Phantine Air Corp: Tornado's are coming!

                     Since today is July 4th, I've decided to bring you another Phantine Air Corp article. Long time readers of the blog will note that on July 4th, we here at Behind the Lines celebrate American Independence Day. The last few times have been about the Phantine as seen here and here as examples. So we figured we would continue the tradition of talking about airplanes and paratroopers.

Well a while back, I joined the 40k Aeronautica group on Facebook. This group is all about the Air Club. People post their own home made aircraft as well as official GW / FW models.Its a very exciting group to be a part of. The community is great and the admin team is super. Since aviation has always been one of my interest, it seemed like a natural fit for me. Warhammer 40k and airplanes? Whats not to like!

One of the admin had some skills with 3D design and set about designing his own aircraft to use in 40k. This quickly took off (groan I know) and in time the group had funded the design. The admin promised not only patches, but also buttons, pins, and a full model of his first design. The "Tornado" fighter.

The community came together and with the promise of a new aircraft, we set about making it happen. This project will be the first of hopefully many new designs. It  has tightened the community together. The Admin team has already started working on new designs and future aircraft that they hope to be able to bring to the table top.

Lets talk about my experience as a backer. Although the wait was long, it was worth it. This was the first true "community supported" project that I have backed. However, when the cast came in, the models were shipped very fast. The admin team has kept everyone up to date on the process and the project.

 When I got my model about three days later It arrived in a standard packing box. It was in a baggy with not only the model pieces but also my backer rewards. After washing the model pieces in warm soapy water, I sent the model to a friend to assemble. This was because at the moment, I was working on the Blood Pact Commission, which I hope I will be posting more of soon. After it was assembled and primed it was sent back to me. What I got back in return was less than perfect. The model had been rushed and the tail was bent.

I stripped the model and took it apart over the course of a few days. Then after everything was apart, I set about reassembling it. The model is easy to put together. It holds together very well. It does not eat a lot of glue, so you can fit things together quickly. My advice would be to use very little glue in assembly. A little will go a long way on this project.

It should be noted that this project does not come with missiles, bombs ect. You will need to have your own or buy some from other sources. I used GW Valkyrie missiles for mine in my second build. The Original build my friend used was the GW Chimera missiles. Both will work.

It must be noted that this model is MUCH smaller than a GW Thunderbolt or Valkyrie. I like it however. It looks like a fast air to air fighter that it is mean to be.

 I haven't had time to airbrush or paint the model since it was reassembled. Life has been very busy as of late.I hope to break out my airbrush and get some work done soon.

Now I would like to take some time and talk about how this model will be used on the table.

It could be either a Lightening or a Thunderbolt depending upon the players wants. Im going to run it as a Lightening fighter since I own two thunderbolts already. This Lightening will be a part of the Phantine XIX. Also known as "Orbis" Squadron.

 In the books, Orbis squadron was described as deep grey with their fins and tails painted a deep blue. For this aircraft, Im planning to use my standard mix of Basalt Grey from Vallejo for the body and then use a GW Kantor Blue for the blues. The Cockpit will be a mix of many blues that I have collected over the years. For the engines, I will be using a gold color.

To all my fellow Americans, Happy 4th of July! and to the rest of the world Happy Wednesday!

Leave a comment, say hello or just let us know you were here. We enjoy hearing from you. Also check out our Patreon page. Even a 1$ per month would help us bring you new content. If you like what you see please consider donating. Every little bit helps.

If you want to pick up your own Tornado then head over here

Until next time!

Read more »

Phantine Skyborne: Another Command squad done!

"Green Light! Go Go GO!" -  Major Erwan Grec    44th Phantine Skyborne

Its been a while since I posted and for that I do apologize.  At the current moment Ive gotten a new job that has taken a lot of my time away from painting. This new job however, was my dream job and so Im happy for it.

These models were done over the summer in July. This Phantine Command squad is most likely the last Infantry im going to buy for the Phantine for a while. This is mostly do to running out of room in my case for more Phantine Infantry and also being happy with the amount I have.

This squad was done up just like the others. I needed them to complete my case of Phantine Skyborne and had planned to add them back in 7th as the final steps into my army. With 8th, my plans for the Phantine changed with the breaking apart of the command squad and Company Commanders. I have since played with these models and the nearly won me a tournament a while back. My plan is to add some grav chutes for them one day to make them look like they just dropped out of the Valkyrie.

Now for a look into the future. With this new job, I highly doubt I'll have a lot of time to update in the immediate future. My time for miniatures and painting has dropped to zero. So is this blog going to die? NO WAY! My plan is now to drop the articles so that I get one post per month until I can get caught up with my work. I also plan to add on guest writers to show off their armies and pictures. That way even If i cant post something, somebody else will be contributing to the blog.

Thats the plan for the moment anyway. As always please leave feedback or comments. Let us know you were here. Follow us as well to get updates!

Until Next time....

Read more »

Phantine: Marauder Bomber project "G for Greta" Part 1

"Strong men have conquered the land, bold men have conquered the void, between land and void lies the sky, and only the bravest men ever conquer that."

- Dedication to the Hessenville Aviator scholam on Phantine



As per tradition, on the 4th of July I usually release a blog post about something in relation to my Phantine. With that holiday coming up here in the United States that means its now time for me to get this article out of the way. I have had it in my backlog since at least Winter 2016. So today I present to you my biggest (literally) project yet. I am going to assemble, paint and play a Marauder Bomber for my Phantine Air Corp.

At first I was unsure if I wanted to do this as a single blog post or a series. Now having put off this article for a long while, I have decided to release it as a series of post. The model has been bought, washed, and primed for all of its pieces.

I decided that this model will be "G for Greta", which belonged to Commander Oskar Viltry during the Enothis campaign (772-774 M41). This aircraft first appeared in Double Eagle by Dan Abnett and so I have been looking back through that book for details about the aircraft. This will be my first super heavy of any type so I am excited to see what  I can do with it. Since I am a huge flyboy, the Marauder spoke to me as a Flying Fortress stand in that you would have seen in World War II. Having the connection to the books will only make it better when it is out on the table.

Phantine as I have noted before has no ground to muster a PDF on. So pilots and aviators are rounded up for the Guard. Long time readers of my blog will also note that Ive made a small Phantine Skyborne Force too to go with my Air Corp. In the pipeline I also have 5 more Phantine I need to do in order to complete the ground forces of my Skyborne forces. In the future I might expand upon them but for the moment Im going to be long term working on Greta and the Phantine. July is looking to be a busy month for me, so I hope that I am able to keep the 2 blog post a month mantra going. June saw me fall behind with my new job but Im not complaining.


As we celebrate this day, let us remember that in our own world, there are people fighting for us to remain free and risking there life for us. Even though we war game and have fun, we have to remember the real sacrifice that is asked of all who serve.

Happy 4th Everybody!
Till next time!

Read more »

Battle Report: Battle for Hive Desolation

"There was fire and smoke, they killed a few of our guys and we killed a few of theirs. In the end we were the ones left standing. The Emperor protects" - Unknown,  Attributed to one Captain Jonus Reamus of the Phantine 44th Skyborne. 

Turn 1

So today I come with news of another battle report. This time at the 750 point level. We played on a 4x4 table with Inquisition + Elysians vs Tau. This time we fought for Hive Desolation.

Turn 1

We set up the table and each player picked a side. He went first. The Tau moved up and fired a few shots into my guard. Nothing hit.

My turn, i get my orders thrown out and move up some. The Chimera comes up the left side of the field and the Tarous speeds forward. At this point i open fire and killed a few fire warriors. The Tarous injures the broadside but fails to kill it. My other Tarous kills a Crisis suit earning me first blood.

Turn 2

Turn 2

He opens fire again and damages the chimera some by dropping a Crisis suit behind it. The first dune buggy is destroyed but the second one survives to fight another day. The fire warriors open fire on my guardsmen and Inquisition warbands but fail to injury any.

My turn. I move up and throw out orders. The pykers cast their powers (Presence) and the Inquisitor and his warband get out of the chimera to attack the suit behind them. Shooting goes off seeing another Tau squad killed and another damaged. In the backfield, the Inquisitor and his warband open fire with their pistols before charging into CQB with the crisis suit. One round of very close combat sees it dead. The team then consolidates 5' and goes back towards their transport.

Turn 3

Turn 3

He drops another crisis suit behind my three man warband and moves some fire warriors forward. He opens fire and kills off one of the warband. The broadside kills my chimera and explodes it killing 3 members of the Inquisitors warband. At this point its just the death cult assassin and the Inquisitor himself. The crisis suit burns a few of my guys but they make their armor save.

On my turn i throw out orders and have my squads all gun down his crisis suit. The now 2 man warband opens fire and kills a lone fire warrior. The Dune buggy kills a lone pathfinder. The other squad guns down the rest of the pathfinders.

Turn 4

He moves up some and opens fire on me. All shots either fail to hit or are saved. My dice were rolling really hot that day.

Turn 4

Turn 4, I throw out orders and fire on a few fire warriors. At this point he decided to concede defeat.

Victory goes to the Guard 4-2

Fire and smoke were coming off the now destroyed Tarous. The two man crew burned to a crisp inside. The Tau had pulled back for now but the day was won. Captain Jonus Remaus looked around at his tired and bloody men. All veterans of many jumps. Now working for the Inquisition under Xeno Inquisitor Umarus. The Tau Commander had been killed in action or so he had believed but Umarus had told him that the xeno had escaped. For the moment however, Jonus didn't care. sheathing his power sword he sat down and found a spot to relax. In moments, sleep overtook him. However his dreams were anything but peaceful.... 

The Kill Team game

Afterwords we decided to mess around and do a 3 way 250 point kill team game. Imperial Guard Tanith vs Inquisition vs Tau. Overall it was a very fun game. Kinda silly but enjoyable. Finally we had to leave and called it a day.

Read more »

Phantine Air Show (of what is to come)

The Air Wing in its glory

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers. As we come to a end this holiday weekend I want to share with you a project of mine that is going to be a long time running. Painting my Phantine Air Corp.  As seen earlier, the 'Bolts are already done but ahead of me is much more!

Three Valkyries, One Vendetta, and One Vulture. These aircraft make up the bulk of my air wing and are key essential elements of my Phantine army. With the new airbrush I recently acquired I hope to be able to knock these out fast in order to get them table top ready.

The Vulture (with its Blue nose) and invasion strips is painted off of the 352nd Fighter Squadron from World War II. Also known as "The Blue nosed Bastards of Bodney" these airmen accounted for some of the highest aces in the war. By adding their paint scheme into my army I tied together my love for history with my enjoyment of wargaming.

Closer shots of the air wing

these flyers originally belonged to my friend KatoSniper21 but after he left 40k, i bought them off of him and proceeded to redo them in my own colors. The Valkyries and the Vendetta fought in the war over Ventra Majoris during the Dakka Dakka World Wide Campaign. A campaign my own Detachment D-44 was a part of (if any of you were a part of it, Please let me know!)

As we celebrate this day, let us remember that in our own world, there are people fighting for us to remain free and risking there life for us. Even though we war game and have fun, we have to remember the real sacrifice that is asked of all who serve.

Happy 4th Everybody!
Till next time!

Read more »

Phantine Skyborne! Ready to Jump!

Command Squad with Scanner

 For the men and women of Phantine, everyday is a fight for survival. Growing up living on mountain tops in closed off cities, the people of Phantine live above the polluted clouds of their world. Called "The scald" these clouds can kill a man in minutes should anyone fall into them. Therefore when the Imperial Guard came for a tithe on Phantine, there was no ground to muster the troops.

Two types of soldiers are pulled from this world: Airmen for the Air Corps and Drop Troopers from the Skyborne. Today we cover the men and woman of the Skyborne. First appearing in Dan Abnettt's Guns of Tanith, the Phantine Skyborne played a vital role not only in reclaiming their world but in the Sabbat Crusade.

A Phantine Sargent

"They were all big, powerful young men wearing cream-coloured quilted jackets and baggy, pale canvas pants bloused into the tops of high jump-boots. The sides of their heads were brutally shaved, leaving just a strip on their crowns. Not as a result of lice treatment, Varl thought. These men kept their hair that way. They were Phantine troopers. Skyborne specialists."  - Guns of Tanith

This description didnt do enough for me so I decided to email the man himself about how the Phantine would look. Dan Abnett was kind enough to respond (for which I am very grateful!):

"I think they would look very much like WW2 aircrew crossed with paratroopers, with the jump-packs being "jet-pack" type units about the size and shape (and appearance) of an un-deployed parachute
Any help?
Dan 

With this information in hand ive set about painting them based off the images I could of World War II aircrews and paratroopers. It is my hope that these are the best representation of the Phantine that I can do.

Scald Squad

My own Only War Character (Captain Jonus Remaus) is a modeled in this army as well with his power sword "Liberus". As a member of the 44th Phantine He is the leader of "Scald" Squad seen here.

Full army shot with Holm Squad on the far right

 The second squad seen here (Far left) is Holm squad. This squad is led by Sergeant "Cowboy". Cowboy was originally nicknamed Cupcake after a superior called him a "cupcake solider",In response, Cowboy bettered himself and during the Ventra Majoris crusade fought against Chaos to protect the world of Sigma Majorus. He is current serving under Captain Remaus and someday hopes to get command of Scald Squad.

My yet un named squad

Seen here is the newest squad of the 44th. This is my last unnamed squad. They are the newest recruits after the Ventra Majoris campaign. Currently they are on patrol with the 44th fighting against Necrons and Orks. Whether or not they can stand against the horrors of the galaxy remain to be seen.

After taking these pictures I realized that I forgot to add in the 2 lascannon sentry guns conversions I had done for this army as well.

The Drop Sentinel in the back is a converted regular sentinel that has been heavily modified to fit the drop role. Its been a big part of this army since the beginning and earned me a few kills of enemy armor during the campaign I ran with my brother against his (read: my) tau forces. It is now a constant part of my drop army.

In the mail I have 2 more surprises coming for this army.  While these are just the ground elements of the army, I hope to be able to show the air elements soon.

Write a comment, say hi or just let me know you were here! Every little bit helps.

Read more »

Thunderbolts of Phantine [XX Squadron]

Commander Jagdea in the lead T-Bolt
Sharp eyed viewers will notice that a cooling duct is missing
a replacement has been requested by the squadron

Here's a project that I've wanted to do for a very long time! A wing of two Thunderbolts from the Phantine Air Corp. First seen in Dan Abnett's Guns Of Tanith and later their own series Double Eagle, the pilots of Phantine remain my favorite Imperial Guard Regiment.

Since Phantine has no ground to muster troops on, their tithe to the Imperial war machine was in the form of pilots, each squadron being 12 (wo)men strong. My Phantine consist of both the Air Corps and their drop troopers known as the Skyborne.

This first T-Bolt is piloted by Commander Jagdea, first encountered in the book Guns of Tanith. Her piloting skills are shown to be second to none and she remains a top favorite character throughout the series as she flies Umbra 1. Since the wiki's are not much help on what the Phantine looked like, I had to resort to the use of the books themselves. They were described as:

"Matte Grey with copper plating on the exposed engines and ducts"

Umbra 2 and Umbra 1 from left to right

This gave me some idea on how to do my own models allowing them to have their own unique feel as close to the book as possible. The Second Thunderbolt is going to be flown by XO Milan Blancher in Umbra 2. Even though Blancher becomes KIA in the book, his character was too cool not to add and since my forces are suppose to be about the time of Sabbat Martyr (773 M41), its possible hes still alive at that point. Besides, with 32 kills to his name, this guy is just too cool not to make a model for!  Someday I hope to add a third and a fourth to the collection but the true goal will be to have a Marauder piloted by another famous pilot of Phantine.

Soon I hope to have my full forces done up in a picture for you all to see!  Keep checking back and leave me a note to saying you were here or just hi! Every little bit helps!

Read more »

2015. A Year in Review

    

Rolling for Happy New year!

 Where oh where has this year gone? Seems like only yesterday we were starting up a new year. This year has seen a lot of change in me. Memories were made, friends were made and lost, and the world turned daily. As we continue towards 2016, we here at Behind the Lines Gaming would like to wish you a Happy New Year.  At the beginning of the year we had promised to promote big news to you all. I can safely say that this big news is coming in 2016 so be on the look out and keep checking back!

2015 saw many new additions to my rooster. At the beginning I had just started on my Victoria Lamb based Tanith First and Only army. This army has rapidly expanded and grown in size!  Now numbering 100+ models, the final additions of a few female Verghast is planned for 2016 once they are released.

The Tau army that has been posted here throughout the year is also currently in major WiP mode. A few models and squads have been done. Those will be posted in 2016 as well. The Menoth army is back together again and primed ready for paint. 2015 might as well have been the year of stripping paint. Hopefully these new schemes of paint will improve the models and make them look even better!

As always we plan to do a Top three projects we have done this year. Located Here, the Gallery is a page dedicated to the Top work on completed models we've done each year.Give it a look and let us know what you think!

#1 as always was a hard choice this year. All of the models have been fun to work on and paint. However the winner was a commission given to me by Bandogora. This commission was for a Company command squad of the Bloody 18th Krieg Regiment.  Not only did I get some awesome artwork out of it from Kurt Mertz but the army was one that had a feel to it unlike any other ive painted!

Below are a few images from the Rise of the Bloody 18th post I posted throughout the year!

With the 18th came Krieger 18D. This krieger has been Bandogora's Dark Heresy Character and plays a critical part in the formation of the 18th. What secrets and history lays behind the gas mask are still yet to be known, however the Emperor, or maybe the Chaos gods have given a very special fate to this Krieger. All of that remains to be seen.

The company command squad was some of the most fun I had painting. Using their uniquely blue and red scheme, these models seemed to "pop" on the battlefield allowing them to look both uniquely grim dark, but also well done. These models were in rough shape and it was clear that who ever had owned them before hand had not taken care of them. This was not about to happen on my watch. After a lot of TLC, I was able to get them back to how they should have been all along. Ready to die on the battlefield for the Emperor!

This back view of the models shows their uniquely done backpacks. Forgeworld is always know its for wonderful models and these did not disappoint. A lot of time was given to the smallest of details. This is why they became my favorite project of 2015!

#2 was a easier choice to make, This project was one that will be seeing action this coming year in 2016!  My own take on the Panzer III tank from a chimera. This model was a lot of work to convert and took some time and effort. After a lot of glue, sweat and pain, the model was finally together and I was pleased with the end results.

Not the prettiest of jobs at the moment but when it comes time for primer and paint i think she'll do nicely. Im hoping that I will be able to convert it fully for a second one of these tanks. When that is accomplished then I should finally be able to get the model fully. It has to be noted that the treads were the hardest part of the whole conversion. Maybe I'll try to do a tutorial on my second one should I get the time. 

My third favorite project of the year was not really a model per say but was a aid for the game. This project took only a few hours but it was a lot of fun making them in order to help me better play in 40k. Of course what im talking about is my own custom designed cards that i made for Imperial Guard orders and warlord traits. 

Any good guard commander knows that it is vital to use your orders right and have them ready to use when you get to the game. These cards were made using the magic card game custom card creator. A nifty little program that allowed for me to fully customize my army cards on the battlefield. This set was a customized set for the program from the Star Gate series of card game. I ordered some card holders to place them in! Some people had expressed interest in them. Therefore I plan to make a free version for people to download if they wish. In the future I plan to add Stormtroopers, cadian traits and others onto this list. 

As the year comes to a close I wish to thank my loyal readers and those who follow me. It makes writing these post easier knowing that some people read them and enjoy the content of them.If you like what you see please become a follower of the blog or leave a comment below! Every little bit helps

With that I wish you the best in this ending to 2015 and a happy start to 2016! Keep rolling those dice and stay tuned for many new exciting things to come in 2016! 

Read more »

Wargaming and Attitude discussion

This has been a topic that I've been heavily considering writing on a for a while. In the course of painting models, a few topics came up the other day on one of my recent pictures posted online. The paint job in general was considered "unfinished" , "Just primer" and "Shit" by many that commented on it.

First off, let me make something clear. This is not a whining post! 

This is a discussion on how we as war gamers are not always welcoming to others that might wish to join in on our hobby of plastic soldiers (No matter the system!) When I posted the picture I never imaged the hatred I would receive from people that were looking to either boost their own egos or put down others. The worst part was that this was a group of gamers that I frequented often. This group has a wonderful membership but the fact remains that people will begin to feel uncomfortable posting their own models if they are only going to get told that their work sucks.

Over the course of the last few days I have been watching the group. In that time I've painted a few more models here and there. Detailed a few and enjoyed painting. However I am hesitant to show anyone my work. If I, a veteran painter and player am hesitant to post my work, how must a new player feel watching the community tear itself apart over one or two "bad" paint jobs. This is unacceptable.

Primer or Paint? Can you tell the difference?
side note: This was not the model in the discussion

The facts remain on those models. First off, it was not "just primer" or "unfinished". There were two coats of paint and two different washes on there for just the body alone. The rest of the model was covered in colors ranging from golds to grey. Secondly, anytime you call somebody's work "shit" or "unfinished", please realize that you are not adding anything to the conversation. A more helpful attitude would have been to suggest a way to better the model or talk about what the positives of the model were.  Thirdly, if the model in question is not one that you like or feel is to YOUR standards, instead of posting on it, leave it alone. It cost you nothing. I will be the first to admit that I am not a class A+ painter. However, this was shockingly below the average post quality of the group in question.


So what can we do to encourage people to post their work and not feel judged? Be welcoming for starters. Encourage people to show off your work and give helpful, good advice on what they can do. Be friendly, even if it is the internet, people still want to feel good about their models they put time into. "The Thin your paints!" and "My eyes drill your barrels" post are funny but tried memes at this point. Offer painting tips to new painters and new players alike. Finally, realize that people paint to their own standards. What might be "Unfinished" to your eyes might be a new timers "master piece".


I hope these ideas and topics encourage you to think about your own painting. If you got anything to add post in the comments below!

Read more »

March on Tanith, March on.... (Part 1)

New Fresh Recruits in the resin

So where have I been these past few months? Well after the end of the semester came I found out I passed my classes and will be starting my thesis. This great news meant that I will be able to start on the final road to earning my Master's Degree in History.

In the mean time I've been putting together this giant pile of resin and priming it to get started. These photos and this post have been waiting for months to get posted. However, the timing was never right till now.

Whats in the Box?

These photo's were day 1 photos of my big project for 2015. A brand new 100% Victoria Lamb and 3rd party Imperial Guard army. Having gotten this project assembled. I decided to take it slowly making this army my baby. Even the Phantine troopers have gotten redone in order to make sure everything is up to standard as I want it. Sometimes I wonder if its just me who wants to make a perfect, true to lore army or if others want to do it with their forces too.

Test Scheme

My next step is to start working slowly on rebuilding this army to its former glory. One of the biggest opportunities is that Victoria Lamb's female guard allow for me to get some Verghast female snipers as well as a distinguished look for my Verghast over my Tanith. Whether or not this will happen remains to be seen. In the coming months I hope to have more to show you with these forces.

Seen here is the first test scheme model that i completed today. Please note that the tattoos have not been done yet as I am unsure what trooper I wish for this model to be. I have been trying to find a list of each trooper's tattoos. If anyone knows please message me!!! This trooper was done in a new paint scheme that ive been trying out. Most of the model is done up in Vallejo paints. The texture paint on the base was provided to me by my good friend Bandogora who trade them to me for some commissions seen earlier in this blog. Besides this trooper I have also gotten "Try Again" Bragg done too. His model will be showing up in another post that I had planned to write months ago. Any and all comments are welcome.

Test Scheme side shot

Another note is about the All Guardsmen party as done by Shoggy. The banners now seen as the top of my blog are done by the wonderful Kurt Metz. I traded away my first verison of the All Guardsmen Party (AGP) to him in order to get a few custom art pieces done. However, the final detailed models were never shown outside of TG and 1d4chan. So I plan to release images of them here with the V2 editions once they are finished.

The V2 editions actually include a full 10 man squad. This time new faces such as Heavy, Fumbles the Pysker, and Spots the Wonder drone join the party in a attempt to make a INQ legal squad for Kill Team games. I actually got a chance to take them out and play a few games with them two weekends ago. They preformed well in the hands of a novice learning the game of 40k. Hopefully once they get painted they will be joining my INQ forces as full members of Inquisitor Greg Sargent retinue.  A lot of time and effort has gone into making the army the best that it can be.

I know at the beginning of the year i promised to talk about a secret project. That project is still being worked on and news will be coming soon. Until next time. Keep rolling those dice. The Emperor Protects..........

Read more »