Projects and updates

So I found myself the recipient of what is probably the single best time off arrangement I can: 2 days off, 1 day of work followed by 2 more days off. Why is this such a good arrangement? Simple. I get 2 days to myself, to work on my stuff, and then just as I'm getting a little bored of my own projects.... boom I have a day of work that acts as a re-set on my own personal projects and then I have 2 more days to work on my stuff. So what have I been working on? Well several things.

Yeah I stuck a bunch of wires in a bread board.

No I've done more then just that.  I'm working on a new captain on bike for my Blood Ravens but I'm feeling ambitious so I'm going to wire it up so the head lamp in the bike will light up. Which means it needs power. So using the Heroic Urban rubble bike base, available from Dragon Forge Studios, I took a dremal to the bottom of it to carve out a space for a button battery.

I messed up the messurements and didn't make the opening deep enough to account for the battery clip and the battery itself. So I added a 2mm thick sheet of styreen to the bottom of the base to account for it. All in all I think it helps because I'll draw more attention to the captain who should look more heroic and stand out. 

I drilled out the head plate for the ferring and was going to mount the LED in it but then discovered the white LEDs I have are 5mm and 10m, not the 3mm side I need for the mounting. So I'll have to pick up some 3mm LEDs to continue working on this.

Since the bike is going to be attached to the base, and have wires running through it, I specifically went in and glued the wheel halves to the body and then carved out too spaces in the back. one you can see at the front of the rear tire. This is for the wires to come back through the body and connect to the switch in the back of the body. The second space you can just barely see at the top of the rear wheel. That's going to be where the switch will be installed.

 Something else I've been working on: My Blood Raven's land speeder detachment! Here you can see the 3 of them:

 I installed magnets in the noses and in the turret bases of the weapons so they can be swapped in an out.

 Allowing me to field them with heavy flamers or assault cannons. I need to build the under slung heavy bolters and magnetize those as well.

Oh and here's some good news: My pressure pot is set up and working! So now I can start working with pressure casting and hopefully begin producing better pieces for my projects. Or I will be once I get the resin and silicons that will work with pressure casting.

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Thank you Virginia!

Okay, it seems like Virginia has FINALLY decided to give us spring time whether and with that has come temperatures that permit priming. Now I know this is going to sound a bit odd in relation to my most recent post where I said I'm largely done with Games Workshop products, but I still have a sizable stockpile of 40k miniatures waiting on my shelves to be painted. Many of them have already been built and I do intend to still play from time to time. So that's what I've been doing today, working on my ready stocks:

In this case I'm working on a drop pod and 3 land speeders. You can see the lower frames of the land speeders mounted on the tooth picks with the central computer console for the drop pod on the corner of the Styrofoam block. I only partially assembled the land speeders and mounted them on tooth pick this way purposefully to make painting them easier. Easier in that I can get at the interior details and then assemble. You can see the legs of the marines have been painted all the way down to the ankles.

I ran into one little hickup with the land speeders though and it is a minor one, though worth noting. See I got 2 single Land Speeders, and the Dark Angles Raven Wing battalion box set to get the third. Well the Land Speeder in the Raven Wing box is the older design of land speeders so I've effectively got two different models. It's not a huge problem, but it has created a few minor planning issues. For instance the newer version of the land speeder allows you to build the lower section of the entire Speeder body and then apply the top of the body to that. if you look at the land speeder body on the right you see how the seat backs are attached to the bottom of the speeder, but on the left the seat backs are attached to the top portion. Like I said, not a huge problem just an annoyance.

So far I've only managed to paint the central console on for the drop pod. Nothing terribly note worthy here. But worth the picture.


Now one other thing I've started working on, a new game. Does anyone know the Mobile suit Gundam franchise? Specifically the segment known as the "Universal Century" time line? Well if not here's the brief break down: Mankind has begun to colonize space with the use of space colonies. But after nearly 80 years one group of colonies have declared Independence and launched a war against the Earth Federation. Initially the Space colony had the advantage with the advent of mechanized war machines known as mobile suits but ultimately the Earth Federation caught up and developed their own Mobile suits. That war last about a year and the following series explored the fall out from that war.

Well I'm a big Gundam fan and I was watching the series 08th MS team the other day and it got my mind rolling about the idea of a table top strategy game based on that. Meaning you get a team of between 3 and 7 pilots, outfit them with your selected mobile suit, and then equip the suit with the various weapons and then you and your opponent each attempt to achieve your respective objectives. I figure you can use the 1/144 scale models to represent your mobile suit teams. it'd be a notable investment to get a basic team up and running, but $100 for a medium sized team seems almost non-existent when compared to hundreds of dollars you'd spend getting a 1500 point Space Marine army together.

I don't want to make it a Gundam version of 40k, I intend to make it a bit more complicated than that, but not up to the level of an RPG. Right now it's all in the conceptual stages and the only thing I've managed to accomplish so far is compiling a list of weapons from the first couple series with some rough notes about concepts and ideas that would apply to those weapons.

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Have I got my work cut out for me

So, I've had a rather bizarre series of luck the last couple weeks where I won a bunch of Ebay Bucks and used them to buy a couple kits and then I won a raffle that netted me another kit and then I got a discount at the hobby store that netted me basically a free land speeder, honestly I've lost track of it. But I took all the kits I have sitting in my cabinet waiting to be worked on and stacked them up and was rather shocked at my haul of waiting to be built kits:

Let me count out what this is getting my Blood Ravens forces:
3 Land Speeders
1 Attack Bike
6 Biker Marines
1 Land Speeder Storm
2 Drop Pods
5 Assault marines.

With the whether beginning to change toward the warmer temperatures I'll be somewhat short on time to get all of these kits built and ready for priming before the "Too-Hot" to prime weather hits. I still have those three attack bikes I built a few weeks ago ready for priming too.

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More speed!

So I've been working on a new attack bike squad for my Blood Ravens. From what I've been looking at rules wise, I think Biker armies are gonna be the default go-to army for 6th edition. Hammer of Wraith, T5 all the time, a 12" move with an extra D6 charge range, relentless. I mean let's face it bikers got a lot going for 'em now.

So here is my new and freshly converted  attack bike squad:

So I'm sure you're sitting there saying "Wait a second, you said they were converted. And that they were attack bikes. Yeah the one dude's got the scanner array backpack, but what's actually converted? And why aren't they attack bikes?"

Well, I guess I used the wrong word. I think I would have been better off saying they are transformable as opposed to converted. Allow me to show you what I mean. Here is the same bike squad with different bitz:

You can see the two forward most bikers are now armed with a melta gun and plasma gun.  Here is another change:

I magnatized them so I can swap the configurations between Biker and attack bike. With the addition of magnets in the right shoulder, the models are able to swap arms so they can be armed with different weapons. By putting magnets in select locations in the under carraige of the bike and matching points on the side car I can attach and detach the side car as needed.

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We are the Blood Ravens!

A good while back I was playing Dawn of War II and I had become inspired to begin work on a Blood Ravens army. Well they had sat on the back burner for far too long and with my funds effectively stopped, following my recent medical bills, they came out of the case and got some paint on some of them. Here are two of the bikers that I got painted the other day.

First up we have the Captain on a bike:

Blood Ravens Captain on a bike with a relic blade

Model wise he's a fairly straight forward conversion. Grey Knight helmet and great sword in right hand. The sword hand was attached to a converted rifle holding arm that I cut below the shoulder and repositioned it to be held outward. A couple other little bits add to the seniority of the model like the Raven Guard faring on the front of the model. The base is one point I would like to reference though. It comes from Dragon Forge Studios and I highly HIGHLY recommend their bases. I swear by them.

Next we have the sergent for the squad:

Blood Ravens biker Sergent with Power sword

I installed a magnet in the sergeants' left shoulder to allow him to use different weapons. This is going to be compatible with my other magnetized models in the army, allowing them to swap weapons as I see fit.

Equipped with a bionic arm and chainsword.

Equipped with a chainsword

 

 

Armed with one power fist

armed with an alternate power fist

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Some more speed and some 'Ooomph!'

So I've finished building some extra goodies for my Blood Ravens.

 A Land Raider Redeemer/Crusader and Captain on a bike.  I've been experimenting with Army lists and I've been gravitating toward bike heavy lists of late. But the thought of 18 bikes backed by 6 Attack bikes running point for a Land Raider... lets just say I like that particular image.

As a means to save some cash, and with the price of a Land Raider kit at $75 I need that, I used a rather liberal application of magnets to the kit to allow me to swap the model between a Crusader or a Redeemer. I even added magnets to the sponson mounts to allow me to swap the crusader/redeemer mounts for normal Land Raider mounts should I get those parts.

As an extra addition to my forces I converted a captain on a bike with a relic blade. Off the top of my head I'm very tempted to  run him as a counts as Kossaro Khan. Have to admit, the idea of having my entire army with the ability to out flank... oh... so very tempting.

I took a Dark Angles Raven Wing icon, cut it half, removed the sword and used the wings to bracket the sides of the forward wheel guard. I also added the least Dark Angely fearings I could. I intend to paint these parts in the colors of the Blood Ravens icons to help tie it together.

I mad a banner by cutting a triangle of plasticard and heating it in boiling water a bit so that it would become pliable.

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Battle Report: Space Marines Vs Orks

Battle size: 1750
Mission:  Capture and Control
Deployment: Spearhead

Turn 1: I moved my Razorbacks forward 12", with the support of the Land Speeder Squadron, on the right flank in an effort to draw the Orks further away from their objective, popping smoke to help protect the forward most Razorbacks. With the Razorbacks under cover of their smoke clouds, the Land Speeders opened up on the forward most Orks felling a hand full. First blood to the Emperor's finest!

The Orks were fast to respond to the threat and the lead Buggies quickly roared forward while unleashing their rokkits into the Razorbacks destroying one and forcing its' occupants to bail out of the blasted vehicle. A pair of trukks rushed forward to allow the boyz to surround the other razorback and attempt to destroy it in close combat. Sadly the Nob failed to hit the broadside of a barn. Mid-field, the Lootas took aim at the Land Speeders and let fly managing to destroy one of the troublesome skimmers, tearing off a heavy bolter and shaking the other two speeders. The Tank Bustas raged at the tempting targets of the Land speeders, the targets too far away to be attacked. The Looted wagon attempted to blast the Ironclad dreadnought, but the entombed warrior proved to nimble to be caught in rage of the wagons gun.

Turn 2: Not willing to invite a second round of attacks from the surrounding Orks, the remaining Razorback quickly revved its' engines, reversing and catching the Ork nob under its treads and crushing it death as he attempted to attack the vehicles vulnerable rear armor. Eager to exact Vengeance for the destruction of the first Razorback, the combat squad inside quickly disembarked  and took aim at the Boyz, unloading on full auto shredding several of the boyz on the spot. Their brother squad from the first Razorback quickly added their own firepower to the effort and with the aide of a third volley of fire from another combat squad, they cleared the Boyz from the map. The Ironclad smashed over a barricade to bring it's guns to bear on the first of the Ork Trukk, its' Hurricane bolter tearing through the vehicles armor while it's Melta gun scored a killing strike destroying the ramshackle trukk with a resonating boom.

Showing a bit too much enthusiasm for the moment, the crew of the Looted Wagon hit the gas and sent the heavy vehicle careening forward before they got their wits about them.  The Lootas managed to once again land several telling shots against the Land Speeders destroying the vehicles much to annoyance of the Tank Bustas. Behind a row of buildings the Warboss and his lads stomped throw the debris hoping to get into a good scrap while the characteristic stomp stomp stomp of a pair of Deff Dreads echoed off the walls as the machines lumbered forward eager to join their brother green skins.

BURN OOMIES!

Turn 3: Believing they saw an opening for their attack, the Bike squad speed onto the battlefield escorted by the first Storm Talon. The Storm Talon Pilot saw the destruction of the Land Speeders and quickly moved to support his brothers on the ground while the Bikers speed forward out of line of sight of the Wagon. Unable to reach a proper position in time to be of assistance, the Storm Talon took advantage of a window of opportunity to land several assault cannon shots against the Warboss's mob. Behind the mob of Boyz, Librarian Azariah and his Stern Guard brothers came crashing out of the sky in their Drop pod landing on target. The 6 stalwart warriors dove out of the Drop pod and unleashed a combination of poisoned bolter fire and etheric energy into the boyz decimating their ranks but the group was quickly broadsided by the first of the two Deff Dreads. Despite a valiant effort to combat the mechanical monstrosity, the Deff dread claimed the Librarian and all but one of the Sternguard in a combination of Skorcha attacks and piston driven claw attacks.  Across the battlefield, the Bikers gunned their engines and came tearing toward the objective while the combined fire of the kannons and looted Wagon failed to find targets amongst the zooming marines. Hoping to claim an ambush on an approaching Trukk, the Ironclad dreadnought jumped over a ruined wall into the space beneath a ruined building.

Turn 4: The Ladz in the Wagon landed a lucky, not to mention destructive shot and destroyed the potentially troublesome Storm Talon in a single shot, it's debris raining down around the raging Warboss. To his shock, the Ironclad dreadnought was assailed not from within the Truck, but from above as the Boyz had jumped from the trukk into the overhanging balcony and clamored over the Dreadnought's head assailing it from the rear. Landing a telling blow to the vulnerable hydraulics, the Nob was able to smash the machine's legs and bring it crashing to the ground. To the Orks amazement the pilot of the venerable machine refused to die a second time and continued to fight on, crushing the nearest boy in its claw while ripping another 2 to pieces with its' guns.

"HA HA! Can't see me"

Turn 5: Coming into range, the Biker squad unloaded their guns on full auto into the defending Boyz feeling a handful as the second Storm Talon came screaming onto the battle field. The second Deff Dread came smashing and thrashing toward the Space marine objective it's claws and blades whirring as it charged into battle killing a single battle brother and forcing the unit to retreat and regroup. Unable to bring its weapons to bear against the 2nd defending squad, the Dread showed remarkable cunning for an ork and stepped back to avoid a reprisal attack from the missile launcher. This forward thinking failed to save the dread as the immobilized Razorback spun it's turret around and, with a single well placed Lascannon shot destroyed the monster outright. The footslogging Orks quickly retaliated by destroying the vehicle outright. 

The Orks which guarded the objective were un-phased by their losses and surged forward eager to get into it good and proper with the offending bike marines. Though the Marine superior training allowed them to fell several Orks, the sheer number of Orks threatened to overwhelm them and nearly half the unit was killed before the sergeant could sound a retreat.

Turn 6: Recovering from the previous beating, the Biker squad regrouped and prepared to charge the attending Orks on the objective. With a good strong push they could destroy the Looted Wagon and sow havoc among the Ork ranks, contesting the objective and weakening the Green Skins defensive lines in preparation for a subsequent strike from reinforcements. They may well have completed their mission had the Tank Bustas not landed a lucky shot and destroyed the Storm Talon. Robbed of their fire support, the Marines retreated from the battle field, vowing vengeance against the Orks.

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Objective Markers

Since I actually started playing games and not just building models I've noticed the need for something, and it's something I don't see mentioned very often.

Objective markers!

A lot of the games I've played have been objective based, where you attempt to control more objectives then your opponent at the end of the battle. Most people I've seen just use dice to mark out objectives. While this works it seems mildly lazy. So I've set about building a set of Objective markers for my Blood Ravens army. Thus far they are nothing more then the Space Marine Casualties from GamesWorkshop. I bought them on the same order I originally ordered the Storm Talon on so I would break $99 and get 6 months to pay it off through pay pal. Over all I rather like the models and hope they will make casualty models for other armies.

The package comes with 3 models of Space Marines in various stages of being killed.

The first marine is shown to be in the midst of a fight, desperately backing away from his attackers attempting to gain the upper hand or drive his attackers off with bolter fire. I painted dripping blood on the armor coming from the bullet marks in the shoulder and painted it as having dripped down onto the torso, the groin and down the marines hips.

The second model is a recently killed commander with a power fist. Nothing particularly note worthy about this paint job.

Finally we have a Space marine corpse. This one has an exposed skull showing he has been dead for a while. I rather like the Ork skull under his leg. I think it adds a fair amount of narrative to the model showing that it was likely Orks that he was fighting when he died. Bonus points because my frequent opponent plays Orks.

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Adding a little speed to my forces

So with the net practically hopping about the upcoming 6th Edition I'm still learning the game in general. I know that's an odd sounding thing to hear from someone like me who's been involved in the hobby for going on twenty years. But it's true. In the previous 19 years of my involvement in the hobby I've played perhaps a dozen games spread across 4 editions. It has only been in the last few months that I've really gotten into playing the game. I am still a very dedicated converter, and that will likely never change.

But I am playing more games now. Presently I'm building a Blood Ravens army. I've got a fairly solid and variable 1,000 point list with enough units I can swap in and out to experiment with different configurations. Today I add a new unit: Space Marine bikers!

 Right now I've got 5 bikers built. One is a sergeant and one has inter-changeable assault weapons. In both the sergeant and the assault weapons, the ability to swap out weapons is made possible by the application of rare earth magnets in the shoulder of the torso and the shoulder of the arm itself.

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Blood Raven Storm Talon

So, with a completed Storm Talon model built and otherwise sitting on my desk I decided to add it to my growing Blood Ravens army.

I built the Storm Talon with large laser blast effects bits from Armor Cast Cinematic Effects series. Overall I find the Storm Talon a very lack-luster model with nothing really impressive about it. The rules are a bit better, though I think it is still very expensive for what the unit is capable of. AV 11 with a twin linked assault cannon and a twin linked Lascannon for 150 points... I don't know. I think taking a trio of Land Speeder Typhoons for only slightly more point wise offers more fire power and more tactical options. Still I have the model, so I'll give it a shot and see how I feel about it.

So a layer of Mechrite read, a wash of Badab black for the red areas. Chaos Black with a dry brush of bolt gun metal for the metallic areas with a layer of Dehneb stone with layers of Bleached bone for the none areas. We'll see how it works out in game.

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