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!

Contemptor Dreadnought for 30k Raven Guard

Contemptor Dreadnought for the XIX Legion - model from Forge World.

No surprise here with this posting - some more 30k work from the painting desk. This is a Contemptor Dreadnought, with bespoke features for the XIX Legion Astrates, the Raven Guard. This is a resin model from Forge World - a gift, in fact, given years ago! I am shamefully slow at painting figures and models I receive as gifts - I don't know why, but I am. I came across this model - assembled, primed, although damaged during the move - while rummaging around my 30k "pending pile" earlier this summer. Since it had been so long since receiving this gift, and since I had not added reinforcements to my small assortment of 30k Raven Guard since May of 2016 (five years ago!), I thought it was time to get it finished.

Raven imagery and inconography on the dreadnought frame.

Over the years Forge World has released bespoke Contemptor Dreadnought hulls for each of the Legions who participated in the Horus Heresy (these are hard to come by on their somewhat barren web site these days). The Raven-themed imagery can be seen on the torso, legs and shoulders - very nicely sculpted, lines up well with the look and feel of the XIX Legion. For weapons I picked a power fist/kheres-pattern combo - pretty common selection, but it is a good mix for the dreadnought to use on the battlefield.

The good ol' power fist, useful for smashing all sorts of things.

The non-carbon-neutral power system for the dreadnought frame.

In addition to the slow journey to the painting table, this model has another kind of entertaining quirk - if you look closely, you will see this fellow has two right hips! Not a big problem, given the modular nature of these Forge World Contemptor models. I tried to hide it by posing the model with some motion...not sure I was successful, but at least it looks a lot more lively than the wooden pose of the plastic Contemptor kit from the old "Betrayal at Calth" box set.

Ready to seek vengeance for the events of Istvaan V....

I'm sure my 30k Raven Guard figures, having languished for years without receiving any new kit, will be pleased to get some reinforcements. They might even dare to hope for more...we'll see where my brushes turn next this summer. Thanks for reading, and take care everyone! 

Primaris Lieutenant for Raven Guard

The (relatively) new(ish) Primaris Lieutenant from GW.

Here is a "Primaris Lieutenant" from GW's new range of Space Marines for Warhammer 40k. This is a "28mm" plastic figure from GW, sporting a shoulder icon from Pop Goes The Monkey. This figure comes from the "Indomitus" box set, released last year to go along with (yet another - the 9th, I think) version of the Warhammer 40k rules. It was an interesting effort, released in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I picked up a box from the FLGS here in Sault Ste Marie last summer.

Skulls on the shield? But of course! You can also see the nice shoulder emblem from Pop Goes The Monkey.

The Indomitus box includes quite a haul of plastic multi-part goodies - you get a number of new "Primaris" Space Marines, and quite an assortment of Necron bad guys as well. While my own personal painting interests tend toward 30k more than 40k when it comes to GW, my curiousity was piqued at the time - and I painted up a small assortment of Primaris Marines last summer and fall.

The Indomitus box takes the evolution/replacement of GW's Space Marine lineup further along, with new officers, a new brand of basic troop type, some new elite-types, bike-riding Marines and some other characters. Overall, the Marine figures are pretty interesting, with the possible exception of the "Judiciar", who looks like a LARP-reject who has been kicked out of his parents' basement. 

"Sure, I'm carrying a power sword that is like half-a-metre long, but still, take THAT!"

In particular, the Marine elites/officers in this box have a bit of a pseudo-medieval touch to them...there are tabards, swords, relic bits and big shields. And skulls and skeletons of course :) This Lieutenant figure is an example of all of these aspects...he has a tabard, a huge sword, a fancy shield and lots of trinkets and purity seals etc. For all that, it should be noted that he still has a nice gun too...a "neo-volkite pistol" - nice to see the 30k volkite weapons getting a shout-out in the new edition of 40k.

Lots of character on this character figure. Fun to paint.

Most Indomitus fans have already painted all of their Indomitus box set miniatures. Me? Well, having had the Indomitus box for a year, I thought it was time to finally paint at least ONE of the miniatures inside, so I put him together a couple weeks ago. I have to say, he was fun to paint! I also have to vouch for the stuff from "Pop Goes The Monkey" - there a lot of great accessories available there, with many that will work perfectly with the new "Primaris" marines. It was great to be able to slap a Raven Guard icon on the shoulder guard of this figure - looks so much better than a decal, especially considering all of the other schwag/flare this fellow is carrying around. 

One thing I learned is that I need some new white paints...you can see the finish on the helmet and shield looks pretty streaky/chalky...something to sort out over the summer, as I slowly assemble more figures from the Indomitus box and get them ready for painting. I haven't even decided if I will paint the others as Raven Guard figures, or something else...who knows? Something for my hobby brain to worry away about.

Thanks for visiting - hope you are somewhere the COVID restrictions are able to be relaxed!

40k Raven Guard Officer and Standard Bearer

Space Marine Lieutenant and Standard Bearer for the Raven Guard chapter.

One last bit of 40k-themed painting to share from this summer at the cabin - a couple of command figures to lead the little unit of Raven Guard Space Marines - an officer and a "Company Ancient", more obviously known "Space Marine carrying chapter banner". 

Both guns ready!

I generally dislike Space Marine figures who are not wearing their helmets - after all, space is dangerous, The Emperor spent a lot of money creating you, so wear your damn helmet! But leaving the helmet IS an easy way to single out commanders, and in this case the helmet was already cast on to the figure's belt, so I didn't bother trying to convert it. 

Helmet clipped to the belt line on the armour.

Bolt pistol at the ready. I also tried to put some detail on his little "comms unit" built into his wrist. 

Besides, even without the helmet, he still looks scary and imposing, and I have to say I really like the sculpt a lot. He's got his bolt rifle AND bolt pistol handy for action...don't mess with him. 

Skulls and purity seals...all of the things that make for a good banner to inspire a Space Marine unit. 

The detachment is small, but it is still important enough to have a banner! In the grim darkness of the far future, nobody will take your terrifying, power-armoured, genetically-enhanced super warriors SERIOUSLY unless they BRING A FLAG, right? Of course! I know the banners are nuts, but I love the whole idea of it, so naturally had to have one for these fellows. 

Not much to see behind the banner, but he still has all of the usual Space Marine bits (power pack, bolt pistol, etc.)

And he doesn't just carry the flag! He's ready to shoot things with his bolt rifle  as needed.

There are a lot of decals on these figures, and I was glad I still had my 30k decal sheet for the Raven Guard Legion from Forge World, as the otherwise available decals are not that inspiring, to say the least. The Forge World decal sheets cost an arm and a leg, of course (everything from Forge World does, after all), but wow, they are a great resource. 

40k Raven Guard so far...nice little summer project. 

So the painting pace was pretty slow this summer - but to take part in some small 40k skirmishes, the Raven Guard can now put a small detachment into the battle line. Who knows when that will be? Here's hoping one of those COVID vaccines makes the mark soon...

Thanks for reading - have a great long weekend and stay safe. 

40k Space Marine Eliminators

Space Marine Eliminators for the Raven Guard Chapter. Plastic figures from GW. 

Giant armoured space troopers with terrifying laser-sniper rifles? Sounds great! And GW's got you covered. The 40k painting parade from the summer at the cabin continues. This is a unit of Space Marine "Eliminators", and it looks like they are well-equipped to live up to their name.  

Taking a careful aim in the name of The Emperor...

The decal is glossy...these figures will get a spray of dullcote when the humidity moves on this fall. 

Of course, when you think of a "sniper", you think of concealment and stealth too, and these models try to invoke that with big cloaks and extra terrain pieces you can add to the bases. Personally, I think the idea that 8-foot-tall genetically-enhanced warriors wearing massive power armour "sneaking" around anywhere is kind of ludicrous, but I do like the idea of Space Marine "marksmen" with terrifying rifles. It's a cool sci-fi concept, these guys dealing well-aimed shots, sowing confusion, even damaging enemy vehicles, while the tactical squads move in to finish things off and wrap up The Emperor's business.   

I particularly love the rifles...the huge scopes, the power coils...all over-the-top, all entertaining.

I tried to throw a bit of a pseudo-camouflage pattern on the cape...but I wanted the cape to match the armour, not the actual terrain, as I don't consider huge power-armoured space marines really needing "camouflage"...by the time the Space Marines are involved, the time for "camouflage" is long past...

And these weapons are scary! These figures are carrying a "las-fusil", a rifle that will hit very, very hard and I like the bonkers, over-the-top look of these weapons.

Another whacky feature...the scope is wired directly to the eye-piece...again, bonkers and over the top - I like it!

Ready to take a shot...

These models are very nice to work with. Again, you have choices of different variants of rifles you can equip the figures with. My minor quibble would be the fact the shoulder plates are often concealed, so you cannot use the shoulder plates embossed with the chapter symbol, and to the extent they are visible, you need to use the decals. But these are minor quibbles...again, fun multi-part plastic figures.

Thanks for reading - stay safe everyone!   

40k Primaris Hellblasters for Raven Guard

Unleash...hell, I suppose? More recruits for the Raven Guard - "Hellblasters".

More recruits for my small force of Raven Guard Space Marines - these are Primaris "Hellblasters", multi-part plastic figures from Games Workshop. As with the other Raven Guard I have painted recently for 40k, they are embellished with parts and decals from the Raven Guard Primaris Upgrade set from GW. 

A little blurry in the photo...lighting at the cabin is not ideal for photos...

These Hellblasters provide specialized heavy fire support for the Space Marine infantry.  You can pick from three different types of plasma incinerators - one that allows for more mobile firepower, a "standard" variant, or a version that hits a little harder but slows the Marines down. Whichever you choose, I think these primarily would be useful against other very heavy infantry, as the guns themselves are of limited use against vehicles (in that classic GW paradox, they have a very high strength but cause very few "wounds" - have I mentioned how stupid it is that vehicles have "wounds" again? Grumble grumble whatever...). 

This one is a little less blurry...get a better impression of the scary "Plasma Incinerator". 

As with the Intercessors, these multi-part plastics from GW are top-shelf quality, with lots of bits that let you add some interesting variety to the poses while still keeping the same overall "we're here to blast you to pieces" look to the unit. If you like Space Marines, I think you will find something to enjoy with these kits. The whole "story" behind the Primaris Marines does absolutely nothing for me, but just in terms of being something different, well, these are fun. 

I used some spare 30k "destroyer" decals for the hip plates - I thought it matched up well with the scary weapons. 

Assorted pistol holsters, spare weapon components, and the fellow on the left is carrying a bone in a little icon box - because that is what you do when you are wearing power armour and a huge plasma gun. 

I do have one gripe about these specific figures...the "wide stance" of the models. Relentless scale creep is a piss-off, but it is also a fact of the hobby. With these Hellblasters you end up with several figures who can barely fit on the 32mm round bases. I HATE when toes go over the base! It was not that long ago that GW bumped up the size of the bases for the Marines in order to accommodate them...and already they are stepping off (look at the officer in this squad, for example)...irritating. 

But while that is annoying, also very small potatoes...overall these were fun to paint. I look forward to the day where they can take to the table and...immediately be shot to pieces, because that is what happens to newly painted figures! But once that is out of the way, I hope they will render the enemies of The Emperor down to flaming remnants of their component atoms...

"Sure, I have this giant plasma weapon...but I shall blast you with this trusty pistol instead..."

I like the little options in these kits...here we see a bionic arm, little Raven Guard-themed charms hanging from the shoulder pauldron, and of course a little scroll certifying his loyalty to The Emperor.  

There are 10 of these in a box, so I still have five more of these models to paint - another unit. I may give them the heavier version of the plasma incinerator when I get around to building and painting them. But these five fellows are enough to join in a firefight for now. 

Thanks for reading - hope you are safe and well wherever you are!

More 40k Primaris Marines for the Raven Guard

Another group of Intercessors for the Raven Guard.

Here is another small, five-model squad of Raven Guard Space Marines for GW's Warhammer 40k setting. As with the batch in the previous post, they Primaris "Intercessors", but they carry a different variant of the bolt rifle - these Marines are carrying the "auto bolt rifle", a slightly-higher-rate-of-fire assault variant of the weapon.

Officer pointing at something to be...appreciated? No...probably something to be shot - in the name of The Emperor, of course. 

Marine with an auto-bolt-rifle, upgraded with an attached grenade launcher...the only "heavy weapon", it seems, that you can add to these squads (at least for now). 

As with the previous squad, the Sergeant is wearing a "beakie" style helmet, and all of the Marines are sporting embossed shoulder plates featuring the Raven Guard symbol. These shoulder plates came from Chapter-specific upgrade kits.

The plastic Primaris Intercessor marine kits lend themselves to these kinds of ominous and forward-moving poses. 

Trusty bolt pistol on the hip, and classic-style "tactical" marker on the shoulder plate.

The bolt rifle looks great, and this version of it, with the large, drum-type magazine, is probably my favourite version of these newer weapons. These plastic multi-part kits are very well done - GW at its best.

I really like how this pose came out...looks ready to lay down some heavy covering fire.

View of the rear, showing the assorted pouches you can add to the Marines. 

As with the previous bunch, these fellows are looking a little glossy thanks to the varnish undercoat I apply underneath any decals in order to prevent silvering effects. The gloss will disappear after a spray of Testors Dullcote, but that won't happen until it's safe to do so once the humidity recedes.  Given that we are at the end of August in Canada, that shouldn't be long now!

Thanks for reading, and stay safe!

30k Battle Report - Travel Woes for Horus' Herald

The elite of the XIX Legion await the followers of Horus...

We played a small game of 30k last week at Dallas' place.  The scenario imagined the Herald of the Warmaster was out making the rounds in some Imperial system, trying to put the facts straight about just what really happened in the Isstvan system - "Ignore the liberal bias in the mainstream news and astro-telepath channels! What can you expect from a publicly-funded and taxpayer-subsidized broadcaster like the Astronomican? They should just call it the Astronomiscam!" He had just completed a public appearance and was en route to his next stop when his party was waylaid by a hodge-podge assortment of loyalist bandits and Horus Denialists. Battle ensued!!

The table at turn one - the Rebel forces are deployed along the bottom of the photo, and would enter via that table edge.  Their objective was to drop of the Herald of the Warmaster at the shuttle landing pad on the top left of the photo. Easy peasy, right? WRONG!

A Slurm machine waits at the base of the landing pad to refresh thirsty shuttle crews

The Sons of Horus had to punch through the loyalist battle line in order to get the Herald of the Warmaster to his shuttle on time so he could make his next public appearance! The escort certainly had the tools to do the job - a Land raider, two dreadnoughts, three Rhino APCs and an assortment of fun infantry (breacher marines, tactical support marines and a seeker squad). What could possibly go wrong?

Deadly Mor Deythan strike team prepares to take their shots

Blood Drinkers with Volkite Calivers prepare a warm welcome

Dallas did such a great job on this Land Raider - always great to see it on the table. Have to say, however, it is much more fun when I manage to kill it

The loyalist cordon was thin, in my estimation.  It had small elements from three different Legions, representing, to our minds, small detachments of survivors and detached-duty forces coming together to try and strike where they can to slow the Warmaster's gains.  Whatever rivalries or jealousies which may have existed between these Legions no longer matter to these guys - what matters is finding a way to fight back! So tragic they could not channel this misplaced energy toward some constructive hope and change along with the Warmaster...

There were two small Mor Deythan squads from the Raven Guard, a tactical support squad, heavy support squad, a dreadnought, Land Raider, a laser destroyer on a tracked chassis from the Blood Drinkers company of the Ninth Legion, and a veteran squad of Space Wolves.  An odd assortment of desperate and delusional warriors clinging to the existence of their so-called "Emperor".

Seeker Squad moving out.  In the end all they would "seek" out was how to be ground into powder...

Seeker squad on the move, covered by the twin Kheres cannons of a Contemptor Mortis dreadnought...man those things are deadly...

It was a pretty small cordon - I doubted they were going to stop the Warmaster's Herald.  But in the grim darkness of the far future, it can be a b*tch to connect with your next flight...

Loyalists move a Land Raider forward, and the cowardly pro-"Emperor" fools of course lurk in its shadow...

Legionnaire "Davey Crockett" and a dreadnought ready to blast away at the Sons of Horus...this little cannon would take out my Land Raider - F@##!!!!

Dallas and Indo took command of the loyalist side, while Mike F and I went with the devout and correct followers of the Warmaster.  I was pretty confident.  I mean, what could happen? Lose our Land Raider on the first turn to an amazing shot from the laser destroyer? How likely is that?

*cough*

Sooo, anyway, it was not a smooth execution on the Rebels' part.  No matter the efforts of our Kheres-pattern autocannons, plasma cannons, or Mike's hard-fighting breacher marines, our task force ended up as junk!

Starts to look ugly in the middle - note the crater at the top of the photo, where the Sons of Horus Land Raider once stood...without it the Rhinos were kind of screwed...

A clash of Contemptor Dreadnoughts! Who would walk away the victor? Note the fallen breacher marine officer to the bottom left of the photo...

The Loyalists systematically took us apart, and without our Land Raider, it was rather tough going.  Sure, we pounded on a few units here and there, but overall we basically walked into a meat grinder - with the Space Wolves in particular extracting a rough toll, even if they lost quite a few squad members in the process.  Mike's breachers and dreadnought made the most progress (getting bashed to pieces for their trouble). The Herald didn't make the shuttle.  He didn't even make it out of his Rhino!

Not ones to wait around, the Space Wolf veterans charge straight at the Rhinos...a series of Krak grenades would sort the vehicles out before long...

Oh man - Horus is going to the pretty pissed that his Herald has been kidnapped by loyalist Legiones Astrates pro-"Emperor" terrorists.  I think the mission to recover him could make for an excellent scenario next time we play 30k. In a fit of pique, I can see Horus calling in some Alpha Legion troops to carry out the rescue, while he vents extreme displeasure at the flunkies in his own XVI Legion.

Alpha Legion on a rescue job. What could go wrong? I'm already looking forward to that!

Big thank you to Dallas for hosting, and to Mike and Indo for coming out to play.  Thanks also to Dallas for providing most of these photos. Somehow I seem to take fewer photos when the Sons of Horus are getting creamed...