Mandragola’s Legio Astorum (and Mortis and stuff)

[Mandragola]

A bit of progress to report! I went along to Dark Sphere yesterday and picked out some Valejo metalic air paints. I've been using some exhaust manifold and pale burnt metal on the skeleton of this Warhound, over a leadbelcher base on the skeleton. I've also blocked out the base coat on its armour plates. I've also got some paint called liquid gold that I might try out on some trim, though I'll use it on a spare armour plate first. This guy's white shin plate will get checks, stripes or something.

 

 

I've also made Penumbral Reaper his arms and head, and given him an undercoat. I also undercoated the other two warhounds and a load of guns, mainly for my Astorum guys.

 

[Fajita Fan]

Vallejo’s washes are good, especially their rust one. I haven’t tried their air paints, are you brushing them on or spraying them? I’ve heard of people manually brushing for different effects.

 

I love Retributor as a base gold but I just bought some Scale75 golds that come highly rated. Have you tried them?

[Captain Semper]

What can I say? The Mortis scheme is easily the classier... :D

[Mandragola]

Not sure I agree about the Mortis scheme being classier! I intend to add more rust than I’m using on the Astorum and use the same muddy basing scheme, so the two forces work as enemies.

 

I’m painting on the metal with a brush. It’s sort of pre-thinned but goes on fine. I tried out the gold last night on a spare armour plate and it looked kind of ok, but nothing special. It’s actually “old gold” so it’s a little more dull than retributor armour – which could be a good thing. If I use this old gold stuff on my Mortis engines and retributory on the Astorum guys it’ll help to subtly differentiate the two Legios.

 

Not a lot of painting time this week so far, but last night I had a play with some pattens on Warhound armour. Sort of harlequin pattern on one shin and stripes on some armour. It’s a bit messy in places and needs a lot more work but it’s a start. Gives them quite a different feel to the less regular patterns on the Astorum titans, I think.

The transfer sheet from GW has also appeared. I’m not too sure where to put these, or how they’ll work with patterns like this. There are some quite nice things though so they’re sure to be useful.

[Brother Captain Arkley]

You do some nice work man :)

[Mandragola]

Thanks. It’s extremely early days for the Mortis guys. I’m just experimenting at the moment.

 

Here’s a list I’ve drawn up. I expect to work towards this.

                               

Ferrox Light Maniple                      

                               

Reaver                  315

                Melta Cannon  

                Power Fist          

                Vulcan Mega Bolter        

                               

Warhound Titan                                220

                Plasma Blaster  

                Vulcan Mega Bolter        

                               

Warhound Titan                                220

                Vulcan Mega Bolter        

                Plasma Blaster  

                               

Warhound Titan                                220

                Turbo Laser Destructor 

                Turbo Laser Destructor 

               

 

Reinforcements

 

Penumbral Reaper                          525

                               

Cerastus Knight Banner                 250        

                3 Knight Lancers

 

The lancers will be from House Makabius, or whatever they’re called. The guys I’ve now got transfers for, on the Mortis sheet. I’ve got 8 lancers, mostly unbuilt, so can easily spare these. I might make some more from the same house.

 

I could possibly run a dual-flamer hound. I’ve said a lot about how I don’t like these, but a combination of the War March stratagem and the knife fighters rule from the Ferrox maniple could edge it towards being viable. It would be fun to have a hound that sprayed stuff with awful chemicals, perhaps borrowed from Mortis’ Death Guard allies, instead of flames.

[Fajita Fan]

Well Mortis fell to Nurgle so a corrosive acid cannon would be super fluffy.  

 

If you want to go rusty I can highly recommend Vallejo's rust wash, it's excellent but my only issue is it smells kinda weird  The best part is that it layers nicely if you do thin layers with a small brush, you can run one swipe under a lip where water would collect then add another pass over it where it darkens that recess and then trails down naturally.  

I don't know how to insert a pic directly from IG, just swipe to see it over a Leadbelcher base on one of my Gaslands cars:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7kfQt-noRn/

The rust on the fenders is three thin layers, the trunk is two or three layers going from the lip of the panel back.  Their black wash behaves differently from Nuln Oil which I find thicker.

[Captain Semper]

Wow! the diamond pattern on the leg looks totally amazing! Excellent work there - did you use stencils? 

 

And the red on the head of the Warhound on the left seems more vibrant than the carapace of the one in the right. Is this intentional? Or is it the pic that distorts it? 

 

What can I say, I really like the Mortis pattern - and if you do slightly corrupt versions of it (with corrosion and rust), so much the better! :)

[Mendi Warrior]

Cool stuff, love the diamond pattern as well!

[Mandragola]

Wow! the diamond pattern on the leg looks totally amazing! Excellent work there - did you use stencils? 

 

And the red on the head of the Warhound on the left seems more vibrant than the carapace of the one in the right. Is this intentional? Or is it the pic that distorts it? 

 

What can I say, I really like the Mortis pattern - and if you do slightly corrupt versions of it (with corrosion and rust), so much the better!

 

Thanks. The diamonds don't look that great up close yet. So far I've just done a grey seer base, drawn the pattern on in pencil and then filled in some diamonds black. I need to go back with the white and there's a side I messed up a bit that needs redoing. It's not all that difficult really.

 

In future if I do it again I'll draw a horizontal grid first, then the diagonals across it. This time the diamonds sort of drooped off on the edges, which I'm having to remedy. Shame I didn't notice when it was in pencil.

 

The reds are the same - it's just the position of the light. So far I've just done a base of khorne red and a flesh shade wash on both the red and gold.

 

Tonight's progress has basically been to cover loads of stuff in nuln oil. Roof gatlings for my Astorum, the three warhounds and Penumbral Reaper have all had an oil change. No point showing pictures reaslly.

[Mandragola]

I’ve noticed that the “The Legio Walks” event is worryingly soon, in less than three weeks. As such I’ve decided to stop painting Mortis engines and focus on getting my Astorum guys ready in time. Real life is going to be pretty busy in the meantime so my hobby time will be limited.

 

I decided that at least one of my Astorum Warlords should have flames on its carapace. So far I’ve just put the white Astorum lines on all three, which looks quite good but is a bit samey. Last night I used some brush cleaner (and some time) to scrub the plates off my running warlord back to the primer (which is gold, and was undamaged) and replaced it with a couple of thin layers of wraithbone. Might add some pics later.

 

But what to bring? I have to take 1k, 1.5k and 2k army lists, which could potentially mean an awful lot of models. I’ve written over a dozen different army lists experimenting with different maniples, knights, armaments and so on.

 

I’ve come to a decision, for now, to focus on a single principle: field as many Warlords as I can. Warlords are my favourite.

 

At 1k this makes things simple as I can only take an Axiom maniple if I want a warlord. Things get more complicated at higher points values though. I could take a Fortis, Regia or Myrmidon maniple.

 

It’s just about possible to do a Fortis maniple with two reavers and two warlords at 1.5k, and marginally easier to do a Myrmidon maniple with three Warlords and two reavers at 2k. I’m not sure that’s the best approach though, and I can’t afford to bring Lucius Praetorian (Lucy) if I do this. Also, the Myrmidon maniple doesn’t really do much for me as I don’t really like first fire orders (I play Astorum, so War March).

 

So I think instead I’ll take a Regia maniple at 1.5k with Two warlords, a warhound and Lucy as a reinforcement. At 2k I’ll either do a Myrmidon maniple with three warlords and Lucy, plus a hound, or It’ll be the same titans but organised as a Regia maniple with Lucy and a third Warlord. Unsure which of those I prefer.

 

I’ve gone back and forth on including knights. As of this time, I don’t think I will. And that’s good because I’ve got no painted banners, just a few test minis. And in general I like titans more anyway.

 

Anyway that’s what I think today. Tomorrow things might change. I’m going to need the following:

 

3 Warlord titans. One of these is completely finished and the other two are well on their way. I need a few resin guns painted up for carapaces.

A Reaver and Lucy, both of which I’ve got about 80% finished.
 

At least one warhound, but I’ve got two finished so no work needed there.

 

On the whole the situation isn’t too bad. I ought to be able to get my titans looking pretty good for the event I think. Stretch goals could be things like banners, which I keep meaning to do.

[Fajita Fan]

You should take a Myrmidon because that’s my traitor maniple and then you should tell me what to arm them with. /shameless

[Brother Captain Arkley]

Regia :P Because reasons :)

 

Let us know how the game goes man.

[Mandragola]

I'll certainly let you know how I get on. I'll try to remember to take some photos during the games. Still going backwards and forwards on list options. I might end up using Lucy and a Regia at 1.5k but the full Myrmidon maniple at 2k. Dunno yet. And if we get previews of new books maybe I'll buy one on the morning and use it there and then.

 

As mentioned, I've been painting some flames on the carapace of my running warlord. This is a WIP show so there are still some issues with the yellow/orange blend that I need to tidy up, and I need to go back and redo the gold edging. I quite like the overall impression that it's starting to create though.

 

[Fajita Fan]

You should tag that on IG for them to add to the GW site.

[Mandragola]

Thanks. Not sure I’ll set up IG for this, and definitely not before it’s finished. Glad you like it though.

[Mendi Warrior]

I love it. It is very nice 

[Brother Captain Arkley]

Man that pose is so good.

[Mandragola]

Thanks guys. Let’s see if I can highlight the blue and get the gold in again without messing up the flames.

 

I’ve been looking at army lists for the Legio Walks. I need 1k, 1.5k and 2k lists rather than the 1750 points I’m used to. I’ve been finding this quite awkward.

 

It’s not a competitive event so I’m not trying to build super-efficient lists. I really like my three warlords though, so the guiding principle in my list building is “take as many warlords as I can”. This may not be a winning strategy, but it’s not really meant to be. I don’t want to be a complete pushover either though.

 

That means an Axiom maniple at 1k; Regia, Myrmidon or just possibly Fortis at 1.5 and Myrmidon at 2k, so I can field all 3. I guess in theory I could have a Regia or Fortis at 2k with a third Warlord as reinforcement, but I don’t want to. Instead I’ll take a full 5-man Myrmidon maniple and fill the board with big engines.

 

To make this work I need to have my warlords pretty cheap – all well under 500 points. And I’m putting a double-quake guy in to save points too. I actually think it’s a decent engine for 440 points, especially as I don’t generally have a lot of luck with bellicosas. 475 buys me what I think is the most efficient warlord load-out – gatling, plasma and missiles – so that’s the default that I’ll work around. And I’ll use my melee warlord at 2k, but I think it would be too silly to use it at lower points values.

 

So here’s what I’ve come up with:

 

1k – Axiom

Warlord with gatling, plasma and missiles.

Reaver with Melta, power fist and missiles or VMB.

Warhound with VMB and plasma.

There’s nothing too controversial here. I think those are all pretty good load-outs. I know the consensus is in favour of chainists on reavers but I think power fists are better against knights, both for their strength and for shaking the banner. And they look much cooler.

 

1.5k – Regia

Warlord with gatling, plasma and missiles.

Warlord with quake, quake and missiles.

Warhound with VMB and plasma.

Reinforcement – Lucius Praetorian with Melta, Power Fist and Turbo Laser. Lucy doesn’t care about heat so I can do shieldbane all day.

 

2k – Myrmidon

Warlord with gatling, plasma and more gatlings.

Warlord with quake, quake and missiles.

Warlord with plasma, fist and VMBs.

Reaver with double gatling and missiles.

Reaver with laser blaster, power fist and VMB.

 

Overall I think these should be fun lists to play. I’ve got a decent mix of weapons and roles for my titans. Not everything is optimal – the 2k list is a bit low on blasts apart from the quake guy, but overall most of this stuff ought to work. I guess we’ll see in a couple of weeks, unless I change things again!

 

Here’s my to do list to have all this stuff:

 

Running warlord needs a fair bit of work. VMBs are 50% done and carapace being repainted.

 

Plasma/gatling warlord is nearly done. Some tidying on the white lines and work on gatlings is needed.

 

Double-quake warlord is fully done, apart from second quake cannon, which is 50% done.

 

Warhound is done, as are its guns. I've got two that I could bring, if needed.

 

Lucy is 90% done.

 

Two other reavers are both about 75% done, though not based. Their guns are done apart from one gatling blaster.

 

So that’s a fair bit of work for me to do over the next couple of weeks, especially since I’m busy this weekend and next. I’ll certainly have an army I can field, though whether everything will be 100% finished is not yet clear.

[Fajita Fan]

You’re like a one man blog, I’m looking forward to seeing the Sniperlord (that’s what I’m calling dual quake/missile) in action. I should roll that out today before I get my Warlord exoskeletons highlighted.

[Brother Captain Arkley]

Mandragola I was wondering with the coming release of the transfers and if you are UK based and you don't plan on House Terryn you fancy doing a deal? :)

[Mandragola]

Hmm, not sure. Will you be doing Ignatum and have Taranis transfers?

 

I’m still undecided on what household I’ll go for to be honest. Terryn might be a good option as I’ll have some of their transfers and apparently they’ve got a partnership with Astorum. Taranis is what I play in 40k so I’ve always kind of wanted to do them, but there are various issues with that (they’re almost all dead, their colour scheme is unclear and contradicted in different sources and so on). I could even make them as traitors, as I do have some makabius transfers (I think) from the Mortis sheet.

 

So to be honest I’m probably not in a position to decide yet. Sorry to be awkward.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Mandragola

[Brother Captain Arkley]

To be fair I am not sure what I want to do...

 

The Terryn transfers on the sheet look a little odd to me... Horseheads facing the other direction, white check patterns. I almost think their colour scheme might be a little different during the Heresy.

 

I have painted mine in the 40k scheme.

 

I get you aren't in a position to say now its cool :)

[Mandragola]

So I’ve been building my models and decided on an entirely cosmetic list change. Basically I don’t much like how the VMBs look on my warlord. They’re just a bit too small compared to the gatlings.

 

So instead I’ll have gatlings on my melee warlord, missiles on my quake and gatling/plasma guy and I’ll use the 5 points saved to give a Reaver a Volcano cannon instead of a fist.

 

A downside of this is that my melee warlord is now my most expensive model. That’s unfortunate if my opponent gets Glory and Honour. But he won’t go down without a fight!

 

2k List is now:

 

Warlord with gatling, plasma and missiles

 

Warlord with quake, quake and missiles

 

Warlord with plasma, fist and gatlings

 

Reaver with double gatling and VMB (or maybe missiles. Will decide what looks best as it doesn’t make too much difference)

 

Reaver with volcano, laser blaster and missiles

 

An odd result of these changes is that now my volcano cannon reaver has my highest strength gun. I’ll have to hope its magazine doesn’t explode.

[Brother Captain Arkley]

I wonder if its worth trying to convert the Warhound VMBs to fit a Warlord?