Another Wolf Pup

[RikuEru]

Good day, Wolves of Fenris!

I'm just a new recruit with no real battle experience. (Only played LotR stuff years ago, never had anything to do with Warhammer, except for seeing it in the store, of course.)
Because my new roommate and his friends play Warhammer 40k, I thought I might join them - even though I'm a total noob.
A few weeks ago I informed myself a bit more about 40k, through the GWS site and the wiki and other sites.
The Space Wolves repeatedly catched my eye. I liked their story, their models, the modifications other people build, etc.
I knew they would be perfect. (And none of the others play them, so a they really are a perfect fit.)

Lucky me, I came at the right moment, it seems, because a few days later the Stormclaw Set appeared on the store.
100€ seemed a bit much at first, for only wanting half of it. But a good friend, who wants to get started himself, and wants Orcs (and Chaos Marines), decided we would share it. That way both of us paid 50€ for 75€+ worth of figures. Nice.
I ordered it at my local store last week and got it on Saturday. I unpacked it like a little child, squeeing... *cough* grunting and shouting happily.
I never knew there could be this much variation for 'simple' units (LotR doesn't have that). More than a dozen heads and different weapons for a group of 5? I was amazed. Then I looked at the mini Rulebook and was overwhelmed. But I will get around to learning all that... I hope.
Overall I feel twelve again, which is great. I'm really hyped to build my own Space Wolves soon - especially if a new Codex for them and new models/packs arrive in the next few weeks/months.

Because I move someplace else in a few weeks - which will cost much of my time and mostly money - I sadly won't get around to building and painitng my figurines just yet.
BUT I will need your help!
I need help picking the right units (and weapons) to build out of the 5 Wolfguard Terminators and 10 Space Wolves.
I read some guides but all of them are older, based on the old editions, or are just assumptions what -might- be good in 7. Edition.

I want to keep Krom Dragongaze the way he is, mostly. It's a limited model. If his stats are :cussty - like some say - it doesn't matter, I'll buy someone to replace him then, but it would be to sad to change his cool model.
The 5 Wolf Guard Terminators will of course be Terminators, but i would like some advice regarding their weapons.
I want to split the 10 Space Wolves and make 5 of them Wolf Guards and 5 of them Grey Hunters - (Or maybe buy a pack of regular Space Marines and mix both sets to build 10 Wolf Guards / 10 Grey Hunters, which seems to be a common advice.) - because I read/was told Grey Hunters are the most versatile unit, while Blood Claws are only good in large numbers and with a Rune Priest as leader. Correct?

 

I repeat myself, but any advice which weapons to choose for them would be very welcome. I just want them to be a good stable, basic unit. I know as soon as I'm finished them, I'll buy more to expand my army. :D Thank you in advance!
(Keep in mind I'm a blatant noob. Really.)

Regarding the colors I probably won't go with the normal blue variation. Dark grey seems to be a wide spread variation for them, which I want to use, too. Didn't decide the fur color yet. Decorations and Accents will be gold/bronze. (Inspired by this picture of Ragnar)
I hope that's okay?

For Russ, brothers!

-RikuEru
 

[BT_Cennar]

Best advice right now is: hold steady till new Codex.. Build the "base" of the char if you want.. like Body+legs+Base but dont do much more.. even heads i wouldnt recomend until you see how the weapon of your choise is pointed so you can position the head same way or opposit to your likening.

 

in regards of WGs vs GHs vs BCs same as above wait until the Codex preorders drops this  Saturday beeing shipped next one. It might happen BCs will be number one troop choise.. you never know.

 

Othen then that: WELCOME to the B&C and the Aett.

[RikuEru]

Okay. Already guessed so. I'll wait then (and bug you all with questions in a few weeks). Thank you for the quick answer!

[BT_Cennar]

btw  color choosing is hard.. in the end its up to you. Your wolfs can be pink if you want... thou you will earn some laughter.

But this is up to you.

 

I made mine darkblue/greyish   GW colors are: Dark Reaper as base and ThunderHawk blue as highlight. they look grim that way. more like the dark grey from the Herasy era.

[Max_Dammit]

Welcome the the rout brother, and just in time for the next great hunt

 

Make sure you read the board FAQ, make use of the search. But most of all enjoy your stay here

[Haakon_Stormbrow]

im a huge fan of "pre-heresy" as they say where instead of being blue they are the codex grey you speak of, i feel it makes their shoulder markings stand out.

 

one thing i recommend is decide now how you want your pups to look.....

i recently decided to change my look for a more custom one and have now had to redo almost 100 of my power armoured brethren.

(my new look is based off of using the old chaos warhammer warriors back half so that every model is cloaked)

you can see a picture here if your interested in a rather easy, yet expensive, yet gorgeous modification.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_A8bZUPrO8dk/TR2xLVLs34I/AAAAAAAADHc/Pwp3r3zSnUw/s1600/heresy%2Bspace%2Bwolves%2B3.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_A8bZUPrO8dk/TR2xAwqLXzI/AAAAAAAADHU/T7vuvnEaX9o/s1600/heresy%2Bspace%2Bwolves%2B1.jpg

to see how to do this your self just google cloaked space wolves and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a guide.

 

my only advice is avoid the dark blue grey or "shadow grey" coloured space wolves, if you do go for the newer "space wolves" grey then go for lighter highlights with mixtures of white, that way your models will look like they can blend in with the snow.

[DanPesci]

ooof really like those cloaks haakon,

but for the reasons youve put (ie having to change 100+ models) i may well save that for wolf guard - will see what the new codex brings first.

Lovely models BTW

But aye, paint wise, go for what you like, no need to stick to the GW colours. I use a very light blue grey, with the final highlights in white, so they have a very icy look, but i stay away from using any yellow on my shoulder pads, reds, whites, and blues for me

edit - oh...an hello Riku!!

[RikuEru]

Thank you all for the brotherly welcome!
Special thanks to Haakon Stormbrow! That's really great work, especially if you did that for all your Space Wolves. Really inspriing!
And it's exactly the dark grey tone I want to use as the 'main color' for mine.
The Idea with the cloaks is cool aswell, but I think I'll only use that for Wolf Guard/HQ units, like DanPesci suggested, or in a simpler, less prideful, more practical appearance for Scouts.

[Vash113]

I'm just a new recruit with no real battle experience. (Only played LotR stuff years ago, never had anything to do with Warhammer, except for seeing it in the store, of course.)

Because my new roommate and his friends play Warhammer 40k, I thought I might join them - even though I'm a total noob.

A few weeks ago I informed myself a bit more about 40k, through the GWS site and the wiki and other sites.

The Space Wolves repeatedly catched my eye. I liked their story, their models, the modifications other people build, etc.

I knew they would be perfect. (And none of the others play them, so a they really are a perfect fit.)

This is one of the most common ways people get into the hobby and it certainly helps to have the support of existing players.

Lucky me, I came at the right moment, it seems, because a few days later the Stormclaw Set appeared on the store.

100€ seemed a bit much at first, for only wanting half of it. But a good friend, who wants to get started himself, and wants Orcs (and Chaos Marines), decided we would share it. That way both of us paid 50€ for 75€+ worth of figures. Nice.

I ordered it at my local store last week and got it on Saturday. I unpacked it like a little child, squeeing... *cough* grunting and shouting happily.

I never knew there could be this much variation for 'simple' units (LotR doesn't have that). More than a dozen heads and different weapons for a group of 5? I was amazed. Then I looked at the mini Rulebook and was overwhelmed. But I will get around to learning all that... I hope.

Overall I feel twelve again, which is great. I'm really hyped to build my own Space Wolves soon - especially if a new Codex for them and new models/packs arrive in the next few weeks/months.

There's no need to swallow the entire rulebook right away, instead just start with some small games with existing players and ask them to go through the rules bit by bit as you go. This is how most people learn and it can help ease you into the rules a bit at a time rather than trying to absorb everything.

I want to keep Krom Dragongaze the way he is, mostly. It's a limited model. If his stats are :cussty - like some say - it doesn't matter, I'll buy someone to replace him then, but it would be to sad to change his cool model.

The 5 Wolf Guard Terminators will of course be Terminators, but i would like some advice regarding their weapons.

I want to split the 10 Space Wolves and make 5 of them Wolf Guards and 5 of them Grey Hunters - (Or maybe buy a pack of regular Space Marines and mix both sets to build 10 Wolf Guards / 10 Grey Hunters, which seems to be a common advice.) - because I read/was told Grey Hunters are the most versatile unit, while Blood Claws are only good in large numbers and with a Rune Priest as leader. Correct?

I repeat myself, but any advice which weapons to choose for them would be very welcome. I just want them to be a good stable, basic unit. I know as soon as I'm finished them, I'll buy more to expand my army. Thank you in advance!

(Keep in mind I'm a blatant noob. Really.)

As others have mentioned a new Codex definitely seems to be coming next month so things may change. However I would expect that most of the standard setups and equipment will not change much, if at all. Go ahead and build Krom if you want, you don't have to use the rules from the Stormclaw box, rather simply use him as a Wolf Lord with Frost Axe, Bolt Pistol, Belt of Russ, Runic Armor, Wolf Tooth Necklace and Saga of the Warrior Born.

For the Terminators it really depends on how you want to use them. If you want a pure close combat build then a mix of Wolf Claws and Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields is great, for ranged you can go with bolters and power fists, bolters and power weapons (needs some bits added to manage) and use the Heavy Flamer/Assault Cannon. Or a mix between the two. One option is to give the Terminators combi-weapons which no other chapter's Terminators can take but again you'd have to source the weapons elsewhere. I built my first Terminator Pack with two Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields, two Pairs of Wolf Claws and an Assault Cannon and Chainfist. This gives the unit some ranged punch as they close with the durability of the Storm Shields and the Chainfist in there in case they run into any vehicles or walkers they can't easily deal with otherwise.

As for the power armored troops I'd strongly suggest mixing them with one or even two boxes of Tactical Marines, this gives you more special weapons and some heavy weapons and spreads the wolf bits out some so they aren't quite so concentrated, this makes painting them easier and also means if you want to make characters or Wolf Guard look more elaborate or ornate you just use the box standard and they appear noticeably more impressive. For what units to build I'd go with Grey Hunters. You need at least two packs anyway and frankly, you can never have too many Grey Hunters. Give one either a power sword or axe, not a power fist or hammer as you want the second attack from the bolt pistol, keep them 10 strong with no assigned Wolf Guard so you have the option of using transports and get two special ranged weapons. I'd suggest two plasmaguns in one pack and two meltaguns in the other to give you a solid round of options and capabilities.

Regarding the colors I probably won't go with the normal blue variation. Dark grey seems to be a wide spread variation for them, which I want to use, too. Didn't decide the fur color yet. Decorations and Accents will be gold/bronze. (Inspired by this picture of Ragnar)

I hope that's okay?

No that's terrible, why would you think to do that, who do you think you are? Traitor, treasonous, HERETIC!!!

Just kidding, seriously, lots of us go with a darker grey, I went with the old blue/grey from Shadow Grey but that color no longer exists *sob* so I have to mix the best approximation I can now. Here's a shot of the army to give you an idea of what it looks like: http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/Space%20Wolves/004_zpse86d56c2.jpg

There's also no need to pick a single accent or fur color, mix and match them as you want. Fenresian wolves come in all shapes, sizes and colors why not the pelts? And I like to use the metal colors to distinguish between different packs and ranks, my characters tend to have gold edged gear while the Grey Hunters and Blood Claws use silver, Iron Priests and vehicles use more bronze. It also helps to throw in some red here and there I find, I like to pick out the fingers of Power Fists and Lightning Claws just to get a splash of red in there and adding some color and personal markings to the armor adds some personal detail and character for each model. Here's a shot of the side of one of my tanks to illustrate, you can see some red, yellow and white details painted on where there's just flat armor to add some character and personality to the overall model, I do the same for my troops as well but it's harder to see. You can flip through my photobucket to see other examples: http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/Space%20Wolves/168_zps14f27368.jpg

http://s107.photobucket.com/user/Vash113/library/Space%20Wolves?sort=3&page=1

I hope that helps and welcome to the Fang!

P.S. It's good you got here early, when the new dex drops there will be so many new pups we elders can start to get a bit cantankerous!

[RikuEru]

Oh, yeah, that really helps - both the tactical advice and the pictures of your army!
Thanks to the Space Wolves' - OUR - affinity to pelts, cloaks, 'kilts', trinkets and other knick-knacks they carry with them, I'll have fun personalizing them.
(I already have experience with that. My LotR dwarven expedition force has everything they need with them. Including 2 Pans, a large Pot - for good, dwarven beer soup - ropes, sleeping bags, pickaxes, wood axes, etc.)
Will definitely take some inspiration from your models. Really awesome details.

[Valerian]

My advice - Don't do anything with any models until September....Nothing! By September, the codex will be out, we'll all have disected it and figured out what's worthwhile, and conversely what isn't worthwhile. Only then can we give you good, informed advice as to how you might want to assemble your units and models.

 

Until then, spend your time getting familiar with the core rules, and reading through the various Resources that are provided in the pinned thread at the top of the forum (and again in my signature block).

 

Welcome to The Fang, brother!

 

V
 

[Rune Priest Jbickb]

Welcome brother the waiting advice is good I would heed it if I were you, but in the meantime borrow some models from your buds and learn the game would be my recommendation. I borrowed ork for my introduction to how the game works and eventually built my wolves into a field able army.

 

And most importantly have fun. We will be here to help.

[RikuEru]

Well, I'm 'forced' to wait anyway, because of all the moving and stuff, so I can easily live with that. (...even though if I could I would probably jump into building and painting right NOW.)
But thank you all! Really helps and motivates me.

[Konnavaer]

Welcome to the Aett brother

[Haakon_Stormbrow]

almost as big a force of mine....never thought about doing my 2 bane blades in space wolves colours..... interesting, might do that and a similar treatment to my 2 war hounds and revenant titan, only reason i haven't is because I'm unsure, do you think a titan legion would suit?? I haven't painted them because i haven't found any fluff saying space wolves had access to a titan legion. does anyone know if they did?

[Vash113]

almost as big a force of mine....never thought about doing my 2 bane blades in space wolves colours..... interesting, might do that and a similar treatment to my 2 war hounds and revenant titan, only reason i haven't is because I'm unsure, do you think a titan legion would suit?? I haven't painted them because i haven't found any fluff saying space wolves had access to a titan legion. does anyone know if they did?

 

Well fluff wise most war machines that would have existed in the Legiones Astartes or Imperial Army repertoire during the Horus Heresy may still exist within the armories of the Fang, even if they are no longer used. Titans are another matter however, the Adeptus Titanicus are their own separate organization, even the Mechanicus doesn't control the Titan Legions completely, no Legion or Chapter has ever had direct control of the forces of other Imperial Adeptus. However that is not to say that you couldn't create your own Titan Legion that was Space Wolf esque, with similar iconography and color scheme that fights alongside the wolves often and perhaps whose homeworld is somewhere near Fenris. Like the Legio Canis, the Howling Wolves Titan Legion, or something like that.

 

Or you could always throw fluff justification out the window and just paint them up with SW colors just because you want to. It's up to you.

[RikuEru]

 

Well fluff wise most war machines that would have existed in the Legiones Astartes or Imperial Army repertoire during the Horus Heresy may still exist within the armories of the Fang, even if they are no longer used. Titans are another matter however, the Adeptus Titanicus are their own separate organization, even the Mechanicus doesn't control the Titan Legions completely, no Legion or Chapter has ever had direct control of the forces of other Imperial Adeptus. However that is not to say that you couldn't create your own Titan Legion that was Space Wolf esque, with similar iconography and color scheme that fights alongside the wolves often and perhaps whose homeworld is somewhere near Fenris. Like the Legio Canis, the Howling Wolves Titan Legion, or something like that.

Or you could always throw fluff justification out the window and just paint them up with SW colors just because you want to. It's up to you.

 

 

Why not? Would make sense. With Titan suited to best aid the Space Wolves and their melee-heavy tactics with fire-support.

Decoration and Emblems could very well be used.

 

...god damnit I can't wait for the Codex. I want to start building right away. *sigh* Patience... I should read even more history and basic rules until then.

[Haakon_Stormbrow]

seeing your baneblade makes me want a space wolves variation where the centre is gutted for troops deployment with a forward facing assault ramp, make it carry 20 models and up to 2 separate squads and just have its side sponson weapons, and have the centre raised area have fire points for 8 models (2 per facing) and keep the same hull points as it does now...... droool 

[Vash113]

seeing your baneblade makes me want a space wolves variation where the centre is gutted for troops deployment with a forward facing assault ramp, make it carry 20 models and up to 2 separate squads and just have its side sponson weapons, and have the centre raised area have fire points for 8 models (2 per facing) and keep the same hull points as it does now...... droool 

 

The model I'm using is the Storm Lord, it has a transport capacity of 40 models and as an Apocalypse Super-Heavy transport can carry as many squads as it wants up to the model limit. Here's a shot of the back of the Storm Lord:

 

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/Space%20Wolves/162_zps72e6ced9.jpg

 

20 of the transported models can fire from the platform on the back of the tank. That's why I picked it up, now I can't really use it for my wolves in normal games even with Escalation but for Apocalypse it makes an extremely effective mobile fortress and transport.

 

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/Space%20Wolves/161_zps6827d7dc.jpg

[Haakon_Stormbrow]

awesome

[Vash113]

If you want a big gun instead of the vulcan mega-bolter there's also the Banehammer: http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Imperial-Guard-Banehammer

 

That variant has a transport capacity of 25 models and ten can fire from the platform on the back.

[RikuEru]

I need to get one of those for my Wolves!

Regarding Krom Dragongaze:
Maybe I'll change mine to a more, in my eyes, fitting head, maybe even one of the Wolf-Like Helmets (this one, on the left Grey Hunter)
I want to keep the axe, even though not many people seem to be a fan of it, when it comes to more strategic aspects.
Maybe change the bolter to a shield? Sword looks nice aswell. Second Frost-Axe would make him into a perfect Eric Morkai.

Regarding my units fluff:
Because I won't amass a huge army in the next few months, I thought about a little work-around for that... (and a way to not assign them to a Great Company just yet - as long as I'm still building up my force)
Would a troop of survivors/remnants of a fallen Great Company make sense? I was reading the Article about the Grand Annulus when I got the idea.
Maybe the name-stone of 'my' Great Company either broke during its installation OR later afterwards, due to an Earthquake (Fenris is a geologically active planet after all) - while the Company was fighting somewhere?
Most of the Company DID die a gruesome death in a campaign against <insert Arch-Enemy of the Survivors here>. Some of the main force was split off or had another task somewhere else and weren't killed off like most of the others.
The survivors could escape the massacre, but felt horrible, because they did not die at their brothers side during that battle.
In remembrance of their fallen leader and brothers and as a way to regain their own honor, they never became part of another Great Company and never wore another badge. They still take orders from the Great Wolf and aid other Companies (or other Chapters) where needed, especially with great pleasure and ferocity, when it is a battle against their "Arch-Enemy".
...now that I think of it, it's like the description of a small pack of Lone Wolves. Hrm...

What do you think?

[RikuEru]

So I'm currently putting together a list of colors I need to buy in the next few weeks.

...and I'm hardly discussing wether I should buy a black spray can or a 'the Fang' spray can for the color base - which begs the age-old question "GREY or BLUE?" for my Space Wolves.

[Rune Priest Jbickb]

That is you call mate. I do a darker gritty blue and because I don't have an air brush And it's cheaper, I base with spray paint, specifically krylon periwinkle blue (I know, not a very space wolf or manly name, but it's the color I like best for them) and it is pretty close to the fang.

 

I chose the darker blue because I like the cover of our current Dex and wanted to try to capture that look.

 

But do what you think looks best, maybe do a test model of each and see what you like best.

[Vykryl]

So I'm currently putting together a list of colors I need to buy in the next few weeks.

 

...and I'm hardly discussing wether I should buy a black spray can or a 'the Fang' spray can for the color base - which begs the age-old question "GREY or BLUE?" for my Space Wolves.

You just opened a can of worms. People will tell you what they use and then tell you we don't comply with anything so choose what you like.

 

I haven't figured out how I want to paint my Wolves yet and I've been at for a bit over a year now.

 

Look through people's army pics for ideas. If you find one that really suits you, ask how their process. The Fang is quite helpful for those of us seeking tips on modeling and painting