Building the Eagle Knights

With the Eagle Knights following the BA codex, there are a few little issue that arise when converting  other GW models. These mostly revolve around the infurnus pistol and hand flamer, as these are limited to the Sisters and BA, and are not found in other kits. As such, I've been looking around for alternative models for these weapons and have come across a few options.

For the infurnus pistols I have been looking at these Fusion Pistols from anvil industries. I think these will be perfect, they have the right looks and style and are priced decently, although I'm going to end up with quite a few more than I need.

I've also been looking at these for the Hand Flamers. I'm not 100% certain on these, as I dont like the overall look or the fact that the fuel chamber makes up the body, they could be good for combi weapons though.

Another option, again not great, could be these Hand Flamers. It's number 5 on the list and it might require some modification or specific painting to make it look more like a flame pistol.

I'll keep looking to see if I can find other options but at the moment there don't seem to be many out there.

There is also the issue of assault packs. GW do sell the packs in 5's, which is a good option, but I've also been drawn to these two options. These Jump Packs for the main assault squads, and these Jump Packs for the vets and characters. I like both packs, but the extra detail will make the vets stand out from the rest. There also not massively different in style from the marines, so they won't look out of place.


On a side note, the rifle for my Vindicare Assassin. A little off topic I know, but the rifle is just perfect as far a I'm concerned, big and bulky like a .50 cal rifle. With a modified Cadian wielding it, it should do the job nicely.

Formations

In this post I'm going to go over the formations for the IG, BA and Marines. I'm not going to go in to all of them in detail, just the ones that I like and think will be useful to me. I'll probably miss a few along the way, I'm not that up to date on them all and haven't bothered with all the supplements and campaigns. Any way, I'll start with the IG ones as there aren't that many;

The Steel Host, a armoured formation consisting of a tank command squadron leading a couple of LR squadrons with a Hydra for some AA. Useful if you have lots of tanks, but I don't have enough to field this

Rampart Detachment, a command squad plus a couple of bullgryn units. Again, it could be useful but I don't own the bullgryns.

The BA formations There are quite a few out there, especially with the Shield of Baal, but these are the ones I'm interested in;

The Angles Wrath, a Vanguard Veteran unit and 2 Assault squads, the advantaged is a single reserve roll and the assault squads don't scatter if they come in with the vets. The bonus of causing hits to enemy models close by is also good.

The Flesh Tearers Vanguard Strike Force also looks good, 3 Tactical squads, 1 Assault squad, 1 Vanguard vets and 1 Furioso dread. A good solid formation, with the charge and initiative bonus' also being good.

The Defenders of Cathedrum is the last formation I like the look of. With 1 Terminator squad, 1 DC squad, 2 Tactical squads, 1 Assault squad and a Furioso dread, its similar to the Vanguard Strike Force, but the extra rules will make this unit difficult to shift.

I'm not really interested in most of the other formations because they tend to include either a Stormraven or a Stormtalon, neither of which I have or wish to acquire at this time.

The standard SM formations also tend to contain either of the flyers, mostly the Stormwing and Saint Tylus battle force. The Strike Force Ultra also looks good, but I have not intention of fielding that many Termies. The one formation that does look good is the Reclusiam command squad, ok so its a dataslate rather than a formation, but I still like the look of it and it contains everything that I would field anyway.

Eagle Knights 2000 points list

This post will include my 2000 point list for the Eagle Knights chapter, I'll just get straight on on with the list and ramble on afterwards;

HQ
Captain - 205
Power Sword, Artificer armour, Storm Shield, Razorback

Chaplin - 115
Angles Wings

Troop
Tac - 165
10 marines, Hand Flamer, Flamer, Heavy Flamer

Tac - 165
10 marines, Hand Flamer, Flamer, Heavy Flamer

Elite
Command Squad - 215
Standard, 4 Storm Shields, 4 Power Weapons

Vanguard - 252
6 Vets w/jump packs, 4x Lighting Claws, 2x Power Axes, Power Sword, Power Maul

Sternguard - 242
6 Vets, 6 Combi-bolters, Rhino w/Storm Bolter

FA
Assault - 155
4x Infernus Pistols, Melta Bomb, Rhino w/Storm Bolter

Assault - 190
10x Marines

Assault - 160
4x Plasma Pistols

Heavy
Baal Pred - 135
Bolter Sponsons

Its a simple list I think, hopefully covering all the bases, except possibly long ranged AT and AA. The Captain is with the Command Squad in the Razorback for picking up targets of opportunity, the Chaplin is with the Vanguard squad for taking down priority targets, assisted by the Sternguard, which will usually be armed with combi-plasma for AP2 shooting. The 10 man assault squad will combat squad, with 5 going with the vanguard vets and 5 going with the plasma assault squad. The Infurnus squad in the rhino will go after armour targets. The tac squad will also combat squad with the flamers going with the Baal for close ranged support and the bolter squads will roam the board going for objectives and taking down any units that get within range.

The lack of long ranged AT is a common theme in most of my lists, with most of the AT in my IG armies being provided by my Vendetta, and in the Disciples list, the AT is covered by the Devs. So maybe its not as lacking as I though? AA is similarly covered by the Vendetta and various missile teams, so its not so much of a problem. In this list, there is no dedicated AA cover, its left mostly up to the Baal, with its twin-linked Assault cannons, and all the anti tank stuff is short ranged, but when it does get in to range its got a good chance of doing the job. Still, I think its a good balance, but I'll have to play it at some point and see how it gets on. It could be a while before it hits the table though!

New Years Resolutions

Right, new year has been and gone and like many people I have made my resolutions. Most revolve around the game, in fact I think they all do!

1) Finish painting my Hjaltland LI, I'm slowly but surely getting there but I need to go faster.

2) Base coat all vehicles, should be easy with an air brush! I've got a few done, but need to get the rest sorted. I'll try and get some of the details done as well.

3) Start on Eagle Knights, I'll probably start with one of the formation, as they'll be easier to complete and I want to use them anyway.

4) Not buy any more models I don't really need! Not sure this one will last but I'll try and it'll link in with the next resolution.

5) Sell off models I don't need, there only taking up space and will provide money towards supplies and paint.

6) Get some pictures up here, its all very nice talking about my models and army fluff, but it'd be nice to get some pics up here.

I'm sure that not all of these resolutions will be kept, but I'll start off the year with good intentions.