Combat Patrol is great, offering both a fantastic way to start a new army and a means to experiment with one you’ve never tried before at 500 points! Offering unique missions, tactical challenges and hobby opportunities, some folks from our studios here at Warhammer couldn’t resist. Today, we’re looking at a few from around the (virtual) office...
Stu Black – Warhammer 40,000 Studio Warsmith
My force is an Iron Warriors Combat Patrol. I set myself the challenge of painting it all in one weekend to see how quickly I could create a Parade Ready force for the new edition. My family was away for the weekend, so I could spend the whole time hobbying whilst listening to Warhammer 40,000 podcasts and eating takeaway!
I chose Iron Warriors for two reasons: 1) I have always liked their background and colour scheme – the yellow and black hazard markings are really striking, and 2) I knew I could paint them really fast with Contrast paints!
Friday night was spent assembling the miniatures and base coating them all with Leadbelcher spray paint. I then washed all the whole model with a fifty-fifty mix of Nuln Oil and Nuln Oil Gloss (magic that I learned from the Army Painter team here in the Warhammer Studio). I then gave it a quick drybrush with Stormhost silver, painted the gold trim with Nazdreg Yellow Contrast, which turned lead into gold. Boom – all metallics done!
Then I used Black Templar to do the weapon casings, pipes, and armour joints while using Abbadon Black for the shoulder pads. The yellow areas were painted with Wraithbone, then Nazdreg Yellow before the hazard markings were done with a steady hand. Any mistakes were covered up by chipping the black strips with small amounts of Averland Sunset. Then it was just leather details done with Wyldwood and the bases with Martian Ironearth drybrushed with Kindleflame.
The whole force was finished Sunday morning before lunch – mission accomplished. Are they the best-painted models I have done? No. Am I really pleased with a weekend's work? Too right, I am!
Nick Horth – Warhammer Age of Sigmar Studio Loremaster
Drukhari are a faction that has always appealed to me in terms of lore and character but seemed a little beyond my skills as a painter. All those details, all those tricky textures and tiny, pointy bits! It seemed that such was the sleek elegance of the model range, all my mistakes would be immediately and painfully visible.
Nevertheless, when we embarked upon a fresh hobby challenge in the studio, I knew I had to bite the bullet and give everyone's favourite louche sadists a proper go. And you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed it. I went for a garish purple and chemical green paint scheme, befitting the idea that my particular Kabal – the Dripping Fang – are master poisoners who deal in the most excruciating concoctions to be found anywhere in Commorragh. I took some sneaky shortcuts where possible, concentrated on making sure the highlights popped, and ended up with a pretty striking little collection, and one I'm looking forward to expanding upon. I'm especially pleased with the Incubi and Drazhar – those are some of my favourite Citadel miniatures EVER, so I was determined to do them justice, and in the end I think they turned out rather well.
One of the great joys of the Drukhari range is the sheer variety of miniatures you've got to play with. I want to get a bit of everything in there, so next up on the painting table is a little party of Haemonculi and their attendant Grotesques. Perhaps a Talos Pain Engine or two, to really get the party started...
Martin Morrin - Warhammer Community Videoseer
One of the most exciting aspects of the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 is the structured game sizes. Combat Patrol-sized games are super interesting and so, with that in mind, it was time to revisit my Biel-Tan army and see where I would start with a Craftworlds Combat Patrol.
First up, I needed a leader for my army, and for me that’s always going to be a Farseer. I love the idea of the Farseer and their use of psychic powers to outdo the foes of the Aeldari. Doom and Guide are my go-to powers, although once I have played a few smaller games I may swap one of them out for Mind War, as the ability to assassinate enemy Characters in smaller games could give quite an advantage.
The core of my army is composed of Guardian Defenders. Two units of ten with weapons platforms give me plenty of bodies. They’re fast and deadly. Armed with Shuriken Catapults, this unit takes full advantage of the Biel-Tan craftworld attribute. I added a weapons platform with an Aeldari missile launcher to help against higher Toughness targets.
To support these, I went for a unit of two War Walkers. I armed them with Aeldari missile launchers for flexibility and scatter lasers to help against light vehicles and Infantry. I kept them in a single unit to make the most of the Guide psychic power.
I see the army working in two parts. The first is a solid firebase where one unit of Guardian Defenders and the War Walkers stay close to the Farseer, benefiting from psychic powers and the Natural Leader Biel-Tan Warlord Trait. The second unit of Guardian Defenders will push out on a separate front to capture objectives. Once the firebase thins out the enemy, then the units will split and (hopefully) take out what’s left.
I’m looking forward to giving it a go and seeing how it plays in the new edition!
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