Kill Teaming It Old School

 The day did not start well. 

We were intending to play a game of Gellerpox vs Elucidian Star Striders and it turned out Blogger Pooch had sold his Gellerpox and I opened my model case to pack the Emperors Children before club day and then forgot to put the trays with all my Guard and Star Striders back in the case.... 

Derp. 

So we decided to play Red vs Blue and I broke out the Emperors Children - using some classic 2e-era Chaos Space Marines. We definitely had the ideal deployment with a height advantage to deploy the heavy Noise Marine and a Marine wielding a Tainted Boltgun.

From this vantage point, the Noise Marine machinegunned Pooch's Penitent (because that chainsword is SCARY) in the first turn. His compatriot with a bolter rolled some stupid dice and multi-critted, deleting another Novice. Pooch attacked aggressively, wielding only autopistols he couldn't engage in a firefight!

On my right, the Aspiring Champion vaulted the wall and charged into the approaching Novices:

 

Powerfists do 7 damage on a critical hit and Novices only have 7 health. It was not pretty. I kind of stopped taking photos at this point as in the remainder of that second turn, Pooch hauled the game back hard! On my left, the Canoness absolutely middled the Balefire Acolyte into next year and the close combat warrior was flamed to death having cut things while already cutting things. On the right, having power-fisted all of Pooch's good close combat models, the Aspiring Champion was shot in the back with a plasma pistol at full power and evaporated! The Canoness went down in a hail of shells from the Noise Marine.

Pooch's last Novice ran for the hangar door objective in my drop zone in the last turn while my Noise Marine and the Emperor's Children Marine took and held the Auspex Shrine and the Vox Antenna. This left us with a final score of 8 - 6 to the Emperor's Children, largely off the back of my completing two of my Tac Ops - despoiling the Imperial Corpses and sending the Canoness to the Emperors reward. 

We played a second game and I broke out my Phobos Kill Team and promptly forgot to take any photos. It was very close - we both dropped some absolutely savage shots into each other's warband and I found the Phobos' mobility was great for keeping ahead of Pooch's Novices. I had real trouble doing meaningful damage with only bolters, despite using Bolter Discipline almost every turn. Pooch played it really well and managed to achieve his Tac Ops where I did not and won the match 6 - 2. 

Overall, I really like Kill Team. I'd love to play it out with a more complete rostering system and a narrative view of the world. 

I painted a thing!

Given Kill Team, I figured I should paint my set of barricades. Nothing flashy - just a metal drybrush, some filth wash and some rust but they're done now! I've also been finishing up assembling and priming my Breachers so they're next on the to do list. 

Next Time

Breachers! 
 

Guns and swords

 Well, sword. 

I picked up Castellan Crowe for a couple of reasons. It's a great model and also offers a chance to run a slightly different Boarding Action with my Grey Knights (which I haven't used in a game of 40K yet!):

Mostly happy, considering I painted all the other Grey Knights in one go about three years ago. I used the Ghosty technical paints on the sword, which I rather enjoyed and played around with the runes too. I  don't love how the back banner came out and I can see I'm going to need to do a bit more work on the white especially to even it up and I think the sword needs a couple of edge highlights. I've got time for that!

Since I had the gunmetal out, I decided to sort out a model that I got from blogger Pelarel. He picked up the Star Wars Legion IG expansion and knowing I was keen for an IG-88, offered me the parts so we have one IG:

Not a complicated paint job. Gunmetal, some black, some rust and some oil. That's it. Base is still TBD since I'm trying to find the notes on how to do it again. It's been a while. But now it means my TERRIBLE Star Wars Legion list, No Disintegrations, is a go. I'll look to line up a game in June and try it out.

Next Time

Blogger Pooch and I are finally going to play a game of Kill Team using the Gellerpox and the Elucidian Star Striders. How will it go? You'll have to wait till next week to find out!

Pooch's April update

And it's here! My April update! 

Only (checks watch).... nearly three weeks late.

Oops.

At least I got some painting done?

1. Paint a platoon for Flames of War

This month was a productive one for finishing up a bunch of things I needed for Valleycon, our annual club tournament.

My army for the tournament looked like this:

Many, many shermans!

I also added some mud to a few of the things I had already painted!

2. Add something to armies I have already painted

The other nerds and I have been talking a bit about our love for 40k, which is only matched by our disappointment in the current set of rules. So when we managed to have a few games of the much streamlined Boarding Action, it was a total relief to find it was not only fun, but it was also going to have a lot of the same design cues as the upcoming 10th Edition!

So that was naturally enough to make me excited to paint up some more Sororitas, this time the Special Characters Epharael Stern and her Harlequin buddy Kyganil

This solidly cured me of any visions of painting a Harlequin army

But not only that, I have been keeping up with my "One Marvel Crisis Protocol Miniature a month" sub-goal too, this time finishing up Enchantress...

Ghostly green!

3. Finish up a piece of terrain

This month I finished up some more of the awesome 3d printed Stalingrad terrain as a commission.

Pavlov's House

Train Station

4. Play a game a month, that was different to the last month

I eluded to it with the painting I had done, but I brought out the Shermans of the 761st Tank Battalion to our local tournament, Valleycon!

Overall, they were pretty excellent, the Veteran Sherman with a 76mm gun firing HVAP rounds is really good in late war. They did however blow up alot!

The downside list wise was having no infantry, it really cost me in the two games that I lost, so adding some Winter Infantry will definitely be on my future painting table.

Shermans vs Fallschrimjager!

Shermans vs Scottish Rifles

This was a very common occurence in the games....

5. Paint a Hundred Years War French Army for ADLG

The slow progress on this army continues....

Paint one Knight for ADLG

Paint one base for ADLG

Oh no, now there are more peasants!

Perhaps more.......?

Pooch

We're back bay-beeeee!

 So it's been the best part of three months since I managed to post a blog and it's been an entirely unwelcome interruption to my hobby time. Nothing magical, just buying a new house, moving and the general life disruption that comes with not having all your stuff out where you can easily get at it. But things are starting to settle and I've managed to find all the necessary bits to get started painting again.

Back to my brushes begins with this absolute gem of a model: 

This is Angrath* Evenkeel, a Minotaur Storm Sorcerer I'll be playing in an upcoming Dragonlance campaign. I was set the challenge by our DM that if I wanted to play a Minotaur, it had to be something other than MINOTAUR SMASH which presented an interesting challenge. A bit of googling and it turns out that a piratical sorcerer was very much in the offing. He's got a complicated background to account for some of my very average stat rolling and some of the quirks of a Minotaur being a sorcerer but that's part of helping tell the story.

The model is a 3D print from Artisan Studios, printed by Potbelly Miniatures and mounted on a base printed and painted by Canny Miniatures. I'm mostly pretty happy with the paintjob although I feel a lot out of practice! 

I spent a lot of time back and forthing over the robe colour and eventually settled on a linen colour after both the look of it, but also the idea of Dragonlance Minotaurs swanning about the place dressing like they're civilised despite the rest of the Dragonlance world thinking they're anything but sort of worked out for me.

Next Time

I'm working on some models for Boarding Actions in advance of the drop of 40K 10e in a few weeks so probably a few test models from my Navy Breachers, a new Grey Knight and maybe a Khornate Jackhal too! 

*I am aware I've stolen this name from Magic: The Gathering but Angrath is a great name for a Minotaur and I'm okay with that. 

Pooch's March update

On to March, and this year is now a third gone. This is getting ridiculous. But luckily, I have painting to keep me sane, right?

1. Paint a platoon for Flames of War

First up this month is more for my Late War US army. 

Finished up this month, we have..... 4 Tank Destroyers, with turrets for both the M36 Jackson, and the M10 Wolverine.

The platoon, equipped as M36 Jacksons

Comparison between M10 and M36 Turret

But not only those, I also finished up two M8 Greyhounds!

Meep meep!

In both cases these platoons were updates to platoons I had already finished- I'm very glad to have them all done now however!

Next month? Shermania!

2. Add something to armies I have already painted

First up this month was to finish up the last figures for my ADLG-R Imperial German Army, including:

3 Generals

Four Reiters

And one more cannon, seen here with my already painted one!

Which means that now the entire force is ready, aiming for a game in the coming months!

The whole army is now done!

Continuing on from my vauge plan of finishing up one Marvel Crisis Protocol miniature each month, trying to work through the back log of miniatures I have sitting there, I've finished another one!

This time it is the trickster god himself, Loki!

Such a great colour scheme, and such a cool character in the MCU

3. Finish up a piece of terrain

This month's terrain is actually a commission piece, a 3d printed 15mm Tractor Factory from Stalingrad.

The building is huge, and I am super happy with how cool it looks!

A close up view of the Factory

The interior detailing

Showing scale with an M36 Jackson in the foreground....

Next up? I have more of these commission buildings, but probably should also paint some more of my own too!

4. Play a game a month, that was different to the last month

This month's game was Kings of War! 

The mighty Goblins took to the field fighting McB's newly acquired Kingdom of Men army.

Gobbos, gobbos everywhere!

The goblins claimed victory, but more suprisingly when the incredibly cool Giant charged a legion of sharpsticks....

So. So. Cool.

It ended up defeated by them!

Victory!

All in all, I really do love that Goblin army, and would dearly love to play more games with it. I forget how much I enjoy Kings of War, and it was a crime that I didn't play it at all last year!

5. Paint a Hundred Years War French Army for ADLG

The slow progress on this army continues....

Paint one Knight for ADLG

Another knight done, this time with a sandy yellow and red colour scheme!

Chaaaaaaaaaaaaarge

Paint one base for ADLG

And a distinctly less noble unit for my one base this month, Peasants!

I painted up the peasants in a set of muted browns and greens, which really reinforces the contrast to the bright vibrant colours of the knights.

Next up, more of the same I think!

Pooch

Pooch's February update

And we are back for February!

A short month, but not too short on progress with something completed for each of the goals.

1. Paint a platoon for Flames of War

From the desert to the snow, with some progress into my Late War US Armoured company, which I will be running at our upcoming club competition Valleycon.

The first unit is something painted from start to finish, an M4 Mortar platoon. Cheap and effective, the mortar platoon are there for smoke, and for getting rid of pesky infantry and anti-tank guns.

White-washed, and with a sweet pink air recognition panel

The second is a unit I had previously painted, but needed to update to fit my latest whitewash style- four M8 Scotts! I do so love the M8. Small Stuart chassis, with a big open turret and a stubby wee 75mm gun. What's not to love? 

Not cheap, nor super effective. Luckily they look awesome!

Next up? Oh goodness I have a lot of Shermans to paint....

2. Add something to armies I have already painted

But wait, it's more Warhammer Underworlds Warbands! The first is one I got for Christmas, and I am ridiculously excited by. Grinkrak's Looncourt is Goblins... pretending to be knights. Their objectives and cards are super different to every other faction I have, and part of me assumes that this crew exisits purely for the (k)night goblin pun.....

Goblins!

Naturally, I had to paint them in bright purple and white, like the regal knights that they are...

A close up of three of the characters...

And of the business end of the "squig-a-pult". Because of course we need a squig-a-pult.

The second warband for the month is some more Stormcast Eternals, this time Cursebreakers. Stormcasts with magic! Done in the same golden style as my others, I am quite happy with how they look as a warband.

And of course on Canny Miniatures bases once again!

Second up is maintaining my vague plan of finishing up one Marvel Crisis Protocol miniature each month, trying to work through the back log of miniatures I have sitting there.

This month, is the goddess of death herself, Hela! She was a fun experiment in using the Hexwraith Flame technical paint, coupled with an Army Painter fluro to really get the green to pop. All in all? Really happy with her.

And lastly in this category, we have a bunch of single civilians that I have painted for the Don't Look Back game. I had painted a full set of them as a commission and really enjoyed it, so I bought myself the starter set to the game and set about painting them!

The six survivors from the core box

And four additional survivors

Plus, the game needs a killer, so naturally I had to get a couple of those too!

Three such nice looking faces. Upstanding members of the local town....

And... turns out it's not only terrestrial killers who have turned up in this small generic American town....

I'm sure they come in peace.....

3. Finish up a piece of terrain

Terrain this month is some pieces for the Don't Look Back game (are you seeing a theme now?). Some were pieces I had Potbelly print for me, others were ones which I had in my spares pile.

The Campsite, designed by Black Site Studios, and printed by Potbelly

The Caboose comes from Sarissa, and contrast paints did wonders on painting it!

Look how happy it's one "careful" owner is!

And of course, you can't have Aliens without their crashed UFO, right?

4. Play a game a month, that was different to the last month

The game this month was playing a number of games of Don't Look Back, which were an absolute blast! 

The game is designed by people who clearly love their 80s/90s horror movies. The players take charge of individual civilians, they have a mission to complete, and there is a killer out there hunting them.

As a game it plays like a horror movie. The killer appears randomly, which ratchets up the tension on when they appear, and when they do? Well, they are very murdery. We managed to play four games of it this month, and I am really happy to add it to the stable of games that will be a great one to just play when we are in need of a game.

How cool does the campsite look in situ (thanks Potbelly for printing it!)

The Smiley Face killer finds a victim.....

The chainsaw killer ambushes some teens, just as they are near to the car to escape!

The teens did get away.... not so much the adult they were with....

Maybe... don't explore "abandoned" railroad cars?

For sure more games of this to come!

5. Paint a Hundred Years War French Army for ADLG

This month I actually combined the two sub-goals, painting not one, but two Knights! 

Paint one Knight for ADLG

The single knight for the month:

Two more noble knights for the cause!

Paint one base for ADLG

And now three knights finished too!

Three Knights!

Next up might be some thing far less from the nobility I think, and maybe some basing.... but regardless, on to March!

Pooch