May 28, 2013
February 10, 2013
Book Review - Rynn's World by Steve Parker
Most true fans of 40K know the essence of the Rynn’s World tale: An entire chapter - the Crimson Fists - teeters on the brink of extinction. By the three minutes to midnight that is the unending ‘now’ of 40K - that is the final days of the 41st millennium - the chapter has only partially recovered. So in a sense this is the origin story not of the chapter per se, but of the chapter as we know it.
The story begins with a chapter that has time for ceremonies and is apparently secure in its numbers, prowess and fief. Kantor, Cortez and other characters are introduced, and we also see the chapter’s serfs and broader human government of Rynn’s World.
Things move slowly at this point. I could see what Parker was constructing in these early chapters but I did feel a sense of laboured foundation. Furthermore the view is top-down. Even the serfs – who are called “Chosen” in this story – were presented from the point of view of their leadership.
The action moves to the disaster at Badlanding, which is a foretaste of the bad fortunes to come. The Ork warlord Snagrod comes upon Rynn’s World and displays a reckless cunning that is typically Orky and yet still takes the space marines by surprise.
Parker’s prose is clear and his dialogue is strong. Too many character-driven moments from the supporting cast, however, go nowhere...
In time you realise that their moments were just there to indirectly develop situations and thoughts for the more major characters - in particular: the complex, strained yet close relationship, between Kantor and Cortez, the two most famous canonical characters. Nonetheless I felt some opportunities were lost.
The big thing that Parker pushes is the conundrum of the Ceres Protocol, which describes a general order that all is secondary to the survival of the chapter – the obvious consequence being that self-sacrifice is not an option. This is very well presented in a critical moment in the story when Pedro and Cortez’s friendship nearly snaps over how to deal with refugees.
Alessio Cortez is completely badass in this novel. He fulfils a lot of the hunger for righteous retribution, leaving Kantor as the more balanced personality. Put simply, it is very clear why Cortez is the chapter’s point man and why Pedro Kantor is master of the chapter. No other character comes close to the moral authority that Pedro Kantor exudes – his authority utterly bereft of arrogance. He is the perfect leader and he gets his hands very dirty in the story.
Speaking of dirty… these Orks are not the Orks of, say, Deff Skwadron.
It’s been said before that Orks are only funny in a universe that doesn’t have them…. And that is so true in this novel. These Orks are extremely nasty. Don’t look for hearty laddish guffaws, because they aren’t there.
The climax feels like a contemporary war story. It’s an epic commando raid of few against many and it’s just good pulp space action.
I won’t rank it with a number because I’m of the opinion that such rankings don’t do justice to stories, but I will say that Rynn’s World is solid 40K fare throughout and well worth a read, and I’d feel good about reading more by Mr Steve Parker.
The story begins with a chapter that has time for ceremonies and is apparently secure in its numbers, prowess and fief. Kantor, Cortez and other characters are introduced, and we also see the chapter’s serfs and broader human government of Rynn’s World.
Things move slowly at this point. I could see what Parker was constructing in these early chapters but I did feel a sense of laboured foundation. Furthermore the view is top-down. Even the serfs – who are called “Chosen” in this story – were presented from the point of view of their leadership.
The action moves to the disaster at Badlanding, which is a foretaste of the bad fortunes to come. The Ork warlord Snagrod comes upon Rynn’s World and displays a reckless cunning that is typically Orky and yet still takes the space marines by surprise.
Parker’s prose is clear and his dialogue is strong. Too many character-driven moments from the supporting cast, however, go nowhere...
In time you realise that their moments were just there to indirectly develop situations and thoughts for the more major characters - in particular: the complex, strained yet close relationship, between Kantor and Cortez, the two most famous canonical characters. Nonetheless I felt some opportunities were lost.
The big thing that Parker pushes is the conundrum of the Ceres Protocol, which describes a general order that all is secondary to the survival of the chapter – the obvious consequence being that self-sacrifice is not an option. This is very well presented in a critical moment in the story when Pedro and Cortez’s friendship nearly snaps over how to deal with refugees.
Alessio Cortez is completely badass in this novel. He fulfils a lot of the hunger for righteous retribution, leaving Kantor as the more balanced personality. Put simply, it is very clear why Cortez is the chapter’s point man and why Pedro Kantor is master of the chapter. No other character comes close to the moral authority that Pedro Kantor exudes – his authority utterly bereft of arrogance. He is the perfect leader and he gets his hands very dirty in the story.
Speaking of dirty… these Orks are not the Orks of, say, Deff Skwadron.
It’s been said before that Orks are only funny in a universe that doesn’t have them…. And that is so true in this novel. These Orks are extremely nasty. Don’t look for hearty laddish guffaws, because they aren’t there.
The climax feels like a contemporary war story. It’s an epic commando raid of few against many and it’s just good pulp space action.
I won’t rank it with a number because I’m of the opinion that such rankings don’t do justice to stories, but I will say that Rynn’s World is solid 40K fare throughout and well worth a read, and I’d feel good about reading more by Mr Steve Parker.
January 29, 2013
Ork Warboss
This is my warboss out of the Assault On Black Reach starter set.
Yes I'm still fishing bitz out of that. All my deffkoptas are in there waiting as well.
I took these pics before I undercoated him to show the greenstuffinf where I repositioned his head to be looking down where his power klaw is thrusting, and re-skulpted the neck. There's a metal pin through the middle of it around which I built the neck up and then greenstuffed it into shape.
Finally I put a necron's head down there at his feet. I wanted to do something with the base but nothing too obvious.
Will post again when he's painted.
Yes I'm still fishing bitz out of that. All my deffkoptas are in there waiting as well.
I took these pics before I undercoated him to show the greenstuffinf where I repositioned his head to be looking down where his power klaw is thrusting, and re-skulpted the neck. There's a metal pin through the middle of it around which I built the neck up and then greenstuffed it into shape.
I did this to give him a different front aspect, and to avoid that sense that the model has his arm out for no particular reason. Out of box, the model looks only vaguely like he's pointing.
With this modification he definitely doing something with that klaw, and bellowing fit to deafen anyone around.
With this modification he definitely doing something with that klaw, and bellowing fit to deafen anyone around.
I added the telescopic sight from the regular boyz box. IMO it's clearly Imperial tech and not a typical git-finda, so it's sort of odd to find on the boyz frame, but you can picture an Ork with clout having it fixed to his shoota and then not bothering to use it.
Let's be Orky about this:
they do not aim..... It just adds to the prestige of the weapon.
Let's be Orky about this:
they do not aim..... It just adds to the prestige of the weapon.
Finally I put a necron's head down there at his feet. I wanted to do something with the base but nothing too obvious.
Will post again when he's painted.
October 2, 2012
Brotherhood of the Scarcity - a Gobsmasha rant
As you can probably surmise from that intro… I did not give in to temptation. Has nothing to do with will-power – just cold resentment.
The moment that any primarch or legion realised that Horus and others have turned is a thunderclap through the 40K universe. It deserves a novel. It deserves a Know No Fear.
The White Scars have not been explored in depth in 40K fiction and not at all in the Horus Heresy. Hunt For Voldorius and Savage Scars do not explore the Scars culture in the way that Prospero Burns makes the Space Wolves even more marvellous. Now I will accept that this may not have been Andy Hoare’s intent.... only so much as I assert that these were also lost opportunities.
On that score too, the White Scars deserve a novel. A big thick Horus Heresy on-the-shelf-in-the-shop novel. One that we can feast on and then put down at the end and say "that was awesome".
And thirdly, we the fan base spend a cauldron of money, time and energy on this stuff… we deserve that novel. Or am I just spoiled by the masterpiece that Prospero Burns was?
Are Black Library, in effect, doing with the fiction... what GW does with plastic kits that happen to be elite choices and therefore are priced higher than a troops kit – even though materially speaking it’s still just a plastic kit and no harder to manufacture? (Like I pay more for just one demigryph model than for a box of 10 grots and runt herder).
As if to say…“ this is REALLY interesting… we’ve never covered this before… so we are going to make you pay most of a dollar a page for it. Sorry chum, cashed-up fans only”.
That’s what it feels like. At least for people who aren’t paying through the nose to get HALF A book that they can fondle with ghoul-like covetousness and say ‘mwah ha ha ha ha…!’ over the internet.
I’ve read two books by Chris Wraight, and I don’t slight his abilities. I think he's good. Battle for the Fang was terrific.
I'd love to read Brotherhood of the Storm.
But I work for a living.
Someone who did get it... please read it and post a synopsis? thanks. I'll get you a beer. It'll cost me less anyway.
September 23, 2012
Head over the shoota
One of the things that can trip you up with ork shoota boyz is fitting the head over the shoota. You can run out of space even when you have put the shoota and the arms holding it at entirely logical position. Just about anyone who does Orks must notice this.
so solutions...
Mine is dependent on having Battle for Black Reach bitz.
If you don't have Black Reach and you collect Orks then you should have got it and maybe still can...
While the stores were gearing up for Dark Vengeance I noticed a pile of Black Reach boxes on the floor. GW can be pretty weird policy-wise about what they'll sell and when, but I haven't heard that old boxes are verboten. It'd be on eBay too. Shouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to lay your hands on.
When the 'head over the shoota' prob happened with one of my emerging waaagh, I rectified it by adapting a head from the Black Reach set, which have flat back portion and created the fit by filing down the neck join on the torso.
The effect is good, though he looks like he has a lump in his throat (only) if you're looking up to the model at an unnatural angle. This of course is a problem too small to worry about.
It looks Orky. It looks fine.
Plus you get another head variation for your mob!
so solutions...
Mine is dependent on having Battle for Black Reach bitz.
If you don't have Black Reach and you collect Orks then you should have got it and maybe still can...
While the stores were gearing up for Dark Vengeance I noticed a pile of Black Reach boxes on the floor. GW can be pretty weird policy-wise about what they'll sell and when, but I haven't heard that old boxes are verboten. It'd be on eBay too. Shouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to lay your hands on.
When the 'head over the shoota' prob happened with one of my emerging waaagh, I rectified it by adapting a head from the Black Reach set, which have flat back portion and created the fit by filing down the neck join on the torso.
The effect is good, though he looks like he has a lump in his throat (only) if you're looking up to the model at an unnatural angle. This of course is a problem too small to worry about.
It looks Orky. It looks fine.
Plus you get another head variation for your mob!
July 29, 2012
Painting the Waaagh
This post replaces an earlier one regarding the beginning of my Ork army.
The scheme is pretty much the studio one we are used to seeing. I’ve looked at a lot of stuff people have done with a more subdued green - which usually means a green that has a higher tint of yellow and brown, and less of a glow about it – but I have fallen into my method and it works for me.
I undercoat black and then do a light green base undercoat for the skin, Knarloc Green/Loren Forest (I’m being nice here and giving the new and old names). I then dry-brush this up to a bright tone with Scorpion Green/Moot Green. At this point what you have is an Ork that practically glows in the dark.
Over that I do a heavy wash or two of Dark Angels Green/Caliban Green. If you were slack about stuff you could get away with that for the table-top. You could use actual washes too… but I find they give too much gloss and I tend to use them on things like boots to simulate the sheen of leather. Just adding more water has always worked for me.
After than I start working it with layers of Goblin Green/Warboss Green and Skarsnik Green, which is just a tad paler.
These last two give it an organic look, it’s quite a soft green. I’ve got solid depth there already, and I then use anything between Caliban and Moot to get the depths and highlights I want.
The overall effect is just a tad fruiter than the green in the codex but not really that different. They’re using at least Warboss Green and probably a couple of the others I mention.
Then I do the face – which I love – and re-black the rest of the model before painting those parts.
I’ve fiddled with colours and seen some nice stuff for the rest of the Ork but the simple Goff thing of dark browns, black, greys and white works for me. It stops the model looking over bright or over busy, and I reckon it looks really cool. So Goffs it is for me, at least as far as my Boyz go.
Orks are really fun to paint. The check-patterns are a little fiddly but not that hard and they don’t have to be perfect anyway – obviously – because these are Orks. If you like doing faces, which I do, they’re a smorgasbord of variety, and the faces are huge. They actually remind me of cougars. The big wild cat, I mean, not Mrs Robinson. I should really get back to Beastmen someday (I painted ONE, many years ago) because they have some of the same cool attributes going on.
So there it is, I’m not batch painting and rarely get to play so I don’t have fill-a-list pressure. Hope you check out my progress from time to time.
September 5, 2010
July 11, 2010
Winterpyre Chaos Marauder Horseman
This took some tinkering to get the balance of warm and cold right. It's a realistic earthy set of colours to work with.
The shield is very dark blue, which is a reoccurring detail for this army.
I'd painted one of these before, when my winter theme wasn't thought out yet... but this is a much nicer scheme and I'm very pleased with it.
This army will be a while in the painting, but that - after all - is how I roll.
Winterpyre Chaos Knight
It's not visible in the photo but I was pleased with how the leather bits came up. I might do some details differently on models to come, however...
Warriors of Chaos are a forgiving army for individual variations (and that's probably the only sort of forgiveness that Chaos knows...).
I love these immense Chaos steeds.
May 31, 2010
Salamanders Venerable Dreadnought
The plastic venerable dreadnought in Salamanders chapter colours... completed a couple of weeks back.
Beautiful kit. Can assemble three different weapons options complete including shoulder mount and interchange them in and out as suits your mission. Lots of different options for the sarcophagus and facing sections of the body. Three different helmets of antiquated power armour types - which I saved for some gribly marines I'll do and just used a regular one instead.
My only gripe is the power plant at the back has a purity seal moulded on, which was totally unnecessary as the model comes with quite a few as optional bitz.
My only gripe is the power plant at the back has a purity seal moulded on, which was totally unnecessary as the model comes with quite a few as optional bitz.
I particularly like the honour board of place names at front, and on an shoulder casing if you so desire. "Badab" at least is a campaign confirmed to have involved the Salamanders chapter, among many others.
July 17, 2009
Salamanders Chapter Sternguard
Been away....
I put finishing touches on this Sternguard yesterday, in between assembling an Imperial Bastion. I'm mixing the Sternguard freely into my tactical squads, as I notice is also done by the GW team in their photography. I don't have squad identifiers and my intent is to raise the bar on my troops by working in the very best models that GW make, and I reckon these Sternguard are among the best they've ever done.
This pose in particular truly captures - I think - the dark adventure of 40k, and the sledgehammer heroism of the Space Marines.
This pose in particular truly captures - I think - the dark adventure of 40k, and the sledgehammer heroism of the Space Marines.
Chaos Warhound
Pilot model for my Winter army. Wanted the colours to mesh with the warriors without being just the same paints. Fun model. Needed some greenstuff over the top of its head to repair some imperfections, but okay otherwise.
May 24, 2009
Salamanders scouts
Painting up some scouts for my Salamanders..
I'm fairly happy with this test model. I've bought into the retconned fluff about them all being red-eyed and black and given this one ash white hair for contrast. Otherwise the scheme is my own with desert-coloured fatigues and black rather than white shoulder pads.
Update July 17:
With the new landspeeder storm model coming I see GW have done one in Salamaders livery... and the scouts are done differently to the Armageddon campaign era of years ago. Gone are the white shoulder pads and their scheme is pretty much exactly what I've done above!
I'm fairly happy with this test model. I've bought into the retconned fluff about them all being red-eyed and black and given this one ash white hair for contrast. Otherwise the scheme is my own with desert-coloured fatigues and black rather than white shoulder pads.
Update July 17:
With the new landspeeder storm model coming I see GW have done one in Salamaders livery... and the scouts are done differently to the Armageddon campaign era of years ago. Gone are the white shoulder pads and their scheme is pretty much exactly what I've done above!
April 26, 2009
The Winter of our Chaotic Intent
I'd been thinking about my Chaos horde and what other direction I might take with it. It wasn't Norscan enough for my liking, and I've come up with a different approach.
I'll call this my Winter army, pending such time as a suitably brutal name comes to mind.
Here's the scheme, written for me to remember it as much as anything:
Cloak is khemri, up through graveyard to bleached bone, washed with watered-down scorched. Gloves, boots and belt are charadon, highlighted charadon/bleached bone mix. Fur is fenris up to shadow/space wolf mix. Lots of metals and asurmen and leviathan wash. Baal on the gold and tiny bits of red elsewhere.
April 13, 2009
Salamander with heavy weapon
Gobsmasha finally does another model... A Salamander wot likes to burn stuff.
Can't really have Salamanders and not have one or two multi-meltas, can I?
December 27, 2008
Bloodmoon's Cadre
This is a Tau fire warrior done a while back as a test model for an army I will do at some point, tentatively named for his intended general... the infamously combat drug-happy Tau leader known as Commander Bloodmoon, who I invented.The intention was a bright warm scheme where I could use shades of blue-green for sensor lights, drawing some inspiration from Star Wars clone troopers.
Fairly pleased with it.
He has no mates yet, I'm still busy working on other stuff.
December 2, 2008
Salamanders HQ
This is my Salamanders captain, who I recruited to replace my old captain, who fell in battle against the Necron Lord of Tombworld Sigil.
There are things about him I would change but overall I was happy with how he came out.
I used a High Elf banner part, cut in half, as the clasp badge, instead of the options on the commander sprue. This is in a shape that could be a Salamander's head, and I painted it gold with a ruby eye. He also carries a holy artifact from the Bretonnian men-at-arms sprue, which isn't visible in the pics. Other bits are raided from various space marine sprues. I modified his bolt gun with some scratchmade detail that can't be seen in the pics either, and offset the target finder to make the weapon seem more customised. I spaced the torso and legs slightly so he is actually taller than a standard marine in power armour.
The skull at his feet is from the Tomb Kings skeleton box. It has a left eyeball which I painted to represent a lens-eye, such as the captain himself sports in replacement of his original organ. What I had in mind there was a narrative comment that he too may someday meet the same fate...
There are things about him I would change but overall I was happy with how he came out.
I used a High Elf banner part, cut in half, as the clasp badge, instead of the options on the commander sprue. This is in a shape that could be a Salamander's head, and I painted it gold with a ruby eye. He also carries a holy artifact from the Bretonnian men-at-arms sprue, which isn't visible in the pics. Other bits are raided from various space marine sprues. I modified his bolt gun with some scratchmade detail that can't be seen in the pics either, and offset the target finder to make the weapon seem more customised. I spaced the torso and legs slightly so he is actually taller than a standard marine in power armour.
The skull at his feet is from the Tomb Kings skeleton box. It has a left eyeball which I painted to represent a lens-eye, such as the captain himself sports in replacement of his original organ. What I had in mind there was a narrative comment that he too may someday meet the same fate...
December 1, 2008
Men of Averland
Here are four of my Empire men, three swordsmen and an engineer with a telescope.
I picked this scheme for it's strongly Germanic feel. The Empire is the Warhammer world's analogue of the Holy Roman Empire, which was centred mostly in what is now Germany, and was famously said not to be Holy, Roman or an Empire. Players of the sublime Medieval II Total War will recall the HRE are represented in these colours.
Averland currently has no incumbent Elector Count, so the scribes tell me... nevertheless they have legion of vampires, ghouls and undead nearby to keep them busy should Orcs, Beastmen and Chaos leave them wanting for a scrap.
The Empire is a beautifully imagined realm, a collage of ideas and impressions from gothic tales, Hammer films, the works of Michael Moorcock and history itself. Love it.
Imagine a tavern in this place...
High adventure, tankards of beer and smoking intrique swamped in perpetual fear of the evil night.
I picked this scheme for it's strongly Germanic feel. The Empire is the Warhammer world's analogue of the Holy Roman Empire, which was centred mostly in what is now Germany, and was famously said not to be Holy, Roman or an Empire. Players of the sublime Medieval II Total War will recall the HRE are represented in these colours.
Averland currently has no incumbent Elector Count, so the scribes tell me... nevertheless they have legion of vampires, ghouls and undead nearby to keep them busy should Orcs, Beastmen and Chaos leave them wanting for a scrap.
The Empire is a beautifully imagined realm, a collage of ideas and impressions from gothic tales, Hammer films, the works of Michael Moorcock and history itself. Love it.
Imagine a tavern in this place...
High adventure, tankards of beer and smoking intrique swamped in perpetual fear of the evil night.
Salamanders Tactical Squad
Me playing with my camera again...
These are quite old models of mine, but much loved and many times fielded in battle in my study at home ... against Sigil's perfidious eldar, tyranids and necrons.
These are quite old models of mine, but much loved and many times fielded in battle in my study at home ... against Sigil's perfidious eldar, tyranids and necrons.
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