When the Astartes Vanguard box came out a few weeks ago, I picked up a few with the intention of dividing the contents among the legions. I planned to do this not equally, but by type. The Javelins and Sky Hunters jetbikes were always going to be destined for the White Scars to create a full Sky Hunter formation.

However, the remaining Land Speeders and Outriders didn’t fit that plan. Of the two, I felt the Outriders synergized better with my Blood Angels, both thematically and aesthetically.

The maximum detachment size of six also felt perfect, totaling eighteen riders. Now that’s more epic, in my humble opinion. Two units disappear in a muzzle flash in Imperialis, too quickly to be effective.

Painting the miniatures was straightforward and followed my usual method for infantry. I started with a greyscale and white pre-shade, then applied Contrast Blood Angels Red. I added a few highlights with Wild Rider Red, using it sparingly. For the metal sections, I used Metal Series Exhaust Manifold, and for the weapons and tires, I chose flat black. In this case, simplicity works best. The miniatures are highly detailed, which makes a significant difference in making a simple scheme look super-effective.

The Outriders are a cool-looking unit, combining heavy bolter and plasma for versatility. I’m actually quite excited to add these to the Blood Angels demi-company, filling that last vanguard support slot.