Imperial Armour, An Armoured Squadron Tale - Part 2

Heedless of the artillery shells falling around them, 5th Armoured advanced with a roar of engines and clattering of tracks.

The two Vanquishers slowed slightly to allow the more versatile Leman Russ and infantry killing Exterminator to the front of the formation.

Inside his tank, Sergeant Elam regarded his auspex screens, noting the fast moving targets appearing as white blobs on his screen.

"Loader prepare standard HE round. Gunner lay on targets approaching fast up the track to our left. Driver advance and be prepared to swing round on my command" confident orders poured from the Sergeants mouth as he assessed the evolving situation.

Corporal Muir's Executioner crunched fir saplings beneath it's bulk as it edged half off the highway and began its rumbling chatter of autocannon fire into the woodland.

Ahead of them Elam noted that the Recce Sentinels were edging back towards the squadrons protection area. One was limping and leaking greasy black smoke, another bled fire as the crew stowage burned furiously, but it appeared to be fully operational.

They added their autocannon fire at the incoming Orks, throwing green bodies into the air as a Trukk had its fuel tank touched off by one of the rounds.

A crude tank, a mass of rattling armoured plates, haphazardly put together around a big cannon edged into view and belched fire as it opened fire at the Imperial Tanks.

"Gunner, lay on target at mark 00.26, fire when ready" Elam ordered.

"Aye sir, mark 00.26, FIRING!" the gunner shouted back.

Around them, their tank rocked on its suspension and the noise bracketed the entire interior. Their own hearing protection blocked the danger, but didn't muffle it entirely. The gunner and loader deftly swayed to and fro around the cannons breech as the block was thrown back with ninety tonnes of force, as the casing from the spent shell was funneled off into the ejector.

The Ork Tank seemed to collapse into the ground nose first as the hypervelocity shell hit it squarely. The force of the explosion rocked the tank and sent it careening over, crushing the turret flat as it landed on its roof. 

Loose armour panels clattered around, then internal munitions went up and annihilated the tank in a massive fireball, as well as several Orks on foot and a mob of warbikes racing past. Their own machines turned into cartwheeling burning scrap.

"Good firing, let's see if we can get another..." Elam began, but was cut off as their tank shunted sideways several meters.

A second Ork Tank had been following and avoided the explosive death of the previous vehicle. It had hit Elam's machine squarely with a round, buckling the track guard and stunning the crew.

Inside Elam bellowed for his crew to retask their scopes and auspexes as the screens bled white interference into the dimly lit interior.

As the scopes regained cohesion, Elam paled as the Ork Tank was baring down on them...

*****

The second tank of my Armoured Squadron is now finished, this time (if you hadn't gathered from the continuation of the story above), featuring Sergeant Elam's machine.

This is a standard Leman Russ Battle Tank with a hull Heavy Bolter and sponsons attached for more firepower.

This kit is the latest version of the tank with the lower slung turret, if I'm being honest I prefer the older style kit with the taller turret as that reminds me of when I started collecting 40k, along with all the old metal Imperial Guard regiments.

Anyway, I followed the same steps as the Vanquisher previously featured in the first part of this series.

So camo netting, stowage, army badges, dirt, soot all got added following the same steps as before. I added an army badge on the side of the turret as it was a large flat area with nothing going on, then I scrubbed the dirt drybrushing over it to blend it in, the same as the army badge and squadron badge which were added at the lower plate of the hull in this case, as I don't have any track guards for this tank.

Photo's can do the rest of the speaking:

And a photo of the two tanks together so far:

Hobby bingo l, and this tank gives me another 60 points to my total, clearing another box and a line down.

This leaves me just one box to go on this grid to claim the entire thing.

My new total score is 770 points.

Just a piece of scenery to go and the grid is complete at last.

Until next time...

The King in Yellow.

 

 Scores of Chainrasps floated in the courtyard, moving with a purpose over the overgrown and twisted flagstone as they were drilled to fight together by the Bladeghiests in charge. 

Even warriors in life had to relearn how to fight together as a spirit, as torment often robbed the less strong willed individuals of thought and memory.

Above them, on the balcony of a crumbling manor house, two spectres overlooked the proceedings below.

Crone Agathia turned to her companion, a second Harridan and regarded her with cold, black eye sockets.

"The mistresses spies have told word that the gate to lost Carcosa has been rediscovered" she whispered, her voice a rasp and shriek at the same time.

Her companion merely nodded.

"Dear Hali, you know who lies on the other side, please tell me that Nagash's curse has not robbed you of your memories".

"No sister" Hali replied, her own voice a harsh dry whisper, she seemed to expel a small amount of dust which each word, "I have not, nor ever will forget".

Beneath them, a group of twenty Chainrasps were wheeling around to face their Bladghiest commanders, silence reigned for what would have been several heartbeats.

If any of the dead had hearts to beat....

"That is good Hali, as you will need all your knowledge of that cursed place, The Queen is sending you back to your home" Agathia said not turning to look at the glowering Hali.

"Crone, I think someone else..." She began only to be cut off mid-sentence.

"The Queen chose you personally because of your ties there from when you were living. She chose you to be her envoy to the King in Yellow and to recruit his forces to our cause. Can you do this or not?" Agathia's voice turned harsh as she asked the question.

After a few moments of contemplation, Halo turned back to her superior.

"I will do as she asks, but surely she must know that she toys with powers beyond her own? There was a reason, even in death, that Carcosa, and The King in Yellow, were banishes to a sub-realm. Not even Lord Nagash would keep that cursed place in Shyish!".

"She knows Hali, she knows what she is doing".

Their eyes were drawn towards the courtyard again, as some of the Bladeghiests screeched a new series of commands breaking the silence.

"You leave immediately, you have to get there before our enemies, is that understood?"

Hali merely bobbed her skull head and turned away, whispering the old song of Lost Carcosa.

"Along the shore the cloud waves break,

The twin suns sink behind the lake,

The shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,

And strange moons circle through the skies,

But stranger still is

Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,

Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa".

*****

After a heavy series of training I've been enjoying just relaxing and unwinding in my hotel room just painting miniatures.

It's always been a great way to unwind, but more so recently as a way to really take the strain of the day off and get ready for the next.

I brought this Wight King model as he'd been part painted on the shelf for a couple of years and would be an easy completion job.

He was already basecoated with flat white primer and had the Leadbelcher armour layer done when I restarted him.

So a quick coat of Ushabti Bone, a bit of gold for the crown and keys, some black detailing for the shield and grey for the fur mantle.

His cloak was the biggest sticking point and I was stumped so asked my friends and Dom suggested yellow.

Things clicked then as I have always been a fan of Lovecraftian references, so The King in Yellow was brought to Shyish.

Averland Sunset was the yellow I used.

The entire model was washed with Earthshade, before things like the cloak and fur were drybrushed up to regain some of that colouring.

Usual basing scheme applied and the King was finished...

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed the white area inside his mouth, I'm going to add some of the Nighthaunt Gloom technical paint here when I get home (I didn't bring it with me) to give him an otherworldly, glowing with power type look.

We'll have to wait and see why Carcosa and the King were banished to a sub-realm within Shyish. In the Lovecraftian style, I have no idea as yet!

Until next time...

Hobby Bingo - September Recap.

September has passed and so it's time for another hobby update.

This month saw more overtime, but I managed to get more hobby in-between shifts and get some projects shifted to the display shelves, and I think I finished off probably the most models in one month that I have since our "Quantity Competition".

Thirty three miniatures for myself this month including a Leman Russ Vanquisher, Twenty Catachan Guardsmen, another five man Deathwatch Killteam and the Devil Dogs Mercenaries.

As for the scores, with Chris and Dave being bus again, I've closed in a little on Chris at the top of the leaderboard: 

Chris: 1250

Lewis: 710.

Dave: 80.

I really need to get a piece of terrain finished so I can clear that last box on the first grid and pass Chris once again.

We'll see how well that works out as I am now going to be training for my new career so the terrain may have to wait until November.

Until next time...