30k Imperial Fist Deredeo Dreadnought

"You are illegally parked on the Imperial Palace grounds - remove your vehicle at once, you have five seconds to comply."

Another walking bath tub with guns? You bet! This one sporting the worn and dirty yellow of the VII Legion Astartes, the Imperial Fists. Tactical support is nice, and heavy support is even better, but when it comes time to hold the walls of the Imperial Palace on Terra against hordes and hordes of traitors, the defenders need ways to materially increase their heavy-calibre-rapid-firing-weapons-per-pair-of-legs ratio - and the Deredeo Dreadnought is just the ticket! This is a resin model from Forge World.

A "problem solving platform" for the Imperial Fists.

I am a big fan of these whacky models, so the Sons of Horus got one first (naturally), and I had also done one up for the Alpha Legion, although it is now at a new home (or, maybe, that's just what the Alpha Legion WANTS you to think...). As part of this summer's build up of Imperial Fist forces, I thought this Deredeo - which has been primed and ready for action for well over a year (sigh) - would be a nice addition, as it brings serious firepower to the table.

How much ammo is in those cannisters? Probably not enough to do more than briefly delay the noble warriors of the Warmaster...

This was purchased years ago, part of my 30k-forever hoarding. As a resin model from Forge World, the sculpting is generally lovely, but the production quality can be uneven, and resin is, in general, just a shit medium for multi-part wargaming models. The ammo belts for the cannons are quite dramatic, of course, but require careful heating/bending and other hobby BS as part of the assembly. It is also a bit of a project to make sure the autocannon barrels are actually straight...

Autocannons, missle launchers, and a pair of heavy bolters - this thing is a walking fire platform of fun!

It was fun to learn that this model will now be coming out as a multi-part plastic kit! GW has, just this week, re-announced its intent to bring the plastic model to market (but has not yet given a date, because of course). For some of the longer-term Horus Heresy obsessives like myself, these moments of seeing the resin kits you hated building being released as plastic multi-part kits can create a brief moment of bittersweet hobby reflection, but I continue to be a huge fan of GW's "Age of Darkness" plastics, and I sure hope the momentum continues!  I look forward to adding another Deredeo - in plastic - when the time comes!

Ready for action on the gaming table. I'm sure it won't get killed on the first turn or anything.

So that is another model done - stay tuned for more, as (another) summer of 30k reinforcements continues! Thanks for reading.

30k Imperial Fists Tactical Support Squad

VII Legion tactical support squad from GW's "Age of Darkness" range.

The loyalists of my VII Legion Astartes collection continue to gather reinforcements, this time in the form of a tactical support squad armed with plasma guns. These are plastic multi-part figures from GW's Horus Heresy figure range, and the embossed shoulder symbols are from Forge World.

Officer and flunkies wield their effective-but-dangerous plasma guns.

The plasma gun is a classic Space Marine weapon, although its "looks cool" cachet has suffered with the introduction of the cool class of "volkite" weapons. Unfortunately for these warriors of Dorn, the Sons of Horus already scored the volkite calivers from my box of support weapons, so the Imperial Fists will have to rely on fire support from plasma guns - which are not that reliable thanks to the "gets hot" rule.

Another closer view of the squad, with the vox operator in view.

I tried to experiment with a glow effect for the plasma coils on the weapons. This did not go well at all...maybe next time? Oh well, still serviceable for the table, I hope. 

Closer photo of some of the Marines.

Another closer shot, showing the sergeant this time.

I am trying to recall when the whole "gets hot" rule first intruded on 40k/30k...maybe third edition? Maybe it was cute at first, or cute-ish, but it grew into one of the worst rules to plague the game. The idea that a weapon which renders a notable proportion of its own operators into casualties would be deployed widely in any way is risible - not because the Imperium cares about the lives of its soldiers (it does not, so long as they properly sacrificed for The Emperor) but because it is a very ineffective tool. Yet, depressingly, "gets hot" has survived edition after edition, even as other rules have come and gone. 

Ready for a doomed defence...

Anyway, assuming these Marines do not blow themselves up, these plasma guns will provide very effective fire support for their VII legion colleagues. After all, the plasma guns do punch through Astartes armour very well. But we all know a number of them will end up as casualties thanks to their own misfiring weapons - and so the defenders of Terra will need to deploy these tools carefully!   

Citadel "Fellowship of the Ring" BME1 from 1985!

Well I do love me some old Citadel models, and their Lord of the Rings range from the mid-1980s has a special appeal. Don't get me wrong, I also love the newer LotR "movie range" models from the early 2000s till now, but the old chunky Citadel style really gets me where I live. They're oh-so-characterful and easy to paint too!

I already had an old Frodo Baggins in the cabinet so some time ago I decided to acquire the rest of the Fellowship. These models comprise the BME1 set (minus Aragorn, Boromir and Frodo) and were all procured via ebay... despite being long OOP they're not that hard to find or expensive, thankfully!

 

First up, Legolas... I really like this sculpt. Unfortunately the metal ferrule at the bottom of the bow shaft had broken off so a cack-handed greenstuff repair has to suffice.

 

I finished the model in earthtones and think it turned out OK.

Gimli son of Groin Gloin!

Sam Gamgee. This is a pretty good model. I love the walking stick.

And all the pots and pans of course!

Merry and Pippin! Can never tell which is which.

Little packhorses aren't they!

Gandalf. The Gandalf models from the old range are great, really iconic and representative of the popular image of a "wizard".

And Bill the pony!

I didn't take a ton of time painting Bill, you may be able to tell. Packhorses are a pretty low priority for my painting desk tbh.

And the catalog page from the Third Citadel Compendium. I guess Merry and Pippin are identifiable this way :-)

Still missing Frodo, Aragorn and Boromir from this set. I don't really feel a need to paint a Frodo because I have already done one from the Citadel ME range. Aragorn looks pretty cool but I prefer the Boromir model that came from the "Moria and the Balrog" set (that model is pretty pricey though). Anyway I have Aragorn and Boromir from the modern range (inasmuch as you can call 20+ year old models "modern") so there's no rush on that.

Hope you enjoyed the trip down the Middle Earth memory lane!
 

Kromlech Confession Machine

On my last trip to the glorious Meeplemart I picked up a lot of hobby things... some of them were even for myself. Of of the things I got was this neat 28mm "Confession Machine" from Kromlech. It's a laser-cut MDF kit you put together yourself.

 

Lots of parts in the kit too, assembly was relatively straightforward with only a couple of tricky parts. It took probably a couple hours to assemble, using mostly white glue but some superglue for parts with tenuous attachments.

Painting was pretty simple as well - basecoat with dark grey and highlighting upwards from there; the brass bits are GW Brass Scorpion highlighted Retributor Gold.

The front of the cage is removable as shown below...

Interior of the machine. It's big enough to hold a 28mm model on a 25mm base with no problem. Probably should weather that cage bottom.

The detail is pretty cool, I like the scriptural detail and the iconography for where to put your hands.

Here's a shot showing scale with some Inquisitorial retinue figures.

And with one of the Sisters of Battle. All of these folks are presumably big Confession Machine enthusiasts!

"[With] billions of sinners [in the Imperium]... Imperial preachers [were] called upon [to create] machines capable of determining the guilt and punishment of those not obeying the Emperor's credo. Raised next to the walkways of [city] skyscrapers, automatic confession machines are programmed to detect every dark thought, scanning Imperial citizens for mutation and corruption within.

If the victim inside is found guilty, the adamantium gate closes and furnace fire begins to rage. [A] few seconds later, ashes are scattered by vents on top, and [the]gate opens, welcoming [the] next law-abiding citizen..."  

The proofreader of that blurb likely should have been incinerated in a confession machine themselves, but in any case it's a pretty cool piece of 40K scatter terrain. It was pretty fun to build and paint as well.
 

Steel Legion Stormtroopers

 Every Imperial Guard army needs a squad of stormtroopers. I was fortunate to have a full squad of 3rd edition metal stormtroopers for my Cadian army, so naturally I needed one for the new steel legion. I wanted to use the old metal Kasrkin models and managed to source the Sargent, 7 regular dudes and one of each of the 4 special weapons off eBay. The backpacks were all included, but only the plasma gunner had his actual “special” backpack. EBay sellers are such dickheads! Luckily I have a box full of bits, a saw and a lot of glue. I managed to replicate a backpack for the flamer, grenade launcher and meltagun. I painted the squad up in the standard GunSchwarm colour scheme. 

GW has since come out with new plastic Kasrkin. From what I can tell, GW increased the scale of the new models and I don’t think they would have looked right next to the metal steel legion models. The old Kasrkin fit right in.

Thanks for visiting.

30k Imperial Fist Heavy Support Squad

Some heavy support for the Imperial Fists.

Even more loyalist reinforcements rolling off the painting table! Here we have a Space Marine heavy support squad, equipped with Mark VI "beakie" power armour and armed with lovely "shark fin" style missile launchers. They are painted in the colours of the VII Legion Astartes, the Imperial Fists. 

Heavy firepower for the defence of Terra.

Heavy support squads are just another wonderful flavour of whackiness for GW's "Age of Darkness" game. Why have just one guy with a heavy weapon when you can have five? In fact, the squads can be even larger, up to 10 marines, but I thought five would do for now. Even five missile launchers will be sure to put a hole in SOMETHING, and this will notably improve the anti-tank firepower of my Imperial Fist Age of Darkness collection.

The launcher is very, very loyal to the look of the missile launchers from the original RTB01 box.

I just love the "beakie" Marines, and I am also a huge fan of the classic look GW went with for these weapons. The "shark fin" style of missile launcher is familiar to all fans of the Rogue Trader-era 40k game, and it is very fun to have these classic looking missile launchers running around on the table for the current version of the game. 

Love the retro-look on these models!

As before, these were not the easiest models to assemble, but one should apply a disclaimer to my opinion here, as I am not a gifted model builder...normal, patient people will get through it all without much trouble, or certainly mush less frustration, than I encountered. I will note, however, that a couple of the components are REALLY small, and caution is recommended so as to not have them fall off your hobby table and disappear forever in, oh, I don't know, a grey carpet, or a grey floor...f***!

Squad sergeant receives coordinates for his squad's next target...

So that is all for now, but I continue working away at loyalist reinforcements for my collection, so watch this space for either more Imperial Fists, or some of their allies...or perhaps even a sudden corrective of additional reinforcements for the Warmaster? Anything is possible...thanks for reading, and I hope you are having a great summer. 

30k Imperial Fist Command & Banner

Imperial Fist Command Squad - models from GW and Forge World.

Here we come with more loyalist reinforcements for GW's "Age of Darkness"! Here we have a command group painted in the colours of the VII Legion Astartes, the Imperial Fists. The figures are a mix of generations in terms of GW's 30k figure line - the commander and standard bearer are relatively old sculpts from Forge World, while the two body guard figures are plastic Marines from the new plastic Mark VI "beakie" range, with custom resin bits from Forge World.

Nice sword. Fancy armour. Bolt pistol. Tabard. This fellow is ready to defend terra!

Another view of the VII Legion officer, wearing Mark IV platre.

Anachronistic silliness like taking a big flag into battle is, for me, part of the "charm" for GW, and I like to have standard bearers painted for all of the Legions in my collection. Rogal Dorn's lads are exactly the sort, IMO, to want to have a banner to rally around while they stand up on whatever wall they have just built. 

BIG FLAG. A "must" for all 30k armies, in my opinion! Thank goodness for the Forge World decal sheet, which really came in handy for the banner.

Here we can get a bit of a look at the Marine peaking out from behind his great, big banner.

So. Much. Yelow. But here you can see more of the wonderful detail on the armour - and his lovely mace, ideal for bashing disloyal traitors!

This Forge World command set, designed specific for the VII Legion, has a nice look with custom Mark IV armour plate. You have a command figure (a Centurion, but really, can stand in as any one of a variety of different heroes or "consuls" available to Space Marines in the game) and a standard bearer, both sporting fancy armour with assorted patterns and legion symbols embossed on different spots.

A view of "The Chosen", the other base component of a Legion Astartes command squad. These are plastic Mark VI marines, with resin heads and shoulder pads from Forge World.

Again, my brush struggled to capture some of the details on the armour. Part of the issue is, well, still having room to improve when it comes to brush skills. But part of the challenge is also the fact that GW's newer "Agrax Earthshade" formulation is just awful, very hard to use for recess washes, with very uneven results (with a finish that is glossy as f*ck to boot). I want very much to find a replacement, but have yet to find one that works. Oh well. 

The Space Marine command squad also includes "chosen", functionally bodyguards. For these, I wanted to get back to the Mark VI plastics, thought they made good subjects for some of the custom Imperial Fist heads that Forge World released for the newer Mark VI kits. I still very much prefer the "beakie" helmet, but I do find these particular helmets appear "snooty" enough to imply some manner of extra status for their bearers. These are command squad flunkies acting as ablative armour battle-hardened bodyguards for the standard bearer and the officer, and the custom helmets match, roughly, the look of the Mark IV helmets on the officer and standard bearer.

The whole gang one more time...

My Imperial Fists now have a decent collection of command and/or command-adjacent flunkies - all worthy targets for the bolters of the Warmaster's finest! These fellows should look very nice - whether they are getting picked off from the top of one of Rogal Dorn's dumb walls or simply stomped under because they were caught out in an ambush en route to one of Rogal Dorn's dumb walls. That is all for this post - thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more yellow-armoured reinforcements in the near future!