WIP shots of the Nephilim Jet Fighter

My Deathwing Contemptor Dreadnought is about done except it’s base, because I need some wall sections and other stuff for that. I’m really proud at just about everything on this and its one of the first models I can say I’m truly happy with, especially the front of the torso! Washing the brass nameplate (FW) with sepia wash really brought out the detail, and the eye lenses aren’t horrible! 

I’m also really proud of the 3rd Company symbol on the left knee, as I did it by hand and the line came out 98% straight I’m really happy about this model you guys I might even go over it later and add more detail when I’m better with Object Source Lighting, Non-Metallic Metals, and Weathering Pigments/Oil Inks. :D

Grimdark DJ battle:

DJ Brother Raf vs NecROnLorD vs Sha’so Longbeats

fourteekay:

Currently painting the Dark Angels from Dark Vengeance, so was looking for inspiration when I came across Jim Burns’s classic Dark Angel painting that graced the cover of the Epic scale Space Marine.

Quite tempted now to keep the DA symbols solid green like this.  I still think the bright white markings, added by GW’s art department, were a bit extreme, but I can see they needed to break up all that green.

The Marine in the middle firing the bolt gun down at, what looks like, the marine in front of him (he has the Apothecary next to his leg for some reason?) is Al Pacino.

I like this art, and all 40k art, for the amount of detail that’s put into it. There’s three service studs on his head, marking his three centuries of service. The robes denote that he’s a veteran, and privy to at least the basic secrets of the chapter. The feathered helmet denotes that he is a company champion, and the terminator honor on his shoulder pad denotes that he’s in the Dark Angels 3rd Company. 

One of the amazing things about this hobby. 

Sixth Edition allies table. All I gotta say is, it’s a good edition to be Tau.

Here’s the link on GW’s websites with recommended products for allies (yes, it looks like you can take special characters as part of your allies!): Games Workshop’s New Allies Section

nerdgamery:

Just two more assault squads and I will have the entirety of the the 3rd Company.

Then… 5th?  6th? 
Ravenwing?

Reblogging cuz whoa this is frickin’ sweet. My ultimate goal is to have a full Deathwing company, a full Ravenwing company, the full 3rd Company, and the 10th Scout company.

A Review of The Primarchs, the latest book in the Horus Heresy series from Black Library.
(Image courtesy Lexicanum, copyright Games Workshop)

This book contains four stories, The Reflection Crack’d by Graham McNeil, Feat of Iron by Nick Kyme, The Lion by Gav Thorpe, and The Serpent Beneath by Rob Sanders. All of the stories are incredibly interesting, and very well written (although Feat of Iron is a little dry towards the middle). 

The Reflection Crack’d has well fleshed and well thought out characters, and fills in the time after Isstvan III, and the death of Ferrus Manus. It also provides a new look into the growing depravity of the Third Legion. Really good, but not quite as good as The Lion and The Serpent Beneath; it has really good buildup and the climax is both unexpected and thrilling. A good read, especially those who have an Emperor’s Children army and want more fuel for their background fluff.

Feat of Iron takes place before the first seeds of heresy are planted, with the Iron Hands, Salamanders, and Death Guard fighting the Eldar on a desert planet. For the most part, the bits revolving around the Iron Hands captains and the terminators are on the dry side. However, the parts with the Primarch himself are much better, and well worth it (especially the end).

The Lion. What can I say about this? Once again Gav Thorpe proves he is the person to be writing Dark Angels stories. Taking place directly after the confrontation between Curze and the Lion, it answers so many questions about why the Dark Angels did not immediately answer Roboute Guilliman’s call for the Loyalists to rally at Ultramar. It also alludes to the capabilities of the Watchers in the Dark. Honestly, one of the two gems of the book.

Here’s the other gem, the Serpent Beneath. Wow. The only way I can begin to describe how… Alpha Legion… this Alpha Legion short story is. It starts off regularly enough, but the constant twists and turns made through the story really threw me for a loop. Especially towards the end, my entire perspective on the story was turned upside down (fitting for a story about the XX Legion). The Ocean’s 11 style presentation of the story (going back and forth, stage by stage, between the planning of the operation and the actual operation itself) adds another level to the story and really ties it all together.


All in all, though I hate giving numerical ratings to things (as I feel they don’t really do an objective review justice. Alas, some people don’t like big walls of text). I give this anthology an 8.5/10.

Nick Kyme’s story really was the weakest point of the anthology, but it was still good. On the other hand, I really want to see more Alpha Legion stories from Rob Sanders in the future. He really has a great grasp of how the Legion works and how they think. Finally, The Lion really has me excited for his upcoming Ravenwing trilogy. 

tentakelgames:

I like minimalism in design. I like Scandinavian furniture with clean lines and magazines with lots of whitespace. Sir Jonathan Ive’s philosophy of subtracting everything but the essential is wonderful.

I like minimalism in games as well. Carcassonne and Bohnanza are small masterpieces, distilled experiences boiled down to a few easily grokkable* mechanics. Adding more rules and variations simply doesn’t add more to the gaming experience (as shown by  many of Carcassonne’s expansions, which are just so much chaff).

At the same time, I understand opulence. Kitsch and weirdness have a purpose. Contrast against the whitespace can create texture and something interesting for the mind to chew on, so to speak.

James and Lexington both wrote about the undeserved bad reputation of the Dark Angels codex. When it came out, I absolutely loved it. I also loved Gav Thorpe’s Eldar and Chaos codexes. All of them focused on simplicity and clean presentation. The writers were seemingly conscious of the game’s basic mechanics and what the respective books represented in the greater whole. They aimed to reduce clutter and did so very effectively. To quote Lexington from his piece:

It was a model of elegance and restrained game design that promised a 40K which relied more on maneuvering and focused application of force rather than comic book explosions and squads min-maxed for the sake of obscene firepower.

What the books lacked, however, were evocative rules. The Internet was all aflame.

  
40k does not aim for simulation or realism – not even within its own universe. Instead writers capture the feeling of the background history with abstracted rules. Large parts of the audience has come to expect the rules to be scenic in their own right. To exaggerate: a unit that doesn’t break at least one one basic rule is bland.

That is opulence for opulence’s own sake. It’s hard to balance and creates spectacle instead of competitive gaming. Not necesssarily a bad thing, if that’s what the audience wants - which it is.

Don’t get me wrong. I still like 40k. I think it does what it’s intended to do very well: giving us an opportunity to piddle around with model soldiers.

I’m just not sure it’s the game I want any more. I want to be competitive, in the intellectual sense. I want to be challenged. I want elegant design. When the choices presented are heaps of units and equipment, where there is almost always only a few competitive answers (within your local meta-game), that takes away from the creativity of army building.

  
I’m interested to see what 6:th edition brings. I’m certain that the models will keep on being wonderful, and that I’ll keep on painting them. But games-wise, I’m losing faith. I find myself dreaming of a version of 40k where the Dark Angels codex represented the future.

  
* Making easily grokkable games is one of the most important aspects of game design, in my opinion. It’s also why I like minimalism. If you grok grokking, you know what I mean.

An interesting take on 40k.

Don’t read this unless you don’t plan on picking up this rather good book of short stories. Spoilers having to do with the Lion and the Heresy.

Read More