Procrastination on the subject of Stalk Tanks

I've been doing some thinking into how to make a Stalk Tank for my Blood Pact and as far as i see it, the donor model will depend on what i want it to count as:

Option one: Sentinel

I could go the route most people take and have it class as an Armoured Sentinel, in which case it's simply a case of adding more legs to a Sentinel body and shifting them into a Spider-like pattern. However, i think the Sentinel rules make for a vehicle that's a bit 'light' for a Stalk Tank, which is often portrayed as spearheading Archenemy assaults.

Which leads me on to...

Option 2: Leman Russ

This idea would tie in with the assault vehicle aspect of the Stalk Tank, able to mount multiple plasma weaponry (something mentioned in the books)and even represent the command configurations that are out there for it (using 'counts as' Pask)

If i go for this route, it would be an in depth conversion, involving stripping down a CSM Defiler and mounting Leman Russ weapons and mounting it all onto a Valkyrie base (to keep the same basic footprint as a 'Russ).

Only problems with this option is obviously the extra cost of models, as well as the fact that as i'm entering a league soon, if the organiser doesn't approve of the 'counts as', it won't be able to be used.

What do people think?

All thoughts and opinions are welcome

Various Progress

Work's begun on the body of my Manticore. It's surprisingly simple to build. Considering it's my first ever Forgeworld tank kit, i was expecting it to be more complicated than it is



This is a fallen Inquistor/ Big Bad Chaos Dude, built simply by raiding my bitz box. I'm planning to give him a plastic chaos knight shield in the near future.

In game he's going to be a 'counts as' Daemonhunter Inquisitor, who, along with his Mystics is going to have the job of spotting (and arranging the shooting of) pesky deep strikers. I'm also working on a plasma cannon servitor for him to help out.



Finally for today, this bloke's going to become my 'counts as' Creed or Straken (havn't decided which yet, it still needs playtesting). Either way, it's an old Al-Ulric Model, which i found going cheap in my local independant retailer.

Oh my good god!

Hear that sound? That's the sound of my Soul Drinkers rejoicing, for in april the Blood Angels get their long-promised new codex.

I woke up about ten minutes ago to an newsletter from GW confirming it. Looks like they get assault marines as troops and lots of deep striking units now.

I've always wanted to use my Soul Drinkers as BA, but the pdf codex and the quite frankly awful librarian rules put me off. But this looks like it could shape up to be truely awesome. I'll be keeping a close eye on this

New Year Hobby Resolutions

1. Buy less, paint more

I have no less(but probably quite a few more)than 250 unpainted models at the moment, mainly for fantasy, but also a lot of 40k. I seriously need to get some stuff painted.

Plus money’s going to be tighter for me this year, so I’m planning a single big purchase (a realm of battle game board), then only bits and pieces as time goes along. If I limit myself to £20-30 maximum hobby spending on average a month, it should be fine.

2.Complete an army

Tying in with the idea of spending less and painting more, I actually want to get at least one of my armies fully painted and I’m giving myself a deadline of 31st December 2010. This army is most likely going to be my Blood Pact, who are mainly being built out of stuff from my bitz box and models I already own (but not necessarily opened)

3. Keep track of my painting

Using that points system that I’ve seen various bloggers use to keep track of my painting. If someone could direct me to someone who uses it who I can copy it off, I’d be most grateful

Demogaur Vash

Here's the Storm Trooper seargent i talked about yesterday.

I replaced his Hell Pistol with a plasma pistol from my space marine bitz box and used the wires left over and a skeleton head to make a servo skull for him.





The plasma pistol arm has been turned into a mutated one due to the fact that the hand holding the pistol was the wrong way round.



I've also been working on another bio-mechanical weapon 'team'

Death Brigade and more...

Right, here's the pics of my first Death Brigade, based off the Kasrkin Boxed set. I just need to do the seargent now.







And my first completed Blood Pact squad. They all need a once-over with a file to remove/defile imperial insignia, but other than that, they're more or less good to go for painting, just need one more grotesk on the flame troopers

Trooper and Heavy Flamer



Seargent and Vox. The vox bloke doesn't have a grotesk, as i figured he'd need his mouth clear for working the comms, instead he has a cloth over his mouth, so he can still show respect to the Gaur and the Blood God whilst still performing his duty



Troopers






Flamers. the twisty green stuff thing you see on the right is going to become a fleshy mutated arm




Family shot, minus one or two troopers who fell victim to formatting issues with the pic



Oh and i've built this as an unusual weapons 'team'.

And you thought you were having a bad day...

Right, just a quick update to show the work i've been doing on my Manticore turret.




I've got a Death Brigade fully built now as well, but they can go up later when i have more time, as i'm about to head out for my weekly gaming night.

Progress, of sorts

After getting feedback from my last post, i've filed down the dark elf helmets in an attempt to make them fit in with the Cadian helmets.

Here is the results

Cadian and Dark Elf head side by side



The 'cloak' is going to be painted up as a bundle of skin/ hides, adding a chaotic twist to the idea of a squad sniper.

I've also started on an Autocannon team, crewed by mutants. I got one mutant done, the other i'm still finding bitz for.




And a Missile Launcher team




A Rough Rider i've also started on. I decided to use scout bikers as a base, as i don't like the idea of rock-hard pacters riding horses into battle. They need iron steeds.
I just need to make a head with a grotesk now




I got myself a box of Stormtroopers and started converting them into my first Death Brigade, filing off or greenstuff-ing over all their imperial icons and symbols. More on these later.



Oh, and managed to dig out my FW Manticore and if i can steal a few moments over the festive period, i'll be scrubbing it and prepping for building.

First of the Pact

Ok, it's not 'tomorrow', like i said, but i've finally pulled some stuff together. The main factor that's been stopping me doing much is that this is the view out my window at the moment:



And that shed you see in the corner is my painting shed. With no heating and plummeting temperatures, it's easy to see why i've got very little painting done recently.

However, i have managed to scrape together the following:



This is going to be my company command squad. As you can see, i've only painted a few of them, but i'm getting there. I've begun sculpting Grotesques onto their faces, even with my limited sculpting skills, i think they're ok.

The Servitor's going to be my Master of the fleet, representing Dark Mechanicum support and the big mutated thing is my 'counts as' Nork Deddog. Also, the imperial banner will be suitably defiled during the painting process.

As soon as i can access my painting shed without dying of frostbite, they'll be all be painted.

In the meantime, i've been building the first of my 'Pact rank and file. They aren't Death Brigades, as i see Storm Troopers to be more fitting for those. Instead, these are going to just be a veteran squad with flamers and a heavy flamer (in preparation for the 'Nid codex landing in january). Progress on them is slow, due to the sculpting of the groteques, but i've found that Dark Elf warrior helmets work really well sprinkled about as grotesques, providing a bit of contrast to the IG helmets.




Also, i found some of my old attempts at Blood Pact, which have since been incorperated into my other Chaos IG army. These will be 'repatriated' back into the Blood Pact in due course.



I have a FW Manticore, which i bought at games day that still needs building, so my 'Pact won't be short of fire support.

I've also had a thought for a sweet artillery piece - A Skaven Screaming Bell, crewed by Pact members! It'd certainly be different and could be used as any piece of artillery i liked, using 'counts as'.


It might not fit the idea of the Blood Pact looting IG equipment (as they're most commonly portrayed in the books), but it could be rationalised as being one of the more crazy things 'donated' to the Anarchs elite by the other warlords, as well as providing an interesting and eye-catching piece.

What do you guys think?

Also, constructive criticism of my WIP's would be welcome

Back with a vengence

Finally got my internet sorted and my life back on track and here's the bumper post as promised.
It’s probably going to be several posts to be honest, as I tend to ramble somewhat

To kick things off I have to say, despite my resolution a month or so ago to finish paint everything I have before buying any more, I've been a bad boy.

Now, for once, it's not my fault (well, maybe a little...). First off, I can blame a certain family member (who shall go unnamed) for clearing out his sizable bitz box and letting me take my pick.
I got a load of Dark Angel parts, some old gobbos with bows and he also gave me two Obliterator models, which I love (used to have 3 of these babies, back in the days when they were still 0-1). For a while I was considering creating a Fallen Angels army, but then looked in Chaos Codex and remembered why I don't like it.

Then I can blame my local club, who’ve just announced an upcoming 40k league, starting in February. Now I always start a new army for new events, such as campaigns or leagues, as it gives me an excellent excuse to get stuff done that I normally find hard to focus on (like painting in general). With this in mind, my thoughts turned to new armies.

Regular readers of this blog will know of my fledgling Eldar Harlequin army from the summer. A big part of me wants to really get that off the ground, but at the same time, painting even a small amount of Harlequins is a time-consuming process and I’ve got my studies to think of in the new year. I'd rather keep the Harley's as a side piece that I can dip into whenever I like, rather than feel the need to finish them quickly.

Then I thought about Deamonhunters, with emphasis on the non-Grey Knights side of things, which seemed like fun to explore, but at the same time, I’ve never collected a proper imperial army in my life. My existing Guard are traitors and my Soul Drinkers are sort of a grey area which I won’t go into here

Then I read Blood Pact by Dan Abnett and hit on the idea of (you guessed it) Blood Pact. I've always liked these guys and used to have a small force of them, but they sort of got left at the wayside when I started Orks. But Mr Abnett has done his magic again and inspired my latest army. His insights into the inner workings of the Pact have sparked all sorts of ideas off in my mind. I particularly like the guy who's devoted his life to saying all the names of death and the 'Sister' in the black dress and will be finding ways to work them into my army.

Codex wise, I’m basing it off the IG codex, but on reflection, I suppose I could use Deamonhunters to portray some of the more crazy stuff that the 'Pact has at its disposal, along with IG allies to represent the bulk of the force/ Death Brigades. At this point in time I want to base the army around the Balhaut insertion team, although that’s liable to change and evolve as I go along.

With all this in mind, I dug out my old Blood Pact models that haven’t been absorbed into other armies and given them a lick of paint. Pictures will be up soon

I've also ordered a box of Cadians and a heavy weapon team to form the first of my squads. I'm also planning on including my new Obliterators, either as weapons teams or Ogryns. I like the idea of using Obliterators as unconventional weapons platforms, as it gives me a chance to use these great models, even though I no longer play Chaos Space Marines.

Well I’m getting tired of writing, so that’s part one of the bumper post. More soon. Hopefully tomorrow if I can steal a break from my studies