AN INDEPENDENT WARHAMMER REFERENCE ARCHIVE ONLINE // EST. M026
Index Obscura.THE WHITE DWARF ARCHIVE

LORE·WHITE DWARF 317

Index Imperialis: The Firstborn Sons of Vostroya

May 2006·pp. 44–53

THE SHORT VERSION

Vostroya’s elite Firstborn carry an inherited debt from the Horus Heresy, when the factory world refused to divert workers into soldiers. Guilliman’s settlement binds every family’s eldest son to service, with continuous replacement drafts preserving old regiments and their brotherhood. The feature connects this obligation to hand-crafted weapons, harsh training and stubborn pride, then explores the visual design, Studio painting methods and three ways to represent the regiment in the game.

AT THE PAINTING DESK

Paints in this article

Every named colour below is searchable across the archive.

Red GoreBlood RedBlazing OrangeRed InkBoltgun MetalBlack InkChainmailMithril SilverBrazen BrassBrown InkBurnished GoldBestial BrownBleached BoneScorched BrownGraveyard EarthTanned FleshLiche PurpleDwarf FleshElf FleshChaos BlackSkull WhiteCodex GreyScab Red

All explicitly named paints in the Vostroyan painting guide on printed pages 50–51 are indexed.

FOLLOW A THREAD

Vostroya Firstborn tithe Horus Heresy Roboute Guilliman Regimental history Hand-crafted weapons

Back to the original

Find this article in White Dwarf 317, pp. 44–53.

This is an original summary. Refer to your magazine for the complete article, rules, images and painting steps.

KEEP EXPLORING

Another page to turn.

Back to the archive →
EditorialWD 317 · pp. 42–43

Standard Bearer: Summer of War

Jervis Johnson traces the global summer campaigns back to Ichar IV in 1995, when mailed results, stories and photographs decided whether an Imperial world survived invasion. Internet reporting has made participation easier, but he sees the essential attraction as a shared reason to play and create memorable battles. Medusa V provides the latest opportunity, and Jervis asks participants to contribute narratives and unusual scenarios as well as recording wins and losses.

Warhammer 40,000Warhammer Fantasy Battles
May 2006Read summary
InterviewWD 317 · pp. 48–49

Birth of the Vostroyan

John Blanche explains how eighteenth-century soldiers and Russian Cossacks informed the Firstborn’s archaic appearance. Early sketches emphasise ornate long guns, imposing fur hats, distinctive officers and ritual details rather than centrally standardised equipment. He treats the drawings as prompts for sculptors instead of rigid instructions, explaining why the finished models can differ while retaining the character established by the initial concepts.

Warhammer 40,000Imperial Guard
May 2006Read summary
PaintingWD 317 · pp. 50–51

Painting Vostroyan Firstborn

The Eavy Metal recipes distinguish red cloth, dark steel, warm gold, leather and textured fur through separate foundations, ink shading and highlights. A more detailed face sequence uses purple in the flesh shadows before gradually lighter skin layers, with carefully defined eyes and moustache. Wood grain, wax seals and lenses complete the regiment’s ornamented equipment, while the introduction suggests simplifying the flesh stages when painting an entire army.

Warhammer 40,000Imperial Guard23 paint colours
May 2006Read summary