Battlefleet Gothic Modeling and Painting

So, if you’ve read some of the posts in this blog, you’ll know I got into Battlefleet Gothic because my friend Lexington did.  I started a Space Marine Fleet to accompany my 40K Space Marine Army, the Azure Flames.  You’ll see some of their ships in the gallery below.

But, since then, I have been on a bit of a Gothic kick.  I am a teacher (currently middle school, but I plan to move to a High School eventually) and I want to be able to start a wargaming club at that school.  I needed two fleets to teach someone how to play Gothic, and the best way to do that is with Imperial Navy and Chaos fleets.  So I have those now.

The Azure Flames fleet has custom flames sculpted on all the capital ships.  They are Azure Flames blue with Enchanted blue details and Ice blue highlights.  They have their bearing markers painted on the base, and their names in calligraphy with flame details.

The Chaos Fleet is a dark purple with lighter drybrush highlights.  The metal is bronze and the lighiting is Mechrite Red with Blood Red over the top of it.

The Imperial Navy fleet is Codex Gray with a wash of black and then highlighted with lighter grays twice.  The metal is gold and the front is Blood Red.  Lighting is white or Ice blue.

You’ll see some small black squares with stuff on it.  These are Low Orbit Table defenses.  The Airstrip has a putty-molded copy of an Imperial Fury Interceptor, a piece of blister plastic for a runway, and beads that look like a control tower and a hangar.  Once painted, I will scrape the sides of the top bead on the tower to make it clear blue.  The one with the 6 green hatches is a missile silo, putty moulded from the Epic scale Rhino.  The thing that looks like the power generator and Ion cannon from The Empire Strikes Back is a Lance battery.  Note that all of these are mounted with a half of an Epic base, so that when balanced on this they point “up” to the top of the low orbit table.

I also made Gas and Dust Clouds from pictures given to me by John.  These are of all possible sizes you can generate, and have been laminated 10 mil so that they will last forever.  There are also ring-shaped gas and dust clouds.  Not shown are asteroids, also laminated 10 mil.  The Gas and Dust Clouds have the dimensions printed on the back.

I made some custom markers for the Sunward Edge, and Solar Flares and Radiation Bursts.  These will make keeping track of these easier.

Finally are markers for Warp Rifts similar to the Gas and Dust clouds.  These also have the dimensions on the back and are laminated 10 mil.

With these, some unpainted transports and orbital defenses, and a few other props, I have everything I need to play any game of Gothic at anytime.  I have a piece of black felt 4’x6′ and a smaller piece of blue felt for a low orbit table.

Liam Perseus, Chapter Master of the Azure Flames

Modeling

I made an old model of Perseus with the Terminator Captain with Storm Bolter model years ago, but he wasn’t that great.  The cabling looked bad and his storm shield was tiny.  My original idea was that it be a shield that incorporates weaponry, so that a successful block can be a slice as well.  The original model did not do it justice.

For the new model, I used Marneus Calgar’s upper torso, modified to get rid of the stupid eagles.  I used the Devastator Sergeant head, with an elongated nose.  I added a third and fourth service stud, as Perseus is about 400 years old.  The legs are the plastic legs from an Assault on Black Reach Terminator sergeant, with the flame added to the right knee pad.  On his back to cover up Marneus’ Bolter ammo feeds, I added some purity seals and scrolls.  I also added an Iron Halo on top.

For the arms, they are double dry-pinned with a magnet holding them on.  the pins come out of the torso, and the pin holes in the arms are deep, but are wide at the top so the pins slide right in.  You can pick up Perseus by any of his arms and he won’t fall apart, or change his pose.

Perseus’ Storm Shield was made from the Masters of the Chapter Storm Shield, and two plastic power axes and two pewter Bike sergeant power swords.  The Grenade arm is a standard Storm Bolter arm, with an Imperial Guard grenade launcher.

The Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield combo is the normal plastic one from the Termintator kit, with the Hammer modified with putty.

Paint used the standard Azure Flames color scheme, with a few embellishments on the feet and cape.

Backstory

Liam Perseus is a Terran.   His parents were pilgrims, and ended up serving the Ecclisiarchy on Terra itself.  He was born into servitude on Terra, and luckily for him, was a young teenager when the Tech Priests of Mars, at the behest of Inquisitor Eric Boucher, decided to make a Salamanders successor chapter.  Liam was simply scooped up by a Tech Priest, as his parents told him that he was destined for greater things.

Liam was one of the thousand Space Marines delivered to Nocturne as the Sons of the Salamander.  No Son had rank yet.  Being trained in the arts of war by their parent chapter caused Perseus to stand out.  His natural leadership qualities and powerful personality made him one of the first Sons of the Salamander to be promoted to Sergeant.

As the chapter structure took hold, Salamander Apothecaries noticed something strange.  The Sons were not affected by the radiation on Nocturne.  Perseus and his chapter brothers’ skin was not turning black, nor their eyes red.  One battle brother died in training, and the Apothecaries examined his gene seeds.  From that point on all Salamander and Sons of the Salamander Apothecaries were forbidden to speak of the possible genetic variance.  The official word was that they are a Vulkan chapter and the matter was closed.  Rumor persists to this day.

Perseus, being trained by ecclisiarchs as a child, found the Promethean Cult a bit dubious until he found the joy of making weapons.  He hand-crafted his first sword.  He insisted on using it to join in the yearly Salamander hunts on Nocturne.  Sadly, this sword was destroyed in the hunt when Perseus used it to prevent himself from falling into a volcano.  Perseus did bring home a Salamander pelt, but not the biggest.  Undeterred, Perseus used the pelt to make a shield.

Forty seven years of distinguished service as a sergeant followed.  Perseus fought traitors and aliens with equal fervor.  He was among the first to re-paint his armor when the Sons of the Salamander became the Azure Flames.  He fervently believed in Atrus’ vision.

His shield was severely damaged in a fight with the Iron Warriors.  He used it to block the attack of the traitor’s Power Fist.  The shield shattered like glass, and so did the bones in Perseus’ arm.  Perseus used the shattered remnant strapped to his arm as a weapon, jamming it into the traitor’s neck.

Perseus was soon promoted to the First Company, and chose the wargear of the Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield.  He was a part of the third Terminator squad during the invasion of Hive Fleet 2501 in the battle for the North Complex on Landon.  Atrus personally accompanied his squad, and Perseus watched as a Hive Tyrant cut him down.  Perseus smashed the Tyrant’s head with his Thunder Hammer, but Atrus was too far gone to save.  Perseus heard Atrus’ voice begging to be interred in a Sarcophagus.  He demanded that it be done.  It was.  Perseus became Captain of the First Company thereafter, and took on the duties of Chapter Master when appropriate.  Atrus was still the de facto Chapter Master.

Perseus took up a new project.  He remade his Storm Shield into a weapon, and trained with it to develop a new fighting style.  He became known as an invincible relentless combatant, able to turn the tide against the most skilled opponent.

When Atrus died in the Chasma Spica conflict, Perseus took his rightful place as the Chapter Master. He decreed that Iperin, the planet on which Atrus died, was to be the new homeworld for the Azure Flames.  Every Space Marine chapter in the Chasma Spica conflict backed up his claim.

Perseus has overseen the Chapter’s combat service.  He directs them to war torn zones where the Azure Flames go out of their way to protect refugees. Under this policy, refugees are relocated to Iperin, where they are given a new home in the rebuilt capital of Releeshan.  Perseus’ kind but stern leadership style and aged appearance has earned him the nickname “The Old Man.”  He struggles with the authority left by Atrus’ death, and works hard to groom Atrus’ gene-son Antonius for the day Perseus falls in battle.

Rules

When Perseus has a Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield, he is the Captain of the First Company and stands in for Darnath Lysander.  With his shield and grenade launcher, he has the following profile.

HQ – Chapter Master Liam Perseus: 260 Points

WS: 6
BS: 5
S: 4
T: 4
W: 4
I: 5
A: 4
Ld: 10

Equipment: Terminator Armour, Perseus’ Storm Shield, Auxilliary Grenade Launcher, Teleport Homer.

Special Rules

Eternal Warrior

Perseus’ Storm Shield: Perseus customized this tower sized Storm Shield by adding power weapons all along the perimeter. This makes the shield into a targe, used for both offense and defense. Perseus’ Storm Shield counts as both a Storm Shield and a Relic Blade. In addition, Perseus’ unique skills combined with the dangerous proposition of attacking an object covered with power weapons allows Perseus to re-roll all rolls in close combat to hit and to wound.

Riposte!: Perseus is a master of allowing an enemy to overextend themselves, and taking advantage of even the tiniest opening. In close combat, any successfully made armour or invulnerable save grants Perseus an extra attack at initiative 1. If Perseus is killed before initiative 1, the attacks are lost.

Orbital Bombardment: Perseus can call down an Orbital Bombardment, as detailed in the Chapter Master entry in the Space Marine Codex.

Choosing a Color Scheme

Warmachine (and its sister game Hordes) is awesome, especially now that 2nd ed has toned down the insane stuff from Legends.  That being said, the Iron Kingdoms is a much “smaller” world than 40K or even Warhammer Fantasy.  In Warmachine all Cygnar armies ideally work for the nation of… anyone?  Take a guess.  That’s right: CYGNAR.  One nation.  One armed force.  One color scheme.  Boring.  Sure, there are some alternate schemes in the Cygnar book, but even if everyone chose from those handful it would still be monotonous.

It is my contention that each player should create a completely original color scheme for each Warmachine faction they play.  Red Cygnar?  Awesome.  Rusty Menoth with Black armor?  Double-sweet.

When I choose to make a color scheme (for anything, not just Warmachine) I try to keep some sort of theme in mind.  For the Azure Flames, it was a blue Marine army with crisp, clean perfection.  There’s not a dirty model in the army.  For the Orks it was wacky, dirty fun.  When I chose to start painting Cygnar, it was around Apotheosis.  If no one remembers the fluff that far back, Cygnar was beset on all sides by invading forces.  It looked pretty grim for the boys (and girls) in blue.  So, I figured they couldn’t afford as much blue in their paint and switched to a cheaper blue-gray.  I also thought they’d run out of gold and switched to bronze.  It’s a poor-man’s Cygnar for a desperate nation melting its own silverware to pay for the wars on like twenty seven fronts.  Here is an image dump of all of my painted Cygnar stuff.

Dipping when you can’t “dip” – Ork Trukk

So Dipping is called that because you’re supposed to “dip” the mini in the woodstain.  However, this is just the easiest way to get the stain on the mini.  You can brush it on in cases where the mini is too large.  This is the first Trukk I painted.

You can see the pre-stain, post-stain, and finished product.  The yellows had to be reinforced, as the stain darkens them too much.  I also added some splattered bugs!

Gehn the Traitor, disciple of Matthius.

Modeling and Painting

Before Big Game 5, Matt Turner came down to help us build terrain.  While he was there, we discussed his Chaos Lord, Matthius, Prophet of the Four.  Matt said that he wanted Matthius to have a bodyguard of traitors from various armies.  I wasn’t sure about other people’s armies, but I instantly came up with an addendum to the main fluff story that involved this man:

I used the new Devastator Sergeant head, with the flat top filed away.  I used the Mark 9 sergeant armor torso, the old pewter bolter-melta, and a Chaos power fist, shoulder pad, and backpack.  The body was damaged as if it had suffered an explosion on Gehn’s left side, which is the arm that was replaced.  He was painted with the Azure Flames scheme, with a scheme similar to some of Matt’s chaos squads on the replaced arm.  Gehn was given as a gift to Matt before Big Game 5.

Background

The name of Gehn is cursed by the Azure Flames more than any other.  While the twists of Chaos have poisoned, mutated, or brainwashed battle brothers before, these individuals were exterminated.  Unlike others, Gehn chose to betray the Chapter.  The path between his recruitment and that fateful choice is twisted and convoluted.  This account merely scratches the surface of the events that led Gehn to choose madness over loyalty.

Gehn’s recruitment into the Chapter, like most battle brothers, came when his world was in need.  Riven was raided by Dark Eldar pirates for slaves year after year.  Losses were deemed minimal by Imperial tacticians, due to the fact that Riven had always made its imperial tithe.  Calls for aid went unanswered or were spectacularly late.  In c783m41, the Dark Eldar met their match.  The Battle Barge His Anvil leading approximately half the Azure Flames fleet met these raiders head on.  In a pincer action, the Dark Eldar ships were corralled by escorts as capital ships closed in.  Sadly, the captives aboard the ships perished in the attack, but the Dark Eldar raiding force was dealt a severe blow.  As is customary, the Azure Flames requested that all boys of age be allowed to prove themselves worthy of joining the Chapter.  Gehn was tested and proven well above his peers in the rigorous mental and physical challenges that all aspirants to the Azure Flames are put through, and the promising youth was quickly inducted into the Chapter.

Gehn’s career as a scout was not without glory, but was lackluster compared to some of his contemporaries.  He was eventually chosen and passed the final trial to become a Space Marine, and served in the reserves for 60 years before joining the 4th Company.  It is at this point that Gehn’s career became more illustrious.  He participated in the raid on Arkh, and played a vital role in capturing the hidden ruling council.  After several decades of service, he was eventually promoted to sergeant.  During his tenure he killed a Carnifex in close combat and was at the forefront of the push to take the Traitor’s Gate on Yttran.  Gehn’s ambition made him to continue to strive to become a captain, but though his service was admirable, no position of Captain was ever available.

Then Antonius was recruited into the Scouts.  Gehn took notice when Antonius was advanced to Space Marine faster than any other Scout on record.  He then became enraged when the youth was promoted to Sergeant of the 5th Squad, 4th Company after the infiltration action on Iperin during the Chasma Spica conflict.  During Antonius’ induction ritual, Gehn refrained from joining in the toast.  Antonius thought nothing of it, but Captain Ganendra did.  He notified Atrus, and Atrus consulted his visions of the future.  To his horror, the visions spoke that Gehn would betray the Chapter.  Atrus sought to send the 4th Company into battle on Julius, and had Ganendra use the 6th squad as bait for the enemy.  Gehn and his squad were hit by the blast of a battle cannon.  Gehn was knocked unconscious and captured by Chaos forces led by Matthius, Prophet of the Four.

Gehn was interrogated and tortured by Matthius’ subordinates until Matthius himself gave a cryptic order to bring no more harm to the prisoner.  Matthius personally interrogated Gehn for several days.  Hints and whispers that only Matthius hear from the Gods of Chaos guided him.  Then came the secret – Matthius learned that Antonius was the gene-son of Atrus.  Matthius used this information to batter holes in Gehn’s tired, damaged faith. As Matthius slowly revealed the truth, Gehn’s hatred for Antonius eclipsed that which he felt for the Dark Gods and their minions.  Here was a boy promoted through deliberate favoritism while Gehn was passed up time and time again.  That was not just.  Gehn wanted more, and Matthius promised it.  Gehn fell to Chaos with one word: “Yes.”

Gehn’s knowledge of Azure Flames security protocol proved devastating.  While his codes were invalidated, he knew how certain individuals would act.  Matthius’ forces penned in the beleaguered 4th Company with the help of mentally-enslaved Orks.  Gehn saw fit to taunt his former allies through transmissions while the forces of Chaos closed in around them.  His name was spoken as a curse by the entire Chapter as his betrayal was revealed.

The victory of the imperial forces at Daskros changed little about Gehn’s ambitions.  Though he fought for his life against the newly freed Orks, he escaped from the Chasma Spica alongside his new master Matthius.  He now fights for power and glory, to exult the Gods who recognize his greatness.  Above all, he waits for the chance to exact his revenge on the upstart boy that had everything handed to him.  Thus through jealousy did Gehn fall.

Just as Tzeentch told Matthius he would.

Poindexta Smartyskull: The Ork with two Brains.

Conversion and Painting

A rather simple conversion, but a good one.  I took Ghazgkull, sawed off the bottom of the cow-skull banner, and replaced the pole with a brass rod.  I cut a brain shape and a lightbulb shaped skull out of plasticard.  I then cut a smaller circle, to be the banner’s monocle.

For Smartyskull’s head, I had a square piece of plastic left over from a Trukk conversion.  I coated this with putty, and put it on his left side of his head (seen on the right in the photo).  I then filled out the other half of the head with a blob of putty that is much more rounded.  I added some small sausages of putty to the front of the head, and flattened them slightly to make the veins.

The monocle is a simple Ork shoota crosshairs bit, with the insides and outsides smoothed.  The chain is a thin strand of putty.

Smartyskull was painted using the same dipping technique seen in my dipping post.

Backstory

Dexa was just a regular boy until he unwittingly took a bolter round to the head for his Warboss. The Boss ordered the Dok and the Mek to rebuild Dexa’s head. Dok Gillgivva wanted to use a nice shiny Ork brain, put together piecemeal from those previous owners who hadn’t quite made it on the operatin’ table, and also to install some shiny new gills. Manik Upzindownz da Mad Mek wanted to try out a new cybork brain he had made from several good bitz, including the machine-spirit thingie from a Beekie Land Raider and his best pocketwatch. As Orks often do, they came to blows until the Boss broke them up and told them to work together or else he’d smash both of them good.

So they used both brains. They had to weld a lot of armour, and use a discarded skull here and there for spare bits of bone, but at the end, Dexa had a shiny new lightbulb shaped head. Dexa got a lot smarter after that, and intuitivley knew High Gothic, as well as gained an aptitude for strategy and logic. He was smarter than lots of sumboys!

After this the Nob of Dexa’s slugga boyz met with an “accident” when his power klaw “malfunctioned,” and Dexa took all of his stuff. Dexa grew in size, as Orks who challenge thier superiors do, until the boss noticed that Dexa was a threat to his power. Luckily for Dexa, he saw the boss sneaking up on him, sidestepped the Boss’ choppa, and shot the boss in the throat, then the head twice. The Boss’ most loyal Nob stepped up to give Dexa what for, and Dexa shot him point blank.

“Anybody else wanna ‘ave a go?” Dexa inquired. No one stepped forward. Dexa became the new boss and insisted on being called Poindexta. Due to his large cranium and his flair for strategy which led them to several successful raids, he earned the nickname Poindexta Smartyskull. He rules his tribe with a combination of low kunnin and head krumpin. He has most of the major tents or structures bugged, and bribes gretchin to be his (unreliable) eyes and ears. Lone dissenters are shot in the back or cut in half with a power klaw, and groups are incinerated by a loyal Burna boy. Poindexta Smartyskull leads his Blood Axe warband through the stars, trying to reconcile the conflict between the Ork part of his brain that loves a good fight, and the man-made computer that makes him insightful, witty, and urbane. He loves to take human prisoners because he needs someone to talk to, though his nobs often ruin the conversations by butting in.

Modular Space Marine Vehicles

In preparation for the Big Game 5, I decided to update all of my old Rhino Chassis vehicles.  I called it the “New Rhino Chassis Project.”  Going the extra mile, I wanted to save some money and make modular vehicles that could be ANY variant of the Predator tank, or a Whirlwind.  Here’s what I did.

Two Rhino Chassis were given large Rare Earth magnets on the inside of their doors, and a Predator/Whirlwind top hatch.  I then made Predator Side Sponsons and regular doors that were magnetized.  Note that the magnet on the regular doors has since been replaced with a much smaller magnet, as it was near impossible to remove the door.

Next, the sponsons and Predator sponson guns were modified using Legos.  This lets them fit together snugly without interfering with the other magnet.  The Whirlwind Turrets were also modified with Legos so the regular and Castellan missiles could be switched out.

The Predator turrets were modified with magnets in a “clamshell” configuration to switch out the guns easily.  The ammo boxes on the back have magnets as well, letting them fit on snugly without attaching permanently.

As a result these two tanks can be ANY variant.  Las OR Autocannon Pred with HB or Las sponsons OR no sponsons.  It could also be a Whirlwind with either of the two missiles.

Adventures in Dipping

So, for those who read my background, you know I got into Orks a while ago, and I got a lot of Orks at once.  I was looking for a way to paint them and make them look good, easily.  I found the answer in a process called Dipping.  For those that don’t know, Dipping is a painting process that takes the hard work out of shading.  Dipping has three steps:

1. Basecoat the model with no depth or highlights.  This is a simple paint job, do not paint details like eyes.  Use colors brighter than what you would ideally want on the finished model.

2. Dip the entire model in Wood Varnish (or brush it on for larger models).  Shake or brush off excess.  Be sure to hold the model upside down for a few minutes so that the varnish seeps into the cracks.  Let the varnish dry.

3. Now that the varnish is dry, the paint color should have darkened and automatically gained depth, as the varnish dried thinly on raised areas and pooled in deeper areas.  Finish by painting small details and using clear matte varnish spray.  You can also choose to reinforce bright colors such as reds and yellows.

That’s it.  The simple paint jobs make painting fast, and the dipping is easy.  It just takes time for the varnish to dry, and warm dry weather to varnish outside in.   After much experimentation, I used Minwax Bombay Mahogany varnish.

Here are the before, after, and final varnished pics for a twelve boy squad of Orks.

Zeraf Antonius, Captain of the 4th Company

Aesthetically based on my cousin Anthony, Zeraf Antonius is currently the Captain of the 4th Company of the Azure Flames, Master of the Marches.  Antonius is the youngest Marine promoted to captain, at a mere 23 years old since his actual birth, and 6 years since the implantation of the Black Carapace.

Antonius grew up on an agri-world.  It was invaded by Orks, and rescued by the Azure Flames.  Antonius was one of several youths to volunteer for service with the Chapter.  He underwent the various implantation procedures to become a Scout.  Unbeknownst to him, the gene-seed of the Chapter Master, Atrus, was extracted when he was interred in the sarcophagus of a Dreadnought.  Only one of his two gene-seeds survived.  Atrus instructed that his gene-seed be used to make Antonius a Space Marine.

Antonius’ career as a scout was full of valorous deeds.  He was one of two survivors of his Scout squad against an attack by Eldar.  He led a scout squad to victory on Morvan Prime, and discovered documents that prevented Tenkath Hive from being infiltrated by Chaos agents.  The people of Tenkath dubbed him “The Hero of Tenkath Hive.”

Antonius participated in the rite of Ascension at age 17 and was implanted with the Black Carapace.  He served in the 9th and 8th reserves, before being transferred to the 6th Tactical reserves.  He participated in the planetary assault on Arkh, and several other major battles.

Antonius was transferred into the 4th company by the direct order of Atrus during the Chasma Spica conflict.  He was part of the tactical squad that infiltrated Iperin, and took over as their sergeant when Sergeant Joseph was killed in action.  He led the 5th squad and enraged the jealousy of the Traitor Gehn, then sergeant of the 6th squad.

Antonius was part of the interdiction force on Julius when Gehn was captured and turned to the service of the dark gods.  When Captain Ganendra was killed during a bombing run in the final battle for Julius, Antonius took command of the Flames’ detachment and led them during the final victory that drove both greenskin and Chaos forces from the planet. Though reluctant to take up the axe of his former commander, Antonius was unanimously awarded command of the Fourth Company by those who remained after the war. With Atrus having met his end during the terrible battle over the city of Daskros, Antonius’ genetic heritage was finally revealed to him.

Antonius continues to lead the 4th company to victory, either from the bridge of the Strike Cruiser Honor, or on the battlefield.  He struggles with the knowledge of his origin, and the destiny that the apothecaries speak of.  They say that one day he will lead the Azure Flames, but until the “Old Man” Chapter Master Perseus dies, Antonius will remain in the office, and will continue to faithfully serve.

Antonius is a stand-in for Cato Sicarius in 40K, and commands the Strike Cruiser Honor in Battlefleet Gothic.

How I got into gaming: The Azure Flames

Everyone who is a gamer gets into it somehow.  I got into it when my friend Joe invited me to a meeting of Studio 40K, the wargaming club of MSU (now defunct, different rant later).  This was in the winter of 2000/2001, early in the 3rd edition of 40K.  I picked Space Marines, specifically the Salamanders.  They had cheap Terminators and never gave up.  However, I didn’t like green marines, so I made my own successor chapter: the Azure Flames.

My first purchase was a Devastator squad.  The old pewter devastator box which had all the heavy weapons except the Multi Melta.  Actually a really bad box set, as a dev squad with those weapons was expensive and almost useless.  I learned and collected quickly though.  That following summer I followed this pattern: buy unit, paint unit, buy another unit.  I eventually had one of everything the Space Marines could take.  And I kept going.

Then, during the very last auction that Games Workshop held in its stores, I won a Blood Angels combination, consisting of Dante and some honor guard, some Death Company, and a few other things including a Baal Pred.  I made them into a Flesh Tearers army that was actually pretty impressive.  Sadly, after the advent of 4th ed, Blood Angels were vastly underpowered and I never played them.  I sold the lot bit by bit at a con.  People went nuts for the paint jobs and the custom vehicles.  My greatest pleasure was selling the remainder and the custom case to a kid who never had an army.  Made me feel good.

At this time, 4th edition was in it’s crappy heyday.  Vehicles were rolling tombs and gunline tactics were boring as hell.  That’s when my good friend Lexington got me into Warmachine.  I chose to play Cygnar, the jewel of the Iron Kingdoms.  I expanded into mercenaries, as long as they worked with Cygnar.  Warmachine and I have had an on-again off-again relationship, as Privateer Press tends to make wonderful systems and then break them with ridiculous new combos.  2nd ed is a million times better than 1st though.

Then, the newest Ork codex came out.  Orks were fun.  I toyed around with ideas and made my own “counts as” characters corresponding to all the characters in the new Codex.  I knew I had to play.  So I bought a huge amount of Orks, and made the warband of Poindexta Smartyskull, the Ork with two brains!  I did weird and ridiculous conversions and tried a new painting method: dipping.  It worked great.

Then (once again thanks to Lexington) I found the sweet, sweet crack rock of Specialist Games.  This was back in 2007, when ChaosOrc had stock.  I actually purchased enough Epic scale Space Marines to make an ENTIRE CHAPTER!  I also camped ebay for deals on some of the newer vehicles.  I played a game of Epic against Lexington’s Eldar.  Then he sold them.  Then I played one game against his new Chaos.  Then he sold them.  *sigh*  He was going through rough times.

At the same time as my Epic indulgence, I found deals on Space Marine craft for Battlefleet Gothic.  I became obsessed with rules, and made my own rules guides for Epic and Gothic.  I took the rules and condensed them down into 10 pt single spaced outlines that essentially explain all possible things.  I worked in a print shop and was able to make them into a laminated spiral bound flip chart for easy access.

Recently I’ve become a little obsessed with Specialist Games.  I had a Necromunda Orlock gang I bought at a con for a campaign that never materialized, but I bought a Delaque gang, and had my friend Jen custom make me a Necromunda board that looks fantastic.  I also painted my Battlefleet Gothic Space Marines, and bought and (almost completely) painted an Imperial Navy and a Chaos fleet.  I also recently purchased some plastic Lizardmen and Tyranid bitz to make a Lizardmen Blood Bowl team.

As you can see, I’ve got a lot on my plate.  I’ll post pictures of what I’ve done and thoughts on what I’m going to do.