Space Marines(Ultramarines) Tactical Squad

Here are some early efforts of mine to paint some of the Space Marines from the Black Reach set. The Ultramarines are my favorite chapter because of their devotion to the emperor and strict adherence to the Codex Astartes, They have great back-story and the Ultramarines Novels by Graham McNeill made me even more excited to model these guys.

Here is a shot of 10 Ultramarines- I have been working diligently to find a painting technique that I like. I am generally satisfied with their look, but I know I will improve in time.

The squad includes 10 Space Marines(tactical marines) armed with the following: 7 boltguns, 1 flamer, 1 missile launcher, 1 bolter pistol/chainsword.

The sergeant shown below gives a leadership boost to the squad. I like the pose, and imagining him firing off rounds keeping some xenos hoard at bay until they finally close on him and he grinds them up with his chainsword(plus, we all know guys with shaved heads are not to be trifled with)...

The flamer-armed marine- I love the so-armed character of Pasanius in McNeill's novels.

Here is the squad arrayed in defense of the archaic ruins walls from the set shown in my previous post...

"Ano"- Space Marine Marine Dreadnought

For my second WH40K post I will show my Space Marine Dreadnought. For those not in the know, a Dreadnought is basically a mechanized sarcophogaus for a Space Marine who's battle injuries are too severe for medical recovery. The dreadnought chassis provides him a second life as a "heavy support" option in the Space Marine codex. Their name is plastered to the armored shell in banners- I have chosen "Ano" as the name of this dread...

The model above came from the Assault on Black Reach starter set- a great way for noobs to jump into the 40K hobby. The dreadnought in this set is a great figure and I did not modify or convert it in any way. The only customized bit is the "urban" base that I dressed up.

Space Marine(Ultramarine) Scouts

Something new for the blog...
I am posting my first pics of some of my Warhammer 40,000 minis. I've been eyeing Games Workshop's 40K line for man years and I finally dived in! I am currently working on Space Marine and Tau armies, and my son is building a Necron force. Today I will highlight my first 40K figures(though I've done dozens by now), Space Marine Scout(Snipers). These guys are great for taking objectives, providing pinpoint fire support and disrupting enemy battle plans with their "infiltrate" deployment ability.

First- a group shot. I chose the Ultramarines chapter for my paint scheme. It wasn't simply a default choice as they are the most heralded in 40K lore, it was really inspired by my recent reading of the WH40K novel, The Ultramarine Omnibus- a great read by Graham McNeil.

Here is a shot of three scouts in "sniping" poses with their rifles.

And from behind you can see their "camo cloaks". I chose an urban scheme(which you will see is also the theme for all my Space Marine bases as well).

Here is a Scout Marine with a missile launcher. The snipers are fine, but they need a little punch in case they come up against enemy armor or superior numbers- this guy fits the bill.

An individual sniper- I posed his head to the side as if he is awaiting targeting info or orders.

Finally, the sergeant of the squad. I was a little initimidated by the painting of the eagle on his chest, but it came out o.k. The sgt. provides a leadership bonus that is important in morale-sensitive situations.

Visit to the US Army Ordinance Museum Part II

Before sharing some more pictures, I wanted to share a couple more things about the museum. First- it is free to visit(but you are going onto a US Military base so a photo driver license and(for drivers) a car registration slip is required. There is a museum building which houses hundreds of pieces of small arms from M1 Rifles to Panzerfausts and MG-42 machine guns. Pretty much every famous gun, big and small, is housed in this two-story complex. Also, the museum vehicle collection, as I understand it, is moving to Virginia in a year or so and will be housed completely indoors. Though I am thankful the collection will be protected from the elements, I feel lucky to have had the fun of exploring a field of tanks on a beautiful day!

First, an Italian M13 tank...

M3 Grant/Lee Tank(USA)...

M10 "Wolverine" Tank Destroyer(USA)

An M4A3 76mm gun Sherman(USA)

A 210mm German field piece(immense)...

The open crew compartment of a Wespe self-propelled gun(Germany)...

A Nashorn German 88mm Tank Hunter...

The famous "Elefant" 88mm anti-tank vehicle on a Tiger chassis(Germany)...

Some of the items we saw that I did not post pictures of...

"Leopold" German railcar gun from Anzio, Sherman Firefly, Churchill Tank, Matilda, Stuart, Jagdpanzer IV, Brummbar, 16" Coastal Defense Gun, French S-35 and R-35 tanks, Italian Semovante 90mm SPG, Japanese Chi-Ha, US 280mm "Atomic Cannon" and many more.

It was truly a pleasure to enjoy seeing all of the tanks, artillery pieces and small arms. To walk up and touch the thick, cold steel of a Panther tank, and to wonder what stories it has to tell from battlefields an ocean away, is truly undescribable.

Visit to the US Army Ordinance Museum Part I

One of the side-trips my son and I took while in Lancaster for Historicon was the US Army Ordinance Museum at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. Now what I failed to take was a panaoramic view of the field that is home to acres and acres of WWII, WWI and Cold War era armor and artillery. I think from the pics that I do have here you'll get an appreciation of just how much is there(although for every tank I'll show in my two blog entries, there are ten more!).

I was really excited to see the museum because for all my WWII wargaming, I had never had the pleasure of seeing tanks up close and personal. When you are face-to-face with these monsters you gain an immediate appreciation for (a)how much an infantryman would not like to face these giants in the field and (b) how tight it must have been for the crew in these things. It was like candy for a Military History enthusiast! My son had to run to keep up with me as I exclaimed "Wow, a Panther", "Wow, a T-34", and "No Way, an M-10!". The models were instantly recognizable, and there was so much to see.

Today I'll post some pics of German and Soviet ordinance(sorry I am in so many pics- obviously I was excited).

A Panzer III(Germany)

A Panzer IVH(Germany)-MY FAVORITE TANK!

A Panzer V(Panther)- two, actually(Germany)

A Jagdpanther(Hunting Panther)(Germany)

An Elefant(tank destroyer on a Tiger chassis)(Germany)

Jagdtiger(Hunting (king) Tiger)(Germany)

A T-34 with 85mm gun(Soviet)

A T-34 with a 76mm gun(Soviet)

Soviet Su-85 Tank Destroyer...

A 152mm Soviet Artillery piece-phew!

Gareth and a Pak 36/37mm anti-tank gun(Germany)

My favorite artillery piece, the PAK 40(75mm) anti-tank gun(Germany)

(and, yes, they had a towed '88 too!)

Historicon 2009 Part 5- Miniatures

A big part of the fun of attending Historicon are seeing all of the beautifully painted miniatures. Keep in mind that most of these minis below are about the size of a quarter- so I've zoomed in to reveal the artistry. I'll let the miniatures speak for themselves...

Historicon 2009 Part 4- The Weird and the Wild!

Not every game at Historicon is traditional. Some folks start up some science fiction or pulp fiction games and others create alternate history scenarios. Some play purely historical games but with non-traditional miniatures. A major disclaimer with this post, don't think for one second that "Weird and Wild" diminishes these games in any way(in fact, they were some of the most interesting games and miniatures that I saw at Historicon).

This leads me to my favorite find of Historicon '09. On the first day of the convention my son and I came across a Battle of Platea simulation that was very unique- it made use of the creator-dubbed "Craftees" miniatures. These are wooden miniatures made from craft store bits(and in my opinion they were show-stealers!)...

These figures were pioneered and displayed by their creator, Matt Kirkhart, who, as you can see, is one creative guy. His Greek Hoplites are displayed above and below...

Here are some Greek skirmishers, including some Thracians with their famous crescent-shaped shields...

And some Persians deploying for battle...

And the entire Persian invasion army ready to engage the foe...

I am already delving into making Craftees myself and I believe they will be popular with our Military History Club. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Yahoo Newsgroup for more information about making and playing games with Craftees here.

Here is a "Monster Island" scenario using oversized Godzilla-series figurines for some daikaiju(giant monster) battling action...

And I couldn't resist posting pics of these unique figures from Eureka Miniatures. What's that you say? You don't recognize this battle? Well its the famous Battle of Pharsalus of course between Caesar and Pompey(you probably just never saw it depicted with Teddy Bear legionaries!)...very creative...

Then there was this "Wild West Shootout" game with the obligatory stagecoach and wooden barrels...

When I decided to attend my first Historicon I decided it would really be just as a spectator- as I didn't know much about signing up for games and such protocols. That being said, on the first day, my son and I were watching a gamemaster(a nice guy named Grant) set up a Pulp Fiction game called "Dr.O. Lightning Ball", which, for lack of a better analogy, was a James Bond type spy game. It was a neat, three sided scenario with evil agents(Dr.O and company) vs. secret agents(Agent Steele and company) and the police(Bauhaus militia). Well, Grant said he had an opening and let my son and I join in the fun(Agent Steele faction). We played for four hours and had a blast. If you go to Historicon you have three ways to get into games: 1)pre-register via mail or email, (2) register for games on site, (3) scout around and people might let you play on the spot. Now that I know how it works, I'll be sure to pre-regist er for games next time. Here's some pics of the game that Gareth and I played in...

The guy standing next to the yellow car is one of my undercover agents that I can activate at any time(the gamemaster worked in a lot of tricks and twists like this into the scenario)...