echo base

On a remote relay station, battle brothers of the Ultramarines stand ready to defend against desert raiders.

A nostalgia post today, I haven’t played any 40K since early 2019 and not much in the couple years before that. I still like the lore and I think my Ultramarine army are among the best models I have painted over the years. It was a solid force in 5th ed, and worked OK in 6th, but army structure has moved on.

Scouts with Sniper rifles and rocket launcher

Scouts with closer combat weapons and bolt pistols

An Imperial Shrine

A drone’s eye view of Echo Base

Razorback in the sights of the enemy targeting system

A landspeeder scout

I think it is time for these lads to head to a buy swap sell forum or eBay. I am unlikely to lead them into battle in the foreseeable future, maybe someone else will can bring them into the modern game. In the meantime, enjoy the pics.

Huzzah!

Hungarians

A project with the working title, “I don’t remember buying these, I wonder if I have enough in the cupboard to make a wee army”. I’ll think of a snappier title later. Anyway, a random squad of Hungarians have moved to the painted pile (bases pending).

I haven’t done very detailed faces, but I’m quite happy with how this squad turned out.

The squad includes panzerfausts, so I’m guessing late war. A brief search found some Germans from Black Tree Design and some support weapons (more Warlord). There is a fun looking list in the Fortress Budapest book, a mixed Hungarian-German Budapest Pocket Defenders. I think I will be able to come close to creating a small army for this list. Maybe I will buy a tank to match, although I my Wirblewind will fit the theme nicely.

See you on the streets.

Fancy Photo

I tried out a back drop I painted to match my desert table. I think it works OK, and is better than just a random shelf in my shed as background. Here it is the dwarf gryocopter.

He is flying back to the hold for a full family shot. But that is going to take a while because the rest of the army is at my daughter’s house and with current travel restrictions I won’t be getting there any time soon.

Onwards!

Get to the choppa

Another random project from the cupboard, a dwarf gyrocopter. After painting 15mm recently, even the dwarf in 28mm felt large and was a fun change.

I might go back and add some colour to the pilot’s shirt, but I’m happy with the machine

I think this is the last of my unpainted dwarfs. Who knows, it may even see a battlefield one day!

They have a cave troll

I found a box with a bunch of goblins from the Games Workshop Lord of the Rings licence. I had forgotten I had them, mostly sourced second hand I think, they have lurked in a box not thought of for more than a decade. It was well past due they got some paint, so I dug out the brightest green I have and got stuck into them.

The little buggers are surprisingly hard to photograph. This is the boss man

What passes for a mighty hero for the green bastards

I like these old goblin models. They have a lovely sense of motion about them. I was very rough with the brush work, using dry-brushing and washes as I feel this is in keeping with the goblin theme. Observations that I rarely use any other style will be ignored!

Of course, they have a cave troll

Most likely these will be used for Warlords of Erewhon.

See you around the battle fields.

D.

The Eidolon Rides To War

Can you hear the susurrous of brushes and crazed muttering of gamers as they prepare for a convention?

Arc40K, Melbourne’s longest running 40K tournament is this weekend, so I’m sure lots of folk are madly putting the finishing touches on their armies. Well, I’m ready, but given I only had part of one model to paint, this isn’t so surprising. It was, however, a model that has languished for years unfinished. Fear my Helldrake, it is finally ready to fly over the the grimdark battlefields of the far future!

A bit of mobility and firepower for my Wordbearer coven, most of which I think may have already appeared on this blog over the years. They’re getting on a bit, but I’m reasonably happy with them and it will be fun to have on the table again.

The Eidolon himself: warlord in terminator armour

Terminator champion, “I don’t need armour”.

Cultists, because why wouldn’t you bring a knife to a far-future gun fight?

Dark Apostle conversion

Dreadnought hell-thingy, tooled up for shooting

Plus the daemonettes I shared last-time. Lot’s of them.

Maybe I’ll see you across a table.

Happy gaming.

The road to Arc40K

Arcanacon is convention dear to my heart. Arc40K is an institution on the Melbourne 40K calendar, and deservedly so. It is only a fortnight away and with lists due soon I headed to the shed and pulled out some models. The decision on which one to take was easy, the only current codex I own is the Chaos Space Marine one. Job done.

Arc has always been a full hobby weekend: painting, sports and games, so most people bring some fiction and otherwise go the extra mile to really make their armies drip with theme. Here is my modest effort, background for a Word Bearer coven.

The Eidolon Speaks:

Do you want to live to ever?

Strive to shed the pathetic meat-sacks that bind your souls.

Shrive yourself with bolter and flame.

Strive to Glory on a tide of blood to honour our Dark Lords.

Pave the way to daemonhood with the eviscerated remnants
of the pathetic followers of the rotting corpse-emperor.

Well, do you?

[
The incensed filled landing bay of the deep-space transport filled with raised voices and the crashing of metal as fists beat time on shining armour. Lines of sigil-tattooed marines filed into the waiting landing craft, which roared to life and exited for the short drop the world below.

The Eidolon smiled as he felt the stirrings in his viscera and in the air around him from the pressure on reality as his allies from the warp pushed on the world-membrane, eager to enter this realm and taste blood once more.

The Eidolon smiled.

Soon.

Who wants to live forever?

The Eidolon.

And the pending carnage will bring his plans one step closer.
]

see you in the grimdark

Two houses, alike in dignity

I picked up two new games recently, both of which could be loosely described as skirmish games based on the dark ages. Lord of the Rings battle game from Games Workshop, and SAGA: The Viking Age, by Studio Tomahawk. Both are lovely games. The first editions of both were pretty simple, and I suspect (and hope) that the second editions will be even better, with those little wrinkles ironed out.

I haven’t played SAGA for a long time, but I remember it is the better game of the two. The challenge of managing your saga dice on the battle board is engaging and the opportunity (need) to use your abilities and dice every phase keeps you at the table.

The King had not yet returned when I last played Lord of the Rings, whatever that year was. The new book looks pretty, but to be honest the length of the rules compared to SAGA means I haven’t really looked at that one yet. I bought this LotR on a whim, partly because I have some armies and partly because, being GW, it will be relatively easy to get a game in should I want.

So, not a review, as I’ve done no more than skim the books, and nor have I played any games yet. Consider this more a statement of intent.

Now, back to painting some shield maidens that arrived in the post …

Old School Space Marines

Space Marines are celebrating 30 years this week-end. Blimey!

To mark the occasion I dug into the Faith and Steel vaults for the oldest space marines I could find. My own date from the starter set with the Black Templars on the box and dark eldar on in inside, plus a few of the (now out of production) metal figures from the time.

These are fine miniatures but I came across a box of something older. I have on long-term loan from a friend some seriously old marines. A mix of plastic and metal, I would love to hear from anyone who can identify them, because all I know is that they are OLD!

Of course, marines never really retire and these veterans still get the occasional run in Apocalypse games.

What’s hiding in your cupboard?
D.