Brother B BA blog!

[brother_b]

Greetings!

I'm back for 8th Edition after a lengthy time away from 40k, and almost as lengthy away from the hobby. I'm old enough to have done most of my gaming in 1st-3rd editions. Slowly as responsibilities grew I took more and more steps away from the hobby. My last real gaming occurred during the LOTR days. I played and painted a lot back then but even that was a long time ago.

My first decision in taking up the hobby again was which army to play. I've been a BA fan since they first came out, since the first epic stories about Sanguinius and Horus. It was an easy choice to go back to my favorite army.

My son, who is now old enough to enjoy the hobby, has set his sights on the traitorous legions. My wife wasn't ok with me calling in some help from the DA Interrogator Chaplains so I guess we'll just have to deal with a little heresy in the family!

My second decision was what to paint up, and what to collect. I'm notorious for buying lots of stuff and never being able to finish a complete project. It's an issue we all deal with I know. That being said, I wanted to start with baby steps and pick some stuff that I can get on the field and have fun with. So with that in mind I've chosen the following:

10 scouts (5 X assault with bolt pistol/knife and Sgt, 5 X sniper; will combat squad them) 10 PL

5 Assault Marines (2 X melta gun, Sgt with plasma pistol and chainsword; will ride in the Razorback) 5 PL

Assault cannon razorback (will probably add HK missile as well) 5 PL

BA Captain (will ride with ASM in the Razorback; undecided on weapons) 5 PL

This gives me a patrol detachment and will be the building block for the rest of my army. I'm already planning to build up to the battalion detachment by adding more scouts and a tactical squad. My next HQ is also undecided and will depend on how I build up the army.

Further down the line I have my BA specific units I'm preparing, including DC and SG.

Anyhow, feedback on the captain loadout would be appreciated. I'm leaning towards a combi plasma and power sword.

I've found that coming back to painting I'm suffering from a couple of issues:

1) Getting my flow back. What I mean is, I've got to re-learn how to thin my paint out so it flows better; it seemed to be either too thick or too thin.

2) Shakey hand. Well... I'm just getting older. I've to to really work on bracing my painting hand. Maybe do some sniper techniques regarding breathing

Here is Brother Sgt. Lorenzus of Alpha Squad, assigned to Blood Angels 2nd Company. Just need to finish the base and he'll be done.

[Chaplain Gunzhard]

That sarg looks great. I love those old scout models and still use mine.

 

As a fellow old dude, I'd recommend a really tall desk, or low chair, so your wrists are simultaneously resting on the desk and up close to your eyes.

 

Looks like a solid core to start, welcome back.

[Father Mapple]

Welcome back!

 

I could never be a surgeon. Well, a competent one. And I drink a pot of coffee almost each day, so I deal with the Shakey hands. For Shakey hands, I took an empty vitamin bottle, much bigger than paint pot, filled it half way with sand to make it heavier, and then blue tacked a miniature to the lid on top. It has the press and turn child safe lids, so if I want to turn the miniature around, it can spin with a finger.

 

I then either prop my elbow into my stomach or set it on the table. I found a video a long time ago suggesting to prop the wrists together to steady fingers. It's why I've never worried about people thinking my painting is as clean as a commission painted or anything.

[Morticon]

welcome back to the fold!!! 

[brother_b]

Thank you all. Maybe some of you can let me know what the following terms mean.

 

1) Bubblewrap- I get the idea, but why? Is it bubble wrapping a character? Is it denying area for deep strikers? Both? I mean you can still choose to shoot whichever unit you want (outside of characters) so I'm guessing it's not about protecting other units.

 

2) Conga line- Is this just stringing out a unit so that at least one person is within the area of influence of an aura? If a unit is conga lined out doesn't that hurt melee as not all models can get into the fight? Or is this just for shooting?

 

Thanks for that!

 

My final question is about weaponry. I don't recall Grav Cannons at all. What are they good for? On the surface they look good against marines/MEQ. Is that it? Plasma seems better, especially with a captain around.

 

Anyway, thank you, more units to add to the completed list soon!

[Chaplain Gunzhard]

1. You basically got the right of it, I see it more often used to shield units from assaults, could be characters, could be tanks... But also deep strike area denial.

 

2. The Independent Character rules are gone. So any character "joining" your unit is really only just a separate unit standing next to them. You can string them out far to increase an aura, while keeping your character bubble wrapped from shooting, but yes it absolutely hurts melee and it makes it a lot tougher to get everyone in, since they're all needing to pass separate charge rolls etc...

 

I don't have much experience using grav; in this edition they seem good at killing MEQ or TEQ models with multiple wounds. Hard to argue against plasma though...

[brother_b]

Another scout, Brother Habriel.

[sebs_evo7]

Grav cannons have done well for me killing multi wound meq

[Karhedron]

1) Getting my flow back. What I mean is, I've got to re-learn how to thin my paint out so it flows better; it seemed to be either too thick or too thin.

GW have changed their formulation quite a bit in the last few years. "Foundation" paints are much thicker than the old range and can withstand/need more thinning. Conversley, "Layer" and "Edge" paints are thinner and will need less water while Drybrushing paints should not require any.

 

There is no magic quantity but with practice it will all come flowing back.

[brother_b]

Just an update, I hope to post some photos tonight. I've completed another scout and have a test-run for an assault marine ready for painting. I've started working on a Baal predator, as well as a razorback. I've got 5 more sniper scouts, 5 assault marines (magnetized for jump packs) and 5 death company on foot ready to hit the paint line next.

 

I've ordered some 25mm to 32mm conversion bases. The first batch I ordered I wasn't particularly happy with. I'm awaiting a new batch from another company and will try that out. I'll post some photos of the different bases in case others are interested. I've got a handful of models to convert to 32mm bases, including Mephtiston, old-school foot DC chaplain, a painted foot DC, and an old-school dev squad.

 

On the assembly line are going to be more scouts (bolter and shotgun groups) and my first tactical squad. I am considering a full tactical squad with grav cannon and plasma gun with a combi-plasma sgt. Now all I need is a grav cannon!

[brother_b]

A work in progress of my BP and another scout. Not sure how I got sidetracked on the BP, but whatevs!

Edit: Not sure what to put on the scroll, it's not visible but was considering Lux, Baal, or maybe just "Kil" for old time sake. No way I'll be able to pull of a Sanguinius...

[brother_b]

Some more works in progress. This assault marine, I made a lot of mistakes; the paint was too thick, it's a little muddy, etc. That being said, I now have an idea about how I'll be painting the red armor and this was a good test run. I need to finish these guys up and move on to the next!

[Bremon]

Having only recently come back to the hobby myself, I think your minis look fantastic. I have the Primaris half of the starter kit, and yellow paint hasn't been kind to me so I mucked up my Inceptors helmets a bit. Disappointing but I'm learning from it. Quite happy overall with just making progress. I will say I'm a bit paralyzed by indecision regarding expanding my list, the fluff basically decimating the mini-marines in the chapter and Guilliman bringing a ton of primaris reinforcements makes me think I should play a reasonable amount of them in my list but I'm curious to see if we will get BA specific primaris stuff when the codex comes out. Red wins the Rule of Cool but vanilla is easier to adjust to since they have a book out already.

[brother_b]

Having only recently come back to the hobby myself, I think your minis look fantastic. I have the Primaris half of the starter kit, and yellow paint hasn't been kind to me so I mucked up my Inceptors helmets a bit. Disappointing but I'm learning from it. Quite happy overall with just making progress. I will say I'm a bit paralyzed by indecision regarding expanding my list, the fluff basically decimating the mini-marines in the chapter and Guilliman bringing a ton of primaris reinforcements makes me think I should play a reasonable amount of them in my list but I'm curious to see if we will get BA specific primaris stuff when the codex comes out. Red wins the Rule of Cool but vanilla is easier to adjust to since they have a book out already.

 

Yes, the Primaris. They don't fit in my army. In fact, I'm not really a fan of the fluff or story, especially the idea that the baddest bad asses in the universe- the Astartes- aren't really that bad ass, they need big brother help in the form of primaris. That being said, I understand GW trying to push the timeline. I see my army as the old hold-outs. They are the  Blood Angels, the (most) storied chapter of all the first founding chapters. Their primarch died at the hands of the warmaster himself, giving the Emperor time to strike.

 

The black rage, the red thirst are but blessings bestowed from their primarch. 

 

Seriously though, I will not include the primaris in this army. I'm going to keep with the basic models. It's what makes the army fluffy and I'll wait to see if we get BA specific primaris first.

 

I've got faith we'll get something awesome when our codex drops, and hopefully I'll be ready to take full advantage once it does so!

 

I'd love to see what you've been working on, it helps motivate! 

[Bremon]

I'm actually not too sure how to attach an image but I completed my first 5 man intercessor squad, which is my first completed squad from my DI starter set. It's also my first painted minis in 8 years, and the most I've painted in 15 years lol. There are some mistakes for sure but I'm quite pleased with them and learned a lot. I'm confident my next batch will be much quicker. I have 5 more intercessors and 5 hellblasters with their base layers on, so details, shading and highlights to go and I'll have 15 minis done and can treat myself to painting something different with characters and inceptors (despite not really liking inceptors that much model or gamewise lol).

[brother_b]

I dropped everything into the Bolter and Chainsword gallery. You can upload stuff there and you find it in the top left under options when you click on your user name.

 

On a side note. I'm having a hell of a time putting together my shotgun/bolter scouts. For whatever reason I haven't been able to line the arms/hands/weapon up the correct way, and yes I've got the right letter-letter combo from the sprue.

 

Ugh.

[Alcyon]

I magnetized those guys which was a lot easier than using the notch system, but I also pinned the left arm to the left hand on the gun which really helped line things up. Probably overkill but helped me position the connection and then hold that while I ensured the shoulders looked right.

[brother_b]

Thanks for the ideas but that's a lot of work I don't know if I'm up to that. I was actually thinking of how to build out a Sgt. for the scouts so may do a little more work for him when it comes to customizing.

 

Oh well, I've got green stuff if it gets too bad.

[brother_b]

I have a new box of assault marines that I'm going to use for my BA painting challenge. I had some previously built and did a test paint job on one. I wasn't too impressed but know how I want to finish the painting now.

My decisions will be what special weapons to bring. I have some melta guns I am planning to use. I'm wondering if I should magnetize for the flamers that come in the assault pack.

Anyway, from nothing to something hopefully pretty soon!

[Karhedron]

I would go for meltas IMHO. The problem with Flamers is that units must DS >9" away from enemy models. Flamers only have an 8" range so cannot be used by models making a Jump Pack Assault (old school Deep Strike).

 

Also I find that in most cases, I have adequate anti-infantry fire and it is anti-tank/monster that needs a little extra.

 

One other thing to consider is to build them as Company veterans with Jump Packs rather than as an Assault squad. That allows you to field more special weapons per squad. There is no drawback to doing this since a Battalion detachment includes up to 6 Elite slots (twice as many as the old CAD in older editions) so you no longer have to fight for slots. If you do actually manage to run out of slots, you can just field an additional Vanguard Detachment to give you extra Elite slots.

 

Admittedly a 5-man Veteran squad is 30 points more than a 5-man Assault squad but given that you can field twice as many special weapons, you are arguably doubling your effective firepower for less than double the cost of the unit. Also, if they survive, the Vets get twice the number of attacks in assault should you need to commit them to combat.

[brother_b]

I would go for meltas IMHO. The problem with Flamers is that units must DS >9" away from enemy models. Flamers only have an 8" range so cannot be used by models making a Jump Pack Assault (old school Deep Strike).

 

Also I find that in most cases, I have adequate anti-infantry fire and it is anti-tank/monster that needs a little extra.

 

One other thing to consider is to build them as Company veterans with Jump Packs rather than as an Assault squad. That allows you to field more special weapons per squad. There is no drawback to doing this since a Battalion detachment includes up to 6 Elite slots (twice as many as the old CAD in older editions) so you no longer have to fight for slots. If you do actually manage to run out of slots, you can just field an additional Vanguard Detachment to give you extra Elite slots.

 

Admittedly a 5-man Veteran squad is 30 points more than a 5-man Assault squad but given that you can field twice as many special weapons, you are arguably doubling your effective firepower for less than double the cost of the unit. Also, if they survive, the Vets get twice the number of attacks in assault should you need to commit them to combat.

 

I'm unfamiliar with the various specialist squads like Vanguard Vets, Sternguard, and now Company Veterans. I'll have to check them out. I'll probably make this squad assault now anyway and am planning to magnetize jump packs and backpacks. I've already got that part done actually.

 

On a fluff note, are VV, SV, and CV all from the 1st company like terminators?

 

I had an idea of what to put in my drop pod. I know that drop pods are more expensive now but I really want to load up a unit of some kind and drop it some where that lets me dictate the flow of the battle. I was thinking a full strength dev squad with grav cannons. Those things are sweet for close-in shoot outs. I like the damage and the potential for multiple wounds on high save models. The str 5 doesn't scare me because my other option would be HB and they get more shots than the heavy bolter anyway. Sterguard were another option, I don't think I can equip them with jump packs so putting them in a drop pod sounds sweet.

[Spagunk]

 

..

On a fluff note, are VV, SV, and CV all from the 1st company like terminators?

 

...

 

 

Yes. Modern fluff refers to them as the archangels but that's just the 1st company's name. Like how the 2nd company is called "The blooded" and stuff. So you may read here or there how the archangels did x or y. They are in fact referring to the 1st company.

[Karhedron]

I'm unfamiliar with the various specialist squads like Vanguard Vets, Sternguard, and now Company Veterans.

 

Vanguard Vets are basically super-Assault squads. They have Veteran stats (+1A, +1Ld) and can all take power weapons if you wish.

 

Sternguard are super-Tactical squads. They get improved bolters (30" range and AP-2) and Veteran stats. They can also take combi-weapons.

 

Company Veterans have the ability to load up on special weapons and can also be given Jump Packs which makes deploying them nice and easy.

 

All have their uses and are quite powerful but tend to be expensive and still die as easily as a 13-point tactical marine.

 

I had an idea of what to put in my drop pod. I know that drop pods are more expensive now but I really want to load up a unit of some kind and drop it some where that lets me dictate the flow of the battle. I was thinking a full strength dev squad with grav cannons. Those things are sweet for close-in shoot outs. I like the damage and the potential for multiple wounds on high save models. The str 5 doesn't scare me because my other option would be HB and they get more shots than the heavy bolter anyway. Sterguard were another option, I don't think I can equip them with jump packs so putting them in a drop pod sounds sweet.

Devastators with Grav or Multmeltas are the best bet. They are short-ranged so the Pod provides a delivery mechanism. Remember that dropping them close to the enemy will make them a priority target so they may not live long if used this way. For longer range weapons, I prefer to set them in a good vantage point (prefferably in cover), behind my main lines. Although less aggressive, I find they live longer and hence actually do more damage over the course of the battle this way.

 

In 8th edition, you can fit as many units as you like in a transport (up to its maximum capacity) so that pod could take 2 5-man squads for a total of 8 heavy weapons. This can get expensive though.

 

Sternguard in a Pod are a good option. Their bolters make them a good choice and they don't really need any more points spent on them. A cheap Lieutenant to give them rerolls of 1s to wound might be a useful addition if you have points but is not mandatory.

 

You are correct that Sternguard cannot take Jump Packs. Company Vets fulfill a similar role to Sternguard and can take Jump Packs although they are limited to squads of 5. There are several options for getting shooty and/or veteran marines close to their target quickly. The role you want them to perform will probably dictate their weaponry and hence which flavour of squad best suits your needs.

[brother_b]

I did not think about two minimum sized devastator squads, that's brutal. I'd be concerned about their lack of "ablative wounds" in the form of regular marines but I guess that's not really the point. As long as they get their points back and make an impact and it's all good I guess.

 

Sternguard look really cool and I may buy some just for the option or maybe a backline babysitting type squad that covers my assault troops. Is the consensus just to leave them with their improved bolters or maybe take a heavy/special weapon?

 

Thanks for the input.

[brother_b]

Here's my next completed scout. I went a little big on his teeth, that's because the first go around it looked like he had buck teeth. Can't have a BA with buck teeth!

Here's the first 3 scouts, two more to go. In the background is my first test assault marine and then the first in progress for my BA painting challenge. I settled on 2 marines with bolter/chainsword ( ), two marines with melta guns, and the sgt. with a chainsword and plasma pistol.

More to come!