On your mark...

Restarting a hobby can be a daunting task, regardless of the length of your hiatus. I've been playing Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantary off and on since 2004 when some of my students got me interested in it. Theatre students can be so cool. Space Marines have always possessed a mystique that plays upon my love of knights and their chivalric code. As such, my longest running army has been a DIY (Do It Yourself) Codex Chapter that has been patterned after Ultramarines and Dark Angels (mainly because the robes fit in with my monastic fluff). I began with the Battle for Macragge set, selling the 'Nids to a friend. The "starter" sets are a great place to get a jumpstart into the hobby. From that couple of Tactical Squads, my force has continued to blossom in fits and starts into a force of 4,000+ points.

I love the creativity involved in converting and kit bashing. For those of you who might not know, converting is basically when you build a model with parts from other kits and your own sculpting and/or scratchbuilt pieces. I pieced this Ironclad together from different pieces collected over months...



My burgeoning force now includes new models primed and ready for paint: a converted Chapter Master with Relic Blade and Storm Shield, Sternguard Veteran Sgt. with Power Fist and Combi-Melta (rest of the squad to come shortly), Assault Terminators with Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields (magentized arms), Master of the Forge with magentized Conversion Beamer and Servo-harness, Drop Pod, Whirlwind, Ironclad Dread, Venerable Dread, and Multi-melta Dread (which brings me to a total of 5 Dreads at the moment).





Awaiting creation are a bike with magnetized options for a Master of the Forge, chaplain and a Chapter Captain (trying to be frugal and keep my options open), robed Sternguard Veteran Squad with combi-weapons, magnetized Predator, a new Bastion, and a whole lotta paintin'!