RobPod #25: Mechanicum Series - Part II

Greetings everyone, and welcome back to the series dedicated to worshiping the Ommnisiah and his cohort!  This time we have an extra treat, as our RobPod series is joined by a guest, Larry from the Models Workshop.  This podcast is all about the models that make up the new faction, and specifically the design and kits themselves.  Join us as we have some fun with the new line

Related Links:

Larry's Website - The Models Workshop

The Bob Ross Remix


Cheers!

LexVerum Astartes VII: The Armoury - Grenades, Special Issue, and Wargear Special Rules

After a long absence, I finally had some time to put the finishing touches on the balance and functionality of this rather arduous section of the codex, and then put the pen to the paper... or in this case, the mouse to the photoshop!  Finally I have rounded out the Armoury section for the codex, and with it, there was quite a bit left to cover.  From minor elements many of us take for granted, such as grenades, to the intricate details of the numerous weapons and wargear, it's all here.

If you have time to read it all, it was a labor of love.  Most of the items in the codex work slightly differently than what we expect when we read names like Storm Shield or Power Weapons. Things range from slight tweaks to major re-works based on the power level I think would keep the super charged Tru-Scale Marines in check.  The most fun was the final section which hits the unique special rules to the codex.  Some of them are pretty straightforward ports of rules found in the standard codex, with some tweaks to numbers here and there.  But I needed them here in order to keep the codex self-sufficient (no lazy "Consult Codex: Adeptus Astartes" here.  It's all spelled out for you, or is covered in the BRB).  The rules unique to this codex were fun, and should add some added weight to these guys, making them a real challenge, even with their extremely low model count.

In any event, here's the finishing touches to the Tru-Scale Armoury!  You may notice I have tweaked some of the format, such as title fonts.  This should make the codex easier to read, while still having some nice aesthetics.

Catching Up, and Making Progress

Hey there everyone, Godfrey here with something of a personal update for you guys.  Most of the articles I write are written with the express idea of discussing something about this or that, but I thought I'd take some time to gather my progress on the many fronts I've been facing in the Grim Darkness of my Hobby time, and form them into words.  It helps me as a writer and a hobbyist to catalog my achievements and to work out meaningful steps towards future goals, and hopeful provides you guys with something to occupy your time with.  So why the picture of Liam Neeson to start off with an article like that?  Well apart from being one of my favorite actors, this picture depicts the namesake of my screen name.  It's from the film Kingdom of Heaven, and if you haven't seen it check it out.  There are numerous little nuances and elements about the character which really hit home for me, so I strive to be more like him in my everyday games... even if the Ork player in me is a bit over-zealous to speak broken English and yell a lot.  But on with the show.  Let's see what's been going on, and where it will take me.

Lex Verum Astartes VI: The Armoury - Armour

Welcome to the next installment of my Tru-Scale project.  Today we'll cover something which more or less defines a Space Marine both in aesthetic and durability.  The various types of armour which the Adeptus Astartes wear may differ in their design, color, and even shape.  But they all serve to keep them alive long enough to pass judgment on the enemies of mankind.  That said, I have always been a little underwhelmed by their staying power on today's battlefields of the grim dark.

Lex Verum Astartes V: The Armoury - Melee Weapons

Welcome back folks.  As promised, this time around we're hitting the armoury for the melee weapons of the Tru-Scale Space Marines.  While there isn't nearly as much here as our previous installment in terms of quantity, it does help us establish just how powerful the Space Marines will be in close quarters fighting.

I tried to make a very clear distinction between basic weaponry, chain weaponry, and power weapons.  The Energy Field rule will be revealed at the end of the armoury, but it does promise to make the high price point for purchasing them worth the investment.  Next up in the armoury will be the amour section.  While in the current incarnation of the Space Marine codex it's more or less a brush-over, armour in this book does more than offer a save.  But, that's another installment.  For now, Enjoy!

Lex Verum Astartes IV: The Armoury - Ranged Weapons

Welcome back everyone.  It has been a long and fairly arduous process to get to this point, but finally after some long bouts of play-testing and some adjustments, the first installment of the new section is complete.  There were a lot of details that needed to be honed in on before this post was able to be made, and these details govern the entirety of the codex from basic principles to specific unit statistics.  Many of the project's finer points were worked out to a rough point and tested using a few starting points.  This allowed me to tweak some of the specific points such as weapon ranges, S and AP values, the basics of unit stat lines, and even how to balance certain pieces of special wargear.  I'm excited to add in some pieces of wargear which are a little under-represented in the current incarnation of the book.

Alongside this, I have a few cosmetic changes that will be implemented in the next set of data slates, but for now are left as the previous versions have been.  The main element to this is altering the font used for titles throughout the codex.  Currently the gothic-style font looks nice, but is a little cumbersome to read at times.  I plan to reel that back and use a font which is easier to read, while still keeping the current font for major section headers.  the body font seems to be working aright, so for now I'll keep it.  Additionally, I have never really be happy with the "Verum Astartes" label for the codex.  I feel it just doesn't really convey immediately what the codex is.  So I will keep the title for this series, but as it now reads in this set of data-slates, the new self-identifier will be Codex: Tru-Scale Astartes.

But there will be more updates for the codex and the project as a whole soon.  For now I'll give you the first to come of The Armoury, chosen by popular and unanimous demand.  Next up will be the Melee weaponry.  Hopefully I should be able to get to them sooner with much of the core balance worked out.

Lex Verum Astartes III: Chapter Tactics & Warlord Traits

Hello again everyone, and welcome back.  Last time we got started looking at the Army Special rules for my Tru-Scale Space Marines project.  I am most assuredly pleased with how the army's structure is working out, and though I still have many more months of work before I can complete this fan-made codex and it's supplementary installments, I am excited to keep working on it.  With each finished section I find myself getting ideas and making plans for future installments.  This may be one of the larger single entries of the series, as in order to complete this one, I had to delve into a lot of finer details for many a Chapter.

While I didn't quite make it to the Allies Matrix, I am very pleased with what I finished for you this time.  The army now has a complete set of Chapter Tactics as well as a Warlord Table (which players gets to choose from instead of rolling on... Go Marines!)  While the Chapter Tactics share the same name as the normal Space Marines, the effects are often different.  I had a lot of fun working to get these to fit the flavor of each Chapter.  As for the ally rules, I may simply use the same ones as Games Workshop Marines, since it seems a little more restrictive on Imperial / Non-Imperial alliances.  But without further delay, here's the rest of the Army Special Rules for Codex: Verum Astartes.

Lex Verum Astartes II: Army Special Rules

Hi Everyone, and welcome back.  Today we're going to start taking a look at some of the rules for the Verum Astartes project, and what better place to start than the Special Rules for the army.  This is the first installment of a few which revolve around the army's special rules, as there are quite a few that need to be detailed in here.

With the changes to the Allies Matrix shaking that all up, I'll be working to incorporate those in the next installment, as well as getting a list of the chapter tactics made up.  But, regardless of your Chapter lineage or the friends you bring with you to the fight, these data slates apply to all Space Marines from my project codex.

Enjoy!

Lex Verum Astartes I: Comprehending Scale

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Rites of Battle, and to the first official installment of my newest series, Lex Verum Astartes.  For those of you who haven't brushed up on your Latin, or are too lazy to hit up the Google Translation... this title roughly translates to "The True Warriors Project."  The goal of this series is to stop wishing that Space Marines were more like their fluff, and try my hand at making it a reality.

As one may expect, there are a lot of elements which require attention to make the shift from the currently existing Games Workshop interpretation of the Space Marine on the tabletop into that which we fans of the Space Marines want from them after reading any of the Black Library novels.  Breaking these elements down into manageable categories, the project I have in mind will focus on three major components...

Coming Soon...

Something stirs in the heart of the galaxy.  Something which has not been envisioned sense a time when the Emperor of all Mankind walked among his people.  A vision of the Imperium's perfect warriors re-imagined.

They shall be the true Angels of Death.  And they shall without doubt know no fear.

Progress Report: Godfrey's Death Korps III

Greetings!

Recently, Ball State University had it's usual winter break, and I found myself with a fair bit of time to really spend on myself.  While still being productive in my work life, it gave me a lot of time to devote to the hobby side of 40k.  With 6th edition, I have been getting a fair few number of games in, and I have been deeply enjoying the new rules.  But as I said, I spent a good number of hours over the break devoted to putting paint on models.  One could say it was something along the lines of a painting Blitzkrieg.  (fnar! fnar!)

Recently I acquired quite a few vehicles from a friend who decided Guard wasn't where he wanted to go.  My last Progress Report detailed a large induction of infantry models I got from Games Day 2012.  Well... I finished them all... and the tanks, and even some extra fun models I picked up on the side.  The full list of items painted since the last report are as follows.

Basilisk x1
Leman Russ Demolisher x2
Bane Wolf x1
Deathstrike Missile x1
Death Korps Commissar x3
Platoon Command Squad x1
Infantry Squad x1
Heavy Weapons Team x9
Veterans (Krieg Engineers) x10
Penal Legion (Including Games Day Enforcer Model) x10
Ogryns (including Games Day Ogryn) x6
Shadowsword x1

Bloodthirster (FW Khorne Daemon Prince)
Khorne Herald
Blooodletters x9 (in progress)

But Hey, I can talk about the models all day, but that doesn't mean much without pictures!

Boltguns & Brushstrokes- Tool Time

                People ask me, “Horus, how do you paint how you do?” And obviously, there’s not a simple answer to that question—I’ve been touching on technical things here and there with other articles. But the simplest answer to how I get the results I get is that I have the best tools I can find. This isn’t a sales article or anything, although I imagine it will come off that way. There’s an old saying, “A man is only as good as the tools he uses.” Or something like that. The point is, your results are going to be limited by the quality of the materials you make available to yourself, and with brushes in particular, high-end results are impossible without equally high-end tools due to the limitations of lesser products.

This is a red sable. Cute, huh?
This is what your brushes should be made of.

                So first, let’s talk about brushes.  A brush that’s suitable for miniature painting will be made of either synthetic hair, sable hair, or a blend of the two.  The best brushes are going to be 100% sable hair. Sable hair comes to a natural point, and is very strong. A lot of brushes are described as sable brushes, but you should look closely at the packaging on the brush to determine if it is a blend of synthetic hair, and if not, what kind of sable hair is used. Games Workshop brushes, for example, are advertised as sable brushes, but are actually a blend of synthetic and male sable hair. Male sables’ hair is not as fine as the female’s, and is not as lasting for a fine brush.  Usually, but not always, you can tell what kind of sable hair (and the amount of synthetic hair) in a brush by price—you won’t get a good, 100% sable brush for less than $20 usually. This is a case of getting what you pay for, though—a good sable brush will last for years if cared for properly.

Boltguns & Brushstrokes - Painting Faces

Howdy trukkers!

I’ve seen a lot of tournament armies over the years. And an alarming number of them aren’t painted. When I’ve asked people why they don’t paint their armies, I get two answers. One is that they simply don’t have time. And that’s something there’s not really a fix for.  The other, and far more common one I hear, is that people don’t feel like they’re good at painting, so they simply don’t do it. And that’s something we CAN fix. Each week, I’m going to post a hobby article geared towards getting fast, quality results using only basic techniques.

This week, I’m going to focus on skin tones and faces. This is something that a lot of hobbyists struggle with because it involves very fine detail and shading and subtle color transitions to get a realistic effect.

I use Reaper Master Series (RMS) paints with a few Games Workshop (GW) and Vallejo Model Color (VMC) paints thrown in. There’s a handy conversion guide for the colors you can use here-

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

The most important thing with paint is not to focus on the  name—a lot of guides say you need a specific branded color—like you MUST use Ultramarines Blue on Ultramarines, etc. But the actual color of the paint is what really matters, so eyeballing something comparable is a far better bet if you don’t have the actual color any guide, whether it be from me, Games Workshop, Privateer Press, or someone else on the internet calls for.

Progress Report: Godfrey's Death Korps II

Well as I mentioned before I have quite a bit of modeling and painting ahead of me.  On my trip to Games Day, I managed to snag just about everything I needed to wrap up a good portion of my Imperial Guard Death Korps of Krieg.  On the list of figures that made it into my shopping basket were:

Just made a quick slideshow to showcase my latest model, High Marshal Helbrecht.

Cheers!

Compounding interest

Morning everyone,

It's been quiet around here, but I just got some new information that makes my 40k spirit a bit happier.  For reasons that are well beyond me, GW has decided to rebrand and change their paint line.  Now you can't get Orkhide Shade and Dark Angels Green (both of which I use for my marines), but you can get Caliban Green.  Tentacle Pink isn't back, but you can get some Emperor's Children Shade.  Here's a nice little conversion chart that I found on All Things 40k and wanted to pass along to any of you who are looking to buy any Citadel paints in the future.  The real fun for gamers is after the break.

Progress Report: Godfrey's Death Korps I

Hey guys!  Just thought I'd put up a few peeks into my Death Korps.  Having a blast building and painting them so far, and can't wait to get more!

Cheers!

Guest Article: Space Hulk

So here is the first of our Guest Articles. Corvus Sanguine has written up a brief summery of our recent creation. Cheers!

A Fully Loaded Hobby Table.

Well it has been some time since I was able to appropriately give 40k the time I'd like to give it. With Grad school starting up, starting a business, and general other things to do... I haven't had any real time for it... well that all changes soon I hope. SO I suppose there are a few things I need to update on.

I currently have a few armies that I am trying to maintain, a little here and there I guess. I still have my beloved Templar army, which I am now returning to. I plan to get as much done in the coming weeks as I can. I have told myself I would do at least a model a day until I have my usual list done. I currently have 20 fully painted and based marines, and 5 neophytes... given that I generally run 2 blobs and a rhino squad... I have some work ahead of me... primarily neophytes.

Not all is lost, I did manage to finish my latest additions to the Army. Godfrey the Emperor's Champion was updated, and is now a custom sculpt using the new Resin model... better keep him out of the sun though :P I also finished painting a Thunder Hammer Storm Shield Terminator Model from Scibor Monster Minis I picked up at GenCon.

And speaking of GenCon, I found a deal I couldn't pass up on. I snagged a Tyranid army there on the cheap. Managing to grab 6 carnifexes, 90 hormigaunts, a trygon, 3 resin Hive Guard, a resin tyrant and 2 tyrant guard, 9 Warriors, and the codex all for $450... I couldn't pass it up. I plan to run them as such.

Recently people have declared the codex to be the worst of 5th edition. I will agree with that statement without any real question. I do feel like it received one to many nerf bats to the face, and I really hope GW will give it some new models soon seeing how they have released a whole new model line for other armies, but have yet to produce a real wave of nids in a while is a little disturbing.

Where my opinion shifts from the common is that people believe the nids only have 1 good build... Tervispam as I call it. It's everywhere in rearguards to nids... Well When I picked up my Templar (after my brother officially made them mine) it was under the idea that the popular belief was they didn't work. So I challenged myself to make them work... and I feel I have. Now the Nids are my new project. I am running a list that is all Hormigaunts and Carnifexes because I love the units, I love their models, and darned it all I'm gonna try to make em work. I have played a few games so far, and I'd have to say I've had a fair bit of success. I think I have an element of surprise, as not many people are used to seeing it. I'll try to keep you posted on their results.

I have two other little armies I'm sitting on currently. One of Which is my Crimson Fist army. I am still looking to sell these as my Marine army of choice is hands down the Black Templar. I did have a though of converting it into a Sternguard Drop pod army sometime in the future, but that is a ways down the pipe. My other is a Grey Knight terminator Army. I love the models, and enjoyed customizing my own Dreadknight. A friend expressed interest in the models and it would be his first army. I'll keep a few as I'm proud of them, and my have a use for them... but I am probably going to sell this army to him so he has a cheap way to get into the hobby. Another player is always a good thing in the 40k community.

And with the absence of the Daemonhunters... comes a thought from left field. Corvus and I have been discussing the idea of building daemons... as a nice side project. A while back I bought a box of Bloodletters to model some fun conversions, but never got to it. Now it seems I may have a use for them again. I love Khorne Daemons, and used to have a fairly sizable army of them. If I can find my old Skarbrand, I'd love to get him back.. loved that model. So while I collect skulls for yon Skull Throne, Corvus is looking into a duel army of Tzeench and Slaanesh. I would pick up Nurgle daemons to round us out... but I have never been fond of their rules, or their models. So Gramps may have to sit out for this particular round.

But after my look into Forgeworld (yes, still drooling over the Khorne Daemonprince) I have one thing that bothers me. I love... and I mean LOVE the Khorne Bezerker upgrade. I want to use them so very badly, but I don't want to run Khorne Bezerkers as I have a marine army that likes to insert chain weapons into the opposing side's face. Corvus and Warmaster Havoc have given my a few suggestions on how to use them... but I'm not sure if I really could. So I may just have to sniffle and not buy them. For now anyways ^.^

I haven't started this army yet though, so for now it's not high on my importance list. I have a simple scheme on my Tyranids that should allow me to move through that army relatively fast, while still being a pretty decent looking lot :p, and if I can keep up the pace I should be able to get my templar back up and running soon.

Oh last thing, I did manage to pick up a box of Space Hulk recently. But since I do not play Blood Angels, the obvious ting to do it convert the models (oh how gorgeous) to Templar. i can also paint my Levi Stealers in my Tyranid scheme... win win huh. And speaking of Space Hulk, I may have our own Corvus write a guest article on a new game variant we have created.

So there you have it. I'm not sure when I went from having Templar to everything else, but I have my hands full of 40k goodness once again, and I'll be trying to keep up on them all. That is in between bouts of Space Marine.

^.^ Cheers!

Progress Report: Godfrey's Templar II

Hey everyone! As I mentioned the other day, I wanted to put up a progress report on my Templar army. I have been distracted by other projects, and in the time I've owned these guys I have started, finished, and often sold Daemons, Dark Eldar, and Grey Knights. Though I like to play around with alternative armies, this is my baby.


As you can see, my Crusade Fleet has grown quite a bit since the last time I talked about them on here, so I wouldn't mind showing the progress.


Marshal Hector Keys accompanied by Sword Brethren. The model is a Scibor Minis model with added Scibor shield and Holy Orb to give him the correct weapons layout as per how I usually run him.


Godfrey, The Emperor's Champion and the crusader squad he leads. Fun Fact: Godfrey was named after Godfrey the Baron of Ibelin. I also chose to paint the tabard on my Champion to match the Iconography.


Marsha Tyberius Irons. Made using the Helbrecht model with the addition of a helmet, he generally only sees play as Helbrecht. As it is currently the only "actual" marshal model, it seemed fitting.



>Brother Dominus, one of a few models named from the anime series Big O. Armed with assault cannon and a converted DCCW, he makes for a great mid field tank hunter.


Michael Seebach, Master of Sanctity. The model was converted from a Legion of the Damned sergeant. His three cenobite servitors are the retinue of Hector Rex with minor conversions.


Grimaldus. My favorite model made by GW, both in fluff, and game play. This Chaplain in one of the bigger reasons I chose to play Black Templar.


As you can see from the first picture, I still have plenty of unpainted models. I am working to get as many of them done as possible so that one day I can put up a finished review of the entire army.

Cheers!