Liebster Blog Award…

You may have seen this image kicking around the blogsphere for the last week, giving lots of people a warm fuzzy feeling and promoting of hobby sites within the community.

Imagine my surprise when tracking through my bloglist I read that Brovatar from Den of Imagination (currently one of my favourite blogs – very talented – you HAVE to go and see his Horus project) had awarded me for my chaos marines!

Many thanks to Brovatar!!

Now for my part. I know that you're only supposed to award blogs with less than 200 followers but I've decided to award the blogs that I feel most worthy.

Waaagghhh!
This blog belongs to my gaming opponent Bull. It's an up and coming diary about his wargaming, currently dishing out banter in my direction as we head towards our big game of 40k.

Don't Throw a 1
Ray Rousell is a peerless historical gamer and (from what I hear) Supreme Master of the Universe. The sheer volume of models he paints is stunning and I am in awe.

The Lair of the Breviks
Andy is a star of miniature painting, a genuine talent. His blog showcases his latest projects and has become a real inspiration.

Brother Joseph's War Art
I've been following Brother J's blog most recently for his ongoing sculpting projects which are very exciting. Definitely worth a visit!

The Angry Lurker
Even though Fran has more followers that I thought possible (probably the reason he hasn't been nominated before) his blog deserves an award. Always entertaining, never apologetic, it's pretty much the first place I visit on my blogsphere journey in the morning. Very supportive member of the community.

40k: Typhus – A Simple Conversion

I've kept my cards pretty close to my chest in the run up to this coming weekend's battle, trying to keep Bull and his Dark Angels unsure of what exactly they would be facing. I've weaved my bit of pre-battle banter and fiction, implying that I would be taking a Terminator Lord of some description. That was until yesterday!

Sunday's post (I never post on a Sunday!) revealed that the suggested HQ choice for the game had been usurped and that the big guns were coming in his stead. I spent a lot of time wondering what list to take and one of the biggest decisions was always going to be the HQ choice. After a lot of soulsearching (which I'll go into in another post) I decided to take Typhus, despite not owning the model.

Typhus is now part of the (in)famous Finecast range from GW and this would be the first time I had used the product. I have to say it's very strange stuff and not very nice. At times it feels like rubber, and elements of the model (e.g. Scythe blade) distort very easily and are quite difficult to correct. It is much easier to work with than metal – this came in very handy as I wanted to remove the Nurgling from his right thigh and pouch from his left leg, which took seconds. Unfortunately I am not able to comment on the casting quality as a lot of elements I thought were bubbles and miscasts could actually have been intentional Nurgle rot on the original sculpt. Bottom line from my perspective is that the product worked reasonably well for this example but I won't be rushing out to buy more.

I was never going to stick the model together as it came off the shelf, so a little converting was required. I cut his left hand off the scythe and stuck the two remaining pieces of his weapon together. His right hand was then attached in a more confident 'at ease' angle – he's not the kind of bloke who cowers or apologises now is he?!

I was intending to have his left hand casting a spell, but the angle of the arm and whole body stance prevented this being a viable option. Bull likes to have provocative debris on his bases – trophies from previous battles to rile the enemy – so I decided it was time for some payback. I added a severed head to the left hand and a few helmets to the bases – a good day's work from the big man – hopefully this will be suitable payback.

I also noticed that Typhus is some kind of pygmy, falling several millimetres short of a regular Chaos Terminator. Clearly this was not acceptable, so I added a resin rock to his base and had him stand on that – a good head height clear of his underlings.

And that was as complicated as the building process got. Quite a breeze compared to most models. During the rest of this week we will see how he was painted and maybe a bit of game theory behind his character.

CONTINUED…

40k: De-throned…

Terminus was feeling quite pleased with himself. His plague-ridden force was waiting for the final order to assault the planet below. He would choose his moment carefully; in the meantime he was enjoying the quiet before the storm, anticipating the panic rife on Cherbull.

The silence came to an abrupt end, warning claxons screaming into life. Another ship had entered the system. It was a colossal battlecruiser, bloated and distorted, the three circles of Nurgle proud upon it's hull. It drifted into the system above the gather Chaos vessels. Within minutes Terminus's own flagship had been plunged into complete shadow.

He now understood what his visions had meant.

After waiting what seemed an age, like a condemned man waiting for the guillotine blade to drop, the door to the viewing dome slid open and an enormous, horned silhouette strode in, stopping at the edge of the darkness, as if the light would melt his flesh. His outline appeared to shimmer, distorted by spores and flies floating about his mass. 

A deep voice began to rumble, underscored with venom.

"You and Maladus; you petty warband thugs. You call yourselves Lords of Nurgle – Ha!"



Terminus' gaze fell to the floor as he dropped to one knee.

The voice continued. 

"You have no idea what is at stake here. This incursion is too important to leave to you. I shall take care of these Imperial lapdogs myself."

"My L-Lord, I am perpetually devoted to your service. The forces are ready. If there is anything I can do…"

His ramblings faded and he was eventually cut short.

"You will join me on the battlefield, Terminus. Prove to me that you are worthy to lead the forces of Nurgle."

There was a hint of condescending humour buried deep beneath the venom and authority.

"There may be hope for you yet."

"Yes, my Lord."

The one they called The Destroyer Hive had arrived.
Cherbull was truly lost.