Post 400 giveaway!

This marks the 400th post to the Mordian 7th Regiment blog, and first things first today I want to thank all of you readers and followers out there - I truly appreciate all the support, advice, constructive criticism and kind words you've given me over the years! It really means a lot to me, and I thought I'd offer up an old legacy unit of mine as a thank your to commemorate the 400th post.

While going through the display cabinet my eye fell upon the original motorized rough riders I'd built years back. and since these were some of the very first conversions I posted when the blog began back in 2009 I thought they'd be a nice thing to give away.

Anyone who is a follower of the blog that posts a comment here over the next week will be entered into a drawing for them - these guys have been waiting to see some action for far too long! Thanks again for all of your support over the years folks, you guys rock!

In other news, this milestone ended up being a fortuitous conincidence - at this point, all of the non-apocalypse units in the army are now painted! I spent some time pulling everything out and snapped a family photo:

It's been a long road getting all of these guys done, and I'm really happy with how they've turned out. I have to get the Baneblade done by October for Feast of Blades, but I'm thinking that for now it's time to move on to another project for a while - new poll up in the upper right, lemme know what you guys want to see! While rooting around in the Closet of Doom I unearthed a whole mess of Iron Hands that a friend had mailed me prior to him moving overseas. There's darn near a whole army of 'em - just in time to take advantage of the new marine releases. My wallet cries out in terror!

Imperial Guard - Platoon Command Squad and Rapier painted

Looking at the painting chart, I realized that there were only two units left in the non-Apocalypse/non-Terrain section - the platoon command squad and the rapier laser destroyer. Simple enough to choose what to paint next!

 

I'm a huge fan of the rapier, and have owned a good half dozen of the old ones over the years. I was definitely excited to see Forge World sculpt an updated one! It's quite a bit larger than the old metal one, so it ended up on a 60mm base. I went back and repainted the body in black to match the current vehicle livery, and painted the two crewmen at the same time as I did the command squad, simples!

The command squad was a lot of fun to paint, with each model being very different from the next. I ended up cheating somewhat by repurposing the old company command banner bearer (as I've replaced him with something more fitting) so really there were only four models to paint. At this point, I have just a hair over 5000 points painted up and I think it's time for another group photograph!

In other news, this is post #399. Gonna have to come up with something fun for post #400 - I think it's high time for another giveaway!

Imperial Guard - Thudd Gun painted

Pressing onwards with the guard - one more heavy weapon emplacement complete, this time around it's one of my favorites, the Thudd Gun!

  

All in all it painted up really quickly. Basically followed the standard vehicle paint scheme - drybrushed shadow grey, then picked out various areas in yellow and red, and boltgun metal for the wheels and barrels. Easy peasy!

  

The crewmen were painted separately along with the crew for the Macharius Omega (pics to follow), and I went with a mix of cadian and catachan bits to give them a bit more rough-and-tumble look. I figure loading the weapon is hot and sweaty work, so they're down to their undershirts.

I also updated the painting chart to see what all is left to do. Not much, it turns out! Still need to finish up a 5-man platoon command squad, the Rapier, a couple turrets to allow me to field some Salamanders (using the alternate hydra tank chassis), the Baneblade and the Leviathan. I also added in the Fortifications that are lurking in the Closet of Doom. So far only the Skyshield landing pad is painted, but I do have one each of the other buildings/fortifications in various stages of painting. It all adds up to over 7500 points! Holy moly!

Imperial Guard - Macharius Omega painting in progress

It's been a crazy week full of catching up on work after vacation, and getting ready for a gig this past Saturday so I've had no hobby time whatsoever. However, today was quiet enough to get some brush time in!

  

Got the basic colors on the Macharius Omega, with the standard black, red and yellow. I also tried to do a 'plasma pulse' effect on the coils which I think worked out fairly well. Still a ways to go with the crewmen, and the fine detail yet to be done.

 

Snapped a quick comparison shot with the Leman Russ Executioner, and I'm pretty pleased how they tie together so far!

Imperial Guard - Macharius Omega and Thudd Gun built and primed

Been a crazy busy week between playing catch up at work and prepping for a gig this coming Friday with the band. However, I did manage to get in a little build time and I hope to get some paint on 'em come Sunday if all goes according to plan!

 

The Omega went together like a dream, though there were some truly massive resin blocks that needed to be dremel-ed away. I actually managed to refrain from building the whole model in one go and kept some parts separate for painting. There's a ton of great detailing that would otherwise be virtually inaccessible.

While I was at it, the Thudd Gun that has been lurking in a bag in the Closet of Doom for nigh on three years got assembled and primered as well. Since the loader is going to be cranking the elevation wheel and would otherwise be difficult to paint, I kept the crewmen separate for painting on this model as well.

Looking forward to getting some brush time on 'em!

Pictures from an exhibition - GenCon 2013

Figured I'd share some other pics from the convention before delving back into the guard!

  

There were some really big games...

 

I got into a playtest with the developer for an OGRE expansion slated for release next year, which was an absolute blast.  (I'm the dork in the car wars shirt).

 

There were some really cool dioramas...

 

...And a frightful dichotomy of hall decorations.

 

And tons of props and doo-dads!

 

The costumes were many and varied. Fantasy, sci-fi, and everything in between.

 

Some amusing mashups as well. The jawa jedi was very amusing, and I lost count of all the Deadpool variations I saw.

...Not to mention a seemingly unending supply of Batfolk!

Though when it comes to mash-ups, this band really takes the grand prize. They were taking it in turns to sing in Pirate drawl, Klingon and Shyriiwook (I'm ashamed that I know what the Wookiee language is called).

Last but not least, some nice 40k cosplay to bring it back to the hobby!

Back from GenCon!

Just got back from a long weekend out in Indy at GenCon - Great times, fun games, old friends, waaaaay too much to eat and drink. It was glorious! It was also, as always, insanely crowded:

That's the line to get into the dealer's hall on the second day. I didn't make it to the first day's initial opening but I'm reliably told they were stacked three deep and rappelling in from the ceiling as well. Speaking of the dealer's room, this turned out to be a very, very expensive trip for me. First up, I swung by the Fantasy Flight booth to pick up some of the new X-Wing miniatures as a gift for for my buddy Dave, and with malice aforethought and devious designs upon the contents of my wallet they had put the racks of 40K:RP books right next to the checkout line. Ended up picking up a couple Rogue Trader books that I hadn't seen, both of which appear to be chock full of good GM's stuff. Though not found at the FFG booth, I also scored a copy of The Imperial Truth at the Black Library table, apparently it was a limited release that I wasn't aware of, but it sounds fantastic!

The line for the FFG booth was insane, with literally hundreds of people in line waiting for hours. Next up was a pass through the Catalyst Games booth where I picked up the new rulebook for Shadowrun, of which I managed to play several games over the weekend in the Living campaign. My buddy Dave is kicking off a local campaign soon as well. Should be a hoot!

Then came the brutal stop. I'd placed a reservation for some stuff from Forge World and they brought it to the con. Sharp stabbing sensation in the wallet!
 

 

First up is the Macharius Omega - the plasma blastgun variant of the standard Macharius, which I thought would go well with the plasma-heavy theme I have going with the 7th at the moment (Executioner, plasma vets, plasma cannons on the Sentinels, etc.).

Next up was an offering to the Omnissiah - a bundle pack of Thallax Cohort, for a unit of 9 of 'em. I was joking with Dave that I was initially surprised by how few parts comprised the Omega, and again by how MANY made up the Thallax!

...But then there was an incident.

I was joking with my friends out there that there was a problem with going to the Forge World booth, namely that once I went to pick up my order I would then actually BE AT THE FORGEWORLD BOOTH.

It can't be all that bad, right..?

...Dammit.


More pics to come!

GenCon Bound! ...And some more guard.

As of this moment, I am now on vacation! Taking tomorrow off to get everything squared away and packed up for the trip out to Indy - it's going to be an absolute blast! Gonna get in a couple games of Deathwatch and Only War (40k:RPG), some MERCS as well as some Shadowrun (we're going to be starting up a home campaign soon) and I'm going to play some OGRE with one of the guys from Steve Jackson Games. ...Not that the Kickstarter for it has arrived yet. The one that funded in May of 2012.

 

I did spend a little time working on the Rapier, and laid down the base fatigues and armor plate colors. I'd originally thought I'd do the armor plates on the Rapier and Thudd Gun in grey like the flak armor on the guard, but in retrospect I'm thinking they'd look better in the vehicle black and red. Thoughts?

If you're going to be in Indy for GenCon and want to meet up for a pint, drop me an email and we'll figure something out!