Sons of Horus 65th Company

[Vykes]

Hah, I getcha Krakendoomcool, I definitely do. Kizzdougs' is that kind of prof FW look that just kills, man. But I figured that I kinda suck at painting the colour green, and that minty hue is what's stuck in my head as 'Sons of Horus ' thanks too... maybe False Gods? I think Loken said 'metallic seafoam green' armour.

 

Gotta admit, I love doing primarchs as nothing scares me in painting as much as one of the 18 sons. The face is always fun because then I get to break out the airbrush and detail it up with oil paints (which blend better than acrylics do in this abysmal cold desert of a hellscape in which I live). Aye, you ain't wrong on the blue. It's a cold blue I used as a shadow colour when working on pale marble as a sort of direct contrast to the warmer tones I used on the other side of the model. (Originally I was gonna make it all look backlit by fire but I forgot about it when painting Horus himself.) Then just airbrush, wash, and weather up to the warmer neutral tones in the stone.

 

Nailed it, Hushrong! the two handed hilt is part of the Palatine guard along with the other sergeant. I ended up snagging power glaives for my palatines so, y'know, free awesome swords to go around, eh? Some days I feel like I'm one of the very few who don't like dual barrel tank turrets, but I'm definitely looking into getting that Glaive when I can. Capstone project means that I'll just have to order in the rest of the armour and keep the Glaive as a fun summer project. (I was originally gonna nab one for my EC 'armoured company' but now I'm definitely thinking of slotting it in with the Sons).

[Vykes]

Aaalright, well, been a little bit but that's coo'.  Anyway, thanks to the ETL I got to add a few more bits and bobs to the 65th company.  And there's some more stuff in the post. But for now, an update!

 

Breacher Squad Resolute (Plague marines 8E)

 

Centurion Khodire, line officer of the 17th Reavers (Chaos Lord)

 

The rest of the 17th Reaver squad

 

The full Seeker Squad Rapaz

 

 

Aaand live from Cthonia, from the Warmaster's Cthonian 297th militia, 3rd battalion, 1st squad "Squad Galieda" (Chaos cultists in 8th) 

Love the Escher look as they look like proper Cthonian headhunters. 

 

Rapier battery "Scorn"

 

Aaand for the record, what got me to finish them so soon was the ETL vow 1 which looked thusly: 

 

Vow 2 shall be coming soon... Customs willing. Oh, and made up a little 65th signature thing for myself.  Kinda fun. 

[karden00]

I dont often lurk around this section of the forum, but these models are just a joy!

I love the dull look to them (please don't take that negatively!) It seems really somber and realistic. 

Horus and Abaddon look ace. 

I think that is actually my favorite version of Horus...Very well done! 

 

ed. for praise of Horus

[Vykes]

-laughs- hey, thanks mate.  It does mean a lot as I know there's some pretty spectacular painters around here.  I definitely don't take the 'dull' thing negatively, I've been trying to make them look a little more 'scale model' esque with some more desaturated colours and heavier emphasis on weathering over the more striking heraldic combinations.  It's a break from bright red Blood Angels and metallic Ultramarines. That it works is a pretty great compliment! 

 

Hah, all hail the warmaster.... I still wonderd what I channeled to paint it like that.  Either way, hail Lupercal, hail the Warmaster!

[Pearson73]

Squad Galieda look great, their bright colours really make them stand out from the more subdued tones of the legionnaires, yet the dirt of the cloths and bases ensure they keep that gritty feel and look a part of the force.

[Ada]

Solid work man, the army looks wonderful and I love the sea green you worked up.

[hushrong]

Another awesome feast for the eyes! Your vows are coming along great as everything you've painted is stellar. Defintiely looking forward to what reinforcement the 65th get with your next vow!

 

I am also sold on using some Escher for cultists now! I had been thinking of using Skitarii or something very Dark Mechnicum after remembering a line from one of the novels (I think the first ADB NL novel) on how the DM were already picking through wreckage on a battlefield. Thought it would be a cool use of the Skitarii to babysit my artillery tanks.

[Vykes]

Thanks Pearson73, mate! It's what I definitely tried to do, combine a bit of colour with that grunge look. Man, glad they came together as they are such different models with such a different aesthetic.

 

Thanks Alda, mate! It does seem that the lighter green isn't super common, I'm a little surprised myself. It is fun and real easy to do, so makes my life all sorts of easy!

 

And thanks a ton Hushrong. Weeell, I suppose I can put up my vow: my FW order just passed through customs so I figure even if something is wrong I can get it done up by August, eh? I figured I'd need more armour if I ever had to fight a serious big-time opponent. But hte 65^th won't be alone this time... just, mostly alone.

 

You know, I never quite felt right about using traditional cultist models in most 30K forces, but I couldn't quite get behind Cadians either. After looking through the new Necromunda range, it was just a question of which of them to use. But Skitarii, now that's a good one. I think I remember a part in the Betrayal black book mentioning Dark Mechanicus picking through Istvaan III with the Davinite priests lurking around, too. So yeah, Skitarii would be pretty awesome to see! Especially with some of their more esoteric experiments.

 

Well, not a huge update but until I get some of the new vow done, I'll toss in a... well I don't know what he is. Spare parts, watching Death of Hope, and wanting to do something I guess. We'll say some sort of Centurion.

 

[hushrong]

New centurion is looking ready to lead the charge!

 

As for cultists I do regret giving away a bunch of mine awhile back. I had thought about maybe trying replicate the Blood Pact with their stahlhelms and grotesques masks but that would be real labor intensive conversion work for meatbags. Plus my sculpting skills wouldn't be up to task. Skitarii/AM troops just seemed perfect because they  were attached to a Legion's expeditionary force and thus accompany astartes in battlefields and could easily have kept on doing it 10k years later.

The Escher just look great and in terms of the SoH their ganger background fits perfectly I think.

[Vykes]

Hopefully I'll get a chance to break him out in a game tomorrow... aaaand hopefully new model syndrome won't kick in -laughs- 

 

Hmm, the Blood Pact are a great one, but man, you're not kidding when you say it sounds insanely labour intensive.  Especially with how few points they're worth (and thus how many bodies you can rack up).  After some of the books like Legion, you get a sense of how eclectic and retro-punk a lot of the Imperial army/militia groups were.  It's definitely cool but yeah, we're a bit starved for official parts.  Skitarii/AM troops really do sound like the right way about it, especially with some of the more 'in-line' legions like the Iron Warriors, Emperor's Children, Sons of Horus, Ultramarines and the like, but thanks to the new Necromunda sets, we're getting more open doors in regard to things like World Eater Bodt Gun clanners! But the Skitarii really have that awesome timeless feeling so 30-41K, they just fit perfectly!  

 

Working on a Vigilator thanks to a bunch of extra spare parts, and just waiting for the rest of my forgeworld order to show up this week and another big one next week in prep for Vow #3 (Curse the Last Chance to Buy sickness going around!) But I guess I should toss up the two new additions to the 65th from the recent ETL Vow. 

 

Anvillus Dreadclaw Drop Pod DP-229. 

 

Damocles Command Rhino Clarion Call. 

 

Rhino's are suspiciously fun.  

[hushrong]

May he reave many foes tomorrow! Some battle pict captures wouldn't be bad either if you can snag a few :)

 

In regards to necromunda, even that new cawdor (I think) gang that is coming out looks like cutlists/legion slaves. With a few tweaks I think they would be perfect. Heck I think they would be awesome for a legion like Night Lords (any legion really) as they look like dregs who live in the bowel of a ship. The Night Lords just herd them up to wield against enemy boarders to soak up fire. Obviously just reimagining some ADB NL stuff in my head here but golly it would be cool to see.

 

The drop pod and the rhino are looking perfect. The paint job and the weathering are fantastic! Interested in seeing what you've got cooking up. HH seems to be getting hit like a piñata at a kids party with this last chance to buy business.

[Vykes]

Hah, I'll be sure to get a few snapshots in!  I have one or two from a game a week and some ago, but nothing spectacular (I can say that Interceptors loath that Vindicator Destroyer in 8E).  

 

Oh man, I hadn't even thought of Cawdor (Crawdor... Caw... something).  That is a fantastic fit with Night Lords!  Really the dregs and ratings which should fit absolutely brilliantly with them.  Man, when I work up Curze as a primarch project I may have to toy with some legion lads and some dregs. Seriously great thought, mate! Even after the Pharos thing I can see them in the Thramas campaign using indentured ship crew against their former ship masters like that. 

 

Ugh, it does seem to be taking a beating, doesn't it?  The loss of the mk.II really hurt my hopes for a White Scars legion force.  Maybe I will have to go to Word Bearers or Ultras at some point instead.  Or give my Blood Angels some needed attention (lots of legionnaires, lots of aircraft, no ground assets).  Thanks too, they didn't take too long but that's just because I think I've finally figured out how to get the right effect so experimentation isn't as big.  Though I'll have to figure out how to best use some chipping solution.  As for the next vow: it's a touch over 1.5K with 4 models. Yes, the heavy armour column is coming along well. Yaaaz. 

 

Oh, I guess I never showed it off before, weird. Anyway, my take on Loken... his cloak is somewhere. I'll probably get another Abby and Lok scene and make up a proper Loken for display, but the 25mm base killed me. 

[Pearson73]

Nice weathering and stains on the Clarion Call and pod.

[Vykes]

Thanks mate, I think I finally got the general colouration and weathering down right. 

 

Aaaalright, had an 8E Maelstrom game today, and the motto of the evening really was 'Not quite enough!'  It ended up messy in a good dogfight with the Space Wolf primaris and ended up taking a bit of a pounding.  Ripped up most of my heavy support turn 1, Dreadclaw shot down and exploded to some painful effects, and having my advances constantly come up 1's.  It was ugly but it was fun.  Anyway, few shots before I ended up losing everything on turn 6 (contemptor explosions... deadly to marines, less so to primarus). So, few pictures for ya! Not a proper report but I shall do so some time soon. 

 

Nice little deployment shot. 

 

Dreadclaw shot down, blew a hole in my breachers, knocked the contemptor around, pulped the lieutenant 'exalted' reaver, and advances across the board were 1's.  Every single unit. 

 

A full legion platoon sized squad advances on longfangs, hoping to secure a single objective, but to quote a certain grey-clad Lord General,

 

"You know what's gonna happen? I'll tell you what's gonna happen. Out troops are now forming in those ruins. When they come out, they'll be under enemy long-range artillery fire. Solid shot. Percussion. Every gun they have. Troops will come out under fire with more than a mile to walk. And still, within the open field, among the range of aimed bolters. They'll be slowed by that rubble out there, and the formation - what's left of it - will begin to come apart. When they cross that road, they'll be under short-range artillery. Canister fire. Thousands of little bits of shrapnel wiping holes in the lines. If they get to the wall without breaking up, there won't be many left. A mathematical equation. Maybe, just maybe, our own artillery will break up their defenses. There's always that hope. But that's Russ's boys out there, and they ain't gonna run. If they get to that road, or beyond it, we'll suffer over fifty percent casualties. But, Harrison, I don't believe my boys will reach it.”

 

Long story short: the Rapiers couldn't drive off the Longfangs... yeah. 

 

 

The crux of the battle... one super smite, one contemptor going nuclear, and I'd lost my entire assault force in one turn. 

[Pearson73]

The force looks cracking on the field, it's always a fine sight to see a Legion arrayed for war. Out of interest, what were you running the Breachers as if using 40k rules?

[Vykes]

Thanks mate, they definitley look great and even at 1500 they have a nice bit of presence to 'em.  Something to be said about 20 strong squads any time, eh?  Aaah breachers, they work surprisingly well as non-fleshy non-grotesque Plague Marines: slower speed, better resilience, same weapons and general abilities. They fit perfectly and let me have 'cult' troops (like the Reaver Berserkers) that really feel fitting with a legion. I just wish I could think of a way to add in destroyers.

[hushrong]

Oh man, I’d love to see what you would do with Night Lords. Your Sons have me dropping my jaw every time so the thought of what else you could do with other Legions sounds tantalizing.

 

The battle also sounded like a fun misadventure. I’ve had plenty of games were every faucet of destruction just unleashed itself on my army. You just can’t help but have a laugh at how messed up it goes. Definitely looking forward to more battle reports in the future and thanks for sharing that!

 

Honestly, thinking of a way to represent destroyers, I’d say plague marines. Tough bastards, kinda hard to kill, and nasty biological winners. So simply put they have blight launchers which are nasty and since they are so irradiated that they sometimes forget to die thanks to disgustingly resilient. I would switch your breachers to rubrics. All is dust’s save again D1 wounding weapons is nice and they have invulnerable saves which sounds right for a guy with a shield. Shrugging off small fire and getting in a lucky save. Inferno bolters are just fun.

[Vykes]

hah, thanks mate.  How to make the Night Lords gritty would be a challenge in itself, too.  Definitely something I hadn't considered but may very well have too.  

 

Battles like that where you're in trouble from the outset can be a fun sort of uphill thing.  Or just mesmerizing to see how wrong it goes (My Chaos Lord killed more of my breachers with the Axe of Blind Fury than enemy primaris). Totally true, it's incredible some days.  Heh, I'm sure I'll write up some more (and likely more narrative as, well, I like narrative). 

 

Hmmm, iiiinteresting, very interesting.  I may have to give that a go (or Destroyer Rubric with some really radiated peeling armour.... wonder if I can get some crackle medium on it for that).  I definitely like seeing them, and now I'm wondering about some rad-guns for Plague Marines either way, given that the Rubric's heavy weapons are crazy too.  Inferno bolters, they really do look like a blast.  

 

Lets see, decent enough news, my two Proteus and 10 assault came in today, waiting until Wednesday for another FW shipment too.  So the resin's soaking and should be getting ready for the airbrush tomorrow. 

[Pearson73]

Very interesting that hushrong reckons destroyers as plague marines and breachers as rubric, as I was going to say the reverse! The additional ablative armour and built-up resistance of the destroyers would match the extra resilience of the legion's elite rad-experts, whilst warp flamers and bolters would certainly match their esoteric weaponry. hush makes some good points though, so I think either would make a good choice.

[battle captain corpus]

Some nice solid work there. :)

 

I particularly like some of the poses that you have kitbashed/converted also. Personally (this is just my opinion mind ;) ) I find the lighter green a little bright for my taste. Its executed well and your painting skills are obviously high, however I just find it a little too bright. But that's just a subjective thing.

 

Look forward to seeing more of your work bud, suffice to say I'm even more tempted to work on some Sons of Horus now!

 

BCC

[hushrong]

Oh man, some proteus tanks! Looking forward to seeing that!

 

I agree with you on those points Pearson as destroyers/breachers to plague marine/rubricae definitely can go either way. My personal ideas are just from random musings: 

 

I've had better luck with saving throws thanks to the rubricae with their benefit from All is Dust and having an Invulnerable save. I see that personally more as being armored and resilient which is represented by breachers with shields and possibly thicker armor. Plague marines still have their awesome save but I just suck at rolling it so I also think of them as less survivable compared to a rubricae.

 

Plague marines with their blight launcher just screams destoryers to me. Rad weapon are like a biological one I think. At the very least we can agree its a dirty weapon that just ruins the flesh and bones. Plus, those poor sods are dealing with weapons that are slowly killing them as well. They are, amongst legions of demi gods, the walking dead. That just makes me think of plague marines with all their blessings for strength and immunity from pain and crippling disease they too are the walking dead. I mean, look at one of them.

 

Again, just random musings :)

[Pearson73]

I certainly agree with all those points hushrong, one definitely needs less abstraction to get from plague marines to destroyers than for rubricae, especially with all the various poison rules and whatnot. Interesting point regarding the destroyers being practically the walking dead, it's an angle I've never thought of.

[Vykes]

Hah, thanks mates. Pearson, I'll admit I never thought about Rubrics as anything so now I'm definitely giving them a look. Even if I end up making 'Destroyer' Rubric with, hmm, maybe Volkite calivers/chargers or even serpentia? Something to really nail the Inferno bolter stats too. I love the idea of going wild with some rad weapons! Man, thanks you two, that's something I'm definitely gonna have to mull!

 

Thanks Battle cap'n Corpus, mate! Oh I know the dark teal and sea green is more prevelent, I've just got a weird hang up from the first time I read False Gods that they meant that light seafoam/mint green and I can't get that out of my head :P That the kitbashes and poses work just means it actually works, so that's awesome! And hey, if it makes you work more on them Sons of Horus, then toss up some more pics too! -laughs- more glory to the 16^th! We all need some moral cheering up with the ETL, the loyalists are killing us :P

 

Hushrong mate, ooooh don't worry, I know the feeling of not being able to roll a save! (5 breachers in 1 turn out of 6 saves, failed some 2+ cover saves, then the 5+ not-FNP). I'm loving the idea, now I'm just wondering how to scope out the Inferno bolters, so I'm kinda wondering if volkite might be a way to go. Am I missing some other really obvious rad weapon if I go that route? I'd have said seeker bolters if I hadn't already gone and done something like that already. Hmm.It's not a matter of 'if' but rather how an when! 

[Dreagher]

Some really nice models in here!

[hushrong]

I'm definitely interested in what you cook up to use Thousand Sons on the field. I really wish some of the HH goodies would have survived into the 40k game because the rad weapons, phosphex, and volkites are just so awesome. Then again, it would suck all the same to knick some of the special aspects of HH away. My memory is super hazy on the HH units and rules and the application for it in my battlescribe always freezes and shuts down, but is there a support squad or something that you could take all Volkites? Just do a hardened looking unit of them to represent some rubrics?

 

And yeah, I think my worst saving throws were in my early days of 40k from only 6+ years ago with my boy Khârn. That guy really...REALLY, lived up to his post-Heresy name. I kept a kill list for him in my codex after going through the 'Today Khârn Killed..." thread. Slain tanks, infantry, and heroes of all races were almost as even numbered with allied Berzerkers who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Betrayer.