Meteor Hammer Conversion for World Eaters Sergeant

A bit of a conversion piece today in the form of a Meteor Hammer for a World Eaters assault squad sergeant.

The meteor hammer is made out of several distinct parts. At the lower end (the meteor part) is the head of a power maul / mace. This works out quite nicely as the heavy end as it communicates the weight nicely even though it is not just a spherical mass. 

Attached to the maul's head is a chain taken from spares of the Noctilith Crown portal scenery piece. These are suitably spike laden (and if you press to hard will indent into your skin - ouch). I've pinned the power maul head to this and also drilled through the sergeant's hands to get the positioning spot on. The other end of the chain is from the same range and terminates in a small spear like tip. 

Joining both hands is a curved chain that I think is from the older chaos range - I can't be certain as it has been sat in my bits box for years on end being unused! Possibly the old chaos tank accessories frame? Again, I'm guessing, but let me know if I'm wrong. 

It took quite a bit of shaving and clipping to get the positioning correct on this curved piece regardless, but I think it connects to the hands quite well after a lot of dry fitting and fiddling around. 

Finally the eagle eyes will notice that the head is also a conversion. Here I've used a head front from an eight bound and the rear of the head from a standard helmet and glued the two together and used green stuff to hide everything. In hind sight, I would not choose to do this again and would buy a regular head from the Khorne range to depict the nails. Still - it works very nicely and I am pleased with the overall result here. 

 

Painted World Eaters Centurion / Praetor Conversion

This one has taken too long to bring to fruition. Here we have the World Eaters conversion that was made with Age of Sigmar arms and weapon combined with Khorne Berserker body and regular Heresy era helmet. He has been painted up in a slightly modified World Eaters colour scheme. 

I have added extra blue accents on the upper end of the gloves, as well as the lower extremity of the greaves. I then got messy. Nuln oil has been applied very inconsistently around the rest of the raised areas - especially noticeable on the top of the greaves / just below the knee, but also in a variety of other locations like the helm. This gives the idea of armour that has been so well used that the owner (or ship crew) have not serviced it in a while. Accumulated grime. Dirt from so many worlds that the killing didn't really stop. Accents of Guilliman Flesh have been applied in number of the joints as well to give variation to the inking. 

The dirty approach is then accented by application of black using a sponge, as well as some silver edge highlights very selectively. The blood meanwhile has a two stage approach. The first is flicking contrast paint to create a spray in different locations. Blood for the Blood god is then applied liberally elsewhere to show collected gore. Some decals have also been applied (prior to this process) for kill counting (right wrist) and the legion numeral (right shoulder pad - not very visible in the image). 

Overall the goal of creating a World Eater who has either been on campaign too long, or who has really started to have the nails bite as their amour steadily turns wholly read by late Heresy is one that I think has been achieved nicely enough. Happy with this one. The next enterprise will be a despoiler squad to deliver him. 

Iron Father Conversion

By a good margin, this is the most audacious, and slightly ridiculous conversion that I have attempted in a long while! But somehow, it has come together to create something very unique and fitting with the vision that I wanted, whilst having something of an over-the-top aura suited to a slightly older school warhammer vibe. 

There are two major parts to this Iron Father conversion. The first is the left arm to give the Iron Father a Paragon Weapon in the form of a chaos warrior spear. This comes from the old school mounted chaos warriors set. Here, I have used a chaos space marine left arm and pierced it with a pin right through. The pin goes a good way into both ends of the paragon weapon or spear and gives it a long length. It looks suitably deadly, but hopefully the praetor will ditch the graviton pistol and hold it in two hands when wielding it. 

The second item to tackle was a servo arm. But I didn't really want a "usual" arm for this. I wanted something to suggest that this Iron Father has plundered technologies that he probably should have. Maybe he opened those vaults once Ferrus Manus had gone. Regardless, I've used necron parts for the servo arm. Although it is clearly sourced from a ranged weapon, the front flange of the weapon is odd looking enough that it can be interpreted as a grabber of some kind which suits the arm configuration. This also gives the suggestion of plundering those long forbidden vaults as well, with a slight nod toward the Dornian Heresy storyline as well. Illegal technology indeed!

The overall miniature is certainly the craziest that I've done in a long while. And it gave me a giggle on an otherwise dull and vexing day to pull this off. Hope you like it and feel inspired!

Overseer Conversion Fully Constructed

Hey readers, the Overseer conversion has now been completed - including the nemesis bolt gun! And it is massive!

But to be honest, I regret nothing! The barrel if it were to be slung across the marine's chest would actually be absolutely fine and appropriate for a sniper. With this pose however, the marine really looks dynamic and a little bit like he just doesn't care how he snipes his targets. 

This is good, because I'm thinking this is either going to be Alpha Legion or World Eaters. I'm tilting toward the latter right now. 

The miniature itself was easy to construct, but as I thought, the back banner is a little fiddly to get sitting right on the backpack itself. The join it just a little too thin for my tastes, but I can live with it. I need to also tidy up the scepter a little bit, but its basically done at this point. 

Unboxing: Overseer

I bought the Overseer loyalist model on pre-order when it was available to fulfill a critical part of my miniatures aims for the year: a unit of Auxilia lead by a marine. Here are the bits directly out of the box!

Clearly there's going to be some clean up required on the bits with all the flash and so forth needing to be removed. The banner on the back of the back pack in particular looks to have almost a stake that goes directly into the backpack. I don't like the look of the thin joint, but it should work.

My plan here though is to replace the plasma pistol with the nemesis bolt gun that I converted earlier in the week. Given that Auxilia are mainly ranged shots (or at least mine will be), it makes more sense for the Overseer to have a long range weapons as well, rather than a short ranged plasma shot. More on this in the near future!

Nemesis Bolter Conversion Concept

Following on from my Alpha Legion recon squad that were armed with Necron weaponry, I had a bit of an idea about a Nemesis Bolter conversion...

The basis of the nemesis bolt gun is a Mark III bolter. I have shaved off the original barrel from the weapon and glued on instead a long length of the Necron weapon. This is rounded out by a scope on the top from the modern space marine range. 

Admittedly, the weapon is long. Very long. It rivals Exodus' weapon even. However, it certainly has a certain something about it which is hard to mistake for anything other than a long range sniper rifle in my personal opinion. I'm intending to use this on my new acquisition of the resin Overseer loyalist model that recently arrived. More on that project soon no doubt!

Rhino Deimos Edition

Its been a little while since I had a hobby update, but here's a moderate one: a new rhino (deimos class) constructed and built.

For this transport tank, I've opted for a havoc launcher and a searchlight as the main options. I have always had a liking for the havoc launcher as it allows some longer range pressure to be applied whilst moving the transport into position. This might last one, or two turns at best, but I've always found it to be a worthwhile upgrade as the points cost will typically pay for itself even after one turn of shooting (and perhaps a lucky die roll). The searchlight is a more interesting upgrade. Somewhere in an army a searchlight or two is a reasonable investment given that night fighting rules will be encountered eventually in the game and unless you have night vision of some sort (Night Lords!) then you could be at a disadvantage - especially if you are relying on firepower rather than being up close and personal. 

The deimos rhino kit is very easy to put together. I appreciated the upgrades compared to the older rhino kits as there is very little you can get wrong here and it just has a much sturdier feel to it than the slighter older rhinos that I've purchased and is simply less fiddly overall at the slight expense of a few more parts. This is a really good trade off though, and the spare weapons on the long range upgrade kit can be put to use elsewhere in an army. 

Plasma Support Squad

A weekend hobby update in the form of a conveniently timed tactical support squad. This particular squad is made of 5 legionaries armed with plasma guns. The plasma guns came directly out of my bits box. As can be seen, they are standard Warhammer 40,000 fare, and on top of them one is already sporting a thin white undercoat. 

There are one or two other subtle additions from the bits box here as well. Naturally, the arms are from other marks of armour for the simple reason that the beakies lack hands (the hands are usually attached to the weapons for these newer marines - a bit of an on-going backward compatibility problem for the range arguably). The bare head of the centre marine is similarly a standard Warhammer 40,000 head. Some of the accessories around the waist and belt are taken from a variety of sources, as well as the purity seal -- or as I think of it here: Oath of the Moment -- on the shoulder of the marine with the vexilla. 

Need to get these undercoated soon and painting underway realistically. But I could also do with buying one of those transfer sheets full of decals before getting too carried away. 

Of Course I Drill Bolt Guns

What sort of barbarian do people think I am?

(various answers received including "duplicitous Alpha Legion type"; "Nurgle worshipper"; and others too uncouth to mention here).

I'm the type that drills bolt guns, of course.

Pictured is the hobby progress on the boxed set for the second edition of Horus Heresy. Naturally, the bolt guns are all drilled. The squad here features a nuncio vox, vexilla, and sergeant with power fist and plasma pistol. All bolt guns feature bayonets as I'm experimenting with the new rules for the tactical squads. I like the chain attachment as well - to be clear. 

Although possessing only five poses is somewhat limiting for a boxed set of this size, I think the diversity of builds possible with the set can readily hide the worst excesses of this problem. Here I have disguised the problem a little bit with alternate heads, heads posed looking in different directions, and various placements of side arms and grenades. Happy with this progress thus far.

Wargames Gallery: Raven Guard on the Beach

The remains of a shattered Raven Guard squad slogs across the beach to reach a forgotten ancient tecnology cache that could help them flee this world. 

Kit Bashing Alpha Legion Praetor

Following a small amount of kit bashing, I created this Alpha Legion praetor from the recent Forge World acquisition. 

The left arm is a lightning claw from the Mark III power armour range and gives the miniature a very unsubtle pose and message of intent. The right arm features a plasma pistol, once again from the Mark III range. All the other bits for the main part of the miniature are via the Alpha Legion praetor blister pack noted above.

I like the pose of this one - commanding from the front and mid-stride to take on the enemy forces in close combat. A harrowing awaiting to happen. Looking forward to getting it painted up. 

Successor Chapters of Traitor Legions

This will be a controversial post, and contain mere opinions backed up by little more than knee-jerk reactions in some parts. The topic: which space marine Chapters are plausibly successor chapters from the traitor legions?

The gem of a topic is one that I've been wanting to tackle on the blog for a little while now, and today is about as opportune a moment as I've had for a time. At the heart of the question is whether any loyalist element of traitor legions survived the Horus Heresy and still exist in more "modern" times in Warhammer 40,000. 

I will start with some non-controversial statements. There are at least 2 main elements of traitor forces that are plausibly still around. 

Grey Knights.

The first the the Grey Knights. It is not controversial in the slightest that the original nucleus of the Grey Knights contained traitor legion elements. Take for example, Revuel Arvida, former member of the Thousand Sons, who became Janus. It is probable that the likes of Night Lord, Fel Zharost, also became part of the original core of the Grey Knights. There is no controversy here, other than they are probably no longer living in 40k. 

Black Shields.

Also of zero controversy at all is the existence of the Black Shields. These marines date from the Horus Heresy and contain elements of most legions who decided to forge different paths to their parent legions. Whether they are still around in 40k is another question entirely. 

Let's turn to the more controversial chapters then.

World Eaters.

Almost the only chapter that I could scour that bears hints of lineage from the World Eaters are the Minotaurs Chapter. It is supposed that the original Minotaurs (the red and yellow heraldry ones) were formed from World Eaters. The later lineage would be from elsewhere (Iron Warriors), or be at least described as chimeric. There are descriptions of this 21st founding cursed chapter as being basically berserkers.  I'd give this a plausible rating overall. 

Iron Warriors.

Carrying on from the above, the newer iteration of the Minotaurs chapter might plausibly contain some element of the Iron Warriors geneseed. Or be a hybrid with World Eaters. Regardless, the change in livery is suspect at best. I'd give this a plausible rating again. 

Secondly, there are historic rumours that old timers like me heard that the Silver Skulls chapter were from the Iron Warriors. This is almost entirely based on their emblem. In Universe, the Silver Skulls are no longer thought to be of Iron Warriors descent -- they are Ultramarines, but there was a time when they might have been. This therefore gets a rating of nope. 

Thousand Sons.

Who doesn't suspect that the Blood Ravens might be descended from the Thousand Sons? Knowledge is Power! This one has to get a rating of plausible simply from the sheer level of interest in the subject! Don't flame me. 

Death Guard.

The Sons of Antaeus seem to be a great fit for a Death Guard descended chapter thanks to their sheer resilience. Officially they are Ultramarines, but they are also part of the cursed 21st founding. I'd give this rumour a rating of possible. 

Night Lords.

The Carcharodons might or might not be descended from the Raven Guard. They might also have an element of Night Lords in them too. We're not sure on this one, but there are hints in the canon books that they might have at least some Night Lords descendants amongst their number, or are chimeric. This gets a plausible rating from me. 

Emperor's Children.

The Red Scorpions have a focus on purity and pride in their livery that is very similar to the Emperor's Children legion. Whilst I'm unclear where this rumour came from, I don't think it is entirely true and thus this one only gets a rating of possible from me. On a bad day, I'd just say nope. 

The Death Eagles have purposefully obscured their background and colours from Imperial records, and it might be with due reason. It might be the case that they are indeed descended from the traitors. I'd give this a rating of possible to plausible -- seems more likely than the Red Scorpions at least. 

Sons of the Phoenix. Officially they are Imperial Fist successors. But that name. And the colour scheme. Plus the iconography. I mean. Seriously. Rating of nope due to the official word on the matter. Rating of plausible due to everything else. I hope Cawl created these ones behind Guilliman's back. 

Sons of Horus / Luna Wolves, and Word Bearers.

I could not locate any loyalist successor rumour for these two traitor chapters. Let me know in the comments if you are aware of any. 

Dark Angels.

Yes, I know the Dark Angels are not traitors to most. Sorry. But wait. What about the Fallen? I couldn't find any loyalist Fallen. But there's Cypher. So I include them here for sake of completeness only. 

Alpha Legion.

Returning to my own favourites now, and again as a long timer in the hobby, there are two chapters that stand out to me. The first is the Sons of Orar. They have an Omega for their symbol and date back to the Heresy with an unclear background. Officially they are Ultramarines. So this gets a rating of nope from me sadly.

Then there are the Iron Snakes. I have no idea where this rumour started up to be honest with you (maybe similar modes of operation?), but I've heard it from multiple sources. However, the official canon is that the Iron Snakes are Ultramarine successors from the second founding. Hence this is also a nope rating. 

However. 

Aren't the Alpha Legion loyal anyway? For the Emperor!

Breacher Squad: build started

Time for hobby has been reduced of late, but I've managed to start getting a Breacher Squad together for the Shattered Legions build that I have going. 

This will be the troops entry for the Iron Hands faction of the Legions forces. I've always liked the idea of a breacher squad, but their points cost and utility has always lagged behind the efficiency of a plain tactical squad (or even a support squad) with the exception of certain legions who it suits more. Iron Hands with their modifier to incoming firepower seems to fit nicely for that, even if it is a bit cliched due to the existence of Immortals. 

For this build, I am leaving the arms and shoulder pads un-glued. I will paint them in distinct modules and then glue the arms on as the final step. The simple reason for this is to make sure that I can easily paint behind the shields of the breacher squad. Looking forward to getting more of this squad done and painted up now!

 

Eradicator Squad Thoughts

I wanted to talk very briefly today about the new Eradicator unit in 40k. Now, I will freely confess that at this stage in my gaming life that 30k is my primary game. 40k has, very oddly, become second place to 30k. This doesn't mean that it has fallen from favour, its just I like 30k better right now and feel much more at home there. I could probably write more about this, but will save it for another time perhaps.

On to Eradictaors. On the recent Twitch stream, the data slate for this new unit was revealed.

I wanted to simply point out a few things about this squad in relation to an old 40k favourite: the devastator squad. With devastators, one can get 5 men in the squad armed with 4 multi meltas. This seems to be a reasonable comparison given the power cost. At a basic level, that is 5 wounds with 4 heavy shots containing the Melta special rule.

Now check out the new eradicator squad. This is 9 wounds that pumps out 6 shots (assault shots at that as well) with the self-same special rule. Let's not even talk about the total obliteration rule (and just shrug to say even devastators might get their old doctrine and the sergeant might still have his tricks in 9th edition).

Focus for the moment on the power of this unit. And the creep of it. To me, the power creep present is incredible. No really. There is (arguably) now zero point in taking traditional devastator squads with the new eradicators available. Only old timers like me would play such dedicated Melta squads any longer. New entrants to the game may feel they have no need to purchase the devastator squad any more. [Even if they play Salamanders.]

Primaris marines are replacing "core" marines in the game. Period. I foresee the day that all 40k marine players might be using Primaris marines in their chapters and the regular marines that I use in 30k will be no more. This is a bit concerning given the history of the parts, and the future availability of (e.g.) plastic mark 4 armour boxed sets. I'm not sure if I'm alone in thinking this, but your thoughts are welcome.

Ten Days of Raven Guard: 10

And finally we have the last space marine for the Raven Guard squad!

This particular marine is going to be the squad leader and he has been armed accordingly. Now, I really didn't want to go with a power fist here, and although I briefly contemplated a single claw for him, I eventually opted for a power sword. I wanted to depict a marine who has survived Istvaan 5, and is no longer the person who he used to be. Thrust in to an unwanted leadership position, the narrative behind him is that he picked up some armaments from the traitors as he pushed through their ranks, exacting bloody revenge for his former legion. I was a bit hesitant on the headdress for the marine, but what the heck. Maybe he was given it from a dying squad mate? At least, that's part of the narrative once again.

Ten Days of Raven Guard: 9

Nearly there now with the one per day approach to the Raven Guard squad that I'm doing. Marine number 9 is a Mark 4 armoured space marine with Forge World resin shoulder pad.

The base is made from multiple bits of cork that I smashed up from a drinks coaster (bought very cheaply in a craft shop - I can strongly recommend a stroll around such stores if you have one near you - they can be a veritable gold mine for these kinds of things). I will need to add some smaller grit and stones to finish the job off, but otherwise its a done base except for the painting. The marine has not had anything special done to it, but as with the others, I've tried to at least communicate a little bit of dynamism in to the poses. One more to go now(!)

Ten Days of Raven Guard: 8

I might well be a leap day today in the real world, but we have the 8th member of the new Raven Guard squad up today for viewing.

The base here has been formed from shaping (snapping roughly) cork and gluing it to the base. I find superglue to be very adequate for this purpose and indeed necessary for the plastic of the feet to attach to it. PVA just never seems as good to me. The marine himself is standard fare mark 4, including accessories, with a resin shoulder pad from Forge World.  Nearly done now with this squad!

Ten Days of Raven Guard: 7

Popping out of a bolt hole, the seventh member of the Raven Guard squad is a standard fare Mark 4 space marine armoured legionary.

The item sticking out to the left hand side of the model is the combat blade, which is glued in place at the bottom of the spine. The bolt gun is modelling in an upward facing direction (not seen: the barrel is also drilled), whilst the marine looks to his right hand side slightly. This creates an illusion of movement in the miniature overall, as if the legionary is advancing forward quickly and scanning his horizons.

Ten Days of Raven Guard: 6

Another day, another Raven Guard legionary in place!

This particular one is not too special in any particular way. Apart from a drilled bolt gun barrel, there is no work on this one as it features standard parts from the relevant space marine ranges. The only thing that I want to try to remember is that when I am painting these helmet-less marines is to do the albino skin well. Very white skin is not something I've often painted before, so I'm looking forward to that challenge. Tips are, as usual, very welcome!

Ten Days of Raven Guard: 5

A bit more dynamism for this particular specimen. I originally intended this marine to be a vigilator, but I may change my mind to a simple squad sergeant. Not quite sure just yet.

The marine is armed with a bolt pistol and a (rather large by the photo, but actually standard sized) chain sword in his left hand. The conversion work done here was to ensure that the marine could stand on the half tyre beneath his left foot that was cut from the motorcycle sprue. Overall, this is a marine who apparently means business and has just jumped out from behind some cover to unleash a volley - very fitting for the sneaky side of the Raven Guard legion.