Back to war!

My brother recently speculated about how many vehicles I have and I was prodded into getting them all out to check. (I need a better system for this)

While unpacking cases I ran across the fuzzy void of not quite a vehicle Dreadnaughts. Dreadnaughts have always been funny to my mind as they are not fast enough to keep up with the close combat troops, not quite high enough initiative to be useful against monstrous creatures, not quite tough enough to slug it out at range with the likes of lightly armoured Eldar Falcons, or traitor marine tanks and lately not much use at tying down large squads. They do look cool, they are very nice fluff and they are not too points heavy so they do occasionally make it into my lists.

I have a couple of these guys painted and finished, but nowhere near the total number for the whole chapter and in the new Codex you can now field squads of them, which will look so much better if they are painted. I still need to base these latest additions and the large flat blue areas are a sucking void that makes me want to add more detailing, but I managed to bash out 4 dreadnaughts in a weekend, including a very nice venerable dreadnaught from Forge World.

I am still sticking with a few of the 80s/90s paint scheme elements and can’t bring myself to paint the end of a lascannon anything but bright red. They might look like lipstick, but let’s see you laugh about it when it punches a nice big hole in the side of your prize tank. Ha!

Hulls Angels Wargames club

I have mentioned in a few posts already my local Gaming club Hulls Angels. It is a fantastic place full of friendly and like minded people and is doubly worth a visit now as they have just relocated!

Their new gaming hall is larger and better equipped, 20 tables, varied terrain and some storage space for club members too. There is more soft seating, space for board games, displays including award winning miniatures.

These are the guys who keep me coming back to the hobby time after time, with loads of enthusiasm, loads of ideas and always something going on. If you are in Hull go pay them a visit. Find out more about them on their site: hullsangels.com

Slightly behind on my painting...

So, how can you tell you are slightly behind on your painting? When you have to use an entire can of Chaos black undercoat and you still have not finished! For the record today I undercoated:

• 3 Drop-pods
• 7 Rhinos & Razorbacks
• 1 Predator
• 1 Bastion
• Assorted turrets, guns, emplacements and tank parts

It does not sound like a lot, but it is a lot of square footage of plastic to cover. Right, now to make it blue...

New codex

So I finally got my hands on the new codex and there is still a lot I have to work out from it, but overall I am impressed. Apocalypse battles are my favorite part of 40K and the new book alongside the new rulebook make every game of 40k much more like Apocalypse. The book is high quality and hefty as you would expect from the newer codexes and there is a lot of material in it, but the majority will be familiar to most Space Marine players.

Doctrines have been opened up to all of the Space Marine Chapters, but with a little bit of wangling I have found that the Ultramarines can use the doctrines more far more times than their less disciplined cousins, with the tactical doctrine available up to 3 times a game! As an Ultramarine you get it once, as part of the Gladius formation you get it again and as part of a Demi-company you get it again! So just for being fluffy and thematic with your Ultramarines force and taking a balance force (as the codex decrees brother) you get a significant bonus.

I also couldn't resist picking up the card set to accompany the codex. The cards are very high quality and feel very nice. They also help me keep track of what I have and have not used and substitute in the additional Space Marine objectives to the main list.

I have started to get a couple of games under my belt with the new objective system and it is very easy to gain or lose points. How the cards fall can make or break you very quickly, with kill a psyker, manifest a psychic  power and take down  a monstrous creature all liable to appear in games without psykers or monstrous creatures.

It is a new style of play and one I think I like in friendly games. I am yet to sign up to a tournament in this edition and will be interested to see how they work.

Chapter level engagement

Behold! The largest display board GW have ever done! If you wondered what happened to the complete Chapter which was on display a couple of Games Day’s ago now you know. The Blood Oath board is the largest display board that GW have ever built, with the complete Ultramarines Chapter, multiple Titans, Daemons and Grey Knights. The whole thing is so large that a set of stairs goes around it. The room has also been set up with atmospheric lighting and sound that complement the display and highlight different parts.

One of the most impressive sections was a Warhound Titan being hit by a drop pod, although there are hundreds of unique details and scenes, with dynamic action like land speeders racing through canyons and jump troops leaping up the side of buildings. The entrance fee to the exhibition was worth it for this display alone.

To go with the display is a Warhammer world exclusive Blood Oath book, containing some background fiction and formations, including an updated 1st company formation which takes huge advantage of the tactical doctrines and a new formation for the 2nd company, the Spear of Sicarius, which you may recall as a boxed unit not so long ago. It is a nice book and has some great high quality photos of the display that put mine to shame. Of course the best way to see the board is in person, so get yourself down to Warhammer world and pick up a new Ultramarine T-Shirt while you are there!

New Codex Inbound!

So it looks like the rumors are true and the sons of Guilliman will be getting a new codex in the very near future. Games Workshop have released this teaser below to get us excited about the new artwork. At the time of posting this is only 5 days away!

Tech Support

With all the shiny new mechanicum miniatures release lately I have been inspired to put paint to plastic with my own martian contingent.

The four servo arm servitors are the ones I am most likely to take in any given game and with half a chance they will be up to their sockets in immobilised Rhinos so I have tried for a greasy look on their much worn overalls and a flesh tone similar to my necrotic Cyber Cherub from earlier posts.