Spartan APC for 30k Thousand Sons

A Spartan carrier for the XV Legion Astartes.

Well, it's been more than a little bit since my painting flurry of the recent Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge concluded. My brushes have been busy, but other distractions have come up and dented my hobby time, so I have been delinquent in terms of getting stuff finished, and even more delinquent in terms of getting some posts up on the blog even when I have managed to complete something. Let's make a dent in that today...here we have a serious armored reinforcement for the Space Marines of the XV Legion Astartes - this is a Spartan, the big scary troop carrying tank of the Horus Heresy setting. This is a multi-part resin model from GW's Forge World studio.

A giant slab of armour, and tons of guns...just full-on 30k silliness!

Yes, you read that right...even though GW has had a multi-part plastic version of this model available for YEARS now, here I am, in the year 2026, still finishing off painting one of the old resin Forge World version of this kit. Needless to say, this thing has been in the "pending pile" for a LONG time - and sure, I have a nice assortment of excuses: moving several times sure didn't help, and the usual distractions of other periods, settings, scales and figures have all taken their right and proper place...but still, even for me, this is a monument to hobby delay/procrastination... 

A close-up of the beast! I added some extra light rocket launchers on the cupola, because why not?

I was going to "paint it during the Painting Challenge" (the justification for many a project!). I even got started on it January, painting the quad-lascannon sponson weapons (the part of this model I found the hardest to paint, because oddball hobby reasons). But I just couldn't get around to finishing the rest of this beast in time to include in my Painting Challenge production. 

One of the quad lascannon batteries on the sponsons. For whatever reason, I just can't stand painting those things...

In fact, I was more-than-half-tempted to even "leave it for the next Challenge", but that was a bridge too far, so I just buckled down and finally finished it in April. 

Why so slow? Well, I think we all have subjects or specific models that turn into a real drag, for whatever reason, and this was no exception. I have also found that I just have trouble finding the motivation to paint big 28mm-sized vehicles in recent times. Finally, I have to admit that the 3rd edition of the Horus Heresy rules have just not landed well with me. To put it simply, playing HH 3.0 just feels like work. I still love the story, the setting and the figures (or, nearly all of them), but these days I am just not motivated to play the game and this has materially slowed my motivation to paint more 28mm sized 30k figures. 

Lovely decals from the Forge World decal sheet help provide the necessary "crazy ancient Egypt" vibe for the tank.

But for all that, this beast is at last over the line! And I'm sure the Sons of Magnus will be pleased! I've been adding a number of units to my XV Legion collection in recent years, but when it comes to vehicles, well, they've been stiffed! Their motor pool to date consists of a single Rhino APC - useful, sure, but not exactly a sign of armored might! Well, that all changes now...

Ready to roll!

The Spartan is a bonkers AFV, just absolute peak Horus Heresy. It is armed to the teeth. It has the heaviest possible armour ratings you can have on a vehicle in the game. And it carries more than 20 marines on board - enough for a great big tactical squad, or a big terminator squad, AND some flunkies. Even Space Wizards like to ride in style, after all!

Khorne Bloodthirster!

Well here's another massive metal model from the before-times... a Bloodthirster of Khorne. This one is definitely a must-have for my 40K Khorne army.

                                                    

Assembling these metal models can be tricky due to parts fitment. Fortunately this one wasn't too bad, it was painted (badly) when I got it but stripped down a treat as they often do. The model was assembled with superglue but no pins (I hope I don't regret this later) and it needed a bit of greenstuff work on some of the joins.

The wings are massive pieces of metal aren't they!

Cheeky as always! That chain-thong looks fairly uncomfortable. Khorne cares not from where the chafing flows!

Colours used were the same as the Bloodletters. Skin is Khorne Red - Mephiston Red - Evil Sunz Scarlet, horns, nails and hooves Kantor Blue - Thunderhawk Blue, wings highlighted with Dark Rubber.

The Bloodthirster is a big boy, even when sat beside a metal Bloodletter, itself a decent sized model!

I'm glad I've gotten this one done for the game coming up. In the 5th Ed. Chaos Space Marines codex all of the greater daemons have the same stat line and cost 100 points. Of course they are summoned onto the battlefield and actually take the place of a unit champion or character model. But what would you rather have on the table, a Berzerker champion with a plasma pistol, or a Bloodthirster?? It will certainly be fun to find out in a few days. Might even get a couple Rhinos done before that too! 

Last Batch of Berzerkers

People who know me know two things about my hobbying: I enjoy rehab projects on models other people have tried to paint or started painting, and I love a good deal. This lot of Khorne Berzerkers checked both boxes. I picked them up very cheaply on eBay and they needed some work to get them into tabletop shape. You can see the "before" at the bottom of this post.

I bought a job lot of 13 models. One of them was the original plastic mono-pose Berzerker that I don't much care for, so he got left out of the revamp. Of course I also had to convert one into a standard bearer because reasons (well, summoned lesser daemons).

They turned out reasonably well I think, they certainly fit in well with the previous ones I painted. And as far as plastic Berzerkers for this army, I think I'm done. This makes enough models for five squads of eight, less two models - 38 in total. If I can dig up a couple metal Champions that would be great. 

Here's the before shot. The models were actually not bad, some of the painting was kinda sloppy though and I don't think the models were primed - there was actually some bare plastic showing through in a few spots. But this was pretty much all corrected and they're ready for the tabletop.

Next up I have to finish the Bloodthirster and maybe some Rhinos. There's also a Terminator squad and Havoc squad to get ready. We'll see if they get done before the game planned for early May.

In the meantime... SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE OF KHORNE!

Painting Challenge Submission #13 - Onward to Orleans!

"Forward! God has shown me the way..."

I'm continuing with the AHPC XVI wrap-up posts! We switch from GW settings to a historical one - and my on-again, off-again work on the Hundred Years War in 28mm. I thought the Painting Challenge would be a good chance to work on some more figures for that project, and I did get a few over the line prior to the Challenge wrapping up. 

Jean de Dunois directs the defence of Orleans - while his half-brother sits in England as a captive.

This was inspired mostly by the "Resistance" theme round in Curt's AHPC, for which I painted the wonderful 28mm sculpt of "Joan of Arc" from the Perry Miniatures range. That particular pack includes two other figures: Jean de Dunois, the "Bastard of Orleans", and Étienne de Vignolles, a.k.a. "La Hire". With Joan painted, I thought it would only make sense to paint the two companion figures. Both of The Bastard and La Hire were prominent in French efforts to defend the city of Orleans, which came under siege in late 1428 and was miraculously relieved in 1429 via a series of battles where Joan of Arc played an inspiring role. It was the famous turning point of a famous conflict. 

Sculpted heraldry right on the figure - very, very helpful when it comes to painting!!

When some is referred as "The Bastard", you tend to expect they were unpleasant and/or rough to deal with. I understand that Jean du Dunois was certainly a tough character, but his nickname arose from his semi-legitimate origins as much as from his disposition. When the time came to defend Orleans, the other male family leaders were either dead or captives of the English following the disastrous defeat at Agincourt. He was the only family member left so he had to step up. Dunois led the defence of the city and, following the lifting of the siege, helped see the Dauphin crowned in Reims, taking the fight to the English and their Burgundian allies as the tide in the Hundred Years War turned.

Soldiers of the King of England, you will face the wrath of God!

La Hire (pronounced "La EEeer") was another hard man - in fact, I believe this nickname has some kind of alignment with "the ire" or "the wrath" of God. Sounds like a guy you would not want to confront lightly, especially if he has armour and a sword. La Hire was a prominent figure in Joan of Arc's miraculous run through the historic turning point of the Hundred Years War at Orleans and on to Reims - although he could not save her from the matyrdom which awaited her...

"For the Dauphin!"

The heraldry on these two characters is sculpted right on to the figure - that is something that I really like! I hoped I found the right set of colours for the heraldry for each one but...oh well...he at least they looks like they are in charge. 

Finally, I need to add more mounted knights and men-at-arms for my French, so I thought I would do a couple to accompany these commanders. I...really don't have a lot of confidence that I am taking the right approach to painting these kinds of guys. I'm trying to figure out the right way to represent the full-on knights versus guys who are "only" men-at-arms. On the plus side the multi-part plastic kits for the period from Perry Miniatures give you a LOT of options to work with. So I have tried to represent Knights with more complete armour, lowered visors, chain-mail on the horses etc. while the men-at-arms have less armour, or maybe only a bascinet...

A mounted man-at-arms from the Bastard's retinue.

I thought one of the men-at-arms should come from the Bastard's own retinue, so I tried to hand-paint the coat of arms for Orleans on his small shield. I think I'll try and add a few more, as he likely had many men-at-arms in his retinue.

The Maid of Orleans leads the French to glory! God wills it!

I wanted to crowd all of the Knights I have completed to date into a big group shot, so I have done that here!  I am aiming to play "Never Mind The Billhooks" in this setting, and for that I need to finish probably another 10 or so mounted knights/men-at-arms for the mounted component of me HYW French. Hopefully I can add a few more over the summer, and keep chugging along on this work. 

Thanks for reading - I'm nearly done with the Challenge catch-up, I swear!

Painting Challenge Submission #11 - Leopold's Leopard Company

"Leopold's Leopard Company" is ready to meet an opponent's charge...

The XVIth edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is now wrapped up, but I have (naturally) fallen behind a bit on the blog posting, so I am quickly adding posts to cover the last few entries I had submitted. This one was a particular treat to share - another Regiment of Renown from GW's old "Dogs of War" collection - here is Leopold's Leopard Company, and they are ready to stand in your battle line - so long as the deposit is paid up front and on time. These battle-hardened pikemen are long-OOP metal castings from Games Workshop and the glorious before-times.

One of the front-rankers, pike set, ready for the clash.

A back ranker.

Leopold and his men started out as guards of the Temple of Lucan and Luccina in the Tilean city of Luccini. It was fancy, well-paid duty. The unit is resplendent in fine armour adorned with the symbols of the temple - in particular the visage of the leopard who had guarded the divine twins! They are further adorned with the pelts of leopards. As military units go, the Leopard Company dressed the part!

These chaps are ready for a fight too!

How did the Leopard Company end up as mercenaries? Well, let's just say "local Luccini politics" intervened. In the midst of some civil strife there may, or may not, have been a siege of the temple in which it may, or may not, have become necessary for Leopold and his men to, er, "borrow" the gold offerings stored within which in turn may, or may not, have brought down some kind of divine curse which can only be held at bay by traveling the Old World, fighting as mercenaries and sending a portion of the gold they earned back to the temple to, um, "repay" their "debt."

Leopold and the command group. He is carrying healthy-sized "sword" (more of a cleaver), and I love the pistol tucked into the belt.

Naturally the command group has the nicest collection of pelts!

It is a real thrill to get this unit over the line for a couple of reasons. First, this is a Dogs of War unit which I had not previously painted back when I owned my original collection. I had wanted to take a crack at them, but a) already had assembled a decent-size force and b) was kind of intimidated by all of the leopard-style pelts. Nearly every figure in the unit is wearing a pelt. The studio models in the army book looked amazing (of course), but painting those spotted pelts looked really tricky and beyond my brush skills at the time.

Another ranker.

25 years later wariness of painting the pelts was still holding me back, but I was determined to try...there was a lot of trial and error on the first couple of test figures, but I managed to work out an approach that seemed OK, and in particular looked pretty good when the troops were massed together. Even if the spot pattern is not exactly that of a leopard, I can always push the fantasy-escape-button. "Oh, you see, those are the pelts of the, er, 'Tilean Mountain Leopard', and the spots look...just like that..."

From this aspect you can see some of the assorted small details that add character. Like the chap at the rear with a portion of rope, the different types of packs etc. 

Each time I have completed one of these units, I have commented on how wonderful these old sculpts are. This time will be no exception - let it be said, again, that these old sculpts are just wonderful! So much character, brilliant metal sculpts from the Perry brothers. While there is, of course, broad similarity to the figures, there are a number of small little variants among the sculpts that add just enough difference, and a little touch of character, to let each figure be slightly unique while preserving the overall uniform look to the unit. It has been such a treat to paint these figures, with their crisp, proper metal lines and details. 

I love these big pike blocks!

So that is now three large, chonky pike blocks completed to serve as a solid backbone for my "Dogs of War" army, but this project is still not yet complete. The army will require some artillery support and a bit of cavalry to round things out. Time in this edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is running short, so those elements are likely to have to wait until the next one, but who knows what might be possible before things conclude? 

"Ready lads!"

That's all for this entry - stay tuned for a couple more posts to cover everything off from AHPC XVI. Thanks for reading!

Painting Challenge Submission #6 - Contemptor-Osiron Pattern Dreadnought for 30k-era Thousand Sons

"That museum exhibit has armed itself! Run for your life!" - A Thousand Sons Contemptor-Osiron pattern dreadnought.

My sixth submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge features some more kit for my growing collection of XV Legion Astartes, the Thousand Sons, in GW's Horus Heresy setting. This is a "Contemptor-Osiron pattern" dreadnought, a 28mm multi-part resin kit (with plastic weapons) from Games Workshop's "Age of Darkness" figure range. This was originally a Forge World model, now available from GW at-large.

Autocannons, ready for action!

The dreadnoughts of the 30k setting are functionally heavy combat armour suits used by the Space Marines for various battlefield support purposes. There is a "pilot" in there, so to speak, but there is a catch (because of course there is!). This "pilot" is actually near-dead Space Marine, rescued from battlefield wounds that were somehow not quite terrible enough to kill him but still terrible enough to put him near-death. What happens to these fellows? Why they just get plugged into a dreadnought, and, voila! Your existence of endless warfare in The Emperor's name can continue! Lucky you! 

"I'm FINE. Yes. Really.STOP ASKING."

In the case of the Thousand Sons, there is an extra wrinkle. Sometimes this nearly-dead-but-not-totally-dead XV Legion Space Marine is also a capable psyker. What to do then? Why, plug his bits into one of these special "Osiron" dreadnoughts, of course! That way he can wander around the battlefield shooting things, punching things AND leveraging his mastery of mysterious warp powers! It's the best of all worlds! Unless you are the one trapped in this thing...but hey...I think everyone can relax. I mean, it's not like having psychic abilities and visions while trapped inside an armoured sarcophagus for near-eternity would cause any sort of extra mental stress or trauma. Right? I'm sure it's all fine...and we all know everything turned out great for the Thousand Sons in the end.

Also equipped for...close combat? Harvesting grain? Maybe both?

All of the Space Marine Legion collections in the Horus Heresy have custom bits designed for them, capturing the look that makes them "unique". In the case of the Thousand Sons, that "unique" look is generally an answer to the question "what would happen if the local ancient Egyptian history exhibit somehow came alive and armed itself with futuristic science-fiction weapons"? It is more than a little silly, but I love it and I'm here all day for it! 

The Forge World sculptors went to town on this crazy thing. We get a lot of whacky pseudo-ancient-Egypt accents - which are great - on various parts of the armour (mysterious etching, scarabs galore). We get a pile of extra cables and extra connectors near the "helmet", speaking to the extra bits in the armour helping to manage the psychic capabilities of the "pilot". Finally, to make things extra nuts, there is the end-of-days-sized khopesh-style blade affixed to the end of the power fist. 

Like...how does that even work? Do you impale enemies on the blade, and then...punch them...somehow? Or is that not even for combat, but some kind of agriculture-related side gig the dreadnought handles between missions? 

No matter - the "pilot" will have a near-eternity to figure it out, after all. Hopefully he can still use that Thousand-Sons-mind-relaxation technique he learned in his pre-dreadnought career...

Gotta love the vestments on this crazy thing!

And topping it all off, he has VESTMENTS. Because obviously! What kind of near-dead-psychic combat master goes to battle entombed in a battlesuit WITHOUT a prayer cloth? That would be crazy!

Woohoo! Magnets without a total catastrophe!!

Modelling-wise, I was chuffed that I managed to figure out how to install magnets on the ranged-weapon mount of the right arm! Most normal hobbyists are able to make use of magnets with no problem, but I am, at best, a very "average" model-builder, and tend to be a total f*cking disaster with magnets, no matter how careful I am. This time it worked out! I'll paint up some more ranged weapon options for this fellow at a later point - for now, the paired auto-cannons will do. 

Pseudo-Egyptian glyphs etched into the armour.

I hoped to get a bit of an interesting effect with the markings etched into the legs and shoulder. It was a chance to try and make use of the Contrast Paint/Speed Paints at last! I have always found these to be a hobby product that is a solution-looking-for-a-problem sort of tool. The results were...mostly just OK, but in aggregate I still like how the effect came out.

Now THAT is a can-opener...

I also wanted to make the whacky khopesh look a little more dramatic, so I added decals along the blade, and tried to have a little fun with them. Once more, Contrast Paints were applied in the hopes of achieving something of an "effect. Again the result is...OK...I should try and catch a tutorial on how to do cool blade effects sometime...but for now this will do, as the overall model is just so whacky.

Size comparison with "The Axehole", painted earlier. Things will get dramatic when these two hit the town!

This was painted a few weeks ago now, but has yet to see service on the table. As a newly-painted model, I'm confident this fellow will have no problems at all when he makes his battlefield debut! Right?   

Painting Challenge Submission #3 - Onmyoji for "Hametsu"

Carrying a tune en route to a confrontation with evil in feudal Japan...

If you peruse the archives of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge and scan Curt's entries you will see a lot of cool stuff he has worked on over the years. One area he has explored in his hobby efforts involved medieval Japanese terrain and an amazing assortment of Japanese medieval fantasy heroes and demons. He uses these to play the excellent game "Hametsu" - a really cool, cooperative game featuring bands of heroes working to slay the evil Oni who threaten the survivors living in a post-apocalyptic feudal Japan. 

In 2025 Curt shared this game to a group of us scattered in Canada and Europe - Byron, Jamie, Nick and I have been pursuing a Hametsu campaign, with Curt hosting the table via Zoom! Zoom gaming came into many of our lives during the pandemic, and while the COVID nonsense is thankfully in the rearview now, use of Zoom-type platforms to bring friends together for a game is still with us. Not every kind of tabletop wargame will work well over Zoom-type set-ups, but "Hametsu", fortunately is one such game.

And what a break, because "Hametsu" is awesome! Our group of heroes has been pursuing their respective "Path(s) of Legend", confronting fantastical evil demons. I've been playing an Onmyoji, a spellcaster skilled in the manipulation of energy, and the campaign has been a blast! An electric blast, specifically...Onmyoji can manipulate electricity, and my character has really leaned into this ability, cooking a fair number of demons!

Assortment of supplies to keep things ticking along.

Curt has a beautiful and complete collection of figures for the game, and his Onmyoji figure has done sterling work. But I have enjoyed the games so much I thought it would be super fun to paint my own Onmyioji figure. So I asked Curt to 3D print one for me, and he kindly obliged, and sent it my way. I thought "Awesome, THIS guy is going to be my first figure for the Painting Challenge this year!".

Don't let that strange helmet fool you - this guy is coming to bring the pain...

Um...so...painting a single 28mm figure should be a pretty straightforward exercise. But in a kind of weird "art-imitating-the-campaign" sort of thing, this poor figure has experienced a level of abuse somewhat reminiscent of what happened to my Onmyoji in one of our recent "Hametsu" games, which saw the poor spellcaster take a tumble down a mountain.

For F*CK SAKES! I HATE IT WHEN I DROP MINIATURES!

I replicated this game-setting event in real life by finding a way to knock it over on the painting table - THREE times! Somewhere the evil Oni are celebrating! The 3d print figure was solid enough, but it still has a couple of delicate points, particularly the ankles - and it wasn't designed to be dropped - much less repeatedly. The figure duly snapped at the ankles. Again. And Again. And again. The hilts of his katana blades snapped as well, and so did the bell on his wind instrument. I was able to reconnect - mostly - the sword hilts, and to get the poor fellow standing on his own feet (three times)...but the bell of the wind instrument disappeared into the carpet, never to be seen again, I expect. 

Another step in the Path of Legend...evil will be slain and banished!

I almost gave up...but I didn't want to let the spirit of the sinister Oni win, so I buckled down and finished painting him. Thus he became my third submission, instead of my first, and his instrument has been, well, let's say "customized". Now I just need to find a way to get this thing safely off to Curt...needless to say, given what this miniature has already been through, I'm a little nervous trusting that process...

Stay tuned for further Painting Challenge updates!

Painting Challenge Submission #2 - Mydas the Mean, Mercenary Paymaster

Mydas the Mean, Sheikh Yadosh and a bodyguard unit, ready to ensure the gold is collected and the payroll is made!

My second submission for Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge featured another addition to my old-school GW Dogs of War project.

Mydas the Mean - great at financing, and also pretty good at fighting! He keeps the key to his pay chest close, where he can be sure it is safe...

Another view of Midas, with his wicked mace, ready to resolve pay disputes...

Ask anyone in business, large or small - payroll is a real administrative pain in the @ss! Everyone wants to get paid, and if you can't make payroll, you'll have "employee engagement" problems. If those employees are heavily armed Tilean mercenaries, "employee engagement" problems will get pretty violent, pretty fast...enter Mydas the Mean, mercenary paymaster. Mydas is accompanied by Sheikh Yadosh, his trusty money lender, and a group of bodyguards. 

Sheikh Yadosh showcasing the goods!

Mydas, Sheik Yadosh and the mercenary pay chest are part of the classic GW Dogs of War figure range. In the Dogs of War mercenary army, the pay chest takes the place of the army standard bearer in other armies - after all, what would be more important for the mercenaries than making sure they get paid? Mydas is on hand to make sure all of the Regiments of Renown get their fair share when payday arrives - one of the more feared paymasters in all of Tilea! He's great at gathering the money, a lot more careful on the cash outflows.

Bodyguards ready to defend the pay chest - these are metal castings from Perry Miniatures' Italian Wars range.

The money lender, Sheikh Yadosh, is a creditor of Mydas', following him around during his various military adventures across the Old World and lending money to mercenaries who need a temporary cash boost while purchasing supplies...or gambling...probably more of the latter than the former!

Ready for action - heavy armour, bright colours, and some serious weapons.

Of course, payday can get pretty rowdy, and a chest full of treasure needs protection, so the paymaster can be accompanied by a unit of bodyguards. In the game, the bodyguard can serve as a small unit of troops, taking their place in the battle line to guard the pay chest while it projects its morale-boosting effects out to the mercenary troops. 

Multi-part plastic figures from Perry Miniatures' - perfect command group for the bodyguards! They have expensive armour - after all, Mydas has the money to kit them out. 

Mydas, Yadosh, the pay chest and the humble donkey were one of the original box sets GW released as part of their "Dogs of War" miniature range. They did not, however, release any bodyguard figures specific to this miniature range. And maybe they never intended to? Why would they? In the rules, they are specific that the guards would wear heavy armour and carry halberds, as opposed to pikes, and this kind of makes sense when you consider that the main worry of the bodyguards is probably the other mercenaries :) 

The classic figures from the "Mydas the Mean" box set.

At any rate, there were a whole ton of halrberdier figures to be sourced from the Empire figure range of the day, so I suspect this is why they never released specific bodyguards. Today, however, those companion metal halberdier sculpts are long-gone (sniff!). Yes, the new "Old World" game is out and about, complete with Empire figures, but these current Empire figures are a poor match to the old Tilean sculpts. 

What to do? Well, I spotted an ideal solution in a Dogs of War Facebook group - another hobbyist just used some figures from the Perry Miniatures' Italian Wars range, and it looked perfect! After all, the Perrys sculpted the Dogs of War figures, and "Tilea" is just the Old World's answer to Italy, so the figures made for perfect bodyguards for the pay chest!

One more group photo...

The guards are a mix of metal halberdiers and a plastic command group. The banner is from an actual Italian Wars range...I thought it fit fine in the Tilean setting, and I really pleased with how the gang looks! These modern Perry sculpts are a little taller than the old GW sculpts, but then I can imagine Mydas would only hire the biggest fellows he could find to guard his pay chest!

That is all for this submission - stay tuned for more "catch up" posts soon!