Long Time No See and I did a bad thing... LOL

Hello Chaos fanatics. I know I haven't posted in quite a while. I have had some issues these past several months and they started to catch up with me, so I stopped blogging. However, its a new year and time for a fresh start. So, I figured I'd come back in style. Naturally, I have been working on 40K- AND I have been bad. Yes, perhaps bad. Perhaps weak. You know me by now... how could I resist the lure of NEW Chaos? The lure of... The Thousand Sons!!

Why the hell not? I have Plague Marines, I have Khorne Daemonkin... so why not the Denizens of the Planet of the Sorcerers too? Looking at the models, it is clear that GW have outdone themselves. The whole line is great- the Rubricae are just wonderful- I have always loved the look of the Thousand Sons but had no desire to do metal models anymore... Now, they are plastic and they are great. They have that Egyptian / Thousand Son look, and they have SO much detail. They are truly amazing.

 Equally awesome is the Scarab Occult Terminators. It is great to see real, honest to Tzeentch Cult Terminators. They look great and really match the army look while also being distinct. The Exalted Sorcerer kit is fantastic, with so many options and with interchangeable parts with the other kits that its frankly mind boggling. Finally, there is Magnus himself- Daemon Primarch stalking the galaxy. Wow. We certainly live in interesting times in 40K, huh?

So naturally I could not resist. Funny enough, the Thousand Sons came along just after my birthday but before Christmas- my friends and family got me plenty for both occasions: 4 boxes of Rubricae, 2 boxes of Terminators, Ahriman, 2 boxes of Exalted Sorcerers, 1 box of Tzaangors, and of course, Magnus himself. I also received 2 boxes of Horrors. So, that means I haven't bought anything, besides the book Wrath of Magnus. Not a bad way to build an army.

So, I started with a box of Rubricae. They go together quite easily. You *could try to do different poses, but as they are all automatons animated by Tzeentch and dust, they are methodical and relentless, so no fancy poses are necessary (in fact, the idea that they are posed the same is part of the appeal). Once assembled, I sprayed them. I did NOT want to spray them gold, as GW did in their video, as I DO NOT trust the Metallic Spray Paints nearly enough to try that. So, I went tried and true and sprayed them black.

The armor was painted Thousand Sons blue (which is a vivid but not overwhelming color). I did highlights with Ahriman Blue. Both blues are very good additions to the paint line overall. As far as the armor trim, I used Retributor Gold. Then I shaded with Earthshade, with some highlights in Auric Gold.It is true there is a TON of trim, and that takes the longest on the model to get right (along with cleanup, etc.). Indeed, the gold drove me crazy, but not crazy enough that I'll dare to attempt spraying them all gold. No Chance In Hell.

As far as the headpieces, I painted some of the lines with Celestia Grey as a base, then I added successive layers of yellow. The light grey base really helps in painting the yellow. The alternating blue lines I did Teclis Blue followed up by Deep Sky Blue (from Vallejo).

With the taberds of the regulars, I did Celestia with lighter grey highlights, with Nuln Oil in the recesses. For the Sorcerers, I painted their taberds/cloaks with Screamer Pink, with Nuln Oil in the recesses followed by by Khorne Red highlights. The deep crimson echoes back to their original red armor, before Tzeentch got a hold of them.

For the eyes, I did Celestia followed up by the new green gemstone paint. As far as the stones go, I did either Evil Sunz with orange highlight followed by red gemstone, or I did layers of green followed by the green gemstone paint again. I must say the gemstone paint really makes those parts pop.

Finally, the part that I really thought that truly came together was the bases. Knowing their enemy is the Space Wolves (and my friend Joe has an ice table and may well be starting a Space Wolf army), I decided to do arctic bases. I did Astrogranite, followed by the blue wash. Then I drybrushed a light grey. Once that was done I began to put the new GW snow effect on in big clumps. Thus, the land is mostly frozen, but there is some tundra underneath. Finally, I put little tufts of Tundra Grass from Army Painter to finish the effect. The blue and gold contrast very well with the white snow, and the effect of these slow moving, almost possessed suits of armor slowly walking across the snowy wastes, is complete.

Ultimately, both the Rubricae and the Occult Terminators came out well- they look like they are in the same army, but still different enough. I particularly like the Sorcerers leading them- both from an aesthetic and  fluff points of view. While I have to build up the army's bones more (more troops), I can't wait to paint the Exalted Sorcerers. They will be visually striking, no doubt.

As far as games go, I don't know how they are really going to do. Magnus is a beast, but is unaffordable in smaller games. Sadly, so is the rest of the army. The points are out of control, way too high. A Rubric Marine dies just as easily, and while the inv sv is nice, they will fall in bolter fire just like cheaper marines. The inv sv doesn't justify the high cost. The terminators are also expensive, and to make it worse they can ONLY have AP3 swords, which means they will suck against other Terminators or Special Characters (I really don't get that decision at all).

The only solution to the cost problem is to bring either Tzangors (or Cultists) or ally with Daemonic Horrors (which is fluffy, but boy will that be a lot to paint), in order to make a bigger footprint on the battlefield. Obviously, this is just my estimate, as I have no experience with them on the tabletop. I NEVER play with unpainted models, so it will take me a bit longer to field anything.

In any case, I intend to continue on with the bones of the army. I have already started the next batch of 5 Rubric Marines. My goal is to finish another 10 men squad, another squad of terminators, and then do some of the Exalted Sorcerers. Then we will see where we are at and I can go from there. I can't wait to see a whole army of these guys.

I'll post again as soon as I finish more, which may be a bit (damn that gold trim).

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....

Brief Review of Campaign of Fire and a Khorne Bezerker Army Update

Hey there Chaos fanatics! Old Man Chaos here, sitting in the depths of the Eye of Terror, plotting revenge against the false Emperor and his weakling armies! Well, perhaps I'm actually at home, blogging about casting down the Imperium instead hehe!! I have two ideas in mind today- first I'd like to do a mini-review of GW's surprise campaign book Crusade of Fire, and then I'd like to show off more of my recently finished Khorne Bezerker Terminators. So, away we go...

GW had this one under wraps for quite some time- a new campaign book in time for the holidays- Crusade of Fire. I instantly had visions of the Eye of Terror  book dancing before my eyes, though I knew that it would not be that good- there was just something special about that campaign, wasn't there?

At any rate, I reserved my book (limited edition AT holiday time? That really blows, by the way) and got it this weekend. The book is a full color hardcover. First off I love that cover- and it goes so well with the Chaos Codex too! The book itself is divided into several sections- the campaign rules, a history of the Corvus system and the current crusade, the GW studio playing the crusade, and then special scenarios and rules including: dog fights, daemon worlds, and arena battles.

First, the positives: its great to see GW do this- a campaign book that inspires. It is not perfect by any stretch, but like EoT, it inspires the reader to want to do a campaign- I'd love to do one, and the truth is I have a campaign scenario set up, but after reading CoF I want to make some adjustments. CoF makes me want to be both a player and a games master. I want to get the creative juices flowing, and get my friends involved, despite our busy schedules. If that was the goal of CoF, then mission accomplished. The rules here are interesting, though some are slightly cumbersome (again- the key is inspire, not copy exactly). Additionally, I'd love to try all the special scenarios- the arena in particular sounds like a blast, as does the dogfight. The artwork is top notch (some new, some recycled, but all very pretty and appropriate), and the model pics are inspiring too.

Now, the negatives: the section on the GW studio was too damn long- it really should be in a WD or something. It should have been shortened at the very least, to make room for more fluff or alternate rules. Indeed, EoT and Armageddon both had substantial fluff- CoF just uses the bare minimum- the story could have been so much more, but instead they say just enough to get it going. I would have enjoyed more- make the Corvus system an intriguing area for future mentions in WD, Black Library books, and more (like Armageddon and EoT). As for the campaign rules, they range from great to solid to what the? I may be dense sometimes (so my wife tells me), but some of those rules just sound cumbersome or confusing. The daemon world rules in particular were rather blah- though it did inspire me to think about making my own!

Overall: I'm thrilled that they released CoF, even if it doesn't reach the lofty heights of EoT. I really like the point of the book, even if it left me wanting more or scratching my head. I could have done without the GW studio battles (for like 20 pages!), but it is great to see good looking models, and seeing Phil Kelly's Dark Eldar kick ass was a treat. The last thing is the price tag- 40 bucks is a bit steep, but the book and presentation were top notch. As a standalone book at that price I'd say 2 1/2 out of 4, but it is so inspiring (the real point of a book like this), I'll give it 3 out of 4...

As promised, I also have some pics from my newly finished Khorne Bezerker terminators. Now, while the Forge World ones are nice, I simply didn't want to spend the money on them. So, I decided to use my bits to make them Khorne looking.

 
Basically, I cut the nubs off the bottoms of the regular Khorne helms, and I put them in place on the terminators. I also used the world famous mutation sprue for the huge arm (what will I do when I use all those bits from that sprue? I have no idea).

As for the bases, I decided that I wanted to make them special. A few years ago I bought a ton of skull bases from some company (I can't remember now) for my Bloodletters, and I had some left over, so I used them for the terminators.

Hope you liked the pics and the review! Until we meet again...