Ultramarines: Back in Action

This Saturday I will play my 2nd game of 40k in a year. It will also be my first game of 6th. I will also play my 2nd and 3rd game as I will be playing in a small local tournament. Only 10 people but that will be nice to dip my toes back in the water.

Because its been so long since I have played I have a few issues. One of them is that I have forgotten a fair amount. Throw in having not played in 6th and well....

I have borrowed my friends 6th Ed rule book and will spend the next 2 days figuring out what the hell I am doing. Running scenarios against my own units - that kind of thing. This will allow me to work out the basics of close combat, psychic powers, flyers etc.

My biggest issue though is that the tourney is at 1500 points. My 1st Company Smurfwing (aka DA Deathwing) has always been run at 1750. I KNOW how to be deadly with it at that point level. In fact my list is so good for me that it hasnt changed in 2 years. That means I have to pry out 250 points from somewhere. The question is what to drop? One of the raiders - then I loose a bunch of my AT and mobility. One of the squads and I loose 25% of my troops.

Another issue is that with Deathwing is if I choose to take out a troops choice it doesnt come to 250 so something else has to go. That something is the dreadnought which causes its own issues as it also represents a fair amount of my AT.

After much debate I ended up dropping a squad of terminators and the dread and adding an Interrogator Chaplain. Is it the best choice? No, but its one that I am going to have to work with. Plus its always nice to play with models that I normally dont use. And the fact is that my Chaplain is just so good to look at :)

Terrain Madness

I have read that its like a drug. An addiction that has to be met. An itch in constant need of scratching and I have fallen prey to this scourge.

What I am talking about is the dreaded Terrain Bug!!!

Everywhere I look and everything I see now falls into 2 categories. Things I can replicate as scenary and things I can use to make that scenary. I am brimming with ideas and have been scouring the internet to fine ways and methods to bring those ideas into life.

It started with my roads that I posted about previously. Its now moved on.

First came the MG nests. These were inspired by and article on Modeldads and then from BigLee's Miniatures.

http://www.modeldads.co.uk/Life-at-the-Front/wordpress/?p=1524
http://www.blmablog.com/2011/03/scratch-built-mg-nest.html

My efforts:

Then came the trench line. I built roughly 24 inches of trench line. This was accomplished with nothing more than some packing styrofoam and coffee stirrers.

 In Progress. And no, the superglue is NOT what I used to glue the styrofoam.

Finished Product. Not all of it but enough to get the idea. No idea why it came out so dark in the photos.

Next was my stone walls. Again using styrofoam as a base and fish tank gravel I made 6 feet of walls in 6 inch segments.

Again, just a selection of the finished product. I am quite proud of the gate :)

Some of the walls next to one of my road segments.

And last but not least I was feeling whimsical and also wanted to do something quick and easy. So I did a well. This took me all of about 25 minutes to make.

 In Progress: Made from gravel and square toothpicks. They were from a party pack hence the colours.

Finished product.

And there we go. Some of the things I have made in the last week. Yes....its all one weeks worth. Like I said, I have the bug bad!

Zvezda 38(t)'s

Recently bought some Zvezda 38(t)s to add to my mid war germans. Have to say that for the price ($3.49 each) I am very impressed with them. Easy to put together, took me maybe 5 minutes to do all 3 and pretty detailed. No stowage or decals but luckily had some stuff laying about. The command tank is the one with the red stripe and the extra storage container welded to the back of the turret.

Really looking forward to seeing how they do on the battlefield.

Terrain: Home made dirt/muddy roads

This weekend, after looking at various blogs and methods of making home grown terrain I was inspired to attempt to try my hand at making some dirty roads suitable for Flames of War and Heavy Gear.

A quick trip to Lowe's and some shelf browsing and I had bought the following.

2 - 12 x 12 Linolium floor tiles. (I got the expensive 88c ones as they were nice and stiff and they were textured to help the filler grip adhere better)

1 - small tub of dry wall filler.

1 - tube of Elmers wood glue.

1 - cheap paintbrush.

Total cost: $9.47

First I measured the width of the tiles using a FOW Tiger tank as a guide. I then cut up the floor tiles into the shapes I wanted. In this case it was 8 long strips, a T-junction, a cross roads and a short straight. This gave me approximatly 8,5 feet of roadway.

Next I applied the filler. Just lathered it on and mixed it with some sand from outside. I used my fingers to spread it which gave it some nice corrugations. I also used the Tiger to put some track impressions into the semi dry filler. I then waited for it to dry before hitting it with a layer of watered down elmers glue. This is a critical step as the filler is brittle and easily chipped. The glue soaked in and made it far more robust.

I havent factored the cost of the paint in as I already had these. However this would only cost about $4 as I used a 95c tin of black spray from Lowes as well as some Americana craft acrylics which run around $1 each. I used 3 colours. The nice thing is that you can use whatever colours you want depending on what terrain you are modelling for. After the paint was dry I hit the whole thing with a layer of cheap matt varnish to seal it and and add more protection vs chipping. I then used the elmers to seal the edges, again to prevent chipping when the roads come into contact with each other.

Lastly was some flock to make it all pretty and blend into the table.

And the final product: Shown here with some staights as well as the various junctions.

I am very pleased with the result. All told, excluding drying. Maybe 3 hours work as the very most. All for a very cheap price and the result is very good. The best bit is that there is still plenty of filler and glue left over. Enough for at least another tile if not 2. I plan to come back to this in the next month or so and do some curves etc.

20 Questions

Ray and Fran's "20 Questions"


I can blame Ray and Fran for this one. Whoever they are :) This is going around on the blogs I follow so thought I would jump in.

1. Favourite Wargaming period and why?

The Grim Darkness of Warhammer 40000. First system I got into and the mini's are amazing to look at.

2. Next period, money no object?

Malifaux, specifically the Swamp Gremlins. They have a Hog Catapault!!!!

3. Favourite 5 films?

Princess Bride, Meet Joe Black, Constantine, Saving Private Ryan,

4. Favourite 5 TV series?

Stargate SG1, Fringe, West Wing, Supernatural, Falling Skies

5. Favourite book and author?

David Weber as favourite author. Fav book is very hard as that tends to change. Druss the Legend is always a firm favourite


6. Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!!

Erwin Rommel


7. Favourite Wargames rules?

Warhammer 40000. They are fairly simple in comparision to rules such as FOW and Heavy Gear

8. Favourite Sport and team?

Rugby and the Springboks!!!


9. If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?

Back far enough that I could stop my mom smoking before it gave her lung cancer.

10. Last meal on Death Row?

T-Bone, Medium rare

11. Fantasy relationship and why?

Natalie Portman. We are the same age and loved watching her in Leon. Had a thing for her since then.

12. If your life were a movie, who would play you?

A young Tom Selleck :)


13. Favourite Comic Superhero?

The Batman

14. Favourite Military quote?

In a man-to-man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.


~Erwin Rommel


15. Historical destination to visit?

Pearl Harbour followed by Normandy


16. Biggest Wargaming regret?

Though I love my Ultramarines I often regret not doing my own DIY chapter


17. Favourite Fantasy job?

Captain of a battleship :)


18. Favourite Song Top 5?

Meh, skip


19. Favourite Wargaming Moment?

Killing a whiney bastards Brass Scorpion with an impossible shot (obviously not that impossible) during a team match and watching him grab his minis and leave in a hissy fit.

20. The miserable Git question, what upsets you?

Immigrants who expect society to adapt to them as opposed to the other way around



1. Favourite Wargaming period and why?

2. Next period, money no object?

3. Favourite 5 films?

4. Favourite 5 TV series?

5. Favourite book and author?

6. Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!!

7. Favourite Wargames rules?

8. Favourite Sport and team?

9. If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?

10. Last meal on Death Row?

11. Fantasy relationship and why?

12. If your life were a movie, who would play you?

13. Favourite Comic Superhero?

14. Favourite Military quote?

15. Historical destination to visit?

16. Biggest Wargaming regret?

17. Favourite Fantasy job?

18. Favourite Song Top 5?

19. Favourite Wargaming Moment?

20. The miserable Git question, what upsets you?