Zombie of the Week #1: Clive

Clive

Somewhat desensitised to bodily dismemberment due to his day job in “Abracadaver” (the local abbatoir), Clive took to the harsh reality of life post Z-day somewhat better than most.  Going back to work to pick up his preferred hatchet proved to be his undoing however.  He was cornered by the reanimated corpse of his boss before he could give him the chop.  Now he roams the streets looking for prime cuts…of brains.

Disembowelment Technician

Clive is the zombie figure from the classic Heroquest game and was part of the first batch of zombies that ever painted, back in 1998.  I quite like Clives pigeon-toed stance, he is a fun figure.  It was a simple paint job, a quick drybrush followed by a stark highlight over black for the clothing.  This method was the one used for all of the zombies that I painted back then. 

The zeds painted in ’98 were intended for use in some Necromunda scenarios, although Clive has featured in a lot of games over the years. 

Generally I prefer zombie figures that dont have weapons but at the time it was difficult to buy anything other than fantasy zombie miniatures which usually had hand weapons.  As a result the occasional armed zombie like Clive had to feature.

Have a survival horror Halloween!

Blastscape and Craterscape

Laserburn

 

The Blastscape is a limited run of vac-formed terrain that GW brought out this year for use with their Planetstrike 40k games, (similar to the resin Mines, Bombs and Boobytraps) .  Each piece of terrain is supposed to represent some effect caused by a colossal scale assault from orbit.  The Laserburn above is my favourite, supposedly showing the effect of a starship laser/phaser/whatever blast from orbit (although it can obviously be used for a variety of lava related, post apocalyptic, dragon-y things etc). 

Like everything that I paint or make these days the paint job that it got was quick, although I couldnt help but to spend a little more time than usual trying to make sure that the lava looked good.  I am pleased with the results: it is a very evocative piece of gaming terrain.

Crash and Burn

 

Crash and Burn markers represent chunks of debris blown off the dogfighting ships in orbit that are hitting the ground where the battle takes place.  It sounds like an amusing concept to play out in game.  My main use for the pieces is to jazz up my post apocalyptic wasteland I think.

Another Crash and Burn.

 

Firestorm

 

The Firestorm represents the damage that an orbital salvo of shells causes.  It looks quite similar to the craters from the Craterscape set.

Craterscape

 

The Craterscape is similar to the Blastscape, but it isnt limited edition and it is a little more mundane and generic.  The two sets combine to cover quite a lot of table area which is cool.

Meteor Strike

 

The last piece of Blastscape is the Meteor Strike.  I *think* that it represents meteors deliberately diverted from course in order to strike a planet, but I could be wrong.  Regardless meteors have a long history with pulp sci-fi, whether they cause climate disaster, the rise of radioctive mutants and zombies or, as above, cause weakness in Kryptonians.  The green didnt really come out as nicely as I would have like it to, it looks a bit like broccoli, partly because the detail on the rocks wasnt very crisp but sort of mushy and partly because I rushed them.  Still, they are finished and they look alright which is fine by me.

All of the above terrain is themed to tie in with my Planet Heck project.

Crashed Aquila

Mean Machine Angel is gonna get hisself sum salvage fer his Paw.

The crashed Aquila model was included in the 4th edition Warhammer 40000 starter box, Battle for Macragge.  I have had it knocking around for a few years and while I never really played 4th ed 40k my recent renewed interest in sci-fi skirmish games prompted me to paint it.

I decided to steer clear of the usual subdued schemes that dominate non-Space Marine Imperial forces, instead going for a more Flash Gordon, pulp type look.  I wanted it to look like something that Brian Blessed might land on the wing of.  The purple that I went for was then used to determine the scheme for my Starmada faction.  The paint job was reasonably quick and I think that it looks good on the tabletop.  I added a cork base to help it fit in with the rest of my Planet Heck terrain project.

SPD Captain Stig Palomino investigates a crash site.

The more recent 40k starter box (Assault on Black Reach) didnt include any scenery.  I was disappointed with that news.  While Black Reach undeniably has a whole load of cool figures in it, the inclusion of the Aquila and the other thematic bits and pieces in Macragge was more geared to scenario play.  Even when I played a lot of 40k I never enjoyed the standard line-up-at-opposite-sides-and-roll-dice-for-two-hours approach that much.  Scenario play is absolutely what playing toy soldiers is all about as far as I am concerned.

Zompocalypse

Curing the infection... one bullet at a time.

 Like all red blooded dorks (and currently it appears, the entire entertainment industry), I like zombies. 

I started painting zombie miniatures in 1998 although the main thing that got me into zombies generally was Resident Evil on the PS1 back in 1996.  My zombie miniature project began with the intention of using them in Necromunda games and spiralled off into my Sin Eater chaos marine project.  Subsequently I painted up more zombies for Doom: the Boardgame, Mutant Chronicles: Siege of the Citadel and Last Night on Earth: the Zombie Game amongst other things. It doesnt look like there is an end in sight for my zombie painting any time soon either, as I have a whole pile of zeds from various manufacturers waiting in the lead mountain.

In ’98 it was difficult to find “modern” zombies and so I scoured the GW back catalogue for the figures that had the least fantasy look to them.  The plastic GW zombie box wasnt available back then either but I added a bunch of hastily painted GW plastics to the horde in 2004 (or maybe 2003?) so that they could be used in big Heroclix zombie scenarios. 

Recently I picked up a few more from a variety of sources.  My zombie figures vary from being quite well painted to quite poorly painted, but I love them all.  So much so in fact, that I will be starting a “Sho3box Zombie of the Week” series in a week or two, whether anyone wants it or not

Space Hulk Weekend: Part 2

MT's Harlequins

This Space Hulk report continues from last time which can be found here.

Last thing on Saturday evening we decided to play one more scenario.  Unfortunately this turned out to be a mistake as mission eight appears to be nearly impossible for the Genestealers to win and quite a dull scenario.

——————–

Mission VIII: Escape Route

Escape Route Set Up

 

The game was a washout in favour of the Marines, over in a couple of turns.  After looking at the mission afterwards it appears that the only way for the ‘stealers to have a chance is to pile as many as possible in the single corridor at the end.  While this may give the ‘stealer player a chance it makes for a dull game.  I wont be playing this mission again in a hurry.

The mission ended in a Marine victory for MT.

——————–

First thing on Sunday morning we skipped missions nine and ten.  We knew that we were unlikely to get more than two games played and we wanted to play the scenarios with the Broodlord, now that we had got the hang of the Librarian rules.

——————–

Mission XI: Unknown Lifeforms

Unknown Lifeforms Set Up

This mission looks nigh on impossible for the Marines on paper.  With only five bodies to cover the many junctions it looks like an almost guaranteed ‘stealer win.  Granted, one of the Marines is Librarian Calistarius but even he has limitations (attacking him in the side or rear is a pretty reliable way to take him out of the picture).  The Broodlord is available for the first time in this scenario too. 

In order to balance things out the marines have one Power Field Generator each.  These can be thrown into spaces which then become impassable.  Genestealers can overload the generators by spending 6 APs in one go while adjacent, twice.  The combination of the use of the PFGs, Broodlord and Librarian, combined with some very lucky and very unlucky timing for various events made this game probably my favourite of the weekend.

Marines advance trusting their flanks to the PFGs (top right)

The eponymous unknown lifeform shows up and is rapidly cut down by Librarian Storm Bolter fire.

Pressure builds as Calistarius tries to catch a moment to back into the objective room and take the sample.

Calistarius makes some small progress backing down the corridor as Brother Leon and Sgt Lorenzo try to buy him more time...

The Librarians luck runs out (it takes him 6APs to kill one 'stealer) and he is overrun at the doorstep of victory.

 

The games ends with another Genestealer win for MT.

——————–

Mission XII: Pitfall

Pitfall Set Up

 

Pitfall is an unusual scenario that is played using two maps, each representing adjacent floors in the hulk.  Basically, the ‘stealers come into play on the bottom floor and tend to pop out to attack the Marines from underneath.

The survivors of the assault on the Sin of Damnation head for the exit (a disposal chute).

Calistarius sprints for the chute and leaps into it, leaving his battle brothers to their own devices. They all died.

 

Victory conditions for this scenario are funny.  If no Marines get to the chute then the ‘stealers win.  If any Marines make it then that number is used to modify a D6 roll-off between the players to see who wins.  MT rolled a “1″ giving a total of “2″ due to the escaped Librarian.  I rolled a “1″ and so it was determined that the Marines won.  I didnt even manage/need to get the Broodlord in play.  Harrumph.

The game ended with a Marine victory for MT.

——————–

Mission twelve played faster than we had expected and so we decided to have one more game, finally getting around to using MTs Harlequins that hadnt managed to get to the table yet.

The Harlequins rules are first ed rules.  As there is so much in common with first and third ed we decided to play using third ed rules as we had enjoyed them quite a lot for the weekend.  In essence all that this really changed for the Harlequins was to reduce the maximum sustained fire increment to +1 (to get the weapons in line with sustained fire applying in Overwatch).

——————–

Harlequin Mission I: Into the Darkness

The Harlequins advance into the clutches of the Genestealers.Before the Harlequins can even establish a beachhead they take casualties.

Still under pressure, the Harlequins still get a tiny bit of breathing space.

The Troupe Leader (yellow) uses his Harlequins Kiss on his opponent, while his squad die all around him.

The Death Jester is the only Eldar still alive...

...yet he outdoes his entire squad in a massive display of violence... delivered with Harlequin panache.

The Jester is on borrowed time: there are just too many for him, despite his hi-jinks.

The Jesters soul melds with the Laughing God. Death has a name... and its name is "Genestealer".

The game ended in a Genestealer win for me.

The Harlequins made a few big boo-boos early on in this game.  We also decided that the five starting blips which begin one in each room could be looked at and placed by the ‘stealer player.  In retrospect maybe random placement would have been better as it was a bit harsh with 6 ‘stealers in striking range early on.  Then again, if the lead Harlequin had been in either Defensive Stance or Guard the story could have been quite different.  I am looking forward to giving the Harlequins another run out next time.

——————–

After that long session of 3rd ed Space Hulk I am happy to say that I quite enjoy the 3rd ed rules, possibly even more than 1st ed.  The slightly more efficient Terminator fire makes the game feel a little more like the fluff which is cool, although it provides even less of an incentive to play the Genestealers.  On the other hand, I quite enjoyed playing the Genestealers over the weekend.  There are plenty of decisions to make while using them too.

Space Hulk Weekend: Part 1

Space Hulk Weekend

I finally painted up the figures from my 1st and 2nd edition Space Hulk last year.  With the release of the new 3rd edition I wanted to have a full on Space Hulk weekend.  Long term gaming co-conspirator MT agreed to meet up last weekend and we went from there.

Although the new edition comes with lovely miniatures that I must get around to painting some time, we were not going to let that stop us from playing with the painted older Bugs and Iron Men terminators that I already have ready to go.  As we both have a few other “real-life” things going on at the moment we didnt commit to having a whole lot extra finished by the weekend either (normally I use deadlines for gaming meets to help me achieve goals in terms of figures painted, scenery made etc).  With that in mind MT painted up the dead Blood Angel Terminator and I painted the C.A.T. and the relic chalice. Very achievable.

Finally, although it would have been nice to get all of the 12 Space Hulk scenarios printed in the 3rd edition played in one weekend we decided to skip a few to ensure that we could get to play the scenarios with the Broodlord/Librarian/other interesting stuff.   In addition we hoped that we might be able to squeeze in a game using the Eldar Harlequins that MT painted up six months ago with 1st edition Space Hulk in mind.  The scenarios that we skipped were either too similar to other scenarios that we wanted to play or were scenarios that either or both of us has played before too often (Missions 1 and 2 in particular).

  

——————–

Mission III: Rescue

Mission III: Rescue

The mission involves getting the Cyber Altered Task (C.A.T.)-unit from Squad Lorenzo into the hands of Squad Gideon which starts on the other side of the map.

Sgt Lorenzo on C.A.T. detail

Sgt Lorenzo and Brother Zael try to hold back the xeno tide.

Note the C.A.T. on the right.

 

The mission ended in a Marine victory for MT.

I dont remember that much detail about playing this scenario, probably because my opponent won it

——————–

Mission V: Decoy

 

Decoy Set Up

Decoy involves two terminator squads that start in close proximity making their way across the map to an exit point.  In theory at least.

The Iron Men deploy efficiently.

The good guys get butchered.

The mission ended in a Genestealer victory for MT.

Sergeant Gideon (the guy with the thunder hammer and storm shield in the bottom right above) managed to get killed upon first contact with the enemy, despite being on Guard.

——————–

Mission VI: Alarm Call

Alarm Call Set Up

In Alarm Call a squad of Terminators have been incapacitated by a Broodlord psychic attack.  Librarian Calistarius and lightning claw armed Claudio are sent to investigate.

Librarian Calistarius resuscitates a comrade while Sgt Lorenzo blasts 'stealers.

Marines adopt standard overwatch doctrine and mutter a prayer to the Emperor..

The intensity of the alien attack increases and Calistarius is cut down.

The mission ended in a Genestealer victory for me.

This game involved the largest amount of ‘stealers on the board at once.  Whichever side that I am playing I get a kick out of lots of bugs in play.  Obviously however, if I am playing Genestealers and about to win I enjoy it that much more.

It was also the first game using the Librarian, which although potentially good at runing the timer out due to the options that he provides, turns out to be fun to play.  He is very powerful though, potentially too powerful perhaps.  He isnt unstoppable however, he has weaknesses.

——————–

Mission VII: The Artefact

Artefact Set Up

The Artefact concerns a valiant raid deep into the hulk to recover a relic said to have been used by Sanguinius himself.  This is a big deal if you are a Blood Angel Terminator.

After blowing a series of doors off their mountings while on the move down the corridor, Calistarius spots his goal.

With Brother Claudio on rearguard duty the Librarian runs into the relic room...

 

...grabs the relic, runs back and hands off to Brother Claudio...

...who reverentially carries it the length of the board and back to Space Marine controlled areas.

 The mission ended in a Terminator victory for me.

The scenario worked out as a little lacklustre for MT this time around.  The Marines deployed in textbook fashion and managed to hold the line well by and large.  This was my first game with the Librarian and he lived up the hype, Psychic Blasts and Force Walls making him the centre of attention for most of the game.

——————–

Tune in next time for the last few scenarios, plus some Harlequin games.

 

Sin Eater Chaos Dreadnought – Brother Tankorr

Brother Tankorr

As early playtesting went on using my Sin Eaters (way back in 1999) it looked like getting a second Dreadnought on the table would be fun.  While Brother Rhinox was made more or less exclusively from the basic metal chaos Dreadnought kit, Tankorr was made from a metal Imperial Dreadnought, albeit an Imperial Dreadnought with loads of spiky death metal type junk stuck on.  Examples above include the spiky panels on the main housing and the tombstone-for-a-face.

Tankorrs huge and ludicrous close combat arm.

Tankorrs arms were made from spares from the kit that was used to make Rhinox.  The left arm above had an Ork Choppa and two Necromunda Pit Slave weapon arms attached.  I also added another pit slave chainsaw bit to the front of the body on that side for good measure. 

In the above shot you can make out bits where some of the many spikes attached to the figure used to be attached, only to have broken off at various points over the years.  The lesson here is simply not to bother sticking those things on in the first place.  If Tankorr gets away with it it is simply because of the zombie-like, dilapidated look.

Rear view.

Plasma Cannon

I like the combi-bolter mounted on Tankorrs shoulder for some reason that I cant put my finger on.   I also like the silly zombie hands bursting out of the ground, “Thriller” style.

Sin Eater Terminator Lord Zarak

Lord Zarak

Lord Zarak is pretty ridiculous looking really, but I like him all the same.  I had had a chaos terminator captain figure for a while but hadnt got around to painting him.  He was an older figure than those used in Squad Romero and was a little more slight.  I wanted to give him something that would make him stand out dramatically from the other Terminators, but didnt know what.

It dawned on me to use parts of the whip arm thing (cant remember what it is called) from the parts left over  from the Brother Rhinox kit to make the inner “thumbs” of his scorpion-like Lightning Claws.  The larger, totally OTT parts of the claws are made from bits of a plastic dozer blade from some Imperial tank bit or another.

3/4 view showing some arm detail.

The piping coming hanging below his arms is a bit crude but whatever.  It was simply made from bent paper clip.  The Nurgle logo on the shoulder was made from bits of styrene rod and strip.  The trophy pole is a bit taller than the poles on Squad Romero which helps to identify Zarak as the boss while simultaneously making him that much more ridiculous looking.

His name comes from the binary bonded nebulan partner of the Transformer Scorponok.  Scorponok himself invariably has big scorpion claws for hands in all of his iterations, so obviously that is where that comes from.  The original G1 Scorponok also had a sunglasses type look that I crudely emulated with a green stuff “visor” over Zaraks eyes.

I painted Zarak about a year or so after I painted the other Sin Eater terminators.  By then the painting method I was using to get the base colours was slightly different.  In the context of the grubby look that I was looking for it doesnt really make much difference.  I have always found that when painting a large number of miniatures with the same scheme that the style changes as I progress, usually in an effort to speed the process up.

Sin Eater Chaos Dreadnought – Brother Rhinox

 

Sin Eater Dreadnought: Brother Rhinox

Like many geeks, I like robots and power suits.  Dreadnoughts and Titans  have always been a big 40k draw for me.  As a result one of the earliest miniatures that I painted for my Sin Eaters Chaos Space Marine Nurgle army was Rhinox.

Power Claw

Rear Shot. Just greasy looking metal really.

Twin-Linked Lascannon

There was only one weapon fit appropriate for a Dreadnought in those days: Twin Lascannon & Power Fist/Claw (I have no idea what, if anything makes Dreadnoughts competitive in the current 40k tournament climate, nor do I wish to know).  There wasnt a twin-lascannon model available for Chaos Dreads then so I chopped up the twin-autocannon in the box and replaced it with two weapons cut from a Space Crusade dreadnought (I think). 

Possibly I should have added more detail to the muzzles of the cannon while I was adding the trim that had been removed when cutting the autocannon off.  On the other hand it does give the gun a pretty primitive and brutal look that is very suitable.

Other than the Lascannon arm the figure is unconverted apart from the added scuffs and dents etc.