Cancon here we come!!

Cancon- Army prep-finished!

Here's some pics of the army as it stands. Sorry for the picture quality on a few pics- the main light in my study is pretty poor, which made the pictures a bit fuzzy. Cancon prep is all done, well ahead of schedule. All in all, the minis are in base colours with a bit of detail here and there, but all of them have their bases done up, so they do look quite presentable.

Termies- shaded/base colours + eyes. Hey, its three colours and based :)

Assault Squads, Bikes, Dread, Pod and power armoured ICs (down the very end).

Stormraven is looking good!

After this I only have some small tasks to do to get the terrain all ready to go, and will be providing between four and five tables worth with medium coverage. Getting very excited at this point :) 

Game Reminders

As I'm still relatively new to this army I've forgotten a lot of key points and special rules in a couple of games. They're mainly rules that apply to either the BA models or core mechanics of the unit type. So, thinking that i'd like to make a good showing at Cancon I decided that a reminder/cheatsheet would be beneficial- i can keep this on hand and read up on things that will be helpful, as well as any ideas or planned tactics (ie refusing all Challenges!)

This is what's on my reminder sheet, hoping it helps me out somewhat!

After Deployment:

        ·         Roll for Red Thirst! (on a 1, swaps ATSKNF for Fearless, and gains Furious Charge).

Sanguinary Priests:

·         BA units attached/within 6” subject to FnP (5+) and Furious Charge.

Furioso Dreadnought:

·         After deploying from Drop Pod, pop smoke if not in range for melta/flamer shooting.

Independent Characters:

·         Librarians to cast Prescience in the majority (re-roll to hit in shooting or cc).

·         All IC’s- refuse challenges/ not to declare challenges unless absolutely necessary or heavily in their favour.

·         IC’s will be placed in the mid-rear of units to keep them alive long enough to use their buffs.

·         IC’s (and upgrade Characters- Sgs etc) have ‘Precision shot’ (allocate wound to mini of choice on ’6’ rolls to hit)

Jump Pack units:

·         Not shooting this turn? RUN RUN RUN! Get those Meltaguns/bombs in range. OR get to cover!

Jump pack charge range percentages- options:

1.       Move 6”, charge 2D6” using jump pack- get to re-roll charge dice, gain Hammer of Wrath.

2.       Jump pack move 12”, charge 2D6.

Total dist   6"%               12"%

9"              >99%              100%

10"              99%              100%

11"              97%              100%

12"              92%              100%

13"              83%              100%

14"              66%              100%

15"              48%                97%

16"              31%                92%

17"              16%                83%

18"                5%                72%

19"                                     58%

20"                                     42%

21"                                     28%

22"                                     17%

23"                                       8%

24"                                       3%              

Bike Rules

·         Movement 12”- any movement at all gives ‘Jink’ (5+ cover save).

·         Bikes have ‘Relentless’- move and fire as though stationary even when moving.

·         Bikes have ‘Hammer of Wrath when charging- 1 attack per bike at Str4 In.10 auto hit.

·         If not shooting, bike may ‘turbo-boost’ up to an extra 12”, gaining a 4+ cover save.

·       T5 is now used for ID tests- with 2 wounds per bike, can only be killed outright by Str10 hits 

So, my hope is that with these reminders I can keep on top of things, stress less about the rules and just have a great time. Does anyone else do things like this, or is it just me??

Hopefully I can get a bunch of great pics up from Cancon on each day, I know you'll all want to see the armies that come along.

Cheers,

Tempest

Modular Urban Boards- getting finished!!

Terrain Update!

In between slathering red on everything in sight, i've been trying to get my urban modular boards ready for the tourney (Cancon) as well. Been putting down the road lines, some gutter edging and some drawn on drains. The drains will all eventually have silver/orangey paint on them for a slightly rusted look, but they work okay for now. Not bad for something done with a permanent marker :)

I've also started building a whole heap of street lights, using the outside edges of sprues, a cut down Tau Drone, some surplus large dice and a round 40K base. Underneath is a thin metal square, and the boards all have magnets sunk into them at various intervals. The lights are solidly stuck to the board, but are easily moved and are very sturdy. I've also started making some road signs as well- will have a few wrecked streetlights and signs to add variety.

Intersection looks so cool. Got two X intersections, two T intersections and two straights built so far.

Here's two of the boards so far, got another 4 to finish the details on.

Street lights and signs WIP. The lights only take around 20 minutes to build, even with two parts being drilled and pinned!! I just need more sacrificial Tau Drones...  The sign in this pic is taken from the raised highways I built a while back, I'll be building a few more like it.

Its just the small simple details that really make a board stand out. I hope the players at Cancon like it :) 
Until next time!
Tempest

Dreadnought drop pod, power swords and more BA progress

Wow, its been a month since my last update- apologies to anyone thats been looking for an update- things have been very busy at home and whilst I've had a lot of time painting I've barely been on the computer at all.

With only 17 days left before Cancon i'm in overdrive trying to get the Blood Angels up to a certain level of completion. I've resigned myself to the fact that they wont 100% done- they'll most likely still have unfinished bolt pistols and chainswords, and some chest and shoulderpad details wont be completed. However, I should quite happily get all the red armour plating painted and basically highlighted. I have finished the helmets on all the Assault Marines, included their eyes- I will go back and re-line a few bits later, but they will suffice. Terminators will get some love really son, and the Attack Bikes after that. Wont be winning any awards with them in this state, but I'll have them all completed and detailed in time for Wintercon (June) without too much hassle.




All the yellow helmets done- they really stand out now


The Stormraven is getting moved along quite well- all the 90 degree edges and gaps between panels have been shaded with several coats of Carroburg Crimson, and i've started on highlights on the sharpest edges, the whole vehicle is really starting to 'pop'. I also built an overlay to go on the Raven's base, which is made from MDF and has been carved with a dremel and small cutting wheel to look like ruins just like the rest of the army's resin bases, it looks fairly convincing.




MDF is still the greatest IMHO...


I decided that my Assault Sergeants should stand out a bit, and to this end I've swapped out the one guy with a Power Axe to have a Power Sword instead. I've then painted up a scheme on all three swords that is a stylised reflective look, going from deep dark blue up to white, through 6 colours and thinning the paint as much as possible. It can take a fair bit to get right, and a lot of time is spent going back and fixing up the transitions to make them as smooth as possible.

On a gaming note, I've been doing some research concerning what Psychic discipline to roll for with my 2x Librarians- we roll for this before our first game and our opponent signs off on it, and this is what they use for the whole tournament. I was originally using Biomancy, for the potent offensive capabilities it gave, however I now believe that Divination to be the best for a Librarian, who should be used to buff an attached unit. Even if you roll for things you dont want you can fall back to the primaris power of Prescience, which provides for re-rolls to hit (shooting and cc) which really helps boost the power of an assault unit. Moreso than any other discipline these ones will keep your men alive and killing better for longer.

I'm also thinking that my Librarian in Terminator Armour will only selectively answer or issue challenges, as his axe-wielding capabilities are massively overshadowed by the 5 Thunder Hammers in the squad he's attached to- in addition he's going to be my Warlord, and will therefore have a 1VP price on his head, which I dont wish to squander. So, he'll skulk at the back of the pack for most engagements, unless circumstances are in his favour. Still working out how best to use the Terminators, I'm even thinking that I could Deep-strike them in on turn two in the vicinity of the Furioso's Drop Pod, to form a ridiculously resilient CC strongpoint.

Speaking of, here's the modified drop pod for my Furioso. Didnt want to splash out for the FW Dread Pod, so I've modified this standard troop carrying one to have a removable fin section (fluff wise- explosive bolts blow it out on landing when the doors drop) and Adiel comes lumbering out. I also magnetised the gun mount in the roof to allow me to still use the stormbolter or missile pod, and they can still articulate up and down. If one takes the liberty of assuming that the gun and its mount retract into the roof of the pod then the Dreadnought fits in quite easily!! This conversion turned out better than I expected.



Fits easily :) 



Magnets are mounted top and bottom for maximum hold.



Magnetised gun mount. Used a drill press on high speed and
 lots of care to make this fit without blowing out the sides. 



Recessed magnets with lightly filed-down outer edges. Snaps into place really solid.

Thats enough for today- got loads more work to do!

Cheers,
Tempest

 

BA: Characters update + Baneblade

More Red Fury

Some more progress on the Librarian in Terminator Armour, he's now rocking a cool 'flamed lightning' effect on his axe blade, and i've coloured in his face and done some simple colour/wash work on his tabard and purity seals. 



Face looks awesome for just a colour, wash and retouch!! 



Sang Priests... going to run with bare heads I've decided. Still loads to do, but the flesh tones have turned out great. Its nothing more than the now out of production 'Tallarn Flesh' foundation paint, a wash of Devlan Mud and then a retouch of Tallarn. Will go with some lighter highlights at a later point, but its more than table-top standard at this point.

Enter the Baneblade!!

I also decided to finally pull my finger out and get my Baneblade finished/ moved forwards. This is a tank which was previously painted in a **horrid** Mechrite Red base colour, of which small bits can still be seen- im cleaning these up at the moment.

Base is the now (sadly) superceded Charadon Granite- luckily my pot of it is still nice and useable. The base colour for the camo stripes are Zandri Dust (Base) and then I used umm... I cant rememeber? Its the one thats almost Bleached bone, but a few shades darker... this was used in the middle of the stripes to make the scheme 'pop'. All the camo was done with a GW tank brush, drybrushing lazily while watching some TV.

And cos I was bored I thought i'd try some blue tones and white reflecty stuff on the searchlight, I think it worked out okay. Next up is all the metal on the gun barrels, on the tracks, etc, and I'm going to do some gold trim as well- ie  silver with sepia washes, for that 'battleworn' look.

Marines, Bikes and Priests- 21 November update

Assault Squads

All 30 are now base coated red (armour), with a single heavy wash of Carroburg Crimson in the recesses. I've worked out that to do the armour, helmet and pinning onto the base each marine owes me an average of 1.5 hours. So even ignoring the construction time/ prepping and painting the bases, thats about 45 hours alone just to get the three assault squads done. I've also taken delivery of a fancy new Battlefoam Assault Marine tray, I can get 5 full squads in there. Pretty neat:)

Thats one tray full of rage right there, and I can fit another 20 in as well!

I've also been finishing off the meltagunners for the squad- here's three with their 'hazard stripe' meltas - this is my second-edition 40K roots showing... three left to do, just ran outta time tonight. The melta arms jsut slide on snugly and aren't attached so i can finish all the other details later. As the pics will attest, this is a simple basecoat of yellow for the stripes- will wash and tidy later on.

Come at me armour :P

Bikes!

The bikes are all basecoated red, I'm in the process of assembling the riders and gunners, with three multi-meltas (melta spam!! everywhere!!) as I jsut cant justify bikes with heavy bolters. And besides, the bolters on the bikes have a 24" range, just like the multi's, so i'll get to use them as well :) Was initially tossing up whether or not to take the attack bikes, now Im glad i persevered, they're such great looking models!!

Moar dakka coming soon...

  

Sang Priests

I'm pretty happy- these are cool looking priests, and with the right combo of parts and a vague idea they came together quite quickly!!  Been researching people's tacticas regarding the use of SPs, mine will be put in the middle/rear of the Assault Squads, although if covering multiple units (6" range to buff squads with FnP and FC) I'll place them out on the unit's flanks. I think T5 2 wound Attack Bikes getting a FnP save will be highly amusing...

Greenstuff Grails and "cut 'n' shut" narthecium/chainsword conversions- surprisingly easy...

Im also thinking that these guys are going to get challenged, which works fine for me- I can refuse the challenge, and I'm just losing a few Str4 attacks, which means my Sgts will be freed up to deliver power weapon hits here there and everywhere- i'm relatively sure my opponent will want to cut down the Priests firstly to remove the Feel No Pain. Although the WS5 Sang Priest should be able to hold his own with a possible jump infantry 'Impact Hit' and four Str5 (furious charge) attacks in the first round.

That and any shooting hits on him can be negated with a Look Out Sir! of a 2+, as he's an Independant Character attached to the squad.

Just need a basecoat of red on these guys, maybe some gold to pick out the grails, and some white on the 'X' shapes on the jump packs and Narthecium arms,  and that will do for this weekend's game.

What's next? 

At this point in time i've only got a few small tasks ahead to get my BA army ready for the Apoc on Saturday. The metal parts on the second Stormraven, maybe tidy up the red a bit more,basecoat the gunners and riders on the attack bikes (just blu-tak' in place for this game), and then go back and re-check everything again. Two thousand points of Blood Angels assembled and Basecoated in a couple of months: done. But completing a solid 1850 list in the next two months in order to make Cancon?? Its looking like a 50/50 chance at best... maybe the holidays will give me more free time, who knows??  

Thanks for having a read, its appreciated. Comments and feedback most welcome!

Keep on keepin' on- 30 October update

Blood Angels- my hands are constantly stained red...

Progress on my army is going okay, I believe I'm going to need around 10- 14 hours per week for the next 12 weeks painting and assembling time in order to get it all done for Cancon (!). And by done, I mean something along the lines of an army that could compete for 'players choice'- high impact, high detail with lots of cool freehand and interesting stuff to look at, the kind of army you'd like to own.  I might not get there but im giving it my all, most nights I can at least basecoat and shade an Assault Marine, which takes a while when you're trying to not paint up all the other detail on the legs, chest and jump packs- a good 40 minutes to get a nice even coat down followed with a wash. I've taken to filing down, undercoating and basecoating/washing the heads whilst they're still on the sprues, once the base red and wash is on and dry i then glue the head in place. Even right now with no shoulderpads, a basic red/black colouring these yellow heads make the guys 'pop' on the tabletop heaps, and im happy to use them in games at this point in time.

14 in base red 'n' yellow, with 16 to go! (and, who are still all on sprues...)

Looting the Ravenwing

I also decided that it was time for some more units, and to this end I decided to strip down all my terrible old DA Ravenwing bikes, which were only ever black spray undercoated (and not well..). Thanks to my previous use of poor quality superglue they came apart quite easily, with the only casualties being a couple of sets of handlebars (eBay is my friend here for replacements). The tentative plan is to run three attack bikes with heavy bolters for some tough long range support and a six-strong bike squad, packing two meltaguns. However, I might drop the meltas and swap the Sgt's power weapon for a powerfist, i'm undecided at this point. Should be relatively easy to get them painted up, all I need to do is source two more attack bikes, some bitz and some more bike- specific bases from B2B.

About to swap allegiances. Just don't tell Azrael.

 Go Furioso!!


So my Furioso Dreadnought (see last post) ended up winning the Second Sphere 'Elites' comp, staving off a strong challenge from a very nicely painted set of Sanguinary Guard, so the BAs were the main winners here :) It does feel nice to have finally won a 'main' (ie FOC slot- specific) contest on Second Sphere, having come runner up or third many a time(including back in the old Tau Online days, before 'the exodus'). And, as is the way, nothing motivates me more to paint than an impending deadline, be it a tourney, a big game with the boys or a painting contest. I'm never one to bring something along if i cant at least paint it up (or at very least throw down a basecoat and shade wash).

Charlie approves of contest- winning Dreadnoughts.

 So if there's anything to be said, its that having a baby really changes things; you're suddenly the most time poor person in the world, and hence organisation is key when you want to keep going with the hobby. Hence my earlier comment regarding how long I'd need to finish this army- I factored in all the required steps for each unit, and a rough estimate of the time required to do a good non-rushed job. At this point in time there's around 12.5 weeks till Cancon, so i've gotta keep the pressure on and keep going. Nothing motivates me quite like a deadline!

In saying that, we're throwing around ideas for a small Apoc/ large 40K team game around late November, which I'm looking at as a way to test some of my new units as well as get some painting done :)

Anyhow, thats enough carrying on from me for one night.

Cheers,
Tempest

     

Furioso- completed!

Today is short and sweet- my Furioso is now completed, after a very quick and brutal paintup in time for an online painting comp. While the finish is not as smooth as I would have liked its still quite nice, all things considered. Might chuck some more orange on the claws for some more definition, but he's basically done.

I particularly like how the script on his leg turned out.

Hazard Stripes will appear here and there in my army- a nod to 2nd edition 40k.

Brother Adiel, ready to rock n roll

These new paints, washes and glazes make painting a breeze, should have some infantry updates soon.

-Temp