatural a pose, I still felt like it looked better with the rear foot raised. I also glued a Mk.II helmet on the base, to be painted in Thousand Sons' colours.
I may add some tiling and/or rubble to the base, to represent the ruined city of Tizca, even though I plan to mostly keep my Space Wolves' bases similar in 30k and 40k, even if only to allow the Fenrisian Wolves to cross over.

Space Wolves Legionary in Mk.III Power Armour

I finally received my copy of the Horus Heresy Book VII: Inferno, and am currently reading it through. I did already skim through it once or twice, and am now comfortable to officially start my 30k Space Wolves army (trumpet blast goes here).
Every army needs some basic troops, so I decided to start with a simple Legionary with a bolt pistol and a chainsword.

The core of the miniature is a very simple combination of the Mk.III parts in the Burning of Prospero kit, with a wolf's head over the helmet. This fits well to both the Roman theme of 30k Legions, as well as Space Wolves, specifically. I also took a pommel decoration from the frost blade in the Space Wolves kit and added it to the bolt pistol. I intend to do most of the decorating in the painting stage.

Though I'll start with just the Burning of Prospero miniatures, I'll probably grow my 30k Space Wolves in the future with a full Betrayal at Calth to get some Mk. IV miniatures to go with the Mk. III models. I also intend to expand the army with some Destroyers, as they perfectly fit the VI Legion's modus operandi.

Leman Russ, Primarch of VI Legion

Last week, I mentioned that my Space Wolves could use some reinforcements with the upcoming Wrath of Magnus book (which I'm not sure if I have any non-lore reason to get, since it apparently only includes rules for Chaos Space Marines). Well, it's hard to imagine better reinforcements for Astartes than their gene-sire. Of course, the Horus Heresy Leman Russ model is set in the time he walked among his sons, but never mind that now. I suspect he'll be making a comeback to 40k fairly soon, possibly in a werewolf form, just so that he can repeat his match with Magnus.

 I usually do a fair bit of customizing my models, but aside the typically overdesigned sword with all the unnecessary spikes, and the slightly awkward-looking pose, I'm fairly happy with the model as-is.
I also kept the paintwork fairly unadventurous, with Mechanicum Standard Grey, shaded with Nuln Oil, highlighted with Dawnstone and highlighted again with Administratum Grey for base. I did want to depart from Forgeworld's display model, as I don't really see why Leman Russ would have green armour. Maybe that will be explained in their next Horus Heresy book, but I decided to base the model's paintwork on a piece of artwork published earlier this autumn.

 I wanted to have his wolf pelt white, to provide contrast for his dark armour. I also wanted to paint most of the gemstones on the model red, for the same reason.

The model, like apparently all of Horus Heresy Character Series models, came with a 40 mm base for gameplay purposes, that can be enclosed within a larger display base. The bases fit together relatively seamlessly.

 The scenic base has a slightly raised slot that the 40 mm base fits onto. The rubble, which I decided to paint mostly grey stone and slightly off white marble, makes the seam difficult to notice if one doesn't know where to look.

 Having added some blood to the neck of the decapitated head of the Thousand Sons legionary, I decided to add some to the scenic base as well, to keep the seamless look.
I can't help thinking the pose would work better if Russ' rear foot was on the ground as well, or at least slightly more bent at the knee and less at the hip. As it is, it looks a little like his rear leg slipped on the marble surface he was running on.

Ahzek Ahriman and one of his little friends

Though I'm generally partial to the Space Wolves chapter/legion, and though in the larger scale they clearly are the good guys and the loyalists as opposed to the Thousand Sons, there really is little question that in the case of burning of Prospero, the VI legion were the bad guys and the barely literate invaders, who attacked the homeworld of the Legion focused on learning and answering questions, killed the world's defenders and committed a genocide. Of course, they were misled, and it wasn't long after that Leman Russ swore off following orders unquestioningly, but that wasn't much comfort to the now crippled legion of Thousand Sons, who only were attacked in the first place because their Primarch had tried to warn the Emperor of the archtraitor.

I recently bought a copy of the Burning of Prospero as a birthday present for myself. I really wanted to use the Forgeworld's colour scheme for my Thousand Sons, as they are not supposed to look like Blood Angels, but I neither have an airbrush nor their Angron Red, so I had to make do with Citadel colours and Lahmian Medium. For that reason, I wanted to try out the colour scheme on an expendable miniature before moving on to Ahriman. There's a fairly decent chance I'll end up buying another Burning of Prospero in the future, so if I decide to try this again with a different execution of the colour scheme, it will be an option.

 The Forgeworld's colour scheme is done by airbrushing the transparent Angron Red over a metal basecoat. I tried to replicate it by painting Mephiston Red thinned down with Lahmian medium over Leadbelcher base. I then proceeded to shade the model with Nuln Oil and to add some similarly thinned down Evil Sunz Scarlet to some of the most raised areas. I then highlighted the edges of the model's plate with Runefang Steel. The end result is more weathered than main GW's overtly clean look, and I like this that way. Confident I could get reasonably pleasing results, I proceeded to get to work with Ahriman.

 As usual, I painted the model in smaller pieces. I first painted most of the base, knowing it would be trickier to paint the slain Space Wolf with the main model standing over it. I also didn't attach the backpack until the very end, once the model was nearly completely painted. The Blood for the Blood God around the Space Wolf's corpse was only added after varnishing.
I also painted some eldritch glow on the model's extended arm's palm. I did that by drybrushing from lighter to darker colours, sort of the opposite it's done when highlighting.

Unlike on the one painted by the 'Eavy Metal team, I painted my Ahriman's cloak and loincloth purple, as he has on the box set. Bone or papyrus coloured fabric might have suited the Space Egyptian look better, but I think the purple somewhat foreshadows Ahriman's future, as if transitioning from red armour to blue.

I will have plenty of models to assemble and paint in the box in the future. I suspect this individual Thousand Sons legionnary will be an exception, and most of them won't be assembled with standard parts. At least not with the Space Wolves, who would not really look the part without at least some pelts and tooth amulets. Similarly, I can give the Thousand Sons some scarabs and other thematic decorations, though I will have to do some research to know what is appropriate for which models.

Luna Wolves Centurion

I managed to order one of the limited availability Horus Heresy Centurion models back when Forgeworld redid their webstore. It took me a while to decide what to do with it. Originally, I considered just gutting the poor guy for its parts, but as it turned out, the model wasn't constructed like the standard multi-part Space Marines, but had its legs and torso as a single piece, and the head and arms didn't have the standard connections, either. This somewhat limited its use as spare parts, and the model's decorations didn't exactly fit Space Wolves of 41st millennium, probably not the heresy era Rout either.
I figured I'd just paint the model as a member of another 30k army, finally deciding on Luna Wolves, at some point near the end of the Great Crusade, before Horus' daddy issues got the better of him (I like to.imagine an egyptologist somewhere reading this blog entry with growing confusion and irritation).

 One of the first things I noticed when painting the model was that painting black & white power armour is surprisingly difficult. My method of choice was painting the white parts with Dawnstone before heavily drybrushing them white. I had to paint the black parts black again afterwards, then re-drybrushing them, only lighter, but it worked... ok. It's not the cleanest paintjob I've done, but I accept it. I do like the stark contrast between black and white parts, so all in all, it's ok.

 The one thing I did with Green Stuff was painting the Luna Wolves Legion Symbol. It's not my cleanest sculpt, either, but considering it's supposed to be an ancient armour, damaged and repaired several times over, it sort of works.

I doubt I'll end up making any sizable Luna Wolves army. Maybe a small task force of somewhere around 500-750 points, that can be explained as a force lost in the Warp until reappearing when the Heresy was in full swing, but not large enough to fit in the 41st millennium history books.