233 Converted IFV Almost Finished

...and here's how it looks:

My salamander/HQ chimera variant's not finished yet (still needs some washing, highlighting and a little weathering) but little features to note include following:

• the little winch under the flamer
• the optical unit above the driver's port
• the new addition of a gun shield (although it seems maybe a little bare)
• there's rust on the wheel hubs which I'm quite happy with
• I like the petrol can on the spare wheel
• the wheels rotate
• I'm useless at painting lights
• the front-left mud guard still looks a little bare
• I've tried to use red as a sort of 'spot colour'
• strangely (it being a vehicle) this is the first of my models on which I've ever tried to shade and highlight fabric: I'm fairly pleased with the result, but it's not something that comes easily to me.

More pics:

Cheers, guys!

- Drax.

232 Back in the Saddle Again (ish)

Well now,

Last night I bit the proverbial bullet and got back into some 40K painting...by basecoating my command IFV - to be used as a proxy for either a commander's chimera or (more appropriately) a replacement salamander command vehicle:
Some of you may have seen its earlier stages...well not much has changed since then, but I really really needed to paint something enjoyable, and though my vehicles' colour schemes are pretty dull to paint, the variety on this one should at least pep it up a little.

Thanks as aye to Zzzzzz for the generous donation of the main bits.

Drax out.

PS: The Dad-Car is going into the garage this week to see if they can't make her all better so I can start back at the club again. Resurgam! Live, damnit, live!

231 Still Sluggish

Thanks for the moral support after my last post, guys.

I'm still devoid of transport, but the kindness of friends and colleagues means there is now hope on the horizon that I'll be back to gaming soon...and with that comes the rekindling of my painting fire.

Strangely, I have managed to paint some 'Epic' Space Marines that my mate left round my house. Crimson Fists, but I think they'll need some basic highlighting. The photo's rubbish:
Until next time...

- Drax.

230 In the Doldrums

Ahoy, Blogland!

Drax is in the hobby Doldrums. Not hobby burn-out - far from it - but just as I've got 'in' with a great and very welcoming gaming club, my car has officially died and (with no money to fix it at all) I am, therefore, pretty stuck in my village and utterly unable to make the drive to the club.

My village is so isolated even the road out has given up and drowned itself

Obviously, no-one else from the club seems to live in my direction, and there are no busses anywhere near it after the early evening, so I haven't a chance: having already missed two planned games I'm now certain to miss another this Thursday.

Damn and blast.

Plus it's now too cold to paint out in the shed, so I'm going to have to get back to the elaborate old get-all-my-painting-stuff-out-after-Mrs-Drax-has-gone-to-bed-and-I've-finished-all-my-planning-and-marking-then-paint-for-an-hour-if-I'm-lucky-THEN-clear-it-all-up-again-AND-do-the-washing-up-before-finally-stumbling-into-bed-in-the-early-hours routine.

Grrr.

- Drax,

becalmed.

229 Competitive Mech Guard List - 1500pts

Hey, All.

A week-and-a-half ago I managed to get to the club and play a game at short notice against a very nice chap called James. He wanted something competitive, so I brought a fairy cheesy competitive Mechanised force - 1500pts. Here it is:

HQ: Primaris Psyker (70)
HQ: Coy Cmdr w. 4x plasma guns (110)
Chimera (55)

EL: Psyker Battle Squad [x10] (110)
Chimera (55)

TP: Vets 1 w. 3x plasma guns (115)
Chimera (55)
TP: Vets 2 w. 3x melta guns (100)
Chimera (55)
TP: Vets 3 w. 3x grenade launchers (85)
Chimera (55)

FA: Hellhound w. smoke (135)
FA: Hellhound w. smoke (135)
FA: Devil Dog w. multimelta + smoke (140)

HS: Hydra (75)
HS: Griffon (75)
HS: Griffon (75)

= 1500pts
I played James's Space Wolves, and his list was made in response to mine, given his choice of models. We thought it'd be fun to play a game from 'Battle Missions', so we did, and we rolled up 'All-Round Defence' meaning the marines were in the middle defending a central objective and I was attacking from all sides. My HQs and HSs had to stay in reserve.

James's list included the following (I think):

Runepriest
15 Bloodclaws w. Wolf Priest in a Landraider Crusader
Dreadnought w. plasma cannon + stormbolter in drop pod
Long Fangs w. 4 lascannon and a missile launcher
Long Fangs w. 4 hvy bolters (I think)
15(?) Grey Hunters in a drop pod.

To cut a short story shorter, I won first turn and had tabled him by the end of my turn two. Here's my post-match notes - in no particular order - as I'm wont to do...:

• James was unlucky with his rolling at times; that is, he certainly wasn't lucky.
• It would've been far more even if he'd won first turn
• He was a tremendously nice and knowledgable opponent
• My first shot = Str9 AP1 large blast on target from my psykers (although all marines except 1 made their cover save)
• My second shot = Devil Dog melta cannon short-range shot on the landraider: one-shot-one-kill.
• I must remember to keep psyker battle squad more than 24" away from psychic hoods or equivalents
• The Primaris Psker annihilated the dreadnought after coming in behind him from a reserve rule
• The rules for deployment really made my job easy.
• Templates and blasts worked very well, even when considering cover saves.
• From five scatter-able shots I made, four were on target!
• The runepriest was killed by a griffon shell!
• My hydra didn't get to play
• I ran out of targets: James conceded rather than bring on his reserved Grey Hunter drop pod.

A top opponent, and I was genuinely sorry for giving him such a tonking. The emperor was with me that night.

Cheers all,

- Drax.