The sons of Sanguinius are well known for taking after their Primarch and looking great on the battlefield. This army by Colin Ward takes looking great to the next level – it’s packed with clever conversions and brilliant paint jobs.
Colin: When I set out to collect my first Space Marines army in 2019, I had no idea that by 2021 it would have sprawled to nearly 12,000 points of Blood Angels.
I drew inspiration from sources that span the history of Warhammer 40,000, from Rogue Trader to recent Black Library novels like Dante and The Devastation of Baal by Guy Haley.
This army is fighting in Imperium Nihilus, tasked with putting down a rebellion across multiple planets. I focused on collecting and painting Primaris units alongside the speciality units and Characters available only to the Blood Angels. I converted and kitbashed the latter to fit in alongside the larger Primaris Space Marines. The result is a visually congruous collection with four distinct visual themes.
The Red
The beating heart of the force, these are Blood Angels as you expect them to be. I used a Horus Heresy-style colour palette for these units. The army is built around a core of Intercessors, with the veterans marked out by gold helmets and ornate shoulder pads taken from Forge World’s Horus Heresy range.
I converted many units and found that even a simple head swap can completely change its look and feel. Take the Suppressors with Mark VII helmets, they bridge the gap between eras of Space Marines.
I’m proud of subtle conversions throughout the army, like the Mk III shoulder pads on the Hellblasters. There are also less subtle changes, like their Reiver helmets, which drive home the Angels of Death aesthetic. The Forge World Crimson Paladin Terminator arms on the Bladeguard Veterans also make them bulkier and more ornate. Switching these parts also let me paint those incredible shields.
The Characters and Dreadnoughts are the standout models in the force. I wanted my Characters to have the heroic bearing on the table that they have in the novels and to be visually distinct. To this end, I converted many of them from heroes of other Chapters or even from Forge World’s Primarch models.*
I love Dreadnoughts. The two Redemptors – which were some of the most fun models in the army to paint – are joined by three Invictor Warsuits and a pair of Leviathan Dreadnoughts. One was inspired by Andy Wardle’s Ultramarines Leviathan** and made from a Custodes Telemon Dreadnought. I painted the other in the Death Company style. Speaking of which…
The Black
Death Company is one of the most recognisable and characterful units in Warhammer 40,000. It’s one of my favourites, so I always have at least one unit in my army lists.
I decided to use Phobos armoured models to scale up the Death Company alongside my Primaris models – I think it communicates that they’re in older armour better, and the kits feature some dynamic poses. Next up are some Death Company Assault Intercessors.
The Gold
To bring Sanguinary Guard up to Primaris scale, I used Custodian Guard bodies, with the rest of the bits coming from the Sanguinary Guard kit. I was pleased with how seamlessly the Custodian bodies fit with the Blood Angels aesthetic. Full of detail and framed by their white wings, these models stand out in the collection.
The Sand
Finally, I essentially have an army within the army – my forward operators in Ossian Suppression pattern desert camo. The seed for this colour scheme was planted when I was looking through the classic Warhammer 40,000 Compendium and saw camouflaged Rhinos and Land Raiders.
The idea solidified when I set about painting a unit of Infiltrators and asked myself how they expected to infiltrate anywhere in the desert wearing bright red armour. I couldn’t be happier with how successful the Ossian Suppression camo experiment has been.
After painting some Phobos units and Impulsors, I added Outrider bikes and Invader ATVs. Next in the painting queue are two Storm Speeders and a Gladiator tank, all of which I’ll paint in the same camo scheme.
My goal is to have a fully self-sufficient army of forward ops and fast movers within my Blood Angels collection, which will make for a fantastic Crusade force.
I can’t wait to get back to painting this army, which seems wild because of just how much I’ve painted for it in the last 18 months. I have a handful of Indomitus units left to finish, as well as some large additions like an Astraeus and a Spartan. I also have plans for much more, including lots of Dreadnoughts.
Thanks, Colin! If that’s inspired you to start your own army dedicated to the sons of Sanguinius, then the Blood Angels Combat Patrol is the perfect place to start. Whatever project you’re currently working on, we’d love to see it – share your progress on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
* See if you can spot which Characters and Primarchs Colin has used as the basis for his own Characters… There’s no prize for getting them all, but it’s fun.
** Check out some of Andy’s handiwork here.