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inmygravenimage wrote:Ok, this is more fluff-related today. The LR dilemma is not going away. Somehow, it just doesn't feel right; not subtle enough. Equally, I've never liked the look of drop pods especially - so am going to use these:

There's a comment in imperial armour apocalypse about Termites being legit as drop pods - win!

Which of course leaves me with a LRC.

And a box of GKs I raided for parts.

And an Inquisitor with retinue in amongst my guard army.

Oh bother.

I seem to have a small GK army there.

Wow they look hot! ive always thought there must be other ways of DSing other than Drop Pods, Teleporters, and Jump Packs. Termites are a wicked idea!
and o dear with the GK's
only kidding, if you 'happen' to have them use them!
and they would look great Mentor-style

Love the burrowing pods!! I remember when those first came out... they were awesome! :-)

@Blackhand: TBH my list's probably going to be pretty similar to yours (purifiers w halberds + LRC) so I think you've probably already used anything I might want to thieve! Cheers though.

@Reiko: you raise an interesting point - GKs Mentor Style. I had considered both doing Mentors as counts-as GKs (ultra-tech for psi-tech) and GKs in Mentor colours (elite of the elite), but have decided just to do them fairly straight up, regular GKs with minimal conversion (well...) though maybe in red with bone and purple details. The BA Termies I did for gms are sort of a colour test:


Back to Gamecraft paints, got everything bar my primers liquid again; it's layered black/chestnut/deep red/bright red, then baal red wash over the red, gryphone sepia in recesses, orange highlights on the red and then bone final highlights. Helms are just white, gryphone sepia and a bone highlight. Cruxes etc are khaki, gryhpone, and bone drybrusing. Pretty quick: I knocked out the squad in 2 1/2 hours. Fixing the shoulder pads will be harder: I freehanded the sigil and it looked dire so a transfer and matt varnish later = some improvement!

Anyway - so, Red Knights a-go-go. Got to grub up some bits for a Corteaz so I can run more guard, or might just convert my existing xenos (big scythe!) This is not a distraction from the Mentors btw, just good to have a project that feels self-contained, you know?

inmygravenimage wrote:@This is not a distraction from the Mentors btw, just good to have a project that feels self-contained, you know?

Yeah thats how I felt about my GK as well, having 95% of the models ready to paint meant I could finish the army much quicker then the months long slog that often comes with building and painting an army.

BTW you gonna run a Dreadknight? Oh and I definitely suggest you run a Riflemen with Psybolts ..... 4 twin-linked strength 8 shots a turn on a dread chassis...brilliant

Glad i can give you some ideas Graven! Those termies look great, and a weird coincidence your Red Knights are the second ones ive seen this week (im looking at you BLACKHAND), they do look really good though (in both cases). EIther was would work i think (counts-as i mean) and does give you some flexibility with how you want to run them.
i lol'd at the 'minimal conversion' and IMO theres nothing wrong with doing other things while doing a project, it helps keep it fresh.

They look really good Graven. I saw enough multi-colored "counts-as" space wolves and blood angles this year at Adepticon that red GK's don't phase me at all.

Yeah, i agree. Go for the red knights. Anything colorful will stand out more to judges for painting scores as well. Also a really nice break from the norm. I wanted to start white knights, but didn't really feel like jumping on the GK bandwagon. With your skills i think the red knights will turn out great

Or they could be Exorsists

Miss Dee wrote:Or they could be Exorsists

didnt they get retconned?
if not, then theres the justification for the Red Knights (and the high tech gear)

Grey knights requite from the exorsists

Looking pretty good Graven! can't wait to see the GK's painted in that scheme.

Thanks for the kind words folks.

And now, in a change from our usual schedule: Fluff! My take on the Mentors, which has shaped my P&M decisions thus far. My fluff-fu is weak. so be kind; C&C, as ever, etc.,
graven.



Of the myriad mysteries and contradictions of the Astartes, the Mentors are among the most enigmatic to outsiders and their fellow Space Marines alike. This is despite the fact that, in many ways, a citizen of the Imperium might have a greater chance of serving alongside one of these than any other of the Emperor’s finest.

In truth, the Tactical Marines that lend assistance and expertise to others of the Faithful are a relatively small part of the chapter as a whole, which prides itself on an unrivalled level of specialisation. Fostering a culture of elitism, it prizes knowledge as much as aptitude, and though it respects and indeed reveres technology does not necessarily hold it in the same awe as other Chapters.

As with all, its members begin as members of the Scout Company. The Mentors keep a higher number of scouts active in the field than is necessarily apparent, as they emphasise the use of stealth, camouflage and infiltration techniques that other chapters eschew; to the Mentors, all are weapons in their arsenal. The Legio Tytonidae, as they are known, are not permitted to wear the full blazon of the Chapater, the Owl’s Head or Insignia Strigidae; instead, they strive for the right to wear the Insignia Tytonidae, a T-shaped badge that distinguishes them as the best among the newly-inducted. Competition for the Tytonidae is fierce; though not a prerequisite for advancement within the Chapter, all of its greatest warriors have achieved it. Equally, not all Scouts within the chapter become part of its bike squadrons, this being an honour reserved for those who have attained the Insignia, with scouts instead serving about the Chapter’s numerous Land Speeder Storms.

Upon joining the ranks of the Legion’s finest, as well as earning the right to wear the Chapter’s characteristic Mk8 armour and the Insignia Strigidae, Marines are permitted to wind a chain about their favoured weapon, as a mark of respect and kinship to the Black Templars; this comes as a special honour from the mighty Emperor himself, having granted their Chapter Master, Nisk Ran-Thawll, an audience. Fully-fledged marines thus find themselves serving among the Tactical squads, though typically sent far afield to assist other chapters, the Ordos Imperialis, planetary governors and others. As much as Mentors teach, they learn, gaining skills that will develop themselves as well as others in the chapter. They are unafraid to utilise technology garnered in this way; hence the Mentor Legion’s use of devices such as Termite drills in place of conventional drop pods.

Equally, the Legion maintains many pre-heresy technologies: hordes of jetbikes are not an uncommon sight for its enemies to see bearing down upon them; to optimise their use, the riders have the privilege to wear Maximus armour, which integrates itself more naturally to the ancient hover technology. In terms of advanced technologies, the Mentors make use of temporal displacement fields rather than conventional jump-technologies; though superficially similar to the warp-technology teleporters used by the Grey Knights chapter, they do not place the same pressures upon the mind of those without psychic gifts.

The Mentor Legion maintain an uncommonly high proportion of elite units, even by the standards of the Adeptus Astartes. Numerous dreadnoughts are maintained by the many techmarines of the chapter, and indeed such is value of the knowledge of the servants of the Omnissiah that it has been known to preserve past Masters of the Forge thus also. One of the highest honours sought by members of the chapter is to bear the Gallea Noctuae, a stylised owl’s helm worn by the chapter’s Vanguard. For their service, the Sternguard of the chapter are permitted to wear other variants of armour, typically Mk6 or 7 as suits their individual preference and aptitudes, whilst amongst captains of the Legion, Maximus helms are often worn. Service in the chapter's Terminator squadrons is reserved for those who best adapt to the rigours of regular telportation, as the Mentors forgo the use of Land Raiders as a rule, or at the very least as a means for transportation. None are more legendary, however, than the steadfast, stalwart Elite Cadre of the Mentors, whose ability to arrive upon the battlefield in time of need rivals that of the whispered legends of the Legion of the Damned. The Elite Cadre bear a simple skull blazon, but adorn their packs with iconography that speaks of their knowledge, honours and achievements.

It has been noted that as the Mentors assist, they study, to an extent which some find positively unnerving. The Mentors see it as their duty to ensure that not only the achievements of great heroes are enshrined in lore, but their skills as well. Thus there are a rare few who seek, and manage, to emulate the greatest or most uncommonly gifted of other chapters. Understanding the power of legend, on more than one occasion a mystic hero of a chapter has been seen to cut a swathe through an implacable foe and rally the loyal against impossible odds to victory, only disappear once more into the mists of lore; and their greatest mission complete, the hero returns once more to their true home among the Mentor Legion.

graven you shouldnt put urself down, thats great fluff man, well done
liking especially the hint of the MoTF Dread

Very well done Graven... nice read, cohesive. I like it!

Thanks guys. I've yet to do Tank fluff etc, I'll get to that anon.

Very nice bud, fluffy but logical.

Great fluff, better than I've done

Quick question:

is it the Helm of Widsom? or Wisdom?

English teacher rolls 1 on spelling...

inmygravenimage wrote: English teacher rolls 1 on spelling...

comedy gold, if only my English teachers were that funny

Oooh,

I guess you Widsom and you lose some.....


Bad humour is bad right?

is it the Helm of Widsom? or Wisdom?

It's the helm of Widsom. Widsom was a Master Librarian for the Mentors 3rd chapter Terminator assault squad. He was fond of quoting bits of wisdom from both the Emperor, and the Adeptes Astartes Manual written by (Primarch Russ?). However, he also had a penchant for puns. this proved to be Master Widsoms undoing during a battle against a greater Daemon of Khorne, as the Daemon didn't find anything Punny about his quotes and instead became even further enraged when Master Widsom made an off color comment about the size of the Daemon's Axe vs the size of the Daemon's dangly bits. from that day forth the Helm has been looked upon as both cursed and blessed, as the new bearer always seems to have Wisdom beyond their years, but for some reason they also constantly report of a ringing in the ears from wearing the helm and complain of migraines. the chapter has since enshrined the Helm in the hall ancients next to it's owners armor in honor of the battle against the Daemon, but mostly because none of the marines in the chapter will have anything to do with the armor anymore.

@SebastinoSynn: funny man

Okay, so it's getting fixed...

On to new matters: I've sold some confrontation stuff and have £80 burning a hole in my pocket. Do I:

Concede I need more storage and buy an army case (£60)

Or spring for a unit of GK Termies and a Furioso to convert into a GK Rifleman, and a Jokairo cos I love em (£61)

... and in either case, buy more primer.

Or do something else? I think the mentors are about as tooled up as they're going to be for the foreseeable future - they need painted, mostly! Nevertheless I'm kinda tempted to just get the Red Knights built and painted first, so I can hit the table with em.

Incidentally, had a game v Eldar the other night, 750, ran a Vanilla tac squad with HB and an Epistolary (gate, vortex) in a "drop pod", an Ironclad (the MotF dread, now known as Uncle Fester), and scout snipers with Telion.

Went 2nd, and wiped out the foe. First time that tac squad have ever done anything useful, though gating didn't work very well (scattered off table, bah), scouts were brutal even with only 4 left after a turn of dedicated fire from 2 scout squads and dark reapers. The poor DRs broke after being hurricaned and HFd by the Ironclad, as did one unit of scouts after being deathwind-ed. Morgan Ra and the other unit of scouts got it from the Tac marines, leaving striking scorpions to get picked off at leisure. In all, successful, certainly!

sounds like your opponent was a complete idiot. not to belittle your victory, as a victory is a victory, and usually does require the opponent to make lots of mistakes. he made the mistakes of wasting too many pts in Dark Reapers and Maugan Ra, and also using Striking Scorpions. For 175 pts worth of Dark Reapers, I'd have taken a Wave Serpent brightlanced, with a unit of Dire Avengers. I'd also trade out the scorpions for Howling Banshees, and another Wave Serpent, and would have run a Farseer and retinue in a Falcon.

He may not have had all those figures available...

Though, taking a Phoenix Lord in a 750 point battle is A) pretty cheesy and B) not very sound from a military perspective. But, kudos on the win graven! Take 'em any way you can get 'em.

I'd go for storage. Painting up all these great figures does you no good if they all get wrecked in-between battles because there's no good place to put them or safe way to transport them to the battle.

go for storage. Painting up all these great figures does you no good if they all get wrecked in-between battles because there's no good place to put them or safe way to transport them to the battle.

I'd have to second that, this is one of the reasons my orks aren't painted yet, really isn't worth it to put a good paint job on them just to toss them into a tackle box after a game, which is all i ahve to carry them in right now. friends here in the area use the plastic storage shelving you can get from Dollar General and then they lay down magnetic strips inside the thing and put washers on the bases of the figures. I've been thinking of doing the same thing as it will save me a lot of cash not having to spring for all that foam.

He may not have had all those figures available...

true, having 11K+ pts of Eldar does give me a lot of options that others don't have.

Actually he was just really experimenting. He wanted to do something other than wave and/or seer spam. We agreed the scorpions are total write-off; it made for an interesting game because of the very fact that it was so unbalanced, in some ways. But he admits that basically, he got it very wrong!

You never know for sure unless you try... and occasionally you can blunder into some synergistic relationships between units that might not be apparent otherwise. I'm all for 'sperimentin', especially if you're in a friendly game environment.

Yeah im going with Gits, theres nothing worse than broken models (except stolen models ) as i can testify to unfortunately.
The carry case has to be the way forward, much as i would love to see you tackle some more models.
and congrats on the win

Are your Mentors beta testers?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Still ?

Actually he was just really experimenting. He wanted to do something other than wave and/or seer spam. We agreed the scorpions are total write-off; it made for an interesting game because of the very fact that it was so unbalanced, in some ways. But he admits that basically, he got it very wrong!

ok, i take it back, and offer an apology instead. It took me a long time of throwing things together before i finally found what worked for me, which does not include dark reapers and striking scorpions. Scorpions are nice since they have the str increase IF you can get them into combat, too often i find them slogging around the board and being a waste of pts. Dark Reapers are much the same, unless i can get them into terrain that is close to an objective that they can cover, then they somewhat make up for their lack of movement, and inability to cover more objectives or achieve a better firing position. Wraithlords were great until i met the Tyranids, and then they blew. Swooping Hawks have suffered a similar fate as the gaurdian squads. so the models that see the most action in my games tends to be farseer, autarch, banshees, avengers, dragons, jetbikes, and tanks.