I Have Never Done This Before - to the best of my knowledge!

While the title of this post could refer to almost anything - from avoiding Groundhog Day to parachuting etc what it actually refers to is a look back at the posts on this blog over the past year. The blog has been going now for 6 years. When and if it reaches 10 years that timemark, as opposed to landmark, could be a sign for an overall summary. Anyway back to this year and in no particular order the ground covered has included:

ebook codices for the Adepta Sororitas and the Inquisition

Hobby injuries

Seraphim basing

Battle Reports

Inquisition Warbands

Armageddon Medusa

Saint Celestine

Greater Daemon of Khorne

White Dwarf

Ecclesiarchy Battle Conclaves

Eviscerators

Inquisition Warbands

Armageddon Steel Legion

Here are some of my favourite pictures from the year with an all time favourite included. Can you spot the all time favourite?

Steel Legion Medusa Progress

Finally some progress. Life gets in the way of hobby time. So does work. What else gets in the way of 40k?

Still a bit of a way to go with the Forgeworld Medusa but the final shape of the mini is now clear at least to me. Hopefully it will still be playable when the revised Imperial Guard Codex comes out next year.

Inquisition Warband Build Flavours

The new digital Inquisition codex has been greeted with both acclaim and criticism. One thing is clear and that is few Imperial Forces will deploy without an Inquisitor and warband as additional allies. In addition the codex creates the possibility of all Inquisition armies with a primary inquisitorial detachment allied to another Inquisitoral detachment. Two Inquisitors pursuing different strands of investigation coming to the same conclusion. Given the firepower associated with the dedicated transports in the codex plus orbital strikes and psykic choirs, potentially seriously tough forces might be created. 

Some of the favourite minis here are Inquisitorial or Ecclesiarchial. So here is what might be constructed locally from some of the potential Inquisition minis on the shelves.

A small Inquisition Warband using Karamazov :

2x multimeltas, one plasma cannon and one acolyte with meltagun. Just needs a Jokaero to tweak the weapons. Karamazov has the relentless special rule and the
by any means necessary rule.

Or a small warband based on a generic Malleus Inquisitor :

3 servitors, one acolyte and a priest with a generic Malleus Inquisitor tooled up with power sword or force weapon, grimoir of true names, brain mines, power armour, and psyker level 1 with hammerhand - total 88 points for the Inquisitor and 59 for the warband if my arithmetic is correct, should be an ouch in close combat.

Achilles Ankles of Forgeworld Greater Daemon of Kohrne

Has anyone come across this phenomenon??


From this :--

To this after 12 months in an unheated  cupboard at ambient temperature :-- 

It may not be clear from the picture  but the horns are the only reason the Daemon is not face down on its base. An image from the same angle as the first picture is obscured by the wing.
 
It looks as if the FW resin when supplied had not set rigidly enough to support the weight of the model and so slowly under the weight of the torso and wings the whole model has bent the ankles over. The feet are still as securely glued to the base as when the model was stored. Does Forgeworld resin flow as does glass slowly or is it due to an imperfection??

BTW all paints used were GW.

FW will be contacted for an explanation but is this phenomenon unique? 

Back to the Imperial Guard

Finally the Steel Legion army has been finished as far as troops go. There are 2 platoons with 2 squads each plus one squad of veterans making 3 troops choices. To support this there are 4 heavy weapons squads, one of lascannons, two of missile launchers and one of mortars and 2 commissars. Conversions have given meltaguns and heavy flamers to some of the command squads. It comes to 1086 points so far. No tanks shown but there are also 2 chimeras, one bane wolf and a Demolisher to support with a medusa cannon on the work bench.

The new Inquisition codex also gives excellent opportunities to boost an IG collection with some harder stuff. Its looking good for the IG at the moment.

The new Digital Inquisition Codex PreOrders Yesterday

The Inquisition has been a core interest of this blog. The imminent
 release of the new digital codex has reignited interest in the older Inquisitor minis here. This below is a favourite. It dates back to 2006. It is a simple conversion from and Imperial Guard Techpriest Enginseer and the converted weapon - a combination of a grenade launcher and Tau skimmer strut - if recollection is accurate, is intended to represent a psycannon as there were no parts for one then. Now with some spares from the Grey Knights and the new codex coming out its probably time to revisit this mini.

The archaic looking power armour along with the hooded and masked head seems to fit in with the Inquisitorial theme to allow a convincing conversion.

Armageddon Steel Legion Medusa progress and update

Painting of the Armageddon pattern Medusa has been split into sub assemblies. Here is the first - the cannon its chassis and the floor pan. Next to do is the remainder of the interior and then the exterior before final assembly. Progress has been slow due to the amount of detail and life in general. Anyway now its beginning to take shape.

The Inquisition Returns

The black library have announced on their facebook site the release of a brand new digital edition Inquisition codex this November.

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Blog/Angels-Daemons-and-Mysterious-Individuals.html

Adepta Sororitas - New Codex First Impressions of ebook version

OK, the ebook codex for the sisters of battle is out. Available from the black library as an ebook or from the itunes store as an ibook. Not having an ipad this is a review of the ebook version - the .mobi file which is readable on a PC using the Kindle for PC reader available from the Amazon site. There might be some minor differences between versions as Faeit 212 posted on 3 oddities in the codex, 2 of which seem to be absent from the Kindle version as far as can be determined here.

So the question is was this release a cynical tweak by the corporate monster that games workshop is sometimes accused of being,to enhance sales of a dwindling stock of metal Sisters minis or was it a genuine update of a dated codex?

First impression is that this is a significant enhancement of the Sisters, bringing their table presence closer to the Ecclesiarchy background story for the Adepta Sororitas and regenerating the army as one worthy of collection and deployment. The key change to this are the rule changes for ministorium  priests and associated battle conclaves and war hymns.

The points cost of priests has come down from 45 points to 25 points, 5 priests may still be taken as one selection and do not take up a force organisation slot or HQ slot. In addition priests now have war hymns, a bit like acts of faith - which have been simplified, more of that later. The war hymns are

"- The Emperor Protects - As the Priest’s impassioned calls ring out across the battlefield, the faithful feel the blessing of the God-Emperor upon them. The Ministorum Priest and his unit re-roll all failed armour and invulnerable saves until the end of the phase. 

- The Emperor’s Strength - Shouting out the prime canticle of Saint Brutos the Belligerent, the Priest calls upon the Emperor to help him smite his foes. The Ministorum Priest has the Smash special rule until the end of the phase. - The Righteousness of the Emperor 

- The Priest bellows psalms of vengeance into the faces of the foe, exhorting his followers to excel in the Emperor’s sight. The Ministorum Priest and his unit re-roll failed rolls To Wound until the end of the phase."

War hymns can only be used if locked in combat, but look as if they can be used each and every turn a priest an his unit are locked in combat and can be used in conjuction with an act of faith. Give a priest embedded in a battle conclave or a unit of Sisters a rosarius and the Mace of Valaan and get the emperors strength hymn right and you have a close combat monster with 2 or 3 strength 10 attacks, admittedly only with human skill but with the possibility of rerolls if combined with an act of faith. The mace of Valaan also has a Chaos Bane special rule for deamons.

Add to this that a battle conclave taken now be taken for each priest in the force and that the Adepta Sororitas minimum squad size is down to 5 with 2 special weapons or 1 special plus one heavy, and that the points cost of the immolator transport has also been reduced to 60 and that cost includes all options of twin linked heavy flamers, heavy bolters or multimeltas. The possibilities of truly scary army builds look good. And by the way the Adepta Sororitas have also now access to the condemnor bolt gun, which will deliver psy-shock to any psyker target.

In conclusion this appears to be more than a holding action. Only major disappointment is the absence of the Repressor as a transport.

 

Adepa Sororitas Troops Choice

Courtesy of the Black Library :  http://www.blacklibrary.com/Blog/Codex:_Adepta_Sororitas.html

Immolators and crispy heretics.

A preview of the codex again courtesy of the Black Library : https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/codex-adepta-sororitas/id724618573?ls=1

Immolator Rumours

There have recently been rumours that the Adepta Sororitas Immolator had been removed from the GW site giving rise to suggestions that there was to be an updated version of this awesome transport released with the new digital codex. Sadly just rumours the Immolator is still on the UK GW site as one of the two troop transport choices. The other being the Rhino. The good news is that the Immolator is priced the same as the Rhino and for that price the existing kit allows both the Immolator or an Adepta Sororitas variant of the Rhino to be built.

Adepta Sororitas 19th October

                            To answer the question : its the 19th October.


And the Sisters of Battle are no more. Long live the Adepta Sororitas

Thanks to Faeit 212 for the alert.

Sisters of Battle icodex

Where is it?? This is the closest achieved here - a scan of the image from White Dwarf. It does not seem to be on the Black Library site or in the itunes store. Why the hold up for digital releases? Why only ibook format as well? Rhetorical question the answer is understood here but not agreed with.

Besides this despite the silence for 2 weeks there has been progress with the Armageddon Pattern Medusa and the last squad for the Steel Legion. Progress may be slow as a new proper paint spray system has been acquired and there is a bit of a steep learning curve to make the best use of it.

Making Track Hangers

Part of the Medusa detailing madness has been a desire to make track hangers as shown in the Forgeworld Imperial Armour Masterclass. The problem is brass strip. Where to get some. They suggest waste runners from photo etched sheets from Forgeworld. Not convenient if you do not possess any. This morning between sleeping and awakening the answer popped into my mind. A common material soft but reasonably strong metal, the aluminium used in soft drinks cans. Just cut some out with a pair of scissors and there are easy track hangers.

Armageddon Pattern Medusa Progress

Detailing and assembling almost finished as can be seen in pics. Nothing is fixed in place yet. There has been a bit of detailing madness induced by the Forgeworld Imperial Armour Masterclass volume 1. The cabin rear door/ramp has been hinged so will open and close when the mini is finished. After all there is so much detail in the interior it would be a pity to seal it up in a completed model, on the other hand fixing it open asks for damage to the model.  Likewise the heavy stubber rotates and elevates. The commander figure has his left arm magnetised to allow alteration of position, and he may be attached to the roof of the cabin by a magnet. The remaining detail issue is how to make the hooks to hang spare tracks from the cabin roof as seen in IAM vol 1. Also the question of what the commander should be holding in his left hand is not yet resolved. Should it be binoculars of perhaps a beverage?

One irritation remains is that there is a slight bit of warping or the front of the cabin so that it does not fit the hull seamlessly. Interestingly it appears that Forgeworld also had this problem as the IAM images of their Medusa also show this casting flaw.

Armageddon Pattern Medusa from Forgeworld

Progress here. The fit of the resin components is in some senses excellent and in others amazingly bad. Here are some images of the mini which will be created as several sub assemblies for painting and then finally assembled and detailed.

Sub assemblies allows the tracks to be painted before attaching - something that I find easier than painting them insitu. Can you spot where the fit of the components is amazingly bad?

The medusa cannon barrel is far too wide for the aperture in the cabin top. Some work is needed there.

Progress with the Steel Legion Forgeworld Armageddon Pattern Medusa

This mini is proving to be a bit of a challenge. There are at least 4 components that require realignment to fit together snugly. The cabin floor pan shown in the last post as warped has been cured by a bit of lego and some elastic bands to hold it into its correct shape. The Roof of the medusa cabin, resin floor and detail inserts for the cab wall all require a good bit of work to make them all align.
The instructions, if that is the appropriate word for them, that come with this expensive kit are somewhat minimal and that's an exaggeration.

One thing that Forgeworld could do is provide better assembly instructions. A few bits of paper should not cut into profits much.

Anyway here are the components cleaned of the mouldings/flashings. Some careful trimming and assembly of the components is still required to ensure that the will fit snugly.

 Fortunately the Imperial Armour Masterclass volume one illustrates the painting and assembly of one of these minis, which makes it an invaluable aid.

How Physically Dangerous is 40k as a Hobby?

I have just stabbed myself at the base of the thumb on my left hand with a games workshop hobby drill. Because it was a drill bit, as a penetrating stabbing instrument it was pretty blunt. It hurt quite a lot. It slipped as it was being used to drill holes to create an new slot for a metal mini in a 60mm base. There is a 2.5cm scar at the base of the first finger on my left hand where I sliced completely through the skin, down to the tendons with a very sharp hobby knife while working on a metal mini. Fortunately the tendons were not harmed. There are other scars from previous injuries from working with metal and resin minis. Is it just my bad luck or do other enthusiasts also get injured with this hobby.

Should GW get sued through a class action in the states for their culpability in encouraging people to get involved in the hobby. Been watching Damages.

Armageddon Pattern Medusa Bits from Forgeworld

One thing about the Forgeworld range is that the components often come attached to multiple bits of resin flashing. A bit of warping of the components is also not unusual. So here are the resin bits as supplied by Forgeworld before the cleanup. The floor pan of the Medusa has warped sides and the and the armoured room has a massive bit of flashing attached at as ever a strategically vulnerable part of the component. Anyway off to work with the saw, vise and sandpaper, to sort things out. These Forgeworld conversion kits are not for the faint hearted.

Armageddon is back next year according to Faeit 212

Good news. The final minis for PBI of the Steel Legion army assembling here have been delivered and the first Forge World Armageddon pattern Medusa has also been delivered just in time for the rumour that the supplements issued by GW will feature Armageddon again.

Here is what is supplied by Forgeworld for their Armageddon pattern Medusa.

 Two logoed resealable plastic bags. Minimal instructions. There is nothing other than the sheets shown. There are 2 Chimera sprues. One for the lower hull and chassis assembly and the other is one of the 2 accessories sprues containing track guards. Then there are 18 resin components. Many of these require significant cleaning. Finally there is one brass grating component. One of the resin components is markedly warped although this is not unusual for Forgeworld. But a bit of hot water and support should straighten it out, so no need to send it back for a replacement wit a warp else where. Overall probably an adequate building challenge for £54 UK pounds.

Steel Legion, Valhallans etc etc reappear on GW site

Short post to record the above. The minis are now split between the Imperial Guard Troops choice section and the collectors sections. What has GW been doing? Were these ranges removed to see if anyone noticed?

Mordian Iron Guard, Valhallans and Steel Legion Boxed Sets Available

The boxed sets of a squad of these famous IG regiments are now still available from GW. They have been moved to the current Imperial Guard Troops choice location on the web site. That's the good news. The bad news is that the officers, lascannons, missile launchers and assault weapons are still not available to buy. Something is going on for the IG.

Painting Block - revisited and unlocked

A month or so ago some of these minis were pictured in this pose when painting block was blogged. Hopefully the picture shows that painting block has been over come. Don't know how however. Base coats on the Ogryns, Saint Celestine finished, the bases for the Seraphims sorted, the paint scheme on the grey blue chimera progressing to Steel Legion and the Steel Legion flamer mini progressing with base coats and 2 arms created from plastic minis and in addition a new steel Legion mini to complete the Steel Legion veterans. Only 2 more missile launcher teams to be recruited (via ebay since GW have ditched the Steel Legion) to complete the planned Steel Legion army. It will comprise an HQ squad with 2 platoons of 2 squads each with 2 heavy support squads for each platoon. And as a third troops choice a squad of veterans with an autocannon. For heavy support there is a Demolisher and for fast attack a single Bane Wolf plus 2 Chimera transports. obviously the armoured support needs to be expanded. Requires a bit of thought. Suggestions welcomed.   

Seraphim - redoing the bases

The original GW connections between these mini's feet and their base was never popular here. So initially they became birds on a wire. The wire unfortunately allowed too much wiggle on the battle field particularly because the minis were top heavy. Osgiliath which has provided ruins for the bases of other models was bought with the idea of providing the Sisters with better support and less wiggle. So here they are now enjoying the ruins of Osgiliath, with less wiggle and more stability.

  

White Dwarf just needs .........................

July's White Dwarf is here. The glossy fat format introduced last autumn continues. This format has been met with little enthusiasm at least on the internet. Why so? There are at least 156 pages. The photography of the miniatures is superb. The set piece double page displays of models are amazing. What else is there - besides the editorial there are as regular features Jervis Johnson and Jeremy Vetlock's opinion led columns, Paint Splatter advice on painting, War Diary - the preparation of 7 hobbyists to produce a display army, then there are the design studio, forgeworld and black library sections, and not to forget the apocalypse battle report.

Why does it all seem so flat when clearly a lot of effort seems to have been put in to producing a high quality product. What exactly are its weaknesses?  Well, on the downside its not a coherent read. It makes no attempt to hide that its prime role is to advertise the latest releases, and that is at least honest, but there are so many, many of them each month leading to new model shockitis. Games Workshop seems to have gone into overdrive in the last 12 months in creating new and excellent additions to its ranges of miniatures, which is a good thing from the hobby point of view. But as a result the reader of White Dwarf is overwhelmed with the new product. Clearly this is seen as a good thing in the marketing plan, but too much shock and awe will overwhelm the reader who as a human outside of the 40k universe needs a comfort zone from which to appreciate the latest development. And that comfort does not exist at present. There is no attempt to soften the blow for the hobbyist with, possibly some sort of a heads up, as used to be on the last page or probably more importantly some sort of continuity from issue to issue. Last month was Eldar this month it is Apocalypse. In the past White Dwarf offered both continuity and a comfort zone, often with an army featured over several issues and a wider range of core systems covered in each issue.

Is this a fair analysis of what is missing from White Dwarf, or are there other ways in which it could be improved?

One final thought is that with the prices of new releases always edging upwards the minis must have moved out of most people's pocket money range. Which market segment is the target of Games Workshops apocalypse formations.

  

GW discontinues Mordian Iron Guard, Steel Legion, and Valhallans

Mordian Iron Guard no more, Steel Legion no more, Valhallans no more.

The BOLs form and Darius have flagged the fact that the GW have discontinued the only minis for these Imperial Guard Regiments. It seems to be part of their move away from metal minis, although the Sister of Battle are still on sale as are the Vostroyan and the Rough Riders. So metal is not completely out yet although it is clearly destined. Cadians and Catachian have also lost any metal minis although their plastic replacements must now be the mainstay of the Imperial Guard. This has created a great deal of disappointment. Here the Mordian Iron Guard sculpts were loved, if they reappeared as plastics or fine casts that would be great but it is unlikely given GW history. The available IG armies have been diminished by the disappearance of these 3 legendary sets of minis. The prices of used minis have gone through the roof on ebay. Is GW planning to release more and different IG regiments. Hopefully the withdrawal of these classic and excellent minis is a signal that this is in the pipeline.

Where are the rumoured Sisters of Battle? 

Saint Celestine Finished

Finally finished this essential mini for any Sisters of Battle force.

2+ armour save with 4+ invulnerable save. Weapons and Ballistic skill 7 with a blade that always wound's on a maximum of 4+ and can shoot as an assault weapon, not to forget 5 attack dice and the ability to come back from the dead. But why is she strangling a bird with her left hand?

Anyway when are the new Sisters of Battle going to be released? A finecast Saint would be so much easier to modify.

Where do you prefer to paint

Where do you do it. In a dedicated painting room, in a bedroom, in the kitchen, in a cupboard at home, at a club or GW or other gaming store, just where ever you can. and even outside.

Here there are 3 painting locations. The main one is a hall cupboard which is shared with a ladder, bookshelves - full, painting sheets - for furniture and rooms, old non functional computers, fishing gear, spare furniture, a broken sewing machine, electric fan heaters and old radio clock alarms, plus the utility meters. It sounds like a big cupboard and it was until all that stuff was squashed in plus the painting table, paints etc. Now its a bit like the cockpit of a fighter aircraft, climb in to the seat and then there is just enough room to sit and paint, just don't drop anything on the floor. If it happens, then the room needs to be excavated to allow anyone to bend down and examine the floor.

The next location is more fun and that's outdoors, but living in the UK means that is only possible on a small number of days each year.

Finally there is the kitchen breakfast bench. Everything must be cleared up afterwards and do not leave any paint marks!!!

Do you have a dedicated room? 

Time For A Review

This is the 200th post on this blog. Hooray. So it is a time for reflection. What went well. What was achieved and what could be done better and what should the future hold.

When this blog was started in 2007 the stated aim was to post on minis from the GW Inquisition and Witch Hunters Codices. Well things have changed big time since then. Witch Hunters are no more and on the codex front, but not in the real 40k universe, the Inquisition are now subservient to the Grey Knights Space Marine Chapter. The Sisters of Battle are again an independent moiety. There has been a new Grey Knights codex, Imperial Guard Codex and a White Dwarf codex for the Sisters of Battle. The Inquisition no longer have a dedicated codex which is a total disappointment. IMHO this is a bit of a missed opportunity. As many dire dark and ruthless aspects of the Imperium could be concatenated in to an Independent Inquisition Codex.

Anyway back to the blog. The top 5 posts which have attracted the greatest traffic are :

#1 - Abhuman Imperial guard

#2 - Penitent Engine

#3 - Warlord Traits 6th Ed

#4 - Penal Legion

#5 - Shotgun Conversions

Eeek. Where is the Inquisition? Anyway this blog was started 6 years ago because of obviously an interest in 40k but also because of bloggers that were there back then. The key blog that inspired this one was called Lone Pilgrim, by a guy living up near or in Newcastle. He gave up at some point after achieving his 200th post. Is this the way blogs should go after a decent interval? If so how long or how many posts?

Painters Block

Saint Celestine has hit painter block. She seems to be close to completion but its not clear what to do next to finish her off in the style she deserves. Similarly a reluctance to chop up more of Osgiliath has struck. The plan there is to rebase the squad of 8 Seraphim with more rigid supports for the jumping girls. Then there is a Spare Steel Legion Sergeant, minus an arm acquired from ebay and scheduled to be rehabilitated into the Legion as a flamer operator. There is also an old Chimera to be redeployed into the Steel Legion to provide transport for the Squad of Veterans. Finally there is the assembled Thundertusk ready for finishing and painting. Also there in the background is a partially painted Genestealer who also has a few mates needing finishing. It's actually great to have several projects to switch between, avoiding letting any becoming a grind.
This is how painters block becomes unblocked here. So off to work on one of these or perhaps start another new project. 

A break from the Inquisition and 40k

Without any new Sisters of Battle minis seeming to be in the pipeline despite the rumours of last year the question becomes where to go next. And here the answer seems to be something big. A starter WFB army with few minis and requiring little finess to use on the tabletop. The answer seems to be Ogre Kingdoms. Anyway for anyone interested here are the contents of the Stonehorn, Thundertusk box. The first item in this collection.

Saint Celestine Progress

The saint has not been forgotten amidst the battle conclave and the Ecclesiarchy Immolator project. The trouble is in fact how to finish off the saint. It seems to be almost there but what final touches will pull the mini together. Also should it be given a glossy final finish to suggest a saintly sheen to the semi human creature that Saint Celestine has become.

Sanctum Imperialis Kit

The GW 40k building kits have for a long time, here at least, been seen to be of questionable value. Basically it seemed that there wasn't enough kit provided to justify the price. But having stated that finally 2 have been bought. Firstly Ruins of Osgiliath - which was bought provide material for stonework ruins basing for the Seraphim squad, also Saint Celestine, and a bit of scenery - and it has been at the end of the day value for money. So subsequently and very recently with the aim of creating an Ecclesiarchy Immolator to transport the Ecclesiarchy Battle Conclave the Sanctum Imperialis kit has been acquired. It was a choice between this and the Shrine of Aquila. Without giving away anything about the plans for the Ecclesiarchy Immolator here is what you get in this kit.

 Opening the box

 Everything laid out

  One of the 2 identical wall sprues