First Action For Castle Davenheim - Tau Vs Nurgle Chaos Space Marines

Castle Davenheim saw some action for the first time yesterday in a skirmish game of 40k. At loosely the 250pts level, a handful of my Nurgle Chaos Space Marines took on a small exploratory Tau force commanded by my friend Corbett. Even semi-painted, when accompanied by some of the other elements of Davenheim, the castle provided an instant setting for a small table game.

It's a real testament to the 6th ed 40k rules that a skirmish game at this level is both enjoyable and mechanically satisfying. Certainly the wound allocation system - closest to furthest - makes a small shootout 'realistic' enough so that units need to manoeuvre with real care. The assault phase also works perfectly at this low points level, with the pile-in system providing a fluid 'cinematic' solution to melees. Perfect Saturday afternoon entertainment.   

Davenheim Castle, Thus Far...

Even with a simple colour scheme, painting a castle is a lengthy process. It's very enjoyable though, perhaps because of the sheer scale of a project like this and the knowledge that there's going to be a sizable, undeniably tangible output at the end of all this. 

Ordinarily I don't use metallic paint. Here though it makes sense to employ the old pot of Tin Bitz that lurks at the bottom of my paint case. As a metallic base for statues and the like it's perfect. The lighter grey is GW Celestra Grey and the darker, greenish grey is P3 Cryx Bane Highlight. Wood tones and weathering to follow.

Castle Building And Child-Like Joy

A Citadel Fortress that I'd bought from eBay has finally arrived, meaning the final construction phases for Davenheim Castle have begun. I'm overwhelmed with child-like joy as I work on this project. Castle building is one of those cultural tropes of children's play that gets deeply embedded in many of us. It's like making dens and forts, either for ourselves or our action figures. For me the smell of tall grass or the perfume of poly cement are the scents of adventure.

The Ruins Of Davenheim (Courtesy Of Amera Plastic Mouldings)

As Davenheim has been the site of many battles, it should come as no surprise that there are ruins here and there. These two pieces come courtesy of Amera Plastic Mouldings and were astonishingly good value for money, particularly considering their size. On the left is the F209 ruined building and on the right is the F201 castle ruins - the watchtower is for size comparison.

These white polystyrene mouldings are pretty robust and take paint and other decorations very easily. The detail is rather slight as you might expect from the medium, but that seems to be easily overcome with a thorough paint job. I'm about 40% done with these at the moment and it's taken a couple of hours to get the basic shading and texture on there. Once these are done I'm going to put in an order for the river sections as I've always wanted a waterway on the tabletop.

Welcome To Davenheim! A Fantasy Medieval Town Plagued By Misfortunate

Being a fan of narratives in gaming I've decided to extend this in some small part to my scenery. I'm going through a construction phase at the moment, with buildings popping up all over the place, so why not give this place a name and perhaps a bit of a story? And Davenheim was born! 

Davenheim is idilic in many respects, although - as residents will tell you - it has the misfortune to be plagued by armed conflicts. Oddly, no matter which armies are facing off, they always seem to clash in the surrounds of Davenheim. This really impacts on property values.

So far I have a chapel, watchtower, and the beginnings of Davenheim Castle, which is incorporating parts from several GW kits and is waiting for a Citadel Fortress that I bought from eBay to arrive so that I can finish the basic construction. This is a really fun project that's giving me a little 'constructive space' to think about how to paint my other summer projects - also, my wife actually admitted she was quite interested in the buildings, so that's a supplementary minor victory!