Red Corsairs Showcase

Welcome back to the blog! Today we will take a look at my incredible chaos army in all it's dark glory. This is long over due, so let's jump in!

The Army

The whole thing is about 5000pts. last time I counted, but I think that included various upgrades to the units. 

From left to right we got:

Daemon Prince of Nurgle

some Daemons of Khorne

Nurgle, and Tzeentch

A Hellbrute from Dark Vengeance

A Pretty awesome Maulerfiend i'm very proud of

A single Obliterator (poor guy)

Couple of rhinos that I haven't quite finished all the magnetic components for

20 of my 25 Chaos Space Marines

Five of my eight Chaos Terminators

Various commanders

Havocs with missiles and a banner

A unit the Chaos Raptors (my personal favorite)

20 of my 50 cultists

Not included in the picture, but will hopefully be added eventually is a Heldrake, Chaos Knight Titan, a few more commanders, and the aforementioned missing units.

Huron Blackheart leads his warband!

I'm quite proud of the paint job on these guys. I can't take credit for assembling some of them as a good chunk of them were a gift. Also the Screamers, Bloodletters, and Plaguebearers were painted by my good buddy Zac! He's a fantastic painter, and dare I say, my protege. Although he was mostly self taught and can probably paint better than me now! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! More to come.

Getting ready for the new Codex

With the new space marine codex not far away, I am excited to see how the new marines fit into the codex. We all know that the primaris marines seemingly got a new rank exclusive to them. However, after I saw a video of someone reviewing the new book, I noticed that Lieutenants were no longer exclusive! How exciting.

Non-Primaris Lieutenant

I know everyone's all excited for primaris marines, but I already have a massive collection of mini-marines. I'm not super eager to run out and buy a million more space marines. So I was quite pleased to see some of the new cheese found its way into my realm. I immediately set to converting a captain I never used into a Lieutenant. Demoted!

 The new Lieutenant

Freehand detail

Lt. Varras Rescue Mission Update for 8th Edition

So I figured it was about time to update the Rescue mission for 8th edition. I've made some small changes to the rules to improve balance.

Custom rules for Lt. Varras

Varras starts out inside a bunker. The bunker cannot be destroyed. The bunker is placed 1" outside the center of the enemy deployment zone. The Rescue player can choose for Lt. Varras to leave the bunker in any movement phase. Lt. Varras must leave the bunker on turn 4. Lt. Varras counts as having been disembarked from a vehicle on the turn he leaves the bunker. Once he leaves the bunker he cannot re-enter the bunker. Lt. Varras must be in the Rescuer's deployment zone when the game ends to count as having been saved. If the enemy army successfully kills Varras, the mission is over and the rescue has failed.

You can modify the winning conditions for a campaign by including Major and Minor victories. Major victory can be scored for the "enemy" player by capturing Varras instead of killing him. You can apprehend Varras by moving any a minimum of 3 infantry models within 1" of Varras. Less than 3 infantry models can only attack varras in close combat. While Varras is apprehended, he moves under the control of the "enemy" player. Varras is captured if he ends the game within the enemy deployment zone.

If you have this old model laying around, fix it up and play a game with it! Hope you enjoy.

Combi-Plasma

Hey, welcome back! Just a quick update about my Ultramarines today. As I was painting the backlog of tactical marines I have accumulated, I got the idea to turn some of the extra guys into combi-plasma toting Sergeants. Combi weapons got a lot better in the new edition, so I figured it was time to convert a couple and add them to my marines.

Just a plasma pistol glued to the top of a bolter

I think it looks pretty alright. I can't wait to use them in my lists as I progress into 8th edition.

Detail shot of helmetless Sergeant

I also managed to collect Sergeant Chronus, thus completing my collection of Ultramarine characters.

Full sweep

Can't wait to play some more 8th edition!

Update, THE MOST EFFECTIVE way to strip paint.

So last March, I posed about how I was stripping paint of some old models for a new paint job. Well i've discovered something VASTLY more effective than both Simple Green AND Pine-Sol.

"Burn ya eyes right out ya head,

skin gon slide off like a wet sock."

Glove up for this shit, because we're making models new again. Previously, I had a batch of space marines I had scrubbed like mad after soaking in pine-sol for nearly a week. It got most of it, but the most stubborn green paint in the recessed regions would not get off with all the elbow grease in the world. However, after being exposed to this stuff for 24 hours, simply melted away. Incredible! I highly recommend this if you are looking to get rid of the most stubborn acrylic!

My First army, The Ultramarines

Waaay back when I started collecting, I didn't know anything about this hobby. All I knew was, I liked Space Marines. To me, a Space Marine was a dude in blue power armor mowing down Orks, because that's what you did in the game "Space Marine."

Luckily for me the starter box for 40k had all of these things. So I decided to learn to play with my buddy Paul.

I never got the Orks painted.

My first few games consisted of my friend and I guessing at what stuff did since neither of us really understood the rules. He played Eldar, and sometimes Tyranids, (I learned Tyranids are somewhat of an arch enemy of the Ultramarines) and I played my small force of Ultramarines. Since the size of the games we played were mostly limited by how small my army was, I set out to expand my force.

My first addition

Of course I had to get more of the BIG guns! I couldn't wait to get home and start working on more marines.

I've repainted 98% of these guys lol

Naturally my excitement had me talking about the hobby with some friends from school. And soon after I managed to acquire some second hand models from my friend Ben who use to play when he was younger.

We mech'd up now boi

Pretty soon afterward Paul was digging up his brother's old Space Marine army and I was adding it to my collection one piece at a time.

That sand table got sand ALL over my room.

By now I knew I had a duty to restore and paint every model that found it's way to me, and use them to defend the realm of man from xeno and heretic alike!

The bulwark

Today, I have nearly the entire Ultramarines 2nd company, and with the addition of a few more marines and maybe a couple of predators, my Ultramarines collection will be complete. Can't wait.

Paint-O-Thon Recap

So Zac and I decided to meet up last month for a Paint Jam. The idea was to paint our entire backlog of models. Obviously a much too ambitious goal to actually attain. However, decent progress was made despite the inevitable burnout that would ensue.

The only time I allow unpainted models on my table

Zac hooked me up with the airbrush and I set to work base coating my Storm Talon gunship. I didn't want to coat the whole thing blue since I had a fun opportunity to easily paint in different colors. What I ended up with was a three color design i'm quite happy with.

I chose grey for the cockpit.

I taped off the back end with painters tape and painted half the tail fin white.

I'm really happy with how the blue and white turned out. I'll post again when I get the thing finished.

I also had some old Khorne Berzerkers laying around.

Now for the stuff that actually got finished. I wanted to paint a Blood Raven since I've been playing Dawn Of War III like a madman.

Yes, that relic boltgun was a "gift" from the ultramarines.

"I'm with stupid."

Lastly I managed to finish up two chainsword guys for my command squad. All in all it was a pretty fun time. Zac got quite a few things painted too. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Ravenwing progress

Yesterday Zac and I made our pilgrimage to Dwayne's World. We were both blown away by the sheer majesty of the new hobby shop and eager to buy new toys. Afterwards, we were both pumped up to work on our models. So this morning I'd like to show you a peek at what i've been working on.

Ravenwing In Progress

All this unpainted plastic got me thinking though, "Wouldn't it be awesome if all of it was painted?" Well the obvious answer is "of fucking course." So Zac and I are planning on doing a paint jam! Thats right, we're gonna shift this shit into high gear and crank through all of it as fast as possible very soon. We're still finalising the plans. Keep an eye out for more pictures! 

"Your orders are quite clear!"

The Deathwing!

Well they're finally done, and and they say a picture is worth a thousand words. So let's take a look!

Deathwing Knights

Deathwing Close Ups

A few of my favorites

Keep an eye out for your retribution heretic!

Stay tuned for more as it comes, Cya!

Hype!

Hey welcome back to the blog! Content has been slow recently because finals are coming up. However, this summer is shaping up for some serious warhammer content! I'm also nearly finished with my Deathwing Knights, so keep an eye out! Lastly, Zac has some BIG warhammer hobby stuff he has been waiting to show off in one massive post!

 Dawn of War III

Last night I had the opportunity to play the DoW3 open beta. Let me sum it up as insanely fun!

Eighth Edition

I'm not sure this summer could get any better!

What I would change about Space Marines

Often times when i'm playing or pondering 40k I notice a cool piece of equipment or model that just never gets used. For me, it's fun to think about what I would do if I were the guy writing the rules. How could I change that to make it worth its points?

Marnus Calgar, Lord Of Costing Too Many Points

So first I'd like to say how I think this is an awesome model. I'd love to take him in more lists, but two factors often leave him on the shelf. First, he costs like a million points. I get it, he's super powerful, but does he really need to be approaching the cost of a primarch? Second, he is a "Lord of War." A really stupid decision by GW in an attempt to give him a perceived majesty that he doesn't live up to. How would I change him? Cut that point cost! You might be saying, "but then he would be way too powerful for his cost." You're right. I would probably change his rules too to bring him in line. Maybe a rule to reflect his "tactical genius" instead of the lazy "extra doctrine" rule. In conclusion the high cost of entry for this guy leaves a lot to be desired, especially since he is one of the coolest Ultramarines you can field.

Assault Marine with Combat Shield

Next up is the combat shield. This thing looks sweet, and it really hacks me off that it's so under utilized. Given that it only grants a 6++, for the cost of a melta bomb, there is no choice to be made. The melta bomb is a better buy. However, one simple change to this piece of wargear would make it vastly superior to it's current state. Make it a 5++, for 15 points. Chaos Space Marines have access to a similar piece of wargear called an "Aura of Dark Glory". If the combat shield became the loyalist counterpart to the Aura, it would immediately find a place in my lists.

The Plasma Pistol and Chainsword

The chainsword is one of the most iconic weapons of Warhammer 40k. However, I often find it's performance on the table to be consistently underwhelming. Why GW would choose to make the chainsword have the exact same weapon profile as a plain old knife is baffling. Some squads even allow you to swap a bolt pistol for a chainsword. Why would you ever do this? You can pistol whip someone in combat with the same weapon profile as the chainsword. So nothing of value is gained from swapping. My solution? Give the chainsword something that would distinguish it from the common fodder of melee weaponry.

Pistol upgrades in general don't seem to be very points efficient. Due to their limited range, you often only get to use them once or twice per game if you're lucky. My change here would be to allow their use in combat. So when you buy a special pistol, you get the duality of a ranged and combat weapon.

Company Banner

Another case of, "really cool model, vastly over costed." Banners in general are awesome to behold. So it's a real shame that they cost so many points. In the rules these things have a ton of special rules. I think this is exactly what the problem is. Just give the banner one or two cool rules and make it like 5 points. I honestly could care less what it does, if it looks cool for cheap, i'm probably going to take it.

Extra Armor

 Last but not least on the list of pet peeves in the Space Marine codex is the "Extra armor" upgrade. You would think that this adds some kind of armor value to the tank, or maybe it doesn't allow the armor value to be modified in any way. Nah, it just makes it where you don't get "crew stunned." Pretty useless in a game of hull points. I would change this upgrade to reflect its namesake. Perhaps granting an extra level of armor to the tank? Just a thought.

Well, that does it for this post. These changes would be great in my opinion but feel free to disagree. Stay tuned for more posts! More to come!

+++Rescue Mission Battle Report+++

Welcome back to Obsidian Tower! Today for your enjoyment is a battle report of our custom rescue mission, featuring Lt. Varras. 

Left: The Battlefield    Right: The Bunker

The mission is simple. Escort Lt. Varras to the friendly deployment zone before time runs out. If he dies, Space Marines lose. If time runs out, Space Marines Lose. The Space Marines are on the clock this time. They desperately need to complete their mission before their off-world transport is overrun!

 Deployment

With the mission in mind, Zac's 62nd Cadians Square off against the Ultramarines 2nd Company. Ready to rip into their armor with a ferocity and firepower the Guard are known for.

Turn 1

 Slow Open

Not much happened turn 1, both armies started quite far apart. So the opening turn was utilized to maneuver to more advantageous firing positions. This gave the 62nd a chance to lockdown their firing lanes before a drop pod touched down!

Turn 2

"Blast 'em!"

The 62nd were quick to react to the threat on their frontline with a withering volley of plasma fire!

Left: Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken fires the final shot and destroyed the Dreadnaught

Right: Immediate re-enforcements touch town to fire anti-tank into exposed rear armor!

The vanguard of the Ultramarines focuses on the 62nd's powerful tanks in an early gambit to cripple their overwhelming firepower. Out of the two speeders meant to touch down, only one managed to find his mark. The other suffered a terrible accident!

Leman Russ Executioner is destroyed!

Turn 3

Left: The 62nd Cadians maneuver their Taurox to block Lt. Varras inside the bunker!

Right: Scions deep strike mishap and find themselves far away from the battle.

In a particularly cunning move, the 62nd Cadians attempt to prevent Lt. Varras from leaving the bunker by physically blocking the opening! This certainly complicates the mission for the Ultramarines.

Left: The Ultramarines form a firing line in an attempt to rout deep-striking Scions.

Right: Ultramarines arrive at the bunker amidst heavy resistance.

Turn 4

The Veterans of the 62nd fire into the Ultramarines Rhino and destroy it!

The Taurox is a powerful vehicle indeed; but with the additional firepower of the Veterans inside, the Rhino didn't stand a chance.

After suffering significant casualties, the backfield Scions form a counter attack!

The Punisher.

Zac's punisher certainly didn't want that land speeder shooting it's rear armor! It killed it 6 times over.

Desperate push!

Lt. Varras found himself essentially trapped inside the bunker now. As a response, the Ultramarines unleashed their veteran Terminators to clear out the Guard and make way for Varras. The survivors of 2nd squad pushed up the left flank to hold off incoming attackers.

Left: Scions engage in close quarters combat

Right: Ultramarines move to secure backfield

The First Company unleashes the fury of Ultramar on a defiant Taurox!

Ultramarine Terminators manage to clear the way. Cadian Veterans fall back and take up defensive positions in the face of a ferocious foe.

Turn 5

Counter Attack!

The 62nd Cadians make one last push forward in an attempt to halt the Ultramarines.

Lt. Varras sprints to the Land Raider!

Left: The Terminators make one last push in an attempt to cover the retreat.

Right: The Land Raider fires at the enemy command tank!

Left: A small skirmish keeps the remaining Scions right of deployment busy

Right: The Land Raider races against the clock

The Ultramarines are on the brink of victory, however they are a turn behind schedule. Due to the keen positioning of the Taurox, Lt. Varras is outside the deployment zone at the end of Turn 5!

Left: Ultramarines bog down anti-tank Scions in their deployment zone.

Right: The Last Stand of 1st Company

The Turn 6 Dice is rolled and...

Game Over!

The Ultramarines were too slow Rescuing Lt. Varras. The Thunderhawk waiting just south of the battlefield was overrun and Lt. Varras did not escape! I hope you enjoyed, more to come!