Last Wednesday in that strange netherland between Christmas and New Year, myself and some friends made the short trip from Chesterfield down to Warhammer World in Nottingham.
The idea was to play a number of games of Kill Team, have a mooch around and generally try not to spend any money (LOL!).
Mighty Generals plan their campaigns
I took my Elucidian Starstriders Rogue Trader team. Having previously played them a couple times (badly) using the ‘Into the Dark’ variation of the rules I was keen to see how they held up in the more open environs of the standard game.
Answer – not well. Evidence below. I played two games, one against Hadrian’s Genestealer Cult, the other against Jamie’s Eldar Halequins.
Despite the results it was great to get some games played at the home of the hobby, using some of the great terrain available.
Shopping wise I managed to get hold of the exclusive (to Warhammer World) reprints of the original Rogue Trader rulebook and Realm of Chaos Slaves to Darkness volumes.
Most of my current gaming (that isn’t 7TV) is Kill Team, the skirmish level Warhammer 40k ruleset from Games Workshop.
I recently bought the Elucidian Starstriders, a Kill Team based around a Rogue Trader and her retinue of followers. Previously released for the first edition of the game, this was recently re-released for the latest version along with rules support in the 2022 annual rules supplement.
This team is quite diverse in terms of it’s models, however I wanted to choose a single colour to try and tie them in as a squad. Wanting to do something different to the box art / studio colour scheme I decided to go with an emerald/jade green as this theme.
So here are my Elucidian Starstriders who I’m looking forward to bringing to the table for my next game.
Elucia Vhane (Rogue Trader) and Canid (good boy)Rejuvenat AdeptDeath Cult ExecutionerLectro-MaesterVoidmaster and VoidsmanVoidsmen
I had a great day yesterday down at Warhammer World with some chums, playing a bit of Kill Team and trying not to spend too much money.
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve made the short trip from Chesterfield down to Nottingham to the spiritual home of wargaming. Myself and three of my best friends arranged the day as a self-described ‘nerd road trip’ in order to play the second edition of Kill Team in the home of Warhammer.
Middle aged gents reading rules
First up we played across two of the excellent ‘sector mechanicus’ tables which were approximately 3 foot square boards packed with scenery – ideal for the game.
Secondy in terms of factions I was rocking a very quickly painted team of veteran Imperial Guardsmen (in the form of the Death Korps of Krieg models from the Octarius starter set). I painted these ten models up over the previous week using mainly contrast and speedpaints. I wanted to go slightly different in terms of colour scheme to the usual WW1 inspired trench warfare look.
My inspiration was actually the Red Shadows of Action Force fame, however I tend to think they ended up looking much more like a squad of Victorian firefighters.
The original intention between the four of us who went was to get a couple of games in. However with the majority of us having only played 2nd edition once before it took a bit longer than planned and we only got the one game in each. My guard went up against Darren’s Ork Commandos in what was effectively a battle of the starter set!
Now, I will admit to not being that impressed the first time I played last year, however this time round we got more of the rules right, set things up properly and (certainly in my case I think) used more interesting lists. I think the atmosphere of playing in the gaming hall at Warhammer World helped as well.
The upshot of this was that something clicked this time and I came away with a new appreciation for the mechanics of the game a real desire to play it more regularly. I’d still say that the rulebook in particular is not that well laid out or easy to understand in some cases, but the general flow and feel of the game is lot smoother and more refined than for example 1st edition Kill Team, and really appeals to me in a way that full on 40k doesn’t.
Meanwhile on table 2…..
Anyhow a great day of gaming was capped off with a bite to eat at Bugmans and a browse around the shop (coming only away with a set of Necormunda Zone Mortalis plastic tiles which I already have ideas for).
Although I am not a massive player of Games Workshop games, there is something quite inspiring about visiting and playing at Warhammer World and I suspect this might become a semi-regular thing. Booking a table was easy (and free) and being in the general company of other gamers and hobbyists doing what they enjoy is always a great feeling. Bring on the next visit.
About ten, maybe eleven years ago I attended the (now defunct) Triples wargames show in Sheffield. This was years before I was there as a trader and so I was purely there to have a nosey and spend some hobby coin.
One of the things I picked up at the time was some plastic vac-formed hex terrain from Kallistra . This is part of their Hexon terrain system and I fancied using it at the time for…. Well to be honest it is so long ago now I have no idea why I picked it up, other than I liked the look of it and its was (and remains) good value.
I then spent some time painting this up. As far as I remember I went with a black primer and then used some brown acrylicto basecoat (the sort of stuff you get in tubes from the cheapo shops). This was followed by a drybrush of ochre. I then liberally brushed on some Army Painter Quickshade Strong Tone dip. Once dry I matt coated it and then there it sat for about a decade unfinished in my pile of shame.
Untouched for over ten years!
Re-invigorated however by amongst other things the imminent release of the new version of Kill Team (and the trench loving Death Korps of Krieg contained therein) I decided now was the time to finally get this done. While I had done a the majority of the graft, I still needed to paint the insides of the trenches and add some flock and other terrain ‘dressing’ to spruce it up a bit.
I have about nine trench sections of various sizes.
In deciding on the general scheme I have left it open so these trenches could be used in historical, fantasy or sci-fi games. I went with a grey green for the trench inards and avoided painting any details like sandbags to keep it generic.
Trench interior planking given a green grey coat.
I went with Quickshade again for the shading on the trench interiors (although this time using the Dark tone).
Dark Tone applied.
I went with liberal use of flock and clump foliage / lichen to give some interest to the expanses of brown concentrating in particular in placing this to hide the ‘hex lines’. For extra effect I also used Citadel Nurgle’s Rot to add slime/toxic waste/stagnant water to the small craters and holes molded into the parts.
Flock, clump foliage/lichen and ‘Nurgle’s Rot’ applied
Once complete and dry everything was given a very liberal matt varnish spray.
Matt varnish applied to seal everything in and dull down the Quickshade.
I’ve not had chance to use these in a game yet, but have set them up on a table for some photos and to test out some layouts. In general they look pretty good but they don’t fit together very flush so I may have to play around with a knife removing some of the plastic ‘lip’ from the edges of the pieces which I think will help a little.
I managed to get this finished in a couple of evenings, which brings to the end a story that started many many hobby years ago. A small dent in the backlog, but very satisfying all the same.
I recently posted about my return to Warhammer 40k after a couple of decades off. My faction of choice for both 40k and the smaller scale Kill Team are the Imperial Guard. There is something appealing to me about the freedom that fielding a Guard army gives in terms of background and modelling (especially if you look beyond the official line of Games Workshop / Citadel Miniatures). I also really like tanks!
As per usual I’ve got more than one related project on the go at once. On the back burner are my ‘Empire of Men not Death Korps of Krieg’ troops. I started off thinking I’d use this in a Weird World War game (and painted the armour accordingly); however since the Kill Team bug has bitten I think I’ll be diverting them to the front line of the Grim Dark.
Male Stormtroopers by Archon Studio – totally not Death Korps of Krieg
My Empire of Men Stahlratte – not quite the right livery for 40k!
In the meantime however I’ve been continuing to expand my basic guard force from a Kill Team to a full 40k army. Having concentrated on tanks initially I’ve recently gone back and continued to flesh out the grunts. Primarily using the standard Cadian models with some head swaps from the Tempestus Scions kit to distinguish my veterans. I have stuck with the colour scheme that harks back to the original Rogue Trader plastic set.
I’ve also started to think about the background for my regiment. So these guys originate from the planet Skaro. In ancient times the home of a mythical race of metallic war like creatures….
Over the millenia mutations have come full circle and the inhabitants of this once irradiated world have come full circle and back into the light of humanity!
I’ve recently started playing Kill Team, the Warhammer 40k small scale skirmish game by Games Workshop. While I’ve never really been that into the whole ‘grimdark’ thing something about Kill Team really appealed and I’ve had some very enjoyable games recently. I think it’s the mix of being able to collect and build multiple small squads, the undeniable quality of the Citadel Miniatures and the objective based missions that make it (even though the rules follow the quite clunky and old fashioned to hit/to wound/save approach of most GW games).
With Warhammer World only about 30 miles away down the motorway, I’ve been a couple of times in the past (mainly to look round the exhibition), but never to play games. This changed earlier this week when I ventured down to Nottingham with a few friends for some gaming.
Our battlefield!
Genestealer Cultists prowl the ruins
My Nurgle Poxwalkers getting stick in
There were some massive buildings on the table
Surprisingly (to me anyway) is that there is no charge to play, so you can go along and take advantage of the amazing gaming tables quite freely (providing you are of course playing GW games with GW miniatures). We booked a single 8 foot square city table, with the intention of playing multiple games of Kill Team in parallel (originally there were going to a few more of us in attendance). In reality this was far too big, but we were able to scout out some really great potential tables for Kill Team on a future visit.
One of the stunning tables available to game on
The games themselves were very enjoyable and there is something special about the venue. Yes the fake castle walls are a bit tacky, but they kind of really build an atmosphere, especially with a room full of people all sharing the same passion for gaming. There is of course plenty of opportunity to shop and visit the exhibition, and Bugman’s Bar provides a great range of food, snacks and drinks (at reasonable prices). There are even some painting and modelling stations, so if you really can’t wait to get your new purchases assembled you can get straight to it.
Some beautifully painted miniatures on display
New Adeptus Titanicus models
Steampunk Dwarves!
The Nazgul
Personally I crashed and burned in all three games I played (losing my leader in the first round of each). Somehow this poor performance was achieved using Death Guard, who are supposedly one of the most resilient factions on the game!
My Nurgle Death Guard Kill TeamÂ
If you are a wargamer and even if Warhammer is not your thing, I’d highly recommend a visit. Entrance to the gaming hall, shops and bar is all free, with the only charge being for the (optional) exhibition tour. I’m even tempted to expand my forces so I can play a full game of 40k there sometime soon!
Obligatory photo of the 1:1 scale Rhino at Warhammer World
Twisted Pinnacle 