The Unforgiven: True-scale Dark Angels

Thought begets Heresy. Heresy begets Retribution.

When 8th edition of Warhammer 40k was released last year, I purchased one of the starter sets, and experimented with turning the included Primaris Space Marines into True-scale Space Marines. I found that by simply replacing their powerpacks and bolters, they made pretty convincing normal Space Marines. Being a longstanding Dark Angels player, when the new Dark Angel codex was released last year, I thought it might be fun to try to convert some tactical marines in this way. The hope being that I could build a bunch of them quickly to use in games of basic 40k (I manage to play a game or two each year). With this in mind, I got a box of the Dark Angels-themed Intercessors and set to work.

Between the Bolter and Me: 2015, a year in review

2015, our most productive year yet!

Somehow, it is January again. Another year has passed us by, and I find it hard to believe that Between the Bolter and Me is now three years old! I am happy to say that the third year was our most productive year yet. We converted all sorts of models, but most impressively, Adam even started to paint again (after an absence of more than five years)! But as 2016 begins, we wanted to take a little time to review our accomplishments last year.

The Unforgiven: Black Knights

'One warrior usually suffices.'

The recent release of the new Dark Angels codex has gotten me to start thinking more about the future of my Deathwing army.  With the changes made to Deathwing Assault, I can no longer have a full army of Terminators teleport onto the field on turn one, making a strictly terminator army less feasible.  On the other hand, they did make the Ravenwing more viable than ever, allowing you to reroll your jink saves, while maintaining their ability to assist the Deathwing at arriving on target via deep strike.  These benefits convinced me to pull out a Ravenwing Black Knights’ box that I purchased over two and a half years ago (when the last version of their codex was released), and see what I could do with them.

Codex Dark Angels: A look at the Artwork

Proof that if GW wants evocative artwork, they can find artists to create it.

As a long time Deathwing player, I was extremely excited to see a new Dark Angels codex release, and purchased the digital version immediately.  Although I was excited to see the new rules, what I was most looking forward to was seeing the new artwork.  Codex releases have always been one of my favorite aspects of the hobby because they are the primary means that Games Workshop release new artwork to further the grim imagery the whole universe is founded upon.  Unfortunately, in recent years, the artwork has taken somewhat of a back seat. Games Workshop no longer credits the artists, and they often resort to coloring older artwork (often times rather poorly) rather than commissioning new material.  Despite this, I was still excited to see what new art would be in the new Dark Angels codex.  All of my hopes were shattered upon looking at the new book.  I dare say the book may contain some of the worst pieces of artwork that Games Workshop has ever released. Instead of writing too much about how the art has changed, I decided to show a few images comparing some of the old and new artwork. After all, a picture is worth a thousands words, right?

The Unforgiven: 2nd thunder hammer storm shield terminator

Storm of Vengeance!

When starting to build the first Deathwing terminator with a modified thunder hammer, I really just wanted to see if I could do it effectively.  It seemed like a good way to start out the year, something rather straightforward that I could easily pick up later, expanding the unit.  The first went so well and was so fun to make, however, that I immediately wanted to make another!  Now, less than a week later, the second Deathwing terminator is complete, ready to crush the skulls of those stand before him!

The Unforgiven: Building a better thunder hammer

Faith is the sturdiest armor. Hatred the surest weapon. 

I have been playing a Deathwing army for a long time, starting sometime back in the 3rd edition of 40k. Since then, terminators have changed quite a bit, but it was in 2008, with the release of the 5th edition Space Marine codex, that they really saw a boost in their combat prowess. I am speaking, of course, about the storm shield, and its boost to a 3++ (invulnerable) save. For the first time ever, it was easy to get an invulnerable save that had a greater than 50% chance of succeeding (it was, as they say, the new black).  It took awhile, but eventually the Dark Angels got an FAQ that improved their shield to that of their Ultramarine counterparts. I was thrilled, and immediately purchased a box of assault terminators, intent on adding a new unit to my Deathwing force. But after carefully trimming all of the pieces, I stopped. Having the models in my hands, I finally convinced myself of something that had been troubling me for years, their thunder hammers were simply too big. So I resolved to convert them, but nothing really seemed like a suitable base for new hammers, and the terminators sat in their box. Now, many years later, after playing some games of 7th edition, I realized my army would really benefit from a few thunder hammer/storm shield terminators (THSS).  Adam and I began to discuss possible ways to make some improved (in our opinion) THSS terminators.

Between the Bolter and Me: 2014, a year in review

2014, a fine year for conversions.

It is hard to believe that Between the Bolter and Me has now been around for over two years. The blog has served as a tremendous way to encourage all of us to continue pushing our abilities as hobbyists. This past year has been particularly successful, with us completing more conversions than ever! Furthermore, we have tried our hands at increasingly complex conversions. With 2015 just beginning, we wanted to review the most notable projects from the past year. This will serve as a means to help highlight those projects that still need to be finished and also provide inspiration for new projects.

The Unforgiven: Deathwing Command Squad Banner Bearer

Never Forgive, Never Forget was never so fitting.

One of my biggest accomplishments of last year was starting to assemble a unit of senior members of the Dark Angels’ Inner Circle to serve as a Deathwing command squad. I was extremely happy with how the first two members of the squad turned out, and it really inspired me to start planning the next members of the squad. There was still one element of the unit that continued to give me pause (which was part of the reason for not beginning to build the squad earlier), and that was how I was going to make a banner bearer. I always liked their traditional banner with a broken angel reaching to the sky, and was hoping that the new plastic box would give me a workable version of it. As it turned out, they did to a fashion, but the plastic banner was designed to be mounted on top of one of the terminator’s bodies, admittedly reminiscent of the old metal model, but just not suitable to be held aloft in the unwavering hand of an intrepid hero. With this disappointment, I knew I had to come up with something different. I had long considered some of the plastic banners included in other kits, such as the Space Marine command banner, but they all seemed very rigid and intractable.

Between the Bolter and Me: 2013, a year in review

It is hard to believe that Between the Bolter and Me is already a year old! What started as a means to stay excited about miniature-based wargaming amidst my time in graduate school has blossomed into something bigger.  Instead of just serving as a distraction, it has become a fantastic outlet for my creativity and has encouraged me to become a larger part of the developing community. I am more excited than ever to be in the miniature gaming hobby and to be a part of the community as a whole. Over the year I discovered and have been inspired by a huge list of other hobbyists and their blogs, including Migsula, Jeff Vader, Kari Hernesniemi, Mikko Luoma, KrautScientist, Pijamas Gagarin, and Dave Taylor, to name just a few.

My confidence and skill as a modeller has improved by leaps and bounds, particularly in the area of actually modelling with greenstuff. And while I still have not started painting yet, it is only a matter of time!

With 2014 just getting underway I wanted to take some time and review some of my favorite models that I (and the other members of Between the Bolter and Me) converted in 2013.

The Unforgiven: Building a Deathwing Command Squad

Never forget!  Never forgive!

Ever since starting a Deathwing army way back in 4th edition, I have wanted to build a command squad to accompany Belial into battle.  When starting the army, this task always fell behind building normal squads to fill out the core of the army.  Eventually, towards the end of fifth edition, I had the core army where I wanted it, 5 squads of terminators, a host of dreadnoughts and Land Raiders, and a trio of Landspeeder Typhoons.  This got me to thinking about building the command squad again, but I still put it off, knowing that 6th edition would likely change optimal loadouts, and that a new codex was coming, one that might offer new options and maybe come with new models to aid in the conversion process.

The Unforgiven: Leading the Deathwing

The Sorrow (Metal Gear Solid reference)

One element that has changed with the introduction of the new Dark Angel’s book is the HQ selection.  Before there was really only one choice, and that was taking Belial to unlock Deathwing as Troops.  There were other choices, Interrogator Chaplains, Librarians, but none of them really brought anything useful to a Deathwing army.  The new book has given us multiple options that deserve serious consideration.

The Unforgiven: Moving forward with the Deathwing

The first Deathwing Terminators will always have a place in my heart and my army.

With the release of the new Dark Angels codex, the Deathwing were put in a difficult situation.  From a modeling perspective, things have never been better.  The release of the new Deathwing command squad box has added a host of interesting and flavorful bits, most exciting to me being the inclusion of the daggers that always used to accompany the Deathwing (as iconic as the feathers).  The exciting conversion opportunities afforded by these new pieces are somewhat diminished when considered in light of the Deathwings’ actual rules on the tabletop.  At first glance, everything seems fine;  terminator squads can still take mixed weaponry and they have gained a few new special rules (splitfire, vengeful strike, and an improved Deathwing assault).  Unfortunately, the points cost of the unit has gone up considerably to reflect these additions (a squad with 5 thunder hammers and storm shields with a cyclone missile launcher moved from 235 to 270 pts)  And if you want to take them as troops, you still need to pay the Belial tax (he is better than before, but is considerably more expensive, as well).  I will not expound upon these shortcomings any further, but if you would like to read more about it, Kirby over on 3++ details it quite well.

Dark Angels Codex Review

Asomodai  is back!  But not like this :(

The Dark Angels have had many codex books over the years, each with its own unique strengths.  The excellent Angels of Death Codex (2nd edition), a double codex featuring both the Dark Angels and the Blood Angels, laid out most of the first Legion’s grim history and its quest for redemption.  All of the characters we know and love (and a few that are no longer around anymore. Here’s looking at you Brother Bethor, the bearer of the Sacred Standards...) were first introduced here.  The 3rd edition codex was just a small supplement to the Space Marine book, but had arguably the best cover of all the books (an awesome piece by David Gallagher originally seen in the Storm of Vengeance campaign for re-enacting the Ork invasion of Piscina IV), and included rules for the deceased Scout Sergeant Naaman (sadly, he has not made an appearance in any of the books since).  The 4th edition codex was the first time the Dark Angels got a book to themselves, and while the rules were a bit of a letdown due to their simplicity, the artwork within was some of the best to ever grace a Games Workshop book (aside from the lackluster cover, again by Gallagher, seemingly re-envisioning the previous cover).  This brings me to the primary purpose of this post, to talk about my thoughts of the new (6th edition) Dark Angels codex.  While I will say a few things pertaining to the rules, that will not be my focus, as you can find such thoughts all over the web. Rather, I will give my impressions of the thematic elements of the book.

From 2nd Edition up to 4th, the Dark Angel's codex books over the years.