Lava-themed Horus Heresy Salamanders
This Salamanders army is one of the largest Horus Heresy commission painting projects we have done recently. It is a full 30k force: four heroes, sixty Legion Marines, ten Cataphractii Terminators and three tanks, all painted to Level 3 and all standing on lava bases. Because every model was painted to the same standard, we had room to add small details to each miniature instead of only to the centerpieces.
The armour uses a dark Salamanders green. The main tone is a 1:1 mix of Vallejo Model Color US Dark Green and Games Workshop Caliban Green. For the recesses and darker panels we added a little black to that mix, which gives a smooth transition between the shadowed and lit areas of the armour. Edge highlights use the same green with a touch of white, so the lines stay crisp without breaking the overall colour. The secondary colours are black, Grey Knight Steel for the silver metallics and Balthasar Gold for the brass, with a dark wash to define the shadows.
The green is contrasted by the bases. They are Txarli Factory’s Volcanic Bases, which we 3D printed ourselves and painted to imitate the molten terrain of Nocturne. The rocks are black with a grey drybrush, and the lava runs through reds and oranges up to a bright yellow in the hottest streams. To make the heat feel real, we airbrushed orange onto the lower legs of the miniatures wherever they stand close to the lava. The green armour fades into a warm glow at the boots, and that effect ties each model to its base. It also carries across the whole army, since no two bases are the same.
The four heroes lead the army, and each has a cool blue energy effect set against the warm lava. The Saturnine Praetor is the centerpiece, with a glowing, heated hammer that matches the base and a blue glow on his plasma weapon. The Praetor with power axe has blue energy that brings out the steel of the blade. The Centurion with power maul carries a detailed banner, using transfers from the Games Workshop Salamanders Legion sheet, and the lower edge of his cape glows with lava light, as if it hangs just above the molten ground. The Librarian Consul has the same blue glow and the same orange glow on his cape.
The troops are 30 Mk VI Tactical Marines with bolters, built with the Games Workshop Salamanders shoulder pad kit. They follow the army colour scheme, but the base work and the glow at the feet make each one look different. Another 30 Marines carry heavy weapons. The ten lascannon bearers have blue optics and red glow from the side vents. The ten autocannons have burnt barrel tips, as if they had been firing nonstop. The ten volkite culverins are the most obvious weapons in the army. We airbrushed them with Trollslayer Orange, the lore-accurate colour for volkite, and blended it up to bright yellow at the hottest point, so the energy matches the heat of the bases.
The ten Cataphractii Terminators are split into two groups. Five carry combi-bolters and power fists. The other five carry volkite chargers and power mauls, with a blue glaze on the mauls and the same orange to yellow-hot glow on the chargers that appears on the culverins.
The vehicles are two Deimos pattern Rhinos and a Spartan Assault Tank. The Rhinos were built with Salamanders-specific side, rear and top hatches, plus transfers from the Legion sheet. The flames beside the white salamander heads were painted from red to bright yellow at the tips. Yellow OSL on the headlights, mud on the tracks and chipped metallic paint on the hull complete the look. The Spartan has the same effects, with the large transfers on the side doors. It also has blue OSL on the top hatch lights and the sponson lascannon lenses, and the lascannon vents use the same red glow as the Marines’ lascannons, so the effects stay consistent across the force.
This project let us paint a lot detail on every single miniature, and as a whole force the army looks incredible. Exactly how you’d imagine a Legion that has just marched out of the forges of Nocturne!
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