Legion of the Dragon Rough Riders (Part 1)

My original force didn't include a Rough Rider force. I consider them one trick units and usually only good for the first charge. Then of course GW redid the whole Fantasy Warriors of Chaos line and I was sold. At first I liked the new chaos knights and how cool all the armor looked, and it started my mind thinking. The problem with the knight horses is the large size. They were just too big for any rough riders. While I have seen others convert Cadian RRs out of empire knights, I never thought the look fit the cadians too well, and the horses were a bit out of place with all the empire coverings on them. Then I saw the new plastic Marauders riders, and I had found the perfect kit! The horses were the right size and the riders could be converted with some of the bits from the FW renegade line, so I waited till the new box sets came out, and grabbed up 2 boxes of riders on the weekend they came out...WOO HOO!!

With a few bits from the bits box I set off to work on what I think is one of the coolest conversions to the army. I cut the marauders in half taking the riding legs and matching them to the FW Renegade torsos, which turned out to be a perfect fit. The horses came in lots of cool poses and I was also able to mount them on round 40MM bases like the Deathriders of Krieg, which looks better then the cav bases some RRs use in 40K. Above is my prototype model with the needed bits to make a good mix. I used a Cadian Sgt's chainsword arm for the lance arm, and I attached a marauder lance to the arm after cutting off part of the chainsword. I added a few bits from the tank sprue to give him some wargear. I used the arm of the Cadian grenade launcher as the other arm where he will hold on to the horse. On the other side in the pics below I used the folding stock Lasgun as an alternate weapon strapped to the horse, like an old style carbine. I also gave the rider a pistol as another option for weapons choice. At the time the old codex was being used, so some of the weapon options are not available with the new codex, but I will s till model them with the weapons, since I think they look great with them.


The arms are pinned in so I can adjust them to whatever pose I want him in and see what looks best for the action pose of the model.


The other arm will hold the chain strap, and notice the other weapon options for the rider, as well as the extra gear roll on the back of the horse.


For this squad I am going all out on the Sgt, and using one of my prized Enforcer torsos. I usually use them for officers only, but in the case of this one unit I made the exception and am using him as the squad leader.


With the prototype now finished, I will begin construction of the rest of the squad now, along the same formula.

Enjoy!

Command of the Legion of the Dragon

Arkos forces also comprise of another force outside of his Space Marines. A division of elite army forces called The Legion of the Dragon. Originally created during the days of the great crusade, the LotD fist started out as a force of operatives working behind the lines of non Alpha Legion forces. The members of this force often trained alongside their Marine allies, learning all the lessons of covert ops from experienced Alpha Legion commanders. Often employed as spies and saboteurs, the LotD was an essential tool of the Alpha Legion in many theaters of war. With the coming of the Heresy, the High Command reworked the LotD into a larger fighting force to support Alpha Legion operations in the field as well as behind enemy lines. No longer having access to the Imperial Army, the High Command began a crash course and building its own version of an auxiliary army. The LotD is formed along similar lines to the IG of the imperium. Smaller in size the LotD is still large enough to mount full planetary invasions, should it be needed. The current size of the LotD is unknown, only members of the High Command have access to such information. Alpha Legion commanders can count on LotD support when needed.



Commanders Codename: Alpha Commander Gato "Ripper"
Warband: 901st Legion of the Dragon "Dark Vipers"
History: The 901st has been attached to Arkos forces for several years, often operating in the same sector as the Faithless in smaller detachments thru out several worlds. The Dark Vipers are experts in small unit operations behind enemy lines, raising rebellion, or build Alpha Legion cells in support of Faithless operations. The last time the entire regiment fought together was during the rescue of Lord Bruticus annihilation force. The entire regiment was sent in to help with evacuation of the outpost, and to hold back the Nid incursion.


Commander Gato under construction, we can make him better, we have the technology! Off comes the Plasma Pistol from the awesome FW Renegade Commander model and on goes the Bolt Pistol.


2 Minions in the Army HQ Squad under construction.


A finished shot of Commander Gato, with his faithful pet Ravage.


The Army HQ command Squad.....


The Army HQ Squad is also joined by a Rogue Psyker(Psyker Primaris), trained by the Alpha Legions sorcerers in the powers of the warp.

Enjoy!

Fortress of Arrogance

The Fortress of Arrogance project began right after I finished working on models for this years Games Day Big Battle event. I was still on a Super Heavy high so to say, and I started putting in time with the Subjugator and the Fortress at the same time. This isn't my first character tank for Apocalypse, because when the Baneblade first came out I converted the tank into a variant of the Imperial Armor Maximillian Weismann tank. I like the character and the firepower it came with along with Ballistic 4, can't go wrong there. I also like the idea of an Ace style tank so I converted mine to fit with my Tallarn army but using the same stats as the Max W tank. So I sought out another BS4 tank to build.

My Tallarn Max W variant and Lucky 13th Shadowsword



I've always like the Fortress, but building the turret and murals on it always stopped me from attempting to build it. I chose to scrap the mural idea, there was no way I was going to get close to that. The turret was another problem, but after a few builds before it, my skills with plasticard and greenstuff were much better now. So I was ready for a step up to something bigger and more challenging. Most of the building was straight forward, but building the pulpit for Yarrick took some work, and then came the painting. I had to paint every rivet on that tank gold....ARGH! It took me a few days, and most of my sanity to sit there and dot every little rivet on that tank gold. In the end there are only 4 rivets I didn't paint, which are well hidden and no one noticed, other then that every rivet has some gold plating on it. I also moved the HK Rocket to the front of the tank, I didn't like the position in the GW version. The mural area I left empty, I was going to attempt to write the name of the tank there, but changed my mind and left it blank. Besides with all that gold who would notice right....Since I did this on the fly and very quick I didn't get any pics during the build, but here are some after its all done and ready for battle.

OOOOOO!! So much Gold!


Yarrick reaching out and touching someone....


Off to battle we go....


That's all for now.....I'm thinking of building an Iron Saint Tallarn version tank next time...For now no more gold for me...at least for a little while....Enjoy!

Armies on Parade

GW held Armies on Parade weekend as a national event here in the US. Several locations were taking part in this great event. Among those places was the Glen Burnie Battle Bunker, my usual hang out. There was a great turn out for the event with almost 20 armies for all 3 game systems participating in the event. The tables were packed with some great looking armies, among them I brought out my entire fully painted and based Death Guard army for the event.

Armies On Parade was an idea that first began at Baltimore Games Day this year. Participants who take part bring legal armies for the public to vote on. This event was a bit more loose then the GD restricted rules ones, for one no points limits, no limits on Forge World, and no FoC limits. This allowed for many to bring out their best painted models and display them for the crowds to vote on the best....I got shots of all the armies with my digital and here are the winners and some of the best looking armies I saw....

40K of course brought out the most participants to this event, with about 14 armies from 40K showing up. It was a surprise to most of us that for most of the day there wasn't a Codex Marine army present in the event till right before the voting started. A Crimson Fist army showed up at the last minute to claim that title. Heh! Someone forgot to wake up the Space Marines to this event. There were at least 2 Grey Knight armies, 4 Chaos SM armies, 2 Ork armies, 3 IG armies, 1 Nid army, 1 SM army, and 1 Chaos Daemons army

40K Winners

1st Place: IG



BYOC Sentinel.....Peek-A-Boo! I see You!

2nd Place: Chaos Daemons

Full FoC of Daemons! Ouch!

3rd Place: Orks



These Kommandos were awesome! Tricky Gits!

WHFB Winner

Fantasy Dwarfs with the help of some Grey Knights.....

LOTR Winner

Red Dwarfs over the Humans win....

Well there are your winners....Hmmm...I wonder would Squats had won 40K if they had showed up....Heh! There were other great looking armies present.....Here are some more...


An Ork Pirate Warlord on a Battlewagon....Having a bad Ice Pirates Flashback!


Check out the Jaws on that Khorne Landraider! CHOMP!


Nice paint job on the Valk.....


Iron Warriors and Khorne an interesting combo....


A Huge IG Steel Legion army....I still can't fit the whole army in one pic....the next two pics are much closer....


To the Left.....


To the Right.....


BUGS!! Run.....Lots of FW here....


Of course I save the best for last.....The Grey Death Legion stalking!

Well that's all folks....Enjoy as always! ;)

Alpha Legion Leadership Profile

The Battle Barge Anarchy's Heart is not only home to Captain Arkos "The Faithless", but also several other lesser warbands that work together in achieving the High Commands orders. Two of these warbands are lead by two other Lords subordinate to Arkos the Faithless.





Commanders Codename: The Shredder
Warband: The Red Reavers
History: The warband has a history of fast hit and run raids in the past. Attrition's due to combat losses has reduced this company down to a few squads of Raptors. Most of the members of the Reavers are also followers of Khorne. Some have even gone ahead and pledged their allegiance to Khorne, and supporting the Alpha Legion in its operations at the same time. Arkos has put these Raptors to good use in the past missions along with his own forces, applying the Alpha Legion combat doctrine of attacking from all directions. The Shredder is not a follower of Khorne although he doesn't discourage it of his troops. Shredder is a very aggressive and headstrong leader, often leading the charge into battle ahead of other Alpha Legion forces. He will often seek out enemy leaders and challenge them one on one.

Commander Codename: Lord Bruticus
Warband: Hydra Annihilation Force
History: Commander Bruticus was once a system lord of an Alpha Legion outpost system in the eastern fringe. This all ended when a Tyranid splinter fleet entered the sector where the system was located. The forces under his command were too few to stop the nid fleet from destroying the outpost and the city located there. His forces along with several Legion of the Dragon regiments fought a holding action while the system was evacuated. Afterwards Bruticus along with the last remains of his forces were reassigned to help Captain Arkos on the Anarchy's Heart. Arkos has seen fit to grant the commander the position of Master of the Barge, commanding all security operations on board the barge, and also serving as the reserve force and boarding force for the Anarchy's Heart. The Hydra Annihilation Force are an elite strike force of several Terminator Squads kept in reserve as a mailed fist should Akros have need of such shock troops. Bruticus leads his troops into battle often teleporting into the thick of the enemies defenses, with his mysterious green power blade he named "Hydra's Bite", the force is an army onto itself.

Enjoy! ;)

The Ravenwing Project

The Ravenwing Project was something that just happen on me one day while I was at the battle bunker. I won a free Master of the Ravenwing on his Jetbike during an event. I had no intention of ever playing with the character in any of my armies when I got it. I thought it was a cool model and one day I would get around to painting it. I did get a copy of the current Dark Angels codex back when it came out, mostly for the pictures and fluff, as well as knowing your enemy kind of thing. Although since the new marine codex came out I had been thinking about starting a marine army, several choice were on my mind...Crimson Fists, Space Sharks, Black Templars, Imperial Fists, and Dark Angels. In the end I got Kantor and went with the Crimson Fists for my nilla codex marine army, but I still liked both Templars and Angels. I've had some incredible battle against Black Templar armies in the past, but since I went Crimson Fists and I tossed the idea aside since I have a fist army from Rogal Dorn's legion now in the works. So the DA was there waiting to strike out. I got to thinking what DA aspects do I like, not the Deathwing since too many of those are roaming around now anyways. I'm a fan of the color green so I could have done a nilla DA list, but I have Crimson Fists mostly for that now. Ravenwing was interesting but it never pulled me enough to get on it, until I won that free model. I began researching it a bit, and with the black paint scheme it seemed like an easy army to paint up, like my nurgle army. So here I am now, as usual I made an army list with the goal of building to tournament size (2250 Points) Raven Wing force.


Ravenwing Strike Force
Total Points: 2250

HQ +205

HQ
Sammael Landspeeder


Troops +1240

Ravenwing Attack Squad
1 Sgt Bike w/Plasma Pistol (+PF)
1 Bike Apothacary
1 Bike Company Banner
2 Bikes w/Meltaguns
1 Bike
1 Attack Bike w/MM +50

Ravenwing Attack Squad
1 Sgt Bike w/Plasma Pistol (+PW +MB)
2 Bikes w/Meltaguns
3 Bikes
1 Attack Bike w/MM
1 Landspeeder

Ravenwing Attack Squad
1 Sgt Bike w/Plasma Pistol (+PF +MB)
2 Bikes w/Plasmaguns
3 Bikes
1 Attack Bike w/MM
1 Landspeeder


FA +470

Ravenwing Support Squad
1 Landspeeder w/MM
1 Landspeeder w/AC

Ravenwing Support Squad
1 Landspeeder w/HB
1 Landspeeder w/TL (+Tornado Launchers)

Ravenwing Support Squad
1 Landspeeder w/HB
1 Landspeeder w/AC


Heavy Support +335

Heavy 1
Predator (+TL-LC +LC Sponsons +HK)

Heavy 2
Vindicator (+Xtra Armor +HK)


The idea is to build a solid core of Ravenwing, and possibly add some DA additional forces to make it a more effective force. The model count is low, but expected for an army made up of bikes and landspeeders. Oddly enough I did take the Master, but not on his jetbike so the model will stay unpainted for now. I took advantage of the company banner and apothecary for a squad, and I packed all the assault cannon goodness I could. The attack bikes are all build for anti armor; after all I have enough bolters and heavy bolters already floating around with the other bikes and landspeeders. So it would be MultiMelta hotness for my attack bikes. The regular bikes take a mix of Melta and Plasmaguns for the special weapons slots. Meltas are always good, and at least some plasma to fit the theme of Dark Angels, who seem to enjoy their plasmas a lot. Finally the Landspeeders were also a mix bag of assault cannons and heavy bolters. They will sit back and watch the fun from a distance to unleash loads of fire on the enemy, while the bikes close in and raid. I broke them down into 2 speeder squads in case of immobilized death to some. Finally I added an all Lascannon Predator and a Vindicator from the DA Armory to give the force a bit more bite at long range and close range support.

This will be the blueprint of the project, and will of course change as I go on or not depending on how I feel, more updates to come....well that's all for now! Enjoy!

Alpha Legion Obliterators

Obliterators are by far one of the best heavy support choice available in the CSM codex. There is never a list that I currently run where I'm not running at least one of these beast. The ability to swap between various deadly weapons and have an awesome save makes them worthy of taking. I have stopped entire rhino rush armies in one turn of shooting with these guys in the past, forcing marine players to walk to engage my army and taking a ton of fire from my troops. They are a fun unit to use in any chaos army. With the new Planetstrike expansion, I have used these guys are assault troops deep striking along with my terminator forces, making for a very devastating force to open the walls of any defender wide open.

These Oblits are part of my Alpha Legion force. I got these guys thru a trade a while back, and I found out these were the previous Oblits used before the current metal ones. So I got 3 of them in the trade, making for a full squad in the codex. They were already mounted on 25mm bases, and the current Oblits use 40mm, so I rebased them onto 40s with the 25mm bases on there to add a little more height and size. Something these guys lack compared to the current line. I gave them a simple base coat of blue and drybrushing of bolter to finish them. Since AL force don't employ daemon type forces when possible, I took an idea from Star Trek and themed these guys to look somewhat like the Borg. With the grey skin tone, and all the sensors they fit the look real well, so the Borg Obliterators joined my Alpha Legion forces!

That's all....enjoy!