With new Legio Custodes miniatures available for pre-order tomorrow, we handed them to our colleague – who specialises in defending the Emperor – to see what he could do with them. Here’s how Steve prepared his force to hold back the armies of Horus.
Steve: Ever since I first saw the now iconic piece of John Blanche art depicting the Golden Throne in Codex Imperialis, from the second edition boxed set of Warhammer 40,000, I have been fascinated by the Emperor’s chosen bodyguard – the Custodian Guard. You may have seen in a previous article how that has led me to collect a sizable force, going so far as to “complete” the Codex (I have at least one full unit of each entry in the book and each weapon variant for those units). Having used them many times to put down heretics, xenos, and other threats in the past few years, the chance to try out Warhammer: The Horus Heresy and add to my collection with some incredible new miniatures was too good to resist. After all, I’ve got to maintain my “complete” collection!*
The Shield Captain is by far my favourite of the new releases, and, to my eyes, perfectly captures the graceful lethality that makes the Legio Custodes the pinnacle of Imperial martial prowess. The sleek design of the praesidium shield and eternity blade makes the model really stand out on the battlefield, and it was an absolute pleasure to paint.
I admit, I have been guilty of giving my Sentinel Guard nicknames of “the Stab and Slabs” or “the Sword and Boards”, but no more! Like the Shield Captain, the new praesidium shields and the sentinel blades are gorgeous and more than worthy of the Ten Thousand.
The most iconic in the vast arsenal employed by the Legio Custodes is, without doubt, the guardian spear, and these new minis are worthy of wielding a weapon of that status. I love the blade design in particular, but the overall size and presence of the miniatures are going to strike even more fear in the hearts of my opponents than ever before.
Dreadnoughts hold a particularly special place in my hobby heart, and this is one of the absolute best. I chose to go with the Achillus pattern in this instance purely for the look of the Achillus dreadspear. I cannot WAIT to get my hands on more so I can have three of each… (or maybe more).
This is the first time I’ve painted a Caladius Annihilator Grav-tank, and I look forward to doing so again. Getting a smooth finish took a couple of attempts to get right, but that will get better with more practice, and I’m pleased with the result. It really has a domineering bearing, and its destructive potential on the battlefield is something I can’t wait to try out.**
How Steve paints his armour
I start with a spray of White Scar then another of Retributor Armour, as I find the initial coat makes the gold a lot more vibrant than just spraying onto bare plastic. I then overbrush with Stormhost Silver, apply two coats of Reikland Fleshshade, and finish off with ‘Ardcoat.
Thanks, Steve! If you need even more inspiration to join the Ten Thousand in their eternal duty to defend the Emperor, check out the rest of Steve’s army.***
The Legio Custodes Battle Group will be available to pre-order tomorrow, alongside the Liber Custodes: The Forces of the Emperor Army Book, so you can use them in your games of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy.
* As anyone with a pile of potential can ascertain, the collection is never really finished…
** Traitors beware, that twin Arachnus blaze carronade makes short work of infantry AND tanks.
*** Spoiler alert – it uses quite a lot of Retributor Armour.
