AUGUST PAINTING SHOWCASE

Hail Spartans…  here we are again with another painting showcase which is an opportunity for the Spartans to show off what they have been working on in August.

As always this month followed the same format… each entry was judged out of 10 on the following categories:

• Paint job
• Paint scheme
• Coolness

The results were averaged out for each category as a percentage, as well as giving a total percentage for all three categories. Since there are no blowjobs for winning, the scores are just for fun and some general feedback on the  entries.

You can click on each photo below for a closer look at each entry.

First up of several pics is Matt Dunk’s awesome conversion of Skitarii and Skaven to form the really cool  Squeetarii army. The Bone crawler has made great use of the Onager dune crawler limbs attached to a big rat, which really looks really cool!

• Paint job                  7.9/10
• Paint scheme        7.6/10
• Coolness                9.1/10

The next pic is of Matt’s Warlord Grimfang, whats not to like about a cybernetic rodent? With good use of blending on the cloth really makes for a good contrast against the metallics.

• Paint job                  7.5/10
• Paint scheme        7.1/10
• Coolness                7.4/10

And then next pic is Matt’s Stormfiends, made from big rats and the castelax kits make an imposing pair on the table top! These models are really well posed and have been kit bashed really well.

• Paint job                  7.8/10
• Paint scheme        7.6/10
• Coolness                8.4/10

And finally from Matt is his Hellcrawler.. this is Hella cool!! a really fantastic job of melding a weird blobby rat thing on to a chimera chasis to make one seriously cool looking model!!!! good skills!

• Paint job                  8.5/10
• Paint scheme        7.9/10
• Coolness                9.4/10

Up next is Nick and his new Cryx army… its been a while since Nick put paint to model but its been worth the wait as his new army is looking fab! the models themselves are really cool and he’s done a great job of giving them a grimy but clean finish.

• Paint job                  8.2/10
• Paint scheme        7.1/10
• Coolness                8/10

The next pics are from the shorter Matt and his Mechanicum. Once again Matt has produced some great looking models (pictures don’t do them justice, he needs to learn how to take a photo!) and after being hassled to get them finished in time for a recent 30K event, he ended picking up best painted army. Which says it all about the quality of his work!

• Paint job                  7.4/10
• Paint scheme        7.4/10
• Coolness                7.6/10

And the next entry is from Jonathan and his Necromunda gang, which he has been painstakingly working on for years but managed to actually finish them in August. Some good detail work on these models along with the baboon bum is always a positive!

• Paint job                  6.9/10
• Paint scheme        6.6/10
• Coolness                7.1/10

The next collection of pics are from Si and his Alpha Legion Land speeder and 2 dreadclaws. Since he had a bit of time over August he’s been cranking out the metalic blue legionaires.

• Paint job                  9.1/10
• Paint scheme        8.5/10
• Coolness                8.2/10

And the final collection of pics is also from Si’s growing Alpha Legion of Headhunters, Breachers and Quad Mortars. Good use of chipping fluids has helped to give a real weathered and battered look to the troops.

• Paint job                  9.4/10
• Paint scheme        8.9/10
• Coolness                8.8/10

 

so once again another great selection of entries for August… keep up the good work and have your entries ready for September!.

Final Wulfen report: Knights skewer wolves

No surprises there then!

 

My last game of the cup was to be against Paul’s Grey Knights. In spite of my belief that my MSU Wulfen army was the cup’s smallest force, his total model count was significantly lower than mine (less than half my army’s size in fact), with a death-star of Librarians, two Dreadknights and a Terminator Strike Squad, amounting to something like 12 models (I stand corrected though, as I normally am when trying to pretend to be a professional sports writer writing about news…).

 

Another new army and another new look. As it happens, Paul is the only opponent I’ve played previously in the tournament grouping, having drawn against his gunpowder heavy Empire army during Dyson’s 8^th edition Fantasy Escalation League. I blame that on ending up with ‘battle for the pass’ and my Mournfang being able to get into combat helping out the result; Brucing it with my Ogres, I lost all the other games in the league!

 

Paul’s Knights have their own standout look and theme, with some recent additions from the talented painting fingers of our resident professional painter Angel (who ironically is now actually playing games, but otherwise only turned up to paint at the social table that needs to be re-designated as the painting table!), including a token sword bearer style watchman who’s there for aestheticism.

 

His Power Ranger inspired colour scheme (as it’s been dubbed, to my knowledge, which as I’ve said is patchy…) is itself a unique creation, whilst the Librarian conclave is made up of marines from different chapters that add an extra layer to the fluff/look of the army. Like Dyson, Paul can go to extreme lengths for the hobby, and has done his Tau in a bold colour scheme of white layered over black (must be painstaking and I imagine it to be torturous!).

 

G-G-G-G-Grey Knights, or something like that…

 

Again, I set up with my Wulfen in charging lanes across the board (a lot like lining up for in American Football rush, or Blood Bowl blitz gaming wise), between the buildings, knowing that I needed to at least force the issue and get into combat asap, but was aware of the large unit coming in via deep strike and grand master.

 

Trying to narrow charge lines.

 

Getting units to hold objectives, or deny their capture, was going to be pivotal and determine the outcome. The first stage of the game was where I was going to be able to do anything if at all, so that was key to planning ahead. The only real way I could try and pose a threat was to kill units to eliminate scoring options and to try and get some vp’s that way.

 

I was pretty certain the Wulfen could deal with the Dreadknights, but other than that being unable to do anything . A psychic phase that included buffs, invisibility and . The invisibility was the thorn in my side and I should have perhaps considered a psyker in the list originally, no matter how much the fluff says the Wolves are naturally psychic resistant (and fashioned to be – perhaps a collar of khorne style ruling would at least help, or the old wolftooth necklace updated…).

 

With that in mind, I rushed my units on the right side, and got into combat by turn 2 (I think it was) as the Dreadknights moved around to score objectives out wide of the board. Seven forced save rolls and I had removed at least some objective scoring capability. But clearly not enough to restrict the army as Paul ran away with the game on the scoring front. AP2 claws on the wulfen are also brutal it has been deemed. The Dreadknights’ status as characters meant I could try and bodge some more points thanks to the conditions of the drawn tactical objective card, but a 1 on the d3 roll made no difference at all for victory points scoring!

 

Taking out the Dreadknights meant I got first blood (a first all tournament – hiphiphooray!) and I achieved some tactical planning for the whole tournament. The positioning of them and my run-and-charge range   lined up across the board, combined with the Wulfen’s run and charge and failed charge re-rolls meant they were gobbled up quickly by the wolfmen and their AP2 weapons striking at initiative.

 

Proving their inability to score well in objectives (Eldar jetbikes would be useful here lol – see Chad’s army list decision and explanation in his battle report write-up), I was up a Nurgle infested swap route without a paddle. Ultimately, there was little I could do to claim objectives and the Knights were dominating. The psychic phase was brutal and if I had a way to shut down Invisibility, it would have made a huge difference. Take away the Invis and I really think I would have had a chance in combat. As Grey Knights are mid-range specialists; closing me down would equal an easier charge.

 

Wulfen now too far from other objectives to fully score/contest after obliterating Dreadknights.

 

Versus the tried and tested sneaky conga-line for maximum objective coverage. Everybody conga!

 

To close out these studies into my derp attempts to run Space Wolves, I may as well conclude the series. As expected, I did collect the wooden spoon in my group and I did do poorly. But I went one better than my expectations and actually one a game (who, me?! Yes, I know!) and proved to myself that a Murderpack formation can work. And more importantly, I learnt its strengths and worknesses through the baptism of fire most wolves would turn away with their tail between their upright legs (yes, my Wulfen ran away twice I think).

 

Plus, I have a renewed interest in 40k and in the Space Wolves (my old favourites), with the Wulfen kickstarting that; acting as the catalyst for getting back into playing Space Wolves and helping decide the direction for expanding the list as its core. It turns out tournament players do use Murderpacks, but the Wulfen need some support! I can only dream how well they’d have played against other leagues in other groupings but that’s life!

 

I had fun (shock horror – who said gaming was fun? So I’ll put it all down as a moral victory even if I have the biggest losing record) and got to know some more of the club’s members that I haven’t really spent much time around, so that was cool. Hopefully Lawrence will get through to the finals (he has a track record for it, so I’d say the betting odds are good), so then at least I can say it took the champ a while to table me!