Nothing quite speaks to the brutal grind of massed infantry combat at the height of the Great Crusade like the imposing form of Cataphractii warplate – Along with Mk.III ‘Iron Armour’ these heavy-duty troops, clad in the earliest mass-produced mark of tactical dreadnought armour, have been an iconic component of the Horus Heresy setting right from the earliest days of the old HH collectable card game, and the Visions artbooks (from which the banner image is taken), which both preceded the later rollout of Forgeworld’s actual 28mm miniatures game.

I’m no different to any other HH-inspired hobbyist, and from the moment I painted FW’s original Praetor in Cataphractii warplate to represent Huron-Fal, I knew I would have to include at least one squad of these stalwart praetorians, complete with oversized pauldrons, massive heavy weapons, and archaic Volkite armaments…

In terms of the actual build, I knew that I wanted to keep these relatively functional to represent Cataphractii at the onset of the Great Crusade, newly rolled out to the Legiones Astartes – Somewhat ornate, in the understated style that befits the Emperor’s legions as they forged out into the galaxy, but not overly ostentacious. I also wanted to call back a little to the two images seen in the Visions artbooks of Death Guard Cataphractii, that seemed to echo the colour of the Dusk Raiders as I have represented them in this project.

In terms of armourial flourishes and idiosyncratic elements, I made use of both Popgoesthemonkey‘s studded Cataphractii shoulderpads to provide the appropriate aesthetic nod to the Dusk Raiders‘ eventual evolution into the hated Death Guard, as well as their standard Dusk Raiders Cataphractii pads. However, because of the way Forgeworld models part of the shoulderpads as integral to arms for Cataphractii heavy-weapons, I also had to use some of Popgoesthemonkey’s smaller Dusk Raider symbols with the plastic pads, and for the sergeant, a left-over Raptor Imperialis from my Consul-Opsequiari project, to represent the honours bestowed on the Legions during Unification.

On the subject of armaments, I once again decided to go with the archaic option from the beginnings of the Great Crusade and equipped them with Volkite Chargers. Having a force that makes such heavy use of Volkite weaponry may limit their play-style and in-game versatility, but it gives them a thematic cohesion that cannot be beaten (and who doesn’t like a little ‘Choom’?). For heavier options, I decided on the Reaper Autocannon. Again, something about its massive, blunt functionality, compared with more modern fare (such as Warhammer 40,000‘s assault cannons), seemed to speak to the period a little better. It also seems to be, at least to my mind, more in keeping with the general idea of grinding infantry combat, and the Dusk Raiders as precursors to the Death Guard.

Finally, when it comes to the background to my Cataphractii squad, we all know I have a penchant for giving my poor Dusk Raiders (and their erstwhile Warhound allies) unhappy fates (as befits the loyal sons of disloyal Primarchs). In the wider background of Warhammer 40,000, warriors who don tactical dreadnought armour have long been seen as elites; the type of experienced, reliable warriors who represent the very best of their chapters or legions. So it seemed apposite that Cataphractii from the pre-Mortarion years would be stalwarts of the Terran ideal, and not the type to forsake their original vows as Dusk Raiders. This meant exactly the type of troops, had they survived that long, who would be deployed to Istvaan III.

So here at last we have Sergeant Horsa-Tal and the first of his brothers (more will follow), doomed for the killing fields of Istvaan III, a fate however, that at this point in time, is a long way off: For now they represent the very best of the Dusk Raiders, staunch and steadfast in the ideals of Imperial Truth and Terran Unity: Etiam si omnes, ego non!