The Glorious Works

My 5 Favourite Minis

2012-01-22T19:51:00.001Z

As regulars to my blog might have noticed I've been chopping and changing armies quite a lot as of late.

I've always been more drawn to the hobby side of things and also the background stories to armies/characters/etc. I do really enjoy gaming but gaming but for me it's secondary to the hobby. Having said that, I'll not hold onto minis I love for an army I don't enjoy playing or vice versa.
The problem at the minute is I've yet to find that balance in my own hobby triangle between miniatures, fluff and rules.
Some armies I've started as I love the visual theme in my mind but can't get into the background or can't put together a working army list that fits that theme.
Others I'll have a brilliant army list idea but just can't bring myself to enjoy the minis no matter how hard I try to.
Then sometimes the fluff is great and I really enjoy it but can't quite work one or both of the other factors into the equation!

I don't currently have an army for any of the game systems I consider myself to play. I'm currently painting my converted Harry The Hammer but I lost interest in the rest of the Warriors of Chaos I grabbed as they never managed to recapture the love I had for them when I returned to the hobby a few years ago.

So whilst trying to decide on what to do next I've been giving a lot of thought to what I've done before that I particularly liked or was especially pleased with the results of so that's what got me to this post about my 5 favourite minis.

5. Chaos Knight Champion

The oldest of the minis in my top 5. I've painted others better but I really liked how this one turned out and he also marked the point at which my colour scheme started to really develop as I'd had a vague idea for the minis I painted before hand but the bone, gold and purple went together for this one and set the tone!

4.Beastman Gor

I did this one for a unit champion painting contest at my gaming club and the idea was that a Beastmen army would follow suit behind him as I knew the new army book was on the horizon at the time. I really love the Beastmen minis, not sure what it is about them but they have a charm I've never managed to put my finger on. When the army book came out I couldn't have been more disappointed as gone had the old Raiders rule that made the army so unique and characterful and we were left with an army of furry Orcs & Goblins. Ok, perhaps a bit melodramatic, but certainly the character of the army went a little with that rule!

3. Keeper of Secrets - Mardumesh Painweaver

This guy was huge and I absolutely loathed him at points whilst painting him as there just seemed to be no end in sight once I'd started! It was a conversion I'd wanted to do from the very first moment I saw the Arachnarok in previews but it took me a while to get around to it. I had planned an army around him but that never came to be. I love the concept and fluff for all of the Daemons but I think the current codex is pretty poor for representing them.

2. World Eater Lord - Slaughter-Lord Kaldor Foe-Render

I really loved this mini and I loved the army that he ended up leading. I think I possibly painted this mini a little better than the one that's pipped it to the top spot on my list. Game wise he was my counts-as Logan Grimnar and he and the rest of The Gorewing actually did pretty well on the tabletop!

1. Warriors of Chaos BSB - Harkaitz The Herald

This is my favourite of the minis I've painted. I love the base mini itself and the conversion work went pretty much how I'd imagined it. The pose is very aloof and he became the centrepiece for my Warriors of Chaos army. The real issue with him is I shouldn't have made him my BSB! I never managed to settle on a miniature for my general that I liked as I couldn't create anything to compete with how much Harkaitz captured the feel I wanted for my army.

That's our visual trip down memory lane finished. I wanted to go over them to see if they'd spark any ideas as to what army to toy with next. I have a few vague ideas that I might explore but not sure yet. Next I'm going to do a top 5 minis I want to build/paint...

Heralds Of The Storm - Some Early WIP Pics

2011-11-16T22:01:00.001Z

I've really struggled to get anything done for these lately as I had been working evenings and with the kids evenings (once they're all settled into bed) are then only time I ever get to actually build or paint my minis generally. Luckily I've gotten on to the day shift at work now so I have my evenings back which means I have my hobby back!

Been playing in a fantasy campaign at my gaming club which starts out with 500pts armies and even that's a woeful unpainted mass of half-built proxy miniatures so I'm eager to try and get some of these guys done. I also really want to paint my first character to try and enter the COTEC painting competition but I'm going to be tight for time on that now I think so will have to see how it goes!

Some WIP Chaos warriors with halberds, got another 16 of these to build for this unit yet!

The character I'm working on - Tarkal Khagan - I really love the Harry The Hammer miniature and I was glad to get my hands on another one after converting him and using bits of him to make my BSB for the Devotees of Elazar way back when! Itching to try out the colour scheme for this army on him (or any mini for that matter!) so will hopefully get him started in the next couple of nights!

In the background you'll spot a load of great weapon wielding marauders. They're all mostly with the exception of the all need heads on their weapons as they're currently just running around with big sticks! Then with a bit of tidying up and some GS they'll be ready to paint!

Hopefully there'll not be anywhere near as long between updates this time and I'll have some more to show off soon!

Wayland Games Free Shipping Offer!

2011-10-26T12:00:00.000+01:00

Free standard shipping on orders over £40 with the following voucher code:

GETSOME

Great for those new Necron advanced orders!

Heralds Of The Storm - Getting Started

2011-10-09T22:46:00.000+01:00

First off, it's shocking that there's not been an update on The Glorious Works since June! A lot has happened in that time with a new baby and a new job so I'm only just now starting to get my hobby time back!
They say that everything goes around in a circle and so it seems as here I am starting a new Warriors of Chaos army. This one actually kind of follows on as the background ties in with the old Devotees of Elazar, and in particular with the Storm God narrative campaign that I wrote...
So first off some new fluff!

*

Rumpolt Staudinger panicked as he tripped over a rock underfoot. At one time he’d been weary of his drawn out existence but now suddenly faced with his potential mortality he found himself desperate to survive. The daemon Elazar had used him as a pawn and as a chronicler of all of the being’s nefarious deeds and to aid him in this task he’d extended and twisted the old man’s life out for a great many generations more than he should ever have seen. And now in hindsight he realised it had all been destined to lead to that one specific point in time. Elazar had sent Rumpolt into the north to a massive cleft in the earth at the foot of which The Storm God slumbered. An ancient Shaggoth, kin to those other names dreaded of their kind - Krakanrok The Black and Kholek Suneater. Aarakturious Stormfather had spent centuries in hibernation, awaiting the great storm that would summon him to war once more.
A being aflame with ambition Elazar The Glorified sought to summon the very storm that would awaken Aarakturious. Alongside a coven of sorcerers sworn to his service they channelled vast energies to birth vast black clouds that crackled with the pent up fury of the storm. The summoning destroyed the minds of the sorcerers and the chaos energies warped their forms into hideous mutated spawn but for a Daemon Prince of Elazar’s standing the energies were easy to bear with very little strain.
The terrible storm that followed was a thing of nightmares. Thunderclaps sounded and the world shook at their roars as if the sky was splintering overhead under such tremendous force. Hail and lightning lashed the land amidst such chaos the Storm God stirred. The Daemon Prince Elazar demanded fealty of the ancient Shaggoth and Aarakturious responded with a deafening roar that made the thunder overhead seem tame. The Shaggoth climbed from the cleft in which he’d slumbered to the cliff tops above. Again the Daemon Prince demanded the fealty of the Storm God and was in turn swatted aside with contemptuous ease. The tribes that surrounded the lands where the Storm God slumbered had built a temple to the sleeping behemoth and the chaos gods that he served and to this temple Aarakturious strode bathing in the lightning that now struck repeatedly at his titanic form.
His pride now a stinging wound in his daemonic heart, Elazar The Glorified soared to the temple built to honour Aarakturious and the ground shook as the two beings duelled amidst the great pillars risen by the tribes in tribute to their infernal patrons. The Chaos Gods watched the contest, the storm had drawn their attention but the combat that raged between Elazar and Aarakturious now held their gaze.
In Aarakturious Tzeentch saw the changes that would be wrought upon the world by his armies and he spied all the paths of fate leading to and from this moment plotting their course. Slaanesh bathed in the ancient pride of the Shaggoth and could already sense the great torrents of fear that would drown his foes. Nurgle sensed the despair in mortal hearts at the Storm God’s reawakening and knew that in their wake his armies would leave fields of carrion to be tended by flocks of crows and swarms of flies, each host to plagues and diseases beyond counting. Khorne could feel the endless rage of the storm, the infinite hatred of the dread Shaggoth and knew that towers of skulls would be heaped at the foot of his great brass throne in offering.
In that moment Aarakturious carried the blessing of each of the Ruinous Powers and Elazar felt only the scorn of his own beloved patron. With a ferocious strike Aarakturious destroyed the Daemon Prince’s physical form banishing him back to the realm of chaos. The storm overhead swelled with power as the chaos gods fed its power to herald the awakening of their new champion.
The Devotees of Elazar had borne witness as events unfolded before them, helpless to intercede as their beloved leader was destroyed. With a roar Aarakturious summoned his own followers to war and those tribes that had journeyed to witness the awakening of the Storm God descended upon the Devotees. But, for all the ferocity of the Astragar, Kavakh and Mulghar men it was the egos of the champions of the Devotees of Elazar that spelled their doom. Each keen to ascend in Elazar’s place they killed their own just as readily as the Storm God’s followers sought to slay them. Some such as Harkaitz made their stand and were cut down by the tide of tribesmen whilst others like Endika Fleshtearer fled to escape their doom.
Amidst the chaos Rumpolt Staudinger had thought he’d made good his escape until he glanced back and spotted the half-dozen riders dogging his steps. In an instant the fight was gone from him, he felt the years of his extraordinarily long life catching up with him all at once. Resigned to his fate he hobbled over to a rocky outcrop and sat himself down.
The riders sensed an end to their sport so quickly covered the ground between themselves and the old man. All six of them were Mulghar men. They were each frightful in their own way bearing slight mutations that marked them as servants of the dark gods but it was the man that rode at their head that scared Rumpolt. He wore a helm and armour on is right arm that seemed alive with the electricity of the storm that still raged overhead. Arcs of lightning played over its surface with an audible crackle but the man himself seemed not only unharmed but unfazed by them. On his chest a brand of a lightning bolt had been burnt into the skin, marking him as a servant of the ascendant Storm God. The man leapt down from his mount, a beast clearly touched by the warping energies of chaos, and then hoisted Rumpolt to his feet. He said something in his own tongue that Rumpolt didn’t understand and within seconds the other five men had leapt down from their steeds and began to bind spears together with twine. The man stood watching Rumpolt as the men in his thrall set busily to whatever task he had set them. His face was hidden behind his helm which he’d topped with the skull of some beast. Even without being able to see the man’s face though Rumpolt could feel the barely contained rage which seemed to charge the air around him, the fury of the storm above them seemed to echo in the heart of that man and Rumpolt felt only dread as he regarded him.
When the Mulghars had finished they had bound together dozens of spears in the image of the eight pointed star of chaos. Another shout from their leader saw the men grab Rumpolt and drag him struggling to the chaos star and bind him to it. Rumpolt alternated between howling in fear and pleading with the but if they understood his words the made no outward show of it. With two thick ropes they raised the start upright and into a hole they’d dug into the ground to plant it.
“The storm will decide your fate,” the armoured man said his voice iron as it sounded from behind his helm.
As the men mounted their horses and continued southwards riding ahead of the storm their leader glanced back over his shoulder and watched the lightning raking the ground around the chaos start they’d erected and then saw it catch light as another bolt struck it and it burst into flames, a fiery sigil of chaos against the black clouds that stretched back on the horizon. He thought he heard the old man’s agonised screams for a moment but the thunder drowned out the sound like cruel rumbling laughter.

*

This is going to be an Undivided Chaos force. The followers of the Storm God worship the four ruinous powers as well as the Storm God as the gods' chosen champion.

I was inspired by The Temple of Skulls shown in White Dwarf 381. My wargames club has just bought one so I painted it similarly so that there's now some themed terrain where I play all my games! Just need to build and paint the army now!

I've also put together some mock-ups of for my chaos ogres. I saw a great Ogre Kingdoms army using the Minotaurs somewhere on blogger. Their owner had sculpted pants etc to make them Ogre bulls but I figure the chaotic feral feel of the Minotaurs is perfect as is for some very raw looking Chaos Ogres.

The Rapturous Angels - Some WIP Pictures

2011-06-24T19:30:00.000+01:00

A few WIP pictures of a few things I'm working on:
First up is Mithridates The Torturer my counts as Space Marine Captain on bike. Those who following the twitter feed - @gloriousworks - might have already seen him...

Still a lot to do to him but the greenstuff has been tidied up a great deal since and made to look like the join flexi-armour. Waiting on a few bits and pieces arriving so I can finish building him and start painting! For those who are interested some background on Mithridates and the Rapturous Angels in general can be found in the Index Astartes - Rapturous Angels post.

I've made a start on painting the first of my Land Speeders. Not much to see yet but most of the way done with the cockpit. Gives a chance to see a little of how the colour scheme will look although you'll have to use a bit of imagination as the picture is awful and the marines are missing something...

The cockpit is finished now so I can get on with painting (and building!) the rest of the Speeder so hopefully more updates on that soon.

Lastly is Pharnaces my counts as Librarian. Thought I'd put him together as something of an insurance policy for the Tale of Five 40k Gamers. An expensive character for if I have a bad month with very little painting time.

Still needs plenty of work and throws up some question marks over the colour scheme when you throw the robes into the mix!

Tale Of Five 40K Gamers

2011-06-23T22:47:00.001+01:00

[Late] Mid-month update...

As we near the the deadline for the first month's target we caught up with the gamers to see how they are getting on so far. Some of the guys were also kind enough to each put together a trail army list for their respective armies, so that we can all keep an eye on how their lists evolve over the course of the project.

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James

Eldar

I managed to catch up with James on Sunday as he prepared to take on Steven's Dark Elder in a 1000 point game of 40k. By all accounts he hasn't started painting anything as of yet, but he has promised me that there will be a surprise in store for the readers come the day of the first deadline. I wonder what it is he has planned...

Regardless of what he has in store I took the opportunity to take some photographs of James in action, in a game that was pretty much won and lost in the first turn! Better luck next time, eh?

Though James' Eldar got a right hammering, he still managed to die with a smile on his face!

HQ:

Maugan Ra's Council of Death:
Maugan Ra: 195 pts.
Farseer: spirit stones, Doom, Eldritch storm, Mind War: 140 pts.
10 Warlocks, 4 x Destructor, Embolden, Enhance, 4 singing spears: 310 pts.

Troops:
5 Pathfinders: 120 pts.
10 Dire Avengers: Exarch, Bladestorm, Defend, power weapon + shimmershield: 177.

Elites:
8 Striking scorpions: Exarch, Scorpions Claw, Shadowstrike: 175 pts.
6 Howling Banshees: Exarch, Exacutioner, Warshout, Acrobatics: 128 pts.
6 Fire Dragons: Exarch, Firepike, Tank hunters: 131 pts.

Heavy Support:
5 Dark Reapers: Exarch, Tempest launcher, Fast Shot: 217 pts.
Wraithlord: Brightlance, Wraithsword: 140 pts.

Total: 1733 points

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Elazar

Rapturous Angels

JT: "You've not yet started painting any models, James, but do you think you'll manage turn it around in time?

JM: "I think so. Not started painting yet but I know exactly what I'm doing this month. I'll hopefully be able to get to work on things come the weekend, in the meantime I have this lot staring at me begging for my attention. Or perhaps it's me staring at them begging to play with my new toys!".

You can almost hear them calling to be played with...

JT:" You mentioned that you'd been messing round with some different paint schemes, have you actually settled on one yet or is it still up in the air at the moment?"

JM: "I have. Well I've settled on two. I can't plan out Space Marines without wanting to hark back to the imagery of them that brought me into the hobby. The likes of the Space Crusade cover art and it's always stuck in my mind how cool the captain in the white power armour looked amidst the red armoured Blood Angels under his command. So I wanted to do something similar. All the characters, champions, veterans etc. in the army will have an inverted colour scheme to the 'rank & file' marines. It'll hopefully create a nice contrast but still maintain a unified look across the army."

Rapturous Angels Champion & Marine Armour

JT: "On the other hand, though, you have managed to put together some really cool background for your army [which the readers can check out below!]. I get the sense that the 'fluff' is just as integral a part of the army building process as the painting or building is, am I correct?

JM: For me it definitely is. Without the fluff it's all a bit soulless. The fluff is what makes it all go together, it provides the ideas for putting the mini together and for painting it and to an extent for the composition of the army and how it plays! Certainly I think I'd really struggle to build, paint or play an army if I didn't have a background for it. It'd just be plastic!"

*************************************

Origins

The Rapturous Angels are a motley crew of renegades and degenerates. Some have been Chaos Space Marines for all of their cursed existence and others betrayed their former battle-brothers to join the warband. Some were created into their service and others were recruited from amongst their defeated foes. The core of the warband, and indeed their leader are traitors, previously of the Angels Exemplar chapter. After they turned against their own they fled with their leader, Mithridates The Torturer, into the Eye of Terror. His cadre of supporters formed the foundations of the Rapturous Angels, their souls already lost to Slaanesh, they attracted like-minded individuals amongst the heathens calling the Eye of Terror their home. There is a high prevalence of combat drug usage amongst their members, presumably orchestrated by Mithridates, drawing upon his experience as a former Chief Apothecary. Occasionally the Rapturous Angels recruit candidates to create new marines. The gene-seed they use is harvested from enemies and fallen comrades alike and the vast majority of it is very unstable, in part because of the rampant warp energies it is subjected to. Mixed with the warband's tendencies towards the overuse of combat stimulants and narcotics they create psychopathic mutants at best, the taint of chaos running through them. All those in the warband though share their addiction to combat stimulants and an increasingly devoted worship of Slaanesh.

The Betrayal

Mithridates The Torturer delights in inflicting excruciating torment upon his victims even more than he enjoys inflicting it upon himself but it had not always been so. He has long since lost interest in preserving lives but he was once Chief-Apothecary Mithridates of The Angels Exemplar.

He had risen through the ranks to become master of the Apothercarian through dedication to his work and to his Chapter. His speciality had always been in the field of combat drugs and he devoted an age to study and experimentation aiming to create perfect combat stimulants that amplified the already impressive traits of the Space Marines without any of the negative side-effects commonly associated with their use. Chapter Master Xiphares allowed for Mithridates to test his various concoctions on the fatally wounded that he treated so that he could better document his progress. (Xiphares name has since been stricken from the records of The Angels Exemplar, his treachery in allowing the possible contamination of the chapter's precious gene-seed and, indeed, allowing Mithridates' heresy to take root have made him a shame upon their brotherhood). When Chapter Master Xiphares was slain in battle and Chapter Master Polemon took on his mantle, he saw the successive failures of Mithridates in his endeavour as good reason to redirect the Apothecarions energies into other matters. He also took a dim view on his predecessor's controversial decision to allow testing on battle brothers whose gene-seed had not yet been harvested. Mithridates though had dedicated himself to his trials and believed he was close to the answers he sought so he continued to experiment. With no further access to test subjects he began the insane practice of experimenting upon himself, injecting numerous amounts of his creations into his bloodstream. This birthed an addiction to stimulants which in turn attracted the attention of the chaos god Slaanesh.

Slaanesh whispered to the Apothecary, promising that he'd give him the formula he sought if he offered up his soul in exchange. Still relatively sound of mind Mithridates declined the chaos god's offer and whispered prayers to the Emperor of Mankind to safeguard his soul. So Slaanesh turned his gaze elsewhere. Desperate to find the answer himself Mithridates began adding all manner of strange substances to his creations. Over time few of them were added to improve the effectiveness of the mixtures but more so to satisfy his addiction to stimulants. He began field-testing his experiments and it was not long before his brothers in arms quietly remarked on the visible improvement in his martial abilities, his impetuousness and need to be in the fray. He regularly took to the field on a bike so that he could quicker meet the foe in battle. The rush of combat a stimulant in its own right. From then on, when his brothers fell in battle, he would attend them using chemicals and substances, often of his own creation, to either mend their wounds or dull their minds to them. They were seemingly all highly addictive in their nature as Mithridates rapidly developed a core of supporters, dependants who required the continued survival of the Apothecary so that he could manufacture and provide their next fix of stimulants! These devotees ride with Mithridates to this day but their tastes have long since moved on from just mere combat drugs.

As Mithridates descended further into his addiction and created a vast list of crimes to which he would one day have to be held accountable for. Slaanesh spoke to him once again. Again, dark whispers promised to tell him the secret he longed to know. This time Mithridates relented, his soul seemed a small price for such a potent chemical, something that would reawaken his drug-dulled senses once more. In a possessed state he manufactured a single dose of the chemical and, desperate to feel its effects, injected it into his system. His senses were magnified far beyond the super-human level they already operated at, his body manufactured adrenalin to extreme levels, his strength was multiplied and his muscles worked his frame at a blistering pace that no mortal could ever hope to match. Although potent beyond what Mithridates could have hoped for it was short lived and all that it had brought had been wasted in the gloom of his study within the Apothercarion. He tried to manufacture a second dose but he had no recollection of what ingredients he'd used or their quantities. He beseeched the Dark Prince for the formula once more. Slaanesh agreed to allow Mithridates to manufacture another dose but only in exchange for a gift of one hundred souls. So it was that Mithridates' fall was complete. He barely considered his actions such was his need for the drug. He summoned those loyal to him to the Apothercarion in secret and then revealed his treachery. Promising the souls of all those on board the company's Strike Cruiser to Slaanesh, he released a neurotoxin into the the Aeration Systems. The neurotoxin was a side product of a failed experiment of his that had led to a separate more deadly use for the chemicals he created. Even the advanced physiology of a Space Marine couldn't fend off the affects of the neurotoxin without aid. His battle-brothers died in droves as the toxin attacked their nervous system causing violent convulsions until asphyxiation killed them. The advanced systems within marine power armour easily warded off the toxin but so few of the marines on board the strike cruiser donned their armour whilst in transit. Mithridates and his followers wore theirs and they were easily able to mop up those that survived the toxin amidst the confusion. Only those that swore their souls in service to Slaanesh were spared from death. Slaanesh held his end of the bargain and Mithridates was able to manufacture another dose of the chemical he craved. He enjoyed its powerful effects as his followers set the strike cruiser on a course for the Eye of Terror, fleeing the violent retribution they knew would follow them otherwise.

Since that day Slaanesh has strung Mithridates along, demanding exponentially greater numbers sacrificed in his name for each new dose. Mithridates' mind is now completely broken by his addiction. Now he is a creature devoted to achieving new levels of stimulation, ever injecting himself with stimulatns and toxins for the sensations they inflict on him. As his altered physique adapts to the poisons he increases the dosage or creates new ones. He now though finds an even greater joy in sharing these toxins with his victims.

Organisation

The Rapturous Angels organise themselves into packs. The strongest of their number championing and leading these packs into battle. The packs are always 6 bikes strong in tribute to the Dark Prince. Many of them count an attack bike as one of their number and the position of gunner on these often given to the weakest of their number as punishment, denying them the right to ride their own bike to war. Their bitterness makes them cruel beyond compare and ironically makes them the perfect candidates to wield the devastating weaponry at their fingertips.

Leading the packs to war will be Mithridates The Torturer, often with his own entourage of former Angels Exemplar veterans, those that turned with him. Mithridates has any number of lieutenants eager to lead in his absence but it is indeed very rare for him not to be drawn out by the sound of war and the scent of fear. The warband's Land Speeders, in theory, form their own separate pack but such is the headstrong nature of their pilots that any organisation is quickly abandoned upon contact with the enemy.

Combat Doctrine

The Rapturous Angels almost exclusively conduct warfare from the saddles of their bikes. So lost are they to sensation and excess, that even the cacophony of emotions, sights and sounds that is war carries a limited thrill for them. When conducted at breakneck speeds and as a disorienting dance of death it can still hold some appeal. The use of combat drugs to enhance all of this is a common trait amongst the heathens that make up their number. Exponents of hit and run warfare, they work to confuse and overwhelm their foe. They love nothing more than the panic their attacks breed amongst their foes and often avoid the "quick kill" tactics employed by many imperial commanders, preferring to extend their prey's agony for as long as possible. Letting the anticipation reach fever pitch or allowing fear and stress to overthrow reason so that their foes turn upon their own in their terror. Occasionally this tactic fails and their actions only strengthen the resolve of their enemies. To the Rapturous Angels though this is of little consequence. Pain and death are new experiences to be explored to their fullest just as much as the infliction of them should be.

One thing that sets the Rapturous Angels apart from many renegade warbands is their continued use of Land Speeders. Normally these machines require far too much maintenance to be practical for the disjointed bands within the Eye of Terror. The Rapturous Angels take great pride in keeping a wing of these fast vehicles operational. Entire campaigns have been fought for resources so that this can remain the case. A team of Techmarines and adepts of the Dark Mechanicum take care of the Land Speeders. The most advanced practitioners of daemon-technology sought to attach themselves to the Rapturous Angels for the chance to work with technology so rarely seen within The Eye. This has made many warbands envious and more than once have attempts to steal these Land Speeders been fought off. The pilots of these craft are obsessed by their vessels and are amongst the most unhinged members of the warband. Perhaps the greatest risk to the survival of the warband's Land Speeders though are these pilots themselves. The combat drug addled, thrill-seeking maniacs are reckless beyond measure, initiating suicide dives and lightning attacks with equal fervour and constantly striving to push themselves and their craft to the limit. It is not unknown for these pilots to fly their craft straight through enemy formations, firing their deadly weaponry at point blank range and engaging foes in hand to hand combat from their cockpit before accelerating away through them, howling with maddened glee all the while!

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Buzz

Grey Knights

JT: "I hear you've gotten off to a really good start with your painting, what have you done so far?"

LH: “So far I've painted five Terminators and Castelan Crowe, although I still have work to do on their bases. For my first months entry, however, I've just finished painting a Stormraven.

Buzz works hard trying to complete his challenge of 250 points of painted models

HQ:
Librarian: Nemisis Warding Stave, x2 Servo Skulls, Quicksilver, Might of Titan, Summoning, Sanctuary: 215 pts.

TROOPS:
5 Terminators: Daemon Hammer, Incinerator: 205 pts.
10 Strike marines: Psycannon, Incinerator, x6 Halberds: 260 pts.
10 Strike marines. Psycannon, Psilencer, x6 Halberds, Thunder Hammer: 250 pts.

FAST ATTACK:
Stormraven: Twin-Linked Bolter Side Sponsons, Multi-Melta, Twin-Linked Assault Cannon, Mindstrike Missles: 235 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT:
Dreadknight Nemisis Daemon Hammer, Heavy Incinerator, Gatling Psilencer: 205 pts.
Dreadnought: Assault Cannon, Psybolt Ammunition: 130 pts.

Total: 1500 points.

JT: "Tell us little bit about your trail army list, do you you think it's working for you or not?"

LH: “Not at all. I just can't seem to get enough troops! When I include a standard amount of troop choices I find it very difficult to fit much else into the list. It looks like I'm going to have to design a list that is purely for fun or just full of craziness!”

JT: "Do you think you'll have much to chop and change before you know whether or not the list is right for you?

LH: “ Well, I've been playing around with no less than eleven different lists. So I'm absolutely, positively sure there will be changing plenty adjustments made to the list as the project wears on.

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John

Raven Guard

JM: "So, you'll be painting a lot of black for this project. It's often seen as a difficult colour to get right and people have many different tricks they use to make it work. Care to share your method?"

JT: "It's actually really simple! It's maybe slightly more unusual compared to the way some people might do it, but I personally like the effect. I first started with a base coat of Chaos Black, which was then highlighted with 1:1 mix of Chaos Black and Shadow Grey. I then highlighted the armour twice more, each time adding a a little more Shadow Grey into the mix. After that I carefully painted a watered down mix of Macharius Solar Orange and Dark flesh into the recesses of the armour. Finally, I gave the armour a light wash using Badab black. What's more, though, it seems to capture the worn, earthy look that I envision the Raven Guard to have when they're at war."

John's first Assault Squad ready almost ready for action

JM: Codex Space Marine chapters can sometimes be quite similar, do you have any plans for this one to really put your own mark on it?

JT: "When you take a chapter-specific character in your army it automatically gains additional abilities that you wouldn't normally benefit from using a standard HQ choice from the codex. So, I suppose the inclusion of Shrike will alter the dynamics of the army in way that will allow me to play slightly differently from other players who use Space Marines at the club. I've also chosen units that will be tasked with carrying out specific roles on the battlefield - in keeping the 'fluff' wherever possible - so, again, that will also determine how my force operates as a whole."

JM: In the past we saw a nice snippet of 'fluff' you posted for your Raven Guard after an encounter with Khornate Daemons. Can we expect to see some more of this as you build the army up?

JT: "Yeah, I think that might be doable. But I think It'll be based solely on key or epic moments that take place in my games."

Now get their bases finished!

JM: "Will we be seeing a Raven Guard conversion similar to the artwork you chose to represent your army for the Tale?"

JT: "Probably not. Although I do fancy kitting up some of the Sargents with lightning claws. But, of course, getting hold of them is like trying to find hen's teeth!"

**********************************************************

Kelly

JT: "You've completed your first challenge without any problem. What do you have in store for us next month?"

KW: "Next month I hope to have another squad of Kabalite Warriors ready along with a squad of Reaver Jetbikes, I haven't tallied up the points of these two squads yet, but if I'm short of the 250 points mark I could add a Raider which I have already built and base coated."

A squad of menacing Kabalite Warrors ready to do battle!

Lelith Hesperax

JT: "Games Workshop have just released yet another wave of Dark Eldar figures; what are you looking to include in your army?"

KW: "I've already purchased a Razorwing from the new collection of figures but I'd really like to include some Wracks as an Elite choice later on. I've used them before and they can be very useful if you can get into close combat straight away."

Kelly smiles for the camera whilst preparing some of her models for the Tale...

JT: “Recently you played your first game of 40k for a while, how did it go?”

KW: "It went a lot better than I anticipated to be honest. Admittedly, it was played at home against my son and I had requested that he use some Terminators in his army list, which ate up a considerable amount of points on his part. I did this because if, and when, I do come up against Grey Knights they have terminator armour as standard. It was a Capture and Control game which I won because I managed to eliminate the troops that could hold the Objectives, but to be fare I did very little damage to the Terminators."

**********************************************************

Index Astartes - The Rapturous Angels

2011-06-22T10:31:00.000+01:00

Origins

The Betrayal

Rapturous Angels Marine

Organisation

Rapturous Angels Champion

Combat Doctrine

Mardumesh Painweaver - Finished...

2011-06-18T18:13:00.001+01:00

And up on ebay!

Mardumesh Painweaver - More WIP Pics #1

2011-06-10T11:17:00.000+01:00

Not had a great deal of time the last few days but I've gotten the next layer of the flesh done.

It'll need another glaze or three then I'll start on the highlights but in between I'll probably sort the mouth, the chaos mark on the chest and all of the little spiders crawling about. Then once all the flesh is done it's onto the carapace/exoskeleton/thing which will be a terribly slow process to basecoat but after that it should be smooth sailing! Sounds so simple like that..

Mardumesh Painweaver - Fleshy Basecoat

2011-06-06T12:44:00.000+01:00

So, Mardumesh didn't sell unpainted. He seemed to generate plenty of interest but as he's still here it only seems right that he gets some paintbrush loving whilst I wait to get the stuff for my new army!

Just the basecoat for the flesh done with a couple of glazes of purple. I'm trying something different with him and there's going to be some purple in every colour on the mini to define the shading. If it works it will hopefully add a very subtle colour theme to the whole mini and hopefully set the mood of it. Lots still to do, there's to be quite a climb in the flesh colour all the way up to the highlights so plenty of chances for WIP pics as I go along!

The Tale Of Five 40k Gamers - The Rapturous Angels

2011-06-04T21:32:00.003+01:00

++++++++ Interrogation Transcript +++++++++++

Subject: Lieutenant Thaddius - 3rd Jakoban Heavy Dragoons.

Interrogation By: Brother-Chaplain Rosam - Angels Exemplar Astartes
843 M.41

The assault came out of nowhere! Our scanners picked up nothing until they were right on top of us. Their first charge had won the battle for them before we’d even known we had a battle on our hands! Their full strength drove a wedge right through the centre of our formations and then they circled us bombarding us with bolter fire. I’m death in this ear - the boltguns, the roar of the engines and the shrieks and howls… then just as quickly as they’d attacked us they were gone. There was no restoring order though, the vox gave us contradictory instructions and the men fell into a blind panic. Laughter carried on the air. It was still, too still, like the world waited with bated breath. Waited to unleash the slaughter again. Then they struck again, the only warning was the fury of their engines. Men were cut down left and right by bolter fire and by reckless hit and run charges. They had us then, the men were terrified and beaten but again they retreated leaving us milling about in confusion. They broadcast their shrieks of ecstasy and insane laughter over the vox. They were toying with us and they were savouring the chaos they were causing. When I heard the volley of lasgun shots I assumed they must be hitting us again and we were at least putting up a fight but I quickly realised that the regiment was turning on itself. One platoon had turned on a Commissar after he executed their Lieutenant and then it all collapsed around us and we made a break for it. If we’d have stayed we’d have been torn apart by them or by the men we’d fought alongside for years. I didn’t fancy either of those options! They picked us off as we fled though. They picked their shots to slow us down and toy with us. Some were taken alive Emperor help them! I hope their deaths were quick but from the screams they continued to send to over the vox tell me I’m wrong… they’ll always haunt me…

++++++++ Annotation ++++++++

Author: Brother-Chaplain Rosam - Angels Exemplar Astartes

Nothing of any worth gained from interrogation. Thaddius executed for cowardice.
I will continue the pursuit of the traitor, Mithridates so that he can be brought to justice.

++++++++ Thought Of The Day ++++++++

Despise the weak for they shall flock to the call of the Daemon and the Renegade. Pity them not and scorn their cries of innocence - it is better that one hundred innocently fall before the wrath of the Emperor than one kneels before the Daemon.

A bit of fluff as a teaser.

Also, colour scheme ideas:

Not 100% on this one yet but I have time to decide. The transition from pink to black won't be as clear that, I'm thinking it'll be more like forked tongues of pink 'flames' if that makes sense. The Space Marine Painter doesn't let you do anything too fancy but it shows the contrast I'm thinking of (borrows a lot from GW's Emporer's Children scheme. There probably won't be so much gold on most of them as the 'rank and file' will be using the loyalist marine legs but to be honest I'm tempted to use them on all of them as they're better for painting the pattern I want. The current favourite alternative is the same idea but with white instead of black and purple instead of the pink but I think the black and pink will win out.

At the minute I don't have any minis to be getting on with, so instead I've found other things to paint for the army. My first WIP picture on here then.

Bought the templates the other week as I figured they'd be fun to paint to match my army. It's actually been quite relaxing to work on...

The Tale Of Five 40k Gamers... It Begins!

2011-06-03T19:20:00.001+01:00

The following was put together by a member of our gaming club, John Triplow. It's all his hard work so he deserves a lot of credit. Myself and James are involved so I wanted to post it all here and knowing the others involved there'll be plenty of eye candy on offer from thme once the miniatures start getting painted!

Last year several of our club's members embarked on a challenge in preparation for the hugely anticipated "Eric Daley Shield", Warhammer 40,000 tournament. The "Tale of X Tournament Painters" followed the trials and tribulations of the gamers as they prepared to overcome the armies of their peers, with brush-stroke and guile, and attempted to cement their status in the records of the Northumbrian Adventurers Guild forever.

As was expected, though, the contenders of the “Tale of X Tournament Painters” failed miserably. The tournament itself, on the other hand, was a huge success and was enjoyed largely by all those who took part – even though the tables were littered with unpainted miniatures.

This year - although no dates have been set for a follow-up tournament as of yet - five more contenders join the fray as they set upon the fickle path of ultimate triumph or complete and utter failure with their chosen armies.

To ensure that the gamers don't stray too far from the course this time round, the players agreed that having a simple target-system would be key to keeping the thread alive and frequently updated. If all goes to plan over the next six months, the five gamers will have (at least) 1500 points of fully painted figures for each of respective their armies. Surly it can't be that difficult - can it?

**********************************************************

Month 1 [deadline 01.07.11]
The first month will see the gamers attempt to have at least 250 points of their armies painted and based before the deadline.

Month 2 [deadline 01.08.11]
The gamers will attempt to have a legal 500 point army painted and based before the deadline.

Month 3 [deadline 01.09.11]
The gamers will attempt to have 750 points worth of models painted and based, and they must play at least one game during that month to reach their target.

Month 4 [deadline 01.10.11]
The gamers will attempt to field 1000 points worth of painted models, and play at least two games to receive maximum points for their efforts.

Month 5 [deadline 01.11.11]
The gamers will attempt to field 1250 points worth of fully painted figures, and play at least two games to receive maximum points for their efforts.

Month 6 [deadline 01.12.11]
The gamers should have by now reached a total of at least 1500 points worth of painted figures. They must play at least 1 game during the final month and bring together their armies for a large multiplayer game.

Point System
3 points will be awarded for fully painted figures.
1 point will be awarded for games played, as well as an additional 1 point for a draw and 2 for a win.

Point Deduction
Players will be deducted 2 points if they fail to paint their models, and will be deducted 1 point if their models are painted but not based.
Players will be deducted 1 point if they fail to play the target amount of games during any given month.

**********************************************************

James: Eldar

JT: "What is it about the Eldar that draws you to them?"

J: "Mostly the fact that I haven't played them for years, but also because there's some interesting stuff you can do with them that other people don't really do at the club."

JT:"Over the years I've known you it seems - from my perspective, anyway – that you've found it difficult to settle with any one army. Do you really think this army could be the one?"

J: "Every army has been the one John, I loved them all equally."

JT: "What are your plans for the first month then, James? Anything interesting?"

J:"First up is going to be the Wraithlord. Changing a few things here and there about it, it'll be posed dynamically instead of the usual way people have them just standing there."

JT: "Sounds great! Best of luck for the coming months."

**********************************************************

Elazar: Chaos Space Marines... with a twist

JT: "Some might say that you've taken on perhaps the most difficult army choice. Have you got a clear idea about how the conversions will look or is it going to be just trial and error as you go?"

E: "To me it seems the easiest army choice, you can get away with just about anything when it comes to chaos! As for the conversions it's going to be a bit of both. I have a rough framework for everything that's in my planned list. I know the kits that I'll be using to make the minis but haven't gone massively into specifics as of yet. I'll just see what goes together well as I go. But there are a few minis that I have a clear plan for, I know which bits I want to use and I have an idea of how I want to pose them etc so they can match how I envision them in my head and in a couple of instances I've doodled little plans in my notebook. This is especially true of the characters in the army."

JT: "It's obvious that your a big fan of Slannesh armies, why is that?"

E: "So many reasons! I love all of the chaos imagery and I the sub-genre within that that Slaanesh fills. The Dark Prince covers a lot of ground with what he represents. There's the pleasure and excess elements and equally the elements of vanity and pride at the expense of all else. This gives so much warped imagery to work with as the servants of Slaanesh could look like anything ranging from angelic beings right the way through to the gribbly terrors that we all know and love like chaos spawn. Also, I really enjoy building the background for my armies and I think that the servants of Slaanesh are the easiest to identify with. It's easy to see that for the most simple of reasons one could end up going down that dark path not realising where it leads but once they're on it they're quickly turned into a cruel egotistical, hedonistic maniac!"

JT: "You've chosen an optimized army list using the Codex: Space Marines. Why did choose to that as opposed to using the Chaos Space Marines book?"

E: "Well, the newer astartes codices allow you to build a lot more of a theme into a force. You can run an all terminator armies or a bike mounted army in a way that the Chaos codex doesn't allow. Seeing as the current chaos book doesn't even allow for cult options outside of Noise Marines, Plague Marines, Thousand Sons and Khorne Berzerkers its not like I'm sacrificing a great many of my options on that front either. If I could still equip my characters, terminators and vehicles with sonic weapons for example then it would be a much harder choice to make! So, I looked for a codex that would allow me to take bikes as a troops choice. This gave me the choice of the Dark Angels Ravenwing or the Space Marine codex with a bike mounted captain (or Kor'sarro Khan mounted on his bike). The Ravenwing option seemed really good (especially since the new errata and faq that fixed the differences in a lot of the options from this edition to last) but it didn't allow a great deal of room to customise the army. The Space Marine codex gave me a lot more options so it seemed the obvious choice. Throw in the fact that with combat tactics they effectively have hit and run and they suddenly sound like they'll play exactly how I'd picture Slaanesh worshipping biker marines would fight in battle. Hit and run tactics trying to spread panic and confusion and just generally enjoy dragging out the suffering of their foes as they pick them off bit by bit!"

JT: "Well, Elazar, it sounds fascinating, and can't wait to see the end result!"

**********************************************************

Lee Hall: Grey Knights

JT: “Lee, you've been a fan of the Grey Knights for quite some time now – you might say they even played a part in getting you back into the hobby. So what is about them that really captures your imagination?

LH: “You're right, it was them that got me back into the hobby. Whilst on exercise with the army I borrowed a Grey Knights novel from a friend – and the rest is history. I've always loved the colour schemes and the overall look and feel of the army, and the fact that no other army, be it good or bad, stands above them. They are the true elites of Space Marine forces.”

JT: “I know your not shy when it comes to playing the odd game (or three), but, the question is, do you think you'll manage to hit the monthly painting targets?”

LH: “I hope so. Yeah, everyone knows I love playing, but when I do get my head into painting I'm normally okay. Doing this project should help with keeping me motivated.”

JT: “Using an elite army like the Grey Knights, how do you think you'll approach the games using a smaller points cap?”

LH: “It's no secret - I love my big games. However, using a smaller points cap is going to be difficult. I've always found the smaller games more restricting, obviously, but on the other hand it's a bigger challenge. I'll just have to prey the dice gods are on my side!”

JT: “I'll look forward to seeing your progress, Lee. Good luck!”

**********************************************************
John Triplow: Raven Guard

JF: “You've always been the bad guys! Death Guard, Daemons, Dark Eldar, Skaven.. What is it that made you jump ship to the forces of good?”

JT: “For some reason I've always opted for the 'evil' armies. I can't say why this is, but I must confess I do find playing the bad guy quite alluring. However, the decision to do a Space Marines force wasn't one I took lightly at all. A while ago I was thinking about whether or not to do a Crimson Fist army, but like the majority of my ideas, it never materialised into anything. The first sign that I was “on the turn” (as they say) was after I clapped eyes on the Captain Korvydae figure on the Forge World website. That model definitely played a part in convincing me that marines can be just as cool as the their Chaos brethren!”

“Do you plan to play marines in a way that will be different from most marine forces?”

JT: “To be honest, I've played marines quite a lot in this edition and I always thought they seemed pretty weak compared to some of the other armies out there. Now that I've actually read the codex, though, I'm actually quite impressed with some of the units. I don't want to give to much away at the moment, but I do plan to have some dirty tricks up my sleeve when I eventually play some games – I just hope (and prey) that they work once I put them into practice.”

JF: “Marines lend themselves well to conversions, can we expect to see some epic work?”

JT: “Maybe. Maybe not. I haven't got anything planed, if that's what you mean. The whole army will benefit from the Raven Guard upgrade kits from Forge World, which unfortunately is going to be mega expensive. But after all it was those models that twisted me into submission to do a Space Marines army, so I can't complain too much.”

JF: What's planned for the first month then, and what will make it epic win?

JT: “I'm currently working on a squad of Assault Marines, and I plan to get some more scouts finished before the first deadline. The way I see it, is if I basically keep myself a month in front in terms of painting I shouldn't loose too many points for not having my models painted on time.”

**********************************************************

Kelly Williams: Dark Eldar

JT: “Kelly you're probably the most inexperienced player taking part, so how do intend to clutch the points away from the others?

KW: “At this moment in time I have no idea! My main focus is to get through the building and painting, because that's likely where I'll get my points from. I know I'm going to have to try and get some small games in prior to month three because my battle tactics are pretty much non existent! The question states that I'm the most inexperienced player - which is the biggest understatement ever. I think I've had my army for about three years now, maybe more, and I've played only a handful of games. I'll probably need loads of advice along the way, and I hope this whole experience makes me want to play more.”

JT: “Some might say the Dark Eldar aren't the easiest army to get to grips with when your just starting out. How are you finding them so far?”

KW: “I'm not finding them too bad really. I guess that's because I don't know any different. I never wanted to go down the normal route of playing Space Marines first, they're just too nice. I was intrigued by the history of the Dark Eldar which brought them to my attention. They live to inflict pain and suffering on anyone and everyone, and wouldn't think twice of turning on their own kind! I must admit when the new rules and codices were coming out for all the other armies it was really disheartening because it took so long for the Dark Eldar to arrive. However, the new codex is filled with nasty weaponry and some very useful additions. The pain tokens are a welcome addition as are the new fast attack and heavy support vehicles.”

JT: “I saw that you were painting some of your figures last night, what can the readers expect to see from you in the early months?”

KW: “It's taken me long enough to get this far but I hope people will like what they see. Because the majority of my army are the 'old' models the poses are very static, and although I decided to have a consistent colour scheme throughout I had to play around with different hair colours and plumes to give them a little bit of individuality. I don't think I'm brave enough to attempt any conversions or anything but you may see a random head or arm thrown in there somewhere.”

JT: “Is there anything in particular you intend on buying from the new range of figures?”

KW: “I already have a few new items, including the new Warriors, Wyches and Hellions. I would really like to expand the Hellion squad, and maybe add a couple of Venoms and a maybe Voidraven Bomber if and when they become available. My army lacks heavy support so I wouldn't mind adding a Ravager, too, to bolster my gun line. On the troop front I wouldn't mind adding a squad of Wracks. I used them in a game of apocalypse and found them quite useful. If the truth be know, though, I would probably have most of the new collection but sometimes the funds just won't stretch that far!”

JT: “Best of luck, Kelly.”

What Comes Next?

2011-06-02T19:16:00.001+01:00

So, my Daemon army was extremely short lived, even by my own recent standards! I've perhaps gotten too used to chopping and changing forces but hopefully this next one will fit better! It's a theme I've always wanted to play with but for different reasons have always ended up with a completely different army! No more. There's a Tale of 40k Gamers being run by one of the members of my gaming club and there are currently five of us set to take part. 250pts built and painted a month is the target. With some game targets to go alongside the army building. The Tale will take us up to 1500pt armies (although I'm going to try and use the time to get my new army to 1750pts if I can). There'll be a lot more about the Tale. Myself and James are taking part and I plan on detailing the other armies on here too. There will plenty of lovely minis to see judging by the standards of the others' previous armies!

So anyway, what army? A Slaaneshi Bike Army.

Whilst he might not be in the army himself, this fella is certainly a suitable role model for them! I'll go into a bit more detail when I outline my rough plan for the Tale but I'll be using Codex: Space Marines to represent them. More soon!

- Elazar

Mardumesh Painweaver Undercoated

2011-05-31T07:38:00.000+01:00

Well after a lot of work Mardumesh Painweaver is built and undercoated.

The big disappointment in all this is that he's going to the big ebay in the sky. Such is my fickle attitude towards army choices that I want to instead go ahead with an army project that was vying for my attention when I decided initially to go with the Daemons. I'm keen to see somebody do something with Mardumesh so he's up for auction. Happy bidding anybody that is interested! I'm confident he'd make a great centrepiece mini in pretty much any chaos army. Whether he's a Keeper of Secrets in a Fantasy or 40k Daemon army or a Generinc Greater Daemon for Chaos Space Marines or even a Daemon Prince in any of the Chaos Marines, Warriors of Chaos or Daemons armies. All the details can be found here.
I also have a few bits and pieces listed at 99p so please check them out too as there might be a few bargains to be had!

There'll be more on the new army soon!

Corrupting Kaelor - A Blu-Tack Mock-Up Of Mardumesh Painweaver

2011-05-10T10:45:00.000+01:00

An abomination of plastic and blu-tack...

Very WIP pics of Mardumesh. The sword arm isn't staying but I didn't want to photograph him missing an arm so he was given an arm, any arm. The rear legs will be raised once I sort his base out and the rest of the legs will raise him up slightly higher too to adjust the pose but they can't carry the weight when held together by blu-tack alone. Got a LOT of work to do, lots of bits to add, lots of greenstuff to fill gaps and add details with and then there's putting him together properly and painting him. The last picture I took just to show off some of the lovely detail on the mini. Really is an amazing sculpt the Arachnarok!

Corrupting Kaelor - Eldar Introduction.

2011-05-05T16:47:00.002+01:00

Image by Kunkka - Deviant Art

Kaelor. It had been a place of beauty once. No longer.
During the Craftwars the Farseers had been overcome with visions of its demise, of it burning and twisting in space, corrupted and screaming as it was given over as offering to Slaanesh. It was then that the house of Angsar was discovered to be giving praise to the ruinous powers, dedicating itself to the pursuit of pleasure. When one fully devotes onself to the delights of the flesh, one cannot escape the notice of the dark prince forever.
The seers of Saim-Hann had wished to destroy the craftworld then and there, best to save it and its people from the terror than to allow the dark prince his prize. The Farseer Fay'Elle had stepped forward to stop the madness of brothers killing brothers and had ended the life of the Angsar family head. He Allowed the sons of the family to live, seeing them as not beyond redemption, and not wishing anymore souls of Eldar kin to go to Slaanesh. This had enraged the leaders of Saim-Hann and the following conflict between them saw Kaelor almost destroyed. Fay'Elle was wise, and saw the best course of action he must take. He would have Kaelor make a warp jump to the edge of the galaxy, shrouding it with his power and taking it away from the immediate danger of Saim-Hann, and also taking it away from populated areas of the universe to protect millions from the oncoming incursion. The seers of Kaelor that had been cursed with the visions of its destruction, also had been given the sight of where the Daemonic incursion would come from, and sealed part of the webway shut against it.
The Eldar would fight thier battle, and they would do so alone.

Much time passed and the Eldar of Kaelor began to feel more secure. The stories passed down to the younger Eldar of the great spider who waits became just that - stories. Fay'Elle would walk the halls and myriad corridors of the craftworld staying ever vigilant for the events he had forseen, and yet they never came. He even began to doubt his own power at times, wondering if the visions he had seen were sent from some dark force to torture him with their lies.
One night, whilst meditating, Fay'Elle became aware of a power, slight but true. The power felt familiar, strong yet subtle. He reached out with his mind and then the sickening horror struck him. It was his power, the same power that he had shrouded the craftworld away with, twisted to someones own end.
Fay'Elle ran from his room, communicating psychically with the Warlocks leading squads of Guardians on routine patrols, readying them. He traced his power to the place where one of the sons of Angsar himself dwelt, Isentieth. Smashing through the wards around the dwelling with his mind he realised what he had done. He had been given visions of this day, and he had gifted the Angsars his own power to shroud their cult, he had taken the craftworld away from help, locked down the webway, there was no escape.....
The reports almost instantly flooded in. Fay'Elle felt a sickening lurch in reality as something truly evil came into being. He felt Eldar dying, Angsar would have to wait. It was to late now, somehow the fool had opened the webway. Fay'elle felt the spirits of Eldar being consumed by the warp, something the spirit stones on each Eldars armour should prevent.
With a though he readied the craftworlds Autarchs and Exarchs so they may gather up their warriors. Guardians were dying, he felt their screams as they were torn apart, but the Guardians were only militia, the craftworlds real warriors would not fall so easily. The dark princes warriors wanted war on Eldar ground? They would have it.
A hardened look set about Fay'Elles features. He reached out with his mind and sought the one that called itself Mardumesh, he showed it the infinity circuit and the current of spirits it trafficked around Kaelor. He felt the Daemons lust rise, knowing this would make the Daemon more powerful, and yet more inclined to make mistakes. He shuddered as he felt, more than heard the whispering in the warp: "A fine gift indeed...."

-*-

As the Eldar player I'll be doing the same as Elazar. Beginning with 1500 points as a target. The project will be joint and we'll work on roughly one thing each at a time. One of the exciting parts (if you're as nerdy as us) is the way we'll be doing this from a fluff perspective.

The idea is this: As we work on units/characters etc. we will roll off against each other with dice. Each unit will have fluff of it fighting the other unit in the overall battle and the dice roll will dictate which unit wins in the fluff.

Example:
I paint some dark reapers.
Elazar paints some Daemonettes.
Elazar rolls higher than me.
In the fluff the daemonettes will kill the reapers, and we both write from both perspectives.
At the end of the project the side with the most roll wins, will win the actual war in the fluff. This is particularly cool because neither of us know which way the fluff will end, or what will happen next.

James.

Images used without permission and are property of their respective owners, all rights reserved.

Corrupting Kaelor - Daemonic Introduction

2011-05-05T09:30:00.002+01:00

This is going to be a fluff-driven, joint project log detailing the invasion of Kaelor, and the forces embroiled in the conflict there. As the log progresses so will the invasion until the fate of Kaelor is decided. Below is the introductory background of the Daemonic forces assaulting the Eldar craftworld.

~*~

Mardumesh and a tide of Daemon Spiderlings burst from the portal as it opened and flooded onto the wraithbone walkway. After what had seemed like an eternity of waiting, the spider’s trap was finally sprung. The panic that washed over the Kaelor caftworld as the alarm went up hit Mardumesh like a wave of pure ecstasy. He could taste their collective fear and it invigorated him.
In those first instances, where the emotions of the Eldar went unchecked, they provided all the energy needed to widen the portal into a full warp rift and Mardumesh’s legions, finally released from their long wait, entered the material universe intent on the demise of a craftworld.

Once given the chance to lead vast Daemonic armies and the honour of being able to approach Slaanesh’s throne, the Daemon known to mortals as Mardumesh Painweaver had been favoured over many of his fellow Keepers of Secrets, a fact that Mardumesh had revelled in. However, Slaanesh is more capricious than even his brother chaos gods and his eye turned to others in his thrall. For a being like Mardumesh this rejection was maddening. Looking for a way to draw his creator’s gaze back to him the Keeper of Secrets had vowed to capture the Eldar craftworld of Kaelor and make a gift of all the souls that dwelt upon it to Slaanesh.
Such is the fractured state of the Eldar Webway that Mardumesh found a way in from the Realm of Chaos. He led his army towards the craftworld, he and his servants eager to savour the beautiful sights, the wondrous sensations, and the raw emotions that would accompany the doom of all the bright souls that dwelled there. But the Seers of Kaelor were ever-vigilant and sealed that particular portal into their world.
Mardumesh could not face defeat and further embarrassment so, in an uncanny show of patience for one of his kind he waited in the webway. Such was the nature of Mardumesh and his followers that the promise of the ecstasy their dance of death across a craft world would bring them slowly drove them insane with anticipation.

The Eldar knew of Mardumesh’s presence in the webway and left the portal sealed shut against him. Centuries passed and Mardumesh became a part of the lore of Kaelor The Eldar likened him to a spider awaiting its prey on a web. Such is the nature of beings of the warp that Mardumesh and his minions began to take on a form in keeping with the tales the Eldar told.
In their sleep many of the Eldar on the craftworld heard whispering voices and siren songs. Promises were made of endless pleasure to any that would open the way. Those that did hear the voices knew better than to heed their dark call. But not all were so noble and pure of heart. A pleasure cult had grown on Kaelor, born from the ashes of the last that had been put down in the House Wars. Isentieth of the House of Ansgar was a prominent member of the cult and he heard the whispered promises. They spoke to a dark longing inside of him, that he had all his life tried to bury in vain. Sensing this weakness, and a heart full of sinister urges the whispered voices grew ever more persistent and the promises made were both grander and more depraved. All was possible if only he opened the way the voices pleaded. So it was that Isentieth set an evil loose upon his kin. As fickle as his creator, Mardumesh paid little attention to Isentieth as his minions spilt his entrails on the ground in intricate patterns of blood and gore. Too busy was he with the feast of souls on offer.

A squad of Eldar Guardians, amongst the first to try and combat the Daemonic incursion, pelted Mardumesh with Shuriken Catapult fire. The stinging tears in his flesh reminded him of the unadulterated pleasure that battle offered up. He was unharmed but a number of the Daemonic Spiderlings that scuttled about his abdomen were slain. Such was the hermaphroditic duplicity of Slaanesh’s servants that whilst Mardumesh’s torso was seemingly male, he birthed hundreds of children from his spider-like abdomen. The spiderlings were minor-daemons weak in their own right but their weight of numbers made up for any deficiencies that may have had. As did their parent. Mardumesh howled with glee as his eight legs quickly bore him the distance to the Guardians. With a joyous cruelty he removed their limbs one by one, ignoring the brave but ineffectual fight they put up. Once each was rendered immobile by his cruelties he threw their still living bodies to his children. The Spiderlings swarmed, desperate to feed on the brilliant souls of the Eldar. The Eldar screamed in blind terror as they were slowly consumed. Only the last was spared this particular fate. Mardumesh slit the guardian’s throat and held him aloft in one hand so that he could watch as his blood spilled onto the walkway below. As the Eldar died Mardumesh pried the spiritstone from his chest and swallowed it whole. The screams of the other guardians had ceased but their fear and pain, and the soul of their comrade had empowered Mardumesh and already he longed to inflict new cruelties on this ancient race that had too long defied his creator.

It was then that Mardumesh became keenly aware of the Infinity Circuit and the current of spirits it trafficked around Kaelor. A cruel smile stretched his monstrous features. A banquet of bright souls for Slaanesh to glut himself on. A fine gift indeed.

~*~

As the Daemon player, I'm going to be initially building a 1500pt army (although it may well expand beyond that as I have a few extra ideas and no room for them at this points level). Theme wise the army will be mono-slaanesh but rules-wise to fit the army to the background there will be a liberal application of Nurglings to represent the Daemonic-Spiderlings that accompany Mardumesh. The first port of call is Mardumesh Painfeaster himself. To create the Keeper of Secrets I'm going to combine the plastic Daemon Prince and Arachnarok kits (plus a few bits and pieces besides most likely).

The Soulless Life - Desolation Engine, Hollow Waifs, Finished Crew!

2011-05-04T14:57:00.000+01:00

Haven't updated on this in a little bit despite painting a couple of minis. I've finished painting Leveticus' crew now. There will be more to add at a later date but this gives me a good 35SS crew with the Desolation Engine and co. to summon into the game.

The Desolation Engine:

Hollow Waifs (will not photograph well):

A Family Portrait:

Next, work begins on a Warhammer 40k project...

Bags of fun - Zoraida.

2011-04-26T10:35:00.000+01:00

Well this model was bags of fun to paint. Sometimes I find it hard to keep abreast of all the painting I have to do, but I make sure I get through it so I don't end up looking like a boob!

Breast jokes aside (but only because I can't think of anymore clean ones), Zoraida was my latest figure done. I still have a mature nephilim to go and some more silurids, and then after that a super secret joint Games Workshop effort from myself and Elazar is coming, stay tuned!

James.

Well Hung - Jack Daw.

2011-04-22T12:15:00.001+01:00

So the latest addition to my Zoraida crew is Jack Daw. He was a lovely mini to work on, and the sculpt has loads of character. He's pretty much my star player in most of the games I've played with the crew so far. Plenty of fun little rules in Malifaux for him to take advantage of, and lets face it there's just something about a hanging jiggly dancing man that is cool!

More updates to follow, I'm painting Zoraida herself over the next couple of days, and then I'm onto a Mature Nephilim!

James.

The Soulless Life - Leveticus - Steampunk Necromancer

2011-04-15T20:31:00.001+01:00

Many individuals find themselves in Malifaux as convict labor or the unfortunate victims of unforgiving contracts to the Guild. A small few have come to reside in Malifaux with their own purpose, to find in Malifaux their fortune. Leveticus is one such individual.

Malifaux provides many things to a man like Leveticus. Foremost, he has the privacy to pursue interests that would be considered distasteful in a more civilized environment. In the art of combining steel and bone, cog and sinew, Leveticus is a savant. Within his well-equipped offices, his own body has received augmentation, and despite his advanced age, the man is well-suited to the rigors of this frontier city.

He is almost always attended by his apprentice, a young woman named Alyce. She too bears evidence of his craft, her left arm replaced by a mechanical prosthetic. Together, the operate Captivating Salvage and Logistics, which offers a wide variety of services. Many of those services are legitimate, but a pragmatic man like Leveticus can often be found conducting more illicit affairs.

There are many who disapprove of the relationship between the wizened Leveticus and the young Alyce, rumourmongers trading tales of inappropriate conduct between the two. The rumours don't seem to impact the success of their business, however, as they have a reputation for getting things done.

I finished painting Leveticus, the master of my crew. His is a lovely mini with lots of great little details. It was a real pleasure to paint. I say that about all of Wyrd's miniatures. They really are great to work with even if you have no intention of playing Malifaux I think everyone should try painting a Wyrd Miniature sculpt just to get a feel for something a bit different!

I'm right here in your picture frame...

2011-04-12T12:54:00.003+01:00

Well the night I was born,
Lord I swear the moon turned a fire red,
The night I was born,
I swear the moon turned a fire red.

Well, My poor mother cryin' out,
"Oh lord the gypsy was right"
And I seen her fell down dead,
Have mercy.......

James.

The Soulless Life - Bête Noire

2011-04-09T20:10:00.000+01:00

None know who or what Bête Noire was in life, but the silent horror she has become in undeath now stalks the City's countless shadowy side alleys in search of victims, usually individuals who have delivered death to another in some fashion. Cloaked in an inky shroud of darkness, she toys with her prey before overtaking them. Despite her murderous intentions, her victims' prayers for a quick death are ignored; instead they are subjected to brutal torture and mutilation before they are allowed the release of death. Guild Guard who have discovered her handiwork generally report feelings of hopelessness and despair being almost tangible in the air, and many are haunted by vivid images and nightmares for the rest of their lives.

I wanted to paint her differently from the Wyrd colour scheme as I'm not a massive fan of it so I went with my wife's suggestion of painting her like the Corpse Bride. However, part way in I realised I really disliked the blue skin tone so went for a colour closer to what I'll be using on Leveticus' Hollow Waifs when I get to them.

Leveticus is next to be painted. Thanks to AndyB of A Fistful of Soulstones fame I now I have an idea for how to paint him. To that end, I've greenstuffed some cuffs onto his jacket.

The Soulless Life - Lots of Pictures

2011-04-03T17:13:00.001+01:00

Done some more work on my The Desolate & The Soulless crew for Malifaux. Got a long way to go before I catch up to James and have a fully painted crew (his Pandora led, Legion of Sorrows crew is awesome and to be found here)

Finished the third and fourth Steampunk Abominations

The four Steampunk Abominations together:

and with Rusty Alyce:

Rusty Alyce had some more photos taken which came out slightly better than the ones in the previous post:

Lastly, a sneak peek at what I'm working on next:

Legion of Sorrows - Complete!

2011-04-01T14:07:00.000+01:00

Well that's all my neverborn for Pandoras crew done! I'll probably add more in the future, but I need to concentrate on Mcmournings crew for a while. I'd like to come back and add Zoraida for brawls and to use as a master with stuff I already have once in a while, but for now I'm happy that my first crew is done!

Here's a group shot followed by some more detailed shots of Pandora herself.

Hope you like them!

James.