153 Kill Team Cassius Complete!

152 Fists of Fury! (Imperial Fist)

The Imperial Fist and his frag cannon all done!Quite a simple on this guy, only the fist symbol its self that you really have to think about.

Not 100% happy with it so may revisit the edges a little. You'll notice I changed the white and yellow around  and I think it works ok. (yes! I got it the wrong way round and didnt realise! lol)

This guy is the last of the Deathwatch Marines from the Overkill box and while I am posting this in 2017 he and all his marine brothers were completed in 2016 which I am very happy with!

I have managed quite a lot this year given its really only just now that I have picked up the painting pass and I had quite a quiet middle to the year.

My painting standard has improved although i have noticed that the last few marines were a little rushed which I can see in some of the detailing.

I'll post up some of my plans for 2017 shortly, more as a reminder for me than anything else!

Happy New Year to you all!

150 For the Khan! (White Scar)

I was worried about this guy, oh my goodness was I worried! A bike covered with loads of details...!

But once I broke him down a bit and looked at it one piece at a time I was able to put something together that I am quite proud of. He was an experience but a good one I think

I tried to make his shield look old and bronzed but I think I will need to work on this. I wanted to have something similar for my skeleton warriors but I worry that this look wont work for them. We will see I guess.

Bases are sorted in this basic set up now, totally confident and at ease with them so its time to start with some more adventurous ideas.

149 The Flesh Is Weak! (Iron Hands)

Only a very short update today, managed to finish off the Iron hands guy. He is to be honest a pretty uninspiring model, pretty static and the shape closes him off for me.

Has some cool features though, loving the bionic leg and its nice to see a reloader just not feeling the model as a whole.

I should have maybe done some more colour to break him up a bit as he is very, black, grey, silver...

Oh well, not many left now!

148 Papa Smurf (Ultramarines)

Sorry i couldn't resist. I don't actually have too much prejudiced against Ultramarines to be honest, I think its just a shame they have been put on a pedestal somewhat with the writing and have become kind of "main stream" which always pushes me away from something. I would always rather have something different.

Both are great models I must admit, going along with the trend of all the new Deathwatch models to be honest. I really cant fault them.

Quite pleased with my basing now, I think I have got these quite simple styled ones down and can reproduce them quite easily. Armageddon Dust with a wash of Agrax Earthshade and then a dry brush of something like Ushabti Bone or similar to pick up some texture. Steel Legion Drab on the edges and bingo!

I think the next bases will have to be a bit more adventurous!

147 Fire In The Belly (Salamander)

Painting fire! Oh my! This was a difficult one to get to state I was happy with. My teenage self clearly thought fire goes from dark to light from the middle to the outside.... it doesnt! who knew!?

So after a few... how can I put it? experiments? I got to something I can live with... I think i will need to work on this more.

Other than that its another nice model, went together really well and I am really liking how all the seams get covered up by the overlapping bits.

The Salamander has some great contrast between modern tech and the techno barbarian styling.

146 All in the mind (Blood Raven)

This guy was a learning curve for me, I hesitated at doing the whole "blue for librarian" bit at first but I managed to make something work. Blending blues over the black armour and graduating it down the torso.

I think it works quite well but at one point I was just going to ignore it so really glad I went for it.

Happy with the classic cloth, parchment colours I do, think I have that technique down well now.

145 Angel Of Death (Blood Angel)

This is a lovely model; so much detail! Its just a shame that with his jetpack half of that detail gets covered over.

I broke away from my normal use of the old school "Blood Red" and used the newer "Khorne Red" its certainly not as bright a colour but it is far more consistent and covers well.

You know you are onto a winner when even the jetpack has scroll work on it!

Not managed to get the courage up yet to try writing on all the purity seals and the like but I do like how they look even as they are.

144 The Gang So Far (Deathwatch)

Half way through my Deathwatch group, I will post some more details and progress shots in a follow up post but wanted to show them all together in their finished state.

Really liking what I have managed to do with them. No 'Eavy Metal but I am pleased.

The test run of bases is working qiute will too, pretty simple but effective, Already thinking on what I can add to mix them up a bit. More progress to follow!

137 I am Slaughter - The Beast Arises (Book Review)

I am Slaughter - The Beast Arises, by Dan Abnett.

This is the first in the titular series by GW of what is panning out to be quite a long run of novels by some of the better names in GW writing. Understandably perhaps GW has chosen what many consider to be its best writer to start the series off and get people hooked in and to a degree it works.

Overview

This is somewhat spoilerish so do read with caution although its been out a while so most of it shouldn't be too surprising.

Set in the more settled years following the turmoil of the Heresy we join the action with the Imperial Fists almost fully engaged with a war of extermination against a previously unheard of xenos species, the Chromes on a world just a short hope away from Terra.

Much of the novel revolves around the actions of the Fists during this campaign and the political intrigue going on amongst the High Lords of Terra. It successfully sets the scene with corruption in the upper echelons of the Imperium and various degrees of duplicity amongst the High Lords themselves, the Inquisition and the Offico Assassinorum. There are a few twists and turns as to who is on who's side as the novel goes on but nothing to drastic.

During the campaign some unforeseen (by some of those involved) catastrophe befalls the invasion fleet and the Fists already on the ground leading to the last remaining Fists being called down from the Walls of the Imperial Palace to fight. This all comes about because of some political power play within the High Lords to further individual ends.

As the novel draws to a close we see the Fists effectively wiped out by an invasion force revealed to be Orks using technology and means of transportation unseen before or since and on a scale unheard of since the time of the Emperor on Ullanor.

The Good

It has a decent pace and it is engaging and also doesn't limit itself to Marine, Marines, Marines which is good with so much HH fiction around at the moment. Its still very much a Marines novel but with a good spread of political intrigue in the Palace on Terra and some fleet actions and Guard units.

It makes it clear where we are after the Heresy and how the Imperium stands without dragging us through a retelling which I found refreshing.

Has the usual detail of everyday life and existance that stands out in much of Abnett's work of which I am a big fan. Its seeing those connections from everyday life that really draw you into the writing

The Bad

Its short. That's probably my biggest issue with it, its got some good ideas and it sets the scene well but for me it only really feels like its the opening few chapters to a proper novel rather than a novel itself. Whether that's because Abnett could only commit to something short or for other reasons is open to debate but for me and for the price its disappointingly short.

Other issues would be that its on the low average side for what I would normally expect from Abnett with some weak ideas in places but again whether this is from Abnett or from what he is being given as the premise to start with is another matter.

I am not a fan of the style of writing where you smash an established power house in order to demonstrate the ability of a new protagonist and that's very much what we have here in the decimating of the Imperial Fists to demonstrate how dire the situation is with the arrival of the Orks. Plus the completely out of no where with which this Ork super power appears is somewhat jarring.

Conclusion

A good romp and refreshing break from some of the norms of the HH fiction that has been flooding out of late.

Could have done with covering more ground and adding in a few more chapters to justify the price tag.

136 Deathwatch Rumours

There have been some rumours circulating recently about the imminent release of a Deathwatch Codex for 40k. Ordinarily this wouldn't be too news worthy but this is a codex with a difference, or rather the Deathwatch are going to be marines with a difference.


They are going to be few in number, very few and highly customisable. More of a small kill team than an army. No why do I find this interesting you say? Surely they will just end up as a novel addition, an ally to some other army? Well this is where I am hoping there will be something more to it....


What if these Space Marines are truly super human? What if finally the stats in game for a marine matches his fluff abilities? What if 10 marines are actually made to be the equivalent of 50 or 100 "normal" humans or xenos?


I think this could be epic. Imagine if we can get to something like we see in the fluff; smaller marine forces sizing up against a true horde of greenskins or Tyranids.


I am thinking they would need to have multiple wounds and improved armour stats (and points obviously) but I think this could work.


The only doubt I have in my mind would be that why would GW do it? Why would they make what is their most popular line into an army of just a few models that was competitive against a horde army ? Instead of selling a 100 marines they only sell 10? why would they?


But fingers crossed for the start of something good

094 2016 looking forward

The new year is finally here, well to be honest it's come around so quickly I can hardly believe it!

This is the year of no excuses; I have all the tools, all the paint and oh my goodness, all the models I need to get back full scale.

The action list for the first six months is pretty simple for me

1. Complete the 30th Cambridgeshire Regiment (perry miniatures)
2. Start (at the least) my war of the roses mercenaries. Possibly as Burgundians. (Perry miniatures)
3. Practise and practise with basic airbrush techniques. (I want to get beyond just using it for undercoat!)
4. Avoid the temptation of starting AWI models!
5. Put together a plan at least for some Truscale Marines (this is one I have thought about for a loooong time)

I am keeping it simple for the first 6 months to see how life settles down, I have found it pretty hectic the last few months and hobby time has been limited (but thankfully not non existent!)


What are your plans for 2016?

079 Stormcast Fluff - 40k Cross overs?

I was reading a short piece of fluff in Issue 83 of WhiteDwarf about the new Celestant-Prime and was struck (which was possibly the intention) by how similar the idea was to that of the creation of the Primarchs and the original Spacemarine Legions in 40k (30k but you know what I mean!).

A few suitable twists, the Celestant was not lost like the Primarchs but Ghal Maraz which was need to wake the celestant was....

Having made the Celestant, Sigmar then created the Legions, I mean the Stormhosts.

Its very much, Celestant made in the image of sigmar, stormhosts made in the image of the celestant in the same way the Primarchs are made in the image of the emperor and the marines are made in the image of their Primarch. Now right now there is only one Celestant and there were many Primarchs but who knows what may come in the future?

The other thing I found interesting is the Stormcasts are literally created, destroyed and brought back to life. When I first saw the models I had the image in my head that there was nothing behind those masks, that they were either empty husks (thousand sons anyone?) or machines.

050 Way back when....

White Dwarf issue 141. Now I had been involved in the genre for a few years prior to this with HeroQuest, Space Crusade and Fighting Fantasy novels but this was when the whole Gamesworkshop, Warhammer and 40k dream began.

That gorgeous pink front page with the Eldar battling the encroaching hordes of the Orks will stay with me for years to come I am sure. Back then White Dwarf was packed, stuffed and chokablok with stuff. This one had a Battle report of Blood Angels vs Eldar, an epic too and fro which to my tender years seemed to have the balance of power teetering on the brink at every dice role. It had rules for Space Fleet, the precursor to Battlefleet Gothic of many years later, it had wood elves and conversion ideas and Golden Demon winners and countless other things besides.

This one magazine sparked years of 40k adventures and a Blood Angels army… then an Eldar Army…. then strangely an Imperial Guard army…

Over the years I ordered up as many earlier White Dwarfs as I could when pocket money allowed and while there was still a back catalogue to order from but 141 was always my first, where the fever started.

033 Thoughts on Super Humans

When I started out in the hobby it was off the back of Fighting Fantasy Books leading me to HeroQuest and Space Crusade, which led me to Space Hulk so perhaps it’s not surprising that my first forays into 40k where Space Marine orientated. This was helped along somewhat by my introduction to WhiteDwarf and at the time the pages were awash with the red of Blood Angel Space Marines.

Alongside this I always had a hankering for the Imperial Guard and as time went on I shifted more and more to the Guard in place of the Marines. Beyond 40k my tastes always seemed to lean towards the normal man, never a fan of Super Heroes I was more on the side of Agent Coulson than any of the Avengers.

I found myself wondering why and on reflection I think I came to a conclusion that probably says a lot about how I matured over time.

Super-humans, Superheroes, Aliens and all the variations on the theme have none of the frailty of man, they have strange powers, super strength, hearing and a range of other things and as such their deeds need to be even more spectacular for me to feel they are justified. For a normal man life is short, brutal and hard, it’s a life of fear and depression and so when he does something spectacular its completely opposite to his nature and all the more impressive because of it.

I feel a stronger connection to the frail “normal” guys, I understand their fears and revel in their achievements against the odds. Space Marines? Pfff they were DESIGNED to be amazing, to have no fear of death to be stronger, faster.. If you have no fear of death your actions in the face of death lose their merits, if you have super strength your feats of strength become shadows of what they are. If you are weak and fearful? Well your actions are magnified.

I see the normal man doing spectacular things INSPITE of his deficiencies and limitations. Space Marines need to do godlike things to justify their built in abilities.

Now don’t get me wrong there is some great fiction out there showing Marines being exactly that but all too often they are doing things only slightly better than a normal guy does but with a rake of physical improvements, better training and better equipment. Brothers of the Snake is a good example of getting it right, a single marine is sent to sort out the problems of an entire world, that is what these guys should be capable of…