40K Inquisitorial/Smuggler's Lighter

For this year's Adepticon, I didn't really have the time or money to invest in making a new Necromunda board and instead decided to utilize the 2d tile set in a different way. Instead of the twisting subterranean tunnels of the Underhive, this board will represent an abandoned spire protruding from the exterior of the Hive itself that now serves as a landing area for the shuttles and lighters of various ne'er-do-wells. As such, I needed a small spacecraft to serve as a centerpiece and decided to "scratchbuild" one.

This model started as a badly beaten up GI Joe "Stellar Stilletto" toy. I removed the nosecone, the cartoonishly oversized missiles, and then set about covering the large gaps between the pieces. Once that was done, I added all sorts of different gubbins and bitz, scaled the large clear canopy down to fit 28mm minis, and added a rear access ramp. I then thoroughly cleaned everything in soapy water, primed with self-etching auto primer, applied hairspray for chipping, and then coated the piece in a 75/25 mix of Tamiya Black and Sky Blue. After chipping, I did some detail painting, added the decals, and sealed it in flat clearcoat. I then weathered using oils.

While it's not my best work, I enjoyed throwing this together. 

Mechanicus Servitors

Once again, I was able to complete a small unit that's been sitting in my paint queue for months. If you consider the fact that many of these minis I've had since I played 40K on a regular basis, some have technically been sitting in my lead pile for about a decade. Honestly, I always had a soft spot in my heart for the humble GW servitor miniature. Nothing truly aspires to the grimdark aesthetic like a giant slab of lobotomized, cybernetic muscle brimming with massive servo-claws and heavy weaponry. Until now though, I'd never had much use for them as I never ran IG, though I did toy with the idea of starting a Horus Heresy army for awhile and considered putting them there. So, in an effort to "do something different", I pulled these out of cold storage in the vaults of Mars and got to work...

In the interest of being different, I wanted some Frankenstein-like flesh and decided on a blue hue. I did this by basecoating in Vallejo Grey Blue, adding increasing highlights of Army Painter Wolf Grey, doing an overall wash of Secret Weapon Cool Grey Wash (hint: it's really blueish), adding more highlights of AP Wolf Grey and finally mixing that with some Vallejo Basic Skintone for the most extreme highlights. Where cybernetic grafts met skin, I mixed AP Wolf Grey with Vallejo Salmon Rose for a distressed look. I also wanted to do some bright red uniforms. Normally, I do much deeper reds (actually starting in purple tones) but, again..."doing something different" I wanted uniforms that would reflect the holiness of the Omnissiah. I started with Vallejo Flat Red as a base, washed with some (very old) GW Red Wash. I did a few alternating coats of this to sort of build depth, then started gradually highlighting by mixing in Rach Red, and then the most extreme highlights being a 50/50 mix of Rach Red and Salmon Rose.

The "bronze" cybernetics are actually basecoated in cheap craft paint - FolkArt Chocolate Bronze - that, while lacking a good amount of pigment, is actually a very nice color after a few coats. This was gradually highlighted by mixing in Vallejo Brass and then given a wash of GW Earthshade. Utilitarian pieces of kit were all Vallejo Luftwaffe Uniform (trying to continue the blue-grey color tone) and washed with P3 Armor Wash. There's also a LOT of wiring, buttons, and dials that were painted various colors but no need to go into them here.

These are all based on resin bases I custom-made years and years ago and I found a good recipe for "sidewalk" cement. Basecoat in a 50/50 of beige and a midtone grey, then drybrush with light tan, and finally off-white. Then, without using glaze medium, apply a "wash" of diluted mid or dark tone grey in 1-3 coats. Done! 

Demolition servitors (the aquila icon was basecaoted in Pewter Grey, stippled in gradual highlights of midtone to light greys, edge highlighted in off-white, given a diluted wash of Tamiya Light Grey, then given some spot washes with Tamiya European Dirt)

Heavy Weapons Servitors

Utility Servitors

Data Scribes (I had actually painted these ages ago but they were so badly done, I had them stripped and repainted for this unit. The parchment is basecoated in Vallejo Dark Sand, given gradual highlights by mixing in Ivory, then pure Ivory for the top highlight. I only washed the most extreme shadows with GW Earthshade.)

Commission Work: 6mm "Tau" Army

I was recently approached by a client to work on something in 6mm for Epic, a scale I don't normally work in. These are Vanguard Miniatures "Okami" line, along with some Shapeways ships that functions as a Tau army for Epic. The miniatures themselves were very rough and required significant amounts of clean-up to get ready for paintwork. I was asked to replicate a scheme on the Vanguard site itself, that was fairly straightforward. The only changes I made were picking out sources of energy in a Cool Blue color and optics in Livery Green.

Necromunda Underhive Scatter Terrain & Sentry Guns

Recently I picked up a copy of the new Necromunda Underhive boxed set, which I've been waiting almost 20 years for. Though I have some minor misgivings about the main "board game" style (detailed further in my previous post), I really do like the scatter terrain, which embodies the spirit of the old Necromunda bulkheads while updating them with some great new pieces. Most of these pieces are straight out of the box, with the exception of small shrine and four consoles. These come with some nice standard 25mm GW bases, but I really wanted something smaller so they would blend in. As such, I replaced the standard textured bases with some 25mm plastic bases from Warlord Games.

First off are the door barricades, "Sump Monster" marker, Priority marker, and small shrine....

The new loot caskets...

The bulkhead barricades...

And the bulkheads, doors, and consoles. The consoles are, by far, my favorite pieces of this set. They have a variety of buttons and screens that are fun to paint, as well as this odd pneumatic pull handle on one side. They have a very "advanced steampunk" feel that reminds me of something out of Borderlands or Bioshock Infinite.

I also had some Aegis sentry turrets that had been sitting in a box, primed, for several years that I decides to pull out and paint as well. The bases actually do just fit in the squares of the Underhive tiles, so they would make some cool objectives as well.

Inquisimunda: Ratskin Scout & Imperial Sniper

Well, in my continued quest to paint up some older single miniatures that have been collecting dust for years, here are two new additions to my Necromunda/Inquisimunda catalog - the Ratskin Scout and Imperial Sniper. They won't win any awards (I painted them in about 3 days, alongside other stuff) and have some mistakes (need to hit them with one more coat of flat) but it's nice to see them finally painted up after all this time.

Product Review: Shadow War Armageddon (From A Necromunda Perspective)

Well, I hate to say it but I recently broke down and bought my first Games Workshop product in almost 10 years...and from a GW store on top of it! That product was the rulebook for Shadow War: Armageddon, Games Workshop's possible reentry into the skirmish gaming market. This review will consistent of my initial impressions of the book itself without having played any actual games. I will likely do a second review that takes a more in-depth look at the ruleset and how it actually plays on the tabletop.

First, though, let me take a small aside...

When I was a teenager way back in the early 1990s, there was a small game store in the local mall that carried a good selection of miniature games, especially GW. I had been exposed to RPGs in the 1980s but walking into that store and seeing the miniatures...something clicked. A few months later and I was working at that same store (for those of you in the Chicagoland area, that store was Gamers Paradise - both loved and reviled by many) and with my first check I bought my first miniature game - Necromunda. I played that game for ages and kept the box and components until they literally started falling apart. Lots of games came and went but Necromunda was always somewhere in the rotation. Unfortunately, the mentality at GW changed and Necromunda was given a (largely disliked) second version and, when the mentality of GW further changed, the game was abandoned entirely. Undaunted, I still played, eventually going on to run it in a tournament format at Adepticon and then expanding upon the ruleset with my own Inquisimunda rules.

I relate that story because - in full disclosure - I am probably not the most impartial judge when it comes to reviewing this ruleset. I would, however like to think that I have enough experience with the initial ruleset to adequately relate what works and what doesn't in SWA. Which leads to the biggest asset - and problem - with Shadow War. It is, at its core, a repackaged and slightly streamlined version of the original Necromunda ruleset from 1995.

In Shadow War (Necromunda), players control warbands (gangs) consisting of xenos, mutant, and human fighters (gangers) in the nightmare universe of Warhammer 40K. Warbands (gangs) consist of individual fighters (gangers) who engage in a series of linked games that form a campaign, acquiring experience, injuries, and Promethium (territories). So, while the game consists of individual scenarios, one of its big attractions was this semi-RPG element of treating in individual miniatures somewhat like player characters.

The book itself is nice. For $40, you get a 200 page softcover book consisting of background, the core ruleset, the original warband lists released with the boxed set, all the warband lists released as free PDFs, as well as two new warband lists only available with this ruleset - the Sisters of Battle and Inquisition. I personally would have preferred a hardcover in the style of the Necromunda/Outlanders big book from 1998 (because its held up very well over 20 years, whereas my softcovers have not), but this is a minor complaint.

Components necessary for SWA are almost exactly the same as Necromunda, with the exception of the small (2") blast template and the hand flamer/webber template. SWA retains the Flamer template, 3" & 5" blast templates, D6 base dice (as well as its - at the time - odd proxy 'D3' mechanic), Scatter dice, and Misfire/'Artillery' Dice (hope you saved all those from years ago!).

The other major component is the player's warband...and its here where we come to the largest departure from the Necromunda ruleset. Gone are the gangers, beasts, and hired guns in favor of warbands that more closely mimic units available to armies in the larger army-based game of 40K. To be fair, it is still possible to run your old Necromunda gangers using the Astra Militarum or Genestealer Cult rules (or even as Cultists in a Chaos Space Marine warband), but you will run into issues with Special Operative models. Warband composition is similar to Necromunda - you choose a Leader, at least 50% Basic Troops, New Recruits, and 2-3 Gunners (similar to Heavies) and this basic warband list is backed up by Special Operatives, which can be recruited using the warband's Promethium Stores, to help in each scenario (somewhat similar to Hired Guns). Additionally, each warband has one or more special abilities and (often) access to warband-specific weapons and equipment (similar to the Version 2.0 Necro lists). Warband composition is as follows:

Space Marines - selected and modeled from Scouts. Special Operatives include Apothecaries, Vets, Terminators, and Deathwatch (are fairly balanced list with good selection)

Orks - Nob leaders and Boyz troopers (Gorkamorka players will appreciate Recruits being "Yoofs"). Special Operatives include Meks, Doks, Flash Gitz, and (rather oddly) Runtherd & Grots (the lack of MegaNobz to compete against the abundance of other lists' heavy armor is a bit concern here)

Astra Militarum (IG) - standard human troops. Special Operatives include Commissars, Enginseer, Ogryn, and Scions. (seems fairly balanced but an Inquisitor or Space Marine should have been an Operative)

Sisters of Battle - exactly what you think. Special Operatives include Repentia, Celestial, and Seraphim (nice list; Light of the Emperor ability could be absolutely brutal in a shooting-centric game like this)

Chaos Space Marines - Leaders, Troops, and Gunners are CSM; Recruits are Cultists. Special Operatives include Raptors, Terminators, and Spawn (an expensive and limited list probably not recommended for players new to skirmish level games but provides some nice modeling and fluff potential)

Dark Eldar - Wyches, nothing but Wyches. Special Operatives include Succubus, Haemonculus, and Scourges (a Hand-to-Hand list that gets over some of the issues of HtH lists in Necromunda by providing fighters with a 6" basic Move and high Initiative)

Craftworld Eldar - Dire Avenger Leaders and Troopers with Guardian Recruits and Gunners. Special Operatives include Autarch, Wraithblade, and Wraithguard (this seems like the weakest list with some very odd choices in the Dire Avengers and no aspect warrior Operatives. Rangers absolutely should have been in the basic list)

Genestealer Cult - Neophytes abound. Special Operatives include Hybrids, Metamorphs, and Genestealers themselves (probably the most "fun" list with lots of options for equipment and weapons and lots of modeling and fluff potential. This list seems much more at home here rather than at the army level in 40K)

Grey Knights - exactly what you think. Special Operatives include Purifiers, Interceptor, Paladin, and Terminator (as with CSM, an expensive and limited list probably not recommended for players new to skirmish level games but provides some nice modeling and fluff potential)

Harlequin Troupe - exactly what you think. Special Operatives include Death Jester, Solitaire, and Shadowseer (another HtH list with the same HtH advantages of Dark Eldar with a higher cost but an ability that makes them harder to shoot at. Expensive but this list could absolutely dominate the right tables)

Inquisition - an Inquisitor, their Acolytes, and with their "Gunners" being HtH Crusaders. Special Operatives include Arcoflagellants, Death Cultists, and Deathwatch (a nicely balanced list with some huge potential for modeling and fluff)

Necrons - Immortals, Warriors, and the Deathmark. Special Operatives include Lychguard and Praetorian (somewhat expensive and mainly focused on shooting but their ability makes them very tough and will require opponents to come up with a good strategy to force Bottle Tests)

Skiitari - exactly what you think. Special Operatives include Enginseer, Ruststalkers, and Infiltrator (a list that heavily favors shooting but the points are right and some of their weapons could be absolutely devastating)

Tau Pathfinders - Tau and Drones. Special Operatives include Stealth Shas'ui, Fireblade, and Ethereal (another lists heavily favoring shooting with a large basic selection, not anything fascinating here though)

Tyranids - Nid's and Gun Beasts. Special Operatives include Ravener, Zoanthrope, and 'Nid Primes. (an expensive list with a mix of HtH and shooting, lots of abilities. I do find it odd that neither a Nid Leader or Troops cause Fear)

As far as the rules themselves are concerned, they are almost verbatim taken from the original Necromunda book with some minor tweaks. For example, Shooting works the same as the original rules, with the inclusion of the High Impact and Stray Shot rules from Version 2.0. High Impact was necessary to add due to more heavily armored fighters in this game, but Stray Shots seems like an odd choice which, I can only imagine, was included to prevent bunching of HtH-centric warbands. Flipping through the Hand-to-Hand and Leaderships sections of the rulebook alongside my hardback Necromunda copy the rules and layout are almost exactly alike. Those of you who are veteran players of Necromunda know all the in-and-outs and the subtle cheats to these rules so, while it is nice to see the good things about the ruleset reproduced, it does strike me as odd that practically nothing was either tweaked nor added to make it at least slightly different. The only new tweak, not inherent to either Necromunda edition, appears to be the rules for Falling...but than only slightly.

The scenario list is again almost verbatim taken from the original Necromunda book...and, unlike the other sections, I can't seem to find any tweaks. This isn't a big deal because the original scenarios were just so great but, again, it's odd that GW didn't even bother to add at least one new scenario, especially considering the host of scenarios that were produced in Outlanders and the Necromunda magazines. The campaign system is (somewhat disappointingly) the biggest change. Gone are the extensive injury chart, the trading post, the Territory list and income generation. Instead of territories and income, warbands generate a preset amount of Promethium caches which are used to pay for the services of Special Operatives in subsequent games on a one-to-one basis. To me, these were the most fun aspect of the original Necromunda rules because they added to the fluff and modeling aspect of the game. Without them, while the post-game sequence is more streamlined, it feels rather lifeless and generic. Luckily though, the Skill tables are still there with some minor improvements, which is a plus. With the rules being so similar, it's definitely easy to simply use those old scenarios if you still have access to them.

So, without any games under my belt, that's the long and short of Shadow War Armageddon. The verdict? It's nice - not terrible, not great. It's a good beer and pretzels game that will get some of us old 40K players to crack out our models, as well as providing a somewhat cheap springboard for newbies to get into 40K. It may also function to get more players interested in more intense, narrative-driven campaigns that can be accomplished with Inquisimunda supplements. With the developments within GW itself, I remain cautiously optimistic that SWA will be supported and perhaps widened in scope and playability.



Pros

• Great to see an skirmish-sized game for 40K
• Great "Beer and Pretzels" game
• (Most) everything you loved about the original Necromunda rules
• Smaller units allows play for newbies, seasoned players, and returning veterans

Cons

• Almost a page-for-page reprint of the original Necromunda rules
• Everything you hated about the original Necromunda rules
• Lack of real, campaign depth
• Some warbands are very bland with odd Specialist choices

Arbites Ogryn

Well, my WIP Ogryn for the Adeptus Arbites Patrol Squad has finally been finished. It's been a little difficult to get in painting lately as my wife recently fell and broke her foot. This guy's big enough though to be a constant reminder on my workbench and I used some free-time this past Sunday to finish him up. I'm rather pleased with the result...


And here's a shot to show just how massive this Ogryn is next to the Arbite Proctor:


Miniatures by Games Workshop, Bases are scratchbuilt.

WIP Arbites Ogryn & Molotov Cocktease

A lot of greenstuff sculpting over the weekend led to the minis below. I think I'll put the Arbites Ogryn aside for a few days while I mull over what else I want to do with him. I'm thinking it might be cool to mimic the winged skull every Arbites figure has on their shotgun stock with one of the Ripper Gun body and I think the neck/helmet could use just a little detail.

The winged fist shoulderpad was incredibly difficult to get even halfway right, even when I split it into two separate pieces (fist and wings). If I could do it over, I would have left the Ripper gun unpinned, so that it didn't get in the way as much.

Here's a super sneak preview of the Molotov Cocktease mini I'm currently working on. I think it may be fun to try and assemble the main characters of the Venture Bros. in miniature, especially after my son is born and I won't have a lot of free time to actually game with any miniatures until next year.

The mini itself is a Reaper Chronoscope "Natalya", I sculpted on the open-back of her jumpsuit (leaving the front zipped up, as I thought it was a nice little detail), her eyepatch (which was infuriating to get right!), and her knifeholder armband.

Due to her pose, I'm going to try and make it look like she's thrown her knife....now I just need a Brock Samson mini for a target!

Arbites Patrol #450

FINALLY got around to painting these excellent old school GW Arbites figures. Believe it or not, they have been sitting in my drawer, primed, for almost 10 years now! These were some of the very first minis I ever bought way, way back in 1996.

The blue basecoat was laid down, zenithal-wise, with airbrush paint. Everything else is Reaper Pro Paints (which I'm becoming addicted to). This is also my first attempt at NMM...what do you think?

Miniatures by Games Workshop

Happy Rapture Day!

Well, it's 5/21/2011 and the end is nigh! To celebrate the occasion, I finished painting the Arch-Zealot of the Redemption today!

Happy End of the World, everyone!

Adepticon 2011 Coverage Part 1

Well, another Adepticon has come and gone.

I feel like I can finally take a deep breath after so many weeks and months of hard work, intense concentration, and nervousness. After 3 years of playing, organizing, and running an event, I wish I could say that things get easier....but life has a funny way of throwing a wrench in even the best planned mechanisms and it can be pretty difficult to focus on gaming with tiny metal miniatures when things like "real life" are hard.

It's rewarding in the end though. All that hard work, all the frustration really does pay off when you get an entire weekend devoted solely to a hobby you love and enjoy. It's especially rewarding to watch players truly enjoy the work you've put into a tournament. My superego would probably say that I simply enjoy the praise but it's much more than that - it's watching something you've created come to fruition and the happiness that creation engenders in other people.

But, I digress.....on with the pretty pictures!

FRIDAY

I do this every year....I queue up for pre-registration and then figure out, 15 minutes later and halfway to the front, that I'm in the wrong damn line!

Flames Of War - Early War Tournament

I had registered for the Early War FOW tournament organized by Game Korps only about 2 month ago. Being really new to FOW and having a relatively simplistic grasp of the ruleset, I can say I was more than a bit intimidated going into it with so many other players. And, I made the mistake of getting in the wrong line again....*sigh*

I will say though, that this was one of the best tournies I've ever had the pleasure of participating in. All the players were pretty laid-back, my opponents were willing to let me take my time, and by the end (in 3rd to last place) I was simply playing for the hell of it!

The tables were absolutely stunning (with many pieces being supplied by Battlefield Accessories):

As were many of the other player's armies:

As I wrote about before, I tried to do something very historically accurate in the French 59th DLI. Inevitably, this ending up replicating the spring of 1940 in miniature, with lone French units getting cut off and surrounded by Axis forces.

In the end, I finished 3rd to last but....I won Best Painted Allied Army, ending up with a nice award and some Polish Tankettes (looks like I have the start of another EW force for next year).

Flames Of War - Mid-War Tournament

On the other side of the Harry Caray ballroom was the Mid-War tournament. I didn't play in this but it was fun to see everyone's armies and watch a few games. Not having much to do, I returned Saturday with my grandfather so he could watch and we spent about 2 hours just looking around and watching the various games.

If I can get my Finnish RajaJakaari Kompania finished by next winter, I may just enter...

Flames Of War - D-day Omaha Beach Landing Demo Game

I really can't say enough good things about this. Probably the nicest made, most intensely researched demo game I've ever had a chance to play in. Evocative, fun, and hard as hell to win!

SATURDAY

Being ineligible to play on the Malifaux tournie I'd entered, I returned late Saturday to poke around....

Coolminiornot Booth & Crystal Brush Awards

CMON was a newcomer to the vendor hall this year and they made quite an impression. Most everyone I spoke with asked if I had visited their booth yet and the actual presentation did not disappoint.

I haven't received any further emails from Soda Pop Miniatures (even though I'm signed up as part of their marketing program) but it appears that several new enemy miniatures are coming out for the intriguing Super Dungeon Explore game, notably Dragons...

I had also entered my Eldar Farseer in the Crystal Brush painting contest. I didn't win anything (and certainly didn't expect to) but it was fun to see him next to so many other nicely painted minis.

Marike Reimer (of Destroyer Minis) was able to take home the $13K prize this year and she certainly deserved it! I was able to talk with her a little on Saturday as she painted an anthropomorphic Red Panda. She was gracious, and inviting, and a true professional.

Who knows? Maybe next year I'll have a real chance at winning....

Privateer Press Games & Displays

(IIRC) Returning for their 2nd year, Privateer Press also made a good impression on me. Their display tables were simply amazing and it appeared that they had a really robust prize support for their tournaments. Their staff seemed really professional and willing to teach new players. Those Croc-men miniatures might actually get me to play!

40K Team Tournament

As always with the 40kTT, there are just too many great armies to photograph and discribe.

Continued...