If you can wait 5 minutes I will make you some.

Just a quicky, is there no way you can work some of thses into your army, they look like they would fit perfectly...

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/270/377728.page

That's a very generous offer Cam, but I already have two brilliant pieces of yours sitting around, waiting to be painted. I couldn't possibly ask you to do another without addressing the earlier work first.

I did go out last night and do some more investigation on a number of models and came up goose-eggs. Finding the right type of creatures in the right scale has proven to be a nearly impossible task. So, I gave up. Went to Wal-Mart and picked up a bag of styrene balls and some goo that's supposed to fill in and smooth out the foam. So I'll be making my own killer tomatoes. And I was right, my wife does approve of the idea.



On the fun side... Played a game yesterday, first time in a long time. Really fun. Didn't get nearly enough turns done in spite of trying to hold myself to a strict 15-minute time limit (that went down the tubes the turn I had 4 assaults). Took a bunch of rubbish pics. No idea why my phone camera has so many issues... it's supposed to be good but in my hands it's total crap. Pics do tell the story though so I'll post them here... kind of a mini bat-rep.

Since I had the day off, I arrived early and took my time setting up the table. Our gaming club invested in some new laser-cut terrain & since I knew my opponent was bringing Eldar, I thought I'd treat him by making an Eldar themed battlefield. He brought a footdar army with an aspect host and healthy amount of guardians. I brought my chaos army with a few important tweaks which I will mention as they become relevant. My two main goals (after having fun) were to play as quickly and efficiently as humanly possible, and see how my list tweaks worked.



One the pristine world if Shinarra all was peaceful and quiet. The eldar world held all the sylvan beauty you might expect, with graceful shrines, altars and monuments gracing an open glade. It is not that this world had never seen strife, evidence of past conflicts was still visible in the forms of old ruined buildings and barricades. Yet for many decades things had been calm, and gentle nature had once again settled over the valley. There was no indication that this pristine place was about to become a battleground between the eldar and the most vile forces imaginable.

Eldar vs. Chaos Demons w/CMS allies
1850 pts
Maelstrom - tactical escalation (you draw cards equal to the game turn)
Hammer-and-Anvil deployment

Here's the table after deployment.

Chaos: My forces are on the right. Some tactical considerations... My witch is my main summoner and one thing she can do is summon in other heralds (which in-turn can be summoners) but she needs something to sacrifice to do that. I parked a small squad of otherwise useless cultists along with the witch so she'd have plenty of summoning fodder. The GUO, while intimidating is stupidly slow. So I parked him as far forward in the center as possible in order to give him a functional threat bubble. I also gave him one spell (the primaris) out of the summoning group (malific demonology) so that if there just wasn't anything for him to do, he could summon a unit in a more forward position (as opposed to my witch who's always in the back). This proved to be a critically important choice almost immediately as the game went on. Tom had a several powerful units that would be deep striking or outflanking, so I wanted a strong reserve (not kept in reserve, just units that stayed home). The flamers w/ witch and Dracula's unit (raptors) fit the bill nicely as they each could project power 18-24". The rest of the army was to move forward quickly and hope the summoned units could help fill the gap. I opted to give Dracula some much better wargear (a demon axe) and raptors as escorts as I just think they're so much more flexible as a unit, especially with the addition of 2 melta guns and a lightning claw champion.
Eldar: The 3 large blobs of infantry stretching across the table from the stone tower down are guardian squads. They're back by thread-spinner artillery and 3 vypers. His farseer and warlock council are by the tower in the lower left. The white blob infiltrated forward on the bottom are actually a nasty group of striking scorpions. Everything else (warp spiders, swooping hawks & war walkers) are in reserve.

Here's Cthulhu's first official deployment behind an Eldar monument.


Turn 1: Pretty uneventful. Eldar go first and kill two of their own guys with scattering EML & artillery fire. Harmless but very funny. Of course I have no guns so I just blaze forward. Wolves and demon prince scream down the lightly defended right flank, zombies move into the large wood to grab an objective and Cthulhu plods forward 6". At this point he realizes that he's facing 3 different units on his own and better get some help. He summons in a unit of bloodletters which he places between himself and two of the eldar units (see pic below). Yay me, giving him one summoning power was useful!

Turn 2: The Eldar get busy. All of their reserves come in at basically the same spot, my left deployment zone. A group of 3 war walkers outflank and try to shoot some nurglings off an objective. Good luck with that. A large group of swooping hawks drop in, their pie-plated does nothing. They also try to shoot up the flamers & luckily only kill one. In the front... the eldar are peeing their pants a bit at the sight of 10 bloodletters and what they might do in assault. A large unit of Guardians at center table opens up on them, wiping them out. HOWEVER... if those bloodletters weren't there, that same unit would have opened up on my wolves & skulltaker, greatly reducing their combat effectiveness at the least. So again... 'speriment #1 worked out well for me.

But.... then this happened...

Yep. Warp Spiders handed Cthulhu his arse in one shooting phase. Such is life.

My half of Turn 2, it was time for a little payback and my earlier strategic planning really paid off. In spite of just losing my 300 point model and war lord... if things went well I *should* be able to shift everything around & put out the fires in my back-field.

Let's start on the right side. My demon prince came out of flight and landed on the big stone tower that you see in the upper-left of the original table photo. There was just enough room to drop him in without getting him an inch away from the eldar ranger unit up there. So my DP is now safely ensconced in the eldar deployment zone in a tower near an objective with a 2+ cover save. He's probably good to go. The wolves and skulltaker make a 90-degree turn to the left and smash into the large unit of guardians that just took down the bloodletters. They wipe them out and are able to consolidate onto the cover of the central platform and claim the objective there.


On my front left, the large group of zombies (plague bearers) shambles out of the woods and smashes into the guardians over there, killing 7 and putting them to flight.


On my rear left, Dracula and his raptors move out of their cover and slaughter the swooping hawks in assault (after meltaing a couple first). Demon axe yields 5 extra attacks (so experiment #2 & #3 seemed to work). Note my raptors aren't built yet, so I borrowed some assault marines from the store's army to represent them.


Finally in my right rear, the flamers & herald jumped towards center board where the warp spiders had gone and killed all but a few. So the idea of keeping two small but potent units in reserve worked out nicely.

We played out turn 3, but nothing really significant happened for either of us. With the eldar alpha-strike now under control and the two big guardian units either destroyed or put-to-flight... it looked like a chaos victory would be inevitable (and we ran out of time as I had to go collect the kids from school). Some lucky rolls on multi-point maelstrom cards had me solidly in the lead points-wise in spite of giving up first blood and slay-the-warlord.

It was a really fun game. Tom is just a great guy & has come a long way in learning how to play his army quickly. He certainly has some killer units. There was a big unit of striking scorpions on my left flank that I was really worried about, but they were never quite able to get into the action (it just kept flowing around them just out of reach). I was delighted that my list modifications and tactics seemed pretty sound, and I really did do everything I could to play quickly and efficiently.

Thanks for reading guys. There will be progress on the big Demon today!

Thanks for the bat rep, Cthulhu and the army in general just look awesome on the table

What is the plan for the Raptors / are they up after the big demon? To be honest I can't remember the models you were using for them, the stock Raptors or something else?

Looks like a fun game.

While getting play sped up is a great goal, recognize that not all game turns are created equal. The mid game, when things are getting mixed up and ugly is going to take significantly longer then the early maneuvering and the late mop up. So don’t feel bad if they run a little long.

That is brilliantly silly. Loads of fun.

Did you make the pumpkins or get them from somewhere?

@RiTides: The Raptors are Raptors that will be painted as stone to resemble (hopefully) gargoyles. They need to be done by next weekend so you'll see them soon.

@Nev: Good point, and very applicable to our game yesterday.

@Elblondino: Thank you! They're from Secret Weapon Miniatures.

Nice one cheers for that will take a look. Keep up the good work :-)

Another great read, nice rep, glad the army is working well!

I'm a bit late (man, your topics grow sooooo fast o_O) but I wanted to say that I really like the swamp thing you posted 3 or 4 pages ago.

I realized that the raptors needed to be my top priority as they are required before next Saturday's tournament. Built 4 of 5 today. Missing the wings on the last one (they're on their way) but I might go ahead and paint the batch anyway as I think I could easily add the wings later on.

Pics tomorrow.

Lovely battle rep, impressive to be able to take out shooty Eldar with demons.

Thanks for the bat rep Gitz, looks like your play style is getting quicker. I think the more you play the army the less time it will take between turns. Can't wait to see the raptors, are you still painting them up as granite gargoyles?

Mymearan wrote:Lovely battle rep, impressive to be able to take out shooty Eldar with demons.

Thanks Mymearan, I'm sure some of that is due to the Eldar being a new army for Tom. He asked me for some advice on his play and I had a couple of minor suggestions, but by-and-large I thought he did well. He didn't have a lot of long-range shooting because of the figures he owns. I'm sure a lot of my success was due to the fact that he couldn't gun me down from across the table as a more traditional army would have been able to do. I'm certain our next meeting will be much tougher.

Yorkright wrote: Thanks for the bat rep Gitz, looks like your play style is getting quicker. I think the more you play the army the less time it will take between turns. Can't wait to see the raptors, are you still painting them up as granite gargoyles?

Yes, they're built and primed and I'm just about to do some basic airbrushing. Hope to have something to show you tonight.

Good to see a daemon victory Git's the chaos gods will be pleased.

Looking forward to seeing the Raptors.

Thanks for batrep. Very enjoyable.

Was telling my wife of your glorious army. She had a couple very good suggestions i have to pass on. Apologies if anyone already came up with these.

Invisible men. Just base with foot prints.

And she asks how can you possibly not have Igor?

@Cam: Those are both excellent ideas that MY wife would approve of. For the invisible man/men... it's a matter of what to call them in the army. For igor, it's a matter of the right figure in the right scale (which has turned out to be a MAJOR challenge all the way through this army) and finding an excuse to field him (i.e. what would he be in my dex?).


Progress on the gargoyles/raptors. Just the basic gradient laid down here... haven't done anything to make them look like stone yet. I have both a "come at me bro" pose and a "don't taze me bro" pose! Really hoping the last set of wings arrives tomorrow.



Didn't get more work done as Thing 2 wanted to play 40k. Had a fun game against his nids.
Table setup:


First deployment of the scarecrows/pink horrors. Only problem was I had NO idea what the heck they do! Anyone have any advice?


Even Cthulhu got into the act! First, by helping to take out a trygon prime... then by getting stuck in with a bunch of raveners.


He was doing about 4 wounds a round... but with the fearless raveners, he would be tarpitted for at least two complete turns.


In the end Thing 2 emerged victorious... 10 pts to 9 pts!

Looks like it was a fun game. 'Nids are painted gorgeously, and close games are always the most enjoyable for both players.

Thanks KK. I agree, close games are the most fun.

The sharp-eyed will notice that this is my first attempt at using the resin rings produced by Secret Weapon Miniatures (?) to expand 25mm bases to the new 32mm standard. They work, but they take a bit of effort to fit properly as the inner gap is often too large and you end up with a significant gap between the original base and the ring. Don't think I'll be in a hurry to do this for all my marines anytime soon.

Gargoyles are looking good.

Looks like you had a great game, thanks for sharing.

EDC

Pink horrors can be used for summoning, camping and I believe have a ranged attack. The raptors are looking good, and 2 batreps in a row. You are spoiling us. ;-D

I've had my morning coffee today Git Battle reports were a lot of fun to read. The horrors look amazing on the table. Gargoyles is a great way to represent the Warp Talons. One of my favorite midevil mythological creatures are Gargoyles. They'll be awesome when they are completed!

This is what I've figured out about pink horrors (having looked at the dex & asking a question of YMDC). In effect, they represent collectively a L1 psycher with access to the malefic and tzeench lists of spells & come knowing the tzeench primaris. They have no ranged attack other than what their psychics give them. And yeah... they look cool.

Hardly a batrep... just a couple of glamor shots really, but glad you enjoyed it. Some other highlights from the game that didn't get a photo... The headless horseman decapitated a Tervigon (which, you know... is pretty darn cool) & a group of plague bearers actually killed a Trygon Prime outright (which is also pretty darn cool). Thing 2 rolled badly on his saving throws and did not appreciate losing both pristine TPs in a single turn of assault. Having that plague banner give 1 phase of 2+ poison can be a really big boost, especially on a charge where you're getting all those extra attacks.

@Spacewolverine: Unfortunately I'm actually running the as raptors rather than warp talons. I love the figures and the warp talon rules are very cool. Problem is that the warp talons are classified as "demons", which means my chaos champion could not join the unit... defeating the whole purpose of having them in the first place.


I have a game tonight at one of the local clubs... we'll see how that goes. Here's hoping for the best!

What happened to partially wound all those bugs around cthulu? (I assume that’s what the dice are for) Normally you designate one mini as the closest one and hand out wounds until he is dead. There are a few ways to evenly distribute wounds, mostly over various turns/phases. Don’t want you getting cheated!

Looks like a fun game was had!

That's what the squad looked like after being shot once followed by two different assault phases... so shooting wounded one guy. Then the assault would kill 1 and leave another with 1 wound. The next assault phase went exactly the same way, killing 1 leaving another wounded. So at the time the pic was taken, there were two dead raveners and 3 gimpy ones (all taking a single wound from a different turn or phase).

What we couldn't remember was if you have wounded models in assault, and they take more wounds later (say in the next turn), do the wounded models have to take the new wounds first, or can you put them on unwounded models as long as they are in base-to-base?

Looking swish Gits!

Having played against Tzeentch and as Tzeentch, I find that horrors only really did three things:
1. Added dice to my psychic pool
2. Captured rear objectives
3. Died horribly as soon as someone looked at them

For added interest, if you boost them up by one model from the base amount you get an extra dice to the psychic pool, very handy when you have 3 squads of them, six dice really do help.

Don't Pink Horrors split into 2 Blue Horrors when killed?

In the fluff, yes. From a game perspective this is represented by a stack of tokens for each pink horror killed, at the end of the fight phase, your opponent takes a S2, AP- hit for each token (i.e. nothing significant).

Granite finish completed. At first glance they just look grey, but actually there's blue, pink and brown in there as well as several shades of grey.



And this is step 3, adding in some cracks (thanks for the suggestion Nerdy!). Only have two out of five done as this process takes a while, but once this step is finished it gets much easier.

I really love these guys, the subtle variations in colour are so the more believable.

Very nice, the different colours give them some nice tonal variation.

EDC

Very nice stone treatment. The details show up nicely with this technique. I think they need a eye color.

Granite treatment looks good and Solar, I think he will be adding a few detail colors - I think (red?) eyes, and a few other red glowing bits would fit in very nicely.

Thanks guys. They are by no means done. I still need to add glowing effects for the two melta gunners (glowing red palms on one hand), lightening claw sergeant (the guy shown in the close-up) and indeed... glowing eyes all-round. I am confident now that these gents will be ready to go by Saturday, which was a big worry as they're pretty important to giving the new-and-improved Dracula a chance to do his thing. I am a bit worried that the wings for the last guy haven't shown up yet. I do have other (very old-style) wings I can use in the interim, but I'd rather not waste painting time on a stop-gap measure if I can avoid it.

Had a game Monday night vs. a very competitive White Scars list. Got curb-stomped... but I think this was principally due to the fact that I allowed his list to intimidate me & made some bad decisions early that cost me dearly. If I'd made better decisions in turn 1 (basically... trust my army) I might have made a pretty good go of it.

What was the WS list ?

Gargoyles look rock solid!

@SL: 3 units of podding grav cents with librarius conclave in support & 4 units of podding marines.

@Nev: I see what you did there...

Love the cracked effect Gits!

Thanks Azalle!


Well, if anyone is interested, here is my current "competitive" 1850 list.

Chaos Demon CAD
HQ: GUO, L3 psycher, 2 greater rewards, 1 lesser
HQ: Skulltaker
HQ: Herald of Tzeench, L3 psycher
HQ: Exalted flamer of Tzeench
EL(?): 3 flamers of Tzeench
TP: 3x 3 nurglings
TP: 18 plague bearers w/ plague banner
FA: 9 hounds of Khorne
HV: demon prince, L3 psycher, 2 greater rewards, 1 lesser

Chaos SM Allies
HQ: champion, jump pack, demon axe, gift of mutation, melta bombs
TP: 10 cultists
FA: 5 raptors, 2 melta, Srg w/ lightening claws & MB

Summoning List
10 plague bearers
10 pink horrors
3 flamers of Tzeench
Herald of Tzeench
Herald of Khorne
GUO (at the moment will use Frankenstein's Dreadnought to represent this)

I clearly need more things to summon in. Often I can use casualties (hounds, nurglings, plague bearers, etc.). I have two more heralds and a bloodthirster that need painting and of course the giant bats (screamers) and killer tomatoes (juggernauts) which haven't arrived or been built yet. Once I get those painted up I think I'll be set! I also have my chaos spawn which can serve as alternate escorts for the chaos champion (or just an extra unit) & 20 more cultists.

As designed, I have 4 beat sticks... two with escort, 4 units of good objective campers & a summoning group that also has a bit of punch. I just need to learn how to use it better & under a variety of different circumstances.

I love the list . Those zombies (especially the one with the sign!) worked out perfect as plague bearers.

Summoning was kind of genius on GW's part... means you have to build and paint MOAR . It's neat for this list too, though, because it lets you bring things that might not otherwise make it into the list!

What model did you end up deciding on for the juggers, I don't know if I saw that anywhere?

I'm going to try and scratch-build some killer tomatoes. It's that fails... I'll beg Cam for help.

My friend that is one of local architects of this list suggested a greater demon of Slaanesh as a summoning option. In thinking about the model for this, I think I can get a really nice medusa model that would be appropriately sized. The whole "beauty corrupted" thing really works for me as far as Slannesh is concerned. GW makes a "bloodwrack medusa" for fantasy that looks like it might do the trick.

Raptor-gargoyles are coming along great, good job there! Cracks are a good addition too.

Isn´t there a joke about so many shades of grey around them somewhere?

And absolutely yes to a Medusa! (Modelling/painting only, can't say from the gaming PoV).

I think using a medusa as a greater daemon of slaanesh is an inspired idea.

The Gargoyle/Raptors have come together really well. The cracks are a very good addition.

Gargoyles/Raptors WIP4. Really starting to sweat the fact that the last set of wings hasn't shown up yet. You can see the sergeant w/ lightning claws and two "meltas" pretty clearly I think.

Looking good Gitz, they will make a great addition to Dracula's CC power and can pop open vehicles so he can eat the tasty morsels inside.

I hope so. They're just assault marines when it gets down to it, so they aren't very durable... but I'm hoping They'll be flexible enough, mobile enough and easy enough to hide that they're able to have some impact (beyond just absorbing wounds for Dracula).

I'll post close-ups of each figure tonight after they're done.

Love the use of color to show upgrades, while keeping the squad's look intact.

Wow, those are look really great! Will fit in with the army really well imo, your painting has done a fantastic job of tying them in

If the last set of wings don't show up, I think you could just use the model without them for now. Were they shipping from the east coast / in the path of the blizzard?

Also, will you occasionally be running Dracula with the Spawn, since they're more durable? This unit is perfect for him but just curious from a gameplay standpoint.

Thanks guys.

@RiTides: Yeah, the wings are coming from a US-based bits dealer that I've dealt with off e-bay many times before. Perhaps I'm just getting antsy. The one guy will be fine wingless for the tournament this weekend & I'll just make him the first casualty.

It's been an interesting internal conversation as I've debated what to do for Dracula's escort... especially now that I've invested the points in "The Axe of Blind Fury" which just makes him a beast. The Things are an excellent unit to be sure, but they are rather one-dimensional (and they aren't cheap). I wanted something with a little ranged anti-vehicle punch, as well as something that could operate independently. The raptors are a little stronger considering these factors with the inclusion of the two melta guns and the lightening claw sergeant. I really like the way Dracula looks with the raptors too. They (by design) visually go together well.

I'm certainly NOT giving up on The Things. In fact I've built two more that I'll be sending to Ramos for painting. That will allow me to either use them as a Dracula escort, or give them enough depth to operate on their own. Fast, assault threats are the name of the game with this army, and being able to add another unit of same would be very helpful.

You going to do the same fall pumpkin baseing with those guys as the rest of the army? Looking at those clawed toes, I can see one impaling a jack-o-lantern with an “Oh No!” look on his face.

Good lighting effect on the eyes and as " guns". Well done!

Sorry to shoot this idea out of nowhere, but how about some leprechauns . Scary little blighters. Either that or little dolls (Chuckie, bride of chuckie, all of chuckies cousins .

@Nev: Yes, though the pumpkins are usually reserved for the unit commanders or ICs. We'll see.

@SL: I'm reasonably happy with them. I brightened up the glow on the melta one on the left last night before going to bed. I also applied the flock this morning so finishing them tonight should be a simple wash & applying foliage, etc.

@Theo: As what? (Meaning what would they represent?)

 Gitsplitta wrote:

@Theo: As what? (Meaning what would they represent?)

No idea, they just popped into my head as scary monster types.

Agreed on the glowing effects, they're awesome . Sounds like it's basically just basing to go!

Finally done!



Sergeant:


Meltas:



Stock:




And a surprise... quickie paint job on some giant bats to be my screamers!


Wouldn't be a proper tournament if I wasn't getting ready for it at 2 AM...

Nice idea for the 'meltas' on the gargoyles.

EDC

Nice new bats and pink hand melta (First guy) is amazing!

Good luck at the tournament!

Good luck at the tournament, and those gargoyles' eyes are beautiful!

The second melta model doesn't seem to have quite the same (amazing!) effect as the first, could it use a little more white or is it just a trick of the photo?

This squad absolutely blew my expectations away, they are awesome!!

Great job on the be-winged beasties. Looking great.

Have a good-un at the tourney.

Have fun storming the castle!

 Anpu-adom wrote:
Have fun storming the castle!

"You think it'll work?"

"It would take a miracle... Bye!"

Thank you so much for that reference.

;-)

Won the painting comp. Should have won game 1 but I couldn't make multiple 4" charges (I'm not exaggerating). Won game 2 vs. orks handily. Got wiped off the table by White Scars in game 3. (but then my very nice opponent and I went upstairs to the bar, he bought me a drink and we talked painting... that's a win in my book!) Picked up a box of DE wracks as my prize (just amazing figures). A friend suggested that I use them as demonettes inspired by the evil gits in the movie Hellraiser (thanks for the memory jog graven!). Food for thought!!

Good to hear that your hard work and dedication to the theme has paid off. Hellraiser, btw.

Love the raptors squad very nicely painted, congrats on best painted Git's

@graven: fixed it, thanks! Not somewhere I'd originally intended to go with the army, but I think the idea has merit.

@Gir: Thank you sir.


Well, I had a figure fall apart or break during every game, luckily they did survive the paint judging in-tact. First order of business this week will be to repair all the broken figures.

Still think I'll work on the bloodthirster next. It's a hole in my summoning list that needs filling.


Some thoughts on the tourney....
- I can't summon diddly. First two games I managed to only summon 2 units total in spite of throwing a ton of dice at it.
- Dracula with the Axe of Blind Fury is a GOD. He routinely killed entire units by himself.
- I'm still kind of here-nor-there with my tactics. Some games are better than others.
- Opponents were great, venue was too. Very interesting and unique format.

I didn't take any photos because you guys have seen my army over and over again. The white scars army I played last was really nice looking and very unorthodox, but since they'd gunned me off the table by turn 2, there wasn't much interesting to take pictures of.

 Gitsplitta wrote:

I didn't take any photos because you guys have seen my army over and over again. The white scars army I played last was really nice looking and very unorthodox, but since he'd gunned me off the table by turn 2, there wasn't much interesting to take pictures of.

You make it sound like seeing your army over and over again is a bad thing. One of my favorite things about this hobby is seeing well painted armies duking it out on the table. While I try to only play painted models, not everyone one is like that. So I enjoy living vicariously through others. Now I know you play with a beautifully painted force, so when you square off against another one, it’s your artistic duty to grab some pictures!

Pics or it didn’t happen!

I agree with Nev getting a chance to see your armies on the tabletop is a treat. Congrats on taking best painted army at the tournament.

Congrats on the painting award. But looking at the Gargoyles I can see why. They are truly stupendous figures and the use of colours for the melted and claws works so well.

My reward for a couple of hard months painting... I'll take it.

Well deserved. Congrats.

EDC

Congrats on another painting win. Well deserved!

Very, VERY well done!! Congrats on a well deserved win


A bit late chiming in on the Gargoyles, but I love the concept. The flecks of color work wonderfully to give the stonework a natural appearance, and the splashes of glowing color are inspired!! Perfect way to denote special loadouts- super easy to see at a glance.

You got an actual little statue? That’s pretty cool.

Well done!

I love this army, GIts. Congrats on the win!

Thanks guys, much appreciated! Once I get the broken bits re-assembled, I suppose it's time for a new army shot. Might be a good project for this evening.

@Ramos: Thanks my friend, your encouragement means the world to me. I wasn't sure how they were going to work out, but things turned out OK. None of my opponents seemed to have any issues remembering what was what as far as the units go, so I was very satisfied.

Spent most of yesterday building three large wooden boxes for Thing 2's science project. They're basically cat condos with different arrangements of the insides to see what the cats prefer. Fun working on building something with my son.

I think I'm going to have to take a little break from chaos so I can put some serious work in on the Emperor's Children my son will need for Adepticon. At least I need to make the list and get the figures built. However I might do something small... Lucy (bride of Dracula) or Van Helsing perhaps.

Preferences?

They Look great Gits! Well done with the melta idea!

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Some thoughts on the tourney....

- Dracula with the Axe of Blind Fury is a GOD. He routinely killed entire units by himself.

That is awesome to hear . He's such an integral part of the army (and having the CSM allies in the list) so it's great to hear he backs it up! Unlock the poor Contemptor

I think the Gargoyles + Dracula are my new favorite unit in the army, really awesome work!

I would like to see Lucy done first, Dracula always needed a gal pal in the movies. Looking forward to the Emperors Children, their Primarchs model is one my favorites.

Another vote for Lucy from me.

I really like that trophy, very cool.

Congrats on the win, well done!

And Lucy over Van Helsing for me too.

Group photo. I left out the bloodletters because half of them broke last weekend and the paint job isn't mine. I give up on them. If anyone has any of the old, metal bloodletters they'd be willing to part with, please let me know. The plastic ones just don't travel well. Added in the three painting/theme prizes the army has earned. What the heck.

Fantastic.

That army absolutely deserves the accolades. Well done!

Has to be one of the best armies ever. Nuff said.

Great looking horde of horror, Gits

- Salvage

That is seriously impressive, and the awards are well-deserved and hard-earned, given the effort that's evident here.

 Boss Salvage wrote:
Great looking horde of horror, Gits

It really is a horde, isn't it? So many huge units

Absolutely love it, but you more than deserve to treat yourself to a few heroes and/or big gribblies soon!

OH.... I have a big gribbly planned... doubt me not!

Then again, just making more of the small stuff could be nice- be able to have larger hordes on the table, be able to break it up into separate themed lists later, like Drak with a bunch of Skellies and Zombies and Bats or whatnot.

Got a wonderful gift from Cam today. Really amazing... my own, custom built, thematic Helldrake! This one is going to be a joy to paint and field! Pics are just from my camera so I apologize for the poor quality. The model is built to be consistent with the dimensions of a real helldrake so there shouldn't be any problems with the counts-as issue.

Thanks Cam, you're the best!

Hand built, Helldrake? Fantastic looking model Cam.

Every once in a while the brilliance of GW's sculptors and production process shines through. This is one of those times.

Next project... Blood Thirster!

Very nice sculpt. Should be a showpiece for sure.... The devils Due...

Thanks SL. When I was building him I wanted to make him seem as natural as possible in order to go along with the theme of the army so I left as much of the armor (and Khorne symbols) off as possible. Unfortunately his wings have chaos symbolism all over them, but there's nothing I can do about that except not accentuate them when I paint him.

Should be a fun project though... lots of airbrushing and I'm going to have to get creative with the base (adding lots of rocks) in order to help keep the figure stable on the tabletop. It's a well balanced sculpt, it's just so top-heavy that I think it would be wise to add some more oomph on the bottom.

I don't know why but he looks like he's going to chop a huge watermelon with that axe . Maybe make a giant pumpkin for him to Gallagher which should weigh down the base and tie them together.

Are you looking at a traditional color theme? Enlighten us with your boundless creativity. Nice to have such a large canvas.

@Theo: How about a giant pumpkin pie?

@SL: Yeah, I'm looking for a more traditional devil theme with him in order to stay consistent with the rest of the army and the mythology behind it. Reddish skin, black membranes on the wings.

Is he for summoning, or starting on the table? Just thinking about the base. You could array lit jack-o-lanterns into a summoning pentagram.

Or you could just add piles of pumpkins.

“We’ve secretly replaces this demon’s skulls with gourds, let’s see if he can tell the difference"

Both Nev, but probably more summoning than not. That's a really interesting idea (the pentagram).... I'll have to dwell on it.

This is going to be great.

Cant wait to see how it turns out plus I get a bonus of playing against Gits when he finishes.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Both Nev, but probably more summoning than not. That's a really interesting idea (the pentagram).... I'll have to dwell on it.

It's a great idea, and if you could do the lines connecting the pumpkins with the vines from them that would be amazing .

Now that the competition is over .. lets see some paint.

Helldrake and Thirster look like they'll fit the army perfectly!

 RiTides wrote:
Helldrake and Thirster look like they'll fit the army perfectly!

Yes .. both are unpainted as well.

Not really interesting to look at yet, but at least some progress to show.

Love where it's going. Will definitely be the centerpiece of the army!

Good to see you putting some paint to plastic.

ohh... shiny

Ooooh yeah. Solid.progress so far. Can't wait to see more.

EDC

Excellent start.. I look forward to having to deal with that sometime in the future. ~sigh~ yes that will be fun!

@SL: With luck, you'll see him tomorrow night! Unfortunately he won't be any more painted than he is right now... but I would like to try him out.

You guys will note that I've left all the armor off of him that I could. In keeping with the Halloween theme of the army, I wanted to make him look as "natural" a demon as I could.

Never realized until just now that the blood thirster looks so much like a goat with wings without the armor. Progress looks good. Did you ever finish the helldrake?

Haven't started it yet! That's the next demon project after this one!

 Gitsplitta wrote:
@SL: With luck, you'll see him tomorrow night! Unfortunately he won't be any more painted than he is right now... but I would like to try him out.

With luck I won't see him hit the table. With bad luck..nuff said!

yes.. Gits coming up tomorrow. His Demon army vs ?. Not had time to decide. Most likely one of us will take some action shots but not a battle report.

Nice job on the red, Gits'. Looks good.

Game last night with Git’s . His Demon List vs Gladius Marines. Here is a picture I believe at the back half of the 3rd turn.

As you can see I’ve put all my units in an effort in to taking out the Major beatsticks. I've managed to take out the hounds protecting Skulltaker but failed to stop him. Here he is after finishing off the scouts that were on the 2nd floor. He’ll go on to kill the Chaplin and remaining Dev in his phase.

His demon prince was formable. 2+ saves, Iron arm ect. He multi charged two RB and destroyed them both right after this shot was taken. I then poured everything I had into him that you see on the table with the exception of the Stormraven and one Stormtalon and did absolutely nothing. 5 meltas, over 30 bolters, 3 AC’s, 2 LC and 10 sniper shots. Ouch.


The SR and remaining ST tried to take out he GUO ( his leader though I had already lost in points. Pyrrhic victory?)
So I managed to only kill the Hounds, a summoned screamer unit and the Skeletons ( can’t remember what they were proxity for ).

Got some wounds on some of the major Demons, but could not seal the deal. The other causalities like the herald and a unit of nurglings were taken out by the Chaos storm rule that happens and the end of the turn. I can only imagine how much worse this would have gone if he didn't kill of these units for me.

Tough army to beat. Quantity doesn’t beat out quality in this match up. Definitely a good build. The Nurglings are nigh impossible in cover to destroy so getting them off objectives requires assets you can’t afford to take off the summoner’s or the major demon characters. The GUO didn’t play a big part for the points but is a great deterrent for cleaning backfield units. Once the major demonic Characters get to you its over. High Stats with powerful buffs ( both boon and Psychics) make them almost impossible to counter; especially without a beatstick of your own . Can’t imagine facing multiples. Luckily the herald got killed off. Can’t imagining adding a Bloodthurster in to the mix.

Ironically, I had a lot in my favor to start, won the deployment, first turn, deployed at the short table ends, all my reserves game in on turn 2. So I can’t say I lost due to chance. Just got beat. Thanks for the Game, it was challenging, educational and makes me glad I still have those Grey Knights!

Lastly this army looks even better in person than it does on the internet. Good show!

The outcome of this game still leaves me scratching my head... SL should have annihilated us (Yellowbeard was helping me play my demons). Not only did he have all the free vehicles, each upgraded with heavy weapons... but he had two devastator squads and the heavily armed 3-flyer formation (from the SM dex). Sooooo much heavy firepower and I didn't even get into assault with most of his army (not including the things that deep struck into my backfield) until turn 3.

Things of interest that made a difference...

1. My only summoner (Herald of Tzeench) was obliterated by the very first Winds of the Warp (?) roll, but at least she did summon in some screamers first.

2. My dice were well above average all game.

3. The demon price and GUO got "Iron Arm" and got it off every turn.

4. The demon price lived up to the fluff you read about for demons in the Black Library lore. He killed everything he touched and didn't take a single wound (which included a stretch of INSANE saving throw rolling in T5 I think).

5. GUO was down to half wounds and Skulltaker only had one left with no escort... so SL had definitely done a good job on the main characters aside from the DP. I'd also lost cultists, flesh hounds, screamers, the aforementioned herald and some nurglings... so SL accounted for himself well.

6. As you can see from the last pic above, we left the chaos lord's unit and the GUO in the backfield... which made it very difficult for SL to mount any kind of serious offensive. He had a crap-ton of heavy firepower... but if that didn't work, the demons' rear and flanks were pretty safe.

7. We had better luck on our maelstrom card draws than SL did. We controlled the same number of objectives for most of the game (3 each), we just drew our own numbers more often than he did.


Thanks for the game guys. I'm still confused as to how the end result came about. I thought we were going to get blasted off the table without ever making contact.

Here's a couple of additional pics from me...

Great to see you guys having fun, nice write ups, and great pics. Sorry SL, but Gits Chaos army is still too beautiful, just such a treat to see every time.

 Camkierhi wrote:
Great to see you guys having fun, nice write ups, and great pics. Sorry SL, but Gits Chaos army is still too beautiful, just such a treat to see every time.

OK then. You should be in for a treat with the BT greater demon.

I think the bloodthirster got crushed on the way home. I'm afraid to open the bag actually...

Oh no... Hopefully its not as bad as you think...

Thanks for the pics and report. I think Gitz has figured out the best daemon/csm list, or he used someones dice that were not his own. Last time I borrowed him mine he crushed me by turn 3.

Hope the damage isnt too bad for the BT.

Thirster is fine, unfortunately most of the other characters took some damage. Witch got it the worst, the others are just minor fixes.

Unholy crap, that blood thurster is epic!

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Thirster is fine, unfortunately most of the other characters took some damage. Witch got it the worst, the others are just minor fixes.

I always assume something is going to be damaged every time I take my army out. Normally just a backpack or an arm falls off. I think I either had a bad batch of superglue early on, or just the poor skills of my younger self. But it has left me with a very relaxed view on damage. It happens, I fix it, move on.

Happens a lot less these days. Either all the bad glue/skills has broke, and been fixed by the more talented/better equipped me once already, or I just take better care of my things. A good case does help a lot. Love my KR.

Out of curiosity, how do you take your armies to the game? You have a lot of awesome custom work, seems like it would be hard to pack safely.

Nice to see them on the table. That’s where minis belong!

ok.. Time to get some update before your following decides to convert your shrine to a memorial.

at least get us a army shot or some color swatches.

Doing what I can to help.

It would appear You (gits) have gone to your usual summer hiatus. No worries. Would be nice to see some pics or mini batrep. But it is cool, we will wait impatiently.

It's all the fault of Pokemon GO , I too have been corrupted .

I was just reminded how cool your headless horseman is, I had to do a double check. He stands out so well on the table.

Dammit, when I saw unread posts I was expecting and update.

:(

EDC

I know it's old news. But in regard to transporting armies I have a custom case for each and everyone of my armies. Once I finish one I make the foam inserts and then a timber/aluminium box with straps and locks and I know with reasonable confidence they will survive just about any transporting.

For armies as unique as yours may be the best way forward.

Hey guys, thanks for hanging with me. I just have so much trouble getting motivated in the summer. I have a lot of time off (usually) too... but I just can't bring myself to paint. This year has been an exception through. We're at half staff at work, but the three of us who are left are still doing the work of six people. By the time I come home I'm drained mentally & physically.

I just got home from perhaps the worst week (as far as job duties) that I'll have for the rest of the summer. Neighbor boys are over goofing off with Thing 2 so there's not much opportunity for relaxation. Been thinking about my big demon a lot lately and have concocted a plan to advance it a bit (I was kind of stuck). With luck, I'll have a wee bit of progress to post later on tonight.

Again, thank you all for sticking with me. Seeing comments on my blog does put a smile on my face.

I know what you mean about being drained. #4 has been treating us to double night feedings and a 4:30 am wake-up call. On top of running 1-3 to all of their summer activities. I can't bring myself to paint. Assembly is a different story though.
I can't wait to see what you do with that large demon.

Well, nothing tonight... though I did repair several broken figures. However, I have been talking with Nerdfest about what to do with certain vexing aspects of the figure. He's given me some good ideas which will hopefully come to fruition soon.

Something I like to do to get motivated is look at other people's completed armies or success stories. Maybe have a look at JamesY's Crimson Fists 1st company that he painted in about a month. Or (dare I say it) look at some of the armies in the White Dwarf magazines. Just looking at something finished inspired me to do the same, and even if my painting isn't as good it still GOT me painting.

Sorry if it sounds a bit preachy but that's just my thoughts.

I appreciate it WD, no problem.

Don't forget you game with YB this Thursday. .

Have already sent a PM to YB... hope he gets it.


I did actually pick up a paintbrush the other night and start fiddling with the leather straps on the demon. I decided trying to rush through it, even though I have a horribly long "to do" list is just patently unsatisfying. Unfortunately as I was fiddling with the straps, I've noticed some rather obvious mold lines on the body that are going to have to be dealt with. It may require a major enough repair for a complete re-paint... Not what I was hoping for on a model I'm struggling with already.

Bummer with the mold lines, I feel your pain. Difficult with some models, it is just that moment that you don't feel it. Come back to it, try something smaller, could be it is just too daunting right now, but once your in the run of it, look how quick you did that lizard a while ago!

I am struggling at mo, myself, but seeing you guys painting amazing models keeps me going.

I think the tables have turned Cam. YOU'RE the one providing inspiration to others now!

Sometimes I have to just push through to get going again . Sit down and just get going. Especially on repetitive stuff. I do just a little at a time. Soon I see I've made progress and I get excited to see it completed.

Like all the plates on the 3 other IK's.. making progress is slow but at least it's progress.

Maybe a good game Thursday will fire you up.

I haven't heard back from YB yet... you might give him a poke if you have another way to contact him. Would like to make sure we have our ducks in a row.

Happy birthday to you and WhaleMusic.

Happy birthday old chum (&WM&SL2 )

Yes... July 27th... a day which will live in INFAMY. (on Dakka at least)

Happy birthday one and all it seems, many happy returns.

Happy Bday!

LOL wyfox! Thanks guys. I'll take any year I can get.

Happy Birthday, Everyone. Have a drink for me.

Happy birthday Gits!

Happy Birthday Gits!!! Hope your day is special and filled with friends family and war hammer

Happy birthday Gits.

Happy Birthday.

Getting old might not be fun, but it beats the alternative...

Thanks gang! Indeed it does Nev...

Ok.. time to get on with that Bloodthurster golden demon entry!

The leaves are turning, the morning air is getting crisp, Fall is upon us!

Any plans for an expansion here? Bit over a month until Halloween...

Happy Birthday,
Did that diabolical wife give you a challenge like last year? A new October is right around the corner and I'm sure we can dream up a few more conversions for this army...

Actually, you guys are right on. October is Halloween army month!

The smell of Bloodthirster in the air...

Whoo!

Greetings and salutations gentle-peeps!

It is OCTOBER and that can only mean one thing.... the Halloween army is BACK baby!

I have one month to complete several projects for the army....


1x blood thirster with the "D".... time to get my butt in gear and finish it!
20x old metal blood letters because the plastic ones look great but are far too fragile to be useful.
At least 1 of the special characters I have left to do: classic wolfman, Lucy (bride of Dracula) or VanHelsing
1x big... scary... surprise...

Very excited about this project Gitz, good too see your going to put some paint to plastic, metal and resin again. In case we get a vote, I am rooting for Lucy.

I want to try a painting technique I've never tried before... so I'll probably have the character as the third project in the series. Whether I paint her or not will depend entirely on what quality I'm painting at & if I can actually find some brushes I don't hate by then.

Does the big scary surprise have a certain great... oldness to it?

I still want Killer Tomatoes!

Van Helsing should be a nice model for this month

@graven: Nope. Fairly recent model actually.

> blood thirster with the "D"

oh, it's one of *those* armies

"Family store mate, you can't use that in here"

Well, around here it's "go D or go home"...

There's enough knights running around that a BT with the D-axe isn't anything special.

Aheh, my avi is a Beavis & Butt-head character (twice removed), my mind was in the gutter :3

yasssssssss

 Solar_lion wrote:
The smell of Bloodthruster in the air...

Given that gem, I'd say your interpretation of "BT with the D" was pretty much spot on lindsay40k

I know I about snarfed my coffee.

 Wehrkind wrote:

 Solar_lion wrote:
The smell of Bloodthruster in the air...

I know I about snarfed my coffee.

I am so glad you caught that Wehr, and just as I sat down to my own coffee

- Salvage

~sigh~

So back to the Halloween surprise model? How about an update?

Sorry guys... first steps are pretty boring. A little bit of GSing to patch up some bad misalignments on the BT, and dumping the bloodletters in a vat of simple green. Didn't think either was worth taking photographs of. Should be some actual painting soon when the GS is cured on the big guy.

Yey the Halloween army is expanding..can't wait to see that Blood Thirster.

EDC

Looking forward to this year. I don't comment here lots, but I loved your stuff last time around. It was one of the fave things I remember from dakka in 2015.

Where for Art though Gits?

I believe he's still having Computer issues at home and like most of us mid-westerners we have a lot to do before the winter.

However, expect great things!,

Looking forward to it!

Sorry guys, almost no Dakka connectivity and mundane work piled high. Wish I could say it was fun... but it's not.

These things sometimes happen, they help makes us stronger!

Dragged out the demons and took on a friend's First Company marine army. Had just a wonderful time. Lost... but had a wonderful time. Thought I'd post a few of my favorite pics from the battle. I should be back to working on the D-thirster in a couple of days, so expect updates soon.

Nurglings charge into a full sternguard squad and hold them up for a turn or two!


Cthulhu (GUO) charges into some tactical terminators and kills 5 in the first turn of assault!


First Company battle line.


Terminator's-eye view of Cthulhu.


Assault terminators move to aid their brethren.


Things are looking grim for the Great Old One. Though he does kill 3 more tactical terminators.


And... yeah.... we knew this was coming.


One resolute hero survives to the end of the battle, refusing to go down to the attacks of goblins and zombies alike.

Looked like fun

Looks spectacular. Such a joy to see such lovely terrain and armies battling it out.

Cool pics. Really like the terminator view of Cthulhu

EDC

Looks like a great game. I too like the POV shot of Cthulhu.

It was a really fun game... and yeah, having nicely painted models and nice terrain *really* makes a difference. Not only for the photos but for my enjoyment of the game as it's going on.

Oh, indeed, having a fully finished table to game with is a great joy. D And it looks like it was an epic battle. Great Cthulhu shots.

Just wanted to prove that I am actually working on something. In looking at my D-thirster I noticed a number of gaps and mold-lines in very prominent places... so I had to go back and fill them in and/or file them off. Next step will be to re-paint the repairs, then move on to more painting. I'm struggling with this figure. The only reason I can come up with is that after customizing the whole army... painting a stock GW figure is just kind of boring, even though it's a fantastic figure. I'll keep pounding away at it though until I get it done.

Just think, when you are done painting him, you get to plant the mother of all pumpkin patches around his feet. That base is such a huge canvas to work with, and he’s only taking up a tiny part of it. It looks like he has the footprint of a basic trooper on a whole flight base.

Yes I really want to see that "mother of all pumpkin patches" too

Since he's a summoning element, and represents the devil in the theme. I suggest a pentagram ( pumpkins or flames or skull or Marine helmets ect .. )

That's actually where my mind was going as well SL. I'll have to put some thought into my design as I'm finishing up the paint work on the model proper...

We are assured to be amazed!

I'd love to know more specifically what you're planning as you think it through, that really does look like an opportunity to make this centerpiece model even more in-theme

Pie.
Pumpkin pie.
The D Thirster should be standing over a giant pumpkin pie summoning circle, complete with a crust and some whipped topping...
Or I'm hungry.

Well, I'd planned to have him over a pentagram of some sort. Originally I was right there with SL that it should be some kind of pumpkin patch using jack-o-lanterns and vines to make up the summoning area, however the fact that he's got all these flames attached to his lower leg complicates that visual. I think I could remove the flames entirely if I wanted, which would really throw the basing options wide open.

Thoughts?

You could do the pentagram in pumpkins and vines, with most of it your normal baseing scheme.

But the inner pentagon you do do as a flaming gateway to the underworld, from which the demon is from. Or at least burned and scorched heavily.

Maybe with a jack-o-lantern on it’s back with flames shooting out of it’s eyes, or ones on the inner points who’ve blown their tops and are emitting flames.

The flames at the base of the model might be a bit too big for a cracked open jack o lantern. Perhaps a circle of jack o lanterns around a fire in the center of the pentagram. Then possibly pumpkins at each corner as Nev said, with the vines making the outline of the pentagram or following the outline of it. My 2 cents worth.

I wonder if you could re-purpose TheEyeOfNight's demon portal system, with the 2 mirrors, and make a gaping hole into the table, with the demon standing on a spire of rock or the edge?

Not sure what you're talking about Anvildude, can you provide a link?

Aw man, the pumpkin pentagram will look totally boss!

It must be done!

EDC

Here ya go.

It was for an old League of Extraordinary Riveters Terrain Competition.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The picture's a link to the gallery, btw.

Cool, thanks Anvil!

I may need to do a necron one of those endless portals. That would make for a heck of a display board centerpiece.

I really like the idea of the burned center of the pentagram with pumpkins all around it (maybe a few the worse for wear that were too close!) but wouldn't say no to a vine-based pentagram made of pumpkins, either

Well, I have a bit of time to mull it over. I want to get the figure painted first so I know what kind of colors I need to play with in the basing. Great ideas here guys... thanks for giving me a lot to think about.

Public Service Announcement

Hello friends!

This missive is to let you know that for the time being, my 5 P&M blogs (Mantis Warriors, Bad Moon Orks, AdMech, Halloween themed Chaos and 30k EC) will have all their updates appearing on a single blog (my “Rebuilding the Mantis Warriors” blog… which will get a new name). Why? With my interests so scattered across multiple armies and terrain & the fact that I’m just not painting at the hundreds of figures a year rate that I used to… I’m not making enough quality posts to keep 5 different blogs going. I’ve got a few die-hard friends and supporters that still post… but not enough to build or maintain the community that has always been the strongpoint of my threads in the past.

If my circumstances change and I start painting enough to warrant re-opening one of the specialist threads, I’ll do so... they aren’t closed, just inactive. In the meantime, as of today (Feb 11th, 2017) I’ll be making all of my P&M posts (for all armies) on what has always been my “home” on DakkaDakka, my Mantis Warrior thread. I hope you’ll join me there for the latest updates!
Here’s the link: Gitsplitta's Unified Painting Theory

Thanks!
Gits