Thunders and Hammers

Back to my own projects and a new entry.A Salamander Terminator armed with Thunder Hammer and a Storm Shield.
With Master He'Stan  in play the thunder hammers are fearsome weapons with increased chances to hit(Call it Mastercrafted Hammer of Doom ).Combine now the awesome protection of the Tactical Dreadnought Armour of 2+ now add the Storm Shield protection of 3++.Will you pay 40 points for this model?I Will.A terminator Squad is deadly against Heavy Infantry , Monstrous Creatures, high Toughness models and Vehicles of any kind.So.......See ya next Yeaaaaaar!!!!

 

Α Friend in the Hobby.

A Week ago a friend asked me about Warhammer 40.000. I was more than happy to explain and describe all those different sides of the hobby. Collecting, painting and gaming with my friends is one of the best aspects of the game. My friend visited the local game store with me and he bought a painting set, a box with 5 Space Marine models and some pots of paint. He worked hard the last three days and the results are the following.

Damn I wish my first models looked so great!
Of course he has plenty of time to improve and improve he will. See, there is only one way if you try hard and this is forward. Even if at first you didn’t have the results you wanted, you will improve. Like a famous Greek poet once said, ‘’What matters is not the destination but the trip itself’’.
I’ m going to give some advice then and try to convince him to change the chapter to Salamanders, this way his trip on this hobby will be similar to mine. It is always good to travel with dear friends
By the way this is the Salamanders Force I’ve painted this far. I really enjoy this Green colour.

Collecting a new army.

I always get excited when I'm about to collect a new army.Searchimg on the net for paint schemes and army lists makes me  feel  like a kid waiting for Santa.

I never liked the Dark Eldars.Crappy models, ugly vehicles, lot of metal models and few, very few ways to field a challenging army on the tabletop. No, the Dark Eldars wasn't an army for me and often my friend  Yannis and I used to jest about this 40K race charecterizing them as ''The Poor Cousins''. All these changed.

After the publish of the new codex and the release of the new models Yannis changed his mind. He started collecting the new models and built some serious army lists.Yannis is a Veteran player and always finds ways to build really out of the ordinary, yet challenging lists. After a few games at the Battle Bunker Club I changed my mind too.

Yes, the Dark Eldar lot aren't the ''Poor Cousins'' anymore. Nice, challenging lists, but what about the models?Well, for all of you who used to live under a rock till today here's  a link to admire the new Dark Eldar models.
  http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landingArmy.jsp?catId=cat440170a&rootCatGameStyle=  

And with this problem also solved another matter arose for me.''Can i properly paint and convert my own force?''. Well, there was only one way to find out, so i went and bought the ''Cabalite Warriors boxed set'' and painted a test model. The results didn't dissapoint me.I am not used to painting this kind of models but it was suprisingly easy and satisfying.

Νew Units are Reporting for Duty.

Striving for the 2nd Angels Sanguine Assault Squad i finished one more Jump-Back Packed Equiped Astartes.

The 1st Salamander Tacrtical Squad is ready.Sadly the rest of the squad is still having its sweet time to Crete so a family shot will have to wait.Until then here the pics of SGT Cor-El.
He is armed with a Thunder Hammer taken from the ''Blood Angels Death Company Box Set''.Ofcourse is count as a Power Fist.And a converted Combi Meltagun

A closer look to the small conversion on the Combi Weapon.

THE BLACK DEATH.

The Black Death is a Razorback.Serving with the 4th Angels Sanguine Battle Company it has made its own legend in the glorious history of the Chapter.The Black Death has  a record of the most sucessfull IFV of its class placing it as one of the most decorated Vehicle of the chapter. Serving under the 4th Company of the Brother Captain Furion , the Black Death  was a part of the Angels Sanguine Mission at the ''Battle of Macragge'' with the name: Strike Force ''Avenger of the Fallen''. The IFV was decorated for its outstanding performance and courage in the face of the foe at the Battle ''Alousius Lamment''  (Please read the full story in the Codex : Tyranids , page 12) In summary.

After the safe extracion of the injured Chapter Master M. Calgar the Strike Force ''Avenger of the Fallen'' makes planetfall  arriving at the hot landing zone with 12 StormRavens carrying the full Astartes Force and 3 Thunderhawk transporters carrying  the Land Raiders Redeemers ''Rellentless Fury'' and ''ArchAngels Wrath'' and two Razorbacks IFVs ''Black Death'' and ''Bloody Wing''. As the StromRavens devastate the Drop Zone with missiles , the Transporters releases the Land Raiders and the RazoBacks in free fall. The drop of the IFVs was a gambit no other Commander was taking but Cpt Furion told ''Desperate Situations calls for desperate Tactics'' The combat drop works well for the Land Raiders and Black Death but the Bloody Wing is destroyed upon impact to  the ground killing instantly the two members of the crew and dozens of xenos. Redeemers and Razorback are strafing the enemy with assault cannon and flame purging the Drop Zone from any pockets of resistance  allowing the StormRavens to unload its deadly cargo of Vengeancefull Astartes hungry for combat.Three Devastator Squads are  forming on the center with brother captain Furion at the general command and 5 tactical Squads are fanning out for support. The Armoured Vehicles are moving to the place which the Ultramarine Hero fell. The Black Death reaching the Fallen first and the Sanguinary Priest Avatos lifting the Fallen brother just in time. The Tyranids are counter-attacking in full force and the Land Raiders are fanning out to reveal the trap.The attacking force  is being welcomed by the devastators missiles.Furion is guiding his heavy weapons targeting the synapse creatures first  sending against them 100 Krak Missilles in less than 1 minute and 30 seconds.Without the Hive Guidance the horde is scattering  just to be annihilated by the advancing Black Death , Rellentless Fury and Archangel's Wrath.The Angels Sanguine don't persue,  they are falling back in good order back to the StormRavens leaving the vehicles to exact their vengeance before being picked up by the ThunderHawks.

After the Battle for Macragge the Ultramarine Chapter decorate the RazorBack Black Death for Unmatched Zeal with the ''Crux Terminatus'' badge

Upon the return of the Strike Force to Baal Secoundus the Chapter decorates the Black Death with three purity seals, one for every crew member and the lost Razorback ''Bloody Wing''

Salamanders First Founding Chapter.

The Salamanders follow the Codex Astartes, but their doctrines are also strongly influenced by the Promethean Cult of Nocturne, an accepted variant of the Imperial Cult, which places a high regard on self-reliance, self-sacrifice, and loyalty to each other as well as to the Emperor. The hammer and the fire are both important symbols of the Cult, and the Chapter makes widespread use of Flamers, Meltaguns, and Thunder Hammers in their armoury. As one can imagine, this preference for Flamers and Meltas leads to a strong affinity among the Salamanders for close-range shooting when in combat. Because of their universal early training as blacksmiths, all Salamanders are fully capable of maintaining and performing moderate repair work on their weapons and armour, leaving the Chapter's Artificers with the free time necessary to create great works of technology and metallurgy. As a result, the Salamanders Chapter has an unusually high number of master-crafted weapons and Artificer Power Armour. The Chapter also favours the use of Land Raider Redeemers. In an interesting example of juxtaposition, however, the fluctuating gravity of Nocturne makes training with certain units such as Land Speeders and bikes difficult, therefore the Chapter makes little use of them, favouring instead Devastator Squads and Terminator Squads (the Chapter has 120 Veterans as opposed to the typical 100).

Indeed, it is fitting that the Salamanders should lack fast attack capabilities, as for some inexplicable reason, they naturally have slightly slower reflexes than most Space Marines, probably as a result of mutations in their gene-seed. However, a Salamander's reflexes are still significantly faster than those of a normal human. Also, as a result of a reaction between their genetics and the high levels of radiation present on Nocturne dueto the constant volcanic churning of rare earth elements from the planet's deep crust, Salamander Battle-Brothers usually have dark or jet black skin and bright, burning eyes with the capability to see in the infared band of the electromagnetic spectrum, which gives them a natural form of night vision. This appearance is entirely superficial, but has intimidated more than one rebel against the Emperor into submission without firing a shot.

Trained never to give up or retreat, Salamanders are capable of going on even when their entire squad is dead, holding positions for months on end. This is one of the more significant effects of Promethean doctrines upon the Chapter's collective psyche.

Before each battle every Salamander receives an honour-scar from a Promethean brander-priest. This symbolises their respect for the Chapter and the Promethean belief that one must be cleansed by the pain of fire before every major undertaking. Only Veterans ever receive honour-scars on their faces, as it takes several centuries of battles before every other space on the Astartes ebon-skinned body has been filled up with the scars
The above text was taken from this link.

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Salamanders

Two more tacticals Astartes are reporting for Duty.I m very sorry for the crapy pic but the weather is terrible so...Now the only  thing missing is a veteran SGT to finish the Squad.Any suggestion for the Load Out?

XV 8 CRISIS ''The Red Leader''

The situation was going from bad to worse.Yeah....Sure it was an easy counter-offensive.Yeah...Sure everything startes out smoothly.Hunting down the human infantry troops was an easy job.


Everything would be fine if that huge piece of junk that these barbarians call ''Titan'' hadnt appeared out of nowhere.Now we run for our lives.

-Red team this is the Red Leader.I m calling my team mates and they answer pressing their transmit buttons once.
-Scatter and regroup to RV126 ASAP i repeat . Scatter and regroup to RV126 ASAP.I shout.My voice filled with panic that wasnt expected from a Shas'Vre like me
I dont have so much time to think of my personal image .My Threat Reciever is sounding Beep...beep beep and the sweet melodic voice of my armour's computer explains the obvious ''Warning Radar Lock...Evade Evade....''
''Damn from this Target rich enviroment it chose me!''
Never the less i keep running , saving valuable energy for the ''JUMP'' , the only way to evade the Titan's guns,switching the irritating alarm off and keeping only the computer to guide me.My communication arrays and tactical screens shows me that the HQ is responding to the threat directing our Hammerheads and the Tigershark ''Eternal Glory''to my position . I just need to keep on running and hope.
                                            WARNING WEAPONS IN THE AIR
JUMP.The mind command is setting my XV8 to jump position rerouting power to the Twin Thrusters on my back.The thrusters are roaring in protest but my armour is soaring 24....42....65 meters above the ground in a matter of nano-dects
A gust of hot wind and sharpnel is hitting me hard and more alarms are driving me insane.I am off balance and my landing vector is way out of the flight limits file.All my weapons and engines are off line.I am a dead weight 72 meters above the ground.Therfore i am dead
My ''Crisis'' is crashing to the ground like a toy , breaking two of my ribs , my plasma rifle and the drone controler . I raise my body up.I taste blood in my mouth and all my Multi Purpose Monitors are filled with the ugly sight of the Titan.
The characteristic sound of Railgun discharge is filling my ears.The Titan's torso is disintegrating under the impact of two solid shots traveling at hyper velocity speed
The Titan is reeling its guns are lowering and slowly the ugly machine is losing balance.I am saved.
The TigerShark ''Eternal Glory'' is turning hard left preparing for another pass when i notice it.The Titan's right armoured foot is keeping it back to standing position again.
Weaponless , without motive power and the thrusters off line i am seconds away from certain death.
With my left thumb i activate my communications system.The last thing i can do is to leave a message to my team , a message to my Cadre that the Red leader didn't cowered in front of the enemy.Selecting the Emergency Frequency i roar my last words.
                                             ''FOR THE GREATER GOOD''
My senses are filled with noise and white light . This is the end.

All the wargear is magnetised.This way i can change the Suit's loadout without injuries for the Crisis.

 with some creative imagination it translate like : ''HAVE A NICE DAY''

 Another angle of the model.

 

Aναζητησεις πανω στο Warhammer Fantasy,

Οι μαχες που εχω πανω στο Fantasy ειναι μετρημενες στα δακτυλα του ενος χεριου.Δεν εχω την εμπειρια  ενος απο τα παιδια που παιζουν στα Fantasy Shop της γειτονιας μου.Ξερω τους κανονες αλλα δεν τους εχω δοκιμασει.Ξερω τον στρατο μου αλλα δεν τον εχω δοκιμασει.Υπαρχουν βεβαια καμποσα blogs και Sites εκει εξω αλλα θα προσπαθησω να μαθω τον στρατο μου απο τις ηττες μου.Μεχρι τοτε λοιπν θα βαφω οτι μ αρεσει σαν μοντελο και οχι σαν εργαλειο ενος ανταγωνιστικου στρατου.

Οι Swordmasters λοιπον ειναι πλαστικοι και μαλιστα ολοκληρο το Regiment εχει 12 κομματια.Ιδανικο για εναν μεγαλο τεμπελη σαν εμενα.Ειναι μερος ενος μεγαλου και οικονομικου πακετου που στοιχιζει λιγα σε σχεση με αυτα που προσφερει αλλα πανω απο ολα τα μοντελα ειναι πολυ καλα σκαλισμενα.Με αυτα τα κριτηρια λοιπον αποφασισα και εβαψα τα μοντελα με την βαση ετοιμη.Αρκετα καλα για να χαρακτηριστουν ''Tabletop Quility''.Νομιζω λοιπον οτι ο επομενη προσθηκη θα ειναι οι σιωπηλοι Phoenix Guard.Mια και ειναι και αυτοι πλαστικοι.

Οπως και να εχει λοιπον μια και δεν εχω ακομα την ορεξη να παιξω σοβαρα το παιχνιδι προτιμω να βαφω με το πασο μου και εκ περιτροπης τους στρατους που εχω στο WFB και που θα μου παει καποια στιγμη θα εχω ετοιμη την δικη μου 2000αρη λιστα.Ελπιζω

 

Rellentless Fury.

To Land Raider ειναι ενα απο τα λιγα μοντελα που κανουν καλα ενα πραγμα.Εντυπωση.Ενα μοντελο μεγαλο.Ενα μοντελο που κερδιζει μαχες απο τον πρωτο γυρο.Ενα μοντελο που χανει μαχες απο τον πρωτο γυρο.Οπλο του το ακαταστρεπτο σχεδον 14ΑV all around του .Το machine Spirit του αλλα και το καταπληκτικο του Load Out του που ξεκιναει απο το τα GodHammers pattern Las Cannons που το Phobos class φερει , μεχρι τα Τwin Linked Assault Cannons της εκδοσης Redeemer και Crusader.Kαθε εκδοση Land Raider ειναι εξαιρετικη Σε Long Range Αnti Tank (LRAT)Το Φοβος ειναι ιδανικο.2 Twin Linked Las Cannons σε δυο διαφορετικους στοχους.Για Close Range Fire Support (CRFS)το Redeemer θα φτιαξει την ημερα σου.Ενω σε ρολο Armoured Personel Carrier (APC) το Crusader θα κανει την δουλεια οπως την θελεις.
Παρολα αυτα τα Land Raiders εκτος απο οχηματα μαχης ειναι και οχηματα μεταφορας προσωπικου.Οχι μονο μεταφερουν 5-8 Terminators αλλα και επιτρεπουν στην μοναδα που μεταφερουν να εκτελεσουν Charge αμμεσως μετα την αποβιβαση.
Σιγουρα ενα οχημα που δεν πρεπει να λειπει απο κανεναν στρατο και κανενα Roster.Σωστα?
Οχι.
Σαν αντιβαρο λοιπον,το κοστος ενος Land Raider θα σας στοιχησει σε ποντους.Απο 240 - 275 μονο για  τα βασικα.Πραγμα που σημαινει οτι ειναι ενας Ζωτικος Στοχος για καθε Str9 και Str10 οπλο.Και να ηταν μονο αυτα?Το πολυτιμο σας οχημα κινδυνευει απο Melta οπλα , Lance οπλα , Μonstrous Creatures και αλλα χαριτωμενα οπλα που θα σας πονοκεφαλιασουν.
Επισης η επενδυση σας φιλοξενει μεσα Αssault Ellements του στρατου σας τα οποια και αυτα στοιχιζουν σε ποντους απο 200 μεχρι και 400 ποντους.Η καταστροφη ενος και μονο Land Raider απο την αρχη του παιχνιδιου θα σας στερησει απο σοβαρες πιθανοτητες νικης.

Ευτηχως για εμας τους Blood Angels τα πραγματα ειναι απλα.Η επενδυση μας στοιχιζει λιγοτερο με μια Assault Squad να μεταφερετε με την ασφαλεια του AV14 μονο 230 ποντοι για το οχημα και τα απαραιτητα Μulti Melta και Εxtra Armour.Eπισης εχουμε και την τεχνη του ΠΕΤΑ-ΚΑΙ-ΠΑΤΑ Δηλαδη Deep Strike ενα Raider και ασε τον κοσμο μεσα να κανει την δουλεια του.Χαριτωμενο.Cute αλλα και δοκιμασμενο απο τον Δημητρη Μανιατη στο τελευταιο GT.

    

Easygoing Speed Painting.

Kατι ελειπε απο τους Αngels Sanguine μου.Εψαξα και ανακαλυψα με τρομο οτι δεν ειχα ουτε εναν Sanguinary Priest (SP).Ευτηχως μεσα στο bit box βρηκα δυο Apothecary πλαστικα χερια,αυτα με το Reductor.Tελεια.
      Δεν ειχα σκεφτει ποτε να χρησημοποιησω το κουτι Sanguinary Guard που ειχα οποτε σκεφτηκα γιατι οχι ? Ας το χρησημοποιησω για να φτιαξω δυο SP.Oποτε το σωμα ειναι ετοιμο το αριστερο χερι επισης.Ψαχνοντας λιγο ακομα το sprue , Βρηκα και ενα πολυ ωραιο κρανος (Θυμηθητε οτι οι Angels Sanguine φορανε παντα το κρανος τους λογο προβληματος)
     Jump Pack ωστε να συνοδευει τις Assault Squad στο δυσκολο και ματωμενο καθηκον τους.Εκει που χρειαστικε λιγη σκεψη παραπανω ηταν αν θα του δωσω ενα στυλατο Power Sword η οχι.Η λυση ηταν απλη.Σκεφτηκα λοιπον οτι 15 ΜΟΝΟ ποντους για 4 επιθεσεις στο Charge με str5 και WS5 και In5 ειναι πολυ δυσκολο να προσπερασεις.
Με τετοιο Load Out φυσικα οι ποντοι ανεβαινουν κατακορυφα μια και το μοντελο κοστιζει 90 ολοκληρους ποντους και εχει ΜΟΝΟ 1 wound.Παρολα αυτα ομως δινει Furious Charge και Feel No Pain  στην μοναδα που συνοδευει αλλα και στις 6'' γυρω του.Δυσκολα λοιπον θα ελεγα οχι σε μια τετοια προσφορα.

Ειμαι Γκριζος και Θανατερος.

Βαφοντας την μεταλικη mithrill αρματωσια των High Elves μου αναρωτηθηκα εαν η ικανοτητα μου να βαφω μεταλικα χρωματα βελτιωθηκε.Οποτε βουτηξα εναν Grey Knight που βρηκα στο Bit Box και δοκιμασα την τυχη μου.Βλεποντας τωρα τα αποτελεσματα δεν μπορω να πω οτι εχω βελτιωθει αισθητα.Τουλαχιστον αφησα μια μικρη μπλε υφη πανω στην αρματωσια που την ειχα σαν στοχο.

Aπο εκει και περα δεν εμεινα και παντελως απρακτος μια και η Salamader Tactical Squad χρειαζετε εναν Ηeavy Gunner Specialist.Eιχα εναν Μulti Melta Astartes αβαφτο οποτε γιατι οχι?Προτιμησα λοιπον το Multi melta απο το Μissile Launcher για τρεις λογους.
1.Fluff ...Salamanders = Flamers + Melta + Hammers
2.Aποτελεσματικοτητα.Σε συνδιασμο με τον κ. Hestan ολα τα παραπανω οπλα μετατρεπονται σε Twin Linked η Μaster Crafted.Tα τζαμπα reroll δεν τα μισησε κανεις
3.Τα Missile Launchers ειναι καλυτερα πανω σε Long Fangs και εγω μαζευω για μια δευτερη μοναδα για το Space Wolves Roster μου.