Sons of Horus - Cthonian Steel

[StratoKhan]

Hi guys, hope everyone is doing well here, where everything is . The release of the Age of Darkness plastic boxed set finally kicked me me off my backside, and my plans for a Sons of Horus force are finally coming together. I've gotta say it feels good!

 

These are the themes I wanted in my SoH force:

 

• Mark IV armour
• Upscaled marines
• Metallic colour scheme
• Lots of bonding studs
• The beginning of the fall to Chaos
• Volkite weapons

 

I personally think that Mark IV plate is the defining look for the Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus, but I really enjoy the improved scale of the new Mark VI marines. The solution? Combine the kits. I'll post more pics later on, but basically with a bit (ok, quite a bit) of trimming you can replace the chest with the distinctive Mark IV breastplate.   

 

Metallics - a lot of the black book art, as well as the recent box art has a green with a metallic sheen to it, and it looks amazing - I'm not sure I'll be able to replicate the exact colour scheme found in the books, but I still want to explore my take on metallic SoH.

 

Studs- I like bonding studs as they're a nice way to situate the force halfway into the Heresy, where supply lines were thin and quality replacement parts were scarce. It makes sense to me that a lot of the more assault-focused units would go through shoulder pads at a pretty high rate.

 

The force will have some small hints that the Legion is being corrupted and twisted by Chaos on their march towards Terra, nothing too overt but I will incorporate some CSM kits into the force, as it works well with that savage Chtonian aesthetic.

 

Volkite? Well, just 'cause it's cool! 

 

I think that the combination of all these elements will make for a really really really ridiculously good looking force. I know we sometimes think there might be more to life than that, but let's not complicate things too much here ;) 

 

Here is the force so far:

 

Spoiler

 

My plan is to get 1000pts up and running, and if life doesn't get in the way I should be done by end of this year.

 

See below for my first test model. This was a super simple Turbo Dork Emerald Green over black undercoat. I think there was a Nuln Oil wash involved at some point. Do I love it? Not quite, but I think that I'll be using this as a basic formula and tweaking it a bit more. It's looking a little flat right now so I'd like to work on that aspect. Maybe start with a darker colour and only highlight up to emerald green, and maybe even up to silver or gunmetal. We'll see.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Well, that's it - things are moving in the right direction, and if I get this force completed it'll be the first playable army I finish in a long time!

Edited August 10, 2023 by StratoKhan

[Pearson73]

Things are off to a good start! I like your list of things to include and agree that MKIV really suits the legion. Looking forward to some more photos.

[General Zodd]

Looking good, and a great idea. Always good to have a clear set of goals for a project! If you’re interested in trying out different painting methods before you commit, here’s a suggestion for you.

 

My SoH are non-metallic, but bear with me. My technique is starting with an undercoat of Mechanicus Standard Grey, drybrushed Dawnstone, then very light drybrush with Ulthuan Grey. This is then tinted with a couple of coats of Biel Tann Green shade. It’s quicker than it sounds as drybrushing and washing don’t require you to be very neat! If you had a play with Leadbelcher (or equivalent) drybrushed up to bright silver, then Biel Tann tint over the top, it might give you a nice result?

 

Whatever you end up opting for, good luck with the army!

[Xenith]

Great start! Maybe check out GW's Aeldari Emerald contrast - might be a dead easy option - that's it on top of the backpack over leadbelcher, I recall. 

 

[Varyn]

Always good to see another SoH player join the ranks!

 

This looks like a great start, keep it up

 

If you are looking at metallic green, I'd recommend doing metallics, a highlight and then nuln oil gloss, followed by green, Kizzdougs did an excellent example:

 

 

 

[StratoKhan]

Hi guys, long time no see. My favourite proclamation from my original post was:

 

Quote

My plan is to get 1000pts up and running, and if life doesn't get in the way I should be done by end of this year.

 

Hmm...

 

Anyways, here are some pictures of the first finished squad, that I actually finished a month or two ago but never got round to posting here. I got these guys painted up to a basic standard, and I might be adding extra details in a 2nd stage, we'll see. Sorry for the terrible pic quality.

 

Lessons learnt - I used a TurboDork metallic paint, and a brush. Very time consuming, very hard to get smooth. Will have to learn how to airbrush. My eye lenses are awful, I need to practice those and try finer detail in general. Quite happy with the green colour itself, and also with the overall look of the unit.

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by StratoKhan

[General Zodd]

Well done for getting the first unit finished, and for resisting the usual temptation of diving in with the cooler more unique weapons! I always think if you’re not starting a new army with anything other than one of whatever you’re using as your basic troops, you’re far less likely to get the army finished!

 

So, what’s next? Any progress on getting the airbrush up and running? And what’s next on your project list?

[Urauloth]

I actually really like SoH in Mk VI armour, it's a look that's really grown on me. These guys look good!

[StratoKhan]

16 hours ago, General Zodd said:

Well done for getting the first unit finished, and for resisting the usual temptation of diving in with the cooler more unique weapons! I always think if you’re not starting a new army with anything other than one of whatever you’re using as your basic troops, you’re far less likely to get the army finished!

 

So, what’s next? Any progress on getting the airbrush up and running? And what’s next on your project list?

 

Thanks Zodd, good points about starting with troop units, I think they're also more forgiving, because you can work out any kinks in technique and so on over the course of 10+ models. It also feels good to have a fully painted unit from launch. Starting with characters or vehicles means that you're finding your feet with the models that most people will scrutinise the hardest, so it can be painful when things don't go to plan.

 

My airbrush is in a box right now, we recently completed a move and now there isn't a corner of the house that isn't invaded by boxes. I plan on clearing some space this weekend, hopefully enough to start airbrushing at some point. Next unit for the SoH would be a MkIV tactical sqd.

[Pearson73]

Those chaps look great, particularly liking the red casing on the power fist, it works well. I also agree that starting with troops is a good plan, as it helps solidify the scheme you have in mind.

[Gorgoff]

On 8/10/2023 at 5:43 PM, StratoKhan said:

Hi guys, long time no see. My favourite proclamation from my original post was:

 

 

Hmm...

 

Anyways, here are some pictures of the first finished squad, that I actually finished a month or two ago but never got round to posting here. I got these guys painted up to a basic standard, and I might be adding extra details in a 2nd stage, we'll see. Sorry for the terrible pic quality.

 

Lessons learnt - I used a TurboDork metallic paint, and a brush. Very time consuming, very hard to get smooth. Will have to learn how to airbrush. My eye lenses are awful, I need to practice those and try finer detail in general. Quite happy with the green colour itself, and also with the overall look of the unit.

 

Wow that green is poppin and wonderful. Love it.

[StratoKhan]

Hi all, update from me - I was playing with foil from a New Year’s sparkling wine bottle and decided to use it as cloaks for a recon squad.

 

Spoiler

 

Here is the first mock-up. Looked promising so I kept going.

 

Spoiler

 

I then cut the foil to size, and added detail to the backpacks, trying to approximate the feel of the FW MkIV recon squad.

 

Spoiler

I then added tissue paper soaked in PVA to the foil structure, to get better folds on the cloaks.
 

I don’t have pics of these steps, but at this point I was worried about the cloak’s durability, so once the tissue paper was dry I soaked the entire thing in superglue, this worked really well and the cloaks are very rigid and don’t bend or flex easily. As superglue can dry kind of rough I gave the cloak a liberal coat of Mr. Surfacer 1000 which gave the cloak a smooth surface.

 

Spoiler

Here is the camo scheme I tried out. I wanted part of the cloak to match the base, the bottom is just a simple application of Agrellan earth just like the base.

 

Spoiler

I ended up doing some feathering to blend the bottom of the cloaks into the main part. And added a 3rd camo colour to the cloak.

 

Spoiler

Here is the recon squad so far, I had originally planned to just paint 5 normal beakies with the printed Nemesis Bolters I had, but the conversion just kind of happened. I feel like these guys look a bit more the part. Good bottle of wine!

 

My plan for the squad’s scheme is to keep it black, with the right shoulder pad in SoH green. That should tie the squad in with the rest of the army. I’ll do battle damage and maybe add some pigments if I can get the right ones.

 

[StratoKhan]

another small update from me:

 

my previously finished tac squad was a little

bland, so I am starting to give them some extra detail through chipping. I also repainted the eye lenses. I think they’re starting to look a bit better. Guy on left is before, guy on right is after.

[Brother Kraskor]

Big fan of the metallic green. Very striking, and contrasts really well with the black. Also loving the inventive recycling for conversions! The recons look very convincing.

[StratoKhan]

Recon squad progress has been made. Painting faces, eyes and lenses.

[Pearson73]

Both the faces and lenses are really nicely done.

[StratoKhan]

Thanks Pearson!

 

Work is really tough these days and I couldn’t face doing the rest of the squad’s lenses etc. So I focused on my Contemptor Dreadnought. The stock model is nice but I wanted something that was more in line with the Sons of Horus so I took some time to add some details lifted from other kits. I also added some large-size bonding studs. I feel like he’s more in line with the rest of the force now.

[General Zodd]

2 hours ago, StratoKhan said:

Thanks Pearson!

 

Work is really tough these days and I couldn’t face doing the rest of the squad’s lenses etc. So I focused on my Contemptor Dreadnought. The stock model is nice but I wanted something that was more in line with the Sons of Horus so I took some time to add some details lifted from other kits. I also added some large-size bonding studs. I feel like he’s more in line with the rest of the force now.

That’s a great looking Dread! Could I ask what you’re using for the bonding studs? And where are the coin chain things from?!

[Pearson73]

Great use of the Praetor's trophy gear on the top there. Love bonding studs too, they just scream heresy era to me.

[StratoKhan]

On 4/27/2024 at 11:48 PM, General Zodd said:

That’s a great looking Dread! Could I ask what you’re using for the bonding studs? And where are the coin chain things from?!

Hey thanks Zodd, the studs are rivets from a Japanese company. I think they’re round rivets from Wave. I used the largest (2mm) diameter on the sprue, but tbh any larger seemed off to me. They’re good because they’re already half spheres but that presents its own challenges. The coins are from the Iron Golem warcry band that GW recently discontinued. Lots of trimming to use them.

 

@Pearson73 thanks!

 

I’ve also started on some Mark V Despoilers, it’s early days but they will be fully de-Chaosified and riveted up by the end of this. The hardest part is bending the plasticard and getting it to stick in place. Plastic glue sets slowly and the plasticard does not conform to the desired shape easily. Maybe I need to heat the plasticard?

[Pearson73]

Damn that looks ace! Love the up-armoured look from the added plates, matches the more brutal helmet of the MKV.