Finished - Long Fang Wolf Guard

This working single model thing has its ups and downs. My typical pattern is to do minis in groups of 3 or 5. That allows me to assembly line each step. I'll paint all the red then all the black then all the metal. It is really speedy but still takes a day per mini.

Painting one mini at a time wastes a lot of time switching between colors and techniques not to mention the time wasted when waiting for wash or paint to dry. The upside is that I can really focus on making each model unique and individual. 

This Mini was completed in about 10 hours from start to finish. I started with the idea of making a Wolf Guard for the express purposes of attaching him to a Long Fang unit. That goes against what I talked about near the end of this post but not all decisions can be made irrespective of table top tactics. The only real thing that dictated that this mini be a Long Fang was the Cyclone Missile Launcher system. Aside from that (and the wicked long beard), I did not know how this mini was going to turn out. I wanted the missile launcher because it is a sneaky way to add in a move-and-shoot ML to any unit. 

On the table now - The next Wolf takes shape

Epic Post - This is not the EMBARGO you are looking for.

I am now the proud owner of GW's new starter box Dark Vengeance. Oddly, this is the first starter set not names for a place or a battle. Equally odd is that this is the first time a named Space Marine Chapter has been featured in a starter box. The last two starter boxes have ostensibly been Ultramarines but there was little detail on the minis to distinguish them from vanilla Marines.

It retails for about $100 which is friggen crazy for a starter set. No parent is going to walk in there and drop that on a child's whim and no gamer has that much to throw around on a new hobby. Bad move  IMHO from the start, GW. $50-$70 would have been a much smarter place to stay.

There is an OMG Limited Edition Pre-Order WTF that is about $10 more and you get is a pretty awesome plastic Interrogator Chaplain. Pretty good deal right? Wrong! You can only get the LE Edition from GW Direct or from your FLGS/CLGS. Unless you have a really cool FLGS that give you a loyalty discount you are really paying $25 for that one mini. Average discount on GW products is 20% because GW sells to independent retailer at 30%-50% off (I can't remember the exact figure) the retail price on the GW website. As a loyalty bonus to people that buy from the store they play in rather GW or the Internets, most stores will give you a little break.

Weather or Not

I went to a train yard today and saw some awesome rust and weathering and wanted to post them here for future reference.

Base Trial - Texture Paint

Stirland Mud with sprinkles!

So I ripped this guy off his brown base and stuck his brown butt on a black base. I made a special trip to the CLGS to get some of the new texture paint to try out a more complicated basing method other than my paint, sand and forget method. 

A short aside about the local GW store: I am starting to really hate even going in there. May of the black shirts are ok but there are two that are just awful. Chris is loud, obnoxious and really a jerk. He is the black shirt that denied me the use of the new paints and then painted right in front of me without offering his own. I am still shocked at the thought of that. The other is Eric (but he spells it all weird). Both of them do this really fake chatting you up every flipping time you come in. "Whatcha workin on? (So I know what to sell you)" "Need and brushes (...at our crazy markup?)" "Why don't you enter our BS contest/tourny?"

In The Beginning...

Every 40k player longs for the good old days. Back when women were women and men were geneticaly enhanced super soldiers. when brother fought brother and the GALAXY ERUPTED IN WAVES OF BLOOD THAT BROKE ON A SHORE OF SKULLS. Wait... what?




That's right, kiddies. Forge World just made a license to print money.

As if the Heresy-era Power Armors were not a big enough seller and everyone and their brother are trying to do a "Pre-Heresy" army. As if the Horus Heresy series of books are not the best selling novels that the Black Library has ever printed on dead trees or sent out over the interwebs. As if all that was not enough, I feel like I am being mugged by Forge World because I know and they know they I am going to have to beg, borrow or steal to buy these books.

I love the series on the Badab war even if it is a bit repetitive with ties pictures. It is an immersive campaign that I would love to play out. With the Heresy books, I expect the same. There is plenty of material that has been written over the past three decades or so (there is hardly a Codex out there that does not touch on the Heresy not to mention the Black Library books) about this era, so I am sure that these books will be jam packed with beautiful art, history awesome gaming ideas!

Needless to say, I love this idea. This is not only going to be a blast to read and play, but it will also really help out with the Pre/Post-Heresy Project where I do all the first founding Legions in their Pre-Heresy and Post-Heresy colors. It is hav been in the planning for at least 3 years and I am always glad that I wait. The bits and kits keep getting better and with this advent of these books (I am assuming that this is going to be a series because they KNOW people are going to buy them and why sell one book when you can sell three) I'll have lots of additional ideas for conversions and painting.

WOO!

Finished - The First Wolf

 Ok, stick a fork in him but I still ain't 100% happy.

Starting Space Wolves (Now with bonus Liquid Talent mini-rant)

In addition to starting Sisters, Orks and Tyranids, I thought it would be a smart idea to start Space Wolves too! Really I am just hammering out a color pallet and figuring out how I want to paint these guys. Rather than paint them in a icy blue style, I wanted to paint them is a dusty or desert theme. Think Tallaran Wolves. 

I based them in Dheneb Stone followed by two coats of 1:1 Graveyard Earth and Kommando Khaki. The metal bits are Chainmail and the gold bits are Shining Gold. After that the whole model gets a wash of Dev Mud. 

I know what you are saying and we've talked about this before many many times. The difference between me and most folks that lean on the Dev Mud crutch is that I do not stop at this step. As you can see the model is really dark and muddy-brown. It makes me a little sick to see a "painted" army across the table from me that looks like a brown blob because the "painter" threw down a base color, washed it brown and called it good. Not. Painting. 

My Second 6th Before My 1st Fifth

I love Scotch. Scotcha scotcha scotch!

Fifth like "fifth of scotch." Never mind. I've gone into super-saver mode anticipating the coming move and one of the casualties is booze-a-hol. I miss Scotch so much. Warm and rich with just an icecube or a little soda water in it. It is like taking a nap in the warm May sunshine but in your belly.

I'm getting off topic with my lust for Scotch.

I had my second game of 6th Edition today and it went really well. I lost, but I had a blast doing it. This is a key concept in 40k that I think is lost on Win at All Costs (WaAC) gamers. Losing can be fun!

Today's game was against new friend Keith. Keith has played 6 games of 5th and 3 games of 6th. He plays a bare bones Space Wolf army that has a lot of bodies in it. From memory he had 4 squads of Grey Hunters sprinkled with Wolf Guard. Keith gave them two Razorbacks with Heavy Bolters to cruse around in. Leading his team is a Rune Priest and he is backed up by a Long Fang unit loaded with 4 Missile Launchers and a Las Cannon just for the extra punch.

My list was perhaps the cheesiest I've taken in a while. There were three Razorbacks which is the most I've had out in a long time. In 1,000 points, that is a lot of Razorbacks. The lead Razorback had my Reclusiarch Chaplain and his 5 Death Company buddies driving around and looking for trouble. No upgrades to that unit aside from a Thunder Hammer which I regretted later. I said that I put a twin-linked Heavy Flamer on that Razorback, but it never got fired (See where this is going?). The other two Razorbacks had Assault Squads. One had a Powerfist and the other had Power Weapon and Melta Bombs. Both had a melta gun in them. Rounding out my list was a Death Company Dreadnought and a Vindicator.

Finished - Two Drivers And Three Backpacks

My single beaky driver was lonely so I painted him up some friends. I really liked how my CSM Iron Warriors Rhino driver came out and decided to try a similar pose with these two guys. I also really liked the IG tank commander is poking his head out of the top hatch and waving his sword about. 

Each of the Marines has one hand on the Storm Bolter and the other with his weapon. That made for some awkward angles in the arms. I did one properly by cutting it off at an angle but the other I half-assed it and just glued it on without trimming the shoulder down. That was part laziness and part to make the angle easier and more natural for gripping the Storm Bolter. 

Also, finished are some backpacks for my Grey Knight Justicars. I want to use the flamy backpacks to denote Knights of The Flame in Purifier units. I've already magnetized the backpacks for everyone and this way with the swap of a backpack I can go from Strike Squad to Intercept Squad to Purifiers. 

Wishlisting The Right Way

I made a wish list on the GW site for what I think it will take to update some of my armies into 6th. Now we have this Embargo on and I can't buy any of this stuff for 6 months or a year (or Emperor forbid longer). I might sneak one or two under the radar but for the most part, these are tiny metal dreams.

The big change is 6th is flyers. If you do not have one, then you are going to get reamed and hard. I signed up for a flyer for every army that I am preparing to build. Gotta have the Ork Bomma. It is just such a cool model with great rules. I am planning to start Orks at some point. I've collected 3 Blackreach Ork boxes, some bikes, some special characters but still have giant holes to fill. I will have an Ork army and it will have a wicked Bomma in it.

While we are shaking the wishing tree, I wanted not one but two of the gleaming metal peaches of the Storm Tallon gunships. In 5th they were ok but in 6th they are indispensable. Great as a flyer killer and great to harass troops and tanks alike. Also, it is a great model and I don't care what its detractors say. It is cute and deadly and it will RULE THE SKIES!

After Richard stomped the crap out of me with his Veteran Trooper-packed Vendettas, I have lusted after them. I was holding my own with him while they were in reserve but as soon as they came on, in one turn her claimed two objectives and blew up one of my tanks. Valkyries and their Forge World sisters the Vendettas are brutal and, for right now at least, they are a steak at their points cost. I am sure that will change but I have always wanted a small detachment of air cav. Now, with allies, I do not have to start an IG army to have that.

My Necron force is still hanging out in the dark days of 3rd Edition. I have only painted two new models (The Catacomb Command Barge and the Ghost Ark). They are seriously hurting without flyer cover and so I need (not want but frelling NEED) one of their flyers. Night Scythe or Doom Scythe, I do not care. Mostly because I can easily magnetize them or at least i hope I can.

I also put a few vehicles on the wish list for armies that I have not precisely started yet. I have a very small sisters force and have not really decided on my paint scheme. You can only get Immolators and Exorcists from GW Direct these days. Eventual I'll need a ride for my girls to cruse around in and pick up shoot dudes. And the Exorcist is a great model. I need to get the metal versions before they come out with Finecast upgrades that are twice the price and half as good.

Most of the things on the wist least are new shiny things and not very fluffy or just filling gaps in my model collection and army. Just to show you that I am not a giant flaming hypocrit, There is some useless and fluffy stuff on the list too.

I want one of each of the Daemons Troops to go with my ten man Cult Troop CSM squads. Surely there is or will be an Apoclypse formation about having that, but regardless I want my Khorne Beserkers to have some Bloodletter friends. Also, this will challenge me to branch out with my painting.

To bolster my Iron Warriors, I just need some Basilisks. Those giant artillery piece have been a part of the Sons of Perturbo since the dark days. I can't wait to paint them up in metal and caution stripes with some Traitor Guard crawling over them.

Taht's all I have time to blog about for now. No time to finish the links or add pictures so this is going to be a vanilla post with no flash. I'll go to bed with visions of tiny metal angles dancing in my head for now and plot my spending spree.