Support your local blogger - Fenrisian Studios

I may be a little biased about this but I had to share Fenrisian Studios blog, it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact Javier created the ruins below from my very own STCs

I love the pale colours, I really need to have some cream/bonewhite buildings on Ferron Proxima, I think they'd look fantastic against the red but Javier has gotten a lot of texture and tone into the colouring, really nice.

Additionally he's got airbrushing tutorials, painting guides for his Space Wolves [well we can't all be perfect and play Dark Angels ;) ] He's even made some terrain based on plans from my own original inspiration - Bugbait

A lot of the blog is in Spanish but google translate cna help cut through the language barrier and ultimately we're all speaking the language of hobby anyway. Have a look see what you think: http://fenrisianstudios.blogspot.co.uk

Ooh the cruel irony - you've got to laugh

So we got to Warhammer World yesterday and I had a little game with Scott just to help bring him up to speed. I spot Nick from the events team and he comes over to admire the Skyshield and I ask him if Best Fortification is one building or one formation. He says have I read the events pack? I root around for a bit and realise I just have the Warriors Code with me. To which he adds they haven't done the best Fortification painting competition for about 6 months. You've got to laugh though!

Throne of Skulls March 2014 - Prologue

It's Throne of Skulls tomorrow, I've nervously excited for a couple of weeks now, this is the culmination of months of work and I can't wait to hang out with my gaming buddies because if I'm honest I'm going into this with a fair bit of trepidation. We have Escalation to contend with - it's not the end of the world [that's Apocalypse ;) ] but I'm not 100% convinced I can do much against a Lord of War, hence my adoption of Stronghold Assault forces to try and weather the storm. Ultimately I don't want to spend £150+ for the weekend to be wiped off the board without response!

I also have the new Tyranid Codex to deal with which really is the gift that just keeps on giving. Only today I found out that Winged Hive Tyrants can no longer Deep Strike. Flying Monstrous Creatures do not have that Special Rule and although it does mention that in Swoop and Glide mode they 'move' like Jump Units apparently the consensus is that that does not mean they 'are' Jump Units and thus can take advantage of their deep Strike Special ability. Apparently even to consider such is just stupid, or so I was made to feel on the forums! Apparently the last Codex FAQ did state that Harpies and Flyrants could Deep Strike but obviously that is no longer available/appropriate so deployment is now on or off the board in Reserve, which just sucks.

Anyway, I chose my option 1 list. Everyone kept on saying go with 'fun' well if I'm actually taking 4 Spore Mines in a cluster along with the Biovore it must be fun. It does actually make a mockery of all the Termagants I have. I painted those extra 20 on the assumption I'd run three Tervigons, which is no longer the case, still they needed to be done for Project X. Although with 30 less gaunts on the board from the get go I'll be under less pressure so may get to take pictures as usual. Oh, bizarrely I decide to start adding a bit of Mechrite Red to the Trygon last night around the joints and fleshy bits. I've been adding more and more red into Hive Fleet Gorgon as time goes on and retro-painting the Warriors and other models to fit with this new aesthetic. The 'liver' effect wasn't particularly good on the Trygon so it could definitely do with a pick-me-up. it won't be finished but it will look better alongside the other Kaiju!

Ultimately ToS this time is about having fun, I want to hang with my buds and have some fun games and with Stronghold Assault I get to show off all the nid Fortifications in one go. I didn't expect to ever be as successful as Dan and I were at Battle Brothers, coming 2nd and lets face it with everything as it stands I doubt that's even a possibility. But I've a good run at best painted Monstrous Creature and Fortifcations, although I expect considerably more competition this time, so it's by no means in the bag toxin sac! I do want a better 'Best game' score. It's extremely arbitrary but hopefully the army, freebies, my rugged good lucks and natural charm will win over those I get to game with.

What more can I say? We hope to leave early tomorrow morning, get to Warhammer World for 4ish, register and maybe even get in a practice game. Liam and I will have a bash while Otty and Scott [our 5th Musketeer] face each other with Ben offering Scott support, given he's only just getting back into 40k. Hopefully all these positives will run true and it'll be a good weekend.

What's on my palette?

Nearly six weeks since my last confession... and how've I been doing? I've obviously been flitting between the Great Maw and the Skyshield walls in preparation for Throne of Skulls, preview to follow. This has actually been quite a challenge, it's required a lot of will power and discipline, not to mention a lack of sleep, to complete. This is what I was dealing with last time:

1. 20 termagants
2. Skyshield Walls
3. New Tervigon
4. 4 Spore Mines [actually 6 got completed, some old metal ones resurfaced]
5. Deathwing [they're base coated at least...]

And I also made 2 new figure boxes:

However, as the deadline and completion approaches I can feel the reserves of energy waning, the job will be done but what of post-Thrones? Traditionally I have found myself completely stuffed on hobby gluttony after previous visits to Warhammer World, and with a solid six months of modelling and painting I may well take some 'time off'. That wasn't the plan, I wanted to get three months of Dark Angels work in before Project X is required to begin, but I feel quite tired right now so we'll just have to see what comes.

I have promised to repaint my brothers vivarium, after the only solution we could find to the matt floor varnish 'frosting' was to start again, So it's now a flat brown, so I need to do a shadow wash and then drybrush it. A couple of nights work but one that has been postponed since about Christmas, the poor lizard needs a new home.

I'd also planned a couple of 'large' purchases some 'Apocalyptic' things but having just come off the Skyshield I'm not actually keen to start a big model, although Project X will be big, but potentially straightforward. In case you're guessing it is not a Tyranid Fortress of Redemption. I had thought of doing one and I had a brilliant idea for the tower and some of the other bits but I came across the following picture a good few months ago that's pretty much what I had in mind

http://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer/comments/1cydoj/awful_sketch_for_a_tyranid_fortress_of_redemption/

Nabbicus pretty much read my mind [and he even likes my Quad Gun], although I was going to add some kind of 'oesophagus' using rope between the Capillary Towers with Termagants attached to it and coat the entire thing in PVA tissue paper so it looks like the gaunts are running up and down the tower 'gullet'. I wonder if he got round to making it? I measured up the Fortress to plan ahead but project X will take up a fair bit of room [I don't have ] so it will go on the back burner.

Meanwhile I do have a new Zoanthrope and a Venomthrope as well as a Carnifex and Pyrovore to paint but I don't want to start those, despite the 'voices' telling me they'll be SOOOO easy. I want to do the Dark Angels and if I'm going to struggle to get motivated and also try and endeavour to be sensible with my hobby time - not working till stupid o'clock I think they deserve a bit of attention.

I actually felt nauseous the other day at the thought of doing something new. However I managed to overcome that last night when I thought I'd prep the Zoie and Venom [that's when I lost the back vent for the zoie, grrr!] and get some bases done too - 6 bike bases and 11 Genestealers [wait, what?! Where did they come from, ha, ha!]. I know I shouldn't but until Thrones happens I still feel I'm allowed to do some nid stuff and may well throw in some nids while I'm focussing on Dark Angels, just to keep momentum going. So  I basically prepared a simple list that I can hopefully achieve for the Dark Angels that utilises as much of the stuff I've already got started so I can have something complete to play with sooner...

I've my Aegis Defence Line to do, a unit of Deathwing, the MKI Land Raider, my Dreadnought [it's on the list too!] and I want to get some Ravenwing complete. I recently saw this Black Legion Army painted by Ballistic Skill Four which is what I would love to achieve on my Ravenwing

Which is reminiscent of the Codex entry that manages to eschew the 'white wings' of the Ravenwing who are supposed to be dark and shrouded hunters, not blinged up followers of Liberace

This is a bit darker in the Codex

More like the original version just excuse all the reflections.

Anyway, that's it for now, lets get Thrones out of the way, overcome the post thrones slump and we'll see what treats the hobby has in store for me and the faithful.

Throne of Skulls 2014 army list help

Tomorrow I will finish my army list, unlike my hobby buddies I will not be spending months doing mine I've a template that looks cool and every one of my opponents gets one with a sheet with the Hive Fleet Gorgon  Ferron Splinter Fleet back story. I can't imagine Liam making 6 copies of his Chaos Space Marine head army list! Anyway, I got approval from the Events Team today to use all my models but I now have to make that last decision.

The two main choices I need help with is this list which is slightly varied, a Zoanthrope, Biovore [the spore mines], Trygon and two Tervigons [one as troop, the other a HQ with Regeneration (which worked out well last game)]...

...or slightly less versatile three Tervigons, two of which are troops.

Option 1. has some long range fire power with the Biovore. Assault damage from the Trygon [he got me a VP on a Lord of War, but died immediately afterwards] and the opportunity to Warp Blast from the Zoanthrope

Option 2. still has the same amount of Synapse and Psykers but I get the extra durability of the second troop Tervigon [not to mention the 2 broods of 30 Termagants] spawning will be limited in places, I just don't have enough gaunts but I'm hoping that enough will die for me to respawn them.

Ultimately Option 1. is probably more fun for people to play against, Option 2. fits my 'fluff' in that they are defending the Hive Nest - the Bastion, Skyshield etc.but it's 3 Tervigons! Will I be 'that guy' if I run it? I may survive to the end of the game - when you go Stronghold Assault it's endurance not attack you're planning for but spending most of the game hiding... but, it's the first time I've been able to run three.

I may get a chance to try this out tomorrow night on Ben but any opinions on these two options would be greatly appreciated.

Flufftastic - Hive Fleet Gorgon - Ferron Splinter Fleet - Tervigons

When it became apparent that Hive Fleet Gorgon had managed to create a foothold in the more remote parts of Ferron Proxima there was little the Planetary Defence Force could do by that stage. The alien intelligence had gambled on citing their incursion in some of the more desolate wildernesses so as to avoid detection, the gamble being the lack of bio-mass available to fuel the breakout from their planet fall. However, in time the brood nest was able to use hastily formed digestion pits to reclaim what vegetation and local fauna resided in those areas and with this recovered bio-mass they were able to evolve their 'Proto-Tervigons' into their natural state.

Aside from the increase in size there was little difference to their earlier counterparts, although some would say they possess a visage many times more frightening than their forebears. Unfortunately those that did voice such thoughts were soon removed from the populace by the local Inquisition or summarily executed by their PDF Commissars. What did hold true between the two strains was their ability to spawn Termagants. Often they would projectile birth them ahead of their charge, using them as a shield, to fearlessly engage the PDF before their brood mother slammed into the preoccupied Ferrons. The only respite the PDF could discern was once again due to their limited stocks of bio-mass as often the beasts spawned would number just a dozen although very occasionally it could be many dozen!

As the encounters increased Bio-magi continued to record all reports of the nature of this new Xenos threat. Tervigons were a whole new genus they were rapidly having to come to terms with to draw solutions up for their eradication or at the least containment until the arrival of support from the Adeptus Astartes. It soon became apparent that the creatures had some form of psychic abilities. Initially those skills allowed them to force their progeny to greater feats of endurance or allowing them to control the weaker minded beasts from further distances whilst they stayed in the rear. However at some indeterminate point something changed, whether it be the natural absorption of the Wraithbone shards scattered across the surface of Ferron Proxima or some alien signal that evolved the psychic ability of the creatures following the arrival of the Dark Angel relief force in their battle barge 'Dark Vengeance' no one knows.

The result though was that suddenly the Tervigons were performing much more varied elements of witchcraft, invariably making them stronger and tougher or giving them the ability to move faster than the eye could see and faster than anything of that size should be able to in nature. Additionally these skills allowed them to be more aggressive, leading from the front and using further skills to weaken the forces arrayed against them, or making their progeny even more durable in the face of oncoming fire. Regardless, it soon became apparent that even the most devastating of creatures the Great Devourer could bring to the battlefields - Trygons and Mawlocs could be pale shadows of what an enraged Tervigon could be. They were seen to tear large tanks apart with ease, smashing Bastions and whole formations asunder with their giant crushing claws or scything talons.

Currently the Tervigons are being kept in check through the efforts of the Dark Angels, disallowing them access to further biomass to increase their numbers.One side effect of this 'containment exercise' recently noted is that their extreme levels of psychic ability has decreased. Whatever obscene catalysing agent that had produced such monstrous powers seems to have been used up. The beasts are still powerful but in no way can they perform the feats of psychic mastery that allowed them to secure a foothold on Ferron soil. Not only that but their spawning behaviour seems to have altered, no longer are they able to spawn with such ferocity, their progeny bursting forth with wild abandon. Instead the alien filth are deposited like mewling newborn infants, weak and decrepit, blinking in the harsh daylight as they try to ascertain why they have been brought into existence. It is advised that anyone facing such an abominable birthing should utilise this moment of confusion to destroy the alien scum.

One bio-magi has suggested that it is Ferron Proxima itself that is fighting back, that it is allergic to the Tyranid presence and thus weakening the bioforms much as the planet is anathema to the Ork threat. Although there was historical evidence that certain have genome sequences that can match up with the Catachan Devil it has since been shown to match more closely with the Ymgarl Mutation but with differences that make the instability of the mutation more harmful to the Tyranid genetic make up than beneficial. It certainly might explain the recent discovery that although the Tervigon as primogenitor spawns the Termagaunts and was able to pass on certain genetic improvements new evidence suggest it no longer imparts any such advantage. In fact the Tervigon is now a mere incubator, or surrogate for some other, unknown brood mother.

The question remains is the unstable mutated Ymgarl genome in Ferron flora why the Tyranid threat has been stalled so abrubtly? Is this why their rapid expansion and overwhelming brute strength has been replaced by weakened genetic stock, only time will tell.

'nids part 133 - PROJECT Y Scratchbuilt Tyranid Skyshield Landing Pad pt10.

In a bid to stave off the mind numbing nature of painting the Tervigon I'm also cracking on with the Skyshield walls - no mean feat in themsleves. I actually don't want to be doing these, I'm going against the flow of my creativity, I'm bored of it and it's a bit tedious and it's still at the beginning in most respects because I've abandoned all the high concpet ideas. This is the first bit fleshy fibres, I went straight with DAS because I knew Milliptu was going to slow everything up. With a small amount of water it can stick quite well so the rest will do the same.

I tried to add some variety in the musculature and as my terracota ran out I also finished up my white clay too. It was starting to dry out anyway so abit of kneeding with some water added revived it enough to get to this stage.

The first completed wall and I think I'm not mistaken when I say the clay drying has managed to warp the frame a bit.

I'm hoping that once it's afixed between the Capillary Towers they will hold it in place a bit more but at this stage that one magnet is looking less effective than when it was just the plastic frame on it's own.

Yet more progress.

The first completed wall [again].

The first completed wall [and again].

Another wall, just some horizontal bits to do at the base now.

And the same on the front is needed too.

It all seems a bit random but it needs to be done and I haven't time to come up with something better. I've already compromised the vision so we'll just have to hope the paint job willlift the end result.

Don't get me wrong, there's some interesting work here but this isn't something I'm relishing doing. I'll be happy at it's completion but that will be the reward, the construction process is just less pleasurable than the finished article.

So the race is nearly done, I think I'll make it with time to spare.