[WIP] Sons of Horus, 65th Company

[Vykes]

Eh, not a problem at all, mate!  Honestly, I've been toying with different load outs, too (So I magged up the option of Heavy Bolter, Heavy Flamer, grav, multi melta, HK's, and I'm looking into making some plasma cannons and volkites to complete the mix, too).  Honestly, one of the big things they have in spades is those ludicrous little grav guns who can strip a vehicle -very- quickly, where as most legions don't have that option beyond the rather pricey and mid-range Graviton cannon.  Mix it with an actual main-line gun and it's nice and disruptive. 

 

My problem is the 2 HP and the need to jink against anything bigger than a bolt gun which negates their template weapons really does hurt.  So I'm really hesitant about getting 2 template weapons and having them get close. But 2 HK's, grav, and a heavy bolter is cheap and still dangerous option that I think skirts the danger zone . 

 

I think, frankly, there's two general 'roles' that they work well in: fire support and vehicle killing.  Fire support I think is exactly what you said: plasma cannon and heavy bolters/volkite culverin.  It's kinda pricey but frankly, they'll be too far to hit with an infantry unit and hopefully junk, tuck, and run when an autocannon lines them up.  The option as a heavy tank killer are just really appealing for the gambler in me, but they are ALWAYS, in danger: Grav, HK's, and Multi meltas come in just a hair over 200 points, will spend a lot of time inside 12" range, but when they come in they can crack open armour remarkably effectively.

 

The fire support platform I think it cheap and fast enough that, with their small profiles, an opponent might feel the need to ignore, while the tank hunter route is cheap and will be a priority target immediately.  

[Pearson73]

An interesting discussion on the use of Speeders, I think any that crop up in my forces will be multi-melta, grav and twin HK; the potential rewards are just too attractive. For some reason I had never considered the situation in which a Dreadnought is toppled over, but you do have a good point; are they just expected to lie there until support elements can catch up and right them? I guess it's time to start hacking into and repositioning some plastic MKIV then...

[Vykes]

I think there's an interesting case to be made with HK vs. double HK just due to firing limits.  If you only expect 1 round of shooting, it might be worth it to take the single HK.  But now I'm wondering: because of the range, you could always drop/race the speeders up in a wider arc and fire the HK's from relative safety to hopefully knock out or at least stun an enemy vehicle, then close for melta and grav.  But aye, that risk-reward thought it reaaaaally too tempting for me.  

 

"Ancient revered brother Tsymoss has fallen!" 
"He shall be avenged!" 
"No, he's -literally- fallen."
*We invoke the right of upsies, brothers!*

 

That's the thing, I'll be the first to admit I don't like the stubby legged walkers (as my Luna Wolf leggy dreads can attest) but with a siege dreadnought, a quadruped has enough force to slam through a wall, and if it staggers, it can get up much easier.  Lower center of gravity, it just kinda fits as a unique piece.  

 

And I can use it as a maulerfiend/forgefiend in 40K, so there's that. 

[Vykes]

I figure I may as well post up a newer little addition from last month, I nicked one of those kits that I had been thinking about for a while from a mate of mine as he was having second thoughts about adding yet another Raider to his force (think he decided to take a triple-las Scouting Proteus in the end) so I bought it off him as I had finally come to the realization I need some genuine assault carriers. This'll be the first of at least 2, and the start to my second Raider squadron that I have yet to name.

Some extra angles:

That said, the plastic/resin mk IIb kit was shockingly good for a dual kit, I only had to do a little gap filling with the join between the resin frontal plate and the plastic track cover/upper assembly... and I'm 4 for 4 on putting in the ramp mechanism backwards so it doesn't work. Frankly, grinding the tracks was the most laborious part of the whole project but I think it helps.

Anyway, till next time eh!

[Stix]

Very cool! I love your worn, pale green. I am gonna work on my LR soon so nice to hear that it was not a pain to put togather. I am gonna pay close attention to assault ramp then;) did you paint interior?

[Pearson73]

Sterling work with the weathering powder, as per usual. I must say the top of the assault ramp/central section of hull looks quite untouched in comparison to the rest of the tank, I feel like the black band or eye icon should have some scratches in the centre.

[Marshal Vespasian]

Jesu that is looking rad AS all hell

 

How do You fix your Westhering powders? I really Need to step Up my Game on that

[Hungry Nostraman Lizard]

That's an amazing land raider, I love it. 

[battle captain corpus]

@Vykes: ...yet again you are a source of inspiration for the Age of Darkness hobby brother! Excellent work as always!

 

BCC

[Vykes]

Thanks a ton ya lot.  Glad I could put up something after a while, still need to work up some more fluff but that might be coming as I'm not responsible for a local 30K group league... thing, and I'm hoping to twist it all into a narrative league rather than the ranked standing thing we just got through (that I went 0-5 in as it was tournament type). 

 

Given what pain all the plastic/resin Eagles/Raptors were like, Stix, I'm surprised I had to do so little work.  Just the gap filling and used the heat gun to make sure it was actually all straight and lined up.  Man, I had the interior all pre-shaded, popped the ramp on to make sure that it wouldn't get all smudged and gunky when it came time to glue and finish the interior.... aaaaaand saw the mistake from there.  After that I couldn't fix it without cutting the mechanism and always having that sort of 'open fish mouth' thing with the ramp so I glued it shut.... was looking forward to finally trying that.  I may have to do a penitence Rhino with an open hatch and the heavy bolter 'pintle' as a bipod marine.  Always been a fan of the Open Top debark rhino look. 

 

Aye Pearson, mate,  there's actually a fair bit of powder on that blasted door and the varnish matted it down so it kinda looks like black, and so near black that it's basically just a coffee stain :P  I'm honestly thinking of trying some pencil graphite for dull scratches but I'm gonna have to look into the sealant is for it. 

 

Hah, thanks Marshal Vespasian my dude, actually the powders aren't hard to fix.  It's just the usual 'grind powder in with old brush, feather, blast it with Matte Varnish through an airbrush.'  One quick pass tends to fix it in place, then I hit it again to make sure it isn't just blown all around by the air.  To be honest, it really mutes the weathering powder colour saturation but that helps really tie everything in, as far as I'm concerned.  The method is always the same process for me: airbrush streaks if needed, oil streaks/wash, stippling, powder, and matte finish, then the final bit of chipping with chrome paint. 

 

And thanks my Nostraman Lizard mate!  I was originally really kinda wondering how I felt about the mkIIb looking a lot like the standard raiders (with having track covers/etc but I've grown to really like them as a sort of completely different model tank.  They really have grown on me.

 

Just glad I could be of some use and help around here, Battle Captain Corpus!  I might not care about the competitive front but man, the theme, hobby, and glory of 30K still has me completely hooked.  And if it helps others, rockin!

 

Now comes the question of: what next... Probably finishing up the Vindi Destroyer squadron,  but I've been slowly looking into converting/working up some Baneblade conversion (as I'm not a fan of the dual barrel Fellblade, but otherwise love that tank)

Dan Scott's version from Visions is still something I like more than the Fellblade or the typical Baneblade.

[Raziel-TX]

Managed to run through all the posts. Amazing models, paint, and stories. Thanks for sharing your talents!

[Vykes]

Ah thanks a ton Raziel my man, it means a lot so I am honoured. I'm just glad I could put up something that's worth the time for others, so that's cool.

Alright, well I got two things I guess: A, I'm working up a particular 'personality', a certain Horus Aximand... he did have a combat shield in addition to Mournitall, right? I swear I saw that somewhere. As for the second, I guess I haven't actually ever put up that other army project I've been working on... I guess I'll toss up a preview here.

The Judicature's 227th Cthonic Voidclade. Ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore light infantry troopers. IE, non-astartes marines. They'll be getting their own Cover Page soon enough.

[Pearson73]

Certainly excited to see how you tackle Aximand, he's a character that becomes more and more interesting as the series progresses.

 

Voidclade are off to a solid start too, the GSC model is nicely converted to give a more professional military feel and the painting and weathering is cracking as ever.

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

Ah thanks a ton Raziel my man, it means a lot so I am honoured.  I'm just glad I could put up something that's worth the time for others, so that's cool. 

 

Alright, well I got two things I guess: A, I'm working up a particular 'personality', a certain Horus Aximand... he did have a combat shield in addition to Mournitall, right? I swear I saw that somewhere. As for the second, I guess I haven't actually ever put up that other army project I've been working on... I guess I'll toss up a preview here.

 

The Judicature's 227th Cthonic Voidclade.  Ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore light infantry troopers.  IE, non-astartes marines. They'll be getting their own Cover Page soon enough. 

 

 

Great work as always, Brother Vykes! I really like to watch your progress, because there is so much creativity, quality-work and love in everything you do! 

I'm really looking forward for your Horus Aximand... and you are not mistaken, he has a big combat shield. I read Little Horus two months ago - another jewel from Dan Abnett! Horus Aximand was one of my favorite characters from the opening trilogy, and his is a really sad story. 

 

What a coincidence - I'm also building a small "human" contingent based on the GSC figures. Last year I built the first squad, but now the commander (also a Nexos), and the second squad is on my workbench. I'm currently painting some SoH for my tourney list, but then I would like to go full crazy with that auxilia force. I'm not sure how big force do I need (honestly, not even a single model, but we all know how it goes in this hobby ), but I would like to get my hands on some Ridgerunners, Goliaths and those beautiful Jackals to!

[Marshal Rohr]

Do you run into any issues using Anvil heads at Gw stores?

[Vykes]

I'm hoping it turns out pretty well, Pearson.  We'll see though.... weeee'll see.  Mate of mine had one of those limited heralds, toyed around with it and decided he wanted just the icon so I got the body.  Reaaaaaally big model compared to most legion sorts.  So that's at least the base model and frankly it's almost perfect as is. 

 

Ah thanks Dreadful Sagittary my dude, I do try to at least put out some stuff that's interesting and useful for everyone 'round here!  That's it, Little Horus!  I knew it was somewhere but I kept looking back through Vengeful Spirit and saying, 'Whelp, it ain't here... it's not in the first three books, but I swear he had one.'  Man, Aximand is pretty crazy: he's already got a Final Fantasy sized Cloud Buster sword and now has a combat shield?  Yeash  now I get why he's one of the two best soldiers the legion produces, he be crazy. 

 

Niiiice, honestly the GSC models are fantastic for this kind of a thing.  I do love how many extra models are getting release that we can ue these days and the GSC don't require nearly as much conversions as I originally suspected (partially because the array of options is actually pretty enormous on the frames themselves).  Niiice, definitely like to see where ya take that project, mate.  Frankly those vehicles are fantastic for it... I almost regret that as a Voidclade I limited myself to walkers, orbital air power, and drills (boarding torpedo pods).  It's extremely hard to find space in 2.5K even with big 20 man grenadier squads. 

 

A tourney list eh?  I'm trying to get everything together for the next league thing around here, or will after I recover from a New Year bout of plague or whatever it is I caught.  Bleh. 

 

 

Eh Marshal Rohr, y'know I was always worried about that too as they look like they'd overlap some of the thinner collars.  Honestly, they sorta do but they actually work quite well because of it: most of the helmet rebreather cables act almost like wadding and keep everything in line so of the 60-70ish that I built, I never had to even trim a helmet to fit and I think these are some of the larger Anvil heads.  There's a few GSC models with the closed collar and vox caster that get a little awkward if you try to keep the head straight (because of the armored helmet rebreather masks I used) but a slight tilt down into the collar or to the side and they're perfectly good.  

[Marshal Vespasian]

YES! The voidclade Guys are looking dope AS all hell. Did I ever mention that I Love Love LOVE infantry formations? Well I do.

 

GSC lend themselves quite Well to that. Well they are fantastic Minis. Are You going to do some gunships for them AS Well?

Edited January 7, 2020 by Marshal Vespasian

[Pearson73]

I'm hoping it turns out pretty well, Pearson.  We'll see though.... weeee'll see.  Mate of mine had one of those limited heralds, toyed around with it and decided he wanted just the icon so I got the body.  Reaaaaaally big model compared to most legion sorts.  So that's at least the base model and frankly it's almost perfect as is. 

 

 

The Ultramarines chap? Aye, I've picked him up for use as a Praetor and he really is quite a monster, lovely details on the armour too, I think he can fit right into any legion with a simple head and/or weapon swap.

[Vykes]

Well, it's definitely been a bit here. And wow, I am definitely gonna need to do some updating.

Anyway, I'll see about shaking the cobwebs out and getting a few things up to snuff, but for the time being I'll toss up a few bookmarkers of what's been up in the past... nearly year since the move and 'the Rona' hit.

33rd battalion thus far (65th company and 17th independent reavers)

So, the 65ths manpower has seen a bit of a rise, as has the 17th which can now boast more than 1 squad. I did get rid of a few superheavies and now I'm looking into snagging a pair of Fellblades to convert into legion baneblades (they felt more 'right' for a backwater line company than the massively prestigious and complex Glaive).

The 17th has gotten 2 squads of Reavers with volkites and chain axe bayonets (I just like the concept, and now with the oh so illustrious potential of a 3D printer, I can make them not flimsy breakable things like they were before). The 17th will eventually be its own stand alone company, though closer to a smaller interdiction force of 60-90 troopers and strictly based on void assaults and landing operations.

But one thing I can say I'm pleased about is finally being able to add my favourite loyalist character (and, to be honest, favourite character in 30K) to the fold when I need to suck it up and play as a 'loyalist'... just in time for #returntoistvaan this (maybe?) year.

Yep, the Joker himself, Tarik Torgaddon.

He wasn't the stern sort, smug, smirking, had to go with a more caricature face to really make the most un-marine Space Marine stand out from the others. Based on LoggyK's Loken, I just had to do something with the model.

And, of course, it wouldn't be complete without facing him off against my favourite Horusian commander, Aximand, thus giving me the whole pre-heresy Mourneval.

Beyond that is a few other things, some more jetbikes (working on a command squad now), but the only other significant thing I can think of was a single relatively new Terminator command squad with chainfists and volkite chargers... done in a form I liked better.

There we go for now, a long looooong delayed update.

[Pearson73]

That's one heck of a force, I love seeing full army musters like that. Big fan of the new Terminator squad, two handed power axes seem much more fitting to the image of indomitable warriors striding through even the heaviest firepower to hack down their foes.Aximand is very nicely done too, I the iconography on his shield add a lot of character, whilst still looking very functional. Glad to see you back posting and looking forward to more updates soon!

[Brother Pheidias]

I am envious of your modelling on the Reavers, and those terminators are simply fabulous, loooove the aesthetics of the Deathshroud terminators.

[MegaVolt87]

Great command squad. Tarik's face kinda creeping me out- he was a ginger? Still looks good. Have you thought about attempting to do any lupercali (?) SoH possesed? 

[Marshal Vespasian]

Wow thats a fantastic army! I really like the halberds on the terminators and the banner.

I am quite excited to see what you do for the baneblades. Sacrificing two glaives or fellblades for that is some serious commitment

Edited September 14, 2020 by Marshal Vespasian

[Varyn]

Fantastic wide shot of the army, utterly awe inspiring. 

 

The updates are most welcome, it's great to see that the progress continues. Aximand is my personal favourite, you've captured him very well, lovely pose and mix of parts. Re-purposing the deathshroud is a stroke of genius, the large axes and volkite weapons really make them look unique, stellar work!

[Astartes Consul]

That full army photo...