So, with my Crimson Fists starting to wind down just a little (despite buying a Contemptor over the weekend) I've decided to start work on a new army project. GW's new line of paints has tons of nice browns and greens, and, being the Imperial fanboy that I am, I had to figure out a good army to go with that color scheme. After reading a bunch of Ailaros' battle reports, the powerblob bug bit me. I can't think of an IG regiment that fits the powerblob build better than the Ice Warriors of Valhalla, so I wrote up a sample list or two and hit eBay to get myself a horde going!
Here is my first test model for the army:
The coat itself is actually very easy to paint and doesn't take too long. I'm a little tired of the wash + edge highlight for the whole model approach, so I'm going with a layering-heavy scheme. All there is to the coat is Steel Legion Drab > Tallarn Sand > and highlights with Karak Stone:
Here's the first squad of guys who are up to Tallarn Sand:
And the next squad with some command guys:
I'd have more logical squad breakups but getting things piecemeal via eBay (and my shortage of heavy weapons bases) means there's going to be some pretty random assortments of stuff coming up. Regardless, stay tuned for more Valhallans!
The valhallans are very cool fluff wise and I really like their models as well, it's just too bad that all their models still are metal and therefore very heavy and expensive. Are you seriously going to build a horde infantry list only containting metal models?
I started my own IG army because I really liked the appeal of all their tanks and armour, but the idea of an all infantry guard army is starting to grow on me. I should get some more infantry at some point, but that is either going to be CAtachan/Cadian kitbashes or a DKoK detatchment.
Bonde wrote:The valhallans are very cool fluff wise and I really like their models as well, it's just too bad that all their models still are metal and therefore very heavy and expensive. Are you seriously going to build a horde infantry list only containting metal models?
I started my own IG army because I really liked the appeal of all their tanks and armour, but the idea of an all infantry guard army is starting to grow on me. I should get some more infantry at some point, but that is either going to be CAtachan/Cadian kitbashes or a DKoK detatchment.
I don't mind the metal models too much; I grew up playing historicals and games where all the models were metal, so it's nothing new! They are pricey though, but finding good deals on Dakka and eBay has mitigated that a bit, and since they don't appeal to the SS Doomtrooper aesthetic with the gas masks they don't attract as high prices as Steel Legion do. The whole army is probably going to have 8 infantry squads, 2 platoon command squads, one company command squad, heavy weapons teams galore and some artillery with Basilisks and Manticores. I've got 6 heavy weapons teams right now plus a handful of officers; the toughest part is actually probably going to be getting commissars for a decent price.
Bonde wrote:The valhallans are very cool fluff wise and I really like their models as well, it's just too bad that all their models still are metal and therefore very heavy and expensive. Are you seriously going to build a horde infantry list only containting metal models?
I started my own IG army because I really liked the appeal of all their tanks and armour, but the idea of an all infantry guard army is starting to grow on me. I should get some more infantry at some point, but that is either going to be CAtachan/Cadian kitbashes or a DKoK detatchment.
I don't mind the metal models too much; I grew up playing historicals and games where all the models were metal, so it's nothing new! They are pricey though, but finding good deals on Dakka and eBay has mitigated that a bit, and since they don't appeal to the SS Doomtrooper aesthetic with the gas masks they don't attract as high prices as Steel Legion do. The whole army is probably going to have 8 infantry squads, 2 platoon command squads, one company command squad, heavy weapons teams galore and some artillery with Basilisks and Manticores. I've got 6 heavy weapons teams right now plus a handful of officers; the toughest part is actually probably going to be getting commissars for a decent price. [/quote
They're not always any easier to find, but I have found that Mordian officers make a pretty good stand in for commissars for my Valhallan troops. Here's the one that came with my Valhallans when I bought them off ebay.
You can always use the trench-coated officer from the Cadian company command sprue to make your commissars. The last resort for commissar production is green stuffing storm coats. The last one is the most amount of work, but you can also produce special weapon Valhallans that are not sold. I use winter colony militia heads for those conversions. Here's an officer that I made that way.
Very cool! I haven't given much thought to converting up the Cadian command box for Commissars - come to think of it, the Baneblade commander wouldn't be a bad fit either! Then again, the last thing I need right now is a superheavy on my painting table
RandyMcStab wrote:Subbed
Maybe look into some Airfix/Tamiya Katyushas for the Manticores?
I appreciate your subscribing I've actually got a Manticore that's been sitting assembled in my closet for a year now, so for the time being I'm pretty set with armor. However, I did pick up a bunch of Valhallan tank riders that will ride on command squad Chimeras. Unfortunately, I need track guards for them as right now they don't have anything to sit on.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Finished the coats, did some more drybrushing on the bases, finished the reds, put down the first layer for skin and I need to do some cleanup on the lasguns.
Ugh, really? I thought it had been a few hours since I posted. Welp, guess I'll just make a spam post tomorrow to bump this thread and get some interest.
I'm going with powerblobs so power weapons on sergeants will be the norm! The sword you're seeing there is actually a 2nd ed power sword from the Space Marine range. It's contemporary with these figures and looks pretty natural in the sergeant's hands!
I'm not totally thrilled with how some of the faces came out, but that's what happens when there's still a little bit of the last paintjob resting in the details. Oh well! Painting these guys was pretty fun, and it gave me a good reason to check out all the Russian World War II stuff on Netflix. Also this:
I still need to get some snow flock then I can properly finish them. For now I'm just painting a random smattering of infantry models including plenty of heavy weapon crew as you can clearly see. Once I get a more organized batch of models I might be able to do something a little more sensible and paint proper squads, but for now it's just masses of Guardsmen.
Nice one - Love the old IG minis, I used to have quite a large Tallarn army that I sold during my non-gaming years...
You really get through the models - I've been working on my Salamanders and I think I've managed 2 Tac Marines in the same time that you've done this whole squad and some bits on your CFs!
I've always had a soft spot for the Valhallans since the 3rd Edition rulebook. They feature quite heavily in some of the full colour pictures fighting purple Tyranids on a ice board. Very Cool.
I really like what you have done so far, good luck acquiring all the models you need though!
Vostroyans might make good unit breakers as they have that Russian theme going on, maybe Veterans/Commanders would suit them better as they are a tad more ornate.
I also think Pig Iron are reworking their greatcoats so that the arms are separate so that might be a future option.
Slinky wrote:Nice one - Love the old IG minis, I used to have quite a large Tallarn army that I sold during my non-gaming years...
You really get through the models - I've been working on my Salamanders and I think I've managed 2 Tac Marines in the same time that you've done this whole squad and some bits on your CFs!
What can I say, I work fast! I've also been staying up a bit later than I should have and painting , but what's a little sleep deprivation in the name of the Emperor?
Medium of Death wrote:I've always had a soft spot for the Valhallans since the 3rd Edition rulebook. They feature quite heavily in some of the full colour pictures fighting purple Tyranids on a ice board. Very Cool.
I really like what you have done so far, good luck acquiring all the models you need though!
Vostroyans might make good unit breakers as they have that Russian theme going on, maybe Veterans/Commanders would suit them better as they are a tad more ornate.
I also think Pig Iron are reworking their greatcoats so that the arms are separate so that might be a future option.
I pored over the 3rd ed rulebook many, many times in my early teenage years, and I've loved the old metal IG ever since. I also really liked the Mordians on that industrial board, but the Valhallans on the ice board fighting Nids and later Eldar always captured my imagination. I do love the Vostroyan models, so I might incorporate them at some point as Stormtroopers or something of the like. After I paint a good sized mob of Guardsmen I'll probably start looking in earnest for my armored attack bear counts-as Ogryn.
The valhallans are probably my pic of the metal 2nd ed. figs, they dont look nearly as goofy as the others and are really well posed with characterful faces.
Nice to see 'em painted up to a decent tabletop standard, if anything the rugged brushstrokes add to the models. My only criticism is the flesh, the two tone looks a little off, needs a mid tone, or even a final highlight. The highlight does not 'match' the basecoat's hue imo, could just be the photos.
There is a midtone, but it's kind of lost on the faces unfortunately. It's why I'm not super happy with said faces. I should also get a new fine detail brush to do faces better, since mine's gone all curly-q'd.
Started work on another gaggle of Guardsmen and built some mortar teams!
Unfortunately I started painting some lascannon crews before I mounted them on the heavy weapons bases, so I'll need to take them off and remount them on the 60mm bases with the lascannons.
I've got to say that I'm really digging these Valhallans dude. You're a good painter, with both the Crimson Fists and now these guys.
Also pepper your angus (prepare your _____ ) because you won't be the only one with Valhallans when I get back to California hahaha
Exalted and subbed. The old metal Guardsmen will always be cooler than the new Cadian and Catachan plastics.
Hopefully you can acquire some Commissars for cheap as well, they always go nicely with a Valhallan force. I was lucky to win a lot of 5 of the Rogue Trader ones for 13 bucks including shipping, so keep on the lookout!
After trawling the net for nicely painted valhallans i came across your stuff SRM, Great start, its unfortunate that i'm also competing with you on ebay for them, had a similar idea to you, but slightly less ambitious, thinking more just a few infantry with a smattering of large soviet tanks. Ive bitten the bullet and ordered a fair few from GW, will definitely be coming back here for inspiration. Apologies for pushing up the ebay prices though. =[
J-paint wrote:After trawling the net for nicely painted valhallans i came across your stuff SRM, Great start, its unfortunate that i'm also competing with you on ebay for them, had a similar idea to you, but slightly less ambitious, thinking more just a few infantry with a smattering of large soviet tanks. Ive bitten the bullet and ordered a fair few from GW, will definitely be coming back here for inspiration. Apologies for pushing up the ebay prices though. =[
You are my new nemesis Nah, it's cool! I'm happy that you came across my guys in your searching, and that you like them so much. I'll be doing some Soviet winter schemes though, but I'm not sure if I want to go for a more winter camo look or the green tank with white paint on top of it that is a bit more realistic. Suppose I'll get to it when I start the Chimeras that are sitting on my desk.
I also finally found my basing snow! After I seal the models I'll do the basing snow, since I know that spray varnish doesn't always play nice with flocking.
It's crushed glass, and it makes very realistic slush. Of course, you need to wear a dust mask and gloves, but suffering for your art is part of the burden we bear...
I'm really not comfortable with crushed glass basing; I'd rather figure out a cool solution using basing snow, PVA and paint. That crushed glass stuff will still flake off here and there and I'll have tiny shards of glass on every game table and my case. That stuff could look better than real snow and I'd still never use it because accidentally inhaling a mouthful of crushed glass is a fast track to a bad time!
Indeed, having said that the examples they show on that site look spectacular, maybe just for a show piece or something.
Anyway, wanted to congratulate you on more larvely looking valhallans SRM, The yellow on the Sargent in particular looks very nice, I can never paint yellow that doesn't look really uneven.
Glad you like the yellow! It wasn't hard to do at all. I just used Macharius Solar Orange (Foundation color, I'm pretty sure there's an orange base color that's equivalent) and just used a thin brush with a steady hand to dab in Sunburst Yellow (also discontinued) on top. Since the surface area was very small it was easy to get a nice, bright yellow without too much color showing through.
For a display piece behind glass I wouldn't mind the crushed glass basing, but even so I wouldn't be the one to touch it by putting it on in the first place!
Automatically Appended Next Post: So I opened up my mailbox today to find this inside...
For any of those who thought I wasn't serious about this army, I've got 40 tiny space Russians you might want to talk to.
Just some little updating. First, I put down the white paint for where I'll be putting snow flock:
I've read up on a few decent techniques and I'll be applying them after I seal the models.
Next, I've got some more progress on the mortars:
I'm going to head down to my FLGS soon to pick up some more dark brown for the base rims, some lighter brown for highlights on the dark brown leather (looks a bit drab to me right now) and to get more Steel Legion Drab, since I dropped my bottle of it on the floor and it spilled everywhere.
I would love more weapons teams! I've built up a battery of three lascannon teams that I've been able to assemble as well. Unfortunately, there are tons and tons of mortars around for Valhallans, and not much else. If you look on eBay right now you won't see a single Valhallan auction with lascannons, autocannons, or heavy bolters, but there are mortars in almost everything. I'd love to add some more heavy weapon variety to the army, but that's all I'm seeing on eBay right now.
Also, remember that each "Group" of Metal IG was 'missing' one squad weapon and (I think) one heavy weapon. For example, I'm fairly sure there was no Mordian Plasma gunner or Autocannon.
Also, remember that each "Group" of Metal IG was 'missing' one squad weapon and (I think) one heavy weapon. For example, I'm fairly sure there was no Mordian Plasma gunner or Autocannon.
I'm not sure what the Valhallans are 'missing'.
Hey, I love me some mortars! I just like autocannons and lascannons too! Seriously, other heavy weapons are so rare on eBay that I forgot there were Valhallan missile launchers. Special weapon-wise, Valhallans are missing plasma guns.
And the Vostroyans are missing melta guns... it's a conspiracy...
I totally see what you mean in regards to the e-bay Valhallans and the plethora of mortars and tank riders. Those tank riders are really cool though, wish GW/FW would bring them back for IG.
Medium of Death wrote:And the Vostroyans are missing melta guns... it's a conspiracy...
I totally see what you mean in regards to the e-bay Valhallans and the plethora of mortars and tank riders. Those tank riders are really cool though, wish GW/FW would bring them back for IG.
I've got about 10 of them, I just need some track guards to put them on! I'm sure sitting on the tracks can't be good for your health... I just wish there were rules to represent them, like an assault deterrent like in Flames of War.
Of course, Brother SRM, if all else fails then the Valhallan heavy weapons are still available from GW - in metal, no less - though the Collector's IG section.
Wow! thse are brilliant mate, i love the colour scheme it looks great. I think the reason Valhallans can be slightly unpopular is that the colour scheme they have is a little bit dull. However yours is great and i really look forward to seeing more.
Dysartes wrote:Of course, Brother SRM, if all else fails then the Valhallan heavy weapons are still available from GW - in metal, no less - though the Collector's IG section.
Oh, I'm aware! I'd just rather not spend $17.00 on an autocannon
dark6spectre wrote:Looks great, keep up the good work! But where's the snowy bases?!
Thanks! I did up some snow bases last night that look badass, so expect pictures later today.
Rogerio134 wrote:Wow! thse are brilliant mate, i love the colour scheme it looks great. I think the reason Valhallans can be slightly unpopular is that the colour scheme they have is a little bit dull. However yours is great and i really look forward to seeing more.
Dysartes wrote:Of course, Brother SRM, if all else fails then the Valhallan heavy weapons are still available from GW - in metal, no less - though the Collector's IG section.
Yeah, but they are very expensive :/
Also, slightly off topic, why is the mordian grenadier on that page's uniform black and red?
Shredsmore wrote:Also, slightly off topic, why is the mordian grenadier on that page's uniform black and red?
The Mordian 'uniform', back in the day, was used by a variety of regiments. They were painted in a variety of colors, including some very striking schemes.
Roy Langa wrote:Always nice to see the less common Imperial Guard. Even more so when they're done well!
I think Valhallans kinda got pushed to the back (along with quite a lot of the old metal guard) when the Vostroyans came out.
Which is a shame, as the Cain novels should propel them to the front of people's thoughts.
Make Cain and Jurgen models, dammit! And Amberly, as well.
Glad you dig em! I wanted to build an army I hadn't seen before, and while I've seen blob Guard armies and metal Guard armies, I'd never seen one using Valhallans outside of the 3rd ed rulebook! I do feel that the Vostroyans eclipsed many of the metal IG regiments though. Those models are insanely nice. As for a Cain model, we'll see if I decide to do a Lord Commissar anywhere.
dark6spectre wrote:yay! What flock do you use for the snow? it looks pretty good!
Thanks! My snow is from Gale Force 9. I mix it into a slurry with an equal amount of PVA glue and a few drops of water, put that down, then sprinkle snow on top of that. I do that over gravel that I painted white, but you can skip that step. I like doing that since it gives me a base area to work in, and I know when I've used snow before I had to paint the area white since the snow itself was fairly transparent.
"YEAH! I may not be totally bad-ass right now, but you wait! THREE MORE EDITIONS from now, I'm gonna scare every army on the table! Even Grey Knights! Yeah! What? I'm psychic. I know GK's are gonna get their own codex in about 15 years, and...uh...why are you all looking at me like that?"
Briancj wrote:
"YEAH! I may not be totally bad-ass right now, but you wait! THREE MORE EDITIONS from now, I'm gonna scare every army on the table! Even Grey Knights! Yeah! What? I'm psychic. I know GK's are gonna get their own codex in about 15 years, and...uh...why are you all looking at me like that?"
That's some great planning on GW's part I've got a few of this guy primed, and I'll be working on them along with a bunch more Guardsmen when I finish the lascannons.
That flamer is infact awesome! I think I may refrain from it though; I don't need my platoon command squads attracting any more fire than they'll get already!
Just a little WIP on some lascannons:
The green areas on the gunshields will be the first spot I get to test out the whitewashing technique I'll eventually put to use on my tanks. I'm really excited for that, and I kind of want the rest of the models out of the way so I can jump to that point!
So I finished my lascannon teams! You may notice the kind of hasty white on the gunshields. I'm going to be doing a "whitewash" technique similar to the one that Russians used in World War II. Basically, they would take brooms, rollers, anything they could - and hastily paint tanks white over their existing green paint coats. This meant the paint would wear off before too long, and it looked very rough. Thankfully, it's not hard to do either, especially with the new GW dry white. I also had fun using my basing mixture on the wheels of the guns to show they'd been wheeled through some snow.
And here are some shots of everything I've painted in May - 22 infantry models and 6 guns - that's more than a model a day!
Dysartes wrote:Very nice so far, Brother SRM - any chance of an overall group shot in the near future?
Are you planning to have any vehicle support, or will it be all infantry, all the time?
I'll take some whole army shots once there's a little more army! It's only about 30 infantry and some gun teams so far, totaling around 300 points. I've got 2 Basilisks, a Manticore, and a Leman Russ squadron in the wings for them. They'll be painted using the same techniques as the gun shields on the lascannons for the "whitewashed" look.
Brother SRM wrote:I'd love if GW could get the Perry bros. off the LotR train and back to sculpting IG models like these.
Your mouth, to the God Emperor's ears...
Though, I think the sculpts are a product of the Perrys just wanting to make Historicals on the clock, and adding lasguns just to placate upper management.
Briancj wrote:Given that GW has just shut down Warhammer Historical....heaven only knows where the Perry Bros will end up next.
If it means they'll be sculpting Valhallans, Praetorians, and other historically inspired IG armies, I think that's almost a fair trade!
Valhallan42nd wrote:
Your mouth, to the God Emperor's ears...
Though, I think the sculpts are a product of the Perrys just wanting to make Historicals on the clock, and adding lasguns just to placate upper management.
They're obviously way more into historicals and realistic proportions, but a man can dream!
Over the course of a very long Mumble chat with a few buddies of mine, I was able to bring my first Commissar to completion:
I'm not happy with how the caution stripes came out, but it's a weird surface to do them on and the paint came out thicker than I wanted it to. I am pretty ecstatic about the face and coat though - I'm not sure how well you can see, but the coat is actually layered with a few coats of a mixed dark, dark grey I stewed up. Actually, let's just look at how many paints I used on this guy!
So... about 30, not counting mixed colors. Welp.
Dysartes wrote:I do like that Commissar model. Have you got the guy with power fist and book to go with him?
I don't have that Commissar just yet, although I really enjoyed painting that same one up for a buddy of mine a while ago. I hope I can pick him up though; all the new Commissar models rule.
motyak wrote:...please convert cain and jurgen. If you do I'll get a good chuckle out of it and comment positively? They serve with/are valhallans...
Trust me, I'm very familiar with the Ciaphas Cain books! There are plenty of meltagunners coming up, and given the fact that they're one piece metal models I don't know what I could really do to convert one to be Jurgen. As for Cain, I'll look into it if I ever do a Lord Commissar, or can hunt down the model for him. I think some Russian guy sculpted a very nice Cain that I see around on eBay, maybe I'll do that too.
Briancj wrote:Lovely work. You and I should take our winter guard armies and do terrible things to people.
I approve of this idea! Now I just need to paint about 100 more Guardsmen and I'll be good to go I don't think my army will have anywhere near the amount of scratchbuilding yours does though!
Looking really good, SRM! Love the Commisar. I'll be damned to say that everytime I load up this thead I have an itch to start a [small?] Valhallan force myself.
J-paint wrote:Looking good SRM, The tank looks very realistic, like they'd just whacked out the brushed and slapped it on, great job, more infantry up next?
Thanks! That's precisely the look I was going for - intentionally painting it to look haphazard wasn't easy. More infantry are indeed up next; I've got 30 Valhallans and a Commissar, primed, based, and sitting on my desk.
Eiríkr wrote:Looking really good, SRM! Love the Commisar. I'll be damned to say that everytime I load up this thead I have an itch to start a [small?] Valhallan force myself.
Glad you like him! Was expecting more comments on the Commissar, since those dudes seem like they'd be pretty popular in the painting and modeling world. I'm done hunting down Valhallans online for the time being, so if you do decide to start some up you at least won't be in a bidding war with me
Really impressive work SRM, I especially like your highlighting on the coats Your snow mixture looks top-notch. The GW snow looks like little slivers of fiber glass, but yours looks granular and realistic. The epaulettes on the Platoon Commander are great also!
Keep it up, very inspirational!
chrisyella wrote:Really impressive work SRM, I especially like your highlighting on the coats Your snow mixture looks top-notch. The GW snow looks like little slivers of fiber glass, but yours looks granular and realistic. The epaulettes on the Platoon Commander are great also!
Keep it up, very inspirational!
Thank you! The coats are an exercise in layering and a lot of fun to paint. Glad it's showing through in the paintwork. I haven't used GW's snow, but I can't imagine it's that different from the Gale Force 9 snow I use. It's a pretty simple snow technique, and I'd be happy to explain it in this thread!
Having an all metal guard army myself i can only appreciate what you showed us! Now i do rock with old style cadians, and i know they are nowhere near as popular, but they are much easier to find (i do have a mixed platoon of catachans and tallarns and stuff too)
I do encountered the same problem with heavy bolters as you did with the mortars. It's because the unit boxes they sold in the days of old had a specific heavy weapon.
Valhallans had mortars
cadians had heavy bolters
tallarns had autocannons
catachans had missile launchers
mordians had lascannons
It's one of the reasons why you tend to find one of the above more easily on the bay. Same goes for the special weapons. You can easily find ten flamers but will struggle to find a cadian plasma gun. Heck i only have 2 of those in my 120 man army. It's also the reason why the valhallan sergeant with sword and flamer is so hard to find. The boxes came with the bolt pistol sergeant I don't own a sword / laspistol sergeant either, as the cadian box came with the bolt pistol one.
But hey, when you go classic, one must accept that such a project is a treasure hunt sometimes. It makes it al more enjoyable
Having an all metal guard army myself i can only appreciate what you showed us! Now i do rock with old style cadians, and i know they are nowhere near as popular, but they are much easier to find (i do have a mixed platoon of catachans and tallarns and stuff too)
I do encountered the same problem with heavy bolters as you did with the mortars. It's because the unit boxes they sold in the days of old had a specific heavy weapon.
Valhallans had mortars
cadians had heavy bolters
tallarns had autocannons
catachans had missile launchers
mordians had lascannons
It's one of the reasons why you tend to find one of the above more easily on the bay. Same goes for the special weapons. You can easily find ten flamers but will struggle to find a cadian plasma gun. Heck i only have 2 of those in my 120 man army. It's also the reason why the valhallan sergeant with sword and flamer is so hard to find. The boxes came with the bolt pistol sergeant I don't own a sword / laspistol sergeant either, as the cadian box came with the bolt pistol one.
But hey, when you go classic, one must accept that such a project is a treasure hunt sometimes. It makes it al more enjoyable
Thanks for the informative post! I know the Valhallan squad box you can still get from GW has the chainsword/bolt pistol sergeant, but you can't even buy the handflamer/power sword sergeant from GW. I will be getting one of those in the mail soon though, thanks to the Swap Shop. Also, I dig your old metal IG too! Nice mix of models in there.
Yeah sadly gw stopped selling the models that were 'unusable' in new editions of the codex. Like the valhallan sergeant, classic commisar with flamer and autopistol tallarn sergeant. I have all those bar the valhallans. I am using them as they are, i just can't bring myself to cutting up those models.
Thanx on the comments! I am one of those guys that thinks a unified colour scheme ties every model togheter!
(actually that is just an excuse to buy them all )
I don't need any motivation to buy more regiments of metal IG, trust me! Funnily enough, GW does still sell the Valhallan platoon commander with flame pistol and chainsword though. I've got one or two of the power axe/flamer commissars in SImple Green at the moment though. When I get the other Valhallan sergeant I might make him an Al'Raheim counts-as. Outflanking blobs sound nasty.
I got me one of each of the classic commisars myself. The axe/flamer one, the bolter/power sword one and the powerfist guy.. Great sculpts!
Well they are great for getting at them pesky long fangs! throw enough wounds at them and they will die. Sadly regular infantry squads/commisars can't include power fists too, otherwise they could trash some armour 2. Meltabombs are great though for outflanking a basilisk or something. (after your melta guns all miss that is )
Btw it's great gw still sells those old sculpts. If only they would sell the old cadians instead off that plastic junk I had an army worth over 100 men of them, just couldn't stand that they were everywhere. traded them all for metal guard :p
petercooman wrote:I got me one of each of the classic commisars myself. The axe/flamer one, the bolter/power sword one and the powerfist guy.. Great sculpts!
Well they are great for getting at them pesky long fangs! throw enough wounds at them and they will die. Sadly regular infantry squads/commisars can't include power fists too, otherwise they could trash some armour 2. Meltabombs are great though for outflanking a basilisk or something. (after your melta guns all miss that is )
Btw it's great gw still sells those old sculpts. If only they would sell the old cadians instead off that plastic junk I had an army worth over 100 men of them, just couldn't stand that they were everywhere. traded them all for metal guard :p
I have the Steel Legion Commissar with my Steel Legion, and I just put a coat of black down on the old powerfist commissar. Shame you can only put him in a command squad. I wish GW sold the old Cadians and Catachans in addition to the plastics - I really, really like the current plastic ranges, but the old metal ones ruled too!
Brother SRM wrote:
Thank you! The coats are an exercise in layering and a lot of fun to paint. Glad it's showing through in the paintwork. I haven't used GW's snow, but I can't imagine it's that different from the Gale Force 9 snow I use. It's a pretty simple snow technique, and I'd be happy to explain it in this thread!
Yes sir, the layering is definitely showing through. Also if you wouldn't mind doing a small step-by-step for your snow technique, that would be tits mate In reference to the Citadel / GW snow, I've included a couple of shots as to (hopefully...) show the 'slivers' of snow...
chrisyella wrote:
Yes sir, the layering is definitely showing through. Also if you wouldn't mind doing a small step-by-step for your snow technique, that would be tits mate In reference to the Citadel / GW snow, I've included a couple of shots as to (hopefully...) show the 'slivers' of snow...
Spoiler:
Ugh! That snow looks awful! The Gale Force Nine snow is a fine powder and, well, you can see the results yourself! My technique for snow is very simple, and I totally lifted it from another poster over on Somethingawful.
0. (optional) Paint the area you want snow on white. Sometimes you can tell the difference, sometimes you can't, but it at least gives you reference for where to put snow.
1. Squirt out PVA glue into a tray you can mix with. Buttertub lids work great.
2. Put in an equal amount of snow flock.
3. Add a little bit of water - a few drops worth - and mix until it's slightly thinner than toothpaste.
4. Apply to areas you want snow.
5. Dust snow over the areas you applied the mixture to, shake off the excess, and enjoy your awesome snow!
Brother SRM wrote:I don't need any motivation to buy more regiments of metal IG, trust me! Funnily enough, GW does still sell the Valhallan platoon commander with flame pistol and chainsword though. I've got one or two of the power axe/flamer commissars in SImple Green at the moment though. When I get the other Valhallan sergeant I might make him an Al'Raheim counts-as. Outflanking blobs sound nasty.
I do have a spare Al'Rahem knocking around somewheree - not sure how I ended up with a second one, mind you.
Dysartes wrote:
I do have a spare Al'Rahem knocking around somewheree - not sure how I ended up with a second one, mind you.
Infantry horde armies have a way of multiplying when you're not looking. It's great on the tabletop, not so much when you're trying to get everything painted
petercooman wrote:Man i wish mine would multiply when i'm not looking, i have to pay to get duplicates :p
I have 10 each of "running Valhallan with lasgun at the hip" and "Valhallan aiming down the sights" sitting on my painting desk. Getting a wee bit tired of painting the same two guys!
\
So I just got this in the mail:
That's 6 pounds of Valhallans. Heavy weapons teams, sergeants, melta guns, lasgunners, you name it! Thanks to a kind trader on the Swap Shop, I've got enough reinforcements to last me through Summer and then some!
Heavy Weapons
2 - missile launcher teams w/loader complete
2 - Heavy Bolter teams w/loader complete
2 - Heavy Stubber teams (conversions I think, dont remember, can be used as heavy bolters just fine) with HB loaders
1 - Heavy Bolter team (missing the gun and carraige)
1 - Autocannon team (missing the gun and carraige)
5 - mortar teams w/loaders and mortar tube complete
7 - mortar teams w/loaders (missing mortar tubes)
1 - lascannon team w/loader complete
5 - lascannon teams w/loader (missing gun and carraige)
And I've got some extra heavy weapons team bits so I'll be able to make some of the incomplete teams complete!
Your Leman Russ looks great! Weathering is just about perfect. I hear what you say about infantry horde armies multiplying. Last IG army I made kinda ballooned to about 150 guys. Totally by accident.
So with the 37 infantry models, 6 heavy weapons teams, and Leman Russ I've painted, I've totaled... 630 points. If I was painting Marines I'd have at least a 1000 point army by now
I did just finish 9 more Guardsmen and put the gloss varnish on em. I'll matte varnish them before work tomorrow morning, and do the snow this weekend. Also, if I count each heavy weapons team as 2 men (as I should) I've painted 49 infantry models. I started this blog about 40 days ago. Painting more than a trooper a day feels pretty awesome, and means this army should be all good to go by 2015
I've got heaps more troopers, heavy weapons, and a standard bearer coming up soon!
Automatically Appended Next Post: So my next work for this army is going to be this batch of Valhallans, including a standard bearer, some meltas, and another Commissar!
My red is super duper simple - I just use the new Mephiston Red and highlight it with Blood Red from the old range. I used to do Red Gore to Blood Red, but the Mephiston Red goes on so easy. For the red sashes I do a wash of Thrakka Green in the recesses before the highlight.
Briancj wrote:Lovely work. You and I should take our winter guard armies and do terrible things to people.
I approve of this idea! Now I just need to paint about 100 more Guardsmen and I'll be good to go I don't think my army will have anywhere near the amount of scratchbuilding yours does though!
I'll join into the fray. I have plenty Stalinist troops, and J-Paint has some of the sweetest Valhallan conversions I've ever seen.
Yeah green washes shade red really well, they darken it without making it too flat and dull (as a brown wash usually will)
Anyway, cool as hell to see someone doing Valhallans! Haven't seen any for years. They're looking great, too, your colours give them a real oldschool Soviet vibe. Looking forward to seeing more.
So my dad came up today and we had a battle. The Valhallans aren't there in force, but they did get incorporated into my Imperial Guard army! They took part in a big war of attrition with my Iron Warriors. Check out the fight!
I took a break for a couple days while I was watching the Planetside 2 live stream stuff from E3 and a few too many late nights of Dead Island with my buddy! Over the course of tonight and last night I've managed to get down some base colors on my next 18 troopers and a Commissar:
If you look in there you'll see the big banner - I'll be using it as a company standard in my company command squad. I was thinking of using them as vox caster counts-as at one point, but that would be a lot of effort for vox casters! I also got some cool dice from Q-workshop's battle line:
I'll hopefully be able to paint a bit more this weekend!
So I've been bad this past week - I ended up binging on Dead Island with a buddy of mine instead of painting, but I got some painting done here and there, including the banner:
Brother SRM wrote:So I've been bad this past week - I ended up binging on Dead Island with a buddy of mine instead of painting, but I got some painting done here and there, including the banner:
I also now dub my Valhallans the Valhalla 32nd Rifle Division.
It's good for the boys to have a name!
I think the flag is a bit plain for my tastes. IMHO, it would pop a bit more if you added one more colors on the trim and/or skull and/or halo.
The trim is in a lighter shade of red, but it's a little washed out by the photo. I wanted the banner to be pretty recognizable as a reference to the Soviet flag that the Russian infantry would carry in WWII. That's why I kept it pretty straight in red and yellow.
I like their simplicity. It works well with this army, since the Soviets weren't really that flashy about their armies either, they just were super disciplined and had thousands of intimidating ranks of Soldiers. The effect is starting to come off here. Just 999 more ranks to go!
DemetriDominov wrote:I like their simplicity. It works well with this army, since the Soviets weren't really that flashy about their armies either, they just were super disciplined and had thousands of intimidating ranks of Soldiers. The effect is starting to come off here. Just 999 more ranks to go!
I think I'll need half again that many models for a powerblob army
Okay, big ol' update tonight! I painted up a further Commissar, 18 Guardsmen with some special weapons thrown in there, and one has the company standard!
And some closer shots of the character model, including standard bearer Demitri and Commissar Double Chinovitch:
Tibbsy wrote:I see what you mean now about the trim being lighter, it's a bit clearer on these photos.
Good stuff as always Also love the name Double Chinovitch
Nothing gets by Commissar Double Chinovitch; not even carbs.
Young_Logan wrote:Lovely looking army all round looking forward to seeing more in the near future, any chance of a group shot?
I'll get some group shots when I have some proper platoons done! I've got a good deal of models done, but nothing really resembling an army list of them!
So it turns out cork makes a great basing substitute for rocks: This guy is a pretty good barometer for how the next squad is coming along. After them I'll have another Leman Russ ready to roll out!
Ugh! I'm going so slow on these guys. I blame videogames.
Here's an entirely too yellow show of the squad coming along:
Difference between this and the last picture is that the leather's done, coats are done being highlighted, and I've done some work on the metallics. I still have to do the spots of red, highlight the black, finish the skin, get some drybrushing on the metallics, THEN I can put the basing on!
Here's most of the other Valhallans I've got as yet unpainted:
I've gotta get more lasgunners, and I have no idea what I'm going to do with 6 flamers. Lots of platoon command squads I guess?
And with the new auto-hit rules in 6e for CC, flamers become a lot cooler...
A "blocking" squad with a bunch of flamers would be very cool! I want to know about killpoints/victory points for 6th before I start making little 6 man suicide squads though, as I'm sure you'll understand! I do love the idea of Valhallan barbecue squads running around though.
Hey, sorry I missed the tank before. Its matches up with the army really well. Ive never played, so I dont know for sure, but special weapon squads always seemed like they would be useful. Flamers are cheap points wise right? They could protect a platoons flank maybe? By the way, where are you getting all these guys?
40kFSU wrote:Hey, sorry I missed the tank before. Its matches up with the army really well. Ive never played, so I dont know for sure, but special weapon squads always seemed like they would be useful. Flamers are cheap points wise right? They could protect a platoons flank maybe? By the way, where are you getting all these guys?
Glad you like the tank! I've got some more armor lined up soon! Special weapon squads are useful, and flamers are wicked cheap! However, they're also very fragile, being just 6 men, so I'm a little apprehensive to use them. They would be great for protecting a flank though. Also, I've been getting these guys through Dakka's Swap Shop, eBay, and I'm talking to a local guy about getting more. It's hard to get these guys without going straight through GW and spending $17 for two dudes with a heavy bolter!
In my experiance, flamers are easily converted to meltaguns with just a little greenstuff. If you toss the barbeque idea, then you can always have a few more meltaguns.
Briancj wrote:Of course you're going to see Terminators buffed. The next starter box is DARK ANGELS DEATH WING.
1+1=2.
Yeah, you also said that on Dave's thread, Brian. I went and checked the GW site after I read that, but didn't see anything about the new starter set. Where, oh where, are you getting all of this insider info?
Briancj wrote:Of course you're going to see Terminators buffed. The next starter box is DARK ANGELS DEATH WING.
1+1=2.
Yeah, you also said that on Dave's thread, Brian. I went and checked the GW site after I read that, but didn't see anything about the new starter set. Where, oh where, are you getting all of this insider info?
The main rulebook cover is DA. The back cover is...DA.
The new starter Paint Sent has DA miniatures.
And, finally, the rumor roundup says:
1 Dark Angel Captain (Belial?)
10 Space Marines
5 (Deathwing) Terminators
3 (Ravenwing) Bikes
petercooman wrote:You could always send the flamers to me :p
SAdly 6th edition nerfed your powerblob army just a little bit. Only ap3 on power weapons is just sad...
Nah, I'll figure out a use for them as flamers! I've actually got loads of meltaguns as well, so I think I can keep them as-is for now. Also, while power swords are merely AP3 now, I do have a number of power axes in the ranks that I am yet to paint. The iniative 1 thing doesn't bug me one bit since IG are usually striking last anyway.
Anyway, I've wrapped up another squad!
You'll see I added some rocks on the bases, which are just chunks of cork with some drybrushing and washing:
This dude, average as he looks, is apparently somewhat rare. He's not available from the squad box on the GW website, I've never seen him before, and his tab says "GW 1997" as opposed to the GW 1994 that most of these guys have:
I just primed another squad and a heavy bolter squad so we'll see what I get to next!
40kFSU wrote:Nice old school tank rider. Hey, what color are those jackets?
The coats are Steel Legion Drab > Tallarn Sand > Karak Stone, just some layering. And I've got heaps of tank riders; just need more track guards for them to sit on!
Automatically Appended Next Post: And 5 hours of work later...
Automatically Appended Next Post: Trying to bump this since the time between posts before they get automatically appended is like 12 hours.
UGH FFS
Bumping this for the third time because of the automatically appended next post system; does anyone know how many hours before a post will make a new post? This isn't the first time this has happened and I don't want to be punished for painting fast!
i really like the russain vibe you gave them makes em look like they are out of stalingrad. good job. I am liking the second tanks paint jhob those extra detail like the stars and red just add to the awesome of it.
alabamaheretic wrote:really cool valhallans there srm.
i really like the russain vibe you gave them makes em look like they are out of stalingrad. good job. I am liking the second tanks paint jhob those extra detail like the stars and red just add to the awesome of it.
Thank you! I really wanted to take my vehicles to the next level with this project, beyond just drybrushing and dirtying them up. I'm trying to avoid the Stalingrad theme, since urban basing is something I've already done plenty of and this basing with the snow and rocks suggest something a little more like frozen countryside. There's a snow table at my game club and I'll be damned if I don't get to play on it soon!
well i was thinking enemy at the gates with the brown mud and the snow but that is just me. I can deff see this as a frozen country side too.
stalingrad was my first impression.
never seen tank riders before so thats really neat too
alabamaheretic wrote:well i was thinking enemy at the gates with the brown mud and the snow but that is just me. I can deff see this as a frozen country side too.
stalingrad was my first impression.
never seen tank riders before so thats really neat too
If it's evoking good World War II movies then that's plenty good by me! I just don't want to model them with urban bases is all. The tank riders are something I wish GW did more of; there were some Catachan ones and Space Marine ones back in RT and 2nd ed, but they disappeared for whatever reason. It's a shame as I think they really add something to the look of your tanks!
Hardcore? It's very, very casual! There's all of two real tournament types out of a dozen plus people, and even then they're not WAAC guys or anything. I'm a fluffy bunny when it comes to Warhams and I feel right at home!
First off, here's some progress on the infantry squad and heavy bolter squad I've been painting:
Secondly, the new sniper rules are actually sorta decent. I'm thinking of taking a special weapons squad with 3 sniper rifles and hiding them in the back of the field somewhere. Here's my test model:
Before you say my greenstuff work looks awful (it does!) I'm trying to replicate a certain look with it. In a lot of movies and videogames about World War II, sniper rifles have a burlap wrap around parts of them. It was often done to break up the silhouette of the rifle and hide it better. I used liquid greenstuff to get a sort of burlap wrap look on the gun. Here's a screenshot from Call of Duty 2 for reference:
Brother SRM wrote:Hardcore? It's very, very casual! There's all of two real tournament types out of a dozen plus people, and even then they're not WAAC guys or anything. I'm a fluffy bunny when it comes to Warhams and I feel right at home!
When I was there, I watched someone ostensibly 'teaching' someone their first game of Blood Bowl dance around the table, rubbing his opponent's face into the game each time he scored. And this person was, ostensibly, his 'friend'. It was a flagrant and abusive display of not only bad sportsmanship but also the worst possible way to 'teach' someone a game. Teach them by bending them over and giving them a solid rogering? Good way to make them want to play again!
Meanwhile, at another table, a massive argument broke out over a rules query, and one guy walked off in a huff.
Now, this was back in 2009, so maybe things have changed.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Brother SRM wrote:
Before you say my greenstuff work looks awful (it does!) I'm trying to replicate a certain look with it. In a lot of movies and videogames about World War II, sniper rifles have a burlap wrap around parts of them. It was often done to break up the silhouette of the rifle and hide it better. I used liquid greenstuff to get a sort of burlap wrap look on the gun.
I see where you're going, and when it gets painted up, I think it'll look great! I've seen shots of people wrapping winter camo cloth around the guns as well, so you could paint it grey with white highlighting!
Jeez! I'm sorry to hear that! I know the games of Blood Bowl end up much meaner than 40k or Fantasy games, but that's pretty ridiculous. I've never seen anything anywhere near that bad in my 7 months or so there. The worst I got was one opponent who started writing passive/aggressive rants about my army list (I took one unit of assault Terminators... yep.) all over our forums, and everyone there ridiculed said posting for being passive/aggressive and baseless. Everything else has been gravy; stop on by sometime! I promise I'm at least more polite
Briancj wrote:
I see where you're going, and when it gets painted up, I think it'll look great! I've seen shots of people wrapping winter camo cloth around the guns as well, so you could paint it grey with white highlighting!
Thanks for the suggestion! I was initially thinking brown, but then that would just blend right in with the coat he's wearing and not stand out. I'll be doing grey-white cloth now!
A Kvlt Ghost wrote:I think you pulled the burlap look off pretty well.
e; The dude riding on the tank is superb. Valhallans should totally be allowed to use LRBTs as transports. tankodesantniki!
Thanks! I do wish there were more tank riders - tank riders are an upgrade in Flames of War; I wish they were an upgrade in 40k too! Some kind of assault deterrent or something at least.
Well, I think everyone has pretty much covered it but it bears saying again. I like all your updates. Especially digging the freehand on the tanks. The riders are a piece of old school GW gold. You were talking about the bases and staying away from the urban theme. It is a good call, I think the snow makes these guys stand out.
I still think IG needed a Tank rider option. Now, in 6th Edition, I think that: Tank Riders should grant an IG tank 2d6 lasgun shots on Overwatch. +15 points?
Briancj wrote:I still think IG needed a Tank rider option. Now, in 6th Edition, I think that: Tank Riders should grant an IG tank 2d6 lasgun shots on Overwatch. +15 points?
Veteran Sergeant wrote:What about instead serving as additional padding that absorbs a free glancing hit?
Both great ideas! I just wish there were more than 2 different tank rider models, since they're gonna be on a bunch of my tanks.
Well with the new rules for throwing grenades, tanks could be allowed to throw one grenade from any point along the line of their move.
It would be a little overpowered, but a leman russ drive by attack would be aesome
Or just use the tank riders as an extra hull point
Btw RSM, do you hppen to have the 3rd edition guard codex? There's a nice picture in there of a tank absolutely stuffed with tank riders. Think it was one of gav thorpe or something.
I hardly think a little S3 template drive by would be overpowered! You can't snap fire blasts though. I don't have the 3rd ed Guard codex, but I wouldn't turn one down!
cormadepanda wrote:love the guard! glad to see more snow guad like me nice sniper as well. I am considering adding some to my guard army as well.
Thank you! They're by no means must-have units, but I like that the rules actually make them somewhat viable now. Shame they only hit half the time, but I'll take what I can get for a cool thematic unit.
Two cars in every garage and a vortex grenade on every tank
I got to play with them for the first time today and I was too concerned on learning both a new army and a new edition to do a report - long story short, victory for Valhalla!
And seriously now, how do you find the new overwatch works with guard? Had any opportunity to fire a full blob at an assaulting unit?
I have decided to outfit my blobs with heavy bolters from now on. To make use of the snap shot rules. I know i can snap shot with autocannns too, but i rather have them shooting at full BS. I think the added firepower of the heavy bolter is usefull for a blob squad, especially if you have three in there. I think the added mobility to a heavy weapon toting blob is neat. They used to stand still and fire untill victorious or destroyed. Now they can do a "tactical withdrawal" as one could call it
Overwatch didn't make a huge difference for some of the assaults, but at one point a Nob squad charged one of my Guardsmen blobs and I managed to gun down two Nobz with lasgun defensive fire! Adding heavy bolters to blob squads is an interesting one. They're fairly cheap at 10 points, but if I outfitted every squad with one it could add up pretty quick. It would also mean I had to paint more heavy bolters
Speaking of heavy bolters, I've finished a heavy bolter squad and another infantry squad! Here's everything I've painted in the past week:
Dear god you have done alot since i commented here last SRM, the amount you churn out stuns me! the star on the leman russ is perfect, gives so much character so simply, might have to borrow that one, with full credit going to you of course. =]
I think you'll have to give credit to the Soviets before you give credit to me with that one Thanks so much; having your Valhallan blog (albeit of a different flavor) right near mine inspires me!
This army is just awesome. Really well Done. I play power blob guard as well and its a fine sight, watching a 40 man imperial guard squad tear through units. Keep up the good work, you inspire me to keep painting!
Brother SRM wrote:I think you'll have to give credit to the Soviets before you give credit to me with that one Thanks so much; having your Valhallan blog (albeit of a different flavor) right near mine inspires me!
Lol true, credit to the red army then, but the feeling is mutual, always feel inspired when i come on here, and shocked at your industriousness, your like the soviet factories themselves.
iheartlargeblasttemplates wrote:This army is just awesome. Really well Done. I play power blob guard as well and its a fine sight, watching a 40 man imperial guard squad tear through units. Keep up the good work, you inspire me to keep painting!
Happy to be of service! 40 men is a bit much for one blob; I'm going to eventually run four 20 man blobs to distribute the firepower a bit more. I'll play around with 30 man but that's getting into Ork territory.
J-paint wrote:
Lol true, credit to the red army then, but the feeling is mutual, always feel inspired when i come on here, and shocked at your industriousness, your like the soviet factories themselves.
Can't say I've ever been given that comparison before
RandyMcStab wrote:Yeah you really knock em out..
Looking good, how did you find 6th? Any plans on Psykers?
I would really like to see a whole army shot soon..
Great tank riders, I have the RT marine one (one of them anyway) knocking about somewhere..
I enjoyed my first game very much! I'll definitely need to play a few (or a few hundred ) more games of 6th before I say too much, but I had a lot of fun with it. I have two of the old RT/2nd ed sanctioned psykers and I plan to paint one up as a Primaris at some point. I'd like to play with the new psychic powers, but I'm generally not a huge fan of psykers. Some support powers would be cool though, and I want to paint up this ridiculous, huge-headed pimp of a mini! As for a whole army shot, I'll see about renting out a gymnasium and some white tarp soon
I'll be doing a battle report with these guys once I've got the rules down pat, so expect some full army shots and then some then!
Good stuff, yeah I think 20 is a good size for a blob, not too inflexible then..
I like the idea of Psyker buffs on a blob squad too, Biomancy looks good for this, I'm thinking of trying swapping a Commissar and the MoO for one to try it out. A Primaris is Ld 9 the same as a Commissar and if near the CCS Standard the unit will be as well led as before but have a fighty-er (for Guard) hero who is a also space wizard!
That's why I'm hoping to get some utilization out of my CCS Standard - I have no clue how often I'll actually need it, but it's definitely cool to have on hand, and it looks great on the table! I look forward to playing around with psykers a bit.
Last night I also primed three snipers (I converted more) a handful of lasgunners, a couple sergeants, a Commissar, a lascannon team, and a platoon commander. In my game on Saturday I was short a platoon commander, so used a bare metal one. He challenged the Ork Warboss to a duel and got the killing blow on him! I figure after that he's earned a paintjob. After I paint this lot, I'll be able to field three 20 man blobs and have a lascannon in my CCS for extra firepower.
I like my CCS standard it's never been critcally useful but it looks right, if it's in range of a Commissar blob I just use the Standards reroll instead of his (can't reroll a reroll)saving a Sarg..not sure if that's wholly correct....no one seems to mind..
Briancj wrote:Remember! Lascannon + MoO == Bring it Down win!
My CCS never leaves it's Chimera (until someone looks at it funny and it explodes) so never get to do that..
Briancj wrote:Remember! Lascannon + MoO == Bring it Down win!
That's the plan!
RandyMcStab wrote:I like my CCS standard it's never been critcally useful but it looks right, if it's in range of a Commissar blob I just use the Standards reroll instead of his (can't reroll a reroll)saving a Sarg..not sure if that's wholly correct....no one seems to mind..
That's something I was planning on - that and getting to save my heavy weapons teams from running off if one of the crews gets killed.
I found that having a flag gives you a victory at heart. Fun things i like to do during games is say, you see that flag? its going to park on your base. (i do this before the game starts) turn 1 it typically goes ignored, then turn 2 when its close it draws attention..(i am in a valkyire.) Turn 3 i land put the flag on his base and to really poke him have the squad use the flamers and plasma on something near by. The valk then pokes around, and suddenly my entire command squad is being shot at with the flagg on the hill. Yay my army is ignored for a turn of shooting.
I don't intend to have my CCS or banner anywhere near the enemy deployment zone, but if the banner is still waving at the bottom of turn 6 then I can always declare it a moral victory!
I'm currently working on three snipers, a few officers, some troopers and a lascannon. I'll post pictures once I've finished them and I get my camera back from my girlfriend!
This is the closest thing to a whole army shot I've gotten, and it's from my game tonight:
I'm still learning 6th so I'm not taking down notes for battle reports yet; it took us over 2 hours for a 1250 game; I'd hate to add on note taking and pictures to the learning experience! Long story short, it was a brutal slog where most of my infantry died, my tanks dueled his, and I was able to get by on First Blood and Slay the Warlord objectives for a victory!
Looks phenomenal all together SRM, thats the problem with commiting to snow bases, on other tables it looks like there have been very isolated weather pockets. =p but seriously, good stuff, looking forwards to a proper battle report at some point and ofc the new snipers =]
There is a winter table at my club but it was hot as hell in there last night and I didn't feel like dragging it out. I'm hoping to get a game on that table soon!
The snipers, along with a bunch of other dudes, are finished. Still waiting on getting my camera back, and then I can share some WIPs of my Basilisks!
Looking pretty sweet, I think the snow bases work ok on that table too..
You could sneak in at night and splash some white paint onto those ruins etc...
RandyMcStab wrote:Looking pretty sweet, I think the snow bases work ok on that table too..
You could sneak in at night and splash some white paint onto those ruins etc...
Yeah, I think they look fine, will go on any table much better than if you had gone for all-snow bases (which never look really great IMHO).
RandyMcStab wrote:Looking pretty sweet, I think the snow bases work ok on that table too.. You could sneak in at night and splash some white paint onto those ruins etc...
Yeah, I think they look fine, will go on any table much better than if you had gone for all-snow bases (which never look really great IMHO).
I'll get some of my rattlecans of white primer and show them what for!
I'm not a huge fan of completely snowed over bases either. I like the additional texture that snow and gravel have together; more interesting to look at.
Also, I still don't have my camera and a fuse blew, keeping most of the lights off in my apartment. However, I do have a WIP for you folks of the Basilisk I'm starting up:
iPhone camera for the lose; I really hope I can get my real camera back before I finish it.
Stupidly appended next post: Well I didn't get my real camera back before I finished it, because I finished it today! 8 hours after that initial photo was taken, it's done! Unfortunately there's no macro setting on the iPhone 3, so some shots are kinda crappy and I can't get closeups of the crew. The writing on the side of the tank says "Annihilate the Fascists" and the writing on the barrel says "Crush", while the star is just a star!
I also finished the snipers and some of their buddies:
Expect better pictures of at least the Basilisk in the next few weeks when I get my camera back.
Bumping this because, well, you know I'm holding off on painting more Valhallans until August or when I get my camera back, and in the meantime I'm going to be working on some of the masses of unpainted terrain I have. Expect some cool pictures of space Soviets hiding out in ruins soon!
Not yet, I'll keep that in mind for objectives! My board at home is a muddy grasslands type board, and I'm just doing pretty generic Cities of Death buildings. This one is taking a long time though because gold over large areas is tough.
It's for my board at home, which is actually a rather temperate table! I don't really have the space or money to drop on a second gameboard just for my Valhallans right now, as much as I'd like to. Some day I hope to have a game room with a few tables to game on, but until then my Valhallans will be dragging their snowy bases with them into the more temperate climates of Planet Diry and Grass.
Battle report from tonight featuring my Valhallans and some Steel Legion buddies against Grey Knights! Check it here!
Especially if you like images like this:
Ahhh, ok. Didn't think about what your board might look like. I can't wait to check out your report though! Don't have the time right now but I'm sure it'll be great.
Nice Battle Report mate! The set-up of the terrain reminded me a lot of a city like Stalingrad. Certainly emphasises the Russian feel that you get with the Valhallans! The pictures were awesome as well. They dragged me right into the action, leading me to dodge bullets alongside your valiant men!
One of my friends called in Valhallangrad There's a snow board at the club I'm dying to use, just have to find where the terrain is for it. Also, after that game I've got to get my Primaris Psyker painted!
Btw, I couldn't help notice that you had some Gothic terrain, by Pegasus Hobbies. I was just wondering whether they are worth buying or not. What do you think about them?
So between the Planetside 2 beta and me being a lazy ham I've barely touched my Valhallans these last two weeks; however, I did just start up another dozen men and a Commissar!
The officer with the hand flamer and sword on the left is going to be a counts-as Al'Raheim so I can outflank a big blob of Guardsmen into my enemy's lines. You also can't tel from the picture, but I greenstuffed a moustache and goatee on the Commissar that will come out when he's painted.
Nice looking stuff, looking forward to them being painted, I don't know how to convey my Commissars having axes, only has a cane another a riding crop....I'm not changing them either, maybe just have em planted into the ground on the base? a mate suggested a little axe bearer guy..
The guy with the handflamer and sword to the left of the Commissar (guy in the 4th picture) may end up being my counts-as Al'Raheim. I'm thinking of meching up a few squads of Guardsmen and having an outflanking "cavalry" unit, as it were. The Commissar was a ton of fun to paint; I even got to use some Liquid Greenstuff, a small brush and a knife to sculpt his moustache/goatee!
That's very nice! Brilliant Paint job!
I'm loving those Power Axes. They'll probably come in handy sometime or another.
I really like the Olde School Commissar. He looks awesome, and he fits in the unit well!
Can't wait for more! Keep me posted on any updates!
Whats with the hand flamers? Counts as? Proxy Blood Angle allies?
The Commissar and his 'tache look great, I like the the Al'Raheim guy a lot but I'm not sure he's 'Special Character' imposing enough...IMHO, I think the Commissar himself would be a better Al'Raheim counts as/proxy...I could see a Commissar grabbing a leaderless formation of Mech Inf and leading a daring flank attack to turn the tide at the moment of decision....Anyhoo just chucking ideas about...
Whats with the hand flamers? Counts as? Proxy Blood Angle allies?
The Commissar and his 'tache look great, I like the the Al'Raheim guy a lot but I'm not sure he's 'Special Character' imposing enough...IMHO, I think the Commissar himself would be a better Al'Raheim counts as/proxy...I could see a Commissar grabbing a leaderless formation of Mech Inf and leading a daring flank attack to turn the tide at the moment of decision....Anyhoo just chucking ideas about...
Planetside 2; it's a massively multiplayer sci fi first person shooter. It rules, even though it's only in beta right now! Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_htNqTRnv0
The handflamers are there mostly just because that's what was on the models and I didn't feel like chopping them off. The handflamer on the Commissar has a cool aquila on it, and the handflamer on the not-Al'Raheim is tucked right in to the model and can't easily be removed. There are also a number of platoon commanders who have handflamers tucked away and nigh-impossible to remove, like so:
I figured he'd be a good Al'Raheim because I only have one of his model, he's distinctively posed, and he has epaulettes, which only my Commissars and platoon officers have. Seems a little too ostentatious to be a mere sergeant, and his uniform isn't in keeping with my other platoon commanders since he lacks the big hat and chestplate.
I don't think there will be any giant braided beards anytime soon, so I think we can rule out them becoming full-on Chaos Dwarfs anytime soon! I've got a Chimera built that I may be working on soon, as I'd love to do an outflanking platoon with Al'Raheim all meched up. Time will tell, but I need some mobile elements!
Oh right Planet Side 2, a mate of minds was big into 1 and showed me around, I've been following some of the vids (TotalBiscuit does some good coverage on youtube), I'm jealous too, it's the only thing out there that might make me upgrade my aging PC....
Brother SRM wrote: This is my second Basilisk; I only have room for two in my case! Then again, my case is filling up so I might need to get another one before too long.
Brother SRM wrote: This is my second Basilisk; I only have room for two in my case! Then again, my case is filling up so I might need to get another one before too long.
Those damn cases always fill up so fast, even when you think you've got loads of room left.
Why won't someone just make a case with a blackhole/storage space in it!
I have now been invited into the PS2 beta. Therefore I no longer hate you, and can comment that these new models look just as promising as the previous ones
Thank you! I'm trying to decide what to paint next; I'm actually starting to run short on lasguns and miscellaneous dudes, don't have enough room in my case for many more heavy weapons teams, and I've painted all the core armor for the force! I've got a Manticore (I wasn't thrilled with how it did last game) some Primaris psykers to go through, and some armor I frankly don't have room to store right now! It's going to be interesting juggling these guys with Chaos when the new starter comes out...
When you've painted as much stuff as I have for this army, things paint up quick! The Basilisk is mostly just drybrushing, and aside from the time it takes for the washes to dry, I can paint a tank up in about 6 hours.
I built two Chimeras, and put some effort into decking them out. They're going to be outflanking with Al'Raheim, so I figure it would be cool to show them as vehicles that have spent some time behind enemy lines. For this reason, I gave them stowage, entrenching tools, spare gas barrels, and tank riders because they just look so cool!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Just a look at the green of the tank before it gets whitewashed:
Hashed this out real quick tonight.
I love the crew, sitting on the sides!
It adds much more character, and avoids the bland vehicle look!
Really looking forward to more!
Btw, I am aware of the figure case issue. Do you know of 'Feldherr'?
They do some awesome stuff for a decent price.
Thank you! The first thing I thought last night as I finished putting these together was that they had a lot of character for metal boxes! I've got a KR case planned out that will hold four Chimeras, 25 troops, and 8 heavy weapons teams for about $50. It's not hard to get Chimera storage, but the riders on top make it kinda tough to fit them in standard cases!
Just painted up a Chimera for my outflanking platoon:
I just looked at the photos and saw some spillover onto the ammo boxes - it's since been cleaned up and looks good now!
I can really recommend the copplestone neosovs for some cheap variation
And maybe you'll find this a source of some inspiration, Soviet sci-fi on steroids, a lot of these characters and ideas would be stonking great IG models. It's a failed PS game based on a graphic novel series.
I remember looking into those Copplestone Castings guys way back when - pretty sure I saw them at Historicon when they were just released! They're lovely figures, and if I ever get back to painting all my other old Copplestone stuff (had heaps of the Aliens Marines looking guys) I'll definitely pick some up! Also, I wasn't aware of that game at all, that trailer is awesome!
Somehow during the chaos of moving, I was able to paint up another Chimera for my outflanking platoon:
Not sure what to do next; I need another Chimera to finish the platoon, or some infantry to flesh out the other two blobs once I've put 25 men into outflanking Chimeras. On the other hand, I did just build a Stormtalon so that's begging for some paint.
Think about it this way: If I can paint up a bajillion metal Guardsmen, you can too! There, stress relieved!
I'm looking forward to seeing what Vic puts out. I absolutely love her sculpts and after seeing the not-Valhallan heads I'm really excited for new models.
I saw a few IG tankers on eBay, and it turns out I've actually never seen the models before! They were in the game in the late nineties as a piece of wargear for IG tanks; if this was bought, the tank would eject 1d3 crewmen when the tank was wrecked. Anyway, here are the tankers I'll be adding to the army:
I'll probably use them as objectives or hostage-type models for certain scenarios that I dream up.
The handflamers are there mostly just because that's what was on the models and I didn't feel like chopping them off. The handflamer on the Commissar has a cool aquila on it, and the handflamer on the not-Al'Raheim is tucked right in to the model and can't easily be removed. There are also a number of platoon commanders who have handflamers tucked away and nigh-impossible to remove, like so:
Maybe a bit late, but been a while since i visited:
It's not that hard though to remove the flamer on those guys:
Anyway, I started working on some new stuff. The little lights and cotton balls you see are going to make for some vehicle wreck markers, and the three missile launcher teams are, well, missile launcher teams:
I finished the ML teams and will post pics of them too, and built a command Chimera! However, I'm sure you guys will wanna see these guys in action in an all-new battle report! Some choice shots:
Glad you liked the report! And hey, those coats are surprisingly breezy
Also, I found this image today; it's one of the pictures in the 3rd edition rulebook that originally inspired me to collect this army. If only I knew at the time I read through that book...
I assume you've also gotten a few tank riders as well... I use them to man my griffons and/or fill in heavy weapon bases. The guy in the "side saddle" position fits really well on rocks or barrels. I've used him on my mortar squads.
Valhallan42nd wrote: I assume you've also gotten a few tank riders as well... I use them to man my griffons and/or fill in heavy weapon bases. The guy in the "side saddle" position fits really well on rocks or barrels. I've used him on my mortar squads.
I too have many times flipped through the 3rd Ed. rulebook and stopped on that picture... I just remember how the Genestealers always looked like they wore jumpsuits...
Awesome work. If I could paint this fast, my Valhallans woudl have ben finished years ago. As it stands, they're mostly white primer. if you don't mind, here's a shot of my demolisher with tank riders...
Looking good! I was originally thinking of doing straight up white for my tanks originally, long before I thought of green then whitewash, but ultimately decided against it. I really wish there were more than two Valhallan tank riders though; if I ever get a superheavy things will start to look pretty repetitive.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I've got a big update for all y'all tonight!
First of all, here are the missile launchers I finished last week:
Secondly, I've finally finished the last Chimera I need for my mechanized platoon! I'm also stoked to finally paint up a "Drive me closer, I want to hit them with my sword!" command tank:
What are these innocuous blobs?
They're wreck markers of course!
And they even work in the dark!
And finally, since I've got the command tank finished, I might as well get a group shot in with my Chimeras:
Just saw this blog as I started thinking about the Valhallan force (only about 45-50 infantry and some tanks). Not totally sure what I'm going to do with them yet.
Valhalla130 wrote: I love those wreck markers. How did you get the orange glow on the inside? Do you paint the cotton orange and then wrap it around the candles?
They're super duper easy! I got these little battery-powered tealights from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-operated-Tealight-Candles-Flameless/dp/B000VUKQ6C/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1348861963&sr=1-1 Popped off the rubber flames, and covered them with PVA glue. I then wrapped cotton balls around them and spraypainted them black, leaving the top white. They flicker and look awesome! Also, if you're painting a white army, it's probably best to do a grey basecoat. That way you've already got some shading in place and have somewhere to highlight to. That's a great collection of Guardsmen though!
Valhalla130 wrote: I love those wreck markers. How did you get the orange glow on the inside? Do you paint the cotton orange and then wrap it around the candles?
They're super duper easy! I got these little battery-powered tealights from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-operated-Tealight-Candles-Flameless/dp/B000VUKQ6C/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1348861963&sr=1-1 Popped off the rubber flames, and covered them with PVA glue. I then wrapped cotton balls around them and spraypainted them black, leaving the top white. They flicker and look awesome! Also, if you're painting a white army, it's probably best to do a grey basecoat. That way you've already got some shading in place and have somewhere to highlight to. That's a great collection of Guardsmen though!
This. I learned this this last year, when i went back to 40K after an 8 year absence. I did all this back in 2002, before I learned anything about painting. Now I regret it and have set about putting a blue wash on all of those men to give them some depth when I go back over it with white.
I've actually got a Manticore that's been sitting assembled in my closet for a year now, so for the time being I'm pretty set with armor. However, I did pick up a bunch of Valhallan tank riders that will ride on command squad Chimeras. Unfortunately, I need track guards for them as right now they don't have anything to sit on.
) because you won't be the only one with Valhallans when I get back to California hahaha 
I had an army worth over 100 men of them, just couldn't stand that they were everywhere. traded them all for metal guard :p
