The MkII Assault Squad will be blasting onto tabletops shortly. While most of the Warhammer Design Studio was busy putting paint on a tank column of Legion Fellblades, a handful opted instead to paint units of Assault Legionaries – except for Adam, who did both!
Adam, Salamanders
I've been using all the Heresy hobby challenges in the studio to build up a Salamanders army for the latest version of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy. I’ve been using an airbrush and some oil paints for shading to achieve the desired effect of a very grim, dark, and grimy feel across the armies. For these Assault Legionaries, I decided to make them into veterans with jump packs. I made the pads look like glowing coals, reminiscent of the ’Eavy Metal effect on the Saturnine Terminators.
Ben, White Scars
I chose to do my Assault Legionaries as White Scars, as I have just started an army of the Vth Legion with the release of the new edition. To give them some more character, I added small, subtle details from the recent Grand Cathay kits, such as a head plume and the spear blades. I chose to paint these in a different style to my other Legions, which has been a great palette cleanser and allowed me to try other styles and techniques. The scheme is simple but rewarding: the armour was base coated Corax White with a recess shade of Skavenblight Dinge and then an edge highlight of White Scar. Adding red ‘dags’ and markings brings them to life, giving them some Legion character.
Jim, Word Bearers
These Assault Legionaries are another addition to my ever-growing Word Bearers army, I've already painted the full contents of the Saturnine box as a Word Bearers force, which means I have a healthy amount of MkII Tactical Legionaries done already. It felt only fitting that I add some Assault Legionaries in for support. I love how dynamic these minis are, with their big, chunky axes and jump packs.
Jason, World Eaters
With the new edition of the Horus Heresy I really wanted to start a Traitor Legion (new edition, new army), and I chose World Eaters as I think they have an interesting story and background – full of brutality, with a splash of madness. My aim when it came to painting these minis was to complete them to a very high standard while telling a story. My force is themed around Isstvan, hence the black sand bases. I wanted to show all the dings and scratches of battle in my painting, and, of course, a World Eaters unit wouldn’t be complete without some blood splatters.
In my mind, my force is at a point where the Legion is starting to lose its cohesion, so I chose to mix up the helmets across the unit. This shows they are becoming less disciplined in the standards of what armour they wear and maintain, becoming more focused towards the hunt and the kill above all else.
The MkII Assault Squad is available to pre-order on Saturday.
