Showing posts with label IG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IG. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Progress Report: 12/14/2010



I received a few of the tanks I traded for, two LRBTs and one of three Chimeras. I immediately began refurbishing them, starting by stripping the paint from the LRBTs, and did a quick repaint of the Chimera. I still have the details to pick out, but I just wanted to get a head start on the transport to take a break from painting infantry. On the plus side: painted infantry is up to 5 out of 30 veterans! I'd better finish the other five in that squad, so I can finish basing them.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Progress Report: 12/12/2010



I've been feeling a bit under the weather this weekend, but I didn't let that stop me from getting the lead out on these models! I assembled and based all three squads, and spent today fiddling with paint schemes. I finally settled on this one. Takes a little bit more work than I usually would deem acceptable for my rank-and-file troops, but it should be worth it!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Progress Report 12/10/2010




Yesterday, my PigIron heads finally arrived. I was eager to start popping them on the infantry, so I dug up a bottle of superglue and... nothing! Hard as a rock, that tube was. Argh!

So today I finally got more superglue. Started applying the new heads and they look awesome. That's as far as I got tonight. I'll have to finish up tomorrow. Once I'm done with the heads, I can get to the fun part: painting!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Vendetta Recolor Pt 2





Finally done with all that Vendetta painting. I'm actually quite happy with my theme, as it looks very Soviet-esque. Tell me what you think!

Some more progress on DK Kremlin



Finished recoloring an Officer today, started work on the Vendetta. It's gonna look awesome...

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A New Korps for the Motherland!


I had a new flash of inspiration the other day, while looking at a box of Shock Troopers I had originally purchased to supplement my Vor Neo-Soviet army. It occurred to me that I might be able to scratch-build myself the vehicles I need, as long as I could provide the infantry for the army. Digging around in my bits box, I found a large cache of Pig Iron Kolony Militia heads, and the sparks flew.

Reading about the Death Korps of Krieg, I decided to do a similar force. Wargames Factory's Shock Troopers look the part, but I wanted to add my own twist. The Death Korps of Kremlin will be arriving soon!

Coupled with my Neo-Soviet models from Vor, this will be a communist-soviet twist on the traditional DKoK army. I plan to hybrid the army between the Imperial Armor version and the standard IG codex, reserving the bulk of this army for Apocalypse gaming or opponent's permission games. But lets face it: I only get out for big Apoc games or opponent's permission games anyway.

I have a mountain of scratchbuilding to do though. I have barely 1500 points, and that's stretching it by loading the infantry with upgrades. So, I am making a list:

Scratchbuild List:
2 Hades Breaching Drills (I can make these work easily enough)
3 Medusa/Basilisk Guns on Carriages (whatever I can make work, I don't really care at this point)
3 Trojans to tow the Guns (I bet these will be the hardest)
3 Heavy Mortars (Shouldn't take too much work, I hope)
3 Centaurs to tow the Mortars (Might tie for hardest scratchbuild)
3 Bombard Mortars (Might require a bit of PVC pipe)

Maybe I'm being too ambitious. Or not ambitious ENOUGH.... *rubs chin*

That's it for me, be on the lookout for our newest blog author Robert! He has ran some ideas past me on his first post, which include spicing up your normal 40k games with added planetary effects!

So until next time,
--FP135

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

A few project updates: 3/31/2010



A few project updates for you fellows... Up first, a counts-as Commissar for use in my IG platoons. I don't like the idea of paying so much for these guys... so I like to make them myself.



Next we have the finished version of my Mars Class Cruiser in a bit more distinct lighting than the other shots. This baby sure looks good on the dark tables that we use for BFG.



Lastly, "Jeeves" gets a paintjob. I felt guilty leaving him only primed, since my Rogue Trader group had really liked him. So I made him his own character sheet and gave him a decent paintjob. Tomorrow is our next session, so I'm sure he'll get some compliments.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Founding of the 907th Alascadian Regiment


Wind swept up the ashen dust, sweeping it in gallivanting swirls around the mustered troops on the fresh-cleared parade field. Ranks of gray-uniformed soldiers lined the field, and the rumble of massive Leman Russ Battle Tank engines made the ground throb with a palatable pulse. Chimeras stained with soot trundled up loading ramps into waiting bellies of the orbital lift craft, belching clouds of dark exhaust. The harsh light of the day glinted from the glass surfaces of building ruins that surrounded the field. The particulate matter and detritus in the air cast a brownish tinge to the landscape, giving it the appearance of looking filthy. Although, it was exactly that, but the pollutants intensified the effect.

Sergeant Callus fidgeted slightly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as he stood at parade rest to the fore of his squad. Even in the full heat of the day it was cold by an off-worlder standards, but to the newly-promoted Sergeant, it was stifling. Perhaps it was the confining particulate-filter mask that all Alascadian soldiers were issued, or perhaps it was just the momentous significance of this historic occasion.

The planet of Alascadia had not had a regimental tithe in nearly a full millennium. A secret Cabal of the Archenemy had sabotaged the world against itself, leading to a civil war that had laid waste to the planet. It was said, so much ordinance was dropped on the first day of that war, that the planet's axis shifted minutely and permanently crippling the planet's natural balance.

To Callus, it certainly seemed that way. He had seen ancient pict-plates and holopicts of pre-war Alascadia: a shining utopia. Cityscapes merged perfectly with the natural surroundings, working with the planet's natural ecosystem rather than against it. However, the planet was as dead now as it had been alive in pre-war times. Ash still filled every crevice, and very few crops or flora would grow in the polluted soil beneath the hard-packed particulate. The people left in the aftermath struggled to survive, being reduced to nearly pre-industrial technology.

It was an uphill battle over the generations, but due to the dedication of the survivors, they persevered. One might say they even thrived. Finally, today, on this day of days, they would pay back the enemies of the God-Emperor. They were assembling for a Holy Crusade, and Callus savored the thought of exacting vengeance on those who laid his ancestors low. The weight of the chainsword hanging on his utility belt reassured him.

"Today..." he thought, smirking freely thanks to the ambiguity of his mask, "Today is the day I will remember as our first victory over the Archenemy."


And Now, the Meat and Potatoes Following the Fluff-

That is a snippet of some fluff I am writing for my Imperial Guard regiment. Yes... you will notice that it has a lot of Fallout 3 influence, but meh... It is one of my favorite games of all time, so that is just how it goes.

The reason for this is actually kind of neat: I am holding a "Founding" for playtesting some units for my IG, to whittle down a 1500 point list out of a 2000 point list. At the 2000 point list, I am putting in non-competitive units in order to whittle them out of the final list in a semi-narrative fashion. As I play several games with my units, you'll see the units that last become "battle-hardened" and the units that get cut will be killed off. I plan on making a sort of narrative battle report series from this in the weeks ahead. The final-cut list is what I will be taking to Brimfrost 2010, the biggest local tournament we have in Alaska for the year. This takes place mid-March, so I have a couple weeks to prepare. Also watch for updated paintjobs, basing, etc as I get them ready for the painting competition in the same tournament.

Tyranids are going to be around, but they are mainly my fluffy army. Now it's time to lay down the law, and show the xenos, the heretic, and the witch the power of the Sledgehammer of the Imperium!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

My First Apocalypse Game



I played my first game of 40k Apocalypse today, and I wrote a summarized Battle Report to mark the occasion. I also got some snapshots of the game in progress, as you can see here. Read on!

ARMY LISTS (approximate)
SM-
Chapter Master with Artificer Armor, Relic blade, and Boltgun
Chaplain with Terminator Armor
Captain with Terminator Armor, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield
Terminator Squad (10) with 2 Assault Cannons
Terminator Squad (10) with 1 H. Flamer, 1 Assault Cannon
Scout squad (5) with Heavy Bolter, Teleporter Homer
Tactical Squad (10) with Meltagun, Missile Launcher, Plasma Pistol
Tactical Squad (10) with Plasmagun, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Pistol, in drop pod
Tactical Squad (10) with Flamer, Lascannon
Venerable Dreadnought with Extra Armor
Bike Squad with 2 Meltaguns, Sgt. Power Sword
Assault Squad (5) with Sgt. Power Sword and Combat Shield
Assault Squad (5) with Sgt. Power Sword
Predator Annihilator tank with Extra Armor, Pintile-mounted Storm-bolter, and H/K missile

IG-
Company Command Squad with Lord Castellan Creed, Medic, Regimental Banner, and Voxcaster
Commissar Yarrick
Stormtrooper Squad (10) with Plasmagun, Grenade Launcher, and Sgt. Power Sword.
Ratling sniper team (4)
Ratling sniper team (3)
Guardsman Marbo
Platoon Command Squad with Voxcaster, Medic, 2 Flamers
2 Infantry Squads with 2 Voxcasters
Platoon Command Squad with Voxcaster, Missile Launcher team
4 Infantry Squads with 4 Voxcasters and 3 Flamers
Veteran Squad with Demolitions, Grenadiers, 3 Meltaguns, in a chimera with a dozerblade.
Veteran Squad with Demolitions, Grenadiers, 3 Grenade Launchers, in a chimera with a dozerblade.
Veteran Squad with Demolitions, Grenadiers, 2 Plasmaguns, in a chimera with a dozerblade.
Armored Sentinel with Lascannon, HK Missile, and Smoke Launchers
Leman Russ Vanquisher with Knight Commander Pask, Lascannon, H. Bolter sponsons, dozerblade
Leman Russ Executioner with Lascannon, Plasma Sponsons, dozerblade


TURN 0: Pre-game

-Time limit set, game started at 10 PM and ends at 2 AM (Had to wait for the kids to be in bed!).
-Imperial Guard declare Strategic Asset: Flank March
-Space Marines declare Strategic Asset: Precision Strike
-No Man's Land and Terrain Configured
-Imperial Guard deploys first, gets first turn.
-Imperial Guard holds 3 Vet Squads in Chimeras and Sentinel in reserve, along with marbo.
-SM hold Terminator squads in reserve, along with a drop pod of tactical marines.


Game Board, Pre-Deployment


After IG Deployment


After SM Deployment

TURN 1:
-IG moves aggressively, and takes out the dreadnought on the first round of shooting.
-IG Mortars fail to inflict significant damage.
-The Vanquisher also snap-fires at the Predator through cover, successfully destroying it.
-SM position their troops to strike, bounding the assault squads into assault range.
-The Chapter master calls an Orbital Strike on the Executioner, which hits, but fails to penetrate the tank's thick armor. Other shooting is only minimally successful.
-SM attack with much vigor, their assault squads ripping through a pair of infantry squads. The squads manage to retreat to a safe distance without being caught in a sweeping advance.


The Front Lines, Turn 1


Sniper's Lookout


End of Turn 1

TURN 2:

-IG reinforcements arrive: a Chimera with the Plasmagun Vets and Guardsman Marbo. Due to Flank March, the Chimera comes onto the table in the enemy deployment zone.
-IG sweeps infantry aside with massed FRFSRF orders. Both SM assault squads perish in a fusillade of lasgun fire.
-The executioner destroys an entire combat squad in a single salvo from its main cannon.
-Marbo tosses a demo charge, killing three out of five marines in a combat squad. Sniper fire takes out the other two, removing them from the objective.
-SM reinforcements arrive, a single drop-pod of tactical marines as well as a Captain in terminator armor with a thunderhammer and storm shield. The pod marines take an objective.
-The bikes boost hard in a gambit to contest one of the IG-held objectives in the IG deployment zone.
-A lascannon shot shakes the crew of the chimera that just came on-board.


The Chimera Flank-Marches


He's Right Behind You!


End of Turn 2

TURN 3: Last Turn
-The remaining IG reinforcements come on-board. Flank-marching enables them to take key positions and secure more objectives.
-The shaken chimera tank-shocks a lone lascannon gunner from the board.
-SM Biker's gambit did not pay off as they were gunned down by combined fire from a stormtrooper squad and an infantry squad.
-Combined sniper fire wounds the captain in terminator armor.
-SM opposition is eliminated from another objective.
-Fire from multiple sides eliminates half of the drop-pod squad. A scattered shot from a plasma sponson strikes the drop-pod, and by stroke of luck, detonates it with a 2” blast radius. This causes 4 wounds to the remaining squad members, of which only 2 wounds are saved by armor. The squad's morale breaks, sending them fleeing from the objective.


Biker's Gambit


Surrounded


End of Turn 3

With the time limit reached, and only 2 scoring units left in the SM army vs. the 11 scoring units left in the IG army, the SM player concedes. Deepstriking SM might have been able to shake a few defenders from objectives, but with the IG holding 4 out of 6 objectives and contesting 1, there was little hope of pulling even a tie out of this one.



FINAL THOUGHTS:

A game of this size is fun, but to really experience Apocalypse, you have to either formations or superheavies. Otherwise, it is just a really big 40k game.

With that in mind, I am now currently researching ways to scratch-build various vehicles. Of course, if anybody has an extra Baneblade they wouldn't mind giving me for free, I would be very willing to oblige you!

Well, it's nearly 3:30 in the morning here, and my wife probably is expecting me to come to bed sometime tonight, so I guess I'll leave it at that.

Until next time,
--FP135

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Much More Ado About Guardsmen




Simple conversions and wrap-ups for today: Got the last wash on the Griffon I converted from a SM Rhino, and I lengthened the barrel on the LRBT to allow it to double as a Vanquisher if need be.

I've written up a list that is tailor-built to wreck my SM-playing buddy's day. Here's what I got:


HQ
CCS-
Camo Cloaks, 4x Sniper Rifles
90

Troops
Veteran Squad 1-
3 Meltaguns, Autocannon team, Demolitions, Chimera w/ Dozerblade, Pintile Stubber
220

Veteran Squad 2-
2 Plasmaguns, Autocannon team, Demolitions, Chimera w/ Dozerblade, Pintile Stubber
220

Veteran Squad 3-
3 Grenade Launchers, Autocannon team, Demolitions, Chimera w/ Dozerblade, Pintile Stubber, Hull Heavy Flamer
205


Elites
Marbo-
65

Stormtrooper Squad-
1 Plasmagun
100

Fast Attack
Armored Sentinel-
Lascannon, HK Missile
85

Heavy Support
Leman Russ Demolisher-
Lascannon Multi-melta Sponsons Dozer Blade
220

Leman Russ Vanquisher-
Lascannon, Dozer Blade, Heavy Bolters, Pintile Stubber,
205

Griffon Heavy Mortar-
Enclosed Crew
90

Total: 1500

Killpoint Total: 13


I hope he is surprised at this list over the last one I fielded. Its pretty unconventional for me, so we'll see how he reacts next time we get a game in.

I don't exactly know when that will be though. My wife and I bought a new house, and the paperwork finally closed on it today. We move into it Friday, to avoid paying another month's rent at this apartment where we currently reside. Hopefully when the dust settles, my buddy and I will be able to have a bit more breathing room to play some 40k.

Until next time,
--FP135

Monday, October 26, 2009

Much Ado about Imperial Guardsman



Today I had the day off, so the entire morning I spent getting some paint to plastic on my box of unfinished Guardsman. I might have a game with them in the afternoon.

I drybrushed and painted some 11 heavy weapon bases, including 3 lascannons, 3 autocannons, 3 mortar bases, and 2 missile launcher bases. For those of you that remember my post on getting the most out of your heavy weapon sprues () you will notice that I used the same technique for all the heavy weapons except the mortars. I still have more to construct, such as the heavy bolters and another missile launcher (all required more tripods and bipods that I hadn't acquired until just recently).

Well, now I'm off to make an army list for this afternoon's game against some vanilla Marines.

Until next time,
--FP135

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

On Foxphoenix's Painting Table: Leman Russ Executioner finished!




I finished up my Leman Russ variant today, the Executioner type. I started running out of black wash on this one, so I had to mix up my own. It didn't turn out too bad, but I definitely prefer store-bought washes. Anyway, enjoy!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

He's behind you...


Marbo is finally complete, right down to his base! Normally, I kinda shirk on the bases, but for my IC's I finally got out the expensive basing stuff and got to it.

For those of you that remember my Blood Angel successors, you'll recognize the helmet on his base... those BA have become regular opponents so it was only fitting to give Marbo a trophy from that chapter...

I kept him pretty simple. No fancy techniques, no terribly-complicated kitbashes, and even his base is relatively simple. Well, here's my first 2 painting points for the month after my brief hiatus. Enjoy.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Inciting the Mob: IG Hordes



As many of you may have noticed, I am adding to my Imperial Guard army with Catachan infantry garnered from Ebay auctions. I netted 48 of these buggers for around 25 bucks, so I was not too picky with the condition they were in upon arrival. For the record, I hate getting models that were assembled with super glue...

Anyway, after repairing the models, swapping around kit, and constructing the two I was missing from spare bits: I finally have a full platoon of infantry. I managed to outfit each sergeant with one of those really huge-and-mean looking swords/knives, enabling me to count them as either power weapons or regular CCWs as the list requires.

I even had enough bits to construct a PC squad with all flamers, to give a further assault-oriented edge to the unit. I've been playtesting a few ideas, and I have some results:

If you plan to do any assaulting: blob (combine) your infantry squads up and keep them light. Don't stick any heavy weapons that will weigh them down. Straken is an expensive character, but he is a godsend if you are going to be doing any rousing infantry charges. Furious charge and counter-attack are not special rules to be taken lightly, as they can exponentially increase the effectiveness of this platoon on the charge. 5 Sergeants with powerswords on the charge = 15 power attacks made at S4... as effective as a 5-man vanguard squad with power weapons (albeit at lower initiative). What's more, is all those 45 infantry to the rear are great ablative-wound-takers. Your Sergeants can just shrug off the attacks onto their lesser brethren, and keep fighting on.

Low leadership? Worried you will take more wounds than your opponent? That's not always a bad thing. Let them fail that leadership test... as long as you have your Company commander behind them to give the "Get back in the fight!" order, this will put the squad in a prime position to let loose with those lasguns. That sort of volume of fire is bound to do some damage, even on venerated Space Marine units. My last playtest pitted a list that included this platoon against a Blood Angel list, and this platoon was able to eat up two assault squads and a tactical squad without taking significant casualties. How? What they couldn't kill outright in the assault, they would decimate with a fusillade of lasgun rounds after the regroup. It was a bit risky, but the 10 point addition of a vox to each the infantry squad(s) and the command squad made it worth it. Counter-attack made them receive charges like champs too, getting the extra attack (if not the S and initiative bonuses).

This platoon type is spendy though, and can only ever focus on one target at a time. It is also awful-slow, and requires decent deployment space. Let's not forget to mention the monotony of moving 55 infantry models just for one turn... and moving them every time you assault or receive a charge... it is quite a task. Experienced horde army players may be used to this, but it is new to me. If you are like me, you much prefer to push a couple tanks around and get right into the shooting.

For that reason, I probably will not make horde IG my preferred style, just because I am too lazy to move that many infantry models. Just be aware though, that these kinds of armies have their merits. Don't underestimate the Queen of Battle, the poor bloody infantry.

For the hobby aspect of it, I am not looking forward to painting another 50 infantry models like I did last month... But hopefully since I don't plan on them being integral to my list for this month's competition, I won't have to meet a deadline to getting them done.

So what are some of the ways you run your IG platoons?

Until next time,
--FP135

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Let's Talk Tactics: Leman Russ Demolisher Kit



This post is a lot like a continuation of the review I did for this kit a few days ago. Since that post, I have since playtested every variant in a couple different configurations to try and determine what works and what doesn't. I'll share the tips I picked up with you.

1. Remember, the Demolisher kit is still a variant of the Leman Russ. It does have higher side and rear armor, but not in a significant amount... So don't think of it as a Land Raider. Keep its flanks guarded.

2. Each Variant has a specific job to do. Think of your Demolisher kit as a toolbox, and you need to pick the right ones for the job at hand. List synergy is more important than the effectiveness of this tank individually.

3. Most of these variants are designed to be most effective at medium to close ranges. This opens up your tank to assaults. Again, implement a strategy to guard your flanks and keep as many assaulting units at bay as possible. A tactic I have seen used is surrounding the tank with a tarpit of regular guardsman.

4. (This is more of a modeling tip than anything else-) Remember that this kit does not have the accessory sprue. I almost always put a pintile-mounted Heavy Stubber on my vehicles to add a defensive weapon. 10 points for a weapon that gets three 36" range shots at S4, on the move even, isn't too shabby. You may have to find other sources to get these stubbers, but it is the one upgrade I always recommend.


Well that does it for the general tips, now on to variant specific tips:

DEMOLISHER

Remember KISS- keep it simple stupid! The Demolisher is used for similar purposes as the regular LRBT, albeit at a shorter range. It is slightly more powerful though, making it better for taking out groups or units you really don't want around. It eats terminators for breakfast, instant-killing them and bypassing their armor. If they fail their invul. saves, their dead meat... even those fancy terminator chaplains and captains. It also has a very high S ordinance main weapon, making it effective at destroying enemy vehicles. Adding Pask to this tank gives you an effective close-support tank, at a pretty comparable price to the standard LRBT. Since the demolisher is designed to work at short range, the hull weapon you choose really comes down to list synergy again. If you are lacking anti-tank firepower at range, then a lascannon is a safe bet. If you plan on using it as a line-breaking infantry-eating device of devastation, a Heavy Flamer is a great idea. The Heavy Bolter is really only useful if you want a bit farther reach than the Flamer, but in most cases I would much rather take the Flamer for this variant. The sponsons you choose also goes into list synergy... and the planned role the tank will play. To save points and keep your tank from being too points-heavy, sometimes it is better to not take sponsons. If you want to augment your tank's role, then sponsons can come in handy (especially if you don't plan on moving the tank a whole lot). If you intend on continuing your trend with a close-range tank killer, then Multi-Melta sponsons will really make this tank a lethal close-range bulldog. Plasma-cannon sponsons are spendy, but can further augment the role of heavy-infantry killer. For a cheap way to make the tank absolutely dangerous to regular infantry, adding Heavy Flamer sponsons is the way to go. Again, heavy bolters only have limited uses. If you don't want to spend the extra 20 points for PC sponsons, then the cheap 20 point H.Bolter sponsons are an alternative to give you some more 36" range weapon shots. Me... I'd just go with the PC sponsons.

PUNISHER

I think this tank is overcosted for the role it is designed for. Pretty much, you are not taking this tank to do anything other than kill regular infantry, such as Ork Boyz or Guardsman. This tank is designed for math-hammerists, it seems. Twenty S5 shots sounds great on paper... until you consider that the tank's BS is a measly 3. That pretty much guarantees that about half those shots are going to miss. Factor in that there is no AP for the Punisher's Gatling gun, and that it's range is limited to 24", and you see where the problem comes in. Like the Demolisher, this puts you in close range, and in danger of being assaulted. To really make this tank effective in the role it is designed for, it takes a lot of points. To ensure that more than half (on average, that is) of your shots hit, you need to upgrade it with Pask. Now we're looking at 230 points. H.Bolter sponsons for more shots... plus a pintile stubber for a defensive weapon... you're looking at a 260 point tank for killing some infantry. Ouch. On the other hand though, if you're going to spend that many points on it, it should do a pretty substantial amount of damage to it's intended targets. With all the bolters added, that comes out to 29 S5 shots that have a 66.6 percent chance of hitting (with pask), plus the pintile stubber rounds. You're bound to kill a handful of regular infantry models with that many shots hitting their targets. I still feel as though there are better alternatives to this tank, however. If you want to take this variant, then remember it's intended role and use it as such... don't try putting Lascannons, Multi-meltas, or Plasma-cannons on it.

EXECUTIONER

This one is a fun variant, but on the spendy-side. A Plasma cannon that spits out 3 blast pie-plates in one shot is a pretty great main weapon for destroying termies or light transports. The most expensive by far, though. The plasma cannon sponsons adds a pair of pie-plates you can throw down, but at a pretty heavy price. Of course, this variant makes mince-meat of infantry squads better than the Punisher (in my opinion), so it is probably worth it! Adding Pask doesn't help its role much, unless you are using it to pop light transports, but since the Plasma cannons use the scatter dice the fifty-point addition is not totally necessary. I would normally take a Lascannon as the hull weapon, to ensure the tank can defend itself against other armor, as well as insta-kill any independent characters. None of the other hull weapons really aid in this variant's role. For sponson weapons... really for me its only a choice between running it without sponsons or with Plasma-cannons. Again, none of the other sponsons really add anything to the tank's main roles. You could take Multi-meltas to further the anti-vehicle capability, but that's a matter of preference.




In summary, the most cost-efficient variant is likely to be the Demolisher. A high S blast weapon with low AP makes for a fine main gun, albeit a short ranged one. The most overcosted for the role is the Punisher. It is unable to fulfill its role with any sort of efficiency without very heavy points investments. The most expensive period is the Executioner, but it is very effective at its intended role. All of them are great tanks though, and have their uses. Just remember to synchronize them with your lists, and specialize them for their intended roles.

Monday, August 31, 2009

August's Painting in Review



I've had a very productive month in painting. Most of my IG army was painted in this month, and I still have a lot to go. I now have a Demolisher kit that requires painting, and soon an ebay auction will arrive. It will contain 48 catachans, that I plan on using as a 2nd infantry platoon. I have already started constructing the command squad for this platoon. Additionally, I will need to paint the remaining special characters I did not get to this month, namely Creed and Marbo. I also am trying to get some regimental advisers ready for paint, so I still have plenty of opportunity to add to my points total in the coming months.

For this month, however, I accomplished much. Here's the list as it stands, pulled from my main page:

This month: (August)
1 Regimental Standard Bearer, 1 Armored Sentinel, 3 Chimera Transports, 2 Veteran Squads, 3 Flame Throwers, 2 Voxcasters, 1 Medic, 4 Snipers, 3 Mortar Teams (counts as 2 infantry), 1 Casualty Marker, 1 Terminator Chaplain, Colonel Straken
TOTAL: 77 Point(s) thus far

Does a Temple of Skulls count? No? Alright fine...

Ok, so 30 points in vehicles, 5 points in dreadnoughts/warwalkers, 6 points in ICs (I counted the standard bearer as an IC, due to the intricacy of the standard), and 37 infantry models of various kinds. Let's double check the math... oops I guess the standard bearer should be counted as just an infantry model. That equals out to 77 points, as written before... still a monumental achievement for me! I thought last month's total of 56 points would be hard to beat, but I really put my nose to the grindstone due to the 2 tournaments I attended this month. For anybody wanting motivation, put your armies in events that judge painting. It really made me stick it out.

Well, a new month starts tomorrow! Let's see how much I can fit into a month!

Until next time,
--FP135

An In-depth Look at the New Demolisher Kit




So today I got my new Demolisher kit in the mail. The Mrs. may not be happy when she gets home and sees it... but for now I am enjoying the new backbone to my IG army.

Some key points I wanted to hit on that may not be widespread information to those looking to buy one of these kits:

Let's start with the bad news: There are no accessory sprues for this kit anymore. No track guards, dozer blades, pintile stubbers, or even Imperial Aquilas to paste on. Save your accessory sprues from those chimeras and old LRBT kits if you want to use them on these, because otherwise you will have to purchase the sprue for 12 bucks from GW direct. I'm going to have to myself, to keep the dozerblade theme I have on all my vehicles going. As an alternative, however, I suggest browsing through bits on Ebay. You might be able to snag a dozerblade or set of track guards for much cheaper, if that's all you are looking for.

Now lets dive into the new and improved: For starters, the tracks are MUCH easier to build, thanks to the new design that has special slots for the tracks to slip in instead of those annoying wheels that never see the light of day. The track pieces are numbered as well, making it nearly fool-proof. I have no gaps in my treads, a first for me! To sweeten the deal further, the directions are actually COMPREHENSIBLE and much more step-by-step then the previous instruction booklets (which more resembled CAD drawings that you were supposed to figure out on your own). These new directions make things run a lot smoother.

Now the really good part: CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS!!! Yup, you read it right. Just take a look at that picture up there. Now, you don't have to glue on the side sponson hull pieces, but I did anyway because I figure 90% of the time I'll have them. Anyway, the three main weapons, two hull weapons, and 4 choices of sponson weapons are all created to be interchangeable with their optional counterparts. Meaning, if you don't glue them in, you can swap out the weapons to make different variants without having to be an expert modeler. This is huge for me, because I can't magnetize anything to save my life (lack of magnets and expertise). That sticky poster-tack you might recall me mentioning in my very early posts works very well for this, as the slots are not super-tight and the weapons tend to drop out of them if they don't have a little extra help. So with this kit, its like getting all three variants in one. Of course, you can only field one at a time, but the ability to pick which variant fits into your next list is just awesome.

So, with this kit, you can make:
A Leman Russ Demolisher
A Leman Russ Executioner
or A Leman Russ Punisher

with choices for:
Hull Heavy Bolter or
Hull Lascannon

as well as:
Multi-melta sponsons
Plasma Cannon sponsons
Heavy Bolter sponsons or
Heavy Flamer sponsons

So, in all, I guess my 45 bucks was well spent. I expect to see the 2nd wave of IG updates might include a similarly-upgraded kit for the regular Leman Russ Battle Tank, with options for a Vanquisher, Exterminator, and Eradicator. If you like the accessories to come with the tank, and only want vanilla LRBTs, I suggest you stockpile them now, before they go out of production. Otherwise, be on the lookout for that new kit that I imagine will be released soon.

We'll go over tactics for the three tank variants, that can be built with this kit, at a later time. I hope this little article helped someone thinking about buying one!

Until next time,
--FP135

Friday, August 28, 2009

IG Special Character Showcase




Alas, the day you all have been waiting for! (Ok at least a few of you... just one of you?)

I have been working on kitbashing my own versions of the Special Characters selectable in the Imperial Guard codex. So far, I have assembled 3 such characters of which I find to be almost essential if a Guard player is to consider including SC's:

First pictured is Guardsman Marbo. Who doesn't know of this guy? He's a one-man army. demo-charges, a sniper-pistol, and a poisoned blade just describe his wargear. In addition to his awesome kit, he has special infiltration rules that put him within danger-close range of enemy units. He can be used as a HQ-assassin, or wreck a vehicle's day with a demo-charge up the tailpipe. For this model, I went with a catachan and tried to make a decent-looking pass at his Ripper pistol. A few precise cuts and a scope was all I could work with. He's in the process of getting a paint job.

Second pictured is the infamous Ursakar Creed. He is the epitome of a battle-commander, able to give up to 4 orders out to a range of 24". You HAVE to take a vox with him in my opinion, to make sure you take advantage of his awesome ordering ability. Putting him in a chimera sounds like a wise choice, to give a few extra inches on those orders as well as to protect him from enemy fire. For this kitbash, I used standard cadian command pieces with a commander's Pig Iron helmet, and gave him 2 laspistols and a GS cloak. The fancy base also helps denote that he's a SC.

Last is the SC I am scrambling to get ready for the next tournament, which will be a cityfight tournament. Colonel Straken is a huge buff to the close-combat abilities of the Guard, giving the Furious Charge and Counter-Attack special rules to any unit within 12" of him. Additionally, his squad is fearless. He is also quite a capable fighter himself, with WS5, T4, and S6 in his profile. He is further augmented by his extensive bionics, allowing him to roll an additional D6 for armor penetration and all of his CC attacks ignore armor saves like a power weapon. I used a "choppy" CCS with him in the last game, and he successfully took on space marine squads. Terminators still beat the crap outta him and his squad, but its still a massive change from the usual "IG suck in CC" mentality. I can only imagine his potential when coupled with tailor-made platoons with commissar support... That would make them potentially almost as dangerous in CC as orks, but still able to put out ungodly amounts of lasgun fire before the assault takes place (he's still a commander and can give orders, don't forget). For him, I put him together out of tank commander bits with some leftover bits from the command squad... nothing fancy. A special base denotes his SC status, as usual.

I hope you enjoyed my showcase. I don't currently have plans for the other special characters as I feel that these are the only 3 (besides Pask) that I will be using in any frequency. I will update the blog with pictures of them painted as I get them done!

Until next time,
--FP135

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Cityfight Battle Report: 750 IG vs. SM



For the first time in recent memory, I finally remembered to take consistent pictures throughout a game. This was a 750 point pickup game against my baby's momma while our son took a nap. Essentially a Gamma-level game, but played on an extremely terrain-dense 4x4 board. We could have played a Omega level, if we had an extra two feet to add to the table.

The lists looked like this:

IG

Company Command Squad with Straken, Medipack, 2 Flamers, and a Vox
Veteran Squad with 3 Meltaguns, Chimera (with dozerblade, heavy flamer, and pintile stubber).
Veteran Squad with 3 Grenade Launchers, Chimera (with dozerblade, pintile stubber)
Leman Russ Battle Tank with Lascannon, Heavy bolter sponsons, pintile stubber, and dozerblade

SM
Chaplain in Terminator Armor
Tactical Squad with meltagun, missile launcher, in Rhino.
Tactical Squad with flamer, missile launcher, in Rhino.
Terminator Squad

We picked our deployment zones and stratagems. She picked Booby Traps and a Medicae facility (the center building). I then picked Combat Engineers and Demolitions.

Here's the board, pre-deployment:

Pre-Deployment


She picked the corner with the large industrial tower, and I got the opposite quarter that included the Astartes Shrine. We had rolled a "5" on the mission type, so we both nominated our single objective buildings. She chose the industrial tower, I picked the shrine. They were the most obvious choices available to us. By now I already had a pretty good idea of my game strategy.


Turn 1:
This is what it looked like after we deployed:


Deployment/ Turn 1

She rolled highest for deciding the first turn, but she passed it to me. First things first, I disembarked my grenade-vets at the base of the shrine. My Melta-vet's chimera sped down a alley way, and my Leman Russ situated itself at the corner of the shrine, preparing for my plan to execute. Straken and his command squad moved through the ruins, heading towards the Temple of Skulls.

For her turn, the SM disembarked a squad from a rhino, while the other rhino moved up parallel to a ruin. The terminators marched forward.

Turn 2:
Here's the beginning of turn two:


Turn 2


For my turn, I moved up my melta-vet's Chimera towards her rhinos. My Grenade-vets climbed to the upper level, and Straken's squad moved through a building with a decent difficult terrain roll. The shooting phase is where it got interesting... My demolitions roll was successful, and the center building went up in smoke, leaving a large area of difficult terrain, along with her hopes of using it as a key building. To make matters worse for her, my Leman Russ now had line-of-sight to her tactical squad that had disembarked. A large pie-plate later, and the squad had been reduced to a couple marines. A lascannon shot further picked off an unfortunate marine. My melta-vets popped the empty rhino, and it exploded. Nothing of further note happened in my turn.

In her turn, she moved up the 2nd squad's rhino and the terminators. She blasted at my chimera, but failed the to-hit roll with the meltagun. Not much else she could do in this turn.

Turn 3:
Here's the beginning of turn 3:

Turn 3


My grenade-vets reached the top of the building, and the empty chimera traversed some difficult terrain to circumvent a booby-trapped sandbag barricade. The melta-vet chimera sidled up closer to the surviving rhino and pointed its front armor to it. Straken and his squad continued their slow foot advance. The 3 vets popped out the top hatch and vaporized the rhino with well-placed melta-gun fire. The Chimeras themselves tried to thin the ranks of the exposed squad, and the Russ missed with its template completely. The tactical squad suffered some casualties.

She started by moving her decimated tactical squad that had only two members remaining (despite me pointing out the pointlessness of moving the missile launcher). She brought up the terminators a little bit further, and launched right into the shooting phase. She let my chimera really have it, and it exploded, causing a few casualties to the squad inside. They fell back to the rubble of the destroyed building.


Turn 4:

Here's the top of turn 4:
Turn 4


In my turn, I moved my melta-vets back through the rubble to get within range. The empty chimera moved forward to support, and Straken's squad moved up alongside. The Russ made a slight move. The meltas picked off a few marines, and my russ eradicated the remnants of the gray tactical squad.

In her turn, she moved up the tactical squad to provide room for the terminators to move up. she blasted my vets into oblivion with a fusillade of bolter rounds from both the blue tactical squad and the terminator squad behind.

Turn 5:
Here's the top of 5:

Turn 5


On my turn, Straken's command squad rushed to the sandbag wall. The chimera also inched forward. At this point, the end of the game was closing in so I decided that I had to eliminate her ability to score. Shooting phase went fast; my russ put a pie-plate on the terminators that failed to cause any wounds. My command squad torched the armor of the tactical squad, but failed to cause any wounds as well. My plasma pistol on straken didn't fare any better. Now was as good a time as any to test the effectiveness of my assaulty-command squad. Straken led the charge, getting his furious charge bonuses. The defenders reacted, and the battle got underway. When the dust settled, the command squad had inflicted 2 casualties while suffering 1. The space marines failed their morale check and fell back, but Straken's squad was unable to sweep-advance them. The marines fell back 12 inches, which turned out to work in my opponent's favor. I consolidated back along the sandbag wall for cover.

In her turn, she auto-regrouped the tactical squad and shimmied it up the side of the industrial building, onto the roof. She rolled excellent on her difficult terrain roll, and hid on of the marines out of LOS behind the tower, but on the roof. She now held an objective. She then blasted my squad with a volley of bolter-rounds from the terminator squad, but failed to kill anybody.

Turn 6:
Here's a pic of the beginning of turn 6:

Turn 6


In my turn, I knew I had to do everything to annihilate that two-man squad. I shifted my chimera to get a better angle, and moved Straken's squad to within assaulting distance of the terminator squad. I dropped the russ template on the two-man squad on the roof... and hit! Unfortunately though, I rolled a 1 on the to-wound roll for one of them. Drat! That lone marine passed his leadership test too, darn it! She had him safely nestled back out of sight behind that tower, so I couldn't shoot anything else. I took out my anger by charging Straken into close combat with the termies, and even managed to inflict a wound (at the cost of my two flamers). Straken's squad held his ground, and didn't suffer any wounds from being fearless.

In her turn, all there was left to do was stay out of sight, and wrap up the close combat. The chaplain inflicted the first wound on Straken, but the grizzled colonel remained fighting. Straken managed to take out a terminator with him before being clubbed down by multiple powerfists, along with his chief medic.

Game's End:
Here's what the end of the game looked like:
Game's End


I had managed to keep my objective in force, but failed to totally remove the last vestiges of scoring units from the enemy objective. I probably should have just gone for the contest of the objective with Straken's squad, but I had thought the chimera and the russ would have been able to pick off two simple space marines. I guess that is what I get for underestimating a Marine!

Some bonus footage of the battle:
Straken on the Line

Objective Captured



Well, I hope you enjoyed my first battle report with pictures! Later I'll analyze the tactics I used and what worked in a CoD game. Also I am still putting together the special character showcase post, so be on the lookout for that as well.

Until next time,
--FP135

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