+ inload: 15mm Horus Heresy +

+ Madness – an exercise in 15mm +

+ The PCRC met up for our first tabletop wargaming in a long time – and longtime PCRC droog Lucifer216 very kindly presented me and the gang with a gift of thirty-odd Space Marines and tanks each. The title of the inload has probably given away the ending, but they're 15mm. +

+++

+ Theoretical: Gaming plans +

+ Teeny-tiny (but not as teeny-tiny as Epic-scale) Space Marines +

+ A whim? A bit of fun? Who can say, but the possibility of 15mm gaming is a tantalising one. I'm keen to try out the now model-agnostic Antares rules, which are freely available from their new home at the Antares Nexus [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. Partially that's because I have really enjoyed the smooth lines and gameplay of Antares, and partially because it's an opportunity to explore the intriguing idea, presented by the authors themselves in the foreword to the core rules:

'[...]it was suggested by several of our play testers that the Core Rules, this file you are reading right now, could form the basis for a game set in almost any futuristic universe and not just the Antarean Nexus peculiar to the Beyond the Gates of Antares background. Although the core rules are designed to cover the sophisticated technologies and machine-centred forces of Antares, all the elements are there to enable players to adapt the game to any background and any model ranges they please.'

[Rick Priestley and Tim Bancroft]

+ I think the Antares 2 engine will be suited to a Horus Heresy-style game, as the game works really well at reinforced platoon-level (that is, about thirty infantry plus a supporting tank or two). The fact that we both have almost identical forces should also help: mirror matches circumvent some of the problems that can skew specialised forces. Basically, you're less likely to have balance outliers if both sides are identical. +

+ I haven't put a huge amount of thought into adapting things, but my current musings include:

• Using the (relatively) low-tech Algoryn as a basis for the Space Marine stats
• A wholesale conversion from inches to cm
• A basic squad size of five
• Keep things as simple as possible to begin
• Consider the use of Army Options to differentiate Legions

+++

+ Practical: why 15mm? +

+ This picture demonstrates the size of the Space Marines. In the foreground is a multi-based set of Epic-scale (~6mm tall), and on the right a modern (i.e. Primaris-sized) 40k piece. The 15mm tall ones are in the middle. +

+ This scale will – I hope – hit the sweet spot for me of visual impact in-game (something that Epic loses) with practicality of company-size gaming (something that 40k struggles with). 15mm infantry is large enough to be interesting to see and paint, but small enough to allow meaningful manoeuvring on a typical game board. +

+ A better comparison with the 32mm marine +

+ Secondly, while I love Epic dearly, I find the infantry dispiriting to paint. They're individually quick to do, but the multiple models on a base makes the practical side of painting them frustrating for me. To that end, I've based these individually. I've used pennies for the bases: cheaper than washers(!), and heavy enough to give the lightweight resin some resilience against table knocks etc. The base is relatively larger than that of a 32mm figure, but fits neatly proportionally between the base size of 40k and Epic. Much smaller and I'd be concerned about stability. +

+ A group of Astartes advances in the wake of armour +

+ You'll notice I've also based the tanks, using 50mm round bases for the Rhinos and a 60mm for the Land Raider. The small size of the vehicles is one of the big appeals for 15mm for me. At 32mm scale, tanks just have too large a footprint to 'feel right' with the 40k rules, but here they're chunky enough to look cool, but slight enough to allow for that elusive 'meaningful manoeuvre' I mentioned earlier. +

+ You'll notice I've also based the tanks, using 50mm round bases for the Rhinos and a 60mm for the Land Raider. The small size of the vehicles is one of the big appeals for 15mm for me. At 32mm scale, tanks just have too large a footprint to 'feel right' with the 40k rules, but here they're chunky enough to look cool, but slight enough to allow for that elusive 'meaningful manoeuvre' I mentioned earlier. + 

+ Basing vehicles is something I've been experimenting with for a while. I find that it helps to place the vehicle both in the army (by giving it another element that matches the force), and in the broader setting. The base acts like a picture frame, making it clear that this is part of the same game. +

+++

+ Force plans +

+ Here's the full force – a mighty thirty Space Marines with their transports and heavy armour support. +

+ The only Emperor's Children marine I've painted in the past couple of decades was a casualty under Ferrus Manus' foot [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], but a vibrant purple is opposite yellow on the colour wheel, so will stand out nicely in battle. Secondly, purple paints tend to have quite good coverage, so I'm hoping that means the force will be quick to paint. +

+ A squad of Emperor's Children emerges from their Rhino armoured transport. +

+++

+ inload: Catachan Spotter for Kill Team +

+ 'Get me fire support – now!' +

+ Another of the Ever-Readies finished up on the painting block last night. I was working the remaining half-dozen, and now have just the skin and details to do on the others. I didn't want to end the night with nothing finished, so worked this one up to completion. +

+ He'll be used as a Spotter specialist in Kill Team, so I wanted this role to be clear from the pose. The downside of single-piece metal models is that conversions are considerably more involved. Choice of figure is thus important. +

+ The sculpt is a loader from a lascannon team, so he's (appropriately enough) already pointing out a target to his team mate. +

+ One of the nice things about the Perry sculpts is that they're always well thought-through. This figure works well from any angle, and despite being taken from a two-part mould, has a very naturalistic and convincing pose. +

+ The face was fun to paint; you'll notice that it's worked up to a greater degree than the rest of the figure, in order to draw the eye. +

+ I also added 'Property of 634th' as a bit of kit graffiti. Large areas like the backs of jackets give nice opportunities for details like this that hint at the figure's character. +

+++

+ Catachan Devils +

+ The old Codex: Catachan had the regiments' veterans called 'Catachan Devils' in honour of the ferocious predator of their homeworld. I'm really hoping we see a dedicated Catachan Devils kit for Kill Team. In the meantime, I'll make my own! I'm a little limited by available figures, but I'm aiming to field:

• Sergeant Veteran* with plasma pistol and power sword
• Confidant Veteran with boltgun
• Comms Veteran
• Demolition Veteran
• Hardened Veteran
• Sniper Veteran*
• Spotter Veteran
• Gunner Veteran* with flamer
• Trooper Veteran
• Trooper Veteran

+ That's a bare bones list, with the unfinished figures picked out with asterisks. I'm confident that I'll get at least those done, in which case the Team will be ready to field alongside Tactical Assets (which I was tempted by anyway, as the idea of calling in off-table support seems quite fitting for the pulp Vietnam War-inspired Catachans). + 

+ If I manage to get them done, then the stretch goal will be to replace the Tactical Assets with:

• Bruiser Veteran
• Medic Veteran
• Trooper Veteran
• Trooper Veteran

+ But even these specialists will be counts-as figures (e.g. the bruiser will be armed with a chainsword, not a trench club), until I can spend some time sourcing some more appropriate models or convert them. +

+ Finally, I'd really like to build a Catachan-themed ogryn for friendly games. Ogryns are a favourite of mine, and they seem very fitting for a Kill Team-style narrative. It'd have to use homebrew rules for the moment, unless I swap over to using the new Kill Team Moroch Traitor Guard rules, which include an ogryn. +

+++

'No, over there!'

+ inload: Catachan 634th – The Ever-Readies +

+ The Ever-Readies – Catachan 634th +

'He raised his eyebrows at the question, then leaned in with a conspiratorial grin. "Regimental Motto? Well, 'ficially, it's 'Wherever, Whenever, However'. Ain't remember a time no-one used those words 'zactly, of course." 

You couldn't help but respect the Catachans – for all their burliness and noise and flash, their fieldcraft was second to none.'

[+Ambrose Osctain, Embedded with the 634th+]

+++

+ Last time we looked at the Catachans here on Death of a Rubricist was to look at the two special releases – the Catachan Colonel [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] and sergeant 'Ripper' Jackson [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. Since then, I've been the recipient of a kind gift of a dozen or so Guardsmen from fellow PCRC droog Omricon, and have picked up a couple of specialists. +

+ What does that spell? That's right – Kill Team. +

+ I'm delighted to say that we've got a big meet-up planned for the first time in... ooh, a couple of years, I think; and Kill Team is on the agenda. Amongst others, rumour has it Warmtamale is bringing his Kroot. +

+ Do I bring one of the many things I've painted in the big lacuna since we last met up for gaming? Of course not – this is our gang, the PCRC, where last minute panic-painting is de rigeur. Onwards with some Catachan Devils from the 634th, then.+ 

+ From left to right, the squad so far is made up of a Comms Veteran; two Trooper Veterans; a Hardened Veteran (the Catachan Colonel, with the power fist counting as the bionic arm); a Confidant Veteran (Sergeant Jackson, whose boltgun fits in perfectly with this role) and a Demolition Veteran. +

+ We've looked at the previously-painted figures elsewhere [Vizref: inloadlinks above], so here we'll just look at the newly-painted additions. +

+ As I've harped on about before, the Catachans offer a great opportunity to practise painting skin. Unlike most of the bare-faced figures I paint for 40k, I wanted the Catachans to (mostly) look vigorous and healthy – a perfect opportunity to try out rich, tanned skintones from a variety of ethnicities. +

+++

+ History of the Guard +

+ All sculpted by the inimitable Perry Brothers (the Catachans largely by Michael, I believe), the 90s-era Imperial Guard models have lots of sentimental value for me. I'd owned the Rogue Trader plastics and metals, but these larger-than-life single-piece figures were full of the character and motion typical of the Perry Brothers' work. +

+ While they're certainly more caricatured and 'heroic scale' than the cool new Cadians revealed yesterday, the exaggerated features and single-piece nature made them also hugely rewarding to paint. Indeed, I think my 2nd ed Imperial Guard army, led by a Rogue Trader model rejoicing in the name Colonel Whittaker, and made up of a motley mix of Catachans, Cadians and Valhallans, was the first fully-painted army I owned. +

+ Each of the Imperial Guard Regiments was originally released as a ten-man boxed set. The Catachan Jungle Fighters box included a sergeant with a bolt pistol and chainsword, melta gunner, missile launcher and loader, and five lasgunner sculpts, two of which were duplicated. The figure above is one of the duplicate lasgunners. +

+ After the various Regiments had all been released, follow-up waves expanded each range. These typically included four new lasgunner sculpts for the regiment; a new sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain; a vox-man; three additional special weapons; and more heavy weapons teams. This particular trooper is from the later expansion blisters.  +

+ The Catachan Vox-trooper is one of my all-time favourite sculpts, as it really sums up the Imperial Guard: engaged, resolute, and disciplined – but with a definite sense of weariness and being under-supplied. +

+ This particular example is second-hand, and came lacking a vox-backpack (replaced with a plastic one) and the aerial on the handset. +

+ The Catachans were unusually well-served in comparison with the other Regiments. They got their own mini Codex, which was accompanied by a few news metal specialists, like this demolition trooper. In the next inload, I hope to bring you a look at one of the heavy flamer troopers and snipers that was released at the same time, too. +

+ Besides these additional releases, they also got a plastic kit (not a favourite of mine); a Catachan sentinel sprue; a special release grenade launcher (making them the only regiment that had access to all the special weapons); and, later still, some new officers. These were released later than the others, and so are rarer to find second-hand. + 

+ The holy grail of Catachan collectors is the banner bearer, which remains unreleased. +

+++

+ In terms of paint scheme, I've gone for:

• Uniform combat trousers (the method's detailed in the Sergeant 'Ripper' Jackson inload linked above, but basically Gretchin Green and Zamesi Desert patches over Halford's Brown Primer); 
• Charadon Granite gun casings and hard equipment (grenades, scabbards and the like); 
• Battle Green soft equipment (pouches) and armour;
• The bandanas, jackets and shirts will be slightly more motley, and provide the contrast and impact of the scheme. The vest are usually white, yellow or olive green (i.e. the same colours as in the camouflage trousers), and the jackets are green or Charadon Granite. The latter are differentiated from the hard equipment by getting a warm Agrax Earthshade wash rather than the Nuln Oil black used for the equipment.

+ This WIP shot shows some of the colours I'm using, including the two for the bases (on the left). It's also a sneak preview of another two on the blocks. +

***

+ Halfway there, and three days to go +

+ The full set. Which models can you pick out? +

+++

'The God-Emperor needs your service, soldier. He ain't here right now – but I am; and I need you to capture that hill.'

[+Colonel Carl 'Mustang' Oakland , 634th Ever-Readies+]

+ inload: Aliens and all sorts +

+ Aliens and all sorts +

+ A bit of painting this week, as I get ready to attend the Antares 2 Bootcamp over in Wiltshire – exciting! +

+ The new version of the game brought a few minor changes, one of which is that units of Tsan (the spidery aliens above) are now fielded in fours, rather than threes. Being sold in threes was a consequence of manufacturing, apparently. No longer being subject to commercial pressures, details like this are being brought in through the different army lists. +

+ While the option is built-in to allow you to downsize the unit to three, I thought it'd be a nice excuse to get a couple more painted up. I used the same techniques and paints as previously for this rough-and-ready paintjob, except that I decided to introduce a different skintone for these two. I just thought it'd make a nice change. +

+ Lurking in the background of this picture is the other new addition, a (checks notes) Tograh MV2 transporter. +

+++

+ inload: Sons of Simargi – Death Guard +

+ And while spraying up the Isorians, I also decided to spray some (very) patient Death Guard up: voila. +

+ inload: Born for death +

 + Silver Stars Predator +

+ Riverhead commands a Predator forward during the Machinedeath +

+ It's been a long painting drought for me, but I sat down over the weekend and went back to a fittingly forgotten project. I dug out this Silver Stars Predator, which has lurked undercoated and with the base metallics in place, for ages. +

+ Far too many half-finished Silver Stars here! It's been so long since I've painted one that I was glad to have my recipe recorded [+noospherinloadlink embedded+]. Turns out that having the blog as a record is useful after all! Besides this Predator, I've got half a dozen more Silver Stars Tactical marines and a squad of Terminators (you can see one peeking out from behind the Predator above) to paint, some further along than others. Having returned to the scheme after a while, I thought it best to start on something a bit special (in this case a tank) to help get back into the swing of things. +

+ A few minutes allowed me to block in the basic colours. I've seen a few different interpretations of how the Silver Stars scheme can be applied to armour (all of which look great!), but the key thing I wanted with my rendition was to balance the rose and turquoise against the white. +

+ As you can see about, I've laid in the first layer of oils. The base-coated tank was varnished prior to the addition of oils, as described here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. To add some visual interest, and stop it getting too warm, I used a combination of burnt umber and Prussian blue, applying the latter very sparingly, as it proved dominant. +

+ Detail of the oils on the turret. I just love the effect, even at this stage. +

+ Oils take quite some time to dry (well, oxidise), so it's now sitting pretty. The next stage will be to return and paint the metallics. From my limited experience with oils, the solvents don't seem to play very well with metallics, making them dull or lifting them off entirely, so I've opted to add them on top, then weather them down either more sparingly than the rest, or perhaps use some inks in place of oils. +

+ I'll also be re-applying some white to clean up the tank a little – in comparison with the infantry, it's looking rather beaten-up. Of course, that's quite fitting for the article in which it'll be showcased (that of the Machinedeath on Null, in which colossal amounts of armour is destroyed), but I think I've been a bit heavy-handed with the damage at this stage – particularly as I'll be further weathering later on. +

+ There's a balance to be struck here. On the one hand, I always want to enjoy my painting, so I experiment to keep things interesting. That's the way I've found best to stumble upon new techniques and ideas... but it works against a uniform finish for an army. Personally, I don't mind a slight hotch-potch variance (in fact, for some armies it's a positive boon), but I don't want this Predator to stand out too much from the rest of the army stylistically. +

+++

+ Choosing the placement +

+ When working out paint schemes for armoured vehicles, I try to get down to a figure's eye level. It's all very well having a scheme that looks good overhead, but Space Marines are all about heraldry and announcing the Chapter's (or Legion's) presence on the battlefield. To that end, I wanted to make sure that the enemy would see the right balance of the pseudolegions' colours. +

+ I kept a finished marine near to hand for this, and considered the front of the tank as equivalent to the torso. The Deimos Predator happily has a bit of reinforced armour on its glacis plate, which echoes the collar of Crusade armour. That's a perfect spot for the metallics from the scheme, and I think the addition of the brass here and gunmetal elsewhere will go a long way to making the model 'pop'. +

+ As the glacis echoes the torso of the infantry, so the wings of the vehicle represent the shoulders. I toyed with having stripes down the sides, but while this would work well for Rhinos, the sponsons mean it's a bit of a non-starter for this Predator, making things confusing there. Instead, I decided to add a stripe to the wings. Note that I haven't filled the indented area, but rather added a freehand stripe. It seemed a bit too large an area to paint he vibrant, eye-catching pink, and would dominate the more subtle turquoise and white. +

+ If the front is the body, the turret's the head, right? I decided not to paint the whole thing turquoise (my initial plan), and instead go for a more stylised interpretation by painting a strip of the turret. In contradiction to my points above about heraldry above camouflage, having some markings visible from the air/orbit seemed a pragmatic (and dare I say more realistic?) application of the scheme that, crucially, also looked good to me. Sticking with theory's all very well, but don't sacrifice the opportunity to enjoy exploration entirely when you're doing something like this. +

+ At this point, I decided that the sides of the tank didn't say 'Silver Stars' to infantry, as they just showed white and rose. To fix this, I painted the sponson targeters turquoise. Perhaps they're regarded as the machine spirit's helms by the Legion, and thus treated as a helmet? +

+ Anyway, here's where the Predator stands at the moment. The windscreen is orange as an experiment – pre-oils is a perfect stage to test out accents that you're unsure of, as you'll seal it off and can either follow up or cover over as you choose. +

+ Hopefully I'll find some time to make further progress with the Stars soon. +

+ inload: Gates of Antares 2 +

+ Going Beyond +

+ Well, lots going on in the world of wargaming. Squats are back in 40k, a new  edition of the Horus Heresy-themed Age of Darkness game, and after a long delay, we've got the second edition of Beyond the Gates of Antares. +

+ The sad news is that Warlord Games have decided not to support it further – not entirely unexpected, but disappointing. The good news, however, is threefold: 

• The models will continue to be produced, via a third party
• The game will continue to be supported by Tim Bancroft and Rick Priestley
• The rules are largely the same, but laid out a bit more clearly – and they're also completely free!

You can read more about Antares 2 on the new Nexus [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], which is where you can download the rules and army lists, and also read about the universe and factions. +

+++

+ Off to Bootcamp +

+ To celebrate the launch, Tim Bancroft has organised a bootcamp event, which I'll be heading over to with fellow PCRC member, TrojanNinja, who's picked up some Ghar (don't worry, there's a cream for that). +

+ This seemed a perfect chance to finally field my Isorians – Karba's Huntsmen [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] – and learn how to play the new rules. Having gone through the new armylist, it looks like I've got around an 80pt list from which to pick. I don't yet know what we'll need to bring to the event, but I'm fairly confident that'll be more than enough. +

+ There are a couple of tweaks – Tsan Ra (above) are now fielded as standard in fours, rather than threes, for example. There is an option to drop a model, but since I have a couple of spares, I'll likely paint up the additional members to field four-member squads. +

+ Support weapon teams are now accompanied by batter drones (these project a protective force-field), so I'll convert and paint up a couple of those, too. +

+ ...and while I'm planning, I also got my new transport sprayed and ready for paint. It'd be nice to take a vehicle along, so I can learn how tanks and fighting vehicles work – plus it's a cool model! +

+++

+ inload: Age of Darkness +

+ Entering an Age of Darkness  +

+ Burn! +

+ Hobbying has been taking a back seat recently, so apologies for the break in astrotelepathic transmission. In getting back into the swing of things, I've been digging through my backlog. I always find that a better thing to do in the Spring, rather than at the start of the year – perhaps something to do with the better light. +

+ Anyway, on the horizon is a new boxed set for the Age of Darkness – or Horus Heresy setting. Lots of cool stuff that's hitting all the right retrohammer notes, like a sea of beakie space marines. In looking forward to that, I thought I'd dig through some of my work-in-progress Space Marine armies. +

+++

+ Sons of Simargi +

+ Probably the least likely to receive beakie reinforcements are my Death Guard, as they're made up of the gribbly (and awesome) Plague Marine sculpts. These have lurked since the start of the Covid pandemic – I hadn't really felt in the mood to remind myself of plague! – but it was good to go through and see that I'm a bit further along with them than I'd remembered. +

+++

+ Word Bearers + 

+ Definitely set mid-Horus Heresy, during the Battle for Calth, my Word Bearers likewise stalled mid-way through, though here that was due to the scheme being so similar to the Blood Angels I had been working on. I've been tempted to do a bit more red paint recently, so perhaps I'll dig through and start these up again. Oddly enough, I think the principle block is that they're a relatively small project – just ten or so marines and a Dreadnought. Too much for an evening, but not enough to be worth really dedicating myself to. +

+++

+ Salamanders +

+ With plans afoot amongst the Baraqu group for an Age of Darkness weekend over in Cambridge in September, I thought I'd see whether the muse would let me scratch an itch for Salamanders. The figure above is a loosely blocked-in tester for the army, which will use my trusty truescale marine tutorial [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] with a couple of modifications. +

+ For whatever reason, I've always had a vision of Salamanders as being slightly bulkier than other marines, and thought that using Heavy Intercessor legs might help suggest that. They'll require quite a lot of conversion and resculpting, and to that end, I thought I'd give casting a go. Hopefully I'll be able to share my findings here! +

+++

+ inload: Monumentalis – Warmaster Titan +

+ Warhorns +

+ What does every Titan Legion need? That's right, a Custodian Titan to bear the devotional bell and generally be awesome. I treated myself to a second-hand unbuilt Warmaster (a temptingly cheap bargain, as it had no Terminal), and wit hsome additional bits and bobs from Battle Bling [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], got started. +

+ I think basing is incredibly important in Adeptus Titanicus for two key reasons. Firstly, the Titan bases are enormous, and it looks really strange if they're just a flat, uniform texture and colour. Secondly, it's the easiest place to establish a visual scale – that is, you make the Titan look appropriately large by putting small things on the base. +

+ Here, I started by gluing a square of cardboard on one side to act as the pediment of a building. Big skyscrapers rarely rest directly on the surrounding ground, but on their own base. A little border or mount goes a long way to integrating a ruin like this (taken from my dwindling supply of Epic: 40,000 terrain). Once the glue had dried, I used a pair of scissors to trim the excess flush with the top of the base, then repeated the process to make a tiered step. When doing this, I find it helpful to think about the practicalities of scale. Steps that are taller than a human aren't going to be very practical for the inhabitants of the city. +

+ You'll also note the stone formation. I wanted to add some elevation to the base, as this helps with dynamics. I particularly wanted this Titan to be stepping down. The stone formation is simply two small pieces of foraged slate glued together. To help sell the scale, I've integrated them together with textural gel and sand, but left some areas bare. +

+ One key thing that often gets left off Epic-scale ruins is flooring. A little bit of cardboard – like this business card – goes a long way to fixing that.  This is simply glued in place, and a couple of extra bits added on top. Rubble is suggested by some sprue offcuts. +

+ Next I needed to put the Titan on! I started from the feet and worked upwards, dry-fitting repeatedly to ensure I got the pose I wanted. Few things in the hobby are more disheartening than realising you've glued an expensive model together in an awkward-looking pose. +

+ Monumentalis +

+ And talking of awkward poses... while I'm very happy with the overall look, the extreme positioning I'd done with the pistons meant that the smaller armour plates don't fit. [SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT] +

+ With my other Titans, I'd dry-fitted the armour to avoid exactly this. Here, I'd decided to try some experimentation on painting and assembling. One part of this was the decision to spray the armour separately, to save myself some time later. Unfortunately, as I was under some time pressure, that meant the paint was drying while I was building. +

+ The result isn't disastrous, but I am going to have to go back and make some minor adjustments – frustrating, particularly as we're talking fractions of millimetres here! +

+ On the positive side, the Warmaster Custodiwn already looks the business in bright yellow, and the time I lose on the feet should be made up by the time saved on painting. +

+ In closing, what a glorious kit! As with the others in the range, the Warmaster is a stunningly well-engineered model. +

+ Pictured alongside a Reaver, the Warmaster's physical size is really something +

+++