Erebor Dwarves, Moria Goblins, Laser Rapiers

After a lot of time spent with Heresy miniatures, the next few events I plan to go to will take place in Middle-earth once again. To that end, I painted up some more Erebor Dwarf warriors and a Captain to round out that part of my collection. I also started another army that should play the part of the dwarves' enemies in the form of a whole bunch of Moria Goblins including a big Dragon! I did also finish the two Laser Rapier Destroyers for my Heresy Blood Angels.

Pict 1624: Erebor Dwarves issuing from their mountain holds

Pict 1625: Erebor Dwarf Warriors and Erebor Captain

I played a game with these guys lead by Thrór and Thráin at the start of July and started to paint the twelve Erebor Warriors and the Captain pretty much immediately after. I painted them in the same colours that I used a few years back, when I played an alliance themed after the Battle of Azanulbizar using both Erebor and Iron Hills dwarves. With the red coats and the snow bases, they do look a bit like a collection of Santas. But I'm quite happy with them as a quick little project to finish up my Erebor Dwarves.

Pict 1626: Moria Goblins (WIP)

I built a whole lot of metal Moria Goblins to get this army started. The first two test models are pretty simple with the base colours slapped on and an oil wash applied. I really like the effect so far. I don't think they need much more highlighting. I would like to give them big cave dweller eyes, but they could also work just with the oil wash leaning more towards the grim dark painting style.

Pict 1627: Magma Dragon (WIP)

The Dragon I will want to play with my Moria Goblins is this huge Magma Dragon that ForgeWorld produced for Warhammer Fantasy a while back. I just about managed to get him on the required 130mm base with some parts overhanging. I got the Dragon second hand and spent some time rebuilding it and filling in the gaps with putty. I then put on a light coat of white primer. I'm not quite sure about the colour scheme I'm going for quite yet. But the miniature itself looks like a great canvas with lots of nice texture to play around!

Pict 1628: Beechbone (WIP)

The next project in Middle-earth, however, will be the new Beechbone to add to my my Fangorn army. I might take the Ents to an upcoming tournament. That might just be the motivation to get him done in a timely manner.

Pict 1629: Blood Angels Rapier Laser Destroyers

Pict 1630: Blood Angels Rapier Laser Destroyers

Lastly, with the new edition of Heresy, of course I'm also thinking about the 31st millenium. I finished these Rapiers – while I started them in the previous edition, they do look like a good way to deal with AV 14 vehicles in 3.0. I also picked up a third set second hand to complete the unit. It still has to be stripped of its current colours and I plan to convert the two crew members a bit. However, before that I want to try and get at least one game in with the new rules!

After Action Report: Discordia at Promethium Tank

The second event I attended while on holiday in England was Discordia Part 1 organised by @fifty_painting in London. The narrative was set during the last day of the Siege of Terra when time and space begin to unravel. I brought a list that relied heavily on Destroyers led by Dominion Zephon and two more Moritats to represent the High Host of the Blood Angels. I just about managed to finish my army the night before leaving!

Pict 1614: Blood Angels Destroyers

Pict 1615: Horus Heresy Blood Angels Army for Discordia

Pict 1616: Horus Heresy Blood Angels Army for Discordia

Pict 1617: Horus Heresy Blood Angels Army for Discordia

Pict 1618: Horus Heresy Blood Angels Army for Discordia

Again, first up have to be some pictures of the army I brought along to the event. Seeing the army finished up like this is alwas such good feeling!

Pict 1619: Blood Angels Assault Destroyers and Moritat

One big squad I wanted to play are these Assault Destroyers and the Moritat with Volkite Serpentas and a Jumppack, that I had built back in August 2023. They did quite well once they were in combat, but usually they got shot to pieces before getting there. Nevertheless I love the unit and I look forward to trying them out in the upcoming edition!

Pict 1620: Angel's Tears with Grenade Launchers

The last missing piece to really make my Destroyer army into the Blood Angels High Host were these Angel's Tears. I love the sculpts and the way the steel contrasts with the gold, especially on the helmets. They really did a number on some militia squads during my games but failed to do much against anything with power armour. Still, I'm super happy to have them done and would like to get some more!

Pict 1621: Blood Angels Rapier Destroyers (WIP)

Originally I had written a list that included these Laser Destroyer Rapiers. But they did not move past the basecoating stage of the painting process. I plan to finish them next – hopefully before the next edition drops and I will inevitably be distracted by shiny new things.

Pict 1622: My Rhino's ramming attack ending an opposing Contemptor Dreadnought

I replaced the Rapiers with five Melta armed Tactical Support Marines in a Rhino. While they did a bit of work, they should go back to target practive (or I should use other dice...). They were part of one of the best moments during the whole weekend when the emty Rhino had nothing better to do and rammed into @jpeg_minis's Contemptor Dreadnought. Of course this initially resulted in no wounds, but the Contemptor decided to go for the Death or Glory reaction but failed the 50/50 roll to imobilise or destroy the Rhino and subsequently was removed as a casualty! That Rhino certainly pulled its weight that game!

Pict 1623: Primus Medicae by DivergingRealm, favourite army prize

I did not win any games over the course of the weekend, which I found quite fitting for the narrative – we were simply trying to buy Sanguinius some time against Horus and did not care for any other objective! My army was, however, voted by the other players as 'the one you would most like to take home with you'! The prize is this beautiful Primus Medicae sculpted by DivergingRealm and printed by Gator 3D Printing, who provided prize support for the event. I plan to paint the Marine on the base as a Veteran and gave him one of the Blood Angels Mk IV helmets from ForgeWorld. Again, I'm really looking forward to painting this one!

After Action Report: A Sector Ablaze at Warhammer World

My last post is from about a month ago and quite a bit has happened since! I played a Heresy tournament in mid June and then set off on a two week vacation to England. There I played in the A Sector Ablaze Legions Imperialis narrative event at Warhammer World and the Discordia Horus Heresy narrative event in London the weekend after that. Before the journey I finished quite a few miniatures to take with me and play at these events.

With this post I want to look back at the Legions Imperialis event in Nottingham and the last few miniatures I painted to round out the army I played at the event. Next week, I will then have a look at the bigger Blood Angels.

Pict 1604: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Elite Infantry

Pict 1605: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Army for A Sector Ablaze

Pict 1606: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Army for A Sector Ablaze

Pict 1607: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Army for A Sector Ablaze

First up, these are the miniatures I brought to the event. I played four different army lists with them depending on the mission: one 1,5k list geared towards defending, on 1,5k list geared towards attacking, and two allrounder lists – one at 2k and one at 3k. Really happy to see the collection I managed to paint here! But of course, seeing a lot of different lists at the event, I want to paint (at least!) the rest of the stuff, I have already primed. First and foremost the Scimitar Jetbikes and one Reaver Titan, but I'd love to do all the Drop Pods and maybe do a narrative scenario around a drop assault...

Pict 1608: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Terminators, Veteran Tacticals Marines and Tarantulas

These miniatures here were the ones I painted to finish out these lists: Four more Tarantulas, four stands of Terminators and two stands of Tacticals. The latter are once again built using some special weapon Marines and painted with the gold helmets to style them as Veterans.

Pict 1609: Legions Imperialis Forward Operating Bases

Pict 1610: Legions Imperialis Forward Operating Bases

Pict 1611: Legions Imperialis Forward Operating Bases

The event pack also called for two Forward Operating bases that would have to have to be on 40mm bases instead of the usual 32mm. Painting them up was surprisingly fast – they have about as many miniatures on them as a normal stand of infantry. But there is more space between them which makes painting easier.

Pict 1612: Legions Imperialis Forward Operating Bases and Trophy from Warhammer World

During lunch on the first day you could put your markes in a display case in the gaming hall and all the players got to vote for their favourite one. I was very happy at the end of the weekend to find out that my Markers got the most votes and I received a shiny glass trophy for them! I was also voted the most sporting player – an award I was even more honoured by!

Pict 1613: Legions Imperialis Objective Markers

Lastly, while I was at it, I also painted these generic Objective markes to use in games of Legions Imperialis. I had them with me at Warhammer World, but they were not used in the Missions we played. Still, I'm happy to have them and use them in games from now on.

Blood Angels Legions Imperialis Armoured Company

Now, I'm making great strides with the Blood Angels! This past week, I managed to finish the armoured company for Legions Imperialis.

Pict 1595: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Armoured Company

Pict 1596: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Predators Anihilators

I painted the six Predators in two groups of three to be able to play them as two separate detachements. One of them has the black turrets, while the others stand out with a gold panel at the front of the tank. They should still work as single detachment as well. 

Pict 1597: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Sicaran Omegas

I really like how the Omega plasma array came out! Having the green set against red of the Blood Angels just works really nicely. Again, I painted them in two slightly different schemes by varying the black panels.

Pict 1598: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Sabre Strike Tanks

The Sabres were all painted the same and are numbered one through eight as a single group. I really like their small frame compared to the other tanks! Whilst painting I found myself thinking that they are perfectly snack sized... Really fun units and I'm looking forward to using them in a game! I can see myself getting another box of them and building them with the Autocannons.

Pict 1599: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Storm Eagles

Lastly for the finished miniatures, I also painted another two Storm Eagles as part of this batch of Blood Angels armour. They will, however, be part of my Aerial Assault formation, giving me the ability to bring more than the bare minimum of Tactical squads.

Also: With these twenty miniatures painted, I not only smashed my goal of painting 100 miniatures this year in total. I also surpassed last year's tally and I'm fastly approaching 2022's tally! 

Pict 1600: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Terminators, Tarantulas and Tacticals (WIP)

Pict 1601: Legions Imperialis Forward Operating Bases and Objective Markers

Next up for Legions Imperialis will be all the miniatures I'm still missing for the upcoming event. That's a squad of four bases of Terminators, two more bases of Tactical Marines and four Tarantulas as well as the Forward Operating bases and, if I find the time, six normal objective markers made from the innards of Palisade Drop Pods.

Pict 1602: Blood Angels Assault Destroyers, Angel's Tears and Moritat (WIP)

Pict 1603: Blood Angels Laser Destroyer Rapier (WIP)

And lastly here is what I want to paint to field a narrative Blood Angels list themed around Dominion Zephon and the High Host – the latter being a formation of Destroyers. Hence, I hope to finish a squad of Assault Destroyers, some Angel's Tears and another Moritat. The Laser Destroyer Rapiers should replace the somewhat egregious full squad of Lascannon Heavy Support Marines, but they are the lowest priority right now.

Tactical Blood Angels Reinforcements

These past two weeks I made some good headway with my Blood Angels, finishing my Tactical Marines and some Heavy Support Marines and making some good progress on the Legions Imperialis Armoured Company.

Pict 1587: Blood Angels Command

Pict 1588: Blood Angels Tactical Marines

Pict 1589: Blood Angels Iliastus Assault Cannon Heavy Support Squad

Pict 1590: Blood Angels Commander

First up, I finished up the ten Blood Angels Tacticals to bulk out the unit I painted right at the start of Heresy 2.0. I also put the finishing touches on the Iliastus Assault Cannon Squad and the printed Commander. I imagine the latter to be in charge of the back lines – the commanding pose seems fitting for that task.

Pict 1591: Rados Cults Blazing Worm

Pict 1592: Rados Cults Blazing Worm

One small detour lead me to paint this Blazing Worm for my Rados Cults. Once again, a really fun miniature from Alkemy! The contorted pose made it a bit difficult to paint the underbelly, but I'm really happy with the outcome. It really was good fun to look at pictures of frilled lizards to get some inspiration for the colours!

Pict 1593: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Armoured Company (WIP)

The Legions Imperials Armoured Company is also coming along nicely. Most of the details are done on all of the miniatures. Whats missing is glazing up the red armour and then doing a few scratches. A few Predators already have this and are only missing the weathering pigments on the tracks! 

Pict 1594: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Forward Operating Bases (WIP)

Lastly, the Legions event at Warhammer World will require two additional objectives in the form of Forward Operating Bases. These are on 40mm bases instead of the usual 32mm used in LI. In my mind, they are great opportunities to make some very small  dioramas! I built one as a somewhat improvised and mobile command centre and the other as a squad of Recon Marines stunbling upon a trap rigged with explosives. Converting such small miniatures was quite the challenge, but really fun as well!

Catching up on Legions Imperialis and Adeptus Titanicus

This is part two of my post chatching up on what I got done over the last two months. This time looking at a bunch of completed Legions Imperialis Blood Angels. I also started the work on two Reaver Tians for my Legio Solaria, four Atrapos Knights for House Procon Vi and a set of Sabres for the Blood Angels.

Pict 1581: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Kratos Battletanks

I plan to go to the Legions Imperialis event at Warhammer World in June. Again, a great opportunity to get some more of my collection painted. The event calls for a few different lists. Among them one themed as a defender and one themed as an attacker. My collection suits the latter a bit better, so I'll have to see what I can do about that.

First up, I wanted to finish my Kratos tanks. I experimented a bit with them. Instead of giving them an oilwash, I did that stage with simple Nuln Oil. It worked out all right (the Nuln Oil dried faster, that's for sure), but I like the effect of the oil paint better. Still, I'm happy to have them done and look forward to paint some more tanks for an armoured company.

Pict 1582: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Leviathan and Deredeo Dreadnoughts

I also painted even more Dreadnoughts – this time another set of Levithans and Deredeos. All told I have 36 Dreadnoughts painted for the game. I think that might be enough for now! I have played a list with all of them in and I was quite impressed especially by the Deredeos!

Pict 1583: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan (WIP)

Pict 1584: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan (WIP)

Whilst building the Blood Angels from last post, I also did some work on the next few models for Adeptus Titanicus and Legions Imperialis. This time around its two Reaver Titans with a whole bunch of magnetized weapons. One of them is more static and will be the long ranged killer, while the more dynamic running pose (inspired by a beautiful Reaver from this post by the 40kaddict) will probably have the shorter ranged guns. But the engine could even be outfitted with two close combat weapons! During building I had Suber's warning about lining up the legs and feet in mind, which did help avoid desaster, especially with the running Reaver!

Pict 1585: House Procon Vi Cerastus Knight Atrapos (WIP)

Pict 1586: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Sabres (WIP)

I also put together the new plastic Atrapos Knights for the House Procon Vi as well as a set of Sabre tanks for my Blood Angels. Both very fun and again incredibly detailed. However, putting the Sabre missles on the tanks individually really was an exercise in patiente. And I primed up the AT templates, ground assets and additional gubbins, so getting to play more should be even easier in the future.