Wayward Sons of Olympia

For some time now, I've been neglecting the Flames of War scene, for I fear I have been bitten by Horus Heresy bug. I've not played Warhammer 40k in a number of years, but the combination of the Black Library's Horus Heresy novels and Forgeworld's excellent miniatures and gaming supplements have thoroughly engaged me. 40k as a ruleset can be a bit messy (especially compared with Flames of War), but I love the narrative aspect of the game.

After much deliberation I've opted to collect elements of the IV Legion Astartes, the Iron Warriors. They are engineers at war, lacking the flashiness of other Legions and relying on cold, hard logic to win their fights. What really drew me to them was reading the excellent Tallarn Executioner by John French. It depicts an armoured invasion of Tallarn by the Iron Warriors, viewed from the perspective of an Imperial tank crew. The book features plenty of WW2-style tank-on-tank action and accurately depicts the claustrophobia of being inside an armoured vehicle while all hell is breaking loose around you. Perfect for a WW2 armour nut!

The general plan is to build a combined-arms force of Iron Warriors with a leaning towards heavy armoured vehicles and self-propelled artillery. My gaming group have just started a Horus Heresy narrative campaign using the Zone Mortalis rules (found in Horus Heresy: Betrayal), so this is the perfect opportunity to start my very own Heresy army.

The campaign is based around 500 point strike forces made using Zone Mortalis Combatant force organisation chart, so it forms a nice starting point to build a full army around.

I leave you with a bit of a teaser, the marine below is almost finished. All that remains are his shoulder pads, base and some weathering powders that will be applied to the lower legs. I've gone for a fairly dark and grimy scheme for these Iron Warriors, looking as though they've been on campaign for a very long time without respite.

Heresy-Era Iron Warriors Space Marine in Mk IV 'Maximus' Armour

"Tell them that ruin has come to their world,
Death, despair and red war...
Tell them their hopes and pride have come to nothing,
Tell them their empty whispers fall upon deaf ears -- their gods are dead, human reason has killed them,
Tell them the Angels of Death have come,
Tell them nothing can save them now."
    -Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors