Hovering Vengeance

The second Ravenwing vehicle was painted with the same technique as the first one, however, I did learn a few things from the Nephalim. First, I was much more aggressive with the blue edging highlights. This is really what makes the model pop, and the best effect is achieved when all edges have an even blue tone. The bone highlight is what is used to bring up certain corners and give the model dynamism.

Otherwise, this was a very quick and enjoyable paint job.  The cockpit instrumentation turned out really well and adds great detail to an otherwise fairly mono-chromatic model. And thanks to my experience with decals on the Devastators, I added the skull decal on the gunner without problems. Again, I had to score the decal to allow it to wrap around the shoulder pad.

Next up, Dark Angels go camping.  Or rather scouting..

Attacking with Bikes

This miniature taught me a valuable conversion lesson.  No matter how seemingly trivial the change, always double check your results.  I decided to make the bike a Raven Wing machine by adding two wings to the sides of the main bike armour. Super simple and adds a nice visual detail. I did not, however, remember about the driver. After the model was assembled and painted, I tried slotting the driver into his position and discovered that the wings block his hands from getting to the handlebars.  Fortunately this was fixable by removing the lower portion of his backpack and gently nudging him in. Lesson learned: always double check the model after changing it.

The paint job was very simple, with the standard black armour and Army Dip to keep the model consistent with the rest of the force.

Next up, Raven Wing seeks vengeance..

The Nephilim Arrives

This model was too large to use the Army Painter dip with, so instead I opted for a traditional paint job. The one new technique I tried was when I painted the wing detail. This would have been perfect for an air-brush, however, one must do with what one has and I used foam-stippling. By building up shades of stippled grey, I was able to achieve an interesting effect, which nicely breaks up the large, open spaces of the wings.

The rest of the model was edge-highlighted with dark blue and then bone, which is my go-to combination for all Raven Wing armour. 

I decided to not touch the base yet, as I think that for such a large surface, you have to build a complete diorama. Otherwise, you end up with a rather bland plate of flock or sand which in my opinion does not look any better. At least here, I'm saying that the base is not part of the model. Only a bit of a cop-out...

Next up, the Raven Wing gets back to its bike roots

You're a Devastator Now, Brother

This set of Devastators was painted with the usual dip method. The one new technique I tried was using decals for the Dark Angel shoulder pad insignia. As much as I enjoy playing around with the occasional free-hand design, I know that there is no way that I could do an acceptable job with the highly symmetrical and structured Angel Winged Sword. I am quite pleased with the final result!  The one tip I picked up is that in order for the decal to adhere to the highly curved shoulder pad, it needs to be scored. Diagonal cuts create flaps, which allow the decal to wrap on itself, allowing it to become convex. The end result really does look painted on and I will certainly be using decals in the future.

Next up, we look to the skies..

The Razorback: Sword of Wrath

The Rarorback, which also doubles as a Rhino, is ready to go.  My Dark Angels will finally not have to trudge across the battlefield on foot, but instead will be able to get around in style, inside Sword of Wrath's armoured hull.

The model was undecorated with Army Painter's excellent Angel Green undercoat, then painted with classic techniques including dry-brushing and blending. I also tried the new GW dark brown wash for the first time and was quite pleased with the results. It worked very well on the bone coloured scroll, the driver's face and the white angel ornament. For the text, the micron pen proved invaluable. If you like to do scroll work or writing, a 0.5mm pen is a must.

Up next, the 3rd company gets some needed air support!

The Siege of Castle Oldenhawk

After months of trying to starve the Empire garrison, mighty Orc Warboss Grumlock received bad news from his goblin scouts. The cunning 'ummies managed to get a runner past the Orc lines and a relief force was on its way. Just as well, he thought. He was tired of fighting like a cowardly elf, letting time and hunger do his killing.  It was time to storm the castle, like Mork and Gork intended!

This was a massive 3000 pts Blood in the Badlands siege battle, hosted on the fantastic castle table at the Highgate Village Games Workshop.

After starvation and bombardment, the Empire defenders lost a large number of swordsmen and ended up with a breach of the main gate. Cavalry consisting of 20 knights and 10 pistolliers was kept in reserve. The Orcs concentrated on the South and West sides, with Savage Big'uns, supported by Trolls, storming a weakly defended North West tower. The bulk of the horde would storm the South gate and towers which held all of the strategic objectives.  At least that was Grumlock's cunning plan..

Trouble for the Orcs started immediately when the Savage Orcs, unable to work the siege tower, spent the entire turn standing still. This confused the trolls, which ended up stumbling forward and taking archer fire from the battlements. The south wing advanced as intended with the Arachnarock and the squig herd crashing into the South West tower.

The Black Orcs, weighed down by their heavy armour, did not manage to make the assault on the first turn and the night goblins, led by a Shaman, were too cowardly to advance. The Empire mortar crew made the goblins pay for their inaction by dropping a shell in their midst, killing half of the unit.

Orcs were not to be out done by the human artillery. Crusher, the rock lobba, launched a perfectly placed stone, which not only destroyed the Hellblaster defending the South East tower, but it also crashed through the tower breaching it!

The squigs and the Arachnarock stormed the South West tower.  Empire swordsmen, encouraged by their warrior priest and captains, mounted a desperate defence...

... but it proved to too weak to stop the frenzy of the squigs. The crazed fungus monsters crashed into the tower and pushed the defenders out. Castle Oldenhawk was breached!

Their victory would not last. All of the Empire captains, warrior priest and the generals charged into the tower and slew every single squig. The humans were in control of the castle walls again.
On the North Western flank, the Savage Orc big un's were still unable to operate the siege tower and spent another turn staring at the walls.

Disaster strikes the Orcs!  The mighty Arachnarock was brought down by the heroes of the Empire. As its grotesque legs curled in twitching death spasms, the human defenders cheered and shouted praises to Sigmar.
On the North West flank, the Savage Big'uns abandoned the tower and got ready to storm the walls the old fashioned way, but they were unable to agree on who led the charge and spent the turn squabbling.
Grumlock knew that it was time for him to enter the fray and prepared to storm the hotly disputed South Western tower himself.

The Savage Orcs finally stormed the castle and easily beat back the defenders of the North Western tower. Castle Oldenhawk was breached again!

As the day was ending, Grumlock made one more desperate attempt to storm the deadly South Western tower. The Savage Orc Big'uns slaughtered through the defenders of the West Wall who bravely held back the River Trolls for the entire day, but they arrived at the South Western tower too late to help. Grumlock roared in anger as he was unable to break through the Empire defenders and was kept out of the castle. Even though the green tide has finally started sweeping around the walls, it was too late.

As the day ended, the Empire reinforcements finally arrived. It took the knights the entire game to make it on to the table and they were unable to make any difference in the outcome of the game. Castle Oldenhawk withstood the might of Warboss Grumlock on its own.

As night fell, Savage Orcs Big'uns were rampaging around the walls, but they were ultimately forced to withdraw. This was a solid victory to Empire.

A fantastic game! The Blood in the Badlands siege rules played very well. They are simple, but give the game an epic feel of a gigantic siege. And most importantly, the game was exciting and tense till the last die roll.

Lessons from the game:

• Squig herds are really cool.  Will definitely pick some up. 
• Never trust Savage Orcs to drive a siege tower. They just don't understand how wheels work.
• Never count on your reinforcements to show up, even if they are all mounted. Empire knights can sure take their time..
• Commit your troops early. Allowing the defenders the luxury of supporting combats from adjacent buildings is a huge mistake.
• Siege is awesome!  Can't wait to play another one.

Dancing with Skargog Skull 'ead

My Savage Ork Shaman is ready

As with all characters, I painted Skargog Skull 'ead with classic blend shading instead of dipping.  I really enjoyed shading and blending the muscles and and cloth. The Savage Ork minis are quickly becoming some of my favourites to paint because they offer a great mix of large area shading and detail work. And of course, this sculpt has one of the most dynamic poses in the line.  How often do you get to see a half-naked ork dancing?

I used the Micron pen on the skulls and I am thrilled with the results. It's hard to see in the pictures, but I was able to draw in some really great designs which bring the mini to life and add eye-catching detail.

Now that Skargog is ready, complete with the Shrunken Head hanging off his belt, he'll be joining my Savage Ork Mob and providing them some much needed protection!