Painting Challenge Submission #7 - Thousand Sons Detachment for Epic 30k

A detachment of Thousand Sons Space Marines ready to deploy to an Epic30k gaming table

This submission to the AHPC contains - surprise! - more Space Marines. Once again they are from the XV Legion Astartes - but we leave 28nm behind - these are little 6mm chaps! All of these are plastic figures from Games Workshop's "Legions Imperialis" game range. The assorted elements portrayed here include a high-command stand, two units of tactical marines, a small group of tactical support marines, and Rhino APCs to haul the lot of them. They are supported by a group of "Tarantula"-type automated weapon turrets and some assorted dreadnoughts. 

High-command base with a hero, flunkies - and their own Rhino to ride around in.

Sylvain, our Wednesday Minion, is quite the master of 6mm painting and basing, and each Painting Challenge I enjoy seeing the material expansions to his massive historical 6mm collections. Inspired by Sylvain's tremendous small-scale work I thought it would be good to continue with efforts to expand my own 6mm Horus Heresy collection during this edition of the AHPC. 

A tactical squad - 20 little marines and a pair of APCs to transport them.

These miniatures are for "Legions Imperialis", a specialist-type game released by GW a couple of year ago. It is meant to be a re-boot of the old-time "Epic" game, a truly classic and fun set of rules from GWs older 1990s/early 2000s era. Indeed, the GW studio has often demonstrated an ability to release some really outstanding rules over the years. The state of the 40k rules has ranged from "difficult" to today's "unplayable", but games like Epic/Space Marine, Battlefleet Gothic, Warmaster, Space Hulk and others were creative, fun, engaging and fantastic. The more recent re-boot of "Adeptus Titanicus" had a few issues, but was, in general, outstanding! I had high hope for this game when it was (at last) re-released...

Tactical squad number two...looking a lot like the other one because...well...they have the same kit and same ride :)

Sadly, "Legions Imperialis" did not live up to the legacy of the 90s/2000s specialist games studio. The rollout of the game was a complete fiasco. The "Legions Imperialis" rules themselves are deeply disappointing and highly excremental. They are poorly written and generally very bad even once you "understand" them. One run through the game will be more than enough for most folks.  

Tactical support Marines sporting plasma guns - and, naturally, their own APC!

Yet, even while the rules are trash, the miniatures for the game are just excellent! Small, of course, and with a number of fiddly bits that will easily disappear into ANY carpet...but they are just great! Wonderful little tributes to the Horus Heresy, each of them! These things are just great IMO. 

Was it a bit of a process to get there with the models? Yes. At first, I was concerned that there had been a "re-scaling"...but the effect, especially for the infantry, has been slight-to-nothing. There are also some tricky models...some of the infantry bits are two-piece kits, and all of the vehicles have very small components. I struggle with this...but odds are, you won't. I am not a very good model-builder - have always been "average" at best. My frustration with that aspect is an outlier...I might suck with these, but you'll do fine.

"Tarantula" automated turrets - these can be left to cover objectives etc. while the Marines themselves head to deal with matters requiring personal attention...

Sane hobbyists would just speed paint these things, I suppose. I find I cannot...rather, I paint these little guys in batches of two and three infantry or vehicles at a time, in no particular rush. I amazed at the level of details the sculptors managed to place on them all, and I like to make an effort to catch it (even if that effort often comes up short). The results in a tremendously slow/plodding pace to my accumulation of completed units with which to expand my collection, but that doesn't worry me too much.  

"Contemptor" type dreadnoughts - mix of fire-support and close action help for the Marines.

"Deredeo" type dreadnoughts - lots and lots of firepower here.

So if the rules are hot garbage, why bother with the figures? Well, the good news is that great rules ALREADY existed with which to use these models - namely "Epic: Armageddon" and its fan-made 30k mods. I also understand there is a sci-fi mini-scale game from Mantic that also has excellent rules, and frameworks exist to adapt this to 30k, so that is something I will be looking to try as well. Trust me, if you like the Horus Heresy, you will love "Epic 30k" and you will love these little figures. 

Close up of the supreme command guy with all of this troops...

One last aerial shot of the whole group!

Stay tuned for more AHPC catch-up posts...the dash to the finish is nearly upon us, as spring is allegedly around the corner...but that's all for now. Thanks for reading!

A Couple More LI Tanks

Kratos tanks for the Imperial Fists in Legions Imperialis. Plastic kits from GW.

It's been...what...well, a quite the "little while" since my last post here. I have no good excuse - and I have been painting, really! Just have been quite put-things-off when it comes to getting useful photos of the output, and the procrastination has certainly been adding up time-wise. Well, let's try again to break that habit! Just a small post to get things started - a pair of tanks for Legions Imperialis, GW's "Epic" reboot which was released last year. These are Kratos heavy (ish?) tanks, painted in the colours of the VII Legion Astartes, the Imperial Fists.

Top view of the tank mounting the big meta-thing...looks like a fun weapon, very "30k". 

I use the term "heavy (ish?)" not because the Kratos is in any way a light vehicle - you can probably tell by all of the weapons, it is not a light tank at all. But it is also still smaller than the Fellblades and Glaives, so I guess one way to look at it is that this is the heaviest tank the Space Marine Legions can access - for now. 

View showing the standard battle cannon. I mounted a commander in the cupola of this one, to mark it as a "command tank" should such a thing be needed in the game. 

I've said it before with the Legions Imperialis models - they can be a touch fiddly (assembling the sponsons is tricky AF and should not be attempted near any sort of carpet), but holy cow, they are very, very nice little models. There are two main weapon options, and for this pair of loyalist tanks I decided to take the "one of each" approach - one tank sporting the generally-standard battle cannon, and the other rocking the shorter-ranged-but-harder-hitting "melta blast gun" because, well, had to try it out on one tank, right?

Lots and lots of weapons...all pretty much anti-tank, as that is how I see these being used in a game...

Just to get back one more time to the details, the choice you have in terms of how you want to kit out your little tanks is incredible. You get the choice of using either auto cannons or lascannons for smaller front turrets, and the choice between lascannons or heavy bolters for the sponson mounts. They are small, they are tricky, but the models are gorgeous. 

"It's like anti-tank, but closer..."

These hitters will provide a bit of a boost to my small Imperial Fist detachment for LI, but the painting progress as ever on this game is just quite...leisurely. I haven't even had a chance to try the game yet, owing to work and travel, and the still-very-much-in-progress attempts to connect with fellow gamers here in Toronto. So I don't see it as a big rush, and it is fun to just take my time at one of two vehicles or a few infantry at-a-go, and the forces build up slowly. I'm hoping the next edition of Curt's Painting Challenge will provide a good impetus to get more LI stuff finished (although, I am thinking that for like six different projects, so we'll see). 

That's all for now - but stay tuned for more (really!) - thanks for reading. 

Some Legions Imperialis Loyalists

A brewing little "demi company" formation for the Imperial Fists in Legions Imperialis.

"Legions Imperialis", GW's (much-delayed) reboot of the classic Epic game, has been out for months now - and I haven't even tried the game yet! There are reasons for this, most of which I can't control. For one, it is very, very challenging to acquire the models. For another, the order in which GW is choosing to release these models is, at best, perplexing - the Solar Auxilia, for example, still do not have the troop-carrying models (unless you count those stupid little Arvus Lighters - and I don't). But there is another block - not having the stuff painted - and that is not on GW, that's on me! I did a few bits for the Sons of Horus, during the most recent edition of the Painting Challenge, but there are no opponents on my shelves. Time to change that! We get a bit of progress to share here, with this small batch of Loyalist Space Marines painted in the colours of the VII Legion Astartes, the Imperial Fists. 

To get a force on to the table, I need to get a legal "formation" together, and the most basic and flexible one for the Space Marines is the "Demi Company". We have some (but not all) of the basic elements for such a formation here - an HQ stand, a tactical detachment and a light armour detachment, with Rhino APCs to provide a lift for the infantry. 

A Space Marine HQ stand - and a ride for the boss!

The HQ element is just a single stand (if dramatic). The GW sculptors have faithfully recreated all of the favourite Space Marine HQ figures - the Praetor, the banner, the medic, and a couple of "veteran" marines with bolters. I don't know that this one stand will do much in a game, but you need to have one - and it is fun to try and paint all of these little characters.

The basic tactical detachment, with a pair of Rhino APCs for a ride.

The basic tactical detachment is comprised of the four infantry stands. Various elements can be added to beef it up, but the little group of 20 tactical marines is the core element. I'll need another one of these to round out the formation - especially as, by all accounts, stuff dies in piles really fast in this game - but at least the first one is done!

Tactical chaps with their ride...

The Rhinos will be key to get these little chaps around the table - and of course, they are iconic bits of kit! Unfortunately, they are very difficult to come by in any reliable fashion. I am rationing the ones I was able to score between the Sons of Horus and the Imperial Fists I am working to paint up, and keeping my eyes peeled for more boxes of them. I should note that I don't necessarily think I you will need tons of the things, but I want some bulky infantry detachments, and Rhinos to transport them. 

The battle-taxi of the Horus Heresy battlefied...

(Product note - of course, you can also use the Land Raiders and Spartans to transport the Marines, but the rules for those vehicles were not in the main rule book...they are in "the Great Slaughter"; I'm sure it's not hard to track even scans or details down, but FFS GW, why do you have to be absolute twats about this kind of thing? It certainly points to what a f*cked up set-up that surely exists in that Company...)

Predator light-armour detachment. 

These models have fiddly bits...but wow, these kits really are something.

Then we have three Predators, classic bits of light armour for the Space Marines. You have choice of weapons on these vehicles (the kits are tricky with small, fiddly bits, but wow, they are remarkable) - and it should be noted you get a double dose of turrets, so you can swap those out if you like! I opted to build two of the tanks with an AT weapon loadout (all lascannons), and a single tank with the classic auto-cannon/heavy bolter sponson loadout. 

That's all for now - but stay tuned for more, including (hopefully) more progress on Legions Imperialis models, as I really can't wait to try this game! 

AHPC Submission #4 - Legions Imperialis Light Armour

A small gathering of small tanks...APCs and light armour for the Sons of Horus in "Legions Imperialis".

Two posts for today. Two! They are sort of the same, but also very different! After all, painting a single setting in multiple scales is totally normal, and not at all a sign of hobby insanity, right? Right? Well, whatever. We will start small, in the physical sense, with this submission of some wee little Space Marine armour vehicles. We have a group of Rhino APCs, the all-purpose armoured troop carriers of the Space Marines, and also a squadron of Predators, light tanks of the Space Marine Legions painted in the noble colours of the XVI Legion Astartes, the Sons of Horus. These are plastic models from GW's re-launched Epic game, "Legions Imperialis".

Why walk when you can drive?

My last submission touching on this game shared quite a bit of feedback and many thoughts about GW and how they have handled the rollout of this new-old game. I stand by all of it - although I concede the Legions Imperialis rollout looks like a Formula One race compared to the absolute dogsh*t hash they have managed to make of the launch of "Warhammer: The Old World, but I digress...

Trio of Rhino APCs.

These vehicles offer a chance to ponder some of the great positives of the new Legions Imperialis game. First and foremost, these models (assuming you were able to acquire any) are quite fantastic. I cannot say they are a joy to build - after all, the parts are, in many cases, very, very, very small, and you do NOT want to assemble these on or near any sort of carpet into which, say, the very small exhausts would surely disappear into should you drop them. But these models ARE remarkable in their lovely detail, and of how you receive a rather crazy number of options for things like pintle-mounted weapon options, and multiple weapon options for the tanks.

The 28mm unit symbols come in handy on the top hatches of the APCs.

GW can be infuriating. But GW can also do some remarkable things with figures, and these little tanks are, in my view, very much in the latter camp (although, as I said, trying to acquire them will lead you on a bewildering journey through the former). 

Anti-personnel configuration on the Predator - autocannon in the turret, and heavy bolters on the sponson.

Remarkable detail on these very small models.

I also give them full marks for the decals included with the kits. Are they very small and difficult to handle? Well, yes they are...but really, given the scale of the vehicles here, there was no other way to make them, and I would much rather have the decal sheet, and brave some frustration, than not have the little decals at all. The models also offer opportunities to use small decals from set intended for the 28mm figures, which keen GW fans will surely have spotted on the top hatches of the APCs indicating broadly the different roles of the Marines on board.

AT configuration on this one - laser cannons everywhere...and a commander with a heavy bolter for extra fun to mark this vehicle out as the squadron commander.

Each APC can carry ten Space Marines, or at this scale, two stands' worth of the little wee Space Marine figures. Here in this submission we have sufficient number of troop carriers here to mount up a basic detachment of Space Marine tactical infantry, backed by support and heavy support troops.

Love the small decals for the turret and back hatches.

 

GW's model kit for the Predators offers different weapon choices such that the vehicles can be configured for AT work (the twin-lascannons on the turret) or heavy anti-personnel work (the single autocannon turret). Similar choices can be made for the sponson weapons.  Again, not easy to assemble, but remarkable detail, remarkable to have the choice at all. Some maniacs out there are even using tiny magnets such that the weapons can be swapped on and off...such lunacy is not for me, but that it is even being attempted is clearly a testament to how impressive these small models are. And that magnet people are bonkers. 

 

That is all for now - thanks for reading, stay tuned for more - and be sure to check out the amazing work of the Conscripts during the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. 

AHPC Submission #2 - Legions Imperialis - Painting and Ranting

A detachment of Space Marines for the "Legiones Imperialis" game from GW. Or maybe this is a "formation"? Whatever.

For my second submission to AHPC XIV, I combined this modest assortment of very, very small Space Marines and some of the slightly-less-small-but-still-small Dreadnoughts which support them in battlem with my thoughts on the return of "Epic", which has returned under the (comically absurd) title "Legions Imperialis", but which long-suffering fans of the company's maligned "specialist games" simply recognize by the name "Epic". These figures are painted (of course) in the colours of the XVI Legion Astartes, the Sons of Horus.

Space Marine Legion command stand.

I am a HUGE fan of GW's "Epic" game, and of the setting in which the game takes place, the so-called "Horus Heresy". This game first appeared in the 90s as "Space Marine" and would appear and re-appear in different forms over the years in various names, including "Epic", "Epic: 40,000" and finally "Epic: Armageddon". It disappeared under GW's clown-addled leadership circa 2008 or somewhere in there with the other so-called "specialist games" of the day, but fans kept a candle burning - and kept playing - all through the subsequent years.

A couple of the dreadnoughts; you get two on each sprue of Space Marine infantry.

And lo and behold, the game did arise and return! You would think a fan like me would be just thrilled, and this post would be brimming with enthusiasm...but...well, that is just not the vibe I have with this game. 

Why is my vigour and passion for this game at such a low ebb at the very moment of its return to the commercial scene? Who knows? I can think of a few things contributing to my much-dimmed enthusiasm...let's review some of them...

A look at unit of tactical marines. Or maybe a formation of them. Or maybe a detachment. Or maybe a group. Bottom line - there are 20 little tactical marines there.

Maybe it was the years and-years-long delay to essentially re-launch the game, wasting time to re-do rules when they already had them, and simply had to re-issue them, but instead sat there for years in the studio getting wanked around through GW's constipated product process... 

Maybe it was the completely unnecessary "re-scale" of the figures, just to try and f*ck over the old time collectors?

Wee little heavy support marines.

Maybe it was the extra months-long delay in the actual release of the game, caused by some unknown f*ckup within GW's painfully slow corporate processes. 

Tactical support marines...they have plasma guns...or, at least, I know they do...not sure what they might look like to most normal people...

Maybe it was GW's tone-deaf decision to continue with their drone-like promotional roll-out for the game even after this Air-Canada-sized additional delay was confirmed, when every single announcement was met with a chorus of "WHEN WILL YOU RELEASE IT?" and GW never saw fit to answer that basic question (although it still mustered the resources to generate a corporate graphic pouting about this feedback, which just says so much, but anyway). 

The LI game had been meant for release in August, but was delayed at the last minute, and no date was given. This was GW's hilarious and tone-deaf response to the venting of fans being fed months of promotional photos for the models and rules, while having no actual date on when said models or rules would be released. When a corporation says "we hear you", they generally, absolutely, have not. The game finally did arrive in mid-December.

Maybe it was the drip of tiresome online content from "influencers" who get these things sent to them in advance while the rest of us plebs must content with GW's Kafka-like online pre-ordering system. This systems exists on GW's POS "upgraded" online store, and it is truly a marvel that, in the age of online product ordering, GW found a way to spend money creating an online platform where one must be in an online queue in order to join another online queue! 

Not only does this waste your time, but it ensures that most people will either not get access to the product, which sells out in minutes. Fans who miss out face the choice of a) having no product, or, b) trying to get it from a FLGS, and hope said FLGS itself was not itself f*cked over by GW shorting its orders, or, c) dealing with douchebag scalpers online, or, d) waiting for GW to replenish its stock. Note, this stock, if and when it appears will again sell out in minutes while you struggle to log in to the "new" POS web store, because somehow a company that must sell stuff to make a living is yet utterly unable to reliably stock and supply the stuff it wants to sell?

Step 1: join the queue to...be in another queue.

Step 2: after the first queue, wait in the second queue, while the product sells out online without you.

Maybe it was the fact that, having navigated the above, the new updated rules, once they arrive, are a total B-team effort in terms of presentation, combining tiny fonts and wasting vast amounts of page space?

Maybe it was the fact that, once you hurt your eyes and start reading, you find rules which probably contain a good game, but read as though they were written by an AI chat bot trained on a blend of EU climate treaties and a cut-and-paste of the "Patrol Phase" from Chain of Command? Why are the concepts of "formation" and "detachment" mixed up? Why do they call turns "rounds" when they should be called "turns"? Why do they try to make "overwatch" a verb? It's not a verb. Nobody, anywhere, "overwatches". Seriously what f*cking Sports Illustrated chat bot wrote this book?

A look at a single stand of assault marines.

Maybe it was the fact that the c*nts, having taken years to develop the game, did not include rules or stats for Land Raiders or Whirlwinds or so many of the other basic main vehicles in the core rules?

Maybe it was the fact that the new infantry models, while being "larger", somehow still contain both seriously unfortunate "cuts" that leave weird look on the tactical marines when seen from certain angles, but are ALSO often multi-part? I mean - take one approach, or the other...but both? That is weird, I don't get it.

Multi-part epic scale Space Marines. "I have always wanted multi-part figures this small" said nobody, ever, anywhere.

Maybe it was that one thing that wargamers loathe the most, even more than changing the scale of the figures...it was THE BASES. GW has attempted, with this new game, to change not only the basing size and shape (to round 25mm for basic stuff), but also saw fit to include only bases with "scenic" pavement/urban elements sculpted right into them, and...I despise them. I enjoy a game set in an urban-type terrain, but while a miniature with relatively generic "outdoor" terrain looks fine in an "urban" wargame setting, a figure with specific urban terrain built on to its base looks ridiculous on any other kind of terrain...

More dreadnoughts. You can see here an example of the Imperial symbol from the "pavement"...I let that peak through, but otherwise try to cover up the pavement.

...and let's continue the rant here. The pavements on the bases are not even broken up or anything. They are just random flagstone pavements so...like, the lines, which are visible, don't even necessarily match whatever given piece of "urban" terrain the model/figure might be placed on, causing immediate dissonance even if you do paint them up and then place them on GW's custom urban terrain plates (which you probably could not manage to buy as they sold out while you waited in an online queue to join another online queue)...

...let me just cover one more time how much I hate the bases....yeah...it must be the bases. F*ck these new, thin, stupid bases.

I did make an honest attempt to at least try to use them, but that lasted less than 24 hours before I was applying basing material to cover the stupid pavements, leaving the odd imperial symbol peaking out. 

A look at the Terminators

Is it all bad? Well, no, of course not. The game is back. It took forever, but it IS back. I think the rules will be good once I get them translated into English. The new models are fiddly, but they have many, many nice features (if you can find them for sale anywhere), and while I may not be a huge fan of multi-part 6mm infantry, once cannot argue with the detail it does allow for, assuming your temper can survive assembling them. Warning - do NOT build these anywhere near a floor with a carpet...

I think there is some great stuff here, but I totally get why people are turning en-masse to 3D printing options, as GW can't even get its sh*t together to sell you the stuff if you even want to buy it. I WANT to be a fan of this game, I don't understand why GW insists on treating customers in this manner when it simply doesn't have to...how does this company, which is publicly traded, not have an activist investor not lining up to beat this management group into small pieces? 

And, of course, whatever problems I have had acquiring "Legions Imperialis" pale to those experienced by the folks keen to get their hands on the Warhammer Fantasy re-boot, "The Old World", which was a complete hash...but perhaps more on that another time...

Group photo, one more time!

 

I hope to have more to say and share about "Legions Imperialis" in future posts. And throughout this edition of the Challenge, I do hope to paint more of these new models and build up some forces to try a game sometime. The rules ARE a very hard read, but I think they are quite good (not as good as "Epic: Armageddon" - but still good). In the meantime, the painting continues, be sure to check out the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge through the winter, as various Conscripts continue to pile up the points!

Ogre Miniatures - 6mm armour units and another AI Supertank - 3 Ogre-related Painting Challenge submissions

Ogre Mk. V - Challenge Submission #5

A capital addition to my growing forces for Ogre Miniatures, the 6mm scale miniatures wargame based upon Steve Jackson's Games' 45-year-old board game.

The Combine Ogre Mk. V is a very large cybertank, with more than double the firepower of the Ogre Mk. III that I recently built. Above, next to the Mk. V you can see a normal sized 6mm (1:300) scale PanEuro "Jaeger" heavy tank. I went with a traditional Combine = red, Paneuro = blue paint schemes. For the Ogre Mk. V, the base red was accomplished with a light spray of Army Painter Dragon Red primer. I then laid in several glazes of GW Druchii Violet for shading. I painted highlights and some light weathering and damage using various artists' oils, especially Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Cadmium Yellow, and Peach Black.

I was hoping to get several troops of Paneuropean armour units done to go along with this Ogre: GEVs (armed, jet-powered hovercraft), missile tanks, super heavy tanks, howitzers, etc.). It ended up taking a couple more weeks.

I suggested 15 points for the Ogre Mk. V (which is easily equal to or larger than the size of a 20mm T-34 or similar tank). Add 20 points for Skaro (Robots). The Ogre Mk. V is a giant robotic tank! This garnered me 35 points for this entry into the 2022 Painting Challenge.

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Paneuropean "Galahad" G.E.V.s - Challenge Submission #6

The Paneuropean "Galahad" G.E.V. (Ground Effect Vehicle) is my favourite type of  "armour unit" in the Ogre game universe. Something about these jet jockeys zooming in at 200 kph, then zooming out again to try and avoid the Ogre's weapons (two moves per game turn!). This entry is a squadron of such fast attack vehicles. I went with a traditional Paneuro blue paint scheme. 

After assembly, I primed all the units with GW Chaos Black, and laid in flat white zenithal highlighting with an airbrush. The base blue of the G.E.V.s consisted of several washes of GW Drakenhoff Nightshade. I then laid in highlights and details with oil paints, and did some light weathering with oils, acrylics, and powders. 

The relative size of the Galahad G.E.V. is shown against a "Jaeger" Heavy Tank above, and my Combine Ogre Mark V. Some more Paneuro vehicles, artillery, and a Fencer (Ogre), were next in queue for the Challenge. 

(8 x 2) points of 6mm or 1:300 scale G.E.V.s are a modest 16 points. Add 20 points for Klendathu, an Invasion Gone Bad. Some of the classic scenarios from the game I remember playing include Raid and Ceasefire Collapse, deep, fast movements of luftpanzer forces that ultimately did not prevent the rise of the A.I. overlords during the Descartes Revolution. TOTAL = 36 POINTS

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Ogre Miniatures 6mm tanks and artillery - Challenge Submission # 7

"Ajax" Missile Tanks (MSL) are another popular Paneuropean armour unit. Their missiles hit hard and at a longer range than their fellow Paneuropean G.E.V.s and Heavy Tanks. However, the Missile Tank's amour is lackluster, and they are slow. This entry includes a couple of platoons of Ajax's. 

The "Arquebus" Howitzer (HWZ) is the heaviest hitter in the Paneuropean arsenal, excepting only their own Ogres and actual nuclear cruise missiles. Long ranged, but immobile, there was a time when Ogre players tried to devise the perfect "4-Howitzer Defense". A combined arms force of various tanks, G.E.V.'s, and infantry is probably a better bet. I have included a battery of 4 artillery pieces.

The Paneuropean "Thor" Superheavy Tank (SHVY) is almost like a miniature Ogre. Dual main armament that can be combined or fired separately, and some point defense anti-personnel batteries give it a lot of firepower. However, it's human crew is still subject to disablement with a non-fatal hit. I painted up a platoon of two of these beasts.

In the basic game of Ogre, the objective of the Ogre player is to destroy the Paneuropean Command Post (CP). To the Combine, destroying the centralized Command, Control, and Communication at such a brigade or divisional level is worth the loss of an Ogre. What the Ogres think of that is anyone's guess.  

After assembly, I primed all the units with GW Chaos Black, and laid in flat white zenithal highlighting with an airbrush. I used a couple of different tones for the base blue, glazing with washes of GW Drakenhoff Nightshade or Indigo oil paint. I then laid in highlights and details with oil paints, and did some light weathering with oils and powders. 

The relative size of the various units is shown against a Galahad G.E.V. 

(9 x 2) points of 6mm or 1:300 scale amour units (6 MSL, 2 SHVY, and 1 CP), plus 4 points for the 4-HWZ battery, makes for 22 points. Add 20 points for Cybertron (Robot(s). In the basic game of Ogre, all the powered armour infantry, various tanks, and artillery that the Paneuropean player fields are opposed to a single Combine  robotic supertank. And there is a more than even chance that the Ogre will win.

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This completes the contents of SJG's Ogre Miniatures Set 1, plus a couple of the "Thor" Superheavy Tanks from Set 2. Didn't quite finish the Paneuropean Fencer Ogre-class tank. Maybe in a couple of weeks. 

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Thanks again to Curt, Sarah, and all the Minions for a other great Challenge. I fell short of my rather modest 300-point goal, mostly due to work commitments. But, I was able to paint up a couple of my favourite Star Wars characters, and I finally finished these particular Ogre miniatures, which I had assembled back in 2019!