Rampagers Ready

Angron's Gladiators

I have completed the five Rampagers and am satisfied with the result.  The biggest challenge on getting these Marines painted was simply spending the time to do so.  I have been distracted by video games in the evening again, which delayed what was a few night effort for several weeks.  I finished them up fairly quickly this past Saturday.

I am not focusing on my approach to the Butchers and getting Kharn onto a 32 mm base and still being able to go on his scenic base.

Rampagers close

Highlighting and basing remain

I used MLK day to put a solid dent in painting up the five Rampagers for my World Eaters.   I got the main colors on the model, leaving highlighting, detailing, and basing to do this week.

I feel like I am a bit behind where I want to be in terms of getting the World Eaters done, but also feel confident I can get them done before the end of February.  Depending on how this week's schedule is, I should be done with the Rampagers before the weekend, leaving the Butchers and Kharn to paint.

Primarch arrived, slow start on Rampagers

Just a short status update post.  My brother's Christmas gift of Roboute Guilliman arrived this past week, along with 5 Suzerains from Forgeworld.   Both of these have been tucked away with the rest of the Ultramarines that I have been collecting for a "big-push" once the 1,000 points of Zone Mortalis World Eaters is complete.

Roboute Guilliman
A single model which should as much attention as a whole squad or more

Speaking of, I have been distracted by playing Destiny with a good friend and have only begun to add the base layers to the Rampagers.   I intend to spend some more time on them in the coming days and will at the very least dedicate time next Monday to painting them.

Sang Squad

Sang Squad prior to sealing

As I said previously, painting Space Marines is somehow very relaxing.  I think it comes down to having zero decisions to make once I have settled on the paint scheme.

This is my second World Eaters Tactical squad, equipped with Chain-Axes.  Their Sergeant equips himself with a pair of Lightning Claws.  They are the fifth squad of their company.*  They go by the name moniker, Sang Squad in reference to the ancient Terran (French/Latin) word for blood.

Holiday Calm before a Storm?

Washed Squad

Over the past weeks, I had a lull in hobby activities for a variety of reasons from a weekend away to space being taken for baking.

I have put in some time working on the second squad of World Eaters and spent the second half of 27 Dec playing Dystopian Wars.   I got two games in, the first in which Prussians destroyed me and the second in which an alliance between the Prussians and Danes defeated Italy and China.

As I go into the new year, I am glad to have a gaming group to spend downtime with and a wife who allows me to escape for
long hours on the weekend to game.  My primary project will be completing the World Eaters ahead. However, looming on the horizon is the challenge of painting Roboute Guilliman before my brother visits in April, which will need to be preceded by at least a single squad of Ultramarines.   Throw in a mix of potential additions to my Danish fleet and it should be a very full next 12-15 weeks!

Prussia/Danish fleets prepare to engage the Italian/Chinese alliance

Assembly Line & 3 Fleet Engagments

Squad IV in work for my World Eaters

Another quick update on hobby efforts the past week.  Got back from vacation Monday and started to slowly assembly line the World Eaters of the second squad (at right).  I will hopefully get them all done in the next week or so with steady progress on painting each step every evening.

Most of the weekend's hobby time was spent playing 3 games of Dystopian Wars.  I think I came out of the games 1-1-1.  My win was a hard fought game against a Polish-Lithuania skimmer force, my tie was against a Chinese fleet, and my loss was to an Italian force.

Against the Poles, we were very much mirror force choices, but made different selections.   It was interesting to play against a fleet that was only slightly different.  Against the Chinese, I found myself outgunned and was glad to come out with a tie.  Overall the Chinese seemed overpowered and just difficult to come to grips with.  Against the Italians,  I made a poor choice on flanking around 300 points (all my airships in the list), which did not arrive until turn 3.  This left me undergunned and out-activity (a rarity for my Danes).  I came close to a win and was ahead on overall points, but his Commodore escaped my grasp.

Another Squadron of Fafnirs

Fafnirs 5 & 6 and their attached  air wings

Last Thursday, I finished up two more Fafnirs and the supporting SAS for my Kingdom of Denmark Dystopian Wars fleet.  These are the last two capital ships I had to paint of my collection and enable me to deploy my latest fleet list (2 x 2 Fafnir Squadrons) fully painted. I still have 5 mine markers and 6 Korsor Corvettes I can paint, but I currently do not have a list that leverages my 5 painted Korsors. The mine markers have a bit more variance to them.  Either way, I like the idea of having those as an alternative quick project if I am feeling unmotivated about the next project(s).

I really wanted to finish up this squadron ahead of my vacation (which I am on currently).  This means that when I get back, I can dedicate most of my hobby time to the 1,000 point World Eaters Zone Mortalis army.  If I need a break from that effort, I have numerous other side projects available, like Execution Force, the remaining Danish corvettes, Space Hulk, and Betrayal at Calth.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Betrayal at Calth

The Boxed Set

This past weekend, Games Workshop released The Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth board game.  I had pre-ordered it the previous week because it is an amazing deal for the miniatures that come with it.  Anyone interested in playing games set during the Horus Heresy should pick it up, even if you do not intend to play the game that comes with it.  The exact contents of the box can be found various places, like these unboxing videos.

I have been weighing two options for its contents. 1) Build the set as it is sold to play through the scenarios, much like Execution Force (another project still on the list to do).  2)  Use the models solely for building out larger Heresy era armies.   Having played a game with and lost to my son (after the break); I am going to go with option 1.

Completed Phoenix

Completed Five Hexes Phoenix Fighter-Bomber

Over the past week, I have worked on completing the last of my Eldar - the Phoenix Fighter-Bomber.  This brings to a close the Eldar Army project I started in June 2013.

This last unit was a good capstone to the overall army and a center-piece I am happy to own.  I really appreciate, as 40k has changed over the past three or four years with the general introduction of flying units and super heavies, more players have become amenable to fighting against Forgeworld models.

On the base are broken Rhino doors, painted in a light seafoam green, similar to the Sons of Horus, like the helmet the Banshee Exarch is stepping on.

In addition, I have created a page showing the whole Eldar army and outlining its makeup.

After the break, some shots of the Phoenix in work.

Relaxing, Painting Marines

Five more Legion Astrates

Over the past several days, I have spent time painting up five World Eaters Astrates for my first Horus Heresy force.  I found it rather relaxing compared to the effort on more recent models like the Shadowseer, Deathjester, or even Kingdom of Denmark ships.   Something about painting such a familiar object, in which most of the scheme and process was already understood and captured just made it very relaxing.

I am close to finishing up the Eldar army and Kingdom of Denmark ships, the World Eaters will take center stage on my painting schedule.  I have completed the first 10 of 31 models in my intial World Eaters army.  I am mulling over the idea of adding 5 Cataphractii Terminators and a Praetor to my collection to field a Great Crusade/Istavaan III force, which adds 6 more Terminators.

After the break, a picture of the full squad and some progress shots.

Full Cast of Players

The Full Cast of Players

Having finished the Shadowseer (hiding in back), the Cast of Players formation is complete.  This leaves just the Phoenix Bomber for my Aliatoc and the Five Hexes army.  The Harlequins have really allowed me to practice the motley technique and build my confidence and skill sets as a painter.  The painting guide Games workshop produced was outstanding for learning these techniques.  As I finish up the Eldar, i am hoping I will be able to transfer these skills into making superb Horus Heresy forces.

Deathjester

Straightforward painting of the Harlequin Deathjester model.  The actual Deathjester was painted using the Harlequins Painting Guide from Games Workshop.  Following the painting guide has really helped me improve my overall technique.

I painted the model up in over the course of Sunday, probably totaling three or four hours of effort.  I really like how the contrast between the sandstone base and the dark colors of the Deathjester turned out.

This leaves two models remaining to paint for the Eldar army I started about almost 2 years ago.  When I complete the Phoenix and Shadowseer, they will be complete (barring an unanticipated addition).

At least 3 more Eldar blog post to come - one for each of the remaining models and a final completed army post.

Progress shots after the break.

Tyr-Assault Boats and Mines!

DK Aegir with Assault Boats

 Last week, I updated DK Aegir with a few more details to match the rest of the fleet and painted up the 6 Tyr-Assault Boat markers.   In addition, I painted up 5 of 10 mine tokens I have (after the break).  For these bases I used George of Full Spectrum Dominance's water effect technique as a guide.  His are much better than mine.

Close-ups after the break.