Project Draftdodger: Part 8

See here for part 7.

 

This is gonna be a shorter update than usual. Partially because I was doing another unit of infantry, and partially because something went wrong.

I don’t have a huge amount to say about the infantry. I’ve done a lot lately. An odd thought stuck me though: painting and modelling a bunch of battleline infantry has given me a new perspective on the whole Super Prototype trope. You do inevitably simplify and streamline the process. Because, frankly, if you're doing a big number of something, fiddly bits that look good have severely diminishing returns. Thus this new Krieg blob is less impressive from a painting/modelling perspective, but they don't look worse for me omitting the hoses. They came out OK, and were much less of a slog than I feared. These are built to use the Death Korps of Krieg rules, and will probably see combat once I get around to playing a 2K game.

I would like to have talked about my new artillery teams today, but there was a problem. Certain bits were missing, to the point where one could not be assembled. This caught me on a bad day, and the seller is making it right, so I don't want to go off on one about it. I'll talk about them as actual models next week, by which time I'll be over the inconvenience and more pragmatic about the experience. As first impressions go though, its a little going to shake a man's hand, only to trip, fall, and headbutt him in the dick on the way down.

 

That wonderful image aside, these artillery units were intended to supplement or replace my existing indirect options by focusing on what is probably their most desirable weapon, the Siege Cannon. This splits the difference between an Earthshaker and a Lascannon, and should be a useful tool. Assuming the bits arrive soonish, I might be able to play test them in time for next week.

Cross your fingers.

Project Draftdodger: Part 7

See here for part 6.

With today's instalment, the end is in sight. I've deviated from my initial plan with respects to the Krieg Heavy Weapons, yes, but otherwise its largely done. This leaves me with the somewhat mundane matter of my new battleline unit that I last mentioned in part 4. Its not especially interesting as a model making experience, nor is it opening up anything new from a gameplay perspective. But, boys before toys. Or girls before toys, in this case. This unit will bring my basic infantry total to 90, or 9 battleline units, which is likely all I'll ever need. For these, I've opted for a simplified gasmask style that I’d previously used for my Stargrave Cadians, as well as some Iron Brother heads I had spare. This is to speed the process, as I'll likely spend two weeks on these as it is. There’s not much to say otherwise, its the dull part of the project, its not gonna be difficult, its just a matter of maintaining motivation. Doing the first four main colours on Sunday afternoon for example was an hour’s work, the tricky bit was getting going. And once they’re done, 2000 point battles will be within comfortable reach.

Providing most of today's actual pictures: I also finished off the quad guns, plus assorted hangers-on, from last week. My previous difficulty aside, the guns came out well. I even did up the assorted screens and sensors with a mix of technical and contrast paints. With the parts I have left, I can likely make a trio of flamethrowers as originally planned, although as I’ve yet to resolve the wheel issue, that’s still on hold. I did field this unit, along with the Ratlings, on Monday night to mixed success. The quad guns survived and dakka-ed some Swooping Hawks to death, while the Ratlings established a locus and then died. For that game, I played against type, and left all my tanks at home. Did it work? Short answer: I won the game so there's probably some potential there, but I want to see if I can repeat the experience before making any judgements. EDIT: Also I need to read up on reserves, I've gotten rather confused.

What I’m planning next is to move away from infantry a bit, and add more artillery. I’ve found a suitable proxy for the new Krieg Artillery, although at time of writing these models are still in the post. I'll talk about that more next week. All being well, Project Draftdodger will come to a natural conclusion circa part 10.

Then I have to figure out something new to do...

Project Draftdodger: Part 6

See here for part 5.

 

I did manage to get a game in last week, although that was after my cut-off so I didn't talk about last time. Having had a few days since to process, I'll talk about the experience a bit now.

This was a 1000 point battle against Aelderi, and we were both new to our armies, although we played against each other a lot previously. I lost 70ish to 50ish, forgot to note the precise number, but a result I can live with. This was a learning experience all-round, and if I were to highlight the area where I made a bad call, it would likely be playing as the attacker, in addition to not getting ideal missions. My army list is also in need of further refinement, as my list wasn't that different from my typical index list. Now, the trick here is to not overreact to a single game. Or indeed two games, as I managed to work in another the evening before this post went live, and in that one I tabled my foe and felt very bad about doing so. Its too small a sample size, and in the absence of something clearly unambiguous, its too soon to tell. I would however make some small observations. First off, the Siege Regiment is a more involved affair than the Index, you need to think a turn or so ahead, but the stratagems and enhancements are worth using. Krieg Combat Engineers seem pretty good. They do similar objective/mission work to Catachans, but with an aggressive number of mortal wounds dispensed. They die easily, but what’s new? I’m not super impressed with Krieg Command Squads, at least in conjunction with big Krieg blobs. There’s still things I want to try, but I’m beginning to suspect the new Krieg units in general haven’t been “pushed” as it were. That’s good, it helps with internal balance, but I suspect the meta hasn’t settled yet. That might mean me reworking my infantry again, <sigh>, although I have built in some redundancy, so that shouldn’t be too annoying.

 

Tactical musings aside, this week was characterised by real life taking priority, and a subsequent desire to catch up with painting. I worked on the Krieg Commands, where upon I had what I'm choosing to call a happy accident. I failed a spot check, and I used dark green where I should have used dark grey. This was an easy fix, but I decided to leave it as-is on places like the Officers great coats. Its not massively out of place to have green military fatigues, so we shall just assume that these were "liberated", plus it helps models stand out versus the rank and file. Speaking of fuck-ups, I also worked on the quad guns. I opted to use the same green there, but in doing so I noticed some assembly mistakes that were a nuisance to correct. I just seem to have had a hard time in getting these together, although I’m glad I didn’t paint these in sub-assemblies. Yes, it would have made some things easier, but I think I would have lost my temper trying to glue these only to find that things didn’t fit.

 

I managed to get the Krieg Commands finished, while the quad guns (plus a few hangers-on)  are a few steps behind.  I’m not 100% happy with the Grognard style heads, the lenses don’t really stand out, but they are entirely tableworthy.

Up next: finishing the quad guns, and that battleline squad, but I think I’ll need to mix things up soon for variety’s sake.

 

Project Draftdodger: Part 5

See here for part 4.


Well, this week I was finally able to make my force codex compliant. Although, it was more I got things built, than actually painting them.

While I waited for bases, I made a start on some big guns. The Grognards Heavy Weapons are by and large another good example of the Deathfields series. Not perfect, for reasons I will go into,  but highly useful as a kitbashing resource. One box easily produces two squads of heavy weapon teams; with three easy proxies for 40K use. The odd one out is the bizarre and honestly compelling quad turret affair, which has no direct equivalent. You may not like these; they appear to be off a WWII bomber. I kinda love them though, and against all practicality I decided to field these as Krieg Heavy Stubbers. Unfortunately, getting them together is a mild nuisance, as they should probably be painted in sub assemblies, but mine didn't want to fit together right, and the whole affair is obviously top heavy. This is probably just a me problem, but I ended up snipping off toes to get the gunners in, before opting to just glue them and have done with it. This would not be an issue with the other guns though, so its self inflicted annoyance. The second team will be a more thorough kitbash with the carriage modified to feature wheels, although I'm still trying work to that out. Progress on these was however paused, as I took a brief getaway to Skegness.

 

When I returned from the windswept tackiness of Skeg-Vegas, I decided to start on a third aspect of the project, the Krieg Command Squad. While I am loathe to to have more than one plate spinning at once, getting that squad assembled was going to be essential if I wanted to use the new codex. As mentioned last week, such units are now tied to specific regiments, so if I wanted to run my infantry as Krieg, I'd need to have one of these. And a second if it looked doable for Monday. It took me a long time to settle on a look for these, as I wanted something that A) easily said to a foe what it was, B) fit in with what I had already, and C) could possibly proxy as another type of Command Squad. I opted for a mix of basically whatever I had to hand, but mainly Bulldogs with certain key pieces from the Grognards sprue mentioned above. Assembly proved to be relatively swift, which should not have surprised me, and so I proceeded to make up a second. I've got a lot if painting to do, but at least I can game easily with the new book. There's a few time saving things I did here. I had ordered in some 3D print meltaguns from Scourge Scenics, (Remember them?) which unfortunately proved too big. So I snipped the barrels and mounted them to the energy weapons from the Bulldog kit, a trick I've used a few times now, and it just works. I also opted to use some old scenery bits as Servo-Scribe tokens. Yes, I could absolutely make better versions with green stuff and wire, but they would be titchy and fragile. The terrain bits, previously used for remote bomb parts, have skulls and speakers on them, so its not really a stretch for relaying orders in the Imperium.

Up next: painting I hope.

Project Draftdodger: Part 4

See here for part 3.

Well, between waiting for stuff to arrive, the codex arriving, and waiting for stuff to go on pre-order, I didn’t get that much finished. Mainly I did busy work, and read the new rules. So there’s gonna be less actual models today and more commentary.

My initial impressions of the codex are broadly positive, with some rough bits around the edges. Things feel a bit slipshod; I don't think the folder it comes in is any good, with the day one patches and removed units being well-documented at this point. With the game being so reliant on digital updates currently, which is a net positive don't get me wrong, I find myself questioning the point of hardback rules tomes like this, but it is what it is. The tome does justify existence by having meaningful and worthwhile differences from the index. Krieg got some nice additions, but the Cadians and surprisingly the Catachans got needed work done. The assorted detachments are a nice selection too, although as the tournament scene has yet to break any of them, I reserve final judgement. Recon Element for example has been quickly adopted as the three million infantry one, even if that feels contrary to its theme. I suspect a nerf. Mechanised Infantry looks OK at first glance, but its detachment rule only triggers if your boys dismount, so that’s either a bit underwhelming or there’s something about the wider detachment that’s so niche I'm just not getting it. The tankie one looks alright, favouring speed and utility over brute force, while Siege favours infantry and a fun artillery mechanic. Meanwhile, the revised Combined Arms detachment just stands there with a sign which reads "would that work better with Lethal Hits?". Overall, a pleasant selection on first impression.

 

 The main difference, and one that gave me some pause for thought, is how we effectively have three armys in one due to Krieg, Cadia, and Catachan regiments each having their own squad variants, but no generic one. There is a lot of overlap, and on inspection I doubt you'll have issue a finding a suitable proxy for your preferred regiment, but the differences are as strong as they are subtle. Catachan, even as it looses its character selection, is at worst a sleeper hit. Its heavy weapon teams are arguably the best available, and everything has Scout, including it's command, so these musclemen have some flexibility they've sorely lacked. Cadian options end up as the generalist/defensive choice, with lots tying to objectives, and having the best character selection for Orders. Krieg obviously get a lot of new toys, although not everything is a slamdunk. Their command squads are the least flexible, obviously favouring the meatgrinder, and I'm not super enamoured with their horses, but the Combat Engineers and heavy weapons look good. As all three regiments are compelling, I found myself questioning my stated plans, at least until I remembered that if I got the kitbashing right, I wouldn't be forced to choose. I'll build them as Krieg for now, and my pre-existing Platoon Command Squads have an easy way to go. I just need to settle on a look for the Krieg Command.…

 

 

Meanwhile, with the release still unknown some weeks away for the new Krieg units, I decided to work on the bread & butter stuff: the Krieg battleline option. As I mentioned back in part 1, I feel the need for additional infantry, and my existing examples need some modernization. Confusing this matter is the very obtuse wording of their data sheet. A casual glance would lead you to think that you'd be able to field a squad with 4 special weapons per 10, but then you see the mess of footnotes. While I would greatly appreciate some clarification from GW on this, Ive decided to follow a conservative interpretation of 2 per 10, with the Vox Unit option counting towards that ratio. I assume that is is a reflection of a (new?) sprue layout, and I have a dark suspicion that you aren’t intended to have both melta and plasma in some cases, but its not totally clear. So that's 20 models for the new squad, plus 4 additional models for the existing ones, medpacks & lasguns. I am however taking this a bit slow, if only because I’m awaiting some meltaguns in the post. The ones pictured are intended as replacements/add-ons for existing squads, and will be batch painted with the rest… whom currently exist as imcomplete bodies glued to bases. I’ll spare you a picture of that. 

 

On Saturday, GW finally stopped playing coy about its new Guard releases, and stated the base sizes for two units, the afore mentioned Krieg Command, and the Krieg Heavy Weapon Teams. I had a lot of what I needed, but not all, so I worked some of the HWTs on the Sunday and Monday. I will however talk more about that next time,

Project Draftdodger: Part 3

See here for part 2.

 

In part 1, I described Krieg Combat Engineers as something adjacent to Kasrkin or Scions, and on reflection, that’s a touch misleading. Combat Engineers do have a similar statline to those elite units, and a similar position as a small specialist squad rather than the rank & file. Engineers however end up a bit more low tech by comparison, and regular Krieg have more direct and more diverse firepower per point, depending on how you count. What Combat Engineers have instead are a number of otherwise uncommon weapon types and an obscene amount of explosives. These are basically trench raiders, with a Scout move and are technically capable of being equipped as a mêlée unit, but are actually known for putting a significant amount of mortal wounds on something.

 

Having decided that Bulldogs would be a good basis for such a unit, I decided to experiment in kitbashing a minimum sized squad and its weapons. The combat shotguns were an initial problem, as the Bulldog rifles where the wrong shape, and I struggled to source an alternative I liked. The Stargrave Mercenaries sprue did present an option I would later return to, but in the meantime I opted to modify some cannon fodder guns with new barrels and drum mags. These looked pretty good, and this gave me confidence to try making a handflamer, but I really should have remembered how delicate such work is. This is why you start small, so you can catch bugs before you go all in. With the remote bomb and operator I got a bit silly. The bomb is a glorified token, so it doesn't matter too much what it looks like, while the operator just needs a remote. Thus I built a crude carriage with a skull on it, (sourced from old Imperial Strongpoint terrain IIRC,) and then plonked a resin bit that resembles artillery shell on top. Yes. This is oversized and dumb. But it's clear what it does. The operator meanwhile got a PDA to control it, and a cup of tea to enjoy.

 

 

Look engineers are builders, right? Same thing. Builder’s tea is a thing. They are already wearing high visibility orange. What more do you want? For me to take the setting seriously?

Anyways, As I noted last update, I wanted to batch paint my models, so I made another squad of five along largely the same lines. I used the aforementioned stargrave option for shotguns, something that eased the process. There aren't many of those per box though, so as and when I make more, I'll probably have to go for cannon fodder kitbash anyway. I'm not planning to make more immediately though, as I want to playtest them a bit first. One concern I have is diminishing returns on a third squad, as you can't use a stratagem twice in a phase, and if you're running three sets of engineers, that’s a limitation you will feel. There's also the somewhat unusual way these squads scale up to 10; you don't get more bombs or specialist weapons, but you do get 5 shotgun dudes for a piddling 25 points. Its not mandatory, but I can see a case for extra bodies for improved objective play. Some minor tweaking to both sets on the Wednesday was then followed by leisurely painting over the week. The plasma pistols proved a recurring problem though, not staying on or together, prompting modifications rather late in the process. While I did attempt to sculpt some additional armour in places, I don't think it came through very well. That said, they turned out OK. I don't think I’m really getting better as such, but I am getting more efficient. At the very least I was glad of some new brushes I got recently, tiny ones help with the goggles and such.

Speaking of rules and play testing, I am still impatient for my copy of the new codex. In the absence of a general release, I decided to source a loose special edition example from eBay. At time of writing, I have yet to receive it, but assuming nowt goes wrong, I'll be in the position to play test in time for the next update. The continued absence of a release date and base size for both the Krieg Command and Krieg Heavy Weapons is also an irritation. I have ideas with respects to these, and I may deviate from my original plan. I find myself leaning towards the "Castellan Command Blob" as a backfield option, but we'll see. I don't think I need two Krieg Commands if I properly modernise my existing two Platoon Commands. Of course, GW would post a preview for a pre-order a few days after I ordered the codex, mere minutes after I finalised this paragraph.

 

I thought something like that might happen. 

Still, I don't think I overpaid, and I should have the last of the information I need by Sunday.

Up next: Krieg battleline.

Project Draftdodger – Part 2

See here for part one. Today’s subject: Ratling Snipers.

 

As is my custom, I would like to provide context towards these models in a somewhat informal manner. Ratlings share a similar origin to Ogryns, both in and out of universe. They are also transplants from the old Warhammer Fantasy setting, justified as a stable human subspecies rather than mutants, the product of technology or chaos bullshit. Whereas the use of Ogyrns by the famously xenophobic Imperium makes some sense, there is no other dumb muscle as beefy or as available, the hobbit-inspired Ratlings are a much harder sell. In fact, I keep visualising some Imperial recruiter weeping openly into their recaff at the sight of them. Ratlings tend to have the physical prowess of an obese child, and the mentality of a Midlands farmer whom grows unspecified "herbs" as a secondary income. Its harder to imagine a people less suited to the GRIMDARK of 40K, and I would not be surprised if a lot of them ended up as servitor components. However, the lore says these people actually end up in the guard as regimental cooks, or as snipers. They also have a reputation for petty theft, hence their inclusion in my Chem-Dogs force. Mechanically, this is a unit GW seems to be pushing of late, with a recent Killteam box which happens to include a delightful doggo. I was tempted, but I digress. This means that they have a few more gimmicks than it used too, but there still seems to be something of a cost/performance issue. They are the only Guard unit with the Infiltrators rule, are effective with sniper rifles, and get a shoot & scoot rule, all of which is good. They however die very easily, don't do that much raw damage, and are competing with heavy weapon teams. It remains to be seen if the new codex will see them overcome that perception. Which, incidentally, is why I'm only making 5 of them for now.

 

 

These Wargames Atlantic SneakFeet are obviously a good proxy for Ratlings, but due to the timing, it doesn't have all the same bits as the killteam box. Notably it has a selection of submachine guns instead, which, thinking about it, is probably a better choice for these titchy fellows if not GW legal, but there you go. There is also a not insignificant amount of character at play; these models look a bit "Santa's Elves" by way of NATO, with pointy ears, but also a frying pan and a pipe smoking head option. I love the frying pan. I did however find the hair tricky, especially on the feet, with the latter being concealed with some mud effect paint. Overall, these are fun models that lend themselves well to my style, although they do come in an unhelpful ratio of 24 to a box, 4 to a sprue. 

Towards the end of the week, I started working on some Combat Engineers. The other Krieg units have something of a question mark hanging over them just now, so I was holding off, and I wanted to take a swing at the more unusual weapon types. Assembly of the initial prototypes went well, and I hope to have more ready for batch painting soon. I will however save the discussion on that for next time.

See you soon.

Project Draftdodger – Part 1

Righty, lets get this going. The new Astra Militarum codex is imminent. Its had more leaks than the UK national water supply, more preview hype than the MCU on a good day, and more day 1 patches than a Bethesda game. I still don’t have it at time of writing. You can't even order it seperately yet; Eldar are instead the big thing for this weekend. And even if I did, it seems quality control might not have been great with this one. But fuck it, I'm done waiting. Thus begins Project Draftdodger, a diary series that hopefully I will post about weekly.

 

 

 A recent picture of my current force

Beyond making my Astra Militarum force codex compliant, the objective here is twofold. First off, I want to make my own versions of those new Krieg units while fitting my theme and budget. I've been making notes and acquiring bits in the run-up for the codex, so those leaks have been a big help. Secondly, I want to use this opportunity to finally take my force to a comfortable 2000 points with a 300ish sideboard for flexibility. Off the top if my head, I'm pretty much at 2000 already, but only flinging everything I've got on the board, which isn’t quite the same as having a balanced force I like. As to which detachment I'm using? Well Siege Regiment is the obvious one, but I'll be trying a few out before settling on something. In terms of plastic, I'm gonna be leaning on WGA's Death Fields line of scifi infantry, which I've been stockpiling in anticipation. With all that in mind, but with big gaps in my knowledge, I'm planning on the following modelling projects.

One Krieg battleline unit, plus oddments to round out existing units

I've found myself wanting more infantry, so this seems a logical direction to go. As the data sheet for these is unusually obtuse with respects to weapon slots, I'm gonna play it safe here, assuming the most conservative reading possible until some clarification is issued, and putting them on the back burner. These will be Cannon Fodder ladies again, to fit in with the rest.

 

One+ Krieg Command Squads

With the demise of the Platoon Command Squad, I need to rebuild my HQ choices. I plan to reshuffle the existing ones into the equivalent Catachan units where possible, the path of least resistance, but I still need something to lead the above, and that means banners and similar greeblies. These will most likely be a mix of sprues, with the <deep breath>, the Les Grognards Command and Heavy Support kit providing the fiddly bits. The base size for these is however unknown at time of writing, most likely 28.5mm but who bloody knows, so I’m holding off.

Two teams of Combat Engineers
The new hotness as it were, these are a rough Scion/Kasrkyn equivalent, so Ive opted to go for the Bulldogs again. I'm undecided at time of writing how big the squads will be, so the leftovers might go onto be other things. The main issue here will be producing the less conventional weapons, although the bomb drone should be fun.

One+ Krieg Heavy Weapons Squad

The other new hotness, this is the main reason why I got that Grognards kit with the long name. Their unique selling point, other than the spite attack, is probably their horrific flamers, which I feel should be an easy kitbash. The second team is something less certain. I probably don't need two burny units, I have plenty of lascannons, and while the twin stubber option isn't great, there's this wonderful quad gun ball turret on the sprue. The base size for these are also unknown, which is annoying.

One small squad of Ratlings

While initially I was fond of the new killteam set, I kinda went off it when I saw the 40k rules. As Ratlings fit my convict army theme, I have however opted for a minimal size to try them out. These will use WGA SneakFeet.

 

You may notice that the above features no new vehicles. Like six Rogal Dorn tanks, for example. This is because I feel infantry are the focus of the new codex, and such models would be a fun thing to do if/when/inevitably I get sick of doing infantry. If I get all this done, I’ll probably have all the army dudesmen and/or women I’ll ever need for the scale of game I tend to play. Because I got impatient, I’ve already made a start on some of this. Like those Sergeants, but also the Ratlings. Those aren’t quite finished yet, and I didn't want to rush them, so expect to see more of those in part 2.

Cheers for now.

Kitbash: Cannon Fodder Sergeants

 

I will admit to being rather impatient for that new codex to come out. I was a little bored over chrimbo, which is not good when I’m over-tired too. I’m not especially fond of GW’s approach to releases either; I like that Krieg boxset, but I don’t £130 like it, and I try to resist FOMO these days. Eventually, rather than wait for the codex, I decided to do some busy work on my force, namely replacing the sergeants in my battleline units. This was potentially risky at the time; the impending codex had a non-zero chance of making such a choice obsolete, but as my chosen load out was also found in the Death Korps of Krieg killteam box, I took the chance.

So, when I first built my squads last year, the options had been largely driven by what bits I had spare, and what I could recast. As far as the sarges were concerned, this meant a bolter and power sword. While these were just fine as a first attempt, but as I got more games in, I slowly went off that combination both in terms of gameplay and as modelling work. I felt I could do better, and that under the current rules regime, it made more sense to use plasma pistols instead. As 40k (currently) only provides a points cost for whole unit, not individual bits in it, you often get situations where one option drastically outclasses the other, and the plasma pistol is one. While opting for a bolter is technically a more rounded option, plasma weapons as a tool are better for general purpose marine killing. You may only get one shot out of this, but its a shot that matters when it connects. And is overcharged.

These were very much in the style of those Krieg and Catachan expansions I did last year, and represented a chance to practice my technique a bit. The base models are Cannon Fodder again so they fit, while the new weapons are loose bits from Anvil Industry. That company does a lot of 40K style resin bits, including the “Daughters of the Burning Rose” from which I sourced these weapons. Scale and proportions worked very well here, although joining the parts was trickier than I expected. Also in the mix was Stargrave bits again, and a sword from the <deep breath> Death Fields Les Grognards Command and Heavy Support kit. I’m planning to use/talk-about that last one once I get my hands on the Astra Militarum codex.

 

I painted these over a weekend in the hope of getting them game ready for a Monday evening. I ended up skipping skin tones, and somehow produced jumpsuits with a lighter tone of orange. I attempted to put a blue tint on the power swords, but it didn’t quite work. My mud paint mix ended up a bit off model too. Nothing bad though. Having the squad leaders stand out a bit doesn’t hurt.

 

Of course, theses were completed the day before GW started doing rules previews for the new codex. And subsequently, all the leaks in the world. I’d called it, basic Infantry Squads are over. Seems I held off just long enough.

Kitbash: Wargames Atlantic Cannon Fodder Part 2

 

Today, I'm gonna talk about the Wargames Atlantic Cannon Fodder 2 kit (Females), how I used them for my Astra Militarum army, and how you can use this kit for general kitbashing. This is part two in a two part series, please take a look at part one, as I don’t want to repeat myself.

 

Why Kreig? I gave a brief overview back in part 2 of Project Chem-Dogs, but some context here won't hurt the word count. With one of the least subtle names in the 40k setting, the Death Korps of Krieg are more or less scifi WWI. We're talking folk memories of gasmasks, trenches, mud, bayonets, and absurdly wasteful expenditure of human life. They are a gasmask wearing death cult with no concern for thier own losses or individuality. This makes for a good addition to 40k in general and the Astra Militarum in particular, but their prominence is relatively new. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the Death Korps were something Forgeworld was very interested in, that has since made the jump to plastic, and are due a range expansion shortly. Mechanically, they are one of those odd units whose options are (currently) dictated by a Killteam boxset. These feature more specialist weapons than the other battleline units, and a resurrecting model mechanic. The reason I wanted them is to act either as frontline troops or APC passengers, thanks to their weaponry and odd ability to become better fighters as they loose models.

 

Using Cannon Fodder as Death Korps of Krieg: The use of Cannon Fodder for these is somewhat head dependant. The bodies don't have anything about them that screams Verdun, but you do get full space helmets on the sprue. I'd made most of mine with green stuff gas masks, thus making them passable as Kreigers, incorporating wire and tiny beads for the hoses. That's fiddly work even if you've sculpted before, so don't be afraid to source heads from elsewhere. Otherwise, turning the girls into the Death Korps is a similar challenge to regular Infantry Squads; you don't need heavy weapons, but you are looking at a greater density of specialist weapons, and the need for a medic.

What I did: As before I made these as plugins for an Infantry Squad to simplify matters, while taking the opportunity to make a few weapon specialists to round things out. The heads here were often leftovers from the Bulldogs, as well as assorted bits from the Stargrave Mercenaries sprue. I probably need to talk in more detail about that last one actually, I use that kit a lot. Expect an article, um, Novemberish. Meanwhile some crude recasting was used to create the medpacks, and melta nozzles for use with the energy weapon on the Cannon Fodder sprue. I did the same thing for flamers and such in part one, you can do a lot with a new barrel and some new furniture. Menawhile, Sniper rifles were created by using the CF scope with a regular gun, a fiddly little bastard of a thing, with a bead as a barrel extension, and sculpted rags to hide the join. The grenade launchers are from the aforementioned Stargrave sprue, lengthened wih a bit of tube. Painting then followed, and turned out OK.

I hope this brief series was of use to you. Next week, back to Transformers.

Kitbash: Wargames Atlantic Cannon Fodder Part 1

Today, I'm gonna talk about the Wargames Atlantic Cannon Fodder 2 kit (Females), how I used  them for my Astra Militarum army, and how you can use this kit for general kitbashing. This will be part one in a two part series, because, well, I had ideas.

 

So, Ive played a few games with my Chem-Dogs, and I think Ive found my balance with them. The army has deviated from my original intentions though. Initially, I'd wanted a very old school infantry gun line sort of affair. A meat grinder designed to rope-a-dope a foe, and then jump on any mission objectives later on. That's why I have 40 basic infantry, 2 command squads, and 2 heavy weapon squads. That's more less a classic infantry platoon, with a few extras. Unfortunately, that isn't really how 40k is played at the moment. With the mission how they are, they may be different by the time you read this, need you to be active and playing to objectives almost immediately. The capitalised Infantry Squad does well with the home objective, and static dakka, but I find the other battleline choices more appealing. So I needed to expand and alter my footsloggers. My first instinct was to modify some squads into Catachan Jungle Fighters, but then I thought, “Why not others?”, and so this became a two-parter.

Its probably necessary to provide an overview of the kit in question. Coming from the Death Fields series, the Cannon Fodder (Females) box features 24 models, six to a sprue. These notably lack bases, an omission common to Wargames Atlantic's entire range, although thats more of a sundry expense these days. The individual models are largely setting agnostic, although their guns have a lasgun vibe, as well as a convict theme. These are ladies in jumpsuits, with the choice of head and colours affecting their overall vibe. One image of the box shows off the kit done up as 50's style silver spacesuits, whereas going for caps and green makes for a second line infantry look. There's also a fair few bionics in the mix too, as well as a bounty of alternative heads. Actual equipment though is a touch more limited. There is a bulky energy weapon, drum magazines, fiddly scopes to make a passable sniper rifle, and a few pistols on each sprue, but you don't get a fancy melee weapon for the squad leader, or a real choice in weapons. This seems to be a weakness of the male Cannon Fodder box too, and you may wish to look into compatible kits, like the Bulldogs. I got lucky during Project Chem-Dogs, I’d chanced upon an old Cadian BattleForce box which provided a lot of sundry bits and weapon options with made running them as regular infantry much easier. Recasting these bits was not entirely successful, and I would probably recommend other solutions going forward. My sarges where equipped with bolters, easily found, and power weapons, less so. Vox units were recast with wire aerials. I would likely just add an aerial to a spare cannon fodder backpack next time, its probably a more elegant solution. On the plus side there's a number of bits that lend themselves well to Heavy Weapon teams and similar, like binoculars and pointing hands. You have enough for the rank and file, but for the squad specialists you'll need some bits and some creativity. You'll also note that mine have a lot in the way of sculpted gasmasks and capes. I'm not talking about that too much today, and its definitely not required for your models.

 

So, how to make these as Catachan Jungle Fighters? Well, these have famously limited options, so making these is fairly straightforward versus the other battleline units. I built these as "swaps" for existing Infantry Squads, so I skipped the Vox units. You need a melee weapon for the sergeants, here being leftovers from my attempt at Rough Riders. The flamers were a combination of old Black Templar examples, and the energy weapon from the Cannon Fodder sprue. I cut the business end and canister off a flamer, and attached them to the existing weapon, which had been trimmed for length. These were then painted in my usual way, and came out pretty well.

 

At the same time, I took the opportunity to make a "counts as" Sargeant Harker. That’s a bit of change for me, I don’t think I’ve fielded a named/special/epic character like this before. At least outside of Bloodbowl. This was based off a Bulldog body for increased size, but had the same basic idea as the flamers above. While this worked out nicely, it does highlight a potential weakness with the Cannon Fodder, they are somewhat slight of proportion. I'm also not good at faces.

Up next: Death Korps

Plamo: Wargames Atlantic Bulldogs

Back when I started Project Chemdogs one of the options I considered was Wargames Atlantic's Bulldogs. Part of their Death Fields range, these were British themed sci-fi troopers, with a variety of heads, and in one memorable example, a cup of tea. Now, I am not immune to the occasional spark of patriotism, but I am somewhat aware of the history of the British Empire, so I eventually went for the less nationalistic angle of prison conscripts. I did however have a lingering idea of prison guards, or possibly another regiment or two mixed in. The Astra Militarum does not have to be uniform, in fact I'd argue in favour of variety. Too many damn Cadians these days. Meanwhile, the Tempestus Scions were coming up a lot in competitive play discussions. These are fairly inexpensive in game, somewhat more elite than my usual fair, and very mobile. I'd been having trouble with the whole claiming objective thing, so I was tempted. Then I had the idea I could do them up like British policemen, thus contrasting with my orange prison troops, and things flowed from there.

 

These are somewhat simpler of a  project than my usual infantry, as these are meant to be a well-equipped and professional force, not prisoners in jumpsuits and tattered rags. The main thing would be modifying them to visually suggest a Scion profile. This meant sculpting on a chestplate to justify a 4+ save, and adding cabling to the guns. While effective, the chest plates would interfere with some of the arms, most noticeably the grenade launchers. In my defence, they're coppers, even without the stabproof vests on, they tend to look a bit portly. This also resulted in me using the "single" arms, and being confused by them. I eventually came to the conclusion that these featured bionics and/or heavy gauntlets, but I mistook them as regular hands at first, and painted them as such. Maybe I should have looked at some painted examples, you know, actual preparation before charging in, but it was an easy fix. Meanwhile the stereotypical "tit helmet" was achieved via the use of pith helmet heads and some adhesive gems painted silver to suggest the elaborate badges such things have. I'm sure there's better solutions out there, but the desired effect was achieved.

The equipment of these chaps (and presumed chappettes,) was largely driven by the composition of the Bulldogs sprue versus the current Scion data sheet. I'd wanted to do these up with multiple plasma guns, I had spares, but this isn't actually legal. Fortunately the grenade launchers were a convenient alternative and vaguely sensible in game. Less useful was the limited number of backpacks, prompting the use of spares from the Cannon Fodder sprue, which makes them less cohesive as a unit, but I gave those to the weapon specialists to compensate. Sarge types were done up with power swords and "counts as" plasma pistols, which probably isn't optimal, but I honestly couldn't be bothered with making power fists when the sword option was right there. Its not like you expect guard units of 5 guys to do much in a melee as it is. Speaking of unit sizes, while I made these as two squads of 5, I also made a spare bobbie so I could field a legal squad of 10 by swapping out a sarge. Its a squad compostion thing, look it up. I did not make a vox operator at this time, as he would be downgraded to a pistol and that looked bad, but I have the bits should I change my mind.

Painting was matter of rummaging for a suitable blue and ink wash, and then aiming for a slightly less drab look than my other infantry. The "Flying Squad" has a dirty job, but they get decent kit and are vaguely professional about it. Uniforms were done in Vallejo Medium Blue, with a careful application of old Drakenhof Nightshade. Details like skin and backpacks were done in my usual way, although I went lighter for some of the metallics. While I briefly considered doing the gasmask lenses in orange, I felt that was too Helghast, so I did them in Soulstone Technical instead, atop an off-white to brighten them. I then proceeded to muddy up the bases and boots.

 

Perhaps not my best work, but certainly table-worthy.