Venom #2 (Part 3)

 I was able to make a decent amount of progress on this model since last time. Really the only thing left to do was the gunner. Somehow through the back and forth that Da Masta Cheef and I did with this thing ("Take this." "No, you!" Etc.) One of the sprues disappeared. 

So I had to build the gunner from a variety of bits.  The legs and right arm are from the original 3rd edition Dark Eldar Warrior sprue, the torso is from the Venom kit and so is the head. The arm with the chain is from the Wyches kit. 

Yeah, he is one kitbashed fellow, but I think he turned out well. He seems a bit more relaxed than the gunner from Venom #1, who looks like she just wants to kill everyone. This guy is a more casual kind of killer. You can compare and contrast them with the last two pics in this post.

The last thing to do was affix the canopy to the cockpit. This was done using Testor's Clear Parts Cement, a niracle affixing agent I wish I had when I was building model planes as a kid. 

And here they are together. My fleet of dread murder elf skimmers has doubled!

Hopefully I can get the next one done soon-ish and finally start on some Raiders. I would love to finally field this as a proper army by the end of the year, but we shall see. 

Venom #2 (Part 2)

 Since part 1 was posted ages ago, this model has passed hands back to Da Masta Cheef and ultimately back to me.  Ok, so the story here is that we had played a game using the remnants of his Eldar Corsair force and they still had the option in Battlescribe to take the venom with the duel Shurikan Catapults.  I asked him, in light of this, if he wanted it back and he said "sure". But,  as the editions change so did that army and with it so did Cheef's interest in all things Eldar. As a result I now have almost all of his Eldar things. And so this  poor Venom has been hanging around my hobby area since some time last year. 

Venom 1 and Venom 2. 

I was digging around and came across both of these Venoms and noticed that one of the guns from Venom #1 was  detached. After repairing it I decided that I needed to properly secure these things. And while pondering it, felt the need to actually work on it. Finally, actually work on it. So I painted the whole thing black. 

Black coated.

I stated this way back in part 1 that I intended to leave the pilot as is, as a nod to Da Cheef. That red in the cockpit is a bit too intense, so I might darken some of that. While searching through the bits I had I realized that I was missing the sprue that had the optional crew and the gunner. Not sure if it got misplaced during the multiple trades or what, but I think I have a solution for that.  I did  notice  also that the pintle mount was attached incorrectly, so I pried it off and re-glued it. 

Thinned Khorne Red

Thick Khorne Red

Classic Blood Red

Wild Rider Red on the points and edges.

Sunburst Yellow highlights. 

The bottom.

Not a bad bit of progress there. In fact, that almost finishes the main part of the model, it's the details that are going to slow me down a little. Especially the gunner. But we'll save that stuff for Part 3...

Terror Tactics

"An Extra Night of Gaming." That's what the event was called on our local Hobbytown FB page. It was this past Monday, and somehow the stars aligned themselves in such a way that I was able to participate.

Attempting to employ terror tactics. 

There were a few games being played when I arrived, but not long afterwards the Kill Team game ended and Josh agreed to play a game with me. We chose the Terror Tactics mission and selected our teams. Since they worked well last time I chose to run the exact same Kill Team of Dru...I mean Dark Eldar. Josh selected a team of Primaris Marines.

Dark Eldar Deployment.

Marine Deployment.

I managed to get the Initiative every round of this game! Really, it was the only time that my dice wanted to roll well, as the rest of this match felt like I was in contention with my dice as much as I was my opponent! It started off well with a segment of my force moving towards the board edge while still peppering the Space Marines with as many poisoned needles as possible. I missed a lot, or failed to wound, or the Marine made a save, or I didn't take him out of action when I did manage to hurt him. This made this match more challenging for me, that is for sure!

Dark Eldar advance on Turn 1. 

The first few rounds seemed to go fairly even handed, I kill a guy  he kills a guy, etc. We both our Leaders early on also. But by the 3rd Turn Josh was able to let the Primaris sink their teeth into my Kill Team and start tearing. My Wyches, who stole the show in their last match, were shockingly ineffective against the Primaris Marines in this game. The Comms Specialist and his synergistic benefits were amazing in this game, and this being my first time seeing it in action, I was impressed greatly by his performance.

The floundered charge. 

I had gotten about three models off this board via his deployment zone however the other victory condition was that if one of the teams broke, than the other team could win. Josh focused on achieving this victory condition. When his Reiver slaughtered my Kabalite Warrior Gunner (with the blaster) in an assault, I was left and the last Warrior was brought down by shooting, I had only the other Kabalite Warrior Gunner (with the Splinter Cannon) left on the board. He was in rough shape, and it was no surprise when he failed that test.

Don't fear the Reiver.

If this match taught me anything it was that mastery of the CP system is key to Kill Team. I was poorly suited for this in this match as I am still unfamiliar with my options, while Josh used his with strategic cunning and was able to undermine my most clever strategies. My best use of the Stratagems did get my Wyche Fighter out of a bad situation and able her to escape, but that was more out of desperation on my part than any sort of strategy!

"This sector is secured!"

Thanks for a good game Josh, we'll meet again! Really, if the game had ended on Turn 5 instead of my dice willing the game to continue for another round, I would have won! But that extra round was all the Space Marines needed to rally and take the day! I had fun, in spite of my frustration with my die rolls and with the mechanics of the game in general. After decades of the 'I go U go' system, this version of 'I move, now you move', although refreshing, is hard for this old beard to adapt too. I guess I just need to play more, right?




Some of the other games that took place that night were awesome to observe. Josh, fresh from his win against me, took on a Death Guard army. It was a good example of how undeveloped an all Primaris army currently is as far as support options go. Take a look at all those heavy support and vehicles on the Death Guard side vs. the Space Marine side and you can see what I mean. I left before it ended, and forgot to take a 2nd pic, but it was a brutal clash with Josh's marines hitting with everything they had!

Primaris vs. Deathguard.

The other big game was between The Bob and Matt. Matt used his Genestealer Cult with Imperial Guard Allies and Bob brought his Ulthwe Craftworlds Eldar. It was a brutal match with devastating death tolls on both sides.

Cult corrupted Guard vs. Ulthwe Eldar.

It boiled down to the final fight for the objective. I think the Eldar won, but it was crazy close (so I could be wrong?)! It was a fun game to watch. So I asked Bob who won and this is what he said:

"Matt did on objectives.
8-4 I think,
I had more models left but he had the only unit left that could score.
Fun game."

The final fight! 

Indeed, fun games all around, and I was glad I could participate!

Disrupt Supply Lines

Finally! Finally. I had the opportunity to play a game.

Genestealer vs. Kabalite Warrior.

This time I played against Matt and his nefarious Genestealer Cult in a Kill Team skirmish against my Dark Eldar. This is to be my 2nd game of the current edition of Kill Team. I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was and didn't have pen or paper handy! So I looked on my phone for an app and found this brilliantly constructed app, that was easy to learn to use, called Kill Team Manager. If you play Kill Team and own a smart device I recommend giving this app a go.

(This is not a link)

Today's scenario was a fun one called Disrupt Supply Lines. I was the Defender and the Genestealer Cult were the Attackers. Basically I had to defend the 3 supply markers from the 'Stealers that wanted to destroy them. The scenario has special strategems that we can use our CPs to fulfill the scenario's objectives.

Dark Eldar deployment.

The Dark Eldar set up was very much a defensive one. I had every intent to maximize my gun line and blast Purestrains and the Abomination before they could close on my team.

Skulkers revealed. 

Matt's set up was a defensive one as well, He did not want to be caught in the open so he set up in a way that allowed for the most cover. Also, by keeping them hidden, when charges are declared he can avoid overwatch.

Matt's right flank. 

TURN ONE.

The Dark Eldar win the roll off for the turn. I decide to not move anyone and just Ready the whole team. Having not played since the day Kill Team was launched, I forgot that we play in turn at each given phase, so when suddenly the Genestealers break from cover and rush my force I was a bit surprised. The Genestealer Purestrain Veteran was nasty and he tried to make it to one of my objectives but I was able to counter his efforts to destroy it. In the shooting phase the Warrior with the Blaster vaporized the Abhorrent that was lumbering towards our lines. Two more Genestealer Purestrains were cut down in the shooting phase also. With the Genestealer Cult loosing 3 models on the first turn things were looking hopeful for the Dark Kin. Things were about to be shown to be more than they seemed...

Blasting from afar. 

The Genstealer Vet. had charged my Wyche Fighter with the Shardnet and Impaler. She had no hope and despite the Dodge ability and Power From Pain ability, she was taken out without hope of a counter-strike.

The Wyche Figher, bested with ease. 

TURN 2

Realizing that I had no targets, and that the Purestrain Vet was only going to get shot when he next charged a guy, I decided the best course of action was to try to take him out at his own game. I charged in with the two Wyches. One of them was killed by an Acid Spit Strategem. The other one put up quite the fight however. We both played the Decisive Strike Tactic which forced a roll-off to see who would go first. We both rolled 6s. I said "What are the odds we'll do that again?" And, we both rolled 6s again! So we rolled a 3rd time, and this time the Wyche  won the roll-off. The Genestealer made the save however and so did the Wyche when it was the Genestealer's turn to strike back, thanks to Power From Pain.

Wyches charge the Purestrain Veteran. 

Turn 3, and it was getting very annoying not having anything to shoot at, therefore I sent up a few warriors to try to flush out the leader. But the Cult Leader leapt through the window in a desperate gambit to get away.

A slippery escape attempt. 

He left behind another Purestrain Genestealer, who I had forgotten about, that charged one of the approaching Warriors.

>ulp!<

That warrior was butchered outright. The Genestealer Purestrain  Veteran and the Wyche continued their melee, with neither foe going down.

Turn 4

A critical and strategic maneuver was staged for Matt to strike hard against my force. His Purestrain Genestealer was about to charge into my Team Leader who was also holding an objective. She didn't have any close combat weapons so I didn't expect her to be able withstand a direct charge for a this killing machine. He declared a charge, and I responded with overwatch. And I rolled a 6! And it wounded! The blast pistol absolutely fried the Genestealer, ending his rampage!

Blasted by overwatch

Meanwhile my warriors had managed to achieve LOS on the Genestealer Cult Leader. Not wanting to see what the shooting phase was going to be like he decided to charge the closest warrior. He took a wound from the Overwatch shot, but managed to hold his own in the melee phase.

Hurt but not out!

Over to the never ending fight, and finally my Wyche took a wound, but he was still in it to win it, even if he was now a little less effective at it.

Turn 5 came and the game ended.

Dark Eldar 6 points to Genestealer Cult 1 point.

Never giving up!!!

Wow! What a fun and intense game that was! My Overwatch shots were sickeningly accurate and made a massive difference to how this game would go. So did the Power From Pain save. The Genestealers are quick and fierce (like they should be!) And the way Kill Team works now, Overwatch is crucial for survival.

The terrain set up was weird. Although the Dark Eldar were in a great defensive line, the fields of fire were too small to matter. The Purestrain Genestealers had no problem closing the ground when they charged from cover. The Aberration and the two Genestealers I killed on the first turn are an exception, but I shudder to think how it would have gone for these murder-elves if they had managed to engage them! Winning every roll-off to determine sequence order every turn was a huge benefit as well. Luck was clearly on my side, and Matt's Kill Team could have easily shattered mine if my dice had been performing in their typical manner.

Once again, good game, thanks to Matt for (re)showing me the ropes for this edition of Kill Team.


Thanks for reading Neverness Game 1 of 2019!

Reavers of the Obsidian Rose (Part 3)

Since last time I have finished these Reaver Bikers. And really, the only thing that I had to do was the painting on the riders themselves. Which I did following the steps taken for the Kabalite Warriors shown on this blog and the skin tone steps as laid out in the Raiders of Commorragh book.

Head'n straight at you! 

Anyone with even a fleeting familiarity with these models will notice that I have yet to mount them onto their flying stands. Like I did for the Venom, I want to magnify these things for easier storage. At this time I am seeking out options, so hang in there, it will happen!

In hindsight...

Da masta Cheef, when I sent him some of these pics, said to me:
 "Looking good! So are you going to add a NSFW* tag when you display pics of them from the thong side?😆"

Funny! But he does have a point, the Dark Eldar are a bit naughty aren't they? Is it weird that he was more concerned about thongs than he was Daemonettes boobs? Of course if he was actually working instead of goofing off there wouldn't be an issue, right? 😉

NSFW?! Dude, we ARE working! 

Speaking of working, I have got more work to do before we wrap up this thread:

Lots of work to do! 

Out of this pile 'o sprue I need to build some special weapon Reavers and at least one Sybarite rider. And, again, magnets. Look for these in furture parts!


*Not Safe For Work. 

Reavers of the Obsidian Rose (Part 2)

Continuing on from the Part-1, I got the second Reaver up to the same basecoat level as the first one.

Basecoated in Khorne Red. 

Then I painted them up to the next level using Blood Red.

 Blood Red. 

 The next two layers were Wildrider Red and final highlight of Sunburst Yellow.

Here they are being compared to the Venom that I painted last month. Note that the curvature of the Reaver Bikes are exceptionally good at catching a glare so photographing these things is a bit tricky.

Venom comparison.

 Using a bit of sponge I dabbed on some areas to give the impression of scratched paint. This was done primarily to the Bladevanes and sharp edges.

Scrapes applied.

 A further highlight of Mitheril Silver was added to the edges of the blades and randonly added to a few spot to look like fresh gashes.

Mithril Silver added to the blades. 

Notice the bike with the overhead gun; I just couldn't allow the illogic of having the blade nearly touching the rider's head to continue. So I trimmed it off and together with another blade glued it to the side of the Splinter Rifle to give a sort of pronged claw-like look. I think it improved the look of that bike also!

So these first two Reaver Bikes are done, I just need to finish the riders next.

Reavers of the Obsidian Rose (Part 1)

Expanding on my Dark Eldar force, it seemed fitting to move onto the Reavers. These are the Reavers from the 1998 line of Dark Eldar, of which I have ten models that need to be assembled. I have never built any of these before, so you are about to witness my first encounters with this kit.

These two mint in box models were won on ebay for less than their original SRP!

For being 20 years old now, I am impressed with how well these seem to hold up! They are multi-part and (mostly) snap-fit. The pic below shows the model assembled with pretty much no glue.

Snapped together for a preview.

Naturally, I glued it anyway. However I stalled shy of assembling the rear bladevines and gun mount. I like the sleekness of this model, but the extra junk hanging off of it betrays the aerodynamic nature of it's design and bulks it up. Also, the blades surrounding the driver seem senselessly dangerous for him. Granted, these are insane and cruel sadomasochists with a surprising lack of self-worth, but I don't think that they are stupid either. But I will return to those thoughts in a moment...

One thing I want to address right away are the stupid looking heads on these things. They have not aged well in the past 20 years, but to be fair, they looked stupid even then. The heads look like a cross between a gimp and a Foot Clan Ninja (TMNT reference). In fact, too much of the '98 Dark Eldar release seems overly inspired by the Shredder and his minions for it to be a coincidence. I mean really, right down to the color schemes! Well, I am not sticking with that idea, and decided to do what I did with my Kabalite Warriors and swap their heads out with spare heads from the current kits.

Head swap! 

It worked out well. You just have to size up the new head against the old head and, with an xacto blade, reform the neck by cutting and shaving off the ball joint at the base of the new one, until you have a conforming neck. So far it has worked out well.

Base coat started.

I started the painting by basecoating the main body of the bike in Khorne Red, leaving most of the black base color exposed. This will follow the steps laid out in Venom Part-2.  The flesh tones will follow the steps laid out in the Raiders of Commorragh book starting with Cadian Flesh as a base. I think this wearing-a-thong-while-riding a-superfast-bike idea is hilarious. Twisted, but hilarious.

Cadian Flesh in areas no Cadian model has flesh exposed.

Back to the weird gun mounts: I just have to customize these bikes in this regard. Looking at the orignal Codex: Dark Eldar from '98 it would appear that the 'eavy Metal team felt the same. In the pic below taken from that book you can see that no two Reaver Bikes are alike, and l like that concept of individuality.
(And bonus points on the adobe Ork buildings!)

Original Reavers from Codex: Dark Eldar '98. *

Justifed, and emboldened, I set about performing my own customizations. I turned the main body sideways on this one, and trimmed down the gun mount to get it to fit on the bottom. I angled the gun slightly downward to imply that it might be straffing ground targets.

Reaver #2.

On this one I ditched the upper Bladevanes and worked the mounting arm directly behind the rider. I like that it sort of recalls, in a slight gestalt way, the original design silhouette of the Talos Pain Engine; specifically the scorpion tail gun mount. Also, it ammuses me that the blade under the gun is so scary close to the pilot's head. I think I might paint on some cuts to his head... dare to be stupid, yes?

Reaver #1. 

These are coming along well so far. Let's see where this goes next in Part 2...



*Image used without permission. (C) Games Workshop LTD. Image used not as a challenge to copyright but for the purposes of revuew and reference.