Shifting into maximum overdrive.

And I'm back from my Christmas hiatus with a whole bunch of stuff to show ya'll. First on the itinerary, I have officially started to work on my Dark Eldar, and have built 10 Warriors and 10 Wyches. The new kits are fantastic, full of tons of options. I would show a picture, but in my haste to build all my my models, the sprues are now just that, sprues with nothing on them, picked clean of bits. I have painted a test mini, and have settled on a color scheme of cold blues, greys and steel, with black as a base color on the model, see below:


There is a lot of detail on the models themselves, so they are going to be an exercise in highlights as well as gaming. I'll try to have a painted Wych up later this week.
I picked up one of the new WFB terrain pieces "Dreadstone Blight", basically a huge ruined tower. The kit came in a grand total of maybe 20 pieces, and was very easy to assemble. There is plenty of detail on the tower, though skulls are, as always, very prevalent, for whatever reason.

On a final note, I desided that my next fantasy project after I finsih up my Empire army will be Chaos Dwarfs. I've been looking into thier fluff, and they are arguebably the most origianl race in Warhammer. I really like the mesopatamic influences in thier backkstroy, and with Mantic Games relaeseing a new range of 28mm chaos dwarfs I have set my mind to it. I'll be using the Ravening Hordes CD list from White Dwarf, as well as the American Indy GT CD unofficial army book. I converted one of my Battle for Skull Pass dwarfs into a Chaos Dwarf Lord, using a lot of Green Stuff (for the beard) , as well as bits from the Chas Knights and Marauders kits.




I will likely be going for a bronze and purple paint scheme, though I don't know what color the skin should be. Any suggestions would be appreciated, and comments on welcome.
EDIT: Yes, I am aware that the base isn't great, lava is reeaaallyy hard to do.

Ultramarines

I finally managed to watch all of Ultramarines thanks to the /tg/ community and Livestream. My thoughts:

Having caught a glimpse or two of the film beforehand, I was prepared to be underwhelmed by the CGI and animation. Yes, the CG is very, very bad, and the animation tends to be more choppy then not, but I looked past this. I was expecting a strong story, or at least a passable one and lots of marines killing heretics. What I got was, well, let me put it this way. If it hadn't been a 40k movie, I would have passed it off a average. It was OK, the action scenes where somewhat interesting, and the plot was passable.

BUT, this isn't a generic sci-fi film, this is a movie set in the 40k universe. It doesn't ignore the fluff ,it runs it over with a car and sticks it in a blender. Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine a frat boy at a college party in the closet with a drunken freshman girl. Now, Codex Pictures is the frat boy and the girl is 40k fluff. I don't know what Abnett was thinking when he decided to write this, but there where numerous things that where just plain wrong, or didn't make sense. A few of which, without revealing anything, are:
A Shrine World with an important relic, being guarded by an entire company, yes, an entire company of Imperial Fists, is nothing but a huge dessert. No Hive Cities, Soritas, Ecclesiarchy or Inquisition presence, no priests, pilgrims, houses, nothing but a dustball with a chapel. Going into the fluff why always see the Shrines Worlds a covered from pole-to-pole or sea to sea in cities and monuments, not a single ruined cathedral.

A space marine captain, yes, a captain, leader of an entire company of marines, decides to lead the little visit himself, accompanied by a command squad made entirely of novices. Why? Every current SM codex clearly states that the members of a command squad are hardened veterans.

A chaplain shoots a laser field from his crozuis. This is pure and simple, a crozius does not work that way, a crozius is a fancy power maul, thats it.

It goes on and on and on and on. A Thunder hawk the size of a Valkyrie, Space marines dieing from being shot in A heart, with normal bullets, the presence of only what seems to be about twelve marines on a battlebarge. Now, one would think that if the CGI was poor, and that Codex/Abnett blatantly disregard fluff than maybe the overall plot would be good to make up for it right? Wrong.

I say again, it is PASSABLE, in a direct to TV, Sy-Fy channel kind of way. The characters are bland and not very memorable, the story is simple, and the twists are seen coming from a mile away.

The only saving grace(s) are the sound effects and voice work, which are of top notch quality. the voice actors give a good performance and the sounds of battle, from the blast of bolter fire,the roar of chain swords or the thrumming of a Land Speeders grav engines, the sound makes the world come alive in a way the CG cannot.

I can't say I was expecting this to be a triple A project but all in all I can only say that I am very disappointed. Furthermore, I will not being purchasing this movie. It isn't worth my $40 and isn't worth yours. I can't recommend this to a die hard 40k fan, but maybe, just maybe, a curious new player or fan of sci-fi action may get some enjoyment out of this, but I still wouldn't suggest buying it at its current price tag. It just isn't ultra enough.

Dose O' Hobby 12/13/10

The army is coming along much more quickly than I had anticipated, which has freed my up to do some conversion work. First on the list is my Steam Tank, which I have replaced the main gun with an old metal Helblaster Volleygun barrel:


The main body of the Steam Tank was done with a drybrush of Chainmail, the gold/bronze engravings and designs wheredone with a mis of Inca Gold (from FolkArt) and Dwarf Bronze. The shields where painted in various provinces' colors, namely the colors of Altdorf, Nuln, the Ostermark and Talabecland. I filed down the top and bottom parts of the gun barrel to allow it to fit in the slot for the cannon, then used Green Stuff to hold it in place, and covering any places where the Green Stuff was visible with ribbons from the Brettonia Knights of the Realm kit, and painted the wax seals Hawk turquiose. When I finally get the entire army done, he color tieing it all together will be turquise, as the various state troops units are all from different provinces, and have different color schemes, namely the purple and yellow of the Ostermark swordsmen unit, my recently finished unit of Halberdiers, which are painted in red and yellow, the colors of Talabecland, and my another unit of Halberdiers, which are blue and grey, from Middenland., see below:


And finally, I've added a Warrior Priest of Ulric to the army, replacing one of the Sigmarite priests. He still "counts as" a WP of Sigmar, but I felt that he would help explain why a body of troops form the Ulric-worshiping Middenland be in a mainly Sigamrite army. I based him in white, then painted the armor in two layers, first Darf Bronze and then Chainmail. The hair is Sunburst yellow, which was then brushed over with Calthan brown and then brushed over again with Sunburst Yellow, and his skin is Tallarn Flesh. The Fur cloak is white, which was then layered over with Astonomicon Grey, then White again.




*As as side note, every unit in the army has been washed using Miniwax Red Oak wood finish, which I am using to speed up the painting of the army, as it really brings out detail without too much work. Normally I would stick to washing and highlighting, but I have had to use dip on this army just to get it finished in the short amount of time I have.

Empire army fully half done.

The army is coming along nicely, and after some quick changes to the list, adding a few mortars, a cannon, a tank, and I have an army I can manage to paint in time. I have, fully painted and based, 30 Swordsmen, 15 Halberdiers, 30 Flaggelants, my war Altar, the Steam Tank "Sigismund", and two artillery pieces, as well as both Warrior Priests and the Arch Lector. This leaves me with the task of painting: 3 Artillery Pieces, 45 Halberdiers, a wizard and my battle standard bearer. Here is an overview of the amry, cut into several pictures, as, even though it is only at 2500 Points, the model count is absurd.I couldn't get a super clear shot as my camera is still on the fritz, but on the plus side, I got a sandwich. Tasty too.

The Road to Korbsliebe, part 2, plus War Altar complete

The party runs through the forest, into a thick patch of brush and bramble, and they see a clearing in the distance. The ogre bellows in fury as it chases them, smashing aside the brush, trees and small animals in his way. Rankar, in a fit of berserker rage, smashes a tree aside and burst into the clearing, as Ozark, showing impressive acrobatic skill for a dwarf, leaps over the smashed remains of the tress and follows after Rankar. However, both Delila and Illiaster(sic) fail their AG checks and fall, but they manage to run into the clearing as the Ogre nears them. Looking behind them, the see the Ogre dash into the open only to be overtaken and dragged away, screaming, into the darkness of the forest by giant spiders.

Taking a look around, they realize they stand in a clearing, which is marked by a ruined Sigmarite Chapel at a crossroads in the center, with the roads winding into the darkness of the woods. Apraoching it, Illiaster and Ozark engage in a lively debate as to whether the Chapel is haunted. Unable to contain his anger any longer, Rankar attempts to smash the door, but fails, his flail bouncing off the wood. Delila, following Rankar's example, trys to pry the door open, only to also fail. Being the only rational person in the party, Illiaster (btw, this is the Elf guy) knocks, and a gruff voice replys, asking whether or not they are friendly. After a quick chat, the door is open, and everyone immediately ready their weapons in case of attack. Delila slowly pushed the door open, revealing a merchant, a old woman, a child and a huge, bear-like logger sitting around a fire, a corpse several feet away.

The logger calls himself Hans Buemer (this is a temp. character for a new player) and tells the party that he and his acquaintances have been trapped in the chapel for days under Goblin attack, the priest of the Shrine, Father Traugott, was killed defending it. After negotiating, the party agrees to escort Hans and the other people through the forest, in exchange for Hans finding a path back to town. the merchant promises gold in exchange for safe passage.

Walking through the wood, Hans guides the party to a clearing by a creak, and the party makes camp. Delila uses her knowledge of herbalism to create a potion for Illiaster, who drinks it, however, the innate magic of the ingredients cause a minor chaos manifestation, and a chill wind blows into a nearby cave, awakening whatever lay within. They set up camp near a large rock and arrange a night watch, which consists of Illiaster and Rankar. In the night, Goblins burst from the cave, and catch the elf and man unawares, however, the dumb beasts are no match for them, and they easily block the Goblins' attacks. Illiaster attempts to climb upon the stone for a better few of the combat, but trips, and spending a Fate point, avoids bashing his head on the rocks. Ozark leaps across the creak in a running jump as Delila attempts to charge over the large stone, however she fails her AG to climb, and spends a Fate point to avoid snapping her ankle. Hans charges from across the creak, but is caught by the current and is trapped beneath the water.In the second round of the combat, Rankar crushes a goblin's skull with his flail and knocks another out, while Ozark chops down a tree with a swing of his blade, in an attempt to block off any goblin escape route, however, the tree falls away from the fighting, and crashed into the side of the cave entrance instead.Illiaster breaks away from combat to ready his bow, and unleashes a fusillade of arrows, all which miss their targets, but one manages to strike Delila threw the chest, causing her to become unconscious, and have a 2/10 chance of instant death (per round) until medical attention is given. Hans breaks free from the current and the Goblin mob tramples one of their own underfoot, as the battle continues....

This session had a lot of really cool things that went horribly wrong due to poor dice rolls, but what can you do? I may have another update by next week, maybe.

In other news, my War Altar is up and ready for the Tabletop, and I plan to revisit it after Coastal for several touch ups and highlitghts. Here is how it came out:



Sorry if they are a bit blurry or out of focus, something is up with my camera, and I have yet to figure out what is wrong.

Dose O' Hobby 11/5/10 (War Altar Conversion)

Only two months till Coastal Assault and I am hitting crunch time to get my army done. With that in mind, I decided to do a time consuming and costly conversion, because painting 100+ models is not anywhere near enough work for. I've based it off of the Screaming Bell kit. Here is a work in progress, I have the thing in three parts so far:



I used a base of Krylon's plastic primer (Brown) on most of the thing, followed by washing the wood in Miniwax wood stain (Red Oak 215). The metal bits are the usual Dwarf Bronze, with the exception of the spiky metal halo around the bell, which is FolkArt Shining Gold. The Arches are based with Astronomicon Grey and the ropes are American Buttermilk. The Griffin is FolkArt Shinning Gold. I'm planning to finish up the first layer of paint on the whole thing, then do highlights an detailing after the tournament. I shaved off all the Skaven iconography by first cutting layers of plastic off, then filing the surface smooth. U cut off some of the spikes, but kept others, the reasons for doing so being A) I didn't want to waste three hours filing off all the spikes, and B) I think it makes sense that there are spikes , to prevent anyone climbing up on the thing (the damn thing has cut me like three times so far, those plastic spikes are really sharp.)

I've also done some modeling on the poor bloody infantry, making my Battle Standard Bearer from bits from the Flaggelant, Outrider, Greatswords, and Zombies kits. Having realized I am basically running a Witch Hunter themed Empire army, the BSB is a crazed preacher, holding up a pole with a strung up heretic (also, he has a gun):


I've green stuff some tatters of what was once a banner, and I plan to paint over it with the phase "Somit gen ketzer", which translates into "Thus unto heretics", apparently, as my German 2 skills have left me and I had to use a translator.

I've also worked on some more unit filler to try and get the most use out of the smallest amount of models. Here we see a Goblin and a Man wrestling in a tree.

This is going into my halberdiers unit.

As for the promised Battle Report, I don't have one. The first play test of my tournament army was against a dedicated Dwarf gunline, using the Battle for the Pass scenario. Suffice it to say I never got across the board.

Dark Eldar and State Troops

I've received the a modest shipment of DE kits to begin my army which I probably won't actually paint or game with for a while, as I am going into maximum overdrive to get my fantasy army done. Here, have a picture:

Taking stock, I have, in my possession, one Kabalite Warrior kit, one Wych Kit, one Raider, a three pack of Reavers, and the metal Archon Blister.

On to Fantasy, here is part one of my Empire troop choices, starting with State Troops:
SPEARMEN: The ubiquitous spearmen. If you want to get fluffy, than these guys are for you. Sadly, they really do not preform in game as well as in the fluff. First, lets look at their statline
M4 WS3 BS3 STR3 T3 W1 I3 A1 LD7
With a modest profile, like most State Troops, they need to be used in numbers to be effective. Their spears allow them to fight in one additional rank, but, with only WS3 S3 T3 I3, they will likely go last in a combat, and will have to be taken in excess of units of 40, for 3 reasons, A: They die in droves B: They will not hit or wound half of the time and C: To take advantage of their extra rank attacks, then you are more or less forced to field them in a horde, a very costly horde, that will have to be very large because, as said before, they die A LOT.

SWORDSMEN: "Dashing figures on the battlefield/Expert blade masters". They share the same stat line as all State Troops with the exception of their weapon skill, which is a 4. Along with their shields, giving them a +5 Armor Save and a +6 Parry save, they are the most durable state troops with the exception of Greatswords. WS4 means that they will hit slightly more often, and the +5 save gives us some insurance against STR4 attacks form Halberds.With STR3 they will still struggle against tougher models, but Swordsmen excel as a defensive block. 30 Swordsmen Five wide and Six deep will hold out a fair while, assuming you have a BSB/General/Priest nearby/in the unit. However, they are one point more expensive, which CAN add up if the unit is too big.

HALBERDIERS:
Arguably the best choice out of the three Core State Troops CC choices, Halberdiers give up the extra fighting potential of Spearrmen or the extra armor of Swordsmen for a +1 to Strenght. Is it worth it, I would say yes. While they do have the rather modest Weapon Skill of 3, a STR4 wound will remove the Armor save form lightly armored troops (Elves, Skaven, Gobos) and weaken the armor of heavy infantry (WoC, Dwarfs), and the STR4 hit will wound fragile models (again, Elves, Skaven, Gobos, and even other State Troops and Brettonians) while making it easier to wound tough fighters (again, Dwarfs, WoC, and Saurus, Orcs, etc). These guys work well in most any number. 15-25 man detachments to lend some punch to Swordsmen and Spearmen or in huge 40-50 man hordes and battlebuses to really hurt your opponent.

FREE COMPANY:
With the same staline of a Spearman/Halberdier and no armor, you may wonder as to why someone would take these guys. The reason? Two attacks. These guys, if they survive to hit back, can unleash a torrent of Str3 attacks. I see them as the poor man's flaggelants.These guys in a horde with a Warrior Priest get 40 hits with re-rolls, and will be cheaper than Swordsmen if fielded in a 30 man throw away horde (this really only fits into larger games however) Augmented with some magic (Flesh to Stone, Mind Razor, Speed of Light, etc) they will cut throw a lot of models.

HANDGUNNERS:
With a respectable BS3, and their hard hitting STR4 AP handguns, the Empire's finest riflemen can pack a punch against both light and heavy infantry. Move or fire combined with a 24" range means that positioning will be important, but if they get a good view of the field they can really hurt your opponent, as well as providing ranged punch to CC units as detachments, and giving the unit marksmen a Long Rifle can put the fear of Sigmar into your opponents Champions and Characters.

CROSSBOWMEN:
Giving up the hitting power of handguns for greater range, crossbowmen excel at massed supporting fire. Multiple units of ten spread throughout the table will be able to rain a hail of bolts on anything in sight.

ARCHERS:
Being Skirmishers, they can;t hold up in CC like Handgunners and Corssbowmen can, but being able to roam the battlefield raining arrows in massed volleys can prove to be useful, and Huntsmen allow for a very annoying, very effective hassling force.

SPECIAL:
GREATSWORDS:
Heavily armed and armored, with Stubborn and Ld8, massed Greatswords form an excellent anvil and when supported by other troops can be a deadly hammer. However, they have a rather poor weapon skill for a "elite" infantry at WS4, and their Great Weapons, while adding a devastating +2 Str, make them ASL, so they can be killed before they get to hit back. However, if supported by detachments of swordsmen or halberdiers, as well as handgunners or maybe archers, Greatswords can cut through the toughest foe.

Dose O' Hobby 11/20/10

With Coastal Assault approaching at breakneck speed I am struggling to get my army fully painted and based. I have set myself to attempt to finish a unit per week, so we shall see how that goes. Here is the first complete unit, a thirty man Swordsman Regiment, "The 8th Mark Wardens", changed from the "8th Mountaineers" who will be my Halberdiers regiment. I am trying to give each unit some character, so the 8th gets to use one of my many unit filler bases, as well as the Unit Champion being made from the Empire General kit.



Also, here is what my list for that tournament is probably going to look like:
LORDS:
Arch Lector, AoMI, War Altar, Hammer of Judgment, Van Horstrum's Speculum: 305
Wizard Lord, Lvl4,Armor of Taurnus , Dispell Scroll: 270

HEROES:
Warrior Priest, Heavy Armor, Shield: 96
Warrior Priest, Heavy Armor, Greatweapon, 98
Captain, BSB, full plate, shield, 85
CORE:
30 Swordsmen, Full Command, 205
Detachment: 15 Halberdiers, 75
Detachment, 6 Handgunners, 48

30 Halberdiers, Full Command, 170
Detachment: 15 Halberdiers, 75
Detachment, 6 Handgunners,48

30 Flaggalents, Prophet of Doom: 310

SPECIAL:
2x Cannons: 200
Mortar:75
30 Greatswords, full command, 330

Rare:
Helblaster, 110

My main concern is that all my lords and heroes are somewhat vulnerable, so I will probably be tweaking this list. I will be posting part-1 of my Empire troops analysis, and expect a battle report on Sunday, with an update on the Road to Korpslieb on Monday.

Rules for fielding Sigmar.

As I am currently in Pennsylvania, I can't update with any modeling or painting goodness, but I have been thinking up some rules for fielding Sigmar. Keep in mind, this guy was basically, at least according to fluff, a demi-god, so here goes:

Sigmar, the first and greatest Emperor, 725 Points
WS:8 BS:7 S:5 T:5 W:5 I:6 A:5 LD:10
Equipment (cannot be changed):
Skull Splitter: Gifted to Sigmar by Kurgan Ironbeard, this master-piece of Dwarf weapon-craft ignores all armor and ward saves, any unsaved wounds become D3 wounds.
Mastercrafted Gromil Armor: Forged by master dwaven armorers, this suit of shinning plate confers a re-rollable +3 save that ignores attack strength for calculating armor saves.
Pendant of Sky-Iron: A rough-cut gem sits in the center of this pendant, gathered from the landing site of a comet, it glows with a magical power which confers a +3 ward save and magic resistance(1)

Special Rules:
God Amongst Men, Daemon amongst all others: Sigmar stands a head taller than the tallest man, and his visage inspires courage in all who behold him, and fear in his enemies. Sigmar and any unit he joins are Immune to Psychology, and are also Stubborn. Sigmar causes Fear in any non-human enemy. with the exception of Dwarfs.

Slay Goblinoids whereever they are found: Sigmar and any unit he joins Hate all greenskins, as well as causing Terror in Greenskins

Pride of a Nation: Sigmar cannot ignore a challange

Glory of the Emperor: Any Empire unit within 18 inches of Sigmar may use his leadership for all leadership tests.

So what do ya'll think?

Empire unit filler, part two, now with %100 poorer lighting.

Here is the second bit of filler that I've done, instead of actually painting my army. the idea I had while making this was "If the Flaggelants will chain themselves to statues, how does the Empire treat prisoners?". in short, I took a 40k Ork Boy, cut him up, and chained him to a ruined plinth from the Arcane Ruins set, then placed two empire soldiers in front, one with a standard another with a horn, and one has a broken sword... anyways, the paint scheme is the same for all my empire, the usual Warlock purple and Sunburst yellow, same deal with the water as well, and the blood. I painted a trail of blood from the top of the plinth and it goes all the way to the murky water and mixes in. I think this piece really captures the inherent brutality of what Warhammer is, a wargame, where we make little plastic men kill each other with little plastic swords.

Empire unit filler, part one

I've found myself in need of Halberdiers, so I'm creating some unit filler for my 40 man Swordsmen horde. Here is the first piece, using a 40mm base, and pieces from the Flaggelant and Empire Chapel kits, and GaleForce 9 grass. I'm tempted to make this count as a musician and standard, as the enoous statue and screaming fanatic are pretty easy to spot, especially since the flaggelant isattached to the statue by a chain and is dragging it with him. I think I will name him William Phips (cookie for reference). Tell me what ya'll think please:




Here is how I went about painting it:
first, William Phip, who was painted looooooong ago, I think in June or August. Walmart quality Black, dark Blue, and white for his clothes. The mud is calthan brown with Ultramarine Blue and the blood is Scab Red layered (a bit heavily ) with Mechrite Red. The water is based in Calthan Brown, then Ultrmarine Blue, followed by Hawk Turquoise, and the white water effect is Hawk Turquoise mixed with simple white paint. As with the blood, after the paint dried, I applied a thin coat of Krazy Glue for a shiny-wet effect. The Statue is FolkArt Inca Gold, then Dwarf Bronze, with Hawk Turquoise highlights. If you focus, one of the statue's faces is crying tears of blood. Angsty I know, but i thought it looked cool.

First half of Empire Swordsmen-done

I have manged to finish re-painting and basing a solid twenty Swordsmen for coastal assault. The have been painted using a black basecoat followed by Warlock Purple for the purple areas, a white basecoat and then Sunburst Yellow for the yellow bits, various mixes of Tallarn Flesh and Dwarf Flesh for the skin, Hawk Turquoise for the feathers Stirling Silver for the iron.steel and Dwarf Bronze for any copper or bronze areas. The basing was done with wood glue, Galeforce Nine Static Grass (green) and Calthan Brown. Once I have finished painting the entire army, I will begin doing highlits and touch ups, but here they are in their base 3 colors of purple, yellow and silver, the first half of the Ostermark 8th Mountaineers:

Them Army vote off, modeling fun with skeletons, Battlefoam case review and new Death's Kingdom miniature

Howdy readers, I've got some interesting things to share today, first, I've narrowed down my choices on creating a themed army to two, namely, 2500 Points of Witch Hunter Empire or 2500 Points of Frankenstein-inspired Vampire Counts. Work would begin in roughly a month'd time, so which ever is more favored by you, the reader, will be chosen. just post a comment telling me which I should do or chastising me on poor section of armies, the later of which will be promptly ignored.

Secondly, I'm in the final haul to finish up all I will need for my table top exxxxxxxxxttttrrrrraaavaganza next week. All that is left to model and hopfully paint are roughly twelve Skeletons, here are six I have built today, using a mix of Zombie and Skeleton Warrior bits:


I wanted to give these guys a "rising from the grave look". Once I base them with some brownish "freshly turned" soil.

I wanted to make these skellies like like they where put together and revived with what was on hand, namely both bones and corpses, so they still have some fleshy bits on them. I'll likely have these guys finished, along with the rest of the skellies, in about two weeks, maybe a bit more.

I received my PACK 432 Battlefoam bag a few weeks ago, but I figured I should post some pictures and talk about how great it is. The bag holds about 7 and 1/2 inches of foam (in terms of thickness), along with several pockets that can hold various things (dice, rulers, templates, super glue, hammers), and the bag is re-enforced with hard plastic plates so I won't crumple. My only complaint is that the there is no way to secure your foam with the exception of filling up the entire bag, but that isn't really an issue with the bag in itself.
Here, have some pictures:





And last, and the most horrifiying, is this (NSFW) thing. It is a masterclass in "what not to ever sculpt", but I suppose that the more perverse of you Chaos army players may find use for it.

The Road to Korbsliebe, part 1

so there they where, fleeing from an enraged Ogre, on a dirt road in the dark and dreary Reikwald Forrest. Actually wait a minute, let me explain myself. Ahem.

This will be the first part of several updates for the FW Game Club's first WFRP (2nd Edition) campaign. Now then, lets list out the party:
Ozark Speedman, Dwarfen tomb robber and employer of...
That elf guy I can't remember the name of, Kithband Warrior, archer and loyal body guard to Ozark.
Rankar Crux, human zealot and combat expert
Delila, Brettonian tradeswoman
and, uh, a human rat catcher who failed to show.

The adventure begins with the four of the sitting round a table in a dingy dirty tavern, a hooded man siitting along with them, pointing at a map "My masters wish for you to deal with a corrupted priest of Morr who has been selling corpses to a Necromancer. You will find him in Korbsliebe, a three days journey from here, through the Riekwald, it is dangerous, so I suggest you find a caravan to travel with." He also mutters a few words in Breton to Delila,"Make sure they find this priest." With that, he slams a dagger into the table, marking the location of Korbsliebe on the map in the center. Rankar, using his inspiring oratory, attempts to rouse the bar patrons from their drunken stupors, but fails. Elf guy asks the barkeep, who directs them to the small town's "mast" which has any news anyone would need to know regarding The Town on it. The party ventures into the streets, and finds a man tied to a stake, with messages written on him in ink, the town mast. A particularly large area of his person is dedicated to telling persons of interest of a convoy of merchants has made camp in The Town, and will be hiring guards for their journey to Altdorf. Examining the map, Ozard points out that the road to Altdorf stops by Korbsliebe, so he and Elf Guy go to speak to the convoy's Coachman, as Rankar follows Delila as she wanders off in search of another way to find safe passage. The enter another bar, in which is a road warden, who is traveling to a coaching inn this very night, to make sure it is still in good condition.

Meanwhile, back at the convoy's camp, the Coachman attacks Elf Guy with a club, striking the elf on the arm in a dis-interested fashion, then attempting to strike Ozard, who blocks the blow. The Coachman is impressed by Ozard's skill, and hires both he and the elf as guards. At this time, Delila and Rankar have managed to find the convoy's camp, and inform Ozard and Elf Guy that the roadwarden would allow them to travel with him for a time, and points out that "If he dies, he has a gun, which you can take." Deciding the roadwarden is a better bet than the convoy, the party waits by The Town's gates, until the roadwarden is seen riding his sickly looking steed, and they enter the Forrest along a dirt road.

After a few hours travel, it is becoming dark, and both Ozard and Elf Guy's keen night vision allow them to see shapes following them in the woods, however, the warden insists that they mean nothing, that is, until a full grown Ogre bull and a small pack of Gnoblar greenskins burst through the foliage and attack. With his massive club, the Ogre crushes the Roadwarden and his mount into a pulpy mass of meat, blood, bone and broken armor, as the Gnoblar's cry their squeaky battle chants, and attack. Rankar uses his religious fury to attack the Ogre singlehandedly, slaying it in one turn off combat with his flail, or so he thinks, as the creature has just been knocked out. The Gnoblars encircle Ozard and Elf Guy who takes the brunt of the hits. He attempts to strike with his quarter-stave, and injures a club wielding Gnoblar, but his martial skill is not enough to prevent him from being knocked on the head by a flail wielding greenskin, which leads to his head splitting open, and he promptly passes out. Ozard fights back, defending himself and even wounding the three green beast while blocking their blows with his shield. Delila examines the ogre's "corpse", finding, among other things, very large pants, a very large club, a very large iron glove, and a partially eaten rooster, an apparent snack. Rankar charges into a Gnoblar and attacks, as Elf Guy, passing a Toughness test, rises and runs a few yards back, and readies his bow. The Ogre rises, which garners Rankar's attention, and he rushes screaming at the now very angry brute. Ozard slays a Gnoblar with his Sword-breaker as Delila cuts off another leg in a fluid sweep of her dagger, it dies from blood loss seconds later. Elf Guy rains arrows on the remaining Gnoblar, killing it, and the Ogre, which absorbs the arrows with his large gut. Ozard flees to Elf Guy's side, leaving Delila and Rankar to fight the towering Ogre. Rankar wisely flees, and so does Delila.

Which brings us to where we are now. The party is presently running through the Riekwald, at night, in the hopes of escaping from the very hungry, very angry Ogre. At least no one died or was crippled, and only one party member counts as "Heavily Wounded", so as a whole, they preformed better than expected.

Six Knights done, new recipe for blood, magic part 2

I've been busy busy busy working on many projects. Updates are:

=> I've finished 6 Brettonian Knights
=> the FW Game Club's WFRP party is finalized
=> Battlefoam
=> It looks like I won't be able to paint all of my 1000 point of Bretts for my trip back home, sorry guys.

Right, picture time, first off, here is half of my unit of 12 Knights of the Realm:

I used, for the base colors of the various heraldries, Krylon Plastic Paints, satin finish, to speed up the process, because I despise painting yellows. The blue areas are based in black, the greens, reds, etc, are based in white. The red is achieved through Scab Red followed by Mechrite Red,the yellow is either the Krylon brand or layers of Sunburst Yellow, the Blue is ULTRAMAHREENS BLU and any green is Krylon brand green plastic spray paint. Any bronze is Dwarf Bronze, any silver is the Sterling Silver (again, from FolkArt). The blood is a slightly altered recipe, replacing Blood Red with Mechrite Red, which I actually don't like, as it looks to dull for my tastes. I'm going to work on some basing and highlights tomorrow for them, for your viewing pleasure. Oh, and here is some modeling work I've done to make a mounted Warrior Priest:

The horse is part of the Empire Generals kit, and the torso, arms, hammer and head are made from the old metal Knights the White Wolf metal kit.

I've recently come into some battlefoam and a battlefoam bag. It is great, but I am pressed for time, so I'll fill ya'll in at a later date.

The Game Club's WFRP party is comprised of:
a human Zealot
a human Rat Catcher
a human Trademan, who can't speak the same language as the rest of the party
a dwarf Tomb Robber
A elf Kithband Warrior
Interesting group overall, no spellcaster though, but that is all right. I have found a great set of critical hits charts here. And that about covers all I've been up to recently.

Where the magic happens

I figured I should show my workspace, so here it is:

All those sprue are a mix of Brettonian, Vampire Counts, Empire and Imperial Guard kits.

"The Hive", Guard vs. Tyranid scenario

Inspired by a conversation between myself and Mike(see the link to his site over in the links box, down yonder ==>),which basically established that all our 40k games are like Starship Troopers in table top format. Which leads me to this:
"The Hive", a Tyranid vs. Guard scenario. These are the first test rules I'm going to set up, and they will be modified based on how they play out in test games.

SCENARIO:

Army Compostition:
The Tyranid player fields a 3000 point army, however, they may only field one HQ, and any models with the "Infiltrate" "Scouts" and "Stealth" special rules will be considered to not have them, and units may not deep strike or be held in reserve.

The Guard player fields a 2000 point army. Additionally, one unit of Conscripts may be taken independently of that 2000 point force, using rule "FOR THE HOMELAND" (see under "Scenario special rules, further down.)

Fluff:A tyranid Hive-Ship has been shot down over the skies of your homeworld. The Imperial Navy refuses to waist ammunition on destroying it for good, and the nearest Ordo Xenos Deathwatch marines are engaged in boarding actions in the space battle in the heaven above your world. It is up you and your fellow PDF troopers to finish off any Xenos that remain.
Game length is covered in the Special deployment and rules section
Deployment and terrain:
The scenario is played om the Standard 6x4 table. The tyranid player deploys in a 4x3 area on the short table edge. All terrain inside the Tyranid difficult terrain. All non-Tyranid infantry in this deployment must also take Dangerous Terrain test, to represent the jagged rock, molten stone and pools of acidic ichor left by the Bio-ship (Note: Monstrous Creatures and Walkers MUST take Dangerous Terrain test in this area. One slip one a boulder or a fall into an acid pit will harm even them. Tanks treat it as Difficult Terrain, their massive bulk and grinding treads crush over any small hazards like rocks, bone and the stray Ripper Swarm. Flyers and Skimmers treat it as open terrain, but Skimmers cannot end their movement phase inside the Tyranid deployment, as no pilot will risk leaving their ship on the ground in that area. The Guard player deploys anywhere else on the board. However, the Guardsmen deploy first, to represent their entrenchment around the crater, as well as receiving the first turn.

Scenario special deployment and rules:
"THE HORROR OUT OF SPACE": The Tyranid player does not deploy his whole army at first. Instead, he follows the following deployment chart (note, the Tyranid player MUST have two units of troops deployed by turn one:
Turn 1|He may deploy up to two(2) units of Troops and any number of Fast Attack units
Turn 2|He may deploy up to 2 more units of Troops, any number of Fast Attack and up to 2(two) units of Elites
Turn 3| He may deploy up to 2 more units of Troops, any number of Fast Attack, up to 2(two) units of Elites and one unit of Heavy Support
Turn 4| He may deploy up to 2 more units of Troops, any number of Fast Attack, up to 2(two) units of Elites up to 2(two) units of Heavy Support, as well as his HQ choice
"THE LEVIATHAN IS DYING": At the end of turn 4, roll a D6. on a 4+, the living ship lets out a massive death cry as its final massive organs die. All non-Tyranid infantry models take a Str2 hit, with no save allowed (that helmet won't stop your eardrums from bursting or your teeth shattering from the noise)
"FOR THE HOMELAND": Starting from turn 2, the Guard player may deploy his unit of Conscripts. They are treated in the same manner as units coming in form Reserve. At the end of each following turn, that Unit can be destroyed in its entirety to be re-deployed from the chosen table edge the following turn, during the beginning of the Guard's movement phase.
"THIS IS OUR LAND" All Guard units count as Stubborn and Relentless. However, a unit loses these rules if they break from an assault, or are reduced to 25% of the unit size at the beginning of that turn.
"ORBITAL BOMBARDMENT INCOMING"/"THE ENDLESS HUNGER": At the end of Turn 5, roll a D6. On a 5+ the game ends. At the end of Turn 6, roll a D6. On a 3+ the game ends. The game ends at the end of Turn 7 at the latest. If the Guardsmen met the victory conditions (See below) then it is considered that the hordes of vile Xenos have been delayed till a bombardment from a Imperial Navy ship bombs the Bio-ship and its deadly inhabitants to oblivion. If the Tyranid player meets the victory conditions, then it is considered that the Tyranids devour all the men before them, and spread throughout the countryside, claiming a foothold on the verdant, tasty world.

Victory Conditions:
HOLD THE LINE (Guard victory conditions):
Self explanatory, the Guardsmen must survive until the game ends. Even if a single Guard unit survives,it is considered a win. Fleeing and off table units do not contribute and are considered destroyed for all intents and purposes. If all of the Tyranid army are destroyed then the Guardsmen have won a crushing victory, and instantly win, no matter the turn.
THE DOOM OF THIS WORLD (Tyranid Victory Condition)
The Tyranids must annihilate every single unit in the Guard army in table to gain a victory (they are gonna need a lot of bio-mass to spearhead a planetary invasion.)

Comments, suggestions, criticisms are welcome and encouraged.

Get me more readers Competition

Right. I wish to expand the number of readers my blog receives, so I present this challenge:
LOYAL READERS! SPREAD THE WORD!
Pass links, tell you forum friends, tell those at your LGS!
The person who can be attributed to getting me more followers will receive one plastic GW kit of your choice worth up to $40.
However, if you are the only participant, then there will be no reward, as there wasn't really a competition.

Due date is two weeks from now, good luck.

First Knight

I needed to add some Knights to my Empire army, so I ordered some Brettonian Knights instead. I love the models, but good Lord are they annoying to paint. This is partially my fault. I made the mistake of painting yellow without a light base coat. I painted the first Knight in the heraldic colors of my family ancestors in Spain, namely blue and yellow. Here is Cayetan D'Castile.


All this is based in wonderful plastic grey. Half way through I decided to base the rest of the yellow in a cream colored paint form "Americana" under the name Buttermilk. The blue is just multiple layers of Ultramarine Blue. The finished yellow is Sunburst Yellow. The horse's fur and skin is Astronomicon Grey, all the brown parts are Calthan Brown. The silver of the armor is FolkArt Silver Sterling. The bronze part are Dwarf Bronze.