Hey Guys;

Just a showcase of my Ultramarines 2nd Company Force as it develops?
Due to the financial and temporal constraints implicit to life as a UK student, please don't expect frequent updates?
just wanted to show off my boys in blue; and maybe provide a little something about the "Characters" backgrounds?

will be posting photos of my marines asap!
Yours,
GamerGuy

Looking forward to it

We march for Macragge!

Always good to see more Ultras around.

Not entirely sure on how uploads work where images are concerned; if I try to copy and paste them will that work? just taken a handful of snaps of my boys!

Yours,
GamerGuy

Hopefully the first pic should be attached?

Here's my Scout squad; 5 strong, with heavy bolter.

rarely accomplish much tableside, but in kill team these boys really put the hurt out.

These guys are where the narrative of the force is at. one big concentrated lump of storytime.
more to follow, close ups, individual narratives etc.

note their different Razorback to mark them from the other 2 squads, battle damaged for authenticity.

also note; custom turrets. wasn't prepared to pay out for official ones, so used all GW parts and made lower, sleeker designed ones.
(very very little work done at all)

2nd Tactical Squad.
Loadout:
6 strong, with meltagun.
Sgts have meltabombs and bolters, also carry auspex as an aesthetic preference
(Spoiler Alert, 3rd is pretty much copy + paste)

Yup!
just a cut n stick squad.

Not exciting; but loyal blues pointing the loud end at the enemy...

Nice! Love the red bolters. Very proper

Finally;
The Centrepiece thus far:
My Stormtalon Gunship.

By FAR my most points efficient unit, and despite my earlier preference for the skyhammer missile launchers that my 2 'talons had in my first army; this badbird just keeps on surprising.

presenting, for your viewing pleasure:
The Vulture of Black Reach


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Cheers brushcommando,
your feedback is warmly received!

that's (likely) all for tonight; but will hopefully take some close ups of the stand out marines, some vehicle shots, and tell the story of my little contingent further soon!

any and all feedback gratefully received

Yours,
GamerGuy

Woah has it been a mental few days!
fear not, the blog shall continue.

I've made several new additions to the army, that have forced me to alter the force composition; but I think will work out in the long run.

unfortunately; I can't upload photos as my phone went wrong earlier today; but as soon as Apple either fixes or Replaces it I'll post photos.

New Additions:
Captain -Converted to wield a double bladed sword and Storm (combat) Shield. The Blade will probably count as a relic blade not the Burning Blade as I need my relic slot for the Shield Eternal... note; adding a captain fills a CAD, giving objective secured to my troops.

Objective Marker -2 banners leftover from various projects, standing abandoned in a base. will be useful for games of The Relic; or for forging narratives.

and finally; the bolter boys have undergone a few changes.

one sgt has been demoted, stripped of his auspex and returned to the rank and file. one meltagunner has seen a budget cut, being reduced to a bolter.

2 brand new marines have been built with missile launchers; boosting my squad sizes from 3x6 to 2x10. combat squadiing will allow the missile launchers to hand back or sit on objectives, while the captain can take a combat squad as ablative wounds, and the remaining marines function as 5 man melta attacks.

will get photos asap, may be able to borrow a camera from somewhere until I get my mobile back?

Cheers for browsing,
GamerGuy

Obligatory 'oh my neck is broken from the sideway images' comment.

Otherwise looking good, keep it up!

EDC

Like em. Love the stormtalon! Great work around the cockpit windows, and your basing looks awesome.

Looking good! Have you been in the hobby long?

Cheers for all the feedback guys!

-If anyone can show me how to rotate the images; then I'm more than happy to fix them?

-Started playing 40k in '08, though took a hiatus and only restarted last may, slow growing, but really focusing on the quality of my force over the the quantity of miniatures...

Desperately fighting the urge to restructure AGAIN; to give some variety to the nature of my rank and file squads? having realized that I'm not going to fulfill a battle demi-company anytime soon; The temptation is to swap my 2 5man combat squads with heavy weapons out for a pair of single heavy weapon devastator squads; while maintaining a 5man tactical squad (melta and imperial marine) and scout squad (heavy bolter) as my 2 troops for a CAD. This leaves me 5 marines that I'm considering giving jump packs to and swapping out for an assault squad. (dual flamers)

-all this because my friend suggested I ran Vulkan as my warlord after the double-bladed sword turned out looking distinctly 'spear-ish' and the shield represents the Invuln cloak...

someone talk me out of this??

The only time I had problems with images showing up at odd angles was with my ipad. It had it’s own idea of what up was. I solved that by always taking pictures with it held the same way, so we agreed on what was up. I think one solution is to open them with a photo editor and re-save to replace the hidden meta data.

Do you plan on doing squad markings? If not, don’t sweat the shelf organization. You can adjust it as lists dictate. If you have the bodies, I’d focus on building more guys, rather then regearing old ones. Do you have a list of what you have painted and what’s in the to-build/buy pile? If you want list help, I can try to forge something out of what you have.

5 man assault squads with 2xFlamers are a lot of fun. Good pick for a demi-co. Bonus points if you can magnetize the backpacks (it’s not hard).

If you want to experiment with other chapter tactics, we can’t stop you. But Vulcan really shines in very specific gear loads and at larger points. Stay true to the path; We march for Macragge!

My boys in blue are remaining true to blue standards; though I must confess I'll likely mess about with occasional use of other tactics... which I'mma just put down to my ultramarine captain being a maverick and studying his fellow chapter's deployment styles in order to catalogue them into the index astartes?

Got a game in yesterday but due to time constraints wasn't able to record the game, will try to next time! Allied my blues with my brother's CSM (I know, I know) against another Black legion force and Orks. each player brought 1000pts a piece, so between us we got 2k a side, playing the relic with my new objective. at the top of turn 6 when the bloodbath had run dry and the smoke had settled; the score was 4-2 in my favour.

Cool! Sounds fun. Also allying with CSM makes you a heretic. You know... just...just in case you were wondering.

A game with heretics is better then no game at all. Grats on the win.

I’ve been tempted to run my Ultras with other CTs from time to time. Wrote a list up once, but never got it to the table. My bike captain has a White Scars helmet. It makes perfect sense for them to have fought alongside them in the past, and learned their tactics. Marines work together all the time in the fluff.

It just feels a little cheesy, but not unbearably so. After all, why should we be penalized for painting our army, being locked into one CT, while the Grey Menace can swap to whatever FotM they want?

I like the blue. It's not too shiny and new looking like most ultramarine s you see people paint. Good job!

So...
Hey guys...
An apology for anybody still out there; exam season is mental stuff; haven't even looked at my guys for a while. :(

With my last exam on the 22nd; I hope to bring my force back to the table in spectacular fashion in time for the start of 8th ed. my local club is apparently getting really anal about basing (sizes) after a few people have based marines on obscure sized bases for some form of advantage. as such; when the Biro drops, the brush shall rise; and currently I'm looking at getting some paint on:
1 Twin Kheres Contemptor
1 Multi-Melta & Fist Contemptor
30 Tacticals. (3x10, Combi-Plas, Plasmagun, Lascannon)

I also have a HQ for the force that's kinda fun; but I'm keeping my cards to my chest until I'm sure I can pull off the paint job... just a *little* surprise to try and re-engage anyone still out there? I'd imagine interest will be in *short* supply...

Yours, Gamerguy

p.s. The new boys are going to be a slightly different scheme... more apt for their heresy era armour...

Finished all exams! whoop!

Now to get an army ready for 8th and and societies/gaming clubs might be waiting for me when I start uni.

The only update thus far is I've done a weapon swap on my Contemptor, swapping that nigh useless multi-melta for the increased firepower of twin lascannons.

hopefully pics coming soon!!

GamerGuy

I am looking forward to them!

Update 1: all infantry bar the chaplain based and inked

Update 2: some paint being applied, just proof I'm committed to getting some progress on this blog... still need bases, a few touch ups and of course their red bolters casings

These look excellent, the white and blue is such a great combination.

EDC

Thanks EDC, I like them a lot, really embraces the "Smurfs" thing. Heavily inspired by Winter's SEOs 13th guys, just had to take the scheme for my ultramarines.

hopefully more pics coming soon! thanks for the support!

Thought I should also mention that they're not all monopose bolter brothers; a few of the boys in blue have been upgraded aesthetically, one with a claw piece instead of a combat knife (Brother Ezio), one with dual bolters (one space wolves) as befits the backstory of guys (Brother Lupus)... one carries a heavily modified bolter and shield; he was going to be the imperial marine but will just be one of the rank and file in 8th... a few wielding their blades in hand... I'm trying to avoid overly static infantry.

-I've also been working on the story for my marines, if y'all would be interested in that kind of thing, I promise it's not anything Mary-Sue... just a little narrative to propel my games.

Yours,
GamerGuy


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Also for anyone who has read my recent posts; the earlier teaser made itself evident in the foreground of the 1st image...

-GamerGuy

Hey all.

moved into my new place; and got a little hobby time in to break in the new workbench.
can I get opinions on the bolter casings anyone? while the red is more "proper"; I'm feeling the black ones more personally

here's two battle bros:


Yours,
GamerGuy

I think the retro red works if you have other more nostalgic elements to go with it. Your guys look a little too modern, real, and practical to pull it off. I’d go with the black.

Looking sharp!

Thanks Nevelon; always nice to hear from the smurf guru himself.

-does anyone have any ideas for where I should go with the force from here? on completion of this batch I'll have:

1 Chaplain/Captain
1 Grombrindal /Stand-in character
30 Tactical Marines
3 Razorbacks
2 Contemptor/Mortis Dreadnoughts
5 Scouts
1 Stormtalon Gunship

-I have no idea how big my force is under the new index; but I feel like its probably not that bad?

If anyone would be so kind as to estimate my Power Level total for me that'd be amazing; I'll be sure to acquire an index asap.

Kinda fancy something with some teeth. in 7th I'd have made grav bikers; grav centurions, maybe a knight crusader etc. but in 8th Maybe terminators? Always loved hammernators aesthetically, but never been able to justify buying a set.

that said; 8th appears to be the edition of infantry, and tactical squad spam seems to have a certain merit? having grown up with star wars and halo; the idea of massed armoured soldiers assailing positions and being expended hand over fist, visually carries an appeal.

That said, with keywords making an emergence; a baneblade variant to build a razorback speartip armound could be an idea, as well as look hella good. wanted one since I was like 8...

Cheers,
GamerGuy

howdy dakka;

so hopefully the sun will go in enough for some reasonable non-glaring photos later; progressing at a steady rate

any thoughts as to the next wave of expansion would be appreciated? really quite lost...

It looks like you have a little over 80 power level worth of stuff. Although you have a bunch of stuff with options, so that might be off. And it looks like we might be one of the first codexes released, so I might hold off on getting the index.

As for what to get, that’s a good question. I’m still trying to figure out what works myself.

I’ve not fielded normal assault terminators yes, but have enjoyed my chaperacti ones. Tactical terminators also seem to be in a decent place. Might not be top-tier, but more viable then they used to be. If you like terminators, go for it.

I’ve not read up on the baneblade, so can’t really speak on it. But if you’ve been coveting it that long, get it. Even if it’s mediocre on the table, as long as you aren’t playing top table tournaments, it should still work OK. 8th edition seems a lot more forgiving for units.

If you like the idea of a mechanized list, you could get a pred. Or a LR if you want to go big. While not as point efficient as razors, they do still work. And it looks like you are lacking a HS pick.

I think bikes still have a place. Grav might not be as good as it used to be, but all the options seem viable.

Another thought would be to get a LSS for the scouts. But they should do OK on foot. I think one of the main uses for scouts is as a screening unit. and basic guys on foot work well for that.

Cheers Nev, planning on waiting for the codex myself.
really appreciate you taking the time, thanks!

-Annihilator pattern Predators seem to be dishing out the hurt in 8th; could well be tempted.

do you have any thoughts pertaining the primaris marines? can't decide if I love the intercessors enough to spam them...

-hopefully pics sometime soon, my iPhone fried itself so waiting on a repair/replace

 GamerGuy wrote:
Cheers Nev, planning on waiting for the codex myself.
really appreciate you taking the time, thanks!

-Annihilator pattern Predators seem to be dishing out the hurt in 8th; could well be tempted.

do you have any thoughts pertaining the primaris marines? can't decide if I love the intercessors enough to spam them...

-hopefully pics sometime soon, my iPhone fried itself so waiting on a repair/replace

Hope you get your phone sorted out. Don’t know how I’d live without mine these days.

The primaris situation is a moving one. Once the range gets fleshed out, especially with transports, everything will change. All my thoughts are purely theoretical, as i’ve only started assembling mine, and none have hit the table.

The big winner IMHO is the lieutenant. He brings a re-roll to wound bubble, something not easily gained elsewhere. And is responsibly priced. The other Primaris characters aren’t really exciting me. They don’t do anything the shelf full of HQs I already have do, and can’t fit in transports/ride bikes/take jump packs. If you were planning on footslogging, maybe? The limited option for gear don’t help here.

Intercessors seem good. Good range on AP-1 bolters, at a low price. Footslogging, which is an issue, but not bad for shoring up a gunline or camping objectives. I don’t know if I’d spam them hard, but working 2-3 5 man squads into a list seems like it might work. From what I’ve picked up from the mathhammer crowd, they are one of the most efficient ways to get MEQ wounds on the table. Slight more resilient vs. small arms (as it takes 2 wounds to kill a guy) but slight more vulnerable to multi-damage attacks.

Helblasters/inceptors seem very pricy for what they are. The plasma guys I think will get a lot better when they don’t need to footslog to their target. I just don’t see them living to rapid fire range vs. any foe with an ounce of firepower. If they do make it though, they will bring the pain. Jump guys are just overpriced.

The new reivers need full rules, right now are a solid “meh”.

Okay Dakka, so the blogs been kinda dead lately as a result of real life and a lack of a mobile phone, but fear not the blog will continue.

at present I find myself musing daily the next wave of expansion;
In 7th Ed there was a blood angels formation of 3 10 strong tactical squads in stormravens that I loved aesthetically, but couldn't justify.

always brought to mind the scene in the star wars episode II: The clone wars, in which the republic clone army makes it's first appearance, all flying in!
In 8th, stormraven spam might just work, space marine air cav!

I've even seen similar lists knocking around forums titled "tournament" and "competitive"!! I'm so excited!

a little apprehensive of putting all my eggs in "one basket" so to speak... but I feel like it could work out.

my hobby budget is £200. and I'm just lost. never had this kinda cash at my disposal before?

options:

3 x Stormraven Gunship
------------------------
40 Assault Marines
-------------------------
12 Devastator Centurions
..............................
3 x Landraider
-------------------------
An Imperial Knight? 2 Knights?
------------------------------
A set of City Terrain for at home?
---------------------------------
A set of 3rd party terrain?
-------------------------------------

With the future looking so uncertain; I'm just focusing on painting my rank and file soldiers. hopefully when my phone gets back to me I'll post some pics. 2 squads nearing completion.

GamerGuy

If you want an air cav type list that’s not just flyer spam (which probably won’t make you many friends) SM do have a decent selection of other things that don’t touch the ground. Land Speeders (which seem a bit overpriced, but I’ve not extensively tested them) LSS’s which are good ways of zipping scouts around, and on the horizon is the new primaris grav tank thing.

I took my raven out for a spin in my last game and it did quite well for itself. Solid unit.

But the new codex should drop in a couple of weeks, so I’d wait for that at the very least.

Kids; there comes a time in a young man's life in which he suffers several losses in the family (as is the circle of life), and in that place of contemplation, the realisation comes that life is futile and that in actuality, the pursuit of happiness within our tiny lifespan is the only thing that truly matters.

which is why I; having conquered the depression of a teenage "mid-life crisis" the scale of which has not been seen since Horus turned his back to the Imperium... I decided to buy a Warhound Titan.

I'm fetching it tomorrow.

But self-loathing monologue aside, my marines have been calling out for a centerpiece; and some heavy reinforcements.
The offer was good, the cash was available, and I really wanted that giant death-robot.

Man I really miss my phone.
so many updates for you all:
2 squads of tacticals near completion, 3rd on it's way.
2 Dreadnoughts awaiting basing.

and tomorrow I'll be adding a Warhound Titan to my project list. she's part painted and in a quite a few sub-assemblies. not sure if I'll strip the model down and re-spray, or spray steel and give it a heavy washing before working on the armour plates?

Looking for suggestions as to a name; serious ones valued, sillier ones appreciated.

she's kitted out with the turbo-laser destroyers and a plasma blastgun; a most agreeable loadout.

All the best,
GamerGuy

it's 20to3 am here in England, and as always, sleep eludes me. guess I'll try and find the family camera to post a few pics of my Warhound WIP?

Mmmm Warhound Pics. Make it happen! You can sleep when you are dead!

Pic Barrage to come!!

as shown in the next two images, the Warhound's head, and face canopy's are both magnetised...

Still loads to do on this gargantuan robot; here's some pics of the untouched plates and weapons...


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So yeah; this is my Warhound.


She's a beaut! regrettably I forgot to take pictures of the hull interior, or maybe gave up because it wouldn't focus on all black? I don't recall... but there's nothing worth uploading on this memory stick.

If we are to assume that the Loyalist Warhound Titan will follow the same Statline as the Chaos variant; she's 75PL, for 35 wounds of ass-kicking.
Am I allowed to upload pics of entries or is that against the forum rules? I'll hold fire until sure, wouldn't want to upset the mods/and or GWs legal team...

Yours,
GamerGuy



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Just realised I didn't think to get the marines out for scale and progress shots!! :(

Ah well, now I know the family camera will talk to my laptop I'll hopefully have more pics for you all shortly

take it easy,
GamerGuy

Further progress on the boys in blue!

More pics of the boys for your viewing pleasures...

GamerGuy

I like the sarge's helmet color scheme.

What's up with the shield on that one guy? Looks interesting, where did it come from and can we get another angle?

Thanks man, was gonna do a vertical strip down the standard MK.IV helmets for the Sgts, ut then I found a bunch of the deathwatch upgrade sprues and decided on using that helmet.

As I briefly tried to explain in an earlier post; one of the things I didn't like about the original force on the old bases was how static all the miniatures were. as such, when I started modeling my betrayal at calth marines I threw in a handful of kitbash/conversions, to stop them looking quite so monopose.

The brother with the shield features a heavily modified bolter; and was modelled before 8th dropped and was going to be my imperial marine; the shield is purely to make him stand out, an aesthetics choice not wysiwyg. now he'll just be a bolter marine, probably getting a spotlight in one of my fictions surrounding the contingent.

As for the shield's origin? the combat shield looks okay on assault marines as they need to stay light, but for my heresy era super-soldiers I felt they looked too flimsy. as such I got a handful of these shields from a mate, they're from the orgryn/bullgryn kit. Much more satisfying. when I first modelled him he was throwing a punch, now he's swinging a slab of ceramite armour around to block incoming attacks.

-Regretably I'm now away for a few days and haven't got my camera with me; I'll send some better pics of that marine when I can; though he's likely to get some close-ups when I do the narrative bits for him and brothers Lupus & Ezio.

Yours,
GamerGuy

Hey there Dakka;

So I got into Uni...
The run up to results day was nerve shredding; but I've finished spraying the resin parts and assembling the warhound. regrettably it then fell over off of the table exploding dramatically across the kitchen floor and chipping paint all over the place. reassembled now in a pose that stands firmly; but that's why theres some paint chips that need touching up when I upload some pics.

infantry progressing way slower than I'd have liked, but couldn't face painting with constant hand shake.

-updates soon!
GamerGuy

A while since the last update; but life has really hampered my hobby drive...

warhound is still WIP, infantry is still unfinished, but I did sit down earlier and make a few barricades, pics to follow.

if there's anyone still out there at all; my sincere apologies for the progression rate, of late

GamerGuy

Life can be that way sometimes. Hang in there and get back to painting when you are ready.

Or try to recapture your motivation. Different tricks work for different people. But Just picking up the brush and making slow progress is still progress.

On that note, I should put a layer down myself...

Okay;
Picture spam; huge leaps and bounds in progress

More Pics

Pics again:


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So my IPhone hates Dakka and keeps rotating images... but here's the force.,.

gonna try and get some close ups and action shots when I play... maybe even basic batreps

Some more great looking work there bud! Really liking how those tac and devastator marines have come out, helmets really striking. And the lenses on those lascannons...epic!

Will you be painting the warhound blue to match?

With the iPhone, if you take all pics with the "home" button on the right, they turn out the right way up. (At least how I solved it on my blog)

Keep it up

Cheers for the tip!!

Not too sure yet about the 'hound... delaying any further painting until I'm firmly decided lol

updates on scratch build barriers during sociable hours... its 2:21am here xD

GamerGuy

Hey Everyone;

so there's been no updates for a while, but here's hoping I get my snikrot together?

today I purchased a new pair of clippers; and 3 boxes of tactical marines. trying to work on the warhound got depressing as hours of work seem to yield little/no progress, so it's back to infantry for me.

with 8th edition being so bloody; and casualty heavy, I have an idea of massed tactical/devastator squads, with a scattering of upgrades, mostly plasma and a few heavy weapons. the ideal is lower point brackets forcing waves of relatively durable infantry. think conscript horde but with less bodies and IMO nicer models. drafts of the list so far sit at about the 1200point mark but I'm trying to compress further, maybe down to 1k. at that bracket most armies will die to the sheer weight of firepower.

in higher point games; having 60 bodies will be no bad thing; and with the new rules for transports I'll be able to put 2 combat squads from 2 different units into the same rhino. effectively dropping off 6 bolter marines, 2 plasmaguns and 2 combi-plasmas. or a metric sh*t-tonne of S7 firepower.

stay tuned for WIP pics

GamerGuy

Lots of bodies and plasma/lascannons seem to be the best thing right now. Razorbacks with Assault Cannons are solid, as are Annihilator Predators. However, Terminators are the most durable they've been for a while - a unit of them would look quite nice.

You may, as an Ultramarine player, want to take the plunge and get Guilliman.

A kit I always recommend is the Sternguard or Vanguard Veterans kit - even if you don't necessarily use them as that in game, the amount of bits, wargear and cool looking armour you get is definitely good.

Also, on a different note, fellow Ultramarine player, and will be moving near-ish Leicester next year, hopefully.

Keep in touch Smudge; we'll have to Codex and chill

jk bro, but seriously would be ace to hang out, not found too many 40k gamers in the area yet since moving recently.

Guilliman can get lost; he's the centre of all ultramarines hate these days, and not even a great model in my opinion...

have a trio of assault cannon razorbacks painted and ready for duty; they perform remarkably every time.

got the sternguard a while back; wasn't disappointed, still using spares almost a year later

updates soon;
GamerGuy


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Update the first: the list I'm theory hammering is more expensive than foreseen due to extra bitz found in my hobby supplies. as such 3 combi-flamer flamer squads are going to become a second batch on combi-plas plasmaguns. this will bring my infantry models to:

6 x 5 Marines, Combi-plas Plasmagun
3 x 5 Marines, Lascannon
3 x 5 Marines, Combi-melta Meltagun

If there's anyone out there; cool ultramarines successor chapter needed pls

 GamerGuy wrote:
If there's anyone out there; cool ultramarines successor chapter needed pls

All of them, naturally.

Cool fluff/history, cool colors, cool name, what’s your priority?

Style of combat, favored foes, sector of space? Which is more important?

2/3s of the chapters out there fit the bill, need to narrow it down a bit.

When I needed to choose a UM successor for my Deathwatch squad I went with a Howling Griffon. Sculpted pad available, quartered scheme on the pad was something to push my skills a bit, and they are an older, storied chapter. YMMV.

Thanks for the tip Nev; and can I just say I'm digging the new profile pic? very seasonal brother

In the end having driven myself to near insanity scrolling through page after page after page of successors and reading loads of different backgrounds, I opted to remain true blue. my next wave of reinforcements are assembled, pics on their way!!

we have:

5 Company Veterans
5 Devastators
20 Tactical Marines
and a new Captain

cheers,
GamerGuy

reminder of where we left off...


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and of course its upside down
bare with guys....

Testing to see if I can get these images the right way up.... Fragging Apple...

IIRC from when I used my iPad to take pics, the orientation of the device is key. Somehow it assumes an “up” based on that. So try holding it the other way round and see if that helps. I think I needed the home button on the left to take pis, but it’s been a while, and I’ve not noticed the same problem with my phone.

So having found one of my images on the dakka home page from the start of my blog.... I've been inspired to try and rekindle it. My IPhone is still dead but I suppose is nearly due an upgrade? The Warhound has zero progress, but infantry are coming along nicely, and due to an exceptional offer.... I relented and bought Guilliman. I'll be taking photos on the family camera.... just need to find the card reader.

I think I'll start one marine at a time; been promising character profiles forever but never cast anything in stone....

maybe a terrain spotlight? for a while I had built a tiny necromunda/cities of death board but due to a tragic (see drunken friend) accident, that's very much gone...

For a P&M blog I don't get much done... apologies folks.

GamerGuy

Good to see your blog active again. Looking forward to new progress.

Courage and honor!

Great work so far! Can't wait to see what else you put out. And you already have Nev over here checking your Ultras out, Well done!

Neat looking force so far! Eager to see some more developments. I'm a stickler for command units so would love to see a real leadership element in the pipeline

Love the pain scheme!
What are you using to get this excellent mud/dust effect?

Honey; i'm hooooome.

Wow it's been a while since I last updated my blog, my sincere apologies all, I'm not a great example if you're looking for consistent workflow

MORE COMING

(P.S. Smurfmaster that effect was some old railway rust effect powder, and a blend I make myself for dirt that helps the rust blend in easier... if you like I could write down the recipe next time I'm weathering?)



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New Board set up pics coming; and 20 tacticals, 5 company veterans & 5 devastators in the pipeline alongside Guilliman.... hopefully this time the blog won't lose momentum quite as quickly!!

GamerGuy

Not sure why I haven't seen this P&M Blog before!

Thanks for all the list building advice. Loving your painting too (although man you need to work out how to post photos the right way up )

I thought I preferred black edges to bases but now I've seen yours I'm not sure. What colour are you using?

I used to live in Leicester. Are you a Squig, a Phat Kat, or neither?

Never been a huge Ultramarine fan but I can appreciate talent.

Hey Guys;

As always my apologies for the elapsed time between blog posts; lifes been busy lately!


-a few answers to the above!


XV88 citadel paint is used on my basing Brother Castor, just a quick wipe round helps blend the basing into the board I find

Squig? Phat cat? nah... I'm more a painter that sees the board with mates every now and again! your praise is humbling, thank you!

LDP I can't promise my command elements are nearly as exciting as yours, they're pretty much just chainswords and bolt pistols... but their ride may excite you?

soooooo wow do I owe you all updates.


The Captain, Devs, Company Veterans, and 20 tactical marines I've been promising you all have progressed a little, but virtually none. guilliman is still WIP... the warhound has been re-sprayed silver, pics later....


I acquired and started work on a leviathan dreadnought, and a contemptor mortis to back him up.... but the later came out glossy? working on my dreads has kept the hobby alive for me lately; and a few pick up games with friends.


Did I mention the land raider?? wow I'm a poor blog host!

Very nice work bud.

Thank you xKillGorex!

Updates soon lads
GamerGuy

Watch this space guys!

GamerGuy's Ultramarines will return shortly

Abysmal lighting aside... I think we're ready to take some (long overdue) update shots!

First up; My mortar-minibus, the land raider achilles! this beast was my first go at borrowing an airbrush, and while I like the effect, I'll be sticking to traditional methods of painting from here on in...

Next up is my (almost but not quite finished) Leviathan Dreadnought. he was an ebay save, and has scars to prove it... but a custom kneepad, repositioned everything and a coat of paint later, and he looks good enough for me; if slightly below my normal standards

Which brings us to the command structure... bringing his psychic might to reinforce the lines of the 13th, its the master of prescience: Tigurius

Not one to leave a pesky psyker in charge though; Presenting my Warlord, Captain Agemmon

Squad II Followed next, They're loyal, they're blue, and they never fire a plasma round that ain't overcharged

I like these. Especially the Land Raider.

Likewise Squad III are battleline infantry. tenacious fighters specialising in urban conflicts, they've earned their points back with credit in all 4 games they've featured in so far

Squad V have only graced the battlefield twice so far, but took a last turn 2VP objective marker to steal me a victory to continue the formations 4/0/0 win streak.

Yes that bolter has 3 magazines. yes it has double bayonets. yes I was high when I made it. No, I regret nothing

Squad VIII go by the name Spectres, after their uncanny ability to hide in terrain, pop out and melta important stuff. The Sgt (T'challa) is yet to miss a shot, or roll less than a 6 for his damage. Legend.


The Sgt was actually an interesting exercise in painting non-Caucasian flesh tones, and though the result is way darker than i'd initially envisaged, I'm happy with the result, and the dice gods seem to appreciate his drum-mag combi-melta

Devastator squad Thunderstorm then joined my ranks to lend some more ranged firepower to the strikeforces of the 13th legion. with 3 official missile launchers, and 1 converted from a hunter-killer missile; this conversion blends in nicely, but reminds me to utilise the Sgts Signum ability.


Speaking of Sgt Fischer, she's named for my girlfriend, as she loved the miniature: dual wielding grenades, with plenty of spares on a belt around the waist... it's easy to see why. the model also has a demo charge, bolter and spare missiles for the squad mag-locked to the backpack, and will be my kill team demolitions expert

Last up before the big reveal, we have my company veteran squad... they're stock with bolt pistols and chainswords, and literally exist to get shot in place of more important people. still... could be worse...

And *FINALLY*, The long awaited reveal of GamerGuy's Lord Commander of The Imperium... Roboute Guilliman.


Boy was this model a labour of love... the sword alone took in excess of 8 hours to get a finish I was happy with... Don't even get me started on the Marble Eagle Head...


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Thanks for looking guys, as always C&C welcomed, hopefully I'll be back soon with what I did with my kill team terrain set, WIPS of my Deredeo; and the Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought my girlfriend bought me for Christmas...

Cheers,
GamerGuy


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Cheers Castor, Appreciate it man!

That's a good-looking Bobby G! The time spent on the sword definitely paid off, it looks glorious! I also like the white helmet, I don't think I've seen that before.

Cheers Dude; the flaming sword was really an exercise in testing my warm palette highlights, glad you like it man!


the white helmet is just the heraldry I use on my company; non canon of course, shamelessly stolen from Winters SEO, the inspiration for my return to the hobby

Got a 500pts doubles night coming up; patrol detachments and bonus CP for being fully painted and based...

I'm Running:

Capt
combi-melta
Teeth of Terra

Tactical squad
combi-plasma
plsmagun

razorback
storm bolter
twin assasult cannon

stormtalon gunship
twin assault cannon
twin lascannons

-----------------
Whatcha think guys? with the ultramrines trait, 2 bonus CP for built and painted, and a 1/3 change of regening the command point on 3 dice.... I've got a free chapter master to re-roll bubble on the two workhorses... should do okay I reckon


GamerGuy

Hey guys; blog updates in the morning!!

Spent yesterday getting in 2 games at Warhammer World vs Blood Angels and Harlequins; and mono quins!

Had a game in a gw against eldar late last week
got a set up in the kitchen for ~1880pts vs Nids w a superheavy!

Pics inbound!
GamerGuy

Nice! Always good to see some well painted Ultras dispensing the Emperor’s Wrath to the foes of Mankind.

sooo I think i'mma just do a pic dump. I've got so much backlog now that organising is gonna be difficult. bare with guys; here's some of my ultras exploits!

Hello Internet!!

I present to you, for your viewing pleasure, the pics I took from my last 3 games. 2 were played at forge world against flesh tearers and harlequins, and then solo quins later that day... the last was vs death korps and quinns… but my boys in blue have been performing lately!


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well sh*t... turns out I still can't use a computer



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brb

Attempt 2 internet!

these are the few pics I took of my first game at Warhammer world!!!

The mrs dismissed me for the weekend as she was (mistakenly) worrying about her uni submission... it would later be revealed to be due in a further week.


not one to miss an opportunity I seized the day and made the pilgrimage to Warhammer world!


my opponent Nathan was a good sport; despite getting thouroughly spanked.



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Game 2 was on a feature table!

It's been a subject of controversy lately, so I thought I'd make my views known here instead of entering the dick swinging contests in threads elsewhere. well painted models, on well painted terrain; keeps me buying this expensive heckin plastic. I never refuse a game based on painting quality/quantity, instead preferring to lead by example. Nathan, my regular opponent, has even started painting his dirty dirty xenos.

hope you enjoy the pics. it was in this game; that chief librarian tigurius (evidently sick of Nathan chatting sh*t,) proceeded to beat the snot out of his blitzing solitare in hand to hand combat.... turns out that the shiny golden wanna-be assassins creed guy was no match for a stubborn white man with a large stick.

much to the amusement of the tactical squad watching from the sidelines...

edit: complete pics from game 1


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its worth noting that all 3 of my last games have been tablings; the 13th suffer not their enemies to live

Here's the pics from game 2!!

A few pics from the 3rd and final recent game


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In the final game the solitare killed my captain; but a well placed strategem allowed him to fight on in death, wounding the shiny gold guy.... reducing him to a single wound... which would later be removed by.... the dishonour... tigurius' bolt pistol!

take it easy y'all
GamerGuy

well clearly my method of emailing myself the images to fix them doesn't work if they're compressed and extracted from a zipped folder... but yeah thats the backlog of photots…

gonna really try and start uploading more frequently, have had a few good games lately, and with my opponents starting to get some paint on their figures maybe i'll remember to take mre pics, maybe even cobble together a few battlereports

also worth noting; I'm now officially taking commissions if anyone would be interested in having their army painted; pls pm me



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Just a quick shameless brag; but i've just now realised i've killed most of the named blood angels HQs so far in 8th...

Mephiston
Sanguinor
Seth
Tycho
Astorath
……………

Just need to find anyone running Corbulo and get a re-match against Nathan w Dante... he escaped my headhunting party just barely a few months back...

++ Sir, long range communication interceptions … reveal heretic astartes facing heavy resistance from isolated astartes bearing XIII legion heraldry... Shipping yard.... unsanctioned STC deviancy... Emperor guide us++

Sooo…. This happened. story-time to follow...

Nice to see your army on the table, where they belong!

Still not a fan of the new dread, good luck with him.

Nev why the hate on the new dread man? I would've thought with your growing acceptance of the primaris; a dread to fit their scale would've been one of the first units you'd come round to? I mean yes; the miniature is almost too big to call a mini- it's almost action figure proportions... but I had to have one to complete my set and I got him for a fiver


hopefully posting a game vs my brothers blood angels this week; fighting sat so maybe something resembling a battlereport in the pipeline!

He looks... Tubby? Something about the proportions seems off. He seems both front and top heavy. He skipped leg day. And overgunned. It’s not nipple cannons, but those front mounted weapons don’t need to be there. That’s a growing problem with the primaris range, and not exclusive to him. Just slapping a ton of extra firepower on things. The repulsor is the worst for this, but the frag launchers on the aggressors also click that button.

I love the basic intercessor, and similar models. Clean lines, good proportions, normal level of gear for a marine. But the farther you get from that, the weirder they get. That dread looks like he’d fit in just fine on a cheezy ’80s Saturday morning cartoon/toy advertisement. That’s not what I’m looking for in my 40k aesthetic.

That said, if I could grab one for a fiver, he’d join the pile of shame.

He does look a lil chubby; but when you're done fat-shaming him; I prefer to think of him as a toddler.... sorta chunky, low dexterity, waddling "Nappynought" as my friend calls him... he has since stopped laughing due to heavy flamers being really good at toasting elves


GamerGuy

 GamerGuy wrote:
Honey; i'm hooooome.

Wow it's been a while since I last updated my blog, my sincere apologies all, I'm not a great example if you're looking for consistent workflow

MORE COMING

(P.S. Smurfmaster that effect was some old railway rust effect powder, and a blend I make myself for dirt that helps the rust blend in easier... if you like I could write down the recipe next time I'm weathering?)

GamerGuy

Don't worry -I'm here on&off too.
I for one would love a tutorial on the dust/mud effect whenever you get around to it.
Thank you for replying

2 games with the kid brother over the weekend... neither of which were aesthetically nor tactically pleasing....

the first was played 1500pts on a large cardboard box... battlefield was poor even with my attempts to cover 75% in terrain... game wasn't even close, I tabled him with an end score of 11-5....

the second was a narrative mission on the same table, with a different set up... the mission revolved around a downed stormraven gunship... he had to defend the shipping yard while his stormraven re-fuelled... in hindsight I shouldn't have allowed him to fire its weapons, but its a new toy and he's a child... I brought a weak, fluffy recon force and due to exceptional rolling on his part, and my poor poor dice... the 13th were killed to a man... who technically won me the game 3-2, but it sure as hell didn't feel like a win with the sgt of the 5th taking cover in a building to survive the end of the game.


i'll try for a battlereport again soon, maybe this week sometime!


in other news; an expensive impulse purchase has kicked my my hobby motivation into overdrive... i've pretty much finished my 13th and felt I needed a change... and then I saw the blackstone fortress traitor guard... and I knew I had to rekindle my long lost love with guard armies... but this time I wanted to be the villain of the piece.


infuriatingly; the datasheet ofr the squad of 7 is limited to 2 per army, and theres no way of building a battalion with the servants of abyss... so instead I ordered 3 7man squads, and 3 sprues of the beastmen... i'll be making up the numbers with our brayherd allies, though this is fluffy and I enjoy the concept anyway. the force will be headed up by cult leader techvar from dark vengeance, a renegade lord commissar. for now i'm not too worried about the loyal 32 build... I just wanna play something fluffy and fun for small point encounters against Nathan's krieg… pics inbound when they reach argos!

Some nice looking ultramarines here. Really like those white helmets and Guilliman looks awesome too. Looking forward to what you do with the traitor guard, and welcome to the right side of the long war!

The heresy begins...

Hey Guys 3 small updates for you all

Number 1; a kill team/skirmish board I'm working on

Number 2; a sniper rifle WIP

x

Attempt 2

Playing an 800 point skirmish in a few days with Nathan, guard civil war... we're presently deciding whether or not utilising an alternating activation system would enhance the experience... both running the krieg dex, should be an interesting lil fight... my guard will be running:


2 Tank Commanders
(1 Executioner with 3 extra plasmas) & (1 Punisher with all the heavy bolters)
4 5 man storm squads, each with a Grenade launcher
2 Storm Chimeras, Heavy Bolter & Autocannon

Aux. Tallarn Armoured Sentinel, Missile Launcher, Sentinel Chainsaw and Hunter Killer Missile

Will let you all know how it goes!

Despite some of the photo orientations being all over the place, I like the battle report pictures. There is nothing better than seeing painted armies on nice, finished tables with good terrain. That urban battlefield looks quite nice and the Ultramarines look great on it and really pop. That’s a good looking army.

I hope you try the alternate activation and let us know how it goes. I’ve thought about it for a while and I think it could be implemented without changing much about the rules and keeping the same feel of the game but making it more interesting and realistic rather than the armies trading giant haymakers with huge momentum swings each turn. I might try it in my campaign soon as well (with old hammer Horus Heresy rules anyway).

-Rids

I'm back baby...

guys n galls I typed out a huge explanantion for my long time absence, but the synopsis boils down to: real life sucks

nobody is here to read about the depressing reality of the present, we spend our precious hobby time looking for an escape into a dystopian future, and so with that in mind, i'll spare you the biograghy.

Here's what to expect:

Death Guard

Daemons

Battle Reports? Pic format, hopefully right side up

Take it easy,
GamerGuy

Good to see you back. Life has a habit of sucking, just got to keep at it. Painting helps. Hang in there.

Wassup guys... has it been a while!

Traitor guard never got off the ground, but with 9th edition upon us the 13th should hopefully be back to kicking ass soon!

Forecast shows potential opponents for this month:

Death Guard
Black Legion
Blood Angels
Crons

Do people still want battle reports in P&M blogs? Or should I open a new thread?

Stay safe y’all! -GamerGuy

Wassup guys!

So today, and for the next week or so I'm going to be collecting my thoughts and talking into the void about 40k for my own reflective purposes; if there's anyone out there interested in that my blog should be fairly active; due to Covid I am currently stranded far away from the bulk of my hobby supplies, so FULL DISCLOSURE there will be a distinct lack of painting and modelling for a bit...

-I'm hoping that I'll get into a routine and be able to get this baby off the ground again in about a week or so when i'm back at my own desk

Cheers,
GamerGuy

Life is better with painted models, but we play the hand we are dealt. Hope things settle down a bit and you can get into a good routine.

Lately I've seen a lot of posts about "balance" in 40k, which in itself is a whole can of worms to me. a game with this many factions, each with its own unique tricks, and with the game scaling up so very quickly... is it really an achievable goal? I say probably not...

but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. or the only option we have at our disposal.

The first thing I'd like to address is why i don't think true "balance" is what people want. true balance would give both players an equal chance of winning the game, and there's even a bias margin in chess, whereby white (the first turn player) has close to an 8% advantage in win-ratios. And that's 2 identical armies facing off on a small-ass board with no tactical depth. or ranged attacks that don't require moving into the position of the target.

and y'all... it's kinda boring.

I'm gonna be somewhat controversial and say that if your games of warhammer 40k are feeling one-sided, it's your own fault (kinda)

We're grown ass men (predominantly?), and no-one gets to tell you how to play with your toy soldiers on your coffee table, in your house. now obviously it's a different kettle of fish when we get into tournaments, but 40k should never have become a competitive game in my honest opinion. change my mind.

growing up, 40k for me was about these dope lil figurines that my brother, friend and I would collect; and then play small scale games with. we couldn't afford a knight until 8th ed (though tbf another friend from college got a stompa for his orks mid 7th when he was getting tabled 24/7)... the rulebook used to have an opening paragraph about "forging the narrative" which became somewhat of a meme, but honestly, I feel they had the right idea. People are so sick of blatantly busted combos that they just want an even (ish) chance of winning. and for the last few editions its become increasingly obvious when setting up if one list is gonna smash the other in 3 turns flat... and no one wants to spend 2+hrs packing their army away with no hope of fighting back in any way meaningful.

sooo what do I propose? well. obviously its not for everyone? but i've had decent success with playing skirmish level points in 9th, but you've gotta get your terrain on point. -1 to hit, and +1 armour save are nice durability boosters so long as the firepower coming in isn't from some deathstar unit. and for those of you seeking a game with more tactical depth, get together with a likeminded friend and try playing a game of 650-800pts.

now I hear you cry! but gamerguy, my primaris marines can't fit F all in 650pts... and that's deeply unfortunate, it is. but heres the kicker- new units are a product of their environment. to justify their cost, theyre built for battlefields full of tanks, monsters and daemons... and you don't "need" that durability the way you do in those scale games.

I'm currently theorising a new game mode that i hope to someday release here on dakka that combines low point values, GEQ (guardsmen equivalent) infantry as the norm, and implementing some of the cooler bits from kill team for character customisation options... but the biggest change I've been working on during my isolation, is abandoning the player turn system.


-pre-warning, if you're not into complexity, look away now.

My solitude may be driving me mad, but I tested a concept a few times recently that basically "frees" the players of the rigid turn structure and system, which immediately made the game feel more tactical.

I'mma be back later with my proposed game mode, it may be tomorrow, but if anyone's interested in helping me get this off the ground you will be credited at its free release to DakkaDakka.

Take it easy y'all,
GamerGuy

Try this on for size.


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Rules for Eldar/Orks/Space Marines/Sisters/Crons (tau?) inbound

yo whats poppin' guys,

so today i started planning out my list for my new imperial guard detachment for 9th edition, and I have some questions for y'all.

First up, you should know that the list comprises entirely of Kasrkin Guardsmen with some armoured support, and i can't decide whether to go with the blue white of my space marines, making them a human auxiliary force? of go with a blend of greens for a more Halo/ODST vibe?

the list atm is

Company Commander (Power Fist, Laspistol)

Command Squad (4x Sniper Rifles)

Veteran Squad (power sword, heavy flamer, grenade launcher, meltagun, plasmagun)

Veteran Squad (power sword, heavy flamer, grenade launcher, meltagun, plasmagun)

Veteran Squad (power sword, heavy flamer, grenade launcher, meltagun, plasmagun)

Veteran Squad (power sword, heavy flamer, grenade launcher, meltagun, plasmagun)

Tauros Venator (twin multi-laser, hunter killer missile)
Tauros Venator (twin multi-laser)
Tauros Venator (twin multi-laser)

Total 650pts.

Gonna convert up a trio of Achilles Ridgerunners for a warthog-style tauros squadron, and hopefully at some point add both a vulture and vendetta gunship to bring the list up to about 1200.

I know they're not competitive as they could be, but damn if they won't look dope

thoughts appreciated,
GamerGuy

On game balance:
40k has always been best when played between people with likeminded expectations of the game. It has always been broken. It has always been unbalanced. You want a game where both people are pushing the envelope? Fun. Both fluffy lists? Fun. Mix the two? Unfun. Poor internal balance within the codexes and between them complicated things. I’ve had games where I needed to lean on the brakes to get my Eldar army down to the level where it would be a fun game for my opponent.

I wish you the best tinkering with your own ruleset.

--

On paint:
Generally I like GEQ in realistic camo/uniforms. Leave the heraldry for the marines. That said, I’m not up on the moser Scion fluff, so they might cross the line. What I might do would be to include a color splash somewhere to tie them in with your marines, so if you do ally them, they look like a coherent auxiliary.

I’ve got my eye on the ridgerunner myself for conversion work. We’ll see how it compares to the new marine ATV when it comes out, size wise.

Hey Nev, thanks for stopping by again, your blog has been a source of entertainment since I was in high school so its always great to get your input!

Couldn't agree more about mixing different expectations for a game; I've found myself drifting away from "competitive" style games because it rarely actually feels like a competition these days, instead preferring to write missions/scenarios that tell a story; aside from anything else they tend to be the most memorable!

I dunno how far I'll actually get with my homebrew set, Its mostly just a place to collect my thoughts on how to get the most out of my brothers fledgling ad mech, and my Dad's fledgling Mad-max themed Genestealer cults (Pics inbound soon!)

The marine ATV is a good call; I think i'll be sticking with the ridgerunner as the model is very aesthetically pleasing to me, but let me know how it goes for you!!

GamerGuy






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How does Dakka generally feel about recasting OOP metal figures in resin at home? just putting some feelers out there...

I say this because while I have 40+ genuine metal kasrkin for my veteran squads, if I wanted to apply the same aesthetic to say, a concript blob... or 3, for competitive games, we'd be looking at hunting 60 premium priced sculpts...

and i have neither the cash nor patience for that :(

Any advice Dakka?
GamerGuy

2:22am, pretty wasted... wip Kasrkin photo to bully myself into being active when I’m sober

He might be blurry, but looks good.

Keep up the good work!

Nev man you’re always so kind, respect

Remember that far more people lurk then post. Even if you don’t get many (or any) relies, you are not just screaming into the lonely void.

I found painting always helped me get through things. You need to sit down and focus on the mini, so everything else can take a back seat for a bit. Sometimes that break is the gasp of fresh air you need not to drown, or allows you to return to your problems and take a new look at how to overcome them.

Everyone has problems, we generally just don’t see other people’s. Although this last year has been shining a lot of light around exposing the cracks. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Hang in there, keep painting. Or take a break. Whatever you need to do.