Hobby Excitement: ebbs and flows

I've been out of commission for the past six weeks: first a job interview in Kentucky which didn't pan out, then three academic conferences, one in Tuscaloosa, one in St. Louis, and one in Paris.  In all that time, I haven't picked up a paintbrush or assembled a single model. I did get a few games of Warmahordes in with my Everblight, testing out Rhyas with reach (she's still bad, folks) and Fyanna the Lash (I'm impressed thus far). The state of 40k has me pretty unenthused about my Eldar, as short of adding in a broken Seer Council or Beastpack my army is at the top of its form. My Tenshi-Tachi SM are still waiting for more paint: bikes take so much work! And my Dwarves are, well, dwarves.

There are, however, a few things I'm growing excited about:

40k Escalation is at 750 points for this Saturday, May 3rd. I'll be around the shop on Sunday as well.

Nashcon is Memorial Day weekend, May 23-25th.  Scarecrow, Josh, and I will be going. $35 bucks gets you access to three days of 40k, Fantasy, and Warmahordes. If anyone else is interested in joining us, let me know.

WOOD ELVES. Rumors suggest new stag rider models, and it sounds like I can have the all-cavalry wood elves army I've wanted for the past 2-3 years. Good times. I'll most likely be selling my Dwarves to fund the pointy-eared ones.

This is what life in the hobby is like for me. At times I tire of the routines, and at times my imagination is set ablaze by a new army concept, a new model, or an upcoming event. More to come as I get settled into the summer.

~wraithdrad~

Gentlemen, I give you more Khorne

Finally got to test out my daemons of chaos on the battlefields of fantasy Saturday. Instead of talking about all my mistakes that I will inevitably learn from, I just want to say my ultimate goal for this army. Right now, I am obsessed with the minions of the Blood God. I have two grand conversion ideas for a bloodthirster and a daemon prince of khorne. Also realized I need a skull cannon. Blood crushers wouldn't be bad either. Maybe more bloodletters too. 

I was a bit disappointed in my Plaguebearers, but that may have to do with my own mistakes as a general. I want to drop the herald of Nurgle for a herald of Tzeentch and stick him in the middle of a big squad of pink horrors. Also did not think I would like any servants of Slaanesh, I want to add more seekers after they were able to hold back a steam tank for several turns. 

I am looking forward to the next game 

The Crimson Corsair

As Hive Fleet Kraken reached further into the Imperium, a battle raged on the surface of Caladan. The Imperial forces were stretched thin waiting for reinforcement. It was in this maelstrom that The Crimson Corsair's legend blossomed into life. A Freeblade Knight, he stood at the gates of Pavonis and alone held the tide of Tyranids at bay for three days without rest. When finally the enemy overwhelmed his defenses, a swarm of the beasts covered nearly his entire form. It was then that the mighty knight heard the sounds of drop pods landing nearby. The Blood Phoenix had arrived to support the defense of the planet and flamers brushed over The Crimson Corsair, cleansing the beasts from his back. Ever since that day, the knight has owed a debt of allegiance to the Chapter and will answer any call for aid, going so far as to emblazon the Chapter's emblem on his armor.

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I have had my Imperial Knight model for over a month now. Last Friday I finally started putting my thoughts into action and began the process of assembly. Last night I finished. Below are the steps along the way.

So my idea was to repose the model so that it was either kicking through a wall or stomping down on a bunker. I opted for a combination of the two, where he would be stepping down onto a wall, to peek over the other side.

First, the wall. I wanted to break up the ground somewhat, so added a couple of layers of cork to the base. Next I used some foam for the wall, cutting a divot into the top of the center where the Knight would be stepping. I added some toothpicks for rebar sticking out and some bits of sprue for interior aesthetics, if the interior were still intact. Some random bits of foam were added for broken off pieces of the wall.

Someone suggested that I put some crouching models on the other side of the wall. I looked around a bit, but eventually decided upon some really old metal Guardsmen models I have had lying around for twenty years gathering dust. Pins hold them in place, and if you look closely you will see the dab of green stuff for that extra support for the paper clip pin underneath them.

 

I wanted one to be on his back under the foot of the Knight, reaching one hand up as if to ward off the inevitable. I had to cut one arm from the old model and added some green stuff to mold a new arm and hand.

Next up was to start actually putting the Knight together. Most frustratingly, there is no customization intended with this model. The legs are straight solid pieces and the attaching wires, pistons, etc. are made at a length for the model to be posed in one position. So I cut it up. Just one leg, the one I wanted to be perched atop the wall. Doing so left some big holes in the model that would be visible at the angle needed, so I thought to cover these with green stuff.

 Ultimately, I did not like the look of this, so I cut off the green stuff and added a straw and coffee stirrer to connect the two pieces, so from any angled view it would appear to be wiring.

The legs are still not attached to the base at this point. I needed to gauge how everything fit together first. While the "wiring" was drying, I set about putting the rest of the model together. I am leaving the mask off until the face underneath is painted. You can spot my choice of mask sitting off to the left in the picture below.

Once the straw had dried, I started pinning the feet of the Knight so it would be secure on the base's uneven terrain. I angled a drill in and put some holes inside the feet aimed for the center. Bending the tip of the pin into that hole, and then filling the foot with green stuff, created a fairly secure connection.

Here, the legs are in place and I sit waiting for glue to dry. Okay really I was putting together the rest of the model.

Once everything had dried, it was all put together. I took some time here to magnetize the gun options.

Voila! Complete.

Fee Fi Fo Fum. I smell shite in that guardsman's britches!

I still have some small details to add here and there. Ribbons and seals to the Knight, Chaosing up the guardsmen to show them as recently falling to Chaos, some more damage to the wall maybe... and of course the rest of the basing process.

When I finish all of that, and finish basing my Dark Elves, maybe I will get around to putting some paint on the model.

Dropzone Commander

So last week I received my Dropzone Commander starter set. Let me state first, the contents are amazing. You receive two starter armies of around 500 points, and the details on the models are spectacular. This surprised me, as I didn't expect too much detail out of 10 mm scale models. I understand how they get the gorgeous pictures in the main rulebook after seeing the models in person. The rulebook itself looks great, and the rules seem fairly solid. The layout of the rules isn't spectacular but it is functional. I wasn't a huge fan of the fluff, but I think that this could improve after additional fleshing out. Considering the age of the game, I can forgive it. The other contents are fairly top notch. Cardboard counters and templates are included for everything you could need. Other incidentals like dice and a tiny tape measure are also there. But the real winner in my opinion is the scenery. You receive several cardstock skyscrapers of various sizes and two foldout street layouts. This makes for a great gaming surface with quick pretty terrain. You can tell they really thought through how to demo this game with the contents of this box. Further, it really jump starts you into playable situations.

Here is the starter kit laid out by the Beast of War guys

I also managed to get a couple of games in. For those unfamiliar, the starter set comes with two almost identical armies from two separate factions: the UCM and the Scourge. The UCM are essentially the good guys of the setting (not perfect, but definitely better than the Scourge), and they kind of remind me of the Imperial Guard from Warhammer 40k. The tanks are fairly long ranged compared to the Scourge and are more heavily armoured but are significantly slower. The Scourge on the other hand are fast and short ranged and slightly harder to hit when moving. It makes for an interesting balance between the two armies. I think the UCM have a slightly higher learning curve, as you really have to set-up firing lanes and on a congested board that can be difficult. The Scourge are a little bit more forgiving in that re-deploying isn't as difficult with the higher movement rate. And really re-deployment seems to be what the game is about. From my brief experience everything is won or lost through your movement. You can actually move fairly fast as long as you don't mind risking getting your drop ships destroyed. Putting them anywhere near your opponents anti-air appears to be suicidal for flyers. But they are the only reason you can reasonably move around the map, so still 100% necessary.

Whoops, wrong rating system

So how do I rate the system? Two huge thumbs up. The games I played only gave a small taste, but it feels right, it looks great, and it was fun. So if you are considering picking it up, then I suggest you do so.

Rise of the Machines

For those that don't personally know me, you are probably unaware that I have been disenchanted with Warhammer 40k as of late. But I have recently had my spirits bolstered by going back to my first army, Space Marines. Specifically I have gotten back to playing mechanised Imperial Fists with assault terminators.

Just as terrifying in real life as on the tabletop.

And quite honestly it has made all the difference in my enjoyment of the game. The list has focused on a trio of rhinos, a razorback, and a landraider with Lysander and friends. It has been enjoyable because it has greatly opened up the movement phase and has seen fighting start immediately in my games. Further it has greatly sped up my games, with many of my movement phases lasting only two or three minutes. While the lists themselves are not overpowering nor likely to be successful in a tournament situation, it has been a breath of fresh air in friendly games. 

So here is the real takeaway, if you are experiencing burnout, try a variant on your games. I changed armies, but I also think varying the format and trying things like kill team can help you. It has rejuvenated my game, and hopefully it will rejuvenate yours.

Saturday 40k, 500 pts

This Saturday, April 5th, will be our second 40k league games day at Crimson Castle. 500 pts, normal FOC, book missions. I won't be there (I have a job interview in Kentucky), but Stephen and Bentley will be around to run things.

That said, I want to share a bit of hobby progress.

I went back and forth on which models to use for my HQs, and I finally just decided (for the sake of creativity and cost) to kit bash my own. The bike on the far left will be my DA librarian. I used a Warp Talon head to act as an oni/samurai helmet: Tenshi-Tachi psykers learned some unorthodox methods from their Crusade to the Eye of Terror. The bike in the middle will be Khan (name TBA). The Tenshi-Tachi continues to be supported by the Watchers of the Cabal who have been arming the chapter with xenos technology and tactics. You can see the Dark Eldar bits on Khan. Eldar pirates share the Tenshi-Tachi's hatred of chaos and their preference for hit and run tactics, and the two forces have operated in concert upon occasion, usually on a mission orchestrated by the Cabal. And finally, you can see my scout sniper squad: head swaps, bushido banners, and daisho make a nice change.