Finished Deathstrike Missile Launcher Conversion: Skyrangers XXII

Last weekend I put the finishing touches to my plastic Deathstrike Missile Launcher.

The urban 'dazzle' style pattern on the launcher was completed by jagged strips of Chaos Black, like all my vehicles and aircraft.

The Deathstike Missile itself was given another coat of Skull White to make it smoother than its original spray-painted state.

I applied 5 transfers from the Imperial Guard vehicle transfer sheet to add some detail to the Deathstrike Missile, the Aquilae and some serial numbers. I didn't want to go overboard with details as I preferred the simplicity of the white missile.

Lastly I painted the Earthshaker Gun in the same colours as the Launcher. For the most part I will use the vehicle as a Basilisk but I always have the option for the Deathstrike Missile Launcher, if I feel a bit mad... :)

As always, C&C greatly welcome!

Plastic Deathstrike Missile Launcher Painting: Skyrangers XXI

A Deathstrike Missile Launcher is as much a display piece as it is a gaming piece so I decided it needed a decent paintjob immediately. Usually a plastic conversion is knocked up pretty quickly but I soon leave it to one side. However my Guard army is my only fully painted army (bar this model!) so I just had to get the Deathstrike finished! Last post was its conversion, now the painting.

The paint scheme is my usual Brundark urban camo, inspired by the 122nd Cadian infantry uniforms. The 122nd Cadian tanks were simply drybrushed but I liked the scheme so much on the infantry I decided to carry it on onto my armour and air-support.

I started with one base coat of Fenris Grey Foundation Paint on the Missile Launcher. This was followed by two coats of Shadow Grey. The splinter/dazzle camo is simply Astronomicon Grey Foundation Paint followed by two coats of Skull White. The lines are not that crisp at the moment, I will clean them up at the end. Next up is the black splinters and the finishing touches.

The Deathstrike Missile itself was spraypainted Chaos White (with the spray can, not the spray gun). It took about 4 light coats to cover the dark green plastic of the Revell kit with a smooth white coat. I'm looking forward to adding some official (and unofficial!) decorations to it!

So that's all for this evening. Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish the painting soon and get the chance to deploy the dreaded Deathstrike Missile on the battlefield. I'm not expecting anything amazing as it will no doubt be a fire magnet but that means less fire on the rest of my army!

Has anyone used a Deathstrike Missile Launcher yet? I actually saw someone using one in a local GW yesterday but I don't know if it did any good...

As always, C&C welcome!

Plastic Deathstrike Missile Launcher Conversion: Skyrangers XX

(or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb)

Quite frankly the Deathstrike Missile has no place on the small battlefield of 40k, what with it's 80 feet (!) range and all. While it makes more sense to leave it for Apocalypse games I couldn't help adding a plastic conversion for my Basilisk. You know, just in case.... :)

As you can seen this was a fairly straightforward kitbash. I never glued the gun platform section of my Basilisk to the hull, thereby allowing it to be removed and used as a Salamander command/scout vehicle. Now it also functions as the Deathstrike launcher platform.


The model I used for the missile is Revell's Nike-Hercules Missile System. As you can see the scale of the missile is quite suitable for 40k and the Guard. The original model includes booster rockets but this made the missile a tad too long for the Chimera, so I left them off. These can be used for something else later (Havoc Launcher, Missile launcher etc.).



The main launch ramp was trimmed shorter to accommodate the new length of the missile. The base of the launcher was assembled as normal, leaving off the extra platforms at the front as they disrupted the line of Deathstrike. As you can see the ramp can extend up and down in order for the missile to launch.

The platform was then pinned with paper clips to the Chimera/Basilisk hull. Small drill holes are all that are left once the platform is removed, thereby allowing it to be normally used as a Basilisk.


The missile was also pinned to the launch ramp in order to keep it in place. It can be then removed once the Deathstrike missile has launched. I used one pin at the front and two at the rear for maximum stability.

I think the Nike Hercules is a good fit for the Deathstrike Missile. The Nike Hercules was a SAM that predated the more famous Patriot missile system. Whilst the Codex describes the Deathstrike as an ICBM the size of the missile in the picture is more in line with short to medium range missiles like the Nike Hercules, Patriot or Scud.

As I mentioned above the practical applications for a ballistic missile in a game of 40k is debatable but nevertheless the fun of bringing a doomsday device onto the table now and again, especially in themed games, is worth a little bit of converting, trimming and pinning. Plastic conversions are always a favourite of mine and I look forward to checking out my local hobby shop again for more kitbashing opportunities.

Oh and of course bringing a Deathstrike Missile allows for numerous Dr. Strangelove references!

Next up is painting! Stay tuned.

As always, C&C greatly appreciated.

Skyrangers XIX: Finished Imperial Advisors

Well I'm finally back. Things have been very busy at university these days, I've started a PhD and I am up to my ears in books, articles and archives. There hasn't been too much time for the hobby but I've been following everyone else still. I did however get some games in over Christmas and lo and behold, I even got some figures painted this weekend! As you can see, it's been a while since I assembled my Imperial advisors and they've been glaring at me from the paint box since!

First up is the Master of Ordnance. The extra blast template is useful. He may not be a regular addition to my list but it's good to have the option.



Painted exactly like the regular infantry; Shadow Grey with white and black stripe camouflage.

Next is the Astropath. Helping a reserve roll is invaluable. I miss Improved Comms but using this very nicely sculpted model is not too bad.



Paint wise I used a couple of coats of Dark Angels Green for the cloak and then picked out details in Blood Red, Burnished Gold and Boltgun Metal. Skin was Tallarn Flesh followed by Elf Flesh. No shading as I want him to appear pallid, he's not one for the fresh air usually.

Lastly is the Officer of the Fleet. As I've said before he's not as sharp as the official model but the Skyrangers will take what they can get. Interfering with your opponent's reserve roll is very useful if the scenario involves it. Like the Astropath if the mission doesn't involve Reserves then you may want to spend your points elsewhere..



The uniform was basecoated Astronomican Grey, then multiple layers of Skull White. Can anyone recommend a good way of getting whiter than white on a figure? Details picked out Burnished Gold, Chaos Black, Blood Red and Boltgun Metal.

As always C&C greatly appreciated.

I've been busy experimenting with the new Skaven book and hopefully I'll begin to post on my WFB armies soon too. Also I have more historical stuff in the pipeline, watch this space.

Hopefully I will be back soon with pictures of my next Imperial Guard project, something rather special. I made a purchase yesterday and I now have to get kitbashing. You have been warned! Mwah hahahah!

Crimson Fists VII: Assault Squad Eos and Pedro Kantor

Death from above! Assault Squad Eos has been further depleted since the Battle for New Rynn City and now stand at 5 brothers strong. Their role is to counterattack rather than direct assault as they would usually become isolated. Of course if the situation arises they will deepstrike, usually behind the gunline of a static army (Tau, Imperial Guard, Eldar) to sow destruction and/or clear objectives. Otherwise they hang back, either behind terrain or in reserve, and attack the biggest threat to the rest of the army.

A very small conversion. I wanted to convey a bit more motion in the model so I bent the arm back around the helmet and filled in the space under the army with some spare sprue bits. The plastic glue sets it all together and the shoulder pauldron covers the work. Sort-ed!

Sergeant has a powerfist to help deal with vehicles and high toughness models.

And finally Chapter Master Pedro Kantor, saviour of the Crimson Fists during the darkest hour. Kantor is one of my favourite Space Marine characters and the model is great. It's not too ostentatious nor chunky nor ridiculously posed. Understated yet ornate, I really like the Classical references, such as the laurels and cingulum, the Roman legionary studded belt. I left the standard off the backpack as I'm really not a fan of them. The moulded standard is very nice though, so I may give it to another Marine a smaller handheld standard.

Kantor is not too shabby rules-wise either. He replaces 'Combat Tactics' with the 'Stubborn' USR.

Even better any unit within 12" get +1 attack. This ability swung a game for me a while ago, when the extra attacks brought down the critical number of Necrons for phase-out. Huzzah, Vote for Pedro! While I won't always use him I will certainly keep him in rotation.

That's the entire army folks. Now onto painting!

As always, C&C welcome.

One final thing. You may notice the new layout, which I must thank my wonderful girlfriend and her html skills for. Merci beaucoup!

Skyrangers XVIII: Valkyrie Urban Camo Painting Finished

My Skyrangers finally have fully painted air-support! After parts 1 and 2 where I basecoated in Fenris Grey and Shadow Grey and started the splinter camoflaugue I now painted Skull White over the Astronomican Grey splinters. Even with the foundation paints it took at least two coats of white to get an even coverage.

The crew were painted along the same lines as the Skyrangers, Shadow Grey helmets with white and black stripe camoflague.

Top down shot.

Some hitting power. I chose the rocket pods as much for their aestetic appeal as their usefulness (better than a one shot non blast ordnance missile).

You can't really see but the side gun is the Multi-Laser. The Aquila is Burnished Gold and highlight of Shining Gold.

The splinter camoflague is designed to disrupt the outline of Valkyrie and make it a harder target as it flies between buildings. The Skyrangers specialise in urban drops you see.

The splinters are plain Chaos Black painted over the Skull White. Less is defintely more when painting this style. It's always easier to add a few more than stand back and realise you've gone overboard.

This ramp will be used by either my Command Squad or my shotgun demolition vets.

Interior shot. The gunners are painted the exact same as the infantry.

A steady hand is needed to keep the lines crisp. This works for the urban splinter camoflague. More rounded stripes/blobs are more suited to jungle or temperate camoflague patterns.

The final piece is the base. Sand was glued to base and then undercoated with Chaos Black spray. This helps seal the sand onto the base. I made sure to leave a cross section for gluing the flying stand onto. After that I painted the base Scorched Brown and drybrushed Vermin Brown to tie them in with the earth bases of the rest of the army.


Well that's the biggest piece I've painted in quite a while but it was great fun!

All C&C greatly appreciated.

Can't wait to give her a spin on the battleflield!

And not playing Wagner while doing so would be just criminal...

Crimson Fists VI: Terminators (into the Hulk) and Dreadnought

Ok I think today is a rather suitable day to post on my Terminators. Like half my army these veterans are from the Assault on Black Reach box. Whilst they are snap together models and lack the flexibility of the regular sprues they are easy to assemble and, being plastic, still very easy to convert. A mix up of White Dwarf subscriptions meant I ended up with three free ones too, one of which I turned into my Terminator Chaplain.

Ok so may I present the remnants of Squad Alecto, sworn to avenge their fallen brethren by ridding the galaxy of the Greenskin menace, one Ork at a time. They like to kill 'nids too. ;)


Two conversions from the regular box. I had a spare heavy weapons from my Templars so I now have the option of arming the squad with either a heavy flamer (if I'm facing Guard, Nids, Tau, Eldar) or a Cyclone Missile Launcher (if I'm facing heavier armour).



Next up is my heaviest unit, Brother Jerian, one of the four surviving Dreadnoughts in the Chapter.

Completely standard AoBR dreadnought. I may change multi-melta to assault cannon; what do people think?

Ok so that's it for this evening.

I really can't wait for Space Hulk! I may use the Termnies in the box for my Crimson Fists but I have a feeling the storyline of the new boxset will compel me to paint them up as Blood Angels (I swear that's as far as it'll go, I don't need another Marine army!!)

Roll on September!

Crimson Fists V: Plastic Sternguard Conversions

Ok more plastic conversion, hurrah! And who doesn't like grizzled veterans with some kick-arse firepower? May I present to you Squad Thanator!
I chose the name (derived from the Ancient Greek word for death; thanatos) from the excellent plate in the Planestrike Codex that depicts the remains of the entire Crimson Fists chapter prior to the Battle for New Rynn City (989.M41).

I knew I wanted Sternguard as soon as I saw Pedro Kantor makes all Sternguard scoring units. When I include him into the army I go from having four scoring units to five, which could make all the difference in a tightly contested battle. Ammo-wise I am a fan of the long range (30") rounds as well as the AP3 rounds.

Ok onto the models themselves. Like a number of people I decided to save on buying the expensive metals and simply assembled five Tactical Marines (spare from the Battleforce box) as normal, and then proceeded to convert them. To represent the specialist ammo used by the veterans I sawed off the drum magazines from Ork Shootas and spare Terminator Storm Bolter magazines and glued them onto the bolter, having snipped off the normal sickle magazine first. Telescopic sights saved from the sprues of the tactical squads were then attached on top. If you're using expensive ammo you'd better hit!

To emphasise their elite status I only used the Mk.VI Corvus (beakie!) pattern helmets and the Mk.V studded shoulder pads, both saved from numerous Tactical Squad sprues. It should help make them stand out on the battlefield. This particular Marine has been given a plasmagun but I'm already considering replacing it with a meltagun (if I have one spare) as the squad has decent ammo for all types of infantry but lacks anti-armour. If I plan on using these to hold/take objectives they'd better be prepared!

last is good old Sarge. To be precise this is Veteran Sergeant Huron Grimm. Some of you may recognise the name. He was a Space Marine Sergeant in charge of New Rynn City's defences before Kantor made it to the city during the Battle for Rynn's World. I decided he deserved a promotion (as well as an auspex!). Like the rest of the squad I also gave him a tabard. just the small classical style ones from the sprues rather than flowing Templar ones. If you look closely at the Sternguard three pictures up you'll notice his tabard is actually from an Eldar Dire Avenger(!).

Ok that's enough for tonight. On a personal note I handed in my Masters thesis today so feeling pretty darn good. Oh and I finally passed my driving test!

I'll leave the final words with Sgt Grimm himself (taken from Index Astartes: Crimson Fists, White Dwarf UK 288)

"Nothing ever assured me more that the Emperor truly watches over us than when I saw our Chapter Master return to us from death"

Have a great weekend everyone!

Skyrangers XVII: Valkyrie Urban Camo Painting

Work continues on the Valkyrie. Just a small post tonight on how I've started the camouflage.

The urban coloured splinter camo ties the Valkyrie in with my tank and half-track.

I first of all painted the splinters in Astronomicon Grey.

Next up will be a few coats of Skull White over the Grey.

Paiting white over grey is a bit of a pain in the derriere but c'est la vie!

Skyrangers XVI: Plastic Officer of the Fleet and Master of Ordnance

Whilst in the midst of painting the camouflage on my Valkyrie I got distracted (as is wont to happen).

I was looking at my gaming table which currently has most of my Guard army on it and I noticed my rather lame stand-in models for regimental advisors. Therefore I decided to convert some (it made a nice change from painting too).

First up is the Officer of the Fleet. This was a pretty straightforward job; simply assemble the tank crewman from the vehicle accessory sprue. I gave him the fieldglasses from the heavy weapon sprue.

Now I know what ye are thinking. That guy is in baggy clothes and looks nothing like the admittedly very sharply dressed official model, complete with crisp tunic and lots of medals. My reasoning is that while a General might warrant the assistance of someone of the rank of captain etc my humble army would probably warrant a lower-level officer (eg a lieutenant). It ties him in better with the overall army too in my opinion. That said, I will still paint his uniform a nice crisp white to make him stand out.

Next up is the Master of Ordnance. A simple enough conversion too; a regular guardsman's body with vox helmet. This, combined with a backpack with extra antennae (florist wire), gives the sense of communicating with the heavy, off-table, artillery. The left arm is from a Sentinel pilot, which i think doubles nicley as a range-finder device/do-whacky.

Lastly is the Astropath which is not plastic of course, as I just used an old model of mine from the Inquisitorial Henchmen blister.

Since photos were taken I have undercoated the Officer of the Fleet and he awaits painting, along with the other two. I may add a bodygurad or two if I can rustle up the models...

As always, C&C greatly appreciated!

GWpertinent Oldest Model Giveaway

Just a quick post this evening; my entry for GWPertinent's Old School Minis 40k edition. Winning a classic Space Marine Captian would be very cool for my new Crimson Fists.

My entry is the Catachan Captain with Power Fist from back in 1992 (according to the slottabase tab).

You just gotta love the classic "this power fist weighs nothing!" pose and (not very clear from photo) the sheer squareness of his crew cut hair! :P

Ah for the days when Sunburst Yellow doubled for gold and other metals...

Anywho, I hope all enjoy this trip down memory lane. Regular army logging will resume shortly.

A quick question though: Is my Vindicare Assassin model older? (i.e. pre 1992?) I couldn't work it out without ripping my Vindicare from his base and he's too well painted and based for that!

Crimson Fists IV: Plastic Librarian Conversion

Having previously only used Black Templars I've never had any experience with Astartes psykers. Therefore when I decided to don the psychic hood. Hopefully the Perils of the Warp do not await me....

When I got the Assault on Black Reach box I had this plastic captain. As seen in my first post I had already selected a Captain to lead my company (when Pedro isn't around). As I love converting plastics I decided to convert the Captain into a Librarian. Two main things were needed.

• Psychic Hood
• Force Weapon

I decided on using a staff as a force weapon (as opposed to my Captain's sword and Chaplain's Crozius Arcanum club). The staff itself is a WFB spear or standard pole (I can't actually remember which, either work anyway). The top is a banner top from the Terminator Command Sprue.

The psychic hood was made from a Space Marine shoulder pad that I trimmed in order to get 3 slim curved pieces of plastic that I used to create the protective hood.

My final piece was the book. The book would help differentiate the librarian from the other HQ choices. The book comes from the Skaven Plague Monk sprue (with the long rat nails shaved down of course, unless you want the book for a Chaos sorcerer!). I simply chopped off the bolter and glued on the book o'spells.

Regarding powers, I have yet to use the librarian on the battlefield. For his first go I think I'll try Might of the Ancients and Vortex of Doom.

What do people think? Any Librarian experiences/advice would be greatly appreciated!

And his mighty battle cry?

"Quiet! People are trying to read!"

Sorry...sorry....

Crimson Fists III: Troop Choices

The Crimson Fists have been unlucky lately (what with their fortress monastary blowing up and all) so basic troop choices are important to them.

The Troops section was not usually the most glamourous of the FOC choices but now with 5th edition rules they are essential. Therefore I want to do them justice, especially as my army is a depleted, post Rynn's World battle group.

Up first are my Scouts. These guys are the future of the Chapter and therefore need to get as much combat experience as possible. I have two squads; one armed with Pistols and CCWs to seize objectives. The heavy bolter adds some firepower for larger targets and discourages tanks presenting side or rear armour. You should always try to infiltrate your Scout squads, even just for the distraction that it will cause your opponent for having enemies near his army.

The other Scout squad is armed with sniper rifles to pin enemy units that I don't want advancing towards my objectives or units. camo cloaks make the Scouts that bit more survivable when put in some handy cover (highly recommend if not essential). The missile launcher is used to target transport vehicles. These should be your priority. I spent too much time trying to take down a Monolith with this guy but heck, Necrons don't have Rhinos anyway!

Tactical Squads are great. Ten 3+ armour saves means that thsi scoring unit can survive a lot of hits before it becomes combat effective. This squad is made from the snap-fit models of the Assault on Black Reach box. Some might mock the lack of poses but sometimes you want to assemble models quickly and anyway, dynamic modelling can be kept for Elite or Fast Attack units.

The second Tactical Squad is straight out of the Space Marine box (Battleforce to be precise in my case). As with the first squad it is armed with the standard (and more importantly FREE) flamer and missile laucher. This is the best configuration in my humble opinion. The flamer can roast Orks, (Traitor) Guardsmen, Nids, Eldar, Tau with ease (all on a 3+) and negates most of their armour saves. It has an even chance of wounding Chaos Space Marines and Necrons too. The missile launcher has the benefit of frag or krak depending on the situation. All in all a very good deal.

Still no painting done but soon! In meantime C&C welcome as always.