James WRR’s Rank & File 3: Big iron

 “And lo, on the day of judgement, great tides of flesh of claws and chattering teeth did descend upon the castle man had built.
He dared to scrape the heavens with the glory of plasteel and concrete. 
And the gods punished him by breaking the seal and sending forth his monsters.
Three years of torment followed, and man crawled to the heights of his towers to survive.
Until the Emperor on his throne felt pity, and saw man had repented.
The Emperor sent his angels, clad in burning ceramite and carrying the torches of purification. 
And they did smite the monsters from afar,
driving them forth into the wilderness from whence they came.
But the angel’s wrath was great and their swords sharp.
The tower that man had built was reduced to rubble,
a reminder to all the price of pride.”

• Canto 6 of the Great Book of Helvellin

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Hello again, Imperial Citizens,

This month, I bring to you the very long arm of the law: a Grey Knights Devastator Squad. 

Devastator Squad Apollo

When I’d first picked up my little horde of RTB-01 Marines for this project I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. Would I just paint a couple Tactical Squads, as they were mostly all armed with Bolters? No, that would have been too repetitive and boring. Would I make one an Assault Squad? Hmm, tempting, but a full squads’ worth of authentic metal jump packs and weapons would run me well into the three figures. 

The answer hit my square in the jaw when I found a lot going for a set of Beamer-armed metal marines. Right, that’s it, I thought. Devastators!

Rogue Trader Space Marine squads had some strange restrictions on heavy weapons. For example, you couldn’t just pick and choose a medley of guns, you basically had two lots of two different weapons for each Devastator squad (Missile Launchers and Heavy Bolters, normally), which could be swapped out entirely for another set. For Grey Knights Devastators, one of the options to replace Missile Launchers were Conversion Beamers — one of the most insane weapons in 40k history.

What do you mean it’s a laser beam that turns matter into pure energy and becomes more powerful the further it travels? The Tech-Magi of the Adeptus Mechanicus were really smoking something strong that day. 

Heavy weapons specialists

And so, by picking up a couple Heavy Bolters and tacking them onto two of the previously Beamer-armed Devastators, I was able to create a full, functional squad of these heavy weapon freaks for the first time in my decades-long Warhammer career. Now to aim them at something.

I’ve always found this older style of heavy weapons a bit goofy. How the hell does a human being, even if they are a Space Marine, fire mobile ordnance that size with one hand, from the shoulder?

Logic be damned, the sculptors of the day were clearly embracing the rule of cool, and gave us a wide array of incredibly wacky weapons as a result. Most of these proved so iconic, they’re still with us today. Though you probably won’t see Space Marines in 11th edition rocking Webbers…

In terms of painting these guys, there’s nothing particularly interesting to add this month. I was inspired by the inimitable Curis of Ninja Bread for the Conversion Beamers, interpreting the little hollows around the edge of the weapon’s… ahem… bulbous head as little lenses. I imagine they must channel the destruction energy towards a single point, sort of like how the Death Star powers up.

Danger: Do not look directly into light.

The rest of the Marines in the squad, including the Sergeant, were painted in exactly the same way as my Tactical Squad, with a healthy smattering of checks, flames and saucy slogans. I had a lot of fun painting the big ol’ eyeball on one of the bases, and playing with different skin tones as well. I promise there’ll be some slightly more varied models to come next month…

But I’m proud to have built and finished this unit. With two squads of Marines on the table, a bit of armour and at least one character, this is really starting to feel like an army.

Slaughter of the daemons on the planet Helvellin

And remember everyone, as a certain Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens would say, “walk softly… and carry a big gun.”

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Army list as of March

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 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

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

5 Marines with Bolt Guns
379 points

Paul's Dwarf Army Month 3 Rank and file Spearmen.

 Three months in and things have been a bit hectic with family stuff including the arrival of a new granddaughter which was pretty amazing. Despite this I have managed to crack on with putting brush to metal and have finished a unit of 10 spearmen. The intention was to complete another unit of 15 models but time constraints have taken their toll and I won't be able to do any hobbying for the last week of March. So I've had to bite the bullet and give in for the time being. I have partially finished the command group but I can submit them next month so that cuts future me a bit of slack. 

These guys were an absolute delight to paint as each is characterful but they don't have the frustratingly high degree of detail that many new minis exhibit. The faces on these are amazing as well with some absolutely astounding expessions. At present they cost 121 points but with 3 ranks and a full command that will increase to 178 points. Once complete the spearmen, thunderers and miners will give me a total of 515 points for the army so far. Below are some close ups of the individual ranks.

As a preview for the next post I will be completing another 5 minis for this unit which will include the command group. I have made a start on these and below is a WIP shot of where I've got to with them. 

I want to do a flag for the standard bearer so I will be trawling through old copies of White Dwarf and Army books for some inspiration. As well as these guys next month I will be looking at the command models for my army. The original list had a General and a Hero but I found an old metal Runesmith which I thought would be a nice addition. There may also be some Orange haired axe wielding psychopaths on the horizon. That concludes this months post. Looking forward to the next instalment. 

Paul’s Dwarf Army Rank and file #2

 Well this has proved to be a tough month and I will be happy if I avoid the trip to the field of bones. Below you can see the completed unit. These guys include a full command group and add up to a respectable 221 points taking the army total to 337 points when taking the thunderers I painted last month into consideration. 

I have just finished the unit of miners but if I'm being honest I am not completely happy with certain aspects of the painting, notably the lanterns and the small pouches on many of the models. However, this month I painted a unit of 15 infantry and last month I only painted 10. 

The command group are character models all on their own and here are some images of the trio, as a collective and as individuals. 

I was expecting the miners to be an easier ride than the thunderers due to the fact that I didn't have to paint any of the yellow. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. The NMM of the chainmail and the helmets makes up the vast majority to these sculpts and my main concern was that they were going to lack definition due to large amounts having to be painted the same colour. However, with a bit consideration and a lot of 'to-ing and fro-ing" I think that there is a fair degree of separation which is created by the contrast of the highlights. Painting the candles was an absolute joy and I was hoping to do a bit of OSL from these but that was being far too optimistic. It may be something that I look at adding at a later stage. 

Hopefully these shots show off the individual rows of the unit.

Next month I have even less time to paint so I think I will have to look at painting a couple of character models or a war machine just to be able to hit the deadline. After viewing some of the other blogs I feel that I should also attempt a themed display board for this army. I would also like to thank everybody who commented on my post last month. Thank you for the kind words and support. I will endeavour to respond to everyone. See you all next month.

Nicolas' Chaos Army of Tzeentch - Monster Month

 After a staggering amount of hours for one miniature, I offer you my Tzeentch Hydra, the Spectral Dragon II from Grenadier, also known as Tiamat, the lawful evil goddess of greed, the queen of the chromatic dragons, for the more D&D versed companions!

War hydra - 200pts

That miniature was insane to get through to the level I had invisionned, and although I would still burn 4 more hours to refine the body and base, I am more than pleased with the actual result!

It all started with this beautiful kit I got my hands on during this OWAC planing. A lucky find, brand new, part of a "hobby shelve clearing lot", hidden in a closet for over 3 decades. It struck me, its called a dragon... but its anatomically a wyvern, and an epic lead scultp on top of that. A creature off-putting and unatural, clearly soaked in magic, perfect match for a Tzeentch army.

I attacked this project like a one of a kind, sort of stagging every step to realy feel the milestones passing by. 

First, assembly, not a beginners kit at all, parts are heavy and the alloy shrinkage makes the 2 huge body parts leaving a huge crevasse on the back along the spine, or the belly, depending on where you apply pressure. Obviously I went for the back fit.

The mixed plastic and clay base was also an interesting build, which allowed me to easily deal with the miss alignment and mostly hide this flaw.

Building the structure of the base... terrain from the Warcry Catacomb box, I better make proper use of these! Plus these old movement trays are such great massive base!

The plastic sprues I glued at the bottom of the base help minimizing the displacement of the clay when it dries up, so it cracked along the weaker points I left on purpose and the contact line with the model remains intact. Now that the exposed parts have cured some 20 hours with the model in place, i can remove it for the inner part to cure... and the model will sit back in place properly afterward... mixing clay plastic and metal is tricky but I love the process.

The original plan was to paint it exactly in my flamers color scheme, I even considered changing the heads for bird like demons... but that would have been butchery! 

I finaly started the base colors like my flamers but went for the standard 5 colors.  I aimed to bring up as highlight/accent the yellow on the blue, the red and the green heads as well as on the back spikes... then use blue highlight on the black and use green as shadow on the white... and the front and back carapace bleached bones on green.  I even kept my wet palette since January so that should go smoothly!

Which got me to the point of the actual painting, each head felt like painting an idependant miniature. It was very challenging, but after hours of grinding, it is done!  Overall, I enjoyed the process as much as the result.  Special mention to that lichen harvest I did in the forest behind one of the campsite I vesited last summer. My wife was delighted. 🤣

And a family photo of the "horde" so far;

Which makes me realize... I realy need a new background! 😅

Andrea's Space Elves - Month 2, Leader month: the Avatar(s) of Khaine

 Hi OWACERs,

here is my leader for the Leader month: the Avatar of Khaine!

It is the first time I paint this incarnation of the Avatar, having already painted the NewHammer one, and I never used in the battle. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the model but after this month I can say it is really funny to paint. Unfortunately the model was a little ruined in some details, especially the gems, so it was not completely satisfactory but I liked the exercise of blending the colours to give the fiery aspect. Overall, I am happy with the result.

Well, short after finishing I though that this was the good moment to slap some paints on another model. If the 2nd edition Avatar looks badass, and the 9th edition one looks like the overgrown brother, there is another one that is so much badass-looking that he could sell chunks of badassery at the fish market: the Rogue Trader incarnation!

We say, in Italy, that in the little barrel there is the best wine. Well, I think this is exactly the case!

So, know I have (except for the side track of ForgeWorld ones) all official Avatars, that could help me start an old project: EvolHammer, or how miniature design changed over time (one day I will publish a blog on this). So, I can't keep myself and I have show you the series (Parental Advisory, heresy inside: NewHammer models will appear):

Someone says "scale creep"? The son, the father and the grandfather

And so, for the sake of army points painted, here we have:

The Avatar of Khaine (Leader)........... 300 pts

Well, thank you for looking and see you the next March!

ciao, Andrea 

The Relief of Plavigorica - Mark's Araby Contingent - February Rank & File Month 2

 A hard coming we had of it. For twenty days, we trekked north across the Badlands, finding water where we could; our astronomers guiding us by night.  On the ninth day, a great scorpion rose from the  scrub before our caravan, standing higher than a man. Emir Suleiman himself slew it with his scimitar.  In the days after, six of our brothers fell to the crude arrows of the Chomped Lug'ole goblins, whose wolf riders clashed incessantly with our brave vanguard.  We buried our martyrs before the sundown in accordance with our customs.  

We were not rid of the greenskin dogs until we crossed a great ravine and the first fast running water we had seen since Al-waha al-kubra.  Now the air is cooling and the grass thickening.  We press on to the Border Princes. It is our ardent hope that we reach Plavigorica and break the siege lines of the hated Skaven before it is too late.  This is our pledge. We cannot return to Araby before it is fulfilled. 

This month I've been painting a bow unit, the Rumah-Al-Sahra or "desert archers". These are converted 1996 Bretonnian plastic longbowmen.  The standard bearer (also plastic) is from the Perry's Mahdist war range, while the commander and musician are metal Gripping Beast Moors. 

The banner is supposed to read: "Arrows of the Wind". I replaced the standard bearer's straight sword with a Skeleton Horde scimitar, aiming to make him a little less historical and more fantastical.

Infidel origins - those crenulated hoods were tricky!

Front rank

Rear rank

  Baggy trousers and curves to the knives were the main additions.

In each unit, there's a little orange for Dundee United FC, known as "the Arabs" for their sandy pitch (sports field).

                                      

 

The Contingent so far:

January - Arabyan Guard with spears, shields, and a hashishin 165 pts link

February:

• 9 Desert Archers with standard and musician: 77 pts
• Level 5 commander with light armour and bow: 33pts

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See you in March. More light, more days, what could go wrong?

Tom's Goblins and Orcs: Rank and File #2

This month, February, shalt be the month of the wolf...  As with war machines, I really struggle with anything calvary-like, so it's a massive relief to have these done! 

I think it's because I'm never quite comfortable with painting them all glued together, so I have to paint them in two parts, wolf and rider. Which I don't like 😂

Annnnyway...

This wolf has got a bit of blood on him. What a good boy.

The shield design is just some thing super simple. Channelling that rosengarten_paints_black - instagram - energy, (although to a much less accomplished state!)

On the same  tip, I gave the wolves pupils. I'd usually go for just red, buuuut...

And here's all five of them together. 

Please excuse the dark pic. Bit of a last minute photoshoot!

Flushed with success I moved straight onto the orc chariot. Best get it out the way whilst motivation strikes!  It came in its original hardshell blister - a lovely swap with highland_painting (instagram) for some earlier era orcs 🙂

Here's the two crew.

And I pinned the front bit that saddles the wolves onto the chariot, and then pinned the wheels into the base.

And here it is! The boys are a bit side on, it's super cramped in that chariot!

Getting da bossez shield to fit was a pain too! It's why I chose the smallest on I could 🙂

Of course they've nailed a falcon or other bird of prey to it. Probably to taunt the hated elf.

If you look super closely you can see the pin poking out of the bottom of the chariot, from the orcs foot!

Hopefully the last thing you see after encountering da rampaging boyz!

And the shot of them all together agin :)

Here's the links back through the challenge:

Intro: link

January - rank and file: link

February - rank and file

45....   5 x wolf riders

81....   1 x orc chariot

Total: 130 points

See you next month for more rank and file!

A game of Warhammer Quest with the boy