30K terminators and a dollop of Dystopian Legions

I put these terminators together in Aug 2015 and they have been languishing in a foam tray ever since. They represent the start of another push at getting more 30K stuff done and some games played. I love the setting but we’ve given it a woeful amount of time especially in light of the number and quantity of forces we have.

These were put together from Scibor bodies, Anvil heads and shoulder pads and GW terminator arms. I liked the chunkiness of the Scibor bodies and thought they looked good as prototype Terminator armour.

I’ve done heavy battle damage and wear on all my previous 30K stuff so these took a similar pounding from the sponges to distress them. I like the look of it on the power fist knuckles. Looks like they been smacking the crap out of stuff!

I’ve also been getting all of the DL stuff undercoated and it all stands ready now. Sadly they weren’t paying attention and the GoGX Sylvaneth army slipped into the queue in front of them. I still do intend to get them to the table this year.

The termies have helped my Net tally but the recent Sylvaneth haven't. Figures for the year are now:

Purchased: +85

Painted:      -48

Net:            +37

I'll need to concentrate on the Sylvaneth over the next few months to ensure that they are done to deadlines however I am still determined to get the bulk of my unpainted 30K stuff finished and make good inroads into the DL & PC stuff.

TTFN.

Termies and Nefs

This week I've managed to make some progress on both sets of terminators.

The Iron Hands have received their coats of red and this leaves them ready for detailing, decals and weathering. Plenty to do still but progressing well.

The Iron Warriors will take a bit more work. I've added both the black and white to their pads in a random fashion as I did with the MKiiis. I don't want the hazard striping to be too uniform. Once the white has two coats I then carefully add the stripes. This took a while but I like the effect once finished. These will need a little tidying up but after that they can have their yellow wash to complete the hazard panels.

Once that is dry the whole figure will have black wash to dull down the metallic grey and to make the yellow a little less glaring. Then they'll be at the same place as the Iron Hands and I can batch paint all twenty eight to finish the details off. It'll be nice to finish off a whole tray that has been sat untouched for over two years.

Also finished are the two US Aeronefs for the Martian VSF. I keep referring to it as Dystopian Legion but it really has evolved past that so VSF it is from now on. I'm thinking of adding decals to both these and the Britiannian ones but I want to have a good snoop around to choose the right sort of decals. I'm thinking of white WWII style stars for the Yankie ones but I'm not sure if that will modernise them to much?

Hopefully Blotz will have the next two ready soon.

Two things finished. Puts me at +3 YTD.

TTFN

Edit for a requested picture.

2018 so far.....

I’ve been pretty busy since Xmas but I’ve lacked any real focus. I just have too many fun projects that I want to work on. This does mean that I’ve got lots of progress but nothing getting finished.

I’ve wanted to do a siege game for Horus Heresy (HH) ever since I started collecting an army. I’ve decided to make this a reality, hopefully this year, and as such I’ve purchased some walls, gun emplacements and a TTCombat Gothic Garage which I think will make a good gatehouse. I’m planning to use this on my 3x5 dining room table so this should stretch across the narrow table side just fine. The plan is to have the attackers play up the length of the table.

The scenario will need some thinking about but, given the sterling work being done 30K Heresy Forum to create 8^th Edition rules, I should be able to use the fortification rules from the back of the 8^th edition 40K rulebook as basis for something fun.

The HH setting does inspire me and I want to vary the types of games we play. Several years ago I’d made some starship interiors scenery. Sort of my own take on a modular Space Hulk type thing. It got messed around with a few times but then stored in the loft. It struck me that it would be pretty good as a Zone Mortalis and this compelled me to bring it down from the loft.

I hadn’t varnished it at the time of making it, something that I regret now. My loft is pretty dry but I think the inherent moisture in the plaster it was made from was enough to let the mould creep in. Sadly some pieces were lost but most were recovered, repaired and giving two coats of Varnish. One Gloss and one Matt. Hopefully that will protect it in future. I also have a plan to add some larger boards to the ZM set so that it can fill an entire 6x4 table.

All this HH planning has also had the effect of galvanising me to get more stuff painted for it. I did the Iron Warriors(IW) infantry last year but they sorely need some reinforcements. Now I like the idea of dreadnoughts stomping down ZM corridors in support of the troops so the couple of dreads I had in need of stripping pushed their way to the front of the queue and got themselves a nice bath in Dettol. They came out pretty clean.

Sitting around for a while has been a tray of terminators for both the Iron Hands & Iron Warriors. These were kit bashed together from a bundle of Scibor bodies that I won on Ebay cheap, Anvil heads and Shoulder Pads all coupled with GW Termie arms and weapons. I like the notion that 30K was a time of innovation and invention giving rise to lots of variation to the weapons and armour that were used. 

So the IWs have received two coats of Gun Metal Grey so far. Onto stripes next for them. The IH Termies are started with a heavy dry brushing of Bronze and then a light dry brush of gold. This picks out the trims and lots of the details. Next comes the red colour for the main armour plates to represent the blood of Manus that these surviving IH refuse to wash off until the traitors have been wiped out we all know how well that goes!).

  

I was given, by a very kind soul, some GW scenery at Xmas. The lovely gothic machinery terrain. It is wonderfully characterful and was one of the first things I put together once the silliness of Xmas subsided. Love these models and I’m looking forward to using them with the ZM terrain.

My first wargame of the year was a cracking game with BFG and I using my Seraphon to thwart the machinations of The Silverback and Silverfox’s Chaos forces. Cracking game which I neglected to take any photos of. Still it was enough to spur me on with some additions to my Lizards.

A homemade Dread Saurian has been staring at me from the shelves of holding for some time now so he was treated to a lick of paint to get him started. I was also treated to some Seraphon Cavalry for Xmas by another kind soul and those have been constructed and undercoated. Painting 40 cavalry at once is a bit daunting so I need to get some things cleared before starting them.

My ongoing endeavours to put together a stonking urban cityscape is still also progressing with the additional of some street furniture from Blotz.

I picked up lots of additional bits for the city at Colours and Warfare and decided to get them under way. This is them all washed and they’ve been spray undercoated now as well. They should add lots of character.

Well I also need some people to populate this city so I’m working on getting the civvies and heroes finished as well so we can get on and have some games. I think some of the folks in this part of town may have dubious professions…..

One of the Hero (or Villian) figures I’ve had for a while was a suited hitman type of guy but I didn’t want to have him in a plain suit. Well….there was only one choice really wasn’t there. Let me introduce you to….

Mr Patriot!

It took the best part of two hours but it was worth it. It still needs neatening up with some white and the colours could do with another coat but he won’t take much to finish after that.

I seem to have entered one of my more productive phases again, which is great, but because I’ve not had my painting mojo for a while I have been concentrating on building. This has meant that the painting queue has grown considerably. I’m estimating that I have 300+ prepped and undercoated waiting to be done. I really should address that!

So goals for this year? Well last year I painted 366 figures. Great but I brought loads as well. Time for a new tactic. I’m going to track Net items painted. So a minus for a painted one and a plus for any new ones brought.

So the street furniture places me at -15…..but…..

….those 20 mkiii marines I didn’t think I’d win on Ebay but did takes it back to +5.

So this year I must be productive and also resist buying too many figures.

Wish me luck.

TTFN

Eddie.

Iron Within!

Iron Without!

I've finally finished the massive batch of Iron Warriors infantry. I started these at work in January and have been chipping away at them ever since whilst doing other projects.

66 Marines made up of:

35 Tactical marines with bolters
15 Breachers including 3 with las-cutters
5 Support marines with plasma guns
5 Heavy support marines with heavy bolters
5 Heavy support marines with las-cannons
1 Narik Dreygur

Now this is a good basis for a force but I just need to work out what to add next. I've got some Rhinos, Dreadnoughts and a Spartan. There is also a gang of Terminators to shove in along with Perturabo himself.

Tacticals, Support and Heavy Support.

Breachers. I love the look of them! I reckon GW would do well making a plastic kit of them.

Batch painting 66. Don't do it. Just don't.

'ikkle old plasma gunner.

I was surprised how much fun the stripes were to do. I was slightly dreading it when I started it but it was one of the most enjoyable parts of painting them.

This has also done wonders for my tally on the 365 challenge.

Day 137 : 212 Figures painted.

Get in!

TTFN

Not blogged much but...

 ..I've not been idle.

Work on the Epic stuff has been continuing with lots of prep work being done on both the Iron Warriors and the Orks. As we are sticking with it for the time being we have reached the point where we need to start playing proper games with better objectives. With this in mind we've started to put together some markers to use.

Being a bit of a hoarder I tend to keep the inserts and waste pieces from MDF kits. They are finished and cut pieces that can prove very useful. Its also lots of fun sitting down and seeing what fun things you can make out of them!

One generator, some cargo pods and a missile silo. With a bit of sand to texture the bases these'll be ready to paint.

As an alternative objective or a piece of scenery I knocked together a little cargo lander. I might well make a couple more and a little space port to add to the scenery.

Painting all the Epic stuff I've bought recently will take a while but I am chipping away at it. Nearly done are some Land Speeders for the Iron Warriors and the start of my ork force. They actually take longer to paint than I thought they would.

I'm still plugging away at the 28mm Iron Warriors as well and they've had their transfers and weathering done now along with Army Dip and matt varnish. Just the basing left to do.

I think they've come out pretty well.

TTFN

Back on track!

I was trailing behind on the 365 challenge. 3 months in and I only had 56 completed.

That has all changed! Finally finishing off the first tranche of 66 Epic figures I've managed to take the tally from 56 up to 122. Perfect!I'm well ahead now! I've also managed to squeeze in some extra stuff too.

First up then......6mm Iron Warriors.

36 Stands of Marines
18 Rhinos
8 Land Raiders
4 Contemptors

Doing the stripes was.....err....fun.

As we are planning to play Epic shortly I thought we better get prepared. The game requires blast markers for in game effects and I'd seen a nice tutorial on how to make some cool ones. Gave it a try and they worked out okay I think.

I've also been trying to prepare the next load of bits for the Iron Warriors but made some assumptions about how compatible 6mm stuff is. The turrets were from Vanguard and is transpires that their stuff, whilst lovely, is true scale. I posted this piccie to an Epic group on Facebook so people could laugh at me and my Noobiness but the owner of Vanguard responded offering to take them back for a full refund. Very Kind. In truth I'll probably just buy the tank chassis's that fit them. I still need predators after all!

At work I've been making progress on the 28MM Iron Warriors. Slowly but surely painting the hazard stripes on their pads. They're home now for finishing so I am very much in the hope that within the next 7-10 days I'll have another 66 figures to add to the tally. Painting the stripes has been less frustrating than I would have imagined. I am really looking forward to seeing the breachers finished as they look so cool!

I've painted sooooo many stripes lately that I really need a break from Iron Warriors and the thought of painting some Orks is making me smile. Quick and fun and dirty! With that in mind I have started getting some Epic Ork stuff prepped at work ready to spray and shift home.

Who doesn't love likkle dreddies?

On top of all this I've managed to squeeze in a couple of games. No. 17 Was AoS with the Seraphon getting a right smacking from the combined forces of Undead and Chaos. Bastards.

Game 18 was a quick game of X-Wing with Urn whilst we chin-wagged about Epic. Scum and Villainy earned their name as they stopped the heroic rebels from collecting vital cargo. That was medical supplies! Bastards!

Tomorrow night is a test game of Epic for me and Urn and I'm really looking forward to it!

TTFN!

Painted 30k salamanders, Thousand Sons and more gobbos!

They say that every cloud has a silver lining.  The metaphorical cloud in this case is the fact I'm a hobby magpie, constantly grabbing the shiny things from my garage and starting them and not being quite so good at finishing them before the next shiny thing grabs my attention.  This can leave large amounts of half finished figures strewn all over the study, steadily encroaching out of the zone I'm allowed for "Daddy's little men".  The silver lining, to stretch this metaphor almost to breaking point, is that sometimes the moons align, the Scooby gang catch the baddy and I get a load of stuff finished at the same time.

First up, some Salamanders with flamers.  I really wanted a unit with the throwback 30k flamers which pay homage to the flamers released in the first ever space marine box in the early 80's, the one with the beakies in.  No real plan for these, but the Salamander legion do love them some flames so I'm sure they'll get some use.  They were a legion that resisted Horus' betrayal of the Emperor and were mostly massacred for their troubles by the traitor legions in an ambush on Istvaan (boo, hiss).

They'll go nicely with my other Salamanders and I tried to get some muzzle burn damage on the flamers.  Decals applied by my own fair hand on one shoulderpad and flames handpainted on the other shoulderpad to hopefully appease both sides of the decal schism (or perhaps to be considered a heretic by both sides!).

Next up, some more hot death in the form of some Thousand Sons Plasma dudes.

They would ideally be wearing oven gloves as plasma weapons are extremely temperamental can kill the wielder if your dice are bad enough.  So no bad dice out there to stay safe kids.  They originally had converted autocannons, but you know how sometimes you just get a model build wrong?  Took me 2 weeks to admit it to myself as I had a sulk about it, so off went the autcannons and on went the plasmas.  I'm so pleased I did that now.

To support these chaps are twenty members of an assault squad

I see these fellas as the glory boys, laughing at the tactical squads who trudge through the mud as these guys zoom overhead, making themselves a perfect target against the sky no doubt.  Sort of like how the RAF and army consider each other.  So lots of gold and fancy decals showing how much they like flying (birds head on the right shoulder pad, flying scarab on the top of the jump pack).

 I once again showed a cavalier disregard for the make of jump packs in existence during the heresy and used far cheaper 40k ones ( I could buy three units like this for the price of the proper FW one).  All the armour is the correct mark (IV and VI) as I do have some standards... the 30k world is probably as close as GW games get to historical gaming with regards people worrying about exact markings, colours, who fought with whom, etc, but I think we all have to find a level we're comfortable with these things.  The heads are the simply superb Forgeworld upgrade ones for the most part and using these covers a multitude of sins in my eyes!  So look at the pretty heads, not the jump packs...

Some nice chunky axes and swords in the unit and some marines with their helmets off, because it appears to be a tradition that someone in every marine unit won't wear the hermetically sealed life support and vital armour because he wants the enemy to see him snarling...... You can just imagine the conversation

"Sorry Amon, you're the last one here, so you have to leave your helmet behind today and grimace for the next 3 hours about the grim darkness of our present"

"But I did it last time!  Isn't it Azhek's turn?"

"Watch it or you'll be assigned a plasma gun like Hotep was after he complained"

And finally, 32 more gobbos to go with the ones I did a few weeks ago.

Same recipe as the last ones and I was regretting deciding upon two highlight layers on the skin by the time I got to the second one...

These lads will be trampling onto the gaming table shortly and then probably promptly running off again.  I'm hoping to have time to bring some crazed fanatics and netters to the challenge, but I shall have to see how the week goes as time has gotten away from me a little!