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Tuesday, June 28, 2022

The Deadly Assassins (Part 8)




Welcome back to my annual (-ish) feature: the Deadly Assassins. It's  that time of year  when I paint an Assassin model. Or two. And this year, like
last year,  it's two again. I opted to finish off my Death Cult Assassins to give me a squad of four (five if I can count Knosso Prond). 

Primed and ready for a killer* paint job. 

Like last year I decided to add a lot of skulls to their bases. One has an assortment of human skulls ( Heretics, most likely) and the other has a tau skull and helmet as they have been infesting our local systems in recent times


It was the first time I used Skeleton Horde Contrast Paint on the skulls and I absolutely love how they turned out. But I ended up highlighting them anyway to keep them consistent with the two from last year. 


Of course the Tau helm is a homage (more like a taunt) to Da Masta Cheef's ( current) Tau scheme. 


I used the same methods used on the previous Death Cult Assassins, but I reversed the color schemes on them. Except I decided that one of them would be predominantly red. I liked the look of this and it reminded me of some of the old art from John Blanche and of the two Death Cult Assassins from the old Inquisitor game.


The hair is the same scheme I have used since Knosso Prond, but I like the way it works with these colors. The faces were done a bit differently this year. I used Guilliman Flesh Contrast Paint as the base but used a Dry** paint called Eldar Flesh for the highlight. Very simple, easy, and satisfying result I think. 


Wilderness shot. Overcast skies kind of muted their colors a bit though.

And here they are, eager for the first time I deploy them. Gee, I guess I need to finally paint up some Sisters to make that happen, right? 

"We know you're hiding in that bush! Come out so we can stab you! "


*'cuz they're killers. 

**At the time of this posting, GW is in the process of canceling a good portion (if not all) of the Dry Paint line. A chunk of that Dry range and a lot of the Air brush range are currently in the Last Chance to Buy category on their website.

Monday, June 27, 2022

The Fallen Moon Page 8 (Art Monday)

 


The chase is on! With a bit of foreshadowing added in as well. 

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Rage and outrage

 

Ultramarine heroes stand against the horde of filth.

I was able to arrange my affairs in such a way that I was able to join the guys for a game night at one of the local game stores. This time we chose a new venue, The Outpost, for our place of battle. Nothing against the old place, but the appeal of a slightly quieter place to play (with air conditioning!) made it worth trying out. 

This time we had four armies in attendance, and with a time limit set against us we decided to team up and do two vs. two. My Deathwatch aligned up with Da Masta Cheef's Ultramarines, and RT Vorel (aka Mike) had his Wraithguard themed Eldar alien with Murl's (aka Rob) Death Guard army. We used the Open War deck to select a Twist for our ad-hoc game. There would be an objective in the center of the table and the army in control of if at the end of each round would get a VP. 


1k of Wraithguard.

1k of Death Guard (blurry pic due to nervousness)

1k of Deathwatch 

1k of Ultramarines.

Set up.

LpThe objective is a stone needle with a really cool zone marker placed around it. Rob got it from somewhere online and I like it a lot. Anyway, the bad guys got turn one and we somehow survived the initial exchange of fire with a loss or two (losing a bike was a bummer).  On our first turn the bikes zipped up and claimed the objective.

Objective held by the bikers.

It was quickly apparent that the Eldar side of this fight was almost unkillable. With the amount of firepower we threw at them, their high saves and 5+ "Shrugs" made them sickeningly resilient. Even their Nurgle alies were like "Dude! WTF?" 

With the ranges closed the combined Death Guard and Eldar were able to make their hits land. The Kill Team with four Heavy Bolters were reduced to a single guy, the bikers were wiped out, and the Ultramarines were finding themselves within engagement range of the Death Guard and were also starting to take some loses. 

On Turn Two the two Squads of Deathwatch Terminators teleported into the back of the Eldar part of the enemy Deployment Zone. After an impressive volley of Assault Cannon and Plasma Cannon fire against the Wraithlord, it was still standing with half it's wounds left! I confess, I wasn't paying too much attention to Cheef's side of things as he was mostly tangling with the Death Guard while I was having an existential crisis trying to figure out how to continue to exist after dealing with this Wraithguard army. But he did manage to get some troops onto the objective despite all the Typhus mortal wounds stuff taking place. 

Wraithbone, the original bullet sponge. 

Once again circumstances occurred that caused my Librarian to be stuck out in the open, and despite his best efforts he was soundly (as in the sound his body and armor made when it was torn apart by the warp) defeated. 

Two squads of Wraithguard vs. a guy. 

The battle Royale between the Ultramarines and Death Guard was a grueling back and forth that lasted for the remainder of the game. 

"I like your purity seals," "I like your maggots,"


On our Turn 3 the Terminators focused again on taking out the Wraithlord and actually succeeded. Yes, that took two rounds and,  yes, that took both squads to do it. 

The Wraithlord falls! 

The Terminators charged the Spiritseer (represented here by a marine proxy) and beat him to death with thunderhammers. That was honestly quite satisfying. 

The Eldar leadership falls.


So glad these guys couldn't turn around and fire...

I was in absolute awe of how much fire power the Wraithguard could absorb, and then how many models they could bring for having such a high level of resilience. 

The Eldar casualty pile.

Back to the Ultramarines side, and the fight against the Deathshroud Terminators was a heroic stand indeed despite the futility of it all. 

Heroes on both sides that deserve paint.

One melee that didn't want to end was a massive dice rolling fest on that resulted in only a single casualty on both sides. And that was even with the +1 Attack from Rage. Not quite the balance the design team was looking for with 'Armor of Contempt' was it? 

Paddycake!

Here's Cheef's thoughts: 
"The armor of contempt rule has made marine vs marine combat kinda boring, it's very 7th ed with 3+ saves everywhere. Add to that the disgustingly (yes pun intended) resilient plague marines and a unit that can almost drop a carnifex on the charge is instead damned near useless."

How the battle ended. 

We called the game at the end of Turn 3. It was a time thing, but honestly, we had 3 vps and they had 0 vps. Even with two more rounds they couldn't win this. But, there was a lot of models left and quite a few more fights to have or resolve. I was hoping the Terminators would have better luck in melee against the damned Wraithguard but we were never able to make that match-up happen. 

My only regret about this game was that I should have had the Deathwatch Terminators on the field from turn one. Their firepower could have made a difference.  Maybe.  

Despite the "OMG they're tough!" wailing from Cheef and I, we actually did have a lot of fun. Although we recommend Mike tune his list down a bit... 😉


Monday, June 20, 2022

The Fallen Moon Page 7 (Art Monday)

 

Continuing on from page 6, more security personnel show up to protect the cargo only that the Warp Spiders have already departed. The Captain is informed and the chase begins! 

This was a fun page to draw. Unlike the Gothic Battleships and the Wraithships, I didn't have a model to reference the Eldar Shadowhunter, just the catalog pics from White Dwarf. I think it still holds up well. Shankara's image changes a bit again, as I was constantly experimenting with the guy. 

The story continues next week.

Are you just joining us? Here's the quick links to the previous parts: 

Page-1

Page-2

Page-3

Page-4

Page-5

Page-6



This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

Monday, June 13, 2022

The Fallen Moon Page 6 (Art Monday)

 


One of my favorite pages from this story. I like the pacing of it and drawing the Warp Spiders in action was a total joy. I think these Aspect Warriors were the most over powered unit in all of Warhammer 40,000 2nd edition. If I wanted to just end this story, they could've attacked the bridge and, well, story over! But instead they were sent to retrieve the mcguffin-crate. 

I don't think I have ever seen Warp Spiders show up in any 40k fiction (not that I am claiming encyclopedic knowledge on the matter) but it's neat to try to picture just how they perform in a fight. The clouds of monofilament wire that dices anything exposed to it is such a brutal concept. I lost count of how many orks I lost to these guys in 2nd edition. They were indeed over powered, but the nerfing they received in 3rd, and subsequent editions, was overly harsh; and I don't believe I have encountered them since. 

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

Friday, June 10, 2022

Leave it to Reivers (Part 4)

 When I finished this 3 man squad back in 2017*, I knew that one day I would probably need to expand these guys.  These were the three man snapfit kit that GW sold during 8th edition, which they pulled when 9th came out (were they too "cheap"?). When this kit was pulled the three man option went away as well. I have a squad of these guys for my Space Wolves as well, and both units need to be brought up to a five man legal minimal size limit.  I picked up a sprue of five on eBay to allow me to finish both squads (with one left over).


First up is the Ultramarines for no other reason I guess than that I'm in a blue mood.  I want to model at least one guy with a grapnel launcher and give the entire unit grav-chutes. I chose the arm option that is holding up the grapnel for the Ultramarines.

Grapnel at the ready.

And standard guy charging with a knife. Maybe this one would've be better suited as a Space Wolf but...what the heck, he'll cool regardless of chapter. 

Charging with a knife guy.


And I am serious about those grav chutes. Here they are on the two new guy's backpacks. They're a tad tricky to attach and I am not looking forward to the fight I foresee having putting them on the older miniatures.

Grav chutes 

Over the past few weeks I dabbled on these guys when I had a little free time. I used the method as shown in the Ultramarine Color Test post a few years ago. 


Amd they are almost done! 


A few more highlights on some of the non-blue areas, the eyes, some clean up and decals and they'll be done and ready to join their brothers. 


I find the grapnels, for what they are and do, to be really large. They're about as large as a grot! With the power that launcher must have behind it I am surprised it can't be alternatively used as a harpoon gun! 


*This post could be cited as an example of "threadomancy" on some of the groups I used to frequent. 


Monday, June 06, 2022

The Fallen Moon Page 5 (Art Monday)

 


Continuing on from Page 4 the vortex torpedoes hit the Eldar vessel. And just as the Imperials are about to finish them off, more pesky Eldar arrive. 

I enjoy the first four panels on this page, especially panel four. I think the Captain looks great in that one. But that last panel...not so much. Panel five I would redo as well. I would fill that Black space with something. A servo skull, servitors,  guards... something! As the story continues the look of Commander Shankara changes from page to page. I just couldn't help myself with wanting to tweak his look. 


This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop.