For Your Stenciling Needs

 

Mrs. Blackheart has entered a contest over at Printables.com. It is for designing old school drafting templates/stencils, so naturally she decided to go with a 40K flair. 

As she says, " Who will win?  Currently the Imperial eagle is the most downloaded, with Chaos close behind. Pick a side or join a Cult! Fun for the whole family!" 

They can be used as a drawing template or a spray paint stencil. Put your faction love everywhere!

Best of all, they are FREE! Head on over and download some today!

https://www.printables.com/model/885152-40k-eagle-stencil-or-drawing-template

https://www.printables.com/model/885209-40k-chaos-stencil-or-drawing-template

https://www.printables.com/model/885297-40k-tyranid-stenicil-or-drawing-template

Go Print Something

That Will Let You Stencil Something

The Lost and The Damned

Today we have a guest article written by the Best Selling Author and fellow Warlord, Mr. Peter Clines. 


So, I moved recently, and it made me go through a lot of old GW stuff that had piled up over the... wow, nineteen years that I’ve been playing these games and building these models.  Some harsh cuts were made.  I had a bunch of older Tyranids, Demons, Necrons, Genestealer Cultists, and more that I’d hauled from San Diego to LA, across LA, and potentially back down to San Diego if I didn’t re-evaluate some of it.
As I went through things, though, one thing that came up was just how much stuff isn’t supported anymore.  Granted, there are a lot of things that have been... well, lost in recent times.  Especially in Age of Sigmar.  With the loss of the World That Was, we’ve seen the end of the entire Bretonnian line, the Empire, all of the Tomb Kings, Dogs of War, a lot of elf and dwarf sub-types.  Probably a lot of other stuff, too. I never knew Warhammer Fantasy that well.
And this was true for 40K, as well.  There used to be lots of metal models and elements for the grim, dark future.  Some of them became finecast and some... didn’t.  And then the whole finecast line sort of... well, we’re all friends here, yes?  We can be honest.  Good intentions, horrible execution.  Now finecast is on life support in the back room and everyone’s agreed not to pay attention to it unless it coughs too loud.
But this has left a lot of armies with gaping holes.  Popular models or options have just sort of ceased to exist.  And the more I thought about it, the more I was struck by how many things GW just doesn’t make any more.  Or only has available in limited numbers from limited sources, which is... well, really limiting.
For example...

My beloved Chaos Marines have lost a lot of their character models.  Abbadon, Lucius the Eternal, and Fabius Bile have all kind of vanished into that back room.  And that’s considering Abbadon’s desperately needed a new sculpt for... well, a quarter-century now?  Huron Blackheart’s gone, too.  No generic Sorcerers. either, except for the alt-Terminator Lord model.  Has anyone seen a Dark Apostle or a Warpsmith in the past few years?
Heck, there aren’t any more Chaos heavy weapons.  You can get a heavy bolter in the basic Chaos Marines pack and... that’s it.  No lascannons, no missile launchers, no autocannons.  I’m still using a metal lascannon guy from the 1990s because... there’s no other option.  And all the Noise Marine weapons are gone as well.

Are there any Space Marine characters left, aside from the glory that is Guilliman?  I think there’s a Dark Angels Primaris character, but past that...?  No Calgar or Cassius or Tigerius.  No Shryke or Kossaro or (Imperial Fists???)  Blood Angels?  Space Wolves?
Heck, what’s left for basic Space Marine command units at this point?  Can you still get Chaplains or Librarians?  They made a plastic Librarian a while back, right?
I think the Legion of the Damned has completely vanished.  All troops, options, etc.  They were metal-turned-finecast-turned-lost-in-the-warp as well.
Granted, a lot of this may be part of the slow, inevitable creep toward all loyalist marines becoming Primaris.  I could see a whole quarter of 2019 or 2020 dedicated to new hero models, all in their amazing new Primaris bodies/armors/wargear.  Which would probably be followed by a story about the Alpha Legion or Iron Warriors stealing a bunch of Primaris gene seed, and then... boom, Primaris Fabius Bile is in the house (do kids still say “in the house”?).  Followed by an all new, swollen-with-power Primaris Abaddon, and then a scattering of new-and-improved Chaos Marines.
Well, that’s what I’d do if I was telling the story.

There are many things effectively missing from the Eldar armies—say, all the Aspect Warriors—but the big one that stands out to me is the Avatar.  Like Abbadon, here’s a huge model that’s supposed to be the centerpiece of the army and it just... doesn’t exist.  Well, there’s a really expensive Forge World one, I think.  Is that still a thing?

For such an all-inclusive group, the Tau Empire left a lot of people behind.  The Vespids didn’t have a ton of options or models to start with, and they’re all gone.  Same with the Kroot auxiliary beasts—the Kroot hounds and the big ol’ Krootox (with its big ol’ cannon on its back).  And I don’t think there’ an actual Shaper model anymore, either.  You’re just supposed to stick extra bitz on one Kroot and say he’s in charge.

Is the Tyranid Lictor still available?  It’s gone from a nightmare on the board to a nuisance to... well, not even worth having a model, apparently.  Same with Deathleaper and the Red Terror.  And the Pyrovore.  When’s the last time anyone saw a Pyrovore in the flesh-and-chitin?

So what did I miss?  I admit I can be a bit narrow-focus, so I don’t know as much about armies I don’t play.  Is there a big one I skimmed over?
And, sure... a lot of these are easy to make very passable versions of (said as a  guy who had a long-running blog about how to do things on the cheap).  I’ve been using Heresy-era missile launchers for my Alpha Legionnaires.  The Vanguard Veterans set comes with all the options you’d need to make a very solid Captain Shrike.  And even with the big cull, I hung onto all my metal Krootbeasts.
But considering how extreme Games Workshop used to be about no model = no rules, it’s still kinda weird to see the pendulum swing so far the other way.

Go Roll Some Dice

And Be Thankful For Your Old Ones

Chaos Bias

Today I bring you a guest article written by Arch-Heretic Peter:

I was paging through the Chaos Marine codex and something struck me.  It’s been gnawing at me for a while and I finally realized what it was a few days ago.  I think it’s a strong indication of why this codex—and the one before it—have been sort of lacking.

If I could, I'd like to bounce a storytelling idea off you.  And the best example of it would be Magneto, the X-Men’s recurring nemesis.  I think he makes for a great parallel.  If you aren't a big X-Men fan, Professor X and Magneto used to be allies.  They were friends who shared the same beliefs and goals.  But at some point, Magneto decided he needed to follow a different, more extreme path.  He became the villain of the series, and the arch-enemy of the X-Men.

So....why did Magneto decide to become a villain?

Well, that’s the interesting point.  He didn’t.  Magneto decided everyone else was doing things wrong and that he was going to start doing them right.  In his mind, Magneto is the hero while Professor X and his students are a bunch of well-meaning idiots who keep getting in the way.  Most good villains have this viewpoint.  They think they’re the good guy.  Look at any war in history.  Both sides believe they’re in the right, and it’s only afterwards that one gets declared “the villain.” 

And this is true of the world of Warhammer 40,000, too.  Read any of the assorted Space Marine codexes and they'll tell you how they're humanity’s glorious protectors, retaking the stars in the name of the Emperor of Mankind.  But in the Tau codex, the members of the Tau Empire are the heroes, bringing a bold vision of peace and unity to the galaxy.  Same with the Eldar, the Orks... heck, even the Necrons come across as the heroes in their own Codex.  They're the original rulers of the galaxy, returned to reclaim what is rightfully, logically theirs from the immature races.  No matter what army I choose to play, I'm playing on the side of the heroes of the story. 

Except...

Take another look at the Chaos Marine Codex.  Check out the language of the book.  Really consider the words and phrases and how they’re used. 

Look all the different events and stories on the timeline (pages 22-25).  These aren't tales of Chaos winning... they’re tales of the Imperium losing.  The codex doesn't talk  about the Chaos Marines versus the servants of the False Emperor.  It’s all about the Imperium versus assorted traitors.  The story of the Abyssal Crusade is fantastic, but it’s not a story about Space Marines switching loyalties to Chaos.  It’s the story of how Konvak Lann and the Vorpal Swords survived, were vindicated, and then exposed and killed the corrupt Saint Basillius.

Consider the descriptions for different entries.  Sorcerers.  Daemon Princes.  Chaos Marines. Cultists.  Spawn.  Heldrakes.  All of these make the point of saying (one way or another) that turning to Chaos is a mistake.  That these characters are doomed because of their poor choices.  Even the entry for Abaddon himself is slanted toward the Imperium and makes him out to be the great villain.  His own rulebook sees him as being on the wrong side.

Codex Chaos Marines is written under the assumption that the Chaos Marines are the bad guys.  It assumes they deserve to be punished.  Every bit of fluff is done from the point of view that the Imperials are the heroes.  It actually tells Chaos players that following the Powers is seen as a sign of weakness and inevitable failure.  And the rules reflect that. 

Compare this to the old 4th edition codex, the one that still gets songs of praise from Chaos players.  The various stories are about the great Chaos victories.  The rise of mighty Daemon Princes and successes against the misguided fools who worship the corpse god.  This book is all about Marines who saw the light (so to speak) and decided to stop following the False Emperor. 

Remember that phrase?  Death to the False Emperor.  Try to find it in the new book.  It’s mentioned in passing on page three, in the introduction, and then never comes up again.  Nothing even close to it.

Because if it did, the Chaos Marines might look like the heroes.

Let The Galaxy Burn

Chaos needs a better P.R. department 

All Wings Report In

Today we have a guest article from our very own Red 7, "Foxy" Johnson, on how to paint up your very own Red Squadron.

Mr. Blackheart and I have been playing a whole lot of X-Wing recently. After a couple of games, we thought it'd be super-neato if the X-Wings were painted to represent the individual pilots. Given that the Rebel Alliance scrounges material from pretty much anywhere it can, it makes sense that no two X-Wings would look the same (much unlike the Empire, which seems to have an unlimited defense budget).

As a long time 40K player (I got the Rogue Trader book for my 11th birthday), painting miniatures is almost a force of habit. For some reason (most likely laziness), I was pretty hesitant to get going on this project. As I was perusing the X-Wing forums on the 'Geek, I saw a link that ultimately led to this post: (http://buckaroo13.blogspot.com/2012/09/x-wing-painting-red-5...) (if I could find the BGG post, I'd link it here, but I haven't had any luck). The post is a great article on how to go about painting your X-Wings. Yep - that post is what I needed to get started on painting our own X-Wings!

Righty-o - enough talk. Let's get on with it, shall we?

Red Leader

Red 2- Wedge Antilles

Red 3 - Biggs Darklighter

Red 4 - John D.

Red 5 - Luke Skywalker

Red 6 - Jek Porkins

Paint Palette

When it comes to painting, I'm extra-super lazy. As such, I will go to great lengths to avoid doing mixing of any kind. Shown below are the paints I used. Where possible, I've included the company's color code in parentheses:

Tamiya Deck Tan (XF-55) - matches the X-Wing miniature's hull color perfectly.
Tamiya Flat Red (XF-7) - matches the X-Wing "racing stripe" and wing markings almost perfectly. Also used for Red Leader's Astromech droid.
Tamiya Yellow Green (XF-4) - used for the "yellow" parts/patchwork of the X-Wing's hull (e.g. Red 5's nose stripe, nosecones of Red 2, 4 and 6, yellow trim on Red 4).
Tamiya Flat Yellow (XF-3) - used only for the R2 unit on Red 4's X-Wing.
Citadel Color Ice Blue (61-36) - Used for "candy striping" on laser cannon barrels.
Citadel Color Fortress Grey (61-53) - used for parts/patchwork (primarily the nosecone stripe on Red 4)
Citadel Foundation Mechrite Red (??) - used for red components on the hull of Red 6.
Citadel Color Chaos Black (61-51) - used for touching up canopy windows on Red 4 and Red 6. Also used for the "dagger" symbol on Red 2's hull.
Citadel Color Rotting Flesh (??) - used for a couple spots of slightly greenish patchwork on Red 3 and Red 6.
Citadel Washes Badab Black (??) - for some of the battle damage/weathering on Red Leader. Also to touch up some of the weathering effects in general

NOTE - Games Workshop updated their entire paint range, so some of the Citadel Colors won't be an exact match under their new names.

Oh yeah - one other thing. I strongly recommend rinsing your X-Wing miniatures in warm soapy water before painting them. I soaked ours in warm water with some liquid dish washing detergent for @ 5 minutes. I scrubbed them lightly with a toothbrush, rinsed them and let them air dry. I found that if I didn't do this, the paint (particularly the Tamiya paint) wouldn't really stick to the miniature.

Other Tools
Brushes - I used a Citadel Fine Detail Brush and a Floquil Golden Fox/Renard D'or F302.
Masking Tape - nothing fancy, just the plain ol' masking tape that you can find at any hardware store.

Inspiration
Like I said before, this blog post (http://buckaroo13.blogspot.com/2012/09/x-wing-painting-red-5...) kicked the idea of painting the X-Wing miniatures to look like the individual Red Squadron fighters into motion.

Reference Material
I used the following photographs as reference. I'm not exactly sure where they found data for the paint schemes, so I can't be 100% certain if they're canon. In particular, there seems to be some debate over Red 6's paint scheme (as near as my amateur eyes can tell, the red canopy/trim did not make it into the final film). However, the paint schemes for Red 4 and Red 6 are really freakin' awesome, so that's what I went with.

Paint Schemes for Red 2, Red 3, Red 4 and Red 6 (http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=40137) (this was my primary source).
Red 2 Commission (http://www.therpf.com/f10/x-wing-red-2-commission-157614/) (used primarily as cross-reference w/the first site cited above).
Red Leader (http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=30066)
Red 12 (http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=11564) (haven't painted this one yet, but I might have to... [I think we might need another "generic" Red Squadron pilot])

Stay on Target

and listen to the voices in your head

In the Mouth of Magnets

Yuuup. All options magnetized.

Today's guest article comes from Matt on the joy of magnetic force. 

Greetings to you who peruse this blog.

I have come to this place to share my madness. I first delved into the 40k universe with the Blood Angels. One of my first purchases was a Predator tank and I wasn't content with either-or set up of the kit. I didn't want to have to choose between a lascannon or an autocannon. I wanted to be able to switch up as circumstances dictated. So, with the proper application of some extra plastic, a metal washer, and a rare earth magnet, I built a turret that could be opened up so that the cannon could swapped out. This magnet based project worked out so well in fact that you might say that I was instantly. . . attracted to the concept. My apologies, I won't do that again. 

Now then, over the years I have magnetized a fair number of things. Predators, Dreadnoughts, my Stormraven (removable wings for storage is extremely helpful), but because of the recent Tyranid release, today we will be focusing on the humble Carnifex. 

First a word on magnets. I use 3/16 inch neodymium disc magnets that have about 2 pounds of pull force. You can get a lot of them pretty cheaply online and they'll have more then enough power for this kind of thing. Once you've got your magnets, you'll need to find a drill bit that is as close to the diameter of the magnet as possible if not slightly larger (you want it to be snug). Most of the time the plastic will be so thin that you'll punch through with the drill bit, so the better the fit, the better the magnet will hold after its glued in place.  Also, establish a "master magnet". What I mean by this is take one magnet and mark one side with a marker or some paint. This will be the "connecting side", the side that you'll use to orient all other magnets to. That way you won't have a rouge arm that refuses to connect to its socket. Finally, you're going to want get a positioning tool of some kind. The back of a smaller drill bit works well for this. Stick your magnet to it in order to simplify the application of glue and the placement.

On to the main body. Assemble the torso section of the body and the heads and allow the glue ample time to cure. The parts need to be good and secure for the next step. Bore out the arm and head sockets with the drill bit. I do it by hand because drills can be too aggressive and can get away from you quickly causing undo damage and possible injury. Be sure to test fit the magnets before gluing them in place. Apply glue to the sockets and using the positioning tool, apply some glue to the magnet as well. Now place the magnet into the hole that you've made. This is where is becomes an exercise in patience since you need to hold the magnet there until the glue sets long enough for it to hold on its on and you can slip the positioning tool off without pulling the magnet right back out of the torso.

A similar process is used for magnetizing the heads, but you will want to clip of the little plastic peg on the back of the head before drilling out the hole.

As for the back plate (I'm working from memory here so bear with me), there should be a little indentation on the inside of the piece, it should be thick enough there for a magnet without having to bore all the way through. Positioning the magnet on the torso above the head socket takes a little estimation. If you cheat it slightly low that should help hold the back plate down tight against the torso.

The arms are where things get really tricky. Each of the arms has a ball joint that needs to be shaved down a little for the magnet to stick properly. Preposition each arm to find the pose that you like and to determine how to trim the joint so that the arm holds that position after the magnet has been affixed. Since the cannon arms join together you need to set them so that they want to connect to one another. On mine, I also pinned the connection between the arms and bonded them together with green stuff for a stronger joint. If done properly, the cannon arms can attach and detach from the torso as one piece.

And there you have it. With a little extra effort and about thirty magnets, you too can have a highly mutable Carnifex. Now take the lessons that you've learned today, get out there, and start gluing stuff together.

Matt has a full brood of three Carnifexes completely magnetized. The flexibility it gives him is amazing. For his next magnet project we will have pics as the build progresses. Probably.

The Hive Mind Adapts

The better to eat you with

Happy Chaos-giving!

In honor of our American holiday celebrating unintended consequences, I bring you a guest article written by Arch-Heretic Pete:

Five Step Chaos Program

            Let me be clear right up front.  I love the Ruinous Powers.  I’m dedicated to them.  I first got into this game with the old Tyranid snap-together models (back in the late ‘90s), but the minute Marcus showed me the Chaos codex and I read the descriptions of the Legions, I was hooked.  I had an Alpha Legion army back when they weren’t cool.  And that army grew and fractured, so now I have over 4000 points of Legionnaires, but also a solid Thousand Sons force, a Death Guard army, a fair chunk of World Eaters, and enough Emperor’s Children for a very nice Allied force.

            I’m with Chaos.  I’m invested.  I’m here to stay.

            That being said...

            Chaos has been getting screwed for a while now.

            I don’t say this out of anger or nerdrage, just as an honest fact.  The past two Chaos codexes have been very weak.  They’ve been weak compared to what came before them.  They’ve been weak compared to other contemporary codexes.  There are lots of folks who will pound their math hammers and tell you the current Chaos codex is perfectly fine as long as you take this and this and this and use them like that... but I’ve always felt that any codex that only offers one viable build is kind of a failure.  A big aspect of this game is the variety, and what little variety the Chaos Marine Codex has is... well, pretty useless.  Hands up, anyone who’s seen a lot of Mutilators out on the battlefield...

            But I digress.  Just a little.

            While talking with our host here the other week, it struck me that the Chaos Marine codex could be improved drastically with just a handful of tiny tweaks.  I’m not going to talk about stat lines or wargear or pricing (okay, maybe once about pricing).  These are much simpler tweaks which would let Chaos feel like a more viable army.

            So, here are my suggestions and the reasoning behind them.  If anyone happens to be a major stockholder in Games Workshop, please feel free to pass them on.  Even if it’s just for a good laugh...

1)  Force Organization Chart

            An army with a Chaos Lord on a Bike may take Bike Squads of 5 or more models as troops.

            An army with a Chaos Lord with a Jump Pack may take Raptor squads as troops

            An army with a Warpsmith may take one Helbrute as a troops choice.

            An army with a Daemon Prince may take one Possessed squad as troops if they share the same Chaos god.

-------------------------

            The only character in the Chaos Marine codex who truly unlocks/alters the FOC is Abaddon.  If you think about it, Kharn, Ahriman, Typhus, and Lucius don’t do anything to the chart that any Lord or Sorcerer with a 5 point mark of Chaos couldn’t do.  This rules tweak gives Chaos armies the same flexibility that loyalist Marines do, able to have an army that reflects the sometimes wild structural and tactical decisions a Chaos Lord may make.

            Plus... Doomrider!  Think about it.

2) Retinues

            Any Chaos Lord, Chaos Sorcerer, or Dark Apostle (including Huron Blackheart, Kharn, Ahriman, Lucius, and Fabius Bile) may take one Chosen squad as a personal retinue.  This unit does not use up any HQ or Elites slots.  All options and prices remain the same.

            Any Chaos Lord or Sorcerer in Terminator Armor (including Abaddon and Typhus) may take one Chaos Terminator squad as a personal retinue.  This unit does not use up any HQ or Elites slots.  All options and prices remain the same.

-------------------------

            Slightly related to the first rule.  Loyalist Marines get numerous “free” units in the form of Honor Guard, Command Squads, Techmarines, and so on, which means they have a lot more flexibility when filling out their force organization chart.  Not to mention Imperial Guard, Dark Eldar, Necrons, et al...  Giving Chaos Lords a retinue just puts them on the same footing as pretty much every other Codex.  Plus, a Terminator retinue is exactly the kind of brute force thing to clearly separate Chaos from loyalists.

3) Veterans of the Long War

            For all of the original legions (Black Legion, Emperor’s Children, Iron Warriors, World Eaters, Word Bearers, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, or Alpha Legion), Veterans of the Long War is free for any unit it applies to.  Non-legion Chaos armies may purchase the Veterans of the Long War rule at the listed cost per model.

-------------------------

            Now that Space Marine Chapters are getting free bonus rules just for their paint scheme, it seems unfair not to give the Legions the same advantage.  Especially when it should’ve been a given rule for them from the start.

            Yes, this means the Red Corsairs or anyone’s favorite home-brew army have to pay a few extra points.  But the original legions need to be distinguished somehow, and this is the easiest way.  Plus at least a third of the players out there will just argue “counts as” anyway and say their Red Corsairs army is using Black Templars rules, sooooo...

4) No more Havocs

            The entry for Havocs is removed from the army list.

-------------------------

            Pretty straightforward.  Havocs are, in my opinion, a weird holdover from when Chaos Marines were just Space Marines with horns and spikes.  They don’t really fit the idea of a wild, unrestricted army when their squad size and weapons options are almost a dead ringer for Devastator squads (without the ability to split fire).  Besides, the last rule kind of makes up for this...

5) Chaos Marines

            On page 95  remove bullet points three of the Chaos Space Marine entry.  Replace the first sentence of bullet point four as follows...

            For every five models in the squad, one Chaos Space Marine may replace his bolt pistol with a plasma pistol....................................15pts

            Or replace his boltgun with one of the following:

-------------------------          

            Under the past two codexes, Space Marines can build lots of very flexible, five-man tactical squads using the Combat Squads rule.  Chaos Marines, on the other hand, have been forced to take a ten man squad just to have a heavy bolter. 

            This new rule reflects the “warband” nature of Chaos Marines in two ways.  One is that it allows for a huge amount of special or heavy weapons in one squad (very un-codex).  Two is that it keeps the idea of one champion having absolute control and not letting those under him out of his sight.  So it’s possible to create a massive troops squad of twenty Chaos Marines with four flamers, or four meltaguns, or four lascannons... but they won’t be allowed too far from their champion.

            This also means siege/firepower-centric armies can field lots of heavy weapons and still have all their heavy slots open for tanks or daemon vehicles.  Good news for Iron Warriors or Word Bearers.

            And there you have it.  Feel free to correct, debate, or mock down in the comments.  Now let’s all give thanks to the Ruinous Powers.  And have stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Let the Galaxy Burn

Just not Dinner