A Tale of Four Warlords - Sktarii Rangers complete

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm currently part of 'A Tale of Four Gamers' challenge with a few of my gaming buddies. This month, the goal is to paint up a patrol detachment for your chosen army (1HQ and 1 troops choice). I have chosen to continue building my Adeptus Mechanicus army. Now, I know that traditionally these challenges are used to start a new force from the ground up. However, as my darling wife has forbidden me from starting new armies (with good reason!) I am using this as an excuse to expand my Mechanicus forces. The best part is that I already own most of the models I will be painting, so I'm digging into the grey pile of shame which always feels good.

Anyway, on with the photos.

Skitarii Squad complete!

In the past I have had a bit of anxiety about painting Skitarii Rangers (as opposed to Vanguard). This is because I find their guns and heads more difficult to paint (all those lenses and details). However, I feel like I really hit my stride with these guys. I found a way of painting the rifles that I'm happy with, and I had a lot of fun with the Skitarii Alpha. 

Turn to the left!

As you can see, I've done a couple of guys with Transuranic Arquebus' (Arquebii? Arquebusiers??). On the table, I have mostly found these disappointing, but maybe now they're painted they will start to deliver?

I've also given my Alpha a power sword because apparently I am crazy and enjoy schizophrenic loadouts. Seriously, the Arquebus' can't move and fire, so the chances of him ever using his pretty pink sword are slim to none.

Witness the pinkness!

The sword was painted in a kind of quick and dirty glaze technique. It doesn't look that brilliant up close, but it didn't take too long, and it looks pretty impressive (if I do say so myself) from about a foot away. Which I consider perfectly fine for a 7 point infantryman.

Sniper squad! Charge!!

Anyway, all of this means that I need to paint up and HQ in the next ten days to hit my quota (and avoid being shamed by my peers). Given my glacial painting pace, it's a bit of a tall order! So, wish me luck and tune in at the end of the month to see if I made it.

Necromunda - Painting and playing

I may have mentioned somewhere that I was lucky enough to receive the new Necromunda box set for Christmas and split it with my brother, Blazmo, of Tabletop Apocalypse. We've both been building and painting the gangs and managed to get our first games in last week. I have to say it was an absolute blast!

Hoyt Bennett of the Bennett Brothers

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get any of my gangers painted for their first outing on the tabletop. But the excitement of playing the game spurred me on to finish painting my first gang Champion; namely Hoyt 'Bulky' Bennett, pictured above.


For those who aren't familiar with the new Necromunda, a starting gang is made up of a gang leader and can include a number of gangers, juves and champions up to the value of 1000 credits (basically points). This usually gives a gang size between 6 and 10 models. Juves are basically wannabe gangers who are inexperienced and poorly armed but learn quickly and are cheap to hire; whereas Champions are experienced fighters with powerful skills and with access to better weaponry. Hoyt himself is armed with a mighty Renderizer (ok I know it's a converted chainaxe but it's close enough) and a stub gun; both of which he failed miserably to use on his first outing as he spent most of the game pinned and rolling about on the floor.

The semi-painted Goliath Champion menacing an Escher ganger

The game itself is very dynamic as gangers variously get hit, pinned, wounded and eventually taken out of action. As with the original Necromunda, there is a lot of laying your models face down/up to show the state of their various injuries. So long as you're careful though it doesn't seem to cause them any harm.


The boxed game includes a number of boards which can be used for zone mortalis style play. Something both Blazmo and myself thought we would avoid but which was surprisingly enjoyable to play. So much so that we will probably use this format for most of our games. The game also comes with a set of scenery (mostly bulkheads and barricades) which can be seen pictured above. Big thanks to Blazmo by the way for painting all the scenery in record time and making our games all the more immersive.

Peakaboo! I couldn't resist this photo.

If you've read much about the new Necromunda online (or N17 as it's often called) you may know that there are a number of rules errors in both of the source books (Underhive and Gang War). Games Workshop have advised that an faq is imminent but until it lands it is probably best to play the game with a series of gentleman's agreements in place (much like the original ruleset!) Still, it hasn't spoiled my enjoyment of the game any; if anything, I think it encourages people to play more in the spirit of the game.

Hoyt again.

Painting wise, I've really enjoyed breaking away from the grimdarkness and trying to paint some bright, cashing colours in more of a second edition style. With this in mind, I've gone for a nice lime green paired with a red spot colour and some hazard striping. I'm not totally happy with the hazard stripes but you only get better at these things by doing them! So I'm determined to put some on every member of the gang. The base was inspired by Blazmo's excellent terrain with a rust/verdigris style that works nicely for the underhive.

Also Hoyt.

As for the future? Well I'm working on painting my gang leader at the moment and I sincerely hope to get more games of Necromunda in soon. Check back soon for more updates.

Finishing Squads - Kataphron Breachers and Sicarian Ruststalkers

It's about time I got some of these units finished! As part of an ongoing build 'n' paint campaign with a group of friends I have been trying to finish off the odd model here or there that will allow me to field complete units. I have a bad habit of painting 80% of a squad and then never finishing the last one or two models.

The last Breacher is finally finished!

With that in mind I have been working on my third Kataphron Breacher, a squad that I started painting back in April this year! I'm really happy to have finished these guys. Although I am pleased with how they turned out, they aren't my favourite models and finishing the squad really felt like an uphill struggle at times. Hopefully they will redeem themselves on the tabletop and gain some favour in my eyes.

Having said that, he does look pretty.

I've also finished painting a squad of Sicarian Ruststalkers. Now these guys do include one of my favourite models in the form of the Ruststalker Princeps. I love the dynamic posing of these models and the detailing. Like most of the Skitarii stuff they really are superb.

General Grievous? Never heard of her!

Anyway, all of those odd models brings my painted total up to 915 points. I feel like I've come a long way since I posted about completing 500 points back in September. It certainly puts me in a good place for playing 1000 point games with a fully painted army during December.

Chop chop!

As far as the Ruststalkers are concerned, they're probably the least competitive variant of the Sicarian kit under the current rules. They don't cause enough mortal wounds to be truly threatening because they don't have chordclaws. They also lack the ranged weapons and deepstriking abilities which make Infiltrators so useful. Nonetheless I'm determined to keep fielding them and I'm sure I will figure out how best to use them eventually.


Stay tuned to see what comes off of the painting block next!

Painting Skitarii - 500 points complete

I reached an important milestone this weekend with my Adeptus Mechanicus army. Painting a 500 point army to completion.

Sorry for the glare....and the curtains.

I guess thirteen models doesn't seem much to write home about (especially as I completed the bulk of these models this year during Squaduary and Monster March.) But it's very significant for me. Having a fully painted army of a certain value is quite a rare event in my hobby life, so it's definitely one worth documenting.

The final model.

Some of you may recall that when I took part in Squaduary I had painted the rather inadvisable combination of an arc rifle and a plasma caliver for my squad of Skitarii Vanguard. As it turned out, the lack of a second identical weapon really damages the focus of a squad on the tabletop, so I felt I needed a second plasma caliver before I could honestly call the army complete. I painted up the guy above and added him to the vanguard squad for a double dose of hot plasma death!


I'm also taking part in a campaign over the next few months run by my buddy Lewis over at Canis Aureus. The concept is to increase the army size by 250 points per month and play a series of games over a system map of the Charadon Sector. Hopefully this will push me on to complete 750 points by the end of October, which ties in nicely with Dreadtober as I will be painting an Onager Dunecrawler to add to the force.


Stay tuned for more updates on Dreadtober and, with any luck, a fully painted 750 point force in a month's time!

Legion Wars: Honoured Brother Mordo

Finally, a promise I've managed to keep! I present for your delight Honoured Brother Mordo!

Oh yeah, he's awesome!

This is easily the fastest turn-around I've ever had on a vehicle (about a week and a half). I've been really impressed with the quality of the Forgeworld models; the amount of detail is stunning and I've had very few problems with warping or air bubbles.

A side shot - so you can admire (mock?) my freehand.

Ok, so a plasma cannon and plasma blaster might be the most suicidal and expensive loadout ever conceived for a Dreadnought but they're glued on now so it's too late to change my mind. I'm sure he'll inflict some damage before he succumbs to his own gets hot rolls!? Sadly I haven't yet had the chance to try him on the field of battle, it should be interesting as at 205 points he makes up over half of the points in my fledgling force!

Below is a bit of a photodump because I got all excited with the camera. I've started a short piece of fiction for brother Mordo which will be up soon.

Oh my! That does look hot!

Posing with his Legion brothers.

Just 'cos.

The Legion Wars: Escalation

Well it's a stupidly hot afternoon here so you'll have to excuse any errors in this post. You'll also have to excuse the lack of pictures because I can't get hold of them at them moment. Damn technology!

The legion wars have continued apace with as many as twenty (gasp!!) models gracing the field over the weekend. Sadly my Night Lords ran riot in both games slaughtering the Salamanders left and right. So much so that both Berserkerbro and myself got a bit pissed off and started painting Dreadnoughts. Oh dear, the threat of mutually assured destruction looms! Once I finally finish the Contemptor (next week I promise) it will be photographed in all its glory. Shortly thereafter I fully expect to have its last hull point removed by its own plasma cannon........

Anyway, in lieu of photos, here's another short piece of Legion Wars fiction.

Bathinko was laughing again; laughing like a maniac and revving the engine of his ridiculous chain-glaive. Kromellus could hear him over the squad vox as he exchanged sporadic bolter fire with the Salamanders scouts crouching in the ruins to the North. Kromellus loosed a three round burst and dropped behind a stone parapet as he reloaded. As he crunched another magazine into his bolter; Kromellus couldn’t help but reflect on his situation. It was one thing to have dropped through the warp onto this forsaken world; it was entirely another to have to follow a raging lunatic into battle time and time again; at least he wasn’t screaming for a change.

As he stood and took aim at the green armoured figures, Kromellus saw a midnight blue blur in the corner of his retinal display. Bathinko had broken cover and was sprinting headlong towards the Salamanders position. “Get back here you moron!” Kromellus yelled uselessly into the vox. The only response was another wave of mirthless laughter. Instantly the targeting vectors of his enemies changed to bracket the new threat with a storm of bolter fire; Kromellus could make out two scouts emptying their weapons in desperation to bring down the charging giant. He watched Bathinko pause in his headlong sprint to prime a Krak grenade and hurl it fully into the torso of one of the scouts. The anti-tank warhead detonated with a dull thump, utterly destroying the scout in a pointless and gory display of overwhelming firepower. As Bathinko gloried in the carnage his grenade had created the remaining scout took careful aim and hammered three rounds into his bat-crested helm. Bathinko dropped like a rag doll, still burbling incoherent laughter into the vox.

As Kromellus watched his Sergeant fall into the dirt he realised he’d expended his last magazine. Opening a squad vox channel he called for his brothers “Sons of our father, with me! Murder them all!” With that he vaulted out of the rubble and ran towards the scout; he had just enough time to notice two of his brothers charging with him before all of them were engulfed in the searing torrent of a flame weapon. Immediately Kromellus dropped into the dirt, rolling in an attempt to extinguish the clinging chemical fire. His brothers did not react as quickly and were caught in a second burst of flame. From his prone position, Kromellus saw a figure clad in green ceramite emerging from the ruins wielding a chainsword and an ornate combi-flamer. He vaguely heard his brothers’ screams over the vox as the flames ate through their armour joints and they died in agony.

Kromellus desperately regained his footing as the Salamanders Sergeant bore down upon him. The Sergeant hacked at Kromellus’ neck joint with his chainsword, the serrated teeth spewing sparks as they glanced off the layered ceramite. Kromellus drew his gladius and punched it into the Sergeant’s abdomen. He felt the point snag as it was deflected by torso plating, but the blow was enough to unbalance his opponent; instantly, Kromellus moved inside the Sergeant’s guard hammering his gladius downwards in a backhanded grip. The legion steel smashed into the Sergeant’s respirator grille, mangling the intake vanes and drawing blood. Just as Kromellus drew back his hand for another strike he heard a cry from behind “Kal’Dhanis!”, as he tried to twist to engage this new threat he felt a sickening impact against his right knee joint. Kromellus’ leg buckled and he lurched sideways as he turned, seeing the scout firing bolt pistol rounds point-blank at his exposed armour joints. With a snarl he drove his body forwards using his good leg and stabbed his gladius upwards through the jaw and soft palate of the scout and into his brain. Kromellus had no time to watch as the scout’s eyes glazed over; Sergeant Kal’Dhanis had recovered and was swinging his chainsword in a decapitating blow. Kromellus abandoned his blade and threw his forearm into the path of the descending blade. The teeth chewed through his armoured gauntlet, severing muscle and tendons and showering him in a spray of his own blood. Kromellus made a grab for the blade sawing through his arm and wrenched it away; hurling it to the ground nearby. In the same motion he smashed his head forwards, driving into Kal’Dhanis shattered faceplate with a horribly organic crunch. Kal’Dhanis reeled and Kromellus wrapped his fingers around his throat; using his armoured bulk to drive Kal’Dhanis onto the ground. For what seemed like an eternity he choked the life from the Salamanders Sergeant; green armoured gauntlets battering and scratching at his faceplate as the son of Vulkan fought desperately for life.

After the body finally went limp in his hands, Kromellus pushed himself back to his feet. His left arm was nearly severed below the elbow and his right knee would bear no weight. He had a nasty feeling that an augmetic replacement would be required for him to continue serving the legion. His retinal display registered a catalogue of damage to his armour; not the least of which was that he was still smouldering from the flamer wash. As he half-heartedly patted at the clinging flames; Kromellus heard a burbling chuckle over the vox. Bathinko was still laughing.

The Legion Wars Begin!

Ok, so it's been a while and I haven't posted any updates. You know how it is: Life, work etc etc. So what have I been up to? Well, shortly after swearing off any new hobby projects and committing to painting the models I already own, I went totally nuts and started putting together a 1000 point Night Lords Legion army for the Horus Heresy. Building and painting has begun in earnest and I'm thrilled with how the VIIIth legion are turning out so far.

I've also begun a small build-and-paint escalation campaign against Berserkerbro's Salamanders. Here's a little mid-battle photo of my Sergeant getting mown down by a bunch of scouts.

Sergeant Bathinko's last moments....

Here's a very short piece of fiction I wrote to accompany the photo and commemorate his defeat.

Sergeant Bathinko screamed as he bore down on the crouching scout. The vox caster built into his ornate helm amplified his screams into an inhuman roar. The Salamander reacted instantly, turning on the spot and unleashing hail of mass-reactive bolts. Most of the shots went wide, the few that struck home detonated harmlessly against Bathinko’s armour. As the scout drew his combat blade, Bathinko raised his chainglaive, the teeth of the brutal weapon whining as they cut empty air. His first stroke was a massive downward cut with both hands that would have cut an Astartes warrior clean in half had it struck home. The scout had anticipated his move however and stepped inside his guard jabbing viciously at the exposed cabling of Bathinko’s midriff with his blade. Bathinko’s retinal display lit up as his armour sustained damage to its power feeds and with another scream he swung the haft of his chainglaive outwards, knocking his opponent into the dirt. The Salamander reacted instantly, rolling to his knees and firing his bolter one handed. The single shot smashed into Bathinko’s faceplate scrambling his vision and severing one of the crests from his helm. Blinded and enraged, Bathinko swung the chainglaive downwards with all his strength. The pitiless chewing teeth sawed through the stock of the upraised bolter and into the torso of the kneeling scout.

                As his retinal display recalibrated, Bathinko’s sight returned. He looked down upon the savaged body of the Salamanders scout lying prone before him. His audio receptors picked up the distinctive sound of a boltgun slide being racked. Bathinko had just enough time to look up at the remaining two scouts aiming down at him from the gantry above. In the time it took him to draw breath he was bracketed by their co-ordinated fire; the barrage of shells shredding the grisly trophies attached to his armour and splintering the ceramite plating. One shoulder guard was completely torn away by the torrent; he tried to turn, to protect his head with the other shoulder guard only to be knocked to the ground, sustaining damage faster than his auto senses could track. Bleeding profusely from several serious wounds Bathinko used the last of his strength to draw breath and screamed.