Pictures!

Ork Warboss on a Bike, a commission for Ed Allen. Resin original from Forge World. No conversions wanted or needed. A very big model. Took awhile to get all the metal appropriately rusty/dirty and still make the colors pop. Im also super proud of the checkerboard on the right rear fender, right dakkagun, and left shoulderpad. Blended up from Fortress Grey and all freehand!



Shot from another angle.

Daemon Prince for Ryan McCall, about 18 months old now. Converted the right hand from generic sword (yawn) to elite crab claw (pinch) and the head from boring normal daemon head (zzZZzz) to snake/leech thingy (it sucks in a good way!). Slapped some wings on his back, added some modelling putty, and off he went. This is just a rumor, but I dont think Ryan has lost a game since he started using this model. Coincidence???

More daemon prince.

I need a better way to take pictures, a proper lamp and backdrop would do the trick but the camera software does a good job of compensating. I'll work on that. Also, the Tale of 12 Gamers was last Sunday, Ill post pics when I have some progress. My Chaplain is finished but he has no base and I have been busy getting the Ork Warboss finished and prepping for this weekend's Apocalypse throwdown.

Apocalypse!

Our Apocalypse league started last month. Hosted at Great Escape Games, it is part of Games Workshop's Lucky 13s campaign. We started off at 3000 points a person with 2 tables - one with IG and Marines vs Orks, Chaos, and some Tyranids and another with Eldar and Inquisition forces against more Chaos. As in any good Apocalypse game, there were plenty of superheavy units on each table: a Chaos Warhound, an Eldar Revenant, Ork battlefortresses, an Ultramarine Thunderhawk, an Eldar Vampire and Mk. I Scorpion, and no less than 5 Baneblades. See for yourself...

This is a shot of the orks and chaos setting up opposite our Imperial forces. They attacked along a wide front, and their objective building was dead in the center surrounded by a minefield. We initially left the building empty, and had a few squads of Terminators teleport in. They held against multiple broods of Genestealers and a horde of Ork Boys, thanks to a few well placed shots from the Thunderhawk and Imperial artillery batteries.

This is my army, the Kreig 194th Armored Cavalry. For the record thats a Baneblade, 2 Basilisks, 2 Vanquishers, a Laser Destroyer, 4 Leman Russ MBTs, 2 Hellhounds, an Exterminator, a twin heavy flamer Chimera with 6 Ogryn inside, a Medusa, and 3 scout Sentinels with multilasers. It was my job to clear the field near our right side objective and start rolling the flank.

This is me clearing the field near our right side objective and beginning to roll the flank. =) I was lined up with Mike's IG army, which had 2 Baneblades of its own. An obscene amount of firepower when all the ordnance went off. The highlight of my game was the 3 Sentinels screening the end of our line (visible in the foreground) against 2 Carnifexes outfitted for melee. I was charged at the top of turn 2 and still had a Sentinel left at the end of 5 combat rounds. If you've ever used Sentinels, you know they usually do more damage when they explode than they actually do when fighting so this was quite an accomplishment.

A shot of the action. The Laser Destroyer (in grey) positions itself for a shot at a Battlefortress as Jeremy's marines swarm on around it. His Mortis Dreadnought with twin autocannon arms, one of my favorite models, was standing on a hill blazing away as wave after wave of gaunts assaulted the incoming Imperial forces.

All in all a good time. We have the next megabattle on 18 July, Ill be bringing a pair of superheavies (a Stormblade and a Stormsword) along with the usual assortment of tanks and mechanised infantry.

The Tale of 12 Gamers

July 12th marks the start of The Tale of 12 Gamers, a painting/modelling class intended to take the participants through all the stages of constructing, modelling, and painting a 1750 point 40k army. It will be held at Great Escape Games in Sacramento and captained by local brush jockey Ananda Sisk. I will be participating in this event and I have chosen to build a Space Marine army. I am leaning toward Salamanders, only because Space Wolves are still in the works and I dont want to build an army only to see new models appear when they are released later this year.

My tenative army list contains:

• Vulkan - the centerpiece. He's pretty.
• A Terminator Chaplain. My initial HQ choice and a solid model in terms of gameplay and appearance.
• 5 Assault Terminators, with Forge World shoulder pads and maybe greenstuff cloaks.
• A Land Raider Redeemer. Forge World doors and custom flames let the Terminators and their Chaplain ride in style.
• 3 10 man Tactical Squads in Rhinos. A mix of meltas and flamers for theme and more Forge World doors for their rides.
• 5 Sternguard and a Razorback. They'll serve as Vulkan's posse.
• 2 Attack Bikes with multimeltas - more theme! Fire good!

The Tale of 12 Gamers will focus on more than just basics. We'll be learning how to sculpt green stuff, how to make effective conversions, how to paint more than simply 'tournament standard' 3 color models, basing techniques, you name it. The gamers range from brand new players to veterans of Grand Tournaments, so we will be sharing tips and wisdom and hopefully elevating everyone's hobby experience. We'll be working in 250 point stages, so I'll include pics as we go and hopefully I'll be able to document each step of the way, showing how I did it and why I made the decisions I did along the way. I am going into this intending to sell the army after I am done with it (my Blood Angels are grumbling jealously about my infidelity) but who knows, you might see me in Vegas 2010 with a horde of green power armor.