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Hi all, I am starting a blog for my Elysian 1st Drop Troop Regiment and my Imperial Navy 2nd Tactical Fighter Wing. So far, I have one assembled Vulture Gunship, and an Elysian Drop Troop Squad is in the mail (going to make them Vets). I am then planning on getting a Valkyrie for the first squad. Does anybody have any suggestions on new units to get next (My most common armies I go against are an MC heavy Nid army, Necrons, and Orks)?

Vendetta gunships are ungodly great.

Also, I recommend either buying or building a ground scanner as it TL's a unit's weapons, add that to FRFSRF for an infantry blob & that's an ungodly accurate amount of firepower.

The Taros venators are excellent as well. Mind you I don't own a single FW IG model but I've scratch & converted an entire 5k Elysian army complete with bombers & fighters.

The Vulture gunship with 4x Rocket Pods is a great vehicle (4 weapons in addition to the HB, NOT TL) & puts out alot of firepower that's the bane of Orks & honestly, you force enough armor saves most armies will die.

You'll want a command squad with a homing beacon on the table to ensure your dropping boys don't fall all over the place, especially a squad like I run that killed my buddies Tyrant & guard in assault: 10 vets, PF, Lascutter, 3 meltaguns, shotguns & demolitions which gives them a demo charge & melta-bombs.

And do not underestimate the usefulness of a platoon command squad riding around in a valk to make a last minute objective grab.

Just my .02, I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Okay, thanks for the ideas! =)

I was thinking of magnetizing my Vulture, so I could switch out between any weapons I choose. (ex. punisher gatlings, 4x multiple rocket pods, etc.) I found some really cool magnets (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UCQMJQ/ref=wms_ohs_product) on Amazon that seemed the right size for Valkyrie+variants hardpoints. (after some cutting)

Hopefully, I'll have some pictures of the Vulture soon! (when I find the camera connector cable)

For the Vulture, I am trying to make the Vulture look gray when viewed from the bottom, and have a green/brown camo scheme when viewed from the top.

Vultures are great, albeit the don't have scout like valk/vend but despite their cost if you take an armored cockpit and chaff/flare launchers they're hard to knock out of the fight without really trying & that diverts firepower from your more unassuming units such as Valks. A sky talon carrying a pair of sentinels with multi-meltas isn't too shabby either. Plus it's really easy to convert from a regular valk & once it dumps its cargo either can function as a vulture that doesn't take up FoC slots or you can bug it out to safety & keep it hidden for a last minute objective grab or to move those sentinels somewhere. Remember, if bought as part of an infantry platoon they don't take up the elites slots, not that you have a huge amount of competition for those in this list, but the stormtroopers can be useful against MEQs and with allies now in 6th Ed you may wind up wanting to take some decent allied elites.

The vulture is a decent bird, but keep in mind, there's really only a couple of loadouts that are worth taking on it:
*bombs are meh as they're not that strong really, they're relatively inaccurate & once you've expended them you're stuck with a big, expensive heavy bolter flying around the board that can't even double as a transport.
*Hunter killer missiles are again, meh as they're (as with bombs) depletable munitions and when they're gone, they're gone, plus they'll only hit 50% of the time so at best, 3 out of 6 will hit & unless you're shooting at AV10-12 they'll probably fail to do damage, missile launcher squads are far better at this as they can be placed in a solid cover & get 3 shots per turn anyway & while still have crap BS they can keep shooting & they can hold an objective.
*Lascannons should not be taken on a vulture. Period. Why? One word: Vendetta. 3 TL Lascannons on a scouting platform that can transport for a lower price.
*Autocannons can be a decent weapon, as can the ML as they're both TL & can do double duty of hunting infantry (to complement your standard HB) & pop transports, I'd recommend either of these in conjunction with a pair of rocket pods.
*Rocket pods are win everytime, as I already mentioned, 4 pie plates, plus the HB decimate Orks & anything in the open, plus you force enough 3+ or cover saves, they will start to drop like flies. I love 4 of these honestly, but if you wanna go cheap & cheerful, a pair & either the multi-laser or autocannon.
*Punisher Cannon is a nasty nasty weapon on a vulture because it is incredibly mobile and maneuverable & it's the best way to take it, as TL version makes it dangerous.

I typically run my valks with the multi-laser & rocket pods with door gunners as dedicated transports either for platoon command or vets & then vendettas in 1-2 ship squadrons stock & if I need the transport capacity I use it, if I don't then they do their jobs of devastating enemy armor.

Okay, I finally found the camera cable! =) First off are some 2008 Elysian Drop Troops that I got off Ebay for a cheap(er) price, but still look the same. Then, I have pictures of my partially completed Vulture, with the bottom part painted gray.

EDIT-Now that I am looking closely at the Vox-Caster, the details on the sides (ex. the little loop) will make it really hard to clean off the flashings...

Okay, I finally found some time to start painting!

My Vulture Gunship is almost complete (with the exception of the punisher cannons), and I am very happy with how the camo turned out!

Any plans on getting an Avenger from FW once they're available? I know my Elysians will be getting one!

For unit choice and such, are you using Codex: Imperial Guard, or IA8?

If you're going the Codex: Guard route, running a flamer vet squad and a melta vet squad out of Valks is very effective for me.

Valkyrie (Mulitlaser, Rocket Pods) 130
Veteran Squad 70
Flamer 5
Flamer 5
Heavy Flamer 20
Grenadiers 30

and

Valkyrie (Multilaser, Rocket Pods) 130
Veteran Squad 70
Melta 10
Melta 10
Demolitions 30

I have another vet squad sitting back with some plasma (they will airdrop when I get another Valk) and a small infantry platoon. 4-7 scoring units is very potent in most games and they all carry a good amount of firepower.

I might get an avenger, except for the fact that it might not be available for Elysians...

I am using IA8 for the list, since they have Valks as transports and Tauros!

I finally finished my first Vulture Gunship!

-Heavy Bolter
-Twin-Linked Punishers



Cockpit



Fuselage



Engine

That's a really crisp aquila wing underneath the cockpit. Is that a custom decal sheet, or did you freehand that on with paint?

The Aquila on the side is from the Forgeworld Valkyrie/Vulture transfer sheet.
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Imperial_Navy/VALKYRIE-TRANSFER-SHEET.html

I actually never knew about that.

Well, looks like I'll have something to order alongside my Avenger come next paycheck!

I'm not sure if if the Valk/Vult transfer sheet is compatible with the Avenger...

Okay, after coming home from two weeks of vacation, I finished my first Elysian:









If anyone has any comments/suggestion/critique, feel free to post it!

P.S.-If you want to, voting on my images in the gallery would be nice...

Looks really good! I'm a fan of the visor color.

Sorry it has been a while, but I finally got some more time.

I have a partially finished Valkyrie (the interior is painted), and I am combining four infantrymen from the infantry squad with the six in the meltagun squad to make a Veteran Squad with the Demolitions doctrine, and three meltaguns!

Hopefully, I will get some pictures soon.

Okay, so I finished an Elysian Meltagun team, which I made some slight modifications to.









For the rock that the Meltagunner is using to prop up his weapon, I went out into my backyard, found a rock the right size, painted it, and glued it on with special all-puropse glue.

EDIT-I finally got around to painting the red stripes on their shoulders.

Elysian armies are always one of my favorites to see. The airborne style and look is just something too cool not to do for 40k! I shall be uploading my own here shortly

This is my midway point for my squad:



I have five guys done!

EDIT-I can't wait to see your Elysians, swampyturtle!

Sorry I haven't been able to update in a while, but with the start of school, there has been a lot of work. However, this weekend, I found some time to work, and I am almost done with my Veteran Squad , and I painted the bottom half of my Valkyrie gray.

Also, on Saturday, I played my first game with my Elysian Drop Troops (allying with my friend), and with the new 6th edition rules, the two aircraft kicked @$$!!!

Ill try to have pictures up sometime tomorrow afternoon...

Okay, here are some pictures...







On both of the Meltagun teams, the rocks on their bases are real rocks that I painted to match their paint scheme.

Scout Sniper J, With the new rules air calv guard is quite powerful and awesome. I know because i run it. As for your aircalv, you are off to a great start, but i feel your painting is sub-par which from what i can see you are caring about your painting. You have got the method down for "blocking" out the colors where you lay down just a base coat, but i suggest getting highlights, and washes. Washes will take a basic figure and make it look pro in seconds. It is a simple and effective method. For your guard i recommend getting the GW of babdab black wash, and earthshade. This will help you bring out your models. The babdab should hit tanks, and clothes, the earthshade on the face and such. Also i suggest you look into color theory so you can understand highlighting/ shading. You have a excellent theme, but need to just do a few things to really make the troopers shine. Your goggles are a plain blue, which is a good base, but it needs a lighter shade to be included and a even lighter shade as a highlight. The same with the grey and so on. Really consider my words before you paint a full expensive/exotic army of Elysian.


You can also consider me a full time follower now.

A good example of the visors i am talking about is compare my visor with yours.

Here is mine. You see that your eye will wonder over the visor looking at first the darkest orange, to the lighter orange, to the lightest orange towards the edges and finally a white extreme finish.

here is a would be visor of your color scheme, however, yours looks more teal, but you get the idea.


I believe you are off to a great start! and will have a loving and awesome army if you just put a few extra strokes of the brush in.

Okay, thanks. I just tried washing the clothes in Badab Black, and it looks great! Ill try to have some pictures up in a few hours...

Ill try your visor method on the next four Elysians I'm painting. It looks pretty hard to get to some of them now...

Okay, here is a picture of the results.

 Scout Sniper J. wrote:
Okay, here is a picture of the results.

They look good! that wash did wonders to them. Also here is a guide line on the visor, i did this on MS paint, also on a note i used a glossy finish on my visor to catch the light, its a cheat, but everything up to the white is painted. A example of what you can do with your visor, a very clear and blocked out idea, another thing you can do is paint it like my profile pic with glare across the visor, just follow the idea, dark to light to white, and back down again. Or build it up as two "hills" for the profile style, and just two "bowls" for the later theme, and if you are super picky try to do the angles that are also in visor.

Okay, I'll try to get to that sometime this weekend, as I have an essay to work on

Ill try to have pics up by Sunday.

 Scout Sniper J. wrote:
Okay, I'll try to get to that sometime this weekend, as I have an essay to work on

Ill try to have pics up by Sunday.

sounds good, dont worry if you are late tho, school comes first over warhammer.

I know


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Does anybody know a good way to get a lot of Elysian plasma guns, since the special weapon pack doesn't come with arms or hands, and there isn't a "Plasma Gun Squad"?

(and I dont think that buying the Command HQ is a good way to stock up on plasma, either...)


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Does anybody know a good way to get a lot of Elysian plasma guns, since the special weapon pack doesn't come with arms or hands, and there isn't a "Plasma Gun Squad"?

(and I dont think that buying the Command HQ is a good way to stock up on plasma, either...)

Sorry, weird glitch

 Scout Sniper J. wrote:
I know


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Does anybody know a good way to get a lot of Elysian plasma guns, since the special weapon pack doesn't come with arms or hands, and there isn't a "Plasma Gun Squad"?

(and I dont think that buying the Command HQ is a good way to stock up on plasma, either...)


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Does anybody know a good way to get a lot of Elysian plasma guns, since the special weapon pack doesn't come with arms or hands, and there isn't a "Plasma Gun Squad"?

(and I dont think that buying the Command HQ is a good way to stock up on plasma, either...)

Sorry, weird glitch

You can always recast theme for the army. That doesn't run into legal issues, and or you look for bits vendors. I think those are 1-3$ each? not sure, and those wouldn't be the Elysian types either.

Okay, thanks.

Ill try to make some hands/arms for the guns out of green stuff. (which will be fun)

I may even make my own plasma guns out of modelling putty!