The Expeditions of Forgeworld Halo Prime (Pictures)

[MoGuy]

Welcome, fellow Tech-Priests! In this thread I want to share all my data regarding my Ad Mech forces with you. 

 

I will document the progress of my army with pictures and battle reports. To keep things organized, I will give each unit its own post, so mods, please forgive me if I quadruple-post in this thread (particularly in the beginning, since I will copy and translate the entries from my German thread).

 

Now to get your mechandrites on that tasty data...

[Olis]

so mods, please forgive me if I quadruple-post in this thread

Hmm... I dunno... I'd have to think about it...

Nah, I'm kidding. I'm sure Brother Amarel won't have an issue with this. Carry on. :)

[MoGuy]

Tech-Priest Dominus

 

Starting out with our only HQ choice: The Dominus!

 

 

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/d4763d-1454002220.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/27f939-1454002270.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/d8f359-1454002257.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/b247a4-1454002316.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/e07a35-1454002351.jpg

 

(After applying Blood effects and basing him):

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/3b588a-1455208151.jpg

 

 

 

Now you may have already grabbed your Plasmaguns to hunt me down for my colorscheme, but let me explain!

 

1.) I do like the Mars-Stile, however, I wanted to make my army more unique. 

 

2.) The alternative colorschemes presented in the Skitarii Codex are just the Mars-Scheme-Colors mixed around.

 

3.) I actually wrote some fluff, so prepare to be hit with a bit of exposition:

 

You may wonder why I named my Forgeworld Halo Prime. Cunning Tech-Priests will know, that the northern "border" of the Empire is formed by the Halo Stars (or Ghost Stars), as the light of the Astronomikon doesn't reach here and thus makes warp travel impossible.

 

Little is known about this system and what lies bejond - and little is more fascinating for the Adeptus Mechanicus than the unknown!

 

Whilst the primary function of a Forgeworld is the production of weapons and delivery of said weapons to nearby planets, the Forgeworld of Halo Prime is so far north that it borders the Halo Star System and with very few other planets of the Empire in range, the production on this isolated world is scarce. 

 

What Halo Prime delivers is not firepower but knowledge and new resources that the Skitarii and Cult Mechanicus gather from their explorations into the dark depths of the Halo Stars. 

 

Their place in this harsh environment, away from the warming comfort of nearby allies is represented in their colorscheme, which is dominated by various blues.

 

As the data transmitted by Halo Prime have awoken the interest of other Forgeworlds, there are always new units willing to join their explorations and even some Knight Houses have assured to lend Halo Prime their strength.

 

What will await the brave followers of the Omnissiah in the cold dark that lies bejond? Only time will tell...

 

 

But first let's have a look at the Dominus on the tabletop:

 

He is a really point-efficient HQ and extremely durable. With many artefacts and weapons at his disposal, the Dominus excells at supporting our units by either soaking up fire or repairing them. He even can dish out some considerable hurt with his weapons and can hold his own in CC.

 

Great HQ and a godly model! I had a blast painting him and I will post another picture soon, as I have found a way to make strings of blood with glue and Blood For The Blood God.

 

 

[MoGuy]

Skitarii Rangers

The first unit I painted and sweet baby EMPRAH, I LOVE the models! Don't get me wrong, the Vanguards look really cool too but I am sucker for robes and hoods. Also: Galvanic Rifles!

In true Ad Mech fashion I at least tried out the Mars-Scheme before going for my own stile:

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/485d26-1453490017.jpg

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/c98006-1453490039.jpg

However, once I got the colors down I fell in love with the blue:

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/0a0c22-1453490105.jpg

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/ac7b65-1453490124.jpg

The Rangers on the Tabletop:

Just like their brothers the Vanguard they are relatively cheap if you take them butt-naked but give them a few upgrades and they get expensive.

If I take them (which I always do because I love the models and I don't care if Vanguard are better > ), then I always take a 10 man squad. 5 Rangers just don't bring the heat and 10 can just sit in my deployment zone and grab me objectives.

I use their long range to snipe characters/sergeants/special-weapon-models before I move my Vanguard into position or engage a unit in CC. That way I can lower their LD or take away strenghts like Plasmaweapons. Pretty nice!

[Doctor Perils]

Great looking models there I'll be following your thread to plunder inspiration for the fluff and painting styles

EDIT: if you want to keep a hint of mars red in there, you could probably keep the fatigues in some kind of red ? Probably a deep burgundy red rather than the bright Mars red, but it still looks good like this :)

[MoGuy]

Thank you, dear sir! Feedback keeps me motivated and I hope you'll look in here from time to time. :)

 

So far my Ad Mech includes:

 

1x Tech-Priest Dominus (based, painted)

 

9x Kataphon Destroyers (3 are converted models that I got cheap on eBay and can also be used to represent Tarantula Sentrys. The other models: 3 based, painted, other 3 painted)

 

10x Rangers (painted, base not painted)

 

10x Vanguard (painted, few bases painted)

 

10x Rangers/Vanguard (still in sprue)

 

10x Rangers/Vanguard (ordered)

 

5x Sicarian Infiltrators (painted, bases not painted yet)

 

1x Sydonian Dragoon (ordered)

 

1x Kastelan Robot Maniple (ordered)

 

2x Onager Dunecrawlers (1 painted, one build but not painted yet)

 

1x Imperial Knight Paladin (based, painted)

 

_______________

 

 

Skitarii Vanguard

 

Again: Great models!

 

Get your dose of pictures here (more to come when I have painted the rest):

 

 

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/c1ea47-1454579150.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/9f8056-1454579169.jpg

 

 

The Vanguard on the Tabletop:

Just like the Rangers they are cheap if taken naked but will rack up points if you give them some toys. 

I always run mine as a 10 man squad. 5 Vanguard can also kill a lot of stuff but they will be dead if something just looks their way. However, if the Vanguard does manage to get in range of light infanterie, they will ANNIHILATE whatever unit they are facing! These guys are the bane of every Eldar/Dark Eldar unit that has a 5+ armour and/or T3. I like to run them either naked (+ Omnispex, always take the Omnispex!) or give them Arc Rifels to help kill some vehicles.

 

For their cost they are an AMAZING unit, especially if we consider that they are normal troops! They synergize really well with the Infiltrators when they get in CC (-1 Toughness. All of my yes!), however, do not expect them to hold up anything that is ment for CC without support from other units. Skitarii are fragile Tinmen and our troops want to deal out the pain, not recieve it. 

 

If you want to kill hordes/light infanterie, take these guys! 

[MoGuy]

Skitarii Sicarian Infiltrators

 

 

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/a92527-1454606152.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/c91776-1454606179.jpg

 

 

 

I will have to get the Ruststalkers at some point because I just like their models more than the Infiltrators. Anyway, moving along:

 

The Infiltrators on the Tabletop:

 

Personally I didn't field them yet, however, I have read up a lot on them so my hypothesis is as follows:

 

I would always take them with the Flachetteblasters and Tasers (Mathhammer reveals that this combo does more wounds than the other loadout). Depending on the enemy I would either infiltrate them, footslog them along the Vanguard to coutercharge stuff or outflank the enemy to increase their survivability.

 

Having whopping 21 attacks on the charge (+ the attacks generated from the Tasers), these guys will put A LOT of hurt on light or medium infanterie. Their ability to reduce the enemy's stats is also amazing. Pair 'em up with some Vanguard and instant death those Marines!

 

The downside is that they are a pretty pricey unit and thin as paper. Cover is our best friend, so it should be used accordingly.

[WarriorFish]

I don't see any pictures? :(

[Olis]

I don't see any pictures?

That's weird. I do.

[Dread0]

I would love to see some pictures of your converted Kataphrons. I've got 2 units and loads of spares left over so I've been looking around for other tracked bitz to convert something. Never thought to use legs instead of tracks, would be great to see how you have done the lower halves of your models.

[MoGuy]

Nice to see that people actually take interest in this thread. Makes me happy. :D

 

 

 

Never thought to use legs instead of tracks, would be great to see how you have done the lower halves of your models.

 

Sorry buddy but I gotta disappoint you: I wasn't the one who converted them. I found the models (pictures in spoiler below) on eBay and thought that they would do nicely to represent either Destroyers or Tarantula Sentrys.

 

 

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/0054c7-1456160287.jpg

 

[MoGuy]

Onager Dunecrawler

 

Let's have a look at our very own spidertank!

 

 

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/5ac728-1454963299.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/fbed49-1454963324.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/fd0c6f-1454963349.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/d2ef9d-1454963376.jpg

 

Yes, I magnetized the walker. All of the weapon-options too. Wouldn't recommend it though, as it is A HELL of a lot of work

 

 

I have read online that some people consider this magnificent beast ugly. Let me tell you right now: They are wrong and should be burned for their heresy! 

Personally, I really dig the design of our Zoidberg (this is his nickname in my tabletop round. Woop woop woop woop woop!) and think he looks really cool. The chassis has a classic tank-ish feel to it and makes the tank look really durable. As he is on the tabletop! (The transition skills doe!)

 

The Onager Dunecrawler on the Tabletop:

 

You don't like skimmers or flyers? Bring an Onager.

Hordes of Orks are storming your way and want to tear up some tin men? Bring an Onager.

Terminators are feeling save in their 2+ pants? Bring an Onager.

Your opponent wants to be smart and use that cover? Bring an Onager.

 

Our spidery tank has a lot of love to give and can be kitted out to do the job that needs to be done. With AV 12 and his (is this the right pronoun? I mean it is a vehicle so the genus is neutral but technically so is it with e.g. "dogs" and we still adress them with he/she...) innert wardsave he can take some punishment and with the Cognis Manipulator he can patch himself up if he does get wounded.

 

However, there is also a slight problem: Whilst that 4+ save looks tasty, a squad of 3 Onagers fireing at the same target is just overkill or outright unpractical, if for example one has the Neutron Laser and the others have the Icarus System. 

 

I would recommend fielding them as single models, not in a squad. If you face some Space Elves (Eldar/Deldar), give Zoidberg the Icarus System and lick your opponents tears gather data on some Eldar eye-fluid. 

 

I have had amazing success with the Icarus-Onager against Eldar and Dark Eldar. If they bring Serpents or other skimmers/anti-grav-vehicles (which is quite likely), our Onager(s) will rain on their parade. The Gatling Rocketlauncher even ignores cover so no jink saves for them!

 

However, because the Onager is so good at doing its job, it will attract a lot of attention from pretty much any anti-tank-weapon your opponent has. Use cover to your advantage or use the Onager or other of our vehicles (Dragoons or even Imperial Knights) as Distraction-Carnifexes to oversaturate your opponent with targets to shoot at. 

 

For more shenanigans put a Dominus behind him to patch up the Onager. 

[MoGuy]

Ancient Technologie recovered!

Another expedition into the unknown dangers of the Halo Stars have revealed great treasure! Stranded on a deserted planet, the Vanguard of Halo Prime has found valuable Technoarkana of ancient times and a triumphant procession back to their Forgeworld is on its way. With it the following:

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/990525-1455207970.jpg

A few weeks ago our tabletop club has made a collective order at Forgeworld (to get to 250 pounds because otherwise the transport and import to Germany is INSANE for a single person to pay). I got my mechandrites (love that word btw. The English language is awesome ) on the Taghmata Army Book-Bundle, consisting of the Book (duh) and a Magos Macrotek Enginseer with 4 Servo-Automata. Nice models but a pain to glue together and a hell of a lot more mold-lines than on normal GW models. I am planing on using the Magos as a second Dominus and the Servo-Automata as Scyllax Guardian-Automata (gonna try and convert them a bit by giving them more CC weapons). I know the Scyllax are considered mediocre but damn I love their models and I think they pack a punch in CC (Rad Furnace all the way!).

Also: Holy Emprah on his golden throne - the weapons of 30K Mechanicum are INSANE! And they have a 1400 points tank! Geez, overkill much?

Speaking of tanks: Has someone here got some 30K Mechanicum tanks at home? I want to buy the Triaros Armoured Conveyor one day or the Krios Armoured Tank/Venator.

Just look at those magnificent models! Look! At! Them!

[Doctor Perils]

Yep, I've only got one criticism to make against them: not enough CHOOM!

[MoGuy]

 

 

not enough CHOOM! 

 

Is choom the onomatopoeticon for the Volkite weapons? Of course it would be awesome to have more firepower but its main function would be to transport stuff so I think it is alright how it is.

[Doctor Perils]

Have a look at the Martian Death Ray Club ;)

[Olis]

not enough CHOOM!

Is choom the onomatopoeticon for the Volkite weapons? Of course it would be awesome to have more firepower but its main function would be to transport stuff so I think it is alright how it is.

Yes, 'Choom' is intended as an onomatopoeic noise. One that has, strangely enough, been taken well amongst the community at large.

[WarriorFish]

Probably something to do with you shouting it from the hab tops... usually unprovoked :P I'm presuming the weapons are good ones, but not available to Skitarii as far as I'm aware?

[MoGuy]

Imperial Knight Paladin

Time to bring out the big guns! The ghostly unknown of the Halo Stars can be very dangerous and there dwell creatures which are too deadly for any normal Skitarius to take on. Therefore my Forgeworld has gotten the aid of an Imperial Knight who marches alongside them into the black depths of those unconquered worlds.

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/bba904-1456348272.jpg

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/4a49f9-1455906143.jpg

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/053e35-1456348304.jpg

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/24ec35-1456348330.jpg

Here he is guys, the big tin man to protect all smaller tin man!

As of right now my Knight Paladin is 90% complete. I still have to paint some minor details and I have decided that I will add some rocks or debris to the base. I am quite proud of the outcome of this model, as I have never build something so large. Since I wanted to pose him stepping on a small hill with one leg, I had to modify it a bit. I cut the leg at the knee-joint and I also cut the little knub at the thigh where the leg connects to the rest of the body. I then posed it the way I wanted and glued everything back together.

Applying the decals is a new hell all of its own! Anyone who has ever wanted to pose them and accidentaly ripped them appart will know my pain. And before you ask: I didn't give him the small shield with his signium on it, because I think it looks a bit silly and out of place on the model. Maybe I can find an appropriate place for it on his back or so...

Also: Battle damage. Another first for me. I tried to make him look like he has been shot at and seen some dirty close quarter combat with those scratches across his armourplates,

Another thing I did was to create "textured blood" on his reaper chainsword. If you look closely at the picture, you can see that there are bloody bits of meat and strings of blood on the chain. I created these by mixing Blood For The Blood God (awesome color btw) with Uhu glue (all-purpose-glue, quite thick). For lumps just glob it on there, for strings one has to slowly drag the mixture across the surface. The trick is to make this fast enough that those strings still stick but not so fast that they tear.

I created the same effect on my Dominus:

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/cbb7df-1456349025.jpg

His mechandrite is now literally dripping with blood.

As for the Knight on the Tabletop:

He is a pretty tanky allrounder. I play him with the rapid-fire Battle-Cannon and the chainsword (+ the Stormspear Rocketlauncher for some Anti-Vehicle shots). His main goal is to get into CC or to just threaten whatever unit I make him face.

_____________________

I'm presuming the weapons are good ones, but not available to Skitarii as far as I'm aware?

Yes, sadly. They are generally a 30K thing, however, the Dominus comes with one to boot. Volkite weapons generate additional hits (hits, not wounds) for every unsaved wound caused by the weapon. Pretty neat!

[MoGuy]

More Units Arrive!

 

Alright, I just wanted to do a little update with some fresh pictures and a full post will come tomorrow or so.

 

I have painted my second Onager Dunecrawler in one session today. Cogitators are bruning,  Mechandrites are hurting but it is done. What a magnificent spider tank he is!

 

 

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/929cf9-1456621587.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/d65d4d-1456621641.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/aa4e06-1456621667.jpg

 

 

 

Following the worn-in look of my Knight Paladin I wanted to give my second Onager the same treatment of battledamage. Using a sponge to dab it on is really neat and I am very pleased with the results! :)

 

And for the second model I finished today:

 

 

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/f7228a-1456621851.jpg

 

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/41d49c-1456621858.jpg

 

 

 

Unfortunately the pictures are very bright due to the lighting. However, I hope you can see the base. As I said in my Imperial Knight post, I wanted to add some stones and stuff. So this was the test run for that and I think it looks pretty good. Full post on the walker will follow tomorrow.

[Doctor Perils]

Cool weathering and battle damage on the onager !

[MoGuy]

Sydonian Dragoon

The cavalry is here!

(This time with less overly bright pics)

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/325b0f-1456676760.jpg

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/bfde7b-1456676774.jpg

http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/9412a5-1456676785.jpg

Another fantastic looking model from the Skitarii! The legs and armour parts are quite easy to paint but the dude on top and the Servitor controlling the Dragoon take some time to paint. Still, I liked painting this model and I wanted to make his base look exciting and interesting. For the stones I used some crumbs of cast that were waste from a project I did with students. They are actually really good to use as stones (and smaller crumbs I used as fine grade sand/stones as well) and adhere quite well to the base. I can really recommend this! 5 kilos of cast is about 5 - 8€ in your hardware store (you can of course get smaller packages for less). I would recommend buying some. Just mix 2 parts of cast to one part of water and mold it into something that you can easily break later, thus creating big chunky rocks which you can break down into smaller rocks if you want to.

The Sydonian Dragoon on the Tabletop:

I have fielded him only two times now (yesterday was the first time I fielded two of them) and so far I have mixed feelings about our Geardragon. First of all he is always kinda usefull because he is dirt cheap. If your opponent shoots his squad of anit-vehicle stuff at the Dragoon and not your Onager etc. that already is worth it. If the Dragoon gets into CC he can also dish out some hurt. Just don't run him into elite units or MCs because they most likely will have a good armour save that will soak up all his damage and then they will proceed to eat him for breakfast.

Against anything with T4 and/or S4 he is golden. S4 can't hurt his AV 11 and with S8 on the charge he can insta-kill T4 guys. Reaching said combat is also not a problem. Dunestrider is an amazing rule and with the scout move from the Skitarii Maniple one actually has to be careful not to get too close to the enemy in Turn 1 to not get counter charged.

The only downside of the Dragoon is his fragile statline of AV 11 with HP 2. If you don't abuse his inherent 5+ cover and pump it up by placing him in ruins, he will most likely die from anything that can actually hurt him.

Further testing is required.

____________________________

Cool weathering and battle damage on the onager !

Thank you! I wanted him to tie in with the worn-in look of my Knight Paladin and since I love those claw marks, I thought he should get some too. Weathering on his feet was applied with Typhus Corrosin and the chipping on the chassis is just Leadbelcher dabbed on with a sponge. Really easy but visually really effective!

[MoGuy]

Alright guys, it is your time to shine! :D I would like to humbly request your input on my army, as I am unsure if I still need something. So far I have:

 

• 1x Tech-Priest Dominus
• 9x Kataphon Destroyers (three of which are converted models that I can also take as Breachers or even Sentrys)
• 1x Kastelan Robot Maniple (2x Robots and 1x Datasmith)
• 20x Vanguard
• 10x Rangers
• 10x Infiltrators (unsure if I should remodel five of them into Ruststalkers)
• 2x Sydonian Dragoons 
• 3x Onager Dunecrawler
• 1x Imperial Knight Paladin

I don't intend to field the War Cohort in the near future so I didn't buy an Ironstrider. 

 

Another thing: I am burning through Martion Ironearth as if it were candy! Can someone point me towards a crackle paste that gives the same results but comes in bigger quantities (and maybe lower prices per ml)?

 

Lastly I am always open for feedback and constructive criticism regarding my models, my painting or this thread in general. :)

[DeStinyFiSh]

Alright guys, it is your time to shine! I would like to humbly request your input on my army, as I am unsure if I still need something.

In general a nice army...

I would say another box of Kastelans for the Cohort Cybernetica is a good idea and maybe a second Dominus to field the Cohort AND a Battle Congregation if wished (plus there are so many nice models you can field or convert to a Tech Priest ).

And since I love love them: Cerastus Knights !

My Lancer has just been finished 2 weeks ago and now a friend of mine is painting the Atrapos. Nice piece to look at !

I myself are happy with most of what I have got so far. Now I am buying some fun stuff I just want to try or that looks good like Electro Priests and more Ruststalkers. This stuff will keep me busy until May / June (I don't spent to much time on the hobby) and then hopefully there will be some new releases for us. Rumours sound good lately

[Dread0]

More than enough models there for the War Congregation; free wargear and upgrades, no "gets hot" and army wide canticles. You do have to use a unit of Ruststalkers but this is a fun and effective way to run an Ad Mech army. I've found that they do best at around 2000 pts, but any less that 1850 and it is hard to get enough models in to make it worth it.