GW/WH40K modelling/gaming discussion thread

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2006-03-30 04:00am

Just for a dumb little update, I'm churning out a second set of 6 Razorwire barricades, half of them are primed so far (man sand sure does soak up paint). I really ought to drag out a sheet of insulation foam from the garage and make a hill, crater or pile of rocks or somesuch this week.

On the other hand, I added US postal as shipping options to my custom terrain auctions. Now they're at a much more appropriate cost and what I expected originally. I'd have added the option to my Terminators and Tyrant boxes but they both already have bids.

EDIT: I love visual aids, don't you? Lets' go bug Imageshack for one:

The basecoated/primed ones still need some touch-ups here and there and then the undersides need a quick coat of glue to warp them back in the proper direction (they're a bit upturned due to the glue & paint).

Lazarus · Post by **Lazarus** » 2006-03-30 11:54am

Anyone got the new Tau codex yet? i've been having a look on GW.com, but I'm presuming that as usual the 'tactics' they talk about are just fluff, except for the 'fish of fury' idea, which I thought was ingenious. Basically deploy your firewarriors behind their devilfish, then the squad can shoot at enemies because the 'fish is a skimmer, but enemies have to roll for target priority, and have to trek around the 'fish to hit the squad, by which point you can hop back in and fly away!
I'm liking the skyrays and the halo-ghost-rip-offs, but not so sure about the new stealth battlesuits, they looked fine the old way, they just look top heavy and ungainly now. I wish they'd have released new broadsides with the railguns on the arms though...

Azazal · Post by **Azazal** » 2006-03-30 01:13pm

Lazarus wrote:Anyone got the new Tau codex yet? i've been having a look on GW.com, but I'm presuming that as usual the 'tactics' they talk about are just fluff, except for the 'fish of fury' idea, which I thought was ingenious. Basically deploy your firewarriors behind their devilfish, then the squad can shoot at enemies because the 'fish is a skimmer, but enemies have to roll for target priority, and have to trek around the 'fish to hit the squad, by which point you can hop back in and fly away!
I'm liking the skyrays and the halo-ghost-rip-offs, but not so sure about the new stealth battlesuits, they looked fine the old way, they just look top heavy and ungainly now. I wish they'd have released new broadsides with the railguns on the arms though...

I picked it up last weekend, what I really liked is that my standng 1850 pt army, with all the same options and load out, gained 100 points. So now I'm looking at what I can spend the 100 pts on. That and I might drop a drone squad to put in some vespids.

As for the broadsides, the GW ones are easy to convert to arm mounted style, you just don't get the cooler looking rounded armor. I had seen some out on the net just after the orginal codex was released and converted mine, looks like FW saw them and ran with the idea - YEAH FW

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2006-04-10 07:31pm

I've found that 1:35 size vehicles are about the same scale as 40k vehicles, but the weapons are much more puny-looking. However, since I can't find any 1:35 stuff that's cheap enough to warrant many hours of converting work, I think I'll just buy the GW-made wank-a-thon vehicles. Scenery and support items, like barrels or sandbags, work just as well, but are slightly cheaper than 40k stuff.

So, should I be washing my metal models afer assembly or before assembly? Will the soap make them more resistant to primer--i.e., how well should I rinse them off afterwards? Half my metal models work perfectly and the other half won't accept any primer.

Also, can anyone give me some ideas for my Slanni army's accessories? Based on the pict on page 139 of the rulebook, it looks like they have outlandishly plumed helmets and shoulder guards and not much else. For the shoulder guards I an using the bits that came with the lizardmen and some of the kroot shoulder guards. Maybe I'll be able to get the helmet plumes from an Empire marine? Sould I just paint the saurus crest into part of the helmet? What other bits or techniques do you think would look cool or work?

Are there any other designs for slanni out there?

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2006-04-10 07:53pm

I should mention that I am going for a look that is similar to the Eldar, using materials like wraithbone and blackstone. I'm not quite sure what bits I could use to simulate the effects of those materials or how to paint them. Any ideas?

...Oh... and sorry about the threadomancy.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2006-04-11 02:43pm

I think a surge of electronic games released recently has caused most of us to take a break from painting.

Lazarus · Post by **Lazarus** » 2006-04-11 03:21pm

I'm not sure about the metal model washing, I've never washed mine before I painted them, but then I'm not a great painter.

My Aquila T shirt and Sabbat Worlds book arrived today from the Black Library. I've only just started it, but in comparison to the 13th Black Crusade book, its not quite as good. Ah well, not like I needed the £15. Oh, wait...

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2006-04-11 09:18pm

I finished assembling 8 Hormagaunts today, managing to get unique poses out of each of them.

I also sold some of those kits I picked up on discount, I got some decent prices on them and still have another Hive Tyrant and Landspeeder left. My terrain on the other hand is not selling well at all at $3 per 3 pieces. In fact the number of watchers have been dropping on some of them. :/

Elheru Aran · Post by **Elheru Aran** » 2006-04-11 10:09pm

Lazarus wrote:I'm not sure about the metal model washing, I've never washed mine before I painted them, but then I'm not a great painter.

While I've not painted 40K models, this is in fact a very good thing to do. A.) It gets grease from your hands off the model, B.) It gets bits of dirt and whatever out of the little nooks-n-crannies, C.) it lets you get familar with all the little bumps and dings of the model as they may not be visible while it's dry.

Wash thoroughly with a mild solution of soap and water, hold them in a towel and use a Q-tip to dry in the little crevices, then let air-dry in a clean, fairly dust-free environment, and prime. Trust me, it'll definitely look better...

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2006-04-15 06:36pm

Actually 1/48 scale is a bit closer to 40k scale than 1/35. Anyone else see the new Imperial city ruins for 40k yet?

As for beardy models......get the Empire knights or chaos warriors sprue and have at it.

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2006-04-15 07:16pm

Well, just finished assembling my full set of Spinegaunts and Hormagaunts this afternoon. Kind of took a lot of time cleaning the parts of flash, but I had to make sure they are properly smoothed out.

My currently assembled army, including finished units. I'll just need to paint these guys and then get started on my three deathspitter-equipped leaping Warriors.

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2006-04-16 02:39pm

I've added the biomorphs I've picked for my Hormagaunts on to the brood. The toxic sacs were easy enough to clip off and pop on, but the adrenal glands in the kit are just too damn big to put anywhere for my tastes. So I borrowed a bit of greenstuff no bigger than a Marine helmet and sculpted eight of my own that didn't look like a hybrid of a headcrab and Baby Huey.

It's not the clearest picture to show off something smaller than a ladybug, but it at least gives an idea of size and shape. The details are pock marks on top and the sides pull out into strands melding with the Gaunt's back, a bit more like a growth than the legs of a tick. But I guess that works for me and should be interesting to paint.

I had a tiny bit of leftover greenstuff from the bit I got, which I used to make three Chapter icons for my custom Marines. I think I'll specifically use them on the chest pieces on my Sergeants when I get around to them next month.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2006-04-16 04:14pm

Looks good.

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2006-04-17 07:30pm

I like it. I always felt that the plastic adrenal gland parts look like they should be on tyranid ships rather than on the gaunts. What's the point of an adrenal gland if it weighs about 50 pounds and jiggles painfully on your armor scales?

Also, only sissies and elves prime in white.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2006-04-18 12:54am

Bob the Gunslinger wrote: Also, only sissies and elves prime in white.

He hasn't primed it yet.

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2006-04-18 09:29pm

An obvious fact to non-sissies.

Although I'll prime in white when I paint something white.

Anyotherhow, I may have mentioned I'd like to customize my own Imperial Guard regiment sometime in the future. I looked around for early-20th century plate mail and decided to base the troops on French Curiassiers with some Prussian influences, using Cadian bodies with simple chestplates and helmets sculpted onto bare heads. Their vehicles would be done up in the style of locomotives and cast-iron equipment, hinting at an industrially-poor or undeveloped world. Easiet and most cost-effective way to get such heads I figured was Catachans, but that would leave me with 20 Cadian-headed jungle fighters for every 20 Prussian-helmed curiass-wearing infantrymen. I decided I could modify those resulting Guardsmen with bulked up helmets and fieldcoats and utilize them for non-infantry, anything from rough-riders to Armoured Fists to heavy weapon teams.

It'll take a lot of work, but I know how to break the scultping down into basic shapes and steps, and enjoy the reward of taking my time and doing personalized stuff like that. I crudely sketched some designs out yesterday to demonstrate the divisions and styles I had in mind, with ranks and variations set down in visual form. Basically I got a whole bunch of fun ideas while looking up European Armies in the half-century before the Great War, more than I had in mind fro my Guardsmen before this week:

They're subject to change, especially at this early planning stage, particularly due to a few distinguishing options like the helmet spikes (last-minute re-addition after thinking it made the Prussian pickelhelbes too Prussian. I'm not sure if infantrymen will have it or only some Chiefs/Sergeants, who had winged helms untill I designed the plain black shako, which is pretty wide for a shako admittedly), and the choice of long fieldcoats over tailed dresscoats on Calvary. The Officer's dress can naturally vary wildly from a Chief's uniform with senior ranks to fancy dresscoats and extra items. I decided to take the opportunity to mix & match some items to make such a Commandant (mainly to see the combination of chestplate, epaulets, shako and gasmask) along with his Command squad of Veterans and artillerymen:

It's done for my own fun, but I thought some might be interested in seeing them or even discuss/develop their own ideas. I'm definitely open to comments, suggestions, or any questions about my silly podunk Imperial Guard regiment. I ought to have taken some time to prime my Gaunts, come to think of it.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2006-04-19 12:50am

Looks awesome, Uts. Once they're done they'll look unreal on the battlefield.

Speaking from experience, such full-army conversion projects are hard, take a lot of work, and are pretty expensive to boot. But even though I only have a Captain, Chaplain, and each's Command Squads in anything near completion, their mere presence on the field is enough to set everything on fire, so it's definitely worth it.

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2006-04-19 01:28am

Yeah, it'll be a lot of long work (hell, it takes enough time as it is assembling my models and just as long painting them), but it's the sort of work I enjoy and I've been reading up on how to break sculpting down into simple steps. Just something to tackle a little bit at a time, couple models over the course of a month or so.

At least the main half of those troops really only have ~4-piece helmets and simple chestplates to make, I don't know what I'd do if I went off tyring to do a platoon of animal-skinned Asgardian Rangers or something (though a kill-team of some really out-there Vet Guardsmen would be fun).

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2006-04-19 01:45am

Bob the Gunslinger wrote:I like it. I always felt that the plastic adrenal gland parts look like they should be on tyranid ships rather than on the gaunts. What's the point of an adrenal gland if it weighs about 50 pounds and jiggles painfully on your armor scales?

Also, only sissies and elves prime in white.

erm, my Aztec space marines are based on jaguars. so I use a lot of .1mm pen for the spots and to make the black holes usually used for priming...

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2006-04-19 02:52am

Quick additional: Took two clearer pics of my Tyranid adrenal polyps:

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2006-04-19 02:56am

Once finals are over the first week of May, I'll be back home in Denver and be able to both work on and post pictures of my various projects.

And with the upcoming release of some much-needed Ork models, I'll be able to get some Boyz stompin' around too.

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2006-04-19 03:24am

I keep hearing a rumor on Warseer about a modular Ork vehicles box coming out this year, but I don't know if that's been verified or when we'll see anything of it. Eldar Codex is on the way for the end of the year, so clear stuff should be popping up on that in a month or two (right now just talks of some plastic Aspect units and new walker models). But then again Eldar are the one 40k race that I hold virtually no interest in or emotion towards, unless I suppose you count the currently vague, underdeveloped Hrud.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2006-04-19 11:16pm

I picked up dawn of war recently and damnit, it's making me want to get back into the game. Anyone that's played since the death of 2nd Ed. got any suggestions on building some decent army lists from the following raw parts (this is just what I know I've got back home off the top of my head):

1 Biker Chaplin
1 Terminator Chaplin
1 Terminator Captain
1 Terminator Librarian
3 Captains
2 Librarians
2 Chaplins
2 Techmarines
2 Apothecaries
2 Standard Bearers
20+ Terminator Models
40+ marines with bolters (more than I can be arsed even guessing at really)
20+ Assault Marines with jump packs
20+ Assault Marines
10 Scouts
And a crapload of sarge models.

2 Dreadnaughts (one assault cannon + powerfist, one lascannons and missile launcher)
5 Bikers
3 Landspeeders (one plastic, one with assault cannon and heavy bolter and one with heavy flamer and multimelta)
6+ Missile Launchers
2 Heavy Plasmas
2 Lascannons
6 Flamers
2 Meltagunes
4 Plasmaguns
1 Predator Anhilator
1 Rhino (with bits enough to make it into a Razorback)

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2006-04-20 12:41am

Apart from the various character models, you're good to go. That looks like about two, maybe three force charts, which means if you go full-on max-points beardy, you can squeeze in (with two charts) all of those heroes, but it would be extremely redundant and not points-efficient. Other than that, your army should be almost entirely useable as-is, though obviously you'd need the 4th Ed. Codex: Space Marines.

EDIT:

You really only need one Captain per army unless you want some redundancy. Their presence allows all Marines on the field to use his Leadership for Morale checks, and they tend to be too tough to kill to bother adding another.

Chaplains would be fun to have lots of, as they add some mean CC and Fearlessness to their squad, but that gets expensive.

Librarians aren't as uber as they were in 2nd Ed, but a helluva lot better than 3rd. Assuming a large-points game with two force charts, you'd really only need one HQ each; a Captain to lead (ideally with a command squad) the army and a Chaplain to fill out the other compulsory HQ, either attached to a CC unit or with a Reclusiam squad, and then attaching Librarians and Chaplains as points and force slots allow.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2006-04-20 12:49am

Brother-Captain Gaius wrote:Apart from the various character models, you're good to go. That looks like about two, maybe three force charts, which means if you go full-on max-points beardy, you can squeeze in (with two charts) all of those heroes, but it would be extremely redundant and not points-efficient. Other than that, your army should be almost entirely useable as-is, though obviously you'd need the 4th Ed. Codex: Space Marines.

I've got access to it. I was more thinking some input on what's useful, what goes well with what and so on. I'm coming back from the days of 2nd Edition when an assault cannon was even better at tank busting as krak missiles (you had to love the sustained fire dice) and my space marine commander could wipe out tyranid armies in hand to hand solo (and those combat drugs...though it was on the beardier than a dwarf with excess testosterone, even for 2nd ed.)...

What might be some good ways to set up such a force, tac squads, vet squads, devestators...what weapon combos would be of most use?