Plaguebearers

Some of my old 40k stuff today.  Plaguebearer Nurgle daemons.

Plaguebearers are Nurgles tallymen, embodying the futility of mortal existence by constantly making lists and categorising myriad life matters which cannot be measured.  Just like me.

Plaguebearers all bear the signs of rot and decay in addition to monocular vision and a horn (occasionally more than one).  Usually they are portrayed in brownish greens, like everything Nurgle tends to be.  I broke from the norm and chose to tie my plaguebearers colour scheme to my Sin Eaters marines.

In that era 40k daemons were summoned into play, popping into existence when certain game criteria are reached (its probably done similarly in current 40k, but I dont know for sure).

In an effort to make my figures unique and to tie them into sci-fi rather than fantasy Warhammer I added cybernetic elements to a number of the figures.

Conceptually I see those as bits of junk that coalesce into usable forms along with the daemon itself (being unliving embodiments of decay and all that).  If you imagine Tetsuo fusing with surrounding mechanical objects towards the end of Akira then you are on the right track.

Mainly I did it because I thought that it would be a fun project to make some goofy demon figures into cyborgs, ’cause I like cyborgs more than demons.

The figures are a mix of six of the original plaguebearers from the eighties, plus four of the nineties guys.  It is easy enough to tell which are which I think.

The cyborg weapon elements are all Necromunda Pit Slave parts, plus an old Warlord titan chainfist.

My favourite pair of these goofy freaks are shown in the first and final photo.  One guy has had his eye replaced with the screen from an Imperial auspex, complete with EEG style readout.  He also had a piece from a radar dish glued to his back.

The other guy has a rifle sight in place of his eye.  He also has a backpack with an aerial and a Nurgle symbol on it.  Far out.

 

The paint job is quite cartoony, aided and abetted by the comical sculpts and ludicrous bionics.  I like the look, even though they might jar a little with some more “serious” looking 40k figures (although at the time of writing Space Wolves mounted on wolves from space have just been released and even they are not as silly looking as the preposterously poorly conceived Dreadknight).

The plaguebearers have featured in very few games.  I once used them in a day long mini campaign and then in casual home games a couple of times.  They were always lacklustre in rules terms in those days.

I plan to use them for some skirmish games using Inquisitorial retinues and the like at some stage, hopefully during the next couple of years.  I might have them lead by Judge Mortis some time too: I can see Dredd Hi-Ex-ing a few of these guys.

Sin Eater Rhino APC #1

Front and Top

Space Marines (and Chaos SMs) should always have a few Rhino APCs in my opinion.  Regardless of whatever is in vogue in terms of army selection for games, a mechanised column of Marines is just a cool image I think.

Front 3/4 View

My Sin Eaters ended up with three Rhinos, the first of which is here.  This Rhino was usually used to transport a Squad of Plague Marines.  This was the second Rhino that I assembled and subsequently become known as the “jacuzzi rhino”. 

Front View

While I still like the first Rhino that I put together (photos to follow eventually) it was pretty austere by the standards of most Chaos vehicles.  Although I deliberately played down much of the more baroque aesthetic that tends to be ladled all over most Chaos armies that I have ever seen, I did get a little carried away with this vehicle in particular. 

Port Side View

In fact as the army went on everything got more baroque really.  Still, I dont think that it looks as silly as the myriad of vulgarly overburdened Chaos armies out there.  Many are so covered in spikes and skulls and impaled bodies etc that the shapes of the models get so indistinct as to ruin the entire look.  IMO, naturally.

Rear View

The concept for this vehicle is silly but sort of fun: Nurgle is synonymous with corruption, illness, rot and bodily fluids and so I decided to make the tank look like it is filled with snot. A very adult approach I am sure you will agree.

Starboard Side View

When putting together an army for whatever reason it is important to have a few centrepieces.  Personally for armies I think that usually the most important thing is a sense of uniformity in the colour scheme.  That can lead potentially too uniform / potentially bland overall look and so it is important to have a few things that draw the eye.  While the conversion of this Rhino was not particularly difficult to do it has over the years probably been the one thing that most observers point out in the army.

Top Down Front View

Top Down Rear View (note the Nurgling swimming with the marine)

Sin Eater Possessed: Squad Nemesis

 

A few figures that I am quite fond of to start 2010.

Squad Nemesis was assembled and painted up for use as a Possessed unit in my Sin Eater Chaos Space Marine force back in 2000.

Squad Nemesis Possessed Marines

GW didn’t make possessed Chaos Space Marine figures at the time (although a lot of their original Chaos Renegade marines from the 80s were very suitable.  I also painted up a unit of those guys for the Sin Eaters, of which there will be photos at a later date) although the Chaos Mutation sprue came out around then.  Subsequently GW made specific metal possessed marines who looked a little like the Mordheim possessed if I remember correctly.

Anyway, I wasn’t that keen on the possessed figures that I had seen up to that point: they were usually predictably heavy on the tentacles and bat wings etc and low on interest factor (to me at least).  With that in mind when I got around to making my own I tried to steer a little to the left of the usual fare.  Unsurprisingly I used Resident Evil as an inspiration and starting point.

Bloated with Dark Energies. WooOOOoo.

I prefer “science” zombies to “magic” zombies and I have liked the Tyrant style super-zombies from Resident Evil since I first saw them.  Therefore they were a big influence on what I wanted my Possessed to look like. 

Although trying to avoid the idea of magic-y things in the context of an army that supposedly represents worshippers of Dark Gods who receive direct aid from their patrons might sound perverse, I did have a few reasons to do so.  Mainly, the urge to have something slightly different from what I had seen already was one.  This was also influenced by the background of the Chaos Space marines from that era.

Corrupted Beyond Recognition

Before then the Chaos Space Marines were regularly portrayed as mindless devotees to their own cults.  A couple of things about this make them less interesting to me: firstly that I don’t like religion and in particular mindless people with a lot of “faith” and secondly the idea of Chaos Marines who are already completely under the thumb of their patron suggests weakness. 

Part of the suggested background for the Chaos Marines at this time was that the different Legions were actually more in a marriage of convenience with their patrons and that the Marines therefore had their own agenda and goals.  This interested me a lot more that another bunch of frothing jihad types.

Raaargh!

So Squad Nemesis was intended to be a group of (relatively) sane Chaos Marines who use pseudo-scientific means to either augment themselves with physical mutations on a temporary basis or use the pseudo-science to temporarily become a host for whatever daemonic energies were doing the rounds.  So I went with a look that involved a lot of cables coming out of the marines backpacks into their bloated and deformed bodies: a little more science than magic.  I think it worked and of the units in my Sin Eater force Squad Nemesis is one of my favourites.

The parts used were Ork arms, zombie heads and guitar strings.  The guitar strings didn’t keep their shape as well as I hoped which meant that they had to be kinked into shape rather than curved.  I would have rather that they were curved but I got over it.

Happy New Year and all that jazz!

Sin Eaters Brother Chaplain Bakul

 

Not very Xmas-y, but what can you do?

Brother Chaplain Bakul of the Sin Eaters (note the eeevil Rosarius)

According to the 40K fluff, all of the original Chaos Marine Legions bumped off their Chaplains during the Horus Heresy.  The Word Bearers held onto their guys (they became Dark Apostles if memory serves.  Big into their false idols those Word Bearer scamps). While I understand that GW wanted to give the Chaos Marines their own identity and feel, I do think that the idea of a eeevil Chaplains of the Dark Powers leading Space Marines into battle is potentially fun.  With that in mind I put this guy together on a whim in 2001 or so.

Lots of Skulls on the Shoulder Pad and the Backpack Nozzles

Brother Chaplain Bakul is entirely plastic and is covered in enough skulls to make a rocker blush.  It reinforces the Chaplain skull motif I suppose, although spiky skulls are perhaps my least favourite element of GW Chaos stuff.

Yet More Skulls on the Shoulder Pad and on his eeevil Crozius Arcanum

I don’t like the way that GW have canonised the colour schemes for Chaplains (black), Librarians (blue), Techmarines (red), Apothecaries (white) etc.  I think that the additional colours can ruin a palette and are often unnecessary. 

 Additionally, GW policy seems to be to cover the relevant miniature in that colour when perhaps just a little of it would suffice (for a good example check out the jarringly blue Librarian that features with the Blood Angel Terminators in 3rd Ed Space Hulk.  It ruins the effect in my opinion.  And don’t get me started on the Blood Angel yellow helmet=Assault, blue helmet=Devastator thing.  Ugh). 

The Chaplain is the least offensive of the marine specialists in that regard as adding some black to a scheme isn’t as disruptive as adding an actual colour to it.  Still, when I added a Chaplain to the Sin Eaters I wanted to use the minimum amount of black to make him stand out a bit without ruining the army uniformity.  I think that it worked fine.  Not brilliant, but not awful in my opinion.

“Bakul” apparently means “sweet smelling”.  Ho, ho, ho etc.

Nurglings

Nurgling Swarm

Nurglings featured in my Sin Eater Chaos Space Marine army from day one.  For some reason which I cant put my finger on I have liked (if that is the right word) them since I first read about them in 1989.  Its probably the fart and other biological function jokes.

Tide of Decay

I spent way more time painting these than they really required.  I like them though.   They variety and character in the figures made them painting them more entertaining than it would normally be.  They were originally based on large GW titan bases, in preference to the horrible square WHFB bases that they were supplied with.  Once the large, circular 40k base was released I rebased them (and turned four bases into eight in the process).  Go me.

Sin Eater Tactical Squad Rico: Pt 2

Missile Launcher and Bolter

Part 1 is HERE.

Although Marine squads usually max out at ten men I have painted up a few extra for Squad Rico.  They are marines with different heavy weapons, giving me more flexibility when picking a force.  That sort of extra flexibility is always something that is on my mind when preparing miniatures for games, but it rarely works out as comprehensively as it did with Squad Rico.

The Missile Launcher above comes from an old (’89 or so) GW Chaos Heavy Weapon sprue.  It is probably most familiar from its inclusion in the Space Hulk: Genestealer expansion.  The Hybrids had a few.

Plasma Gun and Bolter Marines

Bolter Marine and Sergeant Rico

Heavy Bolter and Bolter Marines

The Heavy Bolter armament above is pretty cool looking (and would be all the more so only for that annoying shine…): its a cool model.   The hand painted insignia is easily visible on the right hand guys shoulder pad.

Sin Eater Tactical Squad Rico: Pt1

Squad Rico Banner Bearer

Squad Rico was one of the first squads that I painted for my Sin Eaters Chaos Marine army, over a decade ago.  They have seen a lot of tabletop action including some 3rd Edition Space Hulk and Advanced Space Crusade.  I quite like their look.

A Pair of Bolter Armed Tactical Marines

Squad Rico uses a lot fewer Chaos components than most of the other squads in the army.  When assembling the force I wanted to distinguish each unit by their armour configuration as much as insignia, to aid with recognition on the tabletop.  To this end Squad Rico is distinguished by the Imperial armour configuration, Imperial weaponry plus the then brand new plastic zombie heads.

Lascannon and Bolter armed Tactical Marines

Topdown View of the Huge Lascannon

 

Part two to follow.

Another Space Hulk Weekend: Pt 2

Sgt Downey climbs over the pile of genestealer corpses that he has cut down. Fourteen 'stealers are killed in close combat alone in "Return to Kalidus: Honour Bound".

Day two of our second Space Hulk weekend started with a set of missions from White Dwarf February 1993: the Return to Kalidus campaign.

Return to Kalidus came out at the same time as the original Space Wolf: Wolf Guard Terminator box, waaay back in early 1993 or so.  The Space Wolf: Wolf Guard Terminator box consisted of five terminator figures with some slightly unorthodox weapon fits.  The box, which was what the entire Return to Kalidus campaign was based on had the following configuration:

1. Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Power Sword
2. Marine with Heavy Flamer and Chainfist
3. Marine with Assault Cannon and Power Fist
4. Marine with Storm Bolter and Chainfist
5. Marine with Storm Bolter and Power Fist

Like almost every Space Hulk player on the planet, I dont have a painted terminator model with a Heavy Flamer and a Chainfist.  The difference between a Chainfist and a Power Fist is entirely cosmetic in the scenarios that we played so it didnt make any difference.

For the purposes of this SH campaign, the marines are from the Space Wolf chapter.  In game terms that means that every member of the squad gets an additional +1 in close combat.  Not too shabby, particularly for the Sergeant, doubly so if he is on 3rd ed Guard orders.

——-

Return to Kalidus Mission I : A Quest for Power

A Quest for Power Set Up

In this scenario the marines are trying to get to a console on the opposite side of the map and spend some APs to find the location of the items to be procured in scenarios 2 and 3.

MTs crusade marines are joined by an Iron Man.

Despite a very promising set of opening turns, the Crusaders lose their Sergeant and Assault Cannon suddenly.

Soon the 'stealers have the run of almost the entire map.

Finally the only Marine representative still alive has a flamer with enough ammo for one shot. He bought the farm shortly afterwards.

The game ended in a win for the Genestealers (me).  Amusingly, the boy MTs performance is so hilariously dismal that it means that the rest of the campaign is supposedly defunct, as the remaining two missions simply cannot be completed without a marine victory in A Quest for Power. 

We decide to play the next one anyway, despite the campaign abruptly ending on a technicality.

——-

Return to Kalidus Mission II : Honour Bound

Honour Bound Set Up

Honour Bound involves an identical squad to the one that appeared in A Quest for Power trying to get through the map to find a chapter relic in one of four rooms.  The ‘stealer player gets two blips per turn plus an unprecedented six starting blips.  This does not bode well for the marines.

The Marines inch forward, covering each others flanks against the vast number of 'stealers.

The flamer uses the last of its fuel to clear a room for the slow advance. The flamer marine dies almost immediately afterwards.

Sgt Downey slowly hacks his way through the corridors, a battle brother guarding his back.

The slaughter continues and the Sgt racks up his tally of bugs at this point. His battle brother is about to be overwhelmed however...

Sgt Downey is finally overcome, failing in his mission.

The game ends in a Genestealer victory for MT.

——-

The Return to Kalidus campaign is hard.  Considering that it was written for 1st ed (where Marine shooting is less effective than in 3rd ed overall) it is hard to imagine the Marines winning the second mission very often.  The only reason that the marines got as far as they did in Honour Bound was because of the Sergeant: +2 combat, plus Parry plus Guard orders is not to be sneered at (even if it is a bit uninspiring to play with/against).

Lastly, we decided to leave the third and final Return to Kalidus scenario until next time and to play one more Marine vs Marine game to round off the weekend.

——-

Retrieval

Retrieval Set Up (we reused the Honour Bound map, seeing as it was already set up).

We made up Retrieval on the spot.  We placed a Maguffin (a C.A.T. this time) equidistant from both sides which both sides had to get back to their deployment room.  We also used the rules from Mission IX: Regroup to stagger the arrival of the ten Power Armour marines that we each had.

MTs Emperors Voice Tactical Squad ready to deploy.

My Sin Eaters Tactical Squad Van Helden ready to go.

The game was a hair-raising, back and forth affair, with Marines diving into overwatch zones hoping to get a shot off before they got killed by return fire.

Sgt Van Helden makes an early break for the C.A.T. (top right).

Van Helden and a battle brother, just before Van Helden is cut down by enemy fire.

The lone Sin Eater sprints down the corridor after the now randomly moving C.A.T., avenging his Sarge with shots from the hip. The Emperors Voice flamer marine puts paid to his antics however, with not one, but two blasts of promethium.

The game ends with a Emperors Voice marine win for MT.

——-

In conclusion, Space Hulk is great.  The marine vs marine games are a bit weird, but they were fun all the same.  I will try Marine vs  Marine games out again, but I am uncertain that the mechanics are suitable for games where both sides have guns really.

That said, I still havent played any games with my Hybrids so I am sure that there will be another Space Hulk session again soon.

Another Space Hulk Weekend: Pt 1

Sgt Gideon notches up another kill in Mission IX: Regroup.

The last Space Hulk weekend (pt1 and pt2) left us wanting to play more, so MT and I organised another weekend for late October last.  I took some snaps as we played.  They arent National Geographic level shots or anything, but they illustrate the games sufficiently.

Having played through most of the scenarios in the 3rd ed missions book the last time, we were ready to try some different things out this time around, starting with a Power Armour (as opposed to Terminator armour) scenario.

——————–

Denzarks Hammer (White Dwarf # 120)

"By Denzarks Hammer, you shall be avenged!"

First up was Denzarks Hammer, a scenario that was printed in White Dwarf for first edition.  It introduced the rules for Power Armoured marines in SH.

Squad Van Helden (top) and Squad Rico.

Although MT played marines in this one, he had forgotten to bring enough of his “Emperors Voice” marines with him.  As a result he used two Sin Eaters squads of mine instead.  Although they are Chaos Marine figures, we obviously played them as standard.

Standard Imperial "Conga" deployment doctrine in full effect.

The scenario states that the ‘stealer player gets one blip per turn.  The scenario also suggests that this limit should be increased to two blips per turn once the Marine player gets the hang of using the Power Armour troopers. 

While moving twenty figures in under three minutes proved a bit challenging from time to time,  it turned out that one blip per turn is far too few ‘stealers to either present a significant threat or provide some fun for the ‘stealer player.  Two blips per turn is a must for this scenario.

After suffering minimal casualties the Sin Eaters get to the bridge, achieve the objective and hold off the remaining 'stealers easily.

The game ended in an easy win for MT playing the Marines.  Two blips per turn next time for sure.

——————–

Deathmatch

Deathmatch Set Up.

Deathmatch is a custom scenario that we threw together for playing Marine vs Marine games of SH. MT had a symmetrical map planned out in advance.  We placed an objective for each side in the central room furthest from their deployment zone (the Sin Eaters were looking for a teleport homer while the Emperors Voice and Thoraxian Crusade marines were looking for the relic).

Emperors Voice marines (bottom) and Thoraxian Crusade Terminators on the starting blocks.

Sin Eater Squad Romero (top) and Squad Rico during the first turn.

We put a random blip of ‘stealers in each of the four rooms, just for fun.  They moved automatically (roughly using the solo rules from 1st ed Deathwing to determine their behaviour once revealed).  Although the genestealers gave both sides cause for concern, all were eradicated without marine casualties on either side.

The sides close.

Tit for tat firefights whittle numbers on both sides...

...until the last Emperors Voice marine is gunned down by a Squad Romero storm bolter.

The game ended with a Chaos victory for me.

This was the first Marine vs Marine battle that I had ever played (I think that MT had played one or two before).  These games play very differently from the usual genestealer games  as obviously your marines can get shot. 

The rules work in such a way that the marine that move-and-fires gets his shot off before the Overwatching marine shoots back.  This makes advancing marginally less dangerous than Overwatching (although both are obviously necessary). 

The game swung back and forth with alarming frequency and it was fun, but I am unsure as to how solid a platform for marine versus marine games SH actually is.

——-

Mission IX: Regroup

Regroup after a couple of turns.

Regroup is one of the few scenarios from the 3rd ed box that we hadnt tried, so we gave it a go.  We decided to use the 1st ed Captain as a direct exchange for the Librarian.  The Captain rules struck us as being approximately as powerful as the Librarian in games terms, and I think that we were right.

The Iron Men spread out thinly, each marine trusting his flanks to his brothers.

Marine casualties mount, despite the sterling efforts of Thunder Hammer armed Sgt Gideon (centre right).

Sgt Gideon with Guard orders is a tough nut to crack from the front.  He butchered upwards of 13 ‘stealers during the game (we lost track).

Sgt Gideon takes advantage of a lull plus the increased CPs that Captain Stark supplies to retreat rapidly up the corridor (top right).

Captain Stark covers the retreat.

Captain Stark gets three Terminators to the regroup point.

This scenario required the Marine player (me) to roll a dice after  the game.  If the score was equal to or under the number of Marines who escaped then the Marine player won.  I rolled a “5″.  MT won.  Ho hum.

The 1st Ed Captain seemed to be about as powerful as the 3rd Ed Librarian.  The Captain can probably be swapped out for the Librarian in scenarios on a one for one basis without a problem from here on in.

——-

To be continued…

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.