The Tranquility Campaign
23/04/2010 6AM
Heavy bolter fire raked the street as the enemy Landspeeder made a long low pass over Tarven's Sternguard Squad blowing sizable chunks from the road surface and showering his men in dirt and debris.
Unlike many of his fellow Mantis Warriors Brother Sergeant Tarven had no problem with the thought of fighting fellow Astartes.
This was not to say that he was a callous or evil hearted man by any means but was more attributed to the strength of his character and conviction. He saw the Fire Hawks as an enemy that threatened the survival of his Chapter that would take the lives of his battle brothers without a second thought. Many of the others had questioned the validity and legality of their actions, whether or not they had entered into a conflict that could very well threaten the stability of the Imperium itself.
The Lamenters had now joined on the side of the Astral Claws in other theatres of war and word was spreading that the Executioners would soon be joining them.
Tarven had paid little attention to the rumours instead focusing on the job at hand. After the Fire Hawks had established a beach head it had not taken long for the fighting to spread from the dense jungles of the southern continent to the cities that were sporadically dotted across the planet surface.
The Mantis Warriors had the advantage of not only knowing the lay of the land but had used the greenskins to their advantage by leading their enemies into the midst of the fragment Ork forces.
On more than one occation the Fire Hawks had given chase after isolated Mantis Warrior squads only to be lead into the path of a marauding greenskin warband. Sniper teams picked off officers and Nobz during the following chaos that took place as the two forces clashed weakening their command structures.
t was not an honourable strategy by any stretch of the imagination but it was effective.
Tarven watched the Landspeeder pass over his head and climb into the sky in a high arc of ascent. He lost sight of it as it passed in front of the twin suns of Traquillity but he knew only too well that it was positioning itself for another attack run.
The remaining seven men of his squad had taken up positions on either side of the street making difficult targets as they sheltered in the ruined hab-blocks. Tarven stood defiantly in the middle of the road.
The sunlight glinted off the yellow hull of the landspeeder as it turned steeply diving into a steady decline. Tarven knelt as he placed his boltgun slowly on the floor beside him, never taking his eyes off the approaching skimmer.
The crack of heavy bolter fire could be heard in the distance as the shells began to whine past him smashing into fallen masonary and blowing apart several small walls and weakening the foundations of the ruins either side of the long since abandoned street.
His squad began to sporadically return fire, their bolter shells distracting the speeder's gunner enough to ensure that his shots went wild. Tarven remained motionless as he knelt in the debris, patiently awaiting the moment as he listened to sound of the shells leaving the heavy bolter's barrel. Whilst to lesser troops the pop and crack of heavy bolter shells was something to be rightly feared, the mass reactive shells capable of tearing his mighty superhuman frame apart should a round hit him squarely. The sounds of the speeder spoke to him like no other might understand. The whine of the engine, the time difference between the shot leaving the barrel and the time it took to pass him by, the click of afterburners all called out to him telling exactly how far the speeder was away from his position.
Without warning he reached into the rubble and grabbed the melta-bomb he'd placed there earlier. With startling speed he rose to his feet and began running at full pace towards the approaching skimmer.
The pilot realised too late what the sergeant had intended all along as he tried to climb but it was too late. Tarven sprinted up the side of a fallen wall and vaulted into the air. What seemed like a lifetime passed before his free arm hooked around the speeder's lower sensor array and wrenched him backwards as the speeder lurched drunkenly from the impact. His legs trailing as the pilot increased speed so as not to come crashing down Tarven activated the melta-bomb and slammed it onto the bottom of the vehicle. It's mono-molecular bonding clamp fixed firmly to his target Tarven released his grip slamming into the ground at speed before deftly rolling into a controled fall and slammed into the rubble below.
He quickly scrambled to his feet as he watched the doomed speeder climb sharply before blossoming into a ball of fire as the melt-bomb tore it's frame apart.
He did not stop to congratulate himself as he steadied himself and headed off back to his squad. He felt no remorse for his actions he had simply proven himself the better soldier, there was no seed of hatred taking root in his heart, no internal struggle within his soul. This was his enemy and he would treat them with the respect they deserved and kill them like any other.
This fight might have been won but the war was just begining.
Mantis Warriors
23/04/2010 6AM
The assault ramp of the Thunder hawk hissed as it lowered slowly to the floor of the flight deck of the Emperor's Blade.
Smoke billowed from the inside of the gun ship’s troop bay as the gargoyle incense burners decontaminated the cargo within.
The weapons of the enemy were great in number but none were as insidious as the threat of orkoid spores or tyranids microbes. To the superhuman bodies of the Astartes they would be little more than an irritant but to the human serfs and sensitive equipment they posed a dire threat that could spread with disastrous consequences throughout the Strike Cruisers air ducts.
Veteran Sergeant Tarven stamped down the ramp, the heavy footfalls of his plate armoured boots sounding out his frustration.
"Whose damn fool idea was it to withdraw mid-campaign" Tarven gruffly grumbled out loud to no-one in particular. The veteran was not one to keep his thoughts to himself.
"That damn fool would be I brother-sergeant." Captain Mathus Horton smiled humourlessly, his smartly pressed dress tunic cleanly shaven scalp a stark contrast to the sergeant's battle scared plate armour and unkempt appearance.
"Throne Mathus," The sergeant spoke with a familiarity of brotherly bond forged in the fire of countless battle that exceeded the formalities of rank "the green skins had turned on their heels, without a continued pursuit they will return and in greater number!" He growled but his protests fell on deaf ears as he stormed off.
"We have more pressing concerns," Horton began to keep pace with Tarven as he made for an open water container and poured the contents over his head. The soot and dust of battle mingled with bloodstains as it streaked over his face as he ran his hand through the crop of hair that had grown since the campaign had begun.
"Lord Huron is here meeting with the Chapter Master" Horton continued, the concern although present in his voice clearly went over the head of the furious sergeant. "There is talk of a rebellion!"
"Three more days!" Tarven continued "Three more days and the threat would have been extinguished from Tranquillity for good!"
"EMPEROR'S TEETH SAUL!" The usually calm visage of the Captain gave way to impatient rage and his blasphemous outburst that caused all on the flight deck to stop mid-track "Lord Huron brings news of the Adeptus Mechanicus imposing sanctions that threaten the sovereignty of the Astartes themselves!"
Tarven was dumbstruck by the Captain's outburst.
"We are going to war brother" Horton said solemnly "the Astral Claws have already been fired upon by vessels of the Fire Hawks, you will get your chance to return to Tranquillity but this time the fight will be with our brother Astartes!"
Tarven stared at his brother in disbelief.
"Prepare your men brother; you leave for Tranquillity within the hour!"
Site Changes
5/10/2009 7AM
As is the will of the Changer of Ways all things must change and to satisfy Tzeentch I am refreshing the site and giving a new look and feel. It is after all about 3 years old.
To that end I am implementing a lot of changes over the next few weeks and months, fitting in what I can around my busy work life and painting life.
The first major change is the gallery sections. I have been experimenting with Flash galleries and have implemented the CoolIris flash gallery system to give all galleries a wow factor.
If anyone is experiencing difficulties viewing any gallery please contact me at:
info@thousand-sons.co.uk
Regards,
D.
New Guest Painters
18/08/2009 10AM
Guys, after seeing his work on Warseer:
It is a distinct pleasure to offer Waiyuren a spot in our gallery section. His Old Skool Noise Marines are an excellent conversion project and I hope to see more of his work grace this site.
His Gallery is here
################# UPDATE ################
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Valo has now agreed to show his Red Scorpions on Thousand-sons.co.uk. If you are not aware this is Valo's second attempt at the Scorpions, his first army having been stolen! The friendly guys at Warseer have rallied to his call and sent him odds and ends to get his beaultiful army back up and going.
His gallery can be seen here. He should also be displaying his BFG Marine Fleet at some point in the future.
D.
The Badab War Begins...
31/07/2009 7AM
With rumours out there of possible Forgeworld upgrades for the Thousand Sons (probably in time for the double header from Black Library) I am going to shelve my Thousand Sons (literally - they are in a carry case on a shelf in my room).
Our gaming group has been looking for a new 40K campaign and with The Bell of Lost Souls stepping up once again we are all going to reinact the Badab War.
As it uses mostly marines on both sides it should make for an interesting campaign and should come down purely to tactics and a lttile good dice-rolling.
With 17 chapters recorded as being involved and with some of the most extravagant colour schemes going (I'm looking at you Minotaurs!) it will be a very bold and colourful battlefield, I expect!
To help us in our efforts to getting painted forces I am encouraging all players to sign up for the Tale of 40k Painters 09/10 on Warseer. Simply register your interest before August 1st (i.e. today) with your chosen force and a points value. Then each month simply paint one tenth of your force. For 2k Space Marines that is equal to a tactial squad each month. It also gives you 2 months free to allow you to catch up or relax.
So far we have Mantis Warriors, Novamaines, Marines Errant, Lamenters and Executioners all on board so it should be eventful.
Check out the Downloads section for the campaign mini-codex.
D.
Figures in Comfort - Customer Review
15/04/2009 5AM
Well I needed more cases for my ever-growing collection. I remembered my halcyon days at GW when I was a youngster and my brief-case styled figure case got checked by bomb squads every Saturday going into town (Hey I grew up in Belfast in the late 80's!)
So it was with fond memories that I spied this case at FIC. I thought "Hey that would be perfect for either some Bloodbowl figures or a couple of Aeronautica planes when I go for a game"
So I hopped on the site and ordered straight away using Paypal.
That was on January 27th. Fast-forward 1 month and I ring up FIC to see what has happened. Maybe my parcel has been waylaid somewhere? Jules assured me that he was waiting for stock to come and would dispatch as soon as.
Wind forward another month and no corespondence from FIC despite numerous emails of enquiry.
Finally he contacts me via email saying that he was in hospital and that I should have known that by reading The Miniatures Page website. Yeah, that is one of my fav sites! Jules then said to make up for the the poor service there would be something extra in my parcel when it arrived.
Air? Bubble wrap? Who knows!
I was not trying to get anything free and sure enough I was not disappointed. After 11 weeks I finally got my case for the princely sum of £14.99 delivered. Never again!
From now on it will be KR Multicases. This is purely 1 customer's experience and I encourage anyone reading to contact either myself or Jules directly and make your complaints known.
D.
At last an update
25/02/2009 5AM
Well, I have been busy recently so that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
I have managed to do some painting, particularly my Epic Luna Wolves for our Heresy campaign. I even got the chance to use them in a game.
I played Justinel at the weekend against his Orks this time. I swear no matter what armies we take the guy just seems to pip me. This time it was slim...but if you want to read, the report is in our Heresy campaign.
My Luna wolves have been posted here but I will give you a sneak peek. The scheme I am trying to get across is not so much exactly replicating the Luna Wolves off-white but a tactical variation of that. I went for a base of Adeptus Battlegrey slightly watered down. Fromthis I drybrushed Elf Grey (Old GW now Coat D'Arms) and then white. I detailed the black and metal parts before washing in watered down Badab Black. I have yet to decide on a base colour but am toying with almost martian red-brown.
Anyway, when I get any more done I'll post the results.
On another note the guys at TacComms have been busy, Chroma has just released a new version of his Epic Tyranid Rules v9.2. Download here.
Finally a painted army!
16/01/2009 6AM
... but not by me. Still too many projects on the go but slowly slowly getting there.
A great painter and good friend, Justinel, has decided to help out on the gallery front and has uploaded some really tasty models from his most recent army - Epic Eldar. I'm guessing these are to accompany his magnificent Aeronautica Eldar fleet that tore up the battlefield in our recent Aeronautica game in the Horus Heresy Campaign.
Jump over to view his Gallery in more detail.
Now to get him to show off his Epic Sisters of Battle!
Slight Update
27/10/2008 11AM
Ok. So I know I have not been as thorough as I should be..
I recently purchased the new GW Spray Gun, 2 cans of propellant and a few pots of Necron Abyss. Primed and ready with a squad of black primed Thousand Sons and a rhino I let rip on them.
The results were not bad. Quite satisfactory paint coverage from the gun left a smooth finish on my tank and gave the infantry a nice coat to work from.
I then tested a model and decided to try a few layers of Mordian blue watered down followed by a mix of mordian blue watered down and Vallejo Medium Blue. This was then washed with Asurmen Blue to darken down the highlights.
I will post pics when I get a chance. The next step is to do up the yellow and gold on the model before I can say whether I think this particular scheme will work.
I'll let you know.
D
The Horus Heresy
5/09/2008 6AM
We have been running a multi system campaign for the last few weeks using the Horus Heresy Campaign created by the Fly Lords at Belloflostsouls.
Despite the campaign being written for 40K solely we have decided to try and incorporate other systems into it - Battlefleet Gothic, Epic and Aeronautica.
I have created a Battle Report log that can be viewed from the Navigation on this site or by clicking here
So far we have run 2 Epic games and 2 games of 40K. And we haven't even reached the part were Horus becomes a traitor!
We have all had a lot of fun and plan to continue using the campaign as a guide to forthcoming battles. Many of us have only experienced 1 or 2 systems so this also offers us the opportunity to try out other systems and gives us a spur to get our current armies and projects completed.
Any additional rules that we use will be uploaded here. We are also playtesting some rule changes, particularly in Epic where the players have more control over the development of the army lists and rules.
For now,
D.
Gryphonne III Guard
25/07/2008 7AM
In an attempt to get a second army painted up to fight against my Thousand Sons and after a great victory against the Orks I felt that my Imperial Guard needed some love.
I have a substanical amount of guard but could not settle on a colour scheme for them. I then remembered a nice vibrant pattern in an old Imperial Armour book that used grey with cobalt blue to great effect and thus was born the caustic desert hive world of Milesia.
So far I have painted up a mech company, a super heavy company of Macharius tanks and am well on the way to completing my first Leman Russ squadron.
Pics will follow but for now some quick shots of an ifantry platoon and some ground defences for Epic and also Aeronautica.
Site Updates
2/07/2008 11AM
Over the last week I have been tinkering with how the site looks and feels. I have slightly changed the colours and layout and have changed the backend (nothing for you to worry about).
I have also added to the Rules section. This allows you to get access to all the files that have been uploaded onto the site by me and other members. If you would like to become a member please contact me.
I will also be updating the site with more pics (now that I have more time to paint) and changing the existing ones into something more appealing.
Anyway, enough for now.
D.
The Demiurg...again!
19/06/2008 4AM
Well this time we decided to up the ante and play 4k - Thousand Sons vs Thurgrim's Squats. I decided to try out the new rules for silver towers, warp places and finally also got to use my daemons.
My list also included 2 teleporting Rubric Marines, Terminators led by a Daemon Prince, Disc riders, Armoured Company and n Oracle Class Titan from the Suns of Damnation.
I faced off against 2 Goliaths, a Mole Mortar company, 2 Brotherhoods, Thunderers, Berzerkers, Hearth Guard and Trikes all backed up by a Leviathan, Colossus and 2 Overlord Airships.
With 3 units in reserve I had very little to move at the beginning and my Discs moved up to pounce on the objective next turn. They took some fire from an advancing Brotherhood in Spartans and called in Teleporting Terminators for backup. They summoned a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch and Flamers andassaulted the Brotherhood who broke and fled, my Daemon Prince and Gretaer Daemon making their Invulnerable saves (6+).
A Brotherhood marched up my left flank to secure an objective only to have a unit of rubrics teleport down, summon daemons and assault. With no luck from Tzeentch the Brotherhood held strong and the Rubrics broke.
The Silver towers decided to sustain on the brotherhood and managed to break them with 15 shots and 6 MW shots.
The Colossus rumbled forward and shot at the Armoured company who had advanced in the city. All saves were made. In the end phase my Rubrics and Brotherhood rallied.
Turn 2 saw my Terminators assault into the Hearth Guard occupying a building with the aid of fresh daemons. The Hearth guard took a beating and fled leaving an Overlord to hold the flank. The Leviathan advanced on the Terminators and opened fire removing all but 1 and leaving the Daemon Prince and Lord of Change lonely.
The Warp Palace and Colossus exchanged fire, neither side giving way. The Armoured company advanced and helped out but the Thunderers sustained from the nearby building and destroyed all but 2 Predators who broke.
More Rubrics teleported down on the rallied brotherhood but again Tzeentch cared not and the attack faltered. The Silver Towers advanced on the middle of the table to secure the objective. The Discs engaged the Thunderes and drove them off. The mortars attacked the Daemon Prince but the unit made all saves.
An Overlord doubled onto an objective and fired on the Oracle who shrugged it off and returned the gesture. The Warp Palace took shots from the Colossus but only lost 1 wound. The Berzerkers protecting the Mole Mortars doubled to the last objective on his side to secure it. The remaining predators rallied and prepared to attack the Colossus.
Turn 3 saw the the Berzerkers fired upon by the Silver Towers who removed them from the objective and claimed it with the Discs and the marching Rubrics. The Oracle and Overlord traded shots but neither could gain the upper hand. My Daemon Price and Lord of Change fired at the Leviathan but could not do much damage getting 1 critcal hit.
With little else the Squats could do they made a tactical withdrawl, giving the city to the sorcerous powers of Tzeentch.
Getting back to it
29/04/2008 11AM
So, now that Warhammer 25 is over I can start getting back into an Epic mindset. I have a lot of catching up to do to get my Thousand Sons force painted before I even touch on my Ravengaurd, Imperial Guard, Tyranid and Eldar/Dark Eldar.
Where I will get the time I do not know but needs must. I also want to finish off my games board - I have a 6x4 board in 4x2 sections with grass mat on 1 side. I will make the other side a city board so that I can mix it up for Epic/Warhammer when required.
I have also planned and prepped my entry for the Golden Daemon this year - 40K Thousand Sons Terminators!
I will endeavour to keep this log updated as soon as progress is made.
D.
The Demiurg attack!
26/11/2007 7AM
Daemonkin (me) vs Simuk (Simon)
So, on Saturday the Thousand Sons were happily gathering up all the artifacts on an ancient planet when suddenly they came under fire from a formation of scouting Demiurg who subsequently called for backup and the Sons of Magnus were confronted with a Leviathan and Collosus.
The Will of Tzeentch (Thousand Sons Armour Company) and the Suns of Damnation titans responded in kind to keep a hold on their newly acquired artifacts.
The garrisoned Thousand Sons formation was able to force back the Demiurg devastators and with the Diviner class titan put some hurt on them. The titan took all the fire from the Collosus, only for the final shot to cause a critical hit and subsequently explode in a towering inferno, along with 2 units of Thousand Sons and the Sorceror Lord Anubishotep. Tzeentch was watching his favoued as he failed both armour saves but passed his Invulnerable.
The Will of Tzeentch rolled forward to force back the Ironbreakers and the fortunate arrival of Thousand Sons terminators routed the Ironbreakers and broke the spirit of the Demiurg.
Continuing forward the Will of Tzeentch weathered the fire from the Leviathan and assaulted the Overlord airship. This act ensured victory as I broke the line and forced Simon back.
The saving grace of the Demiurg came from their stubbornness (+1 to combat res for each unit). The Mole Mortars putting down 9 Barrage points gave him some very long range hitting power!
Monday Blues
19/11/2007 4AM
For my new painting log (plog) I thought I would show my existing Thousand Sons. First up we have my Suns of Damnation Feral titan and my decimator proxies.
Also shown are my Thousand Sons transports and some infantry stands.
There is more to follow!
D.
The Astronomican Beckons
18/11/2007 9AM
I have now added a newsletter subscription section in case anyone is crazy or mad enough to sign up to it.
I will try and keep up to date with all my hobby exploits whether it be gaming, painting, modelling or even just thinking about what I might consider doing.
Regards,
Daemonkin