miscellaneous: of commissions, funding, and combat patrol

Sorry to not have any pics to post lately. I've picked up a couple extra shifts at work, as well as a couple commissions for paint stands that have been absorbing my hobby time. The good news is that the commissions should help fund my next big project: a 400 point 40K force for Adepticon 2012's Combat Patrol. What that Combat Patrol consists of has yet to be finalized, as I'm in full-on research mode at the moment.

The only 40K-dedicated forum I frequent is The Freebootaz, the "Official Forum of 40K Radio." I joined back in 2009, just as Spencer and Phillip were getting off the ground and found the ass-hattery-less environment of a paid forum much to my liking. Over the years I've come to know and love the guys on the forum, regardless of my shifting feelings towards the Podcast, and look forward to the annual pilgrimage to Chicago to hang out with my "annual best friends from the internet." The Freebootaz have an unofficial thing going where as many of us as possible will be crafting Combat Patrol armies, with special kudos to those theming their armies for the Badab War. For that purpose, I've been researching the Minotaurs and Carcharodons Space Marine chapters. I like the former because they're less popular, have a wealth of Greek iconography to pull from, and have a distinct distaste for the Ultramarine gene-seed. I like the latter because I have some assembled models that would fit their aesthetic nicely, saving me both time and money. Unfortunately, neither chapter's fluff is compelling enough to give either faction an edge. There's also a third contender waiting in the wings...

The third contender is, of course, the Iron Warriors. I say "of course" because I've had them percolating in the brain-stew since doing the graphic design work for the Iron Warriors Minidex that "Axinous" released earlier this year. At Adepticon 2011 they were fresh on the brain and I managed to pick up some Mk.III Iron Armour, Phobos pattern bolters and an Iron Warriors Dreadnought from the ForgeWorld booth. Theoretically, this would be the cheapest army to implement at this time, as I have most of the components already on hand. Unfortunately, it's damn tough to come up with a 400 point Combat Patrol list using Codex: Chaos Space Marines. Their basic troops are too expensive, and their most effective and/or most thematic units don't meet the rules of Combat Patrol (2+ saves, front armour 14, etc.). Despite all this, and as much as I want to join in the Badab shenanigans, the Iron Warriors are the army I've been giving the most thought to of late.

As with the Dystopian Wars stuff of the past couple months, I plan to update in earnest with whatever power armoured force(s) I decide to assemble. I'll also put up some pics of a couple more finished paint stands as I finish the commissions mentioned earlier in the thread. Turns out I severely misestimated my time and their getting the labour dirt cheap. Live and learn, I suppose.