Wednesday 29 June 2016

WIP Colonel of the Praetorian Highland Guard

Hello everyone!

Firstly sorry for still not having posted the battle report from the big Praetorian Bad Moon Orks game, it will arrive eventually... I promise!

But I've surely got to give you something by way of an apology so here are two photos of two new conversions for the army. The army is being expanded again and there are a whole raft of new models that will soon need painting.

I've downed brushes for the time being (I'm actually waiting for some new ones as I used the old to destruction!) and am busy converting new models. Soon to be added are a Leman Russ Demolisher, another Taurox (with the VL Wheels), the Tech Priest's Trojan, some servitors, some more priests, psykers and lots more guardsmen. Of particular note will be lots more Highlanders and some very very sneaky gitz... But more on the latter another time.

Anyway without further ado, two of the new WIP additions!


First up we have the new Colonel (rank and name subject to change) of the Highland Regiment. I recently ordered a load of Victoria Lamb bits and set to work converting up some new fellas and this man, with no real plan on my part, just came to life!

The axe (not enough guardsmen with axes are there?) was a freebie. I was inspired by some space marine characters (is it one of Calgars honour guards?) and gave the pointing axe pose a go. The arm was originally a sword arm. 

The pistol is a plasma pistol to complete the 'points sink what a ridiculous combination of wargear for a guard commander' look.

He will have a Highland command squad to accompany him in due course. I think he might become one of my favourite models...


Finally we have a Praetorian drummer girl! Its all VL bits, with a hat swap and the praetorian epaulettes rather than the stock shoulder guards the model came with. So much character in this model. I think she will need to join Captain Caine's command squad and no doubt I will need to convert a few more characters up to finish it off.

Sorry again for still not having the battle report! Soon, I promise!

Thanks for reading!

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Orks sir, fasands of 'em! - The Bad Moons of Warboss Gorblud

Hi All.

As Col. Winterborne's opponent for this rather large battle, he has given me permission to overtake his blog temporarily to showcase my army.

I've been painting this Ork army for about the last 6 years, and the painted models I'm using for this game total about 5300pts with the current rules (rather handily a very similar amount to the Colonel's army). I've always loved Orks for the amazing conversion opportunities the army offers, and I've tried to make as many of my miniatures as unique as I could.

The below two pictures show the whole army. It currently consists of over 15 vehicles and 140 infantry. The whole army is painted as part of a Bad Moons clan, because I just love how much they stand out on the battlefield.

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I currently have six HQ choices in the Army (as shown in the picture below): 2 Warbosses, 2 Big Meks, a Weirdboy and a Painboy. The special rules and wargear that these boys bring to the battlefield are key to the army's success on the battlefield when used well. I've spent quite a lot of time converting and painting each of these and they're some of my favourite miniatures.

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Another two key units that will help determine the outcome of the battle are my superheavies - my Skulhamma Battlefortress (Baneblade conversion) and the mighty Stompa. Again, I really love the conversion opportunities these models offer but I must sadly admit I have yet to finish painting these epic miniatures. Painting my yellow paint scheme takes a rather long time, and because I don't have that many opportunities to use them on the battlefield they haven't quite made it to the top of my painting list yet.

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I haven't got the space to show close ups of all my units but here are a couple of my favourites. Firstly, my Lootas - these are some of my favourite plastic miniatures GW have made. The models look great as individuals but even better in units. And in my favourite Bad Moon yellow colour scheme I think they look just superb. And secondly, my Kommandos (the one exception to my Bad Moon colour scheme). With this unit I wanted to make the sneakiest and most devious Orks I could. They're all converted from plastic kits to create some really cool and unique models and I felt models as sneaky as these (notice the huge silencers they're all sporting) needed a suitably sneaky paint scheme.

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I'll now finish this post with the newest addition to my army (and also my favourite model) - my Dakkajet. I'm fairly certain this is the first bi-plane Dakkajet converted, and I'm so happy with how it looks. I have to admit that during the epic battle (that you're shortly going to see a battle report of) it was also not quite finished, so I've added a picture of it below from a week later (at the London W40k GT) with it fully painted.

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Thursday 2 June 2016

Battle Report Guard vs Orks Prologue: Regicide


"Gorblud knew it was a trap.  

It had to be. Winterborne had never made a tactical mistake like this before. After years of chasing each other across many planets, there finally seemed to be an opportunity where Gorblud could face-down the infuriating Colonel with no chance for him to escape.

Winterborne was planning something. He must know the sort of force Gorblud could bring to this battlefield, and yet he had still seemingly stranded himself there with no means of escape. Yes, he had a lot of armour at his disposal - and a lot of Orks would die in the battle - but the numbers were all in Gorblud's favour. That meant that Winterborne had some sort of hidden trick planned, to tilt the odds.
And Gorblud had no idea what it was.

There were two ways to deal with a trap: try and avoid it and get to your quarry via a route he doesn't expect - an unlikely prospect without knowledge of what the trap was - or to spring the trap while endeavouring not to get caught in it. The second option was Gorblud's favourite. It usually meant the trapper thought everything was going to plan until, the last minute. If done well it could mean a crushing defeat to the opposition.

But with it came the risk that you still get caught in the trap, and the trapper gets all that he planned..."

"Winterborne was worried.

His plan was brilliant, he'd spent months working on it and years getting everything in place.
But he was still worried. "The devil is in the detail" his father used to tell him over countless games of regicide when he was a boy. It was true, and Winterborne had spent so much of his time recently trying to ensure every detail was just right. Not 'perfect' - nothing was ever perfect. And if it looked perfect then it was probably too good to be true. No, the details needed to be just good enough to do the job, just good enough to give the outward impression he wanted, but nothing more.

Would Gorblud suspect it was a trap? Possibly. He was an extremely intelligent specimen of his species, and cunning to boot. But if he did suspect a trap, would it stop him falling in it? Winterborne suspected not. In fact his was betting his life, and that of his regiment's, on it.

The plan couldn't fail to draw Gorblud out, but would it get rid of this green menace forever?
"No plan survives the first shot". That was a saying his old Commander used to tell him. He'd surpassed his old Commander on the battlefield just as he'd surpassed his father at regicide, but they had still taught him valuable lessons. That was what he was worried about. As well as he'd planned everything he couldn't know for certain how it would play out on the battlefield. He'd just have to play the cards he had dealt and hope Gorblud didn't have any 'trumps' bigger than his..."


The Battlefield:


Primary Objectives:
Objective 1:

Winterborne and Gorblud have been bitter enemies for decades. They have met on many battlefields over the years and both gotten the better of the other at different times. However, whether through good planning, cunning or sheer luck, both have always escaped the battlefield alive.
This time neither wants this to happen. They challenge has been laid down, and both commanders intend to finish this rivalry forever!

- Slay the Warlord (4VP)
  - Gorblud wants to kill Winterborne personally (Ork player must follow this idea in the game if Gorblud is alive) only 2VP are scored if Winterborne dies via any other means and Gorblud survives
  - Winterborne wants proof that Gorblud is dead (if Gorblud is killed his body becomes a movable objective that Winterborne must claim himself to get the 4VP) only 2VP are scored if Gorblud dies but Winterborne doesn't recover the body
  - no VPs are scored if both Warlords are dead

Winterborne is given special wargear by the rogue inquisitor, Artemus Gilroy:
 - Gauntlet of Abraxis - Master-crafted Power Fist
 - Displacer Field (4+ invulnerable save. Model teleports 2D6” in a random direction after each successful save)


Objective 2 - Activate/Capture the Psychic Beacon:

Winterborne has chosen this planet in particular to stage his battle for 1 main reason - there is an ancient alien artefact on the planet that has the potential power to wipe out all the Orks on the planet.

The artefact is of uncertain origin although some markings indicate it may be something to do with the Necrons. Inquisitor Artemus Gilroy, a more recent association of Winterborne's, led a research team to uncover its secrets. It has been discovered that the beacon releases powerful blasts through the warp that can be specifically attuned to the psychic wavelengths of particular species.

Gilroy and Winterborne have already prepared the machine to attack only the minds of the Orks, but they must leave it completely powered down until they intend to use it, lest the Orks detect it and destroy it from orbit.

Winterborne's teams must activate all 3 power nodes during the battle after Gorblud's presence has been confirmed in range.

- Imperial player scores 1VP for each of the Nodes in his control at the end of the game
- Ork player scores 1VP for each of the Nodes in his control at the end of the game
- each player scores 1 additional VP if it the end of any of their own player turns they are in control of all 3 Nodes

Objective 3 - Secret Vendetta:

The Praetorian 4th have battled Gorblud’s Bad Moon tribe on many occasions and developed particular hatred for certain units in the opposition. Some scores will be settled this day...

Each army picks a single unit on the other army list (in secret)
- players score 1VP if that unit is wrecked, blown-apart, wiped-out or fallen back off the board at the end of the game

Objective 4 - Secret Loot:

The battle is taking place on an unusual planet with many interesting artifacts.  Both forces have secret targets that they wish to secure without the enemy knowing.

Each player chooses 3 of the objective markers (1 – 6) and places them in order of importance (and secretly)
- players score 3VP for their first chosen objective in their control at the end of the game, 2VP for the second and 1VP for the third


Many thanks to Matt AKA Gorblud for writing the great fluff and putting pen to paper for the scenario.