Chaos Grippes (Brief) and DEATHWATCH!!

Hey there Chaos fanatics! Old Man Chaos is back with a new installment of the ongoing lunacy of Old Man Chaos! LOL

First, I want to say a big "I told you so" regarding Traitor's Hand. I don't like saying I told you so (Wife? Why are you laughing at that? You know I NEVER say "I told you so"... that's you're department), but... it was pretty much what I predicted. I posted that blog BEFORE the leaks came out.

Sadly, I knew all too well that Traitor's Hand would not come close to helping Chaos Space Marines. It is, at best, a band-aid. A band-aid for a freshly amputated limb ("Tis just a scratch"). While there are some decent formations, it just isn't at the level of Space Marine formations (or, indeed some others). It is just a resounding "Meh". I even played a game against my friend Joe using some formations- his Dark Angels wiped the floor with me pretty much. It was hardly a contest. Joe said that when I take Mechanicus, he sweats, and even a win for him is closely fought. Against CSM, he wasn't too concerned, and he took a fairly conservative approach against them. So sad- the mighty Chaos are so low.

Now, there might be hope. Recent rumblings have proven true- Magnus the Red Daemon Primarch is being bandied about, as are new Thousand Sons. Now, while I don't have 1K Sons, anything that Chaos gets that's good will make me happy. If it is a 1K Son Codex (a la Khorne Daemonkin) I could get behind that- KDK is a fun book with some nifty special rules, and KDK is a solid army on the tabletop. If 1K Sons get the same treatment I'll be thrilled. Maybe Plague Marines could happen too?

Anyways, I have been working on some Deathwatch forces. First off, I have always loved the idea behind the Deathwatch- Space Marines from wildly different chapters working together under the auspices of the Ordos Xenos... great hook for storytelling, and I have enjoyed their Black Library stories. Particularly the current The Beast Arises story, which delved into the origins of the Deathwatch! (If you haven't read the series, you should. There are a few clunkers, but overall its been a great story).

From a modelling standpoint, the Deathwatch are nice too- they are Space Marines but with a bit more variety. The different shoulder pads add color and personality to the army. They are uniform, yet distinct. Visually, the Deathwatch are a lot of fun.

My wife had bought me the Deathwatch Overkill board game when it came out last spring. The models in that box are fantastic. I really was excited and put the entire box together very quickly. But, as often happens, I didn't get to paint them for a while. Other projects, real life, etc all got in the way.  So they sat for a while.

When the Deathwatch codex was released at the end of the summer, I quickly scooped that up. Yes... I was sorely tempted. After all, I already have a good start with the Overkill box- what's one more squad? Or a Drop Pod? Or... Well, you know how that goes. I now have a new army.

However, I do TRULY intend on keeping it small, for two reasons. First, from a fluff perspective, they rarely go out as a full-blown army (unlike Grey Knights). They are usually smaller strike teams, using sneak attacks and guerilla warfare to hurt the enemy. Second, I plan to use them as allies to my Mechanicus. My Cult Mechanicus forces can use allies that have Drop Pods, Razorbacks, and air support from a Corvus Blackstar. I don't need a huge army. Just a couple of troops with fast delivery methods; by fast, I mean in a vehicle, which AdMech simply don't have access to for some strange reason (after all, don't the Tech-Priests repair and maintain these things? Seriously).

My plan is to have two squads of varying size. One squad will focus on close combat (Thunder hammers are nice). The other squad will have shooting with special weapons- the frag launcher in particular could be quite nasty- deploying from drop pod and shooting the rear of the enemy at close range... yeah, that's nice. My AdMech need that.

After reading the Codex, I'm not sure the Deathwatch are the most viable army. They are more costly than average Space Marines, and don't have access to key pieces of SM units and equipment. However, as an ally, they are a nice fit with the AdMech I think. I'll have to try it out at some point, once I have enough built and painted, that is.

So, that's my latest. Hope you enjoyed this look at my Deathwatch. I will certainly post more as I finish them. Now I must go... A squad of Deathwatch don't just paint themselves you know.

Until Next time!

Space Hulk

Hello everyone and welcome back to a new installment of the blog you never asked for- Chaos Corner. Now, we all know that the warp consumes all- everything is taken by the Immaterium. But, every once in a while, the Sea of Souls gives something back---- in this case, a dreaded Space Hulk!

This has been a project I have been working on for the better part of 2 months. Now, I can hear already what you're saying "Come on, Old Man Chaos- this game was released years ago! You mean you haven't done it yet?!"

Too true. Too true. The game was released in late summer 2009. I have owned it for that long, as a matter of fact. Sad but true story to follow: It was August of 2009 and the rumors were true: GW was going to make a new version of Space Hulk, with gorgeous models and gaming boards. However, just at I pre-ordered it, I experienced a family tragedy. My father passed away after a brief battle with cancer. I recall my friend Joe talking to me about Space Hulk after my father's passing; Joe was obviously trying to take my mind off things, but it wasn't working, for obvious reasons.

So, when I got the game, I opened it and looked at the contents, but I just couldn't seem to be able to sit down and paint the models. I just couldn't at that point. So, I gave my friend Pete the Broodlord from the box and then put the thing in my basement. And forgot about it pretty much. Every once in a while I'd look it over, maybe even read the rules. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I guess it just reminded me too much of my father.

So, fast forward to this past winter. GW announced the new game, Deathwatch: Overkill. This box looked simply amazing. The Genestealer cults?! I have always loved that idea. And I am a fan of the Deathwatch. How could I not get this game? So of course, my wife ordered it for me. As soon as I got it, I immediately put all of those models together.

But then it suddenly occurred to me... I said to myself "Self, wouldn't it be cool to do Space Hulk? You could paint the Tyranids in the same way you did for that commissioned work from last year... Paint up Space Hulk, then Deathwatch: Overkill, and you could do a huge "campaign" based on these Tyranid board games..."

Of course, I always listen to the voices that whisper to me (that's what got me to the Chaos Corner in the first place). So I dug up the Space Hulk set, opened the long closed box, and began modeling away... Everything but the Broodlord was there. Heck, the corridors and markers hadn't even been punched out yet.

My first order of business was to put all the models on bases. I figured, IF I ever wanted to use them for a regular 40K game for what ever reason, I could. Plus, I felt it made them look better, and the bases fit well enough on the Space Hulk corridors. This way I could handle them by the base, not by the model itself.

I painted the Tyranids first. I used the same technique as I had on that commission I did last year. The skin was painted white and then washed with Sepia all over, and then some Earthshade in the recesses. I painted their chitin armor I did in blues- Altdorf with a blue wash, highlighted with more Altdorf and Temple Guard, and then I did the blue glaze over it. I also went to town adding copious amounts of green slime and blood. I also added some corrosion to the metal corridors that the Nids were walking on- for all the rust and grime on these old Space Hulks.

The Blood Angels I painted in the same way that I did for that commission (which I never got a chance to take pics of before the guy needed them). Their basecoat is naturally Mephiston Red, with a wash of earthsahde, with more Mephiston over it, with successive lighter highlights.

I didn't do anything too fancy to the Blood Angels. After all, they are Blood Angels and they should look a certain way. No experimentation or anything here- just straight up Blood Angels. I did add some character in terms of adding Tyranid blood (slime) on their power fists.



In particular, the guy holding an eviscerated Tyranid head and torso was a lot of fun to paint. The bone/blue makes a great contrast with the red armor, and the green slime accentuates both, pulling your eye to that poor dead Tyranid.

I also had fun painting the Librarian. I have never liked the idea of painting them blue, as I felt that made them look too much like Ultramarines. I decided, in this case, to paint the armor Blood Angel red, however, I painted the shoulder pad and psychic hood blue, in honor of the Librarius. Thus, he looks like a Blood Angel, and yet he stands apart and is very distinct.

I also enjoyed painting the dead Blood Angel on the command throne- it was a bit of a hoot for this old Chaos player to paint up a slain servant of the false Emperor lol. But seriously, it is a nice model with lots of detail that I enjoyed painting.

All in all, with this many models, it took me nearly 2 months off and on to paint. I enjoyed it, but at times I was getting tired of painting so many damn Genestealers. One good thing about the Deathwatch box is that there is some variety among the Genestealer cult, which I will have a lot of fun painting. And the Deathwatch marines have so much character, and I look forward to bringing that out as I paint them.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed painting Space Hulk, but at times it was more a labor of love than just hobby fun. I guess 'Nids are not the army for me then LOL. I need another army like I need a hole in the head.

At any rate, I am greatly looking forward to playing Space Hulk with my friends, or even taking the game down to my local. I am planning to start Deathwatch within the next month or so- I have a few other projects simmering that I must attend to first. As it turns out, I have quite a bit to assemble and paint over the summer... But as soon as I do Deathwatch I will show it off here.

Until next time....