A Weekend of Gaming Part 1 - 40K Zone Mortalis

I had a big weekend of gaming. So as not to overload you with photos all at once, we'll focus on Saturday's gaming. My friend Brian Parisi has volunteered to provide a couple of Zone Mortalis tables for the 40K Warzone Tournament at Adepticon this year. I hadn't seen them yet so we decided to make a day of trying them out and seeing if there were any tweaks that needed to be made in order to make them comply with my Stratagem List that goes along with the tournament. We spent a little while analyzing the pieces he constructed and then set up a suitable 3'x3' layout. At the 40K Warzone Tournament the players will be fielding 1000 point forces so 3'x3' is ample space for an hour and a half game.

We used last year's Zone Mortalis mission and deployed on 6" deployment zones on opposing sides. I took the Familiar Ground Stratagem which gave me Move Through Cover and Scout for all of my Infantry. In the picture below you can see my firebase, a Dreadnought castled with a Techmarine with Power Field Generator, backed up by a 6 man Devastator Squad. You can see two Adepticon poker chips in the shot, representing 2 of the 4 objectives in the mission. This grouping of models was sitting on a 3rd. You can also see a bulkhead dead straight ahead. Brian's army lurked largely on the other side.

This is about as much as you need to see of my army since everyone died in bloody slaughter.

Below are the forces on the other side of the bulkhead, including Chaos Terminators, Obliterators, and Cultists, among others.

A formidable battle line waiting to advance.

As a distraction I sent my valiant Scouts up a straight passage hugging the right flank of the board. Brian sent 2 Spawn up said flank to intercept them.

Scouts vs Spawn was not a fair match up. And to add insult to injury I dropped one of the Scouts when I got home from gaming and he broke in two.

My distraction was insufficient and though I thought I had a commanding view of the center of the board, Brian flooded the opposing quarter with Obliterators, Noise Marines, and Cultists evening out the domination of the objectives.

Overwhelmed is the only way I can describe how I felt.

Meanwhile, on my left flank, a seemingly inconsequential group of 6 Chaos Space Marines with the Mark of Slannesh moved up to threaten my own dominant quarter.

People cry about how useless Chaos Space Marines are. The might not be as points efficient as the other choices in the Codex, but they where superior to my Tacticals in every way.

While the Chaos Cultists held the back objective, Brian made his move on the center of the board while punishing me with fire from the Noise Marines.

I never put a dent in this squad. Their white armor looks fantastic against the brown backdrop though doesn't it?

Bringing up the rear, the Chaos Terminators smashed their way through the bulkhead, but I was so overwhelmed by the other 750 points of his army, he could have left them in his figure case.

This unit would have scared me if the rest of his army wasn't so effective that they were completely unnecessary and took no part in the game other than as more eye candy.

All told, the Angels of Absolution suffered indignity after indignity has he smashed his way through my squads of Tactical Marines. I ultimately ended up conceding as he had 3 objectives at the end of turn 5 and there was no way I could bounce back. It would have been disheartening if I wasn't playing against a beautiful army on beautiful tables. Okay, maybe it was still a "little" disheartening, but as you can tell from the pics I love the spectacle of wargaming and Brian delivers the goods. It was a pleasure playing against him and I hope everyone at the 40K Warzone Tournament appreciates the time and effort he put into these awesome tables.

Oh, and thanks to Brian and Mike for introducing me to Seven Wonders after the Zone Mortalis game. It was a good time. To be continued tomorrow with a recount of Sunday's gaming.

Also, check out Broken Contract Blog to see some great work in progress shots of the Security Officer concept sketches and an early incarnation of what might be the new Broken Contract logo.

-Nick

Review APOCALYPSE WAR ZONE: PANDORAX

I'm a complete Dark Angels fanboy and had to break the bank and pick up Apocalypse War Zone: Pandorax by Jervis Johnson yesterday.


Here are the specs:

The story details Abaddon the Despoiler raiding a death world full of Imperial mining colonies while a regiment of Catachan Jungle Fighters were stuck on system. Abaddon goes straight for the largest hive city on the planet. A man named Colonel Strike of the 183rd Catachan Jungle Fighters offers resistance but the hive falls and Colonel Strike orders Imperial retreat to the various mining colonies scattered through the jungles and mountains. He is surprised when his pursuers back off from giving chase. Dating back to the Horus Heresy the Pandorax system was used to channel Daemons straight from the Realm of Chaos through an underground gate called the Damnation Cache. Only the Ruinous Powers, some of the Heresy era leaders, and the Grey Knights know of its existence (because they sealed it off). However, over the past 10,000 years it had been forgotten.

Before Hive Atika falls a distress call is sent out and it is met with response from a massive Imperial Fleet and the entire Chapter of Dark Angels. Meanwhile, Abaddon is joined by the famed Huron Blackheart from the nearby Maelstrom.

The book has a very detailed account of the fleet actions that took place off world and if you still own a bunch of Battle Fleet Gothic ships like myself you can recreate the fleets, potentially in their entirety and fight it out. No BFG rules are given in any way, but all of the classes of ships are named in perfect detail for those that have the ships and books.

The centerfold battle of the book, the true feature of the book is absolutely inspirational. It is a battle that takes place during one of the fleet actions  and involves a huge battle taking place on the Revenge, and Imperial ship, while the battle rages outside across numerous asteroids and below deck in a separate chamber deck. It is gorgeous and has a bunch of cool rules.



There are then Pandorax specific rules a few pages later for fighting "on world" that include forests with massive lizards that can eat entire squads that get too close and the like. As a fan of terrain rules, I dig this, even though it takes the "Mysterious Forest" rules and takes them to Apocalypse scale in their effects.

Then there are 3 more Apoc scenarios. The one that stands out in my mind involves 6 tables representing massive mountain peaks spaced specifically so you can fire from one table to another. Also, during Breaks forces can redeploy to another table. It seems incredibly cool.

Then there's the usual War Zone Strategem/Effects Cards, Finest Hour rules for a 3 different commanders, and a bunch of formation sheets.

The Appendix is great for anyone who doesn't own a bunch of early 2000's 40K crap because a huge chunk of fluff from the old Codex:Catachan Jungle Fighters and Battle Fleet Gothic rulebook are printed on the last few pages.

I will say, the Dark Angels don't get as much face time as I was hoping but this is still an inspirational book and highly recommended for fans of Imperial Guard (Catachans, Cadians, Vostoyans represent), Dark Angels, Grey Knights, and of course, Chaos (Chaos Space Marines, Black Legion, Daemons, and Red Corsairs.)

-Nick

Three! - Angels of Absolution WIP #5

Yesterday I completed my third Angels of Absolution Scout. For me this pacing is nigh unheard of; and I have more completed bitz on the painting table.

I wanted to try out giving a Scout a backpack like how the art consistently depicts them. I'm also cycling through the various bald Space Marine heads with rebreather masks, so when I pulled this vehicle driver head with antenna I decided to go all out and add an Imperial Guard vox pack.

Like my other Scouts he is based with a mix of GW Sand, GW slate, GW Static Grass, Noch Spring Grass Tufts, and clippings of broom bristle.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to shoot to complete 6 Scouts, so I'm halfway there.

-Nick

Two Down: Angels of Absolution Scouts WIP #4

Before the weekend hit I finally finished up the Angels of Absolution Scout I had been working on all week. Here he is. He has a Space Marine head with the neck shaved down to fit in the armor's neck socket. He also has a green stuff loin cloth and the "skull on a rope" that I no longer recall where it came from. So he's got a few little conversions to give him some character.

 

Here's the same model from a slightly different angle. The base has standard GW basing material, a little pile of shale fragments, a spring grass tuft from Noch, some German company, some standard GW static grass, and a few broom bristle fragments sticking out of the ground out of holes drilled with a pin vise.

This model is the "test model" I completed February 17, 2010. 2nd City Warzone - First Blood! 2/17/10. He's been waiting over 3 years for some buddies to go to battle with. He also has the green stuff loin cloth and Space Marine head.

These are more legs waiting in the wings. The legs to the far left have a veteran crux attached to the loin cloth so those will be the sergeant legs. The legs in the middle are for a normal Scout, or maybe since the combat knife is at his side, maybe that would be the ideal heavy weapon Scout? The legs all the way to the right have received a lot of work since this pic was taken and actually if now a mostly done 3rd Scout. Note that if you look closely I took a moment to drill holes in the bases for broom bristle to stick out of. I think doing this now is better than when the model is done and I'm almost ruining a completed model as I'm drilling into it multiple times.

This final picture is from the 4th Edition Dark Angels Codex and shows you some of the reference material I'm working with. This is where I got the idea for loin cloths and bald heads. I noticed that this pic and the one in the new book both depict Scouts with backpacks, so I'm trying to incorporate that as well in the future.

 

-Nick

Piece By Piece: Angels of Absolution Scouts WIP 3

I've been working along on that Angels of Absolution Scout Squad. The other day I highlighted up the flesh for the head I intend to use on the body I've been working on (visible to the right of the head). I'm really happy with how the flesh came out. Hopefully I don't destroy it when I do the eyes.

Tallarn Flesh, Ogryn Flesh Wash, Cadian Flesh Tone, Bronzed Flesh, Elf Flesh, and Agrax Earth Shade in the eye sockets. Only 2 of those paints can still be found on a shelf at a store. That's how I roll.

I've started base coating Bolt Pistol Arm attempt number 3. Its coming along.

Part of me wants to convert this in some way or add some sort of bit, but after painting up two separate arms previous that didn't work, I'm afraid to do anything fancy and run into the same problem a 3rd time.

This set of legs is all ready to go and will be used for the Veteran Sergeant. It pretty much has to be - considering I have the Veteran Crux hanging from the belt.

Green stuff loin cloth and a Veteran Crux bit.

I started dabbling with some sculpting. I'm planning on giving the Sergeant Melta Bombs so I took a Catachan arm and started the process of giving him a sleeve over his bare muscled arm. The piece of plastic card will be part of the Scout Armor Gauntlet they all wear. Its got a ways to go. Since I had some leftover green stuff I made some pieces for a purity seal. I'm really happy with how well I got the scale on these.

I suck at sculpting but I want to learn. This is my attempt to push my limits. Hopefully when the gauntlet and shoulder pad are added it will look decent.

Also while sculpting I gave this head a mohawk like the old scouts had. I think it came out pretty well. We'll see when I get it all cleaned, primed, and painted though.

Green stuff mohawk. Someone get him to Hot Topic for some bondage pants. I kid since if my hair didn't thin in my early 20's I'd totally have rocked a mohawk somewhere in the last 20 years.

Finally, here's one more set of Scout legs all base coated and ready for highlighting.

Another green stuff loin cloth with an Imperial Eagle groin protector to show he has faith in the Emperor to protect his junk.

-Nick

The Wrong Arm - Angels of Absolution Scout WIP

I'm glad I'm still working on Squad #1. I'm out of practice so that freehand 1 took me a half hour.

Its been a while since I made a 40K post. I played in an AWC tournament a few weeks back and I'm excited to paint my Angels of Absolution again. I decided to pull out some Scouts I had started in the hope of working my way through a 5 man squad. One disadvantage of painting piecemeal and doing test fittings with blue tack is that sometimes when everything comes together the pieces you were working with don't line up as planned.

You'll notice I added a green stuff loin cloth as well as the skull on rope bit.

I had originally planned to use that arm for this body. Sadly, when I glued the torso in place I twisted it too far for the arm to clear the holster creating a terrible gap if I had chosen to glue it. I worked on that silly arm on and off for the past couple of days. It'll still get used, but I was excited to have this model almost done. Instead I'm going to have to prime a different arm tomorrow and start over. I guess at least I have an arm done for one of the other Scouts in the squad.




-Nick

Converted Dual Storm Bolter

I own a lot of Rogue Trader era Rhinos. Most of them are in boxes, half converted or in storage bins sitting half painted. To be honest, I've always loved the Rhino in all of its incarnations. With the release of 6th Edition people have fled from mechanized builds feeling that troop transports are too much of a liability with their new limitations on both disembarking and a perceived fragility. My mentality is that I own them, so I'm going to use them, so how do I make them into something more usable?

This is a fraction of what I own of just old school Rhinos..

At the tail end of 5th Edition I had already started to think about doing things a little differently. If I like Rhinos so much and I'm going to use them anyway - why not make them as annoying to the opponent as possible? I decided I wanted to start toying with upgrading them in unconventional ways. My first idea was to pay the 5 points for a Pintle-Mounted Storm Bolter. The single Storm Bolter can add some supporting fire from the Rhino and make it a little more effective, so why not try and improve that effectiveness? For 5 more points I'm essentially adding the fire power of a 15 point Space Marine. Now a Rhino that might get ignored by a savvy player might draw more attention and that might draw fire away from my all important scoring units.

In the spirit of WYSIWYG I usually only ran one of my Rhinos that way because that was the only one that I had set up with 2 Storm Bolters. Well last week I just wanted to convert something. I had this Rogue Trader era Rhino that I had stolen the driver compartment off of a 2nd Edition Sisters of Battle Immolator. The 2nd Edition Immolator traded in the 2 top hatches for a single central hatch with twin linked Heavy Flamer that I had simply replaced with the standard Imperial Storm Bolter hatch. The problem is, if I wanted to double up my Storm Bolters where would I put it?

My solution was to look at the housings on a variety of Space Marine upgrades and build one to hold 2 pairs of Bolters. The Bolters are two pairs of extra Rogue Trader era Rhino Bolters that I trimmed, filed, and pinned on top of each other. I scratch built the housing and decided it needed an ammo feed. I looked at the Attack Bike Heavy Bolter and decided to build a similar box. I had used a hunk of sprue for the center of the box so I filled the angled areas in with green stuff. Here are two angles on the converted Dual Storm Bolter.

I don't think its my best work but I'm a little rusty. I still felt it was cool enough to paint up and use in games. so over the next week it was meticulously painted to my usual standards.

The only thing I messed up on is that the specific Rhino this Dual Storm Bolter was built for was once the subject of a great quandary - dating back before there were pictures of Angels of Absolution vehicles in Forge World books. The question I had asked myself back then was, "Does the wing always face the same direction - feathers to the right? Or does it flip depending on the side of the vehicle its on so that the feathers always point to the back of the vehicle or nearest side?" I ended up learning that it was the latter, but my first inclination so many years ago was to go with the former. So now, when I painted this Angels of Absolution logo I automatically painted it to face the "right way". You will understand better when you see this next photo.

Still, I think it came out pretty cool and it adds a little bit of character to my Rhinos. Around the same time I had the idea to trick out my Rhinos with extra Storm Bolters I started entertaining the idea of alpha striking Rhinos equipped with Hunter Killer Missiles. On one Rhino it seems like a waste of points, and maybe with its single shot it is. But what about if you roll onto the table with 3 or 4 Rhinos, and get off a flurry of HKM's? Or maybe you save them all to late in the game just to force your opponent to focus on those annoying little Rhinos, blocking line of sight, directing focused fire, and harassing their lines? Sounds like fun to me. Maybe these will get some attention next? Just because.

 Let me know what you think. Am I crazy for trying to make these options work? Thanks for reading. -Nick

Distracted! Angels of Absolution Mix and Match Week.

Early last week I had a really hard time focusing. I went into the week knowing I had two weeks to get ready for the next AWC Tournament here in Chicagoland and I needed to come up with another 100 points. I do have more models than what I used in the last tournament, but I'd basically just be adding another Tactical Combat Squad. One of the things I learned at the last tournament is that my army doesn't have enough dedicated killing power that isn't just the modest boltgun. My army is basically a big blob of Tactical Squads without a lot of heavy weapons or close combat potential.

Some of the bitz that were staring me in the face when the week started that I completely ignored - a half complete Warden bike squad.

I had gotten back from the last tournament the week previous and spent a couple days using weathering powders on a Tactical Squad, a Dreadnought, and a Rhino. It dawned on me that I only had less than 3 weeks to get ready for the next tournament and I really needed to get something else done. I grabbed an unfinished Assault on Black Reach Dread that I figured I could plow through rather quickly. Then I realized it was going to take me longer than I planned. I finished the stage I was working on and then put him back in the drawer unit where my unfinished vehicles spend most of their time.

I spent a day and a half of the week making the Bleached Bone nice and opaque and then highlighted it with Screaming Skull and White Scar and then filed him back in one of my 3 AoA vehicle part drawers.

Then I thought to myself, "No one uses Techmarines, and a Techmarine would eat up that extra 100 points." I dragged out the Techmarine I started in the early 2000's to see if he was up to snuff and then I pulled out the 3 Servitors I had with him. They'd actually make a pretty threatening close combat unit so I decided to put them on the painting table and do some work on them. I worked on them all Tuesday and then thought, "What are you doing? You'll never get these done in time." Once again I completed the stage I was working on and then took them back off the table and shoved them back in the figure case where unfinished infantry reside while awaiting their turn on the painting table.

This is an old batch of conversions and paint jobs. The servitors used to have Blood Red pants but a year or so ago I dabbled with changing them to Graveyard Earth/Khaki to match the robes of my army. The whole group needs some serious work though some of the conversions are pretty cool. On Tuesday I worked on base-coating the back two servitors and covering over their red pants. I started switching over the Techmarine's robes to Graveyard Earth/Kommando Khaki from Bleached Bone/Bubonic Brown/Bestial Brown. Finally, I put some Chaos Black on areas that will eventually be metal on all the figures before I said, "Enough!" and put them back away in their carrying case.   

Last night I was thumbing through my Codex, the recent FAQ, and reflecting on the Veteran Squad Load Out thread on Bolter & Chainsword. I was moments away from pulling some robed leg/torso bitz I have cleaned up and ready for priming out of the aforementioned figure case and it dawned on me again, "Nick, what are you doing?" I needed to get myself focused on a more realistic goal.

Oooh Veterans! I definitely want a squad of these guys, but I have one started and one body cleaned. There was no way in hell I'd finish a squad that isn't even really started. I just paint way too slow.

You see, I started that Warden Bike Squad back in August and its halfway done. I could finish it in 2 weeks. I just need to force myself to focus and get it done. That's the problem with project A.D.D and the reason why its taken me 18 years to get where I'm at with the Angels - I just can't stay focused long enough to get a model done when there are so many models I want to add or complete. My energy is spread over 100+ unfinished projects.

Here's that bike squad again. They were staring at me all along and I just needed to get my head on straight. I'm just too easily distracted.

Over Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I got focused and I turned some of that pile of bitz into this model here. This is my second complete biker and I'm fairly confident I can finish the 3rd and final necessary biker by this weekend's tournament.

Warden biker with Meltagun. I feel like I'm getting a better hang of the sword on black shield logo that I came up with for them.

I love the skull with the X on its head. Like I mentioned before the right shoulder pad with get a squad number when I get further along on the squad. Also, the mistake down by the front wheel wasn't fully covered because I know it will get covered by weathering effects, otherwise I'd never allow it to be shown on the internet as "complete" because I'm a nerd.

The final bike as of this morning. The legs are pretty much done. I need to put metal on the buttons onf the keypad and I need to put the Wardens logo on the knee pad. The Purity Seals also need script. The torso is about a 1/3 of the way done and same for the bike and backpack. His arms are still up in the air.

Alternately, the base is pretty much ready to go. I hope to have this model done by Thursday morning so I can work on my army list and send it off to the AWC Tournament Organizer.

Thanks for reading!
-Nick

Spring Cleaning and Moving Forward Part 1

At least once a year I drag everything out of the display cases so that I can dust the inside of the cases, dust the models where needed and take an assessment of where I am and what things I'd like to do with my armies. In my last post I mentioned that my only goal for this year is to get my Angels of Absolution to 2000 points and that if I just painted 4 more "Deathwing" Terminators I would meet that goal. 

Yesterday the models were dragged out and assessed and the dusting began. It was dreary outside yesterday due to rain and clouds so I elected to wait until today to take some quick shots. The one thing I did do yesterday was select some models for sale and create a checklist, or should I say wishlist, of things I'd like to do this year. Think of these like secondary goals or multiple roads to facilitate completing the goal of getting the Angels of Absolution to 2000 points.

1. Complete 3 models for Tactical Squad #1 of the 5th Company. This squad was a complete squad for most of the last 15 years but last year I decided a lot of the models required demotion to the 6th Company and replacement with updated models. I have to complete 3 models to accomplish this. Unfortunately it wouldn't benefit my approximate points total.

2. Complete 5 models for Tactical Squad #2 of the 5th Company. Since this squad is a legal combat squad as it stands there is no hurry to do this and I consider it a low priority.

3. Complete 1 model for Tactical Squad #5 of the 5th Company. Like the 1st company, I believe this model was removed for reassignment and needs to be replaced still.

4. Complete 3 models for Assault Squad #8 of the 5th Company. I have 1 almost completely done and its some of my best work I think. I have 2 other models started but considering the squad performs so horribly I've been planning to replace them with 2 marines with plasma pistols. Regardless, completing this unit would definitely get me closer to the goal of 2000 points. Unfortunately they sort of suck.

5. Complete 4 models for Devastator Squad #9 of the 5th Company. I'd love to bulk this unit out to 10 just because. I had 2 Heavy Bolter guys assembled and in various stages of painting but pulled them apart a couple of years ago and that's how they've stayed. This would also bolster the points for my army but getting through the Heavy Bolter models will be a bear. Their guns and packs will take me as long as the rest of the model in all likelihood. 

6. Complete 1 Razorback as a transport for Devastator Squad #9. As you can see the turret and hatches are already completed. I have a Rhino hull packed away somewhere in some state of completion and an assortment of additional pieces. This is actually a fairly easy source of points.   

Fully painted Razorback parts.

7. Complete 4 "Deathwing" Terminators. I see this as my best route to 2000 points and the highest priority of my army. Far from invincible, I play a "Dark Angels" army that has none of the special characterful units. Last year I completed one lone Terminator and I have 2 others converted and started. Even if I don't complete all 4 I'd still be stoked if I just completed the 2 I have on deck.

This guy has no friends. The models on the shelf behind him are all from the 6th Reserve Company or the 10th Scout Company. As a Terminator of the 1st Company he stands alone.

8. Complete 4 Scouts of the 10th Company. I'm pretty sure I finished my first modern scout in 2010. I have various brave young scouts in various stages of completion in the case waiting for my attention. After reading The Purging of Kadillus it gave me a greater sense of how the 2nd and 10th companies coordinate their roles and this made me want to complete this unit even more. Plus, having a lower point unit to eat up points is really handy to have. You can see an old school Rogue Trader era scout to the left of the Terminator in the picture. I think they're cool but I can't bring myself to use them in my actual Scout unit.

9. Complete 3 "Ravenwing" bikes of the 2nd Company. This is a complete pipe dream. I would love to get them done. I have several bikes started from multiple attempts to get this unit on the table top. As much as I'd love to have them on the table this year, 2013 or 2014 seem way more realistic.

10. Complete 1 Dreadnought. I've had a converted, mostly completed dread in my figure case for the last decade. I finished a new dreadnought before I completed this one. I also have a Black Reach Dread started. I honestly don't care which one I complete. I see either as reasonable easy army points.

11. Complete 1 Librarian. This is really a low priority because they are terrible in the game but considering the relationship between Chaplains and Librarians in the Dark Angels' fluff I feel that I really need to finish this model - possibly as a Crystal Brush entry for next year if I decide to get really crazy.

12. Complete 1 Caestus Assault Ram. There are rumors of Space Marines getting another flyer this year but who knows if they will and if Dark Angels will have access to it. I own and have begun painting a Caestus Assault Ram bought at Adepticon 2011 and I really want to complete this as a centerpiece for this army. My other major hobby goal for this year was to complete something "big". This is one of the likely candidates.

This shelf is entirely composed of models from the 5th Company of the Angels of Absolution. They need their centerpiece!

Now with the top two shelves of the case out of the way, what about the 3rd? The third shelf held my completed Redemptors of Golinar Imperial Guard army and some miscellaneous crap. I pulled some of the crap off of the shelf for sale purposes.

The mighty vehicles of the Redemptors of Golinar with a Priest and a Culexus Assassin. Randomly there is also my Votex Grenade Template and Rogue Daemon painting award that I should consider selling. I'm sure a Chaos player could use it more than me even if it strokes my ego a little.

Here are some of the models that I'm planning to sell. First are a few Orlock Gangers from Necromunda. I need to look to see if I have any others to complete a gang. If not they'll go up as is.

These are some of my oldest models. I re-based them a couple of years ago but these were painted the year Necromunda came out. I have one more not pictured that's been waiting on my table for static grass for a year or so now.

The one Chaos Legion I love are the Iron Warriors. Their story is one of my favorites and I love that they didn't  turn to daemon worship so much as they were just so slighted that it broke their will and they went rogue. Like all my models I didn't use any decals. 

 Alas, I have 10 more of these models in various stages of completion so it makes the most sense to crank them out and get them up on Ebay as a group. We'll see how long that takes me.

My painting table.

I just pulled some marines out yesterday to try and fill some of the holes mentioned about. The Orlock Ganger just needs some static grass. The cuddly rampaging dog is another model from Wreck-Age by Hyacinth Games, and there are some Tomb Kings in the background which will feature heavily in Part 2 of this article. 

-Nick

Battle for Piscina IV: Dark Angel Army Lists

After hours of pouring through The Purging of Kadillus and cross referencing the novel with the original Storm of Vengeance campaign pack I have constructed the following RECOMMENDED army lists. For the most accurate recreation of the events these are the forces you should ideally have. Due to time constraints it is understood that people will most likely have forces that diverge from the below suggestions - but let it be known that purists will be rewarded heavily. Also understand that during most scenarios you will only be commanding a portion of your recommended forces and certain optional forces would be completely unsuited for the scenarios so do your best to stick as closely to the recommendations as possible.

This is the first wave of Army Lists. Army Lists for the Imperial Guard and Ork forces will follow shortly.

Master Belial, Company Master
Personal equipment:

Power armor, Bolt pistol, Plasma pistol, Frag grenades, Krak grenades, Displacer field (4+ Invulnerable save), Power sword. (130 points)

Recommended forces:

Lexicanum Hebron (up to 145 points)

Venerable Dreadnought Revered Venerari (up to 165 points)

Command Squad Vindictus (up to 150 points)

Razorback (up to 85 points)

Scout Squad Arcanus (up to 100 points)

Deathwing Squad Adamanta (up to 225 points)

Predator Caliban's Wrath (up to 150 points)

Total: 1150 points.

Interrogator-Chaplain Boreas, Company Chaplain
Personal equipment:

Power armor, Master crafted bolt pistol, Frag grenades, Krak grenades, Rosarius, Crozius Arcanum, Power sword. (130 points)

Recommended forces:

Veteran Squad Exacta or Tactical Squad Peliel/Lemeal* (up to 200 points)

Assault Squad Zaltys (up to 300 points)

Devastator Squad Heman (up to 270 points)

Ravenwing Support Squad (up to 100 points)

Total: 1000 points

Master Chaplain Uriel
Personal equipment:

Power armor, Frag grenades, Krak grenades, Rosarius, Crozius Arcanum, Power sword. (100 points)

Recommended forces:

Tactical Squad Andael (up to 120 points)

Razorback (up to 80 points)

Ravenwing Squad Validus (up to 250 points)

Ravenwing Support Squad (up to 300 points)

Predator Hammer of Judgement (up to 150)

Total: 1000 points

Interrogator-Chaplain Sarpedon
Personal equipment:

Power armor, Bolt pistol, Frag grenades, Krak grenades, Rosarius, Crozius Arcanum, Power sword. (120 points)

Recommended forces:

Lexicanum Acutus (up to 145 points)

Apothecary Nestor (Independent character) (up to 40 points)

Assault Squad Menelauis (up to 295 points)

Devastator Squad Scalprum (up to 270 points)

Deathwing Squad Vigilus (up to 225 points)

Total: 1095 points

Lexicanum Charon
Personal equipment:

Terminator armor, Storm bolter, Psychic hood, Force weapon. (145 points)

Recommended forces:

Techmarine Hephaestus and servitors (up to 150 points)

Tactical Squad Azraeth with transport (up to 240 points)

Tactical Squad Dominus with transport (up to 240 points)

Deathwing Squad Malignus (up to 225 points)

Total: 1000 points

Veteran Sergeant Naaman
Personal equipment:

Scout armor, Master crafted bolt pistol, Frag grenades, Krak grenades, Melta bomb, Statis grenade, Teleport homer. (65 points)

Recommended forces:

Scout Squad Naaman (up to 150 points)

Scout Squad Damas (up to 150 points)

Tactical Squad Nemeaus with transport (up to 250 points)

Ravenwing Squad Aquila (up to 235 points)

Predator (up to 150 points)

Total: 1000 points

Optional forces:

You can still participate by bringing a 1000 point force from Codex: Dark Angels, but understand that certain options are not suitable for certain scenarios. The closer you adhere to the recommended forces the better.

If Ya Want Sumfin' Done... Part 1

The Purging of Kadillus by Gav Thorpe skips over the opening engagements between the forces of Ghazghkull Thraka and the combined resistance of the Piscina Free Militia and the 3rd Company of the Dark Angels. At the end of the Prologue, Tauno is on watch and sees a dust cloud approaching Kadillus Harbour and after readjusting his magnoculars multiple times discovers that there are endless columns of Orks approaching on foot. He then promptly drops his magnoculars like a chump. The book picks up with the 1st chapter being The Tale of Boreas: Dark Cathedral. This is a great snapshot of what is referred to as "Ghazghkull's War" in the original Storm of Vengeance campaign pack from 1997, but it skips over the whole opening engagement.

SoV (Storm of Vengeance) also ignores much of that initial onslaught but it does kick things off with If Ya Want Sumfin' Done, a scenario where Ghazghkull lays claim to a coveted objective that the Imperial forces do not understand the significance of at the time. A small elite force of Orks led by Ghazghkull himself breaks away from the main assault on the city to seize a small geothermal plant inside the northeastern end of Kadillus Harbour. Master Chaplain Uriel and Lexicanum Charon move in to intercept the Ork forces but fail to hold the power plant.

This is a really important battle because it helps to set the tone: we are being overwhelmed. One of the exciting things I'll be doing with the Battle for Kadillus event is to flesh out that initial invasion of Kadillus Harbour and the bloody city fight that is alluded to but remains largely undocumented in either SoV or PoK (The Purging of Kadillus). Ghazghkull's forces surged into Kadillus Harbour and then dug themselves in once they had been cut off from reinforcements. The 3rd Company of Dark Angels and the Piscina Free Militia were unable to root them out initially, and the Orks had laid claim to key objectives like the Dark Angels Basilica, the city's orbital defenses, and of course, the geothermal plant. Though we will see tables with all of these key objectives assembled between now and April 19th, 2012, this week I began work on the table for If Ya Want Sumfin' Done...

My starting point begins with this scenario map out of SoV. As you can see it is a 4'x4' gaming area with a couple of diagonal city blocks and a couple of horizontal city blocks with the geothermal plant centrally located on the western edge, if that makes sense. Now one of my pet peeves with GW's representation of cities is that you have a bunch of free standing buildings scattered all over the place and they don't form blocks. A couple of years ago I began work on my own city table that utilized giant movement trays for the buildings themselves so that I could swap buildings in and out and so that I could set up my table in blocks. I've elected to use the same construction ideas of this table.

One of my major concerns when laying everything out is ensuring that all of the city blocks are spaced far enough apart to allow for "real" traffic but to be tight enough to block lines of sight. I decided that the ideal width between most buildings would be 2 Rhinos wide - enough space for 2 normal sized vehicles to pass each other.

Now the idea of a square movement tray to set up blocks is fairly easy to understand. You cut a bunch of squares and rectangles and put your scenery on them. In my case every base is 12" wide no matter how long it is, and it has a 1" border of sidewalk all the way around. This means that if I build scenery pieces that are 10" wide I can drop them onto my movement trays at a whim. The problem I ran into was that when setting up a table with diagonal city blocks my squares and rectangles would be hanging off the table edges; which is both unsightly and prone to people getting caught on the scenery and knocking it around. To deal with the issue I cut a variety of city block sections that are half squares or half rectangles with a 45 degree diagonal edge.

The sidewalks, as mentioned, are 1" wide. I cut them from standard foamcore and glue them down with white glue.

You will notice that I left a square gap. Scattered throughout my city blocks are 1"x1" gaps. I have left those behind so that I can put in street signs, overhead lights, or whatever other details I want that can be swapped in and out.

Just like other miniatures I put every building on a pink or blue foam insulation base. These vary in thicknesses based upon what I am doing. This allows me to incorporate basements or craters into the buildings I build and it allows me to swap scenery pieces in and out of a base as often as I like.

Here the pink foam base is cut and set inside one of my diagonal trays. You'll notice that I've cut card into 1"x1" squares and glued them down on my foamcore sidewalks to create the effect of sidewalk squares. You'll also notice that some of them have cracks or that there is an incomplete section. This is because I try to waste nothing if I can, so off cuts will eventually just become battle damaged sidewalk/curb.

Here I had an already assembled GW city building that Matt Weeks donated to my table construction efforts. Like the sidewalk there are cardstock tiles cut and glued inside and outside the scenery piece to add to the level of detail. These sorts of details will only be added to and accentuated as the process of building the table continues.

Finally here is the culmination of several hours work. All of my diagonal hard board bases are cut. I've started test fitting various pieces of scenery that have already been assembled and painted for previous projects and at least half of the table's bases for its city blocks are accounted for. Now begins the hard work of constructing and painting the buildings. These will be largely intact as its made very clear throughout SoV that damage to the geothermal plants could cause catastrophic mass destruction.

More next week.