Terrain Ruins Project

One things that i noticed about Epic/40k when i started building models and terrain was that often 'official' terrain was all about 'ruins'. i get that on a practical level it makes removing a roof unnecessary and thus the insides of a building more accessible but given there's not 'room rules' for Epic/40k, who cares. 

this trend is changing now with lots of unexploded terrain bits in the official range which is nice.

to my mind it seemed less compelling to be fighting over a bunch of ruins (yes i get that it's cover) compared to fighting over the functional, populated structures of imperial citizenry, or raiding still full hab-blocks for the more canabalistically minded factions.

anyway, point is that my terrain buildings to date have generally been towards 'whole structures' rather than ruins. to the point where i have a nice little outpost town available in my terrain box. 

at one stage i did make 3 coasters of ruins just because variety, and they work just fine. wanting to bolster those pieces in my kit i decided to make 5 more coasters worth and document the process while i'm at it. again, looking to highlight what you can do with 3d printed stuff.

for almost all my terrain pieces i use a standard size/pattern 'slab wall' which comes in a few sizes and patterns (windows/doors) and can be clipped together. these are all deliberately plain (sans windows/doors) as the intention is that once you build your structure you can then decorate it with stuff from your bitz box.

enough blither, this is what i made...


Build Pics...

after printing up all your slabs 'dry fit' them into pleasing patterns; do you want all the doors on one side, all the windows on one side etc. 
i went with 'square' structures for all of them due to laziness but you could also make smaller structures or 'L-shapes' as well.

take the panels and glue them into flat plates. superglue. dribble some glue into the connecting bits, 'snap' the pieces together than flatten against the workbench with a (flat) block of wood. 
i like using the plates because i'm useless cutting straight lines and if i tried making structures out of mdf they'd be too wonky and annoy me. plates help me make straight structures.

then assemble the plates into structures. with 'whole structures' i tend to take a bit more time making sure the connections are square (90 degrees) but for ruins i wasn't so picky. once the structure is solid glue them to the coaster. no roofs required.

now for the fun stuff... using a stanley knife or similar chop off the top of the structure in artistic ways. 

what's the difference here? take to the bottom parts with a dremmel (or similar). you could use a ciggy lighter, file, hot knife, sandpaper. basically anything to get the pieces nice and gnarly. 

then take the left over 'tops' and make them into inner walls, 'floors', collapsed areas and debris.

this was all that was left after decorating the ruins. theoretically you could flip over that last piece and make another ruin if you could be bothered. i couldn't.

wall plaster (out of a tube or bucket. the easier the better). starts adding a bit of shape to the base, use it to conceal the connection points, printer striation, and to help remove straight lines.  be artistic, take your time with this step, it can really help the overall effect.

texture paint. adds texture. helps fill gaps and cover print striation. a bit expensive and you could possible make your own from regular paint with plaster and/or sand mixed in. i'm lazy and i like texture paint plus i don't use much or frequently.
from memory i did two coats, a dark coat (apollo grey) over everything (fill gaps) and a lighter coat of grey (rocky dam) for the walls, which is more or less their final colour. 

astrogranite the bases (including inside, always inside) and a bit on the walls and collapses. adds texture and variety.


Basing Formula
My basing formula is pretty much what i used on the entire model (except walls which need to remain a light grey).

- 2 coats of astrogranite (1st to cover all the base areas, 2nd to add extra lumpy bits for extra dimension)
- 2 washes of agrax, liquid but not leaving pools
- 1 dry brush baneblade brown (medium to light effect)
- 1 dry brush screaming skull (medium to light effect)
- edges of coaster with steal legion drab

this is what i use for all my Epic stands... and all other models for that matter. Yes, i use citadel paint, force of habit, easy to get, and i'm not that discerning when it comes to paint, i like consistency of colour and availability over artisan shading...

this one has the agrax washes added. so make sure you wash and dry brush the astrogranite bits on the walls and inner parts too, you don't want them pristine. 

end result

i managed to use up the last of my static grass (yhay). would have preferred a second shade of static grass as well but had used up my 'dry' ones on a previous project. 

at this stage you could add fallen aquilas, busted up tanks, statues (28mm models work great) or whatever to the models. i intend as a future project to revisit all my terrain structures and add some pretty but i'm not in a rush as it's also nice to have less gribbles to catch fat, clumsy fingers on. 

these particular terrain pieces are notably different to my original three (they are in real life anyway). 
for my original pieces i was mainly using regular ol' art acrylic paints rather than modelling paint. i also took a bit more time to finesse them. basically working slower and more thoughtfully due to it being a new concept.
but when i'm working on 'art' projects i'm not that fussed by a bit of variation as the pieces aren't intended to be uniform anyway. 
provided the pieces look good on the table and help the overall, immersive effect, who cares?

until next time...

Black Templars Project - Part 2 - Reinventing a List

a couple of quotes for starters...

"Possibly the most iconic force in the 40k and 30k worlds and the most common force you will encounter on a Warhammer 40k tabletop. Sadly though in Epic 40k they are not an ideal learning army and can be quite tricky to learn. Basically marines are a strike force, all of your troops are great but you won't get heaps of them and if you use them poorly you'll lose the attrition game every time."

from D6 Addiction

"But first a note on how Epic: Armageddon designs army lists. The game tries to avoid ‘generalist’ lists where it can and instead tries to have lists that focus on a playstyle. 

...
Space marines are a finesse force, requiring a firm grasp of how to get your models into positions to support one another, focusing their force in a small area of the table, destroying the opposition there and then often leaving the table again to rapidly shift the focus of attack to a different point. This makes them less beginner friendly than might be expected from Warhammer 40k but it does mean they play more like a group of special operative teams finding ways to overcome far larger numbers of opposition."

from guildford games club

Exactly the same as Marines... only different

I started my Epic career with Marines. The people i've demo'd the game to usually start with marines vs marines to learn the mechanics of the game; in part due to model availability (mine); in part due to my own familiarity with unit stats etc. Marines are even used in the EA rule book Training Scenarios. It is a catch-22.

It is something of a rude shock - after learning to move, shoot and assault - to then face an army of [insert any other faction here] that will seemingly pick apart your Marines force piecemeal as you try to run them across the table.

As part of my Black Templars army project i fully intended to strongly bias the army as an air-mobile (only) force (as intended) rather than a generic, ground-based army (rookie mistake as per quotes at top of page). In a way forcing myself to forego tanks and titans for... well, something else... but what?

Research

I knew in passing that there were already experimental army lists floating round for Black Templars but after a bit of research i discovered that what was available wasn't really what i was after.

EpicUK have a 'live' list, but EpicUK lists are usually written 'differently enough' to preclude their use with the netEA/epicAU tournament/meta dominant in my part of the world. At least that is the perception and i'd happily play someone a casual game with a UK list any day of the week.

And there was a list on Taccmd that didn't seem to get past developmental(?) phase with the last updates/posts back in 2015. The Taccmd list started with some promising features, but then seemed to redact some of the fun stuff and nerf back towards vanilla Marines again.


From Scratch
I decided instead to try my hand authoring my own army list (risking soul-flensing criticism if it's OP, OP, or just plain stupid - so yes, i know the risks there).

Foremost in my mind from inception of this project was always Theme...
- How are Black Templars different from Codex Marines?
- Are they different enough to warrant their own list?
- What specifically makes Black Templars what they are?
- How can this be expressed in unit and formation availability?

Starting with point values and formation structures from netEA/epicAU Codex Marines i added concepts from the Taccmd development project and also referenced in passing the EpicUK list (thinking always, "Does the list change i'm contemplating fit the BT Theme?"). 
The 4th ed. Codex got a thumb through and i also had in mind some ideas from black library fiction i'd read.
I also got some invaluable feedback from my gaming buddies in terms of new concepts and constructive criticism of what i'd done. Many thanks to them.
Then  shazam!  an army list was made...

Codex Astartes - Black Templars         [link to current version - 20200724]

Opening Shots... Back to the Drawing Board
After finishing the army build i naturally played a test game or two because it's always fun fielding your new units before the paint sets.

Anyway, true to (dumb) form i wrote ground-centric lists albeit with new Templary infantry blobs, and stormravens as transports etc.

While the feel of the new army was notably different to vanilla Marines (more 'horde-like' and 'skimmer-mobile') they survived but hardly flourished, towards loses or stalemates.

I also ran the list once at my FLGS with similarly uninspired results; pretty army... my condolences on your latest loss.

The eureka moment occurred weeks later after seeing a 'total air assault' list produced by a game buddy (for Codex Marines). Like a crisp smack to the face i realised; NOTHING is deployed at the start of the game!
Holy carp... take that a little further...
EVERYTHING is loaded on spacecraft - NOTHING is deployed at the start of the game  - EVERYTHING arrives by planetfall or AC/WE... when the spacecraft arrives... on turn 3. [Maybe turn 2 if you're feeling vindictive and want to draw out your enemy's suffering 😜]

It occurred to me that THIS was precisely what the Black Templar army list should be about. Does it fit the Black Templar Theme? Throne yes!

The Terminator Teleporter 

A pre-cursor event to all of this happened at Castle Assault 2017. 
I had the pleasure of experiencing defeat (a running theme) to a Melbourne chap who ran a list containing nothing but Terminators and Aircraft.

For the first two turns the AC pummelled my troops and on turn 3 he teleported in 4 or 5 formations of terminators onto objectives.

From my understanding it had limited success against other, sturdier factions but it was certainly a  eye opener as to alternate (and perfectly legitimate) play styles.

Steel Rain, to the max

...and hence the late-built landing craft.

So i loaded up my new 'total air assault' list with extra zeal, crammed my spacecraft to the gills with drop pods and transports, then headed to my local FLGS.

Suffice to say it was exhilarating to finally have Marines... well... playing like Marines should (both in terms of stats/intention and also fluff); arriving at (more or less) full strength and crashing abruptly into enemy lines directly rather than crumbling into ineffectiveness as they slog their way across the board.

Even running some ground forces with a high percent of air assault blobs doesn't quite capture 'the theme' in my mind (and leaves your lonely scouting forces as the only option for a target-frustrated opponent's guns).

Of course... the air assault 'effect' can also be achieved with (vanilla) Codex Marines - it's definitely not BT only - though i have added some extra zing for Black Templars.

They must be different
It was one of the design parameters that the list needed to be substantially different to most of the other (especially) original marines lists.
Not just marines with extra tanks (scions), or marines with extra bikes (white scars).
There had to be a substantial reason for a new list, not just to put a known name on effectively a rebadged codex list. 
This has been done with the Chaos Marines lists so it can be done.

So, how are these Black Templars actually different to Codex Marines?
The following changes evolved quickly over several versions of the list...

+ Mandatory Spacecraft
A central concept to the BT theme is being an air-heavy, crusading force. This means you need a spacecraft.

+ WE transports into aircraft/support section
The BT army is an 'independent' fighting force (i.e. mobile and not tied to a homeworld or other force structure) so the Air Support is no longer kept as an 'allied force'; it is integral to the BT structure.
This allows a shuffle of transports (i.e. thunderhawks) off the main list and into the air support section. 
It also means that interceptors are now piloted by Marines giving them better initiative rolls etc.
A notable restructure is a limit of 50% AC/support meaning that you need to take at least half your points as infantry/ground forces, enforcing a 'Marine list with AC' rather than an 'AC list with some token Marines'.

+ Structured troop selections (crusaders vs support)
The Codex Marines list is often berated for the free-form selection of troops smorgasboard. Many other armies require you take 'core units' in order to take 'support units'. The Black Templar list requires you to take Crusader formations (Tactical Marines) in order to take support formations. This helps promote the 'air assault' intent of the list.

+ No titans or big guns
Being independent and lightweight isn't all pluses. The list has no access to titans allies as Codex Marines do. In fact the list is extremely light on TK and Macro weapons (even by Codex Marines standards). I guess it could be argued that the BT force could hook up with other forces on campaign but... shut up.

+ Prominent characters
The new, mandatory Emperor's Champion unit is a largely thematic addition but hopefully get the player in the mood for assault. Marshalls and Castellans continue the BT badging and of course no librarians are suffered within the ranks of the zealous.

+ Special units (who says only dark angels get the new toys?)
Stormravens; Available in two flavours, transport and gunship.
Deathstorm Drop Pods; Not a transport unit, guns only.
Neophytes; If you were to think 'expendable meatshields for tactical units'... BT don't get scouts they get these to boost the unit numbers instead. In game jargon; 'expendable'.
Sword Brethren; taken from one of the original BT lists, CC tactical specialists. Suitably useless against skimmer armies. Thematic though.
Assault Terminators; as above but dialled up to terminator. A chance to build hammernators or  lightning claws dudes.


Starting (BT) Marines
As usual the list presents a conundrum for new players... especially those that really like the idea of playing Marines;
- Do i learn Marines as ground-pounders to learn the rules and get beat down in the process? 

  (you can learn a lot from getting beaten, though it's sometimes hard not to be deflated by loss after loss. stick with it.)
- Do i learn the basics with a "beginner friendly" army and possibly come back to Marines later?

  (do you actually like other factions? do you have models available? it's certainly not a bad thing to learn about other factions, stats/capabilities etc, and something you will have to do eventually.)
- Do i try to get my head around air assault from the get go while trying to learn basic rules as well?

  (depends how quickly you grasp things i guess and how much you want it. if you have experienced players around to coach you it might make the process easier.)

If you read the last paragraph of blatant opinion as, "as a new player, do i really want to step straight into a black templars force where my best chance of winning is 'use advanced tactics'?" i wouldn't blame you. I would never dissuade someone from playing Marines (they're way cool) just be aware of their quirks, try to have fun with what you're doing, and trust that expertise will come with time.


Future
At the moment the ink is barely dry on the list, though I don't envisage many major changes; maybe a few small tweeks.
My intention for 2018 is to field testing like crazy and hopefully getting some kind of official support for these sword-wielding maniacs.


Later - 20190605
While the initial write-up was good i've discussed some things with people, thought about other aspects and have subsequently tweaked the lists a bit. Substantially?  hmmmm... enough for it to play differently.

The core/fluffy fundamentals are all still there, however some aspects - particularly those pertaining engage/assault - have been focused and accentuated to really bring out the intent/purpose of the army.

I had discussions regarding whether some of the units/formations are too good at assault *...
being good at assault is entirely the purpose of the list. it has zero titans or heavy guns, very little that can shoot ranged attacks... am i meant to dial the assault aspect down as well so that it's just a compete rubbish list?
the idea of just having a list with a 'traditional' name on it for the sake of it being there is dumb. the list needs to be viable within it's specific area of expertise.
conversely, people don't go "knights, orks, eldar have it too easy when it comes to assault".
Assault is what these armies are designed to do.

Overall, i consider the list to be duly pondered and contemplated. If something gets a boost in one area it gets a reduction in another. There are not units or formations that are all-round bad-asses, they have a specific focus and, as importantly as any of that, they're consistent with the fluff.
[mic drop]

* as could be gathered this is re Assault Terminators. True, they are potentially good, but they are limited to one per army, and there are situations where their abilities can be entirely negated (i.e. skimmers). Their abilities have been considered and most definitely aren't just 'dial them up to 11.'


Later - 20200724

I got some feedback from taccmd people some months ago which i've contemplated, forgotten about, list tinkered, forgotten about, remembered, forgotten about, and finally, today, i did some specific analysis and edited out the list.

The changes were relatively minor and, no great surprise, were mainly about Army unique units. I very much appreciate the feedback received from the members for this fan list.

until next time...

Black Templars Project - Part 1 - Building a 3D Army

One of my first (uneducated) purchases when i initially got enthused about the 40k universe many years ago was the old 4th edition (2005) Black Templar codex. I knew virtually nothing about the faction but found the style appealing and the black and white colour scheme seemed easy enough to get my head around.


Army Building
Fast forward a decade or so... without a specific plan in mind, I decided (quite likely just on a whim) that I should build myself a new Black Templars army for Epic, and between May 2017 and November 2017 this happened.

By this time I had already produced several, complete, printed armies (Marines and others) and had my production process down.

Previously I hadn't set out to produce all the units/formations for an army as one big batch; this approach does have the advantage of painting everything more uniformly (which was what I was after, having experienced a-dozen-shades-of-yellow syndrome with my Imperial Fists), but at the risk of hobby/painting burnout.



Every army starts in a state of ugly. A 3D printed one looks something like this; bags of models and bases. Shucking the support plastic off the models is one of the most tedious tasks in the entire process.


Before getting too far in to the project i did paint up some test models to get a feel for the project and work out a painting formula.


Painting Formula
To get a uniform looking army it helps to have a clearly defined painting formula; this is just a list of steps that you follow, time after time, model after model, to make sure things are the same.

if possible/necessary write your formulas down, because a year from now when you need an extra 8 sticks of infantry you may well forget 'step 4' and end up with reserves that look like they just shipped in fresh from bootcamp while the rest of your army look like the seasoned vets they are.

The formula i used for this army was:
- Base coat Black
- Base coat Skavenblight Dinge (dark grey)
- Wash Null Oil [x2] or [x3]
- Dry brush (very lightly) Skavenblight Dinge just on ‘high surfaces’
- Leadbelcher all metal sections as appropriate
- White panels
- Light grey edge highlights (for larger models only, i.e. vehicles)
- Black icons, Red eyes etc


More Progress...
Seeing projects progress from one stage to another helps motivation. which is why i often take pictures as i go, at least at 'end points'.

Everything is printed out, assembled, based... and on parade. Before starting i had a reasonable idea of the formations (thence models) i would want available for my lists. This did change a little over time but it is easy enough to pre-select 'must take' or mandatory formations such as (in the case of Marines) tactical formations, thunderhawks, land speeders, rhinos etc... at least with forces you are familiar with.

As a (mild) point of interest, vehicles (AV) in Epic do not require bases (unlike infantry). However I almost alway do base all my vehicles on mdf squares because i find it makes measuring (i.e. from a square base corner) easier and more uniform.



With its 'crusading' theme the army is going to need a space ship, so I modelled up a new Strike Cruiser. The model is 4 main segments which are super-glued together. The base contains an integral 'scatter device' (which i first encountered playing Halo: ground command). Its use is possibly slightly more complex than a scatter dice, but conversely you don't need to carry scatter dice.

PROCESS
1)    1d6 - if you roll 1 or 6 and you're on target. No scatter.
                else if you roll 2,3,4,or 5 then...
2)    1d6 - match the dice value to the base directin and move in the direction shown... 
3)    2d6 - distance to move.

This ship should (hopefully) be size compatible with Battlefleet Gothic.
[ed:  it's probably a little large]



Everything gets a coat of dark grey, followed by two washes of null oil.


Painting up the leadbelcher, white panels, highlights of lighter grey etc.

Final results. As it turns out i did end up making extra formations but the first batch (above) could definitely be used to make a playable army and covered most of the 'core options'.

3D prints
From the picture above (resolution aside) I think it's fair to say that 3D printed models make a perfectly functional army. Epic (and most tabletop wargames for that matter) are played at arms length, at which distance fine detail in the models becomes irrelevant (especially once the battle starts heating up). Cast models are prettier without a doubt but 3D will get you playing, which is what counts at the end of the day.


Reinforcements
Plans changes, the lists developed and extra reinforcements had to be called in.


After giving more thought to 'Templar-y' units i printed out some Stormravens, an extra tactical formation and some dreadnoughts...


...and some custom 'hammernator' assault terminators. I also made lightning claw terminator variants (all available on thingiverse by the way) but these were less photogenic.




Late arrivals include some bikers, extra land speeders and a landing craft (Stormbird)


Extra Boxy
I have taken to storing my 'real' armies in 'art boxes', available occasionally/annually from aldi and/or at all times from certain cheapy shops.




Partially as an experiment, and partially because i was sick of making fiddly mdf partitions/dividers i decided to try magnetising the army. All went well using A4 magnet sheets from officeworks which were glued to the box floors (just pva wood glue) and then cut small pieces to fit the undersides of all the model bases (glad of those vehicle bases now hey!!); rough-cut, superglue trim, and repaint edges.

I have subsequently magnetised up another box for a different army and will probably do all of them eventually [read: it was not as tiresome as i had imagined].

And that was pretty much that. From start though to magnetised boxing the project took about 6 months but i had a table-ready army (including basing) within about 4 weeks.


until next time...

Terrain Ship Project

Terrain Ship Project...
Like many wargaming hobbyists I enjoy having and making terrain for my game table. I much prefer battling over an immersive, scale city-scape rather than a wooden table using books and salt/pepper shakers as terrain.

At some stage during the last year or so I was thinking about 40k ships and with some rough calculations and worked out a 'small' standard class destroyer was about 2+meters at 6mm scale. Too big for storage in the garage and no way I was trailering it around for games. Madness.

...but Ii still liked the idea of making a little chisel-prowed ship just as a terrain feature piece. So, decided to make a planetary defence monitor ship. 


Part 1...
I'd previously made several terrain structures (buildings) using modular printed 'blocks' which worked well and were relatively square, so after modelling the project in sketchup I was able to start cranking out blocks.

The picture above shows several structures that make up the bridge/engine section (these stack upward, not outward as laid out in the picture); otherwise known as the rear 1/3rd of the ship. The plan was to print out all the vertical planes to ensure things were the same size and vaguely square then glue these to connecting horizontal mdf 'decks'.

Suffice to say that things went more or less to plan and eventually i had a ship in three segments; prow, mid and aft. 

The original idea was that I would magnetise the three segments and they'd snap together magnetically; but the magnets I had (even though large) just weren't up to the task strength-wise. To keep momentum in the project i glued the whole thing together into a solid, single mass.

I then raided the bitz box and added gribbles, gubbins, guns, masts, and other suitable bling.

Everything got a coat of black spray paint, then exterior paint (green. filling gaps), and then a spray of silver. Next, everything gets blocked in with basic colour it's probably going to end up.

I was always probably going to go a dark blue or perhaps green colour scheme; eventually opting for blue.

On the board the ship sits (narratively) on a pair of 'grav-anchors', which in reality screw into the bottom of the hull.

yeah, like that. There was a bit of a hiatus with the project here with other things taking priority but eventually it got finished off.

This is all painted up as it was for the MOAB 2017 tournament.

Name...

The ship's name is 'spinum aureum' or 'golden thorn'. It's not big enough to earn itself a 'dagger' or 'sword' kinda title but it could give a bigger ship a nasty scratch, so 'thorn' it is.

I consulted my latin expert and after a couple of edits (and repaints) we agreed that the name was aesthetically pleasing if not grammatically perfect.

Part 2...

As nice as having stuff is, part of my usual process is 'getting it into a box'. Storage. Don't leave your toys out. Until it's boxed away a project is not finished.

For many months the ship sat in my study collecting dust and i considered building a crate for it and other ideas but eventually decided i was going to just try cutting it back into smaller bits.

I managed to separate the back segment successfully with just a saw. Next i was able to add some pvc pipes containing 'connection nuts', and glue and screw those into place on the 'front' segment. Originally i had planned to use 3 bolts but getting 3 things to align was proving difficult, so i settled on 2.

The 'back' segment has a little wooden 'tongue' that aligns the two segments and holes through the back surface for the bolt (which are reinforced with large washers).

The two 'hexiest' bits here (pic above) are the bolt heads in situ. There are a couple of repatched and rethemed bolt holes in the 'metal' section. 

Here we have the ship aligned and assembled. It's a solid connection, and works as well as i could have hoped for. 

Best of all it now fits in a regular ol' plastic tub.

And that was the ship project. Lots of little steps that eventually got there. I wouldn't consider making another one but it was an interesting enough project to do... once.

until next time...

An Introduction...

An Introduction...
In the not too distant past (and like a great many other people) my life involved commuting on a train; not pleasant, something of a waste of time, and unavoidable in practical terms.  

Over time i started jotting notes - especially on the trip in - and what started as bullet points kind of evolved into freeform brain dumps and monologues, noting; progress in my hobby projects, what i was planning on building next, thoughts about lists for tournaments, bits and pieces i needed to get to progress builds etc. I've never been a believer in diaries but safe to say i had myself a full-on hobby diary. 

Recently I changed jobs and ditched the commute (yhay!), and while I can't say that i miss the train, i guess the daily brain-dump was helpful/somewhat-enjoyable.

So this little jaunt is mainly for me and if other folk find it interesting or helpful then terrific.


Hobbies...
Most of the content here is going to be related to my tabletop wargaming hobby; specifically 6mm Epic (Armageddon). I'm pretty one-track-minded though I also like space hulk, and am interested in Battlefleet Gothic, X-Wing, Infinity, Halo GC, and a few other systems (note a common theme that many are no longer officially supported, damnit!!)

[mandatory Epic Armageddon pic]

Part of my Epic 'thing' is building/modelling/printing/painting 3D models and armies. In part this is due to wanting to try different armies to find out what I like, and to try different formations without having to sell a kidney to get them on auction and perhaps not like them after all... and in part 'just because'. The above pic is actually my own warlord build, some black templar infantry sticks ('stands') and some poor (on my behalf) paint.net posterizing.

I have contributed several models on thingiverse and it's reasonable to say that without inspiration from some of the early contributors there I may not have progressed my Epic career at all. Also check out the epic 40k group as another good starting point.

Usually my thingiverse items have 'end results' pictures on them (when they're more than 'concept only' pieces). Part of my goal here is to show the progress of the projects, especially given that 3d printing is still something of a rarity in this system (Epic), and also since there are often several steps from concept to completion.


262 what?
More or less random. I'm of an era where we used to value our privacy, security and anonymity; as opposed to the whole online share-every-mood-swing mindset....
If I wanted to invent something behind it then perhaps the Halo Spartan naming convention would be suitable. john 117... carter 259... chris 262.... bleck!!


anyway, that's me.

until next time...