Horus Heresy 2e Review: Aurox Transport

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Cheap and cheerful. Won't last long, but might get you where you need to be.

Background.

This is the Solar Auxilia equivalent of the rhino. Mass produced and modular this is an armoured personnel carrier that sees use across the galaxy in all sorts of terrain and conditions. 

Strengths.

The major attraction here is the points cost. It really is genuinely priced nicely and competitively. But for those points, you basically get what you pay for. The movement rate of 15 is nice enough, and the transport capacity of 10 is adequate without being brilliant. 

Weaknesses.

AV=11 at best. AV=10 at the rear. This vehicle will melt fast if it comes under fire. 

The transport capacity is lacking as well. On the bright side, if you disembark all at once in a small blob you still get to fire all the same despite it lacking an assault ramp - which is actually kinda an advantage I'd suggest. 

Builds.

Aurox (30 points). 

Yes, I'm going for the naked version here as my preferred build. Sometimes the search lights will be useful if you have other vehicles that can take advantage. The pintle mounted weapon options are adequate, but you're probably not realistically going to make too much use of them. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Dracosan Armoured Transport

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

1.5/5 stars. Rounded up. Simply too expensive.

Background.

Used everywhere by the Solar Auxilia, even those in the employ of Rogue Traders. It is an armoured tank that is capable of transporting a full section in to battle where they are needed, and can be upgraded with some serious counter punch where required.

Strengths.

AV=13 on the front is very nice to have, but the ubiquitous AV=11 on the rear remains in place. The real boon here is the capacity of 22. This is simply excellent. Being perfectly honest, this carrying capacity is the primary - and only - reason that you will be tempted to take this transport tank. 

The front mounted gravis las cannon is nice - to be clear. But I'd sooner have the option of removing that to lower the points cost. 

Weaknesses.

Being blunt - the tank is too expensive in the points department. The "naked" version needs to be a lot less. You will probably want the flare shield, and occasionally the dozer blade. The pintle weapons are nice to have as well. Upgrading to the demolisher cannon makes the tank incredibly pricey and reduces its biggest strength - the carrying capacity - by more than half. 

Builds.

Dracosan, Flare Shield (200 points).

Look at the points cost here. It is silly for a transport. Compare and contrast to a rhino! The Solar Auxilia need the equivalent of a rhino that pays a small premium for extra carrying capacity - not this. Take a dozer blade to taste.

Dracosan, Flare Shield, Demolisher Cannon (250 points).

Not really a transport any longer. Its a proper tank that just happens to have (a small) transport capacity. It will be a priority target for your opponent though and unlikely to last too long. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Kharon Pattern Acquisitor

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. A rare full 5/5 stars from me - I genuinely love this dedicated transport.

Background.

The background states that this transport is not truthfully a battlefield vehicle. It is more of a paramilitary design. It is easy to see why. With sleek sides, and a bunch of special rules, they can easily sneak up on targets unawares!

Strengths.

AV=13 on the front, coupled with an impressive movement rate of 16 and a similar transport capacity. This transport is very special, but not for the stat line alone.

It is an assault vehicle with deep strike and outflank for starters. Add on some night vision and the same Chamber as the unit it is carrying and it is already fairly good. 

I will single out the spectra distort shield here. This makes it 8 inches further away for the purposes of shooting. In effect, this nullifies melta guns. Hence you are going to have to expend las cannon shots and similar to get the better of it from long range - they really should be shooting at other things. Of course, it is not immune to close combat, but with a movement of 16, can your army do much about it?

The weaponry it carries is very reasonable as well: a pair of missile launchers coupled with a heavy cannon array will certainly do some damage. But the real strength is delivery of its cargo with solid confidence. I think this is almost the best dedicated transport in the game for the above reasons and is also why I'm giving it my very rare 5/5 stars. The rule of cool also applies here, and I simply like the way the vehicle looks and appears! [This may or may not have influenced the award of 5/5 as well!]

Weaknesses.

Rear armour of 11. But honestly, if you are positioning well, this should not be a problem. 

Builds.

The only option here is to swap the cannon for a twin linked multi melta. This is down to your personal taste and I can certainly see both options being useful in game!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Coronus Grav-Carrier

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2/5 stars. It carries Custodes, but it isn't an assault vehicle. 

Background.

An anti-grav skimmer used only by the Custodes. Fast, and possessing technology not found in other forces, the grav-carrier is a mainstay for the Emperor's finest.

Strengths.

It is fast with an incredible 16 inch move, and has an impressive 16 transport capacity (which translates to six ordinary Custodes). The weapons are very reasonable and they can fire at different targets. 

Weaknesses.

Honestly, the key thing that means you're not going to buy these is the lack of the grav craft being an assault vehicle. I cannot underscore enough just how much this sucks. Sure, it has deep strike and outflank. But your Custodes are an uber-elite close combat fighting force. They need to be in place and chopping things up close and personal. They aren't going to be shooting to victory most of the time. I can see a case for some melta-cide units, but beyond that, just forget it. 

Builds.

There are no builds to consider here. 

Hours Heresy 2e Review: Triaros Armoured Conveyor

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good. 

Background.

The secrets of this armoured transport are guarded well by the Mechanicum. So well, in fact, that not even the space marine legions have access to the arcana that gave them birth. They serve many roles from hermetically sealed environments, through to ramming, and being able to transport a large number of troops.

Strengths.

This is not a rhino.

With AV=14 on the front, glare shields, and a whopping capacity of 22, this is a transport tank with a kick. Combine together a bunch of these and you have one hell of a spear tip to get your troops where they are needed.

Weaknesses.

AV=12 on the sides and rear is a slight issue, so consider the ways in which you are going to position your transports for maximal effect. 

Builds. 

There are no particular builds to consider here given that there is a flat cost and only one optional upgrade: hunter-killer missiles. The choice to take these missiles is a personal one depending on how you've constructed the rest of your army. Given they are cheap anyway, and the tank is expensive and well defended, the missiles can readily be taken as a bit of extra fire power!

Rhino Deimos Edition

Its been a little while since I had a hobby update, but here's a moderate one: a new rhino (deimos class) constructed and built.

For this transport tank, I've opted for a havoc launcher and a searchlight as the main options. I have always had a liking for the havoc launcher as it allows some longer range pressure to be applied whilst moving the transport into position. This might last one, or two turns at best, but I've always found it to be a worthwhile upgrade as the points cost will typically pay for itself even after one turn of shooting (and perhaps a lucky die roll). The searchlight is a more interesting upgrade. Somewhere in an army a searchlight or two is a reasonable investment given that night fighting rules will be encountered eventually in the game and unless you have night vision of some sort (Night Lords!) then you could be at a disadvantage - especially if you are relying on firepower rather than being up close and personal. 

The deimos rhino kit is very easy to put together. I appreciated the upgrades compared to the older rhino kits as there is very little you can get wrong here and it just has a much sturdier feel to it than the slighter older rhinos that I've purchased and is simply less fiddly overall at the slight expense of a few more parts. This is a really good trade off though, and the spare weapons on the long range upgrade kit can be put to use elsewhere in an army. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Termite Assault Drill

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good. 

Background.

The termite provides a way for the commander to launch an underground assault on both fortified positions and xenos subterranean creatures (the latter being the reason they were invented allegedly). This is great in essence and can scatter enemy forces upon emergence without waiting for their cargo to deploy. 

Strengths.

Termites provide an underground alternative to deep striking units in to play. One of the chief advantages here is that the player can cause them to erupt near enemy units and score hits on those units at a significant strength (but AP=4). 

Unlike drop pods, the termite can continue to move after launching its deep strike (subterranean assault move) and fire its weapons and so forth. 

I genuinely like this manner of assaulting and it works well if you have just one of them, and perhaps use it in conjunction with more traditional deep strike units to create an underground and overground pincer movement. Maybe that's just me though (I've had good success with this using my Alpha Legion). 

Weaknesses.

Rear armour is 10, and do carefully read the subterranean assault rules if you have more than one of these units as you will see that the enemy can take control of your deployment on an unlucky roll.

Difference to First Edition.

Fairly similar overall. Note the capacity of 12 here just like the rhino. 

Builds.

There are only 2 upgrades to consider - the replacement of the two sets of twin-linked bolters with either twin-linked volkite chargers, or heavy flamers. Candidly both of them work nicely against nearby enemies - and why wouldn't you have nearby enemies if you've emerged on top of, or close to them! I kind of like the flamers ever so slightly better as I think in some situations you can score more hits, but also they act as a nice defensive arrangement as well. Equally, the volkites have the superior range for after that first turn after emerging I guess. A tough choice really. Points cost effective overall in the main part for me.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Dreadnought Drop Pod

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. The rules are fine. 

Background.

In hindsight, I probably should have combined the review of the Legion Drop Pod with this one: the Legion Dreadnought Drop Pod. They both have the same purpose afterall: dropping into place a unit - in this case a dreadnought - and being recoverable after the battle.

Strengths.

Well, as per previously, the strength lies in the ability to deep strike your chosen dreadnought into your desired location on the battle field. 

Presumably you will then disembark your dreadnought and start to slay things around you (or at minimum shoot them up a bit). That's all there is apart from the twin linked bolt gun that it comes with, along with a collective shrug for the defensive capabilities.

Weaknesses.

BS=2.

Builds.

There are no builds available here! The points cost is obviously more expensive than the regular drop pod, and this needs to be considered since it is the same price as a tactical squad. For this reason, I almost gave the unit 2.5/5 stars, but at the last moment shied away from doing so since I have had good success with this unit.

Difference to First Edition.

Not much different. 

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Drop Pod

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars. Solid enough rules. 

Background.

Drop directly into the combat zone. Recover later on when you're able. The drop pod is a staple of many army lists in both 30k and 40k. It does what it does, and there are no frills attached. 

Strengths.

Deep strike your unit into position. Get out and start battle. There's nothing more to it apart from a twin linked bolter.

Weaknesses.

That twin linked bolter? Has a BS of 2. That's all I've got. 

Builds.

There are no builds available here! The points cost is cheap enough to make whole armies out of this approach to combat, and as such comes recommended. Indeed, even having 1 drop pod can be beneficial. 

Difference to First Edition.

Not much different. 

Horus Heresy Review: Saturnyne Pattern Aurox Armoured Transport

Background.

The Aurox is to the Imperial Army what the Rhino is to the Space Marines. The design philosophy of both are incredibly similar: they needed to be able to be mass produced, and to be able to be repaired and allow for additional load outs in the field. 

Beyond that, this is the standard transport solution for the troops of the Imperial Army, Solar Auxilia, as well as the Cultist armies in 30k.

Strengths. 

I regard the points cost of the Aurox as cheap and cheerful and therefore an asset not to be over-looked.

Weaknesses.

In a case of "you get what you pay for", the Aurox is not well armed or armoured in the grand scheme of things. These transport boxes will blow up regularly, and that's just to be expected.

Builds.

The Aurox comes in two baseline flavours: one for the Solar Auxilia and one for everyone else. The only difference is that the Solar Auxilia get the Explorator Adaption upgrade included, and have slightly more options. 

Aurox (Solar Auxilia) with multi-laser (35 points).

I kind of like the multi-laser, but by all means keep the heavy stubber instead, or take the heavy flamer. The extra armour is a nice optional upgrade here. 

Aurox (Everyone Else) with heavy stubber (25 points). 

Not much to say here. The heavy flamer is tempting against some armies, but otherwise stick with the heavy stubber.

 

Horus Heresy Review: Sisters of Silence Kharon Pattern Acquisitor

Background.
Sleek, deadly looking, and very stealth orientated, the Kharon is the Sisters of Silence transport unit. Realistically, it is meant to be for taking prisoners and bringing them in for some justice of one sort or another. It is also a highly rated tank overall as well.

Strengths.
The most important point to make here is that the Kharon is an assault vehicle. Given that the Sisters are in the same army list as the Legio Custodes, then they can team up to assault out of this tank should the need arise.

Of course, it can also deep strike, but it is a big vehicle. It features a small slew of extra rules including but not limited to the Spectra Distort Field that gives a penalty to hit when shooting at it and d6 hammer of wrath attacks when it tank shocks some infantry.

Moreover, the weapons are also attractive, 4 lots of S=7 shots from the Hellion array is excellent. And that is in addition to the two missile launchers that are capable firing of psky-out missiles.

Weaknesses.
This tank is what it is. Stealthy (literally) with a deadly weapons load and transport capacity for 12. It is worth the points. Watch out for the rear armour though.

Builds.
Honestly, I would tank this tank naked. Armoured ceramite (bringing the cost up to 145 points) is tempting, but perhaps not needed.

Horus Heresy Review: Legio Custodes Coronus Grav-Carrier

Background.
I personally have always liked the grab-craft since they were first depicted in Rogue Trader. The Coronus carries on this tradition by having the grav-craft be in use by the Legio Custodes. It further indicates that the craft was an upgrade to the Jocasta design employed in the Unification Wars. Of course, the other grav craft are based on the Coronus design and have improved it whilst maintaining the goal of being fast an able to deploy in to zones that other vehicles might find tough.

Strengths. 
With a capacity of 12 models and a small selection of special rules such as a flare shield, the Coronus makes for a desirable transport craft for the Legio Custodes.

The weaponry features twin linked lastrums, as well as a turret mounted blaze cannon which is nothing to be sneezed at.

In addition, the "grav backwash" rule is very entertaining as it supplied a -2 to hit unless the vehicle is immobilised.

Weaknesses.
There are no real weaknesses here: this is a well balanced transport -- nay tank -- that is worth its points value.

Builds.
Even naked, the transport is viable. However, of all the upgrades available, I think this combination is probably what many people may opt for:

Coronus, armoured ceramite (155 points).
Of course, the armoured ceramite is completely optional. But it does come in handy every once in a while.

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Gorgon Heavy Transporter

Background.
The Gorgon is a super heavy tank that is designed to be a massive armoured transporter. Its use in the annals of the Great Crusade are noted to be primarily to secure breach heads and generally overrun enemy positions where the survival of troops would otherwise be nil.

Strengths.
Its a super heavy tank! With excellent AV on the front and sides, coupled with a huge amount of hull points, this is a serious vehicle for serious armies!

As if to demonstrate just how serious it is, there is space for a whopping 40 troops to be transported on board. Indeed, so huge is the capacity, that even the rules note that the model itself can only fit something like 15 on the tabletop -- just leave the others to one side for when they're ready to be disembarked! Also, its worth noting that only two squads can disembark per turn from the vehicle.

The Heavily Armoured Prow makes the vehicle very impressive with an inbuilt invulnerable save. The mortar battery, although one use only, is not too bad an armament either.

Weaknesses. 
The rear armour is a bit of a concern at AV=10. Outflanking can cause problematic holes in the rear of this tank. Its also open topped, hence the rear armour is of top concern to defend against opportunist attacks.

Builds.
There are actually a number of options here, depending on how one wants to run it. I primarily see two things to do: make the weapons strong and long ranged, or shorter and focussed (e.g., in an anti-infantry sense).

Gorgon, Armoured Ceramite, Mortar Battery (300 points).
This is probably the baseline build. The auto cannons and mortar combine well to give a good anti infantry role, although I could be tempted by some heavy flamers or multi lasers to replace the mortar.

Gorgon, Armoured Ceramite, 2 Twin-Linked lascannons, replace the battery with Lascannons as well (340 points).
Plenty of lascannons here to play around with! This is one that can blow up tanks and then disembark its own contents to take care of any troops that were riding on board. Add hunter-killer missiles to taste.

Horus Heresy Review: Triaros Armoured Conveyor

Background
This is the dedicated transport for the Taghmata Omnissiah Mechanicum. As might be expected for a Mechanicum transport, it is not a simple thing. Based on ancient technologies never shared with the other half of the Imperium, this transport has a killer front end that is literally capable of smashing things to oblivion, as well as having a large capacity.

Strengths
The carrying capacity of this one is high, at 20 models. Coupled with a AV=14 on the front means that your models are very likely to get to where you want them to be. Unlike Rhinos! On top of this, the flare shield comes as standard to improve the transport's durability and frustrate high S incoming fire power.

The shock ram is an interesting addition. By raising the front armour to AV=15 for ramming, this transport can be used in a very aggressive manner by the controlling player. More than that though, the addition of a free haywire roll when ramming means that this tank creates a whole new play style for the mechanicum that is rarely seen elsewhere. Several of these transports criss-crossing the battle field at top speed will put a halt to other armies ground tanks by the middle turns of a game (with a bit of luck thrown in, of course). Even a regular tank shock against infantry can be deadly with d6 S6 hits happening.

More significantly, the shock ram that provides all these extra rules is not an actual weapon. It can therefore never be removed from the tank by incoming firepower.

Weaknesses
Not too many weaknesses here really. Even the volkite weaponry is very reasonable, as is the mauler bolt cannon. Arguably even the price is not bad either! Equally, the Mechanicum player is not going to be using as many of these as a Space Marine player uses rhinos.

Builds
Triaros Armoured Transport, Blessed Autosimulacra (140 points)
I think this is the baseline unit. The blessed auto simulacra is there to give it a chance of getting back some of the (four!) hull points if it loses any, and its a cheap upgrade so should be taken. Any other upgrades are to taste really. Place Secutors or Destructors inside and go about your business!

Chaos Daemons Review: Blood Throne of Khorne

The blood throne is the first of the chariots that have distinct entries in the codex. As a 12 12 10 3HP thing, it is somewhat fragile and likely to be taken down with a few hits.  But equally, its no worse than a rhino (apart from the open top aspect of course), and we still see many a rhino on the battlefield even in 6th edition.

For it to be fully effective, the blood throne needs to be up close and personal with the enemy -- the ability for it to heal itself via gorefeast / hammer of wrath is excellent.  Whether we this is the deciding factor is unclear to me: I think a turn of dedicated incoming fire is going to eliminate it with ease.

The totem of endless bloodletting is an interesting upgrade that allows loci to spread 6 inches from the chariot.  I like the intention behind this rule immensely.  The greater locus of fury and the exalted locus of wrath are going to be excellent contenders for this honour.  As such, this "force multiplier" is sorely tempting to the for a Khorne focussed army since chariots of this nature will become nodes / nexuses of the army -- effectively making the Khorne daemons have an edge more deadliness in close combat.  As such, if we are running Khorne and taking a blood throne, I'd be tempted to take more than one.

CSM in 6th Review: Chaos Rhino

The Chaos Rhino deserves a quick mention in the review of the new chaos space marine codex. To be fair, the rhino is a pretty standard piece of kit and is not vastly different to the loyalist analogue. It is the potential upgrades that can set it aside from its loyalist counterparts, so we'll look at a few example builds in turn.  (and you'll notice I've avoided making any statement about whether armies should be investing in such tanks any longer!).

Chaos Rhino with combi-bolter, search light, smoke launchers, repair, havoc launcher (47 points)
The havoc launcher is a splendid upgrade that just got cheaper in the new codex.  Don't underestimate the threat that the havoc launcher can have: regular S5 pie plates with re-rolls to hit are pretty awesome to "ping" enemy hold-outs with, even if they get an armour or cover save.  I'd recommend taking several of these rhinos if you're going to go down this route, just to keep the threat level high.

Chaos Rhino with combi-bolter, search light, smoke launchers, repair, extra armour, destroyer blades, combi-melta (70 points)

An expensive variant, to be sure. I see the purpose of this one is to deliver its (valuable?) contents to the heart of the battlefield, using the extra armour and smoke launchers to keep it intact.  The combi-melta (which could be dropped if points are an issue) is there to augment the potential of the riders to take out targets (recall, two passengers can shoot from the hatch on the top).  Finally, once the passengers have been delivered, the destroyer blades come in to play.  If the rhino has survived this long, its role is now to tank shock and destroy any units hunkered down on objectives.  Take a few destroyer blades in an army for a themed, shocking potential.

Chaos Rhino with combi-bolter, search light, smoke launchers, repair, extra armour, dirge caster (50 points)

Get the assault-orientated passengers to where they need to be (using smoke screens and the extra armour), disembark and charge (but sadly not in the same turn).  Keep the rhino close so that the dirge caster prevents overwatch.  This isn't a particularly good set-up, as the dirge caster would be superior in conjunction with a land raider (which does have an assault ramp), but can be effective if positioned just right on the turn that they disembark.

The Mouth and Philtrum of a Death Guard Rhino

The philtrum is the the name for the small indent in your skin that sits between the bottom of your nose and the top of your lips. And today's post, whilst potentially learning new anatomically related words, is about a Death Guard rhino conversion. I wish I'd have started this blog much earlier so that I could have shown how this rhino conversion had been accomplished stage by stage -- its an older model in my collection. None the less, I wanted to walk you through the thought and construction process that I undertook to build this rhino's mouth.

Why bother telling you about philtrums? Well, the answer is one of observation. Whenever you take a look at another human being's face, you inevitably (yet perhaps unconsciously) take in their philtrum as well. Without it, the face would lack some definition. It wouldn't communicate as well. Hence, when I was originally considering how to construct a maw at the front of a rhino, I examined a number of photographs of lips - both human and animal. In the end, I thought human lips would look more chaotic somehow. Also, they don't tend to protrude forward as much from the other parts of the face (eyes, forehead, etc.) as, for instance, a dog's mouth does. This meant that I could keep the approximate profile of the rhino intact. Significantly (and the deciding factor to use human-styled lips) was the observation of the philtrum. It was a feature that I felt I could pull off well, given a liberal amount of greenstuff. Moreover, it is also the feature that I think sets this rhino apart from others. It looks like it could have once been human, or is perhaps emulating a human mouth. Hence, I could also use this rhino as a possessed vehicle without stretching anybodies imagination (although I never have!).
Construction.
The first step was to cut out most of the lower half of the frontal armour of the rhino with a sharp hobby knife. I also dug in to the lower "floor" of the rhino where it connected to the frontal armour to create a more oval-shaped hole at the front. This formed the basis for the mouth's opening.

I then assembled the "teeth" of the maw. These were cut from the swords of some rather ancient warhammer fantasy battle skeleton sprues that I had discovered decaying in the nether regions of my bits box. A total of nine were used in the end. I did wonder whether to use scythes (thereby creating warped teeth), but I figured some pointy straight teeth would be better when combined with a decayed paint scheme. (An alternative would be to take apart a plastic hair comb and use the comb's teeth as proper teeth?). The teeth were then glued in to position - alternating between downward and upward pointing ones. They were also orientated such that they were pointing slightly outward from the body - the remains of the frontal armour helped with this as its angle is almost spot on already.

Then, I made up a whole load of greenstuff / milliput. It was pushed in an oval shape around the hole created in the front armour and such that it didn't connect with the pointed end of the teeth. Next, this shape was slowly pushed, with finger and thumbs, in to a more mouth looking shape. This, of course, included creating a convincing looking philtrum and lip regions. The lips were scored with some straight lines to give the impression of a different texture compared to the upper lip / moustache area. The result looks a bit like a snarl!

Painting.
The lips were painted in a purple basecoat, followed up with some inking in purple and black and drybrushing to lighter colours. The lips are ever so slightly a different shade against the other skin region, again to differentiate them from the upper lip / moustache region. The teeth were done in creams, yellows, and some browns to create the look of someone who could do with a swift visit to the dentist.

Evaluation.
A little bit of observation of the real world can contribute immensely to conversions like this. I really like this rhino and try to use it in games as often as possible as a result.

Count the VII: A Plague Marine Squad

As you're aware by now, I'm fond of fielding chaos space marine armies, amongst others. Sometimes they're chaos undivided, other times Death Guard. Even within undivided armies, I find myself fielding plague marine squads. So, in response to FtW's Round Table for November 15th, my go-to squad of choice are plague marines of Nurgle.

Why this choice? Well, firstly there is the plague marine survivability factor. These marines just don't want to leave the battlefield with their feel no pain special rule. This makes them a wonderful troops choice for capturing strategic objectives in various scenarios. In 5th edition, this got even better since every single one of them must be removed in order to eliminate their scoring unit status; unlike in 4th edition when they had to be reduced to under half strength. For a unit of 7 as pictured here, it'll take a statistical mean of 189 standard bolter shots fired by BS4 troops to get rid of them. Let me repeat that: 189 bolter rounds are needed to eliminate these troops! You only need a mean of 63 standard shots for 7 ordinary marines. Significantly, even for 7 terminators you'd only need a mean of 126 standard shots!

Given that, they're not exactly bothered by the prospect of being rapid fired at with bolters. They're also fearless. They do, however, lose out to weapons that deny them their save (ordnance, power fists and the like), so they have to be carefully managed. They're not really designed to take on terminators unless massed in large numbers. Further, they're expensive as well at 23 points per miniature. But I strongly believe that these points are well invested.

Pictured, I've kitted this squad out with a power fist on the plague champion, a melta gun, a flamer and an icon. This makes the squad a dangerous and flexible one. Each model is also a conversion to a greater or lesser extent, which is another prime reason that I like to field them. Lastly, I sometimes mount them in a rhino equipped with a havoc launcher (also pictured) to improve their maneuverability and add some more shooting power. I'll post about this particular rhino at a later date since it is an interesting conversion. The total points value of the pictured squad comes out at 271 -- yes, they're rather expensive. Other configurations that I favour include simply going for two plasma guns in a squad of seven; a kind of static pseudo-havoc squad.

In GT2008, these troops were worth their points value in gold. There was hardly a single game where they were eliminated to a man. It's a rare battle that I leave home without including them in a chaos space marine army. The only reason for doing so is to have more bodies (and therefore more shooting models) in an army. But more bodies doesn't necessarily improve survivability.

Nurglesque Rhino Number One

Here is the first of two rhinos that went to GT2008 with me.

Aims and Model.
The idea with this model was simply to make it look more nurgly than a standard rhino. The conversion work was not major: it mainly consisted of subtle additions of milliput to the surfaces to create some fungoid-looking growths and pustules.

In addition, bits and parts from the plastic Warhammer zombie boxed set were added in a couple of places around the model including the gunner, and even an entire zombie was inserted inside the starboard side door, leering outward. The only game-affecting upgrade to be modelled was the havoc launcher.

Painting.
For the paint scheme, I followed the overall trend started with the dreadnought: a rusty and old feeling, using a mottled undercoat. For the obviously rusted areas (frontal area), I used a bleached bone coat followed by an application of chestnut ink to create the streaked, water damaged look.

The green fungi was basecoated in goblin green and inked dark green. Drybrushing progressively lighter greens gives it the decaying appearance. Other milliput pieces were basecoated in read and worked up from red, through orange to a yellow to be reminiscent of pustules bursting (or about to be bursting).
Evaluation.
Positives: The model got a good reception, at least as good as its other rhino counterpart that was modelled to have an open maw at the front (yet to be posted). The zombie parts really helped accentuate the Nurglesque appearance.
Negatives: some of the inking work meant that this model was very hard to photograph well! Indeed, the bottom photo looks very reflective on the front.