Sigismund – The Black Templar’s Way

The Forge World Character Series of models for the Horus Heresy have brought many of the iconic figures of the Warhammer 40,000 universe to life on our tabletops.  No matter what chapter of the Emperor’s finest you favor, you have to admit that this series has raised the expectations of quality and detail in the industry.  And, to show that some real thought went into the creation of these pieces, they made sure that the display bases still allow the model to be fielded on a game appropriate size incorporated into it.

So, my friend J.S. (who I have painted other Black Templar models for) ordered the Sigismund model from Forge World and asked me to paint if for his crusading force.  Every enthusiastic, he plans on doing heresy era Imperial Fists so he’ll be getting another one of these for that army… some day.  As the project was to incorporate the model into his existing force, I did a little conversion work to tie the piece in with the existing ones.  An easy head swap using a Dark Angels veteran hooded helm is the biggest difference.  I also laminated a shaved-down Black Templar icon from the BT accessory sprue onto the left shoulder.  Just a few gaps to fill and file and the model was ready to start.

 

 

The kit itself comes in a nice presentation style box with a color insert showing the completed figure – no instructions though.  I had no bubbles to fill and the few mold lines I found were very faint.  As is usual with the very thin power swords found on Forge World models, a few minutes soak in hot (not boiling) water softened the piece enough to allow it to be straightened without breaking.  A quick dip into some ice water sets the new shape without you waiting for the piece to cool.  I did go ahead and pin the pieces together even though the model is very light.  It sits high up and could easily be knocked over because it stands above the average marine.  The only real correction necessary was to trim the socket on the display base so that the gaming base would sit flat and steady in it while being easy to lift out.  Without this shaving and trimming you needed to twist the model a couple ways to release it from the display.  Such rough handling could be rough on the finished paint job.

All said, I had a lot of fun with the model.  I’ll put a gallery below and you can check out other Black Templar models at this link.  Enjoy!

Sigismund as he comes from the box

complete display base for Sigismund

complete display base for Sigismund

gaming base for Sigismund

Sigismund on gaming base with display

Sigismund on gaming base ready to play

Sigismund for Black Templars front

Sigismund for Black Templars left

Sigismund for Black Templars back

Sigismund for Black Templars right

Sigismund for Black Templars top

nd versus Bad Moon Ork Warboss