A Thousand Sons

Well after a long while, her is my freshly painted Thousand Sons army!

Led by the impressive figure of Magnus the Red, and backed up by 30 Rubricae, a Dreadnought and Ahriman this is a force built purely around the Thousand Sons themselves.

Eventually I  may add some of the Tzeentch Kairic Acolytes  from Age of Sigmar as cultists, as those miniatures would fit in very nicely, but overall I wanted the indomitable Rubricae to take center stage. These miniatures are fantastic looking, an look resplendent in the blue and gold.

The force features a 10 man squad with Warpflamers, all mounted in a Rhino armed with a havoc launcher.  They will race across the battlefield and hold an objective from the enemy, burning any foe foolish enough to come close with their war charged flamers and the Aspiring sorcerers psychic might. The havoc launcher will provide supporting fire with its racks of missiles and combi-bolter, also providing physical cover should they need it.

Next up are two squads of 10 Rubricae and 11 Rubricae, all armed with Inferno Boltguns, whilst both Sorcerers have hand Warpflamers. The Boltguns are dishing out S 4 AP 3 Rapid Fire shots whilst the Warpflame weapons have the ability to do more damage or go the other way and grant the enemy Feel No Pain!

The accompanying Dreadnought is armed with a twin-linked lascannon and missile launcher, giving some much needed heavy support to the advancing infantry.

 To top off this light army, Magnus the Red and Ahriman were a must! To have these two iconic villains marching and fighting together once more was an opportunity not to be missed!

Next up for the army will be some of the Tzaangors as more fodder for the enemy guns, and a horde of converted Acolytes as mentioned earlier, with a Predator or two to round off the force. This army is intended to work alongside my other Chaos forces, of which more shall be revealed in time for the 40k End Times, afterall the Age of the Emperor is coming.

New Years Army update

With one of the new year armies almost finished I thought I'd show off one of my Kill Teams.

This force features 4 Rubric Marines, an Aspiring Sorcerer and to accompany them a Rhino equipped with combi-bolter and Havoc Launcher.

The force is very small in number, but packs a hell of a punch!

With each Rubricae dealing rapid firing  shots at AP 3, they are more than a match for other power armoured foes. With the Aura of Dark Glory special rule giving them a +5 Invulnerable save, coupled with their Mark of Tzeentch rule, this gives them a fantastic +4 Invulnerable save,perfect for surviving the close confines in Kill Team missions!

The chance to use a Sorcerer in the game is one not to be missed either as he can dish out potent physic powers with little to stand in his way! To have a pysker in a Kill Team game is lethal!


Using these miniatures as a tester for the rest of the army, I decided to base them in Retributor army, then after a second coating gave the whole miniature a wash of Reiksland wash. after leaving them for a number of hours i went back over the gold in a Army painter greedy gold. Once the armour was complete, next was to block colour in the blue on the models.

Using Ultramarine's blue as a layer first, Thousand Sons blue was then applied over the top, this is then followed by a extreme highlith of Ahriman blue. Next up was the guns which was base coated Gun Metal , then given a wash of Strong Tone, then dry brushed with both Chainmail, then Mithril,

Next was the jem stones found on some of the models, which was given a lick of white paint, followed with a a light wash of green ink, along with the eye lenses

Whilst I'm on the subject of Thousand Sons, I thought Id show some progress on the main man himself, Magnus the Red.

The rest of the army is coming along nicely and will be up on here soon.

More to come!

New year...new start

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

Its been many a moon since my last blog, for which I do apologise.


With the advent of a new year,  I have begun work on another Chaos force, this time under the cyclopean stare of Magnus the Red.

The Thousand Sons have always appealed to me, with some units showing up in my old Black Legion army lists. This time around however, and with the advent of the fantastic miniatures from Games Workshop, I'v elected to do a whole army based on the Sons of Magnus.

Perhaps my favorite single miniature of 2016, the massively impressive  form of the Crimson King himself. This is a hell of a model, standing almost as tall as a Renegade Knight, this behemoth dominates the battlefield in a superb show of Tzeentch personified. This was bought for me as a present by my lovely wife, who deserves all the credit for it! With him as my centre piece, I have begun adding to the force, with Rubric Marines firmly at the forefront.


Aside from all things 40k, I will be sprucing a small collection of The Lord of the Rings Uruk Hai. These have always had a special place in my heart ever since they came o life on the big screen. The force is a combination of Scouts and Fighing Uruk Hai, backed up with Saruman and Lurts, along with an elite cadre of Berserkers for that added punch. I aim to get the force up to 1,000 with the addition of some Uruks with Crossbows, some Orcs to bulk out the numbers and a Isengard Troll or two.But before all that, I'd best get them painted!

So with those two projects of mine currently on the bench...what work do I have? Well since I now do commission painting, I have recently completed a foce of Ghar for use in the Warlord Games system, Beyond the Gates of Antares for a customer. Also on the bench are a force of Zulu British, and some Walking Dead miniatures.

So...whats next in terms of this blog? Well the aim is to produce at least two articles a month, with a couple of special editions ones thrown in for good measure. This will also coincide with the launch of House Lancaster Gaming's website and YouTube channel later this year...so watch out for that ;)

What new force or project are you fine folk currently working on? I wold love to see what happening so feel free to share on the Facebook page!

Thanks for sticking around folks, and keep checking back for more! You can contact me on here, or at the links below:

HouseLancasterGaming

WarriorsWorkbench

HouseLancasterGamingGroup

TTFN!

Sam

Anvil Industys Tox Troopers

Once more I delve into the wonders that is Anvil Industys, this time looking at their Regiments Ranges, starting with the Tox Troopers. 

Fully encased in armour covered in tattered robes, but despite their disheveled appearance they are heavily armed. The details on these resin set is stunning as is always the case from Anvil.

 The only slight problem I encountered was attaching the miniatures to their bases, as the surface area on the feet is quite small. Despite this, the miniatures look great once cleaned up and when painted make for a very characterful set. 

As you can imagine theses will feature as part of my ever growing Nurgle army, making excellent Cultists or traitor guard, and would be perfect for games of Kill Team.

Operation Sand Dune: Building the SAS

Here is the start of the series on my SAS force for Bolt Action, first hinted at on the Warlord Games website.

Following on from the webcast with Andy Singleton and Carl Titterington, I went to consult the British army book and the Duel in the Sun supplement. I opted to choose units from the Behind Enemy Lines theater selector, enabling me to field a lightly armed, but fast force capable of getting me into the action fast, and equally getting me out when the fight gets too hot!

One key rule that I like about this force, is that everything must have its own transport. With this in mind, my first point of call was the basics, infantry and Bedford trucks. I added stowage taken from the British Airborne Recce jeeps.

Taking the SAS unit from the Duel in the Sun book, I opted to go for two units of 8 men in each. Each man carries a rifle and a pistol, or can carry sub-machine guns. I decided to equip one squad with rifles and the other with SMG’s.

 What they lack in numbers, they more than make up for in extra firepower as each squad can be given two LMG’S or upgrade to Vickers LMG’s, giving them an extra dice when shooting.  Opting for the heavier weapon I used Warlord Games British Airborne Recce jeeps machine guns, and with a little trimming, they fit onto the Perry miniatures.

 The Airborne drivers, Chindit MMG team and Chindit anti-tank rifle have been given a simple head swap, and the uniform will simply be painted the same as the SAS. With the jeeps I left off the basket at the rear of the vehicles, with one having the front baggage replaced with the comms kit from one of the LRDG trucks

This will be my officers jeep, distinguished by the simple conversion, it also tells a story, perhaps the jeep has pulled up and they are using it as a surface to check their maps and coordinates. A simple yet effective conversion, it fit snugly into the space.

Next up we have the LRDG Chevrolet trucks, these will form my heavy hitters. One of them will be armed with as many machine guns as I can fit on, whilst the other has been fitted with something a bit …heavier!

The option to include a LRDG truck armed with a light anti-tank gun is an opportunity not to be missed! After a lot of thought I elected to go with the BEF 2pdr light anti-tank gun from Warlord Games.

 I chose this one simply for the part the gun sits on, as I thought with some tinkering here and there I can make the weapon fit onto the back of the truck. This required a bit of maneuvering, and the leg supports were cut down significantly so that the gun can fit.

I may go back and give the SAS jeeps heavier weaponry, and perhaps mount a auto-cannon onto the other truck, space permitting of course! A few more little conversions here and there and then this force will be ready for painting.

Antares Mega Battle at Phoenix Wargames Exhibition

This past weekend I attended the Phoenix Wargames Exhibition at the Rheged Centre, At the show I decided to showcase Beyond the Gates of Antares on behalf of House Lancaster, and what better way to do that than get as many miniatures into a battle as I could!

The scenario was that the Algoryn Prosperate had just landed their ship carrying vital supplies for the war effort against the Ghar Empire heading to Xilos, who then promptly ambush the Algoryn!

The Algoryn however are resolute and opt to make their stand, hoping to deny the Ghar their prize. Meanwhile the  C3 Strike Squads of the Concord have also heard of this supply drop and have decided to take an interest, whether to benefit themselves or to aid the Algoryn is unclear…that’s up to the players!

The large spaceship in the centre of the board was an old Manta Force vehicle by Bluebird Toys, simply repainted and weathered slightly. The ship actually contains numerous smaller vehicles, and once the plastic Algoryn hit the store I intend to convert many into the crew of the ship, since there is actually fully modeled seats and control panels within the toy!

The building surrounding the drop site are from 4Ground’s Jesserais set and Micro Arts Studios Infinity range, with the gorgeous looking mat created by Deep Cut Studios.

The table was arranged so that those wishing to get stuck into a massive game can just pick up where the battle left off, making for a great participation game. For those that were not familiar with the system, a small section of the battlefield was cunningly arranged for this specific role, with a squad of Algoryn AI going up against a C3 strike squad.  I am pleased to say many a player then went immediately over to the Warlord stand to buy their first miniatures!

The table attracted quite a bit of attention and I admit I am very happy with how it all came together, and the event itself is well worth a visit.

House Lancaster will be back next year at the event, bigger and better!

Phoenix Wargames Exhibition

This year saw the first Phoenix Wargames Exhibition held at the fantastic Rheged Centre in Penrith, Cumbria.

The event was organised by Chris Sutherland and funded by West Coast Gamer's and Hadrian's Hobbies.

The event covered two large rooms in the building, with one room dedicated to tournament games of Magic the Gathering and Batman: The Miniatures Game. These games were looked marvelous with a lot of effort going into the making of them.

Situated next to these was the bring and buy area, were you could rent a table out on a hourly basis and sell your excess miniatures,perfect for starting a new project, clearing some space and for those looking for a great deal on their wargaming hobby!

The main room featured all of the traders and most of the games tables. Among the plethora of systems there were games of Lord of the rings, pitting the fellowship against the Uruk Hai at Amon Hen, put on by Matt Crump of Wargames in the Dungeon.

The gents over at Hadrian's Hobbies created a awesome looking Warhammer 30k blasted cityscape, fought during the Horus Heresy.

  The Beyond the Gates of Antares mega battle attracted a lot of attention featuring masses of Ghar, Concord and Algoryn. It even featured a spaceship!

The Antares board  was run by myself on behalf of House Lancaster. This will be featured in more detail in a separate article soon.

There was also a fantastic looking game of Bolt Action, featuring a very impressive bridge made by the guys over at Z1 Design.

The show also featured Ancient battles and games set within the  age of black powder, with masses of infantry clashing on some great looking battlefields.

Overall the show was fantastic, with a great variety of systems and traders to keep you going. The venue is  great and is very easy to get to. Featuring shops, cafes and a very nice deli it is a perfect choice for all us hungry hobbyists!

At this point I must say thanks to all the clubs, traders and organisers that put on this great event, and of course the public, without which there wouldn’t be a show!

Here is a list of the traders and clubs, it was great meeting you all, here's to next year!

http://phoenix-show.co.uk/

http://cjsutherland.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/557962824304946/

http://www.warlordgames.com/

http://hadrianshobbies.co.uk/

http://wargamesinthedungeon.blogspot.co.uk/

http://gamesofwar.net/

http://emperortoadsemporium.com/

http://combatzone-scenery.co.uk/

www.facebook.com/cumbriawargaming

http://levenminiatures.co.uk/

http://hokaheywargaming.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/Grahams-Wuerkshoppe-112789322138273/