Space Hulk 2nd Edition - Done!!

"And They Shall Know No Fear"
...hang on, what's that thing on the right with the big green gun???

It has been a somewhat frantic month or so on the (non-Edlar for a change) painting side of things.  But let's back up some.  Recently I joined a fledging wargaming club that meets only a few minutes walk from my house: Axes & Ales.  Not only is the proximity a winner, but the venue is also at a craft brewery called Tallboy and Moose who, funnily enough, serve beer.  Beer and gaming within walking distance on a Thursday night... yep, can't pass that up!



So, as one does, I've mentioned to a few of the blokes I know in the local community that I've got a terrible secret and have invited them along for a game, under the pretence that if the gaming doesn't excite them, there's always plenty of beer to be had.  With a sales pitch like that is it any wonder that I've had a few takers?

We'd played a few things (mainly Rogue Planet's W40K spin-off R40K which I love) and did a lot of game watching when I remembered that I had Space Hulk at home.  Well, after a few games my near virgin wargaming mates were suddenly asking why is it they had never heard of this game before?  Was it new??  I found it kind of funny that this 'revelation' was/is actually older than most of their kids!

After a few sessions, it struck me: I was apologising for fielding unpainted miniatures, mainly because I had so many lovingly painted minis at home.  I knew that a fully painted game oozes even more appeal, so I had all the motivation I needed: paint my copy of Space Hulk*.

What I didn't want to do is keep the game out of circulation for an extended period of time - turning up with a partially painted set would be... yuck!  So speed was of the essence and I couldn't afford to faff about getting every bloody genestealer to Golden Demon standard.

I ended up completing the game in four separate batches.  Batch #1 was just two Genestealers. I didn't/don't have much purple paint so the traditional scheme wasn't an option.  Instead, I chose a green palette - they look more like Riddley Scott Aliens that way - and truth be told, I reckon it's easier to paint with green (maybe because I'm red-green colourblind - that only just occurred to me).

With the Genestealer's scheme set, I then batch painted (think: production line) 19 other Genestealers.  Yeah, the box only comes with 20 but I had picked up a few extras over the years e.g., when me and my mates used to play Space Crusade waaaayyyy back in the early 90's.  It's all a bit of a blur now, but if my memory serves me correctly, I basically got them done over the course of 3 days.  Batch #2's completion netted me 21 tabletop ready Genestealers.

Then last weekend a mate dropped by and I had an excuse to paint my first 5 Terminator Marines.  I managed to finish them over the course of the weekend and was quite happy with the result - Batch #3 compete.  I played a game or two and then last Thursday, dropped in at Axes & Ales, just to try my luck.  "Hey there," I said to another lurker, "are you interested in a game? Maybe Space Hulk?"  He was keen but for the fact that I didn't have the full complement of Marines, so it meant that his mate couldn't play.  Bummer!

Along rolls this weekend and yesterday I had a spare few hours and thought it is now or never.  So I threw myself into the job of tackling my final five Terminator Marines.  They weren't perfect, but that said, there's a lot to like about them.  Like the previous Squad, they're Ultramarines (blue, God-Emperor botherers) but I also did a few little extras here and there.

You can see the older arm on the 2nd to the right Terminator.

Firstly, I had my first try of magnetising arms - not that I had different weapon options to apply, rather as an experiment.  Oh, I did have an ancient Terminator Powerfist (more like a Power glove - it's tiny relative to the standard ones) and a rather more ornate shoulder plate - that happened to be metal as well.  It also allows for limited action man poses e.g., raising a sword or letting it trail the ground etc.

There's that yucky head. I might bend the tongue one day so hit hangs/droops
rather than sticks out straight.  Also, the Marine to which it is attached: his
arm is magnetised so it can be swapped with the usual Power Sword etc.

The second 'innovation' (I won't count sticking on a purity seal I found in my bits box) was putting a Genestealer's head on the top of the Captain's broken banner pole  I mentioned I had some extra Genestealers?  Now one of those extras is missing its head.  I sawed it off, drilled a series of holes across the top of the skull - I was thinking bullet holes - and used a tiny bit of greenstuff to perform my first ever creative greenstuffing: all the 'glob' trailing out the back of the head - yep, we're talking fresh kill, not some nicely cured skull or something.

Overall Batch #4 was completed in less than 24 hours (duration, not effort!).  There are some little things that could be improved e.g., the colours aren't quite as consistent as I'd like and the edge lining isn't as precise as that of Batch #3... but no complaints, because the job is done! I can hardly believe it myself.

Postscript 4th November 2018

During the week one of my mates handed me a Cyclone Missile Rack from the depths of his bits box.  I had that little bundle of destruction painted up in a jiffy, but of note was the fact that it has also been magnetised.  I drilled a hole into the top of a Terminator and inserted a small length of a nail.  That nail provides enough metal for a small N50 magnet, glued onto the bottom of the Missile Rack, to securely attach to the Marine.  The end result: a detachable missile rack for one of my marines.  Now I just have to find some Assault Cannons...

*I've actually two copies of Space Hulk: the 2nd Edition and (I think) the 3rd, or is it 4th?  Anyway, the other set is a slow-grow project that I only intend to commence painting once my mastery has increased some more.