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Today we gather together four miniature painters who have all be painting Horus Heresy models as of late. Some of them are deep into the game and some are just getting started. But all of them paint amazingly, and they all have skills to show off. 

The Painters

Spencer from Spen’s Painting

I first became familiar with Spen’s Painting when he showed off some truly remarkable Horus Heresy models on Twitter. He is taking all of the 18 Legions of the Space Marines and painting them in a grimdark style that is heavy on the streaking grime, mud, and barbed wire. And they look phenomenal. You can check out his Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube channel.

Troy from Sonic Sledgehammer

I’ve known Troy (or known about Troy) for probably four years, but it wasn’t until about a year ago that we started corresponding. (You can read my interview with him here.) Sonic Sledgehammer paints in a way that I can really get behind: it’s accessible for the newbie, but sometimes he’ll push it a little further to get you to stretch your muscles. Not a strict Games Workshop man, you can often find him painting historicals or mad 3D prints. You can check out his Twitter and YouTube channel. 

Andy from Mediocre Hobbies

Mediocre Hobbies has been working his way through hobbying the Horus Heresy Legions as well. He wins points in my book because he doesn’t use an airbrush (I don’t have one, so those videos don’t help me). He, like Sonic, makes the painting of the miniatures very accessible, but he spends extra time making sure that the Horus Heresy models are very weathered. He’s not afraid to put Nuln Oil over a white basecoat. You can follow him on Twitter, Twitch, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. 

Rob from Medders’ Miniatures

Rob is almost entirely devoted to Horus Heresy content on his YouTube channel, and he’s not afraid to branch out from the Space Marines and give us a good tank or dreadnought. As a commission painter, he shows off some of the big stuff that he’s worked on in Horus Heresy (including Primarchs) and also has great how-to painting videos that are accessible and high quality. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and his commission painting service. 

Question #1. How did you get started as a miniatures painter?

Spen’s Painting: 

When I was kid I had a few models and issues of White Dwarf but never really got into the hobby. Fast forward to early 2020, just before the COVID-19 lockdowns, and I found myself wanting to try a new hobby. After following some amazing artists on Instagram I decided that I would give miniature painting a go. 

I quickly fell in love with it and wanted to progress, and try different techniques, and eventually ended up at where I am now with my grimy, grimdark painting style. For a while now I’ve also been working on making tutorials for the things I paint (which is a whole other hobby in itself). My current project is working my way through the Horus Heresy Legions making videos of how I would paint them in my style.

Sonic Sledgehammer: 

For my tenth birthday, my grandfather – perhaps unwisely – went and bought some gift vouchers for the comic book and games store near to me which stocked a pretty wild range of miniatures. I must have spent hours poring over what was available trying to decide on what to start with, and I remember very clearly that what I settled on in the end was a 15mm Crusader tank in resin and white metal, and a box of Cadian Imperial Guardsmen. 

I didn’t quite know what Space Marines and Eldar and all that were, but the futuristic-looking army men seemed familiar enough that I had a foothold on something very clearly meant for someone older than me! It felt like I was sneaking in to something unsuitable for me, which made it all the more entertaining as a kid. From there, well… the rest is a very long history!

Mediocre Hobbies: 

I remember walking through a shopping centre, communion money burning a hole in my little pocket and seeing one of the two Warhammer stores in Dublin at the time. I spent far too long looking in the window at their Isengard display, before building up the courage to go in and wander around. 

The Lord of the Rings movie had just come out so I immediately picked up the metal Fellowship of the Ring set, some metal Nazgul, and then I saw space marines for the first time. I walked out with the 3rd edition starter set and I was hooked. I ended up working for Games Workshop for 15 years(closed up the store where I had bought my first models in a weird twist of fate) and earlier this year I went full time with miniature painting content creation.

Medders’ Miniatures: 

I would really need to travel back into the aether of time to answer that one! When I was 10 years old, a friend in school introduced me to it Warhammer 40,000. He had an older brother who played orks and my friend had a Space Marine army. I was absolutely in love straight away with the hobby! 

I had no idea how to play and no idea how to paint but from that point on I saved up my pocket money to buy the 2nd edition boxed set. I built and painted (some) of it and since then have never looked back. 

When I was in my teens the Lord of the Rings movies came out and that’s when I really got into painting in a big way! The Lord of the Rings models dropped and I was mad on all things Middle-Earth! Those years of assembling and painting those Lord of the Rings models really cemented my love for miniature tabletop gaming and I haven’t looked back since! 

Once the Horus Heresy Black Books dropped, I was fully invested in starting Horus Heresy armies. With each new army I improved and developed my skills. I invested my time and money into tuition and Patreon and in 2019 I was being approached by more and more people to paint their Horus Heresy models for them. 

It got to the point I felt I could start a business alongside my full-time job. I didn’t think it would be anything big. I just thought it would be a great way to get some extra cash to reinvest in my own hobby. 

It’s now May 2022 and I am about to go fulltime miniature painting quitting the teaching profession I have been a part of for 12 years! I must say it’s an exciting time for me and I’m really looking forward to what the next couple of years has in store

Question #2: What draws you to The Horus Heresy? The lore? The aesthetic? Something else?

Spen’s Painting:

One of the first things I did when I got into the hobby was to pick up a Black Library novel. That novel happened to be Horus Rising. I was instantly hooked on the setting and have been working my way through the Horus Heresy series, mainly with audiobooks, and have just finished The First Wall in the Siege of Terra. 

In addition to the novels, I really enjoy the look and character of the Heresy models, they seem to fit so well with my style. 

Sonic Sledgehammer:

There’s a quote from Gav Thorpe in the old Battlefleet Gothic rulebook which I always turn to when thinking of Games Workshop’s universes: “Warhammer 40,000 is about the death of splendour.” To me it encapsulates so much of the setting – the uncaring grind of the machinery of government and power that keeps the Imperium in motion, the rot and decay at the heart of all things which must be propped up to function rather than being replaced. 

The Warhammer 40,000 universe is that grimy sensation of coughing yourself near senseless, but trying to catch a breath causes a fresh round of spasms and coughing to wrack what little you’ve got left. It’s the idea that all things tend to entropy and rot, for great things to decay, moulder and collapse… 

At its core, the setting has the macabre heart of a classic gothic horror. All things end. No fame or greatness is beyond the reach of implacable, unyielding time to fragment and erase.

Why the Horus Heresy counterbalances that so well is it’s an age where there is still hope. The Imperium is a needlessly brutal dictatorship which we see bulldoze through potential neighbors and allies in the Black Library novels in their quest for ‘compliance,’ but at this stage there’s still a teetering moment where a bright future exists. 

The possibility of a unified galaxy – even if under the callous heel of the Emperor – is a promise which is genuinely a hopeful one to much of humanity at this stage. If Warhammer 40,000 is about the death of splendour, the Horus Heresy says in the towering, overwrought grandeur of a Greek tragedy, “The wages of sin is death.” 

And it is a tale of sin, a Biblical epic with the Emperor and Horus cast in familiar roles. That the sin of pride is what turns so many great men to their own ends, believing that they know better, or deserve better?

It’s a tale which I don’t see ever getting old as long as people continue telling epic stories. We as readers and gamers know the future of this time, this place, but it still feels like there’s a chance to turn it around. 

That sparkle of hope exists, and we cheer our small heroes and hiss at the villains of the piece – but always we can see the reasons why evil takes root, where the actions of well-meaning people set the stage for something worse to grow from the seeds left of good intentions.

The Horus Heresy is the universe on a knife edge, and unlike the Warhammer 40,000 setting where everything lingers endlessly in the limbo of a universe which can’t truly end while there’s still models to sell, we know which side of the blade things fall in the 31st Millennium.

Mediocre Hobbies:

I am a Space Marine fanboy. I love them, I own hundreds of them. I’ve also been an avid reader of the series since the very first book came out and I await with bated breath for the rest of the Siege of Terra books so I can finally know what happens. 

I genuinely believe The Horus Heresy is one the greatest stories ever written. There are so many gray areas that you could put ten readers in a room and they will all feel a different way. There are endless conversations to be had, theories to be discussed. I love it. 

Medders’ Miniatures:

Lore. Lore. Lore. 

I studied History at university and so have always been interested with how we got to where we are now. The same with the Horus Heresy. I knew the ending: Horus ends up dead. However I was most fascinated by HOW the Imperium got to that point. That’s what has always drawn me into the Horus Heresy; the journey and not the destination. I wanted to know how events unfolded and I wanted to know about the key characters who were integral to it. 

I recall reading the original story of the Horus Heresy from White Dwarf. It was titled: ‘Assault on Holy Terra’ written by William King. I vividly remember thinking that this galaxy wide rebellion of brother against brother was just the coolest thing I’d ever read! 

At the time there wasn’t too much lore surrounding the Horus Heresy like we have now but I consumed any information I could find. I remember seeing the pictures of a huge Siege of Terra display in White Dwarf where Jagathai Khan is riding a tank into battle. For a kid, this was simply awesome and really epitomised why I had got into the hobby.

The moment I found Horus Rising in the local public library it really did define the future of my hobby-life! Oh boy that series really didn’t disappoint. I think the saddest part is knowing that the books will be over soon with the conclusion of the Siege of Terra series…I hope we get to see something on the Scouring though!

Question 3: If you could paint any of the Primarchs (assuming you haven’t already) which one would you pick and why?

Spen’s Painting:

I have not painted a Primarch yet, but if I had to pick just one it would be The Warmaster himself, Horus Lupercal! It’s an incredible sculpt and I love the Sons of Horus so it would just be an amazing mini to paint. If I could choose a second, it would be Alpharius because that sculpt is ridiculously nice.

Sonic Sledgehammer:

Ferrus Manus, no question. The Iron Hands get a reputation for being… weird, let’s say, and while that’s deserved to some degree I think there’s a degree of Ned Flanders in how they’re represented. They end up caricatures of themselves when people latch on to one character trait, and the subtlety and variation in their personalities gets glossed over as a result. 

Ferrus Manus is a great example of how some authors have tried to take that shortcoming that ‘Iron Hands are boring!’ and turn it into a struggle between logic and emotion, embodied most strongly in their Primarch.

Plus, obviously, Iron Hands are the best Legion. You take everything that’s cool about Astartes and add robot.

Mediocre Hobbies:

I do own three primarchs, I’ve painted up Kurze recently, but the Primarch I’d most like to own and paint is Rogal Dorn. Of all the Legions, Imperial Fists are my favourite. Of course ideally I’d love to own and paint them all but that’s a dream for another day!

Medders’ Miniatures: 

That’s an interesting question, I’ve painted many but not all of them so far. Magnus the Red from Forge World is the one I really want to tackle. His story is tragic but the model represents him in all his glorious fury! 

If I’m perfectly honest, I have a bit of anxiety when it comes to approaching him. It is an incredible model with amazing detailing but I have the painters fear that I won’t be able to do him justice. I can paint skin but can I paint red skin that looks realistic? I can paint OSL effects but can I paint them well enough to be worthy of the Crimson King? 

There are lots of question marks with that model for me – perhaps one day soon I’ll give him a go!

Question #4: Do you see yourself getting deeper into The Horus Heresy when Games Workshop releases their plastic line? Or do you prefer just to dip your toe in the water?

Spen’s Painting:

I’m definitely planning on starting a Heresy army. I’m trying to decide on which Legion to paint first but I think Sons of Horus will be my choice!

Sonic Sledgehammer:

I’d love the time and space to go absolutely bonkers on Heresy stuff, honestly. It’s doing some of the coolest stuff with the classic Space Marine look. While I’ve got no real problem with the Primaris line (which seems to be like Marmite to most!) I think there’s something lost in going the clean, crisp, tacti-cool appearance with them. Sure, they look deadly and competent, but there’s a lot of the grimy rough edges buffed off to make them so smooth. 

Meanwhile, the Horus Heresy still courts the mad baroque influences of medieval and renaissance armour – Mark III plate looks like a dieselpunk nightmare from the early middle ages, and you’ve got so much more room for heraldry, chains and icons, the little bits which spell out that these genetically altered knights are meant to be reminiscent of periods of incredible excess and death in our own history.

Still, time and space being the issue, there’s also surprisingly few potential players in a small town of around 5,000 inhabitants as one might imagine!

Mediocre Hobbies:

Yes I do indeed see myself getting deeper into Horus Heresy. There is such a buzz in the community about it at the moment and it really is infectious. I didn’t get excited about the release until I saw the models coming out and started some testers. 

I’m doing a playlist on each of the Legions for my youtube channel and every single time I paint a new Legion, I start thinking…this could be really cool as an army. I didn’t think it would have this effect on me at all when I started.

Medders’ Miniatures:

I can answer that in two ways. Firstly, from the perspective of my own hobby. I have 3 pretty big armies so far: Imperial Fists, Sons of Horus and Talons of the Emperor. Unfortunately for my wallet I’m going fully in on the new plastics! I’ll be expanding the Imperial Fists and Sons of Horus with a ton of new plastic infantry and a couple of the Kratos models. 

As well as this, I will also be starting a brand new Blood Angels Heresy project which I can’t wait to get started on! This really is a seminal moment for veterans and newbies of Horus Heresy and I want to be fully immersed in it from day 1!  From the content creation side, I have started to create YouTube tutorials detailing how to paint a range of Horus Heresy models. 

I’m currently working on ‘The Rattle Can Series’ where I take viewers through how to create cool and effective looking armies without an airbrush. I’m aiming it particularly at those who might be new to The Horus Heresy or are transitioning from 40k to 30k. I hope they are useful to people and there’s a lot more Horus Heresy content planned so watch this space…!

Question #5: How would you describe your painting style or philosophy?

Spen’s Painting:

I’ve played around with lots of different styles in the past but my style is now firmly in the grimy, grimdark camp. I try to make my schemes fairly simple to follow and quick to paint, but with a big visual impact, as there’s just so many models that I want to paint and never enough time! And that also means it’s easy for me to make videos of the styles or schemes for YouTube.

Sonic Sledgehammer:

I don’t think it takes much to see that my style has always been quite heavily influenced by the Games Workshop house style, and even more so when I was working in-store – remember when there were monthly releases, and you could see the new miniatures painted up and in the store cabinets? 

Over time I’ve adapted some of those lessons learned in getting stuff turned out as quickly as possible, and I’d say that my style and philosophy are quite closely matched. The idea is to pick something that’ll draw the viewer’s eye, whether it’s a specific detail that’ll look interesting when it’s painted nicely such as a face or really cool spot detail, or something like an extremely striking main colour for the miniature. 

Make that look good, and the rest of the details will fade back slightly, where you can start cutting corners and leaving stuff off. Just like stage magic, the real art is in misdirection; show the viewer what you’d like them to see on the table, and those few little mistakes or lazy shortcuts will just disappear!

Mediocre Hobbies:

My painting style is quick, effective tabletop standard. 

I love too many miniatures from too many games that to try to paint them all up to a high standard  would be impossible. Therefore I devised a quick effective method of getting my models painted to a standard I’m happy with.  I’m now showing the world this method with my Youtube channel so people can get through their backlog or new releases quickly and effectively, and can play with their models as soon as possible.

Medders’ Miniatures:

I’ve pondered this myself for a long time. I’m certainly adaptive in my style. I guess you have to be when you are approaching a project with certain specifications. I feel most at home when I am creating models with high levels of contrast and values. I personally feel this kind of style looks best on the tabletop and very striking in the hand. 

I combine this quite stylistic approach with weathering effects straight out of the scale-modeller repertoire. I love using oils, streaking, weathering powders, rust effects and anything else that really adds texture and interest to a model. For me this combination works so well for Horus Heresy models.

My philosophy for painting has always been pragmatic. My first question before approaching a project is ‘what is this model for?’ That will then define how I approach it. Is this an army that will be used for display? Is this an infantry squad that will be part of a gaming army? Is this a competition piece? These questions will allow me to determine the path I’ll take and the length of time I will spend on a project. 

Of course it’s always integral to keep your models neat and tidy which means spending time on your brushwork. But I guess my philosophy on painting is as simple as this: Always create something that I’m proud of whether it is for a client or for myself.

Conclusion

Thank you so much to these terrific painters for showing off their gorgeous works and talking about The Horus Heresy. If you’re looking forward to painting a Legion of your own I highly encourage you to check out their channels for inspiration. In the meantime, happy painting!