My Return to 40k: Eyjafjallajokul (not the volcano!)

So I have been out of the hobby for about 4 months. As in I haven't touched my 40k stuff. That it until the other day when I got the itching to paint something so, instead of suppressing the thought I decided to act on it and finally painted up my Vindicator I dubbed "Eyjafjallajokul" just because I think the name sounds awesome. I haven't painted in a while (as previously mentioned) but my style has seemed to change considerably. I just kind of painted what I felt like painting and I am quite proud of the result. I think the break from painting has helped me to just forget all the stupid habits I've learned and predispositions I had and I definitely like this style better.

Picture time!

He's Coming for You....

Before I paint up the treaded-dread (with the dreaded treads...) I decided I'd paint up my Assault Termy squad. Normally I paint in bulk, but that keeps wearing me out so I decided to just paint one guy at a time. Far less efficient, but I'm having more fun doing it so I'll stick with it for now. Here is guy number one of five named "Gaelen". Kudos to the first who gets the reference (and yes, I purposefully misspelled his name.. I'll do that for all five just because I want to make it at least look like they're from the far-future)

Now onto the pictures:






Also, as a note, I'm planning on redoing the bases, but I haven't come up with any good ideas so they're staying as is for now.

A Dread with Treads!

Woot for cheesy titles! Well yesterday during classes (what a great time to day dream, right?) I was doodling some ideas that were going through my head when I got this epic vision of a dual-autocannon dreadnought rolling over some Chaos Marine with treads. When I got home I had about 2 hours of downtime and didn't have much to do, so I tried building this thing with posterboard, foamboard and whatever bits I could find. In the end I have to say I'm pretty happy with the results. It would've obviously been better with an actual dreadnought torso, but in the end I think it looks pretty cool and I am going to start painting it tonight too. What do you guys think?

Space Marines, Jacked

Interesting title, eh? Well i think so... Anyways, I've been wanting to do something entirely different (tactically) with my Space Marines. I attempted an outflanking list ala Kor'Sarro Khan but it is neither something I enjoyed playing or was able to play effectively. So I started reading different ideas across the web when I stumbled upon a blog that I know not many people like because it screams "power gamer!" but the idea is incredibly fun and cool (in my personal opinion of course). The blog is Yes the Truth Hurts and the idea is what they call a "Best of" army. I call it a "jack" army since each unit is, effectively, a jack-of-all-trades. However, the important part is that instead of being a "Master-of-None" the weapon selection on a unit-based level involves picking weapons that are exceptional for their role. On top of that, each infantry unit can perform a variety of roles (namely anti-tank and anti-infantry). Normally I despise this sort of thing as, depending on what you shoot at, at least one weapon will be totally useless (or not utilized properly) in that phase. However, if you lose Squad 'A' any other squad can step in to take up the role. You don't have to worry about your two anti-tank squads dying because you only have two anti-infantry squads left because each squad has anti-tank and each squad has anti-infantry. This not only allows tactical flexibility at a unit-level, but also makes your opponent's life harder because every squad is a threat to every unit.

Now before i ramble too much, here is the first incarnation of the list at 1850pts:
HQ
Chaplain - 120
+ Jump Pack, Melta Bombs

Elites
Terminator Assault Squad - 440
+ x2 TH/SS, x3 LC
+ Land Raider Redeemer

Troops
Tactical Squad x10 - 235
+ Melta Gun, Heavy Bolter, Power Fist
+ Rhino

Tactical Squad x10 - 235
+ Melta-Gun, Heavy Bolter, Power Fist
+ Rhino

Tactical Squad x10 - 230
+ Flamer, Multi-Melta, Power Fist
+ Rhino

Fast Attack
Assault Squad x10 - 215
+ Power Fist

Heavy Support
Land Raider - 250

Vindicator - 125
+Siege Shield
---------
Total Points: 1850
Models in Army: 52

First off I think i should mention that I easily beat an Eldar player at my gaming club who, until now, was undefeated. It was a pretty spectacular win too with my Redeemer, Vindie, Tac Squad 1 and Rhino, Second Tac squad sarge and Termie Sarge all still alive at the end of 7 turns. He had his avatar (locked in combat with my Termie), Farseer, 5 dark reapers and 6 dire avengers left.

Now the first big thing everyone mentions is "Heavy Support Land Raider is a points sink" and I agree... to an extent. It allows me to have a "safety valve" transport option on top of some decent anti-tank fire. At the same time, it is 250 points and, in the end, not worth it in an 1850pt list. My next incarnation (which won't happen until I get the models necessary for the change) will ditch this and the Vindie.

The Land Raider and Vindicator, as I just mentioned, will be replaced by four models: Two Predators with Autocannon turrets and Las-Cannon sponsons and two Land Speeders with Multi-Meltas and Heavy Flamers. This choices allow me tactically flexibility, as is the point of this "Jack" list, and some heavy hitting weapons too. The choice for the Predator stems from the fact that autocannons can pop light tanks and are good against infantry and LasCannons will provide the anti-tank I need on a ranged scale. The Multi Melta and Heavy Flamer on the Land Speeders allow me to choose to target tanks or infantry, both weapons being some of the best choices for their roles. Add in the ridiculous speed of the Land Speeder and you have a formidable little mobile weapons platform. Plus, with three Rhinos, a Redeemer and two predators on the field, not much attention will be paid, generally, to the Speeders until it starts doing damage.

So there are my thoughts on a "Jack" list which, at first, went against everything I believed in when playing a game (I was a big proponent of the "like-with-like" strategy until now). The way to play a "Jack" list effectively is, like all lists, ALWAYS having a purpose in mind for each unit. The plus side of a Jack list, as I've mentioned, is that each unit can fulfill nearly every role so it's all a matter of position and deployment.

What do you guys think? Any of you try this or thinking of trying it or do you think I'm whacked out of my mind :) ?

Land Raider Complete!

Finally finished off this Land Raider (ignore the Chaos emblems. I received this puppy in a trade and would feel like a terrible person if I ripped perfectly good Forge World stuff off of it!). I tried something new and am very happy with it: pseudo-holographic (for lack of a better word) art. You can notice it over the text on the top (swords) and over the searchlight housing (again, swords). Tell me what you think of it!

August Army Update (with pics!)

So here's what I have for August. I want to finish all of my marines before moving the the Valhallans. 'Tis my goal for the year!

Fully Painted
Painting in Progress
Primed
Work in Progress
Not built/Still on sprue


SPACE MARINES

Army shots (note, the Chapter Master's sword fell off and I can't find it >_<):

Chapter Master
Kor'Sarro Khan
Chaplain in Terminator Armor
Librarian
Librarian in Terminator Armor
Master of the Forge on bike with Conversion Beamer
Honor Guard
Chaplain with Jump Pack

Terminator Squad
Ironclad Dreadnought
Legion of the Damned squad
Assault Terminator Squad
Venerable Dreadnought

Tactical Squad with Plasma Gun/Heavy Bolter/Powerfist
Tactical Squad with Plasma Gun/Heavy Bolter/Powerfist
Tactical Squad with Melta Gun/Powerfist
Scout Squad x5 with Powerfist/CCWs
Rhino
Rhino
Rhino

Land Speeder Storm
Assault Squad x10 with Jump Packs/Powerfist
Assault Squad x8 with Powerfist

Devastator Squad with three Lascannons
Land Raider
Land Raider Redeemer
Vindicator
Whirlwind

IMPERIAL GUARD

Company Command Squad
Commissar Lord
Techpriest Enginseer

Platoon command Squad with grenade launcher
Platoon command Squad with melta gun
Infantry squad with grenade launcher
Infantry squad with grenade launcher
Infantry squad with grenade launcher
Infantry squad with flamer
Infantry squad with flamer
Infantry squad with flamer
Mortar Squad
Mortar Squad

Armored Sentinel

Leman Russ Battle Tank
Leman Russ Executioner
Leman Russ Vanquisher
Leman Russ Demolisher
Leman Russ Eradicator

Squad Leonus

First of all, apologies for the severe lack of updates this week. Alex and Pat just moved to Washington DC and Portland, Oregon respectively for college (I don't go back to Rochester, New York until labor day weekend, lucky me!) and I got a nice piece of metal slice about three-quarters of an inch through my foot and had to go to the ER and get some lovely stitches on the only day I really had free to paint alot. Figures. Now onto the post...

Man, these pieces of plastic...err...soldiers of man have been sitting in my army case for about 9 months now. This is their second repaint, so they're not the best thing I've ever painted. In fact, they're pretty terrible. The only thing that brightens them up a bit from looking like utter crap are the purity seals and eyes, honestly. Still, it feels good to now have two full tactical squads painted (the ones I use the most too!) On August 31st, when I have my army update, I'll take a full army shot with what's painted so look forward to that!

The Lost

This is a story that I'm still writing for my Knights of Orion Space Marine Chapter. Basically it goes through their fluff from a story point of view rather than the traditional "here are the facts" way. Now I'm not a great writer, so go easy on me! This is what I have so far (and if you guys like it, I'll keep posting updates to it as I go).

=================================

++++Begin Transmission++++
In preparation for a potential Chaos assault in the Bakka system, a large contingent of Grey Knights, including myself, were dispatched to the sector. Shortly after docking, I began to gather reports from men and women who claim to have seen scouting ships of some sort. After obtaining further descriptions of these sightings, I came to the conclusion that this sector had indeed been scouted by Chaos marines and an assault was imminent.

Quickly refueling and resupplying, I ordered our Captain to maintain a high orbit above Bakka in hope that any assault could be thwarted, or at least severely hampered, before making landfall. It was only fourteen hours and twelve minutes later that our auspex picked up a very large signal coming from the Galactic North. Scanning over the logs, it seemed that this ship, as we later found out it was, appeared out of empty space: a warp portal, undoubtedly.

Our heading was immediately set to intersect this threat, but something out of the ordinary occurred. In the same place that this Chaos ship appeared, another soon followed. This one, however, seemed to be Imperial; an old design, maybe M32, with minor perversions to the hull. As the captain maneuvered the ship into a more defensive position – in order to deal with the duel threat – the second ship appeared to begin an attack run on the first. Not wanting to interfere until I could fully understand the situation, I ordered our Captain to hold fire and await further instruction. In a matter of merely a few hours, internal detonations began to tear the first ship into oblivion.

We are currently on an intercepting path with this perverted Imperial ship and I will report back in the next few days. May the Emperor Protect!
==Inquisitor Callius==
++++ End Transmission++++

=================================

++++Begin Transmission++++

I have spoken to the leader of the mysterious warp fleet and they claim to be a Chapter of Space Marines known as the Knights of Orion. I have found no record of this chapter and am wary of their validity as members of the Imperium, but have yet to find any evidence of treachery.

According to their Chapter Master, Arkaedin, they traveled into the warp shortly after being founded in M32, possibly M33, and have only now found their way out. I have four adepts scouring the ship for more information, and it seems as if ten-thousand years passed by as a mere one thousand; the ship – forged on Mars in M32 as I speculated – shows very little signs of aging. The perversions I mentioned in my last message are heavy modifications to the hull in order to protect themselves from the brutality of the Immaterium. The engineering behind these designs is remarkable and their Techmarines are among the most intelligent I have ever seen. The traits are very close to those of the Salamanders and Iron Hands, though this may be attributed simply to necessity during their travels in the Warp.

In trying to discover more information, both verbally and psychically, I stumbled across both an amazing piece of technology and a frustrating piece of history. For the former, their Librarians managed to create a psychic device, called the Praetus, which blocks out any form of psychic signature the Knights of Orion would give off in the warp and, more importantly, mimics the Grey Knight Aegis armor: blocking out any, and all, psychic intrusions. However it seems that in implementing this device the Knights were forced to purge nearly all emotional memory which could potentially disable the device (as it is fused with the cerebral cortex). While this has the benefit of maintaining sanity within the depths of the Warp, it caused all memory of their founding to be lost, which is why it is so difficult for me to confirm them as true Astartes.

I will be attempting to pry at the memories of the eldest Knights with high hope that not all of their memory was lost, but the Praetus is proving to be a difficult thing to penetrate. I will record any progress I have and forward it immediately.
May the Emperor protect.

==Inquisitor Callius==

++++End Transmission++++

=================================

It was shortly after an attack raid on an Imperial Cruiser that the Knights of Orion entered warp space. We were in pursuit of an Iron Warrior ship, but things quickly went awry. It ended up being a well laid out trap, shouldn’t have expected any less from the bastards of Perturabo. After that, my memory gets hazy. I remember discussing potential routes from there: attacking warp planets, attempting to jump out of the warp or going into stasis until the Omnissiah guided our ship safely out of the Immaterium. Due to the humiliation of being fooled by Chaos scum, we settled on the first option. It was a bold endeavor but we truly had no choice. With the development of the Praetus. . .

“Ah yes, the Praetus, can you tell me more of that Master Arkaedin?”

I’ll tell you as much as I know. It is a very complex device, and I believe you have already discovered the basic workings of it. The device is part machine, part psychic energy that connects directly to the cerebral cortex, accounting for the loss of most of our memory. The basics principle behind it is that the machine part, the Reprium, performs a series of algorithms based upon the emotional input of the marine. This input is decoded using psychic energy - something which, admittedly, I know little about - before the Reprium can calculate the quantity of emotional power being emitted. The Reprium then produces a binary output which activates another psychic device known as the Contiguum. The Contiguum produces a psychic barrier, protecting the marine’s mind from psychic intrusion, but the intensity and type of barrier depends on the Reprium’s output. Of course, this is just a simplified explanation; however the inner workings of the machine are better understood, and explained, by Venerari, our Epistolary, and Kuron, our Master of the Forge. Their knowledge of the device is far greater than mine. And to answer your next question: yes, this device does give us psychic powers, albeit very dim. It was a feature to help us combat the vile creatures of the warp; it is a necessary curse, you see?

“Very well, Arkaedin. I can sense your memory growing weaker as you access more recent thoughts, so I will continue this interview another time. Thank you for your cooperation and may the Emperor protect.”

“May the Emperor protect, Inquisitor,” said Arkaedin, sitting back up and making the sign of the Aquila as he left Callius’ quarters.

++++Begin Transmission++++

After psychically interviewing the Knights of Orion’s Chapter Master, Arkaedin, I have discovered a few minor, but important facts. Namely, each marine has minor psychic powers. The way their Master described it seemed as if his Chapter was ashamed of these powers and they did not view them as an advantage at all. This is good, I truly believe their motives can be trusted. However, they will need some manipulation if we want to use them properly. If we keep this Chapter quiet enough, no one will ask questions if everything does not go as planned.

I will report back after further interviews, but things look bright. May the Emperor protect.

==Inquisitor Callius==

++++End Transmission++++

=================================

"I don't trust him" said Apollo, Chapter Champion of the Knights of Orion, "he's scheming, you can see and feel it when he talks."

"I'm with you on that Apollo as I was able to listen to one of the Inquisitor's telepathic transmissions. Now I didn't get much but I got enough to make me a bit weary" said Epistolary Venerari as he picked up a piece of parchment with a random assortment of scribbles and began reading: Discovered a few minor...facts...ashamed...motives...need some manipulation...use them properly...keep...Chapter quiet...no...ask questions...does not go as planned.
"Yeah, not exactly the most coherent intercept, but I firmly believe this Inquisitor Callius is not to be trusted."

"Venerari, did you make sure Callius could not trace back the intercept?" asked Master Arkaedin.

"I may be old but I'm not stupid!" everyone let out a laugh, breaking the tension in the room, "With all due respect sir, I have intercepted thousands upon thousands of telepathic transmissions, most being from within the Warp. If I cannot intercept a simple message like this then you best find a new Epistolary, eh?" Arkaedin smiled. Venerari always seemed to have a sense of humor which was refreshing.

"Point taken. Though I think it's too early to begin speculating as to what the Inquisitor's motives may be. Perhaps Apollo's interview will help shed some light onto the situation? We'll have to wait and see." Arkaedin turned to Apollo "Make sure you psychically probe him as much as you can without alarming him. We need to find out what the hell is going on."

=================================

“Watch your head” came the deafening scream over Apollo’s comm-link. Without thinking he immediately ducked, just in time to see the glowing orange blade of the Khornate Demon narrowly miss his head.

“Whoopsie-daisy!” mocked Apollo as he thrust his sword upwards towards the chest of the demon. The bloodletter reeled back in pain, clawing at its grotesque innards and lifting them to the air as if it was a sacrifice. “Frak, I hate this place” said Apollo as he stepped back to view the rest of the battlefield. Everything was covered in blood: the ground, his armor, his squads’ armor, the demons even the lakes and rivers were flowing with blood. And skulls. Frak were there a lot of skulls. Apollo has heard the cries of the followers of Khorne many times, Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne, but this was just excessive. In any case, this demonic world had to be crippled in some way as it was sending wave after wave of demon into the material realm and they needed to protect their former home, and possibly use this warp rift as an escape route but that was secondary to their mission.

“Champion Apollo, your armor looks a little blood stained” quipped Captain Helo.

“Heh, go figure. What’s the word on Master Arkaedin’s side of things Captain?”

“Rough, but their getting through it. I believe he said he has killed already slain a Greater Khronate Demon, so we really must be ticking this Bloodthirster off if it’s sending that kind of stuff out already!”

“Frak, a Greater Demon? We’ve just been getting bloodletters and the like over here. I mean it is a challenge, furious critters, but after awhile we’ve been killing them like clockwork. You sure all this man power is worth it?”

“I know Apollo, both you and I should be in the thick of it, but Master Arkaedin specifically requested that his retinue, your squad, accompany me. He and Epistolary Venerari were certain the gate was in this general area and he wanted his best warriors to aid me.” Apollo let out a sigh as both he and Helo walked over to the nearby river of blood.

“Perhaps,” Apollo though out loud as he dipped his sword into the river, "Perhaps we’re just not looking in the right place.”

“What are you getting at?” asked a bewildered Helo.

“The gate to the Bloodthirster’s palace, perhaps we’re not looking in the right place. A gate is, in essence, just a doorway or an entrance. Maybe the way to get into the palace is by entering the mindset of the demons.”

“I’m not following you at all Apollo. Stop being so cryptic, what are you talking about?”

“Maybe the entrance is in the blood itself: underneath the river of blood!”

“Ok, but how to you propose getting in?” Helo asked, still uncertain about the Champion’s train of thought.

“Let’s go for a swim.”
----------------------------
“I’m sorry Inquisitor, that’s as far as my memory goes” said an apologetic Apollo as he lifted an ancient looking contraption off of his head. “If you’d please excuse me, I would like to return to my quarters?”

“Yes, of course Apollo. I thank you for your wonderful cooperation” responded Inquisitor Callius as he hastily jotted something down on his parchment.

Apollo began to calmly walk down the twisting corridors of his Battle Barge, desperately trying to keep hold of all the information he gleaned from the Inquisitor. He came upon a gold-inscribed door and opened it; it was Chapter Master Arkaedin’s personal quarters.

“Master, I think I just learned something very troubling about the Inquisitor.”

“Yes Apollo, what is it? Is it what we had all assumed?”

“No, worse. I believe all his messages are unintentionally being transmitted to The Ghost.” Arkaedin sat down, bewildered. His eyes darted across the room as his mind frantically tried to process this information.

“Are you sure Apollo? You do know what the implications are of what you’re saying, correct?”

“Yes, Arkaedin, the messages are being picked up by The Ghost. We’re not safe. The Inquisitor is not safe. The Imperial ships in deep orbit around Bakka are not safe. The Ghost is on his way.”

Khan is finished (and some blog changes)

I finally finished up Khan for my Knights of Orion! What do you all think?









Also, I added a nice little thing to the blog. If you check out the right-hand column underneath the "Friday FAQ" image, you'll noticed three little banners for each of our armies. I have yet to add any of Pat's since he's only posted once :p Anyways, by clicking on these little images, it will send you to the posts that we make about our armies. All that Alex and I (and Pat, in the near future) will need to remember is to add the appropriate tags to posts!

Ironclad...finished

Finished up my Ironclad (I name him Thor. Long story but involves me listening to "Twilight of the Thunder God" by Amon Amarth*). I tried two new things to some success... first, I tried to bled the purple on the armor in the same vein as the Salamander Ironclad on the GW website. The other thing was that I only did NMM on the model's metallic part. I've done this before (a model having no metal paints used) but never to a scale this large. Usually it was confined to guardsmen (my Commissar that made it to the Chicago Golden Demon Finals being a good example). In the end, while the effects are certainly not perfect, I am incredibly happy with the way everything turned out. If I had to pick my favorite parts of the model, it would have to be the searchlight, the leg armor, the skull/cross thing on the left armor plate and the purity seal. Anyways, onto the pictures...










*One of the lines in that song is "Thor, Odin's son, protector of mankind" so I figured naming him Thor and referencing the song, people would make the connection with Space Marines = protectors of mankind. :p

New Painting Techniques: Khan

NMM is a technique that takes getting used to. I finally started developing my hand at it and I decided to challenge myself even more and try to paint the new Kor'Sarro Khan model with NMM armor. But not just any NMM (you know, the classic Silver/Bronze/Gold) but shiny purple armor. After about three repaints, I think I finally got something I like (well, I've just done the arms, but I have my method down... kinda). Here's what he looks like so far in a VERY PIP stage:



What do you guys think? I'm quite happy with it personally :D

Back to my first love...

....Space Marine! Despite the love I have for my new Valhallans, I could never neglect the power armored monsters of the Imperium! That, and I want to have more guys painted in time for 'Ard Boyz. First on the plate, a scratch built (sorta) Land Speeder Storm. I just canabalized my old Landspeeder that I forgot I even had and made this out of it in about an hour:





Then, of course, the Scouts that go inside!




I have a tactical squad nearly finished, so expect another update soon enough!

Squad Gaius!

So I finally finished Squad Leonus for my Knights of Orion Space Marine chapter (bar Sergeant Leonus- forgot about him :p). These guys have been sitting on my desk for, I kid you not, three months. I am SOO glad I got them done!



9 more points!

Also, in collaboration with another member on the Astronomican forums, I finished the new version of a tool called Astro-Hammer. Details can be found here, and I'd love some feedback!