Bolt Action 28mm Waffen-SS MG42 teams

Recently we've been playing a bit of Bolt Action WW2 skirmish. Warlord has created some interesting "campaign" material to mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. One of these campaigns pitted Canadians vs. Waffen-SS and since Conscript Frederick was eager to get his Canadians into action and I have lots of Waffen-SS troops, it seemed like a natural for Thursday night gaming.

Of course, whenever you get out an old army to play with, you find that there's more stuff you need to paint... in the case of my Waffen-SS, it's medium machine-guns that I needed... so I ordered two guns with crews from local stockist Legions IV Hire.

They painted up well. I tried my best to match the camo colours I used when I painted the rest of the army (maybe 15 years ago??) and the result was... OK. For the record, the colours I used to paint the smocks were (in order):

• base: MSP Driftwood Brown
• next: Driftwood Brown with some thinned craft black and a drop of Doombull Brown
• then: Mournfang Brown
• lastly: Doombull Brown, washed with Reikland Fleshshade

Basing this bunch was a bit challenging since I painted the models separately. I ended up texturing the base, leaving untextured spots where the models would be stuck down. Then I primed the bases black, stuck down the models, and filled in the untextured parts with texture gel. After that dried I painted the bases and added the flock.

They turned out OK in the end and acquitted themselves reasonably well in the last game. The Bolt Action models are quite nice and I may get a few more specialists from them to add to my Waffen-SS force.

Adeptus Titanicus - New Warlord & New Big Guns

New big Titan, new big guns for AT18!

"Adeptus Titanicus" is about big stompy machines and big guns. With this in mind I'm pleased to share some photos of a new Titan and some new big guns as I slowly  expand my collection of models for the re-booted version of GW's "Adeptus Titanicus". The photos shown here depict a major boost for loyalist forces of Legio Giphonicus with the addition of a new Warlord Titan as well as a wide assortment of new weapons for the loyalist Princeps to choose from.

The newer multi-part plastic Warlord Titans from GW are really amazing.  They are not simple to assemble or to paint, but it's worth it in the end! Here is the latest addition to the collection, and it is showing off the new combos that are available as well.

"Standard" Armament - Apocalypse Launchers and Volcano Cannons

New addition to the War Griffons collection.

Here is the new beast sporting the "basic" weapon load - twin Apocalypse Launchers on the carapace, and Volcano Cannons on the arms. This is the weapon selection that came with the Warlord models in the original release of the game.  In terms of variety, it is uninspiring.  In terms of game effect, well, it is a potent combination. The Apocalypse Launchers are probably the best weapons in the game when it comes to knocking down the void shields of opposing God-engines. The Volcano Cannons, meanwhile, are almost certain to cause serious damage on enemy Titans once you knock out those shields. 

Another view of the incredible detail on these new Warlord models.

There are drawbacks to this weapon load. As blast weapons, the Volcano Cannons cannot make "called shots", so delivering that final coup-de-grace to a stricken enemy is not so easy.  The Volcano Cannons are also power-hungry - each one draws a lot of power from the reactors on the Titan, and over a couple of turns of firing the Volcano Cannons your reactors can start to run really hot, putting the Titan itself at risk (which never seems like a problem until your reactor melts down...).

To address these drawbacks - and give some variety to the players - there are new weapons available to alter the weapon load!  Let's look at some of those.

Carapace-Mounted Paired Laser Blasters

Close-up of the carapace-mounted paired laser blasters.

These are alternative weapons for the Warlord Titan carapace mount.  They are not quite so effective at knocking down void shields - although they certainly contribute to those efforts - but where the Apocalypse Missile Launcher has little chance of harming an enemy Titan once the void shields are knocked down, the Laser Blasters have higher strength and can melt the enemy armour.  

A view of the swapped-out apocalypse launchers on the ground.

The blasters themselves are part of a secondary weapons frame that was initially released with an alternate Warlord Titan boxed kit. The reaction to this packaging choice from the gaming community was...passionate.  GW relented and ultimate put the frame for sale on its own earlier this year, so those who already had Warlord models would not have to buy another whole Warlord just to get more weapons.  The frame is great, because it has even more weapons for you to select for your Warlord Titans, such as the...

Sunfury Plasma Annihilator

Let's take the whole "Plasma Gun" thing to the biggest possible level....

Not a "plasma lighter", "plasma cannon" or a "plasma helper"...it's a "Plasma Annihilator"! Gotta love Adeptus Titanicus! This essentially is Titan-sized version of the weapon carried by your trusty Space Marines in games of 30k and 40k.  It doesn't hit quite so hard as the Volcano Cannon, but it brings the pain, and you can go for extra power by pushing the reactor if you wish.  The same frame that provided the Paired Laser Blasters gives you two of these weapons.  It also gives you an...

Arioch Power Claw

No matter how big you are, sometimes you need to punch the enemy...

A Warlord Titan is a God of the battlefield!  It can level city blocks in one casual blast from miles away! But...there are just times when you need to take care of things "up close and personal", even if you are 10 stories tall.  For a Space Marine Captain, you have a power fist.  For a Warlord Titan, you have the "Arioch Power Claw"!

For the aggressive Titan Commander that likes to see their work carried out up close, the Arioch Power Claw delivers! You won't even need to worry about your enemy's void shields if you maneuver close enough to bring this thing to bear on your foe.  There is a trade-off to be made...while this weapon can devastate your opponents up close, your God-engine needs to survive the approach in the first place. The Warlord Titans are not exactly nimble, and if you equip your Titan with this weapon, you are sacrificing long-range hitting power for something that will not contribute until you are toe-to-toe with the enemy.

Still, it looks cool...and I can think of a few Fawcett Avenue gamers who would, given the choice, opt to include this weapon on their Warlord Titan.

Mori Quake Cannon

The "Mori Quake Cannon" - blast your enemies AND shake them all around!

Even more Titanicus-Good-Times await with the "Mori Quake Cannon".  This weapon has big hitting power and, because it is not a blast weapon, it can be used to make "called shots", targeting a specific location once the enemy's void shields have been caved in.  It has a more-than-decent chance to cause damage to any location of an enemy Titan.

But wait! There's more! The traits of this weapon don't only damage your enemies - they disrupt them, causing movement penalties for the enemy engines and even altering their facing, messing with their deployment and maneuvering plans.  A nice bonus, and good chance for mischief.

This weapon is from Forge World, and so is cast in resin. Forge World also released the....

Macro Gatling Blaster

THIS should be fun...

Have you ever wondered what a cycling-gatling-type cannon firing 150mm shells would look like? So, apparently, did the Adeptus Mechanicus! Behold the "Macro Gatling Blaster", which brings Princeps the joys of high rates of fire and a decent weapon strength.  As we all know, "gatling" = "awesome".

Why not have two of them?

This also a release from Forge World.  I liked it so much I got two of them - one for each arm - just in case one of the guys wanted to roll a Warlord with two of these things mounted up:). You might see in the photos that the painting finish on one of them is a touch challenged - this stemmed from a spray-priming incident (f*** spray cans!!!).  I just painted it up anyway, and will chalk the whole thing up to "battle damage".

Vulcan Mega-Bolter for Reaver Titan

Vulcan Mega Bolter on the carapace of a Legio Griponicus Reaver Titan.

The Warlord Titans are not the only ones getting new weapon options.  I finished a warp missile rack last week, and now we also have the carapace-mounted "Vulcan Mega-Bolter". Almost sounds like an Ork named it...

Not the fanciest-looking weapon in the arsenal, but a real threat to the void shields of enemy engines.

This weapon will not do too much damage to enemy god-engines, but it is great for stripping void shields, setting enemies up to receive devastating kill shots. It's all about team work...yes, teamwork is still a thing, even in the grim darkness of the far future!

Loyalist Warlord Titans on maneuvers...

Updated "family photo" of the loyalist forces...six Titans and two Banners of knights...not bad...

Now that I have given a large boost to the loyalist side of my Titan collection, I expect I'll turn to the Warmaster's side of the conflict...but reliable intelligence indicates that some fellow Fawcett Avenue gamers have purchases some new Titans themselves, and that some of these may be for a Titan Legio that supported Horus...stay tuned for more on that!

New Knight & Reaver Weapon for AT18

Some AT18 painting - another Cerastus Knight Lancer and a new carapace weapon for a Reaver Titan.

In my last post about painting, I mentioned I was staying in 10mm, and I sort of consider the new Adeptus Titanicus model range from GW to be 10mm-ish...at any rate, after finishing those few small Prussians, my brushes have returned to Adeptus Titanicus subjects for the past couple of weeks.  Here is a Cerastus Knight and a Warp Missile Rack for the carapace mount of a Reaver Titan.

Cerastus Knight
The Cerastus Knight is one of the newer models GW have released for their Adeptus Titanicus re-boot ("AT18").  When it comes to the "fluff" of the story, the Knights are not of great interest to me, but the models are really lovely and the Knights can play an important role in the game.  This specific Knight will join two I painted earlier this year to form a full-strength banner of Cerastus Lancers.

This may shock you...

Each Cerastus Knight seen here carriers a shock lance and an "Ion Gauntlet" (a power fist for Knights, essentially).  They are intended for close combat on the AT18 table.  They are able to move fast and if they survive to get close to their opposition, the shock lances could deliver a nasty surprise to even the mighty Warlord Titans.  They will also do well putting a beating on banners of opposing Questoris Knights.

I can't say enough about the excellent decal sheets GW has released for AT18. They are very nice, and really help finish a model, especially the Knights, which are often sporting heraldry of their various "houses".

There are other weapons available, in theory, for the Cerastus Knight chassis, but for now the shock lance and ion gauntlet are the only models out there. I assume the flame cannon and bolt cannon variants will arrive as either separate model sets, or as upgrades from Forge World.

The Ion Shield, which is capable of delivering a short-range "shock blast".

The shock lance...another short-range weapon, but can be very deadly on the table if the Knight is in the right position...

My loyalists now have the support of two different Knight banners - these fellows, and a full strength banner of six Questoris Knights.

Warp Missile Rack
GW's support for AT18 has been hit-and-miss, but they are gradually releasing a greater variety of weapons for the Titans in the game.  Selecting different weapons load-outs for your Titans was always a fun aspect of the original Adeptus Titanicus game - and while the new Reaver kits at least have a touch of variety in their weapon loadouts, Forge World has augmented the choice out there (for a price, of course) by releasing Warp Missile Racks designed to fit the carapace weapon mount on Reaver Titans.

A one-shot deal, mounted in the carapace mount of a Legio Gryphonicus Reaver Titan.

The Warp Missile is a fun, whacky, weapon.  Basically the missile flies at the enemy Titan, goes briefly into the warp in order to avoid any void shields, then returns from the warp just in time to hit the target Titan.  In essence, this weapon gives you a chance to land a critical hit on an enemy God-engine even while your target's void shields are in rude health. Yikes! This weapon has a lot of disruptive potential - I look forward to seeing the players try it out on the table!

Another view of the Warp Missile Rack.  The missile itself can be removed to show it has been fired (and presumably has caused trouble for the Warmaster's minions...).

While I am not hobby-savvy enough to figure out how to magnetize the arm weapons on my Reaver Titans, it is very easy to magnetize the carapace weapons, and so it is easy to swap out the Apocalypse Launcher and/or Laser Blaster to mount this thing on top.

Reaver Titan and Cerastus Lancer banner - you can see the Cerastus Knights are pretty tall for Knights (it's all relative in the grim darkness of the far future).

There is a nice variety of weapons available out there now for your Titans.  They are not cheap to acquire, and GW has managed to package this in a fashion that brings to mind the ridiculous process TV signal-sellers use to flogging channel packages, but they are out there now, and even seem to be in supply.  As I said above, choosing weapon loadouts is, for me, part of the fun, so I hope to share some more progress on different weapons for my Titans soon.  And, of course, more Titans at some point...

Thanks for visiting!

30k Battle Report - No Hope For The Hydra

"Alpha to omega!" A Preator from the Alpha Legion (name redacted) leads his detachment into action against the loyalists of the VII Legion during 30k gaming last week.

Conscript Mike F stopped by last week for a 30k game, and here are a few pictures to share from the battle. Both of us enjoy the Black Library novel "Praetorian of Dorn" (it's a great book, go read it!). While the specific battles from that book are not something I can re-create at this point, we still thought it would be fun to pit the opponents from the story against each other. So some of my Alpha Legion forces would battle against his Imperial Fists.  We set up a small game, using the fan-built 8th edition of 30k.  The "Power Level" for both sides was 70.

A view of the deployed forces on the first turn...

The table was 6' x 4', an arid setting (maybe some isolated part of Terra?) with a communication-relay set amid some ruins.  The key was to secure this communications relay objective.  You could do this by moving into contact with it. But there was another way to win: wiping out the opposing detachment! It's 30k, after all...besides, the Alpha Legion wouldn't want any witnesses.

Deredeo class dreadnought covers the approach of the XX Legion.

The carnage arrived rapidly.  The sons of Alpharius made short work nearly all the members of Mike's tactical squad.  The firepower from my Deredeo Dreadnought was impressive, and things seemed to be going well! But that would not last...

Alpha Legion seeker squad - "Headhunters" - move out.

Wait a minute - who invited these guys??? The elite of the VII Legion teleport to the battlefield...

And then...the Imperial Fist terminators arrived on the scene.  I hoped my Praetor, together with some Lernean Terminators and the squad of 10 Headhunters would be able to cut them down to size...it was not to be.

Where did the seeker squad go?? Eliminated by VII Legion Terminators...

Alpha Legion Preator confronts the Imperial Fist elite...

It's all-in with the Terminators...if we don't stop these guys, we don't stand a chance...

The VII Legion Terminators first BBQ'd my Headhunters.  The Alpha Legion Preator charged in, but could not bring down his opponent.  The assistance of the Apothecary kept the Alpha Legion commander around a bit longer, but you can only get whacked by a chain fist so many times and still expect to be around...and so the Alpha Legion Preator fell in action.

The Apothecary could only do so much...

Meanwhile, my Alpha Legion tactical squad, after losing their Rhino, found themselves facing both a Leviathan Dreadnought and a Contemptor Dreadnought.  The covering fire from the Deredeo Dreadnought was insufficient, and they were soon wiped out.

"Hey, we're moving in on the objective, great news!"

"Oh no! Two huge dreadnoughts! Hope we can hold out!"

Suddenly there is only one survivor in the Alpha Legin tactical squad...

Overall, a loss for the Alpha Legion. Or was it? Surely this was all part of some greater scheme...

The covering fire had no effect...

Mike's collection of Imperial fists looks amazing! He does a great job with the yellow (always a tricky colour) and it continues to expand bit by bit.  This was the first time I came up against a Leviathan Dreadnought, and it was...pretty unpleasant! Melta-bombs were not going to stop that thing...I love the 30k setting, and 30k gaming. While a bit more luck on the dice would always be preferred, this was a fun game - many thanks to Mike F for visiting and bringing his fantastic VII Legion forces out for a spin!

Hope everyone out there has enjoyed the final days of summer. The fall has now arrived - and the countdown is on toward another Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge...

Resinlab Models "Iron Warrior" Knight Titan

Some months back, a local gamer mentioned in a Facebook group that he had a garage kit Knight Titan for sale - not an Armorcast Reaver, but a model that some Italian Spaniard had sculpted and produced in a limited run. This kind of thing is right up my street so a deal was quickly made.

It turns out the kit was the Iron Warrior from Resinlab Models. Produced in a limited run of 150 kits (60 of the "original" IW followed up by 90 "IW MkIIs"), the model springs from the talented sculpting hand of Enrique, principal of Resinlab Models.

I built up the kit with a few conversions, including the GW stubber added here. I also drilled and added a magnet on top of the carapace to mount a missile rack, not shown. I've built one from the GW Imperial Knight to use.

The model represents the Knight "Nero" of House Caesarean, an Imperial Knight house associated with Legio Krytos of the Collegia Titanica. According to lore, both Krytos and Caesarean engines supported the Iron Warriors Space Marine Legion in the battle of Tallarn in the Horus Heresy.

There aren't any 28mm scale Caesarean decals available yet so the tactical markings were painted by hand. I used some IW decals from the Forge World decal sheet.

House Caesarean's colours are yellow and black of course, so I painted the Knight in much the same palette as my IV Legion Iron Warriors Space Marines.

I really like the helmet of the Knight - apparently the Mk I model was sculpted without the laurel wreath.

 

Decals from the IW decal sheet and Imperial Knight sheet were used on the paldron.

Wouldn't be a Knight without a big f*ck-off chain weapon, would it??

Knight world origin marking on rear of the chassis was poached from the Imperial Knight sheet as well.
 

Bitty li'l skull in the groundwork.

I assembled the model with a central pin, so the torso can rotate, or be removed altogether for transport or storage.

Some comparison photos... here's the Resinlab model with the GW Imperial Knight. I really like the Resinlab model's inspiration being drawn from the original Adeptus Titanicus knights of yore.

Size comparison with some other Iron Warriors models it's likely to be supporting in battle: Contemptor Dreadnought, Lochagos/Praetor, Deimos Rhino.

I enjoyed building and painting this model - it's cool to be able to work on something a bit different and rare. I'm sure it'll get blown up quickly in the first game in which it's deployed, but it'll be cool to get it out on table. And needless to say, it's a good feeling to complete a project that's been in the works for some time.