The Whole Challenge

I had a photoshoot with the whole 2,000 point force today.  I need a new camera.  Most of the photos are TERRIBLE.  That said, I am only posting three for now.  When I get a new camera I'll have to do another shoot!

All those foot sloggers could sure use a transport or two...

Challenge Complete!

I finished the challenge last night!  Time to contemplate if I ever want to do this again!

The Dark Guard:

Bonuses:

All those extra weapons!

Corien Sumatris:

Codicer Mughal:

This whole thing has been immensley fun!  I need to paint some transports now!

Final Vows

I have settled on my final vow!   The Dark Guard, Ashur Nuntar's Librarius Command Squad.  It was not something I had planned, but I have always wanted to make one!  These will see me hit 2,000 points with a bit of reworking to the list.  As a bonus I will paint both another Librarian and Corien Sumatris at the same time, along with a slew of optional combi-weapons for my sergeants.  This finale should be a ton of fun!

I am already started on my next project after the claws are complete:

Get ready for gang warfare!  I put together a chaos cultist band for Necromudna (counts as Cawdor).  A bunch of friends and acquaintances are interested in starting a Necromunda gaming group, and I am super pumped!  I have never played it before, but I LOVE Mordheim, so I am really looking forward to this!

Here's my reworked 2,000 pt Zone Mortalis list.

Primary Detachment:  Astral Claws Boarding Assault Force Valthex

HQ:

Master of The Forge Armenneus Valthex "The Alchemancer":  145

ELITES:

Venerable Brother Amru "Roar of The Ancients"

Venerable Dreadnaught

Heavy flamer.

135

Ancient Ajax "Scourge of The Maelstrom":  assault cannon, heavy flamer.

130

Old Rovik "The Martyr":  multi melta, Heavy flamer

110

TROOPS:

Tactical Squad Kalath "The Tyrants Arm"

10 marines, flamer, heavy bolter, sergeant with combi-flamer.

175

Tactical Squad Nispul "The Steel Spines"

10 marines, plasma gun, lascannon, sergeant with combi-plasma.

205

Primary Detachment:  Astral Claws Boarding Assault Force Nuntar

HQ:

Epistolary Ashur Nuntar "The Dark Seer": 65

Command Squad Nuntar "The Dark Guard"

4 veterans with melta guns, apothecary.

155

ELITES:

Veteran Retaliator Squad Arkash "The Honor Thieves"

10 veterans, two lightning claws, thunder hammer, storm shield.

230

Terminator Squad Connon "The Banishers"

10 terminators, two chainfists, two cyclone missle launchers.

460

TROOPS:

Tactical Squad Kourash "Cullers of The Weak"

10 marines, plasma gun, missile launcher, sergeant with combi-plasma.

190

The Bannishers!

Are done!  Just one more challange to go!  I was going to paint a chaplian, but I managed to get my hands on a mortis contemptor!  I am gonna try to rework my list to,paint himinstead!

Also, I have my KR case!  It is fantastic!  I may need to get another!

Look close, there is a Carl hidden in my mouth!

Glorious Intervention!

What a glorious day!  I finish squad Kourash, and I learn that I am one of the winners of the first half of the Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge!  I am so stoked!

That said, here are pictures of squad Kourash!

Some photos of some alternate weapons.

And my next vow...

I already started throwing paint on them!  I am so pumped to get this finished now!

Another Combat Squad Forged!

Another challenge down! Finally finished up this combat squad to fill out Squad Grael.

I also learned a pretty awesome depth of field trick in Photoshop!

BOOM!

Apparently it is stupid easy to combine different focus depths in PShop. You just take photos from the same vantage (tripod preferred) with the focus shifted to different areas of your subject. Then dump them all into a PShop doc, select all the layers, then edit >auto align layers; edit > auto blend layers. Mess with the curves a little and BAM, every brush stroke your own eyes couldn't see. Oh, god.

Its pretty forgiving so as long as your photos are like 90% from the same angle, it will combine them perfectly. I didn't use a tripod- just my shitty shaky hands, and I got this!

Also, official:

And next challenge:

Lastly, STEVE WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?

DREADBASH I

Yesterday saw a titanic clash of ancients. Dreadnoughts representing the enigmatic Red Scholars and the treacherous Astral Claws came to thunderous blows, quaking the already crumbling ruins of a war torn Imperial hive city. Scholar and Claw alike set out into the smoke choked streets to achieve their respective commanders ever changing orders for controlling the sector. As the forces flowed into the alleys and derelict buildings, the scene from orbit truly appeared to be a maelstrom of war.

It began as many marine on marine actions do: both forces setting themselves in aggressive forward footings. Here you see the Astral Claws and their Lamenters allies pushing forward into the Imperial Chapel dominating the contested city sector. A tide of ancient battle knowledge sealed in ceramite and iron smashed through once hallowed walls, charging headlong towards the crimson and steel ranks of the Red Scholars.

The Red Scholars remained unfazed by the surge of enemies as their analytical minds turned like well oiled cogitators, calculating which foe would be most efficient to fell first.

The traitors spilled into the open streets, led by a mighty Librarian, hoping to overwhelm a squad of forward positioned Apprentice Snipers. The snipers, realizing their position would soon be compromised held steadfast, lest the enemy's best skirmishers fold the Scholars left flank.

The streets below the gaze of the Imperial Chapel soon became awash in a cacophony of high explosive rounds caroming from reinforced ceramite. Here you see Reforged Brother Seberot bounding towards the entombed enemy ancient. Forgefather Hallithec reinforced the machine spirits of the ancients' fearsome fighting chassis whilst he relayed commands to the expeditionary forces positioned elsewhere in the city.

Reforged Brother Thaen can also be seen breaching the Chapel, only to be crippled in his charge by a perfectly timed multimelta shot from the enemy venerable dreadnought. He would remain there for the rest of the action, nobly holding back his once-brother ancients whilst the Red Scholars advanced.

Brother Dromen is also seen crushing the traitors, rendering their imperfect organic bodies into a bloody pulp of armor and ichor.

Despite the withering hail of fire from the Red Scholars, the traitors would not abate in their siege of the chapel. Here the mighty venerable dreadnought of the Astral Claws surged ahead to meet the Red Scholar Battle line which was embedded across the thoroughfare in dilapidated hab blocks.

The Lamenters are shown advancing past the wreckage of their own ancient brother into the chapel. Thaen's withering machine gaze settled on the traitors as he resolved to slay as many as he could despite his crippled body.

Hidden under the remaining rampart of the chapel is another Astral Claws ancient, equally crippled and equally resolved to slay Thaen. Like two sinking battle ships, both blasted into each other's hull until they were swallowed by the tides of war.

Despite his battle knowledge and resolve, the venerable astral claw's armored form was crumpled by Centurion Cohort Drammen. The Lamenters lamented not for the fallen ancient as they streamed over his corpse in a fit of blood lust.

However, they were not met with glory upon crossing into the thoroughfare.

Instead The Lamenters staggered into the fusillade of the Centurion Cohort's graviton fire. The storm of Centurion munitions was bolstered by squad Maelevec's bolter fire. Chunks of power armor and genehanced flesh were blasted from bodies or compacted into grotesque broken forms.

Brother Ollinort lent his plasma cannon fire to decimating the traitors.

The Alchemancer, in one last desperate bid to steal glory from the loyalists sent his marines forward to capture the chapel's tower.

But they soon found their advance under fire by Drommen's mighty plasma cannon.

Few of the Astral Claws achieved the target of their suicidal goal. The Centurion Cohort cleansed the traitors who managed to climb the chapel tower with raking graviton fire tearing through the ancient war torn walls. Even the Alchemancer could not flee the mechanical advance of the Red Scholars and was broken in the massive power fist of Reforged Brother Drommen.

By the battle's end, not a single traitor remained living in the sector. The Red Scholars calculated tactics proved were proven most efficient by their minimal casualties. Furthering their victory, much valuable archeotech was salvaged from the slain ancients and the ruined Alchemancer's body. More secret knowledge shall be added to the clandestine tomes of the Red Scholars forge libraries.

And our newest little brother...

Reforged "Little" Brother Gaul joins our ranks! Now we only await the arrival of one more ancient to complete the Quintarchy of Ancients among Forgefather Halithec's expedition.

Not quite as tidy as Brother Thaen but I was able to pull of a passing version of the same effect in maybe a quarter of the time! Feels like a win in my book.

Here's our little buddy:

Here he is among his brothers:

I never realized how much smaller the DV dreads were! He's of a height with Seberot and Dromen and they're on old timey thin bases! Thaen looks like a gorilla next to him.

Here's the last of my Zone Mortalis 1k I need to wrap up this month:

Big thanks to brother Aninja for hooking up that crusty Multimelta!

Another Ancient Reforged!

Reforged Brother Thaen joins the fellowship of ancients amongst the Red Scholars!

I went all out on the dynamic shading and highlighting on this model. I think it gives it almost a comic book finish that I really like. I also got to apply the lessons I learned from painting the Forgefather with my improved NMM recipe. It was a lot of fun to do on a larger scale.

Without further ado:

Here he is amongst his brethren:

Finally, here is my next HPC vow- another ancient!

I'm going to try my damnedest to get this guy painted up by tomorrow evening for me and Nyle's Warhammer Brodown Weekend. Lets see if I can't get the edge in our forthcoming dread bash. We'll try to do our best to actually document some of our games between the inevitable excited shouting, rolling, and laughing.