We can’t wait around for the new Legio Custodes to shine their gear before pitching in, so we gave some painters from the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy studio and the Warhammer Community team the opportunity to go for gold in a quick-fire painting challenge.
We start with a bang – Ben has painted the entire Legio Custodes Battle Group box, plus an extra Dreadnought, more Custodian Guard, and one of the new Caladius grav-tanks. Very nice, very golden – but what else has the team done?
Venatari
Dave, Beth and Mike have swooped into action with the new plastic Venatari. These winged golden guardians make for a real sight as they thunder down on your head at immense velocity, before unleashing the terrifying power of their kinetic destroyers.
Custodian Guard
Custodian Guards are the backbone of the Ten Thousand, and they’re out in force here. James K, James G, Euan, Dave S and Dave K have all painted up units, showing off a strong variety of colour schemes including silver and black Custodians. Great to see them carrying the majestic Magisterium Vexilla too – it’s simply too regal to leave at home on Terra.
Sentinel Guard
Sentinel Guard swap their guardian spears for nimble warblades and thick praesidium shields, becoming durable powerhouses even more resistant to damage than regular Custodians. These examples from Ben L, Ben P and Thomas show that gold never goes out of style.
Shield Captain
Leaders of the Shield Hosts are striking figures who shine with nobility. This was a very popular miniature to paint, and with all those intricate details, it’s not hard to see why. These examples were painted by Beth, Ben, Ellie, Dave S and James G.
Dreadnoughts
Both variants of the Dreadnought made good use of their flexible joints to strike some cool poses. A number of them are also taking a proactive role in showing their contempt* for the Traitors, including Thomas’s dreadnought which is whipping an Iron Warrior right up into the air on the point of its spear. Luckily, his hazard stripes mean bystanders will see his flying corpse coming from a mile away – very considerate for the safety-minded sons of Perturabo. These dreadnoughts were painted by Ed, Thomas, James G, Connor, Dave, Euan and Ben G.
Caladius Grav-tanks
Tomorrow’s pre-orders introduce the standard variant of the Caladius Annihilator grav-tank from the Legio Custodes Battle Group box. This version is armed with an Iliastus accelerator cannon for high-calibre, rapid fire action to take down scores of Traitors at extreme range. We got a good mix of both grav-tank variants, with some nice embellishments, such as mottled purple panels and the decorative swirls included on the transfer sheet. These tanks were painted by Ben, Josh, Miguel, Thomas, and Ed.
Coronus Grav-carrier
Even the Legio Custodes don’t want to walk everywhere, and the Coronus is the perfect tool for getting six Custodians where they need to go in a hurry. It’s good to see that even when they’re onboard a transport, the Ten Thousand travel in style. These tanks were painted by Dave, Beth and Miguel.
Want to see some of these awesome painted miniatures in person? They will be on display at Warhammer World in Nottingham from 14 April 2026, so check them out when you next make your way to the beating heart of Warhammer.
Brand new miniatures for the Legio Custodes, plus individual releases of everything found in the Battle Group box, all go up for pre-order tomorrow. While you wait, catch up with our advice on how to build your Custodes army or how to ally the reinforcements into your Space Marines force.
* Stop booing, it’s a good pun.
