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the latest one i have is the first heretic. Its a good read so far, some interesting interplay in places and locations one wouldnt expect! If it ever helps im usually slightly ahead of the curve on releases (dont know why but BL seem to get them too me usually a week before release but mates in town get them on day of release or after) so have a look on the left hand side of the blog to see whats currently on the bed stand.


One a side note does anyone have a list of subsectors or regions? particularlly is there any documented reference to a "britannicus" (or other british themed) subsector or area? wouldnt mind using it for the planet build im planning for my guard regiments fluff.
cheers
millest

Today has truely being an interesting and busy day but alas some time was put away for the hobby and the blog so all is well in the world! In that time however a disturbing thought crossed the mind of Millest, and that thought was:


I have no plans for my tanks!!

Yes, thats right, whilst I have plans and ideas for my vehicle crew and a rough idea of what camo schemes to play with I havent given any thought to what vehicles to use.

I've now spent the afternoon toying with ideas on what tanks to use, what kits to buy and most importantly what to save up for. Whilt the list wasnt extensive it did puzzle me for a while and in the end I did narrow it down to the following five choices:

Option A - Basic leman Russes straight from the box
Option B - Basic leman Russes straight from the box with FW death korps of Krieg upgrades
Option C - Basic leman Russes straight from the box with FW death korps of Krieg upgrades and turrets
Option D - Death Korps of Krieg Complete Mars Alpha Russes kits with various turrets inc ryza pattern Russ turrets
Option E - Death Korps of Krieg Complete Mars Alpha Russes kits with various turrets utilising plastic turrets for standard Russes
Now in my mind I think I have decided on a plan for my force of rolling Steal Death but I'm curious as to the solutions and thoughts that others might have so whilst I'm working this week and am sorting a few other bits and peices for the blog please feel free to leave me your thoughts and comments, as well as your votes in my poll on the right hand side heres the link http://millests.blogspot.com/, as to what options you would pick.

After all what could be more exciting then helping me recreate this image in my own special way:

Hey Dave!
as far as the tanks go, what #s are we talking about? 6? 9?
i'd say start off "cheap" . GW, no FW upgrades. and i'd even go so
far as saying look for prebuilt on Feebay. that's what i'd do if it was me.
new prices are so damn high!
anyway, i'd say get a couple of "plain" LRBTs to start. then a couple of
Demolishers. after that, i'd start getting into the more specialized styles.
and even then, i'd say just an Executioner or 3.
hope it helps!

millest wrote:
Squad Weapons Specialist Kraftig

BEAST! Gunny Harker better watch out!

hi folks
my review of the first heretic novel is now up on the blog.


the review can be found here:
http://millests.blogspot.com/2010/11/first-heretic-novel-review.html

enjoy

After visiting my local store and a few folks at work mentioning it I thought it might be a good idea to get a force together as something to work towards and also as something to help me relearn the rules.

The force is designed as an initial starting point - though obviously if its that bad I'm sure I could start afresh - as something to buy some models for and build up. Its also my first proper foray in to list building and could be the road to disaster.

so without further ado here is my first all rounder list:


Please click on the image to open up full size.
As you can see its a bit of an Air Cav force designed as a bit of an all comers killer. I fancy playing this in the local store in their 500pt pick up tourney as well as against some of my mates.
I know the force may be a bit extravagant so any suggestions on alternatives or changes would be great. I intend to be taking on any force but the most common forces I am expecting are Space Marines, Tau, Eldar and Kroot. Any suggestions on building a good guard list would be great.

Thanks and feel free to feed back.

After the fantastic work put into the metal Kasrkin it seems like a bit of a cop out just to go for basic Russes

good point, also means i need to get some answers from FW soon, unless i get some valks first also a shame FW no longer produce russ track guards


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok folks based in thar thinking and the ideas of some of the folks on here time for a few of the Valk 500 variations, all collected to tidy things up:

VERSION 1
Psyker – 70
vet squad – 85 (3 flamers)
vet squad – 100 (3 meltas)
Valk – 100 (no upgrades)
Valk with rocket pods or vendetta – 130
Total = 485 that Leaves me 15 points for HB on one of the valks (possibly the basic one to make it more useful) and a few points to buy the sergs some bolt pistols or something.

VERSION 2
Psyker – 70
vet squad – 100 (3 meltas)
vet squad – 100 (3 meltas)
Valk – 100 (no upgrades)
Valk with rocket pods or vendetta - 130 (no upgrades)
Total = 500 on the nose

VERSION 3
Psyker – 70
Melt vet squad – 95 (2 meltas and 1 flamer)
Melt vet squad – 95 (2 meltas and 1 flamer)
Valk – 110 (basic Valk with heavy bolters)
Valk with rocket pods or vendetta – 130 (no upgrades)
Total = 500 on the nose

VERSION 4
Psyker – 70
Melt vet squad – 90 (2 meltas)
Melt vet squad – 90 (2 meltas)
Valk with heavy bolters – 110
Valk with rocket pods or vendetta either with heavy bolters – 140
Total = 500 on the nose

I’ve included the alternate option in all the lists for the rocket pod Valk to be replaced with a vendetta then that way depending on the force can choose between rockets or las depending on armour facing me.
So any thoughts or suggestions?

Hi Folks,

well now its time for a new feature of the blog and hopefully some more action!

After a very dry (blogging not the weather unfortunately) and depressing few weeks slogging at work I've got together with a couple of my colleagues and we have decided to start our very own painting challenge.

so welcome one and all to the greatest show on this blog:

(Drum roll please)

THE TALE OF THREE GAMERS

(Applause or general heckling!)

That right after months of promises, random pictures, link collections and the odd conversion or test model I have teamed up with two good friends and colleagues to create something meaningful and produce the results and pictures you've all been waiting for!

First up some brief introductions to each of the three gamers and our force selections:

Millest:
General well loved Bloggister and all round man in charge (well the blog anyway) and for this challenge creating an Imperial Guard Force.

Chris:
All round odd ideas person and voice of costing us money, who for this Challenge will be creating a Tau Empire Force.

Jono:
Some say he once saw the true face of the Stig whilst in a male toilets, all we know is he will be creating a Tyranid Force for the challenge.

So say hi to the three Amigos:



So there you have the bare bones of who we are and what we plan on creating in the challenge. I was planning on getting them to write their own submissions/excuses with their pictures but lets see how that pans out shall we!


Right so on to the challenge:

Firstly timescales, this Challenge will run from the first Tuesday in March - conveniently the 1st of march through to the last Tuesday in May, with Final complete Force pictures and information submitted for posting on the 31st may, conveniently another Tuesday! anyone would think i planned that. "Wow that's a long time for a 500pt challenge" i hear you cry, well yes it is but unfortunately some of use work funny shifts that mean large portions of our time is eaten up, not to mention holidays and the fact life is bound to get in the way. In addition there are some additional challenge activities in the rules and we're all bound to faff about with other projects.

So finally after the overview here are the rules for the challenge:

# Submit a 500pt lists (with fluff for the force if possible), this list is the force you will collect for the challenge - if you do decide to deviate and work on a new list then you can resubmit the list for checking and uploading.

# Basic force organisation criteria are required, i.e. 1 HQ and 2 Troops are required.

# No special characters are permitted.

# Any forgeworld models are to be treated as codex options, unless otherwise agreed in advance by the other players.

# Set a deadline for the end of may, giving us three months.

# Weekly submissions from individuals required by Monday evening so they can edit up and post on Tuesday. This must be at least 1 picture with information on the work carried out both in general and in the picture.

# Any weeks missed with no submission or repeat pictures (where people try to be sneaky) mean you have to convert one of your models as dead for terrain use or a small objective for your force.

# Pictures of conversions without paint are acceptable but must be noticeable conversions.

# The contributors will also work towards painting and modelling £20(ish) worth of terrain each for your force/forces as part of the challenge.

# Pictures and work on other models outside of the list can be submitted but do not count as your weekly submission for the challenge, and they can be included in future lists.

# There will be a monthly vote on the favourite model of the past month with a possible prize to be decided later by the contributors. This will be in the form of comments on the monthly update.

# The challenge will culminate in the end with a final vote on the best force and a small prize to be given – maybe!
As you can see we will also be working on terrain as well as the side project of creating some gaming boards once the weather improves. So any thoughts on the challenge or input on how things could go smoother?

I think most if not all three of us are looking at creating a core 500pt list, but then on top of that creating and modelling some variations on the theme. I for one know I have two other lists I would like to work on in conjunction with this challenge.

Eventually once the 500pt is complete we will then have a reported three way battle that will be published on the blog for all to see. There will also be a vote on the best force and then the winner gets not only the kudos and bragging rights but may get a small prize and most importantly gets to pick the sub-challenge for the 1000pt leg of the on going painting challenge.

Well folks there you have it, MMM might finally get some finished models on it and hopefully some of it will be inspirational so stay tuned and enjoy.

A Tale of Three Gamers - Week 1 01.03.2011

Afternoon Folks,
time for the first update of the TOTG, today we post up the recently submitted Army Lists. Fluff and personal information will follow shortly, possibly with models as well!

So here are the submissions from the contenders (images of the army lists are avalible at the links below the army icons - they were too large to post on the forum):


Millest - Imperial Guard Expedition

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e99xJ1dNf2E/TW0TO0yHgfI/AAAAAAAABD8/hhZ_OIkZjhQ/s320/500ig.JPG


Chris - Tau Expansion Force

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-BGVqGUvFG6g/TW0TXNR4fjI/AAAAAAAABEE/W_nH-TF1h8I/s1600/500tau.JPG


Jono - Tyranid Hivefleet

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-25XbNl35spU/TW0TfBQjJWI/AAAAAAAABEM/DQJMpn-Xve8/s1600/500nid.JPG

Please feel free to click on the links to see the forces in detail. Any thoughts, criticisms or general nit picking please feel free.
As I say more fluff and information to follow soon, maybe also some nice pictures of test models from us all.
Enjoy folks.

Hi Folks
coming up is the first of three posts from each of us giving a brief introduction about who we are and also showcasing the background or fluff we have written for each of our forces. When we first thought about the challenge fluff was one of the things I really wanted to include and play with, much to the consternation of the others, but looking at what we have so far I think its worth it and it does add something a little extra to each force.

So here we have the first post, guest staring and straight from his keyboard, here's Jono:

===============================================

Well, howdy y'all! As previously said, my name is Jono and I haven't been into 40k since I was about 15(ish). I used to collect Ultramarines (well, SMs painted blue with bright pink faces) but I always loved Nids, which is why I have started again with these.

This all started a few weeks ago when Chris started talking to me about 40k, and as an instant response, I took the mick out of him! To be honest, I spend most of my days doing this, but alas this was just free ammo. Consequently I looked on the GW website, started reading fan sites and well.. bought a Nid battle force that weekend. On the following Monday I then got conned in to joining the challenge, so here I am and here is my Army's background.



Hive Fleet Tenebrae
During Hive Fleet Behemoth’s assault of Macragge, the Hive Mind, convinced of yet another victory, sent out splinter fleets to survey the way for the advancing swarm. In the closing hours of the battle, the Imperial Forces performed an assault on the man Hive Craft in orbit in an attempt to stop the swarms of Tyranids bringing devastation to the Planet's surface. During this lucky hit, the assaulting Tyranid force was thrown into a state of disarray which ultimately gave victory to the Imperial forces. It is believed that during this valiant assault, a 'Norn Queen' was either wounded, or killed. To this day, the Ultramarines believe that the Norn Queen is the embodiment of the Hive Mind, controlling the entire fleet with her will. Be this true, or be it that the target was merely a larger Synapse Creature further up the evolutionary chain nobody will ever know. Regardless of this, the temporary lapse of synapse that ensued caused many of the scouting splinter fleets to fall into a state of dormancy. Many of these dormant vessels and splinter fleets were either destroyed or simply wandered out of Imperium space in to the dead space between the stars. One such splinter was dubbed Hive Fleet Tenebrae.

Hive Fleet Tenebrae was brought to the attention of both the Imperium and the burgeoning Tau Empire when it re-entered the galaxy close to the Quintairn system, where it is hypothesised that its relative proximity to the Ymgarl system (The once theorised home of the Genestealer) and to core splinters of Hive fleet Behemoth resulted in the awakening of the hive ships many decades later. This is the first recorded active sighting of the Hive Fleet and I am sure that it will not be the last.


Next, my Army List for our 500pt challenge..


This list was posted on the back of the bits I have managed to get together and as I still wasn't sure about 40k. My thought process was that that I would get a few bits and if I didn't like it, it would only be a couple of quid that was wasted, as such. One of my friend's little brother had been bought a Tyranid battle force years ago, but never used it. I bought this off him for £25 and then ventured to GW Bedford for a few supplies. Damn GW paints are expensive now!

I got seriously lucky with the boxed set, as I didn't realise that they are no longer £40, but £61.50 for a battle force. A Carnifex alone is now something silly like £27. As it was the old kit, I have the following:

# 8 x Hormagaunts
# 8 x Termagants
# 8 x Genestealers
# 3 x Warriors
# 1 x Carnifex
# X x Rippers (not something I will use, so if anyone wants to trade me some bits for them, I have about 4 bases worth)

Now, I know that this lot is pretty useless on its own BUT it gave me a lot of minis to paint up, and lets face it, for £25 I got a bargain!

I read a lot of guides and joined a nid forum (http://thetyranidhive.proboards.com/) to get inspiration. After a lot of um-ming and aah-ing I decided on the following paint scheme..




For anyone interested in how I did them, I followed this guide (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqOowCEJNew) but with the following steps:

# Base coat of Halfords white primer
# 3 x coats of Badab Black wash
# Mecharite Red for the carapace and eyes
# Tallarn Flesh for the tongue
# 2 x coats of Baal Red wash for the carapace and tongue
# Skull white for the bone areas (claws, hoofs, teeth)
# 2 x coats Gryphonne Sepia wash for the bone areas
# I then went over the carapace joins with Badab Black just to add some depth
# Lastly, a bit of Baal Red around the mouth area, not really visible, but it does look nice in the right light.
# Effort!!!

These steps seem to take around an hour a mini, but I am well happy with the outcome! The guide I used was very simple, but excellent. I would recommend it to any new Nid player who can’t paint!

It has now been a week or two since I bought the first box, and that this challenge has come about. I have gone from being a bit unsure about the whole 40k scene to actually really enjoying it. I used to love the hobby and I now regret ditching it! Needless to say, my girlfriend is still not aware of this, and that's how I want to keep it!

I will leave you with this, my first finished mini. Please do comment on the base (or indeed the whole mini), as I was going to do it ash, but quite like the sandy effect.. All critique and comments welcome!



So you’ve had an insight as to what I’m planning so time for some more info. The nids are a lot darker than they look as my pictures are quite heavily saturated (terrible old Fuji bridge camera), but you get the idea! Very proud of them in all honesty and a LOT of work went into them. I may not be the best painter in the world, but compared to my Enchanted Blue (because I didn't used to like the colour ultramarine) blobby SMs, they are practically godlike in comparison!

===============================================

thats all folks from jono for now, for those of you interested the blog can be found here:
http://millests.blogspot.com/

thanks and enjoy

Hi Folks
coming up is the second of the three background posts from each of us giving a brief introduction about who we are and our army background.

So here we have the second post, guest staring Chris:

===============================================

Hello all, I’m Chris. I’ve always loved the lore behind 40k but I’ve been out of the loop for a good few years. I’ve started several armies, none of which I’ve finished. I used to paint and knew most of the rules, but never really gamed. I hope by joining Millest and (unfortunately) Jono in this small campaign it will encourage me to finish some of my models and re-learn the rules. Read on for the background to my fledgling Tau force...


The Stormstrike Expansion Cadre
With the third sphere expansion well under way, Commander Shadowsun has ordered her forces be split and sent in several directions to probe nearby Imperial worlds for weakness. At the vary tip of these fleets are the expansion cadres, small forces, little more than scouts and water caste bodyguards. Their role is to reconnoitre imperial worlds, assessing defences and where possible making contact with the more open minded planetary governors. Contact with enemy forces is kept to a minimum, with the cadre containing just a handful of firewarriors, pathfinders, and a contingent of crisis battlesuits. A long way from the inner Sept worlds, the forces must make do without the support of their allied races and heavy armour.

One such cadre pushed further in to Imperial space than most, and entered talks with a governor whose tithe was putting tremendous strain on his economy. Receiving intel that a neighbouring system may be negotiating with the xenos, the Inqusition despatched the fiercely loyal forces of the 29th Lignum Iugo Mechanized Regiment to eradicate the Tau and send a clear message to local systems. They struck quickly and the small Tau force made a desperate retreat, outnumbered, and outgunned by the superior force. The regiment landed a large amount of armour in the area with the intention of swiftly eliminating the Tau before they could extract.

The Shas’vre charged with the security of the force, made a risky move and led the other crisis suits back to the Orca dropships ahead of the main force, leaving them virtually defenceless. A single Orca then set course straight for the Guard detachment using the low cloud of the planet’s storms as cover. Making it directly above the force without being detected the Shas’Vre led the crisis teams in deadly vertical assault in to the heart of the enemy formation. The strike was a complete surprise and coupled with the cloud cover, the guard’s hydras didn’t even obtain a target lock before the Tau were among them. Landing atop the chimeras and battletanks, the suits ignited them with their fusion blasters whilst gun drones pinned heavy weapons teams. Using the burnt out husks of the tanks, the suits jumped from cover to cover, sewing confusion and death. Without any weapons to pierce the crisis armour, and the storm interfering with communication equipment, the 29th fell in to disarray and were slaughtered to a man. Not a single crisis suit was lost.

Earning the name Stormstrike, the Shas’vre was promoted to Commander, and has begun requisitioning further battlesuits to build a hunter cadre. Wherever Stormstrike is spotted, death from the skies is sure to follow. The extreme and deadly tactics have not gone unnoticed however, and an Ordo Xenos inquisitor has been despatched to end the threat. Requesting aid from the fearsome 1313th Lignum Iugo Expeditionary force, and with rumours of a Deathwatch kill team en-route, Commander Stormstrike will have plenty of opportunity to fight for the Greater Good.


Next, my Army List for our 500pt challenge..


any thoughts or comments are appreciated.

Right folks, time for the last of the Background posts for our forces, this one is obviously the most important one as its mine.

I guess I don't really need much information as if you've followed the blog for a while you should know how odd I am! Still I'm Millest, purveyor of this blog and all round man in charge (though the other half might argue about that). I've been dabbling in 40k for some time and finding new people to game with at work has certainly kick started the blog and my passion in spending money..... I mean modelling and painting. Right now on with the fluff............



The 1313th Lignum Iugo Expeditionary Force
Currently Operating on the Eastern fringes the 1313th Lignum Iugo Expeditionary force was initially tasked with the exploration and eradication of Tau enclaves and inroads in to the region of space to the galactic north of Quintairn. Under the direct control of the Ordo Xenos for the duration of the campaign the 1313th were tasked with stamping the Emperors authority on worlds that were only nominally under the control of the Eagle, eradicating those worlds infested with tau and persecuting those that openly consorted with the alien.

It wasn't long however before on the outpost world of Troya Majorus that a greater threat came to light in the form of a genestealer cult.

Upon discovery the cult threw themselves at the members of the Expeditionary force with tooth, claw and more conventional weapons. This single horrific attack which resulted in the complete destruction of the capital, Hawkesfall, soon revealed an infestation covering a number of neighbouring systems and only hinted at the horrors to come. The Campaign on Troya Majorus dragged on in to the close of 881.M41 when Troya Majorus fell.

Pre-empted by the screams of Astropaths, Navigators and psykers alike the Tyranid reinforcements arrived. The invading tyranids were identified as Splinter fleet Tenebre and the full menace of the Xenos threat, both Tau and Tyranid, was revealed and all out war reigned.

Since this time more attacks have come to light and the marauding destruction of the Splinter fleet has shown to cover a vast swathe of planets on the periphery of both the Human and Tau empires. It is here that the 1313th is now engaged in an all out war on two fronts with two of the most dangerous foes the imperium faces.


The 1313th Expeditionary Force are currently on permanent detachment to the Inquisitional Enclave at Quintairn the forces of the Lignum Iugo are proud to serve with distinction in campaigns across the region. Originating in the Eastern Regions of the Britarius Sector the world of Lignum Iugo is a careful balance between Industry and Cultivation providing many local systems with large quantities of food and technology. The regiments of Lignum Iugo are known for the dual specialties in Air Assault and Scouting but amongst these regiments the 1300's stand apart from the rest.

The 1300 regiments, those bearing the numbers 1300-1399, are considered by many in the sector as a guard force without peer, particularly the of the 1313th, 1349th and 1373rd. Selected only from the best men and women of the planets many regiments and the brightest and most martial students from the planets Scholams the 1300's are some of the best in their fields.

Referred to as Expeditionary forces the 1300's are forces that are sent on either the most critical of missions or campaigns where a hard hitting strike force is required. Their most common role however is acting as a fighting force whilst assigned to Rogue Traders, Adeptus Mechanicus Exploratory forces or, given their proximity to Quintairn, as Inquisitional Troopers. The 1313th is one such regiment who by their deeds has seen the regiment seconded permanently to the Quintairn enclave. It is here where they have fought under the Insignia of numerous Inquisitors of various Ordos before the current assignment which sees them battling the dual threat of Tau and Tyranid incursions on the Eastern Fringes.

Members of the 1300s, rarely return to Lignum Iugo as the troopers they once were, scarred and decorated they often go on to lead other regiments raised from the planet. Some are requested to serve as bodyguards and retinues for inquisitors, and even other members of the imperial hierarchy should they be deemed deserving. The rarest and most sought after path is that of the honoured few who even join the ranks of the inquisition where the free thinking and autonomous nature of the 1300s shines through and prepares them for the darkness they fight. The knowledge and skills of the 1300s is without peer in the region and is one that the Inquisition is more than happy to encourage, cultivate and utilise.


Next, my Army List for our 500pt challenge..


Finally for those of you that havent seen it, here is a test model (or two) in the scheme I have finally settled on (for now)


Enjoy and as always any feedback would be great.

Well Folks, its Tuesday and time for this weeks update, installment or confession (take your pick) of the Tale of Three Gamers. More details can be found here:
http://millests.blogspot.com/
But without further ado on with the entries:


Millests Week 2 Update

Like most people the "joys" of the real world are a pain, work is a hard task master and the bodies need to sleep is a bitch, but hey I've got some nice new models right? WRONG!
Yes annoyingly this week and the first week of making any real head way on the project has been wasted waiting on new toys. Ironically my chimera and battleforce have arrived today on the day of the post! great, why did it not come on fruday so I could have made a start? Unfortunately like Chris I am still waiting on my many many forgeworld bits, but still I've decided to make the best of a bad thing.

I havent been able to do much due to waiting on my little men, however i have used the time left to me to pick up supplies and throw together a few models for the force as shown below:



Ok, so their nothing special I agree, their just some guardsmen with a few respirator heads thrown in for good measure. Well yes I would have to agree with your their, but looking at them you can see the route I plan on going down where they are more of the "veteran" look, with gasmasks, the extreme enviroment kits, standard bits and pouches galore. This should tie them in together and yet make them look like they have been fighting for years and are without peer at what they do.
Hopefully this has reflected that and the continuing work to come on my vehicles and remaining squads will show this. Hopefully by next week I will have more to show you, and hopefully some more progress the following week when my final toys arrive that will be posted in my absence.


Jonos Week 2 Update

(Blogging from the keyboard of Jono)
Onto week 2 now and I am not making too much progress. I went to visit my Sister in Newcastle at the weekend and lets just say that I didn't feel too good upon my return.


Back on topic.. Since my last update I have assembled a lot of Termagants, as well as priming and black washing a load ready for detail. I am thinking to make my workload easier, during daylight hours if I undercoat as many models as I can, I can make a lot more progress when it isn't so light in the evenings! That way all that I need to do is paint the carapace and details at a later stage. Either way, sadly, there isn't anything cool to report this week. I am waiting on availability of bits and Mr Postman to bring me something before I have anything other than gants to report! Fingers crossed for next week!

Also, although not entirely related to my army, I have fully finished one of each model that I own (woo I hear you say). Included in this four piece is one finished Gant, so you can get a taste of what the models I am going to be playing will look like.. Also, despite first thinking that the Genestealers may be too plain, I feel that them being all black is actually quite fitting (that may just be me though)!



The first of many! I am fielding 21 Termagants and will be taking around 20 to compensate for whatever the Tervigon poops out, so I have a LONG way to go.

In order to finish off the Gant, I need to give it one last coat of brown around the edge of the base. This little guy is still a bit wet as I have only just based him!

As per usual, please feel free to comment and let me know if you want any specific pictures next week.



Chris' Week 2 Update

(Blogged on Chris' behalf)
This week has been somewhat of a let down for poor Chirs. Despite his best efforts he has been let down repeatedly by Royal Fail and is still awaiting the vast majority of his models and forgeworld bits. With this understanding we have gratiously allowed him a weeks grace from the dead model penance and instead he is planning on converting a postman to a dead postman! (please note that is a joke and should any postmen disappear it has nothing to do with Chris). In honour of the hassles he is facing and in order to chivvy the post office along in to getting his stuff to him (well via me) we would like to share this instead of his models:




#############################################

So folks, thats week two, not overly exciting but for the most part it shows we are on the way and are starting to make some damage on our models. Hope theres something that catches your eye, a question you have or just a comment you would like to make, so please feel free to do so, and hope you keep reading.
You can comment here or feel free to comment on the blog or subscribe here:
http://millests.blogspot.com/

Millest, Jono and Chris

Hi Folks,
time for this weeks TOTG update, time to mix it up and let one of the others have the limelight so lets start with Jono:


Jono's Week 2 Update



Another small update this week as all I have really been doing is sorting out my Gaunts, as well as a few other bits. Royal Fail bought my some plasticard and GS, I also took a trip to GW Bedford to pick up a Nid Battle force. I got the Battle force for conversion bits and future projects (as well as the Gaunts). Although I don’t really need it for this game, I figure it was a worthy investment.

Alas, as I don’t want to keep flooding you with pictures of Gaunts so please take this as a bit of an insight to my Prime conversion..




Millest's Week 2 Update



Well folks I too have been sorting out, organising and generally waiting about for Royal Fail. I have on the other hand been extremely impressed with the service from both Secret Weapon Minis, (that's for the bases and brass etch - reviews to follow eventually) and also from FW who managed to sort my order out for me and send me my Cadian Extreme Environment Melta gunners out this week, well before the release date.
So as you can imagine this week has been a frenzy of de-flashing and washing of this little lot:



Now I don't know when things changed, as I certainly don't remember this, but since when has the pour plug and flash on FW kits actually consisted of more resin then the actual models? I know its been bad in the past but this is the worst I've seen. It doesn't actually impact the model - only in a few cases - but it seems like an awful lot of wasted resin to me.

This however isn't all I've had delivered this week, in fact this week I received all the terrain bits I have recently ordered so I have spent the past week tidying them up and organising them before assembly and sticking them on the shelf. so mainly this week my contribution to the project is this lot:



As you can see a lot of plastic and strangely a lot of filing to get them presentable! Very annoying but overall pleased with the models and very surprised at exactly how much you get in the defence line box set. Still hoping to have some more assembled bits before I go on holiday next week.


Chris' Week 2 Update



Chris has sent the week awaiting his delayed orders from FW and Maelstrom however these have now arrived and the building can commence. Due to the delays of Royal Fail we have given him some breathing space on this, however he will hopefully get up to speed once other things have calmed down.


#############################################


That's the week 3 update done and dusted, as I will be on holiday from Friday until the week 5 update I will put plans in place for an early update with links to albums the two guys can load stuff up to so you can all see their progress, once I'm back my week 5 update may involve models - though this all depends on the state I return from holiday in!

For more information please check out the blog here:
http://millests.blogspot.com/

So enjoy, be good and look after yourselves!

Right folks straight in to week 5 update:

Millest's Week 5 Update

well folks as im sure it hasnt escaped your attention things have been quiet from me due to my holiday, however despite the sunbathing, swimming with turtles and evenings out I have managed to make some progress. The vast majority of my progress over the last week or so has been on this:


The stuff is without doubt the best thing to work on! I dont know if its the beer, the sun or the company but the drink is amazing. Although in all seriousness I did spend some of the week wondering if there was a gaming community in Barbados I could visit but if there was I couldnt find it :(

Still on my return and to get a few things done for the challenge I have decided to work on some of my "character" models, so without further ado here they are:


As I'm sure is pretty obvious this is a standard Solomon Lok model, I chose him to represent my psyker as it ties in the Inquisitional theme of the force (and is a sweet model). He's only been tidied up at the minute but once completed he will be mounted on a 40mm base with a couple of servo skulls for flavour.


Next up is the Officer from my platoon HQ (and I guess de facto force commander) I decided to mix up some of the bits and liked the idea of a long coat with the Extreme conditions gear. I know in the list he is armed with Las pistol and Chainsword but I liked the look of the Bolt Pistol and Power sword. The only thing I'm not convinced on is the Bionic arm, any thoughts?
He is almost complete however he needs the small eagle plate from the HQ bodies GSing on to his chest, his 40mm base and a servo skull adding when he is almost ready to go.


Up next are the two Sergeants that will lead the two Infantry squads, I didn't want to go OTT on them (and again I know their Laspistol/Chainsword armed but I liked the Lasgun arm) but I have decided all Sergeants and Officers where possible will have the eagle chest plate so I need to modify the Extreme conditions Sergeant. I also need to add either a Backpack or a Camo-cloak to the pointing guy.


Finally my the Sergeant for my Veteran Squad, this guy I wanted to look unfazed and like he is considering his next move, so with that in mind I gave him the "tech-ed up" head with extra eye pieces from the Vehicle sprue and the map arm from the command squad, this way it looks like he is considering a map - or in my eyes anyway!
The final pieces to add to him will be a Camo-cloak and some weapons laid on his base when he is ready.

I have decided, much to the detriment of my gaming, that all my officers and sergeants will be on 40mm bases. I know this will be a bitch in CC but I like idea of making each a little scene and having each accompanied by a Servo-skull, showing that even though they are Veteran Inquisition troopers they still aren't trusted. Maybe its over the top, maybe I'm been daft but let me know what you think of the idea and the models.

So apologies on not a huge update but now I'm back and I'm converting, casting and GS-ing furiously hopefully next weeks update will be more substantial!
Thanks Guys.


Jono's Week 5 Update

well folks despite his update in week 4 there is no update from Jono this week so unfortunately its looking like he's now modelling a casualty as per the rules! Oops!


Chris' Week 5 Update

Words to come later but for now just some pictures!








So with those two null updates time for a new feature of the 500pt challenge, its the:

Challenge No Submission Casualty ListChris - 1 model
Jono - 1 Model
Dave - 0 Model

Listed are the number of casualty models each player must have completed by the end of the challenge as a fine for their none submission of entries!


The Final bit of news is that as we have reached the end of month 1 the first Challenge Favourite Model Voting Post should be going up this week so please feel free to have a look back at the work so far and once the post is up let us know in the comments section which is your favourite model in this months progress.

Thanks folks and keep reading

A Tale of Three Gamers - Miniature of the Month Vote! - Weeks 1-5

Hi folks, well its the end of the first month and time to cast your eye back over this months offerings (sparse as they maybe) and to pick your favourite model from the last month. The only rule is that they must be a model made or painted specifically for the 500pt challenge, example models don't count.

If your not sure on which ones appeal to you or what has been done you can catch up on all the past updates from the archive here:

A Tale of Three Gamers 2011 Archive

To cast your vote please post a comment stating which model or models you like best before next weeks update (most likely Wednesday). I will then tally them all up from here and the various forums on Tuesday night and announce the winner before next weeks update.

Thanks and we look forward to you vote.

well folks the votes, or should i say vote, are in and we have a winner of the inaugral Miniature of the month for the first month!
With a grand total of 1 vote out or 1 vote this months winner is:

JONO!

So well done to jono and thanks for the one vote, hopefully next month we will have more.
Thanks folks and keep your eye out for the week 6 update
Cheers

apologies on the delays in getting this weeks update computer issues caused a delay, still on with the show:


Millest's Week 6 Update

With out much preamble or excuses here are the pics of this weeks progress, though this week has been good with lots of BL books, audio books and most importantly my Forgeworld Medusa (yay!)
So here we go, starting off with the completed command squad, all completed just waiting on mounting them on resin bases prior to painting


Next up less their heavy weapons team here is Squad 1 of the infantry platoon, I finally managed to get the Eagle plate moulded on to the resin torso of the Sergeant (still need to do it for the platoon commander) hopefully the models look dynamic enough, again awaiting resin bases prior to painting.



Here is Squad 2, again less their resin bases and heavy weapons teams. The models are detailed and ready to paint though prior to undercoating they will be given a once over again to ensure no lines etc.



So folks that's my progress for the past week, there has been some additional ongoing work on my Veteran Squad and my chimera however I will post them once their complete!

Jono's Week 6 Update


Good evening readers,
Once again, not a very productive week, but then again I am now moving house in a few weeks, so managing to find time to do anything is a miracle!
Since Mr Postman has been so generous of late, I now have TWO things to concentrate on other than Termagants (ugh). My Tervigon (as shown last week) and now, my WIP Prime!


Above are all of the bits that I currently have for my prime, including some magnets! As I am sure you can work out, I currently have bits for boneswords, and a lashwhip (not finished), but I am unsure how to do my carapace! I want him to have the ability to use a deathspitter, but am not sure whether to use the cool plated Ravener chest piece and magnetise a deathspitter, or use the deathspitter chest piece and just use either genestealer rending claws or gaunt scything talons. As I want this guy to be able to do anything useful from the Codex, abiding by WYSIWYG, I will be painting up some standard Warrior Scything talons, but I thought that Gaunt ST would be good for a lower, less useful set of limbs if using the Ravener deathspitter chest piece. Suggestions below?


This shot is comparing the size of a warrior with the legs that I have made for my Prime. As the Codex states that a Prime is just an Alpha Warrior, I didn't want to add too much detail to make him that different. As such, the GS came out and I have made him about 15mm taller using plastic warrior legs and tail! He will definitely stand taller than his comrades when marching across the battlefield for lunch! In order to finish the torso and tail off, I will be adding a Ravener torso and extending the tail by 10mm or so!

Lastly, as I have actually done some painting this week, I thought I would show off my finished Tervigon head.


I picked the war torn head, as I really like it. I am not sure if I will use this head on the finished Tervigon, but I really like it either way! If carnifex become usable in the next Tyranid codex, this will definitely be used then. Again, if you have any suggestions, please do comment below!


Chris' Week 6 Update

Unfortunately no update from Chris this week, a rather busy week for him, though in keeping with the rules time for our first dead model! yay! have told Chris a nice dead gun drone would be OK so lets see what we get!


Challenge No Submission Casualty List
Listed are the number of casualty models each player must have completed by the end of the challenge as a fine for their none submission of weekly updates!

Chris - 1 model
Jono - 0 Model
Dave - 0 Model

Finally as a teaser from one of your colleagues who may be joining us later in the year here is a little taste of the Grey Knights he has just picked up, these are only his second set of models so I am interested to see how they turn out.



As always comments and thoughts are appreciated.
Enjoy and see you all next week!

Jono's Week 7 Update

Hi All,
Somehow, last week I won the competition from the poll. Heck, there may have only been one vote, and that may have been for a model that I am not even using in this challenge (which was technically therefore a null vote), but as he voted for my paint scheme.. I still make that 0.5 - 0 - 0 to me!
In the past week I have been getting to grips with GS a bit more.. As you saw last week, I made a start on my prime, and I had a bit of feedback (thanks!) saying that I should try to beef up my prime a bit. At first I agreed, but then I started putting the rest of the bits on him..


I personally think that he looks rather good as is. He isn't too 'gangly', yet he isn't top heavy due to the lengthening of the warrior legs. Please let me know what you think either way!

I decided to go with the Ravener deathspitter chest piece in the end. I know that some people will laugh at this saying it resembles a certain part of the female anatomy, but I personally really like it so will be leaving it as is! All of the limbs are magnetised and as it stands I have 1 set of scything talons, 1 set of boneswords and a lashwhip. I plan on making a second set of scything talons using Hormagaunt arms, so that I can use these to represent lesser arms too when using the deathspitter. Lastly, I just waiting on a Ravener head before I can finish this guy off and paint him. In the pics I have just balanced on a Warrior head that I have spare.


This is him next to a warrior and a gaunt for size comparison. You can see that he doesn't tower over the other Warrior, yet he isn't exactly small either!

Overall I am incredibly pleased with this guy! Despite the rather steep learning curve with GS, I feel that this guy will look good on the table, and will definitely be of a table top standard once finished!

As always, please, PLEASE leave feedback, be it positive or negative, as it is all greatly appreciated!


Millest's Week 7 Update

Well folks back to the grindstone and back to a painful week this week! First the loss of my PC and everything on it is swiftly followed by a second kick in the balls with my camera going the way of the dinosaurs. So after one expensive repair job it looks like another or a new camera is on the way. So with all that in mind i apologies now but just to show you what I've been up to and to get some thoughts I've taken some pics using my phone camera - if i ever get a working camera these will be replaced.

so onwards and blurred-wards, first up are some of my squad leaders, now i know you have already seen them but i wanted to get some opinions of the bases for them. As previously mentioned all my leaders, from army lead down to squad level will be on 40mm bases with a servo skull (two for leaders and characters) so looking at the pics below does this larger base work or is it a tad excessive, please let me know your thoughts.



Next up some pictures of my two heavy weapons teams on their customer bases, both bases are actually the same "base" base I've just converted bits and pieces on them to make them different. So far the loaders as only stuck in place with blu tac but I'm toying with the idea of magnetising them so i can stick them on spare bases should the gunner be killed, just not sure if the idea would work.


Finally some pics of my finished Veterans to give you an idea on how I've made this squad stand out so far from the basic troops in my force, once i get a camera/repair ill be able to get some better pics of these guys for you.






As you can no doubt tell i really went to town on these guys and hopefully even at this level of crap picture it really shows.

For those of you interested the models are all on bases from Secret Weapon Miniatures and can be purchased at the Secret Weapon Miniatures webstore here:
http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=index
More specifically I have used the Urban Streets Beveled Edge bases that can be found here:
http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=30_36
I have taken photos and details for a review later on and who knows this might bag me some freebies

As always thoughts and feedback welcome and if anyone knows a camera repair shop in Suffolk please let me know!


Chris' Week 7 Update

Guess what!...... No seriously guess...... oh go on please!
Yep your right no update from Chris this week, a rather busy week for him, though in keeping with the rules another dead model from Chris!


Challenge No Submission Casualty List
Listed are the number of casualty models each player must have completed by the end of the challenge as a fine for their none submission of weekly updates!
Chris - 2 models
Jono - 0 Model
Dave - 0 Model
As always comments and thoughts are appreciated. Apologies again for the shocking pics normal service will be resumed soon i hope!
Enjoy and see you all next week!

those guardmen are looking great

Chris' Week 8 Update

First off, apologies for the lack of updates for a couple of weeks, but I still have little to post. My fiancée hasn’t been well, and I’m swamped with DIY jobs at the moment, so modelling has taken a back seat. On a more positive note, one of those DIY jobs is boarding my loft so at least we will have a dedicated gaming space on completion of the challenge

I have literally had about an hour in the past fortnight for modelling, which I spent green stuffing the large join lines and attaching the branches on the citadel wood. I know nobody is particularly interested scenery, but here’s a picture, to avoid my dead model count increasing further.



I have 11 days off work starting Friday, so with a bit of luck, I will be able to field more than half a crisis suit by the end of the challenge...

Jono's Week 8 Update

Hi All!
Really struggled to get a submission this week as moving out time is getting ever so close so spare time is very scarce. Equally, I did find my mini tripod AND I bet I have still made more progress than Chris!
Back on track..

It may not look that way, but I spent a few more hours on my Tervigon. The Mecharite Red layers are all done bar one of the scything talons. Once thats done, all I need to do is the bone elements of the model, a few touch ups and its done. Well, that lot and the base..


If you check red on the hind legs, compared to the talons in the pic above, you will see that the shading is completely different and much less flat! After a Mecharite Red layer or two, I have been adding a Baal Red wash followed by shadows with Badab Black wash. Personally I think it makes the whole model look less flat!

Also, a quick shot from the other side.


You will also see the barrell above, which was on the base of my Terv. Being a massive MC base, I want to make it stand out a bit. On the barrell, I tried to replicate rust so used a hairspray technique, as detailed here:
http://site.scratchmod.com/Salt_Hairspray_Technique.php
I cannot stress how easy this is, and it looks quite good too!


Lastly, I havent actually bought any scenery for this 'challenge' as of yet because I have had no idea what to buy! -I just can't decide. On the flip side of this, I have had plenty of ideas for stuff to build. This was the first thing that I managed to get a solid enough idea, as well as enough bits together to make..


Since moving house involves actually going through all of the junk that is stashed in the loft, I found a load of my old 40k from about 8 years ago. Amidst the terrible Ultramarines, I found an old cardboard Imperial firebase. Now the scenery itself is terrible, but the plastic pieces holding it all together were perfect for some storage crates, or indeed a command post. Other pieces in the mix are plenty of plasticard and 2 right-angled plastic fittings from B&Q. I have made two of these, both being about 3" tall, and 5" long. I have enough bits to make a third, much longer one, for a mini storage yard!

So, this is it for me for a few weeks! I am off to Ireland for a week (bad timing or what) and then it looks like the house will have sold. I will hopefully get back on track and get some real progress soon!

Millest's Week 8 Update

Well folks as mines the smallest update this week I thought I should go last, give the others some limelight and all that. Basically I'm still sans camera however to prove I've actually done something I've included another Iphone picture. This time it shows the Chimera and Sentinal I've been working on the past week. The Chimera has a few little conversions I'm happy with that really make the model different enough to notice but are still subtle. The Sentinal has had the Autocannon magnatised so I can swap it out with the Missile launcher I have. Other then that this week is BH weekends and my other halfs birthday so there may not be much progress this next week or so but where there is chance I will be working on the bases for the models, the very nice Secret Weapons Miniatures bases previously mentioned, and where possible I will be working on my Medusa stand in for the Griffon in the army list. So heres the pic, enjoy what you can make out:



Challenge No Submission Casualty List
Listed are the number of casualty models each player must have completed by the end of the challenge as a fine for their none submission of weekly updates!
Chris - 2 models
Jono - 0 Model
Dave - 0 Model


As always comments and thoughts are appreciated. Apologies again for the shocking pics normal service will be resumed soon I hope!
Enjoy and see you all next week!

Hi folks,
I thought as things on the TOTG have been quiet recently I would give you all a brief update on the project. First though thanks to you all for sticking with things so far, the loyalty is greatly appreciated. So now on with the update.

The first that you may or may not be aware of is that things have been delayed, both by real world events and by postal delays, so with that in mind I would like to apologise that unfortunately the 500pt starting forces have now had their completion date moved from the end of May to the end of June. That’s good for all of us and means you guys get more fun right till the end of June, hopefully you’ll enjoy it.

Secondly all being well TOTG will be changing, TOTG will grow this month with becoming TOFG with a fourth friend joining the mix. This will result in the posts being split to two posts covering two forces each week, therefore representing a maximum kill zone, inflicting maximum damage on the maximum number of opponents…….. I mean, maximizing the postage and giving you the maximum exposure to our work. This means now the forces on the tables should be:
• Imperial Guard
• Tau
• Tyranids
• Ultramaines/Space Marines (when the models finally arrive)
More details on the Space Marine addition will follow in this weeks update, along with details on the special exceptions we have given. As a result due to the number of gamers and models after the 500 point the posts will move to a bi-weekly posting roster. The format of which is yet to be decided.

So there you have it the futures bright, the futures MMM! So project wise the next year is looking busy both personally and for the TOTG/TOFG team. Our plans at present are looking something like this:
• complete the 500,
• Expand to 750,
• Expand to 1000,
• Expand to 1500
Some of the team are considering also working on a 1500 MeQ armies during the year for a separate challenge and will update on that as and when this materialises.

So folks that’s the next few months sorted and hopefully clearer on what will be happening, so hopefully that will be enjoyable for you all.
Thanks and looking forward to your comments.

Hi guys,
just a quick modelling query really as to aesthetics, I've been basing up and detailing this weeks and I've reached a bit of a flat spot in my decision making.
As you all know I plan on basing all my Officers from Command Squads and my Characters on 40mm bases. However this week when basing up my Squad Sergeant's I began to look at them and think "are they too big?". I have decided that the Sergeants for my Veteran squads will get them as I want to make those like little dioramas but I'm concerned about how it looks for the normal Sergeant, is it too bland?
So to give you an idea of what they look like here's a pic (again apologies but the camera still hasn't turned up - more news on that in this weeks TOTG/TOFG):



As you can see the 1st and 2nd Sergeants bases are empty save for them and soon a Servo-Skull, I may add some more rubble or casings but not sure. The Veteran Sergeant looks OK and will have weapons and a Skull on there.

Do you think the 40mm bases work or would the be better suited to a standard 20mm base with the Servo-Skull on them? Do the bases look empty and not worth it or do they rock and would work well once the skull and details are on there? Please help folks as your input is really needed before I paint and any insight would be great.

I'm not a huge fan of the teeny-tiny Guardsman on a great big 40mm base. If you're going to put IG on a 40mm base, you'll need a lot of stuff happening on it to make it interesting. Otherwise it looks like you're just modeling it that way for some unknown reason. I would rather see them on a standard 25mm base with some extra gubbins to make 'em look special.

makes sense to me too, was possibly going for something too different. still my characters and vets will get them so thats good
cheers for the feedback
millest

Chris' Week 9 Update


Well folks its been another week of baited breath but still no sight of the paints I've ordered!! It's now been three weeks and unfortunately for the first time Maelstrom have let me down, and they've done it big time.

Still since the last post I have now based everything ready for painting (well apart from arms and pads so I can get details) and am now ready for priming - should it ever arrive, here's a quick pic or two:



I have also spent some time rectifying the problems with my Forgeworld Crisis suit and he too is ready to go and should be primed when it arrives:



Jono's Week 9 Update

Hi All,

A good bit of time away from my ravings, but alas, for those that are interested, here is this week’s bilge! I haven’t had much time since my last update, as I have moved house (I wouldn’t recommend this activity) and been on Holiday to Ireland (this I would recommend, I love the place).

I have however managed to get a bit of painting done, as well as some modeling. I have had a lot of action from Mr Postman too! (ewww, enough about your deviant behaviour Jono - millest) I have completed painting my Tervigon, my Hive Guard arrived and have been assembled AND I have finally managed to source some Ravener heads that are not £3 each! My wallet has also been busy since my last installment, as I have ordered the aforementioned Hive Guard and Ravener heads, Paulson Games Bone Swords, 19 gaunts (1 box of 12 from Maelstrom and 7 from eBay), the AOBR boxed set and Codex Tyranids. *smug*

I have forgotten just how horrid a big pewter model is to put together! Alas, I think that the Hive Guard models are awesome, so it’s worth it! –Hopefully I should have some progress on them for next week’s update!

So, onto the piccies, as I guess that’s what the majority of you really care about.. My Tervigon, pretty much complete!




I need to base it, but I will be doing this when I get a good batch of gribblies to do, so I can get a production line going!

This model has taken me a LOT of work to get this painted. It may not be pro standard, but I am seriously proud of it, so any critique is welcomed! I may well do a few touch-ups on the giant when I get some time, but as it stands, I am proud to have the reproductive system of my army completed!

Hopefully next week Hive Guard, group shots and a few more completed models! As it stands, I have 3 gaunts and my Tervigon fully completed, with the rest in various stages of base coating.. so that’s 4 of 25 models 100% completed.

*head-desk*


Millest's Week 9 Update

OK folks well from me right now I can confirm this week there will be no pictures! First off let me update you on progress. So far everything apart from my Medusa/Griffon is assembled, detailed, based and undercoated and ready to go. I would provide pics but having to use my phone camera means basically you would have a picture of a lot of black blobs, not overly interesting. So with that in mind I haven't included pictures, if anyone (including the other guys) decide for this reason I should convert a dead model as per the rules I am happy to but be warned I may replicate it in life size!!!!!

So to explain why I have no pictures and I'm hacked off, Back at the end of April my camera died, now rather then throw out what to me is a very expensive item I decided to send it to Fuji for repair. Yay, you all say it may be slow but it will be fixed/replaced, well unfortunately not as according to Fuji the camera never arrived! When questioning Royal Fail over this I was repeatedly told that the proof of signature should be up soon, however finally on Wednesday they admitted they do not have a signature for the camera. so I am now down one camera, the cost of one repair and the post of sending said camera. I have had to place a claim with Royal Fail however I was advised that as I don't have the original receipt for the camera (IE a 5 year old receipt) that I will most likely only get refunded/insurance payout for the cost of postage! So if anyone has any advice or information on how best to approach this (can I claim on house insurance - IE contents?) that would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading what amounts to a very poor entry from me and if you decide I should model a casualty let me know.

Challenge No Submission Casualty List
Listed are the number of casualty models each player must have completed by the end of the challenge as a fine for their none submission of weekly updates!

Chris - 2 models
Jono - 0 Model
Dave - 0 Model
As always comments and thoughts are appreciated. Apologies again for the shocking pics normal service will be resumed soon I hope!

Enjoy and see you all next week!

Hi Folks
This weeks first post, yes week 10 will be a week of many many posts, is one where we expand the challenge from A Tale of Three Gamers to a A Tale of Four Gamers (titles and archives will be adjusted accordingly after today. This is Dans first post in which he will be giving a brief introduction about he is and also showcasing the background or fluff we have written for his force. Hopefully youll enjoy this and the expansion this brings to the TOFG challenge. There will also be more updates and progress on the challenge later when timescales and progress are checked.

So enough from me not and here we have the first post from our newest member in what is now "A Tale of Four Gamers", Dan:

===============================================

Hello
So this is my first entry and my intro....I'm Dan and for this challenge I have chosen to take on the Space Marines and the Ultramarines chapter. This is my first forray into the world of 40K in a very very long time. Once upon a time I dabbled a wee bit with my younger brother in the hobby but that was some time ago and my painting and modelling skills were affected by my attention span!

With the recent discount codes available on Maelstrom I have splurged out to get started. First off I purchased a battleforce, which not only being a great way to start also saves a HUGE amount of money!This forms the basis of my 500pt army. Since then I have also ordered a Devestator Squad and a Predator. The Dev squad is for the heavy weapons to use in two tactical squads and the Pred is being lined up for the 750pt challenge.

So first up here is some of the background the guys have helped me map out for my 500 point force


Recon Force Phi
Recon force Phi has been dispatched by Captain Sicarius to investigate the loss of contact with an Ultramarines remote monitoring site near the borders of the expanding Tau empire.

Under the command of Veteran Sergeant Karras, recently returned from a tour with the Deathwatch, the force has become embroiled in the dual encroachment of the Tyranids and the Tau upon Imperial space, and the worlds under the stewardship of the Ultramarines. Due to the increased threat level of multiple xenos incursions, Veteran Sergeant Karras has notified Macragge and has requested reinforcements.

Despite continuing to gather intelligence for the imminent arrival of a full sized strike force, the Ultramarines have been unable to make contact with the planetside Imperial forces, causing their loyalty to be thrown in to doubt...


Finally to round off my first post here is the run down of my list, the exceptions will be explained later:


===============================================

So folks there you have it the first post from the latest member of the TOTG/TOFG member. So as Dan mentions and I'm sure some of you eagle eyed readers will notice despite us sticking to the 1 HQ and 2 Troops format of the standard force organisation chart Dan doesnt have a HQ. We decided that at this points level for a Marine force the cost of an effective HQ was too phrohibative and decided to allow some leniancy in this, the compramise being that he had to make at least one of the Sergeants a Veteran to show some kind of leadership within the force. It was also felt for fluff reasons it wouldnt be unheard of for a decorated Veteran Sergeant (especially a Deathwatch Veteran) to lead a small recon force rather then assign an Officer or Chaplain etc. Personally I think it works quite well and does appeal to the fluffy nature of most of the forces in this challenge, plus its a good way for Dan to do something a little different with his Smurfs.... I mean Ultramarines.
So I hope your all enjoy what you see and waht Dan can produce and I'm sure you'll all join me in welcoming him to the challenge.

Dan's Week 10 Update

Hell there everyone,
Time for my first update and progress report. When building the army I started off with the Tactical Squads as these make up the majority of my army. Also I thought that as these were pretty standard models it would be a good start for me. The pics below show my efforts, I've started to paint a couple as you can see but nothing major to show.


Following on from the first Tac squad I decided to step up to the Assault Squad. You might be able to tell that I have model the Sgt to look a bit more of an independent character, due to me not having an HQ as permitted by the rest of the crew. The Sgt is on a 40mm base and I have done some conversion work to make him stand out. I have adorned him with a deathwatch helmet and shoulder pad. On the weapons front I have sculpted a plasma pistol on the back of a combat shield and I have mod'd a force halberd (from a GK sprue I have) and made it into a power halberd. Piccies below of the Assault Squad.


Dave's Week 10 Update

Once again no pictures from me, alas the Camera saga continues, however importantly the fecking things has magically appeared - once I had started a claim against Royal Fail (who would have thought) so it is now in the hands of Fuji who are repairing it as we type i hope. To give an update i have furiously being brass etch applying this week and finishing off undercoating ready. The Medusa is still giving me headaches and I am majorly miffed with the massive holes in it but alas it will be getting somewhere soon. Sorry once again folks and apologies but hope to have pics next week.

Jono's Week 10 Update

Hi All!
Since the addition of another person to the Tale of Three Gamers (Tale of Multiple Gamers?!), I have come to realize that fielding a force of Nids with 26 models, where an SM player can play 25 is going to leave me at a bit of a disadvantage! Sure I may have a 6 wound MC, and a 3 wound CC monster BUT these two models together come to over 250 points, with the Hive Guard that’s over 350.. I decided I needed a change!


After testing (mentioned below) I figured I need Hormagaunts as Termagants alone will not be that ‘killy’! Alas, I may well add TS to the Tervigon, in the near future and take away a Gaunt or two, but alas, I am more happy now than I was!

Either way, my list looks something like this on the table..


Granted, the majority of these guys are just primed, but most of them have been assembled in the last week! In total, I have assembled 19 Termagants and 17 Hormagaunts.. Next to get some more paint on them!


Another reason I changed my list, I recently bought AOBR for the rulebook, (as well as the extra minis)! To help get things flowing in my head, I did a few test games: SMs Vs. Termas and SMs Vs. Hormas. I have come to the conclusion that Termagants are good for forcing multiple saves and keeping units tied up, but not much else . Hormagaunts on the other hand are NASTY. Learning the rules again, and realizing that despite costing 6 points each, in CC on the assault, these guys get 4 attacks each, re-rolling 1’s. I found that in all the games that I played, that the Termagants were a bit hit/miss. Once in combat, due to sheer number, they kept the SMs occupied for a good few turns (enough to tarpit the squad for the remainder of the game, usually killing a good few in the process. I also found that the Hormagaunts would either keep the SMs occupied for a few turns (bad rolls), or destroy them all on the assault (good rolls).

So yea.. Everything is assembled, just need to get a few more minis finished!

10/41 models painted.

Chris' Week 10 Update

Alas poor Chris is still waiting on paint, the whole debarcle has put a cramp on his style, so why has he not gone and got them from GW or anywhere else, simple answer 20% off! Works out a hell of a saving on the paints he needed and as he has already paid for them little cash to splash. I have been updated that all is based, assembled and converted, however no updates til the paints arrive, though the tally from the previous no update rule still stands.

Challenge No Submission Casualty List
Listed are the number of casualty models each player must have completed by the end of the challenge as a fine for their none submission of weekly updates!

Chris - 2 models
Jono - 0 models
Dave - 0 models
Dan - 0 models

As always comments and thoughts are appreciated. Apologies again for the shocking pics normal service will be resumed soon I hope!

Enjoy and see you all next week!