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Myself and a couple of friends have embarked on a 12 month project to build a 3k Heresy force. We are following a tale of gamers type of format with each of us adding in a specific type of unit each month ensuring we build equally balanced forces at the same rate.

I have taken a huge amount of inspiration for this force from sheep who already has an amazing blog on here of his own. I hope to share my progress over the next 12 months and welcome any feedback and advice. With any luck we will see a clear development in the look and feel of the force over the 12 month period.

We intend to have a legal 1500pt force at the 6 month stage so some units are starting at half their strength.

So here we go: Month 1 is a troops choice. In my 3k list I have a 19 strong tac squad so I have opted to start with a 10 man. I am mixing MkIII and MkIV throughout as I want the force to be representive of late crusade / start of heresy (Istvaan III)







Hopefully should have the next 5 something like it by the end of the week. Feedback welcome

You pulled of the weathered look quite nicely there.
Your bases are already very good.

The only thing I am not sure of is the turquoise/green. Ain't the luna wolves supposed to be grey? :?

That weathered green colour is great! looking forward to more!

Hey seb, you are correct the Luna wolves were grey/white however the legion was renamed Sons of Horus in honour of their Primarch (Horus). With this they also got a new paint job which is described as a sea green which darkened in colour over time as the legion fell further into the grips of chaos (at least this is my understanding - I my be corrected by a more learned member...)

Cheers for the comments.


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 SJM wrote:
That weathered green colour is great! looking forward to more!

Thanks SJM!

I am not the quickest of painters but this project should keep my in line as I simply have to churn out a minimum of one unit a month eerrghh!

Great start loving the weathering , I've found it's been very difficult getting the correct colour green for the sons of Horus from the fw book betrayal , but am def thinking a pale green , blue is the way to go

Hey mate, just stumbled upon this log, the guys are looking great, and thanks for the props.

You've done a really great job with the weathering, you, got a really inconsistent chipping pattern which looks sweet and natural.

Look forward to more I may just steal some of your ideas

 M and C war chilldren wrote:
Great start loving the weathering , I've found it's been very difficult getting the correct colour green for the sons of Horus from the fw book betrayal , but am def thinking a pale green , blue is the way to go

Thanks and much appreciated

I totally agree. Its a tricky colour to emulate. I think its down to the level of shade generated by the light source in the art work. In my attempt I went for a mid tone in the highlight colour as it seemed logical to me. I thought I could bring the colour down slightly with weathering and grime. I have not quite achieved the look I wanted but I am happy with the colour... (If its to your liking I will happily share the mix)

Awesome man! People told me to do sons because not many people did them, now they seem to keep coming up!

 Sheep wrote:
Hey mate, just stumbled upon this log, the guys are looking great, and thanks for the props.

You've done a really great job with the weathering, you, got a really inconsistent chipping pattern which looks sweet and natural.

Look forward to more I may just steal some of your ideas

Hey Sheep! Thanks for your comments...

After seeing your SoH I hoped to achieve a similar weathered effect but retain some of my own style. You're a tough act to follow lol! They are getting there, hopefully develop over time. I have missed a couple of stages that I would usually apply to SM armour in order roughen up my style. This battered, grimy, weathered look goes completely against the grain for me. I am usually quite clinical and clean with my painting. Perhaps a mix of the two is the way forward for me.

Feel free to steal away... rest assured I will be stealing from you


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MunGo_0600 wrote:
Awesome man! People told me to do sons because not many people did them, now they seem to keep coming up!

Cheers! Yeah I think for that very reason more and more people are doing them. Not a bad thing as we can all share inspiration
Lets face it who wouldn't want to have the Warmaster himself leading his own legion to war...

Wow love these models, the colour is lovely! Can I ask what your recipe for the weathering is? It's exactly what I want on my own chaos marines, but I'm struggling to get it looking correct on the test models I've used.

 retrovertigo wrote:
Wow love these models, the colour is lovely! Can I ask what your recipe for the weathering is? It's exactly what I want on my own chaos marines, but I'm struggling to get it looking correct on the test models I've used.

Hey buddy. Yeah no problem... Its very simple really. Once the model is at its finished stage (after shading/highlights etc) I use a small piece of foam to apply 2 washes of Agrax Earthshade (wait for the first to dry before applying the second). Apply the wash by dabbing the model in the areas where you want grime. You can repeat this process until you are happy with the result. You can use more or less wash on the sponge to create different effects and different shades. Once that is dry I then follow the same process with Abaddon Black but just ensure you only have a little paint on the sponge before dabbing or you will end up with huge black splodges. Wipe the paint off just like you would if you were going to drybrush. This creates the random chips. Finally I use Carroburg Crimson to build up blood stains. Because of the consistency of the wash when it drys it creates a natural blood stain . Again you can add more or less layers of this to create different shades. You could even throw an ardcoat or equivalent varnish on if you wanted to add a sheen but I decided to keep it dry as it creates more of an aged effect. I add the blood with a paint brush rather than a sponge as it gives you more control

Hope this is useful and thanks for the comments.


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Ok so the next 5 are on the way. Hopefully have them something like it by the end of the weekend!

Aaaaah I see! The wash on the sponge is the key then, as my first dab with the sponge always looks too harsh with paint. Thanks a lot!

I have managed to get a little more done today although not as much as I would have liked. Need to have the squad of 10 finished by Thusday evening. Can't falter at the first hurdle! I have managed to get all the MkIV washed and brought back, I have also painted the black shoulder trim and detail aswell as some hazard stripe work on the sergeant's power fist. This is my first attempt and I am happy with it so far. Still need to add highlights and weathering...

As always comments welcomed




More updates tomorrow!

Hi all! Well I was really hoping to have these lads a bit more like it this eve but I seem to have been hit by the demotivation train (along with man flu!) Deadline is looming so will endeavour to have progress up tomorrow

Hi all! I am feeling a bit better today so have been frantically trying to get this unit finished... Almost there now just a few details to finish off then weathering which shouldn't take too long. Hope you like em... comments and feedback welcomed as always.





I will have the full squad completed by end of weekend

O.O amazing!!!!!!!! The banner (sorry if that's the wrong word - I'm still a 40k noob) looks amazing!!!! I can't stop looking at it ^_^ also probs gonna steal ur tip re weathering altho with my Slaanesh army it's going to be too pretty to be weathered haha

Well although a few days late of deadline here is the finished squad! I can't seem to get the right lighting as I only have a normal desk lamp and a point and shoot camera so here is a couple of different snaps... hopefully you like em.

Very cool mate, I'm going to steal the hazard striped power fist

Oh man these are looking awesome. I love the armour choice, Mk IV is probably my favourite of the heresy era armour. The colour you've used looks really good, and you've done a great job painting them.


I've been reading the Horus Heresy books, so I'm on a bit of a Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus kick at the moment.

Looking forward to seeing what else you get up to!

ZERMAGHERD that's awesome! Teach me? LOL jks jks but seriously they look a-freakin-mazing

Thank you all for your kind comments!

Next on the painting table are my Justaerin bodyguard for Abaddon when he finally gets released... seeing all the latest updates for FW I am hoping he isn't too far away. So I will be going from Sea Green to Black. Should be interesting trying to weather black armour. I have not worked it out in my head yet.

If anyone has some ideas on this they would be very welcomed

Just a little sneaky update with some current WIP. I intended to attack my Justaerin next but I had an issue with some bits from FW so they are on hold and a Contemptor with twin Kheres pattern assault cannons is in their place. I will have 3 of these babies in my final list... I LOVE the models and with 12 x S6 rending shots each they are not to be sniffed at for fire power... I will also have one of my Apothecaries on the painting table soon so will get some pics up when he is one the way.

I have just soft fitted the assault cannons at present as I am going to magnetize them for swappable weapon options. Hopefully magnets should be here tomorrow. Heres the pics:

I must get me one of those contemptors, they just look fantastic! The latest squad is gorgeous as well.

Wow your models look great, simple rule? Hazard markings make anything look awesome!

Not sure why I haven't done this before but thought would use my iPhone to take a photo instead of my camera. Turns out results are much better!
Have done a few additional bits to contemptor with some spikes and a skull on a chain.

Weapons are now magnetised... First time I've done this. Just makes sense...

Here is an updated pic.



Thanks for the last few comments guys! Hazard stripes are cool... I gotta try and use them on all my special / heavy weapons :-)

Loving the project so far would love to know what colour blue/green you used for your son's of Horus as am still struggling to find somthing that suits , any info or help would be appreciated M

 M and C war chilldren wrote:
Loving the project so far would love to know what colour blue/green you used for your son's of Horus as am still struggling to find somthing that suits , any info or help would be appreciated M

Hey buddy. The mix I use for these are is as follows (Its a bit of a rough guide as I have no accurate means of measuring paint):

2 pots Sybarite Green (GW)
2 pours of Sotek Green (GW)
2 pours Lothern Blue (GW)
4 pours Runefang Steel (GW) - this gives the colour a metallic flec. Doesn't really come out in pictures but can notice it in the flesh.

I poured both pots of Sybarite green into an old clear yoghurt pot. When I say a pour I mean I tip the pot until a glug of paint comes out. Mix it all together then tip the mix back into the 2 pots of Sybarite Green and give em a good shake. Thats it... I did say it was rough lol! Hope it helps.

Can't beat a powerfist with hazard stripes! Very old school! Dreadnought is looking very cool on the base.

Hi all!

Its been a while but finally my Mortis Pattern Contemptor is finished. I have adopted the contrasting black / sea green colour combo from the Betrayal book artwork which I think has worked out really well.

Following on from the hazard stripe work on my Sergeant's power fist I decided to contininue this theme with the assault cannon ammo clips. I think they look cool and am very pleased with them. This is a theme I think I will continue across all my units and any heavy / special weapons.

In keeping with the fluff around Sons of Horus guilding the skulls of slain opponents I added a golden skull attached by a chain to the drednaught's left pauldron.

Here come the pics... let me know what you think.

Very nice!