2014: A year in Review

Roll that D6

Its about that time of the year again! 2014 is drawing to a close and 2015 is on the way! What a year it has been! This year started off with a new case and my Imperial guard army becoming a completed project. As this year draws to a close this blog will continue to expand with new content. 2015 is going to be a exciting year full of new projects, new models and expansions. 

First off is going to be the start of a full Victoria Miniatures army full of "Border world Rangers". These models are excellent resin models and contain large amounts of character. I will intend to do a full review on Victoria miniatures that I had planned to do in 2014. Also in the works is my Tau army that is being painted up in a brand new color scheme. This scheme is the result of a lot of trial and error. 

Tau scheme and paints

 Secondly I have also started on my Menoth force. Although no models have been shown yet, the force is well underway. The miniatures market paints have allowed my color palette to expand.  There might be plans to redo my Forge world models in a new scheme in 2015 but that for the moment has been back burned. One of my Valkyries has also been stripped of its paint and a new planned paint job is in the works for 2015. How many of these goals I achieve is still unknown.

As always at the end of the year, Its time to review the top 3 projects. This year has seen many exciting and new things come across my work bench.

#3 would have to be my salamander command vehicle that i built out of a old hellhound. The model was in rough shape when i got her but after some tough love and care she was restored and commissioned into my Padrus 8th armored force. She is still unnamed at this point but the model was one of my favorite to work on!

#2 was  my assassins that i worked on for my inquisitional army. This assassin named A-68 was done up with eldar parts as well as imperial guard, space marine and warhammer fantasy models.  

#1 then for 2014 is a hard choice. Overall i think it would have to be the heavy weapons teams that i redid from scratch. These models took the most time but the end results were way above what i had expected! Although the number of models in the group felt like they were going to take forever, the task actually went by really quickly once the army had gotten started again. It was a proud moment of accomplishment for the year and left me room to start with my tau army.

 As this year comes to a close I want to thank everyone that has kept with this blog! Knowing that people read and watch this blog helps to motivate me to accomplish these task. If you like what you see please become a follower and tell your wargaming friends about this blog. Every little bit helps!
Also leave a comment or just say hello, Every little bit helps! :)

As the year comes to end all i can say is keep rolling those dice. 2015 is coming with many new and exciting projects, Stay Tuned~!

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Product Review: Miniatures Market.com

Here we are again, another Product Review! This time we are looking over the service provided by Miniatures Market.com. I was shopping for some paints on cyber Monday and stumbled across their store. The prices compared to my local game store were way better and the amounts of paint i needed were going to be expensive. Miniatures Market helped me to make that experience much easier. (Note: i am not being paid or anything else for this review)

The ordering was easy however i noted that their was a 4 day shipping delay due to the holiday season and what i believe was my reason for delay. I had forgotten to put in a shipping address for them to ship the paints, Once i fixed this, my status order went from: ready to ship to Completed. This is believed to be my own problem and does not reflect upon their service. Finally on Monday the 8th of December they shipped. I fully believe that my shipping delay was no fault of their own even with the holiday season. Still i was excited to see how the order turned out. The ordre arrived on December 10. 1 day earlier than the expected delivery date. The box was in good shape and all the paints were there in a baggie. I quickly got the box open and put the paints in there new home.

The new colors.

 The paints arrived and i tested out the Turqouise ink anxious to see how it work. All of the bottles were very nicely sealed and the paints arrived in good shape.

Now im not sure about the paint bottles but im not sure if i should keep them in their dropper bottles or put them into seperate paint pots? I think they would retain their life time better if i kept them in their droppers but the chance to have easier access is tempting. Im sure i'll figure it out soon. In the mean time the picture below shows them in their new home on my work desk. Hopefully given time i'll be able to start using these paints and give them a test on some of my miniatures.

So some final thoughts, Would I recommend Miniatures Market?  Yes. Their service and handling was quick and easy. Their customer rewards program made checkout a breeze and the fact that they had some of the best prices I had seen online left me wanting to make another order. I would highly recommend Miniatures market for all your war gaming needs when it comes to paints and supplies. The other materials I look at had wonderful prices as well although I didn't have a need for anything at the time. I intend to order again soon!

My Paint rack

Also of note was my own fun i had in Microsoft excel. I created a full layout for my Tanith First and only army as well as my Detachment D-44. Seen below is three platoons worth of troops and the three veteran squadrons of my Phantine. In the future I hope to expand it with regimental honors, campaigns, battles, and how they fair against each enemy they encounter. Once that is done i also want to do it with my Tau.   Till next time....

Tanith Layout of Platoons and Allies

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Dramtis Personae: The Assassins Awake (Part I)

Thought for the Day: "The Officio Assassinorum knows, beware of what you speak....."

All files pertaining to A-68 have been deleted...
Log in noted....
Alarm alarm unauthorized intruder...
Data terminal shutting down......

Today's topic is on the Temples of the Assassins. This will be a two part series on the assassins that i have made so far. The first one to be covered will be my Eversor Assassin. This assassin code named A-68 will be my first model that I show on here.

A-68 or Assassin 68, is a member of the temple of the Eversors. His mission is to directly find the enemies leadership and end them as quickly as possible in the name of the Emperor.  This project came about due to my desire to have a few models out of the Data slate: Officio Assassinorum (OA).

Eversor Assassin Codenamed A-68

Whatever A-68's human name once was, he no longer answers to it. Instead he is under the watch of the OA and often called upon by Inquisitor Adrastia to help track down Inquisitor Umarus who she is currently tracking having declared him a heretic after his destruction of the world of Haven.

68 began as a Eldar model that was cut down and modded to have slimmed features. Originally he was going to have the trademarked skull helmet and still may (If i can ever find my bits that i had). His power weapon was made from a catachan war blade and a few bits from both the Imperial Guard and Warhammer Fantasy Battle Militia kit.

The paint job was my own mix of 50/50 Abaddon Black and Storm Vermin fur. This mixture gave me a perfect black color of the look of 68. The flesh tones were a simple job of Kislev Flesh with agrax earthshade on top. A small mixture of P3 Coal black was added in for the Tattoo aqualia on top of his bald head. I also hope to someday be able to get custom resin bases for these model like I have for nearly two thirds of my Tanith. Only time will tell.

While 68 might not look like much his fellow assassin is a custom made Vindicare assassin that I will be showing off soon.  68 has yet to see combat on the table but it is my hope that soon I will be able to unleash the power of the OA upon the enemies of the Imperium.

Until Next time and part II


File Closing down....

Symbol of the Officio Assassinorum

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A Tau's Struggle: HQ Shas'O Battlesuit

Shas'O Jar'Kia J'Kaara'Por Better known as Commander Mirrorwater

This story is the tale of one Tau commander out on the Eastern Fringe of the Galaxy. Shas'O Jar'kia Jkaar'a'Por (Mirror Water) was my first true commander model that i got when i was getting seriously into 40k. The model was a rescue job off of Ebay but immediately i knew it was the commander i wanted to represent my forces.
          The world is Jar'kia is newer 3rd phase sept world on the western edge of the Tau Empire near Imperial Space.It is a water world of many oceans and islands that the Tau took from a Ork warboss. Mirror Water and his sept were allowed to settle claiming it for the Tau Empire for their heroic stand in the name of the Greater good.
                    Many battles have been fought against Orks, Black Templar, and Imperial Guard units. This armies famous campaigns include: Malachite, Death at Squat Valley, and the Thanatos Campaign that lasted for many weeks against my own Imperial Guard forces when my brother played as them.

Fluff story from the Malachite campaign:

The ork wave had been pushed back,and the fuel station was held for now. Both Team Blue and Team Red had given their lifes for the Tau Empire. The lone Shas'la that had run from Red squad had been handed off to the Ethereals for motivational purposes. Commander Mirrorwater looked around the wreck. Comrades and green skin bodies lay everywhere. Marching throughout the battlefield, Mirrowater popped shots into any orks still moving and then finally once the reinforcements had signaled the all clear moved his forces back into the rear of the station ,sealing off the ork side. The Rok had hit the station causing a endless wave of orks to overrun it. The tau now knew they were facing a loosing battle against the greenskins. Mirrorwater hit his com, then signaled the drone to reach across the system to the Aun. While the news would be good, the victory had cost many lifes, and Mirrorwater was sure it would be foretold in ages to come as "for the greater good" but right now, all he wanted to do was rest. The time on Bork'an had been nice and relaxing, now the death and warfare was getting to him again. It would only be a matter of time before the Aun figured out his true alleigences and sent someone after his cadre. Yet, for now the taste of victory was upon him. Firing up his thrusts, Mirrorwater headed back to the center command station within the fuel depot.  

 Commander Mirrorwater on his display base

The display base

Here we see that Mirrorwater is not a lot like other tau and might have in fact gone rouge against the ethereal rule. Although he has not yet gone against the teachings of the greater good, he does desire a day when the Ethereal will let him and his forces hunt down the Imperials and Orks that have ravaged his sector. So for his base i wanted to do something that marked him out as my HQ of choice. First i wanted to be able to run him as Farsight, A generic HQ, or as the FW tau commander Shas'O R'myr which the model is based off of. The problem was that R'myr is on a larger base than a normal tau commander would be allowed. After some magnet tricks It turned out that I was able to make it work so that i could get both of them working on there. The design turned out well and im proud of how it looks. The Tyranid pieces were from a friend who had some extras from the old 4th edition starter set. Next came stripping off the old white and green paint job the person before me had painted on it. Once that was done i was able to successfully get my model primed and painted. The basing was textured spray paint. Something i found incredibly easy to use for such a cheap amount of money. (highly recommended over the GW paints).                                                                                                Other work has also been done on his cadre. After the events of the Thanatos campaign, The Tau were forced to pull out and leave the system to the Imperium of man. The victory might have been a total wash for the Imperium except for the fact that many Tau forces were left behind. Whether the world of Thanatos will ever be able to return to the Imperium is unknown. The Gue'vesa and the Gue'la rebels are already trying to petition the Tau to return. Inquisitional power in the system is waning. Soon war might return.

Model and Display Base

Fire-knife Hunter Team

Also seen here is the Tau Fire Knife teams ive been working on to accompany Mirror Water. His Cadre is slowly being painted and rebuilt to face off against the Imperium and other threats to the Tau Empire. I will be posting more pictures of the Army as it comes together. These Crisis suits seen here are fully magnetized and able to change their weapons.

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Iron Belle: A Chimera story

Victoria Lambs models

 So what do I have for you all today? Well originally i was going to do a massive article on Victoria Lambs Miniatures that I had order last Christmas and this past summer. That post was put on hold each time because i felt I couldn't do her models justice in a review. (I do like them though! and highly recommend them)

Seen here is my picture of miniatures that i ordered this past summer from Victoria Lamb. 1 order of camo cloaks and a couple of her Arcadian females bits.  These went into my massive Tanith army. More pictures on those later.

Iron Belle and her Leman Russ Brother

Today's story however is on the little chimera that could. I ordered her off of E-bay as a rescue job for 15$ shipped. I also ordered her twin, Leman Russ that i saw on another order for only 30$ Both of them were a great deal! After a wash in some LA's Totally awesome The chimera was clean and the Leman Russ tank had a deep dark blue and green scheme under her colors making me work harder to get her cleaned down to the primer or plastic. Once she was cleaned up, i clipped off the annoying wire (that i kept poking myself with) and christened her "Iron Belle" or Iron Beauty. With the forgeworld turret, she became one of my first Chimera APCs

"Irone Belle"

There was a few things i knew that i wanted to do with Iron Belle. First she was to be my transport for my Veterans in my Imperial Guard army or for my Inquisitor in my Inquisition army. Secondly, her paint scheme was going to match the urban warfare of the my other Leman Russ Tanks that i had painted up in the colors of the Pardus 8th Armored. Unlike the others Iron Belle was not given a gold skull and wings since she had no prior inquisitional service that i knew of.

Once i started to get the paint on her, she turned out to become better than i expected. The paint scheme quickly came together and the end results were fantastic. She has shown up in other battle reports that I've done over this blog but this is the first real post given over to her. The condition that she was received in was begging to be redone to fight for the Emperor of Man kinds forces. I let her get her wish.

"Iron Belle" side view

Meanwhile her brother tank, was also cleaned up and given new life on the battlefields of the 41st millennium. Whoever had owned her before had drilled out the barrels on the gun and let the tank fully move able. This let me with a very nicely done up rush that i was hoping to get into service quickly. How wrong i was! The layers of paint on the hull kept coming off. I counted 3-4 layers on this rescue job. Whoever had done the jobs before had painted over many layers of painted before them. Needless to say, This project came to cost me a lot of time. I ended up naming her "Lady" because as the paint came off, she became more beautiful. Here was a fully done up, barrels drilled Leman Russ tank hull ready for war.

I also did up Lady in her new Pardus 8th Armored paint scheme. She completed my trio of Tanks (King Lion, Lady and War Dog) allowing me to field a tank squadron on the table.

Here are Lady and Iron Belle today:

Side View

Front view

Side View

Another side view

  

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Pictures from the Eastern Edge

So what do i have for you all today? Not much to show in terms of pictures I'm afraid. School has been busy driving away all of my free time. I've also taken to running a VTT (Virtual table top) Role playing game over the net. Its a site called Roll20.net. If you haven't tried it out and your into RPGs its a must for all gamers.

This army started small and grew to around the 2,500 point mark. It has served me well over the course of four edition changes and has started to be repainted in a new Turquoises and white scheme that i hope to show soon! 

Also on the menu for today are my Tarantula Sentry Turrets. These conversions are made out of Heavy Weapon Teams from a standard box of Imperial Guard and some pieces of other kits to make them stand out as turrets. These turrets will be a part of my Elysian (Phantine) Drop Troopers and also used for other measures as required. Im not too sure on the basing but i hope to get them all done up soon. 

Till next time, Keep rolling those dice!

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Back to the Future or how did i end up here?

January 14th 2005. After going through my closet and finding a old flash drive i found these pictures from 2005.  Now i remember my start of the Imperial Guard army from 2009-2010. However these pictures are from 2005 so i guess I've been a Imperial Guard player long than i remember. How time flys. I don't remember what happened to this army. 

 At the time i was into video games heavily so i suspect it must have gotten sold off to pay for a video game or something.  Anyway enjoy the pictures of my first army. I still own the catachans which have become the base for my Tanith in some cases.  Anyway enjoy the pictures of my first guard army and tell me what you think?

J

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"Like Ghost from the night"

           In an attempt to keep myself motivated with this blog I've decided each week i'm going to try to post something of my work. Last time i posted a picture of my Pardus 8th armored Salamander (still unnamed by the way) that i had bought from Ebay.

Having shown the pictures to Pwnzilla 789 and Renegade09, I felt that i had not truly accomplished what i set out to do with this dream vehicle of mine. So one bright Saturday afternoon i tore apart the Salamander and put her back together.

The new design was based upon the Set-Back Chimera popularized by "The back 40k" blog that i had used on his tutorial to build my own set back Chimera that had been given to me for my birthday. The new Chimera has been built and assembled. She turned out really nicely and i hope to get her painted up soon.

Another key step that i accomplished was finishing my two Tanith heavy weapons teams (HWTs) of 3. With those now accomplished I have tidied up the last of the models I need to run my Tanith force.

While building the HWTs I was able to make another few figures to finish up my own verison of Ibram Gaunts Company command squad. These characters are left to right including Ana Curth, Gaunts aide, the priest, and his body guard. Im not sure i'll ever get the chance to run them as a command squad but the idea of two command squads is hard to pass up in a 2000+ point game.

With classes started up again and all three of us headed back to school im not sure how many updates we will be able to get in. So i hope you all can encourage us and keep us rocking.

Till next time keep rolling those dice and may the odds be ever in your favor!

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Farewell to Summer, Hello to modeling projects!

In the Grim dark future of the 41st millennium there is only war..

        Of course anyone that has spend time in the warhammer 40k universe will tell you that but you came here to see what has been going on with our blog lately. First off we must apologize for the lack of updates since January. With starting spring semesters and one of our own going to a Masters program the time to update the blog has become lessened over the course of 2014. This summer has also seen no reprieve from work, school, and other real life activities that have kept us from updates.

This article has been a weird place holder for some time now. At first we were going to do product reviews on a few items that we bought. We also discussed reviewing other games and Role playing games such as Fantasy Flights Games (FFG) Edge of the Empire. None of us felt that we could get the time to write what we truly wanted to say out.

 My Tanith Heavy Weapon teams have been stripped and are nearing completion of being redone fully. Having looked over them this summer, i felt that they were not up to the standard that i held for the army and decided to strip them and redo them. This summer also saw some birthday money, so i bought this eBay rescue job. She wasn't much to look at but a little tough love and care she was able to be transformed into a vehicle i had wanted for a while. My own Salamander Command Vehicle from the IA:1 2nd ed series.

The Ebay photos

  She arrived just as she looked in the photos and when i finally had the time post birthday experiences i quickly dove into making her shine. Pwnzillia and Renegade both showed up for my birthday which was a welcome occurrence as we hadn't hung out in a long time since i had graduated last winter. They surprised me with another chimera tank new in box so i'll be adding a 3rd chimera to my armored force. Now the question is should i make it a normal chimera or a set back chimera? Ideas? Discussions? Let us know below!

Primed and ready to be painted

Finished pics of the Salamander. Im thinking of naming her "Sally" but one of my brother's friends has recommended "Death Machine." What about you guys? What should this beasts name be?

Side View

Front View

Side View

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INQ28: a intro into a whole new world

"A small step into a much wider world" - Obi-Wan in Star wars IV

     Ever since i've started my first year of earning my masters, my time for war gaming has drastically reduced. Today i hope to show you what i've been working on in my free time since my last post.

Much of my time has been in the world of Greek and Military history concerning my major but when i find enough time, the dark future of the 41st millenium always calls me back. So what have i been working on? Well that depends. I went out and bought 6 2x2 foam tablets to build my own table with. These tablets have seen my brother and I taking over with games of Kill Team and INQ 28.

For those not in the know, INQ28 is the Games Workshop game "Inquisitor" set in the 28 mm scale using 40k models instead of the 54mm models that use to be offered. The game allows for a lot of customization and character building mixing elements of role playing and table top war gaming. My two warbands under the leadership of Adrastia and Umarus have been going at each other over many games. So far, Umarus's warband has been unable to silence Adrastia in her pursuit of knowledge over the events that happened over the world of Haven. To assist her in her shadow war, Adrastia has called upon a nearby Imperial Guard Regiment. The Carolean 232nd Rifles

The 40th Corp banner (www.40konline.com)

Also known in their local dialect as "Kungens eget" (The King's own). The men of the 232nd Rifles are a Imperial Guard infantry supply company attached to the 40th Corp. Seen here is Colonel Horn with his command squad  holding the flag of the 40th Corp and dressed in the 40th Corp colors.

 The 40th Corp is a collection of Imperial Guard players on the 40konline website located in the link above. Members can become a integral part of the 40th Corp and help to build a true feeling of comradery with not only other posters but the local "Chain of Command" (CoC) too. Given enough time any member can become a "Officer" within the chain for not only his friendliness but also his ability to be a good member on the site. The 40th Corp, also known as "Board 18" is always looking for new members and new regiments. I can say it was this community that developed my interest in becoming a guard player. Not only for the friendliness of posters but also the way certain events such as RPGs and Fluff stories were often used to add to the Corps background. Contact your local Imperial Guard recruiter today!

Next to them is Primaris Psyker Henrich Oskar also attached to the 232nd. Only a few members of the 232nd have been painted so far but time permitting i hope to have more finished soon. Other notable members include Sargeant Sigmund "Butterfingers" Grahn and Commissar Isidor. While Sigmund has been painted, im hoping to get his full squad done before posting them up.

Although these will only be a platoon at the most, i've already started writing a few back stories for their regiment and the world they come from. With their involvement now in the shadow wars of Adrastia and Umarus only time will tell what will become of the 232nd.

Till next time......

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New Year, New projects: Hello 2014

       Welcome to the 2014 edition of Behind the Lines gaming!  As this new year gets underway a lot of change is coming to this blog. I will be attempting to post every 2 weeks on some project or another i may be working on. With graduate school starting soon this is more a hope than a true promise or schedule.

The case with troopers assembled in it

 First off, yesterday (January 2nd) this giant box came in the mail for me from Games workshop. Contained within was the new gaming case i had posted about last time. After cracking open the case, i found the case to be exactly what i had hoped it would be: A infantry case for my guard. As i finish up the Tanith 1st along with my Detachment D-44 I hope to be able to show them off in their new home. One of the problems was how to store my tanks and APCs. To solve this problem i went to Wal-mart and bought a giant carrying case of a toolbox. This behemoth was able to carry, measuring tapes (2x), all 9 of my heavy weapon teams, 3 russes, 1 chimera, 1 sentinel and 1 valkyrie with room to spare! A very good buy if i do say so. I have cut down my cases from 4 to 2.  Goal 1 accomplished for the new year.

What's in the box?

Rear View

 Second off, having gotten the Inquisition codex for christmas (as well as Carnage! and Kill Team) I decided to start on a small Inq28 force for myself and my brother to play. Readers of this blog know about Inquisitor Umarus and his band of Acolytes. The next warband I am starting on is for Inquisitor Adrastia from the Dawn of war: Retribution video game. Adrastia's warband is still a major WiP but after some major inspiration from the Warhammer 40k Facebook group, I assembled my own Vindicare assassin.                These were the unpainted versions of the assassin that i posted up on that group. Little lore has been written for this assassin but a few things are known. One, he is a she. Secondly, the model had been a orphan in her former life before being taken in by the order of the assassins. Im thinking of making her code name: XIII but i'm still unsold on that name.
           The model consists of many bits including a eldar legs, body, arms. a cut down bolter, a Kroot rifle , a Forge world Elysian ammo case, many Imperial Guard weapon bits and some some tough love and care. After the assembly was finished, i painted the model up to break up the feeling of painting Tanith trooper 135+

Front View of the Assassin

Even though the paint job is still very much a WiP on this model i am unsure how to proceed. Although i don't want the model to be all black, it seems only natural that a assassin would be wearing black. I think for the moment she will remain a major WiP. Next in the warband, I hope to make a mystic and a psyker. Each warband will have 5 members including the inquisitor.What models do you think would be good for a Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor to have in her warband?

    Since the campaign for Ventra Majoris II is over my lore is that Adrastia was unable to uncover the secrets that Umarus had hidden away concern the Havens 1st. Now without the proof needed to wage open war against him, Adrastia has moved her operations into the cover of black ops calling upon her acolytes to serve her. This secret war threatens to consume the two as their feud could turn into open warfare at any moment. While both the Ordo Hereticus and the Ordo Xenos have never gotten along, this disruption could cause a major break that would see one ordo turn on the other.

Current WiP

In my last post, i promised more secret projects to come this year. Stay tuned! The pieces are all coming together. Soon enough I hope to have more news on these projects.

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