Gaming and Such

Lot been going on lately... kinda. First and foremost, a summery by bullets.

• Joined the Iron Fist League gaming group
• Played 2 games in the past week
• Still hanging out in Quantico
• Got a 96 (4 day weekend) coming up
• No news on where I'm gonna be stationed

Alright, Iron Fist League... Meets every Tuesday night at Games Parlor in Woodbridge, Va. Its the closest hobby store to Quantico base, and pretty top notch at that too! Friendly environment all around, both gamers and store staff included. All the guys in the gaming group are pretty chill, very easy to get along with. Their lists are a bit competitive, but I'll make due in time.
As for the two games... Last week I played against an IG army at 1500 points. I through down a hasty list with a low model count, tons of Oblits, some Plauge Marines and some Berserkers. He brought a nasty Russ with plasma cannons, a Psyker battle squad, a ton of foot sloggers with Commisars, a Callidus Assasin and a Inquisitor. We rolled for spearhead and territories. I said screw my objective and rushed to the slaughter.... and was slaughtered by volleys of flash light fire. My Oblits did manage to do some damage though, but not enough in the long run. It was a valuable learning experience.
Second game, last night.... I played against a Fateweaver Nurgle Demon build. Annihilation. I got stomped.... bad... Couldn't get a good shot off at the Fateweaver and the re-rolls he was granting all the Plauge Bearers was making it virtually impossible for me to wear them down. Game ended at 8 to 2 in my opponents favor.
Both guys I played against were very curtious and gracious enough to help me through the game, answered all my questions and gave me some helpful insight and tips for future games. I had a great time and look forward to playing again. Hopefully my learning curve will soon bring me up to speed and capable of winning a couple games.
This weekend is a 96 hour liberty weekend! Renting a car and embarking on the long and tedious 9 hour drive back home to OHIO! First time visiting home in 17 months and I am stoked! Going to do some car shopping while I'm there as well as pick up a new laptop from Skunkarific Computers, the only computer store I trust.
Over all, I must say life is pretty good. Hopefully I'll get properly situated here in Quantico soon and can continue on with my life. All I have to do is pass the time till August 2010 and I am set. :

Still Kickin

Its been over a week since I've last posted, but I'm still going. Its gonna be a while before I can get back to regular updates again.
At the moment I'm currently stuck in limbo. Not sure if I'll be staying in the D.C. area or getting pushed out on a new assignment. That being what it is, I have yet to settle down and do not have a reliable source of internet aside from my newly acquired crack berry.
On the upside of things, I finally managed to get a proper game in with some one who actually knows the rules! Ah, the benefits of playing with others who speak english as a primary language. ;)
As for that game.... I made a hasty list with the smallest model count as possible... then went against a competitive guard list. Haha. I got stomped, but it was a fun time and a major learning experience for me.
Next Tuesday I'll be going back to Game Parlor for another round, only this time I'll bring a better prepared list.

Packing!

Not much going on for me at the moment. Managed to some how crash my operating system (linux: PCLoS07) and am running it off the boot disk for the time being, unfortunately this is also slowing my computer down terribly and preventing me from uploading any pics. Blast.
I'm all packed up to take off... kinda... I want to finish painting my Reavers first before I pack them and everything that'll be on top of 'em. All I got left on them at this point is the layer of Golden Yellow and touch ups with Chaos Black.
Just finished reading World War Z. I enjoyed it thoroughly, despite the restless nights as I struggled to fall asleep. Haha. Yes, despite being a Marine I in fact did become quite spooked by this book. The author paints this beautifully graphic and disturbing that will leave you 'chilled' for hours. More haunting than the scariest of movies!
Unfortunately, I'm not left bootless until I visit the base exchange in a few days... Maybe I'll pick up a good magazine at the airport or something.

Thats it for now. Don't expect many updates in the coming weeks... I'm going to be a tad busy with settling in to my next unit, shopping for a car, and whatever else life throws at me. Hopefully I'll find a hobby store to get a game in sometime in the near future though. I haven't had a game since July...

Woah! So Much Going On!

Alright, first up, here's a picture of my latest WIP; Hakanor's Reavers. Upfront and center is the Aspiring Champian who has the option between a Power Fist or Power Weapon for his wargear. I built him before actually knowing the rules of the game... dun dun dun. Anyways, no matter, he has a bolter and bolt pistol per his codex entry anyways. Hopefully I don't bump into any WYSIWYG nazis. :/

I also realized something blatantly obvious recently. Hakanor's Reavers are nothing more than Black Legion CSMs with lava legs! Wha!? Shocker! Haha.
All I got left on these guys are to touch up around the gold with some Chaos Black and add lava lines to the legs.

Some news from my life now... I'm moving again! What!? Again!? You've only just settled in finally!
Well yeah, but things change. I'm heading back to the D.C. for some stuff.... What stuff exactly I don't wish to disclose, but I'm just happy to be going back to America. Lets leave it at that.

Managed to pack into two foam trays the majority of my army.... Around 35 Terminators, 9 Chaos Chosen, 12 Obliterators, and 4 squads of CSMs. Also is my Chapter Master (counts as Abbadon) and my Slaneshi Jump Chaplain as well as 20 Raptor jump troops.

I really oushed to fit as much as possible in these two containers. This is all the WH40K I'll have with me for probably a month or two... Minus and additions I make while back in the states... And I want to be able to play from the git go. With no mech I won't be playing any competitive lists, but no bother... I just want to get some games in.
My squad of 5 magnetized terminators really took the cake here. Managed to fit 4 of them into one biker space. :D

You really gotta love battlefoam. I ordered an extra Terminator and Assault Marine insert a few weeks back in preparation of this move. Having packed all my Assault Marines (raptors) in the other foam insert, I had 20 spaces to spare which I was easily able to double up normal CSMs in. Awesome!

Made a new addition to the side of the blog. I'm not posting books I've recently read, ratings, and what book I'm currently reading. I'd like to post some book reviews as well, but my writing is so out of practice I really can't bare to embarrass myself here. Having been out of school for thee and a half years (minus some b/s online college), my writing abilities are pretty sorry. I full well intend to fix that when I start attending college next year as part of my post-military life. August 2010 can't come soon enough!

Reset the Clock!

Today I'll leave you with a little treat I found while reading Dan Ambnett's Ravenor Omnibus. He drops a lovely little easter egg in chapter 3 of Ravenor Rouge. In it Ravenor's contracted ship master is discussing his family's supposed origins which appear to be rooted in popular myth of the 40k universe.

'it is much derailed, in places high and low,' she heard the shipmaster saying, 'that there ever was a race of beings of the name the squats, and many scholams and those of the high mindful claim it's just a myth, a thing that never was, but my direst old grand avuncular sweared to me that the Unwerth lineament has some timbre of that blood in it, right back in all perspective, I mean...'
-Ravenor: The Ominbus; pg. 693.

Oh Mr. Abnett, how could you!

For those of you who have yet to read Ravenor, I highly suggest you purchase a copy as soon as possible. It's a truly enjoyable read. Pick up a copy of Eisenhorn while you're at it. You won't be disappointed.

Heroes: Season 3 Volume 4

After the first half a season three of Heroes I find myself a tad burnt out. The way it seems rushed, cliche and over the top really left a bitter taste in my mouth. I found myself disappointed with the direction the show has taken since season two. Its as if the writers don't really care about the content so much anymore, they know it will sell anyways.
Anyways, I finally decided to give the second half of season 3 a shot. Volume 4: Fugitives proves to be more of the same rehashed garbage that the writers have been throwing around for what seems like forever now. Characters have sudden persona changes to fit the plot, powers still turn on and off from quirky gimmicks and there are more loose strings than I can even count. New characters are introduced and dropped like its no big deal, they're just left stranded in thin air while old ones make a cameo for a brief moment only to vanish from existence again.
The Petrelli family continues to bicker and fight as always, Cheerleader continues to have daddy issues, Peter can't stop being emo and Matt Parkman continues to make goofy faces and be the annoying ass I find him to be. It doesn't help that every one, well almost every one... but I'll get to that in a minute, are terribly predictable. The only characters who really aren't predictable are the villains!
Well, Nathan Petrelli isn't really predictable, but that tends to happen when his character's persona is rewritten time and time again. Sylar is the main attraction of the show though. Sure he has daddy issues still, but that doesn't change a thing. Sylar is still the be all end all BAMF we all know and love.
At the moment I'm at episode 22, about to kick it as soon as I wrap this up. There plot has seemed rather incoherent and sporadic throughout the season so far, contrary to the well pieced plot of season 1. I'm hoping that things start clicking together here at the very end...
And now..... *clicks play*

Today I....

Did a whole lot of nothing.... Hobby related anyways.
Up until 1700 in the afternoon I was under the impression that my detachment was still scheduled for an inspection from our Region XO tomorrow. I also had overslept till 1300, which really didn't help me out time management either... So anyways, I cleaned all day and put away my giant mess of a hobby workspace so that the XO wouldn't flip a switch on me tomorrow when he toured the MSGQ.
By time I learned the whole inspection was canked I was too lazy to bother fooling around with my plastic crack. I instead busied myself with reading Ravenor, as I finished Eisenhorn over a week ago. I also then snuck into the gym for some heavy lifting while the rest of the Marines were out... Not supposed to be lifting for awhile per doctor's orders but I really can't resist myself. :P
Got the morning shift tomorrow followed up with a lovely chat with my GySgt... Hopefully it won't get ugly... And hopefully come the end of the week I'll be packing my bags to PCS back to the states. Who knows...
Wish me luck.

A Couple More Veterans

As I've mentioned previously, I've got a new box of Catachans and SM Scouts and am thus pre-occupied with rounding out my IG Veterans Squad. This is number 8 of the batch and was going to be my third melta gunner, however the sword draw and demonic face really pulled me away from that idea. Instead I made him another shotgun toting bad ass and gave him an extra sword to suit his evil look. Now he's really wicked! After the green stuff finishes curing I'm going to clean him up a bit.

Making Your Veterans Stand Out

Imperial Guard Veterans are a heavy favorite on the tables at the moment. With BS4 and the ability to pack 3 meltas, who could blame ya for packing a couple squads in Chimeras and letting loose?
But here we've got a slight dilemma, what models should you use to distinguish your vets from the every day body in the meat grinder? What would be a suitable way to make them really stand out? Some players simply buy a different model to use to separate the vets from rank and file troopers, but others such as myself prefer to convert something a little more catchy. Here's a step by step walk through of how I made my latest one.

Tools you'll need

• Gue (plastic or super)

• Clippers

• Saw (the GW hobby saw that is)

• Drill

• File

• Green stuff tool

• Green stuff

And the parts I used

• Catachan arms

• Space Marine Power Pack

• Plastic Meltagun

• Cadian Torso

• Chaos Space Marine Head
  

• Space Marine Scout Legs

• Various accessory bits

Do forgive the poorly lit photos. Lighting in my room is pretty dismal. And the electricity here is fairly sketchy... I keep blowing out my AC and light bulbs on a regular basis.

First off I took the Cadian torso and the CSM head and drilled holes in both of them where the neck should be. This is to set a decent groove for the greenstuff to graft on to.
I also chopped off the exhaust vents on the backpack. That doesn't need to be done at this stage, but it doesn't hurt.

I then fiddled around with the arms to get them set up to hold the meltagun level. Its important to do this before mounting the head so that you can have the figure looking in the same direction as the gun barrel.

I then rolled up some greenstuff and stuck it in the hole I had drilled. Set it in the hole on the torso, smooth things out with your tool and cut away excess. Looking good.

Now for attaching the back pack. You'll want to clip off the little nub on the back of the torso so the pack can align flush with the models back.

Add on some accessories. I like to stick ammo pouches, grenades and knives and such on my models.

A shot of my finished product. Shortsword on the rack, sheathed sword at the hip, ammo pouches along the side of the pack and a canteen on the other side.
Scout lets tend to make the model appear as if its leaning forward. I stuck some green stuff under the right toe of this guy to give him a more upright look.


And there you have it. Sharp looking IG Vets that you can crank out fairly easily. These guys can be a bit costly considering the different sets the bits come from, but if you've been in the hobby long enough you're sure to have enough to spare for a squad or two.

Finally! I'm Back!

Misfortune recently fell upon me and I found myself hospitalized for a stomach virus of all things. Embarassing story that I feel no need to give the details of, but the gist of it is that I was out for the past three days. Its amazing how disconnected three days of no internet leaves you... Proves just how addicting the interwebz really is.
So here I am back at work again for another lovely stint of the night shift. Found a couple of pleasant surprised when I came in too. Mail! What'd I get?

-Terminator/Assault troop tray from BattleFoam
-Catachan Command Squad
-Space Marine Scout Squad
-Tube of Green Stuff
-'Tank Shock' Edition of White Drawf

The troop tray was a big thing for me. I have the 1520 battle foam load out already (minus the bag) and that doesn't provide enough space for my plethora of Terminator and Obliterator models. I currently have (thanks to space hulk) 35 Terminators and 12 Obliterators! Yikes!
With the new Catachan and Scout bits I can now finish my IG Vets squad. I want to build a whole army in the manner of my Afriel Strain vets, but its freaking time consuming and costly!
The green stuff was actually a mistake on my part. When I ordered it I was under the impression that I was out of my own stock... turns out I just didn't look hard enough and I still had two full tubes. Now I got two n a half.
Having moved from Vienna to Muscat, Oman recently; my subscription to WD got lost in transition. I finally got the replacement copy I ordered though. Hopefully I can get my next copy before I move again.

Also had sitting in my room, much to my surprise, four giant boxes of all my house hold goods that got shipped in from Vienna. They've been sitting in Oman's Customs department for the past three weeks and finally got approved. Yay! I'm not going to open them though... I'm hoping to be rotating back the the states here soon. Or so I pray.... This country is driving me mad!

Space Hulk!

So here I was this morning, at work minding my own business and enjoying life in my glass box when one of my fellow Marines walks in with a box. A big box. A heavy looking big box. So I think to myself, what could any one have ordered that comes in a heavy looking big box... I know I ordered something, thats for sure. So lo and behold, Space Hulk has arrived! Whooooo!
After I finished assembling everything I took some silly pictures. Enjoy.

They thought the mission was over, that the hulk was cleansed. They partied it up in the style of the brothers of Fenris. Little did they know, something came back with them....

Complacency kills Marine! Don't let this happen to you!

They swarm rises up to claim their prize....

Too much blue? Too bad. Haha. Can't wait to get this lot painted up.
*Sigh*
It will have to wait though... Hakanor's Reavers are holding the painting table and look determined not to let it go.
Now all I need to do is convince one of my fellow Marines to play the game with me....

Hakanor's Reavers

Here we have my latest squad to hit the painting table, a small retinue of Hakanor's Reavers. The armour of these warriors burns with a magical heat, causing it to constantly crack and reform like lava. The very first time I saw them in the CSM Codex, I fell in love. I had to have a squad of these guys.
Halfway through painting up my demo man I learned a few tricks with my camera to take better pictures. Its not the lack of a photo box that had affected my pictures, but merely not having my camera set up adequately. Big thanks to the Chicago Terrain Factory for giving me some pointers.

Started this guy off with a Chaos Black base coat. I then moved on to give him a light drybrushing with Codex Grey.

Along the legs I drew the cracks of the armour with the foundation paint Mechrite Red.

I then went over the cracks with a light touch of Blazing Orange while trying to make sure to allow the reds to still show underneath/outside of it.

I finished up the cracks with an even thinner lining of Golden Yellow.

I painted on Burnished Gold for the shoulder trim and top arrow of the helmet.


Followed up with Boltgun Metal power pack and weapons washed with Baal Red followed by Badab Black. I don't think I'll wash the Boltgun Metal on any additional models. It throws of the look to me.
Painted the eye lens and chapter sign with Mechrite Red followed by Blood Red.
The horns were done with Bleached Bone washed with Greyphone Sepia and lightly drybrushed with Skull White.

And there we have it, one completed Reaver for Antony's Warband. Now its time to line up the rest of the squad and get an assembly line started. Shouldn't take too long.

Need a Photo Box Bad!

Here we have the test model for a new squad I started months ago. Being a Chaos Warband, I have no problem incorporating different color scemes and such into my forces. My original intention for this squad was that overtime their dedication to Khorne corrupts their bodies and souls resulting, which is depicted by the gradual progression of the blackness and flames. The squad was originally going to be in my chapters colors, however I've decided that only a few models will feature the blue and red of the Eclipsed Light. This squad is a small detachment of Hakonor's Reavers, and as new inducties from the Eclipsed Light spend more time in the unit they are slowly warped into the beserkers that the Reavers are.

Here's a shot of my painting table and the whole squad primed and ready. Originally I was going to name the squad 'Long Horns', but have scratched that. They will recieve a proper Latin name that has yet to be decided. Also, you may not the marine on the right lacks horns. He'll be getting replaced ASAP. Just need a new can of primer to prep his replacement...

I've hinted at my corupted Chaplain, Seti Ubaid, from time to time. Here's some more pictures of him and a bit of fluff on the character. The pictures are crap, I know. New pics of my entire army will be posts as soon as I PCS back to the States and make a photo box.
Seti Ubaid, or Seti the Faithful, is one of Antony's trusted advisors from his 'Gypo Legionaires'. Seti is known as the faithful for the fact that despite being a chaplain to the ruinous powers, his heart is still dedicated to the Emperror of Man. He's sold his soul to grant his brothers (both loyal and corrupt) safe travels through the warp and has continued to conduct the sacrifices and sermons required to keep the dark god's favor.

Game play wise, Seti is one of my Slanesh Jump Lords with Lash. I'm cheap, I know.
He was painted Scab Red and given many generous coats of Badab Black to darken it to my liking. He has Hawk Turquois trim on one shoulder pad to show his loyalty to the Eclipsed Light, which is the former name of Antony's warband.
The top of his staff broke off and needs replaced. That will be done some day... eventually...
Also, I plan on placing a book of Chaos in his upturned hand. Possibly sculpt some green stuff flames to levitate it on. Not too sure on that as my GS skills are very rudimentary.

Obliterator Group Shot

What we gave gere us my Apoc formation, Cult of Destruction. Twelve Obliterators hell bent on destruction. I've been converting these guys for the past 3 months or so. Some conversions are more extensive than others, but all are satisfactory for playing. I plan on pumping out at least three more... but bumping it up by six couldn't hurt. Haha.

On a side note, I really need to find a new blog template. While I like the colors of this one, the content block is too small if I want to place pictures. As you can see, any time I align a picture to the side of a text block it takes up too much room and squishes the text into a small column. Very annoying. Any suggestions?

Fluffin It Up

What do Warhammer 40k and pillows have in common? Fluff! Haha, lame joke.

Been digging through the history books the past few days trying to find some good names to incorporate into my (fallen) chapters story. For any new readers out there, I'm digging through history because my chapter is heavily based off of Mark Antony of ancient Rome.

Anyways, I've managed to coral up this list of names to use for characters, ships and planets. For the longer names I found I'll probably cut them into pieces and use the parts for various characters.

Names
· Lucius Vorenus
· Titus Pullo
· Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
· Purefoy
o Name homage to actor who played Mark Antony in HBO's Rome.
· Marcus Junius Brutus
· Posca
· Quintus Valerius Pompey,
· Aulus Gabinius
· Helios
· Valarius
· Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus
· Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
· Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther
· Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus

Plantest
· Tarsus
· Ephesus
· Armenia
· Phoenicia
· Actium
· Cilicia
· Ephesus
· Parthia
· Media
· Pharsalus
· Dyrrhachium
· Gaulico

You might notice that I borrowed some names from HBO's mini series Rome. I couldn't help myself with that, it was one of the most addicting tv series' I've ever watched. Ranks up top next to SciFi's Dune.
Comments or suggestions?

Look What Just Came In The Mail

Got some goodies in the mail today. Finally my copy of Planet Strike (yay), some more Chaos Terminators (more yay), glue (whooohooo) and a new pair of clippers to replace the pair my buddy left at the GW in Vienna. :p
Also got some Land Raider upgrade kits. My original intention was to use them for my oblits... chopping them up and such, but after looking at them I don't think I could bare to do that... yet... Haha.
I'm thinking maybe I'll convert one of my Rhino's into a Predator. Is the CSM Predator any good? What would be a decent load out for it? Hmmm.... I'll have to look into that. Deffinately going to make it a Rhino that transforms into a Pred by means of magnets though. Darn behicles are too expensive. Haha.
Whats this? Why, looks like a bunch of skulls! And green stuff? Molds! Time for scenic basis! Whats more suiting of a base for an Obliterator than a floor covered in the skulls of his victimes? I'm gonna try to get as much of my money's worh out of these skulls as possible.
And finally, my latest Obliterator. This one was made using mostly the bits from my new Terminator box. He's got a CombiFlamer with a Meltagun undertow on one arm and a PowerFist toting a Plasmagun and Lascannon on the other arm. Sorry for the blurry picture. I really need to set up a proper photo box. That'll be one of my first tasks when I rotate back to the states.

Where was I....

Been slacking on the hobby work the past few days... work tempo is picking up and my time gets very tight when I'm working evenings. A lot of my free time is invested into going to the gym and keeping my (currently) long distance relationship alive. Its a rough life being a Marine.

Anyways.... been plowwing along at a decent pace with Abnett's Eisenhorn series. Got only two more chapters of the first book... I'm loving it. Gives a much deeper look into life in the grim dark of 40k. With other novels all you ever really see it war, but with Eisenhorn you get the chance to see what the norm of living is like in a peaceful locale of the Imperium. Still grim dark, but not full of despair. I like it.

I obviously am not the most talented of writers. I've noticed my writing style has degressed substantially over the past three years... I'm so relieved that I'll be free to return to higher education in a year. Not that I can't attend university now... I've tried online course, however the disapoint me terribly. Out of the three classes I've done, none were challenging enough to really captivate me... I feel more like these online universities are degree mills. They'll give just about any one a passing grade so long as they complete their work.

On my hobby table things have been slow as I've mentioned. Been conducting work... Arms dealings with a Rouge Trader whom I know only as Gener Suft.
Alright... that was pretty lame. Truth be told, I'm committing heresy. Green Stuff molds... nothing big really... just some purity seals, melta bombs and flamers. The big item is the flamers... I don't have enough of them to adequately arm my forces and they're too hard to aquire at a reasonable price... Shame on me I know... But, to each his own.

And now, back to Eisenhorn. Terribly hard to put this book down.

Converting Obliterators!

One of my absolute favorite Chaos unit choices is the Obliterator. They're just so damn bad ass! And insanely versatile to boot, well worth a measly 75 points a piece. Two wounds, basic space marine stats and every weapon to choose from. Lovely! Deep strike, slow and purposeful! Move and shoot! Lascannons ahoy! Multi-melta them closer tanks! Twin link roast some fools! Or crank up the heat with the heavy flamer! :D

Today I found my surplus of green stuff. Two huge tubes of it. What did that mean to me? Painting is kept on hold and a new squad of Oblits are in demand. I want to push my count up to Twelve this week. Mwahahaha!

I never cared for the fleshed out monster look of the GW models. And they're so ridiculously expensive I could never shell out the cash to feild an adequate number of them. Thats when I turned to google... I didn't find any decent tutorials so I made my first scratch built Oblit, and boy was he caked with green stuff.... I tried to make him look 'fleshed out', but it resulted in a tree bark look.
Shortly there after Black Matt posted some tutorials on scratch building Oblits. I was inspired to try again, so try I did! I've cranked out a lot since then, and I feel my work has improved slowly over time. Hopefully soon I'll amass a suitable sized force as I mentioned in my previous post.
Enjoy some more photos. ;)

On My Workdesk

My room isn't the neatest of places... For the first time in my entire Marine Corps career my room actually belongs to me. No crazy field day inspections, nothing. I'm free to do as I like.... and that happens to be leave my hobby stuff out and never make my bed. :p

I haver here some pictures of some of my current projects going on... woke up this morning to learn one was a complete fail. Damn you green stuff! But the rest are still good to go!



One we have is my true scale Marine that I've been working on for ages. I'm having a hard time deciding what choice of weapons and arms to go with for him.... Pretty sure I want to use him as an IC.

Up next are some various pictures of weapons amassed on my table as well as some Terminator bits. What do massive amounts of weapons and Terminator bits have in common? Well, in my world its Obliterator converts! :D

I plan on eventually fielding 15+ scratch built Obliterators for an Apoc game. At the moment I have 9 Oblits already built, spare parts for another 4 or so and another box of Choas Terminators and Land Raider upgrade sprues and various weapons on the way to bolster the numbers. I just need to nap another foam tray for Terminator sized models soon so I can safely transport all my models when I move again...

You should take a peak at page 59 in Apocalypse Reloaded. The Cult of Destruction formation is one nasty behemoth! With enough models you can reach across the board easily and snipe some baddies with the Las-Destructor, a concentrated Strength D shot! Or you could drop an AP3 (-1 AP as you model count rises) Hellstorm template! But honestly... who needs those when you could just stomp around and create mayhem!

The last picture in the line up is a crap one I took of my latest painted figure. This here is one of Antony's three surviving 1st Company 'Gypo Legionnaires'. He's part of a squad of three. The other two are only base coated at this moment, but I plan on finishing them soon.... Terminators are a damned pain to paint!

General Musings

Been a bit slow on my painting lately. At the moment my work schedule really clogs up my free time which I unfortunately can't make much room for painting in. However, I did manage to accomplish painting one Terminator in my chapter colors. I forgot how much a pain they are compared to simple marines!

Been reading a lot of batreps in the blogosphere lately. Lots of cool ideas floating around out there... got me looking through my C:SM codex yet again for new tatica. Normally I run interference with Flame toting Rapter Squads, but I'm looking into Infiltrating Chosen with Icons and Flamers instead. Maybe a detachment of 3 Terminators deep striking to really light things up.
Also been wondering... I know 'shooty' Marines are not the best of lists to run but.... Hmmm... A shooty list of Noise Marines with Lash HQs to keep the opponent in optimum range? I do want to try out a single squad of Noise Marines some time just to get a feel of it.

Turns out one of my fellow Marines (real life Marines) might be interested in learning to play 40k. That'd boost 40k players in this country by 200%! Haha.
I'm looking at building a SM list and a C:SM list at 500 pts a peice. I want to keep them both as simple as possible so at to ease the guy in.

Also, finished the Soul Drinkers Omnibus recently. Over all it was a decent read, I wouldn't have ever finished it otherwise. As it progressed it started to grow stale though. The first book was fairly captivating, the second interesting and the third seemed to be just the same package redone. The preview snippit at the end of the 4th book however has piqued my interest. I'd buy it now.... but I'm afraid that will have to wait. My Eisenhorn and Ravenor Omnibus's are in!

Chapter Fluff (REVISED)

I wrote up the first rendition of my chapter's fluff a good while back but have never posted it as it hasn't really sat right with me. Originally the cause for my chapter turned from the Imperium was that the chapter was investigated for 'heretical' acts, namely a festivilised cannibalism that stems from the chapters homeworld and recruiting pool. The chapter was issued an ultimatum to cull all members associated with it and to take up a penetence crusade. While in the midst of a hopeless battle that would spell the end of the chapter, they were rescued by Chaos Marines and have turned their backs on the Imperium since.

That did not sit well with me at all. For one, it was too far fetched. Also, it didn't have enough historical character (the chapter master is Antony the Marked after all). And to top it off, it didn't have enough depth.

Now a few days ago I was busy lurking on the BoLS forum and found a 'background story' thread. I decided to write something... motivation and inspiration kicked in and here's what we got. I present to you my new rough draft!

Name: Imperial Light (loyal name)
Later Name: The Eclypsed Light
Founding: Unknown
Status: Excommunicate Traitoris
Homeworld: Actium (Ceded in act of repentence)
Leader: (Former) Chapter Master Lucius Sulla
(Current) Antony 'the Marked'
Founders: Unknown
Warcry: "We Carry The Torch of Enlightenment!"
Colour scheme: Turquis armour with Crimson trim.

Chapter Master Sulla was a man of extremes. For him life was a matter of black and white. When ther was a battle to be fought, commitment to it was to be absolute. He shaped the chapter into a more assault unit based organization and encouraged the use of any and all methods required to accomplish the mission. He was overly proud and terribly ambitious, and for reasons unknown one day lead the chapter in open rebellion against the Imperium.
Sulla's rebellion failed miserably. None of the handful of chapters he attempted to sway to his side answered his call. He was alone and unwilling to back down from the path he choose. He met his death at the battle of Actium when his Battlebarge "The Lords Beacon" was boarded by Inquitorial Forces.
Following the death of Chapter Master Sulla, a new leader had to be chosen on the spot for purpose of negotiations of surrender with the Inquisitor at hand. None of the chapters senior members were present to elect the new Master, and thus he was chosen by the common battle brothers in arms. Brother Sergeant Antony was elected to take the mantle.
Antony and the Inquisitor spoke at lengths in private, none can be to sure the specifics. The result of which was that the Chapter would live, but must repent. Their homeworld of Actium was to be ceded to the Inquisitor, one tenth of the chapters geneseed given up, and the chapter was to embark on a hunder year penetence crusade in the eastern Austian sector.
Upon arrival in the Austian sector, Lord Antony found himself besieged by another Space Marine chapter; 'The Legion of Titans'. He was accused of being a traitor to the Imperium and was attacked at every enconter. A nine month campaign between to two chapters took place focused primarily in the Billas and Krottenbach systems. It concluded with the Legion of Titans purposefully awakening a Necron Tomb underneat the city of St. Marie as part of a trap to eradicate the Imperial Light chapter. The entire population of Billas and close to 900 battle brothers where lost as a result. The Legion of Titans escaped unscathed.
Lord Antony and the survivors of his chapter barely managed to escape with their lives. Their honor and pride had be dirtied by those who'm were of the same caste. Battle brothers had fought and killed battle brothers and the Imperial Light had be betrayed by most diabolical means. Enraged by the insult done to them, Antony and his brothers cast aside the mantle of Imperial rule and declared themselves renegades.
Since the conclussion of the Austian Incident, Antony has been a wanted fugitive. He now holds the title of 'the Marked' and has accepted into his ranks renegades from the many other chapters he has crossed paths with. To this day he has under his command detachments of Alpha Legionaires, Dark Wolves, and Reavers. They have taken to piracy with an emphasis of Space Marines as targets. They search the galaxy for Cruisers of loyalist chapters traveling alone. Easy prey with great rewards whether it be power armor, weapons, gene seed stores or willing converts to their cause. Antony the Marked has become a force to be reckoned with.

***
The Legion of Titans is a friends chapter of Space Marines. The planets named are based off of stores and streets in Vienna, where I was living at the time I started playing. The chapter's history is all based off of the games I played in that short span of time.Antony the Marked, the chapter home world, and the previous chapter master are all based off of historical figures and places.

Finished! Sort of...

Managed to wrap up the last of this IG Vets squad today with the addition of my Demolitions Expert. Took a lot of digging through my bits box to decide what would be a proper demo charge. I decided to go along with a 'satchel' look rather than the 'coffe mug' look I've seen featured by other players.
That rounds the squad off at five men... WAIT! Five men? Yes... I'm short on parts to build any more. Gotta order another SM Scout squad before I can continue. Think I'll order a Catachan Command Squad as well.
My squad has Harker, the Demo Expert (shotgun strapped to back), one Lasgun vet, and two Shotgun vets. I regret not converting that one lasgun into a shotgun. If I had I could easily use this as a SM Scout squad as well.

Harker looks simply bad ass! I think the demo man might need more bombs though.

The demo expert's head is a SM sergeant head. It has several service studs on the forehead that I'm going to represent successful missions/detonations in the characters career.

Still Working on My Distraction

My IG squad recieved yet more attention from me today. Decided since I only have enough bits (scout legs) to make 5 men, and I'm already 3 deep I should get started on my Veteran Sergeant. For a bunch of hard nosed apes like these, who better than GySgt Harker!?
Coincidently, his new model is available for pre-order on GW's site as of today. Screw that though, I don't like the big bulky monstrosity look. I want my Gunny to be built like your average grunt, only difference between him n the rest is he's freaking HARD! This dude should make Rambo look like a pansy!



A tad blurry still, I know. I don't have a proper photo box nor a decent camera. Just gotta live and make due.

Still distracted by my WIP IG squad. I gotta say, these Hardened Vets sure look the part! These guys are just solid!

A pic of the bits I'm in the process of chopping up from various boxes. Also a pic of the backs of my two finished Vets.


And here we have some pics of my newest WIP. I posed him to look like he's actually aiming the shotgun.
Gonna need to green stuff the buttock of the shotgun a bit, it looks like garbage at the moment. Finish his back pack, throw on some more gear and he's done.