The most accurately named boardgame of all time - OGRE.

It's not all 40k all the time around the Mordian 7th's HQ, and as I'd mentioned quite some time ago now, I'd backed the Kickstarter for Steve Jackson Games reboot of OGRE. This was back in May of 2012, and the packages finally delivered late last week - bit of a wait, that!

However, the long wait was worth it, as the game is absolutely MASSIVE. Weighing in at just shy of 30 pounds, it is truly an ogre of a box! The above picture is the box and just some of the interior stuffing laid out on the coffee table in my living room. The box is 24"x18"x8" and just to give a sense of scale, that's a sharpie laying on the box lid.

On the back of the box under the shrinkwrap holding all the counter sheets was the "Read Me First" page which definitely garnered a chuckle. They weren't kidding, there are over a thousand counters, and I very nearly did go mad!

Also included in the box was a reprint of the old-school Ogre Mk V cutaway poster, which I used to own waaaaaay back in the day, but was lost in a house move somewhere along the way. Really happy to have one again!

I started punching out counters and assembling cardboard pieces around 4 in the afternoon, and by the time I was finished it was almost 8:30 at night. Pretty crummy lighting for the next few pics, I'll try to get some better ones over the holiday weekend. The game includes several vaccu-formed plastic trays designed to hold all of the 3D counters, which was really a nice touch.

There is also a large tray in the bottom of the box designed to hold all of the flat counters, terrain overlays, maps, rules and whatnot. Very well thought-out design, and I couldn't be happier with it! Hoping to introduce my gaming group to it sometime in the next couple weeks - most of them have never played it before, which is a tragedy that I will rectify soon enough!

Adeptus Mechanicus - Cydonian Sister painted

After the issues with the Proteus I wanted to switch gears and work on something else for a bit - I find that if I get bogged down, frustrated or bored with a particular project having something else to work on for a while really helps keep me in the hobby mood. In this case, it was time to work on a neat little model I picked up from Blight Wheel Miniatures as part of their halloween promotion.

I'll be using this as a stand-in for a Cydonian Sister (ad-mech assassin), based on the Tempus Fugitives Cult Mechanicus list. I'm really hoping that we'll see FW rules for them in some future publication as well...

 

It's definitely an interesting model, but it is fiddly as heck - had to pin the arms and head and let me tell ya that was a peril-fraught procedure! Of course, since I've taken this picture I've managed to fumble it and snap one of the arms off anyway. Luckily it was reasonably easy to repair!

A little change of pace like this really was a breath of fresh air - Now I feel ready to work on some more Iron Hands again!

Heresy Era Iron Hands - Proteus Land Raiders painted, sort of.

More tanks! Always need more tanks. The Iron Hands are known for having a lot of vehicles, and I tried to brink that into the army list as well. There's even more to come after this!

Next up is the slightly disappointing part of the army I'm afraid. The Proteuseses. One of them turned out pretty well, but unfortunately the other one really has problems, as we'll see below. Think I'm going to call it the Short Bus...

This one turned out okay - sort of like the rusty effect on the lower hull.

Might need to push the mud spatter up a little higher on the sides though.

I like big exhausts and I cannot lie...

And now the short bus. From the side it's okay, think the chipping around the access ramps turned out okay but the tracks are pretty wonky - this is the tank where I learned you should start and the top and work down to allow for gaps and possible track removal, rather than follow the directions provided by FW which suggests you start at the bottom and work up. By the time I got to the top, there wasn't quite enough room to fit the top track section and it ended up being a bit raised off the roller on the upper rear. Disappointing.

...And then to compound the disappointment, something happened with the sealant on the front and the finish totally crackled up. Must have had some moisture on it or something. I'm REALLY disappointed about this tank - from the ham-fisted assembly to the wonky sealant level, it just didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. Figure I have three ways to go - either I figure out a way to work that texture in as some sort of weathering (melta scarring, maybe? give it a metal drybrush pass?), use some fine sandpaper to try and remove the crinkly layer and hope I don't jack up the underlying paint too much, or dump the whole damn tank into Simple Green and start again... Argh.

Heresy Era Iron Hands - A mess of infantry painted

One of the things about heresy army lists are the big ol' units of marines - it's pretty common to see them in groups of twenty, which meant I had a whole mess of 'em to do for the Iron Hands. I decided on one unit of Tac marines armed with bolters and one unit with bolt pistols and chainswords (the poor man's assault marines). They lack jump packs, but are almost half the points cost!

I'm waiting on the new Iron Hands Legionaries sets to arrive so I can finish off the Vox, Vexilla and Sergeant for the unit (hence the two half-built models and the blank base), but other than that, they're pretty much ready to rock!

I had some issues with the FW order that was destined to become the second squad, so in addition to the sergeant, vox and vexilla, I also needed to wait for the replacement bits to finish off a few 'regular' marines as well. Still, 31 done is a nice feeling!

  

My buddy Dave was kind enough to let me have one of the leftover thunder hammer bits he'd ordered from MaxMini for his Salamanders, which I think has a much better heresy feel to it for the Praetor than the previous modern era hammer I had on there before. I also added a servo skull to act as his cyber-familiar (grants an additional +1 to his invulnerable save) and some cog-tooth inserts for the shoulder pads. Helps drive home the Iron Hands look pretty well, I think!

Heresy Era Iron Hands - Sicaran battle tanks painted

Two big ol' chunks of resin rumbled off the assembly line, my new favorite FW kit of all time, the Sicaran Battle Tank!

I just love the design of these guys - they're explained as being the intermediate between the Predator and the Land Raider and I think the sculptors really did a good job tying the two looks together. It's got the trapezoidal track housings akin to the Land Raider, and the rounded turret is a nice call to the Deimos predators.

  

The Iron Hands have a tank commander character that provides the tank with BS:5 and Tank Hunters which is a pretty nasty combo. Along with the trio of heavy bolters, this tank will pump out 15 shots a turn, hitting on 2's and rerolling armour penetration. Say goodbye to light vehicles, and even Land Raiders could be threatened by it (though proper target selection priority suggests that the Sicaran should concentrate on lighter targets).

  

Of course, if one is good, two is better, right? I plan on running a pair of them where possible, with the fact that most legions will be throwing 40+ infantry, these tanks will also be invaluable to whittle down the enemy footsloggers. Really looking forward to getting them on the table, hoping to get in a couple test games soon!

Heresy Era Iron hands - Contemptor dreads painted

Models are finally starting to reach the finish line - up today is the pair of Contemptor dreads!

Pretty happy with how the bases set off against the darkness of the models, definitely helps them pop a bit. also gives the overall model a little more much-needed color!

 

The first one has a magnetized right arm so I can swap out the lascannon for other weapons as needed, went with a running pose with this one as though he's charging into the action.

 

The second dread carries a pair of Kheres assault cannons, and with the release of the Massacre book he can also be used as a Mortis dread, which means he loses Fleet, but if he remains stationary he gains Skyfire and Interceptor. Nothing wrong with that!

Next up are some pics of the motor pool, 3/4ths of which I'm rather happy with, and 1/4 ended up being a bit of a tragedy...

Heresy Era Iron Hands - Sicaran size comparison shots

I've been asked by a couple people how big the Sicaran is in comparison to a Land Raider, so while I was working on finishing up the paint scheme on 'em, I snapped a couple comparison shots with it and a 'modern day' Land Raider. It's big!

The main hull is about 3/4ths of an inch shorter than the Land Raider, but the turret makes it a bit taller. It's also about an inch narrower overall.

The Land Raider is about an inch and a half longer, and the overall hull is significantly more substantial, which makes sense as it's a troop carrier.

Overall the Sicaran is much more svelte but I was surprised at just how big it really was when set side-by-side! Since these pictures were taken, the Sicarans have been completed, pics to follow soon!