Strg Alt wrote:
Last but not least we need to talk about painting. I don´t have much time nowadays and all the new
HH painting tutorials have displayed edge highlighting as a technique which takes endless hours and your sanity. Are there any good candidates to use a drybrushing technique? I know people might want to sell me right now any kinds of contrast colours though I would prefer to use my existing collection of paints for any future project.
I'm a big fan of drybrushed metallics myself; gives a nice worn armor look. Also, going off of the following tutorial gives a nice transition from light to dark:
https://youtu.be/JjWgwoEFgv8
I also painted a World Eaters beakie awhile back, with no edge highlights on the white of the armor. Because I was working with colors that were fairly close together, I could get away with just layering the brightest white on high areas and just letting the sponged on battle damage hide the sharpest transitions.
Also, with edge highlights, you don't need to edge highlight Every Single Edge like
GW does, just highlight the upper edges (and even then, if it's an edge that would naturally be in shadow, you don't have to go unnaturally bright).
Strg Alt wrote:
And now back to the legions themselves. Should I ever decide to give
HH a try or just collect a few minis for painting my choice would be space marines who prefer to let the opposition starve at their outstretched arm. So the emphasis would be on tacticals trying to create overlapping fire zones while keeping their distance. Having just watched the GMG batrep I was reminded of this still being Warhammer meaning my idea might be foolhardy as both armies were advancing towards each other until they met in the middle for the unavoidable belly bounce. Why? Well, killing stuff is still easier in melee than in ranged combat with bolters. Although the reaction system might be useful in this regard as units can either overwatch or move back when opponents are too close by. So which legion can use tacticals best in ranged combat?
You have some options, both thematically and rules-wise.
Iron Warriors: This fits both rules wise and thematically. They get a flat bonus in the strength of shooting attacks against vehicles in game. In the fluff, they were all about siege attrition, with lots of guns hammering at their foes while their rank and file poked and prodded for weaknesses.
Imperial Fists: The other siege Legion. In the fluff, they were more about defense or using engineering to dismantle enemy fortifications (though the Iron Warriors did this too). In game they get +1 Ballistic Skill when shooting Bolt and auto weapons. Given how much of each are in Heresy, and that this boosts their basic tacticals, this is VERY strong. So if you pick them, don't go overboard and be prepared to paint a lot of yellow.
Iron Hands: Fluff wise they were all about Armored Assaults, so a fair mix of Infantry ans Vehicles. Rules wise they're more survivable, with a -1 Strength to incoming shooting attacks against Infantry and vehicles getting
IWND (heal 1 wound) on a 6+ at the end of their turn.
Ultramarines: Pretty much flexible in tactics as can be fluff-wise. Leaks seem to indicate they'll have the same rule as before: +1 to hit against units that have already taken fire from a friendly Ultramarines unit within 6".
Thousand Sons: Rules haven't come out yet, but last edition they were all about them Psychic powers. From what I recall in the fluff, while they won't avoid close-combat, they did seem more capable of blasting from afar.
Alpha Legion: Fluff-wise don't shy away from close combat but don't focus on it either. They're all about sowing discord and striking hard while the enemy is in chaos. No rules released for them, but leaks suggest they just get to pick rules from another Legion.