Mark II Assault Marines Part II

Having rinsed and cleaned the resin, I assembled the MKII marines in a pretty straightforward manner. I used some Armorcast bases I had lying around to continue the urban warfare theme that my first group of MKII marines had. I did misjudge the weighting of one of them, the marine on the buried barrel. Consequently I had to add some ballast chunks and a pewter skull from Reaper to the base to add some weight. It works, most of the time. I also decided to add the scabbarded sword from the Sevrin Loth and Honor Guard kit to my sergeant to distinguish him from the rest of the squad.



Building on the work I did with the Sternguard squad, each marine is painted in my standard Ultramarine color scheme. I used a Micron Pen and a very fine brush to free hand the Ultramarine Agemo, Chapter and Company Numbers (they are still in the 91st company, but as they are regular assault marines, they are part of the 904Th company), squad designation and squad number. I opted to give them green shoulder pad rims, as they are the fourth company in the 91st chapter.



Overall, I really liked these models, though my frustration lies with the simplicity Forge World has built into their series of Mark kits. You are really forced into the given arm poses each kit offers, and while the assault squad kit has separate hands from weapons, their isn't enough similarity in the arm styling to let you mix ad match with the MKII tactical suit kits. Truthfully, the MKII Assault Marine kit is worth it for the jump packs alone.

Gav Thorpe's Path of the Seer

I just finished reading Gav Thorpe's Path of the Seer. This is the journey of Thirianna, from Path of the Warrior, as she moves along the Eldar paths from poet, to Warlock and beyond. Overlapping the same events from Path of the Warrior, but from Thirianna's view point. This was a great second part of the trilogy, and I can't wait for the third and final installment. For those who haven't read the first novel, you should, as it is a great depiction of the Eldar way of life, and Path of the Seer, is an excellent follow up.

6th Company Dreadnought

I'm closing in on the last few dreadnoughts I need to build for my Ultramarines. With this model being done, I should only have two more to go, leaving only a smattering of various tanks to build. This is the third time I have built a dread using the venerable dreadnought kit, and while I like a lot of the chassis elements of the kit, I just wish it was a lot more inclusive.



I really wanted to do a lascannon missile launcher build here, but to my surprise, I didn't actually have the missile launcher arm to use. SO I settled for a dread CCW and lascannon build. I prefer the helmet chassis to the sarcophagus plates, and have so far only used the helmets with the venerable dread kit. This is also the first time I have used the twin linked lascannon arm as well.



I went with a simple basing scheme, and stuck to my standard color palette. The only exception is that the base is painted with P3 Cryx Base and the Cryx Highlight. I thought this gave a nice aged, concrete effect rather than a gray stone or red brick look. Next time, If I don't do another Contemptor build, it will probably be a venerable build using one of the sarcophagus plate fronts. I will have to wait and see though.

Forge World Contemptor Part 2

I really wish I could have written this post sooner, however, I had a slight snag with my Contemptor - it was missing one of the shoulders. A quick email to Forge World rectified the situation. A week later my Contemptor was finished being built.



I opted for a running pose, and positioned the Contemptor at the front of the base. I positioned the power fist extended forward, with the hands spread as if it were spraying promethium at its foes. The head is following the line of the power fist arm. The lascannon arm is aimed low and to the left, targeting another foe. Behind the Contemptor, are the mangled bitz of an Iron Warrior who the Contemptor plowed through, dismembering in a gory spray.



I kept the paint scheme in line with all of my other Ultramarines. I painted Boltgun and Dwarven Bronze on the Iron Warrior bitz. I then did a wash of Devlan Mud and final highlights of Shining Gold and Chainmail. I then splattered Baal Red on the Iron Warrior bitz to add some kind of blood effect.

Steve Lyons' The Madness Within

Steve Lyons' The Madness Within is the latest 40k audio book. It is the story of a squad of Crimson Fists who are besieged by a deamon on one of their recruiting worlds. With only two battle brothers alive, they have to turn to the maddened lexicanium who was assigned to their squad. Desperate for victory, the mutant hating Cordoban and the more pragmatic sergeant Estaban release lexicanium Suarez in order to defeat the deamon. What follows is an entertaining hunt full of action and twists. I enjoyed listening to this as I worked on building a my Contemptor. For the audio book fans, this is a must have.

Richard William's Imperial Glory

Richard William's Imperial Glory is the story of the Brimlock 11th regiment. Part of a massive founding of guardsmen from the planet Brimlock, the Brimlock 11th has slowly become an amalgamation of survivors from other Brimlock regiments as the Ellinor Crusade has worn on. Dispatched to the planet Voorheid in order to purge an infestation of Orks, the Brimlock 11th must carry out its mission in spite of a general war weariness that has pervaded the regiment. This is an extremely well written BL novel, it left me wanting more - which is always a good thing. The mysteries surrounding two of the principal characters, Private Stone and Major Stanhope carry through the length of the novel and aren't easily guessed at either. For a first offering, this is a must read, and is good enough to stand with Abnett, McNiell and Dembski-Bowden.

Mike Lee's Nagash Immortal

Nagash Immortal, by Mike Lee is the final novel in the Nagash trilogy. This novel recounts Nagash's war with the Skaven and the fall of Lhamia at Alcaddizar's hands. Like the other two before it, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. If you haven't read any of these books, you definitely should. Of course, being a big Nagash fan - a model and or army list for him is probably the only thing that would get me into Warhammer Fantasy - I feel biased. SO pick up this novel and enjoy it, I know I did.

Forge World MKII Assault Squad

It took me a while, but I managed to pick up an MK II assault squad from Forge World. My biggest problem with the MK II tactical squad was that the arms were static, however the assault squad arms are all two pieces, allowing for much more dynamic poses. I'm looking forward to coming back from vacation and building these models.