Weekly War Report #1 (Fractional Progress February week 1)

It makes an awful lot of sense, knowing me, that the moment I decide to take things easy hobby-wise I end up doing more painting in a single week than I managed in the whole first month of the year. If nothing else it proves that shorter, more frequent hobby sessions are doing me more favours than trying to block out an entire evening for this stuff.

Nothing's finished (and I still haven't done the basing on the Hive Tyrant and Tyranid Warriors) but I have got a surprising amount of stuff done:

Hormagaunts and Genestealers

A friend once told me that the two most important attitudes an artist can cultivate are “good enough” and “screw it” and I'm starting to get it with the Hormagaunts. They were an experiment in undercoating with Zandri Dust spray and the finish came out all wrong. The grey flesh took layer after layer, the ink and drybrush didn't take quite as well on the carapace as I'd like... and I'm done trying to fix them. They're Hormagaunts, they're small, there'll be two dozen others and no one is going to look at them as individuals so I'm just going to do a final pass on detail work and call them done. You can see in the singular example how the inking has splodged here and there, especially on the gun. I'll fix what I can but I'm calling time on them and letting them be what they'll be.

The Genestealers, who were undercoated grey, came out a lot better even if it did take a layer or two to get the Zandri Dust to take on the carapace. Between them and the still-incomplete Hive Tyrant and Warriors I feel I've definitely nailed down the colour scheme for Hive Fleet Jormungandr even if my interpretation of the artwork violently disagrees with 'Eavy Metal.

Tervigon

Yes, I know there are some parts missing from the middle legs. I bought this one off eBay and I think that's why I got it for such a discount. As you can see from the base, this one was also undercoated Zandri Dust like the Hormagaunts and somehow the carapace has come out a lot better. I'm genuinely unsure why, especially as I didn't have the trouble with the grey flesh I had on the Hormagaunts, either.

A little more experimentation is due so for the moment I'll try undercoating the small stuff grey and the large stuff Zandri Dust and see how it goes.

Plus, literally all this model needs is some tidying of the grey around the gill things on the legs and I can start basing it.

Deathwatch Kill-Marine

A single test model, this one, as I tried out the methods I'll be applying to the rest of the army and road tested the first of the 3D printed shoulder pads from POP Goes The MONKEY (that is actually how he spells it). This one used a Marines Malevolent shoulder pad which fit perfectly over the shoulder connector, took the undercoat relatively well (it needed a little touching up) and the detail is crisp and easy to follow with a brush. It looks practically indistinguishable, as you can see, from something GW would produce.

I also think I've finally cracked yellow, a colour second only in infamy to me to white itself.

Myphitic Blight-Hauler

This is a pretty typical example of what I'm getting done in spare moments on busy days: getting the larger areas of models blocked out. So the Blight-Hauler now has all its green and flesh areas finished and when I have more time I'll go back and do the more detailed work like the silver metallics and brass trim and so on.

Also, its nice to be working on this model because it is so damn adorable.

Great Unclean One

Significantly less adorable but no less fun to paint is the Great Unclean One, again mainly just having finished the larger areas that I could achieve mainly through drybrushing. Actually, what I really like about the Nurgle Daemons and the Tyranids is how well they take to my drybrush-heavy techniques.

I'm not convinced the Screamer Pink guts work as well against the grey flesh tone as they do on the green-tinged flesh Warhammer TV used in their painting tutorial but I'll wait until I have them inked at least before I decide whether to repaint them or not.

Beast of Nurgle

Finally, and back to the cute side of Nurgle, this has been my favourite model to paint from the whole batch. It was a bit of a nightmare to put together because the connectors are so non-standardised and the manual is no bloody help but the finished product is so very worth it. It was also a good test model for some new methods I wanted to try out to diversify the look of the Nurgle Daemons like the Rakarth Flesh / Reikland Fleshshade / Pallid Wych Flesh method on the underbelly.

Other, less visually interesting, progress

I've built a Goliath gang for a friend's Necromunda campaign and I'll be having my first game this weekend; my Imperial Knight arrived from eBay as well as an alternate head piece for it from Shapeways so I'm going to start working on that conversion in the coming week; and, I undercoated my Adeptus Custodes Captain-General Trajann Valoris and a Furioso Dreadnought.

So, all in all, a successful first week. 

This week's hobby goals

Its going to be a busy work week this week with not much time for hobby so I'll be starting off the year with some small, simple tasks I can get done in simple sessions. This is something of a New Year's Resolution for me: to get more hobby done by being realistic about the time I have available and trying to get something done, even if its just a little something, every week.

So small, simple jobs:

Undercoat the remaining models

for my Flesh Tearers 100 power list

I actually had a 100 power game on Sunday (I lost, got tabled but learnt some valuable lessons) so I have the models easily to hand. Its basically a zero effort job though it will take a while because we're talking about something like thirty models including a Dreadnought and a tank (I was not kidding about how bad my “grey horde” problem was, folks).

Paint the bases on some “finished” models

I have a couple of models (six Skinks, a Hive Tyrant and three Tyranid Warriors) that have been basically finished and just waiting to have their bases finished since before Christmas. If I can get those all the way finished that's the first drop in the ocean of the 50/500 Challenge.

Finish building some Grey Knights

After a frustrating hour trying to get one Grey Knight's daemonhammer built I decided to give it a rest for a while. That was a week ago and I should probably get back on that horse. I want to say the hard part is done because I have all the bodies built but I know that isn't the hard part because Grey Knight weapons come in so many different co-dependent builds. Still, if I break it up into a couple of sessions it shouldn't drive my too far down the path of insanity.

*****

It seems a realistic amount to do in a busy week. Obviously, this doesn't include much actual painting and if I do get some done it'll be a nice extra. 

A Flesh Tearers player's notes on the Blood Angels codex

Seriously, just my personal notes not anything like a review.

I am not blown away by Gabriel Seth. He's not bad by any stretch of the imagination but considering that there are no sub-faction rules in this book I was hoping he would do a bit more to impart some Flesh Tearers character to my army. As it is he has a cool but intensely situational rule that gives a slim chance nearby units might get a second combat round in (it goes off on a 6 on units within 6”) and the usual 6” AoE effect allowing Flesh Tearers units to re-roll to hit.

Blood Reaver, his chuff off massive chainsword, is suitably nasty at Strength 8, AP -2 for 3 Damage and inflicting an additional hit for every hit roll of 6 (and Seth has 4 Attacks so that's good odds).

(By the way, there's a perfectly needless note about unique characters I encourage everyone to ignore about how, for instance, Dante is the Blood Angels Chapter-Master and no one else's so you can't change his or anyone's Blood Angels keyword to be used as another chapter's Chapter-Master. As I say, I'd encourage people to ignore this for the simple reason that there isn't another Chapter-Master profile other than Seth you can use if you want, say, field the Blood Drinkers with their Chapter-Master).

There is also a non-Primaris profile for Lieutenants which is useful for someone playing the perpetually under-manned Flesh Tearers. It makes sense they'd have people leading strike forces who aren't as senior as Captains (of which I think they had four at last count).

Should I ever want to use Primaris Marines (I'm not currently that interested) the Blood Angels get access to the full range. Of more interest to me is the fact that they have access to a lot more armour as they gain Land Speeder Storms, Hunters, Stalkers, Stormhawk Interceptors and Stormtalon Gunships. The fliers and the Storm interest me the most as someone who wants to theme his army around mobility rather than static firebases. I really want a Stormhawk.

That's about it. As I say there are no sub-faction rules so Seth really is the only Flesh Tearers representation the Codex provides. There are some nice pieces of Flesh Tearers art including a picture of a Rhino that almost sells me on that mostly black colour scheme. I might event try it on my Vindicator. 

Hobby Goal: paint a unit of Flesh Tearers

Thought I'd bring this back because I feel like getting some painting done this week. I want to finish up some Flesh Tearers because its been a while since I touched that project. I built a few units a while back and any random one will do for this Hobby Goal (though it will probably be some Sternguard I built recently because I absolutely adore Sternguard).

I also want to focus these Hobby Goals on developing my painting skills so, as often as possible, I'm going to have list out some techniques I want to improve through the goal.

Things To Do

Getting a consistent shade on the red armour was a real problem for me when I was originally working on this project. The simple solution, in theory, are Duncan Rhodes' axiomatic “two thin coats” and trying to recess wash the armour (before I just slathered Nuln Oil all over it and whilst that gave me a deep red it also ended up rather inconsistent).

I also want to try out the new AoS-themed golds which look to be brighter than the older golds.

Optionally, I also want to try highlighting some of the black elements, probably just the shoulder pads. I don't highlight often except through drybrushing and its probably about time I learned. 

Building A Better Seth pt.2: The Build

I am glad that the body I originally bought to make Gabriel Seth (the power armoured Legion Praetor) turned out not to fit the chainsword I was using because my second choice for the body has worked out so much better:

The twist in the body, on the original model meant to facilitate a pose where the Captain is drawing his sword from a scabbard, gives a real sense of motion that matches the way the chainsword is held and how the cape hangs. The title in the torso also meant I had to pose the head looking upwards, which works as I imagine I'll be charging Seth in towards the biggest, scariest thing on the battlefield.

It also retains the sense I wanted to convey of a more controlled and commanding Seth but with more dynamism than the Praetor body would have got me. I still don't know what I'm going to do with the Praetor but this has come out better than I imagined, the cape component even fit perfectly to the back without any remodelling to either component.

So, down to parts:

The main body (torso and legs are one component) come from the Forge World MkIII Command set via eBay; the Eviscerator chainsword and arms from the Space Marines Assault Squad, the head from the plastic Horus Heresy MkIV Maximus Armour set; the Flesh Tearers shoulder pad from the Deathwatch Kill Team kit (its why its on the “wrong” shoulder); the other shoulder pad a spare from the Sternguard Veterans kit; and, finally, the backpack and cape from the original Gabriel Seth model leftover from one of the several irretrievably damaged Seths that drove me to make this conversion in the first place.

I'm not usually one for special characters but Seth really inspires me as a character. I like that his attitude towards the inevitable tragedy of the Blood Angels geneseed is to pick up his sword and declare that by the time insanity and genetic degradation destroy his chapter there will be nothing left alive to challenge the Emperor's dominion. 

An impressive torso going spare

I had a plan. I was going to convert my own version of Gabriel Seth using the Forge World Legion Praetor body and the two-handed chainsword from the Space Marine Assault Squad kit. It was a good plan that would have looked awesome if only the two components of said plan actually fit together.

You see, when I came to dryfit them together they didn't fit. The Praetor's torso is not designed like every other Space Marine ever with perfectly flat, perfectly parallel surfaces on either side for flat arm connections to fit on. Instead, I end up with a situation where gluing one arm has the other hanging wildly away and forward of the other shoulder.

Luckily, the random eBay purchase that netted me this torso also got me the Captain's body from the MkIII Legion Command set whose body does fit the arms. He'll be a little smaller but on reflection the twist in his body combined with the chainsword does give me a more dynamic pose as if Seth is bracing to received a blow.

This leaves me with the impressive, finely sculpted and suddenly useless Praetor body on hand. So here I dither, wondering what project to slot it into.

The knightly appearance of MkIII suits itself to making a Black Templars Marshall, of course. There's also the unit of Fallen I'm currently converting to accompany my Death Guard using Iron armour and a Dark Angels Veteran Squad who could develop a sudden Fallen Lord. The Death Guard themselves are already overflowing with characters and I don't want to do any heavy conversion work to the body itself, so that's out.

Then there's the project the MkIII Command body was meant for in the first place: an Alpha Legion officer to lead the Headhunters squad that will accompany (and be the only Astartes unit in) my resurrected Lost and the Damned army. That said, the Praetor body is a little too glorious to be Alpha Legion. I am not a fan of the Armillus Dynat concept, if you were wondering.

I definitely don't want to use it for another Flesh Tearers character, I don't want a random Captain going around looking more glorious than the Chapter Master.

So right now the options are Black Templars or Fallen, either way another excuse to fail to learn how to highlight black. Just depends on which character I can come up with the best design for. 

The Fate Of Konor: Flesh Tearers 75 power list

On July 27^th the Fate Of Konor campaign begins in earnest and I need an army up and ready for the date. I am determined to have a fully painted force to put down on the table. According to our local GW manager, the “average” size game will be 75 power (I absolutely love the power system, so much better than points) and so my aim, over the next twenty six days, is to finish the following;

Captain in power armour (5 power)

Librarian in power armour (6 power)

5 Death Company (9 power)

Death Company Dreadnought (11 power)

10-man Tactical Squad (9 power)

5-man Scout Squad with bolters (6 power)

5-man Vanguard Veteran Squad with jump packs (8 power)

Land Speeder with multi-melta (6 power)

Baal Predator (8 power)

Vindicator (8 power)

Total: 76 power

Of this, the Librarian, Tactical Squad and Death Company Dreadnought are painted already. The Death Company and Vanguard are half-painted. The Predator and Vindicator need building, which shouldn't take long and I'll probably get it done this evening. I might also paint up a Chaplain to give me some character variety (and because their buffs are awesome if you stand them next to your Death Company).

It seems more than doable, since there are only 9 models I have to start painting from scratch (albeit that three of them are rather large). 

Why Flesh Tearers are the best army to paint

50% of Tactical Squad Cleos in the blank void of time and space.

It takes so little time for them to start looking like they should look. The two main colours on them are base paints: Abaddon Black and Khorne Red. Once those two layers are on you have something that looks like a Flesh Tearer. There aren't a whole lot of extra layers needed to make those colours look right (in my case, since my basic arse never bothers highlighting black, I just need to slather Nuln Oil over the red and do a quick tidy) before moving on to the details.

True, there are a lot of details. There are absolutely tons of things that need to be painted white and silver and bone and so on but the basic principle is that I have something, two or three layers into the painting process, that looks close to done even if its an illusion. The illusion of progress is actually a pretty good motivator.

P.S. I am well aware that if I don't highlight the black on my Death Company they will look terrible and I dread getting started on those units for that very reason. There will be a lot of experimenting and a lot of dissatisfaction before I feel I have it right but that's the price of pushing my skills. 

Building a better Seth part I: Parts

As much as I love the look of the Gabriel Seth model I just haven't been able to get one that wasn't mismoulded beyond usability. Its the chainsword, one of those classic long, thin components that just doesn't do well in finecast. I've bought three copies of Seth over the course of the last year or so and each time the sword has been dreadfully mismoulded. What happens is that either the sword snaps when I try to bend it back into shape using warm water or that part goes well but the component then distorts again once the model is assembled, snapping from the tension of the bending and the glue.

So I've decided to just convert my own. Obvious question: what do I need? What are the essential components of Gabriel Seth? Well, here's the model I'm trying to imitate:

He has an angry slaphead, a two-handed chainsword, Flesh Tearers iconography, a distinctive iron halo design and a dynamic pose. Of these, the chainsword is essential, its part of his wargear and has special rules of its own as is some form of Flesh Tearers symbol, though it doesn't have to be in the same place as on this model since that would probably involve freehand beyond my abilities. I have plenty of upgrade set and Deathwatch Flesh Tearers shoulder pads for the iconography as well as a spare Eviscerator from the Space Marine Assault Squad sprue.

The slaphead is optional, I could use a helmeted head, but it won't be difficult to find if I want one. There's a bald head in basically every Space Marine kit, I just have to critically evaluate the ones available and choose the most angry looking. I seem to recall the one on the plastic MkIII armour set being particularly angry and particularly bald.

I actually still have the cape from one of the botched Seths I bought, so that at least will lend a certain authenticity to the model. It will also give him something of Seth's silhouette, which is a very important aspect of character design, especially as I intend to diverge very, very much from the original model with my choice of body.

A while back I picked up the torso and legs component from this Legion Praetor off eBay. It is by far and away one of my favourite designs in the whole of the Space Marine range and I've been trying to find a project to use it on ever since. It will be a less dynamic pose than the original but I think I can make him look suitably commanding, especially as he'll be accompanying footsloggers rather than more dynamically posed jump pack troops.

I also like the idea of having Seth posed in a way that suggests a degree of self-control. I don't see him as a frothing berserker, I prefer to think of him (and the Flesh Tearers in general) to be more like the World Eaters character in the novel The Outcast Dead: constantly on the verge of violence and so conscious of it that they are ridiculously self-disciplined in every circumstance other than open combat. So a more static, commanding pose suits my purposes more than having him running forward so fast he looks like he's going to fall over.

Now to build it. 

The Fate of Konor and the Wrath of Cretacia

So, global campaigns. I've never taken part in one before and if nothing else its a good excuse to get to know some people down the local store club. I don't know if you have to register online with a particular army (I recall you had to in some other campaigns) but if I do I'll break the habit of a lifetime and volunteer to be on the good(ish) guy side with my Flesh Tearers.

The local store manager is talking about 75 power levels as roughly equivalent to 1500 points in the old money (I am rather a fan of power levels, I must admit). I've been having a lot of fun with the Flesh Tearers, though I haven't had as large a game as 75 power and I'm rubbing my hands together in glee at all the cool Blood Angels-y things I can try out in a larger game.

I actually think I might experiment with the Spearhead Detachment with its six Fast Attack slots. It seems very fitting for the Flesh Tearers, especially as it also restricts my Troops and Elites choices which is a nice reflection of how beaten down and undermanned the chapter is.

Also, I want to have lots of Land Speeders because so far my one multi-melta Land Speeder has proven itself a magnificent character sniper. It has a weapon capable of doling out massive amounts of hurt and the speed to whip round the flanks of the enemy to get into a nice position where their general is the closet target.

I also don't terribly favour tanks and heavy weapons so probably the army will remain rather speed-based with perhaps a Devastator Squad or two at the rear for fire support.

Now, just to work out a basic 75 power level list and get it painted up. 

Flesh Tearers vs. Death Guard: let the 8th edition commence!

Yesterday, finally with rulebook and Index supplements in hand, Matt and I began the first in our first series of games for the new edition. This is our “getting to know the edition” series, naturally, I used my Flesh Tearers because they are my training wheels army (I haven't played regularly since the beginning of 6^th edition). Matt, meanwhile, spent an hour or so gluing his Death Guard together so he could start the edition with an army he has no preconceived notions of (this actually turned out to be a good plan).

So, not our first game but the first outside of using slightly incomplete resources off the internet. Matt had the contents of his Dark Imperium box and I had the roughly equivalent power points Flesh Tearers force consisting of:

Librarian in power armour

Chaplain with jump pack

10 Tactical Marines

5 Vanguard Veterans

Land Speeder with multi-melta

Death Company Dreadnought

This worked out to 2 power points more than Matt's and so he got his underdog bonuses. We had a straight up fight with no objectives just to get a handle on things.

Result: win to me. I had both characters, the Dreadnought and a couple of Tactical Marines still standing at the end, Matt had one Poxwalker and his Plague Champion (who... just... would not... die!). We learnt a few things and we forgot a few things.

Things What We Forgot

Shooting pistols in combat is something you really, really need to remember you can do. The loss of additional attacks for charging affects Tactical Squads' effectiveness a lot more than you think it will so, seriously, remember that they have pistols and you can use them.

Cataphractii armour has a better invulnerable save than normal Terminator armour and the Lord Of Contagion is wearing Cataphractii plate.

You can't deny psychic powers if you don't have a psyker on the table. This is why I targeted Matt's Malignant Plaguecaster early on but we forgot this detail and so some of my psychic powers got denied in Turn Two out of the clear blue sky.

Morale at the end of the turn, not the phase, we did a couple of morale tests at the end of the shooting phase and just had to remember the result for later.

Things What We Learnt

Matt used his twenty Poxwalkers to roadblock my Death Company Dreadnought, a slow and interminable beating I took because my Dreadnought was not in a position to do anything useful by leaving the combat. Given how resilient the Poxwalkers turned out to be (it took me eleven turns of combat to whittle them down to one guy) I dread to think what they might have achieved if they'd reached my Tactical Squad.

Plague Marines: super resilient. Matt was trying to use them to take out my Tactical Squad at range but as I kept failing to kill him from a distance we quickly realised that it would just have been better for him to wade through the bolter fire for a turn or two and charge me. This edition is a lot better for designing units to do what they're meant to do and Plague Marines are footslogging attrition specialists.

My Land Speeder is now a character sniper. The speed meant that in about every turn I was able to ensure a character was the closest possible target for my multi-melta.

Also, Land Speeders are a lot more fragile than I anticipated at only Toughness 5 and 6 wounds. Definitely a vehicle that needs to avoid combat wherever possible.

In an edition where extra attacks don't just materialise out of thin air, chainswords are worth their weight in gold.

On the other hand, I'm not sure meltaguns (or any multi-Damage special weapon) are really that useful in a Tactical Squad anymore. They seem more of a contingency fallback than something you'll get full use of most turns.

Given how poorly it did in the one turn it was fighting my Dreadnought, I think the Feotid Bloat-Drone is more of an anti-infantry thing than anti-vehicle.

Area of effect is better than having buffs that only work for the unit a character is with. My Dreadnought managed to get Litany Of Hate re-rolls just from having the Chaplain nearby. Obviously, though, this is a thing to keep a ready eye and a ready tape measure out for.

I love my Chaplain's inferno pistol. It is a good pistol.

Bonus Background Fact!

According to the main rulebook's appendices, there is still a planet of the catgirls. This joke persists. 

Battlefleet Gothic knock-offs: a review

My two knock-off Battlefleet Gothic ships finally arrived from Russia and they are a lot better than I anticipated. I was actually fine with what looked, on the eBay picture, to be a rather grainy finish to the resin. After all, I was paying about three pounds a ship and pretty much not much more on postage for dodgy recasts from some Russian guy. Meanwhile, an original metal one of these things from down the road was at minimum ten pounds.

The idea that I'd have to compromise on quality was fine by me but then they turned up and it turned out I hadn't compromised. These recasts are amazing. Just look at the detail fidelity on these things...

When I bought them I said you had to squint just a little to see them as a Nova and a Gladius but with them in my hands there's no need to squint at all, they just are straight up recasts of the original. Also, I got a free plastic soap dish sent as packaging. Result!

Okay, before anyone brings it up, yes this is technically miniature piracy. HOWEVER, its not like Games Workshop makes these models anymore. Choosing the Russian knock-off over second hand originals doesn't take money out of the hands of the people who made them. They want to bring this game back some day with a full product range I will support the shit out of it but I see no reason to pay above the odds for metal models that will chip and break over practically perfect lightweight resin models that won't. If they were recasting models currently in production then I wouldn't touch those, I think that's a step too far.

The only issues I have with the sculpts are that, as you can see from the soap dish images, there are injection points at some pretty delicate places. In fact, I did some small damage to the bottom of the Gladius removing one.

The other small issue was that arose, as you can see, is that the contact point for the flying base on the Gladius is fractionally too wide. The one on the Nova is the perfect size but it should be mentioned that some packing of the contact point might be necessary before affixing the base in some cases. Its a small flaw and one I'm more than willing to live with when a frigate is just over £7 including postage and packing.

Construction is pretty pain free, even the tiny side gun or whatever it is Nova has a pretty good tab design that helps you slot it into the exact right spot to match the one molded onto the other side of the ship. The rear fins on the Gladius also have a small detail on their side that allows you to line them up perfectly with a connecting detail on the main body of the ship that allows you to line them up right.

Purchasing details

The name of the seller is erinaceus_primus and his store can be found on eBay. His product listings are, not unnaturally, in Russian but incorporate the English class name of the ship so you can tell what you're buying without comparing the picture to a rulebook. He carries, as far as I can tell, recasts of all the frigates and escorts for the Space Marines fleet including the escorts that can also be used in the Imperial Navy fleet. They do not supply flying stalks but they can be easily ordered from Games Workshop.

All models are resin, please cut and assemble in ventilated conditions.

He accepts payment by PayPal. He has a 14 day returns policy with the buyer paying return postage. 

(Battlefleet) Gothic Revival

Ships passing in the night, yesterday.

Long story short: I showed a friend my Flesh Tearers and now I'm painting a Battlefleet Gothic force for him.

Long story long...

Yesterday, my friend Tom came over with his Battlefleet Gothic collection which he'd recently recovered from storage. He had decent sized Ork and Imperial Navy fleets with a few Eldar and Chaos ships. Given the rarity value of things, his big plan is to collect a variety of small forces and share them with us for the purposes of games. Over the course of the afternoon I ended up showing him some of the progress I'd made on the Flesh Tearers.

And he liked them. He really liked them, to the extent of asking me to paint any Space Marine ships he acquired in that colour scheme. We agreed on red for the main body of the ships with black on the prow rams, wings and other sticky outy panels.

I've also ordered a couple of... ahem... mildly naughty “not-Battlefleet Gothic models honest, guv” from a Russian company on eBay that, if you squint (not, admittedly, by much) would appear to be a Gladius-class and a Nova-class frigates. I'm waiting for them to arrive before mentioning the name of the company, just so I can be sure of the quality, but they look good enough for the rather low price, especially compared to what the real deal goes for these days.

Being me, of course, I've already named the ships: the Gladius will be Blood Oath and the Nova will be Midnight Approaches. Going to be a lot of violent and/or depressing names in a Flesh Tearers fleet, is my thinking. If I like the models, being escorts, they'll end up in squadrons with their sisters ships Blood Debt, Blood Price, End Of All Hope and Future's End.

By the time they arrive I'll probably have thought up commanding officers and combat histories for them as well, I'm just that kind of player. 

In the grim darkness of June 16th

This image, the next issue teaser from this weekend's White Dwarf, has been doing the rounds of the rumour sites and, just like that, we have a date.

And I have a deadline.

Presumably the White Dwarf will be released the Friday before pre-orders go up, though given they're going with the “free ruleset” system they did with Age Of Sigmar it could just as likely be the day before the rules pamplets arrive in store.

So I have just shy of seven weeks to whip this Flesh Tearers army into shape. I have a Librarian, a Tactical Squad and two Dreadnoughts (one Contemptor, one Death Company). If points costs don't change too drastically, that's just north of five hundred points.

So, wants and needs.

For definite I need Death Company. No Blood Angels army, let alone a Flesh Tearers army, should take to the field without Death Company. Given the shooting rules published on Warhammer Community, a unit or two of Devastators wouldn't be too bad of an idea, either.

I feel there should be Scouts, what with the Flesh Tearers' recruitment needs, and I absolutely want to have a Baal Predator outfitted with all the flamers now that templates are a thing of the past.

My lovingly converted Vanguard Squad, of course, is top priority and they do need something to ride around in. I'm not sold on the look nor the utility of a Rhino (oh, wow, an motorised storm bolter, be still my beating heart) so I'm torn between either a Land Raider Redeemer or splitting the unit in two and running them in a pair of Razorbacks. Ultimately, I think, it'll come down to what I can secure cheaply on eBay.

Time to get the red spray out... 

May is 40k Month!

Is this cheating? Can I cheat at a completely self-imposed and self-defined way of motivating my own hobby? Don't care, doing it.

With GW's recent commendable desire to tell us things about 8^th edition, I feel myself really motivated to get things in shape for the brave new world of movement values and armour save modifiers. First and foremost that means continuing to work on my Flesh Tearers, my training wheels army for 8^th, but also maybe plugging away at some other things I have lying around like my Genestealer Cult and Mechanicus.

My main aim is to have a useable Flesh Tearers force for 8^th edition launch day in June. I have about five hundred points' worth painted with a Librarian, a Tactical Squad and two Dreadnoughts (I do so love my Dreadnoughts). The problem, of course, is I don't know what a “proper” army is going to look like come June: the points system is changing and there are going to be a huge selection of Force Organisation Charts to choose from.

So my idea is this: I shall build to a theme and that theme is speed. This has the dual use of both being true to the spirit of this faction and giving me a chance to paint some Space Marine miniatures I haven't before: Bikers, Land Speeders, Baal-Pattern Predators and, of course, my beloved converted Vanguard Squad who will be getting a suitably awesome tramsport vehicle as soon as I decide whether I want a cheap Rhino for them or to splash out on a Land Raider for them.

I also, more for myself than anything else, need to get some background written for this army. I prefer my background to evolve with play but I want a few details to go in with: unit names, a character for my Captain and a mission for this strike force to be on.

Being the Flesh Tearers, their mission is likely to be Gabriel Seth pointing in a direction and saying “Go that way. Kill things.” but I think I can do a little better than that. 

Showcase: Flesh Tearers Vanguard kitbash

Before I undercoat them, I just wanted to post some pictures of my Flesh Tearers Vanguard made with the Horus Heresy Mark IV armour set and a big old pile of spare melee weapons. I didn't have much of a plan going in, I just slapped things together however they best seemed to fit but I'm quite pleased with the results:

Okay, I'm not too sure what the chap with the power sword is meant to be doing. Exhorting his brothers to advance, perhaps? Regardless, I think they'll look fantastic as a unit (or two, depending on my needs), though that's probably more down to Maximus armour looking amazing than any of my input.

I also slapped together this little fellow out of spares...

… and some day he'll act as a colour test to see if I can apply the Angels Of Redemption colour scheme to power armour, which is a bit more complicated to halve than than Cataphractii Terminator plate that was my first experiment. 

What to do with my Betrayal At Calth models?

I bought the set in a moment of enthusiasm. I have pretty much zero interest in Horus Heresy as a game system. It had Maximus armour in, though, plastic Maximus armour! My issues with Forge World resin are well-documented (another reason the game doesn't appeal to me, too much FW resin) and Maximus armour is my favourite Space Marine armour mark. Hell, I committed to a Black Templars army back in the day just because the upgrade sprue came with a Maximus chest plate.

Aesthetic reasons are the best reasons to do things, shut up!

So, yeah, I didn't have anything to do with those models once I had them. The only reason I painted the Contemptor Dreadnought for my Flesh Tearers was because it was the first opportunity that presented itself. And, of course, the other dsay a sudden craze made me decide to paint the Legion Praetor as an Angel Of Redemption.

So what else have we got to work with?

Cataphractii Terminators

For a start, the Cataphractii Terminators are getting painted as Angels Of Redemption. I really like the way the Praetor came out and I want to have a whole squad like that. This also has a double benefit of giving me something to do with the Dark Angels from my Dark Vengeance set some time down the line (I bought it for the Chaos stuff).

Dark Apostle

He's getting a head swap. Loathe as I am to damage a perfectly good set of Maximus, he needs either a skull helm or a bare head to become a Flesh Tearers Chaplain. I love the plastic Death Company Chaplain but he has a jet pack and the Death Company I'm painting right now are on foot so this will make a good addition to the squad.

Tactical Squad #1

I have been hoarding pistols and melee weapons ever since I started my Flesh Tearers army and here is where I get to use them: a ten man Vanguard Squad with all sorts of cool poses. I have a bunch of pistols, chainswords and various power weapons from different kits so no two models should look the same. Plus, being armed for close combat they won't have boltguns obscuring their lovely armour.

Tactical Squad #2

Right, so this squad of ten models is going to contribute to twenty figures. Here's how its going to work...

For a start, the ten torsos and heads will be used to augment a Blood Angels Tactical Squad. This will leave me with ten spare Blood Angels torsos and plenty of heads to augment vanilla Space Marine kits later on.

Of the remaining parts, five sets of legs, backpacks and weapon arms will be used to build a unit of Alpha Legion Headhunter Kill Team for my Chaos forces.

The other five sets of legs and such will be hybridised with some MkIII torsos and heads I have left over from making some Forge World Plague Marines (never... again... I don't care how much I spent on those kits, they are tantamount to unbuildable and I will just wait for the plastics) and a Dark Angel Veterans box set to make a squad of ten Fallen.

Tactical Squad #3

And here I run out of ideas. There's not really anything else I want to do for my Flesh Tearers and I absolutely do not want to paint Maximus armour with its basically bare chestplate in the Angels Of Redemption's halved colour scheme. So, with nothing functional to do with them, I have a few possibilities for more decorative, challenge myself sort of projects.

I could build them as Black Templars. I have plenty of the upgrade parts sitting around. I could paint them as Alpha Legion if the Headhunters come out well. I've also always loved the Sons Of Horus colour scheme so I might try my hand at that, there being an excellent WarhammerTV tutorial on YouTube. 

Hobby Goal #16: What Matters Is The (Death) Company

First off, progress on using the Mephiston Red Spray...

Its coming out pretty well, if a little lighter than I intended. I shall try two layers of Nuln Oil on the next model I paint like this.

And my provisional army list based on what I have built and painted goes a little something like this:

HQ

Chaplain with crozius arcanum and plasma pistol. 105 points (WARLORD)

Librarian with force weapon and bolt pistol, Level 2 Mastery. 90 points

Elites

Death Company Dreadnought with blood talons. 135 points

5 man Death Company Squad with bolters. 100 points

Dreadnought with assault cannon. 120 points

Troops

5 man Scout Squad with boltguns, Veteran Sergeant with bolt pistol and close combat weapon. 65 points

10 man Tactical Squad, meltagun, heavy flamer and Veteran Sergeant with power weapon. 195 points

10 man Tactical Squad, plasma gun, heavy bolter and Veteran Sergeant with power fist. 200 points

Fast Attack

Land Speeder with multi-melta. 60 points

5 man Space Marine Bike Squad with plasma gun and Veteran Sergeant with power weapon. 145 points

Heavy Support

Baal Predator with flamestorm cannon and heavy flamers. 135 points

5 man Devastator Squad, 2 lascannons, missile launcher, plasma cannon and Veteran Sergeant. 150 points

1500 points on the dot. Its mainly just things I have built or can build quickly.

I've yet to come up with a Captain conversion I like so I'm taking the two other character classes but, hell, the Flesh Tearers are undermanned so I don't feel too bad taking a Chaplain as my Warlord. The Elites are just an expression of my love for Dreadnoughts and the fact that you just have to have Death Company. Troops are a solid block of boltguns, a nice anvil for the enemy to run up against. I gleefully admit to stealing a Dark Angels tactic with the Bikes and Land Speeder tag team in my Fast Attack slots. Then there's a big block of high strength weaponry in my Devastator Squad to make up for the fact that I just can't say no to the idea of a flanethrower tank.

Right now I have both Dreadnoughts, the Librarian and one Tactical Squad painted and everything but the Predator, one Tactical Squad and Bikers built. Still, 8^th edition doesn't seem to be imminent so there's plenty time.

Hobby Goal #16

Paint some Death Company

Its a simple fact that a Blood Angels army is not complete without Death Company, especially as I already have a Death Company Dreadnought built and painted. So my goal for the week is to add some black to the army, maybe even paint up the Chaplain to accompany them since they'll be using basically the same palette. 

Hobby Goals #14 and #15: Pay and Spray

Let's jump straight into Flesh Tearers Month with some... okay, to be honest, housekeeping exercises to set an agenda whilst I spend my hobby time filling in details on the Sylvaneth I've spent the last month finishing all the boring bits on.

Hobby Goal #14

Write a 1,500 points army list

One of the reasons I decided to build this army in the first place was because I had a bunch of Space Marine kits lying around and I wanted to do something with them. As a result, I reckon I probably have a decent sized army if I just got around to organising it. So, I should write an army list to decide what to paint first and also work out just what I have and how much its worth points wise.

Hobby Goal #15

Test out Mephiston Red spray

I've recently discovered how useful sprays that aren't Chaos Black can be. Whilst the main colour of Flesh Tearers is the good and noble Khorne Red, I have found that it comes out rather patchy over black when painting large areas. My chosen guinea pig for this experiment will be the plastic Blood Angels Terminator Captain. He came with the Start Collecting set and, nice as he is, I don't think I would have bought him otherwise. Nothing against the model but he is a bit glorious to be a Flesh Tearer and I view him more as a stop gap option until I can convert myself a nice, bespoke Captain of my own. 

April is Flesh Tearers Month!

With 8^th edition just around the corner, I should probably knuckle down on getting an army ready for it. That is originally why I started cobbling together a Flesh Tearers army from random Space Marine kits I had lying around.

Flesh Tearers are a personal favourite of mine, though I'd be lying if I said half the appeal wasn't their very simple, very easy to paint colour scheme. There's also the fact that they're Blood Angels and thus have access to so many different Dreadnoughts. I love Dreadnoughts, they are one of my favourite things in the whole of 40k.

I'm also a fantastically biased player in that I love me my assault phase. I like red. I really like red but I don't like how Khorne armies play.

I also really, really like the background the Flesh Tearers have had for the last couple of editions. The idea that, faced with certain knowledge of their coming extinction, they have just decided that by the time they're gone the Imperium isn't going to have any enemies left. They now range ahead of Imperial armies and by the time the army arrives at their destination the enemy are dead, the local animals are dead, everything is dead and a small note is pinned to the skull of the enemy commander reading:

“We won. Yours, Gabriel Seth.”

I'm not overly fond of the Black Library fiction for the army but I can pretty much just ignore it since its almost exclusively about Seth and his immediate circle.

So, the current state of the army: I have a single Tactical Squad, a Librarian, a Death Company Dreadnought and a Contemptor Dreadnought painted. I have a bunch of other models built, mainly infantry. First job, the, will be to see what I actually have and how to cobble it together into something approaching a useable 1,500 points army. Second job is to come up with some characters and a mission for them to be pursuing.

All in all, I'm rather looking forward to returning to the grim, dark future where there is only war.