Bad Moon Rising

It takes a lot of Night Goblins to make an army – 132 to be precise, according to my army list. There are three large blocks of infantry in the horde, two with spears and shields, the other with short bows. The whole army has base colours on already and the command groups are finished, but that still leaves a lot of rank and file to be completed.

I managed to get through the first mob, five figures at a time. The plan is to keep this up, while also working on other projects for variety. We’ll see how that goes.

A mob of Night Goblins marching to war

The fun (and most of the effectiveness) of a horde of Night Goblins lies in the whacky special weapons they can bring along. I’ve added netters to the regiment, which reduce the strength of attackers (if all goes well and they don’t entangle their own side).

The old snare and stab trick

In addition, there is a Fanatic hidden among their ranks, drugged up on mushroom brew and wielding a massive ball and chain, who will be shoved in the path of a charging enemy at the right moment.

Now he just needs to keep going the right way…

This is about a third of the army completed, leaving two more regiments and an assortment of squigs. I could also do with some more mountainous terrain, so I might give building foam hills a try.

The Bad Moon banner flying high

Rude Awakening

When I expanded my Necron army with some larger constructs, a couple of commenters asked for an updated picture of them all together. With other projects out of the way, I therefore cleared the table and brought out my collected Necron forces, 1,500 points in total (for a full size image, open it in a new tab).

The Necrons march in force

Unfortunately, the recently assembled Catachan patrol was still in the area as the Necrons emerged. Woefully under strength against such opponents, the Imperial guardsmen dug in as best they could, hoping to hold out until reinforcements could arrive.

The Overlord orders his troops to attack

Destroyers swoop in with withering fire

Necron Warriors advance, supported by heavy weapons platforms

Necron Immortals are all but unstoppable

With their communications scrambled and the merciless machines moving in, the Catachans poured fire into their enemies before fixing bayonets for the final assault. No trace of the platoon was ever found and a report of its mysterious disappearance was filed by Regimental HQ.

A firefight erupts at close quarters

The Catachan line is getting flanked

Wraiths materialise behind the Catachan defences

In the final volley of fire, every shot must count

Warhammer 40k Detachments – Catachan Jungle Fighters

Not all the forces I am working on are intended to become solid core armies. Some factions lend themselves to be detachments for skirmishes, specific scenarios or reinforcements for other armies.

The first of these detachments I have just completed is a 500 points strong infantry platoon of the Catachan Jungle Fighters for Warhammer 40k 7th Edition. Often called upon to fight in the dense jungles of tropical death worlds, it is fitting for them to operate without vehicle support.

A Catachan platoon sets out into the depth of the hostile jungle

The commander uses the Lord Commissar rules, but is represented by a Captain. In the Catachan background, Commissars have a tendency to meet unfortunate accidents, and it is therefore likely that leaders from within their ranks fulfil the role of instilling discipline with an iron fist, and through their own heroics.

The Captain’s leadership style is unconventional but effective

The troops consist of a Platoon HQ with missile launcher and plasma gun plus two squads equipped with flamers and krak grenades.

The Platoon Command Squad packs extra punch

The troopers fearlessly engage the enemy

The jungle itself has to be fought back

Providing fire support are three weapons teams with heavy bolters and an autocannon to take down larger targets. A squad of Ogryns adds close combat capabilities to the platoon.

Heavy streams of bulls cut through the undergrowth

The Ogryns muscle their way into action

If I want to expand this force , I’ll probably go for an air mobile squad of veterans in a Valkyrie and a special weapons squad with flamers. A sniper and a trooper with a heavy flamer would also come in handy, so I can change the load out of some squads.

Brute Force

I’ve had these chunky metal Ogryns for Warhammer 40k half-painted for the longest time, since their unconventional style of uniform didn’t fit with any of the Imperial Guard regiments I was building. As soon as I decided to paint a detachment of Catachan Jungle Fighters however, they found their spiritual home.

The Bone ‘ead is the leader of his small fire team

Ripper guns lay down heavy fire at short range

What the bullets don’t fell, the bayonet will take care of

Now I am just missing the Captain for this 500 points Catachan infantry detachment. There’s going to be a rumble in the jungle soon, as they discover long abandoned ruins and reawaken forces that should better have been left in their eternal stasis…

Ogryns are usually found in the spearhead of an Imperial Guard assault

Cutting a path through the dense jungle

Striking the Anvil

I have all the figures lined up for my Warhammer Fantasy Battle 8th Edition Dwarf army, but there is still a lot of painting to do on them. Among the units that I started a while ago are the Ironbreakers, who are clad in steel from head to toe, wielding compact axes or hammers for close quarters tunnel fighting. As Captain Darling put it, they are “one of the best anvils in an army of anvils”.

I managed to complete this unit of 15 models over the course of a few days, and I’m very happy with how they turned out. The steel is Citadel Ironbreaker (fittingly) with a thinned down wash of Nuln Oil and a dry brush of Runefang Steel, while the gold trim was painted in Gehenna’s Gold with a wash of Reikland Fleshshade.

Marching out to repel any invaders

Weapons raised to smash their enemies

Obviously I had to get some Night Goblins out for the Ironbreakers to face off against. I think both of these armies are going to get some love over the next couple of months, I am really in the mood for this epic clash on the battlefield.

Yet another Night Goblin incursion to be fought off