After Market Upgrades

When I acquired the Ultima Strike Force, essentially, for just the terminator captain, I had to decide what to do with everything else in the box.  Owning an entire Chapter means I don;t really need a lot what is inside, so I did end up selling some of it.  The Storm Raven will be coming to this blog soon, as will the Venerable Dreadnought and another Terminator squad.  But the Assault squads I liquidated, and I am still decidng on the Land Raider.  So contents, distributed, I then had to figure what to do with what I am keeping.  One way to enhance, or diversify your collection is through the after market bitz market.

This squad of terminator was built using Chapterhouse Studios Gladiator torso bitz for Terminators, and their  Heresy Era shoulder pads.  Two quick swaps and you have a whole new model built.  Sadly, the left over arms I had wouldn't mesh with the shoulder pads, so the terminators have modern weaponry.  But the conversion works I think.

While after market bitz or kits are not as mainstream in the Games Workshop modelling universe, the historical model world is replete with them.  When thinking about projects, look and see what is out there, it is definitely cool to make your own, but sometime it isn't necessary to reinvent the wheel - or pay Forge World prices for something that can stand in nicely.

Captain Agemman

While this is not the first rendition of Agemman I have done, I am definitely liking the new plastic Terminator Captain.  I did have one minor slip with the hobby knife while cleaning up the sprues on the banner piece, essentially necessitating that I reduce the number of spikey bitz on it.  But other than that the model fits together really nicely.

I kept the pallet the same as my other Ultramarine models, with the addition of layers of  Dawnstone and Codex Grey (old GW color) for the rock Agemman is standing on.  My Micron pen died while working on this model, requiring me to pick up a new one, however I like the crispness it allowed me on Agemman's personal heraldry.

Once the heraldry was outlined with the Micron pen, I used a fine point brush to color it in, and extra layers of white to make sure any mistakes were cleaned up.  Next week, look for some Battle Fleet Gothic action, as the first round of the campaign gets started.  I will have the fleet roster and battle reports up.

A Campaign of Silence?

   Starting in August, one of my friends and I will be beginning a campaign leading up to a large point apocalypse game in late December, or early January.  It will be a mix of Battle Fleet Gothic and Warhammer 40,000 spread across a sub-sector of Ork controlled space.  In the weeks to come I will be switching between blogging about models I am working on, and various aspects of this coming campaign.  I am going to try to weave fiction in with the various battle reports, army lists and happenings of the campaign.  Below is a bit of fiction to kick things off:

    The flight deck was over crowded, as men and servitors sought to shift equipment and material as it came aboard the Resurgence from Macragge below.  Towering above everyone except the largest load lifting servitors, stood a cobalt armored giant, his right shoulder pad marked with the inverted omega of the Ultramarines.  Choreographing the dance, his orders beat time to his harsh, staccato voice; his focus never leaving the data slate in his outsized hand.
     "Progress report sergeant" ordered the voice of Captain Ixion over the vox.
     "Proceeding to at acceptable parameters" replied the sergeant as he broke from his cadence to address his superior.
     "I am counting on you brother"
     "It shall be done Captain" replied sergeant Julian.
     With a click, the conversation had ended, and Julian continued his logistics assignment.  A part of his brain wondered why the chapter was not utilizing one of its own strike cruisers for this mission.  But it was not for him to decide.  Only to execute the orders.  Soon the flight deck had cleared enough that a trio of Storm Talons, escorting a pair of Storm Ravens could all dock with the Resurgence.  Nestling in close by a trio of Thunderhawks, the Ares and the Artemis, and their companion lander, the Athena.
     As the engines of the Storm Ravens began to power down, the front boarding ramp opened, and down marched six Ultramarines.  At their head strode Captain Ixion of the 7th company.  His cloak swirling behind him, each step the measured stride of powered armor.  His command squad followed, apothecary Marius, ancient Diomedes, company champion Artorius, veteran sergeant Acostius, and veteran brother Eusebius.  Brother Julian came to attention as his captain strode toward him.
     Only a few strides from the Storm Raven, the vox channel of the Ultramarines opened company wide.  "Brothers, our final moments in Ultramar are upon us, we march to war.  For the Emperor!  For blessed Guilliman! and for Macragge!"  The words of Captain Ixion echoed in the minds of his men for a long instance.  Then his voice broke through again.  "Brothers, there will be a company wide briefing in two hours, before then, all sergeants to the Strategium.  Courage and honor!"

First Game of 7th Edition

I got to play my first game of Warhammer 40,000 7th edition the other day.  For this game I chose to take A terminator captain with power fist and combi-plasma, a terminator squad with a cyclone missile launcher, a terminator squad with an assault cannon, a lightning claw terminator squad and a thunder hammer and storm shield terminator squad, a terminator librarian, a land raider, land raider crusader and a knight paladin.  My opponent had a sisters army with Saint Celestine, Cannoness, Inquisitor with rad grenades and psychotropic grenades, 2 exorcists, two immolators with multimelta, an immolator with heavy flamers, an avenger, a knight paladin, two squads of ten sisters of battle, 10 Seraphim and 5 dominions.

This was an interesting game, using one of the Maelstrom of war scenarios.  My opponent had the new objective cards and psychic power cards, which I neglected to purchase being unsure of how often I would be able to game.  So far, it looks like a good choice as I have only played this game.  My initial impression revolved more around the wackiness of Lord of War choices more than anything, as when both of our Knight titans exploded in titanic proportions, large swathes of the board were emptied, especially my opponents newly arrived Seraphim squad.

I found that focusing on the objective cards gave me a good chance at victory, in fact I had managed to cash in enough by the end that i would have won had I not been tabled.  The psychic phase was fairly ineffective as well.  My biggest take away was that Inquisitors with rad grenades and psych out grenades are ridiculous.  It was one of those moments where the old me would have known the meta and expected it.  My current rules knowledge is fairly low in terms of what the different armies offer other than Space Marines.  I've known it for a while, but I am no longer a competitive player, more a hobbyist.  Something I need to keep in mind as I continue to play games.

Ultramarine Centurions

Having only recently begun to get back into gaming, I've been paying more attention to the meta on the 40k forums.  Especially for unit optimization, where in the past I've always been more concerned with what i thought looked cool.  Enter some Grav equipped Centurions.

This is the second squad of Centurions I've built, and just like the first go around, the trickiest part for me was the weapon hosing on the back.  For one thing, the instructions are only for two builds, and don't show the third model.  So your assumed to be able to figure it out from the first two.  I can do this, but it makes it a little harder to insure the arms are posed properly.

Just like the Limited Edition Captain, these models are painted as members of the Ultramarine's 7th company, and follow the layering that i have been using with the current line of GW paints.  Once painted, they were sealed with Testor's Dullcote, and then had tactical insignia applied to their shoulder pad.

Limited Edition Space Marine Captain

I must be on a 7th Company kick right now, as I have painted my centurions and the last two company captains as 7th Company.  This model is the limited edition one offered by Games Workshop in May.  While the pose is interesting, I am not a huge fan of the equipment.  Still, it is a  nice sculpt.

I used my normal painting color pallet for this model, so for the blue is Kantor Blue, Altdorf Guard Blue then a highlight of Calgar Blue.  The silver is Leadbelcher, Argax Earthshade, then Ironbreaker.  The gold is Hashut Copper, Argax Earthshade, Gehenna's Gold and then Burnished Gold (I use so little I will have this paint pot for a long time).  The red is Khorne Red, Wazdakka Red and then Troll Slayer Orange.  The green is Warpstone Green, Loren Forest and Moot Green.  I use Stirland Mud for the base, with layers of Skag Brown and Tallarn Sand.

The model is sealed with Testor's Dullcote, and the I applied the Ultramarine decal and sealed it a second time.  While I seem to have overlooked it, a Micron pen will let you print nice lettering on any scrolls on the model.  Looks like I will be going back to finish up.

Mantis Warriors Vanguard Marines

When i first got this vanguard squad boxed set, I really wasn't sure what army I was going to build these models for, or how I wanted to use them.  I eventually decided on the Mantis Warriors, just because I enjoyed painting them before, despite how annoying their chapter insignia is to free hand.

I have a somewhat predictable mix when i do build the Vanguard squads, I like to have two Storm Shields, and at least one plasma pistol.  With the new codex, I've added a grav pistol as well, just for the novelty of it.  I also like to have one thunder hammer, and one relic blade, with the other weapons being power weapons.  This time I chose to add in a pair of lightning claws as well.  While it's not an overwhelming mix, I think it provides a nice mix that isn't high points on a unit that can be pretty heavy in points already.

The biggest problem I had with these Mantis Warriors was replicating the green that i used on previous models.  In the end, I chose to use layers of Caliban Green, Warpstone Green, Warboss Green and Moot Green.  This ended up with a brighter look for the models, but I actually like it better.

House Tarryn Imperial Knight

I decided to build a Knight Titan from House Tarryn for the simple fact that they have fought alongside the Ultramarines in previous battles.  For me, themeing my army to the Ultramarines is pretty much the way I go about choosing color schemes and models that are going to be part of my main army.

I used a micron pen to paint the check patterns on the shoulder pad and knee, then Abaddon Black and two layers of Ceramite White and a layer of White Scar to achieve the look I have.  It is okay to make mistakes here, especially with the white as black will cover it up pretty well.  Deletion is a lot easier than getting it perfect in one go.

This model uses a lot of transfers from the Knight Titan transfer sheet.  The hardest part is the tiny ones on the banner.  I had to make sure to blot each one as I went to remove any excess water.  This is important as the excess water can create the transfers you already have placed to come up and slide around.  Which happened to me a couple times while working on this.  Getting those transfers back in place can be a huge pain.

Just so people can see the scale comparison, here are my new Knight Titan, Warhound and Reaver.  It's pretty impressive to see them all on one board, and I know if I was going to face it, I would cringe - especially after the tournament I just played in.

Imperial Navy Aircraft

These two Imperial fighters were built and painted by me a couple years ago.  In my quest to down size my collection, they are headed up to ebay.  Both have color schemes used in Tactica Aeronautica, from the Typha IV campaign.  Typha IV was an ice world, and featured both Tau and Imperial forces, and was primarily an air war.

I chose to paint the Thunderbolt up in the color scheme of Ixan Muro, a fighter ace druring the war.  Knowing that I couldn't paint the eagle wings free hand, here is how I did it:

After assembly, the model was primed white.  I then used a pencil to draw the imperial wing designs.  Then, taking masking tape, I blocked out the sections for the wings, and sprayed the model black with an airbrush.  Once that was done, I used layers of Golden Yellow and Bad Moon Yellow.  The black was carefully touched up, and then I used my normal silver scheme for those areas.

The gold for the front eagle, was also done with my normal gold layering.  Finally, I used P3 Coal Black to create edge highlights.

The Lightning used a camo pattern pictured in Tactica Aeronautica for the 111th Fighter Wing.  This is the old, out of print Lightning pattern no longer available.  I used various gray shades to achieve the colors.

The camp pattern is done just by creating wavy lines across the model with the lowest layer of gray.  Then consecutive lighter layers are applied to create the highlighted effect.  The black is done as I normally paint it, just like on the Thunderbolt.

My biggest regret with these two models is that they were acquired before the new flying stands were existant.  It would have been nice to be able to use them in a more natural way during games.

Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition

Like many Warhammer 40,000 fans, this past weekend I got to explore the new edition of the game.  Seeing as I only played about five games of 6th edition, I don't really feel qualified to evaluate the new rules set.  Nevertheless, I will reflect on some changes I like.  First off, I will say that I like the slimmer rule book, the fact that everything is compact in one spot, and the reduced pressure on my back when I have to hump it around.  The other two books I flipped through briefly and probably will never look at again.  Don't get me wrong, they have nice pictures, and the fluff is interesting, but when you have been at it for so long, the basic info doesn't really change much from edition to edition.

While many in the tournament scene are lamenting and possibly crowing over the new army formation options, I do like the intent.  The ability to create themed armies that do not require a special codex or special characters is pretty cool.  People need to remember that this game, like any other is a social contract.  We agree to abide by the rules in the rule books, but we also agree to abide by event organizer's rules or even the between friends.  That caveat aside, 40k is now apocalypse without the stratagems and formations.  We can take anything, though there are limitations put on it.  I look forward to trying out a full Scout company or a full terminator company.  Heck, even one of the Tactical companies would be interesting to field on their own.

The alteration to the allies matrix is also interesting, the drive to encourage people to field anything they want is inherent in it, as now even Tyranids can ally with the "Come the Apocalypse" element having rules too.  So while your Hive Tyrant can be on the same table as your Guardsmen, they still have to keep their distance to be usable, but Genestealer cults and traitor guard are now completely possible.  This weekend I should have a chance to try out a game finally, if it happens, that will be my next report.

Sentinels of Terra

I recently acquired Sentinels of Terra, and found it to be an interesting read.  This was the second of the supplements I have read.  I find the background information to be interesting and while it centers around the career of Lysander, still valuable. The changes to the Space Marine codex force organization are interesting, and with the new edition upcoming, will make being battle forged different, yet are still pretty minor.  That being said, it did inspire me enough to add to my lone Imperial Fist model (the limited edition one from a couple ears ago) and look at adding a small detatchment from the book.  This allied force will represent Sergeant Garadon's third company at its decimated state of roughly thirty marines after the battle of Taladorn.

The plan for these allies then, is to have two tactical squads, the one depicted here as Sergeant Garadon's first squad.  Garadon is in the middle there, and the squad also has a missile launcher and a graviton gun.  A second tactical squad, an assault squad and a devestator squad.  

I built this squad with the new tactical squad kit and wanted to try out some of the new bitz that I hadn't seen before.  For one thing, I did my best to match up the marks of armor, to create a more uniform look on each model.  I also kept the purity seals to a minimum, wanting the pieces to speak for themselves.  Then, I used a set of Finecast shoulder pads so I wouldn't have to free hand the Imperial Fist icon.

I used a bunch of layers to achieve the yellow above, started with XV-88, then Balor Brown, Golden Yellow and and edge highlight of Flash Git Yellow.  I did free hand the tactical icons and squad numbers with Abaddon Black and Ceramite White.  The only thing I might change in the future is a layer of P3 Sulfuric yellow to smooth out the colors a bit better.  Overall, I like the effect.

Tourney At Last

So I finally was able to get out to Your Hobby Place (YHP) in Martinsburg WV, and play in a tourney.  Just in time I guess too, as 7th edition 40k is right around the corner.  I got play three games, one against the store ringer army (marines), one against Space Wolves and the last against Blood Angels. 

At my friend's urging, I brought out the Reaver for this tourney, mainly as he said the folks who play at YHP had never seen one.  Above is my minimal army, the tourney being 2250 Escalation.  Despite what plans I had, I never ended up using things in the manner I intended.  Telion was not to effective firing the Icarus Lascannon.  Below are the armies  at the tourney:

The pictures below are from the start of each of my games.  Each one was a lot of fun, and proved to me that with nothing to really answer a Reaver, it will win every game for you.  Money well spent?  Maybe.  AT any rate, I won every game, though each was more difficult than the last.  AT the end, I had to Laser Blaster both Dante and Mephiston to secure a win.  Sadly, that wasn't enough to win the whole shebang.  But now I know where the bonus points come in and am prepared for next time.