I had hernia surgery recently and while I was in a post-op daze of painkillers, I had this idea for a color scheme for my White Scars successor chapter (or just a home brew chapter.) I couldn't get this scheme out of my head so I took a break from my Orks and worked up this proof of concept model. Maybe remove the chest aquila and add chapter/unit insignia? I need a name too... What do you think?  #Warhammer40k #homebrewchapter #whitescars40k #spacemarines40k #astartes 

I have models in my "Pile of Shame" older than many of my opponents.  I found these beauties whilst cleaning up my office. 

I was playing around with new color schemes, and I wanted to capture the feel of Maschinen Krieger models on a 40k figure. I tried to mimic one of the classic Ma.k schemes on this Intercessor. I like it, but I think the green was too dark and should be a lighter or paler shade of green would be better and maybe more gray patterns.  I'll probably try again on another figure  and add decals on the next test mini.  #spacemarines40k #astartes #homebrewchapter #maschinenkrieger 

Here's a Gladiator Lancer I've nearly finished for my home-brew Space Marine Chapter,  the Rampant Lions.  I don't think I like the green on green port holes. Maybe red? #Warhammer40k #spacemarines #astartes #spacemarines40k #gladiatorlancer 

A recently finished Wolfguard with combi-melta for my  Space Wolves army - the Sea Wolves. #miniaturepainting #paintingwarhammer #new40k #28mag #grimdark #blanchitsu #spacewolves #spacewolves40k #warhammercommunity #new40k #spacemarines40k

A recently painted Crimson Fist Sergeant from my oldhammer army repaint. #miniaturepainting #paintingwarhammer #grimdark #warhammercommunity #crimsonfists #oldhammer #warhammer40k #spacemarines #astartes 

Kakana Ahi, the Rooster of Nocturne, is captain of the Salamanders company known as the Hellbenders. He was a terrible scout but makes for an excellent commander who attacks from above, out of the sun. #warhammer40k #paintingwarhammer #salamanders40k #grimdark #inq28 #conversion #smashcaptain #28mmminiatures #kitbash #armageddon40k #badab

I've been spending more of my time on Instagram lately for my social media needs. I've been fixated on improving my painting skills, rather than writing or playing the game, and I've found that the simple act of taking photos and looking at the model not under my desk lamp has really helped my technique. Also, the feedback from painters of all skill levels has been very helpful and is pushing me to improve my craft. Also, while airbrushing is a great skill, Darren Latham and Duncan Rhodes are my current luminary idols. Latham especially is fantastic at breaking down some steps and his delivery is hypnotic. That being said, here's a recent photo dump of some recent and ancient models in my "portfolio." Is there an app that can cross post directly from Instagram to Blogger? The Captain of my Astral Claws army, the Bastards of Badab, who usually strolls behind my vehicle line. The Lieutenant of my Astral Claws army, the Bastards of Badab. He is moc...

Chief librarian Boer of the Grey Knights company assigned to the protection of KS-34. I really hope the Grey Knights get a boost in the new Psychic Awakening books. They really only need a conscript unit to use as frontline troops, in my humble opinion. I'd like it to actually be Grey Knight "troops" as opposed to allied Imperial Guard to keep the purity of single codex armies.

A White Scars Sargent races ahead of his unit to launch a lighting-fast attack on his startled foes. The last sound they heard was laughter, inexplicably louder than the roar of an engine.  #paintingwarhammer #whitescars #warhammer40k #grimdark #spacemarines

I've stripped and repainted a few of my "old hammer" models more than a few times and I think I'm going to take another stab at an army. This morning, I threw on a few coats of paint on a couple of models for chapters that I've considered. Test paint jobs for chapter options for my Old Hammer army. From left to right: Raven Guard, Salamanders, Flesh Tearers, Raptors, Mentors, Emperor's Spears I've long considered painting a Raven Guard army and the rules are really good right now but a black army is so boring to paint. I know a few people really prefer "grim dark" models but part of the attraction of an old hammer army is brightness and color. The Salamanders would fit with my 30k and 40k armies. Plus, I get a cool alternate scheme with the yellow and black salamander pattern, however, the rules aren't great for them as I feel a unit that doesn't allow overwatch is a must thanks to Tau and Eldar being so good at blunting ...

Since switching to my new job with the State, I've had little to no time off for gaming, painting or anything much related to my hobbies. Some days are literally 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. with little time for eating or even bathroom breaks. Needless to say, I've not had much time to blog either and I apologize for the silence. My new job does have a lot of travel time - by plane or car - and that does give me some time to daydream and I have managed to scribble down an idea for a naval/amphibious based Space Marine chapter in the style of a fan Wiki. I call them, the Sea Wolves! I've started making a chapter master model from the generic Space Marine Captain. I've given him a peg leg and converted his weapon into a trident-sword. Let me know what you guys think! Peg leg conversion. Relic Blade/power sword trident conversion. New Chapter Creation: Sea Wolves aka Aquamarines Founded: 27th Founding – Ultima Founding Successors of: Unknown Chapter...

Ryan and I got together tonight for a game of Warhammer 40k 8th Edition. The store had a couple of packs of Open War cards left so I bought a deck and we played the game we were dealt. I have to admit, I had a blast! We were both excited as we drew the cards, not knowing how our armies would play out in random game play. The nature of the game meant that we would have to out play our opponent and not rely on the optimized build. Since Ryan is just getting back into the game and still gathering models for his army, this worked out great for both of us. New 8th Edition Open War Cards  This was our initial draw. We also pulled two Twist cards - Set Piece Battle and Battle Frenzy - every model got an additional attack! It made perfect sense for Ryan's Blood Angel Lamentors and my Astral Claws were happy to join in the frenzy of our separatist brothers. Ryan brought three of the new Primaris Reivers. They can do some work. Astral Claw lurking in the back field. I hav...

I had this thought the other day as I was working on an army list. What if Detachments and Formations were developed as a deliberate attempt to sabotage "net lists?" After Games Workshop shut down their own tournament series, lots of armies were built the same way because the independent tourneys published the winning lists online for everyone to mimic. The proliferation of Formations and all of the new codex specific Detachments could be the way Nottingham has decided to guide players into building lists that are a bit more fluffy and in character. Of course, the cynic in me says it could also just be a simple sales technique to sell more vehicles and models that are slow movers. Either way, I love the bonuses of the Salamander Flame Strike formation, but I don't really want to take a devastator squad. At least the current rules don't force me to arm them with any actual heavy weapons...

Today I played in a 1,500 point Rogue Trader style tournament and did very well. I brought my "Bastards of Badab" Astral Claws army and came in second by getting the most victory points. I brought a Space Marine biker CAD, a Librarius Conclave all rolling on Telepathy, and a Sky Hammer Annihilation Force with 3 grav and multimeltas in the devastator squads. I switched from White Scars chapter tactics to Ultramarines recently and I'm glad I did. The doctrines, even though I only get to use each one once in this build, have been a big help because I don't need to put librarians with divination nearby. If this had been a larger point game, I would have brought devastator centurions and because of the Ultramarines Chapter Tactics, I don't need to sink a lot of points into Tigurius. The conclave on bikes usually means that I can throw some sort of protection on the CentsDevs. In my first battle, I played Eli and his Khorn Daemonkin. It was Vanguard deployment...

Here's a little hobby tip on how to properly cut Forge World Space Marine Shoulder Pads from the sprue. While this may seem like a waste of a blog post, I think it may acutally be helpful because the resin from Forge World isn't as easy to work with as the plastic used in regular Citadel miniatures from Games Workshop. While watching football today, I decided to clip and sand some pre Heresy Forge World MKII space marines. I thought it would be simple work and I was in factory (or assembly line) mode and making quick work through the bag of bits. The home team was winning, I was hyped about the game, and waving super sharp tools around while getting my new models ready for primer. After clipping, I used a needle file to sand down the seams, flash and rough edges when I discovered that I cut too deep on the shoulder pads and notched the top of the shoulder pads. Gah! They're ruined! They're expensive! Panic! What I had done wrong is by placing my wire cutte...

I've grown a little bored with my White Scars. They're hard to paint and I get a little anxiety when I think about how many bikes I have left to paint. Plus, they've lost a little of their punch in the new Space Marine codex because they don't receive the extra bonus to their jink save. But you know who does get that extra bit of cover save? Raven Guard. At least in the first turn... One of the radio plays I'm in this year is "Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. Last year's radio play featured three Poe stories, "Cask of Amontillado," "Tell-tale Heart," and "The Black Cat" so I have had a steady diet of gothic imagery from Poe that obviously inspired the Raven Guard. In fact, I have named my Blood Angel dreads after a few Poe characters and I've thought of painting a standard after the Montresor family crest from "Cask." While at rehearsal (and when my roles are not being rehearsed) I've dayd...

After giving up on my idea of an Imperial Knight army, I'm not sure if I'll sell off my current models or just hang onto them and use them for allies in large point games. I always regret selling most of the models I do get rid of and end up buying more models back. I've started rehearsal on a new set of radio plays that will be recorded in a September so I haven't had much time this week or last to work on minis or play any games. However, today rehearsal was canceled so I had a little time to work on my loyalist Alpha Legion. Half the army will be for 30k and I'm also making a significantly sized 40k army out of the unpainted marines I had laying around. Here are some of my Centurion Devastators I've started working on, maybe 50% completed. I've seen Mark Raley's per-heresy Alpha Legion and I fell in love with the lighter blue/azure color scheme. You can find more of his awesome work at:  Marc Raley's Blog The Europeans seem to dominate th...

Last weekend I played in a small, 1,500 point tourney and went 2-1 with my White Scars. I tabled my buddy Chris' Wolves in round one (I got the jump on him early and it was just too much for him to come back from - not to mention that he couldn't make a 3+ armor or 4+ cover save to save his model's lives.) My Khans' unit of regular bikers managed to surround his wolf lord in a true "bikestar" formation and take him out as the last model to be removed from the game. Who ever said the Scars were envious of the Wolf? The second round I was tabled in turn 3 by an Eldar/Dark Eldar player I never played before. He had classic vehicle spam and got the jump on me early. There wasn't much terrain to hide behind and his flyers move to fast anyway. With his high volume of shots, I couldn't make enough saves and he made pretty short work of army. My Khan in that game whiffed twice on two separate charges against wave serpents/falcons with his thunder hamme...