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The Thousand Sons- led by the red-skinned, one-eyed Magnus. Sorcerers supreme, and pharaoh-like lords of the world of Prospero. Determined to save the Imperium, damned by their own father for their methods, hunted by their brothers, and finally turned trapped-spirit-armors by their own hands…


…Damn, that sounds cool!!

This is my attempt at a start-to-finish blog of Pre-Heresy Thousand Sons. I’ve yet to read the Thousand Son book, but the PH Thousand Sons caught my eye with their stranger-than-usual design and Egyptian-theme. I’ve had an interest in everything Egyptian since I was a kid (didn’t everyone?), and suffice to say that if ancient Egyptian was still spoken/written in this world, I’d probably be learning to speak that over Japanese/French. (or my native Tagalog/Pangasinan, for that matter!)




But, back to the matter at hand- the humble beginnings of my Thousand Sons. Unfortunately, this one is going to be a bit slower than my already snail-like Phantom Forge (for my random projects- currently Eldar and soon MERCS/ Gladiator WHQ Chars), but I will be building this army (time and money permitting) and will probably use the GK codex for these guys, if/when the painted models can actually form a small army.

My first question as I sort how to build the marines… building this army is going to be ungodly expensive if I’m not careful. For the first 10 guys, I’m using FW Mk III Iron Armour SMs and Phobos-Pattern bolters- 1) because I’m out of modern plastic bolters, 2)because they look more awesome than Umbras and 3) they look less “Deathwatch” than Umbra-Ferrox ones. That combination makes the closest “PH Thousand Sons” to me. To make nearly every squad with this pattern, plus the originally-planned Power Khopeshs and Khopesh-staves from Kromlech/Max Mini… and Egyptian-theme Resin bases from Scibor… yup. I’m looking at around $130.00USD per squad of 10 guys. Holy canoly!!


I’ll definitely have to consider ways of making them “cheaper”. For future guys, I may end up using standard plastic marines (heavily GS’d to cover their modern armor). I’m also considering just buying plasticard and making the khopesh weaponry myself. I could also get a TK skellie box, but that’d leave me with a lot of gear (skeletons and shields) I can’t really use…


Modelling

Any suggestions for good “base” models to use for a “leader”?
Also, how would you suggest doing the small Hercules-beetle “tines” on their helmets? GS? Plasticard? Wire?


Working with Resin

As my army may end up being close to, if not 100% resin, does anyone have any glues they recommend for working with the stuff? Currently using Zap-A-Gap Thin Super Glue and really don’t like it- my bottle is about 3 seconds away from being thrown in the garbage. I was looking into Loc-Tite Control Gel… Any ideas?


Color Schemes

I’m happy enough about the traditional red/gold (or white-silver) colorscheme, but I thought I’d throw a few more out there… just for consideration.


Bleached Bone and Burnished Gold (at least, that’s what the Painter program said…) –very basic, but cream-colored, that’s why I went for it. Blue skull to represent the scarab symbol or crystals- might exchange it for green.



This one was a play on the first, and tried to I, incorporate the fact that the Egyptian Head-dresses were white (at least in pictures, they were) and they had darker skin on their faces and bare chests.



The above idea, a bit more refined. The cream-color is only for the belt and cod-piece, dark skinned, gold wristbands, and shin-guards, mimicking most generic Egyptian reliefs. Blue skull again means blue beetle.



And I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on the Chaos blue/gold Thousand Sons… that scheme just doesn’t appeal to me.


On Order

2 x sets of FW MKIII Iron Armor Marines (10 total)
10 x FW Phobos Pattern Bolters
10 x Scibor Egyptian Bases Recieved
1 x Scibor Egyptian Extras/bits (just for the hell of it) Recieved


Now… to modify one of the 10 guys, or use a different “base” model to make my Thousand Sons first leader….?

Thanks for stopping!

-Remi (aka HF Iz)

Woah! This is gunna be great! - i'm looking forward to it.

LDP
(Matthew)

I like the 3rd color scheme of those 3, but I'd go for the true HH 1K sons colors. Should be pretty sweet though.

@Lipsdapips- Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned! I'll be starting on the bases this weekend- as the marines are going to be heavily converted, I'm doing them completely separately, and on cork before putting them onto the resin bases for good.

@92acclude- Thanks! I definitely like #2 and #3, but yea... I see what you're saying. It's not quite 1K sons PH if they're not red/gold, right?

Hello again! Just a short update before the weekend- as mentioned in the first post, I’ve received my Egyptian-Theme resin bases, courtesy of Scibor Minis. The bases came with little to no defect (one minor air bubble on a base that I plan to cover with GS, but no biggie) – I’m overall very pleased with the quality and detail on the bases. Check them out for more themed-bases in multiple styles, as well as “Space Knights” of the Celtic/Spartan variety…


These past 2 weeks were a new job transition, as well as finals this weekend. I took a bit of time to clean the bases, and they’re currently primed and ready to paint.

Here's the link to the bases themselves-
http://www.sciborminiatures.com/en_,shop.php?art=1021


I’ve got a few ideas in mind in terms of the bases’ color scheme- for the traditional red/gold/white PH Thousand Sons colors.


I think this would go nicely with the red color… blue beetle (when present)… sand-brown for the lip of the base and sandy stuff under?



This is more like the original Scibor scheme of pure-white, which would work very well with the red too in terms of stark contrast.



I like the texture and color selection with this one- cream, browns, moccas, grey-blues… But I’m afraid that the predominantly-brown color won’t make as nice of an impact on the final product.



Blues …I’m actually liking the 2nd one more than the first, but I think in this case, the contrast would help bring out the red color.





And finally, the dark horse of the bunch, a blue-grey… that manages to still remain very light.



Again, I’m probably going to go with a traditional Pre Heresy Thousand Son Scheme. (Red, Gold, and White)

Question Time-

What marble color would you choose for red marines?

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be starting on the actual miniatures themselves Sunday after Finals!

Either original marble, or the last one there.

Looking forward to seeing the results of this project!

Thanks Popsicle! I've wanted to make an army of SMs for a long time, and I'm excited to starting and finishing this one as well! I want it to be perfect, so it's going to be slow, as every single model has to be converted, and I'm going to challenge myself to paint each to a high standard.

Stay tuned, and thanks again!

The First Three- Quick, Cool, and... Bob


Hello again! I present my work on the first three of the 10 initial 1K Sons. The project itself is relatively free- I only have a few guidelines (aside from the colors, which shoulderpad has what symbol). They’re as follows:

1) No two will look the same- differentiation by GS work and base body/armor modification.

2) I’ll be doing the bases and models separately- then assemble.

3) If this is your first night at Fight Club... you have to fight.

I’ve got a few more questions, but I’ll leave those at the end. For now, enjoy the WIP pics.


The MK3 armors are great, but I felt a bit too "studded" for true Thousand Sons. Each of the brothers as you’ll see will have different mods to their armor, both back and front. Some have more studs, some have less studs, some have the “lips” on the armor… some don’t. All different.



More brothers and their respective Egyptian-theme bases awaiting GS work



The very first Son, whom I’ve christened “Quick Man”… LOL… +1 cool points if you get the reference. From the very first pic of the 1K sons, not all of them have the Hercules Beetle tine on their helmets. I’m sure it will be a prevalent design amongst the brothers, but I’ll be sure to sprinkle the ranks with other designs as well.



Back View- I originally thought it would be a coat, more like a Japanese haori, (samurai overwear) but as a test, I did it just as two sashes held with his belt. I’ll research the clothing a bit more, and adjust as necessary.



And here’s work on the second Son. Speaking of samurai, yes, his helmet ornament was intentional. The third Son is actually a standard beetle-tine guy, but these guys with the Quickman/Gundam ‘V’ and samurai/Persian ‘moon’ symbols are much easier to produce…



And the final Son- standard beetle tine helmet. This one is my first try at this symbol- I’ll be refining the process later, but for this one, it’ll stay- needs to be sanded flatter, and have it’s edges smoothed out. Oh, and I probably shouldn’t start by chopping apart I-beam plasticard for flat surfaces… I should just start with thinner plasticard sheet, no?



Also, you’ll notice that some of the marines have either moulded beetle symbols, or flat areas circles/ellipses. The flat circles I intend to freehand, while the ellipse areas, I’ll be using as cartouches to write on.

Anyways, I have a couple of questions for all of you, regardless if you’re just “passing by”…

The standard, as always- Comments? Critiques? Any ways to help my brothers look more “authentic”?

What would you think about battle brothers and battle sisters? And no, I’m not giving them massive DD implants or extensively slimming down the armor into metal bikinis… It will be tasteful and faithful. Probably just head swaps and minor armor conversions. Yes or no? Knowledge doesn’t discriminate, y’know…


Are the head-symbols too thick? Too big? Any ideas for improvement?

Thanks, as always- I’ll be working on the other 2 brothers tonight. Coloring should start before the end of the week!

-HF Iz (Remi)

These guys are gonna look great. Loving the GS work

Thanks Chrono! I hope the finished product lives up to your expectations!

... and I just found out (as I don't personally have the GK codex... yet) that standard GKs have both wrist-mounted storm bolters AND swords. Crappus. Time to buy/make some khopeshs and shotels for these guys who're gripping their weapons with both hands, and put those on their waists.

Tonight will probably be finishing the given three and starting on two more. Realistically, I'll probably start laying paint down on the bases before the figures, as they still won't be complete without their swords/staves.

- Remi (HF Iz)

Well thats a nice solution. I'm sure you will make it work. Hows the progress on that eldar jetbike?

Yea, that's a big ol' kick in the nuts, as the swords/staves I might buy will be from EU- Kromlech on Ebay.

On the jetbike, I started on it, got killed by Finals, and now I'm starting on these guys. I still haven't forgotten about it, and I'm sure I'll be burned out of painting red pretty soon. I'll ADD it and skip from one project to the other, so that I don't get bored.

Thanks for asking (and helping out with the tut- that still blows my mind that you spent so much time helping me out!) !

HF Izanagi wrote:Yea, that's a big ol' kick in the nuts, as the swords/staves I might buy will be from EU- Kromlech on Ebay.

I did just what you said. The results are here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/366996.page#2793169

I like how they turned out. We are both doing the same project with a slightly different spin.

What the... I thought I saw all the threads on Thousand Sons (Heresy or otherwise) out on Dakka... counted 4.

I like your stuff, Veritech! I like your take using the GK Terminators... they look excellent, man- good GS work. I could take a few lessons from you!

Yea, I'm definitely going to use those kromlech blades, and again, in a different spin, I'm going to use them as actual swords... although your sword/glaives are pretty damn sweet!

Jus wondering, how long did the stuff take to ship to you (relatively) from EU to USA?

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more!

-Remi (HF Iz)

Looking great so far - given any thought to making up master parts for items like the scarab helmet add-on and casting them all in resin for consistency? While you're at it you could make a bunch of emblems for the chest and stuff.

Looking great so far - given any thought to making up master parts for items like the scarab helmet add-on and casting them all in resin for consistency? While you're at it you could make a bunch of emblems for the chest and stuff.

Hi Nimbosa- thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the compliments!

I have... not actually thought about casting them up...

That's a very good idea, come to think of it. Especially if I was to create an actual Fellowship/Company of these guys. However, I must admit that I know absolutely nothing about casting... but... I might know someone who does...

Thanks for the idea! For now, since these guys are low-production, I'll be making them by hand, as I think I'll have maybe 3 or 4 more head-designs before I finish. If it actually comes to it that I make the army on massive scale, or desire true consistency, (which I think I do) I'll definitely give it a go! It'll probably be the 2nd round or 3rd round of creating the symbols, when I start getting awesome at them.

Thanks again, and stay tuned!

-Remi (HF Iz)

Welcome back to another installment! A couple of setbacks so far to the project, as I want to aggressively convert these miniatures, but I lack the bits to properly move forward. That, and the past two days had crap weather, and that meant no primering/no painting.

This weekend, my cousin Z will be coming over with one of his younger brothers for boozing, commiserating, and of course, talking GK shop. He’ll also be providing me with GK glaive arms and a couple of other bits I might possibly need. This will allow me to complete the Sons I’ve made thus far, and start the painting process. That being said, I present to you the next two sons, who represent the ramping up of conversions and GS work for the army-

As you can see, I’ll be needing those GK glaives/Khopesh arms for this brother and the following. I’ve made it so that both hands are independent of one another, instead of the firm, two-handed grip on the bolter. This also represents the first glued Phobos-pattern bolter… and this brother’s lack of firing discipline, as he’s swinging it around like some kinda gangsta.



Here you can see the bolter a bit clearer- as well as the GS all over his face. I’d like to make a few smooth-helmeted guys, so that’s a test. I’ve sanded it past this pic, but didn’t add it to this post. Also, he has a variation of Quickman’s head thing, which I’ll probably supplement with extra greenstuff, as the thickness of it is actually intentional, not a lazy attempt to copy the previous helm ornament.



This was the first of many more aggressively converted Thousand Sons. This guy got his “running” (more like trotting) legs cut apart, pinned, and GS’d. I modified the helmet to fit the Scibor Egyptian headdress piece, and I actually think it fits rather well after minor alterations to the model and ornament.



I decided to also chop the arm and re-pin it away from the body. I’ve got two plans for this guy: If I can work the GK glaive/staff onto his left arm, I can make him pointing, like a leader. If not, I’ll give him a bolter in that bent back right arm and go crazy on the model’s “true” left bolter-arm to make him firing off a fireball or something.



My hope was to put a pointing bolter/bolt pistol on an extended left arm while doing some sort of OSL on his bent-back right arm holding a staff of some sort… but we’ll see how far that goes. Either way, I’ve got options.



That’s it for now with more work coming this evening and over the weekend.

Tentative Plan (So Far)


- Finish sanding GS work, both old and new of first five Sons
- Begin GS work on shoulder pads if necessary (small wing-tips aiming downward on pads- see first reference picture)
- Finish GS work on previous 2 marines (Headdress marine still needs a flowing cape on the back and/or full haori coat, while the other will receive some sort of votive cloth draped on his shoulderpad)
- Prime and paint 5 bases (still haven’t decided what color to go with, but leaning on blue-grey marble)
- Utilize new bitz to hopefully finish the initial 5, priming all and separated bolters


Thanks for stopping by- and leave a comment/critique, if you please!

-Remi (HF Iz)

I REALLY like the newest model. Fits the fluff perfectly. Those Scibor parts are bomb aren't they. You are slightly ahead of me because I have been working on a display board for them. Keep up the good work.

Have you thought of what time your Pre-Heresy Thousand Sons are from? As in before the Wolves came t Prospero? Just after? During? When I thought about this basing and modeling became much more focused.

I REALLY like the newest model. Fits the fluff perfectly. Those Scibor parts are bomb aren't they.

Thanks! I think he's my favorite of the bunch too, aside from the fact that he now forces me to wait for bitz I don't have yet. And yes, Scibor parts are quite cool, except I don't know what to do with the little shield-things... yet.

Have you thought of what time your Pre-Heresy Thousand Sons are from? As in before the Wolves came t Prospero? Just after? During? When I thought about this basing and modeling became much more focused.

Actually, no, I haven't. I know the history of it... but if I had to guess, it would be in all their glory, pre-Prospero-burning. The bases I'm using are also Scibor, the Egyptian-theme type, and I'll be going with a black or perhaps blue-grey marble? Haven't decided yet. If I had to add other bits, like dead SWs, I think it would, but for now, I think these guys will be from the golden age of the Thousand Sons.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll be checking yours as well for even more ideas!

-Remi (HF Iz)

These Marines look awesome. I'll be watching, keep up your great work!

Lo Me Encanta.

Suscribed.

MA.

These Marines look awesome. I'll be watching, keep up your great work!

Thank you very much!

Lo Me Encanta.

Glad you like them!

Stay tuned for more of my Thousand Sons... or perhaps you can settle for the finishing touches on these guys and then some actual paint work?

-Remi (HF Iz)

Loving it!

Loving it!

Like McDonalds, but with less clown and less calories! Stay tuned for more updates coming VERY soon!

-Remi (HF Iz)

Consider me subscribed! I'm already a fan of Mark 3 armor, and your conversion skills are excellent! Your GS work could use a TINY bit of tidying up, especially with the cloth, but otherwise I think it looks great so far! Try some sharper angles/folds in the cloth, more wrinkles, see how that looks!

Consider me subscribed! I'm already a fan of Mark 3 armor, and your conversion skills are excellent! Your GS work could use a TINY bit of tidying up, especially with the cloth, but otherwise I think it looks great so far! Try some sharper angles/folds in the cloth, more wrinkles, see how that looks!

Hey Kepora, thanks for stopping by! I agree, the cloth leaves something to be desired, but that’s what these guys are for- I’ll be practicing more cloth for the future guys as well, not only on the chest-plate areas, but the shoulder pads too. Not to mention I’ve got about 25 more of these guys to go… lol… Either Mark III or Mark IV style armor w/ the proper Thousand Son stylings.

Thanks for the advice- I’ll give it a shot, and you can check out the results (or lack thereof) here!

**Mini-Update**

Unfortunately, due to the crap weather and winds, I wasn’t able to prime… yet again. I did manage to completely assemble 2 of the 5 (Standard beetle-tine “Bob” and the moon-symbol “Cool”), as well as put everything but the backpack and bolter on “Quickman”. He’s got the chest detail that I just won’t be able to reach. If tonight's weather goes against me as well, I’ll be doing more GS work in the form of a cape for the newest figure before sticking on his backpack, as well as starting on the other 5 figures.

Thanks as always, and comments/constructive critiques are always welcome!

-Remi (HF Iz)

I was going to do this very thing! I have a pre-heresy army already but now i want to bring it in line with the GK codex. The Scibor bits are amazing. Its a shame there is little to no use for the storm shields they have. Oh well. I will be following your progress closely to figure out if I want to dive in.

Have you developed an army list yet? I have a few in mind where I try to balance fluff with competitiveness.

I was going to do this very thing! The Scibor bits are amazing. Its a shame there is little to no use for the storm shields they have. Oh well. I will be following your progress closely to figure out if I want to dive in.

Yea, I love the bits. The not-so-obvious smaller ones I haven't figured a use for, but I'll be creative!

I have a pre-heresy army already but now i want to bring it in line with the GK codex....Have you developed an army list yet? I have a few in mind where I try to balance fluff with competitiveness.

To be honest, I've not seen a GK codex yet... at all. This weekend, I plan to rectify it. From the past posts, you'll see that I only just found out the standard GKs use stormbolters on their wrists plus CC weapons... so midstream, I've had to consider mounting some khopesh blades on a side sling for the marines I've already finished who have both hands on their bolters.

But yea, this weekend, I should have a list set up, at least enough to get me in the right direction for future purchases.


Thanks for stopping by!

-Remi (HF Iz)

You can find Khopesh bits on the internet quite easily. They are thin and need to be pinned though.

The smaller "shield" scibor bits I used on my Sons of Horus Termies since most have the eye of rah on them

You can find Khopesh bits on the internet quite easily. They are thin and need to be pinned though.

The smaller "shield" scibor bits I used on my Sons of Horus Termies since most have the eye of rah on them

Yea, I've got my eye on the Kromlech swords/glaives. They look really good and are exactly what I'm looking for.

Ah... so that's what you meant about the small shield bits. Yea... still haven't come up with anything, but I usually do after staring hard at the models and parts.

-Remi (HF Iz)