Dark Angels (and other marines) Feeling THE LOVE!!!

shamelessly pulled from Necrotales

Let me be the 87th person to tell you this. Most of the Space Marine codexes (codecies? codeces?) got new FAQs today.

Who got a big boost in power today?

That guy (above).

Who else got a big boost in power today?

This guy (below).

another image shamelessly pulled from the interwebs at Prodigal Son Hobby Blog

So just in case you are the one guy out there currently habitating under a large lithic object, let me explain.

The new FAQs from GW, found HERE, not only cleared up some questions that crop up in the game, but actually altered some of the older codexes rules!!!

That's right. Dark Angels and Black Templars, who have been living for years with substandard equipment, had said equipment updated to be in-line with more modern versions.

Storm Shields that give a 3++ save.
Cyclone Missile Launchers that shoot twice.
Updated Power of the Machine Spirits.
Drop Pods with BS 4.
And (probably) a few other tweaks along those lines.


Now, you might be asking yourself, "MJ;-), what does this really mean?"

Good question.

For me, it is not so much the boost in power for those older codexes, to be similar to their other brothers. No. What this is to me is a fairly drastic departure in the FAQ world for GW.

See, up until now, FAQs simply fixed typos ("errata") and cleared up confusing situations ("FAQs").

These new FAQs now add a third category of "update." They add "AMENDMENTS." Amendments being actual changes to the rules, stats, and etc. in a codex.


Personally, I'm most excited about this addition to the FAQ line. As far as I'm concerned, my one comment to Games Workshop right now would be "Its About TIME!!!" This is the kind of thing a FAQ should be used for. Seriously. It alleviates the "issues" that crop up over the course of 6 to 10 years between a single army's codex editions.

KUDOS TO YOU, GAMES WORKSHOP! Kudos!

So to all you Deathwing players (and Black Templar players) out there - Kudos TO YOU ALSO for sticking it out so long. Enjoy these new additions to your games.

Particularly because you all know that when a new Dark Angels codex comes along, terminators will be more expensive, and Belial will probably be in the 250+ point range.

Hello, 2011...

Despite my vow to post at least 3 times a week, I intentionally took the holiday season off from posting. Bonus is my birthday is on the 8th of January (R.I.P. Elvis), so the "holiday season" gets an extra week in my world.

But now its time to get back to the grind. Back to my 12-step program.

First up for 2011, lay out some goals. You can call them New Year's Resolutions if you'd like.

When it comes to 40k, I'm a bit of a scatterbrain. I plan one project while working on another while neglecting at least 3 more. So many things to do, so little time to do them. So this year, rather than just letting the Year of 40k "happen," I want to take a more direct and concerted approach. So here's a few of the things I hope to achieve in 2011.


SPACE WOLVES

I've been working on my Logan's Hunters project off-and-on in 2010. For 2011, I have three goals I'd like to achieve with the Warriors of Fenris.

1. Finish the Logan's Hunters Terminator project. 3 Squads, 2 Land Raiders, and 3 Dreadnoughts remaining to complete that task. Its all in hand, all assembled, and all primed. All I need to do is paint them.
2. Expand the Logan's Hunters project beyond this initial stage. Yup, that's right, expand this army. I'm sure such expansion will involve a number of posts here at DFIR. So if you're a Wolf fan, stay tuned.
3. Assemble and Paint my Eclipse-Pattern Thunderhawk. I'll admit, I'm a bit scared by this project. Its a tad overwhelming looking, but I think once I get down to it, it will be much easier than I'm anticipating. Wish me luck with this one!

DEATHGUARD CSM

My Deathguard army has really come together in 2010. LOTS of progress on this army. So there's not all that much left to do. But there are at least a couple things.

1. Plague Tower. With my Plaguereaper completed, its now time to turn my attention to making a Plague Tower for my Deathguard force. Don't ask me why, but I am just not a fan of the existing Plague Tower concepts. I do not like the fantasy-style "wooden wheeled siege tower" nor do I like the leering faces on the front concept. Actually, you can ask me why. Its because I think those look silly for a far futuristic war machine of utter destruction. Hence, my Plague Tower will be more mechanized. The base chassis for the model will be a Baneblade, but from there, I'm still toying with a few other ideas. One is to scratch-build the tower part of the model; the other is to use something existing - maybe a Bastion or some Cities of Death panels. I guess we'll see in good time...
2. Daemon Princes. I've recently picked up an off-brand Daemon Prince from Troll Forged miniatures. Specifically "Demon Lord 2" from THIS LINK. I got him with the wings option, and also with an alternate head. So this bad-boy needs some construction (actually began last night) and painting. Related to this, my Ultraforge Plaguedemon is already painted and has seen some action on the tabletop. But he needs wings. Not sure if I'll pick up some pre-fab wings from somewhere or try to scratch-build my own. We'll see. In both cases, I want to magnetize the wings for easier transportation purposes.

MISCELLANEOUS

This isn't everything I plan to do this year. Partly because of my aforementioned scatterbrain predicament. I'm sure there's projects that will creep up during the year. If I had to guess...

1. Eldar. I don't think I can go the whole year without giving my Eldar some love. I have 3 War Walkers built and primed that need to be painted. I also have 10 Wraithguard in their blister packs that need some attention.
2. Emperor's Children. I'm still contemplating an Emperor's Children project. It is "medium-to-low" on the priority list, though, so there's no guarantee that it'll happen in 2011.
   
3. Warmachine & Hordes. Having spent the Summer of 2010 playing "Warmahordes," I'm feeling the need to get back to that game some (those games, technically). I'm actually in the process of weeding my Legion of Everblight hordes army down a taste, with the intent that what's left will be easier to tackle painting wise. I also have a handful more Bane Thralls to paint for my Cryx army - six got painted for an event this summer, which leaves me with 4 regulars plus a Standard Bearer and Officer to paint.
4. DFIR Resident MikeT. [Yes, Mike, I'm calling you out.] ;-) I hope to get MikeT to post something to this blog. This may prove to be the hardest of my New Year's Resolutions, though... (just kidding, it will only be a tad difficult...).
5. COMPLETE a league. All too often, I join a league, only to be called out into the field for an extended time. To date, I don't think I've ever officially completed a league. My goal is to complete at least one such endeavor this year.
   

So there we have it. Some - maybe even too many - goals for my 40k life in 2011. Much of this will be used as cannon fodder for this blog, so if you're really interested in seeing something from my list in particular, comment below and I'll see if I can make it a tad higher on the priority list.

So until next time, keep the Ni-Cd batteries in your Power Swords fully charged.

MJ;-) Project Log: Logan's Hunters, Logan and Njal

Hmmmm... Looks like a week has (almost) passed me by, and no updates to the blog.

Epic Fail on the 12 step program.

In my defense, its been a busy week. Work has had me slammed, there's been a death in my family, AND I'm gearing up to run a TOYS FOR TOTS 40k tournament tomorrow.

A few weeks ago, I managed to finish SQUAD 2 for my LOGAN'S HUNTERS army.

At pretty much the same time, I painted my two characters - Logan Grimnar, and Njal Stormcaller.

So today, I'll post up some pictures of these bad asses!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so given my time constraints today, I think I'll just let the pictures do (most of) the talking.

MJ;-) Project Log: Logan's Hunters, Squad 2

OK. So its a Terminator Thanksgiving! Continuing with the Terminator Theme that has run through my last two posts, here is an update on the Second Squad for my Logan's Hunters (Wolfwing) Army.

One thing I intend to do with the army is to demarcate different squads through the use of different accent colors. In the FIRST SQUAD, the primary accent color was red. For the second squad, the primary accent color was yellow. I used the Foundation paints Mecharite Red and Iyanden Yellow, respectively.

I have also decided to wait until all the squads are done and then do all the bases at the same time. I find that (a) gives me more of a sense of accomplishment (churning out squads faster, even if the base is not done), and (b) makes basing across all the models more coherent.

Squad 2 is pretty self-sufficient in just about any role. It features two Wolf Guard with storm bolter and power weapon/frost weapon, two Wolf Guard with storm bolter and power fist, and one Wolf Guard with cyclone missile launcher, storm bolter, and chainfist. This unit can lay down some serious small arms anti-infantry fire, can hunt tanks at range, butcher infantry in close combat, and even rip tanks a new (deleted by the Inquisition) when they assault armor.

This storm bolter/power weapon WG model is from the Space Hulk set. For this one, the primary accent color is used on the cape.

Here we have Mr. Storm Bolter/Power Weapon Number 2 (hmmm.... I may have to come up with real names for these guys someday).

Unfortunately, this Assault on Black Reach model did not lend itself well to using the Iyanden Yellow accent. I plan to do some somewhere on him, just need to figure out where. Maybe a gauntlet (or both). Hmmmm.....

Ahhh... Another of the wonderful Space Hulk terminators. Here, the primary accent is the power fist.

To give the model a little pop of color, I painted the Tyranid carcass purple and dry-brushed it with a lavender.

Next up is a terminator that has used mostly Wolf Guard bits, although I believe the storm bolter arm is from an Assault on Black Reach model.

Again, the primary accent color here is on the powerfist.

Last, but certainly not least, is Mr. Rockets. As a side note, I've found that more often than not, if you say during a game that you're shooting your "missile launcher," that it will miss. After all, "miss" is the root of "MISSile launcher."

The primary accent color is on the chainfist as well as the trim of the CML. Although you can't see it, I did not do the whole CML in yellow, just the "band" that wraps around the front of it.



So there we have it. Squad Number 2 is (almost) complete.

I've also (mostly) completed the two characters for the army - Logan Grimnar and Njal Stormcaller. However, that will be for a future post (or two).

Until then, make sure the safety switch on your chainfist is ON - I'd hate for anyone to take off a nose while digging into some delicious Thanksgiving Dinner!

Terminators, Terminators, and more TERMINATORS! (Part II)

Continuing from my EARLIER POST regarding my favorite 40k models - Terminators...


Last post, I dealt with the traditional terminator army, the old school one if you will - Deathwing. Today, I'll expand our terminator horizons by discussing the use of the Space Wolf codex to field an all-terminator army and also discuss the use of "Counts As" for fielding terminator armies that aren't Dark Angels or Space Wolves.

First, lets cover the alternative to Deathwing - that which the interwebs has dubbed "Wolfwing."

Prior to the current Space Wolf codex, Codex:Dark Angels was the ONLY way to legally field an all terminator army outside of games of Apocalypse. But the current Codex:Space Wolves came with one interesting chain reaction.

Logan Grimnar allows Wolf Guard as Troops. Wolf Guard may be clad in Terminator Armor (TDA). Therefore, one could field Logan + Terminators (as Troops) for a legal all-terminator force that differs from their Deathwing counterpart.

Image from Sons of Thunder Blog

"How are the two Terminator Armies different?" you ask? Well, if you're not familiar with the details of both Codex:Dark Angels and Codex:Space Wolves, let me give you the nutshell version.

Standard "Ultramarine" armies can field 2 types of terminator squads, one with guns, and one with close combat weapons.

Deathwing Terminators collapse these two into a single terminator squad - one in which you can field terminators with guns or terminators with close combat weapons, but mixing-and-matching the two types within each squad. In the end, though, each individual terminator is either like an Ultramarine Tactical Terminator or an Ultramarine Assault Terminator.

The Space Wolf codex takes this "mix-and-match" idea one step further, allowing a Wolf Guard to essentially equip each arm as he sees fit. So instead of being a "Tactical Terminator" with a Storm Bolter/Heavy Weapon and a Power Weapon-Fist-Chainfist OR an "Assault Terminator" with twin Lightning Claws or Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield, the Wolf Guard in TDA can equip each arm individually to combine Tactical AND Assault roles into a single model. Storm Bolter and a single Lightning Claw? No problem. Power Weapon and a Storm Shield? No problem. Thunder Hammer and a Combi-Melta? NO PROBLEM! It should be noted, and will be touched upon in more detail below, that this "ultra mix-and-match" style of equipping terminators is not new; it is how Chaos Space Marine Terminators have equipped themselves for a while now.


In essence, with one fell swoop of the Codex:Space Wolves hitting the shelves, the Terminator Community was in an upheaval. Do you scoff at the "new, shiny" and play Deathwing because you always have, and always will? Or are you tired of Cyclone Missile Launchers that only shoot one missile and Storm Shields that provide a 4+ invulnerable save in close combat only and break from the ranks of the old school to embrace the new generation?

Seriously. The release of the Space Wolves codex really lit some flames under hardcore terminator players, with folks arguing and defending both options.

Sgt. Brisbane at The Sons of Thunder blog did a really nice article on the PSYCHOLOGY/PSYCHOSIS OF A 'WING PLAYER. I highly recommend this read.

DEZARTFOX, RON (both featured in the previous DFIR Terminator post), and RUNTMCRORY (of The Military of Ultramar blog) also discussed their views on the subject, comparing and contrasting the two, and ultimately sticking with the Deathwing.


{insert awkward segue here}


The release of Codex:Space Wolves also fostered the expansion of another element of Terminator Armies.

COUNTS AS

Counts As Terminator armies weren't new per se; however, I've seen a huge upswing in the number of Counts As Terminator armies since the release of Codex:Space Wolves.

Not surprisingly, given that there are two ways to field an all-terminator army, there are two general trends in the Counts As Terminator army choices.

There are those who follow the traditional Deathwing template, such as RuntMcRory at The Military Of Ultramar. Runt is an Ultramarines player. Rightfully so, he drew the conclusion that at some times, the Ultramarines would be faced with a challenge that only a Terminator Force could solve. So Runt has added enough Terminators, Dreadnoughts, and Land Raiders to his Ultramarine army that he can field them by themselves as a Counts As Deathwing army.


And I think that Runt's use of the Deathwing Template is very appropriate to depict an Ultramarine force consisting solely of Terminators and Terminator Support.


Another application of the Counts As Terminator army is to field an all-terminator Chaos Space Marine force.

Ron at FTW was one of the first I saw do this with his (now famous, and now sold to someone else) LUSTWING.

The Lustwing is a Slaaneshi-themed all Terminator Counts As Deathwing force. I guess it goes without saying that the Lustwing uses the Deathwing template (but I better say it nonetheless, just in case you haven't had your coffee/Red Bull yet).

The army is beautifully converted and painted. It definitely gives off a Slaanesh vibe, even if the "rules" driving it are imperial.








Another Chaos-themed Counts As Terminator army, and another stunning example of high-quality conversion and painting work, is THE GOREWING.

Unlike Ron's Slaaneshi-themed Counts As Deathwing Lustwing force, Elazar The Glorified used the Space Wolves codex to formulate The Gorewing.

Given that the standard Chaos Space Marine Terminator is similar in its options as a Space Wolf Wolf Guard in TDA, the use of the Space Wolf template really fits with this army, just as much as RuntMcRory's use of the Deathwing template really fits his Ultramarine terminator army.

For example, Elazar's use of "Lone Wolves" with "Fenrisian Wolves" (Fleshhounds) puts a little icing onto the Gorewing cake, IMO.











So there you have it. Deathwing, Wolfwing, and a variety of Counts As Terminator armies.

So, where do I stand in all of this?

I put one foot into each of the camps. I played Deathwing from way back. Lets just say that my first Deathwing army was all metal. Ron's Lustwing really inspired me visually, and then the splash release of the Doombringer Annihilation Force bundle by GW to support Apocalypse Reload caused me to sell the all-metal Deathwing force and replace it with a Counts As Deathwing Chaos force (Flawless Host color scheme, kind of - Homage to Ron!).

But over time, I became more and more dismayed by the neat toys other Space Marine armies got that my Deathwing didn't have.

Master of the Deathwing does NOT have a 4+ invulnerable save Iron Halo? Seriously? You're trying to tell me that the Master of the FIRST COMPANY of the Dark Angels doesn't have what his nine other counterparts have?

Cyclone Missile Launchers with one shot. Meh.

Sub-standard Storm Shields. Meh, again.

No Land Raider Redeemer. Meh, again.


So, as my WOLFWING posts of late have shown, I have chosen to build up a Space Wolves Terminator force now. There is definitely a place in my heart and soul for my first ever 40k army, the Dark Angels. But I have divested myself of all those models, and patiently await the day when a new Codex:Dark Angels comes to life. I suspect that another True Deathwing force is in my future, once we see that release.


Well, I guess that is about it for today. Until next time, keep your Crux Terminatus polished, and have a Happy Thanksgiving (if you live in the U.S., that is).

Terminators, Terminators, TERMINATORS! (Part I)

What's your favorite model in 40k?

Mine (in general) is that of the mighty Terminator. I love them all. I love the clean and crisp lines Imperial Terminators exhibit. I love the spiky-goth-emo Chaos variant. And above all, I REALLY love the various Terminator Characters AND the Forgeworld Terminators.

Forgeworld SPACE WOLVES Terminators
Forgeworld RED SCORPION Commander Culln
Forgeworld ASTRAL CLAWS Commander Lugft Huron
Forgeworld WORLD EATERS Terminators
Forgeworld WORLD EATERS Lord Zuhfor
Forgeworld DEATHGUARD Terminators


But maybe you already were aware that I absolutely love Terminators, given my handful of posts regarding my Wolfwing project.

So today's post is simply going to compile several of the many Terminator resources I frequent on the internet. These aren't all my resources. And there's resources I used to visit frequently but are now dead (R.I.P. Gods of War). No, what I'm sharing here today is the more extensive Terminator (some even "Terminator-Centric") websites that try to deal with the whole package - painting, converting, playing, tactics, rules, galleries, and even background/history.


First up is one site that I have LONG kept an eye on, and returned to frequently to be inspired by lists and paint schemes.

I present to you, THE DARK FORTRESS by Isiah.

Isiah's Dark Fortress is a Dark Angels resource, with a heavy hand in the Deathwing Terminator world. The site has a ton of resources, but what I like best is the ORATORIUM, which compiles numerous images of painted Dark Angels forces and models.

The most recent addition to the Oratorium is RAZIEL. Raziel is a heavily converted Deathwing Commander sculpted by Scibor. Absolutely amazing. What has two thumbs and is jealous? THIS GUY (me).




If you're a fan of Imperial Terminators, I highly recommend trolling around the Dark Fortress' Oratorium checking out all the beautiful pictures of Deathwing Strikeforces.


Next up is an awesome site that has TONS of history on Terminators. Not the "fluff" type history, but the real history of Terminator Models produced through the ages.

I present to you THE VANUS TEMPLE.

Dezartfox has compiled The Terminator Tomb that shows some really really obscure terminator model productions that I have no idea where he even got the images from. Seriously, you probably don't want to lick some of those models, I suspect they're old enough to really be made out of lead. The Tomb also features wargear as well as Terminator tactics.

Dezartfox also has painted several Deathwing forces for himself, as well as commission jobs. He's included one awesome twist on painting - glowing green light effects. What has two thumbs and is jealous... yeah, you get the picture. Speaking of which, here's a picture of one of Dezartfox's Belial models, complete with glowing green effect. (side note: Necron players, you should incorporate said green glowing light effect in your 'Cron forces)




To wrap up the Deathwing resources, I'll point you in the direction of FROM THE WARP.

Ron has done amazing things with his FTW site. Primarily, Ron has collated over 600 blogs into his FTW Blogger roll. In fact, DFIR is one of the multitude of FTW blogs. The other thing Ron does is cover TONS of tutorials on modeling and painting. Numerous tricks and tips for conversions, and painting methods, and all sorts of things. The best thing is, while his posts feature something specific he's working on, the tips and tactics he's discussing cross-cut any army and even any game system.

"But Wait! What About The Terminators?!?" you're saying.

Right.

Ron is not only a premiere modeler, he also is a Deathwing player. Ron has moved outside the box to create a very stunning-looking Deathwing army, that features a very quick and easy paint scheme that really portrays a "battle hardened and in-the-thick-of-it" look. In other words, Deathwing after weeks of scouring a Space Hulk, not Deathwing marching across the parade grounds in gleaming white/bone armor.

Here's a shot of Ron's latest Deathwing force featuring the down-and-dirty look he's mastered (btw, the nutshell version of this paint scheme is prime, minor detail, wash, done).





Well, now. That seems to be more than I was anticipating. Yet I have LOTS more. Did I mention that I love me some Terminators? ;-)

So I'll leave it at that - Deathwing - and go label the title of this post "Part I".

Coming Soon to a DFIR Blog near you, Part II (Wolfwing, Counts-As Deathwing, and a variety of Chaoswings). Stay Tuned!

MJ;-) Project Log: Logan's Hunters, Squad 1

Well, this unit isn't quite 100% complete, but I can't wait any longer to post up some pictures of BONA FIDE PROGRESS!!! Bases need a little work. Can't decide if the ones with the models standing on larger rocks should have black/gray rocks or darker brown rocks. Also plan to paint the face of the base a frostbite skin color (my first P3 paint product).

This squad consists of Arjac (or simple TH/SS if I can't "afford" Arjac's hefty price tag in terms of game points), a 2nd TH/SS model, 2 Twin Wolf Claw members, and a Heavy Flamer with Chainfist.





















Above, we see "Arjac" in a slightly top-down shot. Arjac was completely built out of Wolf Guard bits. On this model's base, I need to do a little "white wash" of the crevices to tone down the blue, but the effect I'm going for is cracked ice/tundra/glacier. I also am going to use a few fine tip pens to do some freehand symbology and other work on his banner.





















One of my prouder moments in painting this squad was Arjac's Storm Shield. For this, I dry brushed a medium gray over the whole central part, then dry brushed a very light gray over the wolf skull and crossbones, followed by a light dry brush of ivory over that. The trim was picked out in red foundation paint, and the recessed portion around that was washed with badab black wash. Finished it off by painting the very edge with a metallic green (emerald) color.




















Here we see my two Twin Wolf Claw troopers. The one in the foreground is an Assault on Black Reach snap-together terminator with Wolf Guard wolf claws and shoulder pads. Plus a Wolf Guard "gubbin" on top.

The Wolf Claw trooper in the background, although not as easy to see do to the focus (or lack thereof), is one of the Space Hulk terminators.

Like Arjac, both of these guys need the blue in the base's crevices to be toned down with a white wash. The one in the foreground also needs me to decide how I'm going to do large rocks on the bases.





















Finally, we have the Heavy Flamer - Chainfist trooper. This was another one built entirely out of Wolf Guard bits. You can't really tell in this picture, but I did a devlan mud wash on the front 2/3rds of his flamer's muzzle, to give it a "used" look. He also suffers from the same base issues as the others - white wash the crevices, frostbite the face of the base, and figure out what to do with larger rocks.

So there you have it. Real progress. One squad, in about one week. Its not as assembly line as I usually paint, but in the end, I was able to stick with my "average" of one figure per evening rate of production. Here's hoping I can keep it up for a bit!

LOGAN'S HUNTERS: The Backstory

The Wolf stood in front of Logan; however, the voice he heard came from all around him as well as from within him. The Wolf did not move. Only the two cloud jets issuing from its nostrils in the frozen wasteland told Logan that it was not a statue. Somehow, though, Logan knew the voice he heard was that of the Wolf's.

The Time Is Neigh...

A fierce cyclone arose, and swirled around Logan, carrying him into the Heavens. The cyclone sped him through time and space until it instantly ceased to exist, leaving Logan high above a green-and-red scabrous looking planet.

Seek Now... The Time Is Neigh...

Logan Grimnar awoke with a start, his body sweating and his breath heaving. Logan knew the import of the dream instantly, though.

It was time to begin another Great Hunt. He knew not where this planet he gazed upon lie, but knew that it was this Hunt's final destination...





My Space Wolves Terminator project is based around the above idea - that of one of the Great Hunts for the Chapter's lost Primarch, Leman Russ. The force I am building represents Logan Grimnar taking a group of the finest warriors of The Fang and heading out on this journey - Adventure, if you will.

For this project/army, I hope to visually portray some of this backstory in the models themselves.

One way was by using a wild mix of miniatures including Wolf Guard, Assault on Black Reach, and Space Hulk Terminator models. Each Space Wolf in general is individual and adorns themselves with various totems and items, so I wanted these "Best Of" Space Wolves to be no different. The mix I have achieved visually shows that some of these warriors are relatively new to the Wolf Guard while others are ornate veterans. After all, as described in the codex, there is no basis for being a Wolf Guard, other than being chosen by one's Wolf Lord. Wolf Guard members can run the gamut between relatively new to the Grey Hunters or grizzled veterans of decades or centuries of warfare.

Another idea I had about this particular Great Hunt is that Logan would draw Wolf Guard from all the various Great Companies. However, they would all be unified in their quest. Therefore, rather than each one bearing his own Great Company's symbol and color (on the right shoulder pad for wolf guard in terminator armor), they all "ritualistically" re-paint their right shoulder pads black, thus unifying themselves as Brothers on the Great Hunt.

Finally, I'm sure that some of the Great Hunts have included many, most, or even "all" of the Space Wolves, but *this* hunt is more of a small and elite cadre of warriors setting out on the quest. Logan hand-picks a small number of Terminator squads, each with a means of transportation (in this case, the five packs have 2 Land Raiders and 3 Drop Pods), and in addition, Logan draws in some "support" elements in the form of 3 Dreadnoughts, a Thunderhawk, and his close aides Njal Stormcaller and Arjac Rockfist.

MJ;-) Project Log: Logan's Hunters Revived!

Having recently moved, and been reunited with my precious Warhammer 40,000 models that were in storage since late-spring, I have now been getting anxious about a triumphant return to the 40k hobby - particularly the gaming side of it.

I'm sure I'll dabble in a few one-off games in the near future; however, my first "milestone" for 40k gaming is an Invitational Tournament coming up in November. 2,000 point armies for this one.

{on a side note, this tournament is the 2nd annual one where players battle for the "coveted" Warmaster trophy. RussN. took home the trophy last year, so is hosting the next one as he tries to defend his title against almost a dozen other gamers.}

So, 2,000 points. What to do, what to do...

Ah! I know!!! Get my Space Wolves Terminator army out, and get it all ready for the event!

Piece of cake. Only 27 Terminators and 3 Drop Pods to paint up. About 5 weeks you say? No problem... (at least, I hope not)

So its looking like I need to average one squad per week. Doesn't sound too difficult, but my first squad is already showing some weak links. Primarily, my "assembly line" style of painting doesn't transpose as well to units who are made up of differing models. Its more of a "7 Tactical Marines + HW + AW + Sgt" kind of methodology. Not so much a "Termie1 + Termie2 + Termie3 + Termie4 + Termie5" kind of way.

So for now, no pictures for you! I see looking back through my older two Space Wolf Project posts revealing my "secret" and then detailing their assembly, the pictures there are of bare plastic. I'm mid-way through my first squad at the time of this posting. So I hope to roll out another post in the near future showing their primed-washed-drybrushed base, and then start showing off finished units as they get done.

Until then, hang tight - more posts ARE on the way!

MJ;-) Project Log: The Terminators

Sheesh! How dare Real Life get in the way of my addiction, um, I mean Hobby...

So when I last posted, I had revealed my sparkling-new project - an all-terminator Space Wolves army. I call it "Wolfwing" here since that is how most folks on the interwebs refer to such an army, but I dislike that nomenclature. I think I prefer Logan's Hunters, but I digress...

Today, I want to go through the bulk of the army's construction. THE TERMINATORS!

(cue dramatic music crescendo here)

As I pointed out earlier, I had acquired just over 25 terminators. Ten were Assault on Black Reach (AoBR) snap-togethers, five were a box of fancy new Wolf Guard (WG) Terminator models, and eleven were Space Hulk (SH) terminators. In essence, these acquisitions left me with two major tasks.

One. Kit bash the 10 AoBR and five WG terminators into 15 Space Wolves Terminators.
Two. De-Blood-Angel-ize the 11 SH terminators.

Part One

Turns out, the first task was rather easy, and very rewarding. In a nutshell, what I did was snapped the AoBR torso fronts onto their models and then used WG arms and shoulder pads to wolf them up a bit.

The WG box set had several extra arm and weapon options, so I was able to fully kit out the AoBR minis and then only had to revert to a couple of the AoBR arms for some of the WG termies. The concept here basically equates to:


AoBR Body + WG Arms/Pads = SW WG Terminator
WG Body + WG Arms/Pads or AoBR Arms = SW WG Terminator

The AoBR terminators utilize a peg-and-hole to attach the arms, but the WG arms don't have the necessary hole. No problem, just cut off the peg from the AoBR terminator.

Here is where I realized one of the beauties of the AoBR models. The "regular" terminators come with a slightly-raised circular area on the shoulder and the arm then has a circular recess to marry the join; the circular nature of the join allows you to rotate the arm up/down as you want. Guess what? The AoBR terminators ALSO COME WITH THAT RAISED CIRCULAR AREA!

Sweet!

Cut off the peg on their shoulder, and voila, "normal" terminator arms perfectly join onto the AoBR shoulders.

Did I already say "SWEET!"?

About the only WG models that were built completely out of WG parts were my Arjac Rockfist, my Assault Cannon Terminator, and my Heavy Flamer Terminator. For Arjac, I added a Chaos Terminator Lord's cape and also a Space Marine Seargent's backpack banner - I will use the latter to hand paint an anvil symbol in the circular area and include some Runic words (probably "Arjac" and/or "For Russ").

So, a couple of evenings of work, and there we have it. 15 mixed-and-matched Terminators that all contained some level of "Wolfyness" in them. Awesome.






Part Two

Going into the second phase of the Terminator project - that of de- Blood Angels -ing the SH terminators, I have to admit, I was a bit anxious and even a little scared. Several reports on the internet I had read led me to believe that doing this task was going to really push my meager modeling skills as the SH terminator models were variously described as "dripping with" or "chock full of" Blood Angels symbolism.

I guess the reports weren't "wrong" per se, but I think I over psyched myself, so in the end, it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. In a few instances, I decided that removing a blood drop icon would be to hard, so just left it (what's wrong with a couple tear-drop symbols after all). And after I primed the models, I actually noticed that I *MISSED* a few - even a few that were blatantly obvious and easy to reach/remove. Oh well, what's wrong with a couple tear-drop symbols after all...

One bonus presented itself with Part Two. The fine details of the SH terminator models often include battle damage scars. Nice. Not so much because I like the look of battle damage, which I do, but moreso in the sense that if I somewhat butchered the removal of a Blood Angels icon, it just adds to the whole "battle damaged" theme.

Part Two-Bee

One other task was necessary to make the SH terminators ready for my Logan's Hunters army - that of removing them from their SH bases so they could be attached to the Dragon Forge Resin Bases I acquired for the project. I decided that the SH terminator kneeling down and ripping up the floorboards would be my sacrificial lamb, I mean Test Subject. So with my trusty hobby saw - one of those nice fine-bladed, fine-toothed hobby/jeweler's saws - I set to work SLOWLY cutting between the soles of the feet and the rest of the SH base material. My Test Subject came out rather well. But as anticipated (and hence why this specific SH model was chosen as the Test Subject) the whole "ripping up the floorboards" just wasn't going to work with my "parched earth turned frozen tundra" base scheme. Lucky for me, the SH terminators number 11 (insert Spinal Tap pun here), so I could afford one sacrificial lamb and still end up with ten usable SH Terminators. What removing that model from its base made me realize, though, was that this part of the task was going to be fairly easy also.

All told, I spent one evening freeing the SH Terminators from their bases, and one evening snaping/gluing the SH terminators together (in other words, I actually did "Part Two-Bee" first and then did "Part Two" last).

The current status of my Logan's Hunters project is farther along than my blogging seems to indicate. The 25 terminators are attached to their bases and they have been primed (Krylon gray - a fairly dark-to-medium shade of gray), washed (Citadel Badab Black wash), and had their first layer of drybrushing (Delta Ceramcoat Rain Gray) applied. My three dreadnoughts and two characters (Logan and Njal) have been primed. My two Land Raiders will have to wait until after an upcoming May 22 Apocalypse Battle before they can truly convert over to the good side; I need those two Land Raiders to remain painted in a black scheme for my Armored Spearhead formation.

MJ;-) PROJECT LOG: Secret Revealed!

Over the last few weeks that we've been rolling out the DFIR blog, I have dropped subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) hints that I'm working on a new project - my "Secret Project."

The time has come to reveal this effort, and bring it out of the obscurity of secretiveness.

I present to you...

LOGAN GRIMNAR AND HIS WOLFWING HUNTERS!!!

(cue cheers and raucous celebration here)



Ever since the new Space Wolves codex came out, I've been pouring over it way too much. Thinking, scheming, wondering, jotting down scribbly notes, re-reading, and generally being excited about a new codex for the first time in a long time. And I mean a LONNNGGGGG time...

I finally decided a few things about this project early in the year, so set to work putting my scheming into action.

First, I wanted to get off as cheaply as possible. This meant doing two things. One, requisitioning several of my existing models from other armies. Primarily two Land Raiders and two Dreadnoughts that used to be part of a Dark Angels/Deathwing army (but more recently have either collected dust and/or been used by my Black Legion). Two, relying on other unassembled miniatures I had lying around, primarily my Black Reach Terminators.

Second, by saving a bit up front, I wanted to splurge a little and treat myself to a few "upgrades" to the force. My "splurges" consist of a set of RESIN BASES FROM DRAGON FORGE MINIATURES, and a set of Terminators from the Space Hulk board game. Although the resin bases are from the Dragon Forge Parched Earth series, I think I can paint them up fairly nicely to represent cracked ice/glacier and snow. The resin bases were definitely a splurge on my part; however, the Space Hulk Terminators really turned out to be a bargain. I found an ebay store (pfc.games) that was selling a few sets of the 11 terminators AND the librarian for the wonderful price of $65. Not bad considering it net me a total of 12 terminators which would otherwise cost me over $100 MSRP at $50 per box of Terminators.

All told, the army currently consists of quite a bit. Logan Grimnar and Njal Stormcaller are the commanders. 25 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armor are the Troops (10 Black Reach Terminators, 5 Wolf Guard Terminators, and 10 Space Hulk Terminators). There's the aforementioned Land Raider, Land Raider Crusader, and Two Dreadnoughts, plus an additional Black Reach Dreadnought to support them. And Finally, 3 CNC Workshop Troop Landers (Drop Pods for Dreadnoughts) and 2 Games Workshop Drop Pods (for Terminators) round out the lot.

If the Techshop in Durham ever reopens, and DFIR poster MattP is able to get some time in there, Logan's Wolfwing will eventually add a nice Thunderhawk to their arsenal. ;-)

So all told, it was a fairly "budget" force - at least as budgetey as a 40k army can be.

$20 Logan (from Hangar 18 Hobbies in Cary)
$20 Njal (from Game Theory in Raleigh)
$50 Wolf Guard Terminators (from Hangar 18 Hobbies in Cary)
$12.50 Second set of AoBR Terminators (pfc.games on ebay)
$15 AoBR Dreadnought (pfc.games; they seem to be out of these currently)
$65 Space Hulk Terminators (pfc.games; they seem to be out of these currently)
$60 Resin Bases (Dragon Forge)
$0 Everything else I already had

I already have a few more Wolfwing Project Logs cued up in my brain, so expect a few more posts from me in short order!