As I was falling asleep last night, I had this idea of a White Scars plasma gunner army.  Imagine these in white... It makes sense in my head to have 3 big blocks of hellblasters, surrounding a chapter master, chaplain, Lieutenant and chief apothecary. They all advance forward in a castle, getting buffs from the character bubble and ignoring advancing penalties. With assault plasma incinerators, that's 30 shots at 24" S7 -4AP D2. That's a lot of dakka and I'm not sure what can stand up to that, but even with Transhuman Physiology, I don't know if they can survive.  Maybe if they were in Impulsors?  On paper is makes sense in my head, but I'm not exactly sure it's practical. So, here's my Amazon wishlist if someone wants to buy it for me... Amazon for the Khan!

For the Khan and the Emperor! I broke my thumb recently and it's put a crimp in my hobby time, but I just finished this Heresy-era stormseer for my White Scars army.  The body is Cypher, the head is from a Chaos warrior, and the lantern is from Mordheim.

Another conversion project for my Space Wolf pack. I think I could keep fussing, but I'm throwing in the towel and call him done. 

Another Bladeguard Veteran conversion for my Space Wolves is complete! For my money, BGV are one of the best choices for any Space Marine army.  Let me know what you think! 

Last weekend I played in an Away Games RTT at the Game Café in Independence, Missouri, near Kansas City.   I brought my usual Dark Angels Deathwing list and went 1-2. I beat an Imperial Fists player in the first round, I was tabled by Word Bearer and Daemon soup in the second game, and took a frustrating loss against Tyranids in game 3.   All of the players I faced were fine folks, but the third game against the Tyranids only got through 3.5 turns… The game was called just after my charge phase at the bottom of turn 4 and I didn’t get to score and took a 20ish point loss. I think I would have won that game if we played all 5 turns and may have won after 4 if we were allowed to play it out. We had the option of putting it on a clock, but I didn’t bother since we weren’t in the running for the podium, but I should have in hindsight. Also of note, I broke my thumb and index finger on my right had recently and trying roll dice, pick up models and “thumb” through a codex was pain i...

I started a new Bladeguard Veterans unit for my Space Wolves. I'm loving the spears and chain and I think the rest of the squad will get them too.  Let me know what you think!

I had a marvelous weekend playing at the US Open Warhammer 40k tournament! I met so many cool players, made new friends, and saw some amazing models. I went 5-3 and placed 69th. (I know, I know...) GW knows how to put on a show and this is maybe the best tournament I've ever been to - sorry LVO. The staff were great, well run, little delays, YouTube famous players, and the most amazing swagbag and prize support I've ever seen! My only regret is waiting too long to buy the the Gigantic Squigoth and it was sold out at the store. On the tabletop, I scored wins against Space Wolves, Necrons, Tau (my friend Gabe,) Harlequins, and Custodes.  I lost to Tyranids (by inches!), a mirror match Deathwing, and Ultramarines. My favorite game has to be with Jimmy and his Ultramarines. We pushed our armies and generals to the center of the table and threw down. I killed Roboute Guilliman, Tigurius, a Chaplain, a Techmarine, and three Redemptor Dreadnoughts - and still lost! Jimmy is a fantas...

  This lad has been waiting decades to be painted up for ORKtber! 

I just finished this Redemptor Dreadnought for my custom Space Wolf Great company. Any suggestions for a name? I was thinking, "the Howl" or "Ghost Wolves." It was the first time used only oils to shade and I think it's an improvement for me. Like most models, I spot all of the flaws I missed as soon as I post the photo here...

The BDS kind of feels like a first date... lots of expectations, nothing really happens, and everyone wishes it went a little differently. Yar.

I've been putting my Space Wolves through the paces, trying to fine tune them for tournament play, perhaps taking them to the 40k US Open in Kansas City or the LVO. I've been using the successor chapter tactics of Warded and Whirlwind of Rage instead of the basic Wolf chapter tactics. With so many psychic armies, along with Necrons and Sisters who hand out mortal wounds like Halloween candy, the 5+ has helped so much. Plus, exploding 6s in hand to hand is massive, when combined with the +1 to wound strat. Though, I do miss Murderfang since you can't take him in successor armies. He may be the most killy model in the army - mostly because he catches everyone off guard with the volume of attacks.  I never noticed it much with my Dark Angels, but the Wolves really feel the crunch from the fewer CPs in Nephilim missions. The DA have two decent strats but there's a lot more that I would like to use with the dog boys.  We'll see how the rumored updated data slate changes ...

I've never been a big fan of the Tau in Warhammer 40,000. Their play style and models at fine, almost Skaven-esque, but the fluff just never fit with the rest of the grimdark universe.  For me, 40k is just fantasy tropes in the far future, or heavily Gothic satire stolen from other sci-fi properties. While the Tau do have some of the real world politics folded into a recognizable sci-fi IP, it just feels shoe horned in. It's so transparently a grab a the Gundam modeler's cash that it's a real turn off for me.  However... While chatting with my local gaming group, the Sunday Morning Fight Club, I admitted that I would play an all Kroot list, so I wish listed this army. Army Faction: T'au Empire - Game Mode: Grand Tournament - Army Size: Strike Force BATTALION DETACHMENT - Faction: T'au Empire - Sub-faction: Dal’yth Sept HQ Kroot Shaper (25) - Warlord - Traits: Pack Leader (Aura) - Stratagems: Warlord Trait Kroot Shaper (25) Troops Kroot Carnivores (...

  Oh man, GW actually apologized for how strong League of Votann rules are written. This is amazing. I can't understate how important this is to the community and the hobby.  Could this be a knee-jerk reaction? Sure. Is this the result of a few vocal Youtubers, bloggers, Redditors, and public whining? Absolutely.  I have no inside information, but I do consume Warhammer content like a Tyranid at a Sizzler, and it does appear to my eyes that there was a lot of negative feedback from community posters and some feedback from former (nay recently fired play testers) that has lead to this pre-release nerf.  It's not that big of a nerf, if I'm honest, and it keeps the LoV in line with armies with similar abilities. With the Nephilim changes in secondaries, it just goes to show how each army can be teetering, and a slight tweak can upset the balance of power in the game. Necrons went from zeros to heroes just by getting great secondary objectives without changing the army o...

"There are no wolves on Fenris." Vlkya Fenryka! These Space Wolf Bladeguard Veterans are ready to prosecute war in the name of Russ!

I've been inspired by thunderwulfen and caphminipainting (on Instagram) and I want to add more sculpted bits and weathering to my models in order to move away from the 'eavy metal style I usually paint. This is just my first step, but I'm happy with how this guy came out.  Of course, he's a Wolf Guard sergeant, the Vanguard Veteran equivalent for Space Wolves. 

Here's another of my recently finished Space Wolf Bladeguard Veterans.  It's an easy shield swap from the Wulfen, and I swapped out the iron halo for a Wulfen back pack topper - which actuality required a little cutting and sanding. I'm pleased with how he turned out, but the blade isn't my strongest work. 

If I've learned anything from playing my Dark Angels army it's that cyclone missiles are great. Like really great, so I'm adding some to my Rogue Trader Salamanders army. I'm also wavering on my plan for taking these guys to the LVO... I keep thinking about Space Wolves and painting burnout has left me converting my some wolf boys 

Yesterday, I played in a nice 18-person RTT in Kansas City (nay, Independence) at the Games Cafe, run by Away Games. I neglected to take any pictures, but Away Games run amazing tournaments and every table has pro painted terrain from Big Bear 3D and uses the GW Open terrain rules and placement. *Chef's kiss* I'll post some of their pics when they get them posted.  I brought a slightly altered version of my Deathwing list that included a unit of Incursors. The Incursors are there to help earn a few precious secondary points from Stubborn Defiance. Without a scouting unit, Dark Angels can only score 10 out of 15 points in that secondary and I thought they would be able to see me through. However, 5 primaris guys are easy to kill in the current meta and in one mission, you can forward deploy so they were kind of a bust. I would have been better off not bringing them, keeping my 2 command points, and not trying to score any Dark Angel or Space Marine secondaries. I need to stick t...

Recently, I saw Crafsman's video on AI generated art and an Instagram user who created a logo using Midjourney AI's beta test, and I wanted in on the action.  I joined the Discord for Midjourney and here's what I cooked up using words like space marine, action figure, miniature, wargaming, and Dusty. I hoped to get a logo or maybe a cool color scheme for a future project. I don't know how I can use these yet, but it's a lot of fun.  Surreal and a hint of the uncanny valley. 

I just painted First Lieutenant Xerak Adorak of the Firstborn Space Marine Chapter painted for the firstborn group on Facebook. The group created its own chapter, color scheme, iconography, etc. and I wanted to play along. I had this oldhammer model collecting dust and thought this would be a good break from my Salamander painting grind. I'm not really a fan of the color scheme, or Greek letter Phi as an icon but it was kind of fun to paint. I just used my Space Wolf recipe for the grey armor, without as much weathering.

I quickly painted this 40k building for my FLGS. Even if it's not the best, it's better than playing on bare plastic. 

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Every time I read a Black Library novel, I want to paint and play the army that's featured in the book. This week, I've been rereading the Space Wolf Omnibus and I painted up this Blade Guard Veteran and took a brief break from my oldhammer Salamanders. I've  also got an idea for a converted squad of Bladeguard that I'm currently trying to buy the bits for.  I need 5 not Wulfen shields though... Let me know what you think!

Squad Goals! Road to LVO 2023 Post V RTB01 Salamander Space Marines Squad I repainted and ready to burn heretics in the name of the Emperor! 

With the success I had at the Midwest ConQuest, I bought a ticket for the Showme Showdown 2022 Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament. I went 2-3 at the ConQuest, but with two games lost by a single point, I would probably have been on the final table (two points!) I was so close to a top finish I could taste it, and with my Dark Angel Deathwing list scoring a lot of points, I wanted to keep my momentum going to earn a podium finish.   Just before the Showme Showdown, GW dropped a couple of bombs with Chapter Approved Nephilim, point corrections, and FAQs that dramatically changed the competitive scene of Warhammer 40k. The tournament organizers wanted to run the Nephilim missions and list building format (6 CPs, pay for Warlord Traits and Relics, new secondaries, etc.) and there wasn’t much time to playtest a new army or even adjust my current list. The FAQ for Nephilim hasn’t been released yet and I was a little annoyed about adopting the new format so quickly, but I had to soldier on. ...

 Next Level Painting superstar, Kenny Boucher like one of my models and started following me on Instagram! I feel like I won a painting award! It's like I got a "Yo Dawg" award.

  The Tactical Dreadnought armor - or Terminator armor as it's now known - is the workhorse in most of my Space Marine armies, including my Rogue Trader Salamanders. 

I recently sold off my Squat army, but this was 1 of 2 figures I kept for the nostalgia. He was a ton of fun to paint too.

If you don't have a flamer, can you call yourself a Salamander? 

Road to LVO Post IV I just finished touching up this Sergeant with power sword in my Rogue Trader Salamanders army. I'll probably add some glow from the power sword and dust effects to his boots, but there's something so pure about the clean paint job of 90's minis. 

Road to LVO 2023 Post III These veterans of hundreds of wars, and thousands of battles, have just had their armor repainted and are ready for another fight.  "Into the fires of battle, unto the anvil of war!"

Road to LVO 2023 Post II I just finished repainting and rebasing my Terminator Sergeant for my Rogue Trader Salamanders army. To be honest, I'm not that happy with it.  I'm not able to get the sharp, bright edge highlights that 90s models had. It looks great in person, then the photo brings up tons of flaws. Ug. I'm not sure about the banner either - I may revisit that later but I want to stick to the 90s 'Eavy Metal style.

  On the Road to LVO 2023! Instead of chasing the meta, I think I'm going to take my Oldhammer Salamanders army to the LVO this year. Most of the models have been stripped and reprimed but I'll have to paint nearly the entire army again; that's about 45 models to paint in about 6 months. I've wanted an excuse to paint more oldhammer and this project will set some goals and the deadline will keep me motivated. This thunder hammer and shield fellow is my first test at trying the old 'eavy metal style. I think the edge highlights on the black may be too white and the green highlights need some cleanup but I'm OK with this result. I'll keep posting with new updates on the army and playtest results. *Of course my army A.D.D. may kick in and I'll change my mind later...* Wish me luck! #miniaturepainting #paintingwarhammer #new40k #spacemarines #astartes #salamanders40k #28mm #spacemarines40k #oldhammer #badabwar #armageddon40k #40kterminators

I bought a ticket to a thing. Who else is going?  I'll likely take my Dark Angels Deathwing list, or some version of it. The LVO is 7th months away and 40k could be a very different game then. Warzone Nephilim will certainly be out, probably 6 or 7 new (or revised) codexs, a couple of balanced data slates and FAQs... plus 10th edition can't be far behind; so who knows what I'll take. I may have my Oldhammer army ready to play with for the cool factor but I'd like to score as many points with my DAngles for a single faction.

The Midwest ConQuest is an excellent event run by a Kansas City gaming club that features five to six tournaments in a single convention. I've always had a good time there and I made the short drive to KC to join in the action this year. I brought my Deathwing Dark Angels list; I think it's the most meta resistant. There was a Blood Angel cos-player with a well made suit of holy armor. I was a little jealous of the quality and layouts of the Bolt Action tournament. The quality of the 40k table were ok, but the Bolt Action folks really know how to dress a table. Game Results: In my first game, I played a young player who brought his Dark Eldar to his first tournament.  It was a close game that came down to wire, but I won 81-75. It was a typical Deathwing game where I barely left my deployment zone and tried to roll 4+ for 2 and a half hours.  My second game was against a Deathguard list. He had an interesting build with a similar game plan as mine to just score my points and d...