Progress!

I've gotten my bum into gear and pushed ahead to finish off the massed dryads that were glowering at me from the paint queue. 60 at once can be somewhat of a chore but its a great feeling once they are all completed.

Only 12 figures to paint to finish off the army! I'd best get cracking with them.......

....but only once I've finished off these bad boys! It's bizarre, but I really enjoy painting Iron Warrior stuff. Before I started them I would have been convinced that painting the dull metallic colours would bore me and that the stripes would drive me mad. Actually the opposite is true!

Varnish and basing and they'll be done. Then back to the Sylvaneth.......maybe.

TTFN

 

The chase is on….

They’d been found. Months of meticulous planning had gone up in smoke due to bad luck. Equipment failure had taken out two of the field dampening generators that had been masking their presence. They weren’t down long but sadly long enough to mean detection.

The subsequent assault was expected and Luna Wolves had put their contingency plans into action withdrawing quickly and quietly after the first wave of assault troops had retreated. Taking the dampening field generators with them to hide their departure the entire force slid into the night.

The contingency base was not as secure as the underground complex being little more than a staging post but it would have to suffice whilst the new situation could be assessed and a new strategy drawn up.

Stealth tech and heavy foliage is good for hiding a base but not enough to stop a ground patrol blundering upon it and it became apparent as they approached that this had happened. This mission seemed cursed with poor luck! The area was laced with caches of equipment, supplies and weapons.

The reserve site was already lost due to its discovery by the Iron Warriors but those supplies were essential and had to be recovered if there was any chance of pulling any hope of withdrawal from the rapidly worsening situation. The base must be taken back, albeit briefly, to get to the cached 

equipment.

Breaking from the surrounding jungle the Luna Wolves barrelled forward into the base, dashing to cover as much ground as they could before their arrival was noticed however it didn’t take long…

The Iron Warriors had the advantage of cover but the Luna Wolves pressed the attacked gunning down one heavy support squad of Iron Warriors whilst they tried to position their Las-cannons. (1)

A Luna Wolves breaching team drew the fire of a heavy bolter team perched on the base superstructure and their heavy shields stopped most of the shots but increasingly the powerful explosive rounds got through.

Catching the beleaguered marines in a cross fire, an advancing Iron Warriors squad gunned down the last of them leaving crumpled bodies and dis-guarded shield littering the open ground between buildings.

Unseen by the newly arrived Luna Wolves, Iron Warriors within the complex began to move through the buildings keeping themselves sheltered from the firefight raging in the compound outside.

The counter attack had left the Iron Warriors left flank dangerously exposed. A tactical flaw that did not go unnoticed and with massive strides the huge form of a Contemptor dreadnought forged across the courtyard raking the enemy positions with a torrent of fire from its assault cannon.

With practiced efficiency the Luna Wolves capitalised on the moment, rising from their cover and pouring fire into the Iron Warriors. Plasma fire and bolter rounds tore through them. There was only one option left for the survivors of the unit and the last few fell back.

Trying to seize back the initiative, heavily shielded Iron Warriors broke forth from the building hoping that attack from a different direction would stall the Luna Wolves assault and give the iron Warriors a chance to remove the threat of the plasma gunners whose fire had proven so devastating.

All the Luna Wolves were familiar with the base and as such this manoeuvre was fully anticipated. The Iron Warriors were met with a storm of fire as they left the safety of the building and many were cut down as they closed for hand to hand combat. They pushed on hoping the momentum of their charge would carry them to the enemy.

The charge faltered and the comms were alive with the roared orders from command…..(2)

But it wasn’t enough as the last of them were seared and blasted by the combined horrors of explosive rounds and blazing plasma bolts. (3)

The last of the Iron Warriors patrol force were beaten back and the Luna Wolves began to retrieve the much needed caches. Time was against them and they would need to move quickly to cover enough ground to have a chance of evading the inevitable Iron Warrior re-enforcement's.

Solid Win 8-3 to Junta and his Luna Wolves using the tactical objective cards.

TTFN

(1)    Bugger. I needed them to stop the dreadnought!

(2)    Bugger. Ah well, I can use some re-rolls.
(3)    FML.

An unexpected discovery....

The Iron Warrior scouts had discovered the old bunker complex but had retreated to call in re-enforcements as the auspex’s had picked up signs that someone was using the old base.

The power fist pulled the bulkhead door apart with ease. They were in. They come in force to find out who’d crept in under their radar. The shrieks of the torn metal were just dying out when the corridor erupted with the roar of bolter fire. Silhouetted in the doorway the terminator faltered momentarily under the barrage but then surged forward in to the storm of fire. Other entrances were being blown open and the Iron Warriors were in. Whomever was in there were fully aware that they’d arrived.

As the Iron Warriors pushed into the unknown they brought their own weapons to bear forcing the defenders to seek cover. Some didn’t make it.

With the incoming fire briefly lessened the Iron Warriors push onwards. They must find out who it is they are facing!

Powerful shards of las-fire pierced the gloom around the heavy footed terminators at the front of the assault. One found a target but the unrelenting armour defected it sideways sending masonry chunks flying as the beam gouged through the corridor wall. (1) The threat of the lascannons was quickly nullified as the weapons position was pounded by return fire.

From the darkness came the unknown inhabitants of the underground facility. White armoured figures with stature equal to the Iron Warriors. Confused shouts echoed across the comms. Luna Wolves? Not the Sons of Horus? No. Luna Wolves.

Calls went down the line to forge ahead with the attack. If they weren’t Sons of Horus then their allegiances were unknown. They must be dealt with! The two forces met in the confined space stirring up a deafening cacophony as shield bearing breaching troops met Dug in defenders.

As las-cutters strobed in the furious melee the roar of combat intensified in the side chambers and tunnels around them. Happening across a gun line of Luna Wolves a unit of Plasma gunners from the Iron Warriors took a terrible green hued toll upon the Luna Wolves until they themselves were overcome by a fresh wave of troops firing bolt rounds at close range barely able to miss in the tight corridors. (2)

With the defenders falling the Iron Warriors pushed ahead only to be faced with the massive forms of dreadnoughts barely able to fit down the corridors to face the steel coloured invaders. The tide had turned. The massive machines broke the attack, forcing the Iron Warriors back out of the complex. Fighting the rear guard were the terminators facing off the mighty strikes of the towering dreadnought. The skilful 1^st company warriors waited until the right time and then counter attacked bringing one of the dreadnoughts down. The falling goliath blocked the main entrance and the Iron Warriors withdrew. They’d been fought off but would be back with greater numbers.

Upon their return the Iron Warriors found the place quiet, still and empty. Distant hidden exits were found flung open with signs that a sizeable force had departed.

Who were they? What were they doing?

A solid win to the Luna Wolves for Junta.

TTFN!

(1)    Junt tonked his rolls with a lascannon devastator squad and my termies were left unscathed!

(2)    20 man blob squads of marine can still give you a fair walloping back even after taking heavy casualties!

Gathering Mars

The VSF on Mars project is a slow boiler but I am still working towards getting it all together. Not wanting to get to a point where the Aeronef are ready but nothing else is I have devoted a little time to working out what I actually need to do still.

Scenery is the biggest job after the Aeronef and painting the armies so I cast my mind to that. I need to source a bundle of pink foam for Martian rocks and landscape but I also wanted to have foliage. I’ve used the AliExpress website before to buy cheap stuff from China so thought I’d try there first. 

Success! Lots of different Aquarium plants at cheap prices. The drawback of buying from China is obviously that you are taking a bit of a risk on the quality. Money wise you are pretty safe as the funds are held in Escrow until delivery is confirmed. Not knowing what the quality was going to be like made me decide to buy a few different ones from different suppliers so I was likely to get at least some that were okay.

One set still hasn’t turned up, no great surprise as it’s coming from China, but fours lots have and I can say that I’m fairly pleased with them. I really like the left most one but it was the most expensive. Only £2ish but still more than the others. The centre two are pretty good as well and I suspect I will buy more of those first three types. The one on the right is okay. Big but limp and not really what I want for Mars. This said they look pretty good for filling out a jungle board so not a waste at all.

Just one set to go and then I’ll be deciding which ones to order more of. In the mean time I can use them for alien plants in my 30K/40K games. It's a fair amount of scenery for £20ish and there is still five more to come. 

I am also still thinking of making some additional plant pieces and have done a concept sketch for the liftwood groves which will hopefully feature in the narrative campaign I am planning.

They shouldn’t be too hard to make with modelling clay balls and wire for the superstructure. I’ve got some hairy gardening string and I’m thinking about soaking that in watered down PVA before draping it over the globes as vines.

I’ve not got much painting done as I am still enjoying the CAD work and am currently working on some more sci-fi stuff with a Star Wars Legion feel to it.

So….things progressing but nothing getting finished.

Harrumph.

TTFN