035 - Winding up the Wolves

So I'm finishing one of my armies. I'm going to stop adding to my 30k Space Wolves. The intention before was to do a massive army but with my Word Bearers and other projects taking my time I decided to finish the models I had assembled and have a completed army.  If I'm honest with myself I won't keep adding models here and there and it would be best just to finish the whole thing rather than disappoint myself in the future.It's around 3000pts which is a decent size and I have quite alot of variety in there so I'm pretty happy with it.
I just finished my last model which was my Praetor which I made from The Betrayal at Calth Chaplain and some bits from the plastic Space Wolves upgrade sprue.

So I have got well into collecting my 30k Space Wolves. The initial plan was to kit bash most of them not only because of the lack of Space Wolves Forge World models at the time but also due to the fact I love modelling. However I didn't want them to look like 40k Space Wolves with a different colour scheme so I'm reigned in the use of the 40k kits. I was initially unconcerned about the "official" Space Wolves models eventually coming out from Forge World figuring when they came out I could either mix them in with the kit bashed models or use them as veterans or a command squad depending on how different in tone and style they are. But when I saw them they seemed completely different and wouldn't fit in with the other guys in the force. I don't feel like I've failed in making a good looking Heresy Space Wolves army but I wanted a cohesive force and mixing my kit bashed models and the new resin just wouldn't sit right with me.
As for the size of my army I intended to do a unit for each slot in the force organisation chart. This would have been a massive sized army and although the intention was to have this project last a couple of years, I feel it has ran it's course. I didn't rush painting and collecting this army and feel like I have a decent looking balanced force.
I will do a full gallery of the army in  the future as I'm quite proud of it. Until then happy gaming!

016 - The Great Horus Heresy Land Raider Debate

Having really got into the Horus Heresy and started collecting my Space Wolves army I had a good look at what I could and couldn't fit into my army. As the  Horus Heresy is set in the 31st millennium, 10,000 years before the "current" setting of Warhammer 40,000 many of the vehicles and armour marks are very different from the ones we are used to. That said alot of them are in use in both time periods due to the stagnation of technology.
This begs the question what marks are useable in 30k? If you want to use authentic marks of vehicles a good  guide from the Twenty First Legion is here.
During my research online I found alot of conflicting opinions of what should and shouldn't be used. The general consensus is that you shouldn't use the plastic  Land Raider MKIII and you can only use the ForgeWorld MKIIB but I can always point them at page 147 of the Horus Heresy Book One: Betrayal where there is a  MKIII Land Raider and a Mars pattern Rhino being used.

The main reason I want to use the MKIII Phobos Pattern Land Raider is because I really like the model and the way it looks more technologically advanced than the 30k ones. I think this should be the golden rule, if you want to use any model. It might not fly all the time in certain events or tournaments but if you are not seeking to gain an advantage through modelling you should be fine.

Until next time!

011 - To Forgeworld or not to Forgeworld

Collecting Games Workshop armies and models is a costly affair. Even after the set up of a boxed game, paints glues and equipment, the price of each model is huge.
Then comes the premium brand of Games Workshop which is called Forge World.
Forge World was created in 1998 to mainly create terrain but has since expanded to large  scale resin models and even into new more specialist armies and tanks and in recent years created the Horus Hersey series of rules and models.
Forge World creates model in a  polymer resin. Compared to plastic, resin is brittle and  softer. You have to be aware of this when you use certain modelling techniques. You also have to bathe your kits in warm soapy water to wash off the mould release fluid that clings to the resin.
Also I have found that resin is much like the old metal kits where individual pieces can be warped or bent. This is not too bad with individual single piece sculpts but with complex multi-part kits you have to break out a bowl of warm water to bend it or some green stuff to cover any poor moulding. I have heard that Forge World are very good with replacing any damaged parts and will rush these right out to you.
Unfortunately, Forge World models are the only official way to get into 30k gaming at the moment. When a the minimum ten man tactical squad bundle costs £61 compared to £25 for the equvalent 40k unit it things get real expensive real quick.
However my gaming buddy Adam justifies the Forge World choice by saying that if the regular Games Workshop kits have gotten so expensive then why not go the extra mile and get a much higher quality of kit.
Hope fully the rumours of a plastic Horus Heresy starter set are true. I imagine that the core troops will be in plastic but the  more exotic units stay in resin. This will give players and collectors a relatively cheap way to get into 30k gaming and open it up to a whole new swathe of customers.
Until then I'll  have to put the overtime in so I can afford that Spartan Assault tank.

006 - When is an army completed?

I have been dry brushing Leadbelcher Metal onto Chaos Space Marines for over a year now and it needs to stop. I have about 2000ish points worth of models in my Iron Warriors army and I'm asking myself, when is it competed?
"Never!" I hear you cry.
But bare with me. Some people will only ever collect one force whilst some people will collect army after army. the multiple armies are more of a trend now that allies are firmly entrenched in 40k. Unbound armies have the potential for people to collect more than one army due to buying just one unit for a new force and then another till lo and behold you have the skeleton of new army.
However there are many obstacles to having multiple forces. The main constraints being cost and time.
This is a really expensive hobby and starting a  new army does cost alot. A small legal force can still easily cost the thick end of a £100 for a HQ and a couple of troops. This goes almost double for Forgeworld models! A solution to this are second hand armies that can be a bargain on sites like Ebay and can sometimes be painted and a decent size for a lot less than if you have collected it yourself.
I'm a really, really slow painter. So the issue of time is a big thing for me. I am so jealous of people who can knock out a great army in a few months while it takes me over a year to get a scrappy looking one. The time issue also stops any chance of getting an army which is the hot new thing because by the time it is done a newer shiny army has come out!
People can finish an army for different reasons. It can be the end of the project, for example an army for a tournament or event. Some people have a list and when they have every model in the list the army is done and they only go back when they the codex is changed or refreshed.
Speaking of Codexes if an armies rules are completely out of date and non-competitive such as Sisters of Battle players stopping using their army. This can also happen when a Codex is new but not that good such as the recent Tyranid Codex and the Chaos Space Marine book. There is also the issue of armies being "squatted". This refers to the Squat army that was written out of the universe and hasn't had rules since 1993!
People can get bored with their armies and get their groove back by starting a new one. This can be when they have started with an army that doesn't lend itself to the player's play style. For example someone trying to sit back and shoot with an Ork army when maybe they should have started with Tau.
The reason I want to get another army is that I want my painting to get to the next level so the way I have done my Iron Warriors is very simple and I want to challenge myself.
I can always go back to my Iron Warriors, besides that Khorne Deamonkin Codex is looking quite tempting. Having a few Deamons squirming through Iron Warrior plate is quite appealing!

003 - Beakies!

Like most older players and collectors I have alot of love for the humble mk6 power armour more commonly known as "Beakie" armour due to the pointed nose cone. Before I got my RTB01 models I bought some Forgeworld mk6 armour on a whim at the 2014 Warhammerfest in Coventry.
I wanted some of these models for my Iron warriors. The chaos legions don't have much as its more of a latter-era loyalist Horus Heresy mark of armour. However fluff wise I would say these were looted sets of armour that were taken from dead enemies or even renegade marines recruited by the Iron Warriors.
I used bolters from the Chaos Space Marine kit that i had spare to tie them in with the rest of the force. The rest of the army is more utilitarian looking than the more  flamboyant chaos looking legions (I'm looking at you Emperor's Children) so they fit in quite well.

The resin models had to be washed in soapy water before I used them but were very easy to put together. The models were fantastic and were well worth the extra money over a standard Games Workshop kit.
Putting slightly different marks of armour in an army can really breath life into the look and fluffy background into your force.