James WRR’s Wrap Up: The battle at the end of time

 We are the edge of the sword, the tip of the spear, the hammer of the immaterium and we will suffer not the daemon to exist. The Daemonhunters of the Ordo Malleus are coming for you.

Mighty, Dark-Winged, Avenging Inquisitor, James, with his Might, Avenging Ordo Malleus Army.

That’s it! My second OWAC attempt completed and another (nearly) 4,000 points worth of models painted for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.

Now I can try get a game in.

The experience of painting this Ordo Malleus army has been markedly different to that of painting my Emperor’s Children. Not that I’ve not had a great time with the project, just that I’ve found myself a bit less… absorbed in it.

That might be because I’ve been decorating a new flat at the same time as ploughing through this batch, and navigating a whole host of new responsibilities. It might also be because I’m a Chaos guy deep down, and painting “holy” warriors goes against my instincts.

But I am proud of this army, just as I am of every project I manage to complete. It’s not every Warhammer player who can say they’ve painted thousands of points in just a couple months. God knows I’ve got so much more waiting in the wings, but that’s a problem for another day… another OWAC, perhaps. 

Collecting this force was a joy and putting it all together was a real education. I’ve got a whole new appreciation for those who managed to construct and paint armies of RTB-01 marines back before we had so many modern tools and paints. I’ve also been surprised, even blown away, by the quality and charm of many of these models — the Terminators and Daemonhunters being obvious stand outs.

This challenge attempt hasn’t been without its, well, challenges. I’ve been rushed at times, uninspired in others and very distractible. But seeing my challenge companions and friends build such amazing armies of their own has really pushed me towards this success. 

Once again, I'm also impressed at how well deadlines work for my brain and my workflow. Having the structure of monthly quotas and small goals really helps make a big project manageable. If you've got your own major army project to get done, I can't suggest enough following along with the next OWAC, or even just make your own mini challenge to motivate yourself.

I think my next project is going to have to be a colourful one. Painting an all-metallic, largely monochrome force has been great for speed and efficiency, and they do look as mean and brutally efficient as I was hoping they would, but I need a bit of whimsy back in my life.

I think that might call for a Second Edition-era force of some kind. Oh, I know a Death World that’s lovely this time of year! How about we visit Catachan next OWAC?

And with that, I reckon I can close the book on this project. I can’t wait to see these guys on the tabletop, burning away the corruption and naivety of a doomed galaxy. As always, please do join me on my ongoing hobby journey on Instagram at @Illuminator_Hobby.

Until next time, keep watching the skies. 

Army list

Inquisitor Halfthor
Daemonhunter
Tactical Dreadnought Armour, Bio-Scanner, Displacer Field

Plasma Gun, Power Glove, Digital Weapons, Psyk-Out Grenade

Bionic Leg

Psychic Mastery Level 3
201 points

Inquisitor Clavicus
Daemonhunter
Tactical Dreadnought Armour, Bio-Scanner, Displacer Field

Psycannon, Force Rod, Scare Gas

Psychic Mastery Level 4
454 points

Captain Torkamadus
Grey Knight Terminator Captain | Hero
Tactical Dreadnought Armour
Nemesis Force Weapon

Psychic Mastery Level 4
450 points

Techmarine Tarantus
Techmarine
Basic equipment
Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle
97 points

Squad Deza
Grey Knight Terminator Tactical Squad
1 Sergeant and 4 Marines in Tactical Dreadnought Armour

5 Nemesis Force Weapons

Psychic Mastery Level 4
1,200 points

Brother Bethor
Deredeo Dreadnought
Missile Launcher, Heavy Plasma Gun
Standard Sensor Package, 2 Power Fields, Power Field Synchroniser
270 points

Squad Heliod
Tactical Squad
Sergeant with Bolt Gun, Bioscanner and Power Glove
1 Marine with Missile Launcher
1 Marine with Flamer

7 Marines with Bolt Guns
275 points

Bright Sword
Rhino APC with Techmarine Pilot, assigned to Squad Heliod
2 Bolt Guns
387 points

Riot Corps
Adeptus Arbites Squad
1 Magister with Bolt Pistol and basic equipment

5 Judges with Bolt Pistols and basic equipment
102 points

Squad Apollo
Devastator Squad
Sergeant with Bolt Gun
2 Marines with Beamers
2 Marines with Heavy Bolters

5 Marines with Bolt Guns
379 points

Grand Total: 3,815 points

James WRR’s Wildcard: Blue Aquila Down

G’day! 

It’s Wildcard month, which means we’re allowed to go a little… wild with our projects. And so, in the spirit of bringing my latest Imperial army to life, I thought I’d take the opportunity to paint one of my favourite pieces of terrain ever:

The crashed Aquila Lander from Battle for Macragge.

Despite my undying love for all things 80s/90s Games Workshop, my actual career in the hobby began shortly before this 4th edition starter set was released. I remember sharing the box with my little brother (now long-retired from the hobby in favour of skateboarding and making smart financial decisions). I took the Space Marine side and painted them up as Ultramarines (of course) while my brother took his inspiration from Alien to paint his ‘Nids mostly grey and green.

I don’t think either of us really took the rules all too seriously when we did get some poorly painted minis on the field. In fact, at some point, I think my Space Marines once ended up fighting an army of Dwarfs from The Battle for Skull Pass among the ruins of this crashed starfighter.

But it was never really about the game. It was about the vibe. 

And boy was that vibe good. I don’t think we appreciated, at that moment, that “modern” 40k was pretty much at its aesthetic and mechanical peak. Naturally, it couldn’t match the vibe of Rogue Trader, or even Second if that’s more your vibe, but Battle for Macragge was really a high point in my view of what Warhammer could be.

This crashed Aquila Lander is a good physical representation of that nostalgic ideal. It’s not an L-shaped ruin. It wasn’t designed to give balanced cover to both sides of the table. No, it’s a piece of plastic that tells a story, of which us gamers play a big part.

I remember scenarios from the starter set booklet that involved your heroic Space Marines fighting through never-ending hordes to make off with the ship’s power supply, or defending the downed passenger with his container of scientific samples. 

Ahh. Officially licensed narrative gaming. Bliss. 

The ruins I now have in my collection came from a second-hand lot, made up of mostly Battle for Macragge bits in pretty rough condition. Though that meant a bit more work, it really told me that this was a collection that someone had loved, maybe in the same way I had. Or, at the very least, they’d given the hobby a red-hot go.

It worked out for me that they’d given it up at some point. I’m certainly not complaining that I get to relive those glory days.

Anyway, painting this set seemed daunting at first, but actually proved fairly simple. I hit the whole lot with a black spray then sprayed the edges of the crash site with red to better match my Grey Knight’s bases.

As you’ll see, I’ve ended up putting some flock down, and a few “alien plants” on the base. I want to keep most of my Oldhammer 40k stuff on red desert-adjacent bases, so adding some natural elements should help blend this terrain more easily into future boards and armies. 

To paint the ship itself, I picked up an iconic, time-tested tool: the sponge. 

Nicking a little yellow block from beneath our kitchen sink, I built up a few layers of successively brighter, desaturated blues (and whites on the wing tips). I really like using a sponge on a big piece of plastic, as not only does it neatly avoid recesses, you can really modulate the intensity of your colour in a similar way to drybrushing - or even airbrushing - without the faff. The trick is, like drybrushing, to build up more gradually, with lots of quick stabbing dabs rather than a thick “splodge”.

I finished off the ship with simple glossed black for the shattered windows and some cabling details. I really love painting hazard-striped cables, the quickest way to do so being basecoating them with Scale75 Sahara Yellow, laying down some neat(ish) black stripes, then painting a thin line of Tenere Yellow over the whole length with the edge of your brush.

I weathered the ship with sponges, again, using a really dark Blue Steel metallic to add chips and battle damage. Games Workshop rust effect was watered down and applied to recesses, before a dark red pigment powder was jammed in mostly where the ship parts meet the ground. This final step really brought the whole thing together, so I’ll definitely be repeating it across future models.

And so, that’s it! All the painting done for my 2026 OWAC challenge. It’s been a fun ride, with a few ups and downs and funny little unforeseen challenges. But, all in all, it feels like it’s absolutely flown by. 

I did also manage to paint up this Bob Olley Ogryn for the Olden Demon challenge in May, as well.  The sculpt is just absolutely brilliant, full of character and attitude. I decided that he needed an appropriate beverage for the sweltering jungles of Catachan, and seeing as I’ve met plenty of Australian blokes who look like this (wrap-around sunnies and all) in my time, I had to paint him a few tinnies of Aussie-as VB. 

Drongo the Ogryn

This fella marks the start of my next big army project: an all-metal Catachan army for second-fourth edition. Watch this space!

Thanks for joining me on this journey so far. Some final full-army shots and a good write up is set to land next month.

Emperor protect you, citizen. 

James WRR’s Rank & File 2: Dread Red Treads

Tarantus revved the bike as it crested the rise. The Black Shadow’s spiked wheels were practically choked up with a thick mixture of blood, oil and sand. With a flick of his finger, he commanded the telescope built into his helmet to zoom in on the valley below. His suit’s Machine Spirit protested at the sight, with runes of warning blaring and flashing as Tarantus trained his mechanical eyes on the chaotic forms below. 

The last survivors of the Imperial Army were desperately barricading now. Artillery was frustratingly futile as the Daemons below advanced upon the line. But, still, cannon fire rang out and lasguns painted the surrounding valley walls a bright, fluorescent red. Trenches were being overrun now, with gore-slicked butchers from beyond the stars throwing themselves into the pits to slaughter their defenders. 

Tarantus sighed. Another front lost due to all-too-human incompetence. Thankfully, salvation was soon to arrive. Rhino APCs were speeding towards his forward location as he watched the carnage unfold. Their cargo: squads of his battle brothers in grey. There would be no human victory today, but those who had long-ago left their humanity behind still had surprise on their side.

Surprise, and superior fire power.

Revered Brother Bethor stepped up alongside Tarantus’s bike. The Techmarine could feel each heavy footstep of the Dreadnought, could hear the internal pistons pumping like muscle, feel the poisonous heat radiating from the plasma cannon it carried.

“THEN THE DAY IS LOST.” Bethor asked across secure comms channels, battling the noise of the battle below and the distortion caused by the presence of Warp entities.

“Not yet, big brother.” Tarantus replied. “There is still target practice to be had.”

“HELLFIRE WILL BE GREETED WITH HELLFIRE.” 

“Fire when ready, Brother Bethor.”

With a deep vibration that felt like it came up from the earth itself, then a high-pressure squeal and, finally, a deafening thunder, Bethor fired the plasma cannon. A section of trench below was engulfed in sun-hot plasma. Smoking bodies of both Imperial soldiers and chaotic spawn alike flew through the air. 

“Clear the trenches.” Tarantus commanded as Bethor continued to fire on the front line of defenders. “Oooh, look at that one fly!”

________________________

Greetings, Imperial subjects.

It’s February, the shortest month. And with a bunch of birthday celebrations to organise, it’s even shorter.

And so, like during my previous challenge, I thought it wise to paint as few models this month as possible. And so, I present to you the most mechanised detachment of my Ordo Malleus army.

Tarantus and his mechanised escort

Techmarine Tarantus came to me by chance, after randomly spotting an eBay auction while out to a dinner a few months ago. I knew I needed a Techmarine to unlock vehicles in my army and finding this fellow with his big wrench and his absolutely radical bike was a real blessing. I had to excuse myself from my noodles as I smashed down some bids.

It is funny how these armies come together. You start to gather a lot of interesting memories and feelings as you collect each individual piece — layering on top of the memories and feelings already imparted onto the metal by previous owners. Each model eventually become a little artefact in its own right, and the armies made up of them become playable shrines.

I’d never intended to include a bike in this army, but I’m glad I have as I just love the model. There’s something really nice about the chunky, near-single-piece design. It’s detailed, but not overly engineered like modern plastics. 

In a bit of a break from my original scheme, I decided to paint this mount in a nice, rich equivalent to British Racing Green, mirroring that of my dad’s old Triumph from many moons ago. A layer of dark green Contrast paint over some stark highlights did the job nicely. Of course, it certainly stands out in the middle of the army, but I’m happy with how it turned out. Maybe it’s non-regulation — something the Techmarine just bought off the lot, second-hand, with his own credits.

The Rhino has been painted in a colour scheme much more aligned to the squad that rides in it. Unlike my previous Rogue Trader Rhino, I didn’t have to do any fancy effects to hide flaws and wrinkles. No, this model came to me absolutely perfect, already spray painted silver and all! Again, I think fate must have been playing a hand here. A few checks, flames, icons and angry screeds later and this magnificent vehicle was ready to hit the battlefield.

The Dreadnought, Brother Bethor, was a gift from a friend of a friend of mine who happened to be clearing out a humongous old collection of his own at just the right time. I couldn’t be more grateful to him for this (and the other vehicles and characters he sent over), and can only hope that this paint job does it justice.

The kitbashing of more modern weapons with the stocky “Eddy” type Dread body was a choice of this previous owner. While they might not be the original pieces, I think they look great, giving the model a real timeless silhouette. And the conversion is practically flawless, anyway, so I’m certainly not complaining.

In terms of painting, there’s not much more to add to my January post. The metallic base of the armour was treated with a series of progressively brighter drybrush passes, before getting highlighted for a real pop. Details like checks and flames are proving to be my favourite part of the process, though I must admit I’m running low on horrible slogans to slap on things already. I’ll need to flick through some punk comics to get more inspiration.

I’m quite happy with how the plasma glow came out on the dread, though the vibrant Pro Acryl Bright Green is a colour I certainly didn’t expect to use in this project. I’ll probably put these lovely, electric paints to use in future, less-grimdark projects. Maybe some Second Edition Space Marine stuff? I suppose we’ll see where inspiration strikes.

And that’s about it! Another month in the bag and more painted models in the growing Rogue Trader collection. I don’t think it’ll be too long before I can actually play a reasonable game with these models. I supposed I’d better started thinking up some campaign ideas…

Brother Bethor faces off against the corrupted Dreadnought Neadalus 

But, before any dice are rolled, there’s still more work to be done. We’re charging forth to the painting table again, shaking up silver paint for the next squad.

_______________________________

Army list as of February

Techmarine Tarantus
Techmarine
Basic equipment
Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle
97 points

Brother Bethor
Deredeo Dreadnought
Missile Launcher, Heavy Plasma Gun
Standard Sensor Package, 2 Power Fields, Power Field Synchroniser
270 points

Squad Heliod
Tactical Squad
Sergeant with Bioscanner and Power Glove
1 Marine with Missile Launcher
1 Marine with Flamer
275 points

Bright Sword
Rhino APC with Techmarine Pilot, assigned to Squad Heliod
2 Bolt Guns
387 points

James WRR's Rank & File 1: Knights in not-so-shining armour

Hector grimaced as the grill-faced servitor aimed its ultrasonic scrubber at his bruised ribcage. Caked blood and grime of a dozen different hues fell away from his pale skin, away from the sockets that would connect him to his holy power armour. Another servitor slaved away attending to this discarded silver shell not far away. 

“And then, get this,” laughed Brother Donovan as a serf tightened knee bolts on his mechanical leg, “the thing started weeping. Can you believe it? Actual tears.”

“Haven’t seen tears for a quarter century.” said Brother Kristos, urging the other Knight to continue. “Not up close, at least.”

“It was saying ‘no, no, we’re not the enemy.' The wretch!” Donovan clapped the serf around the shoulder, forcing him to crumple slightly under the weight of one monstrous hand. “‘All the beasts are slain’, says it. Aye, ‘sure thing, witch’, I say to it.”

“Then what, brother?” Kristos asked.

“Well. We torched the lot of em. Put the survivors to the sword.”

“Mightily well fought, brother. No quarter for the unclean.”

Brother Hector beckoned the servitor to leave his side. “Clean enough”, he thought, his nail-beds still stained red with gore. He sat heavily on a pew, the metal creaking under his weight, and put his head in his hands.

“I grow weary,” he said, “of the wailing.”

Brother Donovan and Brother Kristos paused in their laughter and caught one another’s gaze. In a moment, the two demi-psykers had sniffed out an off spoor, communicated like wordless predators, and felt their righteous anger return. Donovan felt for the butcher’s blade still dripping on his hip.

“Servants, begone from us. We have knightly matters to discuss with Brother Hector.” 

_____________________

Squad Heliod, in the flesh(world)

The first month of Old World Army Challenge IX has come and gone like a flash. In that time, the world has changed fast, grown mightily scary and very real brutal forces have made horrifying manoeuvres.

Maybe a trip to the grim darkness of the far future is needed in the grim darkness of 2026. And so here are my first suitably grim Grey Knights. 

Squad Heliod is my first ever unit of RTB-01 Marines, from a revered plastic kit I’ve wanted to play with as long as I’ve known they existed.

Working with these models was… interesting to say the least. Most of these second-hand Marines came painted as Blood Angels to a pretty neat standard. Apart from some horrific mould lines to scrape off, all I had to do was give them a nice blast of Leadbelcher to update their livery. 

The real challenge was the fellow armed with the missile launcher who was, let’s just say, not exactly built or painted with the greatest of attention to detail. I had to strip him right down to bare, creamy plastic, fully disassemble him then rebuild with plenty of gap filling. The original Marine kit might have been a landmark of design, but they don’t exactly glide together like today’s plastics!

But hey, awkward posing and mismatched parts are the price you pay for versatility and weapon options. 

Special weapon troopers

The two metal models are gorgeous and grungy, perfect examples of very early Citadel sculpting, when they were still trying to find a standard. One of them is half naked, for crying out loud. You wouldn’t see that today.

Painting up the Grey Knights is proving quick and fun. I simply had to wash down the Leadbelcher with black, then build back up with drybrushed metallics until I finished off with pure silver highlights and battle damage. A bit of orange Contrast paint for rust and job's a good 'un. 

The real challenge was how to differentiate metals. Pure metallic armies are always tricky, but I found that simply hitting things like Bolters and powerpack vents with Agrax Earthshade was enough to make them appear made of a much grimier, more functional metal than the shining armour. 

Brother Donovan, real bastard

I knew I wanted these guys to look suitably mean and grimdark, so I took a few cues from Blanche by adding flames, checks and brutal litanies wherever I could. Breaking up the big flat panels this way really helped to liven them up, I feel.

Another detail setting these guys apart from modern Grey Knights (apart from, you know, everything) is their iconography. I very consciously wanted to stay clear of both Rogue Trader-era Grey Knights iconography (an aquila holding an axe and a staff) and the modern equivalent (a book pierced by a sword). Both of these are complex, time-consuming designs. But I didn’t avoid them purely out of laziness. 

Rather, I’ve gone with a big white Inquisitorial seal to suggest these guys truly are nothing but an appendage of a despotic Ordo Malleus Inquisitor. They’re branded, living weapons, not holy knights. It also gives me more flex to put them on the table as generic Space Marines in later edition games in which Grey Knights no longer fielded regular Tactical Squads. 

Squad markings and iconography on display

A final note this month is on the bases. I went in knowing I wanted these Grey Knights to exist on a field of Mars-like red. I thought this would make a nice contrast to the silver armour and white details. I sculpted a few fleshy blobs on these bases, as well, to give the idea that they’re battling through a daemon world.

I wasn’t super sold on my painting of these bases at first, having simply drybrushed up from dark, cool red to a fleshy colour. But as soon as I hit the sculpted detail with Blood for the Blood God, it all came together. The organic looking bits suddenly came alive. Horrible! Gross! Wonderful!

Graffitied armour — it was the style at the time

And so, that’s month one of my second challenge in the bag. I’ve also, of course, painted and sent our friend Jaakko the customary entrance-fee model: my second version of the infamous “big-armed administratum clerk” with some suspiciously Genestealer-shaped tattoos… where could this fellow show up, I wonder?

Possible cultist heading to Finland

Finally, it’s not lost on me that I’ve dedicated myself to painting a group of violent, oppressive thugs in an environment where we’re now seeing more and more of them on the march in our real world. I’m currently rethinking some approaches and model choices as I go to avoid inadvertently valorising any such characters. I want to bring out that classic Rogue Trader/2,000 AD punk spirit, instead — channeling that righteous anarchy to paint these monstrous soldiers in as ridiculous of a light as possible.

Because the grimdark should stay in the far, fictional future. 

_____________________

Army list as of January

Squad Heliod

Tactical Squad

Sergeant with Bioscanner and Power Glove

1 Marine with Missile Launcher

1 Marine with Flamer

275 points