Big Blue Killing Machine(s) #2

Among the models I bought to create the Kin army I had purchased a Hordes Legion of Everblight mk 2 starter box with the thought that the models looks nice. First off I completed the Carnivean model to be used as a monster. The Kin list only has the Hydra as a monster choice at present but I am sure it can be used to represent something.

It is quite a tall model and looks rather imposing so hopefully he/it will get a few days out on the table.

I also completed the repaint of the Lord on Dragon and the dipping of the Hydra, Bolt Thrower and Lord with Wings. These came out rather well and I am particularly happy with the improved Lord on Dragon.

And that should have been the end of the Twilight Kin painting as all the units I had initially planned had been completed. That was until I listened to a podcast with a chap explaining how much he liked his Elf Dragon Breath units, the Kin also have a variant.

This of course got me wondering how I could model that and keep the living war-engine theme going. After some hunting around I found some metal venom blasts that could be added to models to give a breath attack effect. I already have some spare Hordes Shredder models that I can add the effect to and once a few of them are on a 50mm base I reckon they should look the part.

Which means that the completion of the army has been put off for a little while longer.

Six Feet of Rats

I have been drawing up some lists for a rematch of the Rats vs Kin next weekend and having played 1500 points I thought we would push it up a notch or three and go for 2500 points. After adding in some Trident Realms to bulk out the Rat models my brother had I was wondering what sort of frontage the combined forces had, well just over 6 feet it seems.

As this is just a friendly game we won't be worry about the normal restrictions for allies hence the magic item. At least the Rats won't have to worry about flanks this time around.

Current Lists

With a few games coming up I have been drawing up some lists.

My current thinking is to use the Blade Dancers as the main hammer with the Reapers in a hammer / holding roll. The Shadows provide some fire support and with vanguard can get into position to shoot at the start of the first turn.

2500 Points

2000 Points

1500 Points

Special Rules

2250 Points

A Poke in the Eye

Over the last week or so I have completed two more Regiments of Kin with different pointy sticks.
First off the blocks came the Buccaneers, these are armed with throwing weapons so don't get a minus for moving and shooting.

 Again these use the Dark Eldar Wyches as the base model and then I have added the Javelin arms from some Chaos Marauder Horsemen which I purchased from my favorite bitz site. The shields are spares from the old style GW Spear / Crossbow sprues. The Javelin arms are a little over sized but I guess they have just been really practicing getting a good throw in.

I also completed my third and final Reaper Guard Regiment, this time split into Troops in case I ever want to field the smaller unit in the future.

The Reaper Guard are a really good unit and at only 150 points a Regiment I suspect I will be using all 3 Regiments pretty often.

I also completed my second Bolt Thrower model.

After comparing this one with the previous effort I have gone back and used the Quickshade on that model as it makes the model look much better than just using the ink shade.

Original Bolt Thrower

I also decided to Quickshade the Dark Lord on Dragon and the Hydra. The Dark Lord especially looked out of place compared to the models which I have completed more recently so I went over the dragon with a darker blue and then the Quickshade and it is already looking much better. The process was not without it's casualties as the Hydra suffered a decapitation when it got dropped. The drop has also helped me decide to not worry about basing the models for multiple games at once so the cicular bases will be glued to the KoW square bases to make them secure.

For The Herd

As I have been off this week I have manged enough progress to justify a mid-week update. My focus has been on finishing off the Lycan Hordes and also completing the Lycan Alpha model.

The second Lycan Horde went together as well as the first and the Quickshade dip really worked well, especially on the grey Lycans.

The specialist box came with two models and one I have based to use as the Lycan Alpha on a 40mm square base.

Again a really easy model to put together and it has a good amount of detail and personality.

The other model in the box is a larger Werewolf who comes with what looks like a steam engine on his back.

As this would not fit into the Kings of War mythology I left the engine off and smoothed off the more obvious pipes and covered the large hole which the engine should have plugged into with a peltast style shield I had.

This worked well I think, the model was mounted on a 50mm square base to be used as a monster unit, perhaps the Brutox.

This means that all the Lycan forces are now completed with the Brutox I have 915 points painted up.

Which gives a good sized allied force for the Twilight Kin or perhaps the starting point for another army. Warlord Games do some rather nice Gnolls and I am also keeping an eye on a Kickstarter for Faun models which should be launched again in the future.

Full Moon Fever

Having made good progress on the Twilight Kin I have diverted slightly and completed the first Lycan Horde. The models went together very well and painted up really easily so overall I'd look at using Wrath of Kings models again in the future.

I have stuck with the same red scheme to help tie them in to the main army.

I have also put together the second Lycan Horde and was pleased to discover than each of the eight models has a unique pose, not something that was obvious from the box.

As I am off next week ( hooray ! ) I have also constructed the twelve Kin Buccaneers using the Chaos Marauder arms.

The Marauder arms are slightly bulkier than the normal Elf arms but I doubt that will be noticeable from a distance. I have also equipped half of the models with shields to represent the slightly higher defence of the Buccaneers over the other light infantry in the army.

Shoot to Thrill

This week has seen me complete my second Regiment of Crossbows so I now have enough to field a Horde if required. I also still have plenty of the box of Spears / Crossbows left that I got from Ebay so I could do a Horde of Spearmen in the future if the spirit moves me.

These chaps are a little more bling than the other Regiment as I went with bronze bracers this time around.

I have ended up painting quite a lot of shooting in the army and also completed the second and last Shadow Troop.

These can be put together with the previous Troop to make a Regiment.

They could also be used as separate Troops if I need more chaff units to go along with the Gargoyles.
Which ever way they are used the three Regiments worth give a good shooting base that should also be able to handle themselves in melee as well.

That should have been the last of the Wyches that needed to be converted and painted but during the week I decided to get a Regiment of Buccaneers added to the available forces.

They would be equipped with a Jar of Four Winds to boost the normal 12" range to 24" and as Thrown weapons can move and shoot without the -1 modifier they potentially offer a more mobile shooting platform. So some Chaos Marauder arms with javelins have been ordered and hopefully they should fit together well.

The Lycans have also come along nicely this week with them reaching the shiny stage having had the shade dip painted on.

Once they have had the first matt varnish layer applied then I will dry brush to bring out the details.

I also took the chance to assemble all my completed units together and get some group shots.

I am rather pleased with the way the army has come together and it has been fun to get the boys & girls ready. Of course if I keep adding units into the army they won't ever be completed, but that is part of the joy of the hobby.