30k Hobby Chat

[No Foes Remain]

I know your pain Morkai, had to do that after my old hard drive died, that was not a fun. I wish you luck and have fun in the rebuilding process.

[Gorgoff]

I don't get it? Where is the problem?

[Slinky]

My very slow Imperial Fists progress continues.  Mostly been posting over on DakkaDakka, but there seems to be more 30k action over here, so posting here as well

 

First 5 Phalanx Warders done:

 

[Hfran Morkai]

I don't get it? Where is the problem?

It's just a little frustrating losing your lists.

 

Then again I've never played a game so no massive dramas. Basically there with my 2500 OA abd Recon Company lists anyway

[Cris R]

I've been slowly painting up my Blood Angels force over the last year and finally had a solid 1,500 point list that I ran at a doubles event organized by the Richmond 30k and Remembrancer's Retreat guys. I still need to add weathering to the Drop Pod and add a dash of gold to the Assault Marines to make them pop more but I'm happy with the recipe and the progress I've made so far. It'll definitely help as I continue painting the rest of my army. Props to Brofist for taking my questions about painting as I worked through the recipe development process.

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by Cris R

[derLumpi]

My very slow Imperial Fists progress continues. Mostly been posting over on DakkaDakka, but there seems to be more 30k action over here, so posting here as well

 

First 5 Phalanx Warders done:

 

They look awesome! Any closeups?

[Gorgoff]

 

I don't get it? Where is the problem?

It's just a little frustrating losing your lists.

 

Then again I've never played a game so no massive dramas. Basically there with my 2500 OA abd Recon Company lists anyway

Ah I see. I thought you maybe have lost the actual miniatures.

[Bloody Legionnaire]

Anybody own and well experienced with the Kharybdis Assault claw?

 

I’m currently in the process of painting a Dreadclaw for my Word Bearers that I will at minimum need to pick up one more of. I’m thinking about the Kharybdis though due to its higher transport capacity.

 

How was the Kharybdis kit in build and hobby regards and how is it in game? Anyone use them regularly?

[Cris R]

Anybody own and well experienced with the Kharybdis Assault claw?

 

I’m currently in the process of painting a Dreadclaw for my Word Bearers that I will at minimum need to pick up one more of. I’m thinking about the Kharybdis though due to its higher transport capacity.

 

How was the Kharybdis kit in build and hobby regards and how is it in game? Anyone use them regularly?

+1 on this request

[Lucien Eilam]

The build isn’t bad, much easier than a Dreadclaw. Only real complication is a bit of painting before assembly required due to the retractable claws.

 

Only had a couple of opportunities to use it, I filled it with combi-grenade Cataphractii. Mostly did what you’d expect of a bigger Dreadclaw – got a squad where I needed it, then loitered around as a minor annoyance.

 

I’d say the storm launchers are situationally useful at best – bounced off basically everything in my games, but they have potential if your opponent gets careless and you can drop it in the rear arc of a bunch of vehicles.

[Valkyrion]

The build isn’t bad, much easier than a Dreadclaw. Only real complication is a bit of painting before assembly required due to the retractable claws.

 

Only had a couple of opportunities to use it, I filled it with combi-grenade Cataphractii. Mostly did what you’d expect of a bigger Dreadclaw – got a squad where I needed it, then loitered around as a minor annoyance.

 

I’d say the storm launchers are situationally useful at best – bounced off basically everything in my games, but they have potential if your opponent gets careless and you can drop it in the rear arc of a bunch of vehicles.

 

I wasn't aware the claws retracted! The big long claws I presume? 

When the claws are down on the table, is there enough room to fit a space marine under the porthole? 

[Lucien Eilam]

Yeah, the main, long claws have a notch near the bottom. If you don’t glue them, you can either slide them all the way up/back to the engine for “in flight”, or slide them forward/down and tip them into the notch to lock them for standing it up like a Dreadclaw.

 

The FW product page doesn’t make any mention of it, but you can actually see the different positions in the photos, once you know what you’re looking for.

 

Don’t necessarily take my word for it, as I haven’t dug the army case out of the stack to check, but my recollection is most power armoured figures would fit under it comfortably, was possibly getting a bit tight for a Cataphractii Sergeant with a grenade harness.

[Valkyrion]

Without wanting to derail the topic too much; have you built most FW stuff Lucien Eilam?

 

I read somewhere on the internet (....!) that a Mastodon is easier to build than a Fellblade because the mastodon is all resin and the fellblade is joining resin to plastic. 

Same with Xiphon vs Fire Raptor or Proteus vs MKIIb Land Raider.

 

Fact or fiction, in your experience? 

[derLumpi]

The Mastodon is a cool kit but can be a real pain to assemble. The side parts are big resin blocks that have to be straight. If they are not there will be some big gaps.

 

 

The Fellblade is mich easier to build. Can't remember if there was plastic. I can check tomorrow and can snap some pictures.

[Lucien Eilam]

Haha… I’ve built a ton of FW models over the years, but a very long way from being able to say “most”.

 

I’ve never built a Mastodon or a Mk IIb Raider, but it’s probably fair to say the hybrid kits tend to be worse than pure resin.

 

It seems to me the issue is that plastic models cast very consistently, and the resin is anything but. Warped, twisted, shrunk, expanded, bubbled – almost every component has slight imperfections in one way or another. It can be like trying to build onto a uniform brick wall using pebbles off the beach.

 

You can soften resin components with heat and make them conform to each other, but it can be a lot harder to make resin conform to plastic, which won’t meet the other component halfway.

 

I find it’s not too bad when the plastic is forming the “skeleton” of the model. The Fellblade variants have a few issues, but the Baneblade components are barely even visible when they’re under the resin shell, so you’ll never be able to tell if it’s not 100% flush at every contact point. Deimos Rhino hulls are similarly forgiving, where you’re gluing resin bits onto the sides of a fundamentally sound structure.

 

With the Fire Raptor and Storm Eagle, the resin forms a much more substantial proportion of the structure, and every minor imperfection adds up to affecting the “frame” where a completely inflexible rectangle of plastic needs to sit. If you do leave any gaps, they’re going to be right on top and painfully obvious.

 

Then there are models like the Dreadclaw, where bits of the plastic drop pod are being used in a way that’s very clever, but was clearly never intended. The Kharybdis superficially looks like the same thing scaled up, but not having to incorporate plastic makes the whole thing much simpler, with single piece, solid sides and a decent area of contact at every join.

 

But I think the biggest factor of all is the age of the kit. The Arquitor Bombards and the Sabres are an absolute joy to build compared with a Proteus or even a Sicaran, and as a direct comparison, the new dread pod is a vast improvement on the old. They got much smarter over the years about dividing the kits into components, where they place the casting gates without ruining the detail, making it easy to magnetise, etc.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Lucien Eilam

[SkimaskMohawk]

 

 

The build isn’t bad, much easier than a Dreadclaw. Only real complication is a bit of painting before assembly required due to the retractable claws.

 

Only had a couple of opportunities to use it, I filled it with combi-grenade Cataphractii. Mostly did what you’d expect of a bigger Dreadclaw – got a squad where I needed it, then loitered around as a minor annoyance.

 

I’d say the storm launchers are situationally useful at best – bounced off basically everything in my games, but they have potential if your opponent gets careless and you can drop it in the rear arc of a bunch of vehicles.

I wasn't aware the claws retracted! The big long claws I presume?

When the claws are down on the table, is there enough room to fit a space marine under the porthole?

The dreadclaw and kharybdis don't ever land claws first in-game fyi.

[GodEmperorOfMankind]

How do they land if not claws first?

[Cactus]

I think he's saying that the model remains on its flying stand, even if disembarking passengers. IIRC it has to be in hover mode for disembarking but the rules don't ever call for it to land and don't cover such a situation.

[SkimaskMohawk]

How do they land if not claws first?

Well in the game, they don't. If you get immobilized in hover mode you're told to remove the stand, but nothing tells you to flip the orientation of your vehicles 90 degrees.

 

Like if a fire raptor got immobilized, you don't take it off the stand and flip it so it's balancing on its thrusters.

[Lucien Eilam]

Absolutely, if you find yourself playing against a joyless charisma-vacuum, it’s extremely important that your drop pods remain attached to their Officially Sanctioned Plastic Sticks® and in the horizontal orientation at all times during the game.

 

You can usually spot them. They’re the ones not even making engine noises when they move their tanks. Awful people.

[Excessus]

Good luck disembarking while it's on a flying stand.

[Mogsam]

The khalabysis has magnet holes for the claws and everything. It's pretty handy.

 

The only major issue is the bloody tiny wings that constantly snap off in transit. They're a real pain in the arse.

[GodEmperorOfMankind]

Haha I'm with Lucien on this!

 

My kharybdis absolutely sits claws down when she's dropping people off, and she's raised off the ground on those claws because to me that's how they all disembark.

 

Tank driving noises are also good form, as well the motorcycle revving when the outriders make their move

[Bloody Legionnaire]

All, I'm looking for some feedback. I made a post in the PCA forum, but I feel like I'd get better responses here. 

I'm working on my  legion dreadclaw for my Word Bearers. I can't decide where I should place the highlights and shadows. Should I paint them as is the drop pod has landed on the ground and the light is shinning down on it in the vertical position or should I paint them on it's sides in the horizontal position it would be in while flying? 

Any opinions? 

[GodEmperorOfMankind]

Where's it gonna spend most of its life, sat on the ground or on the flying base?

 

Answer that and highlight accordingly would be my response.