The Painting Bunkerc y

World Eaters Mastodon & Thunderhawk Transporter – Epic Scale

Posted: April 23, 2017 in Epic Armageddon, World Eaters

Good evening everyone,

Just a very quick post tonight. I wanted to show you all some of my recent additions to my epic scale World Eaters. The first cab off the rank is the Mastodon. This model in 40k scale is truly gargantuan. While I understand it is not a very practical model in gaming terms (it seems over priced?) it is a real show stopper in terms of just cock and balls on the table. My days of painting 40k scale World Eaters are pretty much over, however I quite enjoy adding new units to my epic scale World Eaters. So, when I found some epic scale Mastodon’s for sale about two months ago, I just knew I had to get three. I have no idea why I wanted three, I just seemed like a good idea at the time.

Behold

Now, I dropped the ball when I was photographing these minis for this post. Photographing white minis is difficult… You’ll just have to bear with me.

So the rules for using Astartes in epic scale can be found here. I have to admit, the rules for the Mastodon are a little lacklustre. This is mostly just due to not having enough play testing I suspect. I did a post on the EpicAU forum discussion possible revisions to the rules. If you care to contribute, please go and have a look here.

Here is the Mastodon next to a few other minis so you can get an impression of its scale.

As you can see, its been faithfully reproduced.

Next up are three Thunderhawk transporters. I really just like the idea of these things (much like the Mastodon). I’ve not yet used them, but to though of being able to drop six rhinos anywhere on the board is very appealing.

So much awesome.

Next up are just some random pics of stuff I’ve completed recently. I’m a little embarrased to put them up because the quality is so poor, however I don’t have enough time at the moment to re-take them.

Love these things in epic scale.

Red Butchers

Some Vindicators

Predators

Ok folks, thats all for now.

Thanks for dropping in.

John

BrisCon 2017 – Epic Armageddon 40k

Posted: April 16, 2017 in Competitions, Epic Armageddon

Good afternoon everyone,

Over the Easter weekend I managed to conclude my preparations for a two day Epic Armageddon 40k competition I’m TO-ing at the end of April. If you cast your mind back to this time last year, I ran a similar event at BrisCon for Epic Armageddon 30k. After last years event, I concluded that if I ran another event at BrisCon, it would be for Epic 40k, rather than 30k. I reached this conclusion on the assumption that there is a bigger pool of players for Epic 40k than there is for 30k, so I would get more attendees. Turns out I was wrong. I’ve only managed to attract eight players for this years competition. While I’m a little disappointed with this number (I was hoping for 12), I am pleased with the enthusiasm of the players who are attending. I have players coming from the Northern Territory, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (as well as Queensland…).

The players that are attending are in for a real treat. I’ve made up six new tables for battles to be fought over, and I’m also trying a new way to manage the event.

Lets talk about the latter first. I did some enquires into different tournament management packages over the course of a month. Some are very good, however none did exactly what I wanted them to do. My criteria were:

Needed to have a timer for each round that I can project onto a screen so players know how long is remaining
Needed to have the ability to not only auto-generate the next round swiss style, but also produce a match up list that I can project onto a screen so players can see whom they are playing against, on what table and eliminated match-ups based on certain criteria (ie, from the same gaming group etc)
Needed the ability for players to enter in their own game results that fed into the database to inform the next round, and ultimately the winner of the comp etc.
It needed to be web based.
It needed to be user friendly
It needed to “understand” the victory conditions of Epic Armageddon and how 1st, 2nd and 3rd are determined.

Obviously this was a big ask. I’d often considered having such a platform built myself. However cost and my lack of programming ability always provided a major hurdle to such an undertaking.

Then I was told about Table Top TO (TTT) from Lucas over at Epic AU (he’s a mad keen card gamer and TTT is used by these guys). Basically TTT is a generic web-based TO platform that can be customised to accommodate the various parameters of your game and tournament style. It ticked all of the boxes of the first five criteria. So, it did everything I wanted it to do, but it didn’t ‘understand’ how Epic comps were scored etc. Enthused, I contacted the admin and received a very prompt response from Dennis – the creator of TTT. Turns out that Dennis is not only a top bloke, enthusiastic gamer, but also a kick ass programer and very responsive to the idea of setting up an Epic Armageddon module for his TTT platform.

Over the course of about two days, and probably 6-10 email between us, we had developed the Epic Armageddon module for TTT. And what a splendid module it is! It is a totally paperless system that will calculate the results of each round and ensure that nothing is missed or no human errors result from double handling scores etc. A few of use have since ‘proved’ the EA module by running a factious comp and it worked perfectly. Presently there are about 12 supported games, with many more to come. I intend on working out one for 28mm 30k once I have fully field tested it over the BrisCon weekend. Go check it out, you can see who is registered to play, and what lists they’re using. It’s a pretty impressive platform. So versatile.

Ok, now onto the boards. As you know, I like building scenery. However, I’ve also come to the conclusion that while scenery needs to look good, it also needs to be functional and transportable. I wanted to make some really nice Epic boards that were good for comps, but also good for just gaming with friends. One of the biggest issues with wargaming is the board itself. There are so many options now. Forge World tiles. Games Workshop tiles, Secret Weapon tiles, MDF painted boards, and of course mats.

Having had quite a bit of experience with all of the above, I settled on mats. They’re versatile, durable, easy to transport, visually appealing, gently on miniatures and inexpensive. I settled on purchasing six Gamer Mat neoprene mats. As for the scenery, I used a variety of different kinds that I had been collecting over the past 12 months knowing that I wanted to build a few tables for Epic. One of the key critera for each table (believe it or not) was that the scenery component of the table must fit inside one of those under bed plastic storage boxes).

So lets take a look at them shall we?

This is the “Forgotten Realm” mat

Said storage box with table contents enclosed.

The trees are have magnets on the bottom to facilitate them being moved for more accurate placement of units. The base is .55mm thick sheet metal with sand glued on and then painted.

The “Highlands in War” mat

The “Tales of Mars” mat

Finally, the “Winter Realm” mat

So, while there are only 8 players, there is plenty of different armies in attendance. We have Codex Marines, White Scars, Speed Freak Orks, Feral Orks, Biel-Tan Eldar, Necrons and Dark Eldar. So it’ll be a great looking turn out. If you happen to be in or around Windsor in Brisbane over the weekend 29-30 April, please drop in to my Epic Armageddon Comp, Advance to Contact

Until next time, thanks for dropping in.

John

Mechanicum – Reinforcement

Posted: March 21, 2017 in Mechanicum

Welcome back!

Life has been super busy recently and I’ve not had the chance to post up some completed projects. Currently, I’m sitting in a tax law lecture, so I thought: “what a great opportunity to do a post! #procrastination

These Vultarax are very impressive models. Now that FW is using (presumably) CAD and 3D printing to design and prove its originals, the quality of the cast, and sophistication of the designs has increased exponentially. The detail is smooth and crisp and the kits go together well – added bonus: the instructions make sense. I wish I’d replaced the hokey flight stands with clear rod. I’d run out by this stage though.

The Mechanicum’s answer to a Landraider. I magnetised the pintle weapon (shown). I would have liked the tracks to be seperate to the hull. I think if FW were willing, this could have been done and would have enhanced the model significantly. However, I suspect that their experience with the Spartan and related hulls informed the decision to make these one mould with the hull.

Mechanicum marsupials?

Classic random Enginseer from the GW Imperial Guard range circa 3rd ed. Just a lovely model, it’ll be some random magos. Ok, I’d better concentrate now

Thanks for dropping in

John

Imperial Navy – Arvis Lighter & Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter

Posted: March 3, 2017 in Horus Heresy, Imperial Navy

Hello everyone,

It’s 5am here and I’m about to jump on a plane to head up to Cairns for the weekend for some gaming and hanging out with some friends. Before I leave, I just wanted to a quick post on some new flyers I painted up recently. The Arvis Lighter is possibly one of my favourite flyers (and even minis) in the FW range. I really love is simple utility and lack of weapons. It honest. Now that you can take them as a transport option for a Solar Auxiliar army in 30k I expect to see quite a few more of them floating around. This one I added a magnatised lascannon to it, for just a bit of offensive capability.

As you can see (like all of my flyers) I’ve replaced the GW/FW flight stand with some clear acrylic rod. Why GW ever went with that bizarre-o flight stand they provide with their flyers is beyond me. It lacks elegance, aesthetic and utility. Every time I think about it (like now) I find myself subconsciously shaking my head.

The Imperial Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter. What an impressive model. I real modellers model actually. So many cool little options and hidden details. I can see why it was the subject of a diorama build in the Master Class book II. Not only was it a please to build, but also to paint. It also really packs a punch on the table too.

Ok, thats it for me. I’ve got a plane to catch.

I’ve still got a few more posts up my sleeve, so stay tuned.

Take care, bye for now.

John

Betrayal at Calth – Ultramarine Terminators and Captain Steloc Aethon

Posted: February 28, 2017 in Horus Heresy, Ultramarines

Welcome back,

So I know Betrayal at Calth (BaC) has been done to death on the interwebs, I will none-the-less make my somewhat belated contribution to this vast body of work. Firstly, BaC represents a significant milestone for GW in terms of their approach to their business model and attitude towards their customers. It has been well traversed elsewhere, however I will add this: I welcome this new direction enthusiastically as it represents a return to GWs roots. Were it not for games such as HereQuest and Space Crusade, many of you reading this blog would not be here today. In fact, this very blog would not exist. These so-called gateway games are a fantastic way to bring in new gamers, and re-energise the existing (and somewhat jaded) fanbase. Since getting my copy of BaC I have had many an enjoyable evening rolling some dice, drinking a few beers and eating pizza.

My progress on these minis has been very slow to date. This is partly due to other painting priorities and life priorities. I originally intended to fully magnatise the terminators so that they could take all of the weapon load-outs available on the spures. I even purchased extra shoulder armour and decals to achieve this. However after seeing the size of the job at hand, I decided to scale back my ambitions, get some runs on the board and just paint up a basic squad with bolters and power fists. I may return to the other selection of weapons and paint them up, however it’s not going to happen any time soon.

I went all out on the tactical squads for both the Word Bearers and Ultramaries, purchasing the Forgeworld torso, should and helmet upgrades respectively. I’ve never really been a fan of the embossed shoulder armour produced by GW and later FW, however after adding them to the Iron Hands I gained a new appreciation for the contribution these upgrades make to the aesthetic and theme of the models and indeed the army. So I went all out on them. The Ultramaries Tactical squad is next up, so with any luck I get them painted soon-ish.

In terms of painting these terminators, there is nothing revolutionary here, however I did paint hazard stripes on the power fists as a bit of a nod to the good’ol days of the 2nd ed visual story.

Please leave your comments and remarks.

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

John

Legio Mortis – The Death Head Titan Legion, Ferrum Mori Maniple

Posted: February 26, 2017 in Death Head Titan Legion, Epic Armageddon

Welcome back!

While I haven’t been posting for some time, I have been quite busy. Lots of painting and terrain making. Over the coming few days/weeks I’ll be posting up pictures of what I’ve been up to. Generally speaking, its been a bit of 30k, and a bit of Epic.

This post is one I’ve been wanting to do for some time. Seriously. Ever since I saw the Ferrum Mori Death Head Titan Maniple in Book I of the Horus Heresy series, I knew I wanted one.

However doing one in 40k scale is seriously crazy (I did consider it at one stage though…).

Presently, I’m going through a big Epic Armageddon phase (as well as GW boxed games – GW, you’re doing it right). So naturally, reproducing this Maniple in 6mm was not only more economical, but also more practical. Now, I actually bought these Titans waaaay back in August 2015! So that is how long they’ve been sitting around in various states of un-paintedness. As some of you may know, I’m not one for having unpainted models just sitting around. So it really has been bothering me.

Another reason I delayed getting this Maniple finished was I heard a rumour that a 6mm Warlord was getting produced….

Ok, so lets get to the pictures.

A nice family shot, don’t you think?

In the front row, we have (from the left) Warhound Sothis, Warhound Carrion Crow, and Warhound Blood Wolf.

In the second row, we have (from the left) Reaver Dread Wake, Reaver Myrmidon Rex, and Reaver Ferrum Mori.

In the third row, we have (from the left) Reaver Mortmain, Warlord Manus Mortis and finally, Reaver Hand of Ruin.

So a few close ups.

Ferrum Mori

Myrmidon Rex

Hand of Ruin

Ferrum Mori

Mortmain

Detail shot of Mortmain’s carapace

And who could forget Manus Mortis…

I hope you enjoyed looking at this as much as I enjoyed painting them.

Expect to see a few more posts over the coming days. You won’t be disappointed.

Please feel free to leave your comments/remarks.

Until next post, take care.

John

PS. I’m running a 40k Epic Armageddon competition at BrisCon this year in April. If you’d like to come, please drop by the BrisCon website, download the players pack and register. It’s going to be an awesome event.

Space Crusade – An homage – Part 1

Posted: August 8, 2016 in Space Crusade, Uncategorized

Hi everyone,

Well, here we are. For many of your reading this, Space Crusade is ground zero for you, what some may call a “gateway game”. It certainly was for me. I remember playing this game until the small hours of the morning when I was in my early teens. If Stephen, Michael, Graeme and Keith are reading this blog, I attribute my lifelong interest in wargaming to those evenings spent playing this game.

Over the years I’ve become somewhat of a collector of games and minis. Espeically Rogue Trader and 2nd Ed 40k minis and source books. Recently I was at a friends place who had a copy of Space Crusade floating around. We decided dust it off and roll out a few games. Even today, it’s actually a very playable game. I thoroughly enjoyed it, so I thought it would be fun to get a copy (my original copy being lost to the dim, dark past) I’m going to give it a paint job, using contemporary painting standards and techniques and I’m sure bust out a few games from time to time.

There are plenty of examples of this game for sale on eBay, however its hard to find a good one. After a few weeks of monitoring auctions, I found a copy that looked in pretty good nick. At the time, I felt I really took a bath bidding on the auction. However once it arrived, I realised that I actually picked up a copy as what you may regard as in excellent condition. It even had a brochure on other games that Milton Bradley made back in the 1990s.

Interestingly, and much to their credit, Games Workshop seem to be going back in this “gateway game” introduction philosophy. That is, making stand alone boxed games that give new players a ‘peek’ into the 40k/30k universe. These boxed sets providing new players with a foundation force should they decide to explore the hobby futher and take on the more detailed rules set that is 40k/30k. It is pleasing to see, especially after some of GW’s misadventures over the past few years. Getting into 40k for a new gamer would be a daunting prospect at best, whereas picking up a self contained boxed set, with a 40k lite rules set that is ready to go isn’t.

I have to admit, I’ve been playing a few games of Betrayal at Calth recently (I’m painting the minis, and have gone all out on them: subject of a future post). I have really enjoyed the game play, the rule set being analoguous to 40k, however a lot easier to pick up and very manageable for new players, or veterans alike who just want a fun ‘beer and pizza’ game. Whats more, if new players want to explore 40k after purchasing BaC, they have a solid starter force ready to go. One final remark before I get back to the actaul topic of this post. The game play of BaC. I really like the “activation” style of game play, within a turn, rather than the strict turn style game play of 40k/30k. Not only is an activaiton style more tactical (and realistic, within the confinds of a tabletop game), but it also is more interactive with your opponent and doesn’t lend itself to “alpha strike” armies that strict turn based games encourage. Incidently, activation style game play is a feature of the Epic Armageddon system I’ve been playing a lot of too lately.

Back to the task at hand. Space Crusade… what a cool idea. Space Hulk lite, with all the cool baddies from the 41st millennium and three squads of tooled up space marines from popular chapters cruzing around a space hulk shotting them up!

Let’s take a closer look and refresh our memory at the awesomeness that is Space Crusade…

The box art. Totally hilarious now, even comical. The commanders face… reminiscent of the face of the Salamader Space marine on the cover of “Space Marine” (arguably the first 30k game, interestingly produced in epic scale). Of course, the face of the Salamander on the box art, much like our man here, is irrefutably based on Al Picino’s character in the movie classic “Scarface” during that [in]famous scene “say hello to my little friend” as he fires a 40mm HEDP round from his under mounted M203 at a bunch “home invaders” (respect to the castle doctrine).
Me and my buddies back in the day… So wholesome, the looks of wraped enjoyment while ‘purging the alien’. Space Marines: the defenders of homogeneity since 1986 (GW).
The board sections, way a head of their time. They’re showing their age a little now, but are still solid.
“Assembly Instructions” contained on the underside of the box lid. Very helpful….
As apart of my re-boot of this game, I’m making some new bases for the models. I’ll cast enough of these up for the entire set. Just random bits of stuff from my bits box. The bolter casings are from Secret Weapon. Nice touch.
How far we’ve come. Space Crusade Marine circa ’92.
Like I mentioned at the start of the post, the example I ended up winning at auction was so complete it even had this little pamphlet still in the box.

Battle Plan: Don’t leave your boarding torpedo without one…. The custom dice, now a standard feature in all stand alone boxed sets. Painting guides for your marines. Pretty camp now, but mind blowing back in the day.
Mike McVey blesses us with what used to pass for a painting guide.Well team, there you have it. Don’t expect me to roll this one out at a great rate of knots. It’s just a little project I’d like to keep going and drop a post on every now and again.

Now, I’d really like to hear about your Space Crusade story or, how you got into 40k/30k story. So, if you’re reading this, drop a quick (or lenghtly) comment, I know I’d love to hear it, and I’m sure other readers would too. So, don’t be shy.

Chat soon

John

The Xth Legion – Iron Hands – The Flesh is Weak – Reinforcements

Posted: August 7, 2016 in Iron Hands

Hi All,

So as promised (albeit a bit late) is the update to the Iron Hands army. I was working on this addition a few weeks ago. I’ve been meaning to get the photographed for some time, however time restrictions have meant that I’ve not been able to get to them until this morning.

So this tranche reinforcements consists mostly of characters and a few nice to have, but not urgent units.

We’ll start off with Forge World’s interpretation of the classic Rogue Trader era Land Raider, known now as the Land Raider Proteus. What a great job (as usual) they’ve done. Whilst Forge World haven’t gotten around to casting the tracks onto to the hull just yet, it’s still a great kit. Brings back a lot of fond memories. The plan with this vehicle is to transport the Tactical Support Squad I did with the plasma guns. The idea is they jump out, hose something, and if they survive after that, then all good. But hopefully in their suicide mission, they scrub out a difficult to kill infantry unit.

Next up is the Sicaran Venator. I’m not 100% on what the meta is on these (I’ve not played 30k in quite a while), however they seem to produce a lot of bang for your buck. You’ll notice a bit further down I’ve got a tank commander popping out of a hatch. Thats meant to be Casterman Orth. A nice force multiplier for the Venator.

Casterman Orth. Based on the Games Workshop model for Sergeant Antaro Chronus, featured in the Ultramarines codex. I’ve modified it slightly, including Iron Hands shoulder pads, and replacing the bolt pistol with a power maul. For the power maul, I ended up making the shaft out of brass rod, I feared that the resin one would be too fragile for day-to-day gaming.

So Gav-cannon rapier platforms. Just because they’re cool. I magnatised the weapons incase at some point in the future I want to give them a different load out. I put them on the GW oval bases because I think it give them a nice finishing touch.

A librarian. I’ve long thought that the Sevrin Loth librarian model (of Red Scorpions fame) as the best librarian model ever produced. I’ve actually also considered doing one for the World Eaters too (for loyalist forces).

With the new rules for the Master of Signals coming out regarding his command rhino, I think we’ll see more of these guys moving forward. They can bring down some pretty serious fire-power in one turn, whilst also delaying or speeding up reserves.

Yeah, this guy… with the new rules, I’ll probably take off the jump pack and put him in a squad of destroyers….

Nice to have… nuff said.

I really like these models. This squad have some ray guns. Ok, thats it for now. I’ve been doing a fair bit of 6mm scale painting and gaming of late. I find the scale and game play much more enjoyable. The models I’ve been working on are just reinforcements to my 6mm scale World Eaters. So I may or may not do posts on them. Just run of the mill stuff, more tactical marines, basilisks etc. I am working on three Thunder Hawk transports, which are seriously cool models and very usable in 6mm, so I may do a post on them too. We’ll see.

Ok, thats enough from me.

Bye for now

John

Mechanicum – A new frontier

Posted: July 26, 2016 in Horus Heresy, Mechanicum

Hey everyone,

I hope things are well wherever you are. I’ve been on a mid-year break, and during that time I decided to do up some Mechanicum. I doubt these will be a stand-alone force, just simply reinforcements, to add to the Xth Legion. I have to admit, I really enjoyed painting this small force. Super impressive models from Forge World. Speaking of the Xth Legion, I’ve painted up some Legionnaire reinforcements for them too. However, they’ll be the subject of another post you’ll see in the next day or so.

A few quick comments on what you’re about to look at. Firstly, the Castellax. Those of you familiar with the models will notice that their arm weapons are missing. This is because I magnetised them, and forgot to connect them for the photo shoot.

Secondly, the Thallax. I went to the lengths to buy up all of the various special weapon options for this unit and magnetise them too. So the plasma gun shown is not a permanent fixture. Should give me plenty of options depending on the threat.

Finally, the Domitar. These are seriously cool models. Just get some.

Well, lets face it, the whole Mechanicum range is… so just get some.

Mechanicum Castellax Battle-Automata With Darkfire Cannon Squad

Mechanicum Castellax Battle-Automata With Darkfire Cannon

Mechanicum Domitar Class Battle-Automata Maniple

Mechanicum Magos Dominus

Mechanicum Thallax Cohort

Mechanicum Ursarax

Mechanicum Vorax Battle-Automata

Ok, that’s me.

Thanks for dropping in. I’ve got 1-2 more posts to put up in the next few days. So come back and check them out. You won’t be disapointed…

Cheers

John

Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim, the Phoenician and the Gorgon – A Duel of Fates

Posted: June 26, 2016 in Iron Hands

Hello everyone,

So this is a blog post I’ve been wanting to do for some time. Remember a couple of months ago when I posted up that 30k Iron Hands army? Well, I had the Ferrus Manus model ready to go at the time, but I really wanted to do something special with him. Ever since Forge World released Ferrus and Fulgrim, and made their display bases in such a way that they could be joined, I’ve wanted to do them. However, I didn’t just want to chuck them on their 60mm bases and call it a day. I wanted something a little more befitting of such a significant, and one may argue, pivotal, confrontation between the Primarch of the IIIrd legion and the Xth Legion on Istvaan V. The aftermath of the drop site massacre echoes through the legions present, and indeed had an indelible effect on the history of the 41st millennium.

So just a few quick thoughts on the painting of these minis. Firstly, I didn’t want to do the ‘grey’ stone base for these models. Firstly, Ferrus is black, which is a tricky colour (it’s a shade) to paint at the best of times, let alone trying to make it stand out on a black base. Secondly, I wanted something to compliment Fugrim’s primarily purple and gold armour. I ended up settling on a variant of the bases of the larger Iron Hands force I did, that being yellow. Yellow is a nice complimentary colour for the purple and a good background to create enough of a contrast for Ferrus’s armour to stand out on. The actual plinth the scene is mounted on is a trophy/plaque base. Minus the plaque. They come pre-lacquered to quite a nice finish. I was going to get some dark marble in the beginning but after investigations I discovered it was going to be outrageously expensive, so I sought other means. I chose the name of the scene for two reasons. Firstly, it’s the name of the soundtrack that is played over the three-way duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. Now, I’m not actually a Star Wars fan: at all, however, that fight scene is seriously impressive. So much so that I went and tracked down the sound track that accompanied it. It just evokes images of titanic and climatic clashes in my imagination. The second reason I chose the name was it seemed to suit this duel. Once very close brothers: one now possessed by a daemon and condemned, one betrayed. At the conclusion of this battle, the fate of both Primarchs, and their legions is sealed. One Primarch and his legion now and forevermore heretics, and one Primarch dead, and his legion shattered and irrevocably changed for all time.

It was a real pleasure painting these two.

Here are the pics, enjoy.