Catachan update

On the 12 july 2010 i started my catachan army. Much have happened since then. When i started it was meant to be a pure fluffy army following the old catachan deathworld codex. Painting and collecting was meant to be the main purpose of the army. However that changed a few months later when i went to the local gaming club and suddently playing the game started growing to almost rival the painting and collecting aspect.

 However one thing remained the same and that was the two guys i started painting with over the web. We are all 3 from Denmark however they both come from the eastern part of the country and going there by bus or train is a 5 hour trip. But belive it or not one of the guys is coming to Aalborg this week and i been working to get everything in my army to the highest standard for a game or two with him this thursday.

I where missing some guardsmen to fill up the infantry squads and veteran squad now that i didnt use Heavy weapon teams or Demolition charges. So i painted 4 more.

Now i wanted also the Vendetta to be finished and i used the one complete cockpit i had lying around, glued it on and did some weathering on it. I am still to Really catachanize it but i need to figure out how to do it properly. I want "Tropic thunder" spelled on the side of it with maybe a lightning going through it. Kill markings etc aswell.

I did manage to add the guardsmen in the door way and i am really happy how that cam out. I think it adds alot of feel to it. Speaking of the cockpit. I called GWs customerservice and i have to say that i am impressed. The guy was so nice and understanding and he quickly found my email and explained that the delay was cause they actually have to make it for me  first and thats why it was delayed.

 The moneyshot! ;)

Ras

The Primaris Psyker finished just in time for combat patrol

I finally finished my favorite combat patrol HQ. This guy is often overlooked in games cause frankly he doesnt bring much utility to the army unlike many of our other HQ units. However what the Primaris Psyker lacks in utility he makes up for in brute strength!

Front view

The primaris psyker while being a standard human statswise  have some dark talents. He have two powers. The main power and the main reason why you might include him in your army is of the power: Lightning arc. The Primaris if successful will shoot out 2 D6 strength 6 hits up to 24 inces!! so anywhere between 2 and 12 strength 6 hits pr turn. This guy can put some serious hurt on units with weak saves(Ork boys for instance) or simply force alot of saves on units like Terminators or open transports. 

A funny example is last game i used him i attached him to the blob unit and moved forward toward my enemy playing Codex Spacemarine. Telion snipes my commisar in first turn(arrrg i just finish painting him!!) and in my turn i use lightning arc back on Telion and his scout squad and manages to force so many saves that 2 scouts + Telion dies!! Mwhaha revenge!

His other power is Nightshroud and  to be honest i only use this when i am out of range forLightning arc. If successful he will shroud him or the unit he is in and any units that wants to shoot   on the unit have to  make a LD test or shoot on another target.

Another little extra bonus is that he wields a Forceweapon which means that he have the ability to instant kill a model. However this should only be tried if you have no other choice as he is only strength 3 and will always have a hard time wounding a target with multiple wounds since they often have thougness 4 or more with only 2 attacks. Also keep in mind that he only have a 5++ save or 5+ save and with two wounds you dont want to risk him getting instant killed or simply get enought wounds on hi mthat he will end up dead.

back view

In combat patrol where i mainly use him, this power is rediculous strong! However even in big normal games he have his uses. I add him from time to time for the fun factor cause it fun to see your opponents face when you roll 10 strength 6 shots from one model.

I hope this post will maybe tempt you to bring out the Primaris psyker out for a game or two or if you already tried him out maybe you have some funny stories how the Primaris psyker made you giggle.

Best wishes Ras

The infantry blob

 It occurred to me that i where using the infantry squads as less effective heavy weapon teams(one heavy weapon only in each squad). That meant that I had a heavy weapon team that you couldn’t kill of fast like normal weapon teams, but I was wasting the last 8 guardsmen most of the game since I had to keep them static to use the HWT. 


 I then later combined two infantry squads to a blob with 2 heavy weapon teams in one squad. Only one “bring it down” order where needed now, but now I was wasting 16 guardsmen! So why not remove the HWTs and get full usage out of the blob?

Why use a mobile blob?
- Provides a role for your platoon’s infantry squads while at the same time strengthens it.
- Makes full use of lasguns.
- Provides a tough stabile tar pit if you add a commissar, which can claim objectives.
- Makes a tar pit out of the unit that can actually fight back effectively if you equip your sergeants and commissar with power weapons.
- If you add Straken to the mix and keep his command squad nearby, the blob gets even stronger with counter attack, furious charge and gives you the option of doing “First rank fire, second rank fire” first without losing the extra attack if your target is still alive and charges the blob.

What to watch out for
- Flamers! You will always want to keep your blog in cover since the blob only have flak armor(5+ save).
However as we all know flamers eat both 5+ saves and cover saves..
- Units with a lot of attacks that strike before or at the same time as your blob. Example would be ork boys on the charge, dark eldar wyches etc. You get the point.
- Big blast weapons or small blast barrage. Make sure to spread your blog out with 2 inces in-between each mode.


Best wishes Ras

How to paint camoflage on uniforms

Hi guys. As promised i made a little tutorial on how to paint camoflage on uniforms. Its a very simple 3 step program i do, nothing special at all.

When i paint a model no matter what model i always prime the model white. I then give the whole model badab black. This have several functions.

- It makes all the details much more clear for me, which again makes it alot easier to paint.
- It gives naturel shadows all over the model. This is great cause i thin my paints with water. So when i paint a part, the shadows comes through the layer as you will notice on the second picture.

Heres how the model looks before i start painting the pants.

First step is a layer of catachan green. I mix it with about 2 drops of water to 2 drops of catachan green. Notice i do not care if it doesnt cover 100% the pants, this just adds to the whole look.

After the 50/50 catachan green / water

Second step i add a drop of camo green in the catachan green mix and then adds a drop of water to it aswell so it stays thin. I then paint on some of the raised areas AND some places i feel need some(this is intirely up to you. Again keep in mind we are painting camoflage).

After the mix of catachan green / Camo green

 Third Step is a subtle step. I now add another Camo green drop in the mix along with yet another drop of water. I now highlight some of the same places as before and some new places.

After yet another drop of Camo green.

A clearer picture of the finished pants.

I hope you get the generel idea on how i do it. This is a fun and easy way of painting camoflage pants(atleast for me) and i hope it helps some of you guys.

best wishes Ras

Power weapons WIP

Hi guys. A little quick update on some work in progress, my powerweapon sargeants. I have had a few thoughts on how to do my catachan powerweapons. First idea was to make it less shiny than normal powerweapons, kinda like overheated metal. I somehow didnt like that tought tho, i mean comeon its powerweapons! So i started painting them like my Dark angel powerweapons since i really like how they came out and this is how they came out.

However after a day of looking at them i decided that its to flashy and the blue just didnt look right on em. So i decided to go for same style but other colors. This is how it came out and will be what i stick with unless people can convince me otherwise.

All i need to do now is to paint the pants camoflage, which i am making a small tutorial on since a few people have been emailing me for help on.

Until next time
Ras

Commissar joining the catachan ranks for indefinite time

 For reasons unknown to them, the catachans find themselves with a commissar amidst their ranks. How can this be? Have the Emperor lost faith in them or is there a higher cause?

Any of you that can guess why this is? Lets hope he survives longer than the last commissar 5 years ago..

Best wishes Ras

Battle Report 2 1500 points IG VS Orks

Rematch from last battle rapport. I meet Jacobs Orks on  spear head with size ground as mission. The list is a smaller version of my soon to be 1750 list that i will bring to the tournament at 9k in November.

I hope you enjoy and as usually if you have any tips on how i can make better movies feel free to comment as usually.

Ras