Starting WH 40k with the Sons of Russ

[benane]

Hello,

 

After years of yearning, i finally made the decision to start playing wh 40k. My Army decision quickly fell on the space wolves. So i got the rulebook, the codex + supplement amd the old space wolves starter box + a box of tactical marines. I started with building the drop pod first, since i figured it would be best to start with something bigger, before going for the smaller stuff. Now i am pretty happy with the first result, but starting with the assembly of my first grey hunter pack i run into some issues where i didn't know how to equip my space wolves properly. My plan is to get 2x10 grey hunters and 10 blood claws with the bits i have. After reading quite a bit here i came to the conclusion, that each pack of grey hunters should have 2 melta guns and the rest bolter and ccw. The blood claws would get chainswords and boltpistols, maybe a flamer? As i want to build them as Wysiwyg i wanted to ask first, before i glue my guys together. Is this a good idea and/or do you guys have any tips regarding assembling the models?

I appreciate your help and i am sure, that a lot of question are still to come ;)

[Karack Blackstone]

Greetings, and welcome to the Fang!

 

Above in the forum threads section is one labeled Space Wolves Resources; I recommend some free time diving the links in there.  Depending upon your web browser, you can open multiple tabs and read to your leisure on your time!

 

There's also plenty of room for questions, both here and new threads depending upon what the subject matter is at the time.

 

As far as your build out goes, if you pick up one more SM Tac box, it should fully round out the possible number of PA models you can build.  CCW's are a choice for each of us now, and some feel that they can go with or without, as each player sees fit.

 

While they might be questionable to some, a GH pack and a BC pack might press your number of chainsword bits somewhat; there are bits bins at some game stores, hopefully in your area, as well as there can be some online.  Board rules means I cannot say more, however the SW Resources thread should have what you need.

[Frater Cornelius]

The Emperor approves your army choice. He just gave you a mental thumbs up that was so powerful, that many Ultramarine psykers will be failing their psychic tests for the next week or so.

 

Get transports for your GH and BC. They are fairly useless when slogging. Simple Rhinos will do for GH. For BC you will have to get imaginative. A flying shoebox (aka Stormwolf) or a Land Raider Crusader is what people usually use.

[Z00Z]

welcome brother! 

 

Your choice of chapter and probably more importantly community here on B&C is excellent! There are plenty vets here...rather, long fangs, always willing to help with a wealth of knowledge and advice on all things Russ. I've learnt a lot in my short time here.

[Frater Cornelius]

welcome brother! 

 

Your choice of chapter and probably more importantly community here on B&C is excellent! There are plenty vets here...rather, long fangs, always willing to help with a wealth of knowledge and advice on all things Russ. I've learnt a lot in my short time here.

 

We also have plenty of booze. Bi... I mean members of the opposite sex are that way :D don't mind the smell of wet dog, by the way. You will get used to it.

[benane]

Thank you for the warm welcome in the cool halls of the fang.

I'm planning on getting 2 more drop pods and 1-2 rhinos and a stormwolf eventually. But since transportation is expensive those have to wait and since it took 5 days for me to finish one drop pod, i think there is plenty of time :)

 

So the first 30 marines will keep me busy for about 120 years i wanted to make them perfect (at least equipment wise) so i came up with that

 

2x8 grey hunter with bolter and a knife as ccw somewhere (not necessarily in a hand)

2x2 grey hunter with melta gun (also knife as ccw?)

 

That leaves me with enough chainswords for

9 blood claws with chainsword and bolt pistol

1 bloodclaw with a flamer

 

Is this a configuration i could use in games, or would you suggest something different?

 

The next stage would be some transport, a wolflord on a wolf and TWC

 

Can i glue those models together like that without regretting it in the future?

 

Thanks for your input. I will have a look at my local shops for some missing bits

[Frater Cornelius]

There is always ebay for missing bitz. My shop usually gives me bitz and bases for free. But then again, I am a fairly active player and the owner and his assistant are buddies of mine. Still, ask them first and if all else fails, go ebay.

[Squark]

Welcome to the Fang.

 

Regarding building your force;

 

I'd definately say at least one pack of Grey Hunters should go without the CC weapon. I know it looks cool, but being 4 points a model and losing rage is not worth it for +1 WS (Especially since the jump from WS 3 to WS 4 isn't actually that meaningful in the current metagame, as WS 4 is common as mud these days and the preferred targets of troops units shouldn't be doing much damage to them in CC regardless of whether they hit on 3s or 4s).

 

Also, unless you've bought meltas from somewhere else, you don't have enough meltaguns for that- The tactical squads box only has 1, and the Space wolf box has none at all.

 

With just what you've got, I'd say.

 

10 Grey Hunters with CC weapons and 2 meltaguns (I've made my case against CC weapons above, but if you want them, they should go on the melta squad)

10 Grey Hunters with 2 Plasmaguns

10 Blood Claws with a flamer, power axe and a Wolf Guard with a wolf claw

5 Scouts

-2 With bolt pistol and Plasma pistol (Will require some conversion to put pistols on the model's right hands)

-2 with boltguns or shotguns

-1 with a plasmagun or shotgun

 

I'd reccomend two drop pods and Ulrik the Slayer or a Rune Priest for your next purchase (Protip: Paint the pieces before you assemble! Painting the inside otherwise is a nightmare). From there, you could go a stormwolf or land raider for the blood claws (and some more grey hunters for the third pod), Thunderwolves, Long Fangs, or terminators.

[benane]

Thank you squark,

While still reading the rules and without any experience at all, that was exactly the kind of input i was looking for. i will lose the ccw for now. Looks i will be hutning for some melta and combi guns in the future

[Squark]

Keep in mind I speak from a relatively critical point of view. Close combat weapon Grey Hunters are not the most optimal choice, but they're not horrible (Probably about 1 point too expensive with the caveat that Blood Claws are cheeper than most people expected them to be too so they make CC weapon Grey Hunters look worse by comparison). This is, first and foremost, a game. If you want to run them with CC weapons, go ahead, although I reccomend not using rhinos in that case. Thunderwolf Lords are in a similar place (Yes, they can make messes of units. But 4 Thunderwolf Cavalry with Storm shields and a powerfist can do more, and for the same price), but that doesn't make them bad, just suboptimal.

 

I will say that CC weapons on Grey Hunters are more impractical in small games, but that's just an inevitable factor in the 750-1250 metagame (which by its nature forces people to be very careful with points cost expenditures)- And the place where you play may not be competitive enough to capitalize on that.

[benane]

Thanks for clarifying. I just found out, that GW is selling 5 Melta Guns in resin for 8€, so i will be getting those and don't have to worry about them any more.

 

Edit:

 

My Progress I made so far is a Drop Pod and some bases for my Grey Hunters:

 

 

[spjaco]

Welcome to the Fang.

 

I myself am working on rebuilding my army after a move destroyed my last one.  It was Blackmane's Great Company.  It will be back soon.

 

Hopefully be able to field something after January 2015.

 

Still I really enjoy the modeling and painting aspects of this hobby.  Not that good at it, In my own humble opinion; but I do enjoy it.

 

Of all of the Chapter's represented here on B&C the Fang is perhaps one of the most enjoyable.

 

So kick up your feet and hoist a tankard, its gonna be one heckuva ride.

[Urauloth]

Off to a pretty nice start with that pod!

 

GW's finecast meltas are an option, but there are plenty of dedicated bitz sellers on ebay who can supply you with plastic ones if you don't want to have to deal with finecast. or if you want the hand-included setup that goes with the new tac squad. They go for about £1 each here in the UK right now, I'm not sure what they'd be where you are.

 

As for gluing your minis and not regretting it... consider magnets. They're really worth the investment, and once you have the tools (if you don't already) and a supply of them, you're set for future projects. If you branch out into terminators, for example, you'll definitely want a couple of magnets there, at the very least.

[benane]

so the first two squads have been assembled and primed. i got the fang spray, but unfortunately some models have a grainy look to them. hopefully the next layers of paint will hide that.

 

thanks for all the input guys! i already have some magnets, but the smallest ones are 3mm so i think i will use them for termies and bigger.

 

on a different note: are there some good books about the space wolves? i'm reading the Eisenhorn Trilogy right now and looking for further reading material

[WG Vrox]

The Grainy look might be caused by the conditions you are painting in. make sure its not too hot or too cold, if you are using a spray can and its windy or too warm the paint starts to dry before it hits the model and ends up looking kinda grainy. 

[benane]

yeah, i thought as much, as it was a bit windy. i will try to spray the next ones inside. fortunately only 2 out of 20 models have that problem.

 

my next question is regarding chapter and squad markings on the shoulders. there are some symbols for the squads in the codex and i will just be chosing whichever i like best, but for the chapter i am unsure. there are the 12+1 chapters i the codex, but which should i chose? does it depend on the hq? i don't want to do free hand symbols just now as i am only starting to paint. does this mean that ragnar's company is the only option with decals? any help is as always very appreciated

 

a round of ale to all the friendly helpers!

[FenrisWolf]

Great Companies are mostly for fluff. GW and FW seems to be releasing some character models with special rules, but you can really just make up what you want and even use an official character model's rules with your own Wolf Lord - just make sure your opponent knows the rules.

In some thread I was saying I'd like to see different Force Org charts for different great companies to match more closely their fluff. Along the lines of CotGW detachment, but I doubt that would get too far. Although it would be additional supplement books for us to buy!!! See GW? Make more money?

I went with my own pack marking and color schemes, mostly because I started painting my models before I understood any of the fluff...

[Squark]

Yeah, the only time company markings matter is for special characters, and even then, you can always have someone count as Ragnar, Krom, Harald, Brom, Arjac, or even Logan (probably from far earlier in the timeline, mind you).

 

Ragnar's company is the only one with shoulder pads with raised symbols, which avoid the whole transfer thing (which can be a tad annoying on the rounded shoulder pads), but Erik Morkai, Bjorn Stormwolf, and Logan Grimnar's symbols are also on the transfer (Granted, the Great Wolf's symbol is the wrong color). Personally, I use Logan Grimnar's old symbol, but that's because my Company is a lost company that got seperated from Logan's main company by warp currents, so they bear the symbol of their lord but not that of the Great Wolf until such time as they can be reunited with the rest of their great company.

[WG Vrox]

yeah, i thought as much, as it was a bit windy. i will try to spray the next ones inside. fortunately only 2 out of 20 models have that problem.

 

 

protect yourself against fumes with a mask of some type if spraying indoors. For the models that came out grainy take a soft cloth and wipe them firmly. you should notice the graininess gets wiped away.