Call to Arms: Fyreslayers Update!

Hello 2019! 2018 was a big year for me and the hobby. Today I wanted to showcase my progress on me Fyreslayer army. 

For the first time in my memory I failed to meet my Call to Arms target of painting a full 2,000 point army by the deadline of September. I'm not dissapointed, though, my Fyreslayers are coming along nicely, and at this stage I've painted over 70 of my 100+ model collection!

Here below are some images of some of the units and heroes I've finished...

20 Berzerkers w/axe & shield

10 Auric Hearthguard

Magmadroth

Magmadroth

Auric Runefather

Fjur-Grimnir and the Chosen Axes

Auric Runesons

Battlesmith

Grimwrath Berzerker

Doomseeker

Thank you all for checking out my little corner of the web. I have lots more to share, including my stab at The Walking Dead: All Out War!

See you soon!





Paints Used

Werewolf Fur

Castle Grey

Dark Stone

White

Black

Phoenix Flame

Lava Orange

Mars Red

Dragon Red

Flesh Wash

Red Tone

Gun Metal

Shining Silver

Citadel Retributor Armour

Call to Arms: The Fyreslayers

For June, July and August, the fine folks at my favourite hobby store, Black Knight Games, are hosting a new Call to Arms painting challenge for the Games Workshop miniature game, Age of Sigmar.

I've always loved dwarves, but strangely I've never collected a dwarf army for Warhammer.

The Fyreslayer army caught my eye. and so I immediately ran out and purchased an army of one hundred Fyreslayer dwarves (and two giant flamey lizards!) to paint.

Tray 'o dwarves

I dug around the intertubes and did some research and tried to come up with a colour scheme that felt different. Standard Fyreslayers look very Spartan-like, and while I like those colours, they were too much like my recent Khorne Bloodbound army.

A sample of my Bloudbound army

I wanted a paint scheme that captured the forge-born aspect of the Fyreslayers, and especially their use of glowing-hot magical runes.

Then it hit me...

Fire Giants!

If I painted my little fire dwarves like fire giants, they'd not only have a distinctive look, but they'd be ironic, in a fantasy sort of way.

So here's my first, test model...

He has dark, almost black skin, with blazing hot runes hammered into it, combined with a beard and plume of flame! I think the lava base also adds to his distinctive look, and really sells the 'heat'.

I'm pretty stoked!

*cough*

Only 99 more to go...

Call to Arms: The Monsters Rise!

   The first month of my Tyranid Call to Arms project has passed, and there has been much modeling and gaming!

The Monster Swarm Rises!

   My theme for my 1,500 point Tyranid army is monsters. For thirty years 've been painting hordes of small-sized Tyranid creatures, like Genestealers and 'Gaunts, and so this time around I thought I would make an army out of nothing that didn't come on a 40mm base or larger. Classic 'Nid Zilla!

I have finished assembling and undercoating my models for the army. Here they are...

Winged Hive Tyrant

 
   Leading the monstrous swarm is my Winged Hive Tyrant. I wanted something that could fly, and therefore challenge other enemy fliers. Initially I outfitted him with a Heavy Venom Cannon, but after re-reading the 7th Edition rules I discovered that weapons with a blast template cannot target fliers. So, snap went the cannon, and instead I used some extra bits from my Tyrannofex to simulate a dual set of twin-linked Devourers with Brainleech Worms; very nasty stuff!

Tyrannofex

   If I was going to make a Tyranid monster list, I just had to take a Tyrannofex. Basically a small Bio-Titan, the Tyrannofex is super hard to kill, and sports a powerful anti-tank weapon. As my friend Scott pointed out, this model is big enough for a marine to stand underneath it and shoot it in the balls!

Trygon Prime

   Another huge-assed addition to my force is the Trygon Prime. Think giant, tunneling Synapse creature... and in this case include a massive Tyranid Artifact bio-cannon. I'm really, really looking forward to Deep Striking with this horror!

Carnifex

   Remember when Carnifexes were the biggest thing in a Tyranid army? Yeah... that decade has long since passed. This is the beastie I whipped up for the Build and Battle event in last month's post. He seems a little scrawny now, compared to his big brothers.

Tyranid Warriors

   It just wouldn't be an Andrew project if I didn't include some truly ancient models in the mix, so here I am pleased to introduce my selection of Tyranid Warriors from the 1990 classic Games Workshop game Advanced Space Crusade! I've spiced these old plastic models up by adding current-range weapons.

Ravenors

   I have old and new models in my monstrous swarm, so I've rounded it out with some mid-range metal Ravenors. These sneaky guys lend Fast Attack support to my Trygon Prime, and they add a third decade of models to my collection. 

Deathleaper

  
  Lastly I have added a Lictor, in this case a metal version of the dreaded Deathleaper. He was a gift from Jay Griffiths, and Deathleaper's Canadian origins make him a must-have for any self-respecting Canadian 'Nid player.

   I've played in two Call to Arms events since the Build and Battle. The first was a scrappy HQ fight. My Hive Tyrant wasn't available for the fight, so I substituted a Tyranid Prime. He fought well, but he was ultimately chopped to pieces... Twice! Here he is about to meet his doom at the hands of a Khorne Champion.

Going down fighting

   The second event was a 300 point Kill Team tournament. I squared off against Ravenwing, Harelquins and even other Tyranids! My all-Genestealer force fought well, but I still lost two games and tied one. My high-point came when my 'stealers managed to kill the Harlequin's leader!

Eating some Space Marine Bikes

Murdering the Boss Murder Clown

The Swarm versus the Swarm

   Now Stage 2 begins... Painting!

   Have a Happy Holidays, and I'll see you all in the New Year!
-Andrew

Call to Arms: The Tyranid Attack!

   The Sinclair Memorial Home for Incurable Tyrants is under attack! Tyranid bio-constructs have begun swarming the hills of Ancaster. Every loyal soldier of the Imperium must rise to the defence of th---Guurrckk--Aaaaaaack---Blaaaargh!!!

   This year started with my first tentative step towards building a Tyranid army for Warhammer 40,000, (see here) and so, fittingly, it's going to end with the same project. Thanks to the good people at Black Knight Games, I've signed up for their 14-week Call to Arms painting challenge, and bugs are on the menu!

    A Call to Arms event is a painting challenge where each victim sacrifice nutter participant must complete a fresh 1500 point Warhammer 40,000 army from unpainted to finished by the deadline; In this case Sunday, February 21st.

   Easy, right?

   Right.

   As part of the fun, and to keep us on schedule, Black Knight is hosting a series of events from now until the end. Each one has its own theme, and ultimately will build to a full-scale tournament and a campaign! The whole thing kicked off on Saturday the 14th, and the first event, a Build and Battle, was Tuesday.

 

   Starting promptly at 6pm each player had exactly one hour to assemble a vehicle or monstrous creature, then we all brought our creations to the gaming table to fight it out to the last man/monster/alien. Here's a shot of me frantically gluing big-assed claws onto a Tyranid Carnifex.

"Wait... Where's my Tyranid cannon sprue?!"

   My original plan called for me to mount a big Venom Cannon to my Carnifex beast, but upon arriving at the store I discovered I'd left those pieces behind! Quickly I rethought my plan and made my huge alien monster into a close-combat tank crusher. When the hour was up we all headed to the table.

Fightin' Time!

   Battle commenced with half-built war machines scattered across the table, including a Land Raider with no doors or hatches, and a Tau giant robot with no legs! Each partially completed unit was given a special limitation, to simulate its half-finished condition. Luckily I had completed my beastie on time, so there where no penalties for my Carnifex. I chased the legless Tau across the table, but at the crucial moment I failed my charge by a measly one inch! So close!

   My monster ended up dying first, but it was still great fun, and an easy start for me, as this is only my second game of the current edition of 40K. Stay tuned as I post future events, and showcase my progress on my painting.

And thanks as always for visiting the S.M.H.I.T.!
-Andrew