A tour of duty of the deathworld of Prism

 An Astartes chapter, now erased from history once called this deathworld home. They discovered an ancient, subterranean xenos portal of some sort and either tried to open or destroy it. Instead the portal fractured, tearing a hole in the fabric of reality that could not be closed. Despite their desperate attempts to contain the disaster, they were lost in the ensuing cataclysm. 

The Inquisition stepped in and ordered Exterminatus, but not even their cyclonic torpedoes could close the portal. Nor eliminate the wretched taint of the warp emanating from it. Prism was erased from all maps and star charts, yet it's screams in the ether mark it as a blazing beacon of terror to Psykers and Navigators alike. 

Periodically, the High Lords will dispatch an Astartes chapter to the world to cleanse it of whatever foul horrors have populated it via the warp breach, be they Xenos, Daemon or Heretic. Every arriving strike cruiser announces itself with an orbital bombardment, but it is just a formality. Only boots on the soiled ground, bolters, blades and holy flames can properly cleanse this blighted planet. For a little while, at least.

The last chapter to take up this grim duty was the 5th Battle Company of the Black Dragons, the proverbial foxes guarding the hen house. Only the Emperor knows what trophies those vile mutants  collected. Rather than purging this rock of the warp's taint the Dragons likely saw it as an opportunity for a recruitment drive. It is only the sad state of the Imperium of Man that such tainted Astartes are even tolerated. 

Now that the Dark Eagles' 5th Company has arrived, this shattered Prism shall be properly cleansed!

The End of an Era...

 o/

Sunset? Or an orbital strike? You decide.

Fear not good readers, this is not the end of this here blog, I shall keep it going for all 5 or 6 of you who still peruse it's meagre offerings. That said, this will indeed be my last post made from this blog's birthplace: the Appalachian Subsector (aka: Tennessee). 

Since my last post, my wife found us a fantastic house in the Charleston, South Carolina burbs which we now have under contract. Damn near everything that has not been sold off on Facebook Marketplace, donated to Habitat for Humanity, or else given to/spoken for by friends and family has instead been boxed up in preparation for the impending move.

This includes virtually all of my hobby stuff. That said, the Black Dragons are still accessible, as are my (non-spray) paints and my hobby tools and brushes (though everything save the Dragons who reside in my game cart are also boxed, except said boxes aren't yet sealed up). 

This guy is the last mini to be assembled prior to the impending move.

Time for gaming though? Doubtful before I move, especially as my allergies feel like they're morphing into an illness of some sort for added inconvenience. Yay. That said, for my Tennessee friends and opponents, I will be back up here for the week of the 4th of July, perhaps sooner depending on whether or not work will have my laptop for working remote ready before the move (fingers crossed). 

As for the Gravis Captain above, he will take the place of the Eradicators' escort as the pretty looking, but damned near useless in my opinion, Apothecary Biologis has redeployed to far off battlefields, never to be seen again (by me). 

Black Dragons Lieutenant

 o/

The last thing many a heretic or vile Xenos ever sees.

This guy is my second Lieutenant (or is that just a 2nd Lt.?) for the Dragons. My previous Black Dragon Lt. 'Spike' doesn't work too well with Imperial allies from outside of the chapter (through no fault of his own...). This guy however, will have no issues in that regard. Indeed, when it comes to Primaris Lieutenants, this guy is ubiquitous.

I think the Burning Dragon's blade came out nicely.

You will likely note however that he is not technically 'done'. Currently I cannot finish the base as both the purple sand that I use on my Dragons' bases, and the multi-colored tufts are all packed away and unavailable. 

You can just make out the fifth company 'V' on the thigh armor plate.

Why you ask? Well, Da Long Wayz Dezert Groop is moving...again, and only a mere 2 years after the last move. Not to the next town over this time though. No, we're moving from good ol' Tennessee to the Charleston South Carolina area (the exact location is still to be determined). 

I guess I've painted enough lieutenants now, as the helmet stripes gave me no trouble.

My beautiful wife is recently graduated with a PhD, and...well, there's not many opportunities for one of those around here. As such we're packing up everything in preparation to move. This reason alone explains the paucity of posts that I have had here of late. I probably ought not be painting anything, but sometimes you just need to sit down and relax for a bit. 

When the (mostly) unpainted hordes collide!

 o/

'TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE!'

The last words attributed to Chaplain Schaff of the Black Dragons

Screech and I got together for a game wednesday night, or rather we sorta did. We got a late start due eating out beforehand and that combined with having to work the next day meant we made it thru two measly turns. This likely also saved me from getting tabled. Nonetheless here are the highlights in lieu of a proper battle report. 

My army, that being the Black Dragons & Friends.

The 'friends' being the once thought to be extinct Incandescent Coyotes lead by Lt. Boughtflower.

Screech did his best to keep track of VPs and the scenario, however after a tactical blunder on my part turn one that I was unable to recover from, and quickly seeing which way the flames wind was blowing, I pretty much ignored all that and just tried to kill shit. 

The Salamanders in all of their unprimed glory (note: the one squad that is primed was gifted to Screech in that state). 

Whilst I did kill some stuff, due to the aforementioned blunder (and a few other errors, due to lack of gameplay), a lot more of my troops were getting killed instead. 

Oh by the way, no dreadnoughts were damaged in this engagement.

So what was my unrecoverable mistake you ask? Well, having the first go, I moved towards the Salamanders and their all weapons are assault and can advance and fire (often literally) with no ill effect detachment. AKA: the Firestorm Assault force.

Tactical error number one: Moving forward.

'But Sir, the odds of navigating a Firestorm Assault Force are approximately 3720:1!'

'NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!'

I normally run the Dragons with the good ol' Gladius task force, but this time tried the Anvil Siege Force. What I should have done, was either stand still and ignore the lack of weapons in range, or better yet, move deeper into my own deployment zone on turn 1. 

These guys ought to have gone into reserve, rather than scouting directly into literal hell. 

Then, when the flaming banzai charge came at me, my troops could simply plant their feet and unleash hell! But, it is what it is, and at the start of Screech's first turn where EVERYTHING started to advance, I realized welp, that was dumb & I'm about to lose. 

The Incandescent Coyotes outflank to bolster my all but incinerated flank. After taking some wounds from the not so far off burna boys, a Terminator squad would deep strike in behind them, unload and...finish off a lone, wounded marine. Yeah, I'm still fine with not having any termies myself. 

I also forgot that when a Hellblaster dies, on a 4+ it gets a parting shot. No idea how I forgot this as they're my favorite type of Primaris marine. As cool as it is for every unit to have a special rule, it ultimately is a lot of crap to keep up with. Sure it is all there on the datasheet, but how much time in each game do we really want to spend reading the fine print?

Anyways, at the end of my turn 2, after the Reiver Sergeant waded thru 32 pyreblaster wounds, and some long ranged heavy intercessor shooting (losing his squad in the process), he decided to go out with just one word:

CHARGE!

The Primaris golf cart is assembled!

o/

How do you say 'DAKKA, DAKKA, DAKKA!' in Primaris?

Yeah, yeah, I know they call this thing an 'ATV" but actual ATVs have ground clearance. This thing would likely bottom out on a street side curb! Space marine bikes (both new and old) have always suffered from this trait as well. 

As you see it above, its outfitted in the infantry killing configuration. On the nose it has the driver operated, twin-linked bolt rifle, as well as the pintle mounted Onslaught Gatling Cannon (weaponry naming conventions clearly don't follow the 10th ed 'simpler' concept). 

Collectively pumping out a whopping 10 shots a turn from this little buggy! Add to that, the bolters rerolling wound rolls, and the gatling having devastating wounds, this little ditty ought to be a priority target. As such, I see some outflanking maneuvers in its future...

mmMMmm...Toasty!

Or swap out the gatling cannon for a multi-melta (the bolt rifles are fixed), and you get what my buddy Rob's commented: 'Fast moving multi-meltas scare me.' Noted. Although, that's not as much of a concern for me, were I to face one of these (Nevereness has one for example), as I tend to run basic infantry hordes with minimal vehicles and elite units. 

Snap-fit for the win!

As you can see above, the pintle mount and the gunner's arms are not glued in place to allow for the swapping of the main armament. Also, both the gunner, driver, the ATV's handlebars and the cross-shaped armor plate in front of them are also removable to make this easier to paint. 

That said, due to all the nooks and crannies even when it is halfway unassembled again, this will likely go to the Black Dragons. Because well, deep down little details will not really be seen, especially when everything is black. Also, it will give me the chance to drybrush on some lavender 'dust & grime' to match the rest of the army's basing which ought be an interesting change from the norm. 

Henry Rollins, Black Dragons Ancient

 

Yes, because he's carrying a Black Flag. 

This guy's been knocking about on my desk for a few months, so I decided to finally paint him up. Like all of my Dragons he painted up fairly quickly being predominantly of just one color: black (you'd think I'd have more of them painted...). Unfortunately said color makes these guys a bit difficult to photograph as they try to turn into silhouettes. 

There are 7 decals on the standard alone, including the first use of the chapter icons from my new decal sheet.

I'm not sure as to just what type of or how many accolades Mr. Rollins has racked up in his long and varied career, but with this model he gains one more: The most decals that I've ever added to a single infantry model; 11 in total, yeesh.

The left pauldron icon, and a white wing on the thigh armor plate which signifies...something.

The right side thigh plate no doubt tells of his epic deeds. That, or perhaps its just a collection of links to his personal website & webstore, Wikipedia page, Facebook and Instagram...

Armed with the Standard bolt rifle, he's not the most potent of characters, though he does make for a nice centerpiece model who will easily stand out amongst the still mostly primed black horde.  

Insert Khorney joke here. 

Hobby-wise, my 2024 is so far a bit of a mixed bag...

 o/

My previous Black Dragon pauldron icon decal sheet was down to less than a squad's worth!

On the upside, my Black Dragons army has been saved from certain doom due to a lack of decals. My remaining decals from the now defunct Silver Drakes turned out to be a hellova lot less than I had realized. As such I had stopped painting any more Black Dragons as I agonized over which eight infantry models would get the last of my precious decals. 

Fallout hobbies has stopped their completely custom decal service that I had used a few years back. I was fruitlessly searching for a replacement decal provider when an Etsy seller suggested Death Ray Designs. After asking the latter a few questions in regards to what I wanted, I received the sheet above. I highly recommend them! Now I have more Black Dragon icons than I'll ever need!

I rarely see this in online battle reports, but I opted for the 'rule of cool' and bought it anyways.

On the holiday acquisitions side of things, I bought a Rebel Landspeeder and some Legion barricades for some scatter terrain when visiting Knoxville last weekend, as Sci-Fi City was having their annual, end-of-the-year 30% off storewide sale. I also got a few random GW paints as stocking stuffers for Christmas, and Screech gave me a $40 Gift card to our local Hobbytown which was awesome. 

Trending downward however, I was looking on GW's website to see what I could buy for 40K for $40. Quickly, I changed to my search to what can I get a $40 discount on for 40K. Sheesh! The prices of minis for 40k are really just shocking! its no wonder that I buy most everything second hand or 3D printed these days!

So many projects, yet so little light...

As much as I would like to work on my new toys and previously on-going projects, all painting for me is currently on hold. After ordering a new LED bulb after I thought it blew, it seems that instead it was my hobby lamp that died. As such it is too dark in my office to paint anything (which is ironic considering my wife's vast, stained glass lamp collection) until the replacement lamp arrives this weekend. 

Black Dragons Ballistus Dreadnought for Dreadtober 2023 is Complete!

 o/

Its well after dark, so my apologies for no outdoors/natural lighting pics.

This time around my buddy Neverness crossed the finish line ahead of me, but I wasn't too far behind. Technically this isn't 100% done as I still need to matte varnish it and the 'ard coat the few shiny bits. However those details are negligible in the grand scheme of things and due to a busy schedule, I likely won't get to that till the weekend at the earliest. 

Some paint chipping was added to the shoulder stripes for some visual interest.

Speaking of that busy schedule, my beautiful and insanely smart wife defends her dissertation for her PhD in Biomedical Sciences tomorrow. She's almost done, wish her luck! 

Rather than prattle on about this project which I've already covered fairly well in its first three parts, I'll let the pics do the talking (well, and maybe the captions). 

Went kinda basic on the side the normally I only see.

The same paint chipping treatment was given to the other arm.

A close up of Olen's name banner, I got it on the first try!

Close up of the alien flora on the base...

...and again on the front of the base.

Many thanks to Marc and all of the other participants (many of whom's projects put mine to shame) for giving me the impetus to paint up the Venerable and Mighty Olen, of the Black Dragons.

Black Dragons Ballistus Dreadnought for Dreadtober 2023 (pt.3)

 o/

Now we're trucking!

Its been a busy week, but I did manage to get some brush time on my Dreadnought, which I've named after an old friend from a now defunct FLGS. Olen was a good old guy who played Warhammer Fantasy Battle with his kids and anyone else who dared come within range of his laser-guided guess-ranged artillery. Olen worked in construction his whole life and could guess ranges with unerring accuracy!

Several years ago, well after Olen's passing I got some custom decals from fallout hobbies, and had a few of these made in his memory. Now I just need to paint his name on that leg scroll.

You'd be playing on one side of the shop and hear his cackling laughter followed (or preceded) by his trade mark battle cry of:

'You'll die like bitches!' 

While Olen was never much of a fan of 40k, he did like Dragons. As such, I figure naming a Black Dragons dread after him would be an acceptable compromise.

Speaking of Fallout Hobbies' decals...

Unfortunately Fallout doesn't do personally customized decals anymore which puts my Black Dragons in a bit of a quandary as the majority of my Dragon icons were used up by my now defunct Silver Drakes. 

Another worrisome of this discontinuation is that when I had the decals made way back when, I only had left side large decals made, meaning I can't have my chapter icons on both sides of any vehicles. Or at least not any full sized ones. 

I had to get a little creative for the right side, and so used a small icon as well as the written saga of Olen's mighty battlefield deeds. 

Black Dragons Ballistus Dreadnought for Dreadtober 2023 (pt.2)

o/

The flesh is weak?

Were this an Iron Hands dreadnought, then I'd be damned near done as large swathes of the machinery bitz have been dry brushed with leadbelcher. A few other bitz and bobs have had other metallic colors applied, but that's about it. This however is not an Iron Hands dread, so instead this week's forward progress can best be described as: minimal.

Its all so...monochromatic. Its seriously giving flashbacks to my old 4th ed. Iron Hands army.

Black Dragons Ballistus Dreadnought for Dreadtober 2023 (pt.1)

o/

The New and Improved Space Marine Dreadnought, now with talons!

Well its that time of the year again folks. Like so many, I too have recently purchased a new Ballistus dreadnought from the Levithan boxed set, and why not go ahead and paint it up rather than having languish in primer for...possibly ever. Right? Right.

I chopped up a beastman's skull from the skulls basing set to give my dread some of the requisite Black Dragons' claws. 

I'm off to a good start as my dread is already built, primed, and even battle hardened. There's not much in the way of conversion potential with this kit, but a few added dragon's horns and claws with hopefully help it stand out from the norm. 

Naturally, one of these two horns went on easily, and the other dropped down into the sarcophagus, threatening to never be seen again...

Black Dragons Intercessors

 o/

These were all supposed to be in the same squad, however then I noticed a second sergeant model...

Following hot on the heals of my Ultramarine Assault Intercessors, are my first five painted Black Dragon Intercessors. I first started work on the Sergeant with the hand flamer and claw (CCW). Then I figured batch painting would be a better idea and grabbed and primed four more random guys for a combat squad of five. 

Sergeant with hand flamer and CCW.

A slightly better view of the adamantium tipped claw that extends from his right arm.

However it wasn't long before I realized that one of the four random dudes that I grabbed out of the pile was a second sergeant model. Well crap. Oh well, now that they're completed, they'll split into two partially painted squads rather than just one painted unit. 

Not pictured, but to the right is the shelving unit/wall of gaming stuff. 

In other news, 18ish months after moving into our house, the basement is cleared out enough to finally have Da Battle Bunka ready for proper use. Frankie and I have played a few games of Alpha Strike in here already, but it was very crowded around the table with very little room to maneuver. Now I just need to add posters to the walls and a second desk chair (which is on order).