From GregB - Sons of Horus for Istvaan V (52 points)

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

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.

OK - for scoring, we have two 28mm figures, one 28mm vehicle, and one planet bonus, which I think adds up to 50 points? Anyway, it was lovely to visit Istvaan V, and to add these guys to my 30k collection! Thanks for reading!

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Lovely work dude! That Rhino is really lifted by the custom doors and iconography. As you say, not something you'd necessarily use in a points driven game, but certainly great for a more thematic story-based scenario. I think you're onto something with GWs slow gravitational pull to these obviously taller models. I wouldn't be surprised to see them proliferate across the entire range. Still, they are very cool, and I'm sure the sculptor/designers enjoy have that little bit more real estate to work within. With this in mind, I'm giving you a few more points for the larger officer.

Again, wonderful work Greg!

- Curt