Belial, Master of the 3rd Company

 

Hi folks,

During the week I added the final touches to my Belial conversion for the 2nd Ed. Storm of Vengeance campaign. It is based on the classic Brother Bethor model, which I started converting not long after painting back in the 90's. My mates hated playing against Bethor; his banner abilities really caused some damage back in those days. I caved and planned to turn him into Belial, but stopped after adding the power blade. I simply just lost my nerve with the build as a young hobbyist and didn't have a power fist or second pistol to complete the job. For many years the model was my assault sergeant, armed with some kind of power lance. No more! The conversion is finally complete and I am stoked.

Before his elevation to Grand Master of the Deathwing, Belial was the Master of the 3rd Company. He led them during the defense of Piscina IV against the Orks. Back in those days he was armed with a power sword, power fist, bolt pistol and plasma pistol, as well as a displacer field (for those sweet 3++ saves). Interestingly, his special rules in the campaign are very similar (in spirit) to his current rules in 10th Ed. He was so quick to strike back, enemies don't get charge bonuses against him.

Hopefully, I get to use him at some point if I ever run the campaign. Even if I don't, the project finally feels complete, which is great. Good enough for a major stamp, I reckon:

Dark Angels Scouts Re-basing

 

Hi folks,

It has been a while since I posted and a lot has been going on. I have such a backlog of things I want to post about that it is hard to know where to start! These scouts are among the first models I ever purchased with my own money. I remember seeing them in White Dwarf when they were released and thinking "I have to get those"; they were my first "must haves".  They have been through a few repaints since then, though I have always kept the original faces (my first ever attempt at eye balls!). This latest tinkering restored the old 2nd Ed. red weapons, metal barrels and green bases. I also added some decals, now that I have small enough ones. Less stealthy but certainly more nostalgic. 

Certainly not my best painting, but I got them done in time for a recent game, where they played an important role, so that's a win! The silencer on the heavy bolter is a new addition, made from pieces of a Centurions lascannon. It used to be a segment of lollipop stick 😂🍭

See you across the table,

Marc 

Dark Angels 1000 point Army

 

Hi folks,

I have been chipping away at my collection of Primaris marines since the start of 9th Edition, and have finally reached the point where I can say I have an army ready to play with. 

The overarching theme of the army was Dark Angels recruited from the Plains World engaging in urban warfare against a Tyranid invasion. The bases I used were mostly from the Sector Imperialis collection, with some kitbashed bases thrown into the mix. I used Astro granite debris to cover problematic areas and added hazard stripes. I used a lot of painter's tape getting those done! The secret ingredient was a scattering of autumn leaves; the bases just didn't seem finished until they were added. I used a couple of "Native American" heads from Puppetswar to push the Plains World origin of the marines. 

Characters

The warlord of the army is Brother-Librarian Malakai, a Terminator Librarian armed with a combi-weapon. He is able to significantly enhance the survivability and lethality of my Deathwing squad.

I have also included Brother Hephaeston, a Primaris Techmarine, to get the most out of my Vindicator and/or Ballistus Dreadnought.

Battleline

Two 5 marine squads of Intercessors are included to capture and hold backline objectives. One will probably provide a bodyguard for my Techmarine and help support the Vindicator.

Infantry

I can't imagine a Dark Angels army without any Deathwing Terminators. My squad will probably teleport into combat with the support of their warlord. This should allow them to contest objectives deeper into the battlefield.

A squad of Infiltrators will also be able to contest objectives beyond my deployment zone and deny enemy deep strikers.

A small unit of Suppressors provides some mobility for capturing objectives. They can also lay down some heavy fire which will hopefully reduce the effectiveness of enemy ranged attacks where I need it the most. I am not planning on keeping them stationary to take advantage of the heavy keyword on their accelerator autocannons; they need to keep moving.

Vehicles

My two vehicles are fully geared towards heavy fire support. The Vindicator is very swingy in its performance; it can mow down anything or do very little! The Techmarine will mitigate some of this, but I am really leaning into the rule of cool. I love the model, so it stays! Also, I don't think any other tank fits the urban combat theme better.

I have also included a Ballistus Dreadnought for some more reliable firepower. I also love the way it pays homage to the classic Dark Angels Dreadnought with its twin-lascannon and missile launcher.

I have plans to add a good chunk of Ravenwing to this army and bump it up to 1500 points, but that will have to wait...

DreadTober beckons 🎃

See you across the table,

Marc

Dark Angels Vindicator TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

The school holidays have just started, which has given me just enough time today to add the finishing touches to my Vindicator. This tank is the last model in my 1000 point urban Dark Angels list, though in hobby butterfly style, I have already written a different version of the same list with some Ravenwing Black Knights 😅

The paint scheme is pretty standard as far as Vindicators go; the hazard stripes fit the style of my army perfectly. 

I used an old rocket pod from a Landspeeder sprue to represent a hunter-killer missile. I like it better than the strap-on missile launcher you usually get with vehicles.

I have a feeling I'll be painting some Orks with my young lad tomorrow, before getting stuck into my DreadTober project later in the week. Until then, time for a big stamp:

See you across the table,

Marc

Deathwing Librarian TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

I am laid up in bed at the moment with something fluey. In between marking school work and other odd admin tasks I have been tidying up the DreadTober blog in preparation for the challenge this year (more about that later).  I have been so busy with it that I forgot to post the final shots of my Librarian, which I finished on Saturday. 

Overall, I think he turned out quite nicely. The blue is a lot lighter than I originally envisioned, but I also like the shading and contrast that affords. The pose is a bit odd from front-on, in that you can't see the axe that I worked in so hard from the front!

I kitbashed him to carry a combi-plasma in his offhand. I think it looks pretty cool and provides some variety. Gaming-wise I think I prefer the stormbolter option, simply for the volume of fire it can dish out. Hopefully, this combi pings some wounds off and earns its place in the list 

I think I have one more project in me before DreadTober hits. I'm hoping to get my Vindicator done to finish off the first 1000 points of my list, and possibly get some pre-challenge construction done on my DreadTober project.

See you across the table,

Marc

Deathwing Librarian Progress

 

Hi folks,

Just a quick post today to share some progress I have made on my Deathwing Librarian. I have kitbashed him a bit to pay homage to the old 2nd Ed. figure, with the edition of a combi-plasma because I am a sucker for plasma.

I have been working in sub-assemblies because I simply could not figure out how to get to all the details any other way.

The blue of the armour is quite a bit lighter than I imagined it would be; I think I just got carried away pushing the contrast. 

I just have one more shoulder pad to go and I can assemble and finish basing him. I'll post the final product as soon as it's done, then get started on a Vindicator.

See you across the table,

Marc

Dark Angels Techmarine TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

In between 2nd Edition projects I have been trying to keep up some momentum with my urban Dark Angels. I was wondering what my old Deathwatch RPG character would look like if he crossed the rubicon Primaris, so decided to have a go at kit-bashing him. I experimented with mounting the forge bolter and servo arm on a backpack, but decided modelling a separate servitor would look less "busy".

The body is from a Lieutenant model I got cheaply from a magazine. The plasma pistol was a spare I had left over from the Zakariahl model. The other arm I pieced together from the Deathwing champion's halberd, a random upper arm and a Deathwatch shoulder pad my son gleefully donated from his growing collection. The head is from the old Ravenwing upgrade sprue. The backpack is a Devastator sergeant's signum. I figured that would be good for designating targets for the servitor. I tried to paint some kind of lightning motif on the axe-blade, but, well... I have never been particularly good at lightning.

The servitor was made out of an older robed Dark Angels veteran, with the head swapped with a Sicarian Infiltrator, which I thought looked suitably servitor-like and gribbly. Both the heavy ("forge") bolter and servo arm are from old servitor models, with a trimmed down heavy bolter ammo pack to finish it off.

With this pair done I am only two models away from completing my target 1000 point army, with plans for another 500 points of Ravenwing support. Well worth a big stamp!

Now my sights are back on 2nd Edition, with an Armorcast Exocrine well on its way to completion before the 25th April deadline.

See you across the table,

Marc

Dark Angels Suppressors TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

Another quick post today, just to record the completion of these Suppressors. They were in pretty bad condition when I got them off eBay, to the extent that I figured stripping them all the way back to plastic would be a waste of time. Instead, I just painted straight over the top. I had to gloss varnish the shoulder pads to make them smooth enough for decals.

I have painted them in my standard 3rd Company scheme and given them 10th squad markings. I have no idea if that's a squad Suppressors can be drawn from, it will just have to do.

The basing of the original models was pretty awful, but I didn't think I could safely remove the flying stands to replace them with my usual urban bases. I made a compromise by painting the dirt like concrete and adding some rusted Imperial Knight parts. One base has some left over Venomthrope bits, just to spice things up a bit.

That's it for this army for now, I probably should shift gears and get my next 2nd Ed. Army Challenge unit painted.

See you across the table,

Marc

Deathwing Squad TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

Just a quick post today to record the completion of my Deathwing squad. I wanted to paint the new models in the OG Space Hulk scheme which I used on my 2nd Edition terminators, with even more weathering to help them fit the urban Dark Angels army I am constructing. I also really wanted a cyclone missile launcher to replace the assault cannon, which required a bit of arm swapping. All of the terminators have little Dark Angels daggers on their hips. Most of them also have rondel/shield painted in Belial's livery. One had a purity seal where a rondel/shield should fit, so I doubled down and added another seal. His armour is faith!

I used the sword from the Deathwing command sprue for the sergeant, but added a Tyranid Warrior head to make the pose purposeful. Less blood was more, in this case. I also added some other Dark Angels touches and a Native American head from Puppetswar.

Another project complete, which is a big win. Only a couple more to go and the 1000 points will be complete. Next on the table is some Supressors that I saved from Ebay.

See you across the table,

Marc