Ancients of the Legions: Dreadnoughts in 30k

Dreadnoughts in the Legions

Pretty much every 30k (and 40k) gamer loves the story, look and effectiveness of marine dreadnoughts on the the table. These machines boast an exceptional stat line and can pack a vast array of potent weaponry making them a potential game changer when used in the right way. I'm going to give my views and experiences on some of the best ways to utilise and deploy your dreadnoughts in 30k

Sicarian Variants: What Would Be Cool?

So, I have a question today, what variant of what tanks would you like to see most in the Horus Heresy? For me personally, the Sicarian is so awesome that variants of it can only be a good idea.

VIIth Legion WIP: Sicarian

Hello again guys and another finished Item for the VIIth Legion. The work horse of the armoured contingent for my company, the trusty Sicarian. I find these tanks so good, i'm thinking of getting a second to add to the company.

Progress for the VIIth Legion 32nd Vanguard company

It has been so long that i had forgotten how to use a paint brush, but life has taken some turns for me and i am able to hobby again. So where i left off about a year ago i had a few pics of the very initial stages of painting for a vanguard company of imperial fists. This company was gonna be all about breachers and armour using the Stone Gauntlet Rite of War.

So with a local fun tournament just over the horizon run by the guys at A Traitors Hand, I've pulled my finger out and got back to putting some more paint on these guys. Here are a few pics of my recent progress

Iron Warriors: Iron Havok Squad 2

Hello! Macca here with the latest addition to my Iron Warriors Legion project. Today, I have some more Iron Havoks, this time equipped with Autocannons. The new camera lens I am using takes super detailed images, so every speck of dust, every missed paint stroke, it's all proudly on display!

The unit itself is converted from the Iron Hands tactical squad kits, and the Autocannons have actually been modified slightly: I removed the belt feeds and added drum feeds by using the spare heavy bolter mags from the other Iron Havok squad. I like the effect, no matter how useless in battle such a modification may be!

There has been some back and forth among the crew here at AGIF about the pose on these guys. Basically I'm all for these cocky guys leaning around on their guns and mocking their enemies, however the guys are right.... it looks a bit strange with such oversized kit, so I may have to heat and end these guys in future.

The squad markings are straight out of Book III: Extermination. The triple devestator chevron looks very sexy once in place.

 
Up close you can see the imperfections in my hazard stripes. These will get some gently battle damage soon, but I wanted to show them off as they are now, imperfect. I do not paint perfect hazards, "Dammit Jim! I'm a man not an airbrush!".



There it is, two of my FOUR heavy support choices, with the infantry leading the way. I have no AP2 or AP3 here, in fact, they are kinda weak choices (the heavy bolters that is), but I like the infantry and the theme, so if I lose games but stick to my theme, so be it!

Until next time,

Macca

A Galaxy In Flames Tutorial: Rebasing 25mm to 32mm

G'day all, Macca here with a tutorial and an update rolled together. Today we will be looking at rebasing our miniatures from 25mm plastic to 32mm plastic.

The idea today is that I will show you the simplest way to rebase, combined with some finished Iron Warriors, because... reasons?

Step 1:
To start with, I take a pair of clippers and cut the rim off from around the original base.

You should end up with a base like this, but you cannot and I must stress CANNOT just glue this to the new base. First, you have to remove all surface detail from the underside. This takes me to:

Step 2:
Place the miniature onto some large grit sandpaper, I chose P180. From here, you simply slide the base along, and within 10 strokes or so, the base will have smoothed out, leaving just a black smear of plastic on the sand paper.

Step 3:
Glue the 25mm cut outs directly to the 32mm bases. This is the easiest part of all.

Step 4:
Now, the fun part. As you'll notice, there is a noticeable rim left over. What you have to do here is blend it out. I used textured paint, in this case Vallejo Dark Earth, which comes in big tubs, thus meaning it doesn't dry out at a glance like GW's. I will note, that you can also use putty, or speck-filler products to even out the base.

I start in one area, and make sure to work my way around with a nice even coat. Don't be too picky, it's sand, and it should look natural.

So, with that done, that's how you rebase from 25mm to 32mm. I don't know who invented this approach originally, I do know that I used in on terminators when they went from 25mm to 40mm, however I was an inept hobbyist in those days, and failed to make such a clean joint. I'd share photos, but the quality of my miniatures back then is sorta like the Simpsons in season 1, it ain't pretty.

Now, some quick size comparisons.

Here are my Iron Havoks, the Autocannons on the right are only early in the painting process, but as they are an identical unit, for all intents and purposes, they work. First off, you'll notice that the unit footprint is HUGE now. Although I spaced the miniatures the same distance apart, the change is obvious. I can see this leading to some interesting situations with templates, with some positive AND negative situations.

Well, in the end, here's the finished result, with 2 HQ's, the command squad and Iron Havok squad one all rebased in the complete base scheme.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial,

~Macca

Iron Havok Squad 1

I know what you're all thinking: Three posts in three days from that asshole Macca. He was too busy to put anything up for a month, now he gives us 3 posts in 3 days. Yes, I'm as bad as BOLS for click-baiting sometimes.

But hey, at least I show what I promise?

So, what did I promise today? Converted Iron Havoks, that's what! Iron Within, Iron Without Brothers and Sisters.

The squad leader has all the kit, including servo skulls. Mechanicum bitches love servo skulls.

The shoulder marking is a nice simple one. Also note the pattern I applied to the drum mag on the heavy bolter, and on top of his helm in the next picture.

I have chosen to have very few minis in this army unhelmed so far. This is one of them, because I love this sculpt, it's perfectly detailed.

Believe it or not, this is the only member of the squad with some hazard stripe markings. I chose to keep them really tones down here, as the Iron Hands kit these minis are based on already has quite a lot of bling.

So there you have it. In game, this loadout is a bit meh. Their weapons cause cover saves taken against them to be at -1, however they also lose a point of ap for using shrapnel (pinning) rounds, making them kind redundant in this role. On the plus side, the unit has tank hunters, so against units like rhinos and skimmers, these guys may just pull off some kills.

Why might I use this unit if I am not a fan of them weapon-wise? Because I don't care. The rule of cool trumps tactical usability any day haha.

(For those who are curious, the bases are quite plain at the moment. Well, that's because this army is making the move to 32mm shortly)

Thanks for checking them out,

~Macca

Iron Warriors: Command and Specialist Units

G'day, Macca here, with a rather picture heavy update. Today, I will cover the Iron Havoks, Destroyers, Command Squad and 3 HQ's for my Iron Warriors.

Iron Havoks:

My Iron Havoks had to stand out from the regular space marine devastator units, (in case I ever use them as well), so in order to do this, I used Iron Hands MK III Legionaries. Although a slightly more expensive option, it was well worthit, as these squads look great to me.

The heavy bolters use shrapnel rounds, so they aren't as effective as regular ones thanks to the lower AP, but I wanted to take them anyway because fluff.

The Autocannons here are must-have weapons on these guys. They compliment their special rules nicely. The only modification I made was to use the spare drum magazines off the heavy bolters to replace the large (and a little annoying to model) belt feeds.

Destroyers and Moriat:

I have 20 Destroyers in my Raven Guard. I decided I am a bit over the MK IV, so I chose to arm these guys with MK III. Why? Rule of cool, and there is some vague fluff to allow it. I just imagine these guys running through the breach, first into the fight.

The twin-volkites for the Moriat are a must-have. Thanks to the massive (and a little bit silly) changes to the Moriat, these are essentially the best option available now. This is ok however, as I love volkites and I always wanted them over plasma in this army.

Command Squad:

The Dirty Not-Quite-Half-Dozen. I started playing Warhammer 40,000 back in 2nd ed, but one of the first kits I loved (but could never afford) was the original metal space-marine command squad. The idea of half a dozen different individuals (in those days, techmarines, apothecaries, etc were all in a command squad, not their own entries, and they were WAY less effective thanks to the apothecary and his awesome 'ignore 1 wound only per turn' rule). So yes, cool visual, terrible rules.

Cue the Legion Command Squad. I started by using Medusan Immortals from the Iron Hands (again), and then some clever scalpel work and some upgrade bits later, I came up with a unique squad. These guys are ruthless, each one wants to be elevated to command, and I can jsut see them stabbing their commander in the back.

Here's 'Eric Banner' (pre-hulk)

There's "Buzzsaw"

This guy is wannabe "Hellboy", but his face is less weird then Ron Pearlman. Come at me Ron.

"Tickle-me Elmo"

"The Lumberjack"

Siege Breaker and The Warsmith of the 77th Grand Battalion:

Yes, 77th Grand Battalion, the Siege of Paramar. These are loyalists, they will take the fight to the other loyalists, I mean, the Alpha Legion. Simple builds, I used a Sons of Horus commander, with parts from the Titan Tech Priest and the loading arm off a marine missile launcher to create his servo arm. I decided to keep it small and delicate, as he is a battlefield commander, and I think he would be a little less 'large-scale' or 'industrial' than a Techmarine.

So that's it, a little variety is the spice of life, and I converted a lot here to get what I feel is a very Iron Warrior feeling force. Like it? Dislike it? Feel free to comment below!

~Macca