Double Duty

With my foray back into 40k I'm using the opportunity to take a single army (Imperial Guard) and make it work for several projects at once.  Given my lack of speed when it comes to painting, this will get me closer to having an army for multiple gaming groups with less time and effort.

In the last post you saw the start of my Badab War project.  Today I give you the first of a couple of models that will be used for my Kill Zone team as well as a general IG army for friendly games of 40k.

This is an Adepticon model from a few years back (I think 2008) and thought it worked well for my Kill Zone team as it was a bit "different".  I plan to use her as a Commissar (equal rights for women in the Imperium I say!)

So there you have it.  A couple of models switched and I can go from traitorous Tyrant Legionnaires to loyal Imperial soldiers in no time at all.  Stay tuned as I work on both more IG for Badab and a Kill Zone addition that has become an unplanned homage to a different Empire in a different galaxy.

The Tyrant's Legion Begins

I've been pulled back into 40k in a big way.  First, it was a group of fellow gamers looking to do Kill Zone (I'd only have to do 10 figs).  Then it was a good friend putting together a fantastic group of hobbyists and gamers to recreate the Badab War from the Forge World Imperial Armour 9 and 10 books.  Finally, the release of 6th edition, the fantastic starter box minis and the new allies rule sealed to deal.

So I've been slowly working on my Imperial Guard which will serve double duty as my Kill Zone team and the base of my Badab War project: The Tyrant's Legion.  For those who don't know the history, the Astral Claws Space Marine Chapter, led by Lugft Huron (aka. Huron Blackheart, aka, Tyrant of Badab) stopped sending their tithes back to the Administratum and this incurred the wrath of the Imperium in the form of several Space Marine Chapters sent to put the Astral Claws to task for their transgressions.  My favorite thing about the Badab War is that Huron had built a defense force for the sector based strongly on the same format as the pre-heresy forces of the Imperium.  So, Imperial Guard units (mostly Planetary Defense Forces) where commanded by a Space Marine and served alongside Astral Claw units.  These Guard didn't know they were part of a secessionist force.  They were loyal soldiers and in their minds they were doing what their lord, and thus the Imperium, asked of them. From that perspective, the attacking Imperial forces were enemies and traitors and the Badab forces were on the right side.  By the end they realized the error of this loyalty when they fought alongside renegade marauder units they had formally fought against to secure the sector.

The great thing is I not only get to paint guard but I also get to include Astral Claw elements AND chaos elements in the form of Renegade Marauders.  When I saw the contents of the Dark Vengeance starter set I quickly realized all 20 Chaos Cultists would work perfectly as Renegade units in this Badab force and might serve as the basis of a future Chaos force.  Ever since reading the Fulgrim novel my opinion of Slaneesh has changed and is now the most disturbing and frightening chaos god in my opinion.  With that, and the chance to paint pink for the first time in my miniature paining history, I had to make my Marauders cultists of Slaneesh.

Below are some shots of the Badab force so far (yes, I have a LOT more guard to paint) including the Astral Claws Centurion that will lead the force. I'm hoping to get my first 500 points ready for a game in December so check back for progress updates as I go.

Centurion and IG Command (so far)

Astral Claws Centurion

I used the Forgeworld convention model (Boarding Marine)

from 2011 for my Centurion

My first Marauder.  This is one of the models

from the Dark Vengeance box 

I couldn't resist the chance to paint pink!

The Heart and Soul of the Hobby

The last year has been a relatively disheartening time for me in terms of my GW hobby. Recently I've come to realize the source and reconcile my negative feelings for GW with my continued passion for their products. This past weekend I think I was reminded what the heart and soul of the hobby is for me.

The pictures below are from a couple of 40k players I know who were playing in a tournament at the Chicago Bunker. I'll also include a link to a third player's blog with pictures of his beautiful IG army. I found, even with my disgust at GW Corporates complete lack of "love" for the hobby community (i.e. pulling the prize support, pulling the circuit, failure to support local clubs and players who champion their game, etc) I was still drawn to these games. Well, I think these pictures should give you some idea of why. For me, I can't look at armies like this and NOT be inspired and excited to do some hobbying of my own. Plus, when I know the people and they are a great bunch of folks (fun, into the background, love to paint and hobby, etc) that is a further plus.

I don't like GW Corporates recent policies or prices and I know I spend less now then I would have in the past, yet I really enjoy the products they make (well, except finecast maybe), the background AND most importantly the other gamers and hobbyists I know who also play their games. In the end, these people and the beautiful, inspirational hobbying they do is the true heart and soul of this hobby to me and it keeps me coming back for more every time.
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The following links are to Brian and Jeff's blogs. Brian's Necrons are also pictured below along with a Tallaran IG army painted by a different guy named Jeff.

http://briancarlsonminiatures.blogspot.com/

http://jeffshobbyspot.blogspot.com/

What have I gotten myself into this time?

So, the past year or more I've been very down on GW and had decided to spend my hobby money elsewhere like FOW, Historicals, etc.  Essentially, I felt that I would not buy anything model wise from GW until the Hobbit release (I already have enough Lord of the Rings stuff to keep me busy for several years anyway).  And then I had to wander through the bitz trading at Adepticon (why I don't know) and felt compelled to haggle over the Cadian Battleforce box (new in box) which after getting him down to roughly 50% off I felt obligated to buy. 

It must have been fate because it turns out a number of different gamers I know and sometimes game with are looking to start both Kill Zone and a Badab War campaign.  I only found this out the day after buying this box!  So below is the start of my combination Kill Zone Team and Badab Sector Planetary Defense Auxila.  I wanted to do something different and more prestine, plus I'm feeling like painting some blue.  Although the initial force will be pretty generic I'm basing the theme around the Guard Auxila that fought for Huron Blackheart in the Badab Sector during the Badab War.  These poor bastards thought they were protecting their sector and homeworlds from a traitorous Imperium and Space Marines when in fact, they were the ones who at unwittingly turned from the Imperium by blindly following Huron and the Astral Claws.  If things do take off with the Badab Campaign I may even add some Astral Claws to the force and make it a Traitors Legion list out of the Badab Forgeworld Book 1.

You may notice one of the models here is not a GW model (don't tell anyone) but is instead one of the past Adepticon models which I've always wanted to paint and finally found the opportunity.  For now he'll serve as my Company Commander.

Lots Still Going On Behind The Scenes

It's been awhile since my last update but even with the silence I've been busy.  Expect a few posts over the next month with a recap of my April and May hobby adventures including Adepticon, LotR, Guns of April, Gorgon work and even some 40k (yes, even that!).

In the meantime, this weekend I had a chance to play some ancients with a local group I've started meeting with.  Mike runs these games in which he supplies all the figs (painted nicely I might add) and we just show up, roll some dice, have some laughs and push some lead around.  AWESOME!  To top it off, I played on the Roman side and we pulled of a nail biter of a win against the Numidians.

The Roman Legions arrayed for battle

The Roman heavy and light cavalry destroy the Numidian Cavalry on the Numidian right flank

The Numdian right flank has fallen and the Romans move in for the kill

After seeing several Roman units destroyed the game hung on the outcome of the battle above with the Romans winning the day in the end

FOW 3rd edition!

I found out recently that The Warstore was giving away a free copy of the new 3rd edition rules with any Flames of War purchase. Well, rather then waiting a month and spending god only knows what on the hardcover book I went ahead and put in an order. It arrived today in all it's gaming glory! I will now have some objectives, appropriate Fallschirmjager tokens (instead of panzer ones) and some destroyed tank smoke and flame markers. And best off all, the softcover 3rd edition rules. Awsome!

Laying down the (hobby) law for 2012

I can't let the month of January go without copying my fellow gaming bloggers and posting a New Year planning post. So, after much soul searching I think I have a plan for my hobby this year. In fact, I mean to lay down the law, stick to my guns and complete this whole list (yeah right!).

For 2012 I have several painting and hobby projects to complete:

• Paint one unit of 2/24th Biritish Line Infantry for the Guns of April Napoleonic project for Adepticon
• Paint a unit of Gorgon Studios Etruscans for the Little Wars Charity auctio
• Paint Fallaschirmjager and Panzer additions for my Flames of War forces
• Build and paint my FOW terrain for home use
• Paint a Lord of the Rings Harad army for Bilbo's Bash
• Paint at least one unit of Etruscans for the Gorgon Studios army (I'm setting the bar low)
• Play LotR and FOW more regularly
• Play in a FOW tournament

As usual for me, there are so many other "wishlist" items I won't commit to as I KNOW I won't complete it all and it's not a priority at the moment. For the most part, I'd love to finish the rest of my English Civil War Royalists and finish another 1000 points of Gorgon Studios Spartans. But, I guess those will have to wait until I complete the list above. Plus, I need to leave room for the unexpected hobby challenge that is sure to come my way this year (it always does).

Of course, as I work on these projects I'll make sure to post WIP shots as well as complete pictures. PAnd we'll see how well I do by January 1st, 2013.