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I am probably no longer in the ideal time to be writing blogs, but this format fascinates me. I would most likely be writing this blog just for myself, but I really enjoy the exercise after reading several blogs on this forum. I have always been fascinated by the narrative aspect of the game, and especially by conversions, which are my favorite part. So I am starting a project log for my The Lost & The Damned army, which I began two months ago. The goal will be to present the conversions, the evolution of the lore, and battle reports. The main inspiration will come from the V3 codex “Eye of Terror”, which featured fascinating renegade and mutant miniatures. The central idea is that each model must be unique, even among the swarming mass of infantry planned. The army’s lore is not yet fixed and will likely be developed in future posts. The short-term goal is to build a Boarding Action force filled with cultists and other Beastmen. In the longer term, the army will be played using the Astra Militarum codex, but I fully intend to add some Chaos Space Marines at the origin of the rebellion (chapter to be determined: Word Bearers, Night Lords) as well as several daemons. For painting, I have stuck to a contrast paint scheme with simple highlights, easy to apply given the number of miniatures planned for a horde-style army. Let’s get to the heart of the matter with the first units I have completed so far. A horde of mutants led by “Nox the Pale-Skinned” Built using bits of all kinds scavenged from my pile of shame, notably ghouls, Beastmen, and poxwalkers. I used a mix of contrast paints to achieve this sickly, pallid skin effect. One of the mutants has a plasma gun grafted in place of an arm, and another wields a flamethrower. A group of cultists led by “Athreus the Visionary” I wanted a more religious style using Necromunda kits, Bretonnian knights, or even old Orks (?) I really enjoyed making the occult banner, and the missile launcher bearer made from a Boy from my childhood gives me immense pleasure.

Kayhrim is a fierce warrior and leader among the Gnostari Dominion's ranks of Einhyr. A member of the Shattered Star Kindred, she takes a personal affront to the loss of any organic Kin life that occurs. Her rage and fury, unusual for an Ironkin, have driven her to thrown herself time and again into desperate last stands and near-hopeless rescue actions. Currently Champion Kayhrim Myrr is leading a unit of Einhyr in Kahl Tybarr Seykyr's Hearthband, under the banner of High Khal Trokk the Denier's Kinhost.

This kill team will consist of two Deathwatch fire teams. I'm going to limit the number of official Chapters that are represented, however, focusing on more obscure official Chapters and DIY Chapters of my own creation. In all likelihood, I'm going to revert to the original color scheme that we used for the Legio, as seen on this model painted by @Chronophague in 2003: That version of the color scheme featured the black armour, red helmet (you can see it hung on his belt behind the grenades), and red weapons casings that we are familiar with. The left kneepad is white, indicating that this battle-brother belonged to the Light of the Emperor Great Company. At that time, the left shoulder pad field and chest decoration were bone in color. I don't recall exactly why we formally switched the chest decoration to white and the shoulder pad field to red. If you look carefully, you can see that the =][= on the Deathwatch shoulder pad is red. Most of the entries to this contest followed the "bone" theme, though not a few used different colors for the chest decoration and/or left shoulder pad field (typically white, silver, red, or black). A good example of a variant color scheme used in that contest can be seen in the model painted by @disinfect. While the left shoulder pad uses the bone coloring, the chest eagle is painted white; and the model incorporates the black and white checkerboard pattern on the right boot to indicate veteran status. As you can see, we allowed a bit of creativity in color scheme when we first created the Legio; and I think we need to return to that to better support the varying preferences of players. You can see the other images from that contest here (we distinguished between the mod entries and the Frater Domus entries, but all are collected together in that album). So the scheme I'm going to use is: Black armour (duh) Red helmet (duh) with green eyes Red weapons casings (duh) Red left kneepad or decoration upon that left kneepad (for the Blood of the Emperor Great Company) Bone chest decoration Bone left shoulder pad (Legio) field Red =][= on the left shoulder pad (I'm using the Deathwatch pads and the inclusion of the =][= indicates that these Legio members have served with the Inquisition) Silver skull on the left shoulder pad Right shoulder pads (parent Chapters) in a variety of colors, see below Why am I reverting to the "bone" theme? In short, since I'm building this kill team to introduce a group of players who are relatively new to the hobby, I'm not sure if they're familiar with the various Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. So I want them to be able to describe the models based on the color of their parent Chapter badge. By switching to the "bone" theme, I can include Chapters whose shoulder pads are red. Assuming each member of the squad has a different color for their right shoulder pad, I have blue, red, yellow, orange, purple, green, black, white, silver, and gold. And since my freehand painting skills suck, I'm only using sculpted shoulder pads. At this point, I have identified the colors, icons, and parent Chapters of the first fire team (of the first squad), the icon and shoulder pad color of the rest of the first squad, and icon of the entire second squad. Most are DIY Chapters of my own creation, with only one member of an [obscure] official Chapter in each squad. The planned fire team of the first squad consists of: White fist on blue disc, possibly surrounded by a sunburst (Fists of Purity Chapter, DIY) - Sergeant White hawk head on orange (Nova Hawks Chapter, DIY) - Fighter Bronze bull head on purple (Khalkotauri Chapter, DIY*) - Warrior Black griffon on yellow (Emperor's Knights Chapter, DIY*) - Warrior Gunmetal crossed swords on black (Guardians of the Covenant Chapter, GW) - Warrior White Maltese cross on green (Storm Angels Chapter, DIY*) - Heavy Gunner This leaves me with white, red, gold, and silver for the fields of the remaining members (with icons given contrasting colors). It will be important to distinguish these four shoulder pads from the Chapters that I named for each. The rest of the first squad and the entire second squad consist of: skull (this is the Silver Skulls shoulder pad from the Deathwatch kit) talon (the Brazen Claws shoulder pad from the Deathwatch kit) skull and halo (the Novamarines shoulder pad from the Deathwatch kit) gauntlet (this is one of the original metal Iron Hands shoulder pads) wolf/hound head (the Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company shoulder pad from the Deathwatch kit) starburst (this is one of the original metal veteran shoulder pads) skull and crossbones (this is one of the original metal Death Company shoulder pads) dragon head (this is the Salamanders shoulder pad from the Deathwatch kit) raven/bird (this is the Raven Guard shoulder pad from the Deathwatch kit) lambda (this is one of the original metal devastator squad shoulder pads) fist (this is one of the original Imperial Fists shoulder pads) flames (this is one of the original Legion of the Damned shoulder pads) skull on a Maltese cross (this is one of the plastic Black Templars shoulder pads from the old upgrade sprue) freehand! (I figured I should challenge myself with one of these models) I may decide that some of the second squad members are from obscure official Chapters. Options include: Angels of Fire (flames) - yellow/orange on red Angels Redeemed (I'd have to use the Dark Angels shoulder pad from the Deathwatch kit) - white on red Contenders (fist) - red on silver/light grey Crimson Talons (talon) - red on white Dark Brotherhood (skull on Maltese cross) - red skull and white cross on grey Hawk Lords (raven/bird) - yellow on purple Iron Fists (fist) - gold on blue-silver Knights of the Raven (raven/bird) - black on silver Red Wolves (wolf/hound head) - red on black Shadow Wolves (wolf/hound head) - white on black Subjugators (fist) - black on green Imperial Paladins (skull on a Maltese cross) - white skull on yellow cross on blue If I decide to do this, I'll be limited by the self-imposed requirement for different colors on the shoulder pad fields. I could make the freehand shoulder pad an obscure official Chapter, doing something that I might reasonably hope to render such as: Crimson Guard (crossed red axes on yellow/gold) Dark Hunters (white axe on blue) Emperor's Hawks (white wing on red) Masters of Protelus (blue axe on white) Storm Callers (yellow lightning bolt on black) Storm Giants (red lightning bolt on bone) War bearers (crossed black axes on green) Note that I've ruled out Second Founding Chapters such as the so-called "First Founding" Chapters, Black Templars, Brazen Claws, Crimson Fists, Mortifactors, Nemesis, and Silver Skulls, as well as more well-known Chapters such as the Howling Griffons, Novamarines, and Sons of Medusa. I've also ruled out those Chapters known to have participated in the Abyssal Crusade. There are probably other official Chapters I could choose from, but those named above were found in the Insignium Astartes, Successor Chapters (booklet in the limited edition version of the 7th edition Codex: Space Marines), and How to Paint Space Marines books as well as the Index Astartes article about the Chapters that participated in the Third War for Armageddon. My focus is the first six models (colors and Chapters already decided upon), so the rest of the decisions are academic for now. If/when the time comes, however, I'll consult other sources to find the full array of official Chapters. I'm pretty sure that both Sergeants will end up having a blue shoulder pad, both fighters will end up having an orange shoulder pad, both heavy gunners will end up having a green shoulder pad, etc. I'll probably differentiate by having different shades of the colors - so one of the Sergeants will use a dark blue and the other will use a light blue. Since a single Deathwatch fire team composes a full Space Marine kill team, and since each operative type other than Warrior can only be included once in the kill team (remember - I'm using the 2021 version), this means that I'll effectively have two options for each operative type. Since my Fists of Purity Sergeant has a thunder hammer and bolt pistol, the other Sergeant will have a different weapon combination. Likewise, my Storm Angels Heavy Gunner has an Infernus heavy bolter, so the other Heavy Gunner will have one of the other heavy weapon options. Decisions, decisions... And just to manage expectations, don't expect my finished minis to match the quality of painting seen in either of the Legio mini-me's that are shown at the top of this entry. * It has been a while since I created any DIY Chapter articles, so I hope to develop these three Chapters (Emperor's Knights, Khalkatauri, and Storm Angels) to exercise some creativity. I also plan to update and revise the Fists of Purity article, removing the more egregious of my errors and [hopefully] improving the quality of the article. Each of these will be conducted as separate blogs, though I'll cross-link to them in this blog.

Hi Folks, This CtA25 challenge has been the event that brought me up to putting the last touches of bruches on my Assuryanii. All factions released are represented in a big Ynnari party. I'd still like to increase a little bit this force with a few units such as Dark Reapers or Wraithblades, but it will not be so soon. I have other project so far. It is a big army. And some units deserve maybe a little focus. First come these Corsairs - 3 units of VoidReavers, out of which 2 are kitbashed. Another kit bash is the Autach made out of some BAnshee parts and the Old Dhrazaar Yvraine leads the way. As a GW's junky, I might some day complete the Triumvirat of Ynnead with her lover, and may be with the Dramatis Personnae that helped her: Jain Zaar, Yriel, Eldrad and Lelith. What would be a Saim-Hann army without Windriders? And the venerable WraithLord, my first Eldar mini ever. As a final touch, a farseer with his retinue. Should they be all fitted with Singing spears, this unit could be the ultimate Titanic vehicle hunter... A nice trip. That requires hitting the table top more often. See you folks, and in-between, visit the Galleries!

The tabletop miniature wargaming hobby is a fascinating diversion, combining elements of history (or lore), artistry, craftsmanship, gaming, and socializing. Originating in historical wargames firmly grounded in the real world, the hobby has since expanded to include imaginative and fantastical settings, broadening its appeal. Where historical wargamers might devote considerable time to researching their chosen forces, assembling and painting their chosen forces with painstaking attention to detail, hobbyists in fictional settings find considerably more freedom. Some settings might provide lore to guide those hobbyists who desired to "accurately" represent forces, but most fictional settings allow players to exercise creativity, either providing loose guidance from which hobbyists could deviate or enabling (and encouraging) hobbyists to create bespoke forces. The first DIY Chapter for which I created an article was the Fists of Purity Chapter. I'll cover this article/Chapter in the article about theme, but you can read the case study here. One of the great strengths of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby is that it allows hobbyists to make the hobby their own. The diverse factions allow hobbyists to find those whose concepts and gameplay they find appealing, and many of these factions include a variety of sub-factions that serve as variations on themes, often presenting even more nuanced versions of the main factions. For example, the flagship faction of the setting is the Adeptus Astartes, the genetically engineered post-human soldiers organized into autonomous Chapters of about 1,000 warriors each. The iconic Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes is the Ultramarines, though this Chapter draws upon a Greco-Roman theme. In contrast, the Space Wolves Chapter bears a theme based upon the barbaric tribes of northern Europe, especially the Vikings, but also including the Rus, the Celts, and others. Similarly, other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes have distinctive elements, offering hobbyists diverse choices for finding a Chapter that appeals to them, whether based on appearance, background, or rules. Moreover, Games Workshop has fleshed out only a small percentage of the 1,000 or so Chapters that are thought to exist. Many more are little more than a name and color scheme, and sometimes only a name. And fewer than half of the 1,000 or so Chapters have been named, giving hobbyists room to create custom Chapters. Similarly, the other factions of the setting allow members to create custom sub-factions, whether regiments of the Astra Militarum, cadres of the T'au Empire, Ork warbands, or any of the others. The Adepta Sororitas, though at one time more homogenous than the Adeptus Astartes, provide room for creativity, too, such as with my Order of the Faithful Sword. For many hobbyists, developing their own do-it-yourself (DIY) forces is very appealing, allowing them to flex their creative muscles. Whether they are attempting to work within the limitations and allowances of the known lore or they are mixing other genres or settings into the game, the process and its results can be very rewarding. There is no set process for DIY creation, however. In addition, there is no required end-state. Hobbyists are free to put in as much or as little work and time as they desire or have available, crafting a final product that satisfies their personal objectives. This freedom and lack of structure poses challenges, with many hobbyists struggling throughout the process. In addition, many strong-willed but well-meaning hobbyists will seek to tell others how they should create their DIYs, attempting to dictate their personal opinions as gospel truth. This often led to conflict and, unfortunately, abandoned efforts (or efforts taken elsewhere). Hobbyists don't need to focus on articles similar to the Index Astartes articles. Instead, they might focus DIY development on creating rules such as those I created for a bespoke Aspect Warrior Shrine, the Void Hornets of the Asuryani. Building on some seminal guides that I found on the Internet back in the late '90s, I wrote the first significant article on DIY creation on the B&C. Over the last 25 years, other guides have appeared here at the B&C and elsewhere, including multiple instances of Games Workshop providing advice on the subject. Each of these guides has been very good, each in their own way, and each worthy of consultation and consideration. Over the last 25 years, my understanding of DIY creation has evolved. In addition, I have found myself at odds with advice that other members have given. In most cases, points of contention were largely based on either varying interpretations of lore or advice being, in my opinion, overly restrictive. In addition, there have been developments to the official lore, whether fleshing out details that were previously unknown or undeveloped or contradicting previous information. This series of blog entries serves as an expanded and revised presentation of my own advice on the subject of DIY creation, incorporating the advice from various posts I have made on the subject over the years. As with my previous efforts, this advice will use the Adeptus Astartes as examples, though the principles of DIY creation apply equally to the other factions of the setting. The blog entries serve as the initial drafts on each subject. These will be revised based on feedback, posted as articles available for both online reading and downloading. Hopefully, the advice I provide will help other hobbyists in their endeavors to create DIY forces. These are just my opinions, however, and prospective DIY creators should not take anything I say as gospel truth. In my articles you are sure to find things that you agree with as well as things with which you disagree. If I say anything that you disagree with, you should ignore it (and I'd love to see different viewpoints in the comments). In addition, prospective DIY creators should also consult other guides on the subject, both here at the B&C and elsewhere. Though I may disagree with some of the suggestions made in some of those other guides, there are probably many more things in them with which I agree. Regardless of my own opinions on them, and despite any misgivings I may have with them, they contain valuable advice from hobbyists who have devoted considerable time to the subject and you may find that they help you in your own endeavors. My most recently completed DIY, not including the Fire Hawks (my personal version of the official Chapter you know as the Relictors) is the Nova Hawks Chapter. I feel it necessary to explain the conceit of the title of the blog category, which will be incorporated into the series of blog entries and the resulting articles. "The Principia Libertas of Frater Tyler: A Guide to DIY Creation in the Warhammer 40,000 Setting" sounds a bit poncy, don't you think? The original article that I wrote 25+ years ago was given the rather pedestrian title of "DIY Chapters: Creating Your Own Space Marine Chapter for Warhammer 40,000." That article was later followed by "On the Nature of Crusades and DIY Chapters." For this updated version, knowing that I was expanding beyond what the earlier articles covered, I wanted a title that sounded like it came out of the setting, much the way Games Workshop has presented the Index Astartes (the series of articles named for the fictional "great book of the Legiones Astartes"), the Liber Sororitas (an article in White Dwarf Magazine that similarly appears to be named for an in-universe book about the Adepta Sororitas), etc. The Insignium Astartes book mentioned the "Liber Arcanum of Grand Marshall Tolof" as one of the documents in contention for the title of oldest known version of the Codex Astartes, and I liked the pseudo-Latin format (we love pseudo-Latin here at the B&C) as well as the inclusion of the author's name. I felt it was important for this series of articles to include my name, not for chest-thumping credit but to emphasize the fact this serves as one hobbyist's opinions and not as some definitive guide. The "Liber" portion of the title was great, especially since that's also the name of the forum in which we focus DIY development at the B&C, but I wanted the title to focus on freedom (Libertas) and "Liber Libertas" sounded dumb; so I replaced "Liber " with "Principia" (fundamental principles). As for my name, I went with "Frater Tyler" instead of my display name of Brother Tyler. Both allude to the same concept - I'm [just] a hobbyist whose opinion is neither more nor less authoritative than anyone else's. As Brother Tyler, however, I'm also the owner and head administrator of the site, with a level of authority over site issues. DIY creation is not a site issue thing, however, so I changed "Brother" to the Latin "Frater" which also serves as the core word in the title of most members of the site "Frater Domus." Similarly, the sub-title of the blog category is "A Guide to DIY Creation in the Warhammer 40,000 Setting." It's not "The Guide..." - it's simply "A Guide..." No individual can claim to provide "the" guide, after all. And though I'm focusing on the Adeptus Astartes for my examples, the advice I provide applies equally well to the other factions, so the sub-title focuses on "DIY Creation" without specifying any faction. At the end of the day, this series of articles should be considered as if written by a low-level scribe in the Adeptus Terra - worthy of being ignored or incorporated into your own DIY creation efforts as you see fit. The post you are reading serves only as the introduction to this series of blog posts/articles. It will be followed by articles covering a range of subjects, including theme, format, etc. The most important thing for any DIY creator to remember is that they are the ultimate arbiters of their process and outcomes. Other hobbyists' input and recommendations should be received with grace and dignity, and should be given due consideration. There is no requirement whatsoever to incorporate any one individual's feedback, especially if the DIY creator will not be pleased with the outcome. The final goal of DIY creation, after all, is to create a force that the creator will enjoy. Other hobbyists might have opinions about the end result, but they are not in any way affected by it.

Hi folks, This is this moment of the year (again) when I make a pit stop and have a look on the past 12 months’ production of mine. And this year has been heavy as a pound of lead (which sounds heavier than a pound of fur although it is still a pound…). The split between the Blogs has left some of my “free speech spaces” less active than others, but it has been globally a very productive year. Let’s see: BLOG 2025 entries AM not-Stygies 17 Closet clean-up 15 Not GSC 3 Bad Mood Rising 7 Pointy and Spiky 34 Clearly the Aeldarii/Drukharii mixed Blog has taken the lead. But it is also true that these forces were the shining stars of my Call-to-Arm Pledges for 1015. CtA2025 alone gathered 15 posts in 2 Blogs. AdMech remained a good leading Blog too, although it may not last for long as I am running out of models now. But some Moiraxes knights came in support and added a series of 5 posts within this total. Another Serie, cross blogged this time, dealt with Imperial agent units; it gathered 6 posts. Grand total has reached 74 entries, while my purpose is 52 (1 per week). Yet it has been a year under the sign of the Eldars. ANd the painting production goes that way too (which is not that illogical as this is mainly a series of Blogs focussing on my painting and modelling back log...) 2026 will probably see a shift in numbers of posts and their repartition. Indeed, Asuryanii are now a dying race (model wise) and I do not really plan adding much more to this army atm. I still have a Wytch unit to be painted and I’d like adding Dark Reapers, but I have no plan so far. Not-GSC should see some work being done as I have gathered 30-40 or so Neophyte bodies waiting to become something. And I still have old spore mines and the Acolytes of the old Patrol box waiting to be painted. The Blogs dealing with Misc. stuff are also good candidates for getting inflated with posts related to my old Epic era ooP SM and Squats. These have been waiting 2 decades for being painted and should receive some attention. And AdMech… Haaa AdMech is now a mature force that will receive spot reinforcements only (a Dunerider maybe?). But the recent addition of Armingers made my think about getting started a playable Mechanium Questoris House. And the teased models for HH are also a very attractive way to keep on with Omnissiah forces out of the strictly 40k box: more Castellaxes could complete my ranks and a Vulturax might be a good Fusilave proxy… I guess I am not yet done with AdMech. Paintjob wise it has been a fruitful year too, although it has started under bad omens: after moving and translating everything from one country to another, I have lost my hobby space and I seriously doubted I could get a productivity as high as in past years. Yet it happened that the weather being quite cool and the daylight long, I could paint every evening outdoors or almost over 4 months. Which boosted the productivity in summer and early autumn to extends I could not have imagined. Most of the work was on pointy ears. But some other stuff found its way to the workbench, with a portion of cyber psychotics. Interestingly, this year has been marked by an increased number of kitbashes and conversions (Rangers, Corsairs, Warlocks or Engineseer to name a few). Here is a pot-pourri: 2oo3 Moiraxes done this year. Allies… even if this is an excuse for fielding models I like out of any kind of necessity. An oddball for the Jokaero challenge. This year's scenery has been quite limited, and this is something I should correct in 2026 as I miss hills and green grassland material. I am a little bit fed up with imperial ruins… CtA25 contribution focussed only on Drukharii and Aeldarii. But (even) more have been painted earlier in the year, inc. a full Harlies’ KT for the “Knives in the Shadows” challenge. AdMechies has been on cruise control, adding characters up to the maximum numbers authorized and completing units ranks. I still have a few Pteraxii and Serberys to be done to get the right numbers in uncomplete units (by uncomplete you should understand units that die too soon to be useful as they miss cannon fodder in their ranks). That’s all folks? Nope as this is only the 40k production. I have done, for TOW, a big amount of models too, with 2 full armies at 2500pts and some Dogs of Wars. But this is not for being disclosed over the B&C… See you in 2026 with more stuff to be painted and more stories to be told. And in the mean time, I wish you a happy new year.

The second operative in my kill team is Veteran Brother Hywel Kaedor of the Griffon Lords Chapter. Both shoulder pads, both arms, and the Stalker pattern boltgun come from the Deathwatch kit. The rest of the bits are bog-standard Tactical/Devastator squad bits. The Griffon Lords Chapter is one of the three Chapters I know of that use the rampant griffon badge, the other two being the Howling Griffons (a favorite of mine) and the Knights of Gryphonne. Both of the other Chapters have some history, with the Howling Griffons having been developed further in the Badab War. Since the Griffon Lords have nothing more than a name and official livery, I chose them. This gives me my "blue" guy. I see a few areas on this model that need to be cleaned up and filed before priming.

So, it's been a few weeks since my last update but I've got a couple of bits I can show off! Firstly, the Marines Adamant vehicles are built: As mentioned previously, the Sicaran is a Gladiator Lancer for rules - I'm assuming the heavy bolters are loaded with Metal Storm ammo to represent the lower strength and higher number of shots of storm bolters/stubber. And the havoc launcher makes for a nice Icarus rocket pod! The Deimos is a standard Annihilator with HK launcher without any need for quibbling over guns, the dozer blade is an old IG one - I just prefer the look of it. You might notice they're both on bases - I'm not a tournament player, and I like how a matching base ties a vehicle in with the rest of an army. Plus that extra mm or 2 of height makes the tank more imposing next to infantry! The Knight oval base is just right for the Sicaran, and the slightly smaller 120x92 is perfect for rhino chassis (with the dozer overhanging a touch, but I think that works?) Anyway, they are both ready for undercoating, although who knows when that will actually happen… I'm UK based, and we're into September, so we may not get a dry day at 18-20 degrees C for another 6 months or so! However, I've got plenty of infantry to paint so that's fine. The second squad of counts-as Grey Hunters has most of their base layers on, so progress is being made. No pics of this, they can wait until they're done! One other thing I'm working on, that I've been meaning to try for years, is scratch building some bits for what will be my 2 Iron Wyrds (Iron Priests). This is what I've got so far: The claw is made from leftover fingers from a Contemptor dread, but the main structure is plasticard tubes and rods. Really pleased with how the various greebling brings the basic shapes together! Anyway, that's it for today, C+C are always welcome!

I think it was maybe June since my last game of heresy, having loved 2.0 naturally I was on the wagon for 3.0, and willing to give it a shot. Some of the rumours were weird, and after receiving and digesting the rulebook (there's a lot to digest) I'm reasonably happy with the game - now it was just time to play it! The game was 1000pts against my regular raven guard opponent to try and get our heads around the new way of playing Alpha Legion: Crusade Detachment Vigilator - exemplar for +1 to stats Centurion - dual claws, vexilla tactical squad, vox, combi bolter - logistical benefit - assault tactical squad, vox, combi bolter Rhino 2x combi bolters Destroyer squad - 5 men, maul on serge, axe, rad grenade launcher Fast thing detachment Land speeder, 2x culverin Support detachment 2x grav rapiers 10 man plasma support squad Raven guard praetor, exemplar Kaedes Nex tactical squad assault squad - master sergeant with dual claws 5 mor deythan w/ combi plasma 8 autocannon heavy support squad I'll add more details soon, but enjoy the pics for now! In all the excitement of snapping pics of my alphas, I forgot to take any of the setup, but the terrain was pretty heavy, 9th ed tourney amounts, plus a little more mechanicus stuff, setup roughly symmetrically with big LOS blocking bits in the middle. For ease of play, we declared all terrain elements to be medium terrain for a 5+ cover, and only blocking LOS for shooting over 3" through terrain. We ended up rolling heart of battle (4 objectives@2each) and short table edges. I lost the roll off so I deployed and went first. First strike is a huge 4pts in this mission so with a rhino and wimpy speeder, i elected to hide everything - the rhino was in cover from the autocannons, but still visible, this protected the destroyers, the mk6 tacs sat on my home objective, rapiers behind cover on the left, and the plasma support in the middle, in line of sight, but, >3" into a ruin so untargetable. The mor deythan deployed 3.1" into the opposite large ruin, autocannons on my left facing the hidden rapiers, with their tac and assault squad hidden behind the large building. My opponent elected not to seize. ALT1 My plasma squad moved forwards into LOS of the assault squad+praetor, and elected to shoot them. The ass squad did their advanced reaction and displaced in the shooting phase, moving out of LOS,, meaning their shots were wasted. The rapiers moved forwards onto an objective, but I'd been too cautios with them and they were 1" short of being able to paste the autocannons. rhino dove through terrain to get out of sight of the autos, while the destroyers advanced into a ruin, 2 bolt pistol guys needing and passing their terrain checks. The land speeder moved left to try and thin out the autocannons, however I frgot about the RG snap shot rule, managing 4 hits, 3 wounds and 1 kill. They electe to return fire, nuking the speeder, though in my turn, so they didnt get first strike. I have a tac squad on one objective, and rapiers on another for 6VP. 6-0 to the alphas. RGT1 The assault marines did a cowardly shuffle onto their second objective, tacs stayed still, and the autocannons shot the rapiers killing both plasforms and 2 crew with no return fire. crew pass morale. tacs on objective, assault on objective for 6VP, 6-6 tie (afterwards I realised that the assaults have vanguard, so should only have scored 1 point for the objective making it 6-5 to the alphas). ALT2 Rhino speeds forwards to block movement/los of the mor deythan, and disgorges tacticals who move 7" onto the ravens objective. The raven guard, fearing an assault, displace back off the objective (big mistake). I then shoot them, killing 2, then do not declare a charge, stealing that objective. The destroyers move forwards and pop a rad missile into the tacs, but he chooses to save on the praetor, who makes his 2+. no other effective shooting. the mk6 tacs run onto the forwards objective, the rapier crew rush and hide at the back objective and out of the game bar scoring. 2x tacs on objectives, rapier crew on objective for 10pts. 16-6 to the alphas. RGT2 ALT3 RGT3

Hello all, So, I've decided to start a new blog for a new project. (My previous army of Celebrants Chapter Space Marines isn't quite finished, as I still have a few squads to complete. They are all WIP, but to be honest I needed a break from painting yellow/orange/red!) So, for the Knives in the Shadows Kill Team Challenge this year I decided to go back to one of my DIY Chapters, the Marines Adamant. I tried a new technique of oil pin washing, and I was happy with the results: Now, while I was working on the above Team, the new Space Wolves stuff was being previewed and then released. This has inspired me to do a few more bits to build into a small Marines Adamant force. As well as being IH Successors, with all the bionic goodness that entails, the Marines Adamant are also based on and recruit from a Feral World, resulting in a quite savage and superstitious attitude, meaning that the SW bits like charms/teeth/pelts would all be appropriate to feature on my minis (and hence the blog name!) Also as IH Successors, much of the Chapter's structure is based on the characterful and awesome divergences from the Codex described in the old Iron Hands Index Astartes article (IMHO, these divergences were always well represented by the Wolves rules): Independent Households akin to the Great Company structure. Veteran squad leaders in TDA (unfortunately, no longer possible rules-wise) A focus on reliable, adaptable infantry units on foot (like GH) Obviously, any of the really wolfy units are out, although I did think about using a box of Ruststalkers to build some sort of skirmish servitors to count-as Fenrisian Wolves? Anyway, I've started by building a second squad and a character to lead them. WIP pics of these will be incoming soon!

So over the weekend I got in a game of Combat patrol with a new hobbyist. He was looking to get some experience in the game via CP and I was more than happy to help. I managed to gather up 6 CPs, 3 nids, 3 marines and the IK one. I’m debating doing up two more armigars in some freeblade colours to specifically use in CP. We won’t talk about how many knight frames I have in storage still…. Anyway he was using Amonhotekh’s Guard (Necrons), I let him pick his destroyer. To which he selected The Vardesghast Swarm (nids). I had to keep the datasheets up to hopefully not upscale the Pychophage since its CP stats are way different from the normal game. Table was a smallish 3'x4' setup with four objectives (cross formation), plenty of ruins and some central cover. I took Alpha Xenoform for secondary and Psychostic Veil enhancement, he took the Treasure of Aeons for secondary and Protocol of Resonant Focus enhancement. Didn’t know the CP missions so just had it that you scored 5 VP for holding an objective, starting Turn 2, since that is the norm for the base game. I’ll look into seeing if there are any CP missions and gather what I have from the magazine for a little more spice later. For this time we just kept it simple. It was also my opponent’s third ever game so didn’t want to overload him. Positioning wise I had the leapers up near one middle objectives, pychophage and prime set up to got after the other one, barbguants in a ruin next to my home objective and the termaguants were behind the leapers. He had his warriors with overlord on his home objective, the doomstalker in a tall ruin in one corner, scarabs on a flank and the destroyers next to his warriors. I got first turn and ran him turn the phases as I did them just in case. Prime and the psychophage did most of the work. Giants just took frie from the doomstlker for all but one turn when he focused on the pychophage. I held most of the objectives for the game as he was not aggressive enough with the destroyers. They really only got into combat at turn 3 when he took out the big bug with them. Now I’ll explain my teaching method. I do give an after action report telling my opponent what was wrong after the game is done, but during the Movement and target selections I keep my mouth shut. Let them do what they think is right cause I don’t want to be running their army. So that what he did makes some sense. Since he had fought grey knights and eldar prior they shot the destroyers out quickly so he was gun shy with them. He had chances to get his secondary if he had picked the other middle objective instead of the one he did or at least had a better chance had he focused his warriors/destroyers on the other. We did go a full five turns but it was pretty one sided on the score. He did manage to kill the leapers, prime and psyhophage, but was left with just the doomstalker and overlord. We swapped board sides and he picked Mordekai’s Judgement as his opponent since Dark Angels is a force he is thinking of starting up. That game was short as while he got first turn, his only target with the doomstalker, placed over the home objective, was the gravis captain and he tanked the shot like a pro. By the charge phase of my second turn I had wiped the destroyers via bolter and plasma fire and most of the warriors to bolter rounds. Which was scary even to me. The main issue was once again him not moving the destroyers well enough. They moved down the middle at the start, which allowed me to drop one in regular shooting then he moved them into cover but away from an easy charge and I had a really good overwatch roll (five hits with the hellblasters) to drop another. Outside of the good overwatch, those destroyers would have blendered either the hellblasters or intercessors that were grouped there. Not sure if the overlord would have faired against the bladeguard/intercessor combo I had on that flank. I had to abandon my home objective cause the doomstalker would have wiped the unit holding it with a decent shooting phase. There was only one objective safe from it’s gaze so would have been a challenge had his dice just not crapped out. I’ll try and do more detailed reports in the future. Memory gets fuzzier quicker these days and I want them to be accurate. Included for your viewing pleasure are three of the marine CPs that I got models for. I forgot to get pictures of the tyranid/knight ones this time, but will do my best to get some later. Strike Force Octavius (Dark Hunter edition) Eye of Ultramar (Bladeguard - Crimson Jackals, Reivers - Moltifactors) Mordekai’s Judgement (Gravis Caption - Brazen Skulls, Bladeguard - Crimson Jackels, Intercessors/Hellblasters - Ultramarines)

Hi Folks, As 2025 comes to its end and after a year spent painting at a slower rhythm my 40k models while alternating with WFB/TOW models, it is time to set list of what remain to be done before getting my backlog dry. The previous years have been quite productive, meaning that many stuff to be painted has been done already and that what remain is less than what used to be done. In fact I may even short list now: - 1 Night Lord Nemesis Claw - 12 Spore mines - 5 GSC Acolyte Hybrids - 10 Dark Eldar Wytches - 3 Serberys riders - 5 Pteraxii - 2 Ironstriders - 40 or some GSC Neophyte hybrids to be kit bashed as a home brew AM regiment - A lot of Epic sized Squats infantry and one Colossus - A lot of epic sized SM with one ooP plastic Warlord Titan - Bucket loads of bits out of which some might be used for custom scenery - 2 kit bashed vehicles, one as a proxy Carnaudon and one as an “artificer” Land Raider, that deserve further plasticard work Should I stop any further purchase, I will be in position to potentially get all of that done by end of 2026. Of course, I might still commit some spot expenses such as long time planned Dark Reaper squad for my Crafworlders or any extra Necromunda models to complete my collection of iddled models to be used as a custom Inquisitor Retinue. A little bit more Scenery is also plausible, with may be MtO Fragdrill or an Aegis Defense Line. But this is on the hypothetical side of the story. Should the year be organized in more details, I would say that the following is likely to happen: 1. I was not planning any participation to the specific 12MoH subchallenge proposed as a campaign around a KT. But as I have one in the back log pile waiting to be done, why not give it a try?... * COMING SOON * The Campaign - The Bolter and Chainsword 2. Kit bashed vehicles could be my Plodding along pledge… 3. … as well as any Epic army paint job btw. I have so many of these... 4. As I do not play GSC, kitbashing the 40+ minis planned for my AM regiment is a good top list project 5. But getting the Drukhari completed can be a fast win too… 6. My AdMech is now in a low demand regime (as I have lots of models already painted and available) and as these new models can be spot/supernumerous jobs, to be done just to have a fresh air inbreath/changing color palette or growing up the numbers a low speed cruise control. So not that critical in terms of priorities. So What? January will tell. I wish you all the best for these seasons’ greetings and for the coming year 2026.

The Clan Council The Clan Council meets in a well protected chamber deep beneath the Marines Adamant Fortress Monastery on Halstarrig's primary moon. A great circular amphitheatre divided into ten tiered sectors, one for each of the mighty Clan Households, leads down to a hub-like central platform where a speaker can be heard by all. The Council may only meet when at least four of the Households are present, and any decisions made there that will affect the entire Chapter must be ratified within a solar year by at least two more Households to create a majority. The hall is large enough that several hundred Astartes may gather, but most can only be silent observers, with only a few given permission to speak. Each Household present is allowed five ‘seats’ at the Council. Most commonly three of these are taken by the Warleader himself, the Household's Forgelord and its most senior Flesh Wyrd. The other two representatives are typically chosen by the Warleader from amongst his Wyrds and Hearthguard lieutenants, depending on the matter being discussed. The Spirit Wyrds act as impartial arbiters, allowed to speak and question as they see fit, and these shamans are the only ones who can move freely between the sectors of the ten Households. A fairly quick update today. I needed a second Iron Priest for my list, and I had built a second Servo-Arm for the tutorial so I just needed a body to convert into a tech-y type! After looking through my bitz box, I found I had a Terminator left over from Leviathan! I really like the idea of Techmarines in TDA, they already have a 2+ save and it just seems appropriate (especially in an IH Successor Chapter). Hence, this is not Indomitus pattern TDA, it's Un-domitus pattern Artificer Armour! The axe is from another mini that I didn't end up using but works well enough as a counts-as hammer, and the gun is an archeotech (helfrost) pistol. I'm really happy with the Servo-Arm jackhammer/breaker, it's just made from the same plasticard sheet/rods/x-sections that I used before, though I may need to add some pics of this to the tutorial? Other than that, I just needed a few bits that were going spare from the new Caanok Var mini that arrived today! (What could I want that mini for? Who could that represent in a counts-as SW force? Find out in the next update!) Anyway, cheers for looking!

KY'VASH RECON CADRE HAMMERHEAD & SKYRAY GUNSHIPS TX7 'Hammerhead' & TX78 'Skyray' Gunships While the propaganda arms of both the Imperium of Man and T'au Empire focus largely on the ever-expanding Battlesuit variants, in many theatres the core of T'au armour is instead made up of Devilfish-hulled hover-tanks such as the Hammerhead and Skyray, the former a dedicated tank-hunter, the latter a more general-purpose artillery platform. Marked with the same camo pattern as the rest of the Recon Cadre, the armoured vehicles of Ky'Vash are primarily ambush predators, hull-down and electronically baffled from auspex. Fiendishly effective main weapons are supported by a series of anti-infantry weapons driven by integrated drone systems, or manually operated by the secondary pilot. The minor technological limitations of the Sept have done little to reduce the combat effectiveness of these platforms, which has earned them a fearsome reputation among their foes within the volume. I've actually already painted a Hammerhead for this army, but these two are new! Well... Kinda new. Picked up assembled and base coated, these second-hand hulls needed quite a bit of work to get them ready, but the end result is adequate, I think, even if I do still need to futz around with the drones, all four of which were snapped apart when I got them. Also, I wasn't able to magnetise them the same way my other tanks have been, but that's OK! Because they were less than half the cost of getting the tanks otherwise. One does what one can. Now that I've finished with my Call to Arms for 2025 - more on that latter - I'm getting back into both painting things other than space marines AND updating my blog! Yay! Watch this space.

So the subject of this first blog post is gonna be rather innocuous, I've had kitbash fellblade with custom bits from blood and Skulls industry for a few years now. I had used the original sponson with a set of twin linked lascannons from Blood and Skulls more or less jammed in to count as the Quad linked lascannons. But not so long ago (or at least it felt that way, it's been a year at least!) I decided to retrofit the sponson with something that looked a bit more space marine. I like the way they look, but the back of them is rather plain as I had plans on kitbashing in some lascannon batteries from a storm talon. While I did find the bits, I also found out that they wouldn't work due to size and shape concerns. That's why today I decided it was time to 3d model some up. It started with a drawing, most people would use a proper CAD program of some kind, I've got access to plotter software. So step one is a 2d layout. A couple steps on conversion later, I turned it into an SVG, then imported into Blender. and from blender finally into Photon Workshop So you might see there's a minor aspect difference between the two 3d files, it's because I didn't actually measure the space for the ammo mount at first (I know, I know, measure twice cut once) but as this was a kinda slipshod afternoon faff about, I'm not too worried because it turned out that with a tiny bit of Y axis crunching I can now fit two plates per ammo mount, which kinda makes sense for a quad lascannon. It'll still be a bit before I can get around to printing, painting and glueing them up, since my print room is off limits right now due to kitten shenanigans, but hey, at least I got my next blog post planned out!

The Flesh Wyrds of the Marines Adamant are skilled apothecaries and genewrights. Given the independent nature of the Households - each one responsible for its own recruitment and implantation procedures - these masters of Astartes biology are vital to the continued existence of the Clan Companies, and of the Chapter as a whole. As such they are highly respected, a key part of each Warleader's command headquarters. Usually at least one of the Flesh Wyrds from each Company will have a seat when the Clan Council meets. Furthermore, considering the Households’ disinterest in the teachings of the Adeptus Ministorum, or even the Reclusiarchy, it is perhaps not surprising that these Wyrds have become the carers of not only the battle brothers’ flesh but also of the spirit within. It is they who assist the Chapter's brethren to control their disgust at the weakness of others’ mortal forms, directing their spite away from their squadmates and towards the enemies of Humanity. As such, the Flesh Wyrds are typically found in the forefront of the Marines Adamant battle lines, both to protect the Chapter's genetic legacy and to inspire their kin to greater acts of hatred and fury. Ok, although I’d hoped to get started on undercoating/painting the previous units, I haven't had a chance to get stuff out. So, for now, here is another update with a new character build. A Flesh Wyrd, which as you can probably guess is a counts-as Wolf Priest. However, while the WPs are more like Chaplains that also handle the role of Apothecary, a Flesh Wyrd is at the opposite end of the spectrum, an Apothecary that also looks after morale. Hence the choice of bits: Its mostly built from an Assault Intercessor, with the torso front from the Repulsor crewman to show the link to the AdMech. The power hammer obviously represents a Wolf Priest's Crozius without showing the religious aspects. The rest is largely Apothecary pieces leftover from another project, with a narthecium created from chopped up bits and GS:

The Spirit Wyrds, colloquially known by many of the Marines Adamant Clans as ‘Storm Walkers’ or ‘Speakers of the Mists’, form the Chapter's Librarius. As such, they are powerful psykers, attuned to the mysteries of the Empyrean and the ways of the countless vaettir of Halstarrig. The Storm Walkers usually dwell in voluntary isolation from the rest of their brethren on Halstarrig's second moon, and are not technically considered as part of the Chapter's command structure, each Wyrd instead free to choose his own path or task as the spirits reveal it to him. Most commonly these seers act as advisors to the ten Warleaders and observers for the Clan Council. Though some Household commanders might not always wish to have a Speaker decide to join their force, it would be a very rare thing - a very inauspicious thing - to refuse their presence. So, as mentioned, a character! I got a Tigurius mini for a tenner (very happy with that!) and I knew immediately that I wanted to include it as part of this force as a counts-as Njal to lead a squad of Grey Hunters. Spirit Wyrds are very shamanistic in their understanding of the Warp, so I wanted to convert him to highlight that slightly feral feel. Obviously the Ultramarine badges needed to go, and I added some GS fur and a rune-stone with a tribal glyph picturing the warp! I also thought his staff would be a good opportunity to change his outline. I thought a twisted wood ‘wizard's staff’ might be a nice option, not usually seen on Librarians, so I took a few lengths of different thicknesses of wire and twisted them together. Once I had the shape I wanted, I coated the frame in several layers of liquid GS to get the effect of a branch. An end cap of regular GS was fairly easy to add. I thought the skull - marked with an ‘X’ - might be a relic of the Chapter Librarius, perhaps the remains of an IH Librarian who was one of the original members of the Marines Adamant Founding cadre? The antlers must be an addition from one of Halstarrig's native fauna! The hand needed a bit of sculpting, so I covered up any ugly ‘sausage fingers’ with a purity seal and an added totemic feather. I'm not sure about psychic effects on a mini, but I was considering doing some wisps of ethereal mist curling up and out from where his staff is touching the ground, maybe even adding some spectral faces/figures if I can get hold of any Nighthaunt Spirit Hosts bits? Not 100%, though… anyone got any thoughts on that?

Hi Folks, It is time to move, or rather prepare the moving. There are 7 days lefy before starting loading the truck. And I packed all the stuff I jealously want to keep for myself and, if possible in good shape. But 30 years of Hobby is a big volume of stuff. And some models requuire very specific care if one want them to arrive at destination in a single piece. Past weeks have therefore be spent reinforcing boxes and tray, cutting foam spacers, revarnishing some models, just in case... Which were the trickiest models to pack? As one may guess, Cawl and its AdMech minions, especially Sydonian dragoons, Freeblade Knight for its size, Flyers such as Corvus Black Star and Storm Eagle. And the Yncarne. I can only hope my protective measures will be enough. In the end it is a huge amount of cardbox crates. It is impressive how much stuff was packed in my closets. You see things that are still in process of being packed. But there are also 3 more big plastic crates not pictured. With more scenery. Lattest years passed at building lots of buildings plastic trees, hils and gantries allowed getting very fun KT tables but it is a lot of stuff which packing leads to big volumes... Paint pots and modelling supplies are also a non negligible amount of stuff requiring special care - spillage of opened paint pot is not something one wish to experiment, do one? But bitz and spent sprues management is really an issue: almost 2 crates. I should try to sell them to the owner of a bitz ebay shop, at a symbolic price, just to get rid of them while avoiding simply getting these tiny plastic bits ending as a waste... 7 days to go and so much other things to do. See you once arrived at the other place. PS: I also found back stuff I had forgotten for years - Dwarf Flame Cannon, Tankhol the grey seer, Spore mines... The flame canon (the genuine model with big barrel) made my day! PS: Apologies from the XMas tree for its participation in a photobomb...

Finished my sword brethren.

Been steady picking away at my Ratlings team for the last week, and been making slow but steady progress. I swear, ratlings are basically guardsmen on hard-mode. "Oh you want to paint bare faces? What if they were even smaller and always squinting?". I do really love this kit, but if you don't like painting faces its certainly one to avoid. Or don't. They're small enough most people wont see them anyway - live your life. I have two young children (4 and 6), a spouse that has recently started a new business requiring a lot of their time, an engaging full time job and a lovely home that requires constant maintenance and repair. Hobby time does not come freely in my house at the moment. I long for the days of my youth where I could paint for hours on end, however the reality of my current situation is that I often have to make the best of what I have. And what I most frequently have is 30-45 minutes after the kids go to bed and I finish up chores, before I go to sleep myself. I'm fortunate enough to have a dedicated hobby space that allows me to leave my projects out, ready to be picked up and put down as the opportunity arises, and children that occasionally enjoy painting along side me (on two old AoBR Dreads constantly re-primed for their efforts. Even in death they still serve) I mention this because my biggest hobby "win" this last week was something my kids helped me with, testing my new static-grass applicator. As the dust from the holidays settled I found myself with a few gift-cards and after doing a bit of research I purchased the Woodland Scenics "Static King" tool, along with the power cord. TL:DR on that is that it might not be the best on the market, with the power cord its among the top performers for an affordable price, and was easily available on amazon (no local store carries the tool unfortunately). I'd been wanting to try out the applicator since it had arrived and this weekend provided a great opportunity. My kids helped apply watered down elmers onto two cast-off pieces, shake the applicator, and apply some of their mother's hair-spray to the grass in between applications. The results were really great! The longest grass didn't apply entirely how I would have liked, but I believe that was operator error on my part rather than the applicator not being able to properly apply longer grasses. The more I apply the more skills/tricks I hope I'll accumulate, but honestly if this was as good as it could get I think I'd still be pretty satisfied. I can definitely see problems with crushing/compressing the fibers with repeated uses/play, meaning this will likely see more use in building display boards and dioramas than it will with high-use minis, but for this project its already a lock, and I'm VERY excited to finish up painting these minis so I can get to work on their bases.

With the dust settling on the holidays I finally had time to complete a project I've been working on for the last couple of months, and with that completion comes my first blog post in...a long time. Space Wolves have always been one of my favorite chapters, and when the wolf-scouts came out I was excited to paint up more sons of Russ. I wanted the "lore" behind this pack to be that they were Primaris marines that had drunk from the Cup of Wulfen and had begun to exhibit signs of the curse. They were given Wulfen Shoulder pads to signify their change, but with the help of their Rune Priest managed to keep the curse at bay. The stock models are cool, and they have a decent amount of "wolfy" bits on them, but not nearly enough for my tastes. I like my space wolves to be dripping in totems and furs, fortunately I got a box of the old wolf-guard as a gift from a friend a while back and was able to put them to ample use. I started with pulling out all the first born heads that felt like they fit, and then began adding various other bits to give them a more unique feel. After adding bits I started in on the green-stuff work. I bought a texture plate from GSW a while back, and put it to ample use. Its a pretty solid product, able to re-produce the "old" style fur very well, though the results don't read as well next to the newer/sharper fur sculpts, I'm still a fan. I used the fur to create pelts to cover the pack shoulderpad as my lore for the scouts is they serve Logar, but are loaned out to other packs as needed (and I didn't want to mess with transfers or use Ragnar's pads) as well as convert the Rune Priest into something significantly more shamanistic. As for the Rune Priest I managed to get a space wolf from the kit from a friend, this particular wolf model's head comes in two parts, and with a little modification makes for a great Wolf Hat. I had to add a lot more greenstuff fur to blend it more appropriately, including some Blue-Stuff clones of the existing wolf-fur to make the transition a bit more smooth, but overall I'm happy with the end result (above second picture isn't quite the end, result but its close) After the greenstuff dried it was onto painting. In retrospect I probably rushed this a bit, but after all the time I'd spent on kit-bashing and working with Greenstuff I was eager to get these models on the table. That didn't stop me from taking the time to pick out some of the fun details on the models though, I'm always a sucker for wrist computers. Once I had them suitably painted up I moved onto the bases. I've done a fair few snow/ice bases with Space Wolves but due tot he abundance of blue on the models I tend not to like them as much. I have two of the GSW texture rollers that are perfect for Space Wolves (Runic and Nordic) and put them to work creating bases for the pack. The textures are much thinner than I would typically like, but that is because this project finally used up the last of my 3' green stuff tape I'd bought ages ago. Since I was already planning on adding moss on top of them (and several of the models have tactical rocks) It didnt' end up mattering, but don't let some of the lack of detail/smudges in the above picture turn you off of the product, that's an application error and not a reflection on the rollers themselves (see my Deathwatch post for a better version of them) All in all I'm very happy with the end result. I finished them last week and am looking forward to getting them on the table soon. (Apparently I hit the upload image max on this post, so I can't post individual shots of the team though they should be in the linked album.)

"It was the year of fire, the year of destruction, the year we took back what was ours. It was the year of rebirth, the year of great sadness, the year of pain, and the year of joy. It was a new age. It was the end of history. It was the year everything changed. The year is 2026; the place: Bolter & Chainsword" Today, I start construction of the 164th.

Ugh the Holidays.....Stress of money, Kids on Christmas break, Family visits, Work, Holidays Party, Cleaning the house, repairs, etc. The past few weeks Life has taken over and the hobby time has been non existent even when it comes to other hobbies not involving gaming as well. Every time I tried to take time to myself, I was unable too or it was delayed, to a point where I could not do it because of other things. Then having to go to work 2 hours earlier and staying later, then while at home staying up later than expected really wore me down. My mental well being has really suffering. I really needed a break from the holidays and life and get some hobby time. HH League is going to be done in March so I should be starting up with my Clubs Crusade league, which will be playing my True Scaled Grey Knights. My motivation to get the True Scaled Grey Knights done is with the MoH 2026. This hobby challenge is nice as it is not stressful and at your own pace with lots of individuals motivating you.

It feels like I’m starting to get the hang of the blog format, so I’ll finish by showing you all the miniatures that have been completed at this stage. I’ll start with “The Red Oath”, a squad of renegade guardsmen that I play as Kasrkin. There are a few conversions to match the official loadout (notably this improvised bomb made from several grenades glued together to represent a Melta Mine), but otherwise the models are based on the official Renegade Guard kit. Their personalities really come through thanks to the red markings, which symbolize their brotherhood and their allegiance to Chaos. Next up is Team Hellfire, a heavy weapons squad equipped with a lascannon. I’m quite proud of the overheating effect on the barrel. The two remaining teams will be completed in the coming months. The final squad is my favorite in the army so far. These are three giant mutants armed with rusted weapons and Rhino doors used as shields. They are played using Bullgryn profiles (and are extremely imposing for 30mm bases). I hesitated for a long time over which base kit to use for the conversion, but eventually settled on The Old World Minotaurs combined with bits from the Chaos Spawn kit (a kit I absolutely love).

Night has fallen on the city of Uld-Town. The capital of the agri-world of Therema-IV, it boasts a modest population of only twenty million citizens, those that are required to oversee the tithes of the massive grain-fields that cover the planet. The Dreadclaw drops from the sky, landing struts outstretched and engine furiously braking. The droppod slams into the earth as a small mushroom-cloud of dust rises from the impact. At the slum-edge of the city few notice the noise or the fog of dust. Indistinct forms flicker-step through the dust, massive but strangely quiet. A skull-faced helm is the first thing visible through the murk. An Astartes, colored in midnight blue and steel, strides forward into the darkened city. In one hand, a chainglaive of terrible mien, banded in bone ripped from the bodies of the judged. His other hand waves forward the invaders, directing them to move quickly and silently across the shattered rockcrete. He is Navir Xikas, the right hand of the Stained Lord. His purpose is terror. The Chosen move swiftly through the city, bypassing local Enforcer checkpoints and the few citizens awake at this late hour. Their target was clear- the fortress-bastion of the Adeptus Arbites. They scaled the walls and disappeared inside the fortress. No sound was heard. Dawn breaks. The city wakes and the screams began. Across the walls of the Arbites sanctum were hung their flayed skins, red-wet skulls nailed to the closed gates. The Judges of the Imperium have been judged and found wanting. If the iron hand of the Lex could be struck down, who was safe? What could have done this. Panic rose as the Enforcers and guards attempted to stem the tide of rumors and unease. The Governor and local Ponifex Mundi preach messages of calm and peace from their fortified palaces, secretly terrified. Above, cold eyes watch from a hidden ship. The first blow has been struck and now the true fear could be unleashed. Carrow opened a vox-relay to Xikas. "Bring them fear. Bring them pain. Show them the failure of the law, the church, the politicians. Ave Dominus Nox." Ten Chosen stalked and hunted in a city of twenty million. The city trembled. Navir Xikas Claw Leader of the Shrikeborn Chosen, The Blade Between Shadows “We are not beasts. We are the scalpel in the dark—swift, silent, and final.” — Navir Xikas, before the execution of the rogue Inquisitor Vellarn Navir Xikas is the Chosen leader of the Shrikeborn, commanding the warband’s elite infantry and acting as strategic executor of Stained Lord Carrow’s will. Where the Raptors strike from above and the Warp Talons phase through reality, Xikas and his Chosen are the blade that walks unseen, delivering death with precision and purpose. Once a Legionary sergeant during the late Great Crusade, Xikas was known for his cold efficiency and unshakable discipline. He survived the Heresy not through brutality, but through calculated restraint, earning Carrow’s trust during the long retreat into the Eye. Unlike many of his brethren, Xikas has never sought daemonic favor or mutation, his armor remains untainted, adorned only with kill-marks and Nostraman script etched into the plating. Xikas leads a squad known as the Ceaseless Silent, the Chosen who specialize in decapitation strikes, infiltration, and targeted assassinations. They are often deployed ahead of the main assault, eliminating key personnel, sabotaging defenses, or sowing fear through ritualized executions. Each member of the Ceaseless Silent carries a vow-blade, a short combat knife engraved with the name of a past failure meant to remind them of the cost of hesitation. Though not as revered as Carrow or feared as Amathys, Xikas is respected without question. He is the warband’s tactical anchor, the one who ensures that terror is not wasted, and that every strike serves a purpose. His voice is calm, his orders precise, and his presence on the battlefield is like a shadow that moves just before the killing blow. To the Shrikeborn, Navir Xikas is the embodiment of control, the necessary balance between fury and sorrow. To their enemies, he is the last whisper before the dark.

Hi folks, Here comes another installment of this series with the Heretek model, to be used as a proxy for the Lectro-Maester. Its paint scheme has been largely copied/pasted from my AdMech Priesthood: grey robe made out of Mechanium Grey, Washed with Agrax Earthshade and then dry bruched with Dawnstone and Ulthuan grey. Most of the rest is standardized detailing (red cables, dry brushed Leadbelcher…). The C.A.T. unit and the skulls are also painted in the simplest way: dry brush and minimum tabletop ready colors. The resulting group: With some as clumsy as usual close ups: Whatever I may do, these models can still be integrated in any RT entourage, AdMech list as Priests, Necromunda gang or eventually in a HH Mecahicum force (That I do not have but that may become a thing as the models are so gorgeous… See you with extra stuff, such as for example the Rogue Trader herself, as this figure is still missing...

Hi folks, As part of my add-ons units from Imperial Agents, I have been planning for a while dealing with an Inquisitorial Retinue. A pure Fluff reason is lying underneath as I do not really see any tactical benefit atm; yet from a narrative approach it is a nice touch: a AdMech Exploratory Fleet that as not so tight bounds with its ForgeWorld and may be suspiciously looked at because of some possibly heretek behaviours and personalities in its ranks. May it be enough for a close monitoring by Ordo Xenos or affiliated Ordo Minoris such as Ordo Machinum? I do not have enough models yet to build up a 6 men strong retinue as I lack a Gun Servitor. I might go without yet and stick to 5. I neither have enough model to go to a 10 or 12 men strong retinue as I (still) lack Gun Servitors plus 2 additional models (but a house Greim advisor might do hit, or any other Necromunda Hired guns; unless I convert some from spare GSC cult bodies, which is not necessary my fav option but, let’s admit it, probably the more likely one…) Now, the newly added members are an Infocyte and an Infotek. Indeed monitoring (spying from within) AdMech Priests might require very specific, accurate and advanced Information Technology related skills. Just connecting your dentrites to AdMech datastack is already putting you at risk… Here come the models, mostly following the paint schemes one can find on GW sites: The Infocyte Dendrite has been uneasy to glue. It still has an odd angle due to various breakdown I have repaired as I could. This Superglue looks like it has no intention to glue resin but fingers only... The Infotek and his hoovering chair is mostly a metal color dry brushed on a black base coat. Details and skin tone add contrast, but it is really a quick and dirty model to be painted. Almost zero skill required. That is all for this sub project within Imperial Agents for the moment. I still have to find some alternatives for the Gun Servitors and the missing henchmen. Once solved I will resume. See you folks.

"She's a warbird, and an old one at that, but don't let that fool you, min ven. She is a predator, a night eagle, a Night Rovfugl, and once she has you in her claws, you will never see the morning." Stenrik looked over to me. I could see in his face that quiet strength I had come to admire in him. But there was something else. Fear, perhaps? I did not ask, I merely kept listening. "She is like a wild bjergløve. By the time you see her, she has already been watching you for thirty minutes and now is her time. Yours is done." I glanced over the horizon to the setting sun, anxiety racing to fill my thoughts before I put it down. "Then we'd better be ready for our guest." WIP of the Valkyrie, the Night Rovfugl which translates as something approximate to Night Bird of Prey. Sure, on the gaming table, she's just a regular Valkyrie, but I wanted her to give a sense of impending doom when she shows up in the story. She is Barcza and his spec ops (read: kasrkin) team's transport. So you know if you spot her, you're in for a world of pain.

So after a delay, the outreach session finally took place today. Despite how much I suck (more on that later), I think it went very well. So how do I suck? The overall summary of my suckiness is that I allowed myself to be distracted by other things. Admittedly, some of those were Real Life things and far more important than the game, but a significant chunk of the time I should have been devoting to preparing for the big day was devoted to some site stuff. I'm kind of excited about that stuff, though, so I'll get over it. The community will be seeing that site stuff SoonTM, too. But a more detailed list of my failings is in order. For starters, I didn't get my Legio kill team finished. I'm a paint snob and, though my skills are mediocre (at best), I won't play with unpainted (or unfinished) miniatures. I allowed myself to be distracted by far too many things to get the Legio models finished to a level with which I was satisfied, so at the last minute I dug out some miniatures that I painted over 20 years ago. They're not great, but they were "finished" to a battle-ready level. I have plans to improve them, but they're serviceable. I also had a bunch of other grandiose ambitions that I failed to achieve. The other big area where I suck is that I totally forgot to take pictures of the game. I didn't quite refresh my understanding of the 2021 edition of the rules to a perfect level, so a couple of things weren't quite up to snuff. It was a friendly game, though, and we realized midway through that we should have been doing a few things a little differently, but those mistakes didn't reduce anyone's fun. Indeed, they probably sped things up a bit, so the small errors may have been beneficial. Things didn't quite go as planned, however. First, it took longer than it should have to get to the game store in which we played (which is a really cool game store, by the way - Hole in the Wall Hobbies in Universal City, TX), partly because of the construction taking place on the freeways (there's always construction taking place somewhere on the freeways here) and partly because my GPS sucks. I got there early, though, since I'm experienced enough to plan for these things. Then one additional player showed up, for a total of five (including me). That would have made things a bit hinky, so the four of them divided into two teams of two and I sat on the side and helped them learn the game. While it was disappointing to not actually play, the whole experience was well worth it and I don't feel that I lost out in the least. While we were playing the 2021 edition of the game, we used a modified version of the Joint Ops rules from the current edition, splitting each player's kill team in half so that we didn't have operatives tripping over each other (and so that the game wouldn't drag out too long). Team Black (based on a coincidence of shirt colors) ended up as a fire team of Necron Warriors and a fire team of Repentia while Team Pink (again, shirt colors) ended up as three Intercessors and two Adeptus Custodes. For terrain, we kept things very simple and used only an old Space Marine statue (from the Cities of Death era), a bunch of barricades (again, from the Cities of Death era), and the actual small barricades for the 2021 edition of the game. They fought out a basic Open Play mission, with a quick movement to contact and deadly scrum. The game ended up being called at the end of turning point three when Team Black had only one Necron Warrior remaining against one Adeptus Custode and one Intercessor. I think everyone was down on wounds, but the writing was definitely on the wall. All in all, it was great fun to introduce fellow hobbyists to a new way to enjoy the hobby. I'm certain that we played a few things incorrectly, but this wasn't a game "to win" - it was a game "to learn." And even though I was on the sidelines, it was great fun to be involved in the game and to watch as their delight in the game grew, cheering on good rolls and groaning at terrible rolls together while encouraging everyone to have fun. It's always great to spend time with good people. Overall, they all said that they had a lot of fun and were very interested in adding Kill Team to their Warhammer 40,000 hobbying, so I'll consider it a mission accomplished.

Horus Heresy 3.0 Age of Darkness Saturnine box and books acquired! Added to league officially! XIXTH LEGION- RAVEN GUARD 707th Expeditionary fleet, "OSPREY FLEET" So I was able to get some painting done last night. Seekers not much done Start Ended- Armor was hit with a dry brush of Army Painter Air Black Triad: Matt Black, Raven Black, and Crow hue Same for the Assault Marine Squad Primed matt black and then dry brushed with the colors listed above And then the Praetor was started too Grey Castle was added to start blocking out the white parts Question is should I make the destroyed Contemptor III Legion (like shown on my Remembrancer) or as my regular Opponents @The_Oni_of_Hindsight's IV Legion

Well it is a sad day...my self healing cutting mat is done for...once I buy a new one. All because a Bottle of Extra Thin Super glue cracked in multiple places and glued stuff down. So went to my FLGS that is closing at the end of the month, which will be another blog post in itself, to say goodbye to the owner and pick up some debonder. While purchasing the debonder, one of the employees said Extra Thin Super Glue bottle crack on you? I said yes and he said I am hearing that a lot lately. The Culprit: The Victim: The aftermath: Lost an arbite, an engine for 3d print, a dental pick, brush soap, bases, anti tip triangle, scraping tool (the good og gw one too). It is what it is. So I will be getting a new one soon...after my trip this coming weekend.

So, another update! This time I've been working on one of the units that will be taken from C:SM, a squad of Hellblasters. However, considering that the army will have a more Firstborn feel to them, I decided to make them as a ‘Plasma Support Squad’! I also wanted the squad members to keep the more individual feel of the counts-as Grey Hunter units, so I mixed up the types of plasma weapons, though this is just an aesthetic choice - they're all standard Hellblasters in the list. While I was doing that, I also got the bases done on all of the current batch, ready for undercoating. The theme is cityfight, so they've got bits and pieces of rubble and rubbish. When I was doing this, I realised I'd made an error on the base for the Flesh Wyrd (Wolf Priest). Obviously it should be a 40mm, not 32mm. So I carefully chopped him off and rebased him. That gave me a bit more space, and I remembered that I had a base bit left over from the Fabius Bile kit, which just fit nicely! Lastly, I had one body left from the 5 GHs I bought, and a spare hammer from the GK, so I thought I'd try putting my Hearthguard Champion (WGBL) together. He's armed with a Thunder Hammer with the ‘Braggart's Steel’ Enhancement, otherwise known as a ‘chonking big hammer'! Str 10 (and hopefully Dam 3 after a bit) ftw! Anyway, thanks for looking! C+C always welcome! Next up: copious amounts of black undercoating!

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

+++ INTRODUCTION +++ The Defence of Dakota Minor was a series of conflicts in 884M41, that saw the Imperium defending the Matteus Subsector’s primary food provider against invaders. With only a token battlefleet and planetary defence force to protect it, Dakota Minor was expected to fall to the invaders in less than three months. Fortunately, intervention by local Astra Militarum regiments and the Adeptus Astartes saw the invasion quelled and the planet secured for the Imperium. The first theatre of conflict was the defence of the city Dakota Primus, against the opportunistic and nimble Ork Waaagh! ChoppaTide. Imperial forces counter-assault a rabble of Orks after they breached the outer defences of Dakota Primus. +++ ORK INVASION OF DAKOTA MINOR +++ It is unknown why Waaagh! ChoppaTide showed such interest in the fecund world of Dakota Minor. As a minor civilised world with significant foodstuff production (albeit far lower than a true Agri-World), it is suspected they were simply enthusiastic about the food supplies on the planet, as well as seeing a good opportunity to engage in the “sport” of war. An Ork Stormboy charges head-on into a squad of DMDC guardsmen. The Warning: Day minus 13 Local astropathic choirs intercepted the Ork psychic missives detailing an intent to “pillage a food-stuffed world”. The planet's Lord-Governor, Hastings Freeman, was convinced of the threat and ordered a Sector-wide astropathic alarm calling for assistance. The Navis Imperialis forces were the first to arrive in orbit ten days later. The Matteus Delta Battlegroup (a detachment of Battlefleet Agripinna) formed a defensive perimeter in anticipation of Ork arrivals from the expected Mandeville points. Meanwhile, the Asokan Rifles and Sartorian Rangers regiments of the Astra Militarum declared their intent to aid in the defence, but would take several weeks to arrive. For now, the only surface defenders were the Dakota Minor Defence Corps (DMDC). The Incursion: Day Zero The Ork scrap-fleet of Waaagh! ChoppaTide approached Dakota Minor from the blind side of the parent gas giant, triggering the planet’s orbital alarms. The Matteus Delta Battlegroup were forced to quickly redeploy their battleships in attempt to intercept the Ork fleet. Physical map of Dakota Primus and surrounding regions, with force deployments and movements in the first few days of the Ork invasion (884M41). The Orks seized the advantage and charged past the meagre Imperial defences, making planetfall via their Roks. Landing in the Adatok Wastelands, they assembled their tribes and scrap columns, and advanced on the human settlements. A small contingent of Orks marched north-east towards the hydroponic hive 2-Xi, but would be promptly interdicted by the stationed DMDC regiments. The bulk of the Ork Waaagh! headed south towards Dakota Primus. The remaining Ork kroozers and gunboats continued to engage the Imperials in orbit. Despite preparing for a head-on engagement, the Imperial fleet were instead drawn into a series of hit-and-run maneouvres that lasted eighty days before a victor was determined. The Amassing: Day 2 to 8 The bulk of the Orks rallied for eight days in the Adatok Wastelands, just at the outskirts of Dakota Primus. Their leader, Warboss Gruzka Koptadrilla, was intent on building their strength before committing to an all-out assault on the hive. Imperial forces, equally unconfident, prepared their defences in anticipation of an assault. Many skirmishes, artillery barrages and air raids occured between the armies in the interim, but were inconsequential. An Ork fighter-bomber begins a strafing run on the outer defences of Dakota Primus It was on the eighth day that the Lord-Governor’s astropathic pleas were responded to by an unexpected ally: the Salamanders chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. The DMDC high command were excited by this development, and could not help but spread the word: the Emperor's Angels were coming. +++ SIEGE OF DAKOTA PRIMUS BEGINS +++ Lookie there at all da grub deez ‘umies have for us! Mount up, lads! Da mighty feast awaits us! - Warboss Gruzka Koptadrilla, addressing his tribes before setting out to Dakota Primus. Aboard his "kustom deff-kopta", Warboss Gruzka Koptadrilla warcry marked the start of the Dakota Primus siege. Squadrons of rotorcraft, scrap-vehicles, and jetpack-equipped warriors hurled themselves at the scrambling Imperial defences. Siege of the North Wall: Day 9 to 12 The Ork assault began on the north defensive wall of Dakota Primus. As Ork artillery pummeled the wall sections and emplacements, a combination of hit-and-run attacks by skimmers and foot-slogging warriors wittled away at the defenders. The DMDC forces did their best to hold them off for three days, but were eventually overwhelmed. The lack of experience and armaments made it impossible for the Imperials to hold back the tenacious invaders. The North Wall Breached: Day 12 to 15 The northern gate was breached on the twelfth day, giving the Orks free access to the city centre via St Celestine's Highway. Having exposed the weakness in the Imperial’s defences, Warboss Koptadrilla convoyed his forces through the highway and deeper into the hive. The invading forces of Waaagh! ChoppaTide charge forward into the hive of Dakota Primus along St Celestine’s Highway With the promise of "His Angels' intervention" yet to come to fruition, morale amongst the DMDC was shattered. Commanders struggle to rally their forces, resulting in disordered fighting withdrawals deeper into the hive. Strategic estimates were re-evaluated to five days until Dakota Primus fell to the Orks. Unbeknownst to the people of Dakota Minor, divine intervention was not far away… +++ ARTICLE CONTINUES IN PART II +++

Hi Folks, Some 5 days after the kick-off of CtA25, I have managed some serious progress on my first units enlisted in my Xenos' pledge. Kabalites bodies are now completed and the kit bashed Archon may probably require only a few corrective touches of 0000 brushed plus basing. You can see bellow that I did not changed my scheme and sticked to the Arkhelian blue. Sorry, it is supposed to be a green. Next step will be heads and weapons. The Archon (based on the GSC femal magus with very little swaps) is quite distinct. This so-called follower of Ynnari will be useful either as a converted Wytche Maiden or a devoted Farseer. Multipurpose character. Pic is not that great and too dark. anyway, I will try to take a better one once the model will be finished, basing included... That's all for the moment. More work in perspective. I have just made the barbed wire floors of the vehicles and set a first layer of Incubi Darkness on the caracasses of the Venoms. More latter i.e. in a few days. See you.

Xaphan lead his Forgotten against the Night Lords, seeking to punish the masters of terror for their ambition and lack of discipline. For the Night Lords terror itself was a goal, thriving on the horrified cries of the enemy and civilians rather than focusing on strategic objectives. The Warmaster and the Forgotten's Grand Master had given the warbands specific goals for the campaign and Xaphan was determined to achieve them. The warlord known as Resk of the Midnight Claw would have to be shown the error of overreach, of indulging in his personal desires. The Forgotten storm into Resk's base, bike squads roaring and Terminator squads slamming into the ground via ancient teleportariums. Xaphan smashed his crozius into a screamimg Helbrute, the relic weapon cutting through the insane monster's chasis and sending it to it's Gods. Sar Ornias, the brutal Master of Executions and leader of Chosen, cuts down both Resk and his Sorceror with the skills of Old Caliban's Knightly Orders. Havoc squad Kushiel, the Predator Sauriel, and both Legionaries squads pour fire into various Night Lord Astartes. Not everything goes the Fallen's way, the Night Lords are no cowards even if they are surprised and on the back foot. Chosen in midnight clad kill off the Forgotten Raptors, while the Helbrute and Forgefiends destroy Predator Sauriel and a bike squad before falling. Still, the message was sent- follow the Forgotten or pay the price. Follow the Warmaster's plans or be destroyed. Forgotten versus the Night Lords Mission - Final Stand Points - 1750 Final Game of Phase 2 Forgotten win the battle, 11-6 (Forgotten were Attacker, went 1st). 1 SAP gained from Victory (held Defender deployment objective at end), 1 SAP gained from Strategic Dominance, 1 SAP gained from Prime Macro-Ordnance. Chaos Glory points gained 5. New path totals (7/7/8), now Favored in all paths. Use Warfleet bonus to Increase Supply Limit for 0 RP. Do not use either other path bonus. Gain 1 Battle Trait for Xaphan from Personal Glory. Did not gain second bonus from either other path. No unit gained Battle Scars Units upgraded Terminator squad Furlac - gains Grim Survivors (Once per battle gain a 5+ FNP, or a 4+ if below half strength, until the end of the phase.) Xaphan - gains Chaos Boon Unholy Speed (add 1 to Advance and Charge rolls) -- Maxed out for upgrades Sar Ornias (Marked for Greatness) - Conversion Field Artificer relic (Unit gains 5+ invuln versus ranged attacks. On an unmodified 6 to save, enemy receives 1 Mortal Wound) Havoc squad Kushiel - gains Despoilers Without Mercy (+1 to BS) Overall- Victory - Forgotten SAP - +3 RP - gain 1, Total is now 4 Supply limit - 2250 to 2450 Crusade points - Goes from 24 to 28 Round 1 Forgotten turn 1 - All the Forgotten move up, Advancing and moving onto the middle two objectives. A good shooting phase knocks out one of the Forgefiends of the NL, and severely depletes the Legionaries camping on the enemy deployment objective. The bike squad near the middle charges the remaining Forgefiend to hopefully tie it up, but bounce off it and lose a bike. Night Lords turn 1 - The Helbrute and remaining Forgefiend destroy the Predator, while the rest of the NL focus on Cypher and the Chosen squad. Cypher goes down, but manages to kill off several Noise Marines, while the Chosen squad gets whittled down to a mere two Chosen and Xaphan (with his disciples).The Helbrute charges in and finishes off the bike squad in combat with the Forgefiend. Round 2 Forgotten turn 2 - Raptors, 2nd Chosen squad, and Legionaries in a Rhino all show up from reserves. Legionaries Prime Macro-Ordinance, the Havoc squad's missile launcher miraculously kills the Forgefiend and Xaphan with his remaining Chosen move to charge the Helbrute. Xaphan smashes the Helbrute to bits in the end but loses his Chosen and Minions to the Warpsmith/Helbrute. Xaphan and Warpsmith locked in combat. Sar Ornias' Chosen plant a bomb. Night Lords turn 2 - The remaining Noise Marines from both squads blast Xaphan off the board. Due to the mission rules, the Defender's reserves don't show up until turn 3/4, so what little remains of the NL hunker down. Round 3 Forgotten turn 3 - Two squads of Terminators drop into the battlefield, one near the enemy objective and one reinforcing the middle two objectives. Raptors and Terminators charge in and kill off the remaining NL on the backfield objective. Night Lords turn 3 - Chosen and a Nemesis Claw with Sorceror drop into the enemy backfield. Nemesis Claw manages to kill off the Terminators, while the Fallen Raptors fight back and do minor damage. Raptors Take to the Skies at the end of the fight phase to go back into Reserves with their three remaining members. Round 4 Forgotten turn 4 - Legionaries squad on the middle objective (that was sitting there the entire game) move up to plant a bomb. The Chosen squad containing Sar Ornias moves to charge the Nemesis Claw, Ornias kills off the Sorcerer and the Chosen finish off the rest of the claw. Due to a Surgical Strike mishap, the Raptor squad loses another member and then a fourth when his plasma pistol explodes. The single remaining Raptor Champion stays in place, not daring to face an entire Chosen squad himself. Night Lords turn 4 - To stop the game from ending, the Night Lords need to do two things; kill two or more units to tie the Forgotten's kill tally, and remove the Chosen squad from the backfield deployment objective. To do this they drop a terminator squad in the back, and a Raptor squad near the middle objective to kill a lone Havoc in the midst of termies. The NL Chosen squad kills off the Fallen Raptor Champion easily. The firepower from the NL terminator squad does not kill off Sar Ornias' squad, nor does their Charge, leaving the Master of executions and a Chosen alive (Ornias would go on to kill the NL Warlord on the return stroke). The NL Raptors similarly fail to kill off the Havoc, their firepower split and the Forgotten termies Heroically Intervening into them and interrupting their fight before the Raptors can get the kill. With the Night Lords Raptors smashed off the table, the game ends with the Forgotten winning. Thoughts Fun little game, as both the NL and I are in the same alliance, so we really are allies. Thematically this is Xaphan deciding to give the NL a smack and make sure they stop being uppity, to get them to fall in line with his/the Warmaster's plans. It worked out well. Final Stand is an interesting mission with some very asymmetric elements- both the NL and the Forgotten are not really set up to be Defenders in the traditional sense, as we have lots of fast moving/not-very-durable units. The NL has the advantage versus the Forgotten when it comes to defense, with twin Forgefiends and a Helbrute packing quite a decent punch, but it just wasn't enough. The whole mission favored the Attacker with these two armies, so I got lucky in that sense. Still, my plan worked and I was able to both plant bombs and hold the center every turn I was able to, giving me lots of experience and bonus SAP. Overall this was a game that really worked well for me, but I could totally see smashing up against a defensive-based army and bouncing off.

"They came in a shattering impact. Thunder and lightning rang from the center of our camp. All was quiet for a moment as we turned and saw a crackling dome of light fade into the air. From that dome came no sound, then the terrible roar of bolters. The bolts slammed into men near me, turning them into mere memories of living beings. Limbs sprang from torsos, heads disappeared. The firepower was well targeted in taking down our heavy weapons first, then moving on to the company bannermen and musicians. After the first shots came a new sound- the heavy tramp of armored feet and the teeth-grating buzz of power armor...but both were deeper than those I've experienced before in the company of the Emperor's Angels. They were seen then. Massive forms, more hunched and cumbersome power armor, clad in ebony and steel. Crimson wings and steel blades adorned their armor, and they moved without a single battle cry. No noise came from them aside from those of weapons and impact. They tore through our command squad and the Commissariat special forces. Lasblasts did nothing, power weapons were turned aside and blunted. These...monsters silently destroyed everything around them. I've fought beside our Astartes and against those of traitorous bent, in every battle there were oaths sworn and orders roared. Even the Enemy's forces spoke in blasphemous words, that were later removed from my soul by the confessors and others of your like. Not these men, if men they truly were. That was the most sinister thing of all, for even when one took a lascannon shot to his belly and was cored out like a grox he didn't make a single sound. I hope to never see their like again." -- Demi-Lieutenant Sigfur bon Friell, XIIth Davoi Blue-Korp, aftermath of the raid of Agri-Station Pilla. Report sanctioned by Inquisitorial Warrant. Squad Belgor The Suriel are a remnant of the Forgotten's more noble past. An order of fallen knights, now sworn to silence. Their skill in battle is well-maintained, for they are used as a hammer to crack any resistance to the Forgotten's plans. Teleporting into the midst of the enemy, the Suriel use their ancient Terminator armor to shrug off blows that would kill even other Astartes and coldly slay in a voiceless flurry of bolt, blade, and fist. Those wishing to join the elite brotherhood are taken before the Grand Master of the Forgotten, Beleth of Caliban. His heavy sword pierces their chest as oaths are recited and burning brands applied. Ritual stitches are sown through their lips and oath-papers affixed. The new brother's armor, created from that which was the dead and that which was taken, is bathed in clear water while he dons each piece. Then, ripping through the stitches mere moments from his helmet covering him, he speaks his last words. Squad Furlac "Forgotten we may be. Forgotten our lives were. Forgotten the crimes against us will never be. Vengeance is my purpose. Justice for our dead. Loyalty above all. I am the nameless, the voiceless. I am of the Suriel. Let the world mourn, for a new chapter has come." Squad Varcan

Hello and thank you for looking at this little blog. It will be about my Forgotten, a Heresy-era Dark Angels force that has taken a bit of a journey to become what it now is- a Chaos Marine force in a local Nachmund Gauntlet Crusade campaign. This first entry is most likely to be the most boring, with no pics or lore or gameplay, just a winding story of how the force came to be. So, if you aren't interested in the self-indulgent personal history digression of a middle-aged hobbyist, feel free to pass on and wait until I get up some more entertaining content (no judgement). I'm currently forty years old, and started up 40k/wargaming in my early teens. Like many other players, my first models were Space Marines and for years I had an ever-growing collection of them. I was also young and dumb, so wound up becoming fairly obsessive in my hobby and began to buy up every "army of the month", sinking a lot of money into various boxes (whatever the equivalent to Combat Patrols were back in 3rd/4th ed) that got built but never painted. In fact, I don't think I ever had a full painted army in the first eight or so years in which I started the hobby. Anyway, I married my wife in my early twenties (around the beginning/middle of 4th ed I think) and realized that the hobby was too much of addictive obsession that was getting out of control; I decided to quit and got rid of almost all of my 40k stuff. Roughly $5k worth of stuff (probably something like triple/quadruple the value now) of models, books, and equipment were summarily thrown out or put into a box and forgotten about. Fast forward ten-ish years (roughly 2016-2017). I had stayed somewhat in the hobby space, reading the occasional BL novel and playing some of the various video games, but considered myself more of a PC/console gamer than wargamer anymore (was heavily involved in EVE Online and MWO). I was getting burnt out with PC gaming though, had recently stopped playing both of my big games and was looking for another diversion. I work night shift, so have quite a lot of time to research/read/do my own thing when work calms down and nothing happens- a coworker noticed me reading a BL novel and asked if I played. Chatting with him, I felt the urge to get back into the hobby. Rummaging around in my basement, I found a box that contained quite a bit of old SM stuff that had survived my purge and so I dug out some models. The HH rulebooks had just dropped, so I read through them and decided to create a force of Dark Angels, which were the Legion that I had liked for a long time. So I created my Dark Angels force, from the remnants of an old army and a lot of random eBay bit lots purchases/3rd party. I wasn't yet playing again, but the impetuous was there and I had begun to paint. After a year or so I had something like a 5k points worth army of painted DA, quite a bit of it magnetized, that was looking ok and I felt the need to start playing again. Then 8th ed 40k came out and I had another work buddy ask me if I wanted to play, so I left the HH sphere and made the Forgotten: a time-warped force of Heresy-era DA that were deployed to reinforce the Unforgiven in their fight against Chaos. My Dark Angels weren't really up to snuff in 8th ed, being worse than Primaris marines and not having quite the firepower needed to compete. So, they were regretfully put to the side as I began some different armies- Knights, Necrons, eventually a Primaris SM army. I had always loved my Forgotten, but they just weren't really something that worked on the battlefield for me, so they became more of a display army that I was proud of completing even if I didn't play them anymore. My hobby/gaming journey continued, as I attended some more competitive tournaments as a player and began to TO for a local store in small, 16-man tournaments myself. The tournaments I ran/run tend to be pretty casual, as the local scene isn't really competitive and I'm more interested in having the hobby grow/everyone have an enjoyable experience. There are plenty of more competitive tournaments/organizations close to us, but our local area is just not a strong one for competition. About two months ago I was at the end of a local store's grow league- playing my Imperial Agents/Inquisition themed army that got totally destroyed continually (but was fun because it is a great way to introduce new players to the game). Another player came up to me and asked if I wanted to join a crusade campaign he was going to start up. I'm always down for some more gaming, so I said yes even though the last time I had looked at crusade rules was maybe early 9th edition. So, I pick up the Nachmund Gauntlet book and got to learning what Crusade was and how it played out- turns out Nachmund had sort of Grand Alliances that piled together to fight for specific areas, rather than each individual army fighting for just itself. Then I got a message from the Arbitrator (necromunda term, but appropriate), who asked me if I had a Chaos army to play with. He wanted at least one experienced player to be each alliance's Warmaster and I was one of the most experienced players in the campaign. He was repping the Xenos faction and another experienced crusade player had Imperials, so wondered if I could handle Chaos. Now, I have a few armies, but not one that was really considered Chaos.... but I did have the Forgotten. So I said sure, I'll do Chaos and here we are. The Forgotten have now become Fallen, bitter veterans of a thousands-year long campaign against an Imperium that forgot their sacrifices and turned them into the enemy of convenience. They are uncorrupted by the Chaos powers, sustained by their hate and resentment.

With the unveiling of Lady Malys I wanted to upload my wyches drafts in a blog entry.. and then noticed I skipped some blog entries I wanted to do before.. and ofcourse now I cant do the wyches before that.. Next attempt to really keep this going commencing. Many of my blog entries will focus on drafts over my more finished work like the Dark eldar Graea character of the last entry. One reason for this is because drafts will otherwise stay on my computer doing nothing.. another is that I mostly only finish commission artwork, drafts are often just to get an idea out of my system. The first of my random gathering; Karanak, the Eightheaded daemon hound. Recently with the Karanak shenanigans I dug this one up again in support of a theory of his ( apparently not ) leaving. Karanak is my favorite khorne character, but it has for a long time bugged me that he walks around with 3 heads, not 8. ( if anyone knows the biblebook revelations thoroughly, Im raised in a relgious households with illustrated children books featuring the beast rising from the seas and well before knowing Karanak that image had a strong imprint on me.) When drawing the concept I visualised a much bigger daemon ( more slaughterbrute in size than fleshhound ) with besides the essential ties to fleshhounds also a wink towards juggernauts. I didnt pull through my initial plan to have some of the heads be juggernaut ( or metallic fleshhound ) heads, and the result might be too simple.. reflected in a bare juggernaut hindleg. Keeping with Chaos Lets get one thing out there.. In contrary to probably a large majority I prefer gravtanks for 40k.. the brick shape of 40k tanks combined with grav tanks for me evokes better the intention of their look. Even more so with chaos... Even though I was having a break from 40k back then when I saw Firefly the Reavers vehicles evoked a very strong chaos feeling for me. When a conversation came along for chaos tanks I made the following draft ( I actually have a wip extended more detailed version wich might some day feature this blog.) but I think I never posted it. While they shouldnt have legs or mouths, I imagined chaos tanks as possessed entities and one way to evoke this was have their pilot whipping the vehicle in submission. An idea I extended to a digital conversion ( for wich Im probably more known on the forums.) : ( I find it hard to believe Marines, especially Chaos marines would want to have vehicle babysit duties.. hence the chaff doing that job.) Another one of these thought experiments some time was that 40k really lacks on Trolls, Trolls are iconic for Warhammer, but their comical nature a difficult fit. Many of my ideas start as the following, a bunch of heads. For some reason just drawing the head is enough for me to grasp back the original idea I had with it.. its my doctors scribling I guess. The easiest way to do 40k trolls is to do them like any 40k greenskin... cyborg them up (1). Though for me it didnt evoke the feeling enough of the Troll as an unique auxillery to greenskin rather than an extension of the greenskin genealogy. Besides a little sidestep to nurgle (3) as nurgle can keep comical and cute and still make it dark, another step was going the "Trolls.. but they are actually aliens" thing. Both of (2) Represented giving trolls over to the Genestealer cults heritage, either a common creature on mining world that can get infected, or a side product of the generations, the top one represents A Troll as an extension of dreadjawz, but I get back to that below. (4) is an out of the box approach, Trolls as a Tau auxellery race and one of the many blind auxelery races I have drafted, for an unexplainable reason I feel a blind species adds a symbolic element to the Greater good, perhaps one of the races I read about has been described as blind and its as simple as that sticking in my brain. Weeks after abandoning this thought project I suddenly came onto (5) and no, its not simple a Cyborg troll again ( though it brings them back to the greenskin family.) my mind was busy with returning Tinboyz for Space Orks/Gretchin and I realised this too would be an interesting take on a 40k Troll. A robotic one. However, it would be a double up on Killa khans and Deff dreads, and it would miss an important organic element that gives the true troll vibe. The key of the face is that its mimicking a flawed green skin face, but in reality its an organic fungal like lifeform, that grows symbiotically in massess of scrap.. internally the fungus troggothus will connect to pieces of scrap brooding in Space orks vast Scrapyards, as they growingly observe ( or.. more terrifyingly.. absorb ) lost grotz working the scrapyards, the heap will start to mimic their behavior more and more, and to a certain point grow a limited form of sentience, at wich points some of the internal fungal mass will grow outwards to mimic a face. Over time this can lead to large Scraptroll outbreaks that offer the orks a good fight, but not rarely they follow the Orks into their waaghs while other times a daring gretchin or a cunning gruntherd will domesticate a scraptroll for their own needs. Its definitely among a long list of drafts I want to expand on eventually. But first, lets go back to Dreadjawz.. DreadJawz ? This one too originates from the same place my previous 2 blog entries came.. the idea to draw more triumvirates beyond the 3 Gathering storm offered. And like those they had to be faction mixes. Whereas the Tau joined the Necron, Orks went with the Tyranids, though eventually it a concept that stuck for me, and has more drafts somewhere. With Dreadjawz the idea was a return of RT/2nd edition GSC Ork hybrids. Though instead of a GSC investation that happens over generation, and doesnt really fit the lore anymore, it was based on one sentence about the orktarius war ( and yes, this draft is old, predating the 8th edition return to and completion of the orktarius war.) It was described that the war was so intense that even on a microbiologic level the two forces where at war.. ork spores fighting tyranid genes. And that whoever wins.. its the galaxy that suffers. I imagined the end product to be monstrous orks, capable of assimilating not only mechanical technology but also biotechnology and growing by violence and the consumption of mass. Even the esotheric getting merged they have a Waaaghmind that has the capability to control both orks, especially lesser ones, and function as a synapse for lesser tyranids. Basically, the ork/tyranid version of Ynnari, without a doomed mcguffin quest. I recently even returned them in a digital conversion as one of the imho 5 potential future Ork kill tems ( in order : Freebooterz, (Revolutionary ) Grots , Madboyz, Ork hybrids and Burna boyz ( the likeliest of them all.. sadly.) though here they are more starved outcasts of ork society. I shall end this with a Gue'vesa digital conversion, made for the same purpose ( a visual speculation on kill teams potential future.. to be continued... perhaps.)

Hi Folks, As a star bearing Marshal never rides alone, he comes down to town with his mobsters. A gang of black trench coated cyborgs fitted to sting you with their dart blasters. The kit bashed Marshal has been painted as per my now standardized paint scheme so that he (it?) fits in the aesthetic of the rest of the army. The Secutarii Peltasts were on my rooster for a while now. I took the opportunity of a big hole in my schedule in order to build and paint them. These lads are one of the few exception to my paint scheme: being bound to Titan Legions and not to the Skitarii armed branch of the Adeptus Mechanicus, I get them with a slightly different colour: Black Trench with red inner liner and metal armour. Not something so new as they are as per my Hoplites previously disclosed. The squad's Alpha has been personnalized usinfg the servoskull clipped from the Marshal set. I indeed felt that I needed something to make him visible as the pointy finger provided with the FW resin upgrade kit found a better use. A Scanner holding Peltast, an option left opened in the Legend Datasheet, is indeed a nice tool in a Peltats unit. See you latter with a next project for AdMech. I still ahve 2 Magos, 3 Serberys, 5 Pteraxii and 5 Stalkers to be painted. So, some work in persperctive.

Hi Folks, After a while disconnecting from the hobby due to material contingencies including a home relocation (New Year / New Job challenge), I resumed this quarter hobbying with a small KT for the challenge hosted there: https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/384972-knives-in-the-shadows-sign-up-thread/?do=getNewComment I selected the team on the basis of simple criterias: - being usable in 40k as a standardized unit - completing holes in my Aeldarii forces - bringing tactical options I do not have. The Harlies were the way to go, as they can climb onto the converted Venom I built 25 years ago or so and bring interresting dirty tricks with the Jester and the Shadowseer. And it is a set of mini that is relatively low on budget. So here I went. The assembly was not that great. Troupe member benefit of a poorly designed assembly leaflet. Arm selection and positionning is especially ill indicated and getting a proper pose is a little bit more demanding than for other kits. But the Jester is probably the model that is the less user friendly of the mob. His calf is the part which positionning is among the worse designed I have seen for a while. Anyway, it ended being assemblied more or less properly. Painting was a little bit more challenging and I rapidely gave up painting checkers and diamonds. Yet the decision to go to a more simple scheme resulted being eye catching enough. The results are here bellow: The Lead Player requires some small corrections on the transition between clear and dark colours. Yet the biggest deception of mine is that I still have not found in which crate I put my snow flock. Basing will require being completed latter on. Next step is to set a small narrative and my contribution for this challenge will be completed. See you soon.

I had a fight with some orks last night - my first game of 40k in some weeks, and maybe only my third since 2023. Needless to say, I'm a bit rusty, but keen to get the Eldar on the table again. Eldar Warhost 1.5k Warhost (1490 points) Aeldari Strike Force (2000 points) Warhost CHARACTERS Autarch (90 points) • 1x Dragon fusion gun 1x Star glaive • Enhancement: Timeless Strategist Farseer (85 points) • Warlord • 1x Eldritch Storm 1x Singing spear • Enhancement: Gift of Foresight BATTLELINE Guardian Defenders (100 points) • 10x Guardian Defender • 1x Heavy Weapon Platform • 1x Bright lance DEDICATED TRANSPORTS Wave Serpent (115 points) • 1x Shuriken cannon 1x Twin bright lance OTHER DATASHEETS Dark Reapers (90 points) • 1x Dark Reaper Exarch 1x Missile launcher • 4x Dark Reaper Dire Avengers (150 points) • 1x Dire Avenger Exarch • 2x Avenger shuriken catapult • 9x Dire Avenger Falcon (130 points) • 1x Bright lance 1x Pulse laser 1x Shuriken cannon Fire Prism (160 points) • 1x Prism cannon 1x Shuriken cannon 1x Wraithbone hull 2x Howling Banshees (90 points) • 1x Howling Banshee Exarch • 1x Executioner • 4x Howling Banshee Rangers (55 points) • 5x Ranger Shroud Runners (80 points) • 3x Shroud Runner Vypers (65 points) • 1x Bright lance War Walkers (95 points) • 1x Bright lance 1x Scatter laser Warp Spiders (95 points) • 1x Warp Spider Exarch 1x Death weavers 1x Powerblades • 4x Warp Spider Orks had Warboss + 20 boyz in battlewagon Warboss + 10 nobz + 10 boys in battlewagon beastboss with 3 squig riders and true dapper head slapper Speedboss on defkilla trike with 3x bikers. 4+fnp relic. 2x 11 grots and herd. Mission: 5pts per objective, max 10/turn, 5 per objective held at the end, twist is can pick 3 secondaries and discard one, diagonal deployment. I went first Turn 1 Eldar I drew hold the middle and no prisoners, pretty tricky for Eldar, having to sit in the middle of the ork lines. I figured I could at least take one trukk down. The serpent with banshees moved to be wholly within 6" of the centre, about 10" away from the wagon with the boss and nobs. The guardian lance poked out, I forgot to move the farseer for guide, the falcon with reapers star engined to the centre to draw a bead on the battlewagon, the prism moved up to get a bead on some grots, the shroud runners moved forwards to target the grots on their home objective. Shroud runners scatter lasered 10/11 grots off the home objective, unfortuately leaving one alive, and rifled the battlewagon, knocking 2 wounds off and preventing it from getting cover. The walker then scatter lasered the squighogs causing a wound, then lanced the wagon, doing no damage but targeting it so the rest of the army got +1AP against it. The banshee serpent lanced the wagon getting a solid 8 wounds, then the falcon finished it off, 10 boyz got out to reinforce the home objective and 10 nobz disembarked towards the banshee serpent. The reapers, lacking their falconed target now fired into the other wagon, doing 3 damage. The prism killed a few grots. but otherwise achieved little. I score 5 for holding central objective and 2 for killing a unit. Orks 0 -Eldar 7 Ork T1 Orks draw hold the middle and storm hostile, something they'll easily get this turn. The nobz moved towards the banshee serpent, the bikers and trike moved down my right flank, and the squighogs moved towards my left. everything unloads into the banshee serpent that pops -1 to hit, and then fades back D6+2" for an 8" move away from the nobz. Incidental fire kills a reaper and knocks a wound off a shroud runner. Orks score 10 I think for both secondaries. Orks 10 Eldar 7 The battlefield after Ork T1 Movement Nobz advance on the serpent, which fades back after the wago shoots it, leaving it high and dry. The bikers advance to target the runners, but only cause one wound. Bigly Squiglies. Eldar T2 1 objective for 5 primary I draw deploy homers and engage. Great, I have to move out into the middle. This is the turn where I think I lost the game in being too aggressive and overcommitting. Nothing can get wholly within 6" of the centre for homers, and nothing can get fully into opposing dz. Prism move up the left flank to try and kill the grots, shroud runners position to maybe try homers next turn, serpent disembarks 5 banshees then moves about. The Vyper comes on from reserve. Spiders, avengers and guardians all move out from their buildings to try and kill the nobs. The war walker gives +1 AP, the farseer gives +1 to hit, the shroud runners strip cover from the nobs, then the avengers spiders and guardians unload into them killing all but 2 and the warboss Other lance fire kills the other battlewagon. 5 banshees charge the remaining nobz, killing them nd leaving the warboss on 1w. Damn. Warboss strikes back killing 2 banshees. I get engage for 3 but no homers. Orks 10 - Eldar 15 Ork T2. 2 objectives for 10 primary He draws bring it down and capture enemy outpost. A WAAGH! Is called. The Warboss falls back from the banshees, and I seize the moment into the serpent protecting them. 10 boyz + warboss move to withn easy charge range of my guardians and avengers, squighogs+boss move to multicharge the prism and vyper, the trike and bikes move to 1" away from the serpent and close to the shroud runners for the multicharge. The boys thatcame out of wagon 1 run off their home objective and want to charge the serpent. I'd parked my units way too close together and set myself up for 3 multicharges tagging 6 of my units. Whoops, I didn't think he had the movement. Live and learn. Squig bomb knocks 2 wounds off the vyper, pistols and such kill 3 warp spiders. I was saving fade back for the reapers or avengers but I think it didnt get used this time. I could have maybe used it on the vyper or something to make a multi charge harder. Warboss and boyz multicharge the war walker, guardians and avengers, squighogs multicharge prism and vyper, bikes charge serpent and shroud runners. Damn. This is where it gets interesting. Or less bad for me. The warboss+boys attack first, the warboss goes into the war walker, but fails to kill it. The boys split into the avengers and guardians, I pop -1 to hit on th avengers. The guardians + farseer are wiped out by a million sustained 5+ attacks, all avengers are killed by the autarch lives, somehow, on 2w. The squighogs send one bloke into the vyper, the other 2+boss into the prism. 2 wounds done to the vyper putting it on 1, and ...only 6 wounds onto the prism! - it lives! The bikers annihilate the runners, however the bike boss and boyz only manage to take the serpejt down to 1W. At the end of that turn I have a war walker on 3w, a vyper and serpent on 1w, and a prism on 6w. If he hadn't got greedy and multicharged he could have had the full 8pts, instead he got none. Gutted. The autarch strikes back, killing 3 boys, another by or 2 is killed by the serpent. Orks 20 - Eldar 15 End of Ork t2 movement, the krumpin commences. The squighogs charge the vyper and prism, leaving the vyper on one wound... Eldar T3. Zero primary this turn :( Hanging on by a thread, I draw assassinate and still have homers. The banshees jump out, 3 banshees stand between the warlord warboss and 10 boys assaulting the serpent ready to go into either, the other 5 run out and go for the warboss+boys that killed my guardians and locked in with the autarch+walker. the prism falls back 17" towards my table edge with swift agile drawing a bead to the biker unit and then pops feigned retreat so it can shoot. the bikers were the target as they were in the mid board, while the squig hogs were off to the far edge, and perhaps out of the game. The vyper sped off to their back table edge to divide the squig hogs attention. The spiders flickerjump 24" to stand next to the lone runt herder on their home objective. The serpent falls back 14" onto their objective also. Autarch falls back 7" onto my home objective and 9" from the edge in case I want to webway him. The rangers fnally come on in their DZ and deploy some homers. Banshee pistols go into the warboss and with some luck, he dies. War walker shoots the scatter laser into it's own combat, and the lance into the bikers killing one. Reapers fire into the bikers, killing another, the falcon lances the bikers, killing the last one and knocking 3w off the trike, which somehow has a 4+ FNP! Spiders hose down the runtherd and claim their home objective. The 3 banshees go into the 7/8 boys on the centre, leaving 2 alive, who then kill 2 ladies. The 5 banshees go into the avenger killing boys and murder about 6, leaving 4 and the boss. The warboss then kills the war walker and the boys kill 2 banshees. I manage deploy homers and assassinate for 10pts. As the orks just killed a vehicle, at the end of the turn they score bring it down for 3 - he should have gone into the banshees! Orks 23 - Eldar 25 End of my turn, the exarch is locked in with 2 boys, with her aspect token intact. In ork T3 she'll kill them both and claim this objective. Ork Turn 3 Score 5 primary, he has capture enemy outpost and something else - table corners I think, which gets swapped for secure no mans land. Little movement here, the squighogs go after and kill the prism, the trike chases down and kills the serpent - fires some pistols into the spiders which are saved and they fade back to the other side of a ruin. banshees exarch on the centre kills the 2 biys using a shrine token, claiming the centre, the others get killed down to just their exarchs, who then kill the boys. Gets no mans land for 5. orks 33-25 eldar The squigs chase down and kill the prism, finally. The other unit of banshees selling themselves to keep the orks off my home objective. Only the exarch survives. At this point we call it as it's like 11pm. 40k takes way too long these days. End of the game, it's 2 objectives each so 10-10 End score Orks 43 - 35 Eldar That was a surprisingly close game considering how I got butchered in t2. I think I could have held back another turn, but I didn't have enough firepower to take down those nobs without expsing myself. I should have kept the guardians back on my objective as they contributed little. I really felt the pain of not being able to jump shoot jum with many units, and I think Asurman will be a near must-take purely for this ability. 6 agile tokens was maybe too many and I didn't find myself using them, I could maybe swap that enhancement out for the phoenix gem or something to be a real nuisance.

Theoretical It's largely unnecessary (and generously self-indulgent) to explain the concept of Compulsory Unit Selections to the B&C crowd. With his previous experiences in 3rd Edition Age of Sigmar (playing the big orks whose name escapes me - 'Ardboyz? Irongutz?), my opponent grasped the concept pretty quickly. Personally, I first learned Compulsories during my initial forays in Warhammer, playing Horus Heresy from 2015 until the first rendition's untimely demise (there's another conversation to be had elsewhere about the HH2.0 update and the loss of "the magic" that made that system appealing). We both enjoy playing around inside of tight boxes of rules, and I find that limitations and regulation breeds creativity, to a certain point. At no point, however, have the 40k rules writers ever needed to convince Space Marine fans to take Tactical Squads - they're the in-universe and tabletop backbone of a Codex-Compliant Company (or Demi-Company), and a great hobby exercise - an opportunity to showcase the distilled essence and character of a Chapter. The colors, heraldry, and any weird quirks can be presented and not overwritten by duty-specific wargear or markings. Practical I committed to make the two identical Tactical Squads of my 1,000pt list the first units I completed in the project. Tactical Squads Andreus and Mattean are 5th Company's 1st and 2nd Squads, and in 5-man form, both armed with a Plasma Gun. The Sergeants are armed with Power Swords (denoting induction into the Velocitari), wear laurel wreaths (denoting secular rank and the stewardship of a particular shrine on the Company's Charge-World), and each wear a copy of the Lectio Divinitatus on their hip. Their tilt-shelds display the 5th Company's battle-heraldry, a simple-to-freehand red stripe on a grey field. I tried to add some sort of gubbin or bit to each Marine - a purity seal there, ammo and grenade pouches here, etc - just to add some interest to the units. Painting itself was a pretty straightforward tried-and-true method. For the undercoat, a tricolor zenithal + purple wash + drybrush, to create shadows, add depth to recesses, and strengthen highlighted areas without any sort of cerebral labor. After that, I added colors (sometimes all at once, sometimes progressively layering) with speed paint. The lack of any sort of finesse will show to the trained eye at 2" away, but I'm at a stage in the hobby where I really don't mind okay-painted minis, so long as I get to roll dice and make pew-pew noises.

Among the Solbond Gardhird, the three Memnyr Strategists are spoken of not as individuals, but as a single, interlinked war‑mind known as the Runbindr Triad. Though each possesses a distinct personality and tactical specialty, their cogitation cores were calibrated together after the fall of the Shattered Star, allowing them to share data‑streams, predictive models, and threat‑analysis cycles with uncanny synchronicity. When they confer, their voices overlap in harmonic cadence, producing battlefield plans that feel less like strategy and more like prophecy. The Triad is a living echo of the lost Crucible‑wisdom of their Kindred — three Ironkin minds bound by oath, logic, and shared memory. Enemies who face them often remark that the Kin seem to anticipate every maneuver before it is made. They are not wrong. The Runbindr sees war as a pattern, and once the pattern is known, the outcome is inevitable. Memnyr Varrik of Ruunes Memnyr Varrik is one of the oldest Ironkin minds still active within the Gnostari Dominion, his core‑logic etched with Ruunes‑script recovered from the shattered data‑vaults of Tral’s lost Kindred. These rune‑marks are not decorative; they are fragments of ancient tactical heuristics, each one a distilled lesson from centuries of Kin warfare. Varrik processes these ancestral patterns in spiraling “cycles,” running thousands of predictive simulations before committing to a single course of action. To the Gardhird, Varrik is a figure of quiet inevitability. He rarely raises his voice, yet when he speaks, squads shift formation without hesitation, for Varrik’s chosen path is almost always the one that leads to survival. Some whisper that he carries a faint echo of the Shattered Star’s Crucible‑mind, a ghost of lost wisdom guiding his logic. Whether true or not, Varrik’s presence on the field feels like standing beside a living saga. Memnyr Haldra Haldra is the Gardhird’s battlefield augur, a strategist whose sensory arrays are tuned to frequencies most Kin cannot even conceptualize. Her perception extends far beyond the visible spectrum: she reads the tremor of stressed armor, the heat‑bloom of concealed engines, the micro‑oscillations of enemy vox traffic. To her, a battlefield is not chaos, it is a shifting constellation of signals waiting to be interpreted. Haldra’s calm is legendary. Even under orbital bombardment, she speaks with the same measured cadence, guiding Hearthkin through collapsing trenches or redirecting Steeljacks into flanking corridors she predicted minutes earlier. Many Ironkin claim she “sees the future,” though Haldra herself dismisses this as superstition. She simply listens more deeply than others dare. In the Gardhird, she is the Vox‑Seer, the one who hears danger long before it arrives. Memnyr Kelnar the Logical Kelnar is the purest expression of Ironkin tactical reasoning- a mind honed to crystalline clarity, stripped of emotional variance and unnecessary subroutines. Where others debate, Kelnar calculates. Where others hesitate, he executes. His strategies unfold with the precision of a cutting laser, turning enemy offensives into self‑inflicted catastrophes. Yet Kelnar is not without depth. Beneath his cold exterior lies a fierce devotion to the Oath that binds the Gardhird. He remembers the Shattered Star not with grief, but with purpose. Every decision he makes is weighed against a single metric: Will this protect the Kin? His logic is not heartless so much as it is focused. Trokk the Denier trusts him implicitly, for Kelnar never wavers, never doubts, and never allows sentiment to cloud the path to victory. Among the Gardhird, he is the Unerring Mind, the one whose clarity cuts through the fog of war.

Part 2 of the Raptors was basically building 5 mkII Assault marines. The models themselves are great- easy to put together, nice solid kit. Only issue was me stupidly snaping one of the two-handed axes near the lower fist, making it look...off. But it'll work out in the end, I've got a plan to make it look not as dumb. Using the chain and GW's skulls worked really well, the chain was perfectly sized and I think looks pretty natural on the models. Next up for these guys is getting my worbla thermoplastic out and making various bits of skin for trophies. That will probably be at the end of my building, as I'd like to do it all at once rather than piecemeal. There is an un-helmeted one here with a disintegration pistol- if I even want to use the Raptors as 2 5-man units he'll be the sergeant in the second squad, while the two-handed weapons will stay representing the regular plasma pistol guys. Anyway, here's the second half of the Raptors and a full squad pic. Full squad

When one considers the genetic lineage of the Marines Adamant, as well as their close bond with the Forges of Gharant, it is no surprise that the Iron Wyrds are the most prevalent and influential of the specialist ranks within the Chapter. Each Household maintains its own personal Armoury of weapons, equipment and vehicles, as well as fleet assets, and it is therefore not uncommon to find as many as a dozen brethren serving their Clan as Iron Wyrds, with a substantial number of Skalds - Household battle-brethren who have shown an aptitude and begun their training in the ways of the Wyrds - and Chapter Serfs in support. As with the rest of the Chapter, rivalry and competition amongst the Iron Wyrds is common. The most senior and skilled Adept of each Household can claim the title of Forgelord, and with this title a guaranteed place at the meetings of the Clan Council. So, another little update! I knew that when I got around to doing my Iron Wyrds (Iron Priests/ Techmarines) I wanted to give them a much more priestly feel, and make them more connected with the AdMech Tech-Adepts of their local Forgeworld. So, I decided that I would find an appropriate robed body to use as a base. I had seen a Techmarine conversion based on one of the DA Inner Circle Companions (which looked great, and I may still use this for the second Iron Wyrd I need for my planned list!) However, I managed to get ahold of a BT Marshall for just over £10, and I figured he might work ok! I especially liked his segmented greaves, which I thought looked very Tech-Adept-y! So, I've removed the extended arm and altered the cloak to create less of an action pose. Then I carefully removed the BT details and replaced them with gubbins from the IH upgrade sprue. The cowl is just GS, rolled out thin and cut to the basic shape of his shoulders and the hood. Then I added a few extra sausages of GS and blended them in to create the folds in the cloth. The clasp is just an old bit from the bitz box, not exactly sure where from! The hammer is made from a GK warding stave, with an icon from a spare AdMech axe-staff at the top, and added the head and counterweight from an Assault Intercessor Thunder Hammer. The Servo-Arm is discussed in the last blog entry, but I did add the extra power generator bits from a Hellblaster (without the cables) to represent a bigger power source for the arm! Anyway, I think he'll fit in nicely with my other Wyrds!

So it begins… This blog is intended to help motivate and chronicle my journey with the XVIth as I work towards finally getting a fully painted 30k army. And perhaps this tale will provide some entertainment for others as well…. Why Luna Wolves? If I could, I’d be working on a 30k force for every legion and it feels like I’ve started at least one project for every legion since HH 1.0 released. But one has to be first. The Luna Wolves / Sons of Horus topped the list for a fresh start for several reasons: 1 ) White can be visually stunning and is a color I have struggled with, so there is an appeal to use this to push my painting ability. 2 ) The character of the army is very different thematically from my more recent 30k attempts (iron warrriors and iron hands). I don’t play as often as I would like and realize any legion can be made to fit different styles. However, I like to start with a concept that shapes the composition. The decapitation strike style of the SoH fit the bill of different and interesting. 3) No one else in the local group is planning to run SoH (for now). Diversity of armies is a consideration for however long it lasts. I have a tendency to start and stop projects a lot due to shifting interest. This will be my fourth try at a white color army. The only one that resulted in a filly painted force was White Scars for Epic Space Marine. There are a number of reasons for those failed efforts. My hope is that this blog and improvement in my painting techniques will help me keep my focus. I also have plans for structured breaks to work on units for allies so that I don’t feel get burnt out painting mostly white. First up has been figuring out a white that I’m happy with and that won’t drive me crazy as the legion is built out. I’ll be starting from ablack primer and work up to a white using a stippling/drybrush technique because why would I make things easy. Here’s a WIP of a Rhino to give an idea of what the scheme will look like. I think the approach results in an acceptable white; I need to experiment a bit more before calling it good. Unfortunately, avoiding the driving me crazy part is still a question. I think there are too many steps to do this easily with a large volume of miniatures. Maybe it will get better with practice.

Hi Folks, 3 weeks have passed and died since the launch of CtA25 and I already have a significant progress on my pledge. The first 2 weeks allowed me covering the painting of the Hand of the Archon and my kitbashed Archon. 1 unit per week, as per my usual painting rate when I am fully dedicated. Yet these last days I progressed significatively shifting all my enlisted vehicles into the “painted” section of the list. Which raised my rhythm to 3 units in one week. Anecdotally I also managed adding (finishing the details and basing) two Trolls for my Night Goblin army for the Old World… But this last comment is out of topic. The Venoms were already started during the second week, at least for the base colors applied on hull. Then came the panel lining and all the details. I have started working in parallel on the Raider. The key reason was bound to my objective of using Wyches from the Venoms as crew for the Raider. I therefore had to make some trials and tests in positioning to see if I maintained the plan or changed it back to setting the gladiatoresses (does this word exist?) on the platformed bikes instead. Blank mounting looked OK and additional Wych crew beyond the gunner and the pilot was quite OK looking once positions defined. It closed the fate of the Raider and Venoms: the hoovering barge will be confirmed as a Wych club transport while the Venoms will receive Kabalite gunners and maybe extra crew hanging around. Yet in this latter case the extra members from the Raider’s kit are not exactly keen on being set on venoms, except at expense of cutting through the plastic which I preferred not to at the moment (I still have to deal with my cut finger and I do rather avoid playing with sharp edged tools at least for a few weeks, time to restore some dexterity…). The Venoms were painted as per the scheme I used for my previous Drukhari vehicles (Incubi darkness base); it made the process faster as I did not have to spend time into selecting and testing a scheme. Prepainted parts were them smoothly assembled, et voilà: Two Venoms, built using the two options for their silhouette. One received the hooked Kabalite on one side, plus skulls from the Raider’s sprue. The Raider has finally been set into a bicolor scheme largely inspired by others’ work found on internet. The red prow has been highlighted with a blood/gore red to make it more aggressive. Wych crew has been customized to get mor characterful models on board. The ship mistress received a whip, while one of the Wych hanging around got a net, a good tool to capture hostages and victims to be sold as salves in the Dark City market places… The Wyches themselves were painted trying to get close to a simple black and red color scheme as one of the examples proposed on the GW webstore. I was looking for something different from my Kabalite blue/green without entering in too many details (I ran out of 000 and 0000 brushes). Black base dry brushed with Mechanicum grey makes the work, plus my usual red recipe on armored parts (Mephiston red, glazed with Flesh Tearers Red and a bright gore red for more marked than usual highlights). Leather (XV88+Agrax earthshade) and Wraithbone/Skeleton horde touches for the details. I am quite happy by the end result even if assembly of the prepainted parts ended up being more complicated than what I experienced previously with my other Raider and Ravager. For some reason, parts were misaligned, and it left some gaps. Fortunately enough, this is visible only if the model is flipped heads over feet, so, in the end, it is not such a big deal… So what is left in the vow? 10 Wyches and their Succubus. Black base has been applied overnight (No need of many visibilities for that part). With the scheme already tested and the limited number of steps required to reach the same result as on the crew of the raider, I may eventually be able to get it finished before Bastille Day. Or not. It will depend on the kid’s activities now that holidays have started. Let’s see how much time I will need…

+++ INTRODUCTION +++ The Defence of Dakota Minor was a series of conflicts in 884M41, that saw the Imperium defending the Matteus Subsector’s primary food provider against invaders. With only a token battlefleet and planetary defence force to protect it, Dakota Minor was expected to fall to the invaders in less than three months. Fortunately, intervention by local Astra Militarum regiments and the Adeptus Astartes saw the invasion quelled and the planet secured for the Imperium. The first theatre of conflict was the defence of the city Dakota Primus, which saw the arrival of the Salamanders Space Marine Chapter amidst the Ork siege. The Anvilbreakers (2nd Company 2nd Tactical Squad) charge the greenskins, engulfing them in burning promethium +++ DESCENT OF ANGELS +++ Salamanders Captain Ikarus R’Keth could not ignore the astropathic plea for assistance for the nearby world. Additionally, their Chaplain Kessus Numastus expressed concern for the lacking faith amongst their battle-brethren after the failure of the Yttrius Crusade. Both saw an opportunity to find atonement and redemption in the defence of Dakota Minor. Meanwhile, the beleaguered DMDC forces were being overwhelmed at every turn. Even the Ork servant races were proving to be superior to the underequipped and poorly trained PDF soldiers. DMDC troopers engage a gretchin horde and one of their many scrap-vehicles. The Salamanders Arrive: Day 14 With their drop pod pool depleted from their previous campaign, the Astartes mobilised to the surface via Thunderhawks and Stormravens. This delayed their efforts to bolster the local defences, taking eighteen hours to fully deploy from orbit. Their first target of priority was the Orks moving towards the hive centre along St Celestine's Highway. A strike force of Astartes skimmers, bike squadrons and aircraft engage the Ork flyers that had persisted in guerrilla strikes throughout the conflict. Though the Salamanders rack up an impressive kill tally, they exhaust their ammunition quickly. They are forced to withdraw for resupply and are ultimately unable to stop the flow of innumerable Orks through the outer hive districts. Salamanders Bike Squadron "Quicksliver" (5th Company 9th Assault Squad) engage enemy units along St Celestine's Highway. The remaining Salamanders units would deploy deeper within the Imperial battlelines. The action is not a tactical one but an inspirational one; to restore the morale of the panicking DMDC forces, who had come to believe they were forsaken by the God-Emperor. +++ WITHDRAWAL INTO THE CITY +++ We must turn about this disaster you have set for yourselves. The greenskins are flowing like hot slag through the city. We can slow them down here, until their momentum breaks. - Captain R’Keth, directing the Dakota Minor command staff on the chokepoint strategy. Captain R'Keth met with the DMDC command staff, and together they devise a strategy to create a series of strategic chokepoints within the city to delay the Ork advances. The Chokepoints: Day 18 to 45The majority of the chokepoints were positioned on arterial roadways leading from St Celestine's and St Arabella's Highways. Each were designed to funnel the greenskins into Imperial kill-zones. In addition, numerous narrow passages, bridges and tunnels were closed to redirect or delay the Ork advances. In many cases, these access ways were demolished by the DMDC with explosives. Tactical map of Dakota Primus, displaying Ork and Imperial movements after the implementation of the chokepoint strategem. With the Salamanders now distributed amongst the local defences, the Imperial forces prepared for prolonged defensive actions. As the Orks confidently marched through the narrow road sections, they are savaged by fusillades of Imperial lascannons and missile launchers. The resulting wreckage formed their own roadblocks against the xenos advance, though it was a double-edged sword: the Imperials were also blocking themselves in. All chokepoints would hold for twenty-five days. The frustrated Orks eventually make a concerted push on foot, abandoning their mechanised assault. The rush of greenskins through the hab blocks, sewer pipes and structures, saw many Imperial chokepoints overrun on the forty-third day. Many Astartes and DMDC armour had depleted their fuel and ammunition, and their crews were forced to abandon their vehicles. As a result, Captain R’Keth ordered a fighting withdrawal towards the city’s centre. Meanwhile, Imperial air forces were persistent in intercepting Ork flyers, to maintain air superiority over the hive. By the forty-fifth day, they are successful in securing the airspace, but are of limited assistance within the depths and narrow passages of Dakota Primus. Salamanders Stormhawk Interceptor "Ember One" executes a strafing run on Ork infantry formations Reinforcing The Bastion: Day 50 to 54 For the next five days, the Imperial forces rallied at the “Bastion”, the central Administratum hub at the heart of the Dakota Primus. Lord-Governor Hastings Freeman convened with the Salamanders Captain and the DMDC command staff, to prepare a last stand. Meanwhile, the greenskins continued to march unto the Bastion on foot… +++ ARTICLE CONTINUES IN PART III +++