March 2nd is Old Stuff Day!

Warhammer 39,999 is attempting to start a Blogging Movement by declaring March 2nd Old Stuff Day. In the forum world, this is called thread necromancy where old threads rise from the grave. I think this is a very cool thing to do, so I jumped on the band wagon (with just an hour to spare!). For the image, I wanted to post a picture of my parents as they're pretty old, but I would be the only one that would get it.

Bad humor aside, I just took a quick look at some of the stats on my posts and I wasn't surprised that the Stormraven Conversions Part 1 and Part 2 were up at the top. I was surprised by the amount of page views though. Part 2 has more views than all of the other posts on my blog combined! I've been planning a Part 3 for some time and now that I see the stats and know how popular those posts are, I'll probably finish it off sooner rather than later. If you have a cool Stormraven conversion that you want me to use as part of that post, contact me.

Converting a Twin-Linked Assault Cannon Turret

This post was a landmark for me as it was the first tutorial I ever did for my blog. I got a really good response from the community and it made me realize how much I liked blogging. This post, coupled with my acceptance to From the Warp, really solidified my latest foray into 40K and helped to reignite my passion for the hobby. I can't express how pivotal I think From the Warp is for the entire 40K community and while I know Ron Saikowski has a thankless job and is going through a rough patch, I'm happy to hear he is exploring easier ways to update the site. 

Converting a Twin-Linked Heavy Flamer Turret

This conversion post I did in 2 parts. Maybe that's why it didn't get the attention I thought it would. I think of all the Razorback turret conversions I've done, this is my best. I haven't seen many heavy flamer turrets add hoses like I did and I think that makes all of the difference. If there is a post on here that I think people should see, it's this one. 

I'm glad that Warhammer 39,999 started Old Stuff Day and I hope to see more things like this in the future that get the 40K blogging community together.

Till next time,

–The Harrower

The Aftermath, Painting Gold

So I did manage to get 1 game in with my 750 point list at The Unknown in Scranton last Monday. I played against Farseer Frank and his Eldar. We ended up playing Seize Ground and deploying as Spearhead. It was a close and really competitive game that came down to the wire.

Tactically, I made some really poor decisions (I didn't initiate a single assault) and I had some horrendous luck (I didn't roll one rend with my 2 Twin-linked Assault Cannons), but I did manage to pull out a draw.

I never realized how much staying power Eldar War Walkers have. Even my Reclusiarch leading my Death Company with a Powerfist couldn't take them out after 3 turns. I ended up losing everything I had with the exception of my Reclusiarch, a Veteran Sergeant, and a Razorback.

Frank could have made a push at the end of the game for the win, but like the typical alien scum he played for the sure draw which kept me from suffering my first loss with the new BA dex. No Guts, No Glory I always say! Next time Frank. Next time...

As to my Blood Angels Army, I've recently been working on getting my 2 Razorbacks closer to finished and I've been working on a new Death Company Rhino to replace my Golden Demon Honorable Mention entry from ages past.

For my Razorbacks, I wanted a way to show which one was toting around my Sanguinary Priest. I used the chalice and blood drop bit from the Baal Predator and I also wanted to try out a new technique for painting gold that I learned about on Bolter and Chainsword (B&C).

This is a really easy method and produces great results. You basically just paint the area that you want to be gold Mithril Silver and apply successive washes of Gryphonne Sepia. I had my doubts about how effective this was going to be, but someone did their Sanguinary Guard like this on B&C, and it looked great. Here's a brief tutorial. 

Step 1: I started with a Mithril Silver base for the chalice and a Dheneb Stone base for the scroll.

Step 2: Apply the Gryphonne Sepia wash. I did this straight from the pot without watering it down.

Step 3: Wait until the wash is completely dry. This can take up to 30 minutes or so, but you need to wait of you will ruin the effect. Go and paint something else while you wait or grab a sandwich. Once dry, apply the wash again.

Step 4: Again, allow the wash to completely dry and apply it again. The camera doesn't pick up all of the subtle colors, but this does look a lot deeper in person. You could keep applying the wash until you are satisfied with the results. Just be careful not to go too crazy and fill in all your detail. I find 3 applications is sufficient for me.
 

Step 5: Clean up all your mistakes. I did the tear drop in Liche Purple and called it a day. Normally, I wouldn't call this done as I need to add lettering on the scroll, add some highlights with Bleached Bone, and do the shading on the gem.

Right now my army consists of two painted Razorback and 3 units that aren't even primed yet. With school taking so much of my hobby time, I'm calling this done for now. I'll revisit and add all of the other details later.

My plan is to paint my army in chunks of 750 points to a really good table top quality. Once I have the 750 done, I'll reward myself and go back to add all of the little details.

If you have been following my blog, you may remember the Twin-linked Assault Cannon conversion I was working on. Without further adieu, here she is all painted up.

Again, this isn't near completed as I need to add army badges, weathering, and additional highlights, but it suites me fine for now. Hope you like it.

Next time we'll take a look at my new Death Company Rhino and I'll have another brief tutorial on strengthening ForgeWorld Rhino doors.

Till then,

–The Harrower

Blood Angels and Assault Cannons Part 3

I apologize for the brief hiatus. The digital camera I have been using got a cracked LCD and I couldn't get it switched to macro mode and the pictures I was taken looked awful. Just got a new Canon Powershot which I am loving and I'm back in business. On with the tutorial!

So I have all of my bitz together and I am going to work on creating the twin-linked assault cannon turrets for my Razorbacks.

Initially, I wanted to be able to cut off the tips of the heavy bolters and magnetize them so I could have some options available for my Razorbacks. I've done a bit of messing around and it just doesn't look right.

I can't really foresee many scenarios where I'll use the twin-linked heavy bolter, so I'm just going to create the assault cannons and go with them instead.

Below is the list of materials you'll need to get started on this:

• Twin-linked heavy bolter turret (this is the turret that comes with a Razorback or a Land Raider)
• 2 assault cannon bitz (check part 2 of these series to see where I got mine)
• Jeweler's saw (I got mine from MicroMark)
• Pin vise (Also bought this from MicroMark)
• Liquid Cement for Plastic Models (I use Testors)
• Needle Files (I use the GW ones)
• X-Acto Knife

Step 1. This isn't really a necessary step, but more of a plea to all 40K players out there. Drill out your gun barrels! Nothing kills an awesome painted miniature more than a gun with no gun barrel. All you need to do is find the center and start a hole with your x-acto knife. Once you have that in place, drill it out with your pinvise. This is a major pain (especially with an assault cannon!), but if you take the time to do it it makes a HUGE difference. If you do make the hole a bit off center, you can always correct it by slightly widening it with your x-acto knife. Pics of the gun barrels are at the end of this post.

Step 2: Here we need to the front of the assault cannon off of the housing. You can use either an x-acto or a jeweler's saw for this. I used a jeweler's saw. Once you have the two pieces, remove any flash with either an x-acto knife or a flat needle file. The non-assault cannon bit will be great to keep in your bitz box so hang on to it!

Step 3: Here we need to cut the tip off of the heavy bolter. You can use an x-acto or a jeweler's saw for this step. A jeweler's is hard to use for this step because you have to be extra careful to make your cut straight. With an x-acto you'll need a cutting mat or a piece of wood to cut against. I also cut off the ammo ejector as the assault cannons don't have one, but you can leave it on if you prefer.

Step 4. Glue the assault cannon bit to the heavy bolter. I'm not a fan of super glue especially for plastic. I use Testor's plastic cement as it create a much stronger bond, but use what works for you. You do want to be careful when you glue these bits together as you want both of your assault cannons to point straight and be the same length. Do a bit of dry fitting before you commit to gluing them together and make any adjustments with an x-acto or needle file.

Step 5. Assemble the entire turret and you are done!

Below are some comparisons pictures between the twin-linked assault cannon that comes with a Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer and this kit bash. While my version is a bit smaller, I do prefer it for the Razorback. I like the Land Raider assault cannon, but it looks a bit too bulky for my tastes.

I've been like a kid in a candy store with the new Blood Angels Codex and the awesome new models. I've been working on putting together a whole new army and I'll share some pics, my thoughts on the dex in general, and other goodness in the coming weeks.

Until then Enim Sanguinius,

-The Harrower

Blood Angels and Assault Cannons Part 2

My search for the cheapest assault cannon bitz has come to an end. Several people had mentioned eBay as the best place to go. After watching several of the turrets from the Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer go for upwards of $15 a piece, I decided that wasn't the best choice. I want to try and keep my hobby spending at reasonable levels as to not incite the Black Rage in my wife.


After looking around the 'net for several days, I finally came upon the perfect bitz pack offered by Hoard O Bits on eBay. If you do a search for 40K Assault Cannon in his store (click on the link I provided above first), you'll find 40K Bit Dark Angels Master + 6 Assault Cannon. This is the one you want.


Hoard O Bits has them available as Buy It Now or in regular auctions. I watched two of the auctions end and tried to get a last minute bid in, but they still ended at higher than the Buy It Now price of $19.50. As for shipping, I won the auction Wednesday night and already had the package on Saturday morning which is much faster than I expected.


So what do you get for $19.50? Well, 6 assault cannons for starters plus 3 twin-linked heavy bolters, 6 search lights, 3 power sword arms, 3 Land Speeder antennae, and a few ammo boxes and mounting bitz for the guns. If you ask me, this is a great deal. I'll definitely find use for the power sword arms and I was thinking of making some sort of beacon/objective marker with the others (I'll save that for a future post on terrain). Here is a pic of what comes with the auction.

The assault cannon bitz themselves are a bit smaller than the one that comes with the Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer which is fine by me. In my quest to keep down costs and have a lot of options available for my army, I plan on using the turret that comes with the Razorback and cutting off the tips of the heavy bolters. From here, I plan to magnetize it so I can use either the assault cannon or the heavy bolter.

Next time I'll break out the jeweler's saw, super glue, and some magnets and start work on my first tutorial.

Until then Enim Sanguinius,

-The Harrower

Continue to Part 3 of Blood Angels and Assault Cannons

The New Blood Angels and Assault Cannons

I've been reviewing the rumors surrounding the new Blood Angels Codex on various forums and blogs, and I think Twin-Linked Assault Cannons might be the new hotness. Of all the accounts I've read, a 5 man Assault Squad armed with a Power Weapon, Meltagun, and Infernus Pistol in a Razorback with a Twin-Linked Assault Cannon will run you 170 points.

All of the tanks (aside from Land Raider variants) in the new Blood Angels Codex are fast. So for 170 points you get a Razorback that can move 12" and fire, transport a scoring unit, and deliver a unit that is deadly on the charge and can deal with almost any threat. In higher point games you can add a Sanguinary High Priest for 50 points plus wargear, and the unit gains Furious Charge and Feel No Pain. I really can't see not taking at least 2 or 3 Razorbacks in every game I play. Which brings me to the main point of this post.

If you want your Razorbacks to be WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), you are going to need to do some sort of modeling to make that happen as the Twin-Linked Assault Cannon bit only comes with a Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer. Alternatively, you would need to be rich because $57.75 for a Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer for only a couple bitz is pretty insane.

I'm not rich, so I was looking into coming up with some kind of alternative. I did some pricing and this is what I came up with:

• The Land Raider Crusader Pack will run you $19.75 from the Games Workshop which is still crazy.
• You can get two Tornado Assault Cannons from Games Workshop for $6.60 which is a fair deal, but I don't like working with metal when I'm doing conversions.
• I love the War Store and buy all of my 40K stuff there, but just the Twin Assault Cannon Turret is $21.99! Ouch!
• The Bitz Barn has very fair prices, but I've never seen them sell the Twin-linked Assault Cannon. I imagine they are gone as soon as they have them in stock. :(

I'm thinking that the best bet might be the plastic assault cannons that come with the Dark Angel's Deathwing as I have seen them go for a fair price on eBay. I'm going to scour around the internet and see else I can come up with. Once I have the materials together, I plan on converting my own and posting this as my first tutorial.

Tomorrow, I'm playing a 500 point Combat Patrol game with some friends at the Unknown in Scranton, PA. I'll be trying out the new Blood Angels 'Dex. Maybe I'll post some pics and a brief Battle Report in the next few days.

Until then,

-The Harrower


Continue to Part 2 of Blood Angels and Assault Cannons.