A Thousand Sons: Legio XV

++Throughout the decades of the Emperor's Great Crusade, the reputation of the Fiftteenth Legion--the Thousand Sons of Magnus the Red--has been tainted by whispers of forbidden knowledge, and the name of Sorceror.++

My pre-Heresy models to date have mostly been squads from assorted Legions. I've wanted for a while to focus on one force and, through raiding the bits box and the purchase of a couple of components, I'm ready to do so. My chosen Legion is (as the title suggests) the Thousand Sons.

I'm aiming for a force which could take part in the Tempus Fugitive's Siege of Terra event next May, although I don't yet know if I will be able to attend. I am going to be careful to model them so as not to commit to any particular era, though, so they could represent a force right from the Great Crusade through to an (unmutated) army at the Siege or during the Scouring. Although the Tempus Fugitives list includes new units and special rules, I'm also going to try and make sure most things would work in a normal game of 40k.

Over the next week or so I am planning to finish building the force, then it's on to the painting as time allows. So to start off with, here's a selection of the HQ choices I have assembled.

First, the Primarch Magnus the Red:





++Magnus, large even among his brother Primarchs and with an unrivalled mastery of the secrets of the Warp.++

Before anyone asks, the model is a non-GW figure which sometimes appears on eBay labelled as the Scarab Lord. I think he makes a good stand-in for Magnus, although he is huge (see the regular marine for scale). It's a nice-looking model although an absolute pain to assemble, with lots of loose bits and gap-filling. The weapon shaft snapped just under the hand so I sculpted a couple of purity seals to better hold it in place.

Next up is Ahriman. The conversion is inspired by (but not meant to be a direct match to) the artwork in the Collected Visions books. He's made of a large number of components. The head is from MaxMini and the base, as with all the others in the force, from Foundations of War. It's the 'alien temple' range, which I think could represent an alien world or the shattered ruins of Prospero quite well.





++Ahriman, Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons. He shares his Primarch's obsession with the arcane.++

I've also assembled two models which can be used as either Librarians or Captains.





++The commanders of the Thousand Sons legion were invariably blessed with psychic might.++

One uses Captain Sicarius as a base, and the other a Master of the Chapter. On both, relevant icons were removed. The round, flat areas will have the Legion symbol painted on. The one with the jump pack also has some attempts at sculpting simple scarabs over the U icons falling down near his feet. I thought that using the metal Thousand Sons heads would be a good way to denote leaders--it is shown in the art books--and have done my Tactical squad Sorceror-Sergeants in the same way.

Comments and suggestions appreciated, and I'll do my best to answer any questions.

This post has been edited by Magos Explorator on Oct 30 2009, 05:47 PM

What metal hand is that on Ahriman?

And what did you do to the Primarch's Cloak/Cape

looking very good mate - that is hard for a Space Wolf to say!!!

Cheers, Mjol! Perhaps we'll have the pleasure of our forces facing each other across a table one day.

DLA: It's from the Terminator Librarian. And the cloak/cape is just gap-filling with grey stuff.

I never knew that The Scarab Lord was such an EPIC model

Really nice models dude, and its to think i won't be the only Thousand Sons player there, so lets hope they're done in time.

Thanks. I figure I have about enough time to paint... I've got about 4,000 points of models, so depending on how the campaign packs turn out I should be able to put together 3,000 and pick some more expensive points-wise choices if I am short on painting time!

Quick tip I learned when I started my TS's way back - make a few greenstuff molds of the scarab on not-Magnus' chest. Its a perfect size to use as a sculpted scarab on the marine shoulder pads for vets/alternatives to squad markings.

Thet're looking great so far - particularly liking Ahriman.

Something else worth checking out that I was considering recently - using the wolf helm from the new space wolves kit as a basis for an Anubis style helm on a termi honour guard...

Damn thats a fine idea Anodyr, I can imagine those guys looking awesome...

Really interesting work so far Magos, will be looking forward to see how they develop!

Thanks for the tips.

I managed to do a good bit of building over the weekend... Here are some pictures I have to share.

++The humble Rhino APC is a mainstay of the forces of the Legions of the Astartes. Here, as is not uncommon, the Thousand Sons have opted to display their status as the Fifteenth Legion.++





These guys are not heavily converted, unlike some of the impressive attempts I've seen out there. Both have (as will all my larger vehicles) a plastic XV to denote the Fifteenth Legion. These came from a merchant of clockmaker's spare parts. The cupolas are removable so I can spin them around, or sub in something else if I decide to take a Hunter-Killer missle or similar.

I will have two Tactical squads, with different armour types, and the cupola-mounted Marines are designed to match their squads. I've also used some of the Forge World Red Scorpions vehicle doors and filled in and smoothed down the Scorpion symbol in the middle; I intend to paint the Thousand Sons Legion symbol in here.

++Many Astartes forces include Techmarines, whose specialities in maintenance and repair are invaluable on the battlefield. In addition to this, they are skilled combatants in their own right.++



I built this Techmarine from a wide variety of parts; he's got a Thousand Sons bolter and loincloth to help tie him in with the rest of the force. As the rest of the models are converted, I didn't want to use a stock figure (although the stock figure is very nice!).

these guys ar really looking good dude! i really cant wait to see them with some paint!

keep us updated on the constant good work ok!

Looking Great Magos! Keep up the good work...

They are looking great mate!Keep up the good work!Are you going to paint them with metallic armour or the classic red?


Cheers!

What Techmarine model is that?

And that big Copesh Weapon on ARiman which Kemri Box is that in because its Plastic ?...

Its from the Chariot Box....

Nice work... I need to get a camera so I can get my guys up (dated on some sites)

Thanks, all.

Dargor: Not 100% certain but I think the classic red.

DLA: The body is from the Blood Angels Honour Guard box, the axe arm and servo-harness from the current Techmarine kit, the legs from the Iron Hands tactical squad, and the bolter and cloth from the Thousand Sons box. Oh, and there's a plastic Marine arm and purity seal too.

Shorty: I would go with Sigillite's guess; I bought a bunch of Tomb Kings components from a USA eBay seller (Hoard'o'bits) and am not certain which were the originating kits for all of them.

Sigillite: Thanks.

Looking nice so far, particularly like the Techmarine conversion, the pose looks really good. The Rhinos look promising too.

I'd definitely go with a flat rather than metallic red - I think it suits the TS much more, and works better with the gold and white detailing that is such a part of the Sons iconography.

Looking forward to seeing some painting!

I always knew that the Scarab Lord model was large but this huge...
I really like the work you've done so far, the Rhino's are my favourites. I see you got your hands on some Roman numbers, they give a nice touch to the models.

Thanks--I think I am pretty settled on flat red now, too.

Painting will begin after everything's assembled and primed... hopefully I'll get the chance within a week or so!