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I officially have one member of the Malum Vigilia painted. Other than the horrible freehand chapter logo, I'm very happy. Also not done, hopefully it will get better. Sorry for the crappy pictures, I have no light and my phone sucks Ok heres some better pictures after more work was done. Ok maybe last update for this one guy lol Still the same guy, I decided he was a bit too shiny.

Hey B&C people, It's me Brassclaw. I haven't posted in a while because work has been crazy. I have been working 48 hour per week since May, which means I haven't had much time for hobby stuff. When I have been able to get away from work, other things have been getting in the way. But I have been able to finish a big project that has been on the hobby plate for sometime. Ahhh, my defiler. I got this model back in April and just now finished him now. I had a difficult time building and painting him. So I'm happy to have him done. So, 11th edition has come out and even tho I haven't played a game yet (see my work schedule). I have been listing building. Mostly I have been chewing on the Orks. I don't have an ork army, but I have been wanting another army (see the post for my thoughts on that). Here's my starting idea list: Orks - DETACHMENT: Kult of Speed & Wreckas FORCE DISPOSITION: Reconnaissance Deffkilla Wartrike with Competitive Streak (95pts) Warboss in Mega Armour (125pts): Warlord 3x Warbikers (75pts) 3x Warbikers (75pts) 3x Warbikers (75pts) 3x Meganobz with Kombi-weapon and Power Klaw (110pts) 6x Tankbustas (145pts) 6x Tankbustas (145pts) Battlewagon (150pts) Basically the Meganobz and Tankbustas pile into the Battlewagon and the Deffkilla Wartrike attaches to one of warbikers units. The warbikers will mostly been harassing and doing mission stuff. While the battlewagon boys do the damage. Tell me whatcha guys think. That's it for me, hoping that autumn will be kinder to me and my hobby time.

Finished my last Space Marine model. A bit hastily done and I’m not too convinced about sploshing on some yellow for the lamps.

Hi folks, CtA26 is now almost over (2 days left). But for me, I am at the end of this season's paintjob. It has not been the most prolific year in sheer numbers. I hope I compensate with a small quality increase. Anyway, many excuses can be brought such as series of heat waves that limited the total available time for correct painting, or lack of holidays. But truly it is a general slow down from my side because of remaining backlog shrinking fast... Anyway, here is the whole 26 contribution of mine to CtA, all in the Imperial Stronghold and for the glory of AdMech. Interestingly enough, only models coming really from the backlog/pile of shame were the Chickens, Pteraxii, Serberys and the 2 containers. Eevrtything else has been purchased between June and early August. So that fear of the shrinking Pile of Shame starts looking like as a pityful excuse... Should awards be distributed to this small horde of machinized warriors, clearly the "most painful to paint and build" award would go to... Pteraxii required the highest amount of time spent... and the less retributing job in terms of personnal satisfaction The second Award, would go the the kit making me me starting a new Army... Big robots. I am hooked now, I can't deny it anymore And the Award of the kit I cut and slacked with some apprehension goes to... The Container. Interestingly enough I did not feel the smae with my failled attempt of magnetizing the Castellan nor whane I did it (this time succesfully) on the Questoris. Key difference? Motivation maybe: I just did not knew where I wanted to go with the Container. FInally the Special Award goes to... Where it is all about a kit that I should have bought in 3 boxes instead of 2. New DS for SM and CSM will make these lads a must have probably. That's all for this year lads. Now, I go back to my other challenges, such as the BIngo Card (1 entry missing) and the 12MoH (Plodding along) See you.

Roshi Malcolm Bisley the 7th company Dreadnought is now done. I decided to paint him as a marine rather than a vehicle (using dazzle camouflage). He’s a heavy, beefy boy. I was surprised how fiddly the model was, especially getting the arms the right way around. I decided to use magnets for the chest guns but was always going to have the arm guns because of cool. I couldn’t be bothered with magnets for the claws/fists so just went with the fists (the claws are pretty sharp and I reckon they’ll get ensnared more easily. I didn’t faff around with the paint job but just went for good enough. He turned our alright.

Hi Folks, Here comes the final part of my second CtA26 vow: the two Armigers. These little lads were coming in the Eye of Terror Detachment box. I was not planning painting them now but time left up to the end of the challenge was enough, so I jumped into the project. I have decided to make them as Warglaives. I indeed do not foresee what Helverins would bring too my nacent force as I have already focussed 2 out of 3 big knights in shooty roles and as I have one Moirax with twin lightning locks. That said, they are not that different from the big knights and previous Moiraxes I did paint job wise: the livery color pattern is the same or close But I wanted a variant on these smaller chainsaw robots and I finally retained the idea of getting hull stripes such as the ones that can be found on this inspirational model (again and always the same...) : The decisive factor for making that decision is that hull curvature looks more masking tape friendly on Armigers than on Questoris. The rending is nice even if boths hulls are slightly different. Indeed, I recut the masking tape and the stripes are not exactly on the same width so, while positioning the adhesive tape on the second model there are issues on alignment and tape ordering. If you do not pay too much attention, it is something almost unnoticeable while within the fog of war. Boy Beta and boy Gamma. I reserve Alpha for a third future one The models received each one of the skeleton head left from my previous Armiger models. I still have one knightly helmet one left that I may use in the future. I went for carapace melta guns instead of stubbers. Should I go toward a third Warglaive in the future it might be with the machine gun. But meltas do great against MEQ. Or at least it is what I have reached as a selfconviction. No stars and stripes - just stripes. I have been less prone to decals on these tiny big robots than on their big cousin. In that case I think that less is more. And I am quite happy with the balance achieved. Boy Beta gets 2 blood drops. Boy Gamma gets 3 and Alpha will get a single one. Should it become a thing in the future This ends up for the moment my incursion into the realm of Knights. Even if I am hooked and plan now to develop further that army, it is not expected to happen immediately. I now have to return to a healthier pattern of alterning ToW and 30/40k models. Time to paint this dwarf gyrocopter waiting for attention since May... And only piece missing to say my little ones army is 100% done. See you when I will have some space opera stuff to share.

Bloody roots. Sepultura sung it perfectly. Return to your roots. I've been seeing a few people returning back to the hobby, and the B&C forums, after long or short hiatuses. I did the same, after all. I also had a discussion with some friends, recently, where I explained how much I disliked the way social consoles, such as facebook, organise their information and threads, and how everything is extremely ephemeral, with the only purpose to try to make you create, and consume, more context. I've also seen an older member returning back to the B&C forums, and pickup from where they left their ongoing project, five years ago. If that's not a forum flex, I don't know what is. Part of my dissertation's basis was about a book I read a while back called 'Present Shock', by Douglas Rushkoff. In his book Rushkoff coined the term 'Digiphrenia', which is used to explain why today's people feel overwhelmed in the digital world of ours. To put it in simple terms, digiphrenia is the feeling of having your attention and identity split between the digital world and the real world at the same time. Think of it like this: You're having dinner with friends but at the same time, you're replying to work emails, you're also checking WhatsApp and posting on LinkedIn. Part of your mind is in the room, part is at work, and part is online. Over time, constantly juggling these different "versions" of yourself can leave you feeling distracted, stressed, or mentally fragmented. Covid-19 and working from home didn't help either. Nations had to amend their legislature to ensure that the people have the 'right to disconnect', so me and you won't be bothered at home, for work related matters, and had the right to not reply or look at your phone without the fear of being reprimanded the next day for not being stuck at your device. I find myself more and more disconnected from the world I used to know. I understand that I am pretty much preaching to the choir at this point, but B&C feels like one of the last bastions that things continue to make sense.

Hi Folks, My second CtA26 vow is based on IK. With one Questoris and two Armigers (plus a container). After magnetizing the arm weapons of the Questoris and trying out a checker pattern on the pauldron, the rest of the paint job was finally straight forward. Most of the skeleton is done by dry brushing, which is a go-fast technique. And armor panels are quite easy with my bicolor scheme once the fancy stuff such as checkers have been managed. It is also the third big knight of the kind that I do so I have had opportunities for training before. Once decals applied, the final aspect is rather OK, even if the decals themselves are a little bit too glossy. Except the custom decal made by combining a recut Crimson Fist chapter icon (ooP SM vehicle decal sheet) and a Cog: indeed, I had to paint some red on top of it to correct unpleasant transparencies. Knight Crusader Top view The big robot, like most of the central figures, deserves a basing that is a little bit more detailed than a standard model. Sure that, as I aim at tabletop ready only, I will not go in anything too complex. But this time I wanted to get something a little bit different from my rocks made from grey-painted bark. I therefore reused a blue stuff casted gantry that I wanted to use in my 12 MoH Plodding along project. My knight is therefore stepping on what used to be a small part of a Mechanicus sector. Feeling lika being at home? The pleasant part of the process is that the magnetizing allows fielding either a Crusader or any of the two following variant : a Paladin or a Warden. Here are the photoshop-free versions once weapons are swapped. Warden and Paladin toolings A nice project, finally done at high speed rate once the checkers were done : over one weekend, painting 2 to 3 hours per evening (inc. Friday’s eve) it was done. See you soon with the Armigers.

Went ahead and got all my count-as Beserks build, including my Berehk. The Ironhead Squats from Necromunda turned out to be pretty darn good, better than I expected. Berehk was built from the Claim Jumper model, which works perfectly with a slight pickaxe-to-polearm conversion, as I didn't really like the back half of the pickaxe and wanted something more hero-y. The Beserks come in two flavors, concussion mauls made from pickaxes and hammers, and heavy plasma axes made from various axe weapons of the Squats. Each 10-man squad has two twin concussion gauntlet wielders (powerfists), as well as two mole launchers made from the Exo-armor Drillmaster bodies with the techmites counting as ECOG helpers. Looking forward to using these guys on the field, as my Votann have lacked a decent melee punch. Berehk Concussion maul squad Axe squad Full crew Next up...not much honestly. I have a big backlog right now, with these Votann (plus 3 more Thunderkyn), my converted Nightbringe, and my Night Lords contingent of my CSM army that need to get painted as far as 40k goes. I also have some Necromunda stuff that needs to have paint applied, mainly a converted Spyderken outcast gang and some Ash Waste vehicles. I'm in the process of painting up my Word Bearers, so hopefully will have them done/almost done by the end of September at the latest. Other than that, I have a few non-board appropriate projects in the works, from a couple of Battletech lances to paint to an entire faction of the Malediction tabletop/card game to paint up (Legion of the Fallen), as well as some AoS Flesh-Eater Courts stuff that I've been slowly collecting for the last half year, as both the FEC and Legion models will push my painting into new areas that involve skin/flesh/fur (even if most of it is somewhat rotted and bloodstained). So far the year has been decent in my hobbying, with an entire Votann army finished (aside from the latest additions) and quite a bit of other stuff finished up. With the addition of these Votann and the Malediction stuff however, I'm further back than I want to be and have some serious painting ahead of me. The plan is to get all of my Votann, CSM, and the Malediction painted by the end of the year, with various Battletech minis and other randos thrown in to break up any painting monotony. Anyway, thanks for looking, I've got painting to get to!

The marking on the side of the launcher are for the number of ork nobs he shot out the back of a battlewagon.

So, managed to get quite a bit of the Ebon Word finished up in the CtA event. I've uploaded all of the pics in their respective blog posts as well, but here they are if you just want to look at them without the lore. First Disciple Vor Skral Lifeward Bragun Daemonsmith Kharvex Iron Canticle Terminators Ninth Verse Chosen Arsenal Unholy Obiliterators Ashen Edict Havocs Dire Catechists Legionaries

And a new challenger has entered the fray. Drayden's Lance reporting for duty I finally finished off the Death/Rough Riders, so Daryden’s Lance is ready for the field. I used them over the weekend. Faced off against the CSM patrol. The rough riders did their thing and managed to take out a patrol squad of CSM and half the possessed before getting wiped out while holding a forward position. The kasrkins dropping half the other patrol with disciplined fire. The command squad and kasrkins combined fire to take out another possessed after they moved in to secure more territory, with the powerfist veteran knocking out the other and the commander wounding the MoP. I seriously lucked out as after he had wiped out all of the command but the officer, the dark gods took him from the field (failed dark pact). The cultist were wiped to the heretic by the kasrkins in a single volley. Game ended with the CSM having only two legionnaires left holding one objective and I was an order and a lucky advance roll from grabbing is now undefended home objective. Game ended 55-50, darn close. Horses at the ready. Taking the fight to the enemy. I’m going to have to learn how to use the rough riders better, while they did hit hard, they are a glass cannon unit. I might be worth giving them Take Cover (+1 Sv) instead of my impulse Fix Bayonets (+1 WS). That way they can survive longer. Only more games will tell if this is the right choice. To which I got and it worked better. Faced the DG CP yesterday. Managed to table the poor guy by turn 3. Got first turn, ran the riders right up and lanced the rhino. The marines that dropped out got involved with the unit that had up’d their defense, which helped since his plague was -1 sv. Skirmish move saved the other group from not only being fired on by the terminators, but also denied them the charge. This allowed me to reposition and between the rider’s charge and the kasrkin fire I wiped out the terminators. The tallyman was taken out by one unit of riders. While he tried to score the center objective the kasrkins finished off Sholgor with plasma and a bolt to the brain. The plague marines died to a pincer charge from the riders. So did much better. Tighter formation this time. Pincer maneuver successful. I hit a wall on painting up the Ork CP, if i can get the grots and wartrakk done I can just use the 20 boyz from the old CP that I did manage to paint as part of it. It will be the next CP I do, I think. I did finish the warboss and weirdboy at least, picture pending. Anyway, thank you for reading.

“Shukuteki Norris “the death bringer” Staedtler. Norris Staedtler is a figure both revered and loathed within the ranks of the Chapter due to the duty he performs: as the death bringer, he must seek out those battle-brothers showing signs of ego and selfishness, and end their suffering with a blow from his axe. As a result no battle-brother can feel entirely comfortable in his presence, as one day it might be their neck at the receiving end of his blade. Wargear Norris is armed with the Guillotine Axe, a two-handed power axe so keen it can slice through power fields, and is equipped with a jump pack. As a Chaplain he is also equipped with a Rosarius, as well as frag and krak grenades.” I’m pleased with how old Norris is coming along. I mashed together the HH Praetor with the jump pack of Dominion Zephon to make my Astoraph character. Thanks to @W.A.Rorie For pointing the Praetor out. He really fits the “vibe” I’m going for which is - fights like blood Angels but aren’t blood angels. Just got the base to finish, tart up the cape a little and give the metallics some silver highlights.

It is time. My brothers and I are returning to the Khymara Sector. Our Strike Cruiser has been deployed to Khymara Prime Khymara Prime is in jeopardy of being overrun by Xenos. The Xenos threat has grown since our last encouter. Our allies are detained elsewhere in the Sector. The Howling Griffons 1st Company are Defending the Imperial Stronghold The Exorcists are conducting reconnaissance in the Hives. The Red Hunters Chapter are the visible Astartes on this campaign. Multiple forces of Holy Orders of the Inquisition are here. The Ecclesiarchy are trying to ensure Faith is upheld. The Order of the Valorous Hearts are protecting the Imperial Citizens. The Order of Parthernon are seeking out Witches, Heretics, and, Unfaithful It is our duty to Purge the Beasts. For the Emperor of Mankind, for the Imperium and the worlds under his rule. We are the Hammer.

I have been in a funk of late. I have no interest in building, painting, playing, or any part of the hobby. I have so many armies in the build queue: HH Raven Guard, Grey Knights, True Scale Grey Knights, Phobos Exorcists, 1st Company Howling Griffons, Tacticus heavy Red Hunters, 2 Adepta Sororitas armies Order of the Valorous Heart and custom Order of the Parthenon, and Inquisition army. Plus my Necromunda Gangs (Redemptionist/ Cawdor, Spyres, and Delaques, I also have Escher). And the Knights I have. I am really trying to understand the logic in Space Marines not being released until October. The buffs sound great, but 2nd codex of 11th in October. Warhammer 40k 11th Edition was released June 20th, 2026, so 10 weeks later the 1st codex drops and it is Orks. "Codex-divergent Chapters will get similar boosts to bring them in line with these new rules, so everyone can enjoy Toughness 6 Terminators firing Strength 5 storm bolters. These will automatically update in Warhammer 40,000: The App when Codex: Space Marines launches in October." Then the Units getting Legend Status, this only effects my Grey Knights, as my other Space Marine Armies do not use Firstborn units outside of Terminators: Razorback Dreadnought* Stormhawk Interceptor Stormtalon Gunship Stormraven Gunship *I honestly do not expect the Grey Knights to keep the Venerable Dreadnought when the new codex is released. The new Intercessors and Vanguard Vets look Good. I have no interest in the Bike Captain. And the cruel joke of the Plastic Crashed Thunderhawk. This will look good in Grey Knight Colors, tho. The good news is I may be coming out of my funk, I am going to be taking my Grey Knights out this weekend. List 1: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + FACTION KEYWORD: Imperium - Grey Knights + DETACHMENT: Fires of Purgation, Hallowed Conclave (Searing Soulflame) + FORCE DISPOSITION: Take and Hold + TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 1495pts +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Brother-Captain : Warlord, Nemesis force weapon, Psycannon Enhancement: Sanctic Reaper Brotherhood Librarian : Nemesis force weapon, Vortex of Doom, Storm bolter Enhancement: Nemesis Rounds 5x Brotherhood Terminator Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 3x Terminator: 3 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 1x Terminator with Heavy Weapon: Nemesis force weapon, Psycannon 5x Brotherhood Terminator Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 3x Terminator: 3 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 1x Terminator with Heavy Weapon: Nemesis force weapon, Psycannon 5x Brotherhood Terminator Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 3x Terminator: 3 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 1x Terminator with Heavy Weapon: Nemesis force weapon, Psilencer 5x Strike Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 3x Grey Knight: 3 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 1x Grey Knight with Heavy Weapon: Close combat weapon, Incinerator 5x Strike Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 3x Grey Knight: 3 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 1x Grey Knight with Heavy Weapon: Close combat weapon, Psycannon 5x Interceptor Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 4x Interceptor: 4 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter 5x Interceptor Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 4x Interceptor: 4 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter 5x Purgation Squad Enhancement: Boons of Deimos • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 4x Purgator: 4 with Close combat weapon, Psycannon 5x Purgation Squad Enhancement: Boons of Deimos • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 4x Purgator: 4 with Close combat weapon, Psilencer List 2: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + FACTION KEYWORD: Imperium - Grey Knights + DETACHMENT: Argent Assault, Hallowed Conclave (Dauntless Champions) + FORCE DISPOSITION: Priority Assets + TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 1495pts +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Brother-Captain: Warlord, Nemesis force weapon, Psycannon Enhancement: Sanctic Reaper Brotherhood Librarian: Nemesis force weapon, Vortex of Doom, Storm bolter Enhancement: Psychic Celerity Brotherhood Librarian: Nemesis force weapon, Vortex of Doom, Storm bolter 5x Brotherhood Terminator Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 3x Terminator: 3 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 1x Terminator with Heavy Weapon: Nemesis force weapon, Psycannon 5x Brotherhood Terminator Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 3x Terminator: 3 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 1x Terminator with Heavy Weapon: Nemesis force weapon, Psycannon 5x Brotherhood Terminator Squad • 1x Justicar: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 3x Terminator: 3 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 1x Terminator with Heavy Weapon: Nemesis force weapon, Psilencer 1x Nemesis Dreadknight: Nemesis greatsword, Gatling psilencer, Heavy psycannon 1x Nemesis Dreadknight: Nemesis daemon greathammer, Heavy incinerator, Heavy psycannon 5x Paladin Squad • 1x Paragon: Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 2x Paladin: 2 with Nemesis force weapon, Storm bolter • 2x Paladin with Heavy Weapon: 2 with Nemesis force weapon, Psycannon Not sure what list I am taking, leaning towards 1 for the Bodies since I will be fighting Orks and maybe Tyranids.

The rest of the squad. I had learned some from the tactical squad mistakes. They have some highlighting, though I could of done more I find it kind of tedious. Also managed to varnish the models better. The resin should pads with the chapter symbol I had planned to use were for an older model of terminator and did not fit the new ones. I had tried reshaping the resin shoulder pads but they were to small. Tried green stuff but looked awful. So I just did transfers. I found I prefer the look of them. I kind of wish I had just used transfers.

Marine with a flamer. He rarely gets to use. Though last game managed to torch some orcs.

I'm going to post a bunch of the completed models and I'll try to keep up more after today. Here are some Boyz

This is my built (mostly) Ork army so far. I've decided to have forces in each Ork clan (except Free Booters). Goffs: 1x Ghazghkull 1x Warboss in Mega Armor 2x Warboss 1x Big Boss 1x Weirdboy 1x Painboy 1x Big'd Bossbunka 1x Bannernob 1x Battlewagon/Gunwagon 1x Deff Dread 3x Killa Kanz 1x Stompa (Not yet purchased) 100x Boyz 6x Breakaboyz 10x Nobz (5 not yet purchased) 3x Meganobz (Not yet purchased) 10x Gretchin 1x Runtherd 10x Stormboyz

I decided on Citadel Death World Forest as my base color for my Raptor company. I started painting an Ultramarine and ended up stripping the paint off with isopropyl alcohol and undercoated it with Mechanicus Standard Grey and have started with a basecoat of Death World Forest. I think I really like this color.

Got some new heads in for my Custodes. What do you think?

This one went very well. Will post more pictures with better light tomorrow Ok heres the photo dump in good light

Hi Folks, Although I have almost reached the bottom of my pile of shame, I succumbed (again) to the sirens of the Imperium. It is no rocket science predicting it: once you buy a bargain Eye of Terror Knight Detachment to be added to your existing Questoris and 3 Moiraxes, you end up with a small force, small enough for some games but not big enough for more. And what would you do with something half established like that? Expand it to a decent size. And this is how you end up building a new army while it was not really on schedule. So, what will I do with this kit? The box is the Defender’s one. It has enough options to do more than one configuration of the Questoris. But which one? Answering this question requires planning insights. As I did that leap of faith toward a new army, I have decided myself to go for 2 Questoris in the middle term. The one we are dealing with now and a future one. The latter will be an Errant, with Glove and rocket pod. I am toying with the idea that I will build it from a Chaos Knight kit, just for the look of the legs. I have enough spare armor panels from the unused plastic sprues of the Styrix kit of old to make it very Imperial looking. So, I will save the pod and glove for this future project. With what is left, I can go Defender, Warden, Crusader or Paladin. Or all these or almost if I magnetize properly the weapons. In fact, with the current bill of bitz and the magnetizing strategy I have used, the defender is, at least temporarily, out of reach if I want to maximize the versatility. And my heart beats for the Crusader. So priority will go to rapid fire battle-cannon, Gatling and hull-mounted dual autocannon. Plus chainsword as an option to shift toward other variants. As decisions have been made, it is time to dive into the paint scheme decisions. I will stick to the overall color pattern I have used for my Castellan, Styrix and Moiraxes: a dark grey/bone largely inspired from house Korvax. But individualizing the livery requires a little bit of reflection. I like the red stripes seen on this Korvus silhouette: But I will probably keep it for the Errant. or for the Armigers that came with the Detachment box. I am also very tempted by the checkboard pattern of HH era knights. But I will not buy the kit just for the purpose of getting the transfer that makes checkers easy. And Ebay does not have much of these or at sky high prices. If I want checkers, I’ll have to do it with paint and brush. And I want some. Or at least it is what I believe... The method I have used is based on another YouTube video, where masking tape is used for defining free areas to be sprayed. I have no spray and my air brush is still waiting to be commissionned. So I will go the classic brush way. After some tests for perfect width of the masking tape, I have selected 4mm width. By positioning the stripes of tapes, you can define an incomplete checker pattern. Then you fill in the missing squares by hand. and remove the mask ASAP. Otherwise it is blurrier. Easy? Well, not that straight forward as the pauldron of a knight is curved. As such the impact is that the checkers look like diamonds, which is not that bad. But it also makes the tape positioning challenging and some of these diamonds’ wannabe-squares may be not that well defined or fail in homogeneous proportion. I should have spent more time and cared more about the tape fitting. But after correction of the missed diamonds (which were btw on the front of the pauldron so very visible) it is anyway satisfying enough. if you look from 2 or 3 feets away. I am happy to have bought a 00 brush for doing that job. The next step is reproducing the diamond pattern on a knee. same technique but with a smaller tape width. 1 mm. And here is were corrections matters as a paint a little bit too thick ruins the look. But in the end it is rather OK. At least it looks like it is OK on pics shots at 6:00 in the morning. Next steps, the rest of the model, that will stay in Eshin grey and Bone, just like the previous ones. I do not want an otT paint scheme. Final details will be made out from decals. That's it for the momment. Balance of the week: 3 magnetized weapons, one pauldron and one knee pad painted. 15 days left. I have to hurry a little bit. See you.

Terminator Squad Sgt. I had not realized the skull on the helmet denoted a veteran sgt, so he is missing it.

Had to completely strip and repaint the model after a rather horrible varnishing incident. Gave him the older mk 4 power sword as it had a more RT tech look than the more gothic looking power swords. Also gave him a wrist mounted bolt pistol from a blood angels kit, to make him look more like the cover art on RT book.

I figured a tactical squad, really all squads should have a comms and data specialist. He acts as the 2nd leader for when it is split into a combat squad.

The Boltgun wielders of the squad. I had not realize I built and painted two marines exactly the same until these final photos. Only difference is the base grass. The varnish is a bit off. I had used to much of a satin varnish making them look to shiny. Tried to off set it with a dull varnish which made them look rougher and faded. Also makes the light weird when photographing them. But I was not going to redo the entire squad, at least no time soon.

So I finally finished painting up the Intercessor squad for the Mantis Warriors. So the whole Vengeful Brethren is now one chapter. The Vengeful Brethern (Mantis Warriors) Faced the Death Guard CP as a premier battle and did a little too well. My opponent was tabled turn 4. Granted he did kill some intercessors and bladeguard, but a little luck and some good positioning got me thru. Entering the field of battle Finishing off the cleansing I did a teaching game at the local Warhammer store, the kid’s Ork CP murdered my Votaan, I did kill most of the CP, but didn’t have enough models to hold out past turn 4. Kid had fun, no pictures cause I was a bit busy. Later I got to try my luck against the Custodes CP for the first time. I was worried considering it’s Custodes. Opponent rolled for which CP I would use and it was the Space Marines, so not too bad. They started with the commander and the custodian guard, the rest was in reserve. I got first turn and started in, plan was to kill a unit a turn. TL:DR, the plan went off without a hitch. Turn one - Tristraen was taken out by the landspeeder’s multi-melta, one shot, one kill Turn two - Custodian guard was dropped by a combined fire of the Librarian, intercessors and landspeeder. Custodian Wardens arrive, fail charge. Turn three - Custodian Wardens killed by combined fire, the last dropping to the librarian in melee combat. Allrarins arrive and once again, fail their charge Turn Four - Allrarians killed via combined fire from the whole marine CP. They never scored a point. It was brutal. Target sighted. Final Custodian versus a full CP As a side note, after playing all of these CP games I have noticed that each CP has their own mission. The disposition of them doesn’t really matter, though i can see this as some information if someone wasn’t using the app and wanted to use the mission cards instead. Something i can see if your playing the same group but are slow on growing your army. Thanks for reading.

"For the brothers we've lost. For the ones who are ash. Forward, brothers! Into the fray!" - Sergeant Kuttai, Heavy Intercessors, Salamanders 4th Company - Greetings Frater et Sorores! Prepare yourselves, this is gonna be quite the ramble. The Salamanders participated in a slow-grow league these past couple months, hosted by a nearby store, Nomad Games & Hobbies. Over four phases of 2 games each, participants expanded their armies from 500, to 1000, to 1500 & finally 2000 pts. Every game played earned raffle tickets for a prize drawing to be hosted on the 24th. It was a casual league, so we weren't playing for wins, and so I took the opportunity to try playing Space Marines in a very different way. Away with the flamers, it was boltgun time! Aaand I just wanted to let some of my more dusty models out to play a l'il bit (lookin' at you Hellblasters ). I experimented with the Ceramite Sentinels detachment, in which units that sit fairly still in terrain get to reroll hit rolls and wound rolls of 1. Sadly, this really isn't my playstyle, so I didn't often get the benefit of extra rerolls, & half the time when I did it was against an OOM target anyway, so already getting rerolls to hit. It's quite hard to position just right to use this detachment to full effect, due to the official terrain layouts being quite low on firing corridors & whatnot. That being said, the stratagems are a lot of fun, with Augmented Targeting (SUSTAINED or LETHAL, or both if ENTRENCHED) & Evasive Repositioning (D6" move in response to being shot, w/ reroll if ENTRENCHED) being especially useful. Stand to the End also seems useful, allowing for fight on death - I only used it once but it was quite helpful there & could be a real game changer in the right situations. The final list (basically grew into this over time, I wasn't swapping stuff out) Lots of boltguns, some vehicular support, some units I don't use much (hellblasters & eradicators) and some terminators for lolz. Ultimately I went 3-5 with the detachment through all phases. Again, we weren't playing for wins, but since I was trying something new it's a helpful indicator of what went right and what could be improved. More on that in the next post. For this one I'd like to mostly focus on hobby stuff. The Great Rebasing - Upgrades to the Army So, this is a grow league. Buuut the big reason I joined in wasn't to grow my collection. I'm pretty happy with what I've got*. What I wanted to do was get along in THE GREAT REBASING, and get my guys onto some new and improved bases. This was acceptable, so I got to join up! In fact I think a lot of people were either improving their existing collections or just trying out the new edition, so a little base improvement fit right in. Now, when this blog started most of my army was on standard bases, primed black with the rest of each model and painted with orange lines to simulate cracked earth and lava flow. Since then it's become a 'filler' project of mine to switch them over to cork bases, with some actual depth to them. Since I was running Ceramite Sentinels for the grow league, I could run a lot of units that I don't use much & improve their bases to get in line with the main force. So what got done? In my post Recent Completions - Terminators & the Great Rebasing, I wrote out this list. All the stuff that needed to be upgraded. Over the course of the GL, I got a lot done! 10 32mm (Amfell's Assault Intercessors) 17 40mm bases upgraded, including an Apothecary (old Command Squad mini) Chaplain, Librarian Termi, Lieutenant, Heavy Intercessors, Eradicators & Tactical Termis That 1 100mm, a blinkin' Repulsor! And that wasn't even in my GL lists. A few pics of the process And of the results It feels good to get a good chunk out of the way. The new bases look really nice (at least compared to the old) and they're a fun and easy project. Lots still to do! I didn't quite get everyone in the force done, & of course not everyone who needed the upgrades could get in. And a few guys I thought could pass are now slated for upgrades. And there are a few more dudes now... Maybe it's time for a new list. Let's see where we stand. What's left to do? 1 25mm 40 32mm 6 40mm If I'm looking at it right, I need to get 10 Intercessors, 10 Hellblasters (the GL bros) 10 Infernus, & my old Tactical Squad redone... along with 3 Eliminators, and Ancient, & 2 Lieutenants. Oh, and the old teleport homer. Huh. Well, I'll keep plodding away. Might knock out half the 32mm guys in the next week. Those Hellblasters deserve to get finished! So that's the rambly side of things. Next up, I'll go on a little recap of game highlights, maybe even get inspired to do some more single-draft blurbs. Thanks for reading! The Emperor protects. *for now. RIP noble Vindicator!

Such a fitting order number for the Death World serfs! Looks like we're already off to a good start... I failed to notice this shipped to my PO so it's been sitting there for just over a week. My car has been in the shop so hoping to catch it Monday before they return to sender.

Just gunna put this here cuz im lazy, this is still a rough draft, and i need to edit some stuff. If you read it and something looks stupid or like bad writing, it probably is, and i might fix it....... Anguish Chapter 1 Anir stopped in his tracks. Volesus turned to see why. Volesus' vision was the bright green of a night vision filter. No lights remained active in the many kilometers of this estate, after the killings. Volesus saw Anir lift a hand to his neck, and grasped something. Something that wasn't there. His head was forced backwards, his mouth opened, and then his tongue began to deform. Volesus rushed to save him, but he was not fast enough. He saw Anir’s tongue stretch and violently rip from the root, making him retch along with the blood that flowed out. In the same instant, as the bile ran from Anir’s mouth, he was dragged away at a speed that would take Volesus precious seconds to match, slamming him into the ornate furniture around them. Volesus ran through every visual spectra he had in less than a second, trying to find a way to see what was taking him. Nothing came back. Just empty space and darkness. Anir’s hound let out a single fierce bark and began to give chase. The lights on his vest burst into life, and Volesus’ lenses compensated. He saw something. Just for a second, the light touched a figure that was dragging Anir behind it, before the light's strobing pattern left it in shadow again. The hound had seen it too, and changed the light to a steady glare. Volesus ran after them, followed by the rest of his cell. They ran down a long well decorated room. It must have been an art gallery. Volesus could see Anir again, but somehow he was much further down the chamber than he was before, at least fifty meters away, in the shadows that the hounds light had not yet eliminated. The hound was gaining on them faster than the rest of them could. Anir’s life signs were consumed by the darkness again. He reappeared, this time easily a hundred meters away. It was going too fast. He disappeared again, and this time did not reappear. The hound continued to run down the hall, intent on a passage at its end. As a shadow grew long with the hounds approach, something stepped out of it. A humanoid figure that dragged the shadows with it, bearing a peculiar blazing ghostly blue along its extremities. The light that shone from the hounds vest lost potency upon touching the creature, becoming faint. The figure stood in front of the hound as it pounced. In one strong motion the figure ducked to the side, grabbed it by the back of the neck, and yanked out its mechanical spinal cord, killing it and the lights instantly. Volesus stopped running. He ran through every available spectra. There was nothing here. Nothing that he could see. He couldn't see the thing that took Anir earlier either. The only thing that had worked was actual light. “Lights on. As many as we have, but conserve disposable sources.” Volesus said to his cell. They had barely managed to keep up with him, but they followed orders without hesitation or delay. They swept the entire room with lights and found nothing. “What was that?” Namar was the first to speak. “I do not know.” replied Volesus. “But I imagine it is the thing we are here to kill.” There were three other cells active in the estate at the moment. None of them knew what they were hunting, nor how many there were. They only knew that everyone within the estates walls had been found dead days before, and people had begun to vanish from the hive, most commonly near the estate. No one has returned from the property since the killings, no matter their business. “Lut, Relay the situation to the other cells.” Volesus ordered. Lut turned from the group and began speaking into his vox, but stopped mid sentence as he heard something. Volesus heard it too. Someone screaming a horrible guttural scream. A scream that one might make without a tongue. Volesus located the sound's supposed point of origin and began to run towards it. It was the chamber at the end of the room. “Let's move!” he ordered. He could hear the cell’s auto injectors activate en masse in anticipation of a chase. They ran to the end of the chamber as a unit. Volesus would outpace them, but they were augmented, lighter and nimbler than him. Every small sidestep Volesus was forced to make gave the cell five strides to keep pace. The screaming did not stop. It was moving while he wailed. They followed the screams into the many passages of the estate, moving at a relentless, steady pace. Anir screamed with the same fervor. Callsign Anir, real name Tobias Andreon, was an exceptional member of the Vigilia, and had been with him the longest. Over forty years, a track record un-thinkable in the Astra Militarum, both due to the Vigilias extensive life extending augmetics, and the exceptional mettle displayed by Anir himself. He served as tracker and scout. He had many hounds that he worked with for different purposes. He had been Volesus' second for so long, it felt strange to not be communicating with him at this moment. Volesus felt short of a pair of eyes and an incomparable sense of smell, though those were traits he borrowed. Every member of cell 2511 was exceptional, to Volesus’ great pride. But to be an Astartes of the Malum Vigilia was to embrace the loss of those you served with. You will lose cell members. They know this. They place their lives in the Emperor's hands the same as an Astartes. And they face it with no fear. Volesus found this to be an exceptional quality, and endeavored at all times to repay his cell members' devotion, by raising them up, and protecting them. There were cell members before Anir, who had met their end in service. Volesus remembered and honored every one. “The other cells will converge on us, but they are having trouble as well. They say not to expect anything.” came Lut's voice as they ran. Anir’s screams always seemed to stay the same distance ahead of them. Eventually they reached a nondescript passage to a lower level. The screams bounced up at them atop the stone steps. “I loved that dog. Lets kill this :cuss:ing thing.” Ukhna said as they rushed down the steps. Chapter 2 Volesus adjusted his sight as they descended the stairs. It would not do to see by lumen light, but evidently, that was the only way to see whatever they were hunting. So he split his vision. On the right a multi-spectra combination tuned to give him the clearest picture of the environment. On the left, natural light and shadows. He told the cell to do the same. The five of them reached the bottom of the staircase and found themselves in a well stocked cellar. The screams continued, always the same distance ahead, no matter what pace they were moving. There were many hiding spaces and shadowed corners down here. “Move swiftly but with caution. Illuminate any space before moving into it. Keep each other in the light.” Volesus told the cell. They moved as a tight group, slower now, Volesus at the front. They were able to create a formidable shell of illumination, and they advanced undisturbed for a time, scrutinizing every shadow, and jumping at every rat. Still Anir screamed. As they advanced Volesus began to notice greater trails of gore and viscera along the floor and shelves than there had been before. The estate was the sight of a massacre, but the gore had been much more spread out above. The stone floor down here was smeared over with a thickening, congealing mat of blood that stuck to their boots. The screams led them along a massive and long stack of fire wood. Volesus could see pale blue light in the distance. It was the same color as had emanated from the creature. It was past the end of the wood stack, there must be open space at its end. Volesus did not see any life signs nearby. Lumen light revealed nothing in the direction they moved. The gore intensified, and the stack of firewood was beginning to look different at the end. The temperature was shifting. Some of it was colder. Volesus looked closer with his natural eyes, and saw why. Human limbs, stacked on top of the wood. Where the wood pile began to fall, the limbs began to rise. Hundreds of them stacked like kindling. They were all very cold. They approached the end of the stack and turned the corner prepared to destroy anything they found. The limb pile terminated, revealing a recess with another staircase. Two torches illuminated by a cold blue flame burned in sconces on its portal. The limb pile continued on the other side of the staircase, as well as piled on top of the passage, and began tumbling down the stairs Nobody spoke. There was nothing to say. They have all witnessed horror with regularity. This was quite exceptional, yes, but not the worst any of them had seen. What happened to Anir though. That was very bad. Volesus felt great pain on Anir’s behalf, only to crush it beneath his iron will. They began to descend the stairs. The temperature began to drop. They weren't moving into a colder environment. The environment was getting colder. Emanating from the floor. Nothing showed on multi spectra, somehow. The temperature drop did not register on any auspex but they felt it. When they shone their lumens on the floor, dark inky shadows persisted in trails that winded towards the ceiling. They began to lazily lash out at the cell as they passed by. They took care to not touch them, but they swayed and jerked erratically. They managed to reach the bottom untouched. Except for Ukhna. As Ukhna stepped off the final rung of the steps, a shadow jerked at her leg and tripped her. Volesus turned in time to see her fall, and her lumen shifted to the side, leaving her to fall into a quickly coalescing pool of inky black shadow. She fell completely into the darkness, and when the cell shined their lumens on the space she had fallen, she was gone. They heard a scream from the top of the stairs, and they saw Ukhna slam into the stairs above them, falling out of the dark that covered the ceiling. They were at least fifty meters away. Volesus began to run, as he saw the pale blue markings define a hand on top of Ukhna’s helmet, and rip it off. The cell charged with Volesus and illuminated the creature fully. It looked like a man, but wrong. Was this an aeldari? Volesus thought. He had never known an aeldari to do anything like this, but xenos are foul and full of tricks. It mattered not. The creature on the steps above them was the size of a large man, extremely well defined and dressed in ripped leathers, soaking with blood. The blue fire traveled like veins over the creature's entire surface. It did not cast a shadow. It lifted Ukhna aloft by her hair, and raised its other arm, which seemed to extend like a blade. They opened fire at the same second its arm came down, only to have each of their bullets snatched out of the air by the grasping tendrils of shadow. Ukhna's arm fell away, as well as some portion of her rib cage. The creature twisted Ukhna in its grip, exposing her other limb to his sword arm. Volesus' large single fire bolt pistol shells were easily taken by the darkness, but the rapid fire of the carbines from the rest of the cell broke through. Four hit the creature in the sternum as he slammed the blade down again, severing Ukhna’s other arm. The creature stumbled back from the force of the hits. Ukhna was not screaming. She must either be dead or unconscious. The creature turned its face lit by cold blue flame towards them, and hurled her ragged body. Arban ducked below the thrown corpse and continued firing into the creature. Volesus managed to catch the body, keeping it from sending them all down the stairs. He dropped it, though it pained him immensely to treat her with no reverie. She was dead. He raised his bolt pistol and scanned the area. The grasping tendrils on the ground were dissipating. The creature had fallen. Arban had brought it down. Volesus regarded the rest of his cell. “The quarry is a coward. Or a breed of them. They will not meet us face to face, instead seeking to pull us apart from the shadows. They are leading us somewhere. We must advance through their plot, arrive at its end faster than they can prepare it for us.” Anir’s screaming continued, down in the darkness. His cell members nodded without hesitation. Lut, Namar and Arban were still with him. He looked down at Ukhnas' broken body. Real name Leandra. Over twenty years of service together. She was a combat medic. She had actually saved Volesus’ life on one particularly harrowing mission. He conjured the most sincere prayer to the Emperor he could, and continued down the steps. They did not stop to examine the mysterious creature's body. When they reached the bottom a wall of shadows blocked the illumination of their lumens. The light interacted with it, but was simply overwhelmed and diffused by the density of the shadow. Anir screamed still, from beyond. Volesus thrust his hand into the dark and held it there. He looked at his cell, and asked if they were ready. “All for one. Malum Ruit.” Lut said, making Volesus proud. They walked into the shadow as a unit. Chapter 3 Being in the shadow was like having your eyes closed. Vision does not cease, but there is nothing to see. The mind creates ephemeral figures, patterns of light. Your own synapses, firing behind your eyes. Volesus walked into the strange fleeting figures and they scattered under his focus. He could feel movement. Air was rushing past him, much faster than it should be. He stopped walking, but he continued moving. The shadow was moving him. He turned back to his cell. Volesus could not see, but his auspex systems were able to put the space around him into relative context by informing him of where his cell was. Small markers on his visor with their approximate distance. They were all being moved apart. Volesus tried to yell out to them, but shadows swallowed his voice. Fifteen meters between them now. Arban was further from Lut and Namar. Volesus attempted to run back but was slammed to the ground as the force pulling him gained strength, and tripped him. Twenty five meters. And then in an instant the shadows fell away, scattering like ink into an ocean. They were somewhere else now. A much wider space. Volesus saw Lut and Namar. They were on the ground. He got to his feet and was relieved to see they were moving, and unharmed. Arban was moving to meet them as well. There was a tether connecting the two, and in the middle, tangled and broken, was the corpse of another one of the creatures. “I don't even know how I could tell he was coming for me, but I.. I managed to dodge him and get him tangled up…” Lut said, out of breath, and exasperated. Namar unhooked the tether from her harness. The two stood and un tangled the corpse. Its black skin looked peculiar under the light of the lumen. Blue flames crisscrossed its body. It had long white hair that was matte and filthy from the gore of its clothing, dripping in blood. Volesus turned his back to it. They were in a much less agreeable portion of the estate now, though they surely were still in the estate. Chains hung from the ceiling, and cages lined the walls, filled with a multitude of devices designed to mutilate and maim. Down here some oil lamps and torches still burned. Volesus wondered why. The creatures did not seem to need or enjoy the light. But it did not seem to harm them either. They could not hear Anir’s screaming, a first since he was taken. They emerged from the shadows near a wall, with the torture chamber streching out in front of them. Volesus took point and the four proceeded. The torches on the walls cast long flickering shadows that aided little in illumination, simply adding another variable to the space marines sensitively attuned vision. Bodies both fresh and old adorned the torture machines, and hung shackled in the cages. Volesus’ auspex systems locked onto each one for a micro second before determining it deceased, and not a threat. Except for one. Volesus’ saw faint life signs coming off of a body, suspended by some contraption about twenty meters ahead. He moved with urgency towards it. The flickering torch light illuminated the figure as they grew closer. It was dressed in black and grey, the colors of the Vigilia. It bore the three leaves on its shoulder. Anir? Volesus focused his weapons light on the figure as he drew close. He was suspended by spikes driven through his body, around a dozen of them. She. She was suspended. Volesus looked at the figure's face to see it was Namar. He turned behind him to see that Namar was no longer with them. Had they taken her so deftly? At the same moment Volesus turned around, two creatures emerged from the dark, and brought their wicked swords of gleaming green metal to bear. They ran through Lut and Arban, raising them high off the ground as they choked and died. Volesus snapped his bolt pistol into position and put a round through both of the figures, the explosive shells obliterating the upper torso of both the damned xenos creatures. Lut and Arban fell onto the floor, out of the light of the flames. Volesus turned back to Namar, if he was quick enough maybe he could still save her. But when he returned to the rack she was suspended from, she was gone. Volesus suspected xenos trickery at this moment, but was torn from his contemplations when he heard Lut screaming out his name in front of him. He looked and saw Lut being taken by the throat, and slammed onto a vicious looking table, screaming as its implements impaled him. The creature above him looked at him with hunger. He saw Namar and Arban run past him screaming “What are you doing, Volesus? Let's go!” as they let loose concentrated volleys mid sprint. Volesus joined them, bringing down the creature above the table easily, but on their approach saw Namar fall into a pit of spikes. Arban regarded her with shock and sorrow as he passed, continuing to help Lut, but Volesus could see he was dead already. As was Namar. Again. Arban was run through by a giant meethook by one of the creatures and pulled high into the air, screaming. Volesus eliminated the creature with extreme brute force, and heard Lut by his side, telling him to calm down. “He’s already dead, Volesus, let's go…” The dead man's voice said. Lut opened fire on another one of the creatures that came running at them, all three of them, together again. More of them appeared out of the shadows as the fell, and soon they reached the group, slaughtering Lut, Namar, and Arban in horrific fashion, while Volesus destroyed them two and three at a time. After long minutes, Volesus knelt with exhaustion in a pile of the dead. He heard Arban screaming for him. Namar too, from the other direction. He chose one, he didn't know which at the moment he chose, just a direction and a sound, and began to run. As he sprinted through the flickering shadows, he saw one of the creatures, just out of his reach. It was hiding, that much was plain, but it was watching Volesus as he ran. This one was different. Volesus did not know how he knew, but upon realizing there was something off about it, he changed his trajectory and slammed into the creature, catching it off guard. He caught it in his grip and watched its feeble attempts to flee as he raised it high and smashed it deep into the rockcrete. Volesus continued to bludgeon the creature beyond any recognition. No one was screaming for him any more. Were they all dead? Volesus continued until there was nothing but a red pit beneath him. He heard a quiet, stern voice behind him. “Volesus…” It was Arban. Volesus raised his head. This was the real Arban. The shadows have ceased their tricks, for the moment. Volesus stood. He swept the area with his auspex, and saw only two faint, fading life signs nearby. The two went to Lut and Namar's bodies. Luts skull had been crushed, and Namar had been cut in half. Volesus and Arban entered a resigned state of grim determination, and said nothing. They heard Anir, screaming, from the other room, again. Chapter 4 Volesus and Arban followed the screaming to the room that surely held Anir. The screams were close, echoing off the nearby walls. There was a small passage, glowing with blue flame at its end. They entered slowly. The blue fire was in braziers all around them, and the chamber itself was freezing. It was unfinished, the builders must have run into a natural cavern, and indeed a small channel of water was flowing through it. Volesus did not look to see the chamber's bounds. There were no life signs in the room, except for Anir. Anir hung from a rocky outcropping that the small creek fell from. He was chained by the wrists, naked, and screaming still. They had taken his eyes, most of his face, and begun peeling away the flesh of his chest. Volesus was tall enough to free him from here. He ran to his old friend, Arban, following. When Volesus was within arms reach of Anir, he was assaulted from the darkness below where he hung. A massive gout of silent blue flame erupted from the shadows, throwing Volesus and Arban into the air. They slammed into the far wall of the chamber. Volesus hit it first as the blast was centered on him. Less than a second later, Arban hit the wall, and to Volesus’ impotent rage, shattered into a million pieces that scattered around the room. Volesus’ armor was frozen, and the flames remained fixed on him, blinding him with bright blue light. His armor's internal systems were diverting power attempting to keep him warm. His astartes physiology was burning at a rate that might kill him were he not about to freeze to death. The flames assaulted him in silence, and he heard a voice. “Quickly…” a deep, cut up voice whispered. And then, “I just need a second… Just a touch…” said another, similar voice. Their words were being translated. The flames stopped, and in front of Volesus stood two more of the vile xenos that had caused him so much pain. Taken so much from him. They stood in skin drenched with blood, long white hair over black and blue bodies. Volesus looked up to Anir. He was dead. Evidently expired from his wounds. Volesus felt the pain touch his soul as he said goodbye to his old friend. The creatures interrupted his prayers. “The anguish of an Astartes…” The one on the right said, as it walked towards him. “A rare treasure indeed…” Volesus’ armor was beginning to warm, and he could move an arm, just barely. The creature on the left raised a hand, and created a rift in the air behind them that swelled with deep shadows until it was enough to walk through. A portal. The creature that came for Volesus put a hand on his chest plate, and tore his soul asunder. A gaping maw emerged in his psyche, in his mind, in his soul, in his body, was how real it felt. Every bit of his being flowed into the emptiness, expelled into the void like vomit. The creature pulled its hand back slowly and Volesus' soul dragged with it, pulling his rage, his love for his friends, and his sorrow at their passing with it. It held Volesus’ Anguish in its hand, and closed its grip. The creature turned and walked through the portal without sparing him another glance, focused only on its treasure. The other followed, and the portal closed. Volesus' armor thawed, and he crashed to the floor. He activated his emergency transponder. The rest of the response team would need to come here anyway. Volesus took off his helm and vomited profusely, spitting up much blood. He sat, waiting in silence. To his surprise, the response team arrived at his location after only minutes. All eighteen of them. Evidently, Volesus’ cell was the only one that came to harm.

Modification on a previous work. Changed the Razorback weapons to match the more classic loadout. Was not sure how to do the dual plasma gun. After looking around found the HH Game has two dual plasma gun bitz. The dreadnought plasma gun for inside the power fist, which was only the barrel, and the terminator plasma caster. Went with the plasma caster, chopped off the spare lascannon's connector and attached to the plasma caster. Kind of wish it was a little bigger but it works. Feedback is welcomed.

DISCLAIMER: This time it worked! Hi folks, I couldn't stay on the previous failure. I had to try again. This time I have favoured a different chassis, a Questoris. And has I had spare parts left for the unused plastic bits of my Styrix, I got rid of some of the issues mentionned previously such as the lack of spare parts for weapon mounts... There was therefore less potential issues than on a Castellan. As previously I made a serious series reviewing of "magnetizing 1o1" lectures from Youtube. And I went for my own version, not that distinct of what is sorted out in the recommended videos by the algorhythm, but anyway not exactly similar. And I have been quite pleased by the result. But first, the scope; And as I have been explained decades ago when I was a junior, it is as important to stress out what is within thta what is out of scope. So, what is out of scope: magnetizing ball joint of the torso; can't see the interest. Some claim is it for storage issues but it is not that obvious to me magnetizing full arms; same purpose claimed, same fate magnetizing carapace top heavy weapon; there are more convenient ways such as extending the stem of the weapon and leaving the small hole clear and clean. I'll pass this time magnetizing the machine gun; because I am too clumsy and may ruin the model. Safer passing this one too I will therefore stick to magnetizing only the arm weapons; this a first batch made out of the rapid fire battle cannon, the gartling gun and the big chainsaw. I will add other weapons later on (power glove...). The step by step procedure I've used is quite simple: Clean the arm rod so that it can be plugged into the weapon mount. Clean 2 of these (you will see later why) Use this plug to pack down some milliput used to fill the weapon mount, allowing getting a flat surface inside. This is where the magnets will be glued. Cut the excess plastic, but only on 1 arm rod. If you choose wisely your magnets, the cut height will correspond to the total height of 2 magnets. So no extra drilling required. Why only on 1 rod? Because you may need the second one to pack down other weapon mounts later. Glue the magnet 1 on the arm rod and once dry add the second magnet on top. then glue on the dried Milliput. Perfect fit Further on, step 6 is keeping the arm rod (in white dotted circle) to repeat the operation on other weapons. Like that you ensure the polarity is always respected and that all weapons can be swapped. Step 7 is the final one, consisting in cutting the second arm rod and gluing its magnet, but this time using a weapon mount to bear the magnet. Again a matter of polarity to be respected. Et Voila! Easy, not that fast (Milliput has to dry and cutting models is always requiring thinking it twice before acting...), but efficient enough for me. Next step is painting the knight, which I have starter while the Milliput and the cement were drying. You can see in the background of step 5. that dry brushing is ongoing... See you with some progress in this entry for CtA26.

Model is magnetize so I can swap weapons. But I had issue with keeping the weapon arm from wandering so never bothered with the other heavy weapons. The heavy flamer also keeps being worth its points. He has an honor mark of accuracy on the shoulder. Which I find amusing since his load out is a heavy flamer.

Well I picked up the books for Necromunda N26 and I just picked the Target Tacticus Build. The biggest shock was that there is no dice in the box and all about the card decks included. Hopefully I can get this built so the kids can play. I still don't know what Chapter I will paint the Marines.

Haldrik Sornfell earned his place among the Gardhird’s Berserks not through battlefield glory, but through the long, crushing labor of the deep stone. For decades he worked the magma‑veins and void mines, swinging a heavy mining pick in tight tunnels that offered no room for automated drills. That pick, scarred, heat‑darkened and etched with the names of fallen miners and friends, is the same weapon he wields now, reforged into a polearm that carries the weight of his past with every strike. Haldrik fights as one who has already survived the mountain’s judgment. His movements are deliberate, grounded, shaped by years of carving through stubborn rock rather than enemy flesh. When he enters the burning mind combat trance, the grav‑nodes in his bones hum in resonance with the old mining rhythms, turning each swing of his polearm into a seismic blow that cracks armor the way he once cracked stone. Among the Berserks, Haldrik is quiet and almost solemn. He speaks rarely, but when he does, it is with the steady certainty of someone who has spent a lifetime listening to the depths of planets and asteroids. His oath is simple: to break what must be broken; whether that is a fortified line, a monstrous foe, or the chains of fear that bind lesser warriors. Haldrik Sornfell is the embodiment of the Solbond Gardhird creed: A miner who became a warrior, a laborer who became a legend, and a Berserk whose every strike still carries the echo of the deep earth.

Did 2 test paint jobs. Grey Seer, White Scar drybrush, Hexwraith Flame contrast. What do you think?I

Painting an Ultramarine kill team and then a test marine in Raptor livery.

For I am of the Word and by the Word Flesh and blood bound to my masters and makers Chaos guide my stride My body a shield to those raised above me My axe death to those opposing my masters For I am of the Word and by the Word Soul and sinew pleged to the Four and the One Chaos guide my hand - Bragun, Lifeward Bragun Master of Executions and Lifeward “I guard the Word with death. I speak it with the fall of the axe.” Bragun, Lifeward Bragun is dread made flesh, the executioner‑saint of the Ebon Word, whose axe has sung the death hymns of a thousand Imperial servants. As Lifeward to First Acolyte Vor Skral, his oath is carved not in parchment but in bone: to guard the Acolyte’s life with his own, and to silence any who would profane the Word. He is a towering presence, his armor blackened by decades of slaughter, his helm marked with the tally of heads taken in the Iscarne’s name. The massive axe he wields, Vraen‑Sever, is said to drink the faith of its victims, its blade etched with runes that whisper the last prayers of the dying. When Bragun swings it, the air itself seems to recoil, and the battlefield falls quiet in reverence or terror. Though his speech is sparse, his devotion is absolute. He follows Vor Skral as shadow follows flame, a silent sentinel whose loyalty borders on worship. To the Ebon Word, Bragun is the hand of judgment, the embodiment of the creed that faith must be proven through blood.

Its nothing really special, but after like a year of working on the Vigilia, I finally ordered some miniatures and some paint. I have two intercessors on the way and this is going to be the actual color scheme. It will look better on the model (I hope!) and the Main grey color here is actually supposed to be "Iron Warriors" not "Eshin Grey" but i was too lazy to find the right hex. They're kind of super not flashy, but that's the whole deal. I'm excited to start painting. And heres the Heraldry! The three leaves are supposed to be from an apple, and symbolizing the three major aspects of the Vigilia; Astartes, Mortal, and Hound. Goes on left shoulder. For the chapter markings, at the top of the X is the marines role (Most of them are bond cell marines, though each Flotilla contains 23 marines that are specialists), the right is the Marines Flotilla, The bottom their Response force, and their Bond cell number on the right. Goes on right shoulder.

I have been away for a bit due to work, but browsing ebay the other day I found a classic emperors champion going cheap. This was a model I always wanted when I was younger but as it was an event exclusive (I think?) I never got my hands on it. It was a fun guy to paint and was the first real opportunity for me to try out some scale 75 necro gold that I got my hands on. Absolutely lovely paint, colour is gorgeous and its a joy to paint with. Them figure itself was a bit of a nightmare to clean up for painting, mainly his shoulder pad with the winged skull on it required some not too subtle digging away and filling down but I think he has turned out pretty nicely! Speaking of models that were a nightmare to assemble, enter the necron lord, this was a push fit model again curtousy of Ebay, but I painted him in sub assemble and all i can say is what a faff!! I love the look of the guy though and I wanted to try out a metallic blue/turquoise I've seen on HH alpha legions, it reminds me of a stunning turquoise I've seen on BMWs that I love. Overall I think it came out quite nice, but when I edge highlighted the cloak it kinda drowned out the metallic look so I left his shoulders and head strip as is. He was also a great opportunity to try out some glowing osl techniques that came out ok so was quite happy with that. I like the scheme but something doesn't seem quite right with it and I can't put my finger on it.

I don't know who this can help, but still I have used several ways to tie a miniature to the base. First and most common is a weathering. You use same color/pigment to weather base and lower part of miniature. It's easy and work nice for most cases. For example my plague Marines, I use their grime and liquids to tie them to base. Except you don't want dirty miniature or it's on flying stem. Second one is a miniature's falling shadow on the base. It's link mini without weathering. It's looks good with bright vibrant color scheme. Also high contrast between miniature and dark shadow make your colors even brighter. It's nice for minis under sun or kind of direct light. For example my recent IF KT. I use shadows there. But don't really work for darker environment. And for this case there is a bit more advanced technic. We can use reflected light. It's could be reflections on metallic surface. We can use metallic of same hue as our base, it can be color tint on armor or clothing of basing color. It's can be achieved with glazes or thined washes, inks also good solution. Obviously with NMM and volumetrics you could make it even greater. Here is an example, with red and brown reflections on armor and and tint on boots the viewer are sure guy stand on this roof. Hope it's helps someone to improve. As always would be glad for any C&C.

Work has been a little busy, so no detailed battle reports. I have been getting in games at both the local Warhammer store (they host a semi-weekly CP day) and my FLGS. All against new players, which I did get to see the balancing of the different patrols. I faced both the Assault force and the Vengeful Brethren CPs. I used the Bane-Slayer Bulwark, Vanderghhast Swarm as well as did mirror matches. I did win both mirror matches, which I buck up to experience. Both opponents were a little disheartened at losing against their own, but hopefully they learned a trick or two. Stunties mobbing captain Hearthguard assaulting flanking force I did get to test out another minor project attached to this. I was planning on taking a cobbled together force to the annual charity tournament I do. Now originally it was going to be a chaos force made from the CSM and WE CPs plus some spare units I had in my collection. However since I won’t have the WE CP until after the tournament I had to scrap that idea (for this year). Instead I did a little meddling and figured I can build a legit force of several CPs. I managed to make a 2k army from the units in four of the marine CPs. The Vengeful Brethren Assault Force Mordekai’s Judgement Medusan Redoubt Plus the Librarian and Terminators from Octavius. List below: So I did a test game against orks that only lasted three turns due to time. Also I wasn’t playing to the force's main strength as I took Reconnaissance instead Take and Hold since my opponent was also Taker and Hold. It was doing ok until they sent almost half the army against my small force of deep strikers that I dropped into his deployment zone. But that did give time for the block of heavy Intercessors to dig into a side objective. So good luck moving THAT block. Anyway I have a picture of this force. I did order a copy of the DA CP, paid by trading in a bunch of stuff I really didn’t need. So I’ll get to work on the Intercessors as Mantis Warriors for the full CP, the other units are going to other projects. Also going to order some smoke stands for the Inceptors cause my magnet stands do not work.

"Non permittant vivere impuritus." Well I did a little more painting last night on the Armageddon Librarian. This is character 2 of 3 characters, plus I have 4 squads to paint for my 500 pt list. Captain Razak- Completed Librarian Zarghul- WIP Bladeguard Ancient Bladeguard Veterans (3 man) Intercessors (5 man) Assault Intercessors (5 man)- need to build Heavy Bolter Elimintaor (3 man) Since Bladeguard Veterans are almost Characters, are the same colors, with a lot more detail, I think I will paint the Bladeguard Veterans and Ancient with the other squads so Intercessors with a Bladeguard Veteran, Assault Intercessors with a Bladeguard Veteran, Eliminators, Bladeguard Veteran and Bladeguard Ancient. It took me about 4 days to paint my Captain. So hopefully about 5-7 days due to for the Librarain then a week per squad. Red Hunters Chapter Librarian Zarghul, currently assigned to 3rd Company Army Painter: Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic Matt Black- Outer Cloaks, Tabards, future Metallics, and flex armour Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic Brainmatter Biege- Inner Cloaks Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic Dusty Skull- Skulls Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic Ancient Stone- Staff/ Force Weapon Army Painter Warpaints Air Encarmine Red- Shoulder logo Still more colors to block out, highlights and washes, decals then glow effect, which I am nervous about. So I am looking at techniques and I found this one on Reddit user/darcybono. "A white base followed by transparent paints like Contrast Paints, Speed Paints or inks. Once you have your white lining apply a thin glaze of your brightest color (in this case Iyanden Yellow) then immediately wipe away the center where you want it to be brightest. Once that dry just tinge the edges with a darker color in the same hue (in this case orange). NOTE: I don't recommend using Corax White as it's basically a light grey and will not result in the same glow effect. It will make your colors more muted than putting it over an actual white."

"Non permittant vivere impuritus." Well it was a busy weekend for modelling....Did not get done as much as I would like, family life and all. The more I use Army Painter the happier I am for making the switch. The Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic line with the color sets (6-7 colors if it has a Blanche version) that gives you your next highlight is great. Especially if your paint rack is organized. Now the Warpaints Air line uses the Triad system. My favorite part is the the Air and Fanatic line do not use the same 3 colors. As an example. The hair on my Captain was painted using Matt Black, Deep Grey, and uniform grey. His cloak was painted using Matt Black, and then Warpaints Air Raven Black, and Crow Hue. Plus The John Blanche Grim Dark Shadow is amazing. So the main project for this weekend was getting the highlights, decals, and washes done to finish my captain. 3rd Company Captain Razak of the Red Hunters Chapter. The Inquisition logos and Skull decals are from Impatient Tabletop. The scrolls, checkerboards, Company number, and other knee icon all GW decals. I need to get more decals from Impatient Tabletop, as my Chapter decals are 2 decals layered and not the actual decals the "Inquisition Skull" they offer. Leg scroll says "Razak" and Shield Scroll "Faith" and "Honor". I really happy with how he came out. Other projects that were worked on. Assault Intercessors (one built) basing on 500 pts (3 models done) Basecoated models (Scenario Models and Librarian) Librarian Zarghul Army Painter paints used: Warpaints Air Matt Black Primer Warpaints Air Matt White Primer Zenithal Warpaints Air Omega Blue base Warpaints Air Ultramarine Blue Mid Warpaints Air Consul Blue highlight Warpaints Wash Blue Tone.

The first four units in this project are table-ready: Ballistus Dreadnought, Terminator Squad, and two Assault Terminator Squads. Because the chapter was created to fight alongside the Adeptus Mechanicus, there is some of their iconography. The marine interred in the Dreadnought was a Techmarine, so that iconography is added heavily to that model in particular. This is all a learning experience for me. I've been painting for a long time, but I've never thought of myself as a 'good' painter. Hopefully I'll get better as I go. I kn9ow these units ALL need some attention to clean up mistakes and finish details I missed or ignored.

So am I back from Indiana. I have to head back to move In-Laws into a Retirement Center, in a few weeks. And of course everything goes sideways at work moment I get back. So hobby time has been non existence. Silver Lining is LGS not get Saturnine until Monday, so I can get everything I need to do first i.e. my XIXth Legion and Exorcists Call to Arms Vows, that I have not started. And won't have time this weekend. I did start on building one of My XIVth Legion Commanders, not sure what command model he will represent.... cape and head are separate for ease of painting. Still more clean up, pinning, and getting his 40mm base ready

Several ideas rumbling around in my brain, just wanted to get them down finally. I have a growing collection of various imperium forces, and wanted them to sort of tie in with each other somewhat. A group of various imperial organizations that work together to defend and expand their small sector of space, located on one of the edges of imperial control, a frontier as it were. Primarily this would consist of my space marines, as well well as the SoB, AM/IG, Necromunda and Kill Team models I have been collecting/hoarding. Some flavour on the prganizations inulded follows. The Iron Boots (working chapter title) were established during one of the more troubled foundings (perhaps the cursed one, I haven't decided) to patrol a troublesome yet remote corner of the empire, with a mandate to change a frontier zone of newly discovered planets into proper imperial settlements, eliminating xenos, and bringing the emperor's blessed rule to the human populations in the area. They have been fairly successful in this, establishing a Chapter/hive planet, a prison/manufactorum world for those whose lives are forfeit to the emperor, but don't require immediate execution, and bringing several formerly independent lost colonies into the imperium. The chapter is joined in their efforts to subjugate the frontier by the planetary defense forces from their controlled planets, collectively known as the PSPD( working title, planetary and sector pacification divisions), aka the Raging Boars, elements from The Scarlet Order of His Eternal Flame and Les Gardiennes du Sang-Precieux (orders minoris of sisters of battle), established on 2 rival shrine worlds in the sector to support imperial expansion in the area, as well as penal legions raised from the local area (a small but particularly vicious regiment of note would be the Violators, led by Prisoner-Brigadier "Violent" Violet Vulpes. It's ranks consist almost exclusively of female gangers sentenced to death for crimes against planetary or imperial law, though exceptions have been made in times of heavy losses in the past.) When on the march collectively, as has occurred to fend off ork and tyrannid incursions, as well as to to conquer new territories, the combined force is called an Armata Strigoi, a group of the Imperium's most feared monsters to dispute any that might oppose it's rule. As a frontier area, there is a small but politically important Adeptus Arbites and Inquisition presence, some who have even joined/requested an Armata Strigoi against particularly vile threats to the imperium. Also noted as active in the area, though not necessarily in collaboration with the Armata Strigoi, have been several Astra Miltarum Regiments and sightings of one or more of the Great Companies of the Space Wolves (these would be the imperial armies of other players in my group)

Being a Catholic who joined The Church as an adult I am often asked how it is that I came to find God, and my answer generally holds great interest in the many 'cradle Catholics' who ask. My wife has on more than one occasion suggested that it was my finding of faith that inspired my love for the Sisters of Battle - the faction I've been collecting for the last year - upon seeing their exuberant Cathedral-Cannons on wheels (as she calls The Immolator Battle Tanks), rosaries wrapped around bolt-guns and simulacri. (An Immolater - check out the Reddit profile who shared this great piece here) 'No' is the answer, of course - as I had actually began collecting them before my finding of faith... I swear! But similarly to the popularity of this question within The Church, I find that everyone who pursues this amazing hobby has their own origin story of how it is they came to find themselves pouring over these exquisitely detailed plastic miniatures, their stories and their game that hold such a special place in our hearts. "So how did you get into The Hobby?" For the vast majority of people their answers will fall into one of three categories: a) I walked past a Games Workshop and went inside because I thought it looked really cool. b) Friends or older-relatives introduced me to the game. c) I got into it through the books/lore. I can't actually think of any other 'broad categories' of answer to this (in)famous question... if you can, can you let me know in the comments below? But, as the face of the hobby has evolved over the last few years and continues to do so, I wonder how these typical answers will change and grow. Especially as the hobby starts to enter more of the mainstream! No doubt aided by the burgeoning value of Games Workshop following their steady pre-pandemic growth followed by their Pandemic-explosion in business and the developments being followed closely by many in their negotiations with Amazon about a TV series with Henry Caville, there are signs all around that Warhammer is becoming more widely known as a hobby to share and enjoy. For example, this post I recently shared on my Threads (below). However the question is answered, there's always a unique spin for each partaker of the game. It usually gets the nostalgia going and is a reminder of simpler times. I was about 10 years old when I first became exposed to Warhammer. A family friend whose son was about 6-7 years old than me had a major home clear out and from them my twin brother and I inherited 'The Box'. 'The Box' was a large container of toys and other such things that didn't survive their cull and were promptly taken off their hands by my mum and dad. Within the box were toy cars, action figures and that sort of things but nestled right at the bottom was... a 3rd Edition Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. Paperback, with the famous Black Templar Illustration on the front. Now you may be looking at my profile picture and thinking that there's no way I was 10 years old in/around 1998 when this was first published and... you'd be right! Even then it was old and battered, but it was enough to ignite a passion in our young hearts that would continue to burn to this day. The topic of the introduction of The Warhammer Universe to the young and inquisitive mind is a subject that requires its own article another day! But suffice to say it was... horizon expanding. From reading that book obsessively cover to cover we dragged our poor mum to the Games Workshop in Central London where The Battle for Macragge was all the rage and the rest, as they say, is history. I wish that I still had that copy now, but, growing up is first abandoning our childish ways and then reminiscing about the lost pieces once we realise that our happiness is worth pursuing even if doesn't fit the idea of what others think is 'cool' around us. I was heartened to see when searching for the above image on google that there are many copies going cheaply on eBay...! Warhammer has had a profound impact on my life. As a bit of an odd-ball child/teen with a lot going on at home it gave me both a creative outlet and a place/community where I could go and actually interact with others in an accepting and healthy environment. I look back now at my childhood and really thank God that the hobby came into my life when it did. And now as an adult, I returned to the Hobby in 2019 with the aim of once more making friends and finding a counter-balance to my extremely busy and demanding professional life and, five years later here I am! So let me know down in the comments, what's your origin story? With best wishes, Mini Painting Mike. PS: If you've made it this far down my post, thank you for sticking around. This is the first of what I hope will be many blog posts and articles I will write and share here about the hobby, my hobbying and other things related. From my painting projects, to games, to hobby-life in my world and discussing developments in the wider Warhammer/hobby-landscape.