Strike at Deanarm: Warhammer 40000 2nd Edition - 800 Point Battle Report: Chaos Space Marines vs Orks

It’s been a fair few months since a post on this blog. I put it down to a painting lull mainly. But today it’s Battle Report time! 

Notably Warhammer 40,000: 2nd Edition!

The Strike at Deanarm is a small encounter between a force of Orks and some Chaos Space Marines with 800 points a side. As this was the first game of 2nd in a very long time for both of us the armies were kept to a manageable size of 800 points.

Pre-game setup while rules and army lists are prepared.

I pre-selected wargear cards for both sides and also gave out a haywire grenade for dealing with vehicles, as I realised the forces built were a bit light on anti-vehicle weapons.

So let’s look at the two forces:

Ork Army - Mission: Engage and Destroy

The Warboss is ready to wreck the Chaos force.

Warboss Le Green: Kustom Shoota, Power Fist, Bolt Pistol and Mega Armour

Mekanik: Melta Gun, Bolt Pistol, Eavy Armour, krak grenades

Painboy: Bolt Pistol, Flak Armour, Sword, haywire grenade

Runtherd: Bolt Pistol, Flak Armour

Weirdboy + Two Minderz: Weirdboy Staff, Bolt Pistols

7 Goff Orks led by a Nob: Bolt Pistols, Axes, Flak Armour and 1 chainsword.

5 Stormboys led by a Drillboss: Jump packs, Bolt Pistols, Axes, frag grenades, Flak Armour and 1 plasma gun

10 Gretchin: Autoguns

Ork Dreadnought: 2 Power Claws, lascannon and Heavy Bolter

Scorcher: Heavy Flamer

Splatta Kannon w/two gretchin crew.

- - - - -

Chaos Space Marine Army - Mission: Dawn Raid

Chaos Space Marines ready to remove these Orks from the planet.

Chaos Lord Xamahato: Terminator Armor, Combi-Twin Bolter, Chain Fist, Haywire Grenade. 

Chaos Sorcerer Champion: Bolt Pistol, Frag Grenades, Mastery Level 2, Bionic Leg

4 Chaos Space Marines: 3x Bolt Guns, Missile Launcher, 1 chainsword 

4 Chaos Space Marine Terminators: 2x Chain-axe, 2x Combi-Flamer, Combi-Melta, 2x Power Mace, 4x Terminator, Twin Bolter

Chaos Dreadnought: Twin-Linked Bolter, Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter, Power Claw

- - - - -

The battlefield had a wide variety of scenery strewn about it and with that missions, psychic powers, deployment and who starts first were decided. Only after which I did strategy cards and forgot they can effect deployment. So after re-drawing the strategy cards we were ready to begin.

Except it's strategy card time already as the Ork force unveils a special issue a quick gathering of all the wargear cards and they get a Toxin Grenade which is completely useless against space marines so the redraw is a Neuro-Gauntlet!

Galvanise the memory cells with Eavy Metal!: Part 4 (White Dwarf 148)

Been a little while since we went down memory lane. Let's jump in to White Dwarf 148 and look at some of my Eavy Metal highlights that can be found within.

Another nice cover for this months magazine. That fire wizard sure knows how to boost up a sword for killing orcs. 

So after the 'making a river modelling article' we get our first Eavy Metal section with some miniatures painted by Adrian Wild. Although there are plenty of miniatures here to look over I find three that really catch my eye.

First we have the Dire Avenger Exarch one of my favourite models of all time and this one is very nicely done. Alongside a Rogue Trader Traitor Terminator. That Daemon Sword is really cool and looks like it is made of some space crystal!

Speaking of models I really like we have this Eldar Warlock with Witch Blade. I have this mini and he is a real gem. Heck I think I've used him as a Farseer he looks so good. The defiant and yet arrogant pose combined with such a slick paint job.

Next we have some Epic Space Marine coverage focusing on the Chaos army and the Daemons. 

These Chaos engines always fascinated me so many claws and scale-wise immensely large skulls. I'd be curious to see if modern 40k would reach the dizzy heights of bringing these to a 40k table (maybe forge world).

Next more Marauder Dwarves get a showcase, again they have so much character.

The bottom row of crossbows is a great little unit, all with there own unique poses and quirks, love 'em all.

We get an ad for a Games Day but it includes this nice alternative take on the Bad Moon Ork Warboss. Never really considered bad moons in orange but this really works. Also that base is really fun with the moss on rock or dead coral?

The next section features a Battle Report of the new Empire taking on an alliance of mostly Wood Elves and Dwarves. Somewhere there are a bunch of dwarves sitting around a tavern table muttering loudly about the not in my day, that young'uns are ruining the old ways and that grudges shouldn't be forgotten.

The really interesting thing about this army for me (apart from that war eagle riding elf lord) is the dwarves on the left who are painted in a black and white monochrome colour scheme. They really stand out from the much more flamboyant elves in this dubious alliance. I was hoping for more close up shots of them in the battle report but unfortunately the dwarves are not really the focus.   

So that's it for this White Dwarf, some good stuff especially if you like Empire or Chaos in Epic.

Until Next Time :)

Tzeentch Bird Demon attempts to scare an Ogryn and a Gretchin

Spring sunshine is here! I hear bird song, wait is that screaming?!

Once there was a series of greater daemons. The Bloodthirster of Khorne, canine fury with axe and whip drenched in the blood of numerous corpses. The Keeper of Secrets, seduction and terrifying beauty in the the name of Slaanesh. The Great Unclean one, Nurgle's bloating virus laden puss bag. Which of course leaves last the Tzeentch greater daemon, The Lord of Change

Bring forth the Easter Mini Eggs or suffer my wrath!! 

For me as much as I like Tzeentch the daemons of the chaos god are an odd bunch. The Flamers got all the cool abilities with the bounding leaps, jets of eldritch flames and bizarre models (I prefer the old mushrooom looking ones over the bird heads or whatever the pure magic looking new ones are supposed to be). The horrors are amusing as they divide in two like really a strange bacteria performing binary fission. Whilst the disc come across as the best form of transport for tooled up sorcerers. Yet the Lord of Change is bland rules wise (well in 3nd edition at least), just causing terror (like all the greater daemons) and having the ability to fly. Of course it can cast all the Tzeentch spells but I felt they missed a trick and could have given it something of it's own for it to stand out on it's own a bit. Like a hypnotic gaze or some sort of chameleon effect from it's feathered body

Anyway the original miniature is the last of the greater daemons I acquired. Although not the last to be painted. When it arrived from ebay it was in bad shape. The leg had broken off at the ankle and I don't know what paint was used on it but the dark navy blue colour would not shift easily.

The only photo I have of it's original condition, low quality as I had to scavenge it off the ebay sale.

Once that was all sorted out and it had an undercoat it was time to choose a colour scheme. For me it had to be mainly blue which meandered into purple, that's just how I relate to Tzeentch, but as I had been watching The Dark Crystal TV series (the cancellation is a crime) I took some inspiration from the Skeksis, particularly the Chamberlain for the head. The yellow beak and purple to red skin shading.

 hhhhhhmmmmmm

I found the model to actually be a lot of fun to paint as a bird like creature isn't my usual area of painting, all those orks get in the way. The thing is the actual pose of this Daemonic Bird is kind of surprised which can make for interesting photo options. Thus instead of the usual photo stylings the photos here will be the Bird interacting with other miniatures I have painted up.

You are under arrest for crimes against the Emperor! 

As you can see he's a loony looking bird daemon, especially on his left side with that big eyeball. I tried to go with a more eagle bird of prey looks for the legs. The mushroom on the base was just some spare green stuff I needed to use up. As you can see we also have a Frateris Milita chap with an autopistol I have painted. I have no sisters of battle army for him but I have use for him in Stargrave so he got a lick of paint recently. 

Keep going, click the 'read more' there are many more photos.

Chaos Ogre from the Northern Wastes

Hey oldhammer fans, it is time for another classic ogre to get a showcase on my blog. This is the first Jes Goodwin ogre I obtained many moons ago off eBay but it always came across as quite an intimidating figure to paint up. Mostly down to this particular ogre not being painted up much if at all in the pages of White Dwarf.

The Chaos Ogre is an interesting miniature, clad in some sort of armour with that massive face being the focal point of the miniature. Also this ogre has an added of challenge of needing a shield. A large shield at that.

Gonna smash those humans right out of that fort!

One issue I had was what paints I was even going to use on this ogre. With no particular theme to my band of ogres/ogryns I decided to go a bit mad with reds, greens and metals. His actual clothes beneath the armour is a leathery dark red. The armour started out as being just a classic silver/grey but this looked a bit drab so I started adding a bronze and metallic green to parts of the plating. 

Ogre artwork, not a huge amount out there but this one is fun.

The real fun was the face. The horns were simple enough but in the end I went for a violent furious looking red with some golden orange hair for the face itself.

Cold hard stone, wait did it just move?!

It's been almost a year (and quite a while since I made a post at all) since I did a Heroquest blog post and finally the last monster hit the paint table. I could say other projects had taken priority but honestly it was more down to being unsure of how I wanted to paint the stone boss of the original mainstream dungeon exploring game.

Yes the Gargoyle! The dread statue that rolls more attacks than the barbarian and is often best avoided if it can be helped. It's such a great model I wasn't really sure how I was going to paint it at first. Do I go down the route of painting it like a small Bloodthirster or maybe make it a sandblasted rocky colour like on the cover art of the Kellar's Keep expansion.

Despite the menace, I do like that one goblin struggling not to fall.

In the end I decided on a halfway between stone and being alive. I decided for a more grey stone than the above artwork as I felt it fit the aesthetic I wanted a bit more.

Behold my power, living stone becomes living death!!

First I need to explain my current camera is not ideal for taking photos and lighting is an issue at the moment so in comparison to some earlier posts these are not the best photos.

I went for the classic khorne style colours for the top half of the gargoyle, nice to use reds and bronze makes a change from the green of orks.

Death comes for this plane of wooden ground and chair mountains!

This is the reverse shot of the Gargoyle. I tried to keep the wings simple and just went for some shading on the orange/red colours.

Where is that barbarian? I will cleave his head from his bloody corpse!

There we have it all the Heroquest monsters and Heroes are complete, might get a group shot up of them all when this lockdown comes to an end.

In the meantime have a great day and thanks for reading :)

The Genetic Freak of the Chaos Week! - Slaanesh: Keeper of Secrets

The warp has been fluctating really badly in recent days, not sure if it is the heat, the smell of burning meat or the flow of alcohol on these hot summer nights.

"Mortal you are unworthy to be in the present of greatness!"

Or it could be because I summoned a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh to the paint table. This is a really great model and I have owned it for a long time which is why it might not match up with what you may find in the citadel catalogues of times past.

My first knowledge of Greater Daemons began in the Codex Imperialis: Chaos Section. This image next to the Keeper of Secrets entry really grabbed my attention. What a monster and he is fighting a Grey Knight! Those guys are tough, I need to know more. The thing is I never collected a Slaanesh army of any kind back then, but somehow I ended up buying the Greater Daemon early on.

Follow on for more glorious Slaanesh details ...

Galvanise the memory cells with Eavy Metal!: Part 2 (White Dwarf 146)

Where was I, oh yes White Dwarf 146 and it's Mad Max hybrid space marine scouts cover?

That front left guy looks like he is about to join a genestealer cult!

I have no idea what is going on here but these guys are very odd space marine scouts, more like some Necromunda gangers cosplaying as space marines. What with Dark Angels, Space Wolves, Blood angels all represented and look at the guy at the front with the mohawk and commando facepaint. Still it is very striking as they descend down into a hive city, a tomb the London underground?? Let's move on.

"Nom,nom,nom..."

Ah yes Space Fleet, a game I have never played or really had any interest in, including it's eventual follow up Battlefleet Gothic. This article is covering the Tyranid ships being released. There is some great art of a hiveship which looks kind of like a nautilus pity none of the ship minis match up to the artwork. Especially the Humboldt squid hiveship. Let's keep going...

New Year, Old Projects and an Ancient Evil

2019 is here and the cold weather is settling outside, the perfect climate for outdoor activities, no wait that is summer. This is the perfect time for indoor activities like tabletop gaming and painting. With that in mind; blows the dust off a very old box ...

Braawd Swoord!!

The Heroquest: Design your own Adventure Kit! Ah yes this is an amazing blast from the past. This is what you needed back in days of yore before PCs had become affordable and could only just about run Space Invaders. 

Dib dib dib dib

On the Industrial world of Clarlorn, three independant kill teams investigate reports of an alien disturbance!

What is this 8th Edition 40k Kill Team doing on an oldhammer blog? Well just because the models I paint are oldhammer doesn't mean they can't be used in more modern games. As it came to be on a Bank Holiday afternoon where four squads would do battle.

Yes that is a kill team mat combined with space crusade boards!

All the models expect the Eldar guardians & the Lictor are painted by me (the nurgle space marines are very old so the painting quality isn't great but fine for the tabletop)

Original plan was a five turn game, due to time constraints, rule research and setup it instead ended on turn three.

Enough with the filler, let's introduce the teams:

Dark clouds loom, Maalica Iron Hoof!

What is this? A painting post that has nothing to do with orks! Yep this is an update on some chaos for warhammer fantasy featuring a chaos sorcerer.

Hmm, need to cast some fire magic it's a bit cold!

Clad in plate of steel, the Chaos Warriors (Heroquest)

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about something we can all relate to, something that is unquestionably, inescapably… Chaos!

I am referring, of course, to our great national pastime - merciless combat. Or so it had been. That's right, wasteland dwellers. Before we were devastated by heroic deeds, each lair had its OWN professional combat team. Imagine, a perfect, rain soaked day. The sun is enveloped by darkness and misery. And on the horizon, they appear, like knights of yore, armed with axes of hate and malice.

"Erm, guys the camera is this way!"

Their name? The Chaos Warriors. Their purpose? To make you, dear reader, revel in the joys of savagery and blood, if only for an afternoon.

From the Outlands a Chaos Warband begins to emerge

Last time I mentioned building a chaos warband for the first time. This was partly inspired by reading oldhammer posts and also because some friends have shown interest in doing something with Warhammer Fantasy notable the 3rd edition rules. Thus I shall form a warband and if further down the line a gaming session happens I'll be ready. Plus painting up some mutated monstrosities will be fun :)

To war my goat headed minions!

My Top Five Least Liked Miniatures...

If there is a best there must be a worst, so here are my five least favourite miniatures of all time. This is purely my own personnel taste and in no particular order. Off we go ...

Memories: My Top Ten Oldhammer Miniatures:

Having read some time ago various blogs with lists of top ten miniatures in the oldhammer community, I thought I should put forward my own and share with you all. Thus what follows is my personal favourite miniatures of all time.

When deciding on a list of ten I tired to keep to models I have a very fond memory for or have some significance to me as I have been gaming. So although I like a lot of models that have been produced over the years these are the ones that really stand out and made an impression on me. I also limited it to models I actually own. Let's get going then ....

Tracking down Maalica Iron Hoof the Elusive

It's interesting when you get back into something like miniature painting and playing the occasional game that sometimes information that was available at its prime might not be as easy to find today even with the internet. This is what I found after getting inspired to start forming a chaos warband. Bit of backstory here, I never played Warhammer Fantasy in any form as my friends at the time were into Warhammer 40k. However the fantasy setting and models always looked great to me especially some of the 'Eavy Metal photos in White Dwarf.

Bonus points if you remember this battle report.

Heroquest and Warhammer Quest were my only deviation into this side of the gaming and as such I occasionally picked up a model here and there that I thought might make these games more fun. Most of these "that looks cool" purchases were of the villainous nature. The heroes need more monsters and chaos to slay after all. Which leads to this model.