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The Black Legion represents the history of all the Heretic Astartes in the galaxy; cast from the light to return strengthened from the maws of hell. They are the legacy of the primarchs, remade into a new and terrible form. For better or for worse, the new legion of the long war is an even more distorted image of the mighty space marine hosts than many of the other traitors. Soldiers, corsairs, butchers, fanatics and everything in between can be found in equal measure among Abaddon's subordinates, yet one of the Warmaster's most renowned armies is made of men that consider themselves "true" legionaries. Corrupted in body, but not in mind, the warband known as the Dreadreavers is the echo of an age gone by. With boltguns in their hands and vengeance in their hearts, these warriors have been fighting at the forefront of the Long War to see the False Emperor fall.

 

Hello! My name's Horrible, and this is my (slooooow) hobby thread, where I intend to write about the creation of my Heretic Astartes warband - the Dreadreavers, a Black Legion battlegroup that shares a large and unhealthy amount of similarities with the former 16th legion. Aside from pictures of conversions or semi-decent paintjobs, I also wanna take a little time to tell the stories of the characters and some of the units in the army. From their beginning as one of the more infamous companies of the Luna Wolves to the organisation of the warband they'd eventually become, I want touch upon everything. I'm not sure how active I'll end up being, but I hope to post regularly, so that there's something new to see here every other week. So stick around if I peeked your interest! I'll post the first few pictures soon.

Edited by AHorriblePerson
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Hello again! Sorry for the long radio silence, but life had me firmly within its grasp.

So, as promised, here are my first few images depicting the humble beginnings of my Dreadreavers:

 

It isn't much right now, but it'll grow. Promise.
I started painting these a while ago, and some of you might notice changes in painting quality. Some of them were also rebased, as I wasn't happy with the terrain I came up with. The landscape I tried to emulate now is "Realm of the Blood God", as shown in the citadel paint app.
The big boy in front is Dyrath Kal, the Black Legate. A son of Horus Lupercal himself, he already led the Dreadrevers back when they were the Luna Wolves' 55th company and has stayed in command ever since. This is actually my second iteration of the character, but I never got him quite right. It's a shame, really, because he is the idea that got me to create a warband around him. I'll come back to him and his backstory later down the line, as a third version is already in the planning phase.
You may notice something different about the two chaos space marines to the left and right of the (Hellforged) Contemptor Dreadnought that I really should have converted - he annoys me every time I look at him: these two are aspiring champions for the two 10-man squads this bunch of heretics shall eventually become, and they're wearing parts of Mk3 power armor. I've started kitbashing, as I really couldn't stand seeing all of my marines squatting about.

 



 

Some of these guys will end up getting replaced soon. I want the members of the Dreadreavers predominantly wearing armors of the types 3 and 5 - as a company that specialised in heavy assault and destroyer operations, they'd logically be wearing the armors that provided the most protection (Mk3) and are the easiest to repair (Mk5). Guys like the marine wielding the meltagun from the raptor squad set or the aspiring champion swinging his chainsword about are likely targets of my eventual "culling of the ranks".

 


 

Here is the rest of the bunch - they're being worked on right now, but only what you see in the picture. I'm not touching the arms yet, as I am going to buy a few of these spiked shoulderpads: https://mastercrafted.co.uk/shop/infantry-components/shoulder-pads/spiked-veteran-shoulderpads/
Awesome, don't you think? They scream "Sons of Horus" in my opinion. I was made aware of these when I stumbled upon fellow son of Cthonia depthcharge12's thread, who used them for his destroyers. I encourage you to check him out! His work is pretty stellar: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/330158-sons-of-horus-plog-3000-points/

 



Lastly, here are some of the models waiting to be primed: seven Plague Marines, part of what remaints of the 55th's destroyer cadre. I've also gotta assemble some rhinos, a helbrute and buy a few more bits for my first 10-man squad of Khornate Berzerkers.

The first major goal for the Dreadreavers looks like this (the list has been edited several times now due to me changing my warband's fluff a bit as well as new releases by GW):

HQs

- Abaddon the Despoiler ( https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/03/05/5th-mar-abaddon-revealedgw-homepage-post-1/ )
- Haarken Worldclaimer
- Obsidius Mallex
- Dyrath Kal v3 (complete)
- 1 Terminator Lord
- 2 Chaos Lords in power armor
- 1 Terminator Sorcerer (complete)
- 2 Chaos Sorcerers in power armor
- 1 Dark Apostle
- 2 Exalted Champions (1 complete)
- 1 Warpsmith


Troops

- 30 Chaos Space Marines


Elites

- 20 Khornate Berzerkers
- 20 Plague Marines
- 10 Chaos Terminators
- 2 Helbrutes
- 2 Hellforged Contemptor Dreadnoughts
- 2 Hellforged Sicarans


Fast Attack

- 10 Raptors


Heavy Support
 
- 1 Chaos Land Raider (Might end up being the Proteus. Him and the normal one are almost identical profilewise, but the Proteus looks sooo much better...)
- 2 Chaos Predators (Probably Deimos-Pattern. I know they represent an entirely different unit, but I prefer their appearance over the normal ones.)
- 1 Hellforged Leviathan Dreadnought
- 10 Havocs
- 6 Obliterators

Dedicated Transports

- 3 Rhinos



That should keep me occupied for a while. I'd estimate that this'll take a slow hobbyist like me three years, and that is if I am disciplined about it. But hey - can't get done if I don't start...

Anyways, that's it for now. Tell me what you think! Any advice, opinion or recommendation is very much appreciated. For the Warmaster!

-Horrible
Edited by AHorriblePerson
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I find the lure of the Black Legion to be a powerful one indeed, and entries such as this do nothing to weaken it. In fact, I may have just spent about 20 minutes contemplating whether to abandon Lorgar and repaint. What's your recipe for black and gold?

My favourite has to be the Legionnaire with the red topknot; he has such a classic aesthetic. 

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I find the lure of the Black Legion to be a powerful one indeed, and entries such as this do nothing to weaken it. In fact, I may have just spent about 20 minutes contemplating whether to abandon Lorgar and repaint. What's your recipe for black and gold?

 

My favourite has to be the Legionnaire with the red topknot; he has such a classic aesthetic. 

Yeah, I like how that guy turned out as well, I'm really happy that I decided to kitbash. The combinations that are available look great! I'd love to give the other champion(s) a topknot too, but I think it might become less interesting then. We'll see I guess.

My black is pretty simple, after I've primed the miniature, I'll just cover everything with Abaddon Black. I'm not super neat about it, as I think it's hard to notice the two different finishes the primer and the basecoat have. I'll then highlight the armor with Eshin Grey - I'm not skilled enough to let a fine highlight of Dawnstone look good, and I think it'd make the armor look a tad too bright for me.

The gold is actually the recipe that Warhammer TV's Duncan showed in his "How to paint Sons of Horus" tutorial - Balthasar Gold with a wash of Agrax Earthshade, which is then highlighted with Sycorax Bronze. I thought it'd be nice to have a throwback to the Sons of Horus in the paint scheme, and it looks pretty good!

I also took a peek at your Word Beares just now, and I've gotta say: While it's definetely thrilling to join the Warmaster's portion, your own converted heretics already look amazing in the crimson of the 17th. :happy.:

 

 

Really clean paintwork here, as gezabutla says, the fella with the top knot is just a classic. The conversion of the Black Legate looks cracking, the eye on his chest is very striking.

I'm glad that you like them! I'm happy with how the eye on Kal's chest turned out too, the miniature is my first major conversion using Green Stuff. It's definetely a detail that I will add to v3 of the Black Legate aswell, a project I'll hopefully start soon...

Edited by AHorriblePerson
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You look off to a great start! The paint jobs look nice and crisp. You have a nice, flat black and Greta highlighting!

 

The Dreadreavers look like they will be a substantial force and I look forward to more!

 

These look great! Your black is super crisp! I can't wait to see more.

 

Many thanks! I'm currently working on the primed chaos space marines, I think I'll do a small update once I've done some more.

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What's the base model for your terminator lord, and how did you detoxify it so convincingly?

 

Your project looks great!

Gederas is right on the money, the model was built using Typhus. It was mostly just a matter of cutting/filing away some of the nastier details like boils or pus, along with removing the bone growths on his back. Oh, and that Nurgling that everyone hates.

After that, I neatened it up to the best of my abilites using Green Stuff. I'm pretty sure that I've got WIP pictures saved somewhere, so I can include the process once I get around to building the next version if anyone's interested.

Edited by AHorriblePerson
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What's the base model for your terminator lord, and how did you detoxify it so convincingly?

 

Your project looks great!

Gerderas is right on the money, the model was built using Typhus. It was mostly just a matter of cutting/filing away some of the nastier details like boils or pus, along with removing the bone growths on his back. Oh, and that Nurgling that everyone hates.

After that, I neatened it up to the best of my abilites using Green Stuff. I'm pretty sure that I've got WIP pictures saved somewhere, so I can include the process once I get around to building the next version if anyone's interested.

Please do. I've been trying and trying to come up with a way to make Lord Khadon Drachstur for months now and haven't had any luck. I was thinking of using the BaC Cataphractii captain, but I already used his legs for my Warpsmith. And I wasn't sure on using the normal Chaos Lord in Terminator Armour, because that one felt a bit too.... Generic in a sense? :lol:
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Im back! I've been rather busy lately, so I did not have as much time for 40k as I had wished, but I've got something interesting to share: A little history on the Black Legate and his Dreadreavers. It still needs some touch-ups, but I think it's good enough to post...



Hidden Content
 
Within the ranks of the Black Legion, many different characters can be found: bloodthirsty madmen, power-hungry sorcerers and greed-driven corsairs are commonplace among Abaddon’s lackeys. Rising to renown and gaining the Warmaster’s favour is not an easy feat to accomplish, but one of his many lieutenants made a name for himself by letting the past guide his path – a trait for which he is either well-respected and looked down upon.

Origins
Dyrath Kal began his life on old Cthonia, during the latter half of the Great Crusade. Leading an expectably violent life as member of one of the numerous hive-gangs, he was selected to become one of the Emperor’s Finest when the XIV Legion visited their homeworld to draw in new recruits, passing the straining tests of mind and body. Eventually reborn as a proud Luna Wolf, Kal quickly earned enough battlefield honours to be elevated to a Terminator Sergeant of the 55th company. The 55th was notorious for its particularly violent approach to warfare, even compared to the rest of the legion. Where the majority of the Luna Wolves were made out to be the prime example of the noble Legiones Astartes, Kal’s company were in many ways a portent of what was to become of the legion during the Great Heresy: for the “Dreaded 55th“, no battle was too bloody, no weapon too cruel, no tactic too base. Few outside of the legion spoke well of the stratagems these warriors employed, and so deployment alongside legions like the Iron Warriors or the World Eaters was far more likely than working with detachments from the Ultramarines or the Thousand Sons. Kal would eventually rise to command the company, a right he earned on the battlefields of the Ullanor Crusade.

Ordeal on Ullanor
When the forces of the Luna Wolves were mustered, the 55th was part of the force that was expected to exhaust the greenskin forces and drive them back towards their central fortess, while his primarch Horus and the famous Justaerin performed a surgical strike directly into its heart to slay the enemy Warboss, Urrlak Urruk. Unfortunately, the company found itself in the thickest of the fighting, where their captain, Argus Zhar, fell alongside his vanguard when an ork weirdboy unleashed a psychic onslaught. Robbed of their leader and their formation, the 55th struggled to regroup and continue the assault. Realizing he was the highest ranking officer left, Kal took it upon himself to reunite with the rest of his company. Leading the attack, he and the rest of his battered company turned the fight around through sheer ferocity and managed to secure ground for incoming reinforcements. Weakened in both body and spirit, the greenskins morale was shattered when the message of Urruk’s death spread like a wildfire. The battle-leader even got vengeance for his captain when he took the skull of the psyker that broke Zhar. Eventually, the Luna Wolves rendezvoused with their first company, crushing the great ork army of Ullanor between them. Bloodied but unbroken, the 55th marched during the parade, their company standard held high as they witnessed Horus‘ ascension to the office of Warmaster. Every Luna Wolf’s chest swelled with pride that day, but the Triumph held one more reward for Dyrath Kal: As the fleet withdrew, the veteran sergeant was ordered to attend the primarch himself on the bridge of the Vengeful Spirit. When he entered the vast hall, he was greeted by not only his gene-sire, but also the brethren of the Mournival - the captains Abaddon, Aximand, Torgaddon and Sejanus congratulated Kal as Horus made him the new captain of the 55th company, an honor well-earned when he took the initiative and led his men to victory.

End of the Crusade, Horus Heresy & Legion Wars
As a captain, Kal was quickly introduced into traditions of the legion that he only knew from hearsay. This was the time during which he became a member of the secret warrior lodge that existed inside of the legion with the approval of the Warmaster. The philosophy of Kal’s company did not change with his promotion – if anything, the traits that made up the 55th became more defined. Terror assaults and planet-wide extermination were part of their specialities, warranting the use of both the legion-specific reaver squads as well as their considerably large destroyer cadre. With the legion-wide proficiency for decapitation strikes, Kal and his warriors were no stranger to terminator armor and fielded them in large numbers, utilising it for a multitude of roles such as heavily armored vanguards and, of course, speartip assaults. These were often led by Kal himself. Developing an affinity for this tactic, the captain was even trusted with the command over detachments of the first company's Justaerin when required. When the Warmaster ignited the fires of treachery, Kal became a fervent supporter of Horus‘ view of the Imperium, seeing it in the hands of fools while the Emperor locked himself away, preparing to leave humanity to wither and die in pursuit of his own godhood. He and the 55th company embraced the war as they saw their legion change around them, becoming more like themselves. When Kal saw the first demons marching at their side, he quickly became wary of their kind. Bound to noone but their intangible gods, he considered them distrusted allies at the best of times. He never voiced these opinions though – these changes were decreed by the Warmaster, and he knew what he was doing, did he not?
When Horus‘ warfleet finally reached the throneworld, Kal was eager to spill imperial blood for his primarch. As the siege of the Imperial Palace shook the very foundations of Terra, he could be found at the forefront of the 16th legion forces, fighting his way into the enemy fortress and almost through the Eternity Gate when he and his brethren were thrown to their knees in shock and despair, their origin known to them all:


The Warmaster had fallen.

Partaking in the retreat to the Eye of Terror and Horus‘ entombment on Maeleum, Kal lived in denial for a time, not leaving the planet, but rather lamenting about the old times, grief-stricken and bitter. Slowly coming to terms with his legion’s fate, Kal made use of this bitterness, and turned it into his motivation. He deemed the Sons of Horus that were hiding in Lupercalios weak, and was disgusted by himself for having been one of them. He gathered the men that stood with him for decades, and left Maeleum on the warship Pillager. The captain was convinced that the Sons were doomed if they lost themselves in silent veneration of their fallen master – only by showing strength would they be worthy of their heritage. In the following time, the 55th company gained a very special reputation among the traitor legions – while the rest of the Sons of Horus hid themselves away and dug themselves ever deeper into the Monument, the 55th company lead a bloody war against the other legions, not only fighting off any attackers, but also assaulting legion fortresses in the name of Horus Lupercal while they stole their enemies' supplies of weapons, armor, munition and slaves. Dyrath Kal fought to win the Legion Wars, but deep inside, he was certain that he would meet his end drowning in his own blood on some forgotten world while the legacy of Horus died with him.

Joining the Black Legion
During the 34th millennium, the 55th company would cast aside the name Sons of Horus. While Abaddon the Despoiler, former First Captain of the old 16th legion, planned his attack on El‘Phanor, Kal and the men around him started attacking legion flotillas pledged to the 4th Black Crusade. As reports of a ship flying under the colors of his former legion began to grow in numbers, Abaddon assembled a small fleet to find this ghost from an age gone by. As he and his men arrived at the scene of the most recent attack, they were met with the Pillager approaching them at attack speed. But as fierce as their assailants were, they could not hope to match the military might of the Black Legion and soon found themselves at the mercy of Abaddon. Hailing the enemy ship, the Despoiler and the Sons of Horus captain eyed each other for the first time in almost four hundred centuries. It took neither of the two warlords long to recognise the other, and both were equally surprised to find out that the other one was still alive.
It did not take Abaddon long to convince the 55th to stop fighting, and together they returned to the rest of the fleet. Being briefed about the events of the last millenia, Kal and his warband joined forces with the Black Crusade, earning Abaddon’s respect through their performance at El’Phanor. After their return to the Eye of Terror, the newly christened Dreadreavers fully pledged themselves to their new Warmaster, swearing fealty to him until death, just as they did all those years ago on Cthonia.


Present
Now, in the dark days of the 42nd millennium, the Black Legate and his warband partake in the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler. Vengeful beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, the former 55th company of the Sons of Horus sails among the stars with the Black Fleet, leaving their mark in the ashes of dead worlds. With the appearance of the Great Rift, the Imperium has become a darker place to live in as Dyrath Kal lurks in the shadows. His warhost seemingly appears everywhere, and so reports of the banner of the Eye being raised on another world are plentiful – one of the newest claims that the Pillager recently arrived at what remains of old Cthonia…

Organisation, Culture & Tactics
Originating from the 55th Company of the Sons of Horus, the Dreadreavers of the Dark Millennium are now made up of warriors from other bloodlines aswell, including, but not limited to the sons of various traitor primarchs. Consisting of around 400 warriors, the Reavers count among the bigger battlegroups at Abaddon’s disposal, with the rare ability to create new astartes. While the warband is made up of space marines from dozens of different origins, the Dreadreavers live by a culture similar to that of the old Sons of Horus, going as far as decorating their armor, weapons and even skin with cthonian gang-runes, as well as utilizing the legion's old markings for elite units or specialist squads. Their tactics still resemble those of the old 55th company, though the Plague Marines of Nurgle have replaced the destroyer cadre while Khornate Berzerkers and Raptors have taken up the role of the legion’s Reaver Attack Squads. While this means that devotion to and veneration of the Chaos Gods exists within the warband, every Dreadreaver has to be aware that the legion comes first – a lack of loyalty and discipline would be punished by censure, exile or even death. Daemons or daemon engines can rarely be seen at the side of the 55th, as millennia of warfare in the Warp did not give Dyrath Kal any reason to trust them.
Although a very infantry-reliant army, Kal’s men have access to a wide array of vehicles and heavy weaponry. As they are an extremely flexible army, much of their fire support comes from walkers - the ancient hellforged Contemptor Dreadnoughts or their insane cousins, the Helbrutes. Together with Rhino APCs and Predator battletanks, they form the armored core of many Dreadreaver battleplans. These vehicles do not represent the entirety of their arsenal – both bigger and rarer engines of war can be found aboard the Pillager, the flagship of the Black Legate. Built before the Heresy, this heavy assault carrier has gone through extensive repairs and modifications during the course of the Long War, making it one of the best ships in the legion's armada. Reported as destroyed at least twice every thousand years, Kal’s mighty vessel has defied the fury of his foes countless times.
While he can not deny their effectiveness, the Despoiler holds a certain amount of suspicion against the warband. Their stark similarities to an extinct legion are undermining Abaddon‘s desire to purge the failures of the past. Luckily, their loyalty to his cause is unwavering, and so the Dreaded 55th has been allowed to wage war in his name for the last seven thousand years.






Tell me what you think! This isn't everything though. I've still got to show you guys those pictures of my Typhus conversion, they should follow shortly. Edited by AHorriblePerson
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So this is where I'll give a rough overview of my Typhus conversion, a miniature that I made to represent Dyrath Kal, the Black Legate.

To touch upon me choosing Typhus very briefly: The reason is that I'm a sucker for Cataphractii-pattern terminator armor, and the new Death Guard models were pretty much just released. I decided to try and base the model off of Typhus, who is by far the most imposing terminator-armored model in the Death Guard range.
As I stuck the model together, I had a problem with the pose of the mini, as many DG players seem to have. It felt kinda wrong for a character like Typhus waving his scythe around; the pose of the older model represents him much better.
So I started browsing the web to look at what other people did with the mini, and found this blog: http://bitteroldpainters.blogspot.com/2017/09/saturday-is-release-day.html?m=1

GuitaRasmus explains most of what I did in detail, and more importantly, one of his later posts includes a picture of the sprue that shows where exactly he cut away:

 



After following these steps along with the removal of some of the more... nurgle-y details like boils, pus and guts I ended up with this:

 

The ugly GSing in the arm socket will later be covered by a couple of chains and hooks that came with the normal chaos space marine kit. His weapon represents a power fist and was made from a Cataphractii lightning claw, shaved down and cut up to fit onto the arm stump.

 

The final conversion of note is the removal of the funnels on the back. I've got no pictures that show what I've done exactly, but you have to imagine that I clipped them off and filed the deformed rest of the bit into a shape that roughly resembled the top of normal terminator armor. I then used Green Stuff again, creating a smooth surface and fitting it onto the rest of the miniature. It's not perfect, but I am still relatively happy with what has represented the Black Legate for quite some time now.
Here are a few final WIP pictures I found:

 

So yeah... that's all I can say.
I hope that helps some of you with converting your own Typhus models. Hope the close-ups are big enough this time, but I couldn't do anything to enlarge them - if you have suggestions, I'll gladly listen though! I wanna tell you guys about my plans for Dyrath Kal v3 later, so keep an eye open for that.

Cheers!

-Horrible

Edited by AHorriblePerson
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  • 3 weeks later...

How in the Eye of Terror did I miss this?

 

First off thanks for posting the conversion work you did on Dyrath Kal. I haven't been able to stop by GW to pick up a Typhus to butcher and convert yet but seeing that "remove here" pic of his sprue is super helpful! I am feeling a bit better about going with him for a conversion. May have to try and pick one up tomorrow.

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Many thanks to both of you! I've been busy with a bunch of stuff lately, so progress on the models has been slowed to a crawl. I'll get into it again soon though, as I really wanna finish my tacticals and get started on some 'Zerkers.

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So this is where I'll give a rough overview of my Typhus conversion, a miniature that I made to represent Dyrath Kal, the Black Legate.

 

To touch upon me choosing Typhus very briefly: The reason is that I'm a sucker for Cataphractii-pattern terminator armor, and the new Death Guard models were pretty much just released. I decided to try and base the model off of Typhus, who is by far the most imposing terminator-armored model in the Death Guard range.

As I stuck the model together, I had a problem with the pose of the mini, as many DG players seem to have. It felt kinda wrong for a character like Typhus waving his scythe around; the pose of the older model represents him much better.

So I started searching the web to look at what other people did with the mini, and found this blog: http://bitteroldpainters.blogspot.com/2017/09/saturday-is-release-day.html?m=1

 

GuitaRasmus explains most of what I did in detail, and more importantly, one of his later posts includes a picture of the sprue that shows where exactly he cut away:

 

 

 

 

 

After following these steps along with the removal of some of the more... nurgle-y details like boils, pus and guts I ended up with this:

 

 

 

The ugly GSing in the arm socket will later be covered by a couple of chains and hooks that came with the normal chaos space marine kit. His weapon represents a power fist and was made from a Cataphractii lightning claw, shaved down and cut up to fit onto the arm stump.

 

 

 

 

The final conversion of note is the removal of the funnels on the back. I've got no pictures that show what I've done exactly, but you have to imagine that I clipped them off and filed the deformed rest of the bit into a shape that roughly resembled the top of normal terminator armor. I then used Green Stuff again, creating a smooth surface and fitting it onto the rest of the miniature. It's not perfect, but I am still relatively happy with what has represented the Black Legate for quite some time now.

Here are a few final WIP pictures I found:

 

 

 

 

 

So yeah... that's all I can say.

I hope that helps some of you with converting your own Typhus models. Hope the close-ups are big enough this time, but I couldn't do anything to enlarge them - if you have suggestions, I'll gladly listen though! I wanna tell you guys about my plans for Dyrath Kal v3 later, so keep an eye open for that.

 

Cheers!

 

-Horrible

Damn you, now I want to buy a bunch of death guard minis and redo all my terminators... seriously, that's one of the coolest terminator I have ever seen, insanely cool.

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