A Barbarian and Some Space Wolves!

Back at the brushes after a little time off. I thought I should paint a new model or two for the Otherworld Fantasy Skirmish dungeon-crawl game I'll be running at PrairieCon 43 in Brandon later this month. This is the barbarian from FGV201 - Thief and Barbarian, sculpted by Mark Copplestone for the Frostgrave range.

It's a really nice model, typical Copplestone quality, and metal of course. I had to put him on a 32mm base as he was just too wide-stanced for a 25mm round.

Every adventuring party needs a barbarian with a giant sword and this guy is just about right.

The other models I finished last weekend were these Heresy-era Space Wolves - the Praetor from the Betrayal at Calth box, and five legionaries from the new MKIII box.

The Praetor came in for some minor conversion - I stuck on a Space Wolves decoration from the accessory sprue and sculpted long hair and a beard from greenstuff, as there are no clean-shaven Space Wolves are there!

This is a really nice model, the SW accessory looks sharp too I think.

I quite like the new MKIII Marines, these ones have had their helmets swapped for old-style ones 3D-printed for me by Conscript Byron.

The paint scheme will be standard Space-Wolf issue: basecoat Mechanicus Standard Grey, wash with Agrax Earthshade, heavy highlight with Fenris Grey, wash with Nuln Oil, highlight Fenris Grey again. The armour trim is Scorpion Brass.

Decals are from the Forgeworld Space Wolves transfer sheet.

Shoulder pad is basecoated Zandri Dust and highlighted with Averland Sunset, then washed with Agrax.

Now to paint 25 more of these guys...
 

Test Models!

So we are preparing for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge and that means some new projects!

Above you can see the first three models I've painted for a new Early Imperial Romans/Ancient Germans project. I've had these Foundry models for a decade? or more? and decided it's time to get going (I've also got some Warlord plastic Veteran Legionaries and Auxilia to paint). Lorica segmentata has always been my favourite form of Roman armour and the scutum insignia is hand-painted. And while I intend to play mostly skirmish games with them (SPQR maybe?) I put them on square bases just because square bases... and Warhammer Ancient Battles is still a thing!

Next up is a test for another Space Marine Legion for Horus Heresy gaming. The impetus for this was buying the new Legiones Astartes Battle Group deal, thirty MKIII Space Marines, a Deredeo Dreadnought and a Land Raider Proteus. Since I already have a cubic yard of Iron Warriors and many many Blood Drinkers for Heresy gaming, as well as Black Templars, Deathwing and Howling Griffons for 40K, the rational (!) response was to start a new Legion for Heresy gaming. 

And the winner was... the VI Legion, the Space Wolves. This is coming full circle in a way because the first RTB-01 Space Marines I painted back in the late '80s were... Space Wolves. This model is a resin assault Marine in MKV armour equipped with chainsword, bolt pistol and jump pack. I like the new MKIII Marines - mostly - with the exception of the spiked helmets which are cool for Death Guard but for any other Legion, to me look kinda dumb. And while the models themselves are bigger than the old MKIIIs, the helmets are somehow smaller? I don't get that. My MKIII Marines will use the helmeted heads I've already had 3D printed.

The paint scheme starts with Mechanicus Standard Grey, washed with Agrax, then overpainted Fenris Grey, washed with Nuln Oil, then brightened up again with a bit of Fenris. Brassy bits are Scorpion Brass.

I reckon these projects (among others) should keep me going over the winter...

Space Wolf Tactical Support Marines

Do you feel supported? Tactical Support Squad for the VI Legion Astartes.

The new edition of the Horus Heresy is here! And yet I can't share my pointless editorial thoughts about it on this blog...well, they are not fully organized yet. Regular life has kept me away from the hobby and from my brushes for much of the past few weeks. Also, I have just been too lazy when it comes to posting things...that would include this post, which includes figures that were actually finished in mid June, but I never got around to posting. Better late than never, right? In that spirit, here is a Legion Tactical Support Squad, wearing Mark III armour in the colour of the VI Legion Astartes, the "Space Wolves". These are multi-part plastic kits from GW, with resin weapons, embossed shoulder bits and decals from Forge World.

I struggle with the seams/mold lines on the backpacks, but still overall love the Mark III power armour.

This squad is equipped with Volkite Calivers, one of the exotic weapon options available to the Legion Space Marines in GW's Horus Heresy setting. In the lore of the books, these scary energy weapons are described as the original main weapons of the Space Marines as they are organized at the dawn of the Great Crusade. But the calivers are soon replaced by the more universally known bolt guns because even the Martian Mechanicum could not manufacture enough Volkite weapons to equip all of the Space Marines an the Legions is the Great Crusade grew and expanded into to war across the galaxy. 

Ready to "support" the Imperium...

In the game, the calivers are not great in terms of mobility, but they do hit pretty hard, and have a decent range. A squad like this will want to get into a good firing position, and start laying waste to whatever is in the way of their colleagues. The special rule "deflagrate" really helps them dish out abuse, and the new reaction aspects in the updated edition seem to have the potential to increase their impact on the game. 

Will some Mark VI colleagues arrive soon to join them? Stay tuned...

As always, I love the proto-medieval look of the Mark III power armour. That said, the new box set has arrived, and I am going nuts for it. I hope to have some new "beakie" marines to share on the blog shortly, travel allowing. Some mad hobbying on the new Horus Heresy stuff set is underway - here is a preview:

Thanks for reading, and I hope you are able to enjoy your summer! 

Getting Back to 30k

Land Raider, Armoured Proteus Variant, painted in the colours of the VI Legion Astartes - resin model from Forge World.

It had been a while since there has been 30k content moving across my painting desk, and as the dust settled on another Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, the thought had been growing in my mind that it was about time to add to the painting side of my 30k pile. When Curt's annual Challenge wraps up, I always take a short breather, but I do sort of always need to be painting something, and usually only a few days go by before I am itching to get the brushes to work on something.

Always fun to check out the not-carbon-neutral propulsion systems on The Emperor's vehicles...

At around the same time the Challenge wrapped up, GW made the formal announcement of new plastic models coming for the Horus Heresy range...well, the jolt of marketing hype pushed my brushes into action. You can see the initial results here - an "Armour Proteus" Land Raider, painted in the colours of the VI Legion Astartes, the Vylka Fenryka. 

I should note, however, that this particular tank was more of a re-paint than a new assemble/paint job. I am doing a bit of consolidation on the loyalist side of my collection, and the vehicle models that had previously been part of my small Iron Hands force are being "re-assigned", as it were, to other loyalists. I'm sure Ferrus Manus would be furious, but...well, who cares, he was beheaded anyway.

Land Raiders are iconic pieces of 30k/40k kit, and I am particularly fond of this "Armoured Proteus" variant for the vehicle, with the twin heavy bolter mount on the front. These vehicles provide combat power and transport capability - and if you play using the fan-made 8th/9th edition of the rules, they are also close to indestructible on the table.

Twin lascannon batteries on the side sponsons, classic Land Raider armament, ready for action on the gaming table.

GW's marketing has launched the steady drip of preview photos and articles that will be released bit by bit in the run-up toward the release of what appears to be a new edition of the Horus Heresy rules. Wow! There will be lots to say and vent about that as time goes along, but for now, it is good to be painting some more stuff for my 30k collection - I hope to be sharing more with all of you as the spring goes along. That's all for now - thanks for ready, and happy painting and gaming!

Assault Marines for 30k Space Wolves

Assault Marines in Mark IV armour for the VI Legion.

No surprise here - some more 30k painting to share in this post. Since the spring, I have been on quite the 30k painting jag. With a few exceptions, I have been working on 30k stuff - some new, others things which have been lying around for over a year (or years). I think I have been inspired, in part, by rumours of a new plastic set coming for the Horus Heresy, but it has also just been fun to root around in my pile of 30k stuff and to keep adding to the painted part of the collection. Here are some reinforcements for the VI Legion Astartes, the "Space Wolves". This is an assault squad wearing Mark IV armour. The figures are resin sculpts from Forge World.

Close up view of the squad commander.

Nothing like a huge hammer to sort things out up close!

The assault squad is a classic Space Marine unit - troops equipped with short-range pistols, grenades and close-combat weapons, using their jump packs to "hop" across the battlefield in order to settle matters up close and personal. It's kind of silly - and so it fits very well into the Horus Heresy! I do love it, and it is the sort of tactical approach that suits the "character" of most the the Space Marine Legions in the Horus Heresy setting. Certainly the dreaded Vylka Fenryka of the VI Legion would consider any sort of tactics involving mass use of chain swords to be a worthwhile battlefield application. I had not yet painted an assault squad for any loyalists in my collection, so I thought these guys would do well with The Rout.

Two of the marines - one carrying a plasma pistol. The embossed shoulder pauldrons are from Forge World.

In the GW's "Age of Darkness" rules for the Horus Heresy, the Assault Squad counts as a core troop selection for your detachment. The squads are 10 strong, can be expanded in size, including as many as 20 marines (no half measures in 30k!). The basic assault marine carries a bolt pistol, a chain sword, and grenades. You can also select from limited special weapon options to alter/improve the short range firepower impact (you will see a few plasma pistols mixed in with the group here). The officer also has the option of upgrading his close combat weapon - I opted for a "thunder hammer" for him because...well, I like the look, and it seems like the sort of silly thing a Space Wolf marine would love to use.

Ready for action on the gaming table...hopefully someday soon...

The jump packs worn by the Mark IV marines are pretty large - and yet quite small, almost compact, compared to the other variants out there.

If you are in North America, these figures are very, very hard to find right now. Forge World's supply of the figures has become quite constricted, and most of the Horus Heresy models in Forge World's web store tend to be listed as "out of stock" or even "no longer available". Reasons include supply and production disruptions stemming from anti-COVID health measures (understandable - which industry hasn't been hit hard by these problems?) and also murkier rumours and nonsense tied to the ongoing evolution of the opaque relationship between the Forge World studio and GW itself - which owns Forge World, but sort of...doesn't, or something? Whatever...bottom line, hard to get these in North America, but they are still available in the UK. So my thanks to Jamie M, for helping me get these figures!

Chainswords revving, pistols charged and/or loaded, ready for action!

Thanks for reading! I hope folks are managing to enjoy their summer. I look forward to sharing some more 30k stuff soon - although something new is coming which may knock my brushes back toward historical subjects by the fall...we'll see. Cheers!

Apothecaries for Prospero

Two new apothecaries for the Space Marines...figures from Forge World.

Another small 30k "project" - here are two Apothecaries (i.e. military medics of the Space Marine Legions), one for the XV Legion Astrates (aka the Thousand Sons) and the other for the VI Legion Astrates (aka the Space Wolves). These are resin figures from Forge World - and they may seem distantly familiar, as I have painted similar figures previously for the Sons of Horus.

XV Legion apothecary wearing Mark IV armour.

The fellow in red is from the XV Legion. This figure is wearing Mark IV powered armour, bolstered by the usual panoply of weird Space Marine Apothecary bits...containers of fluids, drills, saws, needles and lights - all for providing helpful "medical care" to fallen or injured Space Marines. Given that this fellow is a member of the Thousand Sons, chances are he or his colleagues can also heal wounded comrades using psychic powers.

Lots of saws apparently needed for battlefield medicine in the dark, distant future...

The fellow in grey is from the VI Legion. He is wearing Mark II powered armour, but again, has all manor of additional add-ons useful for Apothecaries in the 30k setting. There is a chain sword, drill, funny cables and liquids etc.

Medical care for The Rout!

Apothecaries are minor little character additions to 30k forces. They are not terribly "powerful" - equipped with bolt pistols and chainswords, they can pitch in to a fight when you attach them to other units. The rules do, however, allow for them to "heal" wounded Space Marines. This is handled in an abstract fashion and, for whatever reason, this has led to many hilarious moments during our assorted 30k games over the years. Seeing a Space Marine is zapped by a terrible weapon, only to bounce back thanks to the rules around the Apothecaries, is a lot of fun - as long as it was your Marine that reappears on the table!

As always, lots of extra lenses on the helmet - and the ominous "medical" insignia on the shoulder pauldron.

The excellent decal sheet of the Space Wolves come in handy once again...

Knowing they can lead to this kind of silly fun, I am glad to add more of these figures to these two Legions in my collection, and I thought it would be right to paint one up for each side of the Battle of Propsero.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading - hope everyone is doing well out there!

Quick 30k Project - Conversion Beamer for Predator Turret

VI Legion Predator sporting a new main weapon option - a Conversion Beamer.

 

Just a very short 30k project to share in this post - this is a Conversion Beamer, a weapon option for the Predator tanks in the Space Marine Legions of GW's 30k setting. This weapon fits the turret of the Predator I painted for the VI Legion back in the summer. Steve B had built the model for me - and he is a genius with magnets, so he magnetized the main weapon mount, as Predator tanks in 30k have a few different options in terms of mounting a main weapon. The Space Marines of the VI Legion will now benefit from Steve's skill, because they have a fun weapon option for their tank. 

The modelling genius of Steve B and magnets...options for the Space Wolves.

 

The Conversion Beamer is yet another Rogue Trader-era weapon given new life in the 30k setting. The weapon is...well...basically a death ray - it turns matter into energy. This weapon works about just about anything - tanks, infantry, protesters, enemy emplacements or positions...certainly seems like something the Mechanicum-types would have enjoyed developing. What could go wrong? The original weapon would remove terrain, walls, buildings etc. which would allow for all manner of whacky circumstances to develop in a game of Rogue Trader. Your commander is safe in a bunker? Well, let's just adjust a few settings here and make a hole...

Stubby but deadly!

In the Horus Heresy, Space Marine commanders can mount these ominous weapons on the Predator tanks and render their enemies down to their component particles. Good times all around!

Very cool that GW's 30k setting includes all of these little shout-outs to the Rogue Trader version of the original game.

My painting desk is, for now, still mostly filled with history-themed gaming subjects, but it was fun to make a quick diversion back into 30k, another little modest addition to a growing arsenal for the loyalist side. It will go into action...who knows, one day. But for now, it looks pretty cool on the shelf as I continue to unpack various figures following the move to Ontario. 

The motor pool of the VI Legion taking shape on the shelf...more to come this winter...

 

Thanks for visiting the blog, I hope you are safe, healthy and sane, wherever you are!

Some More VI Legion Firepower

Rapier chassis - heavy support for The Rout.

 

I'm trying to pick up the painting pace a little bit as we get settled into our new house in Ontario. In conjunction with those efforts, I managed to finish off this little 30k project this past weekend - a Rapier heavy support weapon & crew for the VI Legion Astrates, the "Space Wolves". 

"Look! Over there! It's the people who approved the new blogger interface! Open fire!"

 

GW's 28mm Horus Heresy ranges involve a bewildering array of weapons, but one thing I do enjoy so much about the range is all of the shout-outs to the very old Rogue-Trader-era weapons and vehicles. The Rapier is very much a part of that tradition, a new take on an old-school Rogue Trader-era kit. 

 

The Rapier is two parts - a tracked chassis, and a scary, heavy weapon mounted on said tracked chassis. This would accompany the relevant Marines into combat to provide heavy fire support in their missions. There were two "crew" - one on the platform to operate the weapon, and a second to guide/spot/direct (and presumably take over if his colleague is knocked out of action). 

The crew wear modified Mark III power armour - the vents on their power units are positioned at a different angle, and they are sporting some manner of ranging scope/tracker on the right side of the pack.

 

Entire batteries of these things can accompany your 30k Space Marines into the fires of Horus Heresy battles on the table! I haven't gone that far, but I do have one of these for my Sons of Horus - I thought it best to add this second one to the loyalist side, and thus it received a VI Legion paint job over the weekend. This model had been sitting around - primed - for many months, so I'm glad to finally get it completed.

The gunner has a bit of a "lean" to him...a byproduct of my lack of careful attention to the positioning of his right arm - this odd angle was the only way to ensure the joystick was actually attached to the chassis...oops...

This particular Rapier is sporting the traditional quad-laser battery, but you can select other weapons for them. The quad-laser is a fun selection because it is A) quite scary and B) very much the classic weapon for the chassis.

Ready for action!

 

Thanks for visiting the blog folks - stay healthy, and stay sane! 

Horus Heresy Battle Report and New Game Mat!

Some of the Conscripts gathered last Thursday evening for our first in-person game in some time. For a variety of reasons we decided on a Horus Heresy game - mainly because both Conscript Greg and I (especially Greg) have painted a lot of new models that hadn't yet seen tabletop action. In addition, I wanted to try out a new game mat I bought some time ago but hadn't a chance to get out for a game. So I sent out the invitation along with a request to refrain from attending if you were feeling unwell, and to wear a mask if you were coming out. And to bring your own snacks of course :-)

How good does that mat look with the ruined buildings, eh? I'm really quite pleased with this product. It comes from the good people at urbanmatz.com in the Czech Republic, and it is fantastic, a nice neoprene mouse-pad type material that rolls up fairly easily as well. It came with its own storage bag too, for a quite reasonable cost of 57.77 euros. Unfortunately the only shipping method is FedEx, and that's where the pain comes in... but let's not talk about that. They also sell some really cool pre-painted resin buildings that Conscript Dave and I have added to our terrain collections.

A few little funky touches spread around the table. The Slurm machine is a must for the thirsty Legion Space Marine.

Of course any Heresy game has to incorporate the "God Box 2.0". What a great little piece of scatter terrain.

I'm not going to go through the battle in detail... honestly, the point of the game was less to play out a battle and more just to get together and put some figures out on a good-looking wargame table.

The battle itself pitted my own IV Legion Iron Warriors against Conscript Greg's superb VI Legion Space Wolves reinforced by some X Legion Iron Hands Space Marines.

 

One of the big draws of the game was to get Greg's and my new Storm Eagle aircraft out onto the table. They are certainly monsters in game terms!

Loyalist dreadnoughts take out an Iron Warriors dread.

Greg's new Space Wolves Vindicator also made its first appearance. Unfortunately the Iron Warriors Havoc team posted in an upper-storey window (five Marines each with a lascannon) were able to knock it out.

Speaking of the Havoc squad, here they are...

The IV Legion Medusa siege gun never quite lives up to the hype in my mind... high strength and a good gun, but I always forget that the range is only 36".

 

The Iron Hands Medusan Immortals cower take cover behind the promethium pipeline, guarding the (new) GF9 Power Generators.

A closer look at the Immortals.

IV Legion command squad advances. Apothecary is visible at left... to me the Apothecary in 30K is much like Brad Marchand. If he's on your team you love him, but if he's on the other team you hate him with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns.

Iron Warriors approach an Imperial statue, as yet untoppled by peaceful protestors or otherwise.

 

Space Wolves Terminators teleported in to ruin the Iron Warriors' day.

Iron Warriors Siege Tyrant Terminators sought to return the favour, but their missile racks didn't quite do the massive damage they have done in past games.

 

Legion Medusa blown up by Space Wolves Storm Eagle.

Like I said, in the end it wasn't necessarily about playing a game, so we won't go into how badly the Iron Warriors got hosed. But it was great to get a few of the guys together, push around some figures, and oooh and ahhh about the great models and terrain. Unfortunately we seem to be on another upswing in the pandemic so I don't anticipate any in-person get-togethers again anytime soon, but we'll keep collecting, painting, and waiting for the vaccine...

In the meantime stay safe and healthy everyone!