The Apocalypse Crusade

[tvih]

True, it's not all that special, which makes it even more annoying that I find myself wanting it. Hah! Although since I like figures with cloaks, and also like storm bolters and power fists, and that figure has all three.... I guess that's why. Thing is there are some Adepta Sororitas and Steel Legion figures that are only available from GW and that'd help me round out my collection for those respective armies, or even some Inquisition stuff.... so I guess would be the time to order some of them if I'm "ever" going to. Bah. Must come to a decision tomorrow, today still mostly busy with trying to haul the rest of my stuff to the new place.

[Marshal Mattias]

Haha, that's exactly what I was doing. Going, "well, may as well get them all at once" but I talked myself out of it. I have enough projects on the go just now :/

[greggles]

I wish they would sell the new chaplain separately.: (

[tvih]

Egh. Finally went through the effort of going through a million packed boxes trying to find the models which I vowed for ETL III. Supposedly having gone through all the boxes, so far it seems I'm short at least my Sternguard Sergeant and my Ironclad. Missing non-vowed models I've noticed so far include at least my Venerable Dread and... blast it, forgot what else already. No idea where the heck they've gone! Also realized I should've vowed more special/combi weapons for the secondary Sternguard squad. Oh well. I was supposed to get at least some models' paintjob started this weekend, but seems unlikely I'll get much, if anything, done.

 

On a different note during the last few days started on the novel Priests of Mars, had to pick it up from the LGS when I spotted it.

[Acebaur]

Egh. Finally went through the effort of going through a million packed boxes trying to find the models which I vowed for ETL III. Supposedly having gone through all the boxes, so far it seems I'm short at least my Sternguard Sergeant and my Ironclad. Missing non-vowed models I've noticed so far include at least my Venerable Dread and... blast it, forgot what else already. No idea where the heck they've gone! Also realized I should've vowed more special/combi weapons for the secondary Sternguard squad. Oh well. I was supposed to get at least some models' paintjob started this weekend, but seems unlikely I'll get much, if anything, done.

 

On a different note during the last few days started on the novel Priests of Mars, had to pick it up from the LGS when I spotted it.

 

 

Damn Dark Angels! First the Ophidium Gulf and now they are attacking the Twilight Crusade!  :lol:

 

I hope you can find them brother, I'd hate for you to have to buy new models for ETL because we all know you aren't allowed to fail ;)

[tvih]

Well, if I really can't find them the sergeant is no biggie, I can just substitute another marine model for it it no problems (other than losing the cool bits used in it) - plenty more of those left. For the Ironclad I guess I could use the unpainted Death Company dread that I have.

 

Still, they should be around somewhere, unless indeed a certain green-colored chapter or perhaps the ever-fickle Chaos (then again, I'm not sure there's much difference between the two?) has their dirty fingers involved...

[Brother Jobu]

Dark Angels = Men in Skirts^TM = Chaos in drag

 

 

[tvih]

My time and energy still seem to be bleeding out into the warp or something. Not been having much luck with... well, much of anything. Currently trying to prepare the 10-man Sternguard squad for painting... started that a week ago and prepared 3 guys (and Aegis wall sections) then, and two guys now so far. Taking forever. At this rate I'll be lucky to complete even this vow. It's sad, considering how much I have available to paint. I'm still hoping to vow some HQs at least after this first vow for some relatively easy points, but I guess only time will tell.

[Marshal Reinhard]

Your efforts does the chapter proud regardless brother.

 

It is only defeat if you recognise it as such

[tvih]

Oh, and still can't seem to find the missing models. Damned warp anomalies.

[Honda]

Now is the time that separates Templars from lesser chapters.

 

There is no doubt as to which you belong.

 

UNLEASH YOUR ZEAL!

[tvih]

I don't think I ever explained the naming of my Crusade. Basically it was inspired by the notion of "raging against the dying of the light" (light can be thought to be the light of the Imperium/humanity, or even the Astronomicon) as per the Dylan Thomas poem. After all, in such grim darkness, that seemed like a good cause. Alas, as the Crusade and its auxiliaries desperately struggle for survival with no reinforcements and in isolation, the figurative light at the end of the tunnel has vanished (and yet certain negative links to the word twilight in recent popular culture sadly have not, ruining a perfectly good word :P), and thus the Crusade is reborn as the Apocalypse Crusade. More grim darkness ahead in the future! Yet, as a true Templar accepts any challenge, this change in naming hardly washes away the true grit and determination of the Sons of Dorn, and if nothing else the light shall temporarily be reborn in the muzzle flashes of the Crusade's holy bolters... 

[Honda]

Hey, I was just ecstatic to see that your Templars didn't "sparkle". ;)

 

That being said, I like the new name of your crusade. I'm sure that my first SM army (DIY) named "Apocalypse Lords*" has nothing to do with that. :)

 

ONWARDS!

 

* Their official chapter motto was "Let the end...begin", though the unofficial motto was "Putting the pure into Puritan, one heretic at a time". Quite unknowingly, the chapter had so much in common with the Templars, that now, looking back on them, it seems obvious that I would end up a Templar.

[tvih]

The continued absence of Venerable Dreadnought Decus and Ironclad Dreadnought Eisern, as well as that of Sword Brother Therok continues to weigh heavily on the Crusade's morale. Especially the loss of two such venerated, ancient brothers would be a devastating blow indeed.

 

In other "news", I've been looking at chains again. I figured I should finally get some, but the right size is alwys tricky (at least when you don't want to pay through the nose, so to speak). I got one chain now, but while the link external diameters are OK I think, the metal itself seems too thin. I have a few others I'm looking at on eBay right now. One has 1,5x1,0 millimeter links, the other is 2,0x1,5 which is quite close to the one I have now, but the links seem thicker. If I could properly integrate some nice chains to the Sternguard I'm doing, that could boost their looks quite a bit I think. Though as I was intending on keeping the combi options modular, the chains could pose a problem to that goal.

I was also thinking of perhaps some heavier chain on the the Ironclad, but that'll remain to be seen. I wanted to paint the Ironclad first, but I'm at a total loss as to its whereabouts.

[Honda]

You can do it. It won't be easy, but then nothing of value ever is. Onwards Brother!

[tvih]

  As the slow translation to realspace from the turmoil of the Warp was slowly reaching the end with no more ships making the translation, Marshal Grimgard's expression was stern as he was reading over the latest reports that an expressionless servitor, now standing idly waiting for new orders, had brought to him.

  "The Crimson and Imperial Fists report that an entire Land Raider has simply vanished from their armory", he finally said, shooting a glance over to Chaplain Schade, who even now was clad in full terminator gear, save for the skull-mask helm that he had tucked under is massive arm. For a moment, Schade merely gazed into the distance, as if trying to see to the Warp itself to locate what had been lost.

  "Together with the apparent similar loss of Decus and Eisern as well as half of our drop pods, and even the Razorback Styx and a few others, one would be a fool to think this a mere conincidence. Some sort of intentional and foul Warp trickery is the cause of this", Schade finally said in an - to him - uncharacteristically wordy manner.

  "Yes. By the Emperor's grace, at least the Adepta Sororitas and Astra Militarum contingents are yet to report anything amiss. Nor the Death Company, but of them who knows if they would even notice." Grimgard shook his head slowly. "Still, I am not certain this is going to be the last bad news of this sort that we will receive." Schade merely nodded slightly in response, his hands tightly curled into fists, as if looking for a target to smash.

  Grimgard was certain that Schade wished there was something to smash, as the Chaplain had been seen centuries of righteous battle side by side with Decus, ever since the two had been Neophytes together. Even Decus's internment in a Dreadnought shell had done nothing to lessen their bond. It was nearly the same with Eisen, who had in fact been Decus's squire when Decus was still but an Initiate. For both to have vanished like this had not left the Chaplain unaffected. It might not have seemed like Schade was having difficulty with the situation to an outsider, but to Grimgard it was as obvious as the difference between realspace and the Warp.

  Grimgard could only have faith that the Emperor would protect them from further setbacks as they started their journey in-system, towards a cold and hostile moon that was forever trapped in the shadow of the huge gas giant it was orbiting, never to feel the light of the sun on its surface.

[tvih]

  Terdek slowly kept walking as he scanned the strange hallway, his night vision ability allowing to see the essentially pitch black corridor in ample detail as he moved along it. Ahead of him the way was clear. Behind him followed a somewhat mismatched smattering of battle-brothers. Some were clad in power armor, others in the much bulkier terminator armor, like Terdek himself. Some did not even sport the heraldry of the Black Templars.

  "Opening up ahead", he said in a low voice to those behind him. Something was scrambling the vox frequencies so badly that they weren't usable even at point blank ranges. Terdek gripped his shield tight and flexed his fingers on the shaft of his massive thunder hammer, and stepped through the end of the corridor, arriving into a large area, so big that even his enhanced vision couldn't even hope to see the boundaries of it. Terdek tensed as he sensed a sort of throbbing hum, and then spun to the left, raising his shield and angling his hammer ready to strike as a heavy weight thumped against the floor some distance away.

  "Feeling... edgy... Brother?" a low, booming voice with a mechanical edge to it said. Terdek stood up straight and lowered his armaments as a massive figure thumped its way toward him, and the other marines filed in to the open area as well, each instinctively surveying their surroundings.

  "Decus. It is a surprise finding you here. Then again, it is a surprise to be here. Wherever 'here' is." Decus, a massive and ancient Dreadnought, came to a halt and scanned the group of the marines in front of him, letting out what passed for a chuckle for him.

  "Yes... it is... most intriguing. I see... quite... many surprises.... with you", Decus said, his sentences slow and weighty, much like his movements. "It seems... we are... aboard... a space hulk." Terdek nodded.

  "That was our conclusion as well, though how we got here is a mystery. Apparently we were teleported. It seems all of us are armored and armed as well, probably because of the method of our transport to here. But how did they do it? We were in the Warp, which wreaks havoc of all sorts, but even so our ships should've picked up a space hulk of all things if it were near enough to grab us with a teleporter device somehow."

  "Indeed... it is... strange. And there's... the question... of why? But we... cannot find... that out... standing here, Brother." As Decus said that, one power-armored figure, much of his armor veiled by a white tabard and a long cloak, stepped forward alongside Terdek.

  "Have you seen any others?" the figure asked Decus.

  "Yes... and you'll see... it gets... stranger yet, Brother Ikarion." Having said that, Decus slowly spun around, and started trodding into the darkness, back the way he'd come from.

[tvih]

In a mysterious and so far unexplained turn of events, this:

http://www.tvih.net/stuff/wh40k/etl2014/etl2014-thevryn0.jpg

 

somehow has turned into this:

http://www.tvih.net/stuff/wh40k/etl2014/etl2014-thevryn1.jpg

 

How it happened is as yet unknown, but strange pots and sticks with hair on their end were found at the scene, and are suspected of involvement.

 

OK, OK, in more seriousness, first time painting since the last ETL ended. Strangely I haven't gotten any better at it by not doing it. Slow as usual, took at least 3 hours with this. Still a bit rough around the edges, so needs a bit more work. The model's likely to be named Sword Brother Thevryn, sort of my "avatar" in the Crusade. Things aren't looking up for him from the get-go, since he seems to be suffering from the nastiest sunburn ever recorded. No wonder his expression is so grim. In my vow he was supposed to have a combi-weapon + a sword, but it seems I can never make up my mind.

 

To fulfill my ETL vow - which I most certainly intend to do despite my inaction so far - I now need to churn out roughly a model per day. More, if I want to make a second vow with some HQs, which I'd like to be able to do after such a miserable showing so far.

 

Also I finally bit the bullet and ordered some Anvil Industry cloaks. I've only meant to do that for nearly two years now. As such I can equip the entire 10-man Tactical Sword Brethren squad with them once they arrive, as well as some of the non-cloaked power armor HQs I've made in the past.

[Marshal Reinhard]

Is that a sunburn, or is the sight of xenos so infuriating to him that his entire visage becomes swollen red by his ill contained fury?

 

I'm quite liking him. As you said he doesn't feel quite done yet, but he's good bit there.

[minigun762]

In a mysterious and so far unexplained turn of events, this:

http://www.tvih.net/stuff/wh40k/etl2014/etl2014-thevryn0.jpg

 

somehow has turned into this:

http://www.tvih.net/stuff/wh40k/etl2014/etl2014-thevryn1.jpg

 

How it happened is as yet unknown, but strange pots and sticks with hair on their end were found at the scene, and are suspected of involvement.

 

OK, OK, in more seriousness, first time painting since the last ETL ended. Strangely I haven't gotten any better at it by not doing it. Slow as usual, took at least 3 hours with this. Still a bit rough around the edges, so needs a bit more work. The model's likely to be named Sword Brother Thevryn, sort of my "avatar" in the Crusade. Things aren't looking up for him from the get-go, since he seems to be suffering from the nastiest sunburn ever recorded. No wonder his expression is so grim. In my vow he was supposed to have a combi-weapon + a sword, but it seems I can never make up my mind.

 

To fulfill my ETL vow - which I most certainly intend to do despite my inaction so far - I now need to churn out roughly a model per day. More, if I want to make a second vow with some HQs, which I'd like to be able to do after such a miserable showing so far.

 

Also I finally bit the bullet and ordered some Anvil Industry cloaks. I've only meant to do that for nearly two years now. As such I can equip the entire 10-man Tactical Sword Brethren squad with them once they arrive, as well as some of the non-cloaked power armor HQs I've made in the past.

Where is that Power Fist bit from?

[tvih]

Where is that Power Fist bit from?

 

Somehow I guessed that someone is going to ask that question  It's from the Death Company kit.

 

Is that a sunburn, or is the sight of xenos so infuriating to him that his entire visage becomes swollen red by his ill contained fury?

 

I'm quite liking him. As you said he doesn't feel quite done yet, but he's good bit there.

Yeah, nastiest sunburn that the Imperium has on record!

 

Frankly most of my "completed" models don't really feel quite done, but that's me, wishing for more than my skills - and available time, to an extent - make possible. Heh. For this one I reckon it's mostly just tidying him up a bit. And well, I suppose magnetizing the arms, especially the pistol arm doesn't want to stay put as it is.

Edited July 11, 2014 by tvih

[Honda]

This is why ZEAL is red. Love him.

[Andhil]

Ah, the sunburnt skin reminds me of my holiday to Greece a couple years back. Came back looking like a boiled lobster. Sleeping meant agony--> a full 3-nights experience of pain. But! We went to Thermopylae, so it was worth it. 

 

Enough about my holiday exploits though; 

Cool looking Sword Brother. Somehow, red for the Plasma coils looks cooler than I'd have imagined. 

Occasionally, I feel the same about my own completed models not feeling finished. I blame the other guys on this forum for posting top-quality paint jobs.  

[tvih]

Yeah, too many good painters here so I certainly know the feeling

 

I've went with red with the few plasmas I've painted so far mainly because it seemingly goes better with the rest of the color scheme compared to say the usual blue. I was supposed to test a blue coil, but it seems I forgot Just yesterday painted a red coil on a combi-plasma. Hmm. May need to try the blue on a different weapon. Could still paint over the reds, as the fluff discrepancy bothers me slighty Good that you brought it up. Though I guess I must see if I can make light enough blue with some paint mixing, as I only have darker blue paints.

[Firepower]

Blue, purple, green...sometimes red.  All of them can work for plasma coils.  Hm, come to think of it, I can't recall seeing yellow before.  God but painting that would be a nightmare.  Then again, I haven't tried painting yellow since that miracle glaze came out.

 

Anywho.  I'm not a huge fan of the red coils.  Sticking to a palette is always a good plan, as it saves you some headaches.  But rare exceptions like power weapons and plasma weapons etc. warrant a tiny bit of deviance.  If nothing else, it helps them stand out on the tabletop.

 

A quick black wash on the plasma's metal bits could help a lot, too.

 

And drill your damn barrels!

 

Oh, and saying 'because my skills are limited' is no excuse!  How do you think you're supposed to improve on those skills, aside from trying harder things? ;)  

 

Now time, that I can understand.  Takes me a lifetime to crank out my own models.  I'm good, but damn I'm slow...

Edited July 13, 2014 by Firepower