Tyranid Malanthrope - Musings on Forge World's Tyranids

Creeping death.

When people think of the models that Forge World produces, I believe that most think of their impressive battle titans, tanks, and more recently their vast range of Horus Heresy models. Few, I suspect, think of the tyranids. I think this stems largely from that fact that many of their older, stellar kits have been discontinued with the release of plastic counterparts from Games Workshop.  And while I love the convenience of plastic, many of the Forge World Tyranid models were actually a good example of the increased level of fine detail possible with resin.  But today, few probably even know of the existence of the original resin Trygon, let alone have seen one in person.  I recently had the pleasure of assembling Forge World’s Tyranid Malanthrope kit, seeing the quality of the sculpt first hand. I wanted to spend a little time here to tell you about the model.

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 Ghost Legion: Building Alpha Legion Headhunters

I am Alpharius. 

It has been a little while since my first post about starting an Alpha Legion strike force for Zone Mortalis. I have been making steady progress on the force and can now finally show the results of my efforts! As I hinted at in my previous post, I have been hard at work on converting a Headhunter squad. The idea of a small cell of Space Marines that excel in infiltrating and sowing dissent and confusion in the enemy ranks is fascinating to me.  Particularly because, although always described as remarkably skilled and determined warriors, Space Marines are rarely likened to assassins (with the exception of the Alpha Legion’s Headhunters). Building a squad of these espionage agents presented an interesting challenge in trying to implement those unlikely themes into a unit of Space Marines.

Basing the Imperial Knight: Dragon Forge

The mailed fist of the Imperium of man!

When I was writing about Forge World’s Cerastus Knight-Lancer a few months back, I mused over basing options for Imperial Knights and ultimately decided that I wanted to use the newly released Dragon Forge resin bases.  To my good fortune, when ordering the bases, I discovered that they had just released a few more variants, increasing their selection to an impressive 13 different styles, including a Tech-deck variant (my favorite of their base themes)!  I recently received the base in the mail and thought that I would show you the process that I went through basing my Knight titan, complete with some repositioning of its feet to fit more flushly on the base .

Ork: Burna Boy Conversion

Slammin’ 

The past few weeks have been interesting ones for Games Workshop as they have been focusing on releasing a new range of ork models. Considering it has been years since any new ork models were released, one would think it would be cause for wholesale rejoicing.  However, Games Workshop are going about the release schedule differently than any in the past, and rather than releasing the Codex and a multitude of kits within a week or two, they are releasing individual kits at a snail’s pace. In a span of three weeks they have released the Gorkanaut/Morkanaut, followed by the Flash Gitz, and now the Mek Gunz and a Shock Attack Mek. But still the Codex book, which would give us the rules for these models in the context of the ork army as a whole, is nowhere to be seen. During this awkward interim, I have been doing some thinking about the orks myself and I thought that it would be a fantastic time to revisit them myself and convert a model or two (who doesn't like ork conversions?).

The Ghost Legion: Starting an Alpha Legion Force for Zone Mortalis

"Where truth walks, everywhere she should be shepherded always by a bodyguard of lies."

Since Forge World began releasing models for the Horus Heresy, the urge to build an entire pre-heresy army has been strong, but I have been able to restrain myself.  Afterall, do I really need another army?  And even if I did, do I really need more Space Marines?  Finally, the exorbitant price of Forge World’s models, coupled with the fact that they are all resin has firmly kept this desire at bay.  Recently, however, two elements have conspired to make me reconsider this notion.  The first was when I discovered that Forge World updated their rules for playing space hulk boarding actions that were first published in their Imperial Armour Volume 9: the Badab War Part One.  The updated rules, called Zone Mortalis, are designed to play small (sub 1000pts) games of 40k in confined spaces like hive cities, space hulks, and ancient labyrinths, and even including rules for fighting in the cold void of space.  The second element was the release of the third book in the Isstvan Trilogy: Extermination, and with it rules for one of the most interesting Legions, the enigmatic Alpha Legion.  This more intimate way of playing Warhammer 40k seemed ideal to reenact the knife-edge espionage missions a cell of Alpha Legion Astartes would engage in. And just like that I decided that I needed to start assembling an Alpha Legion army!

INQ28: Militarum Tempestus Scion Conversion - Part 2

As the Emperor protects, so must we.

After having so much fun converting the first INQ28 Militarum Tempestus storm trooper, I knew I had to get to work on converting a second. For the second stormtrooper I wanted to maintain the same modified hot-shot lasrifle, but this time have the rifle shouldered like it was getting ready to be fired. Adding the stock to the hot-shot lasrifle proved to be a lot trickier this time around and required a lot more cutting and greenstuffing to situate everything properly.

INQ28: Converting a Militarum Tempestus Scion

To feel pain or fear or grief is to allow myself a luxury I cannot afford.

Only a week after the release of the Militarum Tempestus Scions, we have already seen a surge of activity around the blogosphere involving the kit. They are particularly well suited for Inquisitorial operatives; both Jeff Vader and Henry South have excellent examples of this.  Wanting to experiment with the kit myself, I picked up a box and set to work. Now that I have actually seen the components of the kit, I am even more impressed than ever with Dave Thomas’s work. He paid a lot of attention to detailing the hands of the models. I was particularly impressed that he thought to model one of the Scions hands such that the operator’s trigger finger is not on the trigger of the weapon! Their fighting knives are also really neat. I particularly like that they are simple straight blades and that they have a fully enclosed finger choil (kind of like a karambit, ha ha).

Cerastus Knight-Lancer Impressions

Punish the flesh. Iron in mind and body. Hail the Machine!

The plastic Imperial Knight was undoubtedly one of the most exciting Games Workshop releases in a long time, but when the Imperial Knight Codex was released a week later, it was hard not to be a little disappointed when the book did not contain rules for additional Knight variants or weapon options.  I am happy to say that we did not have very long to brood over this, as no more than a month after its release, Forge World revealed their own Knight model to capitalize on the wealth of other less common Knight variants.  The Cerastus Knight-Lancer is their rendition of the rather comical looking Lancer from the Adeptus Titanicus/Space Marine days.  It even already has rules in the form of an entry in the third installment of the Horus Heresy Isstvan saga: Extermination.

The Evolution of the Tyranid Warrior

In space, no one can hear you scream.

The recent tyranid release was met with a lot of skepticism and pessimism, with many claiming that its power level was not high enough for it to contend with most competitive lists (aka Tau and Eldar). And while the point costs of units went down almost across the board, very few major adjustments were made. One unit which many people were anxiously awaiting an update was the tyranid warriors. They saw a lot of use in 3rd edition when they were immune to instant death, but when they lost this in 4th, it was difficult to justify their point cost considering that a single krak rocket could kill one of the 3 wound horrors. Now that the dust has settled from the new tyranid release, it is clear that the warriors are still in the same predicament they have been in for years. You pay a premium to get a synapse spreading 3 wound body, but due to a low toughness and save they just are not durable.

Imbrian Arts: The King of Ghouls

Imbrian Arts Miniatures does not disappoint with their kickstarter! That is indeed a wax seal on the certificate of authenticity!

Today I want to talk about a miniature that I just received from backing Imbrian Arts kickstarter project in December of 2012. It is a model of “The King of Ghouls,” one of four models that Jody Siegel sculpted and used kickstarter to raise money to put into production.

Dark Eldar: Kabalite Trueborn - Part 3

They cower. We carve.

It has been a long time in coming, but I have finally finished the fourth member of the squad of Dark Eldar Trueborn that I started some months ago. The final member of the squad is very much in line with the other members of the squad, adopting a pretty unassuming pose, with his blaster poised and ready. The model took advantage of the recent reinvisioning of Dark Elf range by using one of the heads from the wonderful plastic Dark Riders. Each of the squad members are based on Dragon Forge Tech-deck bases, perfect for reinforcing the idea that they are seasoned space pirates, accustomed to raiding void-crossing vessels.

Deep Wars at Games and Stuff

A fantastic submarine created for Antimatter Games using a host of old toys and random bits.

Having been a little while since I last played a game of Deep Wars, and knowing that a lot of newer models have begun to show up in retailers, I decided to head down to Glen Burnie’s excellent Games and Stuff to see if I could get a game in.  Few people know Deep Wars better than Patrick Weaver; having run Antimatter’s Deep Wars booth at both Adepticon and Gencon, he has spent more time in the inky depths of the ocean then anyone I know.  Luckily for me (and anyone in or around Maryland), Patrick runs Deep Wars games every Sunday at Games and Stuff, and has virtually all of the current range of models if you would like to try out some new units or even a new warband!

Adeptus Mechanicus - SKULZ, Inq28, and a Golden Age

Tech-priests of Mars assemble!

Way back in June of 2000, Games Workshop started a sales promotion campaign known as the Skulz Program. The program rewarded customers with little Skulz stickers for every $10 worth of product purchased directly through Games Workshop.  These stickers could be collected and redeemed for a host of different prizes, such as limited edition models, belt buckles, and even a mighty Baneblade!

Horus Heresy: Contemptor Dreadnought

By the manner of their deaths we shall know them.

It seems that a week can’t go by without Forge World releasing another new awesome model, one that makes it difficult to reason with yourself why you shouldn’t own it too. And with the release of the first Horus Heresy book, Betrayal, it has reached a fever pitch. But looking back, I feel it can be argued that the release of the Contemptor Dreadnought was a turning point (and foreshadowing for the Heresy) for Forge World in this regard. As soon as the kit was released, blogs from around the world exploded with their own versions of the dynamic armored behemoth.

The model was very well received, partially owing to its reimagining of the old concepts (the bulbous nature of it really harkens back to the original Rogue Trader design) and the model’s insane level of poseability (something largely unseen in Games Workshops larger models). This high degree of poseability comes at a high cost however. Aside from being fairly difficult to assemble, the model can very easily adopt an awkward pose despite one’s best intentions.  Before long, the grim defender of humanity can transform into a caricature of Space Marine might (maybe just skipping along or attempting some acrobatic marvel).