Friday 31 March 2017

Kromlech Third Year Anniversary Weekend Sale - 15% Off!!

Hey guys,


Just giving you all a heads up that Kromlech have a sale on at there web store Bits of War to celebrate their third year anniversary of providing some awesome alternative parts for 30k+40k (hehe) in particular (or at least as far as I'm concerned!).

I really rate their products and have bought from them multiple times without disappointment so if you want to save a good chunk and put an order in, this weekend is the time to do it!

Peace out,

Rob

Wednesday 29 March 2017

Rampager Squad - WIP

Hey yo!


So some rough and ready painting last night! I'm keen to get my shattered legion force up and running at 2500 point so I can get some decent fluffy games in with it. I'm not going to be putting vast amounts of effort into painting the remaining models apart from a certain special someone..

But considering these were only built the other day and I got all this done in a few hours I'm pleased with how they've turned out thus far! They need basing to match the Emperor's Children and then blood spatter applying as well as eyes and such picking out. 









I also managed to build the three world eater jetbikes last night as well as finish building and undercoating 5 Sons of Horus heavy weapon marines. I only need to build a World Eaters Legion Champion and then my Sons of Horus HQ and command squad and then the army is built and just needs painting!

Peace out,

Rob

Monday 27 March 2017

Legio Cybernetica Imperial Knight - TO WAR!

Hey all,


Not 100% finished, but it is really minor things like weathering the barrel of the cannon and adding binaric script to the chest scroll that need doing on this chap. No name yet, still working on appropriate background fluff for my entire Legio Cybernetica as well as the Knight.

I'm really happy with how the yellow has turned out on the large curved areas, I think it has a nice variety of tones to give it believable depth and age. Apologies for the slightly dark photos though, I couldn't fit the knight in my light box so I had to improvise!











I'm not all that when it comes to conversion work, so I know there are bits where I should probably have filled it in, but I'm going for a - straight off the shop floor and not quite finished look... *cough* ;) let me know what you think!

Peace out,

Rob

Saturday 25 March 2017

Shattered Legion Rampager Squad and MDF Terrain

Hey gang,


Today I spent a little bit of time building for my Shattered Legion force. This is an army made up of Emperor's Children, World Eaters and Sons of Horus (Or rather Luna Wolves!), that represent the loyalist forces on Istvann III as they defend the Prefector Palace following the virus bombing. 

It won't be terribly competitive at 2500 points, as I have zero vehicles and have gone for very fluffy unit choices, but I just love the whole background behind it AND I have tried to use as many different third party models parts as I can to give it lots of flavour, sort of inspired by the idea that as they hold out against the traitors the loyalist forces would scavenge parts and mix and match armour as needed. 

Anyway, here's more pictures of the Rampager Squad of World Eaters!





And I also got a package through the post from the Troll Trader on Ebay full of MDF terrain for my home table!!


So I am looking forward to putting these together and playing on them!

Peace out,

Rob

Thursday 23 March 2017

8th Edition and the Horus Heresy - Implications

Afternoon everybody,


Not everyone lives on the blogosphere like I (and many others) do, so in case you haven't heard, the last 24 hours have given us some very strong suggestions about the direction that 8th Edition 40k will be taking. Here's a LINK to the Warhammer Community article where this is coming from, for you to peruse yourself.

We've already had some hints that there will be a rules delineation for 30k and 40k, though these are currently still rumours from solid sources rather than a design team interview providing the information. Regardless, I think it safe to assume that some change will be coming to the ruleset that 30k operates under. Even if a 'legacy' ruleset is instigated, I think it is HIGHLY likely that we will see modifications to some core mechanics that alter how the game plays. I think we are going to be looking at either major or minor modifications, and I wanted to give some thought to that today. 

If we presume that legacy rules are unlikely to occur than 30k will be pulled kicking and screaming in to a brave new world along with 40k. From the information provided on the Warhammer Community page, several of these will have big impacts on how 30k plays, and some much less so. On the other hand, perhaps only the most convertible concepts from these will be applied, in order to minimise the impact on existing publications that proscribe 30k rules. 

Lets have a look at what we know seems to be coming and how they would impact 30k, and how easy they would be to implement. 

Combat Initiative

This is the biggie for me regarding 30k and what we know so far. It seems that charging units will get to strike first in combat, rather than empirically in initiative order. This is obviously far reaching for 40k as well such as for Orks and Nids, but in the Astartes Stalemate that is 30k this becomes HUGE. 

One of the great pleasures of 30k is that anyone playing the Legiones Astartes is operating from a mostly generic toolbox, with flavour added through Legion specific rules and Rites of War. So even if you are the charging unit, on the whole it will be an initiative 4 stand off with everyone smacking everyone simultaneously. IF charging units do get the drop on opponents in 8th edition, this makes close combat heavy armies like Space Wolves, World Eaters and even Ravenguard MUCH more potent, as it will reduce the incoming return attacks and thus increase the survivability of units. 

This as a whole will make the game more tactical, and personally I think it would be a great boon to the fluff and flavour of 30k. Additionally this will not require a re-write of any of our fancy red books or great big black leather ones, so its an easy to implement. 

Combat Resolution

A change to combat resolution seems likely, with a mechanism similar to Age of Sigmar on the cards. This simply changes combat resolution from a 2D6 roll compared to Ld - wounds taken overall. To a D6 roll + models lost overall compared to leadership. 

In the current rules if you rolled too high you would have to perform an initiative roll off and see if you were swept by your opponent. In the Age of Sigmar mechanic you lose additional models based on how far you rolled over your leadership. For example, if you lost by 6 dead models and you rolled a 6, 6+6 = 12. if you are leadership 9, you would lose 3 additional wounds. 

This would remove 19 man squads being swept from the table because they lost a single model and rolled poorly and being swept. And having played Age of Sigmar, at least in that game, this mechanic works very well. 

HOWEVER, there are a lot of legion specific mechanics which operate specifically on initiative for combat resolution and sweeping advances (looking at you Emperor's Children). So this would have to be addressed, again, with a re-write. 

I like this mechanic, but I am dubious as to whether it will be incorporated into 30k.

Movement

The news seems to be that units will get a fixed movement stat, rather than a standard stat across types of model (e.g. infantry, cavalry, monstrous creature etc). This has limited impact on a marine dominated landscape, but does have implications for the human and mechanicum armies in 30k. 

I struggle to see this one being implemented, not only because it requires book re-writes, but also because it will have such minimal impact on the game as a whole that the effort seems barely worthwhile. The major modifications that would need to occur would be to humans and mechanicum AND perhaps legion specific units or wargear such as terminator armour. Not to say it won't happen, but it seems a leap in a relatively homogenous meta. 

Shooting and Armour Saves

This is an interesting concept that I cannot make my mind up on. It seems a return to armour modification based on ranged weapon strength is on the cards. Simply put some weapons will reduce armour saves by either a set amount (say +3) thus reducing a 2+ save to a 5+ save, or will modify armour depending on the difference between the strength of the weapon and the toughness of the unit being hit. 

I favour a set modifier over a SvsT concept as the whole point would seem to be a simplification of the game, and having a SvsT to wound table and a SvsT to figure out armour save modifier table would not add simplicity (at least to my mind). 

I think on the whole, I prefer the current AP system to these two proposed mechanisms. However GW could come up with a way which is superior, I'd rather not be pessimistic at this point. My preference for AP is its simplicity, its a simple check to see if AP 2-6 or AP- ignores your armour. Additionally, the AP value mechanism works very well when it comes to armour penetration and damage. 

Again, as this deals with the intrinsic characteristics of weapons, and 30k has a LOT of unique weapons, this would require a re-write of entire weapon sections. This would be relatively easy to remedy however, with release of reference charts with the alternative profiles on them, so not as complicated to integrate as movement characteristics. 


Overall

This is all the concrete evidence we have so far of what 8th Edition will bring for 40k, and how they might alter how 30k is played, or how likely it might be implemented when considering the practicality of such a move. 

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on what you think of these rule changes as a whole for 40k, but also specifically how they may change 30k. 

Just to be clear, I am in favour of all the above rule changes, barring save modifiers and I think they will work really well with a re-vamped 40k rule set. I am considerably more dubious about most for 30k though. 

Well done for making it this far if you did :)

Peace out,

Rob

Wednesday 22 March 2017

An Evenings Work - Imperial Knight Progress

S'up peoples,


So yesterday I (hopefully!) piqued your interest on my Imperial Knight work. This is one of those projects that spent a long time half built in a box waiting for my enthusiasm for it to return, and it has returned with vengeance! Not necessarily because I'm excited to paint it per se, but more that I'm excited to nearly get the Mechanicum finished and off my damn to-do list!

Anyways, here is how I left you yesterday...



And here is where we found ourselves at close of day last night!




Well I had intended to stop at this point... But I then got a small second wind and applied warplock bronze to all of the plate trimming bar the pauldrons for the shoulders. So I have a little more of that to do then all of the metal apart from the main body needs a nuln oil wash. The skulls and scroll work will get washes as well and then highlighting can begin with aplomb! The yellow and black also need some various amounts of line highlighting doing as well.

The shield will receive a substantial amount of weathering as well, mainly to hide the poor conversion work!

The only bits still to be prepared are all the railings for the top of the chassis, but they will be done last as finishing touches so that they don't get in the way of the highlighting stage. Plus the base needs to be built...

It is getting there anyway!

Peace out,

Rob





Oh and the rivets...

Tuesday 21 March 2017

Building Site - Imperial Knight and others....

Hey all,


Now that the Night Lords have vacated my premises (didn't give so much as a by your leave) I now have time and space to crack on with my Heresy armies primarily. I am very keen to finish off the armies that I have mostly complete, which constitutes the Mechanicum and my Shattered Legion. 

I DO however also have a desire to make some headway on my (nearly) entirely third party parts Imperial Militia force as well... So here are a few pictures of some building and painting headway I made last night. I am hoping that the Imperial Knight will be finished this week and then I can start on my counts as Anacharis Scoria using the Belisarius Cawl model!




And the first nudge at my Imperial Militia...


Peace out,

Rob

Saturday 18 March 2017

Thursday 16 March 2017

Wrecked Imperial Knight Terrain - WIP

Howdy,


A few very scrappy photos of something I bashed out last night as part of the night lords commission! I was sent a knackered imperial knight to turn into some terrain pieces and I enjoy painting things all battered so this suited me down to the ground! Highlights and weathering needed, plus the addition of some static grass for contrast on the base. Then everything will be shipped off on Saturday back to the Netherlands!






Peace out,

Rob