Project Thunderhawk Rescue Pt 1

As a long time 40k nerd, I will admit that owning a Thunderhawk was always on my bucket list.  From the old school all metal monster that required an engineering degree and welding experience to the current eight pound resin beast, it (well until recently) is the biggest of the Space Marine specific minis that Forge Worlds produces.  Although titans are badass in their own way, as the center piece of a Space Marine (or spikey heretic marine) army, it is that model.  Its like lusting after a Ferrari, but 1/100th the price, resin, and it will not help to get anyone laid.  Probably the opposite... anyways...

A few weeks back one popped up on eBay.  For $175 shipped.  Now, with the prevalence of Chinese/Russian recasts, one would assume for that price, its a fake.  However, this thing was painted and dusty.  The grainy pictures showed something that had sat on a shelf for a long time after getting painted to an okay ish standard in Dark Angels livery. I couldn't say no.  If worse came to worse, I could clean it up and flip it.  

The poor thing arrived  more broken than in the listing, wedged in a USPS flat rate box with almost no padding or protection.  The resin engines were broken, many of the bombs, heavy bolters, wings etc. were in rough shape.  The Dark Angels paint was about as I figured, it was a clean, table top standard but lacked any washing, highlighting or use of an airbrush.  The dust indicated many years of sitting since it last saw a table, but also showed it to be pre-forgery world.  Closer examination showed proper FW resin, clean casts and for the most part a mini that was by no means beyond salvage.  Its the 40k version of a barn car, like finding a Hemi Cuda with 10,000 miles, all numbers matching just needing some love.  

As of now, the poor thing is getting a stripper bath in sections.  The hull will have to be a multi-part strip and brush. All the ancillary bits that fell off (except one of the wings, the stripper bucket was full) are getting a solvent bath.  After about a week, I'll pull them out, scrub off the evil and see where we are. 

I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to paint the rescue Thunderhawk.  I'm tempted to paint the bright red of my 40k Blood Angels, a color scheme that best matches 5th Edition and earlier paint schemes.  I don't know if it will get used in 30k, probably not, and my other Space Marine chapters don't see much play.  Either way it will be a long road before the poor thing is ready for fresh paint and I'll keep updating as we go forward.  

Shenanigans

Shenanigans.   It’s one of my favorite words, and is rather an apt term for this game we love.

Ever run up against that re-rollable 2+ save?  Be it the Screamer Star or the new hotness Iron Hands invincible chapter master?  

Or maybe its the crazy 6s, I remember one time rolling to wound with my rending heavy flamers in a drop pod against a cent star (without invisibility) and getting like six rends, and none of the nearest minis had invulns. Poor guy lost a librarian and two grav centurions then took a wound on Tigurius on his first turn.  This was at ATC in 2014 against one of the General Staff teams and the (then) new Gladius.  That he didn’t get off invisibility and that I rolled so lucky enable me to win that game by a large margin.  

Maybe it’s the fails.  Remember tanking bolter shots on your 2+ armor save badass, like, he’s fucking got this… then you roll three ones in a row and he’s dead, on overwatch.  Special snowflakes go away just like everyone else. I remember Draigo dying like that.

What about the current perils of the warp?  I played a guy with a similar list to mine (both running 6th Ed Grey Knights) and turn one he perils’ed his Coteaz twice in a row, almost killed him and gave me first blood, just shitty rolling.  

And let’s not forget deep strike mishaps.  My first GT, NOVA Open in 2013, I was running a (not very good) 5th Ed Grey Knights Draigo Star.  Turn two against an IG gun line army, and I deep strike mishap…. Unlucky number one, and they’re gone.  Later 700 points!  My opponent’s eyes were huge, as he saw such catastrophe strike. He apologized for such a shitty thing, but hey, it happens.  I made the most of the game as I could, but there was no coming back.  My killy thing was dead, and then it was an 1850 to 1100 point game, I think I killed maybe a Leman Russ, maybe.  

That’s the thing about this game.  It isn’t like chess where you can plan and counter; crazy shit happens. The dice gods are fickle and cruel.  Sometimes I can roll three 6++ saves on my Sister’s tank, sometimes I roll three ones for an armor save.  We’ve all been there, and I it is one of the things that I love about it.  You can be the best, with the best army, roll poorly and boom! You lost the game.  

I guess the point I’m trying to make is this: Don’t get too wrapped up in how amazing your list is or perfectly you deployed and moved.  Your Marines will fail morale and run off the board, the Chaos Gods are fickle and will turn your badasses into spawn, your markerlights will hit nothing, and seven psykers won’t get invisibility.  

This is a great game, but it’s still a game. At the end of the day, you’ll pack up your minis and go home, ESPN won’t replay your highlights, if you are really cool, maybe a couple podcasts will mention your list, perhaps you’ll make the Frontline Gaming blog (which is infinitely cooler than us).  Either way, the game goes on.