Fear in 40k for Me

  I noticed something the other day as I continued to ponder my T'au (and all my other armies- gamer ADD is a pain!)- I'm scared of Death Guard! My son is definitely my most common opponent and he owns quite a few armies himself. Each time we play, I have to choose who I'm playing, ask what he's playing, and then downpower my army a bit so it's not oppressive. You see, my armies are typically stuffed with everything, meaning that I can really cheeze my armies out. My son has a lot of everything for his forces, but he's more limited in many cases. 

  That is, of course, unless he uses his Death Guard.  He has EVERYTHING, and multiples of.  My biggest fear is that he saves up some coin and buys another box of Terminators.  Just like the tournie-bros out there, he knows that mobs of termies are just broken.  Worse, he has three of all the war machines.  Those Plagueburst Mortars are ridiculous!  

  However, my fear of his Death Guard has less to do with what he has and more to do with the army's special rules.  Ignoring cover and counting as stationary when moving makes their shooting (especially with bolters) great and they get all the buff auras that Imperials do with their characters.  But two rules in particular really strike fear into my forces.

First comes the 'minus one damage' rule.  

  In an army where every model (in power armour) has at least two wounds and Terminators have three, plus the characters and war machines and their copious wound count, multi-damage weapons suddenly lose effectiveness.  Let's look at the armies I depend on for this: 

  Adeptus Custodes- the 9th edition codex has been very kind to this army.  Unfortunately, the new book did reduce their damage while making it consistent (damage d3 to damage 2) for most of the weapons.  The Custodes should kill a Plague Marine with every shot and swing, but not with that special rule.

  Grey Knights- this is another 9th edition victory with a codex that upgunned everything about this book.  More wounds, more psychic options, more powerful weapons... oh wait- those weapons are damage 2 as well!  Against Death Guard, the mortal wound-spam is the answer, but Death Guard also have a plethora of psykers to shut some of that down.  So the sparkling blades have to do twice the work to chop down those Plague Marines.

  Necrons- "first is worst" is the old adage referring to 'codex creep' and the metal skeletons definitely suffer that.  But I play a pretty strong army with C'tan shards and Destroyer love.  And I do this for the high damage.  Just as above, this reduction special rule for Death Guard really neuters my undead-in-space and forces me to depend on AP and single damage weapons.  Thank goodness for attrition...

  Orks- the greenskins used to be my go-to army to crush any foe.  I spam Power Klaws in every unit that I can because that's all the damage the Orks can cause (and rokkits- lots of rokkits!).  Those klaws used to have random damage and could do up to three.  The new books have reduced them to two.  This is illustrated by my big mob of Meganobs getting into combat with anything in the Death Guard and underachieving.  

Then comes the Death Guard Lord of War, Mortarion.

  Luckily, my son is hesitant to use this model against me most of the time.  I encourage him to use the Daemon-Primarch, but I know I won't stand a chance.  Why?  Because this ancient warrior has the ability to shut down auras.  Some of my armies depend on those auras:

Mortarion from ArtStation

  Ultramarines- the chosen foe for the Death Guard in 8th edition's rollout, the blue-marines were really powerful.  But the Death Guard were updated in a big way while the Ultramarines only received a couple of units and this resulted in Morty being able to completely shut down those aura buffs the Imperials depend on.  Oh, and I focus on plasma weapons, making those rerolls key.  Did I mention that my plasma has a stat of damage 2?

  Word Bearers- Chaos Marines are still waiting on their book while Death Guard have been modernized.  This forces me to focus on Possessed and characters to keep pace.  Guess what- the Possessed and Daemon Engines depend on aura buffs from Daemon Princes, Greater Possessed, and Masters of Possession!  Morty denies all of that.  And that's why that army is retired (plus waiting on the new book).

  If you add the terror that is indirect fire of high power coming from extremely tough platforms infested by daemons as well as scary shooting from the regular troops, you'll see just how important being able to cause damage really is.  And Death Guard are ridiculously good at hampering that.  When an army can kill a model per shot and suddenly it takes twice as long (or longer when you depend on just the dice rolls), that army starts to feel the fear.

  This is probably the second most powerful rule in 40k (Transhuman being the best).  I am not a fan.  And that's where the T'au really come into their own- their weapons are higher damage and often cause mortal wounds!  Those ponderances the other day reminded me of why the T'au are feeling pretty good at this moment.  For almost all my other armies, the Death Guard and those rules really strike fear.  I wonder how my Eldar will fare...

Happy Gaming!

Reanimation Protocols

Pulled from Google Images credit Doctors of Doom

  This post couldn't have a more apt title as I've been down and out for a few months.  It's nothing bad, but I'm a teacher and have another job that is super intense between the months of January and June, so I just didn't have the time to breathe, much less hobby.  But that second job is now in the off-season (unless the government extends again) and I don't have a class assigned this session, so I'm able to pull out some toys and play!  

  Of course these last seven months have been insane between my own personal work schedule, my kids' and my own school processes changing, and Nurgle's blessing blanketing the world.  And in all that, GW has not been idle.  Even with shops closed or now doing little more than curbside-pickup, the company has dropped lots of cool (often limited) models and even an entire End-Time campaign that added so many rules to the game.  Obviously, I haven't been able to keep up with all of it, but I've had a bit of hobby luck come my way.

  Much of that luck is focused around holidays and my luck is almost always concentrated onto one of those lesser-celebrated holidays- Father's Day.  My wife and kids like to drop monies for me to get models that I just can't get for whatever reason.  Years ago, they got me a Stormtalon gunship (which I still haven't painted), followed a couple years later with an Imperial Knight.  This year, they decided to get me started on a whole new army.  I've wanted to collect this army for years (the Orks won the choice between the two all those years ago) but I haven't wanted to commit that kind of money. 

  Well, GW has a way of overcoming obstacles like poverty and alternate focus.  I don't like spending gobs of money (anymore) on armies, but I have no choice when new rules come out.  When an entire new edition gets released, I start 'slangin' on the corner to get that money.  Well, here we are- 9th edition 40k is trundling toward us (and will be here by the end of the month), so I'm already earmarking money for that.  But what about that army?

  The family bought me two boxes of Necron Warriors and a box of Immortals.  This (plus the Overlord that was out of stock for the longest time) makes a battalion for a whole new army.  I would be reluctant to continue with this army due to cost, but 40k 9th is coming in the form of a massive box full of Necrons!  I've whined for years that I want to start Necrons, but I just didn't think it was worth the cost.  Now...  the deal in that box is so worth it! 

  I'm going to buy that 'launch box' on release (or slightly before as I'm very blessed with contacts), so this means that I'm going to end up with Necrons anyway.  The kids and wife are very intelligent and made sure to time this Father's Day gift with this release so that I couldn't reject or even apathetically accept it.  They knew that my passion and desire (sounds less like a hobby blog with that phrase) plus my OCD-level completionist approach to this hobby would guarantee that I would cry with joy.  And I did.  My family rules!

  I've included some pictures of my progress within the post.  I'm not going to lie- I haven't put in anywhere near the effort to make these models "case-level" as I'm used to.  But that's one of the reasons that I love Necrons- they require no effort to look quite good.  And just like my Custodes, simple paint schemes done well look great on the tabletop.  

  As with any other hobby blog out there, I'm hoping to post pics of my progress as I continue.  I'll also post about my opinions on the new edition, but that's already common.  I return to the virtual classroom in a couple of weeks, so I have quite a bit to do between now and then (especially for this neglected blog).  Stay tuned for updates and I'll see you back soon!

The Golden Legion

  Here it is, my entire Adeptus Custodes army, fully painted.  As I noted before, I planned on having the entire force painted in a week and it took me three (with many distractions).  It was an easy paint plan that was very effective, and I blame this on GW.  My skills are trained but the models do most of the work in this case.  I love these Custodes...

  The entire 2000 point force is only 25 models.  This includes four characters and six bikers, and includes every unique unit in the codex including the only named character they have.  Not only do I accomplish my goal of a fully painted army, but I also accomplish my preference of showing off a little of everything from an army (too many years of painting display case armies, I suppose).  

  It's also a cheaper army to build and paint.  This army is one blister of Trajann, two boxes of Custodian Guard, one box of Wardens, two boxes of Allarus Terminators, and two boxes of Vertas Praetors.  Money-wise, that's only $500 with taxes!  And we know that GW armies aren't typically that... affordable.  

 
  For the paints, it was only 17 colors, plus three if you count the flesh-tones that I had to sneak in there.  Including the two spray-paints (the cheap primer and the GW gold) and the basing materials, the hobby supplies come out to around $140.  Luckily, most of us wargamers have gobs of paints and other hobby materials already.  Three weeks of work and only a few c-bills to get a super-elite, good-looking army ready for the tabletop?  I'd say this project was a victory, despite the schedule creep. 

  But none of this really matters without the part that everyone really cares about, right?  That's right- the army list.  Those previous posts already explained the rules for each of the units, so now it's just a matter of sharing the whole thing put together. 

The army list
Custodes Battalion Detachment
-Captain-General Trajann Valoris 185 pts
-Shield-Captain with Castellan Axe and Misericordia  118pts
-three Custodian Guard with Guardian Spears 156 pts
-three Custodian Guard with Guardian Spears 156 pts
-three Custodian Guard with Guardian Spears 156 pts
-three Vertus Praetors with one Salvo Launcher 275 pts
-three Vertus Praetors with one Salvo Launcher 275 pts
Custodes Vanguard Detachment
-Shield-captain with Castellan Axe in Allarus Terminator armor  124 pts
-three Allarus Custodians with Castellan Axes and Misericordias  249 pts
-three Custodian Wardens with Castellan Axes and Misericordias  183 pts
-Vexillus Praetor with Guardian Spear and Vexillan Magnifica  122 pts
  Total 1999 pts, 10 Command Points

The concept
  Well, I already mentioned that I like to include a little of everything from a codex.  This allows for the player to 'test out' certain units and get a feel if they want to buy them.  Plus, I can't tell you the number of times that we'd have an argument about which unit could stomp which unit, resulting in pulling models from the display cabinets and handfuls of dice... 
 
  But I really did think this through as I was lucky enough to have an entire army but no more.  The Vertus Praetors are the best unit in the army and often allied with other Imperial forces to take advantage of their potency.  So they were obviously the first unit that I had to double up.  One of the models is built with a bare head, giving me the option to also play that one as a Shield-captain on Dawneagle Jetbike and still having a sizable unit of bikers still to use.  Two of the models between the two units have Salvo Launchers, which I think will be really useful for popping Flyers and those monstrous targets with a lot of wounds.  And if I don't have the points (which I thought I didn't but then remembered math), it's easy to explain them away as Hurricane Bolters...

  The next unit I thought about picking up multiples of was Terminators.  I'm a HUGE Terminator fan and have multiple units for every army that can, including a Deathwing army and half the Ultramarines' First Company.  While they may not be very popular in the meta, Terminators have a role to play in this army as both deep-striking-objective claimers and bringers of the horde tar-pit (between grenade launchers and a ton of attacks, they can hold other units up for a while!).  More than anything, I just love Terminators and this army is no different. 

  The Custodian Guard were the hardest part as a) I only had two boxes worth between the Talons of the Emperor box and the Prospero HH game set, and b) they may be three-man-minimums, but I'm always a fan of at least five.  As it turns out, the points worked out the conundrum for me and led me to the MSU style that my army uses and the codex encourages.  Remember that a single box of Guardians makes a three-man squad, a captain, and a Vexilla-bearer.  And nine T5, 2+ wounds isn't bad for just over 150 points...

  The characters were obvious.  Everyone says that the Vexilla Magnifica is the go-to because this army needs all the help avoiding getting shot off the table it can get.  If the standard-bearer is allied with an Imperial force, then the banner can be 'upgraded' tot he Vexilla Imperialis, which gives a 5+ invulnerable save to Imperials within 9".  Not bad, but not necessary in a Custodes army as everyone has a 5++ already (and a 4++ in an all-Custodes detachment!).  I went with captains on foot because they were cheaper and gave out the rerolls to the units that needed them most- the infantry.  But including Trajann Valoris was the "cherry on top".  I already love using Lord Calgar in my Ultramarines (despite my decades of anti-special character rants) and it makes sense to keep that theme going.  Plus, he's just really, really good. 

  That's it!  My rationale for the army is mostly based on wanting variety and having the cool stuff in there.  The first battle is going to be against Death Guard and that should be really interesting.  I think that I will be destroyed utterly because the army isn't really... substantial.  But we'll see in an upcoming post!

Let me know what you've been working on while patiently waiting for me to catch up.  This is the end of the first quarter of the year and I finished my first of four painted armies.  On track so far...

Happy Hobbying!

The Emperor's Personal Guard

   I may have made some hobby bets to get myself motivated.  I have been famously lax in my hobbying over the last few years (but I swear, school and work have been obstacles- we don't care!) and my buddy has been goading me on to finish projects.  He's the reason that Roboute Guilliman is finally painted and the reason that my wife is now working on her Death stuff again.  My son, well, he's been motoring through his stuff like mad and has even started his third army painting frenzy.  Oh boy.

  So I did the same thing I did all those years ago at a manager training program- I chose an easy, low model-count army!  Back then, it was Deathwing.  I even played with doing nonmetal metallics (NMM).  I was lucky enough to be able to ask the masters themselves, the Wappels, and got in trouble for the assumption that I was cheating.  All these years later, I've chosen Adeptus Custodes.  They're striking on the tabletop (and I am NOT doing NMM) and they have a relatively simple paintscheme.  I'm using this force as a motivator- 25 models to a finished army!?  Absolutely!  So here's the force:

  2000 Points consisting of Trajan Valoris, a Shield-captain in Terminator armor with Castellan Axe, a Shield-captain with Misericordia and Castellan Axe, 3 Allarus Terminators with Castellan Axes, 3 Wardens with Castellan Axes, three units of 3 Custodian Guard with Custodian Spears, a Vixilla with Castellan Spear, and two units of 3 Vertas Praetors- 1997 points!

  But we're not here to discuss the army list, we're here to see how I'm painting these models.

  It starts off with a priming of the models themselves.  The bases were either the urban bases from GW or sanded bases (note the masking tape around the clear stems to save them primer) and plan to paint them gray, so black primer was the way to go.  The models, on the other hand, weren't primed at all but just sprayed gold.  My buddy warned me about the gold spray-  he noted that paint didn't stick to it very well.  I had this problem when I sprayed my Stormcast with a gold spray bought at Walmart (it was cheap).  But I was willing to give this one a go because, well, it wasn't cheap and I had hope.  So I used GW's Retributor Armor gold spray.  The steps below seem to make sure that paint sticks to it, but you may find a similar issue.  Otherwise, I quite like it.  And I should- I spent almost $60 on two cans!

  After a healthy amount of time letting them dry, I then washed them with Reikland Fleshshade.  This adds just a bit of 'warmth' and shading to it without turning the gold a crazy color.  I also have the Gloss version of this and was very tempted to use it.  But I wasn't sure and stuck with the basics in this case.  I was sure to let this wash dry for at least an hour before I moved onto the next step. 

  Next, I wanted take advantage of the large, flat details and bring the gold back to the basecolor.  But I'm not going to basecoat the model again, so I chose to drybrush this step.  I brought out the Retributor Gold paint, which actually does match very closely to the spray.  Obviously that's important.  I also believe that this is the step that shows whether the gold primer is an obstable or not.  I drybrushed everything except the ends of the lances and I payed for that later, but I didn't have any problems with paint sticking to the gold otherwise.  

  Finally, I finished the gold with another drybrush, but with Liberator Gold.  Its silverish tint and transition from gold makes it perfect.  Again, I should have line-highlighted with it, but I'm going for fast and these models are beautiful even without the extra effort.  

   Now is where the work really has to start.  I painted the pants, cloth, shoulder-plates, and plumes with Khorne Red.  It wasn't always easy to get to everything, but it's worth it.  Make sure that the color is strong and smooth because it will get the wash later.  

   Next is Doombull Brown, painted onto all the leather bits over their arms and legs.  Again, the color has to be solid and smooth for the upcoming wash.

  After the brown comes the black areas, including the lance, the bolter casings, and boots.  I found this color to be the one that wouldn't stick.  The boots and the ends of the lances did not accept Abbadon Black so I pulled out the Chaos Black (last 'edition' version of the color from the early 2000s).  This definitely helped but still required many layers on the lances.  It was good to work that long in order to have a smooth coat, but I don't want to have to waste so much time and paint doing that again.  So the next batch I paint will receive healthy amounts of wash and gold drybrush in the beginning and I'll see if that helps.  

  The silver was the part I was dreading the most.  Everything from pipes to ammo-feeders to exhaust pipes had to be gotten and not missed or it would show.  After all, these models are already rather monotone (that's a lot of gold!) so the details must be obvious to break it up.  Being careful not to spill any black or silver onto the gold was my biggest worry...

  After the red, brown, black, and silver were done it was time to give it the good 'ol black wash with Nuln Oil.  Every part that was painted, as listed above, gets the selectively-placed wash (no need to spill it onto the gold).  Oh yes, now we're starting to see what the final models will look like.  Admittedly, it's at this step that I usually move on because I consider this a "game ready" standard.  But I want these models to look good, so there's more.

  The reds needed to be brought back up.  I rebased all of the cloth and plumage with Khorne Red, then layered with Mephiston Red, and mixed in some Troll Slayer Orange for the final highlight.  Nothing fancy, just making it red. 

  All of the brown leather was line-highlighted with Gorthor Brown.  It was the nearest light brown I had and leather isn't supposed to be that reflective.  It did the job.  

  I highlighted the black with Dark Reaper and then a line highlight of Codex Grey, er, Mechanicus Standard Grey (they're almost exactly the same- yay!).  I even drew a little line down the shaft of the lance to make sure that it wasn't just a massive black thing- I had to give it some love too.

  Finally, I highlighted the black-washed Leadbelcher with Stormhost Silver, making sure to bring out the barrels of the Hurricane Bolters as much as I could.  At this point, everything for the models is done as far as the main details.  

  But there's the additional details that make the model.  Every Custodes has gems all over them, from the shoulder pads to the hip plates.  Plus, they have power weapons of some sort, which is usually described with a blueish glow.  So this was the final detail that needed to be done.  

  I based everything with Macragge Blue, then I used the gem technique from ages long past (found the Eldar codex from 3rd edition as many other publications besides) with Hoeth Blue and White Scar.  The power blades were turned into five colors, each successively adding more and more white: Macragge Blue, Macragge Blue/Hoeth Blue, Hoeth Blue, Hoeth Blue/White Scar, White Score.  Each of these colors was successively worked down the blade until the tips were white, being a very stark contrast to the gold and red blur that is the main model.  

  The rest is just the typical basing methods and painting the one guy's bare head- this is the Dawneagle Shield-captain when I so choose.  There's also a ton more details that I could do, but I'm going easy and fast on this project.  The models are so beautiful that I don't have to really go crazy to have a great looking force on the table, and I plan to take full advantage of that.  

  Let me know what you're working on.  Happy Hobbying!

Mustering the NuMarines

  I haven't posted anything about the new starter kit, the 8th edition 40k rules, or even any thoughts on the Primaris space marines.  I have all kinds of thoughts, mostly positive (mainly because I saw it all coming, what with that pesky Age of Sigmar game being the 'test' platform now), but I just don't feel like going on and on about them.  After all, the game has been out a year, almost all the armies are redone and updated, and the opinions of every hobbyist with a camera and keyboard has already been splashed across the blogosphere.  So why waste the time?

  I've already played a gazillion games, most of them with my younger son and most of them with just a handful of the armies.  My boy built and painted all the Death Guard I could buy (he was like a little machine) and I built and spraypainted a small force of the new space marines.  That Dark Imperium starter set provided some great minis and the rules are really easy and fun (without losing that general feel to the game that we've grown used to).  So all in all, it's about getting the hobby going for this new stuff rather than waxing on about it.

  So the new marines, eh?  Larger versions of the dudes that I've painted literally thousands of, with cooler details and that 'true scale' (that I never really cared about anyway)?  How could I not be all about these!?  Unfortunately, a little mix-up saw me using a can of twenty year-old Ultramarine Blue spraypaint.  While I was happy to still have a working can, I was not terribly forgiving when it 'fuzzed up' on most of my marines.  This matters because it means I can't use my typical 'car wash' approach as fuzzy base means spongy base.  That dryness saps the water right out of paint and washes, killing any hope of doing this as well as I'd like.

  As cool as those Primaris models are, I was simply demoralized.  They've sat for months at that stage before my wife's industriousness motivated me to give them a shot.  So I got to work.  Please note a few things on the Intercessors (that's the squad of 'normal' guys)-
  1.  I'm taking pictures with my phone's camera.  I've gotten lazy and simply don't feel like pulling out the real camera to then hook it up to the computer and all that.  I'm just lazy and I have a camera on my phone.
  2.  I've only done the basecoat and wash.  That means regular 'block coloring' with a targeted wash over each color.  There's so much layering to do yet, so don't be too critical.  I've recovered worse, so this is just a 'first step'.
  3.  Finally, I'm using the original colours for the Ultramarines 2nd company.  That means a bright blue (remember that old spraypaint?), yellow trim, and red weapon casings.  I saw someone do it online (I think it was one of the BoLS guys, but I am likely wrong) and I thought it was neat to return to my roots with the newest stuff, so I copied the idea.  I forgot how good that old paint scheme used to look...

  Because the blue couldn't take the wash like I was used to, I'm going to have to layer it all the way up.  This may take a little bit, but at least it's only squads of five.  The bolt rifles and chest eagles are going to be quick and fun, so I'll save those for last.  It's that armor that I'm really going to have to focus on.  

  I had to get the captain painted.  The best things was that I based him by hand, so no ill effects of the old spray-paint on him.  I know that I should take him up at least one more layer in highlights, but I'm not sure if I want to do that now or when I finally put his markings on.  And the markings are confounding me because I'm not sure if I want to use decals (I can't find Microsol anywhere around here!) or hand paint everything.  But he looks good on the tabletop as he is, so I'm in no rush to solve these conundrums.  

  Oh, as a bonus to myself, I also painted up the Primaris Librarian at the same time...  

  Now that I'm trying to rebuild a game group and sell some more toy soldiers, I need to have a beautifully painted demo set.  The Dark Imperium is all about these Primaris Ultramarines defending against the Death Guard and that's what I'm going to work on.  In fact, my son and I are revisiting his Death Guard to start sprucing them up.  Wait till you see how well a 12-year old can swing a paintbrush with a little direction- I think I might just be proud!

  Also, I had anonymous ask about how I painted my old Word Bearers recently.  First, thank you for visiting my site!  I always love the attention.  Second, it was coincidental to be asked about that army as I'd just pulled it out and blew the dust off for a game recently.  After no use for some time (I think it's been on the tabletop once since Adepticon), the bearers of Lorgar's Word are suddenly drawing that attention that I love so much!  I decided to post a pic of that battle just out of a sheer sense of providence...

Da Waaagh is Green Now!!!

  A bit ago, I apparently got a bit of a 'bug' and started to build and paint like crazy.  And my focus on getting my Orks finished has finally, finally, FINALLY paid off.  If you've been following, you know that I have been using the same 1000 point army and refused to change it until I got this part painted.  Now that I'm finally caught up on that, it's time to start taking some of the good stuff.  But that's for later.  In the meantime, let's look at my Ork force and just marvel at a goal being accomplished:

The first unit of Boyz, painted for a demo board by a GW Manager.  I added the Boss Nob later.  But it should be noted that my buddy painted the rust on all the models and that drove my paint scheme.  I also want to point out that I REALLY want to repaint the skin, as I'm doing Boy-skin Gretchin Green.  But I left it alone in the interest of homage to my buddy's effort.

The second unit that you should all be familiar with.  To see how they were painted, visit here.  Note the difference in skin color between the Boyz and the Boss Nob?  That's going to be a continuing theme borrowed from Fantasy- older, meaner Orks are darker!!!

Every Ork army MUST have a unit of Lootas.  In addition, I also add a Painboy to this unit to keep them alive longer.  Right now, I find the unit too small for this to matter, I always forget to use the Grot Orderly, and rarely do they get shot.  So I have some adjustments to this unit as I grow the Waaagh...

C'mon, a giant Deff Dread to put rust all over?  Yes, please!  I actually taught my son how to paint rust on this model.  And worry not, there is so much more that could be done.  I just like rust...

This is the scariest unit in the whole force as it is the only one that has the ability to kill a tank.  Not quite as efficient as a unit of Tankbustas (half a hit less per turn for same number of wounds and 20 more points, DARNIT!), but still scary considering that they Outflank and blast rokkits into people.  Plus, I like the models.

Here's the point of almost every Ork army I've ever faced- da Warbikers.  No, these are NOT Nob Bikers, mostly because I have respect for da Boyz themselves.  In addition, da Warboss of Awesomeness is part of this unit.  It's where all my Power Klaws currently are, and it's the best armor saves in the whole force.  There will be more...

And the whole army together!  The look on my opponent's face when I tell them this is only 1000 points is priceless.  Of course, it hasn't worked out so far.  Oh,  and ignore my iced tea in the background...

  I am so excited!  I wanted this force to be fully painted so I could feel accomplished and bring some of that luck into my games.  Unfortunately, the army is 1-4 by this point, playing against Chaos Marines three times, IG once, and a slap-together Necron force.  But hey, the army was just warming up, right?

  Now don't forget that this army is 'tabletop standard', meaning block colors and possible shading (wash is a wonderful thing!).  As the army grows and my list develops to find 'good' options, those units will receive layering and highlighting (tournament standard).  But for right now, well-placed colors look better on the tabletop than plastic-gray, so I'm satisfied.

  Are y'all working on anything good right now (even AdMech, since it is now released)?  Let me know and I can't wait to hear about your elation over finished models.  Happy Hobbying!