Custom Table

We're still working on the table. It will likely not be ready for the NOVA open (maybe next year?) BUT at the end of the day (or whenever we finish it) we'll have a badass table to use.

Workbench: cutting planks for the ship and molding tiles for the table.



Table Construction

Stairs

Part of the board has a retraining wall that will have a road and stairs leading up to it. I made a foam base for the stairs.


Then added tiles.


Foam core and tiles comparrison.


Tiles completed. A decorative railing will be added later.


Retaining wall

Tim had a brilliant idea to break the retaining wall up using grates. I'm going to add some paperclip bars for the grate and then maybe hollow the board in a little to make it look like there is a passage into the back.

The wires will connect to the lanterns (also Tim's idea). There is a small pvc pipe under the tiles that houses the wires.

Scale: Satyxis Raider fits nicely into the alcove.



Ship building

Blue insulation foam measured thrice. Given my lack of any sort of woodshop skills I was nervous about cutting this: especially using the wire cutting tool by hand. I made a 90 degree edge using the corner of a 'For Sale' sign and then I took the metal edge off the measuring tape so I could lay it flat on the board. Something tells me I should get actual appropriate tools in the future.


Cut 1: removing the body from the foam. I used the wire rod (not the cheese slicer looking one).


Many cuts later: the two small holes will be masts. The large square cut towards the bow (front) will have a metal mesh that will function like an open hold. The two side squares carved out will have cannons. The aft (rear) will house the engine and steering. Deathjack and Satyxis Raider for comparrison.


That's all for now. I'll add better pictures of the planks I put on the ship as well as my progress on my Cryx army (need to finish that and start painting!).

I'm on a boat!

L'orenoque
http://www.modelexpo-online.com/product.asp?ITEMNO=MV23W

The above link is an image of a model sail and steam ship. It is actually a kit that goes for about $500.

Never fear I won't be buying anything like that... anytime soon. What I will be doing is using it as inspiration. Remember that board I said I was working on? I mentioned pictures? The pictures were full of lies but the board was not. It falls on my shoulders to add to the harbor scene the raiding vessel!

Here's the plan:

• Steam and sail ship
• 7" wide by 26-27" long
• 2 masts
• 2 decks
• 6 guns (3 on each side)
  
• wide open deck space so raiding player can set up her/his forces on the ship with enough room
• paddle wheel will be one large wheel in the back of the ship with the engine room also in the back with the exhaust pipes coming out at 45 degrees
• fore section will be built up if time allows

Construction

1. foam core base
2. office depot stirring sticks for wooden planks
   
3. balsa wood dowels for masts
4. aaaaaand I'm still working on the rest, more to come
   

The time has come my friends...

...to speak of many things. Of shoes and ships and ceiling wax of carpenters... building ships.

Despite the silence I have been active.

The NoVA open tournament is coming up in August. Tim (I sent out the pictures of the house he was building) and I are building a board to submit to a scenario tournament. Best board wins. Additionally I signed up for the Warmachine/Hordes "softcore" tournament. Basically for the new folk who don't want the crap kicked out of them in the regular tournaments.

I need to build a ship.

Also if you don't follow the webpage Massive Voodoo then you are missing out:

http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/

http://www.coolminiornot.com/278799

Pictures to follow!

The more things change...

If you haven't heard it by now: GW is raising prices.

The best part about GW news (hell any news from anywhere really) is to read the blog chatter about it. Like wildfire the news will spread between popular blogs and websites. Granted the most vocal people (the ones with websites) aren't always the best informed or even have best perspective of the event they are commenting on. I like to think that by reading several different sites I'll get a better idea of the whole picture.

The sad fact is, you do not, in fact, get a better picture. You get a bunch of poorly informed fans screaming into the guano strewn, dank bat-cave that is the Internet. Why you stepped into the putrid hole we'll never know. Perhaps you thought there would be a kernel of truth amid all the offal?

What I have learned is that everyone can really be broken down into two camps: 1. pillars of frothing rage vs. 2. melancholy indifference.

The later category might be the most intriguing because of their sad and resigned tone; as if they were expecting this sort of behavior and have become inured to it.

The first group, the angry crowd, tend to focus on how GW is destroying themselves as a company. These posts generally read like a date who was dumped before prom night, someone in the throws of a "deep relationship" who has suddenly and unceremoniously been blown out of the water by the other person's behavior.

A bit of advice, sugar, is GW doesn't love you, it is not your friend, it is and always will be a business with shareholders to appease.

I do not have a business degree. I know enough about money to handle my own finances. As such I am free to comment about the business practices of GW my words ring a little hollow with my amateur-at-best understanding.

Despite this, though, there is an underlying theme of general dissent and displeasure about the company even from some of the more stalwart apologists. However, despite that GW's business practices have paid off because I believe they posted record (for their recent trend at any rate) earnings.

Let's get a few things straight though: we are a niche market. The demand for this particular product is low. Most people who wander into a GW store think they sell traditional board games (Monopoly, Scrabble, etc) and often walk away confused or chortling, "NERDS!" as they walk back to their SUV's. This is not a poor man's hobby. Even if you somehow manage to scratch build an entire force you're still going to sink a significant amount of cash into the project, nevermind time.

Then you have all of the other miniature companies who are not raising their prices.

What. Does. That. Mean?

I don't know but it upsets everyone to the point that many are flocking to other gaming systems. A friend of mine is a long time 40K player. He jumped ship to Flames of War and Privateer Press in response and he is not alone!

Only time will tell what happens. It would be hard to imagine a world without GW. But a franchise THAT big does not go down easily.

Tomb Kings!

Models are up for advance order! New plastic kits for Tomb Guard, and 2 new units in the form of Cobra cavalry, and a giant ass Sphinx!!!

Update!!

So it has been quite a while since my last post/update so I figured I would throw one up. I have been busy as all get out with Tax season here so I haven't had much time to myself over the past 2 months. Needless to say I have plenty of planning going on in my head. So to begin here is what I have been up to hobby wise over the past few months.

1) Tyranid Models - Wave #2!!! Rumors are around and the thought is they should be released sometime around summer to early fall, before another codex release (possibly Necrons!!!). Models are going to include the following...

Confirmed: Warrior Lashwhip/bonesword sprues, Ymgarl Genestealers (pewter blister or upgrade pack), Doom of Malan'tai (pewter blister), Harpy (plastic kit, to be released with the 'summer of fliers alongside the Imperial Thunderbolt fighter, Dark Eldar Voiddragon/Razorwing).

Speculation: Tervigon/Tyrannofex (2 in 1 kit, like the Night Spinner/Fire Prism, however some believe this to be a hoax and that only the Tervigon will be released), PLASTIC HIVE TYRANT/SWARMLORD (hell it's about time!!! also wings/armored shell upgrades are said to be included!!!

Either way more models = more conversions and finally after a two years we get our model range complete, thanks GW! It only took two years, and in that time Blood Angels got all of their kits, DE in six months almost have their whole range & you threw in Grey Knights in April!!! Man you must really love the Xenos races.......

2) Battlefoam - I purchased some for myself and B to see if the product works. Despite the price the product looks like it will work quite well. It's hard with Nids to find a way to transport your bugs due to the sizes and shapes/conversions of all the various models. I have found other cheaper options online, but Battlefoam trays are customized for specific types of bugs with options to design your own trays. I ordered a ton to house roughly 80-85% of my bugs and a few trays for B for his eldar. They should be shipped out soon as the email said they will be sent by the end of March.... here's to hoping since I bought them in February.

3) Conversions - I am redoing part of my Swarmlord, more specifically the arms to make them more seamless. Winged Warriors are in the works! I have started both a Farseer conversion and an Autuarch conversion for my Eldar. To top it all off I have toyed around with the Gryphon that J sent me and have come up with some ideas for a Pheonix!! (More to come here)

4) Painting - I honestly need to do more... that's all I have to say about that...

5) Grey Knights - I... hate.... GW...

6) Dark Eldar - Wave 3 models to be released soon!!

7) Tomb Kings in May!!!!

8) Necrons in the fall!?!?!

9) I still hate GW..... Grey Knights... seriously!!! Thanks for making my 'Nids the worst codex thus far out of the 5th edition rewrites.... at this rate we will be the next Tau or Necrons once everyone gets their spot in the sun.

10) New Forgeworld Eldar!! Lots of new releases to look at, along with a new Shadow Spectre Exarch, the new Lynx battletank, and the Wasp Assault Walker.

Cheers!

OI!

GARRETT, DID YOU GET THE PACKAGE I SENT?

More Eldar

New Forgeworld release...

Eldar Wasp Assault Walker

Imagine a War Walker with BS 4 and a Troop choice..... yea.... that's cool...

TOMB KINGS MAY 2011!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW-YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Battlereport: Warmachine

"A new world record" -Penny Arcade.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen... Brian and Garrett. This is a report of my first ever Warmachine battle! Neither of you play this game but it is fantastic and awesome (and cheaper).

Game: learning phase. Set-up and fight. I represent the forces of Cryx, lead by the Warwitch Deneghra. My opponent played the kingdom of Cygnar lead by the Commander Stryker. Players roll and highest picks to go first or second. First turn also deploys first.

As you can see here we have a large factory on the right, a couple of silos on the left, a lone leafless tree in the middle. Forces deploy up to 10" away from their edge and 20" away from each other. The board is usually 4x4'.

In Warmachine one of the ways to win (if the mission has other ways) is to kill off the opposing warcaster (general). This is not as easy as it sounds! Each warcaster has the warjacks assigned to them. These steampunk engines of war have a magic-mechanical brain that responds to warcasters commands. Without the warcaster they become inert. Troop units can operate independently but can be aided by the warcaster via buffs or allocation of the game's central mechanic: focus.

Think of focus like mana. A warcaster can channel it into their own spells or directly into their warjacks or troops to make them more effective. Part of the game becomes a balancing act of using focus for spells, helping crucial units perform actions and getting your warjacks to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

While a warcaster is strong, they aren't the unit killing monsters like 40K characters. They aren't completely fragile but you have to calculate the risks you take with them.

I rolled higher so I deployed first to go first.

Turn 1 Cryx:

My units are directly from the Cryx battlebox. A cheap box that gives you the basic components to play the game: warcaster, units, unit stats, and basic game rules! You don't need the main rulebook to start playing! The starter rules are abridged to make it easier. Cards come with the units so you can mark damage on them (as applicable).

Cryx warjacks are light bonejacks (defiler is a shooter and deathrippers are close combat) which are fast and agile vs. the heavy helljacks (slayer is slightly slower but tougher and packs a wallop). Deneghra is a lithe, fast, debuffing witch very capable of dishing out damage but not as good at taking it.

Turn one had me running everything up and since nothing was in range (defiler has short range) I couldn't do anything.

Cygnar turn 1:
Stryker and his jacks run up. The Defender is a heavy with a gun and hammer. The Sentinel is a light with a gun and shield. The stormblades are troops wearing armor and wielding these sword pikes that shoot lightning. They start to go to town on my deathripper. The other two jacks aren't as effective at shooting me.

Turn 2: Cryx
Fun times here: on the left Deneghra casts a damage spell called Scourge: it hits a target then a 3" AoE knocks everything around it (friend of foe) down. Being knocked down in this game is bad. Close combat hits automatically, on your turn to get up you have to sacrifice your movement or your action, etc.

You'll notice the spell arrow goes through the deathripper. Many bonejacks have an arc node which allows casters to channel spells through the 'jack. This keeps the caster out of harms way while spells rip open the enemy and your deathripper runs in and kills everyone! Almost.

My slayer rushes the defender and slams it causing it to fly back into Stryker causing some damage to both and knocking them down.

Cygnar:
Here the stormblades get back up and countercharge using some of Stryker's focus. Stryker and the Defender reposition themselves and the Sentinel shoots at my slayer, damaging it some more.

Turn 3: Cryx
My deathripper on the left kills some more stormblades. My slayer charges the defender and my deathripper on the right charges the sentinel. Deneghra lowers the defender's armor so the slayer can smack it around with greater ease.

Cygnar:

Stryker charges the Slayer with the Defender and wreak it. The stormblades take out my deathripper and the sentinel tries ineffectually to beat up my defiler.

Turn 4: Cryx
The defiler rushes the sentinel, knocking it out the way. Deneghra casts a knockdown spell on Stryker then rushes in with the remaining Deathripper and finish him off!

With Stryker dead all the remaining warjacks go inert and the remaining stormblades probably start to make a run for it. Victory for the Cryx, now let's go make a puppet show with their corpses! YAY!

Eldar FTW!!! (Kinda)

Check the forgeworld website!!!

New Eldar units released for the upcoming Imperial Armor 11!

New Aspect Warriors, the Shadow Spectres, and the new Grav-tank, the Warp Hunter.

The rules are linked below in the description. Overall I would say that while the intention for the units are cool, I feel that they just don't quite cut it as far as competitive units. Here are my arguments why.

Shadow Spectres:

1) 35 pts a model!?!? - Just like everything in the eldar codex, these guys are another OVER costed unit. I see the need to make them similar in points to Dark Reapers, but I was hoping that they would be more aligned to be a preview of the next Eldar codex as far as points values go. Running the numbers I found a full squad of 5 with Exarch Cynosure, and EMP Launcher to be 212 points!!! Keep in mind these guys are supposed to be an Anti-tank unit. For 212 points I can think of all other races and their equivalent choices and the sheer amount of firepower that they can produce versus these fragile pea shooters.

2) Not enough shots - Even if you upgrade the exarch to carry the EMP launcher thats still only 2 anti tank shots from a single unit per turn. IMO that's not enough, especially to warrant their high point cost.

3) Battlefield role?? - These guys were designed to be long ranged anti-tank support, a particular part of warfare the current aspects don't cover. I think these guys just don't cut it as far as being able to compete with other choices in the Eldar list for killing tanks. Yes the range is good, and the ability to use Jet-packs is great but again, durability and lack of shots are their downfall. Fire Dragons are way more efficient (perhaps overkill), a shooty Wraithlord is more durable, EML Wave Serpents handle smaller mech (Rhinos, Razorbacks, Chimeras) just fine, with Vypers, Warp Spiders, or any other Str 6 shooting able to do the trick as well.

4) Another Heavy Support choice!?!?! WTF! - Again, Eldar are thee most heavy support 'heavy' army in the game. With Reapers, Wraithlords, Support Weapons, Fire Prisms, Nightspinners, Falcons, War Walkers, and now Spectres and Warp Hunters.

All in all we'll have to play test them to see if they are effective in their designed roles or not. I am skeptical, but I must admit the models and fluff are badass. However I have said the same thing about other models.... Pyrovore

Warp Hunter:

Finally!! A D Cannon on a Vehicle, besides the retarded support weapon!! Not to mention a greater range of 36", blast (meh), and barrage!!! Add on top of that the awesome secondary fire mode and fire it like a Hellhound and you have a D Cannon FLAMER!!!! Mwahahahaha!!!

Overall the concept for these guys are great. I have some problems with them though.

1) BS 3..... - Someday the designers will realize that the Eldar are supposed to be the most advanced race in the galaxy and should be able to shoot better than a freakin' human.

2) One hit wonder - This tank suffers the same problems that Night Spinners, and Prisms have. 1 BIG weapon. Lose it and the tank is effectively useless. Not to mention with a AV of 12 it isn't all that hard to stun or shake the tank and stop it from shooting all together.

3) Blast..... really.... just a blast template?!? - The D Cannon is supposed to be a Black Hole gun for crying out loud!!! Make it a 5" template and I would have been happy since that is more in line with the rest of the Apocalypse Eldar that have been released thus far (Cobra has a 7" D Cannon blast.... it is one of the most efficient and effective tanks in large games). Also I think Invulnerable saves shouldn't be allowed against these weapons, but that is just my take on it.... Somehow an energy shield can save you from the forces of gravity!

4) Yet again.. another Heavy Support - Nuff Said.

Overall the model is awesome and the template attack option pretty much makes this tank really shine! Albeit suicidal...

I think this is a step in the right direction as far as Eldar design should go. More aspects, more tanks and next more psychic stuff!!

Niffty Spore Pod/Happy New Year/Tyranid thoughts

First up, I found this while I was browsing the other night. I don't think I would buy one but it definitely will be an inspiration for my Toys 'r 'us conversions.

http://www.mrdandy.com/wargamma-spawn-seed/

Secondly, happy new year to everyone! Here is to another great year!

Third, I have been planning to purchase my own 'Battlefoam' so that I can transport my precious Nids without damaging them. I know the foam is expensive but I have found that with Tyranids they have too many eccentric arms, unusual poses, and spiky bitz that tend to make standard pluck foam or regular foam trays useless (Hormagaunts are a pain). I hope to have the foam by the upcoming tourney so I can transport my bugs in style/protection.

The first 3 Tyranid Shrikes have their wings and are ready to create havoc on the battlefield! Pics to come! On a positive note I have completed 96% assembly on all tyranids that I own and 46% of them are painted!! Whoooooo......