Belisarius Cawl and Friends

Hello once again Chaos people. Welcome to yet another edition of Chaos Corner. As I promised, I would be getting a bit more frequent in my postings, as real life has settled down a bit for me. Today I have something that isn't Chaos (I don't think... but you never know- he does want to muck about with the traitor legions gene seed after all). Without further ado, here he is... Belisarius Cawl (which I'm just going to call Cawl so I don't have to type his full name each time).

I must say that while I am a Chaos player through and through... I love my Ad Mech army. I have tried my hands at other Imperium armies- Grey Knights, Deathwatch, Ultramarines... but they never quite "got me" the way Chaos did. But that is not true of the forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus. They are a great "new-ish" faction in 40K gaming.

Besides their storyline (which is cool in its own right), the models are just fantastic. They have a ton of detail without being overwhelming. And while they aren't THE most posable, you CAN do conversions and cool poses with them (particularly the Kastellan Robots). The entire range is just so cool, fitting the Mechanicus perfectly. On some occasions I find myself torn- Chaos or Ad Mech?

So I was very excited to hear a few months ago about the Ad Mech getting their own character- Cawl, who would be playing a huge role in the events that have changed the 40K universe just a bit (8th Edition / Primarus Marines / Great Rift). I didn't want the Triumverate box that he came in though. Luckily my friendly storekeeper arranged to have the box split, so I got my grubby mitts on Cawl.

I didn't paint him at first because I was deep into Thousand Sons and didn't want to be distracted. Then my wife and I bought a new house and craziness ensued. I decided that I would do Cawl right after I finished Magnus, which is exactly what I did.

I love the model. Once again, he is very detailed, but its what one would expect from such a character from the Mechanicus. Cords and wires all over him. I love that he's not really human at all anymore.

He looks more alien than human. Again, it fits the narrative and their background perfectly. As for the assembly of the model, I may have cursed  a few times putting him together, but ultimately it was worth it, as he looks amazing.

As for the paints used, I won't get into that. Previous blog entries have detailed my Ad Mech paint scheme so there's no need to rehash it all here. Needless to say, I tied him into the Ad Mech VERY closely. In fact, I used all the same steps, so that he would look exactly the same as the other Ad Mech (a part of one single machine). The ONLY thing I did was that I used some brass for a couple of his arms, just to make his limbs look older / more unique. Otherwise, he is painted just like all my other Ad Mech.

I had a chance to use Cawl in a game a few weeks back. While I lost the game, Cawl was an absolute beast in the match up. I can just imagine that he will be a major consideration whenever I make an Ad Mech list (though he is expensive, he does a hell of a lot).

Alongside Cawl, I also worked on two more Kastellan Robots (which I got from my friend Pete for Christmas). This brings me up to 8 robots (4 with guns, 4 with the fists). I love these models. There is just something exciting abut them being activated by the Datasmiths to destroy a target. I imagine them moving slowly but inexorably, with heavy footfalls and whirring of their limbs (a sound like Ripley in the cargo lifter in Aliens- you know what I'm talking about).

As I was trying to catch up on my modeling, I decided to just make the Robots straightforward, with no conversions. However I did add one little thing- a grate from the new Shadow war Armageddon set. I had the Robot stepping on it just a little, giving him something interesting to do.

Well, that's it for this round of Chaos corner. I hope you liked it.

Until Next Time

Skitarii fresh off the Forgeworld Assembly-line

Hey there Chaos enthusiasts everywhere! Old Man Chaos is back with yet another scintillating edition of Chaos Corner. Summer is upon us in the Eye of Terror. Since I despise sunlight and the outdoors and dolphins, I know that I will be able to accomplish a ton of painting. Now, I have a huge list of projects, but at this pace I may be able to put a significant dent in that list (even with my Horus Heresy project taking shape and all).

Just this past week alone, I have been able to finish not one but two units of Skitarii- a new squad of Vanguard and a squad of Sicarian Ruststalkers. For both, I decided to use some of the new GW paints, namely Nuln Oil Gloss and the shinny and new "warpstone" technical paints. So- let's take a look...

Sikarian Ruststalkers

 Now, up to this point, I have only done the Infiltrators. With their large helmets and cabling, they looked weird and very different from the other Skitarii. I was also interested in them because of the Taser Goads- which are great close combat weapons. So naturally I did 10 of them in total.

I was initially less impressed with the Ruststalkers. Their headgear was certainly less impressive and less "odd", as compared to the Infiltrators. As far as weaponry, I was less than impressed by their load out. The chordclaw is fine (1 attack fleshbane) enough, but the trasnoic razors / blades are less than idea. In the first round of combat they have AP 2 only on a to wound of 6. In subsequent rounds of that combat, all hits are AP 2. That means to be effective they must survive (in sufficient numbers) for at least one round of combat in order to be really effective. Kinda sucks if you ask me.

However, I HAD to build at least one squad of Ruststalkers if I am ever to do the War Convocation formation from an issue of White Dwarf. So, in earnest, I decided to assemble a new box of Sicarians as Ruststalkers.

I still think the headgear isn't as cool, but the chordclaw looks really nasty. I highlighted the claws with the new GW metal paint Stormhost Silver. That paint is incredible. I always had a hard time with the previous silvers- either being too thin or not bright enough. Like Retributor Gold, this goes on so nicely and leaves it looking very bright. The grasping chordclaws really pop now, as compared to the rest of the model.

As for the transonic razors / blades- I decided to do a little experiment. I painted them first with Mephiston Red. Then I painted the whole blade with Evil Sunz Scarlet. Then I highlighted with Wazdakka Red, and finally Fire Dragon Bright. Once that was done I used the "warpstone" technical paint Spiritstone Red. I must say that I really, really like the effect. It is kind of like Bloodletter Glaze, except that it really brightens and shines the blade. The technical paint really makes the blades "pop" as it were. Indeed, with my dark color scheme of Stegadon Scale Green and Leadblecher hit with Nuln Oil (matte) for my Mechanicus, the bright red blades really change the dynamic of the model, with your eyes first being drawn to the blades, making a great contrast with the dark and dingy Sicarians.

I ultimately do not know how these guys are going to do in-game. I believe that I will need to do up 5 more, just to bulk out the squad. My instinct tells me that they are just too squishy in a unit of 5 alone- they NEED to survive a round of combat to be effective. I think 5 won't cut it. So- it will have to be 10.

Skitarii Vanguard

So next up I have another squad of Skitarii Vanguard. This will make 20 Vanguard total for me (and I plan on adding a few more at some point). They are quite a good troop unit- cheap with great access to special weapons (as befitting a Mechanicus army). I had initially hoped that Kataphron Destroyers would be the bulk of my Mechanicus force, but for all their power, they have some limits. They can't really hide in cover all that well as they are too large for example. And they are more costly points wise. For me, Vanguard will fill in that gap nicely.

At any rate, I really like the almost Roman-esque look of these guys- their helmets are really remeniscent of Roman style helms. Naturally I assembled most of them with their standard Radium Carbines. I painted them Dryad Bark, making them look like old wooden rifles, in complete odds with their otherwise mechanical look. I highlighted the helmets with Stormhost Silver, again really loving the new paint.

For the Vanguard Alpha, I decided to go with the mace, as I had already done a Vanguard Alpha with a sword, and my Alpha Ranger has the taser goad. In my gaming circles, that doesn't matter so much- as long as he looks like an Alpha that's all that really counts, and we can WYSIWYG it before the battle. I used the new metallic paint Skullcrusher Brass for his face plate. As I said before, I have been really pleased by the new paints overall, and this one is no exception.

I also made a Vanguard with a Data Tether. He looks different enough that I could use him as an Auspex or Tether, as well as another Vanguard if I decide to split the 10 Vanguard into 2 units of 5. His face I did Rakarth Flesh with Cmmoshade over, and a little highlight over his cheekbone. The rest of his face is mechanical, lending him a cruel visage. 

One of my Vanguard was "converted" due to a happy accident. I was cutting off his left arm from the sprue and when I did it just flew off, and I simply couldn't find it anywhere! So- what to do? I then saw my Ruststalker spues, and there are mechanical arms for the Infiltrator Pinceps computer- with a bit of trickery I made it into his arm. There was little mechanical digits as well as a full connection to the hand on the rifle. Hence, it looks like a totally mechanical arm. Adding screens (blue and green) on the flat parts (where the computer was supposed to go on the Princeps) and a targeter in the front (in red)  makes the dual limb arm look mechanical indeed.

The special weapons I did my old way but added 2 steps to with the new paints. For the Plasma Caliver, I started with Khorne Red, highlighted with lighter reds before finally drybrushing on Ryza Rust orange. But this time, I decided to add 2 more short steps. After the orange drybushing, I put Nuln Oil Gloss into the recesses of the coils, giving it a deeper but glossy shadows. Then, I used Spiritstone Red over the coils.

Compare the two. The nearer one is the new one (done as described above). The further away one is the old one, painted in the same way minus those last two steps (didn't have those new paints then). On my camera it my be harder to see, but the fact is the Spiritstone Red just makes the whole thing pop- it adds a brightness to it.

The same thing was applied to the Arc Rifle. This time I started with greens, ending with a Moot Green highlight. And again, I added 2 extra steps. I did the Nuln Oil Gloss into the recesses of the energy chamber, and then I used the technical paint Waystone Green. Again, the result made for a brighter and more dynamic looking weapon.

Again, compare the results. The near one is the new, the far one the old scheme. The difference is greater in person, but here you can see it is a subtle but notable difference. It just looks deeper and more vibrant.

Well, that's all I have done for now. I have a few more Mechanicus items that I am working on, and then I will be doing some other "mystery" things. I want to paint my Deathwatch set, and then my mystery Horus Heresy project. I'll be back to show them as soon as they are completed.

Until Next time!!

Chaos Corner... On YouTube!? It Can't Be!?!

Hey there Chaos fanatics! Like the title says... it is true. The legions of Chaos have been vomited out of the Eye of Terror, and even now they strike out against the Imperium! The forces of Chaos Corner have taken over YouTube!!! Nothing will ever be the same again! LOL

Seriously, I have decided to take the plunge and do YouTube. Now, this will be to supplement Chaos Corner, not replace it. I will still do plenty of blog posts, showing off miniatures, terrain projects, pics of recent games, reviews, and all the other things you have come to expect on Chaos Corner. However, I am itching to try my hand on YouTube. I have seen so many videos on line for 40K- great battle reports and other hobby videos-they have inspired me to try it out.

So my first video is decidedly Un-Chaos, I must say. I show off my Adeptus Mechanicus army as a whole (which I have not done yet on the blog). I didn't do ANY editing or have music (which is trickier than I thought on YouTube). I will be experimenting with all kinds of things as time goes on though.

Here is my channel, be sure to check it out- Corners of Chaos

Let me know what you think of my first YouTube video! Hope you enjoyed it. 

Until next time...

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...