Gawain Veteris

I hope these have been useful to the community. That's why I do it! :) And Saturnine Terminator Armour has been a long-term ambition for me. I love the old 80's concept drawings. I'd probably model it on Indomitus Pattern... It'd be a big job but I'm open to it :) GV

Now this is a nice detail I had not thought of doing, using the resin sprue for robes. I'mma gonna have to make a note of that, so thank you. And your conversion looks really great, I haven't seen the artwork for this character or read his description, but it still looks super awesome. No problem. I hope it's useful. And thanks! The smoke is a tonne of artistic licence (just my interpretation). I take my cue from the artwork for the bearded face and the head with two ears (I had to sculpt his left ear back onto his head instead of a coms piece). GV

So I have made some progress on Magistus Amon. I have been experimenting with the smoke effect (shown in concept above). The intended impression is Amon's armour seeming to blend into an aethereal smoke. This fits his wargear, Armour of Shades (and maybe even Dust of the Devourers). I take the model's cue from special effects in the Mummy movies, but also the new model, Avatar of Ynnead. I am enjoying the modelling opportunities afforded by Thousand Sons. This model will be the Warlord of my little strike force. I sculpted a new left hand so that he can be striking a more somatic sorcerer's pose. The composition deliberately keeps the actual 'magic' behind the hand, however. This emphasizes that the smoke is constant. The fluff describes the Armour of Shades as allowing Amon to appear as other than he is, but on the battlefield I wanted a more practical, visible effect which also explains why he confers a minor cover save/cover save buff to his squad. That is, he's a walking smoke bomb... The minimal robes are made from finecast resin sprues, carefully carved and heated to be shaped into flapping bolts of fabric.The sword is an amalgam of tomb kings khopesh and the power pack from a Grey Knights force weapon. All that's left for this guy is to make a holstered Archaeotech pistol and add other wysiwig elements, like F&K grenades and something which can represent the Dust of Devourers (perhaps an hour glass). Not quite finished yet but I was excited to show you guys my progress and to ask your opinion on the smoke/dust effect. I also wanted to get the feeling for the composition. Would a helmet be better than a bare head? I added a tiny beard (like Amon's artwork) to tick that box. Looking forward to your opinions. Best, and Happy Heresy, GV

These rules are highlighting (perhaps more than other FW legions) a level of almost scholarly/academic complexity and ambiguity which is apropos for the Thousand Sons. I'm about ready to assemble my 1ksons force. I'm somewhat limited by time and funds so I'm gonna use what I've got. I'm thinking of running Magistus Amon with Sekhmet Cabal (Tartaros) and Apothecary (Corvidae & Athanean, Raptorae and Pavoni respectively [4/5 Cults Represented]) for a mini psychic deathstar, Two Legion Veteran Tactical Squads, Legion Support Squad (Plasma/Corvidae), Legion Heavy Support Squad (Plasma Cannon/Corvidae), Ammitara Intercessors and a Contemptor. So looking forward to modelling these guys.

Just to reassure brothers following this thread, I will still be tackling Night Lords and Blood Angels armour accents shortly. This post was a diversion about which I am rather excited. Getting hold of a copy of Inferno I was eager to model Magistus Amon of the Thousand Sons 9th Fellowship. His wargear struck me as a great opportunity to make a characterful centerpiece for my force and also take advantage of the insane Psybrokeness. I picture this guy (as per concept) seeming to dissolve into aetherial smoke/sand. This would represent his Armour of Shades. I will be basing the model on the Betrayal at Calth MKIV Chaplain and I will be keeping this thread updated on the progress. It's an ambitious project for me but I wanted to sharpen my teeth a little. Keep an eye out for that Night Lord tutorial nevertheless! Let me know what you think of the concept and I would really welcome any tips for improving the design. Happy Heresy, All is dust etc... GV

Immune to Fear, Adamantine Will and reroll 1s when shooting (after being stationary) for any compulsory troops. An appealing thought...

That is certainly true. Having a tiny bit more flexibility on the cult of your compulsory troops is valuable. Amon seems to be a very economical but dynamic character for what you get. I'm entertaining modelling some scouts to be Ammitara Intercessors just to buff his covert vibe (but also because they turn my abundant carapace armour bits into psychic sniper reroll spam...)

This is sadly incorrect; Zardu Layak may ROLL on those lores, he must roll on lores, he cannot choose the powers he wants. (I made a mental note of that after someone *I really dont recall who* posted a message from forgeworld stating he cant pick, he must roll on those lores. One wonders if this will be addressed in the FAQ. My quibble with the wording is only a problem because Prosperine Lore gives all Sons access to all Disciplines (except Mal. Daemonology). If the rule had said something like 'They may choose only from Pyro/Tel.' then there would be no ambiguity, (except insofar as whether they have to roll or not, but a gentlemage would do the decent thing and roll for their powers) but it seems together with PLore that (if your position is correct, sonoftherubric21) Sekhmet Terminators know all the disciplines but are nevertheless blocked from all but two. I struggle with that interpretation. I doubt that they would go that far to theme the Sekhmet around the more destructive disciplines. I mean if that were the intent then wouldn't we see Ahriman only having Corvidae themed powers? RAW I'm tempted (by totally not dark powers) to hope the Sekhmet are so obcessed with Pyro/Tel that they can just do them. Separate problem which you guys may have some opinion on: Cult Arcana mandates that compulsory troops in the force must be the same Cult as the Warlord. My question is, if Amon Magistus is both Corvidae and Athanean, do his compulsory troops get both or do they have to pick one only? (Also, can't wait to model Amon Magistus's Armour of Shades!!! Thousand Son appearing to disappear into smoke will be a fun challenge.)

Thanks for that. So it follows that, as Prosperine Lore allows Thousand Sons Psykers to generate their powers from all disciplines except Malefic Daemonology, A Sekhmet Terminator Cabal could choose any power from Pyro. or Tel. and then roll for other disciplines, but why would you if you could choose... Such Psychic Maelstrom and Levitation... Then of course you get Primaris: Assail from Telekinesis from Psychic Focus and Force for your Force Weapons to Insta.Death your enemies. I'm gonna need more terminators...

In the case of Sekhmet Cabals I feel the wording on how they select their powers is tricky. It does seem clear that the wording is intended to restrict these units to a specific set of Psychic Powers (though with Cult Arcana, not necessarily Pyrae and Raptorae). I feel that the Cult Arcana is aimed at giving units a theme as much as the army. Sekhmet Cabals can choose a cult that doesn't correspond to their specific Psychic power set but Cult Arcana encourages it. The thing I'm struggling with is the 'choose' rather than 'select' or 'roll' for example. There are one or two interpretations here (but admittedly maybe wishful thinking). A. 'They may choose their powers...': Limitation: They can only use powers from Tel. and Pyro. Pro: They can choose them rather than rolling? B. 'They may choose their powers...': They still need to roll but they can only use powers from only Pyro. & Tel.? C. 'They may choose their powers...' Pro: They can 'choose' their powers from Pyro. and Tel. but must roll for any other disciplines? Also, I'm not sure if it has been covered yet, but Sekhmet Cabals will straight up murder ICs anyway but with Force their Force Weapons gain the Instant Death. Shamelessly love this unit...

@Noctem Cultor This is really cool! This is the first time I've seen a fellow hobbyist use my tutorials. I'd be interested to see other people's uses for them. Keep an eye out for the Night Lords tutorial. GV

I have talked before on this thread about my theory on the shape of marines. I like characters which add something cool but if they don't keep the basic silhouette of the SM models then they fall flat for me. To that end, the officers and character models which do something different while keeping the shape are the best IMO. The three essential pieces which make up the shape of the MKIV marine are the helmet, the shoulder pads and the torso. Keep these on the model, with only subtle changes and you will get a model with real character that cannot but be a 30k marine. This is what I hope to bring out of this tutorial. It keeps the basic shape of the MKIV while deliberately breaking it up in a key area: the helmet crest. That will be enough for the file legionnaires in your force to hammer down their allegiance. In the future I hope to do some mini tutorials covering 3D Legion symbols but today we will just cover the flourishes which pick out a legion's allegiance. Some are easier than others (eg. Fur for SW, though this is controversial at the moment...). Let's get started! 1. These are all the pieces you need to break the standard silhouette of a MKIV Marine and tick the Thousand Sons box. You’ll need basic MKIV pouldrons, a basic MKIV helm (I have used one from the plastic kit for ease but personally I prefer to use the FW MKIV for this because the lines are much sharper), and a standard MKIV torso. 2. Starting with the pouldrons, carefully shave away 1mm sections out of the trim leaving an ‘L’ shape in the corner about 2mm on each edge. Now flatten a small blob into the nook of the ‘L’. 3. Split the GS blob with a sculpting tool so that it looks something like the flaming comet of Sigmar. 4. Using your sculpting tool carefully bend the ‘tails’ of the comet around to meet the outer edge of the 1mm gap in the trim and flatten these, making sure to keep the curve in the new trim. I have also expanded the curve where we split the blob in the middle to more closely match the FW shape. My aim is to evoke these plates but clearly make it a tiny affectation rather than stepping on the more elaborate FW plates. Besides it saves time. 5. For the helm this is a straight rip from one of the FW helms in the conversion kit. The changes are very basic though. To start, apply three tiny blobs to the helm. One on the forehead for the crest, and one on either side of the MKIV face plate. 6. Flatten the side blobs and with your smallest tool shape these into cheek guards. Take care that the eye lenses are not concealed and that the points of the cheek guards don’t go further forward than the inner edge of the highest MKIV ‘Whiskers’ (The three little holes on either side of the face plate). It helps to use the helms with those three holes for this conversion but it’s not essential. 7. Now for the crest. We’ve talked about the importance of silhouette above so don’t get carried away. All we need is a nod to the hobbyists who see your models across the gaming table. Here you just need to carefully shape the blob into a diamond. Ideally the top of the diamond should rise above the vent on top of the helm but again that’s not essential. 8. Just for the coup de grace add a stud or rivet to the middle of the diamond. 9. The torso is a very basic conversion. Start by carefully cutting away the bottom pipes of the MKIV torso. This is a nod to the Thousand Son we have seen on FW Inferno promotional material. 10. Roll a pair of thin sausages into the gaps left by the pipes and add a small blob into the middle nexus of the torso. 11. Smooth over the blob so that it takes the shape of a disc. I envision painting this bronze to draw the eye. Now all that’s left for the torso is to clean up the sausages into sharp edges to mimic the ablative plating covering the hidden pipes. Alternatively you could add more pipes underneath (See my MKIV tutorial Pg1) but these wouldn’t match the remaining ones on the chest. 12. Here is the finished Thousand Sons Veteran. These pieces do no overwhelm the basic shape of the MKIV marine (which is the whole reason we wanted those marks in plastic) like some of the FW kits but they do clearly break up the standard silhouette and leave no doubt that you’re ranged against a Thousand Son. I intend to use this gentleman and thirty others like him to form a small strike force of Thousand Sons. I hope this helps my fellow aspiring sorcerers out there! I’m looking forward to applying this to some of my other marines. Next I hope to have a go at a Night Lord Legionnaire. After that I will take a look at Blood Angels, as requested by marine7312000. After that I’m gonna have a go at making a Consul Variant. I’d love to hear which one you want to see a tutorial for. All the best, and happy Heresy! GV

This is another mini tutorial just to tick the WYSIWYG boxes for Destroyers and Recon Marines (above). We have already done Rad Grenades on the Destroyer Tutorial. I hope this is useful. In the picture showing the finished products, P is Phosphex and S is Shroud. 1. For the Phosphex Bomb we will be using a Frag Grenade from any standard marine sprue (but curiously not the MKIII plastics which is very frustrating…). For the Shroud Bomb we will use a Krak Grenade. 2. Prepare the Frag Grenade by shaving off all the nobbles around the sides but leave the pin at the top intact. Prepare the Krak Grenade by carefully shaving the upper section away including the pin. After this you should have the ridge across the middle and the rounded bottom section intact but only a thin sliver above. 3. Apply small amounts of GS to the cleared areas to smooth them over. In the case of the Shroud Bomb/Krak Grenade, square off the blob so that it forms a little cuboid on top. 4. Finally, score lines vertically on the Phosphex Bomb/Frag Grenade to make the distinctive texture. Also add a little blob onto the bottom and press it into the grenade to form a little rim along the bottom. For the Shroud Bomb, press a sharp tool (I used a scalpel) along the edges of the cuboid shape to make four distinct squares. Poke a dot in the middle of each square and you’re done. I’m feeling prolific so keep an eye out. I may have the Thousand Sons MKIV out by the end of the day. After that I may put out a mini tutorial for a Night Lords Helmet as requested. If you guys have any other ideas/ requests let me know and I’ll see what I can do. All the best, and happy Heresy! GV