Thursday, December 18, 2008

Painting Update

We had some good priming weather so I broke out the spray and my back log of model to be primed. After a frenzy of priming, I finished 19 chaos terminators, 30 sets of chaos terminator arms, 3 praetorian sentinels, a nurgle lord conversion, 2 plaguemarine special weapons, 3 plaguemarine icon bearers, 2 chaos space marine standard bearers, 4 rogue trader halfling sniper, 1 roguetrader stuntie, 2 chaos objective markers I made, and an armorcast baneblade hull. I had more terminator to prime but I ran out of paint and when I found another can it had started raining.
I also finished the trade and picked up the armorcast eldar tempest from Jerry last Saturday. While I was at Underground games, I also picked up the Legends of The Old West supplement Frontier, Blood on the Plains, a couple of 15mm 21/2 ton trucks for my Soviet Flames of war army and some more plaguemarines from tuna. I only need about a dozen more trucks for my transportation company.
Last night I started working on repairing a bunch of the plague marines I traded for from Scott Tolbert. Whomever had assembled them had used superglue to fill gaps and had left some bad cuts were they had cut off pieces for the conversions. I redid some of the conversions, using greenstuff to fix resculpt several of the models torsos, re attach arms and do several weapon swaps. I need to start remembering to do Before and After pictures to post up, maybe next time.

Christmas Chaos Apocalypse Game















I went down to Underground games for another Apocalypse game put on By Tuna. This was a break from his standard format and was a "run what you brung". The was no limit on points or factions. the only caveat was that you only had an hour to finish your turn. If you brought more than you could run then you were short when the turn time limit ran out. We also didn't stick to a certain phase. When you finished moving, you started shooting, finished shooting start assaults. This caused some confusion and maybe a little abuse by some players. It did speed up the game and still left some people upset when time ran out and they had assaults to finish. It ended up being around 103000 points with 30 super heavies of which 9 were titans.
I took my three plague towers, a four vindicator line breaker squadron, 86 plagumarines in 9 squads, 3 14 man lesser daemons squads, Typhus, 2 chaos lords, a chaos lord in terminator armor, a land raider, and four terminators to ride with the lord in terminator armor. It totaled a little over 7000 points. The other team went first and 3 of the vindicators and the land raider were destroyed. Plaguetower 1 had a precision strike played on it and the entire side of the board lit it up. It came through the firestorm with no guns left, both drives damaged and down 3 structure points. Surprisingly, it survived the game with only one structure point left, but it did not move from the spot I placed it on the table. The terminators were in the land raider but survived its destruction. Turn one I moved up two of the plague towers and headed the terminators into cover close to an objective. I did a bit of shooting with the towers but didn't really do anything spectacular. Turn 2 the towers took a lot more pain with 2 ending up immobilized. Turn 2, I dismounted a 19 man plagumarine squad from the center plague tower to head for the center objective and brought in 2 lesser daemon squads. I charged the daemons into a khorne greater daemon model only to find out the guy was using the forge world greater daemon rules and the lesser daemons were unable to wound it. I moved the chaos lord and terminators up, assaulted an objective and despoiled it removing it from play. This made it a win or lose game. We started with 6 objectives, losing one meant no ties.Turn 3, the plaguemarine squad took a plasma blaster 10 inch template and killed all but 3. Both lesser daemons squads were killed but a player had dropped on a grey knight force so all daemons received sustained assault, so they would be coming back on my turn 3. The remainder of the terminator were lit up and a couple killed, then they were charged by a terminator squad and finished off. They did their job. My Turn 3, I used the center plaguetower to ram a vindicator.I didn't do any damage but it put me within 6 inches of the center objective. I used the plasma guns and plasma pistols of the mounted squads in the plaguetowers to thin down the resistance near the objective. I brought in all three lesser daemon squads near the center objective and charged them in. I repaired a plague mortar on one of the towers and repaired a drive on plague tower 1. Turn 4, plaguetower 1 took even more fire and damaged the drive I repaired and dropped it down to 1 structure point. The center plague tower was assaulted by a terminator squad losing a couple structure and having it driver stunned but in the end it had no guns but it was still mobile. the heirodule assaulted a lesser daemon squad and once again I found out they were unable to wound its 8 toughness.My turn 4, endgame. I deployed the chaos lord and 2 plague marine squads from the center plague tower in cover, close to the objective. I assaulted an enemy plagumarine squad on the front of the objective and fired a plague mortar on an enemy plaguemarine squad behind the objective, killing 7 out of 10. I then fired up the survivors with plasma guns and another player dropped a bane blade template on them. Then the game was over. We started tallying up points and we carried the center objective because of 700 point of plaguetower parked next to it.
I had a real good time and being on the winning team made it better.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

A Model Count and a New Plan

hello

I went Tuesday last week and and traded 3 of the new 7man plaguemarine squad boxes for 24 older style plaguemarines and one chaos terminator. The terminator puts my annihilation force at 51 models so I can use my paired lightning claw chaos lord conversion as a lord and not as a champion in one of the squads. The better find was a couple of the old chaos renegade nurgle marines included in the deal. They don't have the rogue trader style chaos backpacks but i think I have a couple somewhere to add to them. I am debating on whether to add them to my chaos renegades or to add them to the death guard as champions. I also picked up several of the one pose metal plaguemarines that will give a little variety to some of the squads. There were a few of the plastic one pose models(mostly converted to have bolt pistol and close combat weapon) and the remainder were the 2ND edition metal body with plastic arms. I will probably swap the bolt pistol for bolters on the plastic ones and I am contemplating making the majority of the metal bodied one plasma gunners. This will give me over 20+ plasma guns. I was doing some plague tower math and figures if I went with 5 man squads I could put 6 squads with 2 plasma guns each in each plague tower. the plague tower has 10 fire points so 20 rapid fire plasma shot on anything that gets within 12 inches and If the tower stays still it will have 10 plasma shots out to 24 inches. Combined with the towers own weapons I believe that it should be able to sweep just about anything off of an objective and keep it that way. I could optimize the numbers with 30 plasma gunners and I think I have enough bits to do it, but other than it just being wrong , I would only field them all a couple times a year in big apocalypse games.
I have to set down and reorganize my plaguemarine figures. I already had enough models for a battle company before I picked up more models at the GameonGW gameday. A different load for the Plague towers is a twenty man squad and two five man squads. Use the towers as big transports to get the big squads to the objectives and the smaller squads stay on board as point defence. I think this is a little bit more balanced load (with a lot less gun swaps needed) and still a powerful force. It also doesn't smack of a ringer combat load. I admit that 20 rapid fire plasma gun shots lighting up a high point marine squad closing to assault the plague tower leaves me kind of warm inside but the guy on the receiving end will probably not get much enjoyment from the experience.
Either way it is back to the modeling table for a model count and a new plan.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Annihilation Force Assembled

I have them all finally rebased. It is Typhus and 50 Chaos terminators. Now the question will be if I can get them painted by Matt P's Apocalypse game in January.

I didn't have arms for the five third edition terminators I traded for but through eBay I won an auction for a bunch of the new plastic chaos terminator weapon arms. The plastic arms are bulkier than the metal arms but close enough for me. I didn't have any of the plastic shoulder pads to go with the arms so I decided to have a go at a Heresy Era shoulder pad conversion for the squad. I had seen a tutorial for making the shoulder pads out of card in a Firebase Ezine but it was for the new plastic terminators. After some hit and miss attempts I decided to try something else. I hit the Horus Heresy art books for some inspiration and then searched the Internet for other peoples conversions. I saw a conversion that used plasticard and ork shoulder pads that looked good. Off to the ork bit boxes to get enough shoulder pads and them to my plasticard stash. I didn't find any card just right for the conversion. It all seemed to be either too thick or too thin. I started searching through my bits boxes for something else to use and found some old high elf shields. I eyeballed them and thought they might work. I had already trimmed down the top of the plastic arms level with the bottom of where the trophy racks go so I cut a shield about 14 mm long and glued it on. It didn't look too bad ,so I trimmed the underside of the ork shoulder pad and glued it on. It looked pretty good. I finished up the rest of the squad. I ran out of shields about halfway through and had to raid a couple of old silver helm blisters to get enough to finish the squad but I think they turned out okay. I plan to do a little green stuff work on them and I think they will look neat once I get them painted up.








The last is a Nurgle chaos lord conversion I got from Bryan V at the GameOnGW gamesday. The model originally had a bolt pistol but I repositioned the hand and added a kitbashed BolterPlasma combiweapon I had taken off of another model years ago. I did a little green stuff work filling some gaps and added a green stuff skull pistol butt in his empty holster. The main reason for the change is I plan to play him using a daemon weapon, so since he won't get the extra attack for the bolt pistol I decided to swap it for the Bolter Plasma to add some versatility.



Saturday, November 29, 2008

GameonGW Games Day

On November 22ND the GameOnGw club put on a gameday for the area gamers in High Point North Carolina. It took place in a warehouse space in a furniture factory. It ended up having 40+ players sign in and 100 cans of food donated to a local food bank. We had a big bit swap with a lot of people bringing models and more bringing money. I ended up with a complete forge world Deathguard dreadnought, two sets of forgeworld Deathguard rhino doors, 3 Deathguard Plaguemarine squads, 3 blisters of Deathguard special weapons, 2 Deathguard Havoc squads, an Emperors Children Chaos Lord, a bag of 3rd ed chaos raptors, a roguetrader imperial guard Landspeeder, some roguetrader halfling snipers, a tyranid epic army, a chaos epic army, a spacemarine epic army and I finished the trade with Jim Barr for 4 roguetrader chaos terminator bodies and 5 3rd edition chaos terminator bodies. With the lightning claws bits and the plastic terminator arms I won on eBay I will be able to break the 50 terminator model count.
I ended up playing 2 games of 40k. I had a battle to play against Patrick for the 40k league but he did show up till after I had started a game against a guy named Robert I hadn't meet before. It was a 1500 point game. I played my plague marines verses his Chaos Daemons. The game started out bad for Robert when his Daemon Prince scattered on top of my vindicator and was killed. His Changer of Ways successively destroyed 2 vindicators and typhus was taken down by a bloodletter squad but a last turn assault by my summoned lesser daemons drew his horrors off of the objective, giving me the win. Robert has some well painted models that makes me want to get mine painted up to par. When we had finished Patrick was playing a game so I had to wait on him to finish but this gave me some time to get some wheeling and dealing done.
The game against Patrick went well for me but very bad for Patrick. I placed my vindicator to contest one side of the table and set the plague marines and later Typhus and the terminators close to his more heavily defended objective. He fielded a lot of scouts and a landspeeder storm a couple devastator squads, a couple tactical squads, a assault terminator squad with thunder hammers and Pedro Kantor. I ran drove the two plaguemarine squads into his guns and then used deep strike to land Typhus nearby. My vindicators managed to burn up his devastators but not before the plasma cannon squad burnt down my short plagumarine squad holding my objective. He shot up typhus and the terminators and they broke and run. They eventually regrouped and returned but not before the combat started that included Pedro Kantor, two tactical squads, three scout squads, two plague marine squads, two lesser daemon squads and the terminator squad that had spent the majority of the game running from the other side of the board to get into combat in the last turns of the game. By the end of turn five Patrick only had one terminator and one rhino left on the board. He was ready to call it a game but after looking at the table we determined if his terminator and rhino could survive the turn he would contest two objectives and the game would be a draw. We finished the game and my two squads of Plaguemarines were able to pull the last terminator down, this gave me the win. I am beginning to think that the 3 vindicator list is a little overpowered for friendly play and since I have that snazzy new forgeworld dreadnought I think a new list will be in order.

I had one hell of a day And I am looking forward to the next one, but next time I am going to bring more stuff to trade and more sandwiches to sell.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Cryptkickers take Palace Grounds West!

I meet up with JR at Bobby A's place to play our league battle for Vogden's Palace grounds west. We rolled up a spearhead annihilation game so no need to worry about objectives. I had changed up my list by cutting the third plague marine squad in half, dropping a special weapon and their rhino and adding 3 terminators to accompany Typhus.
JR choose first turn and after we deployed I rolled and seized the initiative letting me go first. I rolled the battle line forward, popped smoke on the rhinos and shot the vindicators. Two of them hit a land raider and knocked it out. JR's return fire immobilised a vindicator and shot the combibolter off of one rhino.Turn two, all my reserves arrived. I deep struck Typhus and his terminators near JR's dreadnought and a tactical squad in a ruined building. They scattered but it took them closer to JR's troops. The Summoned Daemons I dropped in the center of the battle line. I moved the rhino's and vindicators up and deployed the plaguemarines. Typhus and the terminator destroyed the dreadnought, and the vindicator got some troops.One pack of daemons managed to assault JR's center tactical squad, the other squad was out of range. In JR's turn he killed two terminators, wounded Typhus and killed several plague marines.Turn 3, things started getting ugly. Typhus assaulted a tactical squad and wiped them out, the second pack of daemons assaulted the center tactical squad and wiped them out, a plague marine squad assaulted the predator and destroyed it. In JR's turn he killed a couple plague marines with shooting , then assaulted a plaguemarine squad with a Pedro lead Tactical squad. All his marines failed to wound and Pedro killing a couple. The plaguemarines killed several marines in return to win the combat. The squad broke and ran off the board dragging Pedro with them.Turn Four, I didn't have much left to shoot at. I shot at the Land raider Crusader with his terminator in it but didn't hurt it. In Jr's turn he deployed his assault terminators and then assaulted Typhus and his last terminator. He had 5 terminators with paired lightning claws and one with a thunder hammer and storm shield. Because of Typhus's blight grenades he only got 15 lightning claw attacks. He directed all of them on Typhus and only hit with 2. Them only wounded once, even with his re rolls. That was when JR decided the game was over. For forms sake, I rolled Typhus's invulnerable save and saved the wound. We called the game then. JR's dice deserted him most of the game but he chalked it up to payback for the game he played against John Bays. It that game John's dice deserted him and JR reaped the benefits.
I now control the northern approaches to the Palace. I haven't decide my next move but I have been studying the campaign map.
I received the four rogue trader chaos terminators I won on eBay. They had a bunch of glue and some paint on them so I put them in the simple green to soak and help clean them up.





















Thursday, November 13, 2008

More Chaos Terminators!

I won an auction on ebay for four of the old rogue trader chaos terminators. When I recieve them it will bring my total to 40 chaos terminators, a lord in terminator armor and Typhus. I am working out a trade with a gaming buddy of mine for 5 3rd edition chaos terminator bodies and 4 more old rogue trader bodies. I only have to come up with the arms to reach 50 chaos terminators. I bid on some old terminator paired lightining claws and if I win that auction I will use them to make a bunch of close combat specialists. I want to have them ready for Matt P's apocalypse game in Janurary.

I am plannning on playing JR saturday At Bobby Ash's house to finish my battles for this campaign turn.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Cryptkickers Attack!



































































I have decided to call my League Chaos Marines the Cryptkickers. Yes, I was inspired by monster mash over Halloween but i dig it. I ws unable to play a game verses JR so Scott T stood in for him with his eldar. I fieled Typhus, three plaguemarine squads in rhinos, 2 summoned daemon squads, and 3 vindicators. It was a fun game and I had Typhus setting on his objective on the top of turn 5. Unfortunately he gunned Typhus down on the bottom of turn 5 and the game ended as a draw. So I ended up withdrawing from the territory.
My orders for the current turn are to ttack Palace Grounds West again. I will make them pay eventually. Todd attacked me in the Sniper Alley North and we played the battle today. I fielded the same army against his space marines. I ended up taking his objective and wining the game. I think the breaking point was when I deep struck Typhus next to one of Todd's tactical squads. I fired off winds of chaos and hit every model in the squad and only killed 4. In his turn they fired a multimelta and meltagun at typhus and missed. In my turn Typhus turned, used winds of chaos on a chaplain led terminator squad killing 2. Then typhus charged them killing another terminator and using his force weapon to kill the chaplain. In return the last terminator powerfisted and killed typhus. Knocking out the terminator squad cleared a route for the plague marine squad that ended up taking the objective. Funny how things worked out. It was an ugly game with alot of casualties on both sides.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Computer Crash/40k league

My old computer crashed last week and put a dent in my Internet addiction. It lasted over 8 years with only few hiccups, so I can't really complain. We have moved up to a new box and it seems to be working well.

I have joined up in the local 40k league. We are using the Vogen map and have 10 players. I am fielding my Nurgle/Plague marine chaos marines. we meet up at Scott Tolbert's place for the start and I didn't end up having a battle. I still played a game against Aaron a tyranid player and actually on my side in the league. I fielded a 3 vindicator plaguemarine army lead by Typhus, with 3 summoned daemon squads and a possessed squad. Aaron had a hive tyrant, a zoanthrope, two carnifexes, two broods of warriors, a couple broods of genestealers and a gaunt brood. We played using the city fight rules. The game looked real bleak for a while but there is nothing like a couple 10 man squads of plaguemarines lead by a champ with a power fist hunkered down in cover waiting for the bugs to charge. I ended up winning by kill points but I think we both had a good time.
I have a battle pending against JR's Crimson Fists and hopefully I will get it in by the weekend. We are fighting over the west palace grounds. If I can win the game It will put a buffer between the good guys and the palace.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Current Brass Scorpion Pics




I haven't had much hobby time lately but I have put a few more details on my friend Tuna's Brass Scorpion. I have worked on the Plague towers adding more green stuff but I have a lot to go. I still haven't finalized a plague mortar Idea yet. I am thinking about building a plague mortar turrent.
I have started assembling some Warmachine figures. I have enough assembled to have a legal force. I have a Sentinel warjack, A defender warjack, a unit of gunmages with a gun mage captain and Lt Caine as the warcaster. While sorting through the models I came up short parts for a trencher chain gun crewman. I contacted Privateer press and they sent out one of the missing pieces but forgot the mian gunner piece. I traded a couple emails with them and after a call to customer service the gunner bit should be here in a week or so.