After 10,000 years of restful slumber, The Lion has risen. One of the most powerful Primarchs in his prime, the Knight of the Nihilus’ powers have not waned – he’s back, and ready to rout the traitorous forces of Chaos. In celebration, we sent the Lion out to painters around the community, and the response was truly overwhelming.
We got lots of exceptionally painted miniatures back, and we’ve selected some for you to check out here. A huge thank you to everyone who took part – for the Lion!
Adam R
Adam from Siege Studios starts things off with a wonderfully painted and crisply highlighted Lion El’Jonson. Adam painted all four heads, but the cowled helmet looks so menacing we just had to pick it out for special focus.
Andrew Farrell
We’ve covered how ’Eavy Metal painted The Lion’s armour, but the Dark Angels make use of a number of colours. Andrew has cleaved close to the Legion’s earlier days with clean, obsidian black armour.
Annie Doughty
Continuing the exploration of the Dark Angels' many heraldic choices, Annie has painted the Son of the Forest with his armour split in half between the traditional forest green of the Dark Angels and the rich bone-coloured armour of the Deathwing – the same colour scheme used by the Angels of Redemption successor Chapter.
Fletcher Giles
Fletcher from Tabletop Tactics has done a stunning job – glazed reflections on the emerald armour, non-metallic metal effects on the power sword Fealty, an incredibly expressive face, and he’s even borrowed an extra Watcher from another kit to hold the Lion’s helm.* Every good knight needs his squires.
John Ashton
John provides us with yet another take on the Lord of the First’s brand-spanking new suit of armour. Silvery armour with green and gold details is a unique inversion of the usual Dark Angels colour scheme, and a striking look for this arboreal warrior.
Jon Gómez
Primarchs aren’t ones for subtlety, and Jon from Pintureando Miniatures has made his Lion stand out with striking colour blends on the armour and metal, and source lighting effects to create glowing elements on the Watchers in the Dark and Fealty. Kudos on the use of the unhelmeted but cowled head, too.
Jennie Ruskin
The Lion has picked up the uncanny ability to teleport around, slipping through a mysterious forest reminiscent of those he hunted in on Caliban. Jennie’s version of the Lion has popped into a wintry scene, his regal green-black and gold armour standing out perfectly against the frosty base.
Matthew Herrington
Matthew from Goonhammer has chosen colder blue-grey tones for the highlights on the armour of his Lion, which work in tandem with rich golds, natural greens, and subtle weathering to ground this legendary knight.
Marko Miladinović
Marko from Craftworld Studios has painted a breathtaking Lion El’Jonson that makes use of subtle and unusual contrasting colours in the shadows. The red and green shadows in the armour and the gold combine to create an otherworldly effect on this larger-than-life figure.
Máryse Ouellet
A longtime fan of the Dark Angels, Máryse has gone for the traditional and starkly highlighted dark green armour of the Chapter, complemented with bold red details, shining gold trim, and cream robes on the Watchers.
Rachel Redmond
Rachel has painted her Lion with armour and cloth that has a matte finish and subtle highlights – providing a different take on the Primarch’s new suit of armour, one that contrasts effectively against the shining gold trim.
Sam Lenz
The Lion has many imposing epithets, such as the Bane of Chaos and the Lord of Shadowed Paths. Sam has captured this character’s magnificent and foreboding nature with a phenomenal paint job that's bristling with fabulous details, exemplary shading, and beautiful highlights.
Vincent Knotley
Straight out of left field, Vincent has supplied the Lion in his finest Deathwing-coloured armour, with pristine white contrasted by dark scarlet accents to keep it feeling regal. Perhaps this is his Sunday best?**
Patric Sands
Some people see a miniature like the Lion and spy an opportunity for a show-stopping conversion. Patric has taken the base of the Primarch of the Dark Angels, striding forward with purpose, and converted him into the guise of his diseased – but still mortal – brother, Mortarion. The extremely detailed weathering all over is just the rusty cherry on the top.
Pete Harrison
Similarly, Pete has used the miniature as a base for a fearsome take on Konrad Curze, with an absolutely terrifying cowled mask. This conversion makes great use of a variety of bits – we’ve spotted chained lightning claws from the Black Templars Sword Brethren, Mortek Guard shields in place of the shoulder pads, and more grisly bits and bobs from other kits.
The Lion & Retinue is available to pre-order tomorrow, along with the final book of the Arks of Omen series, which brings this thrilling chapter of Warhammer 40,000 fiction to a close. When you’ve painted your very own Primarch, share them with us on the official Warhammer Twitter page.
* Not to be confused with the Lion Helm, which is entirely different.
** Do they even have Sunday in the 41st Millennium? Solday?