Painting Challenge Submission 7 - Sons of Horus Command Rhino, Praetor and Techmarine

Some new additions to my XVI Legion collection for Warhammer 30k.

The last few editions of Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge have included some manner of map, to inspire participants to explore different painting themes, with the inducement of bonus points. See here for details. 

When I saw the details of the Challenge XII Quadrant Map, I knew I would have to give that overall aspect of the Challenge a pass. Very little of what I wish to paint/have lined up to paint would fit with with the worlds on the map, certainly not enough to get to the Quadrant Hub. But that doesn't rule out a stop here and there...and while most of my painting subjects fall outside planet themes, there was one planet that was right up my alley: Istvaan V. I did not have to reach far on my painting desk to find something to work for that theme.

Here we have a couple of Space Marines from GW's Horus Heresy setting ("30k"). Longer term participants of the AHPC will know I am a huge fan of the 30k setting, and probably will guess that I had stuff for Istvaan V within easy reach - and would have such items within easy reach on my painting table at any point of the year, Painting Challenge or no. Here we have a Praetor, a Techmarine and a Damocles-Pattern Command Rhino APC. All of these are from Forge World. All are painted in the colours of the XVI Legion Astartes, the Sons of Horus - a Space Marine Legion that fought at Istvaan V!

Techmarine

"So you say you hear a rattle in the wheels?"

Even Space Marine stuff will break down eventually, and when it does, they have the "Techmarine" on hand to help out. For the rivet counters out there (like me), this particular Techmarine is wearing Mark IV powered armour plate - the tech version.

ONE of these cables will plug in, no doubt...

Fixing things in the grim and dark future seems to involve..well...breaking them more first? That is all I can surmise from the huge axe this guy carries. He also has so many cables connected to his power armour he seems a bit like some sort of Dr. Octopus cosplay loser...Techmarines are not my favourite figures. They are of limited use during games, and they look...well, they look kind of "off" - although when you read about how the tech-types hold and carry themselves in the 30k setting, "off" doesn't begin to cover it... 

My motivations to paint this guy up were mostly completionist - I have a pretty large collection of Sons of Horus Marines, including a wide assortment of vehicles. So it just seemed wrong not to have a Techmarine on the shelf to take care of these lovely machines in the collection. The Warmaster Himself seemed to demand it! Good to have this guy available to ensure the hallowed war engines of Horus Lupercal stay in top condition.

Preator

"Horus for hope!"

This figure is a bespoke command figure, released by Forge World last year (in the summer, I think). Over time, Forge World has released a number of such command figures for the different Legions in the setting. I'm such a huge geek for the setting that I just had to have this guy, even if I don't totally love how the Forge World studio conceives of the Sons of Horus. He is wearing heavily customized Mark IV power armour.

Who says you can't rock a sweet cape while wearing power armour?

This armour bears the markings and features consistent with the Sons of Horus in the 30k story - not just the big creepy "Eye of Horus", but also features tied to the "character" of the XVI Legion. In the 30k story, we are meant to understand that most members of the XVI Legion, before they were "recruited" into the Legion, were members of violent gangs on their homeworld of Cthonia - a world where the primary economic activity was organized homicide. Thus there are etchings in the armour (meant to be 'gang markings', but coming across to most as 'hey look, random scratches for no reason'). There is the bronzed skull bearing the "XVI" (again, this would be a gang decoration, presumable the skull of a slain enemy). There is the general aura of ominous threat. Who could have believe they would have turned into bad guys, right?

This handy volkite weapon will help solve problems!

Always nice to wear someone's bronzed skull on your belt. You know. Because reasons.

There is one other notable thing about this figure - at least, for obsessives like me - he is rather tall. A lot of us in the 30k community are expecting GW will re-size the Marine models to more closely match the size of the new "Primaris" marine models in 40k. We don't know for a fact this will happen...the twats at GW, as is their way, are utterly silent on this...but this figure, being a recent release, is notably taller than the previous Mark IV power armoured Marine models. The same thing has happened with other recent 30k releases from Forge World - all noticeable taller than the previous Marines. Is this an indicator of things to come? I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

Damocles Pattern Command Rhino

A nice ride for the command elements of the Warmaster's own legion!

The Rhino is the standard APC of the Space Marine Legions - this specific one, as you might guess from the little rotating dish on the top of the hull, is a command variant. Again, this is kind of a completionist thing to have for my collection - in an actual game, I probably would not select this vehicle for a basic force for a pick up game, but it will make for a nice piece to have in scenario-driven games, ambushes etc. And again, I'm sure it will sit nicely with all of the other XVI Legion vehicles on my shelf.

Gotta sport the XVI Legion brand, even on the rear hatch!

Forge World sells (or at least, used to sell) Legion-specific doors for the Rhino kits, and this model is sporting some bespoke doors for the XVI Legion. The "Eye of Horus" sure looks spooky! Very nice! Not something I would want on the "regular" APCs, but I'm pleased with the effect for the command vehicle. Looking at that Preator figure, he would probably want some kind of OTT ride for the battlefield, and this will do the trick.

Communications array providing a solid, high-bandwidth 5G connection to nice folks aboard the Vengeful Spirit.

That was all for this submission - a nice little side-trip into 30k, and I always do have 30k stuff sitting and waiting for a bit of paint. Thanks for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy the painting output of the Conscripts during the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!

Some "True Scale" 30k Marines

"For the Warmaster! Horus for hope!"

As the Christmas season approaches once more here in Canada, I find that my painting table has once more filled with assorted GW and GW-related projects - some are new projects, but others much more familiar. In this post I share a few photos of a project that is very much in the latter category - here is yet another unit of 30k Marines. These fellows are wearing Mark IV plate, sporting the green, black and gold of the XVI Legion, the Sons of Horus. More Sons of Horus, well...why not? I can always use another squad of veterans - and I do love painting these guys...but there is one difference with these models...

These specific Marines are a hybrid of components - the heads, power backs, shoulder plates, arms, and weapons will be familiar to anyone who has worked with GW's excellent plastic Mark IV Space Marine kits. The torsos and legs, however, are one-piece resin accessories and they are sourced from Tortuga Gamestable. Why use an alternate source? Well, the poses are very sharp, but these torsos and legs have one other feature that makes them unique: they are bigger, and as such, more "true scale". The net result of the combined components is a unit of 30k Space Marines figures that are larger - some photos in this post will give a rough idea of the size. Yessir, what we have here is a squad of "true scale" Space Marines for 30k.

"Truescale" Marines and 30k - Pointless...And Yet...

Bolt pistols and combat blades galore for these veteran chaps.

I last opined on this topic in the summer when I painted up "Maloghurst The Twisted". Suffice to say that a combination of factors over the past spring/summer - leaked photos of a rumoured new 30k box set, the apparent large size of some recent 30k character figures from Forge World, and the general fevers of online communities - have really got all of us fans of 30k wondering and worrying about a possible Primaris-style re-size/re-scale coming to the GW/Forge World 30k figure range. 

Veteran Sergeant sporting power fist and plasma pistol.

Hobbyists will all have different perspectives on these speculations and on whether a re-size is a good thing - if it even happens (remember it's still rumours and interpretations, after all - as of this day, we don't have any confirmed information). I don't mean to opine over that matter much in this post, other than to note it would be nice if GW would communicate more constructively with the community on this sort of issue. 

Many players will see any re-sizing as a pointless complication, and avoid the whole thing as much as possible. This is a perspective that I am highly sympathetic to - after all, inter-range "scale creep" is a curse in the hobby generally, and it is even worse when in happens intra-range, creating a nightmare scenario of mis-matched scales within a single collection. For those of us with hobby-related OCD tuned to a certain frequency, that is a nightmare.

Boltguns at the ready...

Lots of room to affix the "combat blade" and holstered bolt pistols.

But I will say I have been surprised to note the strong feelings among many hobbyists in favour of a re-size. I am struck by the extent to which a wish for "true scale" marines out there. There are many, many gamers looking for this. They are irritated at the gap between the Space Marines as described in the Black Library novels and the Space Marines they see on the gaming table. In the novels, the Marines tower over the "regular" humans. On the table, they are barely larger than that average Cadian trooper. For my part, I have always been annoyed at how the Cadian sculpts are too large...but that is a digression for another day. There is a large community of 30k players who wish for their Marines to loom on the table as they do in the novels. They are looking for options to make this happen - and they are finding ways to do it!

This brings me to another thing I must admit, I saw some folks with "true scale" 30k marines...and they looked...AWESOME. This is how I came to learn of Tortuga Gamestable.

The Conversion Monster Drowns Off Tortuga

For me, the main obstruction to creating a "true scale" 30k Marine from a base-line figure out of the current range is the amount of conversion involved - both the level of skill needed, and just the raw amount of overall work. Even if you manage it for one or two figures, can you manage it for the 10, 20 or 40 figures you would want for your 30k force? Would the results be consistent? Goodness knows they would not be for me. There are incredibly talented hobbyist out there who can manage this sort of this, but for me, it is just not worth any attempt. I like to think I am not alone in that view... 

Vox operator and special weapon, seen from the rear.

The fellow with the flamer is ready for a BBQ....

Enter Tortuga Gamestable. They cut this Gordian Knot by offering bodies and torsos that are "true scale" for 30k Marines, yet still work OK with the established and existing range of components such that players can work with the bits and kits they already know well. The assembled end result is a "true scale" 30k marine without a tortured amount of conversion work, and consistent results across your whole units. As a 30k obsessive, I decided to test this out - and in the process create another Veteran Tactical Squad for my Sons of Horus collection.

"Shark fin" style missile launcher - still a classic!

Things did not go well with the decal on this shoulder...ugh. Oh well.

These resin sculpts are hobby-friendly and easy to work with, requiring some minimal preparation. And I really, really love the final look of the assembled figures. The taller Marines have, IMO, a superior look in terms of their proportions - their hips, and shoulders, just make more sense. The larger torso offers more opportunity for accessories too - as you look at some of the figures, you can see I used some of the pouches, for example, that come with the Mark IV plastic kits. These are very hard to fit on the regular plastic Mark IV marines, but they fit easily on these larger torsos, because there is just more room for that kind of stuff without interfering with the arms holding the bolt gun. 

Another benefit - the larger plates on the knees and legs offer that little extra bit of room you always wished you had to make full use of some of the decal options that are out there. For example, the "XVI" numeral decal on the knee plates was an easy fit (they still fogged up, because they are expired, poor-quality decals from Forge World, but that is a rant for another time). 

These "true scale" 30k marines look sharp and offer more scope for accessories, painting and decals. There is a lot to like in that...

So, How Big Are They Anyway?

From left to right: Tortuga Gamestable in Mark IV armour, GW Plastic Marine in Mark IV armour, and original Forge World Marine in Mark IV armour.

At the end of the day, these Marines are definitely larger than the current size standard, but still not-quite-so-large as Primaris Marines. Note: the comparison is a little rough when you consider that many Primaris sculpts are hunched over in a "combat stance". But I have a few comparison photos here that give a rough idea.

Tortuga Gamestable on the left, Primaris Intercessor on the right...the size is close overall, but the Primaris fellow is still  larger and heavier - note how the Primaris Marine is hunched in a menacing ready-stance, while Mark IV Marine is upright.

Even if they are not fully Primaris-sized, these true-scaled Marines are notably larger than the current standard range.Could they mix well with existing 30k Marine models? Look, they are definitely different - but everyone has their own sort of preference. IMO, I think they work OK to mix in the same collection, but definitely not the same unit. But we all have our own little hobby quirks and preferences - you might hate the difference, and I would respect that.

I just love how this squad looks - regardless of the relative size - the Tortuga Bay poses are just awesome. I enjoyed painting these fellow for sure, too. As I said, very forgiving and hobby friendly.

Are there downsides? Of course - there is no free lunch, especially when it comes to 30k! To make use of these Tortuga Bay sculpts, you still require a source of arms, guns, backpacks etc. The likeliest source would be a squad box from GW. So this approach is more expensive - for something that is already kinda pricey. 

There is also the fact that these components are not official GW kit, and thus would likely be barred from any official GW sort of gaming event. Not something I really care about, but some others might, so just something to keep in mind.

Ready to deploy!

The final downside is that, well, it takes a long, long, long time for your order - and I don't blame the folks at Tortuga Gamestable. I think the demand for their product is strong - I see more and more units of their marines appearing in pictures online. So it can take a while for your stuff to get cast. Then factor in the complete clown show that is shipping in today's environment - expect to wait. Again, not their fault...just something to keep in mind. I ordered these in the early summer, and they arrived in July...and that was back when shipping was still working sort-of-OK. Needless to say, my second order has yet to show up...pile on the Christmas-shipping pressure to an already caved-in global logistics system, and you will be waiting a long while.

So, what next? Will I now suddenly paint up a whole new segment of my 30k collection using these Marines? Well, stranger things have happened, and I am a 30k obsessive, yes - I love painting 30k Marines!. But I did not order enough sets of Tortuga Gamestable kits to attempt anything like for now. Instead, I plan to sprinkle these around a bit on a couple different projects. Watch for more of them to appear here soon.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!  

30k Legion Champion & Master of Signal - More Flunkies for the Sons Of Horus

Legion Champion (left) and Master of Signal (right) - figures from Forge World.

Some more flunkies for the entourage of the Warmaster - here are a "Legion Champion" and a "Master of Signal". These are 28mm resin figures from Forge World, for Games Worskhop's Horus Heresy setting. They are painted in the colours of the XVI Legion Astartes, the Sons of Horus. Even though they are different sorts of character, these two figures were sold together in the same package by Forge World, so I present them here together.

These figures still seems relatively new to me, but that speaks more to my fraying perception of the passage of time than any actual facts. For me, to count as "old" the GW figure in question at least has to be metal...anyway...the fact is this is a pretty old figure which has been sitting around in 30k horde for many years. These figures were early sculpts from Forge World's Age of Darkness range, meant as enhancements for your Space Marine Legion command groups. They were Legion agnostic - you could add any bespoke Legion symbol you liked to their shoulders. 

Lets have a look at them!

Legion Champion

No matter how many cool guns the Mechanicum provide for you, a master swordsman is apparently still required...

As I touched on in my post featuring Maloghurst "The Twisted", the Space Marine Legions of 30k can choose from a wide assortment of character-ish officers and command figures. The "Legion Champion" would be some sort of known/recognized Marine from a given company, his skill at arms putting him at the forefront of its ranks.

Carry a skull or two on his shoulder plate, as one does...

While Space Marine Legions teemed with guns and tanks of every sort you can imagine, being a "champion" still implies skill at "close combat", and this fellow gives that sense, brandishing a scary sword. This would surely be a power sword, probably "master-crafted", allowing this figure to deal out death and destruction in the close combat phase of the 6th (then 7th) edition of the 30k rules.

The armour mixed elements of Mark IV and Mark III design...so I went with a Mark III shoulder pauldron, embossed with the symbol of the Sons of Horus.

Of course, he has a skull hanging from his armour - perhaps a souvenir of a particularly tough duel, or maybe it's just the skull of his predecessor - who knows? His armour shows other customization as well - combining elements seen on Mark III and Mark IV power armour - along with a customized helmet sporting a comb, and the fancy eagle-shaped components on the power pack. He's meant to stand out a touch from the crowd.

Fancy eagle-headed backpack on the power armour.

Taken as a "consul" from the army list, this figure would give your command squad some extra fighting power. And of course, the figure could be used in all sorts of ways - he could be a veteran sergeant, an independent character or even Centurion or Praetor if you want.

I'm disappointed with how the sword turned out, but cool figure overall.

I like the figure - although the sword was a pain...being resin, it was warped (of course) and I'm not 100% convinced that I straightened it properly, even after an hour of messing around with boiling water. The paint job on the sword is not great either...I need to study some tutorials online to improve my results when painting long, scary blades like this one. But good enough is good enough...he will join the Warmaster's sprawling command cadre on my shelf.

Master of Signal

5G in the year 30,000...the Legion Master of Signal.

I could take or leave the Champion - I mean, he is neat, but there are already a lot of figures representing scary-looking Marines with swords, and that sort of thing is easy to make on your own. The Master of Signal, on the other hand, actually looks like something the Space Marines would need - a trooper wearing and carrying serious comms equipment that keeps his force in touch with fellow Marines elsewhere in the battlezone, and even in orbit. So, there is a practical reason - at least in your imagination - for having this Marine in your detachment.

The comms pack is a souped-up version of that seen on the Mark IV vox marine.

Of course, there is also the homage aspect. Fans of the metal Space Marines from the Rogue Trader era will surely spot the similarity between this figure and "Communication Officer Orinco" from earlier times. I love this - the sculptors at the Forge World studio made great use of all manner of Rogue Trader-era inspiration for the miniatures in the 30k range, and this is another great example.

"Horus Lupercal 'liked' your request for orbital bombardment..."

I love the big domed helmet, the computer screen on his arm...it's a great figure, your sense of his battlefield role comes immediately, no need to guess. This fellow is on the vox, chatting with his buddies up on the Vengeful Spirit. Maybe he is pinpointing the teleport target for reinforcements? Or calling in an orbital strike? Or just laughing about how useless the Ultramarines are? Who knows?

A great 30k homage to a classic Rogue Trader-era figure.

The Master of Signal has various uses under the rules in the game - and in particular for the Sons of Horus, you need a Master of Signal in order to access a certain "Rite of War". But more than anything, this is a cool figure to have, with lots of possible scenario-driven uses in different 30k encounters.

The Flunkies Congregate

Horus Lupercal and his assorted command flunkies maintain a steady vigil over the rest of my collection.

Here we can see how the command coterie of Horus Lupercal has grown over the years. The painting style has changed too...wow. Always neat to look back. Horus for hope!

That's all for now. Thanks for reading! I hope you are managing to enjoy summer, wherever you are.

Maloghurt "The Twisted" & Resizing Marines in 30k

The Warmaster will see you now...

Two things I wanted to touch on with this post. First, I wanted to show some more 30k painting progress, and the nature of the specific figure will lead to the second topic. 

But first things first - here is Maloghurst "The Twisted", Equerry to The Warmaster. This is a character figure for GW's Horus Heresy setting, released very recently by the folks at Forge World. This is a "28mm" Space Marine character figure - I put the miniature size in "scare quotes" for reasons we'll explore later in the post.

Maloghurst "The Twisted" - Equerry to Horus Lupercal

Malghurst "The Twisted" - equerry to the Warmaster - figure from Forge World

In the Horus Heresy setting, the Space Marine Legions are replete with specialized officers. Whereas the Space Marine "Chapter" in the 40k setting is something of a lean, specialized organization, the Legions of 30k were a travelling military-industrial complex in space. They were huge organizations, with tens and tens of thousands of fighting Space Marines and all that would be needed to support them and go along with them. Apothecaries, techmarines, priests/psykers (in some Legions, though not all), champions, signal officers, standard bearers etc. etc. etc. on and on. Just take a look at your Legiones Astartes army list, and see all of the various "Consul" options available - it's quite a buffet to choose from!

But wait, there's more! With the huge Legion Astartes organizations, the command echelons boasted a wide assortment of flunkies as well, especially on the staffs of the Primarchs, the top commanders of the Legion. "Equerry" is one such job - I believe the word has something to do with managing horses, but the in the 30k setting, "Equerry" seems to be a sort of principal secretary, keeping an eye on things, representing the boss at meetings, following up on important matters, making sure the lattes are the correct temperature, etc. 

Plenty of Horus iconography (I mean, obviously), but you can also see the power-pack sort of device on his hip...part of the augment/movement assistance system on the custom armour.

These equerrys often make short appearances in the Horus Heresy novels from Black Library. I think Kharn was equerry to Angron - before both of them descended into total "need-blood-need-skullz" losers. Given Horus Lupercal's central role in the, well, "Horus" Heresy, his equerry is a recurring character. Maloghurst is mentioned in the early moments of the first novel, "Horus Rising", in which he is seriously injured. He recovers somewhat from these injuries - he is a Space Marine, after all - but is always a bit damaged relative to his colleagues. Thus he is named "The Twisted" - a reference to his bodily state, but also his mental ability, as he is apparently gifted in handling the petty, bitchy politics that go on between the tiresome Primarchs of 30k. Horus might turn to the Mournival for advice on strategy or the means to approach a given battle, but he would count on Maloghurst for advice on how to reply to whatever tiresome correspondence and instruction arrived from Malcador, and the latest gossip on the other Primarchs etc.

Thanks to the folks at Forge World, you can include Malgohurst on your gaming tables if you like. Since I had painted up a Horus Lupercal figure, and as I have a large collection of Sons of Horus marines already, I was quick to order Maloghust when he became available. The sculpt is lovely, very well done. There are details large and small that speak to his exalted status as top flunky - the huge icon on the standard, bedecked with the usual skulls (of course) and odd Cthonian gang markings (aka scratches) - as well as some nice batons and a ceremonial sort of blade on his back. His weapon has a retro look and feel, befitting his status as a senior veteran within the Legion. The backpack is clever, and blends several retro-yet-pre-chaos-marine style elements. Given the fate of the XVI Legion, the look is perfect.

Command batons/scroll containers on the back - you can also see more of his supplemental support system on his power pack, and on his left leg (a big of an exo-skeleton added to the leg armour).

There are also details that speak to his injuries. Some are small - one leg has some augments to the frame, there are power/blood/other fluid packs and units on the back and sides, all small signs that Maloghurst requires some support to stay in the role he has. 

The posing suggests of the figure builds on these small detail. The way he is standing implies that is takes some effort just to be upright, even with all of the gadgets. Maloghurst is leaning, slightly forward, resting a leg on some rubble, and one arm braced on the pole for stability. He is not just holding it there for all to be impressed by...he is leaning on that thing in order to manage to stand 3/4 upright...the overall pose  speaks the effort on his part just to stand there, ready to shoot someone...

"I have some feedback from Horus..."

But the best part of this figure is the sculpting and positioning of the head...normally I hate Marine figures without their helmets, but here, I have to say, the sculptors did a perfect job. His head is somewhat hunched - which would match his hunched pose - but it has the effect also of giving him a menacing, calculating expression. Note the level of his exposed eye - it is just above the rim of his neck armour, so he can observe, but the rest of his face is hidden - this just suits the character so well...watching, waiting, observing. Other details (like the icon on the standard) are much larger. But the head is somehow still the centrepiece, skulking in place, of this figure. You can see Maloghurst seeing you, but cannot see what he might be saying or thinking...this is very, very well done in my opinion. 

"Primaris" Scale Creep Coming To 30k?

Maloghurst on the right, and "Legion Centurion" model on the left. Both are ostensibly wearing Mark III power armour. Remember - the Maloghurst sculpt is also hunched over...

There is something else very notable on this figure (in addition to the magnificent sculpting). He is f***ing huge. Now, there are variables...Maloghurst is an important named character in the Legion, and he's carrying the Warmaster's official standard, so he is going to look ominous...but at the end of the day he is a Space Marine wearing Mark III power armour - customized, yes - but Mark III. And he is notably larger than other Mark III models - even with his hunched posture. What might be happening here?

One should not over-interpret the data...it's just one figure, and he is a special character after all. Space Marines can be extra huge, and naturally the Warmaster would have some big chap to be his "equerry", would he not? You would not hand your official Legion icon to some trainee fresh out of the vat.

And yet. And yet. We have all seen what is happening with the Space Marines over on the "40k side of the shop" - the new Primaris size figures, introduced a few years ago with the 8th edition of the 40k game, are squeezing out the older line of plastic figures. While a dumb storyline has been contrived to allow the two sizes of Marine to coexist on gaming tables, we can all see the plain intent. This is happening at a gradual pace, to be sure, but it is happening. The days of the older plastics and the now-lesser scale are surely numbered. Will a such re-sizing be inflicted on the Horus Heresy figure range?

Here we see a Legion Praetor figure join the assemblage...this is a figure wearing Cataphractii terminator armour...Maloghurst is still notably larger...

No doubt any 30k fan out there will have seen the leaked photos purporting to come from a new set of plastic kits for the Horus Heresy. These emerged over the summer, and folks are quite excited by the implied possibilities. I know I am! "Beakie" Marines! In plastic! It's about f*cking time! 

The photos are accompanied, as these things often are, by all sorts of rumours. What will be plastic, what will not, will there be a new edition etc. there are many vague hints. But one rumour that stands out to me is that the new Marine models included will be "Primaris" sized. Now, it is still just a rumour, and I find you really can't tell from the photos - but given what is happening with the 40k "Primaris" marines, it is a rumour that feels credible to me. 

Maloghurst next to a Primaris Hellblaster from my 40k Raven Guard...the hunch on Malogurst makes the exact comparison tricky, but I would say they appear to be the same "size".

Anyway, the Maloghurst figure was released right around the time the leaked photos appeared online...and then when you see how big the figure is, well, it lends even more credence to the rumours...Maloghurst is as large as a Primaris-sized Marine model, and much bigger than the existing Heresy figures. Maybe it is just a one-off? I am thinking not. But at the end of the day, GW has officially said nothing about this (at least that I have seen)...so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. 

Thanks for reading - happy painting and gaming everyone!

XVI Legion Veteran Tactical Squad

A Veteran Tactical Squad for the Sons of Horus. 28mm figures from Forge World

Some more reinforcement for the XVI Legion Astrates - a Veteran Tactical Squad, wearing Mark II power armour, carrying later model bolt guns. The squad includes a meltagunner and a heavy bolter, and the Marines themselves enhanced with a number of small accent bits from different packs of GW and Forge World bits.

Trooper carrying a meltagun, flanked by Marines carrying fancy bolt guns.

Lots of intricacies on the power packs - you also can see the handy chainswords carried by the veteran troopers.

I have painted a fair bit of Horus Heresy stuff over the years, but this is the first squad I have painted wearing the Mark II armour. I do like the look of the armour design, but I have to say, from a subjective point of view, the Mark III variant armour is probably still more appealing. Like the Mark III variant, The Mark II power armour has a very segmented look, with lots of seams and rivets, but it does not look as heavy as the Mark III. One other feature I find a bit defining for the Mark II plate is the "monobrow" look to the helmet visor, which has just a single vision slit. On the whole, it is a very sort of proto-medieval sci-fi kind of look - well done by the sculptors.

Vox operator on the left, Vexillary on the right.

More detail on the backpacks - I quite like the bizarre little details on the communications pack.

The squad sergeant's ominous "power claws" and plasma pistol point, while in the background you see the trooper with the heavy bolter, a support weapon.

A lot of rivets and segments in the Mark II power armour...a bit of a challenge to paint, and I was pretty rusty in terms of painting these guys, but they still came out OK.

These marine may be wearing "early" pattern armour, but carrying "later" patterns of bolt guns, with box magainzes. The chainswords they are carrying are spares from the plastic Mark III marine figure set, as are the special weapons seen on the officer. The heavy bolter is a plastic accessory from the plastic Mark IV marine figure set. So a lot of different component packs came together here, which was great. Besides, I figure veterans would be the sort to keep the older armour, but ensure they got their choice of the nicest/newest weapons :)

Horus for hope!

You may see that the transfers are still quite glossy in these photos - it has not been "safe" to spray the final coat of matte spray on these figures - it has somehow managed to be at once too cool and too humid outside to safely spray on the Krylon, so that may wait for some time - it is something I will get to at a later date.

The embossed shoulder armour plates are great - not the cheapest thing to decide to like, but I do love them. Once you put them on one squad, however, you find yourself making excuses that you need them for every squad...oh well :)

Like the Moritat I posted earlier, these figures had been sitting primed for a while before finally getting under the paintbrush. It is always good to get these "pending" projects finished with! And now that I've opened up the 30k supply box, I find I am suddenly working on a bunch of new 30k projects for this summer, as we continue to stagger through this interminable pandemic.

Thanks for reading, I hope everyone is doing well out there.