KiwiBen's "Grey" Knights

[KiwiBen]

Kia ora B&C,

 

I'm KiwiBen - longtime Grey Knight fan.  Until fairly recently my GKs had been languishing in the figure case, as I've only dusted them off a few times since the Daemonhunters codex disappeared.

 

I'm attending a tournament this weekend, and for some reason felt the urge to give the fellas an outing.  It has got me a bit inspired to get back into some painting again as well.

 

Below are some pics of some of the completed Grey* Knights in my collection (* note, colour of actual Knights may vary).  The more astute amongst you may notice that they're not actually grey at all...  I've gone with the old colour scheme from Index Astartes, mostly because I hate painting silver, but also because I think it looks a bit cool.

 

Once I get the full Tournament List painted up and organised, I'll try to get some more recent pics uploaded, but here is a few Terminators/Paladins & Purifiers/Strikes to (hopefully) pique your interest in the meantime:

 

http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b498/bm_foster1/Grey%20Knights/GKTerminators1_zpsfe6f96f9.jpg

 

http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b498/bm_foster1/Grey%20Knights/GKPurifers4_zps32366703.jpg

 

http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b498/bm_foster1/Grey%20Knights/GKPurifiers1_zpsb6ed5c64.jpg

 

http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b498/bm_foster1/Grey%20Knights/GKPurifiers3_zps8654a995.jpg

 

Comments / Critiques welcome.  

 

Hei kona mai,

 

KiwiBen

[Iron Sapper]

Love em. It must have been a pain to drill out the helmets and add the heads.

[BetterOffShred]

Love them sir!  I like all your work though, so that's not surprising.  I like your force weapons too.  As most of my dudes are basically done with black blades on all their weapons I've been looking for something simple that looks good. I may borrow this design!  Top shelf!

 

-Brett

[KiwiBen]

Thanks guys.

 

@Bullet Magnet - yep, it wasn't easy, but having a drill press helped!  I think the results are worth it though.  It helps to add some much needed variety to the old metal figures (which was essential, as I have around 60 of them, and none of the new plastics).

 

@BetterOffShred - thanks mate, borrow away!  It is a pretty basic dark purple ---> light purple graduation using the current GW range (with some white mixed in at the last stage)... I went through a few different ideas myself before I settled on that.  They were plain silver for a while, then green, but I like this better.

[Rurik the blessed]

Man.... those banners are so beauty!!!

[Prot]

Man.... those banners are so beauty!!!

 

Agreed. The banners are a really nice touch you don't see that often. Great job.

[Rurik the blessed]

would you post some tutorial on painting those swords and skulls ... they are a really headache for me.

[jeffersonian000]

The old black armor look still looks glorious!

 

SJ

[KiwiBen]

Thanks everyone!

 

@jeffersonian000 - thanks mate.  I've always liked the black armour scheme for the Grey Knights, ever since I saw it in the old Index Astartes (back when White Dwarf still had that kind of cool stuff in it...)

 

@Rurik and Prot - thanks! I'm pleased with how the banners etc have turned out.  Banners probably aren't the most practical piece of battlefield gear, but they look cool!

 

@Rurik - the little swords and skulls on the shields/banners etc?  It has been a while since I did them, but I find that just sketching out the basic shapes first with a fine brush, and then filling in the details later helps.  I also break the skulls down into smaller "shapes".  A big circle for the "head", two smaller ones for the "eye sockets", and a triangle for the "nose and top jaw", then I fill in the gaps and tidy up.  It really comes down to 1. a fine detail brush, 2. thinned paints, 3. patience, and 4. a steady hand.  I'll admit that I did have to have a few attempts with some of them before they looked right!

 

I thought you guys might be interested in this too - The tournament I'm attending this weekend required us to write up a little bit of "fluff" to accompany our army list submission:

 

~~~~~

 

Aurelius spared a glance overhead as the Thunderhawk screamed skywards.  He turned his focus back to where his brethren had disembarked from the transport.  The dust clouds which had been thrown up by the Thunderhawk’s departure had begun to settle, and his enhanced vision could now make out the banners and heraldry of the marines that had emerged from the gunship, and had now begun to embark in the two Rhinos that had also deployed.  His brow furrowed, creasing around the row of service studs embedded in his forehead, as he realised that they were brothers of the Purifiers order – not what he had expected when he had been informed of the imminent arrival of reinforcements.

 

Suddenly Aurelius’ attention was torn away from the Purifiers as the air was filled with a rhythmic hum and the smell of burning ozone.  Blue lightning crackled across the ground, setting small fires in the few patches of dried grass which dotted this barren place.  Aurelius took a step back, and with barely a thought activated his force weapon.  Behind him, he heard his brothers do the same – swords, hammers and halberds crackling into life and ammo feeds whirring as the unit spread out.

 

An expanding dome of energy burst into life, scant metres away from where he and his Terminators now stood.  Five figures slowly materialised within the dome, blue and white sparks racing across the forms as they took shape.  Two of the shapes were massive, dwarfing the three others, which were of a size with Aurelius himself.  As the figures became clear, Aurelius dropped to one knee, his squad only a second behind – their suits of ancient armour protesting as the servos worked to compensate for the sudden movement. 

 

“My Lord.  We had not expected your arrival.”

 

Lord Kaldor Dragio took a slow step towards the kneeling Terminators, flanked by two blue armoured Epistolaries of the Grey Knights Librarius.  Behind them, the hulking figures of two Dreadknights stood motionless, residual energy from their teleportation still sparking and tracing its way across their armour.

 

“I had not thought to be here myself, Brother,” Dragio answered, motioning for Aurelius and his brothers to rise. “The augurs sensed a significant disturbance in the Warp.  Brother Epistolary Gregorius predicts that a major incursion is imminent.”

 

The grizzled looking Librarian to Dragio’s left nodded, almost imperceptibly.  Aurelius noticed that he leaned heavily on his force staff.  The service studs in his head, and the purity seals and honour markings that adorned his armour, marked him out as one who had served the Grey Knights chapter for almost four hundred years longer than Aurelius himself.  Gregorius’ eyes, slightly cloudy with age, but still keen, met with Aurelius’ own.

 

“Steel your minds, and look to your weapons, Brothers.” The Epistolary’s voice was thin and quavering, another sign of the venerable Librarian’s age.  “The situation is indeed dire, but the Emperor himself had guided us to this place, and we shall suffer not the daemon to live.”

 

~~~~~

[BetterOffShred]

Like a boss.

 

-Brett

[tomsev]

this is really good stuff youve got here keep it up and good luck!! make us proud and leave no witnesses!!

[KiwiBen]

Well, my first tournament in about 2 years was good fun (if not exactly a "resounding success" for the Grey Knights...)

 

Out of 5 Games I won 1, drew 1, and lost 3.  But two very close losses meant that I finished fairly mid-field.  The thing I struggled with the most was claiming objectives, and as all the missions were centred around claiming/holding 5 objectives as the primary victory condition, I was a little bit hamstrung.  That said, I had a blast.  My favourite moment was when I used my Dreadknight's Heavy Incinerator on a SM Bike Squad with grav-guns, and a Artificer Armour/Shield Eternal Chapter Master.  The Dreadknight died to overwatch (he was already wounded, and lost his last 2 on the way in to combat), but the Soul Blaze from the Incinerator kept burning for the rest of the game, and eventually killed off the entire squad and lef the Chapter Master on one wound!

 

I learned that Invisibility is awesome.  And that I need some Ob-Sec units in the army somehow to contest objectives more effectively.  I have a whole lot of Sisters of Battle and Militarum Tempestus (read: "Inquisitorial Storm Troopers"), so that might give me some options...

 

Edit: I also won the prize for "Best Sports / Favourite Opponent", which I was really pleased about.  After all, the game is meant to be about having fun and meeting new people who share a common interest, so I was glad that my opponents enjoyed playing me.

 

I was second overall for Best Painted / Favourite Army as well.  First place went to a lovely "Iron Hands" army (Successor Chapter in a drab green), which also included a beautifully painted Imperial Knight Castigator.  A well deserved winner, and a good guy to boot!

[Prot]

Contrary to what some people might tell you here, I can't emphatically enough tell you how important ObSec is if you're playing in a typical tournament environment that uses a modified Maelstrom.

 

This is how we play, and since using Grey Knights I've been addicted to the formation (nemesis strike force), but it's costing me games. Sure the Gate + Shoot/Run is nice, but not mandatory. But losing objectives because I couldn't out right wipe something or simply contest is sometimes game breaking.

 

If you go non NSF, you can also go up to 3 NDK easily or even just a 3rd heavy easily without goofing around outside of the CAD.

 

Don't get me wrong I love the NSF but as I've been experimenting with my Termie units with gate, hidden in my deep zone, it's not as big a deal. I just had a game with an dark eldar player that managed to pull 2 cards for the same objective that I happened to be on with my Terminators (ObSec) and he had a ton of junk try to assault me off the table on that spot... I had 3 left, but did not break, and he had no ObSec in the assault... I held him trying to get that point for 2 full turns (4 assaults).

 

Don't underestimate it. 

 

The counter argument I also here is 'we don't have enough models' to truly take advantage of ObSec. I've never replied but instead just noted that the fact we have less models makes it even more important to gate over to something, and steal right out from under their noses, when they don't have ObSec. 

 

Since most tournaments run some form of Maelstrom/Objectives, you either gotta go with the meat (ObSec) or enjoy the dessert (NSF) and then be prepared to have to wipe everything on a point to grab it.

 

Of course as long as your facing someone like yourself, then NSF is great.... you both have to wipe before either can claim. However, imagine that same scenario with ObSec... you could have stolen the point, and gated out of there to the next one.

 

I've always preferred ObSec in 7th edition, but only recently started not having it in 90% of my games and truth be told I think it's largely underestimated (unless you never Maelstrom.)

 

P.S.

Gratz on the Best Sportsman! It gives us GK all a better name when someone leaves a positive impression like that. ;)
 

[jeffersonian000]

Actually, I build my lists to fit both an NSF and a CAD, so I can be more flexible. Most of the time, my arm is on the table anyway, so no loss there.

 

SJ

[KiwiBen]

Well, after nearly a year, I'm dusting off the Grey Knights to take to another Tournament... It's not for a while yet (Weekend of 30/04/2016 - 01/05/2016) but I'll need to get a few things painted up in order to go.  Expect to see some updates (hopefully with pictures) very soon...

 

The Tournament will be using the Community Comp system, so I'm trying to come up with a list that doesn't sacrifice too much in the way of competitiveness, while still being within the limits imposed by Community Comp.  I'll post a list up the Army Lists subforum, and would appreciate any thoughts you might have!  My preference is pure GK, but I might be swayed to add in some Sisters, Inquisition, or Militarum Tempestus if someone can make a compelling enough case for their inclusion...

[Captain Coolpants]

Awesome stuff! Especially love those banners! Very nice!

Must have been a pain to cut and drill out those pewter heads too.

[KiwiBen]

Awesome stuff! Especially love those banners! Very nice!

Must have been a pain to cut and drill out those pewter heads too.

 

Thanks mate.  Yea it was a bit of a hassle drilling out the heads...  The PAGKs weren't so bad... I've done a whole lot of my GKTs as well though, which was a bit of an undertaking...  The trick is to use a press drill...  It might seem a bit overkill for a tiny little model, but after a lot of experimenting, I found it to be the most efficient way to do it.

 

In other news, I had a practice game over the weekend against my father.  We'd taken a trip down-country to visit, so it seemed like a good opportunity to throw some dice.  I took:

• Dragio
• Libby (ML3, Domnina Liber Daemonica)
• Libby (ML3, Cuirass)
• 10x GKT (2x Psycannons, assorted nemesis weapons)
• 7x GKT (1x Incinerator, assorted nemesis weapons)
• NDK (PT, Gatling, Hvy Psycannon, Daemon Hammer)
• NDK (PT, Gatling, Hvy Incinerator, Daemon Hammer)
• NDK (PT, Hvy Incinerator, Daemon Hammer)

He has Iron Warriors CSM.  His army was something like:

• Sorceror (ML2, Bike)
• Lord (Terminator Armour, combi-melta)
• 5x Termies (combi-meltas)
• 5x Termies (combi-plasmas)
• 10x CSM (2x meltas, Rhino)
• 10x CSM (2x meltas, Rhino)
• Maulerfiend
• Maulerfiend
• 5x spawn
• 5x spawn
• Helldrake
• 5x Havocs (Autocannons)

It was a maelstrom mission, and I got pretty lucky on a few of my objective cards, but I manages a pretty comfortable win - despite Dragio, both Libbys and the 10 man GKT squad "mishapping" themselves off the board into ongoing reserves, three turns in a row...

 

It will come as no surprise that the NDKs did most of the heavy lifting.  But I was pleasantly surprised by the 7 man GKT squad, who, despite having no Daemon Hammer in the unit, managed to take down a Maulerfiend, both units of Terminators, and the Terminator Lord in combat, after weathering a massed combi-plasma volley unscathed, and they only lost a single model...  They certainly exceeded all expectations, though I perhaps shouldn't use this performance as a benchmark.  I expect they got a bit lucky...

[Damo1701]

 

Awesome stuff! Especially love those banners! Very nice!

Must have been a pain to cut and drill out those pewter heads too.

 

Thanks mate.  Yea it was a bit of a hassle drilling out the heads...  The PAGKs weren't so bad... I've done a whole lot of my GKTs as well though, which was a bit of an undertaking...  The trick is to use a press drill...  It might seem a bit overkill for a tiny little model, but after a lot of experimenting, I found it to be the most efficient way to do it.

 

In other news, I had a practice game over the weekend against my father.  We'd taken a trip down-country to visit, so it seemed like a good opportunity to throw some dice.  I took:

• Dragio
• Libby (ML3, Domnina Liber Daemonica)
• Libby (ML3, Cuirass)
• 10x GKT (2x Psycannons, assorted nemesis weapons)
• 7x GKT (1x Incinerator, assorted nemesis weapons)
• NDK (PT, Gatling, Hvy Psycannon, Daemon Hammer)
• NDK (PT, Gatling, Hvy Incinerator, Daemon Hammer)
• NDK (PT, Hvy Incinerator, Daemon Hammer)

He has Iron Warriors CSM.  His army was something like:

• Sorceror (ML2, Bike)
• Lord (Terminator Armour, combi-melta)
• 5x Termies (combi-meltas)
• 5x Termies (combi-plasmas)
• 10x CSM (2x meltas, Rhino)
• 10x CSM (2x meltas, Rhino)
• Maulerfiend
• Maulerfiend
• 5x spawn
• 5x spawn
• Helldrake
• 5x Havocs (Autocannons)

It was a maelstrom mission, and I got pretty lucky on a few of my objective cards, but I manages a pretty comfortable win - despite Dragio, both Libbys and the 10 man GKT squad "mishapping" themselves off the board into ongoing reserves, three turns in a row...

 

It will come as no surprise that the NDKs did most of the heavy lifting.  But I was pleasantly surprised by the 7 man GKT squad, who, despite having no Daemon Hammer in the unit, managed to take down a Maulerfiend, both units of Terminators, and the Terminator Lord in combat, after weathering a massed combi-plasma volley unscathed, and they only lost a single model...  They certainly exceeded all expectations, though I perhaps shouldn't use this performance as a benchmark.  I expect they got a bit lucky...

 

 

An interesting list there.

 

I've found that an invaluable asset to the Grey Knights is the humble Stormraven.

 

At 1K points, I always have one.  I plan on having 2 at 1500.  (2nd is currently on the airbrushing table.)  They can carry a model count of 12, and, a dreadnought of any type.

 

I've noticed that we lack anti-armour, and magnetised my first GK one, so I can swap the load out for either AC/HB or LC/MM.  My second is fixed weapons, Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters, and the Hurricane Bolters.  Mainly so I can pour the fire on, and force armour saves.  Last turn of the game, you can pop out what it;s carrying on an objective, or, get a last ditch assault in, if you switch to hover mode.

 

The ability to arrive 1st turn is a great help, especially if you opt to go second, as you are generally in melta range when arriving, and the lascannons can back up or, take the first shot.

 

My current record is W 6 / L 3 / D 1 with my GKs.  Mostly taking advantage of the NSF, however, my regular opponent does find it frustrating.  For our final battle in our fluff matches, I might change it up a bit.  Just to keep him on his toes.

[Prot]

Ben, I think to be fair your army is probably one of the strongest pure GK CAD's a person could possibly take. Your Dad's Chaos... isn't really in the same hemisphere.

 

This isn't a bad thing. You built your list well, and used the best things the codex allows us. Inherently though, against anything with "Daemon" special rule is going to give us a bonus. As we speak, Chaos (especially pure Chaos Space Marines) have a lot of difficulty manufacturing a competitive list.

 

But if I look at your Dad's list it's very much a fun list, and with force running you should have raked through his Spawn cover screen, and his Psyker would have had trouble getting a long distance phone call off without GK canceling it. Maulers are good... but need more support, and it's a good thing you could handle the speed your dad's list provided.

 

I would expect that aside from his initial 'alpha' shooting, you probably just about tabled him.... am I right?

 

Still a win is a win, and congrats on that. It's not like your dad's list was horrid (I would make a lot of changes personally but there are good basic units in it), but you really are playing a magic bullet to that army.

 

NSF is very cool. But do be cautious of taking a Stormraven. In any game where your reserves aren't on point, you will find it really, really stinks to have a small model count army held off the board by a single flyer loaded with dudes. (Remember, an NSF does not allow first turn reserve rolls for that Stormraven.) Just shore up your reserves with something simple like an Aegis and enjoy. :)

[KiwiBen]

Thanks for the feedback fellas.  

 

@ Damo - I've experimented with the Stormraven in the past, with limited success...  I think part of my problem is an ambivalence about the model itself, coupled with a prejudice against vehicles in general when it comes to the painting/modelling aspect of the hobby!  I much prefer infantry models - even the NDKs are only included because it seems almost impossible to compete without them...  I certainly take your point about the 1st turn arrival option with the NSF though.  (Un?)fortunately the tournament that I'm working towards uses Community Comp, which means that if I take the NSF over the CAD I'll take a hammering on comp points (so much so that I probably would have to re-work the entire army).  I've tried to re-create some of that by taking Dragio for the guaranteed Gate though, which allows me to drop right into the right place in turn one.

 

@ Prot - yea, Dad's list definitely wasn't what you'd all "optimised".  He's always been more of a "take his favourite units/models" type of player, rather than trying to build anything uber-competitive...  Certainly my list had a distinct power advantage...  But I'll take the win!  I know what you mean about half the army not showing up too - Dragio, both Libbys and the 10 man GKT squad spent a full three turn bouncing up and down into ongoing reserve (thanks to a number of mishaps).  It takes a massive chunk out of the army, and seriously hampers psyker-defence too!  I think the CAD is perhaps the better choice for the Tournament I'm gearing towards, as there will be a lot of objective based missions, and ObSec will be quite handy...

[Damo1701]

This is the thing I don't understand.

 

We have rules, and FAQs.  There is no need for things like the ITC or Community Comp, that penalise people for playing by the rules.  There is a big difference over changing the rules (ITC) and penalising people on army composition, just because they take an (almost complete) CAD, by a different name.  Incidentally, would they penalise a Battle Demi Company in the same way?

 

To be fair, the only advantage to NSF over CAD is 1st turn deep strike (Drop Pod Assault, Deathwing Assault off the top of my head) but also the running and shooting.  Granted, NSF should have ObSec instead of the reroll warlord trait (unless they removed that option for being battle forged?).  

 

I'll be honest, I've just finished the drybrush stage on my second Stormraven, and am about to add the red/white and detail the canopies/weapons/lenses.  I'm planning on adding both, with 10 man strike squads inside, for last minute objective grabs.