Dark Angels
So, I'm running a small campaign featuring my Dark Angels, fighting off Dan's orkses. In order to write up the army lists for this little adventure, I decided to just get all of my dark angels out, cost them out, and then assemble lists from these building blocks (rather than, for example, trying to fit models into different configurations).
Um, anyway, while I had everything out, I decided to take a few piccies and show them off to you fine people.
So, that's the whole lot. Nearly six thousand points of yummy, heretical, fallen-seeking, unforgiven goodness. I do actually have a few more models than this, notably a Land Raider, plus about four more characters (mostly librarians, admittedly), but this is the majority.
Headquarters
This is the command section. We have one Company Master, 2 chaplains, plus another in terminator armour, Ezekiel, another librarian and a librarian in terminator armour. I think I have another three or four librarians (all in power armour), as well as Azrael, and also Belial. I should really get jumppacks on a librarian and a chaplain. The company master and Ezekiel are quite well painted, but the rest are a little variable (at best). One of the chaplains was painted by someone else, and looks it. The librarians, in particular, could do with a little highlighting.
This is kind of a hodge-podge of random models that have come together to help out the apothecary in forming a command squad. Since the command squad is the only place to get an apothecary, I thought it'd be good to get them in. You'll also note the old-skool rhino that is their ride.
Ah, Sammael, Master of the Ravenwing. Really pleased with this conversion. Basically a Forgeworld Tempest (following Caz's comment that the regular speeder didn't really look armour 14), the assault cannons are from the old MotR model, the heavy bolters from a razorback, and then the wings are from a bretonnian pegasus (won in a lucky dip at the plaza). Probably my favourite Marine conversion.
Elites
Dreadnoughts. Two painted bone on Dan's advice, many, many years ago, meaning that they are now definitely venerable upgrades. An autocannon upgrade that is finally legal again. I think that model's spent about two years legal, and four years illegal. Still, procrastination on fixing it back to an assault cannon wins out again :)
The paint jobs on these guys isn't too bad, but the venerables could probably do with a little more to differentiate them.
Couple of units of DeathWing. Kind of similar, though a bit of a range of models (I think one of the guys with lightning claws is actually a librarian...). I actually quite like the paint job on these guys though, like a lot of my early paint jobs, it's a little fussy. Not as bad as the first terminators I painted, though...
Ugh. Scouts, one with a heavy bolter. These are awful models with a suitably bad paint job. I have, since this photo, at least based these guys, which helps a little. Really, though, these guys just made it certain I am never going to paint another scout, ever again.
Funnily enough, these guys aren't so bad. I think it's cos the rifles give them a bit more focus, and the big cloaks on the kneeling guys hides a lot of sins (and I can vaguely paint camo on them). Six of these guys (the nicer bases) were painted by someone else, but apart from the different style, they aren't so jarring as some of the others.
Ah, two squads of veterans - the new backbone of my army (though, since all Dark Angels First Company are DeathWing, where the hell did these guys come from?). Not a lot to say about these guys - I've always liked the robed models, though on painting the last batch of these guys (eight of them) I noticed that the moulds/casts are actually a bit cack. Ah well, they look good, though a little highlighting on the armour wouldn't go amiss. Definitely the next unit to get an upgraded paint job.
Okay, so they're a bit hidden behind the banner waver. Um, yeah, a couple of techmarines, and a couple of combat servitors. I think I've got some gun servitors I got from James a while back with the inquisitors & guard. Due to the somewhat odd requirements for taking techmarines (no force org slot, one for each elite or heavy support vehicle) I didn't end up taking any for this weekend but, um, yeah, I own two techmarines.
Both painted in the wrong colours :(
Troops
The two tactical squads. Well, kind of. You'll notice the veteran sergeants are both command models (one is the original Dark Angels commander model). Plus although the upper one consists of pretty similar marines (the latest plastic sprue), the lower one has metal mark VIIIs, plastic mark VIIs, what looks like a mark VI, plus some earlier ones. Oh, and what looks like a Mark VII with a Crux Terminatus (middle of the front row). Wonder if anyone will give me a 5+ invulnerable for that :)
It is a little depressing that in 6000 points I can barely muster 500 points worth of basic troops, but then that is how this army has been built. Normally fairly minimal troops, but all of the optional extras, depending on how I've felt that day. Also, to be fair, some of the devastators and all the veterans could be taken as tactical marines, and have been.
Fast Attack
Two new style tornados, with a funky little optical image that makes them look like they're flying out of the screen (well, they do to me, anyway)
Two old style tornados, one painted plain black, and one with all the trimmings. I kind of prefer these to the newer ones, except that they weigh a frickin' ton, and don't balance well on flying bases. Oh, and the all-black one had the back stuck on upside down :)
First of the Ravenwing squads, with an attack bike in tow. These weren't painted by me, which probably explains why they look so good.
Second Ravenwing squad - no upgrades for the veteran sergeant, and just a pair of melta guns in the squad. All kitted out for tankhunting goodness. The bigger bases do help to make these guys look a little better.
Everything else Ravenwing. There is actually another squad in here, plus a really old bike, and yet another sergeant with a power weapon. I really did enjoy painting those guys... I do have another attack bike around, as well, though it needs its multimelta painting.
Wow. An assault squad. I bought these on 3rd March 1995, when GW were doing a big celebration thing (20 years old). There are actually ten of them but no less than three of them have power fists. As well as another having a power sword. Ah, good old second edition. The trouble is, they haven't been out since second edition, what with the good old intractable rules, so this is the first time they've been even a possible choice for about eight years. Though, oddly, I do remember fielding my assault scouts a few times with the intractable rules. I think that was probably because I'd just painted them, and since they had a habit of just stopping in their tracks, I think they warned me off the assault squad.
And they have a rubbish paint job. I think they're going to all get new arms...
Heavy Support
Mmm, tanks. Tanky goodness. That's two whirlwinds, one on each rhino chassis, an old style vindicator, and not two, but three different versions of predator, all with different weapons loadouts. It's a classy group.
Finally, a devastator squad. I've actually got another five man devvie squad all with missile launchers, but I seem to have failed to get a picture of it. It's in the big pictures. Yeah, these guys are bulked out to ten so that I can combat squad out the lascannons and the heavy bolters, but that means using five marines from space crusade. Yuk. Nasty models, badly painted. Even on the big pictures of the whole army, my eye is always drawn to these guys. I need to get replacements painted - asap!
Anyway, there it all is - my Dark Angels army. It's an odd lot. I can definitely field three distinct 1500 point armies out of these units (Regular, Ravenwing based, and Deathwing based), which is nice to know, if a bit worrying. I think my next plan is to go back to my templars and slap a nice coat of green over all those bad boys. Admittedly, that'll mostly just give me some veterans with combat weapons, and a crusader (if I ever get that back from Rob), but as I'm probably never going to field the templars again, it's worth doing.
Hmm, 2 lots of ten veterans, one with azrael in a crusader, the other in a regular 'raider would be an *awesome* army. Maybe. Worth finding out, though...
Um, anyway, while I had everything out, I decided to take a few piccies and show them off to you fine people.
So, that's the whole lot. Nearly six thousand points of yummy, heretical, fallen-seeking, unforgiven goodness. I do actually have a few more models than this, notably a Land Raider, plus about four more characters (mostly librarians, admittedly), but this is the majority.
Headquarters
This is the command section. We have one Company Master, 2 chaplains, plus another in terminator armour, Ezekiel, another librarian and a librarian in terminator armour. I think I have another three or four librarians (all in power armour), as well as Azrael, and also Belial. I should really get jumppacks on a librarian and a chaplain. The company master and Ezekiel are quite well painted, but the rest are a little variable (at best). One of the chaplains was painted by someone else, and looks it. The librarians, in particular, could do with a little highlighting.
This is kind of a hodge-podge of random models that have come together to help out the apothecary in forming a command squad. Since the command squad is the only place to get an apothecary, I thought it'd be good to get them in. You'll also note the old-skool rhino that is their ride.
Ah, Sammael, Master of the Ravenwing. Really pleased with this conversion. Basically a Forgeworld Tempest (following Caz's comment that the regular speeder didn't really look armour 14), the assault cannons are from the old MotR model, the heavy bolters from a razorback, and then the wings are from a bretonnian pegasus (won in a lucky dip at the plaza). Probably my favourite Marine conversion.
Elites
Dreadnoughts. Two painted bone on Dan's advice, many, many years ago, meaning that they are now definitely venerable upgrades. An autocannon upgrade that is finally legal again. I think that model's spent about two years legal, and four years illegal. Still, procrastination on fixing it back to an assault cannon wins out again :)
The paint jobs on these guys isn't too bad, but the venerables could probably do with a little more to differentiate them.
Couple of units of DeathWing. Kind of similar, though a bit of a range of models (I think one of the guys with lightning claws is actually a librarian...). I actually quite like the paint job on these guys though, like a lot of my early paint jobs, it's a little fussy. Not as bad as the first terminators I painted, though...
Ugh. Scouts, one with a heavy bolter. These are awful models with a suitably bad paint job. I have, since this photo, at least based these guys, which helps a little. Really, though, these guys just made it certain I am never going to paint another scout, ever again.
Funnily enough, these guys aren't so bad. I think it's cos the rifles give them a bit more focus, and the big cloaks on the kneeling guys hides a lot of sins (and I can vaguely paint camo on them). Six of these guys (the nicer bases) were painted by someone else, but apart from the different style, they aren't so jarring as some of the others.
Ah, two squads of veterans - the new backbone of my army (though, since all Dark Angels First Company are DeathWing, where the hell did these guys come from?). Not a lot to say about these guys - I've always liked the robed models, though on painting the last batch of these guys (eight of them) I noticed that the moulds/casts are actually a bit cack. Ah well, they look good, though a little highlighting on the armour wouldn't go amiss. Definitely the next unit to get an upgraded paint job.
Okay, so they're a bit hidden behind the banner waver. Um, yeah, a couple of techmarines, and a couple of combat servitors. I think I've got some gun servitors I got from James a while back with the inquisitors & guard. Due to the somewhat odd requirements for taking techmarines (no force org slot, one for each elite or heavy support vehicle) I didn't end up taking any for this weekend but, um, yeah, I own two techmarines.
Both painted in the wrong colours :(
Troops
The two tactical squads. Well, kind of. You'll notice the veteran sergeants are both command models (one is the original Dark Angels commander model). Plus although the upper one consists of pretty similar marines (the latest plastic sprue), the lower one has metal mark VIIIs, plastic mark VIIs, what looks like a mark VI, plus some earlier ones. Oh, and what looks like a Mark VII with a Crux Terminatus (middle of the front row). Wonder if anyone will give me a 5+ invulnerable for that :)
It is a little depressing that in 6000 points I can barely muster 500 points worth of basic troops, but then that is how this army has been built. Normally fairly minimal troops, but all of the optional extras, depending on how I've felt that day. Also, to be fair, some of the devastators and all the veterans could be taken as tactical marines, and have been.
Fast Attack
Two new style tornados, with a funky little optical image that makes them look like they're flying out of the screen (well, they do to me, anyway)
Two old style tornados, one painted plain black, and one with all the trimmings. I kind of prefer these to the newer ones, except that they weigh a frickin' ton, and don't balance well on flying bases. Oh, and the all-black one had the back stuck on upside down :)
First of the Ravenwing squads, with an attack bike in tow. These weren't painted by me, which probably explains why they look so good.
Second Ravenwing squad - no upgrades for the veteran sergeant, and just a pair of melta guns in the squad. All kitted out for tankhunting goodness. The bigger bases do help to make these guys look a little better.
Everything else Ravenwing. There is actually another squad in here, plus a really old bike, and yet another sergeant with a power weapon. I really did enjoy painting those guys... I do have another attack bike around, as well, though it needs its multimelta painting.
Wow. An assault squad. I bought these on 3rd March 1995, when GW were doing a big celebration thing (20 years old). There are actually ten of them but no less than three of them have power fists. As well as another having a power sword. Ah, good old second edition. The trouble is, they haven't been out since second edition, what with the good old intractable rules, so this is the first time they've been even a possible choice for about eight years. Though, oddly, I do remember fielding my assault scouts a few times with the intractable rules. I think that was probably because I'd just painted them, and since they had a habit of just stopping in their tracks, I think they warned me off the assault squad.
And they have a rubbish paint job. I think they're going to all get new arms...
Heavy Support
Mmm, tanks. Tanky goodness. That's two whirlwinds, one on each rhino chassis, an old style vindicator, and not two, but three different versions of predator, all with different weapons loadouts. It's a classy group.
Finally, a devastator squad. I've actually got another five man devvie squad all with missile launchers, but I seem to have failed to get a picture of it. It's in the big pictures. Yeah, these guys are bulked out to ten so that I can combat squad out the lascannons and the heavy bolters, but that means using five marines from space crusade. Yuk. Nasty models, badly painted. Even on the big pictures of the whole army, my eye is always drawn to these guys. I need to get replacements painted - asap!
Anyway, there it all is - my Dark Angels army. It's an odd lot. I can definitely field three distinct 1500 point armies out of these units (Regular, Ravenwing based, and Deathwing based), which is nice to know, if a bit worrying. I think my next plan is to go back to my templars and slap a nice coat of green over all those bad boys. Admittedly, that'll mostly just give me some veterans with combat weapons, and a crusader (if I ever get that back from Rob), but as I'm probably never going to field the templars again, it's worth doing.
Hmm, 2 lots of ten veterans, one with azrael in a crusader, the other in a regular 'raider would be an *awesome* army. Maybe. Worth finding out, though...