Nurgles .. Fun with Painting .. Nominally Fantasy/Sci-Fi

The good thing with good old "make-it-up" fantasy and science fiction is that nobody can really tell you are doing it wrong and really anything goes, especially when you are talking boiling beasts of  Chaos like GW Nurgles (see below, this was a little bit of an exercise in dry-brushing, first pass Army Painter Primer [Grey], then Vallejo Brown Dipping Formula, then Vallejo Dark Flesh, using a slightly worse for wear GW/Citadel Dry Brushing Brush): 

Just for experimentation I decided to throw an ink glaze (Vallejo Skin Ink) over it to get a wet look (see below, admittedly most of this would be lost when I dry brush but inaccessible places will still look dark, dank and wet): 

I now have a wet looking band of Nurgle miscreants (see below, the "game" they are being painted for is a "Party of Demons in Hell" take on FrostGrave - which should be interesting, I intend to mix and match to make an "old ball bunch"):

I then stopped the batch process and took one through to completion, or at least very near completion (see below, dry brushed passes of 50:50 Vallejo Caymen Green/Camp Green, Vallejo Camo, Vallejo Rotten Flesh on the main body): 

Another, this time close-up view, in the unnatural light of day for this "demon-thing" (see below, Vallejo Blood Red, for flesh - boils Vallejo Vermin Brown "tapped" on some with with Vallejo Off White): 

I also plan to use these as standard "biggish monsters" for RPG [Undead and Chaos]. Painting wise I experimented here and there on the other bits, such as introducing Vallejo Blue Ink into the guts finding an old guide to painting miniatures useful, but having to convert "old" GW to closest Vallejo. I had fun basically :) 

Just Another Day in the Space Marine Corp (4)

With the primary objective completed and no further Chaos minions to despatch it was time to exit before the computer operated (via a simple countdown timer) attachment clamps disengaged the Docking Ports back to the mothership. The Imperial Fists were situated close to their exit but the Ultra Marines had to traverse the whole length of the Space Hulk's sector. This lead to an amusing series of random event rolls whereby the Chaos Overlord (aka me) was hoping to get a Genestealer into play to 'make my day'. As 'befit to the fickle whims of Chaos' the Genestealer appeared only 'after' the last Ultra Marine was safely behind the bulk head door. Aw shucks! No amount of 'creative' cajoling by myself and the other Space Marine players could entice the brave Ultra Marines back out (see below, "I'll huff and I'll puff"):

Counting the Cost: The Deadpool

The Blood Angels:

Despite suffering 100% casualties the official report showed that The Blood Angels showed "Good Heart & Soul" [The Chaos Commander glibly added "and  liver, spleen and brain matter all over the floor and walls of the Space Hulk"] in their combat, but they faced overwhelming odds and unlucky dice rolls in combat. Fate favours "lucky generals." Zero Points. The Blood Angels are currently in the process of recruiting a new batch of Space Marines heroes for their next mission, apply within (see below, some Chaos kills but horrific casualties):

The Imperial Fists:

Despite losing two Space Marines the Emperor's Elite Bodyguard brought in the goods with an impressive bounty of kills, including the primary objective (aka, the Dreadnought, see below). The Imperial Fists were declared the game winners and the Space Marine Commander was promoted from the ranks of a lowly Sergeant into the bottom rung of the Space Marine Officer Corp. How this 'Sharp-like' character takes to the formality of the Officers Mess is still another matter. Still as a reward The Imperial Fists get plenty of extra equipment cards to play with on the next mission as well as a second Command Card, "Oooh!" Well done (see below, a haul of dead Chaos minions both major and minor):

The Ultra Marines:

A very 'canny' (as in clever if not cautious) performance that preserved force integrity (no casualties, not quite the Space Marine Corp if you ask my humble opinion). Clipping their way through the Chaos minions and taking out the dangerous Recon Android showed tactical prowess. Some would say The Ultra Marines were a tad risk adverse but they are at least are ready to "go again," now tooled up with some extra equipment. Their mettle will be truly tested next time  methinks (see below, the kill total really needed that androd):

Chaos:

Yes, all his (or rather my) minions were dead or destroyed, but already the strange Forces of Chaos were twisting and threading their parts together, reconstituting or spawning a new army of minions. Aided with plenty of new Space Marine biological matter, diabolical horrors will await the Space Marines. The toll of Space Marines [seven all told including a precious Space Marine Commander] greatly pleases the warped Chaos entity. The Chaos Commander has earned the right to pick a "Random Event Card" of their choice as a backup 'trump' so the Genestealer is now a definite for the next game [evil laughter] so he eagerly awaits the next scenario in anticipation, especially as it promises him an additional three androids to play with (see below, these Space Marines did not make it back to their 'mothership'):

All said and done a really good night of fun, dice and beer. Fab, cannot wait for the next one!

Just Another Day in the Space Marine Corp (3)

The ferocious Dreadnought unceremoniously pushes the inert body of the Blood Angels Commander, supported by the last Chaos Space Marine Trooper they engage in a firefight with the last two surviving Blood Angel Space Marines. Bolters versus a Plasma Gun and Autocannon. The Bolter bounce harmlessly off the armoured hide of the Dreadnought (see below):

Predictably the Space Marines are gunned down by the superior heavy weaponry of the Dreadnought. The Blood Angels true to the spirit of their cadre have taken 100% casualties (see below):

Their work done on the Blood Angels the Dreadnought and surviving Chaos Space Marine (now nick named 'Bud') hunker back into the 'Alamo' and await the Imperial Fists and Ultra Marine teams "to have a go". Time is on the side of Chaos as for every turn the Space Marines delay an "interesting" Chaos event card is drawn. The Chaos Commander eagerly awaits an opportunity to play a Genestealer on teh reduced strength Space Marines (see below):

Showing tactical brilliance along with bravery of the highest order the Imperial Fist Commander goes headlong into the fray with a Dreadnought busting Megabomb equipment card in hand. A spectacular roll of double three (6 damage points) and an additional one and three (four damage points) from his power sword in hand-to-hand combat splits the Dreadnought down the middle, leaving is a fused bunch of spare electronic parts, radiating noxious fumes. All hail to the Imperial Fists (see below):

The last combat act was the execution of the remaining Chaos unit on the table, despatched by a tooled up Imperial Fist touting an Autocannon (see below):

In the last few rounds Chaos' fortunes had crashed from the high of wiping out an entire Space Marine squad to being smashed up by a no-nonsense 'Alamo' clear-out. The Ultra Marines emerged from their tactical positions (being somewhat gun-shie after rolling a lot of double zeroes all game they deduced that discretion was the better part of valour! All the Space Marines had to do now was survive a series of random event cards until they got back to their 'shuttle entry points'.

Next: Run, Run, Run Away ... I mean Mission Accomplished Tactical Withdrawal in Progress

Just Another Day in the Space Marine Corp (2)

Space Marine teams penetrate deeper into the "Space Hulk Abomination". The Blood Angel team gets caught up in a vicious fire-fight with a renegade Chaos Space Marine Commander sniping down a Blood Angel grunt (see below):

Incensed the Blood Angel Commander takes out his opposite number mano-on-mano style (see below, scratch one servant of Chaos):

All three Space Marine teams had made excellent progress room-clearing minor Chaos minions. The Imperial Fists commander had taken issue with the Chaos Space Marine Heavy Weapons gunner that had taken out two of his troopers (see below) while the Ultra Marines had taken out the potentially deadly recon android. All that was left was to find the Dreadnought, kill it and then get out of "Dodge".

The Blood Angels were the 'lucky' team to find their "Primary Mission Objective" hunkering down in its "Alamo" bolt-whole, a Space Marine Trooper paying the price for the "reconnaissance by contact" strategy (see below):  

The Blood Angels reacted the only way they know. The Commander takes on the Dreadnought hand-to-hand with his power-sword. Alas, the Chaos Force effect was strong with the dice (evil laughter) and he fell "a hero to the corp", but dead nevertheless (see below):

Two remaining Blood Angel Troopers faced off against the deadliest of alien killing machines, the final Chaos Space Marines and a dirty "reptilian" Orc Grunt. The Imperial Fists and Ultra Marines teams were heading as fast as they could to the critical battle-zone but will they be quick enough to save the beleaguered Blood Angels?

Next: Face-Off against the Dreadnought!

Just Another Day in the Space Marine Corp (1)

I have been a bit slow on the 'practical' side of wargaming as of late, but here is the long overdue saga of a Space Crusade game played before Xmas ...

Everyone (aka read 'geek' of Big Bang Theory description) dreams of joining a Space Marine Chapter, "Don't they?". In the case of the undecided I offered 'free beer'. Even better they brought their own so it was obviously going to be a "good gaming night". The Space Marines deploy finding a small [Getchin] moving metal thing to beat up (see below):

Anyway, to go off hunting bug-eyed monsters and killing deviant followers of Chaos, as per the Emperors' instructions (or rather the semi-lucid incantations from his throne/life-support system). So therefore we find Space Hulk "Abomination" welcoming three rookie squads on a 'Hunt the Dreadnought' mission. The boys all tooled up with heavy weapons 'pile in' and start wading into the minor minions of Chaos (see below, a Blood Angels Space Marine Commander trying to look "hard and cool"):

As the going gets slightly tougher (as in the second round of combat) a "rookie marine" reports 'equipment failure' as in "Sarge my dice aren't working they keep rolling noughts!" (See below, a discussion on the merits of the d20 fantasy dice rolling a number but missing being more satisfying that "a pair" of zeroes):

The (Yellow) Emperor's Bodyguard (aka The Imperials Fists) poked a solitary Space Marine out as point, to which Chaos reacted violently (albeit ineffectively). The 'ambushers' were in turn ambushed by Imperial Fist reinforcements (see below, both photos):  

However never underestimate a Chaos Space Marine armed with a Plasma Cannon, the straight beam cutting down two Imperial Fist grunts. The merits of spreading your figures and avoiding clustering became apparent! The fighting was getting 'down and dirty' (see below):  

So far the three units of Space Marines had covered a lot of territory but the bulk of the Chaos counters seemed to be bunched in protecting "Sector 4" where the priority objective of the mission (aka a 'Chaos Dreadnought') had to be!

Next: Into the Devils Den 

Space Marines go Forth : Episode 2 Part 3 "Has anybody seen Space Marine Spot?"

"Run Rabbit Run, Chaos has a GUN, GUN, GUN". So, so true of the Killer Dreadnought Robot chasing Commander White, but a new 'event-driven' trouble for came out of the pack for him, a "Gene Stealer". Yippee, I was happy. I had not managed to draw one in the first game, but at last my newly painted Gene Stealer figure could take the floor (see below, from out of the shadows, "Gotcha"):

Sadly like all nicely painted figures, he (or rather it) did not last very long. Commander White was putting up with no distractions to his personal new mission objective of "getting out of Dodge". Despite its (potential) ferocious hand-to-hand dice the Space Marine Sergeant whopped its sorry little ass! One ex-Gene Stealer (see below):

Meanwhile ... something strange had also happened to one of the surviving Ultra Marine Troopers. Chaos had already picked off one more Ultra Marine Space Trooper with a lucky "shot in the back" (sneaky does as sneaky Chaos is, it is the Chaos way) leaving two remaining Blue Team survivors. Then by pure luck, drawing a further event card, the "Lure of Chaos" warped "Trooper Blue" into "Deviant Chaos Spawn Red" (see below):

"It" then then entered the airlock and discharged its rocket launcher killing itself and the surviving Space Marine Trooper. Sadly (for Chaos that is) this turned out to be directly in contravention of the Space Crusade rules as once in the airlock you are safe, drats, drats, double damn, drats. So "Blue Trooper 5" survives, it was all 'just a dream' (see below, this never happened, just a nightmare caused from too much contact with Chaos):

The two Blood Angels Troopers make it off- tablle undramatically though notably without girl-magnet "Lt Wolfie". Commander White makes a less dignified but equally effective exit. His extraction is textbook bar the fact he left his whole team behind, dead (see below):

So this episode concludes with an unexpected Chaos win (evil laughter). Mentioned in despatches at Space Marine HQ are the brave Blue Team, that is, for dying hard and well, killing lots of Chaos creatures. Red and White teams are denigrated and despised for their lack lustre performance.

Commander White faced his superiors with his "After Action Report". It was accurate and to the point. He was commended for talking out the Android but castigated for not leading from the front. His decision to return while enemy units remained, namely the Dreadnought Killer Robot was though unworthy of the Best Tradition of the Corp. Looking at the unforgiving battle scared faces around him "White" felt rather more than a bit "Yellow". He had nothing more to lose, he sprang to his feet "Sir. Permission requested to Solo Assault Level 78". There was a deathly, icy silence in the room, the other officers turned to the highly decorated Major of Marines who had said nothing up to this point. Without returning their looks, he in turn looked Commabder White in the eye, nodded and said "Granted." White Team will start with a completely new crew for the next mission.

Space Marines go Forth : Episode 2 Part 2 "Equal and opposite reactions?"

While sitting on my Chaos laurels I had completely forgotten about the distinct advantage the Space Marine players have over the Spawn of Chaos. Chaos is unintelligent  malevolence, whereas the Imperium bestows leadership (Command Cards) and hi-tech weaponry (Equipment Cards). Commander "Kool Blue" orders his Space Marines to 'double time' and gets in a perfect enfilade on my Chaos Space Marine Commander (which happens to be the Primary Mission objective). Amidst a half-formed Chaos expletive he dissolves under the impact of an accurate salvo of Space Marine heavy weaponry (see below):

Worse was still to follow. A beautifully aimed Plasma Beam incinerated a line of Orc Grunts, waiting it seemed in parade ground fashion. Four fell. The higher beings of Chaos groaned at the incompetence of their underling, which turned into a double groan is the Blood Angels (going room-to-room in house clearing fashion) took out the Chaos Space Marine wielding a distinctively "chaotic looking" heavy weapon (who happened to be the target of the secondary mission objective). 

Game Over: Mission Objectives complete a Space Marine whitewash. 

Or was it? There was a dirty looking android staring at "Commander Kool", he decided to 'Honour the Corp' and take it out! Be it a simple case of weapons malfunction or higher level order Chaos trap we will never truly know, but Commander Kool fell bravely in battle a hero on the eyes of the Ultra Marines (see below, Koolsn uncool 0 hits, the Android 5 in close combat!):

Blue Team were stunned, "bullet proof" Kool was down, thankfully their training immediately kicked in. "Lock and load, target acquired, confirmed hostile Mech 25 meters, launch" ... kaboom ... "Hostile down." Chaos was again reeling as bits of Android 675-744BSC-1X bounced off the walls. Now pinned into a mere quarter of the Space Hulk level 78 with over nearly three quarters of its forces already "down" to the Space Marines. Although the Ultra Marines were down to just "three troopers" (see below):

While the Ultra Marines were showing their tactical prowess and the Blood Angels were going "room to room", what on earth (or Terra) were the Imperial Fists doing? They seemed to be chasing shadows or in particular one Chaos Space Marine sniper who was annoying their Sergeant. Eventually the 'Tom and Jerry' game of tag came to an end as one ex-Chaos Space Marine contemplated "eternity plus one". The White Commander had however opened up a rather large gap between himself and his troopers (see below):

Meanwhile the Blood Angels "Red Commander, "Red Star Wolfie" was caught between the horns of a internal dilemma. Although both the primary and secondary mission objectives had been achieved, unlike the White Commander he felt like he had not done enough. His reputation back at the Corp HQ depended upon a good kill count, but Chaos seemed to prefer to run away from the Blood Angels rather than stand and fight. Sensing there was not much left to mop up "Red Star Wolfie" got the shock of his life when behind cargo door 78-A33 a dirty great big Dreadnought Killer Robot waited. The first round of combat was inconclusive and "Wolfie" withdrew with a minor wound. Gasping for breath, Wolfie" weighed up the odds, at best 'evens', more than likely 'against'. Always a gambler as well as a ladies man to heart "Wolfie" went for it, screaming 'Angels Lead the Way!' his power sword ionising the air as per the recruitment ads. The space-time continuum seemed to be adversely affected by some form of  warp spasm. "Wolfie's" arm was fractionally slower than the robots and his power sword skittered harmlessly across the floor. The Dreadnought had pre-calculated the Blood Angel's exact move and punctured his power armour at a known weak spot. Another unsung "Hero of Imperium" droped lifeless to the floor (see below, urk):      

Stunned by this sudden turnaround the Space Marines were lost for words and actions. Two leaders down in the same turn, unheard of. A beaten foe was suddenly on its feet thrashing the hell out of the Space Marine assault. What once seemed to be a 'walk in the park' was now a 'nightmare of cataclysmic proportions'. The Dreadnought slipped effortlessly into a long corridor and lined up a plasma cannon attack catching three Space Marine grunts (sorry troopers [the last two surviving Imperial Fists and a hapless Blood Angel]) lined up in a line like rookies and down they went. The White Commander caught a nice dose of auto-cannon to wound him and spoil his nice paint job (see below):

Standard Space Marine training stipulates a specific tactical response (see below) to "gloating minions of Chaos" (aka 'me') who cannot believe their own undeserved, blind, pure, unplanned  luck when the dice fall so unkindly but honour the fiends of "The Warp". The Space Marine Commanders were well drilled in this respect, I believe it meant "give us a chance and we will cut all your tentacles off you despicable green thing" (see below):  

With The Imperial Fists running at 80% casualties, The Blood Angels 60% and the Ultra Marines 40%, most of the Space Marine equipment and order cards used, an unstoppable Dreadnought Killer Robot on the rampage and the last mech, Android 566-988HND-S1 (a zip-zip, kill-o-zap special) finally released on kill mode, enough was enough. The Space Marines turned and ran for it, sorry I mean beat a tactical retreat to "live to fight another day".

Will they make it away? 

Space Marines go Forth : Episode 2 Part 1 "What Could Possibly Go Wrong with the Plan?"

"Plan? Plan? We have a Plan? When did we make a Plan?"

So it came to pass that the Red, Blue and Yellow teams launched themselves at Level 78 of the Space Hulk "Damnation". With an air of confidence they geared up with as many heavy weapons as they could get their clammy little Space Marine hands on, to "take-it" to Chaos. They were revved up and a little "hung-ho" IMHO. "Entry" seemed a relatively straight forward operation with the Blue Ultra Marines chalking up some grunt kills. Then Chaos released a maniac android on The Imperial Fists taking out a Space Marine in hand to hand combat (see below, ah ha "Gotcha"):

The bunched up Space Marines failed to take out the mechanised monster, so its killing spree continued and another Imperial Fist trooper fell in battle. The Emperor's Bodyguard was, er thinning fast (see below):

As before in so many times of crisis, Sergeant Heinikan stepped up and Mano-on-Mano took Android 870-123PHD6-1A out. "All hail to the Sergeant, all hail to the Chapter, all hail to the Emperor" (see below): 

Chaos has many followers, so the Ultra marines discovered. Another android and another Space Marine casualty, strike two. The Chaos underling (me) was starting to feel quite pleased with "itself" as a mischievous imp can be that is (see below):

Another deadly android and another Space Marine hero steps forward, Sergeant Kool of the Blue Team takes out Andriod 871-563MSC2-7C, fizz, drat, dang! I don't have many of these powerful minions left (see below):

It goes quiet for the next few turns. The Space Marines report that the Chaos enemy seems to have withdrawn back into the depths of the Space Hulk, as if it can no longer face the fury of the Space Marine assault. As the Blood Angels advance a surprise attack is launched and an Orc takes out a Red trooper with a lucky hit, evil laughter (see below):

Four Space Marines down and we are only in the opening phases of the game, the casualty body count is already more for Chaos than the whole of the previous game. The Chaos Commander, although only of the lowliest status (me) is looking a trifle smug. "OK you lucky green fingered tentacle see how you like this!" I abruptly turn about as I feel the piercing, cold, hard, steely eyes of the Ultra Marines Commander burning into me. His troops are already in a perfect position for a flanking attack on a corridor packed with Chaos grunts and things.

... to be continued in a microwave or two ....

Chaos Space Marine

Had a little play with an old GW figure from Space Crusade as a painting skill test starting with a Vallejo Burnt Umber wash then topped it with a Red wash. It certainly picks the detail out nicely (see below):

Then a Vallejo Gory Red and Anita's Acrylic Bronze to give a basic cover, that in turn gets a Vallejo Black wash to make it sinister. The figure is then reworked up with a simple highlight (see below):

The jet pack is given a bronze and Anita's Acrylic Gold treatment, highlighted with Anita's Acrylic Titanium Gold (see below):

The inner space suit casing was given the gold treatment too, for that crazy Chaos effect. The red was highlighted up to Vallejo Blood Red. I added my own "lurid green glowing power cell" look to the backpack by walking through Vallejo's shades of green (see below):

The end result: "Nasty Mean Man" looking for something soft, cute and furry to beat up or failing that a 'goodie' Space Marine ;)

Retro late 1980's Era Gaming Session: Space Crusade

Three small tactical squads of Space Marines from the Ultra Marines, Blood Angels and Imperial Fists Chapters take on a Chaos Renegade (me) sitting in a Space Hulk recently emerged from the "warp" and brimming with deviant chaos creatures! Classic stuff, there is beer and pretzels too, what more could a man want for on a Friday night?

The "Good Guys" deploy into the Space Hulk and are immediately surrounded by a disconcerting sea of blips on their movement scanners. An early 'Random Alien' event turns out to be very useful to The Blood Angels player, revealing all my blips for miniatures on his game board. My cunning Chaos Space Marine "trap in waiting" was blown open so I decided in the best fashion of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to "rush 'em"! [Note: Space Crusade has no concept of an 'over-watch' so you can rush in and hopefully fire off a devastating volley] (see below):

Note: Tau substitute in for Chaos Space Marines, Tyranids for Orcs (who would never survive in space IMHO) and scavenger Necron robots for Getchins.

The Blood Angel's perimeter defense (see above) is smothered in a hail of (what I hoped to be devastating) fire, but in true billboard Space Marine recruitment-poster fashion I scored "no" telling hits. Damn those dice! The inevitable returning fire from The Blood Angels (tooled up with three heavy weapons against my advice) was devastating (no more Chaos Space Marines). I gained a new found sense of respect for Space Marines "heavy weaponry". I was also now without my centerpiece defensive asset. Not a good start, luckily the "rookie" Space Marines didn't realize how compromised (and how totally out of ideas) I was. The Imperial Fists and Ultra Marines meanwhile cleaned up in their respective sectors. I had put a screen of dummies, Gretchins and Orcs out trying to wear the Space Marines down as they cautiously advanced. My sniping screen managed to pick off one 'unlucky' Ultra Marine taken out by a Gretchin, or rather armed 'cleaning droid' (see below):

As the Imperial Fists and Ultra Marines were dragging their heels I saw another fleeting opportunity to isolate and take out some Blood Angels head-to-head, so I unleashed my Android and Dreadnought [aka a Tyranid Warrior figure] in a "kitchen sink" attack with some soak off Orcs and Gretchin tagging along for the ride (see below):

I had quality and numbers. "May he who rolls the better dice win" and I just rolled plain bad. Everything bar the Dreadnought is lost to those accursed Blood Angels (to whom I was deepening my healthy respect of, have I mentioned the "heavy weapons" yet . As in, "Do you know where can I get some?"). 

Time to run away and stage an Alamo and go down fighting. The Blood Angels take chunks out of the Dreadnought but it's the Imperial Fists (in Yellow) who wade in to steal the show and take out the "primary objective" (claiming 30 points). It is not going the way of Chaos (see below):

Strange things can happen in a game of Space Crusade as a random Alien Event (I was hoping for a Genestealer attack but one never materialized) caused the Ultra Marines to inadvertently trigger a Booby-trap (resulting in the most deadly Chaos attack of the game) taking out two Space Marine troopers and wounding their Space Marine Commander (see below, the indignity of it all, tee-hee, never give in is the Chaos motto):

Despite this small victory there is nothing to stop the last brave Chaos Orc being hunted down like the dog it is, falling in the end to an Imperial Fist heavy weapon despite the Ultra Marines playing "catch the pigeon" (see below, we nick named the last Orc/lizard as "Charlie" with respect to the infamous pigeon song):

With that there was the undignified scramble back to the respective docking ports as the victorious Space Marines "bugged out". A damn fine game, despite the kicking "Chaos" received. A good use of miniatures I had been eclectically hoarding for the past ten years or so and time spent in very pleasant company to boot. The relative final score rakings were :

• The Blood Angels [taking no casualties], promoted one rank and two honour badges
• The Imperial Fists [taking no casualties], two honour badges
• The Chaos Renegade (me) missing out by the difference of just one more Space Marine from an acceptable performance, I am turned into Chaos Spawn as punishment [new Chaos Renegade Character required]
• The Ultra Marines, disgraced for taking too many casulties [three marines lost] and not killing enough baddies [new Sargent Character required]

Another game at some point in the future is definitely on the cards :)