One year on! Comings, goings and Waaagh!

Holy moly, it's been a year to the day since my last post! Been majorly involved with a load of big changes in real life- moved house, new baby on the way and a new job role. These have all conspired one way or another to slow my hobby down, but no more! So without further ado, here's what's going down in hobby town... 

Gone!

The Dark Angels were sold off a few months back as I'd finally reached my tipping point with them- whilst my love for the First Legion continues, I wasn't enjoying them as an army anymore. A young fellow here in Canberra bought them, so maybe I'll see them around some time.

So long old friends!!

Orks 2.0! 

Yep, there's a new greenskin force in the works- it's sitting around 2300-odd points at the moment and slowly getting painted up. Looking to go Deathskulls clan again but with a slightly warmer set of complimentary colours (reds, purple, yellow/black hazard stripes). This new force has more infantry compared to the old walker-heavy roster, but you can better believe that I'll be including some Kans and Deffdreads soon. At least there's a Morkanaut in there for some stompy goodness...

Here's some of the Kommandos I converted up- greenstuff, backpacks and stikkbombs for all!

Fantasy! Warriors of Chaos

Yeah, so I finally got around to buying a Warhammer Fantasy army. Whilst they are still all sealed in boxes it's great to think I'll have a fantasy army up and running (hopefully) soon. Like the Orks, a close combat oriented army, although I've recently bought a lot of old early 90s metal sorcerers so there'll be some serious casting going on. Hope to get some updates for them up soon.

Gaming?

There's been a bit of sporadic battle recently- a large 40,000pt + Apocalypse game with the CNSG (Canberra Northern Suburbs Gaming) lads for the club's open day, and a smaller 12k team battle (pictured below). The Orks participated in both battles and acquitted themselves well- the new codex takes some getting used to but there's a lot to like!

Here's some pics from the 12k battle.

Oh and as a final note- got some colour put down on the Warlord Titan. He's looking pretty nifty in red.

The mega-update: Four months worth of hobby and gaming.....

I'm back!!!

Hi all, its been way too long, almost four months by my count- my apologies. I’ve been off work for about that long, which would normally mean a lot more activity and posting on here, but unfortunately real life gets in the way- have been on holidays away from home, been really sick on and off and have had some family related interstate trips as well, so there’s been little time for blog updates. Oh, and my pc screen recently did a very uncooperative ‘blank out, pop, and produce smoke’, meaning that I now have this machine hooked up to a 42’ TV screen- trust me its not as great as it sounds- glaringly bright, everything is annoyingly large… first world problems, right? Hahaha! 

So without further ado, here is what’s been going on since my late January pre-Cancon post…

Cancon

All in all I got to play seven of the eight games on offer, having to head home midway through the third day due to our house having received some damage in a huge storm the night before (had to meet up with people to have it assessed), however this didn't have a huge impact overall, as I was struggling to get a draw most of the time.  I know that my list is one that is very situational and can be blown off the table with enough firepower, and that's what happened- I had a fair few games where the cover was inadequate, which was compounded by my lack of long range firepower. Aggressively taking objectives is the easy part for Assault Marines, but holding it can be hard with a lack of ranged firepower or backline support. My army units were almost all designed to hit hard in close combat/short range firefights, at which they excelled time and again, but at range they got mangled. I was tabled in three of my games (one was a very close run thing- my opponent had only one unit left), however I had a really great time! My opponents were all generally good fun to play against, with a mix of experienced and newer generals, and I was able to use my battles against them to try out new things with my list- tactics and unit combos mainly.

The last lot of shots pre- Cancon:

Went with helmeted heads in the end for my priests, as I was going to keep the white to a minimum I'd need them as a focal point. Turned out looking great IMHO.

Librarians. Both force weapons are very basic for now, but work! Custom jump pack turned out cool as well :)

Here’s a few pics from the battles at Cancon, with some details (where I can actually remember what happened!)

Bring the pain!! Army set up for best painted (or players choice?? i don't remember...)

First game, Vs Iron Warriors. Bikes take cover..

The Iron Warriors and their cultists minions.

Warpsmith Vs Sergeant surrounded by flaming Furioso and Drop Pod (my flickering flame markers). Sergeant almost killed him before eating power-axe! Karma got the chaos scum though- for his efforts the Warpsmith was turned into a Spawn!

Vs. White Scars, second game. Ran rampant in CC, and the Furioso carved his way through the backline.

Libby Vs Korsorro Khan in an epic Warlords duel. Force Axe eventually got the Khan with Instant Death after three turns of back and forth combat!

Str5 on the charge (with a Priest) vs rear armour 10 = boom! Barely used a meltagun all tourney...

Only pic I took of game three, Vs. Eldar. Most enjoyable game of the tourney. A bloody hard fought draw this one, loads of tactical manouvering, close range firefights and vicious hand to hand.

Game four, vs Necrons. Beat down a Destroyer Lord and a C'tan Shard (Nightbringer), but got tabled eventually... exploding C'tan took out my last Terminator funnily enough.

Ugh... game five, or 'how to suck the fun out of a game. Tau in a corner behind an all-covering Aegis line. Shitty and broken. Game five was not fun, and not because I lost (badly) but because it didnt feel like playing 40K, more like 'here's what the Internet says is 'teh awesomez'. Lame.

Game six, vs Grey Knights with IG allies. My opponent didnt like when I threw a Furioso at his backline and blended 10 GKs and two IG command squads. Minor loss to me, but was happy when my Termy Librarian and Inquisitor Coteaz both died simultaneously in their challenge. I laughed so hard at that, my opponent not so much :P

I missed game seven  so this is game eight- i'm in a table corner, my opponent in the other, we both have to get to the circle marked up at the top to evacuate units... all jump/fast/mounted in SRaven/Drop pod? I got a near flawless 'win' for this, but it wasn't really a fun game... just weird.

So, Cancon was good fun- some of the missions were a bit hard for me, and I think my future lists need some long range firepower and backline campers- sniper scouts, drop-pod Tactical Squads or the like. I'm going to keep playing with this at this points level and see what I feel is best before any new purchases.


 The Big Game III- Goodgames Canberra, March 2013

I heard about the Big Game III through a mate, and was intrigued in the possibility of being part of a game that contributed globally towards the end result for either Imperial + Allies or 'the forces of Disorder'. So with this is mind I pulled all the stops out and completed the basic structure of my Warlord Battle Titan!! Even in flat grey undercoat it was a sight to behold, and certainly drew some *seriously unprintable* comments when I first brought it in the door of the LGS. There was a few issues on the day though- one being that the tables were only 4ft wide, meaning I was easily assaultable and the carapace weapons were limited in their use/minimum range. The other issue was that my car had been giving me huge dramas on the way to the event, and I chose to try getting it home at the lunch break- it gave up halfway home and I waited an hour for a towtruck. Once I got home I wasn't then able to return in time for the end of the game and could only get there afterwards to retrieve all my stuff. From what I could tell it acquitted itself well, I erased a jetbike-mounted Seer council with a single Volcano Cannon blast, and stomped some terminators into paste, but a FW Daemon Prince thingy (Agrath??) eventually pierced the Deathwing/BA Terminator screen at its feet and wrecked it. Still, I love building things that people reckon are too hard/impossible to build etc.

On my completed 6x4 urban road boards- dominate!!!!!!!

Deployed for the Big Game. 

 

Long table deployment shot

Belial and Chaplain with 10-strong Deathwing charge forwards. Note- Agrath is incoming!

Thats a big titan...

Necromunda- welcome to the Underhive!!

About four weeks ago me and the boys started up a Necromunda campaign, with six gangs in total- My Orlocks, and some Van Saar, Delaque, Goliaths, Spyrers and Enforcers- a very diverse range of original gangs and later 'Outlanders' gangs.

So far we've all managed to get a few games in, and I've been lucky to not have much in the way of injuries. Several of the other gangs have had multiple deaths or even roster changes (Alan's Enforcers notably- they keep rolling up Ld increases, and the leaders all leave!). After a couple more games, my guys- the Tunnel Stalkers- should be getting in another Heavy- maybe another Heavy Stubber, but i'd really like a Heavy Bolter if the creds are there.

The Tunnel Stalkers, led by 'Hitman' Harlon (Dan Abnett fans may get the reference...)

Harlon started out as a Catachan Sgt. Added greenstuff t-shirt, shoulderpads, hair and tabard, its passable... in-game he's got D3 extra attacks on the charge, hits at Str 5 with his chainsword and has carapace armour, so a bit of a badass!

Some of my purpose-built Necromunda terrain- will be useful for 40k as well.

The majority of this new stuff is made from foamcore board- lightweight, strong and versatile.

+

WIP cargo containers- I'd like to make a whole bunch of these (at least a dozen) for use in 40K as well- fighting in a cargo depot or starport for example.

So far our campaign has been very enjoyable, although I'm somewhat sad now with the recent news that GW has decided to can the Specialist Games line. But that's how it goes- as long as 40k continues I'm never really going to bemoan GW that much (I dont really anyhow!).



Dark Angels rebuild/ how to be totally crazy....

So I was lucky enough to get a terrain prize at Cancon, giving me a $50 voucher for a gaming company, and decided to finally lay my hands on the Dark Angels Codex. Once in my possession I had a really quick look and just put it on the shelf, as I had a load of other things being done at the time. Only recently have I had the time and inclination to sit down and read it from front to back, after which I have come to the conclusion that my army needs resurrecting, both tactically and aesthetically.

My original Dark Angels (power armour anyhow) were not dissimilar to the current GW Eavy Metal scheme, being a fairly dark green with mild highlights, however along the way I somehow decided that snot green bright highlights on all raised surfaces was the go. Why, I am not sure, but for a while I was happy with it. They were a bit too bright for 'typical' Dark Angels but looked okay to me. However with the change to the GW paint line I realised that any new power armour or vehicle units wouldnt match, as Dark Angel Green is a totally different colour to the new Caliban Green. Caliban is a darker shade that I think actually suits the First Legion really well, so I resolved a while ago to redo my army once I had the Codex (and the inclination..). So, I tried my hand at repainting over the green armour of my tactical and assault marines, with an Abbadon Black basecoat (thinned) to bring it back to a dark base. Got 5 marines done, all resplendant in their new smooth Caliban Green, but retaining their nice robes and boltguns, and I was fairly happy...

However, when going back for a quick check of something, i picked one up and where my finger lightly touched the dark green it just wiped off like it wasnt even there, showing the Snot Green underneath . So, what I came to realise was that a repaint was not going to work, meaning a complete dissassembly, paint strip and rebuild. 

Wish this had worked- repainted in new Caliban Green on the left. Just didnt stick though :(

Whilst a large undertaking, this isnt a bad thing- I'd long been thinking about re-basing the army, which I now realise wouldn't have happened unless I disassembled them all- some of the bases were that solidly glued to the feet that they tore holes out of the bases instead of the bases just snapping off from the minis. I even had to cut and sand some of the feet until the plastic of the old bases were no longer there- a horrible job to do! So for now my Dark Angels are sitting in a large container filled with Simple Green concentrate, awaiting a stripback. All 30 Tactical Marines and 10 Assault Marines went in- they'll all be rebirthed as Tactical Squads, as I have more than enough assault units in my Deathwing and Ravenwing- the former being finally completed with some paintjob updates (thankfully the paint does stick to them!) and the latter, my Ravenwing bike squad, having been filed, smoothed and rebuilt with new eBay sourced handlebars, boltguns and RW fairings.

Sigh... at least i can start fresh again. Got ten scrubbed back bare, another 30 to go- then arms, weapons etc....

Looking a lot better than last time I had them up here! Glad I didnt convert them all into Blood Angel bikes (as per my original plan). Ive actually now completed the rebuild of all the riders, minus a few missing RW shoulderpads. New rounded-end bases are miles better than the previous fantasy cavalry ones I was using.

I've also purchased some new goodies for the Dark Angels- the Deathwing Command Squad box, the Ravenwing Command Squad and the Dark Talon/Nephilim flyer box. The DW command box is truly inspiring- I'll be using the components to build a squad of 5 DW Knights, however there is more than enough remaining torsos, heads, and weapons to build another squad of either 'regular' (albeit ornate) Deathwing OR a DW Command Squad- i just need five sets of Termy legs (got three already). Not too sure which of these two I want first, suffice to say that I will be using the Plasma Cannon and Cyclone Missile Launcher options included in the box somewhere in my force. The RW command box will be turned into a squad of three Ravenwing Black Knights, who will in essence spearhead my main RW force, and I'm still tossing up whether to run a Nephilim (mild duties fighter craft) or a Dark Talon (dedicated support flyer to supplement ground forces). Both are cool looking vehicles, so im most likely going to buy and build another later on in the alternating setup to whatever I choose for this one.               

Conclusion!

So that's how it stands at the moment- I've got a bucket-load of 40K, Necromunda and terrain things going on, and when I can find the time I'm getting a lot done. Im hoping to get back into more regular post updates, especially with my Dark Angels progress, as I'll be taking them along to Wintercon in mid July (7 weeks from now).

Until next time, thanks for looking!
Tempest 

Epic Titans!!! And a well known titan-weapon from the Internets...

So, here's a litte rant regarding my latest side project (aka '40K-progress derailer' hahaha), the rebuilding of a few old Epic miniatures. For those of you that are unaware, Epic is essentially Warhammer 40,000 but in 6mm scale- thats right, a single infantryman is 6mm tall, compared to the 25-28 mm of 40K. Entire squads are stuck onto single square or rectangular bases, and move, shoot and assualt all as the one entity. Combat on this scale also lends itself to the use of massive armour columns, superheavy tanks as well as my favourite- the Titans. These walking monsters can decimate opposing armies in shooting and close combat, and are such an iconic image that I have collected a few across the years. The hardest part, to be honest, is actually finding someone to have a game of Epic with, although I've found recently that Canberra has a very decent sized Epic fanbase so here's hoping i'll get some games in soon!

My old Dark Angels Epic army was essentially what came straight out of the "Epic:40,000" box set (from 1997), with the addition of 4 metal Dreadnoughts and a very recently purchased metal Thunderhawk gunship. However, as is the way of things, I decided to change their colourscheme and chapter orientation- so they've now taken a bath into the Simple Green, and have been there for around two weeks now. Initial cleanup on a few units has been extremely promising- the paint comes off with minimal scrubbing with a light toothbrush and some running water, and my earlier fears regarding infantry snapping off at the legs during cleanup appears unfounded- it simply doesnt happen. So, with my recent purchases of 40 1988-era 'Space Marine" tactical marines and the cleaned up ones from my prior DA army i'll soon have a large assembled army ready for undercoat and paint. Takes roughly 10 minutes per base to paint up if you really, really take your time, including highlights- thats how tiny they are!

A selection of Titans, for your viewing pleasure... 

MARS-PATTERN WARLORD

Here's another work in progress- this Warlord Titan was purchased along with another two around five years prior,  they've had multiple cleanup sessions to get all the old Enamel paint off (takes a lot longer in Simple Green, but most things that dissolve Enamel arent good for plastic either), and this one has now been re-undercoated and the arms and guns have been glued solidly onto the carapace. What i've been going for is a build for a 'standard' Warlord under the GW Epic: Armageddon rules (the latest version), and my others will have mix 'n' match loadouts for games using the Net EA rules. So, this guy is rocking the 1988 weapon equivalents of a  gatling blaster and volcano cannon, however i decided his pointy short 'defence lasers' on the carapace did not look like the double-barrelled twin turbolaser destructors they were meant to be. So, with a lot of care and a bit of luck I cut off the existing barrels, and then chopped up a twin barrel setup for both guns- these are made from a Tau burst cannon, and look fantastic in my opinion!! They arent glued in place as yet, i'm going to paint the carapace up before they are permanently attached.  I'll also be removing the multi-fit mounting lugs under/on top of all guns where they arent needed anymore.  

 IMPERATOR

And here's a mini i've had for a long time- the biggest and baddest of the Emperor's land-based weapons- the Emperor Class 'Imperator' Titan. I originally bought him from a friend unassembled, and i threw him together in a single night and then spent only a few hours painting him up- suffice to say its a claggy, thick and nasty job (but hey, i was young and stupid...). Also, along the way I decided that Epic wasnt for me, and the Imperator donated his Plasma Annihilator to one of my Dark Angels Dreadnoughts, cut down shorter (and thus, never  reclaimable for Epic...). With my recent 'repaint and rebuild' bent I decided the Imperator needed a complete rebuild, and to this end I would need a replacement Plasma Annihilator. I ended up sourcing one through eBay, but thought there was something very familiar about it.. turns out, the actual PA I bought is the one used in the Warhammer 40K Online Wiki... Seriously- if you Google Image Search "Plasma Annihilator", the first image that comes up is a claggy thick painted red/silver poor excuse for a titan weapon- that exact gun is sitting on my desk at home waiting for a dip into the greenstuff... yay, quasi-famous weapon for my titan.... hahahaha!

BANELORD

And just for some completeness, and to make this less of an Imperium-fest, here's my Khorne Banelord Titan- essentially a close combat/short range Warlord, it uses metal arm weapons, metal head (with a minigun coming out of the mouth!!!), metal tail and metal missile rack and banner poles! But, its the same plastic warlord chassis as the other ones, im always impressed at how much variation could be acheived with some 'add ons'. Hoping to get a small Chaos warband assembled and painted soon (I have the minis), and then get some games in as well...











WARHOUND SCOUT TITAN

This little fella is the smallest Titan type available, I purchased him on eBay with another matching one (Warhounds can operate in packs of two), both with these awesome freehand serpent iconography and handpainted banners. Unfortunately, in moving stuff around i've misplaced the other Warhound's leg (it'd fallen off), so i'm temporarily down to one until it resurfaces. They both have the original style 40mm square base- later ones have round 40K Terminator-sized bases. If push comes to shove i'll source another leg online and paintmatch it to the original scheme...   

Possible delay with next post??

Thought I'd also mention that this may be my last post for a little while, as my wife is due to give birth in less than two weeks time- meaning the baby could come along at any point from now! This means i'll most likely be spending a lot of my free time getting last minute things in order and wrapping up/ handing over things at work for my 5 or so weeks off work. But, who knows, my time off may allow me a bit more freedom to get some hobby work and blog updates done (in between nappy changes :P).

Anyhow, i'll be back, sooner or later.

Tempest!