Monday, September 30, 2013

Sternguard done!

Well, mostly. Here they are:


And here's a closer look at the sarge... 


It was a bit of a pain trying to persuade those arms to aim in the same direction, but I think I've more or less achieved the desired effect. Of course, on the battlefield, I'm going to have that plasma pistol count as something else, say, a power sword.

Also, after some thought, I've decided this is the list I'd like to try out:

Librarian
Furioso dreadnought with frag cannon and heavy flamer in a Drop Pod
10 Sternguard with 2 heavy flamers, 8 combiweapons (3 melta, 3 plasma, 2 flamer) and a power weapon
2 x 5-man Assault squads with an Infernus Pistol and a meltagun in a Razorback with Lascannon & twin-linked plasmagun
5 Scouts with sniper rifles, camo cloaks and a missile launcher
3 x Stormraven Gunships with Hurricane bolters

Just a couple of minor tweaks from the previous version. The Furioso can switch out with a combat squad of Sternguard as necessary. The idea is basically to drop a troublemaker unit to shake things up while the Razorbacks advance. In Turn 2, the Razorbacks and an estimated 2 Stormravens will come in and converge to brutalize a target with some silly amount of firepower. If possible, the Assault Squads can jump out to either add their firepower or start threatening objectives.

Man, I'm itching to try this out...

Thursday, September 19, 2013

BURN heretic!

So, as I mentioned in the previous post, I got my grubby paws on the lovely new plastic Sternguard, and verily, I like how they're turning out:


The only one without the wing on his pauldron I use to mark my Sternguard, because Deathwatch. 

No, not using the Sternguard bodies or legs; I'm going to save those for something special... I've still got a couple more that I haven't started painting. Just waiting for some bits to come my way. Specifically, this one:


I've always had a soft spot for Sternguard, so I've decided to bulk out my collection to have a full squad of Sternguard and build a list around them. Blood Angels might be rolling with an old-ish Codex, but I don't think they're out of the game yet. They've still got some things going for them, notably:

- Stormravens with Bloodstrike missiles, coz AP1 can really sting in this edition.
- Librarians with Divination. Pricey, but Prescience is so full of win! Especially when you need to make those combi-plasma shots count...
- Multimelta attack bikes are 5 pts cheaper.
- A 5-man team of Marines geared for assault with a meltagun and Infernus pistol in a Razorback with Lascannon and twin-linked plasma is every bit as cheap as the 6th ed equivalent. AND the Razorback is Fast.
- Furioso Dreadnoughts are awesome.

So, here's an idea for a list:

Librarian in Terminator armour with Storm Shield
10 Sternguard, 2 with heavy flamers, 8 combiweapons (3 melta, 3 plasma, 2 flamer) and a power weapon
3 x 5-man Assault squads with an Infernus Pistol and a meltagun in a Razorback with Lascannon & twin-linked plasmagun
3 x Stormraven Gunships with Hurricane bolters
Attack Bike with multimelta

Right, the basics:
1) Dealing with hordes? 6 Hurricane bolters, Sternguard with lotsa flaming death, 3 TL Assault Cannons... Need I say more?
2) AP 2? Bloodstrike missiles, Lascannon and twin-linked plasma death, melta weapons in every flavour. Check, I think.
3) Dealing with Deathstars? Depends on the Deathstar, but a concerted strike from the 3 Ravens will most certainly get stuff done.
4) Scoring? 3 scoring units, zipping about in Fast vehicles. Not too bad.
5) Flyers? I have 3 Stormravens. It's going to take quite an investment in anti-air dakka to stop that.

That more or less covers most of the bases. I can't help but feel I need more gun...

Anyway, I need to test this. To this end, I just got my grubby paws on this:


2nd-hand, needs a little work. Here's where we are now...

Left, Newraven, right, Blackraven. 

Colour's a little different. That's Army Painter Pure Red with a coat of Mephiston Red, drybrushed with Trollslayer Orange. Blacklining with Agrax Earthshade. Soon.... soon....

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Gaaaahplastic crack overdose!!

Sooo, a lovely new FLGS with exceedingly attractive prices opened veeery conveniently not 2 minutes walk from where I work. And the lovely new Codex Space Marines has finally turned up!

The majesty... 

After nearly 5 years of faithful service, the old 5th ed Space Marine Codex is making way for the lovely bundle of 176-page hardback awesome that will breathe new life into the good old Space Marine and his trusty bolter. Or will it? Whatever the case may be, the Blood Angels are coming back!