Big Badda Boom!

I had a few very cool (and ultra important) snaps sent my way today, so I'm combining them all in this latest post about the Heroes of Armageddon project.

Last post I mentioned a couple of superheavies. The first is the Stormsword you see here. Donated and assembled by a great gamer and all-round good guy Phil Lisak, this fully resin Forge World tank was then painted by Joe Marshall, Brien Dulaney, and myself. You can catch a glimpse of it in some of our "tank painting extravaganza" photos here. This Stormsword is the 12th vehicle of the 8th Armageddon Superheavy Tank Company. This notable formation was initially composed entirely of Stormswords, but as losses have been suffered and requirements changed, new superheavy patterns have been introduced. This tank is named Hammer of Hades.

And now, I can finally bring you a look at the cherry on top of the sundae that is the Steel Legion army. It's something I started thinking about after having the opportunity to play with a Reaver Titan at last year's War Games Con. After discovering the potency of the Apocalyptic Missile Launcher, I wondered what it would be like to see it on the back of a big-ass tank.

Early on in the HoA project I spoke with Matt from Miniature Wargames Conversions, a guy who has created some pretty amazing "Apocalypse-style" conversions/builds in the past, and he agreed to take on the task. After the past few months Matt has been tinkering away, gathering a few bits from here and there, to create what I would like to dub the "Golgotha".

When Matt had finished the tank, he shipped it off to Brandon from GMM Studios. Again, another great guy and spectacular hobbyist, who whipped up this great paint job on the mighty Golgotha. Brandon assures me the airbrush stripes are Rotting Flesh in hue (to match the rest of the tanks), but his lights appear to have slightly washed it out.

Honestly, both guys have done a spectacular job, donating their time, talents, and personal savings to bring this dream to life. I take my hat off to them.

And of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone. I wanted the Golgotha to have a cool observation team scouting ahead and plotting in co-ordinates for the massive destruction that would follow. To that end, a mate of mine in Philly (thank you Jeremy) purchased a FW Tauros Venator from Showcase Comics (sometimes Mike deals in second hand kits, often unopened like this) and shipped it off to Jeff Wilhelm of Dragon Forge Design, supplier of the bases for the Steel Legion army. In between casting and shipping off his great range of awesome bases, Jeff assembled and started on the paint work for this cool recon vehicle, before sending it through to me for the finishing touches (including helping it match the other Elysian Recon elements of the army).

So, tomorrow some of these photos head off to Bigred, from Bell of Lost Souls, along with some thoughts on the possible rules for the Golgotha and its spotter. He'll be working his magic and preparing a wonderful set of rules for using this brand new superheavy. As soon as I get the sheet back, it'll be straight up on the blog.

So, if you want these great models, worth over 1,000 points and a retail cost of over $500, then head to the donation button and donate a ton of money, or just a little bit. Every bit helps, so please tell your friends (especially the wealthy ones).

Cheers

Dave

The Steel Legion get some Transports!

Last night the mighty Battlefoam case (a rolling PACK 1520 XL to be exact) arrived at my house. I burst straight into it's cavern of foamy goodness and started packing in the models.

With the front hatch open, you can see the 22" of foam stacked from top to bottom. Those of you who were reading this blog around this time last year might remember the post I did on filling the Battlefoam case with the Storm Wardens army. If not, here's that post. With Battlefoam donating FOUR cases this year (including lots of custom foam trays), I felt it was only right to do the same sort of thing.

Here you go:

Tray one, holding 550 points, still has quite a bit of room for adding another few squads.

Tray two, holding 635pts, is pretty tightly packed but there's still room for a few characters.

Almost full, Tray three is holding 425 points (and five of the seven heavy weapons teams)

Maxed out, Tray four holds 560 points.

Tray five has a little room left over, but currently holds the 130 points of Vendetta (plus the other two heavy weapons teams).

With a little extra room for more tanks in the future (or part of a surprise) Tray six holds 705 points of big gun goodness.

And tucked away down the bottom of this case is the Superheavy tray (or Tray seven). It currently holds a 450 point Stormsword (more about that in tomorrow's post), but it will also be shipped out with another piece of superheavy excitement. This surprise tank will hopefully be shown on Monday or Tuesday, keep your eyes peeled.

So, there you have it. A massive Steel Legion army sitting in around $300 worth of foam trays and sturdy rolling luggage (apparently the "canvas" is actually a ballistic material, ie. used to make bullet-proof vests).

For those of you who weren't tallying as you went. This army currently stands at 3,455 points, with Commissar Yarrick, the Master of Ordnance, and the surprise Superheavy still to go.

Yes, this beast of a collection will top out at OVER 4,000 points! Thank you Battlefoam, for providing an awesome transportation case for this monster!

How can you win this? Donate more money to Doctors Without Borders via the Paypal button in the top right navigation, Go on, do it now!

Cheers

Dave

Steel Legion army - the last of the infantry!

With the deadline for the Heroes of Armageddon project drawing near, I'm going to let you know now: expect a vicious flurry of posts driving you towards the "donate" button!

Here are the last infantry squads to cross my desk. The next time you see these they'll be nestled snugly in their Battlefoam trays.

1st Platoon, 3rd Squad (rocking the las/plas combo) were donated and painted by Mark Donelson. They match the rest of the army perfectly.

This is the second Savlar Chem Dogs squad. These guys were converted by John (from Santa Cruz Warhammer and one of the project's overlords) from Cadians with the addition of some greenstuff and heads & backpacks from Victoria Lamb's Highland Guard kits. They look great. They match the feel of my original squad, but have a character all of their own.

And rounding out the squads are the Armageddon Ork Hunters, also by John from SCW. John wanted a lean, veteran look to these badasses and you can check out his post about the choices he made here.

Finally, I finished off a Commissar for the Company Command Squad. The original list didn't call for one, but I felt it would be nice to throw one in, particularly one of the old school Steel Legion Commissars (gussied up a bit for "modern" times).

Anyway, the Battlefoam bags for these bad boys should be arriving today. I'm looking forward to getting all the models into their foam trays and taking a lot of pictures.

Get ready for the onslaught of Heroes of Armageddon posts! And Donate!

Cheers

Dave

Heroes of Armageddon - Fast Attack!

So, this morning a box lands on my doorstep, a box sent from Northern Virginia. I open it up and inside is what appears to be a bottle of Balvenie Scotch. Imagine my surprise when I opened it and saw the two Steel Legion Hellhounds from John Stiening!

To be honest, I wasn't too surprised. I'd seen his post about it just the day before ; )

Here are the first two models in the Steel Legion Fast Attack choices - a pair of Hellhounds, with the parts to make them Devil Dogs or Banewolves too. Thanks to John for these!

Next up is a trio of Sentinels painted up by Jordan Carasa. These walkers, seconded from an Elysian Recon Regiment, have only just arrived in theater and are yet to become too dinged up. I'm sure after their first few encounters with the green menace their crew will be hardened veterans. Their lascannons will also help against enemy armor, the bane of Mechanized Infantry.

And finally, for the Fast Attack choices, we have the Vendetta that will transport the Armageddon Ork Hunters. Painted by Pat Ohata from Senji Studios, this Imperial flyer is just fantastic! Such wonderful weathering and details, including an awesome "nose art" decal (see below) and opening doors.

Like John, Pat has provided all the options for this flyer. The winner will be able to use it as a Vendetta or a Valkyrie. Nice!

Friday - The last of the infantry!

We're almost there. Donations close July 23, so donate now!

Cheers

Dave

Heroes of Armageddon - Scratch sculpted character!

When we first embarked on this crazy adventure (The Heroes of Armageddon Charity Project), I cast about, asking a bunch of celebrated miniature painters I know to join in the "fun".

Chris Borer - winner of FOUR Golden Demon Slayer Swords and all round excellent guy - offered to provide the Master of Ordnance for the Steel Legion Command Squad. Then he floored me by offering to sculpt it from scratch. Above you can see the wonderful miniature he has created (from greystuff or procreate, I'm not sure which). As Chris himself said when he sent through this pic, this model could probably do double duty as either the Master of Ordnance, or an Officer of the Fleet.

Chris is currently painting this model up to be his entry for Golden Demon. Wouldn't it be great if he could pick up his FIFTH Slayer Sword with this model. What and awesome part of the Steel Legion prize : )

Donate now! Donate often!

Cheers

Dave