Hobby Update: A Return

It's been a pretty busy month.  Life is slowly starting to resume some pattern of normalcy.  I like what it seems to have in play and am looking forward to more.  As the pattern becomes more clear, hobby time has begun to appear in a regular fashion which feels pretty good.  Here is a sample of what that time has yielded.

One particular model has dominated my focus.  I have been working pretty diligently on the Nightbringer while rotating my attention between a few other units at the same time.  Rather than scrapping the current paint job and starting over, I decided to keep working on smoothing out the colors as they were.  The results have been generally positive, though I don't think I've had the same success as with the Manticore, nor do the colors run to as vibrant a finish as I'd like.  That said, it's a solid paint job in my opinion, and I'm ready to toss him on the field.

To do that, I had to build him a base.  I kicked off with a GF9 60mm magnetic base.  Because I plan to have a lot of other big models in the army, I wanted to make sure the Nightbringer would stand out.  It's a pretty easy effect to achieve in a Necron army where he towers over the basic troops, but on a disply board that has a Coven Throne and a bunch of other big creatures, the Nightbringer is so slight of build that he may not stand out as the centerpiece.  To save on glass material, I glued down a trio of 25mm bases on top of each other, then put the Nightbringer on those.  This bought me about an inch of extra height.  From there, it was a matter of adding rings of glass and building them up to the appropriate height and picking out a few things to add as detail around the base.

One of the aforementioned rotating projects includes a herd of old school/out of production metal Khorngors.  One of the reasons I like this project is that they're a return to painting some grittier fantasy models.  They'll get a little highlighting and a little shading, but they're line troops that are supposed to be dirty, with a bunch of natural browns, so I'm not sweating them too much.  They've been sitting in the queue for a while, but once they got in, they got done very quickly.  By far, the most effort consuming part was making the bases.  With everything else in the army, I just glued the model straight to the surface of the marble square.  The Khorngors were never going to be so simple.  The bottoms of the hooves are angled, providing minimal contact points, and the metal makes the models top heavy.  Basing them entailed snipping the metal strips for the slottabases into nubs, then drilling a pair of holes to sink the nubs into.  The end result is imperfect.  I have a few gaps to fill and hoofs that don't sit squarely.  Overall though, they seem to work just fine.

Finally, for those of you interested in nerdetry and sports at the same time, I recently completed a mock auction for a fantasy football league (the American version).  If you've only done a draft before, I'd encourage you to give an auction a chance.  It's extremely entertaining.  I'm pretty happy with my team:
QB: Michael Vick
RB: Lesean Mccoy
RB: Matt Forte
WR: Percy Harvin
WR: Marques Colston
FLX: Brandon Lloyd
TE: Cody Fleener
Def: NY Giants
K: Alex Henery

I have a pretty high ceiling for scoring from week to week.  My running backs should have consistently big numbers, and each of my receivers should yield solid weekly results, with chances for big plays.  My big worry is injury.  More than one of these guys has a history of getting hurt and my back ups don't inspire confidence.  I suppose that's the risk of paying to have nice things.  Resource management becomes tricky.  Finding value becomes important.  Patience gets put up against scarcity.  In a lot of ways, it's like many of my favorite games.  Except that I only get to play it once a year and don't know the result for four months.  Oh, and it's absolutely infuriating sometimes.

Hobby Accoplishments
-Finished the Nightbringer
-Finished the Khorngors
-Wrote down five of six missions for campaign project

Hobby Goals
-Get all six missions typed and finalized
-Finish the Death Company in the next two weeks
-Prep league format for two weeks from now
-Prime Banshees and Coven Throne
-Airbrush two coats on second Possessed squad

Hobby Update: In Which Things Come Together

One of the interesting things about HADD (Hobby Attention Deficit Disorder) is that, every once in a while, multiple projects all seem to finish at roughly the same time.  That can be in a number of different areas, whether assembly, painting, or converting.  In this case, it's over all of the above.

The Land Raider is "finished."  I guess I "need" to do a little clean up on the script on one side of a banner and do the second set of weapons so I can make it a Redeemer or a Crusader pattern, but I will proudly put it on the table and let other folks blow it up as fast as humanly possible.  Though it was definitely labor intensive, I ended up really enjoying painting it, and I'm even contemplating doing another one at this point, though I think that is a ways down the road if I ever get to it.

On the other hand, the Vargheists are finished.  Flat out.  I've never run into such a disconnect between models being good looking, yet utterly unenjoyable to work on.  I think they look great and I'm glad to have them in the army, but I'm done trying to improve the models themselves.

What I did really enjoy working on were the bases.  One of the guys at the local shop volunteered his bits box and I decided to go a little nuts.  The bases are built from various building sets, though it may have been mostly the basilica.  The plastic is quite thick, so it was a workout to get them into the shape of the bases.  In the end, definitely worth it as I think the look and the effect are very good.  They complement the models as well.  They'll be dark, but there are a few places I can add some splashes of color to make them more interesting.

I've also managed to assemble the Death Company models that I've acquired.  I'm planning on putting my tournament winnings towards the other half of the squad, and will likely try to score a Chaplain for them too.  The plan is to have nine painted in the traditional black color scheme, while the tenth will be in white.  A little deduction will tell you which one of these is not like the other.  The guy with no helmet will be in the opening stages of "the change."    He's got a little conversion done to him with a pair of ghoul hands.  His skin will be the same color as the Vargheists and his hair will be a light shade of gray.  I think he'll be quite striking.

The Word Bearers are also getting some love in anticipation of a coming codex release.  I busted out the airbrush and put on the initial basecoat of Mechrite Red, then began applying a 2:1 Red Gore/Scab Red mix in the traditional fashion.  Two of the models actually got coats of Chaos Black.  They'll end up being the Aspiring Champions for now, but we'll see what options are available in the new book.

Finally, I really enjoyed assembling a Chaos Manticore.  Of course, I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for.  I initially bought it for my Chaos Warriors army, but I'm debating using it as the first Daemon Prince for a 40K army that continues to occupy my interest.  I'm considering trying to do both, but I'm not sure the two color schemes will work.  Obviously, for the Warriors, red really is the only option.  For the Daemons, the scheme is going to be green.  Yes, they're complementary, but I'm worried about the beast looking like a giant Christmas tree.  Magnetizing the head will be easy enough, but I think I'm going to take some more time and consider the options before finalizing my decision.

Hobby Progress
-See above

Hobby Goals
-Get all the basing done for the Blood Wing
-Get the basecoating done on the Possessed

-Time allowing for it, work on the Chaos Dragon

Hobby Update and Fantasy 40K

Work continues apace on the Land Raider.  At this point, I've advanced to the stage of my process in which I go section by section over the vehicle to ensure each one looks the way I want it.  This could be clean up, detail work, highlighting, or whatever.  I kicked off this afternoon with the assault ramp.  While that may be a very small section, I like to take my time and make sure there doesn't have to be any follow up.  Additionally, it means I'm free to really dig into the details, such as each of the individual feathers.

At the same time, sometimes it's good to have something else interesting going to break up the monotony.  Or I have ADD, which might be more likely.  I banged out a single out of production Khorngor as the test scheme for the rest of the unit.  I'd forgotten how easy it is to paint single rank and file models.  Or maybe it seems that way after the long odyssey that is the Land Raider.

It's a pretty straightforward paint job.  Brown on the fur.  Silver on the armor.  Heavy wash for that grimy, dirty look.  Really, the interesting part was drilling holes into the marble tile for the base.  Because these models are the old metal design, they use slotted bases.  While I could just clip the metal parts off, the contact points with the base would be pretty flimsy.  Instead, I left the parts directly beneath the feet untouched and sank them into the base.  I used a little too much glue, resulting in a good bit of frosting, but he's sturdy, which is what I really want and I'll be on the lookout for this with the rest of the unit.


Finally, some friends and I got together for a goofy, little exercise.  We held a fantasy football style draft for all the units in 40K.  We had to take one HQ, Elite, Heavy Support, and Fast Attack, two Transports, and three troops and fit all of them into a 1500 point list.  I had the second overall pick and drafted the following:
1. Ork Boyz
2. Tau Crisis Suits
3. Mycetic Spore
4. Grey Knight Interceptors
5. Blood Angel Death Company
6. Eldar Jetbikes
7. Dark Eldar Haemonculus
8. GK Dreadknight
9. Blood Angel Rhino


I like my draft.  Honestly, I got pretty much everything I wanted and it works better together than you might think at first glance.  Can you spot the fun strategery?

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Gaming

This past year was one of my best when it comes to gaming, both in terms of getting in games and getting the result.  I've had summers where the gaming has been thicker, but I don't believe I've had this many games in a calendar year.  I also had the opportunity to play in my first tournament.  I'd say tournaments, but I don't think I can really count 'Ard Boyz.  Finally, I had the chance to run a tournament, which was a fantastic experience and came off very well.  I'd love to do it again. 

I've really enjoyed 8th edition Fantasy since it came out a year and a half ago.  I've heard a fair bit of whining about it, but I honestly believe that it's more fun than the previous edition.  Does it have more random elements?  Are a few of the spells over the top?  Is the terrain straight out of Scooby-Doo?  Easily.  Is it less tactical?  I don't think so.  What was tactical about refusing to engage, hiding behind an impenetrable woods, and spamming level 2 wizards?  Sure there are holes, but it narrowed gaps and made the game more fun.

This year, all I'd really like to do is keep playing.  Maybe I'll give Storm of Magic a run.  Maybe I'll get caught up in a league.  Mostly though, I just want to find a few guys to play against in some beer and pretzels games so I can trot out a bunch of different, fun lists against a variety of armies.

With a new edition approaching, I'm wondering what will happen to my forces in 40K.  There are lots of whisperings about changes coming.  It hasn't dampened my enthusiasm, but I do wonder what will come.  Regardless, I'd like to push myself to play 40K a little more consistently and competitively. 

I've mentioned it previously, but I'd like to design and execute a map-based campaign.  I'd like to create the setting and the fluff and assemble a nice looking booklet to put out.  I don't have a group of guys to play it yet, but with some doing, I'm sure it can be figured out. 

Unfortunately, the recent move means I have very little in the way of rapport with local gaming groups.  I have seen them happening and heard about others, but nothing thus far in terms of being able to plug in.  I believe future success will rely on simply throwing myself in there.  Apparently, a brand new league is starting in the next few weeks at both local stores, so I will have to decide where and how much I want to commit myself. 

Beyond that, I'd love to try some War Machine, maybe some Pathfinder, and definitely more Board Games.


Gaming Goals for the New Year
-Plug into the local gaming scene.  
-Continue playing the armies I've enjoyed.
-Play in a BIG tournament.  Doesn't matter which system.  I should definitely have ample opportunity, though it might be quite a drive.  I also want to play in three other tournaments, so about one a quarter.  I'd like to average finishing in the top half.
-Write a campaign and play in a campaign and a league.  I love playing casually, but I would love to add a consistent, competitive aspect to promote more tactical analysis.  I also want to produce a pdf of a full campaign with fluff, missions, and pictures.


2011 Final Gaming Stats
Games Played: 28
40K: 11-2
Fantasy: 10-4-1
Tournaments: 2

Something New

Despite currently being in a different time zone from my models, I managed to get in a game today.  Currently, I'm hanging around the old stomping grounds for the holidays.  One of the local veteran gamers was looking for a game during the day to try and refine an Ogre Kingdoms build.  I volunteered my services as a general in exchange for the use of one of his armies (and he has ALL of them).  I requested Beastmen, thinking that while I had the chance, I should play something new and different.

I ended up with a fairly straightforward list.  It contained a Beastlord with the Crown of Command in a big unit of Bestigors, a level 4 Bray-Shaman with Shadow Magic, 2 units of Gors, one of which had a Wargor with the Beast Banner, some redirecting chaff, and last of all, a Ungor bunker with 3 level 1 Shaman next to a herdstone to generate magic dice.

My opponent's list consisted of a big block of Ironguts, with a Slaughtermaster (Death Magic) and Butcher, two Skycannons, seven Maneaters with a Battle Standard Bearer, four Leadbelchers, plus some redirecting chaff.  The Maneaters were pretty sweet models.  He had the unit converted to be a group of Samurai Ogres, including back banners and katanas.

We played a Battle for the Pass.  For the most part, I was the aggressor.  It makes sense, since I have no ranged offense outside of the Pit of Shades magic spell.  I lost that turn three because of a tricky combo (Greedy Fist and Death Magic) and going into turn 5, things were looking bad.  I had lost one shaman, plus all my chaff, and one of my Gor units.  My opponent was skilled with his redirectors and refused to let my elite Bestigors make it into combat.  I really didn't have any way to score points to make up the difference until a pretty crucial mistake by my opponent.  He had pursued the unit of Gors with his Maneaters, but had to stop them an inch from the board edge, due to the scenario's cliff walls rules.  My second unit of Gors had a perfect rear charge, then got buffed by Wyssan's Wildform and put a whipping on the Maneaters.  It took two turns due to stubborn, but that put me ahead to stay, as he just didn't have enough time left in the game to make a comeback.

Hobby Update

It always feels good to finish something, even if it’s later than you had originally planned. As you can see, I’ve put the final touches on my big bad wolves. I actually finished them a couple of days ago, but you know how it goes.

I’m mostly pleased with the way the unit turned out. The poses fit well together, thanks to the 40mm bases and a little bit of prior planning. The original boxed sets were each comprised of three models, so each one had an identical twin. While metal isn’t normally the easiest material to work with, an easy solution presented itself. With a couple clips to each of the arms, the axes could be flipped around to run the opposite direction. This cut down on the mono-pose element.

If I were going to do them over, one change I would likely make is to use a darker red on the armor. I like the idea of all the sigils and runes. It looks very stylized. However, with such a bright color, the eye tends to be drawn towards that, rather than the model as a whole or the faces.

Regardless, I have some models that I think are really nice and can now play a variety of roles in my army.

On a similar front, I primed the Chaos Dragon. Or rather, I should say I sprayed it. I wanted to try out a new black spray, and I figured this one would be fine if it turned out a little too glossy. Well it turned out a lot too glossy. I don’t think it’s ruined, but a different kind of model may well have been. My quest for a better black primer continues. We’ll see how the paint adheres, but I’m guessing I’ll need quite a few layers. Once I figure out what color I want, that process can begin.

Hobby Goals

-Pick a skin tone for the Dragon

-Paint the exterior of Drop Pod 2

-Start assembling supplies to pack things away

Hobby Accomplishments

-Finished the Wargs

-Primed the Dragon (sort of)

-I think I have the missions nailed down for a September tournament

Hobby Update

It’s been an interesting couple weeks as far as my hobby. To begin with, I am closing the gap on finishing the Wargs. I know I’ve talked about them getting done, but I’m down to the last one, so hopefully the next post is the full unit, painted and photographed in whatever makeshift light box I spontaneously assemble.

I also randomly participated in my local ‘Ard Boyz tournament. I showed up at my FLGS hoping there would be an extra random table open and one or two other Fantasy guys would show up. Well, it worked out better than expected. Due to a lack of publicity/local interest/whatever, two other people showed up for the tourney. I threw my own hat in the ring, figuring I wouldn’t mind partaking in the prize support. I took the first round bye, since only one fantasy guy showed up. I wanted to make sure he got a game in, though I forgot to print out a list, so I ran one of the older lists that I’m now less than fond of. When I matched that up against Dwarfs, albeit not even the nastiest of lists, it didn’t end up spelling much of a game for him unfortunately.

Rolling back to 40K, I ended up with sixty bucks in prize support which I promptly spent on an entirely different system. Actually, I spent it on one fantasy system to convert and play with a different fantasy system if you want to be really technical. I have thought about converting a Fell Beast into a Chaos Dragon for a while now. The model comes with two heads, so with a little bit of green stuff work and some extra bits, I thought I could turn out something reasonably impressive. The other options were the new Dark Elf Dragon or the Chaos Manticore, but they didn’t have the latter, and the former is sweet, but I can probably talk myself into getting it later, plus it wouldn’t dare to try and convert a second head.

So this is how it turned out:

I greenstuffed the second neck underneath the first so I could pin one in the normal position, then pin the other to the first and to the body. Then I filled in around it.

I got a chain from Michael’s to wrap around the neck. This will provide a place for a pendant of some kind for a visual focal point, while also covering some of the larger greenstuff patches.

I did my standard scenic base with the flying stand, but I flipped the stand upside down, sawed off the tip and replaced it with a magnet to make transport not just easier, but plausible.

Hobby Goals

-One last Warg

-Continue reading Caledor

-Resume work on the second Drop Pod

-Prime the Blood Wing Land Raider

Hobby Progress

-Finished most of the Wargs

-Bothered showing up at the local 'Ard Boyz and got a prize for it

-Converted a Nazgul on a Winged Fellbeast into a Chaos Dragon

Tournament Post #2, Gaming Side

For the weeks leading up over the tournament, I had spent a decent portion of my unengaged free time thinking about what I was going to bring to the tournament. I wouldn’t say agonizing because I was on vacation for a bit and I spend about two hours a day commuting. I had a lot of time that I could have been thinking about lists because it was just the easiest thing to do. I thought about running a pretty hefty cavalry block, because they really scare folks, but I decided I wanted more board control. I sacrificed half the unit, dropped the champion and switched their role over to monster hunting. I ended up with a list that looks like this:

Chaos Lord of Khorne, Sword of Swift Slaying, Charmed Shield, Favour of the Gods, Talisman of Preservation

Exalted Battle Standard Bearer of Khorne, Necrotic Phylactery, Shield

Sorcerer of Tzeentch on Disc, Level 2, Third Eye, Infernal Puppet, Talisman of Protection

18 Warriors of Khorne, Halberds, Standard of Discipline, Musician

24 Warriors of Khorne, Extra Hand Weapons, Full Command, Razor Standard

5 Knights of Khorne, Flaming Banner, Musician

6 Trolls

Chariot of Khorne

Warshrine of Khorne

Scyla Afingrim

Nothing on the list outside of the infantry blocks and the characters are so expensive that I would really mind losing it. The knights and the Trolls are getting close to there, but not quite. I would also always hesitate to take a frenzied chariot. Nine times out of ten, I’d say it’s a bad idea because it’s so limited in where it can go and it was one bad roll from costing me in that regard, but I really got tempted by the 10 attacks it puts out per turn outside of any impact hits.

Strategically, the list is pretty straightforward. The infantry blocks try to dominate the center of the board, which will usually be achievable for them. The trolls and the warshrine take positions in the line next to the general’s block. The knights and chariot are set up on either flank. They can usually deal with anything that gets put out there, and they act as a pretty nasty pincer if my opponent castles up. Scyla is usually one of the last pieces deployed. He gets stacked up as the bait, or alternatively to hold up something nasty.

In game one, I was matched up against Tomb Kings. I had played them once before, so I had a general idea of how the book worked. I liked my chances, if I could just get past the chariots and Tomb Guard. Scyla bounded forwards, angled in front of the chariots and forcing a decision. If my opponent charged Scyla, he’d end up trapped between the trolls and knights. If not, he’d get boxed in to his deployment zone. He charged and accepted Scyla’s challenge with his Tomb King. Even with impact hits, it took two rounds of combat to kill Scyla, who rolled a pair of sixes for his attacks and managed to take the Tomb King with him. The knights and the Trolls also arrived in that time, and that was just too much to stand up to. On the opposite flank, a failed charge on my sorcerer exposed his cavalry’s flank to my chariot. From there, the tide of battle kept going my way, as the Warriors did what they do best in the centre. Turn six came around and I moved various units onto objectives and picked up a full twenty battle points.

This landed me on the top table, which was both a blessing and a curse, because it was right next to the wall that butts up against the restaurant next door’s kitchen. I also got stacked up against Chaos Dwarfs, which is definitely a match-up that I don’t like. My opponent had two cannons, 3 blocks of Dwarfs with blunderbusses, a Colossus, Obsidian Guard, and a level four wizard with Shadow. I usually prefer to dance around a little and try setting up a favorable match up, but between him being able to lower my toughness and a barrage of Earthshaker shells, I decided to sprint across the field and take what I could get. My right flank was denied by the Colossus and I knew it would take some time for the knights to get past it. I thought I’d try to take a few wounds off of it, so my sorcerer cast Infernal Gateway on turn two. Naturally, I rolled double sixes for the strength, sucking the monster into the warp, and suddenly the flank was wide open. It was one of the more memorable moments of the tournament, but I do hate to see how disheartening that can be. To my opponent’s credit, he looked on the bright side and proceeded to snipe my wizard with his bolt thrower the next turn. He blocked off my infantry with two hobgoblin meat shields, meaning I was grinding my way through about a hundred victory points with my two hardest hitting units. He ended up getting my trolls and my chariot, but not before they had run off the Obsidian Guard. I ended up taking the game 17-3 and stayed at the top table.

My last game was against something of an MSU High Elf army with a big block of White Lions and Korhil, plus three mages. He had way more units to deploy than me, so his Sea Guard with the Flaming Banner got to deploy opposite my trolls, which pretty much doomed them from the start. Both they and the chariot, which charged the Swordmasters, ended up surviving longer than expected, which gave me the opportunity to get my Warriors into his softer archers and spearmen. Scyla apparently hates chariots, because he had two rounds of combat in which he managed to roll sixes again, smashing it to pieces. The biggest surprise of the game was my opponent’s inability to get spells off. I shrugged off a magic missile, and let a couple ward saves go up, but he either failed to cast Dwellers below, or I dispelled it. The match was eventually decided when my Warriors with extra hand weapons charged his White Lions. Their massive strength and re-rolls to hit meant they were chopping down a bunch of my guys, but my weight of attacks meant I was going through his even faster. He fled in his turn, the top of six, which allowed me to complete a charge and wipe them out as the game was ending. The game went to me 14-4.

In all, I had a great time. I think I played really well almost the entire time, with only a few mistakes. My dice were probably pretty close to average, with some timely rolling at memorable moments, and a few whiffs that could have been. I’m looking forward to the next opportunity I have to do this.

I’d also like to say thanks to the guys that said they were following my preparation. It encouraged me a lot to try and get better at this.

Tournament Post #1, Hobby Side

Saturday saw the occurrence of the aforementioned tournament. To say that it went well would be an understatement, and a significant one at that. My goal going in had been to win at least one game, have fun, and at least get a little consideration for player’s choice. I will be a little more optimistic heading into the next tournament I attend.

After three good games, the dust settled and I had managed to go undefeated. We’re still awaiting the final posting in terms of battle points, so I don’t know if I finished with the highest score, but if I did, that’s just extra gravy on an already awesome day. I also got a vote for player’s choice and a lot of praise for my work, so my ego is reaching a size where it has to cannibalize itself to survive.

I am really happy with the way my army turned out. I am a very slow painter, but I really feel like the tournament deadline helped me push myself to get things done. It wasn’t an altogether unpleasant experience, but I don’t think that I’ll try to repeat it. The Warriors were getting done at a decent rate, by my standards at least. They weren’t anything incredibly intricate, but they’re the older kit, which didn’t have a lot of options as far as intricacy. Additionally, I decided I wanted to run the unit with extra hand weapons as a six wide by four deep block, which meant painting four more Warriors than I had originally intended. I didn’t really have the time, energy, or appropriate models for this, so I looked around at what was sitting around in my collection, grabbed a Bloodcrusher Juggernaut, and ended up with a pretty cool looking unit filler. This was the state they were in on Wednesday night:

Once the infantry were done, it was time to start working on the Wargs and the other peripheral units. The Warshirne was by far the easiest. I had an old corpse cart hanging out, and I had planned to put a charioteer with a whip in place of the necromancer. The feet were incorrectly positioned though, so I gave the necromancer a quick three shades of blood red on his outside cloak and swapped the zombies that I never liked out for some horses. I had some of the old chariots, but they had mostly fallen apart due to the incredibly poor basing system for chariots in the late 90’s. A little glue saw the model put back together, and I cut a new base using the spare parts from a movement tray.

At this point on Thursday night, I knew I wasn’t going to finish the job, so I chose to concentrate on the sorcerer. I wanted to keep him close to the overall color scheme of the army, but need some way to differentiate between his patronage to Tzeentch and the rest of the army’s loyalty to Khorne. The bloodletter mounted on him was going to provide plenty of the base blood red/chaos black/tin bitz colors, so I went with a pair of purples for his tunic and cloak. The Warlock Purple is straying towards warmer colors, and I think it does a nice job linking that part of the scheme to the cooler Liche Purple. I also used Chainmail on his armor, which in it of itself is not a shocking choice, but I’ve purposely avoided it throughout the rest of the force. I think individually it’s unnoticeable, but in the overall presentation of the force, it’s a small detail that subtly distinguishes him as different.

After a pretty bad SNAFU with the marble company, my marble didn’t ship until Wednesday night, so I was really sweating it out. Thankfully, it arrived Friday afternoon, so once I hit the door, I got to work basing. Doing the 25mm bases has never been easier. I’d glue down a section of tile, then paint the sides liberally with Scorched Brown. This contributes to the look of grout filling in the space between the bases as if it were a real temple. If I had left it unfinished or gone with black, I think it would have been a distraction from the base and the model. Both would have looked sloppy and hastily done. I also had to make some decisions on larger bases. The chariot sized bases and the 40mm squares actually had gaps between them on the bases themselves. I could have just painted them in, but instead I filled them with hard drying foam. It took a little while to set, but when it did, I just painted over it and I essentially had grout in between tiles. While it wasn’t necessarily the neatest job, it was relatively painless and unless you get close you can’t tell the difference.

Unfortunately, this work contributed to the demise of the Wargs and not being able to finish them. I got one done, but decided to go to bed around 4 a.m. I thought I’d get up at six. I was wrong. Nine o’clock rolled around and I had to scramble to find a tray. Then I drove as smoothly as possible to the game store. This involved making early decisions on running yellow lights and hoping so desperately that all the upraised metal bits directly behind my seat would not become projectiles in the case of a 65 mile per hour accident. I made it just fine, grabbed my table assignment, and things kicked off at 11:30.

That’s pretty much the extent of my hobby half of the tournament. I’ll delve into the game side of things tomorrow most likely. In the meantime, I want to thank Rush over at Warpstone Pile for putting on the tournament. He did a heck of a job. Things went smoothly and it seemed like everyone had a good time, mostly because everyone was talking about what a good time they had. Pairings were made quickly and adjusted so everyone go three games against different opponents, while still holding to the NOVA Open system that people are trying to prep for. So yeah, thanks Rush.

Gaming Update

With Monday off, the weekend was breaking just right to get in some gaming. It did not disappoint.

Game one, on Saturday, was against a club regular. I don’t play nearly enough to say I have regular opponents, but we’ve played a number of times and always have good games.

We played the watchtower scenario with my Khorne Warriors pitted against his Skaven. I run two blocks of 20 Warriors, 2 units of knights, a warshrine, a Daemon Prince and some other things. It’s less optimal than I would like, and the local metagame seems to be pushing higher up the competitive scale.

For example, I was asked what I think about the Prince, and my snap response was, “It’s a really nice model.” Toughness 5, a 5+ ward save, and no real options to make him more survivable means he goes down to any concentrated effort. He’s stubborn but only on leadership 8, and since he can’t keep up with rank bonuses and banners, he’s really only good as a war machine hunter or as a supplement to some other combat unit. At around 350-400 points, he costs way too much on his own, especially for those roles, but he also squeezes the points available for a Chaos Lord, which I need to take for his leadership 9 on frenzy checks. I ought to take a big block of Marauders over the second unit of knights, and I want to throw in a wizard and maybe Ogres instead of the Prince, but currently I have the models for neither. I desperately need the magic defense, with a +0 on dispels currently, and I would love to have some range. Considering how sparingly I play though, what I have is viable enough to finish painting all my other stuff before I set about expanding.

The game turned out to be epic. My opponent garrisoned the watchtower with 20 Stormvermin. I promptly sent my Warriors with Halberds into it, toting my Chaos Lord. It took two turns, but it was over quickly, and pretty brutal. It was at this point that I started feeling pretty good about myself. Then I failed to charge his warp lightning cannon with my Prince, which left him staring down a Doomwheel. Then my dual axe wielding Warrior block with my Battle Standard charged his big block of Plague Monks with a Plague Furnace, whiffed on their attacks, and were promptly run down.

He charged my guys in the watchtower on turn 3 with his Abomination, but my knights had run it down far enough that what was left of my unit killed it in one go before it could attack. It, of course, promptly returned to life. The top of turn 4 saw me with only five guys left in the watchtower and three warhounds running around the table. His bombardment on the bottom of 4 was less than accurate, but still accounted for everyone but the Chaos Lord and the dogs. With only one model of consequence left on the table, I rolled for the end of the game and turned up a six that I desperately needed. You’ve gotta love shady club dice at crucial moments.

To be continued...