Blood of the Angel; Part 5 - Reinforcements from the Indomitus Crusade

Welcome back to Blood of the Angel - a Warhammer 40,000 hobby project where I share my increasingly large Blood Angels Successor chapter, the Lament of Angels

2020 saw me add a staggering 81 miniatures to my Blood Angels, most of which were from my backlog/ hobby pile of shame! Thanks to the hard work last year I'm in a position to start adding (relatively!) new models to the collection... finally!

2020 was also a phenomenal year for the Blood Angels as a whole - a new Space Marine codex and a new codex supplement adding a plethora of new models to the range, and a new edition of Warhammer and new meta-game propelling the Blood Angels to the forefront of the competitive landscape!

It's a good time to be painting red!

Whilst Lockdown persists in the UK I'm not thinking too hard about the competitive meta, but I am trying to crack my way through some of the newer models - starting with the Indomitus box!

Read on to see the results...

Hobby Home Improvements: From Citadel Pots to Dropper Bottles; The How and Why

Look at that, horrifying isn't it? Enough to send a chill down your spine.

If you've been painting for any length of time in this hobby, you'll have no doubt run into this issue. Your paint has started building up around the rim and lip of your pot, and it's now a crusty and lump filled mess. 

It's something that has frustrated me for quite some time with the Citadel paint range. The colour selection is wonderful and covers almost every shade and tone you could ask for.

Well, outside of the oranges. The poor, poor oranges... 

Yet they're in such impractically designed pots. I've been thinking about transferring all my paints into dropper bottles to remedy this issue, and finally got around to doing so now I've got a proper hobby desk to work at. 

I figured it would be a nice thing to write up a blog post about, so read on to find out how I went about it and a few tips and tricks I've learned to speed the process up.

Casting Off: Pride of the Fleet

Hi all its Neil here with a new post for Casting Off.  In this post I will talk about HMS Hood as I've painted up the model and I will give a bit of the Hoods history and involvement in WW2.  In previous posts I've given my theory on how the ship type would work in game but as I did that in the post about the HMS Duke of York so instead I though that now I have three different battleships for the Royal Navy I will compare the three.

Xenos on Crusade: Neil the Devourer; Hive Fleet Lindworm Finale

Hi all it's Neil here with another update for my Hive Fleet Lindworm for Xenos on Crusade.  This month's update will be the last for the Xenos on Crusade as with 2020 ended our group project has ended too.  I may revisit Lindworm in the future but for now I'll be moving onto other projects.  This month's edition to the swarm has been 8 genestealers, which are the last Tyranid models I had left in my backlog.

Genesis of a Chapter; The Lament of Angels, Part 1 by Medge

Long-time follows of my blog will know the name "Lament of Angels" - the home-brew Successor Chapter I created for my Blood Angels.

The true origins of the Lament of Angels are straight forward - the project started as a 30k army, but was transformed into a 40k project shortly after the start of 8th Edition, and the launch of the Primaris Range. With a small collection of Firstborn painted in Heresy-era colours, and a new Ultima-Founding (aka Primaris Only!) chapter also bearing the same colours I was left with a choice - repaint the army, or create new background.

I opted for the latter.

As a player I've always preferred the freedom of using my own Chapter/ Sept/ Coven/ Chamber/ etc. I like the concept of the existing factions, but I feel a little restricted creating characters that override the existing Characters/ lore. For example... I can't very well create a brand new Blood Angels Primaris Chapter Master can I?! Dante is iconic, and it would be an insult to his character to sweep him under the rug!

These same restrictions don't apply to home-brew sub-factions, and I find it really fulfilling creating Characters and Lore for my own factions.

I recently wrote a post for another home-brew Chapter; the Celestial Serpents. Writing that post was more fun than I expected and it inspired me to revisit the lore for the Lament of Angels, juggling the different models I have along with the existing Blood Angels/ Space Marine lore to create something bespoke, something unique.

So if you're interested in discovering the TRUE history of the Lament of Angels, read on...

Casting Off: Eagle in Flight

Hi all its Neil here with another Casting Off post for Victory at Sea.  This post will look at HMS Eagle, the first aircraft carrier for my Royal Navy fleet and some Swordfish for it to launch.  I will also have a look at what HMS Eagle did in WW2, how aircraft carriers were used in WW2 and how I see their use in the game.

James Hobby Projects: Azyrite Township (Warcry Starter Terrain)

Here we go, it's the first blog post of 2021! And what better way to start off than by clearing one of the oldest projects in my backlog, the Azyrite Township from the Warcry starter set. I've been sitting on this terrain for over a year now, and it's been a consistent frustration to not have it painted. It's terrain after all! Not like I have to spend any serious amount of time on it. So, my first goal of 2021 was to crack out the brushes and put the finishing touches onto the set.

James' Hobby Year in Review - The Highs, The Lows and Plans for 2021

Well, that was a year never to forget...

It's not often you can say you've seen the world come to a grinding halt, but 2020 delivered in a truly monstrous way. The combination of a global pandemic and subsequent lockdowns has easily made this year the most challenging of my life. It would be expected to focus on the negatives considering that. However, in some ways, I feel it more valuable to look back on the year and focus on the positives and self-improvements I've made.

As part of that retrospective, I wanted to take a minute and recount my hobby achievements this year, no matter how small they may be. I know for myself and the other bloggers here, we've all used the hobby to escape from what felt like the ever-encroaching doom that 2020 was bringing. So in this post, you'll find a recollection of each of the projects that I undertook this year, as well as a glance into my plans for 2021. Let's get into it!

A 2020 Retrospective; Medge's Year in review, and plans for 2021

It's over...

It's finally over...

The sun has finally set on 2020 and whilst it's definitely been one I'd like to forget for a LOT of reasons, it's certainly been a productive one for hobby.

Like many of you readers, hobby has been a lifeline for me over the course of the year. My co-bloggers have been invaluable gaming and painting companions over the year, both in person (between lockdowns) and electronically, and painting/ modelling has offered a much needed escape while the world outside turned upside down.

In this retrospective I'll go through the year, the various projects I've worked on, to celebrate some pretty big project ends. I'll then cap things off with some initial hobby ambitions for 2021

Let's start by rolling back the clock...