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Welcome to the thread: I'm hopefully going to post up a combination of my homebrew Lore for the regiment, modelling/converting logs and guides, and painted models showcases featuring troopers, officers, grenadiers and vehicles. Just to keep things on-topic, let's keep it restricted to Rogue Trader Imperial Guard for the moment. I had imperial guard models since 2nd edition; I got into the hobby via having a copy of the old Rogue Trader 40k Compilation which had the first Genestealer cult articles and lists in it and the brood brother models made with 1st ed Imperial Guardsmen really appealed to me. They weren't available however- apparently the moulds got broken. So I started off with some Cadian models and collected a medium-sized (at the time) force. Some time in my teens, Warhammer World opened and I was extremely happy to discover I could mail order things- even RT era things- in the shop. So I ordered a load of the metal RT era troopers- the ones with poseable arms. Eventually I worked out which ones I liked best and narrowed down my force exclusively to the models sculpted by Mark Copplestone. There was something about the heavy look of the armour and boots in his sculpts that appealed to me. I originally had all my RT guard painted in the same ice/urban blue-black and blue-grey scheme I'd had my cadians in, which was pretty similar to the original RT IG colour scheme. Sometime a couple of years in I decided I didn't like that any more and went with a scheme inspired by the enemy marines in the massively influential video game Half-Life; at the time I think I must have put several thousand hours into that game. There's one trooper in particular that pretty much just is the beret guy from HL. That scheme has persisted to the present, although very few of the original models have survived unmolested: fairly early on, I decided to ditch the RT era lasguns, which is a decision I'm still happy about, as it happens, and make autoguns for the troops as similar to the MP5 submachineguns and shotguns that the HL marines had as I could make them. This is the decision that put me where I ended up now- that is, saddled with a self-imposed directive to convert pretty much every trooper. Each autogun is converted from a RT bolter, a length of space marine power axe or chainsword handle and the magazine and barrel from a necromunda autopistol. Pretty work intensive, but not a bad go at the mp5 while still keeping some recogniseable 40k features. The shotguns are from the same necromunda weapon set as the atuopistols, but cut down a little. Having comitted to converting all the guns, it wasn't long before I was converting all the arms too: I'd already done a lot of head swaps due to there being only four basic Copplestone trooper sculpts -and two of those needing some heavy converting just to make them 'standard'. Things just sort of snowballed from there. I'll show some more detailed stuff about why this all is if people are interested, as well as how I do it, I guess. I reckon there's a rich vein of posts to be mined to get where I have the troops today, which is a long distance indeed from where they were. I'm going to say right here in the first post that this will be a thread I update slowly: I don't get a lot of time for modelling and painting anymore on the one hand, and on the other I want to comment on modelling and converting individual troopers because that's the kind of thread I like best and I want to create something I would like to see myself. Please feel free to make requests and offer comment; I'd really appreciate it. In the meanwhile, here are some 'action' shots of my guardsmen, mostly set up for Apologist's 'War of the false Primarch' collaborative blog, which you should definitely check out if you haven't. Thanks everyone

Defending or storming the stronghold is one of the most fun narrative missions you can play on the tabletop. This bundle is probably the best opportunity to get a complete, great looking and themed tabletop terrain set on a budget. This Bundle will give you eight PDF files to create a Strongold themed tabletop. It includes Tank Traps, a modular Defense Line, Barracks, a Landing Plattform, a Control Tower, a Communication Tower, a Bastion and a modular Fortification Wall. All Terrain Pieces are fitting for 28mm tabletop games with a Modern or Future-Fantasy setting. Get the bundle here: Stronhold Bundle Just print build and play! Please leave C&C below!

Your Troops have to have a place to rest, rearm and prepare. An encampment has to be built quick and it must not be a loss if it gets destroyed or conquered by the enemy. Thats why these sheet metal Barracks are perfect for the job. Build the military encampment or full fledged fortification by useing any option you like we have to offer. Build a storytelling table for your narrative gaming scessions. This PDF will give you a 4 different Barrack Designs and a selection of ID-Shields. The Barracks fit all 28mm tabletop games with a Modern or Future-Fantasy setting. Make sure to check out the fitting models of the fortification series available and coming soon. Get the set here: https://www.wargamevault.com/product/481423/Tabletop-Battlefield-Scenics-Barracks?src=newest Just print, build and play! Please leave C&C below.

Game 1 Loss to Sisters with a Knight Great opponent coming into this with no recent games. A good learning game to start the day and get on my feet. That said it was a total rout. With more time he'd have wiped me off the board. At the outset terrain placement is a big problem. Thank the emperor I didn't bring a baneblade. Movement was hugely constricted. Obscuring created weird avenues of sight. Challenge. Learning when to reserve is a key weakness for me. I continue to have a bad matchup against sisters. I think it shows a lesson I've not come to terms with yet. In 10th edition it's worth more reflection on where I lose. Solution. Using reserves and having the patience to play a conservative game is necessary. I tend to be much more willing to do the reckless all out attack when the time comes, but far less able to see when I need to tuck back. Which is odd - I used to be the opposite playing blood angels for years. I'd be hiding in and around terrain, not assaulting with an assault army. Now I tend to be overly belligerent with a shooting army. Anyway, the amount of first turn melta sisters (and a knight) can put out is devastating. Solution. Learn, learn, learn terrain. I need to be fluent in the rules or, as here, the pace of the game is completely dictated by what I don't really understand. So, I wanted to hold my lemans back. But, I also realized terrain placement meant none of them could move out when the time came. I'd be pinned in a far corner while the opponent sits comfortably on 4+ objectives. Solution. As I continue to learn deployment I think the redeploy warlord trait is just crucial. I suspect you wouldn't see it used by the top players as they see the board immediately for what it is, whereas I already make a mistake in reading what I can do. The warlord trait is therefore a very helpful tool, even if a bit of a crutch at my level of play. Solution. Blitz Division. Born soldiers is the best regiment. But, it's not the best in all scenarios. It's good in the shooting phase. I think my over reliance on it opens up bad match ups. Having Rogal Dorns or lemans coming as if it were turn 3 opens up a lot of the table. This means (1) more lines of sight on the enemy; (2) more opportunities to deny opponent line of sight in return fire. It's hard to call this a great regiment... but I need to start thinking more about my bad match ups. Especially as I'm less reliant on scions for any real damage these days, utilizing strategic reserves for hard hitters is more interesting. Give and Take. There are always counters - vanquishers don't work when Tau have drones, or there's some body guard rule. But, that doesn't mean I should abandon units that ignore invuln saves. Rarely is there a panacea unit that does everything just right. Well, if there is it's spammed and winning all the tournaments. That aside, I think an overall issue is balance. Something like Born soldiers - getting that 6 to hit as an auto wound is very very good. But, where does my army fall flat on its face? Can I give up born soldiers and still be "good enough" at shooting, while bargaining some other rules to smooth out the weak points in my army? Game 2 Victory over Tyranids Hadn't played Tyranids in a long time. I really had no idea what this list was about. Ah, got the exact same table again. Great. Awesome. But here he didn't have a lot of long range melta. He therefore didn't want to get out and exposed to my firepower. I tried to keep lines of sight on the three center objectives. Declaring the terrain obscuring again dictates the entire game. Terrain is such a huge piece of the game it's weird that players kind of handshake on what it means. Like if I can see through the terrain, he's dead right now. If I can't see, then he can maneuver around it and kill me. Hopefully 10th edition has a better terrain design. Annoyed with the terrain himself, he said he didn't want the final piece placed... I was fine with it. Still that left a huge gap for my scions to come on in for a neighborly bug barbeque. This game was unusually slow, I'm not sure why. Time ran out I think as we barely started turn 3. But, with barbicant's key kasrkins, and a whole handful of scions, his whole HQ and center section was crippled. The lemans also moved up for line of sight. Turn 4 and 5 would have been nasty. Still that little parasite bug came in and dropped rippers all over me. The bullgryns got infected repeatedly rolling a couple of 6's on that parasite and were really devastated. Game 3 Close Victory over Custodes If you don't count my paint score, I lose. If the Cadian command squad with the ogryn bodyguard dies in the final turn, I lose. If he makes a couple of key saves, I lose. If I didn't get first turn... probably lose. He really had me, but I squeaked it out. Great opponent, lot of fun to play. Custodes are so durable I was using vanquisher leman russes against his bikes. Ultimately he was afraid of my shooting, and played conservatively. I often feel that a hyper durable army can play recklessly. I really have no effective counter assault in this list (something like rough riders next to lord solar would be a totally different story - don't go charging units near that non-sense). My scout sentinels had some use in drawing him out onto the objectives - just a bit too tough for his shooting and he needed to get into combat with them... which is where I had lines of sight. Challenge: I don't know all their tricks, but I know they can really augment pile in, charges and consolidate. If they get to my lines custodes bikes will bounce all over me. This means I can't shoot them effectively. Charges mean significantly augmented movement - they can be anywhere on the board. Counter: I can use a strat to shoot into combat, but (1) only one unit can do it; (2) rolls of 1 go on my tank... with anti-tank guns. Also, if I fail to do damage, that enemy unit gets to hide from shooting while in combat, and lives to charge another. Counter: While lemans can shoot into combat and out of it, blast weapons still have limitations. Multi-melta sponsons can sometimes help a lot (though they're expensive). If it's ten thunderhammers charging you, there's not going to be any shooting back. If there's something dumb like a rhino transport trying to tag you in combat, there's defensive value here. Also, 3x heavy bolters and a stubber into the combat... that's not going to kill custodes. Counter: Just fall back? While necessary at times, this looks a lot like bad deployment and planning on my part. Also, if it's obvious the tank is dead, sometimes just shooting at what it can shoot at might just be better (acknowledging that falling back could instead mean using my whole army to shoot at the charging enemy). Counter: Why not get some practice games in to learn other armies. I even have custodes I need to paint up. It's hard to get too excited about rules in the twilight of the edition. But the larger principals of failure points in gameplay are likely going to play out again and again until I learn. And here's the list: - Happy Hunting -

Death Korps of Krieg Display Board 2023 - Adepticon and Beyond. So, I'm catching up from work these past two months. 100+ hours in, but never finished. Anyway, step one, I'm building a blimp display board this year. Last year was great. I got a lot of really great feedback at Adepticon and on B&C. People were really kind. But, the question is how to improve it? The problem with going to a new army is that I have to paint a new army, and make a new display, and learn all the rules. Huge, if not insurmountable, time commitment in my context. But, doing Krieg again... we'll it's more of the same. So it's got to stand out. Time to make a Zeppelin. Inspiration & Options. WW1 "dirgibles," "airships," "zeppelins." Now, in practical hobby terms, the Rob Hawkins hobby blog did it 10 years ago - "Rivet Wars Diorama: The Blimp." It's really great. I've also seen on various forums people attempted zeppelins in 40k via the mechanicus terrain (it being roughly cylindrical in shape. You can buy skeleton frames made of laser cut MDF. But they didn't fit my size expectations. Also, the cost was more than what I'd be ok with to test it out. If I didn't like it, it'd never get used. Construction of the shape. First, I attempted to use a 3-liter bottle filled with expanding foam. it was roughly a usable shape from the start. Expanding foam however, can only be added to a certain depth in one use or it will not set properly. So, go slow with the expanding foam can if you build it this way. I think it'll work just fine. I just didn't get a good effect and gave up on it. Second, I switched to cutting circles out of foam with a proxxon wire cutter table. That works great. 1" x 2' x 2' foam sheets (menards, home depot, lowes). I also got a circle cutter jig made of MDF. It's not strictly necessary, but it's helpful. Gorilla Construction Adhesive (for use in a caulk gun) is the magic glue. It doesn't dry fast and it's not super strong. But, it dries regardless of air supply. It also doesn't dissolve the foam creating noxious fumes. A hot glue gun can work, and it is very fast, but it is a fumes hazard and may melt the project to some degree (I suppose more or less depending on the heat of the glue gun). With the rough cylinder cut, it's time for shaping. For the rear and front cone shapes I used a knife to cut a rough cone. Then I used an electric sander with 120 and 220 grit to soften it up and shape it more. This can be easier without the whole blimp constructed. I think it's better to make a front cone, middle cylinder, and rear cone. Put them together only at the end. *Note: the electric sander kicks and gouges into the foam very easily - proceed with caution or it makes a lot more work. *Note: I used plastic bags and rubber bands to secure the end of the caulk gun - that way the gorilla construction adhesive didn't dry out when i stopped the project for the day. Worked great. Construction of the fins. I used Basswood sheets, 1/8" x 4" x 24." I didn't want to cut any more than necessary as the tiniest mistakes really show. So, the 4" width was very close to the radius I needed to install the fins. The 24" length was too long, but not a hard cut to make. Later on I came to realize styrene sheets might have been better because the stabilizers I installed were a real chore - breaking constantly. Not great. Gluing styrene to styrene is easy enough. Gluing styrene to wood or whatever doesn't work well. Maybe there's a better glue to consider. In hindsight I also should have been cognizant of the glue used to secure the foam discs to each other in making the overall shape. So I did it wrong - I glued the foam discs together and then went ahead and cut out foam for the fins to fit in. Don't be dumb like me. Glue doesn't cut easily with the hot foam knife. Plan the glue so perfect cuts can be made for the fins to attach. Actually the rear cone could have just been cut in 4 equal pieces, really. Transportation. Ultimately moving this thing is a disaster. I believe designing this in three separate sections would have been better. I think a center hole through the length of the ship, with a rod installed along the length would have been a better way to make this and also be able to transport it. Seams from the three sections could be easily hidden.

Hello folks - welcome to 2023! If you read my last blog entry, which by the way was too long ago, you will know that the reveal of new Astra Militarum aka Imperial Guard minis had me quite excited, and I talked about trying to resist starting a Guard army, especially if other regiments were to get the same update treatment as the Cadians. The new stuff is fantastic, and following that last blog entry there were some other reveals too, such as the Lord Solar (BraveStarr) on his steed, the Rogal Dorn Battle tank, a new Castellan and new fancy Cadian upgrade sprue, so in true fashion for someone who has a plastic crack addiction, I broke, but not in the way you might think. Upon reading the title of this blog entry you may have thought I caved in and got the Cadia Stands army set when it released? Nope, I did not. Nor did I pre-order the new Guard stuff when it went on general release, although that was a factor. When the new Cadian Shock troops, Field Ordnance Batteries and all the other stuff that was in the army set went on pre-order, I saw the prices of everything and quickly released that the Cadia Stands army set was ridiculously good value. Not only was it good value, it was still available on Games Workshop's website and also with a couple of Third party retailers! I did some quick maths, let out an excited laugh and ordered the army set for £110. I took my wife to the theatre that same day, so its fine. I couldn't help it, and I don't care. Its been a rubbish start to the year in RL terms, so this was a nice treat to myself, retail therapy I guess you could say. So far, I've built and magnetised the Filed Ordnance Battery, and I'm halfway through building the Sentinel. Its a actually a really nice set, the shock troopers and command squad sprues are jammed with all sorts of options, so I'm looking forward to getting those built and I have an idea for my own custom regiment, the Joroduun Aces - more on those later. Anyway, looks like I am indeed doing a Guard army, though whether it will see a tabletop is anyones guess, as is the question of will I ever get it built and painted. I can say one thing for certain though, I fully intend to pull my finger out and do some serious hobbying this year, and not jump from project to project if I can help it. Oh and by the way, that half built Wyvern - it lives again! It was actually in the garage and half built as a Hydra, but with a broken peg. I've repaired it and re-done it as a Wyvern, as I thought it might be more use. Just needs track gluing on and then paint. So then, Imperial Guard it is. I'm off now to go and pray to the miniature gods that we see some plastic Tallarn, Catachan, Valhallans etc, then I can really have an old school Guard army. Thanks for reading.

Hi folks, The announcement of a resuming of the Call to Arms’ challenge for the third consecutive year has set my mind in turmoil. Every year this event is a key incentive to reach new milestones in completing assembly and painting of these numerous minis stuck in Piles of Shames. For me 2023 has unlocked a very serious progress: I resumed an Aeldarii project stopped at least a decade before Crafworlders changed from Eldars to Aeldarii. This cleaned part of my backlog and allowed a revival of this first (second in fact) love (once the concept is applied to 40k factions). Additional entries for the Imperium faction helped progressing on my 2023 New Year/New Army (AdMech) and cleaning down remaining ooP SW vehicles. 2024 also contributed to reduction of my carry-over but in a lesser extend: the challenge allowed me to complete my AdMech Force with lesser investments. It also included some Scenery and a few Drukharii bought to complete the Ynnari orientation of the Aeldarii built in 2023. But volume was lower; My consolation is that quality increased. Or at least it is what I like pretending. Biggest lies are the ones you address to yourself. But I clearly progressed if one compare with my early (90’s era) works (now largely cancelled/repainted. 2025 is going to be very similar to 2024 I guess. Mainly because I have less time and less minis in the queue. And also because what remains is still related to Pointy ears and AdMechs. Let’s check the inventory I made. It covers most of my 30k/40k back log once excluded a kitbashed LR, some hacksawed metal models and a serious amount of ooP EPIC squats and SM. UNIT FORUM SUBFORUM HEADCOUNT POINTS PER HEAD SUBTOTAL Corsairs Xenos Aeldarii 10 1 10 Corsairs - kit bashed Xenos Aeldarii 10 1 10 Corsairs - kit bashed Xenos Aeldarii 5 1 5 Succubus Xenos Drukharii 1 5 5 Archon Xenos Drukharii 1 5 5 Kabalites Xenos Drukharii 10 1 10 Wytches Xenos Drukharii 10 1 10 Raider Xenos Drukharii 1 5 5 Venom Xenos Drukharii 1 4 4 Rangers Xenos Aeldarii 5 1 5 Ghostwalkers/proxy Rangers Xenos Aeldarii 5 1 5 Icon Xenos Aeldarii 1 1 1 Shroudrunneurs Xenos Aeldarii 3 2 6 Neophytes Xenos GSC 5 1 5 Spore Mines Xenos Tyrannides 10 1 10 Autarch Xenos Aeldarii 1 5 5 Wayseekers/Warlocks Xenos Aeldarii 2 5 10 Serberys Sulphurhounds Imperium AdMech 3 2 6 Sicarians Imperium AdMech 5 1 5 Pteraxii Imperium AdMech 5 1 5 AM HQ Imperium AM 5 1 5 AM HQ Imperium AM 5 1 5 Skatros Imperium AdMech 1 5 5 Axiarch Imperium AdMech 1 5 5 AM Squad Imperium AM 10 1 10 AM Squad Imperium AM 10 1 10 AM Squad Imperium AM 10 1 10 Carnaudon Imperium AM 1 5 5 Nemesis Claw Chaos CSM 10 1 10 Necromunda Siberlant / Proxy Manipulus Imperium AdMech 1 5 5 Ghostwarriors Xenos Aeldarii 5 1 5 .xlsx is my fav list making tool… It brings me to a split into forums that makes the Xenos faction ahead with a total of up to 106 pts available for being painted. Aeldarii and Drukharii can combine nicely in a global Ynnari series of vows, maximizing the potential point value that could be harvested if I can paint all of that. GSC and Spore mines are the (xeno-infected) cherry on the cupcake. Imperium is a tad behind with up to 76 points available. Yet AdMech is still representing a backlog of about 31 pts, which is not that far from Drukharii. And I paint now AdMech faster than before. So it remains a good second family of vows. Trick is that many minis require being built or kit bashed. All of the Astra Militarum must be kitbashed from GSC. On the first hand it is a lot of insigne cleaning and head swaps over 30 footsloggers and one vehicle on the waiting room. Corsairs and Proxy scouts also represent, on the other hand a similar amount of infantry models to be kit bashed. So, it is a lot of work to be done before the launching day. I will definitively start with the Pointy ears, but first step is to get the slottabases. I have just placed the order for the 28,5 mm bases I need for getting all these kit bashed Corsairs properly built. I couldn't have anyway used the original 25 mm bases I had with the Guardians as I lost these... Next update will therefore be focused on that point: kit bashes See you once work will be worth being reported.

Communication of Information is crucial for the outcome of any battle! Defend or destroy the tower to gain a vital advantage in the raging war your troops are fighting. Combine this set with the Fortification Wall to create even more narrative on the tabletop. This PDF will give you a Tower Design with Communication and / or Defense Tops. The Communication / Defense Tower fits all 28mm tabletop games with a Modern or Future-Fantasy setting. Make sure to check out the fitting models of the fortification series available and coming soon. Get the set here: https://www.wargamevault.com/product/480630/Tabletop-Battlefield-Scenics-Communication---Defense-Tower?src=newest_since We had a blast in our mission where on player had to place detonators at the Communicaton Tower and the other player had to stop him. I hope you have lots either. C&C is very welcome! Just print, build and play!

Storming the fortress or defending it, is one of the coolest scenarios for tabletop battles in my opinion. I proudly present the first element of the coming fortification series. Highly modular and versatile you can build a fortified site any size you see fit. This PDF will give you a modular Fortification Wall Design. The Fortification fits all 28mm tabletop games with a Modern or Future-Fantasy setting. Make sure to check out the fitting models of the fortification series available and coming soon. Get the set here: https://www.wargamevault.com/product/481421/Tabletop-Battlefield-Scenics-Fortification-Wall During the design process we had lots of fun planing, building and storming our fortress. I hope you have lots either. C&C is very welcome! Just print, build and play!

O.K. here is a test scheme for a squad i'm working on to go with my guard army, they will represent some Imperial Navy grunts from Cadia that are from a naval fleet that got away from Cadia and are now playing the role of supporting ground elements with extra troops,vehicles - tanks and Taurox's and also Heavy Tanks and Valkyries. (In my mind i had the idea like Battlestar Gallactica a fleet of ragtag group of ships with mixed equipment doing the best they can... All the Vehicles will be painted generically in ThunderHawk Blue as a standard kinda like all WW II vehicles were Olive Drab this works for me as i have not painted any vehicles for my guard so this helps break the boredom of painting a new colour so i stay enthused the troops are in standard armed forces Fatigues(Deathworld forest to help tie them in to my main force's uniform) but the armor is Naval fleet issue so i'm going with a blue colour (ThunderHawk Blue) it's not contrasting but will be what they call Accented Analogous ..see below for my colour selection. Lenses on Helms,weapons,Vehicle screens etc will be Red as the contrast to the middle colour, pouches will be leather look and rifles will either be all gunmetal or have Black casings...not sure on that one?...feedback may be needed to tweak that idea ... officers that have little or no armor will be dressed in Dark Blue Coats to stand out from standard troops...haven't thought that far ahead yet... this is the basic scheme, the green will be highlighted up to be a bit brighter and the armor will be highlighted too...whats the best highlight colour for thunderhawk blue?...i was thinking the extreme spot highlight will be screaming skull but i'm kinda stuck on the middle highlight colour?!?... C&C please Cheers, Mithril

Hi, Here are some pictures of a Death Korps of Krieg Veteran Guardsman that I painted from the Kill Team Octarius box set.

Greetings fellow commanders! After a long absence from the hobby (since 5th edition) I feel really drawn back into it with the release of 8th edition. Always wanting to start a Guard Army, an idea started to form in my mind: I wanted to play a ''crusading pilgrim'' Guard force whose commanders relinquished command to an inquisitor who likes nothing more than getting up close, spray holy promethium and inhale the rewarding smell of burning xenos and heretics. So I devised an army list of a mobile and aggressive force that includes a spearhead of multiple hellhounds and flamer chimeras, who take the first incoming blows as they screen a huge force of advancing infantry equiped with flamers and plasma, backed up by a small long range support division. I might even throw in a couple of cyclops demolition vehicles (converted to have suicidal drivers seeking redemption for their sins) for the heck of it. The catachan regimental doctrine comes out, and I'm pretty excited: that's a very fitting doctrine for an army based on a heavy flamer and inferno cannon assault! But here's the thing: I like modelling and painting my army as much as playing it, and visually the catachans are just not attractive for me to work on. With their short legs, broad backs and enormous biceps they look like a human-ork crossbreed, or abhumans at the very least. Added to that, I doubt their line will get updated soon (for how many years have people been begging GW for plastic sisters!?). The prospect of painting a 100 of these guys turns me off. I was actually thinking of using Cadian miniatures and give a bunch of them catachan arms by just buying some catachan bits, like this: My footsloggers: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6dtrGCR6UBoeWJTSWFudU1mSUk/view My Inquisitor: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6dtrGCR6UBoVktGYTE1SExTdTA/view So my first question is: would that be accepable for in store or tournament play, or do you I HAVE to use catachan models to make use of the catachan doctrine? My second question, and here I am pushing it a bit too much perhaps. Fitting with the general theme of a faith based crusading force, it would be cool to use Ministorum Priests as officer stand-ins and Mistresses of Repentance as Commissar stand-ins (forwards, or get whipped to death!). Would that be ok or is that violating WYSIWYG common sense too much? I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions! Suggestions for fluffy conversions are welcome too! Once the codex comes out I might upload a draft army list for this army of flame loving zealots.. Cheers!

Evening! So, I've been jumping on and off the hobby lately due to work, although I've been building (and lately painting) steady for the last year. Although now that the 8th edition hit the shelves I feel quite lost in how to "finalize" my army with an army list. Last edition was pretty clear and easy, since the plan was going full veteran and everything with it. Is going full Vanguard detachment army actually viable (if I've understood the detachments correctly)? Anyway, if any of you'd like to come with suggestions or a draft/design on a fitting army list I would really appreciate it. My plan is/was to have 1 Elysian detachment and 1 Astra militarum detachment - If that's viable. Any suggestions are welcome! The inventory so far (both created and planned modelwise): HQ 1x Company commander with a boltgun 1x Command squad - Nothing planned yet. Meat 1x Guard Squad - 3x Sniper & Lascannon 1x Guard Squad - 3x Grenade launcher & Rocket launcher 1x Guard Squad - 3x Plasma & Rocket launcher 1x Guard Squad - 3x "Not yet built" & Rocket Launcher 1x Guard Squad - 3x Melta & Not yet decided HW (skip?) 1x Guard Squad - 3x "Not yet built" & Autocannon 1x Scion Squad - 2x Plasma 1x Scion Squad - 1x Melta & 1x Flamer 1x Scion squad - 1x Grenade launcher & 1x "Not decided" 5 or 6 man squads? Transport 1x Chimera - Autocannon & Flamer 1x Chimera - Autocannon & Heavy bolter 2x Taurox Misc 1x HW mortar squad 1x Tauros Venator - Lascannons 3x Sentinels - 2x plasma cannon, 1x lascannon (not yet decided). Air support 2x Valkyrie - Rocket pods? 1x Marauder Destroyer 1x Thunderbolt So that's basically the inventory. Units that I can make/have/bits/whatever: Commissar/commissar lord Bits for making a few more squads or characters of "meat". Master of the Fleet/Ordonance Inquisitor 5x DW Space marines Of course, I'm happy to make/take in other units that might be vital and so on if I'm missing anything - No shortage on bits! Anyway, thank you in advance, I'll be happy to supply you with any details if I missed anything. Best regards!

Hi I bring you The Complete Guide to Buffing Astra Militarum Infantry! You can read it here https://cadianshock.com/buffing-astra-militarum-infantry-guide/ It also contains (embedded in the page) a little helper app, you can view that as a stand-alone page too here https://cadianshock.com/infantry/ The article includes everything and anything that can help Astra Militarum Infantry on the battlefield and the help app makes looking up which unit buffs which other units very easy. See image at the bottom of this post. Please let me know any feedback, mistakes and your experiences!

just hosting some pics of a friends Guard army, he's redoing them with the new GW Bases and re painting the Fatigues in a Fenris Grey...trying for an urban theme. will note that he has used all scout heads on this unit...i didn't realise till i was taking the pics... and went huh...somethings different about em ... here are the new Wip pics of his force, i will show some pics of how they used to look beforehand after these ones... i think these 2 count as a hvy wpn team... a Very angry Vox operator... Generic dude(just showing how seamless the scout head looks) that's it for now, next post i'll show his old paint jobs. cheers, Mithril

I've been a lurker on the site for several years (2012) and have always told myself I should add a plog, well now, amidst this apocalypse (Covid-19), I am. I need to get a lot of my stuff photographed so I'll start slow and try to add a bit more weekly. Me: I started Guard in 2nd editions in the early 90's but sold off all of those beautiful metal guardsmen and Rogue Trader era rarities (jet bikes... /sigh ) when I thought I was getting out of the hobby. I didn't stay away long however and had to start over in 5th edition (2008, i guess). My main force is composed of Cadian models in blue fatigues with grey flak armor. I also have urban Catachans, some Praetoreans, and a growing Tempetus Scion force. At the start of 5th my plan was to have my Cadians in blue be the police contingent of a penal colony (Catachans in prison orange) but I didn't like painting orange as much as I thought I would so that was dropped. The Catachans's were re-painted grey and they became their own army. The Fluff (feel free to skip): The Planet of Agamemnon is a barren Mars-like world in the Aquila constellation (it's a thing). It's main export is a rare psi-resonant crystal used solely in the manufacture of psychic accessories (psychic hoods, force weapon conduits, psychic choir harnesses, etc.). The planet's surface is mostly red desert with sparse pockets of scrub-land. Beautiful glass domed cities are spread out across the planets surface. This where the wealthy and privileged live. The common folk live in the tunnels that spread throughout the entirety of this hollow world. The military is broken into 4 components: - The Standard PDF (cadians in blue) drafted from dome dwellers. It's considered a high privilege to serve and a minimum tour of duty is a requirement before holding any position of power with the government. - Mining League Corp of Combat Engineers (Catachans in Grey) made up of underworld volunteers. These are the poor saps that turn to the horrors of war to escape the horrors of a life of mining. - Agamemnosi Expeditionary Force (Praetorians) are the armed branch of the Royal Academy of Science in the capitol city of Ulyon. They have close ties to the AdMech and sometimes serve as their armed escorts. - lastly, due the planet's unusual resource, a Tempestus Scion academy was built in orbit at the behest of an Inquisitor several millenia ago. Like all great planets, this world once belonged to the Eldar so naturally they show up from time to time to harass the new residents. The resonant nature of the crystal draws other threats like Tyranids and Chaos. So that's what I've got. Now the fun part, Pics! These are my recently painted Scions (how were called away to aid Commissar Yarrick in the defense of Chalnath): and here is a sampling of my PDF colors and some visiting Adeptus Ministorum: ...and these are my Catachan/combat engineers (a blurry pic from ETL 2014 I think) So there. it's begun. I'll try to add pics as I take them. Enjoy.

Fellow Guardsmen! It's been a long time since my last report to Terran High Command! I hope the Emperor can forgive me. But the 409th is ready to emerge from winter quarters and hit the campaign trail once again. Real life demands not withstanding, I plan to get back to the business of putting more boots on the ground and shells in the air. I tried to find my old PLOG thread only to discover that it had been so long since my last update that it had been archived! Disgraceful! I'm fixing to keep this thread from suffering the same fate. I have to admit, it's no coincidence that the arrival of 8th Edition and the new Guard dex coincide with this army coming off ice. The new regimental doctrines sound very fluffy and fun to play with. I plan to try them all out just for kicks since I run my own homebrew regiment. Since it has been so long, like YEARS, since I last seriously posted, for those who don't know about the 409th, it's primarily an infantry based Guard regiment that is inspired by the American Civil War. I've seen random threads here and there on the old Intertrons in the past that were loosely inspired by ACW themes, and always had a mind to tackle it myself. I'm using a lot of third party kit which gets kind of expensive, but I think that this theme demands more than some simple head swaps to achieve the effect I'm going after. It's been a pretty long slog, but the 409th slumber'd for long enough and my boys have their dander up! Anyway, I figured the best way to start the new thread is with a PARADE! Who doesn't love parades, especially military parades glorifying the Emperor! So, I'll start there with some beauty shots of the boys I have all painted up ready for battle: Command Section: Here's a couple shots of the ranking officers, the Senior Officer in the middle and two Junior Officers. And their Regimental Advisors: Master of Ordnance, Astropath, a Fleet Officer and a Priest in there for good measure. And here's the CO with his command squad retinue: Bonus: Checkout my old count-as as Color Sergeant Kell in the back on the right - never got around to actually modelling the actual COLORS he was supposed to be entrusted with, but hes got the power fist and 'power' sword - the only chain sword in my army! Also included for bonus fun, an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor I painted up about the same time as I was doing this regiment initially, in case he ever needed to commandeer the regiment on Inquisition business: I don't really remember where I found this guy, pretty sure he's some kind of Privateer Press mini. Elites: Well, I guess these guys are Elites now, which honestly I feel is not optimal, but oh well, gotta sell those stormtrooper sprues! When I initially envisioned an ACW inspired army on the table I had thought I'd have entire platoons (in game terms) worth of infantry patterned in different uniform styles taken from famous civil war units. However, this is not as feasible as I foresaw from a cost and time standpoint. It became more practical to run Veteran squads in some of the more exotic unit patterns of the day, rather than try and run entire platoons this way. It just costs too much!! In-game it actually works pretty well as a way to distinguish Vet squads from your standard infantry squads, and easily explained from a fluff standpoint - as units gain seniority they appropriate unique attire befitting their veteran status. Anyway my first Veteran squad is patterned after the famous Union Iron Brigade. They were also called the Black Hats since the appropriated Hardee hats as part of their uniform instead of the typical kepis and forage caps. These guys are pretty much all Victoria Mini parts, but the heads are special. Steve Barber miniatures online has a massive range of historal minis for different eras and lots in the 28mm scale. And while historical 28mm is usually too small to be compatibile with heroic 28mm, they do have lot and lots of 28mm historic heads and their heads happen to scale extremely nicely with VicMini scuplts. They also work with GW as well, but mate with VicMini perfectly. I use the Steve Barber heads in this project extensively, they are a near perfect fit for this kind of conversion. Here's more of the squad: The special weapons in initially modelled for this squad was melta, back when melta vets were the hotness. But I guess the hotness is plasma now, so I suppose I'm going to have to go back and bang out a few plasma Vets for the squad. The 'melta' arms are all VicMini and really look the part for the aesthetic. Next Vet squad: these guys are patterned after the 11th New York Fire Zouaves. I really wanted to do some Zouaves units, but pretty much chickened out, since I don't really trust my greenstuff-fu, and no one out there is making baggy Zouave-style pantaloons in the 28mm heroic scale. So these guy are my compromise since they were a Zouave unit when they mustered in at the beginning of the war, and had a different uniform, a silk uniform that fell apart during their initial campaign! This is closer to the unit's second uniform, were they ditched their jackets and adopted dark trousers to replaces the baggy zouave pants that had disintegrated. Back in the old dex, (I'm talking 5th Ed. when I was heavy into planning this unit out,) There was no regiment restriction, and Harker was an interesting addition for a veteran squad. Zouaves drilled in light infantry open-order tactics - running these guys as light infantry infiltrating harassers was what I intended. This squad has sniper rifles - cheap and cheerful harassment weapons, inspired by the 'sniper' rifled muskets of the era. This squad is lead by my 'count-as' Harker. Is he even IN the next Dex or just the 8th Ed. index?? Well, he's a cool conversion anyway, don't know if he'll find the table for a while. And speaking of snipers, these guys can run as their own counts-as rattlings (although I do need a few more) or as part of a command squad for the BS3+. They are inspired by Berdan's 1st and 2nd US Sharpshooters. They were special regiments that recruited soliders who were proficient with the rifled arms of the day and could actually aim (most couldn't). They were used often as skirmishers at the divisional level instead of fighting in traditional two-rank battle lines. These guy are my own count-as Commissars. Every civil war regiment usually had a Sergeant Major, who was the senior NCO of the unit. Anecdotally these guys were known to be tough as nails and unflappable. In my fluff, these guys are senior NCO's who get inducted into special Officio Prefectus training programs and come out the other end as Sergeant Major Commissars. I always intended to get a couple actual Commissars painted up, but never got around. There's more I'd like to do for these guys to make them really stand out as Commissars on the tabletop. And here's another 5th Ed. relic: my counts-as Marbo. I think the Index still let's you run him?? But maybe its just Shadow Wars now? He was fun one to convert, but doesn't have a place right now in an 8th Ed. army. Pity.

So I have randomly acquired a sealed set of Forge World upgrade parts for Cadian veterans with shotguns among a big eBay box of mostly Horus Heresy stuff. Problem is, by the looks of things there are only four torso and arm sets (plus one loose shotgun), so not enough for a ten man squad, and I also can’t see shotguns as an option for any unit n the Index anymore. One thought I had was just to make a command squad with them and proxy for lasguns, but I thought I’d ask you good folks here if you had any ideas what else I could do with them or what unit they could represent. Feel free to conjecture right out of the box because I’m really interested in any possibilities and don’t mind some proper kitbashing. I’ve got a bunch of old-style plastic Cadian infantry I can use to do something with them. I’ll add a photo later of what I’ve got in the pack. Thanks in advance!