From GregB - Legions Imperialis Infantry Bits (46 points)

Space Marines and Solar Auxilia for "Legions Imperialis" 

One last submission for AHPC XV to share - this collection of Legions Imperialis infantry. These are 6mm plastic figures from GW, for their rebooted game of "Epic", which allows players to recreate the battles of the Horus Heresy in grand scale! The green chaps comprise an Assault Detachment and a Terminator Detachment for the XVI Legion Astartes, the Sons of Horus. The little blue fellows are a Solar Auxilia detachment - unlike my 28mm Space Bavarians, I've no particular notion for them yet...their anonymity provides flexibility for scenario purposes - they can fight for whichever side might work for the game that night. 

Legion Astartes

Cataphractii Terminators in 6mm...still scary-looking, even at small size.

Let's start with the Sons of Horus, although there is not a ton to say...Assault Marines and Terminator Marines are grouped into smaller, supporting detachments of four stands. I thought it would be best to at least get one of each type done for my Sons of Horus. 

Even in 6mm, the Cataphractii-plated Terminators exude an ominous "f*ck around and find out" vibe. I do have to hand it to GW - even if they completely f*cked up the launch and rollout of this game, the sculpting and quality of the models is very high. 

Assault Marines ready to hop into action (sigh, lame...but...whatever...I'm tired)

The Assault Marines, with their jump packs...it is the same, I am impressed with the tiny details, even if many are beyond my brush skills. If you are a fan of the Horus Heresy setting, you will love the models (not too sure about the rules on the other hand, but that is for another blog post). 

Solar Auxilia

Ready to stand...either for, or against, The Emperor...flexibility is key...

I find the force-assembly rules of for the new Legions Imperialis rules to be a touch Byzantine, and definitely prone to causing headaches, but if I understood correctly, this batch of models would be able to represent a pretty basic detachment (sans vehicle or transport support) for the Solar Auxilia. What you see here comprises the entirety of a single sprue, save for the Sentinels, which I never got around to painting in time for this post.

Love all the crazy command figures!

Again, the figure design is great. If you are a nerd like me, you will find much to love on these tiny figures, from the assorted whacky command and support types, to the vexillary...so many (literally) small details done up nicely. 

Velatari in the foreground - with axes, natch. Regular lasrifle troops at the rear.

It's BBQ time! Mind the gap there lads...

The Auxilia count on support from Velatari...units with fancier weapons. In this case, we have chaps with power axes because of course, and fellows carrying heavy flamers because even more of course. Will a flamethrower solve that problem? Yes? Then let's send ten of them, shall we? Do tell the lads to be careful with their formation...

Charonite Ogryns all set to break things, or people, or both!

The bigger things are Charonite Ogryns. The back story is too long for here, but just imagine "ogres + combat drugs + power claws" and you pretty much have it. These are ugly models (no matter the scale), and I found them particularly difficult and frustrating to try and paint in this scale. But here they are...

For scoring purposes, we have the following:

- 85 x 6mm infantry models = 42.5 points

- 4 x 6mm monsters ("cav") = 4 points

Half points are dumb - so let's call it 46 points! This will get me to oh-so-close to my AHPC XV points target, but shamefully falling short all the same. Oh well - there is always next Challenge!

Thanks to Curt and Sarah for hosting, and to my fellow minions for their assistance. Also a huge thanks to all who took the time to share encouraging comments and feedback. Great work all around everyone, and I hope to see you all in Challenge XVI! Take care everyone!

GregB

Wow, Greg, what a way to end the Challenge! I paint a lot of 6mm myself, but these definitely put those to shame. Such neat and crisp painting, the picking out of just the right details, the vibrancy of the colours, they are absolutely stunning! I know that they are great sculpts too, and that certainly helps, but your brushwork really makes the difference and does them more than  justice. The command stand with the vexillum is particularly awesome. The frustration in some cases, though I definitely feel your pain, has not had any influence on the great result you achieved. I agree that half points are a no-go, so let's make it 50. Excellent work, and thanks for all your great submissions (and arduous service!). 

Martijn

From GregB - Bavarian Solar Auxilia for 30k (65 points)

Solar Auxilia ready to take their place in the battle line! These are 28mm multi-part plastic figures from GW.

In GW's "Horus Heresy" setting, the terrifying Space Marine Legions are supported in their military conquest efforts by (naturally) some Auxiliaries - known as the "Solar Auxilia". These human soldiers are more "normal" - they are not genetically modified super-soldiers like the Space Marines, but are nonetheless well-trained, well-armed and well-equipped, ready to support the Space Marines on the flanks, or stand in their stead the best they can when the Space Marines cannot be present. These are multi-part plastic figures from GW's "Age of Darkness" figure range.

Fix bayonets!

While the "lore" of the Space Marine Legions contains many well-established notions, the concepts for their auxiliaries are way more wide-open. Each Legion is known for specific Auxiliary cohorts to support them, but really you can go crazy just making up your own stuff, which is fun. I have painted Solar Auxilia in earlier editions of the Painting Challenge, back when the figure range was limited to resin sculpts from the Forge World studio, but I wanted to do something a little different with these newer plastics...something different...why not some Space Bavarians???

Close of up some of the basic troops.

The "void armour" has the look of an undersea dive suit...I just love it. 

Lots of grenades and other bits to be found...and I also love the whacky bellows-type air/atmosphere system on the back...just awesome sculpts.

Challenge Participant Nick (MartinN) is always wowing us with his stunning brushwork, particularly when he tackles a Roman subject. Since the factions of GW's "Age of Darkness" ape the format and nomenclature of the Roman Legions of old, I hoped Nick might get a kick out of seeing these far-distant-future auxiliaries with their battle plate bearing Bavarian clue colours. 

Auxiliary with Vox Interlock (aka radio thing)

Bonkers vexillary, just to make everything whacky!

The new plastic Solar Auxilia range is...well, more than anything, I'm still shocked that GW went ahead with it! I was sure the Solar Auxilia would remain a fringe faction, trapped in Forge World's resign ghetto. How wrong I was! A substantial portion of the Solar Auxilia range is now available in plastic, which is great - even if GW continues to make baffling decisions, such as releasing the utterly pointless Arvus Lighter in plastic even as we await for other, more basic vehicles and figures to be available...

Love the officer sculpt! Such whacky character.

Why is that grenade yellow? I'm sure it's all about...safety...yes...safety....

GW also managed to trip over its own feet when it comes to the instructions for these figures...there are errors in the instructions, while some components on the plastic sprues are missing a number...working through these models for the first time can be a real pain in the @ss, with heavy resort to searches of online forums to see explanations from other hobbyists...as GW itself almost never admits it f*cked up, much less corrects it...

"Stand to!"

But hey, even I'm trying to keep the glass half-full, and I am loving all of the plastic Solar Auxilia models! In fact, I had "planned" to paint a lot more during AHPC XV. These Lasrifle sections can have as many as 20 soldiers...but my painting pace has been pretty slow during this edition of the Challenge, and unfortunately I won't be able to finish all 20 of the troops (or any of their supporting vehicles or commanders - oh well). But here are 13 of them...maybe a "lucky number" to kick off this collection, with the hopes of adding to them in future Challenge editions :) 

The under-strength lasrifle section so far...

For scoring purposes, we have 13 different 28mm foot figures...good enough for 65 points! I'm hoping to be able to get maybe one more submission...fingers crossed...but thanks for reading. And thanks to Nick for the inspiration! Watch for the ranks of this terrifying Bavarian Solar Auxiliary Cohort to grow in the future...

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Loving the Auxilia in their unmistakable cornflower blue Greg! They will look great next to your boys in Red from the XV Legio.  The contrasting colours you've used (and bright safety grenades) really make them pop!  I've been thinking about getting some of these lads to go with my Word Bearers but haven't pulled that trigger yet.  Good luck with this Dirty Dozen plus one on the tabletop!

As for the Arvus Lighter - nobody can understand that particular choice...

PS Interested in what colour paints you used, if you wouldn't mind sharing please?

- Paul

From GregB - XV Legion Master of Signals (5 points)

Master of Signals from the XV Legion Astartes, the Thousand Sons. 

Ah, the mad final dash to score a few more points during AHPC XV has arrived at last! And with this in mind, I present to you...er...a solitary 28mm figure. Kind of underwhelming - but we go with what we've got! This is a Legion Master of Signals, painted in the colours of the XV Legion Astartes, known as the Thousand Sons. This is a multi-part 28mm resin figure, available at one time from GW's Forge World studio.  

Handy bolt pistol, and communications bits...

Everyone hates dropped calls. Purging the galaxy in the name of The Emperor is already hard work, and the task doesn't get any easier when you can't communicate with your battle brothers. Enter the Legion Master of Signals, a specialist command figure who will help your Space Marines get the widest and fastest available 5G+ wireless data speeds even as they empty their bolt guns and flamers into to midst of whatever pack of fools took the fatally foolish decision to stand against the Sons of Magnus. 

There is a lot happening on this power pack! I accidentally cut off one of the cables during my prep work...but it is still fine overall. 

This is an old figure - circa 2014, somewhere around there. I loved it when it first came out. Not only do all of the assorted whacky antennae and communications bits look great, but this figure was, in fact, a quiet little tribute to GW's early Warhammer 40k period, the time of "Rogue Trader" - see "Communications Officer Orinoco".  I love this figure so much that I painted one for my Sons of Horus (obvs) and another for the Imperial Fists. Since I wanted to try and add to my XV Legion during AHPC XV, I thought it would be fun to paint another one for the Thousand Sons.

"Ahriman - can you hear me now?"

The Thousand Sons are known for their mastery of obscure lore and dangerous powers - standard communications doesn't really come to mind when you think of their story. After all, who needs wi-fi when you can just use telepathy to communicate with your buddies. That said, use of warp powers can have, um, lets call it "occasional side effects", so ensuring you have a full suite of standard communications is still really important, even if you are an armoured space wizard.

"Hey, cool! Horus 'liked' my last online post! Also we have jammed the enemy's comms!"

In playing the current edition of the 30k game, I have also found the Master of Signal is ridiculously useful to have around. The game offers all sorts of terrifying means to deploy - drop pod assaults, underground termite assaults, mass teleport assaults etc. The Master of Signals increases the chances that the other player's assault will get a bit jammed up in addition to other benefits. Useful to have around. 

So for scoring...well, it's pretty boring. Just a single 28mm foot figure, so that is good for five points. But wait, there's more! He also has TWO skullz on his armour (one on the vambrace, and the other on his chest plate) - so hopefully a bit more for my skullz tally! 

The brushes are still bending...here's hoping I can squeeze one or two more posts in before we wrap up!

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Fabulous work, Greg! As you can see from my post earlier today you are in good company with quixotic, single figure entries. As any stage producer would say, you gotta tease them with the small acts before you come in with the big closing number.

I love this guy, especially as he's a nod to those heady, wild-and-whacky days of Rogue Trader. The super saturated red and yellow of his armour is ace, and that pose is definitely on-point, 'If I get another busy signal I swear to Horus I'm going to call in a air strike on this f*&$er...' 

Well done dude!

- Curt

From SanderS: "I am Gregarius Part III!" (20 points)

 Hoi,

As I have been promissing for a while now, I finally got round painting something 30K related! 40K has been a game I have played very avidly in the past, but what with all the changes in rules have kinda lost track off it. I am not actively playing 40K at the moment, but I still love the Lore and figures so while not fighting on the tabletop, I do actively collect and paint several armies. A few years ago I also got enamoured by the new Horus Heresy (or 30K) miniature line and started collecting a force for  the First Legion, my beloved Dark Angels. 

For two Challenges now Greg has been showing us his gorgeous 30K Son's of Horus troops and last year it triggered me to put most of my kits and troops together, but they have been lacking a paintjob. This year I was sure I was going to get a headstart with the painting but hey the hobby-butterfly came calling and I ended up painted a lot of other miniatures than 30K.

So as to not loose too much face in the 30K model and please the Lord Primarch Gregarius; I hereby present my first painted 30K Dark Angel Land Raider!

Now the observant watcher will have noticed that I made a big boo-boo: I left all the moving parts free/ separate so they can indeed move, but in doing so I mixed one of the sponsons up with one from my Kratos Tank so now this Land Raider features one Sponson that's not supposed to be on there. I will fix this for sure sometime soon. 

Whether I will be able to get more 30K stuff done this Challenge remains to be seen, but I do not think so. Pointswise 1 vehicle in 28mm is 20 points.

Cheers Sander

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Hi Sander

Hobby butterfly is not a bad thing … I think we all enjoying seeing our challenge-mates bop from one project to another 😊

Nice looking 30k vehicle and I like that you’ve chosen to leave the moveable parts move-able. Leave the extra part in the Land Raider … perhaps it will make the vehicle extra fast?

-Sarah

Wednesday From JamieM - The Horus Heresy’s Greatest Traitor and Mythos (62 points)

Something of a small and yet mixed bag today. First up are the Priory faction for "Mythos" by warcradle. One of my friends and I are like moths to a flame when obscure and virtually dead games with pretty miniatures are concerned and "Mythos" is that. Don’t think it was ever big, but it limps along and can be had very cheaply on eBay at times. I have the Priory faction who are nominally the good guys standing against the evil Cthulhu-type entities

These appear to be led by a wise fellow who has dragged along a chap with a flamethrower, an archaeologist lady, a mechanic, a cat and he’s summoned a massive golem! Feels like he’s ticked all of the boxes for fighting evil…..

Fairly simple paint jobs and it remains to be seen whether the game will see table time with so many other games fighting for it. Heck, they’re nice miniatures either way and were fun to paint. Oh, and one of the ladies will be my fee to move to the “Traitor” area of hell……

……Because I’ve also painted this fella, Lorgar Aurelian...

He’s from GW’s Horus Heresy setting and is one of the primarchs, who are super human beings who lead the legions. Lorgar leads the Wordbearers, religious nut jobs who built massive cathedrals to the Emperor (back when he claimed he wasn’t a god) when they took worlds over instead of moving on to pacify the next world. The Emperor slapped them down for this very publicly and used the Ultramarines to do it, which mortified the entire legion (The Ultramrines? Ugh. I would be embarrassed too - GB).

Lorgar responded to this like any teenager would and sought out the chaos gods to worship instead. He then introduced them to Horus and some of his other primarch friends and the Horus heresy began!

Lorgar is therefore a huge traitor (even though the Emperor was also a bit of a git) as he set in motion a war that killed billions and set humanity back and got what would become the 40K universe going. Ironically, it set up a universe where the Emperor really is now seen as a god. So perhaps he’d feel it was all worth it?

Anyway, 5 x 28mm figure, one 54mm figure, one 40mm figure and a Traitor bonus for 62 points by my maths.

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This is lovely Jamie! And with all due respect to "Mythos" - and your commitment to obscure-adjacent games (which I share and respect), I can say "thank god" for some 30k at last! And that is a sentiment I think Lorgar would appreciate!

The Primarch models are a real hoot, and it is so nice to see the arch-criminal of the Horus Heresy rendered here and ready to lead his legion into some manner of "faithful endeavor". Progress demands sacrifice, after all, and Lorgar his chaps can help out with both! While Erebus is still the biggest @sshole in the story, at the end of the day, Lorgar is THE bad guy. You've done fine work here - the cape, the mace, and even the "such-a-shame-that-billions-must-die-in-order-to-show-the-obvious-truth" expression on his face.

And full marks to the "Mythos" team. But why assume the "Cthulhu types" are evil? Why, Lorgar could help you understand that inter-dimensional diversity can be your organization's new "greatest strength"...

62 points it is! We can all celebrate in our next visit to Monarchia. Right....?

GregB 

From GregB - Legion Cataphractii Command Squad for 30k Thousand Sons (15 points)

Legion Terminator command squad for the XV Legion Astartes. 

Sadly not too much to share painting-wise this week - but at least the figures are rather large chaps! We have a Legion Command Squad wearing terrifying Cataphractii terminator plate and resplendent in the colours of the XV Legion Astartes, the Thousand Sons. These are multi-part plastic 28mm figures from GW's "Age of Darkness" range for gaming the Horus Heresy setting. 

View showing the not-quite-net-zero-compliant power systems of the armour.

Since it is AHPC XV, I am making an effort to get my XV Legion collection to the next level in terms of size/capability. This command squad will help in that regard, bulking out the command element on the table. They accompany their boss (usually a Praetor or Centurion) to battle. I try to have a command squad like this for each Space Marine Legion I collect, because they all feature a silly banner, and I just love the large, silly banners in the Horus Heresy. They really capture the blend of dark-age-war-approach with high-tech-weapons that is a cornerstone of the delightful absurdity that is 30k!

Banner bearer, ready to inspire his brother Marines.

Closer look at the banner bearer.

The Legion Command squads are supposed to wear similar armour to the commander they accompany. As my Thousand Sons have gone to battle so far under the leadership of a Praetor in Cataphractii Terminator armour, his command flunkies would need to have the same kit. I have plenty of plastic Terminators sitting around in the shelves, and the banner was an easy swap in from the standard Space Marine command accessory sprue. The excellent Thousand Sons decal sheet from Forge World had a handy large-sized transfer that fit the big silly banner perfectly, and I'm pleased with how it all turned out.

I love this pose. "Hey, over there - someone shoot that guy!"

The Cataphractii Terminator armour is one of those systems that reads as terrifying in the lore and the stories but never matches up to that sort of experience when you actually deploy them on the table in the game. In a game system where "points" are used to create balance, the Terminators cost far too many points relative to what they manage to achieve in a given game. That said, they look super cool - the Cataphractii armour variant in particular is just delightful in its air of slab-sided menace. 

Another dramatic pose - figured a drama-adjacent sort like this fellow should be in the command squad...

The big, dramatic banner provides some morale and associated buffs for fellow Thousand Sons Space Marines on the table. The chap carrying it has a nice big power sword to smack people with, while the other two - "chosen" - act as general bodyguards, with combi-bolters to and power fists to deal with matters arising on the battlefields of the grim and dark far future.

Some great waterslide transfers do the heavy-lifting on the big, silly banner...

An additional advantage for these sorts of units in the Thousand Sons is that nearly all of the members of the Legion have spooky psychic powers, which they use despite the serious risks involved in messing with the warp with no problems at all everything always works out just fine...it provides these chaps with an extra edge in the battle, particularly in the company of their scary boss. Terminators can already be a handful, but Terminators with spooky powers? Whatever happens on the table, rest assured it will be dramatic!

A photo with the boss! The Praetor was not painted as part of the Painting Challenge, but still fun to pose him with his brand-new set of command flunkies!

Scoring-wise, we have three 28mm infantry models. Chunky models perhaps, but 28mm infantry all the same, and so we have 15 points! That's it for this week...I'm hoping, as all Challengers hope, to be making a last big splash prior to the end of AHPC XV...but real life may not agree, so we'll see. But thanks for reading, and keep those brushes going!

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From GregB - 30k Sicaran Battle Tank (30 Points)

Space Marine "Sicaran" tank for the Horus Heresy - 28mm multi-part resin model from Forge World. 

Greetings all! Not too much to share this week. Here we have a Sicaran tank from GW's Horus Heresy range. These days one can acquire this model in beautiful, multi-part plastic, but this is NOT that kit. It is, rather, an old veteran of Forge World's resin 30k range. It is painted in the colours of the XVI Legion Astartes, the Warmaster's own Sons of Horus.

Lovely lines AND lots of guns - perfect for Space Marines looking for that "sporting ride" in war time...

Space Marines have soooooo many tanks they can use to crush their enemies. There is a kind of spectrum in their designs, ranging from compact and brutal-looking, up toward medium-sized and brutal-looking, and on from their toward really-really-large and brutal-looking. Sure, some the speeders and jet bikes are sleek-looking things, but when it comes to tanks and troop carriers, the Space Marines want everything to look like it is coming to crush you - because, well, that is what is going to happen.

Auto cannons that are widely feared on Age of Darkness gaming tables.

But the Sicaran design stands somewhat apart...like the designers' brief said something along the lines of "killer Space Marine tank, but, you know, with a 'BMW' vibe...make it more of a sports-car-tank." And so, out with the troop compartment! Let's lower that silhouette a touch! And maybe not quite SO much slab-style armour? Guns, well, OBVIOUSLY, but, you know, a cool turret with rapid-firing auto cannons!

The Space Marines are not very "hip", but to the extent any hipsters survive the genetic conditioning process necessary to create Space Marines in the year 30,000 I'm sure they will all want to crew the Sicaran tank squadrons. These tanks race around the battlefield, they look cool doing it, and the weapons they bring to bear are effective against a wide assortment of targets, from protestors to xenos troublemakers to deluded "loyalist" Space Marines. While the standard turret mounting the auto cannons as seen here is the general favorite, there are all sorts of whacky alternate turret weapon mounts available too for hipster crews that wish to slay in a more unique, if still stylish, fashion.

Horus for hope!

As noted above this an old resin model from Forge World, and this is a re-paint, part of an ongoing campaign to bring a consistent look to the green armour for all of the Sons of Horus troops and vehicles in my collection. Such conformity stills my inner hobby OCD brain monkey...for a time, at least, until I must turn to the next batch of troops and vehicles who require a similar update.

Scoring-wise, we have a single 28mm vehicle, which should be good for 20 points. That's all for this week - thanks for reading! 

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Another great addition to your Legion Greg, I'm sure the additional ranged firepower will come in quite handy.

I know (from looking down the barrels of Reilly's Sicarian) that this is quiet a beast of a model so I'm awarding an additional 10 points for its sheer mass!

- Paul

From DallasE: Mechanicum Archmagos Prime (Belisarius Cawl) (10 points)

I guess it's nearly 10 years ago now that Games Workshop brought out plastic kits for the Adeptus Mechanicus faction of Warhammer 40K. I was pretty stoked about that, just because of the cool looks of the models and the creepy vibe they exude. So I have (over the last 10 years) painted up a small force of Adeptus Mechanicus models.

As with many of my hobby projects, GregB is to blame for this one. He very kindly sent me a box of Mechanicum Secularis Tech-Thralls Covenant models for Christmas and that's started me down the road of collecting Mechanicum models for the Horus Heresy. I was about to order a third-party resin Archmagos from Tista Minis when I remembered I had bought GW's Belisarius Cawl some years ago, and he (it?) was sitting on sprues in a box. So I busted it out and assembled it for painting. 

As you might be able to tell, it's a pretty intricate model with a lot of parts, and took a couple evenings to assemble. I built it in three assemblies - the legs, the torso, and the right arm. I'm glad I did as I reckon it would've been pretty much impossible to paint had I not left it apart for painting.

As for the paint scheme, you can see I've departed from the traditional Mars scheme and gone in another direction. I really like the charcoal grey and off-white colourway of Forge World Agrippinaa so that's the colours this model got (well the charcoal anyway). It's black with highlights of Vallejo Dark Rubber and Mechanicus Standard Grey, washed with Nuln Oil. The metal parts are Leadbelcher and Nuln Oil, and the brass is mostly Brass Scorpion, washed with Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade.

It's a pretty cool and scary looking model, and as I said it had LOTS of parts to assemble.

It's a pretty large model as well. I'm going to count it as a 54mm infantry model for 10 points.

One 54mm infantry model:  10 points

Total: 10 points

Skulls: 7

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He certainly is a large lad, and is quite the Heroic addition to any AdMech force. To me this series of GW releases really started to transform their 40k range to the new standard 'super detailed' style that can be quite intimidating to tackle. 

Notwithstanding, you've done a cracking job with him Dallas - 10points well earned!

- Paul