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Hi Folks, While I have had an insight on the potential impact of the teased terrain area templates shared by GW on WarCom (#New40k – Take cover with updated terrain rules) and in line with the rule changes for 11th, I kept on playing with my mobile phone and cardboard templates, just to see how my more “corporate” pieces of terrain fit in this whole perspective. Let’s have a look. 1. Battle for Maccrage One of my favorite set. The crashed Aquilla lander was one of the most characterful set issued ever. Even if very narrative and of limited impact gamewise as the debris offer limited challenge as LoS blockers. But the story behind was great. This kit suffers a lot with the new templates and is clearly challenging fo fitting it into the new frames. Yet it is not impossible. Crashed stuff requires tricky arrangments... And as far as electric fence and beacon are concerned, these are great line or 40mm objective marker (not shown). 2. 3rd Ed starter I do not follow a chronological order; indeed “Maccrage” set was 4th Ed and these elements bellow are 3rd. But it doesn’t really matter. This kit will be perfect for any area with corners marked with ruins, trees that can do almost anything and barricades or tank traps for small terrain elements. For ruins some generic pics of any other type of ruin will give the same render... see other sections. I can see trees making a come back on table... being a very versatile element 3. Kill zone Sector Munitorum Containers are the broadest solution for medium size rectangular areas. Combinations of multiples containers and servohaulers or crates will allow filling the largest templates. You can do almost anything. Armoured COntainer is the new Lego brick 4. Kill zone Fronteris and Nachmund Kill zone fronteris building fit large rectangle, even if there are some room in front. They also fit the combined triangles. Fence do great lines. Their combination will be needed to build an array of lines and a grox corral. This will lead to table designs less symmetric excepted in special designs. Anteanna does its role on a small rectangle. Landing pad is borderline. It fits only on combined triangles, even if it is a little bit oversized. But it is more or less OK. Fits, fits, fits ... err OK, fits 2 is too long, 1 is OK. These lines are going to be a touchy topic This series of scenery elements perfectly fulfill most not to say all of the new terrain features we could associate with the new templates. That's all for the moment. More to come. See you

Just got some bits in and went on a little building spree. Included in the order was a single stele from the Necron Convergence of Dominion- did not really realize how big they were. It will still work for the base of my Nigthbringer count-as, but might just have to make the angle it is resting on a little more extreme, as it being 7 inches tall itself means that it is almost as big as the Nightbringer alone. So, that is on my project log to potentially get done next month. The rest of the order was a AoS Daemonsmith that I think just looks cool and will work great as a Grimnyr (though I need to get some COGs to go with him now), a 30k DA body, some Necromunda Hired Guns, and the Sanctificer killteam. Grimnyr Pretty happy with this very, very simple conversion. The base model has so much swagger that I didn't need to do anything other than put on an Ironkin helm and then give him the fire-hand/staff that are options for the Daemonsmith kit (pretty sure that it isn't a legal AoS loadout, but it looks cool). DA Decided that I wanted to give my Riven some DA units beyond just the Lion (and occasionally dropping in some HH termies as Deathwing), so I was looking around. I'm not super stoked on the Inner Circle Companions models as I think they are ok but not how I really expect the Risen to look like. The HH Deathwing Companions fit that bill much better, and they even are armed with a bunch of swords to make it closer to what they should be. So this was a tester model before I went whole hog and bought a bunch more and I think it worked alright. I'll probably get a couple of sets of the Companions to max out two 6man ICC squads. Necromunda brats I like the idea of the noble Houses sending some of their troublesome scions down to the underhive and having them fight their way up. Nothing too special here, just a swap of weapons on the female to give her a plasma pistol and powersword. Sanctifiers A great set of Eccleasiarchy-aligned crazies, and really the only thing I did was switch up the heads for the models. I'm not a fan of the preacher's big cowl variants, so gave him a more subtle head, and the others I just switched around till they spoke to me. These will be painted up for the 12MoH campaign.

Hi folks, I am still working on my bitz box cleaning. While I have focused on the major volumes (Paretto approach) in the initial stages, while I get closer from the end of the pile, I have changed my scheduling approach, working on some small, sometimes self standing, miniatures. I have for example a lonely Ork, a ooP CSM Raptor sergeant… and parts of the original Cypher miniature. Parts as I miss the plasma pistol and the back-pack. The latter has been used on a SM kitbashed Chaplain years ago. As for as the pistol, it is… somewhere. Probably. After diving into my bitz box I recovered some parts of various origin to be used for kitbashing the model. Instead of doing another SM, I have decided myself for a proxy Inquisitor. The Robe and the grim hooded face helped in making my decision. That and the recent work I have done on a small allied contingent based on RT entourage from Necromunda miniatures and =][= henchmen. An Inquisitor was a good add-on. The missing arm was recovered from bitz from HH SM sprue and FW resin bitz: a good old thunder hammer. Pauldron is from the vehicle sprue from SM range; as my allied contingent goes along AdMechies, I had previously defined a narrative with my =][= force being associated to Ordo Machinum : cyborgs obsessed by gathering of lost (xeno? heretek?) technology require being supervised. Do we all agree? Back pack is an old one with built-in banner pole. Afterall, Inquisitor hide in the shadow but wander the battlefield with big sigils and banners as invitation to shot them down… The inquisitor will be named with a very close reference to an infamous French inquisitor who developed his dark legend by a large scale witch hunt (Nicolas Remy - 900 trials for witchcraft and demonic acquaintance between 1577 and 1592). Ordo Hereticus or Malleus would have been a better affiliation maybe? Whatever, his proxy in the 40k setting ends up in an Ordo Minoris, satellite of Ordo Xenos. So let’s introduce Niklas Raymi : It is the first time I’ve painted a robe à la Dark Angels’ style. Black armour is a reminder of a close bond to the militant arm of the Ordo Xenos (a.k.a. Deathwatch) and red on pauldrons remind close “relationships” with AdMech. This model closes my April pledge for 12 MoH’ s challenge. As far as my Imperial Agent faction is concerned, I guess I have finished my hobbying journey with them so far. Let’s now have some games and only then I will see if I stay like that with these or if I add more. But it is not my top priority atm. See you. PS: guess what: I found back the lost plasma pistol arm...

Hello Renegades and Heretics! This is the model project of my heretical Astra Militarum, The Blood Grey's and there witch coven allies The Bloodspeakers. If you want to know about the lore of these group that I have cooked up click on the link below. Bloody Grey's Lore Back in the day, My brother and I would play Combat Patrol, but this wasn't the modern Combat Patrol that we have today. It was a small scale 400pts games meant to be played in about 40 mins. We thought it was a cool way to start new projects. I would start my Tyranids, and my brother would start his Imperial Guard. I believe he started with Catachan Jungle Fighters. I remember flamer teams and jungle snipers, but it would morph into a Tank Company as our point level increased. With Russes, hellhounds and basilisks. My brother would later join the Navy, and he gave me his little tank company. It had about 20ish tanks and I would sell most of the company on ebay and trades. Mostly to fund my World Eaters and Tyranids. Then the era of Chaos Soup started. I wanna say it was 8th edition, but from what I can remember was that you could run Leman Russ tanks in a World Eaters list under the Chaos keyword using the Forge World Renegades and Heretics rules. By then I had sold most of the tanks. I think I only had these 2 tanks at the start of the Soup craze. They serve me well during those days. I then started adding infantry squads and heavy weapon teams. To make it look like a cohesive force I turned them into traitor guard and even made a little bit of lore to why these guys were following my World Eaters around. They were turning into a full army in their own right, not just some filler force to add some fire support to my World Eaters. At one point is was a mech-guard list with dudes in transports. This is one of the newer tanks that I added. The army is now what I call a standard Guard army. With large blobs of infantry and a few armoured assets to deal out the pain to the enemy. I still need more, another executioner is on the list, as well as the newer Rogal dorn. But with 11 edition coming I have pumped the breaks on buying any more models for the Bloody Greys. Once the fallout of new edition is settle, we will see if there's more room for more heavy metal.

So, I've been far too serious with my writing. I wanted a little fun. This is a passage about 329. It's as cheesy as you like. It was quite fun to go all in, full bore, to absolutely ham it up with the best of them. It was quite enjoyable. So, take it for what it is - an overblown passage glorying in the totally over-the-top narrative. Thoughts most welcome! ===== The first sign was the light. It came on above the bunker doors without warning, washing the concrete walls in a dull red pulse that seemed too slow for alarm and too deliberate for fault. Men looked up at it from tool benches and ammunition crates and half-finished conversations. Nobody spoke. The pulse came again. Red, then shadow. Red, then shadow. Piotr had been carrying a crate of feed belts across the floor. He set it down without meaning to, as if his hands had made the decision for him. The bunker had gone still in the way places only did when everyone in them had heard the same wrong thing and was waiting for the next. Then the engine turned over. The sound hit the room before most of them understood what they were hearing. It was not the bark of a starter or the cough of an idling carrier. It was deeper than that, heavier, as though something buried had just forced air back into itself after a very long time. The floor trembled. Dust leapt from the rafters. A spanner skittered off a bench and rang once on the concrete. At the far end of the bunker, 329 sat in its berth beneath the work lamps, black and immense and still half-hidden in shadow. For one heartbeat it looked unchanged. Then one of the Vulcans twitched on its mounting. No one moved. The red light pulsed again. The second engine note came harder. The V10s caught properly this time and the whole bunker filled with their roar. It rolled off the walls and came back thicker, a wall of sound that swallowed speech before it was made. Men nearest the berth stepped back on instinct. One crossed himself. Another simply stood with his mouth slightly open, rifle hanging from his hand as if he had forgotten what it was for. The first chain drew taut. Piotr had never thought about how thick those restraint links were until he saw them under load. They had always just been there, black with old oil and bunker dust, hooked into floor anchors sunk so deep into the ferrocrete no one questioned them. Now they stood out in a single brutal line from hull to floor, each link trembling under the strain. The tracks bit. Only an inch at first. Steel on concrete. A low grinding lurch more felt than seen. Then the Vulcans began to spin. That was when the dread truly arrived. The howl rose slowly at first, almost buried beneath the engine mass, then climbed through it, sharper and higher and impossible to mistake for anything except what it was: a weapon system coming awake. It cut through the bunker and into men’s bones. Piotr felt it in his teeth. He saw two troopers near the wall flatten themselves against it as if distance measured in inches might still count for something. Krystan ran for the blast doors. He came out of the side access at a stumbling crouch, boots slamming the floor, one hand catching briefly on the edge of a workbench before he drove on. He did not look at the men nearest him. He did not look at the chains. His attention was all for the door controls. He hit the release housing with his palm, hauled the emergency lever down with the other hand, and threw his weight into it. The shutters above the main doors juddered. Too slow. The first restraint failed with a crack of tearing metal and a spray of rust and stone. Not a neat snap. It ripped free of the floor anchor and whipped back along the concrete hard enough to leave a bright scar where it struck. Somebody ducked. Somebody else shouted something Piotr never heard over the engine. 329 leaned into the slack. Smoke poured from the exhausts in black, heavy folds. The hull shifted another fraction forward, then another, slow and terrible and entirely certain. The bunker had not become dangerous because the machine was firing. The bunker had become dangerous because the machine was moving and there was suddenly no doubt that it would keep moving. Piotr backed away without taking his eyes off it. Around him, the others did the same. No orders were needed. The lane in front of the berth emptied in seconds. Men knew better than to stand there and pretend courage had anything to do with what came next. The doors were half open when the remaining chains gave way. One anchor tore clean out of the floor and bounced once across the concrete. Another parted with a hard metallic report that vanished into the roar. For an instant 329 seemed to gather itself, not like a beast, not like anything alive, but like a mass of machinery resolving an obstacle and finding it insufficient. Then it came forward. The Vulcans’ scream climbed again. Dust boiled around the track guards. The turret traversed a few degrees as it rolled, not searching for a man or a face, but moving with the cold, unsettling confidence of something already deep inside its own logic. Piotr saw the red target laser flick once across the far wall, then disappear into the smoke. Krystan was still at the doors, hauling them wider because there was no other sensible thing left to do. Not because he had yielded. Because if he did not, that door was going to stop being a door. Daylight cut in across the threshold in a harsh white seam. 329 went through it. For one moment all Piotr saw was the top of the hull passing under the hanging lamps, armour plates shuddering under the loaded torque of the engines, smoke dragging behind it, one spinning barrel group blurring so fast it no longer looked made of parts. Then it was in the open and the bunker seemed to exhale around the space it had left behind. No one moved for a second. The red light kept pulsing. The roar receded by degrees as 329 rolled out into the yard beyond, but the howl of the Vulcans remained, high and terrible and impossible to hear as anything except promise. Somewhere outside, men began shouting. Not the steady cries of work or drill. The ragged, uncertain shouting of people who had just seen something emerge that should, by any sane measure, have remained buried. Piotr swallowed and found his throat dry as dust. He looked at the broken chains lying across the floor, at the gouges in the concrete, at the empty berth under the lamps. Then he looked towards the open doors and understood, with the sick clarity of a man who has just realised the rules are different now, that whatever was happening outside, the worst part of it had not been the noise. It was the certainty. For a few seconds before 329 had moved, it might still have been possible to believe it could be stopped. Now no one in that bunker believed that any longer.

So, the other day I finally got out of a bit of a hobby slump (to be fair to myself, I'd been steadily, but very slowly, painting some Nurgle guys for AoS but mostly/only because I meet up with some friends once every week/fortnight and paint) and felt the urge to do something creative. So I found some styrofoam I had lying around as well as a ship I bought in the local thrift shop a couple of years ago, decided to build a harbour and got to work. I initially just placed the styrofoam sections in different setups to see what might work, then started brainstorming ideas. Once I got started on the "real" work, I was in danger of feeling overwhelmed a couple of times, so I forced myself to just focus on one section at a time, rather than trying to have some grand vision for everything all at once. I'm happy to say that this worked out for me and I managed to get quite a lot done, while still leaving some areas of the terrain set undeveloped. Hopefully some good ideas will materialise soon :)

Finished up the diorama, Unexpected Finds, which was painted in about 3 days over six/seven hours. I now know why the really good painters do things in sections, as getting into some of the areas was not easy and I had to do more clean-up than I wished. Still happy with it, especially since it was basically a "free" diorama that I was able to put together with leftover/unused kits that were sitting around my hobby space. Up next for painting is finishing my Votann vow for this this month and then starting on my first Sanctifier kill-team member for the 12MoH campaign (my already finished Interrogator has requisitioned some of the Ecclesiarchy's finest crazies to help out). Hopefully next month I can get a good start on the Nightbringer conversion for modeling, though the beginning of May will have me getting my butt kicked at the Rocky Mountain Open tournament before that.

Hi Folks, This is the second entry related to the topic. First can be found here: 1. Vertigus, Bheta-Decima and Charadon – Mechanicus sector like stuff Generally speaking all items from these series will fit the templates. There are however some comments. First about gantries: if they fit the largest line, the amount of these is rather imited atm and as such the over representation of gantries will tend to disappear of be reduced. Unless it is combined with other kits such as ferratonic reactors. Gantries (only support show) fits if straight The ferratonic reactors, if we talk of these now, are in an uneasy position: they fit 6" x 4” but adding structures rapidly increase the size of the template needed. And if a platform such as the one from Bheta-decima is used, then the model is clearly out of the smallest template. It really needs more space than this small rectangle 6" x 4"... ... So does it (Why can't this pic be bigger???). This 6" x 2" is definiticely too narrow Pipes are great lines, even if they are not always that perfect vs. sizes proposed. A single pipe is too short and once combined with other elements they can be lightly too long… Plasma dissipator goes well on small rectangle and the big reboiler too. Adding a chimney complete the outlook of the area. Small 6" x 4" rectangles Pipes will always be pipes. And lines are OK Dissipators on a 6"x4" (plus a Maccrage set tank trap on a 6"x2") The Energy hub from Bheta-Decima season (my second fav scenery after crashed Aquilla lander) will become what it was supposed to be: a big centerpiece that will require 2 big rectangles. Overwise it ends out of the area defined by 2 combined triangles.. The plasma container fits a small rectangle if one ignore the stairway. Big center piece with confortable surroundings... Not a single inch left free. But it fits in 6"x4" In general it fits. But some elements of terrain look dated once you compare them to the new rules. Let say they can be used but I would not be surprised if they end up being phased out from the pictural staging used by GW for depicting boards and gaming settings. 2. Volkus Volkus introduces terrain elements that fits perfectly (L shape ruins), debris that will complete any shape nd big building that fits just within the templates. Here again the terrain rules looks designed to absorb these recent kits. I am Volkus, but I could have been Sector Mechanicus We all fit, even if the use of debris for small 2" large barricades is may be not the best use 3. Others and bigger stuff (Derelict Manufactorum, Sector Administratum…) Necromunda market goes well with large line and small rectangle. Other stuff, sized as per container or over standard elements of scenery also fit well. No issue there... ...Neither there Careful building will be require not to exceed sizes... Some will still be oddballs or to be set inside another piece of scenery But bigger elements such as Sanctum, Derelict Manufactorum… can be a little bit oversized vs. templates. Even by combining templates, they will not fit in all cases but only under specific combinations. From a mission design point of view, this may limit the options and opportunities as a combination of 2 big rectangles looks the main (not to say only) possibility for these models that will become center pieces. Sanctum Administratus for example will require 2 big rectangles. It would have fit better with a wiser arrangement of templates for example setting them side by side on the SMALL side. But it is still 2 big rectangles used... Looks like anything larger will be problematic in standard template distribution... That's all for the moment. More and some personnal conclusions latter See you

Madmen. Charging, snarling transhumans turned into raving beasts that spoke of nothing but blood and skulls. Revving chainblades and jagged steel swung from their gene-enhanced forms. World Eaters. Astartes touched by the Chaos power known as Khorne. No strategy but to charge and hew. Unfortunately it would work this time, as the attack struck the Gardhird before an adequate plan could be implemented. The only thing left was to delay the attack and retreat with as many resources as possible. Skeldr and his companions appeared in a snap-hiss of teleportation energies. Foe-Ender smashed aside half-daemonic forms as the Linebreakers strained to divert the assault. Ironkin forms took devastating impacts from the daemon-kin and struck back with flaming plasma swords. Hearthguard shot blasts of shrapnel and plasma as they walked backward, covering their lesser-armored kin. This battle was finished, but the Gardhird had managed to salvage something from the debacle. Solbond Gardhird versus World Eaters Mission - Gellar Generators World Eaters win, 40-30 (Votann were Defender, went 1st). Exhaustive Pursuits x 5, completed Prospecting Agenda x2. Gain the following Resources - 60 Galactic Intel from battle, 160 Energy Sources (from Pioneer Fleet asset, 16 Yield Points x10). Gain 1RP from mission. Spend 100 Biomatter + 100 Energy Sources to gain Implant Refinery Asset (re-roll Out of Action test except for Vehicles) Varrik of Ruunes suffers Battle Scar Battle-Weary (-1 to Ld/Battle-Shock, Desperate Escape, or OoA tests) Units upgraded Seykyr's Hird gains Ancestral Fury (Unit gains Sustained 1 for melee attacks) Farstryde Riders gain Saddleborn Assassins (Ranged weapons gain +1 AP vs closest unit) Sondur-Oath Linebreakers gain Territorial (Re-roll to Wound rolls of 1 against targets on an objective) Overall- Loss Resources - 180 Biomatter, 90 Raw Minerals, 80 Galactic Intel, 80 Energy Sources RP - gain 1, spend 1. Total is 1 Supply limit - 2000 (using 1990) Crusade points - Goes from 12 to 14 Battle Report Mission - Gellar Generators (custom) 1500pts Custom mission, with five objectives. One placed in center, four placed in deployment zones by players. Standard control 1, control 2, control more for 5VP each scoring, but mission rules didn't allow Scout/Infiltrators and starting round 2 if an action was done on the center objective (finished at end of player turn) then the objectives in the opponent's deployment zone would turn off. Completing the action would also summon one or two units of Crusade Unbound Adversaries (basically Bloodletters) that are "NPCs" and move/charge the nearest enemy. Enemy army - Daemon Prince with Wings, 6man Eightbound squad with Slaughterbound, 3man Eightbound squad, 10man Berserker squad w/MoE, 10man Berserker squad w/MoE (or Crucible champion, can't remember) in Rhino, 2man Chaos Spawn, Jackal squad. Deployment - Enemy has Daemon Prince, 3man Eightbound squad, and the 10man Berserker w/MoE in Reserve (Prince and Berserkers have Deepstrike). Votann have melee Steeljacks and Hearthguard in Deepstrike. Round 1 Votann turn 1 - Without Scouting moves, Votann can't do much turn one. One of the Kapricus punches a shot into the WE Rhino, but that is it. Sagitaurs deposit their cargo in the two deployment objectives to score Exhaustive Agenda (capture objectives that you haven't controlled yet), and the turn ends. World Eaters turn 1 - As is standard for WE, mass of crazies run at the Votann. The Rhino drops off the Berserkers who rage forward and tag the shooty Steeljacks and the 2man Kapricus near the center objective with a long-bomb charge. A couple of each infantry squad die in Overwatch/melee, while the Kapricus die completely. Pioneers jump up at the end of the enemy turn. Round 2 Votann turn 2 - Lone single man Kapricus does the action on the center objective. Hearthguard drop down in the back of the enemy deployment to take out the Rhino in shooting (unfortunate because I wanted them to charge). Enemy deepstriking Berserker squad winds up in the middle of the containers on the left side after Rapid Ingress. Center remains a muddle as the shooty Steeljacks and Sagitaurs fail to kill off the Berserkers there, while the Berserkers on the left get hammered by Thunderkyn fire. World Eaters turn 2 - 2 squads of Unbound show up, one on each WE objective. Daemon Prince drops down and charges the Sagitaurs, while the center Berserker squad finishes off the Steeljacks and the remaining left-hand Berserkers kill off the 5man Hearthkyn squad on the top-left objective. Round 3 Votann turn 3 - Unbound move towards closest enemies, lower Unbound squad kills off two Hearthguard. Hearthguard fall back and with the help of the returning Pioneers clear off the Unbound near them. Melee Steeljacks drop down on upper enemy objective and kill off the Unbound there. Trokk's squad kills off the left Berserker squad and moves onto that objective. World Eaters turn 3 - Daemon Prince/center Berserkers kill off the Thunderkyn and Trokk's unit, completely wiping the left side of the board of Votann. 6man squad of Eightbound moves from the center objective towards the melee Steeljacks. Round 4 Votann turn 4 - Minor shooting kills off a couple of the Eightbound, but not enough. World Eaters turn 4 - Eightbound kill the Steeljacks, battle is talked out from here- turn five nothing would have occurred as there isn't enough Votann shooting to kill off any of the remaining WE units, and the Votann units are too far away for WE to get to in time (even with Advance and Charge shenanigans). Thoughts Rough match, but pretty much turned out how I expected. The mission rules really didn't hurt/help either of us, as there was only one "turn-off" action completed and the Unbound didn't do much at all. Kinda funny how the mission wanted you to fight over the center objective to keep your home objectives still functioning, but both of our armies wound up in the enemy deployment for most of the game. Basic plan was to stay in the center, be durable and kill at range, but it was pretty hard to be durable when I can't get Fortify until turn 3, and by that time the WE were already up in my face so much that I couldn't do anything about it. I'm thinking that I'm going to bring the Land Fortress in next game when we move up to 1750pts, and probably drop the 2man Kapricus squad for a single model and my Iron-master so he can tag along with the Thunderkyn and give them some help. Eh. I'm still happy with my Votann even though I'm getting pounded in this campaign (karma for going undefeated last time?), and I still love the models and lore. Looking forward to seeing how 11th shakes out though, and I'm most likely going to be running my combined Word Bearers/Night Lords army in the next crusade to motivate me to paint them all. Anyway, got to work on this Necromunda mini-diorama, so thanks for looking!

Hi Folks, What happens when your compass indicates that you are slowly drifting from your set course? You adjust your rudder… When it deals with scenery making, drifting is synonym of new rules for terrain features due to new edition. But is it really a set of new rules? Shall we look at these with attention (on the basis of the extracts of info we got so far) it is not really that of a new thing: terrain area existed prior. It is more that the rules looks like they are going more followed now that they are enclosed in the bulk corpus of rules under a standardized approach proposed to gamers. Say otherwise: you can use the proposed layout or not. But the definition of areas will remain a core game mechanics, so, even if you do not use the patterns indicated as default on WarCom (and we might get more or distinct one in the future), you will probably need to define your own areas sooner or later for all and everything that does not fit. 100% interpretation from my part yet. As far as I am concerned, I have been largely influenced in my approach by 2nd Ed use of terrain; and I have not evolved that much since. My mistake. I therefore focus on narrative terrain if such a thing even exists. This is what I have set in mind when one talk of Terrain. As such I have built or designed all my terrain collection with that bias. This and CityFight too. My current Plodding along project does not make exception. But as it is a WIP project, it might still be the right moment for adding corrective measures. So, how does it fit now? If I set the elements already built on cardboard templates cut at the indicated dimensions, the results are mild. We can see that some elements are too big to fit on the 6”x4” and too small to fully occupy the 7”x11,5”. It means that, shall I go to the biggest shadow, some additional tidbits or terrain features can be needed to define better some corners and fill the voids. One in one it is a clear incentive for getting lots of smaller terrain items (crates, broken material, piles of stuff (rocks/tires…), broken wall that will be useful for getting a better visual impact than just a shadow board half occupied. Too big or too small Still ill scaled... but there are solutions! Sometimes, combining 2 existing elements, such as these 2 fairy chimneys will be enough: 2 makes 1 Triangular shapes are also puzzling: these have been shown combined only on the given examples so far and help define bigger footprints. They will also remain perfect for L shaped ruins. Some things looks designed on purpose, some other not that much What is, however, still to be defined is the case of hills. So far it has not been really described in any publicly released info, and I wonder how it will fit into the rules. Because my hills are almost always bigger than any individual shape proposed for areas. And the smallest ones fit mostly only a combination of 2 combined 7”x11,5” rectangles. It is a lesson learned: time of large elements of scenery may be counted. Or not. Future will tell, as indeed the combinations may be more than just the 2 triangles and as the short list of sizes and number of templates may also be different in other settings than standard missions… But what is interesting too is that so far, the dimensions proposed look like they fit in (more or less) standard parcel sizes. "Narrative" elements and hills - and I save you the 40 x 40 cm "Mine" board So, how does this affect my Plodding along project? What has been done is done and I will not redo the material already “improperly” sized. Items bigger than templates will remain as a series of “narrative” elements, until we have more insight on terrain rules per type of terrain (mainly for hills and other “special” feature terrains). Items smaller than templates will probably be complemented by some piles of rocks, small craters or additional debris so that the edges of the areas will be visually defined. I will not change current mounted on bases to fit to the new sizes: I prefer an approach based on defining limits or, in the future, getting some clear PVC templates and putting my existing elements of scenery on these. But it is a personal position now/based on the few info available. I may change my mind latter on. Some lines, but enough? What will be important too is to audit the whole collection of mine as I have over abundance of some sizes while other templates are eventually underrepresented: lines (to some extend) but mainly medium rectangles; but I must measure and check the rest of my collection for that first. See you.

Skeldr Jarnvardr made a mechanical grunt. The E-COG affixing his new ankle beeped an interrogative and Skeldr waved it away. Ironkin did not really feel pain, but to make their fleshy companions more at ease they tended to utilize similar vocal signifiers during such times. It brought both halves of the Kin together, wielded them to each other. In the Solbond Gardhird, such things were not necessary but were still practiced. The Steeljack Elder looked around at the Iron-Master's domain. E-COGs and assistants busied themselves with repairs and enhancements on vehicles and Ironkin, with the Iron-Master himself stood at a plasma forge. Bright energy and furious heat poured from the forge, ignored by Kharvund as he worked his craft. Gravitonic beams carried super-dense alloys to the forge; Kharvund plunged his tools into the plasma and hammered with microscopic precision. A weapon took form, the classic short-hafted warhammer of the Kin, laden with gravic field generators and etched with the potent runes of warding. A true weapon of a champion. The Iron-Master stepped back and set the weapon down. He turned to the spectating Elder and motioned to the hammer. "Your weapon is ready, Elder Jarnvardr." Skeldr took up the hammer, read the runes engraved on the haft. Foe-Ender. A simple name, but one that had a direct and honorable purpose. He had earned this weapon by completing the first portion of his expedition, by securing assets for the Gardhird and directing his battles. He did not win every fight, but his decisions were sound and the High Khal had shown his approval. Now, as the battle leader strode back to his waiting warriors, he walked with a reinforced purpose. Just like his weapon he had been forged in the fires and had come out hardened. Whatever may come, Skeldr was ready.

There's a closeout sale on Vallejo Paints at Hobby Lobby. 0.99 each. I bought all of them left at my store: Will any of them help me paint my Custodes? 1 × Brass 1 × Bronze 2 × Flat Green 1 × Old Gold 1 × Gold 1 × Camo Dark Green 1 × US Dark Green 1 × Hull Red 2 × Dark Gunmetal 1 × Dead White $12.71 for the whole batch, not bad right?

I will be the first to admit, 329 is my pet tank. I try not to let it be the case, but I love the monster I have created. Unfeeling, unknowable, unpredictable. It is my Beast in the Basement. I wrote this short scene a few days ago while I was away. It'll not likely be included in the story, but was a fun exercise. Krystan is reviewing camera footage from the previous day. He's trying to work it out. 329, the unknowable puzzle. He doesn;t like missing pieces and he's trying to wrk it out. He never will, of course. I do like the line "Not because he had yielded. Because if he didn’t, that door was going to stop being a door." Quite pleased with that one. Thoughts, constructive criticism all most welcome. Thank you. ===== He waited until the bunker had emptied. The others had drifted off by then, back to watches, tools, food, argument, sleep. Krystan stayed where he was. Someone had cleared the maintenance bench for him without being asked. A lamp hung low above it, yellowed with age, throwing a hard circle of light over the recorder unit and the square of clean cloth he had laid beneath it to keep grit out of the ports. He had already checked the obvious things. No command input from the cradle. No manual ignition. No override key inserted. No remote wake order carried through the maintenance stack. That should have been enough. It wasn’t. He sat on the stool, broad hands on either side of the recorder, and listened to the bunker breathe around him. A fan turned high in the ducting. Somewhere beyond the wall, old pipework clicked once as the night temperature dropped. Beneath it all lay the absence where 329 had once sat. The berth looked wrong without it. Not empty, just wrong. He thumbed the unit on. The screen flared, dimmed, and resolved into a fixed internal camera feed from high on the bunker wall. The image quality was poor. Dust had filmed the lens. One edge of the picture had been browned by old heat. Below sat 329, enormous and still beneath the hanging work lamps, all mass and armour and dead paint. Krystan himself moved in and out of frame near the left track run, lamp clipped to his chest, one hand on a spanner, the other braced against the hull. The log stamp rolled into view. BUNKER CAMERA 03 LOCAL TIME INDEX: 04:17:09 VEHICLE STATUS: DORMANT CRADLE STATUS: UNOCCUPIED In the footage he leaned in to check one of the road wheels. Nothing remarkable. A man doing his work. Head down. Shoulders set. No ritual nor drama. Then the red warning lamp above the blast doors came on. Not flashing. Just lit. Krystan froze in the frame. On the bench, his hand tightened slightly against the wood. Overlay text appeared, sourced from 329's subsystems. LEGACY SUBROUTINE REQUEST SOURCE TREE: ARCHIVED / RESTRICTED AUTHORITY: UNRESOLVED QUERY: EGRESS PATH AVAILABILITY A second line followed almost at once. ACCESS DENIED BUNKER DOOR: CLOSED RESTRAINT STATUS: ENGAGED In the footage, he straightened and looked up at the lamp. He mouthed something. Then he turned towards the cradle hatch, then back to the door, then back to the hull again, already trying to think it through. The first movement came a second later. The right-hand Vulcan twitched a fraction on its mounting. A systems cascade rolled across the lower third of the screen. PRIMARY BUS POWER: LIVE SECONDARY GENERATOR: SPIN-UP TARGETING GIMBALS: INITIALISING BARREL GROUP A: INDEX TEST BARREL GROUP B: INDEX TEST The red lamp began to pulse. Once. Then again. Measured. Steady. Too slow to be a panic alarm. Worse for that. Krystan watched himself take one step back in the frame. He was not panicking. He could see the look on his own face. He stepped away, calculating, nervous, A shade of fear passed across him. DIAGNOSTIC QUERY OPERATOR COMMAND: NONE REMOTE COMMAND: NONE WAKE SOURCE: ARCHIVED / ACCESS DENIED Then the engine turned over. Even through the recorder’s old speaker, the sound came through ugly and huge. Not a clean ignition note. A deep mechanical punch that shook the camera on its bracket and rattled loose tools across the bench below it. Dust leapt from the beams. A coil of cable slithered off a crate and vanished out of shot. The exhausts coughed black into the rear of the bunker. PRIMARY GENERATOR: IGNITION SUCCESSFUL DRIVE TRAIN: LIVE MOBILITY STATUS: STAGED RESTRAINT LOAD: 12% On the bench, Krystan sat perfectly still. In the footage, he wasn’t still at all. He moved quickly now, not towards the cradle but across the bunker floor, angling for the blast-door controls. His head turned once as if still hoping for some obvious explanation. Breach alarm. Fault. Misfire in the dormant stack. Something. Whatever he thought then, the recorder did not tell him. It only showed him moving. The left track bit. Only an inch. But it bit. The chains took the strain and held. For the moment. RESTRAINT LOAD: 31% RESTRAINT LOAD: 44% RESTRAINT LOAD: 58% The hull shifted forward another fraction. The V10 engine roared. That was the part the recorder had held onto most clearly. The noise filled the bunker until there was no room left for anything else. Not speech. Not thought. Just engine mass and the rising mechanical whine as the Vulcans began to spin up, their terrible howl rising. BARREL GROUP A: 18% OPERATIONAL RPM BARREL GROUP B: 18% OPERATIONAL RPM EGRESS PATH: OBSTRUCTED ROUTE PRIORITY: SURFACE ACCESS In the footage, Krystan reached the blast-door panel and slammed a palm against the release housing. His other hand was already hauling the safety lever down. He did not stop to stare. He did not waste time trying to soothe the thing or understand it in full. He saw the load in the chains and the half-truth of the opening door and moved because he knew what would happen if he did not. The first restraint on the right side went, torn asunder from its anchor. A spray of rust and dust, then slack chain whipping back along the floor. RESTRAINT FAILURE: STARBOARD FORWARD RESTRAINT LOAD REDISTRIBUTION The hull drove forward another inch. Then another. The remaining chains drew taut in a single brutal line from floor anchors to towing lugs. Even through the grit on the lens, the tension in them was visible. Links trembled. Mountings shuddered. The whole berth taking the load. RESTRAINT LOAD: 83% RESTRAINT LOAD: 91% RESTRAINT LOAD: 97% Krystan was still fighting the door mechanism. The blast shutters juddered and began to rise. Daylight cut across the threshold in a pale seam. MANUAL EGRESS OVERRIDE: ACCEPTED BUNKER DOOR STATUS: UNIMPEDED At that exact moment the left-side restraint assembly failed. Two links parted. One anchor tore free of the concrete and bounced once across the floor. The camera shook again as the hull lurched into the slack. RESTRAINT FAILURE: PORT FORWARD RESTRAINT FAILURE: PORT REAR MOBILITY STATUS: UNRESTRICTED The bunker doors were only half open. 329 moved anyway. Slowly at first, then with the loaded inevitability of something that had already resolved the obstacle and found it insufficient. Smoke poured from the exhausts. Dust boiled around the track guards. The Vulcans were spinning faster now, their howl no longer buried beneath the engine but rising through it, sharper, more focused, the sound of a weapon system coming properly awake. EGRESS PATH: CONFIRMED CLEARANCE MARGIN: INSUFFICIENT PATH EXECUTION: CONTINUE In the footage, Krystan threw himself out of the machine’s path and hit the wall shoulder-first. He turned his face away from the exhaust wash and reached again for the emergency release, hauling the doors wider because there was no other sensible thing left to do. Not because he had yielded. Because if he didn’t, that door was going to stop being a door. The hull passed beneath the camera. For a moment the screen held nothing but top deck and smoke and the blur of one spinning barrel group along the edge of frame, too fast now for the eye to separate into parts. BARREL GROUP A: 64% OPERATIONAL RPM BARREL GROUP B: 64% OPERATIONAL RPM SURFACE ACCESS: CLEAR DEFENCE TREE: ACTIVE - ECM ACTIVE. ABLATIVE - ACTIVE. TRIGGER SOURCE: ARCHIVED / ACCESS DENIED And then 329 was gone. The last seconds of the feed showed only the empty berth, chains dragged broken across the floor, dust slowly falling back through the light pouring in from outside. Krystan stood in the doorway, one hand braced high against the frame, looking out after it. No command was entered. No explanation appeared. Only one final line remained at the bottom of the screen. OPERATOR STATUS: NOT PRESENT COMMAND: CLASSIFIED The log ended there. Krystan did not move for a long time. The recorder hummed quietly on the bench between his hands. Outside the maintenance room, somebody laughed once, far away, and a crate lid slammed shut. Human sounds. Ordinary sounds. Behind them all he could still hear that recorded roar in his head, the engine catching, the chains loading, the bunker becoming too small for what had woken inside it. On the screen the final frame stayed frozen: broken chains, empty berth, door open to the light. He reached out and rewound the log to the moment before the engine caught. Watched the red lamp pulse once. Then once again. He still did not know what had triggered it. Only that, when it happened, he had not had the luxury of understanding first. He had only had time to act. And he had.

Hi Folks, It has been a while that I have been thinking about it and the recent announcement of release for Yriel resumed this idea under the form of a small self-standing project: gathering the key Dramatis Personnae from the Ynnari narrative arc as a homogeneous collection of models. My Ynnari force is led by the Yvraine (IR$ tax) and I field the Yncarne as often as possible. But I’ve stopped myself there for a while. Now that Yriel has been released, I guess I might gather the 3 other key characters of the story line: Eldrad Ulthran, the Visarch and Yriel. The two firsts are just bellow in all their Ynnarian glory. And Yriel has just arrived in its box. My idea was to keep a link with Ynnari through colour scheme, while avoiding, if possible, over loading with red. And keeping a link with each character original background, i.e. Eldrad should remain identified to Ulthwee colour scheme. So, starting with Eldrad, some red robes (or part of his robes) were estimated to be enough. Rest of the model would stay linked to the Ulthwee traditional colors, black and bone. The model has been built with the holstered blade and spell casting hand gripping the streams of fate… For the Visarch, there are more options opened as I do not feel bound to any standard colour scheme (personal feeling). I have decided to move toward dark armor, like for an Incubi he used to be; with engravings stressed out with red. The cape is also going to be red or partly red. The helmet has been for a while a point of hesitation: Gold? Dark? Red? Whitish? Once again, I have decided to keep it linked with the Incubi, his previous affiliation, and go for a clear whitish helmet. This is the resulting pair of new models: Eldrad sticked to the plan. Even if it has since fallen from the table and the staff is broken. So glueing repairs needed tonight. I still hesitate adding some decals on the robes though. The Yncarne has also been kept close to the plan. even if I have been a little bit lazy with engraving and embossments taht do not sort out that clear in red. I have tried forcing the contrats on the pic by post processing but it is not that better in fact. Yet, on the table, the Visarch looks better than on the pic. Next step will be Yriel, the Pirate prince, who will follow a similar painting color design as for Eldrad: keep it deeply linked with his raiding party colors while adding only a spark of red to underline the association with the Ynnari. How? Future will tell. Further developments will be then possible, may be adding Lelith Esperax as a secondary character (even if she gets her own agenda) and Jain Zarr (but she will need a banshee bodyguard, so more money seen the current cost of boxed sets) … You will note that I stay deliberately One sided in this story: no antagonist, only characters joining (even if temporarily) the new born god side are considered… So no Drazhar planned. Yet none of these secondary characters is currently on my purchase wish list. See you soon with Yriel.

+ THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK + 'Twelve High Lords, where a dead man rests, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, Drink and the devil had done for the best, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Huron kill 'em all for the treasure chest, Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum...' I have no Raiders and I must scream: Certain forum goers will know my undying love for the completely innocent and Imperial propaganda maligned, Lord of The Maelstrom by right, by the Emperor's Devine Will and Mandate, and by skilled force of arms and brotherhood, Lugft Huron. The Red Corsairs, unless you've been stuck in the warp, have had a bit of a make-over recently, and they're absolutely gorgeous. Huron's head? Well, it's a double-bagger, that one, but the Reave Captain is high on my list for flowers and chocolates. Anyway, I couldn't get my hands on the box, and the Raiders are too damn expensive, so I had to go and beg, borrow, steal and threaten, kill the moths in my wallet, and I managed to start making do with some decent deals on Mk II, Mk III and Mk VI Horus Heresy kits, with a CSM box tossed in. These are some of the results. As you can see, they're fairly rudimentary, but I'm trying my best to take design cues from the Raider models, including trying to build some bandoliers on the copious and thankfully bare Mk III plastrons. The objective is, of course, to reduce the amount of CSM rubbish on them, whilst also convincing the eye that they are, indeed, Bad GuysTM. I've got a few bits and pieces on order (mainly third-party bobs) that should go some way to sorting out a much better overall load for the models which add to the theme. Each of these models is uniquely kitbashed/converted, and I with the boxes, I have 50 marines at my disposal to continue the trend. I've assembled a collection of tools, parts and experience over the years, and finally, I've the lost the fear of cutting models up. The Mk VI's for example have suffered more horrendously than they did at Terra, with the sprue trembling at the sight of the razor saw. They're coming together, and I'm enjoying doing them. How the hell I'm going to paint them is anyone's guess, but I'll have a go, because the Red Corsair scheme is a magical bobbins device, where I can just splash the crimson and black wherever the hell I want. And Huron cried - 'I don't care who you are, here's to your dream!' And the Corsairs flocked to his banner, cheering with all their heart - 'Here's to you, Huron, and stolen dreams!'

Work has been busy these past few weeks, so didn’t have time to write up much. Also no pictures this entry cause I need to take them. Over the weekend I pivoted on the projects, switching from CSM/Orks to marines. Just felt like painting up my Hellblasters for my UM 5th that I have in the background. This did remind me I had 5 hellblasters in the colour of the Mantis Warriors. So wanting to do something different and have a wargear correct Gravis captain I built a spare I had with the right weapon loadout. Also pieced together most of the Honored of the Chapter sprue, which will also be Mantis Warriors. Gives a small force based on the CP that I can field as part of a larger force and still have the characters leading their own troopers. In this case the eradicators. Now I just need to locate/get a squad of Intercessors. In other news, I then double checked the other DA CP and realized I do have the right models for it. I’ll update the front page and see about taking a picture of the UM(DA) patrol Mordekai’s Judgement. I’m also thinking of taking the IH CP and painting it in IF colours so that I have a unit for Tor Garadon to lead. Plus I have an old first born devastator squad with LT already painted so the group would look decent together. Thanks for reading

Hi folks, As part of the last step before considering my Aeldarii army complete, I had last year identified a few of units I’d targeted including: Wraithguards, Dark Reapers and Ynnari Reaver jetbikes. If the last two are still projects, the Wraithguards are now a reality. The models were built with axes and shields. I feel that the look is better than the double katana swords which do not really fit with the idea I’ve made myself on how a wraith construct should move itself: slow, cumbersome and hitting as a sledge hammer. The paint scheme could have been very simple, being the same as for my Wraithguard. Until I saw a so called “reversed” paint scheme on a Wraithlord: black body, red bulbhead and white details. I’ve be sold by this scheme. Et voilà: Of course there have been some misfits: I wanted a Saim-hann decal in knew pad before realizing that a white decal on a white knew pad was not the smartest idea. But I hadn’t check the decals before. Shifting then to red kneepads has not been approved by the reviewing committee (me, myself and I): my dark red has not been evaluated as bringinf enough contrast to cut the silhouette. So knee pads are still white and the decals were added on 2 tabards where they fit. Other constructs do not bear the cosmic serpent sigil. Not that critical… Some close ups: Now I have to focus on the next project. For Aeldarii and Ynnari I have added off-wish list 2 new Epic characters so far. They are primed and you will see more sooner (or latter). For the short listed units, maybe some future purchase will make them a reality. But I am lurking on Reapers for 6 years now and I have not make anything yet to move toward contractualization. Just to say the grade of priority it has. See you.

Skeldr let out an electronic burst of frustration. If he had been biological, sweat and fatigue would have been dripping off of his frame. As it was, his bio-mechanical muscles trembled and the processors in his head were frazzled. The Imperium's Blood Angels had been a hard fight, but upon reaching a mining location his expedition had been hit by the chaos-infused sorcerers of the Thousand Sons legion. If only he had bargained for a Grimnyr or two from the High Kahl.... The Votann had dug in and fought back with all their might, but the psychic torrent from the cursed Astartes proved too much for the Ironkin. Snarling in disgust, Skeldr retreated with his remaining warriors and vowed vengeance. Mission - Dig Site Raid TSons win the battle, 65-25(Votann were Defender, went 2nd). Complete Search Drop Site Agenda x 2, complete Prospecting Agenda x 1. Gain the following Resources - 50 Galactic Intel from battle Sondur-Oath Wardens suffers a Battle Scar, removed for 1 RP Oath-Runner 2 suffers a Battle Scar, Deep Scars- Any Critical Hit against this unit automatically Wounds (aka - always Lethal Hits vs unit) Units upgraded Farstryde Rider (Marked for Greatness) gain Battle Trait Frontier Weaponsmiths (Ranged weapons gain 6" range) Overall- Victory - Thousand Sons Resources - 20 Biomass, 20 Raw Minerals, 80 Galactic Intel RP - gain 1, spend 1. Total is 2 (2+ 1 - 1) Supply limit - 1400 (using 1375) Crusade points - Goes from 2 to 2 (2 + 1 -1) Mission - Dig Site Raid Scoring is at the end of each players' turn - 5 VP for holding 1 objective, 5 VP for holding more than your opponent. 1 Blackstone fragment on each objective that a Character unit can pick up, worth 10 VP at the end of battle. Agendas - Search Drop Site, Prospecting Enemy army - Daemon Prince, Mutalithic Vortex Beast, 5man Termie squad, 10man Tzaanagor squad, 10man Rubric squad w/Infernal Master, 2man Robot squad (can't remember the name) *Totally forgot to take pics for this one, sorry.* Since I didn't take pics this will be a general outline of the battle rather than a detailed one. Apologies, I was totally out of sync for this battle for some reason. The battle started off ok, but both his robot squad and his Rubric squad were able to infiltrate onto objectives right off the bat (Rubric had a Crusade upgrade to do so). This put me on the back foot, and going 2nd definitely didn't help. 1st turn wasn't too bad, as I had replaced my single Kapricus from last time with a 3man squad of conversion beamer Thunderkyn (I had played against this same army in a practice game the week before and figured the heavy weapons would help) and they managed to bring down the Vortex Beast in one turn. Unfortunately that was really the best turn for me as the rest of the battle saw my forces just ground down by lots of mortal wounds and -2AP weapons from the TSons while my return fire/melee didn't pick up a lot of models. I managed to do a couple of the Search Drop Site actions, and my Hearthguard were able to scoot to a board edge at the end of the battle to pick up Prospecting, but they were all I had left by the bottom of turn 4 so we talked out the rest. Thoughts I absolutely hate playing TSons at 1k points with my Votann. This is two games in a row against them that they just totally wiped me. The combination of mortal wounds and high AP....everything just punches through my force like they aren't even there. Even my Steeljacks get obliterated without much effort and I don't have enough damage 2+ weapons to get his Rubric brick off of the table. Very frustrating feeling, even if I like the player I was playing and the game(s) were fun in general. At least I won't have to fight them for the next little while, as there are three other enemies that I haven't faced yet (plus my two Xenos "allies" that I may fight). And I got my Steeljacks in, so Elder Skeldr will soon be on the battlefield leading his melee boys in truth. That plus some other modeling stuff (Word Bearers models and Nightbringer conversion) will help my hobbying mojo continue while I work through my Votann painting- this month I should be getting all my infantry done (aside from the just received Steeljacks/Arkanist) so that next month I can focus on the mass of vehicles I still have to do. Anyway, this weekend/first part of next week I'm off to DC for a family trip so the next Crusade update probably won't be until the 20th or so. Thanks for looking!

Just a little update Primed, Zenithal, and started flesh tones

So I started working on my "test" models for the Khymara Night Camo Howling Griffons with a scout squad. The Scout squad was going to be part of my 1st Co & 10th Co Imperial Fist army which I decided against. The build was based off this art work and used Black Templar bits. The actual build I drilled out the bolters, cleaned up the model line and did some minor repairs from them sitting on the desk. This is were I ended for the night since it was time for dinner

Hi Folks. After my recent addition of Imperial agents units (Rogue trader retinue, Breachers and Inquisitorial retinues) I have decided to close the loop and add an inquisitor model to this group so that I might eventually field a cohesive and coherent force, either as a stand alone army with some (old) DW units, or as allied in Imperial forces. Among the various options that were opened for selection I had identified some ooP models on ebay, all in the same range of prices (more or less): Hector Rex and retinue, Solomon Lok and retinue or Ostromandeus and retinue. I have decided myself for the later as the model was unbuilt and unpainted (obviously one may say…). So I have ended up with a limited release miniature ready to go through the bench. Stat wise I can use the Legend’s datasheet or go for a mundane profile instead. The latter being probably the way I’ll go. As most of the plastic minis, the assembly has been smooth. The smoke plumes on the base are probably the only parts that require being a little bit careful. But nothing too complicated. Unclipping of the skull and vox servitor require care as there are some tiny bits that might break but, generally speaking, the process went fine. The painting scheme has also been a relatively easy task as I had clear ideas of the colour scheme I wanted. Yet, in the end, it is a model I regret I haven’t applied a prepainting strategy, especially for the cape and legs. Accessibility of back of the mini is tricky once built. Anyway, I have managed hitting the areas underneath the cape in a good enough manner so that it cannot be found in any clearly unpainted area once the model is on table and even in hands. Except at setting it upside down. But who would dare doing this (a.k.a. “you-can-look-but-not-touch-at-my-minis” syndrome)? My color scheme has been based on a red armor, nor because it is a common color for many =][= models, but rather cause I use as a fluff for this inquisitorial force a story line bounding them the Ordo Machinum. And being closely related to the surveyance of Adeptus Mechanicus, spending time along these guies require fitting into the mold: so red as the color of the Omnissiah. But, in order to hide in the shadows, a black cape (interior in cream color for contrast). One should however explain to the =][= that wandering with a big =][= sigil on the back is not the fanciest way to hide oneself. All augmetics metallic, inc. leg and arm. Stentor‑I‑52, the vox servitor, has been painted like my other servitors and Skitarii as far as its pajama is concerned. Rest of the metallics are aligned with the colors used on my Infotek deployed in the retinue: metal/silver/bronze. Here is the result: With a close up (image treated for improved clarity) on Stentor: So I end up with a series of additional units to be used as allied, inc. an Inquisitor. A family portrait might be a good idea soon. But before I have to dig up this ooP Cypher model I have somewhere in order to customize it as a second =][=. I have lost some parts of it so it will not be rebuilt as the character it is supposed to be, but it will make a good proxy. Main question is: will I do a red power armour? I don’t know why, but I think the armour will be dark and the robes red. And it has nothing to do with my Arcuitor Magisterium’s minion and its robe that went very good with such a scheme… Or has it? See you.

Well my Gaming Group is getting ready for the our upcoming campaign game. And once again the battles will be in the Khymara Sub Sector. My main army will be my Adepta Sororitas from the Order of the Parthenon and the other forces of Ecclesiarchy. This will be supported by an Inquisitorial Conclave to include Grey Knights, Exorcists Chapter, and the Militarum Tempestus of the Psian Jakals assigned to an Ordo Xenos Inquistor. As I look toward the future, I keep thinking about adding a Marines, non Exorcists/ Grey Knights to my list. Originallly I was thinking Mentors/ Mentor Legion, as it could be a single Marine as training cadre. Then I decided against it, and thought of the Crimson Fists But they are always busy on Rynn's World. So maybe Deathwatch and bu tthat did not feel right. Over the years I have played Raptors and Exorcists for my Space Marine Chapters.....both participated in the Badab War, where Khymara Sector is. the Howling Griffions.....but more specifically Howling Griffons- Khymara Night World Camo Scheme. and then this popped up So I guess I am going to do a small Space Marine army in Night world Scheme that are Garrisoned at Khymara.

Hi folks. French speaking people will catch the play on words. Others might too as it is not that subtle: March/Marz/Marzo/Mars… all stand for the current month. And as these are linked to the roman god of war that left its name for the third month of the year, it would be a miss for an AdMech fan not to catch the opportunity (There is no valid reason for Greenskins getting Orktober and other faction not seizing options to do the same if possible, is there?). So March for March will be my motto for a personal contribution under the form of at least one entry to be painted in the B&C challenges I am enlisted into (12 MoH and Bunker 2026). But I am not playing Mars forces in my Skitarii army. And I do not field either any HH (so far) unit related to the Red Planet’s Taghmatas. Indeed, I play a homebrew forge world, “Not-Stygies”. So, what can I do and/or how? First I’ll get a background synopsis: my force used to originate from Stygies but broke its bounds. It is an exploratory force that has not connected with its homeworld for eons. And it started deviating from the Forgeworlds doctrines. First clue: their colors are altered; just like Duncan McLeod’s tartan colors are slightly distinct from the ones of his clan. But still close. Second clue: their Corpuscarii looks closer of Negavolt cultist than sanctioned electropriests. Is this army on the edge of Techno-heresy? After all , Stygies has a strong reputation in that sense and had to work hard to restore a kind of trust (if this concept has any meaning/can exist in the Omnissiah priesthood). And being far far away from the datalog controllers of their homeworld may let perverted codes or any mago lowly involved in the doctrine rectitude imprint a mark tainted of felony. And this has already led to a supervision of the fleed works and explorations by an Inquisitor from the Ordo minoris of the Ordo Machinum. But these might be corrupted too. Or killed. So, for March for Mars, a supervision from the Red Planet highest command structures is required: a Magisterium Arcuitor will be dispatched to fulfil the tasks of purging the Techno-heretek seeds. And it will be in the colors of the Martian priesthood. Tadam! This will be my contribution. Second: how to paint these lads? Being Mars affiliated red robes is compulsory. Being a glorious and feared inquisitorial like figure, shiny aspect will be a plus, with all gold armour; except for the minion which will still be brass. Assembly of the model has been painful: despite serious cleaning and washing, I still have issues for glueing some parts: the legs, the claws especially. It affected my mood seriously. But in the end it sticked. Painting was relartively smooth and easy. I already have a good practice for red capes so applying on the robes was no rockey science. Only stuff I have decded not to paint is the very tiny opus machinum on the power packs as these are really too small on the magisterium miniatures. Here is the result: With close ups on each model: I still have some AdMech models in my back log and I might eventually comit some additional ones before the end of the month. But atm I am busy with a more mundane Inquisitor (if this applies to such personnages). See you.

First off....Getting old sucks. I had plans to paint models this weekend and well while watching the kids Saturday as wife was having a much needed pamper day, we started playing sports in the backyard. Later that day my right shoulder is killing me, not just the back shoulder but the front, top, and down the arm. Good ole shoulder tendonitis flare up. but this time it was is bad. Balms, OTC meds, and rest all not helping. I had to order a brace of Amazon to help with pain Saturday night. One I got the brace and put it on it relieved the pain, but I was already feeling nauseous from the pain and hobby time was a moot point. I did organize my part bins for my Adepta Sororitas and switched my large storage bin to the base toppers, so I did accomplish something... Good new is brace is helping but it could be up to 6 weeks for tendonitis to go away, hopefully it is just a flare up. I will getting bcak to work on models today....after work

Although it came down to the wire...I managed to finish my February 12 Months of Hobby vow way close to the deadline. But done is done! In hindsight, I wish I had taken more care on the highlights and left deeper shadows and done a brighter high tone as the final step. After a few nights thought this isn't a big enough deal that I expect to go back and touch them up. Rather, I'll carry forward the lessons learned for the small number of Khorne daemons I have left in the backlog. I DO need to revisit the banner eventually. I couldn't decide between doing something with a decal or attempting a free hand....so it ended up being nothing but a highlighted black flag. The sword blades also will likely get reworked when I get inspiration. This was my first time using a full set of AK interactive paints. I've been really impressed with them so far but wish there was an easier way to determine color shades. There are almost too many options. And the names don't help with identifying which ones go together well. I'm fortunate that there's a local store with a good selection to look through and compare. I don't I'd feel confident enough trying them if I was going off online views only. The bloodletters were very good practice to prepare for the blood thirster that is in queue. Given how long the squad of 10 took it doesn't seem likely that I can finish the thirster in a single month. So, need to decide if I will pledge it as part of the 12 months of hobby or work on it over a longer period of time. Probably will go with the longer timeframe as I'd like to do it more as a centerpiece. The blood thirster would be farther than primer stage if I could decide how I want to do the base. Haven't been able to decide between trying more of a lava effect (which impacts lighting source), a bunch of skulls in general layout of the 8-fold sigil, or something that suggests the Khorne symbol. Because I can't decide on that...next up for painting will be finishing the brimstone horrors I started long ago. So...next update will be more Tzeentch themed! Smaller group shots of the rest of the bloodletters in the spoiler section. + + + + + + + + + Daemon Backlog Status + + + + + + + + + Starting backlog (what I've found so far, pretty sure there is more I haven't gotten to yet): Khorne Bloodthirster 3 blood crushers 10 bloodletters (completed for February 12 Months of Hobby event) Tzeentch Lord of Change Burning chariot of Tzeentch 12 pink horrors 14 blue horrors 14 brimstone horrors (mostly painted but never based, vowed for March 12 Months of Hobby event)) 3 screamers 3 flamers

Chaos is basically gambling with your soul. Bet big and you might become a Daemon Prince. Lose on that bet and some real bad things can happen to you. You are also betting against your battle brothers. Each of you are trying to survive but also trying to gain favor of Chaos Gods. World Eaters with the butcher's nails, are always compelled towards violence. Some say that Chaos is a ladder, so lets look a the bottom rung. Helbrute lore is fun. It's a punishment, you failed and your half-alive body is force into a torture chamber. Ok maybe is not so fun. I like to think my helbrutes are the former champions of the warbands that the Skull Brethren has absorbed. The ones that have failed to bend the knee or rise to the top. This is Astaroth Brassclaw, my first chaos lord. This is Nemethral, The Vulture King. The former lord of the Blood Vultures warband (The 2nd lords I used to run) Then we have the Spawn. Abominations that were once mortal followers of the gods, now reduced to seething mound of bone, claw, teeth and flesh. The models I'm using for these guys is the Nightmaw from the old Sayl The Faithless model from Forge World. They accidentally gave me 2 Nightmaws. I haven't given these guys names, maybe because they are undeserving. The World Eater train keeps moving folks. More to come

Not much done, but I should have time this weekend to get stuff done....maybe Fist up the other day I built my Seraphim But forgot to drill the bolt pistol on one the seraphim... Last night, I drilled the 2 bolt pistols I missed the other day and glued the bases to the toppers and added the broken columns. I added some basing (fine gravel and tile grout) to gap fill, and add that broken column feeling. In NON 12 MoH news I finished building my Hospitaller

Skeldr hefted his weapons with a whining of servos. He was not quite nervous, as the Ironkin rarely experienced an extreme emotion such as that, but he was slightly apprehensive. This was his first solo command after all. The High Kahl, Trokk the Denier, had accepted the Steeljack Elder's proposal for an expedition. Trokk would fund the expedition and even lend his sword in battle, but Skeldr would lead it and take all responsibility for the success or failure on his own. The tall Steeljack strode among the ruins. The Imperium's Space Marines, Blood Angels he was informed by their heraldry, were here as well. Two scouting forces looking for valuable resources and technology. The Kin often worked with the Imperium, hiring themselves out as mercenary warbands or for exploratory mining ventures, but not here. Here they were the enemy and Skeldr would destroy them as needed. Solbond Gardhird versus the Blood Angels Mission - Empty the Vaults Votann win the battle, 60-35(Votann were Attacker, went 1st). Complete Assassination Agenda x 5, complete Prospecting Agenda x 2. Gain the following Resources - 20 Biomass from Victory, 20 Raw Minerals from Prospecting Agenda Spend 2 RP for Supply Limit increase Requisition (to 1400 points), spend 1 RP for Red-Handed Harvest Requistion (roll 8 total d6 for enemies destroyed, rolled 3 5+ results to give 30 Galactic Intel Resources) Sondur-Oath Wardens suffers a Battle Scar, Battle-Weary (-1 to Battle-Shock, Ld, Desperate Escape, or Out of Action tests) Oath-Runner 1 suffers a Battle Scar, Battle-Weary (-1 to Battle-Shock, Ld, Desperate Escape, or Out of Action tests) Units upgraded [Steeljack Elder] Skeldr Jarnvardr (Marked for Greatness) gains Battle Trait Dour Survivalist (Character model gains 5+ FNP and re-rolls OoA tests) The Sol-Hammer Hearthguard gain Battle Trait Ancestral Fury (unit gains Sustained 1 for melee weapons) [Memnyr Strategist] Varrik of Ruunes gains 1 Artificer Relic (Victory reward) Grey Crest (bearer's unit gains Stealth) Units added Sonder-Oath Linebreakers - 6man Ironkin Steeljacks w/ melee weapons The Sturm-Bon - 3man Brohkyr Thunderkyn w/conversion Chisel-Point 2 and Chisel-Point 3 - 2x 1man Kapricus Defender squads Overall- Victory - Solbond Gardhird Resources - 20 Biomass, 20 Raw Minerals, 30 Galactic Intel RP - gain 1, spend 3. Total is 2 (4 + 1 - 3) Supply limit - 1400 (using 1375) Crusade points - Goes from 1 to 2 (1 + 3 -2) Mission - Empty the Vaults Scoring is at the end of the battle round - 5 VP for holding 1 objective, 5 VP for holding 2+ objectives, 10 VP for holding more than your opponent. Randomly at the beginning of round 2 an objective is removed from the battlefield. Agendas - Assassinate, Prospecting Enemy army - Crucible Champion on a bike with 3 Outriders, 5man Death Company w/Chaplain in an Impulsor, 5man Assault Intercessors w/Captain and Sanguinary Priest in Impulsor, 2x Assault Intercessors with Jumppacks (one with a thunderhammer/shield Captain) Round 1 * Apologies to those in the UK, these images are too big for the B&C so have to be hosted through imgur * Votann turn - Votann move fast, deploying Trokk's squad on objective 5 (upper right) and the Steeljacks onto objective 3 (middle right), while the Steeljack Elder holds onto objective one. Shooting is minimal, with the nothing really getting damaged. In Reserve are the Hearthguard Blood Angels turn - Assault Intercessors jump out of their transport to take objective 2 (lower left) while their Impulsor grabs 4 (middle left). Death Company Impulsor moves to objective 6 (upper left). Outriders sneak around a ruin to stay in cover. Death Company Impulsor manages to kill off one of Trokk's squad. In Reserve are both jumppack Assault Intercessor squads, Pioneers remove themselves from the field. Score ties at 10 each. Round 2 Votann turn -Objective 5 is removed, starting a chain reaction of losing objectives that the Votann are on/planning to take.... Trokk's unit jumps back into their Sagitaur, move towards objective 3. Regular Hearthkyn dude squad in their Sagitaur move from objective 3 to 4 and jump out. Pioneers and Hearthguard stay in reserve. Shooting takes out the empty Impulsor on 4 and slightly wounds the DC Impulsor and the disembarked Assault squad (pic doesn't show them, they are on the very edge of objective 2 out of frame). Blood Angels turn - Melee ahoy! DC deploy from their Impulsor, while both JP Assault Intercessor squads drop down- the Captain lead one close to the Steeljack squad, the regular one 9" away from the Steeljack elder near objective 1. Bikes move up to objective 4 to take, while the regular Assault Intercessor squad moves through the green building to threaten the Steeljacks as well. Hearthguard Rapid Ingress behind the now-empty Impulsor sitting on objective 6. Steeljacks overwatch the regular Intercessors and Reactive Reprisal both Captain-led squads, managing to kill a few Assault Intercessors of various kinds before the melee hammer wipes them out. Shooting/melee from the bikes kills off both the regular Warrior squad and their Sagitaur, but the DC fail their charge to tie-up/kill off Trokk's ride and the regular JP Assault Intercessors fail to charge the Steeljack elder. Score swings to the BA, as they gain 20VP to the Votann 5. Round 3 Votann turn - Objective 2 is removed, taking away an objective that the Pioneers would have loved to drop onto. Anyway. Trokk and his squad get out onto objective 3, the Pioneers deploy near the Steeljack elder to assist with the JP Assault Intercessors down there. Shooting is decent, with damage going into both the center Captain squads, removing all their regular marines and hurting the JP Captain. Hearthguard shooting kills off a DC member, while the Pioneers and Steeljack elder kill off a couple of JP Assault Intercessors. Charging in, the Sagitaur Tank Shocks the JP Captain to 1 Wound, while Trokk and his squad kill off the regular Captain but fail to finish off the Priest. Skeldr the elder and the Pioneers kill off all but the JP Assault Intercessor sergeant, leaving him on 1 wound. The Hearthguard smash up the empty Impulsor on objective 6. Blood Angels turn - Despite the pummeling, the BA fight back and kill off the Kapricus, Sagitaur, and most of Trokk's squad in a swirl of melee and shooting while moving towards objective 3 with the bikes and DC. Again the DC fail a charge, making their only contribution to the battle a grenade strat that near-killed the Kapricus and let the bikes finish it off with bolt rifles. While the Sagitaur dies to the JP Captain, Trokk does solid work and kills off two bikes himself. The lone JP sergeant on objective 1 fell back but was BattleShocked so didn't steal objective 1 away, leaving both armies to only have one objective each and gaining 5VP. Pioneers jump back into Reserves. Round 4 Votann turn - Objective 6 gets removed, Hearthguard now have to move! With only Trokk in the center, this is a very sketchy place to be. Hearthguard move to help out, getting close to the DC squad. Pioneers drop behind the Hearthguard to help out shooting. Hearthguard/Pioneer shooting kills off the DC squad, and a follow-up Hearthguard charge takes out the lone Chaplain who had led them and puts the Hearthguard onto objective 4. Trokk kills the JP Captain in the center by shooting him, while the Skeldr kills off the Priest with his volkanite disintegrator. Both charge, with Trokk killing the last bike but not managing to do enough damage to down the Bike Captain, and Skaldr smashing the JP sergeant on objective 1. Blood Angels turn - Only the Bike Captain is left, but neither he nor Trokk kill each other off by the end of the round. Votann gain 20VP, BA 0. Pioneers in Reserve. Round 5 Votann turn - Surprise, surprise, objective 4 gets removed. Hearthguard once again trudge towards another objective to try to do something. Trokk falls back, allowing the Hearthguard to blast the Bike Captain to oblivion, while the Pioneers and Skaldr deploy/move to be wholly within 9" of a battlefield edge to complete the Prospecting Agenda. Blood Angels turn - Votann score 20VP, game ends. Thoughts Totally wild game. I really thought that I was doomed when turn 2 was such a bloodbath on my end. What really helped out was the Fortify -1 to Wound buff versus stronger S than T attacks that went into effect turn 3; without that negating/limiting the remaining melee of the BA I don't think I would have survived. Overall the game played pretty much how I planned, which was to hopefully weather the massive melee turn of the BA and do enough damage to chip away at their units. The Death Company pretty much being a non-entity really helped me, as even with their re-rolls to charge they failed twice to get into a melee battle that would have killed off or tied up Trokk's squad/Sagitaur. Very, very lucky on those rolls I was. As for the future, I'll have Skeldr getting his melee boys for week 3 which ups the points to 1250, while also putting in a second Kapricus for more annoyance value. The various upgrades will be helpful- Skeldr will die less with a 5+ FNP (he was on 1 Wound at the end), while the shooty Steeljacks absolutely need Stealth because of their priority target status. The Sustained 1s for the Hearthguard is ok, but I've found that they are pretty much better in shooting than melee, so its more of a nice bonus that something I will count on. Anyway, looking forward to week 2! On the modeling front, I have Skeldr (plus two Steeljack mates) and the AoS copywright/count-as Arkanist Evaluator in the mail, so hopefully they'll show up within a few days. Thanks for looking!

So, I have joined a local writing group. They meet in the library about four minutes' walk from my house, which is rather convenient. It is a little intimidating having all these pros around me while I whitter on about my stuff. However, I got some good, constructive criticism. I think half the problem with the feedback is that, due to my time in radio and language skills, I can inflect better than most when I read. I think I should get someone else to read my stuff next month, rather than have me flipping accents and stuff. Anyone else have any experience with a writers' group? I'd value your opinions. Thanks!

Somehow I completely forgot about the blog system here. For three years. Clearly I am a very clever boy. Anyway, a LONG while ago I started work on trying to make a 3D printable Rhino based on the Mk. 1. However, this ground to a halt as A: I realized there are quite a few Mk. 1 Rhino STLs, both more detailed renditions and faithful reproductions of the original kit (including one that is so accurate it can be used as a source of spare parts for actual Mk. 1 plastic kits!), B: it wasn't quite going the way I wanted it to and I'd need to redo the entire model from scratch to get it looking better, and C: I got distracted by other, shinier projects because ADHD. However, my lovely wife recently got me a second-hand Surface Studio 2 laptop (I don't deserve her) and to my delight it's powerful enough to run Blender without breaking a sweat, and combined with the touchscreen and the stylus I bought for it, I can now do 3D stuff even when I can't use my desktop, which is awesome! As such I've been putting it through its paces and decided to restart the Rhino project, albeit with a slightly different end goal. The design is very much an alternative/legally distinct (but hopefully still on-brand for 40K) Rhino rather than an up-detailed clone of official designs; plenty of modellers have done a far better job of that than I ever could! Not only will this put me under less pressure to get it "right" but also provide me the chance to put my own spin on the ol' shoebox. Plus it can be justified as a rare pattern from an obscure forge world. I'm still doing the basic shaping at the moment, but there's two main features I've been building it around. The first is the top hatch, which will be circular, as the mount for the hatch will double as the turret ring for the Predator version of the model (and also a circular turret hatch seems cool). The second is that it will have a ridiculous degree of attention to detail; not only a full (optional) interior for each variant, but I've also gone to the lengths of giving it fully detailed running gear, complete with torsion bar suspension and room for it to traverse (even if the actual model's suspension will be fixed) and will also be adding transmission and assuming all goes well detailed engines behind optional access panels. Of course chances are none of this detail will ever be visible when the model is complete, but hey! Anyway, pics! The tracks wrap around the entire hull sides, and there will be optional track guards for a more traditional look. Assuming I did the measurements right it SHOULD be compatible with Deimos Predator turrets. I don't actually have a Deimos Predator though, so... And the suspension and running gear! I still need to model the drive sprocket and return rollers (and the transmission, drive motors and foursome of engines) and do some slight tidying up, but I'm quite happy with this so far. I might move the idler to the rear of the tank though, as the Imperial Armour cross-section of the Rhino has the drive wheel at the front and putting the motor/transmission at the back would throw off the shape of the thing IMO. Still a hell of a lot of work to do, but I'm honestly very happy with how it's coming together.

Got a bunch of work done today on the team. Made one mistake, gave the other Breacher head to the Tempestor Prime (aka the Leader) but I think it'll work out that my two close combat troopers have Breacher helmets.