Hey guys!

I thought that the modelling and painting forum is no place for my ramblings, so have decided to create a blog for work I have done so far and plan to do.

So given an ideal world, and not interrupted by any things (like meeting the girl of my dreams and getting married, a lottery win or meteor strike etc.) this is what I hope to achieve eventually:

- a 28mm scale World Eaters force around 2000 to 2500 pts (not for any particular games, but just so I can have examples of everything in the army)
- a 5mm epic scale PH army of significant size.
- a BFG force representing the World Eaters crusade expedition, made up of both Imperial and Marine vessels.

++EDIT++
- A 28mm Imperial Army force of Lalondian Dragoons, representing the other major component of the 591st expidition.

Priority is going to be given to the 28mm scale for the time being, until I strike lucky on a cheap bid for either epic or BFG :)

Design Philosophy

I always like to organise what I want to make and the reasons for it before I start anything, otherwise I find my minis just turn out like a jumbled mess with no sense of direction, like a grox herder lost in a dust storm!

From a background perspective, there are several reasons why I chose the World Eaters. Firstly, the fact that they eventually fall to Chaos. I love the kind of tragic undertones which are implicit in the Horus Heresy story, and there are few narratives more powerful than that of the fallen hero! Secondly, for me the WE are the most accurate representation of what marines were back in the days of Rogue Trader. There is none of the 'knights in space' business or tales of heroism and fighting for the betterment of mankind, the WE are pure and brutal killers, with their point of view explaned at the end of a punch or a headbutt!

In RT its written, "the space marines are usually the first troops to arrive at the scene of a conflict, and they are used to mount strikes, raids and suprise attacks. Their reputation for savage ferocity and complete lack of mercy has earned them the nickname Angels of Death"

There is also a great bit in the main rulebook about Assault troops, and this is the main philosophy behind how I imagine the World Eaters to be:
"Space marine assault squads are equipped with hand-to-hand combat weapons such as chainswords, power swords and bolt pistols. Entry into buildings, or through the reinforced hulls of space craft, is gained using a las-cutter or phase-field generator. As the first wave of attackers goes through, casualites are always very high. The first troopers into the breach are almost inevitably shot dead instantly. Inclusion in an assault squad is a great honour. There is never any shortage of volunteers for suicide missions such as this."

In purely subjective terms, its also how I imagine marines would be in reality. The battlefields of the future would be so deadly, that there would be little room for chivalry or personality. Any special forces or chock troops such as marines would be a hammer-blow fighting force, built to impact on the enemy with overwhelming ferocity and with little thought to their own safety, and despite achieving their objectives would usually suffer massive casualties as a result.

So, in real terms this means I will most likely reduce the amount of personal identification and heraldry. Rather than modelling in 'parade ground' form of polished armour, I intend to model them as during or after battle, with used and damaged armour and no doubt a lot of blood!

So in short.... mad, bad, dirty and damaged....oh and they're coming to get you and there's not a damn thing you can do about it, 'cos bullets don't work either! :angry:

Having seen what you have done already, the "themed" angry charge of these blood crazed nut jobs should be a sight to behold!

Something tells me that it won't be long before we start asking just how you managed the arterial flow across your models!

Mate, I'm digging the direction you want to take here.
If all of your Army looks as promising as the J.Pack Assault Marine you posted else where on the Forum, I can't wait to see how your Army develops! (All 3 game versions of them!) :D

I really like the fact that you've told us your plans as well as your whole ethos as regards this project.

Are there any plans to add an Imperial Army regiment to join these guys in their crusade of blood and gore? Only downside to doing that'd be you'd have to get an Epic Guard army too. :lol:

Oooh, interesting. Great to see someone else planning to do an Epic pre-heresy force - I've been trying to convince people into Epic in my own plog. Good luck - I'll be following this.

wouldnt mind doing epic, but no one play's it round ere.

First update in a while - I've now got about 10 marines painted (I am progressing at about 1 marine per month it seems :) ), but unfortunately my 10 pixel (as opposed to megapixel) camera has decided to show photos only in red, meaning that the uploaded photos look more crap than ever before!

In the meantime, here is my preliminary 1500pt army list. As recommended by BoLS, it is based on the Blood Angels army list. As my army is meant to be representing a late great-crusade era army, as opposed to heresy era, I thought this was more appropriate than an 'all beserker' chaos marine proxy army. As per my original brief, I hope to go up to around 2500pts, but this is just to get me started and is something realistic to aim for :) I have also tried to make my weapon choices as pre-heresy as possible, so no assault cannons or plasma weapons, and limited other 'exotic' weapons

So without further ado:

HQ:
Captain with jump pack, combi-melta and power weapon (145pts)
Honour Guard with jump packs and melta gun (160pts)

Elites:
9 x Beserkers (death company) with jump packs (165pts)

Troops:
Tactical squad (10 marines), with missile launcher and flamer (205pts)

Tactical squad (10 marines) with flamer and power weapon (210pts)

Assault Squad (10 marines) with power fist, and 2 plasma pistols (30 pts)

Heavy:
Devestator squad (5 marines), with 4 autocannons (195pts)

Fast Attack
Landspeeder not armed with an assault cannon :)

Transport:
Rhino, with Havoc launcher and dozer blade (65pts)

The basic tactics will be to assault from many directions at once, the honour guard and captain acting as a 'bullet magnet' (as they often seem to in games, as normally they are tooled to the nines), while the real heavy hitters are the jump pack equipped beserkers and the assault squad cause the real bloodbath. The 2 tactical squads can then move onto the objectives as required.

I'm a bit of a sucker for punishment (I regularly field a goblin team in blood bowl for instance) and i can imagine this army taking big casualties, but hopefully each game will be a close combat bloodbath :)

edit: doh i have realised i included 2 plasma pistols in this list, will probably change for a flamer, and perhaps some other cheap items :o

Doesn't it just mean that red photos will fulfil your initial question? - instead of paint the armour red, photograph it in red ;)

First update in a while, thanks to my new little digi compact camera :)

Tactical Cohort Ignatov:



Much of Konos III is desert, devoid of life. The post-industrial descendants of humanity who inhabit this world have ravaged its biosphere with atomic weaponry, leaving large swathes of it a blasted wasteland. The sun vainly attempts to penetrate the thick detritus thrown into the atmosphere by the weapon blasts. The 9 companies of World Eaters of Expeditionary Fleet 591, supported by almost a million soldiers of the Imperial Army, move to subjugate the various disparate 'states' of Konos III, securing all major population and industrial centres.

An initial landing of Imperial Diplomats following standard introduction procedures was welcomed by 'Etat Union' representatives and leaders. However, shortly after negotiations began, the entire delegation (including the small World Eater honour guard) were annihilated by a rival State missile strike. All communications were cancelled, and the orbital barges and landing craft of the 591st began to move into lower orbit.


A note on names

To me, there doesn't seem to be any clear naming philosophy with regards to the World Eaters. Many of the names in the literature so far seems to be onimatapea - the kind of noise you would make after smoking 20 marlboro reds in an evening and have to clear your throat the next day! ('Skraal' for instance). So, at the risk of being underwritten by future publications, I decided on my own naming conventions for the WE. First of all I toyed with the idea of Polish/Eastern European names, but a list of them ending up sounding like the starting linemen of the Oakland Raiders! So, instead I have decided to opt with a mix of these and Russian sounding names. Russian is a quite guttural language, and the names give a 'hard' edge to them, which is exactly the kind of thing I imagine the World Eaters to be. Also, I wanted to get away from the generic latin sounding names found within much of the literature surrounding marines so far!

((PS: I still have much learning to do with concerns with the photography, as well as photoshop, but I'm hoping it will improve with practise! More photos to follow soon))

Closer view of armour varients and rhino:



Members of Ignatov Cohort deploy. The Rhino was used extensively on Konos 3, protecting marines from the guerilla tactics employed by rebel elements of the subjugated populations. Imperial Army members utilising lightly armoured scout vehicles suffered massive casualties from electronically-masked mines and chemical rockets, leading to their withdrawal from high-risk areas. The durability of the Rhino enabled repair to take place away from supply facilities should a disabling attack occur and the marine squad be ambushed, with usually 2 marines from each squad specifically trained for this circumstance.


Modelling notes:

The Rhino is only a limited conversion, with the storm bolter replaced by a heavy stubber as per the HH artbooks. Thanks again to BigWill and Astelan for help with making the studded armour for the mk5 marines, which is a painfully slow process to be honest, but something I only plan to do for 2 or 3 marines per squad max.

Gotta love a new digi camera ^_^

Also it's good to see some World Eaters that aren't depicted charging headlong at the first enemy that they see.

Most army shots of WEs have me thinking of the old PE teachers shouting "Stop bunching!!" to a group of 11 year olds playing rugby/football!!

Marine on Garrison duty (mk2):



Unable to defeat the World Eaters in open combat, and with their armies smashed within the first weeks on the invasion, the militants of Konos 3 turned to guerilla operations to target supply depots and industrial centres. Although garrison duties were primarily carried out by members of the Imperial Army, areas of high importance were often garrisoned by a single or sometimes several marines. Although their armour provided excellent protection, marines mk3, 4, 5 and even 6 were killed by high-accuracy, high-velocity sniper rounds aimed at the neck area. The Mk2 armour proved excellent in this regard.

Here a marine guards a stockpile in a captured fuelling distribution centre, outside the major population centre of Nova Atlantica. Scoring is clearly visible near his eye-piece (whether this is from a snipers bullet, or prior damage is unknown). Standing with his back to the crate, he is protecting the vulnerable rear areas of the armour. Just hours later, this stockpile as well as the entire complex were vapourised by a low-yield atomic weapon fired from an unknown location.

Really nice work so far. Good work on the studs, and I am loving the use of the old Mk II model and the old missile launcher. One small criticism is that I would have used CSM arms for the Mk II marines - the Mk II and Mk III armour had 'cuffs' wheras the newer design was introduced with the Mk IV. Otherwise, great stuff!

Looking real good there ;)
I really like the Heresy armor conversions.

Looking pretty good!
Maybe not enough dirt though... :P

But...

But...

AT-43 crates? baah! at least repaint them :P

Fantastic stuff, and I particularly like the low-key approach – tactical squads are the best thing since chronolinked mechadendrites (or sliced bread, if you prefer) in my opinion, and these look fantastic.

A particular well-done on the atmospheric and interesting colour text, which is really immersive and shows off your enthusiasm!

Thanks for the comments guys, Red thanks, thats noted. I'm hoping to paint up a whole squad of these guys, so I'll use CSM arms for future models.

Brother Tiriel Ah yes, don't worry I have now fired the props guy! ^_^ I think that crate definitely needs a bit of a drybrush!

Apologist thanks, I've tried to control myself and paint the troops first (rather than the specials and characters), I hadn't really painted white before these guys and it certainly takes some patience! I'm really trying to move these marines away from the individual 'heroes', and back towards the 'sardakur' interpretation of marines who are faceless and un-individual, but are horrifically ruthless in their operations!

The unit I am currently constructing will perhaps be the most colourful, specifically a beserker squad! There will be a short plot piece, centering around the death of several marines killed by guerillas; the marine commander of the expedition decides that a show of force is required, and a squad of beserkers are deployed in a CBD area of a city, despite the pleas of the Imperial commander of the fleet....

I have many zombie components from a just-finished vampire counts army that are going to be used for this one ^_^

these look great, love the choice of blue! Is the Rhino full blue?

Yes it is regal/ultramarine mix. I chose this because, a) One of the pics in the HH artbooks has an only blue rhino and b ) I was lazy and didnt fancy painting large parts of the vehicle white (to be honest it was mostly 'b') ^_^

I liek them they look great. The scenery gives them that extra "feel" to them.

Do we have a fan of AT-43 in our midst? :P

Ooh, shiny toys. Some very nice looking stuff here Pacific, not quite sure why I've not commented before now, I've looked at them plenty!

[Begin bracket]
I hope not! :angry: :angry:

:D
[End bracket]

Man, AT-43 rocks! My gaming group and I have been adapting it to AT-40k:





More on-topic, what's next for the boys in blue (and white – and blooooood!)?

Great job Pacific!
At-43 is a really kool game, I use the terrain for Necromunda, as for adopting the game for 40k....well.....may the Emperor have mercy on your soul :P

Last thing Off-topic, sorry, but I couldn't resist...

AT-40k? 40k years After Trauma? You're a bit hard with JC, aren't you? :D :D

First update in a while. I am still painting when I can, inbetween trying to get my dissertation finished for next week! However, as a break from painting white/blue (noticing that the quality of my painting had gone down a bit, I think a break and doing something else is often a good way of getting back into the swing of things) I thought I would paint something different.

Diplomat/Itinerator of the 591st Expidition:




And a short story I wrote to go along with this, giving more information about the tale of the 591st.

Despite the Marine Commander of the expedition requesting a show of force as a prelude to diplomatic negotiation with the planet of Konos III, the considerable influence and standing of diplomat and Itinerator Sabastien Thul required that military power would only be used when all else had failed. Konos III would be welcomed into the Imperium without a drop of blood shed.

"But surely a disply of military might would be a warning?" Argued the Commander, "Several of our new Thunderhawks, along with a company of my men? They must know what they face if they do not comply."
"Nonsene", retored Sebastein Thul, "A dozen or more worlds have been swayed by my words, let the blood of the sons of Angron saved for a more obvious foe. Do not forget that our great empire is built upon a foundation of the furthering of mankind, and a gentle hand on the shoulder, more than a bloodied fist, must turn them to this way of thinking."

After received a barrage of initially confused and questioning com-signals, the orbital relays of the fleet transmitted the standard greeting of the Emporer and of Terra to all the major powers of Konos III. The planet was not a unified whole but instead consisted of many kingships, unions and republics, and its atmosphere and blasted landscapes were testament to their various feuds and disagreements. Although several of these nation-states offered a consultation of some sort, it was the Etat Union which, as Thul was later quoted as remarking, "seemed to have a similar disposition to our own". A meeting time and place was agreed, and preperations for the historic repatriation of another long lost branch of humanity were made.

A day later a small landing craft, carrying Thul and only a small 5 man squad of marines (selected on the basis of temperament) made their way down through the atmosphere to the landing zone. There, landing atop a massive building decorated with podiums of polished marble, many types of fauna and rich tapestries, and infront of massed ranks of neatly arrayed infantry of the Etat Union, first contact was made.

................................................................

Sabastien Thul had smiled and nodded at the one named Homish, the appointed representative of these people, as yet more terms and agreements were discussed. Behind him the giant Astartes had stood immobile at attention, their bolters pressed up against their chests, and their armour polished to a brilliant white (something Thul himself had insisted upon), seemingly unperturbed by the fearful glances and whispered conversations of Homish's entourage.

Negotiations were moving along so well, that Sebastien Thul almost complained when the Astartes to the right of him raised his boltgun and fired, blowing the Union representatives head apart in a shower of gore. His suprise had almost turned to anger at the Astartes who had dared to bahave in this manner, as a gauntled hand grabbed him by the collar, and wrenched him around and towards the shuttle. Words chimed over his earpiece in the thick accent of the 12th Legions homeworld, "we are betrayed."


Then all was lost in a barrage of white noise, and a wall of sound as the five marines, standing shoulder to shoulder, unleahed their weapons on full automatic into the still suprised looking soldiers. Obscene flowers of blood blossomed from the bolt impacts and dozens of soldiers and civilians alike were litterally shredded where they stood. Although shocked and dismayed by this horrible violence, nevertheless decades of war had made the militias of Konos tenacious fighters, and within seconds the air sang with the machine-noise of their projectile weapons.

Thul cradled his head in his hands. As he stumbled back towards the shuttle, he turned to see one of the marines fall, his armour dented and torn by the hail of incoming fire, blood fountaining from a hole in his eye piece. Another marine moved behind him and put his arm around his waste, attempting to shield the Diplomat's vulnerable body and usher him into the vehicle. But, as the shots winnied and twanged from the carapace of the marine, dragging him to one knee, Thul realised that all was lost. The fuselage of the shuttle, intended only for light transport duty, was dented and torn. The marine lurched forward, and Thul fell infront of him, his delicate rebreather pipe spilling its cargo of incense onto the red carpet beneath him. What had gone wrong? Why had his honour guard begun this hopeless battle and condemned them all to death? He squirmed around and looked at the battle behind him.. somehow over the incredible din of bolter fire and screams of the dying a roar sounded, that made the ground shake and the building they had landed upon tremble. Just as those marines standing turned to look upwards, an incandescent flame came down towards them. Thul looked up in wonderment, and barely had time to gasp before the building and everything within several miles was annihilated in an expanded ball of nuclear fire.

--------------------------------------------

Commander of the fleet Borya slammed his fist down on the view screen. He had given warning to his men the moment the incoming missile had been detected, but from studying the data pict he had known that there would not be time for Sebastien Thul nor his honour guard to escape.

The display on the monitor revealed the expanding msuhroom cloud of the missile on the government building below. Although only a small yeild weapon, it was obviously more than enough to ensure the instant destruction of anything within several miles of its impact point. To Borya, it did not matter that a rival state had sought to sabotage the meeting, nor that those just attacked might be innocent, just that the open hand of Terra had been bloodied in an act of unprovoked cowardice.

The bridge crew stood in silence as the commander turned to them. An almost imperceptible grin played accross his features as he spoke.. "tell the fleet to prepare, and the make the landing craft ready. These people will learn how the 12th earnt their name."



I'm now a fair way through the 'linebreaker' squad and have also made tentative steps on my 'captain', which I have a pretty good idea for, more updates when they are done!

Wow!...

The original Titan Princeps miniature, with the seperate Imperial Guard plastic arms.

Now there's a miniature I haven't seen in a long time...I remember buying a blister of them when they came out. :)

yaya found it!!!

i remember getting a blister of sanctioned psykers and roughriders with cowboy hats!!!

Yes he was one of the first miniatures I ever bought! At last after stripping the 18 layers of gaudy colours added over the years he has had some use!



World Eaters 2nd Company Captain Sevruk of the 591st expidition
I have finally finished painting my captain, and prior to posting some pics of him tomorrow here are some design notes and the rules I intend to use, essentially just 'counts as' Chaplain Lemartes from the BA codex. I have included seperate special rules to explain the relevant bonuses he received.

BACKGROUND
Sevruk was one of the first Captains of the 12th legion from Angron's homeworld to have reached the rank, as opposed to the existing Terran ethnicity of many in the legion. Over the years he carved a name for himself as being utterly ruthless, often at the forefront of any attack and, even amongst the others of his legion, was regarded as being a shining example of ferocity and mercilessness.

It was on the barren and unforgiving landscapes of Talmasci IX that he would cement his rise to captain amidst a welter of blood and offal. Surrounded by the corpses of his slain cohort he faced the brutal orcish overlord of that world, a behemoth even by greenskin standards, atop a crude but towering orcish fort. With bestial cunning the orc declined Sevruk's challenge of combat, and instead raised his primitive flamethrower and doused the exposed chest and face of the marine in promethium. Sevruk's cried in agony as his skin boiled and eyes burst in their sockets, and the orc warlord, snickering all the while, turned to his horde to howl in triumph. But his victory cry proved premature as Sevruk, somehow still alive and guided by some innate sense, flung himself at the orc, and in a single motion raised the orc above his head and cast him from the battlements to shatter on the ground far below. The body of Sevruk was recovered by the legion apothecaries, and despite all predictions he lived, a complex bioneural interface from the mechanicum of Mars ensuring that he would see and fight again.

As a native of Angron's own homeworld, Sevruk was among the first to encourage the use of neural implants within the legion, and this is shown by his personally selected guard who always have the modifications made. Although his accompanying marines usually suffer massive casualties in being the first into the breech, such a posting is seen as a great honour. The sight of Sevruk and his beserker guard howling in rage with chainaxes spinning as they charge is a fearsome sight indeed.

RULES

WS BS S T W I A LD SV
5 5 4 4 3 5 3 10 3+

Special Rules
Honour of the Legion: Withdrawing from the fight is simply unthinkable for any marines fighting alongside Sevruk. Any World Eater squad he is part of is fearless.
Horrifying Violence: Sevruk exemplifies the ethos of the world eaters. The impact of a cohort of marines charging into the foe is akin to an express train, as the marines hack and slash with unremittant fury. Any World Eater squad he has joined may reroll to hit on the turn that they charge.
Blessed: Despite spearheading countless assaults, and suffering wounds which would have killed even other Astartes, Sevruk has somehow managed to stay alive, something which unfortunately can not often be said for his guard. Some call it the blessings of the gods of battle, others just blind luck, but whatever the cause Sevruk has survived far longer than he has had any right to. Confers 4+ inv. save (equivalent of Rosarius).
Fearsome Visage: The sight of Sevruk in combat is enough to make many a lesser soldier flee in terror. His horrific visage of scarred tissue cement this image. Any enemy unit within 6" suffers a -1 penalty to its LD (equivalent of 'Death Mask')

Wargear
Power Armour, Bolt Pistol, Jump Pack, Frag & Krak Grenades, Chainaxe
Chainaxe: Sevruk has extraordinary strength even for a marine. Although he has weilded the same weapon since becoming an astartes, his phenomenol strength means that it cleaves through the thickest of armour, literally hacking apart anything that stands in his way. Counts as a power weapon.


Final Notes:
I hoped to be able to create reasons for this characters special rules, rather than just simply saying 'counts as Lemartes' and leaving it like that. Although I think the new use of this form of special character representation in 5th ed. is a great idea, already I have seen several peoples armies with 'counts as' models with little or no attempts to explain their special abilities, which I think is a great shame and a wasted opportunity. I hope with this model that people will think 'ah that makes sense' when wondering why he confers -1 leadership, or is leading a squad of yelling and frothing beserkers :)

Anyway thats it for now! Feedback on this is appreciated, be it with tha background or rules, and I will post pics of the actual mini tomorrow!

OK enough words! Fight!



I managed to make a pretty crude job of removing alot of the books and other jingles from the chaplain, it must have looked like neanderthal man trying to sharpen a piece of rock with a bit of flint. I've tried to disguise this with the battle damage on his right leg. I may well add a bit more blood, but I'm conscious of overdoing it and ruining the model completely!

C&C welcome (as this is only 1 captain of several I hope to do eventually).

Damn that chainaxe must have ran out of fuel, it looks like he just started bludgeoning people with it :P love it!

Battle Damage is always a good way to disguise any "clean up" remains.
I like him, the damage looks good, maybe just a little blood on the thigh though.

Any chance of a top down shot so as to get an Idea of the Turbine - Back pack positioning? (just so I can get an idea how to position mine!) :rolleyes:

Look forward to seeing more of your WE's. :D

Lookin' good – the blood is particularly nice, and the overall concept of the mini's great. Surprising how well an Ultramarines chaplain works as a crazed berzerker. :)

Yum yum! ^_^

Steak tartare if I'm not mistaken??!

Great idea, and fluff for what, previously, was a fairly dull model.

He definitely looks the part!

looks like he got ketchup all over 'im.

great model, seriously.

Its weird how Berzerkery (not a proper word I know!) Cassius looks...

Hmmm - excellent job and a good use of a model I would not have considered before seeing yours.

More please! :lol:

Jim

HMM?, it's funny, between you and the recent ph paintin comp Its got me wannin to do a display squad of PH world eaters in a head long charge!!!

dam me being so low on cash at the moment, i guess it will just have to wait untill christmas won't it.

on another note, I really like your world eaters especially that last conversion, i realy wouldn't suspect cassius would make as good a W/E as he does!

well done dude :)

I've got to say that I'm surprised at how well Cassius converts to being a World Eater. Nice job there mate.

If you'd not been able to get the book off you could always have justified by saying it was his beating book - he uses it to press flowers, and smash in the skulls of his foes. :D

Thanks for the comments guys :)

A big event for the 591st today! Their first battle, and also my first battle of 5th edition!

Only a small game using all the models I have (just 700pts) but somehow I managed to win against a mounted orc force!

The good
My 'razorback' armed with multi-melta, after a comical first turn of shooting in which I didn't manage to kill a single orc(!) it performed admirably by reducing both a trukk and buggy to molten slagg, and shrugging off numerous rokkit hits!

The bad
The tactical cohort got completely destroyed by turn 2, as a result of combined twin-linked shoota fire from the new orc bikes and then a charge by a warboss and his retinue. My armour saving was at an all time low at this point (my opponent claimed it was because I got bad juju from using green dice for my marines ^_^ )
Rhino - drove around in 1st gear for a while shooting its 'heavy stubber' into the air, before trying to ram a buggy. This was my first ever ram since 2nd edition and was very excited by it, but it ended up with no effect just looking like a parking accident :(

The Ugly
Captain Sevruk and the beserkers (death company proxy) - in the course of the game, they managed to wipe out 2 squads of boyz including a warboss, and the squad of 5 bikes (and they only got to charge once in the game!) overall getting on for 30 orcs without a single loss!

Overall I really enjoyed the first game I have had for some time, and with using a new army! I was really pleased with how the Blood Angels codex turned out, the 'beserkers' in particular provoked a real look of dread from my opponent when they charged in and wiped out a warboss and his retinue - exactly as it should be!

Also, I know its only 1 game, but for me the 5th edition rules are a great step forward from both 3rd and 4th editions, with the new LOS and especially close combat rules a vast improvement!

This has really given me enthusiasm now for getting some more painting done and getting up to 1500pts!