Stormcast Vindictors

Along with last week's Stormstrike Chariots, I also got Squiggle's Studio to paint up another ten Vindictors I picked up from some partworks magazine or other. Vindictors are useful defensive line troops, and I thought I might not have enough with a single unit of ten, so grabbed these to bulk my basics out.

Deathwatch Vanguard Veterans

A got a few more Deathwatch Vanguard Veterans painted by Squiggle's Studio. I still haven't got a game of 10th edition in yet, but hopefully I'll find the time some point soon...

Deathwatch Shieldbreaker Strike Force

 

I picked up the 2021 Space Marine Christmas army box, the "Shieldbreaker Strike Force". With everything else in the force done, I got it over to Squiggle's Studio to get painted up. To give the sergeants a bit more of a kick, I picked up some sprues for Thunder Hammers, and a set of 3 "Easy Build" Assault Intercessors  to bulk out the Assault Intercessors and let the multi-part ones take the role of the sergeants.

The new regular Intercessors with the five I already have gave me five of each of the bolter types they come with to let me pick which I need for a particular game or particular role. It should be 

Heavy Intercessors are the new unit for the most recent Codex. They've got tougher armour and bigger guns - I'm interested to see how they turn out in play.

I gained another Captain to swap in and out as needed, along with three Bladeguard. They can't do anything super clever in Deathwatch, but I suspect they're going to be pretty good in the new Boarding Action games.

Finally, the new Primaris Speeder. There's three different ones with different names, and I have no idea which is which. Hopefully I'll get to play it enough to learn which one it is and what it actually does...

Last of the Stormcast

 

This isn't quite everything, in truth, because a couple of models still need some repair from transit, but I've photoed everything else before putting them all away. First up we have twenty Judicators I picked up from the Mortal Realms magazines.

I wasn't sure if the bows or the crossbows were good, so in the interests of classic indecision, I got ten of each painted. It will mean I can do a bit of experimentation to find out what I like by playing some games.

You know, when I actually play some games.

The Aetherwings are some nice visual variation from chunky armoured warriors. I hope they do something useful on the battlefield so I can use them now and again.

These are Vanguard Raptors, and I understand the Longstrike Crossbow version is super good, so I had them all made up the same.

I think the Exorcist was one of the first models I got from the Mortal Realms Magazine.

I haven't quite learned all the names of all the massive assortment of Stormcast characters yet. This one is a Knight Zephyros who does some . . . fighting stuff? I do worry GW have made slightly too many slightly different Stormcast characters.

This is a Knight Incantor, I think from a "Getting Started" pamphlet or something?

And finally, this is the Mortal Realms exclusive Knight Incantor model with a head swap, because I wasn't a huge fan of the original head.

Tidying up the Stormcast

 

I mostly spent last weekend tidying, but that did mean I finally started putting away a huge pile of Stormcast Eternals that Squiggle's Studio painted for me. As a happy bonus, I managed to get photos of a bunch of them while I tidied them up. First up being the original test model Liberator who can be bundled into some of my Stormcast Underworlds Warbands to make a Retributor unit if I need to.

I picked up these Castigators as part of the Warhammer Underworlds Starter Set. I need to dig out their card deck and work out if its a valid Rivals Deck, or if I need to use one of the "any warband" decks instead.

A Lord Imperatant with his noble Gryph Hound. The character model from the big starter box, I'll probably end up taking him in some early games while I start learning the rules.

The Praetors seem to be a bodyguard type unit, though I think the rules for such things have changed since I last looked.

I had to check the Games Workshop website to make sure I didn't call this model Flappy Boy 1, and his brother below Flappy Boy 2. He's a Knight Azyros, and his lantern does cool mystical stuff.

The Knight Venator is a fast shooty boy. I think I prefer the Azyros looks wise, but as I had a second one I didn't see any reason not to have one of each and find out what's different about them.

Anyhow, that's enough excuses for not tidying - I need to get back to putting things away!

Stormcast Eternals Riding Things With Scales

 

Here's a bunch more of my Stormcast back from Squiggle's Studio getting their time in the light box for photos before I put them away. First up, we have this Lord-Celestant on Dracoth. He's from the first starter set and doesn't seem hugely punchy for his size, but is a nice model and I'll certainly give him a go on the tabletop.

Next up is a Lord Arcanum on Dracoline, who seems to have some interesting abilities and will be fun trying out.

Finally we've got these Evocators on Dracolines. They come in units of three, but I've had seven painted so I've got options to either run them as two units of three or one unit of six.

There's plenty more to show off, and hopefully once LARP season is done I'll be able to schedule in a game to start learning Age of Sigmar...

Third Stormcast Post

Well, here's the last of the first batch of Stormcast Eternals painted for me by Squiggle's Studio. The second batch has now arrived and I need to get on with photographing all of them! Maybe at some point I'll even get a game in.

First up, we have a pair of Celestar Ballista. I'd actually assembled one of these myself before sending them off - they're a nice, simple kit that would be great for new starters.

To go with them, here's a Lord Ordinator, who is good at that artillery thing and gives bonuses to war machines near him.

Here's another one of those Limited Edition Stormcast Hero types. Not even sure what type he's meant to be!

This Knight Incantor has an automatic unbinding of a spell ability. This makes me nostalgic for 4th edition Dispel Magic Scrolls...

Another store birthday type model for when I need an extra character...

And another one? I really got carried away with limited edition characters I have precisely no use for.

This one I can at least remember is Knight Questor Dacian Anvil, because he has special rules that my faction . . . can't use.

A Knight Heraldor. A special thanks to Squiggle who used one of the Forge World heads so that a man with a trumpet isn't wearing a full face mask.

Not a Stormcast. But a violent Dwarf who can turn up with Stormcast. I should really read his new Mortal Realms books! I've liked Gotrek since the early 90s, so I was keen to have the option to take him.

And finally, a Lord Relictor, or "spooky man with a friend on a stick". I pray for the day they release a new single miniature release of this model that's slightly less of a pain to transport...

Continuing the Stormcast

 

While a huge pile of Stormcast arrived last week, I'm still processing the photos from the first half! First up we have Steelheart's Champions. They're a Warhammer Underworlds warband that have their own rules, but I'm considering just using them with a couple of spare figures to be a standard unit of Retributors.

Here's a couple of limited edition Stormcast that otherwise won't see very much table time.

Tada! Unit of five! Although I'm likely to swap out one of the two big hammers with a shield and hammer Retributor that's in the second box which I got with White Dwarf when Age of Sigmar first came out.

Stormsire's Cursebreakers. This is a character model and two Evocators...

Conveniently, there's three Sequitors from another Underworlds starter they could go with in friendly games for people who aren't too concerned about the exact models right.

And finally, we have Ironsoul's Condemnors, the Sequitors I mentioned earlier. Maybe there's some limited edition models I could dig out to round out the Evocators and Sequitors? I'll have to have a look...

Deathwatch: Characters

 

I sent a small batch of Space Marine characters I had picked up from a bunch of different places to Squiggle's Studio to give me some more options for army building once I start playing my Deathwatch.

First up is a Captain and a Watch Master - I got the Captain cheap off someone who wasn't using him, and the Watch Master discounted from a shop that was closing. I don't know which leadership options are best for Deathwatch, so they're some good options to try out.

Two Lieutenants - one limited edition, one from one of the Partwork magazines. A lot of Deathwatch get to naturally do the thing Lieutenants give a bonus to, so I don't think they'll get used all that often, but there may be some smart uses for them.

Both from Partwork magazines, the Chaplain and the Phobos Librarian are a couple of nice themed heroes that clearly Do Stuff that I need to Learn.

It'll still be a while before I get some games in - I'm not comfortable with being inside with other people for any length of time unless I have to right now. Still, they can all go away in their box until it's time to learn the game.

Don't Know What I Expected Really

 

I sent a few Inquisition models to Squiggle's Studio to complete a while back, and I haven't shown them off on the blog yet. First up is Eisenhorn, from the Inquisitor novels released around the same time as the Inquisitor 54mm game.

Next up is Kyria Draxus, a radical Ordo Xenos Inquisitor armed with a Shuriken Catapult and accompanied by some weird little Xenos beastie.

Finally, there's the Daemonifuge, Ephrael Stern, and her Harlequin companion. I remember reading the Ephrael Stern comics at school and grabbed the model straight away when she came out.

Once I get back to gaming in person again, I'll likely try out each in turn and see what they can do before deciding which ones I'll be bringing along regularly or not...

Deathwatch: Last of the Troops

 

Continuing going through the Deathwatch commission from Squiggle's Studio, here's the remainder of the troops they painted up for me.

First up are an assortment of Primaris Infiltrators. As Infiltrators are the compulsory part of Spectrus Kill Teams, I had Squiggle assemble quite a few of them, making sure I had a bunch of different equipment options for them that I can swap in and out.

Another part of the Spectrus Kill Teams are the Incursors. They're a cheaper option than the Infiltrators, with a significant option for them being the ability to take a huge Haywire mine which wrecks vehicles.

As the Haywire mines are one use only, you get little mine markers to place by the unit and remove once they've been used.

I also had a box of Hellblasters that needed painting. In the Deathwatch, up to five of them can join a Fortis Kill Team, which is a Troops choice. Having some squads with loads of plasma that can also hold and take objectives well seems pretty darned good.

There are three gun options Hellblasters can take - Plasma Incinerators, Assault Plasma Incinerators and Heavy Plasma Incinerators. I went with the "plain" and "heavy" ones, but that probably means the Assault ones are the best ones, knowing my luck...