The Mochi Incursions - Initial Contact

[Toxichobbit]

Transmitted: Alke, Mochi System, Sandraudiga Subsector

Recieved: Astropath Prime Kobayashi

Destination: Segmentum Command, Kar Duniash

Time Stamp: 5028993.M41.

Telepathic Duct: Terminus Rindr

Ref: Administratum Ultima/546853247/KL

Author: Lord Governor Borghi

RE: Xenos Raids

Esteemed Lords

I respect your previous assurances that local defences are capable of handling the xenos threat, however raids on merchant vessels within system are escalating. Rationing is not enough to keep the population supplied when only one in five merchant vessels is completing the journey to the core worlds. My people are suffering and I am powerless to prevent it. If the situation continues to deteriorate we will be at risk of full scale planetary revolt. Already neighbouring systems are beginning to refuse to upkeep regular trade agreements and our requests for reinforcements from their defence forces are met with stonewalling and excuses.

The situation simply must be brought under control if we are to meet our regular tithes. Alke is a Primaris Grade planet, surely this entitles us to some protection from the Emperor's forces. I look forward to your response.

Thought For The Day: In His Will We Trust

Transmitted: Segmentum Command, Kar Duniash, Ultima Segmentum.

Recieved: Astropath Wilke

Destination: Lord Govenor Borghi

Time Stamp: Time Stamp: 5031993.M41.

Telepathic Duct: Terminus Rindr

Ref: Administratum Ultima/546853248/KL

Author: Admiral Khalsa

RE: Xenos Raids

Lord Govenor

As was per our previous correspondence, Segmentum forces are stretched thinner than ever. We do not have the resources to waste chasing pirates and protecting transport vessels.

I have attached to this communication an additional copy of Administratum Primer No. 39667- Xenos Raiders: Imperial Policy and Tactics for Exterminating Pests, as you seem to have failed to follow the Most Holy tenets within. Perhaps you will take more care when transcribing this copy to ensure no loss of wisdom or corruption of data. Be assured that if you follow the guidelines in this volume and if the faith of your people in Our Emperor is strong enough, you will overcome these trials and Alke will meet it's next tithe.

Thought For The Day: Adversity Breeds Strength

Transmitted: Alke, Mochi System, Sandraudiga Subsector

Recieved: Transmitting...

Destination: Segmentum Command, Kar Duniash

Time Stamp: 5028993.M41.

Telepathic Duct: Transmitting...

Ref: Administratum Ultima/546853247/KL

Author: Lord Governor Borghi

RE: Xenos Raids

Esteemed Lords

I can personally assure you that no errors were made in the transcription of the Primer from Astropathic Vision to Dataslate. Our Astropaths are extremely skilled and experienced and do not make such simple mistakes. I have studied the Primer repeatedly and enacted all of it's policies. I have ensured that copies of the Primer are distributed to all local defence officers, both APDF and MNDF. The Primer has been of some limited help but the xenos raiders are much stronger than anything anticipated by the Administratum. I believe this may be the precursor to a full scale invasion. If we are to survive, we need the assistance of Segmentum Command. Imperial Navy and Astra Millitarum reinforcements would allow us to secure the populations of our worlds and protect trade routes. Once this is done it's a simple matter of discovering the xenos' base of operations and then ….Transmission Interrupted........

Transmitted: Frigate Pugio, Mochi System, Sandraudiga Subsector

Recieved: Astropath Wilke

Destination: Lord Govenor Borghi

Time Stamp: 5028993.M41.

Telepathic Duct: Local

Author: Chaplain Helixus, Astartes Ultramarines

We have translated in system and will begin operations immediately. Do not interfere. Look to yourselves for protection, we come to destroy His Enemies.

The Emperor Protects

That's the initial background to a new campaign we're starting with a friend who's just getting back into the hobby after almost half a decade's absence. We're going to do an escalating campaign, starting with 500pt forces, then expanding to 750, 10000 etc as we get things painted. We've got myself using Ultramarines, one person playing Eldar raiders and one person playing the system defenders (currently a Tempestus Scion list). I'm hoping to get pictures of the Scion's as work progresses on them, though don't expect any pictures of the Eldar, those dirty Xenos are too fast to be caught on camera.

Chaplain Helixus, after I finished initially converting him sometime last year. Since then he's had a coat of paint, been left alone, had one attempt at magnetising his banner which resulted in a ruined banner and backpack, had the wings on his Crozius replaced for something a bit smaller, had a new backpack and banner converted and a second attempt at magnetising his banner, this time successful. Currently he's still backpack-less, the backpack and banner being painted separately before being attached.

More to come.

[Toxichobbit]

Some more parts of my 500pt force that I've started working on.

First up, a more up to date look at the Chaplain. Please excuse the washed out look of the picture, I just took a quick snap of him on my painting desk with flash (sin number 1 for model photos!) to show where I'm up to. I want to go back and refine the area around his vox grill, as it's lacking in definition. The wings on his Crosius have been changed from the originals, after looking at him for over a year I got sick of how big they looked. So new ones have been added and basecoated, they now need to be shaded and highlighted up to the same standard as the rest of him. His backpack and banner of course need painting. Once that's done I need to add an army badge, which will be present on all the Imperial force I use for this campaign, then rough his armour up a bit and get him based.

Here's the beginning of my first Tactical Squad. As we're starting with 500pts I'm just going to take the Sergeant's Combat Squad. They'll ride in a Razorback with the Chaplain. I'm trying to get away from the typical GW pose of bolter at hip level, but unfortunately I have a surplus of Marines posed like that which I'd like to use up, so I'll be spreading them around the army, maybe 2-3 per full 10 man squad, mixed in with more interesting poses. There's a little bit more work to be done on this squad, I need to come up with a way to magnetise a banner to the Sergeant without ruining his MkV backpack (which has pipes right where I'd drill into the backpack to place the magnet), drill the odd barrel and do a last check for mold lines, add an ignition flame to the flamer, then it's off to the painting table for them.

I also have a small squad of bikers in my 500pt force. I wanted to do something different with them, so the entire squad are being posed at rest, either using equipment or assuming firing stances. They'll also be heavily geared towards a recon role, rather than a shock assault role of most bike squads, and of course they'll have grav-weapons. Here's a very rough mock-up of the Sergeant. I really wanted to have him using the forearm of his left arm as a rest to steady the aim of his combi-grav, but unfortunately it didn't work out as it was either too close to his body, or further away from his body and angled aiming slightly too low because of the weapons magazine and the bikes fuel tank clashing. I might see about exchanging the magazine for a box or drum and see if that leaves me more room get a better pose, but to be honest the right arm is a lot lower than I envisioned it in my head, so it might simply be too low to be used as a rest for a weapon.

Finally, the first two members of my Scout Squad. These guys make up the third and final element of my initial list and they'll be riding around in a Storm to keep things fully mechanised. These will be the least converted unit, with just changes to improve their heads. I've been filing down the jaws a bit to make them less square and give a bit of variety in their heads as well as changing their hair styles. The two Scouts here have a jarhead and mohawk, which alongside fully shaved and the straight forward crew cut that Scouts come with, will be repeated across various Scouts of my force. I'm also filling in the gas vents (or whatever those holes are called) on the side of the bolt pistol's barrels, as the idea of having a flash suppressor and somewhere that a flash could escape from seems silly.

I hope you guys like them.

[deathspectersgt7]

Cool to see you posting .Dig the bike.

[Daemon2027]

Nice. The chaplain conversion is great, and so is the bike. The recon helm looks good on him.

[Candleshoes]

Finally got the chance to sit down and read your fluff - really like where your going.

 

The biker also has some serious attitude, and love the sheer bulk you have put into the pose.

[Toxichobbit]

Thanks for the replies gents :).

 

@ DSS7, cheers bud. I'm feeling pretty enthusiastic at the moment with this campaign happening, so hopefully I can get the first 500pts completed in good time, rather than tailing off as usual.

 

@ Demon, the Recon Helm was a happy accident. I had a squad of Recon Marines that I picked up with the intention of doing something HH era, but I haven't actually started yet. I was trying to figure out what to do for the Biker's helms to vary it up a bit but keep the enhanced comms look of normal bikers when I noticed that helm had a matching aerial while being a different Mk and having the funky targeter over his eye, so it went on the Sergeant. I want to do something similar for the rest of the squad, vary the helms up a bit with some Ravenwing MkVI's and a MkIII nuncio vox helm.

 

@ Candleshoes, I'm hoping to do the same with the other poses. I know I'll have a grav gunner firing from the shoulder and a Marine fiddling with a nuncio vox to represent some kind of long range comms to fit the recon theme. I'm not sure about the last Marine's pose yet. With regards to the campaign background, I'm not sure quite where it's going, I'll just make it up as I go along :p. Already things are changing from what I initially planned to take into account the third player's choice of army.