Four Strands Re-Launch! Updates, New Novel, and Surprise Announcement!
Welcome back! Fourstrandshobby has returned, with a new scheme same as the old scheme!
A while ago, WordPress updates made the old scheme for this site unworkable. This was after years of hackers breaking into the site again and again. It turns out that scheme was vulnerable. I chose another one that was very… blue. And ugly. And as such I wasn’t incentivized to post.
But, thanks to Lexington, I have a new scheme that looks like the old scheme, but works with modern WordPress and is secure!
In the intervening years, I’ve been up and down, but I’ve always made time for Modeling, Painting, Gaming, and Storytelling. I played a lot of 9th edition 40K and then 10th when it came out.
I also got into Legion Imperialis! I have a huge Sons of Horus force that grows all the time and will soon be joined (opposed?) by a Solar Auxillia force! Click the link below to see the brand new Image Gallery!
Legion Imperialis Image Gallery
More importantly, I’ve been writing! Big Game V: The Battle of Iperin was a novella made of vignettes contributed by multiple people on the old BGV forums and was chiefly written by myself, Lexington, and Joe. Big Game VI: The Omega War was a more focused narrative written by Lexington and myself.
However, the newest novella to be featured on Fourstrands is Home Fires: An Azure Flames Novel. This finishes what I’ll refer to as the Azure Flames Omnibus at least in terms of main stories. I also have a short story between BGV and BGVI, and I am considering another between BGVI and Home Fires to make a complete Black Library style omnibus. Click the link below, or the one in the Features bar.
Home Fires: An Azure Flames Novel
I’ve also done several projects for the Azure Flames! I’ll post a few pics below, but most will have their own posts soon.
But finally, and most importantly for my life, I’m getting married! Me and my Fiancée bonded over the classic Adult Swim show: The Venture Brothers. As such, I commissioned an expert to 3D print the Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch from their wedding. I then painted the duo myself.
Coming up next: Legion Imperialis Thunderhawk Gunship, some Solar Auxillia, and hopefully a battle report against loyalist scum, the White Scars at AFK!
Lasgun Girls and Khimerix
Finished some more painting! Here’s some gangers with Lasguns for Razor and the Scumettes!
Jennifer (the one with purple hair) is named after the only female dev for Maniac Mansion. The others (and all other gangers) are named with an automatic online Escher name generator.
Next, the fearsome (and expensive) Khimerix!
Named Weird Ed, he looks nothing like his Maniac Mansion counterpart.
Next: Alternate weapon loadouts for Wendy and Sandy, plus Juves! Also coming up, a major blowout Necromunda narrative event!
Big Necromunda Update
It’s been a while since I’ve updated due to the hectic life of a Necromunda Arbitrator. Here’s a huge dump of awesome stuff!
First, I finished Wendy and Sandy, my Champion and Specialist, with Needle Rifles.
Wendy and Sandy are, as previous characters, based on characters from Maniac Mansion:
Next, the second of the major narrative events happened for my Necromunda Campaign: Diamonds in the Sump! The leaders of the player gangs and their trusted seconds were ambushed by an Inquisitor who was an enemy of the Inquisitor that hired them for the first event! Luckily, Kal Jerico himself was there to provide an opening. The leader of the Field Testers, Syn Ducote (Van Saar) fragged the Inquisitor and made his escape! The rest of the gangs ran down a huge hallway from the Inquisitor’s private Enforcer Squad!
Finally, a shipment came in from Forge World, and I have a pair of brand new Phyrr Cats to add to battles for Razor and the Scumettes!
Next: more Necromunda including the next narrative event which will prove to be a shocker!
Edna, former nurse, current Death Maiden for Razor and the Scumettes
Edna is armed with two Stiletto Swords, and with her poison blood and a Chem Synth, she can put even the beefiest combatant on the ground.
Edna is based on Nurse Edna from Maniac Mansion:
Next, more Eschers!
Necromunda Downtime Multiplayer Game and Squad Batarian, IVth squad, VIIth Company of the Imperial Fists
This weekend was a blast! Five players (not including myself) participated in a narrative six way multiplayer battle! An Inquisitor bullied the gangs into attacking an underground prison compound. Here was the board setup:
Each player got one of the 5 tiles on the top of this picture, and their goal was to kill a specific model and open the doors in the cells at the bottom. Things began cordially, and then Dan’s Cawdor smoked one of Josh’s Goliath’s with a Krak Grenade arrow and it went downhill from there. Petra’s ash waste bug monster rampages through the halls, killing at will. Zach’s Palanite Enforcers went up the right side, smashing as they went.
All through this, odd things happened. The “Traitors” that the gangs were supposedly fighting had oddly accurate weaponry, and Matt’s gang leader, an unsanctioned psyker, found himself trying to undo warpcraft from somewhere! Further, the target was eliminated by his own plasma pistol exploding and Dan’s Cherub found something interesting on the body…
Finally, after two gangs bottled and most fighters were down, the cells were opened, to find the prisoners executed! Oh well, three players got special inquisitorial sanctions for not bottling.
After this, I managed to finish the special antagonists I’ve been working on: Squad Batarian, IVth Squad, VIIth Company of the Imperial Fists, stationed in the Necromunda Fortress Monastery.
In truth they’ve been done for a while, but I was waiting on decals. No regular Space Marine sets have black tactical arrows! I had to special order two sheets of Imperial Fist ones.
As you can see above, I did two decals, one over the other. I also added some nifty battle damage and tried to get poses to be as dynamic as I could without repeating.
Marines were sprayed Wraithbone, coated Iyanden Yellow Contrast, and then brought up with yellow and highlighted light yellow. Reds are Blood Angels Contrast. Metals are Boltgun washed with Nuln Oil. I did the bases with black spray, Boltgun, and rust pigment, stippled in places with orange. Cursive names were freehand.
Soon: more gangers and more Necromunda goodness!
Necromunda Campaign
I’ve been silent because I haven’t had a lot to share, and my site got hacked. (so much for the new servers!) However, I’m breaking silence to show off the leader of my new Necromunda gang: Razor and the Scumettes!
Yes, Razor is based on the punk rock character from Maniac Mansion. The whole gang is themed that way!
Next: more gangers! This site may also be moved to squarespace if I can’t stop it from being hacked!
Techmarine Touch-up and Multi-Melta replacement
As part of my case touchup project, I’m still doing primaris, then firstborn, then repeating, adding custom decals in between.
For my firstborn project, I wanted to do a Contemptor dreadnought, but something more immediate caught my eye. My old Techmarine with Servo-Harness model was severely damaged in the case and needed a strong paint touch-up.
Additionally, during the Tanksgiving mega-battle, I realized one of my removable Multi-meltas for my Land Raider had been lost! Thanks to Brian of Dice Abide and Red Wunz Go Fasta, I was able to kitbash a replacement.
Next: Infiltrators!
Primaris Ory-Hara the Silent, Chief Librarian of the Azure Flames
In keeping with my custom of alternating Primaris and Firstborn projects, I have completed a Primaris Librarian that I’ve had for years but have never used much because of the lack of paint.
Considering the age of the older model for Ory-Hara, I decided that he crossed the Rubicon Primaris.
Next: my Techmarine in Full Servo Harness was severely damaged recently, so he’s getting a touch up.
8th Squad 3rd Compant Assault Marines touchup!
Touchup complete! Next: Primaris Librarian!
New Host, hackers defeated, and Suppressors complete!
I’ve been absent for a while, party due to personal issues, but also partly due to filthy hackers! Fourstrands was locked. Not for ransom, but for some sort of information hosting against my will. It probably wasn’t porn, and if it was, the bastards didn’t offer to share it.
Regardless, thanks to the tireless efforts of Lexington, who understands the ways of the lightning boxes, Fourstrands is back under Dreamhost!
And none too soon! I have a squad of Space Marine Suppressors to add to my collection!
You’ll notice that I haven’t used any of those dreadful new flying stands. I instead used a pin vise to drill into the thigh areas of the models, and used an old fashioned flying base stand.
I began painting these with Lexington when I went to visit, and finished them up at a paint night at AFK games.
Next: a revamp of an Assault Squad! Plus, various repairs to the site.