Adrian's Blood Angels Wrap-Up post - And cut!

Challenge Wrap-Up

Finally, I can say that my fourth OWAC is done. Yay!

This year started pretty good, but maybe I got a bit carried out with the extras. I would have love to have more time in the last months, both for giving time for checking other entries and commenting (no worries, I've seen all your post now that I have less convoluted time, they're amazing and now I've been pushed into blood bowl madness myself!) and for putting the same amount of love to the pictures as in my first month.

Believe it or not, I had to left out some planned pictures and gags from the orignal script! There was even more foolinesh behind scenes that didn't get to be posted. 

Maybe I would need to write a campaign some day that includes all the scenes and the enemy profiles, even the ones that were left unpainted like the duke nukem's pig cops (yeah, remember the ones that disappeared in Monroeville? they'd have been shown in all their mutated glory)

Now, lets roll the credits and all the actors:

That's 2772 points of Rogue Trader godness, in the shape of 48 cool models, including 3 tanks.

And who knows how many points in current Horus Heresy. I want to get the opportunity to play in an event and see the faces when I start deploying this bad boys and several others I plan to convert in the future.

Last, but not least, for the moment I think I will try another OWAC despite it seems that next year will be also another... interesting spring.

I need to keep things simple if I want to participate and enjoy it. Another important thing to consider is that I may not start a project that I do not previously own or require large purchases. Instead, selecting something that is ready to be painted from my collections and reduce the pile of unpainted things. As my main dwarf army needs some rare purchases, and the orcs need an entire Ruglud squad, that disqualifies them for now.

I forgot until now that I had an old dragon that I would love to paint and several gems purchased from old middlehammer lots. So I probably will count the amount of elves I had laying around and get something interesting out of it.

That's it folks

+ AND CUT!

...

George, my man, that was amazing. I cannot wait to see the script for Blood Omen 2.

-Well, I think that we will need even more zombies. So far, I can only give you in advance that the ship will pursue doctor Vile up to a misterious space hulk. I am thinking about terrorific aliens, and terminators shooting unnumbered horrors. And probably Fabious is aided by one of the last orks after Ullanor, a mischievous painboy known as... the Reanimatork!

Until next challenge

Adrián’s out.

Adrian's March rank and file month - Night of the Living Dead (638 points)

Rank & File Month #3

T+021: The task force arrive at deployment zone Alpha at Romeria, in a farmland near Monroeville.

Lt. Commander Lazarus: Tactical Squad Ismail, you'll be the scouting force. What do you see in your approach to the town. You're guided by brother Giteau, stand firm.

-Sgt. Piero: There are only thousad of square kilometers of corn fields around us. Nothing remarkable here.

-Lexicanum Trent: Endless crop fields... like the archives from the wise King Stephen from old Terra. It proves that they may hide important omens that we should take into consideration for our mission.

-Lt. Commander Lazarus: What have you found in the prophet's old books, brother librarian.

-Lexicanum Trent: There is a recurrent theme of terrors beyond comprehension inhbiting in small towns. I recommend that none shall enter the crop fields or else they will lose their minds. 

Also, in my meticulous study I have made a list, avoid any monorail, metro stations, churches, pet sementaries, shady basement clubs, mines...

 

-Chaplain Giteau: Apart from the crops, I think that we will not find any of that here. Anyhing else that may actually help us, brother Trent?

-Lexicanum Trent: Yes, among the worst enemies that you can encounter there are a collection of mutant gangsters, cowboys and man-eatting clowns.

-Sgt. Piero: Copy. We will shoot any clown in sight.

 

T+023: Squad Ismail enters Monroevile. Everything is strangely quite, no local communications, not even emergency broadcasts. 

Only when they enter the town, augurs detected a weak portable radio signal comming from an area near the arbites station.

T+023: Demisquad leaded by brother Morris secure a corner two streets from the transmission point.

 

The rhino approach the building. This time there is no enemy fire to welcome them. Instead, there are civilians up in the roof craving for help.

"At last, the imperial space marines. We're saved! Over here!"

T+024: First contact with the remaining resistance members on the system

Demisquad leaded by Sgt. Piero reach the rooftop of the arbites station.

-Sgt. Piero: We're the imperial space marines loyal to our lord, the Emperor of Mankind. Who are you? Report, you remind me of the biker gangs we found on the Uneeda moon.

-Biker #1: We're members of the resistance, a group of militiamen and bikers from the outskirts that started harassing the Word Bearers supply convoys some time ago...

Did, did you met with our cells up there at Uneeda? We lost communication three weeks ago.

-Sgt. Piero: I shall report that Uneeda was a hellish place when we arrive. Some sort of virus spreaded and has made everyone mad and started killing each other. 

If your friends were there, they've already shoot each other or we had to euthanized them with our bolters.

-Biker #2: *sigh* poor bastards. 

But one moment, they were shooting each other? What about the undead cannibals?

-Sgt. Piero: There were no walking dead sir. What have happened to this place?

-Biker #1: Here there was also a virus of some sort. But everyone did not get mad, instead, people started dying fast in the cities and then the dead walked the earth and started eating the living. 

We survived in the small rural communities outside the cities, few spread at first. The resistance tried a coup and control the remaining ships to evacuate the planet with the survivors before the pandemic spread... 

However, the Word Bearer garrison started recruiting cultists. We met them, and they were not several squad has we have thought first. There were also Emperor Children reinforcements. We were doomed

-Sgt. Piero there weren't any imperial knights to support your coup as we had been informed?

-Biker #3: Imperial knights? No sir, you mean knights, the knightriders, a biker gang that dressed like chevaliers. The Emperor Children screwed them hard. 

I mean, it was a cool idea maybe for a holomovie, but trying to charge with a lance in a bike against a space marine...what a bunch of dorks.

-Sgt. Piero: There was no support from local authorities? imperial army?

-Biker #1: No, only local authority supporting us is the legendary Marshall Kurt Westwood, here.

-Mh. Westwood: At first I didn't take too seriously the "resistance". Then we saw what the Word Bearers were doing while the plague was consuming the planet. 

Yet still, half of our police officers stood with us, half of the others went with the Word Bearers and the cultists. There is no army, nothing else. Those cowards.

-Bikers #1: Half of them nonetheless, try to reform that.

-Sgt. Piero: Whoah, take it easy boy. We're here to shoot every cop dead because they're not our repressive force anymore, not getting political or something. 

What about that virus, anyone knows where it comes from? We've followed the other illness that spreaded in Uneeda and all the hints points towards this place.

-Mh. Westwood: Mmmh, we do not know about the zombie apocalypse, less to that madness thing. However maybe you'll have to ask Officer Tempeny, a local commisary. He was all day talking about some sort of biological experiments that the Word Bearers overlords were doing somewhere near here. We thought it was a nonesense.

-Sgt. Piero: Where is he?

-Mh. Westwood: Sadly, the cultist kidnapped him yesterday. They came from the new church. Probably they've him there.

-Chaplain Giteau: By the Emperor, a church? We must follow them, retrieve the officer and burnt it to the ground. Those Word Bearers do not learn.

-Biker #1: Hey, he was a bit awkward but talk a lot about the epidemy and that he found several evidences. He was the first that suspected that the Word Bearers were not the nice guys. Probably he guarded the evidences in his home as always did with his "investigations". It is a farm nearby, outside the town.

-Sgt. Piero: Where is that fa...

 

-Brother Morris: SIR, YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS. We have made contact with "potential" enemies. We couldn't detect life forms in the bioscanner. The dead. There lots of dead men... but they... they're walking toward us.

-Sgt. Piero: Morris, return fire inmidiately. We will come for your aid, I must see how this plague works.

...

-Chaplain Giteau: AAAAAH! SUFFER NOT THE UNCLEAT TO LIVE

-Biker #1: Oh no, that guy of the comm was not the only one in trouble.

 -Chaplain Giteau: HOW THEY DARE TO APPROACH MY RHINO, I'LL CRUSH YOU BENEATH OUR TREADS. ADVANCE BROTHER LEARY.

-Sgt. Piero: We must scape this place, I think that our firepower will not be enough against so many nemies. 

Marshall Westwood, indicate the coordinates of that temple to our comm specialist. We will reunite with our chaplain and try to save officer Tempeny.

And you *points at the biker* where is that farm. We can send a second task force to that place and seek for the evidences.

 ...

-Lt. Commander Lazarus: The coordinates of the farm are not far from our main landing zone. I had analyzed all the information from your conversation and will take matter myself. 

Sgt. Piero, Chaplain Giteau, try to save that poor man and anhilate the church. If Trent collection of horror stories is right, we cannot let that this degenerates in another Signus incident.

-Chaplain Giteau: Understood.

 

T+026: Squad Ismail and the remaining resistance members scape the arbites station harassed by the zombie horde. The survivors prepare the assault on Monroevile's church.

And that's all for march.

Again, the side projects for the scenes have been a bit too much maybe? 

I've no trouble making with the squad but I would have wanted to finish some other Necromunda scum and gangers and ended reusing the bikers.

 

 

The zombies were a fun addition and an opportunity to try some weird skin tones. Maybe I'll use some of them in the future to paint a second batch of C20 trolls for my orc army.

 

 

Another miniature that I loved to paint is the sergeant. I made some speed experiments with object source lights in the lightning claw and the plasma pistol.

 

Tiny thunderbolts for the win. 

There is a lack of checkers in this month update but tried to make a pattern in the lighting claw similar to the marking of other special weapons like the power fist, assault cannon (on terminators) and so on.

I think that there's no actual lightning claw in Rogue Trader era. But if anyone knows, and more importantly, there's a fist marking for this weapon type, I would be glad you let me know the source material!

Finally, the guest star is Marshall Kurt Westwood, who will have an important role in the next update.

I've based this gem from Tim Prow in a mixture between the uniform from "Hang 'Em High" and the good ol' "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". 

Not a B-movie or Romero's reference, but sadly I couldn't get in time my conversion of Ed Harris in full plate armour in a bike. 

Sad, because it would have been glorius final charge against the Emperor Children in the OWAC VI ending.

Well, enough nonsense for today. What can I say at this point...

Adrián’s out.

Adrian's January Rank and File month - The Crazies (265 points)

Rank & File Month #1

Sir, there is no signal in all the resistance channels,we're deploying near the planned contact point.

[The Stormbird lands in a fairly large parking area]

Sergeant Damocles: Wait... this is, this is a large mall?? 

-Lieutenant Bahamut: Err, supply area. The entire moon is mostly a supply area.

-Sgt. Damocles: We're looking for a resistance...armed...in a moon-sized mall?

...

Wait, we can see now the situation here. By the throne, I think that they did not need us here. Everything is on fire!

-Lt. Damocles: Did they started the rebelion?

-Sgt. Damocles: I doubt it sir, people are shooting each other.

-Lt. Damocles: The security forces are responding fire against militiamen?

-Sgt. Damocles: They are firing against armed civilian, against each other, against random properties, against... against us? *firing sound* RETURN FIRE TO THOSE IDIOTS!

*bolter fire*

Sir, we're proceeding to the meeting, landing zone clear.

-Lt. Damocles: *sigh* try to get some info. Maybe ask first, fire later.

 

Combat demi-squad with the second in command back banner.

Brother Froth crush the enemies in the parking area looking for signals from the loyalist militia or any resistance members.

Sadly, a trail of destruction of the madmen shooting each others is the only thing that they see. Doing their part into the surrounding chaos.

 

Sergeant Damocles and the other half of the squad reach a quarantine zone. Some sort of sanitary emergency has occured just before everything went nuts.

-Sgt. Damocles: Command, we've found no signals from the resistance. There was some kind of emergency and we're receiving the broadcast that was emiting before the safe area went down. We need instructions.

-Lt. Bahamut: Proceed to the administrative area right after the loading bay A47, the mall..supply directory must be there. If any authority or member of the resistance has tried to survive and coordinate the remaining forces we may reach them there.

-Lexicanum Trent: And try to not shooting them before we can interrogate any survivor... I have a feeling about what we will uncover in that building.

Hi everyone, first squad done! More to go.

Contrary to the pain of preparing the miniatures, the beakies were a pleasure to paint. Pretty easy and fast. I did had to "make" some details as they lack a bit, especially compared to the metal C100 marines. 

The Anvil Industry (normal size) infantry pouches packs makes for perfect extra detailing and allowed me to paint some grenades and leathers in the plastic beakies that gives them a homogeneous look with the metal marines. Just for your information, the scale is fine contrary to maybe post 2nd ed marines.

The absence of heavy or special weapons helped to streamline the process. But I felt that one plasma gun here and its glowing effect would have been perfect. 

Smsh, I should have made them veteran marines, because they're the cool guys that have special weapons in the HH.

 

I couldn't resist to make some markings too. As I said, I followed mostly RT markings except some additions like the black shoulder armour for sergeants and the black parts of the backpack, similar to the 2nd ed Epic art. 

I just love some of those latter armour variations and markings, and they combined perfectly with the orangeish red of RT marines.

Stay tuned for next month update.

Adrián’s out.

Adrian's Intro post - Blood Omen

Intro post

Adrian here, reporting in for another OWAC. 

This year I’ve finally fallen into another rabbit hole, succumbing to the desires of getting a small Rogue Trader force. But we are not only getting into the ancient times of 80’s punk and gritty Warhammer 40k, this year we will also descend into a RT-esque vision of the Horus Heresy.
I had a squad and a half worth of old metal, plastic and resin 'armour-through-ages' marines that I didn’t knew what to do with them. 

I was tempted to go full RT several times, but another 40k army that will be seldomly played… nah, pass it. Then, come HH and beakies are the new black again. I was talking to a friend on how could be the most heretical way that you can get into the Age of Darkness. So why not
A force that can be fielded in both games is not so different for the RT era style and lists. Also, for the OWAC I am limited mostly to the usual marine units, but in my evil masterplan I will expand it toward several of the heresy units that came after old RT artwork, WD conversions and 1st edition of Space Marine.

Now with the background:
0.067.011.M31. Following the arrival of messages from Terra seeking help from remaining loyalist armies across the Imperium, the Imperium Secundus is disbanded and the three Primarch start a campaign to arrive at Terra and reinforce the crown world.
Primarch Sanguinius of the Blood Angels legion prefer a fast approach to the Solar System like his brother Roboute Guilliman. However, while disagreeing with the punishment campaign that will execute his brother Lion El’Johnson, Sanguinius conceded that some sort of sabotage and scorched-earth strategy will be beneficial to relief the besieged terran fortifications when the warmaster forces arrive.
Several small task forces are dispatched to ensure that main supply lines behind traitor lines are disrupted. Several legion high ranking officers hope that this will also ease reinforcement to the also besieged Baal system in the near future if Terra is safe.
Lieutenant commander Lazarus of the 24th Chapter of the Blood Angels is responsible to conduct a campaign of scorched earth in the Calla Bryn sub-sector. His forces are not tasked with getting non-imperial planets into compliance anymore. Instead, any shipyard, supply warehouse, industrial complex or vital location must be annihilated no matter the cost.
The strike force achieved remarkable results in their mission until they encounter a signal of a Emperor’s Children cruiser nearby its next objective, a supply node and agricultural world in the Romeria system.
+++
T-251: Assault on Blaine’s Crane forge world is successful. Several units may undergo repairing and the force couldn’t deploy terminator armours and the heaviest armoured elements in the next mission. Agricultural world in the Romeria system node is marked as the main objective, high command is not worried that the heavy armour will be missed in this easy task. The system is under control of a small Word Bearer garrison and the local forces.
T-199: Arrival at Romeria system seems calm and without major problems. However, ship survey arrays detect a ship with the codes of the Emperor’s Children signature heading towards Romeria IV moon, Uneeda, the secondary objective and starting point of a local rebellion.
T-097: Lexicanum Trent, main librarian of the expedition, get up uneasy from his hyper-sleep with a fatal vision of madness, civilians killing each other, mutants, cultists, undeads and dark rituals. Several signs are familiar and start to rewatch several of his older B-type holo-movies to get informed about the menace of dark forces and the menace of possible reinvigorated corpses.
T-037: Resistance operatives on the moon are not responding. There is no further signs of the traitor forces either. The mission was specifically assisting loyalist freedom-fighters rebelling against the traitor government, destroy any element of the World Bearers and leave the logistic node in total disarray.
World communications give only statics or a cacophony of screams sometimes. Something feels odd for such a massive and busy food supply node in the enemy territory.

 

The Encarmine, firestorm class strike cruiser, approaching to Romeria IV and its moon.

Lieutenant Commander Lazarus gave the order to be battle ready and check all the available supplies. The marines will be deployed in 36 hours to investigate the moon and accomplish plan B: destroy the logistic capabilities of the system with or without the aid of local forces.

For this trip into the galactic civil war, I used the Space Marine Rogue Trader list. It was a matter of selecting points only, as either if I chose the RT or 2nd Edition lists there are several small deviations I need to consider for creating a force that can be played also in current Horus Heresy 2.0, and all the monthly requirements of miniatures and points are covered with both of them.

Tactical Squad Ramiel – 265 points

As you can see, the small changes are in the special and heavy weapons department. It seems that in the Horus Heresy no fun was allowed for the rank-and-file marine, and everyone should carry the standard pattern good ol’ bolter. I am using the points as per a normal squad because they will be rebalanced with the heavy support.

Tactical Squad Ismail – 265 points.

Same profile. These men haven’t got enough of the newly issued MKVI “beaky” power armours and wear older pattens. The sergeant has a power glove (converted lightning claw).

Assault Squad Zeruel – 255 points

It has been a pain in the *ss to clone all the chainswords because at that time they didn’t come with them, and getting enough rt assault weapon sprues is an impossible mission. This process adds an extra layer to the hate and love for the beakies. You hate assembling them, you love the resulting goofy looks. In this case I haven’t modelled the plasma or flamer pistols not because you cannot play them also in the HH. But because I was lazy after getting all the chainswords (in the picture there are two missings because they were still curing!) and didn’t want to clone those two weapons, but I am still deciding.

Devastator Combat Squad Gabriel – 165 points

A 5 man devastator unit. This is the other difference between HH and all the other versions of Warhammer since the 80’s. These marines follow the rule: “All the fun is allowed”. So, the sergeants also carry a heavy weapon (not shown in picture, still curing).

It simplifies giving orders in the middle of a futuristic battlefield, “nuke the same place I am shooting”.

The Angel’s Tears combat squad – 148 points.

When missions do not involve world compliance to the Empire, you need to deploy weapons of mass destruction instead of the police squads. Sanguinius has an elite cadre for this sole purpose, made from the most unruly and brutal elements, dishonoured men carrying dishonourable weapons. They abandon their previous ranks and names, but the Arch-Erelim of the squad tasked to Lazarus strike force is said to come from the Flesh Eater chapter ranks within the Legion and his past codename is simply as Duke.

Count as 5 man veteran assault marines, armed with a bunch of bolt pistols, death rays, disintegrators and flame pistols. But their trademark is the ill-famous Rad grenades.

Fun to convert, I wanted to match this special Blood Angel HH unit with the goofy aesthetic of the RT era. I am more than pleased, wanting to paint them now.

The strike force also brings some even heavier firepower.

Two transport rhinos – 746 points

The reparation of the flimsy lateral rails with a bit of aluminium wire has been better than initially expected.

Predator tank “Fire Sabre” – 600 points

And finally, the legion command designated for the strike force.

Lieutenant Commander Lazarus of the 23rd Chapter of the Blood Angel legion. Major hero with standard equipment - 115 points. 

Lovely miniature.

Lieutenant Bahamut. Minor hero with standard equipment - 69 points
Typical power sword wearing marine

Lexicanum Trent with force sword - 58 points.
The representative of the reinstated librarium and specialist in psychic warfare. As well as avid consumer of B-type ancient holoprojections and literature.

Brother chaplain Giteau. Minor hero - 50 points.

Field Medic dr. Copper, equipped with jump pack – 36 points.

 

That is a total of 2772 points (thinks skyrocket when you have tanks!), with 45 marines and 3 tanks deployed.

There are also some small scenic elements that will go to the wildcard month as well as some of the tanks.

A mysterious farmhouse I'm working on where some of the action may take place. What was that noise?

Several fortifications. Totally normal for a farmand and nothing suspicious that can point towards a secret laboratory in the middle of nowhere.

The Overlord Offering:

A mysterious figure has been walking by at several places of Romeria IV, spotted just before the visions of horror in the dreams of Lexicanum Trent.
This figure is only known as "The Director".

Our beloved overlord stated that he “LOVES horror and things that go bump in the night, be it in a cemetary or an old derelict spaceship”. You don’t have to choose if its ok for a cemetery or spaceship when none other than George A. Romero himself appear against your party. And you know that things will go really, really bad for your group in any possible scenario.

Let see how this weird, B-rated, OWAC production loosely based on the Horus Heresy ends.
See you in the first month!

Adrián’s out.

Iannick's Red Templar's 1st Tactical "Mors Manipulus" Squad (250 points)

We are the Mors Manipulus. We've killed more traitors, fought more battles, shed more blood, and stomped more ass than the rest of the company put together.

Sargeant Gaudin, 1st Squad, 1st Company, Red Templars

Rank & File #4

Hey look at that, more marines! 

May was my last rank & file month, and so it was also my last month painting marines. And I've kept the best for last. I wanted to represent the first squad of my force as a bad ass veteran outfit. My idea was to use helmetless marines as well as marines with a lot of individual honours, badges, weird armour type, etc. All the things a veteran of many campaigns would accumulate along the way, and adapt to his needs. Basically, the opposite of my 3rd squad, which is quite vanilla in it's look.

It wasn't really difficult to find 10 such marines because really the Rogue Trader range is full of those types of figures. It also allowed me to use those weird death eagles armoured marines, as well as the marine with terminator honour figure. Any of those would've looked out of place in a normal marine squad, but here, surrounded by an eclectic looking bunch,  they all fit right in. 

However, sitting down on May 1st and looking at them, I felt I needed to make them stand out even more. For aesthetic purposes, sure, but also because I needed a little variety. Because one thing I had never really noticed before is how monochrome space marines really are! Little bit tired of red, yeah...And I needed to spice things up, if only a little. 

I figured the 1st Squad of the 1st Company of the Red Templar chapter should be special. And as such I decided to add black to my repertoire, and I gave them black helmets striped red. I was afraid it might constrast too much, or detract from my force's overrall red & white, but no, it *really* works and gives them that little extra badassery and unique factor. I call them "Mors Manipulus", i.e. death squad (the latin doesn't have that Nazi connotation!).

I gave Sargeant Gaudin a white helmet striped red, as all my leaders and special characters have white distinctions, but gave him a black banner to tie him with his squad. I really like the banner. I've always wanted to paint that figure, and I'm quite happy with the results. The marine with the bionic leg was a very old figure from my youth collection, and his sword broke aeons ago, so I gave him a chainsword instead. It looks better than the sword if you ask me. 

Some of my fav RT figures. Brother Martin with the cybernetic leg might be my favourite, but
really they are all iconic figures

Two of the marines in Death Eagle armour, and then there's the multi-melta
marine with a very unique "skull" helmet and decorations. He fits right in.

I'm really pleased with this squad, and I feel I may have kept the best for last! 

With this submission, my OWAC is "unofficially" over and I can do whatever I want with my Wild Card month. Damn, I love that weight off my shoulder feeling of ending an OWAC. It's a sweet, sweet feeling. I'm pleased with myself as this is the first OWAC where I manage to go 5 straight months without using my mulligan (Wild Card). It was my plan all along as I didn't want to have to paint in June. My painting room has no AC so I often take a painting break in the summer and I didn't want to sweat come late June, forced to paint under unrelenting heat (and stress!). A lot of people assume Canada is always cold, but yeah, no. Montréal in the Summer is extremely hot and humid. Our Summers may not last long, but they are intense.

So the weather will quite possibly determine what I will submit in my Wild Card month, although I have been working on a little something different the last few months that I hope to submit next month, if nothing else.

Technical stuff : 

Red Templars tactical Squad : 250 points