Indicium: Unofficial Dark Angels FAQ

Here is a link to a DA update FAQ that I'd put together a while back. I think this would be a pretty fair update to the Dark Angels codex to bring it inline with the current Space Marine codex.

Unofficial Dark Angels Update

Annuntio: 2010 Games Day Mini

So here is the latest Games Day miniature and I have to saw I am less than impressed. Though not a Fantasy or Chaos player, I really did like last years Chaos mini. On the other hand, this mini just doesn't do it for me. I suppose its because GW already has a number of excellent sorcerer minis in both games systems and this one really brings nothing new to the game.

Figmentum: Brother Raziel - An Inquisition Dreadnought

Following the Badab War, the Ordo Malleus sent several inquisitors to the Ultima Segmentum to investigate the possibility that Lufgt Huron might have been daemonically possessed and to ensure that the daemon taint did not spread further. Among those sent was Inquisitor Josiah Starck and his retinue of acolytes, mystics, and servitors.

Bellum: Daemonhunters vs Chaos Daemons

A quick little battle report pitting the denizens of Chaos against the subterfuge of the Ordo Malleus.

Commutatus: Grey Knight Grandmaster

Here is a simple but effective conversion that adds some additional close combat prowess to the Grey Knight Grandmaster. Per the Daemonhunters codex, the storm shield counts as a single-handed close combat weapon and would thus grant an extra attack to the single-handed nemesis force weapon. Of course, with the next Daemonhunters codex, this oversight will be rectified but likely the storm shield will be upgraded to confer a 3++ invulnerable save.

Commutatus: Modeling Plastic Grey Knights

A simple conversion to create a power armor Grey Knight is to use the robed marines off the Dark Angels upgrade sprue combined with the grey knight halberd bits sold by GW.

Exemplum: Forgeworld Grey Knight Dreadnought

The Forgeworld Grey Knight dreadnought is a truly stunning example of the detail that resin can offer. From the detailed inscriptions across the leg armor to the intaglio script on the chest, this model really does justice to the concept of a daemon hunting machine.

As with most FW dreads, the body is purchased separately from the arms. I had picked with the body on a whim from the Glen Burnie Battle Bunker and was fortunate to pick up the nemesis force weapon arm and twin-linked lascannon for a song off eBay.

Antiquis: OOP Sniper Scouts

A prime example of the old made new. Scout models from Advanced Space Crusade (pre-2nd edition) that have been updated with sniper rifles. These guys fit well into my all "robed" marine Dark Angels army, given the antique carapace armor and the poofy sleeves.

The second picture depicts my limited greenstuff abilities, but I think the straps came out to good effect.

Figmentum: Splinter Fleet Arugula

A relatively unknown offshoot of the kraken hive fleet, encounters with splinter fleet arugula have offered the Imperium a new look at the radical evolutionary capacity of the tyranid race.

Unlike any other known tyranid fleet, the arugula appears to consist entirely of vegan lifeforms. Colloquially called hippie 'nids, broods from the arugula fleet digest nothing but organic, vegetative matter.

These hippie 'nids literally eschew any form of animal based protein matter, having evolved highly specific digestive enzymes that appear only capable of breaking down the indigenous flora on a planet chosen for invasion.

Many a guardsmen have been left utterly bereft of clothing after being overrun by a swarm of arugula tyranids. The magos biologis suspect that this is ultimately part of an insidious psychological campaign designed to weaken the resolve of humanity at the thought of facing future invasions in the buff.

Likewise, new tyranid lifeforms have become apparent within the arugula fleet. Of specific note are the scabiegaunts which have rapidly become the bane of imperial camps across the sector. Although completely lacking in conventional weaponry, these scabiegaunts wreak havoc by sleeping in any unoccupied guard barracks they may come across. Unbeknownst to guardsmen who subsequently sleep in the same bedding, the scabiegaunts leave behind microscopic parasites that burrow under human skin and cause terrible itching and redness.

The argula fleet has also introduced an new type of orbital warfare in the form of patchouli spores. Similar in nature to currently documented spore mines, patchouli spores are launched from an orbiting hive ship and targeted at the most densely populated areas on a planet. These patchouli spores are a direct assault on the olfactory senses and appear to have evolved specifically to drive the majority of a human population away from cities into more suburban areas. The magos biologis suspect that the patchouli spores are meant to separate and herd the planet's human population but to what end is unknown at this time.

A side note on patchouli spores: it appears that certain elements of human society are actually drawn to patchouli spores and will migrate to them in great numbers or festivals. This seems to be an explicit tactic on the part of the argula fleet, perhaps to draw likeminded humans to be voluntarily digested in the great enzyme pools aboard other hive fleets. Generally speaking, the Imperium encourages this behavior amongst humans drawn to these spores.

Commutatus: Modeling Plastic Inquisitorial Stormtroopers

Even at the best of times, a Daemonhunters army was always a tough one to run. In 5e, with troops as the only scoring units, a DH list got even that much more difficult to run. However, the hidden gem of the DH is the inquisitorial stormtrooper squad (IST).

Unfortunately, IST models are metal and therefore expensive. How a cheap and effective alternative is to combine a box of Catachan jungle fighters with a box of Warhammer Fantasy Empire militia to get an attractive, simple and most important - multitudinous number of guys (upwards of forty from just two boxes).