2024 - YEAR IN REVIEW

THE SIN EATERS

My first major project on returning to the hobby - well, the first once I liked enough to stick with properly - finally hit that all-important 2,000 point mark earlier this year. It's currently 2,070, meaning I can swap out a character as required, as I did this last weekend in a final spurt of tabletop play for the year. I'll go into the individual units in a moment, but just at a top-level, I'm very happy with these chaps. The Crusade, though shortened, was a blast. Killed a lot of Tyranids, was killed MORE by Tyranids, and generally had fun marching up and down the board and blasting away in Firestorm. 

I have now played two games with the new Grotmas BA detachment, which... Would have been way, way better with my heavily character-focused Crusade army. Ah well. I'm happy with the scheme, and they look nice as an army, which is what really counts.

Fallen Martos, and the Firestrike Servo-Turrets.

My second Ballistus - chosen mostly for availability, and because I did need some more anti-monster blasting - was a delight to paint, and a cleaner job than I managed with the first one. Much of my 2024 painting on the Sin Eaters came out nicer than 2023, though not all, and I'm egnerally quite happy with how the scheme applies to this big, flat-panel models. Gives me a lot of room to freehand those checkmarks. 

The turrets were oddly compelling, too. They did good work in Crusade, mostly in keeping some monsters wary with that 4+ overwatch. I'm glad I cut off the Techmarines, they look so much nicer as fully automatic blasters. Said techmarines saw some new life a little later, too...

Headtaker of the 3rd, Techmarine Stahl, and Primus Medicae Malcos.

I did say the army was character heavy. Where 2023 was spent building and converting Chaplains, I branched out a little in 2024. The techmarine is made from some printed bits and a body and head cut from the turrets. Headtaker - a Judiciar - is a mashup of bits from all over, and the Apothecary is mostly spare parts from Leviathan and an ancient metal servitor arm. I'm most happy with the paint on Stahl, the green really pops, and I almost wish I had managed to fit more of it into the greater army. Maybe when I finally get some hellblasters as I slowly get this force to 3,000 points. Headtaker is a killer, though, he put in some work in the final few Crusade games. 

Captain Cominius, and 3rd Company Command Squad.

Now, I know what you're thinking: 'Wormwoods, buddy, it's a Crusade, why did you only finish your general with like 3 games to go, ensuring he would be WAY behind on XP?'

Look. 

The Command Squad wasn't out yet, and I didn't have the parts. Whatever. He's proven to be absolutely useless, and his friends even more-so, but who cares? It's a lovely kit, and a fine excuse to go even more ornate and over-the-top. Quite happy with the stolen Custodes banner, and the headswap on Cominius. Minimal other conversion work, just head swaps, and the sneaking suspicion that the Company Champion really is just short, and not just unfortunately posed. 

Immortals of The Plate.

The final addition to the army in 2024 was this charming little gang of psychos. An easy arm-swap with some spare claws from a fellow hobbyist who prefers the hammers, I like how they came together on Leviathan bodies. They're even a little cleaner than the normal terminators, and slightly less garbage! They didn't get to join any real games for the Crusade, but put in some work over the weekend, buzzing through Khorne Berserker and having a wonderful time. 

That's it for the Sin Eaters for now. I'm taking a break from them to focus on my next summary topic, and army for an upcoming Crusade starting in 2025, along with some non-40K work in The Old World. Painting Empire State Troops is like eating popcorn chicken, I can't stop! Still, I'll be adding more Sin Eaters at some point, likely some Hellblasters, some Death Company, more Jump Intercessors, and maybe even - horror of horrors - a tank! We'll see what happens.