WIP: Armillus Dynat #1

Armillus Dynat... in pieces

This week I'm starting another new project. I know I have a few on the go, but for various reasons, I thought I'd kick this one off all the same. You'll probably have noticed that my posts haven't been very frequent lately. Unfortunately I've had some personal issues to take care of that have meant that hobby time has been a long way down the list. There's still more to do over the next couple of weeks, but I'd welcome the distraction of a shiny new model to work on when I can. This project will hopefully represent a return to form, though it may be a slow starter so I'll ask you to bear with me.

Armillus Dynat is the latest in a run of special characters released by Forge World for the Horus Heresy range. He's a commander within the Alpha Legion (one of the original twenty space marine legions prior to the Heresy). I've had a curiosity about the Alpha Legion for some time, fuelled in no small part by Dan Abnett's novel, Legion. They're a very secretive legion, specialising in infiltration and covert operations. While they don't normally go for 'distinctive' designs that would make any individual stand out, there are a few exceptions, hence the exceptional model that is Armillus Dynat.

The display base, in two parts

The model comes with a sculpted display base. In the picture at the top of the post you can see all of the parts for the main model. Note that I've glued most of the armoured pieces (main body, arms, shoulder pads, backpack, etc.) together already. This has a 32mm base detailed with debris. In addition, there's a 60mm base in the box that comes with a sculpted rubble surround (in two parts) that the other model can sit in to add extra gravitas to it when displaying it on the shelf. I'll be focusing on the main model, though I'll likely paint this as I go along too.

I've never collected any Alpha Legion models in the past so this will be the first one I've painted. I think the sculpt is superb and I'm looking forward to working on it. I also like the presentation box the Horus Heresy character models come in. This is actually the first one of those I've bought, despite the fact Forge World released at least one model for the Imperial Fists (an army I do collect) some time ago. I'm planning on using my airbrush for this one, (broadly) following a guide I found online for replicating something similar to the way Forge World have painted their own Alpha Legion models. Let's see how I do...