+ inload: Gaming in the War of the False Primarch +

+ Gaming in the War of the False Primarch – and a Kill Team competition +

+ For those inloaders who aren't aware of this site's sister blog, here's a noosphericexloadlink:

+ Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten +

+ Silver Stars Marines +

+ The War of the False Primarch, around which the blog is themed, is a curated and open project that I've been working on for this past year, and I'm happy to say that it's attracted an absolute shedload of talented hobbyists, writers and enthusiasts. It is still open to new contributors, so if you'd like to get involved, an overview and invitation is here. You can also find lots of inspirational pictures and lore of the various forces involved by searching for the tags #thewarofthefalseprimarch and #somethingsarebestleftforgotten on Instagram. +

+ From long experience, I know that hobby projects are easy to begin and difficult to complete, so this was envisaged as a five-stage project to keep it close-ended and relatively compact. The idea was that each stage would spend a month or two looking at a particular part of the War. I built in some slippage, but was rather overwhelmed by the amount and quality of the material that was submitted! Rather than throwing away so much wonderful work, I expanded the scope of the project, so we now have a regular two updates a week on +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+ – Wednesdays and Fridays. +

+ Stage III – Invitational +

+ Silver Stars Kill Team Canticle Chamber Vehemence +

+ It's taken rather longer that I'd initially planned to get here, but we're now on the cusp of stage III, the height of the war. The outline for this is below:

III – For the Warrior, the only crime is cowardice

Narrative: Height of the war. 

Works: We present forces (Killteam up to full army) of each of the Partisan Chapters, plus battle scenes.

Tag: #warriorcowardice

+++

+ Event! +

+ ...and as if I were somehow forewarned, what's coming out next week? That's right – the new edition of Kill Team. I'd like to make this a proper six-week event for you to create a Kill Team for The War of the False Primarch. +

+ Here's the meat:

• Create a Kill Team for the new edition of the game, themed around the small skirmishes that took place during the Sorrowful Years. 
• A summary is below, but it's detailed more thoroughly here.
• You can build and paint your Kill team as any Partisan or Pentarchy Chapter – or one of the other forces present, such as Vigilants, Marines Mendicant, Imperial Guard (Orthodox or Partisan), Ecclesiarchy, Skitarii, Inquisition, Annulus Umbra Chapter etc. If it's present in the war, it's fair game.
• Creativity is king! While I encourage you to make your Kill Team game-legal, don't compromise your vision for it. A bit of counts-as (like the Volkites in my example Killteam above) is perfectly acceptable.
• Post a picture of – and any lore you've written for – your finished Kill Team to:
•  Instagram, using the tags #KilltheFalsePrimarch #somethingsarebestleftforgotten
• The +Death of a Rubricist+ and/or +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+ Facebook group 
• You can use existing models.
• The challenge begins on the 1st September at 11:02am GMT, and ends on 11th October at 02:11pm GMT.

+ I'll feature any Kill Teams that are created on the + Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten + blog in a special Warzone article; and there will probably be a couple of prizes for the ones I think best fit the theme. +

[//Pōmaikaʻi iā 'oe!+]

The Sorrowful Years

In the wake of the assembly, the representatives of the Pentarchy returned to their battered Chapters. So began a three-year period later dubbed the Sorrowful Years for Sectors Morqub and Heliopolis. 

With the Pentarchy Chapters turned inwards, primary defence of the region fell to the Extinction Armada and the forces of individual planets. While garrison forces of the Pentarchy continued to resist the gradual advance of the Partisans, none of the Chapters launched any major offensives. Instead, a low-grade war of small probing advances, espionage, strike and counter-strike began between small groups of Marines and special forces on both sides as they sought to undermine the other sides' efforts to rebuild.

+++

+ Photographing your miniatures +

+ One stumbling block for a lot of beginners is getting decent shots to share. Let me reassure you that you don't need professional kit to get useable shots. +

+ Placement and space +

+ Here's a behind-the-scenes of how I got the pict-captures at the start of this article. As you can see, it's nothing more than a few sheets of A4 cartridge paper set up to form a smooth curve. I've propped mine up on a smartphone stand to get the curve (the weight of the figures keeps the paper in place), but you could use a stack of books, or even the wall behind. +

+ The figures are set up near the front of the paper. That's because you don't need much white below your figures, but you do need as much as possible behind, to fill the background. I rest my phone on the window ledge so that it's roughly at the same height as the figures, approximately 8–16in away from the frontmost model. +

+ Composing the picture +

+ I then use the camera app on the phone and physically move the camera until the screen looks something like this. Note that I'm not very close at this point; I will use the photo app on my phone to crop out the excess. The reason for leaving space around is to avoid having a narrow field of focus; that results in some areas being blurry. +

+ Make sure that you get everything you want in the picture. In the image below, you'll see that the frontmost marine is obscuring the central rear one. You should either move them around or simply include fewer models in the picture. +

+ There's a balance to be struck, as if you leave too much space around the group, then you're not getting the necessary detail on the models, so you'll only be able to use the picture at a fairly small size. +

+ Spend some time considering the placement of the individual figures, too. Rotate them on the spot and make sure that you're getting the best angle for the detail you want to focus upon. You may need to raise of lower the position of your camera lens to get details like the the eye lenses below the helmet's brow. Consider each figure individually. +

+ Speaking of focus, make sure your camera is focussing on the right spot. On my phone, it's simply a case of tapping the screen at the point you want in focus. In the example above, I'd put the focus on the frontmost model's chest – that tends to make sure the face and so forth are crisp, even if the gun barrels, backpack or other protruding bits become slightly blurred. +

+ Light – and taking the picture +

+ Finally, and perhaps most importantly, consider the light. The picture above shows the set-up at night – note the dark window! As I do my painting in the evenings, this is usually when I finish. Resist the urge to shoot now, unless you don't have the option. Artificial lights are dimmer and generally warmer/yellow-tinged. As a result, it'll throw the camera off, and you won't get the best results. +

+ Ideal lighting is bright but not direct sunlight that is falling either on the figure's front, or slightly to one side and front. If the light is coming from too far to one side, you'll end up with cast shadows; if from behind, you'll end up with a silhouette. +

+ Assuming you're in the northern hemisphere, a north-facing window is ideal, as this will get even, indirect light for most of the day (use a south-facing window if you're in the southern hemisphere). For clarity, try to arrange your set-up so that the light is falling as evenly as possible on the figures. If one side is in shadow, you can add a second source of light from the other side  (like a lamp) – but you'll get cleaner results by holding up a white reflector – another sheet of cartridge paper is perfectly fine – on the shadow side. This will reflect diffuse light back onto the figures. +

+ Once the lighting's right, take the photograph. If you are holding up a reflector, it can be difficult to hold the phone steady and take the picture with one hand. You can ask a kind friend or relative, deploy a servo arm, or use a timer function on your phone. The latter is a good way to make sure that you don't accidentally jog the camera or shake it as you press the button to take the shot. +

+ The finished photograph +

+ You should end up with something like the image above. All I have done is to crop it – there's no digital alteration beyond that. I do occasionally colour correct or adjust the exposure (again, generally just using the phone's in-built apps), but if you've got the set up and lighting right, you can get decent results. +

+ Other backgrounds +

+ White doesn't always suit; any neutral background should work well. The image below shows a similar figure on a grainy dark grey background, one I habitually use for my Alien Wars project. Personally, I find using a high-contrast background can make white figures look a bit washed-out, but it's very subjective. The image below is perfectly useable. +

+ Good luck, and hope to see your competition Kill Teams soon – I Want To Know! +

+++

+ Catachan Sergeant 'Ripper' Jackson +

+ They make 'em tough on Catachan +

+ I finished painting Sergeant 'Ripper' Jackson and Colonel 'Definitely-not' Carl Weathers a few weeks back – and they've been here been sitting patiently (lying in ambush?) ready to go up on the blog. +

+ Both are absolutely wonderful models; just the right mix of comic-book exaggeration and fluid realism that I think sums up GW at their best. I collected the original Catachan Jungle Fighter models on release (long since gone on to a better place), but rather fell out of love with the range when the plastics replaced the superbly characterful metals. +

+ Time hasn't aged the infantry kit well (though even at the time it had a muted reception), but the command squad and heavy weapon teams are actually pretty good, in my opinion. The release of new characters gives me some hope that we will one day see a new Catachan range, but I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, I'll pick up fantastic models like this, and hope that one day they'll have some soldiers to boss around. +

+ Since we saw the Catachan Colonel near-enough finished in an earlier inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], we'll concentrate on Jackson here. Painting camouflaged soldiers is a tricky balance. Make the camouflage too realistic and effective, and it'll do its job – leaving your model looking bland or boring. Adding too obvious a contrast can appear jarring. That can work – particularly where the camouflage is heraldic, as on (say) Executioners Space Marines  but here I've tried to strike a balance between a couple of eye-catching areas on contrast and a generally muted tone. +

+ Here, the bandana and light t-shirt frame the face and create patches of tonal and colour contrast with the jacket and skin. The flat area of cloth was given a sense of texture and age with the addition of a touch of yellow ochre (Iyanden Darksun). The same yellow was used for the bandana and also in the first layers of highlighting on the skin, creating a cohesive and warm palette. +

+ Insofar as anyone in the Imperium is a 'goodie', I've always thought the Catachans have a fairly appealing culture of community support, humour in the face of danger and an adventurous spirit. Bringing warmth into the palette by avoiding cold hues except where necessary (metallics, for example) or for intentional accents (green lenses for 'pop'), creates an attractive palette that invites further viewing. +

+ The camouflage patches – Zamesi Desert, Gretchin Green and uh... Battle Green? Or whatever the modern equivalent is – are added over a Halfords brown spray undercoat (from their Camouflage spray range). The pattern matches that used on the Colonel, providing uniformity that makes it clear Jackson's a soldier – even if her veteran status and Catachan demeanour afford her a little personalisation to her kit. +

+ The sword is nicknamed 'amiga' – a little nod to the likely inspiration of the hispanic infantrywoman Jenette Vasquez from Aliens, played by Jenette Goldstein. I very nearly went with an hispanic skintone, but enjoyed painting the warm dark skintone on the colonel (and Inquisitrix Barbari Kills) so much that I decided to use something similar here, too. Imperial Guard are a wonderful place to explore painting different skintones; and the goes doubly for Catachans, with so much muscle on display! +

+ If I find another for a reasonable price, I'll probably work up a conversion – perhaps an homage to Michael Perry and Mike McVey's 54mm Catachan that turned up in Golden Demon years back. +

+ The boltgun and chainsword received the same dull mid-green used in the camouflage patches, and I've highlighted these cleanly to add some harder lines that contrast with the softer blending used on her musculature. +

+ The bionic leg is treated exactly as a piece of military equipment, with the same dull mid-green. I really love the relatively low-tech look. It's a functional replacement for a warrior. + 

+ The dead tyranid on the base was painted red and blue to evoke the hivefleets of the rest of the PCRC, which mostly use these colours. I haven't tried to match any one specifically as they're all done in a lovely vivid, classic 'Eavy Metal style, which would clash with this muted look. To mute things, I added a spot of red to the blue, and a spot of blue to the red. +

+ Lovely sculpt, great model – I can only hope the God-Emperor sees fit to share more lovely Catachan sculpts with us soon! +

+ inload: Goliath truck +

+ Catachan transport +

+ The Goliath truck, released for the genestealer cult army, was far too good not to pinch for my Imperial Guard. Not a hugely involved conversion, this was really a case of getting the posing right on the passengers and crew. +

+ Exploration and trying things as they occur to me – or 'playing', as it's generally known(!) – is a really important part. It's all very well having a precise plan, but sometimes it's fun to have a general idea and explore with the parts you've got. +

+ The gunner here uses parts from a Catachan Command Squad and heavy weapon team. I could have simply done an armswap with the Brood Brother crew body from the standard kit, but it just felt right to make him all Catachan. The body armour is a specific thing I wanted to include; made him distinct from the others. Perhaps Goliath trucks have air conditioning, or perhaps they just suffer from spalling when hit – either way, this chap has decided wearing his standard issue flak jacket's a good idea. +

+ Flags and banners, when added to a diorama or vignette, need careful attention. It's very easy to forget that cloth, hair etc. need to flow in the appropriate direction. Posed on the side, this standard bearer pose reminded me of being on a ferry - a pleasingly carefree contrast with whatever hellhole this group's heading to. +

+ On the back, one guardsman points something out to another. Getting some interaction between the figures is key to making it believable and interesting. (The massive mouldlines on the scabbard, however, are not). + 

+ The heavy bolter is a conversion, combining parts from the Goliath with parts from (surprise!) the Catachan heavy weapon team. An autocannon would have been easier to do, but I do love me my heavy bolters. Much more 40k. +

+ Indirect interaction is possible, too. Note the banner bearer's head is tilted over to the comms-man; as though eavesdropping, or waiting for the radio man to report. I was pleased with getting the hand gripping the railing convincingly. Note also that each guardsman has his rifle close-by, even out of direct combat. Obviously paid attention to their training. +

+ A few final shots to close off the post; hope you like it. +

+ inload: Catachan Colonel +

+ Boots on the ground: Catachan Colonel +

+ War of the False Primarch? No. Augustine Crusade? No. Alien Wars? No. Scallop Star Purges? No. Just a kick-ass model that I wanted to paint? Yes. +

+ ...and of course, being an awesome model doesn't preclude him from being used in any of the above scenarios. Themes, campaigns and stories (to my mind at least) should provide inspiration and a broadening of the possibilities, rather than making you feel you can't using your hard-painted models in different ways. +

+ There's a balance to be struck here, between using your models exactly as you want, and the unspoken social contract that is key to everyone having a good time. All participants having consideration for the other people involved, and what they want out of a game, is perhaps the most important bit! +

+ It's worth noting that being a good person to play against (as opposed to a 'good opponent' in terms of the actual game) doesn't involve just rolling over and running with what the other person/people want to do. Be engaged, be active, and everyone will have a better experience. If you're enthusiastic about something, speak up, discuss, and come to a compromise with your friends; or, better still, create a synthesis of all your good ideas. +

+++

+ Some armies lend themselves more easily than others to being involved in different scenarios within the 40k universe. Guard, Orks and Eldar, for example, are hugely diverse and don't really vary much across the timescale of the galaxy. These armies can turn up anywhere from tiny kill teams to massive apocalypse games, and from the Horus Heresy to the post-Resurrection period of M42. +

+ Some armies/forces require either more though to come up with a cool reason why they'd be fighting – or, as a group, you might come to an agreement not to use them against each other. Perhaps most obviously, highly-themed Horus Heresy period armies don't easily fit into games against Tau or Tyranids – but unless you come to the conclusion that you or the other player(s) won't have a good experience, remember that there's no harm in playing a scenario in which the Tau/Tyranids are played as one of the numerous Xenos species encountered during the Great Crusade, or conversely that the Space Marines are a Chapter blessed with huge numbers of Relic equipment. A good story can help fill the narrative gaps. +

+ Above all this, It's also worth remembering that you can just treat things a bit more lightly, and forget the number of rivets (or limbs!) on your models, and simply have a fun game. Not everything needs to be justified. +

+++

+ Enough talk! More action! +

+ Man, I think this model is awesome. A great combo of cheesy action movie  and video game tropes, cool chunky GW details, and a real sense of character. About the only thing I don't like about it is the fact that the first plastic infantry model for the Guard in about two decades was a limited splash release that can't be found for love nor money. I hope that local hobby shops benefitted from GW's largesse (and I do genuinely think it was a nice gesture), because it seems to have caused a large amount of friction and disappointment in the Imperial Guard community. Here's hoping that it gets a broader release at some future date. +

+ Enough grumbling (that's reserved for when the Longbeards get on the painting table!), let's get stuck into definitely-not-Carl-Weathers-from-Predator. This figure isn't quite finished, but I couldn't resist showing him off at this point. +

+ As noted in yesterday's inload, it's been a while since I've painted up Guard – though a few baseline humans have been sneaking through. This model was a treat to paint, with a mix of smooth fabrics for detailing, nice clean plates for sharp highlighting, and the perennial favourite, bare skin for blending and glazes. +

+ I kicked off with an experiment, using Halford's Camouflage spray paint to undercoat him. I genuinely thought this was an April Fool's joke when I spotted it in-store, but it turns out it's a range of four matt sprays that you use to build up camouflage on (full-size) vehicles. The deep brown is a lovely undercoat that I think combines the best bits of my usual black and grey primers – lots of depth, but not dead. +

+ I started with the base, then moved onto the skin. Once these were complete, I painted the fatigues using a variation on the camouflage tutorial here: [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. The swapped-out colours are pictured above, but note that the brown undercoat is serving as the deepest value. The key thing is to have a deep tone, midtone and light tone. +

+ Bits still to do include the lenses on the field glasses, the eye on the servoskull/banner/aerial thing, and some sort of eye-catching accents – perhaps some bright glowing green xeno blood? +

+ Bright accents don't make much sense on camouflage, of course, but they do make a model more fun. Tasteful and muted is my vibe, but it's nice for special figures to stand out a bit. +

+ The rear detailing could do with some more attention, too. I was toying with the idea of a slight OSL around the backpack generator/battery for the power fist. That cloth could do with a marking or two, as well. +

+++

+ Jungle is massive +

+ One man does not a killteam make (unless you count Marbo, of course), so I've also been working on his squadmates. Sergeant 'Ripper' Jackson, above, was a kind gift from Lord Blood the Hungry. She's coming along nicely, and I hope to finish her off this week. +

+ Vaguely related to this is a Knarloc who's been sitting on my desk for a long while. Kroot are one of those projects that're always the bridesmaids, never the bride. I thought fitting them in with a loose jungle theme for 2021 might encourage me to get some done. +

+++

+ inload: A brief return to The Augustine Crusade +

 + Commissar Mortilegere +

+ Deployed to the region as part of the ongoing Officio Prefectus sweeps, Kahlo Mortilegere was stationed with the starport garrison on Gella Major, at the time a well-defended region, considered well back from the bulk of the fighting. + 

+ Attached to the Finbin First Fusiliers, an inexperienced light regiment that was lumbered with the inevitable nickname in high command as the 'Effing Finbins', Mortilegere's posting was to prove unexpectedly eventful; as it made her present during the Ardent System Counteroffensive in M42.050–053. +

+ Later assessed to be Hesh's final sally, at the time the counteroffensive was yet another blow from an enemy that was proving unexpected and resourceful, reclaiming recently-captured territory and rolling over strongholds and bastions that were yet to be completed. Securing these bunkers and bulwarks extended the Augustine Crusade's closing stages by many months, as the Traitor forces drove the Imperials back and were immediately able to make good on the Imperials half-finished fortifications. +

+ After the offensive, in which she served to ensure the Gella Major garrison  could hold until relieved, she was seconded to the Cadian 144th – the so-called Cadian Last, where she served for the remainder of the war. +

+++

+ Despite seemingly painting nothing but Space Marines for the past couple of years, I still consider myself a Guard player at heart. The humanity and personality that you can get into a human figure is hard to match, and being able to draw elements from all over is a great benefit. +

+ It's been a while since we've delved into the Augustine Crusade – the delay on my part largely down to my order from Reptilian Overlords miniatures now  outstanding for two years and counting. Slack's got to be cut for the global pandemic, but I dearly want to get stuck into the Kolossans. +

+ In the meantime, I finished painting up this Commissar. She'll be winging here way through the Warp to fellow traveller The Rook – his blog can be found here [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], as part of a prisoner exchange model swap we did within the group. +

+ If you fancy giving the model a go yourself, the main components are:

• Commissar Hat from a finecast Commissar
• Face/head from a Van Saar figure, with greenstuff neck.
• Torso is from an old Empire figure (Greatsword, or possible Empire Militia)
• The coat is from the Tempestus Scions kit, with a greenstuff chain for detail
• The arms are Forgeworld Cadian, as are the weapons
• The legs are from AT-43 Steel Troopers.

+ inload: Epic basing +

+ 'What is this – Warhammer for ants?' +

+ Basing Epic-scale miniatures +

+ What is Epic-scale? +

+ While idly assembling some miniatures, I thought I'd put together a little tutorial for basing Epic stuff. The phrase 'Epic' or Epic-scale' in wargaming terms is probably familiar to most inloaders, but for anyone unsure, Games Workshop used to support a companion game to 40k based around larger conflicts on a slightly more abstract level than 40k. The figures were roughly a quarter of the size of their 40k-scale equivalents, meaning infantry are roughly 6mm tall. + 

+ This has caused no end of online discussion about whether the modern Adeptus Titanicus 'scale' is the same, or slightly different. That's an discussion for another – less hot and sunny – time, so here we'll stick with the practicalities and just refer to any roughly 6mm-sized figures as the numberless 'Epic-scale'. The instructions below will work for any comparably-scaled game, such as Adeptus Titanicus, 10mm: Dropzone Commander or Games Workshop's Warmaster. +

Epic Marines alongside a 40k scale one.

+++

+ Theoretical +

+ Since their introduction in the original Epic: Space Marine game, infantry have been fielded, usually in groups of five, on specially-designed 25mm (1in) square bases with recesses to accept the built-in 'plugs' on the feet of the figure. These were later joined by 40mm x 10mm strip bases with similar recesses. 

+ Both styles of GW official bases are long out of print. They're not particularly hard or expensive to buy second-hand or find on auction sites, though this obviously makes them less reliably available. Vanguard Miniatures do a nice selection of circular and strip equivalents in plastic [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] if you want a nice clean base to work on. +

+ Players usually flocked and painted the bases using sand or similar. Have a look at a Tactical detachment from my Ultramarines army below for an example. These were based on some 1mm ply wood that I had drilled to provide the recesses. As a result, all are grouped in the same ring of five. Not a problem in itself, but the downside of using pre-made bases is it that it can look a bit dull. +

Epic Ultramarines 

+ I wanted to show a method that allows you to add a bit more character and variety to the bases. Adding little touches like this will go a long way to adding character to your formations – and from tabletop distance, it will help to make your forces look like scale figures in combat, rather than abstract gaming tokens. +

+ Practical +

+ You won't need a lot of specialist equipment here; about the only thing you'll need is a fine texture gel or medium. I used Winsor & Newton's Galeria Sand Texture Gel, available at your local art and craft store, but there are lots of equivalents. The important bit is that it is finely textured and holds its shape. +

1_ With your figures prepared, take a 2p coin – or anything roughly 25mm (1in) in diameter, and squeeze on a blob of the texture gel in the centre. 

2_ Use your modelling tool to loosely spread it around, keeping it off the rim of the coin.

3_ Optionally, embed a small piece of gravel, or similarly-sized detail. Offcuts of sprue, small pieces of terrain etc. also work well. This'll end up looking like a piece of cover and create some variation in height. More importantly, it will create something for your figures to interact with. Use the modelling tool to draw the modelling gel up and around any natural elements (like boulders); it will help integrate them and look much more natural. Depending on the effect you want, you can leave some bits exposed, or cover the whole thing.

 

4_ Take a moment to consider what simple story you want the vignette to tell. This doesn't have to be involved or complex – something as simple as 'moving up quickly' or 'warily patrolling' or 'taking cover' can work. Here, I've opted for three figures huddling around the rock, providing covering fire for two who have started to redeploy.

Considering the pose, place the first figure, leaving space for the others. Push the figure firmly into the gel and use the modelling tool to work the gel over and around the tab, hiding it.

5_ Repeat with the other figures. It's usually easier to work from the centre of the base outwards, to avoid the risk of knocking them. Use a damp old brush to clean any excess gel from the figure's legs.

6_ While the gel remains wet, you can now sprinkle some fine sand over the base. I use 'play sand', as it's fine, and clean. Odd bits of grit work well at larger scales, but at Epic-scale it can be a bit jarring. Leave the gel to dry overnight to finish, ready for painting. 

+++

+ Additional cognition +

+ As you can see, the addition of a bit of height to the base itself helps to create the impression of a more natural, believable surface than the level plains of Planet Bowling Ball. However, it's not entirely necessary. The combination of gel and sand creates a subtly varied texture in itself, as you can see below. A few small (2–3mm) static grass tufts can add a bit of height and interest to the basein the same way as the pebbles/scenery: you just need to plan it a little in advance. +

+ Note here that the Rhino and Dreadnought are also mounted on bases. I think the adding bases to tanks hugely improves things, particularly in Epic. Mostly, I try to build up gel on one side, so that the vehicle is at a slight angle, and occasionally slightly off-setting the vehicle on the base – it goes a long way to giving them  some dynamism and prevent them all looking identical. +

+ I usually mount Dreadnoughts and upgrade characters on smaller pennies – approximately 12mm (½in) across, as this prevents them looking lost. + 

Silver Stars marines and Contemptor support.

+ If you want to, of course, you can take this much further, creating a mini-diorama. The thing to bear in mind is that we'll need to hide any built-in 'tab' bases, particularly on infantry but also frequently on cavalry and artillery. Adding too much addition 'stuff' can lead to a crowded base that doesn't work so well. If you really want to get involved with more complex things, I suggest using slightly larger bases – around 32mm would work well – or altering the number of figures on the base. +

+ If you're intending to play the most recent iteration of the game, the much-loved Epic: Armageddon, it's worth nothing that the rules allow for a great deal of flexibility in basing, and in my experience the relative advantages and disadvantages of different shapes and sizes all balance out:

1.1.2 Stands
As previously noted, a unit can be a single vehicle model, or a stand made up of several very small models grouped together and glued to a small base. Stands usually represent things like infantry, where moving the individual models round on their own would be very fiddly with Epic scale models. All the models glued to a stand count as a single unit as far as the rules are concerned. The size of a stand and the number of models glued to it are left pretty much up to the player to decide within the following limitations:
• A stand may be no more than 40mm and no less than 5mm across in any direction.
• A stand must be at least 20mm across in one direction (ie, a 5mm by 5mm stand is not allowed, but a 5mm by 20mm stand would be okay).
• Stands representing infantry units must have at least three infantry models and may not have more than seven. Infantry mounted on bikes or horses must have between two and four models mounted on each base.
• Stands representing artillery must have between one and two artillery pieces and up to six crew models.

+ This can be used to good effect. While I like the look and idea of five marines on a base – it fits with their disciplined nature and their method of using five-men combat squads – the freedom to play around offers lots of potential. +

+ Eldar, for example, might look good scattered a bit more sparsely on bases – perhaps just three or four figures per base, to suggest an elite, thinly-spread Warhost. Conversely, hordes of Orks, Tyranids or Necrons would look great more densely packed – whether in loosely roaming packs or serried ranks. +

+ More 'small-c chaotic' forces like Orks or Chaos marines would look great with varying numbers of models, and the addition of odd one-off bits like stray gretchin or cultists alongside the main infantry. +

+ As a final point, these techniques can of course be used for Adeptus Titanicus models, too. In fact, I think practising exercising your brain in creating a story with infantry can help to build your skills and creativity for the larger space of a Titan base – and what better than a cohesive Epic-scale army led by a Titan or two? +