T'was the Night Before 9869986 M.41 And all through the bastion was clear, there was no abomination. All the vehicles were safe secured in their sheds The Guardsmen too did sleep quite content in their beds. Marines in the barracks some manning the walls Assured me the bastion never would fall. When out in the courtyard arose such discord I picked up my bolter and unsheathed my sword! Out to the window I ran to take aim As the Marines around me all did the same! When what did my loyalist occular show? But an ancient convoyance, knee deep in the snow. It was being pulled by horned quadrupeds And a fiery red nimbus glowed from the sled. There its eyes glowed, red, full of scorn Dressed all in crimson, like a servant of Khorne. There I shouted, blessed without pause That this must be the dreaded Santa Clause. "Fire Boltguns! Fire Lasguns! Fire Ogryns and Ratlings! Fire Missiles! Fire Cannons! Fire Mortars and Gatlings!" "You men there in the tower, and you men there on the walls Now blast away! Blast away! Blast away all! "But all through this maelstrom the driver did flew Past Bolt-shells, and Krak-shells, and Frag that we threw. And then to my horror, I heard on the roof The vile covorting of each decandent hoof. Down the chimeny, he came with a boom Our destruction, I feared, was to be soon. I saw his eyes glow, his vast stomach gurgle Bloated and fat like a daemon of Nurgle. I ordered a charge that was to be swift When it reached in its satchel, and pulled out a gift. Then it tossed the vile boxes that fell at our feet! (Our moral was strong! We did not retreat!) But the Marines held pause, our charge was disrupted They picked up the gifts and were quickly corrupted. For each box contained a Chaotic present The Marines (Damn their souls!) found them quite pleasent! "A Bolter! A Flamer! A new Powerfist!" The Clause gave to all, and he checked off his list. But as for me, he failed in his goal For I recieved but a small pile of coal. But the bastion was lost, I could only instruct The bastion computer to set self-destruct. I saw him escape, as the base burst into light Crying "Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!"
If you are like me, you crave as much fluff and lore as possible. You have read Lexicanum and the Warhammer 40k wiki thoroughly (and even add to it). Your desire for more never ends. This future history is just so COOL. So what should Black Library further explore to satiate this thirst...
Age of Apostasy- This is a cornerstone event of the modern 40k setting. This is what gave rise to the modern ecclesiarchy and the Sisters of Battle. To see their roots in the Brides of the Emperor and to read tales of Goge Vandire, Sebastian Thor and the Confederation of Light! Plus to have some nice Space Marine and Custodian action on Terra would be pretty sweet. Also, what is nice is most of this is actually conflict between mortals, not demi-gods like HH. To have characters more down to earth again would be welcome (Finish Gaunt's Ghosts already!)This would likely have to be at least the length of The Beast Rises (same monthly format mayhaps) or even larger. But what a tale!
The Fall of the Eldar- Spawned a Chaos God and the Eye of Terror. Caused the Eldar to split into two different main factions and a variety of lesser ones. Lead to the establishment of Aspects and spirit stones. Lead to the existence of Craftworlds. Basically, everything important for this seminal 40k race is established as a result of or during the fall. Some Probably an important event right? To see its build up, occurrence, and immediate aftermath would be quite the spectacle. I imaging 3 to 6 books being enough. If they can do the Macharian crusade in 3, they can do this.
The Unification Wars (Unification of Terra)- Who doesn't like Thunderwarriors? That's right no one. They are awesome. So why not some stories about them vs the Panpacific Empire? Hy Brasil? How cool what it be to read about the pacification of Albyon or the sieges of the hives of Nord Merica. The coolest thing about the potential this has is its relatability to the audience. Imagine sitting at home and all the sudden the book you are ready talks about a battle... IN YOUR CITY! Would be pretty cool in my opinion. Oh, and it would have tons of sweet Emperor action and Malcador intrigue. I would hope for no less than 12 books myself.
The Badab War- The Tale of the Tyrant of Badab and his succession from the Imperium. Largest Space Marine on Space Marine conflict since the Horus Heresy. Already laid out in Imperial Armour, this could easily be done in 10 or less books. There are some really neat characters and a lot of very fluffy but often forgotten space marine chapters too. And tons of really cool moments. And the Space Sharks. Anything with Tyberos the Red Wake is worth doing. It would also be a very easy tie in back to the game. Did you know that the Horus Heresy models actually all started as Badab ones? All the variant MK power armours came from Badab first. So an easy pitch and a reason to release an updated IA book from FW. Easy to do in a few books too, especially since it is all already detailed in 2 Imperial Armour books.
The Abyssal Crusade- One of the worst disasters for the Imperium, it led to the loss of numerous Space Marine chapters, almost all of whom turned renegade as a result. Basically a corrupt (read corrupted) High Lord finds 30 Space Marine Chapters wanting and sends them into the Eye of Terror on a crusade of penance. This is a lie. Begin. The books could follow one over all plot or each document a different chapter and their part of the crusade, probably finishing with a little duology of the Vorpal Swords, following their crusade and retribution. Maybe not follow all 30 chapters, but some of the more notable ones? Include a short story anthology or two for some of the lesser ones? The Black Crusades- There are 13 of them... for crying out loud why are there not more books about them! A continual driving factor in the 40k universe since the Heresy. As far as I am aware, there are only books about the Gothic War (12th Black Crusade) and even then they aren't a lot and really don't document it (though they are awesome. Best source for the crusade though is the BFG rulebook). But would it be too hard to get a trilogy on each of these, following Abaddon, the ultimate baddie, and his merry band of Chaos Marines? And who doesn't want to read about such conflicts as "The Skullgather", "The Tide of Blood" or "The Ghost War". Neat stuff this 40k, right?
The Tale of Ursarkar E. Creed- A trilogy just waiting to happen. Follow him from Whiteshield to Lord Castellan of Cadia, and all of his heroic battles along the way. Why would you not want to read about this man's tactical genius? He is larger than life and, as I said before, would give us fans another "muggle" to relate to as the central figure of the story.
The Tale of Commander Farsight- Yet ANOTHER trilogy waiting to happen. Follow him from Shas'Saal to Shas'O, and all his heroic battles along the way. Why would you not want to read about this fishperson's tactical genius? He is larger than the Greater Good and, as I said before, would give another "mug.... well I guess not. BUT it wouldn't be more Space Marine Samurai Jacktion now would it. And that is always nice. Plus, understanding such an important figure in a non-core storyline faction would be nice. Especially as the story line moves forward. He most assuredly still has a role to play in the Galaxy. Plus, a renegade Tau with a what is likely a C'tan blade is COOL!
The Iron Cage- Rogal Dorn's Magic Pain Glove in battle form. Basically the single most important and defining moment for the Imperial Fists (even more so than the HH and Siege of Terra IMO). This battle between them and the Iron Warriors almost lead to their extermination and their acceptance of the Codex Astartes. Easly done in a few books (if not one TBH), but something than should be explored more IMO. Can delve more into the characters that would found each successor of the IF as well.
The Sabbat Worlds Crusade- HA, JOKES ON YOU! THEY ARE ALREADY DOING THIS! I just wish Dan Abnett would stop doing Marvel stuff and finish it (and the Pariah Trilogy). Dan, I love Guardians of the Galaxy and all, but really I NEED this. NEEEEEEEED. (This is the Gaunt's Ghosts series for those of you who don't get it.)
Honourable Mention: Night of 1000 Rebellions- So this wouldn't be a series. But it could make for one of the COOOOOLEST short story anthologies they have EVER DONE! Basically a Chaos Superplot and a massive psychic scream cause hundreds, if not thousands, of Imperial Worlds to rebel at the same time. Opportunities for creativity abound.
Did I miss anything BIG!!! Is there something you want to see?
Finally finished these guys! YAY! Three fully magnetized Kataphron, three converted "walking" Kataphron, 5 Electropriests and a Techpriest Dominus! (Also, all of this is FOR SALE!)
These guys were fun to paint, and got my November commitment for 1HourANight out of the way and another item off my 40k Addict Goal sheet. I have them because they were originally what I was going to take to Adepticon, but then DW dropped and my team completely changed out theme. Such is life. Still wanted to tackle them as a project, even though I really don't want to play them in the long run.
If you like what you see, please consider picking them up on ebay. I really REALLY could use the funds for my planned Rough Rider Army (already in progress)!
And here is them with my Knight. He is not for sale, but man do they look cool together!
Last month I did up some Fulgurite Electropriests. These were originally going to be for Adepticon, but it the time since I bought them, my team changed themes and I was stuck with 12 Cult Mech Models. Instead of selling them NIB at a low price, I decided I would try and increase their value and painted them up nicely.
So these guys will be for sale eventually. I just need to finish the Tech Priest and Kataphron. Ideally sometime this month or December.
So I even had the infamous Dave Taylor ask me how I got the effect I did with their skin!!!
So I think over all I must have done a good job!
(And for those who can't read it, the skin was done by painting it ulthuan grey, washing drakenhoff nightshade, and then applying thin layers of skull white)
So I painted this guy a little bit ago, but I have not got around to getting good photos until now. This is a Samurai Daimyo from Steel Fist Miniatures. It was exclusive to his first Kick Starter. He is supposed to be no one in particular and was more of just a paint test for me.
Expect to see more Samurai in the coming months! I have a group of 5 I am going to do up for Crystal Brush at Adepticon!
Progress, Progress, Progress! Since the last update I have Painted 5 Terminators, a Dreadnought and 5 Electropriests! Oh, and my Armies on Parade Board! That is one MAJOR project and 3 minor ones down!
YTD I am at
-110 Purchased
-121 Painted
-197 Sold
I also made 30 bases for my team mate's Adepticon army this month and started making bases to rebase my blood angels.
I failed to meet one deadline (Gothicomp). Just to much to do and wasn't into it.
Quick Guide to the List
-BOLD is for what I consider a MAJOR project.
-Normal typeface is a minor project.
-RED is a removal//deletion
-BLUE is a completion
-GREEN is a new addition since the last update
-HIGHLIGHTED is a current WIP
-Cult Mech for Adepticon(12
models)
-6 Kataphron
-5
Electro Priest
-Techpriest Dominus
-Armies on Parade Display Board
-Adepticon Display Board
-Kato
Kiyomasa & Banners for Crystal Brush (4 models)
-Finish Arbites (2 Models)
-1 Blood Bowl Team (16 models)
-Steel Fist Samurai (9 Models)
-Thunderbolt Fighter (1 Model)
-Spare Contemptor Arm x 2 (Melta and Frag)
-Baal Turret & Weapons
-Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer (1 model)
-Vindicator (1 Model)
-Lucius Drop Pod (1 Model)
-Xiphon Interceptor (1 Model)
-Jetbikes (5 Models)
-Chaplain (1 Model)
-Lizardmen Saurus (20 models)
-Drop Pods (2 models)
-Baal Predator (2 models)
-Rhinos (2 Models)
-Samurai Cavalry (12 models)
-Fury Road Cars (4 cars)
-Land Raider (1 model)
-Death Company (4 models)
-Assault Marines (2 models)
-Tactical Squad (10 models)
-Devastator Squad (10 models)
-Sternguard Squad (10
models)
-Objective Markers (6 models)
-Relic (1 model)
-Vanguard (5 models)
-Knight Paladin (1 model)
-Battlefleet Gothic Gothicomp Entry (at least 1 model)
-Battlefleet Gothic (at least 6 models) -French Line Battalion (30 models) (SOLD)
First a disclaimer: If you play Orks or Nurgle, please feel free to ignore all of this. I expect those to be weathered to the point they would reasonably not work, or would have stopped working long ago.
With that out of the way, I am here to tell the rest of you to stop. Rethink your awesome weathered look. You have gone overboard. This is not a matter of opinion. This is a fact (in what is supposed to be a tongue in cheek article before you get too upset over my tone. Also, there will be some uncredited photos here found via google image search. They are uncredited because I A) am lazy and B) don't want anyone to feel like I am calling them out. It is your army man. Do with it what you want).
For those of you who don't know, I am a military man. And I am sure many of you out there are service members or veterans yourselves. For those of you who aren't, since you are a wargamer, I guarantee you know someone that has served. As such, everyone should know or be able to verify, if there is one thing the Military does above all else it is maintain its equipment. Seriously, majority of the time is not spent fighting or even training to fight. It is spent taking apart gear, greasing it, and putting it back together. Or painting something. Or changing an annoying light bulb. Or just plain cleaning. But really, in all seriousness, that is the majority of the work.
Why? Because well maintained gear works. Keep it clean, keep it oiled/greased if it is a moving part, and keep it painted if it isn't. I put a ship in dry dock and it literally was over an INCH thicker at the waterline from years of built up paint. Rusted and leaking gear does not function. And in combat, it needs to work. OR YOU ARE DEAD. Its simple. The enemy isn't the enemy. Rust is the enemy.
So for those of you you just do mud on your tracks or dust on your desert themed bases, that's cool, you too are now excused. Also, if you have an army that is just lightly battle damage, eg exposed metal, some scratches, a few bullet holes etc. that's cool too. I am looking at you guys, the "I PUT SECRET WEAPONS WEATHERING POWDERS ON EVERYTHING" crowd. You guys are the worst. Especially you Ad Mech players.
YES YOU! I don't know how many Ad Mech armies I have seen weathered to the end of the earth and back, but cut it out. It doesn't make sense. At all. WHY YOU ASK?
Well, are you really telling me a group of guys who would think a cordless drill is a holy relic would allow their precious warmachines to rust? That is the equivalent of worshiping Nurgle to them. Think about it. Every moment of their day is spent fixing and oiling machines. There is no way they would tolerate rust. And if a part did rust, it would be replaced, because it is no longer optimal. Simple. Your standard Techpriest is not just going to go "Ho Hum, all this rust and leaking components are fine. Machines don't need proper maintenance anyway..." In fact, they think every machine has a Spirit. They feel they are alive. So rusting ill maintained gear would be the equivalent of you having the flu. You would try and fix that right?
And running rust? REALLY? Do you know how bad something is if there is running rust. On a ship, if I saw running rust, I knew that I at least had a foot of pipe, probably more, that was going to have to be cut out and replaced. That means that the metal is so weak and porous, it is leaking through itself. Likely it is only held together by paint and/or insulation and not the metal itself.
So if you supposedly worship the machine god, why not show it. Make your machines look like they actually are, you know, WORSHIPED. That means cleaned, oiled, greased, polished and painted. No rust, no leaks, no heavy scratches (unless you are really going for a battle worn look. But even then I would totally believe that between firefights they would repaint their warmachines).
The only reason this is acceptable is that it is Death Guard. If your are not Death Guard, DO NOT COPY THIS!
Next is you Space Marine players. Seriously, a group of guys who do nothing but war and literally have serfs to do all their maintenance for them. And beyond that, usually they make sure to take care of their armour and bolters themselves, maintaining them in pristine condition. So I guarantee you their vehicles will be the same. Especially since, once more, EVERYTHING IS A HOLY RELIC. That Fellblade: RELIC. That Typhon: RELIC. That Predator: RELIC. That Powersword: RELIC. That bolter clip: RELIC. That bottlecap: RELIC. Seriously, if it is made of metal and they can kill something with it, it is a Relic to the chapter and they are going to baby it like Cameron Frye's dad babies his Ferrari.
Now Guard players. And don't get on me for not saying "Astra Militarum". HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR YOURSELVES! As a matter of fact, if you put rust everywhere and having dripping oils on every bolt of your tanks, you are Astra Militarum. If you want to be in the IMPERIAL GUARD, STOP! You think a Leman Russ is supposed to serve for centuries if it is rusting? REALLY? No. It will not be able to last a year in that condition, let alone 100.
And in all honesty, if there is any group that has all the time in the world to fix their stuff, it is the Guard. If they are anything like today's army (which is kinda the point) they spend every bit of "Not fighting" time training and or fixing their gear. And since training typically exhausts you faster, I bet most of that time is spent on the latter of the two.
Really, everyone needs to take a hint from the Tau players. They don't just serve a Greater Good. They server a Greater Preventative Maintenance Program. I have never seen a Tau player make their stuff look like it is 10 minutes from falling apart. And it isn't because they are "super technological". They may have better AI, but seriously, their ships are worse and their wargear is still metal. And metal rusts and tarnishes if it is not properly maintained. Apparently the Tau get that. But I guarantee you the Imperium would too after 10,000 years of ruling. SO GET WITH THE PROGRAM GUYS!
Okay, okay, I'll cool my jets. Some weathering may look cool, and obviously these are models and supposed to be hyperbolic. But the trend the last few years has gone a little overboard. It is time you guys start reigning it back in...
We all have them. Dream Armies. Dream Projects. Things that if time and money were no object, we'd pursue them.
Well I decided to try and make one of those armies of mine. An Imperial Guard Rough Rider Company.
Now why that one? Out of all the projects I could choose from (Brass Army of Khorne, Knight Household, etc. etc.) why that one?
Well a few reasons
1- I think it will be super fun to play. I already have 6 or 7 list variants of all variety of fluff to competitive levels (as competitive as a rough rider company can be) and I am excited to play ALL of them.
2- It is visually impressive IMO. The list variants (all between 1500 and 2500) revolve around a core of 60 to 80 cavalry in each list. That is a lot of horses. A LOT. Imagine that on the table now. Pretty cool, right?
3- It is unique. I haven't seen others really do a full on Rough Rider company before. Just haven't. TO me it would be cool to roll up to a store, get out my army and turn heads with it.
4- It is doable from a hobby perspective. I have a million dioramas running through my mind, which I could likely execute, but probably not as clearly as a Rough Rider army.
With the why, down, now I need to ask the WHAT!?
You would think my vision on this would be clear, but it is actually still VERY muddy. I know I like the lists I made (they all use the Death Korps of Krieg Death Rider Squadron from the Siege of Vraks). I know I like the concept. What I am unsure of is the Regiment! Here is what I have narrowed it down to
1- Attilans- As of writing this, this is my favourite choice. However it would also by far be the hardest and most expensive to execute. Basically, they involve a lot of greenstuff and time. A LOT. Really makes me wish GW would just release a new Rough Rider set.
2- Vostroyans- Still a very likely option. A balance between the Attilans and Van Diemen's world guys in terms of cost and covertability.
3- Praetorians- This was the initial plan. The problem I have with it now is it seems too obvious, and plenty of people have made Praetorian RR. It would sap away some of the uniqueness of the army.
4- Mordians- Really the only reason to go this route is to make the army look like the USMC. That would be exactly how I paint them No other motivation.
5- Van Diemen's World- Up until recently, this is what I was FOR SURE going to do. Basically it is just rough riders with outback/aussie style slouch hats. Nothing really special, but not bad looking. Also, the most feasible option really.
6- Chiros Red Guard- My least favourite option, but the most manageable. Based off the old BoLS Marcharian Crusade book (great resource for a campaign still, wish they still did things like that). Basically it is just use the pistoliers as they come. Legs, torsos, heads, everything, and add some lances. I really don't want to go this route TBH. Just doesn't appeal to me and the project would likely stagnate and I'd lose the enthusiasm I have for it.
So with the why and what out of the way, I reach the harder part: How!
Well first of all I need 80 horses. This is actually REALLY HARD. So I could go with non-GW horses, and that is doable. HOWEVER, I really really REALLY like the Empire/Freeguild pistolier horses. Not only are they GW (which I need to have at least 50% of the models be for playability purposes) they are also the biggest 28mm scale horses on the market. Well, all Warhammer/AoS horses are, but these are the only generic ones. All the rest come with various faction details that are not useable. They also need to be the current horses, as the old Medieval unbarded horses they made are smaller (I bought 6 off someone and so I can trade those away too).
I have 5 right now. I really need to source more. It is looking more and more like I am just going to have to take a very long time doing so for cost management purposes. Ideally, I could flip the sprues sans horse online to subsidize the cost of buying 16 pistolier kits, but no one seems really interested. That said, if you are interested in those, PLEASE let me know. If you are sitting on a bunch of pictoliers and don't mind me buying you OTHER horses as substitutes (fireforge games and warlord games both make great plastic horses) then I will be MORE THAN HAPPY to work with you.
Chiros Red Guard
I could take the torsos and get some Cadian or Victoria miniatures legs and build Chiros Red Guard squads, paint them and flip them. BUT that does not help me on the front end, only the back end. Also, it significantly increases the time involved in the project. And to justify the cost, I would have to paint these guys first.
As for the riders themselves, Victoria Miniatures is once again the best option. Plus these torsos likely to represent the 4+ armour save.
So basically, in a TLDR kinda way, I need opinions on the regiment to do or if you have horses to sell or trade. What route should I take this project? I am doing it, for sure. But feedback is appreciated.
