Customer briefing

Magnus, Ahriman, and the gang: Building a Thousand Sons Army

The client came to us with a pretty clear idea: he wanted a complete Thousand Sons army, but with a slight twist on the traditional style. He was looking for something recognizable, yet with its own distinct character, especially in the magical effects.
He asked us to handle the assembly and painting, including iconic figures like Magnus, Ahriman, and the Heldrake. He also wanted the army to be functional for gameplay, so the bulk of the army had to remain at that level, reserving more detail for the characters.
One of the key points was the use of energy effects. From the start, he made it clear that he wanted a strong visual impact on the table, something that would stand out immediately. From there, we proposed using green OSL as a unifying element.

Photo of the project, Game and Ornate level

Green OSL and an army of a Thousand Sons

We approached the project with a clear structure from the start. First, we validated the prototype—a key step in a custom design—and once it was approved, we scaled it up to the rest of the army.
Production was organized to avoid bottlenecks. Some units were worked on in parallel by several painters, especially those that were repetitive yet complex.
At the team level, it was important to rotate tasks: switching from line art to characters helped keep everyone fresh throughout the project.
The final phase included a comprehensive consistency check—colors, OSL, bases—and a final QC before giving the green light to the entire set.