Apocalypse Terrain - Star Scrappers! (1)

Its been a long time since i created an Apocalypse Terrain piece (about May last year i think with Imperator Bridge) As usual, the prospect of another upcoming Apocalypse game gets the creative juices flowing, so i resurrected an old idea i had a few years ago - Star Scrappers! not just one, but two, connected by a Skyway.

Now, it goes without saying that the actual build won't truly represent the name, but i hope the scale of the terrain will be impressive enough.

As with any ambitious terrain project, a degree of forward planning was required. I measured and sketched out the dimensions of the towers onto the bases. These are cut from MDF, and will be removable from the towers themselves for easier transportation and storage.

The main body of the towers will be 6mm MDF. Originally i was going to build the towers from GW building panels, supported by nothing else but each other! This would've created imperfections in the build, and it'll more than likely end up wonky! The MDF will be clad in GW panels and hopefully give me a tower with nice straight  sides.

The first tower with the sides assembled.

The sides are supported by pine strip wood, making the towers very stable.

There's a 6mm recess in the top of the towers so i can sink a roof into it.

Finally a scale shot! That's a Mechanicum Thallax on the base!

I've got until may to get this project finished so i'll casually plod along with this one.

The GunGrave

Apocalypse Game May 2014

My poor neglected blog! Gearing up for this Apocalypse game has been a real trial, resulting in an absolute terrain building frenzy! It was all worth it though, because we ended up with a great looking table!

The idea was that 2 sides battle over 3 crossing points into the Imperial city. The bridge below was Andy's effort (done at very short notice!)

This is what i have been slaving over lately - Imperator Bridge! Its nearly 5 feet long and 2 feet wide.

The final crossing point was this infected Tyranid Section. More like a Bio-Bridge!

This is my Defence Laser Heretics Bane, finally painted up! Its inspired me to build to long planned second laser.

These are just a few random shots of the game in full swing. We had 7 players each side, with each player bringing 2000pts each. It was Imperial vs Xenos.

Yes, that is an Eldar Phantom Titan (well over 2K of points on its own, but we allowed it!) This is what destroyed my beloved Reaver Titan Praetorian.

The Imperial side of Imperator Bridge - not terribly inviting!!

Space Wolves and Grey Knights guard the Tyranid Bio-Bridge.

A massive Dark Eldar force loaded with Kabilites and Incubi!

The Phantom stood watch over the Xenos side of the bridge, wipping out 4000pts of models on its own!!

Despite a Vortex grenade swirling around its feet for the whole game!

There wasn't much left of the Imperial defences once 4 Daemon Princes landed...

Imperitor Bridge in the final stages of the game - a last minute dash for the objective in the centre.

This was a really great day! We had a lot of players who had never played Apocalypse before but they all seemed to really enjoy it. I'm hoping that this will be the first of many to come.

Im really looking forward to getting back to some model painting now. I've spent to long building terrain. I did  pick up the new HH Book III: Extermination, and im loving the new Mechanicus list in there! I'll scrape some cash together and get building soon.

The GunGrave

Apocalypse Terrain: Imperator Bridge

Today I want to share a terrain project I've been chipping away at for the past few weeks; Imperator  Bridge.

This piece is being built especially for an Apoc' game to be fought at the end of the Campaign being held at my FLGS Worcester Wargames. They have 2 rows of gaming tables and the idea is that a number of bridges will be constructed to link the tables making a battlefield worthy of Apocalypse.

The section of the bridge that will be suspended is 4ft long, with two 8in tabs at either end to place on the tables. The bases of the towers are separate as are the bases of the sides of the bridge. This is to enable easy transportation, and also to allows the pieces to be used individually in other smaller games.

Pegasus Building Panels and GW Cities of death Panels have been used for the construction, with some artists mounting board used for the tops of the towers and sides. The Apoc' game won't be until the spring, so there's no rush on this build. I'll just keep chipping away until then. In the meantime, I have yet another Battlefield in a Box project gaining momentum!

The GunGrave

Apocalypse Terrain: Hall of Heroes Complete

I've completed the paint job for the Hall of Heroes. I didn't go to mad, just wanted to give it a splash of colour to break up the grey. After that I gave the whole building a heavy wash of diluted black oil paint.

A scale shot with some Vostroyan volunteers.

Again, I only added colour to the scroll's on the side of the building. I was going to do the skulls as well, but quickly realised how many of them there were!!

The upper deck:

Each section of the upper deck is large enough to easily accommodate a 10 man squad:

With this pleasant distraction out of the way, I'll be moving onto the Tau Battle Suits. Tonight im also going to visit a potential new gaming club in Cheltenham which will hopefully get the gaming side of the hobby going for me again!

The GunGrave

Tau Fire Warrior Squad 2 Complete; Hall of Heroes Update

The second squad of Fire Warriors is now complete. I'm not sure how many I want yet, but I usually have a core of about 4 infantry squads in my armies, so that's what I'll aim for.

I painted these guys a little differently. I used the same techniques I used on the Riptide for the Warriors here. The first attempt at the scheme was effective, but quite labour intensive. This new method is a little quicker and creates much more consistency across the squad.

Here's a few comparison shots so you can see for yourselves. I've added some weathering to the armour this time. Nuln Oil was selectively applied to the fatigues before a black oil paint wash was applied to the whole model. First scheme is on the left, new scheme on the right.

 

The definition on the second scheme is definitely more subtle, but the consistency is much better! I'll be rolling this scheme out across the army.

 

I've done a bit of work for the Crisis Battle Suit Team that's awaiting assembly. The bases are built and painted. I'll be building the Battle Suits later today.

 

I've been leaving the Drones until last, so I've got quite a few waiting to be painted!

The Army is growing quickly!

 

I've also been doing a little bit of painting on the Hall of Heroes. I've applied Army Painters Uniform Grey over the undercoat, the added shading by applying Fortress Grey with an airbrush.

 

I added some plasticard tiles to the base to break up the plainness a bit.

 

I wont be going to mad on the paintjob - just some colour on the fans, scrolls, skulls, and the Aquila at the entrance. Should look pretty good!

 

The GunGrave





Apocalypse Terrain: Hall of Heroes Build Complete

The latest of my terrain projects actually saw completion quite quickly. Now that its all put together, I'm not sure if it exclusively qualifies as Apoc' Terrain! The base board measures just under 2ft x 2ft, so could comfortably be used in a regular game of 40K.

 

The insides of the walls were braced with some pine strip to keep the shape. It also acts as a support for the second deck which was cut from 3mm MDF.

There will be a Space Marine Statue from the Honoured Imperium set in each of these 4 spaces around the building (if anyone has any going cheap i'm interested! Get in touch)

The top deck is a smaller version of the base deck, again topped with MDF.

A Shrine of the Aquila entrance way finishes the building off nicely! Now i'm just waiting for some spray paint to arrive from Army Painter (should be today) and i'll get cracking on the paint job.

I've also spent some much needed time on my pride and joy - Praetorian! This poor guy has spent the last 5 months in pieces since he got damaged in my move here. I made some minor adjustments to my display cabinet so I could get him in fully assembled. I have to say, he looks more glorious than ever!

 

Finally, on the table is some more Fire Warriors. I've also got a Battle Suit team in the box waiting to go. The Expansion is well and truly underway.

 

The GunGrave