Mitsman's Ultramarines blog of awesomeness (Intercessors).

[Mitsman]

Hello guys,

 

The Land Speeder Tempest is still in progress with minor work done. Just fleshed out most of the metalics and some minor details.

To keep you interested though (a man can hope eeeh?) I will post our apocalypse battle of this week! Keep in mind this is my very first battle report and I have not been too prepared taking notes and correct pictures and time was pressing as always (3 out of 4 players have families and kids so...).

 

The battle was between the Imperial Guard forces with reinforcements from the nearby forgeworld of "Vaggelia" and the forces of the Ultramarines that "happend" to pass by on their way to pacify a nearby system. As predicted by imperial scholars, during the battle a deamonic force appeared and attaked the forces of the imperial guard aided by the Vaggelia Forgeworld without anyone knowing why (It was my turn to ally with our deamon player...).

 

So without further delay I present to you the battlefield that was in the outskirts of the Imperial city of "New Glyfada" on the planet of "Almyra IV",  "Frankanor" sector, "Ultima Segmentum".

 

http://i.imgur.com/6qxTMSj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MMMyPgr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XeH8vfG.jpg

 

The pict captures show the outskirts with the mechanicum buildings on the right and center, habitation buildings and administratum make up the left while the temple of the "Emperor ascendant" lies in ruins on the lower right. On the top lush forests cover over a quarter of the area, with hills and rock formations that break the otherwise level ground. A cleared ourcrop made by the defence forces has been used for the placement of one of many torpedo silos that are spread all over the planet for its last line of defence against incursions.

Last moment barricades and cover has been spread all over the area in the hopes of delaying the progress of the enemy as the local defence rallies for battle.

 

More details and pictures of the battle to follow...

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

Hey there,

 

I think I ruined the Tempest... What was I thinking? Smoke on the exhausts of the rockets with zero rockets fired?

http://i.imgur.com/X6s908F.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/wh3Gdly.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/DbrTYbF.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/6ZzQpOP.jpg

 

Not only that but the smoke effect is a failure. I will have to repaint the whole area.Anyone else thinks that I should repaint it?

 

Mitsman

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

You don't have to repaint the whole area - if you go around the edges of the painted effect with a black powder sponge (or a very, very, VERY light black drybrush) you can blur the edges enough to make it look like real exhaust burn.

 

Also, it makes sense that there'd still be burn marks even with a full complement of rockets - on campaign it's unlikely the speeder would receive a fresh paint job between deployments, whereas getting a full reload of its rockets would be higher up the priority list, lol.

[Warsmith Uveron]

 

Also, it makes sense that there'd still be burn marks even with a full complement of rockets - on campaign it's unlikely the speeder would receive a fresh paint job between deployments, whereas getting a full reload of its rockets would be higher up the priority list, lol.

 

Infact fluff often states that the only break speeders get in campaigns is to reload as given the speed of the asset they will be redeployed as soon as a mission is complete. 

 

My Personal feeling that if you are adding smoke, add some other weathering and campaign details. Maybe a little mark by the door to the cabin thats listing kills or number of missions the speeder has been sent on in this campaign. 

[Mitsman]

Thanks Brother-Captain Arkhan and Uveron.

I will try to blur the smoke effects with some powers from FW and add some extra markings all around. The problem i face now is that I have not yet varnished the speeder for the next step. I have been used to doing everything with a brush and now I am missing valuable tools. According to most people that airbrush, they varnish the vehicle after the highlights and then they add powders, fix them with alcohol and revarnish to seal them. I suppose they use matt varnish for both stages. I have no varnishes yet (well except the satin varnish from Vallejo, Lahmian medium and 'ardcoat from from GW but these probably will make the speeder shine like a beacon... I am guessing they will not be very useful will they?

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

Hi ladies and gents,

 

As promised, the second part of the apocalypse battle in New Glyfada.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ehlXkBt.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/IxgWgNj.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/ImV6NRw.jpg

 

The Ultramarines side had a few things deployed, 11 units to be exact. 3 Whirlwinds with 1 Tempest Speeder, 1 Empire knight, 1 unit of scouts, 1 Scorpious, 1 Contemptor Mortis, 1 Rhino with 1 Tactical squad and 1 devastator squad with lascannons. Disregard the demons on the right of the battlefield as the demons had decided that everything they had would deploy by deep strike on our first turn (unless the opponents stole the initiative).

 

The opposition was crazy! They deployed 10+ Leman Russes of varius types, at least 12 guard infantry squads to shield them, skittarii, robots of all kinds, 3 anti-air onagers, 2 hydras and a humongus macro cannon (with a void shield) in the very centre of their  field. To add insult to injury they also deployed a void shield generator with 3 void shields on the left of their field protecting the onagers and various other target worthy squads. To tell you the truth we were a bit disheartened after initial deployment. 

As always the asset I chose was the deep strike without scatter as for my style it is the strongest for marines in apocalypse.

 

Most objectives were placed on the left side of the battlefield in the ruined city on New Glyfada (green little banners).

 

I will post more during the week.

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

Hi guys,

 

Time for the third part of the apocalypse battle on New Glyfada.

 

It was set, the Ultramarines (and the demons that happened to pass by) had first turn. The IG and mechanicus alliance did not manage to steal the initiative and that made us very very happy!

 

+++Pict-capture from the ongoing battle of New Glyfada+++

http://i.imgur.com/onnAFFF.jpg

 

So on turn one:

 

Well on turn 1 we did not have a lot to start with but the demons deep stroke almost

everything without any deviation. Khorne dogs everywhere in front of the enemies' lines, smaller units of demons in the countryside, a tetrarch of darkness, 2 knorne greater demons and of course Belakor in the centre... The Ultramarines dropped a deathstorm drop pod in front of the IG on the left side of the city, while a raven and 2 talons entered from reserves on the far right end of the countryside. Psykers from the demons cast everywhere vile spells and Belakor suddenly vanished from sight (invisibility)! On the shooting phase the deathstorm DP killed IG and skitarii left and right but did not manage to break any units. The airforce on the left managed to damage one of the two hydras hopping for less retaliation later on. Unfortunately the IG had a smuggled a strong power field inside the city and the area on the right of the 3 void shield building was suddenly untargettable. Finally the whirlwinds managed to thin out the IG and skitarii even more guided by the advanced sensors of the Tempest land speeder. The void shields inside the city dropped one after the other with the help of the devastators, the contemptor dreadnought, the knight and the scorpious. This meant that the heavier enemy assets remained unharmed under the shields ready to retaliate.

 

Turn 1 from the enemy side was quite panishing. 4 units of IG veterans deep stroke in front of the contemptor, the scouts, the scorpious and the command whirlwind in the middle of the Ultramarines deployment zone! Due to the way being blocked by the devilish dogs of Khorne, the IG could not advance anywhere and could only shoot and kill a lot of them hoping to make enough damage before they assaulted.  The pain though came from the 3 onagers which managed to lock and shoot down the invisible Belakor!!! Besides banishing Belakor, the IF and mechanicus managed to destroy the deathstorm DP, damage a talon a cause minor casualties in the rest of the army. Things were not going well for the Ultramarines (and the demons that happened to pass by).

 

Turn 2 was even deadlier for both sides.

The Ultramarines had to backtrack a bit and deal with the squads of IG veterans that arrived amidst them but managed to do so efficiently. 4 Land speeders managed to flank the enemy army and arrived on the right side amidst the hydras and the Leman Russes easily killing the first unit and damaging the second. Killing continued with the knight and the whirlwinds dispatching enemy infantry, all the while the devastators managed to reduce the void shields to zero and damage heavily the structure that protected them. On the countryside, the demons killed left and right while assaulting and killing the onagers that banished Belakor.

 

The accursed enemy alliance was again denied advance to the middle but managed to kill almost half the greater demons and princes with the combined firepower of the IG, the mechanicus and a squadron of mechanicus marked stormhawk interceptors. One of the whirlwinds was destroyed and minor damage was suffered from a second whirlwind and the contemptor dreadnought. The knight was completely destroyed by the macro cannon with two successive direct hits that illuminated the battlefield.

By the end of the second turn the alliance of IG and Mechanicus had managed to capture 4 out of the 6 objectives while the Ultramarines (and you know who else) had only captured 2.

 

Details of the third and final turn of the battle will come in a few days. Thanks for reading!

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

I am back with the Tempest completed!

 

I also tried for a better background than the typical rich white of an A4 page...

So here it is, Land Speeder Tempest "Erinya X".

 

http://i.imgur.com/ebMEFR6.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/drlztbQ.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/eRbYcT4.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/124zqdt.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/702k9Rr.jpg

 

"Erinya X" 's pilot  is usualy assigned to scout ahead of the army's advance, collecting telemetry and targeting data and feeding them to the targeting arrays of its unit's whirlwinds making their barages twice as deadly.

 

The distaster that happened today is that when I tried to freehand the speeder's name in the front everything went wrong, the name was too far left and dropping gradualy to the right... I also tried to correct the bad soot effect around the launcher but I was not happy. This meant that I had to take out the airbrush again. I smoothed out the blue by removing some of the soot and applying it again by using the "black soot" from FW (it is amazing). I also removed the name in the front of the speeder and left the area blank until I feel more confident to ruin it again. For now the only thing missing besides the name is a good coat of seal which is out of the question at the moment as I do not have any varnishes except VJ satin varnish, GW 'ardcoat and GW Lahmian medium.

 

Painting this speeder has been a very good lesson for me and has also made me love painting vehicles again. Drop pods here I come!!!

 

Mitsman

[Race Bannon]

Tempest =

 

Very well done!

[Mitsman]

Hey Race Bannon,

 

It is truly . I never miss to field it in my apocalypse games. It is lovely.

 

And because I am starting to love my airbrush, behold... I started painting a Drop Pod! That would be the third out of nine I already have... yes 9.

The blue undercoat is Macragge Blue and the highlight will be with Altdorf Guard Blue as I have not bought the new Calgar Blue version, but I think they are the same... anyone?

I have started to depart from my last almost 20 year recipe of Ultramarines Blue with White Scar (or Skull White of which I still have plenty) in various amounts as the Ultramarines Blue has almost run out.

 

http://i.imgur.com/njgcov9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TMOcVTF.jpg

 

So yeah, basic blue has been painted on, basic metals are being layed out and I managed to finish(?) the central dome-screen. Lots of work to be done still but I feel very confident.

 

Mitsman

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

The burn effect looks 100% better. Well done. You do the Legion proud :)

[Mitsman]

The burn effect looks 100% better. Well done. You do the Legion proud

 

Thank you! Of course I ended up redoing the blue with the airbrush but I think it was worth it. And as Augustus b'Raass suggested in his plog, if you have everything organised and you work with a plan, the airbrush will be your friend or something like that , so I try to get organised.

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

Hi guys,

 

This is the final part of the apocalypse battle in New Glyfada. After the initial carnage that the demons and the Ultramarines caused on the IG and Mechanicus alliance, the time for the 3^rd and final turn arrived (we were already out of time so the 3^rd turn was the last).

 

So turn 3:

 

These are the aerial view picts of the New Glyfada city from two different angles as the recon fliers passed by.

 

http://i.imgur.com/tCzIXK2.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/S2i66BJ.jpg

 

The new reserves of the Ultramarines can clearly be seen on pict capture 2. Several Ultramarine drop pods landed among the enemies allowing Tigurius and his centurion retinue, 3 tactical squads and 1 command squad with meltaguns to arrive where needed. 4 attack bikes also arrived but unfortunately in retrospect did not manage to reach the enemy lines on time. The remaining forces of the demons managed to kill too little as their numbers had systematically been reduced to a few minor demons and the flying demonic general of Tzeentz that did not dare land on the battlefield ever after he saw what happened to the rest of the dark tetrarch.

The outskirts of the city were systematically cleansed of the IG tanks as the Land speeders did what their best of flanking these behemoths and destroying them one after the other. The flyer wing helped on the damage dealing without making any kills themselves. Major damage was also caused by the command squad that killed a Leman Russ tank while it heavily damaged a second in the upper corner of the city in the administratum sector. The surprise was made by the Centurions that although the expectance was that an invisible, devastator doctrined squad would easily get rid of a single 3-robot with techseer squad, a single robot managed to escape unharmed as its deflection field managed to activate twice killing the closest centurion! Finally the 3 tactical squads succeeded to reduce the objective capturing capabilities of the enemy by destroying 4 squads (flamers are good!!!) that were threatening the frontline objectives.

 

Unfortunately the enemy alliance was about to have its last word.

Two reserved knights that arrived on the last turn of the battle turned the events to the advantage of the foul alliance. The 35 Ultramarines that made the 3 tactical squads and the command squad were reduced to a single man as the combined firepower of the knights and the remaining squads of the administratum sector killed the Ultramarines last chance of capturing the forward objectives in the city. A wing of nighthawk interceptors also managed to squeeze enough shots to kill the squad that had captured the backwards mechanicum sector objective that the Ultramarines had secured since that start of the battle. With a final barrage of blasts that were heard for miles, the large bastion shot one of the attack bikes to oblivion and ended the battle of New Glyfada.

 

With the battle having lasted only 3 turns we decided to not count the objectives for the second break that would come at the end of the fourth turn and thus a final score of 4-2 for the IG-Mechanicum alliance was scored.

 

It was a very tough battle for the Ultramarines (and the demons that happened to pass by) as the battlefield was full of bodies and tanks that were very difficult to move. The huge macro cannon bastion did not help for the morale either as it was never challenged by our side and its paintwork was never chipped!

 

All in all this battle was probably our last for 7^th edition and I can never recommend enough an apocalypse battle among laid back friends.

 

Thanks for reading through all this wall of text and I hope the next battle report is written faster and better.

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

After seeing the blog of Augustus b'Raass again and again I have found that I am not the only one pationate enough with librarians.

So trying to keep the score between me and Augustus b'Raass a bit less embarassing, behold...

 

WIP of the space hulk Librarian. As he never needs a storm bolter since he always zaps the enemy one way or another, I armed him with the proper tool to accompany the force axe, a storm shield. Unfortunately my hopes of making a quick conversion with the suzerains' storm shield were quickly shot down and I had to content myself with the standard termie sergeant storm shield. It is not bad, it is just that the ultra storm shield is more badass! Anyway, here is the pic.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Tf4hrwh.jpg

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

Hi all,

 

Today I decided to retouch a bit my old metal librarian with axe. Just a few repairs of chipped paint and a few re-touches to make the model seem more up to date.

I also redid his base as it was embarashing 2nd edition paint with Goblin Green paint and flock... Does this ring any bells????

 

I also decided to make a group photo of my painted Librarius as it stands at the moment with four members.

 

Augustus b'Raass this is for you . Yeah I know it is not a competition, if it was it would be pretty embrarashing for me, wouldn't it?

 

So on with the pics.

 

My jump pack librarian of 3rd edition when libbies could buy storm shields even if they did not wear termie armour.

http://i.imgur.com/hU39lek.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7vqvQrE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xGhelil.jpg

 

And the Librarius as it stands currently.

http://i.imgur.com/wBFlVM0.jpg

 

I hope you like them!

 

Mitsman

 

PS. Work for the 5th librarian with terminator armour and storm shield (converted space hulk model) is continued. Basic colours and being laid out for now.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Looks pretty darn amazing, dude. Nice paitnjobs. If I may offer a tiny bit of advice: your gold could use some edge highlighting (mix a bit of Liberator Gold with a Mithrill Silver-look-alike). It's an easy enough job, and it'll make all of that sweet gold pop. Your blue is very smooth, btw. How did you achieve it? :tu:

 

I'm extremely envious of that OOP axe librarian. I could buy it off eBay, but the cheapest one would cost me $40 with shiping-  and that's a bit steep for one who already has ten (10!) librarains.... ;)

[Dark Bjoern]

Amazing, Brother! I like the librarians. And a LS Tempestus is something you did not see often.

[Knight of the Raven]

The Tempest looks good in blue.

 

And since I didn't comment on him when you posted him; I love the tactical sergeant based on the master of relics. Why did this model have to be discontinued? D:

[Mitsman]

 

I'm extremely envious of that OOP axe librarian. I could buy it off eBay, but the cheapest one would cost me $40 with shiping-  and that's a bit steep for one who already has ten (10!) librarains....

 

OMG... they are ten now! Your models are making babies now or what? I am not anxious or anything, after all it is not a contest... or is it?

 

Thanks for the kind comments guys. It is a good motive to have people upvote your work, especialy if they really mean it!

 

 

Looks pretty darn amazing, dude. Nice paitnjobs. If I may offer a tiny bit of advice: your gold could use some edge highlighting (mix a bit of Liberator Gold with a Mithrill Silver-look-alike). It's an easy enough job, and it'll make all of that sweet gold pop. Your blue is very smooth, btw. How did you achieve it?

 

Augustus, the blue is nothing special. Just the old Ultramarines blue, which I am running on fumes right now, thinned down. I have maybe enough for a couple of models and I keep it for fixing up some of the old characters I have. The highlights are done by adding progressively Skull white and layering to the edges. Some times I am more successfull than others...

About that gold, I am pretty sure it looks better IRL but the lights on my desk and my camera do not show it. I paint gold with Balthasar gold, add Agrax earthshade, Gehenas gold and edge highlight with a mix of Auric gold and Mithril silver. Sometimes it even looks nice!

 

Just as the Ultramarines blue run out, I started experimenting with the new colours. The Land speeder Tempest was the first and I thing it was a success.

The second experiment is happening now. I am painting the Space Hulk librarian (which is slightly converted) with the same base colour as the Tempest, Macragge Blue, and then I hope I can layer it with Altdorf Guard blue and edge highlight it by adding some quantity of skull white to the mix. It will probably look nice but adds a whole extra layer to the work I used to do, and that will make my painting extra slow. We will see... For now the libbie looks like this:

 

http://i.imgur.com/VX0sXSA.jpg

 

Basic colours are all done (except face) some washes have been applied (still wt as you can see) and next I will start with the layers.

 

Ohh by the way, I already preorderd the new edition starter and Index Imperium 1. I am excited for the new edition but I need to plan a completely new army after I figure out if my old one can be transfered to the new 2000pts lists, play a couple of games and see if the old army is still strong or I need to change tactics.

 

What are you planning to paint for the 8th? 

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

Hi and good morning to (Europe I suppose...).

 

I did a bit of work on the axeblades of the Librarian. This is my first attemt on any kind of crystal like layering and painting so this is the result.

 

http://i.imgur.com/kOCksJW.jpg

 

Yeah not gonna win any prizes but I think I learnt something here.

 

Off for more work.

 

Mitsman

[Dark Bjoern]

Looks pretty well so far!

[Mitsman]

Thanks DB !

 

I did some more work on his left hand with shield.

 

http://i.imgur.com/PC2CpV6.jpg

 

Only need to finish the scroll and I will call the arm done.

 

I learnt something here. Do not dilute colour with only Lahmian medium for layers, use a bit of water too. When the lahmian medium dries out, and it does quickly too, it will make short of a film that makes things lumpy... I can work the layers better if just a bit of water is added.

 

So... do you like what you see?

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

8th is finally here!!!

So today I decided to do some more work and finish (I wish...) the terminator librarian.

Yeah not quite there but closer to finished now. All colours are complete. Some freehand symbols to do and finish the base.

So what do you all think?

 

http://i.imgur.com/IP9tspJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Fm03LKo.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3ZMXbex.jpg

 

And to celebrate the 8th edition I decided that the next models to be painted are going to be 2 standard bearers, models that I used occasionaly in 3rd edition and then forgotten they existed...

This is the well known Ultramarines Ancient from the Marneus Calgar box in full metal glory.

http://i.imgur.com/d1tGtMd.jpg

I added a larger 32mm base below to make him more stable and I will also glue underneath a nice big round metal ring.

Of course there are 2 different standard bearers to be had so what better to celebrate the occasion than with a celebratory (sort off...) model.

Here is the skulls promotion Ultramarine standard bearer from the depths of time itself...!

http://i.imgur.com/Ll9te2r.jpg

I was thinking of cutting him up and using only the banner and bolter arm plus the metal base (he is noticebly shorter than the new marines) but I couldn't bring myself to cutting this beautiful model so I decided that I will use him as he is.

 

So, on with the painting again!

 

Mitsman

[Mitsman]

Hey guys,

 

I finished the terminator librarian and I am quite proud of the work I did. I like the guy so much he will probably end up in almost every list from now on !

 

So without further ado, I present to you Epistolary Kraton, second to Chief Librarian Tigurius himself.

http://i.imgur.com/zuCodse.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/t7pvBoG.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/aAIBf7j.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OFnUwUD.jpg

 

I tried new things on him like full layering for the blue with only slight edge highlighting on the end, and crystal like blade with a tutorial from GW.

 

I hope you like him too.

 

Mitsman

 

PS. This is librarian number 5 for anyone that cares to count...

[Mitsman]

Hi ladies and gents!

After some much much needed vacations I am back with a vengeance. Life is tough indeed and some occasional breaks are needed to keep you sane to do the emperor's work.

I already have played a couple of games of 8th and the verdict for now seems to be more infantry, more termies, more characters (I already have 3 painted predators). :)
To this end I already have started conversions of multiple characters as all the librarians I painted for last edition are not so useful for now in my lists. Marneus Calgar and a
Captain will be my primary characters for now and we shall see...

 

So yeah Marneus is already existing, I have him in metal so not a lot I can do for him besides painting him. Captains, captains are a different thing altogether. Cheap, expensive, combat monsters, you can have all, but I specifficaly like Sicarius. Off I went to find my old Finecast model and voila! he is in a bad shape as there is a lot of material missing...   crapcast indeed! There is no saving the model as all the beautiful details in the front are in a bad shape and my greenstuff-fu is white belt... so off to a conversion we go. I
decide to keep the model intact for now and try to do something different. Not even the backpack with the banner is useable as again there is material missing where it is most
needed. I then remembered that I have a nice (metal again) captain from the masters of the chapter pack. The metal captain with the hammer and hand waving the cape seems to convey a nice movement flow for a swordsman and with the help of veterans and ultramarines bits I am close to completing the model. There is one little problem!
Which sword holding pose is more bad-ass? Sword out ready to attack or sword in ready to block?
Which shoulder pad is better? The ultra symbol (busy and full of detail but U is on the wrong side), the eagle (as captain honours but he already has an eagle wing on the other
side) or the scroll one (almost empty for 2nd company free hand, and sicarius name on the scroll)?

 

http://i.imgur.com/jG9eB4v.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/iNPumGl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/E6UBoW7.jpg

Please help!

Mitsman