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Theoretical While building an army, one might find themselves having crossed a line, where the project begins materializing beyond the Kill-Team or individual squad level. Like models in their squads, the units begin to coalesce into a recognizable force. It's not something I can really visualize with grey plastic - the painting lends itself to the phenomenon. The small slips and errors made on specific models goes away, and the trees become the forest. Practical With my Tactical Squads and Devastator Squad complete, things are starting to come together for the Cardinal Guard's 5th Company. 1,000pts of 4th Edition Space Marines doesn't stretch very far; with 15 models complete, that leaves 6 more in power armor, a Dreadnought, and a Razorback. My opponent has been working away in the background on his Salamanders, and needs to tackle 7 Terminators (Commander, Librarian, and Command Squad) and 2 Dreadnoughts. Hobby Progress Looking at this quick snap of a Tactical Squad, he's leaning into 3rd Company's lore - these sons of Vulkan look like they've been through Hell. I'm excited to see what he does with the Terminators and Dreadnoughts. Devastator Squad Donetal (and the rest of my army) look downright inspection-ready compared to the battered Salamanders. At this point in time, with every model assembled, we could play some games. I'm juggling self-control and curiosity, playing with only painted models versus learning the rules and our army lists. Finding openings in our schedules and speed of painting will be the decisive factor.

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.

Theoretical Following a few years of what I can only describe as 'bumbling around' in the hobby - jumping around and enjoying dalliances in Heresy, 40k, Kill Team, Age of Sigmar, Battletech, etc - my buddy and I decided it was time to 'lock in' and commit to some hard-and-fast hobby and gaming, preferable in a system that wouldn't change its clothes on us as soon as we finished slapping paint on our models. I did a deep dive into some of the older editions of Warhammer, looking for an edition that hit a sweet spot of completed-ness, nostalgia, and ease of play. I came up in (what's now) 1st Edition Horus Heresy, and was leaning towards diving back into that system, but the mere task of tracking down rules across several black and red books seemed like a chore, and the uphill struggle of building new armies for a game at 3,000pts wouldn't have us on the table anytime soon. Enter 4th Edition. Cheap books, smaller armies, and locked in a past that won't be altered. I picked up a smattering of books: the core rules and codexes for Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, and Eldar. The older books are a treasure, and I'm reminded of HH's USR's, tables, and vehicle systems. We agreed to construct two forces from the same codex (Space Marines), and got to work hammering out some 1,000pt lists. The Dramatis Personae While my opponent opted for the ever-popular Salamanders, I decided that this would be the right time to finally get my on-again-off-again homebrew, the Cardinal Guard, onto the tabletop. For the purposes of list-building, a codex-compliant, by-the-book chapter. For the purposes of the hobby, a chance to flesh out the concept practically. Looking into the far future, I want to smash out some Wraithhost style Eldar, as well as some World Eaters - and my opponent's love of green doesn't just extend to Space Marines. Practical The wonders of the at-home STC device - a bevy of creators online, the ability to 3D-bash custom parts, and keeping it on a budget. I'm no master painter and firmly abide by the 3ft principle - get the models on the table, characterful from that angle and distance. What To Expect 50yd Target: hobby progress on our armies as we build to 1,000pt and later 2,000pt sizes. 100yd Target: game reports, what we like and don't about 4th Edition, and musings. 300yd Target: more armies, more games. Standby for more.