Vulture for Dinner

Today is Thanksgiving in the US and rather than dine on turkey, I'm dreaming of vulture!

This was a conversion using some leftover bits from a previous project. After some adjustment work on the tail sections, I am very pleased with how it turned out.















Okay, that project is off of my bucket list. Now back to obligations!

More ORKTOBER and my last Toys For Tots 2014 Contribution: Ork Warwagon

I may go back and do some touch ups here and there but she is done for the most part:





I will probably be off the grid for a while due to some other priorities but I should be back last week of November.

ORKTOBER!!!! (2014)

Last unit of Boyz for Toys for Tots. I call them the "Unkle Jessies".




Here are some Koptas. Really didn't have a good way to turn them into redneck copters so I just painted them straight.



Last TfT model will be a Warwagon and then it will be time to assemble, photograph, and Ebay these figs for the tots! Keep you eyes peeled for links.

More Mantic Love

Keeping me from finishing off the last of the Orks for Toys for Tots (you'd think I'd shut up about that by now) were these last couple of buildings:

I actually scratch built the stairs leading up to the second level (because how else would you get there? Then I promptly realized I probably should have built a landing at the top so you don't have to do some awkard twist or fall to your death. Oops.

With that are some barricades and generic scifi bits from Antenocity's Workshop. Which they no longer sell for some reason. Bummer. Also are non-Antenocity's Workshop generic scifi bits that I scratchbuilt out of leftover parts. They are meant to servie as machinery, crates, or rooftop air conditioner units.

Okay, orks next-I promise!

Ruined: A Review of Mantic Battle Zones

I painted up my first Mantic Battle Zone buildings. Let's go into a little more detail about the good and bad. Like most of the internet, I'll go bad first.

Bad

Burrs. First is that (and I recognize this as inevitable and is not so much a complaint against the builders but identifying something you will have to work around) where the sprues connect to the frame create the usual burrs that you will have to cut off. There will be at least eight per large piece and two on the connectors. Some will be in places you don't see so cutting them off won't matter but others you pretty much have no choice and need to get rid of.

Connectors. The connectors are designed well and some really good thought went into their use and how they interact when multiple surfaces join. However the tabs sometimes don't fit into the slots and have to be sanded down a bit to work. Oversand and the connection is loose. You can try to reuse them and reconfigure but frankly I would recommend you just come up with some generic forms and go with it.

Good

Utility. Visually these things are incredible. What I love about them is that they captured looks I've been wanting to use for years without having to scratchbuild a bunch of urban terrain. Colony built from interchangeable cargo containers? Check. Deep urban sprawl reminiscent of Japanese downtowns? Check. Multi-storied structures for games that are just as dark as GW's but for completely different reasons and don't need skulls everywhere? Check.

Details. They come with great detail sprues that contain extra bits that help join the walls together and decorate at the same time. There are also bits of scatter terrain in the form of cargo. You can never have enough cargo scatter terrain.

Compatibility. 40k? Check. Infinity which I don't plan and don't want to but it is worth considering these for? Check. Warpath and Deadzone which I also don't play but it would be a disservice to Mantic to not mention? Double check. Star Wars X-Wing? No, but that's just silly now isn't it?

Future Expandability. Can't go on about this enough, especially as you can readily buy their landing pad for less than GW's (no hate for GW here-I love their landing pad and want one but...) except that GW's landing pad is currently out of stock. Plus it allows you to integrate it back into a building because 1) I like my terrain to look like it has a purpose 2) No one just elevates a landing pad off of the ground and does not attach it to anything 3) Therefore I can tie the pad into a nearby building or a highway to elevated tram or......

Last up are some weapons racks I got as part of the Kickstarter for these. Nice scatter terrain to add details to a Zone Mortalis or whatnot. You can obtain them from Antenocity's Workshop website. Just Google it but it has great stuff and some nice futuristic minis I plan on getting for innocent civilian types.

My Name is Ian and I am an Overbuilder

In more recent news, this is what I built in September (note that is built, not painted):



The control tower and hangers are pure scratchbuilt. The other buildings to include the radar tower are from the Mantic Battle Zones set (I bought them when the Deadzone Kickstarter launched). They are great to put together but need to be glued to be stable and frankly there is a bit of cleanup due to the hard nature of the plastic. Other than that they work well and are a good industrial/colony look.

The objects with the globes on the top are my version of the Imperial Void Shield Generators (you can keep your $106 limited edition versions and knockoffs thank you). I will detail them more when I have them finished.

Meanwhile, Orktober 2014 is coming but I do need to get the ruins painted up for the next Liberation of Lemnos Battle.

The Liberation of Lemnos Part One: Beachhead

++++Thought for the Day: Thought begets heresy. Heresy begets retribution.++++
My lords, herein lies my account of the first actions of the attempt to liberate the world of Lemnos from the hands of the Archenemy’s most vile servant, Abaddon the Despoiler. To date we still do not know why he has turned his baleful eye to this world. Remarkable, both fleets were able to approach the planet relatively undetected. We were directed by elements within the Administratum to utilize a private landing site belonging to the Jad Lond noble house. To be honest, I tire of foul politicking interfering with our operations but in this case the site was more than adequate. Isolated enough that the enemy’s response would be delayed. Close enough to the population centers that it would make a suitable point to strike from. Our initial auguries below showed that the site was infested with what we have identified as fallen astartes of the Black Legion and their depraved cultist servants.










In the predawn moments, the attack began. As the astartes from the Iron Hands and the Imperial Fists chapters began their drop, guided by Imperial Fist scouts in site, the cruiser Inevitable Vengeance was able to prepare the site with lance fire. As I am told is typical of such fire, little actual damage was done to the enemy’s prepared sites, but it did allow the landing craft to deploy immediately [To hurry the game along due to time constraints, we agreed that reserves could start rolling first turn-this had a direct impact on how the battle proceeded but was consistent with the narrative-ed].






The Imperial Fist Stormraven dropped a Devstator Squad and a dreadnaught as is opened fire on the Heldrake, sitting ready to launch on the landing pad. The foul creature was cut down on the pad. A Imperial Fist assault squad landed dangerously close to the enemy’s position. They fired at the Hellbrute in front of them, doing minor damage but it turned on them furiously. The devastator cut down two of the chaos terminators but would play little other role in the battle.






The Iron Hands dropped down unleashing the command squad, sternguard squad, and a tac squad. The forces opened up on the Chaos Terminators near the control tower, the bikes sitting in the hangar, and the Defiler by the radar tower.






The Hellbrute spun and opened up on the Imperial fist assault squad, cutting several down. In the bastion, the fell astartes opened up with their quad guns on the Stormraven to no avail; the dawn light provided additional cover and their shots failed to penetrate.


Meanwhile the chaos terminators fired upon the command squad, cutting several down then charged and finished the job. The Imperial commander was lost. Meanwhile, the defiler charged the Tac Squad and tore into it. The Chaos Obliterations in the middle of the field, converted their foul weapons into plasma cannons and cut cruelly into the Sterngaurd. The surviving bike piled in abuse and the combat squads began to fall.






The Imperial Guard assault squad charged the cultists within the Aegis walls, losing two to the charge but eventually cutting those who had turned their backs to the Master of Mankind down then jumping back behind the wall. The Imperial Fist Stormraven fired at the marines behind the Aegis walls as well but was unable to do any damage.




The second Imperial Fist assault squad attempted to deploy but at the last moment was delayed; they had moved out of optimal deployment positon and had to come back around again. The Iron Hands Stormraven arrived, buzzing the control tower and opening fire at the obliterators, to minor effect.
The half of the Tac Squad fighting the Defiler broke and ran behind the beast. Their other half moved behind the radar tower in an attempt to seize the objective.


The forces of chaos retaliated by striking the Imperial Fists Stormraven out of the sky. It careened drunkenly and crashed in the middle of the field. The Chaos Terminators, Bikers, and Obliterators surged forward and cut down the last of the Iron Hands Sternguard squads. Meanwhile the Defiler scuttled around the fleeing marines and cut them down. The Chaos Lord cut down one of the Tac Squad holding their objective by the radar tower but they stood their ground firmly.

Turn Three
The second Imperial Fist assault squad, the portents being correct, dropped behind the bastion and rushed the objective held there. The scout squads, their previous fire ineffective, rappelled down hangar and control tower, and moved to the objectives nearby. The Iron Hands deployed the tac squad it was carrying and attempted to destroy the bastion and the chaos marines nearby, causing one casualty. The Tac Squad at the radar tower cut down another cultist.





Seeing the situation falling apart, the Chaos Terminators turned towards the scouts guarding the objective by the control tower but failed to push them off of the objective. The Defiler opened fire at the other squad, killing three but they held firm. The bike squad opened up on them then charged but at the end of scrum, the noble scouts stood firm.






In the center, the bastion and right flank quad gun opened fire on the Iron Hands Stormraven, terminally damaging it. It surgred forward out of control and would meet its fate shortly. Meanwhile the chaos marines on the left flank turned their weapons on the assault squad and then charged, giving more than they got on the assault squad. The remaining Obliterator attempted to use its flamers on the Tac Squad but did no damage.


At this point, the Chaos forces broke from the engagement and retreated. The day was won but the price was high. Every squad with the exception of the Devstator squad and the Tac Squad had taken significant casualties and both Stormravens were lost. Still, the objective had been seized. The Liberation of Lemnos had begun.
++++Transmission Ends++++

Lord Vrogar was shocked to hear the transmission in his helmet; fall back and retreat to Rally Point Septimus. It made little sense; if they continued fighting they could easily turn this battle but the orders came from the very top. Very well. One did not dispute the word of the Despoiler lightly. At least not if they valued their life. Vrogar was left with the feeling that this was all somehow part of the plan. Very well, more of the False Emperor’s lapdogs for him to slay.