Lascannon Tarantula

Unboxing the tarantula might have shown how the pieces from both the razor back and the weapons slot together nicely, but the real proof was in the proverbial pudding. 

The image below shows my final constructed Lascannon Tarantula.

The construction of this beast was fairly straight forward overall. Although there was a certain amount of cleaning up to do on the pieces such as removing the excess flash from the resin, the pieces came out very well.

The major negative point was attempting to get the struts of the base to lay flat. Seriously: achieving a flat base for the tarantula was a complete pain. The sheer level of fiddling about is ridiculous, even with well washed (i.e. releasing agent removed) bits and in the end, my base was still not completely level.

Apart from this facet, I'm very pleased with this particular model. The Lascannons are articulated and can be pointed (swivelled) up and down. Plus their base can rotate around 360 degrees in the base of the tarantula as required during play.  

Tarantula Unboxing

Background.

The imperial tarantula is one of those pieces that I suspect not a lot of players make use of. I personally think I want to make use of it in my 30k Alpha Legion army. This may seem like an unusual choice, and to some minds a waste of a valuable fast attack slot. I don't quite see it that way. 

I see that tarantula as a fluffy choice for the Alpha Legion. Yes, it is immobile (unless one purchases it a scout move, which I will be doing). But for a legion that prides itself on stealth and misdirection, coupled with tearing apart enemies piecemeal, I think it makes a lot of sense. Their forward squads would have placed these, narratively speaking, ahead of the battle in to key positions. And therein, they will have good lines of sight to hold key corridors through which troops will advance and give them cover, plus make tanks think twice about advancing. They're both a distraction and potentially deadly. Plus they have anti-air options given the twin-linked aspect of their shooting.

Unboxing. 

The tarantula comes in two distinct clam packs. The first one is the weapon itself, the second one is the stand that it rotates on. 

The reason for this becomes obvious when you see the first clam pack. It is basically the weapons for a razorback conversion. But it is also designed to slot in the base of the tarantula. The pictures below show the pieces immediately out of the clam packs.

The top one is a pair of twin linked las-cannons. The bottom one is the base of the tarantula. As can be seen, there is a bit of cleaning up work to be done with some flashes that need to be removed and some other bits and pieces.

Overall, it looks like a very straight forward job and I'll have this one whipped up in next to no time.

Tartaros Terminator Squad

Overview
This is a Legion Terminator Squad, built as follows:
1 Tartaros Terminator Sergeant, Thunder Hammer, Combi-bolter;
1 Tartaros Terminator with Plasma Blaster, Power Sword;
3 Tartaros Terminators with Power Axes, Combi-Bolter.

Total Points Cost = 200 points.

Why This Build?

The first principle that I wanted to follow was to keep it as simple as possible and as low on points as possible. I therefore did not want to go for full power fists (although they are attractive) nor for chain fists (which are equally attractive). I can certainly see the merit in these options, and at higher points levels, I'd certainly want to expand this squad or run a second squad that did have those build options.

I like the plasma blaster a lot for the extra strength weaponry that it brings to the squad and the bonus threat level. Being Alpha Legion, I'm actually tempted to give this squad bane strike ammunition as well to make it more effective against legion enemies. But that would also be reserved for larger sized squads to make the best of the points value.

The thunder hammer on the sergeant is almost a given. It really provides the true threat of the squad and is able to handle a lot of things in the game.

The goal of the squad is to simply be a threat. It is to draw firepower from other portions of my army whilst playing a threat to light tanks, and any infantry it cares to go hunting after. It is not meant to go tank hunting, nor is is supposed to take out fliers. I have other things in my army to perform those roles. In a pinch, the thunder hammer could tank hunt against things like rhinos, of course.

The power sword on the plasma blaster guy might not seem sensible at first glance. There is a bit of logic here though. Once engaged in close combat it is likely that the plasma blaster will never fire again for the entire game. Therefore this guys is going to be striking at initiative to provide a threat to 3+ save enemies. Plus, he is also going to be the first brother removed when a fatal wound lands. I simple won't need the plasma blaster any longer once he is inside combat. He's therefore expendable. Plus, bearing plasma weaponry means that I don't want him to be armed with a more valuable power axe (or similar) and therefore if he is removed from play, I'm "only" losing a power sword.

Conversions

All elements of my army are to be converted (apart from set-pieces such as Armillus Dynat). This squad features a multitude of conversions.

Every member has a true scale element built in to them. In this case, I've raised the torso significantly above the hips. My article on true scale terminators deals with this in more detail, and a size comparison is helpful for seeing the effect.

The power axes and the combi-bolters for the three main squad members are all from chaos space marines. They've been transplanted on to the terminator arms and pinned in to place.

The plasma blaster is actually a plasma cannon from the Dark Angels range of terminators. The power sword that accompanies him is a Grey Knights one.

For the squad sergeant, the combi-bolter is also a Dark Angels piece, but the shoulder pads are bits that I sourced from Puppetswar. The thunder hammer is also a minor conversion, using parts from the Chaos Space Marines tank sprue if you look closely.

To finish off, I've added a few details (tabard, pouches, terminator crux and so forth) here and there to make each of them individual, but also part of the squad. The emphasis here is on self reliance and inter-relaibility with other squad members, as befits the Alpha Legion.

Overall, I'm very happy with these conversions and this squad. I will be thinking about adding in some extra members with power fists and chain fists in the near future. I'm holding off on painting them until I'm settled on a painting scheme for my Alpha Legion army, so don't get too hopeful of seeing a fully painted squad just yet.

Maxmini Iron Jump Pack

Background

For my growing 30k Alpha Legion army list, I am pursuing two simultaneous goals of:

(a) not leaving any model unconverted if at all possible

(b) having them wield alien, xenos, or retro-fitted weaponry.

For (a), I'm going to make an exception for obvious character models in my list such as Armillus Dynat. But for the rest of the models, I'm going to try to stick to these goals. 

Assault Marines

I wanted to construct a unit of assault marines for my 30k army list. These guys are going to be a ten man strong unit, with a mixture of weapons (probably a thunder hammer and artificer armour on the squad leader, and maybe some plasma pistols to give them a bit of extra high strength hitting). The good part of the assault squads are that they are scoring units that are troops in 30k (rather than Fast Attack selections like they are in 40k). Most of the other aspects remain the same such as having a basic load-out of bolt pistols, chain swords and grenades. 

I feel one of the more obvious things about assault marines that makes them stand out on the table top are their jump packs. They are highly synonymous with the assault marine visual impact. 

Forge World makes a series of jump packs - some for Mark IV that look a little odd (a single thruster with a couple of stabilisers) and others for earlier marks that looks a bit more traditional (a pair of thrusters). Although I actually don't mind either, I thought it might be entertaining to track down some alternatives. 

Maxmini Bits

In tracking down the alternatives, I came across a recommendation to try out some Maxmini bits. There are several on offer, ranging from the regular looking "jump pack", through to bronze wing ones that seem like a mixture of the old chaos raptor and 30k, through to silver wing ones which seem good for Blood Angels or Dark Angels armies. The ones that I ended up ordering were the Iron Pattern Jump Packs. 

I selected these ones as they are the ones that most obviously scream "heresy" to my mind. The rounded bolts that surround one side of the model speak of the Mark V armour very clearly, whilst the patch on the other side of them suggests something of a battle field bodge up, or a retro fitting theme that I'm looking for. 

The picture shows what five of the Iron Pattern Jump Packs look like straight out of the plastic bag. 

Evaluation

The bits are not the cleanest casting I've ever seen to be honest, but I do like the overall look and style of them. There were a number of cleaning up things to do - getting rid of some flashes and the like, but nothing too severe. But one negative for me was the apparent age of the casting. Some of the details on the reverse of the bits were not as crisp as the other bits. The fins that attach to the bottom of the vents were also not flush in a couple of instances and will require some very minor amount of green stuff to make them look good. 

Beyond that, I'm really pleased and thrilled with these parts. They will certainly make the miniatures pop on the table top and give them that 30k feeling without investing in the forge world models.

Horus Heresy Review: Corvus Corax

Background
Lord Corax is the Primarch of the Raven Guard, and the liberator of Kiavahr. In his background, he is portrayed as a stealthy person; he discovered in his "childhood" that he can be "invisible" even when in plain sight of others. This is repeated in several Black Library novels. In other ways, his childhood is somewhat disturbingly parallel to Konrad Curze of the Night Lords, in so much as he grew up in an oppressed world full of villainy. The key difference seems to be that instead of being a loner who brought peace to a planet, he was brought up by a large variety of people he moved between (or was shuffled between) and learnt from them. He kept in touch with his humanity and was able to forgive murderers such as Kaedes Nex eventually and use them in the rebellion and later in part of the Raven Guard.

In other ways, his leadership is perhaps analogous of Alpharius of the Alpha Legion. At least in so far as he councils his sons to think for themselves and be adept with hit and run tactics, infiltration, and decapitation strikes. His legion is not as flexible as the Alphas, but this is only because they concentrate on honing their quick strikes from the shadows, rather than combined arts warfare.

Strengths
Firstly, it is important to note that Corax is an army wide booster. He not only gives his sons acute senses whilst he is on the board (I've no idea why this would be the case in terms of the background?), but he also gives them the ability to run the maximum distance all the time when he is on the board. This is a real boost for Raven Guard armies that are foot-slogging across the battle field and can certainly make up for the otherwise slow moving components of their troops.

As The Shadowed Lord, Corax can only have snap shots taken against him by anything short of daemons and psykers if he is not their closest target. I really genuinely like this rule. It means that he should be played as a single person who does not join a unit, but instead stalks the battlefield looking for he prey. It also harkens back to 4th edition where units had to take Ld tests for target priority (a rule I also was very fond of). But more than this, it means that he cannot be hit with flame or blast templates.  As if this was not enough, if he gets in to a tight spot or a bit of a pickle he cannot win, he can just vanish and be placed in to ongoing reserves (so long as he's got the higher initiative, which he should most of the time).

His melee weapon gives him some tactical flexibility as every turn he can select between having some extra attacks, and other bonuses depending on whether he wants to rage at an individual, or avoid the mass of arms that a horde could bring. His armour is 2+/5+ with a deep strike disrupting ability to boot.

Depending on which version of him is being played, he'll either have some archeotech pistols, or a heavy bolter (that he wields as assault 3). Plus, he may or may not have his jump pack that can provide better hammer of wrath moves and vector striking.

Weaknesses
The player can select between two modes of Corax, 100 points apart from one another. The worse one is the one without the jump pack and with the heavy bolter. This is to represent him in action after Isstvan V's events. If you're given the option and you're not playing fluffily, take the more expensive version. The jump pack is amazing with Corax and he is a literal monster with it.

I see his primary negative being his large points cost coupled with only a 5+ invulnerable save. He is really not going to like thunder hammer terminators and the like -- that invulnerable save makes Corax poor at soaking up incoming damage, unlike some of his brothers. You'd think Mars could have created something better for him.

Overall though, he's totally worth his cost. But he must be played wisely. Select the targets carefully, go to them and annihilate them, before moving on to the next target. And the next. And the one after. 

Horus Heresy Review: Moritat-Prime Kaedes Nex

Background
If there was ever a space marine that should have been part of the Night Lords instead of the Raven Guard, it is Nex. He was a condemned criminal on Kiavahr but found his pardon with Corax who offered him a new life so long as he only targeted prey that Corax selected. And so it began. Nex is obsessed with the hunt and the kill. He is a murderer and a very skilled one at that. Despite being a Moritat, he is shunned actively by everyone in the Raven Guard as an ill omen. Good job he likes it like that.

Strengths
Nex excels at taking out particular targets. His first special rule (Relentless stalker) enables him to set up as an infiltrator (the last infiltrator to deploy at that as well) near to his target (an HQ or Elites enemy selection). On top of this, he gains zealot when in close combat against this target and when it is taken out, it is worth an extra victory point for the Raven Guard player. This can be an incredible way to turn the tide of a victory points based battle around and should not be over looked.

At range and in close combat (yes: in close combat at the S and AP listed) he can use his pistols. As well as being rending which is useful for taking out his targets, the pair of pistols he wields also has concussive. This can be invaluable as well. Personally, I think it is preferable to use them at range due to the BS of Nex. On top of this, he has the usual equipment for space marines as well as shroud bombs, refractor field and Cameleoline.

Weaknesses
As he is ill omened, he cannot join a unit of any type. Yes: he is an independent character that cannot join any unit of any type. As might be guessed at, he also cannot be the warlord for the Raven Guard, nor can he be a compulsory HQ choice. These negatives are nothing really. He is not meant to be a team player - he is a singleton doing his master's will. He therefore needs to be played that way.

Tactics
With only melta bombs to tackle adversaries like dreadnoughts, the prospect of taking them on is risky. Even though he has two wounds, he can be instant killed by power fisted dreadnoughts. Perhaps there is an argument for selecting ranged dreadnoughts for his target though.

Other than this, the main tactic is roughly the same as any moritat. Set up somewhere useful that is somewhat shielded from lots of incoming firepower and unlikely to be charged (at least initially). Then, shoot away and close for the kill if necessary. Don't forget the stealthy aspects of this HQ as well - he need not budge until the right moment.