Adeptus Custodes Ranks

As I worked on my Adeptus Custodes, I went in to read more about their fluff and look up on some of their rules, which lead me to many great discoveries.

Before I read up on the Adeptus Custodes, I always thought that Custodes are just Custodes, they all have the same gear. Their ranks only made up of Custodians and Captains. Plain and simple.

Until I stumbled onto some rules that I found from Bells of Lost Souls and a forum (If I remember correctly, it is from Librarium-online). This is when I realize things are actually not plain and simple.

From the rules, I gathered that these are the ranks of the Adeptus Custodes:

HQ:

Captain-General
(Also known as Chief Custodian)
(The man known to hold this rank is Constantin Valdor)

Custodian Honour Guard
(This squad is like a space marine command squad, except that it can also be another HQ choice by itself, since honour guards are sometimes despatched to follow the other space marines Legion)

Shield Captain
(One by the name Mikaelor Cobernus)

Elites:

Terminator Squad

Venerable Dreadnaught
(They have mostly survived for many hundreds and thousands of years)

Dreadnaught
(One called Sigittarus)

Troops:

Spear Guard Squad
(This is the one where the Custodians all carry a spear with a bolter attached to it)
(I realized that there is a rank known as a Custodian Sentinel. Accompanied by the rules I saw, I figured that this rank could have the same meaning as a sergeant)

Tactical Squad
(I thought this as impossible until I came across the rules and an image of Custodians charging forward with only bolters. You can find the image when you google Adeptus Custodes)
(Also accomapanied by a Custodian Sentinel, except that now the Custodians carry normal bolters)

Dedicated Transports:

Land Raider

Rhino
(Saw one that says the Custodians invented their own Grav-Rhino)

Fast Attack:

Jetbike Squadron
(From the book Prospero Burns, the jetbikes were featured)

Heavy Support:

Land Raider

So that's about all that I found out for now. Though the different ranks, I believe that they should mostly have the same rules and stats. Time for more rules hunting.



Winters

Astra Militarum Updates #1

Hey guys, here is an update to the awesome Astra Militarum (Formerly Imperial Guard)

First off, I had my Codex returned to my local game store and received a new copy. Turns out mine was an isolated case for the Codex having it's ink smudged. So false alarm guys, go get your codex now for all the goodness that you can never finish naming them all.

MY CODEX WAS AN ISOLATED CASE, SO GET YOUR AWESOME ASTRA MILITARUM CODEX NOW AT YOUR LOCAL GAME STORE!

During the weekends on the Saturday where I had a game with a guy called Nick. I was sort of squeezed  in as he was waiting for his opponent to show up and the shop was literally full house (It is so full it is hard to navigate the store).

I tried out my 1k points list and it worked not very good. I got tabled as always with my Leman Russ Battle Tank lasting the longest, since he does not have any thing that can take out an armour 14 tank from the front. The tank blew up with his Centurions shooting the rear of the tank and took it out. (Yeap, he was playing space marines.)

So here is my experience:

1. Tempestus Scions work just like the old edition storm troopers, pretty much the same except that you can take it now as a platoon. Furthermore, the volleygun was a waste of points really, they did pretty much nothing except taking up the points. 10 of them would be a good start but when they first appear, make sure you protect the special weapons and sergeant.

2. Tanks, you need these awesome metal boxes on the table. Though my tank only took like 2-3 marines out (due to poor scatter rolls) but it really made it a pain in the neck for the marines.

3. Chimeras retained their usefulness with their multi-lasers being able to take out some marines. Chimeras have never failed me before, they never blew up and my veterans can come out of them safely. Pretty much happens all the time. My chimera is like the survivor, the only unit that does not disappear from the table in every game. It just becomes a wreck at the very worst.

4. Melta. You need loads of this. Took 6 and it literally blew up a storm talon, with the help of the multi-laser off course. You need the lasgunners to protect the melta (Or when I played with grey knights, used it to literally take out one terminator squad. Lucky shots)

5. Need more ogryns. Was testing out with some proxies and I can't believe they lost combat to only 3 marines. How can ogryns lose combat to marines? The answer is there is not enough of them in the squad, only the standard load out. So get more and make them pay. 3 wounds each is pretty sweet. Even if they overwatch you, who cares, many of them will still survive. Hahaha!

Now I am working on a 1850 points list but as school starts, commitment is going to be high and Warhammer 40k would sadly become sacrificial. Thus it may be a while till I get to try out the list. Though in the mean time, I could start slowly paint my remaining men up and get to work on the Imperial Custodes miniature that I am still trying to start on.

See you all later!!!!


Winters

Militarum Tempestus Scions conversion

With the new release of the Astra Militarum, I got the codex, read through it and also made a review on it earlier on. (http://the-last-season.blogspot.sg/2014/04/codex-astra-militarum-review.html) 

With the loss of the Storm Troopers, it falls to the scions to take the lead and battle for the Imperium of Mankind and the Emperor.

As scions are pretty expensive and I have not really seen their usefulness in battle, I decided to make some scions for myself first.

I got a sprue of 5 bolter scouts and began bashing it up into the scions. The result was better than I expected but still lots of areas to be improved on.

Hence I can't wait to see them in action. See you all around!

Winters

Codex: Astra Militarum review

Alright! After devouring through this book for a few hours, I managed to  get how to use this codex!

First impression of this codex was pretty good. Apart from the cover being Astra Militarum, the contents of this codex still refers the Guards as Imperial Guards rather than Astra Militarum. As I read on, there was one thing I took note of though: several pages of the printing in the codex is poorly done. MANY PARTS OF THE TEXT AND PICTURES HAVE THEIR INK SMUDGED. I do not know if this is a rare case or not but I hope I can return it and get a new one. Chances are slim as this book was wrapped up when it arrived.

MANY PARTS OF THE TEXT AND PICTURES HAVE THEIR INK SMUDGED!

On to the contents. One thing I noted when I started reading the codex is that there were more fluff included than the previous codex in my opinion. It took me about 1.5 hours to read through the fluff, stories and all that. As expected the pictures are all printed in colour. This is a great plus point as it makes reading the codex seem more appealing. Plus it makes the settings of the pictures more clear, unlike the black and white pictures of the previous codex, where it is hard to see where the soldier is fighting and all that kind of stuff.

PICTURES ARE IN COLOUR!

To the army list, one difference that really caught my eye is that there is now a wargear list. This means that for every unit which I want to upgrade with cooler weapons, I have to keep referring to the wargear list, which is something of a trouble, especially when I am new to the codex and making a new list.

I HAVE TO KEEP REFERRING TO THE WARGEAR LIST!

Nothing much have changed for the points cost, except for some plus and minus here and there.

Let's start with the HQ. One thing that caught my eye is the drop in points cost for Commissar Yarrick. Only veterans in the command squad get to be upgraded with carapace, which is kind of sad as it means our Master of Ordnance will be more vulnerable on the field. There is also the inclusion of tank commanders, which is kind of cool as it gives the fluff of an armoured company supported by infantry instead of the other way round and so on. Rules for the servitors are now also available in the codex, which I don't remember seeing them in the previous codex.

DROP IN POINT COST FOR COMMISSAR YARRICK!

Next, the troops. They switched the troops with elites, thus having the troops in front of the elites rather than the other way round like the previous codex.Nothing much have changed for the infantry platoon besides the lower points cost for Heavy Weapons Squad. Conscripts are cheaper but still very squishy. Veterans are cheaper with a revised points cost for their doctrines. We see the loss of penal legions, though I don't use them so it doesn't really matter to me.

VETERANS ARE CHEAPER!

Dedicated transports still includes chimeras but at a higher cost with also the inclusion of Taurox an Taurox Prime. So I guess GW wants us to get more Taurox, since they have cheaper points cost.

CHIMERA IS MORE EXPENSIVE NOW!

Ogryns are more or less the same in the elites section with bullgryns being more expensive. Their points cost can be found in the white dwarf weekly. Ratlings and psykers look the same to me. Militarum Tempestus is under the elite section too but we see the loss of storm troopers, one of my favourite units. Since they always help me get at least one kill point each game. Marbo is gone too, so it is pretty sad to see a pie plate guy disappear.

STORM TROOPERS AND MARBO GONE!

For fast attack, rough riders are still around along with the sentinels. Armoured ones are now cheaper, thus it is a plus point to me as I love to bring armoured sentinels in my list. Nothing much changed except now Vendetta can only carry 6 guys and is much more expensive, way more.

VENDETTA IS MORE EXPENSIVE!

Revised Leman Russ tanks points cost is good, with 120 points being the cheapest. But guess what, I don't even know what that tank does as I don't even want to use it. Hahaha! We see the lose of 3 of our artilleries apart from the Basilisk and the inclusion of the wyvern battery (The mortar guy).

REVISED LEMAN RUSS TANK COST IS AWESOME!

\

The orders look pretty sweet, I must remember to use them. But effectiveness of it is still unclear as I haven't got a game yet. The orders cards are not a must buy as you will see it in the codex and it is only for reference. But if you are a hardcore gamer, get one, you do not want to forget to give an order.

ORDERS CARDS ARE NOT COMPULSORY BUT THEY ARE COOL!

Now you get to choose whether to use warlord traits from the rulebook or from the codex. That's right Guard players, we got out own warlord traits table.

WE GOT OUR OWN WARLORD TRAITS TABLE!

That's all for my review on the new Codex: Astra Militarum.

If you have  any questions, feel free to ask. 

Time to work on a list. Muhahahaha!

Winters

Astra Militarum: I finally got it

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I finally got my hands on the Astra Militarum Codex and their orders card! I am so excited I can't wait to devour them all.

The covering is very awesome and I hope that there would be more awesome rules for the guards so that they would be less squishy unlike the previous codex.

I don't remember a time where I won a game, and I always lose by being tabled, where every single guards paid their lives dearly for the Emperor and all died in the end. Maybe I played badly or my list really doesn't work out. 

So expect more to come from Astra Militarum as I get more of the new release hopefully in a short time. Though my personal life commitment have to come first so I may not be able to post that frequently any more.

See you all later!

Winters

Feeling very tired and does not like disco

So I am on camp and everything was ok until now when they shut on the disco and chaos began.
It is so disturbing that I can't take itm it have been going on for an hour now. 1am here now.
Hopefully I could catch up on my sleep so I can have the energy to go down to my local game store soon.
Aarrggghhh!

Winters

The Emperor's Chosen coming!

Just finished pouring through the Horus Heresy: The First Heretic book. 

Totally awesome, get one if you are really interested in how the Primarch Lorgar fell to chaos. If you are looking at some Imperial Custodes in action, this book so far that I have read is the one with many parts about them. 

Love the Custodes, their undying faith to the Emperor and their awesome fighting skills. Hence I decided to make one for myself, since I don't think forgeworld has made any before.

Off course before anything can be done, we need to know how it should look like, so I drew one out. Though not as good as those on the Internet, I find this kind of amazing, since I pieced the details here and there and I am also not a very good artist.

This is my work! Acknowledge me if you share this awesome drawing I drew!

So I fashioned the left shoulder pad to be an Imperial Eagle. But judging from all the pictures of the Custodes I saw, their eagles are not the two headed eagle, or Aquila, that you usually see. Hence I added that normal eagle there. But also referring to the text, the eagle is gripping lightning bolts, hence I added it to the claws of it.

Do look out for further updates on this as I may also guide you all through making this guy come alive when I finish it and the result looks good.

But first, time for camp. See you all later!!!!

Winters

One is never enough!

After seeing the cool Dungeons and Dragons Kre-o, I was overwhelmed and totally captivated by it.

Without another thought and any minute to spare, I took off to the toystore again early this morning to grab me more of these awesome pack!

Not one, not two, but SEVEN!

I even opened one out of excitement as I could not wait any more.

Get one at least, you would love it!

Winters

Treasure uncovered! Dungeons and Dragons!

Today was one of a good day as I found Dungeons and Dragons in Kreon at one of my local toy store!

Did I mention that I am currently in to Dungeons and Dragons and also currently working on the Neverwinter saga?

Drizzt is one of my favourite character, since the story too features him!

(Drizzt!!!!)

I also bought a army builder to have a look at it and I opened it!

(Army builder pack)

(Statue Warrior!)

(Finished!)

Looks pretty awesome, since it is almost impossible to find Dungeons and Dragons anywhere near me. It also included a pretty awesome brick which included their logo. 

It also comes with a almost 25mm base! Which also means I can use him in normal Warhammer 40k games too but his height is taller than normal troops. But what if I can field an army of this by itself......

That being said, it is going to be an expensive thought for me. Hope to get more of these!

Get one at least! You would not want to miss out.

I may want to get Wulgar too!

See you all later!

Winters

New stuff in to paint!

Headed down to a local Game shop earlier today at lunch time to collect these awesome miniatures that one of my friend decided to let go of as he has too many models at home. So I decided to get some from him, since they are quite worth the money to me. $110 for everything below! 

1. 19 Starship Troopers Mobile Infantry miniatures.

These miniatures are a must buy to me when I have the chance as I can't find them anywhere else any more. I liked these models too as they are in metal, since I always preferred metal to plastic models, also with something new to paint.

Furthermore, they are all mounted on 25mm bases. Hence they are also a great boost to my current Imperial Guard army. 

2. Chaos Terminator Squad.

Always wanted to own one of these set at the very least. It included only four plastic terminators but there is the good part where I get another terminator body in metal. Not only is it metal that excites me, but it is the metal body of Abaddon the Despoiler! Thus this model is going to be fun to work with.

Night Lords have also been my favourite chaos force. They dislike the Imperium very much but they dislike chaos just as much too.

3. 24 Genestealers.

Tyranids are models which you would want to collect even though you don't play them, especially genestealers. I liked them because of all the Ciaphas Cain novels that I read. They are fun to pose with your current models and look great even when you proxy them in your army! (That's what I plan to do!)

16 of these models are normal genestealers, 6 of which are normal genestealers with rending claws. The remaining 2 is also with rending claws, but what makes them so special is that they both have the heads of a tyranid lictor. I remember I saw this image somewhere but I can't give a name to this kind of genestealers at the moment.

Furthermore, bits bag! He also included four cool scenic bases for miniatures, probably to use for decorating and all that kind of stuff. Many heads and arms of the genestealers. I can already see my bases of the Imperial Guard Veterans to have those as war trophies and also have them on the base, like they are fighting against tyranid genestealers!

With so many ideas coming into my mind, I can't wait to get started!

Winters

How to paint Imperial Guard Valhallan Ice Warrior with meltagun Winterial Part 3

Before I go on to Part 3, let me add on something which I forgot at Part 2.

One thing to take note is the face. You can choose to add a dot with Ceramite White at the nose to make it look like it is cold but sunny!

Paints required in Part 2:

1. Citadel Base: Ceramite White

2. Citadel Base: Celestra Grey

3. Citadel Layer: Altdorf Guard Blue

4. Citadel Layer: Lothern Blue

5. Citadel Shade: Reikland Fleshshade

Now that that's done, let's get on to Part 3!

Step 1:

Mixing 3 part Lothern Blue to 1 part Ceramite White, drybrush over the Lothern Blue areas heavily.

 

Step 2:

Mxing 1:1 Lothern Blue and Ceramite White, drybrush heavily too at the Lothern Blue areas from the previous step. Note: Show some parts of the Lothern Blue without them being covered by the drybrush. This is to show some sort of paint transition. 

Step 3:

For the the satchel which he has around his body, paint it first with Zandri Dust. After which, drybrush heavily with Tallarn Sand. Note that parts of the satchel under the meltagun can also be seen. So remember to paint it too!

 

Step 4:

On the miniature, you should be able to see a scroll like thing attached to his waist. I painted it with Zandri Dust before washing the recesses with Seraphim Sepia. You can choose to wash it with Reikland Fleshshade to get a darker recess. 

Another alternative is to wash the entire Zandri Dust layer with a Seraphim Sepia before bringing the colour back up with Zandri Dust.

Step 5:

The pouches at his waist were painted Rhinox Hide. One thing not seen here is that I also had the edges of the pouch highlighted with Zandri Dust. 

Step 6:

Time to paint the meltagun. I painted the body of it Abaddon Black and the barrel and ammo tank at the side leadbelcher. One of the pipes around the gun is also painted leadbelcher. 

I highlighted the black parts of the gun with Altdorf Guard Blue.

Step 7:

For the satchel slung at the back of his body, I painted it with Mechanicus Standard Grey before going over with Celestra Grey, leaving the recesses with the darker grey colour. The strap for this satchel I also used Rhinox Hide.

You can also see the canteen is painted too. So the body of the canteen is Celestra Grey, the two flaps are Mechanicus Standard Grey and the winged skull is Ceramite White. You can choose to paint the buttons on the flaps Leadbelcher too.

From the picture below, you can see the pipe of the meltagun painted Leadbelcher and the pouches highlighted with Zandri Dust.

The boots were painted Abaddon Black with Altdorf Guard Blue highlight.

Step 8:

The base is crucial. So I painted the already white base with Ceramite White, before adding snow on. I used 1:1 mix of white glue with citadel snow.

(Just chilling in the sun)

Paints used:

1. Citadel Base: Ceramite White

2. Citadel Base: Abaddon Black

3. Citadel Base: Celestra Grey

4. Citadel Base: Mechanicus Standard Grey

5. Citadel Base: Leadbelcher

6. Citadel Base: Zandri Dust

7. Citadel Layer: Tallarn Sand

8. Citadel Layer: Altdorf Guard Blue

9. Citadel Layer Lothern Blue

That's all for Part 3, which also marks the end of this painting Winterial. Do let me know which part you need help with at the comments and I would gladly help out. 

Thank you all for viewing. Rate this Winterial so that I can improve and give you all better Winterials in the future!

Winters

How to paint Imperial Guard Valhallan Ice Warrior with meltagun Winterial Part 2

Now for the next part of the Winterial for the Valhallan Ice Warrior.

Step 1:

This guy has a fur hat, so to paint the fur, I first added onto all the fur parts with Celestra Grey.

 

Step 2:

Using your brush, drybrush it with Ceramite White. I drybrushed it heavily but still have the grey showing. So just drybrush it slowly lightly each time till you get the consistency you want for the fur parts.

 

Step 3:

Paint the cloth part of the fur hat with Altdorf Guard Blue. Careful not to let any paint get onto the fur areas, if not, you may have to redo that part.

 

Step 4:

I used Reikland Fleshshade to wash the blue area, careful not to get any wash onto the fur areas before bringing the colour back up with Altdorf Guard Blue.

You can choose to skip this step as it will not be of much big difference to the end part.

 

Step 5:

For his Great Coat, paint it entirely with Altdorf Guard Blue but leave the his other equipments untouched as it may cover up many details.

Step 6:

Leaving the outlines of the the Great Coat Altdorf Guard Blue, I painted it with Lothern Blue. Some of the recesses have been left as Altdorf Guard Blue.

 

So we are going to end here today. I know the Winterial is going slow but this is the best speed for me when painting a model which has so much details on it. Every step has to be well thought of.

See you all in part 3!

Winters

How to paint Imperial Guard Valhallan Ice Warrior with meltagun Winterial Part 1

Welcome to a painting Winterial which I guess I have owed you guys for quite a long time. Valhallan Ice Warrior with meltagun!

Without further ado, let us start.

Step 1:

I primed my model black as it is the only primer I have. The grey which I have was a little too thick for the details. So either black or grey primer would do fine, though grey would be better as it is easier to pick out the details but black would do fine here. I also added white pumice for the base.

Step 2:

I started with the skin first, since it is in my opinion the hardest part to paint for the entire miniature. I slowly layered Cadian Fleshtone onto the skin areas. Each time I add a little paint on the entire skin area and allow it to dry before moving on. It took me about three four times to get it entirel covered in Cadian Fleshtone without covering up the details.

                          

 

Step 3:

Next, I wash the skin areas heavily with Seraphim Sepia wash. It is alright to wash it heavily but not too little as Seraphim Sepia is a very weak wash. To get the colour of the wash out on the Cadian Fleshtone, better to wash it heavily than too little. You would want the contrast to be obvious.

Step 4:

After the wash have dried, I bring the colour back up with the Cadian Fleshtone, but leaving the recesses of the skin with the colour of the wash.

Step 5:

Mix 1:1 estimated Cadian Fleshtone and Ceramite White. Layer it onto the Cadian Fleshtone areas but leave some parts of the Cadian Fleshtone near the washed areas. This is so that the skin colours would look like they blend in with one another.

Step 6:

Next, we still mix 1:1 Ceramite White and Cadian Fleshtone but now add a little bit of Emperor's Children to the mixture. Mix till you find that the consistency is what you are after. The one I used was 3:3:1. This should give it a little bit of a blushing look. Only paint this on the cheeks and on the nose.

 

Step 7:

This guy with meltagun is clenching his teeth. So now we paint his mouth. 

Firstly, we add Abaddon Black over it.

Next, we add Ushabti Bone onto the teeths, leaving the recesses black as much as possible.

Lastly, we add Ceramite White onto the teeth, such that the Ushabti Bone will still be showing.

You can also add the eyes if you want, being Ceramite White around the socket first and then Abaddon Black for the pupils. But for this model, I gave it a pass as his I may damage the skin.

So that's all for part one tutorial.

See you all later for part 2!

Paints used:

Citadel Base: Abaddon Black

Citadel Base: Ceramite White

Citadel Layer: Cadian Fleshtone

Citadel Layer: Emperor's Childrem

Citadel Layer: Ushabti Bone

Citadel Shade: Seraphim Sepia

Winters

Something big is coming for the Imperial Guards!

As the title says, you could be expecting something big soon for the new release in my opinion! Nothing here is official and I may be wrong here and there. These are just my guesses.

From the product list that I got from the Games Workshop website.

The Army Essentials column is suddenly missing the Cadian Battleforce and the codex. The codex is obvious since there is going to be a new release. The missing Cadian Battleforce tells us that one big box like the swarm for the tyranids may be coming out.

 

 

From the troops area, you can see some missing metal stuff but not so much. Some obvious items to me that are missing is the Vostroyan heavy weapons team. New single heavy weapons team box can also be seen. They used to be around and they removed it but now they put it back again.

The elites section sees the missing karskin squad and several ogryns. With recent rumors coming out, ogryns may see a new plastic kits, hence they are gone. But the karskins? Probably replaced by the new scions or they have something new for it.

 

The fast attack column sees the missing Atillan Rough Riders. It was rumoured that a plastic kit may be coming out for it but more recent news says they would not, so this shall remain a mystery till the new release are out.

Nothing changed for the heavy support but the most recent news suggest a new tank boxed together with a plastic hydra kit. So that is going to be interesting. Though there once was a rumour that they will have all the missing artillery kits out, I believe it may not happen since they are already having a hydra. But I can't say for sure.

All in all, expect something big to be out of the Imperial Guard. All these information are just my personal opinion and it is unofficial as these are my guesses that I want to share with you, so don't take all that I said too seriously.

See y'all in the next post!

Winters