Thats impressive! It reminds me just how many options SM have. People always seem to boil it down to smash-face on bike, or bare bones librarian. It's really cool to see other HQs hitting the table.

 Zambro wrote:
Thats impressive! It reminds me just how many options SM have. People always seem to boil it down to smash-face on bike, or bare bones librarian. It's really cool to see other HQs hitting the table.

Well, if we believe everything we read on the internet, CC is dead (so no jump packs) and terminators are useless (so no TDA). That’s half the options gone right there.

Your comment about stuff hitting the table got me thinking. Every game I’ve played since I’ve started this blog is documented here, so I thought I’d go back over the last year and look at what has actually hit the table. I could have gone back farther, but I got bored.

Captain
-Bike 2
-JP 2
-Foot 1

Chaplain
-Bike 2
-JP 3
-TDA 1

Librarian
-JP 1

Techmarine
-Full harness 1

Chronos 1
Calgar 1
Cassius 1

Now this does stretch back over the last codex, so the techmarine was actually there as a MotF, for my all-dread list, and Calgar was not a LOW. Mostly bike and JP. Not terribly surprising, as most HQs want to be in CC, and those help them get there. Plus it’s hard to fit them into transports with a full squad. The one time I fielded TDA was in an intentionally “soft” list playing a new guy. I’d use it more often, but I can’t fit a HQ in my LR with the termi assault squad these days. I guess I could take the shooty ones more often and tag him along there. Librarians have been collecting a lot of dust. Still not a fan of rolling powers. Their heyday was back in 5th.

Some options will probably never see the field. With access to artificer armor, TDA captains fill a very narrow niche. And I’ll probably never take a generic foot chaplain, as I can field Cassius instead. Not to say it won’t ever happen. Particularly with my policy of dusting off forgotten models to take them for a spin periodically.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. It’s raining here (glad I primed yesterday). but should be a lazy at-home one. Which is good, as I’m still recovering from staining my deck.

I'm impressed by all the hq's. I only have a tda chaplain and a foot captain for my ultra's atm. How have the ultramarines special characters performed for you? I wanted to pick them up as centerpiece models for my ultramarines, but if they perform well I'd have an excuse to use them in game too.

Calgar is a very expensive beatstick. His army-wide buffs are less relevant then they used to be. If you are still working with a CAD, he might be worth it. But in a UM gladius formation, we already get to use each doctrine twice, and the tactical 3 times. Do we need more? He is an eternal warrior that hits like a truck on his initiative, so he is very good at beating things to death. Worth the points? I’m not sure. But then, I’m a boys before toys guy who dislikes sinking points into upgrades.

Cassius is nice. He’s got a cool bolter, and still keeps the BP/crozius for an extra attack. T6 and FNP make him a tough old bugger. His one drawback is that he’s on foot, so needs to be in a ride. If you can deal with that, he’s very good for his points.

I’ve not fielded Sicarius, as he’s unpainted ATM. He’s got a number of tricks, and I think is costed fairly. A nice mix of army buffs and personal power. He is everything a 4th edition captain should be, which tickles my nostalgia.

Tigurius is one of the best psychers in the game, in an edition where space magic is very strong. There are so many dirty pool tricks you can pull with him. There is a reason you see him allied into a lot of lists. I’ve not fielded him.

Sgt. Cronos is fun. He’s a nice upgrade for a tank, and fits very well into mechanized list. Mostly because you don’t need to worry about finding a spot to stick a HQ. The big problem is deciding on a ride for him. The LRs are mostly TL’d so don’t get a lot from his BS5. Most lighter tanks are hard to justify the upgrade points. I ran him in an auto/las pred, and had fun doing so.

I’ve not fielded Telion since he went HQ. He’s cheep and has a good warlord trait? Looks to do well in low point or themed lists. I liked him better as a squad upgrade. But if you ever need someone to man a gun emplacement, he’s your man. 50 points for BS6, all shots are precision shots. Hard to beat that.

And just to prove that I’m still occasionally painting:

AM sarge and the last VV have their bodies done.

Accessories are still WIP:


I’ve switched the LotD out for the chaplain for the monthly challenge. While I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, there is a reason I only partially assemble before painting. Getting a brush into spots on the chap is proving to be a real bear. Which is a shame, as I want to do a good job on him. Still blocking colors out on him.

As awkward as it will be to paint, I'm sure you'll manage I'm realising now that I have fully assembled my LotD. So I'm going to have to deal with weaponry over chest plates and other areas being covered. It's not ideal, but at the end of the day, if you cant see it, does it really need painting?

 Zambro wrote:
As awkward as it will be to paint, I'm sure you'll manage I'm realising now that I have fully assembled my LotD. So I'm going to have to deal with weaponry over chest plates and other areas being covered. It's not ideal, but at the end of the day, if you cant see it, does it really need painting?

Some things, like drybrushing, the angle of attack is important. Trying to do that sideways is going to be a pain.

Your assault marines are looking good. Where is that studded helmet from?

 brushcommando wrote:
Your assault marines are looking good. Where is that studded helmet from?

That’s one of the heads from the venerable dreadnought kit. The neck design is slightly different then a normal head, but still fits. As I don’t like the look of the dreads w/ heads, they all just hit the bits box waiting for a fun project. That head stuck me a the kind well suited for someone who was going to crash through the wall and beat you to death. It’s odd that SM helmets can have “expressions” After all, you only get to see the eyes, they don’t show a lot. They are all built differently, and can (at least in my eyes) say different things.

The one on the sarge to the left gives me more of a "focused determination” vibe. It might be the smoother lines, or the peaked front. He’s got a target, and he’s going to take it out quickly and efficiently.

The vet's studded faceplate oozes raw brutality. That is the helmet of someone face-rolling through life. He’s killed people with headbuts. Multiple times. He might have that helmet on for your protection, not his; he bites. He’s not subtle, he’s not graceful. He’s not stoppable either.

As a unique helmet (only one in my collection) and an archaic one, I thought it would fit well on a vanguard vet. These guys don’t have artificer armor, but they should have the next best thing. So having odd and unusual bits showing up seemed appropriate. And with the menace I get from that helm, it needed to be on some CC monster.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Personal aside/rant

THIN YOUR DAMN PAINTS!

This was going through my head all afternoon. Dakka has drilled it into my brain that your paints should have the consistency of milk. So I when I was working with paint the consistency and color of chocolate mousse, all sorts of alarm bells were going off in my head. Brush strokes everywhere, not flowing into recesses/details properly, and just hard to apply. But it wasn’t my deck that was being resurfaced. That was last week, and I had purchased a much thinner paint to go on. But in a little quid pro quo, the in-laws helped me paint my deck, so I went over to help them with theirs. My father in law thought he had bought the same stuff I did. He was wrong. Even when we were done with the brush work and switched to rollers, it was still a bear. What’s the appropriate nap for pudding? Whatever it is, we weren’t using it. I wonder if they make rollers to paint vehicles? Tanks would go a lot quicker.

But now my hands are blister covered claws of pain, and my back is not happy with me. I really wanted to get some more work done, but don’t trust myself with a brush. Normally I do some building when I’m like this, but the workbench is a little light at the moment.

/rant

For the monthly competition:


Because I started them, and need to finish them (even if they aren’t going into the comp)


And so those last two guys can go on to the finished shelf:


Lots of projects on the bench, and slow progress on all of them. But still progress. I should really try to get some off the bench, so I’m less divided. Also so I can get some other projects moving. But motivation is low, and distractions are high.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Looking good Nev. That chappy is grim.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Looking good Nev. That chappy is grim.

Are chaplains ever not grim?

Now I want to kitbash a happy chaplain. Probably swinging his crozious and covered in gore. But with a big ol’ grin on his face. Could anything make him happier then the knowledge that he’s doing the Emperor’s work, the work he was created to do? The serenity of knowing that his place is right here, on the battlefield, where he belongs. Surrounded by his brothers, their bolters singing praises to the Emperor in a voice sweeter then any choir? Could he ask for anything more? Perhaps another Xenos to kill. But wait! There is another one right there! <splorch> Is there any higher joy?

I can't help but hear an "I've been working on the Railroad" soundtrack with the chappy's crozious smashing down on enemy skulls with every beat (rather than the RR spike hammer in the song). That's kind of a joyous tune.

I've (smash) been working for the Em... (smash) ...prah (smash), all the live long day! (smash) (smash) (smash)
I've (smash) been hammering the Her... (smash) ...etics (smash), just to pass the time away! (smash) (smash) (smash)
Can't (smash) you hear the Captain shou... (smash) ...ting (smash), well... you get the idea.

@Gitsplitta I could quite easily see Chaplains singing that song, very loudly and proudly to boot.

@Nev I really like the look of the new Bike Librarian but didn't realize you had so many different versions of all the HQ's. I remember all of the Captains but not the rest.

@Gits: Now I have Space Marine: The Musical ideas going through my head. I don’t think this and sanity are compatible.

@Adam: The Captains have been out for some photoshoots recently, the rest have been a little more shy. As I get more of the rows/columns of matrix painted, I should do some group shots. The TDA HQ collection is already done. As is the JP collection, buy I don’t have a picture of that yet.

Any marine player who has been playing for any length of time tends to get far more HQs then they could ever use. I’m not saying they are like Pokemon, and you need to catch them all, but you defiantly catch more then you need. By my count in the HQ pic, I have 23 of them (all but 6 painted). I fielded 11 different HQs 16 total times. Now some of them were just put together or painted recently, but there are some older guys who haven’t seen the table in over a year.

I should play the librarians more often, it’s been forever since the TDA libi took the field. I also need to get the Deathwatch Mantis (and his squad) on the table, as they are new paint that has not been bloodied yet. My basic foot librarian got so much play back in 5th he triggered my “overplayed” switch and I had to intentionally write him out of lists. So it’s OK for him to be taking a break.

The terminator captain isn’t WYSWYG these days, as he has a SB, sword, and a captain’s powerfist. So not only is his gear illegal, but not even very effective. My old metal foot captain is probably in for a lot of dust in the future.

I love chaplains. They are just a lot of fun to use, so they actually get more then their fair share of the spotlight.

I want to field the techmarines more. Previous editions of the rules made that a little rough, as the basic one was overpriced and not a HQ, and the MotF/TFC gunner was a late addition to my collection. And usually manning his gun on the table. Now the rules make so I can get the old guy on the table easier, but the formations make that a little rougher. Captains and Chaplains are easy to fit into lists these days, techs are a little harder. The armored TF is still a ways off, so they are only going to show up in CADs for the near future,

OK, I’ve spent enough time here typing, time to get painting.

Done with all the bits and bobs for the last two jump packs guys. Which finishes off a few projects. Here is the final 7th squad. Shelf deployment is 2 flamers, vet sarge with a maul. The old power sword sarge moved back to the 8th, and the sarge there (PP/fist) moved down to the swap shelf.


The vanguard was the 10th, so finishes the squad.



Front, Back, and all together.
2x Axe/SS (one with a MB)
Sarge with LC/SS
Sword/BP
Spear/BP
5x BP/CCW (one with a MB)

Might not be the most efficient loadout. I planned it under the last codex, where we were still paying full price for power weapons. Might need some new arms.

The chaplain is coming together. I need to decide colors for the alien bits. Hive Fleet Behemoth is the dark blue/black with brighter blue edging, right? There are some Tau bits that need color as well. I’ll probably go with the traditional tans. Is there a sept of Tau that fights the Ultramarines more then others?

I think I’ve changed my mind on the LotD again. Not likeing the whole black arm. Might just leave it as the shoulder pad and helmet to differentiate. I’ll keep the SSs black.

I should grab some more pics of the WIP stuff.

Really nice looking squad. Love the gold bits on top of the jump packs... really makes them look nice.

Another great looking squad. I'm jealous

That's a beautiful set of Vanguards. As for Tau and Ultras I only know of the lot that Calgar didn't exterminate with the Necrons. Haven't heard of a specific long term rival. Wasn't Ardias away fighting Tau just before the Battle of Macragge and died before he and the 3rd re-took the Polar Fortresses. Maybe those Tau could be classed as a rival/nemesis.

Gitsplitta wrote:Really nice looking squad. Love the gold bits on top of the jump packs... really makes them look nice.

I feel kinda bad that one of them just has some extra purity seals on his. Two of the VV JPs got poached for other projects, and replaced with assault marine ones. For the last one (Mr. studded helmet) I used terminator honor badges from the command squad sprue so he had a little something extra up top. No mount of bling is too much for the Vets!

War Kitten wrote:Another great looking squad. I'm jealous

Thanks!

Adamski Alders wrote:That's a beautiful set of Vanguards. As for Tau and Ultras I only know of the lot that Calgar didn't exterminate with the Necrons. Haven't heard of a specific long term rival. Wasn't Ardias away fighting Tau just before the Battle of Macragge and died before he and the 3rd re-took the Polar Fortresses. Maybe those Tau could be classed as a rival/nemesis.

I think Ardias actually died fighting the Tau before the Battle of Macragge. But I don’t know where that bit of lore actually came from. When I was thumbing through my 2nd ed Tyranid codex last night (looking for hive fleet colors) I found a bit of fluff about captain Fabian taking down a hive tyrant in the polar fort. The only Tau stuff I have is the old 3rd codex, and a stack of WDs I’m not willing to spend the time sifting through for the possibility of a hint.

Some painting progress:


While it might not look like a lot of progress since last time, a number of washes went down. I also put the deep blue on the nid carapace, and after taking the pic put a little Macragge on the edges. I’ll go over it again with a brighter highlight, and possibly glaze and re-highlight. I’ll try to get a different angle on him next time.

God I hate extreme close ups.



But I am pretty happy with the way the nid carapace turned out.

I agree closeups suck. I spent a couple of minutes looking at this picture trying to work out what it was.

And I won't even mention that mould line that it brings out so well.

The carapace armor makes it look like he's been doing some diy so he can keep on fighting

Lost Soul wrote:
I agree closeups suck. I spent a couple of minutes looking at this picture trying to work out what it was.

And I won't even mention that mould line that it brings out so well.

The carapace armor makes it look like he's been doing some diy so he can keep on fighting

He’s a gift, so I didn’t do the assembly. I probably should have double-checked all the mold lines before I primed him, but he looked OK at the time. Nothing like a good wash to show where you missed stuff. He’s got home-brewed rules and fluff that came with the mini. I’ll post his whole story when I finish painting him.

Made it up to the FLGS last night for a game. 1k teams. Ultras and Orks vs. IG and IF. Took the foot captain out with the HG, and a pair of full melta tac squads.


Emperor’s will, long deployment.

The Fists dropped a ironclad and rolled a rhino tac squad to try to take out objective, but the two ork mobs in the area stopped them. Barely. this game saw two empty rhinos trying to hold objectives, only to be destroyed on the last turn. But most of the action was centered around the stormwhatever superheavy:

(The ork player is still working up his list, and was proxying some bikes)

Lysander and his TH/SS buddies were helping to bubble wrap the tank, which had guys inside patching it up as well as leaping out periodically to keep me at arm’s length. So while I was blowing HP off it with the LR, he was fixing it faster then I could shoot. Needed to get the tac squads in close. Which did not happen in time; I ended up going for the objective (just off to the right of the picture) Wasn’t able to hold it unfortunatly, so we ended up with a tie. We had first blood, they had warlord, no linebreakers. Fun game overall.

Fresh paint report:
Foot captain: I need to stop with the crazy. He was not tooled up to take down Lysander and a squad of TH/SS terminators, but I charged in anyway.
MM: This was the first game I was able to field a pair of MM/M c-melta tac squads. They should have been in pods, but I liked the mech list. I was unable to get into melta range, but did use them to get some (rapidly repaired) hits on the big guy.

Apologies in advance for those just interested in the painting side of the hobby. I’ll get back to that shortly (once I grab my camera for some more WIP shots, so later today/tomorrow). The leaks for the new campaign book are out, and while the main strikeforces are WS/RG specific, all the sub-formations are available to all marines, and I’m kinda excited about them.

Stormlance Battle Demi-Company:Got it
1 Captain or Chaplain (including the named Captains and Chaplians, Vulkan, Pedro Kantor and High Marshal Helbrecht.)
0-1 Command Squad
3 Tactical Squads
1 Devastator Squad
1 Assault Squad, Bike Squad, Attack Bike Sqaud or Land Speeder SquadronThe loss of the tac doctrine and obsec over the stock demi-co is rough, but blowing people off objectives and the mobility boost could be very nice in most games.

Hunting Force:Got it, although for max benefit would need more ABs and scout bikes
1 Captain (including Kor'sarro, though he must be riding Moondrakkan)
0-1 Chaplain (including Kor'sarro, though he must be riding Moondrakkan)
0-1 Command Squad
2-5 Bike Squads
1-3 Attack Bike Squads
1-3 Scout Bike SqaudsFor adding more bikes to a list it’s not as efficient as just using a CAD, but free special rules for taking a few fluffy tax units.

Stormbringer Squadron:Got it
1-3 Land Speeder units
1-3 Scout Squads (that must take Land Speeder Storms as DTs)While the LSS’s don’t get ObSec, disembarking after 12” is a really nice perk. I can see myself using this a bit.

Speartip Strike:Got it
1-3 Land Speeder units
2 Bikes Squads, Attack Bike Squads or Scout Bike SquadsSpecial rules are very Meh unless you are building a list around them, but a great little formation if you want to add a splash of FA to a force.


Pinion Battle Demi-Company:Got it
1 Captain or Chaplain (including the named Captains and Chaplians, Vulkan, Pedro Kantor and High Marshal Helbrecht.)
0-1 Command Squad
3 Tactical Squads
1 Assault Squad
1 Devastator Squad
1-5 Scout Squads or Scout Bike SquadsWith all the cover save shenanigans out there, this could be very nice. But those scout sarges are going to draw a lot of fire.


Shadowstrike Kill TeamGot it
2-4 Scouts
1-3 Vanguard Veterans w/ Jump PacksLets VV do one of the tricks they lost again, with a low buy-in cost. Could be a lot of fun.


Bladewing Assault Brotherhood:Got it
1 Captain w/ Jump Pack or Chaplain w/ Jump Pack (may include Shrike instead)
1-3 Vanguard Veterans w/ Jump Packs
2-4 Assault Squads w/ Jump PacksRules seem fluffy and fun, if situational.

Skyhammer Orbital Strike Force:Got it
3 Tactical Squads in Drop Pods
1-3 Land Speeder units.If I was putting a list together just using formations, this isn’t a bad way of getting tacticals on the table. The competitive player is probably asking why you’d need that, but the fluffy side of me always feels bad if I don’t have at least two full squads of them forming a core of my list.


Ravenhawk Assault GroupGot it
1 Sternguard Veteran Squad
1 Dread/Ironclad Dread/Venerable Dread
1 StormravenA fully loaded SR. Nice perks. Nothing saying to need to start embarked, or can’t take pods for the SG/dread. This might be a way for me to get my SR to the table, as I like and own all the component parts.


Raptor WingNeed another talon
1 Land Speeder unit
2 StormtalonsI like this a lot better then the SR/2xTalon formation. Seeing this boosts my desire for a second talon a little higher.


Shadow ForceGot it
1 Captain (including named Captains, Vulkan, Pedro Kantor and Helbracht)
1 Sternguard Squad
1 Vanguard Squad
1 Land Speeder unitFun collection of units.

A lot of the formations in the codex are either very spammy, expensive, or both. Almost all of these seem more accessible. It might just be in the last two years I’ve been working on this blog I’ve been primarily focused on bikes and jump packs, which are very WS/RG, and have a decent supply of scouts and speeders, but I’m only one talon shy of fielding everything new. Unlike the codex formations, where I couldn’t muster half of them. The fact that I can’t use them in a Gladius, and can’t use the chapter specific formations without changing up my CT means I might not use these often. But in smaller games (like 1,000 points) where I’m not going to have the points for a Gladius anyway, I could easily see myself just using one or two of these, rather then a CAD.

From a modeling POV, these make me want to pick up another talon and a second LSS. Both were on the radar before, but this bumps them up a little bit.

Looks like you're pretty well set to do whatever you want.

Some of those formations look awesome! I didn't even know there was a book with new formations coming out...

Gitsplitta wrote:Looks like you're pretty well set to do whatever you want.

Zambro wrote:Some of those formations look awesome! I didn't even know there was a book with new formations coming out...

Zambro, as a White Scar guy, you should make sure you get a look at it. It’s the new Tau campaign thing, there is a thread over in the N&R section about it.

At the moment I’m looking at all the vanguard vet ones. With the last of mine done for a full 10 man squad, they were on the short list to hit the table next. I think I might use one of these to drop down onto my foes.

And a WIP shot, as this is the painting and modeling section:


The LotD are chugging along. I did go back and put blue on the black arm again. So right now they have the silver helms, black shoulders w/silver trim, and similarly colored shields to distinguish them. Plus the backpacks. Should be distinctive enough. These guys are almost to the final blue touch up coat and wash.

Chaplain is almost done. Base needs a black wash, and an overall double check for touchups. Working on the crozius and the BP arm. Which needs a brown wash, and some work on the fang/bone thing. Might put a yellow drybrush back over the necron orb thing. But he should be done by the end of the week.

The last guy I’m working on is an undine monk for Pathfinder. He’s a mini a friend of mine had custom printed from Heroforge. Not very happy with the quality. It has a bit more texture then I’m used to, sort of like painting on a bad prime. Just working up the basecoats now, need to get some washes down on him. Going to try a thin green on the skin, might have to mix a little to get a good aquamarine look. Also need some more work on the robes and the details/accessories.

Next month’s subject is “Prince of the Universe” I think I’ll do my Cato counts-as. SM captains are a bit larger then life, and he is vying to be the next in line to lead the UMs, so very prince like in that aspect.

I'm a fan of that chaplain. He has a general but confident striding pose and it looks as though you're doing him justice so far. Liking his aesthetic at the moment, and i'm excited to see more progress Also is that an orkish iron jaw on his foot? It's doing something for me which for some reason, which I can't get my head around, I like. Complimenting his composition or something. Regardless, keep up the good work! Keen for the finished product

Nice Ultras! The Chaplain us coming along nicely, I like the use of Tyranid chitin for armour mods.

D

lipsdapips wrote:I'm a fan of that chaplain. He has a general but confident striding pose and it looks as though you're doing him justice so far. Liking his aesthetic at the moment, and i'm excited to see more progress Also is that an orkish iron jaw on his foot? It's doing something for me which for some reason, which I can't get my head around, I like. Complimenting his composition or something. Regardless, keep up the good work! Keen for the finished product

evildrcheese wrote:Nice Ultras! The Chaplain us coming along nicely, I like the use of Tyranid chitin for armour mods.

D

The build of him I can’t take credit for. One of the guys at the FLGS made custom characters for a number of people, myself included, with special rules/fluff to go with them. I can only take credit for the paint job here.

Here is his full story/rules:


And now, I’m calling him done. Although I might go back and put some scribbles on the purity seals.

Looks great, Nev!

I think you should add some scribbles...

 Zambro wrote:
Looks great, Nev!

I think you should add some scribbles...

OK. I’m not going to drag out the tripod for another formal photoshoot, but here you go:


Also a group shot from before, when I still had the lights and everything set up:

Nice work with the squggles on the parchments. Really makes a difference I think.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Nice work with the squggles on the parchments. Really makes a difference I think.

Agreed!

Nice group shot, too!

The scribbles are excellently done, also loving the religious seminar group shot

I might have to steal that chaplain for my own ultras. Nice job nev

Thanks guys. Chaplains are my favorite HQ, was fun to get this guy done.

Finished the first two of the LotD counts-as:

I should probably continue to work on the squad, so I can actually field them. But other things are drawing my eye. One is to paint up the grav gunner, or some c-melta sternguard. Both are things I found myself wanting to include in a list, but not having finished yet. The Vindi is also calling out for some love, but I’m not sure I’m up for a tank ATM. I do need to get some more Eldar done by year’s end, so should probably work to get a few of them across the paintbench.

In other news, I got some new drill bits. My folks were up this last weekend visiting, and I was chatting with my dad about how I had some 3mm magnets, but it was impossible to find metric bits in stores, and I wasn’t going to pay shipping that would end up doubling the price. He’s got Amazon Prime, so gets free shipping and a set just showed up in the mail yesterday. As an extra nice bonus, the 3mm bit fits in my pinvice, where the 1/8” (3.2mm) bit I was using for my old magnets did not. This is very convenient, as I was hand turning the old bit when I needed the larger magnets set in things.

I, like I’m sure most of you, have a mini problem. I’m following the rumors about the new 30k board game with barely restrained enthusiasm. I don’t know why. Mk IV is one of my least favorite armor marks, I dislike the overall aesthetic of the contemptor, I don’t need more of anything in the box, and I’ll most likely never play the game as-is. And yet, I covet it. Worse then that, I’ve got the cash to pick it up, and most likely will. Madness. There are some guys at the FLGS who are into heresy armies, so it’s not a total loss. I do need to look into acquiring the HH rules though.

Beautifully done Nev. He'll be a great addition to your army. How are you going to do the base.

While I’m tempted to do something like a deckplate/inside ship kinda thing, I suspect I’ll just arctic base them eventually when I get around to it. Probably when the squad is finished.

I had thoughts about fielding a totally based army, as I’m up to 3 tac squads based, plus a few HQs, the deathwatch, and the honor guard. But I realize that for whatever reasons, all the tac squads are ML/F, so it wouldn’t be a very balanced army.

Although I think I’m going to add that to my list of things to do before the year is out: Get a fully based army that’s not just slapped together on the table.

I should just sit down and do a few dozen, but it’s so boring

Nice work on that Chappy and on the LotD count-as, I like the colour scheme.

D

 Nevelon wrote:
Although I think I’m going to add that to my list of things to do before the year is out: Get a fully based army that’s not just slapped together on the table.

I should just sit down and do a few dozen, but it’s so boring

Best of luck.

It is boring. But it'll look stunning after.
I thought my bases were all done. I have a few minor finishing touches I want to do before I call it quits with my bases - Just cant bring myself to do it because it's boring

Not really looked into the new releases for 40k. I think I'll head over to the N&R subforum and find out whats going on.

Chaplain Severus looks badass, man, and the 'LotD' are coming along nicely too (what's their story?)

In case you weren't aware, the basic Crusade Force army list can be found in a £30 codex-style book that does away with the missions and fluff, so you only need that (for generic legions, there's another book with special rules for Legions at Istvaan and presumably one coming for the next lot of Legions) rather than one of the massive books.

I need to tighten up the fluff on the LotD, probably do that when they are closer to done. Their basic schtick is that they are teleporting boarding/breaching veterans who can move and react faster then traditional TDA ones. Basically port in, set up a perimeter, and secure the LZ for further troops. While I don’t mind the basic minis for the LotD, I’m not a fan of finecast, and didn’t want to hunt down old metal ones. Plus I wanted something that fit cohesively with my army. Stormshields give the same 3++ that the LotD have, so that and bolters make for a decent counts-as. Interceptor backpacks from the GKs are there for their precision deep strike abilities.

You know a few posts ago when I said I wasn’t sure I wanted to do a tank next? Lies.


I’m still not sure I want to do it, but I’m going to try. Eldar vehicles go so much faster then imperial ones, even with the zillion coats of red I need to put down for a smooth finish. I’m hoping this guy goes as quick as the Crimson Hunter. But getting the WS done will add about 130 points to my Eldar tally for the year. My last “average how I’d play it" points painted for the year was 710, so this guy and one more squad should put me at my 1k painted goal. Even if I fail to paint any more pointy ears after this, my generous, all the upgrades point total was 910, so this alone would push me over the edge. But that requires some sleazy bookkeeping. Which I’m not above doing, but prefer not to.

Have I mentioned how much I love painting Eldar vehicles? I guess the flip side is how much I hate cleaning mold lines off of their infantry. And in general painting all the fiddly infantry bits. But the tanks? Smooth sailing. The accessories might need another coat, and the pilot still needs to be done. But zoom.

In other news, the monk I’m working on is getting close to having all his base colors blocked in. With his slightly textured surface I’m a little worried about how a wash will look on him, but will deal with that when it comes up.



Enjoy your weekends all. Keep an eye out for the ghouls and goblins tomorrow. Hope all of you going out trick or treating get all the candy you want, and those staying home handing it out get rid of it all.

Looks great, love the monk. Where'd he come from?

Have you considered the coloured spray paint for Eldar vehicles? It'd definately speed up the process. And by extension, it'd speed up the process for UM vehicles, too. But you would need to buy 2 cans.

 Zambro wrote:
Looks great, love the monk. Where'd he come from?

Have you considered the coloured spray paint for Eldar vehicles? It'd definately speed up the process. And by extension, it'd speed up the process for UM vehicles, too. But you would need to buy 2 cans.

The monk if from Heroforge They have a character-creator like system that you find in MMOs, but rather then playing a game, they 3D print it and mail it to you. The monk is a friends who wanted to see how well they came out. They cost around what a GW plastic HQ mini would cost, and the quality is not as good. But if you want something you can’t find over at reaper, or one of the other mini companies, they will make it for you. Provided what you want can be made from the mix-and-match menus. It’s got some of the same drawbacks of multipose plastics, where all the parts have to be more or less universal, so it’s not as fluid and coherent and a monopose sculpt. If you want to go all-out, they will make bronze minis. I think just by printing plastic and using the lost wax method. A few fun options.

I’m old and set in my ways. Spray cans and me don’t get along very well. So I stick with the old fuzzy stick to slather the paints on. I recognize there are better ways out there, but I’m stubborn like that.

That's pretty cool!

The sculpt quality doesn't look fantastic, but the fact you can pick and choose weapons/gear/pose etc. is cool. Lots of interesting options!

You'r making me feel guilty Nev. I have a WS sitting in the cabinet waiting for paint since Feb :(

Zambro wrote:That's pretty cool!

The sculpt quality doesn't look fantastic, but the fact you can pick and choose weapons/gear/pose etc. is cool. Lots of interesting options!

It’s a neat idea. If you know you are going to be in a long running campaign, and want to play something a little off the beaten path, it can be worth it. I know I keep telling myself “Next time I need to make a character, I’m going to find a cool mini first then work out the stats."

Januine wrote:You'r making me feel guilty Nev. I have a WS sitting in the cabinet waiting for paint since Feb :(

Only Feb? You have time. IIRC my WS was part of the initial supply drop at the start of this blog ~2 years ago. And I have stuff in my primed pile that have been waiting literal decades for attention. Sometimes I’ll sift through my blog and try to find the stuff that’s been waiting the longest and try to slap paint on it. I should start a log of shame and check thing in when purchased, assembled, and finished. Could make for some interesting data. I think most things have a year-ish of turnaround.

Speaking of buying more then I paint, I think I’ve convinced myself I’m going to buy the HH board game for the bits. Even told The Wife, and she’s fine with it. This is going to toss a bog ol’ wrench into my “paint more then I buy” resolution, but I still might be OK. I’ll need to check the other purchases for this year and see how I’m doing.

Happy Halloween all!

Interesting stuff about that company that'll print figures for you. I'll need to check that out.

Looking forward to seeing how the Eldar progresses.

EDC

Productive morning. Didn’t have much work to do, but I did it. Wave Serpent is done:


And here is the Eldar year-to-date shot:


Seems appropriate to get some Eldar done today. While not Halloween themed, they are Saim-Hann

(pardon the pun)

Nice, clean paint job Nev. Like it.

Over in the October voting thread Butter Commissar said:

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Well done guys! A lot of great ideas and painting.
I do like seeing the repeat entrants and how Their skills are progressing.
In many cases, too much.

and I was going to fire off a quip to the tune of “at lest I’m still churning out the same mediocre paintjobs” But rather then my normal self depreciating humor, I thought I’d actually take a look at what I’ve been up to for the last eight months. And check if I have improved in any real fashion.









(I was tempted to get out all the minis for one group shot, but think I’ll wait for the one year mark for that.)

The HG wasn’t anything groundbreaking. He was well executed, and included some new-ish things like the tabard.
Ven Dread was an experiment in heat stressing. Actual skill-up progress there.
Autarch felt phoned in. Still does.
Nurgle champ is basically just washes and drybrushing. Nothing really new.
I like the way the ranger turned out. The camo was a little off my normal schemes, but nothing earth shattering.
WL is just there. I blame the old mini, and it’s lack of feeling, but my paint is not doing it any favors
The foot captain can be compared to the HG earlier. Both are similar models in the same scheme. And the captain is much better IMHO. Not just from a build POV, but I think I did a better job executing his paintjob. OK, I’m improving. I like parts of the Oni, but think I should have left her out of my entry, as she drags the overall quality down.
The chaplain had me doing stuff I don’t normally do. Tyranid carapaces, necron and tau bits and bobs. I think he came out well, and did give me a little bump out of my normal comfort zone.

So I have made some progress. A few new techniques, and better execution of old ones. I just put the first layer of blue down on Cato, for this months competition. We’ll see how he compares to the other marines. I also started the grav gunner and 3 spare backpacks, just to keep things moving.

There's a definite improvement over the months there! As the organiser it is always encouraging to see that sort of thing, so cheers for getting them all in one place! Keep pushing yourself, and keep the good stuff coming! Looking forward to seeing Cato!

That's a cool group shot of the Eldar, planning anymore before the end of year to add to those?

Paradigm wrote:There's a definite improvement over the months there! As the organiser it is always encouraging to see that sort of thing, so cheers for getting them all in one place! Keep pushing yourself, and keep the good stuff coming! Looking forward to seeing Cato!

Thanks again for running those, I’m having fun painting for them.

Adamski Alders wrote:That's a cool group shot of the Eldar, planning anymore before the end of year to add to those?

Yes, but I’m not sure what.

Here is an pic of primed stuff on the list: (I don’t think I’ve added anything to that pile, but did finish the WS)


Now the goal is to get about 130 more points done. That’s going to be a aspect warrior squad, or a chunk (3-4) of bikes (probably with the warlock). I’ve got solid paint schemes in mind for everything but the Dire Avengers, and I have a few vague thoughts on them. I haven’t made up my mind yet.

You guys have any preferences of what you want to see painted? It will be next after I finish the current projects
Swooping Hawks
Fire Dragons
Dire Avengers
Bikes (w/warlock)

Personally I think the Swooping Hawks would be a good shout after the recent Wave Serpent(?). Though I do like the look and sound of Warlocks, if I ever collected Eldar I'd make sure I had a few of those.

 Adamski Alders wrote:
Personally I think the Swooping Hawks would be a good shout after the recent Wave Serpent(?). Though I do like the look and sound of Warlocks, if I ever collected Eldar I'd make sure I had a few of those.

I do like the swooping hawks. While the details are lost in time, I think they might have been one of the earliest acquisitions of my Eldar army. Whlie I have a number of warlocks on foot, getting the guy on the bike done is needed if I ever want to use the formation. Or just add a little psychic punch to a bike squad.

So I went up to the FLGS yesterday, and got a game in. This scene of carnage is the bottom of turn one. (about halfway through) You hear of games that were lost before the first die was cast, this was one of them. They lost it in the scout movement phase.


My teammate was playing ravenguard, and we were both doing 1st and 10th style lists. Vets and scouts. Opponents were orks and ravenwing. Where are the ravenwing in that picture? Well, most of them are dead. There are necron warriors who are proxying as DA scouts at the bottom of the pic, a darkshroud running for the hills, and a interrogator-chaplain about to die under a pile of VVs. Safety tip people: When there are 20 Vanguard Vets lined on on the ready line, aggressively scouting forward might not be the safest thing to do. Particularly when you are going second. Also note: When you move 2 bike squads and a speeder out of your deployment zone, you leave a nice hole to land a drop pod. The space between the pods used to contain a dozen or so ork bikes. Two (including the boss) survived. The sternguard didn’t last long, as this pic was snapped between the shooting and assault phase. But they had completed their mission.

Our turn two sees the vanguard sweep around my pod and start mulching orcs. We shoot up the southern flank pretty good, but don’t get into CC there. On their turn the fire raptor fails to show up, and I think we call it at that point. It’s getting late, and they were getting brutalized.

Fresh paint was the full 10 man vanguard squad. They did very well for themselves. One thing I’m going to have to do is homogenize their weapons. While I like the concept of individual vets with their semi-unique weapons of choice, actually keeping track and rolling everyone separately was not worth the time from a practical POV. I the power maul still alive? OK, now I’m rolling for the spear. How many basic guys still there? Bogged down game play, just for some fluff and flavor. I think I’ll put together some more weapon arms, just to keep things simple.


JP captain with TH/SE
10 VV, asst. toys
10 SG, pod, 2 c-melta, 2HF
5 CC scouts in a LSS
5 sniper scouts

I think you've answered your question there dude, Warlock on bike to give you the formation availability and then the Swooping Hawks.

That game sounds vicious but fun for the winners, not so much for the opponents but at least they'll learn more about their army and better tactics when it comes to deployment.

I do feel a little bad. But one of the reasons the guys play teams on Wed is to try out lists and practice for adeptecon. And while my list was a little more aggressive then I normally bring, it’s by no means tournament caliber. And the more games you play, the more you learn. Theoretically. This is not the first time I’ve done unseemly things to hyper-aggressive RW players, but I think it was a different guy last time. He rolled up right in front of a LR full of assault terminators.

If he hadn’t moved into assault range of the VVs, I probably would have dropped the SG on him, instead of the massive ork bike squad. A pair of HFs plus ignore cover bolters would help put a stop to the 2+ re-rollable cover save. But with them on the CC menu, and the nice spot to put the pod where I could drop the flamers right down the line of bikes was an opportunity not to be missed.

Without the scouting error, the game probably would have been a lot closer. Once the Fireraptor showed up, things were going to get bad for us. It would be a question of if we could stay locked in CC during their turns. If not, our expensive vets were going to start evaporating. Unfortunately, we were blendering through their army faster then we should have been able to, in part to the turn one charge.

I do think the Orc guy wanted to strangle the RW player. But I think after he saw how things were playing out, he just gave up hope and started to enjoy the ride. There is that moment you realize you can’t win the big picture, so you enjoy your little victories. Like dismembering sternguard after the drop.

Too true.

Well, Friday was my birthday, but it kinda got torpedoed by The Boy waking up in the middle of the night with an ear infection. Blarg. But we had a do-over yesterday, with just a small family party. Much better day. With loot!

A new light box photo setup. This is just a temporary placement, but I wanted to post this picture to prove that I am capable of cleaning up my workbench from time to time. It’s semi-permanent place is going to be at the end of my 4x8:

The other table, while more conveniently located, was too narrow. Let’s see if it makes a difference!

New:

Old:


One perk with the new lights is I didn’t have to do any white balancing in a photo editor, just cropped it down to size. So my crappy photo setup excuse for poor pictures is going away, guess I’ll have to step up my actual painting

In other news, I should be getting the new HH:BaC box, so expect to see some 30k action here. Still need to figure out how I’m going to sort them out. Should be enough for the second company, but I’m not sure if the gear needed for a battle company would be compatible with 30k play. Might go heavy on the magnets, or just pick one and run with it. It’s not like the guys at the FLGS are particularly picky. Paint is getting done, but I neglected to grab a pic, I’ll try to get one next time I’m down there.

The value of a good light box can't be overestimated.

That looks good, do you know where they got it? Been considering one for awhile as my DIY attempts have come up lackluster at best.

Lightbox definitely helps!

As far as HH goes, here's a quick 'what's what' of what you can do with what's in the box (wow, overuse of the word what. What? )

Spoilered for massive amounts of text:



Hope that's of some help. If you use Battlescribe, there is a HH repository available for that.

Happy birthday, Nev!!

The comparison picture is sweet! So much clearer and much closer to actual colour. Just got to push ahead and paint some new stuff ...Or retake all your old photos

 GrimDork wrote:
That looks good, do you know where they got it? Been considering one for awhile as my DIY attempts have come up lackluster at best.

It looks like this one from amazon.
I have it myself and it's really handy. I dont have a permanent setup, but I really like how I can set up and take down with little effort. I dont normally use the lights that come with it (been meaning to get daylight bulbs for over a year...), I tent to set up next to a window and use natural light.

The name brand is LimoStudio, and The Wife picked it up at Amazon. They come in a few different sizes (mine is 16”) and you can get just the box, or the whole light package. With lights, box, multiple backdrops, and the little tripod, it should be around 45 bucks. I did a quick search to point out the kind of thing I wanted, so there may be other brands/options out there.

The quality feels very mediocre, but acceptable for the price. The lights are mostly lightweight plastic that feel like they won’t take a fall and live, but do crank out the lumens. The whole thing folds up, and the case has pockets for the lights. So for those of you at school living in a dorm, a tiny apartment, or just have to clean up your stuff so the Wife/Kids don’t mess with it, you can pack it away easily.

Thanks for the info Para, very informative. One problem I’m having is not “what’s a legal build” but “what makes for a decent army” I can guess a lot from my 40k experience, but not having the codex, or ever playing a game of 30k, means I’m just guessing a lot. How I plan on using them in 40k might also impact how I paint them. Just more tac squads? Sternguard? Do I want to keep the squads together, or mix some Mk. IV into the rest of the company? Lots of waffling going on.

One thing to bear in mind is that for the most part in 30k you'll basically be facing 3 armies; Legions, all operating from the same core list and 100% PA/TDA/vehicles, AdMech who have a lot of options but are mostly built around tough, shooty units and relatively low model count, and the various human factions that are mostly analogous to IG/MT, only with a few more special tricks and toys. Because of that alone, balance is a lot better than in 40k, and basically if you can build a decent list that covers all the bases you're sorted. Have the tools to deal with GEQ, MEQ, TEQ, MCs and Vehicles and you're set, rather than having to worry about covering specific skew lists like Scatter Lasers All Round Jetbikes or 5-Flyrant Nids or whatever the latest silliness is.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
If you want more of a breakdown on what's good and what's not so good, check out this thread by Formosa:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/563152.page

Z: thanks, sorry I didn’t comment before, was posting at the same time and missed yours.

Para: Thanks for the info. I had read that thread before, but kinda glazed over halfway through. Very dense with information. I’ll give it another shot.

Paint:
I just noticed that the WIP pic I took of cato was very blurry, so will have to grab another one. Done with his legs, PP arm, and the backpack. Still need some touchups on the torso (plus the wash) the back banner, and the cape. Chugging right along.

Finished the grav gunner:

Who is also blurry, and I just noticed I need to touch up the krack grenade, as I got some blue on it. Also finished 3 backpacks (one of which stole the focus) so a few swap bits get to leave the paint bench. They are for the VV/AM when they go on foot.

While I generally dislike wrist magnets, I think they might be part of my answer to 30k. In a system where I might need to field a whole slew of guys with specials, or just with bolters, it might be a decent way of maximizing bodies. Not everyone, but I think 5-10 guys might get set up this way. We’ll see.

Magnets might be a good idea for getting the most from BaC, might have to look into that myself.

Is the grav-gunner not getting shoulder trim? Looks good so far, though!

 Paradigm wrote:
Magnets might be a good idea for getting the most from BaC, might have to look into that myself.

Is the grav-gunner not getting shoulder trim? Looks good so far, though!

It's been a while since I painted ordinary marines. Vets, honor guard, or other fancy guys get trim, but the rank and file do not. I don't want my RTB01 guys to feel out of place. That said, I'm seriously considering doing gold trim on the HH guyys. Or white. Not sure.

Once I actually have them in my hands I'm going to have to come to some sort of decision on a lot of things.

You need to do some edge highlighting on those marines Nev. It'll make that blue pop right off the screen.

Looks like the light box thing was a good move. I've been considering one for myself for a while now, but it never seems to make it to the top of the 'need' list.

EDC

Gitsplitta wrote:You need to do some edge highlighting on those marines Nev. It'll make that blue pop right off the screen.

Highlighting is one of those things I know I should do, but don’t. For a similar reason to why I don’t do colored rims on my shoulder pads: Consistency. I don’t want the newly painted guys to look out of place next to the old ones. Although to be honest with myself, there is a healthy dollop of laziness in there as well. Any yes, I realize that it’s holding me back, and I could do better. I think with the 30k stuff I don’t need to worry as much about consistency, so might try to push a little further then I normally do.

evildrcheese wrote:Looks like the light box thing was a good move. I've been considering one for myself for a while now, but it never seems to make it to the top of the 'need' list.

EDC

That’s what made it such a perfect gift. Something I needed, but wouldn’t buy for myself. Because let’s face it, we’d rather spend money on more minis, rather then mini-related accessories. I’m not a big fan of asking for minis for gifts anyway. The Wife doesn’t really need to know how much they cost, and a lot of the things on my wish list are “another XX” which feels silly to ask for. The price was quite reasonable as well.

Sorry for venting.

So I went up to the FLGS last night, try to get a game in. The regular crew was playing (or trying to) Dropzone Commander. So no 40k last night. That’s not the part I’m grumbling about. Saturday will be the last day my FLGS of the last few years will be open. I don’t blame the owner Mark for closing his doors. He recently got married, and picked up a normal job for the steady paycheck. That job, plus the effort in managing the store were eating up too much of his time and energy, but he kept it up for as long as he could. But it does mean I’m hobby homeless again.

There are a number of options locally though, I just need to check them out and pick one. The regulars also said they enjoyed playing, and would invite me to some basement 40k, as my table is not the only one lurking in a basement upstate. One problem with playing in homes is the lack of new blood and different armies/playstyles. Still need to find a new FLGS. Grimfoe Games is south of me about the same distance as the Goblin was north, and I know some of the guys from down there. They tend to play a more competitive game then I prefer, but are a solid bunch of guys. There is another store to the north that didn’t have a lot of play in store, but they might be fixing that. We’ll see.

I’ll still be collecting and painting, but my little battle reports might be a little fewer and far between. Still grabbing the HH:BaC this weekend.

For year end bookkeeping: I grabbed 3 pots of paint yesterday, ~$12

Booo. Bummer. I've never had a good 'local' gamestore myself, gotta go an hour south or west to find anything. There's a new place around but only useful if I wanna play magic or (noun)'clix.

So while mostly jealous, I do feel your pain. Good luck with finding somewhere cool to hang out and battle with your multitudinous marines

Hope you find a place to settle Nev. A viable gaming group is nice to have, though not necessary for keeping interest in the hobby.

Thanks guys. I’m sure it will be fine. I’ve lived through gaming droughts before, where getting two games in a year was a major victory. I’ve got options, it’s just I like comfortable ruts, so shifting around is never fun.

But enough griping! Paint:





Last pic has a bit more WIP done then the earlier ones. So the good captain is progressing. I was debating doing a white, or at least white-lined cape, but decided against. So I’m defaulting back to my red accent color, even though he’s the captain of the 2nd company. Did use some yellow on the banner though. Hate yellow. I really should pick up a pot of one that can cover worth a damn. To fix a little slop from the green wash on the banner I ended up mixing some of the base paint white with a touch of yellow. While the color was off and needed another coat of pure yellow, at least it hid the darker paint underneath.

Progress looks solid.

Shame about your LGS. Like you said, you have options, so it's not all bad. I'm sure you'll find somewhere

Hope you find a new hobby home soon.

Nice progress on Sicarius.

EDC

The last supply drop from Dirty Goblin Games:

(The paints were actually from Wed, but I wanted to get them pictured for my records)
The WD was not something I would normally pick up, but I got it for free. Actually not a bad issue. It was mostly about the new paints, but included one page painting guides for each of the types of paint. So while I might not benefit from a one page spread on how to drybrush, it would be useful for people starting out.

But the HH box is the big winner here. And the source of much debate in my mind. I read the rules, rather then just picking up the clippers and glue and tucking in. Some mad purist part of me wants to be sure the game is playable with the minis it came with. This is crazy silly, as I’m painting everyone blue. But the WYSWYG guy in me is having little fits, and has roped the “what if?” worrier of the future onto his side. Mostly for if GW releases dataslates for the captain, I’d like to have him available. But if I want to play the game in the box, what gear should I equip? And in a shocking revelation, I found that GW actually balanced things out pretty well. I know this is blasphemous even to mention, but if 40k got the AoS treatment, it could do worse then having this as a base.

My plan on seeing the character sprues originally was to take the combi-melta off the TDA captain and replace it with a lightning claw. Not that a c-melta is a bad pick, but a LC/chainfist TDA captain struck me as a very lethal blender, while I already have plenty of “meh” jack-of-all-trade HQs. I just don’t have any squads that need one more melta shot to add to their firepower in TDA. And if I don’t need the TDA, I’ll take an artificer armored captain. I’ll still probably attempt this one, even though as arm swaps go it’s not an easy one.

I was going to do a pistol swap for the chaplain’s plasma to a bolt pistol. PPs are just massively overpriced. But it just looks so darn cool, it gets to stay. There is also the question of if I paint him as a captain, or as a chaplain. It’s not like I particularly need more of either. As this is a paint issue, I can punt it downstream. Leaning towards captain though.

Dread looks easy to magnetize. Going to be stuck with the SB built into the fist, as there is no option to swap, and kitbashing my own would be a bear. I’ll probably glue the fist arm on, as there is no option in the box to replace it, This will probably bite me later, if they come out with a full line of plastic contemptor parts. But these arms are not the simple peg fit of the old dreads, and there is a limit to what I’m willing to magnetize on an off chance.

Terminators I’m torn on. On the shelf I’ve already got a dozen tactical terminators, but only 5 assaults. So giving them all LCs is very tempting. This would put me one LRR/C shy of the Strike Force Ultra formation, but also balance the shelf out a little. But I do like some TH/SS guys mixed into my assault squads, so would I ever actually field a pure claw unit? In my LR they would do OK if I just wanted to blend MEQ. Probably good in 30k. But for a 450+ point box of pain, I generally need it to deal with stuff tougher then just some MEQs. The combi bolters and fists do look quite cool, and from a visual/modeling POV I’d prefer to go with them (not that the LCs are bad) but do I really need more tac terminators? Even if they are capheract ones? I should do some research into 30k terminators and see if that makes any difference. As I rarely field more then 5 termis in a game, it’s not like these guys are filling a vital role on the shelf.

I think the PA guys are just going to be formed up into 3 conventional tac squads. Or vet tac squads for 30k use. Gear is a little fuzzy. I’m leaning towards HB/F, c-flamer; HB/plasma, c-plasma, ML/F, BP/CCW for the last. I just can’t help myself. I’ve got shelves full of missile launcher flamer squads, and a half dozen bolt pistol & chainsword sarges who’ve been swapped out for more efficient builds. But it’s so iconic And I can’t just let those awesome retro MLs rot in my bitsbox, I need to build at least one. I will be putting a chunk of magnets into these guys. I do think I’ll do all the specials at the wrist, pain though that be. I’ll also probably do two of the bolter boys as well, just so I have 5 Mk. IV guys who can take any gun. Probably just glue the combi sarges together. Part of me want them to be fully swappable, but I think that might end up being a little more work then needed. I’ve got lots of options these days. I’ll probably set the CC sarge up for a duel arm swap. Most of my sarges just have one arm done for the combi, but I could use one more versatile sarge.

Now I still have some spare marines unbuilt that have been waiting for a purpose in life. Might be down to 4 sets of legs, my traditional limiting factor. One of these guys is going to get the last combi weapon as a c-melta and join the sternguard. That should be the last guy I need to top off the second squad. I’ll do a check on torsos and heads left over from the new tac squads I had picked up to see if I have any of the older armor marks left on the sprue. Not that I need them, but I might build another ML just for the retro-ness of it. I might also take some of the extra options from the Calth spures and magnetize them up for use on the vanguard. Some of the CC options are pretty sweet.

Sorry for the stream of consciousness wall of text. Getting that down helped me sort out my thoughts, even if it doesn’t answer everything. One of the reasons I blog. Still appreciate any ideas or feedback from you guys.

--Nev

I don't know if it helps you at all, but in the full HH game, Termies can mix Assault and Tactical weapons at will, so you could go with, say, 3 with LCs, one Flamer and one chainfist for if you get an opportune shot at a tank or to ID someone in the face. In 30k, LCs are probably pretty lethal, just because it's Power Armour everywhere.

The game itself does look decent, especially for something that's a little easier to set up, teach and run than full-blown 40k. My plan is to grab a couple of CSM boxes to add to the Word Bearers I did earlier this year to fill out the Chaos half, and soldier on with BaC as a single force.

 Paradigm wrote:
I don't know if it helps you at all, but in the full HH game, Termies can mix Assault and Tactical weapons at will, so you could go with, say, 3 with LCs, one Flamer and one chainfist for if you get an opportune shot at a tank or to ID someone in the face. In 30k, LCs are probably pretty lethal, just because it's Power Armour everywhere.

The game itself does look decent, especially for something that's a little easier to set up, teach and run than full-blown 40k. My plan is to grab a couple of CSM boxes to add to the Word Bearers I did earlier this year to fill out the Chaos half, and soldier on with BaC as a single force.

I had heard that for the 30k side, and it just makes things harder. While some of the local guys do play 30k, I’d rather not build a unit that can only be used exclusively there. It would be easier if they were the same base as my old terminators, so I could mix and match for fun, but as these are the only 40mms on the shelf, they need to fly solo.

I guess I could look into how easy it would be to magnetize them, but I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a lot of work. 5 guys, both arms, nor sure how well the shoulders line up. I can poke around this morning and check.


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Ok, both HQs done. I did end up chopping the c-melta off. Clean enough that I can probably reuse it later, which is a plus. Claws look not bad. I took pics, will upload later.

On problem with them is how many bits to leave them in to prime and paint. The PA guy is in two, but the TDA is in four. More then I like, but the way he was built getting paint on his face was going to be imposible unless I left him in that many parts.

Working on the dread now. I'm a little worried about the torque on the ball and socket arm joins. Just straight magnets might result in droopy arm syndrome. I might have to add some sort of pin/tab.


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Dread mostly done. Once the glue has set, I'm going to go over him again to smooth things out a bit. Those seems down the legs...

3mm magnets seem to work fine on the arm with nothing extra needed.

I did take a ten minute break while putting him together. While cleaning the claw I was rewarded with the dreaded "tink, tink..." sound of a dropped bit going on a walkabout. Found it behind my computer desk.

After the cleanup pass I need to decide if I'm going to bother putting a magnet up top so he can use a CML. It's not a hard thing to retrofit if I want to do it later, but I've got the hardware out now.


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Dread is pretty straight forward. Fist arm is just tacked on for the pic. Went together quick and easy. I decided against the CML magnet, as the best spot to put it would require drilling into detail. I can just tack a launcher up there if I want to field it.




Captains having a bit of a stand-off. I was thinking about assigning them companies. The chaplain/captain/PA guy would be a nice fit for the master of rites, Cpt. Epathus. Unfortunately, that’s the reserve company that uses bikes most of the time, so an identity that my bike captain uses. Oh well. The captains can have it out for companies once they are all painted.

Normally I wait for more in the prime box to break out the rattle can, but when Mother Nature tosses me a calm, sunny, mid-50s day at this point in the year, I’m not going to squander it. If I build more and it’s this nice tomorrow, I’ll just break the can out again. Not sure what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, but I do know today.


So two captains, the dread, and an odd RT eldar that somehow found his way in there. I think he was one of the victims of the bad prime batch a few years ago, and was sitting around waiting. He’ll eventually get the same paint job as the Fire Dragons.

What a great selection of models! Those should be really fun to paint!

Sweet! You actually got the box then!
I was in the LGS last night, and noticed their display of it. Really nice looking models. It made me want to buy it, seeing them in person. I love the Captain, too. I'm looking forward to seeing you progress with it.
Are you doing it all Ultra's or properly?

Gitsplitta wrote:What a great selection of models! Those should be really fun to paint!

Zambro wrote:Sweet! You actually got the box then!
I was in the LGS last night, and noticed their display of it. Really nice looking models. It made me want to buy it, seeing them in person. I love the Captain, too. I'm looking forward to seeing you progress with it.
Are you doing it all Ultra's or properly?

The minis are incredible. And this is from someone who’s not the biggest fan of either Mk. IV or the conteptor dread. But it’s been a while since I’ve had this much fun putting guys together.

They are all going to join the Ultramarines. Which is doing it properly. What kind of filthy heretic do you think I am? (As an aside, despite my love of slaneesh and nurgle in WHFB, my inner 40k heretic is a blood and skulls kinda guy. Not that you heard me admit that)

I figure if I want to play the game properly, I’ll drag out some of my old Blood Angels as the OpForce. I’ve got the old toothy dread, a tac squad or two, and I’m sure some sort of HQ could be found to fit. The apothecary might work well. And seeing how the most recent model in my BA force dates from 2nd ed, they are mostly era appropriate as well.

Just a little process piece on how I work. When putting squads together, I normally do 4-5 guys at a time. Sometimes the sarge gets singled out, other times he joins the lineup.

Before I get the nice mat with the grid, I just chucked the parts into the blisters. Now I give each bit a square, so I can see who’s gotten what. This is more relevant when they aren’t all just bolter brothers, and I want to make sure the head with the targeter goes with the special weapon for example. Once all the bits are cut, they go into the blisters

Next step is to clean the bits up. Dump blister on the table, clean, put clean parts back into the blister. Repeat. Try to maintain momentum.
(still on this step for the 5 guys pictured)

Then back to the fun part. Assembling the marines. First is glueing both halves of the torso together, and the legs to the base. Torsos get a second clean up pass once the glue dries, to hide the seam. Then I start the posing, aided with some poster tac, to get them where I’d like. Sometimes new bits are cut and cleaned, if things don’t work out. Or left off. I try to get as much glued as I can, but still be able to paint. So often bolters, arms, backpacks, or the like might not be glued on. Then everything gets dumped into the to-prime box (keeping each mini’s bits separate) to wait for a clear day.

As I was cutting the bits for these guys, they had something to say. These were veterans. They wanted to look the part. I’m giving them all the swords (love that bit, and the fact it hangs off the backpack) and pouches, grenades, etc. Might give them all pistols as well, we’ll see how cluttered they get when I actually start assembling. But I want clutter on these guys. They are going to be the HB/F squad. They need to be aggressively deployed and get stuck in. With that in mind, they are going to get the CC sarge, and the C-flamer I had originally planned is going to move over to the ML/F squad.

I already dug around a bit for some spare pouches in the bits box, but when I do the sarge I need to grab the Mk IV vet helmet from the VV kit. I should see how much work it would be to move the crest over to it.

That is a far more organised method that mine, which is:
1) Get Sprues
2) Get Clippers and Knife
3) Take Clippers and Knife to Sprue
4) Make it up as I go along from here on out!

 Paradigm wrote:
That is a far more organised method that mine, which is:
1) Get Sprues
2) Get Clippers and Knife
3) Take Clippers and Knife to Sprue
4) Make it up as I go along from here on out!

If I’m doing a one-off character, I do work closer to that system. But when putting squads together I want to make sure I’ve got variety in there. I try to make sure everyone has a different pouch/accessory to give them something unique, and I’m not using the same arms on all the guys. If I’ve got a limited selection of cool things to spread out, I try to make sure everyone gets something. This was important when I was putting together my first set of vanguard vets. I added an assault marine to the mix to stretch the box, and wanted to get a jump captain out of it as well as the 5 VV. So I needed to make sure that the captain got plenty of cool stuff, but that no one vet had too many “plain” AM bits.

Look good. Nice alterations in the HQ characters.

Can't wait to make a start on my box of BaC

EDC

Nice stuff

I like the smaller scaling of some of the weapons like the plasma pistol and the lightning claw/chain fist on the captain/terminator. Looking forward to paint

And the first 5 tacs are done being built:


Nothing too fancy. One nice thing is that all the bolters and packs are the same/interchangeable, so I don’t need to bother keeping track of who gets what. Next stop is the other half of the squad, which is going to be a HB, F, and a CC sarge. Might just be a BP/chainsword, but I might give him a relevant toy. Need to make some for the VVs anyway, so I might do a few now.

We’ll see how fast I can work over the next week or two. This was The Boy’s last full day of school until the 30th. 4 half days (for teacher conferences, etc), and then Thanksgiving break. This year turkey day is up here with the In-Laws. Blarg. I’m sure I’ll live, but probably won’t enjoy the experience.

Cool. Good to hear it's a fully interchangeable kit.

Nice progress.

EDC

The kit looks to be 100% comparable with the normal stuff. I’ve got the second half of the squad cut, sorted, and 4/5ths cleaned. Plugging away.

Also, some paint.
I’m almost done with Cato, but thought I’d get some feedback before I finish him up and base him.





Some paint rubbed off the backpack when I was working on the banner, and I noticed the gem on the shoulder looks a little sloppy.

Also a WIP is the monk for my friend. Not happy with him, and that’s not improving the more work I do. Might do another layer on the brown to help clean him up, but also not that happy with the way the skin is going. Lack of detail is also an issue, overall he feels flat and cartoony.

High res close up not doing him any favors either.

Very nice work on Cato. Be sure to highlight the raised edges of the cloak.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Very nice work on Cato. Be sure to highlight the raised edges of the cloak.

I did some highlights on the cloak, and put a purple glaze in the recesses. I can give it another pass.

Cato looks great! The light box is working wonders for you.

I should actually get back to painting him. But I’ve been building.



First squad of the Mk IVs is done. HB/F, CC sarge (with a melta bomb) With the exception of the sarge, who has his in hand, everyone has a sword on their backpack. I think this is how I’m going to keep the squads separate. Squad 1 will have swords, squad 2 will all get holstered bolt pistols, and squad 3 will be plain. Sarge has both arms magnetized, and the flamer is done at the wrist. I don’t know if the arms in the set are actually thicker, but sticking the magnets in for the flamer was a lot was a lot easier then previous jobs. And the armor on the arm hides the join, so if there is a little slop, all is concealed. Although I did a pretty tight job on this one. The HB’s left arm and gun are just set on (but glued to each other) for now, will be painted separately.


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And just in case you were worried about too much 30k in my 40k blog, the last of the sternguard is built.


Of course he does have a Mk IV torso, arms, and combi bolter from the HH box, but the rest are modern bits. He should make the 5th combi melta sternguard, and the 20th overall, Once everyone gets built (looking at the 5 new terminators here) and painted (5 vets in the waiting to paint pile already), that will put me at just over half the 1st company. 20 SG, 10 VV, 12 tac and 5 assault terminators, and the 5 new HH ones, however they get built.

I forgot to add: Going back to the small bases is rough. Marines really do fit better on the 32s. Not that I’m re-basing ~200 guys, but wow. big difference.

OK, I’ve been slacking off, need to post for accountability. Doesn’t help that The Boy has been on half days since last Thursday. But I’ve had no progress since the last post, so need to hit the paintbench soon if I want to meet my monthly goals. Particularly since wed/thur this week are probably going to be mostly spent doing thanksgiving things. We are also on the precipice of the holiday slide, where I’m going to blink and it’s going to be mid-January. So I need to check all my yearly goals and make sure I’m on track, and if not, get at least track-adjacent. That will probably involve a lot of sifting through my own blog, as well the the shelves.

And just so this post is not just a wall of self-shameing text, a friend gave me the UM pin that came in a recent WD. It can join my collection on my gaming coat.

It’s a splash of color, but I’ll live.

I like the "No Guts, No Galaxy" pin.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
I like the "No Guts, No Galaxy" pin.

Of my collection I’m most fond of the Crab Clan pin. There were only 6 made per clan as prototypes, and I don’t think they ever went into full production. L5R was probably my favorite of the CCGs (not a bad RPG either) and one that generated a lot of attachments to the factions and characters.

I just sifted through my last year’s worth of blog posts for data. I’m doing pretty good on my goals. Over the year, I’ve picked up about $675 worth of hobby stuff. Some of that was the last of the store credit, but some real money. Some big ticket items like the KRX cases and the HH:BaC box, and having to pick up new codexes bump that number up quite a bit, but it’s still not an unreasonable amount. Will probably be less next year. Hopefully. I’ve got 53/52 model equivelents done for the year, not counting what’s on the bench now, or the random extra bits. Victory, and still a month left. However, I did let 65 new model equivalents into the house. This is doing bad things to my "paint more then I buy" goal. I’ve got 840 point of Eldar painted at the HIWPI level. I could fudge the numbers with hidden wargear, but would rather not.

So to meet my year end goals:
Paint 120 points of Eldar
Paint 12+ model equivalents

I was doing fine until I added the 41 model equivalents of the Betrayal at Calth box to the pile of shame. I still might be able to pull this off though. I’ve got two guys in the final stages on the bench. I think I could do a 3 man squad of Eldar Jetbikes with minimal effort. That just leaves 4 more. I think I have a few basic marines I could get across the bench with minimal fuss, or the new dread or the old speeder. Would still need some more points worth of Eldar, so getting the jetseer done would help with that. Characters tend to take more time though.

I finished up Sicarius this morning. Put some more highlights and a wash to tie them together on the cloak and some basing. A touch (but not much) blue edging in places as well. He should be dry enough for pictures at this point, I’ll grab some shortly.


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The camera, as always, showing up flaws. I guess it’s a good thing I’m posting here rather then over in the competition thread. Might go back for a touchup pass again. Cape turned out a bitt better with the extra work. Not sure how well that comes through the camera.

Beautifully done man, don't sweat it.

When I actually went back with a brush, I had trouble spotting the little bits of blue that I see on the gold in the picture. If it’s hard to spot holding it up to paint, there is no way I’ll be able to see it on the table.

Freehand is a little sloppy, but nothing for that but practice.

10 more cut, ready for cleaning. ML/F, c-flamer sarge, all with bolt pistols.

I need to get back to painting. Also need to pick what I'm going to do for next months challenge. As I'm not winning any points for my paint jobs, I should see if I can scrape up some votes via subject.

Enjoy your weekends all!

Done with the cleaning, WIP on the assembly; over half way done. Flamer has its magnet done. While I was originally thinking of doing some of the bolters with magnets, in case I needed extras for the all-specialist 30k squads, I don’t think I’m going to bother. Lots of work for something that’s probably never going to be used.

Working on my old rolling table so I can play Civ V while I clean mold lines. Keeps things tolerable. I think I might save the last 10 guys and the terminators for later. Odds of getting a clear day to prime are low at this point, so no rush. And it will be a fun project for some time in the winter when I need a break from painting.

You know Nev... I have a ton of things that I've magnetized that I almost never end up switching from their optimal configuration. Vehicles perhaps.... vanguard with combi-weapons perhaps. Not much else. I actually ended up gluing some things that were previously magnetized because I got tired of the bits falling off every time I moved the figure.

I think I’m past the hump of magnetizing everything. Definitely not for “what-ifs” in the theoretical future. But I do like to play WYSWYG, so a few options are still going to happen. It also lets me use some cool looking bits for shelf deployment that I’d never pay the points for on the table. Like power swords on tac sergeants.

Finished the squad. ML/F, c-flamer sarge. Flamer guy is the only magnet

That’s probably going to be the last thing built for a bit. There is an off chance of them getting primed. This weekend is supposed to be in the high 40s, but partly cloudy. If the humidity is reasonable, stuff might get a coat. Or not, we’ll see.

But when the building stops, the painting goes on! I’ve decided to accept not meeting my paint more then I buy goal. I honestly think I could make it if I wanted to, but it would feel forced. I’d rather take my time, do a good job, and enjoy the painting process more then just being able to check off a box at the end of year tally. I’ve already moved the jetseer to the active part of my paintbench, but haven’t started him yet. He should be enough for me to satisfy my Eldar painting goal for the year. I’m not sure if I want to use him for my entry into the painting comp for this month though. While I’ve made my 1-a-week goal already, I’d like to keep up the pace. So I need to do something else anyway. Here’s what’s on the menu as options:







(OK, some of those have been painted already, but I’m not going to gather up all the primed stuff for another picture)

I’m leaning towards one of the bike HQs, but am not set. Thoughts everyone?

Con-temp-tor! Con-temp-tor! At least, that's what I'm leaning toward for the challenge. We should have a duel!

Vindicator, Contemptor, Biker HQ.
In that order - atleast that's what I'd like to see.
Toying with some ideas of what to buy as my next supply drop, and a Vindi is a maybe. Seeing someone working on one might help me decide

brushcommando wrote:Con-temp-tor! Con-temp-tor! At least, that's what I'm leaning toward for the challenge. We should have a duel!

Zambro wrote:Vindicator, Contemptor, Biker HQ.
In that order - atleast that's what I'd like to see.
Toying with some ideas of what to buy as my next supply drop, and a Vindi is a maybe. Seeing someone working on one might help me decide

With everything going on this month, I’m not sure I’ve got the time for a big vehicle. Also, my motivation is not the best right now, so I need a project I can get behind. So I went over to my primed pile and gazed upon it to decide who I wanted to paint the most. Figuring that would help me actually get to the bench to work, as I’m slacking off hard right now. And the winner was the bike librarian. So it’s biker psycher month here. I sat down and put the first coats down on both the jetseer and librarian’s rides. I figure once I power through the bikes, the riders should go a lot smoother. But paint is flowing again.

I do want to get going on my Vindi, but realistically it’s not going to be this month. I’ve got a few dozen batches of cookies I need to bake, and will be taking a week away to drive to Kentucky to visit my folks. Plus all the shopping, etc. The Contemptor will get done eventually, but is a low-ish priority. On the bright side, his smooth stylings should paint up a lot easier then most imperial vehicles. But I prefer my angry washing machines over tubby as far as dread go; although I do love my walking coffins in general.

In workbench progress, I put together a power sword (from BaC) with the last shoulder pad from the UM sprue and stuck a magnet in there. Chucked it into the prime box.

In distraction anti-progress, I picked up Fallout 2 and 3 from the steam sale, and started playing 3. Fun little game. Also, watching some more TV, mostly some anime, but also put Game of Thrones into my netflix DVD queue and watched the first disk. Enjoying stuff so far.

Rain stopped, looks to be drying out and warmer. Bit windy though, so not able to prime. We’ll see how it looks tomorrow.

Those Tac Marine are coming along nicely Nev. Good work

Cato is looking very cool, excellent work Nev. Personally I'm not too sure about the green eyes but I can see with all the red on the head crest and brocade on the chest that you'd go with something other than red.

I vote for the B@C chaplain!

EDC

All that magnetisation looks like a labour of love, a great display of hobby skills, patience and ingenuity there.

I feel your pain with the attempt to not buy more than you paint and I think you have come up with the most sensible option. This is not a cheap hobby so you may as well paint each miniature to the best of your ability rather than rushing through them all.

Would love to see you tackle the BaC Chaplain, such a great model.

War Kitten wrote:Those Tac Marine are coming along nicely Nev. Good work

Thanks. The weather was not cooperating, so they will probably wait until spring for paint.

Adamski Alders wrote:Cato is looking very cool, excellent work Nev. Personally I'm not too sure about the green eyes but I can see with all the red on the head crest and brocade on the chest that you'd go with something other than red.

While some early RTB01 boys just have black eyes, I’ve been painting SM eyes and lenses with metallic green for a long time now. It’s one of those things that is constant across all my armies that helps tie them together.

evildrcheese wrote:I vote for the B@C chaplain!

EDC

He’s high on the list of things I’m looking forward to paint. I didn’t paint him for the Dec. challenge for a few reasons. One was I want to try some new techniques on the BaC guys. They are going to be on different bases, so I’m not as fixated on them conforming to my army standards. And I think I might want to practice on the rank and file first. And they still need to be primed. The other major reason was his popularity. There is no way I can paint him to the standards of some of the other entrants, and I didn’t want to go head to head with them. I figured a kit bash would be a stronger piece. The bike librarian was a good mix of things I wanted to paint and originality.

Thraxas Of Turai wrote:All that magnetisation looks like a labour of love, a great display of hobby skills, patience and ingenuity there.

I feel your pain with the attempt to not buy more than you paint and I think you have come up with the most sensible option. This is not a cheap hobby so you may as well paint each miniature to the best of your ability rather than rushing through them all.

Would love to see you tackle the BaC Chaplain, such a great model.

I keep meaning to break out all the magnetized bits and take a picture, just to see where I stand. I should probably start thinking about my year end posts and organizing a photo shoot or two. There are thing I’ve magnetized that were a mistake. I did the gun/missile pods on my stormtalon, and have never swapped them, or even thought about it. But as someone who goes for WYSWYG, and can’t afford tons of duplicates, a little bit can help in the right spot.

I’ve got major and minor goals. The major ones are posting ~weekly and the one-a-week mini target. The "Paint more then I buy" goal evolved from "Paint all my new purchases” For the most part it’s not a huge deal, but when I toss a new starter box onto the pile, it gets rough. But while a good concept, I think rigedly adhering to it would be a mistake, so I’m not going to!

I’ve made some progress on the paintbench, will grab some pics later today.
Edit: pic:

Yesterday was warm, but rainy. Today was a little close, but I decided to risk it. 5 day forecast shows nothing but cooler temps and chances of showers. It was now or spring. The rattle can says warmer then 50F, and less then 65% humidity. Little airport up the road says 55F, 62% humidity. Let’s Dance! Looks to have gone on clean.



I’m calling the monk finished. The ultra-zoom close up does not do him any favors. But seeing how we mostly use a collection of pre-painted D&D and Pathfinder plastics, he does not need to be spectacular. I just feel bad that he didn’t turn out better. I’ll blame the 3D printing, but I’m not sure how much at fault it is.

I should focus more on cookie baking then modeling. I have less then a week and a half to bang out around 20 batches. Most are fairly simple to do, but others require a bit of labor. Does make for interesting trips to the grocery store to pick up 8lbs. of butter. Was (and still am) having problems getting into the Christmas spirit. The Boy was misbehaving badly at the start of the month and just finished being grounded for a week. Adds a lot of Bah Humbug! when I have to be the heavy and crack the whip as the resident disciplinarian.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Happy hanukah for those who celebrate. For those who don’t, you should. At it’s core, it’s a celebration of oil, so go eat something deep fried!

--Nev

They look fine and ready for you brush mate. Understand completely about your issues with the young'un. Been there myself. Sucks.

I know the year is not over yet, and I still have two guys on the bench, But I was looking for something to do this morning while drinking my coffee (and the computer patched) so I dragged everyone out for a photo shoot.

Not pictured is the monk, and the two WIP bikes.

By way of comparison, here is 2014:

Although like this year, I think the last second entries are missing from that pic. 3 Vanguard vets and the Raven.

And now I should get out and run some errands. That holiday shopping won’t do itself...

Pretty nice year-end compilation Nev! I'll probably post a similar thing on my own blog since it seems a lot of other people are doing it.

A productive year! Good stuff, and while you can't really see it in the big group shot, I think your quality has also gone up a lot this year! Keep it up!

Very good work Nev. Not only prolific but I can see that your technique has improved as well.

Shouldn't there be a biker captain in the pic from last year?

Either way, the consistency is great! roughly the same amount painted. And tbh, it's quite a lot of models. You should feel proud!
And I will echo the comments about the quality going up. I think the monthly challanges has a bit to do with that. Gives you a reason to try a new technique.

Thanks all. Last year I just barely made my 1-a-week goal, and that was with a little fuzzy bookkeeping. This year I was a little ahead. I think it’s an achievable pace, even for people busier then I am. And it makes for a decent pile at year’s end. 52 models, even with counting vehicles as 4, is a full army. And when I was batch painting basic troopers, I was kicking them out at a much higher pace. If there is someone at your FLGS who is not adverse to painting, but is daunted by the pile of stuff, I’d suggest it to them. It’s a workable goal, and gets results.

Looking at the two pictures I’m also struck by the variety I did this year. 2014 was mostly blue, with only a handful of things in alternate pattens. And it’s not just the Eldar that’s different (and even they had the basic red/black and the rangers). Partially entries into the monthly comp, but also guys like the dwarf. Much more diverse stack of minis.

Zambro, the bike captain was back in 2013. I don’t think I did a year-to-date picture that year, as I started my blog halfway through it. If I think about it, I’ll sift the early part of the blog for what I did, and my fuzzy memory for the part of the year before documentation, and grab everyone for a shot. Just for posterity.

Edit: As I run the third batch of candied pecans through the oven, I figured I’d re-post a link to last year, where I shared all my non-classified recipes. Wile you guys are too far flung a bunch for actual baked goods delivery, I can share virtual cookies. Bake a man a cookie, and he will snack for a day. Teach a man how to bake a cookie, and he’ll put on 10 pounds. Except all you darn teenagers with your damn high-gear metabolisms. Your time will come...

Happy holidays all.

Ahh man... He was longer ago than I thought... You're right about the variety, too. When you paint for an army, you always run the risk of getting bored with the repetition. The Eldar give you a consistent secondary focus and the occassional 'other' mini helps too!
It helps a lot too that you already have loads painted for your Ultras. You dont 'need' to paint X unit for Y list - you already have options.

A productive year I see. Good work Nev!

Excellent work this year Nev, can't wait to see what you get up to next year.

Great stuff Nev!

And just to prove that I’m still at work, even with all the distractions:


Should have all the blues done on the librarian. Needs the brown wash, then a detail pass. Some of the accessories need a bit more work. Sword blade needs doing, and a few more details on the head. Plus the blending on the robes. OK, he’s still got a ways to go. And time is running out. Tomorrow is pretty much a lost day; family Christmas up here with the in-laws. And next Wed we drive down to Kentucky for a week. So if I want to finish him for the end of the month, it needs to happen soon.

Eldar bike needs one more coat of red, then the blacklineing. Plus the seer at some point

I’m done with all my holiday shopping, still need to do a bit of wrapping. I have to say, one of the perks of having the 4x8 foot table in the basement comes up at Christmas: so nice for wrapping presents. Down to 2 batches of cookies to bake. They are labor intensive ones that need to be rolled out and cut. But I’m almost done with that. If I have the energy I’ll bake a stollen for tomorrow, but that’s iffy. I’d like the holidays more if they weren’t so much damned work. It’s like a slo-mo train wreck that starts sometime mid-November and disgorges my shattered caracas sometime in early January.

OK, enough griping, back to the kitchen with me; butter should be softened by now.

The librarian is mostly done, just needs his base finished. I glued a rock and tuft of grass on, so once they are set I can go and flock it. Will grab final pictures after.

Eldar bike is done, and I put the first coats of red down on the seer.

I need to bake off one more batch of cookies, and then they are done until phase two

Christmas with the in-laws was not nearly as painful as it could have been. Next step in the holiday hit parade is a ~14 hour drive, and then just making sure The Wife doesn’t kill my dad. They don’t see eye-to-eye on a number of things. Not that I do, I’ve got more experience ignoring him and not letting it bother me. But at least when I’m down visiting my folks, the only thing I need to do is mitigate family friction. It’s a big job, but only one thing.

And back to baking. Hopefully pictures tonight or tomorrow.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And done. Both with the librarian, and the baking.





Not quite happy with how the robes turned out, but overall pleased with the guy. And he finishes up the librarian matrix:

Bike w/force sword (magnetized)
TDA w/ force axe and SB
JP w/Forcestaff (magnetized)
Foot w/Forcestaff & auspex

Very nice work on the biker, especially the face. You're going to give Knightley a run for his money on "clean and crisp" at this rate!

The face looks great! As does the white shoulder trim. Looks smooth!

Looks nice! Regal as any ultramarine should be. Great use of that head as well, far and away my favourite bare head in existence

Love the Biker Librarian. Makes me want to start on my own. Good work Nev.

Thanks guys. In general I think I'm a bit hard on myself. If I had painted that librarian even two years ago, I'd be stoked. Now I'm kinda meh. Part of that is knowing I've done better, and should be able to repeat that work. The other is the ultra zoom pics to show all my flaws. Sometimes I wish my photography never got any better.

I'll be afk for about a week, so no real hobby updates. Just short sporatic posts when I can get some quiet time away from the chaos.

Wishing you and yours happy holidays.
--Nev

Well, we are almost done with 2015. Time for some year-end review. First, a quick look back to what my goals for the year were, from last year’s review post:


1 - Fail. I think I put abase layer down on 2 arcoflagelents, and then shuffled them to the back. In fairness, my friend hasn’t played a game all year IIRC, due to work scheduling and health issues. So not a lot of drive to get these done. If I want to view this a little more loosely, I did paint the monk for a different friend.
2 - Fail. I was doing fine until I picked up the BaC box. Otherwise, pretty good.
3 - Fail. Yup, big 0 progress on this one.
4 - Progress! While not everything, I did get some work done here. Everything I paint for a challenge gets based, and I’ve done up a few squads.
5 - Progress! Spare arms for dreads, a few backpacks, tank hatch. Still a bucket of bits sitting there, but it’s at least shrinking.
6 - Success. Solid win here. I’d have to go back and check, but IIRC I passed the more games then last year point over the summer.
7 - Success. I’m a good blogger, and made my 1-a-week goal
8 - Success. If I use wargear heavy option, I have 1k in new paint. As the goal was for the army, I can count some of the older painted stuff, like the falcons, viper, and guardians.

So this year, we have 3 wins, 2 partials, and 3 fails. Compare to last year’s 1/4/2. More fails, but also more wins. I’m OK with that.

Here is a list of what I had on deck to do, with color commentary.

Overall I got a lot of those things done. I think my primed pile is bigger this year then last, so my to-do list is quite extensive. There is so much stuff, that I can’t just list everything primed as a “What to expect to see in 2016” list. Things that I think I’ll defiantly want to finish:
At least one full squad of BaC Mk. IV marines, possibly all 3.
The BaC characters, dread
Vindi
LS
Bike techmarine.
5 sternguard
More Eldar. I want to get paint on at least 2 full squads, preferably more.

Building is going to be more sparse. The pile of on-sprue shame is actually quite small.
5 BaC terminators
10 Bac marines
1 SM bike
1 Eldar bike (old)
Some Eldar guardians, weapon platform
3 legs to build marines

Of those, the BaC is going to be built, the other stuff might. The guardians, if assembled, might be gussied up to try to pass for more dire avengers.

Things on my to-buy list. Which is still very fuzzy, and unlikely to happen. I’d be more likely to spring for an unknown new release then pick up old stuff.
1-3 Whirlwinds
Stalker/hunter
LRC/R
Scout bikes (Would be nice to have a larger squad a/o field 2 squads.)
Cents (I know, they are kinda ugly, but the rules....)
Eldar Fire Prism

Another thing that might happen is that I may strip some of my old RTB01 marines (and possibly a few other old guys from the BA) and work up a second battle company.

As with the last few years, I’m going to recycle my old goals. Just a few tweaks this year (modifying 8 and adding 9):
1 Finish painting the odds and ends from my friend's SOB army that I worked on. Just a handfull of arcoflagelents, spare immolater weapons, some IG HQs .
2 Paint more then I buy.
3 Make a display board for my army. I've had the sheets of foam insulation waiting to be carved for years, never get around to it.
4 Base my army. Someday this will happen.
5 Paint my spare bits. I've magetized a number of things, painted the primary set up, but never get around to doing the other options.
6 Try to get more games in.
7 Update my blog at least once a week, and maintain a consistent pace of work (1 mini a week).
8 Get my Eldar army to a larger level, 2 more full squads minumum, with viable 1,500 or 1,850 point lists being stretch goals.
9 Enter and finish an entry every month for the painting challenge. If the monthly challenge stops, enter at least one comp in the year. In addition, paint something odd from the back of the bench a/o try out a new technique every month.

--Nev

(There are a few more end of year things I want to add, but they require more time and I’ve been at this for a bit now. I may edit them in later, or just do another post later)

That's a solid bunch of goals! Also a great reflection, mate. Looks like your keeping track of your hobby astonishingly. Might have to second you on the painting comp goal

 lipsdapips wrote:
That's a solid bunch of goals! Also a great reflection, mate. Looks like your keeping track of your hobby astonishingly. Might have to second you on the painting comp goal

Thanks. On the topic of keeping track of things:

I just went over my year end picture with a calculator and Battlescribe to get a points tally. As there are some partial squads, the numbers are a little fuzzy. I went with a how I’d play it point total, so things like ML2 on the librarian, etc. Mostly WYSWYG. The Eldar side came out to exactly 1,000 points. I think I spent a few more points on the Autarch then I did on previous reckonings, and counted the foot seer with staff as Eldarad, as that’s the most likely way he’s going to see the table. Marine side came in at 1,224 points. Total new paint for the year: 2,224. Plus some odds and ends, including some fantasy stuff and spare bits.

A year ago I posted this:

8,323 points by rough count. Few spare minis that can’t find a squad, but not many. Looking back a year ago (pretty close to exactly) I had 6,508 painted. So that’s about 1,815 points of fresh paint in a year. Of course, some of that might be organizational. I painted a few sergeants, which might have allowed spare heavy weapon guys to form up into dev squads. I’d have to see if I kept my notes from a year ago to double-check. I wonder if I have enough unpainted plastic to push me to 10k? I doubt it, but would be fun to check...

So I painted more points then last year, not surprising as I did finish more minis. If my math is correct, that’s 9,547 points worth of Ultras. I should do a full count of stuff on the shelf, rather then just adding up stuff from my year end pic. But I suspect that this year will see me pass the 10k mark. Should be fun!

Insane amount of ultramarines, never change Nev

Looking forward to your progress this year!

Wow... That's a lot of points worth of minis. 2200ish is quite a solid amount of points. Especially when you think that it came down to 1 mini a week.

A nice round up of the year. Don't worry about not painting more than you buy. The BaC box more or less blindsided that goal.

I think you should start working on a display board! Almost 10k of ultras is practically begging for a display piece to go with it! Call it 20 minis and aim to finish it by the end of the year. 20 minis is the equivalent of 5 months. If you worked on it through out the whole year, and dropped you actual mini's painted aim to 32 you could get both the 1 mini a week and display piece goals!

I think it's a great list of accomplishments and a great list of future projects. Going to be very enjoyable to see you work your way down next year's hobby trail.

Getting the display board is on the list, as always. If I can find my foam cutter, I might actually get started on it. It would be nice to put a “Done” or at least a “Progress” next to it at the start of 2017. That goal has been rocking the Fail since I started the list.

I just finished up a full census of painted minis. Turns out it’s a little lower then I estimated. 9,389 points of Ultramarines. And a bit of that is not legal. Battlescribe was flashing up all sorts of error messages. But by doing things like having dev squads with 6 heavy weapons, I was able to count the guys on the swap shelf a lot easier. Eldar I just counted the old painted stuff, and came up with 1,095 points of old minis. As the new paint was an even 1k, that puts me at 2,095. I didn’t bother to count partial squads for them, so things like the 2 swooping hawks and 3 spiders didn’t get counted. Plus the harlies, which I might actually be able to get a valid squad out of.

Not included are any of my old dust covered forces. But also left out are the slightly more likely to see the table things like my ADL w/quadgun and the Vindicare assassin.

Part of me wants to tally up the points worth of stuff in the primed pile, but I think I’m mathed out for the day.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends.

--Nev

That's still a respectable pile of marines, especially that it's painted.

That's a whole lot of Ultras, I'm impressed. Do you intend to have your Eldar get anywhere near that mark?

It is a huge pile, and no, I have no intentions of letting the Eldar get that big. But then, I never intended the Ultras to get that big either.

If time and money were no object, there would be a few things I’d want to pick up. Another few tanks(falcon, a WS or two, FP), box of the new wraithguard, and a modern wraithlord. I’d love to add some squads of aspect warriors, but am not going to pick them up in finecast. In an ideal world, I’d have one squad of each, to be able to swap them around.

So I guess I could add another 1-2,000 points or so to the Eldar, But that would require GW to put out a bunch of new kits. But even then, they’d be half the size of my Ultramarines.

I think I have ~500 points primed and awaiting paint, so that’s defiantly happening. Eventually at my glacial pace.


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Ok, just did a little inventory and math.

Eldar:
9 jetbikes
4 swooping hawks
5 dire avengers
6 fire dragons

516 points primed. This is not counting the bikeseer that is a WIP, for another 100ish points.

Ultramarines:
TDA captain
3 pa captains (2 old, 1 BaC)
MM, GC devs
5 scouts
6 sternguard (3 c-meltas)
Techmarine on bike
TML speeder
Contemptor
Vindi
3 LotD
20 BaC tacticals

That comes up to about 1,614 points.

Unbuilt Eldar is maybe 100 points of guardians defenders
SM have the rest of the BaC box (5 terminators, 10 tacs) and 5 sniper scouts I keep forgetting about. So probably a little over 400 more points.

You have 2,000pts of models already primed ready to paint?

 Adamski Alders wrote:
You have 2,000pts of models already primed ready to paint?

Yup. I normally try to keep a decent amount squirreled away for the winter months, when I can’t prime. This year was a little odd, due to the very mild Nov/Dec. I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to get to the BaC box until spring, but was able to get ~800 points more added to the pile before the winter hit. Points/primed is also not the best metric to work with, from a painting POV. From a hobby standpoint, there is not that much effort difference between a scout trooper and a TDA captain. Whereas rhinos/pods cost the same points as a basic marine with a heavy weapon, and take far more effort. The gamer in me does like to track points though, so I can get an idea of how large my armies are.

And because it’s been a while since I’ve pictured it, the pile:

I think your primed pile is a little bigger than mine but I've been counting on using the airbrush to prime if I'm just unreasonably productive

Wow, that's an impressive pile ready to get painted.

Nice primed stockpile. Looking forward to see what 2016 brings from you, sounds like you had a decent total for last year. I'm planning on documenting what models I complete this year for that sweet moment of reflection!

EDC

OK, enough woolgathering, reflecting, and plotting and planning. Time for some paint!


Slow progress on the seer, and the base coats going down on the TDA captain. Not sure if I’m going to leave the strappy things white, or go with a leather look for them. Both seem like they might work.

I know it’s not much progress, but there have been a lot of distractions lately. But things should settle down and get on track soon-ish.

Sweet, that mark of terminator armor is pretty neat.

 GrimDork wrote:
Sweet, that mark of terminator armor is pretty neat.

I’m still getting over this new fangled “plastic” in terminators, much less odd marks that and the bases. I am enjoying painting him up though. I should probably assemble his squad. Been a while since I took the clippers to sprue. Banging out 20 BaC tacticals did kinda burn me out on cleaning mold lines, but that was last year.

Got some more paint down on him this afternoon. Decided on brown leather for the strappy bits. Put a layer of red down on the cape. Plugging away. The one decision I still need to make is what to do with the shields on his belt and shoulders. Do I do something heraldric? s on blue? Just gold? Once I decide on that, the rest is just going through the motions.

Looks good so far, what colour are you thinking for the cloak?

Nice progress on the Termie captain.


EDC

Cloak is going to be red. From an army coherency POV, I’ve really got two choices, red or white. And while the adventurous side of me was thinking white, it was shouted down by my more reasonable side. I will try to give it a good depth of shading. Lots of nice hard folds on the cape that should highlight nicely.

No thoughts on the heraldic shields?

Gold.

Interestiiiing. I agree with you on the red choice. I think the shields (on the shoulders atleasat - not sure if there are others) look cool in white and maybe some black Knightley-esque squiggle could work with the occasional 'u' or company marking, or maybe even the same with blue shield and white text. Personally i'm not sure how well gold would fly on such a large, plain surface.

A cubist representation of the BaC TDA captain, expressing both motion and the passage of time in a medium of of a still life.

(Sorry, a little modern art history leaking out)

He’s actually in more parts then that, but I put both the body parts together for the pic. Kinda fun how I can show you the front, back, and top of the mini all in the same picture. Hence the cubism comment. Although Picaso I am not.

But that’s where we stand, with just the rough basecoat. While I do think gold would work, and is the easy choice, I have to agree with LDP that they are probably a bit large to leave plain. I could use my micra pen to do squiggles/freehand, or draw some black heraldic work on the gold. While I’d be OK with quartering it in colors, or some other pattern, the fact that I’d want to get 3 the same frightens me a bit. Although if I could do the stupidly small shield on the company champion, I could probably manage here. Although I could probably do something like a “U” on one shoulder, some chapter number on the other, and leave the one on the belt blank.

I should probably see if my local hobby/craft store caries the crazy fine paint pens in white. And how well they cover, if they do. Would open up a wider world of squiggles. Because Emperor knows I’m not doing detail like that with a brush.

A quick note on confidence: I’m actually looking forward to all those folds and drapes in the cloak. Not that long ago it’s something I would have dreaded. Go progress!

Looking really good there.

I kind of wish I had the spare time/parts to go about creating a cubist rendition of a Space Marine now...

 Paradigm wrote:
Looking really good there.

I kind of wish I had the spare time/parts to go about creating a cubist rendition of a Space Marine now...

I think it could be a lot of fun (for someone with good kitbashing skills) for a Tzeench themed CSM army.

Friday update time. Sorry no pics, as nothing major happened since the lat time.

Decided to go with the gold base for the shield. Will scribble something on them. Also put down the silver and a second clean up pass on the gold. Once that’s dry, I think it will be time for the brown wash. Put a few more coats down on the seer as well, haven’t forgotten him.

Some work, with a minor setback.
Mostly done painting:


I knew I was going to have to do some touchups once I had glued him together. Some problems doing that. When I was dry fitting him at the inital glue stage, it seemed like I could get by with glueing the chainfist on. There was enough flex to get the torso halves together with it in place. Unfortunately, once everything was painted, it was not going together easy. I has to cut out the arm, clean it up, and glue it back in. All the cuts are hidden, but it did cause some wear and tear on the good captain, which will need to be cleaned up. Not a big deal, but if anyone is copying my process, keep that in mind.

The other major issue is a paint change. I picked up a pot of drakenhof nightshade to replace my dwindling supply of blue ink. Not a good match.

Both minis are washed over macragge blue. The TDA captain is more flat, and lacks the brighter sapphire tones of Sicarius. Not quite happy with this. As all the BaC stuff is on different bases, it’s not the end of the world. There is not going to be a lot of mixing in squads. I can use my remaining blue ink for the handful of guys left on the bench. Or try to find an alternative. There is another blue glaze IIRC.

Nice to see some progress, mate.

Shame about the slight shade difference. I'm not sure how you can go about getting the other shade again?

OK, went with the freehand black on gold. Turned out OK. Personal heraldry on one shoulder, and a XIII and “U” on the other. I think I’m just going to leave the belt plain, it looks OK as-is.

Could have been bit more tidy, particularly the roman numerals and the U. But at arm’s length it looks pretty good.

Nice free-hand. I was never any good at that.

Good looking freehand, Nev! I'm sure you can tidy up the right hand edge of the stripe... It's not quite straight Should be a quick 30 second job.

And that’s a wrap for the big guy. I like the way he turned out. I did a little bit of edge highlighting, not sure if it shows. Chainfist is the most obvious place, but I did some blues, and a touch on the golds.


Poor old guy will probably never see the table again. If I had thought about it at the time, I would have tried to incorporate his heraldry onto the new guy. Oh well. There may have been some scale creep over the last two and a half decades. I might have to re-jigger the shelf a little. This is the first 40mm base. The HQs have plenty of space, but when I get the squad done to back him up, they are going to need room

Speaking of which, I started to cut the BaC terminators off the sprues and sort them out. Primary build is going to be all lightning claws, but I’ll see how easy it would be to swap them. Mostly because I like the way all the options look. I’d consider buying more, but it would be totally extravagant. I’ve got better things to do with my hobby dollar.

He looks amazing. You really did a bang-up job on that marine.

Nice work!

That Captain is gorgeous Nev! You really did him justice.

Yeah, great stuff! To switch weapons on the BaC termies, you'd need to magnetise the arms and the shoulder pads.

Thanks guys!

I was afraid of that Para. Looking at the instructions for the BaC terminators, it seemed like I’d have to do something wth the shoulderpads. Was hoping I’d be able to just glue them on the body and swap the arms. Hadn’t got around to shuffling parts around to check though. But there is no way I’m doing multiple magnets per arm to swap them. Glue it is.

Did a little more work on the seer, he’s almost done. Need to do a final round out touch ups and glue him on his bike. Even though I did his bike last year, I don’t think I counted it, so he can count as 2 minis in 2016. Puts me a little behind for the year, but the winter is always a slow time. Mostly due my freezing basement. I guess I could break out a space heater if I needed to, but it seems wasteful.

Need to figure out what to do next.

And that’s the seer done. He’s got a spear and magic helmet to swap out if he wants to be a warlock or stab things better.

Workbench progress has seen all the terminators have their legs glued together and to the base, and the torso halves assembled. All clean of mold lines. Next step is to glue on the tabards and then clean and assemble the arms and heads

And paint something else. I might be able to get a 4th mini done for the month.

Both the termies praetor and jetbike dude look wicked Nev.

EDC

Didn't see that one coming. Looks good, another Eldar for the finished pile. And still plenty of time to get another model done...

Eldar is nice and clean, good work.

That Jetseer's sword is beautiful, what kit did you get it from?

He’s 100% stock from the new seer on bike kit, sword included. You might not have seen the sword before because the spear is a no-brainer upgrade for 5 points. I love the fact that it has recessed runes on the blade. Just a little wash and my mostly steady hand and the detail pops out. Raised runes you need to be careful with the sides, do more clean-up, etc.

Still trying to figure out what to paint next. I picked out some jetbikes to do, but I’m not feeling them. Might be because I moved 3 to the active area. Probably a mistake; more daunting that way. Feel like I should do a marine since I just finished an Eldar.

Also in the news I finished putting together 5 lightning claw terminators. Can’t say I’m happy with how they chose to do the shoulder assembly. I get that the layered pad look is key to that mark of suit, but everything is just stacked up on the arms. Make it look like there are some glaring weak points in the protection. I’ll try to remember to grab a built shot next time I bring my camera down. No rush, spring is a long way out.



I know it’s heresy era gear, but those are not the lightning claws you normally see on loyalists. Getting a Night Lord vibe off these guys. I’m sure a nice clean blue (lighting bolt free) paintjob will help sort them out.

Who’s who of the Ultramarines?

OK, I have a lot of captains, many of them painted. But who’s who? There are plenty of sources for names, so lets try to associate them. I’m primarily going to stick with names from the TOE from the codexes, there are more out there if I wanted to dig a bit and widen my net.

1st Company, Regent of Ultramar.

2nd Company, Master of the Watch

3rd Company, Master of the Arsenal

4th Company, Master of the Fleet

5th Company, Master of the Marches

6th Company, Master of the Rites

7th Company, Chief Victualler

8th Company, Lord Executioner

9th Company, Master of Relics

10th Company, Master of Recruits


Well that was a wall of text. Picture time! Right now I’m going to drag out old pictures. Once I get some names, I’ll snap some new ones and get them all neat and labeled.
One of the first pictures I uploaded to Dakka:

The circle grows:







And waiting for paint on the left:

And two on the right:


<catches breath>

I think this is getting to be a little long for one post. That’s the raw data I’m working with. There are a few historical notes which will influence the who’s who, but I can get into them later. Thoughts and opinions on who should head up what companies?

I have.. no idea. The guy with the thunder hammer and lightning claw should lead the most badass company though, that's for sure.

I's very useful to look back at what you've accomplished and see where you've come. I have a challenge for you. Take a look at your first miniature (of this line), and your last. Ask yourself... "Is my latest effort significantly better painted than my first?" If it is, great! You're on the right track. If it isn't, then challenge yourself to learn a new technique. Just one... that will move you one step further down the path of becoming a better artist. Dakka is just loaded with talented people who would be wiling to help you learn, all you ever have to do is ask!

GrimDork wrote:I have.. no idea. The guy with the thunder hammer and lightning claw should lead the most badass company though, that's for sure.

As the guy with the jump pack, he’s a shoe in for Captain Numitor, Lord Executioner, of the 8th. The most badass company is, of course, the 3rd.

Gitsplitta wrote:I's very useful to look back at what you've accomplished and see where you've come. I have a challenge for you. Take a look at your first miniature (of this line), and your last. Ask yourself... "Is my latest effort significantly better painted than my first?" If it is, great! You're on the right track. If it isn't, then challenge yourself to learn a new technique. Just one... that will move you one step further down the path of becoming a better artist. Dakka is just loaded with talented people who would be wiling to help you learn, all you ever have to do is ask!

I think a good judge of that will happen when I paint one of those old RT captains. I can look at both my terminator captains, and the latest one is notably better then the old one. But how much of that is the detail of the modern sculpt? As much as I love the old stuff, GW does put out much nicer looking minis these days. Next month I’ll do a year progress update, once I’ve got all 12 of my entries from Para’s competition. Even over that timeframe, I’ve improved.

Here is a pic of the guys awaiting paint:


We’ll see how they look compared to the old RT Lt. Commander, who is one of the older minis I have. One thing that gives it away is the red eyes. After an (early) point I standardized all lenses to a metallic green. He pre-dates that.

(He wasn’t in my earlier list of captains. He was filling in for the company champion before I painted up a new one. But as his RT rank was basically second in command for the chapter, he should be here)

Here is a slightly better solo shot of Captain Ardias. He’s one of the models that already has a name, as he’s been playing that role since early 3rd edition.


And the latest painted captain pic:


Edit: Gits’ comment also decided who I’m painting next. The leftmost RT captain just moved over to the active painting spot. Let’s see what 25+ years of experience has done for me!
Edit 2: Opps, forgot a captain. In the theme of my fuzzy time setting, I have a Captain Fabian from the future, after he fell in glorious combat and was entombed into a dread. This was 3rd ed me trying to justify the fact that there were two captain listed in assorted places for the 3rd company.

Not bad freehand work on the name scroll for younger me with a brush.


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OK, that’s what I’m going with. For now. Who knows what will happen if I get/build more captains. And what are the odds of that?
(some of the first names are from the 40k Lexicanum, so take with salt)

Back row, from the left in company order:
1st Company, Regent of Ultramar, Severus Agemman
2nd Company, Master of the Watch Cato Sicarius
3rd Company, Master of the Arsenal, Mikael Fabian (in front with the chainsword)
--Jehnnus Ardias (in middle, with the SB/powersword)
--Mikael Fabian (In back, in the walking coffin)
4th Company, Master of the Fleet, Cpt. Idaeus
5th Company, Master of the Marches, Caito Galenus
(front row)
6th Company, Master of the Rites, Cpt. Epathus
7th Company, Chief Victualler, Cpt. Ixion
8th Company, Lord Executioner, Cpt. Numitor
9th Company, Master of Relics, Cpt. Sinon
10th Company, Master of Recruits, Cpt. Antilochus

I think on my to build list is going to be more arms for Cpt. Fabian. I’d like to have a PP/PS combo, just because that’s what he used in a fluff piece. Plus they do look cool. He’s also my go-to foot captain.

There you have it, a chapter (plus a few) worth of captains.


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Just because I love to see how many post I can auto-append:


I forgot I had made a nice sword arm with a BaC blade and one of my UM shoulderpads. Already primed even. Plasma pistol was one already on arm, with an ornate eagle shoulderpad I normally reserve for captains. Will get primed sometime in spring. I think I have 2 PP arms kicking around anyway that I made for the assault marines.

In other news, went up to the new store hoping for a pick up game tonight, no luck. That’s 0 for 2 at the new store, but at least last week there were 40k people to chat with.

Not a total loss. I had a $20 gift certificate, which when paired with some guilt free money from my wallet turned into a stalker/hunter box. It’s overpriced for what it is, but when you shave a bit off the top, becomes reasonable. Might field as-is, or as a counts-as whirlwind. I might see if I can cobble together some sort of missile turret.

Man that comment was spot on from Gits.

I also love the Lt.commander, even if he is a bit dated compared to your new. I look forward to the BaC captain.

Oh and you can totally make a freebie TFC with the hunter portion of the gun if you are running a stalker.



Edit: 2k posts, woo~

Nice collection of Captains. I like the bike dude, especially his helmet with the red markings.

EDC

Nice! (Getting the stalker/hunter, not the getting no games in).

They're a nice looking tank, and Stormwall has it right. With some magnets you could get yourself a TFC too.

The stalker/hunter has me torn. I prefer the look of the hunter. Mechanically the stalker is a far better choice. I’m pretty sure I can swap between them, but will need to double check the sprues.

One problem with the TFC idea (which I have given some thought) is the fact I only own one techmarine with a harness (from my actual TFC). And have no plans to get another one while they are still finecast. I guess I could just sub my other tech, he needs to see more play as it is.

It’s hard to choose which one of my captains is my favorite. They all have their pros and cons.

I believe the Hunter/Stalker kit has enough parts to make both weapons and interchange. This is one of the threads I went to while researching Ultramarines, always looking good.

 40kFSU wrote:
This is one of the threads I went to while researching Ultramarines, always looking good.

Thanks. I think. Now I feel all responsible, like I should pick things up a bit to represent the chapter a bit better. Icky grown-up feelings.

I’d go through and try to make a list of my fellow Ultras who I’ve drawn inspiration from, but whenever I do that I feel like I’m going to forget someone. Don’t want to hurt feelings or leave anyone out. I do make an effort to name drop other blogs and pics when I do think of one, but compiling a list seems a daunting task.

I’d do a search on my own posts in this section of the board, but I’ve got quite a bunch, and not all of them are in my fellow Ultra’s blogs. It would not be a good thing for the chaplains to see my browser history. There may be a little heresy in there.


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OK, this is just going to be a draft/WIP, but I think I am going to try to gather up some links to my fellow Ultras.

In no particular order, and defiantly leaving people out (not intentionally)

"For Guilliman! For the Emperor!" - Straightsilver's Ultramar stuff.
Randy's Ultramarines 3rd Co. & Macragge PDF
LDP's Ultramarines
SRM's 2nd edition Ultramarines and friends
Ultramarines, Blood Angels, Grey Knights and House Hawkshroud.

I’ll try to dredge up some more later, The Wife just got home.

Some painting progress. Just the basic blue and black at this point, but I’m working!



While I’m at it, I think I’m going to try to freehand the old RT captain heraldry on his shoulder. Work up some fluff to how he received a battlefield promotion to replace the fallen captain, and just had time to swap shoulderpads, and not update all his rank insignia.



Somewhere, I have a powerfist with that on it I freehanded back in the day. Could not find it this morning, but will try to locate it for a comparison pic later.

Look, a rhino chassis:


As I put this together, I was reminded how much the pred needs a new kit. I had similar thoughts when I was assembling my vindi. The pred is just a new turret slapped on top of a rhino. This guy has a slightly more robust front plate, and reinforced sides. Feels more sturdy, tank-like. Oh well, on to the gun assembly. My back timed out last night, or I would have done more. It’s no rush to finish though, so I just stopped and moved to the recliner. Getting old sucks (but beats the alternative) The only part shared between the two guns is the antenna array. I’ll see which one looks better without, and cob something to fill the spot. I suspect it’s going to be the stalker that gets a little kitbashed.

I have that figure... just love it!

Hopefully I’ll get more paint in today, just been having fun building.



Right now they are basically done. I might glue a few more parts down, but I’m undecided. Do I want the guns to actually be able to pivot and point toward my foes? Do they need to be able to elevate? How many separate pieces do I want to prime and paint? Some I’m leaving unglued so I can get a brush in there. The hunter’s main gun, the side sensor housing, and both the ring they sit on and the base for the rhino are separate. That’s not too bad. The only thing I’d still glue would be the ring to the base, and that would kill the rotation. Probably leave it as-is.

The stalkers are in a lot more bits. Each gun mount is made of three pieces, two sides and a base. Plus the 2 guns and the base plate. Lots of bits, some small and fiddly. I could glue the sides of the gun mount to the gun, which would eliminate the ability to elevate, but make 4 less separate bits. I’m not going to glue the bases to the guns, as that would make painting irritating. If I was willing to forgo the ability to pivot the guns, I could glue them to the base. I’ll probably take the middle road here and just fix the elevation. It might be a little juvenile, but I do like to point guns at things when I shoot. Dakka Dakka noises optional.

The driver is sporting a Mk. IV helmet, courtesy of the BaC box. If I ever do play HH, he can be a nod towards the period driving a new rhino. He and the other hatch are just placed in, can be swapped out. I almost went over the top with the driver, thinking of giving him a ML or powerfist or something crazy. I still might, have the spare hatches. Might save that for a “I’m bored, want to build something” project.

I do like the fact that you get two separate weapon systems. I’ve got the spare rhino hull, I could put them both on the table. Makes it more likely for me to grab another one of these guys. I’d have to not field my pred to get all the guns on the table though. It and my razor are my only normal modern rhino hulls. But if I could get another stalker on the table, I could field the AA force. Spare guns could also counts-as nicely as TFCs.

As could something I found hiding in the back of my workbench. And old mole mortar! Just one small problem:

OK, it’s more of an Epic problem. I have no idea where this guy came from. I never played epic. He’s been rattling around for a while now. Almost tempted to paint him for next month’s challenge “Size Matters Not”


Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends!

You too!

Man, between you, Paradigm, and a couple of others...be luck if I don't start painting marines again..

Absolutely exciting, still rooting for the TFC even though you probably won't do it.

Because of your RT picture one of my sergeants has captain heraldry with a red slash over it, showing his demotion for censure.

If I need to work it into a list, I have zero problems fielding the loose guns as TFCs. Probably won’t modify them for the job though.

Also, on my list of pie-in-the-sky projects, all the random guns might find a place when I get around to building a polar defense base display board. Cut little slots out where they can fit in. Would make a lot of sense for these kind of guns to be part of that.

Getting a little more paint on. Almost done with getting the base colors blocked in. Quartered the shoulder, need to clean up the white, but that will take some time. I didn’t snap a pic, but I got the guns blacked and drybrushed on the dread. I think I’m going to heat stress them, so that will be a number of additional steps, but I like they way it turned out on the ven dread.

I realized when I was chatting with Hissy over in Ratius’s thread that it’s been a while since I took a picture of the shelf. So I grabbed the camera and got a new one.

While not that different from the previous one, there is a bit for stuff crammed on there. Rough count puts me at about 250 marines, plus vehicles (20ish more). If I count everything in to to build and to paint piles, I’ll add ~60 more bodies to that and few more vehicles. Over half the first company, a third of the 10th, roughly two battle companies, and far more HQs then I need. Not bad. Not bad at all...

That's a lot of Ultramarines!

You're light on the tanks (which is reasonable, because SM tanks are lacking for the most part) - I know I'd like to see more armour. I'm quite looking forward to you getting stuck into the Stalker/Hunter.

Wow! That is pretty amazing.

Paradigm wrote:That's a lot of Ultramarines!

Gitsplitta wrote:Wow! That is pretty amazing.

Thanks guys, glad I can impress. With quantity, if not quality.

Zambro wrote:You're light on the tanks (which is reasonable, because SM tanks are lacking for the most part) - I know I'd like to see more armour. I'm quite looking forward to you getting stuck into the Stalker/Hunter.

Emperor knows I don’t need more troops. Although I could probably use a few more scouts. And after putting together the BaC terminators, I did get a little bit of a hankering to get some modern ones. But I’ve got plenty of basic guys in power armor. So most new purchases are probably going to be more tanks. It looks like Whirlwinds are back on GW’s website, they were out of stock for a while. Probably next thing on my to-buy list. Unless I just get another AA tank box, and work with the hunter=WW counts-as.

I almost tried to prime last Tuesday. It was warm(ish) but just a little too humid, due to melting snow. I figured if it cleared up the next day I would, but it poured. So no luck. It’s mild out now, but very damp still. So the to-prime box is going to have to wait a bit longer. I still have the Vindi that’s giving me coy looks. If I wasn’t painting the dread this month, I might have done that instead. So there is some hope of seeing some treads rolling across this blog soon-ish.

Lotsss of crunchy Marinesss Mr Nevelon.

(Nice).

 Ratius wrote:
Lotsss of crunchy Marinesss Mr Nevelon.

(Nice).

No eating the Ultras! Bad Bug! Go find some guardsmen to snack on.

OK, I decided to drag stuff out and sort thing a bit. I’ve sorta done this halfway a few times, but decided to actually lay everything out. The 2nd company:


The 10 empty bases are for the last BaC squad, and the one in the command squad is for an apothecary. He’ll use one of my last 3 pairs of legs. Big one is the contemptor currently getting paint. I’ll strip the old PC force marines to fill out the ranks of bolters. Will have to find a bunch of new arms for the heavy/special guys. I’ve got plenty in the bits box dating from the original RTB01 boxes, but will have to make sure I have enough. I do feel a little bad not utilizing them better. That’s a lot of retro heavies that will be going to waste. But since the swap shelf was full of spare fancy guns, I just didn’t need them. As this is a very long term project, I might pick up some basic bolter boys before I get around to striping them. In an ideal world, they can be ranked up for 30k support squads rather then demoted to bolters.

I could also shake free a few more RTB01s from the BA shelf. More nostalgia there though. Picking up another tac box would solve my problems, but is a lousy use of my hobby budget. One of these days I need to liquidate some of my old unused stuff to fund more active side projects. I hate dealing with random people though.

In other news I’m borrowing a lecture series on DVD from my father-in-law on photography. It’s done by one of the guys who works for National Geographic. I suspect most of it will not be applicable to minis, but I might be able to glean some new skills from it. Can’t hurt.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

--Nev

Wow, that's impressive. I could never do an actual company... don't have anywhere near enough regular old bolter marines for that.

Thanks for sharing all your Ultramarines Nev.

Neat seeing them laid out like that.

Gitsplitta wrote:Wow, that's impressive. I could never do an actual company... don't have anywhere near enough regular old bolter marines for that.

Spare heavy/specials/sarges can always find a use on the table, but there is an upper limit on how many bolters one man needs. A battle company is about twice that number

Yorkright wrote:Thanks for sharing all your Ultramarines Nev.

GrimDork wrote:Neat seeing them laid out like that.

Thanks guys. While I was on a roll, I dragged out some more:

The 3rd co:


1st. co:

One squad of sternguard is all bolters, the other will be 5xC-melta 2xHF.

10th co:

(forgot to put the LSS with them)
These guys are kinda a mess. I feel like I should pick up another basic scout box just to help level out the squads. Mostly an eclectic mix of metals, with a dash of plastic snipers and the crew of the LSS. Another stick of snipers still on sprue. I’d also like to flesh out the bike squad a little.

And the whole lot:


And those that remain behind on the shelf (mostly chapter level stuff and transports)

OK, I’ve been monkeying around with a new photo tool (Photoscape X) in an attempt to present my work a little bit better.



Still need to figure out how to get the setup I like. Getting the crop right and the pictures framed is both simple and a little tricky. But as I’ve only been playing with it for about half an hour, I’m sure I’ll work something out. Some of that time was getting iPhoto to cough up my pictures. I’d like to get it ironed out by the end of the month, so when I do my year in review for Para’s competition, I just need one pic per month, rather then five-ish.

Done the washes on the golds for the Dread’s legs and the Lt. Next step for both of them is a blue cleanup pass, then the wash. Not sure if that will happen tonight. I booted up DoW again, and am playing through the campaign. Fun times.

Looks like a nice start. Photos could almost use frames separating them .

 GrimDork wrote:
Looks like a nice start. Photos could almost use frames separating them .

Was thinking that myself. I think I might also need to get some stock graphics to fill empty slots. Chapter symbols, Aquilas, and the like. Still poking around.

Definitely better Nev. You're on the right track.

Two more. These are all old pics, before I got the lightbox. What I should be doing is going back and taking tight focus detail shots. All the pics I took were basically spinning the mini to get all angles, sometimes raising the tripod for a high angle shot.

I should also try to take wider shots, or at least include a little more whitespace on the borders to help center the pictures in the frames. For the oddly shaped panels, it can make it hard to get it centered nice if it runs out of picture.

Ahh yeah that sounds good.

I want what you did but old timey newspaper skin for pulp alley reports.


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I like the borders, have you experimented with dark/black or even Ultras colors?

There is an option to change the colors, I’ll poke that next.

Filters for a number of things, including newsprint, light artifacts, etc exist. I’ll give them a shot, maybe make a wanted poster. Need to find someone sinister to work on. There are a number of ones for free, but lots more things in the pro version, which they want $30 for. I do have a chunk of cash in iTunes credit, so I might spring for that if I’m having a lot of fun. But these days, I need to be significantly “wowed” to drop that on an app.


Ye olde Nurgle champion. Old, grainy, poor quality color film. Just like they used in the Old World. (censored so the pic can be used on a family friendly forum)

Quality pictures never hurt anyone... Keep them coming!

I agreed with the point earlier about having borders between pictures, but having white background and white boarders makes it look like there are no borders. Something more defining is in order, imo.
Plus the bottom right picture of Agemman is out of focus... No amount of photoshopping will put the focus right, lol.

Between you and Para... I think I'll be downloading this tool and having a play around!

I had originally taken that tight pic of the face to try to show it off. Didn’t quite work, but I wanted to try the detail zoom.

Here’s Cato:


Rather then just the full sized pics from my "Give me a twirl” photoshoot, I did some tight crops to show off the parts I want. Think it came out OK.

I like the blue borders a lot more. Can you do the name in a gold gradient as that's possibly more of an ultra mainstay? Or is it my marine fu is weak

 GrimDork wrote:
I like the blue borders a lot more. Can you do the name in a gold gradient as that's possibly more of an ultra mainstay? Or is it my marine fu is weak

White and Gold are the main accent colors I use for them. The text is just the same settings I first stumbled on. I should probably try to find a better, more interesting font, and I think you are right about going for gold.

In painting progress I think I’m done with the legs on the dread. Probably need to do some edgeing, as I’m trying that out on the 30k minis, but going to wait till the end for that. Next step is to glue him to the base and do his torso. I was holding him by the upper body while I worked on the legs, but I didn’t want the base so I could get easier access to his lower half. If I glue the base on now, I can just hold that for the rest of the time. His arms are also progressing, just finished the gold trim. Next stop is the second blue coat and then a little weathering. Not sure if I’m going to stress the AsC, as getting all the barrels to look right strikes me as very hard.

Put the shade layer on the Lt. He needs an edgeing pass and a touchup, then he’s done. I know the white studs on his shoulder need cleaning, those always end up a little sloppy. Plus his freehand.


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This will probably auto-append, but someone might post before I’m done typing.



Fuzzy picture time! I really need to learn to use my camera better. I did watch a few more of the lecture series I borrowed. Still on the basics and non-applicable stuff, but informative.

To compare freehand work, here are some RT era fists with work on them older them some of you reading this:


At the very least my linework on the quartering is a lot cleaner, and the coats are smoother. Not sure the start is any better, but the U is a bit cleaner. Of course, I used a pen this time. But now that I think about it, I may have before. I know I used one in the past, but was not happy with the results. Might have been me putting to much force on it, or the paint not flowing right. I just remember not being happy with it.

Your blog just keeps on getting better and better. More Ultras, more Captains and more/new photos. Absolutely love it.

Love the quartered shoulder pad, good job on the freehand!

Thanks guys.

Almost done with the Lt. And going to put him on hold for a while. Guess what I forgot to do? Clean and prime an age appropriate backpack. Woops. But here he is:

Ahh, nothing light a tight zoom to show the flaws. I know I say that a lot. I did do some edge highlighting, but it doesn’t really show up.

And because part of the reason for painting him was to compare with my older work, a pair of obsolete officers, their ranks eliminated from the chapter:


To wrap up this post, a WIP of the dread. He’s plugging along.

Clearly significant progress there Nev.

Old, not obsolete.

Gitsplitta wrote:Clearly significant progress there Nev.

Stormwall wrote:Old, not obsolete.

I’m quite happy with him, and my progress. And while old, I do think the Lt. Commander is one of my better works from the time. Did they revisit any of the old RT ranks in the HH stuff? Curious if there is any chance of these guys being able to formally take their proper place in the command structure.

Some painting progress:

Got all the base colors down, and the brown wash on the relevant bits. Need to drybrush the blacks with a layer of silver, paint a few of the hoses, then clean up the blues and wash that. Started on the lower arm of the powerfist, and weathering on the MM.

The dread is drying, basically done. Need to do a little final assembly, and touch ups. Maybe a little edging. Plus the base. On track for the end of the month. Which will put me 12 for 12 for entering Para’s monthly competition. On that note, I’ve finished assembling my retrospective pictures. Not this month yet, as he’s still a WIP.

March: Space Marine
April: Veteran
May: Fast and Furious
June: Some Kind of Monster
July: Sneaky
August: Rise of the Machines
September: Never Tell Me the Odds
October: Trick or Treat
November: Princes of the Universe
December: Open Category
January: Up Close and Personal
February: Size Maters Not

That's some great didication there, well done!

I missed most of last summer, so I hadn't seen the June, July and August entries. The July Rangers are awesome, love the camo.

Some excellent stuff there, and what's more, a marked improvement across the year. Splendid stuff!

Cool work Nev.

And that’s a year folks!


Updated my last post with him.

Very nice summary Nev. Enjoyed it! And your new pic format is excellent.

Playing with the stitching together feature of the new photo program. First time I actually had to double-check file size, as Dakka wants us to keep it below 20 meg. This is 18. Spoiled for those of you on dial-up connections


Oh, and while I’m here: Para, I know you are reading this, I’m calling you out! As the only other person to complete an entry for every month, I want to see what you’ve got. Shop it together!

Love the dread, and the one-pic-to-rule-them-all is great! Any chance you can work the month they were doing into the picture?

 Nevelon wrote:

Oh, and while I’m here: Para, I know you are reading this, I’m calling you out! As the only other person to complete an entry for every month, I want to see what you’ve got. Shop it together!

I will at least put them all in one post. The issue is that a lot of the entries I now don't have to hand, so I've only got crappy pics to go on for now. I'll do me best though, the contrast between month 1 and 12 will be pretty stark, I imagine!

Dread looks fantastic!

Zambro wrote:Love the dread, and the one-pic-to-rule-them-all is great! Any chance you can work the month they were doing into the picture?

I’m not going to post the whole thing again, but I did add labels and upload a new copy

Paradigm wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:

Oh, and while I’m here: Para, I know you are reading this, I’m calling you out! As the only other person to complete an entry for every month, I want to see what you’ve got. Shop it together!

I will at least put them all in one post. The issue is that a lot of the entries I now don't have to hand, so I've only got crappy pics to go on for now. I'll do me best though, the contrast between month 1 and 12 will be pretty stark, I imagine!

Dread looks fantastic!

For the most part I just took the old pictures I had and worked with them. It was showing how my photography skills and setup improved along side my painting. Not that I didn’t have some out of focus stuff in the later months, but overall my picture quality went up. There are a few shots of things taken after the final entries of the comp. Some with extra paint, others just better lit.

But I was going to get everyone together for a group shot at the end, so here we go:

If people aren’t following the rumors on the new Deathwatch board game, there are some amazing new minis. Some of which I deeply covet. But not enough to pick up the box

I just wrote a post about why a foot chaplain is pretty much the worst option out of the ways to deploy them. Then hit the rumor thread and see young Ortan Cassus There is not enough drool in the world. I covet him in unhealthy ways, and I have zero need for another chaplain.

The IF dev with the frag cannon fills the heavy slot in my squad. I could use him.
The normal Ultramarine also could find a place in my squad.

After that I get a little fuzzy on who I need out of the box. If I want to be able to field them as a tac squad (one of my original goals) I already have a salamander with the incinerator and a DA with a c-plas for the sarge. The Iron Hand in the box has a c-melta, and looks awesome. But the rest of the guys I’m kinda so-so on.

If they put out 40k rules for a squad of these guys, everything could change. Or if they did a multi part box, as was in the rumors. But I can’t justify getting the box for the 3-4 guys I covet. If I cared about the cultists, maybe. If I played White Scars, that biker would also make it hard to pass up.

I guess I’ll actually have to venture into the swap zone, or <shudder> e-bay. Or more likely just do without. But there are some very nice minis coming out soon.

Nice stuff, excellent stick-to-it-ive-ness for the contest, good work all around.

Thanks. We’ll see if I can find something to paint every month for another year of contests.

And just so you don’t think I’m just pushing pictures around and woolgathering, some paint:


kb_lock started a thread for clearing stuff off workbenches. As part of that, I’m making an effort to paint some of the lurkers from the back. In this case, a chaos marauder. He’s going to get paint periodically while I work on other things. I’m going to try to maintain a background project while I work on other things. So he might not get done quickly, but he’ll be a WIP. And once he’s done, I’ll start something new.

I was trying to decide what to do now that I’ve finished the dread. The tag end of the month is always a little odd. I’ve finished my monthly challenge, but it’s too early to start the next one. What to do? I figured I should bang out at least one jetbike. So I just finished putting down the first coat of red on one of the old ones. No picture yet.

I’d on track for my yearly progress. I know we’re not done with February yet, but time flies when you aren’t paying attention. TDA captain, RT Lt., Jetseer, Dread. 2 foot, one bike, one vehicle. That’s 8 model equivalents. Even a space elf in there.

Done:


He’s fine for a rank and file guy who’s probably never going to see play. Could have tidied up a few more spots, but at the end of the day, he’s just a lowly mook.

And the bike is basically done. Need to do it’s stripe, but I want to make sure the paint has plenty of time to dry first. So will probably put that down in a day or so. Started work on the riders. Figured I bang 3 out at the same time. Wow are those guys ugly. But they need to be done.

That's one less piece of plastic in the backlog... Good for you!

The riders are really, really ugly. That was the main reason I went with Spellcrow bits for them. It's a good job their rules more than make up for their looks.

Way back at the start of this blog I had thoughts of cutting up guardians and making new riders. Unfortunately, that level of modification would have required more work and skill then I posses. So ugly riders it is. On the bright side, the new guys look cool. Shame I bought 3 boxes of the old ones...


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Good news everybody! Looks like I’ve got a game lined up tomorrow. Fun twist though: He want to try 30k. So after a little digging and upgrading Battlescibe to have the proper data, here’s what I put together. While everything is not 100% heresy approved, it’s pretty WYSWYG, and painted.

++ Legiones Astartes: Crusade Army List (Age of Darkness) (2000pts) ++


No idea how well it’s going to play out, but should be interesting to see. Going to go grab it from the shelf and get a pack pick. Although can still swap things around.


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And the picture:

First the B@C box.... Now you're playing 30k... Should be expect some resin soon??

The list definately has a 30k feel to it. Lots of marines. Good luck!

 Zambro wrote:
First the B@C box.... Now you're playing 30k... Should be expect some resin soon??

The list definately has a 30k feel to it. Lots of marines. Good luck!

The budget is not there for FW stuff, so don’t expect to see any resin. The closest I’m likely to come is to put together some 40k kits to represent 30k units. And even that’s not going to happen any time soon.

Although once I get to striping some of the old RTB01 guys, we might see a legion heavy support squad with all MLs. There is also the off chance that instead of building the last 10 Mk IV guys from my BaC box as a tac squad, I might do something odd with them. I’d need to look at what I could build with the parts I have on hand or could easily trade for.

Game was fun. I kept forgetting a lot of details. Mostly the fact that I had things like artificer armor on sergeants. We actually had very similar lists. Big HQ with a paragon blade backed up by a command squad in a LR (even matching apothocaries) Pride of the Legion, so two vet tacs in rhinos. He had two dreads, a quad mortar, and a sniper squad. I had a pred, named dread, and a wad of assault marines with a chaplain.
Here’s deployment. Rolled up purge, so killpoint primary.

Just of the right is my LR, dread, and second rhino.

He goes first, and gets a lucky immobilize on my dread, and glaces a HP of my rhino on that side. The quad mortar starts blowing chunks out of my assault squad. That thing is nasty.
On my turn my LR imobilizes itself trying to get over the wall it was behind. So I’ve got a quarter of my army static in the corner. Wonderful. My rhinos move out, trying to provide some cover for the AMs.

Most of the troops end up killing each other in the middle. I popped his LR with a LC shot from my immobilized one, and it looked like a showdown was imminent. But as my praetor finished polishing off the last of one of his tac sqauds (helped by the AM sarge, the last member of his squad) I did a quick kill tally, noting that it was turn 5. I used my consolidation move to fall back, breaking away from the final fight.

Just like an Ultramarine to cooly evaluate the battle, and break off, rather then go for personal glory. After all, all the prides of both legions had already taken heavy casualties. Victory for the XIIIth, 5-7. He had killed both my vet tac squads, my chaplain, and one rhino. I also killed both his vet tacs, one rhino, one dread, and had first blood and linebreaker.

Things to note:
Quad mortars are nasty.
I need to remember the wargear I bought. Artificer armor in odd places, not used to so many 2+s.
I wish my 40k preds had 4 shots ACs
Should have risked the DS with the AMs. They were brutal in CC, but getting across the table was rough. This should not have been news.
I was light on AV. Honestly wasn’t expecting so much armor. And there could have been more.
The basic gear on 30k guys is quite nice. BP and CCW were everywhere. Might have just been the vet heavy force. Not used to it.
Make sure the table is a little more balanced. There was more or less a wall of difficult ground across my side of the table. Nice for cover, bad for axles.