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++Interview with a Chaos Lord++ Andra'Melek p.9


Augustus b'Raass

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He has that 'Peter Steele' vibe. He's famous for his most excellent Night Lords. He's had a stint with Blood Angels. And he recently boarded the Heresy Train with the VIII again. He´s known as Brother Heinrich and here is his interview!

 

1.) How have you become a Chaos Lord?
Well the same way anyone attains any title; those who deem you fit to bear it bestow it upon you. I would imagine though that my work during the 6th Call of Chaos had a large part in me attaining my “status”. That was one of the most exhausting hobby periods I’ve ever been through.  
 
2.) When did you start to play the Chaos Space Marines/Daemons/Lost&Damned?
I started playing Chaos in 5th edition with an Iron Warriors force. I had spent the previous year building and painstakingly painting Imperial Fists only to lose every. Single. Game. Got sick of it and decided to hell with the Golden throne, the Emperor most certainly does not protect. The paint scheme was fairly easy and all the hazard stripes really got my toes into the world of freehand painting. From a game aspect I crushed people like a true son of Perturabo, even won a couple tournaments.
 
3.) Which is your favorite traitor legion or Chaos warband, and why?
Night Lords. Hands down. I always thought they were awesome, even when I still played my first 40k army (Space Wolves) and saw pictures of them in the 3rd edition rulebook. I still have my copy of Index Astartes III that details their original background and I always loved the whole tragic struggle of the Night Haunter and his self-fulfilling prophecies. The only thing that kept me from playing them was the daunting paint scheme. When I read “Soul Hunter” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden I had that original love for the legion re-kindled a hundred-fold. I love the fractious viewpoints within the legion, but the tragic fall and dark nobility has always been the one that appealed the most to me. The Night Haunter’s final words always resonated with me the most:
 
"My sons, the galaxy is burning. We all bear witness to a final truth -- our way is not the way of the Imperium. You have never stood in the Emperor’s light. Never worn the Imperial eagle. And you never will. You shall stand in midnight clad, your claws forever red with the lifeblood of my father’s failed empire, warring through the centuries as the talons of a murdered god. Rise, my sons, and take your wrath across the stars, in my name. In my memory. Rise, my Night Lords." – Konrad Curze, Primarch of the VIII Legion
 
4.) What do you like most of the Warhammer 40k hobby?
I would have to say the hobby aspect. I really love converting and painting up the ideas that circle in my head. It’s very therapeutic for me. I fell like each army I do is reflective of where I am in life. My Night Lords were a direct product of what was going on in my head in the days after I got out of the Marine Corps. There was a lot of frustration, anger, and brooding, none of which was helped by the rainy, dark city of Portland (hipster Nostramo anyone?). Now that we’re heading back into rainy days again it makes sense that my motivation has swung from my Blood Angels Legion force back to my favorite nocturnal murderers.
 
5.) What is your play style?
In a word? Aggressive. All my armies revolve around a decisive armored thrust, usually augmented by fast flankers like bikes, raptors, and drop pods. Basically how Marines are meant to be played. It frustrates me that I can’t do all the stuff Night Lords can do in the fluff, but that’s why I’m now riding the heresy train. To me it’s just a matter of timeline. Sevatar said it best, “We were murders first, last, and always.”  
 
6.) What was your greatest achievement or favorite memory from your hobby career?
Well I wouldn’t call it a career really since I don’t get paid haha, but I get what you’re saying. I’d have to say my favorite memory was this:
 
 
Having Aaron comment on my hobby work was a seriously awesome moment. He’s a regular on the B&C and honestly seems like such a nice and down-to-earth dude. 
 
7.) Do you collect and play any other armies?
Yep, got my fledgling Blood Angels Legion force (kinda idling on that until I get some rules from FW), and I’ve got a handful of Orks as well. Honestly though I’ve always been an Astartes guy at heart, everything else is just Boltgun fodder and Chainsword oil. 
 
8.) Which is your favorite Chaos character?
Hmmm, probably Xarl. He embodies this very rare mindset in the VIII Legion. It’s a combination of bravery, skill, and primal tenacity. You see similar characteristics in Jago Sevatarion. Where most of the legion is looking out for their own skin, Xarl seems like he is desperately trying to reconcile his desire to be proud of his legion (wearing his ceremonial helm, etc.), with the fact that it’s really nothing to be proud of. You know if he was XIII legion he would’ve been a company champion, but instead the only thing his brothers acknowledge is his ability to kick their collective asses.
 
9.) Which is your favorite Black Library publication?
This is a really tough one, the Night Lord trilogy is obviously one of my favorites, however I’m also a huge fan of Dan Abnett’s Inquisition series and Gaunt’s Ghosts as well. I guess if I had to pick one, it would be “Traitor General” by Dan Abnett. I won’t spoil anything, but man that is one tense, dark, grim mother-fether of a book. 
 
10.) Any advice for your fellow players, any parting words of wisdom?
Buy an airbrush haha. Seriously though, never get down on yourself because you aren’t at the level of this or that hobbyist. Just keep painting, and most importantly, CHALLENGE YOURSELF. You’ll never learn how to do OSL, Edge Highlighting, Wet-blending, Zenithal Highlights, or freaking lighting bolts if you stay in your comfort zone. Paint test model after test model, then strip ‘em and try again till you’re happy with the result. If you’re hitting a roadblock, just step back from the table, switch to a different model/project, or catch some z’s. You can even look through my own blog and see times where I just wasn’t hitting the mark with greenstuff sculpting, decided to go to bed, and woke up the next day to knock it out of the park. At the end of the day, remember it’s all about doing what you love, paint what motivates you, not what will crush on the tabletop, or what your friends tell you to play. That’s how you get a fully-painted army you can be proud of.
 
Death to the False Emperor.
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A very good read.

I really must get the Night Lords books sometime as everyone praises them (and I must admit having very little interest in the legion. It would be good to see if they could change my mind, as Betrayer did with the World Eaters).


Good advice on pushing your painting skills too!
 

My regular questions:
I. Can you please show us the model you're most proud of?

II. What's your dream project? (Money/time/skill/bitz/Infernal Powers permitting)

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A very good read.

I really must get the Night Lords books sometime as everyone praises them (and I must admit having very little interest in the legion. It would be good to see if they could change my mind, as Betrayer did with the World Eaters).

Good advice on pushing your painting skills too!

 

My regular questions:

I. Can you please show us the model you're most proud of?

 

II. What's your dream project? (Money/time/skill/bitz/Infernal Powers permitting)

 

You gotta read them man, if you enjoy ADB's writing style, then you'll enjoy these. I mean he basically re-wrote the book on depth for the Night Lords lol

 

As for question 1:

 

Gotta be these boys. Night Lord heavy weapon kill teams (Obliterator Counts-as). Dan the Deamon inspired these guys with his work, but he never posted up a finished product for his idea and I wanted to see that vision finalize so badly that I decided to do it myself. These guys are the product of that and are probably my favorite pieces in the Warband.

 

http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q532/mv8830/Night%20Lords%20II/bf0c8eb4-4ec4-4edf-a3aa-de32f81dcde2_zps7c052d15.jpg

 

And question 2:

My dream project would probably be getting to fully "Night Lord-ify" a Cerastus Knight Acheron. That model is just so cool looking and fearsome to me. I would obviously want unlimited bits to pull from as well haha.

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Welcome back to another Interview with a Chaos Lord. Speaking of things coming back, today, we're Back in Black with malisteen, Lord of the Crimson Eyes and a Black Legionnaire through and through.

 

How have you become a Chaos Lord?

- If you're asking for the story of Hamal Vhilgraf, commander of the Crimson Eyes, then his story, along with that of his warband, and the evangelical, Abaddon-worshipping cult of which they are a part, can all be found within my homebrew fluff thread

If you're asking about my own history, well, my participation in the hobby has been somewhat touch and go. A few months here, a couple weeks there, spread out over the many years that I've played. Still, while I'm not the most consistent champion of the Dark Gods, I like to think I've earned some small reputation as something of a dark apostle for Abaddon and the Black Legion, a keeper of the Black Lore and evangelical voice calling fresh blood into the Despoilers arms.


When did you start to play the Chaos Space Marines/Daemons/Lost&Damned?

- I first started playing Chaos Space marines during 3rd edition, at around the time White Dwarf added the option for cultists, cult terminators, and daemon prince options to the 3.0 Chaos Space Marine codex. Before that, I played Tyranids, though I was a fan of Chaos marines back to 2nd edition, when I first started playing 40k.

I actually originally picked up Chaos Marines intending to make a joke army. I was a fan of the Powerpuff Girls cartoon that was popular at the time, and I had the idea to do a whole 40k army of converted powerpuff girl villains. Mojo as a chaos lord, Him as a Keeper of Secrets, the Boogie Man and his monsters as daemons, Princess leading a squad of raptors, etc. As with most of my more ambitious hobby ideas, the project quickly bogged down, and didn't really get any further than Mojo and Him.

But just as I was losing motivation for the big conversion project, White Dwarf started publishing the Chapter Approved articles with variant rules and more fleshed out backstory for the various chaos legions, and shortly thereafter the infamous 3.5 codex was released, and I was hooked. The Black Legion especially caught my eye, and soon I found myself collecting a Chaos Space Marine force to play the faction itself, and not just as a joke.



Which is your favorite traitor legion or Chaos warband, and why?

- Many Chaos players are drawn to one of the Heresy Era Primarchs, fixating on whichever story they find most noble or tragic. They cling to the legacy of those larger-than-life figures within their army, as the broken remnants of the Heresy legions cling to those legacies in the narrative.

I chose Black Legion for the opposite reason, because the Black Legion are not the Sons of Horus. They may have been founded on the remnants of that Legion, but the Black Legion are Abaddon's sons. The Black Legion saw its birth not in the fires of intergalactic civil war, but rather in the helfires of the Eye of Terror. As such, the Black Legion might be thought of as the first true chaos marines - as opposed to simply rebel and heretic legionnaires.

Don't mistake me, I love the Heresy lore as much as the next 40k player, but I chose Black Legion to play the arch-enemies of the 41st millennium, not the ghosts of the 31st. These are no longer the tragic veterans of a failed rebellion, unable to let go of the past. These are the immortal warrior-kings of the dark gods, marching down a bloody path towards the inevitable future of the Despoiler's dark victory.

I didn't choose the Black Legion for their past. I chose them for their future.



What do you like most of the Warhammer 40k hobby?

- As someone who sort of fades into and out of the hobby, that's a bit of a difficult question for me to answer, especially as I'm currently in one of my 'out' periods. Sometimes the game itself has been the chief motivator, but I've never been able to hide my disappointment with the last two chaos marine codeces, the current one especially, and a faction book that doesn't engage me just makes it really hard to get invested in drawing up lists or pushing models around the table.

Sometimes it's more the hobby aspect. A great new model release can be really inspiring, or a particularly engaging conversion or painting project. The last time I truly fell in love with a model release for my army was the Dark Vengeance chosen, and I spent over a year working, on and off, on my converted unit of them (started in my
old hobby thread, finished in my current one).

But what I really love most about 40k, what keeps me from getting rid of my army completely during the long periods of non-participation in the hobby, is the lore. Yes, some of the fluff can sometimes be poorly conceived or written, that's to be expected in licensed genre fiction. But the overall universe itself, it's complexity and scope and just mind boggling depth, just keeps me coming back.



What is your play style?

- To be honest, I haven't played a lot since the release of the 6th edition chaos marine codex. Too many of my preferred tactics died with it. As a classic, archetypal Black Legion player, I used to run with a combined arms approach, with long range heavy support and fast moving expendable assault units providing cover and distractions to allow my versatile, durable, mechanized marine infantry to advance forward and deploy onto defensible mid-field cover and objectives while thinning the enemy out with a hail of bolter fire, with deep striking terminators providing the hammer blow to finish the enemy off.

Funnily enough, these preferred tactics survived the death of the 3.5 codex. Even in the 4th edition book, summoned daemons still provided decent fodder, chaos marines were reasonably durable and versatile for their costs, and ready access to homing beacons in our old icons allowed me to deep strike my terminators with impunity.

Sadly, the 6th edition codex proved to be the death knell for my army that the 4th edition book had been for many of my chaos marine playing peers. These days, when I do play, my tactics are somewhat more one note and aggressive, with both my fire support and my deep striking terminator retinue dropped in favor of more fast moving assault elements. I don't mean to complain too much. Maulers, spawn, bikes, these units are good enough for my casual environment, and fun enough to play with. I can't say I don't miss the old days, but they're gone now.



What was your greatest achievement or favorite memory from your hobby career?

- There was one period, one moment from the history of this game, that really stands out for me as being a golden age when every aspect of 40k, the game, the lore, the hobby, all seemed tailored to my own personal liking, and that was the Eye of Terror campaign. The 3.5 CSM codex gave our faction the most varied and powerful rules it has ever seen, while the Lost and the Damned rules from the campaign supplement gave us the rules which best fit the 40k era lore of any chaos rules that have ever been printed, and army of disheveled mutants and traitors supported by summoned daemons and led by rare but skilled and deadly chaos marines. The campaign itself was amazingly run, the entire fandom getting in on the actions, individual hobbyists taking the lead in online forum communities that were half game strategy, half in-character role playing groups.

It was, in effect, a 40k MMO, and the best possible one at that. And it didn't hurt that at the time I had a wealth of regular opponents, and my army was the largest it has ever been (a massive force including an armourcast reaver titan), and I was able to play many exciting games, games that felt they really meant something, and post the victories to key locations, contributing to the ongoing campaign. Everything from the Dark Eldar betraying Ahriman in the webway to the Black Legion smashing one world after the next in the Cadian system to Eldrad's desperate sacrifice was epic and engaging and we were there. I was there. Fighting for my Warmaster, tearing down the bastions of Imperial hubris. Never before had the game felt so alive, and sadly it never has since.



Do you collect and play any other armies?

- No more. Not in 40k, anyway. I did in the past, but as my interest in the hobby has waned over the years, tyranids and eldar and space wolves all passed from my possession, and my once might 10,000 point black legion host has shrunk to the point where I can barely field 1,000 points today. For other games, I still have an undead army for warhammer fantasy, one that ballooned during the End Times, which, at it's onset, almost managed to capture the feeling of the Eye of Terror campaign for me. Sadly, the initial quality of the end times campaign faded with each subsequent release, leading to an unsatisfying ending and a new game that simply cannot capture my interest. I also have a small Cryx army in Warmachine - all Satyxis all the time - but I rarely am afforded the opportunity to play them and they spend most of their time in storage.


Which is your favorite Chaos character?

- I am tempted to say Abaddon, or perhaps Iskandar, for obvious reasons. However, I think I have to go with Scaevolla from the short story 'Honour Among Fiends', for embodying everything about the Chaos Marines that I love - the human tragedy, the monstrous inhumanity, the truth that once they set foot on the path to damnation, there was never any going back, only forward.


Which is your favorite Black Library publication?

- Talon of Horus, certainly. Much as I love Honour Among Fiends, it's a short, quick read, and cannot compare with a full novel dedicated to the founding of our Legion. If I'm being honest, Chaos Marines, and the Black Legion in particular, have often been stuck with the short end of the stick when it comes to their depictions in the fiction. The 'failbaddon' meme didn't come from nowhere. Talon of Horus, like the Black Legion supplement that preceded it, was a dramatic step towards rectifying that injustice and making Abaddon and his Black Legion the arch enemies that their position in the lore requires them to be.


Any advice for your fellow frater, any parting words of wisdom?

- Enjoy what you can, ignore what you don't. Don't get too caught up in wish listing, that's just setting yourself up for anger and disappointment. Do get invested in your army, in your characters and their narrative. Write backstories for your heroes and squads. Take note of their successes. Put some work into little conversions to personalize your models.

And if you're a new player trying to decide on a Legion for your warband, there's really only one correct choice. Isolated warbands are at best scavenging pirates with no greater purpose or significance. The Legacy legions are just ghosts in the shape of men, wailing their regrets to the empty sky and shaking their impotent fists at the gods and demigods that have abandoned them. In all the Eye of Terror, there is only one Warmaster who can offer you true purpose, in whose service you can hope to earn a victory that matters over your true enemy. Bend your knee to Abaddon, take the Black Oath, and together we will see this galaxy burn.

We are returned.

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Scaevolla... *searches mem-banks*. Is he the guy that's doomed to forever kill the geneseed descendants of the Imperial Fist champion he slew on the walls of the Imperial Palace? That was a bloody good story.

 

Dragonlover

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Malisteen if you could have.your black legion wipe out.one space marine chapter which would it be?

Out of character, none, of course. Nobody should have to see their army eliminated in the lore.

 

In character? The Rampagers, a second founding White Scars chapter that was at the Battle of Mackan at the tail end of Abbadon's 7th Crusade. My chaos lord Hamal Vhilgraf, the Nightmare of Mackan, earned his name, and his way out of the Oathbroken, leading a sacrificial charge of Oathbroken marines and expendable feral world chaos warriors against an imperial emplacement, drawing the Rampagers seventh company and a large force of Blood Angels and successor chapter Death Company away from the point in the Imperial lines that Abaddon had chosen to target in his breakout attack. Hamal succeeded in drawing the loyalist forces away from the main battle, but should have died. Instead, he and a force of surviving Oathbroken rejoined the main battle from behind imperial lines half way though. A handful of Rampagers survived to carry the truth of what happened there back to their chapter, though even they may not have fully comprehended what they saw. Hamal Vhilgraf would give much to wipe out the Rampagers, slaughter any surviving veterans of the campaign, and destroy their chapter archives.

 

 

Scaevolla... *searches mem-banks*. Is he the guy that's doomed to forever kill the geneseed descendants of the Imperial Fist champion he slew on the walls of the Imperial Palace? That was a bloody good story.

 

Dragonlover

Yes, that is indeed the one. Very nice short story, available for download from Black Library for cheaps. I strongly recommend it for any chaos marine fans.

 

Not doomed to continue forever, though. He had vowed to kill them for, iirc, a thousand generations, and the story takes place in Scaevolla's moment of weakness - not so much doubt or regret, but just simple weariness - about half way through the completion of his vow.

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A bromance made in hell laugh.png

I will remember this comment when GW inevitably gets around to changing 'chaos sorcerers' into 'choas helmancers'.

Do you have any further plans in regards to your nemesis?

There was discussion of a thing, but I haven't heard much of it in a while. Honestly classwork consumed my life this semester, and as soon as that's done I must devote myself full time to *shudder* job hunting, so I'm not sure I actually could have contributed in the end, anyway. Until I'm sitting, degree in hand, at the desk of an entry level position within my new career, I'm not sure I'll have any time (let alone money) for model mini projects.

Otherwise, that rivalry is mostly an ETL thing, to keep me motivated to finish vows.

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I've been so busy this week I couldn't check the thread so I'll squeeze these in before the next one starts...

 

My regular questions:

I. Can you please show us the model you're most proud of?

 

II. What's your dream project? (Money/time/skill/bitz/Infernal Powers permitting)

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There was discussion of a thing, but I haven't heard much of it in a while. Honestly classwork consumed my life this semester, and as soon as that's done I must devote myself full time to *shudder* job hunting, so I'm not sure I actually could have contributed in the end, anyway. Until I'm sitting, degree in hand, at the desk of an entry level position within my new career, I'm not sure I'll have any time (let alone money) for model mini projects.

Yeah, whatever happened to that? It kinda just... died. I feel you on the school thing, though. College is a sack of censored.gif, but that's a bit off-topic.

Ah, Kierdale! I was wondering where you were, you had me worried. Just not the same without those two questions...

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I believe we agreed to put it off until october, some of us being burned out by etl. But then october came and we were all busy with classes or whatever.

 

And, honestly, my 40k spirit has just been waning hard, regardless. I do not like the direction the game's been heading in this edition. Of course, GW devs can't commit to a single design direction to save their lives, so I'm sure we'll be off of the current gourdawful trend and on to something else soon enough.

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He's one of the most vocal Chaos lords on the forum, a dancing aficionado, suspected of being crazy, and a general fun Frater to have comment anywhere. It's SlaveToDarkness!!
 

1.) How have you become a Chaos Lord?
I was chosen by the pantheon.
 
2.) When did you start to play the Chaos Space Marines/Daemons/Lost&Damned?
Technically first ed, I always used my friends Chaos because cash was tight back in them days and I didnt really have much of a collection myself. Officially 2nd ed, by then  had left school and was working so I spent every spare penny on mandollies, as soon as I saw the WD issue before the Codex release I charged at my Blood Angels army with snips and glue and converted everything, by the time the codex dropped the month after I had an army ready to rock, all I had to do was organize them into legal units and paint. 
 
3.) Which is your favorite traitor legion or Chaos warband, and why?
Word Bearers. Because we are the original bad boys. WE started the heresy. 
 
4.) What do you like most of the Warhammer 40k hobby?
Converting, It used to be the gaming side back in the day but now everywhere I look people are just spamming netlists or criticise my unit choices because they aint killy enough. *Whispers* Guess what, I don't use a Nurgle Biker lord and I love Possessed and Terminators!
 
5.) What is your play style?
In your face, get up close, give it some dakka then charge in (I'm sure my Mother was an Ork). 
 
6.) What was your greatest achievement or favorite memory from your hobby career?
5th ed, some kid got upset because one of the 'vets' criticised his army saying he has no right to play unless he buys a serious force to win, not just stuff to look pretty. I pointed out that the 'Rule of Cool' and 'Fun game' are more important, he told me I am obviously a noob. Fast forward a few hours and I had tabled his Iron Warriors in 3 turns using the kids Guard army, having not played 5th by that point or reading the dex. The look on his face when I said I am a Rogue Trader vet and I know how to take apart a Chaos army as well as use one was priceless. 
 
7.) Do you collect and play any other armies?
Space Wolves, Dark Angels and Bretonnians. 
 
8.) Which is your favorite Chaos character?
Wow, thats a tough one. I like loads, Loken for chinning Lucius, Lucus for being an arrogant $%$%&$%, Khârn (pre heresy version) because he was a generally nice guy and he went Medieval on Erebus, Erebus for making me hate him so much and for what he did to Argel Tal...
I'm going for Argel Tal himself, he was loyal and did what he was told without question even though he might have doubted the things he was asked to do ('lower the gellar field!!!'), he was played by Erebus then betrayed, was haunted by the death of Cyrene (SP?) and lived with the guilt of her death (twice).
 
9.) Which is your favorite Black Library publication?
First Heretic hands down. A D-B crafted one of the best books I have ever read there, and I have read more books than I can remember. 
 
10.) Any advice for your fellow players, any parting words of wisdom?
Dont give up, play hard, if you loose, play harder. 

Oh and keep dancing!

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Still awaiting Malisteen's answers but I'll also put my regular questions to SlaveToDarkness...

 

 

I. Can you please show us the model you're most proud of?

 

II. What's your dream project? (Money/time/skill/bitz/Infernal Powers permitting)

 

And your interview was a very, very good read. :tu:

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Can I just say thank you for keeping me entertained.
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I've been so busy this week I couldn't check the thread so I'll squeeze these in before the next one starts...

 

My regular questions:

I. Can you please show us the model you're most proud of?

If I can pick a unit instead of a single model, that would be my chosen. Unfortunately, I never did get around to taking decent pictures of them after etl, and my hobby/photography area's still a wreck. I'll try to get to it this weekend, but no promises.

 

 

II. What's your dream project? (Money/time/skill/bitz/Infernal Powers permitting)

I don't have one right now.

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I. Can you please show us the model you're most proud of?

 

II. What's your dream project? (Money/time/skill/bitz/Infernal Powers permitting)

 

1) I am never happy with anything I paint, but some of the Word Bearers I did during the ETL kinda made me happy. I'll get a pik later and edit them into this post. 

 

2) Getting my Word Bearers up to two battle company's, complete with Transports for every unit, full vehicle pool with squads of three of everything, then finished off with three Knights. 

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