My Latest Mechanicus Stuff

I know its been a bit, but I welcome you back to Chaos Corner. I've been so busy for the past month or so. Sure, I've been able to paint and stuff, but I had very little time to blog. I have also managed to play in both a tournament and a couple of one off games too. Not too shabby.

As I said, I have been working on several things. One of them is a bit of a "project" that I'm going to show on a future installment. That "project" took longer than anticipated. It wasn't that it got tedious, but it took quite a bit of doing. More of a labor of love than anything else. As I said, I will be showing that soon enough.

Unfortunately, that project took time away from other things. Ultimately, once I finished the big project, I dove back into Mechanicus. I really love the army, though I got some mixed results at my recent Tournament; I'm still learning the rules and the options.

 I do wish the 2 codexes would be put into one. Having 2 books for it is really, really dumb; frankly, neither half is really complete without the other, as I discovered at the tournament (I had taken ALL my units from the Cult Mechanicus book, and I discovered their limitations big time).

So, let us start with my Kataphron Destroyers. Now, these guys are nasty on the battlefield. If you equip them with Grav, you are getting a ton of shots- whatever they shoot at is going to have a bad day (unless I'm rolling poorly, which happened at the Tournament, sadly). The Plasma Calivers are also pretty nasty, though I have an aversion to small templates drifting. But if it hits, it is devastating. You can also mix and match them in a squad (something that I haven't tried yet, but is really interesting).

So, as I had a box of Kataphrons that I had not assembled, I decided to make two Gravs and 1 Plasma. I figured that each of the Grav could go with my other grav squads (making two 4 man grav squads), and the Plasma joined my 3 man Plasma squad (thus making 4). Theoretically, I could have an 8 man squad of Grav--- talk about overkill! I wonder if a large grouping has its merits, or am I better off with MSU? I will have to try both approaches.

I really like this model and how they look uniform, and yet can be made to look more distinct with head swaps and weapon poses. I deliberately left the servo-arm off the smaller guns- just to further distinguish them from others.

They really have a lot of firepower, and at T5 they really can't be ignored, but can also be tough to kill, especially if you have them in cover or with a Tech-Priest Dominus. Combine that with Canticles and the Kataphrons are a great troop choice.

However, the Cult: Mechanicus book lacks speed. I took a list to the Tournament that was all Cult: Mechanicus and a Knight Ally. Now, I blew chunks with my Knight at the tournament. I couldn't make a 4+ ion shield roll to save my life, and my Knight blew up in all 3 rounds of the Tournament.

As this happened, I saw that the Cult: Mech units are all very slow. Tough, but slow. I love the Kastellan Robots, but since they can't deep strike or anything, have to slog 6" all the way. Same is true for the Kataphron Destroyers (Breechers can Deep Strike IF you take the formation- and I haven't yet as I don't have enough Breechers for that formation). The army has lots going for it, but without transports, it is a slow army.

But in Codex Skitarri- there are the Ironstriders and Dragoons. These are units that move fast and are actually much more formidable than one might think, considering they are open-topped walkers. In the few games I've used them, they have done very well. In one, they took on a Lord of War character (can't remember which one now- Draigo I think)- they got him down to one wound and then the game was over. They tied him up for two turns! He could have done a lot of damage before the endgame, and the Dragoons more than paid for themselves by keeping him out of the bigger fight. After the Tournament I decided to get a bunch more of them, so that I might do the formation with them.

 But to do the formation I had to build some of  them as the Ironstriders- these are walkers with either auto or las cannons. I think these guys may also be very useful, particularly in the formation. In tandem with the close combat walkers, moving 9" at a clip- they can be both mobile and hard hitting. If all these walkers target one vehicle or unit, I suspect it will indeed be dead meat.

As I have said in previous posts, I have envisioned a whole bunch of walkers supporting my Imperial Knights. I just love the idea of these "knights" charging into battle with their mechanical steeds. The mental image for me is very strong, and I am determined to make it a reality. I am not even considering it to be strong tactically or not- I just want these guys storming over the table! LOL

So, now I have 4 of the Dragoons and 2 of the Ironstriders. Ultimately, I would like to get 2 more Dragoons- this would enable me to do 2 squads of 3 or 1 squad of 6 (that must be brutal on the charge). I would also like 1 more Ironstrider, so that I could have 3 twin-las or autocannon shots to support the Dragoon charge. 

I also recently finished a squad of Skitarii Vanguard. Thus far, I only had a squad of Rangers, so I realized I really need to bulk the troop choices out a bit. I decided to do Vanguard, so I could try out the other troop option.

As far as the models look goes, I like the Vanguard better. While the Ranger hoods are nice, I feel that the Vanguard look far more mechanical than the Rangers. They look more mechanical with that extra metal head exposed. I also like that their regular guns are shorter than the Ranger rifles, which gives the Vanguard a sleeker look.

I gave the leader a power sword and an Arc pistol, while the 2 special weapons are Plasma and Arc. I think both of those special weapons are quite useful. I also gave one an Omnispex. I was inspired to paint its lenses as red, blue, and green by the 1950s version of War of the Worlds. The device made me think of the Martian probe in that film- since the Mechanicum are based on Mars I thought it was appropriate.

Well, that's all I got for now. I have plenty of other projects in the pipeline, so I'm sure you'll be seeing them on here sooner or later. Until next time...

Another Knight, Another Dream, But Always You

Hey there Chaos fanatics! Welcome back to another addition of Chaos Corner. I must confess that it doesn't feel too Chaos-y here at the moment. I have been painting furiously my Mechanicus forces, leaving my Chaos lovelies neglected. Now- I've heard that the new campaign book for 40K will feature some type of Chaos forces (Daemons, at least for the 1st book), so I'm sure I'll be pulled back to to Chaos soon.

However, I have been trying to get my Mechanicus REALLY off the ground. It's kind of weird trying to build an army from 2 codexes like this. I hope they do unite the books- but who knows? Anyway, I have a tournament coming up and I'm trying to finish some stuff so that I'll be able to build a strong, versatile list. Plus, I'm loving this army, so...

So first up- yes, as the title says, I have just finished my second knight. You may have seen my first Imperial Knight completed in March 2014 (was it really that long ago? Time flies here in the Warp I suppose). That Knight was named Veritas (Latin for "Truth"). I even made a history for him which you can read HERE. The thing is I never thought I'd get another Knight. I imagined Veritas to be a "Freeblade", and my whole story was that he was the last Knight of his House. So- what the heck happened?!

Well, a few things. First, the new Knight Codex makes it possible to take several Knight formations and detachments. Ideally, one would like to do the Oathsworn Detachment- where you could take up to 3 (The Household Detachment is also possible in that case, though I can't imagine going to the full 5 Knights). Second, since I have introduced my friend Brian to the game, he has played with the my Knight Veritas more than I have. He was talking about fielding 2 (for Oathsworn) possibly. That of course got me thinking. Third, my Mechanicus force is growing nicely. Having a Knight or two to compliment my new army makes sense both play-wise and fluff-wise. And lastly- I'm freaking weak. There. I said it. I love the new Knight options, particularly the Thunderstrike Gauntlet.

So, I caved in and bought a new one (again, so weak). I assembled my second Knight on the morning of December 31, and I made him a Knight Warden with the Avenger Gatling Gun, the Gauntlet, and the missile pod. This time, I actually tried to have the arms move- they both move fairly well actually, and I'm not afraid of them breaking. Whew.

At any rate, I have spent the better part of January painting him, alongside my Kastellan Robots and something else (which I'll show in a bit). I finished him on January 30th. It was a lot of fun to paint, like the last one. I really love the model- it just seems to tower over things and has a great look to it. On this one, the Gauntlet just makes the thing look bad-ass. I like how the Warden looks like an jazzed up terminator.

The armor plates are my now standard Stegadon Scale Green, with Thunderhawk Blue in spots, all with Russ Grey edge highlights. The metal trim I did Balthazar Gold basecoat with Copper layered over it generously. It gives it a metallic luster in the light, but it doesn't overwhelm the model. The metal joints, back, etc. I did very simply- Leadblecher with Nuln Oil all over, with certain areas highlighted in Leadbelcher or Ironbreaker. I also dabbed on some Earthshade, just to make it look a little dirty.

Three things make this Knight stand out from Veritas, my previous Knight. First, the missile pod. I decided to paint the missiles red (Khorne and Evil Sunz over it). This makes the missiles stand out, and the red really pops on the otherwise dark model.

Second, the faceplate. I decided to do the mechanicus skull faceplate. Now, I couldn't do it Mechanicus style red (as my Mechanicus are Stegadon Green). Nor did I want to do it Stegadon, as I felt that wouldn't stand out. So, instead, I decided on a bright white, with a little Nuln Oil in the recesses. The face really draws your attention to the model (though I made sure I used white transfer decals, so the face isn't the ONLY white thing on the model).

Finally, I decided to do the banner Sunset Yellow. I wanted something that would stand out, but not too much. The yellow is "close" to the cream color of one of the skull decals. Also, I used yellow for some of the wires. Again, the eyes are drawn to the white skull, but as your eyes move over the model, the red missiles and yellow banner give the piece some variety. After all, Knights are supposed to be somewhat individualistic and they are well-cared for- so they would look cleaner and brighter perhaps than your standard Imperial tanks or the like.

For the transfers, I used Mechanicus symbols to tie this Knight in MORE with my Mechanicus. On Veritas, I deliberately DIDN'T use the cog symbols, as I made him a Freeblade (and I had no idea that a Mechanicus army was coming, let alone that I'd get such an army). THIS Knight would be clearly Mechanicus. However, I kept the skull and reaper motif going (the reaper decals are from Imperial Guard tanks), as this would tie the 2 Knights together if I ever fielded both.

So- what about this Knight's background? Well, that is another story for another time. Perhaps. However, I can tell you that his name is Vindicta (again, from the Latin "Vindictae", which means "Revenge"). This name enabled me to keep the "V" and Latin-esque motifs going, again tying both my Knights together.

So, that's my Knight. I do have another something to show you, my fellow denizens of the 40K universe. One of the things that I envisioned as I worked on my Mechanicus is how they would work with my Knight (Veritas at first, but now I've got 2 Knights to consider). One of the ideas that took root in my mind was this: I could just see a bunch of Sydonian Dragoons with their lances, standing at the side of the Imperial Knight. They are his allies on the battlefield (Knights, lances- all so medieval). If danger approaches the Knight, the Dragoons would charge in. The Knight would fire to weaken the foe, while the Dragoons race in to finish the job up close.

As it turns out, I have discovered that the Dragoons actually pack quite a punch. They are cheap, fast (can move and charge 3 extra inches because of their Dunestrider rule), have extra protection (Incense gives 5+ cover), and finally, they have a great weapon. The Taser Lance can be brutal against the right opponents. On the charge, their initiative doubles AND they gain 3 to their strength. They can hit REALLY hard under the right circumstances.

Supported by the Knight (and perhaps, the Kastellan Robots or the Kataphron Destroyers), the Dragoons would make a very fast and hard-hitting force on the battlefield. Against a squad of Terminators or Land Raiders they aren't much. But against regular troops (even Space Marines) and lighter vehicles, they are formidable. Against single characters the Dragoons are also effective- with their higher initiative and strength on the charge, they *could kill a character (as long as he has no or a strong retinue to hide behind).

So, I have completed 3 Dragoons to escort my Knight onto the battlefield. My first one (completed over the summer of 2015) has his lance up, as if contemplating or about to issue the command for the charge. The other 2 (completed along with the Knight this month) I have with their lances down, as if preparing to follow the order to charge the foe.

The model is quite nice, though it can be a bit of a challenge to put together correctly (the darn legs have to be "just so" in order to stand properly). I actually have one more to put together (which would make 4 for me). Theoretically, a squad could have up to six. I may stop at 4. However, I would like some Ironstriders to compliment them- so I may have to buy a few more... Oh. Ignore that sound. That's just my wife saying "You NEED what?! Don't you have enough to paint...?". LOL

Anyways, I must get back to the manufactorum. I've got a few more Mechanicus pieces to finish up. I also want to do Skarbrand. I also have some Ultramarine pieces that I need to paint for Brian (though it's technically for me). Whew- perhaps my wife is right? Do I really have too much? Nah...

Until Next Time...

A Mechanicus Trial Run and Apocalypse

Hey there denizens of the warp! Old Man Chaos is back with another update. I am super stoked for Star Wars- I just can not wait for that! Of course, I am still playing Fallout as well as doing some modelling. I even got in a few games the past few weeks too.

First, lets talk about the big Apocalypse game I played a couple of weekends ago. My friend Nick (whom I met at a tournament at our local over the summer) posted on Facebook that he was trying to get an Apoc game off the ground. I have fought Nick before, and he is an old school player in his technique. He has no interest in formations or anything wild. He is also a fun opponent, as he takes the game seriously but not THAT seriously. He is a cunning one, that is for sure, and I was eager to play him again. As it turned out the timing was perfect for me- I was available.

Nick asked if I could bring anyone else- and it turns out my Padawan learner Brian was also available. In the end, the game was to be 3 on 3- the forces of the Imperium against the forces of Chaos (as nature intended). No one could say how much to bring- so Brian and I were at 5K a piece, this way no matter what we would have plenty, and the others could bring what they wanted.

All, told, it was about a 20K point game (give or take). There were Baneblades, Knights, and my Lord of Skulls sallied forth. Man- the game was a ton of fun! Things were dying all over the place. Sadly, the Lord of Skulls only managed a few kills before being destroyed- he is a great model but NOT worth 888 points!! The best moment came when a single Maulerfiend destroyed an Imperial Knight in close combat. Brian was pissed! And I laughed, and then got a blood token!

The game was a lot of back and forth, and we played for hours! In the end, we decided to pull the plug- and the forces of Chaos were victorious! The win was so very sweet. But, win or lose, the game was just a complete blast. We posted pics on Facebook, and a bunch of people want to play next time. We are aiming for another Apoc game in January.

 I also managed to play my first game with my Mechanicus forces. The battle was against my old friend Joe. He hasn't played in quite some time (life getting in the way, as it does). However, things have settled for him a bit and he wants to give it another go. Sadly, his basement flooded and ruined most of his old stuff, so he had to start over. He decided to focus on his Dark Angels, and he has been busy assembling them and reading the new rules.

At any rate, as I prepared for our 1K point game, I decided to make 2 lists. One would be my standby Khorne Daemonkin. He hasn't faced them (obviously) and Imperiam versus Chaos just makes sense (again, as nature intended). But, looking at my Mechanicum, I saw that I had enough mostly painted to play, so I made that list (for the record, I consider Skitaii and Mechanicus ONE force, so I refer to it as such).

On the day of our game, I gave Joe the option- I basically let him chose. He decided to go with the Mechanicus, wanting to see something totally new to him. The game was held on 2 Realm of Battle boards (enough for our 1K point game). I couldn't help but smile at all the Terminators he was fielding- knowing that the Kataphron Destroyers would Grav them to death. But- should they survive, they would mop the floor with my servitors.

The game was fairly quick. The Destroyers (1x Grav, 1x Plasma) did SEVERE damage to his terminators, pretty much demolishing them. It was painful to see Joe wiped out like that. On the other side of the board, his units shot at my Kastellan Robots. They didn't fare as well, but I think I placed them poorly, and I had one CC and one shooty- I think they have to be all one thing in order to be used effectively. My Skitarii Rangers held against a lot of bolter shots. Finally, my Dragoons (a squad of 2) made short work of a Space Marine squad, and later his Chaplain. Yikes. +3 S on the charge is fairly nasty.

As i said, it was over fast. Joe swore revenge, saying next time he'd deep strike right by my Destroyers and take them down first. That is a real threat. And yet, I just can't get over how effective those Destroyers were. That many Grav and Plasma shots are just vicious. If I could make a whole solid gun line of them, they could take on any power armor / elite foe (not sure how they'd work on hordes like Orks or Nids).

Still, I cannot deny the effectiveness of the Mechanicus units. It plays VERY differently from what I'm used to (Chaos, at heart, is close combat oriented, and the Dark Eldar are all speed). I am looking forward to finishing more of my Mech stuff and using it in larger games.

Well, hope you have enjoyed the pics and "mini" battle report. If possible, I will post a review of Star Wars once I've seen it.

Until Next Time!

A Hodgepodge of Adeptus Mechanics

Hey there everybody! Welcome back to yet another scintillating edition of Chaos Corner. Old Man Chaos is back with a bit more from the world of Warhammer 40K. First, I had a 2K point match at my local store this week. I played my Knorne Daemonkin, and my opponent was a general Space Marine army. The game was a good one, as we played with the Tactical Objectives (Spoils of War Mission). I ended up winning 10 to 6. It was a close game for a bit, but as it went on the brutal combination of 3 Maulerfiends, 20 Flesh Hounds, and 8 Chaos Bikes really put my opponent in a pickle. My bikes did get killed, but did a great job harassing. The hounds just couldn't be killed fast enough, and the Maulerfiends ran straight across the table and wrecked havoc on his rear lines. I also took allied CSM- Kharn, 1o cultists and a Heldrake. They all did very little- I started Kharn on the far edge in a Rhino- but I just coudln't get him into the battle fast enough. The Cultists were ignored, which helped me when I got the card for that objective they were sitting on. The Heldrake I equipped with the Autocannon, fearing flyers. But my opponent went man heavy- if I had taken the Baleflamer I could have toasted his whole army. Despite the win, I had 2 rather sad moments. I had tokens to call in a Bloodthirster- and I rolled 12!!! Yikes! And my Daemon Prince took 2 turns to kill a Rhino due to lame rolling. Even though the forces of Khorne won, I suspect he'd like to have a serious talk with this under-performing warband- Lol. Oh, and while I was at my local I saw they're doing a 40K Tournament in September- I know where I'll be going! 

I also managed to finish more Ad Mech stuff. I must confess I haven't gone about this methodically. I have a hodgepodge of models from both books (why is it two books again? Makes no damn sense). I couldn't field any type of real force yet (unless I did unbound and with an Imperial Knight). But, I have been going after models that I like (I'm not a fan of the Electro-Priest models, for example, and I don't know if I'll ever get a box).

For example, I love the Ironstriders- both the Dragoons and the Ballistarii. So I picked one up. I was really torn as to which version to build. I opted for the close combat oriented Dragoon with the Taser Lance. I had this vision of them standing near my Imperial Knight, ready to charge to protect him (or kill any leftovers that his cannons didn't finish off). The idea of them charging in like old knights on horseback intrigued me. Now, I know that only one doesn't look like a huge charge, but I'm sure I'll pick up some more in the next couple of months.

Again, I did him to look like my Imperial Knight. Just briefly, I painted the plates Stegadon Scale Green, with half the plates done in Thunderhawk Blue, followed by highlights of Russ Grey. The trim was done with Balthazar Gold, with Brozne over it. The machine parts I did in Leadblecher, with Nuln Oil wash, followed by highlights in lighter metals, followed by Earthshade in key spots, to look oily/dirty.

The second model I'm showing is the Dunecrawler. This model is amazing, though some of the tiny bits broke on me (one ladder rung, one thin antenna, and the first cannon I was building). It was a comedy of errors- I don't normally make that many mistakes, but I managed to figure it all out. I gave him the Neutron Blaster I believe (tried to build the other one, and the dish section snapped).

Despite the few breaks, the model went together quite quickly. I really like the look of it- part enclosed sentinel, part spider. Again, I painted it the same as described above. There are a lot of wires on this one- I did them in various colors, Khorne Red, Caldor Blue, Yellow/Black.

I know they can be in squads of three, so undoubtedly I may have to get one or two more. I could field them individually or in one unit that way, so I could be tactically flexible. I'll certainly build one to be anti-air, just in case, as Ad Mech have no other anti-flyer capability (and no flyers for that matter).

The final model for today is the Tech-Priest Dominus. I absolutely love the model. It is an absolutely perfect rendering of a higher up Tech Priest, with so many wires, mechatndrils, and servo skull. The model is just brimming with detail. It gave me the opportunity to have several different looking energy weapons (one I did with red as base up to orange highlight, while the other was a buildup of greens- which I decided to use for their eyes too).

The robes I kept slightly darker- I did all the same steps as before, though I used Nuln oil for the recesses and only did some touching up. Thus, the robe looks darker and deeper than the Datasmith's cloak.

 Of special note is the ridges of his metal back. I did the edge and his axe with the new gold paints-  Retributor Armor, followed by highlights of Liberator Gold. I must say the new golds are amazing, with Retributor being a very rich color that goes on very easily. I think that both golds will be useful for future projects too. At any rate, the Tech-Priest came out fantastically, and he looks just fine with the rest of my Ad Mech forces.

I have so far enjoyed working on my Ad Mech forces. They have been a lot of fun to put together and paint (despite my mistakes on the Dunecrawler). I still have to get a few more elements from both books if I am to field any kind of force at all, let alone a battle effective one. Plus, I want to make sure its playable with and without an Imperial Knight. I want to use him more (the whole reason I got Ad Mech to begin with), but I'm sure there will be some games where we don't want super-heavies, so I have to make sure they are viable on their own (I could always ally them with my Ultramarines or my brother's Imperial Guard if he lets me).

I am looking forward to future Ad Mech models. I think I may get a few troop options from both books- this will enable me to field them even if I don't have everything else.

Until next time...