Alpha Legion Praetor

Hello - my name is...Alpharius...?

 Some more meandering painting progress from the lake.  This is a Praetor from the Alpha Legion, building on the command figures I painted a few weeks ago. Most 30k gamers will recognize the figure as the plastic Ultramarines command model from GW's "Betrayal at Calth" box set. I was not crazy about this model, but since I have accumulated a couple of those boxes, and I thought I would try putting at least one of them to use on the table.  I don't have any Ultramarines on the go at present, so I decided I would paint him up in the colours of the XX Legion, the Alphas.

Chain fist for...solving problems...yes, that's it..

The figure is sporting Cataphractii terminator armour, carrying a fancy "combi-weapon" that is both bolt gun and melta gun, as well as a nutty chain fist for that more up close and personal work 30k Legion commanders are expected to handle.

The decals from Forge World really came in handy on this figure

As I said I was not crazy about this figure. For starters, Space Marines should wear their helmets - it's dangerous out there! And there is something about the sideways angle of the pose that is at odds with the ominous armour and big guns.  Seriously, when you are that big and well-protected, just turn around and face whatever it is, and shoot it!

Whacky cloak? Of course! It's 30k, after all...

On the plus side, the ornate details on the armour are nicely done, implying a higher rank without anything too over-the-top, and providing a lot of spots for decals and Legion icons, allowing you to customize the figure to the Legion of your choice (assuming you don't wish to be painting the lame dopes of the XIII Legion).

More view of the real-estate on the armour for the decals from Forge World

The side-angled focus of the pose is not my thing, but he is certainly looking dramatic overall, what with the cape and the fancy weapons. Based on the practices of the XX Legion, I think we can assume this fellow's name is...Alpharius?

Up next, some more grunts for the XX Legion...

Alpha Legion Command Elements

Alpharius' sons gather near Lake Superior...

Painting at the lake has been a little slower this year than last, as the summer distractions at the cabin have been getting the better of me - a nice "problem" to have.  Nonetheless, a few figures have been completed or, as in this particular case, mostly completed.

The "bling" checklist is filled in full by this commander. Cape? Check. Fancy pistol? Check. Silly sword? Check. Couple of parchment seals to certify general awesomeness? Check.

This is an assortment of command figures for the XX Legion forces.  There is a standard bearer, two body guards, an apothecary and a champion-type figure which I can use either as a Centurion or as one of the many different variants for "consuls", like a Legion Champion, Delegatus, Herald etc.

Better view of the gear on the apothecary, ready to provide top-notch "medical care" for fallen battle brothers...

Standard bearers are silly anachronisms for the gun, tank and artillery-filled battlefields of the 31st millennium, but I just love to have these crazy things for my Space Marine Legions.  In particular, I felt the senior commander I had painted for my Alpha Legion forces seemed like the sort of fellow who would have a standard following him around as he traveled about the war zone in style.

In the 30k lists the standard bearers are always accompanied by two "chosen" Legion Marines, presumably to protect the bearer on the battlefield etc.  You can give them spiffy guns, so I dug into the bits box and gave each of them a combi-weapon, basically a bolt gun with an added one-shot special weapon.  I think one of them has a plasma gun, and the other is a flamer - those will provide a nice extra jolt to anyone who gets too close to the standard carrier.

It's the Alpha Legion! We have a banner in case you forget!

These figures are a blend of plastic Mark IV kits, the plastic Space Marine Command Squad from the current 40k range (which will be cancelled as soon as GW finishes rolling out those appalling Primaris Marines) and Alpha Legion upgrade bits from Forge World.  I like that you can mix and match all the various plastic components and it was fun to put them together. I'm particularly fond of the upgrade bits for the Alphas, as the helmets are really quite cool, and many of them are "beakie" style.  I was sure to use "beakie" custom helmets for the officer - to match the pimped out cape, after all...

Another view of the apothecary and one of the "chosen"; I just love the specialist accent bits from Forge World, they add a ton of character to the figures, and are pretty addictive...at least on the apothecary and the standard bearer you can really see the customized chest plate.

These had been sitting primed for some time in my huge "pending pile", as I had sort of run out of momentum after finishing a big chunk of my initial Alpha Legion forces in the winter and spring.  It was fun, however, to finish these off and have them ready for a game this fall. 

I say these are "mostly" complete as I managed to forget a bunch of my Alpha Legion decals back in Winnipeg.  I applied the larger ones I had on hand, but the spots for the smaller ones will wait until I return to the prairies.  So for now you can see the gloss-coat base I have put under the decal areas (or areas intended for decals) and I will apply the matte varnish after I get back to Winnipeg and finish off the final few decals.

Just a few more decals and a coat of matte spray and these fellows will be ready for action!

This little assortment of troops will just about "round out" the infantry forces I have for my Alpha Legion collection - it works out to about 45 figures in all at this point. They now require some vehicles to help them get around. That is something I'll try to get to later this summer or into the fall.

Old Goulais Bay as seen from my kayak - Lake Superior was nice and calm that afternoon!

Up next are some more troops for the XVI Legion, the Warmaster's own! But in the meantime, as you can see above, more relaxation at the cabin too.  All the best from Northern Ontario

More Alpha Legion - Headhunter Squad

Elite units seek out fearsome foes in my...er...kitchen....

Well spring is finally here. Between that, and being busy with work (yay!) it has meant very little painting of late - certainly nothing like the pace driven by the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  But with the NHL playoffs on, I've been putting the brush to some more of the 30k stuff I meant to paint over the winter and another unit has been finished.  This a squad of "Headhunters" from the XX Legion, known as the Alpha Legion.

"Headhunters".  How charming! None of the Legions seem to have "Hope Ambassadors" or "Sun Sharers" as elite units, do they? Oh well...

Fancy armour and big guns...of course these guys would sneak around and "hunt" stuff, right?

Space Marine Legions are big, sprawling entities, with many different troop types and vehicles to choose from.  Among these is a "Seeker Squad", a notion of a specific squad meant to take out high-value or high priority target units or personalities. They have fancier bolt guns and some extra ammunition types to choose from. It's kind of silly, in that you would think troops tagged for that work would be smaller, sneakier sorts and not giant brutes with heavy armour...but hey, it's 30k!

These are resin conversion kits from Forge World, based on plastic Mark IV power armoured Marines

As usual the sculptors at Forge World really hit this out of the park - I love all of the ornate details, legion symbols, fancy bolt guns and particularly the amazing torsos and helmets - lots of optics, and several modified "beakie" style helmet

The Alpha Legion sort of takes the "seeker squad" concept to the next level with these "Headhunters".  The models are plastic Mark IV Marines with conversion kits from Forge World which make the armour quite ornate. I don't know how you sneak around the battlefield with that kind of get-up, but I really liked how they looked and very much wanted to add a squad to my Alpha Legion force.

Transfers from the Forge World decal sheet

Another view of some of the conversion bits

We await the arrival of whole new edition of the Warhammer 40k rules, so who knows what these fellows will actually do or be able to do on the table - not that I worry much about it.  I just look forward to getting them into a 30k game sometime this summer!

Horus for hope!

This more or less exhausts the initial group of Alpha Legion models I had assembled last fall...there are about 40 foot models and one dreadnought. They have no vehicles yet, so I might turn to that next.  But then I may also wonder towards the Burning of Prospero...I was never very keen on that part of the Horus Heresy story, but I have to say, following some suggestions from my friend Curt, I think it might fun. Who knows? Anyway, I hope everyone is having a decent spring, and enjoying any nice weather that might be available while keeping the paint brushes warm...

Alpha Legion Heavy Support Squad

Missiles anyone? Heavy support for the Alpha Legion

Blowing sh!t up in the 30th millenium is quite the task, one that Space Marine Legions take very seriously.  Often they rely on scary vehicle or whacky dreadnoughts.  For city-sized wrecking jobs, they have their friends in the Titan Legions.  But often a job you do yourself in the most satisfying, so when the foot-slogging elements of a Space Marine Legion want to blow something up real good, they deploy heavy support squads. Here is one such unit for my slowly-growing Alpha Legion collection, armed with missile launchers.

After all, why fire one missile launcher at something when you can fire five missile launchers at something, right? I love 30k :)

Unit sergeant with his whacky comb - love the Mark IV Marines!

Forge World shoulder pauldrons are wonderful

These are plastic models from the "Betrayal at Calth" box set, augmented with shoulder pauldrons and transfers from Forge World.  I really love the plastic Mark IV Space Marines and since I purchased too many of them, I ended up with enough missile launchers to outfit a whole squad. So I just went with it...

Decals from the Alpha Legion transfer sheet

What is extra fun about these particular sculpts is that they are a shout-out to the original "shark fin" style missile launcher from the Rogue Trader days! It is great to see these little shout-outs throughout the whole line of Horus Heresy figures from GW, and definitely adds to the fun for a nerd like me!

While I love the old RTB-01 plastic marines, I have to say these were a little easier to assemble...these kits are quite fabulous.

What is the target? Loyalists? Other rebels? You never know for sure with the Alpha Legion...

Ready for action on the table...

To achieve true Legion-era excess, this should be a 10-man group sporting missile launchers, but, insane as I am, even I only have so many plastic Mark IV Marine sets, so five will do for now! Plus, I'm sure these guys will be able to blow up all sorts of stuff with five missiles launchers, right??

Epic 30k Game at Legions Maxximus (Lots of Photos)

"Let's shake hands!" - Titan vs. Titan in Epic 30k action at Legions Maxximus

This past weekend in Winnipeg we were very pleased to participate in Legions Maxximus, a local gaming and hobby event that has been growing in prominence here in Winnipeg thanks to the support of local retailers and hobby enthusiasts.  We hosted two demonstration games at the event.  Here are some photos of the first game - Epic 30k!

Loyalist forces for the scenario

Horus for hope! The Rebel forces for the scenario...

The scenario pitted the hard working advocates of hope and change from the 16th Legion, the Warmaster's own Sons of Horus, backed by Titans from Legio Mortis, against the delusional followers of the so-called "Emperor" from the VII Legion, the Imperial Fists, and hapless Titan crews from the Legio Gryphonicus.


The forces were equally balanced, because they were identical :) This was a demonstration game, after all, and the main goal was to give the players a taste of some of the different vehicles and troop types as well as an opportunity to blast away with Titans.  We played the game using "Epic Armageddon" rules.

The 6'x4' table with deployments and objectives marked

The table was 6' x 4', with three objectives.  The opposing forces entered along the opposing short table edges.  The goal was to hold the majority of the objectives prior to the conclusion of the game.  It would end after six turns OR once one side had five of their force elements destroyed or broken.  With all of the big guns on both sides, I had a pretty good idea which would happen first...

Hey - the Alpha Legion is already here...what are they up to?

Also present on the table from a small detachment from the XX Legion, the Alphas. Their purposes was unknown to either side...just the way the Alphas like it...basically, neither side trusted them, including their supposed allies in the Sons of Horus, so a secondary objective was to try and contain the Alpha detachment ("secure" them in Sons of Horus parlance).   If one side or the other made contact, well we would see what might happen...on to the photos!
 

War engines of Legio Gryphonicus lead the way for the loyalist side...

Armour from the VII Legion follows the Titans

Legio Mortis engines race to confront their hated rivals

Meanwhile, the Sons of Horus deploy from their Spartan carriers to capture an objective

A loyalist Warhound leads an advance along the flank - and takes cover behind a building! Typical...

The Imperial Fist Land Raiders boldly advanced to open fire on the Legio Mortis engines - they would knock out the void shields on one of them!

The Sicaran detachment from XVI Legion comes under heavy fire

The VII Legion Land Raiders received heavy return fire directly from the rebel titans...the remnants of the detachment fall back under fire

The Imperial Fists launch a bold assault, closing to point blank range to knock out the opposing Land Raiders with grenades, power fists and other goodies...the unfortunate, yet brave Sons of Horus Land Raiders would be wiped out...

The XVI Legion, however, had a second tier of support lined up...a Fellblade and a Knight detachment ready their guns for the Imperial Fists

Contact! The players on both sides, inspired by Dave's passion for aggressive play, had their power-fist-equipped Titan charge right at each other, a fine climax for the game

KA BOOM! The rebel Titan ripped the loyalist engine apart, but did so in such a dramatic fashion that its reactor melted down and the resulting explosion obliterated the Legio Mortis attacker as well! Classic 30k!

So it was a close-run game, with a suitably apocalyptic ending - two Titans destroying each other in a brutal close attack!!  The loss of the Titan was the final nail in the Loyalist attack, representing the loss of a fifth force element, and they withdrew, leaving the ground to the rebels, who themselves had lost one Titan, seen a second one severely damaged, and seen heavy losses among other detachments.  Well fought everyone!!

Epic remains as one of the finest rule sets GW has ever produced, allowing a large encounter featuring everything from foot-slogging tactical marines to massive Fellblade tanks, to Knights and all the way to Titans!  

Loyalist troops, backed by armour, secure one of the objectives

Sons of Horus forces keep an eye on the Alphas...

Rebel Knight household units advance

Ouch! It was a tough outing for the loyalist Knights...this formation would break under withering fire from XVI Legion Fellblade tanks

Thanks to Dave V, Russ, Russel and Nathan for joining us to play.  A huge thank-you to Dallas for playing and helping set up and run the game as well! 

This was, I believe, the third year for the Legions Maxximus event. It has been growing from modest roots into a significant gaming event for hobbyists in Winnipeg and the surrounding area.  With the support of the Manitoba Model Soldier Society (see them on Facebook here) as well as local hobby retailers like Maxx Collectibles, Legions IV Hire and the Winnipeg GW store, this event is improving every year.   In addition to gaming, the members of the MMSS were on hand to provide tutorials on painting, while the keen model builders of the IPMS were sharing their tips on model building.  The MMSS was also staging their 40th anniversary show (congrats to them!). There were a number of different demonstration games, from fantasy to sci-fi to historical. Participants could try different games and learn about how to paint the figures - and take home one of their own!  Very well done.

In all, it was a great hobby event, and we had a great time participating. I'm already looking forward to next year!   Watch for more photos from our "Team Yankee" mega game that followed the Epic 30k game...

Painting Challenge Submission 18 - More Epic 30k Stuff

In the grim darkness of the far future, we've got any size of equipment you might need for your war...

Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has concluded, so I have only a few more things to share here on the Fawcett Avenue Blog. In the final hours of the Challenge, I really wanted to focus my painting efforts, something I'm terrible at, but there were some external drivers helping me along.  One is that our group is hosted an Epic 30k demonstration game at a local hobby event here on the weekend, so it was a good time to get some stuff done for use on the table.  A further motivator along that line of thinking was JamieM once again tossing last minute sandbags in our 30k painting duel!

So with that motivation, I decided to continue on the painting path from the previous week - more Epic 30k stuff!  This week my submission covers almost every size available to that "scale" of game, running the gamut from foot sloggers to another pair of towering Titans!

Alpha Legion tactical marines - while my 6mm freehand is not quite as sharp as Byron's, I managed to get some markings on to most of the shoulders and vehicles!

We'll start with the smallest ones first - this is a Space Marine tactical detachment from the Alpha Legion.  During this edition of the Challenge I started painting a new force of Alpha Legion troops for my 28mm-sized forces, and I have enjoyed the colours and the backstory of that particular Legion so much I thought it would be great to have them for Epic as well.

Command troopers in the (blurry) front

Alpha Legion motor pool - a pair of Rhino APCs, each capable of carrying two stands of infantry

Two more APCs, along with a command variant in the left of the photo

 The tactical detachment is the basic building block for any Epic Space Marine force, so I thought it would be a good element to paint first.  There are 40 little marines here, as well as transport for them - four Rhino APCs.  There is also a command-variant Rhino to provide some command & control assistance and serve as a ride for the command figures which I hope to paint further down the road.


Moving up in the size department we have a group of four Knights.  The 30k/40k setting does not lack for large walking things with guns, and the Knights have their place on the spectrum of those vehicles.  As you can see, they loom over the infantry, but pale in size compared to the Titans, so they are on the smaller-end of the walking-terror-scale of the dark future.

Four Knights - walkers with a nice assortment of weapons to choose from

Knights are organized into semi-feudal households, with a backstory that is too lame to even try to explain.  The bottom line is that, as with the rest of the Imperium, the Knight households divided during the Horus Heresy, with some embracing hope and change with the Warmaster, and others sticking with the so-called "Emperor".  With this group finished we were able to have some Knight vs. Knight combat in Epic 30k this past weekend.

"Paladin" variant on the left, "Errant" variant on the right

I had no specific Knight household in mind, just wanted some different colours from my first bunch, so they could be opponents on the table

Even though they are "small" (you know, relatively), Knights still provide a big punch on the table, forming an extremely mobile and versatile force that hits pretty hard.  While GW has made these available as models in 28mm scale (and it is one of the nicest new kits GW has ever issued, just beautiful) the Epic setting provides the room, scope and proper context required for these things to really be fun on the table.  There is an astonishing variety of weapons assortments, and whatever you choose, these things will have a good time stalking around, terrorizing enemy tanks and infantry.  But they will have to watch out, because in the grim darkness of the far future, there is always something bigger...

Like Titans!  I painted two more to add to the group from my previous submission (see that post for explanations on the colours and Legions involved).  To maintain rough strategic parity in my Epic 30k collection, there is one for the rebel side and one for the loyalist side.

Reaver class Titan from Legio Mortis

Reaver class Titan from Legio Gryphonicus

These are Reaver class "medium" battle titans.  In addition to a slightly more artful carapace than the ones from last week, these ones are also sporting close combat weapons! Because in the grim darkness of the far future, it doesn't matter if you are 10 stories tall and armed with weapons which can level entire city blocks in one shot - you STILL might have to PUNCH something.  Don't worry, the engineers of Mars have got you covered! Behold, the titan-sized power fist - it's silly, and I love it!

Large close combat fist for extra-smashing duties

Still sporting a big laser cannon and "apocalypse" launcher for more conventional fun

Equipping your titans with close combat weapon systems is something of a gamble in the Epic game.  The power fist comes at the expense of mounting one of the other, very useful and terrifying weapon systems.  This sucks early in the game when you wish you had one more volcano cannon shot to bombard the enemy.  A further consideration is that the fist is only useful if you are close enough to punch the other titan, so you have to basically charge forward and get to grips for it to be worthwhile...

A view of another close combat attachment

This Titan is also sporting a scary-as-hell plasma cannon...it can only fire every other turn, so the crew can spend that time moving the Titan closer to whatever needs to be punched while it powers up between shots

On the plus side, if you bring your titan into close combat with another one and succeed, the results tend to be immediate and rewarding, as a Titan that is unsuccessful in a "close combat" tends disappear in some manner of spectacular explosion - indeed, so spectacular the Titan which defeated it risks serious damage itself! Did I mention I love how warped all of this is...?

Titan maniple from Legio Mortisi now ready for action! The big guns for a better universe! Horus for hope!

I felt both sides should have one Titan sporting a close combat power fist.  There are several gamers in our group who display the proper level of aggression to make the most of them on the table!

Titan maniple from Legion Gryphonicus, ready to defend the so-called "Emperor" to the bitter end...deluded fools...

So, in total this includes two Titans, four Knights, five 6mm sized vehicles and 40 6mm sized infantry.  Some decent Epic 30k momentum as the conclusion of the Challenge loomed, and great stuff for our game at Legions Maxximus! Stay tuned for more on that later this week...