Bigger Bugs Pt 9

   I know I said I was going to focus on swarm sized bugs but these were also too close to hand and already prepped, so it made sense to just get them done and off my list.

   The Neurotyrant is one of those interesting monsters from the Leviathan boxset. I've seen complaints that its too small and should be the same size as a Hive Tyrant - but put them side by side and they are identical in height. They do feel a lot less substantial than a Hive Tyrant but I do think they look cool.

   I've painted this guy in my regular colours - although, while I'm becoming less and less sure about the red brains I'm doing, I don't have a better plan for them.

   

I also have a second one of these to do, that I think I have a conversion idea for if I can get the other bits . . .

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The Swarm Pt 10

   A bit of a forced paint job here, but this is the second and last (planned) unit of Neurogaunts. If I am being entirely honest, these guys are terrible, not the worst unit in the list but definitely up there, but they are so cheap and just add easy numbers to the horde on the table, that I still like the idea of 22 of them as a blob just to worry my opponent. They were no where near the top of my list of priorities but as the swarm unit that was both built and sprayed, plus closest when I decided I needed to do a swarm, they got first dibs.

   I've painted them the same as the other unit, although there might be minor differences, and plan to just shove them together as one big unit in games - unless I have a real reason not to.

The next unit might be a big bug, but I'm going to try and get myself to do another swarm unit.

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Bigger Bugs Pt 8

   I probably need to paint some more of the swarm again now just so I don't end up with a big backlog, but I'm painting in gaps between jobs and that isn't conducive to painting big amounts of troops, so this post is about the leviathan Screamer Killer Carnifex.

   Again, this is a figure I've not actively picked as it came with the box set but it is an impressive bug. I quite like how it mixes quite well between the rogue trader era carnifex, 3rd edition carnifex and the current ones, when each of them don't always mix well with each other.

   I kept the same colour scheme as everything else adding the red sinews on the arms that I've been adding when I think a model just needs a little something.

While I still have the need for more of the specialised big bugs, my backlog of swarm sized nids is now building up, so I think I need to swap back and start using the bigger ones as a reward for swarms finished.

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Bigger Bugs Pt 7

  I've done a few posts in this series where I've been unsure on which title to give the post - bigger bug or swarm - but this one definitely fits into this title as in previous editions it was a super heavy monster.

   The Scythed Heirodule is a model that has been in the Forge World catalogue for as long as I can remember and that I have always coveted, but I've never had an army for one to go into. With a big freeze on our disposable income coming up fast, I decided to do one last splurge and bought this*.

*instead of arguably more useful things and/or figures

   As I have already mentioned, I have wanted one of these for as long as I can remember, but when it came to actually buying it, I was torn between the two different weapon versions, on paper the Barbed one (with guns) seems so much better and I've been stung in the past picking a big Forge world model based on the one I think is cooler than the one that is actually better**, but reading the reviews online, it seemed to be the scythed one that people suggested buying. While technically the barbed one is better point for point, it's doing a job other units in the army already do, while the scythed brings something unique to the table. We shall see if that is true.

**looking at you Heresy era Cerberus 

   Not much else to say about this model, the painting was exactly the same as everything else, except that I did give the skin and carapace one extra light highlight. The building of this model was, however, horrible, three contact points that need to be done at the same time holding up a big chunk of resin, with all three points at an angle meant all sorts of supports were needed to keep the thing vaguely in the right place, and there was still filler needed afterwards.

   Really pleased with the end result*** and looking forward to being utterly disappointed by its performance when it gets onto the table - I might have to lend my opponent a Knight . . .

***which has my regular opponent seriously nervous

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Bigger Bugs Pt 6

   I've had a few games of 10th edition Warhammer 40k now and I've started to come to the conclusion that I don't have enough big bugs, while I try to rectify that as much as my budget allows, I thought I'd get something a bit different onto the board in the form of some Von Ryan's Leapers - which I think are a slightly smaller version of the Lictor.

   I got 3 of these in my Leviathan box and my brother topped me up with another 3 while he was picking up some of his own. I'd seen horror stories online about how hard these models are to build but I spent the whole time building them expecting the next one to be the one with the issue, until I had the last one build on my desk and realised I hadn't noticed any problems.

I suspect I'll get one of the new full Lictors preordered as soon as they go on sale, but these mini Lictors are just too cool not to have some of.

Thanks for reading

Operation Thunderstorm

+ + + Transition to all Imperial forces fighting on Fratribusia + + +

Men and women of the Imperium of man.

This is the week you have all been waiting for.

No longer will the Imperium be on the back foot, for now we take the fight to the alien.

The Astra Militarum stand ready. 

The Adeptus Sororitas stand ready.

Solblades from the Dark Angels and Ossuary Brotherhood, sent personally by the Lord Regent Roboute Guilliman, stand ready.

Today we launch Operation Thunderstorm.

Let us destroy the aliens as they sought to destroy us.

Thought of the day: By might shall we been redeemed.

+ + + End of transition + + +

   With three games booked for the same week - a first for this year(?) - and with fresh reinforcements, it was time for the Imperium to launch Operation Thunderstorm, their big push into the jungle to deal with the Tyranid Menace.
   Operation Thunderstorm devised by Militant-General Von Collard, comprised multiple bait and ambush attacks designed to draw the strength of the Tyranids into the open to allow the newly arrived Adeptus Astartes solblades to cut the head off the beast. With the fall of Oghram in their minds, the loyal servants of the Emperor knew they could not fail on Fratribusia.

   The first set piece was launched by the Adeptus Sororitas of the Order of the Fallen Angels coupled with Dark Angel support which had the aim of killing the most prevalent Hive Tyrant and wiping out a particularly virulent swarm.

   With the swarm initially looking overwhelming, the Adeptus Sororitas held firm, weathering the storm before the Deathwing dropped and turned the tide. Cutting the Hive Tyrant down as it tried to make it's escape.

   The first major victory had been secured.

   The second attack was an unexpected one for both sides. A solblade from the Aurora Knights made planetfall in the middle of the jungle at one of the Tyranid breeding sites and fell on the remaining defenders.

   The Tyranids tried an ambush on the engaged space marines but the might of the Primaris showed through and the alien mind was thwarted.

   In a dark moment for the planet, in what was already a dark period of it's history, in the wake of planting mines on the breeding pods the Aurora Knights claimed victory and took 10% of the population of the nearby mining settlement of Dimbreech as is their tithing rights, vanishing into the dark of space with Fratribusia still on the brink.

   The last game was supposed to be the last Space Marine player with my guard to boost their points vs the other Tyranid player, however the marine player dropped out leaving my guard to face off with the Tyranids.

   When we picked missions the Imperial Guard got a secondary mission of deploying teleport homers to allow a fleet in space to set up an invasion, which felt quite fluffy.

   The last attack in the opening stages of Operation Thunderstorm was a mass mobilisation of the Astra Militarum across the remaining front to plant teleport beacons at crucial points in the defence of the planet, to allow the marines of the Ossuary Brotherhood to make planet fall and cut the head of the beast. Much as the brave men and women of the Imperial Guard stood against the foul alien and teleport homers were planted, no marines appeared, and vast numbers were cut down as they eventually broke.

While Operation Thunderstorm has turned the tide marginally in Imperial favour, key points have been over run and the planet is far from saved.

Thanks for reading

Expanding Rainforests

   Much as I am still whacking posts up, I'm still just catching up on units I painted in my recent splurge of painting time. This post is another of these - doing another chunk of jungle scenery in the hope of getting some games of 10th edition 40k over the summer.

   On the last post of the jungle scenery where I did 5 bases of trees and undergrowth, I mentioned that I had gone the whole hog and prepped all the big bases I had so that I only needed to hot glue the plant life onto them once I bought more trees. I picked up 5 more plastic bonsai trees from China in two different designs and sprayed the leaves a darker green, repainted the trucks where I'd gotten paint on them and spend an hour or so with a hot glue gun to do another 7 bases.

   I've played a couple of games with the full 11 finished bases of trees and while it is a pretty good start I think I need another batch to really finish it off* and make a dense board like I used to gawp over in the 3rd edition Catachan codex. I've now run out of the big trees again, so I'm tempted to order one or two more, but I do have more palm trees to use to bulk out a few more smaller bases.

*Although I have now filled up the box assigned to jungle scenery

Thanks for reading