Ready - Ben's D’s Skellibobs - Sc-April

Weather: Wet

Mood: Calm

Music: St. Vincent

Long time no see, fellow nerds. I hope March and April have treated you well. The last few months were a little rough on my end with a big con and a big sick, but having used my first mulligan in three years, I took some much needed rest so that I could come back with the good stuff.

The good stuff being, of course, more gnomes.

Kicking the double-month haul off we have my army’s general, a big old vampire lord on a dragon. I had been waiting years to paint up this pond dragon, having doubted myself and my designs for its destiny years ago, so putting a brush to it this year felt particularly satisfying. In keeping with the skellibobs, my focus was to use as many magical colors as I could, hence the vibrancy of the dragon with its apple green complexion.

The vampire himself was a bit tougher, since his costuming didn’t communicate his station, and I didn’t have room under the beard to do much more detailing. I had hoped that the cape would be majestic enough to convey his dark grandeur, and didn’t want to mix the pallor of his flesh with a crisp white shirt, so I will have ask narrative to carry that weight (until I pick a better shirt color anyhow.)

At this time, I feel as though this vampire has only recently been disinterred, and is perhaps a little confused as to why he’s waging war. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not displeased to be doing so, but he’d rather not be doing it in his pajamas if given the choice, (he wears his funerary dress to sleep, which is kinda cute in a depressing way.) At least the nice necromancer who freed him from the crypt gave him a beautiful cape, a dignified hat, and a spectacular dragon (he’s a chalice of blood half full kind of vampire,) so all in all, things could be worse.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

I know my original list didn’t call for sheep, but I found some sheep, and now my army has sheep in it.

They’re a little off though, as are their minders (who can be run as a standard bearer and musician respectively.)

Oh, they’re dead… 

dead cute.

Because each of the other gnome armies have their pets, Alpine gnomes with their geese and Chaos gnomes with their dogs and donkeys, I felt that the undead should have some critters too. With that said, do you know how hard it is to find FIFTEEN SHEEP?

I found it pretty hard, so that’s why there’s twelve of them and three ghost gnomes hanging out with them. I have this memory of a ghostly goblin army that was printed in White Dwarf when I was a kid, and the ghost paint jobs here are inspired by that article. They kinda look like cheese I don’t want to eat, and since I can’t for the life of me find my original source, I think the next ghosts I paint will be based on the classic blue Spirit Hosts of yore.

Lastly, we have Gneil the Gnecromancer, who has been delving into forbidden magicks (again) and will undoubtably be a menace to his former Alpine allies, considering who and what he’s consorting with. 

Friends don’t let friends resurrect BBEGs.

For a two-month haul, that’s not too shabby. Here are the points for the period.

Vampire Lord on Dragon - 825p

Necromancer - 68p

Total 893

Since the zombie sheep aren’t on the original list anyhow, and the necromancers will need things to summon, I don’t feel the need to tally the points. If they wind up in the army I can put their hq pieces in the front, and if they end up being summoned, I can use them in the back as bodies to flesh out the sheep squad. Anyhow, that’s it for me gamers. Good luck with your projects, and see you next time 

Army Total: 1213/2003

James WRR’s Rank & File 4: Termination ritual, activated

The Battle Brothers stood to attention on the sprawling deck of the barge. Whether one looked left or right, they would see nothing but a line of silver-clad Space Marines stretching off into the distance, mechanical cherubim floating above them swinging braziers of incense

Donovan stood shoulder to shoulder with his brothers in arms, gently rocking the weight of his holy Bolter from hand to hand. They would be making planetfall soon enough, disgorging a mass of ceramite-clad butchers onto the woe-begotten wretches below.

But first, there must be a revery. The holy order to which he belonged was steeped in tradition, though he admitted he would rather be steeped in unholy blood than standing in line for a parade.

First came the servitors, scuttling on hydraulic legs and bearing the armoured sarcophaguses of fallen brothers. Then came the Chaplains of the 666th chapter, skull-faced and dour, reeking of candle fat. Then came the Veterans, each dragging behind them chained apostates and heretics, ready to be sacrificed in the name of the Emperor. 

Finally, behind that screaming mass, came the Terminators. Donovan could feel their footsteps before he could see them. Towering even over the tallest of his Battle Brothers, the Tactical-Dreadnought-armoured practically glowed in the harsh mercury lamplight of the barge. Each bore a gun-barrel staff, still cold but ready to burn into life with the flick of a finger.

There was silence in the hall as they lumbered passed. Donovan felt pride in his chapter’s strength… but also an unfamiliar feeling. Something like… envy. 

“Slick bastards. That could be my armour,” he thought, “my staff.”

Donovan stared down at his Bolter. Counted the scratched-in kill markings. He noted the distinct lack of honours on his armour. At least compared to the titans before him.

“I’ve done my time. I’ve slain so many for the Emperor. It’s not fair.”

Donovan was frozen in his train of jealous thought by the feeling of cold metal against the back of his head. A refreshing feeling. A real feeling. 

“Brother Donovan,” came the stern, sterile voice behind him. “Feeling ungrateful of your assigned role?”

Like his augmented brothers, Donovan knew not fear. In usual circumstances. He had stared down warpbeasts, descended through the atmosphere of alien planets in Drop Pods, survived months alone in ruined cities after seeing his squadmates torn apart around him. But the voice behind him sent a shiver down his half-metal spine.

He felt the cold metal barrel leave his neck and slip silently back into the darkness. He stood a little straighter, feeling as proud as he possibly could of the Terminators, thinking happy thoughts. 

“We can but… aspire.” He forced the thought. There were eyes to see all around, into his mind, and ears to hear. He gave the venerable brothers their due respect. 

______________________

This has been the month I’ve been waiting for — a chance to paint those beautiful Rogue Trader Grey Knights Terminators. 

We all know the best way to get through your army’s chaff is to give yourself a big reward at the end, right? 

Terminators and Arbites, ready to terminate the heretics

When I first saw these ancient Terminators, I was absolutely blown away. The level of crisp detail across every millimetre of armour is really technically impressive, especially in comparison to other miniatures of the time. I particularly like the lightning bolt motives and impaled books that would later become the official Grey Knights icon.

These fine fellows are also armed with super radical gun-staves that would come to define the Adeptus Custodes. Because, back in the day, you couldn’t really get more elite on the Imperium side of the table, and we all know that sharp shooty sticks are the badge of honour among gene-enhanced soldiers.

(Un)holy warriors march forth

The only downside to this squad is that there’s only one sculpt, so repetition is unavoidable. However, I think it sort of ends up in their favour, making them appear as really disciplined, shining exemplars in comparison to the scrappy freaks that make up the rest of my army. 

Though they might all look quite similar, each is an individual

To top off this squad, of course I had to paint up their Captain as well. 

Sadly, the copy I was able to find didn’t come with his ballistic force sword (again, now part of the Custodes’ schtick), so I decided to make do with another force staff. Flipping it around, in a stabbing motion, sets him apart from his squad on the table — if the heraldic tilting shield doesn’t do the job.

Captain, hunter, killer

The scheme the for these guys isn’t going to be unfamiliar to anyone that has been following this army as it grows. But I have added plenty more gold.

The best gold, I’ve found, is often just silver (with a little glaze of yellow or brown, of course). The gold elements on these models were drybrushed up to a bright silver then hit with a thin layer of Snakebite Leather Contrast. A touch of bright Scale Colour gold finished them off nicely. I did add a tiny bit of verdigris and rust to choice parts of the armour to grunge them up a bit.

I love ggggoooooooooooollllldd

To add visual interest, I painted some subtle purple veins into the grips of the staves and then coated them in gloss to look as if they’re made out of obsidian, or some sort of magical marble.

The blades of these weapons were painted to look so hot they’re molten. It was all the rage in Newhammer painting circles a year or two ago! 

To achieve this effect, I followed the usual recipe for flames, starting from white and then quickly wet-blending outwards into yellow, orange and, finally, red. To finish off the molten look, I used a small bit of sponge to apply some dappled black — the oxidised, crackling metal that’s straining under the raw power charging through it.

We. Are. The LAW!

But the Termies weren’t the only models on my table this month. Filling out my Rank & File quota is a squad of Adeptus Arbites, represented here by Wargames Foundry’s ex-Citadel Empirical Absolution and Liquidation Squad.

The charmingly goofy poses and proportions of early Citadel sculpts are on full display here. As is the not-quite-so-subtle “homages” to 2000 A.D. I thought it was only right to lean into that, giving them proper Judge uniforms. I like that this scheme makes them stand out a lot from the rest of the army, while details like the red gun casings and yellow lenses still tie them in.

We can’t forget, though, despite their lovely, nostalgic uniforms: All Arbites are Bastards.

"Daemons can't hurt me. Not in my protective sphere."

______________________

Army list as of March

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

Frank's Great Task, Building a Daemonic Legion of Slaanesh - April (Rank & File)

This month was once again about Fiends of Slaanesh. I was committed to closing out the Fiend allowance for a Daemonic Legion of Slaanesh, which is twenty-four Fiends. In previous OWAC's I had already painted twelve, and in January I knocked out another group of five. I had intended to get another five of these done in March, but since seven were required, I began batch painting all seven. I had gotten a good way through the seven, but life conspired to prevent actually finishing them. So, due to my own slow pace, I was forced to either mulligan or to accept my partially painted models as complete for March. This was nonsense, of course, and I chose to spend my wildcard month as a mulligan and preserve the standard for painting I held myself thus far. Therefore, while no Fiends were brought forth last month, all seven were this month...and pretty little scuttlers they are too. 

An additional seven Fiends are 40 points each, thus adding 280 points to the growing Slaaneshi Legion, as well as an adjusted fourteen models to the count for this OWAC.

This influx of Fiends brings the muster to the full two dozen allowed to a Slaaneshi Legion. I could not resist lining up the full contingent for a photo op. What is the collective noun for a large group of Fiends? A Flux of Fiends? A Scuttling of Fiends?

Lastly, to congratulate them, I let a Keeper of Secrets conduct an inaugural "Running of the Fiends" through the streets of Bogenhafen. They look like they are having a fun time...