Dr Porkov's 40k stuff

Next plans for CSM's and Necrons

2012-01-28T19:00:00.001Z

Well, as one of my local GW stockists is closing down soon, they're having a closing down sale and I managed to get a second Necron Ghost Ark/ Doomsday Ark. This will be made into a second (and final) Doomsday Ark. After that, any future Necron purchases will probably be in the Troops or Elites departments.

For my Chaos Space Marines, I have obtained the models for a third squad of Thousand Sons. To make these look different to the other squads, I'll use Liche Purple as the colour of the armour trim, as opposed to the normal blue. The helmet will probably be coloured Ice Blue/ Liche Purple. Also, some of the Khorne Berzerkers will be painted gold with black or red gore trim.

First painting commission finished

2012-01-21T20:03:00.001Z

So, today, I have finished a first - the first time I have ever been asked to paint a model for another 40k player. The model in question was the Chapter Banner bearer for Marneus Calgar's Honour Guard. There are some minor final cleanup tasks to do on it, followed by putting some flock on the base and that's it!
I also feel that I will probably have another honour in being the first to kill that model in a battle, as I will be playing against the player next week with my CSM's. A picture will be up soon.

Necron Lychguards

2012-01-08T21:17:00.001Z

Here's another unit of Necrons that I finished not too long ago - Lychguards. 5 of them, armed with warscythes, as they are close combat weapons that scare pretty much anything they come up against into getting killed/ damaged/ destroyed/ whatever.
I'll probably use these as an entourage for one of my two Overlords.

At the moment, out of the Necron models I've got at the moment, I only have some Warriors and 3 Deathmarks to build and that will be it for a while - when I'll resume working on a backlog of Chaos Space Marines.

Necron Cryptek conversions

2012-01-08T21:05:00.003Z

So, here are a couple of Necron conversion jobs that I did recently. I decided to create a couple of Necron Crypteks, as opposed to using the regular Finecast models. These were made out of various Necron parts, starting off with a Necron Warrior, with some bits from the Praetorian kit.

The main reason why I decided to create conversion models rather than use the official GW models is so that I can try a particular type of model out, as opposed to go to a particular expense and then decide that I didn't like it after a few games. That said, however, I have tried out certain types of 40k models through conversions and not been disappointed, such as Chaos Space Marine Obliterators.
Another factor is that model conversions are also part of the hobby, especially when Matt Ward himself (he who wrote the Necron codex) created a Cryptek out of various parts as a conversion job. Well, if it's good enough for people who work at GW, it's good enough for anyone else.
Constructive comments welcome, as usual.

Necron Destroyers

2011-12-27T13:33:00.002Z

So, an update on how the building of my Necrons is progressing.
Well, I've finished 3 Lychguard (2 to go), 1 Scarab base and the second of two Destroyers. One factor that slowed down building/ painting of the second Destroyer was that I was toying with the idea of converting it into a Heavy Destroyer. This was hastened a bit when I got two boxes of Necron Warriors and a box of Immortals/ Deathmarks for Christmas. There, an opportunity arose, as I planned to make the Deathmarks, rather than Immortals and had some gauss guns as bits. I also took the optional tesla gun that you could put on the bottom of the Annihilation Barge and used that as spare bits.
Finally, out of the 'gauss gun' tubes and bits from the Annihilation Barge's gun, I cobbled together a big, long barrelled, gauss gun that will do the job as a heavy gauss cannon. Here's what the end result looks like

Another plan I have is to try and cobble together a Cryptek out of a Necron Warrior, an altered Praetorian head, bits of two Rods of Covenant and a Praetorian backbone and any other bits that seem appropriate. This has been somewhat influenced by seeing on GW's blog that Matt Ward (he who wrote the current Necron codex) himself made a Cryptek as a conversion job.

As usual, comments and (constructive) criticisms are accepted! (Note: My ability at conversions is probably better than my painting)

More Necrons got

2011-12-23T19:39:00.002Z

I've now got a bodyguard for one of the Necron Overlords, in the form of a box of 5 Lychguard/ Praetorians. I'll probably build these up as Lychguard with warscythes and probably paint them as follows:
Black undercoat, painted boltgun metal, followed by gryphonne sepia wash, then ogryn flesh. Some of the armour plates will be painted regal blue, with some gold, yellow or purple added in somewhere.

Progress with Necrons

2011-12-21T20:12:00.001Z

So, I have now finished building/ painting the big Necron vehicle that is the Doomsday Ark, with its nasty mega cannon of doom! This means that I am now able to devote my time towards the Annihilation Barge, of which quite a bit is built, apart from the main tesla cannon. One thing that has sped up painting time was my discovery to find that a £1 shop in my local town centre was stocking 300ml cans of spray paint in black, silver or white. This is considerably cheaper than the £7-9 that 400ml cans of GW or Army Painter stuff comes in at.
I have tried the spray paints out on the Annihilation Barge, a Destroyer, a plastic conversion job model that doubles up as a Necron Lord and some Chaos Space Marines. So far, the results are satisfactory and the silvery spray comes up in colour terms similar to Chainmail/ Mithril Silver. It will, however, make the job of painting Necrons a bit easier, although the silvery colour could be a bit too light for the CSM's but we'll see about that.

More 40k models acquired

2011-12-11T21:56:00.001Z

So, in the event of purging out my Space Marines in favour of other armies (notably Necrons), I ended up trading some models for twenty-odd CSM's, a Chaos Terminator Lord and a Necron Annihilation Barge with Overlord. This means that I have obtained thirty to forty new CSM's and a few extra Necron models. Most of the new CSM's are undercoated black (and no more than that). I'll probably paint these in the Kings of Chaos style (and maybe think of selling off old metal CSM models).
I'll probably have to strip the paint off the Annihilation Barge before I re-work it, but luckily the previous owner didn't fix the bottom gun or the main guns to the model (this presents opportunities rather than burdens). Also, I've already started work on painting the second Overlord. Eventually, I will get around to painting the second Destroyer (that I got over a week ago - maybe I may have to get some Dettol to strip the paint off and destabilize the glue - we'll see). Well, that's all for the moment!

Necron Overlord

2011-12-03T22:32:00.001Z

Here is the first of my Necrons built. The main colours are regal blue, gold, purple and burnished gold (boltgun metal, washed with dark brown and sepia). This type of colour scheme is similar to a unit of Kings of Chaos Thousand Sons that I am painting/ building as well.
For other models, I may have the metallic colours being gunmetal for regular warriors & immortals, bronze for lychguard/ praetorians and gold/ dull gold for lords and crypteks (who could be bronze instead).

Some more Necron recruits

2011-12-02T22:50:00.001Z

So, I made my first visit to nearish-to me gaming club DWARF (Dunfermline Wargaming & Roleplaying Fellowship) for a 3.6k per side Apocalypse game of CSM's against 4e Tyranids, where a lot of blood was spilled on both sides (apart from blasted Termagants and Hormagaunts re-spawning due to the defunct Without Number rule). The game ended after 4 turns in a draw.
During the proceedings, I traded some Warhammer Chaos Warriors for 15 general Chaos Space Marines, a couple of Necron Destroyers and a plastic conversion job that resembles a Necron Lord. So, what I'll probably do is paint the new CSM's in Kings of Chaos colours (dull gold & black) and re-paint the Necrons to my preferred colour scheme. I may do some further alterations to the 'Lord' model, to make him look more like an Overlord (using some spare bits, as well as maybe make a Resurrection Orb out of Green Stuff).
Mind you, it will only be 3 or so weeks until I get my hands on some Warriors and Immortals/ Deathmarks to flesh out other bits.
On another note, I've finished building & painting the Finecast generic Overlord model. Now, all I've got to do is put a picture or two of him up online here or on Deviantart.

Necrons started!

2011-11-24T19:55:00.001Z

So, I have started upon the path of the Necron! All of my pigs are wanting to become Necropigs or Canoptek piglets.
More seriously, however, I have just got the Necron codex and an Overlord, which will be accompanied by some Necrons and Immortals come Christmas time.
The main colour scheme I am going for is Boltgun Metal/ Regal Blue, with a golden armour scheme for the Overlord. Pictures will come later, once models are built/ painted

Currently contemplating Necrons

2011-11-22T21:11:00.001Z

I am very much thinking of the idea of re-starting Necrons, following the advent of the new (5e) codex.
So, I am currently thinking about what colour scheme to use and what I will go for is to have the main models painted in boltgun metal & regal blue (for some plates). For other models such as lower level characters, I'm thinking of using a couple of washes to make them coloured bronze. Then, for Overlords, I'll have them with the metallic areas done in burnished gold.
In order to reduce messing about, if I go for Destroyers, I'll probably take some conventional Destroyers and make them into Heavy Destroyers, by conversion due to altering the gun to make it twice its normal length, but with a thinner barrel.

New small projects under work

2011-10-15T20:50:00.002+01:00

So, I'm finally going to try to build up the various Space Marine scout models that I've got and the first model is almost finished, namely a Scout Sergeant with power fist & bolter. The rest of the models will probably be equipped with a mix of bolters, shotguns & sniper rifles.
I'm getting a bit closer to finishing the Tactical marines, as I've got 7 models done out of the final 20 and I just have to find the body for my 20th Terminator who will be my 10th Assault Terminator.
Another thing I'm gradually doing is re-doing four Tyranid Warriors, replacing their scything talons with lashwhip/ bonesword combination, along with deathspitters. I've almost finished two models.

Space Marines mostly finished

2011-10-08T18:07:00.000+01:00

So, my Imperial Space Marine army is mostly finished and I have built up about 4,500 points of forces so far.
I have now built the following:
HQ - 3 captains, 1 librarian & 1 chaplain
ELITES - 1 sternguard unit, 2 terminator squads & 3 dreadnoughts
TROOPS - 4 tactical squads
FAST ATTACK - 2 assault squads
HEAVY SUPPORT - 2 land raiders (1 normal & 1 redeemer), 2 vindicators & 2 devastator squads
TRANSPORTS - 2 rhinos.

At the moment, I still have some models to finish off, in the hope that I can end up with 6 tactical squads, 3 devastator squads, 16 assault marines & 9 assault terminators. I also have a drop pod to finish preparing, as well as thinking of what to do with a land speeder storm and whether or not I can do anything with the scouts. I may also end up re-purposing an old predator from my CSM's (well, they've got 9 obliterators and a defiler).

Tomorrow, at the KGC, I'll be fielding this army (well, parts of it) for a Kill-Teams day, as I haven't played as Space Marines for a while.

Update on model builds

2011-09-29T20:35:00.002+01:00

So, I recently got my hands on a second pair of Carnifex-sized devourers, making enough for the 'Dakkafex'. I've just finished painting it up in green with purple carapace and maybe a picture of it will be up soon.
For the Space Marines, my next plan is to build a Captain with relic blade and storm bolter. I've almost finished a fourth tactical squad and third devastator squad.

New Space Marine/ CSM pictures

2011-09-17T19:57:00.003+01:00

So, another recruit has been added to the Kings of Chaos, in the form of a Chaos Dreadnought. It has been painted gold/ red (it follows Khorne!). Now, to make it safer for the rest of the legion, it has been given a pair of dreadnought close combat weapons but it can still chop up its enemies.

Here's what it looks like! The right arm is a conversion job using a claw, heavy weapon arm and green stuff.
Now, I have been making some progress with getting my Space Marines built up/ painted. Here's the first picture. It also shows that white is a pain in the neck to paint properly. This is a space marine captain with jump pack, power fist and lightning claw (armed to deal with quite a lot of different threats).

No doubt, I'll get to putting up more pictures of the Space Marines once I've finished the main squads. The 4th tactical and two terminator squads are one model away from being finished and one devastator squad is one lascannon away from a full complement of four!

Tyranids back in action

2011-09-11T19:51:00.001+01:00

So, after a bit of time off, my Tyranids went back to the battlefield, in a 3,000 point per side battle against Chaos Space Marines. Battle heated up in the second turn, as all of the units placed in reserve came on, including two units of Zoanthropes dropping in, along with a Trygon and two units of Genestealers. These units wiped out a Defiler, 3 Obliterators and two units of Thousand Sons. They were also helped by Hive Tyrants hindering shooting/ close combats with Paroxysm. Two units of Berzerkers were wiped out in close combat over two rounds by a Hive Tyrant and Genestealer unit, although the Genestealers were almost wiped out in doing so. Later, the Zoanthropes got some target practice through hitting a Land Raider with Warp Lances, blowing it up. Eventually, at the 4th turn, battle ended with the CSM's getting totally wiped out.
Before battle, I got and painted up a sixth Zoanthrope, giving me two units of three.

Chaos Defiler repaired and re-painted

2011-09-02T20:56:00.000+01:00

So, my Chaos Defiler suffered an accident last week, when it fell during the Apocalypse battle and suffered a broken back leg. I, however, saw this as an opportunity, as I'm slowly going through re-painting the CSM's to the Kings of Chaos colour scheme.
This ended up with me disassembling the Defiler, re-painting and putting the model back together. The end result was something like this:

Before the re-paint, it was mainly red. Now, it is back in action, ready for battle soon.

Apocalypse game played today

2011-08-27T19:48:00.000+01:00

Today (27-08-2011), I played in a two-part 40k Apocalypse battle, hosted at Kingdom of Adventure, Kirkcaldy. This had between 16,000 and 24,000 points of models on the battlefield, depending on time of day. The organisers were John and Paul Laurie (aka Kraggi and Dragkon), with individual players fielding about 2 - 2.5k each. The 'goodies' side was comprised of mainly Imperial Space Marines, some Imperial Guard and some Chaos Space Marines (who had seen the 'good' side). I was on the 'baddies' side, with Chaos, Tyranids, Orks and Dark Eldar.
The first part lasted from between 10:20 to 13:00, where we got three game turns in, followed by a half hour break (for players who wanted to play in a card game tournament to leave for that) and then, there were the last three turns, lasting from about 13:40 to 15:00. Play was quicker in the second half, as there were probably less players/ models and less disruptions.
Here are some piccies:

During this battle, there were several super-heavy vehicles involved, namely Ork Stompas, as well as many Baneblades and variants, including the Shadowsword and its Strength D Volcano cannon. I scored quite a few hits that destroyed primary weapons or tanks such as Land Raiders or Vindicators, but I didn't lose much in the way of models as casualties. I did get a slight shock when a nearby Stompa blew up near my CSM's, but I didn't take any casualties in that particular explosion. Tyranids had some fun munching up mostly Imperial guard and the odd vehicle and I almost lost one of the Baneblades I controlled.
That said, however, my Defiler is going to have to go into the clinic to get is back leg repaired, as it fell off at some point. It was probably too close to the table edge, it got caught and fell.
The overall score at the end of the battle was that both sides controlled one objective each, with the good side trying to score a last turn rush for the third objective, betrayed by a 1" run roll. Well, it was still fun to play a big Apocalypse battle and it was fairly well disciplined, to have gone through six full turns in about 4-5 hours play with that amount of points present.
Finally, at the KGC tomorrow, I'll be fielding my Dark Eldar, who will face a tough challenge in the form of 2,000 points of Orks.

Update on Space Marines

2011-08-11T19:47:00.000+01:00

So, having finished building/ painting Dark Eldar, my efforts are slowly but surely progressing towards building a Space Marine army. So far, what is/ is being built is:
Captain with jump pack, power fist & lightning claw (done)
Terminator Chaplain (done, older model)
Power armour Chaplain (done, conversion job)
Librarian (done)
Tactical squad 1 - Missile launcher & meltagun, power fist (done 10/10)
Tactical squad 2 - Plasma cannon & plasma gun, power fist (done 10/10)
Tactical squad 3 - Flamer & missile launcher (wip, 6/10)
Assault squad 7 - (wip, 6)
Assault squad 8 - (wip, 5)
Terminator Squad - (wip, 7)
Assault Terminators - (wip, 5)
Sternguard squad - 2 melta guns, power fist (wip, 8/10)
Dreadnought with twin lascannon & missile launcher (done)
Dreadnought with multi-melta & power fist (done)
Dreadnought with assault cannon (still to start)
Devastator Squad 9 - various heavy weapons (wip)
Devastator Squad 10 - various heavy weapons (wip)
Vindicator 1 (almost done, needs siege shield fitted)
Vindicator 2 (wip)
Rhino 1 (done)
Rhino 2 (almost done)
Land Raider (done)
Land Raider Redeemer (done)
Land Raider Crusader (still to start)
So, I've done quite a few models and I'm still wondering why they chose white and blue for the pre-heresy colours for the World Eaters, given that white is a pain in the neck colour to paint. I've still got quite a few models to finish off but it will definitely keep me going for a while.

Big 40k game played today

2011-07-30T23:42:00.000+01:00

So, today (30-07), I played a big game of 40k, which was a (somewhat altered) game of Planetstrike at a local game store called Kingdom of Adventure, Kirkcaldy. This was a 2 v 2 game, where I was one of the attacking players (Dark Eldar), with a Chaos Space Marine ally and some Necrons added for good measure. The defending side had Space Marines, Blood Angels and Grey Knights, played by Kraggi (from the Varcan Cluster )and his brother, Dragkon. The sizes of the attacking and defending forces were in the order of ~6,000 points per side and we played 4 turns, spanning 2 and a half hours.
Here's what the initial battlefield looked like (the playing area was 4' x 12'):

We managed to get some early damage in, like this:

After about an hour, there was quite a bit of devastation.

Shortly after that, we let rip with an altered firestorm, in the form of seventeen S10 AP2 pie-plates on the defenders, destroying some buildings and units.

The Dark Eldar later turned some attention to blowing up some bigger stuff with dark lances and blasters (especially useful against AV14), tearing down the Stormraven and buildings. Close combat was a mixed bag, with the Incubi excelling in wiping out two units and Wyches wiping out one (before getting fried by a Dreadknight's special superflamer). Other assaults ended with units running away, but those ones were not designed for close combat.
Finally, on the last turn, we made a last-minute push towards claiming objectives, as demonstrated by an unused Wych unit in a Raider advancing towards two objectives, getting out and spreading out to claim both.
The battle ended with a win for the attackers, having claimed 7 out of 9 objectives. This was a fairly hard-fought battle and the next time this type of battle is played, some extra ground rules will have to be arranged.
Here is what the battlefield looked like at the end:

So, that was it for the morning battle that day. On Sunday, I've got another battle arranged for the Dark Eldar at the KGC.

More Space Marines to work on

2011-07-18T22:48:00.000+01:00

Well, I've probably built up a significant base to create most of (or what feels like it) a Space Marine company. I've now picked up (through trading my High Elves) a Land Raider Redeemer, Terminator Chaplain (one of my conversion jobs), another Vindicator, a Rhino, a Drop Pod, heavy weapons, Sternguard, Assault marines, Dreadnought & various other Space Marines.
Now, I'm stripping the paint off of these and then I'll get to working on doing them up. The chapter they will follow is World Eaters (pre-heresy). That'll definitely keep me occupied for a while and maybe within the next 6 months, I'll have a Space Marine army ready for battle.
On another note, I had some fun in playing a 1,500 pt battle of Dark Eldar v Ultramarines. This battle had the annoying moment of one of my two Ravagers not wanting to stay on its flying base, which broke, as did the one for my Venom. Now I know why I refuse to glue skimmers to bases.
Apart from that, the battle involved a combination of bad luck for the Smurfs and fortunate destroying of important threats, especially with reserve units taking their sweet time to get there (turn 4 at the earliest). It was also accompanied by multi-meltas that didn't want to hit their targets. Luckily for me, I shut down a Thunderfire cannon by shooting a Venom's two splinter cannons at its Techmarine, causing his armour to buckle. I also shot up four Land Speeders in good order and got a 5-man Incubi unit to kill off a 10-man Tactical unit, despite losing two of their number, as they lost their initiative, charging through terrain. I did miscalculate with a unit of Wyches, who failed to destroy a Land Speeder with their haywire grenades, only for a dark lance to blow it up and kill several of them with the resultant explosion. They were then finished off by bolter fire (out in the open). They were, however, avenged by the Talos Painbastard Engine, shooting and chopping up guys, followed by the last member of that unit voluntarily running away.
Other heavy threats were shut down by dark lances taking out the Predator, Dreadnought (immobilising and destroying) and the rocket launcher on the Whirlwind. Flickerfields saved the asses of my vehicles enough times, although my Raiders eventually bit the dust. Due to most of the Smurf infantry staying off the board for half the game, very little happened to my models.
At the end of the battle, the Smurfs got hammered by the Dark Eldar by 7 points to 3. Well, I'll give the Dark Eldar a break and let the Chaos Space Marines have some fun for a week or two.

Back to Space Marines

2011-07-16T20:59:00.000+01:00

So, having finished painting/ building work on Dark Eldar for the moment, I'm back to building/ painting up Space Marines (in pre-heresy World Eaters colours). The plans I have for the moment are for preparing two Devastator, one Assault, one Sternguard, one Tactical and one Terminator Assault squad (with some Rhinos for transport).
One factor that is taking a bit longer than usual for progress is that I acquired models through trading and I had to remove the paint from these models before I can start on them.
I've found some thunder hammers and storm shields for the Assault Terminators and found some heavy bolters for either Tactical or Devastator squads. I've also built up a Chaplain from a regular marine, with fancy parts that you would normally fit onto Sergeants to make it look more convincing.
Here's the end result of the Chaplain.

Other models that I have finished are a Terminator Captain, Librarian, two Tactical, one Assault and one Terminator squad.

Dark Eldar army

2011-07-11T19:34:00.000+01:00

So, here is the full force of my Dark Eldar army, weighing in at a bit over 3,000 points. I was due to play someone a 3,000 point game against CSM, but my opponent didn't turn up.

(Photo taken at Kirkcaldy Gaming Club, my regular battle venue)
Instead, I played against a new player's Space Wolves in a 1,200 point game and completely annihilated all of them. It wasn't a totally one-sided battle, as my Wracks with Ancient Haemonculus broke/ ran away (with no possibility of regrouping) in the second round of their combat and a Wych unit lost and got torn up in a sweeping advance (despite avenging the fall of the Wracks at the hands of Logan Grimnar). The Incubi played well, scoring extra hits from Onslaught and killed Njal Stormcaller & some Blood Claws, avenging the death of the Wyches.
That's the main body of the Dark Eldar finished for the moment, unless further optimisations come to mind and they shall look forward to causing terror to other armies.
Some final models were added to the list, in the form of the rest of the Wracks and the Haemonculus.

Next up will be working on some Space Marines.

Dark Eldar Wracks in progress

2011-07-05T21:00:00.000+01:00

So, I am currently working on painting up my last unit for the Dark Eldar, in the form of ten Wracks (my first ever purchase of Finecast models). I hope to have all ten models done within the next few days, as I am going to be playing a 3,000 points per side battle against Chaos Space Marines. I have got seven models painted (five finished, two need some final touches and three have to get started). Here's what the first five models look like.

These are nice, fearsome looking models and I plan to kit the unit out with two liquifier guns and an agoniser, followed by a Haemonculus and they should be a fearsome unit in close combat that can scare Plague Marines and even monstrous creatures.

Picture of re-fitted Talos & Scourges

2011-06-26T20:53:00.000+01:00

So, here is a picture of my re-fitted Dark Eldar Talos, comprising of parts from the old and new model kits. The additions from the new kit were to replace the twin splinter cannon with a twin heat lance, put a helmet on the middle pilot and replace the ichor injector with the twin liquifier gun (as the ichor injector arm was refusing to stay on).

This model went into battle today, in a 1,100 point per side Dark Eldar v Dark Eldar battle, fought as Annihilation. Unfortunately, it got rather over-ambitious, trying to fight the remnant of a Wych unit and an Archon and found itself on the bad end of the Archon's huskblade (his strength was enhanced due to combat drugs). Fitting the liquifier gun was still a good idea, however, as it can still annoy enemies.
I finished another unit today, in the form of the Scourges. Last time I posted pictures on here and on deviantart, I put up pictures of the first three models. Now, the whole 10-member squad is finished, armed with shardcarbines, haywire blasters and heat lances. This unit will probably not see action until my Dark Eldar see a bigger battle, however, as it weighed in at just over 300 points.

Here is an image of the end result.
Finally, I ended up partaking of my first ever Finecast models - A Haemonculus and two boxes of Wracks. So far, I have only just got started on working on these guys, as I had to finish off the Scourges and the last Kabalite Warrior unit. I haven't found any defects on the models, although there was quite a bit of very thin flash on some models but that was in the form of layers that were only some microns thick and was removed quickly and very easily. Upon removing the 'sprue', the resin models have very little mass to them - they would be considerably lighter than equivalent metal models and they could even be bordering on being lighter than plastic replicas. This is speculation, however, as these models have not been made in plastic or metal.
Of course, one difference with this material is that you have to be more delicate with it than you are with metal models.
I'll see to working on these new models as soon as I can.

Dark Eldar Talos re-fitted and DE/ CSM battle

2011-06-22T20:52:00.000+01:00

So, earlier in the month, the Dark Eldar got the new, all plastic Talos/ Chronos Painbastard Engine (I know I'm calling it that, but only in the nicest terms), I saw an opportunity to tool up my old, metal Talos with some nice new pieces of kit. These were obtained from someone who built the model up as the Chronos and didn't need the Talos parts and the parts in question were the twin liquifier gun, twin-linked heat lance and a helmet that would go over the model's head.
Now, why did I go for two ranged weapons? Well, for that type of model, you can fire both weapons in its turn and the liquifier gun looks like a nasty anti-infantry weapon, especially if I roll the die for AP and get a low number (Space Marines and Terminators be afraid!). Secondly, I can use the heat lance to kill heavy infantry or try 'vaping' a vehicle.
Another thing I am contemplating, however, is to magnetize the bit where I put the twin heat lance on and set it up so I can put the twin heat lance or twin splinter cannon on (just in case I'm up against Tyranids or Orks). That will be for the future, once I can find magnets small enough from a local supplier. The alteration job for fitting the weapons was finished on Tuesday and is ready for the next time my Dark Eldar go out onto the battlefield. I'll try to get a picture of the altered Talos up soon.
Finally, on the Sunday that just passed, I ended up fighting a 1,500 point battle with my Chaos Space Marines against Dark Eldar. I had a couple of battles against Space Marines and Chaos with Dark Eldar and I wanted to see what it would be like to fight against Dark Eldar.
My enemy (naturally) got up close and personal, fighting close combats from turn 2 and mashing a lot of what they came up against. My Defiler went boom in turn 2 to a Raider's dark lance. My two Obliterator squads did, however, avenge its demise, destroying the evil vehicles (mainly after their passengers got out) that failed their saves and one Obliterator unit ended up smashing up a Trueborn Kabalite unit and was about to flame a 20-man Kabalite unit if it wasn't for the fact that the game ended at turn 5. My Daemon Prince of Tzeentch held down a unit of Bloodbride Wyches that contained Lelith Hesperax before dying in the second round of close combat. His demise was probably hastened by the combat drugs allowing re-rolls to wound (which were very helpful to the Wyches). Chaos did put up some resistance in close combat, with a Plague Marine unit holding up a unit of regular Wyches with an Archon for a little while before being chomped up by power weapon attacks and stripping the unit down to an Archon (or was that after some plasma or bolter fire?). Upon attacking a regular CSM squad, the Archon met its match, as the attacks from the regular CSM's shorted out the shadow field, followed by a single hit from a the champion's power fist pulverising the Archon. So, Chaos mostly excelled in shooting, while the Dark Eldar excelled in sneak tactics (including pulling out a webway portal early on, to get reserves into action as soon as possible). It was a close battle, with Chaos winning marginally by 5 points to 4.
Next time I play against Dark Eldar, I must remember to take out vehicles as soon as possible and put as much distance as possible between my forces and theirs.

Kabalite Trueborn unit finished

2011-06-16T11:34:00.000+01:00

So, that's my 10-man unit of Kabalite Trueborn finished and it is generally blaster-heavy, as there are 4 blasters and 2 dark lances, designed for shooting down vehicles or heavy infantry (with some shardcarbines for annoying infantry).

To mark them out as Trueborn, their armour is golden, rather than purple and there are some Scourge heads in amongst the models, along with 2 blasters and 3 shardcarbines that I also took from the Scourge box set.
The final Dark Eldar projects for the moment will be to re-fit a Talos with a liquifier gun, do one more unit of regular Kabalite Warriors and expand the Scourge unit to 10 models.

More Dark Eldar (continued)

2011-06-09T20:29:00.000+01:00

So, as I got a bit more money for my birthday, I ended up getting a few more Dark Eldar models, in the form of the new Scourges (5-member unit). Compared to the older, all-metal models, these new guys are way better and have more weapon options.
The state of play is that I've finished the Scourges and they look like:

These guys are kitted out with an agoniser & blast pistol for the Solarite (unit leader), 2 shardcarbines, a haywire blaster and heat lance. I didn't go for dark lances, as I think that putting heavy (move or fire) weapons on jump infantry was akin to pouring boiling hot water into a chocolate teapot!
The colour scheme for the models is burnished gold armour (done in the same way as the Kings of Chaos CSM colour scheme) with purple as the other colour for the guns and shoulder/ kneepads.
A unit of Kabalite Trueborn is almost finished - 9 models done and 1 in need of a special pair of arms. The principles for that unit is basically lance-spam, with 2 dark lances and 4 blasters. Now, buying the Scourge box set turned out to be a nice boon, as it comes with 5 shardcarbines (2 went to the Scourges) and I'm kitting out the other 3 Trueborn with shardcarbines. The Dracon (unit leader) is armed with a typical loadout of blast pistol, agoniser & phantasm grenade launcher. Once I get my hands on just one more blaster, I can get the 10th and final model of that unit finished (after applying 1 or 2 washes of Gryphonne Sepia). Once I've done the last model, I'll put up a picture of the finished unit. (For those of you who have looked at my deviantart page (DrPorkov), you'll already see an image of the Dracon).
The next unit to be made after this will be my 6th and final Troop unit for my Dark Eldar - a unit of Kabalite Warriors with dark lance and shredder, followed by altering my conversion job attempt at a Venom (created from an Eldar Vyper jetbike) to equip it with a second splinter cannon. Another plan will be to try to cadge a liquifier gun for my Talos (once I find someone who's bought the new DE Talos/ Cronos kit but isn't interested in the liquifier gun), as that could be an interesting flamer template weapon (especially if I roll a 1 or 2 for the AP die).
Finally, after all of this is done, I can resume working on my Space Marines (and Chaos Space Marines).

Dark Eldar reinforcements in progress

2011-05-29T18:43:00.000+01:00

So, I've got myself some more Dark Eldar stuff. This is in the form of a Raider (to be fitted with a dark lance) and two boxes of Kabalite Warriors. This means that both of my units of Wyches don't need to footslog across the battlefield anymore. One box of Kabalites will be made into a unit of Trueborn, armed with two dark lances and (hopefully) two or more blasters for vehicle/ heavy-infantry killing duties. The second box will go towards a fourth unit of regular Kabalites, to make up a total of six Troop units and they will be given a splinter cannon. I may refit the Venom transport to give it a second splinter cannon.

I'm currently contemplating a unit of Scourges, as they will be coming out in the next few days, as a fast-moving anti-vehicle unit (to be armed with haywire blaster & heat lance).

I have had two games using my Dark Eldar recently against Space Marines and Chaos. The Dark Eldar won against these armies and equipping flickerfields on vehicles is a points cost that is well worth paying (especially when you pass an invulnerable save that saves the vehicle from getting blown up). The first ever game they had (against Tau) was a substantial loss.

CSM colour schemes - Kings of Chaos

2011-05-09T20:44:00.000+01:00

As I may have posted earlier, my Chaos Space Marines are in the process of being re-painted. Instead of their current black armour with metallic trim, the new colour scheme is like an inverted form. Basically, they have burnished gold armour with an armour trim colour that changes, based on chaos affiliation. I have named the resultant Chaos Legion to be the 'Kings of Chaos'. They are a broad-church legion embracing generic Chaos followers, as well as those aligned to Khorne, Tzeentch or Nurgle. Finally, they have a simple symbol, 王, which is the chinese character for king.
They are primarily intended as a similar legion to the Black Legion (with a kind of inverse colour scheme), although they do have a higher proportion of Cult CSM's than the Black Legion.

Here are examples of the main paint schemes:
These were created using the Bolter & Chainsword's Interactive Painter (for Chaos Space Marines) that can be found at http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/csmp.php

So, here's what they will look like.

So far, I have painted three squads of different marines, two daemon princes, one sorcerer and one lord.

Space Marine re-boot in progress

2011-05-03T21:06:00.000+01:00

So, I recently decided to re-do my Imperial Space Marines in a new scheme. The scheme they will follow is that they will be painted in colours of Pre-heresy World Eaters, with white armour and blue shoulder pads/ backpacks. Also, for the changed Space Marines, they will use the standard Space Marine codex, not Blood Angels, Space Wolves or CSM, as they will be generic Space Marines.
One part of preparation that is taking a while is removing the red paint off the models (they were Blood Drinkers) but I have recently found all of the bits of a Land Raider that will be fitted with twin lascannon sponsons, twin heavy bolters, multi-melta and a storm bolter.
Other progress that has been made is in the form of a Terminator Captain with storm bolter & power sword, most of a tactical squad (with missile launcher and plasma gun) and a unit of Assault marines. I will probably try to plan for a Devastator squad, Sternguard Veterans, more tactical marines, a second captain and see what happens next.

Chaos Raptor unit finished

2011-04-10T19:35:00.000+01:00

So, I've finished up a 9-man unit of Chaos Raptors, affiliated to Khorne and in Kings of Chaos colours (with black armour trim). These models involved conversion jobs applied to the backpacks, where I cut off the side bits and put wings (from Tyranid Gargoyles) in their place. I may put a picture up showing the models in their unit. They are equipped with 2 melta guns and the champion has a power fist.
The next re-paint job will be my Chaos Lord on Juggernaught, armed with a pair of lightning claws, whose colour scheme will go to burnished gold/ red.

Second Dark Eldar Archon finished

2011-04-03T19:36:00.000+01:00

I've recently finished my second Dark Eldar Archon model. This model is an Archon from the first time that Dark Eldar were unleashed upon the 40k universe and one that I've had for many years, since the first time I dabbled with them.

I've decided that my Dark Eldar forces will be using two colour schemes - purple for regular Kabalite and Wych warriors and gold for Trueborn/ alternative models. The golden colour is dull, burnished gold from boltgun metal, followed by sepia wash - a dull golden colour scheme I'm somewhat addicted to.

Chaos Raptor unit in development

2011-03-27T11:30:00.000+01:00

Having finished the Dark Eldar, I'm going to alter one of my Chaos Space Marine units, turning it into a unit of Raptors, to be armed with two melta guns. This will involve taking regular CSM's armed with bolt pistol & close combat weapon and converting the backpacks, cutting off the side bits that stick out and replacing them with wings (from the Tyranid Gargoyle box sets). I've done two models out of ten and will get on with the rest, which will involve re-paints first (to change from black to boltgun metal coloured armour).

Dark Eldar force finished!

2011-03-25T20:45:00.000Z

For the time being, construction of my Dark Eldar forces has finished, with a force that can must just over 2,000 points.

This is what I have now:
HQ
Archon
Lelith Hesperax
Drazhar
ELITES
5 Incubi (with Klaivex)
TROOPS
Kabalite Warrior unit A (14) with Sybarite, blast pistol & agoniser, dark lance & blaster.
Kabalite Warrior unit B (10) with Sybarite, blast pistol & power weapon, shredder & splinter cannon.
Kabalite Warrior unit C (10) with Sybarite, blast pistol & agoniser, dark lance & blaster.
Wych unit A (10) with Hekatrix, blast pistol & agoniser, haywire grenades, phantasm grenade launcher, hydra gauntlets, shardnet & impaler.
Wych unit B (10) with Hekatrix, blast pistol & agoniser, haywire grenades, phantasm grenade launcher, hydra gauntlets, shardnet & impaler.
FAST ATTACK
Hellions (5) with Helliarch, agoniser
Reaver with Arena champion, power weapon, blaster & cluster caltrops.
HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager with flickerfield & 3 dark lances
Ravager with flickerfield & 3 dark lances
Talos Pain Engine with ichor injector
DEDICATED TRANSPORT
Venom
Raider with dark lance & flickerfield

Hopefully, I will field this force in battle this weekend at the local gaming club and see what to learn from things.

Dark Eldar pictures now up!

2011-03-20T20:26:00.000Z

So, here are some smaller pictures showing my attempt at a Dark Eldar Venom conversion job and painting up Lelith Hesperax (the Dark Eldar 'bitch from hell!')

If you want to see bigger pictures of these models, please pay a visit to my Deviantart presence at http://drporkov.deviantart.com
So, as I only have 5 or 6 more Kabalite Warriors to go until I have a usable force, I am currently aiming to have all my Dark Eldar ready for going to battle next Sunday (27th March) at my local gaming club. Let's see how they do in battle!

Dark Eldar update

2011-03-19T20:53:00.000Z

So, having seen someone at my local gaming club's attempt at a conversion, making a Dark Eldar Venom transport out of modifying an Eldar Vyper jetbike, I decided to make my attempt at a similar conversion.
I made one out of a Vyper jet-bike and some parts from a Dark Eldar Ravager, including a pair of splinter rifles and a splinter cannon. I'll get a picture of the finished model up soon, as the model is (for a first version) finished.
Apart from that, I recently got what I call the Dark Eldar 'bitch from hell' model - Lelith Hesperax (special character Succubus). I'll paint the model with purple clothing, green hair and Elf flesh/ blue wash. Once I finish the model, I'll get picture(s) up eventually.

Current Menoth models finished

2011-03-06T21:33:00.000Z

So, I've finished building/ painting the models that make up the starter Warmachine for the Protectorate of Menoth faction. I've not used the standard Privateer Press colour scheme for these models, as I've got mostly GW paints, as they're probably very difficult to source locally.
Colour scheme used:
Armour - boltgun metal/ gryphonne sepia wash, with warlock purple trim
Symbol - Liche purple
Bronze parts - Dwarf bronze
Robes - Dheneb stone/ gryphonne sepia wash
So, here are images showing the models, as painted:

Now these models are finished, I shall go back to painting some Dark Eldar, in the form of 2 units - 1 x Wych & 1 x Kabalite Warriors and a Ravager.

Dabblings with Warmachine

2011-02-26T18:49:00.000Z

So, today, I've contemplated dabbling with Warmachine and got my first few bits - the Mk 2 rulebook and a Protectorate of Menoth battlegroup, just to get started. I'm planning to do the paint-scheme a bit different to the normal setup, as I've got GW paints, not PP.

My plan will be to have the armour mainly painted dull gold, with Warlock Purple trim and brass bits.
Later, I'll get the models undercoated black, then Boltgun Metal.

New Plague Marine scheme in progress!

2011-02-04T23:41:00.000Z

So, while I'm waiting until the 40k Chaos tournament at my local gaming club starts in May, I decided to change the colour scheme for my Chaos Space Marines. Effectively, they will be changing their legion from Black Legion to one of my (hopefully) own schemes - Kings of Chaos. The armour is burnished gold with different colours of armour trim, based on affiliation. The Chinese character for king is used as the symbol, as it's very simple to write.
I have tried out some Khornate and Tzeentchian models in this new scheme, as may be discovered on my Deviantart gallery (drporkov). Now, it is time to have some Nurgle followers done up. So, I'm re-painting a unit of Plague Marines in this scheme, with dark green as the armour trim colour. In the near future, I should have some finished models posted up.

Progress with Dark Eldar and CSM's

2011-01-29T20:25:00.000Z

So, I'm into round 2 of a small 40k competition at my local gaming club (Kirkcaldy Gaming Club), where scoring involves kill points for destroying units, as well as three objectives (1 major objective in the the centre and two other minor objectives). I have two battles in this round - Chaos v Orks and Chaos v Imperial Guard.
Last week (23rd Jan), my Chaos Space Marines had a very hard fought battle that started off very well for the Orks but the CSM's resisted, held up in close combat and turned the tables. Lots of casualties were suffered on both sides. The final result was a Chaos win (14pts to 6pts). Within the next two weeks, I'll get to fight the Imperial Guard and see who gets in to the final.
On the painting side, I am about to start re-painting one unit of Plague Marines in the Kings of Chaos colour scheme - burnished gold armour with green trim (to signify Nurgle). Also, the last unit of Dark Eldar that I have at the moment - Incubi are almost finished.

Construction almost complete (Dark Eldar)

2011-01-16T11:11:00.000Z

So, I'm getting nearer to the end of building/ painting the Dark Eldar models that I've got to start off.
The second unit of Kabalites is making progress (with splinter cannon & shredder), as are the Hellions and I've finally got the new Archon model. I did like the fact that the arms on this new model are not attached to the body, meaning that you can stick arms from other sets instead. So, I decided to fit arms for a blaster and agoniser (combining the agoniser and soul-trap seemed rather pointless, as the agoniser is not a poisoned weapon). The Archon has just a few finishing touches to go.
Once I've got everything in the current set built, I can maybe think about putting these guys out onto the battlefield.

Progress on Dark Eldar (continued)

2011-01-06T22:08:00.000Z

So, I've got more of the Dark Eldar done now. The following models are done:

Drazhar, Master of Blades
Kabalite Warriors unit 1 - dark lance, blaster & sybarite with blast pistol and agoniser
Wyches unit - hydra gauntlets, shardnet/ impaler & sybarite with blast pistol, agoniser and grenade launcher
Talos
Raider
Ravager

I've just started on the last 3 sets, the 2nd Kabalite Warrior unit, Reavers and the Hellions.
I also discovered a slight compatibility between plastic Dark Eldar and Eldar guardian models, as I had some spare Dark Eldar torsos (probably from the Raider and Ravager kits) and spare legs from Eldar guardians and the end result is three more Kabalite Warriors (so one unit will be 13, the other 10).
Another possibility I'm considering is whether or not to go with a Harlequin unit that can be shared between Eldar and Dark Eldar (and maybe allowing Maugan Ra to count as a Death Jester).
I'm still looking for my old metal Archon model from many moons ago and if I don't find him, I'll probably just get the newer model and think of ways to convert him to have a blaster or blast pistol & agoniser.

Nothing to fear against Imperial Guard, then.

2010-12-27T11:56:00.000Z

So, I have had four battles recently against Imperial Guard.
The first of these four was for the 'Scumbag Cup', hosted at my local gaming club against someone who has played as Guard for a while but is more into infantry than tank-spamming. This was a 1,500 point per side battle against my Chaos Space Marines and there was a lot of blood spilt on both sides and not much left on the battlefield. A marginal win for my CSM's (6-5) on kill points.
One of the younger players at the club recently decided that he would adopt Guard as well, and mustered about 900 points of forces. I put an equally sized Eldar force against them (890 v 886) and let my new, all-plastic Fire Prism act as heavy support, along with the Avatar, 1 Vyper and 3 Dire Avenger units. It was fairly impressive to see 28 guardsmen die in the first turn. The Fire Prism destroyed an Armoured Sentinel and a Valkyrie flying transport, while the Avatar put paid to a Leman Russ (or variant) that was trying to pie-plate me. The Avengers also ended up foot-slogging 2 units towards a 3 lascannon-wielding heavy weapons team that luckily didn't manage to do anything worse to the Fire Prism than inflict 'Crew Stunned', due to holo-fields. Eldar won by complete annihilation.
The week after, the new Guard player got some more tanks and models and wanted to fight against Chaos. The first battle was 1,300 points and the second was 1,500 points (due to him borrowing another tank). In these battles, it was mainly the Obliterators and a Daemon Prince smashing up vehicles, while the Defiler decided to pie-plate the heavy weapons team, which I made a priority target, as he had 3 lascannons in that unit - they had to be destroyed! Another good choice was kitting out 2 squads with flamers, especially in the second battle, where a large unit of guardsmen were advancing. My response was to let rip with 2 flamers and a combi-flamer for 3 templates worth of flame. No survivors! I did also feel that the suggestion of fielding 2 3-man Obliterator units in 1,300 - 1,500 point battles actually paid off, even though I prefer not to have 6 or more Obliterators on the battlefield unless I've got 2,000+ points to play with. Let's see how this new Guard player learns playing with this army in the future.

More Dark Eldar to work on

2010-12-27T11:33:00.000Z

So, the little Santa pigs have been generous to me and given me some more Dark Eldar goodies in the form of a Ravager, 1 unit of Kabalite Warriors, 1 unit of 3 Reaver bikes and a unit of 5 Hellions. Of course, these will be painted purple. I'm sure I have an old metal Archon somewhere, but I don't know where I put him.
Current progress in painting - finished undercoating them black.

Dark Eldar update

2010-12-03T17:51:00.000Z

So, Drazhar, Master of Blades is finished, in a purple colour scheme, as well as the 10-man squad of Kabalite Warriors.
I have almost finished the Raider, which will probably be used for either the Kabalites or the Wyches. Once that's all done, I'll start on the Wyches or Incubi. I suppose I could have a look to see how many Eldar Harlequins I've got left, seeing as though they can be used with Eldar or Dark Eldar.

While I've been working on my Dark Eldar, I've switched a couple of Berzerkers over to the Kings of Chaos colour scheme of burnished gold armour with black trim (for Khorne or Unaffiliated CSM's).

Dark eldar work in progress

2010-11-28T22:31:00.000Z

So far, I've got 9 models done and 1 to go for the first Kabalite Warrior unit (just needs gun put on and to be put on a base) and I've started on the Raider (to be equipped with dark lance and no models hanging on) and Drazhar (who will be painted purple, like the rest of them).

I've got some Elf Flesh paint that I'll use for the skin colour for the Wyches, who will be the next unit to paint up, while I get some Chaos Space Marines re-painted in the Kings of Chaos paint scheme.

Dark Eldar painting started

2010-11-11T11:58:00.000Z

Now, I have the following for my Dark Eldar forces:
10 Kabalite Warriors
10 Wyches
5 Incubi
1 Raider
I've finally settled on what colour scheme I will use and the main colour is Liche Purple (over a black undercoat).
Some armour plates are Dwarf Bronze and the leathery/ flayed flesh will be painted Khemri Brown. Hair will be painted with Mordian Blue, followed by drybrushing with Ice Blue.
So far, I've painted one model (Kabalite Warrior with splinter rifle) and maybe I'll put a picture up of her later (or on Deviantart).

New Dark Eldar out!

2010-11-04T13:03:00.000Z

Yesterday, I got my hands on the new Dark Eldar codex for 40k, giving Dark Eldar their first new proper codex in 12 years. I also bought a box of Kabalite Warriors, as a starter, to see whether or not I'll do at least a decent job in painting these guys properly. Once I've got that figured out, I'll have a better idea of where to go next with them.
I must admit that these guys have some very nasty armaments available to them that don't care how tough their targets are. Ravagers could also be fun at chucking out either 3 dark lance shots or up to 9 disintegrator shots (for killing heavy infantry).
Special characters that come to mind are Lelith Hesperax (Dark Eldar close combat super-bitch from hell) and Drazhar, Master of Blades (Is this guy a Dark Eldar Phoenix Lord?)
No doubt, after my participation in my local gaming club's 40k competition (Which I affectionately named 'The Scumbag Cup') comes to an end, I'll no doubt see how my armies fare against new Dark Eldar.

Idea for new colour scheme for Khorne Berzerkers

2010-10-30T19:32:00.000+01:00

So, I've painted up a tester model to see how a second paint scheme would work for my 50-something Khorne Berzerkers. I've already done 8 models as a squad with burnished gold armour and red trim. Now, one of the other colours suitable for Khorne is black. So, I'm thinking of having one of the other units with the same burnished gold armour, but with black trim instead of red trim. Here is one model that's already been done in this scheme to give it a try.

So, what do you think? (Please feel to leave constructive comments)

The perils of Daemon weapons

2010-10-24T20:50:00.000+01:00

Well, today, I had a 3,200 point per side, 2 against 1 battle (I was the '1') of 40k with Chaos Space Marines on all sides. The enemy had 3 special characters and a Daemon Prince and I had no special characters. 2 enemy special characters had daemon weapons - Abaddon and Typhus but they suffered bouts of 'Epic Fail' and got sent back to the warp without even striking a blow in close combat.
How did that happen? Well, the player rolled a 1 for the number of extra attacks in both cases, causing the weapon to rebel and lead the character to spend the combat phase re-asserting his control over the weapon. In Abaddon's case, this happened while he was on his own, fighting a Terminator unit with a mix of power weapons/ fists. He lost his first wound to a heavy flamer and lost the rest getting punched out by the Terminators while he got to do nothing, as he was too busy fighting with his sword.
Typhus and a unit of Plague Marines decided to attack my unit of Plague Marines. His weapon rebelled in combat, so he could do nothing and his entourage couldn't land a killing blow on my unit. My unit's champion, who was in direct contact with Typhus, smacked him with one power fist blow, killing the plague-dealer in one hit.
Kharn the Betrayer, however, doesn't have a close combat weapon that rebels against him, although he can stab allies in the back. He didn't get to strike a blow in close combat, as his entourage were blasted to bits by extensive fire from Thousand Sons and a unit of Obliterators. A second unit of Obliterators put paid to him by shooting lascannons, finishing the job off by causing his body to explode.
One final piece of epic failure happened when my opponents' Daemon Prince, who was down to his last wound, lost his last wound trying to fry one of my general CSM units with Wind of Chaos. He suffered a double 6 Perils of The Warp result, meaning that the power did not get cast, he got wounded, failed his save and died!
So, the morals of these episodes are that special characters should be accompanied by an entourage if they want to wipe out units. Daemon weapons can suck when you really don't want them to and when they do mess up, you will suffer for it really badly when your opponent strikes you back with impunity. That's just the fickle nature of Chaos with you. I've suffered at the hands of renegade Daemon weapons in the past, but have seen them wreck terrible carnage upon those unfortunate enough to be on their business end.
Be careful out there, fellow Warmasters of Chaos.

Tyrannofex 2 finished

2010-09-24T19:31:00.000+01:00

So, I've finally finished my 2nd Tyrannofex, converted from a Carnifex model, with added rupture cannon (2 stranglethorn cannons), 2 pairs of scything talons, normal legs and an oval base. To make it different from my first Tyrannofex model, this one is painted dark green/ purple.
Here is a smaller version of the end result picture.

For a higher resolution version, go to http://fav.me/d2zdpw1

Updates to CSM's

2010-09-20T18:59:00.001+01:00

As I've got a 4,000 point per side Apocalypse battle coming up, I did some revisions to my CSM's.
Now, I've been fairly busy with some re-formatting of the CSM army. I recently acquired one of the new plastic Daemon Prince models, painted him blue with gold/ blue armour and he is following Tzeentch. My former metal Daemon Prince of Tzeentch got a re-paint, a pair of metal wings and two new plastic arms. He is pink with gold/ Warlock Purple armour and now follows Slaanesh. All I'll have to do now on that front is get another Daemon Prince, paint him green and I'll have one Daemon Prince for each Chaos power.
On the other side of things, I've re-painted my 4 plasma gun-toting CSM Chosen unit in gold/ blue armour and given them the Mark of Tzeentch. My Terminators have been given the same colour scheme and a Tzeentchian icon for a 4+ Invulnerable save (in the form of an Epic Pink Horror).
Finally, I got 5 more Terminators, converted 3 of them into gold/ black armoured Obliterators and the other 2 are replacements for the Terminator squad, to give them 2 more combi-weapons (1 melta and 1 flamer). The unit now has 6 combi-weapons & 2 heavy flamers.
You can see the end results of what I've been doing with the Chaos at my gallery site at http://drporkov.deviantart.com . I have a feeling that I'll end up, over the next year, with a totally different CSM army (in terms of paint job).
Main armour - gold, with the outer trims of the armour painted in a colour associated with whatever god they follow.

i.e: No affiliation - black. Khorne - red. Slaanesh - purple or pink. Nurgle - green. Tzeentch - blue.

Chaos Alterations

2010-07-28T19:57:00.000+01:00

I've decided that a couple of my Chaos Space Marine units for 40k will get a change of colours, to signify them falling in with Tzeentch. These will be a unit of 10 Terminators and 10 Chosen. However, they will have a notably different colour scheme. Instead of the usual blue armour with gold trim, the armour is dull gold with blue trim (a kind of inverse colour scheme).
At the moment, I've got 3 of each unit painted up and samples are shown in my Deviantart gallery at http://drporkov.deviantart.com.
Another change is that in order to help with the cost of two Warhammer armies, my Space Marines are going goodbye and have gone on sale. After this, I will have three 40k armies (Chaos Space Marines, Tyranids and Eldar) and two Warhammer armies (Dwarves and High Elves).

Warhammer Ahoy!

2010-07-28T19:53:00.000+01:00

So, I've decided to make an attempt at embracing the new (and notably different) 8th Edition of Warhammer (the fantasy battles). I will have two armies - Dwarves and High Elves.
At the moment, I have about 1,300 - 1,500 points of Dwarves already and got myself the High Elf Army box set (normally priced at £100, but it's nice to be on friendly terms with one's local stores to get it for less). I also got an extra two Bolt Throwers and more Archers. Once built, all of the High Elves will come in at a shade below 3,000 points (If that doesn't say commitment, what will?)
The colour scheme I've decided on is the one with white robes and Warlock Purple as the contrast colour.
At the moment, I have 20 Spearmen built up & painted, along with one Archer.

No doubt I will put pictures up on my Deviantart page of units/ characters when built.

Recent changes in my forces

2010-07-07T18:56:00.000+01:00

Well, over the past few weeks since I last posted, I have done some newer colour schemes for some of my 40k stuff.
Firstly, I acquired a second unit of Eldar Warp Spiders and painted them in a green colour scheme, to tell them apart from my other unit and make it more reflective of the craftworld they are attached to (Biel-Tan).
Secondly, following the attempt of painting Sanguinary Guard in that dull golden colour scheme, I thought it might be a good idea to use it on some of my Chaos Space Marines. So, I took a unit of 8 Berzerkers, painted the armour in Chainmail with red trim, followed by Gryphonne Sepia wash and it looked quite nice. I'll probably try doing a similar colour scheme for some CSM's with the Mark of Tzeentch.
Other pending paint jobs are a unit of High Elf Spearmen, to be painted with white robes and Warlock Purple as the other colour, as well as 20 Tyranid Gargoyles.

New Dwarf units built

2010-05-21T20:20:00.000+01:00

So, a change of tack this time. I have now finished a couple of Dwarf pieces of heavy weapons, in the form of a second cannon and a bolt thrower. (These are metal sets, not the plastic ones). I have also decided on what symbol they will use for their clan. They will be the Karaz-a-Kerak and will use the symbol 王 (the Chinese character that means king). Maybe when I get around to getting two or three units, they will be ready for battle.

Two eldar units finished

2010-05-06T16:53:00.000+01:00

Well, two Eldar units I purchased recently are now finished/ built/ painted.
First, we have the Wraithguard, who I fielded last week and they caused a bit of destruction. Being accompanied by a Warlock helped, as he put paid to a Dreadnought who charged into them.

Secondly, a second unit of Warp Spiders. These were painted green, to tell the difference between them and the other Warp Spider unit. Another difference is that this unit has 5, not 6 members.

Eldar additions again

2010-04-29T20:16:00.001+01:00

So, I have got a small unit of Eldar Wraithguard and I have several Warlocks already, which means that I can have a unit with a Warlock to avoid the 1 in 6 chance of them shutting down. I will be painting them in Biel-Tan colours (Orkhide shade base, then Emerald Green). I'm currently uncertain about whether or not to keep them on the original 25mm bases or put them onto 40mm bases, as if they are the Eldar equivalent of Terminators.
I should have the models painted up in time for a battle against Space Marines on Sunday.
Picture to follow later.

Sanguinary Guard

2010-04-22T20:30:00.000+01:00

Sanguinary Guard models built, painted and given the works!

Death Company got their debut and a bit of optimisation will be needed before their next outing. What I'll do is get rid of 3 power fists and replace them with 3 power weapons and bolt pistols. This is almost finished now.

Next, my Daemon Prince has been re-painted, going from black to blue armour, with the mark of Tzeentch. This will be just in time for my 2nd CSM battle for the small Chaos Carnage tournament.

And then there were two!

2010-04-11T11:30:00.000+01:00

So, I've now build the 2nd Death Company Dreadnought, and can use 2 of them in a big enough battle, as I have 12 Death Company troops.

It's mostly metal, apart from the all-plastic chainfist arm. I will be looking forwards to playing my Space Marines in a 3,000 + point battle.

Space Marines update

2010-04-09T13:19:00.000+01:00

Well, I re-did my Captain on a jump pack, using most of a death company model and equipped him with a lightning claw and melta pistol. The armour was originally painted in Chainmail, followed by a Gryphonne Sepia wash for the gold colouring. The end effect is as above.
The Death Company are almost at intended strength, as I have finished two more models and have two more left to do (with chainsword and hand flamer or infernus pistol).
Finally, I'll get to give my Space Marines a battle under the new Blood Angels codex this weekend.

Blood Angels successors finished for the time being!

2010-04-06T20:24:00.000+01:00

So, I've finished organizing my Space Marines for the time being, until I've had my first few games. This organization was due to me getting the Blood Angels codex and my Marines being of a successor chapter, called the Blood Drinkers.
I've now got about 7,500 points of models and over 100 models in the Troops unit section. There are 3x 10-man Assault units with special weapons, still 6 Tactical squads with a couple of heavy weapon swaps, another Scout added and the Death Company now with 8 models.
The Devastator squads now have all heavy weapons the same - one unit has 4 lascannons and the other has 4 plasma cannons. The Rhino-based tanks are a bit more pricey and the Land Raiders are now Transport units.
I've also built up a new jump-pack captain, wearing gold armour, with a lightning claw and melta pistol.
For more details of the organization of my forces, go to Dr Porkov's armies.
So, how have the new Blood Angels been faring in 40k since getting the new codex? Well, I've seen 2 battles of 3,000 points per side against Chaos Space Marines and in both cases, CSM's were victorious.

On another note, the Chaos Space Marines have another Sorceror to play with.

Model update

2010-03-25T20:22:00.001Z

So, I created a Khorne Berzerker lord of Chaos, on a Juggernaught, wielding a plasma pistol and a Bloodletter Hellblade (acting as a Daemon weapon). I decided to paint the model black with red crosses, as a parody of the Blood Angels Death Company, as if he was a Fallen Blood Angel.

Next, talking of Blood Angels, I finished the second bike squad of the Blood Drinkers, with 2 plasma gunners and a Sergeant armed with a power fist.

Also, here is a photo of the Blood Drinkers Death Company, mostly finished - 7 models done, 5 more to go but I won't be able to get the remaining 5 until next week (which is when they come out).

Finally, I am trying out Photobucket as an online store for images on this blog, to see how it works

Space Marine force revamp in progress

2010-03-19T18:20:00.000Z

So, I'm currently working on re-versioning my Blood Drinkers Space Marines, in line with what they'll be getting in the new Blood Angels codex, coming out in 2 weeks time. I can use this codex, as the chapter I've painted the models as is a Blood Angel successor chapter (I made the colour scheme decision over 9 months ago)
I've decided to have 3 ten-man Assault squads, one unit with 2 flamers, one with 2 melta guns (anti-almost anything) and one with 2 plasma guns (anti-infantry). This would be one set of tactics that I'm used to with my Chaos Space Marines. I'll also plan to have the Death Company, planning for 12 models and I've got 7 done already - half with power fists and half without. It will also be fun, with Rhino-based vehicles getting to move faster, especially Vindicators. There will also be a Death Company dreadnought, in the form of an Ironclad that I decided to paint black with red crosses (so I've done that already).
I do also like the look of the Sanguinary Guard and the Sanguinor (special character who can't join squads), as nice looking Jump pack Veterans. However, the new codex is still not out yet, so I still have some planning time to go. I'll also have to re-paint all the heads of any Veteran models (including Sergeants), as Blood Angel veterans have gold, not black helmets.

Additions for Eldar army

2010-03-17T19:58:00.000Z

So, in preparation for a battle of Eldar v Eldar coming this weekend (March 21st), I got another transport in the form of a second Wave Serpent, armed with shuriken cannon and twin-linked starcannon (for anti-infantry punch). These vehicles will probably be used for transporting my two units of Fire Dragons about the battlefield to bring their enemies to their doom, as they will be usable in future games as well.

New Eldar models built and ready for later battle

2010-03-11T21:38:00.000Z

So, I got myself some new Eldar models about a week ago, in the form of the old Seer Council box set and Fire Dragons (then I discovered 2 more Fire Dragons). Now, I've painted them all up (and will get round to posting them up later (as well as my having finally painted Phoenix Lord Karandras). That means I now have 18 Fire Dragons (1 squad of 10 and a squad of 8) and I'll get round to buying another Wave Serpent, to allow both units to have transports. (I did have 19 or 20 Fire Dragons, but I had a spring clean and got rid of some models that I deemed superfluous).
Now, these models are ready for an Eldar battle on the 21st, before I send my Chaos Space Marines off to battle to fight in Chaos Carnage 2, starting at the end of March.

Swarmlord model built

2010-03-06T21:00:00.000Z

So, the making of a Hive Tyrant into a Swarmlord is complete (at the second attempt). I took four scything talon arms, repositioned the hands so they pointed the other way around and firstly tried making the boneswords out of just green stuff. Disaster!
So, I tried again, and I decided to have an underlying structure to start from and build from that (in the form of a plasticard bonesword, fleshed out with green stuff). Second time lucky. So, here's the end result (if you want to see a higher resolution version, look at my deviantart page at http://drporkov.deviantart.com

Update on forces refurbishment and new website operational

2010-03-03T13:02:00.000Z

So, I've got some of the additional Tyranids stuff built/ painted - in the form of several extra Warriors, a green Hive Tyrant with devourers, a fifth Zoanthrope, more gaunts, extra Raveners (now split into two units) and extra Genestealers with scything talons (along with a Broodlord) to make a second 20-member Genestealer brood. Further plans will involve the building of a third Hive Tyrant, who will be imagined to become a Swarmlord - I'm trying building 4 boneswords using green stuff (although I could do a fall-back and use plasticard instead). I will also do another two or three Tyranid Warriors to the second unit. These models will be painted in the Zentran colour scheme, as opposed to the Gigil scheme.
If you're wondering what these colour schemes are, you can find out at my new website, at http://dr-porkov.webs.com. (NOTE: This website, content and images were done by me using Adobe CS4 software and you might want to use a CSS3-capable web browser) This gives information about my 4 main Warhammer 40k armies.
The Eldar will be getting some extra refurbishment with the Farseer and 7 Fire Dragons getting painted up, 6 of which are newer models.
Finally, on Sunday (7th March), the Chaos Space Marines will be getting some practice in for the upcoming Chaos Carnage 2 event that starts on March 28th. I will be testing the use of two 3-man Obliterator units, as well as a Defiler with a twin-linked lascannon instead of the standard Reaper autocannon and a winged Daemon Prince. Eventually, I'll get round to putting more photos up on this blog.

Tyranids Update

2010-02-21T19:27:00.000Z

Well, I've acquired more Tyranid stuff, in exchange for some Eldar and I'll have, by the end of it, 3 Hive Tyrants, 3 Carnifices, 5 Zoanthropes, 1 Tyrant Guard, lots of Tyranid Warriors, more Termagants, 2 Genestealer units with Broodlords and a Lictor.

This may take a while to do, however, as I'm going to disassemble the models (the metal ones are easier to take apart), then repaint/ rebuild the models. I'll also have to figure out what armament to give the Carnifices, as they're now in units and all have to be equipped the same way. I'll probably give them scything talons and crushing claws, as a unit designed for 'can-opening'.

The Mawloc and 2nd Chaos Obliterator unit have both been built (the Obliterators have seen combat, and the Mawloc is ready to do battle next Sunday).

So, this will keep me occupied in terms of model building/ painting for a little while.

More building and conversions

2010-02-10T16:44:00.000Z

So, I ended up getting another Trygon model kit on Monday, and this time, I'm going to be making a Mawloc, which is supposed to arrive from underground, blasting models above it out of the way (or killing them) but it can do so, then go underground for a turn, then come back up the following turn. This could be interesting and the model is almost finished (it will be painted green/ purple).

Next, I've decided to try the idea of two CSM Obliterator units for my Chaos Space Marines, as they seem to have a weapon for every occasion and my first unit of these guys have been doing quite well (and not getting killed that often). This time, I'm basing the models on metal CSM Terminators, I've added the green stuff and just have to source weapon parts to fit.

Tyrannofex Conversion completed

2010-02-02T21:39:00.003Z

So, that's it - the Carnifex to Tyrannofex conversion is complete. It was initially based on the illustration in the codex and uses 3 pairs of scything talons as limbs and two stranglethorn cannons as a rupture cannon for long range damage. The 'oval base' is made out of a CD case and is roughly the same dimensions (apart from height) as the Trygon's base.
Here are a couple of pictures of the end result and I have submitted this model for the BOLS Tyranid Hobby Challenge.

Tyrannofex Conversion job

2010-02-01T22:17:00.003Z

So, I played my first game using Tyranids yesterday, against a Blood Angel army (2,000 pts per player) set to 'Annihilation' mode. There was much blood and ichor shed for Baal's Blood God on the battlefield and it could have gone either way, apart from some mistakes made at my end, which fragged a couple of my units, notably the Genestealers and the Trygon.

The Trygon arrived, forgot to fire and got shot up by as much heavy and small arms fire as possible and didn't make it past its first turn. The Genestealers forgot to fleet and charge the assault marines and got shot to bits by a Land Raider as punishment.

Now, to the main point - Tyrannofex. I am basing this conversion on pictures on the GW website of a conversion done by a member of GW's staff, as well as the picture in the codex. The starting point was a Tyranid Carnifex, with its legs and weapon arms removed. The extra parts were a couple of carapace parts (to help justify the 2+ armour save), as well as three pairs of Carnifex-class scything talons (the fluff says something about being supported on three pairs of limbs, which appear to be like scything talons), as well as two Stranglethorn cannons physically combined to make a Rupture cannon (that's what the GW staff guy used) and some green stuff to help attach the cannon to the torso and fill any structural gaps.

How is it going so far? Well, the cannon is attached and dosed with green stuff and extra plates put on. Now, I'll let the green stuff set, paint parts of the talons green and then, the hard part - positioning the talon limbs and sourcing/ making a suitable base (Trygon-sized oval base dimensions). That will be for later and should be all finished, in time for a possible Sunday debut.

I'll put pictures up when I've finally got it all built (anticipation of much cursing).

Additional Tyranid stuff

2010-01-29T22:14:00.002Z

Well, I've got some more Tyranid models, in the form of two Zoanthropes (got 2nd hand) that were only base-coated black. So, I went with my revised green/ purple colour scheme (Orkhide Shade, Knarloc Green, then Gretchin Green and Liche Purple, then Leviathan or Hormagaunt Purple) and with some pinning, they're ready for battle. This means I have 4 Zoanthropes, arranged in two units of two.

I also did some trading and got 20 Termagants with Devourers (assembled and primed in white), as well as 4 more Tyranid Warriors. These new models will probably be finished in 2-3 weeks and will be painted in green/ purple. When they are done, the size of my Tyranid force pool will break the 3,000 points mark.

Pictures of Tyranid Army - Part 1

2010-01-16T23:40:00.000Z

First, the Trygon Prime that I built today.
Second, the unit of Raveners - 3 of them are plastic and 2 are older metal models

And finally, the Hive Tryant - I added a Carnifex carapace at the back to represent the 2+ save enhanced carapace and put an Adrenal glands part on top to add some more close combat power.

Tyranid Rebuild-continued

2010-01-16T00:03:00.000Z

So, most of my proposals for re-building my Tyranid army are finished, as far as getting them in a usable state are concerned. I got some Raveners & a Trygon, as well as the new 5th edition codex this week. The Raveners are built, the troop units are organised (with a last minute buff to the Genestealers) and all that's left is the Trygon and I should have between 2,250 and 2,500 points of force to use (for the moment).

Here's how the force will look

Hive Tyrant - Lash whip, bonesword, heavy venom cannon, extended carapace, adrenal glands and using the Leech and Paroxysm powers

Tyranid Prime - Two boneswords, deathspitter, adrenal glands

ELITES

2 Zoanthropes (I will eventually get around to getting a third one)

TROOPS

20 Genestealers (including a Broodlord) - with adrenal glands (pricey squad, that one)

3 Tyranid warriors - with rending claws & deathspitters

4 Tyranid warriors - scything talons, 3 deathspitters, adrenal glands & 1 venom cannon

24 Termagants with devourers

16 Termagants with fleshborers & toxin sacs

30 Termagants with fleshborers

FAST ATTACK

5 Raveners - with thorax-mounted deathspitters

HEAVY SUPPORT

Trygon Prime - with adrenal glands & regeneration

Carnifex A - with scything talons, stranglethorn cannon & frag spines

Carnifex B - with crushing claws, heavy venom cannon, frag spines & adrenal glands.

Once they're all done, I'll post pictures either of the force as a whole or each unit individually. Hopefully, I'll let them play within the next few weeks, deciding on what to add on.

Chaos Sorcerers

2010-01-02T18:05:00.000Z

I've recently finished building and painting a couple of Chaos Sorcerers for my Warhammer Chaos army. One has been painted purple and will be a follower of Slaanesh, while the other is green and will follow Nurgle.

While the green sorcerer is on a round base, this is only temporary, as he will be put on a chariot.

New Vanguard squad built

2009-12-26T12:02:00.001Z

Well, I got myself a unit of 5 Dark Angel Veteran models, for use as Vanguard veteran models for my Space Marine army. These models were painted red, with black robes, black helmets and skulls for squad symbols. The sergeant's shoulder pads were painted black, in line with Blood Angel colour schemes. The main reason for creating this squad is mainly to act as an 'honour guard' squad for my chapter master, as though honour guard cannot get jump packs and they're all armed with power weapons to scare off enemies. The armaments for the squad are 3 power weapons, a pair of lightning claws and a power fist (in case walkers attack the squad).
I also did a partial conversion on a Terminator heavy flamer arm, for use with marines in power armour. He will be used in a Sternguard squad.
Edit: picture added

Tyranid Rebuild

2009-12-12T13:40:00.000Z

So, as you lot probably know, the Tyranids for Warhammer 40k are getting a new codex, which will see quite a few changes to Tyranids when it arrives next month.

Well, I ended up going to my vault and discovered some Tyranid forces I still had (i.e hadn't sold off). I still had an old Hive Tyrant, Carnifex (Screamer-killer), Zoanthrope, Ravener, Genestealers, 5 Tyranid Warriors and about 40-something Gaunts. This appears to be a viable remnant for a re-build.

So far, I've put all the bits for the Tryant together and re-based him on a 60mm round base. The Carnifex has been put back together as well, although I took a spare carapace part from a plastic Carnifex kit, cut it in half and put that on him, as well as a pointy tusk that I put on his head. I just have to find a 60mm base for him and that will be it.

The Warriors will be in 2 units - one red, one green.

The Gaunts will be all regular gaunts over 4 or 5 units, I'm not too sure about Hormagaunts, as I found them a bit too easy to break from their bases.

As for Raveners, I have one at the moment and will probably get the new plastic set and go up to 4 or 5 of them.

Of course, one model I would love to get would be the Trygon/Mawloc, as it's big and nasty and a heck of a lot cheaper than the Forgeworld model.

Then, wait until the new codex arrives before final tuning.

Why there is a minimum age limit in 40k

2009-12-07T13:03:00.000Z

Yesterday, I ended up realising why there is a recommended minimum age limit at my local gaming club of 12+. I found this out when trying to play in a 40k game with 3 young children as my opponents against my CSM's. The game only got three turns before time ran out because they ended up running off and playing about quite a bit of the time, not playing the game. This activity also ended up annoying players in other games, as their actions were disruptive as well.

Basically, there was the impression that children whose ages are at the single-digit level may be quite happy to paint their plastic/ metal models but they're not so interested or patient enough to actually sit down and actually play the game.

So, my opinion is that while these young ones may be the 40k/ Warhammer gamers of the future, it is probably best that they wait several years (i.e. until they reach High School age) before they actually start playing. By that point, they should be more mature, able to understand the rules and have the patience needed to play. Until then, they are perfectly welcome to spectate.

Terminator Chaplain

2009-12-05T19:57:00.000Z

This is my new Terminator Chaplain for my Imperial Space Marine army (Blood Drinkers Chapter). It's an all-plastic model, with various Space Marine parts from Dark Angels and general Space Marine sprues adorning the model. The Crozius Arcanum was the most extensive part, created from a Chaos Space Marine Terminator arm which had a power axe. The axe head was chopped off and replaced with a winged Dark Angel symbol with the bottom part cut off.
The skull head was from a Warhammer Warriors of Chaos regiment set.
Overall, this should make a fearsome looking model, worthy of the name 'Chaplain'. This is the second Terminator Chaplain conversion I have ever done, the first being a Chaplain designed for my Space Marines, when they were Dark Angels.

Game results for w/e 29.11.2009

2009-11-30T22:05:00.001Z

Well, one game of 40k played that week. This time, it was my Space Marines getting back to battle with their new Terminator Captain. The game was an Annihilation with two players (Mel and Matt [who got nicknamed 'Smurfy'] playing Blood Angels and Ultramarines) against one (me) with 3,000 points per side.
My Sternguard squad (10 guys wearing black robes) deployed in a drop pod, which scattered 12" away from the enemy but they had a hand in killing of some of the blues, including a Captain (who died by meltagun), and two Devastator squads. My altered-Dante Chapter Master took the fight to a squad, accompanied by a 10-man assault squad, only to get ambushed by a Dreadnought and a Terminator Squad with Librarian. The Chapter Master gradually tore up the Terminators who fled off the board after their 2nd turn of combat. Dreadnought died by lots of 'Weapon Destroyed' results.
Meanwhile, my enemy's Death Company were in a Land Raider that popped smoke in the 1st round to annoy my bikes, who got chopped up. They were backed up by an assault squad. Overall, they tore up a Tactical squad before getting blasted by another 2 squads, a Dreadnought and Predator. Blood Angel Tactical Squads started getting seen to by my Terminator Captain's Assault Terminators, who were supported in their job by a Land Raider Redeemer frying some enemy up.
(How do you like Blood Angel Space Marines? Rare, Medium, Well Done or just completely ******* incinerated?)
The battle ran to turn 5 due to time constraints, by which point, the Ultramarines were down to 1 man and the Blood Angels were battered, although they did take a few squads out but none of my vehicles (mostly lascannon-equipped). End Result - Blood Drinker win on kill points!
Next weekend, my evil, brutal Chaos Space Marines get to spill blood for their gods - I'm not sure if I'll have the Slaaneshi CSM's ready by then - we'll see. Finally, the next time my Space Marines field Terminator squads, they will have two full 10-man squads to play with, as I acquired some (Blood Angel very well-painted) more Terminators.

Slaaneshi Marines started

2009-11-27T20:32:00.000Z

I have now got 4 Slaaneshi marines painted, including a Noise Marine champion and a sonic blaster troop, as well as a couple of general Slaaneshi CSM's. Here is a picture of the Champion, which will probably need some refinement in the paint job.

I might tidy up the purple hair, black/ brown ink over the bolt pistol and going over the pink armour with purple or magenta ink/ wash.

He is armed with a power weapon, bolt pistol and Doom Siren.

Terminator Captain (finished model)

2009-11-27T20:24:00.000Z

Created from an old 1st edition 40k Terminator Captain. I used the body as was and removed the storm bolter and power fist arms, leaving only the shoulder pads.

Additional parts from Assault Terminator plastic set - 1 lightning claw arm and thunder hammer/ storm shield arm set. These were cut at the bottom of the shoulder, keeping the weapon/ arm part, losing the shoulder bits.

After that, I painted the model red, in line with my Space Marines following the Blood Drinker chapter (Blood Angel successor chapter). Finally, I cut off the metal slottabase tab, smoothed the bottom of the feet down and put him on a 40mm base.

Blood Drinker Terminator Captain - conversion started

2009-11-25T12:36:00.000Z

I had an old metal Terminator Captain model lying around, armed with storm bolter, power fist (with aux. grenade launcher) and power sword. Currently, I have a plastic Terminator model with a storm shield and lightning claw currently acting as a Captain.
What will I do? Well, I'm replacing the storm bolter and power fist arms with the lightning claw and storm shield (plastic arms). The metal arms are cut down to just the shoulder pads and the plastic arms are cut at the top (removing the shoulders). Next, I will put the parts together and voila - a new Terminator Captain model.

What will I do with the other model? Maybe I'll find storm bolter and power sword Terminator arms, as well as a skull head, make a rod with an Imperial eagle symbol, paint the model black, adorn with lots of scrolls and I'll have created a Terminator Chaplain. Conversion work shouldn't take too long.

When I get the models painted and finished, I'll post up photos of the end results.

Results from w/e 22.11.2009

2009-11-22T23:36:00.000Z

Three games of 40k played this week.
1) Combat Patrol. CSM vs Space Wolves. Two mobile special weapon-armed squads of CSM's against a landspeeder with a 2-shot firing missile launcher and a multi-melta, a regular squad and long fangs - not fun. Destroyed the regular squad and the speeder and died at the hands of the long fangs. The importance of 'death from a distance'. CSM loss (annihilated). I wonder what Space Wolves will be like in the bigger battles I'm more used to.

2) CSM vs Imperial Guard and Space Wolves (1,500 points per side)
Very one sided that one. Imperial Guard Valkyries were very evil transports from hell.
CSM loss (I got pretty much annihilated but my opponents fielded nasty forces for tournament prep - if their lists didn't kill, kill,kill, they wouldn't be much cop.)

3) Eldar vs Blood Angels (2,000 points per side)
This was an objectives battle (one objective per side). I decided to play Eldar this time, as I had already played against my opponent in the past using my Blood Drinker space marines and my CSM's (and I won by complete annihilation).
This battle ran the full distance (7 turns), probably due to both objectives being at opposite ends of the table diagonal. The Blood Angels were very assault-oriented, while I had lots of shooting, with some close combat support in the form of howling banshees, Maugan Ra and the Avatar.
The main parts of the battle were Death Company charging out of a Rhino (protected from shooting by the smoke launchers being fired in first turn [pesky cover save prevented it from being blown up!]). Backed up by an assault squad, they mostly kicked a Dire Avenger unit before the 'cavalry' arrived in the form of the Banshees tearing them apart with power weapons, with the Avatar getting in on the action after finally destroying a Dreadnought (death by a thousand cuts - took a while).
Another Avenger squad was chopped up by Terminators coming out of a Land Raider Crusader. They got wiped out by a squad of Fire Dragons and Maugan Ra killing the Chaplain.
My adage seems to be to get a unit attacked early in combat but have it within reach of several shooty units. Once that unit has been killed, the assaulting enemy wins the combat but gets shot to bits by the surrounding support.
The score was 1-1 for most of the game with both sides defending their objective well. The turnaround was in the last few turns, Eldar heading towards the other objective, aiming to contest.
This ended up with my Eldar running to the remnant of space marines, with some Avengers, Maugan Ra and a Fire Prism firing away. Finally, when I blew up the building for the last stand, Maugan Ra and Fire Dragons charged the last of the Blood Angels, reducing them to the last man, contesting the objective.
Result - Eldar win on objectives (1-0). Blood Angels lost the objective they held for most of the game and were almost completely annihilated (one model left). Well, Eldar may be a bit more fragile, but they can surely pack a punch.

New CSMs- Noise Marines

2009-11-18T22:41:00.000Z

I have decided to give Noise Marines a go and will devote some CSM's towards a 10-12 member squad of them. These guys have the potential with their sonic weapons to fire a lot of shots and strike at 1 higher Initiative than regular Marines.
They can have normal bolters, sonic blasters (storm bolters or the like with an extra shot if they stay still), blastmasters (heavy bolter firing 1 less shot on the move or a krak missile when standing still) and the doom siren (heavy flamer with 1 better AP)

The colour scheme I will use is mostly black with pink on the leg plates, torso and shoulder pads. The pink is made from a mix of GW's Red Gore and Skull White, as I've got to find GW Tentacle Pink (a discontinued paint) - I've got it somewhere.

I'll go with the options in the box first, then maybe order some sonic blasters in a week or two time (when I've got the models built)

Proposed Squad:
Champion - Power sword, Doom Siren, 7 to 9 with bolters and the other two with a sonic blaster and a blastmaster.

CSM Obliterators

2009-11-15T23:37:00.000Z

Well, here is a photo showing my recently created CSM Obliterator conversions.
They were made from plastic CSM Terminators, green stuff to represent warped flesh you see on the originals and bits from bladed weapons and flamers, melta, plasma and other weapons.
I converted three models to make a full Obliterator cult and I wasn't short of CSM Terminators or special weapons bits either. But hey, it's a lot cheaper than £12 per model.

Results from recent 40k games (w/e 15.11.2009)

2009-11-15T23:23:00.000Z

So, I have played 2 games of 40k this week. The first game was on Wednesday CSM vs Black Templars (played by Caz at Kingdom Of Adventure), 2,000 pts per side. This was a brutal battle with BT squads thrashing CSM's in close combat, only to be blasted to bits by nasty CSM shooting. End Result - CSM win on kill points, only 4 marines and 2 Land Raiders left on the enemy's side.
My CSM's now felt avenged, having been marginally defeated by the Templars earlier

Game 2 was at Kirkcaldy Gaming Club. CSM's vs Ultramarines (~1,885 pts per side).
CSM victory with the Ultramarines down to 1 model at the end of turn 6. My only downer was losing Berzerkers to a mix of lots of shooting and close combat. A fast attack Ultramarine flank was humbled by a Defiler, Plague Marines and a Daemon Prince. It was somewhat embarrassing for my enemy to try firing a krak missile at the Defiler, only for it to be 3" too far away to be hit. The Thousand Sons did quite a few kills from AP3 boltguns and the 'deadly flamer'. I also gave my new Obliterator conversion models a try and they did well (killing some Terminators and taking out a Demolisher cannon). They were well worth the time and effort put into the conversion.

I'll put up a photo of my Obliterators soon and continue painting/ building up a CSM squad loyal to Slaanesh.

Starting post

2009-11-15T23:11:00.000Z

Hello, here is the beginning of Dr Porkov's wargaming stuff and it should contain models that have come out of my conversion clinic.
My main wargames are Warhammer 40k and Warhammer, with the following armies:
40k:

Chaos Space Marines (former Dark Angels, Thousand Sons, Plague Marines, Khorne Berzerkers and Slaaneshi followers)

Space Marines (Blood Drinkers)

Daemons

Eldar (Biel-Tan)

Warhammer:

Dwarves

Warriors of Chaos

Daemons of Chaos

I also partake on occasions in Magic The Gathering and Space Hulk.