Ninjabread

A Thousand Sons has just been released by Black Library. So to celebrate I will focus on the Thousand Sons for a little. This is Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red, commanding his legion of Epic-scale Tzeentch minions.

Magnus the Red was one of four Daemon Primarchs released by Games Workshop in 1992 in Epic scale. Each of the four major Gods got one – Khorne got Angron, Slaanesh Fulgrim and Nurgle Mortarion. Pertarbo and Lorgar are the only other two Traitor Primarchs surviving in the present game setting, and both have been elevated to Daemon Prince status too, though neither have seen models. (And while I’m on the subject of Primarch models, Leman Russ is the only Imperial Primarch to have had one. Oh, and Lion El’Jonson’s Lion Helm comes with the Azrael model. Oh, and one of Horus’ Lightning Claws now belongs to Abbadon. I digress.)

The classic ‘Eavy Metal Magnus the Red is of course blue. It was painted blue by Jay Tanner presumably because blue is Tzeentch’s singature colour, and Mr. Tanner decided that the Red meant that in fact he was a ginger. Cap’n Facebeard of Warseer beautifully points out the 1992 studio colours “made him look like a 90s cartoon villain. You were always waiting for the Ninja Turtles to foil him.” It is so bizarre that during Games Workshop’s Red Era they decided not to paint Magnus the Red actual red.

With the Horus Heresy series of books it’s stated that Magnus the Red had red skin. And instead of being a goofy Harryhausen Cyclops he has a one normal eye and an eyeless sockect. I will explain away all these differences by saying Tzeentch changed Magnus’ appearence when he elevated him to daemonhood.

I decided to paint my Magnus with pinky red skin akin to some of my Pink Horrors, as I felt bright red skin would make him look Khornate. And I decided my Magnus would also be a redhead with matching orangey wings. I wanted to do his vambraces copper, but that was too many similar colours on one model.

And, to be honest, goofy as this model is it’s also sculpted in a cockingly awful fashion. See his right leg? It’s just a weird amorphous blob I despaired at painting. The back of the model looks like an afterthought. And what’s going on with his giant head, and gibbon arms? It’s either a Jes Goodwin or Colin Dixon sculpt, and I’m hoping it’s Colin Dixon as he’d just started out at the company. I fancy doing one in the blue scheme at some point.