Proper Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought Livery Conversion!!!

What a GREAT time to be involved in the world of Warhammer 40,000 and the current competitive scene!  It has been such a wonderful experience being involved these past few years, enjoying a hobby that I absolutely love!!! However, as the world of competitive 40k starts to become more "standardized" sometimes there are expectations that can bring some challenges as we adapt.

Being a dedicated Deathwatch player, and having to be creative with the limited unit choices we have to bring to bare, my fellow Xenos hunters have been aware of the Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought for some time.

With the recent change in the meta to be Space Marine Heavy, it seems that the world-at-large has discovered the Venerable Chaplain Dred... and now they are very difficult to find, and I think Forgeworld might have even discontinued them! Soooo... what is one to do?!  Well, here is a suitable conversion that is equitable in size, and (in this hobbyist's opinion) might just fit the bill!

Here is a side-by-side comparison of my conversion on the left, Deathwatch Chaplain Venerable Dreadnought, Gormann the Elder of the Crimson Fists; and the actual Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought borrowed from a friend!

Now, lets get into the actual build! You will need: 1) the Blood Angel Death Company Dreadnought Sarcophagus, and 2) the Blood Angel Furioso Sarcophagus!

Next, you will need to separate the center part of the Death Company Sarcophagus from the side panels, and do the same for the Furioso Sarcophagus! Be careful not to trim too far into the structure of the pieces you will need to glue together!

If you haven't already built the main body of the Sarcophagus, you will want to do that next.  Now glue one of the "winged" panels of the Librarian Sarcophagus to the body.

Next, glue the other "winged" panel of the Furioso Dreadnought to the body.

Now, you will want to put in the Death Company Sarcophagus center piece, making sure it fits before gluing it down.  You can always do a little trimming if need be to get a snug fit!

You may need to put in some green-stuff to take-care of any "major" mistakes.  Now, using your modeling glue to secure the center piece down, put some glue in between the panels and centerpiece to chemically "weld" it together the pieces together! Voila!!

Now, I can put either two close combat weapons on with dual Storm Bolters...

Or, I can put a heavy weapon... like a Lascannon!!!

Now we have a very convincing conversion, using all Games Workshop parts, for a solid Chaplain Venerable Dreadnought Conversion for competitive play! Now go out there and get some "For the Emperor!!!"

Kicking Assassinorum!

A few months ago, Games Workshop announced new rules to bring back the Officio Assassinorum in the table top game Warhammer 40,000 (or 40K) as a playable force.  They have been unplayable and virtually absent for almost two whole editions!  It has been so fun bringing back these operatives and, as an Inquisition player, they have been a nice-flexible contingency unit(s) to add back into my Deathwatch army!  The new rules, and ability to bring them as a one-off force, or as a whole Vanguard attack force, has been fluffy fun but also game changing at times.  Here is the quad left to right: Culexus, Vindicare, Callidus, and Eversor!

Deployment of one (or all) of the Officio Assassinorum can strike fear into the heart of an opponant!

The Culexus Assassin's Animus speculum can target Psychers with deadly accuracy, but his "soul horror" presence can cause the enemy to freeze with fear, while their allies hack down the foe in hand-to-hand combat!

The Vindicare is a sniper-extraordinaire: with his spy mask, and Executor Rifle coupled with turbo penetrator rounds, no Leader, Captain, Sergeant, or Field Commander is safe from his deadly aim!

The Callidus Assassin is uniquely equipped with Polymorphine drugs enabling her to "shape-change" and assume the identity of enemy combatants and leaders... think that is a Commisar leading your troupe? Think again!!! She materializes out of nowhere, taking the lives of those that oppose the Emperor of mankind!

The Eversor is a Hyper-metabolised Assassin, equipped with an executioner pistol and neurogauntlet, able to get into to close-quarters in the blink of an eye! One minute you think you are safe... the next moment you are dead!

Hope you enjoyed glancing at these models!

Here is a link to more info on the assassins with the info about each temple they come from: 

https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Officio_Assassinorum

Frontline Gaming ITC 40K Hobby Track Showcase!

Never would I have thought that in my lifetime I would have a championship trophy sitting on my mantle for being the best in the world at anything!  But, last year in 2018 from among 3,500+ individually recognized and registered participants, I was selected as being the very best "Hobbyist" in the Frontline Gaming's, Independent Tournament Circuit, for the Warhammer 40k Hobby!!!

A huge "Thank You" to Reece Robbins, President and CEO of Frontline, as well as his business partner and Co-Founder, Frankie Giampapa and COO, and all the rest of the Frontline Crew: Jason Butler, Pablo Martinez, Mariana Vera, Pascal DeForeset (and everyone else there) who have brought and continue to bring, a viable and fair/fun way to hobby and play 40k!!! They have become the "Go-To" folks for everything competitive 40K, AoS, and so many other games! Thank you to Frontline's  ITC Tournament Organizers, like Chris Morgan, for creating the scoring rubric and making sure they stayed true to their judging criteria! Thanks to you all for sticking with it... even when there were times you may have felt it wasn't worth pursuing!

Thanks to all the competitors, for without which, there is no competition!  A shout-out to my team-mates: Thomas Heagstrom-Oaky, Seth Beddes, Rich Kilton, Dave Johansen, Bryan Humpherys, James Weston, Scott Rumple, and Christian Bernfield, for helping me with ideas, concepts, and fine-tuning things to completion!  Thanks to the community for all the love and support, and to the Utah Community for being so kind and supportive--great peeps, all of ya!!!

Lastly, without my family and my wife's support, it wouldn't have happened! Thanks, dear for putting up with, and enthusiastically supporting this crazy hobby of mine.  Thanks, to my daughters for encouraging my art, and to my boys for picking up the hobby and rolling dice with dad!

"For Humanity!!! For the Emperor!!!!"

Here is a picture of me receiving the award from Reece... Epic!

Here is the award itself, accompanied by a few of my characters that helped bring it home!

Here is a picture of the display at the convention, ready to be judged!  From bottom to top, it is almost 36 inches in vertical height!

Thanks to #Battlefoam for being my "go to" bag of choice for protecting my minis!

Here is the link to Frontline Gaming's ITC 40k Hobby Track, Champion's Army on Display for several pics of the army and the display board!

Thanks for taking a peek and sharing in this moment with me!

Deathwatch Armory Assessment - ITC Hobby Track 2019

Lou Rollins ITC Hobby Track Painting Rubric:

As a hobbyist and painter of 40k miniatures and armies, I have always taken tremendous pride in having a fully painted army.  This year for Frontline Gaming's, Games Workshop Warhammer 40,000 Independent Tournament Circuit Hobby Track Competition, there is a painting rubric that is being used for judging:

Painting:

1) Is the majority of the army painted? Yes, 100% of the army is pro-painted!

2) Is the army Fully Painted (no primer showing)? Yes, 100% of the army painted!

3) Are details such as grenades, buckles, claws etc. painted across the entire army? Yes, 100% of those tiny details are painted, and highlighted!

4) Is the majority of the army shaded and or highlighted? Yes, 100%!

5) Are squad markings or unit identifiers present over the majority of the army? 100%, Yes!

6) Are squad markings or unit identifiers present over the entire army? Yes, and because Deathwatch, Death Company, and Sanuinary Guard are unique I had to get creative with it for you to see it (like put it on the bases!) But it is there!

7) Is the entire army based? Yes, 100%!

8) Are advanced details like eyes, gems, rivets, bone shards/teeth and lenses painted across the entire army? Yes, 100% in phenominal detail!

9) Are advanced techniques like OSL, weathering, camouflage, glowing, NMM or freehand present? Yes, every model has either/or/all OSL, NMM, weathering, camouflage, freehand, etc.

10) Are advanced techniques like OSL, weathering, camouflage, glowing, NMM or freehand over the majority of the army present? Yes, every model has either/or/all OSL, NMM, weathering, camouflage, freehand, etc.

1) Are multiple elements and features visible/painted on the bases for a majority of the army? Yes, every base has multiple elements on the base, as well as free-hand painted squad markings!

2) Are there examples of kitbashing or conversion work present in the army? Yes, everyone of the character models is a kit-bashed conversion!

3) Are there examples kitbashing of conversion work present for the majority of the army? While there is kitbashing present, it is not over the majority of the army.

4) Were all the mold lines removed and gaps filled over the majority of the army? Yes!

5) Are advanced hobby materials used like plasticard and greenstuff? Yes, almost every model has greenstuff somewhere on it to fill gaps, and several advanced hobby techniques were used for the diorama, including foam sculpts, plaster casting, water features, etc.

Display/Theme:

1) Is a display board and/or a printed original story (background) present for the army? Yes, a lot of time and effort went into the display board, and a couple of online stories can be found at the jump: Hjalkar Redmane and Deathwatch Devotion!

2) Is the basing consistent across the entire army and/or match the display or story? Yes, in fact there are subtle little details in each base that tells a story of its own!

3) Is there a distinctive centerpiece model that stands out from the rest (such as the Warlord or a titanic vehicle), or a focal point for the army? Yes, there are two that compliment each other quite well; a) Blood Angel Captain, Antor Delassio with his Angel’s wing, equipped with Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield, and b) my Knight Crusader “Unbowed” piloted by Baron Artimedorous, The Herald of House Terryn!

4) Are all squad leaders, lords, heroes, captains, brain bugs, or nobs etc. distinctive and easily identifiable? Yes, every character is sitting on a raised, platformed base and has a tremendous amount of detail on it… not to mention the iron halo marking!

5) If everything was checked above, then check this box too – This army represents a cohesive force indicative of the Warhammer 40k universe. SWEET!!!

Wolf Lord Majesty!!!

With the recent release of the New 8th Edition Codex, I had to do something fun, engaging and spectacular!  What better thing to do than kit-bash a new Wolf Lord in Gravis Armor!!!  This was a particularly difficult piece because of all the custom work required!  Pulling wolfy capes from terminators, trimming, cutting, green-stuffing in gaps... I am quite pleased with the final result!

Standing erect, bellowing a howl to charge forward into the fray!

Varying sides showing off some of the detail!

...other angles to see the intricate work put into this model!

Spent Brass at his feet!

Little bit closer look at the front!

Sure had great fun putting this guy together!

Let me know what you think!!!

This guy is up for sale on Ebay at: 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273428622209

W.I.P. Wednesday... (Sort of!)

For those of you who are part of the non-nerd-modeler/painter crowd, a  W.I.P. is an acronym for a "Work In Progress" and has become something of a nerdy-phenomenon in the modeling, gaming, pro-painter world.  This is a 'sort-of'' post because... well it isn't Wednesday (It's Thursday-although my brain is still locked in last night) and it isn't a W.I.P., it is a completed project.  But, enough banter... here ya go!

Games Workshop released the boxed game Overkill almost two years ago, with some fabulous sculpts  for Deathwatch Space Marine armies.  It took me a bit to convert over from vanilla Space Marines painted like Deathwatch, to an actual Deathwatch army, but once I did... it has been a lot of fun!  Jetek Suberei, is the White Scar Biker sculpt that comes with the set.  One of the things that makes him so cool, is the Deathwatch bike, with it's accompanying scroll-work and Inquisition iconography.

Since the release of the model, I have wanted to do another comparable build, using the model but making a space wolf, since much of the markings would work well with a grey hunter seconded into the Deathwatch.  I had to be careful to not disrupt alot of the fine detail, so searching for the right bits did a little bit of doing, but I finally got around to it, and am pretty pleased with the result.

In a bit of a rush to get to work (so the pics are more amateurish), but I hope you like the finished product!!!

Jetek next to the converted Jarl Magnesun of the Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company!

Jarl, re-pleat with proper Space Wolf markings on his Deathwatch Bike!

All the proper Space Wolf shield, wolf-totems, and blades have been swapped out from the original model!

  

I used the torso and big, nasty, battle-axe from the Thudnerwolf Cavalry kit (had to work to locate one) in order to make it really appropriate! I also added another wolf totem above the neat Skyclaw chainsword I acquired!

I also added the Thuderwolf Cavalry head to the model, with the beard flowing in the wind to finish it off! Really enjoyed this project, and am very happy with the final product!

What are your thoughts?