+ inload: Metalic Maniple WIP +

+ Adeptus Titanicus: Armageddon +


+ More bits and bobs have arrived for my Iron Skulls (Legio Metalica) maniple, so while the armaments aren't final, I've managed to get two Warlords and a Reaver Steel HammerOld Three Skulls and Ferratus Tertius respectively – on their feet and properly assembled. +

+ And here I'm finding the perils of working in painting subassemblies. It's taken me weeks to work up to this point, and I rather wish I'd simply bitten the bullet and just assembled them fully. Every time I come to sit down and work, there's fifteen minutes or so of faffing about trying to reconnect things, remember which armour bits go where etc., and now I'm left with a big scary pile of stuff to work on – all rather paralysing! +


+ Here's Old Three Skulls – or Tricranium the Great, to give him his officialy designation. His weapons aren't final; they need to be married up to the old Epic one. +


+ Our Reavery friend, Ferratus Tertius. The banner has been hijacked from its intended recipient. Having been complaining about the inertia created by building everything en masse, I should balance that by saying it's been enjoyable to be setting the poses so things work in a group. It's also given me the opportunity to dot in interesting bits and bobs for each Titan to make them unique – like the mix of armour plates, variant heads, poses and unique weapons. +


+ Ferratus Tertius, for example, has a custom-built Fusion Cannon, built from – er... a Revaer Fusion cannon and two Warhound Melta Lances. Pleased with how it looks; and while this is intended as a purely visual chance, it could also be used to reflect the Experimental Weapon stratagem or similar +


+ Titan of the Maniple's Princeps Senioris, Malleo Chalybis has all its weapons in place – though I'm still deciding on the head. While I like these classic style heads (available from Battle Bling), I think I'd prefer a little more variety. +



+ As with his smaller comrade, the Steel Hammer has a custom-made gun. This is a combination of a Knight Armiger arm from Taro Modelmakers with a Battle Bling upper arm and an armour plate from a Belicosa Volcano Cannon. I also used the top of the Belicosa to create a proper joint for a Titan, too. +

+ Now just to paint them! Seeing them laid out here is getting my enthusiasm up, so I'm going to aim to bite the bullet and just get started on painting. After all, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. +

+++

+ inload: A trot down memory lane +

 + Space Marines, 90s-style +

+ A deep hobby rut sometime needs something completely out of the blue to blow away the cobwebs. Something, in my case, like breaking out some long-buried treasure – Space Marines from the 90s. +

+ Looking just like the RTB15 Strike Force single-piece miniatures; these are the short-lived and ill-advertised two-part marines that were (by the looks of things) made from the same dollies; plus a couple of the slightly-modified later versions. +

+ History of the models +

+ What's the difference? This is real rivet-counter stuff, and I confess to being a bit unsure about the timings. These were released towards the end of Rogue Trader, when the Marines were going through a quiet redesign and being issued what's now called Mark VII armour. I'm unsure whether the single or two-piece ones came first. +

+ I'm inclined to venture that the two-piece ones were produced following the pattern established by the RTB01 plastic marines (separate body and legs) and intended to be cross-compatible with the RTB01 sprue, but that they were subsequently repackaged as the Beakies were quietly retired in favour of Mark VII, and re-cast as single-piece models. Eventually, as GW moved over to a commercial model of single casts with a different (flat-shouldered) arm sprue, the single-piece models were converted and re-cast again. +

+ A pile of potential +

+ If you're a collector, the key difference between the early and later ones is the shoulders. Both the single-part Strike Force Marines and two-part versions had a raised bobble that was intended to be used with a short-lived arm sprue that accompanied them. The later recut had flat shoulders, so they could be used with the later plastic arm sprue. You can see some of the arms from that later sprue above: they're the ones in grey (though unhelpfully I've shot them all shoulder-part down; you'll have to trust me that they're flat!)+


+++

+ Our Presence Remakes the Past +

+ I'd had a set of the Strike Force Marines many years ago, and I'd idly wondered since whether they would work with the RTB01 plastic arms. If my hunch was correct, and the two-part marines were produced as a compatible expansion, the early plastic arms should marry up nicely –  or at least as closely as any models did back then! +

+ My own Strike Force Marines, alas, are largely scattered to the winds and lost to history (with the exception of Brother Engel [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]), so I owe these figures to the boundless generosity of the PCRC; Stuntwedge (for the lead) and Bob Hunk (for the RTB01 bits). +

A spot of retro glue fits in rather nicely, no? 

+ The backpack is the style supplied with the Strike Force models; but I'd have been interested in trying the RTB01 backpack or the earlier metal ones as well. +

Built and unprimed, on the original 25mm bases. The grey boltgun is from a Rhino.

+ The experiment proved a success. The arms seem to fit nicely – and if you'll excuse a little editorial opinion, I think the proportions are actually a bit nicer than the arms with which the models were actually supplied. +

+ It was an experience coming back to working with lead/plastic combination minis. I have hazy memories of getting the whole strike force assembled and handed over to my big brother to spray them within about an hour of getting the box home (which perhaps explains the rather 'interesting' pose Engel has), but I took my time over these relics of a past age, and it took me an entire evening to get the five assembled. +

+ Flash and mouldlines needed trimming and filing, but the majority of the time was spent wrestling with the poses and adjusting slightly shonky casting. The fixed-forward nature of the marines' poses meant that any pose besides 'stoically menacing' is pretty hard to pull off, a problem exacerbated by the limited bits I had to work with and limited poses of the RTB01 arms. +


+ It's easy to start treating old miniatures like treasure, but that's precisely why these old veterans have never seen paint. Rather than being too precious with them, I decided to take advantage of the soft lead and cut off the bare head to allow a better pose. I also cut and repositioned the RTB01 boltgun magazine – another bugbear of mine – in each case. Slightly infuriatingly, repositioning the magazine backwards actually means that the accompanying arm fits and grips it a lot better! +

+++

+ Fall in, Marines +

+ After rebasing onto 32mm bases – purists may recoil, but I like the additional framing these offer – I gave the models a prime of Grey Seer, partly for retro theme (my 90s models were always primed white), but mostly because it was the nearest I had to hand. +

+ Once sprayed, the differences between the materials is obscured, and the results were pretty good, I think. +


+ The bare-headed sergeant is interesting, as they were only ever available in the two-part versions. I remember looking at the Blood Angels in WD139 and wondering how the painters had converted their marines to have a bare head. It's a shame, as the sculpt is really characterful. I went for a fairly conservative pose, and added a little heraldic shield as a nod to modernity. As noted above, it's easy to let nostalgia or notions of 'what's correct' stop you from making the models you actually want to build. +


+ This marine is reloading his boltgun; a pose intended to make the most of the fact the two-part marines can turn. The spare magazine is also from the RTB01 kit, as are the bolt pistols and other kit on the squad. +


+ An example of the difficulties of getting dynamic poses from these miniatures, this was an attempt to have the marine aiming, which involved cutting the gun arm at the shoulder and wrist. You can't get the marine looking down the boltgun without cutting the helmet off, so the result is a bit of a compromise. Still pleased with him, though; a nice in-between pose, gun up and scanning the area. +




+ When looking at these pictures, I had the weirdest impression that I was looking at Epic marines. I guess over the years I've played about with different scales of marines, and so without some sort of reference, I can't quite tell what's what! It's interesting to think about 'truescale' here; because it was the giant heads and hands and tiny legs of later models that first spurred me into more ambitious converting – but while the proportions here are clearly exaggerated, these marines don't strike me as stylised as later ones. Perhaps it's the use of the RTB01 arms, with less detail, slim arms, and smaller pauldrons and hands, that makes them read slightly more realistically than the later releases. +

+ The plasma gun here is one of the few touches of modernity; it's from the Mark IV Horus Heresy kit, I think, and included simply because I happened to find it while digging these models out. I'm half-tempted to find a period gun, but it strikes me that some source lighting glow might be fun to play with. +



+ ... and someone's got to be last, so here's a marine performing the rite of 'technical knock' on his blessed battlegear. Partly forced by lack of parts, and partly for the challenge of having a left-handed marine (repositioning the thumb was an experience), I'm pleased with the result. It also leaves the chest decoration visible – and that's noteworthy because it's got that distinctive gem that seemed almost a Jes Goodwin hallmark around this time. +

+++

+ inload: Tournament-ready Titan Terminals +

+ Tiny (Dark) Mechanicus and magnetic Titan Terminals +


+ News in from GW today, a preview of the first Dark Mechanicum models, soon to be released for Legions Imperialis – and also playable in Adeptus Titanicus. I was finding it quite difficult to visualise their size, so worked up a rough size comparison. Take it cum grano salis as it's based on eyeballing the height of the bases (which is the same across the range), and also assuming that the infantry – that is, the little base on the left – is 25mm in diameter. +
+ Size comparison of the new Dark Mechanicus beasties +

+ It looks like the smaller Stalkers are on 50mm bases, and the Overlord (the larger ones) on 60mm. I've popped in some Titans, for comparison too. +

+++

+ Making magnetic terminals for Adeptus Titanicus +

+ I've got a ticket to an Adeptus Titanicus tournament at the Beachhead gaming thingie next February, and thought I'd do a bit of prep. Something that I've wanted to make for a while are Titan terminals that will stand up to a bit of bashing – basically to help avoid any disasters if the table gets knocked! +

+ A picture of one in action. Excuse the imprecise placement of the magnetic markers; I promise they stick on very firmly! +

+ You'll need ferrous sheets. You can buy these from various places, but here's a link to suitable A4 sheets from Warmag: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. Note that these aren't themselves magnetic – that can cause problems with polarity – but rather flexible sheets that magnets will attach to. +

+ The Warmag ones above have an adhesive backing, so all you need do is trim them down to the size of the Terminal, peel off the backing and stick it on – simple as that; no drying time or anything else to do. +

+ The trimming is simple, too. I used a steel rule and a sharp craft knife for a precise line, but you can easily cut these with scissors. +

+ Once in place, you can then simply attach whatever magnets you wish to use. I used small strong mini fridge magnets from BTLIN [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and they clamp on very securely. These particular ones are 10mm in diameter (so fit well on the board), and have a nice little 'lever/switch' look for aesthetics. +

+ Finally, you'll need Titan Terminals. Happily, GW have free downloads of the core three Titans (Warlord, Reaver and Warhound) available here: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. These are A5 (15 x 21cm/6 x 8¼in) in size, and since the ferrous sheets are A4 (21 x 30cm/8¼ x 11½in), you just need to cut them in half to get useable backings for two Titans. +

+ Newer, smaller, thinner, unpunched Terminal. +

+ The key thing to note is that this will only work with the newer thin terminals – the others are unfortunately too thick for the magnets to hold well. I'm going to experiment to see what I can do to make the thicker ones work, too, so keep you occulobes peeled. +

+++

+ If you haven't got both sorts of Terminals to compare, and aren't sure whether you've got thinner or thicker Terminals, the most obvious difference is that the new thinner ones are unpunched: they're simply printed sheets. They're also slightly smaller – just A5 in size, whereas the old ones are sightly larger: ~15 x 24cm. More importantly they are also very thin, so the magnets hold well. +

+ I believe that all the Legions Imperialis-branded kits come with the new thin ones. +

+ Older, bigger, thicker, punched Terminal +


+ inload: Free weapon cards expansion for Adeptus Titanicus +

+ Archaeotech weapons for Adeptus Titanicus +

+ I've created some rules for weapons that haven't appeared in the current version of Adeptus Titanicus, but were in previous Epic games or editions. If you give them a go, I'd love to hear how you get on. +




+ A print-ready PDF version 'Archaeotech weapons v1' is available for free on the Death of a Rubricist Facebook group, under the 'Files' section. +

+++

+ Using the weapon cards +

+ For obvious reasons you shouldn't use these in Matched Play, but they should be fine for Open Play – just let the other player have first dibs! +

+ They'd also be fun to use in Narrative Play, where you might have them as reserve weapons brought out from mothballs/captured from the enemy/precious archeotech prizes from a grateful Forgefane. If you like sticking closely to the Matched Play rules even for casual games, I'd suggest that you use the following stratagem:

Experimental Warfare stratagem

ARCHAEOTECH STOCKPILE

> Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the first round //_

> You may purchase this Stratagem multiple times //_

> The player selects a Titan and replaces one of its Arm Weapons with those marked 'Archaeotech'; or one of its Carapace Weapons with one marked 'Archaeotech' //_

COST: 1

+ The file linked includes a Stratagem card with this text. +

+++

+ Designer's notes + 

+ Most of these weapons are fairly self-explanatory, and many are simply filling in gaps. It's not a complete list, and the selection is largely based on weapons that are available from third party sculptors, would be easy conversions, or simply tickled my fancy for various reasons. The Reaver- and Warlord-scale Inferno Guns, for example, are both there because Lucifer216 plays Legio Infernus (and flamerthrowers are awesome); while the Barrage Missile Launcher is included because it's on Clavigera, one of the Legio Metalica Titans I'm using as inspiration for a new Maniple+

+ The weapons fall into three categories:

+ 1: Location changes +

+ The Reaver arm weapons are simply the Warhound weapons transferred (e.g. Vulcan Mega-bolter); or the carapace version made available as an arm (e.g. Volkite Eradicator); or a halved version of the Warlord carapace weapon made available as a Reaver Arm (e.g. Turbo Laser-Destructor). These are included to allow you to recreate favourite Titans from the past. The arm-mounted Apocalypse Missile Launcher is a good example, as the three-missile support Titan was a classic option from Epic: Armageddon and earlier. These weapon stats/cost etc, are identical to those originals; which seems to be how the other official weapons available to multiple chassis work. + 


+ 2: Iterative creation +

+ Others are iterated versions of those weapons available to other Titan classes. These have all been designed conservatively, so they shouldn't displace any of the other existing weapons – they're intended as fun additions, rather than 'better'. +

+ The Inferno Cannon and Avernus-pattern Inferno Cannon are bigger versions of the Warhound Inferno Gun for the Reaver and Warlord respectively. Like the Warhound version, I suspect these are unlikely to see much use, but I hope they're fun to play with – particularly for Legio Infernus/Suturvora players! +

+ The Quake Cannon is a Reaver-scale version of the Mori Quake Cannon; the stats based on the changes between the Belicosa Volcano Cannon and Volcano Cannon. I reduced the blast size, but left the strength as-is, following the precedent of other solid-shot and laser weapons across chassis. +

+ The Ruinator Chainfist goes the other way – it's a Warlord-scale version of the Reaver Chainfist. I compared the Reaver Power Fist to the Arioch-pattern Power Claw, and then applied similar changes to the Reaver Chainfist to produce the Warlord-scale version. +

+ Finally, the Sumer-pattern Power Fist for the Warlord Titan. A very simple card to allow people to use the Vulcan mega-bolter on the back of the Arioch-pattern Titan Claw. While it never particularly bothered me (the justification that it contributes to the punching power seems fair enough), a close combat build is already unpopular on Warlords, so if this helps to encourage it a little more, that's a job well done, in my eyes! For clarity, the intention is that the Long Range stats only benefit from Rapid; not from Melee or Rending. +


+ 3: Retrohammer classics +

+ Barrage Missile Launcher – described as follows, this was a bit tricky to design, as weapons tend to be either good against shields, or good against armour. I plumped for a combination of special rules that make it either good at 'depleting void shields' (Shieldbane), or at damaging 'unshielded targets' (Rending, Ordnance). The downside to this wonder weapon (for it had to have at least one!) is that it is a 'one-shot support weapon', and is not as accurate as a standard Apocalypse Missile Launcher. +

+ source: White Dwarf 142 +

+ Kamaki-pattern Trident – almost certainly the likely inspiration for the Ursus claw, the original Trident was pure Warhammer 40k (see the original rules below), and I couldn't resist writing up some rules to allow the Reaver to take it, too. The increase in Strength makes it quite a bit scarier on the Reaver, but this is balanced against it being unlikely to be able to be used in a squadron, so the points increase is modest. +

+ source: White Dwarf 142 +

+ In addition to the Plasma Blastgun, the Reaver also gets access to the Plasma Annihilator. This is loosely based on the 'Plasma Cannon' from the original Adeptus Titanicus – a midway point between the Plasma Blastgun and Plasma Annihilator in the original AT; and intended as a midway point between the Plasma Blastgun and Sunfury Plasma Annihilator in the modern game. It is essentially the Sunfury with one fewer shot – and this is why its price is comparatively high. The name follows the pattern of similar weapons; losing the 'special' bit from the Warlord version. +

+++


 







+ inload: Personalising your Titans +

+ Tinctures and markings – adding detail to your Titans +

+ Profugon Iratus looms protectively over a supporting Salamanders detachment during the . +


+ The scheme and method I used for this Reaver are detailed in an earlier inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], but I hadn't had a chance to post up the Titan with the details and markings in place – so I thought I'd gather some thoughts on how to detail your Titans. +

+++

+ Theoretical: Why personalise your Titan? +

+ Titans have a will and personality of their own. The character and identity of each War Engine is unique, and is informed and shaped by the actions in which it walks; the Princeps that direct it; and the Legio to which it belongs. +

+ One of the Mysteries of the Adeptus Mechanicus states: 'The Soulless Sentience is the Enemy of All' – a half-understood lesson passed down by rote since the Age of Strife, when Abominable Intelligence nearly wiped out humanity. It is because they are invested with a sentience of their own that Titans are unlike mechs and similar giant robots in most other  sci-fi properties. No mere vehicles, the War Engines of the Collegia Titanicus are beings with a drive and character of their own. It's good to reflect that in your models. +

What's a Titan without a history and a name? Just a bit mound of metal.

+ Titans are individuals, and deserve some extra time and effort to reflect their nature. This is a key part of to their appeal to the painter and modeller. Quite aside from anything else, you'll only have half a dozen or so in your whole force, so you really can go to town and make a character out of each of them. +

+ Nameplates +

+ A nameplate helps to establish your Titan's legend. It provides insight into your Titan's background and makes it less anonymous to viewers. There are a few different places you can buy them, but I've always been slightly apprehensive about spending money on one only to find it doesn't quite look how I wanted. +


+ Alex and Johnny at Maximal Fire put me onto BattleBuilder, (battlebuilder.net) which launches today. The neat things about this option is that it lets you get things just as you picture them – it's got a live visualiser, so you can play about with fonts and styles, change the size of the base and look at it from different angles 'til you find the one that's right for you. + 

I'll be posting more about it in its own article – but suffice to say that I'm looking forward to adding a plate to Profugon Iratus – just as soon as I can make a final decision on style! +




+++


+ Practical: How to personalise your Titan +

The Titan Legion you've chosen will inform how you plan things. Nearly all Titan Legions have bold heraldic scheme. (If you'd like some general guidance, I've written about planning heraldic colour schemes before in this inload). Your details need to stand out, without covering things completely or muddling the overall impression. +

How much to paint? +

To ensure things don't get too fussy, I recommend that you leave between three-quarters and two-thirds of the base scheme showing – that is, leave a number of plates in the main colours of your Legio. If you've used parts with sculpted detail (like the kneepad of the yellow Legio Validus engine below), then count these amongst the detailed ones. +

+ Legio Validus engine on the left, Legio Maximal on the right +

+ Where to add the markings? +

+ Once you've decided how many plates to personalise, the next step is to decide which plates you want to add the markings to. Find a balance between in-universe narrative and on-table impact. These markings are there to boast of the Titan's prowess and individual history, so primarily need to be visible to the enemy – and as Titan Legions tend to regard their only equals to be other Engines, your Titan's most prominent markings should be at eye level to other Titans. +


+ There are, of course, exceptions. Your Legio may want to inspire their supporting infantry, for example, and so favour markings visible on the chestplate and lower legs – see above for what a Titan looks like to supporting forces. Generally, however, I'd suggest that you have the boldest markings on and around the carapace, as these are most visible to you and the other player during games, and to viewers when they are on display. +

+ Rear view – no markings; just the Legion's colours for easy identificaton by allies. +


+ Front view – the Titan's history and reputation laid bare for all to witness. +

+++

+ What medium to use? +

+ Two main avenues are open to you:(decals) and freehand painting. You can use a combination of these, but try to ensure visual harmony. It'll look odd to have super finely-detailed transfers with relatively blocky freehand, so unless you are very confident with your draughtsmanship, I'd suggest combining freehand only with bold geometric transfers, rather than the very fine ones available from GW and third party suppliers. +

+ I can thoroughly recommend transfers – both the official ones and third-party transfers are available, and the fine detail really helps sell the scale. They're also quick to apply and, being mass-produced, will provide great uniformity across a Maniple. +

+ If, however, you are hesitant about freehand, I'd thoroughly encourage you to give it a go. It doesn't have to be intricate or complex – straight lines are a great place to start, and if you're afraid even of these, then consider using low-tack masking tape to help guide you. +

+ The other advantage of freehand, of course, is that your imagination is the limit. This approach is ideal for creating a Titan Legion of your own. +

+++

+ Let's give it a go – bringing Profugon Iratus of the Legio Maximal to life +

+ This Titan belongs to the Legio Maximal. Here's the video on the Maximal Fire Youtube channel:


+ As noted here, the lore didn't include any mention of the colours, so after a bit of consultation with Maximal Fire's Alex (@peakethepainter) and with some excellent ideas and advice on @no_games_no_glory I adopted the orange and white of the website as the main heraldry. +

+ Black is used for the banners – and if you wanted to paint up a Traitor Engine from the Legio Maximal, you might try orange and black as the main tinctures, with white banners. +


+ As a base scheme, I used Grey Seer highlighted up to white, and Trollslayer Orange – but this is far from definitive. @no_games_no_glory suggested the following, which also looks great:
Primed- Colourforge Bone
Basecoat- Vallejo Rotten White fading into Vallejo Ghost Grey
The flames were-
GW- Mephison Red, fading into Vallejo Lava Orange and then into Two Thin Coats Yellow Flame. 

Trim
Base- Scale 75 Black Metal 
Highlight- Scale 75 Thrash Metal
+++

+ Now for the markings +

+ With the base scheme in place, we turn to decide on the markings. These can be split into two categories: patterns and icons. The former are things like chequerboards, dags, and so forth; the latter simplified shapes – everything from eyes to tridents to flaming swords. Both can inform the themes you choose to bring in. +

+ Most Legios have established common patterns – star charts, chequers, hexes, webbing etc. Where you don't have these provided, turn to the lore for inspiration. +

+ The Legio Maximal's Low Gothic name is 'the Vigilants', referencing their widely-spread nature and responsiveness across a large area. Speed and watchfulness are thus key themes. +


The half-chequers on the right-hand side of the head are done simply by drawing small tessallating right-angled triangles.

+ PatterningSpeed can be reflected through the use of zig-zags – which also nicely nod to Maximal Fire's new logo. Stripes would also fit in nicely. +

+ Icons: Traditional heraldry will often help you find something a bit more exciting than tired old Eyes and Eagles, so use reference where you can. This noospheric node [+noosphericexlaodlink embedded+] is a good place to start, for example. Browse or search for the quality you want to reflect. +

+++

+ Patterns +


The shoulder pad on the left-hand side of this picture shows a zig-zag break made with simple straight lines. +



+ The same principle is used on the kneepad here. For variation, you might swap the colours or direction of the pattern. Note also the repeated striping on the side of the carapace, where the zig-zagging is double. You might extend the pattern across the whole of a larger plate. +


+ Don't look on the trim as a restriction. Broken patterns – that is, where the overall shapes crosses a bit of trim – are possible, and help to ensure the Titan doesn't look too 'bitty'. The groin plate is a good example of this practise. +

+++

+ Freehand +

+ Returning to the carapace, you'll see a large freehand hare in the centre of the carapace. Having a single strong icon as a focal point can be striking. You'll also note a geometric shape (circle) with simple cutlass icon on the right-hand side. +


+ Why a hare? Not the most obviously vicious animal, but all the more notable for that. Hares have a traditional heraldic meanings of intelligence in warfare, and are also familiar for their speed and watchfulness – thus well-suited to the Legio's background. You could do something more  +

+ The cutlass, meanwhile, is a visual nod to the Corsair Cluster – the Legio Maximal's domain and area of responsibility. +

+++

+ Freehand text also falls under this category. You might choose to record a particular campaign, the name of a notable (or current) Princeps, or, as in this example, the name of the Legio's Forgethrone, Nabed-Paleae. +


+ Try different fonts for this – black letter or other serif fonts can be fun to try. +

+++
+ Banners +

+ There's an article on making your own banners on its way, but they are another fun opportunity for you to add some flavour. These – I  confess – were rather rushed, but the principles at play are worth highlighting. +



+ Here you can see the basic idea: a simple larger icon at the top, over a smaller split area that contains patterns or small icons. +

+ The banner between the legs represents the Titan itself, and contains the Titan's name – rendered abstractly, with dots and lines – below a lighthouse icon. Below the name band is the cutlass icon again – this time in white on black; and a series of dots on the right. This might indicate kill-count, or perhaps campaigns in which it's served. +


+ Weapons sometimes have Moderati banners, detailing the feats of the individual master of the weapon. These are smaller, and generally suit a simpler approach. +

+++

+ Personality and finishing touches +

+ It is intimidating to paint the first Titan of a new Maniple (or Legio!), but as you can see here, the process is easily broken down into manageable chunks. +

+ If you're struggling for inspiration on things like icons, the Titan's name can provide a starting point. It's also an opportunity to add a final finishing touch to your model – after which your Titan can start building its legend! +

+ This last point is why nameplates are a good idea for gaming. They remind you that you're aiming to tell a story with another player – so having the names right in front of you is a friendly way to help you both do so. Consider which is more immersive – 'Profugon Iratus targets the Dread Hellespontion with its turbo-laser' or 'My Reaver shoots its turbo-laser at your Warbringer'? +


+ Go Big, Go Loud, and Go Maximal! +


+ inload: Eldar Titans in Adeptus Titanicus +

+ Rules for Eldar War-Clans in Adeptus Titanicus +

+ Bloodsong v0.8 – Designer's notes +

+ I've just uploaded version 0.8 of the Bloodsong pack to the Death of a Rubricist Facebook group. A direct link is here: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. The files can be downloaded freely and shared as you like – as always, playtesting notes and feedback are welcome. +

+ Much like the models, the rules are getting gradually more polished. +

+ What's new? +

+ Quite a big update, this one:
  • Rules, weapon cards and terminal for the Warlock Titan
  • Updated Phantom rules based on player feedback
  • Expanded and overhauled the Battlegroup building/general rules to bring them more into line with the Matched Play Guide.
+ Sample of the insides. It's set up to print to A4 +

+ This supplement is now getting to the polishing stage. What's left to do are write up the Maniples (Conclaves), Titan Legion (War-clan) rules and Stratagems, one final beta playtest stage, and then illustrating it. +

+ If you're new to the project, please do take some time to search the blog for previous articles for Designer's notes; and as always, I welcome any feedback. +

+ Enjoy! +

+++

+ inload: Legio Metalica plans and preparation +

+ Delving into the depths +

+ Onto the planning tables +

+ With the theme of a new Titan maniple in mind, I've been enjoying musing and planning. Key ideas for the project are:
  • Cool poses
  • Using Retrohammer schemes on modern models
  • Lighting?
+ I'll be hitting up Bob Hunk for some advice on the feasibility of the latter – check out his tutorials on his blog here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] – as Titans strike me as a good 'big' model to play about on. +

+ The posing we've looked at in the previous couple of inloads, so today I'll focus on the research for the old paint schemes. +

+++

+ Planning a Maniple +

+ Battle Titans – Warlords, Warbringers and Reavers – are my jam. Now Adeptus Titanicus is at a mature stage, I'm coming round to Warhounds and Knights, but I definitely know that I want to field as many Battle Titans as I can fit into the 1,950 points limit for the Beachhead event. +

+ My research therefore started with looking up the old Titans.  I vaguely recalled a battle report having Reavers in. After a bit of noospheric scouring I stumbled upon this precious node [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] which links all the Epic articles from White Dwarf. +

+ Armed with this I could check out the articles, roam the noosphere and gather all the data I needed! +

+ The results +

+ This is the initial list, with the Titans drawn from battle reports in issues 179 and 184, plus the Warlord Old Three Skulls, featured heavily in the Space Marine 2nd edition launch, and Steel Hammer mentioned in the Second War for Armageddon background.  Here's a rundown:

+ Warlord 1 +

Steel Hammer – Malleo Chalybis 
  • Free armament

+ No pict-capture of a model, therefore, for our gallant Princeps Senioris, but on the plus side, I've got completely free reign with Steel Hammer's armament. +

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+ Warlord 2 +

Old Three Skulls – Tricranium the Great 
  • Gatling blaster
  • Power Fist
  • Volcano cannon and vortex missile

+ Tricranium the Great, or 'Old Three Skulls' to his mates, was the Titan used to advertise Space Marine 2nd edition (SM2). One of these came in the box; a reuse of the sprue from the first edition of Adeptus Titanicus (AT1). The studio paintjob – by Mike McVey, is lovely, and there's lots here to provide inspiration for a modern twist on things. +


+ In terms of armament, the arms are no problem: a macro-Gatling and Arioch Titan Power Fist Claw are perfect modern updates. The carapace, however, is a bit more problematic. Neither the Volcano cannon nor Vortex Missile is an option for Warlord carapace, so we'll be seeing Tricranium being fielded with something else – at the moment I'm leaning towards these old-school Apocalypse Missile Launchers for retro appeal. +



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+ The Reavers +

+ Four Metalica Reavers make an appearance in three different battle reports. The first was WD#160, where Mark Watts led a then-unnamed Titan, freshly-painted by Neil Hodgson of the 'Eavy Metal team, into battle in the Assault on Barbarius (against Richard Helliwell's Alaitoc Eldar, for the record). +


+ The second was WD179 in Inferno, the promotional battle report for Titan Legions, between Legio Metalica led by Jervis Johnson and Waaagh! Hargluck led by Andy Chambers. The same Reaver appears here, now accompanied by a pair of others (and the Imperator Cassus Belli). +


+ The three gain names:

+ ...and a fourth Reaver appears in WD184's Abomination!, a battle between Ian Pickstock's Imperial Guard and Gav Thorpe's Tyranids. Lots of lovely Knights and two Warhounds, too. +


+ The new Titan is on the top left-hand side; the three are referred to throughout as 'Ferratus Primus, Secundus and Tertius' – I won't copy the whole thing here, but here's a taste. +


+ For obvious reasons the battle reports re-used models as different characters in-universe, so happily I've got at least one potential name for all four Titans:
  • Reaver 1: Clavigera/Ferratus Primus
    • Vulcan Mega-bolter
    • Chainfist
    • Barrage Missile 
Clavigera/Ferratus Primus

+ Not an easy loadout to translate to the modern game. The Chainfist is straightforward, but the Barrage Missile Launcher no longer exists, and the Vulcan Megabolter isn't an option for Reaver arms (for some reason). Gatling blaster seems a simple change; and an Apocalypse Missile Launcher could work for the carapace. +

+ I might look at strategems or wargear to see if these can be updated – something that changes the way a Missile Launcher or Gatling Blaster behave in some way might explain things and offer a modelling opportunity. +

+ It's a shame that the modern Volkite Eradicator is carapace only, as this low-strength, shield-stripping, high rate of fire weapon would otherwise be a more creative way of updating things. +

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  • Reaver 2: Carnivore/Ferratus Secundus
    • Multi-launcher
    • Turbo-laser
    • Turbo-laser

Carnivore/Ferratus Secundus

+ By far the easiest to bring into the modern game; this is simply a case of using an Apocalypse Missile Launcher on the carapace and Laser Blasters on the arms. + 

+ Since there's not much to say on him otherwise, here's a good opportunity to talk about things common to all four: firstly, the banners, which provide some good inspiration for updating. Secondly, I've just noticed that the three Reavers painted later all have white heads – perhaps an intentional nod to the 'Iron Skulls' Legion name? +

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  • Reaver 3: Castigator
    • Turbo-laser
    • Gatling blaster
    • Warp Missile

Castigator

+ Annoyingly, the oldest Titan, Castigator, seems to be the trickiest to find good pict-captures of, though happily most of the details are there. From what we can gather in the White Dwarf, this model was painted first, and you can see that he's slightly different to the others – I suspect were painted in a group as they're so cohesive. Castigator has gold trim (unlike the others' gunmetal), and his head is red rather than white. +

+ It's worth noting that not only are details like this perfectly in keeping with the varied and heraldic nature of Titans, it's also all grist to the mill of inspiration. I want to evoke the idea of these models, rather than rivet-counting obsession. Let's face it, despite Adeptus Titanicus players tending towards the older side of the hobby, I very much doubt anyone will recognise my resulting models unprompted! +

+ Weapon-wise, Castigator is another easy fit in the modern game. All of his weapons are simple updates to the modern equivalents: Laser Blaster, Gatling Blaster and Warp Missile. +

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    • Reaver 4: Ferratus Tertius
      • Vulcan Mega-bolter
      • Inferno gun
      • Plasma cannon

    Ferratus Tertius

    + Spoiler warning for a twenty-odd year old battle report, Poor Ferratus Tertius gets downed by a faceful of alien goo that pretty much melts his legs off! +

    + Weapons-wise, Ferratus Tertius is the most problematic of all: none of his weapons exist for Reavers in the modern game, so there are a few options. The heat-based Inferno gun could be reimagined as a Melta Cannon (also having the advantage of providing some much-needed finishing punch to the group); a conversion of this using parts from the new Warhound Melta Lance might be fun. The Vulcan Mega-bolter will have to be treated as for Clavigera at the top – and given the awkwardness of this, I think I might simply use the excuse to swap things out for something completely different and otherwise lacking to the Maniple in-game, like a volcano cannon. +

    + The Plasma cannon on the carapace no longer exists, but it does offer a great opportunity to swap in a modern weapon like the Graviton Destructor – something different would be fun, and the silhouette is evoactive of the bulbous plasma cannon... +

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