As any Horus Heresy hobbyist will know, whilst Forgeworld provides a phenomenal range of miniatures for the setting, issues with maintaining a diverse array of kits and bits in what is essentially a niche offshoot of the core business means that they are not always able to provide every squad type in the various armours of the period. This is especially the case for collectors who favour the earlier marks of armour, such as MK.II Crusade or MK.III Iron – In the latter case this is ameloriated somewhat by the MK.III plastic kit, which at least allows for some degree of versatility when it comes to conversion.

I always knew that I wanted to add a Reconnaissance Squad to my Dusk Raiders force, which would mean some conversion work. Initially, I was tempted to fit them out in MK.II warplate, as the idea of them in the heavier MK.III designed for the cramped quarters of “Zone Mortalis” seemed a little absurd, however it did lead to the beginnings of interesting thought experiment – What would be the logic behind deploying a reconnaissance squad of snipers in heavier armour? How would it change the traditional modus operandi of a sniper?

Eventually this crystalised into the narrative piece Infiltrate. Eliminate. Relocate. which forms the partner to this blog entry and, to a certain extent, as a justification for outfitting my reconnaissance squad in the way that I have.

In terms of the actual build for this squad, I made use of GW’s plastic MK.III set as well as Forgeworld’s MK.III Command Upgrade which I’ve used in previous builds. I also turned once again to Popgoesthemonkey for my beloved Dusk Raiders’ shoulder pads. The only other obvious parts that I required would be camo-cloaks, sniper rifles, and sufficient number of meltabombs. For these parts I turned to Anvil Industries, without a doubt one of the premier bitz manufacturers at the moment, and reknowned for the high quality of their resin parts.

From Anvil, I was able to order (from their ‘Exo Lords’ range) the Grenades and Explosives Pack, the Regal Cloaks set, and the pièce de résistance their Negotiator Anti-Matariel Sniper Rifle – The latter item, in particular, is a beautiful piece of small scale, multi-part kit making, featuring a range of barrel types, scopes, and magazines allowing for full customisation.

In terms of the actual colour scheme, I wanted something that was non-descript, but harked back to the fact that in the Rogue Trader era Space Marines did make use of camoflage. However, rather than going for something outrageously garish (like back in the day) I settled on a flat grey and matt black which would suit the urban rubble bases I tend to use for my Horus Heresy miniatures and had the added bonus of bringing them close the modern Dusk Raiders scheme which features in the Black Books (albeit without the red arm). This also gave me an opportunity to experiment with Vallejo’s weathering products and in particular their Thick Mud and Splash Mud lines, which I plan on using in other projects as I really need to up my weathering game.

All-in-all, whilst there were some issues with this little project (not least of which was a five month gap in hobbying due to work), I’m still reasonably happy with the results and I can tick another specialised squad off the ‘to do’ list: Next stop, Breachers!