Wednesday, January 15, 2014

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......

Friday, January 3, 2014

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.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

2013: A year in review

Roll that D6


Hello everyone,

This will be the last blog post for 2013. Hopefully i'll find 2014 to allow me more time to show off my work as well Renegade09s Necron and Pwnzilla's Imperial Guard. First off, Im proud to say that 2013 has not only seen me complete many wargaming related goals but also a life goal as well. I recently graduated from university and earned my degree. Back when i started this blog, i had just started in on my university career. Now looking back over those early days, i have to say that this blog has matured as have I. So without further delay, Heres a look into what hopefully 2014 will bring....

First off, I have ordered a new games-workshop carrying case for my Tanith first and only models. Having ordered Victoria lambs "Camo-cloaks" I am on what feels like the home stretch of this "Ghost Division" army composed of Tanith, Phantine and Padrus. I meant to do a review on Victoria Lambs models and cloaks which i might still do in 2014 but ran out of time with the holiday season.

credit goes to GW for the photo
Second, I want to tantalize you readers by promising there will be many new additions to this blog in 2014. I have planned at least 2-3 Forge World projects and a whole new min guard force as well as a additional new army! Also I will be adding in my Warmachine Menoth army to this blog as well as any other war games or table top games i might pick up. With the addition of a new Necron tomb and Imperial Guard army being built im sure 2014 will turn out to be a very active year.

Third, what end of the year post would be complete without a top models ideal of 2013. This part would be the hardest for me. This list is only my top 3 but i encourage readers to comment on their top picks. So without further ado here is my top 3:

1. Trooper "Melta bomb Tom" as i call him. I wrote this character a short story back in September naming him with his proper tanith name and have since redone him with another head to show off his features.  New pics of him and more to come in the new year....

Iron Belle

2. My Chimera "Iron Belle", having never owned a chimera before this project was a fun time. I truly enjoyed painting this beauty.

Glory Hound
3. Third would have to be my Phantine Skyborne models that I have been working on. Many of them are modified Elysians from Forge world. My top shot however would have to be the "Glory Hound", a Valkyrie i painted from my friend Kato_Sniper after he sold me his Imperial Guard army earlier this year..



Now before this year closes out i leave you with a few pictures never before seen on here. These pictures are the humble beginnings i posted back on 40konline in 2009 before i had started this blog. Little did i know that four years later my Imperial Guard army would be 2000+ points strong and my favorite army i've built. Back then, i was a bloodied but still wet around the ears war gamer.
Concept from Dakka Dakka

my humble beginnings




 I hope that you all have had a great 2013 and a even better 2014 to come. At this time i wish to thank you all for reading my blog and supporting me to continue my work. If you like what you see please become a follower of this blog as it gives me encouragement to continue on knowing people are reading and watching. Also leave a comment or just say hello. Every little bit helps. :)

 As this year comes to a end, I can only say, keep rolling those dice and may the odds be ever in your favor. Till next year.....


Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Battle Report: Death at Hive Spartacus

Hello everyone!
      Today we're going to feature some exciting front lines new from the Ventra Majoris Campaign.  My Detachment D-44 has deployed to the front lines of the Dragon System on the Imperial Hive World of Hera. Up for grabs is the Hive of Spartacus, one of the major hives on the northern part of the world.  Pwnzilla's own Imperial Guard have also deployed here against the threat of Overlord Osiris and his tomb.

We played a 1000 point match of IG vs Necrons:

Right Side of the Table
Before the game started I took a few screen shots of my completed models that i thought i might be fielding for the day (came out to 1500). Instead we reduced the points and choose to do a 1000 instead. Seen here is my army on parade before they were shipped off to their war zone.
Left Side of the Table
When the time came i was able to get a table and we started the match. Deployment took a while but he decided to let me have first turn and deploy first. Sneaky Necron.

Deployment
Turn 1 saw my ratlings fire into the squad hidden in the middle building claiming first blood. The chimera rolled up and fired at his necrons on the left flank. My Russ tank fired a shell into the building but failed to kill anything. Guardsmen move up to take a firing position into the necron forces.

His turn 1 saw the necron move up. Multiple turns of fire saw a few guardsmen die and the tanks removed a few hull points from the gauss fire. Obyron deep striked into my backfield behind the 30 man strong platoon. Now i was in trouble!  Still it was anyone's game.

Turn 2 saw my ratlings fire against into his squad hiding in the building. Some good hits but not enough damage to cause him to flee. 30 guardsmen opened fire into Obyron killing a few of his lynchguard but not enough to force him to flee. My chimera and russ fire into the enemy again but fail to do much.

His turn 2 saw a major swing in the battle as he blew up my chimera and my russ tank. The necron warriors moved up and unleashed into my veterans that were hiding in the chimera. Obyron and his lynchguard killed my lord commissar gaining slay the warlord. Now i was in trouble.

Turn 2 (Bottom)


Turn 3 saw me fire my vets into his advancing warriors while trying to hold onto the left point. my ratlings were able to fire a few more shots but did little. The right side platoon of 20 shot up a few warriors advancing upon the middle point.  Assault phase saw Obyron slay 10 guardsmen.

His turn 3 saw the necrons warriors on both sides of the table advance. The left side unleashed a volume of fire into my vets. The right side fired at my ratlings killing them. Still it looked very bad for my guard.

Turn 4 another volume of fire into the advancing necron sees little damage done. My dice were failing me. Close combat sees Obyron slay a few more guardsmen

His turn 4 sees the last Lynchguard go down. He teleports Obyron out of assault and marches his necron up the field slaying my vets and claiming the left objective.

Turn 4 (bottom)
Turn 5. The critical turn. My guardsmen move, run and sprint up the field to claim the center and left objective contesting the left and holding the center. Now all i had to do was not die....guard? who was i kidding :P

His turn 5 saw him run up the field with his necron on the left gunning down my guardsmen contesting the left point claiming it. His middle fired into my guardsmen holding the center killing one but also contesting the center. The score was now 1 held by necron, 1 contested.

We rolled for turn 6 and got a 1! game over  Necron win!

After actions review:  Darn it! not the way i wanted that match to go. I felt that a few critical moves could have helped me mid game but still Renegade09 is a great player. The deep striking of Obyron and learning that Gauss weapons insta-kill guardsmen meant that i felt cover would become center to fighting against his force. A lesson i held to in the next game we played (non campaign) just last week at 500 points. A stunning return for the guard, but that is a story for another time.

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







Friday, November 15, 2013

Dramatis Personae: Inside the Inquisition

Imperial Guard Officer 39188: 40th Corp, [Assigned to Detachment D-44] Captain Jonus Remaus. Phantine Skyborne [On assignment to Inquisitor Umarus]......Would you like to search this personal service record?......Thank you........ ERROR: files locked by order of the Inquisition....Data terminal now shutting down....


The Captain and his sword "Liberus"
The world of Phantine, a planet in the Sabbat Worlds and the lead planet in the Gaunt's Ghost novel "Guns of Tanith". I started my 40k adventure reading about the Phantine Airborne from the novel "Double Eagle" and soon read about the Skyborne as well. The world of Phantine was unlike any I had encountered in the lore. With cities rising high above the poisonous Scald, every day was another day to fight to survive on a planet torn apart by industrialization. This is where my first characters for Dark Heresy Litilus Remaus and his brother Jonus Remaus come in.

Captain Jonus Remaus served with distinguished service over the course of not only the Ventra Majoris Campaign (Detachment D-44) but also the Assault on Distilleri chasing the traitor general O'Rum across the imperium into Tau space (40th Corp). Currently he has been redeployed to Ventra Majoris for the Second Campaign in the Drogan system
Clarke on his horse 

Here is another member of Inquisitor Umarus's acolytes Kriegmen #353663 Also known as "Clarke". Once a member of the 68th Krieg, Clarke was taken in by the inquisitor to become one of his personal members within the acolytes. When the bombardment of Haven happened and the 68th Krieg was struck from the record, Clarke swore his loyalty to Umarus and the imperium vowing to track down and destory the enemies of mankind. His early history with Assassin Doran and Tech Priest Litilus had been ambushed marked on the world of Hydraphur in the Segmentum Pacificus. Clarke and his unit had been asked to shadow the two young acolytes. After a failed gang ambush of his newest acolytes, the unit had been requisitioned by Umarus for the rest of the hunt to track down a rouge assassin by the name of Julius.



Another view of Clarke
After that action the Acolytes had all been separated. Jonus had returned to the 40th Corp and the others had been sent on classified missions.  Clarke and his unit had taken over the majority of the work for Umarus as his personal bodyguard. It wasn't until the actions on the world of Haven had been set into motion that the true power of the inquisition had been shown to Clarke. Watching his unit die beneath the guns of the Inquisitional fleet, Clarke felt himself torn between loyalty to the Imperium and the Krieg now dying below him. What happened to Clarke during this time is unknown but to Umarus but mysterious events aboard his personal starship were locked away under his orders. Even the current members of Umarus's acolytes know not to discuss Clarke.

Amongst the crew it is whispered that Clarke had tried to assassinate the Inquisitor. Other rumors suggested something far deeper than just a personal vendetta had taken place. Whatever the true case might be, Clarke and his unit haven't been seen since the early days after the purging of Haven. What is known is that whatever the fate of the former acolyte, Umarus has been unwilling to share the details..........

Monday, November 11, 2013

Battle Report: Massacre at Squat Alley



Today marks a important goal in my Guard army. I have finally finished painting all my Gaunt's Ghost.
(Nov 10th, 2013). So now the question is, where do i go from here? For now I think i'm going to take a well deserved rest before jumping back into the fray of cloaking 100+ models with green stuff. This achievement is no small feat but i'm proud of the work that has been accomplished. Hopefully i'll get back to a true update soon.

Renegade09 and Pwnzilla678 have also joined the site and will be contributing their own forces of Necron lead by Phearon Osiris and The Vostroyan 47th led by Colonel Ivan. We have all joined the Dakka Dakka World Wide Campaign II located in the Dragon System of the Ventra Majoris Sub-Sector. Hopefully in the coming weeks you'll hear from them about their own forces too!

Today though, we turn to another BATTLE REPORT! This battle was one that was fought earlier this year between Renegade09, Pwnzilla678 and myself. We were playing our own version of Kill Team with one (1) troop choice and one (1) Hq unit. No specialist were taken.  this 3 way free for all was aiming to capture the vital uplink station in the center of the alley.

The Alley
The forces consisted of,
Imperial Guard: 1 veteran squad and 1 Lord Commissar
Squats (count as IG): 1 Veteran squad and 1 Lord Commissar
Tau: Crisis Battlesuit and one 12 man squad of Tau

The Tau took the early lead and held the objective quickly while splitting their forces into 2 6 man squads to attack both the Squats and the Imperial Guardsmen coming from the bottom left and bottom right of the above picture. The Tau with their range were able to kill 3 guardsmen and 2 Squats.  The battlesuit commander sniped at the Lord Commissar of my Imperial Guard (Inquisitor count as) but missed.

The guard move up but fail to kill but 1 tau, meanwhile the Squats moved up and shot a well placed volley into the tau 6 man squad that was holding the upper left hillside. However the Tau failed to run and the Squats were forced to suffer another round of shooting.

Turn 2 sees more of the same, with the Warlord for the Squats being slayed and the Tau suffering more casualties. Amazingly they hold. The guard move up and run to get into a better cover.

By Turn 3 the game was starting to shift, the Tau were suffering casualties but had yet to give up the objective having obtain First Blood and Slay The Warlord on the Squats. My guard meanwhile were fighting uphill on the bottom right of the Alley to try to get a advantage of high on the Tau. Brave Phantine Guardsmen were both killed and wounded including Captain Jonus Remaus who was wounded in action. Finally after the guard was able to capture the top of the hill, they suffered more battlesuit commander fire killing the Inquisitor (Slay the warlord for the Tau player again).

By Turn 4, the game had whole shifted, the tau were able to slay a few more guardsmen and squats. However the Squats assaulted into the tau causing them to be locked in CQB.Also important was the killing off of the back tau line now reduced in order for the squats to move up unopposed. With their fire warriors locked in combat in the back field and the guard moving up, doom loomed for the Tau. The saving grace was the battlesuit commander who took the fight to the guard bringing them down below half. They saved on their Ld test and held. The commander jumped back into the alley to hide. The guard move up laying down a cover fire into the tau in the alley. Only a few tau are killed but the dice rolled in his favor.

By Turn 5 the game was all but over. The tau were definitely going to win but the squats were not willing to let the Tau commander get away with this massacre.  Seen here is the lone squat warrior left of his brotherhood attacking the tau commander on the bottom of 4. He has just passed both his saves. (A picture worthy moment indeed). In turn 5 he would be killed off, thus earning the name of this battle report. My own guardsmen were able to make a last minute rush to the objective but were shot off the objective by tau overwatch when i was forced to assault to move them off the objective.

VICTORY GOES TO Renegade09 and the Tau!


Shas'O J kaa Por" Mirror water" goes head to head against the Squat Warrior

I hope you all enjoyed this battle report. I meant to get it up sooner but its been a hectic semester of school. Keep Checking back and if you like what you see, Please Subscribe. In the coming weeks we will see the rise of the Necron and the founding of a new Regiment. Stay Tuned! 

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Product Review: West Wind Productions Pict Heads

           So today i'm going to try something new. A product review! In order to complete my Tanith and add some variety into my army, i've taken the plunge and bought 40 West Wind Pict Head. (20 hooded and 20 normal)


Heads from West Wind

How they look compared to the standard cadian head. Overall there isn't very much of a difference noticeable to the naked eye.  While the cadian is slightly on the heroic scale side, the West wind appears to be close enough to fit into the non-heroic 28mm model. I'm not exactly sure if I am correct on the scale but i don't think they will be noticed much on the battlefield anyway.The added cloaks really add detail to the model and i found the cast to be fairly perfect for what i wanted out of my Tanith. Overall I would highly recommend West Wind Productions for their work. Money well spent! I'm honestly tempted to put in a second order already. ;) Hopefully i'll be able to get one of these painted up today and see how they look fully done. 
West Wind Productions head on left vs a standard GW cadian on Right.

Also in the works lately is my Forge World auto cannon chimera. I decided to add her to my army as a ride for my Phantine Vets. Her name will be "Iron Belle". Overall the paint scheme is following my Pardus 8th armored force. This beauty was a Ebay rescue job. When I first got her she had obviously been stripped and ignored. The model begged to be painted and I was more than willing since this was my first time painting a chimera APC tank.  At first I wasn't sure if i wanted to paint it in Inquisitional colors, Pardus colors or another plan paint scheme. In the end my friend Renegade09 decided that it would look best matching the Pardus armor force. I think i agree with his choice.
"Iron Belle"
Another problem that I've found lately is the number of troopers i'm painting and getting ready to cloak for my army. After taking some time out of my day, I found that the following is true at this moment for my painted army:
                                                               Tanith: 49
                                                               Verghast: 39
                                                                Belladon: ?
Im still unsure at the moment if i should add Belladon into my army. I wasnt going to originally but now the idea is becoming tempting. Im sure i'll figure something out soon enough.

Verghast on Left, Tanith on Right

Till next time, Keep rolling those dice and may the odds be ever in your favor......

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More