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Sons of Horus 4th Company Captain Vorus Ikari Armor - Green Trim - Red Right Shoulder Inlay - White Left Shoulder Inlay - White Legion Armorials - Black, One Lunar Wolves armorial on the left shoulder Pad Sergeant Crest - Red and Black

With the conclusion of the opening multi-player apex battle concluded, the campaign has moved into a round of individual games. Schedules aligned to have my Luna Wolves face off against the Raven Guard in a 2500 point battle for my last HH game of 2025. This battle was fought earlier in the month before schedules completely got sidetracked by end of year craziness. It's taken me a bit to be objective about the mission experience enough to write anything up. Mission: Take and Hold Deployment: Hammer and Anvil Army Deployment Order of Battle Luna Wolves: Centurion, Legion Champion (cataphractii), 2 Tactical Squads (both with logistical benefit - heavy transport), 2 Rhinos, Land Raider Carrier, Spartan, Contemptor, Sicaran, Sicaran Arcus, Justaerin, Cataphractii squad Raven Guard: Praetor, Vigilator, Centurion, Assault Squad (with master sergeant), 2 Tactical Squads, 2 Rhinos, Heavy Support Squad (volkites), Contemptor, Javelin Squadron (lascannons), Land Speeder Squadron (multi-meltas), Mor Deythan Squad, Veteran Assault Squad, Dark Furies Game Summary It has been a looong time since I have majorly messed up during deployment such that the game was basically lost before turn 1 (back in 5th edition WHFB days). Alas, this battle would end that streak. I won roll to pick board edge and did not pay close enough attention to where the objective markers where placed. One can be seen behind the left Raven Guard Rhino. The other is on the edge of L shaped building in the upper right just outside the deployment zone. In hindsight I should have measured the distance rather than eyeball it, OR I should have picked the other edge to deploy. (I also claim that this oversight was really karma coming back to bite me for not having gotten further along in painting!!) As it was, the Raven Guard player had first move and was able to slingshot the tactical squad in the right Rhino within 2.75" of the objective marker. A quarter inch miscalculation on my part that let him claim both objectives on turn 1. Backing them up were the assault squad, dark furies, and land speeders. The Javelins and Mor Deythan tag teamed my Contemptor and managed to destroy it for first blood. My turn saw advancement. The RG would react move the tactical squad away from the objective - allowing an easy transfer of control but denying me opportunity to get the desperately needed vanguard points. I decided to disembark the large cataphractii unit in the spartan rather than push up the board. I'm not sure I would do that again in replaying the battle but at the time it didn't look like they would be able to reach the other objective before it depleted so I wanted to get them into action sooner rather than have them stuck inactive for most of the game. Shooting took off infantry and hull points on both sides. I ended up charging the Justaerin into the rhino to get first blood points. But...the damage was already done as the reduced value of the objective that traded hands and the RG controlling both at one point meant I ended the turn down 6 points. Midway through bottom of Turn 1 Turn 2 was more involved and I forgot to keep taking pictures. One of these days I will get better at remembering to do this.... The contested objective traded hands again and fully depleted by end of the turn. The Arcus and Land Speeders destroyed each other...a brutal reminder that even one close range melta can still be lethal. The Dark Furies wiped out one of my tactical squads and would later react away from my Justaerin, leaving them with only being able to shoot as a consolation. The RG Contemptor was destroyed in close combat. The Javelins and volkite support squad took heavy casualties. The point gap widened in the Raven Guard's favor. I called the battle early in turn 3 as there was no way to close the gap in points. While it might have been entertaining to see how much damage the Justaerin and cataphractii could do, realistically neither they or my tanks were going to be able to table the rest of the RG forces (which would have been a pyrrhic 'victory' for me). A well-deserved win for the Raven Guard and a minus point on momentum for the traitor besiegers. Momentum won't be recalculated until more battles have been fought so for the moment the traitor forces are still at a 'maintaining' level (I.e., no benefits or negatives for the traitor forces). I highly suspect I would have lost even if I had been able to keep the Raven Guard from claiming both objectives on the first turn. The assault squads were too maneuverable for me to easily catch and could reposition to stall any of my units if I was gaining an advantage. My ability to press the second objective before it depleted under RG control was also highly questionable given the distance to cross and the number of RG units that could intercept. Post Mortem Thoughts This will likely be my least favorite mission and deployment combination of HH 3.0. Ignoring my mess up during pre-game deployment...the decaying value of the objectives is a frustrating mechanic. Even IF vanguard were easier to get...there is a severe handicap for losing control of an objective. The decaying value of the objectives makes a turnover of control almost guaranteed to give one player a significant point gain over the other. And once the objectives are depleted I don't see much hope of vanguard or other bonus points making difference unless both objectives are being flip flopped. Now, it may be that leaning into deep strike or outflanking will mitigate this and I won't truly have a feel for the mission until I've played it more. But the first impression is going to take time to fade. It would have been nice to end 2025 with a win. However, the game was still enjoyable and the banter during it was fun. And that's what really matters. Now back to the workshop to get to painting and assembling.

This is a blog thread for my new favourite hobby thing, which is Sons of Horus. Why 'The Scouring' as a setting? Many years ago, a poster on the sadly departed Great Crusade forum (Wolf Lord Mjolnir, also known as Dave) and I were chatting about it as a hobby project. We agreed it would be quite a cool narrative for the Traitors especially; Horus was dead and the survivors were suddenly left without their cause and progenitor, the war was lost. What made them fight on, rather than just lay down their guns or make one last charge (as I am sure some did)? We discussed that possibly it was a sense of brotherhood - those same tunnel-rat gangers who had fought as kids on Cthonia, had followed their commander (much as with history's wars and those of today, most of the combatants would have simply done this without understanding the larger geo-political picture) fighting through seven years of civil war against their former kin. Even though they were now very much the 'bad guys', and had done very bad things, that common human element of a bond with the men who had fought alongside them for so long, through all of that bloodshed, was all that was left. Finally and most importantly, it would hopefully be a fun modelling project. The warriors as they appeared after Horus's death would be very much different from those who had fought in the Great Crusade or even those who had been there when the Traitor's die was cast on the surface of Istvaan. So, its the opportunity to kitbash, convert and try something a bit different. For reference material, there isn't that much out there. We have Chaos Marines, but they have existed in the Eye of Terror for millennia, their armour slowly warping, and the survivors (certainly of the Sons of Horus Legion, who were less 'warp-tainted' than many of the others) would not have that appearance yet. So instead I have gone from descriptions in Aaron Dembski-Bowden's quite excellent Horus books, as well as the Night Lords Trilogy, which did a wonderful job of imagining the marines as warriors with all too human frailties, and not simply snarling two-dimensional villains. Also, some of the wonderful artwork in the Heresy Collected Visions books; The Sons of Horus are very much illustrated as almost feral-looking, brutal murderers. With lots of spikes and determination, even if the colour schemes have been ratified since. So, a bit of that artwork below for starters, and then the next posts will be first attempts at the minis themselves.

‘Incoming fire has the right of way.’ Well. Oof. I had grand plans of updating this every week or two rather than letting more than a month pass by. Work had other ideas! My local group is starting up our first campaign for 3.0 in November which means I have ~ 2-3 weeks before games begin. The reality is that I won’t have 3000 points painted by the kickoff and am far behind on progress compared to what I had intended to have accomplished. This will miss a personal goal to have everything to a table top ready state. Hopefully I will be able to keep some momentum going and not fall into my historical pattern of letting the painting aspect completely derail due to assembly/conversions and playing. So where am I at with the Luna Wolves? The following is in progress; with nothing being what I consider table top ready. I would be farther along if had focused on finishing one unit at a time rather than how I’ve been approaching it. However, this has let me work out a few concepts and refine techniques that will perhaps help me be more productive doing forward. Painting - Status markers (also one of my take a step back from painting white activities) - Forge lord - 2 Tactical squads - 2 Sicaran - Rhino In queue to be at least finished building before the campaign: - Legion champion - Warmonger - Thallax squad - 2 Rhino - Sicaran Arcus - Tactical squad - Veteran squad - Cataphractii squad - Laser rapier battery - (500 points TBD)

Hey folks, some photos of a recently completed Scouring-era Sons of Horus Rhino. They have taken a whooping (whooped bad!) and are now retreating from Terra. It's a homage to the old Rogue Trader-era Rhino riders (if you are younger than Grandpa Simpson, photo of that below). I got the idea as the Heresy Demios Rhino looks so similar to the original RT miniature, and liked the idea of this racing along, the marines desperately trying to escape the closing net of loyalists, with the music from the 'APC escape' scene from Aliens playing in the background! The background is from the John Hodgson sci-fi backgrounds book. Close-up of the top of the tank. The stowage is from a mix of the bits box and WW2 plastic kits for Bolt Action. I got the idea from seeing some black and white photos of retreating German tanks in WW2; they had lots of stowage, helmets, equipment all tied to the top of their vehicle as they retreated from the front lines. I can imagine the Sons of Horus doing something similar, as this vehicle became their method of escape and their (very cramped) home. The Tank Rider marines are a mix of running Chaos and Berserker marines, with iconography removed and some greenstuff work to get the poses right. This is probably the most difficult modelling project I have done in some time, but hope the effort was worth it for the overall effect. Thanks for looking!

So it begins… This blog is intended to help motivate and chronicle my journey with the XVIth as I work towards finally getting a fully painted 30k army. And perhaps this tale will provide some entertainment for others as well…. Why Luna Wolves? If I could, I’d be working on a 30k force for every legion and it feels like I’ve started at least one project for every legion since HH 1.0 released. But one has to be first. The Luna Wolves / Sons of Horus topped the list for a fresh start for several reasons: 1 ) White can be visually stunning and is a color I have struggled with, so there is an appeal to use this to push my painting ability. 2 ) The character of the army is very different thematically from my more recent 30k attempts (iron warrriors and iron hands). I don’t play as often as I would like and realize any legion can be made to fit different styles. However, I like to start with a concept that shapes the composition. The decapitation strike style of the SoH fit the bill of different and interesting. 3) No one else in the local group is planning to run SoH (for now). Diversity of armies is a consideration for however long it lasts. I have a tendency to start and stop projects a lot due to shifting interest. This will be my fourth try at a white color army. The only one that resulted in a filly painted force was White Scars for Epic Space Marine. There are a number of reasons for those failed efforts. My hope is that this blog and improvement in my painting techniques will help me keep my focus. I also have plans for structured breaks to work on units for allies so that I don’t feel get burnt out painting mostly white. First up has been figuring out a white that I’m happy with and that won’t drive me crazy as the legion is built out. I’ll be starting from ablack primer and work up to a white using a stippling/drybrush technique because why would I make things easy. Here’s a WIP of a Rhino to give an idea of what the scheme will look like. I think the approach results in an acceptable white; I need to experiment a bit more before calling it good. Unfortunately, avoiding the driving me crazy part is still a question. I think there are too many steps to do this easily with a large volume of miniatures. Maybe it will get better with practice.