Roll call for chaos: Objectives

In this (tentatively) last installment of Roll Call for Chaos, I will show you something less bloodthirsty than my World Eaters. Still, where would we be without any objectives (in life as well as during games of 40k)?

I am a great fan of building my own objective markers. It’s easy, fun and adds a nice touch of individuality to your army. I’d go as far as saying that every self-respecting hobbyist should have a set of objective markers that matches their army, but that’s just me.

Anyway, having said that, it should be no surprise that I set out building some markers for my World Eaters as well. Here they are:

This first one is obviously a pretty straight example: It’s an axe resting atop a pile of skulls. The resin skulls are from the GW 40k basing set while the axe came from the WFB Marauder horsemen. Simple, but rather effective.

The second one is a banner of chaos rammed into the cracked earth. Again, I used bits from the different WFB Marauder kits. It’s also a nice bit of synergy that both these markers can be used for my World Eaters and Traitor Guard alike.

Then there’s this guy:

A World Eater towering above a defeated loyal Marine, ready to pull the trigger on him. I like this objective marker for the simple reason that it was almost completely build from scrap parts that I wouldn’t have been able to use otherwise (the Marine’s twisted and broken legs were actually the result of an attempt at repositioning gone wrong, for example).

I quite like the World Eater’s show of contempt, pinning his foe to the ground with an armoured boot…

And here’s all three objectives together:

I appreciate how there’s a certain sense of escalation 😉

I also built some more fallen foes. Everything started with this guy:

As you can see, it’s a fallen Eldar guardian, bagged like an animal by the proud warriors of Khorne’s Eternal Hunt.

I built this after winning a campaign game against one of cousin Andy’s buddies and his Eldar army. I tried to emulate his paint scheme, although my version is quite a bit more rough and dirty. I plan to build an objective for every army I defeat during the campaign — not only is this a very nice way of “honouring” your foes, it also allows you to add some narrative elements to your force.

I believe I already posted this guy some time ago:

I built this fallen Marine to complement one of my Dreadnoughts (both of them together form some kind of “instant mini-Diorama” which you can see here). Again, the model was built completely from leftover parts.

And finally, I did a couple of minefield markers for use in our campaign (the 5th edition rulebook has some rules for minefields which we have been using up to now):

I had to use WFB bases for these because I had run out of round bases at that time. I bet you haven’t heard that one before 😉

I used cork, leftover sprue and a couple of bits to build the markers. The mines themselves are parts of the magna grapple from the Furioso kit, and the warning shields wrre originally shields from the WFB snap fit Skeleton warriors.

While we only get to use these every once in a blue moon, it’s still nice to have something more exciting than some dice on hand in order to represent mines. Cousin Andy even did some corresponding markers for his Dark Eldar army.

Like I said, building objective markers is a fun way to add some extra shine to your army. And it’s usually easy and inexpensive too! You should definitely give it a try, if you haven’t already. Whether you want to poke fun at an opponent’s former mishaps, inject some humour into your army or just have the desire to be fighting over something more interesting than a six-sided die, individual objectives are the way to go!

And with that, you’ve seen everything there is to see about my World Eaters — everything that’s painted, that is. I hope that it’s been a fun ride! If you have any questions, criticism or words of encouragement, let me know in the comments section!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the painting desk to get more World Eaters finished before the new Codex hits 😉

As always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

Roll call for Chaos: All together now

In the first three installments of Roll Call for Chaos, we took a look at the different World Eaters squads that I managed to paint until now. Now let’s see how it all comes together.

Before we do that, though, I almost forgot my Harriers (Raptors). There’s a completed five man squad at the moment, as you already know:

And then there’s these guys that I didn’t manage to squeeze in anywhere  else:

You should recognise the models in the middle and on the right: On the right is an old, mid-90s plastic Berzerker, kindly sponsored by my fellow World Eater Doombreed. In the middle you can see a gladiatorial World Eater that I converted and painted some time ago.

The guy on the left is a test model for my chosen, the “Sons of Cron”. I converted the squad some time ago, but have yet to paint it. Until it’s finished, the model can serve as a “regular” Skull Champion with a power fist.

Okay, everyone, without further ado, here’s a couple of pictures of all my painted World Eaters together. Enjoy! (And click for bigger pictures)

I really get a certain sense of achievement from seeing all those guys collected like that. All those models add up to about 2100 points fully kitted out. But then, that’s a bit of a naïve fallacy of course, since  I couldn’t really use them like that (too many HQ selections for one, a recurring problem of mine). But all things considered, I suppose these guys would make up a legal army of about 1,500 points.

The really bad news is that there’s at least an equal amount of  stuff that I haven’t yet managed to paint, so it seems that I have my work cut out for me:

All those unpainted models form a “Parade of shame” that I’ll show you another time. Until then, there’s more painted stuff to look at, though. Next time on Roll Call for Chaos: objectives.

Until then, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

Roll Call for Chaos: Heavy Hitters

Right, with the grunts out of the way, let’s take a look at the big bruisers. This time on Roll Call for Chaos: the Heavy Hitters.

And who would be first but the officers of the 4th assault company. Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for Huntmasters Bardolf, Isgarad and Charun:

You already know these guys of couse, although I rather like the “family portrait” above: They look like they’re ready for a spot of skulltaking, am I right?

Charun and Isgarad were built to wield Daemon weapons, although I am not entirely sold on the new rules (AP3), so I may just use what works. Charun ends up using twin Lightning claws most of the time. I am lucky to be playing with a rather laidback group when it comes to WYSIWYG.

Speaking of dear old friends, these two gentlemen should seem familiar as well:

Khoron the Undying and Marax the Fallen, my Chaos Dreadnoughts. I won’t put you through having to look at all the different Dreadnought weapons again, though — all the more so since it remains to be seen whether any of these options will remain legal in the new book: Will there still be a regular Dread, or will all Chaos Dreads be counted as “Hellbrutes”? And while we are on that subject, let me just say that the Hellbrute from the starter box will definitely join those two sooner rather than later: Let’s just hope that Marax and Khoron will hold up when compared to that awesome new model…

Then there’s the lone Brazen Knight, hopefully soon to be joined by his squadmates (and a set of official rules):

Like I previously said, the other models are built and ready for painting. And even if the new book doesn’t offer any rules for Brazen Knights, I’ll maybe just use them as (allied) Bloodcrushers.

And finally, maybe the heaviest hitter of them all (provided it actually manages to hit anything, that is):

My defiler, the Daemon Engine “Unending Bloodlust”. Some of the more recent rumours maintain that daemon engines will truly return to form in the new codex, and this guy will be right there when it happens… 

Anyway, while you should already know most of these models, some definitely profit from the better photography this time around 😉

Alright, next stop: a couple of group shots.

Until then, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

Roll call for Chaos: Huntsmen & Lost brethren

After the sheer excellence of the chaos models in the 6th edition starter box, I can only hope that you won’t find looking at my own,  relatively shabby models too jarring. They are just as red, for starters. That has to count for something!
So here I am again, with a Roll Call for Chaos: Last time, I showed you my skull champions. Now let’s take a look at their subordinates.

As of now, there are two painted squads of Khorne Berzerkers in my army. For some, two troop choices may look a little thin, but Berzerkers tend to be a bit of a one trick pony, so I usually prefer diversifying a bit instead of sinking huge amounts of points into more Berzerker units. After all, holding objectives doesn’t sit well with a World Eater in the first place, so I usually tend to go for total annihilation of my opponent. Sometimes, it even works out.

Quite a few of these Berzerkers were painted in the 90s, so they don’t hold up too well compared to my newer models. Fortunately, the pictures are rather advantageous, so the models don’t clash too much.

Here’s my first squad of Berzerkers, Hunting Pack Bruul:

About two thirds of this squad were actually painted fairly recently, so it looks alright. You can see skull champion Bruul and the icon bearer among the guys there.

And my second Berzerker squad: Hunting Pack Memnar:

Most of these are old models, and the paintjobs on some of them really show their age. Looking at the bareheaded legionnaire in the middle ground, you can see that my recipe for skin has changed quite a bit, and some of the other guys look really rough. One day, when I have lots of time, I may repaint them, but it actually seems far more probable that I’ll just “phase them out”, replacing them with newer models over time. Again, you can see the Skull Champion and icon bearer from the last post.

So last but not least, I’ll also include my squad of Possessed into this post. I built them from a mix of Berzerker and CSM parts and used Ork arms and old chaos mutations to show their possessions. Compared to the newer plastic kit, those look very restrained, though, so they end up being used as regular Berzerkers as often as not.

Anyway, meet Huntmaster Kharduun the Hunter and the Lost Brethren:

All of these models were painted last year, so they are the most “modern” Berzerker unit in my army at this point. I am still rather pleased with some of the conversions, I especially like the guy on the right. Fun fact: Huntmaster Kharduun was the first World Eater I built in late 2010.

Something I will have to do for all of these models is to go back and touch up their bases. Most of them were originally based in the classic “early 90s’ GW” style (painted Goblin Green and flocked with cheap modelling grass), so I at least changed that. However, I hadn’t settled on a recipe for my basing then, so I’ll just have to take these guys and work on their bases — probably in one or two longer sittings.

My Berzerker squads are usually accompanied into battle by dedicated transports. I already converted the Rhinos in question, but have yet to paint one — to tell you the truth, I am rather nervous at the prospect, since vehicles are definitely not my strong suit…

Anyway, so much for the basic, footslogging troops. Next up: some heavy hitters.

Until then, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

6th edition starter box – first thoughts

With “leaked” pictures of the 6th edition starter box all over the interwebz this weekend, you have probably seen the models by now. After spending the last 48 hours alternating between screaming like a little girl and fainting due to the sheer awesomness of the new chaos models, let me take a few moments to collect my thoughts on the contents of the starter box.

But first a disclaimer of sorts: I took these pictures from Faeit 212, and they originated on 4chan, I believe. And all of this is of course totally owned by Games Workshop, to give credit where credit is due. I only cropped some of the pictures to illustrate my ramblings — please don’t sue me! Thanks 😉

Alright, everyone ready? Here goes:

Chaos

Well, I think we can all agree that this is all that chaos worshippers the world over were hoping for and then some. When the chaos contents of the box were first leaked, I was a little unimpressed at the inclusion of five Chosen — no more!  The new models blow everything I have seen in terms of starter boxes clean out of the water. GW was even nice enough to paint them in an almost-World Eater colour-scheme for me! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but rather approach this systematically:

Chaos Lord

The good: Well, where to start? This guy looks fantastic! Just what you imagine a twisted, millennia-old warlord of the ruinous powers to look like. I love the inclusion of a Plasma pistol, since it’ll give me the opportunity to pull off one of my cheap OSL effects. Come to think of it, the sword lends itself to shenanigans like that rather beautifully as well. This guy is great!

The bad: Well, he doesn’t look like a World Eater. But wait, is that a little stylised fanged maw on his belly — maybe he can be made to look like a World Eater easier than I suspected. Yay!

The plan: Well, I’ll definitely use this guy as some kind of officer! It remains to be seen how easily he may be converted, but the model will definitely end up in my force sooner rather than later.

 

Chosen:

These are all kinds of awesome, and they really, really look the part. Let me walk you through my plans for them:

This guy screams “Dark Apostle” to me, from the maul (Dark Crozius) to the third eye on his forehead. I’ll probably end up painting him as a Word Bearer – if only for the heck of it.

The single horn on this Chosen’s forehead somehow gives me a Nurgle vibe. But then, it’s a great idea that “generic” undivided Marines should have visual cues that call to mind different chaos gods: After all, they are worshipping all of them. Anyway, really love the pose on this guy!

Where the last model reminded me of Nurgle, this guy looks decidedly Tzeentchian in my opinion. Look at the helmet, the eye on the breastplate…. and even the weapon: If you ask me, paint up this guy in blue and gold, and you’ve got and instant Thousand Sons Rubric Marine.

It also seems that there are two of these in the set: While I am not generally opposed to repeating models (least of all in a starter box), they maybe could have done five unique Chosen. But then, that’s only a very small nitpick, considering the sheer quality of these models!

This guy is a little harder to make out due to the quality of the picture. So let me just say that he really reminds me of one of the older 90s’ metal Chaos Marines. And a bit of nostalgia is always a good idea!

And finally, easily my favourite of the bunch. This guy is just plain fantastic, from the design to the pose. I am so going to make him a World Eater! Although, he’d make for a rather nice Night Lord as well: Just add a jump pack, and you’re there!

So what’s my overall take on these?

The good: Fantastic design. Lots of variation. First really cool chosen ever. ‘Nuff said.

The bad: They could have done five unique models, of course. But my biggest gripe with these is actually the fact that their quality makes me want to instantly throw away the Chosen that I painstakingly converted myself…looks like my Chosen may be downgraded to be regular Berzerkers…

The plan: Some of these will make fantastic World Eaters. Some I may keep for different projects. All of them are fantastic, so I’ll be able to think of something 😉

 

Hellbrute:

This guy seems to be everybody’s darling at the moment. And rightly so! While I am not a big fan of over-the-top mutations, this beast is just off the hook! First we only had a pretty shitty metal model for nearly two decades, now we are rewarded with this —  that’s Karma for you!

The good: He’s stunning! This may be the single greatest model ever to be included in a starter kit! Can you remember the way we were blown away when GW included a freaking Dreadnought with the Black Reach box? Seems like the bar has been raised by several notches!

On a related note, I do hope that whoever did this guy also took a shot at the new Obliterators: They really do need a facelift!

The bad: My problem does not lie with the model itself, but rather with the suspicion that Hellbrutes will completely replace Dreads. The leaked ruleset looks alright, but just having converted two Dreads with a lot of weapon options, I hope that they won’t turn out to be useless this edition. But I am really rather confident, that it’ll all work out alright!

The plan: Paint it and play it. As soon as possible.

 

Cultists:

Highly anticipated, these guys come in two flavours: More dakka and less dakka. I really like the models, too. And it was about time CSM got cultists back!

the cultists with autoguns take all the right cues from the Vraksian Renegade Militia and a couple of other sources. The champion somehow looks like a traitorous commissar to me — must be the coat. He’s also wearing a Blood Pact-like grotesque. Awesome!

The CC Champion looks a little less impressive, but his followers are pretty great. I especially like the disfigured guy with the bare torso!

The good: The sculpt on these guys is really nice! They are also a godsend for INQ28 and Necromunda players. And I really love the fact that a cheaper, non-Astartes troop selection seems to have made the cut!

The bad: Quite a few duplicates here, which is a little more noticeable. They’re still great though!

The plan: All of these will be drafted into my Traitor Guard force, Urash’s Marauders and painted in the corresponding colours. That way, I’ll be able to play them as Traitor Guard or Cultists, depending on the situation. I also think they’ll look really cool in my Traitor Guard colour scheme.

I really think that the Chaos models alone are basically worth the price of admission here! If this is a first taste of what’s in store for us Chaos players, this will turn out to be an expensive year indeed!

But wait, what about the loyalist dogs?

Many people argue that the Dark Angels really got the short end of the stick. But that’s crazy talk: The fact that they seem a little underwhelming is not due to a lack of quality, but rather to how fantastic the chaos models are. Taken on their own merits, those DA models are rather great:

The Company Master and Librarian are excellent! Some people are miffed by the huge wings adorning the Company Master’s helmet, but come on: Those wings have been a huge part of the DA’s iconography for a very long time now! What kind of DA army have you been playing for the last decade?

I am, however, not particularly fond of the limited edition Chaplain: He simply doesn’t click with me. His head should have been far more skull-like, in my opinion. On the positive side, this means I won’t have to get the limited edition. Phew!

The tac Marines are indeed a little underwhelming compared to the Chosen. However, that’s really like comparing apples and oranges: There’s far more artistic license for creating armour warped by the ruinous powers. It’s not these guys’ fault that they have to wear the “boring” loyal power armour. The sergeant looks rather nice, though! Also note that these are really Dark Angels (sculpted heraldry and all): No space smurfs this time!

The good: Nice, if a little underwhelming sculpts. I really like that they are not Ultramarines for once, though!

The bad: The tactical Marines could have been cooler. I also think the chaplain’s a bit of a missed chance.

The plan: The Company Master and Sergeant seem likely recruits for my Custodes. All in all, it remains to be seen how easy these will be to convert…

The second batch of DA has a Terminator squad as well as a Ravenwing squad on bikes. This is some serious bang for the buck, if you ask me!

The good: The sculpts are very nice, and they really look like Dark Angels. No more decal shenanigans and painted on heraldry. I also hope that I’ll be able to induct these into my Custodes without too much of a hassle.

The bad: Once again, in contrast to the chaos models, these don’t really go too much beyond the established look for DA/loyal Marines. But again, you can’t fault these models for the fact that the chaos side of things got treated so poorly in the last years.

The plan: I’d really like to turn the Terminators into Custodes Cataphracts. Let’s just wait and see how hard that will be… The bikes should be reassonably simple to convert into Custodes (jet)bikes, provided they are assembled similarly to the “regular” Space Marine bikes.

 

All in all, this starter box is nothing short of stellar. You may keep bashing GW for their sometimes harebrained decisions or their inflexibility, but then something like this comes along and just shuts you up — if only for a minute or so. I AM SO GOING TO BUY THIS!

What are your thoughts about the new models and your plans for them? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

Until then, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!