I've been very slowly getting started on an army of Elysian Drop Troops. I love these models and hated to see them go out of print, but I think I have enough in the closet to make a decent-sized army. In fact, this might be one of the last Drop Troopers blogs you see since I doubt there are a lot of people painting these models right now.
The Xhorik 87th Drop Troop Regiment are a highly-mobile specialist force, well-suited to fighting in rugged, inaccessible terrain such as the mountains and badlands of Xhorik Prime where tank-heavy armored regiments would struggle to maneuver.
Some background:
Spoiler:
Shown here is a typical veteran of the regiment, armed with an Antax pattern lascarbine with non-standard-issue silencer picked up sometime during the campaign. He is equipped with a grav-chute and fully-enclosed helmet in order to execute high-altitude drop operations from above AA range. The enclosed helmets would prove extremely beneficial in the hostile climate of Xhorik's fierce radioactive dust storms. Their carbines are longer and bulkier than the Accatran Mk IV pattern used by many Drop Troop regiments, including the famous Elysians, which makes them more difficult to wield during drops and at point blank range. The Antax pattern is also less sophisticated and more prone to breaking down. Their main positive attributes are that they are more accurate at long range, much cheaper to manufacture and simple to repair and dress in the field. These features make them common in the secondhand market with mercenaries and militias, meaning there are many blackmarket accessories and variations, some of which the X87's veterans took advantage of on their last campaign. They received these weapons upon formation of the regiment with the official explanation that this is what was available at the time, although some of the enlisted men grumble that some greedy general probably received a nice bribe to take these and issue them to the regiment. The men have no trouble justifying their use of non-standard-issue components and field modifications. The regiment is fully volunteer due to the need for companies to operate independently behind enemy lines, often out of sight of Commissars, where inducted units would crumble or disappear.
This was the first test model I did a couple of years ago. He was undercoated white because this was during the dark days when GW was not making colored primers.
He turned out OK, but a little lighter than I wanted without quite enough contrast between the fatigues and armor. To remedy that (and hopefully speed up painting), I primed the next two guys with white and then with a sand color from Tamiya, I think.
I liked the second model better. Not only did the sand undercoat help, but I also started the fatigues with XV-88 rather than starting with Balor Brown like I did on the first guy.
The bases have a little pinch of clay, some slate (collected from my yard when I lived in Pittsburgh) and then sand glued down around the slate pieces.
The squad has a mix of accessories and equipment to reflect their status as a veteran regiment that has been on a long campaign. Some have silencers (or muzzle flash suppressors?) and some have non-standard-issue scopes. They are pretty heavily laden with grenades, extra clips, canteens, and packs and pouches of supplies to give the impression they are ready to strike behind enemy lines and operate independently for some time.
In the next couple of posts, I will get caught up to where I am today and then expect a much slower pace of updates as the pace will be set by my glacial painting skills.
For more info on the Xhorik Wars where these guys feature, check out the blog in my signature.
The rest of the squad built. The heads are Republic Grenadiers from Anvil Industries. They have been discontinued the last time I checked. Another reason that my army size will be necessarily limited. Even if I buy Elysians on eBay, I will never find more of the helmets.
The sergeant (far right) directs the advance. The trooper to his immediate left has a grenade launcher
I modeled this squad with grav chutes to look like they just hit the dirt from a jump. You will see one trooper is missing his chute, which got lost during a move, but I added it later from the next order.
The squad is loaded down with packs, canteens, knives, extra ammo, grenades and bombs. They are ready to be dropped into a warzone behind enemy lines and operate independently or to hold a key position for as long as needed. I elected not to do any weathering other than a little dust on the boots because they are just expendable troopers and I already spent more time on them than I should have. I think it would be cool to try some exhaust streaks on the grav chutes, but I'm not sure if it is worth the time on models that I need to paint dozens of and that die by the handful.
The darker tunics do look beter. Looks like some amount of time went into that already. On the other hand, they are great sculpts with a unique touch. Always worth the extra mile in my opinion.
Flinty wrote:They look really cool. I definitely agree with the head choice. It fits the model better than the GW original
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Flinty. I truly love the look of the helmets and was quite sad when Anvil discontinued them. Thankfully, they are super guys. When I saw they were gone, I emailed them about my conversion project and asked if I could ever get more. They let me order another 30 or 40 heads out of what they had left even though they were not on the site anymore. I think a closed helmet is a lot more practical for hostile environments or when doing high altitude jumps.
Flapjack wrote:The darker tunics do look beter. Looks like some amount of time went into that already. On the other hand, they are great sculpts with a unique touch. Always worth the extra mile in my opinion.
Thanks, Flapjack. I agree the darker tunics give more contrast to the armor and show the shading better. It takes longer, but since the models and heads are discontinued and my army is a finite size, I don't feel as bad about spending the extra time on them. I know when I am done with what I have, that's it. I won't be painting these guys forever.
insaniak wrote:Looking good!
Appreciate the feedback, insaniak. It means a lot coming from you.
Here are a few fairly poor pictures from the action (photos are not great here, but don't despair, we get better at the battle reports later on):
As you can probably guess from the photos, their role was basically to be a speed bump to absorb an ork charge, die immediately, and give the marines and extra turn of shooting the orks. They fulfilled their mission admirably and without fail.
Next up, I get a few more painted and they take part in their first Horus Heresy battle report...
Next, I finished a platoon command squad with a melta gun. The idea is to have this entire platoon equipped with grav chutes and to deploy them via deep strike to represent a combat drop into the battle.
I've seen quite a few drop troops armies where they add a long antenna to the vox unit and I like the look of it. It also makes it easier to spot on the table. I think I will get around to that at some point.
You can also see the Tauros is also mostly done. More on that later.
Cothonian wrote: Saw the phrase, "Into hell we go... Willingly!" and decided to stop in.
I was not disappointed.
Thanks, Cothonian. I am playing around with it as a regimental motto for the Xhorik 87th Drop Troops. I like the idea that even though military service is mandatory, joining the drops troops is on a volunteer basis. These units inevitably get the toughest missions and have high attrition rates. And they need to operate with initiative even when far from the the command structure or when recovering from the chaos of a drop behind enemy lines. So of course they are proud of the fact that they choose to go into the most deadly environments imaginable. I'd appreciate any feedback anyone has on it. But if it brought in a reader, then that is one good reason to keep it as is.
Nice drop troops. Their helmets work really well, and fit the high altitude drop theme perfectly. The orange stripes work great with the bone colours too, keep ‘em coming!
Some strong contrast without too many colours on the models.
Good luck with the army, just remember to shave off some of the backs of the collars on the FW figures so that they don't all look at the ground (one of the main flaws of the Elysian range).
Briancj wrote:I'm here to back the 'lost' Elysians. Bravo!
--Brian
Thank you, Brian. It is a shame they dropped the range because they are beautiful models and I think paratroopers are extremely engaging and inspiring as a concept. These are the best Imperial Guard models and they have thinner, more realistic proportions. But I also see how they do not really fit with the general 40k Gothic aesthetic and it seems to me that GW made a push over the last few years to get rid of anything that is generically sci-fi or fantasy and replace it with models/factions that distinctly fit in with the Games Workshop universes and style.
gobert wrote:Nice drop troops. Their helmets work really well, and fit the high altitude drop theme perfectly. The orange stripes work great with the bone colours too, keep ‘em coming!
Appreciate the feedback, gobert. I like the colors of them. I just wish I had gone with a faster method of painting, but we learn as we go.
Captain Brown wrote:Very nice work The Riddle of Steel.
Some strong contrast without too many colours on the models.
Good luck with the army, just remember to shave off some of the backs of the collars on the FW figures so that they don't all look at the ground (one of the main flaws of the Elysian range).
Cheers,
CB
Captain Brown, that means a lot coming from you. Your Elysians are legendary. I read every post of your original blog on Warseer. I agree with your tip on the heads. I think I did a bit better with the next squad.
Of course, the infantry were useless against space marines. But the new melta gunner provided the highlight of the game when he destroyed a Contemptor Dreadnought with a very lucky overwatch shot! Even though he and another trooper died in the blast, he did his duty and will be remembered as a martyr and hero.
Pictures are not great (we still didn't have good lighting), but it is still fun to see the painted models on the table.
My pair of Sky Talons rarely see use, alas. Why pay for a vehicle that, effectively, provides deep strike to units that have...deep strike. I also never understand the weapons load limitations on Elysian Sentinels.
Tauros:
It still needs weathering, but I plan to do the whole unit together once I build the Venators so they will look uniform. I really love the look of the four-wheeled Tauros and would love to have more, but unfortunately, they went out of stock many months before the rest of the Elysians were discontinued so I was never able to get more. Although I have to say, this guy has never done anything in a game except die and give up an easy victory point.
This vehicle has such a cool profile. I love the open roll-bar frame.
I gave the driver the alternate helmet that I normally use for officers and specialists. I figured he would be the commander of the unit. That gives this basic Tauros a role as a sort of command vehicle since the other two will have the heavy weapons. It might be cool to add an antenna to help with that effect.
This thing is built for speed and agility. Perfect for a fast-moving force that fights in rough terrain that is too mountainous for most large vehicles. The Tauros can be quickly airlifted by Valkyrie to remote and inaccessible combat zones.
The grenade launcher looks much more intimidating than it is... at least against Space Marines.
I added the regimental color orange to tie it in better with the colors on the infantry and a marking number.
The paint job was pretty simple: base coat, wash, two layers of dry brushing.
I love the way this model turned out, but I am still searching for a role for it in battles. In Horus Heresy, it cannot hold objectives and it cannot do much damage. In the old Drop Troops army list, it could take a homing beacon, which would give it an interesting role as a forward recon unit that marks the drop zone for the rest of the army, which seems like it would be in line with the flavor of this unit. But for some reason they removed that option in the Taros Campaign army list. Still, it looks too cool not to use!
Briancj wrote:My pair of Sky Talons rarely see use, alas. Why pay for a vehicle that, effectively, provides deep strike to units that have...deep strike. I also never understand the weapons load limitations on Elysian Sentinels.
OH WELL.
--B.
B, I agree the Sky Talon looks cool and I love the idea and the art depicting it in action. What is cooler than a Valkyrie dropping off a Tauros that hits the ground running as the Valkyrie lifts back up into the air? But like you said, totally impractical in a game unless your have a 10 ft x 10 ft table gaming area maybe... or if you were using some complicated map-based campaign rules where fliers have a mobility advantage over ground forces.
I understood the Sentinel weapon limitations to be similar to the infantry: they can only take the short, compact weapons that don't get in the way when being lifted and dropped. But I still think they could have made stubby, compact versions of other weapons like heavy flamers (sort of like the bullpup lasgun variants).
Briancj wrote:Yeah, my two Sky Talons have no Taurosii to carry. It is very sad.
Looking good, nice touches on the markings and alternate helmet.
--B.
B., I am surprised they still sell the Sky Talon when they don't make the Tauros anymore. You can occasionally find them for resale, but they are quite pricey these days. Thankfully there are plenty of third party "equivalent" type models that could work for friendly games, although I have not found one quite as cool looking as the original four-wheeled Tauros. Thanks for the feedback.
Snake Tortoise wrote:I love these guys. Nice models and great paint job
Thank you so much, Snake. There is plenty more to come soon so please stay tuned.
STG wrote:cool models man, how do you pronounce "xhorik" lol
Thank you, STG. My brother named the system as part of our campaign. We pronounce it "Zorik" but I don't think that is consistent with how the eastern European/former Yugoslavia languages pronounce names like Xherdan and Xhosa. I think they say it more of a "J" sound. But the Imperial forces that conquered the system in the Great Crusade were obviously descended from uncultured Americans who thought it was like xylophone. Anyway, since the campaign was taking place on Xhorik Prime, I decided to make a regiment that was mustered on that planet. Because the terrain of the planet is mostly very rough, large land forces with tank companies are not always practical and there is a need for an air-mounted force that can respond quickly to threats from orks or abhuman raiders in remote areas. This particular regiment was mustered for a campaign and off the planet (they are not PDF) and were returning to Xhorik Prime to be disbanded when a large ork incursion on their homeworld meant they were sent directly back to the front line to support the space marine and PDF forces.
I like the paint scheme and use of alternative heads, they look really good. And it's nice to see Elysians for the very reasons you've illustrated - scaling and general sci fi style. I've been thinking about using the sci fi troopers from Heresy Miniatures as Imperial Navy Marines myself.
I wonder if Anvil would cast more of those Grenadier heads if you asked them? Probably safer not to if you don't want to end up with yet more Guardsmen though! I ended up painting 120 of them..... :S
Looking good. I'm not 100% sold on the alternate heads, but the color scheme nails it for me. I look forward to seeing some of the specialized air mobil vehicles, some of which I've never seen outside of the Taros book. I'm sure you'll get to them, glacial or not! I'm going to go check out the "Imperial Militia" in the other blog too.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Kozar commander from the blog is outstanding!
Captain Brown wrote:More nice work there The Riddle of Steel.
Cheers,
CB
Thank you, sir.
kestral wrote:Looking good. I'm not 100% sold on the alternate heads, but the color scheme nails it for me. I look forward to seeing some of the specialized air mobil vehicles, some of which I've never seen outside of the Taros book. I'm sure you'll get to them, glacial or not! I'm going to go check out the "Imperial Militia" in the other blog too.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Kozar commander from the blog is outstanding!
Thanks, Kestral. I appreciate your honest opinion on the helmets. They change the feel of the army quite a bit, so I can appreciate it not being to everyone's taste. You are right that I will be getting to the flyers eventually. As I am sure you noticed, the militia in the blog are just these guys for use in the Horus Heresy rules.
Next up are some third party models from Anvil Industries. Originally, I was thinking of using them as Storm Troopers. But now I've changed my mind and plan to get some of the metal Kasrkin for my Storm Troopers so that re-purposes these guys into veterans with carapace armor. I like that idea a bit better since they have the same helmets as the regular troops, but have more of their body covered with the armor plates and less of the fatigues exposed. Also, they are clearly lacking grav chutes so I should try to stay in character and rather than deep strike, either have them ride a Valkyrie or start on the board.
There are ten of them. Pardon the odd way they are split in the pictures as some are duplicated in different shots.
I just love the sculpts from Anvil. They are great models, but they are just a bit smaller than the GW scale. They actually look great next to (original) space marines, just verifying my claim that space marines have always been "true scale" and it was just the guardsmen that were out of scale.
What do you think? Do they fit the bill as veterans in carapace armor for the Drop Troops?
Ragsta wrote:I like the paint scheme and use of alternative heads, they look really good. And it's nice to see Elysians for the very reasons you've illustrated - scaling and general sci fi style. I've been thinking about using the sci fi troopers from Heresy Miniatures as Imperial Navy Marines myself.
I wonder if Anvil would cast more of those Grenadier heads if you asked them? Probably safer not to if you don't want to end up with yet more Guardsmen though! I ended up painting 120 of them..... :S
Thank you, Ragsta. It is good to hear that others also appreciate the merits of the Elysians. I think with the unfathomable variety of cultures across the Imperium, there should be an endless variety of Imperial Guard regiments. I wish GW would implement a mix-and-match style of regiments similar to what Anvil has done to enable customizable regiments. The humble Guard are long overdue for some love.
That is a good idea to ask Anvil again. You never know and the worst they can do is say "no". Last time I asked, they were very accommodating to send me some heads after they went out of print.
Briancj wrote:Yes. On all points.
Thanks for the opinion. I will continue as planned!
Ragsta wrote:You ignored my previous comment!! Bloomin ingrate!! Kids today
The armour works nicely, they look great! Anvil is a great source of parts.
My apologies, Ragsta. I guess I missed the click on the Multi-Quote attempt. I really do appreciate the encouragement and feedback. I just checked out your blog in your signature link, but didn't post on it because of the whole "dead thread" thing. But lots of really cool stuff on there. You need to revive that blog and get it going again.
Here is a shot from their first battle report:
You can see how the Space Marines tower over them in height and bulk. Like I said, they are a better scale than Cadians or Catachans. In game terms, they performed as expected. Dropped in right on target, took out maybe two marines and then got killed. But that is better than the infantry squad that scattered into an enemy unit, resulting in a mishap that sent them to the far corner of the battlefield and effectively out of the battle.
LavuranGuard wrote: Very nice work, good to see the Elysians still getting some love!
Thanks, LavuranGuard. I really love the models, but I didn't fully think through one detail when I did my conversion. The original models have their lower faces exposed and their breathing masks on their chests. But when you give them closed helmet heads, that makes the breathing masks somewhat redundant. I had seen others use various helmeted heads (Elysian version, Cadian version, etc.) and those breathers were still on their chests. It was not until I saw Apologist's beautiful Lamb's World troopers where he scraped the breathing masks off that I even thought of that as an option! https://apologentsia.blogspot.com/
We still didn't have great lighting at this point in our battle reports, but we have since gotten better.
The infantry squad was able to drop right on top of the objective. The downside is that they were face to face with a tactical squad of Death Guard...
After the infantry squad is destroyed, the platoon command squad moves in to contest the objective, with some support from the Tauros. The Death Guard had been thinned down by some allied White Scars Outriders.
Here, the drop troopers prepare to make a last stand and give their lives for the Emperor!
The poor, lowly guardsman. His lot in life seems to be to die by the dozen, while contesting an objective, slowing down or distracting an enemy, or maybe - rarely - killing an enemy. But it was quite a bit of fun to have them drop in and hit right on the objective. And the models looked good on the battlefield so that is always a win.
Next up: two drop sentinels with magnetized weapons!
The Xhorik 87th Drop Troops Regiment finally got some heavy support - relatively speaking, of course...
Drop sentinels of the Xhorik 87th. They have been in the field for a good while, picking up some dust and grime.
The sentinel is a great kit. The legs can be posed an infinite number of ways.
I was experimenting with various weathering techniques and I overdid it a bit in spots, but that's OK. It was a good experiment.
The only reason to use legs over wheels is if you are going to be in some very rough terrain so I tried to make the bases look like they were at least using those unwieldy legs to climb over some large rocks.
The grav chutes on these guys must be pretty powerful to slow the descent of so much weight. I tried to go for a sooty look.
The crew match the rest of the regiment's infantry, except for their unique helmets that are tied into the vehicle's life support system.
The pictures here show their multi-meltas, but I magnetized the weapons and also painted lascannons, mult-lasers, and autocannons.
FYI, the Genestealer Cult Achillies Ridgerunners are pretty good Tauros stand-ins, size-wise. Will have some images up soon over on my plog.
Thanks, Brian. I saw them on your page and I agree they are probably the closest thing in the current GW range. I'll also be trying out a few models from other companies.
Captain Brown wrote:Very nice sentinels there The Riddle of Steel. Weathering always adds that extra details.
Cheers,
CB
Thanks, Cap. I appreciate the encouragement.
The sentinels participated in a battle report, where they tried (unsuccessfully) to take on this Contemptor Dreadnought.
Medics played such a critical role for the real paratroopers of WWII so I wanted to include a few, even if they do not always have rules in every version of the army lists:
Grav-chute strikes are extremely dangerous so these guys will be in high demand and given no shortage of opportunities to apply their arts.
I love this conversion. Does this medic have his knife out to defend himself in melee? Or to do some rough-and-ready field surgery? Or just to recover the equipment off a soldier who already received the Emperor's Peace?
Conversions are tough for the Drop Troops because of the way the hands are built into the gun sprues and the lack of extra arms from Forge World. These guys use a few third party bits to make them unique.
The other guy is running to reach an injured comrade, while keeping his head low to avoid joining him in the field hospital.
Bundles on their backs contain additional medical supplies.
Comments and criticisms welcome. Thanks for looking!
Big fan of your work man, I've been following online for a long ass time, since the start of your blog, love the style games you and I presume your brother? put out, excellent content always.
+1 vote for keeping the into hell willingly thing; pretty grimdank
GamerGuy wrote:Big fan of your work man, I've been following online for a long ass time, since the start of your blog, love the style games you and I presume your brother? put out, excellent content always.
+1 vote for keeping the into hell willingly thing; pretty grimdank
GamerGuy
I really appreciate that Gamer Guy. Nice to know somebody has looked at our blog! Yeah, the blog campaign in me and my brother. We have been playing against each other since we were just yoofs in the days of Second Edition, with several very long breaks in there, but we always come back to it.
Captain Brown wrote:Nice little conversions The Riddle of Steel.
Cheers,
CB
Thanks for the encouragement, Cap. Your armies are an inspiration.
I have been reading another book on WWII paratroopers, Ed Ruggero's "The First Men In". It has me excited and motivated to get together a modest-sized force of these guys, as well as some scenarios for them based on the battles around Ste. Mere Eglise.
Now then, more infantry!
Three more bullet sponges, er... brave riflemen to fight for the fledgling Empire of Man.
In addition to their grav-chutes, they are loaded down with gear for survival behind enemy lines, such as packs, pouches, canteens, ammo, grenades, and knives. Assuming they survive the drop and initial contact with the enemy!
As I mentioned before, conversions with the Elysians are tough due to the limited number of bits and the way the hands are generally built into the guns. So you have to be happy with the results of even mediocre conversions. I'm still happy with adding something unique to the army and some variety among all the standard riflemen.
Initially, I was thinking I could make him look like he was waving men forward to advance, but it turned out more like "Get down" or "Go quietly", which is also OK. What do you think?
The other guy is just the standard drop trooper kneeling pose.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
kestral wrote: The drop troops are looking great! And the sentinels - I like the very slight differences in their lines.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The weathering looks good to me.
Thank you, Kestral. I appreciate the feedback. The more I look at that them, the more I am ok with the heavier dirt in places. I didn’t want to go too heavy with weathering on the vehicles when the infantry are completely clean and fresh since I thought it might look odd to have that much contrast. Ideally I would love to do burn marks on the grav chutes, for instance, but it’s hard to put even more time in on the basic infantry models that take too long as it is.
That's the style The Riddle of Steel, two Guardsmen at a time at regular intervals will slowly increase the size of your army. Keep at the painting marathon.
Yes, there was not much in the way of conversions because of the FW kits having the hands attached to the weapons, but that was to keep the really small resin hands from breaking apart.
Captain Brown wrote: That's the style The Riddle of Steel, two Guardsmen at a time at regular intervals will slowly increase the size of your army. Keep at the painting marathon.
Yes, there was not much in the way of conversions because of the FW kits having the hands attached to the weapons, but that was to keep the really small resin hands from breaking apart.
Cheers,
CB
CB, thanks for the support. I notice you posting encouragement on more blogs on dakka than anyone and I appreciate the positive attitude you bring to the community.
And that's a good point on the rationale for tiny little hands. It did leave them with fairly limited pose options, but that makes it a fun challenge to try to add diversity to the units. I'm pretty excited that I found some hands that match well enough even if they are just the tiniest bit bigger.
Fifty wrote: Wow, those sentinels look really sinister!
(I'll echo your comments about Captain Brown, many positive comments on my thread too.)
Thanks, Fifty. Always good to get feedback.
A few more infantrymen:
These guys are the demolition team with the big explosives (and also chucking a grenade for good measure!). I think the guy on the right really captures the look of just making landfall during a drop.
Although they rarely have an impact in-game (and in some rule sets, they are not applicable at all), I absolutely want my drop troopers to have demolition charges because it would make sense that the sort of missions where you would use drop troopers behind enemy lines would be to demo a bridge or key installation. To me, it makes sense and feels right so they are getting some demo charges!
Really gorgeous scheme on these minis, the contrast colours really pop vs. the beiges and tans. I love your terrain shots as well, your opponents are lucky to have such a nice army to play against.
Those sentinels are excellent as well. Particularly the weathering around the engines.
Da Boss wrote: Really gorgeous scheme on these minis, the contrast colours really pop vs. the beiges and tans. I love your terrain shots as well, your opponents are lucky to have such a nice army to play against.
Those sentinels are excellent as well. Particularly the weathering around the engines.
Thanks a lot, Da Boss. The feedback means a lot. The talent level displayed on Dakka can be dizzying so it is greatly appreciated to have my own modest contributions to the hobby noticed by others!
Here are some group shots of the infantry units so far:
Here are all twenty riflemen (well, 19 plus a medic). They could be used in this configuration in our Horus Heresy campaign as a unit of Imperialis Militia Infantry.
That leaves these guys leftover. They would normally be the special weapons troopers and the other sergeant when using the Elysian rules from the Taros Campaign book. This would make two riflemen squads as the base for a platoon in those rules, with a few models leftover.
Here are the Grenadiers (HH) or veterans in carapce armor (Taros Campaign), once again.
Models always look better all together in a big group. The force is coming along.
A few photos from a game where these fellas saw action (because photos of painted models on painted terrain in a game are always the best). This was a game using the old (fourth edition?) Kill Team rules where my drop troopers were the brute squads and a Death Guard kill team had to break into an outpost and free their leader who was captured in a previous battle.
The Death Guard Kill Team frees their captured Praetor and fights their way out through the drop troop infantry patrols.
Of course the Death Guard sliced through the drop troopers like a hot knife through butter, but this was a cinematic battle that fit with the story of our campaign. Not every battle is a perfectly-balanced chess match where each side has an even chance to win.
Full battle report is here: https://xhorikwar.blogspot.com/2018/08/horus-heresy-battle-report-7-extraction.html
The Riddle of Steel wrote: A few photos from a game where these fellas saw action (because photos of painted models on painted terrain in a game are always the best). This was a game using the old (fourth edition?) Kill Team rules where my drop troopers were the brute squads and a Death Guard kill team had to break into an outpost and free their leader who was captured in a previous battle.
The Riddle of Steel,
Painted models on painted terrain is always best.
What are those tire piles from?
Cheers,
CB
PS:
The Riddle of Steel wrote: CB, thanks for the support. I notice you posting encouragement on more blogs on dakka than anyone and I appreciate the positive attitude you bring to the community.
Anything to help a fellow painter. Feedback always encourages us to paint a little more or for a little bit longer...as long as family are not forgotten.
Thanks for the comment. Those are Lego tires glued down to a piece of textured plasticard on a thin base of some kind (I can't recall the material of the base). They are a bit large for something like a normal truck or a Tauros, but it's not hard to imagine them working well for industrial equipment such as large dump trucks. And at this size they make pretty effective scatter terrain. You can see the "LEGO" lettering on the tires more clearly here:
No worries! The minis and terrain in this blog are awesome, so don't sell your skills short.
the shots from your game look like they could be from a white dwarf battle report, those walkways are awesome.
Since Captain Brown is painting a Valkyrie over on his awesome Necromundian Spiders Regiment blog , I figured I should post some WIP pics of my own Valkyrie. His Elysians were a huge inspiration for me, so I will use this opportunity for further inspiration to push me to get this project complete.
To start with, the Valkyrie is a beautiful kit that fits together so nicely, with everything flush and tight. After working on FW resin vehicles for Horus Heresy recently, this thing was a dream to build! Apart from one item, which I will get to shortly...
Firstly, I decided to magnetize the weapons. In hindsight, I am not sure that was really worth the hours for a such a mediocre fighting vehicle, which is unlikely to do much damage with any of the weapon options.
Note: I am using the old (5th-6th edition?) Drop Troops rules from the Taros Campaign book as part of a Horus Heresy campaign, so I cannot comment on the WH40k 8th Edition rules.
For the cockpit weapons, I stuck a piece of plasticard in the recessed area from the back (the opposite side of where the gun attaches) and then glued a piece of X-Acto blade in there for the magnets to stick to (which would be roughly flush to where the weapon attachment normally would sit). I find that just magnetizing the weapon or the vehicle (as opposed to both) usually gives a strong enough attraction for less work, less cost, and less risk of inserting one of the magnets backwards(!), unless the surface areas are very small and the weapons are hanging, such as the hard point attachments under the wings, where I magnetized both the weapon and the hard point attachment. More on that later.
I then got to work on the door gunners. This is the only piece that doesn't feel very well thought-out. Is it just me or do the hands not attach to the guns?
They clearly would not fit where they were supposed to, so I sliced the handles down to size by removing some material from the top and bottom. The one on the left is modified while the one on the right is original.
Thanks for the heads up, Brian. They looked fine on my computer but when I opened them on the tablet, I got the same boxes you describe. I think it was just a sharing permission issue that I just corrected. They are showing up on the tablet now so hopefully you all can see them now, too.
As for magnetizing the weapons, it's always a good thing to do anyways, but, yes I agree on the potency. the best "loadout" is the 2x rocket pods, multilaser, and 2xHB "sponsons". This makes it a fairly decent anti-infantry vehicle, tossing out a pair of okay pie plates, and nine dice of med-strength weapons. It forces a LOT of dice rolls.
Da Boss wrote:No worries! The minis and terrain in this blog are awesome, so don't sell your skills short.
the shots from your game look like they could be from a white dwarf battle report, those walkways are awesome.
Thank you, Da Boss. I am glad you like it. For me, the best part of the hobby is game with a good friend using all painted models and a nice-looking painted battlefield.
Briancj wrote:All good now!
As for magnetizing the weapons, it's always a good thing to do anyways, but, yes I agree on the potency. the best "loadout" is the 2x rocket pods, multilaser, and 2xHB "sponsons". This makes it a fairly decent anti-infantry vehicle, tossing out a pair of okay pie plates, and nine dice of med-strength weapons. It forces a LOT of dice rolls.
--Brian
Brian, it's great to hear someone else talking about pie plates again! I was quite sad to see blast markers and templates removed from 8th edition. Truly one of the most pleasing aspects of playing the game is to lay down a flamer template on an enemy squad or a well-placed blast marker. It is usually one of the first things that young players gravitate to (I know I did and I see the same with my kids: they love using that flamer template!). I am painting the door gunners so I think I will have to try your recommended anti-infantry loadout and see how she does. In Horus Heresy games, she seems unlikely to do a lot of damage with any of the weapon options so you are probably right to just throw out enough shots that the opponent will eventually fail a few saves.
Da Boss wrote:Once you start magnetising things, it feels like you can never go back! Looking forward to seeing the finished piece!
Thanks for the encouragement. I magnetized the weapons on my sentinels as my first attempt. That was pretty simple and its been nice to be able to swap weapons. But the Valkyrie has been more work in terms of complexity and labor. For example, the hard points on the wings are not really set up to be easily magnetized. It took me quite a bit of cutting to get the magnets on the weapons to line up with the ones on the hard points, in terms of the depth/height of the magnets compared to the bodies (and the rocket pods just don't fit in those slots, with or without magnets).
I still have some cleanup to do, but this is the magnet layout I went with. As I said, the rocket pod lip does not quite fit in the slot in the hard point. I will scrape a bit more to get it to fit better but it just isn't designed to go in there, I guess. The missile fits in the magnetized slot really nicely with the center part of the fin removed.
I thought it would be easier to paint them separately before assembling.
But, I warn you to dry fit everything together before gluing the crew in. I found out after painting these guys that the canopy would not fit due to the arms sticking out slightly too much. I had to break off an arm and re-glue it as well as shave down hands, elbows, and especially the big skull shoulder pad. I even had to shave down the inside of the canopy glass where the arms were to make it thinner, which of course makes it look all scratched and foggy. I did not realize how tight of a fit the canopy would be over these guys, especially the one in front. The only thing I can figure is that I put the wrong arms in the wrong positions. Something to be much more cognizant of next time...
Thanks for the encouragement. I magnetized the weapons on my sentinels as my first attempt. That was pretty simple and its been nice to be able to swap weapons. But the Valkyrie has been more work in terms of complexity and labor. For example, the hard points on the wings are not really set up to be easily magnetized. It took me quite a bit of cutting to get the magnets on the weapons to line up with the ones on the hard points, in terms of the depth/height of the magnets compared to the bodies (and the rocket pods just don't fit in those slots, with or without magnets).
The Riddle of Steel,
I just shaved the top of the Rocket Pods right off and replaced them with plastic card of the correct width. Shot of it in my Necromundian log, as I am slogging through the Valkyrie for this month's painting contest.
Much appreciated, Brian. I'm painting the crew the same way as my infantry. Like the Elysians, my drop troopers have their own Valkyries as a core part of their regiment so I decided to make the crews match up.
Theophony wrote:Models look great, the black of the cockpit really is nice, great edge highlighting.
Thanks, Theo. I thought I would go for solid colors and bold edge highlighting to have something that could be seen through the glass.
Thanks for the encouragement. I magnetized the weapons on my sentinels as my first attempt. That was pretty simple and its been nice to be able to swap weapons. But the Valkyrie has been more work in terms of complexity and labor. For example, the hard points on the wings are not really set up to be easily magnetized. It took me quite a bit of cutting to get the magnets on the weapons to line up with the ones on the hard points, in terms of the depth/height of the magnets compared to the bodies (and the rocket pods just don't fit in those slots, with or without magnets).
The Riddle of Steel,
I just shaved the top of the Rocket Pods right off and replaced them with plastic card of the correct width. Shot of it in my Necromundian log, as I am slogging through the Valkyrie for this month's painting contest.
Very nice crew.
Cheers,
CB
Great idea, CB. I will have to copy that for next time. I think I learned a few things about magnetizing the hard points and how to do it better. You learn as you go and hopefully get some ideas from the good folks of dakka along the way.
Da Boss wrote:That detail on the cockpit is really well worth it. The edge highlighting will look fantastic on the table!
Thanks, Boss. I'm more in my element with infantry than vehicles so I started with the crews. Hopefully the bulk of the vehicle turns out as well as the people inside...
Speaking of crew, here are the gunners, again in the same style as my infantry.
Pretty simple paintjob, but they will hardly been seen stuck inside the doors under the wings and behind the weapons...
The vehicle is now primed, sitting in a few subsections and painting has begun. More updates to come.
Gordy2000 wrote:Great looking crew riddle - really looking forward to the finished ship.
Thanks for checking in and giving some feedback, Gordy. I love your battle reports.
Captain Brown wrote:The Riddle of Steel,
Are you going to glue them in place or magnetize them so that you can have Heavy Bolters or not for WYSIWYG?
Cheers,
CB
Cap, I decided to glue them in. I decided if I am going to take all the time to paint them and assemble them, then they are going to be in every game just because they look cool! Plus, as neat as it is for the door to slide open and closed, it seems like it is more practical to just glue it open or closed. I don't think the few points saved is worth the hassle of making them removable.
Briancj wrote: Worst case, the heavy bolters ran out of ammo on the way into the battlefield.
--B.
Haha, that seems like it would be fairly likely for my Ork army, actually. Just shooting rocks and critters on your way to the battle and show up with no ammo...
In the old Taros Campaign army list, the option says "The Valkyrie may take a pair of sponsons armed with: heavy bolters + 10 pts" so I read that as you get both heavy bolters for 10 points. I can't imagine I will ever care enough about the 10 points to want to leave them out after going to the trouble of painting them and gluing them in. It is a lot more work than painting an extra missile or lascannon that can easily be swapped.
Here is the interior with a quick drybrush of metal. Considering how little of this you will see through the open doors, I think this will do well enough. I painted the big lights on the ceiling but I can't see painting all the little detail on the inside when no one can really see it anyway.
I also started assembling and painting the cockpit around the crew.
My paint scheme for the body is pretty simple. Base coat, wash the recesses, two light dry brush coats on the raised areas. After getting bogged down with my Horus Heresy White Scars (I don't know if I will ever paint a white army again...), I am trying to keep the painting process economical from a time standpoint (and I am an old fashioned brush painter, not an air brusher). I think once I add some decals and weathering, the simple paint job will look just fine.
Thanks for the comments, feedback and encouragement.
Flapjack wrote:Shaping up nicely, the crew look very good.
Thanks, Flapjack. Hopefully when this is all done, they can still be seen.
ghostmaker wrote:Love the minis and the heads used !
Appreciate the feedback, Ghostmaker. I think the heads give a new feel to the army, a bit more sci-fi maybe.
Captain Brown wrote:The Riddle of Steel,
Very nice interior work. For my Taros - Elysian Valkyries I just did a green light highlight over a black basecoat to hide any interior details.
Cheers,
CB
CB, I think that would work just as well. I am leaving mine with the single drybrush of metal over black because so little of the interior will be visible through the open gunner doors. I did the big lights on the ceiling in the off chance that one or two might be visible.
Here are the gunners and the heavy bolters installed:
I glued these guys in before gluing the top or wings on to help with access during assembly. I really love the idea of the door gunners. Reminds me of Full Metal Jacket and one of the great dark comedy movie quotes.
Private Joker to door gunner: "How could you shoot women and children?"
Door gunner: "Easy. You just don't lead 'em so much!"
It is too bad that with the wings and the weapons installed, they are hard to see and have a pretty narrow field of fire without shooting their own rocket pods.
It took some time, but I finally finished the Valkyrie. After many years in the hobby, this is somehow the first flyer that my brothers or I have done.
It still needs a few fixes, maybe some static grass to liven up the base, and the dull cote. But it is done enough to share.
It is really a beautiful model and was fun to build and paint.
The crates on the base represent gear that has been dropped from the rear hatch as part of the jump.
Here is the rocket pod switched out for the missile, and you can see the door gunner's heavy bolter. It's a shame the gunners are so well concealed under the wing. I can see why most people don't bother with them.
She has a great profile. It has the chunky sci-fi, classic 40k look that I love. If they built it today, I fear it would be over the top with extra stuff, trying too hard to make it so distinctly grim-dark and could only fit in their universe. This still fits the motif without being a giant flying skull cannon with angel wings.
It is really cool to be able to see the crew. It gives a vehicle more personality and helps tie it in with the rest of the army.
I magnetized the rear ramp so it can open for games. Maybe I will stick a drop trooper in the back, getting ready to jump, for a good battle report photo.
Thanks for the heads up, Brian. I can always see the pics on my screen but obviously they do not show up for others. Not sure what the sharing issue is with Google Photos. I just re-pasted all the links and it seems to be fixed no (I can see them from other devices now).
Honestly, these look so much more badass than the actual models. I'm going the easier route and just doing Tempestus droop troops, but yours looks simply awesome. Keep it up!
PS: You can always check the post via incognito mode.
Captain Brown wrote:Excellent work The Riddle of Steel. Post exalted.
Has she already been sealed with a varnish to protect your painting?
Cheers,
CB
Meer_Cat wrote:Very nicely done- the weathering is extremely realistic! Flying cannon with wings- just like they describe the A-10 Warthog!
DeathKorp_Rider wrote:Honestly, these look so much more badass than the actual models. I'm going the easier route and just doing Tempestus droop troops, but yours looks simply awesome. Keep it up!
I really appreciate the feedback, everyone. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
CB, I was about to spray on a varnish today, but then I realized I don't know what it will do to the clear plastic of the cockpit glass. Being my first one, I didn’t think to wait to glue it until after the varnish coat. Can I spray it or will that ruin it? I need some advice from some experienced Valkyrie painters.
It's been a while since I posted an update. I still haven't sprayed the Valkyrie because I don't want to mess up the canopy. That's still on the to-do list.
In the meantime, here is a commander I painted a while back but never posted. In Horus Heresy, he is an Auxilia Force Commander. In the Taros Campaign Elysian Drop Troops, he is a Company Commander.
He is made from bits from the Anvil Industries Regiments line. With the hunting bird and the wolf pelt, I was hoping to convey the look of a militaristic society that has recently upgraded their technology with their inclusion in the Empire but have not fully given up their more primitive traditions that they maintain as a way to demonstrate personal skill and bravery. It also identifies them as allies to my White Scars Legion in games of Horus Heresy. I wanted to keep the closed-helmet hostile-environment look of the rest of the regiment so I went with the gas mask and officer hat. Bare heads can add character, but it just seemed too unrealistic (how many 40k battlefields across the galaxy would really have an atmosphere breathable by regular mortal humans?) and a bare head just didn't fit with the rest of the army. The color scheme is pretty consistent with the rank and file, with only a few modifications such as the addition of black and the increased use of the contrasting blue spot color. I kept the faces of both the officer and the bird the light bone color so that the blue and orange on their heads would really pop, just like the regular infantry.
Just took a look thru your plog and have to say your attention to details I makes me bit envious. The battle damage to the Valkyrie looks quite realistic.
Two six-man special weapons squads make up the third stick in the platoon.
Due to the short range and high power of their weapons, melta sticks are often included in platoons that are making combat drops directly into battle where they are sent to eliminate critical enemy targets.
Each squad is made up of three two-man fire teams, numbered 1 - 6 below:
(1) Melta guns are cumbersome weapons for regular humans who cannot swing them around as easily as space marines. The drop troops' version of these weapons come with bipods for improved stability from a prone position. This rifleman carries a case of extra ammo for the all-important melta gun.
(2) In this fire team, the gunner is either just landing from his drop or staying low as he advances to within range of the target. The support trooper is staying low to the ground while suppressing the enemy with a grenade to give the gunner time to setup.
(3) This fire team clearly prides themselves on their accuracy as both troopers are taking careful aim.
(3) The melta gunner is adjusting his targeting device to find a weak point on an enemy vehicles while the rifleman has a non-standard-issue scope retrofitted to his weapon for improved accuracy.
(4) This veteran rifleman has a bionic arm that allows him to maintain a combat role despite a crippling injury. Most drop troopers will toss aside their cumbersome grav chutes once they land, like this melta gunner has done.
(4) The rifleman has dropped his empty ammo pack and is grabbing a spare from his belt to reload.
(5) This melta gunner doesn't have time to drop into a more-stable prone position and simply kneels down to fire his weapon from the hip. With such a bulky weapon, some form of stability is needed by most gunners to get a decent shot.
(5) The rifleman has been putting down covering fire to allow the melta gunner to get into position. Now he quickly reloads while the gunner takes his shot.
(6) This rifleman indicates either a successful grav-chute drop or perhaps a penetrating hit by his melta gunner with the universal symbol of approval.
(6) These men fight together as a fire team with the rifleman carrying extra ammo for the melta gun. The gunner lies down to stabilize his weapon and make himself a more difficult target for his enemies.
Many of the men are lying down or crouching in order to make themselves harder to hit.
Here is melta stick just after a combat drop with some men still wearing their grav chutes while others have discarded them in order to improve their range of motion and better aim their melta guns.
I don't think I have ever really payed attention to the Elysian models before, but man those legs and torsos are beautiful. And your paintjob and colourscheme are too. Especially love the commander
Yorkright wrote: Love the color scheme your using. The background story and explanation of the squad make the unit all that much better.
Big thumbs up!
Yorkright, thanks for the kind words. Maybe I will get around to writing some more background at some point.
Captain Brown wrote:Great work The Riddle of Steel.
Cheers,
CB
CB, thanks for the encouragement.
Viterbi wrote:Love your army, are you going to do a big army shot end of year?
Great idea, Viterbi. I haven't done any army shots yet. My brother and I have a big battle planned for Christmas so it will be a good chance to get a good photo of the force so far.
Aestas wrote:I don't think I have ever really payed attention to the Elysian models before, but man those legs and torsos are beautiful. And your paintjob and colourscheme are too. Especially love the commander
Aestas, yeah, the models are very dynamic with a lot of movement compared to the Cadians. There is a larger variety of combat poses. And of course, the proportions on the limbs are more realistic. I think the head swap and lasgun modifications give them a much more sci-fi look. I'm glad you like the commander. I think he has a bit of an airman look for this airborne army.
Pomander Cask wrote:The melta stick looks ace! Very clean paintjob and lots of interesting details.
Thanks, Cask. I love the models, although they are very time-consuming to build with all their little bits.
gobert wrote:You’ve made some very interesting and varied minis out of some very similar minis! Great conversion, and fantastic idea behind them
I'm glad you noticed the little conversions. There are so few bits for this army that it is hard to do many conversions or kitbashes, so it is a fun challenge to add variety to the poses.
....
Thank you all for the love for melta stick. The encouragement is much appreciated and makes me want to keep going onto some more units.
Next up: Tarantulas. These were super fast to build and paint. It normally takes me two weeks just to paint a squad so it was quite fun and rewarding to bang these out in a couple of days. The paint job is very basic, but good enough for tabletop and sometimes you just need to get something accomplished quickly after some slower projects.
Quick and dirty paint job: prime sand color, base coat the black and metal, wash, drybrush twice with lighter sand colors, pick out the eagle, add weathering.
They turned out ok for being so quick. They look like they have been dropped from a Valkyrie and used in the field for a while.
If these were not so pricey, I would get a few more just because they were so quick and fun to paint.
If you see those blue sensors... move!
Thanks again for all the encouragement. With all the amazing projects on here, it is really inspiring to see folks enjoying this little army.
Really nice weathering! I would however, unless it is just the pictures dampening the effect, give the black on the barrel a slightly more visible highlight. At least to me, too raw black signals unpainted
Oh wow, can't believe I've only just discovered these! Love them , particularly the awesome weathering you've got going on. Now over to your blog to check out the battle reports...
I painted up a few more of the Anvil miniatures: a Grenadier sergeant and three sniper rifles.
What do you think of the Anvil miniatures? I quite like them. They are more "true scale" (i.e., 28mm scale) than GW's guardsmen or giant new marines and so they look suitably small next to Horus Heresy marines (which are more "true scale for 28mm" in my opinion). As I've always said, the problem with GW's scale was never the marines being too small, it was the guardsmen and other humans being far too big. Now they have just shifted the entire scale of their universe to something bigger than 28mm, but I digress...
I see now this isn't the best photo. I will try to get some action shots of these guys in the big battle my brother and I are planning over the Christmas holiday.
I also had fun making this sign for my industrial terrain. I haven't tried making my own decals yet so I used these generic sci-fi ones I found. I think it came from Greenstuff world. Does anyone know of any other good sources for sci-fi decals that would fit with the 40k/30k universe better than this?
It looks a lot better than a blank sign or anything I could do freehand, even if the zombie motif isn't quite what I was going for.
Another great looking unit. Never heard of Anvil miniatures but I think they easily fit into the 40k universe. Sign is fine, has to be somewhere in the Emperors imperium that Nurgles finest have a nickname. ;-)
Yorkright wrote: Wow those look great! Nice job on the weathering and the blue lenses.
Thanks
Aestas wrote:Really nice weathering! I would however, unless it is just the pictures dampening the effect, give the black on the barrel a slightly more visible highlight. At least to me, too raw black signals unpainted
Appreciate the constructive criticism, Aestas. I'll add that.
Skinflint Games wrote:Oh wow, can't believe I've only just discovered these! Love them , particularly the awesome weathering you've got going on. Now over to your blog to check out the battle reports...
Thanks, Skinflint. Hope you enjoyed the battle reports. I think I will post a few more of the photos over here on this blog, even though the only role these Drop Troopers play in most battles is doing minimal damage and then getting wiped out. It is rough to be a squishy humie out there in the big, bad galaxy.
Theophony wrote:Your drop troops are amazing , love the orange stripe with the blue goggles.
Tarantulas are looking sharp as well.
Appreciate the kind words, Theo. I really enjoy the bright accent colors on these guys as well. It helps give them a bit more of a sci-fi feel, I think.
Yorkright wrote: Another great looking unit. Never heard of Anvil miniatures but I think they easily fit into the 40k universe. Sign is fine, has to be somewhere in the Emperors imperium that Nurgles finest have a nickname. ;-)
Indeed, Yorkright. Some resident of the Imperium surely dug back in the primordial memories of humanity for a good term for something that appears to be simultaneously living and dead. When you stand back from the table during the games, you don't tend to read the signs anyway.
The snipers look great! I like the sign as well. You could print out this one as well, that would be fun to see on the table. The picture is originally from the Regimental Standard, I think.
I've been following this blog eagerly since the beginning: there are few enough of us who do Imperial Guard genre and fewer still who do it well- you are one of the latter. These most recent Anvil pieces are ace- it is hard to do white well, but it really is the best color to suggest 'space-age, space-borne/airborne' infantry. Kudos to you! I learn a lot every time I check in.
Pomander Cask wrote:The snipers look great! I like the sign as well. You could print out this one as well, that would be fun to see on the table. The picture is originally from the Regimental Standard, I think.
I'll have to try printing my own signs. I don't have decal paper and I didn't think regular paper would hold up. I need to do some research and try some things.
Meer_Cat wrote:I've been following this blog eagerly since the beginning: there are few enough of us who do Imperial Guard genre and fewer still who do it well- you are one of the latter. These most recent Anvil pieces are ace- it is hard to do white well, but it really is the best color to suggest 'space-age, space-borne/airborne' infantry. Kudos to you! I learn a lot every time I check in.
Looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Meer-Cat, thank you much. There is a ton of great Imperial Guard on your blog with lots of ideas and interesting miniatures from alternate companies.
Captain Brown wrote:Riddle,
The Anvils look very nice and match your army's scheme.
Cheers,
CB
Thanks, CB. They are a bit smaller than the Elysians but I enjoy the look of the models enough to mix them in.
As Viterbi suggested, to celebrate the end of the year, here is the entire force so far:
The bone-colored armor looks a bit washed out. Taking full army shots has its own learning curve, compared to taking pictures of individual models and squads.
The army list as it stands now, using the Elysian Drop Troops list from Imperial Armor Volume Three (2nd Edition): The Taros Campaign, circa WH40k 6th Edition.
Spoiler:
Company Command Squad (195 pts) Commander Xhosa with plasma pistol and power sword
Missile launcher team
Plasma gun
Vox caster
Medi-pack
Carapace armor
2 x Bodyguards
2nd Platoon
Platoon Command Squad (40 pts) Infantry Squad 1 (75 pts) Melta gun
Vox caster
Infantry Squad 1 (65 pts) Grenade launcher
Support Squad 1 (75 pts)
Melta guns
Support Squad 2 (75 pts) Melta guns
Drop Sentinel Squadron (140 pts) Two sentinels with multi-meltas
Valkyrie (125 pts) Lascannon, hellstrike missiles, heavy bolters
Veteran Squad (170 pts) Three sniper rifles
Missile launcher
Grenadiers (carapace armor)
Forward observers (infiltrate and tracking beacon)
Tauros (45 pts) Tauros grenade launcher
Sentry Guns (135 pts) Three sentry guns with twin-linked lascannon
Total: 1,140 points
If I use the Imperial Militia Rules from the Crusade Imperialis book, this is the list.
Spoiler:
Force Commander (180 pts)
Power weapon, plasma pistol, cyber-familiar, Iron Halo,
Warrior Elite and Cyber-Augmetics
Militia Infantry Squad x 20 (60 pts)
Lascarbines
Militia Grenadier Squad x 12 (90 pts)
Plasma gun and grenade launcher
Valkyrie counts as Auxilia Arvus Lighter (115 pts)
Lascannon, two hellstrike missiles - I know, not technically legal to have two weapons, but just trying to keep the model like-for-like.
Auxilia Medicae x 2 (27 pts)
Militia Recon Squad x 5 (95 pts)
Sniper Rifles, cameleoline
Militia Fire Support Squad x 7 Teams (175 pts)
Not sure what weapons melta guns look like? Assume missile launcher points.
Tarantula Guns (120 pts)
Twin-linked lascannons
Sentinel Scout Squadron x 2 (80 pts)
Lascannons
Tauros Model - Counts as Sentinel with Missile Launcher (35 pts)
Total: 977 points
The points work out about 15% less than the Elysian list. This army list trades Deep Strike for a 6++ invulnerable save (thanks to Cyber-augmetics) and a cost discount. The flyer is a little weaker and cheaper.
"Plan the work, work the plan"; your army shots show how you've maintained balance as you've built up your force! Nice mix of grunts, transport and firepower. When I was going through the Ranger School (officially the 'Small Unit Leaders Course) they used to make the analogy that infantry units were like batteries: conventional infantry, supported by aerial assets, artillery and with a robust supply chain in place, were like a battery installed in a radio (or other device): it could fulfill its intended purpose for a considerable time before requiring replacement/replenishment. Airborne infantry were like a battery with a wire linking the positive and negative terminals: it burns bright, hot and fast dies out. Without relief, paratroops lack the substantial assets to take and hold ground.
Your army group, possessing fast, high-powered weaponry and capable of deep strike operations, shows that clearly. Very realistic force balance, lots of infantry light weapons force multipliers like satchel charges, man-portable tank killers and 'big bang for buck' 'heavy' weapons teams. Two or three glorious light-'em-ups and it's every man looking over their shoulder for the Leman Russes to be coming over the horizon!
I think the army comp is pretty solid, I like the conversions, infantry, weathering and zombie signs; the Valkyrie could use some work, first the arms of the pilots go below the instruments, its a tight fit and not very well made by GW; you could apply a gloss varnish over the painted visors/panel/targeting instruments, some missed mold lines on the sentry gun platform.
Happy New Year, everyone. Thanks for reading and commenting on this blog. It really inspires me to prioritize working on these guys more than my other projects.
Aestas wrote:Looks impressive :-)
In regards to the Anvil miniatures. They are nice, quite nice in fact, but I do prefer the simple and crips lines on the Forge World droppers more.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll be getting back to building and painting Forge World drop troopers soon enough. I'd like to do a Platoon Command Squad next to make the army legal.
Viterbi wrote:Thanks for the army shot, really cool seeing them all together like this.
Thanks for putting the idea out there. It is always fun and inspiring to see them all together. I always have to smile when painting orks or Imperial Guard because if these were Space Marines, the army would be worth 2500 points and would be done, but instead I am only halfway there!
Meer_Cat wrote:"Plan the work, work the plan"; your army shots show how you've maintained balance as you've built up your force! Nice mix of grunts, transport and firepower. When I was going through the Ranger School (officially the 'Small Unit Leaders Course) they used to make the analogy that infantry units were like batteries: conventional infantry, supported by aerial assets, artillery and with a robust supply chain in place, were like a battery installed in a radio (or other device): it could fulfill its intended purpose for a considerable time before requiring replacement/replenishment. Airborne infantry were like a battery with a wire linking the positive and negative terminals: it burns bright, hot and fast dies out. Without relief, paratroops lack the substantial assets to take and hold ground.
Your army group, possessing fast, high-powered weaponry and capable of deep strike operations, shows that clearly. Very realistic force balance, lots of infantry light weapons force multipliers like satchel charges, man-portable tank killers and 'big bang for buck' 'heavy' weapons teams. Two or three glorious light-'em-ups and it's every man looking over their shoulder for the Leman Russes to be coming over the horizon!
Thanks for that flavorful comment, Meer Cat. I agree that the main issue with using this army so far is the lack of survivability. Deep striking Imperial Guard infantry (in the old 7th Edition/Horus Heresy Rules that we play) is rough because by definition it leaves your unit totally exposed outside of cover and all tightly bunched together in base contact, making any blast or template weapons especially deadly. The melta gunners can occasionally inflict some significant damage if they nail their drop location and hit at point blank range, but most of the force is generally quickly wiped out in return. But it is still quite fun to play with these guys and be able to strike anywhere on the battlefield at any time, even when they die in droves.
Yorkright wrote: Lovely army Riddle, thanks so much for sharing it. Will have to let us know how it does on the tabletop.
Yorkright, so far I have only used them as allies to my White Scars in games of Horus Heresy and they fare pretty poorly against Space Marine Legions. Even 20 men with lasguns rapid firing for 40 shots against marines only kills one on average. And the return fire from bolters cuts through mesh armor with ease.
Captain Brown wrote:Nice army shots Riddle. They show how all the units match-up.
Cheers,
CB
CB, thanks for all the encouragement along the way. I hope someday my army ends up as impressive as your Drop Troops.
Flapjack wrote:Looking good, some nice group shots there. Lovely seeing the force come together.
Appreciate it, Flapjack. Imperial Guard armies always look better with masses of infantry.
Big Mac wrote:I think the army comp is pretty solid, I like the conversions, infantry, weathering and zombie signs; the Valkyrie could use some work, first the arms of the pilots go below the instruments, its a tight fit and not very well made by GW; you could apply a gloss varnish over the painted visors/panel/targeting instruments, some missed mold lines on the sentry gun platform.
Thanks for the constructive criticisms, Big Mac. I clearly flubbed the Valkyrie pilots, which I only realized after everything was painted and glued in and I tried to get the canopy on. I do put a coat of gloss on the lenses on my guys. The shot of the Valkyrie was prior to the dull coat so it does not yet have the gloss on the lenses in that shot. I had a look at your Gallery and you have a very nice Drop Trooper army yourself. I really like that Land Speeder conversion. Very appropriate! If there were more Elysian arm variations, it would be quite fun to steal that idea and make the whole squad hanging on the sides.
I painted up a couple of guys just before Christmas. They made it into the army shot and the big end-of-year battle, but here they are individually.
Again, a few Grenadiers from Anvil Industries to fill out my Grenadier/Carapace Veteran squads. They are nice miniatures and were quick and fun to build and paint.
January was really busy with a lot of travel for work, plus a short family trip. I am slowly making progress and will have something new to share soon. In the meantime, here are a few action shots from a battle report my brother and I fought quite a while ago. (Because it's always fun to see painted models in action on terrain!)
This was a Horus Heresy game with the Drop Troops and their White Scars allies were fighting against the Death Guard. The Drop Troops managed to land a number of melta weapons all around the Death Guard Contemptor Dreadnought but that atomatic shielding saved every hit! The drop platoon was then obliterated by a Fellblade and other heavy weapons. Meanwhile, the command squad managed to hold onto an objective for most of the game until they too were killed. Such is the life of a guardsman.
You may be wondering what a big piece of artillery is doing in a drop troops army. I bought it specifically for a campaign scenario where I was defending a walled city. I figured a city should have some big guns for defenses. Unfortunately, I didn't get it built and painted in time for said battle. (I will post a few photos of the city defense scenario at some point.) So I guess it will be ready for the next time they are defending. It has applicable rules in the Age of Darkness Imperial Militia rules when I play Horus Heresy, but obviously not for the Taros Campaign Drop Troops rules for 40k.
The mission was for the Genestealers to consume the brain of the Lieutenant and assimilate his DNA.
The Drop Troopers fan out and form a defensive ring around their leader.
The men coordinate their fire to neutralize several of the aliens before they can reach close combat.
On the ground, one trooper ducks behind a ladder for cover as the Genestealer reaches through and around the ladder for him.
Even in melee, the men hold their own against the Genestealers (unlike 40k where they would have easily been ripped to shreds in one round!).
In the end, the coordination and numbers of the Drop Troops prove enough to eliminate the fast and fearless Genestealers.
A surprising win for the Drop Troopers but my opponent and I were both just getting used to the rules for Kill Team (we didn't even use any cards or specialists, just base rules) so there were some regrets by both sides, such as my opponent realizing he should have taken the improved armor save for his 'stealers. Plus, the mission was advantageous to the Guard as all I had to do was keep my leader alive and the onus was on the Genestealers to advance into my gun line; it could have been different if I had to advance on him! This was a really fun little skirmish because I think Imperial Guard vs Tyranids is one of the best rivalries in the setting; it is the classic sci-fi theme of the regular man vs the monsters of space, the unknown, the alien. Good fun and I look forward to the next match.
Great pics and Kill Team is a lot of fun, because every model really matters. And the games are short enough to do funny and cinematic stuff, that you might not try out otherwise.
Viterbi wrote:Amazing battle shots, love the special effects in them
Thanks, Viterbi. We stole the idea from Gordy2000 and some of the fantastic reports his group does. It makes the reports come alive a bit more.
Captain Brown wrote:Some great photos there Riddle.
Cheers,
CB
Thanks for checking them out, CB.
Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:That is one serious howitzer!
Gwyn, appreciate the comment. It would have been really helpful to have those S10 pie plates for the city gate defense mission, but it wasn't done in time...
Meer_Cat wrote:Very nicely done- machine-metal grubby without being drenched in dirt (a failing of mine)- great piece!
Meer_Cat, thanks. I have been playing around with different weathering techniques. I'm trying to not go as heavy as I do for the orks, where everything is rusty. If I remember right, I applied a heavy dry brush of metal over black. Then washed it with a mix of brown and black wash. Then applied some rust effects pretty sparingly only in the recesses. And applied some black soot/smoke effects on the end of the barrel from the firing. Then just a small amount of weathering powder dirt on the wheels.
Captain Brown wrote:Nice Riddle.
Cheers,
CB
Viterbi wrote:Great pics and Kill Team is a lot of fun, because every model really matters. And the games are short enough to do funny and cinematic stuff, that you might not try out otherwise.
Viterbi, thanks. We haven't played too many games of it yet. I like the small armies, dense terrain, and fast action. I was a little surprised at how difficult it is to kill anything in close combat. Genestealers would easily rip through whole squads of guardsmen in 40k but it is just a lot harder to kill anything in Kill Team. Some of our games of Space Marines vs Space Marines get downright frustrating at the difficulty in taking out a model with anything except special or heavy weapons.
Captain Brown wrote:Riddle,
Wow, Guardsmen beating Genestealers in close combat. Who would have thought.
Nice photos of two painted forces and painted terrain. What we all should aspire to.
Cheers,
CB
Thanks, Cap. I am a pretty slow painter. And I paint to play the game (but not competitively), not for display. So I love to get photos of the games and I will mix them in with photos of newly-painted models on the blog. That is what the hobby is all about for me: friendly games with my brothers and friends with painted armies and terrain.
Finally, I have some new models to show. This unit is a bit of a step away from the core concept. These are urban fighters for the next phase of our campaign, which will take place in a city.
I am happy with the conversions and I think the paint scheme turned out well. I kept the same brown and black colors as my Drop Troopers along with the blue lenses and the orange regimental color, but changed the tan/brown scheme of the fatigues and armor to a grey scheme to better fit with the urban surroundings. The bases are a mix of a colors used on the Drop Troopers (to help tie them in) along with grey building rubble to show they are urban fighters. I wanted them to fit in with the rest of the army despite being camouflaged for a different environment.
Unfortunately, I had a problem with the primer and they came out quite grainy. This has been happening to me a lot lately. I actually scrubbed them down with Purple Power to remove some of the worst of it and re-primed them but you can see they still have a pretty rough appearance. Oh well. I will just move on and try to do better next time.
These guys were built to use the rules for a Militia Recon Squad from the Horus Heresy Imperial Militia list: shotguns and a sergeant with a breacher charge. I picture they were used for putting down rebellions and cults and the occasional ork kommandos infiltrators before the Heresy. Now they will use their detailed knowledge of the city to act in a recon role. With shotguns (probably the worst weapon for guardsmen, I doubt they will ever kill a single space marine, but maybe they can stay out of sight and grab an objective or hit a back line unit with a breacher charge. I doubt they will ever be useful but they look fun, which is my main motivation.
I see one or two details I forgot to paint now that I am looking at the pictures. After that, they need Dullcote and then gloss finish on the lenses and they will be done.
Viterbi wrote:Great pics and Kill Team is a lot of fun, because every model really matters. And the games are short enough to do funny and cinematic stuff, that you might not try out otherwise.
Viterbi, thanks. We haven't played too many games of it yet. I like the small armies, dense terrain, and fast action. I was a little surprised at how difficult it is to kill anything in close combat. Genestealers would easily rip through whole squads of guardsmen in 40k but it is just a lot harder to kill anything in Kill Team. Some of our games of Space Marines vs Space Marines get downright frustrating at the difficulty in taking out a model with anything except special or heavy weapons.
Yeah, close combat can be frustrating (my sister of battle fighting a hormagaunt over four rounds, no one landing a killing blow), but also real fun, if a guardsman kills something, he would never kill in 40k. Two of them on my AM roster have, one killed two (!) orks in H2H in one game (admittedly my friend forgot, that one model had 2 wounds, but still) and the other a Harlequin. They are now known as George Orcslayer and Ringo Aelfslayer and got an orc skull and a harlequin masque on them to show their merits
New squad is looking really good, but only the first pic is visible for me, the rest doesn't load.
monkeytroll wrote:Great stuff here. Always loved the Elysians, nice to see a full force of them. Good work bringing the Anvil stuff into the fold too.
Thanks, Monkey. I also love the Elysian models and I see I haven't posted any in a while because of the work on some Anvil models, the artillery and then these guys. I am working on a piece of terrain at the moment and then I will start painting an Elysian command squad I just built.
gobert wrote:Cool urban recon unit Riddle. I love the orange stripe your guys have
Appreciate it. The orange may not be a great idea from a camouflage standpoint but it adds a sci-fi feel and helps tie them in with the rest of the army, despite their significantly different paint scheme.
Captain Brown wrote:Nice conversions Riddle.
Cheers,
CB
Thanks, CB. They use bits from Maxmini, Anvil, Puppetswar, and a few Elysian bits and other 40k guardsmen bits.
Viterbi wrote:Great pics and Kill Team is a lot of fun, because every model really matters. And the games are short enough to do funny and cinematic stuff, that you might not try out otherwise.
Viterbi, thanks. We haven't played too many games of it yet. I like the small armies, dense terrain, and fast action. I was a little surprised at how difficult it is to kill anything in close combat. Genestealers would easily rip through whole squads of guardsmen in 40k but it is just a lot harder to kill anything in Kill Team. Some of our games of Space Marines vs Space Marines get downright frustrating at the difficulty in taking out a model with anything except special or heavy weapons.
Yeah, close combat can be frustrating (my sister of battle fighting a hormagaunt over four rounds, no one landing a killing blow), but also real fun, if a guardsman kills something, he would never kill in 40k. Two of them on my AM roster have, one killed two (!) orks in H2H in one game (admittedly my friend forgot, that one model had 2 wounds, but still) and the other a Harlequin. They are now known as George Orcslayer and Ringo Aelfslayer and got an orc skull and a harlequin masque on them to show their merits
New squad is looking really good, but only the first pic is visible for me, the rest doesn't load.
I appreciate you pointing out that the other pictures did not load. I have had issues with linking photos directly from Google Photos on here. I changed the links to my blog, which usually seems to work better. Hopefully you can see them now!
I appreciate you pointing out that the other pictures did not load. I have had issues with linking photos directly from Google Photos on here. I changed the links to my blog, which usually seems to work better. Hopefully you can see them now!
They are working now, thanks! Really love your army and the color scheme, always a joy when you post something new here!
fingol23 wrote:This is a great looking army, the headswaps really improve the look of the Elysians.
Thanks. I really like the dynamism and realism of the Elysian models but I never thought the heads looked "sci-fi" enough. I also wasn't super happy with the bull-pup lascarbines (despite the realism of the short barrels for paratroopers) so I beefed those up as well. Glad you like it.
I appreciate you pointing out that the other pictures did not load. I have had issues with linking photos directly from Google Photos on here. I changed the links to my blog, which usually seems to work better. Hopefully you can see them now!
They are working now, thanks! Really love your army and the color scheme, always a joy when you post something new here!
I appreciate the kind words and feedback.
This post is something a little different. I built a piece of terrain out of a cardboard Amazon box, some cross-stitch mesh, plastic strips and bits from the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue and a few others. As I was building it, I thought the garage doors looked like the perfect size for Tauros assault vehicles so I decided it would be a Tauros garage. I painted it with some similar colors to my drop troops so it would fit in a desert or urban battle field. Since it is a Tauros garage for the Drop Troopers, I figured I would post it on here.
The walls looked really plain so I gave it a little more weathering than I initially planned. It looks beat up for a military installation, maybe more like a run-down civilian building, but since the environment on Xhorik Prime is pretty harsh, most things would be rusted, corroded and dirty.
I know it has been a long time since I posted any actual Elysians on here but I promise more are coming soon. I just built a platoon command squad and they are getting some paint and will be deploying to the blog shortly!
That building looks great, the right amount of neglect and weathering in my eyes.
Saw this terrain sprue a few times now used on Dakka, it is really cool. Would be great, if this existed for fantasy too.
Viterbi wrote:That building looks great, the right amount of neglect and weathering in my eyes.
Saw this terrain sprue a few times now used on Dakka, it is really cool. Would be great, if this existed for fantasy too.
Thanks, Viterbi. I really like it since it lets you turn any box or canister into a quick building and some of the pieces are quite versatile (such as the ladder/railing). I don't think I have seen anything quite like it for fantasy (although I have not looked). The Dakka site managers made this one for their game, Galaxy's Edge. If there is enough demand, maybe you can convince them to make one more suited for fantasy.
gobert wrote:Really cool building, you’d never guess it was a box form Amazon! Surely it need a strip of Orange somewhere to tie in completely with your Elysians
Thanks, Gobert. That is a good idea to add the orange. The only orange I managed to fit in is on the warning labels on the barrels. Maybe I should look for a way to add a stripe to the building somewhere.
Even though I have painted a few various things for this army, it has been a long time since I painted any actual converted Elysian Drop Troops models. The last ones were the melta gunners. It felt good to get back to working on the core models for the army, even if they are very time-consuming to build. The fatigues are so deep and textured, it makes them fun to wash and highlight and I like the effect.
I'm happy with the way the lieutenant/platoon commander came out with his gas mask, officer's hat and power fist (Strength 6 - watch out!). Unlike the Force Commander this guy has a grav chute, as he makes the jumps right alongside his men, and is normally the first one out of the Valkyrie. In games using the Drop Troops rules, the entire platoon will either deep strike together or start on the table together.
I added a few more grenade launcher guys in order to have enough to equip the bodyguard in an Imperial Auxilia platoon command squad since there is no other use for them in that army list. They are not a great weapon against Space Marines since they cannot pierce power armor and they struggle to even glance Rhinos but they have style and you get a bunch of them with the Elysian infantry sprues so may as well use them.
The Auxilia command squad includes a standard bearer so I took the opportunity to paint one up. It does not seem very practical for a drop trooper to jump out of a Valkyrie with a banner pole, which is why they are not part of the regular Elysian Drop Troops list. I'm not crazy about the banner since the orange bird reminds me somewhat of a rooster... but orange is the regimental color. I thought about doing the bird white and the rope orange but that would look too much like the Imperial Aquila and not distinct enough. I do like the way the bone color fabric looks and the orange bird is growing on me. It has personality, at least.
I also had to paint a rifleman to make up for stealing a vox operator from my 20-man infantry squad (and you can never have too many basic riflemen).
I also took one of my vox operators and added a simple conversion I have seen others do to extend the antennae with a bit of wire. It is now a lot easier to spot the vox in the squad and it looks cooler. He will be part of this command squad. The vox caster allows deep striking units to land nearby without scattering and it allows artillery with indirect fire to draw line of sight from this unit to help reduce scatter if the artillery doesn't have direct line of sight. (He is not new so he is only in the last pic of the platoon command squad as it will look on the table.)
The lighting and glare are a bit harsh in the photos, especially the last one, so the colors look off, but they are the same as the rest of the army.
The five new models I painted: two grenade launchers, rifleman, standard bearer and lieutenant with power fist:
They are just as loaded with packs, canteens, knives, ammo clips, and grenades as the rest of the drop troopers. They all have grav chutes like the rest of the platoon so they can deploy together:
Head-on shot so you can see the banner. Look out - it's the Rooster Regiment!
Finally, the platoon command squad as it will look on the table, using the Imperial Auxilia rules in Horus Heresy. I can add a medic or additional grenade launchers, if I want to paint more up. You can see the extended antennae on the vox operator in this one:
This was also a good chance to get a picture of some troops in front of the Tauros garage so you can get a better idea of the scale of it. Now I just need a name for the Lieutenant and a nickname for the platoon.
The troopers look great, I'm also a fan of the orange banner bird. We're used to the stylised aquilas of the 40k universe, but this one looks more complex and historical, like a Prussian banner. Who wouldn't want to jump out of a valkyrie with a banner like that?
Yeah it definitely has a more historical feel to the banner, but it looks good. I reckon Viterbi is right that if folds up in to a little pack somewhere then pops out when they turn of the grav chute
Wow, sorry for the long hiatus. I’ve been working on a few other things lately.
Not strictly a Drop Troops related, but here’s a piece of terrain I built for our big year-end 4000 point battle featuring my Drop Troops as one of the four factions.
It is made from two large peanut cans, cardboard tubes, Mechanicus terrain, a few LEGO bits, the grill from an old XBox, and other bits from the box. I needed a tall central piece of terrain for the armies to fight over in order to fly their banner from a commanding point. More photos will be coming soon, such as a few battle report action shots.
Viterbi wrote:Welcome back and cool terrain piece, love the combination of terrain kits and scratchbuilt.
Already excited for the battle shots!
Thank you, Viterbi. I enjoy your stuff as well.
Captain Brown wrote:Great Drop Trooper force and wonderful scratch Build Riddle.
Cheers,
CB
Thanks, Capt. Brown. Your stuff is a huge inspiration.
So here is a full army photo as of the end of 2020.
You can see they have borrowed a Lightning Strike Fighter from my White Scars for some tank-busting air support.
The rest is a mix of FW Elysians and Anvil Industries Republicans, sadly both out of print, and a few other misc. models. Thankfully I have a few more FW units in the closet to assemble and paint so I can keep growing this army. I also have some other third party units to add, such as some recon bikers that I am working on now.
You will also notice they have a Medusa Siege Gun. Artillery is not a normal part of a Drop Trooper regiment but that gun was built for a specific city defense scenario and gets used when they are defending a fortification.
KidCthulhu wrote: This was a great thread to binge. That army is amazing!
A real shame ForgeWorld axed the Elysians, but you're right; they're far too realistic looking for GW's grimdark aesthetic.
Thanks, Kid. It’s great to know someone read the thread and enjoyed the models.
Here is an action shot from a game with my brother a while back. The Xhorik 87th Drop Troops regiment Third Company supports the White Scars as they defend the walls of the Kozar city of Berat. This squad of second platoon makes a combat jump from their Valkyrie in order to help secure an objective as Traitor forces breach the gate. (Part of our Horus Heresy campaign. Plenty of full battle reports on our blog.)
Viterbi wrote:Cool overview of your army and that action shot is amazing!
Thank you, Viterbi. To me, nothing beats playing a game with painted models on painted terrain with a good friend.
gobert wrote:Great action and Army shots. I love the bloke about to jump out the back! The new and old terrain looks great too
Gobert - thanks for the feedback. There is just something I love about these guys making combat drops out of their Valkyries - despite the fact that they are fairly useless in the game and mostly just die. That is why you have to get a photo of the jump - it is often the highlight of the game for them!
fingol23 wrote:Great to see this blog back! I'm surprised the Elysian fits so well in the back of the Valk.
Fingol23, thanks. The Elysians are a little tall for 28mm, but they are much thinner than the Cadians and Catachans and overall they fit the scale much better, especially with most of them being ducking, running, or crouching in some way. To me, it is sad to see the continual scale creep from GW as it makes many of the classic vehicles that I love look silly. The Valkyrie and Elysians fit well together.
Captain Brown wrote:Exalted the army shot Riddle.
Cheers,
CB
Thanks, Captain. Someday I hope they rival yours in size and in their ability to inspire others.
On to new things...
I love bikes in 40k and always have. I have had Evil Sunz ork warbikers since 2nd edition. I was never too tempted to paint any space marines... until the plastic bikes came out. Now I have a force of White Scars for Horus Heresy. It always seemed strange that the Imperial Guard had horse-mounted rough riders with the same old metal models for decades (until finally being axed in the new edition), but they never had bikes (other than some Rouge Trader models). So I decided to do something about it.
After all, this photo is basically a Valkyrie discharging a squadron of Drop Troops bikers!
Fast, light bikes suited for rough terrain seemed to fit the aesthetic and background for the Xhorik 87th Drop Troops, complementing their Tauros assault vehicles. Xhorik Drop Troop regiments use their bike units mostly for scouting enemy movements where the rough terrain and billowing dust storms prevent the use of aerial or satellite reconnaissance. In battle, they specialize in harassing isolated units, disrupting enemy movements, and occasionally making a bold strike behind enemy lines at a vital objective using demo charges and melta bombs. In order to maximize speed, maneuverability and range, their armament is very light with only twin-linked lasguns, flak armor, and grenades. They must try to strike at objectives and then rely on their mobility to escape before the enemy can engage them directly. Their bikes are designed in a very compact way so that they can be carried by Valkyries that have had their interior specially modified.
Black Squadron:
White Squadron:
A little too much glare to see the white lightning bolts on the front fenders here...
Both squadrons:
For anyone that plays Horus Heresy or still plays 6th/7th edition WH40km these are the rules I came up with for these guys.
RECON BIKERS 60 POINTS
WSBS S T W I A LdSv Biker Sergeant 3 3 3 4 1 3 2 8 5+
Recon Biker 3 3 3 4 1 3 1 7 5+
Unit Composition
- 1 Biker Sergeant
- 4 Recon Bikers
Unit Type
- Biker Sergeant: Bike (Character)
- Recon Biker: Bike
Wargear
- Laspistol
- Combat blade
- Frag and krak grenades
- Flak armor
- Recon bike with twin-linked lasguns
Special Rules
- Provenance (Horus Heresy only)
- Scout
- Hit and Run
- Bulky
Options:
- May include up to five additional bikers...............................+10 points each
- The Biker Sergeant may exchange his laspistol or close combat weapon for:
- Augmented Weapon (Horus Heresy only)...........................+2 points
- Power sword..........................................................................+5 points
- Plasma pistol.......................................................................+10 points
- Hand flamer........................................................................+10 points
- The Biker Sergeant may be given:
- Melta bombs.......................................................................+5 points
- A single demolition charge or breacher charge................+10 points
- For every three models in the squad, one Biker may exchange his laspistol for:
- Flamer or grenade launcher................................................+5 points
- Melta gun...........................................................................+10 points
- Plasma gun........................................................................ +15 points
Basically, they cost one more point per model than 6th Edition Rough Riders with mostly the same options. They lose the hunting lances, but gain the benefit of bikes over horses (increased T, twin-linked guns, jink). The addition of bikes makes them cost 4 times more than a basic infantryman in an Auxilia list and 2.4 times more than a basic infantryman in an Imperial Guard list. I also doubled the incremental cost of a demolition or breacher charge from the other units because it will be more effective combined with their mobility.
gobert wrote: Great work on the bikers, lots of really dynamic poses and cool visor work. Where are they from?
Thanks, gobert. They are Puppetswar Light Bikers with alternate heads. I think their visual style goes well with the slightly more sci-fi look of my Drop troopers.
I am working up some of the classic metal second-generation storm trooper models from 2003, when they were known as Cadian Kasrkin, and before the current iteration now known as Tempestus Scions. (This must have been when GW started to phase out generic sci-fi names and concepts and make all things specific to their universe.) I would love to get some of the original Storm Troopers models as well, but they are harder to find.
I think these second-generation models fit the aesthetic of my Drop Troopers pretty well so I wanted to include a few squads. In the lore, Storm Troopers are separate elite regiments from which units are pulled to support the regular regiments in critical missions. Sometimes they are deployed together in standalone forces, which is what the new(ish) Tempestus Scion army list represents. So I wanted the Storm Troopers to stand out from my regular rank and file, while also visually being tied-in to the rest of the army. I replicated as much of the color scheme as possible from the regular troops (the base, fatigues, blue lenses, boots/belts), while incorporating a strong dose of black and dark grey. This comes from a passage I remember reading in book about World War I that described the original German Sturmtruppen or Stoßtruppen (stormtroopers or shocktroopers) as wearing black.
Ideally, they should still look like they belong in the same theater of war (the rocky desert) while also standing out and having a more severe and intimidating look. The model ended up with a bit more black and dark grey than I was thinking, but I did not want to introduce any new colors that would clash with the rest of the army. I am debating adding a stripe of the regimental color of orange to the shoulder pad to tie them in even more. They are a separate regiment, but I figure they have been at least temporarily attached to the Xhorik 87th for the duration of a particular campaign and are operating as an elite unit within the regiment rather than a standalone force so they have adopted the colors as well. What do you think?
I would love to get some feedback before I start painting a whole batch of them.
Love the bikers, and thanks for posting your rules. I'm building some for my Steel Legion and appreciate having an extra rule set to turn to. It's always peeved me that Guard doesn't have a shooty cavalry/bike unit.
Are you going to do a Valk conversion for them?
Regarding the stormtroopers I definitely agree with bringing in the regimental colours. I think a triband of white - orange - white on the pauldrons or the helmet would go a long way.
The stripe of orange seems to be popular, and I agree too. For me the black armour is too stark a contrast with the brown fatigues, perhaps a dark grey might be less stark? Either way they’ll be a great addition to the force
The Riddle of Steel wrote: I am working up some of the classic metal second-generation storm trooper models from 2003, when they were known as Cadian Kasrkin, and before the current iteration now known as Tempestus Scions. (This must have been when GW started to phase out generic sci-fi names and concepts and make all things specific to their universe.) I would love to get some of the original Storm Troopers models as well, but they are harder to find.
Riddle,
I hope you do not mean the original mono-pose Storm Trooper plastics (the ones with metal Sergeants, special and heavy weapons) and instead the 3rd edition metal ones.
Viterbi wrote:Model looks great, love the visor. I think a stripe of orange would work well to get some color on the black and tie it in with the rest of your army.
Viterbi - thank you for the feedback.
Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:Agree with Viterbi, an orange stripe would look great on that mini!
Gwyn - thank you for the input.
NowhereMan wrote:Love the bikers, and thanks for posting your rules. I'm building some for my Steel Legion and appreciate having an extra rule set to turn to. It's always peeved me that Guard doesn't have a shooty cavalry/bike unit.
Are you going to do a Valk conversion for them?
Regarding the stormtroopers I definitely agree with bringing in the regimental colours. I think a triband of white - orange - white on the pauldrons or the helmet would go a long way.
NowhereMan - thanks. I only regret that I didn’t convert a few with special weapons as twin-linked lasguns leave these solely as objective grabbers once they use their one demo charge! I think I will try to convert a backpack for a tracking beacon to add to them at some point. The rules I wrote are for old 40k, 3rd-7th editions or Horus Heresy so I’m not sure if they will help if your group has kept up with newer editions. Once I get a game in, I’ll post an update on how the trial rules worked. (My small group is sticking with the old rules because we play Horus Heresy and it gets confusing trying to remember two systems. Plus, I have no patience for constant change and can't keep up with all the updates in the new system.)
gobert wrote:The stripe of orange seems to be popular, and I agree too. For me the black armour is too stark a contrast with the brown fatigues, perhaps a dark grey might be less stark? Either way they’ll be a great addition to the force
Gobert - my autocorrect stubbornly insists on turning your name into “Go eat” every time I try to type it. Thanks for the feedback. I’ve painted a couple more and I’m sticking with the black armor, but I am going to experiment now with regimental stripes and maybe a decal for a unit marking. I don’t have any decals specific to Stormtroopers so I was looking at Space Marine numbers but they are quite large for their larger pauldrons. I welcome any suggestions for good decals for the right shoulder.
Captain Brown wrote:
The Riddle of Steel wrote: I am working up some of the classic metal second-generation storm trooper models from 2003, when they were known as Cadian Kasrkin, and before the current iteration now known as Tempestus Scions. (This must have been when GW started to phase out generic sci-fi names and concepts and make all things specific to their universe.) I would love to get some of the original Storm Troopers models as well, but they are harder to find.
Riddle,
I hope you do not mean the original mono-pose Storm Trooper plastics (the ones with metal Sergeants, special and heavy weapons) and instead the 3rd edition metal ones.
Cheers,
CB
CB - I was referring to the ones you painted for your drop trooper army, the metal ones from around 3rd edition (I just looked up the ones you are talking about that seem to be from Rouge Trader/early 2nd edition timeframe and I did not remember those!). I wouldn’t mind getting ahold of a few of the original metal ones that you have, as they are the ones I remember from my time starting the game in late 2nd edition and into 3rd edition.
Thanks to everyone who posted feedback on the test model. Much appreciated. I’ve started a few more and will trial some extra color on the shoulders and post an update soon.
I am sure a few readers may be thinking "Hey, I thought this was a DROP TROOPER project log so where are all the drop troopers?!"
I know I have not posted an actual Forge World Elysian in quite a while now, but I have not abandoned by beloved drop troopers. I still have a decent-sized backlog to work through, starting with these guys here (who I just primed today and will start painting alongside more Stormtroopers):
They will be my first heavy weapons squad, and the first unit of my second platoon. My first platoon has been focused on special weapons and all the troopers are modeled with grav chutes, whereas my second platoon will be dedicated to heavy weapons squads (missile launchers and mortars) and will be modeled without grav chutes. This is partially due to a lack of grav chutes (I only have 28 left) and partially to differentiate the "heavy" platoon as normally starting on the battlefield from a previous drop, while the special weapon platoon focuses on grav chute insertions directly into combat.
I did a survey of my unpainted and unassembled Drop Trooper models:
3 x Tauros Venator
1 x Tauros
3 x Tarantulas with Heavy Bolters
3 x Drop Sentinels
2 x Missile Launcher Squad (12)
2 x Mortar Squad (12)
1 x Veterans with Shotguns (5)
1 x Command Squad (5)
1 x Sniper Squad (6)
2 x Infantry Squads (20) - from eBay, appear to be re-cast
28 x Grav Chutes
2 x Elysian Equipment Packs
2 x Elysian Weapon Packs (1 of each special weapon)
26 x metal Stormtroopers
49 x Alternate Heads I use for Troopers
7 x Alternate Heads I use for Officers/specialists
7 x Stormtrooper Heads
Various Anvil grenadier bits
I'm really happy that I grabbed as much of this as I did when they were Last Chance to Buy. I just wish I would have got at least one of each squad, such as a heavy bolter squad and flamer squad, as well. I would love to get one of every flier and another Valkyrie or two in order to complete the force.
Combined with what I have painted, this could be the full army list (dark red painted, green unpainted, and blue not purchased yet):
Xhorik 87th Drop Troops Regiment, 3rd Company Strike Force:
Under the resolute command of Captain Xhaer, and the stalwart guidance of Lord Commissar Falkov
HQ:
Company Command Section (5): Regimental standard, medic, vox, power sword and plasma pistol
Lord Commissar with power sword and bolt pistol
Elites:
Stormtrooper Squad (10): melta gun, plasma gun, sergeant with power sword
Stormtrooper Squad (10): 2 x flamers, sergeant with power sword
Drop Sentinel Squadron (3)
Troops:
First Platoon: Veterans (not officially a platoon by the rulebook, but a platoon for fluff reasons because it makes more sense to have a third platoon than a bunch of individual squads)
Veteran Squad (10): Grenadiers with missile launcher team and three sniper rifles
Veteran Squad (10): Grenadiers with missile launcher team, two sniper rifles, and plasma gun
Veteran Squad (5): Demolitions with shotguns
Veteran Squad (10): Grav chutes and assortment of special weapons (to be made from shotgun vets and leftovers)
Second Platoon: Grav chute insertion force
Platoon Command Squad (5) with power fist, vox, medic and two grenade launchers
Infantry Squad (10) with melta gun
Infantry Squad (10) with grenade launcher
Special Weapons Squad (6) with three melta gun teams
Special Weapons Squad (6) with three melta gun teams
Special Weapons Squad (6) with three sniper rifle teams
Drop Sentinels (2) with multimeltas
Third Platoon: Heavy weapons platoon
Platoon Command Squad (5)
Infantry Squad (10)
Infantry Squad (10)
Heavy Weapons Squad (6) with three missile launcher teams
Heavy Weapons Squad (6) with three missile launcher teams
Heavy Weapons Squad (6) with three mortar teams
Heavy Weapons Squad (6) with three mortar teams
Valkyrie with lascannon, 2 Hellstrike missiles, and 2 heavy bolters
Valkyrie with lascannon, 2 Hellstrike missiles, and 2 heavy bolters
Valkyrie with multilaser, 2 rocket pods, and 2 heavy bolters
Fast Attack:
Tauros Squadron: 1 with grenade launcher, 1 with heavy flamer
Tauros Venator Squadron: 3 with twin-linked lascannon
Recon bikers (5) with demo charge
Recon bikers (5) with demo charge
Vendetta
Vulture gunship
Valkyrie Sky Talon
Heavy Support:
Sentry Guns (3) with twin-linked lascannons
Sentry Guns (3) with twin-linked heavy bolters
Lightning Strike Fighter with 6 Hellstrike missiles and twin-linked lascannons (allied Imperial Navy)
Thunderbolt
Avenger
Other:
Medusa Siege Gun
Combining what I have and the few fliers I need to get, this would easily be 3000 - 4000 points in WH40k 6th/7th edition rules. I still think for Horus Heresy, the cost of Drop Trooper infantry should be reduced by 15 - 30% to even come close to being competitive in that game system.
This would be an amazing ~150 infantry, 17 light vehicles/walkers/artillery, and 8 fliers (and one just for show - the Sky Talon). An impressive full company to be proud of.
Stop typing and start painting then, Guardsman! ;P
I’m somewhat impressed at the volume of stuff you have ready to go haha. I like the old Anvil drop troop stuff, hopefully they will be re-released eventually. Maybe in time for your SECOND company of troops haha!
Great plans Riddle, that’ll be an impressive weight of painted resin! The heavy platoon plans sound like a good idea if you’re short of grav chutes. The first missile squad certainly look fine without them and the basing you’ve done gives them quite a cinematic feel.
Ragsta wrote:Stop typing and start painting then, Guardsman! ;P
I’m somewhat impressed at the volume of stuff you have ready to go haha. I like the old Anvil drop troop stuff, hopefully they will be re-released eventually. Maybe in time for your SECOND company of troops haha!
I am getting going on the painting, Ragsta. I just primed these guys along with the Tarantulas yesterday.
I started this force 5+ years ago and since then the Elysians went OOP at Forge World and the heads and grenadiers went OOP at Anvil and the rifle barrels went OOP at maxmini, although they may be back now. But it just goes to show, you cannot count on your models/bits being available forever in this hobby. If you have an idea or an army, you better get going because if you wait too long, you may never be able to finish it. Thankfully, the folks at Anvil were nice enough to get me a few more sprues of heads even after they officially took them down from the site so I can mostly finish my company. But I will have to mix in a few other heads as well. I was thinking a different head might be fitting for veterans, snipers, or artillery crew, for example.
gobert wrote:Great plans Riddle, that’ll be an impressive weight of painted resin! The heavy platoon plans sound like a good idea if you’re short of grav chutes. The first missile squad certainly look fine without them and the basing you’ve done gives them quite a cinematic feel.
Thanks, Gobert. I plan to add some more detail to the base once I glue the troopers on. I started assembling them on the base and realized it may be a pain to paint them like that (I have never done heavy weapons teams before). So other than the first guy, I have left them off for now. (The running guys are held by pins in their heels and I have the hole drilled so he can stand on the pin for posing, but he is not glued down.)
But first, I am working through a few more Stormtroopers and I will post an update on them shortly.
NowhereMan - thanks. I only regret that I didn’t convert a few with special weapons as twin-linked lasguns leave these solely as objective grabbers once they use their one demo charge! I think I will try to convert a backpack for a tracking beacon to add to them at some point. The rules I wrote are for old 40k, 3rd-7th editions or Horus Heresy so I’m not sure if they will help if your group has kept up with newer editions. Once I get a game in, I’ll post an update on how the trial rules worked. (My small group is sticking with the old rules because we play Horus Heresy and it gets confusing trying to remember two systems. Plus, I have no patience for constant change and can't keep up with all the updates in the new system.)
I have not been happy with the recent state of the rules, so come a time when I'm playing again I expect I'll be looking for a group willing to play an older rule set, or maybe even HH. Although I thought HH had rules that were kept concurrent with 40k? At any rate, your Biker rules will be a welcome bit of crunch to work off of.
If I wanted to quickly and relatively painlessly convert a couple of your bikes to have special weapons I would take models in the full ride pose and use greenstuff motorcycle scabbards or, because the Elysians are a little more technologically ahead of the rest of us guard, some sort of small maglock looking system to simply attach the weapon to the bike. You could probably properly magnetize your options in this way too with a little more effort.
In the same vein regarding the relatively useless Valkyrie SkyTalon, I intend to magnetize mine to be able to take Punisher Cannons as an ersatz Vulture. But it'd be cool to hear what you would do to make it viable, since your group seems open to homebrew.
The Riddle of Steel wrote: I am working up some of the classic metal second-generation storm trooper models from 2003, when they were known as Cadian Kasrkin, and before the current iteration now known as Tempestus Scions. (This must have been when GW started to phase out generic sci-fi names and concepts and make all things specific to their universe.) I would love to get some of the original Storm Troopers models as well, but they are harder to find.
Riddle,
I hope you do not mean the original mono-pose Storm Trooper plastics (the ones with metal Sergeants, special and heavy weapons) and instead the 3rd edition metal ones.
Cheers,
CB
CB - I was referring to the ones you painted for your drop trooper army, the metal ones from around 3rd edition (I just looked up the ones you are talking about that seem to be from Rouge Trader/early 2nd edition timeframe and I did not remember those!). I wouldn’t mind getting ahold of a few of the original metal ones that you have, as they are the ones I remember from my time starting the game in late 2nd edition and into 3rd edition.
Thanks to everyone who posted feedback on the test model. Much appreciated. I’ve started a few more and will trial some extra color on the shoulders and post an update soon.
Drop me a PM if you like.
I might be able to help with some of these:
Old metal Storm Troopers
Valkyrie with lascannon, 2 Hellstrike missiles, and 2 heavy bolters
Valkyrie with multilaser, 2 rocket pods, and 2 heavy bolters
Vendetta
Vulture gunship
Avenger
This was a great thread to stumble upon. Thanks for commenting on my blog so I found it.
You have a really cool-looking force of troopers here. The heads and conversions are excellent. All the variations in the poses had to be time-consuming.
Hopefully, you can get a little bit of a buff or a point reduction and show those space marines what cannon fodder really looks like!
NowhereMan - thanks. I only regret that I didn’t convert a few with special weapons as twin-linked lasguns leave these solely as objective grabbers once they use their one demo charge! I think I will try to convert a backpack for a tracking beacon to add to them at some point. The rules I wrote are for old 40k, 3rd-7th editions or Horus Heresy so I’m not sure if they will help if your group has kept up with newer editions. Once I get a game in, I’ll post an update on how the trial rules worked. (My small group is sticking with the old rules because we play Horus Heresy and it gets confusing trying to remember two systems. Plus, I have no patience for constant change and can't keep up with all the updates in the new system.)
I have not been happy with the recent state of the rules, so come a time when I'm playing again I expect I'll be looking for a group willing to play an older rule set, or maybe even HH. Although I thought HH had rules that were kept concurrent with 40k? At any rate, your Biker rules will be a welcome bit of crunch to work off of.
If I wanted to quickly and relatively painlessly convert a couple of your bikes to have special weapons I would take models in the full ride pose and use greenstuff motorcycle scabbards or, because the Elysians are a little more technologically ahead of the rest of us guard, some sort of small maglock looking system to simply attach the weapon to the bike. You could probably properly magnetize your options in this way too with a little more effort.
In the same vein regarding the relatively useless Valkyrie SkyTalon, I intend to magnetize mine to be able to take Punisher Cannons as an ersatz Vulture. But it'd be cool to hear what you would do to make it viable, since your group seems open to homebrew.
NowhereMan - Horus Heresy was using the same rules as 40k as they moved from 6th to 7th edition, up until the jump from 7th to 8th edition. At that point, HH stuck with 7th edition rules. The changes were too great and would have required re-writing the entire ruleset. And since it took them 10 years to write the current rules and they are missing one of their key writers now (RIP Bligh), they probably figured it would take another 10 to update the books to the new rules! They only release a new book every 1 - 2 years. I am happy they are sticking with the old rules, as I truly enjoy flamer templates, blast markers and vehicle armor facings. These are things that got me excited about the hobby as a kid. (What 12-year old could possibly say that laying a flamer template down on an enemy squad in 2nd edition and then rolling every turn to see if each survivor keeps burning or not wasn't endlessly entertaining?!) And thanks for the ideas on the bikes. I might have to pickup another set the next time I order from Puppetswar and make a few special weapons and a beacon.
The Riddle of Steel wrote: I am working up some of the classic metal second-generation storm trooper models from 2003, when they were known as Cadian Kasrkin, and before the current iteration now known as Tempestus Scions. (This must have been when GW started to phase out generic sci-fi names and concepts and make all things specific to their universe.) I would love to get some of the original Storm Troopers models as well, but they are harder to find.
Riddle,
I hope you do not mean the original mono-pose Storm Trooper plastics (the ones with metal Sergeants, special and heavy weapons) and instead the 3rd edition metal ones.
Cheers,
CB
CB - I was referring to the ones you painted for your drop trooper army, the metal ones from around 3rd edition (I just looked up the ones you are talking about that seem to be from Rouge Trader/early 2nd edition timeframe and I did not remember those!). I wouldn’t mind getting ahold of a few of the original metal ones that you have, as they are the ones I remember from my time starting the game in late 2nd edition and into 3rd edition.
Thanks to everyone who posted feedback on the test model. Much appreciated. I’ve started a few more and will trial some extra color on the shoulders and post an update soon.
Drop me a PM if you like.
I might be able to help with some of these:
Old metal Storm Troopers
Valkyrie with lascannon, 2 Hellstrike missiles, and 2 heavy bolters
Valkyrie with multilaser, 2 rocket pods, and 2 heavy bolters
Vendetta
Vulture gunship
Avenger
Cheers,
CB
CB - I will do that.
DJJazzyJeff wrote:This was a great thread to stumble upon. Thanks for commenting on my blog so I found it.
You have a really cool-looking force of troopers here. The heads and conversions are excellent. All the variations in the poses had to be time-consuming.
Hopefully, you can get a little bit of a buff or a point reduction and show those space marines what cannon fodder really looks like!
DJ - thanks for the feedback. You are right that converting, even changing poses, of the Elysians is tough due to the very limited compatible bits and the way the hands are molded onto the guns rather than on the arms. But the challenge just makes it more rewarding to try to add a custom pose or two. I am happy with my two medics and of course the guy giving the thumbs-up. I am thinking of getting a heat gun to try to vary the poses a bit more by bending the resin like I have seen some others do.
I have been plugging away a bit more on the Storm Troopers and got three more done to bring the squad up to four. I still have not added unit markings or the regimental color stripe yet, but that will be coming.
I know the highlighting is not super crisp. I was trying to do the edge highlighting with a bigger brush to get more paint per application and speed things along. I realized it is no good to spend hours on each individual guard trooper when most of the time in a battle they are killed before I can even take a good photo of them in action! I'd rather get an army finished that looks fine on the tabletop rather than display pieces.
You may notice that I painted the "under armor" a dark brown rather than black (even repainted it on the original model). I picture this as more of a tough leather under the metal plates so it would be a different color. This matches better with the colors used on my other guys wearing carapace armor (the Anvil Republican Grenadiers) with the brown under the bone. This hopefully also resulted in a bit less black and a bit more overlap in color with my other troopers.
Also, now I know why I always miss: the guy on the left clearly has a bent barrel. I thought I straightened them all but I clearly did not quite get this one right. They are actually fairly difficult to straighten without indenting the soft metal with the teeth of the pliers. (I am spoiled by all the plastic and resin of the last few decades and forgot the fun of working with metal miniatures!)
Next up, I am working on a sergeant and two more Storm Troopers to get a legal unit (in the old Taros Campaign ruleset anyway). Then I will add the last batch of three with another special weapon and two more troopers.
Since I am away from home this week and cannot do any modeling or painting, I thought I would share this amazing piece of art that was sent to me as a Dakka private message from a Dakkanaut named Andgil. I have replied multiple times to thank him/her, follow up, and ask if he or she would be willing to do a few more sketches as a paid commission but I’ve never received a response or seen the user active on here in the months since I was sent this piece. If anyone knows Andgil and can put me in touch I would appreciate it.
This was based on the model for Captain Xhaer, commanding officer of the Xhorik 87th Drop Troops regiment 3rd company.
I’d say the artist nailed it! I love it.
I found it extremely flattering that someone was inspired by my tiny contribution to this hobby in the way I’ve been inspired by so many others. This Dakka community is an amazing thing. Let’s keep it that way.
Agreed! I would love to see more sketching mixed in with the modeling, painting and writing in this hobby. Sadly, I need to rely on others for this particular skill.
This sketch got me thinking of adding a little more style to the photos of the minis to help set the mood. I played around a bit on the phone to make this. It looks pretty obviously superimposed but still pretty fun to add a thematic background.
It's a cool shot. They way I see it is you've devoted so much attention to your project already they deserve some shots like this!
I recently got myself one of of the photo effects apps on my phone - I want to pimp up some fun pictures of my Flexberg as a sort of honour badge to them as a project.
That sketch is really nice, hopefully you get to at least have a catch up with the artist eventually! Heh heh, I've also pondered getting someone to do a commissioned picture for my dudes.
Oh, and you were quite right about stockpiling miniatures you like for projects - I didn't do this before Brexit and now certain options I was interested in are now financially... Unsound
Ragsta wrote:
It's a cool shot. They way I see it is you've devoted so much attention to your project already they deserve some shots like this!
I recently got myself one of of the photo effects apps on my phone - I want to pimp up some fun pictures of my Flexberg as a sort of honour badge to them as a project.
That sketch is really nice, hopefully you get to at least have a catch up with the artist eventually! Heh heh, I've also pondered getting someone to do a commissioned picture for my dudes.
Oh, and you were quite right about stockpiling miniatures you like for projects - I didn't do this before Brexit and now certain options I was interested in are now financially... Unsound
Ragsta, thanks. I saw someone on Facebook posting some computer-generated art of custom Imperial Guard regiments. He says he creates art of people's regiments based on photos of their painted models. I contacted him to look into it and it seems reasonably priced, what you might expect to pay for ~2 hours of work. Apparently, he has a month-long backlog of work so it must be a competitive price. I am going to try to get a piece done for my Xhorik Drop Troopers. If I do, I will post it on here.
RobertsMinis wrote:Bikers,Stormtroopers and Captain are all looking great! Keep up the good work, looking forward to seeing more!
Thanks, Roberts. I am working on the Stormtroopers and hoping to get a game in within the next month or so. Hopefully I can get some decent action shots.
Tyranid Horde wrote:Read through the whole thread as a bit of a catch up for myself. Gorgeous army and the group shots are amazing, very dynamic too.
Rare these days to see Elysians still getting painted up but you're making them your own and they're superb.
Those stormtroopers are the sculpts that I always wanted as a teenager, shame they've been replaced by the scions, which don't quite do it for me.
Tyranid Horde, thanks for the positive feedback. It is a shame that Elysians no longer have current rules for the latest edition of the game. Thankfully, we still play the old editions so I can keep using them. And yes, these stormtroopers fit much better with the regular Imperial Guard regiments, whereas Scions are more clearly a different faction altogether. I like the idea of the Imperial Guard having elite units that still look like they belong in the same force.
I painted up another three Stormtroopers, including a sergeant, giving me a legal squad (in the old Taros Campaign rules that I use). I did not like the look of the bareheaded sergeant when all of my units have closed helmets for the harsh environments in which they would normally fight (it seems the vast majority of potential combat zones in the galaxy would not have air that humans could or would want to breath). I forgot how much of a pain it is to convert metal models! A simple headswap (along with removing the helmet from his belt) took some time and did not come out too cleanly, but most of the worst damage isn't too bad after paint is applied.
One more batch of three including a second special weapon will finish off the squad. I also added the regimental color stripe on the left shoulder. I will probably add a squad number decal to the right shoulder once the whole squad is painted.
Thanks for all the great comments and feedback. It really helps me to stay motivated on a project that does not really fit with the current state of the game, or with Horus Heresy, which is what we mostly play these days.
These guys came out great! The orange stripe really ties them in with the rest of the army. With the black it gives the a real Spec Ops look too. Great job riddle
RobertsMinis wrote:Those really are great. Looking forward to some action shots and good luck in your games!
gobert wrote:These guys came out great! The orange stripe really ties them in with the rest of the army. With the black it gives the a real Spec Ops look too. Great job riddle
kavika0311 wrote:Very nice! I love those old sculpts.
Tyranid Horde wrote:Great looking stormtroopers. The head swap is a great touch too.
Viterbi wrote:Amazing job on the stormtroopers, the edge highlighting is so neat and the orange stripe really sets a nice detail on them. Sgt. really stands out!
Thank you, everyone. I don't think I have had so many comments on a post before. The feedback is much appreciated and tells me I need to stay focused on this army and not keep getting sidetracked with other projects.
I painted up the last three: a melta gunner and two more troopers.
First Squad is outfitted to destroy targets of significance, such as elite units, vehicles or infrastructure. To this end, they are equipped with high-strength melta and plasma weaponry. (Second squad with flamers is coming later.)
On their right arm they bear their Stormtrooper company number, the Fighting 501st.
On the other shoulder, they proudly display the orange stripe of the Xhorik 87th Drop Troopers Regiment, to which they have been attached for several years.
They carry as much gear and ammo as they can, although the massive energy packs for their hot-shot weapons take up most of their capacity and so they cannot remain deployed as long as the Drop Troopers. They must strike and extract relatively quickly, leaving the grunts of the 87th to hold captured positions or fight protracted missions behind enemy lines.
Other than the one head swap, I stuck a scope on one rifleman and a few extra knives, grenades, pouches and ammo on any guys where I could find an empty spot.
Of course I had to give them the iconic number of 501. This is both a tribute to the 501st airborne infantry regiment (US) that participated in some of the most famous paratrooper actions of the Second World War and also a reference to the 501st Stormtrooper Legion, the famous worldwide Star Wars costuming organization. (I'm sure I am not the only one to think to use 501 for "Stormtroopers", but how could I resist?!)
They look like they’ll pack a heavy punch, nice work. Cool tie to RL as well. As for being distracted by other projects, we’d happily read if you post them here!
Captain Brown wrote:Nicely done on the Storm Troopers Riddle.
Cheers,
CB
CB, thank you. I always appreciate the encouragement.
gobert wrote:They look like they’ll pack a heavy punch, nice work. Cool tie to RL as well. As for being distracted by other projects, we’d happily read if you post them here!
gobert, so far I have tried to keep this log focused on this specific project. I have not created a separate log for any of my other projects or a "general project log" since I just don't have as much time to get on Dakka and post updates (or to comment on everyone else's great stuff!) as I would like. If you are interested, you can always check out my other stuff on the blog I keep up with my brothers (mostly focused on our Horus Heresy campaign lately): https://xhorikwar.blogspot.com/
But since you asked ( ), here is a sample of recent projects:
Terrain piece made from 3rd edition ruins, a hard dining table place mat, a plastic container of portabella mushrooms, and a few other bits including a few from the Maelstrom's Edge sprue.
mcmattila wrote:Yeah, got to agree, those troopers look excellent and great job with the sarge's headswap.
Thank you, mcmattila. I just had a peek at what you have been up to and those Skaven Guard are amazing.
I managed to get a small game in with Drop Troopers last night against my brother's renegade milita.
https://xhorikwar.blogspot.com/2021/04/petes-speed-painting-army-chaos-cultists.html I will get some photos posted once I have time to go through and edit them (mostly just cropping and fixing lighting, but sometimes getting a bit more elaborate).
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, since this is a Drop Troopers blog, here are the latest models I painted, some Tarantua sentry guns with heavy bolters.
Before making a hot drop into an active combat zone, the Xhorik 87th will normally drop several Valkyrie loads of sentry guns, or tarantulas as the troopers call them, to secure the drop zone. The automated weapons sweep the area with a wave of high-caliber explosive shells from their heavy bolters and soak up the first enemy counter fire. Their role is to provide covering fire when the drop troopers make their final descent and are most vulnerable.
Each sentry gun is numbered for organization. Sometimes troopers even give nicknames to favorite guns and ask for them specifically to stay attached to certain platoons.
Here you can see the sensor and targetter arrays that are protected by an armored plate.
When they hit the ground, the legs immediately open to give the weapons a stable firing platform on nearly any terrain.
Cool update, great to see the side projects, the terrain piece looks really nice. Love the squad shot and already excited for the game shots. Your army is very cinematic and I just love the idea of these drop troops.
I have something a bit different to show today. When I mentioned in my previous post about my ultimate plans for the army including an Avenger, Captain Brown messaged me with one to sell. For anyone who does not know, Captain Brown's Elysians are world-famous and a big inspiration to many of us who have made our armies since. And luckily for me, his vehicle color scheme is not too different than my own, with a mostly sand/desert color. So it seemed like a great opportunity to add to my collection while honoring the Captain's inspiring work by giving a piece of his collection a new home in an army that will see some action on the table. Honestly, this is the first time I have ever bought a painted miniature because I normally like to know that, good or bad, I painted every single piece in my armies myself. But I made an exception here because of the history and connection of this model.
Here she is, after surviving her perilous trip through the warp from the distant regions of the galactic fringe (thanks to CB for the excellent packaging for shipping):
I plan to repaint the base to match my army (it is not too far off, but should be simple enough to repaint without getting paint on the flying stand). And I also want to add some dark-colored chipping to match my other flyers as well. Other than that, I intend to leave it as it is currently painted by Captain Brown. As an Imperial Navy fighter, the color does not need to match my Drop Trooper Regimental colors exactly as it is not part of the regiment.
I have always loved the look of this plane and the obvious tribute to the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt (aka Warthog). Even the name of the plane comes from the 30×173 mm GAU-8/A Avenger autocannon on the actual plane. One I never noticed before now is that even the stats of the gun pay homage to the real thing: the actual Avenger autocannon has seven barrels (compared to five on the Forge World model) and the Avenger bolt cannon weapon profile in the Taros Campaign book is Heavy 7 - seven shots per turn to honor the seven barrels. (Since rolling 3900 dice per minute to emulate the actual rate of fire might be slightly unbalanced, not to mention tedious... )
I hope you enjoy it! And thank you to Captain Brown for this addition to the Xhorik 87th Drop Troopers 3rd Company.
A really great couple of updates Riddle. Those Sons of Horus are lovely, they must look amazing fighting alongside/slaughtering the Drop Troops . It’s always good to see the dakka community sharing too, the Avenger will be a cool addition to the army
Viterbi wrote:Cool update, great to see the side projects, the terrain piece looks really nice. Love the squad shot and already excited for the game shots. Your army is very cinematic and I just love the idea of these drop troops.
Viterbi - I appreciate the kind words. I am working on the battle report now. I don't know if I will post the whole thing on dakka or just some highlights and then direct folks to the blog if they want the full report.
gobert wrote:A really great couple of updates Riddle. Those Sons of Horus are lovely, they must look amazing fighting alongside/slaughtering the Drop Troops . It’s always good to see the dakka community sharing too, the Avenger will be a cool addition to the army
gobert, thanks for the feedback on the Sons of Horus. It will be awhile until I have a full army to join our Horus Heresy campaign. In the meantime, I have used my drop troopers a few times in the campaign alongside my White Scars. They felt like natural allies with their similar modes of fighting with highly mobile forces.
Today's topic: Codex Photos.
One of the many reasons I have not kept up with the new editions of 40k and gone back to Horus Heresy/7th Edition is because they have retired the Elysian Drop Troops from the newest edition of the rules. I was sharing some of my photos in a group of Elysian Drop Troops fan and some folks reached out to me saying they are working on a fan-made unofficial codex for the newest edition (9th?). They asked if I would like to submit some photos for the codex. I would certainly be honored to have a member of the Xhorik 87th become immortalized in a codex, even an official fan version. That kind of passion for an army that GW has discontinued and elected not to support with rules going forward is impressive and what the hobby used to be all about.20 years ago, they told you to use whatever models you had, convert your stuff with *gasp* non-GW parts(!), make your own terrain and models from household items, make your own custom scenarios, etc. So I was happy to participate. I realized my photo quality of this army has not been great and I elected to try to get a few nicer shots of some models to submit. There are no newly-painted models in this update, but I got some new enjoyment on seeing them in a better light.
Trooper with non-standard-issue scope
Lieutenant
Running trooper
Signaling to "get down"
Vox
Trooper with boot knife
Drop sentinel 05
Drop sentinel 09
Trooper with bionic left arm reloading lasgun, also with non-standard-issue muzzle flash suppressor and laser sight targetter lasgun attachments
Medic
Trooper running to plant a demo charge
Melta gun team, signaling good shot or good landing, maybe
Melta gun team standing
Tauros
Recon biker
Recon biker sergeant
I hope you enjoy the update. I know it has been a long time since I pained up any actual Elysian models for this army, but that will be remedied soon. I am working on heavy weapons squad with missile launchers.
You have a pretty big double post there. But besides that, super excited that your units might be featured! They deserve it, they're full of character and well painted.
Very cool seeing all those close-ups from all the different minis. Lovely work and very cool that they may be featured in the unofficial codex! Loved the gun with the "suppressor", I'm a sucker for these.
Very cool that your work will be featured in a fan codex, those projects are always awesome and made with love. It'll be immediately elevated with your work!
Congratulations on the recognition of your work- well deserved. There is a strong, realistic 'unity' to your army: the uniforms, coloring, markings, equipage all suggest mass production by a technically sophisticated society- as they should. Many of us paint loads of variations (because we are not as focused) to try to suggest a far-flung empire of myriad worlds. But unless you're the Last Chancers, too much variation merely diffuses interest to does not convey that feeling of coherence that truly good painter achieve.
Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:You have a pretty big double post there. But besides that, super excited that your units might be featured! They deserve it, they're full of character and well painted.
Thanks, Gwyn. Interactions with other fans of the same stuff can sure be fun. I certainly enjoy chatting about the hobby with all of you on Dakka and of course it would be amazing to be a tiny part of a big project such as a fan Codex. I hope it happens.
Viterbi wrote:Very cool seeing all those close-ups from all the different minis. Lovely work and very cool that they may be featured in the unofficial codex! Loved the gun with the "suppressor", I'm a sucker for these.
Thank you, Viterbi. I like the look of some "silencer" type attachments, although I am not sure if that is really a thing for lasguns. I heard someone else call it a flash suppressor once and I liked the sound of that so I figure that might make sense for this type of weapon.
gobert wrote:Great pics! I love the thumbs up chap and the bikers. Really cool stuff
Gobert - thanks As anyone who collects Elysians knows, there are precious few hand options or extra bits so kit bashing is not as easy as some factions. But I still want to add a little variety and flavor to the models. I just used a closed fist, scraped off the thumb and used greenstuff to form a little lump that vaguely resembles a thumb. My sculpting skills are really poor as even that little sausage was tough for me, but it gets the point across.
Ragsta wrote:Captain Brown is a legend, really cool that one of his models joins your own excellent efforts.
Nothin wrong with glamour shots of excellent models!
Ragsta - agree. His Elysians were an inspiration to me when I was planning this army, and to many more. I just repainted the base today to match my army. I won't do much to the Avenger itself, other than a few details and adding some weathering that is more consistent with my other vehicles.
Tyranid Horde wrote:Very cool that your work will be featured in a fan codex, those projects are always awesome and made with love. It'll be immediately elevated with your work!
TyranidHorde, you are too kind. I just hope to contribute one small piece to a project that others have poured much more effort and love into. I love to see like-minded hobbyists work together from around the world to create - what an amazing time we live in.
Meer_Cat wrote:Congratulations on the recognition of your work- well deserved. There is a strong, realistic 'unity' to your army: the uniforms, coloring, markings, equipage all suggest mass production by a technically sophisticated society- as they should. Many of us paint loads of variations (because we are not as focused) to try to suggest a far-flung empire of myriad worlds. But unless you're the Last Chancers, too much variation merely diffuses interest to does not convey that feeling of coherence that truly good painter achieve.
You are in good company.
Meer_Cat, thank you, that means a lot. I agree with you that it can be a grind staying focused on one army and one color scheme for years. I break it up a lot by working on other factions and projects, sometimes I go months without touching this army. But I always come back to it because I just love the flavor of paratroopers in the 41st millennium and it was been a dream of mine to create this entire army.
That was some awesome feedback. I really love how supportive this community is.
I do not just paint to collect - I like to play with the models. I am not a power gamer, or tournament player. I love playing flavorful scenarios with painted armies on painted terrain. And I enjoy battle reports. The battle reports of the old White Dwarf magazines from the mid to late 90s made a huge impression on me and emulating them is one of my favorite parts of the hobby.
So by now I imagine you know where this is going...
That's right - a battle report featuring the Xhorik 87th Drop Troops!
For this battle, I used the Elysian rules from the Taros Campaign Vol. 2 and the 6th edition Codex: Imperial Guard. My brother used the Horus Hersey Imperialis Militia and Cults army book. We played a scenario from the WH40k 4th edition rulebook (Sabotage) and we used the rule system from WHO40k 7th edition/Horus Heresy. It was nice to be able to mix the rulesets and models that we have to fight the scenario we had in our minds.
Operation Downfall Campaign: Battle Report 1: Night Drop
"To each of us falls a task. And all the Emperor requires of us Guardsmen is that we stand the line and we die fighting. It is what we do best. We die standing."
- General Sturm
Campaign To Date:
Spoiler:
It is the middle of the Horus Heresy and civil war rages across the galaxy on a thousand worlds. Everywhere, former brothers and sworn allies have turned against each other in a fury of betrayal and hatred. The Warmaster Horus has begun his long march to Terra, crushing all resistance before him. In his direct path is the Xhorik System, located at a strategic crossroads of Warp currents in a sector of space known for smooth transitions between realspace and the Warp. This prosperous system has become a focal point for the Traitor war effort as they attempt to seize control of the key spaceport facilities to enable a rapid refuel and resupply of the main Traitor war host as they make their way to the throne world.
On Xhorik Prime, the key trading and transport hub of the system, Traitor forces are newly victorious over those loyal to the Emperor in a massive planetary civil war that erupted along old, pre-Imperial factional rivalries. A combined force of Death Guard and World Eaters has crushed the stratocracy of Kozar and their small garrison of the White Scars Legion. The major space ports are now securely in the hands of the Traitors, although small bands of Loyalist survivors continue to wage a shadow war along the fringes of the high desert wilderness.
On Xhorik Secundus, the planetary governor has remained loyal to the Emperor and maintained control of most of the planet. As war raged on Xhorik Prime, armies began mobilizing for an invasion of the heart of Traitor territory, in the Federation of Unimund. The first phase of the invasion was codenamed Operation Downfall and called for a massive nighttime drop assault on key enemy installations in order to clear the way for the massive, lumbering landing craft that would be bringing the bulk of the invasion the next day.
Although suffering significant casualties in the war for Kozar, the Xhorik 87th Drop Troops Regiment, the Firebirds, were called upon to support Operation Downfall from Xhorik Prime, along with several dozen drop regiments from Xhorik Secundus attacking from orbit. They would be making simultaneous night drops to secure key landing zones, disable defense and communication capabilities, and clear roads and bridges to allow the Loyalist forces to move quickly out of the vulnerable landing zones, establishing a beach head. The target of the 3rd Company was a signal relay station that transmitted information from orbiting satellites back to the urban areas and Traitor command centers.
Pre-Game and Mission:
Spoiler:
We played the mission Sabotage from the Fourth Edition WH40k rulebook with the Traitor Militia as the defenders and the Xhorik 87th Drop Troopers as the attackers. The defender can deploy any HQ and Troops choices around a central objective (and we added the ability to deploy a single Heavy Support choice to make it more fun and balanced with Pete's limited army). The attacker must get an infantry unit into melee combat with the central building objective and remain in base contact for one full turn until the attacker's next close combat phase. At this point, the demo charges are set and the objective is destroyed. The attacker chooses a narrow table edge and can deploy infiltrators within 12" of the edge. The rest of the force either moves on from that table edge in turn 1 or remains in reserve as normal. Defender's reserves have to roll for a random table edge when they arrive.
We did not include the sentries as Pete did not have the models for it and it seemed like it would just slow down the game without making much difference.
As part of Operation Downall, the drop would be taking place in the middle of the night so the old Night Fighting rules would be in effect for the entire game (when shooting, you must roll a spotting range of 2d6 x 3 to see your target or the shots are wasted) and the defender would get to use Hidden Deployment. We also decided the Hidden Deployment would not be revealed prior to the start of the first turn, as normal. Instead, the units would only be revealed if an attacker unit "spotted" it during the first attacker turn (as per Night Fighting rules), with any units still hidden being revealed in the defender's first turn. This would result in any attacker units deep striking on the first turn going in blind without knowing where specific targets would be located. Part of the hidden deployment rule was that any units held in reserves would have their hidden deployment marker become a bobby trap or minefield.
Night Drop scenario map: the outpost around Relay Station AN-09.
Army Selection: 1200 Points
Spoiler:
Traitor Militia - Pete
Force Commander with power sword, plasma pistol, alchem-jackers, warrior elite
Squad Alpha: 15 Grenadiers with plasma gun, flamer
Squad Beta: 15 Grenadiers with melta gun, flamer
2 Auxilia Medicae: 1 in each Grenadier squad
Leman Russ Battle Tank
Leman Russ Demolisher
Leman Russ Vanquisher
Malcador Battle Tank
**Horus Heresy Imperialis Militia and Cults army list
An armored division of traitor militia is guarding the landing zones, including this sentry force at Relay Station AN-09
Traitor force map icons
Xhorik 87th Drop Troopers, 3rd Company - Phil
I was excited to use my Drop Troopers in a mission where they could really shine. They will almost never win in a straight-up fight, but a night raid where the objective is to destroy a building allows them to utilize their main strength of launching a pinpoint attack anywhere on the battlefield with multiple infantry units. Keeping in mind the objective, I took a thematic force using my drop platoon for the five infantry units and the tank-killing support of the drop sentinels. I knew I would have a hard time dealing with four tanks (including a super-heavy) so I took all of the melta I had available: 9 meltaguns and multi-meltas altogether! My freshly-painted Stormtroopers would get their baptism by fire - I knew their stronger weapons would be helpful against the carapace armor of Pete's grenadiers and their ability to re-roll the scatter when deep striking would ensure they land on target. Finally, I brought some land units in the Tauros and Recon Bikers to ensure I had some units on the board to apply pressure early and to not allow a few bad rolls early on to leave me with no units on the board, resulting in automatic defeat.
Company command section (5): regimental standard, medic, vox, power sword and plasma pistol
Stormtrooper squad (10): melta gun, plasma gun, sergeant with power sword
Second platoon: Grav chute insertion force
- Platoon command squad (5) with power fist, vox, medic and two grenade launchers
- 1st Infantry squad (10) with melta gun
- 2nd Infantry squad (10) with grenade launcher
- Special weapons squad (6) with three melta gun teams
- Special weapons squad (6) with three melta gun teams
- Drop sentinels (2) with multimeltas
- Valkyrie with multilaser, 2 Hellstrike missiles, and 2 heavy bolters
Tauros with grenade launcher
Drop troop recon bikers White-Bolts (5) with demo charge
Drop troop recon bikers Black-Bolts (5) with breacher charge
Sentry Guns (3) with twin-linked lascannons
Sentry Guns (3) with twin-linked heavy bolters
**WH40k Taros Campaign army list with 15% discount
Strike Force Glaive: Reinforced 2nd Platoon of the Xhorik 87th 3rd Company, under the command of Captain Xhaer.
]
Drop trooper map icons
My strategy was to use the recon units (the bikes and Tauros) to try to spot the enemy to improve my positioning when the drop platoon arrived. They would harass the Traitors and draw fire away from the infantry, who would be focused on reaching the Relay Station and planting the demo charges. I decided to drop the Tarantulas in first (using the Combat Drop rules) to secure the drop zone and soften up the enemy a bit before my fragile and important infantry arrived to accomplish the mission. I knew I would struggle to destroy all those tanks, but I was hoping to overwhelm the defenders with numbers as I swarmed the objective. Onward for the Emperor!
"Listen up, troopers!" Lieutenant Tarvar barked over the thrum of the Valkyrie engine noise. "We've been over this in the pre-mission muster but I want everyone to take one more good look at these pict-caps and commit every detail to memory. Making a hot drop in the dark is no damn joke. If there are any hostiles down there, they will be so jacked-up on chems that they won't hardly feel a lasgun blast right through their guts 'til the next day. They'll fight 'til they drop. They won't feel fear - or have the sense to back down. We need to hit the ground running, take 'em out before they know what hit 'em and get those demo charges planted on that relay station."
Tarvar paused as the Valkyrie made a hard bank to the right, evading an anti-aircraft missile.
"What then, sir?" one of the men ventured.
"Then...boom. Mission accomplished. And we all go home."
Pict-capture of Drop Zone Zeta acquired during night recon flight one day prior to drop:
Pict-cap of target relay station AN-09 prior to drop:
++Thought for the day: A good soldier obeys without question. A good officer commands without doubt.++
01.40: Traitor sentries are arrayed around the critical Relay Station. Loyalists will be attacking from the west:
+++01.46 Western outskirts of Relay Station AN-09 outpost+++
The forward ground-based Pathfinder elements of Strike Force Glaive raced through the dark, heading for the target coordinates. They had been dropped in enemy territory by lone Valkyries several hours before the main drop assault would commence. Their job was locate the targets and use their tracking beacons to guide the main drop forces in the dark. The command Tauros and one squadron of recon bikers made straight for the target, approaching from the west, while a second squadron of motorcycles broke off for a flanking attack from the south. As the blinking red lights on the antennas of the Relay Station came into view, the Tauros commander switched on his tracking beacon.
"Not a moment too soon," he thought as he heard the distant approach of Valkyries.
It had been difficult to reach the site. AA fire had forced his Sky Talon to drop him farther out than planned and avoiding Traitor patrols had taken time. Now that the first Valkyries were screaming by overhead and making their drops, he flipped his headlights on and gunned his engine toward the tower. At this signal, the bikers on his right did the same and their engines roared as they headed for the southern bunker. The Tauros tried to spot the enemy sentries in order to assist with the drop assault, but they could not see a thing in the blackness around the Relay Station outpost.
The Tauros leads two squads of recon bikers to find the target and mark the drop site in the dark:
+++01.49 Outpost North Bunker+++
In accordance with standard Xhorik drop troop combat protocol, the first units dropped into a hot combat zone are Tarantula sentry guns to secure the drop zone before the men arrive. A lascannon team landed right next to the northern bunker. The mechanical legs unfolded and the targetters immediately locked onto a nearby Leman Russ Vanquisher. The weapons automatically started firing and damaged the Traitor battle tank, the las weapons creating a blind flash in the darkness of the outpost.
A lascannon Tarantula team strikes a Traitor tank at the relay station outpost:
At the same time, a heavy bolter team dropped to the east of the relay station and began firing into the grenadier sentries.
Even the utter darkness, the Tarantula targeting arrays spot the Traitors and the guns open fire:
01.50: Xhorik recon elements approach from the west. Tarantula sentry guns drop into action, revealing the locations of several Traitor units:
+++01.52 Relay Station AN-09+++
While the heavy bolter Tarantulas were following their programmed logic to fire upon the nearby infantry, the mass of a Traitor Leman Russ Demolisher was crawling up from their flank. At this close range, even the darkness could not prevent the gunner from landing a shot right in the midst of the weapons platforms, destroying one and damaging another. The damaged sentry gun was finished off by the Grenadiers of Squad Beta.
A Demolisher Cannon shell lights up the night and destroys a Drop Tarantula:
+++01.55 South Bunker+++
On the other side of the outpost, the Traitor guards had become aware of the motorcycle squadron approaching behind the cover of the southern bunker. One of the Leman Russ tanks engaged its idling engines with a roar of black smoke and rolled south to cut off their attempted flanking attack. Despite the speed and evasive riding of the bikers, the explosive radius of the battle cannon was large enough to ensure one motorcycle was destroyed.
A militia battle tank fires into approaching recon bikers, destroying one:
With explosions erupting all around the outpost, the Commander of the Traitor garrison force makes a vox call for reinforcements.
01.55: Traitor armor mobilizes and begins firing into the attackers:
++01.58 Relay Station AN-09++
As the Valkyries of the reinforced 2nd platoon race to the drop site, heavy AA fire forces several of the transports off their planned route in order to avoid taking too much flak. The closely synchronized nature of the attack starts to fall apart as the Valkyries are forced to spread out. The elite Stormtrooper Valkyrie heads straight through the incoming fire, relying on the skill of their veteran pilot to make it through. Arriving at the drop site on time, they found they were alone. But they had a mission to accomplish and made their jump, landing just south of the objective. They landed near a surprised squad of Traitor Grenadiers along with an officer. The Stormtroopers of the 501st immediately opened fire, inflicting several casualties, although the Traitors' Protectron medical robot was able to patch up several wounded Grenadiers and get them back in the fight.
Stormtroopers of the 501st make a precision drop and attack traitor militia grenadiers with superheated plasma.
++01.59 Relay Station AN-09++
The only other Xhorik forces to arrive are a second squadron of Recon bikers, as part of the flanking attack from the south. Both squadrons of bikers attack the Traitor Leman Russ holding that side of the outpost with demo charges and breacher charges, managing to inflict enough damage to shake the concentration of the crew.
++01.59 North Bunker++
Meanwhile, at the north end of the outpost, the lascannon Tarantula team continues its automated firing protocol and destroys the Traitor Leman Russ Vanquisher, turning the battle tank into a smoking wreck.
A Traitor Vanquisher battle tank burns as advance elements of the drop force encircle the objective:
02.00: The Stormtroopers arrive at the objective alone and attack the Traitor Grenadiers. Tarantula guns destroy a Vanquisher tank while recon bikers harass the southern flank:
++02.01 North Bunker++
Preceded by a monstrous clanking rumble, a Malcador heavy battle tank crawls out of the darkness surrounding the outpost, drawn to the flashes of light erupting around the Relay Station. The steel behemoth immediately opens fire on the Tarantula sentry guns from point blank range, blowing two of them into a cloud of debris that lights up the night in a fiery burst.
Traitor reserves arrive from the north and two Tarantulas are destroyed, neutralizing their anti-tank capabilities:
++02.03 Relay Station AN-09++
Quickly recovering from the initial shock of the Stormtrooper attack, the Traitor commander orders both squads to inject their combat drugs, making them nearly fearless. They launch a viscous counter attack on the Stormtroopers of the 501st, bathing the entire unit in waves of noxious chemical flames. As the elite Loyalist commandos were struggling under the torrent of fire, two salvos of lasgun fire from the Grenadiers finished them off. The pile of corpses continued to smolder and burn in the darkness.
Led by their commander, Traitor grenadiers launch a fierce counterattack against the Stormtroopers of the 501st. Their flamers are particularly deadly against the closely-packed Loyalists:
02.05: The Traitor Malcador enters from the north, punishing the Tarantulas as the Grenadiers clear the area around the Relay Station of the first wave of drop troopers.
++02.08 Relay Station AN-09++
To the relief of the recon ground forces, the bulk of the drop forces of Strike Force Glaive finally arrived, although ten minutes later than scheduled. They make their combat drops mostly along the northern edge of the outpost where there appears to be a clear path to the Relay Station. Half of melta stick is dropped to the south in an attempt to neutralize the Leman Russ battle tank there. The Drop Sentinels are tasked with destroying the Leman Russ Demolisher and managed to land in a flanking position and damage it slightly with their multimeltas.
With the crew of the southernmost Leman Russ distracted by the damage from the breacher charge, the two units of Xhorik recon bikers took advantage of the opening to race past the tank and engage the Grenadiers around the objective. Both squadrons charged into the fray, lasguns blazing. As they approach in the darkness, one biker inadvertently rides over a Traitor landmine and the explosion tears the bike apart in a slew of frag. The bikers then engage the Grenadiers in a vicious melee.
In a hard-fought melee between the bikers and the Grenadiers, the Traitor Commander kills the lead biker with a white-hot blast of plasma from his pistol. :
02.10: The 2nd platoon finally arrives, dropping mostly along the northern side of the outpost:
++02.11 South Bunker++
With an entire platoon of drop troopers arriving and heading for the Relay Station, things suddenly looked desperate for the Traitor sentry force. They needed to quickly clear the area of attackers.
The Leman Russ battle tank at the southern edge of the outpost backed away from the meltagun squad that had been attacking it and fired its battle cannon into their midst. When the smoke cleared only a single trooper out of the six remained uninjured and able to continue the fight.
++02.12 North Bunker and North Hills++
On the north side of the outpost, the mighty Malcador turned its attention away from the Tarantulas and toward the drop trooper infantry that was now threatening to overwhelm the vulnerable Relay Station. A salvo heavy weapons fire crippled 1st Infantry Squad, but the few remaining soldiers held their nerve and refused to fall back. The Leman Russ Demolisher crew was unable to muster an effective counterattack against the drop Sentinels as they were mostly busy putting out fires and engaging auxiliary power systems due to the damage from the multimelta hit.
++02.14 Relay Station AN-09++
The Traitor commander knew he had to protect the tower at all costs. Over the din of the ongoing melee, he ordered his unengaged Grenadiers of Squad Beta to the eastern side of the tower to help attack the 1st Infantry Squad that had landed almost on top of the Relay Station and was close enough to start planting demo charges. He and his men of Squad Alpha then injected a massive dose of their combat chems and surged over the Xhorik bikers like madmen, ripping several from their bikes and stabbing them repeatedly with bayonets as they lay on the ground. The surviving bikers desperately tried to turn their bikes to flee the crazed Traitors. In the confusion, the White Bolt squadron was swarmed and destroyed while the Black Bolt squadron managed to flee the deadly melee.
02.15: The Traitors counterattack the newly-arriving drop troopers and win the melee in the center:
++02.17 South Hill++
The last transport finally arrived over the battlefield and Captain Xhaer and his command squad made their drop. They landed in a clearing to the south of the Relay Station near a small hill. Xhaer knew his men had to act fast to complete their objective before massed Traitor reinforcements arrived. The delay in reaching the drop zone had disrupted their coordinated attack and cost them precious time.
At the sight of their commander dropping in nearby, the recon bikers of the Black Bolt squadron regained their discipline and regrouped in preparation to support the final push on the central tower.
++02.18 Relay Station AN-09++
Xhaer ordered all units to assault the central objective while the Sentinels engaged the tanks. The 2nd Infantry Squad made a short drop as their Valkyrie slowed down to hover near the Relay Station. It lit up the area with its searchlight while the door gunners rained down heavy bolter fire into the Traitor Grenadier Squad Beta on the near side of the tower. Many Traitors fought on despite taking horrendous injuries that would kill a man, thanks to constant medical work from their Protectron and massive amounts of painkillers. Their resilience forced all all the nearby infantry squads to focus their fire on Squad Beta as well until the Traitor unit was finally wiped out. Although their refusal to die easily prevented most of the Loyalists from reaching the Relay Station.
Sensing his opening, Lieutenant Tarvar ordered his small platoon command squad to run for the tower. They scrambled up the rocks and through the gap held by the remnants of 1st Infantry Squad on one side and the Tauros on the other. Despite the distance and the hard climb, the men's training had paid off; they reached the Relay Station and prepared to set their explosives. They were the first to arrive and could accomplish the mission if they could just hold out long enough.
The Valkyrie floods the battlefield with light from its searchlight as Xhorik infantry attack the Traitor Grenadiers.:
02:20: The Loyalists surround and destroy Traitor Grenadier Squad Beta while the platoon command squad reaches the Relay Station and prepares to destroy it:
++02.23 Relay Station AN-09++
Seeing the Loyalist forces reach the Relay Station, the Traitor Commander gritted his teeth in anger and fear. He knew that if he failed in his duty to protect the tower, his fate at the hands of his superiors would not be pleasant. He sent a direct order to the crew of the Malcador that all fire be concentrated on the platoon command squad. "Bring them down!" he barked.
The tank crew responded by landing a battle cannon shell right in the midst of the squad, killing or maiming them all, leaving their explosive charges un-set and thereby preventing the destruction of the Relay Station.
For Lieutenant Tarvar, everything went black...
The Malcador destroys the platoon command squad with its battle cannon, saving the Relay Station, at least for now:
++02.23 Relay Station AN-09++
The Commander then turned his men's attention to the Tauros assault vehicle that had been attacking them with grenades. Plasma fire from the plasma gunner and his own plasma pistol combined to turn the lightly-armored vehicle into a heap of smoldering slag.
02.25: The situation is desperate for the Traitor garrison but they manage to destroy the platoon command squad before they can set their charges:
++02.26 Northern Hills++
The battle between the Sentinels and the Leman Russ Demolisher came to a climax when a multimelta blast penetrated the front armor of the tank and started a chain reaction of explosions, eventually engulfing the tank in a massive eruption.
One drop sentinel lights up the Traitor Demolisher with its searchlight and the other scores a direct hit with its multi-melta, obliterating the tank in a massive explosion as a Valkyrie screams past overhead:
++02.29 Relay Station AN-09++
Captain Xhaer instructed his vox operator to give the order for all units to advance on the Relay Station. The remaining recon bikers open up their throttles and charge into Grenadier Squad Alpha and the Traitor Commander. Their task is to tie them up so they cannot defend the tower. All remaining squads of second platoon charged up the central hill to the Relay Station.
As the Valkyrie lights up the area, the 2nd platoon infantry charge up to the Relay Station from all directions and prepare to plant their demolitions:
02.30: Loyalist forces assault the Relay Station in an attempt to set the demolitions:
++02.32 Relay Station AN-09++
In a final effort to stop the Loyalists from accomplishing their mission, the remaining two Traitor battle tanks pound the drop troopers with a salvo from their battle cannons. The drop troopers were closely packed together as they worked to rig the charges and the blasts were devastating. Two entire squads were taken out of action with all members badly wounded or killed outright.
But when the smoke cleared, a handful of shaken and temporarily-deafened drop troopers still stood and continued their task.
In furious rage, the Traitor Commander cuts down one of the recon bikers his unit is engaged with. He knows he cannot stop the Loyalists now.
Xhorik infantry is caught in a cross-fire between two battle cannons that takes 14 men out of action:
02.35: Traitor battle tanks pour fire into the drop troopers and kill many, but survivors emerge from the smoke, determined to fulfill their mission.:
++02.36 Relay Station AN-09++
Captain Xhaer stumbled forward, his ears bleeding and his vision swimming. At the last second, one of his men had shoved him down and thrown himself on top of him, shielding him from the worst of the shrapnel. When the explosion subsided, he had rolled the dead man's bleeding body off of himself and struggled to his feet. All around him where the bodies of his men, torn apart from the blast. He tried to clear his vision and ignore the ringing in his ears and keep his focus on the mission. He saw a handful of men left standing in the area between the two massive blasts. With a shout, he called them back to their senses and they finished installing their explosive charges.
The surviving drop troopers then dove for cover as the detonation began.
The surviving Xhorik drop troopers detonate their charges on the objective:
For a moment, the darkness of night is replaced by a light brighter than the sun as Relay Station AN-09 erupts in a blinding flash:
02.40: Infantry of the Xhorik 87th 3rd company, 2nd platoon plant their demolition charges on the Relay Station and destroy it, accomplishing their mission objective:
Lieutenant Tarvar regained consciousness as he was being dragged aboard a Valkyrie, enemy fire still falling around them. Men were yelling, moving quickly, but not in a panic. A massive fire seemed to be burning nearby - he could feel the intense heat even though he couldn't see anything besides the roof of the Valk and even that was grey and blurry. He recognized many voices but he did not hear any of the men of his command squad. Momentarily, he heard the one voice he knew and respected above all others.
"Go! Go! Go!" shouted Xhaer as he jumped aboard. The Valkyrie lurched suddenly into the air as the sound of explosions echoed around them in the night.
Tarvar was in agony. He felt burning over most of his body. He could barely see. His mouth tasted blood. He tried to speak and a gurgling cough of blood erupted instead.
"You're alive, sir. Don't worry, we're getting out of here." Tarvar recognized the voice as Sula, one of the men of melta stick. "We did it, sir. We blew it sky high. Now time to go home."
Tarvar closed his eyes and tried his best to make what he hoped was a thumbs-up with his left hand, the one not wearing the power fist. He just hoped he had a thumb left to raise.
"Too bad the medic didn't make it..." he heard Sula mutter.
The next thing Tarvar felt was the stab of a needle and a numbing coolness washing over the burning pain. His jagged breaths became easier and he passed into blissful unconsciousness.
As the Valkyrie sped away into the night, the wreckage of Relay Station AN-09 burned hotly, lighting up the vicinity in an angry red glow. Over half of the evacuating Valkyries were returning empty. The men of the Xhorik 87th 3rd company had accomplished their objective and cut the Traitor communication lines between orbit and their command centers, but the cost had been steep.
Phil: I finally got to play the type of mission I have been working towards for years by building this drop trooper force. An army of drop troops in a scenario based loosely on real paratrooper battles, with a mission they had a great chance to win because it did not require destroying the enemy. It doesn't get much better than that. The smaller armies made for a fast-paced game and both armies got to show off their strengths and character.
This was an interesting collaboration of a game. We used a scenario from WH40k 40th edition, my army used WH40k 6th edition rules for the drop troops and Imperial Guard, Pete's army used a Horus Heresy list and we fought the game using the WH40k 7th edition/Horus Heresy rules. We had five different rulebooks open all over the garage to fight this one! It is a great example of using the rules and models we have available to fight the battle we saw in our minds. Both Pete and I were flexible with the rules to make the game more fun and it definitely worked out. For starters, we decreased the points cost of the drop trooper list by 15% to try to bring them in balance with Horus Heresy. Then we had Pete start with his tank squadron around the objective rather than in reserve in order to make the game more balanced. And we elected to make his hidden units stay hidden through my first turn rather than revealing them at the start of the game because it felt more flavorful and fun if the drop troopers had to start dropping in without knowing which units were where. Then in turn 3, I failed the reserves roll for my drop trooper platoon a second time. Pete graciously offered to let them pass the rol1 and come in anyway because he thought the game only had six turns and if they did not arrive until turn 4, there would be little chance for them to accomplish the objective. We later learned the game could go extra turns past 6, but since Pete had already allowed them to arrive one turn early, we decided to cap the game at 6 turns and not give the drop troopers extra time. So we really made a lot of changes both in the setup and during the game to try to make it more balanced, fun and exciting and I think it paid off.
Even with all of the gentlemen's agreements to make the game more enjoyable and balanced, we both tried our best to guide our armies to victory. My strategy to neutralize a few tanks and then focus on the Relay Station worked well. It was a surprise to me when the game started and I learned that the Malcador had armored ceramite! (Do all the big tanks in Horus Heresy get that option?! It makes it tough for an army that relies on melta for its anti-tank...) But once I knew that, I decided to not even try to hurt that beast as I would be wasting my limited firepower. I had to clear his infantry and then swarm the objective with too many units for him to stop them all. Pete's Grenadiers were extremely resilient with their medics and their strong morale from their Provenances of War. It ended up being pretty close in the end. I only cleared his Squad Beta in turn 4 so I could charge in turn 5 so I could win in turn 6. That is the challenge for the attacker in this scenario - you have to stay in melee contact for a full game turn so if you wait until the last turn to make your charge, it is too late! And of course his remaining tanks could (and did!) wipe out a unit per turn once my guys were bunched up in melee so I would not have survived much longer. The main thing that saved me was that I was able to land a penetrating hit here and there on the tanks and shake their crew, preventing Pete from firing their big blast weapons. Otherwise I may not have had enough men at the end to make my big push. I am sometimes still not sure what I see in a Guardsman army without tanks and who's special ability is to get closer to the enemy faster in a way that leaves them clustered together and exposed in the open! But they got it done this time and I salute those brave souls with their flimsy armor and lasguns.
It was a great game played in the spirit of fun and style. I spent a lot of time on the battle report, trying to do justice so such a cinematic scenario and armies. Now we are already planning how to make the next one even more exciting and interesting...
Took the time to stop by and read through the logs! Amazing work you've done with these drop troops!
I do agree with a post you made in the latter portions of the log. I stopped playing after the introduction of 5th Ed, because I saw army wide regimental doctrines disappear from the Imperial Guard codex and basically lost the flavor of my army theme at the time. Also, it was sad to see the Elysian line disappear. I knew I would never have the moneies to collect a drop trooper army, but now its getting rarer and rarer to see them pop up. Last note was that squad of Kasrkins look amazing!
Lovely battle report, love the lore drops. Can't wait to see more of your work!
I don't often post on blogs. But I do have to give props to the late 90's battle map pictures, showing the units, their directions etc, I got an instant nostalgia hit as if the battle was lifted directly from the pages of a 98 White Dwarf.
Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:That was a really enjoyable battle to read! I especially liked your artistic modification of the pictures, well done.
Gwyn - much appreciated. I probably spent too much time on it that could have been spent painting but to me, one of the major enjoyment of painting the models is to use them in games with fun stories/backgrounds using painted terrain and taking photos. The idea to add effects was stolen from Gordy2000 and his epic reports over the years. It just adds a bit more fun.
Viterbi wrote:Amazing battle report and that must have been a great game! Really enjoyed reading it and hope for more in the future.
Viterbi - thanks. Glad you took the time to read it. That makes it worth the effort.
Boxhead wrote:Took the time to stop by and read through the logs! Amazing work you've done with these drop troops!
I do agree with a post you made in the latter portions of the log. I stopped playing after the introduction of 5th Ed, because I saw army wide regimental doctrines disappear from the Imperial Guard codex and basically lost the flavor of my army theme at the time. Also, it was sad to see the Elysian line disappear. I knew I would never have the moneies to collect a drop trooper army, but now its getting rarer and rarer to see them pop up. Last note was that squad of Kasrkins look amazing!
Lovely battle report, love the lore drops. Can't wait to see more of your work!
Boxhead - thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am sorry to hear you quit playing. I suppose I am extremely lucky to have two like-minded brothers who enjoy playing the older editions more than the new stuff and so we can choose to play any edition or rules that we like, using our old OOP models and books.
Knightley wrote:I don't often post on blogs. But I do have to give props to the late 90's battle map pictures, showing the units, their directions etc, I got an instant nostalgia hit as if the battle was lifted directly from the pages of a 98 White Dwarf.
Thank you
Knightley - thanks for the kind words. That was exactly what I was going for. I have been re-reading some of the classic White Dwarf issues of the late 90s (and thanks to Capt. Brown, I got my hands on quite a few more) and remembering how much I enjoyed the old style of battle report. It was one of the things that really hooked my brothers and I into this hobby.
Captain Brown wrote:Great work Riddle.
Cheers,
CB
Capt. Brown - thanks. Those White Dwarf mags are great inspiration. I know my graphic design skills are meager (my use of PowerPoint as a tool for map making probably betrays that I spend too much time working and not enough finding better software for the job!) but I hope the reader got enough to at least follow the action.
After several years working on this army, I have finally hit a long-overdue milestone: my first heavy weapons squad. I know it has been a while since I painted any actual Elysian models so I tried to remedy that with this missile launcher squad. I went with a running team, a standing team and a crouching/kneeling team, figuring the two men would be working in unison so it would make less sense to have one running and one kneeling, for example.
Front view of the three teams: standing, running, and kneeling:
Side view. I love how the poses of the Elysians convey a sense of action such as firing, running, or even pointing:
Rear view: You can see how heavily loaded they are with extra ammo and equipmen:
This was my first time putting two infantry models on a large base. There is a lot of space to fill or else it looks very plain. I have been keeping the bases pretty simple for this army, but these large bases seemed to require something more. So I used a few pieces of slate that I collected and stored five years ago when I lived in Pittsburgh to create a large rocky base. They still looked plain so I added some tufts of various grasses. I really like the look of the brown grass so now I might need to go back and add some to a few of my regular 25mm bases - eventually. I tried to place the grass along the edges of the rocks where I imagine a little shade could let a seed germinate and the water run-off from the rock could enable the plant to live in the harsh rocky deserts of Xhorik Prime.
First team: The gunner fires while the support trooper is ready with extra ammo:
Second team: These two are using a rock for cover while the support trooper points out key targets to the gunner:
Team three: These two are quickly advancing across the rocky terrain to a new firing position:
You will also notice that these guys do not have grav chutes. That is due to the limited number of grav chutes I have left in my stock from before they were discontinued. My plan for the army is to have one platoon (2nd) as a "grav chute insertion" force that is meant to deep strike in every game and all models have grav chutees. This is my existing platoon that is heavy on melta guns. Next I plan to build a "heavy weapons platoon" with squads of mortars and missile launchers, along with two regular infantry squads of course. The normal plan would be to have this platoon start on the table since their weapons will be very ineffective firing on the turn they arrive via deep strike (snap shots only and no blast templates such as mortars or frag missiles). Of course, I will mix and match units in the meantime until I have both platoons fully built.
The Elysians are fun to model and paint. I may be taking a short break from them to get something done for one of my other armies. But in the meantime, I hope to get in another battle in our Operation Downfall campaign, where the drop troopers take an enemy bridge and have to hold it against a counter attack in order to keep it open for allied forces to use.
Your troops would be an excellent addition to a Codex. They are so crisp, and the modeling you've done to pose them all is fantastic.
The level of detail you put into your hobby is outstanding. From the modeling and painting, the naming, the environment and scenario creation, to the maps, scouting report, effect editing, and written report, your enthusiasm is evident. Incredible work.
Haven't been on Dakka for awhile, I'm glad to see the 87th is still going strong.
Your latest battle report was great and I particularly enjoyed the tactical graphics. Really lends it a professional, history book feel.
Hi, folks, sorry for the long pause between updates. I have not had a chance to get on Dakka lately to keep up with all the great project blogs on here or to post anything new in a while. I hope in the coming days to get caught up on some of your projects.
I have been busy with work and family and haven't had a lot of time for painting lately. And in the limited painting time I had, I worked a bit on my Sons of Horus. The only things I have done related to the Drop Troops in the last two months are to get in a game and paint a couple of Stormtroopers. I will post those updates soon, but today I wanted to share something different.
Back in April, I saw some really nice commissioned artwork for an Imperial Guard regiment. Inspired by his work and the art that someone on Dakka randomly sent me previously (see above in the blog), I reached out to the artist and asked if he would be willing to do a piece for my Xhorik 87th Drop Troops. I shared the story and photos from this blog with him and asked him to create whatever he wanted. I really enjoyed seeing what he did with the project, and the price was reasonable.
The first thing he did was a detail on my converted Antax pattern lasguns. Please don't get too hung up in the physics or "realism" of it all. To me, it is a beautiful piece of art based on a conversion I did because I didn't love the bullpup lascarbine of the Elysians and wanted something unique.
He also created these regimental icons and campaign badges and unit badges. He drew a firebird based on the regimental banner model that I painted. And if you look at the badges, there are a lot of 8s and 7s in the imagery, such as the 7-sided polygons inside the 8-sided polygons or the numbers of spears, to represent the 87th. He used spears to represent this regiment being the spear tip of an Imperial army. And of course lots of orange, the regimental color. I really appreciated all the thought he put into the symbolism. The small badges are meant to be at a resolution that could be printed onto transfers for shoulder pads, although I have not tried that.
Here is the art of a drop trooper in action. It is a little busy for my taste, but I like that he captured the unique helmet (on the ground) and lasgun from my conversions and tried to convey a sense of what a drop trooper would be doing: calling in bombing strikes rather than fighting in the trenches.
Here is an all encompassing piece.
Overall, I really enjoyed working with Scott on this project and seeing how he interpreted my models and limited background text and turned it into something new. To see the outcome of creative collaboration with someone you have never met over the internet through a love of shared hobbies is a wonderful thing. If you want to see more of his work or get in touch, you can use the QR code in the art above or go here: https://scottdarkarts.tumblr.com/page/2
I hope you enjoy this slightly different update on my Xhorik 87th. I am hoping to get more photos of painted models and games posted soon, and I am looking forward to catching up on all of your work as well.
Viterbi wrote:Wow, that's very cool art, lovely commission you got there. Really cool details to find on the action picture.
gobert wrote:That’s really cool! I hope you manage to get the icons printed as transfers, that would be a fantastic crossover!
Thanks, Viterbi and gobert. To me, the battle reports, the art, the back story all help to really bring the miniatures to life and give me a little more incentive to keep painting. I have never printed transfers but I will have to search down a good tutorial and give it a try at some point.
I have not painted a lot for my Drop Troopers lately as I was working on my Sons of Horus and busy with other life things. But I am back to work on my Stormtroopers with a few done, other than the transfers, which I will do at the end of the squad:
It will be fun to have some flamers in this army. It is something I am currently lacking. I have another one to paint in the next batch of three. Now that I see the photos, I realize I need to darken the tip of the flamer a bit more to give that sooty, burned feel. Overall, these old metal models are fun to paint. I am sure the astute viewers will observe the extra sniper scope. A few in the next batch have additional pouches, knives and grenades. I wanted to add a few bits to these boys to bring them more in line with kitted-out Elysians they are serving with in the 87th.
Flapjack wrote:Stormtroopers look menacing, and the artwork looks sweet!
Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Nice work on those fine details.
Thanks, folks. Appreciate the feedback. You have to love the atmosphere of the Dakka P&M Blogs; always encouraging and friendly.
I played another game with the Drop Troopers a few months ago. Again, we used the 7th Edition/Horus Heresy ruleset. We wanted to play a battle for a bridge, so I built a large bridge model out of foamboard and bamboo sticks and used nail art beads as rivets.
My blog post on building the bridge table is here: https://xhorikwar.blogspot.com/2021/05/building-bridge-table.html#more
We kept the scenario simple: whoever controlled the bridge at the end of the game won. To control the bridge, you needed to have a scoring unit (Troops choice) on the bridge and no enemy scoring units. In our campaign, this represented the invading loyalists trying to secure bridges around their target landing zones so that their main armored force could quickly breakout from the beachhead when they arrived. The drop troopers took this bridge in a night drop and now have to hold it against enemy counterattack until the invasion forces arrive (so yeah, basically D-Day...).
I wrote up a battle report on the blog for anyone who wants to see all the photos and read all the details. I did not create maps or add special effects to the photos for this one, mostly because it is too time consuming, but also because the photos just didn't turn out great due to the lighting.
https://xhorikwar.blogspot.com/2021/08/operation-downfall-campaign-report-2.html
Here are a selection of some photos from the battle, focusing on the Drop Troopers:
The veteran first platoon arrived in the night and quickly fortified the bridge with two lines for depth of defense. With enemy armor on its way, they await additional drop trooper reinforcements.
The armored might of the enemy rolls toward the lightly armed defenders. The Traitors are supported by a small force of the XIV Legion, the Death Guard.
Second platoon makes a combat drop right into the enemy lines. Melta gunners are able to destroy one of the Traitor Leman Russ battle tanks.
Recon bikers arrive from the flanks to harry the Traitor advance. The drop trooper front line is being whittled down with all the sentry guns destroyed and the surviving infantry going to ground behind their barriers as the battle cannons pound their position.
Drop sentinels attempt to reach the Death Guard Deredo Dreadnought because its AA weaponry will be a huge threat to the Loyalist fliers. However, screening units of Traitor militia prevent the Sentinels from getting close enough to engage the Dreadnought.
Captain Xhaer and his command squad land with the second line and he begins shoring up the defense .
An Avenger Strike Fighter of the Imperial Navy dives over the bridge, taking down several Death Guard marines with its avenger bolt cannon. Meanwhile, a Valkyrie hovers over the bridge and another squad of the Xhorik 87th make a drop in an attempt to hold back the enemy advance for as long as possible.
Drop troopers engage Death Guard space marines on the bridge as their Valkyrie hovers overhead providing supporting fire from the door gunners.
With no hope of victory against mighty space marines, the drop troopers prepare to give their lives to delay the enemy for as long as possible.
The end result was a draw with both armies having scoring units on the bridge at the end of the battle.
The game was a bit like the bridge battle at the end of Saving Private Ryan: a platoon of lightly armed paratroopers trying to hold a bridge against enemy armor. It was only thanks to the makeshift Aegis Defense Line that my troopers survived long enough to slow the enemy down, preventing them from sweeping my second line off the bridge. Unfortunately, the most effective strategy was to throw my units into the enemy line as speed bumps and distractions so I could hold on to the far side of the bridge. It worked, but was not very satisfying, as I mostly failed to inflict any serious damage (destroyed only one tank). I kept the traitor militia pinned in their back line with drop sentinels and recon bikers while I threw unit after unit into the meat grinder to slow the more aggressive and dangerous space marines. Captain Brown's Avenger made its debut and was decently effective at eliminating space marines in power armor, something the rest of the army struggles with, so that was a plus.
In the end, it was just fun and cinematic to fight a battle on the huge bridge. I am looking forward to the next one!
For anyone who has read the two battle reports of Operation Downfall so far, do you have any ideas or suggestions for the next scenario? Any input is appreciated. I was thinking of maybe an ambush scenario as the drop troopers try to destroy a column of enemy armor making its way to the front line at the main landing zones of the invasion could be interesting (using one of the ambush scenarios from one of the old 3rd - 5th edition rulebooks I have or from an old White Dwarf).
I loved the bridge battle rep. As you say, it had a real cinematic feel, which the lopsided forces added to. Having an underdog hold off superior forces is very Hollywood!
I like the sound of the Ambush, maybe it could be a hit and run style too? Drop in, take out a high value target, then get out? Might be good for your opponent not to know what the target is so they don’t surround it with a screen? Or have the front and back vehicles as the targets, for your air support to come in and take out the rest?
Wow, it’s been a while without an update. I’ve been painting other stuff so not much to update on the valiant drop troops for a while, other than we played the third game in our Operation Downfall mini-campaign. (Get it, down... fall... )
I decided to do something different from my normal photo/text format. This one is a slideshow format so I could incorporate music, which is an important part of our gaming experience (I have a gaming playlist as well as starting playlists of songs affiliated for each of our key factions). I think it adds a little something.
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