Salvin's General Imperial Log.

[salvindogath]

I've been working on a couple of random imperial models recently and rather than clutter my other logs with random things i've decided to start up this new log for anything imperial that isn't part of my angels or wolves.

First up is my gamesday captain, painted as a Howling Griffon.




I'd love to see what people think of this guy, i've done my first real attempt at battle damage and I think it's come out rather nicely. Opinions please people!

And secondly, my first death korps soldier:


Not sure what to paint this guy as, ideas appreciated!

[only joking...]

I like the howling griffon, how did you do the yellow? As for the krieg dude why not just do a test colour scheme for an army...

[swifty2]

Howling Griffon looks really cool mate, nice work on the yellow and the battle damage works really well.

[salvindogath]

Thanks for the comments

The yellow is simply Iyanden Darksun foundation paint, washed with Gryphonne Sepia then redone with Iyanden Darksun, leaving the wash in the recesses.

[salvindogath]

Heres some pics of my Howling Griffon apothecary that I forgot to upload along with the captain




C+C appreciated!

[Petay1985]

A nice start fella, really like the howling griffons, the battle damage/scuffs look good. they really help to give the models character i think! Another nice addition could be the spashing of dirt and mud around the boots, a trick that just helps to blend the model into his base.

The apothecary is looking promising, i have never seen the head before? is the hair a product of green stuff? My only word of advice on this fella is to use a grey to line in the shadow on what armour plate, the black gives too harsh a contrast and detracts from the finish. Grey will make this a far more pleasing aesthetic. Consider watering down some adaptus battle grey or codex grey to wash into the recesses.

A minor grip, but i would suggest some tidying up on the apothercaries reductor/narthecium wargear, other wise looking great.

I hope my c&c is welcome and I will certainly be following this log with interest, looking forward to seeing more!!

[salvindogath]

Cheers Petay, the head is the one that came with my Angels' grandmaster, I didn't like the way it looked on him but it fitted this guy perfectly. Thanks for the advice with the white, i'll make sure I get that sorted. I'll also make sure I neaten up the apothecary tools too.

As for the mud and dirt, i'd really like to add it to my models but whenever I try it just looks naff :P Once I manage to nail it i'll go back and add some to my models. Just like i'll be going back and adding some battle damage to my angels.

Glad to have you along for the ride

[salvindogath]

Got some more progress made on these since I last updated. Apothecary is nearly done, a few minor touch ups are needed and I need to redo the shading on his right underarm and shoulder join along with lightening the shading of the white areas (that always slips my mind!).









And a shot next to the other dude:

[salvindogath]

I've also been making headway on a dreadnought, bear in mind that the assault cannon is from my very first dreadnought and is therefore only temporary, i'll be getting more arms at a later stage:





And I've recycled my preadator, a rhino and 7 men from my angels, along with 12 marines, a captain and 5 scouts that I got in my local GW auction:



C+C greatly appreciated, especially on the apothecary!

[Gorman]

I like the Howling Griffons very much. That's a tough scheme to nail down - with at least two colours I always struggle with (white and yellow) - so well done. For weathering, have you considered using the FW weathering powders? (Or the MIG equivalent?) They might add some grime to the yellow and tie the yellow and red together. Excellent work nonetheless, very impressed.

[salvindogath]

Thanks Gorman, i've considered using powders a few times but i've never brought myself to do it. How easy are they to use?

[Gorman]

Not too difficult is my honest answer! They do take a bit of practice, but all you really do is apply them with a drybrush and work them into the area (especially detail), then blow away any excess. Ideally then just apply pigment fixer (I use an airbursh for this but it could be done with a small brush as well). Some people just apply a sealant coat (Testors, for example), which holds alright so long as the model isn't being excessively handled.

Give it a try if you get any powders - a dab to the marine legs and feet would probably be enough. I think it would really work with the chipped armour. Good luck!

[salvindogath]

Thanks for the advice mate, I think i'll be picking up some powders when I next have the cash to spare!!

[Kobrakai]

Great looking howling griffons! Another chapter you don't see nearly enough of!

Keep up the great work!

[salvindogath]

Thanks Kobrakai! Tis a shame that they're an uncommon sight, its a really awesome colour scheme!

I've gained some reinforcements for these guys lately. They come in the form of 3 BR Dreadnoughts, 2 regular land raiders, a prometheus and a triple-las predator to replace the autocannon/heavy bolter one who, for the third time, is changing chapter. :P

Pictures will come sometime this weekend.

[Mega Nutz]

A challenging combination pulled off very nicely! Great looking Griffins!!

[salvindogath]

I've well and truly neglected this log but I reccently got a bit of a kick in the backside from a friend at my club and here I am now with quite an update!!

I've got some Imperial Guard that i'm working on for my brother, a pic of the ironclad, my first battle report and a WIP of my latest sidetracker.

Firstly a picture of the ironclad:


Not much has been done to him lately, aside from him getting a second combat arm. Now he's a real ironclad.

Some shots of the Imperial guard, starting with the command squad:


The commander is the only one thats pretty much finished, the others are nearly there but have a bit to do. Here's a pic of the commander on his own:


This is the commissar attached to the force, not sure wether to paint his trousers the sandy colour like the troops or to stay with black, what do people think?


And to finish off the infantry, a praetorian I started painting. My bro has nearly 2 full units of these guys although they're not going to be a part of the final catachan force. Instead they'll be part of a rater eccentric inquisitor's private forces.

[salvindogath]

Now for the only piece of armour i've started on so far:



It has a 4 on the side simply because it is the 4th valkyrie in the squadron, i'm going to be working from the bottom up on these, leaving the 1st valk until last when i've nailed the scheme for them.

I've tried to do a fair bit of battle damage on it, but not too much. I'm still undecided wether i've gotten a bit brush happy or not, what do you guys reckon?



I originally didn't have anything on the base but it just looked far too bare so I managed to piece together the running chap out of spare parts to fill the space.

I'll be posting some fluff for these guys once i've completed the command squad and commissar.

And last but not least, the start of my Deathwatch Librarian:


He's going to be getting a shoulderpad from the metal deathwatch set and the open palm hand from the terminator librarian, courtesy of theenigma once they arrive. I wll be attempting to sculpt a psychic hood for him too, will be my first time sculpting something quite as detailed so fingers crossed. I'm also going to magnetise his backpack so I can have the option of a jump pack.

Battle report to follow...

[salvindogath]

Time for my first battle report! I'd really like C+C on this as seen as its my first time doing one!

750 Point Spearhead Annihilation game on a 4' square board.

The armies:

Imperial Guard


The force consisted of:

Command squad, power fist, medic, banner, vox and meltagun.
Veteran squad, Harker, autocannon, sniper.
Veteran squad, power weapon.
Penal Legion squad (the Cadians at the front).
Valkyrie, multiple rocket pods, heavy bolter door gunners, multi laser.
Leman Russ demolisher, hull mounted heavy bolter.

Howling Griffons


Consisting of:

Captain, thunder hammer, artificer armour.
Tactical squad, 5 extra men, meltagun, melta bombs.
Scout squad, heavy bolter, 3 snipers, Telion.
Land speeder, heavy bolter mount.
Ironclad, twin heavy flamers.
Predator, heavy bolter sponsons.

Pre-game and deployment:

The Guard win the deployment roll, choosing to fortify themselves in the ruins of their stronghold, using their leman russ to plug the hole in the walls and deploying the penal legion in the main part of the breach to bog down any enemies that make it that far.

The Veteran squad with the power weapon mount up in the valkyrie, remaining off the table ready to outflank. The penal legion are a trigger happy bunch, getting assault 2 weapons.

The space marines deploy in a wide crescent, hoping to avoid the worst of the incoming heavy fire enough to make it to the walls. The predator hangs back to provide fire support whilst the land speeder sets itself up ready to boost into action. The scouts manage to get a little closer to the stronghold, making it into the cover of a shell crater.

The attempt to steal the initiative fails horribly and the guard begin their defence.

Turn 1.



Guard: No movement happens as the guard are nicely dug in and not going anywhere soon.

To kick off the shooting the penal legion spots the scouts hiding in the crater and open fire. Through sheer weight of fire they manage to kill the scout carrying the heavy bolter and the venerable Telion falls foul of a lucky shot. Seeing that his men were already engaging the enemy, the commander orders Harker and his veterans to remove the threat of the land speeder. The autocannon has no problem penetrating the thin armour of the light vehicle, hitting the fuel cells and causing it to explode, bathing a couple of nearby marines in fire although their armour protects them. To finish off the rounds shooting the Demolisher opens up on the scouts with its heavy bolter, two of them taking the large projectiles in the chest. It follows up those kills with a shell from its devastating cannon, blowing the remaining scout apart and neutralising that threat before it had a chance to act.

Marines:

In response to the devastating ammounts of fire thrown at the marines the captain orders them forward, leaping over the barricade and breaking into a run towards the next defence line. The ancient dreadnought follows suit, easily striding through the barricade and into another crater.

Whilst the captain and his men are advancing the predator tank lays down a barrage of fire against the penal legion in the breach but, due to their dug in position it only manages to score one kill.

Turn 2.


Guard: Valkyrie remains in reserve, waiting for the opportune moment.

No movement again, they are far too busy unleashing hideous ammounts of fire against the marines to move.

The Crew of the Demolisher tank open up this round of fire, quickly taking aim and shooting at the space marines as they are running across the open ground in between defence lines. The gunner's aim is true and the main cannon throws a high explosive shell right into the heart of the advancing squad, killing a mighty 7 marines in one fell swoop. The penal legion sieze the brief opportunity where the marines are recovering from the explosion to unleash another fusilade of fire. This time they score two kills, the squad's sergeant and the last remaining bolter weilding marine. Harker and his squad try to damage the ironclad but, due to its reinforced armour their shots have no effect.

Space marines:

The indominable captain, unphased by the brutal annihilation of the majority of the tactical squad urges the remaining space marine forward with him, hoping the meltagun will be able to destroy the demolisher tank. The dreadnought continues to wade through the incoming fire towards the guard's defence line.

The predator once again opens fire on the guard's position, this time targeting the slightly more exposed command squad. Most of the squad manage to duck into cover before the tank unleashes it's fury but the vox operator is a second too slow and takes an autocannon shell in the chest, blowing him in two.

Turn 3.


Guard: Valkyrie remains in reserve still, waiting until it is needed.

None of the men move, concentrating more and more fire on the space marine captain that is making his way towards them at an ever increasing pace.

The demolisher tank adjusts its aim again, hoping to destory the looming figure of the ironclad that is nearing the guard lines. The shell impacts just below the ancient machine's sarcophagus, exploding right beside it's abdomen, causing it to grind to a halt and killing the last marine from the tactial squad with a peice of flying shrapnel. All other fire turns to the unrelenting captain running towards their lines. The penal legion unleashes a devastating cascade of fire towards the marine, Harker and his squad add their weight of fire and the commander himself takes a shot with his lasgun. The captain stumbles briefly under the intense weight of fire but emerges with only minor scrapes, his finely crafter armour protecting him from the worst of the fire. (He saved 11 wounds from all the shooting that round, failing to roll below a 3 for his 2+ save.)

Marines:

The captain redoubles his efforts and begins to run toward the penal legionaires in the crater before him, drawing his pistol as he runs.

The predator unleashes another hail of fire on the command squad, blowing the commander's left arm off just above elbow. Meanwhile the captain fires off a shot from his pistol at the legionaires, killing one of them before the rough terrain impedes his charge.

[salvindogath]

Turn 4.


Guard: The valkyrie sees it's opportunity and plummets into action, flanking the space marine force and getting a firing solution on the predators exposed rear armour.

The penal legionaires fall back from their position at the front of the breach to just in front of the demolisher, giving the marine more rough ground to cover to get to them.

The newly arrived valkyrie opens up on the rear of the predator, its missile pods and heavy bolters peppering the armour but merely scratching it before the multi-laser manages to score a crippling hit on the turret mounted autocannon. The penal legionaires, fearing how close the space marine was to them opened up in a desperate attempt to halt his charge but the valiant marine's sacred armour protected him once again. As the captain crests the crater and jumps towards the penal legionaires the meltagunner in the command unit expertly lines up a shot at the captain and vapourises the marine mid leap. Harkers unit tries to damage the predator but it's thick armour plating on the front protects it form the fire. The demolisher tries to have another shot at the dreadnought but it goes wide.

Marines:

Ruunning out of options, a crippled main gun and a dead captain, all the predator can do at this point is try to deny the valkyrie its rear arc again.

Turn 5.


Guard:
The command unit finally moves towards the immobile dreadnough, closing in so the meltagun can go to work and destroy it.

Harker's unit and the valkyrie both try to damage the predator but once again it's thick armour shrugs off the shots. The meltagun fires at the dreadnought once it is in range, merely causing the machine to rock on its immobile legs. The demolisher regains some accuracy and manages to blow the left arm off the dreadnought.

Marines:

The predator, now cornered lashes out with its heavy bolter sponsons, firing at the command squad as they advance on the ironclad. The fusilade of shells manage to rip through both the banner bearer and the medic, killing them.

Turn 6.


Guard:
The command squad begin to rush after the casualties they took from that last barrage of shells, heading towards the immobile dreadnought.

As the command squad gets within lethal range the meltagunner opens up again, this time blowing the dreadnought's remaining arm off. Both the demolisher and Harker's unit try to deal damage to the dreadnought but its armour plates manage to hold. The valkyrie peppers the predator with multi-laser shots, hitting its ammunition stores and taking it out of action. Permenantly.

And the roll for turn 7 comes up as a 1, ending the game!

That leaves it with a 5:0 victory to the guard, with the crippled dreadnought denying them the tabling!