The Russians are coming!

Well, I had a bit of a shock the other day when I dropped in to see how the blog was ticking along! No my little blog here normally ticks along at around 2000 to 2500 views a month. Not a massive amount of views but then I don't do any advertising of the blog, other than on the Faeit212 blog roll. However, when I checked in the together day, that tally for last month stood at just under 5000, over double my usual monthly views! I was quite stunned, what had caused this surge in views, what post had captured peoples eyes and then the truth hit;

Yep, there it is in black an white, the Russian bots have been busy, passing back and forth over my little site. The shot above was for just one week, the total views for the last month, were;

I was to late to be able to see what the views from the bots were like over the 24 hour period that they were doing there thing, so I don't know if the hits came all at once or over a period of time but it looks like they were over a period of 12 hours, peaking at around 275 hits in one hour.

I guess for some blogs out there, this will be inconsequential to overall figures, but it does make quite a difference to mine. I have been meaning G to do a view numbers update as I am approaching 60,000 views on the site now, something I'm quite pleased about, ok so it's taken 4 and a half years to get there but still, I'm pleased with it.

New Recruit

The last few weeks have been some of the longest couple of weeks of my life, sitting at the in-laws waiting for our third little one to make an appearance. While I like and get on well with my in-laws, spending 4 weeks there is pushing my limits. Anyway, were no longer waiting for the arrival, as he finally decided to show up, 13 days late and weighing a healthy 9lb 6oz.

So, another potential recruit, let's just hope he doesn't decide to start an Eldar army!

Now, we just have to wait the best part of a week for flights home!

Kill team WIP

After the mammoth posts about the Astra Militarum kill team, I thought I would follow this up with a post about the rest of my kill teams or rather the work that's going on with my other kill teams. I've two main teams on the table at the moment, my Deathwatch and my Scions.

First up are my Deathwatch. Now, I've broken these down in to 5 man units to make them more manageable. The first 5 are my current go to team, with Blackshield with shield and maul, Sgt with power sword and bolter (Its a pistol on the model as it actually a librarian but i'm using it as a Sgt), vet with combi-plasma and maul, vet with shotgun and finally, gunner with Infernus heavy bolter. While this might not be the best or strongest loadout for a Deathwatch team, I still like it and its a fun list to run.

The Blackshield on the left has just been started with the base silvers and reds, while the Sgt is nearing completion. He has had all of his base colours done as well as many of the shading, washes and some  of the details done. While he's not finished yet, he shouldn't take too much longer to finish.

The backside of the models and some more of the details can be seen on both models. The Libby/Sgt has a lot of details on the pack, which still needs a little finishing off.

The rest of the kill team. Its quite hard to see the details on these as they are primed black with just a few details of silver. There is still a few bits of silver to do and then some colours to add but being Deathwatch, there isn't many colours to do.

The next team up is my scions. There are a few more models pained up then shown here. I've got about 3 members almost finished and the rest have had there flesh painted up. Here we have just two models, both of which are tempestors but I was planning on using the grey figure as my inquisitor stand in. With the release of commanders, I have considered upgrading this character to a Tempestor Prime to represent the fact that they are an Inquisitor and more powerful than the rest of the team but as I don't have or want the commanders expansion, I probably wont.

The man on the left is my Sgt, Sergeant Dharem and on the right is my modified scion model, Inquisitor Tullus. The model has a few minor modifications, with a head swap, using a female head from Dreamforge Panzerjagers kit, a modified command rod with a modified top end, taken from top of the flag and a power sword on the left leg, which, I think, is an Eldar sword. In addition there will be a plasma pistol held in the right hand which is missing at the moment. I should probably also say that the Sgt model also has a Dreamforge head, from the Eisenkern accessories set.

There are 3 other teams on the table, all in various states. Both the AdMech and Chaos teams have been primed and are ready to paint, once the other two teams are finished. The marines are still on the drawing board to some extent. I've got a good idea about what I want to run and I've most of the models but i'm holding out until I finish assembling and painting them, as I am still hoping that they will release some special Space Wolf rules to enable the taking of Grey Hunters or Blood Claws in a kill team.

Astra Militarum Kill Team part 2

We've seen the specialists and gunners, but no kill team, especially not a guard one, can operate on specialists alone, as such you need a few guardsmen to fill out the roster. I've split the guardsmen up in to smaller

Desetnik (Master corporal) Schonnen of the Yophouliv Infantry Regiment - In contrast to his fellow Yophoulivian, Schonnen is a force to be reckoned with, taking orders in there loosest terms. While he will always complete the order, he'll more often than not ignore the details and do things his way, usually by brute force and overwhelming firepower. As far as Schonnen is concerned, There are few enemies or problems that can't be overcome with the application massive amounts of firepower. 

Trooper lasko of the croydinian mounted rifles - Lasko is often seen close to Pavlo and Bask, stalking the shadows in their wake, looking for any threat to the rear. While not as competent as Bask, Lasko is nonetheless an excellent shot, more so at the close ranges  of urban combat, where quick reactions are key. If only he hasn't lost his shotgun?

Private 2nd class Gryf  of the Librara Infantry - Gryf is not a man to anger, constantly looking for a fight, he will explode from the slightest comment or look. It takes a good leader to channel this energy in the right direction, but when it is, Gryf is an excellent soldier. Gryf's anger comes not from the actions of the enemy or xenos but the attitudes and opinions of the officers around him. If an officer is killed in mysterious circumstances somewhere on the battlefield and Gryf is nearby, there's a good chance it wasn't an accident.

Trooper Storm of the Onus Third Grenadiers - Storm is a man out for retribution. Born and raised as part of a peaceful farming village that was destroyed by Dark Eldar raiders, Storm is set on destroying as many of the foul xenos as possible, making little differentiation between the various Eldar races. Storm is never more aggressive and concentrated than when facing the Eldar, although if there are no Eldar around, then any xenos will make a suitable substitute.

Lead Rifleman (Lance Corporal) Ushad of the Earia 656th Rifles - Ushad is Khabir's usually sniper partner and has been for many years. While Khabir is lining up the perfect shot, it is Ushads job to secure the rear and flanks, to ensure Khabir is not disturbed. While Ushad is superior in rank, there partnership has evolved in to an equal partnership, as both men recognise the strengths and weaknesses of each other, in other words, Khabir can't navigate his way out of a base and Ushad can't hit a barn door at more than 20 paces.

Lead rifleman (Corporal) Stryker of the  Xieyama Legion - Like many guardsman, Stryker has a hatred of all things xenos. Strykers is derived by desire for vengeance against those that decimated the legion, namely the hedonistic cults that sulk in the darkness underground. 

Trooper Niems of the Seonov 2934th Regiment - Niems is considered by many to be the perfect soldier, dutiful, respectful and always well presented, with polished boots and clean kit. In truth, Niems will follow every and all orders to the letter, as he has absolutely zero imagination or capacity for independent thought, relying on those above him to tell him everything he needs to know. This is great in many respects, especially in line infantry, where following orders and standing and firing are excellent qualities but no so good in the free flowing and chaotic fire fights that the unit usually finds itself in.

Senior Sapper (Lance Corporal) Brett of the Zenrov 53rd Highland Dragoons - the Highland Dragoons pride themselves on there courage and professionalism and Brett is no exception to this. As courageous as they come and after several years as a soldier, very little phases him. Often seen at the front of an advance, leading from the front. 

Sapper Lance of the Zenrov 53rd Highland Dragoons - Lance is another typical Dragoon, courageous and fearless, especially when there are other troops in front of him! This is not a sign of any weakness, just practically, as while Lance is as courageous as any other Dragoon, he's generally a lot smarter, and is not blinded to the fact, those at the front tend to die first. He will advance like any other but will always do what he can to ensure he is safely in the middle somewhere.

Recruit Mortens of the Hrossey Yeomanry - Mortens is a man who has shown a maturity well beyond his years. While only a recruit, he has shown himself to be an excellent and reliable soldier, often seen in the center of the line, standing firm, shoulder to shoulder with vets several times his age. It is not often that a recruit is welcomed openly into a new squad but Mortens actions and abilities meant it didn't take long to find his place around the camp fire.

Corporal 1st class Erlen of the Hrossey Yeomanry - Erlen aspires to be one of the greatest soldiers in the Imperium and can always be seen standing tall at the front of any assault. Courageous to a fault, this man does not know the meaning of retreat and is always looking to take the fight to the enemy. He is also a good leader, fair and even to the men under his charge.

Yeoman Thenmann of the Hrossey Yeomanry - Thenmann was raised on the plains of Hrossey, away from the small hive cities that dot the planet surface. As such he learnt to use a rifle to hunt from a very early age and this knowledge has served him well as a guardsman. Thenmann is one of, if not the best shot in his company and possibly the regiment.

Naik (Corporal) Mohal of the Milriuq 21st Raiders - The planet of Milriuq is an irradiated waste land of old manufactoriums, a result of a catastrophic industrial accident. From these ruins the remnants of the population survive and continue to serve the Imperium. Mohal is a dutiful soldier, who has wanted nothing but to serve his whole life. Having absolute faith in his seniors he will follow them and there commands no matter what.

Sapoy Asphret of the Milriuq 21st Raiders - born and bred in a small ecclesiastical community on Milriuq, Asphrets faith in the emperor is unshakable. While he does not shout and scream his faith to those around him, his faith is still strong enough to influence those around him.

Sapoy 'Swiftrider' of the Milriuq 21st Raiders - The history and story from swiftriders youth before he joined the raiders is unknown to all but himself. He never speaks about his past and if pressed, he will react with open hostility to his would be questioner. What is evident is that there is something in his past that haunts him, something he is ashamed of and is not willing to share with anyone. 

So that's the complete Kill Team, all 30 members, yes its 10 more than allowed, but I wanted to build all the options and have the options for special weapons. As we tend to play very casually having lots of options is good.