Minis For War Painting Studio

Hand-painted Warhammer 30k diorama featuring a Blood Angels Captain standing victorious over a fallen World Eater, set in a ruined battlefield with a stained-glass tribute to Sanguinius in the background.

30k – Horus Heresy Diorama

Hand-painted Warhammer 30k diorama featuring a Blood Angels Captain standing victorious over a fallen World Eater, set in a ruined battlefield with a stained-glass tribute to Sanguinius in the background.

A Moment of Blood and Glory

In the grim darkness of the 31st millennium, the galaxy knew no peace.

The Horus Heresy, the defining conflict of Warhammer 30k lore, raged across countless stars. Betrayals were written in blood, and battles left scars upon history.

Amidst this chaos, we captured a powerful and violent moment from this brutal era in a diorama like no other.

Join us as we take you through the process behind our Horus Heresy diorama.

Capturing the Spirit of the Heresy

The idea was to capture a brief moment of this epic battle, contained within a compact space, small enough to be placed on a shelf or in a display cabinet. It had to be a singular moment, torn from reality, space, and time. We decided to show the final moment of the battle. However, we wanted to leave room for interpretation, a chance to wonder: what came before, and what would follow?

Was it a short battle, or a longer one?

Was it a single strike from a heretic, or part of a larger battle?

For the Blood Angels Captain, is it truly over?

Next came the scenery. We wanted to symbolically represent the eternal battle between the sacred and the corrupted, a theme deeply rooted in the Warhammer 30k universe. We knew it had to be set indoors rather than on an open battlefield. And what could be more fitting to honor Sanguinius, the Primarch of the Blood Angels, than placing this battle within a mark of glory, built in tribute to one of his many victories?

Knowing what we wanted to do, we started from creating the background.

Close-up of a hand-painted stained-glass window depicting Sanguinius in battle, part of a custom Warhammer 30k diorama.
Sanguinius, the Primarch.

Behind the Scenes: Crafting the Masterpiece

We started by searching for pieces in our studio, looking for anything ready to use on the diorama. We had a lot of materials lying around, and we knew that for some of them, the time had come to become part of something more meaningful.

We gathered some pre-printed 3D elements and printed additional ones as needed. We knew we didn’t have any Sanguinius stained glass lying around (who does?), so we 3D printed both the frame and the image of the Great Angel while assembling the ‘freebies’.

Work-in-progress shot of a custom-built Warhammer 30k diorama, featuring handcrafted ruins and a 3D-printed gothic structure.
Yeah, we found most of this stuff lying around.

To give it more depth, Emilia—the senior artist behind the project—also used some of our styrofoam terrain prototypes. She sculpted them slightly and placed them underneath the 3D-printed objects.

Emilia - Senior Artist

“Projects like these are the most fun to work on, but they’re also a real challenge. As an artist, I have complete creative freedom, but at the same time, I wanted this diorama to tell a story.

So I expanded the scenery a little, making it larger and giving it more space. We didn’t just need a battlefield—we needed a setting that could carry the narrative.

I used styrofoam to shape the sides and create stairways leading to the main battleground. That way, the diorama gained more volume and a stronger vertical presence.”

Early construction phase of a Warhammer 30k diorama, with styrofoam terrain elements forming the foundation of a ruined battlefield.
Styrofoam base, ready for further sculpting.

Then came the painting stage.

The Sanguinius stained glass was painted separately from the structure first. This made it easier to focus on recreating the vibrant colours of the stained glass.

In reality, every panel of the window has its own shades, rather than a single colour. After assembling the elements and securing the glass with painting tape, the remaining parts of the scenery were painted.

Unpainted 3D-printed stained-glass window of Sanguinius, ready for hand-painting in a custom Warhammer 30k diorama.
Stained glass before...
Hand-painted stained-glass window of Sanguinius, part of a Warhammer 30k diorama, featuring vibrant colors and intricate shading.
...and after the painting.
Warhammer 30k diorama primed in black, preparing for the detailed painting process.
The structure model ready to paint.

The Final Details: Honoring the Primarch

With the scene set, the final step was placing the miniatures. 

Emilia carefully painted each figure, ensuring they blended seamlessly into the battlefield. Once finished, the warriors took their rightful places within the diorama, frozen in this moment of triumph and devastation: a World Eater lying next to the staircase, torn to pieces by the mighty Storm Bolter of the Space Marine.

Close-up of a Blood Angels Captain miniature in a Warhammer 30k diorama, painted in rich red armor with gold details.
This meeting couldn't end well...

To emphasize the victory, Emilia decided to place a Blood Angels banner next to the image of their Primarch. It’s not a decal or a 3D-printed piece; the banner was entirely hand-painted by Emilia.

Emilia - Senior Artist

“Freehand painting is always a challenge. There’s no margin for error and you have to trust your brushwork completely. Every stroke needs to be sure, especially on such a small surface. The goal was to make the banner look not just like a symbol of victory, but something worn by battle, a relic carried through countless wars.”

Close-up of a Blood Angels Captain miniature in a Warhammer 30k diorama, painted in rich red armor with gold details.
The Banner next to it's Primarch.
Hand-painted Blood Angels banner, created using the freehand technique, displayed in a Warhammer 30k diorama.
War torn Banner in details.

After adding some finishing touches, like grass and blood spatters, the fully painted diorama was complete.

arhammer 30k diorama featuring a Blood Angels Captain standing victorious over a fallen World Eater, with a stained-glass tribute to Sanguinius in the background.
Front of the diorama...
Back view of a custom Warhammer 30k diorama, showcasing the stained-glass depiction of Sanguinius and gothic ruins.
...and the back.
Close-up of a hand-painted Blood Angels Captain in a Warhammer 30k diorama, wearing detailed red and gold armor.
Blood Angel with the mighty Storm Bolter.
A fallen World Eater miniature, bloodied and torn apart, lying defeated on a Warhammer 30k diorama staircase.
Bloody hell!

To see more of our projects, check out our Instagram page. There’s plenty more cool stuff, including projects like this one.

Looking for a custom piece? We specialize in commission work: whether it’s a full army or a diorama like this one. Contact us, and we’ll create something truly unique for you.

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