Blast From the Past: The Plaguereaper!

Hello there and greetings from the eye of terror (AKA the Internet). Old Man Chaos is back with yet another edition of Chaos Corner. I have been busy working, but I have had some modeling time in between. I have been working on more Nurgle stuff... but it has a ways to go to get to completion. So, I've decided to show off a model that you may have seen a few pics of, but have not seen a "full spread" on. So, without further ado, lets see a "blast from the past"... The Plaguereaper.

Ah... it takes me back to the days when Apocalypse was first introduced and the first plastic Baneblade appeared. I was enthralled by their picture of the Plaguereaper. The vats... the living cannon with the open maw and drooling slime... I thought it was just fantastically done.

Thus, when the plastic model came out and I scooped one up, I knew what I wanted to do. The only problem was I had no idea how to do it. Sadly, as I tried various ideas I simply could not do the slime vats. There was no satisfactory way to do it without it looking bad. To this day it is one of my biggest disappointments  as a modeller. I just couldn't find the way. I wonder, if the model just came out now... I've learned so much more since those days- I wonder if I could do it now? (And for the record, no, I am not getting another Baneblade).

So, if I couldn't do the vats, I HAD to find a way to do the pus cannon and maw. I think I did well here, if I do say so myself. How did I do it? First, I wrapped heavy brown tape around the barrel of the gun. I wrapped unevenly, so some parts were thicker or more uneven than other. Then, I put green stuff over the tape and then sculpted ridges, depressions, and the like. I also put Chaos Spawn "hooks" or arms or whatever you want to call them for the gaping mouth.

In my oldest converted Nurgle Plaguemarines, I used guitar wire and putty to make re-breathers. I wanted to carry on that theme with the Plaguereaper. I used guitar wire on the cannon, again trying to copy the Apoc one. I didn't go that crazy, but just enough to tie it into my army.

I also decided to add some kind of banner. At the time, I wanted the icon of Nurgle to be visible over the cannon, so I made the banner pole very high. Now, I think it is in face way too high. I should have made that pole a little bit shorter. However, I have no intention of redoing it, so its going to stay that way.

I also decided to do something with the back- which had Imperial iconography that I felt had to go (I don't care about the tank treads). So, again, using putty work and some spawn tentacles, I made a rather ugly looking daemonic-thing back there. The eye I did in my nurgle daemon eye colors- red and white with a black pupil (all of my Plaguebearers have it, if you look closely). I think of it as a daemon that is ripping through and mutating the hull all at the same time- the tank is powered by the daemonic entity within.

I cannot recall how I painted it since the paint colors have changes since then. I imagine I started out with Dark Angels green, then I stippled on Cammo Green quite liberally, with a few stipples of Rotting Flesh or something like that. The rust was my patented scorched brown with orange and metal stipples, with a brown wash to tone down the orange.

So, that's the end of this post folks. Hope you enjoyed the look at my Plaguereaper. I must confess in the last game it was destroyed by an enemy Baneblade, so it is thirsty for revenge...

Until next time, when I will show you some pics of models that the Imperium would rightly describe as an abomination!

Musings on Escalation

Hey there Chaos heretics and traitors! Old Man Chaos is back with a bit of review/thoughts/musings on GW's latest offering, Escalation. Now, I have been working on my Lord of Skulls diligently (a big model with a surprising amount of details). It's looking good, but I have a lot to go. I was given the Lord of Skulls by my wife and brother for my birthday- before there were real whispers of Escalation. I wanted the model when it first came out with Apocalypse in July, but I didn't have the scratch for it. Little did I know that when I got it that there would be a possibility that I could use it in regular games! I had just wanted it to be a centerpiece for my Khorne Bezerker army (and for the occasional Apoc game). Now, with Escalation, my plans on the Lord of Skulls may change.

I want to give my 2 cents about the Escalation book, but it is a complicated matter. From my viewpoint, the book is intriguing with interesting possibilities. Others may not be so sure. So, let me dissect it on an issue per issue basis:

The Escalation Book as a GW Product: My subject here is, is it worth buying? That's a complicated answer. If you don't have and don't plan to have the super heavies they have in this book (about a dozen or so), then don't bother with it, there's nothing here for you. If you do have super-heavies and but you don't want to use them outside of Apoc, then, again, don't bother with the book- especially if you already have the Apoc book, as it is pretty much a repeat of the rules found therein. However, if you have always dreamed of using your super heavy on a more frequent basis (but not liking those big Apoc battles), then this is the book for you. It gives you the rules, allowing you to incorporate your super heavy "Lord of War" into all regular battles. The book in general has a nice presentation, with a short story, the super heavy rules, data sheets, and lots of nice artwork. The best part, in my opinion, is the extra missions that the book provides- 9 in total. Some are straightforward, others are actually really cool and offer incredible challenges- in fact the writers admit that some are very difficult for one side or another- thus heroic victories and hopeless defeats are made.

Will Escalation "Unbalance" The Game: This is, I think, a simpler question, despite the howls of rage on the Internet. Some believe that the superheavies are so powerful, that they will destroy an entire army in one turn and can't be stopped at all. First off, I don't think many players will bring their Lords of War to many random pick up games. Why? For one thing, people may not want to put up with opponents whining about it, but, for a more important reason, the simple fact is MOST super heavies are just so damn expensive (points wise). Indeed, in a 2000 point game, most of the super heavies make up a huge part of your army points, leaving you with little to use otherwise. Further, they give bonuses to the player WITHOUT the super heavy, including an extra victory point for every 3 HP taken from the Lord of War- which can make all the difference in a game. Finally, most super heavies are not invulnerable. Since both glances and pens take HPs (with pens taking off an additional D3), concentrated fire can take out- it may take a turn or two, but it can be done. And then, since the Lord of War tends to cost lots of points, then the Lord of War player will be left with little else, and probably lose. I personally think Escalation will make games a bit more unpredictable if people embrace it, but I don't think it will ruin the game at all. I think, if the players accept it, it will just be one more variable in planning and playing (on top of supplements, special character sheets (like Bel'akor, allies, etc), and I think this additional variety will be a good thing.

Which Super-Heavies: Sadly, the book is very limited in terms of which super heavies are allowed in regular 40K games. Now, I wouldn't want to see anything that was TOO overpowered. However, I am disappointed that my Plague Marines can't take their Plaguereaper (its in Apoc, but not in Escalation), which is a shame. I can understand that I can't take my Plague Titan, but still... There are certainly things left out that could have been in. However, I suspect that, based on GWs digital release schedule, there may be more super heavy datasheets released, with the moniker "Escalation-approved" or something like that. Especially if Escalation is accepted by players readily. How will GW know? If they sell more Baneblades, Lord of Skulls, etc. But where's the plastic Thunderhawk?

Who Benefits The Most From Escalation: most of the super heavies are quite costly for their points. The Lord of Skulls is 100 times the sacred number of Khorne (if you catch my drift). That's a lot of scratch for an 1800 or 2000 point game. Must of the super heavies are in that upper range. However, the various Baneblade variants are in a decent price range. Imperial Guard players can take a Baneblade and still have points left over for their cheap troops and some Leman Russ'. In my opinion, Guard players are going to be even more dangerous! Space Marines get the least, as who can afford a Thunderhawk to begin with... unless a cheaper plastic one is coming...

So, what's the verdict? I won't actually give this a rating, as I think your mileage will vary depending on your views on super heavies. If you don't have one and don't plan on one, there's little point in getting this. However, if you want to blow the dust off that Baneblade or Harridan this is the book for you. If you have been drooling over the Necron Tesseract, this may push you over the edge. However, the question that everyone has is will Escalation have a negative impact on the game? I do not believe so, as I feel that GW has really done a good job of keeping it pretty even. Lords of War are incredibly powerful, but glances and pens are certainly doable, and if the Lord of War is vanquished, it will be an easy job to roll up the rest of that force.

Ultimately, time will tell, but I just think that Escalation represents just one more contingency to plan for. Personally, thinking of the fluff, it's pretty exciting, as this just makes the battlefield more nihilistic, which is what this universe is all about. I believe that if I were playing a series with a particular player/friend, this would be a fun story to tell on the battlefield- one battle is 1000 points, the next is 1800, then the last would be 2000 with a Lord of War thrown in for the exciting climax. Sounds fun to me. I am hoping that I can get the chance to play a match in a couple of weeks.

For the record, I am getting the other book, Stronghold Assault, for Christmas, so I can give my impressions then.

Until next time...

Celebrating The Apocalypse Part 4: The Big Game

Greetings and felicitations to my fellow Chaos brethren. Welcome back to the latest edition of Chaos Corner. It's been a wild time for us 40K players, hasn't it? We just keep getting lots of goodies, with no signs of letting up (rumors of Black Legion supplement incoming). Whew!

First off, I got the Apocalypse book from a week and a half ago. While some of the data sheets are similar, this really is a different beast from the old Apocalypse edition. There's lots of new rules, randomness, several missions, Finest Hour, Divine Intervention, Unnatural Disasters, and a lot more. A game of Apocalypse is a bit more complicated than the previous edition, some of which is great, some of which is a bit too much book-keeping. However, the best thing about the book is the emphasis on "this is a guide... do what works for your game". Thus, not every single rule MUST be followed... Apocalypse is meant to be a huge, fun, experience. Something the group doesn't like? Get rid of it. The group has a new idea? Give it a go. They even give you additional ideas to try out. The book is really good, with lots of art, some fluff (Warzone: Armageddon), and lots of formations.

So, the GW store "near" me had an Apocalypse game the day the book came out. I decided to go, and I brought with me a ton of Plague Marine stuff, including my Titan and Baneblade. I brought nearly 7K points worth of stuff with me- I wasn't sure just how big this game would be, nor did I know what others would bring.

Well, we had two sides- the forces of good (Tau, Grey Knights, Blood Angels, and a small contingent of Necrons) on one side, and the forces of disorder on the other (my Plague Marines, Iron Warriors, Orks, and some odds and ends). I was made the warlord of our side, and Typhus was the leader. Hahaha... not a good start, huh?

A ton happened in this game, so there's no way I could give you a play by play, so I'll just get to the highlights:

The store manager, Ian, was calling the shots for the game and started by giving the forces of good a Baneblade (called the "Bling-Blade" based on its gold paint job). and it fired immediately, causing a great deal of damage to my Titan. I could see how this was going to go, my Titan would be target number one.

The forces of good went first, and it took a while, no doubt (that's what happens in a game this size). Their heavy weapons target my Titan constantly, with Tau Tiger Shark air craft taking the last of its hull points. There was the requisite huge explosion, and many Plague Zombies died, but that's what they are for. Indeed, a lot died in their shooting phase overall, but heck, there was a lot on the table. Further, lots of marines deep striked in that turn as well (terminators and jump packs, including Dante jumping in near my forces).

I thought we'd have our revenge in our shooting phase, but it was 50-50. My Baneblade got revenge for the Titan though, destroying a whole swath of Tau- men, battle suits, and vehicles. My Vindicators also blew holes in the advancing Necrons and Tau. On the other end, I threw in all the zombies I had to halt the oncoming advance of the combined Adeptus Astartes forces- they did their job, despite the heavy losses they took from the Titan explosion. I fired a lot at their Dreadnoughts and of course I tried to kill Dante- I wounded him, but I simply couldn't kill him.

Lots of Grey Knights were lost due to the Unnatural Disaster!

Removing the Grey Knights

After they were all removed.

Now, all of that (ONE turn) took hours. Holy cow! Well, now it was turn 2, and games master Ian selected me as the "Master of Disaster". He desperately wanted me to do "Total Collapse" from the Seismic Disaster table. So, I rolled for one random table segment to be destroyed (it could have been my side or theirs). I rolled quite well- it was their side, and I killed a TON of Space Marines- I think I must have killed 1K points worth just like that. Whoa... maybe that's too powerful? But it was fun, though.

Thus, their 2nd shooting phase was next- they decided to target a lot of shots at my Baneblade, and once again their concentrated fire destroyed it- with lots of Orks getting the burn on that one. A vindicator of mine was destroyed, as were 2 of my dreadnoughts. My zombies were still brawling and drooling, though most of them were dead by now (again). Sadly, Dante still lived; and we got the Bling Blade down to 1 Hull Point. We only had 1 Heldrake (I left mine home since I wasn't sure about carrying it on top of everything else), and they had several planes, so we had a hard time dealing with their air superiority.

Dante lived, despite the firepower I threw at him

Sadly, we did not get to have much of our side of turn 2, as the store was closing in a bit, and we had to clean up. The forces of good won, and I'm pretty sure they would have won even if we got more turns.

Overall, it was a ton of fun. The super-heavies now have hull points, and since even glancing hits take a hull point away, you can see that it is easier to get rid of the super-heavies now. However, that goes for both sides- so it is even. I see the need for more air/anti-air, at least for Apocalypse. I'll need to work on more Heldrakes for my Plague Marines. Ultimately, I am very glad I participated in the battle, despite the loss.It was a lot of fun, and seeing so much total destruction was great. I also got to play with a cool group of guys too, which only makes it better. The Necrons, Iron Warriors, Blood Angels and the Grey Knights were particularly well painted, which made the battle even more fun. The forces of evil may have lost this battle, but the war goes on...

As Dr. Claw always said "Next time, Gadget... Next time!!!"

Celebrating The Apocalypse Part 3: Plague Marines Assemble!!

Hey There my crazy chaos fanatics! We're back with another installment of our celebration of the upcoming release of Apocalypse. I can't wait to get that book- I was always a sucker for Apocalypse, and the stuff I've been hearing about it makes it sound really good. 

I am also excited about going to my Games Workshop store and participating in their Apocalypse battle, "The Destruction of Kanthar IV". My Death Guard must venture forth once more, spreading disease and horror on this feeble imperial world. Now, as the day of battle draws near, I need to select my forces- I had to get them out and ready to go.

As I decided to do this, a question hit me- just how much should I take? That led to a bigger question- how many Death Guard Plague Marines do I even have? Oh boy... this is going to be a lot tougher than I thought!

With that, I decided to bring up all of my Plague Marine stuff and check. All of a sudden, as I brought the Army Transports and foam trays up from my basement, I realized that I had way more than I thought... My wife was right, I have enough Plague Marines (in dollar terms) to fund our future child's college education. 

After bringing it all up from my basement, I decided to put it all out on the table- yes, ALL of my Plague Marines, all assembled. I really have never put all my Plague Marines out on the table as a showpiece (even in my bachelor-Apocalypse I did not use every single Plague Marine). 

As I was putting them out, I decided NOT to put out my Nurgle Daemons, my Plague Zombies, or my Traitor Guardsmen. I'm undecided over whether I'll take them to battle on Saturday, but for this display I would put out only the dreaded Plague Marines of Nurgle and their various war machines. 

After I put them all out, I just stared at it all. I can't even begin to tell you how much in terms of hours, paint, putty, cash, and blood, sweat, and tears I put into this army. I am, as you may know, doing a Khorne Bezerker army, but I know that it will never get to this level. No way. My Plague Marine force is truly legion size (and I had 7 squads of troops to boot- bless Nurgle!). 

I have been assembling this army for years. 10 perhaps? I started Dark Eldar in 2000, and I transitioned to Plague Marines I think in 2003? Now I can't quite remember, but it has to be nearly a decade. Looking at it all, I am pleased how the whole army is tied together. I have used various paint schemes (and different paints!) over the years. Indeed, my painting style has evolved over time- I have a stronger eye for detail, I have gravitated to darker looks, etc. Yet, the army does indeed look like a cohesive whole. They are the colors of rot and decay; of disease and despair. So, some look the same, others look different, but at the end of it, they look like a single army, under a single banner. I sat looking at the whole army, awed. 

I am not awed because of my "skills" (such as they are). I just can't believe how it all looks together, knowing that I built them all up, converted, and painted them (my friend Pete did build a couple of the trickier ones- the Titan, the Drop Claw, and the strangely huge defiler- but I did paint them). I sat looking at the whole army for several minutes... I was just shocked at seeing them all at once; my brother saw it and said that it looked like something from a White Dwarf article. Wow. This army has been 10 years of my hobby life, and to just see it all there was amazing. I am proud of my work, warts and all. 

Perhaps at one point I'll go into a little more detail about some of the units--- like how my displeasure at the GW Plague Marine sculpts led me to create my own, using putty, guitar wire, and nails for their spiked helms. Or how I used plastic bug toys to make my Raptors- bug heads and clear plastic wings that I used green ink on. Or how my Land Raider was partially inspired by a Raider conversion shown in the 3rd edition Chaos Codex. Or how my brother and Pete found the Nurgle Lord on Palanquin at a Bitz Wagon (anybody remember those?) and got it for me while I was stuck working on a report for graduate school. Or how about that defiler... the one Pete and I dreamed up long before they had Soul Grinder? 

I could go on and on, as so many of those models, paint jobs, and ideas have a story. Perhaps I will expound on them one day here at Chaos Corner (my original reason for starting this blog, after all... which I never quite got around to). At any rate, I'll let the pics speak for themselves. 

Mortarion himself has come forth...

I'll let you guys know how the battle goes on Saturday. I hope that you are going to be enjoying the Apocalypse this weekend!

Until next time...