Topic: Howling Griffons

[Temperance]

I've always loved these guys, mostly just because of the paint scheme. I've always been thinking about putting a few together as a little side project.

Any thoughts on the best way to do this, if I did? Specifically I'm asking in regards to the griffon that should be on their shoulderpads, and that I am in no way capable of freehanding - in this life or the next.

One thought that crossed my mind was using the http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-US/Etched-Brass-Raven-Guard-Symbolsshoulder pads from forgeworld. They have the raven that the brass icon has in this link. The ravens might not be griffons, but they're not tooooo far off, and they do look pretty cool. I tossed around the idea of FW's raptor transfer's also, but think the ravenguard pads are probably better. I'd be open to opinions though.

Also curious if anyone happens to know anything about their fluff, if there's anything significant there. If I do this it would almost certainly be a fluffy project, and I can leave the competitive lists elsewhere. Any interesting book focusing on them that's not /too/ pulpy? I very much doubt they have any special rules in some FW book I'm not aware of, but if they did and you wanted to fill me in that'd be killer too.

If they have no special rules (as I believe is the case) and I felt like making them assault oriented (in a non-bike way) are their any chapters with rules that would make good stand ins, or should I just run with codex marines?

Sorry for the laundry list, I'm just sort of thinking to myself outloud and hoping someone can chime in.

[Spectral Arbor]

In terms of fluff...

Howling Griffons - Warhammer 40k - Wikia

I just googled Howling Griffons Fluff and that was the first or second thing.

Per that wiki... and I'm loathe to use any wiki source as gospel... they're Ultramarine descendants. So UM Chapter Tactics would seem to be the fluffy choice.

Jump Pack marines are "rules weak" in 7th edition. Skyhammer helps somewhat, but it's still a pricey formation, and you'll need to creatively source your rules for that formation. Assault is generally "rules weak" in 7th, though my group of 6 almost always includes at least one assault specialist unit in each army. There's always something that needs a thorough punching.

There are interesting rules in the Warzone Damocles - Kauyon book, for both White Scars [mostly bikes] and Raven Guard [mostly jump packs]. If you're determined to go non-bike assault focused, I'd suggest the Raven Guard section of the Kauyon book for the most useful Jump Pack marines.

[Temperance]

I suppose I could basically just use the raven guard pads and rules, and make a ravenguard successor chapter with the HG scheme (and the RG pads instead of griffons).

That might be a pretty sound bet on all fronts, especially since it's mostly just the paint scheme i'm a huge fan of.Get to play with some interesting rules and units... be able to convert with just the shoulder pad instead of the whole (more expensive) raven guard body and bits conversion.

It still adds up a bit, throwing an extra 10 pounds at each squad. But if i limit myself to a 500 point thing or something...

[Alienscar]

Instead of the Raven Guard pads have you considered printing your own decals? Bolter & Chainsword has a decal sheet that you can print and Amazon has the blank decal paper.

[Temperance]

I had not thought of that, but that could be an easy choice and a money saver. For $20 or less I could print out all the decals I'd need for a long long time... and that's probably equivalent to shipping from FW alone (almost).

Has anyone here had any experience printing out/working with custom decals? It sounds promisingly easy but....  if anyone has tried doing this and can share their experience, that would be cool

At the risk of moving slightly OT into the realm of hobbying and out of marines specifically, would this be the right sort of paper to just stick in a laser printer? Amazon.com: Clear Vinyl Decal Paper, Inkjet, 10 sheets: Arts, Crafts & Sewing I know it (and many others in my cursory search) say ink jet, but nothing immediately pops to mind as to why my laser printer wouldn't work....

[Alienscar]

I was going to say that I agree with you and couldn't see why the inkjet paper you have linked to wouldn't work in a laser printer. At work I have used clear acetate paper in a laser printer and it worked fine. But a quick Google search later and I noticed that this place sells decal paper for inkjet and laser printers so maybe it isn't that simple of a choice.I suppose you could always try emailing the Amazon vendor.

[Temperance]

Huh, that's interesting. Thanks for sharing the link. I might go e-mail the supplier, if for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity now.