Zarakynel Stand-In

I have a pretty sizable Slaaneshi Chaos army, both Emperor's Children and daemons. If anyone knows me, they know that I like to play Apocalypse games with huge and powerful units and money is rarely an object. That might lead someone to expect that I would have the Forge World Keeper of Secrets, Zarakynel.

My issue with Zarakynel is not the rules; an exception to most Imperial Armour stuff. It is mostly the fact that she is simply a big Daemonette. I like my Keepers to have a Minotaur-like look with a bull head.

My second problem with the character is the fact that I don't really use the whole 'pleasure' aspect of Slaanesh. All of my stuff is more about noise and pain. Plus, I have a wife and a 5-year-old and don't want to have a large, naked model around. So, what to do?

My friend Steve W. had a great idea. He suggested using the World of Warcraft Draenei Mage action figure as a less risque replacement for Zarakynel. I thought this was brilliant, so I got on the internet and found one. (Since they're sold out, I had to pay more than list for her.)
I'm going to have to paint her in my army colors, and I'm going to have to decide whether I should add the two claw arms. Watch this space for updates!

After-Action Reports

As I mentioned in my last post, I attended a three-round, 2,000 point "invitational tournament". A comment there from ColKilgore suggested splitting my 14 daemons into 2 squads of 7. The good Colonel also asked for a report on how I did.


'Ere goes...

First off, there was a good variety of forces present at the event. Six non-marine armies consisted of: Tau, Tau, Tyranids, Orks, Necrons, and Chaos Daemons. Marine armies consisted of: Deathguard, Chaos Space Marines, Space Marines, and Black Templars.

I didn't mention it, but we were able to bring three completely different lists if we wanted to, covering the needs to be a Planetstrike Attacker, Planetstrike Defender, and Cities of Death (on 4'-x-4' board). I stuck with one list, BUT with the intention to split my daemons into two 7-model squads for my Cities of Death Game (I just forgot to mention that in the original post).

These aren't really "Battle Reports" per se, as all the fine details were not put to paper by me, and now said fine details are eluding me...

GAME 1 - Cities of Death (modified Firesweep) vs. Curt's White Sword Space Marines (ie., Vanilla SMs)

The Cities of Death missions were modified to be more appropriate for v5 rules. The modification to the firesweep mission included (a) standard Spearhead deployment, (b) making only v5 "Scoring Units" able to plant flags in the buildings (any unit could contest), and (c) adding Kill Points to the score. So the victory was calculated as a comparison of Flags + KPs = player's score.

The 4'-x-4' table featured a pair of roads running at angles in an "X"-like fashion across the gaming area. There were seven larger ruins/terrain features that counted as objectives, and a variety of small and medium objects that did not (e.g., old Gothic Ruin corners, piles of rubble/debris, an impassible LOS-blocking storage tank).

Curt ran (and always does run) his SMs in a very "basic" format, featuring lots of bodies, units equipped to do anti-armor and anti-personnel duties as needed, good commanders with good equipment (but not all blinged-out and point-sinkey), and a few armor and close-combat units in support of the "main force".

To say my expensive Plague Marines were outnumbered is an understatement. At least it's not as bad as when I play with my Deathwing army...

The rounds were fast and furious; we were able to complete 5 turns. In the first portion of the game, I quickly dropped 3 flags and Curt was able to get four planted. At no point in the game did this situation change. So it was all down to Kill Points for the rest of the game.

With all that terrain choking the table, I did not want to deep strike to much, so deployed my Terminators and Typhus aggressively near the front of my DZ. The White Sword got first turn, and proceeded to paste several of my terminators with a Vindicator and Whirlwind. About mid-game, my Termies got charged by The White Sword's Dreadnought, and by that point, had no Power Fists/Chainfists to deal with him. But at least Typhus had divested himself from that unit and was rolling down field solo.

The White Sword played a more defensive game while I took the initiative to try and claim a few more objectives. The two daemon squads assaulted a Tactical Squad in a ruin - no grenades and craptacular daemons led to a short confrontation ending in the extermination of my daemons. Both Typhus' and my Sorcerer's Wind of Chaos powers were less than spectacular, and ultimately Big T, the Sorcerer, and a squad of Plague Marines were killed trying to take that same ruin.

At the end of Turn 5, with time for the first game run out, the vast majority of The White Sword stood victorious on the battlefield. The objectives never changed from the start: 3 for me, 4 for Curt; however, Curt absolutely slaughtered me in the Kill Point side of things, netting him a very massive win (I believe I was 2 or 3 models short of being completely wiped-out).

GAME 2 - Planetstrike Attacker vs. Russ' Orks

As Defender, Russ set up the table. It was a barren wasteland. Two bastions were placed about the center of a long table edge with the other about the center of Russ' right half of the board. the only other terrain on the board was a series of linear obstacles covering the middles of all three other table edges. Most of Russ' orks were mounted up in vehicles, so he didn't really want anything standing in his way of pure mobility.

I chose the short edge close to the single bastion as my Drop Zone. My Predator and Rhino squads rolled in on that side with everything else Deep Striking in. The terminators and 10-man Plague Marine Squad (on foot) dropped about center table - I was aiming for a more aggressive "in your face" landing, but sadly scattered backwards quite a bit (8" and 11" scatters). Meanwhile, one Plague Marine squad (in rhino) was working on meltagun-ing the solo bastion while the Sorcerer and his rhino Plague Marine squad raced for the dual bastions. After three or so turns of the former unit shooting and assaulting (power fist) the solo bastion, it simply did not fall. Similarly, the Sorcerer's unit was de-mechanized, so were unable to do much.

Russ' WAAAGH! was decently timed, except that a couple squads were just over 6" away after their run/fleet move, so unable to assault. A huge mob of Boyz stormed into both my 10-man squad and Terminators, but Typhus' daemon weapon and his terminator cohorts cut down many, many orks. In my next turn, Typhus' Nurgle's Rot psychic power claimed another handful of orks, and the combination of the Plague Marines, Typhus, and Terminators brought that Ork Unit down low, failing two leadership tests (boss pole), and being cut-down in a sweeping advance by my Plague Marines.

As the game ended and time was out, Russ and I assessed the situation. Daemons and Terminators were in base contact with both of the bastions along the long edge, and I had one meltaguner in contact with the third bastion. We agreed that if another turn was played, that lone meltaguner would be wiped out by a large mob a few inches away, but it would not matter since I'd still have possession of the other two bastions.

Win for the Deathguard!

After two games, I was sitting on 1 W and 1 L; time for Battle Number 3.

GAME 3 - Standard v5 Mission vs. Alex's Chaos Space Marines

One of the participants of the day was a relatively new 40k player, so rather than be bogged-down trying to master 40k and Planetstrike or Cities of Death rules, he played three standard games. I was glad to play a standard mission, and in the end, Alex was surprisingly well-versed in the rules and tactics of 40k. In fact, I believe he had 3 draws for the day with no wins and no losses. Another interesting thing about Alex was his Chaos Marine list. I called it "unconventional," but don't let that term be equated to "ineffective."

The mission we rolled up was Seize Ground (4 objectives) with Pitched Battle deployment. The four objectives were fairly well spaced-out, with two not far from his long table edge and two not far from mine.

Early in the game, I managed to wrest one of Alex's objectives from him using my Terminators. They couldn't control it themselves, but were sitting on it for much of the rest of the game making sure he couldn't either. I sent my forces to try and wrest his other from him, but it was being controlled by a chaos marine squad of TWENTY models. Yup, "unconventional" does not mean "ineffective." After destroying a 10-man squad of his, my battered remnants of the 10-man Plague Marine squad rolled back towards one of my "close" objectives; meanwhile, a 7-man Plague Marine squad was camped on my other "close" objective, and my termies were on one of Alex's close objectives.

The game went on to a full 7 turns. At the end, my 10-man squad had been vaped by Alex's Land Raider, leaving that objective uncontrolled. My terminators were sitting on one of Alex's objectives (still), so that one was uncontrolled. Turn 7 began with each of us holding one objective (and really no way to gain control of another). I had the benefit of going last, but alas, a long day of enjoying but brutal combat, left my mind a bit mushy. My "Eldar Mind" snuck in, and caused me to Epic Fail in the bottom of Turn 7, resulting in a draw! You see, what happened was Typhus was bearing down on the 20-man squad holding Alex's one objective. A lone Chosen stood in his way, which was a good thing as I got to move, assault, kill, and consolidate in Turn 6 leaving me right on top of that large squad. This is where my Eldar Mind failed me. I decided to pull off a big "Tricksy Move", rolling Typhus down the side of his large squad in hopes that I'd assault him and pull his guys on/near the objective off of it in the ensuing counter charge.

Guess what? That part worked like a charm. Problems at this point are twofold, however.

First, Typhus' non-Eternal Warrior self was vaporized by a Power Fist, meaning Alex was able to re-consolidate back onto his objective.

Second, and most importantly, all Typhus really had to do in Turn 7 was move a few inches to contest that objective. He would have lived, he would have contested Alex's only objective, and I would have WON that game (1 to 0).

Stupid me... ;-)


All in all, though, I can't complain with a 1-1-1 record on the day. No "real score" was kept, but Steve W.'s Black Templars seem to have taken the day with three wins. The food provided by Russ' wife Renee was spectacular, and the camaraderie can't be beat.

PS. Epic Fail #2 - with my wife taking the kids to the zoo that day, she had dibs on the family's digital camera. So I swung by my office on the way to the event to pick up my nice 35mm SLR digital camera. It sat the entire day under the table where I first placed it when I walked into Russ' house.

So NO pictures for you.

ARMY LIST: Deathguard (2,000 points)

(typhus image by MetalPoison)

This Saturday will see me throwing down for three games at a "2,000 point invitational RTT" event. (That means a friend has invited 10 folks over to his house to play three games of 40k; a "Man-Fest" if you will.)

During this event, I will play 3 games consisting of:
(a) Planetstrike Attacker,
(b) Cities of Death (Firesweep), and
(c) Standard v5 mission.

Given that I've spent the past several months working on my Deathguard army, I will be fielding them this Saturday. I concocted a 2,000 point list some time ago, and have had about half-dozen (or so) field tests with it. It is a solid force; my dice, on the other hand...

Even though fellow DFIR poster MattP will be at the event, it is a friendly enough environment that I have no problem posting my list here for all to see.

However, before I post my list, let me wax philosophical about my style of play.

I'm not a competitive gamer, I'm not much of a tournament player (and when I do go to tourneys, it's to get in 3 games of 40k and a break from 'real life' for a day), I am not a power gamer, nor do I "list tailor" for my opponents.

What I am is a fluff player. I love to build shoddy lists around a great concept, and then loose horribly with them. Trust me, I'm REALLY good at that. And that more-or-less explains my Deathguard list. Although, unlike many of my other lists, at least Plague Marines are tough as nails, so this turns out to be a fairly effective fluff list.


TYPHUS' STRIKE FORCE

• Typhus (225)
• Sorcerer - Mark of Nurgle, Wind of Chaos, Personal Icon (155)
• Plague Marines - 7 including Champion (power fist), 2 Flamers, Personal Icon, Rhino (x-armor) (266)
• Plague Marines - 7 including Champion (power fist), 1 Meltagun & 1 Plasmagun, Personal Icon, Rhino (x-armor) (281)
• Plague Marines - 10 including Champion (power fist), 2 Plasmaguns, Personal Icon (305)
• Summoned Lesser Daemons - 14 (182)
• Predator - Autocannon & Heavy Bolters (100)
• Obliterators - 2 (150)
• Terminators - 7 including Champion (twin lightning claws), Combi-Bolter/Power Fist, Combi-Bolter/Power Weapon, Combi-Melta/Power Weapon (2), Combi-Melta/Power Weapon/Icon of Nurgle, Reaper Autocannon/Chainfist (335)

1,999 points total, 52 models, 4 scoring units (5 if I decide to split the daemons in halves - we can use different lists in each game), 11 Kill Points.


So what do you think, folks? Decent list? Or another one of my classic "shoddy themed lists" that I'll have fun loosing 3 games with... ;-)

PAINTING: The Lazy Man's Way (drybrush & wash)

As eluded to in an earlier post, and being a little delinquent on fulfilling my promise there, I'm finally at a point where I can give a better detailed lesson on my Lazy Painting method - specifically the Drybrushing and Wash method.

Volunteering to help me demonstrate this methodology is my Forgeworld Deathguard Terminator Icon Bearer (complete with Combi-Melta and Power Axe).

Step 1. Prime Black.

OK, so this step is pretty easy. I doubt I can teach you anything with a step-by-step for priming (and if you've never primed a model, I'm sure you can find numerous tutorials elsewhere). Instead, I'll wax philosophical about what I use to prime models with.

Citadel/Games Workshop Chaos Black.

Expensive? Yes, yes it is. To expensive? Yes, yes it is... While expensive, I like the fine-grained nature of the product and the very even and smooth finish you get in the end. Being lazy, I tend to prime a little on the heavy side, so other products I've tried, like Krylon, were just a tad to "thick" for my style.

Step 2. Heavy Drybrush of Basecoat Color.

As most of us know, drybrushing is a technique where one uses a dry brush, and before applying it to a model, wipes off almost all of the paint from it. Use a textured paper towel to wipe on - you know you're good to go when all that is taking paint off the brush is the raised edges of the texture.

I like to use a larger brush, as a pointy and/or skinny one gets into the crevices to easily, and we want to avoid that.

Now, to do it "heavy" and "the Lazy Man's way", I tend to leave a tad bit more paint on the brush than a true drybrush method might.

Another difference here, compared to a normal drybrush methodology (where one only wants to slightly pick out the highest of details), is that I work the brush fairly hard (pressure) and repeatedly (re-loading paint on the brush two or three times).

As you can (hopefully) see in our Test Subject here, the drybrushed basecoat has almost completely covered the black primer (pressure element); however, going back over a few times (repeatedly element) adds more and more basecoat to the raised details to help further define them.

Voila! One Step, Two Tones!


Step 3. Medium-to-Light Drybrush of Lighter Color.

Now, get a lighter color to drybrush, which will help further define the details of the model. For the Terminator Test Subject, the basecoat in Step 2 was the Citadel Foundation color Gretchin Green (the one that is kind of olive-drab colored). For this step, I chose the Citadel (regular) paint Rotting Flesh. Its a nice contrast to the Gretchin Green, but still within the green spectrum of things.

On a side note, while I've now pointed out two Citadel paints that I use, I actually more frequently use the cheap craft acrylic paints one might find at any craft store like Michaels or A.C. Moore - Ceramcoat by Delta, Apple Barrel, Americana. I like these because (a) they are cheap and (b) they come in a range of colors, so you can easily get two or three shades of the same thing. For example, planning on jumping on the Blood Angels bandwagon in a few weeks? Then round yourself up two or three shades of red craft paint and use the Lazy Man's drybrush method basing in the darker shade and then moving through the brighter shades.

Step 4. Wash

Sheesh, again with the Citadel products... For washes, I am absolutely sold on the relatively new range of Citadel washes. Devlan Mud has got to be the best product released for my Lazy Man's painting method.

Right, so what does that matter, you ask? Simple. The next step is to wash your model. Get that large dry brush out and slap that wash all over the place. But do make sure that any places where it pools too heavily, you hit it again with the brush to "soak off" some of the excess.

Stupid me, I forgot to snap a picture of our Test Subject after this stage. But Fear Not! I have a back-up plan for you. Below, in Step 5, look closely at the shoulder pads in the picture there. While the main body of the Test Subject there has been re-drybrushed with Rotting Flesh post washing, the shoulder pads have NOT, so its a good example of what Step 4 should look like (kind of - the shoulder pads were washed with Thraka Green while the body was washed in Devlan Mud; also, I went a tad heavy on the shoulder pad wash as I wanted to really mute/obliterate that Gretchin Green/Rotting Flesh color).

Where the intent of Step 3 is to help define the details, the intent of Step 4 is to help define the recesses.

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**

If you proceed withOUT letting that wash COMPLETELY dry, you'll be sorry... Seriously, let that wash dry completely, overnight if possible. Me - I like to get a whole bunch of miniatures to the point where they are ready to wash. That way I can spend one evening doing nothing but that, and then letting them all dry until the next painting session. You've Been Forewarned... Mwhaahaaahaaaaaa...

Step 5. Repeat Step 3.

The only thing to point out about Step 5 is that you'll definitely want to lean more towards the lighter side of drybrushing. In fact, where Step 3 is a "modified drybrush technique with more paint and more force", Step 5 should be more like a "true drybrush technique" - very little paint on the brush, and very little application of force.

Like I mentioned above, look at the shoulder pads on this Test Subject image to see what a wash looks like before Step 5.

You'll also see now that Step 5 is complete, I've moved on to Step 6.

Speaking of which...


Step 6. Detail.

All that's left to do is paint the details using the regular ol' cheapo craft paints mentioned above. At this point, I consider the vast majority of the model complete, so like to use Step 6 to add some "pop" into the color scheme. For example, with these Deathguard Terminators, I'll use a lot of bone/white and red and silver/boltgun metal and gold on the details and extra bits, to help the model "pop" on the tabletop.


There you have it. A step-by-step tutorial on Painting The Lazy Man's Way. Its kind of funny to me, having written it out, it seems SO time intensive. Trust me, its not. For a typical squad, say 10 regular infantry or 5 elites (with that extra bling), I can usually do steps 1 through 4 in a single evening and then wrap it up with steps 5 and 6 in a second evening. I'd say four to five hours of effort for the whole unit. Easy-schmeesy.

Scratch-Built Thunderhawk

Hey, all. Here's something I've been working on. It's a Thunderhawk made out of acrylic (0.22" and 0.08" thick) with some of the detail etched in. I've just put a coat of flat black spray paint on it and I can't believe how great it looks. The pictures don't do it justice.

It was a conscious decision to change the front sponsons to Lascannons. It's Apocalypse, so build what you want and make the data sheet reflect the model! They are Land Raider sponsons with the tips replaced with old Chaos vehicle sprue dragon heads. Under the front wings are Land Raider-sized doors. The turbo laser is made from three different sized acrylic tube.

A friend is helping me with the engines, so they should be here this weekend. I've got the wing-mounted twin-linked heavy bolters primed as well. I haven't settled on a bomb or missile payload yet.

Once the engines are on I'll get the better camera.

Thoughts?

GAME STORES: Raleigh-Durham, NC, USA

If you live in or near the Raleigh, North Carolina area, or may have to travel here for some reason, this will be your resource to the local gaming stores where you can get your 40k fix. I guess you can consider the Raleigh area to be blessed with a large number of gaming stores. I have been to all of these stores, and I have supported all of these stores. By no means is this a "review" of the various places where you can throw down some 40k, merely a quick-and-dirty rundown of what to expect from them.

ALL FUN & GAMES
Apex, NC
All Fun & Games (AF&G) is the veteran of the bunch as they have been around the longest. They have survived several moves, and are now located immediately southwest of Raleigh in Apex, just beyond the Cary town limits. AF&G has a large gaming area, and can easily support half-dozen or more games of 40k at the same time. Monday nights are the dedicated 40k night, with a mix of "league" games and "pick-up" games occurring at the same time. However, you can always grab a friend and reserve a table for yourselves just about any time of the week. The store hosts about 4 leagues per year. These leagues always change the format and length to keep things fresh and interesting. The store also hosts approximately quarterly RTT events and have also hosted several past 'Ard Boys preliminary rounds. You can find their website HERE, and from it, you can jump to the calendar that lists all of their events. Their current Planetstrike Campaign League wraps up next Monday (3/8/2010), so I'm sure they'll be rolling out the details of their next league soon (they typically take a few weeks "off" between leagues). They also have a 1500 point 40k RTT scheduled for March 20, 2010 from 10am to 5pm - head over to their calendar and click on the event for the full details!

THE GAME CONNECTION
Knightdale, NC
Of the four stores I'm detailing here, The Game Connection (TGC) has been around the second longest. No, I'm not posting these in age-order (they are alphabetical sans "the"). ;-) TGC is located immediately northeast of Raleigh in Knightdale. TGC also happens to be the "home store" of a great 40k gaming group named The Lords of War. Although gaming space is limited at TGC, if Ron (the store owner) has the room, he'll happily hold you a table to play on. Their dedicated 40k night is on Mondays. The Lords of War will be running a tournament and subsequent league at the store. The tournament is scheduled for March 20, 2010 and participating in it will seed you for a challenge board league "War Without End." Don't worry if you can't make the tourney, though; you can always challenge yourself onto the WWE league board and from there, crawl your way (probably kicking and screaming) up to the pinnacle of the challenge pyramid. Check out the TGC website HERE.

GAME THEORY
Raleigh, NC
Game Theory (GT) is the "newcomer on the block." They opened just over a week ago on March 6 (happy 11th day open, GT), and are located in west-central Raleigh near the intersection of Edwards Mill Road and Duraleigh Road. They have a website HERE; but you'll probably just want to click over to their Meet-Up or Facebook page (I use the former as I refuse to be a "Facebooker"). I checked this store out last weekend and was pleasantly surprised by how nice Rob and Bo (store owners) are (not that ANY of the store owners of these stores aren't, I was just surprised because I had never actually met Rob or Bo before). GT has a moderate area for gaming. As they are new, they are still figuring out which nights work best for various things, and mostly doing things based on who is willing to do what and when. (on a side note, if you're a Warmachine fan, GT has had a couple of VERY successful WM demos the past few weeks - I anticipate a huge WM group to get going there before too long!) To try and top the heavily-attended WM demos, I may just have to talk to Rob & Bo tonight about doing some 40k demos (or *something*).

HANGAR 18 HOBBIES
Cary, NC
Hangar 18 Hobbies (H-18) is also a relative "newcomer" on the Raleigh-Durham gaming scene. Located in south-central Cary, H-18 has been open since November. All of the stores I'm detailing here (obviously) will give you your 40k fix, as well as almost any other type of gaming you may need (CCG, Miniatures, RPG, Boardgames, you name it). But H-18 stands out from the crowd by also having a large selection of Remote Control vehicles. And we're not talking about your Toys R Us type R/C for $10, we're talking SERIOUS R/C "build your own from parts" kind of hobby addiction. The store is limited in gaming space, but Sunday's is their typical 40k day. The scenery they have to play with, though, will absolutely knock your socks off - Kudos to Bryan on his awesome terrain building skills! H-18 is also heavily involved in the SPRING FEVER miniatures gaming convention that occurs in Raleigh every year (most recent one was 2 weeks ago, so you'll have to wait a bit for the next one). Recent discussion on their Yahoo! group site has indicated we can expect a good game of Apocalypse in the near future, once some "balance bugs" are worked out by the organizers. You can find their website HERE, and from there, you can follow them on Facebook (grrr...) or join their Yahoo! Group.

SCI FI GENRE
Durham, NC
Way over there in Durham (OK, so its not like Durham is THAT far from Raleigh - only the airport and Umstead State Park separate the two these days) is one last store I should point out - Sci-Fi Genre. I haven't been to Sci Fi in a while, but I have attended several of their 40k tournaments, which they host almost monthly. Gaming space used to be "moderate", but word on the street is that they have expanded that recently, and it now is much more comfortable. Check out their website HERE, and then head over to their 40k discussion forum HERE to catch up on what's going on in Durham (such as their 40k tournament on April 20).



Like I said, the Raleigh-Durham region is blessed with a good number of very high-quality gaming stores that will help you get your 40k fix (or just about any other gaming need you may be afflicted by). I highly recommend checking out ALL of these stores - one thing I didn't point out is that there (oddly) is little cross-over in the people who frequent these stores, so it is a good way for me to hit them all and really expand my gaming friends and community.

REVIEW: 40k Battle Missions Supplement

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking at this point, "Sheesh! Not ANOTHER blogger reviewing the new Battle Missions book..."

Yup, that's what you're getting here.

Its funny, for YEARS, I've been saying that Games Workshop needed to do just this - publish a book of missions. Finally, my dream comes true. Since numerous places out there on the interwebs can give you detailed information about the 33 new missions in the book, I'll take a slightly different approach in this review.

THE GOOD

Hands down, I'm happy with this product.

The missions do spice things up a good bit, but none of them really go "way out there" and mess with the basic 40k v5 mechanic; well, maybe with the exception of the Space Marine mission that features a Thunderhawk... Most are based on objectives or some variant of the Kill Point system (with even one or two using a modified v4-ish Victory Points deal).

Many of the missions include one-to-a-handful of "special rules" that add a new dimension to the mission. Yet none of these seems awfully broken or lopsided.
The book contains a small bit of fluff for almost all of the armies out there (the =][= forces being the exception), which provides a nice little break from "reading rules".

And to go beyond the book itself, I believe that this supplement can help one devise their own missions (something we here at DFIR LOVE to do), and can also be used as a springboard to formulate either a campaign or even a good game of Apocalypse.

THE BAD

All is not a rose garden, though.

Did Games Workshop miss a boat here by not supporting the Battle Missions book with more miniatures releases? The past expansions - Cities of Death, Apocalypse, and Apocalypse Reload - all featured quite a number of new model releases and/or splash bundle packages. So why did the new Battle Missions book only come with a handful of new kits for only 3 armies? Got me...

Are there to many new missions in the book? I doubt I'll ever play all of them at least once. Seriously, 30 missions (the other 3 are "special" missions) is A LOT of games to be played. 60 if you consider playing them all from both sides of the fence. Hmmm... quick head math here, at roughly 3 games per month (my average gaming schedule), it'd take me almost 2 years to play all 30 missions from both sides of the equation (ie., once as attacker and once as defender).

Are having the missions arranged by Army types going to make some people shy away from playing many of the missions? I look forward to playing some of my armies using the Daemons missions (for example), but that might not be what everyone is thinking... I think a better way to "organize" the book would have been to do so like some of the older rulebooks, by "mission type". Have raids, breakthroughs/breakouts, assaults/sieges, and etc. This would have also allowed for a more robust "special missions" section including such things as a Kill Team-esque mission, a Combat Patrol mission, a high/low gravity mission, a new Cityfight mission (or two), and even a new Apocalypse style mission (or two).

Finally, I think my last gripe is that maybe the missions are somewhat repetitive in certain elements. Deployment schemes, for example. Why not include some missions with that old "diver down" style deployment where opponents have a triangular-shaped deployment zone? Another example is that all of the missions have the standard variable game length (one includes an 8th turn, and one is "fight til one person is completely annihilated). It would have been nice to see some have a set length, a different take on variable length, or maybe even a set event that would end the game.


SUMMARY

Like I said earlier, "Hands down, I'm happy with this product." My minor gripes above do not detract from my appreciation for the Battle Missions book. If anything, the book will help me (and my fellow DFIR cohorts) springboard into more home-made missions and general "fun times". The product is worth it for the variety it adds to the game, even if you won't play every single mission in it.

In other words, I highly recommend the new Battle Missions book.

THANKS to Ron Saikowski

I just wanted to take a quick moment to give Ron S over at From The Warp a huge THANK YOU for putting Deleted From Imperial Records on the FTW Blogger Roll.

Ron's FTW blog was one of the very first ones I began to RSS feed into my Google Reader. In fact, it was shortly after I started following Ron's blog that he expanded his solo FTW effort to the coalition of blogs it is today. I want to say that it all started with something like Ron and 4 or 5 other blogs, but I could be wrong. Regardless, the FTW coalition has grown to over 500 blogs, with probably close to 1,000 individuals involved (given that some of the blogs, like us here at DFIR, are group efforts).

Ron, THANK YOU for all your efforts getting FTW where it is today, and thanks for rounding up some of the very best 40k blogs out there in the blogosphere. We here at Deleted From Imperial Records are grateful for your (probably too frequently UN-thanked) efforts!

KUDOS!

From the Warp FTW!

Signing in... Late as usual

Here goes my first post on DFIR (D'FIR? Da Fear! hmm I like that...).

I'm a mediocre player, mediocre painter and mediocre converter so my posts will likely reflect that. I promise that they'll be exciting to read, in a middle of the road sort of way.

I'm currently working on an Ork army. After running Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, Daemon Hunters and Eldar in various states of completion I've decided that I won't field my Orks in public unless everything is complete. That was 14 months ago and they've yet to see a game outside my house.

Someday, someday...

Painting: Confessions of a Lazy Painter

My next few posts will include a couple of painting-related articles. While these forthcoming articles will detail a particular unit I’m painting, their intent is really to show *how* I paint in general.

So I thought it would be best if, before those articles, I laid out the type of painter I am and my styles of painting.

I am not an ‘Eavy Metal painter. I’ve never entered one of my miniatures into a painting contest, and probably never will.

I am not a Pro painter. I do not paint umpteen layers of wet-blended highlights or line/edge armor plates or etc. I simply have too much to do and not enough time to do it all.

But I do strive for a paint job that accomplishes two goals:

1. Much better than basic “Table Top” standard (i.e., more than simply three colors and based).

2. A finished product that amazes the pants off my non-gaming friends/family and even elicits the occasional “nice paint job” from the various gamers I encounter.

To this end, I basically utilize two painting styles, depending on the army I’m working on or what I want the finished piece to “look like”.

1. Painting with Inks

2. Dry brushing and Washing

Painting with Inks

For bright, sharp, crisper looking models, like the ones in my Eldar army, I primarily “paint” the minis with inks and then do details with regular paint. The process is rather easy.

Step 1. Prime white

Step 2. Then paint UNDILLUTED ink over the major parts (this is like a “basecoat”). With inks, the important part is to let them dry for a long time before proceeding.

Step 3. Once all the inking is completed (and dry), then it’s merely a matter of picking out details with regular acrylic paint to broaden the color palette on the mini.

By inking over the white primer, it’s like “killing two birds with one stone” in the sense that the flat parts will end up with not as deep of a color compared to the recesses where the ink pools. If I’m doing a “centerpiece” model, like an HQ Independent Character or something, then I usually go back and dry-brush some highlights to give a third level of depth to the model, particularly cloth or leather items (I guess this could be considered “Step 4 – Optional”).

If you look at those Dire Avengers above (sorry for the less-than-spectacular picture of them, it is an old one I had on the computer), I'd say that maybe even more than 90% of those models are covered in ink. The entire blue body and all the red on the helmets (plume and face).

Dry brushing and Washing

For dirtier, grimier looks, like my Deathguard, I use a series of dry brushing and washes. The process is rather easy (notice a pattern yet?).

Step 1. Prime Black

Step 2. Heavy dry brush of “basecoat” color. Be liberal with this step, but do leave some of the black primer showing in recesses.

Step 3. Medium-to-light dry brush of lighter color, typically similar to the color in Step 2, but just a lighter shade. The point in this step is to (a) not cover the Step 2 “base color”, but also to (b) liberally hit the high edges and details to lighten them up.

Step 4. Wash. Color is chosen based on the desired effect – brown for skin and leathers, black for chainmail, I’ve even used some purple washes for “bruised” effects.

Step 5. Once the wash is completely dried, I then repeat Step 3, but definitely lean towards the “light” and not “medium” scale for the dry brushing. The point here is to simply re-define those most raised edges and details that have been muted in Step 4.

Step 6. Pick out details using regular acrylic paints.

If you look at the Jetbike Autarch above, you actually see both painting styles (again, apologies for the poor picture). The Autarch himself was done primarily with the ink method. The Jetbike, particularly the front nose, was done with the dry brushed method. First, the nose was inked blue, midnight blue was dry brushed near the front/tip to darken it up, and a lighter blue (almost "Carolina Blue") was dry brushed at the handlebar end.

So there you have it, "Confessions of a Lazy Painter." Currently on deck for me to paint is a squad of Chaos Deathguard Terminators (dry brush/wash style) and a unit of Zombies (ink style). They will be my next posts to give real-world examples of the methods outlined above.

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Silver Tower/Crystal Spire

I am a member of TechShopRDU. One of the tools they have there is an Epilog Helix 45 laser cutter. With this I have been able to cut out some custom mega-Apocalypse templates (a 15" blast, to name one) and a few other goodies for our games. One thing I'm working on now is a Tzeentch Silver Tower, inspired a bit from here.

The above picture is a rendering from Rhino3D of all of the panels I'm working on for my Silver Tower. For a bit of scale, the tower is 28" high and the bottom makes a 6" wide hexagon. It's big.

My friend, Curt, had a great suggestion. We could make two different designs for the etching on the panels; one for Eldar and one for Tzeentch. I think that's a great idea. They could both use the same data sheet. We'll call the Eldar one a Crystal Spire. What do you think?

Greetings from MJ;-)!

Greetings, and welcome to our new blog! MattP, HMT, and MJ;-) (me) will be posting here various things related to our 40k hobbies.

We all probably have our own, and often different, priorities for this blog, but don't hold us to any particular Modus Operandi. In the end, this blog will likely cover any and all topics even slightly related to Warhammer 40,000. I'm sure we'll cover topics ranging from the modeling, converting, scratch-building, and painting side of things, to homemade rules and other Apocalypse-related content, to Army Lists and Battle Reports, even to those things that help our hobby yet are not directly related to it such as photography tips, casting, and maybe even the video game side of things.

As for me, I began my 40k career shortly after the release of 3rd Edition - mid-1997, I believe. My first army was Dark Angels, and was quickly augmented a couple years later by my Eldar army. Over the years I have branched out into Chaos Marines and Deathwing (and have more-or-less dropped non-Deathwing Dark Angels until they get a more deserving codex). I have enough Eldar and Black Legion for Apocalypse games, and am currently "in progress" on two projects (replacing my old metal Deathwing army with a "Chaoswing" army thanks to those awesome Doombringer Annihilation Forces from last summer; and Deathguard). I also have an upcoming "secret" project, one which will unfold here on this blog.

So WELCOME. We look forward to this new undertaking of ours.

Welcome!

Hey, everyone! (Anyone?) Welcome to "Deleted from Imperial Records." This is going to be another in the long line of Games Workshop Warhammer 40,000 blogs. We hope you like it.

I'm MattP. I've been playing 40k since Rogue Trader. My main armies are Eldar and Chaos although I have a Daemonhunter and a Catachan army that both refuse to ever be painted. (The Catachans are all metal, if that tells you anything.) I'm rather prolific and like nothing more than to make up new rules and scenarios. Once upon a time this got me in the position to help play test many official 40k products as an "Ancient and Honourable Techpriest." Alas, that program has gone the way of the dodo, so any of my official projects are few and far between.

Due to a childhood obsession with Godzilla movies, I am also crazy for titans and anything huge. Not sure if this makes me a power gamer or not because I am just as happy to play against my creations as to play them myself. Adding both the rules-making and the mega-monsters aspects of my personality together has lead to us playing a lot of narrative Apocalypse battles. We have been basing these off of the Apoc-Eclipse web page. I don't know how much I'll divide between here and there.

I'll be making most of my posts about either new units/rules or model making. We'll see how it goes.