Contemptor Twins

Here are two Alpha Legion Contemptor Dreadnoughts I completed this week. The Contemptor Dreadnought is a must for any 30k army. It's one of those iconic units that immediately separates a 30k army from a 40k one. This is especially true when they are the legion specific models designed by Forgeworld. I got two of the legion specific dreadnoughts for the Alpha Legion a while ago and finally finished them this week. No transfers were required as they are already covered in chapter icons. I gave them the usual paint job, but painted the hydra symbols on the chest with a different wash. They are also armed differently. One is armed for close combat with a chainfist / meltagun and a multi-melta. The second is armed with dual Kheres Assault Cannons! I wanted him posed like he's letting loose with both cannons while bracing himself from the recoil. I doubt that would be necessary giving what one of these things must weigh, but I imagine the space marine pilot inside retains some of the old behaviours and habits he had in his mortal life.

Posing a Contemptor is itself an artform. The various components that make up the foot, lower leg, upper leg and hips offer a variety of positions, but also tend to produce a stance that is either too narrow (looking like it's prancing) or they're sticking one leg forward in an odd looking swagger. These are by far the best poses I have ever built for the contemptor and I have been unable to achieved similar results before or after these guys. Thanks for visiting.

Alpha Legion Assault Squad

I'm in the process of completing the remaining models I have earmarked for my 30k Alpha Legion. The first up is an Assault Squad. It's a basic 10-man squad armed with chainswords and bolt pistols. Two of the models are armed with a power sword and power maul, while the sargeant is armed with a power fist and hand flamer. I painted one shoulder pad white so I could use the metallic green legion symbol that came with the Forgeworld transfer sheet. The transfer is a bit underwhelming, but the white helps break up the sea of turquoise a bit. My Alpha Legion army is mostly long range, so some close combat is a nice addition.

Thanks for visiting!

Volkite Weapons for Adeptus Titanicus

Assortment of new "Volkite" weapons for Adeptus Titanicus.

More new guns for the God Engines of Adeptus Titanicus! Here we have the range of new "Volkite" weapons for the Titans. Fans of 30k will be familiar with the "Volkite" weapon class - it is essentially a Martian heat ray/death ray kind of thing. They are great fun to use in 30k games, and the sculptors who designed them made them look pretty cool (in my view, at least - YMMV). Tactical support squads equipped with "Volkite Calivers" are a must for any 30k force for me - for the "looks cool factor" if no other reason.

Like the las guns, bolt guns, and other scary weapons of the grim and dark future, the rules writers and designers for the Horus Heresy setting ultimately came up with a Volkite-type weapon of every size, from a pistol all the way to a "volkite demi-culverin" for tanks and the "volkite carronade" for super-heavy tanks (such as the lovely Glaive painted by MikeF for his Alpha Legion collection).

So would the Titans miss out on this fun? Heck no! Earlier this summer GW released Volkite weapons for the Titans, and being a nerd, I picked some up - here they are. These are all multi-part resin kits from Forge World.

"Volkite Eradicator" on the carapace mount of a loyalist Reaver Titan from Legio Gryphonicus.

Volkite Weapons in Adeptus Titanicus

Reaver Titan of Legio Mortis modelling a new "Volkite Eradicator".

As you smash your foes in Adeptus Titanicus, you are trying to find the right mix of weapons that will knock out the enemy's formidable void shields - often, though not always, accomplished through volume of fire - and also have the power to deliver a killer blow - often, though not always, accomplished through a high strength rating.

Loyalist Warlord from Legio Gryphonicus sporting a new "Volkite Destructor".

Closer look at the new Volkite weapon for the Warlord Titans.

The volkite weapons would purport to give you a bit of both - the rate of fire is not high, but they have special rules that nonetheless make them rather taxing for the void shields of your enemies. The weapons come in two flavours - "Volkite Eradicators" for the arms of your Warhound Titans, or the carapace mount of your Reaver Titan - and "Volkite Destructors" for the arms of your Warlord Titans. 

The Death Heads won't miss out...Legio Mortis trying out its new toy...

As you might expect, the "Destructor" hits a little harder than the smaller "Eradicators" on the Warhounds and Reavers. I obviously have not had a chance to use these in a game yet, but my initial assessment is that, while these things look cool, they would suffer from opportunity cost - they could be useful, but you only have so many weapon mounts to go around, and the other weapons are probably more useful.

All sorts of arcane-looking power bits on this weapon design. Good times await!

In terms of their headline use, knocking over void shields, I can see how they might be a better option the vulcan mega bolters...but using up an arm mount on a Warlord Titan for this purpose is, to me, possibly a waste. The "Destructor" does benefit from a "Beam" special rule, but I don't think that compensates for the loss of one of the other, much more destructive weapon options you might employ on the arms of your Warlord.

The Reaver is probably the worst option for this weapon...with just a single mount, and therefor single shot available, you are unlikely to have the truly devastating impact you hoping for when it comes to knocking over the void shields of your enemy - the missile launcher will do a better job, from a longer range - but again, it looks neat, and does have a higher strength, offering some flexibility of use.

Ready for Volkite mayhem! Warhounds sporting their new "Volkite Eradicators"

If you are going to use these weapons, the Warhound is probably the chassis to use them on - and they would be best used in pairs. To me, they would functionally replace the twin vulcan bolters, and generally fulfill the same battlefield role you would have had for a Warhound with twin bolters - knocking the void shields from enemy engines in one pass of firing, leaving them vulnerable to killer hits from other, larger titans on your side. And while the strength isn't all that high, it is still usefully higher than that of the bolters, so you can spray destruction at wounded Titans, or enemy Knights.

So here we are, even more weapons for Adeptus Titancus. During the early stages of the release of this game, the lack of weapon options was a great frustration. A couple of years later, there is now quite a wide variety to choose from - although a number of them have disappeared from Forge World's web store, so...I hope you got them while you had the chance...

Anyway, thanks for reading!

The Adeptus Titanicus Gun Shop - The Loyalists Go Shopping

Loyalist Warlord titan posing with new carapace weapon options.

Time for some fun at the Titan gun store on Mars! Titan commanders need retail therapy too, right? Who wouldn't want to go shopping?

Back in April, I added more weapon options to my Adeptus Titanicus collection (new weapons and models in my 30k work generally always seem to arrive first with the Warmaster's side, for some reason). Inspired by the release of the fifth book in the "Seige of Terra" series - "Mortis" (a fairly dreadful book) - I thought I would balance things out in my collection once more, and paint up new weapons for the loyalists in my collection, the Titans of Legio Gyphonicus. 

These are all new weapon options for the carapace mounts of the Warlord-class battle titans. All of the weapons profiled below are resin bits from Forge World - with one exception, as you will see.

Paired Vulcan Mega Bolters

Not the scariest looking guns, but these will certainly strip the void shields from enemy engines - they shoot a LOT...

Visually, I find these weapons to be the least appealing. In terms of game impact, these things will definitely rip up your opponents' void shields, but otherwise they are light and don't cause much damage to other engines. Considering the other - IMO much superior - weapon options that a Warlord Princeps would have access to for the carapace mounts, I don't see a whole lot of value in this weapon system - but the option is now there if players want to try it. Certainly these things puke out a hail of shots!

Not an ideal weapon choice IMO, but I'm sure some clever tactics can come together to make use of these!

"Rotary Cannon Weapons" from Battle Bling

Cool weapon option from "Battle Bling" - a third party purveyor of custom components.

Have you heard of Battle Bling? If you love Adeptus Titanicus, you should check them out! Here is a link to their eBay shop - they make all sorts of optional, customized and character components that work with the new models. Many of the components they sell will trigger fond nostalgia for players of the original Adeptus Titanicus game. I hope to have more of their stuff to show later in the year, but it is very, very cool, and this is a good example.

Nice, clean castings that assemble easily - and fit magnets!

These could represent either Vulcan Mega Bolters, or the Paired Gatling Blasters...anything shooting shells at a high rate of fire from a Titan! It is a nice alternate look, another choice for folks seeking a bit of a different look for their Titans. Be sure to check out Battle Bling!

Paired Turbo Laser Destructors

Let's melt some stuff! Powerful energy weapons for the Warlord Titan!

Similar in name, and in performance, to the plastic "paired laser blasters", the Paired Turbo Laser Destructors hit the enemy a little harder, but with a lower rate of fire. A very effective weapon - and I have to hand it to the Forge World sculptors - these look pretty cool too. 

Ready for action against Horus!

Paired Gatling Blasters

Oh yeah! Gatling guns, Titanic scale...only the good "people" of Mars can bring this together!

Now we're talking! This choice provides a nice level of firepower AND a nice rate of fire - beat down the enemy's void shields with the volume of fire, and then you can still damage the enemy once those shields are down. Good times await with the Paired Gatling Blasters.

I recommend painting these in sub-assemblies - the multi-barrel set up makes painting a little tricky.

 

So, once more my Adeptus Titanicus collection is mostly balanced between rebels and loyalists - with both sides able to access a pretty wide selection of weapons to suit their Titanic firepower preferences. There are more Titanicus weapons coming, but that is all for now - thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!

30k Legion Champion & Master of Signal - More Flunkies for the Sons Of Horus

Legion Champion (left) and Master of Signal (right) - figures from Forge World.

Some more flunkies for the entourage of the Warmaster - here are a "Legion Champion" and a "Master of Signal". These are 28mm resin figures from Forge World, for Games Worskhop's Horus Heresy setting. They are painted in the colours of the XVI Legion Astartes, the Sons of Horus. Even though they are different sorts of character, these two figures were sold together in the same package by Forge World, so I present them here together.

These figures still seems relatively new to me, but that speaks more to my fraying perception of the passage of time than any actual facts. For me, to count as "old" the GW figure in question at least has to be metal...anyway...the fact is this is a pretty old figure which has been sitting around in 30k horde for many years. These figures were early sculpts from Forge World's Age of Darkness range, meant as enhancements for your Space Marine Legion command groups. They were Legion agnostic - you could add any bespoke Legion symbol you liked to their shoulders. 

Lets have a look at them!

Legion Champion

No matter how many cool guns the Mechanicum provide for you, a master swordsman is apparently still required...

As I touched on in my post featuring Maloghurst "The Twisted", the Space Marine Legions of 30k can choose from a wide assortment of character-ish officers and command figures. The "Legion Champion" would be some sort of known/recognized Marine from a given company, his skill at arms putting him at the forefront of its ranks.

Carry a skull or two on his shoulder plate, as one does...

While Space Marine Legions teemed with guns and tanks of every sort you can imagine, being a "champion" still implies skill at "close combat", and this fellow gives that sense, brandishing a scary sword. This would surely be a power sword, probably "master-crafted", allowing this figure to deal out death and destruction in the close combat phase of the 6th (then 7th) edition of the 30k rules.

The armour mixed elements of Mark IV and Mark III design...so I went with a Mark III shoulder pauldron, embossed with the symbol of the Sons of Horus.

Of course, he has a skull hanging from his armour - perhaps a souvenir of a particularly tough duel, or maybe it's just the skull of his predecessor - who knows? His armour shows other customization as well - combining elements seen on Mark III and Mark IV power armour - along with a customized helmet sporting a comb, and the fancy eagle-shaped components on the power pack. He's meant to stand out a touch from the crowd.

Fancy eagle-headed backpack on the power armour.

Taken as a "consul" from the army list, this figure would give your command squad some extra fighting power. And of course, the figure could be used in all sorts of ways - he could be a veteran sergeant, an independent character or even Centurion or Praetor if you want.

I'm disappointed with how the sword turned out, but cool figure overall.

I like the figure - although the sword was a pain...being resin, it was warped (of course) and I'm not 100% convinced that I straightened it properly, even after an hour of messing around with boiling water. The paint job on the sword is not great either...I need to study some tutorials online to improve my results when painting long, scary blades like this one. But good enough is good enough...he will join the Warmaster's sprawling command cadre on my shelf.

Master of Signal

5G in the year 30,000...the Legion Master of Signal.

I could take or leave the Champion - I mean, he is neat, but there are already a lot of figures representing scary-looking Marines with swords, and that sort of thing is easy to make on your own. The Master of Signal, on the other hand, actually looks like something the Space Marines would need - a trooper wearing and carrying serious comms equipment that keeps his force in touch with fellow Marines elsewhere in the battlezone, and even in orbit. So, there is a practical reason - at least in your imagination - for having this Marine in your detachment.

The comms pack is a souped-up version of that seen on the Mark IV vox marine.

Of course, there is also the homage aspect. Fans of the metal Space Marines from the Rogue Trader era will surely spot the similarity between this figure and "Communication Officer Orinco" from earlier times. I love this - the sculptors at the Forge World studio made great use of all manner of Rogue Trader-era inspiration for the miniatures in the 30k range, and this is another great example.

"Horus Lupercal 'liked' your request for orbital bombardment..."

I love the big domed helmet, the computer screen on his arm...it's a great figure, your sense of his battlefield role comes immediately, no need to guess. This fellow is on the vox, chatting with his buddies up on the Vengeful Spirit. Maybe he is pinpointing the teleport target for reinforcements? Or calling in an orbital strike? Or just laughing about how useless the Ultramarines are? Who knows?

A great 30k homage to a classic Rogue Trader-era figure.

The Master of Signal has various uses under the rules in the game - and in particular for the Sons of Horus, you need a Master of Signal in order to access a certain "Rite of War". But more than anything, this is a cool figure to have, with lots of possible scenario-driven uses in different 30k encounters.

The Flunkies Congregate

Horus Lupercal and his assorted command flunkies maintain a steady vigil over the rest of my collection.

Here we can see how the command coterie of Horus Lupercal has grown over the years. The painting style has changed too...wow. Always neat to look back. Horus for hope!

That's all for now. Thanks for reading! I hope you are managing to enjoy summer, wherever you are.

Last Grenadier Squad for the 30k Imperial Militia

Here's the last Grenadier squad for the Inferalti Hussars. Like the last squad, these guys have been equipped with bolters. The bolters are from the Mark III marine box set and are much bigger than the ones for the Mark IV. This puts them at just the outside edge of suitability for the Anvil models. I can't imagine what they must weigh when fully loaded and the recoil must be a nightmare, but these guys will be facing Space Marines, so lasguns won't cut it! This squad was supposed to complete the army, but I ended up ordering a few more units (of course). The militia and cults army allows you to use heavy weapons squads equipped with heavy flamers and Land Raider Proteus as dedicated transports for grenadier squads. As such, I ordered one of those and a squad of Solar Auxilia with flamers (I'll put 2 to a large base). Might not get to them for a bit because I'm going to try and finish the rest of my Alpha Legion by the end of August.

Raven Guard Veteran Tactical Squad for 30k

Veteran tactical marines for the XIX Legion Astartes. Figures from GW.

Some reinforcements for the Raven Guard! The marines of the XIX Legion Astartes received a new Contemptor Dreadnought earlier this summer, and that inspired me to whip together a veteran tactical squad to further bolster my Raven Guard forces. This 10-man squad is wearing Mark III power armour. Almost all of the components are plastic from GW, save for the comms pack (which comes from a FW command kit). The legion numeral decal is from the Forge World Raven Guard decal sheet, and the embossed shoulder symbols are from Pop Goes The Monkey. 

Selection of Veteran marines...sergreant with the comb, and a special weapon marine with a melta gun.

I am a Horus Heresy junky, and I just love painting Space Marines in Mark III armour in particular. I had not yet painted a veteran squad for the Raven Guard component of my 30k collection, and I was in a mood to paint some Mark III power armour...so I threw these guys together and got them under the brush.

Vox trooper on the left, Sergeant on the right.

Rear view of the officer and vox trooper - showing the segmented armour, and the handy chain swords. Because in the grim darkness of the far future, you need to saw stuff.

Veteran tactical squads in 30k are, essentially, the representation of what would become the basic 10-marine tactical squad in the 40k setting. All of the familiar elements going back to the Rogue Trader era are present...a sergeant, a heavy weapon (heavy bolter), a special weapon (melta gun), and bolt guns for the rest (keen 30k nerds will note that I switched up bolt gun versions, giving these fellows the "newer" bolt guns from the Mark IV sets - just to add some variety). And of course, as veterans, they are also carrying the ubiquitous chain swords - the Space Marine field tool of choice.

Let's visit Isstvan! What could go wrong?

I just love the segmented and somewhat old-school look of the Mark III power armour - it is a great design, looking perfect in the context of a techno-dark age heavy infantry. I have painted clouds of these things, and could happily paint many, many more...

Love the heavy bolter!

The Raven Guard were actually the ones who brought Isstvan III into original "compliance". Regrets?

My 30k Raven Guard collection is not huge, but it is getting bigger - it has all of the core elements one would require to put together a force for the table - but it still is lacking vehicles. So far, the only loyalist vehicles I have painted for 30k have gone to the VI Legion, the Vylka Fenryka. I do still have some vehicles, unpainted, stashed away...might be time to give some wheels/tracks to the XIX Legion. Maybe later this summer, unless other interests or projects divert me. 

Thanks for reading!

Belicosa BS at Forge World - Fun With Titanicus Weapons

A foolish and pointless purchase from Forge World...the Belicosa Volcano Cannon for the Nemesis Warbringer Titan in AT18.

Well, I continue with a 30k theme - broadly - in this post, but we switch game systems, returning once more to GW's re-booted Adeptus Titanicus. Now, let's look at some whacky guns for Titans, as well as some frustration, disappointment and fun with the gang at Forge World. 

Earlier this year I finished off some new Titans for the Loyalist side of my collection - including a new "Nemesis Warbringer" engine. That class of Titan chassis can mount Reaver-class-type weapons on its arms, but the main even on the Nemesis-class Titans is the big show up on top - a main weapon battery on a turntable-style mount. Naturally, there are options for the weapon mount. You get one that comes in the kit, and the other(s) available separately from GW and/of Forge World.

The mounting of the "Quake Cannon" on the carapace of the Nemesis Warbringer.

The Nemesis Titan model kit comes with one weapon option for the top mount - a "Quake Cannon". There are a number of components that come together to make not only the cannon itself, but the equipment to mount it - a turntable base, brackets etc. The rules allow for a second choice, however - a "Belicosa Volcano Cannon". It doesn't come in the model kit, but it was expected the GW or Forge World would make it available at a later time. That time came this past spring...as a keen collector of AT18 kit, I ordered a couple of them right away, so as to have these options for the Nemesis Titans in my collection. I'm such a dweeb.

The Belicosa Volcano Cannon from Forge World

I should have waited...

The Forge World bits. Note - I have assembled the cannon already (vain attempt to use). But this photo is more critical for what is not there - namely, the components you would need to actually mount the gun on the carapace of the Nemesis Warbringer Titan. And, of course, note how the resin cables snap in the package during shipping. F*ck resin.

Look, I generally love Forge World stuff. Yes, the prices are high. Yes, the resin can suck. But they make some pretty neat stuff, are generally very nice to deal with, and have perservered through difficult pandemic restrictions to try their best to keep serving customers - even releasing new stuff despite delays and challenges. I'm fortunate to have a fair selection of Forge World kit in my collection - especially my Horus Heresy 30k collection. I rant and rave, of course, as all passionate fans can, but I really do try and keep things in perspective. These are toys, after all, and they make toys I like. Every so often, there is a problem - does that really matter in the grand scheme of things?

With that said, on this specific item, they f**d this up. And I don't see how they would not have realized this, and they just did it anyway, and it is a piss off.

Some melodramatic fan rage...still, this was disappointing...

You see, Forge World made the Belicosa Volcano Cannon option for the Nemesis Titan...and did not provide enough of the parts to do the job! There is no weapon mount or turntable! In other words, this only works if you have not already built your model. I suppose it is possible, in theory, to magnetize the mounting...but still...just f*ck this. What a tw*t move. GW/Forge World has some form here - so this shouldn't be a huge shock. The joke is on me. Still, f*ck. 

What really winds me up is that they took the time to provide alternate components for every aspect of the weapon - including the "ammunition" (see "Fiddly Bits" below) - but still but NOT the turntable! FFS, come on! 

Anyway, I could not dis-assemble the Titan components I had already built...fortunately, there was an alternative...

The Vanguard Heavy Ordnance Energy Cannon

From Vanguard. Hey LOOK - a turntable!!! Just HAPPENS to fit on the Nemesis Warbringer Titan!!

There was a bit of a reaction to this on Forge World's Facebook page, as you might expect. The Commissars came along and purged most of it, but one poster shared a link to a solution - the "Heavy Ordnance Energy Cannon" from Vanguard Miniatures, and I was lucky to see this comment before it was deleted. Vanguard is a purveyor of cool sci-fi products in 3mm, 6mm and 15mm. It just happens that this specific item fits the weapon mount on the top of the Nemesis Warbringer Titan - a pure coincidence, no doubt!

Looks great painted up! You can see the Vanguard weapon on the left, and the Quake Cannon (from GW - comes with the Nemesis Kit) on the right.

You can compare - the Vanguard sculpt is a little leaner on details than the Forge World one - but it has a huge advantage in that you can actually use it. And I have to say, having assembled and painting it up, it looks pretty sharp on the Nemesis Titan IMO. The weapon you see in these photos is the one painted in the loyalist colours of Legio Gryphonicus, and I am painting another one up for the rebels of Legio Mortis.

Fits like a charm!

Looks great painted up, and fits in very nicely with the look of the Titan.

A view from the front...the big gun on top from Vanguard fits great.

Well done Vanguard!

The Fiddly Bits

 

WTF are those parts for?

Forge World...they don't provide the turntable, but they have battery-looking bits too...what are they?

OK, so I am ranting at Forge World and praising Vanguard here. But there is a lapse on my part as well - the fact is there is a lot more going on with the weapons on the carapace for the Nemesis Titans then I had really considered. I liked to think I knew all about the Titans, but clearly there are aspects of the Nemisis I did not understand.

Little did I realize that, in the big pile of boxy stuff on the back of the Nemesis Titan's carapace, there is a spot for "ammunition" for the Quake Cannon (or, I assume it is ammunition...it is a big boxy thing). If you opt to mount the Volcano Cannon, then one would swap out these "boxes" too - for a battery-type set up that suit the Belicosa. 

These components sit pretty awkwardly on the model. They are connected using a dry fit to the back of the Titan model. Personally, I think that dry fit would work more on faith than any actual belief that it would survive on the table as players move the Titans around. YMMV, but a dry fit here is not going to work.

Turns out those things go on this place on the Titan...something to watch for...I had glued these into place, but in theory, they can "dry fit". I hate dry fitting gaming models...all disclaimers apply.

All this to say to watch out when you are assembling your Nemesis Titan! If you want to be able to fully switch the carapace weapons, you need to make allowance not only for the gun itself, but for its ammunition supply/power source components.

Conclusion

The Forge World version of the Belicosa Volcano Cannon certainly looks nice - but if you have already built your Titans, it will be of no use to you (unless you heroically somehow knew what they would do, and managed to magnetize the relevant parts in precisely the right way). Perhaps you still have an un-opened kit on your shelf? If yes, this will validate your decision to hold off building it! But if you are like me, and you have already built one or more of these models, go get the Vanguard alternative to serve as your Belicosa Volcano Cannon.

If you have yet to build your own Nemesis Titan, you can consider the Forge World version of the Volcano Cannon - it would sure look nice! Maybe you could even manage the magnets so the turntable would work for either weapon. Dallas or Byron are smart enough that they could figure that out I suspect, and some other hobbyists out there have suggestions. It's not like it is impossible - but it is more complex than your average weapon-magnetizing work. And even if you do, remember you will need to consider the dry mount for the "ammunition" bits on the back of the Titan.

Anyway thanks for reading, and happy painting!