A Pair Of Armiger Helverins

January 21, 2019, 11:27 am

≫ Next: For Your Consideration: Imperial Knight Castellan (plus a bonus)

≪ Previous: A New Bloat Drone Makes Three

Hey there Chaos fanatics! Old Man Chaos (tm) is back with another astounding article here on Chaos Corner.

First off I wanted to say that I'm really liking the new (again) format of the White Dwarf. I like that it had some short stories (about Vigilus) and a revised Index Astartes for Crimson Fists, plus a nifty battle report, all of which I enjoyed quite a bit. I hope that each issue builds upon the success of this issue. Even my son enjoyed it!

At any rate, my wife (and son LOL) got me a box of Armiger Helverins for Christmas. just as my brother got me a Bloat Drone. I assembled and painted the Drone first, as it is something that I am quite familiar with. I have also painted a lot of Nurgle the past year or so, thus I went with the Drone and decided to wait on the Armigers.

Gotta start 'em young...

With the Drone finished, I immediately dove into the Armigers. I really like the model (though I wish it had some weapon options to vary up their look). They went together fairly quickly, and are also quite sizable. Now, they aren't as big as a Knight or something, but they are pretty hefty in their own right.

I feel like it has been quite a while since I painted anything Mechanicus. If my own blog is accurate, the last time I did Ad Mech was August 2017!! Holy Cow- but that is a very long time. No wonder why I was rusty with the color scheme- I had to look up my notes on the scheme I did so that I could recall the colors used!

Despite my foggy memory, I ultimately painted them the same as my other Mechanicus and Imperial Knight stuff. The basic armor plates was Steggadon Green, with alternating plates painted up Thunderhawk Blue. Russ Grey was then the highlight for the edging and such. The trim was Balthazar Gold with Hapshut Copper layered over that. The mechanical parts were Leadbelcher with a heavy Nuln Oil wash. This was followed by a very little Stormhost Silver highlight.

In keeping with what I have done with the Knights, I added some decals to their shoulder plates. I didn't care for the Armiger decal set, so I mostly used decals from the Knight and Admech decal pages, plus a small scythe from Imperial Guard tanks (my last of the small decals unfortunately).

The decals really bring the models together. They also make the Armigers truly look like the small cousins of the larger Imperial Knights. I really like the look of them together. Now all I need si the close combat Armiger Warglaives to complete the set lol.

Rule-wise, I think the Helverins ain't bad. With 2 x 2D3 autocannon shots doing 3 damage each, these things are clearly good against heavy infantry (terminators) and some vehicles. As long as you roll well, these things could be quite formidable. I have heard that they are good, though some people swear by the close combat Warglaives (again, reason for me to get some of those).

Well, that's all for now. I wont be back right away, as I have something very big I'm working on, and I am sure that it is going to take me time to assemble and paint. Should I tell you? Maybe just a hint you say? Oh, alright. It is big, and it is Imperial Knight related. There? That enough? LOL

Until next time...

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For Your Consideration: Imperial Knight Castellan (plus a bonus)

March 31, 2019, 2:49 pm

≫ Next: Some Adeptus Mechanicus Terrain

≪ Previous: A Pair Of Armiger Helverins

Hey there Chaos fanatics! I know its been a bit since my last posting. It has been busy both at work and at home, so I have had less time to game and model. That doesn't mean I haven't though... indeed, I have been snatching time here and there a bit. I told you in my last article that I was going to be working on something very big... so here it is!

I ordered the Castellan Knight after my in-laws got me a gift certificate to The Warstore (yes, they are very understanding in-laws). It arrived just as I was finishing up the Armigers. So once they were done I began building the Castellan. The model goes together quickly enough, and since I've put together Knights before it all seemed to make sense (the legs are the same, but the upper half is naturally, quite different).

I was very surprised at its size. I thought it would be larger than a regular Knight, and it is. But not by that much. I guess that makes sense- it is a Knight class titan. I just assumed it would be larger based on the pictures I had seen of it. But as they say- its not the size that counts...

Don't get me wrong. I love the model. I like the look of its main guns (particularly the plasma). I love all the other guns and missiles on the top of the Knight. It really does look like a war machine, spewing death in every direction. Indeed, it looks very killy and very 40K.

I painted it in my patented Adeptus Mechanicus scheme. The machine parts is Leadbelcher with liberal doses of Nuln Oil and Earthshade, followed up by some Necron Compound and Stormhost Silver. The armor plates are done generally with Stegadon Green, with other plates Thunderhawk Blue. I highlighted the lines of the plates with Russ Grey.

The only conversion work I did was a head swap with my previous Knight face mask / helm options. I wanted him to look just a little different from the Knight on the box, and this was an easy (and fairly obvious) way of doing that. Always save your bitz!!

The Knight Castellan's rules are quite imposing. The Plasma Decimator is a really good weapon firing 2D6 plasma shots (and Overcharge makes it deadlier still). The Volcano lance is a real vehicle / monstrous creature killer. The Twin Siegebraker cannons are a nice additional weapon (great for heavy infantry and light vehicles). Finally, the Shieldbreaker missile is awesome against big things with invulnerable saves (plus you can use a stratagem to target a character). I can't wait to try this out in battle.

While I was painting the Knight, the Urban Conquest box was released, and me being a sucker for a map based campaign, I immediately picked it up. If you haven't, you should consider it (if you and your friends want to run a campaign). It is a great set, and Joe and Brian and I have been playing on our map for a month or so, and we're all having a great time with it. The rules for the campaign are very straightforward, but the cards give a lot of variability.

Why am I bringing that up? Well, I got inspired by the Urban Conquest book to do more terrain- my dream is to make a Sector Mechanicus table with just Mechanicus structures- a real industrial zone. I bought the new Ad Mech building and I painted it- while painting the Knight. Yes, I was doing both at the same time, which is why the Knight took me so much longer. I was dividing up my painting time.

The building is quite large and line of sight blocking. I do like the new GW buildings in general (boy I'd like those other buildings too). So---- I will be building and painting more Sector Mechanicus terrain in the future. Indeed, I plan to do some Pipelines, Thermic Reactors, the crane set, and finally the big Tectonic Frag Drill that came out a little while ago. I figure the drill can be a centerpiece of my industrial zone.

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back to show off the terrain as I finish it. Until Next Time...

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Some Adeptus Mechanicus Terrain

June 15, 2019, 5:36 am

≫ Next: The Deathshroud Terminators

≪ Previous: For Your Consideration: Imperial Knight Castellan (plus a bonus)

Hello once again Chaos fanatics! Old Man Chaos is back after a couple of months with some newly painted stuff. I know I haven't posted in awhile but I have been working on some terrain when I have been able to- things are just so busy with the baby and all. I steal some time for modeling here and there as best as I can.

At any rate, I told you guys last time that I had been bitten by the terrain bug. I really want to create an entire table of Manufactorum-style terrain. An entire industrial sector to battle over. Last time I did the Sector Mechanicus building, which turned out pretty good- though I was dividing my hobby time between the Knight and that building.

So now I'm back with some other painted up terrain. First up are my Plasma Conduits (AKA pipes) and Plasma Regulators. I used the same paint scheme as the rest of my pipes and mechanicus stuff.

The metal is Leadbelcher, washed in Earthshade, with Ryza orange, Nurgle slime, and Typhus Corrosion to add rust and other effects to the pipes. The red plasma is done with several red highlights followed up by the red gemstone technical paint, thus giving it a bright, energized effect.

The Conduits (pipes) go with my other pipes, so I now have a huge pipeline if I want to. And the Regulators can go with the pipes, as can the Haemotropic Reactors. I really like how just about everything in the Mechanicus terrain line up goes together so well.

Speaking of going together well, I also completed what I consider to be my centerpiece mechanicus terrain, the Tectonic Fragdrill. I say go together well because the piece went together very easily. It is just two platforms on top of each other plus the drill rig, which was fairly straightforward (except trying to get the drill on the track but it didn't take too long).

The metal sections are the same as I described above, except I put Necron Compound onto the drill itself, just to give it a little highlight. The armored surfaces I did Khnorne Red to match my other Mechanicus terrain pieces.

Putting the drill with my other mechanicus platforms, you can see how it all goes so nicely together. If I had more platforms I could build quite a series of catwalks along with the drill. I probably won't go THAT nuts, but it is something for me to think about at some point.

So that is all I have to say about that (thanks Forrest Gump). I still have one more thing of terrain I have to work on, then its onto some regular stuff again (Hello Lord Discordant and Abaddon).

Until next time...

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The Deathshroud Terminators

November 17, 2020, 5:02 pm

≫ Next: The Campaign of Aurelius Secondus

≪ Previous: Some Adeptus Mechanicus Terrain

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The Campaign of Aurelius Secondus

September 6, 2021, 5:23 pm

≫ Next: Beast Snagga (Feral) Orks- Squig Riders

≪ Previous: The Deathshroud Terminators

I know that I have been gone for some time. Did Old Man Chaos die, I hear you ask? No- just life has been busy. Wife, son, work, friends, family (extended), and all that life throws at you.

In order to do some things, I had to drop others. I wanted to do more modeling and painting for 40K, so I couldn’t do the blog. But I’m trying to make an effort to get back in. I won’t be able to do full length articles, I’ll probably just show pictures of my work going forward. We shall see.

But, I do want to say that Pete, Joe, and I had a huge, 8 round story based campaign fought over four days. I wrote the story (with branching endings and objectives that impacted the next battle). I have never done anything so ambitious- I wrote stories, battle scenarios, deployment maps, etc. I also painted a ton of models and terrain. It was exhausting, but totally satisfying. While I play joe fairly frequently, Pete is only up here once in a while. This year we scheduled it/ a long weekend we dubbed “Nerd Fest NY 2021” (since our wives call us nerds, we wear it proudly!).

So above are some pictures of the battles, and the accoutrements of the long campaign. So take a look at some nicely painted models and terrain. Hopefully you will be inspired in some way or another when doing your 40K thing. Enjoy!

Until Next Time…

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Beast Snagga (Feral) Orks- Squig Riders

September 9, 2021, 6:17 am

≪ Previous: The Campaign of Aurelius Secondus

So as you can see- I’ve started Beaat Snagga Orks. I have always loved the concept of the Feral Ork. Orks invade, spores are spread, years later Orks grow and ravage again. My ork army will be composed entirely of Snagga / Beast boyz. No planes, tanks, etc. It’s just going to be these primitive (but quickly adapting) Orks.

I painted these with a lot of contrast paints. The more I get used to them, I like them more. I used Plaguebearer Flesh contrast over Wraithbone spray undercoat for the Ork skin. Then, I carefully washed the ork skin with Biel Tan wash, covering the Plaguebearer flesh slightly unevenly, to create a slight variations of skin tone over the entire body. I made sure to put more wash in the recesses to really give it detail. Finally I did the new paint Orruk Flesh as a highlight.

The Squings were great to do. Over Wraithbone I painted Flesh Tearer Red all over the body, allowing it to pool in the recesses. Then, I used Evil Sunz Red to highlight the edges, folds, bumps, and musculature.

For the Gretchen / Grots, I again applied Plaguebearer Flesh, followed by a careful wash of Camoshade. Totally different skin color from the Orks. Again I highlighted it Orruk green.

Clothes, belts, boots, furs- also all done with contrasts. Smoke bite leather, Dunes, Black Templar- any color clothing you want. You can make them entirely uniform, or you could just do everything different- as long as the Ork Skin Color is there, the army is tied together. Same with metallics. I’ve used a bunch of them, with earth shade or nuln oil to make them look worn and beat up. And for me, Iron Warriors Metal is my new go to- dark gunmetal, allowing you to keep it dull or brighten it was much as you want with various silver highlights.

The bases are Rhinox Hide, Stirland Mud/Mire, and a drybrush of Tyrant Skull.

The skulls on the base were all Wraithbone too. Then I either used Skeleton Horde or Apothecary white to finish them. Some skulls are brighter than others.

Used some different grasses from Army Painter (really easy to use), and some Nurgle Rot for swamp slime.

They came out great. The green and red really pop on the table, but the ground bases make them earthy. Feral Orks indeed! Next up, I’ll be working on some Snagga Boyz and learning the new Kill Team. Hoping to get my friends interested. My brother, who hasn’t played 40K in years, might be tempted to try, as you don’t need that many models (unless you’re the imperial guard or something). Average 5-10 models depending on your faction. Sounds like a fast fun game.

Until Next Time…

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