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Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Amazing battle shots, love the special effects in them
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Some great photos there Riddle.

Cheers,

CB

   
Made in us
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets





Houston, TX

So I finally have a bit of new progress to share.







You may be wondering what a big piece of artillery is doing in a drop troops army. I bought it specifically for a campaign scenario where I was defending a walled city. I figured a city should have some big guns for defenses. Unfortunately, I didn't get it built and painted in time for said battle. (I will post a few photos of the city defense scenario at some point.) So I guess it will be ready for the next time they are defending. It has applicable rules in the Age of Darkness Imperial Militia rules when I play Horus Heresy, but obviously not for the Taros Campaign Drop Troops rules for 40k.

I still need to finish converting some crew.

Xhorik 87th Drop Troops P&M blog https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775655.page

Project log and campaign featuring Orks, Imperial Guard, Marines, Tyranids: http://www.xhorikwar.blogspot.com/
Currently focused on our Horus Heresy campaign with White Scars, Death Guard and Imperial Militia.  
   
Made in ca
Grisly Ghost Ark Driver






That is one serious howitzer!

See what's on my painting table Now painting: Necron Warriors 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Very nicely done- machine-metal grubby without being drenched in dirt (a failing of mine)- great piece!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Nice Riddle.

Cheers,

CB

   
Made in us
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets





Houston, TX

Just a few photos from a Kill Team game featuring the Xhorik 87th Drop Troopers vs Genestealers.
Full battle report is on the blog:
https://xhorikwar.blogspot.com/2019/06/kill-team-battle-report-drop-troops-vs.html

The mission was for the Genestealers to consume the brain of the Lieutenant and assimilate his DNA.


The Drop Troopers fan out and form a defensive ring around their leader.


The men coordinate their fire to neutralize several of the aliens before they can reach close combat.


On the ground, one trooper ducks behind a ladder for cover as the Genestealer reaches through and around the ladder for him.


Even in melee, the men hold their own against the Genestealers (unlike 40k where they would have easily been ripped to shreds in one round!).


In the end, the coordination and numbers of the Drop Troops prove enough to eliminate the fast and fearless Genestealers.


A surprising win for the Drop Troopers but my opponent and I were both just getting used to the rules for Kill Team (we didn't even use any cards or specialists, just base rules) so there were some regrets by both sides, such as my opponent realizing he should have taken the improved armor save for his 'stealers. Plus, the mission was advantageous to the Guard as all I had to do was keep my leader alive and the onus was on the Genestealers to advance into my gun line; it could have been different if I had to advance on him! This was a really fun little skirmish because I think Imperial Guard vs Tyranids is one of the best rivalries in the setting; it is the classic sci-fi theme of the regular man vs the monsters of space, the unknown, the alien. Good fun and I look forward to the next match.


Xhorik 87th Drop Troops P&M blog https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775655.page

Project log and campaign featuring Orks, Imperial Guard, Marines, Tyranids: http://www.xhorikwar.blogspot.com/
Currently focused on our Horus Heresy campaign with White Scars, Death Guard and Imperial Militia.  
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Great pics and Kill Team is a lot of fun, because every model really matters. And the games are short enough to do funny and cinematic stuff, that you might not try out otherwise.
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Riddle,

Wow, Guardsmen beating Genestealers in close combat. Who would have thought.

Nice photos of two painted forces and painted terrain. What we all should aspire to.

Cheers,

CB

   
Made in us
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets





Houston, TX

Viterbi wrote:Amazing battle shots, love the special effects in them


Thanks, Viterbi. We stole the idea from Gordy2000 and some of the fantastic reports his group does. It makes the reports come alive a bit more.

Captain Brown wrote:Some great photos there Riddle.

Cheers,

CB


Thanks for checking them out, CB.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:That is one serious howitzer!


Gwyn, appreciate the comment. It would have been really helpful to have those S10 pie plates for the city gate defense mission, but it wasn't done in time...

Meer_Cat wrote:Very nicely done- machine-metal grubby without being drenched in dirt (a failing of mine)- great piece!


Meer_Cat, thanks. I have been playing around with different weathering techniques. I'm trying to not go as heavy as I do for the orks, where everything is rusty. If I remember right, I applied a heavy dry brush of metal over black. Then washed it with a mix of brown and black wash. Then applied some rust effects pretty sparingly only in the recesses. And applied some black soot/smoke effects on the end of the barrel from the firing. Then just a small amount of weathering powder dirt on the wheels.

Captain Brown wrote:Nice Riddle.

Cheers,

CB




Viterbi wrote:Great pics and Kill Team is a lot of fun, because every model really matters. And the games are short enough to do funny and cinematic stuff, that you might not try out otherwise.


Viterbi, thanks. We haven't played too many games of it yet. I like the small armies, dense terrain, and fast action. I was a little surprised at how difficult it is to kill anything in close combat. Genestealers would easily rip through whole squads of guardsmen in 40k but it is just a lot harder to kill anything in Kill Team. Some of our games of Space Marines vs Space Marines get downright frustrating at the difficulty in taking out a model with anything except special or heavy weapons.

Captain Brown wrote:Riddle,

Wow, Guardsmen beating Genestealers in close combat. Who would have thought.

Nice photos of two painted forces and painted terrain. What we all should aspire to.

Cheers,

CB


Thanks, Cap. I am a pretty slow painter. And I paint to play the game (but not competitively), not for display. So I love to get photos of the games and I will mix them in with photos of newly-painted models on the blog. That is what the hobby is all about for me: friendly games with my brothers and friends with painted armies and terrain.


Finally, I have some new models to show. This unit is a bit of a step away from the core concept. These are urban fighters for the next phase of our campaign, which will take place in a city.







I am happy with the conversions and I think the paint scheme turned out well. I kept the same brown and black colors as my Drop Troopers along with the blue lenses and the orange regimental color, but changed the tan/brown scheme of the fatigues and armor to a grey scheme to better fit with the urban surroundings. The bases are a mix of a colors used on the Drop Troopers (to help tie them in) along with grey building rubble to show they are urban fighters. I wanted them to fit in with the rest of the army despite being camouflaged for a different environment.

Unfortunately, I had a problem with the primer and they came out quite grainy. This has been happening to me a lot lately. I actually scrubbed them down with Purple Power to remove some of the worst of it and re-primed them but you can see they still have a pretty rough appearance. Oh well. I will just move on and try to do better next time.

These guys were built to use the rules for a Militia Recon Squad from the Horus Heresy Imperial Militia list: shotguns and a sergeant with a breacher charge. I picture they were used for putting down rebellions and cults and the occasional ork kommandos infiltrators before the Heresy. Now they will use their detailed knowledge of the city to act in a recon role. With shotguns (probably the worst weapon for guardsmen, I doubt they will ever kill a single space marine, but maybe they can stay out of sight and grab an objective or hit a back line unit with a breacher charge. I doubt they will ever be useful but they look fun, which is my main motivation.

I see one or two details I forgot to paint now that I am looking at the pictures. After that, they need Dullcote and then gloss finish on the lenses and they will be done.

Thanks for looking. Comments welcome.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/03/27 11:29:37


Xhorik 87th Drop Troops P&M blog https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775655.page

Project log and campaign featuring Orks, Imperial Guard, Marines, Tyranids: http://www.xhorikwar.blogspot.com/
Currently focused on our Horus Heresy campaign with White Scars, Death Guard and Imperial Militia.  
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka





6 foot underwater

Great stuff here. Always loved the Elysians, nice to see a full force of them. Good work bringing the Anvil stuff into the fold too.

cyborks & flyboyz : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/300067.page
heretical ramblings : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/302773.page
imperial preachings : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/303365.page
Da Waaagh-ky Races : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/325045.page
Briancj: You have the Mek Taint, MT, and the only thing we can do is watch in horror/amazement.

 
   
Made in gb
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought






Cool urban recon unit Riddle. I love the orange stripe your guys have

Goberts Gubbins - P&M Blog, started with Oldhammer, often Blackstone Fortress and Void Panther Marines, with side projects along the way 
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Nice conversions Riddle.

Cheers,

CB

   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






 The Riddle of Steel wrote:


Viterbi wrote:Great pics and Kill Team is a lot of fun, because every model really matters. And the games are short enough to do funny and cinematic stuff, that you might not try out otherwise.


Viterbi, thanks. We haven't played too many games of it yet. I like the small armies, dense terrain, and fast action. I was a little surprised at how difficult it is to kill anything in close combat. Genestealers would easily rip through whole squads of guardsmen in 40k but it is just a lot harder to kill anything in Kill Team. Some of our games of Space Marines vs Space Marines get downright frustrating at the difficulty in taking out a model with anything except special or heavy weapons.


Yeah, close combat can be frustrating (my sister of battle fighting a hormagaunt over four rounds, no one landing a killing blow), but also real fun, if a guardsman kills something, he would never kill in 40k. Two of them on my AM roster have, one killed two (!) orks in H2H in one game (admittedly my friend forgot, that one model had 2 wounds, but still) and the other a Harlequin. They are now known as George Orcslayer and Ringo Aelfslayer and got an orc skull and a harlequin masque on them to show their merits

New squad is looking really good, but only the first pic is visible for me, the rest doesn't load.
   
Made in us
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets





Houston, TX

monkeytroll wrote:Great stuff here. Always loved the Elysians, nice to see a full force of them. Good work bringing the Anvil stuff into the fold too.


Thanks, Monkey. I also love the Elysian models and I see I haven't posted any in a while because of the work on some Anvil models, the artillery and then these guys. I am working on a piece of terrain at the moment and then I will start painting an Elysian command squad I just built.

gobert wrote:Cool urban recon unit Riddle. I love the orange stripe your guys have


Appreciate it. The orange may not be a great idea from a camouflage standpoint but it adds a sci-fi feel and helps tie them in with the rest of the army, despite their significantly different paint scheme.

Captain Brown wrote:Nice conversions Riddle.

Cheers,

CB


Thanks, CB. They use bits from Maxmini, Anvil, Puppetswar, and a few Elysian bits and other 40k guardsmen bits.

Viterbi wrote:
 The Riddle of Steel wrote:


Viterbi wrote:Great pics and Kill Team is a lot of fun, because every model really matters. And the games are short enough to do funny and cinematic stuff, that you might not try out otherwise.


Viterbi, thanks. We haven't played too many games of it yet. I like the small armies, dense terrain, and fast action. I was a little surprised at how difficult it is to kill anything in close combat. Genestealers would easily rip through whole squads of guardsmen in 40k but it is just a lot harder to kill anything in Kill Team. Some of our games of Space Marines vs Space Marines get downright frustrating at the difficulty in taking out a model with anything except special or heavy weapons.


Yeah, close combat can be frustrating (my sister of battle fighting a hormagaunt over four rounds, no one landing a killing blow), but also real fun, if a guardsman kills something, he would never kill in 40k. Two of them on my AM roster have, one killed two (!) orks in H2H in one game (admittedly my friend forgot, that one model had 2 wounds, but still) and the other a Harlequin. They are now known as George Orcslayer and Ringo Aelfslayer and got an orc skull and a harlequin masque on them to show their merits

New squad is looking really good, but only the first pic is visible for me, the rest doesn't load.


I appreciate you pointing out that the other pictures did not load. I have had issues with linking photos directly from Google Photos on here. I changed the links to my blog, which usually seems to work better. Hopefully you can see them now!

Xhorik 87th Drop Troops P&M blog https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775655.page

Project log and campaign featuring Orks, Imperial Guard, Marines, Tyranids: http://www.xhorikwar.blogspot.com/
Currently focused on our Horus Heresy campaign with White Scars, Death Guard and Imperial Militia.  
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




This is a great looking army, the headswaps really improve the look of the Elysians.

   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






 The Riddle of Steel wrote:


I appreciate you pointing out that the other pictures did not load. I have had issues with linking photos directly from Google Photos on here. I changed the links to my blog, which usually seems to work better. Hopefully you can see them now!


They are working now, thanks! Really love your army and the color scheme, always a joy when you post something new here!
   
Made in us
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets





Houston, TX

fingol23 wrote:This is a great looking army, the headswaps really improve the look of the Elysians.


Thanks. I really like the dynamism and realism of the Elysian models but I never thought the heads looked "sci-fi" enough. I also wasn't super happy with the bull-pup lascarbines (despite the realism of the short barrels for paratroopers) so I beefed those up as well. Glad you like it.

Viterbi wrote:
 The Riddle of Steel wrote:


I appreciate you pointing out that the other pictures did not load. I have had issues with linking photos directly from Google Photos on here. I changed the links to my blog, which usually seems to work better. Hopefully you can see them now!


They are working now, thanks! Really love your army and the color scheme, always a joy when you post something new here!


I appreciate the kind words and feedback.

This post is something a little different. I built a piece of terrain out of a cardboard Amazon box, some cross-stitch mesh, plastic strips and bits from the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue and a few others. As I was building it, I thought the garage doors looked like the perfect size for Tauros assault vehicles so I decided it would be a Tauros garage. I painted it with some similar colors to my drop troops so it would fit in a desert or urban battle field. Since it is a Tauros garage for the Drop Troopers, I figured I would post it on here.













The walls looked really plain so I gave it a little more weathering than I initially planned. It looks beat up for a military installation, maybe more like a run-down civilian building, but since the environment on Xhorik Prime is pretty harsh, most things would be rusted, corroded and dirty.

I know it has been a long time since I posted any actual Elysians on here but I promise more are coming soon. I just built a platoon command squad and they are getting some paint and will be deploying to the blog shortly!


Xhorik 87th Drop Troops P&M blog https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775655.page

Project log and campaign featuring Orks, Imperial Guard, Marines, Tyranids: http://www.xhorikwar.blogspot.com/
Currently focused on our Horus Heresy campaign with White Scars, Death Guard and Imperial Militia.  
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






That building looks great, the right amount of neglect and weathering in my eyes.
Saw this terrain sprue a few times now used on Dakka, it is really cool. Would be great, if this existed for fantasy too.
   
Made in gb
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought






Really cool building, you’d never guess it was a box form Amazon! Surely it need a strip of Orange somewhere to tie in completely with your Elysians

Goberts Gubbins - P&M Blog, started with Oldhammer, often Blackstone Fortress and Void Panther Marines, with side projects along the way 
   
Made in us
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets





Houston, TX

Viterbi wrote:That building looks great, the right amount of neglect and weathering in my eyes.
Saw this terrain sprue a few times now used on Dakka, it is really cool. Would be great, if this existed for fantasy too.

Thanks, Viterbi. I really like it since it lets you turn any box or canister into a quick building and some of the pieces are quite versatile (such as the ladder/railing). I don't think I have seen anything quite like it for fantasy (although I have not looked). The Dakka site managers made this one for their game, Galaxy's Edge. If there is enough demand, maybe you can convince them to make one more suited for fantasy.

gobert wrote:Really cool building, you’d never guess it was a box form Amazon! Surely it need a strip of Orange somewhere to tie in completely with your Elysians

Thanks, Gobert. That is a good idea to add the orange. The only orange I managed to fit in is on the warning labels on the barrels. Maybe I should look for a way to add a stripe to the building somewhere.


Even though I have painted a few various things for this army, it has been a long time since I painted any actual converted Elysian Drop Troops models. The last ones were the melta gunners. It felt good to get back to working on the core models for the army, even if they are very time-consuming to build. The fatigues are so deep and textured, it makes them fun to wash and highlight and I like the effect.

I'm happy with the way the lieutenant/platoon commander came out with his gas mask, officer's hat and power fist (Strength 6 - watch out!). Unlike the Force Commander this guy has a grav chute, as he makes the jumps right alongside his men, and is normally the first one out of the Valkyrie. In games using the Drop Troops rules, the entire platoon will either deep strike together or start on the table together.

I added a few more grenade launcher guys in order to have enough to equip the bodyguard in an Imperial Auxilia platoon command squad since there is no other use for them in that army list. They are not a great weapon against Space Marines since they cannot pierce power armor and they struggle to even glance Rhinos but they have style and you get a bunch of them with the Elysian infantry sprues so may as well use them.

The Auxilia command squad includes a standard bearer so I took the opportunity to paint one up. It does not seem very practical for a drop trooper to jump out of a Valkyrie with a banner pole, which is why they are not part of the regular Elysian Drop Troops list. I'm not crazy about the banner since the orange bird reminds me somewhat of a rooster... but orange is the regimental color. I thought about doing the bird white and the rope orange but that would look too much like the Imperial Aquila and not distinct enough. I do like the way the bone color fabric looks and the orange bird is growing on me. It has personality, at least.

I also had to paint a rifleman to make up for stealing a vox operator from my 20-man infantry squad (and you can never have too many basic riflemen).

I also took one of my vox operators and added a simple conversion I have seen others do to extend the antennae with a bit of wire. It is now a lot easier to spot the vox in the squad and it looks cooler. He will be part of this command squad. The vox caster allows deep striking units to land nearby without scattering and it allows artillery with indirect fire to draw line of sight from this unit to help reduce scatter if the artillery doesn't have direct line of sight. (He is not new so he is only in the last pic of the platoon command squad as it will look on the table.)

The lighting and glare are a bit harsh in the photos, especially the last one, so the colors look off, but they are the same as the rest of the army.

The five new models I painted: two grenade launchers, rifleman, standard bearer and lieutenant with power fist:


They are just as loaded with packs, canteens, knives, ammo clips, and grenades as the rest of the drop troopers. They all have grav chutes like the rest of the platoon so they can deploy together:


Head-on shot so you can see the banner. Look out - it's the Rooster Regiment!


Finally, the platoon command squad as it will look on the table, using the Imperial Auxilia rules in Horus Heresy. I can add a medic or additional grenade launchers, if I want to paint more up. You can see the extended antennae on the vox operator in this one:


This was also a good chance to get a picture of some troops in front of the Tauros garage so you can get a better idea of the scale of it. Now I just need a name for the Lieutenant and a nickname for the platoon.

Xhorik 87th Drop Troops P&M blog https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775655.page

Project log and campaign featuring Orks, Imperial Guard, Marines, Tyranids: http://www.xhorikwar.blogspot.com/
Currently focused on our Horus Heresy campaign with White Scars, Death Guard and Imperial Militia.  
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




Those look great! Rest assured the banner makes me think of a phoenix rather than a rooster.

   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka





6 foot underwater

All looking sharp!

That's not any old rooster son...that's the Imperial Rooster!

cyborks & flyboyz : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/300067.page
heretical ramblings : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/302773.page
imperial preachings : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/303365.page
Da Waaagh-ky Races : http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/325045.page
Briancj: You have the Mek Taint, MT, and the only thing we can do is watch in horror/amazement.

 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Platoon looks great and the banner is probably held together by some contraction when dropping down and opens up once the trooper hits the ground
   
Made in se
Resentful Grot With a Plan






The troopers look great, I'm also a fan of the orange banner bird. We're used to the stylised aquilas of the 40k universe, but this one looks more complex and historical, like a Prussian banner. Who wouldn't want to jump out of a valkyrie with a banner like that?

   
Made in gb
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought






Yeah it definitely has a more historical feel to the banner, but it looks good. I reckon Viterbi is right that if folds up in to a little pack somewhere then pops out when they turn of the grav chute

Goberts Gubbins - P&M Blog, started with Oldhammer, often Blackstone Fortress and Void Panther Marines, with side projects along the way 
   
Made in us
Spawn of Chaos




New Jersey

I just found this thread and all of these models look awesome.

Hydra Dominatus! 
   
Made in us
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets





Houston, TX

Wow, sorry for the long hiatus. I’ve been working on a few other things lately.

Not strictly a Drop Troops related, but here’s a piece of terrain I built for our big year-end 4000 point battle featuring my Drop Troops as one of the four factions.







It is made from two large peanut cans, cardboard tubes, Mechanicus terrain, a few LEGO bits, the grill from an old XBox, and other bits from the box. I needed a tall central piece of terrain for the armies to fight over in order to fly their banner from a commanding point. More photos will be coming soon, such as a few battle report action shots.

Happy New Year!


Xhorik 87th Drop Troops P&M blog https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775655.page

Project log and campaign featuring Orks, Imperial Guard, Marines, Tyranids: http://www.xhorikwar.blogspot.com/
Currently focused on our Horus Heresy campaign with White Scars, Death Guard and Imperial Militia.  
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Welcome back and cool terrain piece, love the combination of terrain kits and scratchbuilt.
Already excited for the battle shots!
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Great Drop Trooper force and wonderful scratch Build Riddle.

Cheers,

CB

   
 
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