With the release of the Solar Auxilia in Legions Imperialis last year, and the plastic tercios arriving for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy this week, the studio team have been designing, illustrating, and painting lots of tanks – really, lots and lots of tanks.
While the core heraldry of the Solar Auxilia was laid down almost a decade ago alongside the first resin models, a tremendous amount of work has gone into developing a wider range of schemes to suit the ever-expanding Age of Darkness. These are even now rolling out in new books and adorning new miniatures, but Warhammer Studio wanted to give collectors of the Solar Auxilia a preview of these developments using this article, to help them along with their painting straight away at whichever scale they prefer.
The Solar Auxilia
The Solar Auxilia fought at the leading edge of humanity’s bloody, all-conquering expansion into the void. Founded in the earliest stages of the Great Crusade, these elite mortal cohorts were trained and equipped to fight in even the most hazardous environments, allowing them to deploy in direct support of the Legiones Astartes, or fight independently where the Legions were overstretched. Such was their success that the Solar Auxilia grew to represent around one quarter of the void-faring strength of the Imperialis Auxilia – known colloquially as the Imperial Army – which boasted a frontline echelon of several thousand regiments constituted as ‘Solar pattern’ Auxilia cohorts.
Unlike the Legiones Astartes, most standard Solar Auxilia cohorts wear uniforms of functional and utilitarian grey – known as ‘Excertus service grey’, or ‘militaris grey’ – supplemented by distinctive flashes of one or two colours that help to identify them on the battlefield. In the infantry these secondary colours are generally worn on the shoulder pads, helmets, and sometimes on chest armour, while on the vehicles they are typically displayed as vertical stripes at the prow, and occasionally worn on the turret.
The Legiones Auxilia
Within the ranks of the Solar Auxilia stands a class of formation bestowed with a singular honour – to serve directly alongside the Legiones Astartes, integrated into their order of battle. The so-called ‘Legiones Auxilia’ were even afforded the right – through pedigree or deed – to bear livery derived in part from their associated Legion. Some such cohorts were raised from the Legion’s own home systems or subsidiary domains, such as the Cthonian Headhunters or the Barbaran Ambaxtoi, while others earned their position through historical association and achievement, such as the Arkadian Janissaries, who fight alongside the IIIrd Legion.
Later in the galactic civil war it would become common for the Legions to assume direct control over one or more allied Auxila units, subordinating them wholesale into Legion chains of command.
By default, the Legiones Auxilia follow the same patterns as other, less favoured cohorts. However, while the Legiones Auxilia are not sufficiently elevated to bear the full panoply and devices of the Legiones Astartes, they are nonetheless granted the right to wear certain elements of a Legion’s colours, proudly marking their shared heritage. This phenomenon is referred to as ‘honour livery’ and indicates that the bearer has been inducted into the outer circles of a Legion’s extended ranks. It is not unusual in such formations for veteran or especially honoured units to adopt even more distinctive uniforms, with colours more closely linked to the Legion they serve alongside.
The honour livery borne by infantry and vehicles is related in scheme – often, though not exclusively, vehicles will bear the same colour that features in the infantry’s sealed environmental undersuit. This is complimented by distinctive and varied bars of a secondary colour, often derived from the colours of the associated Legion.
Calth High Guard Honour Livery
Inwit Phalangite Honour Livery
Prosperine Spireguard Honour Livery
Selucid Thorakite Honour Livery
Barbaran Ambaxtoi Honour Livery
Cthonian Headhunters Honour Livery
Cohort Icons
The numerous cohorts of the Solar Auxilia bear a wide range of symbols upon their banners, from archaic mythological beasts to noble heraldic crests.
The Legiones Auxilia often wear cohort icons that combine elements of their patron Legion’s armorial with motifs drawn from their home world, contained within a wide, inverted triangle.
These icons – and many more – appear on the new Solar Auxilia Vehicle Markings Transfer Sheet.
Tank Markings
While no single scheme exists to prescribe the exact manner in which Solar Auxilia vehicles are to be marked, certain elements are near-universal, while others are found with varying degrees of frequency.
Common markings found on almost every machine include a cohort symbol and the winged icon of the Excertus Imperialis, as well as a vehicle number – generally within its company, and ranging from 1 to 9, though some would go higher – which would be rendered either in alphanumeric or Roman numerals.
Less common markings include a higher formation symbol (often rendered in archaic script), a squadron letter (generally ranging A to E), a unique cohort number (normally three or four alphanumeric digits), script proclaiming the cohort’s homeworld (“Calth” or “Manachea” for example), and a wide range of traditional honour markings commemorating the vehicle’s victories. With the onset of the Horus Heresy, icons stating the bearer’s allegiance also came into play – the aquila of the Imperium or the Warmaster’s eye.
Less common still, but nonetheless occasionally observed, are additional markings or text describing the vehicle’s informal nickname or callsign, kill markings (often on or near its weapons), and columns of text listing the names of present and former crew.
A Galaxy at War
The heraldry described in this article covers barely the tip of the iceberg in terms of all the Solar Auxilia cohorts that exist – or could exist – in the wartorn galaxy of the 31st Millennium. Hopefully, though, it should give collectors some inspiration and guidance when it comes to painting the new range of models, or developing livery for their own Solar Auxilia and Legiones Auxilia cohorts.
Of course, there’s more to come – we’ve only described a handful of Legiones Auxilia, for example, and we know that Legiones Astartes players will want to pin down the names and colour schemes of at least one of each cohort allied to the Legions not mentioned here. Don’t worry – we’re working on those, and will reveal them over time!