Got in some hobby time last night. I built a space marine for the first time in years which was a nice return to something familiar. I used a bunch of pieces from the new Death Company box together with a generic marine chest. I knew the new parts had plenty of detail from looking at the sprues, but I was further surprised when assembling the marine. In particular, the chainsword arm that I used came off the sprue in a pose that I had created a couple times myself by cutting and repositioning. I'm eager to use the power fist as well because it looks like it also has a dynamic pose, but I'm holding on to it for a bit while I regain my painting feet as it's destined to be part of a sergeant. GW must have switched plastic formulas over the last 5+ years because the new pieces are a much darker grey than the parts I already had. I'll take a pic or two when I get the base done. I'm considering my options as I want to do something a bit more detailed than just glue and sand. I had cut up some bits of sprue last night to use as rubble, but they didn't work out quite like I wanted, so when I dropped them on the carpet I didn't bother digging for them between the nap. I'm still considering the bits of sprue approach as well as making a green stuff rock or two, using some orc bits, digging for some barrels/tank traps, or using some tyranid bits. I know EV has some Death Guard, and Chaos would fit thematically, but I don't really want to put more marine parts on a marine base. Maybe something generic to start with so I have time to ponder.
On the administrative front, I poked around Blogger a bit to see if/how you can change a blog name. Turns out you can, and it looks pretty simple to do, but I got skunked at every turn on availability. I looked at Paint It Red, and a couple variations on the theme, and ran into a bunch of 1-3 post blogs from a years ago. Also a bunch of young asian girl blogs. I wonder if there's some connection there I'm not seeing. In any case, the search continues.
Addendum: I really do want to have pics with each post, so here's a poor quality one of a 1500 Blood Angels WIP list. Other than needing to glue on a Death Company arm or two, the Chaplain's backpack, and having another jump pack Sanguinary Priest instead of the Corbulo place holder, this is what I came up with the first time through. The jump marines will probably see some tweaking ultimately, but I was mostly looking at models on hand and not theoretical lists. Since it's a practice exercise in list building for me, I'll make it an exercise in staring at small pictures for any interested in the nuts and bolts of it. With the exception of the Corbulo stand in for a jump Sanguinary Priest, it's all WYSIWYG.
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| A mighty host? |
My only critique would be the Death Company. Having them ride in a Rhino (even a fast one) prevents them from assaulting if they jump out after the vehicle moves. That having been said, you'd need to rip all those backpacks off and replace them with jump packs to make them fully effective. Maybe not worth it, eh?
ReplyDeleteShould you want them I do have some resin basing bits from building my Death Guard you may want. They're mostly busted Eldar stuff.
Now to try to reduce my army to 1,500 points. I'm so used to 1,750 point armies!
I have the jump DC, in fact you got the jump packs for me way back when, but they're prohibitively expensive. I don't have the book in front of me, but I think the jump pack doubles their cost to something like 40 points per model before any sort of wargear. I have enough footsloggers that I could run them in a LR Crusader, but I'd have to have one to do that. I figure in the rhino they can rocket up the board, then dismount behind the rhino or else just sit there for a turn and then get out to assault. I've also been looking at Sanguinary Guard as a more economical (ha!) alternative to the DC, but lack of models is a roadblock, plus DC are nice and fluffy. It's all theoretical at this point.
ReplyDeleteI want to try making my own bases for a bit before I go to premade stuff. Doing anything past (poorly) flocking the bases is an improvement over what's there already. I'm still having issues getting the sand/ballast/whathaveyou to stick properly. I'm thinking it might be glue consistency. I just primed the new marine so I'll see if that helps when he's nice and dry.
I have no idea what the standard game size is anymore, but I remember we played a lot of 1500 so I took that as a starting point. 1750 is fine too as I could add an extra tank and some more bling. >.>
One other think- scoring units!
ReplyDeleteYour D.C. can't score, and your Assault Marines don't want to stand still, so another Tactical Squad (with some sort of anti-tank weapon for popping APCs is probably a good investment. Those 250 points may already be spent for you!
2,000 points seems to be the norm these days, which annoys me to no end. You no longer have to make sacrifices to construct your army. Just plunk down every big gun at your disposal and blast away.
*Yawn*
1750 lets you take toys, but still forces you to make choices (in my ever so humble opinion). 1500 is where you REALLY have to struggle to get in any big guns, and can be really restrictive. This is not always a bad thing as the addition and subtraction of models drastically changes the way the army fights.
For example, my Plague Marines run a highly defensive game when fielding their Land Raiders (yes, plural). When my Vindicators hit the board the strategy changes into a gradual, advancing clean sweep. Finally with Obliterators (They've been toned WAY down, thankfully) the game becomes a dug-in short range firefight.
Having said that, I still prefer 1,500 or 1,750 point games. Just beware of those objective-based missions. Getting too aggressive will bite you in the @$$.
I haven't looked into scoring units or scenarios yet. Mostly I wanted to see what Rending and Eternal Warrior did and haven't gotten too far past that.
ReplyDeleteThinking of objectives, I see people with objective markers of all shapes and sizes. Is there a standard for them? I assume not since everyone has different sizes, and since I have your book I could look it up myself, but perhaps you know offhand.
I put mine as little scenic elements crawling with Nurglings on 40mm bases, but that's really at your discretion. You could go all "official" and buy the plastic G.W. ones, but the guidelines are that as long as the markers aren't silly in terms of size (a 60 mm base is a bit large...) it's okay. In other words, it's not clearly stated. Hell, even those glass beads for TCGs will do in a bind. I suppose markers of any shape and/or size have their merits, I just couldn't fit my little dioramas on anything less than 40mm, so that determined the size.
ReplyDeleteIn other words- I don't know, just don't be a douchebag about it.