+ inload: Salamanders Terminators+

+ Under burning sands and rocks, Salamanders emerge +

+ A quick look at some minor progress in the Dust of Armageddon project. +

+++

Ambition's great, but is can also be restrictive, and January's a great moment to say to yourself 'This idea has been lurking half-baked for too long – just get moving.'

It's with this in mind that I dug out some sprues that have lurked unbuilt since the release of 10th edition 40k, and set to building.

+ Librarian +

The stock version of this sculpt is awesome, but I couldn't help myself when it came to building him, and made some simple changes to personalise him a bit:

 

The head's from the Terminator squad, and fits nicely with an artwork that's stuck with me, of a power-armoured Librarian from Codex: Armageddon. Perhaps this chap is the same figure at a later stage of his career?

Beyond that, the brazier is from a Chaos figure, I believe – maybe the chap yelling and waving a book? – and the rest of the conversion work is little more than a slight repose on the axe arm.

+ Commander +

Every force needs someone in charge, and so this Terminator captain has stepped into the fray. The thunder hammer is from the old Space Hulk Terminators (I've made this picture black and white to hide the red plastic), and is understated – clearly a figure who appreciates that less is sometimes more in craftsmanship. I've tweaked the wrists and positioned the head to be looking upwards as something even bigger than he is: I wanted a wary but determined and confident look. 

While adding the details like the tongs and brazier (like the head, all taken from the Salamanders upgrade sprue), I couldn't help hearing that line from the Marvel Thor film:

'You're big. I've fought bigger!'

+ Elites +

What are officers without their troops? The last things built were a Terminator squad. These are pretty much straight from the box, though I swapped the arms around, added some details like tilt shields, votaries and such like from various marine kits, just to differentiate them from the other push-fit models.

Nothing here was particularly difficult or notable, beyond scraping off the Terminator sergeant marking on the marine at the back. I already used another copy of that base figure as the sergeant for my other Terminator squad (below), and wanted to avoid duplication.

Prior to building, I also worked a little on some of the models that have been lurking too. This was fairly monotonous: painting the bases, the hands and picking out blacks on the figures. It's odd coming back to figures after a long time. I'm sure I'll get back into the swing of things, but for the moment it's still feeling a bit untethered!

+ inload: 8th Squad, 2nd Company +

+ Squad Greon; 8th of the 2nd Company +

+ Another inload that's been lurking ready to polish off. I can't quite believe that, apparently, I finished these in 2023(!). I guess in between other projects and painting their Epic-scale counterparts, it has been a while. +

+ This inload has remained embargoed in this noospheric node because it was orginally intended as a series – but rather than sit on it forever, I thought you might like to have a grand sweep! +

+ Below, then, is the extent of my finished Salamanders – though there are more on the way. After all, what reinvigorates interest in a project more than taking a look back over the finished ones? +

+++

Unlike the others, his measure of patience had run dry some time ago. Another breakdown. Another pause. Volkaeus Orurr breathed out testily.

Looking for a distraction, he reached for the rail and clambered up to the Rhino's roof one-handed, his boltgun in the other. Magnificence was not the fastest transport in terms of raw speed, but unlike the convoy vehicles, he mused darkly, it could keep going. 

The transporters were not vehicles intended for service in hostile environments like the Dune Seas. With a regularity that struck Orurr as perversely ill-fitting to their mechanical reliability, every few hundred klicks one or another of the tankers or luggers would slew to a halt as filters clogged, tyres slumped, or the over-stimmed and under-rested hiveborn crew passed out in the unaccustomed heat. The convoy would pause, on edge and nervy, as the errant vehicle was coaxed back into life, winched back onto the track, or otherwise repaired. 

The worst were the failures that billowed thick, oily smoke – as potent a signal as any the orks might hope for. Easy pickings here, the coiling smoke suggested.

Not for the first time, the Salamander cursed the name of Herman von Strab. According to Captain Mir'san, it was largely owing to the Imperial Commander's arrogance and mismanagement that these intra-hive transports were all that was available for the backline armies. Hurriedly fitted with bulky external breathers and heat shielding before being filled with vital water, fuel and materiel, the vehicles were slow and unreliable – and thus the convoys were perfect targets for the roving greenskins.

The cream of Armageddon's armies had been lost in the early conflict, and the replacements far from confident. Upon his arrival, Chapter Master Tu'Shan had been appraised of the situation by Captain Galenus of the Ultramarines' 4th, and had immediately taken it upon the Salamanders' broad shoulders to ensure the world could fight; that its vital roads and arteries would be protected from roving marauders. Clapping his cousin on the shoulder in gratitude, Calgar had made his gratitude clear that the Ultramarines would be freed to prosecute the offensive. 

+++

The ever-present chemical tang was acerbic; but the height afforded by the Rhino gave him a moment's relief. The vehicle crews needed rebreathers in the hot, dry air, but the Space Marine's genewrought might made the air merely unpleasant. He wrinkled his nose in distaste and looked about him.

Armageddon's sun was low in the sky, red and ominous. Dark spots across it marked orbital defences – or more likely the wreckage of the same. The ground was seemingly an endless sea of yellow-grey dunes; the road all but hidden. Orurr's belted helm knocked against his leg as he straightened up. 

Nothing for five hundred miles in any direction. No landmarks save the distant hive – and that had long been swallowed by the dust. Not even Astartes' vision could penetrate that.

+++

+ V'reth Tardisdemi +

Previously known as Man'Ekes Kenndh, he adopted the name V'reth Tarsidemi following his tempering. Noted as 'Melancholy of aspect and pensive by nature', Tarsidemi appeared to regard his promotion to the Battle Companies as part of a great cycle; an inevitable result of his forebear's consumption in the pyres of warfare, rather than as a result of any exceptionalism on his part.

Regarded as over-analytical and tiresome by his previous squadmates in the 6th Company, he was an uneasy fit amongst the Flamehammers. He found a more fitting place within the Defenders of Nocturne, where both his asceticism and his appreciation for aesthetics came to be regarded as strengths.

+++

+ Cassax Fo'ken +

Bastards. That was what they always were. Fo'ken had fought seven different species of Xeno bastard, and been involved in wars on seventeen different campaigns involving human bastards. Oh, they varied – different weapons or tactics or heights, novel spines or scales or ululations – but all that mattered, to Cassax Fo'ken, was that they were bastards that he had to kill.

The orks were no different. Not for him the Salamanders' ritual term – the gurm kenndh, or 'Old Enemy'. No, to him, the greenskins were simply bastards. Small bastards, big bastards, bastards with big guns... It mattered little to him.

In truth, he was an outlier. The first to be assigned to Greon's squad, Fo'ken was as dependable as any of his brethren – though few sought him out for comradeship.

+ Typhak Numatone +

Unequivocal and single-minded from an early age – 'from the cradle,' joked his parents – the boy who was to become Brother Typhak Numatone had the given name of Br'Tra, which meant 'supremacy' in his city's tongue. Whether through destiny, a sense of filial duty, or simple nominative determinism, Br'Tra doggedly purused Ascension, believing it to be the only way to do honour to his family. Such ambition is not infrequent on Nocturne, but Numatone was able to moderate raw drive to avoid pride and become a considered – if impulse-driven – addition to the 2nd Company.

 

The reinforcing studs on his left greave are an example of the customisation that Salamanders are wont to practise on their armour. Famously, every Salamander creates his own armour – and while this is broadly true in terms, it remains the purview (and responsibility) of those inducted into the Cult Mechanicus to truly render it into Power Armour. 

 

+++

+ On Armour +

During their time in the Seventh company, each Scout will work under the auspices of a Techmarine to forge the external plates of what will become their suit of armour. Not all will prove of battlefield quality, and Scouts are encouraged to retain the items they have forged – thus a talented individual will be proudly 'bare-celled'.

 

The pattern of armour a Scout will undertake to create will be suggested after consultation with the Techmarine, Officers of the Seventh, and (usually) a representative of the Promethean Cult. Thus a Scout may begin to manufacture a suit of any STC-approved mark – and in exceptional cicrumstances, even beyond these. By far the most common in the centuries approaching the Badab and Armageddon campaigns was Mark VII plate, vulgarly known as 'Aquila Armour' on account of its prominent eagle-headed breastplate.

 

When the time comes for a Scout to advance to a Reserve Company, they will present their plate to one of the three Masters of the Forge for inspection and sanctification. The Forgelords will assign an underling – usually a Techmarine, but occasionally an adept and sanctioned Battle Brother who has chosen to sponsor the Scout – to convert the suit of inert plate into functioning Power Armour.

 

The newly-ascended Reservist will then use the armour going forward. Most Salamanders will continue to refine their craft, expanding their skills in the forge by creating additional plates or even full suits. Some focus on aesthetic changes such as lizard-scale trimming or patterning visible only to those with Firesight. Others favour practical augmentation of their existing suit, adding sub-surface reinforcement or back-ups to keep their armour functioning under stress. 

 

A few petition the Techmarines to allow them to attempt other patterns of armour, seeking the challenge of inviting the notoriously fickle 'ruh' (machine spirit) of ancient patterns into their creations – this accounts for the relatively high number of seemingly ancient armour patterns in a Chapter that practices ritual destruction of grave goods. Of course, since a warrior will wear only one suit of armour, other surviving suits may remain as relics – and as with other Chapters, it is relatively common for such relic suits to be used for honorifics, either in whole or in part.

+++

+ Yaptan Greon +

+ Adrak Ush'en +

He had filtered out the rattling creak of the tracks, the ever-present squeaks and groans of Magnificence, and Sepor's private murmured mantra. It was harder to ignore the bucking as Magnificence's suspension made heavy work of this rutted, ill-maintained section of road. The Marine opposite, Numek, hammered a gauntlet on the internal door after a particularly rough jolt.

"Zer Nazan, Ka – much more of your driving and we won't need the gurm to kill us."

The driver yelled back an expletive.

 

Ushen grinned. He could have connected his autosenses to the Rhino's slaved pictcapters, but – jolts and knocks notwithstanding – preferred using his own eyes to peer through the vision slits. 

The war was visible. Immanent. Explosions within the smoke lit the low, disturbed clouds. The horizon seemed to smoulder. Ushen's eyes –as yet still dark by nature – glittered as though kindled. 

Even at this distance, the greasy shimmer of the hives' void shields were visible. They illuminated the dust storms around them, each hive a dim and eerie beacon to the invading gurm kenndh. He wondered, idly, if the convoy drivers could see them.

Ushen was under no illusions that the distance from the primary hives protected him or the others from attack – but he was equanimous about this. The Promethean Cult had long since taught him to anneal resignation or fatigue into stoicism and self-reliance. His faith was firm, deep-set; and built on the sturdy framework of childhood tales that had proven very real. The mythic cycles of the stormlizards; the galactic presence of the dusk wraiths; and – of course – the intrinsic evil of the gurm kenndh: humanity's old enemy.

It was as elemental as the dust or the ground. If he were to meet his end here, it would make no odds to his faith.

+++

+ Illor Hak'phast +

+ Mulbaku Numek +

+ On Geneseed+

Those invested with the geneseed of Vulkan demonstrate measurable physiological superiority to transhuman norms in relation to cellular repair. While making them no more resistant to direct damage than any other Space Marine, they have a baseline advantage in overall resilience – in short, making them fractionally harder to put down and swifter to return to battle than other Astartes.

For the Salamanders long history, this has repeatedly proven a critical boon. Most recently, during the mournful Badab War, the veterans of the Second Company were treacherously attacked during a parley. It was partially owing to their unexpected resilience that they were able to survive the attack.

On Armgeddon, their extreme temperature tolerance and radiological resistance – again markedly superior to those of other Astartes – made them well-suited to the hostile chem-and atomic-spoiled environments in which they found themselves embroiled. They are remembered in song on Armageddon for being those Space Marine most closely associated with the populace. While the noble Blood Angels and courageous Ultramarines took the war to Ghazghkull and his horde, spearheading numberless assaults and thwarting key ork advances, the Salamanders under Tu'Shan and his Captains instead turned to the numberless petty battles that raged across the continent.

Fragmented and frequently isolated, the geneseed gifts of their Primarch sire – along with mental resilience cultivated by their peculiar practises – allowed them to operate at peak efficiency. That they are so fondly remembered by the people of Armageddon is particularly notable when one considers the other aspect of Vulkan's gift: their inhuman appearance. 

The Primarch Vulkan is usually pictured as a coal-skinned giant with glowing red eyes. Whatever the truth of the matter – and ten thousand years separates the modern Imperium from the days of gods and monsters – the bulk of his descendants certainly demonstrate similar physical differences. These emerge gradually, and with varying speed. 

+ Nomix Nor'jargan +

+ Dakad Ka +

+++

Apropos of nothing, it's been quite fun sorting out the markings and thinking about the not-quite-Codex organisation of the Salamanders. I keep having to remind myself that the squad system doesn't work like the Ultramarines. Minor stuff, but it's in such details that we can find diversion and enjoyment.

+ inload: Comms-relay found +

+ Re-established communications +

+ Long time no exload, so thought I'd chime in with a quick few notes. Firstly, I've got an Epic: Legions event down in Poole coming up, so have been quietly gathering tiny models. +

+ It's been a bit of a Catch 22: I don't want to waste time painting stuff I won't take, so I want to work up a firm army list. However,  the supply and releases have been so spotty and unreliable that I can't be sure what'll be available. +

+ However, given that I've not got a huge amount of time, I'm cracking on  with painting what I've got, and I'll have to rely on the mercies of the Dice Gods to make up for gaping holes in my plan. Quite thematic really – I guess the Shattered Legions didn't have all the options they wanted at their disposal! +

+ Still to go here are:

• Thunderhawk  This is actually the old resin from from Forgeworld. The new plastic one – on order since Christmas – hasn't made an appearance.
• Four Dreadnoughts  These have received a spot of black since this photograph was taken.
• Rhinos   There are 21 in various stages of completion here. I'll probably work up a batch of these in between each of the more exciting bits. The details are going to be the awkward bit here. Part of the fun of the scale is being able to do all the little tactical twiddles – but until I can finalise the list, I won't know how many to paint with what markings.
• Bikes  These haven't been released yet, but the rules are out, and I had a little stash of Epic 40k/Armageddon-era ones. Thought they might make a fun little surprise.
• Predators  Three of these six are pretty much ready to rock and roll; the other three are well on their way too.
• Thunderbolt  I'm not a fan of the Space Marine fliers – which in any case are rare as rocking horse droppings at the moment – and in the absence of any other anti-air stuff, I thought this was a perfect excuse to paint up a pair of Thunderbolts that have been lurking since I received the Aeronautica Imperialis boxed game as a gift.

+... and aside from some other odds and sods, that's about it. It works out to roughly 1,200pts (of the 1,500pts limit in the event pack). +

+ The narrative of the weekend is themed around the Corsair Worlds, a region of space defended by the Legio Maximal. For that reason, I'd quite like to leave a bit of space to squeeze in a Titan of some sort – but if I manage to get 1,500pts of Salamanders done, I'll only take the Titan down for visuals. +

+++

+ The Ashes of Armageddon stirred again, this time revealing the Siege of Helsreach [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], if you fancy a longer read. +

+++

+ War of the False Primarch +

+ And finally for this inload, a shot of two Red Fish marines I'm working on for the launch of Stage V of the long-running War of the False Primarch. You can see the Index Astartes for this interesting Chapter here: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] +

+ inload: Epic Salamanders +

+ Salamanders in the Dust of Armageddon +

+ While still work in progress, I thought I'd exload some notes on the painting process for these new Epic models. +

+ The stands above have been sprayed as detailed in the previous inload, shaded with an oil wash, lightly drybrushed with Snot Green and had the black areas (shoulder pads, boltguns) painted in with Black Templar contrast paint. +

+ They have been glued to bases that have been painted with Averland Sunset (on the desert aras) and drybrushed with Ushabti Bone. The tarmac was painted with a neutral grey that was a combination of those two colours, plus a spot of a blue-grey (an Army Painter paint, I think) to make a dirty yellow-grey. Each rim was then painted with Scorched Brown. +

Zenithal spraying and a quick oil wash go a long way to getting models ready in minutes.

+ Having spent so much time preparing them, it was a treat – albeit a slightly apprehensive one – to glue the individual models into place on the stands. While rough-and-ready, the effect is pretty good, I think – and all they really need now is a bit of detailing and tidying-up. + 

+ Jumping straight into painting a force like this can be slightly nerve-wracking, as you're putting quite a bit of time and effort into things without any reassurance that it's going to look good at the end. +

+ The alternative is doing a test base or two. That's not a bad idea, but from experience I know that it's very easy to overdo those test stands, producing something that's practically very difficult to replicate en masse.+

+ The lesson here, I think, is that sometimes relying on your experience and instincts is okay. Don't overthink painting Epic: get the bases complete, paint the models in substantial numbers, and get them to a definite stage all together. The formation above is (give or take a few models that fell off the sprue I was using to support them) roughly half a box, and the other half only awaits the drybrushing and details before they can be similarly assembled. In all, it's taken me perhaps three hours actual work, spaced across a few evenings to allow for drying time. That's perfect at this busy time of the year. +

+++

+ Now I've had a chance to starting painting the new models, I'm favourably impressed. The slightly larger size means that they're sturdier than older Epic kits and also means it's simply easier to paint detail, as there's more surface! +

+ While I don't think it's been stated, it wouldn't surprise me to find that the kits were designed specifically for use with GW's contrast paints, for the details are simple but clear, and the paints work well with them. +

+++

+ Gaming plans +

+ So... what next? I hope to polish off this box of Salamanders over the weekend, by which time my box of Legions Imperialis should – I hope – have arrived. Thank goodness I queued on the dreadful new website for an hour to pre-order two weeks ago, only for it not to turn up, right? +

+ Grumpiness aside, the combination of this infantry kit with the big box should give me a good head-start on an army. Doubling up the Legions Astartes kit means that I'll have the flexibility to use things as separate formations as well as upgrades. +

+ Thought for the day: Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment. +

+++

+ inload: A look at Legions Imperial infantry +

+ A look at the Legions Imperialis Astartes Infantry box +

'Shouldn't we be smaller?'
'Yes, but GW's shipping seems to be taking inspiration from the Adeptus Munitorum, so they'll have to make do with 40k-scale Salamanders for the moment. +

+++

+ First thoughts +

+ For those who played older versions of Epic, you'll find much that is familiar in the new Legions Astartes Infantry kit for Legions Imperialis. Each sprue contains a variety of troop types, so more akin to later releases than the very early single model sprues. You get two identical sprues in the box, each intending you to build:

• 4 stand of Tactical marines
• 1 stand of Assault marines
• 1 stand of Devastators
• 1 stand of Marines with plasma guns
• 1 Command stands
• 1 stand of Terminators
• 2 Contemptor dreadnoughts

+ Double this up and you end up with... not quite enough to build standalone detachments for the new game. Unless you buy two boxes, or combine it with the models you get in the big game box, most of these stands will have to be upgrades to a Tactical detachment, rather than their own thing. +

+ Is this a problem? Well, your mileage will vary. I think the take-up of Epic 40,000 (E:40k) suffered because the boxes both dropped in content and increased in price in comparison with the earlier giant boxes for Space Marine (SM2) – and likewise you ended up with one or two stands of (say) bikes rather than the entire formations you used to get. I'd hate for those on the fence to be put off by the prospect of buying multiples to get useable formations. +

+ Another problem of the two sprue approach is variety. The big SM2 boxes were so packed that they allowed huge amounts of variety right from the off, while I think the cost/value ratio here will mean that people will want to squeeze everything possible out of it. That'll lead to very samey armies, which is a shame. +

+ From my point of view, while it's certainly nice to get lots of variety on the sprue, I think I would have preferred Dreadnoughts and Terminators to have been released separately and have a more focussed box. If there is anything here that you don't want, then the already high price (£30) is a good excuse to leave it on the shelf. +

+++

+ Chapter Astartes – using them in the 41st Millenium +

+ I am pleased to say that the new models in and of themselves are a lot of fun – though not perfect. They are without a doubt a substantial improvement on previous generations of GW's Epic Space Marines. Standing ~8.5mm from foot to the top of the model, there are a variety of poses and lots of lovely detail. As much detail as I'd like? Well, that's arguable. There are lots (and lots) of alternative power-armoured 6mm models, and freely-available files for 3D printing for pretty much every combination of Space Marine you might wish. Lots of those, to be frank, beat these into a cocked hat in terms of absolute detail and lack of design compromises. +

+ I do like to support the creators of the IP where possible, and the convenience and resilience offered by these plastics is a strong point in favour – but I can quite understand anyone who comes to the conclusion that third party models are a better choice for them. The elephant in the room addressed, let's get back to the kit itself. +

+ The kit combines various Mark VI Space Marine infantry models (that is, beakies) with two Contemptor Dreadnoughts. You get quite a few options for Contemptor legs, oddly – four individual legs for each body – while other options are essentially model swap-outs. For example, there are sufficient marines with jump packs to allow for different sergeant load-outs. This is a nice little touch, and means that even if you stick rigidly with the suggested way of assembling, you'll end up with some nice visual variety across your force and even a few spares to scatter about – perhaps on Titan bases or the like. +

Contemptor dreadnought, marine with plasma gun and marine with boltgun.

+ Refreshingly, there are multiple poses for even the basic troops, and this is a step-change for GW's Epic models. The larger absolute size means that it's generally clear which models are which – and painting will help make distinct those very close, like the two above. While it may seem a little thing that you've got more than one Tactical Marine pose, it will make a huge difference to the look of a whole army – and that variety will (I hope) grow with further releases. +

+ It's not all sunshine and rainbows, however. Even a cursory search for the new models online will reveal the extrusions/stretching caused to the poses of some of the boltgun marines by the limitations of the manufacturing method. I'll show you how I fixed this to my satisifaction in a future inload, as I didn't have time to get shots for this one. For the moment, it's enough to say that it's a (thankfully) quick and simple fix. While I personally don't think it's a catastrophic  decision – and my overall impression remains very positive – it's a definite black mark against the sprue for me, and I hope that further releases take the complaints into account. + 

+ The models are designed for the Horus Heresy setting, but as most of the PCRC – my most likely opponents – have ork or Tau armies, I'd like to make sure that these will fit in with the 40k setting; and specifically the Second War for Armageddon. If possible, I'd also like them to pull double-duty and not look too out of place in the HH setting. +

+ While I haven't made any firm decisions on how to finally glue them, it strikes me that the kit is as well suited to building a 40k-style Space Marine Battle Company as it is a 30k style force – and I think scattering the plasma guns and missile launchers around Tactical Squads would both look cool and help differentiate the force from its 30k equivalants. +

+++

+ Painting Epic-scale Salamanders +

+ The 'Winterblade', Pellas Mir'san of the 2nd Company +

+ Salamanders are a natural choice for me here – present in both 30k and on Armageddon in 40k; and also a lovely vibrant colour scheme that stands out well. This force will let me expand The Ashes of Armageddon project – and I think it'll be fun to explore. +

+ It's worth emphasising two very important features of the new sprue: by and large each infantry model is attached by just one point to the sprue, and they have little puddle bases rather than the old big round. These two changes seem minor, but they make all the difference. I'm willing to forgive a little delay for this, as it will make a huge leap in actually getting the models painted and on the board. +

+ Painting +

+ The green I've used to spray them gave me a jolt of nostaglia, as it's the same green as the sprue on my mate Malcolm's original box of Epic +

+ I started off by spraying the sprues with Halford's Camo green. This provided a mid-toned base. Once dry, I removed the infantry from the sprue and cleaned them up – or rather, I tried to. Thankfully, the new sprues benefit from GW's excellent manufacturing, so there are no visible seams, flash or mouldlines that needed cleaning. Even the burrs caused by clipping them from the sprue are on the puddle base, safely hidden away. Whatever reservations I have about GW's logistics and management, I have none for their sprue layout designers. +

+ I also assembled the Contemptors at this point – and while I'm equanimous about their presence of the infantry sprue, I must confess that they are jolly nice little fellows that went together well. The designers have integrated pegs and sockets in the legs, allowing for variety and preventing the bugbear of old Epic – monopose muliples – while also making it a breeze to create cool poses. +

+ The method used is a development of that I've used for my 40k-scale Dust of Armageddon related project. +

+ The next step was to use little dots of superglue to reattach the models on the top of the sprue frame – see the image above for what I mean – and give them a zenithal spray of Colour Forge's Salamander Green, creating a hint of preshading. That completed the preparation for the Space Marines, so onto the bases. +

+ Next up will be an oil wash and picking out details –  and I think that'll pretty much be it. +

+++

+ Bases +

+ From squares to strips to circles, it's not Epic without changes to basing. While my pre-ordered copy has yet to grace my doorstep (grumble grumble), I can't imagine that the base style you use will have any effect on the game – but if you want to try something else, you'll need twenty-two of them, as that's how many 25mm bases you get included in the kit. +

+ First and foremost, you'll notice no recesses in the new bases – and good riddance. The five little holes made placement of models rigid and awkward, highlighting their nature as game tokens rather than cool models. It was a pain to get to the centre figure, unnecessarily awkward to apply and paint basing material, and the slight gaps always seemed to show. I am very much looking forward to putting the models on the bases in arrangements more suggestive of combat than the parade ground. + 

+ The bases come pre-textured with an urban style. Nice enough if that's what you're after, but not great if you want something different. I very nearly decided to just use 2p pieces – they're the same size and give the stands a bit of heft – but then spotted that the underneath of the new bases is ever so slightly recessed. This seems a minor thing, but having the centre of the base raised even a hint makes a surprising difference when playing on the Realm of Battle board I've just painted up. +

+ I therefore got to work with a bit of texture paste and sand. I was going to completely cover each one, but found that some of the detail works quite nicely left exposed, as you can see below. You'll spot I also added some larger bits of grit and a couple of bases from the Titanicus industrial terrain sprue.+

+ Once dry, these were sprayed Halford's camo brown. Once dry, I gave them a light dusting from a shallow angle with Halford's camo khaki to pick up the detail – a very quick scheme indeed! +

+++

+ Closing thoughts +

+ This is a good but flawed kit, and while well-engineered, I think GW ought to up their game. Plastics have many advantages over other materials for Epic, but a key one – economy of scale – is not being used here, and as a result the decision to buy these or source alternatives is not clear cut at all. The compromises made to the sculpts for the sake of single-piece models is (in my opinion) fine, but at full price, and with so many good alternatives, this is a kit I feel reticent to recommend whole-heartedly. +

+ Are these models nice? Yes. Are my opinions coloured by nostalgia? Doubtless. Are these models worth picking up? Well, as always that'll depend on your own preferences. They are unarguably a huge improvement over previous editions – and not merely the expected result of thirty or so years of manufacturing developments. These have clearly been very carefully planned and thought-out, and invested with a lot of love by the designers. Nevertheless, there are also some unarguable niggles that even someone keen to like them and prepared to overlook a few flaws might find not merely annoying, but properly off-putting. +

+ To finish on a positive note, in isolation, these are a delight. For a fan of older editions of Epic, if you'd put this kit in front of me ten years ago, I'd have been absolutely blown away. Full of the weird charm of their bigger cousins, this kit is varied and interesting, and a good balance of crisp detail, and gameworthy sturdiness. These are perfect little miniatures of your miniatures, and I defy anyone to build a few stands of them and not end up with a big grin on their face. +

+ inload: Preparation for battle +

+ Midweek musings +

+ Both The Ashes of Armageddon and Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten have received updates recently – and after you've inloaded the low-down from both of those, there's a more general hobby inload here. Today we've got a few low-key musings, mostly unrelated to one another – but I hope they're interesting to you! +

+ The Ashes of Armageddon +

+ 'Pah – What chance do the greenskins have?' +
[//Famous last words+]

+ This project, themed around the Second War for Armageddon, has kicked off rather nicely, and there are some fantastic artists involved. I'm planning to do a little painting challenge event – something simple like a single Steel Legionary or single ork. I don't want to exclude the Space Marines, however – so I'm wondering if the theme is 'non-combat' or something, to encourage people to paint up munitorum servitors, grots doing interesting stuff, or relaxing crew. Any thoughts on what would get you excited in terms of a contest? +

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+ Steel Legion +

+ The Steel Legion are ticking along nicely, with 11 all polished off. It's going to need more than that to hold back the hordes of Waa-Ghazgkhull, though!  I'm very pleased with how these are coming out. While they're not going to win any prizes, they do look pleasingly improved over their previous incarnation. That's a bit of a relief, to be honest: I never quite know whether a scheme is going to work en-masse, and it's very disheartening to repaint a serviceable model and then find you prefer the previous scheme. +

+ It's surprising what a little detail around the face can do to bring a sculpt to life. While most of these Guardsmens' faces are obscured by the respirators, painting the goggles and picking out the eyes somehow lifts things. For the goggles, I've mainly used blue-grey, but there are some orange and green ones dotted around. This was an aesthetic choice, rather than intended to signify anything. I guess they do allow for differentiation, so could serve a functional purpose if necessary – helping to explain which ones are making shots, or saves; or perhaps picking out the comms-guy – stuff like that. +

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+ Pioneers +

+ Speaking of challenges, I was flattered to be asked to take part in @diceandpigment's 'Custom Chapter Challenge' on Instagram. It seemed a bit of a cop-out to just use one of my existing Chapters, like the Gatebreakers or Silver Stars, so I've painted up a completely new Chapter fuelled by last minute panic. This is Phratr Iustitian of the Pioneers:

+ Action star posing and all +

+ Confession time – while I'd had every intention of really getting stuck in, time ran away with me, so I had to jump in the deep end – he was built and painted in around six hours, which I think's a pretty good run! +

+ The build is simple – one of the new flamer marines from Leviathan, with a weapon, head and backpack swap. The Mark VI backpack is particularly effective, I think; it's a bit bulkier than the ones I usually use, and fits the bulk of the primaris marine. A bit of trimming to remove the neckguard, flaring kneepads and ankle stabiliser things finished him off, then it was into painting mode. +

+ Those of you who've been inloading for a while might remember Sebastian Ottavus Arcimboldo of the Scarlet Blades [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. He used a split scheme with the knees and below a different colour – an approach that I haven't seen much, and one that I thought worth re-investigating. In terms of colour, I wanted a pairing that I haven't seen much, so went for green and purple. +

+ The Chapter badge is the astronomical sign for 'Libra' +

+ He painted up quite smoothly, but looked a little plain, so I picked a simple strip concept, and added some vertical and horizontal stripes in the secondary purple colour. There's not any hidden meaning behind this, but it was nice to find that it's the colours of the Suffragettes. Not entirely convinced the Suffragettes would be pleased with a hyper-human representing them, but who knows? Maybe Ms. Pankhurst would be a Marine collector after all. +

+ These were then decorated with some simple pseudo-Eastern freehand, as the gren and purple combination evoked Ancient Persia, Japan, India and China. I didn't want to make it reductive or a caricature, so I've really opted for 'Space Marine' first and foremost, rather than lean too heavily into one particular real-world culture. +

+ I have no plans for the Pioneers, but it's always nice to have little forces like this in your back pocket. If you like 'em, feel free to give one a go. +

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+ Dawn of War +

+ No, not the computer game.

+ On the pictures of the Pioneer above, you'll spot a new background – and that's my freshly re-painted Realm of Battle Board, now in attractive 'Armageddon Wasteland'. 

+ Gridlines not intentional! +

+ This'll be the first time the 3rd Company have played a game since – [SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT] a 9th edition game against Lucifer216 that I've just realised I never exloaded. [I'll have to fix that sharpish!]. In that case, this will be the first time I've shown the army in battle on the blog, and what better place to take them through their paces than Armageddon, where the GW Studio version fought? +

+ The list I'm bringing is the modern version of the army shown in WD139, so there are three decades worth of progress. Inflation has definitely hit! While the original army was 1,995pts, the modern iteration, based on the Munitorum Field Manual v1.4, barely scrapes past 1,250pts. +

+ Above you can see  the original, and here's the modern equivalent. I ummed and erred about whether to take them as Blood Angels or plain Adeptus Astartes, and ended up opting for the latter, on the basis that I think that's more in keeping with the Rogue Trader/2nd ed. background. +

Faction  Adeptus Astartes – Gladius Task Force
Army rule  Oath of Moment
Detachment rule  Combat Doctrines

• Captain Erasmus Tycho – 80pts Artificer Armour – 10pts
• Warlord
• Epistolary Ureolo – 75pts
• Chaplain Savonarola – 70ptsThe Honour Vehement – 15pts
• Medic Sansavino (Apothecary) – 50pts
• Tactical Squad Raphael – 160pts
• Combat Squad Raphael
• Combat Squad Mephisto
• Tactical Squad Lazarus – 160pts
• Combat Squad Lazarus
• Combat Squad Cleon
• Devastator Squad Castigarius (10) – 200pts
• Combat Squad Paulo
• Combat Squad Michelino
• Terminator Squad Redemptor (5) – 190pt
• Thudd Gun (Thunderfire Cannon) – 90pts
• Techmarine Haynes Mirandola – (part of Thunderfire Cannon)
• Rhino – 75pts
• Land Speeder – 80pts
• Lieutenant – (part of the Land Speeder)

Total 1260pts

+ I'm looking forward to the game – we'll be taking inspiration for the mission from the Armageddon storyline. The Blood Angels arrived alongside the Ultramarines and Salamanders some nine months after Waa-Ghazghkull arrived. In the lore, the Space Marines manage to halt the orks and push the war into a stalemate while the Imperial Guard retrench, eventually triumphing (albeit pyrrhicly!). +

+ The missions from 2nd edition's Battle for Armageddon scenarios booklet focussed on the later war, with the Blood Angels desperately trying to hold the orks behind the river and preventing them from launching fresh assaults. For this mission, we'll be looking at the early war, and filling in some of the gaps there. After all, it's fun to take inspiration from the past, but the purpose of the setting is to give us a space to allow us to write our own fun and explore this most dystopian of settings. +

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