"Knives In The Shadows" Sign-up Thread

[Dr. Clock]

Close enough to taste it now... Just final gem dots, possibly some washes, and basing on the back half of Scorpions. Projecting final submissions next week. Taken slightly longer than expected, but within tolerance. Enjoyed these 5 a bit more than first 5 with a slightly tightened process (drybrush under the contrast for black is alot faster and seems just as effective; also skipped a step that was made redundant after decision to do green gems instead of my standard blue pearl.

 

 

Cheers,

 

The Good Doctor.

[Alby the Slayer]

Vow completed!

 

 

A little story of this killteam and more photos in my thread:

 

Thank you everyone for this great challenge.

Edited May 7 by Alby the Slayer

[Lysimachus]

 

Calling my vow complete!

 

Considering the priming issues, which I think did obscure a little bit of the sharpness of the details, I'm very happy with how they've come out, especially the oil wash!

 

Fluff added to my other thread.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Finished the last 6 of my Slaaneshi Battle Goats - will post a group photo here when I think up some background/fluff to go with them.

 

[Chaplain Raeven]

Still working on my lads! It took me a while to wrestle through all the trim and freehand shoulderpads. I should have waited on the actual transfers with the previous squad, it would be out of place if I used them now.

Just need to do the oilwash and some tidying up. Should be done within 2 weeks  

[Bob Fossil]

I finally got my hands on those Mandrakes! I'm going to try the slapchop method on them.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

I'm also kitbashing a Hand of the Archon. 6 more to build, paint and base... Those I'm afraid I won't be able to finish in time...

 

 

Spoiler

 

[grailkeeper]

Vow complete.

 

I wasnt happy with these guys but if I didnt finish them I'd have them half painted in my office as a memory of failure for ages. 

 

Edited May 18 by grailkeeper

[gaurdian31]

Finished up my Kill Team:

 

Spoiler

 

More pictures of the team are in my thread:

 

Thanks so much for running this event again @Lysimachus ! 

[grailkeeper]

1 hour ago, gaurdian31 said:

Finished up my Kill Team:

 

  Hide contents

 

More pictures of the team are in my thread:

 

Thanks so much for running this event again @Lysimachus ! 

 

 

Looking good!

[Tallarn Commander]

Wow! Ya'all have painted up some wonderful Kill Teams. Keep up the great work!

 

 

I have finally finished my Kill Team of 15 Traitor Guard troopers.

 

 

88th Blood Pact

 

 

Here are some links to my page where you can view more photos and read the fluff for each of my 15 troopers:

 

Blood Bitch, Zenn, Nochfel, and Ram

https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321042-tallarn-commanders-chaos-traitor-guard-kill-team-completed/page/20/#findComment-6101237

 

 

Creed, Dekker, Jackal, Mishka, Grim, and Bonesaw (you will have to scroll way to the bottom past the battle photos)

https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321042-tallarn-commanders-chaos-traitor-guard-kill-team-completed/page/20/#findComment-6103204

 

 

Commissar Zhukov, The Dust Witch, Rusalka, Morr, and Vor

https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321042-tallarn-commanders-chaos-traitor-guard-kill-team-completed/page/21/#findComment-6111438

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

88th Blood Pact, "Sworn to serve Gaur"

[grailkeeper]

I always liked when people could get little awards for their signatures for completing things like this. I never had one. They've gone the way of the dodo haven't they? Or is there one for this?

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Best ask the organizer @Lysimachus about that.

 

That said, there are a couple of other ways of getting those little award badges.  First is participating in @Grotsmasha's 12 Month's of Hobby which is perpetually running, another is joining this year's Call to Arms which is from June 15 to September 15.

Edited May 22 by Dr_Ruminahui

[Lysimachus]

10 hours ago, grailkeeper said:

I always liked when people could get little awards for their signatures for completing things like this. I never had one. They've gone the way of the dodo haven't they? Or is there one for this?

 

Definitely in the plan, though I haven't actually created the badges yet (I need to check the allowed pixel sizes)

 

I'm thinking there will be 4 badges; one to say a Frater has taken part, and a gold, silver and bronze for the top 3 teams that are voted for in the community poll that I'll set up after the competition finishes.

 

[Lysimachus]

Hello all!

 

This is just a quick reminder that this Challenge will end in a few days on Saturday the 31st May*, so if you have completed entries make sure you get your pics in by that date!

 

*I will probably officially shut it down at some point on Sunday morning UK time, just to allow for temporal warp shenanigans variances between time zones.

 

 

[grailkeeper]

Thank you for running this. Got me to finish my first squad in years.

[gaurdian31]

Agreed, thanks for running this again @Lysimachus! I had a great time as stated earlier and all of the Kill Teams have been great! Great work everyone!

[Mandragola]

Vow complete! That was a lot of sandwiches, sausages and she’ll cases to paint. Wow. 
 

 

I’ll take some proper photos at some point and add them to the plog post. 

Edited Wednesday at 10:26 AM by Mandragola

[firestorm40k]

Thanks for the reminder @Lysimachus - I've actually finished my Kill Team, I just need to get some decent pics 

[firestorm40k]

...and here they are 

Spoiler

The head of the Cryptek's staff was a bit of an experiment, using inks instead of glazes of paint; it ended up going on quite thick (not sure that's visible from these pics), so I don't think I'll take that approach when I paint the rest of my Necrons. 

 

For completeness, here's some background text for my Dynasty, which these belong to - the Celestial Hegemon of High Phaeron Nepharekh:

Quote

“Before the Transference, the Dynasty of Phaeron Nepharekh was in decline – the last of her bloodline, her forebears and heirs dying one-by-one; either to the cancers that ravaged our race, or assassinated by rivals who sought to take the few assets the Dynasty still controlled. And so, it might

have transpired that this lesser Dynasty would have come to its end, passing into unremembered

history as so many others had.

 

But when the Transference took place, Nepharekh had a key asset that would be the foundation for her future power – her powerful void fleet. Although the worlds and other assets once held by her

Dynasty had fallen to others through war, debt or decline, Nepharekh used her fleet to gain favour, and crucially, the allegiance of other, smaller Dynasties. She used her fleet to exert authority, control or ownership of specific routes across the void, and her genius was to enact a system whereby thosel esser Dynasties that had reliance on those transit ways, or her fleet, would eventually need to declare fealty to her.

 

And so the Celestial Hegemon came to be; individually, Nepharekh and the other Dynasties that had declared allegiance to it might have easily been singled out and defeated by the ambitions or aggression of the other, larger Dynasties; but together, they posed a formidable collective.

 

Once a lesser Dynasty had declared itself to the Celestial Hegemon, Nepharekh enforced their loyalty with an iron grip. Any who dared to go against their vows of allegiance to the Hegemon were punished and made an example of. So she was able to maintain her authority, and the Hegemon’s unity and

dominance in the parts of the galaxy it laid claim to.

 

Despite this, Nepharekh still had to endure the political rivalries and machinations of other Dynasties; an accusation frequently levelled at her was that she secretly intended to amass an empire that would

challenge the authority of the Silent King himself – something she denied, repeatedly declaring her fealty to the great Szarekh. She would support this in action, on a number of occasions sending vassals of her Celestial Hegemon to fight alongside the Silent King’s own armies, at his orders. Yet still, suspicions of ulterior motives coloured the gossip of Nepharekh’s rivals.

 

Though our race is eternal, it has not always proven to be immune to the slow, entropic properties of time; and so it was for the Celestial Hegemon. When the decision was made for the majority of our race to enter the stasis of the Long Sleep, Nepharekh’s own hosts had begun to fall to a strange

ailment: not the madness of the Destroyer curse, but a more concerning deterioration – her legions of Warriors were starting to lose their engrammatic memories. Slowly, the Hegemon’s Crypteks were

finding that their vassals were failing to respond to commands, simply standing or wandering

aimlessly.

 

Nepharekh tasked her Crypteks with finding the cause, and a solution, to this problem. And more immediately, she needed to slow this ailment, before it claimed too many of her Warriors – in desperation, she had the majority of her military forces placed into a pocket dimension, where they would remain as though frozen in time.

 

But there was a tumult, as a number of civil wars spread throughout our race – some seeking to split from the overall authority of the Silent King, others seeking to forge their own empires. Although she

retained the loyalty of the allied Dynasties of the Celestial Hegemon, Nepharekh’s influence began to wane as each went into stasis. As a result of both war and a declining number of her vassal Dynasties to call upon, the key mechanisms to access the pocket dimension where her Warriors had been sequestered became lost to her.

 

While her Crypteks still laboured on a cure for the mysterious ailment causing the engrammatic failures, Nepharekh herself almost faded into memory – searching the galaxy for the artefacts that would re-open the way she had hidden. Since then, sightings of Nepharekh amongst our race

have been rare. She may still be afoot in the galaxy, continuing her search. Or maybe she has fallen, as so many once mighty nobles of our race have, in the millennia since our Great Sleep began…”

 

- From ‘Untold Histories of Our Galactic Empires’, by Thumoteph the Undiminished

Apologies for ripping this wholesale from the fluff for the narrative campaign I recently ran 

 

Thanks @Lysimachus for running this event - it's been great to take part and get some minis painted! 

[Mandragola]

 

Some brief background for my Ratlings:

Spoiler

The unit known as auxiliary section 946 does not exist on official lists of assets serving on Volkus. It is made up of a group of Ratling farmers and their Ogryn labourers whose transport, intended to take them to the newly-established agri-world of Herator VI, was mis-directed to the warzone at Volkus due to sub-optimal administrative practice.

 

No official record exists of them being issued with weaponry. However, following a shaky start, they are now trusted to carry out dangerous reconnaissance and sabotage missions. It plays a small but useful part in Volkus' defence. The section's unofficial status allows it considerable freedom of action, as it is not officially part of the chain of command. The quality of catering is reported to have improved, correlating with an improvement in the morale of regiments in the area.

 

The administrators of Herator VI were surprised when a fully-equipped regiment of Death Korps of Krieg landed on their world. They report a 4% increase in agricultural output, thanks to the much more efficient earth-moving techniques introduced by their new workers.

 

[Grotsmasha]

I have run out of time to put the finer details onto the Sternguard Team, but they are more than completed enough to game with,

 

 

Spoiler

 

[Dr. Clock]

Well, it's been a good time!

 

 

"Dearest Governor,

 

The bearer of this letter you will find is Theoddus Van Doesburg; please provide our dashing sergeant what all latitude to conscript from your citizenry whatever ill contents and ne’er do-wells you may find close to hand. Van Doesburg and his Devils are my Lord Inquisitor’s most ardent landing party and victuallers, and I will warn you that the good sergeant is more stern even than I in the observation of the Lex Imperialis. Indeed, you will note from his helmet that he enjoys full deputation as a Judge, and is thus unafraid to conscript and consign any whom he may meet to join our ranks among the stars. Indeed, as our numbers are reduced, be not surprised if Van Doesburg should second some of your most prized military assets. Be humbly proud of their destiny in His most noble pursuits, though surely you will never hear of what transpires in the Outer Dark.

Yours in fealty,

                  Interrogator Samuel Tweed of Neo Baku"

 

"Dartorian A. (9103025M41). 'A Song of Strife and Longing'. From Dartorian A Ed. Translations and Transmogrifications, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Like the Eldar. Heretical text.

 

Gone, she wept, forgetting still

The scorpion who slept until

The tears of Eldanesh did come

Then suppered from forbidden well

 

Fair travelers on dimlight paths

Fair warning as you here may pass

Be not afraid of she who sleeps

Yet dreaming as her tears amass

 

Now flow out 'cross the cheeks of terror

Spit venom in the eye of fate

Strike hard the hand of he who whispers

And tear the hinges from the gate

 

Do not forget the world's last ending

Do not regret your doom indeed

We shall be wrested from this coil 

Yet not before this poison feed"

 

Cheers,

 

The Good Doctor.

[Trokair]

Ordo Reductor Kill Team Cohort 4-2 is now done. With two more operatives than initially agreed upon as being required for the makeup of this hypothetical team. If they ever see a theoretical game board I have options. 

 

The team:

 

 

The individuals:

 

 

Edited yesterday at 07:49 PM by Trokair

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Been dragging my heels on this long enough.... so here we go.  Oh, and as a note, all the character names are just "goat" in different languages.

 

Experimental Action Group 34 - a report by Battle Anthropologist Sister Anais to the Resources Allocation Panel

 

 

I have been tasked by the Resource Allocation Panel to determine whether the goat people of Bellemonde's desert regions can serve as a valuable resource, are a nuisance that can be ignored, or a threat that must be eliminated.  In doing so, I associated with a herd residing in the area of the Toulouse escarpment, and in doing so I have been able to assess their capabilities, features and liabilities. As such, I propose the creation of an Experimental Action group composed of the following members of the Herd to determine the subjects greater utility:

(behind spoiler windows for compactness):

 

Chevre Bouc and Mbuzi

 

Chevre Book (left) is the leader of the herd, having been granted that status by virtue of his large and imposing physique, pale skin (sacred among his peoples) and hit mutated third eye.  Though often plagued by doubts, and the hope that his third eye will give him prescience or wisdom (it won't - its a worthless mutation that doesn't even improve his eye sight), he is a fierce and effective leader of his band of Slaaneshi worshipping warrior goats.

Mbuzi (right) is the herd's warlock/shaman, who seeks to guide the herd to greatness for Slaanesh.  While his primary psychic ability centers around warpfire, he portrays himself to the herd as a wise seer, despite having no warp abilities in that area.  Relying on his psychic powers in combat, he packs his empty pistol holster with vegetables and ration sweeteners which he uses to bribe his herdmates into accepting his "visions"

 

Bakaree and Maeaza

 

Bakaree (left) and Maeaza (right) are the only 2 veterans of large scale combat in the herd, having served as mercenaries in the Reclamation campaign against those forces that remained loyal to Cardinal Kadesh.  They continue to wear their armour and uniforms from that time even after making their way back to the Herd.  The two are very close and loyal to each other before the rest of the Herd.

Maeaza is resentful of the herd leader Chevre, believing that the herd should have chosen him for the position due to his proven battle experience.  Unbeknownst to him, Bakaree did not support his vid for leadership, recognizing in his friend an impulsiveness and callousness towards subordinates that did not make him an effective leader.

 

Cabro and Kozel

 

Whoever is in charge, Cabro (left) and Kozel (right) are the herd members who keep the others in line, Cabro through the lash of his whip to those who do not accept their order, Kozel through the beating of his gong which inspires and encourages the other goats.  Cabro's favourite activity is to "Whip it, whip it real good" while Kozel likes to "Bang a gong, get it on". 

 

Shanyang and Bizin

 

Shanyang (left) and Bizin (right) are the herd's heavy melee hitters.  Shanyang's favorite activity is "clubbing with his mates" while Bizin is mechanical tinkering, which allowed him to repair the power axe he know wields (recovered from some battlesite or another).

 

Yeomso and Ari

 

Yeomso (left) and Ari (right) are, after Mbuzi, the most warp-touched of the herd, yet neither is interested in or has vied for its leadership.  Yeomso uses his third eye and third arm to expertly wield his warp tinged swords, while Ari's limited warpsite allows his to overcome his blindness so that he can overpower his enemies with his great physical strength.  Yeomso's favoruite activity is meditating in trees, while Ari's is headbutting others off of raised platforms.

 

Yagi and Keci

 

Yagi (left) and Keci (right) are the last 2 herd members I recommend for the action group.  Yagi likes to concoct and utilize powerful hallucinogenic grenades, which he uses against the herds enemies - his main challenge, however, is keeping his herd mates out of his stock.  Keci, who was given bionics as part of my efforts to win over the trust of the herd, has learned to incorporate them into his combat style to great effect.  Yagi favorite activity is experimenting with mind altering substances, as is Keci's, usually to the detriment of Yagi's efforts.

 

Assessment:  The herd is not suited for large scale combat or fighting at range.  That said, their natural inclination and physical characteristics make them potent in-close fighters and potentially useful for overwhelming positions by stealth or for harassing and raiding behind enemy lines.  This style of combat also suits their informal leadership style and lack of larger hierarchical leadership structures or place in any current military structure.  Further, it corresponds well with their capacity to live off the land, ability to use terrain to remain hidden and general affinity for wide scale looting and vandalism. 

 

Additionally, despite their independence, the herd offers several "cleavage" points making them potentially susceptible to outside control.  This includes Chevre Bouc's personal doubts and Mbuzi's wish to be viewed as a prophetic guide without any real skills (other than guile) to do so.  Further, should Chevre's leadership prove to be an obstacle, Maeaza is a potential replacement, with  Bakaree serving as a useful check on Maeaza until such time as a transfer of leadership is required, and then a loyal supporter afterwards.  Finally, some leverage may be also had from being a supplier of food, ammunition, intoxicating substances, club music, medical services and maintenance for the herd's few higher technology items.

 

Recommendation:  While of doubtful utility in a more formalized combat environment, the goat peoples of the Bellemonde wastes do seem well suited to low intensity, special operations, scouting or  harassment roles.  As such, I recommend that the Panel create an Experimental Action Group consisting of the above listed individuals to test this utility on a trial basis.

 

Final Note:  People must stop asking me if these are humans mutated into goats, goats mutated into humans, or some sort of other biological anomaly - such is quite simply beyond my expertise as an anthropologist and, in any event, quite irrelevant to the issue at hand. 

 

- Humbly yours, in the service of perfection, Combat Anthropologist Sister Anais

 

 

Edited 13 hours ago by Dr_Ruminahui

[Chaplain Raeven]

Alright, all done! Finished them up a couple of days ago, but it's been an absolute PAIN to photograph them. After 50 botched pics with my phone, I eventually had to take the old camera out of the attic and wait for an overcast day. Thank you for hosting this event again, Lysimachus! It was a load of fun!

The Terrible Ten

The 4th Chapter of the fractured Night Lords have been waging war since the Heresy. Escaping severely bloodied from their defeat at the Thramas sector, they absorbed roving warbands of their kin during the later stages of the Heresy. They kept terrorising and pilaging Loyalist worlds until the end of Heresy. They kept raiding afterwards as well ofcourse, just not that overt.

They've continued their long war ever since, keeping the original Legion colours and company structure their Primarch envisioned. The Chapter accepts contracts for anyone willing to pay in wargear or aspirants, to supplement their gains from raids. Warbands are in high demand with the Black Legion, since an organised warband with Legion-training are a usefull, albeit malicious, scalpel to complete objectives.



 

Spoiler

Konrar - Armourbane
An oddity among the 4th Chapter, Konrar rarely participates in his Legions usual flaying-methods. Prefering the sight of melting Ceramite, he creeps close enough to his prey that he can feel the heat of the impact from his meltagun through his armour.

Vaedus
Another Night Lords with particular preferences. Vaedus is one of the few Legionnaires that prefers a blunt main weapon, rather than a blade. His prowess with his maul is undisputed though. Combined with his tactical mind, he became squad leader after the raid that netted him his pistol.

"They were almost in their midst, Vaedus could feel the pounding of heavy feet of the red armoured giants running in their direction. And giants they were. The encounters where Vaedus and his brothers where outmatched in size were few and far between. But this new breed of Corpse-loving Loyalist were towering over them. It didn't save them though.

They had taken the bait. 5th squad was wreaking havoc in the logistics hub and raiding the storerooms, while Halidar's

squad were laying in wait for the reinforcements from the bastion. They hadn't expected Astartes though. When the squad arrived in their killzone, Karl unleashed his plasmagun on the lead figure. His armour had no chance against the bolt of superheated plasma and the marine died before his body hit the ground. This was the signal for the rest to rise from the rooftops and unload their bolters on the enemy below. 

The fusilade was intense. The sustained fire of the bolters and the plasma gun cut down half of the squad. Vaedus was pleased to see that the same weak point of the armour were still viable. Coincidently, the larger size of the Astartes made the weak areas larger as well. Seeing they had no chance to survive long enough to return fire, the Astartes smashed into the adjoining houses for cover. This was their last mistake. The first Marine through the door was flung back out with a melted hole where his torso used to be. Konrar stepped back, and let his brothers with their chainswords deal with the rest. 

Vaedus saw Sergeant Halidar duelling with the enemy lieutenant. They were evenly matched and had similar weaponry. Halidar eventually managed to push the Lieutenant back and aim his plasma pistol. He pressed the trigger, but there was no bolt of plasma to end the Astartes. The pistol exploded on Halidar's hand, taking it of and half of his left arm. The Lieutenant took advantage of the opening and took of Halidar's head before he had a chance to recover his guard.

Vaedus hadn't been idle though, from the moment his sergeant was falling toward the ground, he sprinted toward the Astartes unleashing his bolt pistol. A bolt hit the Lieutenants head, dazing him long enough for Vaedus to smash the faceplate in with his maul. By that point, the rest of the Astartes squad were dead or dying around him. Vaedus took temporary command of the remnants of the squad, ordering to take their fallen with them, the geneseed of the Astartes and any usefull gear they could carry. Vaedus looked with intest at the unfamilar pistol the Lieutenant was carrying, and claimed it for his own. After the conclusion of the raid, Vaedus recieved permament command of the squad he led out.

Karl
The plasmagunner of the squad. He enjoys getting rather close to his foes, which is not the best place to be with a weapon as his. Instead of venerating his ancient weapon, he's just as likely to club his enemies with the rifle as shooting them. The front had to be repaired with a brass plate already and he even added a blade on it for the real personal fights. As a result of his reckless use of the weapon, his brothers usually give him plenty of space during battle. Just in case the machine spirit finally had enough of his owner's abuse.

(l.t.r.) Urius, Dosk, Alasar and Kaldra
The ranged specialists among Vaedus' cohort, Millenia of experience with their trusted bolters made them unrivaled marksmen. Alasar has a great tactical eye as well. When the situation dictates it, he occassionally takes command of the ranged fighters of Vaedus' squad while Vaedus commands his melee troops. Alasar is slated to gain command of a squad of his own, when an opening presents itself.



(l.t.r.) Taven, Ramasium and Vejak
The melee specialists of the squad. As adept with their blades as with their pistols, they've survived countless raids while in the thick of fighting. They usually fight alongside Vaedus if they're split up from their bolter-wielding brethren. They're always joined by Konrar and his melta, for the occassional tougher opponent and his love for close ranged kills.