The Stuff - An Unboxing

I have a lot of models. It might not be as much as some people but it takes up a lot of room. Most of it is packed away, hopefully in boxes of similar things. I need to make a list of what I have to plan future army builds so I am going through them now we are settled in our new home 

I have a number of plastic boxes like the one pictured which is also the one I am going through today. This one contains orks. I have loads of orks from Rogue Trader through to the present day as well as a number of conversion parts and good old fashioned bits and gubbinz.

These are three mega armoured orks made by Kromlech. I won these through one of those Facebook competitions where you like an image. These models are huge, definitely taller than the metal mega armoured nobz though I don't own any of the plastic ones for reference. First bag and already I want to stop painting Word Bearers and start painting orks.

Bag two is the finecast mekboy with shokk attack gun. I like this model, it has a lot of character. The plastic one that came out subsequently was more or less a copy of what you see here but it felt less alive. I have a metal one somewhere, no doubt we will come across it eventually. On this model I swapped the head out for a more mekboy version from a plastic sprue of some random kit.

Next is a collection of ork parts from Spellcrow. Spellcrow parts have some really nice sculpts and their ork stuff is superb. Here we have some pirate heads, pirate torsos, slugga arms and power klaws.

The heads and torsos I acquired to make a squad of Freebooterz to accompany the flash gitz and Kaptain Badrukk that is also kept somewhere. There is enough to make ten but really I want squads of twenty. You can also see a konfeder-ork head which I believe is actually from Kromlech.

It is a universal truth that power klaws are awesome but there are never enough. These spares will help me bulk out my snipping potential. The pistol arms can be spread out amongst different models or used to make some gun slingers. Maybe a brace of sluggas for the Freebooterz? Also shown is a Kromlech bionik arm.

These are special. A trio of Goffik Rokkerz from Rogue Trader days and a couple of runtherds, one Goff, one Snakebite.I have some arms somewhere to complete these runtherds, modern ork arms are too bulky and look odd when attached. The Rokkerz I want to convert up a drummer to go with them and give them a trukk or battlewagon stage all of their own.

Five plastic Deathskull Looterz. I converted the centre one as every model in the box could take a shooty gun but the fifth model in the box only has parts to be made into a mekboy and I have plenty of them already.

Bit of a mixed bag. The big guy is a miniature that came with the collector's edition of Warhammer Online. The grot shaman on his shoulder is actually controlling the orc. I thought he would make a good Snakebite warboss. The two sets of orc and goblins with the crossed arms are a set I think that was exclusive to Games Day. I am thinking of using them as bodyguards or minders for a weirdboy. Also shown is a collection of bits from other ranges.

Three metal killa kans to get stompy on the pansies and such. They will be pretty solid little buggers once they are put together but not sure which klan to do them as.

The same again but in plastic. These are an example of my early attempts with magnets. The results are mixed but I am able to swap the parts around and they stay attached if left alone. These are going to be Bad Moons.

Here are a selection of characters. There is a painboy, a mek, Boss Zagstrukk and Nazdregg minus his banner pole. I am sure it is around somewhere. When you put him next to other orks you can really see how big Zagstrukk is!

Also in the same bag are a mega armoured, Grimgor (?) less his head, a burna armed mekanik, 11 Rogue Trader era boyz and a placard waving grot. I can find replacement parts for the nob and Grimgor if the parts don't show up.

Another selection of vehicles. This deff dred is of the same pedigree as my metal killa kans so they will be painted the same klan, Blood Axe probably as I have already painted a Goff dred. A trukk that I sorta started but found lots of bits that would be awkward to paint if it were put together so I don't see more progress being made on this until I get round to painting it. Four deff kopters, one of which I found the others are from the Black Reach box set an I have magnetised their rotors, They are half painted, the time consuming metal weathering is complete but the rest of the models needs finishing.

These are all old Rogue Trader or 2nd edition miniatures. A generic runt herd with two runt swarms comprising 13 runts which need re-basing and probably spacing out to get the maximum number of bases out of them. A drummer, an ork in an ill fitting space suit and the body of a minder. If I find another then I have enough to accompany a weird boy.

Here it is! Nazdregg's banner, no surprise it was found with Baddrukk, he probably nicked it to get back at Nazdregg for banning him from the Scylla. Along with these is a Gorka Morka Slaver, one of Brian Nelson's awesome sculpts.

They might not look it but this collection of plastic ork arms are quite valuable. Many of the old Rogue Trader era and 2nd Edition metal orks needed plastic arms to complete them.On the secondary market these models are usually sans arms. Fortunately Diego Serrate recentlysculpted new sets of these arms for one of the Space Raider kickstarters so I am hoping I will be able to buy more sets soon to fully kit out any arm less orks I have.

Phew, that was a lot of stuff crammed in there and it was just the first box, there is loads yet to rediscover.

The Original 13th Black Crusade

GW's surprise Twitch broadcast earlier this week unveiled the next 40k Campaign book, The Fall of Cadia. This book details the beginnings of Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th, and presumedly, last Black Crusade. But time is fickle in the warp and some of us remember having already fought this war way back in the halcyon summer of 2003.

The Eye of Terror campaign ran through the summer of 2003 and had players all over the world taking part. Players chose a faction aligned to their army, played games and reported the results back to Games Workshop, mostly via the internet. A full rundown of the campaign can be found here. 

I took to the field as the Emperor's Children, an army I had been painting continuously for a couple of years up to that point. My army was led by the Emperor's Children warlord Desade and had a colour scheme of my own creation. In fact I recently painted a new model to see if I could remember how that you can see below!

As well as playing the Emperor's Children I was the Emperor's Children member for the Planet Killer Council. This was a think tank organised by my friend Ben Prager. A representative from each major faction of the Chaos forces would meet online every weekend and discuss strategy for the coming week. We would then return to our faction, using Yahoo Groups as that was the most sophisticated example of social media available at the time, and disseminate objectives to our fellow players.

This proved devastatingly effective and after a disappointing start the we Chaos players soon gained the upper hand. It was weeks before the forces of Order were able to organise anything similar. The credits in the Black Library tome 'The 13th Black Crusade' mention us in the with thanks section.

When the campaign was over it seemed we were on the verge of entering the 42nd millenium. The overall result was a minor victory to the forces of Chaos meaning the way was open to move deeper into the Imperium. Ahriman had located the webway and Eldrad Ulthran had been killed, his soul bound by the Keeper of Secrets at the centre of one of the Blackstone Fortresses taken during the Gothic War. Stuff was happening, the story was moving forward. 

This all happened back in 3rd Edition when I was still pretty heavily into gaming. In 2017 the march to Terra for the Legions of Chaos will be the main focus of the 40k narrative and I am really tempted to get involved again. With the release of the Traitor Legions codex we now have the Legion specific rules we always wanted since the mighty 4th Edition codex was replaced and I'm spoilt for choice having an Emperor's Children, Death Guard and Word Bearers force to choose from, though not all of the units are painted. 

The events of that campaign have since been retconned and none of the exciting story points have been kept intact. However it looks like the second run of the 13th Black Crusade is going to be better. Since then we have had the Legions rounded out more with their background from the Horus Heresy and Primarch models are now a thing. New special characters have been created for the next campaign book and the narrative looks set to flow in a more deliberate fashion with a specific end planned.

I'll miss the wild and unpredictable moulding of narrative that came with the campaign but with Games Workshop's engagement with the community in recent months and the return of White Dwarf it is hard not to feel optimistic and a little excited about where all this is heading. 2017 is going to be a good year for hobby.

Hobby Diary 4th December 2016

Bit of an odd week really, the first week that I haven't engaged in hobby everyday despite having a week off work, I did manage to squeeze a game of Silver Tower in though and undercoated the models as I was reminded of just how nice they are. I chose to undercoat the vast majority of the models white as I'll be aiming for bright colours befitting Tzeentch's chosen. Of course there are a few models that require a black undercoat such as the Grot Crawlers and a few of the Heroes.

The game itself didn't go so well, to be fair we were attempting one of the harder trials maybe someway before we should. We were doing well but then a couple of unlucky rolls saw us get attacked by Deathleaper and then finished off by a group of Tzaangors. That'll learn us. Oh well.

Other than that I tried to do some more to the UCM fleet but my back started to play up so sitting bent over a painting desk was a no go. I got a little more done before it gave out but not as much as I liked.

So it was back to assembly, I had done a trade with a mate for another set of Cultists from Overkill so i got those done, converting a few to use the shotguns i had left over from the neophytes box. I'm really looking forward to getting these painted, It's a big job too, there are a LOT of models there. Still, I am determined that they will be my next 40k project.

In the meantime i haven't forgotten about 30k and I had intended to get a Contemptor AND a Tactical Squad but mental and physical problems had killed that plan off. It had not been a good week. I did manage to get one of the Contemptors painted but that was about as far as it got.

So a blip to be sure but after doing hobby everyday for quite some time a small lapse seems reasonable. I have some games with Lee scheduled for this weekend so they will feature in next months diary. I still have two days to get the Contemptor done though so you never know, though it seems very unlikely at this moment in time.

Lee

I have completely thrown my painting schedule out the window and gone on a hobby binge of Horus Heresy model construction. I haven't made all of my models as I have a shortage of 32mm bases and Word Bearer shoulder pads but they are on order. While I wait for them to arrive there is a queue of constructed and primed models awaiting my attention and with time off week on the horizon having I need plenty to do.

First up is Lorgar.Though he is not the most powerful of Primarchs he will be a monster once he gets amongst regular troops. If he is in my army then my Word Bearers get buffs to their leadership and combat results. He is a psyker as well which is hard to come by in most lists.

I converted a Legion Centurion with a jump pack who I will use at the head of my assault force. I have three units with jump packs, one assault squad and 2 Ashen Circle which will be a fast stab into my opponents guts. He is made from the body of a Legion Champion with an added jump pack, I added a possessed head to show his favour in the eyes of the pantheon. He is armed with a thunder hammer and plasma pistol so that he has some real heavy armour smashing ability. My Ashen Circle are biased towards any infantry so they need someone to back them up who can whack dreadnoughts and the like.

As command support I have two Apothecaries and a Master of Signals. The Apothecaries can either be a Primus Medicae upgrade for a Centurion which offers the potential for additional victory points or as an Apothecarion detachment allowing me to attach them to squads and increase their survivability The Master of Signal can call down a bombardment that will help my heavy support starved Dark Brethren detachments.

This Breacher squad is an additional troops choice to pad out my army requirements. They are also my first MkIII armour unit.The Sergeant has been modified with an old plastic chaos warrior head that really looks at home with the simple design of the MkIII armour.

This recon squad is also a troops unit. I aim to have them targeting army characters and special troops. I have a lot of bikes and some jet bikes that I can include later on that will give me a decent scouting army. That needs another squad of these, a character on a bike and some speeders for additional heavy support.

Burning heretics seems to be a passion of the Word Bearers so these heavy flamers fit right in. As they need to get up close to the enemy to give him a severe tan I will likely have them in a Rhino to get them where they need to be.

If there is someone who absolutely positively needs to be taken off the board then these Volkite Culverins will do the job. They spew out 4 shots each and each unsaved wound generates an additional hit. They may not have much in the way of armour penetration but the enemy has a lot of dice to roll for saving throws.

This Deimos pattern Rhino will accompany the Heavy Flamers if they are included otherwise there are Tactical squads that can make use of it.

Another flame unit, the Predator Infernus. All the weapons are magnetised which lets me swap out the Flamestorm cannon for a Magna-melta depending on the situation.

This trio of dreads are added to the two Mahra Gal dreads I have so I have quite a walker heavy force. Each of these is heavily armed and is designed to fill in for the lack of tank busting weaponry the rest of my units have. As well as this I have constructed my corrupted Knight who has magnetised carapace weaponry that I can swap depending on whether there are flyers in the opposing army.

I have a lot of daemons so so took this time as an opportunity to put some together. The three Plague Toads can double up as Beasts of Nurgle and the Fiends of Slaanesh can dole out a lot of attacks. You don't see them on the battlefield often so I reckon they will surprise a lot of people once they get into combat. With Codex Traitor Legions due out shortly I will need a lot of demons as this appears to be what the Word Bearers are most famous for ten thousand years later. I'll get round to them once this lot are painted.

Hobby Diary 06/11/2016

Lee:

Hobby wise this hasn't been a particularly eventful week. It has mostly comprised preparing projects for the rest of the month and re-jiggling my projects. It is irritating when you have a plan but new things shove the items you had wanted to get done out of the way. 

Preparation wise this week I constructed a 500pt Scourge fleet. I enjoyed putting these models together. Even though all the Scourge ships have the same basic hull the additional parts really do set them apart, at least as far as the frigates are concerned. My fleet is mostly frigates organised into Groups that have specific purposes with a light cruiser along to provide a bit of heavier firepower. Now that I have had a chance to read through the fleet list it is easier to recognise the ships as their individual classes instead of a succession of weirdly shaped vessels. I'll discuss my fleet when Allan and I get our first game in, I don't want to tip him off to my plan.

I intend to spray all these ships metal with silver along the tips of the protrusions. Over this I will apply washes. Then once these are dry I will pick out the detail traditionally. I will be paying particular attention to the unique parts of each ship so I can easily identify them on the board. Rather than go for the usual purple and greens that the display fleet are painted I will be looking at sea creatures for inspiration.

I was disappointed that I did not find Khalida during a search of my carry cases but determined to complete a Warhammer Fantasy model this month I chose a Tomb King instead, with a Scarab Swarm base as an optimistic hanger on that may also get done at the same time. This is going to follow the same method as the Liche Priest from last month, paint the gold, skin and bandages then brown wash the lot and then highlight and pick out the details.

The thing I made the most progress on this month was my Sicaran. As a main Word Bearer unit this is painted red but with charcoal black sections echoing the shoulder pads of my Astartes. I am making good progress so far and hope to be done by the end of next week though you know how it is with plans and reality matching up.

The first project that looks like it will be completed this month is my random Emperor's Children. The Emperor's Children for 40K are one of my oldest armies and I have quite a bit painted. This model found its way to the window sill when I was unpacking and was left behind so that when I started to paint it was to hand. Wanting to expand on this army rather than junk it I have painted this Marine as a test bed for my newer scheme. The main change is changing the banding from the same blue as the weapons to green. I think it works and will make sure that any new or touched up units match this guy. As it stands there are just a couple of details to finish and then to base and he is done.

As far as November's plan goes below are the changes. 

Definite

Word Bearers Sicaran

Emperor's Children Marine

Queen Khalida Tomb King

Planned

Scourge ships

Squats

Warrior Nation Braves

Khalida is out and the Tomb King is in and the Squats have been relegated to the sidelines to make room for five Warrior Nation Braves for Wild West Exodus. I have all the paints I need now to do justice to their skin so these will be my test bed. I had intended only to paint one but there is a new hobby challenge beginning on the Wild West Exodus Facebook groups and the minimum requirement for month one is five Hired Hands. Whether they get completed or not really depends on how long the Sicaran takes but if I keep up the pace I have set thus far then I should meet my deadline.

AL:

Like Lee, i have had a pretty quiet week comparatively after last week's mad rush. It's mostly been back to watching Star Trek Voyager while building cultists. I did get my UCM fleet undercoated though, ready for the airbrush, i've undercoated them black and i'll drybrush them with grey and white in an attempt to pre-highlight them before I give them the base coat. It's all a bit experimental at this stage. Still, i'm looking forward to getting them done and of all things, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare has been a major influence with the ships in that game being rather well realised and giving me a few ideas for my UCM. 

So like I said, in the meantime i've been adding to the ranks of the Cultists, i've actually finished all my Overkill sprues and though I have a box of neophytes (which are to be assembled with all the options and intermixed with my normal squads, it's been the Cadians that i have been working on this week. 

So one of the main things i have realised of late is that the Hybrids are FAR superior to the Cadian models. OK there are ten years between them but you can see every single one of those years when comparing kits. The Cadians are crude, oddly proportioned with massive mouldlines (thank the Emperor - Beloved by all - for the mould line remover tool) and just don't go that well together. Well overdue an upgrade i would say! After spending as much time cleaning the model as it took to assemble a dozen cultists I started to assemble them. I wanted to try to improve the way they looked a bit and in all honesty the removal of Aquilas and addition of cult bits and heads only goes so far with that. I'll be painting them quite drab so that they don't stand out too much compared to the much more interesting cultist models.

I managed to get three complete squads of ten and with a bit of creative hacking have tried to vary the models up a bit with backpacks and the like though i have to confess i am not absolutely happy with them, it doesn't help that the superior Command kit has a lot of options that the cultists just CAN'T use like powerfist and plasma and melta guns. This variety would have improved the models considerably. Stupid Codex. 

Oh well, never mind, I moved onto the heavy weapon squads, a little bitz order a few weeks ago meant I was in a position to utilise more of the heavy weapons than normal and indeed I actually seem to have all options available which is handy. I do like getting the most out of my kits. The main place I had to be creative was with the missile launchers, they needed a bit of cutting to make them a bit shorter so they look like they could be fired without the need of the tripod. I think i've just about managed that. 

I've also been creative with the hybrid bits. I used Overkill models to utilise as many bits of the sprues as possible and have turned basic Acolytes to make Metamamorphs and a standard bearer. Though the models needed a fair bit of cutting, the conversion is actually fairly simple and I think i have got away with it. 

So that's the cult mostly done! The tanks are yet to do and another box of Neophytes, and i have a commissar from the start collecting box to get creative with - probably double up as another Primus. Oh, and the rest of the Cadian Command, OK the cult is not quite as done as I thought, good thing that we are only on season 3 of Voyager. 

I did also construct a glass cabinet to display my Star Wars Armada fleets, that counts as hobby right? 

Still, i'm casting my mind to other things, (i'm like a hobby magpie) and whilst I try to resist the lure of the wavering post Trump election dollar making a Kickstarter very tempting i'm thinking about what is next. I really want to finish those three busts i started, it shouldn't take too long, a couple of evening sessions maybe, in between i can do my UCM and 30k Ultramarines. As you will see from the picture i have the ventilated spraying station all set up so next time I hope to have much more than just construction done...