So long to this wretched year!

 

o/

2020 has been an awful year for most everyone. Rather than recap my personally experienced horrors, I'll instead let ya know where things stand as this ol' blog has been fairly quiet here of late. 

First up:, I based my 15mm Quar kickstarter army and tweaked their 'Sentinel tank' as well. Not knowing just what I'll do with them, I've organized them as a 250pt IG Combat Patrol force for 40k in 15mm. A few liberties were taken but not enough to really matter in the event that that anyone wants to actually fight 15mm anteaters in 40k. 

That said, much like I did with my Weird War II Quar in Bolt Action, there is a temptation to rebase them and use them with my Abrams tanks as a Weird War III Team Yankee army. We'll see on that though...

Yes of course I painted that! Can't you see the brush strokes? 

Speaking of Team Yankee, the MLRS' that I'd gotten with my tanks were actually toys and more importantly, of the wrong scale. So I gave them to my GF's son who was quite please with them. I did however get 2 sprues of individual Humvees, and for Christmas a box of A-10 Warthogs as well as the American army book and unit cards. So more to come on that front in the future. 

Just today I ordered a 2nd allotment of modular caves using my government stimulus $$$. What d'ya mean that's not what it's for?? Fine, fine, the rest will go to my property taxes and savings, sheesh...lol. Essentially it was a carbon copy of my first order. That ought to do it for the caves for the foreseeable future, as now I need to get em painted up. 

All is quiet on the 40k front. I sold off my still new-in-box alt IG, as lord knows when I'd ever get around to them. I haven't painted ANYTHING for them (or much of anything else really), nor played in quite some time. To be honest I don't see any expansion of my current forces/collections for the foreseeable future. 

This Spellcrow Whirlwind bit was my last 40k acquisition. Presumably the Incandescent Coyotes will get it after I eventually finish that Rhino in the background. 

Which means of course that I still have an endless queue to paint on. The FLGS is starting a Crusade campaign this weekend...power levels, bleh. As such, don't expect to hear  too much from me about 40k for a bit aside from my getting bored and painting a random model or two here and there. 

Happy New year folks! Hopefully things will get better for us all in 2021!

Team Yankee Revisited.

 o/

All of this post's photos are straight from the eBay listings as they've yet to arrive. 

About a week or two ago Screech commented 'you're all about 15mm gaming here lately, so how about Team Yankee?' He was referencing my recently acquired caves (which are great for 15mm gaming yet totally useless in TY). I'd looked thru the rules some years back, but nobody I knew of locally was interested in the game so I shelved the rulebook. Not sure where I shelved it as of yet, but I'll find it eventually, my house is fairly small so there aren't too many places for it to hide. 

I'll have to add a decal to one Abrams tanks to mark it out as my army CO's tank.

There's a new, 'old school' FLGS that opened recently, and Team Yankee is one of the games they're looking to build a following for. However as you may have noticed by my lack of recent posting, I've been fairly busy with real life and haven't had much time for hobbying. Thus adding another army to my unpainted pile of shame isn't high on my list of things to do. 

As such I found a 98pt, fully (and nicely) painted American army on eBay for the approximate original retail cost and bought it. Whilst that doesn't help the FLGS any, if I like the game this will (1) only be the beginning and (2) I still need the unit cards, army book, templates, etc.. 

I'm hoping I can match these paint jobs when/if I acquire further units. 

Currently it's a small, uber elite min/max army which you all know isn't my style. So as I add units later on I can 'dumb' my troops down into something more to my liking (ie.: exchanging M1A1's for older M1's and the like). 

My army consists of the following:

M1A1 Combat Team:

(x1) M1A1HC Holy Christ! 'Heavy Common' (up-armored) HQ tank

(x2) platoons of (2) M1A1 Abrams each

(x1) platoon of (2) M1 Abrams (the older, 105MM gun toting variety)

Support Unit:

(x1) MLRS270 Support battery of (2) vehicles

So notta whole lot, but enough to get me going. Currently my army is traversing the wilds of pandemic stricken America via pack mule it seems, so don't look for any bat reps just yet. Speaking of, I also need to actually visit said new FLGS. To date I haven't as it's a mere 5 minutes from my GF's home, and curiously that proximity is distracting me from visiting the store itself. 

Now, off to find that rulebook...

The caves have arrived!

 o/

With the pieces fitting together like a puzzle without a picture to go by, I'll likely never assemble the same board twice. 

I love this stuff and as I've stated previously, I need moar!!! This bunch here clocked in at $100 and it almost fills a third of my game table. Better yet, it fits under the table top meaning it can be left in place when we're done playing.

These won't really work for spess mahreens and their 32mm bases, indeed 25mm bases are the biggest that'll fit but really, this screams 15mm gaming!! May have to sell some 40k armies to finance some more hexes. Anyways, enough jabbering just look at the pics:

Damned Hobbit sized entrance!

As you can see, 25mm bases just barely fit into the passageways.

And even those are a bit too big for some hexes.

Psst, you see anything over there?  yeah, umm...no peeking over the cavern walls, lol.

High crested helms are probably not recommended in caves and caverns. 

15mm minis on the other hand...yeah they're prefect! I've been wanting to break into some sort of 15mm gaming for awhile due to the vastly reduced cost and storage needs. Even going so far as to simply halve the ranges of everything in regular scale 40k for simplicity's sake. If anybody could recommend a good system it would be appreciated. 

A much better fit!

A squad of my 15mm marines getting ambushed by some sort of alien horrors!

The Silver Drakes are an actual army now!

 o/

I was really tempted to use some Angry Marine helms for these guys but I refrained...

Yes, yes...as usual I'm always buying moar. I got lucky on eBay and found a squad of 10 assault intercessors way back when 9th dropped getting them for what 5 were selling for just a week later. More recently I bought 5 Palanite Enforcers to use as scouts. I don't think I'm going to use the WB/BS of 4+ for my Drakes as I did in Kill Team. Sadly 40k, even locally is too uber competitive anymore for such amusements.

The one with the gun raised doesn't actually have a shotgun, but will treat it as such. Maybe its a breach loader or the like...

With these additions I now have about a 1k army which is as big as I think it'll get. Hell, it's not like I ever have time to play. Indeed even painting time is getting hard to come by these days. But I'll get them done...someday.

Here they all are, and like most of my armies they're in desperate need of that elusive substance:  paint. 

Going underground with Zone Mortalis...

 ...and/or Kill Team, Mordheim (this stuff SCREAMS Skaven of which I still have hordes of), Necromunda (ah yes, the good ol' sump...), Turnip28 (more on this later), and just about anything else I can think of. The pic below is from Alter3Dimensya of my first batch of terrain. 

I can totally see myself selling an army to finance the purchase of enough of these to fill up my gaming table!

There isn't a 'map' available of the starter set, so I just winged it and ordered that and 1-2 of every available piece. The above is what that all amounted to (the mini is just for scale). Interlocking like a puzzle and completely modular, I may end up ordering more before this first order even arrives!

Also, I'm going to need a lot of paint for whatever color scheme I decide to use on it. Various shades of brown? 50 Shades of grey? Or white and greys to represent something like Hoth? 

I guess we will see, regardless I already know that I NEED MOAR!!

The Inquisitorial Abomination

At some point this hover throne was occupied by a radical member of the Emperor's holy Inquisition. It is not unlike (though clearly a bit less sophisticated) than that utilized by the infamous Gideon Ravenor. Whilst the throne itself is neither fully armored like Ravenor's, nor as heavily armed (psycannons vs. a rotary stubber/bolter), it still was a potent symbol of Inquisitorial might. 

The base model was created by Ill Gotten Games, 3D printed under license by Alter3dimensya, the cannon is from Hasslefree Miniatures, the base is from Gydran Miniatures, and of course there are a few GW bitz used as well. 

The name of it's original occupant has been removed from Imperial record, but what is known is that this deceased Inquisitor utilized a daemonhost which ultimately lead to his/her demise. With the binding wards failing, and their retinue of minions all slain, the Inquisitor in a fit of desperation tried to (and was ultimately successful in) binding the escaping daemon within the form of this rather large root vegetable (perhaps they were in a agricultural market, I dunno)!

However the process of the daemon's re-binding killed it's 'master' and this abominable daemonhost has taken control of the hover throne via it's incredible Beta (carotine?) level psychic powers. Still, as is evidenced by the tool kit strapped to the throne's side, it is suffering from the loss of proper Adeptus Mechanicus' maintenance, incantations and unguents. 

The Hired Swine are also from Ill Gotten Games and produced by Alter3dimensya.

To tend to both the throne's systems as well as all of it's other needs, the daemonhost has suborned a coterie of as yet uncontacted by the Imperium species of xenos which at least visually can best be described as 'Hired Swine'. 

lol, this may never actually see table top use, but if they do I'll do my best to have them face off vs. Neverness who has a special love of off-brand models. 

Hellblaster Sergeant Insomnia

Yes, I named him at 4:30am this morning, how'd ya guess? 

Previously this marine was dutifully serving amongst the ranks of the Deathwatch. However when their new rules were released and he learned that Primaris marines wouldn't be getting any of the cool shit, he summarily took his ball and went home. He'll now serve as my Hellblaster sergeant by virtue of being the only non-easy build model in the squad. 

She's Back!!!

 o/

Well it took me a bit, but I finally repaired the ruined paint job of my Fem Fa'Tau Fire Warrior Shas'ui.  It didn't take too long actually, especially as half of the mini was fine as is, rather the delay was more psychological than anything. One thing of note that I don't think I mentioned originally is her helmet. It's a 3D printed variant produced by Onos Industries, I thought I had bought 10 but instead had only ordered 5. 

Note the lavender once again poking out of the hole in the hatch just for Monkeychuka.

Oh well, the pulse carbine equipped Fire Warrior is the worst of the lot, so a minimum sized squad isn't much of an issue I guess. It does make it so that every Fire Warrior/Pathfinder/Breacher type has it's own unique helmet style to correspond with their specific gun type. 

Speaking of the Fem Fa'Tau, I've started work on my new crisis suit commander. Nothing too flashy as of yet, still just in the base coating phase. Not sure if I'll keep the flight stand or not. Whilst it would likely negate the fear of ankle breakage, it's position, despite my best efforts doesn't quite line up with the feet, meaning said ankles would always be under tension. 

Sorry Siph, but your boys ought not have gone looking for souvenirs in this neck of the woods... 

On the Spess Mahreen front, the Incandescent Coyotes Rhino has achieved the 'Woolly Bear' state. It's been easier going this time around now that I know what route I'm actually taking. Next step is onto the detailing. 

I guess two is a charm?

Lastly, Neverness and I played our annual Orks vs. Orks game at the FLGS last weekend. Just in case you missed it, you can find the battle report here. 

I finally bought a display cabinet

 o/

It's already filled with a random smattering of favorites, of which only the Grot Spee, Baby Squiggoth and Exodite Autarch on the griffin are likely to see any actual future in-game use. 

I've always wanted one, but they're usually quite expensive and take up a fair bit of my little house's limited space. However and old friend of My Beloved Wolfy whom I'd never personally had met until this purchase was selling one for a mere $75 and I pounced on it! His parents had stored it at his house during a move and never retrieved it. He himself had never used it for anything and it never made it back to them or their estate sale. 

It's solid wood and as you can see it also has a mirror back panel and interior light. the boxes on top are full of My Wolfy's mementos that I don't have the heart to go through/look at right now, as well as the hat she wore at our wedding and a few Halloween decos (her favorite holiday).

Silver Drakes' Captain Horridus

 o/

Congratulations: it's twins! 

Oh about 6 months or so ago GW offered up their cancelled cons-exclusive Primaris Lt. Amulius up for general distribution. I in fact rather liked the model but to order it from GW directly I found would clock in at approximately $50, summarily resulting in a rant post. 

Siph kindly offered to purchase the mini for myself and Neverness and ship it to us directly which in the end still clocked in at the princely sum of $35 a piece. That said, that's still a 30% discount over ordering it from GW because reasons. Thus we both are most grateful for your assistance in getting us these minis good sir!

Now, as you all know I can't leave any character mini well enough alone and decided to convert mine. He looks more a captain than Lt. what with that iron halo on his pack and all. So I thought I'd do an arm swap, removing the power sword arm for an inceptor arm to represent the relic Bellicos bolt rifle (R:24" A:4 S:5 AP: -1 D:2). 

However having never really inspected an Inceptor up close before, I didn't realize their armor was much beefier than standard Intercessors and apparently, Lieutenants.  So I had to carve out the sword hand from the Lt., and the hand with bolter from the aforementioned arm. 

I'm always a little wary when chopping up a limited release mini as it's not easily replaced (if at all possible) in the event that I do irreparable harm. However with TWO of said minis on my desk, I sensed an opportunity...

transcript of the Facebook IM conversation with Neverness as follows:

DMC: Fucked up that Lt. Oh well, Neverness can probably fix it. 

(Opens other package...)

N: huh?

DMC: Your LT. Don't worry, you can fix it. ;-)

(Immediately thereafter I get a phone call)

N: Are you trolling me?!?

*****

Indeed I was and honestly how could I resist? 

It took awhile but the weapon transplant was successful. I tossed the stupid blast plate bit into the bitz pile though I kept the gun barrel's protective roll-bar incase there is a need to go all Ogryn and just start bashing bugs with the gun itself. 

I also removed the grenade and pouch on his backside armor plate (does it have an actual name? Ass armor?) and added a spare Assault Intercessor Sergeant chainsword (with the similar parts trimmed from it as well). Primaris captains can't have chainswords you say? Well too bad cause mine does! lol, lastly I removed the chaos helm from his base as the Silver Drakes are exclusively (at least in the fluff) fighting the Nids, and so replaced that with a few skulls. 

Thus I present to you Silver Drakes' Captain Horridus:

Far too imposing of a figure for a mere Lieutenant. 

A close up of his Bellicos bolt rifle.

My latest odds & ends

 o/

Currently this Rhino serves as the Coyotes' brig. Captives are locked within and subjected to a never ending loop of Rocky Top until their minds melt. These unfortunate, gibbering souls will happily spill all their secrets in order to receive a merciful bolt round to the head, silencing the horror. 

Progress has been slow this week due to real life interference, but there has been a little. First up, at Ragsta's suggestion, I decided to try undercoating the Incandescent Coyotes' rhino's orange contrast areas with another, flatter shade of orange. As such it looks here like it's a WIP University of Tennessee Rhino. As the contrast is added, darkening the orange color considerably it will then change to a University of Texas Rhino, before going all 'Woolly Bear' again in the end. 

I also bought some 3D printed terrain off of eBay. Really nice stuff and quite reasonably priced as well. The Munitorum containers are solid, LoS blockers, and will go nicely with my still, as yet unfinished container (which is...somewhere). They also came with a bucket load of supply crates and fuel cans which will make for nice objective markers when based. 

Lastly, Siph has informed me that my Lieutenant WTF? along with Neverness' clone are currently making their way across the warp to us, huzzah!  Despite the circuitous route, this method is still 30% cheaper than if we were to have purchased it from GW directly here in the US. WTF? indeed...

This week in Space Marines...

 ...another white 'bawks.'

Apparently I can't make a caption today without it being a link to....something. Yet another 'improvement' brought to you by the new Blogger interface. I could leave them feedback, but that has as much  positive effect as going out into my backyard and screaming into the wind...

I didn't torture myself enough with the first one so I thought I'd give it another go. Well, that and I figured that I'd do a second before I rightly changed my mind. Also, why have one woolly bear when you can have two, right?

Not too fond of the Centurion's golden face plate, I may go back and repaint that in silver. 

I've also been working on a pair of Astral Claws, a Havoc aspiring champion and a Legion Centurion (Lieutenant/Exalted Champion). Both are still very much a WIP. One of the beauties of the Astral Claws as they fought on both sides (loyalist and traitor) whilst having the same appearance. So they can be used as either/or. I have another as yet unpainted (at all) devastator sergeant to take the spot of the above aspiring champion when using them as loyalists. 

Not sure as to which squad this guy will be leading given that neither of the two I which already have are in need of a sergeant. 

Also, whilst digging for parts to 'cleanse' the above Rhino of it's former Black Templars iconography (have at it Zzzzz), I collected enough bitz to piece together another Incandescent Coyotes character of some sort. That chest plate is far too decorated to be a mere bolter grunt. Perhaps I'll make him an Lt., and promote my acting Lt. from last weekend's game to Captain. I'll likely swap that chainsword for something better if I opt for that. Edit: Yeah I think I'll swap that chainsword arm for a powerfist and some sort of backpack ornamentation to serve as a Lt.

Hey what d'ya know? I do play this game!

GLORIOUS COMBAT!!

Yup, 14ish months after I last played 40k, I finally got in a 500 point game. It was also the battlefield debut of the Incandescent Coyotes vs. Bob's Cadians. No scenario beyond just kill each other. Small, simple, relatively quick and easy.  

Let me set the scene:

Incandescent Coyote Lieutenant: Hail intrepid Guardsmen. We are the Incandescent Coyotes, righteous and noble defenders of humanity. We have come to assist you in smiting the foul denizens of the galaxy... 

Cadian Commissar Lord: Incandescent what? (turns his head) FIRST RANK FIRE!! SECOND RANK FIRE!!

lol, yeah pretty much. 

My 'army' which includes my oft maligned nemesis-sniper scouts.

Bob's army. Whilst there was 'technically' no mission, it was obviously a case of kill the Russ before it kills me.  

Bob had the first turn though luckily I survived it unscathed. The Razorback (carrying my Lt. and the painted first claw) fired 2 lascannon shots at the Russ, Scoring one hit for four wounds, and making it very angry. The scouts took out a few guardsmen whilst my 2nd squad advanced. 

First blood goes to Bob, told ya it made the Russ angry. 

A very satisfied Bob preparing to introduce a half dozen marines to a light show the likes of which they've never seen before! Meanwhile my scouts put a few rounds into the commissar and the base coated squad killed a few more guardsmen.

Weathering the first wave of laser hell, the first claw advanced into range (barely) and having the Rapid Assault ability tossed a krak grenade and fired two melta blasts at the leman russ. I rolled a 1 and a pair of 2s. Typical. I used a CP, rerolled a meltagun and got another fucking 2. I knew that that was essentially the game, but I continued on just because.

 In the background the scouts dispatched Bob's Lord Commissar which made every model on the table happy! The 2nd Claw advanced up to cover the Lt. who was out in the wide open. It must be noted that it was a bit disheartening that my primed Lt. fit better with the table then did my painted minis. 

As you can see, the 1st claw has been erased, and the 2nd has been thinned markedly. I took out a few more guardsmen and the scouts were trying to down the platoon commander and his infernal orders, though he was proving curiously more resilient than the Commissar did.  

Predictably, the 2nd claw met the same fate as the first, though the Lt. was able to get into close combat and start squishing guardsmen with extreme prejudice with his powerfist! The Russ meanwhile rumbled past and kept blazing away at the scouts hidden in the ruins. 

How can it even see us? We're wearing snow camoufl-oh wait...

As the game wound down to it's conclusion, more guardsmen were fed into the meat grinder of close combat that the Lt. was clearly enjoying.  

Well, at least I didn't get tabled! Bob said that in our first game of 8th ed, I pasted him so I guess we're even? I dunno, I honestly don't remember but we'll go with it. In hindsight my First Claw ought to have ignored the Russ, and rather charged into the infantry horde but...ya know, meltaguns. 

Regardless this was fun and I'm looking forward to playing some more games. I think I'll keep em down to the 500 point mark for the foreseeable future (barring the annual Orks vs. Orks game if Neverness and I can ever get that nailed down).