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!

Sci-Fi Terrain - GW's Crashed Shuttle

Crashed Aquila Lander and pilot from GW's "Battle for Macragge" Box Set - FINALLY painted after years, and years, and years...

Another overdue finished project from the late summer to share - here is a crashed shuttle, along with pilot. This model of the wreckage, and the pilot, are plastic sci-fi terrain from GW's 40k setting. The shuttle is a crashed version of the Imperial "Aquila Lander" (a flyer model that was, at one time, available from Forge World, although I think it is gone now). 

Rear section - one engine has detached.

Another view of the smashed components.

This terrain set is quite old...it came from a box set called "The Battle for Macragge". This was back in the time of 40k's 4th Edition...which was quite a while ago - and back in a time before GW issued a new 40k edition every other year. The box set included Tyranids and Ultramarines - neither were of interest to me at the time, but I do remember seeing the crashed shuttle and the pilot, and thinking they were cool. Downed craft and pilots always make for great scenarios, and I thought it would be great to have these items for my collection. I went to eBay (remember, this was a long time ago) and just ordered the bits for the downed shuttle. I recall at the time regretting that I did not get the pilot...just the downed shuttle...but I never did follow up to get the pilot.

"Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing - right?"

The eBay order arrived promptly, and I promptly...did nothing with it. Unpainted miniatures and models are a fun thing to joke about, but wow, did this ever sit. For years. I am terrible when it comes to painting terrain. Just terrible. I think this thing was sitting in my pile for like...13 years? Something insane like that. I would come across the bits, determine that I would paint them, them promptly get distracted by something else. At the same time, I would never throw the components away either...in fact, they moved house with me in a primed, unpainted state - TWICE. Sheesh.

Another view of the pilot...probably hoping to scavenge something else from the wreckage...

So, it's 2021, and I have had the crashed shuttle bits primed, but not painted, for more than 10 years. A participant in Curt's Painting Challenge named Stuart L posted a submission which included a copy of the pilot figure from the Macragge box set. I made a comment about how I wished I had picked up the pilot figure back when I had the chance all those years ago. A few weeks later, totally out of the blue, a small package shows up in the mail - from Stuart L himself, and inside was a spare copy of the pilot figure!

This was a rather solemn signal from the hobby gods. So I painted the pilot, then dug out the crashed shuttle, and finally painted it too. Here are the components, completed at last.

Some detail on the front section. Many similarities on the nose design between the Aquila Lander and the more common Valkyries.

Most of the port side wing assembly is still attached...emphasis on the word "most"...

GW really does do a great job on their terrain, and there are many neat terrain kits and models out there. Several continue to...sit on my shelf, as I promise myself I will paint them one day (hello Void Shield Generator box). I wish I wasn't so useless at getting terrain painted, but this shows that I can, in fact, get it done - it is more than a theory! Hopefully it will inspire more terrain work later this year.

The crashed shuttle terrain and the pilot nice addition to my collection. Useful as an objective, or just an extra model/piece of table flavour for a scenario. Anyway, a BIG thank you to Stuart for the generous gift - I hope he sees this blog post. I also hope this terrain can be part of a 30k or 40k game with friends some day - the hobby spirits among these bits will add a bit of extra fun, I expect. 

That's all for now - cheers!

August Projects

It's been a few weeks since anything's been posted, which is failry typical of August. I haven't been idle however and I wanted to show some of the things I've completed / been working on. First up is the Arachnus Heavy Lascannon Bettery for the Deredeo Dreadnough for 30k. Greg was kind enough to entrust me with his 30k Alpha Legion prior to his move to Toronto. This included a Deredeo Dreadnought with weapon arms fully magnetized! I decided to up gun the dread and picked up the heavy lascannon battery from Forge World. It's a higher strength lascannon for taking on pesky loyalist tanks, which my Imperial Fists have a few of. The magnets lined up failry well and my paint job blends in ok with Greg's I think.

Next up is a Land Raider conversion I built for a yet specified 30k legion. The kit is the standard Land Raider from GW. The tracks, side sponsons and top plate are from Blood & skulls Industry. The kit serves as a replacement for the top hull plate and tracks of the land raider to make it fit with the 30k vehicle asthetic. It's well thought out and mostly fits together smoothly with the plastic kit. The only issue I ran into was that the wrap arount tracks left a space that was too narrow to fill with a single link of the tracks. I had to shave down two track pieces to make them fit. It came out fairly well and you can't really tell the difference. It should be noted that this is not a "cheaper" option unless you already have a land raider sitting around. It is cool though and worth getting if you feel comfortable sorting out the track issue. Don't expect this to be painted in the near future, I just wanted to show off the build!

In non-GW gaming, I picked up Stargrave when it came out and it's got me raiding my bitz box and pile of shame for appropriate figures for crew and creatures. I located a suitable figure to represent a bounty hunter who periodically appears during a game and hunts one of your crew. The model is from Copplestone Castings.

Finally, I completed a bunch more Battle Fleet Gothic stuff. I have two more cruisers and a squadron of frigates from Vanguard Miniatures for my Imperial Fleet. These are resin and require very little cleanup. I really like his stuff and I hope he branches off into chaos stuff at some point. I also received a bunch of ships from fellow conscript, John C. He had a bunch of models from the predecessor of BFG, Spacefleet. They're solid peweter and placing them on a plastic flight stand was a bit tricky. I have no idea how long these models languished on John's shelf, but BFG was new when I was in High School and Spacefleet was before that, so long enough I guess. I painted them up so quickly that I forgot two of them on my shelf! I refuse to let them linger for another 20+ years and promise to paint them ASAP. These ships will be used as transports and troop carriers for BFG games.

Well that's it for summer 2021! They don't last long in Canada and I can already feel the chill in the air. Hope everyone stays healthy and hopefully we can game this fall/winter.

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.