With 40 Space Marines completed I now need to move onto the remaining four models. As one of them is quite big (very, very big), I realised I needed to get started on the Spartan.
As I’ve been playing mostly Fantasy and Age of Sigmar in the last decade I haven’t painted many tanks, so I needed to go back to basics and remind myself how to do it!
Assembly was a long process, but very straight forward apart from a small error with one of the top hatches. Once I’d worked that out it was completed and ready for undercoat.
Undercoat / Step 1
All my models have a black undercoat as I like the slightly darker affect it has on Mephiston Red. It also means there are no grey / white spots left even if I miss a bit! So I can always pretend it’s deliberate shadow.
I decided I would mask off the tracks and some of the weapons to ensure that these remained black as building back over red is a little pointless when it’s already there. If you’ve not done this before just make sure you take a little of the ‘stickiness’ off so that it doesn’t remove the paint when you take them off!
Step 2 – Red Undercoat
With the Mephiston Red undercoat on, and the masking tape removed it’s starting to look a lot like a Blood Angel tank. Next up is some pin washing (which I’ve never done before) with Nuln Oil and a little tidying up of the tracks where the red undercoat has snuck through!
I also need to finish the Lascannon Sponsors of course but they fit on very nicely to allow some movement of the model.
What’s Next
I need to finish the tank, and complete the remainder of the Age of Darkness Box Set. It’s great to be getting close to finishing a starter set!
The last of the normal marines… having painted 10 Terminators and 30 Space Marines I am now on the final stretch (before characters, Dreadnought and tank).
And what a final stretch… for these I cheated a little bit and bought a second box set.
Missile Launchers and Heavy Bolters
I selected these, because the Missile Launcher is iconic from the RTB01 box set and my first foray into Warhammer 40k, so long ago.
The iconic RTB01 box for the original plastic Space Marines
Missile Launchers
Missile Launchers with Sergeant
Heavy Bolters
Space Marines with Heavy Bolters (including Sergeant)
It was great to have a bit of a change following the 30 Tactical Marines and the weapons themselves are easy to paint – especially given the simple scheme for the Blood Angels. Fortunately Black and Red go together!
What’s Next
I am halfway through the Praetors and Dreadnought and they will hopefully be finished before an October trip to Warhammer World. Meanwhile I have also started my Land Raider Spartan – more on that later!
To say that the Age of Darkness box set is bursting with value, is doing it a disservice. With 40 Mark VIs, 10 Terminators, 2 Praetors, Dreadnought and Spartan Tank; it has got everything you need to have a fun game.
I’ve previously finished my Terminators, and have now completed the Sergeants for the Tactical Marines.
As there are 40 Tactical Marines the obvious answer is to build them as 4 units of 10 to give a good backbone of any army, but I picked up a box of missile launchers and heavy bolters… so I have 3 units of 10 Tactical Marines.
Unit 1
Tactical Squad, including Sergeant with Power Fist
Unit 2
Tactical Squad with Chain-Bayonets and Sergeant with Power Sword
Unit 3
Tactical Squad with Sergeant with Lightning Claw
I really enjoyed painting these models. They have enough detail to be Space Marines, whilst not having too much to paint… no trim! Of course they do have the studded shoulder pads which took a while to get right, but I batch-painted them so got used to it by the 40th Space Marine!
What’s Next
I have finished the Missile Launchers and Heavy Bolters, so the next article will show some pictures of those!
Putting aside that they are the wrong legion, I loved the breakup of the single colour and the use of gold goes nicely with Blood Angels as well. As if to reinforce the hint, I bought the Astartes (Loyalist) book, and veteran marines in Blood Angels use gold (who knew).
The sergeant already had black shoulder pads to designate him, but a full gold helmet definitely doesn’t look out of place, and I’ve once again taken Mengel Miniature’s idea of white on the legs but moved it down to the knee. This has allowed me to use the black transfers for the legion number, although they are small, so it was fun getting some of them on.
I then added gold trim to all the models in places that felt appropriate and … hurrah they are finished.
10 Cataphractii Terminators for Blood Angel Horus Heresy
And some more pictures for details:
What’s Next
I need to finish the Sergeants and special equipment troopers, the Praetors, a Contemptor and the Spartan Assault Tank. Lots to get to, but happy with progress so far.
Blood Angel Batch Painting from Horus Heresy Age of Darkness Box.
Following on from my last update, I’ve made a little progress on my Blood Angels for Horus Heresy despite work being busy and the hot temperatures in the UK.
However, I did get some paint on the non-special models such that they are now complete.
Blood Angels – non-special troops
Following on from my previous update, I’ve added more black and picked out the details on the weapons with Leadbelcher and a highlight of Ironbreaker.
Missile Launchers
The missile launcher’s above show the colours used on the weapons. I have gone for a simple scheme and black and red so very well together.
There are also transfers on all the models, with Blood Angel wings on the shoulder pads, legion number on the left knee and unit marking on the right.
Basing
The basing is a simple affair with Vallejo Thick Mud (Brown) and a highlight of XV-88 to pick out the ridges. I was generous with the mud when applying it and it looks great – not least because it is different to the AoS Destruction base I normally paint.
There’s also loads in a pot, so I’ve hardly used any to base the models so far – it’ll definitely cover a lot of an army.
Finally I finished off the bases with a black rim to keep them neat the tidy.
The standard troopers from a tactical unit
What’s Next
There’s still the Terminators, Sergeants, and 2 special troopers to finish off. And I need to start the Praetors at some point…! In order to give myself something different to paint I’ve also assembled the Contemptor Dreadnought and given it a quick undercoat to be ready as the next model on the table.
I’m still aiming to complete by October when I’m meeting up with friends at Warhammer World and I think I’m still on target.
Blood Angel Batch Painting from Horus Heresy Age of Darkness Box.
In my continued effort to try to get some Blood Angels for Horus Heresy actually finished, I am continuing to batch paint the models from the Age of Darkness Box. In my last article I got them to Mephiston Red (with some Nuln Oil shading)… what’s next?
Last time I got here:
The Blood Angels from the Age of Darkness Box Sets.
Orange is new…
But I needed to get the highlighting done. As I was around when the original Beakies were released, my normal go-to- method is to use edge highlighting… but it can take a long time and I only needed battle ready. Fortunately I had heard of some people using the hallowed technique of drybrushing for their marines! Strange, but I did some investigation and I found this by Sonic Sedgehammer:
Sonic Sledgehammer with all the advice!
They suggested two levels of drybrushing, but why do two when you can go straight to the end and pick up 1? Fortunately I had Ryza Rust from some Martian terrain I painted that I got as a gift from a friend, so I was ready to go and skip right to the end.
The orange applied! A rough and ready drybrush.
The technique is explained well in the video, but effectively just drybrush the edges only and leave the panels free of highlight. This gives a good overall impression and whilst I may do a bit of tidy up later I’m happy with the results at the table-top level.
Black Legion?
Not quite, but the next colour was Abaddon Black to get some contrasting colours onto the models. For this I wanted to keep it easy (and quick) which is rapidly becoming a theme. Some of the eagle-eyed readers will have noticed the black in the picture above, and that’s what I did. Pick out the joints, the cables and the back of the backpacks.
From behind… with even more Black!
Whilst this may be sufficient I do want to add a little silver here and there, but it is a great start and the models are beginning to look like Blood Angels.
I’m really enjoying the batch-painting and seeing progress each time I sit down even if I’m only able to give 1 or 2 hours at a time. By now I’ve normally got bored and hived off some models, but I’m managing to keep with the 50 done to Mephiston Red level – and now they’re all highlighted and some black sections picked out.
But weren’t there 52?
Well yes, I’ve not done the Praetors but there’s a reason for that. In fact there are a few.
I don’t mind if they take longer to paint – they are characters and should have the glory and attention
I want to do a few more highlights, so I’ll like do some halfway colours on them to get there
There’s so much detail I can’t go into ‘automatic pilot’ with them and because I need to think about what colours I want they will take longer.
So the Praetors are out of the batch-painting process for now, but I’ll go back to them soon as I need them to complete the foot troops before I get to the tank and dreadnought.
What’s Next
Well, I’ve already alluded to it, but I’ll be adding some silver to some of the pipes. I think want to start on the cloth/leather for the Terminators and any that may appear on the Beaky Marines, and then I’ll have to move towards the weapons.
I am pleased with the black so far and the contrast it provides, so it’s likely that they will be black as a base as well — but still time to reconsider.
Blood Angel Batch Painting from Horus Heresy Age of Darkness Box.
As regular readers of my Hobby Updates will know, I have picked up an Age of Darkness box set and am painting mine as Blood Angels. The Sons of Sanguinius have been my favourite for many years, and there was never any question what I be painting for my first Horus Heresy Army (Ignoring my Epic / Space Marine ones!)
Sprays before Nuln Oil
In the last article I had sprayed most of the models in TT Combat Spray Black & then Red. The above picture shows what they looked like.
Nuln Oil on right
I then drenched the models in Nuln Oil. If you’re reading this 2 weeks from now (so mid July-2022) the old Nuln Oil. It gives a very dark undertone, but I wanted to use it instead of pin highlighting. If you are include pin highlighting (putting Nuln Oil only into the recesses) is slower but neater!
Tactical Marines and 2 Praetors with Mephiston Red
I have then added 1 coat of Mephiston Red to all the foot troops (52 models) from the Age of Darkness box set. This takes off some of the gloss of the Nuln Oil and the TT Combat Seriously Red spray, and gives the models a nice clear and smooth coat. Whilst I may build up the red on the Praetors a little more, the troops are done with red at this stage.
Heavy Bolters… to the fore!
The Blood Angels from the Age of Darkness Box Sets.
What’s Next
Next up is highlighting the armour with Wild Rider Red. I need to be a little careful here as it is a very bright orange and if I apply too much it’ll look odd. I just want to add a little highlighting to the armour before proceeding with the weapons and other non-red items.
I have always collected Blood Angels, and my only completed army is a Blood Angel one with RTB001 Beakies and so, when Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness – was released I decided I would start a new armour of the little chaps.
Horus Heresy – Games Workshop
I have decided to take the whole Age of Darkness box and assemble and use them as Blood Angels. That’s a whole lot of toys!
Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness – Games Workshop
Unique amongst starter sets because this to Space Marine against Space Marine, the whole box set is a great start to any Horus Heresy Army. Sure, there may be a few too many Tactical marines, but I’ll make it work… plus I have a plan.
Heavy Weapons…
A weapons only box set – Games Workshop
Games Workshop also released some weapon upgrade sets alongside the starter set. The Missile Launchers are from my childhood, so I had to pick up a set of these as well. I’m told that Heavy Weapons are taken in squads in Horus Heresy, and I didn’t want to make too many. So 5 Heavy Bolters and 5 Missile Launchers and splitting the box was a great option!
This would leave me with 30 Tactical Marines, which I’ve assembled in 3 units of 10. And the Terminators with Lightning Claws so my Blood Angel army actually has some close combat ability. 10 of these should mess with anything they get to – as long as they can get across the table!
Test Scheme
I was to make these as easy as possible to paint. I’m just looking for table top standard, and not Golden Deamon, so I needed something quick.
I’ve picked up some sprays, so I’m doing Black, Red, then back to the Citadel colour options – based around Mephiston Red.
Test Model… I know he’s far from Heresy!
A test model, who was quick to do with some highlights on only a few places for speed. I need to do a little work on making the guns look cleaner, but I’m happy with the overall result.
I’ll go into the scheme in more detail when I do a few of the actual models, but it’s spray paints, Nuln Oil, Mephiston Red and Wild Rider Red highlight and then black for the ‘non-red’ bits!
All that remains is for me to paint 40 marines, 10 terminators, 2 praetors, a dreadnought and land-raider! ouch. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on my progress.
Some time ago, I spent a considerable amount of time playing with impact. For those who don’t know Impact allows you to digitally paint models to test colour schemes for projects.
As such I ended up recreating and creating tonnes of Space Marine liveries for both cannon chapters and non-cannon chapters. This process eventually allowed me to create my own home brew Space Marine Chapter the Void Dragons.
But, I thought rather than deleting all that hard work or just leaving it on Pinterest where it won’t be used, why not share them with you. That way, you can view the colour schemes I’ve already made and pick one for your own Chapter should you wish….. Enjoy!
Following the success of the first two articles in this series on the Sisters of Battle and the Blood Angels, I decided to write another, this time on everyone’s favourite xenos, the Orks. So like the last two lists our only rule is that we have to start with the Combat Patrol box and then build this up to 1,000 points that will hopefully prove to be a fun introduction to what I think is the most characterful of xenos armies.
The combat patrol box is packed with goodies and like the other factions they’re a fantastic way to start a new army as they often give you a wide range of units.
This will cost you an additional £168, alongside the cost of the Codex (£30) the entire army will set you back £283!
However! If you sign up for SCN Hobbies mailing list you’ll receive 25% off Games Workshops recommended retail price and 15% off web only miniatures. Meaning including postage the army and codex would cost £220! That’s a saving of just over £60!
To sign up to the SCN Hobbies mailing list, email Sarah on scnhobbyworld@outlook.com.
This combat patrol can be used as a basis for virtually any of the Ork klans, so today we’re just going to make a generic list that should be suitable for anyone (though Evil Sunz and Deathskullz are likely to gain more out of it).
The list above brings us with upgrades to 1,000 points and the list will be as follows;
HQ ———-
Warboss in Mega Armour (Warlord) – 115 pts – ‘Uge Choppa & Big Shoota – Command Trait: Big Gob – Trukkboyz
Weirdboy – 70 pts – Power of the Waaagh!: Da Krunch & Da Jump
TROOPS ———-
Boyz – 95 pts – 9x Boyz: Slugga & Choppa – Boss Nob: Big Choppa & Slugga – Trukkboyz Mob
Boyz – 95 pts – 9x Boyz: Slugga & Choppa – Boss Nob: Big Choppa & Slugga
ELITES ———-
Meganobz – 105 pts – 2x Meganobz: Kustom Shoota, Power Klaw – Boss Meganob: Kustom Shoota, Power Klaw
FAST ATTACK ———-
Deffkoptas – 150 pts – 3x Deffkoptas
Warbikers – 130 pts – 4x Warbiker: Dakkaguns and Choppa – Boss Nob: Big Choppa
This chap is truly a beast! 5 attacks in melee, hitting on 2+ at strength 9, this dude can hit marines on 2+ and then wound them on 2+ giving them only a 6+ chance to save. Flat two damage means he’ll likely kill at least three marines in combat.
On top of that if you make sure your boyz are within 6″ of him, when in combat they’ll benefit from a +1 on their hit rolls in combat.
Give him the Trukkboyz Specialist mob rule, it’ll mean he can disembark even if the Trukk makes a normal move and it’ll add +1 to his ranged attacks hit roll while shooting from the trukk.
With Tellyporta, you also have the option of setting him up in reserve and bringing him on later…. But perhaps consider saving this for a unit we’ll look at later.
WEIRDBOY
While not bad in combat himself, this guys true power comes from his Waaagh Powers. Equip him with Da Jump and you’ll be able to move any of your core units such as your Boyz anywhere on the battlefield 9″ away from the enemy, and considering we’ve gone for a fast list which should be charging up to the enemy as quickly as possible, this power ties in perfectly with that.
Your second power could be Da Krunch which if any enemy units stray to close to the Weirdboy he’ll be able to roll a D6 for each model causing mortals on 6’s.
BOYZ
Your common Ork is a CC specialist and in our army where speed and being in the enemies grill is top priority these boyz will do you proud. With two attacks base increasing to three due to their Choppas a single unit of 10 can push out 31 attacks in close combat which hit on 3’s (or 2’s if near your Warboss). If you choose to run your army as Goffs then these boyz will score additional hits on unmodified hit rolls of 5+ instead of 6+ if you use the Unbridled Carnage stratagem for 2CP.
Either place them in your Trukk and give them the Trukkboyz specialist mob rule, and then bomb them up the field or have them sit with your Weirdboy who can Da Jump them near to their target.
MEGANOBZ
This unit with their Power Klaws mean they can chew through a lot of the enemies heavy armour. With Strength 10 in combat and AP-3 with flat 2 damage throw them against tanks and watch them krump.
You can increase this damage to three with the stratagem Hit ‘Em Harder, which if you take averages into account means you should be causing 9 wounds to things like Space Marine Rhinos and the like.
Again, because their Core, if they’re within 6″ of the Warboss they’ll gain a +1 on their to hit roll in combat meaning that you negate the -1 to hit for having power klaws.
You can equip these with a Tellyporta as well should you wish, allowing you to deploy them anywhere 9″ away from the enemy,
DEFF KOPTAS
These boyz are fast with a movement of 14″ they close towards enemy tanks fire their rockets and cause some serious damage early in the game. Their rockets are 24″ range with 2D3 shots, strength 8 and AP-2, doing D3 damage per hit. Great for taking out heavier infantry from further away and staying out of range of the enemies small arms fire. Also can be used to quickly claim any objectives should the need arise. lend themselves perfectly to our fast moving army, giving it some punch from further away.
If they do get caught in combat, each Kopta will be able make 6 attacks thanks to its Spinnin’ blades. However, they’re only hitting on 3’s and hit at strength 5, -1AP and doing 1 damage each. Try and avoid combat with them unless you feel confident you can win.
With Swoopin’ Down these boys can also be set up off the table before the game begins coming down in a movement phase at least 9″ away from the enemy. Good for dropping in and using the rockets to blast away at a valuable target.
If you choose Speed Freaks then there’s various options of stratagems for these as well with possibly the best being Attack Out O’ Da Sun, allowing them to be removed at the end of the turn for 2CP and placed anywhere on the battlefield 9″ away from the enemy in your next movement phase. This also effectively removes the chance for the enemy to shoot and target them for a turn.
WARBIKERS
Warbikers are a great all round unit for shooting and combat. With each bike having two Dakkaguns they have the potential to kick out 25 shots for the five bikes if they’re within 9″ of the enemy. Even if they’re not they’ll still be able to shoot 15 times! Great for taking out lightly armed units such as Guard.
In combat the Warbikers will make two attacks each (three attacks each if they have Choppas)though don’t expect them to cause too much damage unless you have taken them as Speed Freaks.
This unit is ideal for harassing the enemy and taking wounds off here and there.
DEFF DREAD
This guy can really be turned into a CC beast, and you’ve got two of them to play with! Give them both four Dread Klaws and they’ll generate seven attacks each in melee. These are at Strength 10, -3 AP and doing 3 damage each. They’ll chew through most things the enemy can put up against them.
They’re tough as well with toughness 7, 8 wounds each and a 3+ save, the enemy will need to pour some time and effort into getting rid of these, meaning they’re not shooting at your boyz or meganobz……
when you do charge with these make sure to use Ramming Speed for 2CP as it’ll give 3D6 for your charge roll and on a 2+ cause D3 mortal wounds to an enemy within engagement range.
To get them up the field really quick, keep the deff dreads in reserve and then use the Tellyporta stratagem that we discussed earlier and all they’ll be able to deploy 9″ away from an enemy in the movement phase. That’ll terrify most players.
TRUKK
The trusty Ork Trukk, place one of your units of boyz in here and they’ll be able to shoot from it as its open topped. It’ll be able to take 12 infantry models or one unit of ten boyz and your Warboss…. just to get them up the field quicker.
Remember that the Trukk is Ramshackle as well meaning anything up to strength 7 that targets it will have to subtract one from its damage characteristic.
OTHER POINTS
If you like close combat, then this army list is for you. It’s ideally suited to get up the table quickly and charging as soon as possible. Be as aggressive as possible with this list and you should have a lot of fun.
WHERE NEXT?
The sky’s the limit. Which Kultur do you want to go with, Evil Sunz? Get more vehicles. Goffs? Get more boyz. Deathskulls? Get some lootas.
I hope you enjoyed this, please let me know in the comments below how you would build a 1,000 point list from the Combat Patrol Box and why not also let me know what you think to my list. There may well be aspects of the codex or units that I have not included that you think should be, so why not let us know in the comments below.
