Monday, August 7, 2023

ULTRA-sonic cleaning

 

Welcome back to the Obsidian Tower. Last time I alluded to the acquisition of an ULTRA-sonic cleaner. Well, today we're taking a look at what I've been doing with it.
Kill me brother!
So I had some crusty old space marines in my collection that were looking very rough. I didn't really like looking at them and I decided something needed to change. I knew I wanted to re-paint them but painting them blue again just didn't seem like the right move.
Powerful stuff...
Since I had just completed my collection of 5th edition codexes, I wanted to try and paint up a chapter that could plausibly be played as more than just "codex marines". I've always liked the Blood Angels but I didn't want to do another headline chapter. No, this time I wanted to try something else. A different flavor of "blood" marines.
Here they come!
As much as I like that the flesh tearers also weren't too fond of Primaris at first, I decided they were a little bit too morally ambiguous. Then I remembered, I already painted a blood raven for fun, and I love Dawn of War.
Had to upgrade to the 'new' base size
Now that I knew what chapter I wanted to paint, I grabbed my crusty old Ultramarines and gave them an Ultra-cleaning in the Ultrasonic scrubber.
We're charging into the Ultrasonic cleaner!
These guys were rough. Their arms were mismatched and they still had two layers of paint from the failed simple green soak six years ago. This time, they were gonna get... super clean.
Obligatory Hobby Station Pic
The super clean sonic bath did the trick and these guys were as close to new as they could possibly get. I took my time trying out some different basing styles before I decided on what I wanted to go with. I liked the look the corkboard gave my chaos marines and I wanted to bring that over to the loyalists.
AAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
This sergeant was a special paint job because he reminded me of the meme of that guy screaming in the dawn of war 1 intro.
Freehand Detail
Had to flex the freehand on this guy. He's the squad leader after all...

Blood Raven Tactical Squad
And here is the final result. Ten tactical marines painted up like Blood Ravens. This force isn't as big as the Ultramarine force. When it is completed it will be composed of: 
  • Captain ✓
  • Chaplain
  • Librarian
  • Terminator Captain
  • Terminator Chaplain ✓
  • Terminator Librarian
  • 5 man Terminator Squad ✓
  • Dreadnought
  • 2x 10 man Tactical Squad ✓
  • 5 man Scout Squad ✓
  • Scout Speeder ✓
  • 10 man Devastator Squad ✓
So as you can see it still has a ways to go. The Terminator squad and chaplain are almost done but you will have to wait till next time to see them. Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope to have more to show soon.

Buttermilk Bob embraces Nurgle

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Hobby Update + Brushes & Paint Rant

    Welcome back to Obsidian Tower, the most exclusive hobby blog delivered directly into your eyeballs via microwaves from space!

Gallery

Well, I think I'll start the post off with dessert first. Let's take a look at the most recent paint jobs.

Chaos Terminator Lord

Chaos Terminator Sorcerer

Chaos Lord (Magnetized)

Sternguard Veterans

Hobby Work

    I put a little time into my guys who were already painted as well. I wanted them to have some more quality features.

Magnetized weapon options


Larger base for this top heavy metal guy.

Sonic Cleaner

    I have recently acquired an affordable ultrasonic cleaner (great for Ultramarines), which I have been using to strip down some of the less desirable marines in my collection - those I do not take pictures of. The progress I have made so far has been steady, and I must say that I am impressed with the results.

5th Edition Codex Collection

    After many hours on eBay, I have finally succeeded in completing my collection of 5th edition army books. I find myself deeply enamored with the pictures and rich lore woven throughout these books, which is why this particular edition of the game holds a special place in my heart. It brings me great joy and satisfaction to have obtained them all.

Brushes

    Do brush packs grind your gears as much as they grind mine? It seems like 90% of the brushes included are either too small, too large, or have some other useless quality, like bristles that are too long. I mean, who really needs a giant brush anyway? When I get a brush pack, I find that most of the extra brushes just accumulate into a collection of junk.


Wash brush, a Stick, a shiddy brush, a regular brush, and a dry brush

This is basically all I need to complete a project, but the most important brush of all isn't really a brush. It is something far greater and more powerful than a mere stick of wood with some hair at the end.

The MIGHTY airbrush

     This tool helps me achieve smooth basecoats quickly, and I honestly cannot recommend it enough. As for the paint, well, you can't use a brush without it, can you? So let's just say I have some thoughts on that too.

Paints

    Let's talk about paint. With so many options out there, it can be overwhelming to know what you actually need. Rest assured, I'll break it down for you in simple terms. There are two main types of paint: opaque and semi-opaque. Opaque paint is the best choice for achieving that coveted "two thin coats" of color. On the other hand, semi-opaque paint is perfect for adding those finishing touches, like panel lines, edge highlights, and layering up to a bright and vibrant coat of a specific color. So, unless you find yourself frequently doing those tasks, you can probably skip the semi-opaque paints altogether. Trust me, I speak from experience. My collection is chock-full of them, and I rarely use them.

   There are a few types of paint that I wouldn't purchase again. First up, dry paints. While they're marketed as great for dry brushing, I've found that you can achieve similar results with opaque paint. Frankly, they're redundant. I'd skip them altogether.

'Dry' Paint

    Next on the list is glaze paint. To be honest, I'm not even sure if they still sell this stuff. It may have been a prototype for contrast paint, but even then, I'm not sure what it's meant to do. I've tried it, and it just didn't make a significant impact on my workflow.

Glaze?

    Lastly, let's discuss shade/wash paint that isn't black or brown. While I have a few different colors of washes, I can count on one hand how many times I've used them. So, save your money and skip them altogether. Trust me, you won't miss them.

'Shade' Paint


Anyway, that's all I have to say about that.

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Red Corsairs, 3D printing, and Internet

 Welcome back to the most regular and scheduled Warhammer blog on the internet! 

    There have been some interesting developments in Warhammer news since I last posted and I finally feel like I have enough to say about it to write something interesting. I've also been keeping a keen eye on the development of 3D printer technology. As a 3D modeler by trade, I feel a machine like that would give me some unique hobby capabilities! It also seems to me that the technology has reached a nexus of affordability and quality that will soon be hard to ignore. However, it is likely to be a while before I have the proper space for a 3D manufactorum of my own.

    But before I get into the cool new models I would like to collect, let's take a look at the recently painted ones I already have...

Lord Pauoolio Bane of Ultramar
The Dark Apostle
Aspiring Champions

    With the completion of these last few members of dark vengeance, I finally have the whole set painted! Better late than never I guess.

All of 'em together

But that's not all I've been up to. I have set a goal for myself to paint up all the finished assemblies in my backlog. 
Mr. Fist
Plasma Gunner
Chaos Lord
Aspiring Champion
    There are some that I am waiting to complete after I acquire the 3D printer for one reason or another, so they will have to wait. But the models that just require magnets and glue, are in the queue.

This guy thinks he's special
Speaking of magnets, I found this great pen drill online for drilling barrels and small magnet holes.
It's called the 'wow stick drill' and yes it's perfect for a dirty joke.

Around the internet

Blessed 3D Manufactorum
    I've seen some really cool stuff online lately involving the hobby, firstly, the quality of STL files you can get is insane. Some really talented people have created unique sculpts for models as proxies that are better than anything you could buy officially in some cases. For instance, I've always been a big fan of the Dawn of War series of RTS games. Take a look at this unique Gabrial Angelos! What an awesome sculpt! I'd love to print this out and paint up a Blood Ravens cohort. 

Gabriel Angelos
    Recently the imperial guard has been getting a lot of attention too, they have a new sentinel, tank, new infantry, etc... it's all looking pretty good, but I found this guy online who makes his own guard sculpts based on a WWII American army style. It might just be one of the coolest guard styles I've ever seen:
'Sherman Russ'
On the more official side of things, GW is also re-making the Khorne Berzerkers and they look awesome! I have some old ones in my backlog already though so I'm not sure if it'll be picking up a box yet...
I'll admit, these look way cooler than the old ones.
But for everything GW does right, they do something I cannot forgive:
HERESY!
Anyway, that's all I can bring myself to write about for now. Thanks for stopping by to read the blog! 

Till next time, Paint one for me!


Monday, May 2, 2022

New paint jobs/Custom codex

Welcome back to THE Obsidian Tower. I've got my paint station set up again and I have done a little bit of painting. It's nice to make a little bit of progress on the forever backlog. This time I couldn't resist painting a couple of Ultramarines.

Chronus can actually command the Land Raider now.

After all this time, he earned that veteran paint job.

Yeah I know I painted some more Ultramarines, but to be fair they have been in my backlog for half a decade. Painting again has given me some time to do a little bit of thinking. I think a lot about when I used to play regularly, and the old way of playing, before the dark times, before 8th edition. 

8th Edition "The Age of poopy"

That's what inspired me to create Battle Axe 40k. Now that I have done that, and have my own "core rules" to play with. I thought about how I always hated the look of the Space marine centurion. 

Cool conversion somebody did on reddit

When it is finally updated, it will probably turn into a Primaris marine. I thought about how I would change it if there were no Primaris marines. I don't think it would be too hard to make it look cool. Then I started thinking about what else I would change about the Space Marines, and that sort of spiraled into a full redo of the codex. 

  So I made my own space marine codex.

I don't think I'll post it because I'm certain it would violate some kind of copyright. Try to imagine a lot of copy and paste rules and points costs from the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th edition space marine books made into something useable. It's part wish list, part 'best of', if you know what I mean. 

I wish, "You lose!"

It's sort of a mash-up between old and new (more old than new). I tried to be as fair as possible points-wise. I'm sure the point costs probably still need some adjusting. When it's finished, hopefully, it will basically be a book for all the space marines in my collection, and be tailor-made for playing "Battle Axe 40k"

If I ever do get around to playing with all the rules I've written I'll be sure to post about what was good and what needed to change.

Till then, paint one for me.

Saturday, October 2, 2021

Battleaxe 40k


In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only battle…    

    Hello and welcome back to Obsidian Tower 40k! I thought I'd post something a little different today. I homebrewed some rules to play with my buddies. It's a sort of mash up between Bolt-Action and Warhammer 40k 4th, 7th, and 8th Edition. It's not a concrete ruleset, you have to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. Once you and your friend agree to what edition of core rules you think you want to use (I like to refer to 5th edition 40k), you can start playing! To give credit where credit is due, this idea was inspired by MadCap Gamer on Youtube and this forum post on Dakka Dakka.

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The Rules
Version 1.05

This game uses a single unit activation system with random turn order. Whenever multiple players or abilities are due to activate or take an action at the same time, roll off 1D6 to determine who acts first.

Turn Sequence

  • Start of turn
  • Psychic phase
  • Unit phase
  • Combat phase
  • End of turn
Start of Turn

    All start of turn or start of movement phase actions or abilities are used. Players roll for their reserves and each unit that will arrive generates a token to be placed in the activation bag but does not arrive until the unit phase. These units can be chosen and activated by their player and they then arrive from reserves as normal counting as their movement.

Roll 1D8, reserves may choose to arrive on the battlefield if the roll exceeds:

  • Turn 1: 7+
  • Turn 2: 6+
  • Turn 3: 5+
  • Turn 4: 4+
  • Turn 5: 3+
  • Turn 6: 2+
All units still in reserves after turn 6 count as destroyed. Units embarked on a transport add 2 to their roll.

The Psychic Phase

    Each psychic power attempted to manifest requires a leadership check from the psyker. The more warp charge the psychic power requires, the harder it is to cast. Psykers can only select powers equal to or below their Mastery Level.

  • Warp charge 1: 2D6
  • Warp charge 2: 1D6+1D8
  • Warp charge 3: 2D8

    Compare the result of the test to the psykers leadership. If the test exceeds the leadership of the psyker, the test is failed. On a roll of double 1 or a roll greater than or equal to 12, the psyker suffers from Perils of the Warp.

Perils of the Warp:

  1. Dragged into the Warp: Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit with no saves. If he is removed as a casualty, his unit takes D6 S6 AP-4 hits. The hits come from the psyker for allocation
  2. Mental Purge: Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves. The power that was attempted is lost for the rest of the game. 
  3. Power Drain: Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves. The psyker cannot cast a power on his next activation.
  4. Psychic Backlash: Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves.
  5. Empyric Feedback: Psyker takes a leadership test. if failed Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves. If passed no effect.
  6. Warp Surge: Psyker takes a leadership test. if failed Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves. If passed psyker gains a 3++, Fleshbane, Armor-bane, and Smash until the next friendly psychic phase.

Deny the Witch: Units targeted by psychic powers can attempt to nullify that power if the unit is within 6” of a friendly psyker. Friendly units outside of 6” of a friendly psyker are at the mercy of the enemy psychic assault. To attempt to Deny the Witch, roll 1D6+Ld. Whoever achieves the higher total wins the mental contest.

The Unit Phase

    Each player counts the number of units they have in play. Then they take the same number of tokens (or dice) and place them in a bag.  Then (to decide who goes) a single token is pulled out of the bag by either player, and the player whose token it is can activate a single unit of theirs on the table or due to arrive from reserve. Do the following actions in order, then after that unit is finished, pull another token from the bag until there are no more tokens. 

  •     • Independent Characters and the units they are joined to count as a single unit.
  •     • A unit cannot be activated more than once a turn.

Actions each unit can take in the unit phase:

  • Move: Take a normal movement phase or deploy from reserve. Units Deploy from the controlling board edge. (unless they can do otherwise)
  • Shoot: Declare target unit/s that you will be shooting at and what guns will be shooting at who.
  • Assault: Declare and make an assault move. Fight in combat. Roll 2D6 to determine charge range. 

    Activated units in base contact with enemy units are in combat and therefore have only two options, Move or Fight. If a unit wishes to Move away from combat, it must first pass an initiative test against the opposing unit. If this test is failed the unit stays in combat. Units that try and fail to Move away from combat are Locked in combat, and must continue to fight and take a moral check at the end of combat. Vehicles of any kind cannot be locked in combat and may move away and take their turn as normal.

The Combat Phase

    Each assault is now resolved separately as a part of a unit’s activation. Since a unit can assault another unit that hasn’t had a chance to activate yet, the following rules apply:

  • If an assault is declared against a unit that hasn’t been activated yet, that unit may choose to do one of the following reactions: Run or Overwatch.
  • If they choose to Run they may immediately move 3"+D6” in a direction of their choice.
  • If a unit has chosen to Run, and is engaged by a successful charge, that unit can be subject to sweeping advance if casualties are inflicted in assault.
  • If they choose to Overwatch they must shoot all weapons at the assaulting unit. However, if they pass a leadership test they may shoot at any unit within range. When they shoot, they may do so at their normal ballistic skill. Template weapons inflict D6 wall of death hits but cannot inflict more hits than there are models in the assaulting unit.

Shooting into close combat: As a shooting action, a player may shoot into an assault. To do this, nominate the target unit as normal. Roll to hit as normal, misses count as hitting allied forces. If there is more than one opposing unit, the closer one is hit.

End of turn

    All end of turn checks and abilities are resolved when you finish using an activated unit. When all units on the board have been activated and subsequently resolved, the game turn is over, and order of operations for the next turn begins.

Weapon Changes

  • Boltgun: R24" S:4 AP:-1 Rapid Fire
  • Chainsword: Melee, S:User AP0 Shred
  • Multi-melta: R24" S:8 AP:-4 Savlo 1/2, Melta

(Special) Rules

They had to change for one reason or another...

  • And they shall know no fear: Units with this special rule caught in sweeping advance take D6 casualties instead of being wiped out.
  • Difficult Terrain: Always move 2"+D3" through terrain per move phase
  • Fire Overwatch at full ballistic skill: If a rule states this, instead add 1 to BS for that unit
  • Gets Hot: Infantry that roll a 1 die, vehicles that roll a 1 suffer weapon destroyed.
  • Heavy Weapons: Infantry based Heavy weapons can split fire if the unit passes a leadership check.
  • Hit and Run: Units with hit and run always pass the initiative test to fall back from combat.
  • High ballistic skill: Units with BS of 6+ re-roll 1’s and gain precision hits that are allocated by the attacking player. For each point above BS6, add 1 to the precision hit roll.
  • Infiltrate: Units with this special rule automatically pass the test for reserves and gives the unit the ability to Outflank.
  • Move through cover: May move the normal movement distance for that unit type through terrain
  • Scouts: A unit with this special rule may move after it has been deployed from reserves.
  • Voice of Command: Instead of the commander "issuing orders" during their activation, an activated unit can "request an order" if the commander is on the battlefield.
  • Stomp Attack: In addition to regular attacks, roll a D6, 1 has No Effect, 2-5 has the second effect, and a 6 has the best effect.

Infantry:

  • No Effect: Enemy units got out of the way and are unharmed.

  • Kerr-runch: Half the models in the enemy unit take a S6 AP -2 hit

  • STOMP STOMP STOMP: All models in the enemy unit take a S10 AP-4 hit.

Vehicles:

  • No Effect: Enemy units got out of the way and are unharmed.

  • Kerr-SMASH: One Vehicle takes a penetrating hit.

  • GOAL!: One Vehicle scatters 2D6” and explodes!


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Now I know I didn't think of everything, so I encourage you to use your best judgement if you decide to play these rules with your buddies. I know I'll revisit and revise as I play test. But that's all for now. 

Thanks for reading!

Friday, October 1, 2021

Ranting about the new GW

    Welcome back. Last week I assaulted your eyeballs with my ramblings about the Badab war. After finishing the Badab war, I was considering adding Fabius Bile to the Red Corsair entourage. In the story, it is mentioned how Huron had his apothecaries perform genetic experiments on space marine DNA. I think it was so that he could bolster his force beyond the 1000-brother limit imposed by the Codex Astarte. If I remember correctly, he did have well over that amount by the time the loyalists were attacking the Palace of Thornes. Many of the other chapters in the story found genetic experimentation by the Astral Claws to be abhorrent when it came to light. Considering that, after Huron escaped into the maelstrom, I think he likely would have continued the genetic experiments. 

    Fabius Bile is known for being a corrupter with a passion for horribly mutating space marines. So in my mind, it's not too crazy that Huron and Fabius Bile could work together toward some horrible goal. Naturally, I looked on eBay for a Fabius Bile model.

He's pretty creepy looking with that skin cloak

Then I remembered, "Oh yeah didn't GW make a new version of this guy? Yeah, they did!"

Wow yeah, look at all that detail!

But then I got that sinking feeling. That feeling you get when you gotta roll a 2+ save but you know it's gonna be a 1. "I wonder how big they made him?"

*groan* It didn't take long to confirm my suspicion

    Of course, they made him gigantic. He's bigger than a Primaris! I'm pretty sure he's still just a regular space marine so I'm not sure how this makes sense.

I guess he had a growth spurt.

    I don't like Primaris Marines because it's plain to me that it's just GW changing everything in a feeble attempt to try to get me to buy the same stuff all over again. I might have been able to be persuaded if they made them look more varied like the mini-marines. But it seems like they are abandoning the old design AND replacing it at the same time. I bought into the game because I liked the look of the space marines. They were squatty and goofy sure, but that's what I liked about them. Why do they have to all look the same now? Why do all the tanks need to be totally overhauled into grav-vehicles? GW is losing what made the marines cool in the first place with all these updates. To make a comparison, these new marines feel more like Duplo blocks, rather than real the real Lego. Frankly, I don't need to feel any more like a toddler when I play with my toy soldiers.

    But perhaps that is what GW's new target audience is since they are now licensing action figures.

The *Real* True Scale Marine. That pose sort of reminds me...

Lmao, it's GW's new target demographic.

    Anyway, complaining aside, I'll still find my own way to enjoy this hobby regardless of petty things like marines I don't want to buy. Like painting the ones I already have! I painted a couple of new models since last time and I bet you would like to see them now. Feast your eyes!

We got a sneak peek of the guy in the back last time, but our new friend here has 3 arms! Sort of looks like something from Deadspace.

    Well, that's all for now!