the first Foray...

Mordheimer wrote:

WHAT?!? You received the of Nurgle and somehow you became less productive? You for sure jest! No wonder you are regaining your health, you ungrateful fool! I hope with all my heart that you get what you deserve... complete isolation from Nurgle. After you are abandoned by his Holy Touch, you sink in a misery so deep that you try, in a misguided but cute attempt, to regain that special something you felt while upon His embrace by building hundreds of awesome models models.


PS: HA! That was an inspired (but weird) "Get Well Soon" note!"

You, Sir, spend too much time in these forums. Plus, Nurgle is but a pale shadow of himself through these times. The blessing of Khorne keeps me strong, for my Axe never knows peace except when singing through rivers of blood...

which is a weird way to say "thank you!"

And @Skavenslayer, I would love to see your take on a servitor as a HWS! Some minds are great, and others are just lucky...

And as for Mordenheimer's grasp of the rules, I don't really want to comment, in case I speak of what I don't know...but...I did read a story about...what was it...master-crafted power weapons a while ago? Maybe?

YOU TOO?!?! It will never end! Master-Crafted... I still shiver at my poor design process.

I think that skavenslayer refers at my super-human (god-like) ability to FORGET the rules of ... even when I have to write EVERYTHING on TLRB! How many times have skavenslayer corrected me? Five? Six? Hell... I lost count! But I SWEAR there is a Gun Servitor Hired Gun (runs quickly to check TLRB)... yes!!! Volume 3, page 139!

Sure, you could use your creation as a HWS without ANY issues. The way that the Unit can look is up to you. BUT... check out the Gun Servitor! Not only is cool (I designed the Unit with Lord Greywolf) but it offers some nice advantages.

FIRST... like all Hired Guns, these are GREAT hidden treasures. You can start your Squad with any number of HGs. So, your Squad is limited to 2 HWS? With the proper HG, you could get another Heavy Weapon! You can do stuff like that... EXPLOIT the HGs!!!

Then is the matter of cost. The Gun Servitor costs 26 Credits to Hire and 10 Credits to Upkeep. An IG HWS costs 36 Credits. So, you are saving 10 Credits for your initial Squad. The Servitor comes equipped (at no additional cost!) with the equivalent of Mesh Armor and Helmet; you 'value' of 35 credits. The HWS is as naked as he can be. The Servitor allows you to buy & equip any one (1) weapon, as long as it meets all requirements for the weapon’s use, of Rarity 7 or less without rolling for Rarity by paying for the weapon's full price; this means you could START with a Heavy Stubber! The HWS can't start with any items Rare 6 or above... so you have to FIND the item after the 1st game and pay full price.

The Advancements are very unique for the Servitors. At the moment of Advancement, you get to roll on a special table and BUY the Advancement if you want it (if not, you loose this chance.) Considering this is a HG, you get a chance of getting/buying +1 Toughness or even a Skill! Not such chance with the HWS.

On the long run, if you get the Gun Servitor to START with your Squad, it 'breaks' even with a similarly equipped (no gun, but one Advancement) HWS by game FOUR.


Now... don't believe me. I tend to mess up the rules. HA! Read it yourself, or better yet... ask skavenslayer. He knows more than me!

I'll have to make a note to look into the Gun Servitor, they seem like one hell of a solid buy.

Course...then I'd have to model one, and I have doubts about it turning out as nice as Sparrow2z's.

As promised, a picture! No work done in the painting, BUT a fruitful hunt at the local GW gave me reason to buy this:



So yeah, there's the base models for the squad members. Now, all I got to do is work out a squad list before I start to put things together...

@Mordheimer...a gun servitor...well, you make a very strong case for one! I think that's what I will do...

@ClausLars - thanks for the compliment! It's most appreciated!

Hope all are well!

Matt

Hey all,

Realised I've not updated this since...January...man, thats bad. Part of the reason (here come the excuses) is the prisoner exchange, and part of the reason is that I just haven't really been inspired. I want to do my best for each member of my squad. Partly, this is pride, and partly, this is because with a small number of members in a DS, there really isnt any excuse for "that'll do" style of modelling, especially since so many of you have set the bar so high.

Anyway, today I had some time spare and found myself staring at a pair of tau legs (hey, the mrs was elsewhere) and inspiration hit! So without further babbling, heres a new squad member:







As usual, apologies for the quality of the pictures, but it was taken quickly with an iPhone. the legs are tau. The feet, arms, body and head are from the empire militia. And the gun is from the Cadian squad set.

As always, comments and criticism welcome!

Matt

Very cool... urban!

Hey all,

It has been ages since I last posted here on Death Squads. Admittedly life has been getting in the way, though I have to attribute some of my lack of interaction down to a lapse in interest - modelling is great fun, but having no one to actually play a game with is proving to be a killer. In the end, I've realized that Death Squads may just be a game that inspires me to convert and paint models, rather then a game I'll expect to play. Does that make sense? The other difficulty I've had has been that I've hated (absolutely hated) posting pics which are naff. For example, I tried to take the following picture back in early june, in the midst of a bright hot summers day.



Horrible, isn't it? After a while, it felt utterly demoralising. However, after reading through this thread , I felt inspired to make a rudimentary light box and try again. And, thanks to @Narcissus, the results are AMAZING. Well, at least, amazing for me!

So, I'll run through the entire squad I've painted up so far!

First, my Boss.



The Enforcer



The Sarge



The Lady (Excuse Thumb)



The Preacher



And The Weapons Servitor



So that was the squad as we left it. Since then, I've added an ogryn, a bounty hunter and 5 squad members. Photo's, I hear you say? Oh okay...

First, The Ogryn. This was converted from the nurgle sorcerer. No huge conversion - simply filling in the open wounds / sores with green stuff, making the mask a single solid piece (aka filling the three holes in the middle of the mask) and swapping the axe head for a nasty looking blade bought from maxmini.



Secondly, the bounty hunter. Obviously, this is the witch hunter model from the empire range. This is a beautiful model, and it felt like a crime to convert it, but hey...All that I've done is scrape away some detail, filed away the weird trousers, green stuffed new trousers, gave a head swap and added a gun barrel to the pistol. And I'm happy with it!



And finally, heres a group shot of the squad members. These are just simple kit bashes. Honestly, I haven't put as much effort in as with the other models because in game, I expect them to die quickly!



So anyway, that's the gang so far! I'm not too sure where to go with it next. I may convert up a vehicle / transport for the squad. I may (finally) start building some terrain. Ideally, I really need to play a game and start developing the squad. But I refuse to be sad enough to play against myself...

Right, hope you all like! As always, comments and (helpful) criticism welcome.

Matt

Wow! I am impressed. I really loved your vision. Very unique and wish they were at my house!

Very cool Squad!

Love the Servitor... he IS the weapon! The lady is very impressive... and the shinning red leather is very dominatrix. The Ogryn is so simple, its scary!

My fav? Drumer Boy! I bet he never gets killed! Whata re his weapons? A pair of clubs? HA!

Good job. I really like them. The Nurgle Lord model is one of my favorites from GW. Lots of character. Great use of the empire models and good job covering up those ugly puffy pants and arms!

Are you planning to hit them with some matte coat varnish? The ogryn in particular looks quite shiny.

Sweet ass squad! Love the models and the posing of them!
Good thing you refound your hobby spirit by building that lightbox, it actually makes the pics a lot better! I know the feeling and have my hobby dip everynow and then. What I mostly do the is to start another project. I had a dip lately so expect some pics of my "rehab" project soon!
The Hunter is my fav model, love the atmosphere around him.

Hey all,

Thanks for the comments! I'm glad people like 'em - Every model I've painted has had a whole "Huh, wonder what the others will think of these" as I've painted and finished them up.

To reply to some of the comments:

@Mord - at the mo, drummer boy just has an Autogun - the drum is more for character then in-game use!

@DaBank - thanks man! glad you approve!

@Narcissus - I am planning on hitting them with some matte varnish once funds allow (Real Life forcing me to spend money on things like food, rather then hobby). However, in my defence, I do suspect part of the shine is from the light box - they're really not that shiny in real life!

@Stonetooth - Glad you like the hunter! I initially approached it as a companion piece for the prisoner you sent me, but I struggled to give it the same sense of drama, so in the end painted it up in its own right!

Matt

Am not dead.

Sorry for the absence - there's been a million different things grabbing my attention. For one, I've joined a boardgaming group which has unearthed a number of closet wargamers. We're thinking of giving Necromunda a try, as most people are interested in that. But I am trying to get some death squads interest going...

On the modelling side, I've been busy making terrain and a few squads. My pride and joy at the moment is getting hold of 10 RT era Commisars, so I've been busy changing arms and starting to paint them up for another squad. Slightly smaller then current IG models, but full of character.

I'm also trying a change when it comes to my SM army. I'm leaving the world of black, and trying my hand at painting the Lamenter's Space Marine Chapter. This means a lot of yellow and a frustrated muttering as I try to freehand the chapter badge. But no pain, no gain!

Anyway, I know no pics or it didn't happen, but you'll have to bear with me!

Matt

Sparrow2z wrote:

Am not dead.

Sorry for the absence - there's been a million different things grabbing my attention. For one, I've joined a boardgaming group which has unearthed a number of closet wargamers. We're thinking of giving Necromunda a try, as most people are interested in that. But I am trying to get some death squads interest going...

On the modelling side, I've been busy making terrain and a few squads. My pride and joy at the moment is getting hold of 10 RT era Commisars, so I've been busy changing arms and starting to paint them up for another squad. Slightly smaller then current IG models, but full of character.

I'm also trying a change when it comes to my SM army. I'm leaving the world of black, and trying my hand at painting the Lamenter's Space Marine Chapter. This means a lot of yellow and a frustrated muttering as I try to freehand the chapter badge. But no pain, no gain!

Anyway, I know no pics or it didn't happen, but you'll have to bear with me!

Matt

Hi man! Don't worry and no apologies necessary. Wargaming and modeling comes and goes. And not having someone to play with does NOT help, at all. So it's good to hear you've found some people to play with! If Necromunda is an option... you should seriously convince them to try DS. I've played both, DS is easily the more balanced and fun game (and I'm not just saying that, because I help design it).

On the board game side of things: have you guys tried "Battlestar Galatica: the board game"? If not... commit honorable seppuku, revive yourselves and go play it.

Aiieeee, you're trying a yellow army. Yellow is a disaster! But, if you do it well... very cool. Looking forward to the pics!

Afternoon all,

Following my last post, thought it best to add some pics of what I've been working on, and what I will be working on...

First of all, Deathsquads.



Forgive the rubbish shots - been out of practice! I just found this in my bits box - a conversion, based on Corteaz, started ages ago and never quite finished. I may hold off on doing anything with this, and instead wait until Lord Greywolf's comp starts on the 7th December...

Next, the squad I'm currently working on...



These are a bunch of old Commissar models I bought off a mate who discovered them sitting in a box. I love them. Slightly shorter then the current IG, they exude character. I swapped out most of the arms and one head swap, making use of the Empire Militia GW set to give them arms that suit, and one head swap. So far, as you can see, I've painted the leather coats, and just about to go to work on the flesh (the white areas) and try to pick out details. I'll post more detailed pics when I get a bit better with my rudimentary camera set up...

Finally, the start of my second Space Marine army.




As you can tell, this is from the Space Marine Chapter known as the Lamenters, primarily known for their role in the Badab war. It's been a challenge to paint them, which is good. I'm forcing myself to paint the chapter badge freehand, as well as any chapter markings / symbols. Plus, painting yellow isn't easy...It's not Golden Demon standard by any extent, but I'm pretty happy with the results so far. It's a very steep learning curve, if i'm honest, but I'm hoping by the time I've painted an army's worth, I'll be a much better painter then I am now.

Right, think that's everything for now. As always, comments and constructive criticism welcome,

Matt

Quick update - new DS almost finished. Just waiting for bases...





As always, any comments/criticism welcome.

Matt

Cool models! They are not standard comissar models are they? I like the one with the tie!

Nice looking squad (Mordian?). They appear to be quite unusual models (are some of these Rogue Trader era? I noticed some very old school lasguns on your kitbashing thread) or converted - either way you have a cool, unique squad. Just out of interest why did you choose to use Warhammer Militia weapons?

Cheers Laney

@laney's right-the squad is made up of rogue trader era commissars. Ill post better pics up when I get the chance to take some.

Also, good call on the empire militia arms. The reason I used them is because they're what I had in my bits box. I did consider using Cadian arms, but I didn't have enough spare, and the shoulder pads didn't look right.

Looking forward to getting them up on the gaming board at some point. Just need an opponent...

Matt

Those commissars are really cool; I haven't seen models like that in ages. The freehand on your Lamentor looks great. I'm not sure foil make the best blind though. The reflection would probably mess with photo quality. Have you continued working on the Coteaz conversion you started in late November? I was curious where you might be taking him.

@Horrid - No progress on the Coteaz conversion. At the moment, it just sits on my desk, looking at me, accusing me...

Partly, I've not done any work on him, because I need to find some suitable arms. But mostly, its because it'd be the first conversion I do that needs decent green stuff sculpting skills, and I want to give it the time it deserves in order to learn!