GW Containers
After seeing them in a recent issue of White Dwarf I knew I was going to get a set. My friend Joe and I have decided to split the cost, as they will be used frequently on his ice world table. I really like the look of the big containers- they were fairly easy to assemble and paint up. The barrels are also nice and an improvement on the old barrels. Finally, the ammo cases are a cool, though I think they give you too many- save that plastic for something else!
At any rate, I painted the containers and ammo crates pretty much like it says on the back of the box. I did one in Mephiston Red, with a drybrush of Astorath Red. I used Nuln Oil (matte) on the recesses to give it a bit of depth. I also added signs of wear and tear with dark browns and metals, as well as some acid or slime coming through the vents.
I painted half of the barrels the same way- Mephiston Red, with copious amounts of slime and grime. The other barrels I did in Leadbelcher with plenty of Typhus Corrosion. I think that putting a singular barrel somewhere is OK, but grouping them together is just so much cooler.
As for the other tow storage containers, I did one in Mechanicum Grey with lighter highlights. The green one was naturally Castellan with a drybrush of Niblet Green. To these two I added streaks of blood and even bullet holes. These details would have been lost on the red container, but they show up just fine on these. I also gave them signs of wear and tear as I described above.
The ammo crates were painted using the methods above. I really like them, but painting that many was a bit annoying. They are also somewhat small, so to give it a good effect on the table you'll have to pile them all together to look cool.
I wanted to show them off, so I staged some photos of them with models so you can see the sizes. I pitted my Mechanicus against my Khorne Bezerkers and Chaos Cultists. I think you'll find that the storage containers are a good size, as are the barrels. I think they are quite interesting looking, and will give your battlefield a bit more detail.
I painted these ones quite "neutral", though one could paint them to be almost anything- cargo for Space Marines, or perhaps rusted out wrecks, or maybe they've been "looted"... The possibilities with these are endless. The price ain't too bad either, considering the 3 cargo containers are, together, bigger than a Rhino.
When we use them in a game I will be sure to use them as terrain, though I'm rather dubious of using the somewhat silly rules they have- but who knows? I'll have to give it a shot at any rate.
Speaking of battles, I had a "final grudge match" against one of my regular opponents at my local store. Nick is a great player- friendly, even-tempered, very fair and laid back. He also plays very much old school- no wacky allies, no broken formations. He plays in the old style, and I have always appreciated that, and he had become one of the opponents I most looked forward to playing- our matches were not only fun- but just about all of them were nail bitters, right down to the wire! And yet we were both always laughing and laid back. Great games.
Unfortunately (for me at least), Nick is moving quite far away, and won't be around the local anymore. Nick also sold most of his stuff (a bit of it to me actually. He's a damn pirate, appealing to my weakness for plastic crack at a discount), and now he only has a small Dark Angels force.
At any rate, we decided to have a "final grudge match". It was a small game, at 1250 points. The mission was The Relic. It was tough for me to make a Plague Marine list at 1250, so I included 6 meltas in 3 squads of 5 Plague Marines in 3 Rhinos (champions had power fists). I also had a Heldrake, Predator, Vindicator, and a lord and 4 terminators all armed with power fists.Nick had like 4 squads of terminators and 2 tac squads with plasma cannons.
Our final match was no different from the others. My heldrake incinerated his tac squads. His terminators attacked my heavy armor with their powerfists. It went back and forth like that for a while. But, Nick faced 2 problems. First, the Meltas ruined his day, killing whole swaths of terminators (his 5 inv sav rolling was lousy).
However, the game truly ended when one of my champions challenged one of his in combat. Nick's power sword attacks all whiffed (1s!!). When it was my champion's turn, he nailed him with the powerfist. I then rolled on the Chaos Boon Table and... Bam! Instant Daemon Prince. At that point, there was no real way for Nick to win, though he gave it a good go. In the end, I had the relic and he had virtually nothing to stop me, especially with a rampaging Daemon Prince running amok.
The game was a ton of fun. One of the things I liked about the battle was that at 1250, you had to make tough choices about what to take. It also meant no allies or formation tom foolery. It made for a fast, intense, and desperate game- each unit is vital, and yet you must risk them to win. You don't always feel that in 2000 plus point games. It was a lot of fun. I salute Nick- a worthy and honorable opponent. I hope to play him again someday.
Finally, I want a word about the "Brexit". Now, I have been following it fairly closely, and I get the arguments on both sides. It was a close vote, unquestionably. I find myself thinking that if the EU leaders were a bit more careful with their decisions, they might have not faced British backlash. Instead, the EU mismanaged and made big mistakes. I get British anger. I just don't know if the "Brexit" will help them or not, in the long run.
However, like a lot of you, I decided to act as a vulture (it's their fault for making me want it so bad)- I ordered some stuff from Forgeworld. As the dollar vs pound ratio shifted so crazily today, my friend Joe and I placed a $400 (American) order at FW. What did I order? I won't tell you now, as if I did it would be a HERESY and I'd have to kill you. You will just have to wait and see...
Until next time!!
