Destroyer Lord Complete!

I managed to pick up 5 Destroyers from my friend Scott and one of them happened to be missing his arms and head, so why not convert him into a Destroyer Lord? It's a super simple conversion as you can see. Just used some extra parts from my "Crytpek" Lychguard box. One thing I am really happy with is the posing of this guy. He looks like he is about to just cleave something in half.

I have a bunch more Necron stuff that is almost finished including some Lychguard (love the models even though the break constantly) and some just started Wraiths. I know it's not the prettiest army I own but man oh man it's easily the most fun to play which is what really pushes me forward in regards to painting them.

Winter War is Upon us!!!

Over the weekend I attended a 20 person tournament at a local game store. The tournament was 1500pts and allowed Forgeworld (40k approved), Allies and Fortifications with no comp scores which meant no limitations. I know for many of you this might sound like a nightmare situation when going to a tourney because you will expect to see the most heinous, “Ard Boyz” type lists imaginable. I personally had a totally different take on it. In my opinion 6^th ed is so new who is to say what is overpowered and what isn’t? What type of list is “offensive” and what isn’t? It’s just so early in the edition everyone is still learning how to play it so penalizing players for trying things out doesn’t see right to me. When I talked to the organizer and he said he just wanted to open the doors to everything and see how the chips fell as this was his first 6^th ed tourney and I think that was the perfect way to go. You know the funny thing is? This tourney was one of the most balanced, evenly represented tournaments I had been too lol. There were no “Ard Boy” type lists at all which was great. Even though people had the option to bring any Forgeworld nasty to the table they didn’t. Good to see that putting faith in your gaming community pays off once and a while lol. 

Cryptek and Warriors Complete!

On December 1st there is a tournament coming up (1500pts) and after playing a bunch of test games I decided I wanted to change things up a bit. I was noticing that the regular lord in my Immortals squad was doing virtually nothing other then providing a small buff in durability and that while the Ghost Ark is awesome, that little 5 man squad just didn't have enough bodies to get it done. So, I traded out the Lord for a Transmorgification Cryptek with a Tremor Staff and a Seismic Crucible and then with the left over points I was able to add 4 more Warriors to the 5 man Warrior squad, maxing them out to fit in the Ghost Ark. The whole reason I had that Lord in with the Immortals was for some close combat support...then I realized if I can reliably make it so people can't assault me while giving me some more offensive punch it might be a better idea. How would I do that you ask? Anything I hit with the Crypteks Tremor Staff now counts as being in difficult terrain till the start of my next turn and the Seismic Crucible reduces one squad of my choice assault range by D3". So, I can reliably set up within 12" and pretty much never get charged. Awesome lol

This is the first Finecast Cryptek I painted for this army and I gotta say it's going to be the last. Despite putting the staff in hot water to bend it back into place it's still warped. The detail is awful around his hand with things blending into each other (same thing with Imotek and his fire gauntlet). Ah well, lesson learned I guess lol

I am guessing anyone following the blog has noticed a real slow down with posts over the last few weeks. The reason for that is the house we are building is almost at completion and we are going to be moving in over the next 3 weeks. Right now all my Warhammer stuff is already packed up and in storage save for my Necrons and a few paints to finish these guys off for the tournament next weekend. So, that sadly means it is going to be very slow until the start of January with moving, unpacking and Christmas all back to back. On a plus note once we move I will finally have a permanent place to paint and I am going to be getting a bunch more time to actually enjoy this hobby. So come the new year and beyond there shouldn't be any more slow down in posting. I will also be starting some new stuff (I have a couple projects in mind) and I will be taking a break on the Necrons. I am really looking forward to trying out some new techniques which includes picking up an Airbrush so I can redo my Eldar in style once that codex gets released at the end of next year. I want to thank everyone who follows the blog and I look forward to getting back to it soon.

Imotek...Complete!

Soooo...I realized I literally JUST posted an article called "Necron Army...Complete!" so I do get the irony of immediately finishing more models for this army. So, I had a bit of free time over the weekend and figured I would paint up this guy.  Even though he was finecast (hiss...boo!) the sculpt wasn't THAT bad...wasn't that great either. His staff is very bendy and I just couldnt fix it for the life of me. Overall I am very happy with how he turned out. Really pleased with the colour choices and the fact that I did the runes in that neon green. Makes the model "pop" quite a bit more then a standard lord. I apologize in advance as I took the pics with my phone, couldn't find my camera. Once I do find my camera I will do some re-shoots as my phone doesnt really do him justice.

Necron Army Complete!

It took a while to actually get a chance to get a real shot of the whole army together. Overall the army took me about 16 days total to paint (full days…like 8-10 hour days). When you consider that my Dark Eldar took a full year of work or my Nids were about two I think that is a pretty epic feat lol. Overall I am very proud of this army to the point where I would put it on the same mark as my DE. The reason I say that is because of how little time it took to paint because of the techniques and limited palette I chose to work with. Just goes to show that because something is speed painted doesn’t mean it has to look bad lol.

As far as playing the army I am having a lot of fun with it. Sadly that can’t really be said for my opponents. The closest game was against my friend Jon and I still won that by a mark of 12-5 for victory points. The funny thing is I created this list in 5th ed with the sole purpose of being a "softer" list that is fun to play against. Little did I know certain units would get such massive bumps in power like Night Scythes and Warriors lol. The things I like the most about this army are having a balanced list with some sneaky tricks (two things which are trademarks of my lists it seems lol). Here is the list:

HQ

Overlord - warscythe, mindshackle scarabs, tesseract labyrinth, rez orb
Royal Court
Lord - warscythe, mindshackle scarabs, rez orb
Destruction Cryptek - eldritch lance, solar pulse
Despair Cryptek - veil of darkness

Elites

Triarch Stalker - heat ray

Troops

Warriors (20) - (Overlord and Despair Cryptek here)
Warriors (5) - ghost ark, (Destruction Cryptek here)
Immortals (10) - tesla carbines, night scythe, (Lord here)

Fast Attack

Tomb Blades (3) - particle beamers
Scarabs (7)

Heavy Support

Annihilation Barge - tesla destructor, tesla cannon
Annihilation Barge - tesla destructor, tesla cannon
 Tomb Spiders (3)

1750pts

The “allstars” of this list are the Solar Pulse and that 20 man warrior squad. The reason I love the solar pulse as much as I do is because being able to control night fight against all opponents can be potentially game winning. The durability it adds to all your vehicles since they are skimmers cant be understated. Basically, if you move all your AV 13 vehicles will have a minimum of a 4+ cover save. You get in decent cover from 24”+ it can get down 2+. Very rarely do I surrender “first blood” even when going second because of the pulse. Another nice benefit is that half the time the first two turns you have night fight on, which is amazing.

The second key piece to this list is that 20 man Warrior squad. When you combine the size, the 4+ resurrection protocol, their standard 4+ save and the nearby ghost ark you have a squad that can take anything you throw at it and still remain close to max strength. How I use this unit is to draw my opponents units towards my lines while I get some shots off at tanks, softening up their troops, etc. and RIGHT before he is able to assault I veil to the other side of the board normally into his un-protected backfield or onto an objective. I am constantly blown away at how well this works.

The runner up prize oddly goes to the Stalker. The reason being is 100% based on twin linking everything in your army when firing at his target squad. I cant get over how well this works combined with the style of shooting for this army (volume of fire). Just awesome lol.

I am hoping to be doing a tournament on Dec 1^st with these guys (at 1500pts so I drop the Scarabs and Spiders) so I will obviously be doing up a tournament recap. I am also hoping to get in some battle reports too.

Tomb Spiders and Scarabs Complete!

I managed to get some more time in to fully finish off the Necron army (well...everything I own at this point). It feels good to have a set size for an army and then just fully finish that project. Literally my Eldar, Dark Eldar and Nids all have 400+pts at least still waiting to be painted.

Here are the Tomb Spiders

And their Scarabs

Next Up: As I mentioned I still have tonnes of outstanding projects on my other armies, specifically the Eldar and Dark Eldar. So...my next round of articles will be showing up my massive Eldar re-vamp (updating both my list and actual army to be better suited to 6th) and updating my Dark Eldar to be a "6th Ed" army (so, adding in allies and fortifications). Can't Wait! lol

Ghost Ark...Complete!

So here is the final model in my 1500pts list, the mighty Ghost Ark. I have to say this thing is the biggest hog ever to build and paint. Building it took roughly 5 hours and painting it was about another 13. Despite all of that I love the form and its size as it makes a great center piece for this army.

Next Up: I am going to do some full army shots of the Necrons and a small write up to go with it including my final army lists and a little blurb on my limited experience with this army!

Tomb Blades Complete!

These were one of the sets of models that made me decide that I really wanted to play Necrons. I just loved the overall form and how they look genuinely alien and bizzare. They also carry through the "circular" aesthetic that the vehicles have very nicely which  love. I armed mine with Particle Casters so they would be a super cheap throw away unit but still deadly enough that the enemy would HAVE to deal with them (three super mobile, str 6 templates will do that...guard heavy weapon teams beware lol). The other reason for their lay out is that they only come in boxes of three but have a max unit size of five so I didnt want to waste one trying to max out the unit, so staying at three is where its at. So, here they are.

Next Up: The last model in the army...the mighty Ghost Ark!

Barges...of Annihilation! Complete!

As promised here are both Barges complete with their finished bases. I actually managed to finish both of these in one shot over a weekend which I was really proud about. Overall they were really enjoyable to paint (as with the rest of the army). If I had one tip for people starting their own Annihilation Barges it would be don't glue in the Drivers or the Gun before you paint it. I was smart and just left the gun as it's own piece which was a massive help and really wish I did that for the drivers.

Up Next: Tomb Blades!

Necron Royalty...Complete!

Here is a quick update of the full Royal Court including the Overlord for this army. One thing I noticed once I built the regular Lord is that his pose is the exact same as the Overlord which I kind of feel like a bonehead about. Ah well, nothing I can do about it now lol. I have added the two tone grass which I am really liking as it helps punch up an otherwise somewhat boring base and add some visual interest to the models.

 Overlord

 Lord

Full Court

Next Up: Barges.....of ANNIHILATION!!!!

Large Warrior Squad Complete!

I am a bit behind on posting pics for this army. Currently I am at the point where I just need to put the finishing touches on my Ghost Ark and my 1500pts force is totally painted. I just need to get a bit more time in the evenings to get some pics taken lol. Over the next two weeks I will get pics all the different units up as well as a full army pic complete with the army list. So here is my big block of 20 Warriors!

Night Scythe Complete!

A quick little update before I post the second part of my Tournament recap. I finished this about 3 weeks ago and I finally got around to taking some pictures for it. I am currently leaving all the OSL off the rest of the Necron models with the intention of going back over them once the army is complete and doing everything in one unified pass. I will be doing the same thing with the basing.  Not much left now though as I just need to finish 2 Annihilation Barges, 3 Tomb Blades, a Ghost Ark and my Lord! Can't Wait!

First Batch of Warriors Finished!

While I am working on fixing up the photos for the tournament over the weekend I thought it would be a good time to put up a pick of my first 5 Warriors. I wanted the green rods to tie into the army more then just the bare green, so I decided to paint them up to look like the rest of the green. One thing I have still been debating is putting on the object source lighting (OSL) on all the green weapons (which I 95% think I will do). What I am going to do is wait till I have the army painted to the point where I can play then I will go back over it and do the OSL for everything in one shot so it as a consistent and unified look.

Despair Cryptek Complete!

Here is my second Cryptek. He has a Staff of Light and the torso from a Deathmark to simulate the Veil of Darkness. I decided to make this one a bit more spindly and put him on Warrior legs instead of Lychguard legs. He looks less like a warrior and more like a support character then the destruction one. If I do any more for this army they will follow this style I think.

Next Up: My first 6th ed Tournament Battle Report!

Destruction Cryptek Complete!

Just a quick update. I managed to finish my first Cryptek.  All the Royal Court models I am doing for this army are converted by mixing the Immortals Plastic Boxsets left over bits and a box of Lychguard. After my last round of Finecast models (well, literally ALL the ones I have purchased) I have made up my mind to never purchase another Finecast model ever again. From my experience they are grossly overpriced and to say the cast quality is sub par is an understatement. I mean, for $40 I am able to build 5 Crypteks/Lords while for $20 each I can get a poorly casted, very generic, one pose model in the form of Lords and the one Cryptek. No contest. Anyways, here is my first converted Cryptek. He has an Eldrict Lance which was made by making a dual headed Warscythe. His head is from the Deathmarks and he has a converted Torso made up from combining the Deathmark and Preatorian Torsos.

Next Up: My Second Cryptek!

Triach Stalker Reshoot!

As promised here is a few pictures of the finished Stalker with pictures that were taken with an actual camera instead of my crappy iPhone 3GS with no flash lol. I also did some work finishing the base and I feel it adds that little punch of colour and visual interest the base was needing giving it that feel of being on a "Mars" type Desert. This is how I am going to finish the bases for the rest of the army.

Immortals Finished!

I did a bit more work over the last couple of weeks and I managed to get my 10 man Immortal squad finished. For me personally I wasn't really liking how the object source lighting was working so I have decided to drop it for now. The bottom pic I included to show the new style of painting the Immortals. Let me know what you think of the change.

Next Up: Triarch Stalker Re-Shoot complete with his finished base!

Triarch Stalker Finished!

I know this one is a bit out of the blue but I have managed to get a bit of painting in lately which is nice. Over the last couple weeks I managed to finish my Stalker and I am almost done 25 warriors (more on them later this week). I was pushing to try to get them finished for a tournament in 2 1/2 weeks but alas, there is zero chance of reaching that goal. I am also going to take a couple quick pics so you can see the final army (I will include the 1500pts list there too).

Immortals Finished!

After another slow day here at the office and a bit more work I finally managed to get the first 5 Immortals finished. I gotta say painting in this style is some of the most fun I have had in ages. I feel really invigorated to paint after so many failed attempts at new projects. One thing that always amazes me is how much a paint scheme for an army changes and evolves as you actually go about painting it. With these 5 guys alone I slightly changed how I was doing things 3 times and the next batch will be done slightly different as well (just refining the order of painting things). Also, again I apologize for the picture quality as it was again taken with an iPhone. Any comments/critiques would be great!

Necrons Part 1

So the last 3 to 4 weeks I have been doing a bit of work on my Tyranids while at the same time trying to find something new to paint. I tried painting ogres last November, even have a bunch of stuff for them but I 100% can't get into the idea of playing Fantasy. Last weekend I tried doing up some Marines (Imperial Fists). I managed to get the bodies done on 5 of them in two days only to realize how much I hate painting Marines. Part of it is because its basically 100% the same painting style as my Dark Eldar, except bigger models with way more pieces. I also tried some Orks at the start of April with the new paints and I just couldn't get into it and the idea of painting 100+ of them made me want to commit suicide.

So, where does that leave me? I dont want to do something super nit pickey like the Dark Eldar (aka Marines) or horde intensive like the Tyranids (aka Orks) and I can't will myself to get into Fantasy. So after seeing this blog post (http://taleofpainters.blogspot.ca/2011/12/tutorial-painting-rusty-necron-armour.html) on one of my fave sites I decided I would give it a try. So here is my first attempt:

I apologize for the quality of picture as it was taken with my iPhone. Overall I am really happy with how it is turning out. The best part is not only is it looking decent (well, in my opinion lol) and it is super fast and very fun to do. Next up I am going do up some chipped paint for the main armor plates (shadow grey) and then I am going to paint the green glow for the eyes/weapons. The bases are also going to be a Mars red earth base (fairly simple) to match the rust and dust on the Necrons themselves. Fingers crossed that this works lol. More pics with my actual camera tomorrow or Monday of the finished models.

Update: 

 I did a bit more work on my main test model trying out new things (as I have literally never painted like this before). For the most part I am super happy with how he is turning out. I went out of my way to do virtually no edge high lighting and just let the chipped metal do the work. This was also my first attempt at object source lighting which is *okay*, not 100% happy with it and I know I can do better.