Quick Update 20 days to go

No pics but quick blurb

Being feeling sick past few days but trying to fight it. Did get to do some painting Thursday and Friday in between dealing with some other stuff. 20 days until the tourney my local clubs 1000 pt tournament and I need to get painting again...

Chaplain need his OD Green Weathered, Decals, and last touches on his base- 95%

Captain started painting him his at his next layer of colors need- <50%

5th Scout squad needs bases and decals -90%

Squads 2-4 need the browns, and other colors touched up and hey will be ready for bases and decals- 60-75% done

Bikes along way from finished....25%

After this Ill have to figure out my next 500 pts for the expansion of the army....

Chaplain Tiberius Arthurus- 90% complete

Chaplain Tiberius Arthurus of the Raptors Company

Currently Assigned: to the 10th Company and en Route to Khymara System

Parts used:

Head-Sternguard

Body- B@C MkIV Marine

Crozius- B@C Chaplain

Skull Helmet- FW Night Lords Helmet

Book- Grey Knights

Rosarius- Terminator bit

Need to finish base, static grass, add a skull on the base, decal, and weather.

Khymara strike force chugging along

So work continues on my Raptors Strike Force. The focus has been on painting and building my 1000 pt list for my gaming club's fun tourney. Rule of cool is in effect for my tourney list. Still lots to do before February 20th for the Tourney.

HQ

Captain- (Primed)
Chaplain- (85% complete: highlights, touch up, and finish basing)

Troops
Scout Squads x5- (60% complete: highlights, touch ups, and basing still needed)

Fast Attack
Scout Bike Squad -(Primed)

Heavy Support
Predator Destructor- (Completed)
Mortis Dreadnought- (Completed)

Objective Counters
Terminator Teleport Homers x6- (Primed)

The Raptors Strike Force continues to grow.....via the planning stages.  I recently pulled out of storage a 2nd Storm Eagle, Storm Raven/ Fire Raptor depending if I find all the parts for it. A land raider has been added and soon I will start building it soon for another B&C Group Build. My Crimson Fist "T-55" Predator Destructor is being allocated to the Raptors. I purchase parts for a 2nd Dreadnought this one will be a Mortis dual autocannon dreadnought also. I scored a FW 5 man Reconnaissance Space Marine squad on ebay so I have sternguard. I also picked up various parts and bits to add to vehicles, parts to make a Apothecary attached to the 10th Co, parts for the 2 LTs for the 10th company and after seeing an amazing conversion for a company ancient on B&C I am doing it.

Courtesy of Firenze on B&C  

This is what a Raptors Ancient should look like. 

  And finally I found 25 plastic scouts (unbuilt) and almost 40 pewter scouts......yeah I may build a full 10th Company. 

Khymara Strike Force

The planet Khymara is near the Malestrom and this is where my gaming group has been planning campaigns, tournies, and games around for about 2 years. It is a desert mining world with criminals mining the resources from the planet. 

Khymara

Type                      Mining World

Orbital radius    Khymara is the largest planet in its System and third planet of 8 in its system

Gravity                 .96 G

Temperature     35-50 degrees Celsius (95 - 122 degrees Fahrenheit), Hyper Arid Desert

Population         100,000 (human)

System                 Khymara System

Sector                   Khymara Sub- Sector

Segmentum       Ultima Segmentum

The present Mining World of Khymara is an Imperial Mining World. It is in the control by Imperium of Mankind's in the Segmentum Ultima. The capital of the arid planet is the city is the Khymara’s Spire. Today Khymara is mainly inhabited by humans who were formerly citizens of the Imperium but became Penial workers for various crimes against the Imperium.

History

Imperial records do not detail the early colonization of Khymara. It is most likely that the planet was discovered by humans during the early years of the Dark Age of Technology. No records specifically refer to the system, but it is known that many star systems on the Western Fringe of the galaxy were first being explored at this time. On first discovery Khymara may have been dead world, bereft of any life, a hot desert planet of sand and rock with a semi breathable atmosphere. If life ever tried to evolve on Khymara, the constant heat never allowed life progress beyond the level of microorganisms. The planet had few areas of liquid ground water and very little atmospheric moisture. The atmosphere was breathable for humans and the environment was too harsh to foster life. But early human explorers must have noted that although lifeless now, the planet's ecosystem was not far from being life-sustaining. Temperatures were high (in the deep deserts very high) but not to the point of making the world uninhabitable. There was some atmospheric moisture and better still, the planet was extremely rich in strategic metals. Huge quantities of useful ores were present and much of it was close to the surface and easily accessible to strip-mining techniques. There was a stable atmosphere which could be manipulated. Khymara was not beyond hope for human colonization. The lure of the ore deposits made the planet a viable prospect for terraforming.

During the Dark Age of Technology, Mankind had both the advanced technology and knowledge required to alter planetary atmospheres and ecosystems to create a habitat conducive to human life. The transformation did not have to be extensive, only creating a climate where a colonist could survive without an environmental suit and dig a mine. Aided by long-forgotten advanced technology, these human explorers set about terraforming the lifeless desert world into something humanity could survive upon. It did not happen overnight. It may well have taken as long as 5,000 Terran years of hard work, but more liquid water was eventually introduced to the planet's surface in the form of artificial seas. Genetically engineered plants and algae were also introduced to the Khymaraian ecosystem, creating a completely breathable oxygen atmosphere in time. Careful management and nurturing slowly changed the atmosphere. How this was done is a mystery in the less technically sophisticated Age of the Imperium, but some now life now exists on Khymara. The first mention of Khymara in Imperial records is in the 30th Millennium, just after the end of the Age of Strife. The planet was rediscovered by the armies of the newborn Imperium's Great Crusade as they spread out from Earth, reconquering the Milky Way Galaxy for Mankind and reuniting the scattered human colony worlds that had long been sundered from one another by Warp Storms and wars. Humanity had barely survived on Khymara, degenerating into a savage, Stone Age tribal existence. The population, probably never large, had dwindled to less than 10 thousand people. In another thousand years, human life on the planet would have been extinct.

Rediscovery of the planet's mineral wealth resulted in the Imperium deciding to recolonize Khymara. The regressed and now hostile colonists were exterminated by one of the Great Crusade's Expeditionary Fleets and new Imperial colonists moved in, establishing mining stations and a spaceport. Over the next 10,000 years of the Imperium's rule, Khymara's population steadily grew to its current level of approximately 5 million people. One major city, Khymara’s Spire, developed around the spaceport. Metal ore mining remained the planet's main value to the Imperium.

Departmento Munitorum records indicate that in the entire history of the Imperium, Khymara raised only 3 Imperial Guard regiments. The Khymaraian 1st Regiment was annihilated during the 5th Black Crusade. The Khymara 2nd and 3rd served as part of the Rogue Trader Saen expedition and were eventually disbanded, with their survivors being folded into another Imperial Guard unit.

Climate and Environment

Khymara's climate could be described in a single word: hot. The coolest climates were in the highly mountainous regions, although they were never cold enough for water ice to form and it was hottest in the deep deserts. The nights on Khymara are extremely cold, with little cloud cover. The major proportion of the evaporated water condenses and returns to the surface during the night. There is minimal recorded precipitation, less than 1 millimeter per annum. Khymara was divided into four principle climatic regions; Mountains, Arid Deserts, Semi-Arid Deserts and Seas. Shifting sands and bare rock covered 95% of the planet's surface. The largest region is the Arid Deserts. The Great Sand Seas are habitable by humans and whilst there may be vast mineral resources buried beneath the sands the logistics of working in such a hostile environment with very high temperatures, low water supply, high winds and the threat of large sandstorms make it hard but not impractical. Most of the deserts also remain unexplored wildernesses Semi-arid regions, concentrated around the coasts are mostly barren, rocky badlands. At ground level, strong, sand-filled winds are commonplace. The second largest region of the planet are the mountains.  Low mountainous highlands cover 20% of the planet's surface. Ancient and heavily eroded by the desert sands, they are not tall, but are extremely rugged. There are no major routes through the mountain regions and no known settlements. They remain an unexplored desert wilderness. The few seas help to mediate Khymara’s extreme temperatures. Surrounding the small seas are the inhabited areas of semi-arid desert. These regions are home to the planet's hydro-farmers. There are two main seas on Khymara called the Mara-sai and the Khy-sai these small, landbound seas are Taros' only source of surface water and were probably artificially created as part of the planet's terraforming by humanity during the Dark Age of Technology. Today the seas are highly alkaline, but provide two-thirds of the population's water supply from hydro-processing.

Hot air rising from the deep Khymaraian deserts collides with the cooler air from over the polar highlands' mountainous regions. The pressure difference causes a high-speed river of air in the planet's upper atmosphere. This air stream can reach incredible speeds, up to 400 mph. This pressure system dominates the climate of Khymara. As the small amount of water in the air condenses to form the wispy clouds common to the skies of Khymara, in the hottest areas these begin to form localized storm clouds, heavily laden with water vapour. The storm clouds rise on hot thermals. If they meet one of the fast-moving air streams, the top of the cloud begins to rotate in the fast-moving wind. This spinning force radiates down through the cloud, spinning faster and faster to form a hurricane. These hurricanes can be huge and blow for days on the surface of Kyhmara. Sucking up huge amounts of sand, these become the sandstorms called Sand Devils by the local population. Most blow themselves out in the deep deserts, but occasionally Sand Devils destroy water farms or mining facilities.

Terraforming

Once, in the distant past before the Age of the Imperium, Khymara was a dead world. Barely inhabitable by humans, it was a bare, scorched desert wilderness. In the Dark Age of Technology, after the discovery of its rich mineral wealth, it was terraformed by the introduction of liquid water and genetically-engineered flora to produce an oxygenated atmosphere. This has managed to create an environment that a small population of humans can survive in.

Flora and Fauna

There is no flora native to Khymara. Genetically-engineered flora was imported to the world millennia ago and survives in the semi-arid zones as scrub and cactus-like plants. The seas contain toxic algae, which generates most of the planet's breathable oxygen. There is no recorded native fauna.

Economy and Society

Almost 100, 000 people inhabit Khymara, mostly in and around the various mining camps and the semi-arid regions surrounding the small seas. Khymara Spire is situated in the Mara-Sai region, where several small landbound seas are Kymara’s only surface water. The water is highly alkaline, but hydro-processing plants situated on the shores turn it into potable, fresh water. This process is aided by the scattered water-farms, which gather ambient moisture from the air. Water farmers sell their produce to the Sector Governor through exclusive contracts. The Governor and his officials control all water distribution on Khymara and therefore all life. Khymara Spire is the single largest urban area with the planet's only spaceport facility. Most Khymaraian inhabits are Penial workers in the mines, working long hours at the strip mines and quarries out in the desert. Other major industries include water-processing and hydro-farming. Hydroponics workers grow food in atmospheric-controlled hydroponic plants. Ore transportation is another large Khyamaraian industry, moving raw ore from the desert mines to collection points in Khymara Spire before transportation off-world. Short distance transportation uses physical manpower (literally labourers carrying a sack of ore each) or tractors towing trains of ore carts. Long-distance transportation uses large cargo aircraft.

In the 38th Millennium, as part of the then-Planetary Governor's drive to improve Khymarian productivity, he requested an order from the Adeptus Administratum to import off-world assitance in the form of Enforcers. A thousand Enforcers were depolyed en masse to Khymara to “increase” productivity in the mines.  Equipped to “increase” the penial workers productivity, the enforcers were effective for a while. Uprisings, riots, protests occurred in many of the mining villages. Adeptus Aribites in the Sub Sector were dispatched to end the uprisings riots and protests with force. Enforcers are still used by many Khymaraian mines to increase productivity. The last census carried out by the Adeptus Administratum, in the mid-41st Millennium, estimated a population of less than 500 Enforcers scattered across the planet.

The rest of the Khymara population is made up mostly of poor Water and Hydroponic farmers operating in across the Planet. A medium level of technology is maintained, with many tasks automated because of the difficult environment and the importance of Khymara minerals to the Imperium's war machine. The Ecclesiarchy's Missionaria Galaxia missionaries report that there is little evidence of genetic mutation or psychic abilities among the Khymaraians.

Due to the extreme aridity of the planet water is the primary resource on Khymara. Hydro-farming is an important industry, as is hydro-processing from the alkaline seas. Sea water is processed to make it fit for human consumption. All water trade is centrally-controlled by the Sector Governor through his official "water-agents." Processing plants are situated on the coast and purify the water via a three-stage process. Hydro-farms are widely scattered across the Khy-Sai region.

The world's primary exports, first to the Imperium are mineral ores for ferro-alloys, including lead, vanadium, rhenium, cobalt and manganese. Vanadium is a toxic, silvery-white metallic element, occurring in vanadinite which is a red/yellow/brownish mineral formed by the weathering of lead ores in desert climates. It is used in steel alloys to provide extra hardness and as a catalyst in other military-grade alloys. Rhenium is a dense, silvery-white metallic element with a high melting point that occurs in gadolinite and molybdenite. It is used in alloy with tungsten in high-temperature thermocouples. Manganese is a brittle, greyish-white metallic element that occurs in manganite,a black mineral consisting of a form of manganese oxide. It is used in some steel and other ferromagnetic alloys. Manganese steel is a very hard form of steel containing 11-14% manganese by volume to produce hard-wearing tools such as rock crushers, heavy pistons and gun barrels with high-tensile properties. Lead is a heavy toxic blue-white metallic element that occurs in galaena (a blue-black mineral that consists of lead sulphides). It is highly malleable, and it is used in alloys for accumulators, cable sheathing and radiation shielding. Cobalt is a brittle, hard, metallic element that is a ferromagnetic metal and occurs in cobaltite, and it is used in steel alloys to help resist corrosion. Taros' principle imports are food and fresh water.

Khymara’s native food supply is largely grown under cover in large, atmospheric-controlled hydroponic plants. Many Khymaraian buildings have their own hydroponic plants, but the largest are situated around Khy-Sai and in the coastal regions. This provides the population with 90% of their food supply, the other 10% being imported from surrounding worlds. Khymara’s principle crops are variants of the millet and sorghum plants, both members of the grass family, providing highly nutritious grain. Groundnuts, related to the soya bean, are a growing source of protein and provide many varied foodstuffs. Some exotic off-world fruits are grown. All Khymaraian crops have evolved to survive on a minimal water supply, which is heavily recycled by the hydroponic plants to prevent any wastage. Other sources of vitamins and protein come from algae and marine microorganisms harvested from the seas and chemically processed to make an edible gruel called "grud" by the natives. This is the staple diet of the Khymaraian miners and workers. Other foodstuffs, meats, dairy products and luxury items must be imported and are only available for celebrations.

Only one city exists on Khymara, Khymara’s Spire which has a population of approximately 25,000 people. It acts as an ore collection point, the centre of the planet's political administration, Space Port, the only area constantly patrolled under the watchful eye of 100 Adeptus Arbites, the distribution center for water and food supplies and other smaller industries. The largest town is Ira Khy-Sai which has the highest density of hydro-farms and water processing plants. There are very few other large settlements. Those that do exist are towns built up around the largest strip-mining and quarrying operations.

Geographical features

Khymara’s Spire - The only City on Khymara and the most populated area around the Mara-sai is called "Khymara’s Spire" and is home to approximately 25,000 of Khymara's population. This area has the most temperate climate on the planet, due to the proximity of the seas and the prevailing wind conditions and as a result, the majority of the world's population lives here.

Ira Khy-Sai- The strip of land near the Khy-Sai, seas on which the town of Ira Khy-Sai is situated. It is the largest hydroponics facilities on the planet. Population is estimated to be near 5,000 Khymaraians.

Alpha Class mines- Living in mining settlements around the mining facilities are the other 70,000 residents of Khymara are Penial Workers. Alpha class mines are worked by penial troops. Each mine is classified as a vertical grid coordinate 0-9, Horizontal grid coordinate 0-9 and Material ie Lead, Vanadium, Rhenium, Cobalt and Manganese. All One of the most productive and largest mines on Khymara is Alpha-67c.

The Great Sand Sea - The vast empty deserts of Khymara, The Great Sand Sea is uninhabited and there are no roads. It is empty except for rolling sand dunes. Huge mineral deposits may still remain undiscovered here, yet to be exploited.

The Pyre - An area of desert surrounded on all sides by mountains. It is accessible only by aircraft. The highest temperatures on Khymara occur within this heat trap. Rumored to be a mass graveyard for the inhabitants of Khymara

The Naolg Heights - An area of rocky badlands and low hills with a reputation for banditry but also very lucrative mineral deposits.

Raptors Khymara Strike Force will consist of:

Lias Issoden

Reclusiam
Primaris Chaplain attached to 5th Co
Chaplain attached to 10th Co

Librarius
Primaris  Librarian attached to 5th Company
Librarian attached to 10th Company

Apothecarian 
Primaris Apothecary attached to 5th Company
Apothecary attached to 10th Company 
Apothecary
Apothecary

Armory
4 Techmarines (3 are Thunder fire gunners)
4 Servitors
2 Predator Destructors
1 Predator Annihilator
3 Thunderfire Cannons
Damocles Rhino
Land Raider
3 Land Speeder Typhoons
3 Land Speeder Tempests
2 Storm Hawks
Storm Eagle
3 Tarantula Heavy Bolter emplacements
3 Tarantula Lascannon Emplacments
3 Tarantula Air Defense Emplacemnts
Mortis Dreadnought

1st Company
5 man Tartaros Terminator Squad
2 5 man Sternguard Squads
1 5 man Vanguard Squad

5th Company (Primaris Co)
Primaris Captain
2 Primaris Lieutenants
Primaris Ancient
6 5 man Intercessor Squads
3 3 man Inceptor Squads
3 5 man Hellblaster Squads
2 5 man Reiver Squads
2 5 man Aggressor Squads
2 Redemptor Dreadnoughts
2 Repulsors

7th Company (Reserve Co)
2 5 man Tactical Squads
10 man Tactical Squad
10 man Tactical squad (vehicle Crew)

8th Company (Reserve Co)
5 man Assault Squad
9 man Assault Squad (Land Speeder Crews)

9th Company (Reserve Co)
2 5 man Devastator Squads 
1 10 man Devastator Squad

10th Company (Scout Co)
Captain
Lieutenant
6 5 man Scout Squads
6 man Scout Bike Squad
3 Land Speeder Storms

I plan on putting all the non primaris/ Scout models in MK IV cause it looks cooler.  Plus it makes them look cohesive as a force.

Paint is here! Paint is Here

So a few weeks back I when I started flipping between continuing to build my Primaris as Imperial Fists, or make them Crimson Fists, or make them Raptors this image was stuck in my head.

I have played Crimson Fists for awhile now and I still really like their fluff and and Kantor but im not a fan of what GW has turned them into....blue Imperial Fists. So They were ruled out.

Imperial fists were not bad paint scheme took some time but not bad. Then I started reading their rules again. Boring.  But not enough to make me want to stop playing them in the Blue Version with red fists.

Raptors.....On of may favorite things is talking to the other Members at Bolter & Chainsword  in the Raven Guard & Successor section. We have a good group of  Friendly members in that section. Along with the Raptors Facebook group and seeing other peoples Primaris Raptors, the decison was made.

I'm still waiting on my decals to arrive from Chapter Customizer (Raptor Heads and Squad markings), along with some other bits I recently ordered.....more on that another day.

But more importantly my paints are here.....

One of the Raptors FB Group Members runs  The Mighty Brush Blog and some really amazing techniques and tutorials

Tell me that is not sexy!

I will be attempting to follow his Tutorial on Painting Raptors with one exception......the FW Castellan Bronze...yeah don't have that color and well its expensive to get from FW.  I still need to get some of the GW colors I don't have from his tutorial, but I did get all my Vallejo paints. 

I plan on finish building what I have left to build then do bulk painting, before breaking them down further. I need to check to see if I have enough white V decals too....if not I can do them by hand.

New Name and hopefully it sticks for a while this time.

So I changed the name again.....oh well.

Been super busy with work and other things but did finally get some time to sit down and get cracking on my Primaris Marines last week.

Between my 10th Company and now 5th Company (all Primaris), I figured why not and eventually create a Multi Company strike team over time. I plan to use only MK IVs and scouts to match the armor of my Primaris Marines.

I will post some army pics eventually along with unit breakdowns.

Death of an Army and An Expansion of another

Over the past few months I keep staring at the unfinished projects I have laying around.  Here they are in no particular order:

-Order of Our Martyred Lady: This army is my baby I always feel like that is my show army, I occasionally play......which I hardly ever have time to play as it is.

-Crimson Fists: This is a huge army and I get tired of paint blue quickly.

-Emperor's Children (30K): This army has stalled mainly due to the rules set.

-Imperial Fists: Ugh yellow, Ugh same rules as my CF, but with a crappy relic and all Primaris.

-Raptors: Thanks GW for 8th Edition...ruined my battle plans and army. All Scouts and vehicle support in 7th and now don't know what to do with them.

Grey Knights: They are in storage....somewhere

Deathwatch: in the boxes never built...in storage

Elysians: Very slow going

So looking at that I knew it was time to fold the Imperial Fists into another army.....and the only real option was removing logos and paint and starting fresh with them as Raptors. Maybe this is the kick start I need.