No Pics, Tourney Summary Instead

So, I missed Picture Friday on the 26th of July due to work becoming a bitch and a half for the last couple weeks. Oops.

However, I was actually able to attend the FLGS's monthly on the 27th at the last minute. I'd made up a few lists at the scheduled 1250 point level just for fun, and ended up bringing:

Librarian (Gate, Might)
Two Tac Squads in Rhinos
Two Dreadnoughts
Thunderfire Cannon
Two Landspeeders with Multimeltas
Two Attack Bikes with Multimeltas
Three Attack Bikes with Multimeltas

Did you notice that Fast Attack slot packed with melta?

I was a tad grumpy when I showed up, due to carryover from the previous hell week. When I first arrived, there were only four people present, including myself. Ugh. I decided that if two more didn't show, I was going home. I had yard work and gardening to do instead of a 4-person event.

Thankfully, two more players did show, so we ran a 6-man event.

My first game was against Thor from Creative Twilight, and his Chaos Marines. I remember a Chaos Lord, two units of Plague Marines in Rhinos, a Helbrute, a Forgefiend, a Defiler, and a Predator. We played on an ice board with plenty of 2" hills. The games are a bit of a blur to me at this point, but there were two crucial points in the game.
First was my collapsing of his right flank by blowing up the Defiler and the Forgefiend with the fast melta units in a single turn.
Second was my tendency toward bloodlust/tunnel vision costing me the game. We were after objectives as a primary, and I held one on the final turn, as did Thor. But, I had my attack bikes lined up perfectly for a turbo boost onto his objective when my final turn came around. I was thinking ahead for once. But when my turn arrived, I moved the bikes forward to boost range and then fired their weapons at the unit squatting on the objective (Plague Marines with Lord). I rattled off almost my entire army at those Plague Marines and failed to knock them out. With only two units left to shoot, I realized my mistake. I'd fired the attack bikes instead of boosting. CRAAAAP. It cost me the primary win, instead knocking me down to a tie.
The fast melta was a champ in this game due to the large number of walkers across the table.

It was far less useful in Game Two, where I faced a CSM/Daemon zombie horde. Typhus, Huron, three huge squads of zombies, a Helldrake, Spawn of Nurgle, and a Maulerfiend. I simply didn't have the guns for this one and lost. Folks at the FLGS groan when they see this list across from themselves, but I don't mind it terribly. I always take it as a challenge to my maneuvering and dice rolling to see if I can down that many zombies and still meet mission objectives. I do hate that damn Helldrake, though.

Game Three was against a Tau/Ork combo. Kill points primary, objectives secondary, something else tertiary. This one was played under Hammer and Anvil (short board edge deployment). I lost on KP, simply because it was too hard to make Tau units flee inside the Ethereal's 12" Leadership 10 bubble when they're behind Aegis Lines. I forced morale on one unit of Kroot every single game turn (though we only got three turns in 1:45) and they never broke due to one model inside the Ld10 bubble. I do have to wonder if I'd have done better if I'd left the Rhinos off the board in reserve. Two of the three KP I gave up were those Rhinos. Everything else was durable or unflappable.

At the end of the day I landed in 4th of 6. Typical for me, right in the middle areas of the pack.
I did alright with basic Tactical Marines. They're not flashy, but they do stick around forever. I also really love my Dreads, but they don't tend to put out much damage. I think this is due to a very low rate of fire. Unless you run the Rifledread, you're capping out at six shots a turn (assault cannon and storm bolter or auto cannon). Plus, those shots are all anti-infantry strength values and Marines have plenty of anti-infantry guns all around. My theory is that this is why the Mortis Contemptor is so popular. Those two Kheres Assault Cannons crank out a bucket full of shots every turn, while the regular Dreads simply don't measure up. I've got the rules for the Contemptor in IA:Aeronautica, but to tell the truth, I'm not a massive fan of the Contemptor's look (nor that of the Tartaros Terminators).

I can't think of another Marine unit that can really put out the volume of fire that a Kheres-armed Contemptor is capable of, can you?

Picture Friday: July 19th Edition

In an effort to keep true to my promise of pictures at least every Friday, I sat down last night and worked on my Hive Tyrant.
I added the shading wash to his armor, and then the first blending coat. It's not much to look at right now:

You can see how uneven my base coats are when I start on these armor parts. This is due to white primer, large flat areas, and green paint from the flesh. By the time I'm done, you never even see those splotches any more. Any that you do see are semi-intentional, as they give the carapace a somewhat natural mottled look in small areas.

I'd forgotten how long a process painting the brown is. I think I use a total of 8 or 9 different color transitions from dark to light, including the streaking colors. I could probably get away with fewer, but oh well. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
Since I'm halfway through the third color in the process, only six more to go after this! Muahahah!

I've also got a quick shot of the next Sternguard model in the line:

It's just a basic grenade throwing pose. I wanted to have at least one guy who wasn't just standing there aiming a bolter. Plus, I have a ton of those damned grenade arms. I could probably start chopping the hands off and replacing with pistols and such. I'd have to save the removed hands, because I'm silly like that.

Looks to be a busy weekend in non-hobby life, so I'll see you when I see you!

If It's Brown...

...it means I'm making progress! Or it means you were raised in a water-conserving household.
The green on my Tyrant is done, and I've moved on to the brown carapace. Here's the washed-out photo to prove it:

 

This is just the basecoat color, which will be shaded and brought up to match the arms. If you forget what those looked like:

 



It may not look like the greens match, but that's because I'm terrible about setting up my lights. The first shot was taken right under my OttLight, and that gives it a blue tint. The second was a little out and to the right of the light.  

 

I think the best, most motivational time in the process of painting a model is when you finish the "main" color. For these Tyranids, it's the green. The process of painting the green body is long and tedious. For my Ultramarines, it's the blue. As soon as I get beyond those two colors and start hitting details, the process becomes far more interesting. I think it might be because when you're going from primer to body color, there's not much to look at. You have some nicely shaded and highlighted blue or green, but little else. Once you start hitting detail colors, the model really starts to take shape as an actual [I]figure[/I] instead of just a [I]model[/I].

 

I foresee my work ramping up on the Tyrant as a result of this extra little bump of motivation, at least until I hit the base building stage. Still stumped on that one, and really need to do some experiments with it. I've just been too tired or busy lately.

 

I'm going to try to have a photo of some kind of work in progress every Friday from now on. The blog has a lot of text-only posts, and those are pointless, especially when I'm talking about painting!

Only Three More Games?

If the rumors are to be believed, there will be a new Space Marine codex out around Labor Day. I think this means I'll only get three more games in with my Space Marines before they're overhauled. The FLGS' July tournament is on a day I cannot attend, so that only leaves our August monthly in which to play!
I don't get the chance to make it to the weekly 40K night at the shop due to life. This summer it's hockey (my team skates on Wednesday nights), but typically it's just lack of free time.

I think I might put my Marine plans in a deep freeze until September. I've been working on Sternguard models lately, with a third model 90% done, and two more in the works for a squad of five. After that I was planning on Scout Bikes or a Storm Raven. I'm icing those for now, as I won't have time to finish any full squad or vehicle model other than the Sternguard before Labor Day. The best plan is probably to work on basic Marine mainstays: Tactical Marines or Rhinos.

So, what will my "last hurrah" with my Marines be? I guess it depends on the August event format. Do I want to go back to the core roots of marines with Tacticals and various support, or run the bikes one last time before the new book invalidates the build without paying an extra $50 for the White Scars supplement? Only time will tell!

I think that I'll turn my focus to finishing the Hive Tyrant to a nice standard for our big event in November. I don't plan to play a Tyranid army then, but he'll be a nice submission into the painting competition. Nids are also supposedly right behind Marines for a codex, if you believe the Internet whisperings. That makes me hesitant to keep plugging away on models, as there's no clue what they'll change, and if any of the models I create between now and then will become invalid. Marines are easier to cope with changes, as they all have pretty standard armaments. Bugs have varied wildly from third edition on up.

Hilariously, I did just buy some bitz for my Nids, alongside some parts that will be used to create the painting trophies for the November event. I bought the body and legs for a Carnifex, as I already have several weapon sprues and heads/carapaces for that model. The parts were cheaper than retail by a good margin, and will help me clear up the pile of unused bits. I also nabbed a set of Vargheist wings to see how they stack up to the Forgeworld Shrike Wings kit. I bought that kit a couple months ago, and am honestly not super impressed with it. The wings don't match the current Nid aesthetic. I figure with some clever modifications, I can make the Vargheist wings look more Nid-like.

Speakling of Forgeworld, they just released two new HH kits. The Palatine Blades and Destroyers with jump packs. Wow. Nice models! I really like Mk4 armor kits, though I'm not a huge fan of the rad-shielded helmets. The Palatines have some great parts, but all the EC-specific icons would have to be sold or traded away.

Sternguard! Jumping Bug!

I found the time this weekend to take some semi-good photos of the Sternguard model I just finished, and the current status of my Hive Tyrant.
Here's the Sternguard:

 

 

Simple and clean, as is my current trend with Marines. This is the last Sternguard model to use a Mk8 armor torso. As much as I like the look, it's just too much of a pain in the ass to get the painted heads in there without damaging the paint. 

This guy also has a Forge World etched brass Aquila added to his shin. I bought a whole sheet of those, having seen them used to great effect on other peoples' models online. They are a major bitch to work with, however. The smallest two sizes are so tiny that it's nearly impossible to bend them neatly, and I ruined two of the smallest sizes working on this model. That's ok, as the sheet comes with tons of them. I'd originally planned to put an Aquila across his brow, or on the backs of his hands, but failed in the bending of the pieces and settled for the shin.
The tiniest two sizes also have minute detail on the feathers that is obliterated when you prime them. I know some folks use etched brass pieces without painting them, but it just looks odd to me when you have unpainted parts on a painted model.
I've already begun working on the fourth squad member. I've got him base coated in Ultramarine Shadow and a base picked out.

Then, there's the Hive Tyrant:

 

 

There's not a ton to see here. I've got three and a half color coats on him, with another quick coat of Olive Green needed before I continue up the spectrum. The flesh will match the rest of the model...eventually.

The 40mm base is there just to have something to hold on to while I paint, though I'm finding myself holding on to the top carapace as well due to the top heaviness of the model. When I'm don painting, I'll pop the model off the 40mm and put it on its proper 60mm.

 

I have 4 of 5 Genestealers mounted on wires and corks, and still have to build my cork holder. I also have to do some experiments on basing the Tyranids using grey-brown paint and resin sand, then adding static grass and small plants. Maybe a mulch-as-rock piece on the larger bases.

 

It's nice to be moving forward!