#32: Fists of Fury...

Over the last few months, readers have asked a question again and again!

"When are you going to run an army painter challenge for 40k players?"

Well, that time has arrived. In a similar format (but not entirely the same) as Border wars, I'll be painting a set points allocation worth of models each month. While I think we were perhaps a little ambitious with Border Wars (after all, 500 points of Fantasy a month can really overload the model count), this 40k challenge will be much more achievable! The idea is this. 

Saturday 1st of August - Paint your character/Warlord

Saturday 5th of September - Paint a total of 500 points worth of your army (this will include your Warlord painted in stage 1) 

Saturday 3rd of October - Paint an additional 250 points worth of your army.

Sunday 1st of November - Paint an additonal 250 points worth of your army, bringing your total points to 1000. 

So, there is the schedule. I think it is really achievable, as most armies do not have too many models in 1000 points and there is three and a half months in which to paint them.

So, as with all of these challenges, I'd like to discuss with you my thoughts and decisions when it came to deciding what army to dedicate some attention to! And when it came down to it, I had three main options to choose between. 

Tyranids.

Tau.

Space Marines (more specifically, Crimson Fists). 

Initially, Nids were at the forefront, offering a huge diversity of models in both size and battlefield roles, and while I painted up a small unit to see how they were to paint, I quickly realised that despite the variety of models in the army, literally every single one used the same palette of colour with absolutely no exception. That was almost enough to turn me off them for good. The other factor that disheartened me was the Tyranids codex. When I invest into an army, I want it to be good on the tabletop (says the guy with 5000 points of Beastmen), and while there are certainly ways to be super powerful with Tyranids, there are very few of these ways and typically they centre on spamming a unit or type of unit to the point of redundancy overkill. I wanted a healthy blend of units, but unfortunately, all the units I wanted to use happened to be a little bit less useful that I felt they should be. Yes, Warriors. You. 

So I pushed aside the Tyranids codex and opened the Tau book. Now, Tau have always been an army that has caught my interest, but for one reason or another, I had never committed to buying an army. I own a model or two from the range purely for the joy of painting them, but for the most part, they were foreign to me. I knew, thanks to a mate of slightly murderous tendencies, that you could do terrible things with tau. I knew that their shooting phase is among the harshest in the 40k Galaxy. I also knew that they get belted around the table in combat, having the physical prowess of a balloon full of sand. But I was being drawn in. Despite this decision earning me the disgust of my fellow hobbyists (because Tau players, after all, do have a certain reputation attached to their army), I began to write lists with gusto. 

After three or four lists had been finalised, I realised something. While they were very powerful lists (at least on paper) and they had some devastating tools at their disposal, they all shared a blindingly painful flaw. They were boring. They were the same lists I had seen for the past few years, with minor tweaks here and there, but at their core, they were boring. Fire warriors, suits, broadsides and sky rays. Every single Tau army revolved around these four units, and after realising this, the army lost its appeal. I think for me, and I know that not everyone shares this view, the army would lose my interest very quickly. 

Not to mention, I would have to come to grips with becoming a Tau Player. 

So, I was left with but one option and it was by no means a bad one! The glorious, if genocidally clumsy, Crimson Fists!

I already own a huge marine army that is largely unpainted or unbuilt, for a multitude of reasons. Indecision on chapters, then wanting to integrate Forgeworld upgrades into the army but never ordering them, the delays were endless! But with the release of the most recent and most terrifying Space Marine codex, I decided it was time to give them some much needed attention! 

What is my plan? Well, my plan is actually very straight forward and hopefully quite effective! I'm structuring my 1000pt Crimson Fist army upon the Demi-Company formation, which offers some great advantages in game, as well as being the compulsory building block for the Gladius Strike Force, which this army will inevitably grow into. 

While the lighting is terrible in the photo, for which I apologise, you can see the colour scheme I am using is very loyal to the source material. This model, which was a limited edition Captain from a web store promotion, will be the standing representative of Pedro Kantor in my army. Being equiped with the exact same gear as the Fists' chapter master, he is a perfect proxy, thanks to a head swap for the crested helm from the Sternguard kit, giving him a regal, majestic visage. 

This army will be a labour of love and I am putting particular effort into the little details that the Space marine range offers in abundance. For example, Veteran squad leaders are meant to be grizzled warriors of a hundred or more campaigns, being legends of the chapter in and of themselves. So, I am using the Sternguard kit to make my sergeants, whose armour and weaponry is far more ornate and impressive than a regular Battle Brother of the chapter. 

Not only that, but each squad's transport vehicles (which will eventually be free!) are no exception to the detail. 

This Razorback is a prime example. I have become a big fan of the "Las-Plas" weapon load out on Razorbacks, but as there is no official sprue for such a format, it is left to the hobbyist to convert it to his or her personal taste. 

One common conversion is to trim off one of the las cannons off and simply glue two of the hand-held plasma guns together. But to me, these always seem a little underwhelming and look out of place on the model. So during my search for an alternative option in my extensive bits box, I came across a pair of Plasma Cannons from the Stormraven kit and my mind was made up! Slicing the back off the plasma cannon, I managed to replace the Lascannon with surprising ease, giving the turret a much more intimidating appearance to match its in-game impact. Aesthetically, I think the chunkier plasma cannon looks much more convincing than two plasma guns, especially on the boxy, sturdy chassis of the Space Marine vehicles, and I don't think opponents will have an issue with it looking like a cannon. It's fairly obvious what the load out is, as there is only one that even has access to plasma. 

In the next post, I will publish my intended 1000 point list for you all to read, but in the meantime, I am eagerly looking forward to hearing from you if you would like to be involved in this challenge with me! I'll be more than happy to post photos of your work, and would love to hear the stories and motivation behind it!

What army will you be focussing on? Who will lead your force? Remember, the first challenge is painting your Warlord, so get your brushes ready, and we shall talk soon!

Thanks for reading,

Gabriel