I took the Ultramarines version of my homebrew chapter of Space Marines, the Rampant Lions, to an RTT this past weekend. I've been playing my orks a lot lately, and whilst I was a little rusty, I felt like it was my most competitive army to beat the, 'meta.' You can't go wrong with Guilliman and Marneus, right? My first game was against an Imperial Knights player who brought the net-list Knights army. I fared pretty well until turn 4 when the wheels fell off but I felt like I had played decently.. except that I was playing all of my lascannons as strength 9, not strength 12. I should of been wounding on 2s most of the time and I didn't realize that until the next game. I've been playing so long that lascannon strength was ingrained at the lower level and I felt like a fool. Oy. Also, I wished my opponent good luck before the game and he didn't say anything back. I thought that was weird and for some reason, that really chapped my hide. What kind of try-hard ...

This is my test model in my new 2nd Edition style Blood Angel army. He still needs some markings, but I think I've settled on the colors and process going forward.

This is Dumbaz, Da Ork in da Iron Mask. I actually hate this model. When I picked it up second hand, it was primed yellow to eventually be painted as an Evil Sun nob. The paint was nice and even so I thought that I could paint over it without stripping it. Oof. That bright yellow turned out to be such a pain to cover up and as a result,  I have gummed up some detail. Plus, it was everywhere! I normally prime models in black or silver but this vibrant yellow was in every nook and cranny. Hard to reach spots shown like a bright, evil sun and painting this lad took twice as long as usual. So, I hate it.

  Just a couple more photos of new boys with their warpaint.

I needed a break from painting orks, so I finally got around to painting an assault terminator, slightly converted from the new kit. The new Horus Heresy box set that features a Saturnine armor in the Salamanders colors, and the upcoming Armageddon campaign book, has me excited about my own Salamanders again. I have been absolutely loving painting orks lately but repainting all of my old orks (plus new models) is quite a Sisyphean struggle. The hit of serotonin from sharing photos and playing with them has been fantastic though and I've really enjoyed converting, painting and playing the green skins. But I also pre-ordered the new Space Wolves box set... I may be an addict.