Giant Forbidden Cookie

 The dreadnought base being worked up.

 

Step 1: A whole bunch of the Huge Miniatures "Stone" base. This texture is less runny than Mud, and won't shrink back from the edges quite so much. Skulls and rocks are put down at this phase to give a solid anchoring on the base, although it's difficult to angle the skulls effectively with this thin of a layer. Doing stones here is correct, but at least some skulls should come later or need a bit more material.

 

A layer of Mud, again from Huge, with some larger ballast sprinkled on for additional texture. I don't use as much ballast on smaller bases, but there's more visible surface area on this base and I wanted to make sure there was enough rugged surface for the drybrush to catch on.

 

One more Mud touch-up to make sure the edges of the base are thoroughly covered and the ballast is better balanced across the full base.

 

The base texturing for the Suppressors' magentized walls were also done at this stage, then primed with Stylinrez black.

 

I painted the walls first since some sections of wall are "under" the texture layer, and going back over them later would look weird. The bases were undercoated with Rhinox Hide. I tried out Tindalos Red on the barrel on a whim.

 

A drybrush of Doombull Brown put Tindalos squarely in between the two colors, which was a nice surprise if I want to work in some extra variation.

 

A drybrush of Baneblade Brown on the whole base, and some scatter inks for variation. The rocks were undercoated Baneblade a layer of various Contrast paints was applied. Also added metallic trim to the barrel, trying to keep the colors more subtle.

A final drybrush of Karak Stone to make the whole scene feel cohesively dusty. I ended up washing the barrel to be a bit more red with Carroburg Crimson, which caused it to be an imprcise match to the other reds on the base. Both feet were pinned, and the victory lap of Necro Black from Scale 75 around the rim finished this big guy off.

More models done to the final standard.

 

Forbidden Cookies

 Wherein I document how to make the bases for my army.

A quick backstory: I originally picked Sector Imperialis bases from GW because they looked great and I was just getting back in to the hobby. For 2021 part of my goal is to bring my existing force up to a "final" (har har) methodology of painting that uses some edge highlighting and oil washing. The models I've completed look really good on their temporary bases. They don't look good on some of the SI bases. I tried a bunch of variations to see what I could come up with, using blu-tac to attach one of the new-final models to various bases with various color tones and combinations. Nothing was as good as the simple dirt base in the set with a dark undercoat and drybrushed texture.

The eventual winning prototype from the Sector Imperialis set

While this was a fun set of experiments to see what kind of metallics I could create, nothing clicked. Adam Fasoldt helped me understand why: the I chose for the pauldrons is a cold color, and I want a very netural grey, so the bases should be warm. An important part of the SI bases is that they have a pavement-esque texture in them, and no matter how hard I try that's never going to feel both like pavement and warm. 

So, back to the drawing board entirely. I spent a few hours looking at other various pre-textured solutions from the usual suspects (Secret Weapon, Fallout Hobbies) but nothing matched the simpler style I wanted in my head. The other problem with pre-textured solutions is that oddly sized bases aren't well supported. There is no Redemptor Dreadnought sized base in any of GW's pre-textured lines, and now that Outriders are on yet another size base, it was increasingly appealing to make my own.

More trial and error ensues. Using multiple sizes of stones and sand (which train hobby guys will call ballast or aggregate) makes the base look more realistic, so I picked up a couple varieties from Michael's and some molding paste and made a test base. I was hoping to create a relatively barren landscape littered with skulls and debris. My test base didn't use multiple sizes, just the bigger chips, as I wasn't sure how it would look next to a model. I put the stones down at the same time as the modelling paste, and no base is complete without a skull.

The sculpting tool proved to be total overkill for a 32mm base, though I suspect it'll get used for Outrider and larger bases. Tamiya Paint Stirrers have a great flat end and are stainless steel so they clean up quickly, and ended up being my tool of choice to do the surface. This compound shrank more than I expected despite lathering it on, so several of the rocks came loose when I airbrushed a black undercoat on.

Then on to paints. I needed to create a warm, earthy tone that might feel like churned mud or clay that had been fought over for months, and something that would complement the walls I'd painted the week prior. Zandri Dust was the heaviest lifter on the walls, so the soil color needed to be darker or the bases and walls would run together. 

The deepest warm brown that GW makes is Rhinox Hide, and it's a favorite for sponge weathering because it feels a lot like it's mud. (I'd originally tried to use Rhinox Hide on the Sector Imperialis bases when I got back in to the hobby with Dark Imperium, but couldn't make it work without more texture to drybrush up). The next layer I tried to drybrush on was Gothor Brown, but it immediately turned the base too cold, and because that's the color I use for edge highlighting leather there was risk of the colors blurring together. Doombull Brown has a nice warm reddish tone that worked much better, and layering up Baneblade Brown then Karak Stone on top of it resulted in a transition up to a limestone-like color that I frequently see when walking on trails in California. The final result is a huge improvement over the "proposed" basing.

Yup

Nope

One model done - great. Time to try some more. The single base looked great but the surface was too smooth between the chip stones. The modelling texture didn't have any grit to it at all, and so it dried very "flat" - there's variation in the base from the swirling of the compound, but it doesn't feel like soil. For the next batch I added larger stones for variety (collected from the gravel easement behind our home), and also tried to use multiple layers of aggregate to try to make the main texture feel more like dirt. This... did not go as well.

Even though the end result of these wasn't bad and it confirmed that the colors I was using were going to work great, it wasn't what I had been trying to achieve. The addition of this much sand to the whole surface resulted in a very "noisy" result that did not match the vision in my head. It had also taken longer, as this required a layer of thinned PVA glue over the molding compound to place the sand, and another to lock it in. The efficiency loss combined with the less interesting bases was not a good route for me. I scraped this whole set of bases with a drywall tool and tried again.

For this round I accepted that I'll need to use a less readily-available mixing compound, and dug out the Huge Miniatures basing textures of Basalt and Mud. I had purchsed these after Adepticon 2020 was cancelled to support the vendors who had built up stock in anticipation of the show that never happened. Going in to this step, I didn't know which texture I'd end up liking more, so I mixed them up to create variety. The transition between dirt and mud is always unclear anyway, so it won't look wrong for them to coexist. The Mud texture constricted quite a bit more than the Basalt did, so I needed to apply some extra Mud the next morning around the larger pieces on the base to make them feel more natural. It was really nice to be able to just glop more on without worrying about any blending because it's mud and natural mud is always messy anyway! I also added a couple small pieces of cork under the textures in an experiment to add height variety.

Forbidden Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies

When wet there's a stark difference in color, but when dry they blend nicely. The colors that these settle in to are quite pleasant and in some schemes I'm sure you could just use them out of the pot. For me the small stones and skulls need painting and it's not quite as warm or rich as I'd like it to be. I lost fewer chip stones in the airbrushing stage this time despite not applying thinned PVA before priming - these mixes have great adhesive quality.

Stylinrez Black

Rhinox Hide

Doombull Brown

Baneblade Brown (the wrong pot is in the photo!)

At this step the bases look really good, but are all very uniform. I used a couple of washes to try to change the tone of the soil, finding Nuln Oil and Carroburg Crimson to be effective at darkening and waming the tone of the soil. 

Spot washes left to right: Carroburg Crimson, Druchii Violet, Nuln Oil

I also painted the rocks slightly different colors, or used washes over top of Baneblade Brown. Larger stones like you see in nature are "uniform" in color compared to the erratic colors of soil or gravel, so they need to be basecoated to feel natural. I was pleasantly surprised by how much one wash made the rocks feel like they were accent pieces, and I think I'll be able to mix and match contrast and washes to make a huge variety of rocks that feel "right" with the soil color and texture.

To unify the rocks with the bases, one last drybrush of Karak Stone went over the entire base, representing the "dust" layer. Last but not least: skulls, using my reliable recipe of Rakarth Flesh -> Skeleton Horde -> Screaming Skull highlight.

To say that I am happy with how these came out would be a tremendous understatement. They feel war-torn and desolate, with enough interest to make them all unique, and they didn't take all that much work.

The most surprising result is that the base materials are very difficult to tell apart once painted unless you're very close up. Basalt kept its jagged shape a bit better and picks up drybrush detail more clearly, but the mud does a better job of absorbing the chip stones in a natural way and can be swirled to create interesting patterns. I have since ordered two more textures from Huge Miniatures (Stone and Earth) so expect future comparisons once I get a chance to make more bases. I suspect there won't be much in the way of visible difference, but that's ok! Being able to mix in new and different textures but keeping the bases feeling cohesive will just be part of the fun.

And of course, the almost-final product (missing transfers on knees and a victory lap of black around the base rim). Pinning is an absolute must on this texture, and drilling was no problem. Finding the right place for the feet is the only real challenge.

This poor Aggressor broke at the knee for the fourth time when putting him on the base.

I hope you enjoyed this journey, and it inspires you to find your own path. The supplies necessary for this are minimal if you use a pre-mixed texture, and the control over how the bases complement your army is bar none. Special thank you to Rich Berrill and Colin Ward for their advice and patience, and Loopy for helping me over the warm/cold hump.

Another year on

 

Getting better at painting.

Aftermath: The Trial of Resolve

+++TRANSCRIPTION NOTES+++
SCRIBE IDENT: Scriptorum Helot Zangrene
CLASSIFICATION: NONE

It has been one hundred and thirty two years since the arrival of the Primaris gene-seed to our chapter from the messengers of the blessed Lord Guilliman, and one hundred twenty eight since the invasion of the accursed servants of the dark gods. I am blessed to have never seen the traitors who dared despoil our world with my own eyes, yet the echoes of their vile work still linger. The successful defensive campaign is now known to those within the chapter as the Trial of Resolve, and is believed to be the sign that the chapter was worthy to recieve the Primaris gene-seed.

When the Great Rift opened and the minions of the Dark Gods issued forth, the forge world of Velarus, whose forges are said to have never gone dark in ten thousand years, was assaulted by the behest of the Despoiler. Charged with the defense of the sacred manufactorus above all other vows, the Adeptus Astartes of the Granite Fists met the servants of the Great Enemy in battle. Millions of lives were spent to hold the planet, but none so precious as those given by the Granite Fists. Nearly two thirds of the entire chapter were rendered combat ineffective by the campaign's conclusion, with more than half of the survivors being counted among the reinforcing fleets responsible for ending the naval confrontation above the planet. The gifts of Cawl were still being deciphered when the planet fell under siege. Faced with a critical reduction in fighting strength, chapter master Attorum had no choice but to enact the Rubicon Primaris en masse on those whose injuries would have otherwise relegated them away from the front lines. Of the two hundred and eighty six brethren who undertook the journey, one hundred and eighteen did not survive. A further fifty seven were entombed within Dreadnought sarcophagi, their slumber haunted by battles of which many do not yet know resolution.

In total, five hundred and forty six Granite Fists were consigned to the Emperor during the Trial of Resolve. The standing force of the chapter numbered a scant two hundred and eighty nine warriors on the day the Trial was declared complete.

With great foresight, Attorum sent more than a score of the Velarus survivors to Mars even before the Rubicon Primaris surgeries had completed. Though the chapter has always had a substantial contingent of dreadnoughts, the heartbreaking influx of bretheren reduced to a semi-existence during the Trial risked overwhelming the chapter's Techmarine contingent. They returned from their time with the servants of the Machine God with greater understanding of the war machines bestowed upon the chapter by Cawl, and began bending the machine spirits of the planet's manufactorums to their large-scale production.

Likewise were the ranks of the Apothecarium strengthened, though by hardship rather than by choice. So numerous were the concurrent Rubicon Primaris surgeries that the chapter had no choice but to conscript healthy survivors to assist in the delicate procedures. The knowledge gained in saving so many of their brethren was immediately put to use in reinforcement of the chapter. Over the last century the chapter's strength has been renewed by the abundance of the Primaris gene-seed and aggressive recruitment from the surrounding systems. Those worlds nearest Velarus know that should the Granite Fists have failed in their duty, their worlds would surely be plundered and ravaged by opportunistic traitors and xenos, and have given their finest recruits over to the chapter's apothecarium.

Over the subsequent decades the chapter's might has been restored. The Primaris brethren now account for the majority of the chapter, led by the survivors of the Trial who have crossed the Rubicon Primaris. Though the surgery could never be called routine, the wisdom of the Apothecarium has grown and many of the Firstborn have volunarity crossed in the time since the Trial. The forges of Velarus now roar and howl in their labors to replicate the works of the Arch-Magus, their surplus given over to chapters in nearby systems or to passing Adeptus Astartes fleets. 

With the chapter's strength finally rising above the essential level necessary to defend their charge, a handful of crusade fleets have been dispatched to reinforce the systems surrounding Velarus, lest the Great Enemy gain a foothold from which to strike at the Granite Fists again.

+++END NOTATION+++

Strike on Ragnarok

+++Priority Transmission+++
Adeptus Mechanicus 

Somnium Stars Campaign game, June 08. 

Mission: Disruptive Signals
Deployment: Hammer and Anvil
First Turn: Waaagh Grekmawg

Terrain Layout

Deployment Overview. The Orks deployed first on the line, and the Space Marines hunkered in cover to maximize the distance between them while leaving enough room to retreat once the melee began.

The Granite Fists form a defensive line against the green tide. Hellblasters and a Dreadnought secure each flank. The characters and Aggressors screened in the midfield by Intercessors.

Waaaaagh Grekmawg prepares to swarm da 'ard 'umies. The Boyz get riled up, and the Nob Bikers prepare to rush the left side of the board.

The secret MVP of the Ork list: Kannons line up behind Boss Klampkrusha and some boyz.

The right flank of the Astartes deploy to tempt the Ork No Bikers in to a charge by placing the company's banner atop objective 5.

Warboss Grekmawg prepares to lead da boyz in to the fray with a gang of Biker Nobz at tip of the spear.

Dem boyz is muckin' about!

More muckin!

The Orks advance at full speed.  A block of 40 boyz Da Jumps to the center of the board despite a Perils of the Warp, and the Nob Bikers and Grekmawg charge up the left flank and open fire on the Hellblasters. The first of the Granite Fists fall as Kannon fire rains down on the Aggressors.

The grey line holds the bikers back, but only just. Paragons of Dorn return fire from the Hellblasters picks off one bike and wounds another before the Orks can fully engage in melee.

In the midfield, the giant block of Boyz piles in and gets to work on the Intercessors, hoping to consolidate in to the Aggressor squad and prevent them from firing.

 The Nobz hidden in the mob wipe out one Intercessor squad, but the second squad holds. Lucky Maelstrom draws to claim uncontested objectives put the Orks in an early lead.

In the bottom of turn 1, the Intercessors fall back to clear the line of fire for the big guns on both sides.

The remaining Granite Fists unleash a withering hailstorm of fire that completely wipes out the 40-man unit, resorting to sniper fire to kill the last ork and deny objective 4. On the right flank, the Hellblasters fell more bikes before Venerable Evato charges and kills the remaining Nobz with his power fist.

At the top of turn two the Orks continue their relentless attack. The second block of Boyz Da Jumps back in front of the Aggressor gun line, but fail their charge and miss the opportunity to bog down the marines in close combat. The Kannons thunder and Evato falls on the right flank, as well as a third Aggressor.

Gunning his Wartrike's engines to charge through the wreckage of the Dreadnought, Grekmawg's advance is halted when Field Commander Fanok sacrifices himself to keep the boss from reaching the remaining Hellblasters. The Lieutenant does not survive the attack, and Grekmawg piles in to the intercessors who once again hold the line.

The barrels of their bolters already glowing red hot, the Aggressors unleash another punishing barrage of fire and the second mob of Orks is eradicated. With the chaff cleared, both Warbosses are targeted by the big guns. Klampkrusha's Mega-Armor is slagged to inoperability by the Hellblasters, and he howls in rage as he cedes the field. Venerable Beltok avenges his brother as his plasma cannon ignites the fuel tank on Grekmawg's wartrike, sending the Warboss flying in to the distance and out of the fight. 

While the bulk of the army has been destroyed, the Orks are still in the lead from strong Maelstrom draws. Gretchin move in to position to claim 2 additional objectives. The Kannons destroy the remaining Aggressors and Venerable Beltok's shell is rendered inoperable. The superior range of the Ork artillery and lack of achievable objectives forces the Granite Fists to advance through the open killing field.

The grots do their best to slow the advancing heroes and claim objectives as the Kannons continue to inflict casualties on the Hellblasters. The center and right of the Marine line is reduced to four lone operatives: two sole survivors of the Intercessor squads, one Hellblaster, and the Bearer Kazal. They move to cover three objectives, and between them clean up one of the two remaining grots to secure objective 4 and score three cards in one turn.

The final Maelstrom draw leaves the orks with no opportunity to score while the Granite Fists squeak ahead. The game ends with two Kannons and a Big Mek and eight Space Marines left on the board.
Victory for the Imperium!

+++ 

The act that signaled the real end for any fight was, in Brother Terhon's experience, when he cycled the plasma incinerator's furnace down from its maximum setting. Today the weapon had run hot indeed, spitting atomic death at a mob of whooping Ork bikers that had rode full throttle through the rubble-choked streets. Their bikes and the massive trike their leader rode had plowed in to the building were riddled with puncture marks from bolters and plasma shots. Ancillary fires ignited during the shootout sparked spare fuel canisters in the wreckage. Tangled with the wheels and piping of the Warboss' trike was the bulky form of Venerable Evato's combat sarcophagus, its weapons ripped from their housing and one leg blown off at the knee. Evato's angry rumble over the vox at being unable to close on the xenos artillery confirmed his survival, and Terhon could see other ceramite-clad shapes move in the debris field. 

The ork attack had been swift and brutal, and only the discipline and sacrifice of his Intercessor brethren had allowed the Granite Fist gun line to drive the greenskins away and secure the cogitator repositories. From the next block over, the staccatto roar of sustained bolter fire had been deafening even through the building that separated Terhon from the rest of his force. Crimson and amber status runes showed that the point-blank fighting had been costly for both sides. Artillery fire still boomed in the distance, but the cogitator bank in this building had been saved and Terhon was under orders to ensure it remained secure. He would have to trust his brothers could deal with the primitive hard-shelling guns. Between the tremendous bangs of large-caliber fire, Terhon could hear the piggish sound of orks in full retreat, or whatever passed for it among their simple intellect.

In the ruins ahead he caught a glimpse of Bearer Kazal impaling a squirming gretchin using the haft of the company's bannerpole. Kazal offered him a curt nod before firing a bolt shell in to the skull of another squirming greenskin. With an irritatingly pleasant chime, Terhon's tactical display declared his immediate vicinity free of xenos activity. After performing one additional visual confirmation that he was clear of the fight, he ejected the core of the plasma incinerator to vent in the open air. Steam hissed from the weapon, and he gently offered a prayer of thanks to its machine spirit before stowing it and tending to his wounded comrades.

+++

A very fun game and a good practice matchup for both of us. A few highlights to note in gameplay:

• The big Ork mob did not fight twice at the end of turn 1, missing their chance to potentially consolidate in to the Aggressors if they'd managed to fully wipe out both Intercessor squads between the two combats. This would have definitely swung the game.
• I did not apply the +1 to hit from the Crimson Fists chapter trait rules during the first round of shooting and didn't use the +1 to hit ork Strategem on my Aggressors when I used Bolter Drill, causing me to allocate much more fire to the 40-ork mob than was necessary to kill it. Notably this meant my Eliminators were not shooting at a Weirdboy, who then Da Jumped another mob of boyz the following turn.
• The second Ork mob failed their charge, as one die was re-rolled to the same result. Hank realized later that the other die could have been re-rolled via CP to potentially still make the charge, though it was 1/6 for him to do so at that point.
• When I retreated from Grekmawg's bike, I did not fall back far enough and he Heroically Intervened back in the fight phase. This was a painful lesson, but well-learned.
• Splitting the Hellblaster squad down from a full ten is probably a bad idea if I have the firepower advantage; the Paragons of Dorn strategem can be used in the first shooting phase before anyone can possibly be in base combat with them. With only two Hellblasters left once the Nob Bikers had finished shooting, a lot of firepower was lost and using the strategem didn't feel great.
• Field Commander once again paid dividends, giving me a very powerful reroll bubble on both flanks.
• Dreadnoughts are glass cannons, but I did forget that I ran them as Venerable and didn't utilize 6+ FNP that might have caused them to hold on a little longer. Flat 3 damage in close combat is very, very strong despite their low attack count and hilariously low wound count. If nothing else they provide a good target for anti-tank guns to draw fire away from Aggressors and Hellblasters.
• The list I ran has almost no firepower beyond 30", and despite very effectively killing all the Orks I nearly lost the game as I was completely unable to do anything about the Kannons protected by a Big Mek and a KFF. I think this is a general shortcoming of Primaris, so I am not sure that I need to solve this in the list phase. This is definitely one of the reasons Leviathans are in vogue.
• I was stretched incredibly thin on objective-taking by the end of the game, and only some small dice variance kept me from having only character models and Eliminators by the end. 15 Intercessors at 1500 points isn't quite enough to comfortably screen out everything I had, and stay alive to claim objectives in the back half of the game. At 2000 points I definitely want at one 10-man Intercessor squad at the front of my army to screen the Aggressors, and make a Bad Choice of a unit to fire at thanks to Paragons of Dorn.
• After embarrassingly whiffing with every one of his bolter shots in turns 1 and 2, Bearer Kazal rallied to claim VP from 3 Maelstrom cards in turn 5 to seal the game. Despite that heroism, I think this is probably the model I cut to get more bodies. The extra shots from Hellblasters cooking themselves feels good when it happens, but the radius is "models within", meaning you must castle with high density to get the best value. I'm not sure that it's worth almost another 5 Intercessors.
• I'm sold on Eliminators - even if the mathematical average is slightly above 2 wounds per turn for the trio shooting at weirdboyz, the versatility of their ammo kit means you can always find something to do with them.