Gaming Table Gets a Game

Last night, Jeanie finally caved and played a game of 40k with me! We played just shy of 1,000 points. She used her Eldar because she wanted to play with the Harlequins and I used the Ultramarines because I don't have enough Knights Bellicose ready to use yet.

The game ended after Turn 5 with me as the victor. She gave me a run for my money, though. I will admit that the game ended with a small amount of frustration on account of us having to keep stopping to check the rules. I haven't played many games of 7th edition, so I wasn't as familiar with the rules and had to keep looking things up.

Take a look at how the game went!

The starting lineup!

Jeanie considers her move.

Our first experience with the Psychic Phase.

The Ultramarines take some losses.

Close combat!

Both sides take losses.

Captain Sicarius 

End of the game!

Next time, I'll have progress on my next painting progress and a plan on what's coming up next! Keep checking back and have fun painting!

Ultramarines vs. Eldar

Not long ago, my best friend Sean Tipper came over to visit. One day during his visit we went down to Dice Age to get a game in. There isn't enough terrain ready for the table at the house or we would have put up a battle report from there so you guys could see the terrain table in action. I was really curious how a heavily forested board would play since that's mainly what my fist terrain table would play like. We rolled for terrain and then put trees on the board wherever we could.

I thought it was a pretty fun game! It was my first time playing 7th Edition and I haven't used my models in a while, so I ended up learning a lot. Check out the pictures below to see how the game went!

Trees everywhere!

A heavily forested board should let me know how the table
at home will turn out.

All set up!

The two remaining Ultramarines from the combat squad make
a final push for the objective in the trees. They never made it.

See the dreadnought? Being the only armor on the table,
he went down pretty quick.

Epic combat! Captain Sicarius did pretty well!

The devastators taking out a target of opportunity.

Sicarius in the end

Stretching out from an objective to see around a hill

The Eldar holding two objectives

In the end, Sean won with the Eldar. It was a really fun game. I'm looking forward to getting some terrain done so that I can have games like this at home. That being said, the next Knights Bellicose squad is almost completed! It'll be my most lively squad to date because I plan on making it available for use in kill team games. Next up will be a few trees to use on the terrain table! Keep checking back to see how things turn out!

Until next time, have fun painting!

How to Start a New Army

When the new Space Marine codex came out, I decided to stop working on the Ultramarines and formally begin work on my home-brewed chapter, the Knights Bellicose.

Before I jumped right into gluing and painting models, however, I wanted to do a bit of research first. I've had my test model from a while back, but that wasn't quite enough. How was I going to do the shoulders? How about the bases? There are many different things to consider when starting an army from scratch. In my opinion, it's best to get it all figured out before any real final work begins.Trying to figure stuff out on the fly is the easiest way to end up with inconsistencies in your army.

As you've seen in my recent blog posts, I've been working on shoulder pads, trying to nail down what shapes I'll be using and how the insignia itself will go. I moved the squad numbers up to the shoulder pads (whereas the Ultramarines had it on their legs) to make them easier to see. I've also decided on hand-painting the symbols instead of using transfers, as I think the hand-painted ones look better. Testing out my markings also helps us develop theories on how to paint each symbol. In the case of the assault squad symbol, for instance, I've realized that painting the crossed arrows is far to difficult to paint consistently, so I went with a simple "X" design. Simpler designs seem to work better for me and can look more realistic.

Aside from the shoulder pads, the bases have also been an issue for me. I know that I want to have painted bases, instead of just gluing rocks down after the models are sealed (again, like the Ultramarines). I like the bases on the Eldar, but they won't work either. Since brown is a huge color for the Knights Bellicose color scheme, I'm afraid that brown bases will detract from the overall model. So how do I fix this? Well, I do a test.

I've prepared several bases to test different color schemes The three on the bottom are going to have different sized rocks on the blank spots so I can test out different textures.

Even if you're using a pre-existing chapter, there's a lot to think about. Lets say you're painting Imperial Fists. Yes, they're yellow, but what shade will you be using? What exact colors are you going to use? It's best to make up a few test models to test out all your colors and techniques. That way, you'll know everything you're going to do before hand and you'll be more confident while painting.

As far as painting is concerned, I've decided to make a change to my color scheme. While I like the overall colors, I'm considering changing the colors of the boltguns. Since my current test model is brown, I'm afraid it'll blend into the model too much and make it too difficult to see when I'm playing a game. I like that the Ultramarines have a nice red-on-blue contrast with all their weapons and wargear. I'll be painting several test models to help me figure out how I want to do this.

Also, I prefer to have one beakie helmet in every five helmets. If I was playing something like Raven Guard, however, I might want to have them more often. Also, I like having lots of little details on my models, so I make sure that every marine with a bolter has a magazine pouch to go with it. Its best to write down all the little bits rules you plan on following so that you can remain consistent throughout your army.

As you can see, there is a whole lot to think about whether you are making your own army or building a pre-existing chapter. Stay tuned to see more progress on my research and to see how it all turns out! I should have the results of my base test before too long. After that, I make a few test models and then I'm ready to start painting my first real Knights Bellicose models! Keep checking back to see what happens!

1,750 Point Battle

This past Monday, I went down to my local game store, Dice Age Games to attend my regular Monday night game. Monday is their 40k night. Instead of playing my regular 1,000 point Ultramarine list like I have been doing, I decided to combine the Ultramarnes and the Eldar to create a 1,750 list. This was my first time using an allied force and the result was pretty cool! I really like how I can use the strengths of one army to fill in the shortcomings in another. This should increase the variety of army lists we'll see at tournaments and simple friendly games.

The idea came up when my rules-advisor and best friend, Sean Tipper, came to visit me from California. While he was here, he gave me the idea of using my Grey Knights to augment my Ultramarines force. When I throw in an Inquisitor with them, that's a quick way to add 250 points into my army. It also makes me want to finish up that Arbites squad to use as a squad of Inquisitorial henchmen, but that's neither here nor there.

When he showed me the allies table and we learned that the Space Marines and Eldar can fight together, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities for army lists. In the short term, it means I can play larger games quicker by combining forces. Check out the pictures below to see both armies fighting together for once!

The battle lines are drawn

Ultramarines and Eldar, ready to fight!

Guardians holding the objective (red crystal)

Captain Sicarius joins up with 1st squad

In gaming news, all the rumors around here point to Eldar being the next army to get updated, with Space Marines coming in shortly after that. With the promise of new rules and new models on the horizon, I won't be working on any Space Marines or Eldar after I finish the Guardian squad I'm currently working on. While I wait for the new armies to come out, I'm going to work on my Grey Knights, Inquisitor, and Arbites to use as my allied force. Since I'm using them out of the Grey Knights codex (which isn't changing any time soon) and they're allies of convenience for both the Eldar and the Space Marines, I can work on them with no threat of their rules changing or new models coming out. Keep checking back to see how the new Grey Knighs come out and what cool conversions I do when working on the Arbites!

Painting Contests

Ever since I started painting my Ultramarines back in mid 2008, I had always been a pretty seclusive hobbiest. Being that I'm such a slow painter, I had always spent most of my time painting instead of playing. It was only recently that I had enough models to start playing regularly. On March 25th, however, my local Games Workshop was celebrating the 25th anniversary of Warhammer 40,000 and was running several events that weekend. Two of those events were painting contests. Naturally, I entered them both.

The first contest was on Saturday night and was done in-store. Everyone was to bring a fully assembled and primed model to paint in store. We had two hours to complete the event. Given that I usually take upwards of a week to complete a single model, this would be a problem for me. I brought an Ork Nob from the Assault on Black Reach set because it had a nice amount of detail but should still paint up fairly quickly.

I had some problems during the contest because I just wasn't used to painting that quickly. Also, I used half the time painting just his skin. When the store manager called for us to put our brushes down, I clearly wasn't finished. I set him down in the judging area anyway and this is how he looked:

The pin was my prize for winning

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how the model turned out. Judging was done by everyone in the store, so the manager gave everyone in the store an opportunity to vote on what models they liked the best I ended up taking first place in that competition, along with a Necron player from the Youngblood category.

As for the second contest, we were to submit a model that we had completely finished. No painting in store, no rushing to finish. Just submit a model that was already done. The only stipulation is that the model had to be a space marine. Naturally, I was pretty confident on my ability to do well in this competition. I ended up going with my Captain. In this contest, the judging would be done by the store manager. I ended up taking first place in this contest as well, though a lone space marine scout gave me quite a run for my money.

My contest entry

This awesome scout made me worry. I though he was gonna win.

That's some pretty awesome camo on that cloak.

My trophy for winning!

After winning two contests in a row, I don't think I'm going to enter the next one that rolls around. I don't want to discourage other painters from even trying. I don't want to be that guy. Instead, next time there's a competition, I'm going to offer to make the trophies for it. I think that would be neat.

Through all the competitions, I still haven't forgotten about my promise to make the Eldar armor tutorial. It's coming along quite nicely and should be ready to be posted in a few weeks. Keep checking back! The tutorial should be posted before too long!

Battle Report: Ultramarines vs. Orks

Yesterday, I headed down to my local Games Workshop and played a game with Tom, who I met that day. We played 1,000 points because that's all I had finished. You can see my list on the Ultramarines page. I don't remember exactly what he brought because I'm not all that familiar with Orks, but I do remember Snikrot, a Warboss, a squad of Nobz, and a bunch of Kommandos.

I let Tom thumb through my copy of the Battle Missions book and he found the All-Round Defense mission, which neither of us had ever played before. I deployed in the center of the map and he infiltrated two units into the ruins on either side of me.

Ultramarines deployed

Orks push in through the perimeter

 Tom and his Orks went first. He moved his two squads through the ruins and sacrificed his shooting to run them a bit closer.. On my turn, I opened up on them with everything I had in an attempt to keep them outside my perimeter. The Orks stayed their ground, leapt into my perimeter, and assaulted me on Turn 2.

Kill them before they get too close!

This is where my sergeant dies. . .

First Squad lost combat by losing 4 models, one of which was the squad's sergeant. They passed their leadership test and stayed their ground. The rest of the Ultramarines responded by shooting at the other squad and bringing it down to just two kommandos remaining. They also passed their leadership test and stayed in the fight.

First Squad runs!

By now, Tom has brought in the rest of his army from reserves. The Orks assault Second Squad with kommandos in their turn and end up running. In response, I decided to shoot my entire army at the newly arrived Nobz unit. Miraculously, they didn't die. They were, however, under strength and running away.

Warboss leading the Nobz

Turn 4 ended up being the final turn due to time constraints on both sides. In a last-ditch effort, the Warboss and his boyz failed to finish off first squad and the game ended in an Astartes victory. If I had it to do over, I would have definitely made some different decisions because I'm not so sure I would have survived six full turns. Good game, Tom!

Drop Pod: Monotonous Details

After completing my third tactical squad, my plan was to put the Ultramarines down for a while and start working on my 1,000 point Eldar list. I didn't have the Dire Avengers I was supposed to be building, so my wife suggested that I finally finish that drop pod she bought me a few Christmases ago. Right now, her Eldar have been pushed back a bit. I'm going to finish this drop pod before delving into the Eldar once more.

At its current progress, the doors and floor are almost ready to be sealed and glued together. All I have to do is the center section on 4 of the 5 doors and I can start sealing and gluing.

When finished, the other doors will have Ultramarine symbols as well.

The metal lines on the inside of the doors were very monotonous.

Having gotten this far in the painting process, I'm reminded why I like playing troop-heavy armies and why I dislike painting vehicles. Transferring my Ultramarines' painting technique to vehicles means that I had to take extra time putting the black lining into the metal areas of the doors. I paint slow enough as it is, but applying my processes to such a large model is just so monotonous. The benefit, however, is that it should match quite well with the rest of the army and so far I'm really liking the outcome.

If any of my readers here are getting discouraged from painting such repetitive details, keep at it! I just recently got through a very difficult spot on these doors and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out despite how long it took to accomplish it. Looking back at all the repetitive details that I've already accomplished helps keep me motivated to continue. Take a look at what I mean!

Painting repetitive details pays off in the long run!

Another problem I've discovered is in my harness section. This was a section that I put together a long time ago, right when I got the model. When I put it together, I wasn't thinking about how I was going to paint it. Now I'm paying for it.

Add caption

I think it'll look really good after it's completed, sealed, and glued in place. Right now, however, I keep dwelling on the fact that I should not have assembled it as much as I have before painting it. If anyone is reading this and thinking about buying their first drop pod, put together the center section and the five harness sections, then paint them independently. To do it all together is almost more trouble than its worth.

Needless to say, I won't ever be playing a drop pod list. Also, if I ever decide to paint another drop pod, I'll assemble it differently so that its easier to paint. In the end, I think it'll all be worth it. I think this drop pod is going to look pretty sweet when its done.

Have you ever worked on a model with monotonous details? How'd you get through it (or did you)? Have you ever assembled a model in such a way that made it harder to paint? What'd you do?

Devastator Squad Complete

The Ultramarines 2nd now has one of its devastator squads in its ranks. With the completion of this squad of heavy weapons troopers, my army is officially at 1,000 points. I'm going to start looking for smaller tournaments to participate in. In the future, you can see some tournament coverage and maybe even a battle report or two in the blog.

As for now, check out the Ultramarines page to see the new models!

I'm still working on that armor tutorial, or at least thinking a lot about it. With all the long hours I'm constantly putting in at work, it's difficult to find time to work on it. As soon as it's done, it'll get posted up here for everyone to see! Keep checking back!

Getting Back into Gaming

A few months ago, I had moved into a new apartment. It was far enough from my old place that I needed to start going to a closer Games Workshop. A few days ago, I finally had the opportunity to go in and introduce myself.

I brought in my Titan and all the Ultramarines that I had finished. I also brought in the Devastator squad that I was still working on. I've never transported an unfinished squad before, so I was a little worried. Thankfully, they were okay. No paint rubbed off at all.

After showing up and introducing myself, I was able to play a 1,000 point game with someone I had met there. He was pretty new to the game and I hadn't played in a long time, so we left our rule books open and figured stuff out together.

My opponent: Chaos Space Marines

The 2nd Company takes aim at the Chaos downrange

Marking the bases helps since they have no arms yet

I ended up winning in the end, but the match taught me a few things about how to use my army. I learned that I'm not set up well for close combat. He brought two squads of jump infantry and I was luckily able to blow them off the table before they got to my gun line.

All in all, it was a good trip. I'm still going to focus on painting, but I think I'll start making time every once in a while to head down there and get a game in more often.

Third Tactical Squad Complete

Since coming back from my field time with the Army, I've put a lot of work back into my Ultramarines.I now present to you my third and final tactical squad. Check out the Ultramarines page to see the new squad!

It feels good to have this squad done. Having a third tactical squad to work with gives me a lot more flexibility on the battlefield. Also, painting three tactical squads in a row has become quite tedious. I was painting marines with bolters after marines with bolters after marines with bolters and it was becoming a bit difficult to find the motivation to continue. Now that the mainstay of my army is complete, I can start focusing on things that are different and, in my opinion, more fun to paint.

Right now, I'm working on a devastator squad comprised of a sergeant, three missile launchers, and a lascannon. Once those are done, I'll be at 1,000 points and I can really start playing more.

I'm making sure to take pictures of my devastators through every step of the painting process. After the squad is complete, I'm hoping to post up several tutorials to help everyone see how I get the results I do. First and foremost is a nice armor tutorial. I'm also hoping to get several other tutorials out of this squad; weapons, lenses and bases being among those covered.

So stay tuned! There's good stuff coming!