First Battle in Years

Finally cleared off the kitchen table and played a game of 40k with Alex, my son.  Since neither of us really knows the rules, I just pulled out two essentially identical Marine armies, probably about 600 points.

We each had:

HQ: A Librarian
Troops: Tac Squad x10, 1 special and 1 heavy weapon.
Fast Attack: Assault Squad x5
Elite: Dreadnaught x1

Because the forces were so small, we agreed that any unit or character could capture an objective, except the dreadnaughts. It didn't really matter since Alex pretty much wiped me out.  The idea was to learn how to move, shoot, and assault.  That we managed no problem. It was fun!

Alex learning to measure movement.  

Mentor Legion Assault marines killing Ultra Tac marines for control of the objective (the Rapier Gun).

Alex was moving his unit. We had to adjust to keep unit coherency.

Dreadnaught vs. Dreadnaught. My Lascannon was a big advantage, but the worst I could do is immobilize his.

Close up of the Assault.  Eventually he wiped my squad out.

My Librarian secures an objective (a wounded marine) while watching the Mentor Tac squad take another in the woods not far away.

Great first game.  Because the armies were so similar, it seems like it was dice rolls that kept things close, but really, Alex's decision to attach his Librarian to the Tac squad meant while mine was eventually destroyed by his Assault squad, my Assault squad was defeated when I attacked him.  Those extra attacks from that darned Force Sword really made a difference. I'll know better next time.

-Adam!!!

Best Transfer Tutorial - EVER

Smurfs in Space teach us how it's done.

Bragging

I love to brag, and dammit, I am getting great at painting the Ultramarine logo. Check it out.

The flash photo makes the colors all washed out, but I'm proud of those shoulder pads.

The blue-on-white one isn't perfect, but good enough for me.

Veteran Sargeant, Veteran, Veteran (Eagle), and Devatstator with Multi-Melta 

-Adam

Battle Brothers!

I have discovered another Mentor Legion blog and I wasn't even looking for it!

Check out his sweet paint jobs. I'd kill (several Orks) to be able to paint the original Mentor logo this well:

Image used without permission, 'cause that's how I roll. 

I say, well done, sir!

-Adam!!!

Ultramarines - Old Time Rock 'n Roll

Technically this is the Mentor Legion blog, so you'd think I'd post more Mentor Legion stuff. The truth is, I'm having too much fun collecting and painting UltraMarines.  I've done an inventory and discovered I'm very close to a complete collection of Rogue Trader era marine minis.  Close enough that I'm actively working to complete the collection.  One recent big addition was a set of nine pre-Rogue Trader marines.  It's not the whole set, but it's several new ones, and with the two from the line I already had, I now have more than a full squad of these very distinct marines. Even though it's not yet a full set (I've dupes of some and none of others in the line), it's still become my favorite squad in my collection.

The full squad 10+ marines, including the sarge.

The sarge is my favorite.

Look at those strange guns. We'll just call them all bolters.

I added a graphic (stripes, checks, shapes) to a few of the shoulder pads on the identical minis. I liked it so much, I added the designs to most of the squad. Each one a unique design and/or color scheme.

Heavy Bolter Marine.  Not the same style as the squad, but still very old. Note the green/white checkerboard pattern.

-Adam!!!

Magnificent Magnetics

In my Speeders post I had an unpainted Rogue Trader Space Marine Land Speeder.  Since posting that the speeder has been (mostly) painted, as you'll see.  Also since posting my first package of wee magnets has arrived from Hong Kong. I had never even heard of magnetizing miniatures until just the last few weeks, but now that I've seen what they're like, I can see the appeal. All that and it's pretty darn easy to do.

You can see the magnet  just above the red 'bottle' next to the marine seated on the right.  It's the silver disk. Originally there was a post  that was used to mount the weapon.

This was originally an Attack Bike Multimelta, but I've got lots of them and the  Speeder I bought was missing its weapon. They're the same, except I had to hack the mount off of this, which I wouldn't be using anyway.

I just pop that baby right on there like so...

And there it is.  The "green stuff" that's holding the magnet on the weapon isn't quite dry, so I can't paint it quite yet.

Here are my two speeders together. The one on the right has an old fashioned glued-on weapon.  Yuck!

I have a whole bunch of magnets, and from what I gather, other players go crazy magnetizing almost anything.  I bought three Imperial Guard Sentinels off Ebay and every little thing on them is magnetized. I'll may have to remove some of those for a sturdier model, but then again, maybe not.  It's clearly a great solution for a lot of situations.  I can't wait to find out what else might work.

-Adam!!!

The beginning. The very beginning.

I've decided I want to collect all of the 1st edition "Rogue Trader" Space Marine models and turn them into a playable modern 40k army. I'm already well on my way, with just a few holes to fill.  I just put a big dent in my missing minis list winning an auction of not just 1st edition mini's, but pre-1st edition minis. I have two of these guys already, so now i'll be able to field a full squad of 10.  YESSSSS!!!!

This is the eBay photo. I'll be stripping them and painting them Ultramarine.

I can't wait until they arrive.  I've never been happier about winning an auction, ever!

-Adam!!!