First Space Wolf Painted

Here's my first Space Wolf HQ, Branek Stormhowler.  Young by Rune Priest standards, but a fierce warrior well on his way to creating his own saga.

I built this model from spare Space Wolf bits and the staff is made from a Grey Knight Warding Stave. I gave the armor a blue tinge in the tradition of standard Space Marine Librarians.

The Plan

A brief glance at my starting army list shows an obvious lack of experience and imagination, but I assure you that in the future, as the army/collection develops, there will be changes.  The plan is to shift some models to other units to make room for models with upgrades such as Mark of the Wulfen and/or Wolf Standard, etc.  I'd also like to base the fluff off of the codex background and make each model as unique as possible: a true collection.

Getting Started with 6th Edition

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm going with Space Wolves for 6th edition.  Now for all intents and purposes, I am a complete amateur and my army lists will reflect that.  But I am not a competitive player in terms of having to win.  I play for the fun of the game and getting away from the chaos of every day life.  So my first list will be around 700 points and was created based on models that I was able to acquire cheaply or already had on hand.

HQ
Rune Priest - wolftooth necklace, saga of the warrior born (145)

Elite
Dreadnought - multi-melta, stormbolter, close combat arm (105)

Troops
10 Grey Hunters - power fist, melta gun x2 (180)
10 Grey Hunters - power fist, melta gun x2 (180)

Heavy
Predator - autocannon, heavy bolter sponsons, h/k (95)

705 points

Again, not much in the way of firepower or anti-tank, but I pretty much have to learn this game all over again, so I'm choosing this as a starting point and take it through it's paces before deciding my next steps or investing any more money on an army that I'm not having any fun with.

My New 6th Edition Army

I've decided that my new army for 6th Edition will be Space Wolves.  I've always wanted to do this, but never really got this project off the ground. I'm going to start small at about 750 - 1k and build out from there. Over the next week, I'll work up a list, get some models and start building/painting.  My Grey Knights will be moved to an Allied support unit consisting of a couple of squads.  I'd like to add some Imperial Guard units later on down the line.

To test drive the new psyker cards, I think my initial HQ will have to be a Rune Priest. Should be fun.

Mission Accomplished!

I picked up the 6th Edition Rulebook yesterday morning.  Dang, is this book heavy! I wanted to grab a set of the new vehicle markers as well as the objective markers, but I was told that the release got pushed back for some reason or another.  I took a look at the new templates and the tape measure, but wasn't very impressed, so I passed on those. 

Anyway, I thumbed through the book and did like the layout, a disappointment that I'd like to share is the miniatures gallery.  It seemed to me that they were all pretty much re-printed images from the various codices. For me, one of the most appealing aspects of the game is the visual part - fantastically painted models, so I'm a bit disappointed about that part, but otherwise a nice-looking book.

Now I'm going to set about reading AND mastering the rules so stay tuned.

6th Edition Looms...There is only GAMING!

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past month, everyone knows that the 6th Edition of Warhammer 40,000 releases this weekend. I, like countless others will be searching between seat cushions and emptying piggy banks to grab the new rulebook.  Sadly, I had little time to play 40k's 5th edition, but all that is going to change.  I'm going to make time to actually learn this version...no...scratch that. I'm going to MASTER this version. Now I my only dilemma is deciding on an army.  I want my next project to be a single-minded project that I attack with a passion.  So, I'm not sure what that will be, but we'll see after this weekend.  I continue to whittle away at my Grey Knights, but I want something that I can call my own and actually COLLECT long term.

Grey Knight Test Model

I finished painting (except for the blade) my first Grey Knight model.  This is my first model with he new paint line and so far, I don't have any complaints.  The colors went on smooth. While I'm still learning to manipulate the various types (bases, layers, etc), I do like the darker tone of the armour.  I haven't painted the blade yet because I'm not exactly sure how to paint that part.  I was at my local GW store yesterday and one of their master painters showed me a way to paint.  It looked great, but I"m going to have to practice before implementing it.

I plain to try the new texture paints to the bases later this week. But I'm going to get to work on the rest of the strike squad to move things along.

New (Old) Project - Grey Knights

I've decided that my lead project for this blog with be a Warhammer 40k project. An old project that I have a renewed interest in and one that I intend to work on this summer.  As my lead project.

Grey Knight will be my choice. After reading the Horus Heresy novel, Know No Fear, I immediately jumped into The Emperor's Gift, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.  This is a brand new novel about the Grey Knights.  So far, it's been a great read, with no lull (at least, for me) in the storytelling.  I had started a Grey Knights project when the codex was released, but I quickly lost interest due to the lack of CURRENT background.  The older novels were out of date and didn't match the codex. It seems I can be a bit neurotic when it comes to my armies adhering to published material (call me crazy - it's just my thing).  But this new story is loaded with material.

So I'm starting my project with a single box of Grey Knights and a Stormraven Gunship (which I had laying around, unassembled).  My plan is to work on a 1,250 point list and move forward from there. Summer's here and as I had mentioned in earlier posts, my schedule has opened up a bit, so I have every intention of getting some heavy 40k gaming done.  Consider this a Warhammer summer!

6th Edition Rumors As Motivation

So Fait 212 is reporting some 6th Edition background (I hate the word 'fluff') rumors.  The rumor mill is essentially reporting that the Tau will become a Xenos race that will fall under the protection of the Space Marines (an effort led by the Ultramarines).  If this turns out to be true, then I  would imagine that many chapters descended from that chapter will follow.  Well it just so happens that the Aurora Chapter just happens to be one of them. It also sounds like the new background is going to fracture certain elements of the Imperium.  Can't wait for the release.  Head on over to Fait 212 to read more.

Forgeworld Does It Again - Apothecaries!

Saw this in Forgeworld's lastest e-mail blast today.  Wow! Their models just get cooler and cooler.  You gotta love when the Adeptus Astartes get some love.  I will be ordering these babies for my upcoming Aurora Chapter project.  Thank God payday is next week.

What I like about these models (besides the awesome detail) is that they are generic, so they can easily be included in any chapter, the older power armour gives each one a unique look which will stand out on the table and the Aurora Chapter being a second founding chapter, allows for the armour to fit in with the army, historically.