A Thousand Sons: pre-Heresy 15th Legion

[Magos Explorator]

++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:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_magnus_unpainted_front.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_magnus_unpainted_back.jpg

++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.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_ahriman_unpainted_front.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_ahriman_unpainted_back.jpg

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

[Magos Explorator]

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

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_sorc1_unpainted.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_sorc2_unpainted.jpg

++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.

[Bigred]

Looking good! I'm going to be following this one. Pre-Heresy TSs are awesome!

[Magos Explorator]

Thanks! :) I think so too.

[Magos Explorator]

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.++

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_rhino1_unpainted.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_rhino2_unpainted.jpg

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.++

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_techmarine_unpainted.jpg

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!).

[Rapture]

Pre-heresy Thousand Sons is a great choice. The Egyptian influence can leave them really sharp looking. The one problem is that Magnus looks a little static with that 'give me a hug' pose. Maybe lower the arm with the empty hand. If you are feeling particularly adventurous you can even chop it at the elbow and repin it with some bend to it.

I am looking forward to seeing some painted pics.

[person person]

Love the Ahriman model, it looks really John Blanche-ish.

How do you convert your regular marines?

[eldargal]

Really superb, I love Thousand Sons fluff and these models just so much look the part of pre-Heresy 1k Sons.

[Magos Explorator]

Thanks, all! I appreciate the comments.

Rapture: I know what you mean. I think it looks worse in the photo from that angle than it does in reality, although I am considering trying to shuffle him around a bit. The model is not very friendly to put together, though, so I am worried about making a mess of it:

person person: Thanks! I like Blanche's work, I know a lot of people don't. The regular marines are a mix of Chaos, Imperial, Forge World, Thousand Sons and MaxMini components. I'm going for each squad being coherent within itself but different from the others, and will post up more pictures of basic marines soon. The first Tactical squad is fully assembled.

eldargal: Thanks; I am trying to make them look different from 40k style marines. The art books provided a lot of inspiration.

[Magos Explorator]

Finally time for some troops...

++Although the majority of the Thousand Sons--as with the other Legions--take to the battle in the assorted patterns of power armour, lightly-armoured scouts are often employed for reconaissance and sniper duties.++

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_scouts.jpg

I have 10 scouts; the above picture shows 4 of them. I've not done too much with these except swap the heads for those of trimmed-down WHFB Chaos Warriors; I tried this with my Death Guard Scouts a year or two ago and liked it so have done the same. It's a bit tricky to fit the heads on some of the poses, and lots of filing of parts was needed.

I decided that the non-aiming models will be my sergeants; to denote this, one got Telion's head and the other got a crest from the High Elf archer box set on his helmet.

++Versatile, disciplined, deadly: the Tactical Squad. With a mixture of bolters and more specialised weaponry, these Space Marines are well-equipped for any battlefield role.++

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_tacs_1_1.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_tacs_1_2.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_tacs_1_3.jpg

This is my first Tactical squad, a mixture of standard marine, Chaos marine, Thousand Sons, Forge World and MaxMini bits (with some Black Templars and Tomb Kings on the leader). I went for the 'standard' fitout on this; additionally, the Tempus Fugitives campaign rules allow Thousand Sons to upgrade their Sergeant to a Sorceror-Sergeant with force weapon and combi-plasma, so I decided to go for that option, using Dark Angels Commander Azrael's gun.

The overall look of the armour was inspired by assorted pictures from the artbooks, and I wanted the squad to look coherent. I sculpted simple scarabs over the Red Scorpion icons present on some of the chest plates. The backpacks are mostly from the Chaos range, with the exhausts trimmed down and inverted, for a more arhaic feel.

I'm quite pleased with these guys. I should note the middle guy in the middle picture doesn't look quite so much like he's tipping over in reality, but I may repose him. I will use the metal Thousand Sons torsos I have for the second Tactical squad.

[Magos Explorator]

A little more progress from earlier this week which I thought I'd share.

++The Land Raider is the most heavily-armoured Battle Tank in regular use by the Space Marine Legions; as well as anti-tank and anti-personnel weaponry, its transport capability enables the rapid deployment of Astartes to the thick of combat.++

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_landraider.jpg

I decided to go with the regular Land Raider as opposed to the Forge World pre-Heresy kit as I'd heard that the latter can be particularly tricky to get to fit. However after seeing several assembled I think perhaps if I ever get a second, it'll be one...

This is similar in principle to the Rhinos I posted before, with Red Scorpion doors and Roman numerals. I switched around the doors and lascannon sponsons as I thought it made more sense for troops to disembark from right behind, as opposed to right in front of, the lascannons.

I replaced the weapon mounts with the leering heads from the Chaos vehicle sprue:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_landraider_weapons.jpg

However I realised when taking the photo that I glued the wrong sides together, so now two lascannons have holes all the way through and two have no holes! I feel slightly foolish about this and am not sure what to do. I may have to render the lascannons vertically immobile.

++Support tanks such as the Vindicator are invaluable in close-quarters fighting, effective against troops, armour, and removing fortifications.++

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_vindicators.jpg

Sources place the creation of the Vindicator around the start of the Heresy; in games set earlier, I figure I can pass these of as prototypes or leave them out of my list.

Again they're not radical conversions; I added numerals and replaced the aquila on the doors with a Tomb Kings component but that's about it.

[Lord Inquisitor]

I'd like to see what these will look like painted.

[Magos Explorator]

I am planning to prime the force once most/all of it is assembled and then start painting--I am still mulling over a few colour ideas in my head. I would very much like to see them painted, too! :)

Some more vehicles in this post--I've done some more assembling since taking them, but am awaiting the arrival of some components before I can finish the other models off.

++Brother Seraphis, former Librarian of the Legion, was possessed of sufficient strength of will that despite grievous injury in battle he was able to survive long enough to be interred in a Dreadnought. His might and wisdom continue to be an asset to the Legion.++

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_dreadnought_seraphis.jpg

I wanted a Dreadnought to represent the Tempus Fugitives' Librarian-Dreadnought Seraphis. In the end I settled on the Venerable Dreadnought, and with some chopping and filing managed to fit a Thousand Sons head on there.

The aquila on the chest plate stayed on, figuring if any Marine was deserving of that honour then odds are it'd be one who became a Dreadnought. I used Tomb King shields as shin armour, and a plasma cannon from Forge World to get the correct armament according to the TF rules.

++Land Speeders provide invaluable reonaissance, and armed with the recently-developed multi-melta are able to provide anti-armour support.++

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_land_speeders.jpg

A squadron of Land Speeders completes a Fast Attack choice. I left off some of the armour pieces to get a look slightly closer to the classic models, and make them look a little different from regular Speeders. A Tomb Kings decoration replaces the aquila, and I added a chariot spike in front.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh255/andy_sayer/thousand_sons/tsons_landspeeder_crew.jpg

The crewmen were similarly put in more archaic patterns of Power Armour. (I didn't bother to photograph the multi-meltas, as I figured they were uninteresting).

[Shadow Queen]

What heads do you have there? and where do you get them from?

[person person]

Ven. Dread is awesome!

As to the vindies being prototypes, the first vinides mounted Thunderer Cannons IIRC. So maybe you should convert the cannon a bit or something.

Where did you get those LS crew heads?

[Lord Inquisitor]

That dread looks really good! Keep up the good work.

[Magos Explorator]

Thanks, the heads are from MaxMini.

[Shadow Queen]

got a link?

[rustbucket]

Your use of the Tomb Kings shields as the shin plates on the Dred is an awesome idea, as is the Roman numerals on all of your vehicles. Absolutely great conversions, keep em' coming!!