Tag: Games Workshop

Warhammer 40,000 – Helbrute Options

So, magnets done and actually working better than I had hoped. The kit gives you a number of options for each arm but only four shoulder options and a missile pod.  That means I had to choose what I wanted to field before building them.

I already have the twin Lascannon option on the other Helbrute so decided to go with the Autocannon, Misssile Launchers, Scourge and a set of right and left power fists.

The Autocannon and Scourge gives the best mix for when I need both melee and shooting attacks.

If I need all shooting attacks the Autocannon and Missiles will fit the bill.

The special rules for twin close combat weapons might be fun in this case.

For when I need the Helbrute to deal out the most melee attacks I can, a Scourge and power fist will be hard to beat.

 

Warhammer 40,000 – Rhino, Razorback, Predator or Whirlwind

Option two for the Space Marine army, anti armour upgrade, is a Predator.  Again a Games Workshop standard vehicle, but one I haven’t owned for a good few years.  I think I sold my last one to a friend when we thought that we would not be playing 40k again.

If you load it out with all lascannons it has the potential to wipe a few vehicle types off the table in one round, but why have only one option available to you?

The use of magnets on models is something I am still learning about.  One thing I learned early on was that plastic kits love them.  Light weight guns and arms allow the use of smaller magnets and easier application.  Larger items need heavy duty magnets so are not always so easy.

This chap has a mix of larger and smaller parts so uses a mix of magnets.

I managed to get all the weapon options fitted so it can be used as anti tank or anti infantry.

I also picked up a spare turret that could be used to make the model into a Razorback, armed with twin assault cannons.  Perfect for those moments when you just need ‘more bullets!’

I have a mind to pick up a missile turret for this chap as well.  That way I will be able to field a Whirlwind, to give me yet another alternative, when I don’t need the heavy hitters.  When finished I will only need a small storage case to fit it into instead of finding room for 3-4 individual tanks.

I can’t see me needing to field 2 of these sized tanks in any game of 40k at this time. If I need more I always have a spare Razorback and a Landraider anyway…

Warhammer 40,000 – Nurgle Helbrutes

As the Space Marines this week gained an upgraded flier, as their anti armour support, so the Chaos Marines, to ensure they don’t miss out, have received some equally anti armour support.  Two Helbrutes are now on the worktop, ready to either be finished off or join the shelf of shame in a half finished state.

One is from Veganman’s vast unused collection (for services rendered) and the other from a discount store on eBay.

I believe that the painted example was part of a job lot that Veganman purchased on ebay. Never used, it will now to be turned against him on the table.  It came with a few converted parts, a twin lascannon, in place of the heavy bolters it was originally made with and, for some reason known only to the modeller, a plastic clamp where its original claw would have been.

That had to go, but it left me with the dilemma of what to use instead.  Thankfully the second Helbrute kit came with a vast array of weapons. So many that some could not all be used on the finished kit.

So a spare hammer has been grafted to the original figure and I will try to match the original paint job as closely as I can to blend it in…

Slightly more work awaits the new Helbrute as I plan to magnetise the weapon arms so any combination can be used…

Magnet spots marked and ready for drilling…

 

Warhammer 40,000 – Space Marine Flier

Over the last few weeks I have fought against a number of 40k armies which remain vehicle heavy.  Against such solid opponents a squad of tactical marines has only limited effect. (That said, much more effect in this game – 8th edition – than before).

As a result of this, and after some thought, I have come up with some options in order to cope.  Number one in that list, mainly as I don’t have one and always wanted one, is to acquire a flier that can field a number of alternate load outs. Thankfully Games Workshop has the perfect model in the form of their Stormtalon Gunship.

Most obviously, a it has a set of two Lascannon which is the traditional anti armour choice…

But also a range of missile options is useful, as they can be used as anti armour and anti infantry.

But a set of rockets, to be used against vehicles and other fliers, may also come in handy.

This little beast comes with a whole heap of options and that’s before I mention the twin assault cannon mounted just under the nose. Ready to fire 12 shots a round, that are useful against any target that comes within range.

 

Warhammer 40,000 – Finished Foetid Bloat Drone(s)

When I started my Death Guard army I expected to have mainly Plague Marines and a couple of Nurgle tainted Rhinos and Tanks.  That first changed when I found out how good Nurgle Daemons were as a force. This distracted me from the main Death Guard focus but when I returned to it, I found that I was fielding more specialist units than Troop choices.  With Battle-forged armies in 8th edition I am no longer forced to take a HQ and two Troop units but can use detatchments that are based on a core of Elites or Fast Attack units.

It has led to a minor arms race in my small gaming group, as we try out new combinations on each other.  As such my painting has flitted between mostly heavies, and specialist role units like this Foetid Bloat Drone.  Painted early on with a quick and simple paint scheme, it always seemed slightly unfinished.

Well, it has come of age and been integrated into the core of an Outriders Detachment of Fast Attack units.

As all three of my drones are now painted, I feel the need to get them all on the table.  This is always at the expense of another troop choice (usually humble troopers like Pox Walkers or Plague Marines).

Dolled up with some fresh rust effects and a couple of spot washes with ink, it blends with the other drones while each one retains its own shade of green.  I like the idea of my Death Guard army coming from a broad church of differing companies of the legion. Each showing that there is unity across the legion while retaining their individuality.

The Greater Blight Drone can be used as it should be, with the stats from the Forgeworld Index, or as a proxy for a Foetid Bloat Drone armed with a Heavy Blight Launcher.

The third, and most recently painted drone, is armed with the basic twin Plaguespitter load out but I have seen a few conversions using magnets and dry wall plugs that allow the last weapon load out, The Flesh Mower, to be easily converted…

I must try to find time to rummage in the other Shed for something that will do the job…

Warhammer 40,000 – Greater Blight Drone

Months ago I won an eBay auction that appeared at first glance to be a real good deal.  A Forgeworld Greater Blight Drone.  A figure that has been the icon for me of all things Nurgle in Warhammer 40K.  A great sculpt with every surface covered with detail (no wide flat surfaces that defy my simple weathering skills). A miniature that would take an ink wash in its stride and look all the better for it.

This is almost that figure…

Purchased from Poland which appears to be a country that is creating a vast number of new alternative resin based miniatures companies.  I have a number of items from these companies and have had great service from them all.

The figure I got, for half the Forgeworld price, was not from one of these companies.  It was however, a very poor recast.  Holes in almost all the main parts and sporting broken gun barrels. Worse than that was the amount of flash and mould lines on the smaller parts.  In dismay, it was placed on a shelf and almost forgotten.

With my recent Death Guard army slowly growing, I decided to dust it off and try to turn the flaws into features and see how it turned out.  I must admit to having to remove so much mould line from the rotas that it was almost like carving it from a sheet of resin.

The original forgeworld sculpting actually helped to blend in my amateurish re-sculpting. The original model has so many details that losing some of them as I rebuilt it didn’t detract from the overall look too much.

A simple paint job and plenty of rust effect in the holes and at the damaged parts makes it look even more like it was made that way…

In the end, after a lot more work than planned, it actually looks great, and all for half the price of a real one. (Next time I will buy direct from forgeworld methinks…)

Warhammer 40,000 – A World Turning More Yellow

My Space Marine army was painted so long ago that I cannot find a match for the original blue any longer.  A first few new figures were painted in a black, with grey edged drybrushing, but I don’t want the remainder of the new forces to be so dark.

Therefore, as a few of the scouts were already undercoated for a yellow based camouflage, I have decided to use this colour to get the remaining units done.

First up is a Dreadnought donated to the cause by Coronasan.  I have quite a few weapon options for this chap so he should be quite versatile when he is completed.

An old Rhino, that is unlikely to be used in 8th edition, is due to become a Razorback when I get a few weapon options sorted for it.  A couple of other spare figures also crept under the spray can this time too.

This Forgeworld Landspeeder Tempest has been lounging in a drawer for a few years now.  That was until a bath in Dettol stripped off the original blue basecoat and second black spray that the seller had used to hide a terrible paintjob before putting it on ebay.  Those two coats had obscured all its details when I bought it.  After stripping, it was resprayed in the chapter colours and is ready to be painted.

All in all the paint queue has all of a sudden gotten much longer…  Wish me luck!

Warhammer 40,000 – Daemon Prince With Wings

Something I have been looking to doing for some time (ever since I read the rules in the Chaos Index) is adding wings to my proxy Daemon Prince.  The model is an old Mantic Games Plague figure from Deadzone.  As a Daemon Prince, with twin malefic claws, he has been very effective on the battlefield.  The option to add wings seems like a no brainer. With them he can charge into combat sooner, and avoid being shot at quite so much.

Coronasan recently ordered some items from a company in Eastern Europe named Wargames Exclusive.  These wings are in their range and are perfect for this conversion.

It has been a few years since I painted the original model and a cannot match the colours that were used as some have been discontinued.  So some repainting of both the original model and the wings was called for.

I think that it will take a further coat of ink to the model, in its finished state, before the old and new parts are sufficiently blended to my satisfaction. Even so, he is good to go as he is, and will be flying in to a game real soon I suspect.

 

Warhammer 40,000 – Imperial Knight

So I have finished all that I plan to do with the ‘official’ Imperial Knight.  My renegade knight will be sat on the paint queue shelf for a while, as other things have been taking up my time of late.  This chap only got the simplest of paint jobs, so was quick and easy to complete.

The kit comes with enough decals to sink a ship, so painting simply was never going to be an issue. All those added colours and images give an extra something special to the look of the model that my paintbrush could never achieve.

I toyed with leaving him baseless as I prefer my vehicles to be that way as large bases always look odd.  After playing a game this way it proved he needed one to allow measurement and close combat to be easily worked out without argument.

On spray varnishing with GW purity seal the fabled frosting effect has again been a problem.  No matter what temperature or humidity I try to spray in I never get a clean layer using spray varnishes.  There must be an alternate method that does not involve brushwork.

I have used the simple basing method that is found on my other imperial forces but as the base was so large have added in some cork tile and cobble stone paper to break up the surface a little.  Overall a good model and I am happy with how it came out.

 

Warhammer 40,000 – Knights, Imperial And Renegade

I’ve been feeling slightly inadequate lately. Veganman turned up with a trio of Dread Knights and a host of Terminators to one game and Coronasan has wiped my army off the table with armies of teleporting dreadnoughts and assault cannons galore.  I feel slightly under gunned at times with just a land raider and some marines. Therefore I felt the need to rectify that with something a little more special.

As I play both Imperial and Chaos armies I wanted to make up some kits that could fulfil that need for both armies. So, I decided bigger is always better, and that I needed a knight for each force.  I didn’t fancy making two of the same model so one would have to be a bit different.  I am no great converter so most of the look would need to be already there in the base model.

Luckily GW does a nice big Nurgle beastie called the Glottkin.

After a chat with Wayne at my local GW store I was decided, and when I started on this kit I was surprised how easily it went together.  Half way through it looked a bit like a half eaten Easter egg though…

Its full of detail so had the look I wanted to bring to the force.

My worry was that if I varied the look by chopping bits off to replace with 40K era weapons I would lose some of its usefulness.  I have hopes of using this in a Dragon Rampant force as you might have guessed.

In the end I decided to leave most of it as is and to play it as a proxy calling its longer arm a melee weapon and its maw like shorter arm as a bile vomiting cannon.  It has figures to ride on its head but I will leave them as removeable and add in a 40K figure as a rider for when it appears in the Nurgle Chaos army.

A standard Imperial Knight that I found on a Bring and Buy sale at Colours recently will be the boost my imperial force needs.

If that wasn’t enough eBay supplied me with a sensibly priced Great Unclean One that will allow me to use my Mother of all Worms as a proxy for a different type of figure (Coronasan sorted me the stats for a Spined Chaos Beast that might fit the bill).