The Army Of The Dead

The way is shut. It was made by those who are Dead, and the Dead keep it, until the time comes. 

The way is shut.

   An army I bought at the start of 2022 when my brothers and me were really looking at getting back into Lord of the Rings. We were going through the new scenarios and seeing where the gaps were in our collections and the Dead of Dunharrow were one such gap, and more importantly they were an affordable gap.

   Fast forward a couple of years and I'm trying to slowly tidy my man cave up and part of it is building those sprues where I've basically finished an army or a box of something and if I don't build them and put them in the same box as the rest of their collection, it's almost a sure bet that I will just lose or break them. The Army of the Dead fit into this category with most of them build and stored, but one sprue just sitting in a loose pile of other sprues. The aim was just to build and then store them, but with their paint job being fairly simple, it seemed daft not to just get them done.

   The finished collection is the King of the Dead, 2x Heralds and 20 infantry. I followed a recipe I found online but I think there is an argument for a quick white drybrush over the top in the future.

Going purely by the scenario books this is the most infantry I will need for this army - although there is one scenario that needs 6 horsemen, but they will cost me nearly £70, so it's not going to happen . . .

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Bigger Bugs Pt 20

   Another quick paint job on the off chance of a game of Combat Patrol, this is the last three baby Lictors (Von Ryan Leapers) that I needed for the White Dwarf list, which gives me that full Combat Patrol to try out.

   Again, nothing special with this unit this far into the Tyranid project but I'm quite enjoying doing these slightly easier paint jobs once in a while. These were painted a couple of weeks ago but I didn't have a chance to do anything with them.

   With there not being anything particularly new or different in this post, I thought I would do a shot of this whole combat patrol - so three units of Von Ryan Leapers, a Lictor (hidden at the back) and a Neurolictor.

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Renewed assault

   While there has been a lull in the campaign for the world of Fratribusia*, in the fluff battle is still raging. The planet was supposed to be a sacrificial delaying point while the Imperium focussed on gathering forces to protect more valuable worlds, but in recent days Fratribusia looks like it might just hold despite the Imperium's plans for it.

*while painting time has struggled recently, the last month or so Monday evenings have been prime gaming time - although getting to the venue for 8pm as other games start to wrap up.

While other delaying worlds in the Western Reaches of Segmentum Pacificus were being abandoned to the mercies of Hive Fleet Leviathan, the world of Fratribusia was a rare point of defiance that sent Imperial strategists scrabbling. As more Tyranid fleets started to be drawn to the planet, the Imperium sent more assets of it's own into the conflict.

As nearby systems fell to the unstoppable Tyranid swarms and the Solblades sent to hold the lines, slowly slipped out of doomed planets, their missions complete, the shadow of the warp grew stronger with every devoured world, until almost nothing could be heard from those planets that still held out.

One message that burned out of the minds of 4 adepts of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica on the planet Sanctum, a key Anchor World, simply said 'Fratribusia stands - For the Emperor'.

Lord Commander Solar Arcadian Leontus authorised a limited response from Solblades recently drawn back to evaluate this claim.

What was unknown to the Imperium as a whole and the remaining authorities on Fratribusia was how deep the rot had gone.

The first message was followed days later by a second, this one bypassing the normal telepathic routes and bearing a cypher that could not be easily cracked. It went to a lifeless asteroid field in the Sedna region.

As the planet's leadership waited for a response, the war carried on. The Ossuary Brotherhood conducted targeted raids on reports of Lictor Organism build ups in an attempt to disrupt the xenos.

While the Dark Angels struck at genestealer cult risings to try and push the conflict back to as few fronts as possible.

++ Message to the Watch Commander of Watch station Sedna +++

Commander

It is as we feared, the Ecrin Mission of the Order of the Fallen Angel has been infected with the taint of the enemy.

Authorise insertion of assets Valorous and Exemplar to purge the rot.

Code Gamma-Gamma-zeta-5 seal of Inquisitor Ferumor Ordo Xenos

Thought for the day: 

Ruthlessness is the kindness of the wise

 +++ Message Ends +++

While the strike team from the Deathwatch failed in their mission and the sky children cult continued its insidious spread, more ships broke from the warp at the edge of the Fratribusia system. Led by The High Lord of Terra herself, Morvenn Vahl, the fleet held the remnants of a handful of Astra Militarum regiments pulled from other doomed conflicts, Solblades from the Adeptus Astartes chapters Aurora Knights and White Panthers and a sizeable force of Adepta Sororitas.

Finding that the planet did indeed seem to be holding out, Morvenn Vahl ordered a rapid deployment of the troops under her command, with the High Lord leading a mission from the Order of the Fallen Angel straight into the teeth of a Tyranid swarm.

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Bigger Bugs Pt 19

   Slowing right down on the painting front again, but I have finished this figure - a Tyranid Neurolictor. In what I can only assume is a blatant attempt at selling slightly less popular models, GW has been bringing out new White Dwarf only Combat Patrols, with Tyranids getting the second of these with a Vanguard force based around Lictor breeds. In this one it's a regular Lictor, a Neurolictor and 3 units of 3 Von Ryan Leapers (baby lictors).

   As it felt fluffy for what Combat Patrol is supposed to be and I was already close to achieving it, I gave in to the obvious sales tactic and bought the bits I was missing, the first of these being the Neurolictor.

   Painting wise I've done nothing overly interesting with it, just giving it my regular paint job, but I think it looks pretty good as it is.

I need to paint up the remaining 3 Von Ryan Leapers next time I get some spare time and then organise another game in our campaign, which has gone very quiet in recent months.

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Deathwatch Squad - Valient

   In a similar line to the Genestealer Cult side project, another thing I wanted to see on the board in the Fratribusia campaign are the Deathwatch. The 4th Tyrannic War with it's Solblade strike forces is the exact situation where the Deathwatch would thrive, and while their rules don't mean they are going to make a massive difference, they will in my head cannon.

   Last autumn I bought a single sprue of Primaris Intercessors are they feel like where the bulk of regular Deathwatch squads would start, but also bought some extra bits online, a pair of hellblasters and a Dark Angel upgrade pack for the sgt. The bulk of the painting was done last year, it was just the chapter specific pads that were half finished while I mulled over this important decision.

   Its only now that the new Space Marine codex that has come out and I've checked the squad that I've noticed the squad size has now changed - it's gone from 5 marines of which 2 can be Hellblasters, to 5 Intercessors plus 2 Hellblasters where you are also paying for another 3 guys too. Ah well.

   This squad is made up of marines from the following chapters; Dark Angels, Ossuary Brotherhood, Aurora Knights (all the chapters in the Fratribusia campaign), Tome Keepers (the chapter from White Dwarf that I just really like) and the Umbral Knights (a homebrew Dark Angels successor chapter that I am desperately trying not to start collecting).

   The fluff in my head is this particular squad is made from chapters working in the area of Fratribusia that the Inquisition has siphoned off for it's own cause.

This was supposed to be the whole of this project but as of typing this, it no longer is . . .

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Odds and Sods V - The Odds Fight Back

   Its been quite hard to find time to do anything recently, let alone gaming or painting, but I've tried to squeeze a bit of time in to have a wind down. I also revived a title from a while back for this post as I think it covers it best.

   First model is a Genestealer Cult Magos - the last model of my current Genestealer project. I painted her in a slightly different green to anything else to try and make it look like she has access to nicer material, she's obviously not a miner herself, however, I did paint her armour in the same colour as I can only imagine it's come out of the same stock pile somewhere.

   I'd like to add to this in the future, but for now I'm calling it done.

   Next up is my current D&D character - Reizagar Stormhelm. She's a dwarf cleric from the D&D starter set. I'm not 100% on the paint job but I'm at a point it's easier to call her done then if I have an idea in the future I can fix her.

   Also not based at the basing material I've done all my fantasy stuff in has gone missing in my mancave move - when it turns up I'll finish basing her.

   Thirdly is a complete curveball - HMS Thunder Child of War of the World's fame in 1:2400 scale* from Tumbling Dice. Did I need this model? No. But how many wargamers want that ship in their collections?

*technically this is a model of HMS Polyphemus

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A Polish Of Dreadnoughts?

*yeah, the names are getting worse

   This post is about the last two dreadnoughts for this project, namely a second Leviathan and 6th Contemptor, plus a few spare options while I'm doing this**.

**yeah, I got carried away

  So it's harder to explain why I bought these last two dreadnoughts as they were over my hobby budget for this year and they are harder to justify, but I have a game lined up for the full 2.5k list with another mate in March (I think) and the thought in my head was a pair of games using my dreadnought list justified me doing the army more. I think mostly it's just been a really enjoyable project.

   The Leviathan has a name - Igninotam - a bastardised Latin word for fire brand. I dropped a couple of letters to make it flow better as a name and not be a direct translation. My head story for this guy is he was an aspirant to the legion that probably would have failed his induction in normal times, but with the heresy in full flow, his lack of discipline and foul temper were less of a liability in a Inductii (a rushed through marine who the legions didn't always see as full battle brothers and could be thrown away with a bit less guilt) then when he was seriously injured in an assault and would have been too crippled for front line duties again, he was installed into an assault Leviathan shell so as a line breaker - the red stripe on the knee pad showing that this dreadnought might not be entirely in control of himself and the red helmet showing he's been censured for something in the past.

   The Contemptor is on my hobby spreadsheet as Lascannon Contemptor - which if you are aware of guns isn't what it is armed with in the photo. My last 500 points has undergone a couple of changes and as it was the Leviathan that got dibs on points, the Contemptor had to make do with left over space. While I prefer to run Contemptors with double weaponry, this one didn't have the points for such a build and I thought it might be useful to be the all rounder on the board that could plug a gap - being magnetised means I can always change it at a later date anyway.

   I've also been going over my older Ultramarine dreadnoughts to bring them up to this style of painting - not necessarily better painted but more in the same style. As it won't look like much from the front and I didn't do photos of the backs when I posted them years ago, I won't be putting photos of them up here***, but it does make the force look more cohesive.

***except for this one that I added a simple tilt shield to

I probably need to get painting something historical next

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A Brace Of Dreadnoughts

   Following on from the last post of Ultramarine Dreadnoughts here are the last two needed for my 2000 point list, a Venerable Contemptor and a Deredeo.

   The Deredeo is a resin model bought during lockdown for a 30k army that I've since sold, my Thousand Sons. I bought it with the autocannons as advice at the time suggested that the best guns for it were either those, or the lascannons, but basically if it's carrying lascannons its top expensive for what you are trying to make it do*. Ignore the wonky guns - I'm trying to.

   Its now been painted in Ultramarine blue and looks much better for it. At the same time I painted up a pair of missile units for the top of this one and it's squad mate as I used to run my other dereodeo bald.

*sadly this might have been bad advice as it was built for an army that was very light in AT

   The Venerable Dreadnought is just a grand way of saying HQ dread. It gets a small buff but is basically a basic unit - I bought the Forge World upgrade body because I felt it needed a little something to stand out**

**also see the white shoulders here

   Each of the dreadnoughts is supposed to be a hero in themselves, but I figure once the heresy started you aren't going to be preserving empty bodyshells for the best of the best and would just fill them when someone suitably hurt came along, so they could be sent straight back out. Hence why my ones are a tad plainer than some of the dreadnoughts you see online, however, saying that, I do plan to look at my older ones before my lined up game and paint them up slightly more inline with my new ones and add a couple of tilt shields as I really like that look on the pair that have them.

Now I only need two more dreadnoughts to get to a better 2.5k list . . .

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A Stumble Of Dreadnoughts?

   It has often been said that I take ideas too far and this is going to be a firm tick in that column, I'm afraid. I was bought a plastic Warhammer 30k Leviathan Dreadnought for Christmas, it wasn't on any list and I wasn't planning on getting one but the model was gratefully received and sent me down a rabbit hole.

   To start with, I know leviathans are supposed to be really good at the moment, and even in 1st edition I've had them rip through my armies and I've watched one single-handedly kill a Warhound titan but the one in my Sons of Horus army, just never achieved anything. Chatting to my old podcast mates they suggested I try one of 2 or 3 weapon sets as it would just be more effective, so I've tried one of those on this one - a pair of Cyclonic Melta Lances.

   Building the Leviathan got me thinking about my Ultramarines in general and one thought that popped into my head was, with the amount of dreadnoughts I own - could I run a full dreadnought list? The answer was, very nearly. . .

   A quick order online* and I had the bits I needed for an initial 2,000 point list as one of the guys is going to a tournament late in Feb that is running at that limit and wants a test game.

*and then another 2 smaller ones elsewhere

   The first extra model for this post is a second close combat Contemptor Dreadnought to be best buddies with one I already have. This one is the new plastic kit and I've magnetised the weapon arms to allow other ideas in the future.  I'm really pleased with how I've broken up the amount of blue panels - although the assault emblem on one fist might be a detail too much.

   The last one for this post was a bit of a what do I do with the hundred of so points I can't spend in this list - fit a box dread in. These guys aren't great in 30k, they just don't have enough shots or attacks for the size squads they generally face, but it fills points and hopefully helps me just do that last bit of damage on something that the bigger boys didn't quite finish off. Failing that it can hold something and keep out of the way.

The downside of all this, is for some reason I've changed how I paint dreadnoughts and now I'm not happy with my older ones, so I'm looking at going back and giving them a bit more effort.

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Clan Wolf

    This is another post about a unit/army that I both did not need and have no real use for, but I've been enjoying painting Battletech mechs and enjoying reading about the Clans, so when I was looking online for something simple to sate that urge, I saw the Clan Invasion starter box and thought it fulfilled the need.

   I've painted them as Clan Wolf, just because they are the main clan that have appeared in the novels I've been reading. Plus it was a very different colour scheme from the stuff I've been doing.

   I believe the mechs here are (from left to right);

Adder, Timber Wolf, Nova, Executioner, Mongrel and a pair of bases of Elementals.

   I have two more mechs in my painting queue that I had 3d printed, but they aren't crutial models that need to be done. I've written myself up a list of what my priorities now are, so lets see if I can focus on that.

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Bigger Bugs Pt 18

   This model is the only surviving model* of a Tyranid army I tried to build in late 3rd/early 4th edition. As I knew I had to paint a horde, the colour scheme was black with grey carapaces, just the quickest thing I could mass paint, which meant I hated the look of the army after about 2 games.

*that I can find

   I decided to paint it a slightly lighter green than the rest of the force to make it look like it might be an older beast, kept alive for some reason.

I should now be finishing off the last of my Tyranids but I've been very much distracted . . .

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The Swarm Pt 13

   Starting the year as I spent most of the last one here is another batch of Termagaunts, this time the last of the ones from the Leviathan box including a free one from the GW model of the month.

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