My Dark Heresy Cadre of Acolytes

(click on image to enlarge)

Adeptus-B has recently taken the reigns from me as GM, and after running a 10 year long D&D campaign, I am very happy to be in the player's chair. We just finished our 7th session last weekend, and finally completed a "trial by fire" mission.  The prize: To become full fledged acolytes of Arelius Montag!! We are in the first part of out third rank, and have yet to earn out inquisitorial rosettes.

Above is a group shot of our cadre (from left to right):

• Kaarl (Tech-Priest) - Custom figure by Adeptus-B
• Aleric (Arbitrator) - Reaper Nova Corp Soldier by Zorcon
• Denathor (Adept) - Custom figure by Adeptus-B
• Quintillia (Assassin) - Daemonhunters Death-Cult Assassin by Zorcon
• Nickodemous (Imperial Psyker) - Talisman Astropath by Zorcon
• Venris (Cleric) - Custom figure by Adeptus-B
• Varn (Skum) - Necromunda Scabbs by Zorcon

Everyone will receive an "upgrade" figure at some point (when appropriate). I am playing the Psyker, and as soon as I get Psy Rating 3, Ill swap to a new mini.

My best and oldest friend is playing the cleric and we have a great rivalry brewing. I am excited to see how this plays out! We are also both in the running for leader of the cadre to add even more tension between us.

Ill write-up a synopsis of the campaign in a later post.

Walls & Barricades

I Just (nearly) completed the above electric fence terminals. They are pretty simple... only need to add some flock to finish. All I did was take the models off the sprue and glue them to a 40mm base, added some rocks and basing sand, then painted them. I worked on these while I was finishing up a cyclone fence project I started a few years ago...

Items Needed (for each section of fence):

• 2x Large Craft Sticks (tongue depressor size)
• 3x Small Cylindrical Beads (approx 1/4" dia.)
• 2x Wooden Skewers
• 1x Barricade from the Battlefield Accessories Set
• 1x Section of Household Screen
• 4x Penny Sized Washers (or pennies)

Because craft sticks warp easily (heck, some of 'em come warped), I always sandwich 2 together with the grains/warp running opposite. I do this with all my wall barricades (as appropriate) as the craft sticks are 6" long and make a nice uniform base. When doing a bunch of them at the same time, I'll stack them all up and use 3 "C" clamps to hold them together while they dry.

After they have dried, I take them apart and clean the edges - sometimes glue will run out the sides. Then I glue the washers (2 between each post) on to give the final piece a nice weight, and keep the center of balance low.

Next, take the Barricade from the Battlefield Accessories Set and strip the 4 main prongs from the model. This will be used as the posts for the fence. I use hot glue to attach them to the craft stick base. Then I used some pre-mix spackle (any basing putty will do) to hide the washers and glob of hot glue. After drying, I glued on some mixed basing sand.

At this stage, I cut the skewers to length, cut the beads in half (down the length of the cylinder), and cut a rectangular shape out of the screen.  I eyeballed all the dimensions for each fence section. NOTE: Make sure the section of screen is cut at 45° so they create a cyclone fence diamond pattern -- not squares!

Lay the model on its side. Position the screen on the flat side of the posts. Then place one crossbar (skewer) in position and glue. I used super glue for the quick set time. Repeat for the second crossbar. Lastly, take the "C" shaped half beads and place them over the crossbar at each post... so it looks like a bracket holding the crossbar to the post. I have already primed them black, so its paint and flock left to finish.

I will probably add some bullet holes before I paint them. You also might be able to make out that two of the fence sections include some damaged (like someone has cut there way through). I'm not sure I like how they turned out (hence no pics) and I'm waiting to see them completed.

It's good to start getting some stuff off the project shelf again. I hope to keep it up!

PREVIEW: I started this project a few years ago too -- this is the stage I left them at. These pieces are "Dragon's Teeth" or anti-tank fortifications. I have 6 in total and will make a how to post about them when they are finished.

Red Heads Win!

 I'm Baa'ack!!

In the beginning of my gaming experience, I was a roleplayer (D&D), then I became a wargamer (WH40K), and eventually I fell to the darkside and became a [collectible] card-player (MtG). The time I spend playing these games ebbs and flows. But whatever game is on the playing table, the hobby of painting miniatures has always occupied part of my spare time..

Now, being well into my recovery, the last 2+ weeks have been fantastic! However, I just have not been able to put together enough stamina and/or motivation together long enough to get back to the worktable and work on anything of note.

My son Marcus with a hermit crab in hand.

What I *have* done over the last few weeks is spend time with the family. In particular a 2 night stay at the beach. I have also gotten back into Magic the Gathering after a 10 year absence from the game - Spurred on by Laertes, although it did not take much coercing.

I never played in a WH40K tournament... and I never even played a single game at my FLGS. However I have played MtG at my FLGS, at tournaments, and even took 8th in state. As I re-learn the game with slightly different rules and completely different cards, I came back to a familiar deck type - Red Deck Wins.

The deck type Red Deck Wins is an aggro-style deck that has remained popular and dominant in various forms and at various times in Standard format tournaments. The basic concept is simply to play the most aggressive creatures and most efficient burn spells to win as quick as possible.

My current deck looks like this:

Lands
14 Mountain
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn

Creatures
4 Goblin Guide
4 Hellspark Elemental
3 Plated Geopede
4 Ball Lightning
4 Hell's Thunder   

Instants
4 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Searing Blaze

Sorceries
3 Elemental Appeal
4 Earthquake

This is a recent incarnation. Most noteworthy, I added the pay 1 life lands, although the sideboard is still in flux. I'm not ready for it yet, but after some more playtesting with Laertes, Ill try this puppy out at a local tournament.