Once upon a time in the distant past, humanity sent little robots up to Mars in order to analyse rocks, without ever realising that one day the Machine Cult would take over the entire planet, and cover it with forges dedicated to producing terrifying weapons of war.
Having such a high-output arms factory close to home was handy for the Imperium, but when the Waramster declared his traitorous intent, the Mechanicum seceded to fight their own civil war. A whole supplement documenting the events of this conflict in games of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy is available to pre-order on Saturday alongside a deluge of plastic kits of the Mechanicum. We enlisted some talented painters from around the community to put pigment to plastic. Here are some of the very best.
Richard Gray won a Slayer Sword for a spectacularly weathered Thanatar back in 2014, and his plastic Castellax follows in its footsteps with layers of exquisite rust and grime.
The Castellax proved popular. Spencer Stone applied some creative weathering, while Brennan Baker has added White Scars transfers and freehand, making great use of those flat armour panels, and David McLennan has added mechadendrites to up the machine-horror vibe.
Siege Studios have treated us to another Castellax in the traditional deep reds of Mars, and selection of five different schemes applied to some Adescularis Tech-Thralls.
Vincent Knotley has worked his usual magic and painted six Thallax, each with a different colour scheme.
For a unique look to contrast the standard crimson, Liam’s Howell’s metallic green Thallax have shiny, chipped carapaces for a particularly cold and implacable presentation.
Paul Curbishley meanwhile went for that rich Martian red. Paul has covered numerous battle-ready automata in the classic Mechanicum scheme.
For a slightly more subdued and gritty take, Andrew Farrell opted for a slightly richer scarlet, which nicely sets off the grittier feel of these mechanical monsters.
Rust, grime, and the patina of industry make Mechanicus armies stand out, so Arbitor Ian has chosen a pale, cameo pink to let all the muck of war stand out even better across his troops.
In a similar vein, José Luis Muñoz González from SN Battle Reports has opted for ivory armour contrasted with oily weathering, burnished golds, and other pearlescent and heat-weathered metallics for an evocative feel.
Finally, our round-up is not complete without Pete Harrison’s inspired take on an Iron Hands aligned Castellax. A couple of Necron components give this automata a unique look, and evokes the diversity of machines pouring out of the forges of Mars during the Horus Heresy.
These miniatures will be available to pre-order tomorrow, alongside the latest Martian supplement for Warhammer: the Horus Heresy. If you’re painting your own Mechanicum force, why not share your progress with us on our official X/Twitter account?