5 Perfect Models for 40k (That aren't 40k)

I would say I am a hobby enthusiast first and a player of the game second. I just love modelling, model building, and army composition from a style perspective. I am always coming up with ideas and themes and browsing endlessly over bits and images to figure out what I would need to do it, even though I likely never will (primarily for budgetary reasons). When I do get to do a cool project, I try to capture as much in it as possible. My Genswick army is exactly that, and I will actually be posting more on them this week hopefully (and my plan to make them a Macrusade Crusade army).

What most people fail to do I believe is just look at GW's entire product range to find just the right look or model, or just something different. Hopefully this gets some creative sparks in you minds, but I am just going to rattle off 5 models that are currently in production and available from the GW site that can easily be incorporated in the 40k universe/armies with little to absolutely no conversion work necessary.

1. Be'Lakor, The Dark Master

This beauty of a model was released years ago for the Storm of Chaos summer campaign. This guy makes the perfect Daemon prince for a Chaos Daemons army or a CSM army, and with the right paint job or conversion work, can really be made from an undivided Daemon into one of any of the 4 major powers, as you can see below in a commission I did some years ago for a Nurgle army

2. Empire Witch Hunter

This guy screams Inquisitor, just screams it. So much in fact I plan on using him as Inquisitor Drake in my Macharian Crusade army, as is. No changes needed. And while I think this guy says inquisitor more than any other, almost the entire range of Empire heroes (and even units) make great inquisitorial agents/henchmen.

3. Mordheim Elf Mage

This guy comes from the Hired Swords range of Mordheim, which really has a bunch of great models for any role players out there. My favourite among them is the Elf Mage. While I am going to use this as the wizard for my blood bowl team, a distinctive paint scheme or minor conversion work can see this awesomely posed model used in a number of ways (due to its beautiful simplicity). Most obvious are his uses as an Eldar Farseer or Warlock. Possibly a Harlequin troop leader if you are up to painting patterns (of which there is more than adequate room). The addition of a wide brim hat makes him a really believable Inquisitor for the Imperium. Primaris psyker for IG is another role that comes to mind. Really, there is a lot of potential for this model.

4. Empire Duelist

Both of these are great models, but I particularly like the one on the right, and he is planned to be one of my Officers for a Genswick Infantry Platoon. As you can see he is very militaristic (the medals drive this home) and would be great in an Imperial Guard Army, especially with Tanks and/or Super Heavy Tanks. The one of the left is once again great for anything Inquisitorial, but also has great potential as an IG bodyguard (many IG officers are nobility from their world, and it would be fitting to have a body guard from their household guard).

5. Champion of Khorne

This has forever been one of my favourite GW models. He just exudes the power that is Khorne and is the very image of the chosen of the Blood God. With the advent of Cultists in the new CSM codex, he has a perfect fit in 40k. To be honest, I think all the Chaos Champions from fantasy do, this one is just my personal favourite. They also are great for any renegade Guard force, and I think some clever conversion work can even see the Slanneesh and Khornate Champions made into Space Marines.

Obviously there is a lot more. Ogre Kingdoms have been used for Ogryns a million times over (not only is this more flexible model wise, but it is very cost efficient). Nearly the whole Fantasy Orc range can be used in 40k, and give a great opportunity to make you boyz really stand out. And there are a bunch of Dark Elves that would make great additions to a group of Wyches in a Dark Eldar army.

Rant: GW Hates Close Combat (Characters)

If you haven't seen the new FAQs yet, they are up. I instantly rushed to the Blood Angels FAQ to see what the verdict was on Dante, Astorath, and Glaives. Every single one of them was a turn for the worse IMO, but is what was to be expected.

I'll sum it up, the Executioner Axe of Astorath has fixed stats at S6 AP2 Two Handed Unwieldy. Dante's Axe Mortalis is a Master Crafted Power Axe. Glaives are either a sword or axe and follow the rules for them as laid out in the rule book in addition to being master crafted and two handed.

I don't remember this guy being any slower than the other four. 

So now you can't just model Astorath or Dante with a Giant Sword instead, they will have axes per the rules. And the SG kit Comes with only 3 swords, 2 axes, and a Power fist, so as is you MUST have 2 I1 weapons in that squad unless you bit hunt online, which I think is unreasonable to expect people to do.

This is what I hated about the new changes to Close Combat in 6th ed. Wound Allocation is fine. The multiple pile ins is fine. Everything is fine EXCEPT that my modeling choices now dictate the combat effectiveness of a squad. And not only that now, but the sculptors design choices.

If only they still included this sprue in everything, or at least in their bits online.

You expect me to believe that the most ELITE Close Combatants in the Galaxy- Dante, Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, Astorath, High Chaplain of the 9th Legion, and the Sanguinary Guard, the elite of the elite of the most elite close combat Space Marine chapter- Can't manage to swing an Axe faster than Sergeant McFartface of that Imperial Guard can?

Furthermore, the issue is that now Dante, Astorath, and the SG don't have a chance to kill what threatens them the most. Before, they had the advantage of being able to take out the power fist that could instant kill them if on an S4 character, or easily break their 2+ saves on others. Now that they strike simultaneously, the advantage goes to Sgt McFartface with his S4 Axe or S6 powerfist. Maybe not advantage, but point for point, he wields more power. Especially is he issues a challenge. Maybe if Dante and Astorath were Eternal Warriors, this wouldn't be that bad, but that only hurts higher S opponents. IG and others still have a clear advantage. Dante costs over 200 points. That is quickly becoming 200 points of no thank you.

This leads me to the conclusion that GW hates CC. The new shooting rules are fine and an improvement, and obviously supposed to be the new focal point of the game. The issue with that is that there are entire Armies that rely on Close Combat, and some of the most beloved characters in the game. In addition to the above, Kharn, the single greatest Champion of Khorne, can't swing faster than I1.

This axe is clearly too heavy to swing, so I will just point it at you instead.

GW messed up here IMO. There should have been two rules- Unwieldy and Ponderous. An unwieldy weapon should be -1 I, but +1S. Axes fall into this. Yeah, it isn't a rapier or sabre, it is harder to swing and use, but gains more power. But an axe, especially a one handed axe, has to be a hell of a lot easier to move than a Thunder Hammer or Power Fist, especially since a power fist is limited by the speed of the servo motors inside of it, which I guarantee that at least a Space Marine is faster than with an axe, especially Heroes like Dante and Astorath and Kharn. So that is why there should be ponderous weapons. Fists and Hammers are even slower (I1) but much stronger (x2S).

And really, this move just doesn't hurt High I Characters, but higher S armies, who benefit far less from Axes than lower S armies, especially when you consider that the divider is pretty much just S3/T3 and S4/T4. Adding +1 S to the S3 makes a world of difference against T4. But adding +1S to S4 isn't as critical facing T3. If Space Marine were base S5/T4, then axes would fit much better, allowing them to double and instakill T3, while still being vulnerable to S3 characters with an axe as well. Alas it is not so.

EDIT: I also just want to add further evidence that GW hates CC characters: The Sanguinor, Mephiston, DC Tycho and SW lone wolves. These guys should be gods of combat (maybe not the lone wolves, but I have always likened them to a void grenade with legs in my head) but because of the fact they are required to be solo units they suffer under 6th. This isn't warmachine, where being a Solo is a good thing. No, now with Challenges, these grand figures of destruction now miss out on all their charge prowess. This wouldn't be bad if only on the turns YOU charged into combat you could issue a challenge. I think this would have balanced the cinematic feel with the reality of gameplay GW was shooting for. This would prevent Sgt McFartface from robbing such awesome characters of their power, which is why they are taken. But now they can potentially die without ever having touched the bulk of a squad. And if I don't want to fight the character that challenged me, it becomes stupid. Imagine this- Mephiston flies forth on his wings of Sanguinius, bellowing rage and oaths of fury and destruction, towards a unit which happens to have ArmyBuffingCharacter (ABC) and SuperCombatCharacter (SBC) in it. Now say the SBC challenges Mephiston, but Mephiston is already wounded and you want to make sure you get some hits on the squad and potentially ABC, but you can't deny the challenge, so Mephiston has to fight just one guy instead of the horde behind him and the critical ABC. What if Mephiston didn't give a jack about the SBC? Yeah, maybe it isn't the most honorable thing to skip out on a duel, but this isn't WHFB. This is 40k! Honor is not nearly as important and survival and killing. And no one is going to think less of Mephiston, so long as he is killing enemies of the Emperor.

At least Seth didn't get wiffed with an Unwieldy ruling yet, even though he is clearly toting around a massive eviscerator.

I'll Whirlwind of Gore any freakin' FAQ that tries to make me as bad as I was in 5th ed!

Dark Vengeance, Chaos and Necromunda... OH MY!

So I haven't had a chance to check the interwebs until today for over a week now, and haven't been able to follow ANYTHING in the world of Warhammer for slightly longer. So as I came online today I was excited to get my first look at the Dark Vengeance models. So far, I am by and far impressed and can't wait to see what the plastic kits look like over these snap together versions. As long as they keep going with this, I will be very satisfied.

Looking at the kit, there is a clear winner in terms of hobby and model potential and design. CHAOS. They rendered these guys PERFECTLY. The possessed marines are beautiful, and are very reminiscent of WHFB Chaos Warriors, which they should be IMO. Those guys carry an air of power about them lacking compared to a standard SM or CSM, and GW has finally captured them I believe.

The lord is a little static, as to be expected from a snap together model, but is lovely none the less. The Hellbrute is awesome. The exact right combination of dreadnought, daemon prince and dare I say... Warjack... that is required in a model such as it. Makes it much more fluid and dynamic than the robotic nature of just a pure Dreadnought.

But none of those are really surprising or new. Okay, maybe a little, but the concepts and imagery are just a progression of GW work. What is nice and refreshing are the cultists. GW did a great job in seperating these from renegade guard that is easy to convert or readily available from Forge World. And in fact, these plastic kits will only AIDE in making renegade guard conversions, so that is a bonus (no more having to plunder only a handful of useful fantasy bitz. The simple fact is these Dark Vengeance cultists look like a rabble, an assortment of the fallen, where as renegade guard/militia appear as a uniformed military force of chaos.

 

What I first saw in them however is not just cultists, but gangers. These guys are PERFECT for any budding Necromunda player, and actually present a lot more options in terms of gang design to to the flexibility of weapons and modeling, especially once the plastic kits come out . Furthermore, what it really allows for the avid hobbyist, is the inclusion of Necromunda models into your Chaos army, especially if you are trying to be more thematic or capture devotion to a god. While the dark vengeance cultists are very Chaos undivided looking, House Goliath gangers and pitslaves would make great servants of Khorne, while House Escher are the perfect ladies for Slaneeshi cultists. Thats not to say that you have to do that. Redemptionists would make great looking zealots spreading the word of Chaos, while ratskins and scavvies make up the lowly unwashed masses. Or maybe you are Alpha Legion and want a slightly more civilized look to your cultists. Orlock and Delaque are there to fit that niche. And of course you can mix all of these in with your 40k cultists to get a diverse look and feel.

Blood Angel Gabriel Seth/Emperor's Champion Conversion WIP

So I recently posted some lists utilizing Seth. I think 6th made him beter, even with ferocious instincts taking a hit (though still usefull in a challenge). What helps too is that he has a wholly unique weapon, so he gets no Initiative nerfing like Dante may be facing, and who the hell knows about Sanguinary Guard. He is just an S8 combat beasty, and can still get AP2 hits when he rends, and there is going to be plenty of 2+ Armour in 6th.

The thing is though, for those of you who don't know, Gabriel Seth is the Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers. I don't play Flesh Tearers. They are cool, don't get me wrong, but not my army. So the Character GW sells would fit, and even if I removed the Flesh Tearer icons, he would still be the same model that is in every Flesh Tearer army. I therefore wanted to make my own. But once again there would be an issue. You see, I try to find a spot in the fluff for every thing in my army/that I plan to put in my army. For this guy, captain didn't seem to fit. I already have a model for 2nd Company Captain (need to paint it) and he has a Jump Pack and Honour Guard anyways. As well, the squad my Seth will be with is 7th Company, but 7th Company Captain is going to be with a bike squad (I want the image of a Bike Captain, and who better than 7th Company). And I don't want a random Captain in 7th Company's squads. That's where this came in.

For those of you who don't know, that is the 3rd Book of the Astronomican (aka Chapter Approved 2003). You see, White Dwarf used to be filled with this game approved articles called "Chapter Approved" and in them they would have new Characters, Units, Variant Army Lists and just pure awesome rules (Vehicle Design Rules anyone?). After a whole bunch of these came out, they would add all of them to a Compendium under the same title and release them. This one happened to be the last time they did that. And as we all know, White Dwarf today is more for marketing than gaming/hobby.

I just happen to have the aforementioned tome, and in there, there is an entry for an Emperor's Champion. Not just a Black Templar Emperor's Champion, but one for EVERYONE. It talks about at some point in history, pretty much every Chapter since the Heresy has had an EC at some point. Especially First Founding chapters. So, Blood Angels definately qualify there. Basically, it describes an honoured warrior, not a captain, wielding a large two handed blade called the "Black Sword". Now, yes, this is a power weapon, but who says it has to be for all SM chapters. It is possible that the 1st EC for the BA weilded a eviscerator, so that became customary. This is where the rules of Seth combine with the fluff of the EC and allow me to make my Blood Angel EC without using crappy captain stats and to use my list without using a Flesh Tearer.

So now for the WIP photos (I apologize for the quality)

So what I used was just a DC front torso, SM Commander caped back, Khorne Berserker legs, a SW head, DC backpack, SM Commander leather tabard, DC thunder hammer, Imperial Guard Setinel Chainblade (with a chainsword motor added, behind the Baal Predator purity seals), SM banner with a SM Commander Iron Halo on top, some grenades on his right and a laurel on his left and head (one will be bronzed, the other green. His is a Champion, can't he have multiple awards). Not shown are his shoulder pads. One will be a terminator honors pad (to fit with the Chapter Approved article) and the other will hav ean iron cross painted on.

So I think he fits the rules of Seth and the image of the Emperor's Champion rather well, and more so once painted. I particularly like my solution for Seth's Blood Reaver/The Black Sword. Will definately make the model stand out IMO.

Nice thing is I had some leftover parts and was able to build two more marines. Heads courtesy of Chapterhouse Studios.

On Zeus' Anvil: Resurrection of an Imperial Thunderbolt- Part One

TLDR- Scroll down for pretty pictures

So a long time ago, I had something of beauty. A fully built, fully painted Imperial Thunderbolt. I had done it is a cream colour scheme to be one of the mighty Apostles from Abnett's book Double Eagle. I loved the Thunderbolt model, and honestly still do. It is one of the single greatest designs in the 40k mythos. It just is brooding with power, a brawler in the skies. I of course was particularly proud of mine, even though compared to the work I can do now, it probably wasn't that impressive. It did have some cool features though, as I had bought 4 hellstrikes and modeled one of them launching.

It would probably still be like that today. The cream blending, missile firing, slight super glue frosting on the cockpit window. But alas it was struck down. One summer, coming home from college, I had loaded up my jeep and without a good case to put it in, I had set it on top of a pillow in the back on top of everything. The pillow was even slanted so that if the Thunderbotl slid, it just slid into a box and rested there. It handled the trip fine and made it all the way home. When I got there it was time to start unloading the car. Unfortunately, my brother did not understand the concept of taking from the top first, so what did he do? He removed the first thing in the middle, which just so happened to be supporting the pillow that had been the safe and secure resting place of my Thunderbolt for the last 7 hours. Without the support, the Thunderbolt went into a terminal nosedive and got into a fight with the pavement that it never had a chance of winning. All in all the damage wasn't extensive, just major at one key point- a wing had broken off. Sheared right through. In doing so, some other slight damage was done and two missiles broken off, but it was the wing that put the nail in the coffin for years to come.

Over time some little progress was made here and there. I just glued the broken wing back on and used it is several Apoc games, even with the damage. But it just wasn't the same. So eventually I bought a bunch of simple green, grabbed a tupperware container large enough, and gave it a week long bath with daily scrubbing and scraping. After I had it stripped as best I could and broken down to it components I... well I let it sit. For quite some time. Something like 2 years. I have always wanted to bring it back. I could see the paint scheme in my head (especially since it was out of IA Vol 1 and already in use for my Aeronautica), I just need the time, reason, and dedication.

Then came 6th Edition and the incorporation of flyers into the game. I knew it was time. I sat down, took out the parts, grabbed mine pin vice, grey stuff, green stuff and plasticard and began reattaching stuff. After a few hours of work this is what I had. Keep in mind, both wings had been snapped off where they met the fuselage.

So then I took some primer and put down the base coat.

Next it was time to work on the pilot. Since I have to finish the interior first anyways, he seemed the logical place to start, plus was a nice change of pace from Marines.

To do the checker pattern I just did a yellow base coat stripe and a once over with a yellow layer and then put on plack dots and then went back with yellow layer paints to brighten the yellow. Then cleanup up the edges with the black and ceramite white. His boots are scraped up from test fitting, but you can't see them in the plane anyways, so I didn't really care too much. It is the top half of his torso/birds eye view angle that matter most.

Well thats good for now. I have done more work, but not too much (the cockpit and base coating the place) As for now, I leave you with what the end goal is with Aeronautica and IA Vol 1references.

1303rd Fighter Wing. This will be Flight Lt Gabriel Constantine