“I try all things, I achieve what I can.”

So for this month, I decided to keep things rolling with the Tactical Squad and look to complete them by painting up the Sergeant with his cohort of 3 regular marines and the special weapons Marine. Again, these five marines were taken from across my collection, with the Sergeant from my first ever 40K purchase – the Space Crusade board game (which I have long since lost the various components save from the miniatures, and they are now mostly added to my Advanced Space Crusade collection). I felt he deserves to be promoted to Veteran Sergeant status for this reason alone! The regular Marines are a mix of a monopose classic, one from the Space Marine Strike Force box, and one of the MK7 armoured metal marines (no. 4 for those that keep tabs!). The Special weapons Marine is a quick kit bash – taking the top half from the Bike Squadron box and adding it to some plastic legs. 

For these Marines, along with the combat squad from last month, I realised that I would need to use transfers to get the iconography looking up to the job, and my first mistake was finding some of my old originals. Now, I’m not sure if it’s the age of them or if they were always this bad – but the 90s transfers are an absolute pig to work with. They don’t really like to come away from the base sheet when wet, and also crumble at the first sight of a model. Marine shoulder pads, with their curve are also one of the trickiest places to get a good application at the best of times, so after some failed attempts and plenty of swearing, the old set was put aside and I ordered some modern equivalents which were much easier to work with…and that when the real trouble started. 

So, after applying them, I noticed just how shiny they were compared to the rest of the model, plus I was still struggling to get them to sit properly on the curve of the shoulder pad. So I asked in the FB group for other veterans (survivors!) of this challenge how they dealt with the transfers to discover that I should have done more to prep the area with various varnishes and thinning agents to help get a flat finish and allow the transfer to smoothly slide on…multiple things that I hadn’t done before just rushing in. So, armed with this knowledge, I tried to make as good a job as possible with various gloss then matt coats last month, which just about worked and realised that I would need to adopt the same approach across the rest of the force for uniformity – so I have applied the same half and half tactics here.  

Following on from the Tactical Squad, I had some figures that I have been waiting to paint up for a while as a bonus this month – and that’s my Jump Pack equipped Death Company minis and Chaplin. Taken from the various Death Company boxes and mixed together (plus a few slightly vampiric heads that I had lying around) these guys were equipped more for the rule of looking cool than any focus on the rules (and I have since had it pointed out to me that the units frenzy makes the Chainswords somewhat redundant as they lose parry) but I’ll just have to make them count as Power Axes instead! For the challenge, however, it’s WYSIWYG, so Chainswords it is! 

2nd Month 

Tactical Combat Squad with flamer and Veteran sergeant armed with Power Axe.  171 points

Death Company Interrogator Hero Chaplin equipped with a Jet Pack (paid in the DC)   84 points 

6 Death Company Marines with Jet Packs plus 6 Chainswords and 2 Plasma Pistols  282 points

Month 2 total – 12 models and 537 points 

As always, feel free to follow along with my progress and various other Oldhammer projects over on Instagram @ad80_herohammer. Thanks for reading! 

Wachtmeister: Alex was so quick with getting his entry in on time this month he actually submitted this month before I got through reading all of the entries from month 1!  I really like the biker conversion, it makes a really cool pose!

A shimmering tear in reality, no larger than a whisper, appeared in the shadow cast by a towering holo-display. From this portal, a pack of Daemonettes of Slaanesh slithered into existence, their forms both alluring and terrifying. Their leader, a Daemonette named L’yssara, with her serpentine grace and eyes that promised both ecstasy and doom, surveyed the room. Her pack was small but perfectly suited for their task: to corrupt from within, to sow discord and pleasure where discipline and duty reigned.

As the night deepened, the command center became a place of revelry and corruption. Data terminals began to display not battle strategies but scenes of debauchery and excess. The Daemonettes danced, their movements a hypnotic blend of beauty and horror, drawing more and more into their deadly embrace. The once-clear lines of command blurred, replaced by chaos, pleasure, and the dark worship of Slaanesh.

My second slice consists of a squad of seven Daemonettes. I had originally pledged to paint five, but I added another two along the way.

As with the Plague Marines I didn’t have an exact colour scheme ready when I started with the Daemonettes, but I knew I wanted them to look similar to the Keeper of Secrets released early in 3rd edition 40K. I ended up settling on a fairly simple recipe for the skin. I began with a Wraithbone basecoat followed by a thin wash of Cadian Flesh. I continued by layering on Flayed One Flesh and Wraithbone for the highlights. I finished off by thinning down Screamer Pink and applying it to the recesses. The claws were based with Barak-Nar Burgundy, washed with Druchii Violet and drybrushed with Screamer Pink and finally Pink Horror.

Daemonettes cost 35 points each in the game, and you have to spend two summoning points for each daemon (a minimum of three must be summoned each time). Slaanesh summoning points are gained every time an enemy unit is forced to take a Leadership test for any reason. The Daemonettes are rather good in close combat with WS6, S5 (S4 base but they get +1 for their huge claws!) and A3. As with all Daemons they have a 4+ save form their daemonic aura (not modified by strength) which is pretty neat! Their main weakness is their slow speed (M4), but if they can be summoned into a favourable position close to the enemy this could be somewhat negated.

***
The Velvet Claws
7x Daemonettes of Slaanesh (245)
Total: 245 points

***

My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddgits.hut

/Ted

Wachtmeister: Throughout the years I’ve had mixed feelings about these models.  I’m pretty sure I did not like them when they first came out but they have really grown on me.  Ted did such a terrific job with them I’m wondering if I can dig up the few I have and paint them for myself!  It’s not like I have any other projects going on right now….

Month 2 – Troops. 

“Yriel, the exodites are requesting military aid. They believe they can hold the hoard back. But to remove them from the maiden world they will require more troops and military weapons.”

“Javahas, dispatch red wings squad. They will be able to move fast and put some troops at their hands to assist and give us more eyes on the issue. I can’t spare too many troops and as for vehicles I need to know how bad the threat is.”

It was a joy to add these to project. The Eldar Corsair’s is just so cool so I love the jump packs and weapons. I tried to make the wing look like energy and I think I pulled that off. I have tried the army on the field and found the large amount of sustained Fire dice thanks to Shuriken catapults to be unfun. It was a brutal gun line so I’m trying this. They do have a missile launcher and scatter laser so that should give the squad some brutal fire power. 

Wachtmeister:  Once again Dunnwa has done a terrific job of making the moder Eldar fit with the look of 2^nd Edition.  This army is shaping up to look terrific on the battlefield!

Hey! 

Finished 450 points worth of Destroyers 🙂 

Wachtmeister: My grandfather used to say “Hey is for horses!” but I like to quote Shakespear and say “Brevity is the soul of wit.”  Flogger doesn’t need to say a lot, 6 Destroyers will do the talking for him! 

First here is the progress for February:

Tactical Squad with Plasma Gun  308 points

5 Man Devastator squad, Lascannon, Heavy Bolter, Plasma gun, and Missile launcher  445 points

I also have the Librarian I finished Late January that I will add to this month’s total. 53 points

Total Points painted for Feb: 806. Added to last month’s total, I am over 1000 points. I still have a dreadnought and Landspeeder to paint. I am planning on adding a 5 man Assault squad, as well as a 5 man terminator squad. 

Wachtmeister:  Damien is cooking right along with his pledge with a solid section of troops and some psychic backup from his Librarian!  This month alone is a nice little army!

Background for the army, I started playing 40K back in the 90’s during 2nd edition. The Angels of Death codex was my introduction to the Blood Angels, and I was hooked. Eventually I built up a large Blood Angels army, sadly I sold it. I was able to locate an unpainted Blood angels 2nd edition era army and had sat on them for years. No motivation, until now. I wont use Dante or Tycho often, or at all, but wanted to paint them some 30 years on.  

For me, February sees five more Necron Warriors join the five I painted in January. Combined, these 10 robot-boys come in at a chunky 440 points, and provide a solid foundation for the army.

Again, I feel like a bit of a cheat going with Necrons – and opting for the vanilla, ‘straight out of the Codex’ colour scheme. They’re incredibly basic, especially when compared to all the other stunning submissions in the challenge. 

But, like a true soulless death-robot, I shall persevere. And hope that as a complete, unified army, they’ll push all the right nostalgia buttons for me and my gaming buddies when battling on the tabletop.

Wachtmeister:  Brawlerguts may feel like he is cheating by going with Necrons but even still we have yet to see a completed Necron army in one of the challenges so he is doing great!  I love seeing these guys painted in the classic paint scheme from afar, I’d hate to see them advancing on my poor guardsmen!

This past month has been a delightfully nostalgic as I brought to life a model I always lusted after in the ’90s—the mighty Khorne Juggernaut ridden by a Chaos Lord.

Exploring other entries in the 40k Second Edition Challenge was equally inspiring. One standout entry featured an exquisitely painted Plague Marine squad, while another showcased a beautifully painted Eldar Guardian unit in the classic colours. 

Painting the Khorne Juggernaut has been a great fun and a real bucket list model. Here’s to many more adventures in the world of Warhammer 40,000!

Wachtmeister:  I’m glad the World Eaters were less problematic this month and didn’t cause quite so much stress!  That classic juggernaut is a terrific figure and could perhaps be the heaviest 2^nd Edition model Games Workshop has ever made!  Khorne would be proud one of his models could in fact draw blood and could even be weaponized if needed! 

So part 2 of my assault squad. This squad is armed to take on vehicles and lightly armoured foes. With the sarg armed with a powerglove ready to rip off guns and tear at tracks as well as popping the knew joint off a dreadnought.

The rest of the squad are armed with the iconic chainsword and bolt pistol.

So thanks to this challenge I now have a 10 sttong assault squad.

As March is a longer month I am looking forward to painting the Razorback.

Keep up the good work everyone.

They heard the Orks’ Warbikes long before they saw them and began to ready their weapons.

The Warbikes thundered into view immersed in a cloud of dust and smoke.

“Filthy Orks, do you have them in your sights Dark Moon?” 

“Of course Angel Dust”

“Then fire!”

February has been a bit of a difficult month time wise with school half term and a few family birthdays (how dare they!) so thankfully just the three Dark Reapers pledged. 

I’ve always had trouble painting black well so tend to avoid it apart from boots and belts etc. This time I did some reading and found that if you don’t use pure black as the base you get a much better effect, pretty basic stuff but something I wasn’t aware of. I’m really pleased how it turned out in the end.

I used the green to tie in with the Biel Tan, they’re all ‘glazed’ with a green ink too, it’s not really noticeable here but it is when compared side to side and I think it gives them more warmth, it was definitely a nervous moment because if it had looked rubbish I’d have had to start again!

Being only three models, I did find time for some bonus stuff, one Jet Bike finished and another five base coated, the plan is to get the unit done alongside the rest of the challenge.

It’s feels good to get some heavy hitters done, already it’s shaping up to be a proper army.

Cheers!

Dark Reapers x 3 – 201pts

Guardian on Jet Bike – 31pts

Total points 232

Wachtmeister: Painting black can be tricky but it looks like Justin has figured it out!  I was lucky enough to take a painting class from a friend about how to paint black and white and learning tricks such as not using what we would consider to be a “pure” black was one of the lessons.  Justin did a great job knocking these out of the park!

Amidst the sickly green glow pervading the tiberium field, the Necrons advanced relentlessly, their bleached carcasses reflecting the radioactive gleam of the alien mineral which casted an spectral aura reminiscent of the terrors of the Old Night.

The battle ragged across a desolate wasteland, a vast expanse of sterile black soil and dark rock speckled with glowing strands of tiberium that grew like unnatural crystals from the ground. The surface was treacherous—brittle in some places, hardened like obsidian in others—and the winds carried a fine dust laced with radioactive dust. The entire expanse was shrouded in oppressive darkness, the only light coming from the emerald flashes of the cursed mineral as the conflict took place in the stygian badzones of Hive Gedde.

In some areas, pools of promethium bubbled slowly, seeping from cracks in the underground and releasing volatile, flammable vapors that mixed with the rarefied air. Despite the only illumination being the lethal glow of tiberium and the intermittent flashes of explosions, the darkness had no effect on the soulless automatons; their cybernetic optics scanned the surroundings with absolute precision, detecting every enemy movement with inhuman coldness.

Crystalline shards crunched under their synchronized steps, but made no harm to them—their undying technology immune to tiberium’s corruption. Ahead of white phalanx, the lines of the PDF had fortified themselves, entrenched behind adamantium barricades and fortified positions. Lasguns and heavy bolters roared, unleashing volleys of projectiles and energy in a desperate attempt to halt the unabating march of the Necrons. The lasgun shots streaked through the gloom in crimson lines, striking the skeletal warriors’ metallic carapaces to no effect. The bursts from the heavy bolters, however, managed to stagger some of the automatons, tearing fragments from their exoskeletons with explosive impacts.

Without a single verbal command, the Necrons raised their gauss flayers, unleashing a storm of disintegrating energy. The amber beams struck the ranks of the PDF, vaporizing bodies in an ephemeral flash—flesh and armour reduced to atomic dust. A Leman Russ took a direct hit to its turret, its armored plates liquefying under the gauss barrage before its internal munitions detonated in a column of fire and shrapnel. Another one roared and fired its main cannon; the explosion sending a rain of earth and crystals skyward, tearing several Necron warriors apart, but when the dust settled, the automatons remained standing, resuming their inexorable advance.

The firefight intensified. Autocannons hummed, spewing high-velocity rounds that struck the Necrons with a metallic clang. Some of the warriors wavered under the sheer weight of fire, limbs severed with sparks of disruptive energy, but not a single cry of pain rose from their ranks. When their systems failed, they simply collapsed—and moments later, the nanotechnology within their bodies began reconstructing them. The Imperial Guard, however, had no such advantage: every soldier hit by the alien energy disintegrated in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only half-dissolved corpses and the tainted breeze of death.

The Necron infantry marched forward, their ranks unshaken by enemy fire. Every warrior that fell rose again, restored by the arcane technology of their immortal bodies. Desperation gripped the Imperial troops as, one by one, their comrades fell before the cold precision of the invaders. Soon, the frontline collapsed and the mechanical revenants would continue advancing, unstoppable, their ageless drive focused on the reclamation of their ancestral world.

_______

Salutations, fellow grognards!

For the first month I needed to use my mulligan due to poor planning and overconfidence with the slice only half completed. Because of this I am submitting my first one now: Five Necron warriors.

As I started in my introduction to the challenge, I wanted to avoid the classic metallic scheme in favour of something alternative. My first instinct was to paint them like the Chaos Androids of old, but as I was painting the first test model I realized two things: It looked a lot like skeletons (kinda meh in my book) and it was basically the same colour scheme of the Sisters I painted in my previous challenge. So I restarted the whole project and ended up painting the Necrons white with deep blue as secondary colour. I also chose red-to-yellow for the energy bits (gauss beam, cables, eyes and such) because of the contrast it provides.

I was also concerned about the lack of diversity on the models, having only two different ones for all my Necron warriors, so I opted to paint blue different sections of the exoskeleton in order to make them look less clonish. Here I am playing with the idea that these Necrons have not been mass produced, but each is an artisanal work, since this is how I picture the original Chaos Droids. I also added some Chaos runes for further differentiation between models.

Since this entry is already too long, for the next one I will speak about the bases. For now, here it is slice I:

Necron Warriors (x5) = 220 points

Wachtmeister: Looks like it is Necron week here at the 40k 2^nd Edition Challenge as all three Necron painters have submitted their entries in the top third!  I’m glad to see Viden got his entry in this month, these are a really cool take on a classic model which you don’t normally see much variation on.  The slight differences between the models while using the same color does add a nice variation to the otherwise static models.  I’m really looking forward to a full army of these guys!

Welcome back dear brethren! How did those taking the implants… I mean sacraments go? My, what a lovely shade of pink we all are! Let us begin \\*//

Righto, a definite slog this month! These plastic Goliath dangers I decided to use as Brood Brothers really are not fun to paint, but I stuck with them and finally got them all done 😀 Besides all of the meatheads, I also finished the Magus and even an Acolyte Hybrid to lead the brood brothers and perhaps make another psyker ;D

The blood-spattered icing on top though was the tip-off from fellow challenger Adrian about a couple of cars that worked out to be PERFECT as cult vehicles! A quick bit of dissassembly, some experimentation with the scheme on the fly and then some weathering and Biomorph’s your uncle!

Am hoping to have some more surprises up my sleeve for the coming months – let’s see if I can pull of some weird stuff XD

Till next time!

Tain

Slice 2:

Genestealer Magus w. force rod (122pts)

10 Brood Brothers: 9 x autoguns & 1 flamer (78 pts)

Bonus models:

2 x Cult Cars (80pts)

Hybrid Acolyte leader w. Plasma gun, mesh armour and level 1 psychic mastery level (45pts)

Total: 325 points

Wachtmeister: Martin did a terrific job on the skin tone of these Goliath’s.  I know he was not a fan of painting them but he did a terrific job of making them blend in with his army.  Those classic Necromunda figures have so many uses across the 40k universe and I’m glad to see them get some paint on them!

So…. I got maybe a little bit overboard.

Last month, I changed the plan, cut one bike out of what I was supposed to do, and added the chaplain originally scheduled for April.

This month, the previously intended techmarine got started, and the land speeder was assembled. What have painted are the Dreadnought from May and next month’s Death Company as well as Tycho, who were not originally planned!

That got me to completely rethink the list as I’m nearing already 1000 pts.

The list as it stands currently is:

Brother-Captain Tycho,120 pts -Combi-weapon, Digi-lasers

Chaplain, 69 pts – Purity seals, Bolter, Melta bomb

Death Company, 238 pts – 5 Marines, 3 Bolt pistols, 2 Chain swords, 2 Power axes, 1 Power fist, 1 Plasma pistol, 1 Hand flamers, Frag grenades

Bike Squadron, 210 pts – 4 bikes, 1 Power sword, 1 Meltagun, 1 Plasmagun

Dreadnought, 200 pts –  Multi-Melta, Power fist with build-in storm bolter, auto launchers

Total of 12 models painted and 837 points!

I am still waiting for the banners to arrive for the Dreadnought and Tycho to truly complete the models.

I think it’s fair to say that I failed to follow the original plan. Next month will see more models being added to the list, just not quite sure who. Clearly the Techmarine as he is nearly done but after, it is all going to be a surprise for all including myself!

Cheers

J.

Wachtmeister: Julien has a good problem to have, being well ahead of his challenge goal!  I’ve heard legend this is possible, I highly doubt I’ll ever have this problem though!  I’m hoping Julien and Damien aren’t beginning to submit to the Red Thirst as they both have managed to get an armies worth of minis painted, including Death Company, done in a month!

With that Month 2 Wave 1 is a wrap! I’ll see you all next week for Wave 2!