The End Times Are Upon Us – Spoilers A plenty From The Fall of Cadia

Posted by johnnya10 on 24/01/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 1 Comment
Ok, so here’s the deal; if you’ve not read Fall Of Cadia yet, or if you’re trying not to see spoilers for the next Gathering Storm book, you best leave now. There are going to be plenty of spoilers for you here, and I want to give you fair warning. This is a spoiler alert, and once you’ve scrolled past the next random image, I will be talking about a lot of stuff from the first book and some recently spied miniatures. You’ve been warned…
random image to protect spoilers
…are they gone? Good – Let’s start.
Oh. My. Dark. Gods. I am so excited by the Gathering Storm storyline that’s going on right now, I can’t believe that it has taken me this long to get round to writing a post about it but I wanted to give everyone a chance to read the first book before I put something on this blog, because it really is best enjoyed by reading it yourself. There’s just  so much I want to talk about!!
fall of cadia book
I picked up Fall Of Cadia on the day that it came out and I’d read it cover-to-cover within three hours. I couldn’t put it down. So many amazing moments and lots to be awed by. In fact, here is an accurate reenactment of my face while I was reading through this tome’s 100 pages of fluff:
shocked-will-smith9ga9gpicgifs-nailed-it-amazed-excited-225257shockedgiphy-1
Yes, it’s that good. I was never one who desperately wanted the story to advance – I thought there was enough going on to keep us all busy for, well, for 10k years probably. But I’m now 100% on board if this is the sort of story we’re going to get. Now let’s talk about some particular incidents and events from the book that helped to make this soooo cool. These are my favourite talking points from the Fall of Cadia books…
The Many Rebirths Of Celestine
saint celestine 40k
The very first thing you read of the story is a mysterious, unnerving account of what it is to be Celestine and how she bides her existence while waiting for her next rebirth. There’s something quite crucial in this opening piece though – that there will come a time when Celestine won’t be able to be reborn. She is finite. The living saint has reappeared many times, but now, we learn that soon, she will not be able to reappear again. This is big news and could be a big part of the plot later on. Celestine is a brilliant character in this book, going toe-to-toe with Abaddon and inspiring the Imperial Forces like no-one else, save perhaps a Primarch. And that model…
Tricksy Space Elves
Belisarius Cawl is also a great new character and the idea that he’s been spending millennia scouring the galaxy in the name of Mars is pretty cool. What’s even cooler, is that he’s being guided by a mysterious Harlequin who is using his hunger for understanding and unlimited resources for her own designs. This is our first taste of the Eldar sticking their nose in, and the fact that it has something to do with a Pylon is even cooler.
What’s That Behind Trazyn
Gah! I tried to find this image on the internet, but no joy. Every book is made better by an appearance of Trazyn The Infinite. He’s a fun character who’s pretty cheeky in a resigned, galaxy-weary sort of way. And there are some great bits in this book, from opening his tesseract vaults, to assisting Cawl with the Pylons. But for me, the best little Easter egg in this book, doesn’t come from the storyline, but from a single image; the first of Trazyn in the book. Behind him is a giant Space Marine in Green armour that appears to have been pulled apart. The second I saw it, I said ‘Is that Vulkan!?’. Whether it is or not, that’s blatantly a little teaser/joke from the GW artist team. That rumour’s been around for a long time, and although it may not be Vulkan, we can dream…
The Blackstone Fortress
blackstone fortress
It was a long time ago that I last heard a mention of these beasts of Battle Fleet Gothic fame. It plays a key role in the story, and the destruction of Cadia as well. I like the idea that the Chaos fleet must have been saying to themselves ‘We brought that thing here to destroy Cadia, and it’s going to do just that. Quick! Strap a load of massive engine to that chunk of it and use it like a massive asteroid!’.
Kell’s Death (!)
Best guardsman’s death ever. Kell is a hero right to the end, and actually gets to spit in Abaddon’s face before having his spine snapped like a brittle, dry twig. That’s how you make a character a legend right there. Top stuff, though I was of course very sad to see him go.
Closing The Eye
When I got to the bit where Cawl works out how to use the Pylons, and actually starts to close the Eye of Terror, I did a little dance in my chair. Thousands of years and no-one’s been able to make sense of these things, and then this Johnny turns up and all of a sudden the Eye of Terror begins to close! Shame he was just a little too late. Hell, if he’d started doing that an hour earlier, we might have had a completely different story. Stupid Eldar. Why didn’t they tell him sooner!? My jaw dropped when they said the Eye was starting to close, and dropped again when it burst open again.
Trazyn’s Offer
Empathic Obliterator
Kell may have snuffed it, but just as you think Creed is going to go the same way, Trazyn offers the Commander of the Cadian 8th a place in his private collection. We never find out if he accepts, but it’s an elegant way of keeping him alive. Losing Kell was bad enough, so losing Creed after he led such an amazing defence of Cadia would have been a bit hard to stomach. Will we see him marshalling an army of Necron in the future? Who the heck knows.
Cadia Actually Falls
Yep. It’s dead. Outside of Mars and Terra, the most famous planet in the galaxy is now cracked in half and lost in the warp. That really is a huge deal as the Astra Militarum have now lost one of their most valuable recruiting worlds. Just thinking ‘There is no more Cadia’ really is quite weird.
Abaddon Learns Of The Box
I loved this bit. The intrigue!! This could be huge, and it’s really annoying that we don’t know what name was whispered into Abaddon’s ear by his Sorcerer as he prepared to leave Cadia, but whatever it was, it made him turn the Black Fleet around and chase Cawl’s Ark Mechanicus into real space. But what was that name? I know what I hope it will be, but I don’t dare to dream… Loken. We’re all just wondering…
se7en what's in the box
The Eldar Have A Plan
Of course they always have a damn plan. That only they really understand. When the Imperial survivors crash down onto an Ice Moon, it’s the Eldar that eventually save them from Abaddon and his marauding Black Legion. That’s when we get our first glimpse of The Visarch. While Eldrad and Ynnead’s lot are holding off Chaos, the Imperial survivors appear to join with the Eldar and head into the Webway…
How about that for a game of toy soldiers, eh? These are just the bits that I loved, either because they were super cool, or because they raise so many more questions. A lot of my guesses are just guesses of course, and none of us know what’s going to happen, but we can all have a lot of fun speculating.
But Wait; There’s More!
And then, while we’re still all swooning from all of that, we get to see the new Eldar goodies, and boy do they have a story to tell. Ynnead is real, and this could spell dire times ahead for a lot of entities, most notably Slaanesh and Khaine. Before we start talking New-New-Dar, let’s just have another look at one of the shiny new models.
visarch
So many questions still to be answered here. We know that they’re all part of the Eldar’s God of Death theory (that now no longer appears to be just a theory) and that they represent Ynnead on the battlefield, but who are they? What’s going on?! Is the Yncarne part Slaanesh? It’s certainly got the looks for it. And how will this new deity get on with the famously fiery Avatar of Khaine? Can they get along together? Then theres the Yvraine. Is this a new ruler of Commoragh? She certainly looks the part. And then there’s The Visarch. Is this Arhra, now with a calling that fits his ambitions and philosophies? Or a completely new entity? And with the book being called ‘Fracture of Biel-Tan’, can we expect to see one of the most famous craftworlds fall?
I don’t think I’ve ever put more question marks into a single paragraph. There’s so much going on and it’s just so exciting. If you’ve got your own theories, stick them below in the comments section. I’ve got about 9,000,000 of my own, but who knows if any of it’s right. Black is white, up is down…
dogs and cats living together
I can’t wait for this series to continue and find out where this is all going. Who else is going to die, who’s going to be born, how will the balance be found, and what will 8th Ed bring?

How I Weathered My Rhino

Posted by johnnya10 on 19/01/2017
Posted in: Tutorials, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 9 Comments

simple weathering on a rhino

More than a couple of people have complimented me, or asked me about the weathering that I did on my recent Blood Angels rhinos. The compliments were very happily received and in order to answer the questions about how it was done, I thought I’d force myself to do one more blog post featuring these rhinos. So below, we have a step by step guide on how this is done.

Before we go into this though, I should say that this isn’t necessarily the best way to learn how to do weathering – it’s kind of a ‘cheat’ even though I don’t really believe that there’s such a thing as a ‘cheat’ when it comes to painting. If it works, it works. If you want to learn how to do this properly, Forge World books and a number of vids on Youtube will help you a lot more. This is a relatively fast method that looks pretty good (at least I think it does anyway). Here goes.

basic tank door

I started off by painting up this rhino door. It’s in basic red with a white stripe (not perfectly straight but it will do for us now. It’s been washed and highlighted too. Now let’s mess this stuff up.

Step 1

white line weathering

Using Mephiston Red, we put in some basic splodges around the white line. Don’t water this down as much as you might do normally or it’ll look pink against the white background. It will look a bit weird when it’s dry, but there’ll be enough going on that it’ll be fine by the end.

Step 2

sponge weathering

The classic technique. A bit of Abaddon Black on a sponge – seriously, just a bit. Dip the sponge in the undiluted paint, wipe/dab off the excess on a paper towel, and apply lightly and sparingly over the model. Make sure you get a little on the white line – it’ll look great. Also, I was a little more liberal but focused around the grate like some fumes have come out (I know you wouldn’t have an exhaust in a door, but let’s pretend for now).

Step 3

fullsizerender-31

It’s hard to see but I’ve added a couple of little drips to that vent. A mix of Rhinox Hide and Abaddon Black does the trick here. This is going to get covered up by what we do next, but it’s a nice little touch to add in areas where things aren’t going to get all dusty.

Step 4

typhus corrosion weathering

If the dust and dirt is coming from the bottom (which it nearly always will be in my experience), start off by using Typhus Corrosion. Dab it around the bottom of the mini in a rough manner. This technical paint will add a bit of texture and shadow beneath our dust.

Step 5

fullsizerender-9

This is why you don’t throw knackered old brushes away. This Pro Arte brush is far more useful to me in its current state than it ever was when it had a point. Take some Dawnstone and remove most of it from the brush with a paper towel. Then lightly brush it around the lower part of the door in a random pattern.

Step 6

fullsizerender-2

Now take a bit of Administratum Grey and do the same thing that you did with the Dawnstone, only a little less so.

Step 7

fullsizerender-3

Finally, touch up a any highlighting that you might need to, and you’re done! That’s it.

Simple as that, and it works well enough for me. I hope that’s helped out anyone who wanted to know. I shall now go and get on with painting up another tank using similar methods. Onwards!

Blood Angels Rhino 2

Posted by johnnya10 on 18/01/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 6 Comments

blood angels deimos rhino with combi bolter

How’s that for a quick turnaround, eh? My second Blood Angels Deimos Rhino in as many weeks! Done, and looking dusty in record time, I now have to try and make this blog post interesting seeing as I just wrote a post about a very similar tank last week. Let’s see how that goes.

As with the last post, I can say that the kit looks great, and is a little tricky to assemble if you don’t read the instructions. It is a joy to look at when finished though, and while the GW variant is a classic, this Forge World version just looks so cool. Classic styling with modern design aesthetics – very nice.

the front of a rhino

So, yeah, it’s the front of a rhino again. I suppose the weathering is a little different, and the missing paint on the white stripe is also a little different… yeah, it’s a little different. Oh, yes, and there isn’t a flamer on this one. I almost forgot that. This tank sticks to the combi bolters. This was done because I thought it was only right because one ought to have a pure, basic variant. Also, Forge World doesn’t give you enough hatches in the pintle mounted weapons set to allow you to do too many of these – the one minor drawback of a great little upgrade kit.

the side of a rhino

The weathering was fun to do, again. Beaten up brushes, sponges, blacks, greys and Typhus Corrosion in generous but subtle amounts. Also, again I’d like to give a shout out to Mephiston Red spray – such a wonderful product. Were I to do it again though, I might not cover the silver parts with it. A bit of masking tape might mean a single coat of silver rather than a couple. I could knock these out even faster!

tactical marking on a rhino

And (again – sorry about all the repetition) there are some tactical arrows on the roof to go along with the unit that will be riding around in this thing. And, that’s about it. For all other details, rather than repeat myself, please see the post about the first rhino from last week. But, as a treat, here are a couple of snaps of both APCs together.

blood angels rhinos

a pair of space marine rhinos

That’s me done with Rhinos for a little while at least. Bigger fish to fry. Well, one bigger fish anyway. That has taken up a lot of liquid green stuff – but more about that later. In the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying the Gathering Storm as much as I am (you have no idea how much I want to talk about it but I’m going to wait so as to not give away spoilers). Lots to look forward to there. More on that, and my Blood Angels in the upcoming posts. Onwards!

Blood Angels Rhino 1

Posted by johnnya10 on 09/01/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 2 Comments

blood angels rhino

I decided that my Blood Angels needed some wheels (well, cat tracks anyway) and so I’ve put together my first Rhino transport vehicle for them. And, as it happens, I’m pretty happy with it. What’s more, I learned a couple of lessons with this one, that I shall happily share with you here.

But before that, let’s talk inspiration. As you will know if you’ve been following the progress of this army, I’ve been using classic 2nd Ed Blood Angels as an inspiration for this army, and it’s no different here. I took the classic Rhino APC from the below image and updated it a bit, and did a fair bit of weathering too. See if you can spot some similarities.

2nd edition blood angels rhino apc

Now obviously there are some differences – a lot of them really, but this was where my ideas started. The tactical arrows on the roof, the symbols on the front, the general colouring… this was in my head when the project kicked off.

deimos pattern rhino

So first lesson to impart; read the instruction that come in the box when assembling. I’ve put together many a rhino over the years, but with this kit, things are a little different. I of course charged into it thinking ‘I know how to do this!’ and then came a cropper when I went to go and put one of the side panels. It’s a lot easier if you do it the way they tell you in the instructions. Just so you know.

Second lesson; Mephiston Red spray is brilliant. A couple of thin coats of it, and you’ll have saved your brushes a lot of time. Heck, you’ll have even saved time with your airbrushes if you’re that way inclined. What’s more, with a slightly elevated angle, you get some great natural shadows in there. So glad I picked it up, and will definitely be using it again.

forge world rhino

With this kit, I used a couple of extra bits as well. The pintle mounted heavy flamer (because you can never have too many flamers) comes from the FW upgrade clam pack, and that’s some etched brass on the front piece there. As with any FW kit, there’s a lot of swearing involved in assembly, and plenty of mould lines to clean up, but of course you also get an amazing looking miniature when all of that’s done. I much prefer this kit to the one you get from GW when it comes to looks and design.

blood angels transport

I’m really happy with the weathering job here. Typhus Corrosion is a great pot of paint and appears all over this tank, but the effect I really like was required by using a couple of grey paints to give the lower parts of this vehicle a dusty look. I’ve used it on my dreadnoughts before now, and it fits in with the basing of my other minis, so it’s great for tying the army together.

Now, why didn’t I do the big white Blood Drops on the doors? A, the door teeth make that a bit difficult, and B, putting white paint onto a red surface is not easy. And by that stage, I’d done enough of it, as you can see from the picture below.

rhino top hatch

When I worked out that painting white onto red was difficult (which I always knew but we oft relearn this sort of lesson), it gave me a bit of idea. It would be plenty tough for the guys maintaining the armoury on a space marine ship as well. Especially if they’re constantly coming in and out of battle. Sure, the important vehicles would get perfect spray jobs, but rhinos? The workhorses? Maybe when all the paint was being retouched, it left marks, where the new paint was slightly different or applied too thinly or heavily. So I added this to my weathering plan and it worked really nicely I think. Breaks up the flat red surfaces a bit at least. Won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I like it.

rhino back door

And so I shall leave you with the back end of a rhino to look at. Don’t fret though – you’ll have a new front end to look at soon enough. Like the titles says, this is rhino ‘1’. The next one is primed and ready for a bit of attention so I shall get to work on that soon enough. For the time being, I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at this one, and I hope your own painting projects are going well. Onwards!

Warhammer 40,000: “End Times” – Who’s Gonna Die?

Posted by johnnya10 on 06/01/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 10 Comments
So, the fall of Cadia is nearly upon us, and some big things are going to go down. But the big question is; are any noteworthy characters going to go down as well? In the Old World version of the End Times, we saw a host of much loved characters axed, so will we see something similar as the clock nears midnight in the 41st Millennium. Of course, I have no idea but it’s always fun to speculate, and the following are some of my favourite speculations about all of this. Of course, this may just be another campaign and nothing big may really happen at all, but when Abaddon is involved, and given all the rumours circulating at the moment, I get the sense that a shake up is on the cards. Let’s take a look at who might be about to shuffle off their uber-mortal coil…
The Emperor
the emperor
The Big E himself might not make it through this, and a lot of people have been speculating about the Master of Mankind finally succumbing to the injuries inflicted by Horus 10,000 years earlier. Maybe the Golden Throne will fail, and daemons will spill out of the warp gate and devour Terra? Maybe Abaddon marches on to the throne world after taking Cadia. Of course, even if the Emperor does snuff it, that may not mean he’s dead at all. The ‘Starchild’ theory requires the Emperor to die in order to be born again, young and strong once more, and this could see an Emperor miniature coming from GW in the future. I’m pretty certain that would shift a fair few units. If this is the start of a new Heresy Level Event, this would be the biggest possible change GW could make.
Abaddon The Despoiler
abaddon
Cadia may be about to fall, but the Despoiler may not be around to make it happen. As Chaos looks to move forward, there is an argument that getting rid of Abaddon might be the best thing to do. A clean slate to start afresh. After all, if the daemon primarchs are coming back, do we even need Abaddon any more? Personally, I don’t see this happening. In fact, I think we’ll get a big, new Abaddon miniature with all the bells and whistles GW can give him, but again, if they do want to shake things up, killing the master of the Black Legion would be a big deal.
Eldrad 
eldrad
The greatest seer of the Eldar has of course already died in the 13th Black Crusade, in a parallel universe created through retconning the original global campaign that they ran many years ago. Eldrad Ulthran made the ultimate sacrifice to scupper Abaddon’s plans in that campaign, but he never really left, and eventually, the tail of his demise was quietly removed from the fluff. But what’s to stop it happening again? Ulthwe is the closest craftworld to Cadia after all, and knowing how much they enjoy meddling, it’s almost certain that the Eldar will stick their oar into this event with their usual grace and sneakiness. Will history repeat itself?
Slaanesh
slaanesh
Much has been made about how uncomfortable GW is with Slaanesh and after they used the Old World End Times to rid themselves of the PR problematic Prince Of Pleasure in that dimension, would it really be a shock if they did it here? Maybe an Iron Hand finishes off the daemon version of Fulgrim to avenge the Gorgon, Saint Celestine deals with Lucius and is so saintly that she doesn’t turn into him, and maybe the World Eaters finish what they started on Scalathrax? With no champions left, and perhaps with a little help from the Eldar, Slaanesh will bite the dust and a new God will take its place on the high pantheon. Would you be shocked if they pulled the same trick twice?
A BIG Chapter
big space marine chapters
The Space Wolves are still reeling from Magnus’ attack on Fenris, the Dark Angels are eating themselves from within with guilt and treachery, and the Blood Angels are starting to lose their grip on the curse in their blood. What if one of them was finally wiped out here? It’s unlikely – these are popular armies that GW makes plenty of money from, but what if they really want to mess with us and decided that this is what had to give? I don’t really see it happening, but then none of us saw GW wiping out an entire world when they made the Age of Sigmar shift, so anything’s possible.
St Celestine
st celestine
Now this would be cruel. And a bit weird too, but it does make me giggle. Just as they release a new model that Sisters’ players have been crying out for for years, they decide that it’s Celestine who has to sacrifice herself. I really don’t think this one will happen, but it would be tragic and hilarious if it did. Perhaps she makes the supreme sacrifice and takes Abaddon out with her. But given that she’s a ‘Living Saint’ perhaps she can come back from death. Who knows. Now I’m just making stuff up.
And that’s just for starters. When the Old World fell, we saw a lot of characters go out with a bang (and in some cases, a whimper), so what will we get if these really are the ‘End Times’ for 40k? Of course, if you’ve got any guesses, ideas or insider gossip, do stick it in the comments section below. if you think I’m talking drivel, let me know. All will be revealed soon enough with a new White Dwarf out tomorrow, but I do enjoy these guessing games. Onwards!

Here Comes 2017 – Another Busy Year On H&H

Posted by johnnya10 on 26/12/2016
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. 8 Comments
With the rotten, miserable and downright awful year that was 2016 almost out of the way, we’re now looking forward to 2017 with a sense of hope that perhaps a few less beloved celebrities will snuff it in the coming 365. I’m also hoping of course to bring you plenty more posts here on Heresy and Heroes dealing with both my own endeavours and of course the news and rumours coming from the dark citadel in Nottingham. So, as a new year’s treat, here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming up in the next few months.
Baal’s Finest
blood angels veterans wip
Yes, there will be more Blood Angels and as you can see from the photo above, I’ve started work on another squad. In fact, as my Veterans, these are going to be my fanciest looking Blood Angels yet, so stay tuned for more WIPs of these guys coming soon. But also, having seen the year’s progress on this project in the previous post, I noticed that something was missing; armour. So I pick up this from Forge World:
fullsizerender-3
Yep. That’s a lot of tank tracks – the first of several. In fact, when these kits, and the veteran squad are finished, we can say that ‘phase 1’ will be done. Then I can really start to have some fun. But stay tuned for the completion of these kits and the next stage of my Blood Angels coming next year.
Blood Bowl
naggaroth nightmares logo
Yes, I bought the box set, and, no, I’ve not done anything with it yet. But I’m looking forward to getting the Dark Elf team when/if they ever release it. The Naggaroth Nightmares were my old team and I’d like them to be my next team too. Though I do have plans to paint up the Orc and Human teams too, the Dark Elves will likely be the kit that gets me painting for this game as well.
Slaaneshi Dark Mech
slaaneshi dark mechanicum cult
My side project, my favourite break from the boys from Baal, my Slaaneshi Dark Mech is going to grow in 2017 and I’ve already got some crazy plans in my mind for this small force. I’ve even bought some old, err, Skaven (?!) kits that will help me to do this. They’re happilly sat in the grey tide at the moment, but I’m waiting for the time when I need a break – then the dark tendrils of She Who Thirsts can creep back into my life again. Which should be oodles of fun for everyone.
My Titan
painted shin titan guards test
*cough* Moving on…

The Wider Galaxy

But that’s not all. 2016 has been an incredible year for GW and 40k (and, in fairness, for FW and 30k too) and it only looks like it’s going to get better in the next year. We’ve already seen the leaked pics of the new St Celestine, a new Inquisitor, and the crazy-looking Ad Mech dude, and we’ve been teased with a brooding trailer, voiced over by Abaddon himself, and the words ‘Fall Of Cadia’. With the return of Magnus, can the other daemon Primarchs be far behind? Could it be time for the Lion to wake, Russ to return, and Guilliman to heal? It looks like the story is moving forward and you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m going to have plenty to say about that here. I have the feeling that this is going to be big.
 60020187014_horusheresycollection01
What’s more, once the Prospero book comes out from Forge World, I was told by one of the team there at the last Open Day that the Blood Angels (and Dark Angels) would be coming next, and that’s really exciting for me. Sanguinius and co may well get released in 2017 and as well as picking up the models, I dare say I’ll have at least a book review for you too.
So, that’s at least some of the stuff I’ll be writing about next year. I can’t wait to show off more images, share more opinions and even dish out the odd rumour here and there (didn’t I correctly call the Sisters release in one of my earlier posts…?). I hope you’re looking forward to it too, and I shall see you here in the New Year. Have a wonderful start to 2017. Onwards!

Blood Angels Land Speeder – The Hammer

Posted by johnnya10 on 21/12/2016
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

Blood Angels Land Speeder

What weighs half a tonne, is made of metal and is a real pain to paint? My Blood Angels Land Speeder for my Horus Heresy/30K force, that’s what. It’s been really fun to work on this, but also a real struggle too because of, well, plenty of reasons that I’ll get to in a short while. Anyway, without further ado, let us take a closer look at the model that I’m calling ‘The Hammer’.

old metal land speeder

As you may well know, your 30k legion armies can take Land Speeder Javelins and they make an excellent addition to any force. The Forge World model looks amazing and you can take some real firepower with each one. I wanted to add one of these to my Blood Angels force as I felt I needed some Fast Attack, but, you see, there’s always been one type of Land Speeder that I’ve always wanted to paint and play with since I was a wee nipper and you’re looking at it.

I picked this up from Ebay for less than £15 (plus shipping) and I got a pretty good deal as it was missing its weapons – parts I wasn’t going to need anyway. I picked up the pintle mounted weapons set from Forge World for another project (as yet unstarted) and one of the Contemptor Dreadnought missile racks as well. These have given me a tank hunting speeder that can dash into the back lines and start taking apart some armour.

space marine land speeder

I also used an arm from a 40k space marine, an icon from the Blood Angels upgrade pack, some shoulder pads and some etched brass from Forge World to add some details to the kit. The old metal mini weighs so much that your wrist starts to hurt if you’ve been holding it for more than 5 minutes, but it’s also a little light on details, so these little embellishments helped to bring it up to snuff. They also added to the weight, so a wrist support was used at all times. Seriously, if anyone calls a Stormraven a ‘flying brick’ again, get them to pick up one of these.

I’ve named it the ‘Land Speeder Hammer’ as opposed to the Javelin and I like to think that it’s an experimental mark that the Blood Angels are testing out for the Mechanicum. Also, I’m pretty sure I could use it to bang a nail into a wall. And I’m not talking plaster – I’m talking brick.

land speeder hammer

So you might have noticed the flames. Yes, they are very cool. I’m really happy with the way they turned out and it really helps to make the model a little less bland. The yellow helmets were something that I ‘ummed’ and ‘aahed’ about for a little while, but they work so I’m glad I went in that direction. That being said, I hate painting yellow – it’s a knack I don’t have yet as I don’t get a lot of practice with it. I also painted the flying stand black. I hate the look of the clear plastic stands and this works fine for me. Will a truly elegant solution ever be found? Well, there’s that guy who used magnets to make his Eldar jetbike float but I don’t think there are any magnets strong enough to lift this thing.

old school land speeder

There’s lots of light weathering too. Mainly because it fits in with the army and looks good, but also because it hides a lot of issues with the old metal. Weird lines, lumps and scratches. They don’t build them like they used to, and that’s a good thing. Although the old styling is still pretty boss.

I was reminded again that I hate painting metal minis. I love the nostalgia, but in practice, they’re a pain. When someone says ‘but if it’s got undercoat on it, isn’t it the same as painting plastic’ you may laugh in their face. The brush moves differently, the paint sits and dries differently, and details get lost fast. I’m really looking forward to working on a plastic mini next, and preferably not one with so many hard to reach spots. Half of the parts needed to be attached, detached and reattached all over again just so that I could get to everywhere that needed painting. Not fun. Long live plastic minis.

land speeder javelin alternative

And etched brass can be a pain too. But even with all of that in mind, it was still great to finally paint one of these minis. I’ve wanted to paint one of these since I was a kid, and I actually love the blocky looks. And I’m thrilled with how the underslung missile pod looks – I love it when a plan comes together. Another childhood dream realised – always a nice feeling.

blood angels converted land speeder

With that, I think I’m done for the year when it comes to Blood Angels. Well, at least when it comes to posting things up here. Let’s just say that I’ve been scrubbing a bit more resin lately. Anyway, I hope you like the Land Speeder – it really was great fun to see it come to life, even with all of its flaws.

I thought I’d end this post with a group shot of all the Blood Angels I’ve done so far. These have all been done this year, and all of them have been shared here. More will come in 2017, so keep your eyes open for those. All that’s left to do is for me to wish you a very merry Christmas. Onwards!

john ashton blood angels

Index Chaotica: Apocrypha – Book Review

Posted by johnnya10 on 13/12/2016
Posted in: Product Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 3 Comments

index chotica apocrypha

This weekend, I picked up two awesome (and, I know I use that word a lot, but I really mean it this time) books that have made me super, super happy. Ecstatic even. The Traitor Legions book is fantastic and it’s given me a new lease of love for the Emperor’s Children and I’m very tempted to go overboard on my old favourite army again, but this isn’t the book I want to talk to you about. Everyone and their battle-brother has been pouring over this and discussing at length and anything I say here and now will be simple repetition. The book I want to talk to you about is Index Chaotica: Apocrypha, or, as I like to call it, All The Reasons I Became A Happy Heretic In One Book (Ok, their title is better).

So, what is this book? This is a huge slice of nostalgia, a history lesson, an art show, a miniatures showcase, a design guide and a fluff factory rolled into one. It will take you back in time to when Horus was just an ‘Imperial Commander’, to when the Iron Warriors were dedicated to Slaanesh (yup), to when there were more daemon engines than you could shake a power maul at, and to when artists had more freedom to really just let Chaos spew forth onto the page.

old chaos illustrations

This book is a collection of Chaos-themed articles, images, illustrations, rules and stories from when 40k first began and its early years. With pages taken straight from Slaves To Darkness and The Lost And The Damned, we get to see the very origins of Chaos in the 41st millennium, and as the book moves on, we get to see how the stories, interpretations and illustrations of both the characters and the lore moved on. What’s more, they’ve pulled in some of the old fluff as well, and in the image above, is a real favourite of mine – the tale of Inquisitor Thrax. It’s a very short tale, but I remember reading it as a kid and getting goosebumps. And now I have it in this amazing book too!

old chaos allegiances

It’s fantastic to see how much the GW team have dug around in the archives for some of this content and the book has been put together exceptionally well. It flows faultlessly through the ages, the armies and the illustrative history of Chaos in the early years of Warhammer 40,000. And I love that they found the images above. Remember earlier when I mentioned the Iron Warriors being sworn to Slaanesh? Well, as you can see above, so were the Alpha Legion (and the EC of course). And opposite them on these beautiful colour plates, we have the legions dedicated to Khorne. I’ll leave you to work those out and go ‘huh’ or ‘eh!?’ for yourself.

jes goodwin chaos space marine sketch

Another real treat here is the inclusion of many of Jes Goodwin’s original designs for the Chaos Space Marines. Shown above are the Emperor’s Children, and the early sonic weaponry, but there’s a huge amount more in these pages too. I recently picked up Jes’ Eldar book as well, and just as with that, there are some brilliant little notes across all of these that show you the logic and uniqueness of each design. In the above example, there’s a note talking about how, due to their raiding tendencies, the Emperor’s Children have access to even modern Space Marine armour marks, and another talks about how they customise their armour too. You can get lost in these little tidbits – well, I can anyway.

epic slaanesh miniatures

And then there are the model shots. That’s not really what this book is about, and there aren’t too many in here, but when they do appear, your nostalgia bone breaks in half with excitement. I haven’t seen the above pages since they first appeared in White Dwarf and it’s a joy to see the Subjugators stride forth again. If only Forge World could make some of these… (hint, hint if any of you at FW are reading this). And yes, all of the Khorne Daemon engines are in there too, along with the Banelord, for anyone who remembers that amazing mini. They’ve just ticked all of the boxes with this book, and even though I’ve been flicking through it endlessly since Saturday, I’m still finding things in there that make me smile. A wicked, terrible, teeth-baring smile.

old chaos rules

And just to top it all off, there are rules too. Lots of them. You can see all the old profiles and stat lines, alongside some of those favourite illustrations and fluff-pieces. It’s just great. There really isn’t anything bad to say about this book, except that I wish it was twice as long. Not that 140 odd pages isn’t enough – it’s a good sized tome – but I’m just greedy like that and perpetually want more.

Who is this book for? Anyone with a love for the Dark Gods. They all get a lot of coverage here and there’s plenty to dive into. If you’re interested in the history, or even if you want to relive it, this book is a must. It’s so much fun to read through this. That’s the word. Fun. From the incredible illustrations that have been done by people like John Blanche and Adrain Smith, to the stories, secrets and special characters who all have their origin stories included in one way or another, this is just a wonderful read.

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite illustrations below (though it should also be mentioned, if you have a favourite old Chaos illustration, it’s almost certainly in here – there are so many!!), and just a final note to say that this is a great book. I can’t find anything to moan about. I can’t see a downside. Maybe Slaanesh has got to me, but this book gives me nothing but pleasure to read, and if you’re a fan of Chaos in Warhammer 40,000, you’re going to love it too. Onwards!

bloodthirster vs avatar

H&H Top Posts From 2016

Posted by johnnya10 on 08/12/2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Where does the time go, eh? It seems like only yesterday we were all looking forward to 2016 and the great possibilities that it could hold. And then it happened. And it sucked. Between dead rock stars, dead actors and a dead gorilla, everyone kind of freaked out. Add into that the dramas and tragedies of Brexit and Trump and we’ve had ourselves one of the shittiest years in quite a while. Well, it’s almost done now, and for me, one thing that has always kept me happy and my spirits up has been this blog, and, I’m happy to say, more of you have enjoyed it than ever before as well. I never intended for Heresy & Heroes to be a light in the darkness but if that’s what it’s been, then I’m down with that.

harambe meme

So, as is now a yearly tradition on this blog, I’d like to spend some time looking back on some of the highlights of this year, as defined by you, the reader. To that end, I thought I’d jog your memories and help you to enjoy some of the fun you’ve had here with this list of the top 5 articles in terms of visits and interactions (likes, comments, etc) that were published in 2016. Without further ado, here are the best posts of the year that you can all enjoy again. In reverse order…
5. My Blood Angel Standard Bearer
horus heresy blood angels standard bearer
I do enjoy it when a bit of freehand work comes off just right, and this miniature certainly has a tasty illustration to show off. John Blanche’s iconic image of Sanguinius, lovingly (and frustratingly) recreated with paints on this Forge World miniature. Not only that, but it was my very first foray into the Blood Angels and 30k – a project that has lasted all year and brought me plenty of smiles. For a closer look, and some drivel about why I did it, take a closer look at my Standard Bearer and enjoy.
4. Forge World Open Day 2016
FullSizeRender 37
Another rare highlight from a year that can frankly go and F∞#k itself, was my annual visit up to Nottingham where I enjoyed good beer, good company and the delights that come with Forge World showing off their latest creations in uncut, high-grade plastic crack. Lots of fun had by all, and plenty of cool images to enjoy in this article. Almost everything I saw there has now been released or revealed. Almost…
3. Genestealers Speculation
khorne stealers
I think it’s fair to say that all of us who remembered the Genestealer Cults of yesteryear were pretty excited when news of their reemergence hit the rumour mills and the first snapshots of miniatures did the rounds. We now have a fully fledged army with some fun, interesting and very strong rules to field on the table top and a ton of cool minis too, but back before they hit the shelves, I put my best guesses forward regarding what we might get. Why don’t you check it out to see if I was right. Spolier; I wasn’t.
2. I ❤ Space Marines
space marine chapters
And it turns out you do too! The second most popular post published this year was all about why we (or rather, I) love Space Marines. Which is weird because they can be a bit boring, but then there’s a reason why GW are always pushing them onto the shelves and into our hearts – they’re just too damn popular. If you missed it, why not see if you agree with my choices, and if not, or if you have another reason to enjoy them, you can always stick a comment on that post.
What’s In A Chapter Name?
screenshot_12_04_2016__11_07_png_698x436_pixels
By a mile, the most popular post published this year was the Space Marine Chapter Name Generator. Not only does it give you an easy way to name your Space Marine chapter, but there’s also a Chaos Space Marine variant as well! I’ve not come across an army myself that looks like the name came from here, but enough people have visited the page to tell me that at least one has earned its monicker through this post. I hope that one day I run into an army called the Mortis Lions or the Ashen Lords and I’ll make the connect. We’ll see…
And those were the highlights of 2016. There will still be a few more posts to come, and if I get a little bit more time to paint, there might even be another finished miniature to show off, but we’ll see. Let’s hope next year will be full of even more enjoyable posts, along with fewer ridiculous political decisions, less wars, less suffering and fewer dead rock stars. What’s more, better zoo security and season 3 of Rick and Morty would help a lot too. Onwards!
rick and morty wubba lubba dub dub gif

Blood Angels Cataphractii Terminators

Posted by johnnya10 on 05/12/2016
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . 10 Comments

Blood Angels Cataphractii Terminators

The big boys in Red armour are done and I can finally show off to you my Blood Angels Cataphractii Terminators. I’m pretty happy with these guys and I look forward to see them stomping across a table top soon, but before we get to that, I thought I’d give you guys and gals the tour of my latest BA unit.

blood angel terminators

You saw these three in a recent post so I won’t spend too much time talking about them. They provided plenty of practice opportunities for painting blood drop shapes, and I can tell you, I still find it tough. I’m getting better at that skill, but it’s still difficult. These guys are packing fist and bolters… errr. Yeah. I think I covered them enough in the last WIP post so I’ll not dwell.

These Betrayal At Calth (Huh – I think I’ve been calling the box ‘Betrayal of Calth’ for ages, but as I’m staring at the box right now, I can see ‘at’ makes a lot more sense. Oh well…) miniatures are by far the most fiddly to paint and I can give those of you who are yet to paint them some tips as to where you’re likely to find yourself cursing. The eyes are a pain, and the inside of the shoulders will drive you nuts (especially if you’re as clever as me and make each plate and piece in there a different colour). The groin plate is hard to get to under the leather straps, and actually the leather straps themselves are a bit of a drag. But the miniatures themselves are lovely to work with – you’ll have fun.

cataphractii terminator with heavy flamer

It wouldn’t be a blood angels unit without some fire flame power and so here’s the heavy flamer-wielding warrior to help me light the fires across the battlefields of the Heresy. As mentioned in a previous post (I think for the Leviathan Dreadnought), if a model has a heavy flamer, it will have some white flames on it somewhere, so this dude has them on his little shield. Also, of all of these guys, I think the above is my favourite fist. I think I got the highlighting just right there.

blood angels terminator sergeant

And then finally there’s my sergeant, who not only has a very pretty axe, but was also a bit of a rescue job. You see, when you put the heads on these terminators, you want them to line up with the front of the little platform within the armour where they sit. I don’t know what happened with this guy, but when I picked him up after putting him together, I realised that his head was really far back and now there’s a massive gap at the front. You can’t see it in the images above, but I filled that gap with green stuff and turned it into wires and things. It’s ok – maybe even a little better than ok –  but it’s still annoying, hence why it’s not in these shots.

I added an Icon onto his grenade harness (I just wanted him to really look Blood Angely) as well as giving him an axe from the MkIV weapons upgrade box. Those axes are damn fiddly by the way, with incredibly, stupidly and annoyingly thin blades, and mould lines all over. But they do look very cool, and, if I may say so, even cooler when the blades have been wet-blended from Abaddon Black to Mephiston Red. I’m also happy with the black and yellow check shoulder. It sets him apart from his squad and nods back to classic Blood Angels too.

So that’s them done then. I trust you enjoyed seeing them. My work continues with the Blood Angels and I may be able to just sneak in one more finished miniature before the end of the year. Maybe. We’ll see. I won’t say much, but it’s about the size and weight of a half brick. That should keep you guessing. 😉 Onwards!