Home to Roost

We're on the home straight with the Space Marines commission! Hurrah. It's been good fun, rattling through them and seeing the army build up. Can't say I'm really going to miss painting all that black and red, though. 

Or the logo. 

So this week sees all the assault marines, all done together regardless of what sort of assault marines they actually are.

First up is a Raptor squad, the CSM version of vanilla assault marines. Yes, you guessed it, they have more spikes on them. They've also got the nifty GW 'tiptoeing on scenery' bases that all GW stuff seems to have these days. 

Extra spikes on a chainsword? Which is itself a sword with extra spikes on it, pretty much? Why, yes, I will, thanks. 

Practical weapons solutions for practical people, I suppose.

"Hey, plasma gunner! Mind if I borrow your chainsword? I have a dance routine idea I want to rehearse!"

The jump pack looks cool until you realise you'll be flossing it every night.

Next, you've got the same kit again, but this time assembled as Warp Talons. I don't quite know how they differ from the other guys in terms of rules - something to do with their movement and equipment, I think - but they certainly do have more spikes.

Toenail enhancers - the mark of a truely twisted mind.

Hi! I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!

Hi five! I sixed an Ultramarine. 

I still wear braces, but it's okay because I have a second mouth in my chest with near perfect dentition.

And now the actual real deal themselves - Assault Marines, although they're really some flavour of elite veteran Blood Angels judging by the jump packs. Death Company, even? But with CSM heads, because the Crypt Angels are hedging their loyalty bets these days.

These guys aren't vaulting off the scenery. Having badmouthed it earlier, I suddenly find I miss it - those whacking great big jump packs would look a lot better if the guys wearing them weren't trotting along the ground quite so cumbersomely.

I wish I could swap that flamer out for some kind of stratocaster. 

Last is a group of Veterans, all sporting the Crux Terminatis, so I guess they're 1st Company.

 And the heroes for the week! First up is the Assault Company Captain, resplendant in a kilt and dreamcatcher combo.

And then another captain/chaplain/veteran sergeant/whatever, as you can never have too many in a marine army.

Which brings the tally for this week up to twenty two in total...

...and the remaining model count down to nine. Ah, a full box! That's a sight to warm the heart. 

Two fantasy models for the week, of course. This is some species of fish man, possibly a DnD Kuo-Toa Baron if memory serves:

It's another Reaper piece, and looks a lot better in real life in terms of how the red came out. The base also has some new tricks on it - some water effects from Secret Weapon, courtesy of the prize I won last month.

And then a rare treat - some more Mierce! Another troll, slapped together from the dodgy resin castoffs I got last summer. The weapon and hands come from an old lead GW minotaur (the Trish Morrison ones). The join on the right wrist looks terrible close up, but I managed to cheat that with the camera angle.

I'm very pleased with the yellow on this, it came out nicely. The base has more Secret Weapon stuff on it - some white weathering powder for snow, which is really easy to get a decent result with, and a tiny bit of crushed glass for frost. Not sure you can see it in the pics, to be honest, I was a bit sparing with it. Mostly because the phial it comes in tells you to wear industrial eye and breathing masks when using it, neither of which I have. Using it at arm's reach while looking the other way counts, right? 

There's no hope for him now, Travis. He's suffering. Go and get the flamethrower.