So, About That Plan

Well, today I spent (among other things) painting a Dark Angels Rhino APC for sale through my eBay shop, and making a start on a squad of Deathwing Terminators... which I wanted to sell... but then I decided actually I could really do with a Deathwing army again. The models are so beautiful - wonderfully detailed and full of character (well, as much character as 9' tall personality-devoided massively armoured superhuman genetically engineered warrior-monks can have anyway) that I just can't resist them. Besides which, it'd only be a small project, a few squads, maybe a Dreadnought or two, a Land Raider perhaps...

ARRRGH

Anyway, pictures!

 

The RH1N0 'Rhino' APC - the first time I've used waterslide transfers in a long time. Markings taken from the Space Marine Transfer Sheet and the Baneblade Transfer Sheet. I really think that not highlighting tanks this big is the way to go. Quite happy with the chipping effect - understated but  effective; same with the dusty weathering. Available for £35 here on my eBay shop!

Very definitely 'tabletop standard' but they look good enough for me. I haven't based them yet as, frankly, I want to base the whole army in one go. These are the Terminators from the Dark Vengeance set and I plan (ha!) on adding to them with the really ace Deathwing Command Squad and Deathwing Knights boxes to make more Terminators in the same vein. I think I will stick to a 1500 point army or so, which should be around four squads of Terminators plus Belial and either a Land Raider or a Dreadnought or two. Fairly small but really powerful on the field if my old Deathwing army was anything to go by!

Painting Points: 7
2013 Total: 129 (84x 28mm, 2x 54mm, 3x tanks)

Planning - I Really Should Try It

So today I took a deep breath and spent a few pounds on getting hold of the 'Jedi Elf' and Kislev Ranger from Games Workshop. I thought about picking up some Van Saar or a Valhallan Heavy Bolter team, but decided against it. I couldn't afford them, and besides, eBay and trading forums will provide for my Guard and eBay needs I should think.

Some of you may remember when (some years ago now) I posted pictures of two High Elves for Mordheim: one in a cloak with a big sword, another in full armour with a sword and shield. Together with the Elf Mage and Kislev Ranger, they are going to be the core of a Shadow Elf warband. Which will be my third Mordheim warband, after the Mordheim City Watch (Reiklanders) and Blood Dragon Vampire undead one (with lots of zombies and human Dregs). Actually, thinking about it, I started a Marienburg one as well. So fourth warband.

Anyway, enough rambling! I am about to plan. With the demise of Specialist Games, and Collectors' stuff, I finally got off my procrastination-box and finalised the Imperial armies I will eventually have completed for 40K, broken down by combat zone:

Temperate:
Rigellian LIX Infantry (2nd Edition Cadian figures)
Ultramarines
Order of the Pure Blood (Sisters of Battle)/Ordo Hereticus

Jungle:
5th Amalgamated Regiment (metal and plastic Catachans, Gaunt's Ghosts, various figures)
Space Wolves
Deathwatch/Ordo Xenos

Snow:
Darendaran X Mechanised (2nd Edition Valhallan figures)
Lamenters
Adeptus Mechanicus (mostly conversions I reckon - this'll be a time intensive project)

Desert:
CULFOR (2nd Edition Mordian, Tallarn and Praetorian figures)
Righteous Fists
Grey Knights/Ordo Malleus

Urban:
Parvassian 9th Dragoons (3rd Edition Armageddon Steel Legion figures)
Black Templars
Adeptus Arbites (2nd Edition Arbites figures and 'new' Necromunda Enforcers)

A mere 15 armies! I actually have two of those almost entirely completed, and the rest are in various stages of progression... some just ideas, for now, but still.

That - together with my 'hard' SF, AK47, Imagi-Nations, Necromunda, Mordheim, and Warhammer army goals should keep me busy well into my mid 30s. At least. Here's to reigning in the butterfly!

Parting Is Sweet Sorrow

As you know, fine readers, yesterday I said that I would be consolidating my collection of toy soldiers by, well, selling a lot of them off.

I intend to (re)focus my collection largely on skirmish games, as they a) usually require less figures, and b) are more fun, I find. So with that in mind, I sat and thought about what I will be disposing of, and what I'll be keeping.

I will be selling off most of my bizzare and eclectic collection of Warhammer stuff, with the exception of my Undead (and associated army books), and figures that I have an attachment to - like my Dwarfs, for example, or my Oxenford Bretonnians. I can justify this with reference to Mordheim (hurrah) and Song of Blades and Heroes.

Equally, whilst I will be parting with my Pirate crew, I will be retaining my armed SF/near-future civilian mob for use in Gangs of Mega-City 1 (most likely as Total War terrorists and the like). The gist of it all is this:

Out go the armies and forces that I haven't used in years, if ever, and in come (or stay) the skirmish warbands, gangs, and platoons that I have and will use in the future. I have, of course, one eye on my son - it is an inevitability that I will end up playing wargames with him relatively soon, and  I want to have something in every scale that I can pick up and run with - and another on my father, with whom a wargame is seriously overdue and to whom my VBCW stuff is going.

I am actually quite excited, and am raring to dive into my shed and my parent's loft to "rationalise and downsize my assets" - keep an eye on here, the Lead Adventure Forum, the Forum of Doom, the Gentleman's Wargames Parlour, Warseer, and - of course - ATP Painting Studio for sales in the near future.

To the bright new dawn and the end of Rabid Butterfly Syndrome!

Oh, and to maintain the picture-per-update ratio, have some Dark Eldar:

PS: I forgot about the Gran Chaco War - if I can ever get hold of 'Green Hell' I will take the plunge and do it in 15mm. Mainly to annoy my friend who lives in Bolivia by reminding him of Paraguay's great victory!

Of Houses and Packing Tape

Well, I'm up to my eyeballs in cardboard boxes and packing tape, as I am moving house. Boo and hiss! No, it's actually going to be great - I'll be living above a toyshop that stocks paints and basing material, so that's handy and probably going to be a massive money-sink unless I carefully ration myself. To, say, 99.9% of all my wages.

That seems reasonable, right?

Right?

...

Moving swiftly on! Whilst packing, I had a closer look at the unpainted Necromunda stuff I have lurking in a carrycase. As previously mentioned, it's only 41 figures, and they break down thusly:

1x Wyrd (Telekinetic)
2x Scummers (ex-Goliath, ex-Delaque)
3x Escher (running with shotgun, heavy stubber and Leader pointing with laspistol and bolter)
4x Goliaths (all Juves I think)
9x Ratskins (mostly Braves, a couple of Warriors, and one Shaman)
22x Orlocks (Leader with power axe, heavy bolter, 20 various Gangers and Juves including some conversions, e.g. heavy with grenade launcher).

So I think I'll make them my first priority once we're all unpacked and settled in. I wouldn't expect much in the way of productive painting-style posts for a good couple of weeks - mainly because all my stuff, paint-wise, is now packed up.

The counter to this is that I hope to start regularly gaming against my old foe, Al Front. Once a month if the gods smile upon us! Which will, of course, spur me on to do more daft stuff like finish off my AK-47 armies, start that Lace Wars imagi-nations army I've been banging on about for years now, and so on and so forth.

Exciting times ahead! Stay tuned...