Getting to Know You…

I’m Ben, and casual is both absolutely correct and simultaneously way off the mark in many ways. I made my first ever model (a rather shockingly successful Airfix M1 Abrams) at 10 years of age. By secondary school I was deep into 40k with a Tau army, which changed to a guard army because I was persistently told ‘The Imperial Guard are useless’. By age 15 I discovered Forgeworld, the Vraks series, and that combined with a love of WW1 era imagery led me to becoming a Death Korps nut (a love preserved to this day in plenty of resin). When 2012 brought the Horus Heresy, courtesy of the lovely Forgeworld once again, I was on board right from the start! My group of friends quickly each picked a legion, and ever since then I’ve been ardently collecting and playing.

Whats in a Collection?

My collection now (some 10 years later) consists of:

• Some 4,000+ Points of Emperor’s Children (My first loves, currently undergoing remodelling).
• 4,000+ points of Imperial Fists
• 5,000+ points of Solar Auxilia
• 1,500 points of Mechanicum Taghmata
• 1,500+ points of Blood Angels
• 1,500 points of currently unpainted Sons of Horus (for an event in July)
• There’s also some 2,000points of Militia who used to be my DKoK army in the old days.

So yeah… Casual may not be the accurate description for my collecting habits. Damned may be more accurate.

Whilst the collection is expensive, each army theoretically fits a different and unique role, and each is ‘designed’ (in principle anyway) around a concept or theme.

The 16th Company of the Emperor’s Children

The 3rd Legion were, and continue to be, my first loves in heresy. I was interested in their pre-heresy nature and primarch way back before the first black book even dropped, having seen classic art and having read ‘Fulgrim’. The idea of a legion of purple clad, regal, narcissistic, perfectionists appealed to me in a way that only a therapist could probably unpack, but it meant as soon as the first black book dropped I was straight into collecting. Consequently the force has by now gone through nearly 4 different looks, and many of the current models are severely in need of a paint update, but with a big push on Return to Isstvaan (and an event to go to in a month or so) hopefully their latest iterations should be the best yet.

The 144th Siege Company

My Imperial Fist force started life as a desire to paint a loyalist army that played very differently to my fast, assault based, 3rd Legion. Consequently the first purchases of what was to become the 144th Siege Company, were two squads of breachers. Since then the force has expanded in an expected way, with a core of Breachers and Phalanx Warders being supported by an armoured spearhead of Terminators, and support fire from a plethora of dreadnoughts and artillery. Although I have discovered that I really hate painting yellow…

The Frankian Dragoons

With the release of Book 4, and the Solar Auxilia army list, my Imperial Guard alarms began to flash. Realising that my 3rd Legion were lacking any heavy armour (and really still do…) I decided that the perfect allies would be a tank heavy Auxilia force, allowing me to use my Guard Tanks in a dual purpose role. Only 2 key problems stood in the way:

1. I was a poor student still.
2. I only owned 1 Leman Russ - a 4th Edition Demolisher.

Not letting little things like logic, and finances stand in the way, I began to scour ebay for rescues, beginning a long running affair with the beautiful Leman Russ. The collection now stands at 7 Russes, 2 different artillery pieces, 5 further support vehicles, and 3 Superheavy tanks.

And 80 infantry…

The Mechanicus Logistica

The Mechanicum were a fun experiment, a 1500pts allied detachment that represented a rear echelon logistics core, summoned to fight on the warmaster’s front lines. Conseuqently they’re full of servitors, ill fitted equipment, and a very repurposed Thanatar Calix.

The Dawn Host

Having thrown myself into the Siege of Terra Books (and having bought Sanguinius at an HH Weekender because I have zero financial control) the Blood Angels screamed out as a great foil to my 3rd Legion force. And with a ‘siege’ themed event coming along earlier this year, I decided it was the perfect chance to dip my toe into a late heresy looking force.

And I fell in love.

I love painting red as it turns out, and especially love painting volkite serpenta toting Angel’s Tears. Consquently the force currently stands at an Assault Squad, 10 Angel’s Tears, a breacher squad in a Land Raider, Sanguinius, two different modelled champions and a praetor. With the plan to expand next year with more assaults, and another 10 Angel’s Tears.

More Power is Probably Required

Hopefully by now you’ve noticed the running theme though – I really like collecting to a theme, and most of the time that theme runs in the opposite direction of any particular power play. Honestly I’d be lying if I said I worried too much about that sort of thing… or indeed winning in general. To me the Heresy, and the hobby as a whole, is all about the stories you can tell, and the models you can make. Every game fought is another scenario, another series of events to play on a tabletop stage, with heroes, villians, and idiots a plenty therein. And if perchance I managed to even win one of those games in a while, then mores the better I suppose!

Well hopefully that’s a good enough introduction. Now to get on with building the Black Reaving 16th Legion Zone Mortalis force…