The Raven's Shadow, The Supreme Grand Master and how bikes are destroying my life.

I have been painting the second half of my Black Knight unit, Squad Kushial, for about two weeks now on and off. For some reason, they just aren't quite clicking for me. Maybe it's my sloppy painting, which is fine as they will be tidied up, but I look at them and just...I don't know. Pretty sure it's just me needing to step away from them and have a fresh look. They aren't far from completion now anyways, with just the Huntsmaster requiring the majority of the work.

After posting my Standard of Devastation list, I realised the only model I would need to run the list would be Azrael himself. However, the original model, while still being very cool, suffers due to being sculpted around 20 years ago when Marine models were generally a bit smaller than now. So, what can I use to create a new Azrael. Enter....this guy!

In case you weren't aware, this is the Captain from the Dark Vengeance starter box. it's a gorgeous piece of sculpting  and would make a great Azrael stand in. Pootank has a few of these boxes he bought to sell for parts on Ebay, so I'll be grabbing a new one from him. Mine will have the bare head from the Deathwing Command box, as I want him to be accompanied by...

I think it's obvious why!

I also managed to find a Dark Talon kit on Amazon for £35 including free postage. I'd say bargain but, well, even that's a bit steep for one model. However, having the spare money, I decided I should probably grab it anyways. I get the feeling that flyers are soon to start making a real dent in the Nerd Garage, with Danny eagerly eyeing the new Tau codex and models, and looking at buying at least one of the new Razorshark/Sunshark kits. Personally for me the star is the new Broadside, just for looking exactly like an anime robot, but the Riptide runs this a very close second. It will be good to have a new army to play against either way! Anyways, say hello to the Raven's Shadow.

Finally, I treated myself to some Forge World items. The new plasma guns are gorgeous, and look suitably old and archaic for the sons of the First Legion. Ten of those ordered pleases! Also, a five man Mark IV squad, as it's my favourite armour mark by a long shot, and I needed something to glue the plasma guns onto in case they were too big for the standard Marine hands.

Standard of Devastation 1500 pt list

Something I just came up with...what are your thoughts on this list?

1500 Pts - Dark Angels Roster


HQ: Azrael (215 pts)

Command Squad (270 pts)
4 Command Squad, Plasma gun, Apothecary, Standard of Devastation, Razorback -  Lascannon and TL Plasma gun

Troops: Deathwing Terminator Squad (240 pts)
Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield, Plasma Cannon

Troops: Ravenwing Attack Squadron (100 pts)
Meltagun x2


Troops: Ravenwing Attack Squadron (100 pts)
Meltagun x2


Troops: Tactical Squad (215 pts)
Plasma gun, Plasma Cannon, Rhino


Troops: Tactical Squad (215 pts)
Plasma gun, Plasma Cannon, Rhino


Heavy Support: Devastator Squad (140 pts)
Missile Launcher x 2, Lascannon x2

The Inner Circle appears. Black Knight progress/excuses

So, painting on the Black Knights has slowed down, mostly due to real life and spending all weekend with the Girly (that's not a complaint!). However, I didn't want to post anything without putting some photos up of things I had been working on before my new plan. With that in mind, I've decided to put up some pictures of the one type of unit I wish I could have in my 1500 pt Dark Angels list. Here come the Deathwing!

I've always loved the Deathwing. The bone colour, their secret mission, the flexibility of their units. But my favourite thing about the Deathwing is the ability to field a whole army of Terminators. Who doesn't love that? I'm hoping that I can start getting some more of these guys painted, and quietly building up a 1500 pt list, looking at 4 units of Deathwing, Belial and a Land Raider (and maybe some Deathwing Knights if I can get them in there, as they are gorgeous models).

These guys were my test models. I had seen some beautiful Deathwing in Games Workshop Coventry, and popped in one day to get some advice to how to recreate the colour from the manager, Dave. He's a great guy, and was more than happy to help me get a nice shade of bone. It's very simple to paint and has a fantastic result! Also, don't worry about the Cyclone Terminator, he's 'armless! (I'm sorry)

This is my Belial. When the models were previewed, I wasn't the biggest fan of the Finecast version. However, the Deathwing Command box gives ample opportunity to create your own. I think he looks much better here :P

These all still have to be built and painted. That's a pleasure though as I adore this kit. There's so many parts and variety that you could spend days getting your models right. The only complaint I have is that there could be extra lightning claws and/or Thunder Hammers. But it's a small gripe, and not one I should have to worry about.

The nice thing with painting all three Wings is that I can create lots of different types of armies from the one codex, all of which with their individual flavour, but not at the expenses of learning how the codex works as a whole. Also when Gandy starts running his Drakes, I can laugh as the baleflamer whiffs at my 2+ save!

The Black Knights are getting there slowly, and should be finished by next week with any luck. I've found that keeping momentum through a project can be tricky, especially when a longer than expected gap is taken. However seeing them on my painting desk is making me want to get them all done and on here.

The Tomb Awakens. The Gift of the Emperor.

I've recently been looking at the armies I have unfinished sitting in boxes, and after some discussion I have decided to pick two of them back up and complete what I started. So, in addition to the Dark Angels I've been blogging about, I will soon be adding posts about my Necrons and Grey Knights. Both of these armies are at vastly different stages.

Necrons

Oh dear, where to start with these guys? They were built pretty rapidly to get gaming with them ASAP, and due to some shoddy gluing and spindly joints, the vast majority are now in pieces. I have been working on them slowly to get them pinned and rebuilt, but it has taken time and dedication. I'm currently still putting pins in place, and will hopefully be starting to get these guys put back together soon. I still have a few models to build to get the army to a decent 1500 pt level, and from there will start to look at ways to build on the core list. I have painted a few models, but I'm not too sold on the colour scheme and will probably look at some colour theory to find my new scheme.

Grey Knights

These are looking a lot healthier. The vast majority of the army is painted, excluding tanks. However, due to a change in the way I run and play with them, I will need to paint some Psyflemen Dreads, at least one Dreadknight and some extra Razorbacks. I'm going to be painting some more Strike Squads and adding details to the current tanks, as they're just boring silver boxes, using spare tilt shields and adding colours. I've added some pictures to show how these are looking so far.

So, what does this all mean? Well hopefully I will be able to start breaking up the posts on here so that it's not all Dark Angels, which will mean a nice variety of stuff to check out and keep an eye on. I can also start to log my progress with the Necrons, which will push me to finish fixing the suckers and get them built finally so I can have a non-Marine army. I'd also like to add modelling and painting advice so that will give me a perfect opportunity to throw in some posts about that side of the hobby.

Now, this doesn't mean I won't be pushing to get my Angels finished up, as these guys are my number one priority. But it does mean I shouldn't suffer green and black burnout, which I think is important! I'm also going to have a decent clearout of models and bits to ensure that nothing distracts me from finishing these three armies this year, or at least getting them to a decent painted standard. There will be one offs that catch my eye, and to avoid working on the same things over and over though, so keep your eyes open for those as they will be eclectic and not fit in anywhere else.  

That's the plan anyways. Luckily I have a supportive gaming group, and a girlfriend who knows how to make me focus on these sorts of things! After a small initial outlay this should save me money too as I will only need the odd bit from GW (barring treats and list revisions).

Lastly(!), please take five minutes to have a look at my friend Danny Kastigaunt's blog, Hand Of Junk on the sidebar. It's a damn good read and convinced me to start my blog. He covers a wide range of topics with regards to his Salamanders army, and has a slight obsession with Rogue Trader era models. His tutorials are fantastic too, and well worth a read! Get to it, and tell him I said hi! 

Squad Numiah finished, Nerd League round one, and The Red Murder

Squad Numiah is now finished! I'm really happy with how they've come out, but I decided in the end to leave the wings as my freehand is not up to scratch. Little bit disappointed with that, but I think you have to know when it's time to stop painting a model and walk away...

Pics

Next up for the Dark Angels is completing the last three Black Knights, and then either my second Ravenwing Attack Squad or a complete tactical squad. Just have to see what I feel like!

We started our Nerd League this week, and I was drawn to play against Danny's Salamanders. His list consisted of 40 footslogging marines, two Preds, two Rifleman Dreads and five Hammernators. That's a lot of 3+ to put down! However, Danny went melta heavy without taking Vulkan, which could have made the army absolutely awful to deal with.  The game was close throughout, but really did come down to the last dice roll of the game...which left me with a 12 - 10 win! I was happy with my performance, but in hindsight I was very aggressive with my Ravenwing, and really should have let Danny come to me and reacted as I had the speed and maneuverability to attack weak points. But a win is a win! In the other game Pootank had much better luck this week against Gandy, and produced a wave of Termagants that Gandy just couldn't compete with. I know the general internet consensus is that Tyranids are underpowered, but in all the games I've seen with them they always do well...maybe the Internet underestimates a good Tyranid general? (I know, the Internet getting something wrong?!?!? :P) The next set of games in two weeks will be Danny vs Pootank, and myself vs Gandy, which I'm looking forward to to help Gandy with some of the tactics and complexities...I dislike winning just because someone hasn't played as much!

Finally, as I have felt the need to paint something for fun, I have felt the call of the Blood God! I have been reading Betrayer by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, which is a fantastic read, and have started to fall in love with the World Eaters. I feel that Khorne Berzerkers aren't just blood crazed, but save their notorious rage for when it is needed. More of a needle than a blunt hammer! So, I have decided to paint a test piece to see if I can be inspired to start an army of Angron's finest. I present to you Kalak Scraan, The Red Murder.

 This was the best model release of the recent Chaos Marine update in my opinion, and is just a beautiful model. I want to try my method of painting red that I have been using on my Dark Angels on a whole model, and hopefully can do this guy justice.

Squad Numiah WIP 2! Rumblings in the Nerd Garage!

These guys are at about 80% now. I need to finish the weapon casings,, complete the wings (ugh) and then base, so, time permitting, they should be done by Wednesday (he says)!

It's nice to get near to the end of my first Greenwing unit, although having looked closer, it appears they aren't quite the same shade of green. I have been looking at them under terrible light though, and to compensate I have given the darker Marines an extra layer of highlight, which has helped to tie them together. They look fine for tabletop though, and I doubt you'd notice if you're just having a quick nose!

The Nerd Garage is rumbling with the sounds of war. Mighty armies clash in the heat of conflict. Ancient scores will be settled, and new rivalries will emerge. But in the End Times of the 41st Millennium, there can only be one victor...

At which point you're bound to be asking what I'm waffling on about!? I'm pleased to announce that we will be running our 40k League once again in the Nerd Garage. Danny is using Salamanders, Gandy's using his Chaos Marines, I will obviously be rocking the Dark Angels and Pootank is going with Tyranids. This means there should be a challenge every round, and the lists we will be running will have to deal with a variety of foes. I'm sticking with my list, as I need to get a feel for it more, and I hope to get the rest of them up soon. Hopefully I will have a better showing then last year, where I struggled to win any games and had terrible luck. Time will tell, but I feel confident and have a much more flexible list than the Grey Knight list I used last year (no weapons over 24"! I know, what was I thinking?). I'm especially looking forward to my games with Gandy as not only will they be tough games, but I can redeem the honour of the First Legion by capturing the Fallen!