Death Guard Horus Heresy 30k Project: Part 1 "What Paint Scheme?"

New year incoming so it feels like just the right time for a new project! Enter a Death Guard 30k Army to the list of things I start and have trouble finishing then! I will be building this force up to a 3k point all kitting up to use the Sacrificial Traitor Right of War, so lots of filthy expendable cultists and all the legion assets outflanking for some random fun. I have 3 Contemptor dreads and a leviathan as well for some added outflanking punch. Those will come later once I get the paint scheme down pat.

I got my hands on a pretty cheap Burning of Prospero boxed set and with 30 mark 3 marines to play around with plus my assorted left over bits and pieces from a few other projects I embarked on a 30k Death Guard test painting session.

I started with the standard base coating via an airbrush, Brown followed by a zenith grey highlight and then of course a strong white zenith highlight. This was all then heavily washed with Sepia Brown. After the Sepia was dry I gave each model a vigorous drybrushing of Pallid Wych Flesh. 

The green I was looking for the shoulder/legion marking was very much a departure from the usual drab washed out colors many others typically choose for 30k and even 40k Death Guard. I wanted something that would stand out and look particularly infectious and virulent, I ended up using Warp Stone followed with a green wash and then a thinned follow up coat of warpstone to get the desired green I was chasing.

I am still testing a weathering method/color I am happy with and will report back soon!

Night Lords, Zone Mortalis and getting stuck in a doorway

So I had the pleasure of playing on a really sweet Zone Mortalis board done by a fellow gamer Scott from 2nd Legion. This is only part of a huge ship based Zone Mortalis project Scott has done and is a dream to play on.


The Laser cut flooring and wall sections made with GW building walls/flooring terrain pieces really pop and make it feel more real. We played a 4 man Zone Mortalis with Night Lords and Space Wolves vs Alpha Legion and Word Bearers. Stars of the match were the Gal Vorbak murdering everything and my Contemptor Dread getting stuck in a door on a difficult terrain test because he was too fat and being immobilized all match!


For anyone stepping into 30k and and the Horus Heresy for the first time Zone Mortalis provides a really good entry for game play. Small focused games 1000 points or under are quick and crazy affairs. Once you start chucking in some interesting scenarios from the red books and using the random effects and terrain modifiers it feels like old space hulk! It is also a really good way of running campaigns and forging a narrative which I think 30k really excels at and 40k is somewhat lacking in spirit at the moment.