The Murder WIP

Well, that was a slightly longer break than I expected! Still, time to get back into the swing of painting Shrikes. I'm currently working on...

Demi-Squad Akirion, yet another Tactical Squad. Something about painting these guys really chills me out. I know people dislike painting troops, but to me they're the core of your army, and having thirty of these guys all standing together on a battlefield will look amazing. (Not as cool as forty will look though...:P)

Techmarine Sehn Muhindos. I really dislike Finecast, and couldn't quite understand why my paint jobs on the material looked worse to my eyes than plastics. Of course, when my friend pointed out the rough surface it made a lot more sense. Shame really, as I have another one of these to paint, complete with Thunderfire cannon. I haven't put the first one in this picture as it's just a big silver lump at the moment, but hopefully two will look great side by side.

And finally, as so many people have been asking...

Ancient Joud Friwn, the Murder, Third Shrike-Lord.

I've got a few more things I want to work on after this little lot is painted. Looking at a couple of Bike Squads, another Sternguard unit and maybe a Terminator or ten. Also vehicles, as that's the one thing I need more practice on really. So many decisions...

The 4th Brotherhood. Nerd League Round Two.

Been a while! I didn't really get much chance to get any modelling/painting done over the last few weeks, due to staying at the GF's house for a week, and then having a stag do in Bristol over the Easter weekend. However, I did get more work done on the Black Knights. Pouches, weapons and bases to go, so not too much...

I have been looking at what I need to build/paint to get my Grey Knight Brotherhood up to scratch. I have been digging through my army case, and have pulled out the following.

Castellan Crowe. He's not a massive priority, seeing as he's only in my army to unlock Purifiers as troops (Crowe tax!). However, his sword was always slightly bent, due to the joys of Finecast, and eventually snapped. Which would have been fine if I hadn't painted him already...! So, new sword time. I'm going to cut off the remains of the sword and look to either use a standard Nemesis Force Sword, or try and look for a suitably Chaotic replacement.

Strike Squad Dumias. These guys used to be Interceptors, but I realised I had a lack of basic power armoured Knights in any army I ran. So off came the vanes. These guys are what I consider a standard loadout for GK's - a five man unit with a Daemon Hammer and Psycannon, mounted in a Psyback with Heavy Bolter. For under 170 pts you get a unit that can pump out shots and present a strong threat. I have ordered a box of Grey Knights and will mix them with the models from this squad to give me two of these units. I also have a Razorback on order.

Grand Master Larandis. Standard Kaldor Draigo conversion. He does need a Force Halberd though, as the sword is a throwback to 5th Edition when combat was a lot more dangerous, and a 3++ save was the bomb. Nowadays, especially with challenges, being able to kill your opponent before they strike is much more important, and I7 is going to give me that option.

Librarian Hyperion. The name is a reference to The Emperor's Gift by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, which I cannot recommend highly enough. It really shows what happens to the Imperium after a massive battle, and the results are not pretty. He needs a storm bolter strapped to his wrist, but I'm not sure what Nemesis weapon to give him in his right hand. I really want him to avoid combat, but need to keep him ticking if he gets there somehow. Ideas?

A Dreadknight to be built. This guy will have a Heavy Incinerator , as he will be able to flush out models behind cover using torrent and then beat them in the face. Plus, it's always been a cool model. Always.

     

And I think you can guess what these are for. They're ordered and waiting for their new arms :P

Round Two of the Nerd League was played last night. Gandy and myself went head to head in an extremely tight game. Poor rolling from myself lead to me having a 5-0 deficit by the end of turn two. However, Sammael did what he does best, absolutely turning the tide of battle. On his own he killed two units of Chaos Marines, a unit of Havocs and took out Gandy's Warlord in combat, scoring three points for this one act alone. In the end the Dark Angels were too much for the forces of the Alpha Legion, leaving me with a 12-7 victory. Two for two, which is about the best run I've ever had :P In Danny and Pootank' game the Tyranid hordes were voracious in exterminating Marines, setting the stage nicely for next week's game to be a decider between Pootank and me. It will be a hotly contested, exciting game, with all to play for!

Also, a promise. The next post will have my finished Black Knights, even if I have to press gang people into helping me finish them!

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.