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This blog was originally created to covers progress for my Imperial Guard army, the Ragnarok 1st "Einherjar" Regiment. As of 2015, now also covers my Eldar army, Craftworld Tian-Bing and Dogs of War army, Solland's Ghosts. As of 2017, Kingdom Death : Monster became a major new project that I've been working on. And of course, I also share miscellaneous hobby such as Gunpla, Flames of War and other scale models are included here as well -- basically anything that I spent hobby time on.
PROJECTS
Kingdom Death : Monster
Late 2012, I backed the original Kingdom Death : Monster KS, but held off on actually building the pinup girls, then core game. When the 1.5 KS was announced, I ended up selling my 1.0 box to fund a hefty upgrade to 1.5. Mid-October, 2017, I received my Kingdom Death : Monster 1.5 core game box, and started building.
As of mid-2018, progress is coming along pretty well, with all of the Core Narrative Survivors built:
Aside from the Phoenix, all of the Monsters are built, along with the Core Narrative Survivors, the Green Knight Armor Expansion Survivors, and the Echoes of Death Survivors. And of course, I've built a couple pinups. I've got the basic plastic built, but have yet to start gap-filling and painting. I also have a number original Expansions that I will be getting to, once I get Survivor storage "problem" squared away.
As of 2022, the Phoenix is built! So many little hands. LOL Still waiting for the Gambler's Chest to arrive, though...
Tian-Bing is a militantly resurgent Craftworld, whereupon Aspect Shrines predominate and all Craftworlders are expected to traverse the paths of the Warrior several times over. Tian-Bing works to recover Maiden Worlds against Imperial and other forces, sending large numbers of Rangers offworld to discover and scout such worlds. Like any large Craftworld, Tian-Bing fields Ghost Warriors in major engagements, Wraithknight spearheading massed Wraithlords. Tian-Bing also possesses a limited numbers of grav tanks and war walkers for additional fire support.
On the tabletop, this means I can generally field multiples of nearly anything in the Codex, including many of the more exotic formations; however, my tastes lies with the 2E Goodwin-sculpted Aspect Warriors which overwhelmingly dominate my Craftworld forces. Latest inventory in 2015 has me at an excessive 300+ Eldar models, 95+% foot-sloggers.
In 2019, work here was put on hold, as I should actually reduce the army. I simply didn't need huge masses of secondhand Aspects that I will never get around to repainting. *sigh*
Ragnarok, on the far fringes of the Imperium, is orbited by the Forge Moon Nibelungenwerke. Ragnarok is a temperate world, with lush, fast-growing vegetation covering much of the available landmass. The people of Ragnarok are industrious and hardy, practical and efficient. The Ruling Houses in the Hive are generally competent, as failure is punished with public, permanent consequences. Nibelungenwerke is fortunate in having a STC core that provides effective basic weaponry and systems; however, several of the more advanced elements are either missing; corrupted and unusable; beyond the abilities of the Tech Adepts to implement; or simply too resources-intensive to acquire and prepare. Nevertheless, Knight Titans and Grand Knight Titans are possible, albeit expensive.
From a practical standpoint, this means that I have an entire world to raise my Regiment from, and they can have pretty much anything that I care to build or convert. My tastes run toward late-WW2 German armor, and conversions abound. Late 2014 inventory has force level at 150 infantry and 25 armor. Closing out 2018, I've somehow grown things to 190 infantry (Imperial Guard & Stormtroopers), plus a dozen Hive Gang Militia, excluding Inquisition forces and Sisters. *sigh*
In 2019, I set out to complete assembly of the metal stuff, and basically completed that of mid-January, aside from a few things that need to be pinned. Later this year, I'll get the new stuff primed and basecoated.
As of 2022, I've thinned the herd and sold the excess. The Baneblade that I had intended to build as a custom Shadowsword ended up being built as a custom Baneblade with a removable superstructure, so I could always swap it for a custom Shadowsword insert.
"Solland's Ghosts" Dogs of War
Solland was the southernmost Empire province before being overrun by Orcs. Homeland lost, many Sollanden became mercenary soldiers of fortune, working with former countrymen and recruiting other outcasts as Dogs of War throughout the Old World. They are not a large force, but well-varied with Pike, Crossbow and Cavalry at the core, supplemented by duellists, halflings, and dark elves; they even call upon exotic dragonriders and giantmasters.
I am a big fan of the high Gothic elements in Fantasy, and have a number of substitutions, such as Familiars for Halflings and Dark Elves for Crossbowmen. Beyond some mundane conversions for my General, Paymistress, and Wizard, I also have converted Keepers of Secrets for Giants of Albion, and converted non-Winged Nightmares for Golfag's Ogres.
In 2019, pushed to complete assembly of my Dogs of War, assembling Leopold's Leopard Company (22), more pikemen for Ricco's Republican Guard (+11), rebasing a couple excess Wizards as Inquisition henchmen. I started conversion of the Nightmares into Golfag and another Ogre, and got both playable. I still have 4 pikemen to build with repaired pikes for my Republican Guard, along with a Dragonrider before the army is done, but the bulk of the army is well and truly done. "Final" inventory and comes to something like 3500-4000 pts..
Wissenland / Nuln Empire
Having Empire as my other Warhammer Fantasy army, it counterpoints my ex-Sollanden Dogs of War. My Empire forces naturally come from Wissenland, which eventually absorbed the ruins of Solland, and it's Elector status within the Empire. Fortunately, Wissenland includes Nuln for the Artillery I've had since WFB6 released, along with plenty of gunpowder for all of the Handgunners I built in 2019.
In 2019, I finally got my Empire army planned out. It's deliberately distinct from my Dogs of War, so Handgunners or Archers, NO Crossbows; Halberdiers, Swordsmen, or Free Company, NO Spearmen. Cavalry & Artillery, but NO Monsters, so NO Pegasus, NO Dragon. Warrior Priests & Greatswords, but minimal Magic. I got the bitz sorted, and began assembly: 36 Handgunners and 20 Halberdiers completed.
As of 2022, it will be a Wissenland / Nuln army. There are a couple dozen WiP models TBD: Halberds and Militia. Also to rehab the cavalry: as the Knights Encarmine use a Tilean mounted dual-sword fighting technique, they're a natural 'count as' Knights of the White Wolf.
KOGlight is a 1/144 tactical battle game for armored "Knight Operations Gear" battlesuit mecha. It's an ultralight-weight hyper-streamlined wargame that uses Heavy Gear miniatures to simulate near future battles in Eastern Europe. Rules development started in 2015 and "finished" in 2017. If you're sick of overcomplicated wargames with 100s of pages of rules, check it out!
This message was edited 82 times. Last update was at 2022/02/21 09:51:30
Progress has been spotty, as it appears I took more than a little time off from reporting what little progress I'd made. Nevertheless...
2014 progress
As noted, when I originally opened this blog back in 2009, I had been working at my Imperial Guard off and on a decade, before giving up in a huff. In 2014, I realized that Imperial Guard had become my primary playing army, supplanting my Eldar, so it was time to get things playable and basecoated. That summer, I built, primed and basecoated a large mass (roughly 100) of Guardsmen to get them bulk painted and technically playable - that was very satisfying. I'll worry about painting camo later (yeah, I really dug myself into a hole here).
2015 progress
Over the course of the year, I've been getting my Shadowsword squared away - this is a conversion that I've been mulling for ages, and I'm quite excited over how it's turning out. It's a much lower-profile vehicle than standard build, with better-sloped armor. Temporarily on hold due to Codex: Eldar having some very shiny stuff. But still plugging away with rear track guards & covers.
More recently, I got and converted up an Eldar Wraithknight for the Summer "Apocalypse" game. Given that I'm not sculpting, just working with the bitz in the box, I think it turned out quite well. The actual game was a lot of fun, and I like the new Eldar Codex.
With Age of Sigmar out, I'm switching over to Dogs of War as we return to Fantasy after a 4+ year hiatus. First up on the plate is getting Leopold's Leopard Company playable! Then, to reorganize the storage boxes into something more sensible and orderly.
With the long-awaited arrival of Kingdom Death : Monster, it'll be time to build some very fancy minis!
2016 progress
This year, I did a little more work on the Shadowsword...
I finally built my share of Flames of War, reducing the content in the Closet of Shame. The German stuff that I've been tasked to build looks pretty good, totally reasonable for 1/100 scale, and the game itself works OK!
In 2017, I'd not done much modeling work at all, due to continued work on rules development and actually playing. However, with the release of Kingdom Death : Monster, I've restarted production and built several models! I built a cybertank from on Ogre Minatures.
For 2018, I mostly worked on Kingdom Death : Monster to assemble:
* Intimacy Couple Survivors (2) from the Core game,
* Screaming Antelope, King's Hand & Watcher from the Core game,
* White Speaker, Twilight Knight & Dragon Sacrifice
* Green Knight Armor expansion set (2)
* Echoes of Death set (4)
I also built a RMS Titanic with my son, and did a bit of 3-D modeling of a drone racercar in TinkerCAD. To close out the year, I did a little work on my Heavy Gear CEF models for KOG light, and assembled the sponsons for my IG Shadowsword conversion.
2019 progress
In 2019, I set about cleaning up my metals, starting with my Imperial Guard. I assembled the vast bulk of the unbuilt metal Imperial Guard, =Inquisition=, Sisters of Battle and Necromunda models, aside for a few models that would require pinning. In getting things squared away, I inventoried my Imperial army and found it grew to 200-odd Guardsmen / Stormtroopers / Gangers / Spyrers backed by 40-odd Sisters & Inquisition; however, selling various unbuilt model kits actually brought the total points value down by a fair bit.
In 2019, I stepped away from miniatures and refocused on other pursuits, placing the blog on indefinite hiatus. I continued to sell things that future me wasn't likely to get around to dealing with.
2020 & 2021 hiatus
During 2020 and 2021, I continued to work on other things, and sold off even more future projects that I deemed unlikely to work on. At some point, I finally finished the long-running intended Shadowsword conversion as a Baneblade variant using what was left in the box.
2022 return
In 2022, I've come back, and am building GIANT ROBOTS!
Expect updates to be spotty and limited.
This message was edited 24 times. Last update was at 2022/02/13 01:13:45
This year (2009), my primary gaming resolution is to complete buying, building, and painting my Imperial Guard "Ragnarok Einherjar" army.
I've been working at my Imperial Guard off and on for the better part of a decade. With the pending release of the 5E Guard Codex, I'm going to make a big push to finally complete this army.
One of the big challenges is that I've made this pretty difficult for myself:
- roughly 120 Guardsmen, currently about half painted in jungle camo
- all converted Tanks
The only real saving grace is that I use the fixed pose metal Tallarns as the basis for my army, and that I don't convert those models...
So going forward, any adds require camo paint jobs and tank conversions to match existing models.
____
Goals
1. All Guard infantry prepped, primered, basecoated, painted, and based
2. All Guard vehicles built, primered, basecoated, and painted
3. All Guard superheavies built, primered, basecoated, and painted
Spoiler:
____
Major Tasks
1. finish building existing stuff
2. buy & build new releases
3. PAINT!
____
Total 150 dudes, of which 71 need painting, after 6 MLs and 13 specials have their barrels drilled.
28 vehicles to paint, and nearly all will need some work (build / convert / reconvert).
2 superheavies needing to be built
This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2018/08/01 20:22:37
@randomfrog: That's going to be quite a while from now, but if you want to get an idea of what they'll look like, you can click on (WWW) to get to my Fotki site...
Expect to see a lot of jungle greens! ____
Since the last update, I've made a little progress:
I'd try and compete with the building if it wasn't for the fact that I'm building an Elysian Army and don't have as many models as you two. Should get my camera and take some pics and do a blog anyway though.
And I'm right there with you Howard on the cost of FW stuff. Spent $600 for my first batch of Elysians (61 men + 2 Sentinals) Next installment will be about $300-$350 and be another 30 men and a Vulture.
"Elysians: For when you absolutely, positively, must have 100% casualties"
Not to turn this into an Army List thread as I know it's a modeling blog, but I've been in a conundrum with my own IG army as to which heavy weapon to give each squad. Without knowing what 5E is going to look like, it's kinda hard to tell what HW loadout with be best. Consequently, I'm kinda spinning my wheels.
I see that you've resolved that issue by solely using MLs. Interesting decision!
Man, I wish there was a real Black Library where I could get a Black Library Card and take out Black Library Books without having to buy them. Of course, late fees would be your soul. But it would be worth it. - InquisitorMack
Howard A Treesong wrote:Hi, I'll do a blog with you, and we can push each other along.
JohnHwangDD wrote:7. Base total 140 Guardsmen.
I'd love to do that many, but I've done the maths and 140 DKOK would cost nearly £500, I'm going to go for a more modest 50.
I'd like to see a pic of your Trojan when it's done.
Awesome. It's good to blogs this way.
At current GW retail prices, I shudder to think what my all-metal Tallarns and Storms would cost...
Though, when the plastic Storms arrive, that'll help considerably help your costs.
The Trojan is basically a tracked brick with a crane! (a sexy brick, but still a brick)
____
Salted Diamond wrote:I'd try and compete with the building if it wasn't for the fact that I'm building an Elysian Army and don't have as many models as you two. Should get my camera and take some pics and do a blog anyway though.
And I'm right there with you Howard on the cost of FW stuff. Spent $600 for my first batch of Elysians (61 men + 2 Sentinals) Next installment will be about $300-$350 and be another 30 men and a Vulture.
For me, it's not about numbers and volumes, but simply driving toward completion. I think it'd be great for you to join in and also work at competing your Guard this year.
Believe me, as a metal Guard player, I understand your pain with FW.
When those plastic Valks come out, you may do better to convert a Vulture?
____
Death By Monkeys wrote:I've been in a conundrum with my own IG army as to which heavy weapon to give each squad. Without knowing what 5E is going to look like, it's kinda hard to tell what HW loadout with be best.
I see that you've resolved that issue by solely using MLs. Interesting decision!
I think a mix of Heavies wouldn't hurt - if you use the plastics, then 3 Las, 3 ML, 3 AC, 3 HB, and 3 Mortars wouldn't be a bad start. I'm just hoping that ML costs will be fair when the new Codex arrives.
I originally went with MLs back in 3E because I liked the look of the models, and discovered that their "Jack of all Trades" utility is adequate for most games within the context of my army, so I stuck with them. I don't really need Lascannons due to the Demolishers and massed Meltas. Plus, I have plenty of Pie for hordes.
Besides, the metal Tallarn Heavies are awfully dated, while the FW resin Heavies are a little spendy...
Hey John, when you get done this swing by, i got another 398 Tallarn Guardsmen that need some loving
Only got about 120 of mine painted and game-ready.
I picked up some of the new FW Heavy Weapon teams too, they look great, even though I'm sitting on about 50 old HW teams of various weapons.
You need a titan or two to go with this
Current Project: Random quaratine models!
Most Recently Completed: Stormcast Nightvault Warband
On the Desk: Looking into 3D Printing!
Instagram Updates: @joyous_oblivion
What's funny, is that your 400 Tallarn are only about 2000 pts - the same as a company of 100 Marines.
That's precisely why I'm a treadhead.
I've got Titans planned, but first I've got to clear the Guard stuff out of the way. If I do that this year, maybe I can tackle a couple Warhounds next year. Though, I would love to hear that GW will make a plastic Warhound. GW does that, I'll buy 2.
I also have a company of Russes and another company of Basilisks to go along with the lads, and a handful of superheavies.
400 guardsmen = 100 marines that sucks, lol
Current Project: Random quaratine models!
Most Recently Completed: Stormcast Nightvault Warband
On the Desk: Looking into 3D Printing!
Instagram Updates: @joyous_oblivion
I broke out my entire set of playable IG stuff, and started reshuffling models around, trying to decide on what the army configuration ought to be, and this is what I came up with (for 4E):
HQ
Colonel
Command Platoon - Sr. Officer w/ ML - 2x HWS w/ 3 ML - HWS w/ 3 Mortars
Armored Fist - Platoon Squad w/ ML & Plasma, Chimera
Fast
2x Hellhound
Hydra
Heavy
3x Demolisher 2x Leman Russ
Basilisk Griffon (count as)
Even with tight model-to-model (BtB infantry) and unit-to-unit (<2" coherency this had a footprint 36" wide, 24" deep, and doesn't include my Atlas or Baneblade WIPs. Add the stuff I'm planning to buy and build (2 Superheavies, 4 Sentinels, 3 Valks, and 4 more Tanks), and I'm going to need a bigger table in 2010 if I want to display it all... ____
Yeah, I'm pretty comfortable with scratchbuilding. I've gone through amount of sheet styrene in the process here.
Chimeras These are basically stock, the only trick is that I use the extra Griffon / Basilisk plate and set that up front as extra spaced armor. I use sprue to set the plate forward and add skids on the plate.
I add custom track guards out of styrene, and I don't bother with track on the upper runs where it would be concealed - this speeds assembly considerably.
I recut the Leman Russ Turret stowage to fit the back of the Chimera Turret. This helps immensly in bulking out the Chimera Turret. Also, I revise the turret gun mount, as I'm considering co-ax Heavy Stubber, depending on the next Codex.
I cut down the rear Lasguns, as I don't like their length.
The AF Chimera (in grey) with the Heavy Stubber is the original, and varies only slightly from the rest.
mini-Chimera This was based on trying to adapt the PzKw I/F to 40k, and basically sectioned 2 wheels out of the chassis, while narrowing the hull. It's cute, yes?
Griffon This is a Chimera with a custom box multi-rocket launcher. There is a scissors mount for the box, and if I had injection plastic technology, it would work...
I probably ought to add transport cover plates front and rear, but the army concept works fine without them.
Leman Russes I wanted Russes but hated the Shermanesque designs. I reconcepted them as SPGs following the JagdPz 38t "Hetzer" after seeing the FW Destroyer / Thunderer conversion kits when they first came out.
I keep the tracks and side plates to define the basic chassis, but reverse the lower hull plate to remove the bullet trap.
I build a custom upper superstructure that allows me to use the gun mount and engine cover as decorative bitz.
The mk.I version has the Trench Rails and semi-riveted hull, but subsequent versions omit this, as it's harder to build.
Subsequently, the gun barrel was replaced by styrene tube, after seeing that the FWDKoK Russes got thinner barrels.
Demolishers The basic chassis is identical to the standard Russ, but I build a custom upper superstructure with a recess for the Demolisher Cannon bitz instead of retaining the turret mount which is unneeded. I use GS to gap fill.
Also, I re-gap the barrel with plasticard to make it round, rather than oval.
After the AC article, I started to add side skirts to help remind that this is AV13 on the sides.
Hellhounds These are nearly full-scratch, starting with the Chimera, but extending the cab to mount a Turret ring taken from a Defiler cab.
The Turret is semi-scratch-built based on reversing the FW Artemia so the gun defaults to properly sitting along the centerline.
The rear deck is scratchbuilt, but is punched to carry the stock fuel tanks.
Hydra At this point, I wanted to add more Armored Company elements, so I mocked up a Hydra hull. I didn't like the FW design, as the turret is much too large. Instead, I took the Flakpanzer Gepard as the primary inspiration.
The Hydra Turret is very close to a full scratch, but is actually a near complete elemental teardown and rebuild of a Leman Russ Turret. I still need to gap fill this thing...
The twin long Autocannons use leftover Defiler Autocannon bitz that I had handy. If I could have gotten a set of new plastic Autocannons, that would also have been fine.
Basilisk This is still partly WiP, and is based on the Soviet 2S7 "Peony" SPG. Like the Russes, this is pretty much a Full Scratch Build.
The cab is pushed forward as the RL vehicle uses the mass of forward cab as a counterweight to increase the inertial momentum against dynamic recoil forces. Pretty clever design, actually.
As it is enclosed, I extend the cab backwards to where the gun would mount at the rear. So the notional interior crew space is huge.
I added a rear spade to dig itself in for proper recoil management. I still need to finish the hydraulics for this...
The barrel takes the necked portion of the stock Earthshaker and extends it with narrower styrene tube. I then added upper and lower recoil compensators. One challenge is that I need to mount the gun to the chassis, and pseudo-articulating this is a pain. Oh, well...
Anyhow, if you click on my [WWW] button, there are some more detailed pictures of many of the vehicles under 40k / IG.
"And what is wrong with their life? What on earth is less reprehensible than the life of the Levovs?"
- American Pastoral, Philip Roth
Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!
We laughed at him, we leagued with him, old chum.
No soldier's paid to kick against His powers.
We laughed - knowing that better men would come,
And greater wars: when each proud fighter brags
He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags.
There's some cool tanks! I like the well-thought out planning of all the tanks, makes them look like they were built by the same forgeworld. It's interesting that everyone seems to hate the basic hellhound; I like your take a lot, though I'm not convinced by the placement of the cannon. To each his own I guess .
Now get painting!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2009/02/02 14:45:43
Camkhieri: "And another very cool thing, my phones predictive text actually gave me chicken as an option after typing robot, how cool is that."'
Meercat: "All eyes turned to the horizon and beheld, in lonely and menacing grandeur, the silhouette of a single Grot robot chicken; a portent of evil days to come."
From 'The Plucking of Gindoo Phlem'
FWIW, I probably spend a week on designing each tank conversion, which is why thy match up together.
WRT the Hellhound, the FW design has some strange design decisions, like the forward-opening cab, interference tank, and maximum offset gun barrel. However, the detailing is great and the concept is strong.
The basic GW Hellhound, is, of course, poo, because the conversion wasn't thought out very well. Clearly, it was just a slap-on for the existing Chimera, and it shows.
John - so does that mean you've got a bunch of Leman Russ turrets lying around available for trade or purchase?
Man, I wish there was a real Black Library where I could get a Black Library Card and take out Black Library Books without having to buy them. Of course, late fees would be your soul. But it would be worth it. - InquisitorMack
Man, I wish there was a real Black Library where I could get a Black Library Card and take out Black Library Books without having to buy them. Of course, late fees would be your soul. But it would be worth it. - InquisitorMack
Ozymandias wrote:
Pro-painted is the ebay modeling equivalent of "curvy" in the personal ads...
H.B.M.C. wrote:
Taco Bell is like carefully distilled Warseer - you get what you need with none of the usual crap. And, best of all, it's like being a tourist who only looks at the brochure - you don't even have to go, let alone stay.
DR:70+S+G-MB-I+Pwmhd05#+D++A+++/aWD100R++T(S)DM+++ Get your own Dakka Code!
"...he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries agreed upon the rules." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
-- $k 
-- 9k 
-- 6k 
-- 4k 
-- 
But still plugging away 
.
(a sexy brick, but still a brick)
.
