DKoK Update 11/06

After a few weeks of procrastinating and trial and error, I finally finished a full test Krieg Guardsman from the HQ Squad.  I've decided to try and avoid using black on any figure I paint from now on, instead relying on various darker shades of grey and charcoal.  Just a personal choice but I find black to be unmanageable.  Once it's there, there's not much you can do to it or with it.

Here's a pic...

The picture's a little shadow heavy but I'll post better shots once the squad is complete.

As usual, C&C are welcomed.

The war goes on,
Hessler

The IG Laboratory Bubbles To Life...

I have to admit it, lately I have been in more of a building mode than painting mode. Although I did get my 2nd squad primed, I was drawn back to the creativity of the workshop. I must confess, I really love the hobby aspect of this obsession of mine. So here is my latest creation...

These are 97% Pig Iron, bodies are the Ferals and the heads are the Kolony Militia with covered helmets. For the sake of something "official", I transplanted some DKoK lasgun barrels onto the ends of their weapons...I never really liked the Pig Iron weapons so there you go. In case anyone is wondering, I did try some Cadian heads on these and they were too big.

To me, these models scream Veterans with camo cloaks. I picture them as the vanguard of a Death World unit, infiltrating hazardous terrain and environments while looking for any and all targets of opportunity.

I think I will go with a Vietnam style camo/color palette. I might try my hand at some water effects to add that "I've spent the last 30 days in the rainy jungle" look. Here's a close up...

Also, just for kicks and giggles, I thew together a few more officers...

This one will either serve as my Platoon Commander or possibly as a Sgt. for a Vet squad. He just has that "veteran" look about him.

I've never had cause to build this "classic" greatcoat officer so I made one, just so I can say I did. He needs something more...just not sure what.

I raided a few different kits for this Vox Operator. He will serve well, whether at the Platoon level...or higher.

Guess that's it for now. Cheers to my fellow bloggers across the pond and Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans. Here's to turkey and more turkey.

The war goes on,
Hessler

HQ Command Squad (4)

After a final push I have finished my first Command HQ squad and I am quite happy with the way it came out. I learned a ton about how I want to proceed with the rest of my army.

Here's the points breakdown:

HQ COMMAND SQUAD	235 pts.
Company Commander	Plasma Pistol, Power Fist, Carapace Armor
4 Veterans	Vox Caster, 3 Plasma Guns, Carapace Armor
2 Bodyguards	Laspistol, CC Weapon, Carapace Armor
mounted in Command Chimera	HF, HF, Extra Armor

The war goes on,
Hessler

HQ Command Squad (3)

I finally made a decision on how to equip the vets in my command squad so today I finished building the last pieces of my HQ choice. I will be going with a Vox caster and 3 plasmas. On foot, they can offer a way to deal with deep strike threats and when they are mounted in the chimera, they offer 3 mobile plasma shots to back up any units that may be in trouble.

Vox: The vox-catser itself comes from the FW command unit while the rest of the body is standard issue Cadian trooper. The head is from West Wind, WW2 German with field cap. That is the head I will use for my infantry platoon, as well. Check out their website HERE.

Plasma Gunner 1: Cadian torso & legs, arms/weapon is from the FW Death Korps weapon kit, the head is from the FW Cadian Upgrade kit.

Plasma Gunner 2: Cadian torso & legs, arms/weapon is from the FW Death Korps weapon kit, the head is from the new Cadian Command kit.

Plasma Gunner 3: Cadian Command torso & legs, arms/weapon is from the FW Death Korps weapon kit, head is from the FW Cadian Veterans Upgrade kit.

C&C is always welcome!

The war goes on,
Hessler

HQ Command Squad (2)

I put the modeling aside for a while and got into to paint mode today. I have started on my Company Commander, working to get all the base colors done first. A few things about my overall scheme: all the weapons will have a wood grain element worked in. I really like the old school look of a wood stock or handle on a futuristic weapon. The basic visual theme will be based on WW2 German army colors. The Waffen SS is famous for being one of the first units to effectively implement camouflage onto the battlefield. I will attempt to apply various SS camo schemes into the elements of my IG army. (NOTE: I don't condone anything about Nazis, facism, or any attrocities that occured in WW2. Please don't bother to bring it up.)

More HQ updates coming soon.


The war goes on,
Hessler

Command Chimera (1)

Here is a breakdown of my first Chimera. I have changed out the turret to make it serve as a Command Vehicle for my Company Command Squad. I started with a standard Chimera frame; the only change made was turning the gun ports into observation ports. Berks Warhammer 40K has a clever alternative for that using SM shoulder pads as covers. It makes them look like vents but I thought it looked cool. Take a look at it here.

I went with a heavy flamer on the hull as well as the turret. I swapped the turret out with a Predator style and attached 2 flamers from the Catachan Sentinel sprue. It only counts as the one heavy weapon but I thought it looked pretty sweet.


I have the FW Stormtrooper commander in the cupola and I improvised a vehicle command comm attachment by combining an icon from the tank sprue and a SM rhino radar dish. This particular turret can be switch out for a standard Chimera turret as needed.


The war goes on,
Hessler

HQ Command Squad (1)

My HQ Command Squad is well under way and with the new command squad kits, I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. Here's a breakdown of composition and points:

Company Commander - Plasma Pistol, Power Fist, Carapace
4 Veterans - Vox, Medic, Regimental Standard, Sniper Rifle, Carapace
Regimental Advisers - 2 Bodyguards, Astropath, Master of Ordnance, Master of the Fleet
mounted in a command chimera - HF, HF, Extra Armor

Total Points = 332

Parts breakdown for my commander:

• Torso/legs are the 1-piece combo from the Catachan command kit
  
• The plasma pistol is glued on at the wrist and is from a SM model
  
• The power fist is from the Cadian command kit
  
• Head is from the Forge World veterans upgrade pack
• The coat and the neck piece are from the WHF Pistoliers kit
  

The coat took quite a bit of time to get it to fit properly. I used a dremel(rotary tool) to slowly scrape out the material underneath the shoulders of the coat. It was a matter of scrape a little and check the fit, scrape a little and check the fit, over and over until it looked OK. If I remember correctly, I removed a little material from the models back also. I am partial to this head; I have had it for quite a while and I am glad I could finally use it.



Next are my 2 bodyguards...total bad-asses with scowls to match.

• Heads are from the Cadian command kit
  
• All the rest is from the Forge World Cadian command kit
  

Next is the Master of Ordnance. I felt like he should have a separate radio operator to follow him around and relay coordinates. During game play I intend to treat this a one model.

• The Adviser's head is from the Forge World Cadian squad upgrade kit
• All the rest of both minis is completely from the new Cadian command kit
  

Last but not least is my Master of the Fleet. Not much to talk about here; the entire mini is made from the Cadian command kit.


My next post will cover the 4 veterans and hopefully some painting.

The war goes on,
Hessler