My Iron Warriors Warband

[Redboot Giddyman]

Having shown off my custom Word Bearers here: 

...the time has come to show off another of my warbands, this one the Iron Warriors.

 

 

Just a squad of Terminators and a squad of Legionnaires at the moment, but hopefully that will change one day.

 

 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Found the thing they're in inside the room I do my miniatures work in. Since it's got an Ancient Greek look to it and the Iron Warriors (at least pre-Heresy), had a bit of an Ancient Greek vibe, I thought it was fitting. Plus, it meant they were now standing on something other than a plain wooden surface. 

 

To the inevitable question of why the Legionnaires don't have the more traditional Iron Warrior helmet design, the answer is that I made these guys before the Iron Warriors upgrade sprue was released (and even since its release I for one have found it very hard to get a hold of, as online sellers just don't seem to have it yet). 

 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Anyway, time for the bios!

 

Paradus Vhaxxan the Wall-Shatterer

 

“Please be careful with that. It’s still in the prototype phase.”

 

Squad-Leader of the Iron Warriors Terminator Squad, Paradus is also one of the few outside of Voramell’s Companions and Kahotep’s Apprentices that the two men genuinely trust and consider a friend. This is because Paradus has been a frequent ally of theirs for many years, and his aid has always been appreciated by them. Slightly more ethical than is typical of an Iron Warrior, he finds the Daemonculaba repulsive even by his standards, and has sought to find other, less horrible ways of creating more Chaos Space Marines. With that said, he is not entirely bereft of the standard Iron Warrior thought processes and beliefs, and he shares his legion’s general hatred for the Imperial Fists. Also like most Iron Warriors, he is distrustful of Psykers and gifts from the Dark Gods, but nevertheless still respects and maintains a good relationship with both Voramell and Kahotep, neither of whom share these aversions. Like Voramell he uses a Power Klaw, in his case one taken from a Mega-Nob. When not in battle, he works to refine and fine-tune his ally’s weapons, as well as those of his men. He’s a nice boss like that.

 

Design Notes:

Yes, he's got a Power Klaw. Specifically one sourced from a Mega-Nob. I love the look of Power Klaws, to the point that they're one of my favorite 40K weapons. And given that Yarrick famously helped himself to one, I see no reason why Astartes can't do likewise. Voramell (who you won't be seeing for a long, long time) also has a Power Klaw for the same reason. 

 

Plasma Cannon arm comes from the Dark Angels upgrade sprue. Odd that only they have access to it, as I would think chapters besides the Dark Angels would make use of plasma cannons. Either way, I figured an Iron Warriors Terminator would want the heavy firepower, and I like plasma weapons the best of 40K ranged weaponry, so here we are. 

 

Once again taking advantage of the partially open mouth on that Ork skull piece to stick it on the trophy rack. Perhaps it's the Mega-Nob Paradus got his Power Klaw from?

 

As for the other trophies, I figured Imperial Fists for the Space Marine trophy helmets made the most sense. The Terminator helmet at the base is likewise supposed to belong to an Imperial Fists Terminator. 

 

Geez, between this and my Word Bearers, I sure have been bullying the Fists a lot, haven't I? I swear (again), that I don't hate them. Really. 

 

 

And I stuck on an Adeptus Arbites helmet from the Battlefield Trophies box too just because. 

Edited June 26 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

 

Barxok Steelspine

 

“Mow them down! Show them the Fourth Legion’s might!”

 

2^nd-in-command of the Iron Warriors Terminator Squad, Barxok Steelspine embraces the general Iron Warriors mindset of heavy firepower being best. Wielding a Reaper Autocannon, he guns down anyone foolish enough to try and outshoot him or charge him head-on without adequate protection. He most enjoys fighting the Imperial Guard, as their large numbers means he can mow down scores of them at a time with his Autocannon, something he always finds deeply satisfying. And in the event that it is Guardsmen who can actually put up a good fight, that’s fine by Barxok too, because it means he gets a fun challenge. Either way, fighting the Imperial Guard brings him pleasure. Perhaps it is because of this that Chaos Guardsmen prefer not to be near him.

 

Design Notes:

 

Yes, I painted the hazard stripes by hand. For this guy and all of the others. Why did I do this? Because I have never gotten the hang of applying decals that come with the models, and I really wasn't interested in fiddling around with it and ruining stickers by leaving them in water too long, so I did this instead. Yeah, it's less neat and more haphazard, but I did the best I could. 

 

I like the pile of skulls there. 

 

Back shot.

 

That one poor guy is a fresh severed head on the Trophy Rack. Nasty. 

 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

 

Vhegor Korpanos

 

"...."

 

Where many other Chaos Space Marines are filled with hatred and rage and make no effort to hide it, Vhegor Korpanos is different. Often cooly unflappable and unperturbed, few can think of a time when he has so much as raised his voice. Indeed, Vhegor doesn’t talk much period, preferring instead to let his custom flame-cannon weapon and Storm Bolter do the talking. He is not treacherous though, and respects Paradus Vhaxxan’s leadership and by extension, that of Voramell and Kahotep. Paradus in turn generally considers him reliable, if not exactly a good source of conversation.

 

Design Notes

Not too much to say about this guy, to be honest. I mean I think he came out well. 

 

But just to be clear, this is some kind of fire-based weapon, right? It sort of looks like it, but I'm not sure. It's definitely not a 40K weapon I recognize, though I do like the look of it (which is why I gave it to the third-in-command). 

 

Back shot.

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

 

Endion Taclimor

 

“You fools are all like fish in a barrel, just waiting to be blasted apart!”

 

While the OATS and their allies are, by and large, the closest thing to ethical and moral any follower of Chaos gets, not all individual members are quite so well-intentioned. Some are as depraved and cruel as any Chaos Space Marine to be found elsewhere. The Iron Warrior Endion Taclimor is such a one. Caring nothing for the ideals of protecting other Chaos followers, or indeed for anyone but himself, Endion is a vicious and cruel figure, disliked and only barely tolerated by his fellows. Wielding a Storm Bolter in each hand, he likes gunning down those weaker than him, especially members of the Imperial Guard. He only sticks with the OATS at all because they give him battles to fight, but he cannot be trusted to hold any sort of lasting loyalty. With this in mind, some of his fellows have actively begun planning to have him “put out of the way”.

 

Design Notes:

And here's our hated Heel. Most of my Chaos OCs are meant to be the closest thing to "good" any Chaos follower ever gets, essentially being for Chaos what all of the most likable and quasi-heroic Imperium characters are for the Imperium: not really good in a general sense, but coming closer to it than most and being more protectors who fight hostiles than butchers. Endion here, is very much not that. 

 

For him I experimented with giving him a yellow arm and a black arm as a spin on the Iron Warrior's famous hazard stripes, and to make him look more distinct from his fellow IW Terminators. 

Now, most of the Chaos Space Marines in the OATS and among their allies subject the severed heads they wish to turn into trophy skulls to a process that reduces the head to a skull in mere moments. Endion here, in keeping with his being more of a sadistic jerk, prefers to just stick freshly severed heads onto his trophy rack and let them decay naturally. I think it was because this model had multiple "fresh severed heads" on his trophy rack that gave me the idea to make him pure evil. 

 

Back shot.

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Ferrox Gorn

 

"Iron Within, Iron Without!"

 

A relatively generic Iron Warriors Terminator, there isn’t a whole lot to say about Ferrox. He likes siege warfare, hates Imperial Fists, and is relentless in battle. All the usual Iron Warriors traits. With “only” one Storm Bolter and no other ranged weapons, he is perhaps a bit lightly armed by Iron Warriors Terminator standards, but is not harmless for it.

 

Design Notes:

Yes, I absolutely phoned this guy in bio and character-wise. But just as not all of my OCs are to Chaos what Titus is to the Imperium (as shown with Endion above), so too are not all of them meant to be main characters that are fully fleshed out. Some are more or less fodder, and that includes this guy. 

 

At least he came out good though, right?

 

Back shot.

 

And that's all the Terminators. Legionnaires coming soon!

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Legionnaires!

Herdax of the Foundry

 

“Advance and fire!”

 

Squad Leader of his band of Legionnaires, Herdax got and maintained his position not by being the greatest fighter of his squad, but by being the best tactician. Often making use of the strategies conceived and implemented by the Iron Warrior’s Primarch Perturabo, Herdax has led his squad to numerous victories, being ruthless in his stratagems and like a true Iron Warrior prepared to go very far in order to win. And though technically surpassed by both his second and third-in-command in individual fighting ability, Herdax is in no way harmless, his plasma pistol and Lightning Claw gauntlet both having killed many. Though he believes in the OATS’ mission of protecting other Chaos worshippers, he is still an Iron Warrior at heart and is prepared to sacrifice many to achieve victory, soldiers and civilians alike. To those who would balk at such ruthlessness, Herdax would simply point out that, compared to other Iron Warriors, what few scruples he does have would make him appear soft-hearted.

 

Design Notes

Once I realized how many of my Iron Warriors Legionnaires had genestealer skulls put on their bases, I decided to lean into it and add at least a couple to most of the ones who didn't yet have any. The idea being that my Iron Warriors have slain a force of Genestealers (a matchup that you rarely if ever see in the lore proper near as I can tell).

 

Man, did those hazard stripes come out sloppy. Oh well. 

 

Back shot

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

 

Ossus Dronn

 

“Do you wish to die by having your torso shredded to bits, or by decapitation from a plasma shot to the head? I give you the choice.”

 

Herdax’s 2^nd-in-Command. Rather than going for heavy firepower, Ossus instead goes the more balanced route of plasma pistol and chainsword and is as skilled with the latter as he is precise with the former. A veteran of battles with the Tyranids and their Genestealer minions, Ossus knows much about the Endless Hive’s various bio-forms, and his knowledge has been invaluable to his battle-brothers and to other Chaos forces he’s fought beside who lack his experience. Rumors go that Ossus was actually once an Ultramarine, but if so, he shed his old name in favor of one befitting a member of the 4^th Legion.

 

Design Notes:

For my Iron Warriors, I decided to add a wee bit of purple to the higher-ups because 1) I like purple, and 2) I think it contrasts nicely with the yellow parts of the Iron Warrior's designs.

 

The bit about his being rumored to be a former Ultramarine is a reference to Space Marine II. Since this guy explicitly has a lot of experience fighting Tyranids plus using a chainsword and sidearm combo, I was reminded a bit of Titus in Space Marine II, including the statue of him that they did. Do I just have too much of an obsession for Space Marine II? Maybe, but it's one of my all-time favorite video games, so...

OK, I'll admit I screwed up here. I gave this guy a Night Lords pauldron before I decided to paint him up as an Iron Warrior. Whoops. I definitely feel kind of dense doing that, but in fairness, this guy IS part of a warband that are allies with a Night Lords based warband, so I guess I could maybe kind-of justify it that way.

 

I really do love mounting a trophy skull of some sort onto Chaos Space Marine power packs. I tend to like it best when it's an Ork or Bloodletter skull, but a Genestealer one works too (and makes sense for this particular character also). 

 

Another back shot. 

 

Lastly, I gave this guy some black to his gunmetal color scheme to further emphasize his being one of the leaders of the squad. 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

 

Varsigonn Anarax

 

“My hailstorm of gunfire will cut all you Xenos down!”

 

Herdax’s third-in-command, Varsigonn is a great lover of heavy firepower and devastating foes from a distance with relentless barrages. To this end, he wields a Reaper Chaincannon, a weapon normally used by Havocs rather than Legionnaires. In this way Varsigonn is the heavy weapons specialist of his squad as well as third-in-command, and considers it a poor day’s work if he has not amassed a greater number of ranged kills than anyone else in the squad. He holds a twisted sort of respect for the Tau, admiring and agreeing with their approach of long-range firepower. In turn, he relishes any chance to fight the Tau, pitting his firepower against theirs and demonstrating that the former is superior. Lately, he has been giving some thought to incorporating Tau tech into his own arsenal, as well as proposing merging weapons from destroyed Tau battlesuits with Helbrutes to create novel (and deadly), new weapons of war.

 

Design Notes:

So, this guy was another consequence of getting a copy of that Chaos Legionnaire Kill Team that has since become just the newest and latest version of the basic Legionnaire set. Specifically, the Reaper Chaincannon. Figured such a weapon made the most sense for an Iron Warrior, so here we are. 

 

This guy is one of those times where I added a few skulls of a certain "type" (in this case Tau) and then just decided to go all-in with it and give the character's base a veritable graveyard of a specific type of foe. I had done this with Orks for a few characters, but for this guy, his chosen Xenos victim are Tau instead. 

 

Back shot

 

Whaddya know, he's got some hazard stripes after all (even if you can barely see them here).

 

Since green bionic eyes seem to be much more common than orange (and I do like the look of them), I gave this guy that color instead of the orange color his brothers have for their helmet's eye-lenses. Figured the bionic eye kind of suited the guy who does a lot of shooting. Figure there's some enhanced targeting doodad built into it. 

 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

 

Illux Nassour

 

“Burn, you filth! Burn!”

 

The squad’s resident Flamer, Illux Nassour’s body has notably begun to show signs of Chaos corruption, a fact that makes him disdained by many other Iron Warriors due to their general distrust of blessings from the Chaos Gods. This in turn only makes Illux more bitter and wrathful, and he is always eager to express his anger with his Flamer, savoring the pain of his victims as he douses them with fire and watches them fall into burning heaps. He also has a habit of drinking brews from the skulls of those he’s killed. It is likely this very cruelty that has caused his body to become mutated in the first place, the grotesque outward appearance reflecting the ugliness in his soul.

 

Design Notes:

I'll admit I'm not super satisfied with how this guy's skin came out. His skin looks kind of orange-ish there, which definitely isn't what I was going for. The gray part was meant to be a side-effect of burns he's sustained mixed with Chaos corruption. Again, I'm not super satisfied with how it came out. But this guy is one of the jerks of the group, so I guess it's not a huge deal XD

 

More messily applied hazard stripes courtesy of yours truly.

 

Back shot

 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Lotros Tarlensus

 

“Whatever the Iron Warriors take is rightfully ours.”

 

An Iron Warrior Legionnaire who came across a slain Chaos Chosen still clutching his Combi-Weapon and helped himself, Lotros is fiercely possessive of this weapon, knowing that such a thing is not typical for rank-and-file Legionnaires like himself, and not intended to be used by anyone lower than a Chaos Chosen. A few overzealous Heretic Astartes even attempted to punish him for “daring” to use such a weapon, but after Lotros brutally killed them, he’s generally been left alone with his prize. While Lotros likes to think the Combi-Weapon is proof of his superiority relative to his fellow Legionnaires, the truth is that he is still one Legionnaire of many, and while certainly capable and dangerous, is not even the most able in his squad, much less all of the Legionnaires who make up the ranks of the OATS and their affiliates. He is thus disliked by many for his arrogance.

 

Design Notes:

Yeah, I know it doesn't really make sense for a common Legionnaire to be carrying a combi-weapon. This is the result of when I was assembling a bunch of Legionnaires and Chosen in a short span of time and deciding only after the fact who I wanted to be what (both Legion and rank). I guess I could have just said he's a Chosen, but then my warband would have only 1 chosen and 9 Legionnaires, and I didn't like that. So, here we are. 

 

One of my somewhat better stabs at painting the hazard stripes by hand.

 

Back shot. 

 

As stated, I made it a "theme" for my Iron Warriors to have a lot of Genestealer skulls strewn about. 

I have to say I like the chainsword I put on his waist, worn like a traditional sword in a scabbard. Figure he'd want some sort of melee weapon to go with his ranged weapon, even if the ranged weapon in question IS a combi-weapon. 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Crol Falkos

 

“Shot through the heart. And I’m to blame.”

 

Nick-named “The Falcon” among his squadmates both for the sound of his last name and his keen eyes, Crol Falkos is a crack-shot with his trusty Plasma Rifle, picking off foes from great distances with perfect headshots again and again. It’s sometimes wondered why he doesn’t make the switch to a Bolt Sniper Rifle, Las Fusil, or similar weapon, but Crol likes his Plasma Rifle the best and sticks with it. Considered reliable by his squadmates, Crol gets along with most of them and always tries to have their back in any firefight.

 

Design Notes

As I've already said, I do love me some plasma weapons. So of course I made sure to make the guy with the plasma rifle cool. 

 

Whenever I didn't go with outright hazard stripes on a given pauldron or set of greaves, I tried to still at least allude to it with a yellow and black color scheme, as I did here. In this case, yellow pauldrons with black or metallic insignias. 

 

Back shot

 

Kind of hard to tell, but I painted the targeting lens thing on his helmet (a helmet I picked for this one because I figured it made sense for a marksman type character like Falkos here), green. Could have gone with red for a bit of a "Deadshot" vibe, but green contrasted better with the orange of the main eye-lenses IMO. 

 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Orim Ommorex

 

“More targets coming in from the side! Someone cover me!”

 

A soldier’s soldier, Orim Ommorex was brought up with an anti-Imperium education from a very young age, instilling in him a fanatical hatred of it. That the things he was told about the Imperium were all technically true and that it really was a deeply tyrannical organization, meant he would not be swayed by any claims of his upbringing being propaganda. Unlike most Iron Warriors, he has the greatest hatred not for the Imperial Fists, but for the Space Wolves, appalled by their hypocrisy on the subject of Psykers and the stories of the Burning of Prospero he grew up hearing. Likewise, the stories he was told of Monarchia’s destruction gave him not a little hatred for the Ultramarines too.

 

Design Notes

Not too much to say with this one, except that I do think he came out mostly good. I really like the pose combined with the gun I gave him. Feels very right for the "merciless professional soldier" aspect of the Iron Warriors. 

 

...but man did those hazard stripes not come out great. *Sigh*

 

 

Back shot 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Semnex Metagor

 

“They may be savages, but I must say I rather agree with the Ork’s attitude on the subject of firepower.”

 

Where most don’t think much of Orks, Semnex for one believes the infamous green brutes are on to something with the idea of “More Dakka” being the way to go. Certainly, Semnex has found it beneficial to be able to squeeze off tons of bolter rounds before needing to reload, the better to make a wasteland out of the enemy. He isn’t nearly as gifted when it comes to melee, but any who underestimates this trigger-happy Iron Warrior does so at their own risk.

 

Design Notes

I really do like that long ammo-belt, so it was nice to get to include it in this squad. And once again, I figured it fit the Iron Warrior's MO pretty well.

 

More dead Genestealers.

 

Back shot

 

Real "fat and skinny" thing going on with those hazard stripes there XD

 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Ummek Gorn

 

“Who took the last sugar-roll?”

 

A fairly generic Iron Warriors Legionnaire with little to distinguish him. He likes pastries and building stuff (plus tearing down other people’s stuff of course).

 

Design Notes

Another purposefully phoned-in one / fodder character. Methinks he should enjoy those pastries while he still can (are there even still pastries in the 41st/42nd Millennium? I honestly don't know XD)

 

Back shot

 

I really like the "half yellow, half-black" pauldron here. Again, when I didn't give out hazard stripes proper, I still tried to allude to them. 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[Redboot Giddyman]

Hama Rustclaw

 

“Nothing on the Vox from command means no entry for you.”

 

The lowliest of this particular squad of Iron Warriors Legionnaires, Hama Rustclaw’s main point in his favor is that he’s loyal to his squad leader and easy to get along with as far as Iron Warriors go. He often gets assigned guard duty, which he doesn’t mind much, considering it’s probably conducive to a longer life. Though a follower of Chaos Undivided, he dislikes Slaanesh followers, finding their sadomasochism and perversions off-putting.

 

Design Notes

His sharing a first name with a minor Lord of the Rings character is what gave me the idea to make him a guy who often gets guard-duty (as Hama did in the Two Towers movie). Likewise, his dislike of Slaanesh followers is intended as a nod to Middle-Earth Hama's dislike of Grima Wormtongue. 

 

Back shot

 

Personally, I think he kind of looks a bit like the Nolanverse version of Bane. But then, I don't consider that a bad association ;)

 

 

And that's all of the Legionnaires (for now). Again, my Iron Warriors band is kind of small right now. But maybe one day they'll get some more stuff. I would definitely love to add a Dark Apostle, just for how unusual it would be for the Iron Warriors to have such a unit given their general aversion to Chaos blessings. 

Edited June 24 by Redboot Giddyman

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

They look really good. The ammunition especially. I like what you've done with skulls on the bases too. 

[Redboot Giddyman]

On 6/26/2026 at 4:37 AM, The Praetorian of Inwit said:

They look really good. The ammunition especially. I like what you've done with skulls on the bases too. 

Thanks! Glad you like it!

 

Check out my Word Bearers too, if you haven't already. Would love to get your thoughts on them too: