Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Dose O' Hobby 10/29/10

This is a new feature I'm debating weather or not to add. Basically a tri-weekly update with what I'm working on. Lets see how everyone likes it.

Here;s a picture of what I worked on today. Finally managed to get to work on the Cadian battleforce, and painted some more BT's, as well the High Elf mage.


I wanted to make each squad of the Heavy Weapons team look different, so I added minor details on each. I also figured that a dedicated heavy weapons team would likely have some sort of sergeant, so I added the power sword/augmetic arm to the lead team, as well as a muzzle extension to their autocannon, though I left the autocannon un-glued , so that I can swap them out for Lascannons in case I face any MEQ armies.


The Black Templars, as always, are very easy to paint, to the point where I didnt use highlights. A base coat of black, sevral thin layers of white, some scab red, and BOOM they are done. Now the mage was ,uch more difficult. It has an infuriatingly high level of detail. However, I must say I enjoyed the cape. More on that in a bit. I really wanted to keep a cool color motif, so I stuck to blues, silvers, the like. Even the cloth isn't white, i mixed a small amount of ultramarine blue into my white paint, so it is a very subtle shade of powder blue in the right light. I made the helmet gold to blend with the warm tan-yellow of his skin, and to attempt to draw the eye there.

And here is the cape:

I really enjoyed painting the cape. I started with an airbrushed layer of white paint, followed by a heavy drybrush of ultramirne blue. When that dried, I applied a lighter layer of Folkartbrand cobalt, leaving the darker ultramarine in the recesses. With that done, I used a metallic cobalt highlight along the crests of the cape's folds, and I really like hot it turned out. I'll likely be adding gold designs along the edges for some contrast.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Imperial Guard vs. Space Wolves, 1250 pts.

My first game against the famously cheesy 5th Ed Space Wolves. And I only really see one reason they would be called cheesy. One BIG reason. Blood Claws. Lots of Blood Claws. Absolutely ferocious. Just aim them at something and that thing dies. Anyway, the scenario was territory control, and we decided on four points of scenery to act as the control points, one on each corner of the board, two hills and two forests. The board was rather lopsided in terms of other terrain. What appears to be the wreckage of an Aquila fighter scattered around a good half of the board, a road down the center and
the rest of the board basically open ground. This actually helped my mechanized company rather than hinder it, as the assault based Space Wolves had to consistently roll difficult terrain tests, while I was able to maintain fire bases rather hindered for two solid turns. However, Guardsmen are no match for the Wolves of Fenris, and fell apart rather quickly.

There was one special rule, in that the first round was fought under night fighting rules, and any units not placed in reserve at the start of the game that weren't on the board entered play immediately on turn two.

My turn one deployment was compromised of setting up my platoon as a gunline, having a view of most of the battlefield, placing my LRBT on the road, and the Demolisher "Warpcrusher" on the left, with my HQ Squad and its Chimera right next to the far right hill. The Demo-squad was placed on reserve with their Chimera, while the two reamining Chimeras "Sunthrower" (with the plasma squad) and "Demonbane" (which holds the grenade launcher squad) would be introduced in the next turn.

My opponent Deployed a Rhino full of what I believe are Long Fangs, along with a Wulfen and a Ragnar Blackmane. On the road he placed a Land Raider Crusader full of FIFTEEN Blood Claws. A squad of Assault Marines entered play on turn two.

Turn One (Wolves)
The Long Fang/Wulfen/Ragnar combo rumbles forward through the ruins of the Aquila fighter. The Blood Claws laden Land Raider rumble forward onward, ready to disgorge its ultra-killy cargo. And thats it. Rather uneventful honestly.

Turn One(Guard)
the HQ Chimera "Resister" moves toward the far right hill, and my HQ command squads runs up and, I imagine, plant some sort of flag. First point to B Company! The Autocannons of Yellow and White Squad open fire, immobilizing the Rhino and destroying the pintle mounted storm bolter. My LRBT attempted to shoot the Land Raider, but thanks to the Night Fighting rule, I missed.

Turn 2 (Wolves)
The Space Wolves Assault Marines appear on the edge of the table, and the Land Raider readies to launch an assault on the LRBT. The Long Fangs hop out of the Rhino. Well, actually only Ragnar hops out, but you get the idea.

Turn 2(Guard)Guard
Sunthrower and Demonbane take the field and rush forward at full speed towards the opposite end of the table. First Platoon (the only one built at the time) moves to the left to get a better field of fire on the Long Fangs.I roll for reserves, but it fails. Volleys of Lasfire bounce of Long Fang armor.
The situation at the end of turn 2:

Turn 3(Wolves)
This is when it gets serious. All the Long Fangs Disgorge, and assault the Resister, while the assault marines fly forward and attack the Sunthrower. The Space Marines of the Land Raider Crusader, after it drives forward, hurl themselves at my LRBT, and begin hacking away, wrecking it.
Turn 3 (Guard)
With assaults on three fronts, the men of B Company responded as any good Guardsmen would: with massed volleys of fire. The Demo-squad rolls in on the far left, taking the forest. My vehicles are out of assault for the turn, at least the ones who are still intact. My Platoon Commander orders Yellow team with "First rank, FIRE...'and they take out 2 assault marines, while the combined fire of the HQ and White sqaud kills two Long Fangs.

"Warpcrusher" opens fire on the Land Raider Crysader, and I experience for the first time how annoying A14 is. Even with mt Strength ten demolsiher cannon, and both multi meltas, I did not even scratch the thing. Look at how intently Spiderman is watching this game. He is even pointing at those absurd dice rolls in sheer amazement.

Turn 4 (Wolves)
The Blood Claws assault Warpcrusher, destroying its demolisher cannon. The Reaming Long Fangs destroy Resister, and consolidate towards my HQ Squad, while the Assualt Marines continue banging on Sunthrower, trapping the Plasma Squad in, which means they die.
Turn 4 (Guards)
My HQ Squad moves to attack the Long Fangs in a feat of suicidal bravery. They are slaughtered. The Demo-Squad Chimera moves into the open to distract the LRC, while the Grenadiers in Demonbane disembark and try to kill more Assault Marines. The Assault Marines are down to half strength. Warpcrusher attempts to destroy the LRC, but once again the A14 proves too strong.

Turn 5 (Wolves)
The LRC opens fire on the Demo-Chimera, and the melta squad disembarks.The Blood Claws run towards the distant hill, while Ragnar's Butchers move into an assault, wiping out White squad, while managing to stay on the terrain piece.

Turn 5 (Guard)
The Demolisher attempts to destroy the LRC, but only manages to take out its Melta gun. Ragnar comes under fire form Yellow and Platoon Command Squads, but he endures.
With no more movements to make, i roll the dice as according with the scenario rules, available on the Adapticon website. The game ends on turn five, with the both Wolves and Guardsmen at more or less half strength, each holding an objective.

The end score, is 15(me) to (30) because the darn wolves ha d managed to kill 3 of my vehicles and wipe out 3 whole squads. Ends in a draw. I felt that, had the game gone on, the results would have been the same, as we essentially fought each other to a standstill. Overall a rather enjoyable game. Thanks for reading, last BattRep for Sunday's tourney out tomorrow.

Monday, September 27, 2010

330th Armageddon Steel Legion, Armored Elements.


Here are the painted and modeled tanks of the 330th Armageddon Steel Legion, 3rd Battalion, B company, or "the Dreamcrushers". Why? Because they have not had a single victory. Ever. In case anyone wants to know, I used the blue-tac method to paint. Basically, for those not in the know, its when you spray a base coat of color x (In this case Krylon brand spray paint, Ivory, with a satin finish), then cover the parts you want to be that color with blue-tac or putty or clay, and apply another coat of paint y (this time Krylon brand metal paint, Pewter.) Rinse and repeat till you have the camo scheme you desire, then add squad markings, kill counts, decals, etc. I used thinned "Craftsman" brand white paint for the company and squad markings, as well as Blood Red, because I like how vivid it comes out, especially if given a gloss finish.
Adding simple black paint on the treads, and mixing black with an aged brass paint to give the impression of scorched metal (A 2:1 mix, black and brass respectively, brass was watered down). I used Graveyard Earth for the mud on the treads, hulls, etc, and am going to add sand and small pebbles to the bottom, like my actual Guardsmen, who I'll post when most are done. On another note, I just came into possession of the Deathwatch 40k RPG core rulebook, and I'll have a run through of that up by next week. The names of the tanks are, in the left column of the picture bellow are, with the exception of the LRBT, Sunthrower and Demonbane. The Right Column holds the LRD "Warpcrusher", and the Chimeras Resister and Hill Taker. Thanks for reading.

Imperial Guard vs. Orks, 1250 points

First Game of Sunday's tourney. My list is featured a few posts back, my opponent's is as follows:
Warboss with power klaw
Painboy and nine ork nobs
One trukk.
16 Boyz
4 Deffkoptas (with big bombs)
1 bike with scorcha
(I want to say 10 'ard boyz as well, but to be honest, I didnt write it down, and they didnt do a thing the entire game.)

Deployments:



Turn 1(Orks)
First turn, the ork bike rushes forward thirteen inches, thanks to red paint job, while both boyz mobs move forward, the trukk, filled with nobby warbossy goodness rushed forward as well. The 4 deffcoptas fly toward my Chimera right hook, launching several missiles, three hit, but fail to penetrate or even glance. During the shooting phase, all the orks choose to run, reaching the middle of the table.
The bike with scorcha opens fire, slaying a good half of White Squad (because they're uniform is light tan, as opposed to my other squad in the platoon, whose armor is yellow-brown)

Turn 1(Guard)
My HQ Chimera, Plasma Squad Chimera and Grenadiers Chimera move 6 inches forward. All sqauds disembark (I was hoping to get LoS on the boyz mobz, to no avail, this proves to be a really bad move) My Demo Team Chimera, way on the far right of the table moves 12 inches forward. The "Right Hook" Chimeras open fire on the Deffkoptas, causing two wounds, which kills one in a spectacular explosion. My Leman Russ Battle Tank slays 3 hard Boyz while the Autocannon of White Squad kills 2 Nobs. My Leman Russ Demolisher "Warpcrusher" (You'll find out how it got that name in 2 posts) moves a full 12 inches forward.
This is how the game is looking at the bottom of turn one:


Turn 2(Orks)
Both Ork Boyz mobs rush toward my gunline, while the trukk bearing the Warboss and the remaining Nobs, plus Painboy, hop out. The Deffkoptas move forward and drop a Bug Bomb, wiping out my Company Command Squad.
Turn 2(Guard)
All Vet. Squads run back into their Chimeras, and drive into the Boyz mob with a TANK SHOCK! Thanks to their mob Leadership, they all actually move closer to my gun line.
The Leman Russ Battle Tank only manages to kill 1 Nob, thanks to the infernal Painboy. Yellow Squad makes good use of Autocannons, which slays 3 Boys. Laser Fire from the Plasma Chimera leads to the Scorcha on the bike being destroyed.
Here is the situation at the bottom of turn 2:


Turn 3(Orks)
This is the beginning of the end for my Guardsmen. The mobz assault on all fronts. My gunline is overrun with orks, my Leman Russ is racked with powerful blows from the Warboss's Power Klaw, and is wrecked. Both White and Yellow squads are killed, leaving my Platoon Commander alone with his four man retinue. Surrounded. By over 20 Orks. The Deffkoptas shoot at my Warpcrusher, causing a spectacular explosion which just leaves a rather large crater in the ground.
Turn 3(Guard)
Things are looking extra grim. However, all is not lost. All the Vet Squads disembark. Launching massive salvos of plasma, frag grenades, las-fire, and off course several microwave blasts from the Demo Squad. The Ork Trukk careens into a building and explodes, while all the Deathkopptas are shot down. The Nobz mob is thinned only slightly.
This is the sitiuation at the end of turn 3:


Now. I'm going to rap this up in a few words and pictures. As you can see,the guardsmen where all going to die. So, using my Chimeras, I loaded up every single squad left. And legged it. I'll let these photos speak for themselves:
Turn 4

Turn 5


The game ends with the Ork mobs chasing three Chimeras across the battlefield. However, as we where playing Annihilation, our final victory point scores where 8 for me and 32 for him. Yeah. So far all I had experienced was a crushing defeat. It gets better, don't worry.

Thanks for reading,the next Battle Rep.will be up on Tuesday, I hope.














Sunday, September 26, 2010

Mechapalooza: Where are they now?

In short, dead. Yes, loyal readers, the tournament is over, and the 330th Armageddon Steel Legion, 3rd Battalion, B Company has... tied. Indeed, my reliance on Chimeras has proved to be a double sided chain sword, and not being a Khorn berserker, I don't like double sided chain swords. The 3 Chimera bound squads proved much more maneuverable than any of my opponents, from orks (orkzez?) to Space Puppies I mean Wolves to Demons. However, the point cost, at least in my opinion is too steep. As such, I am, shocking I know, moving one of my Chimeras and Vet. Squads (with Grenade Launchers) and replacing them with another platoon and a heavy weapons squad. More detailed accounts will be made available the next three days, in the following order: Guard vs. Orks, Guard vs. Space Wolves, and Guard vs. Demons. On a side note, my record is Lose, Draw, Draw for this tourney. Well, at least I didn't place last. Yay!

Friday, September 24, 2010

വാര്‍ഹംമര്‍ ഫാന്റസി രോലെപ്ലായ്

For some reason I can't decipher, blogger has decided to have my updates labeled in Malayan. I'll try to fix that. In any case, I stopped by TBS today, and picked up two things, one: The new White Dorf. Great battlereport on the The Island Of Blood in there, if you bough the set, this is a great place to get some ideas for an interesting game, and two: The sourcebook for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, of which my campiagn will begin in, hopefully, about a month. Dates, times, etc will be posted later.

With the return of GoG.com, now is a great time to get any of those old games they dont sell aanymore, check out the link below:
http://www.gog.com/en/frontpage/

Tourney on SUnday, so tommorow will be spent in a painting frenzy.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Mechapalooza tournament army list


Here is the full, final list for this Sunday's tourney.

HQ:
Company Command Squad, 2 meltas 2 plasma guns, chimera with heavy bolter and hull flamer,Officer has power sword and bolt pistol; 167 points

Troops (spamspamspamspamspam)
1 Vet. Squad, carapace Armour, 3x Plasma Guns, Chimera with multi laser, h. flamer; 200 points

1 vet Squad, demolition charges and melta bombs, shotguns, 3x melta guns, chimera with multi-laser, h flamer and dozer blades; 195 points

1 Vet Squad, 3x Grenade Launchers, chimera with multi laser and h flamer; 140 points

1 Infantry Platoon, which includes
Command Squad(Junior Officer, 4x veterans with las guns)
Infantry Squad with grenade launcher, auto cannon team
Infantry Squad with grenade launcher and auto cannon team; 160 points in all

Heavy Support:
Leman Russ Main Battle Tank, with lascannon, 165 points
Leman Russ Demolisher Tank, with multi melta sponsoons, dozer blade, lascannon, 220 points

Which gives me a grand total of 1247 points, 3 under par, sweet!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Island Of Blood, High Elves vs. Skaven

I felt it appropriate to have the first battle teport also be the first game at the South Walton Game Club, as well as using the new starter set for the new edition. Wow, quadruple whammy. Anyways, here it is:

We played using a 2 by 3 foot surface, as we where only using the Island o' Blood minis. I'm High Elves, my buddy Will is Skaven.

>

Sorry for the poor quality of the deployment pic, but I forgot to take pictures, so I improving with paint. We settled on playing the Blood and Glory mission, with a pre determined fortitude of 3.

The High elf mage has Lore of Beast, with the signature spell (Wyssan's Wildform), the Skaven Warlock( marked W)has Warp Lighting.

Turn One (Elves)
I move the Dawn Riders forward a full Nine Inches, and open fire on the Clanrat unit with the Hand weapons, 3 are killed. Callidus (the Mage) moves forward and into range of the Arcane ruins, gaining a bonus to channeling. Magic phase is uneventful, I got a total of 12 power dice, and attempted to cast Wildform on the Dawn Riders, but the Warlock Engineer Ratchitt dispelled it. No close combat this turn.

Turn 1 (Skaven) The rat ogres move 6 inches, between the table edge and Arcane Ruins, as Ratchitt skitters toward the ruins as well. Channeling bonuses for all. The Spear Rats attempt to charge, but only roll a measly 3 total, and move forward 2 inches. The second clanrat unit is more lucky, and charge into the Dawn Riders, who declare a stand and shoot reaction (this will lead to them being wiped out to a man) and kill 3 rats again. Having Always strike first, the Riders attack, but only kill 3 rats, while the rats slay 1 dawn rider, thanks to the rats musician, they gain a +1 to their combat resolution, which leads to a draw, the battle rages on. Ratchit casts warp lightning on the Prince's griffon, wounding it, and shoots it, wounding it again. ( I'm aware this is out of order, we resolved the charge combat first)



Turn 2 (Elves)

The Swordmasters move near the ruins, to attempt to engage the rat ogres later, Callidus casts Wildform on the Dawn Riders, and it succeeds. The Sea Guard open fire with their bows on Ratchitt, causing 1 wound. The Dawn Reavers strike at the Skaven, only slaying 3. The clanrats retaliate, slaying 2 Dawn Riders. The battle continues.

Turn 2 (Skaven)
Ratchitt opens fire with his pistol, wounding the Griffin once more. The Clanrats with spears slay the Dawn Riders, and surge forward. Aside form the utter destruction of the Dawn Riders, nothing else happens.

Turn 3 (Elves)
The Prince Charges the Spear Rats, who attempt to slay the griffin with their Flame Thrower, to no avail, and are Panicked, fleeing, which causes the Hand Weapons Rats to flee away to the table edge, The Prince gives choice and slams into the rear of the Spear Rats (hurr hurr hurr) Callidus miscasts on Wildform, boosting the Prince's Str and Toughness by one, but suffers magical feedback and is slain.

Turn 3 (Skaven)
The Hand Weapon Rats flee off table. Ratchitt attemps to cast Warp Lightning, rolls a miscast, and as his Warp Lightning bounces of the The Prince (5+ ward save), while he (Ratchitt) suffers a Dimensional Cascade, hurling himself into the Realm Of Chaos, as the nearby rat ogres take 1 wound, while Verminkin takes a wound. Warlord Verminkin had charged the Prince that Movement phase form the side, but lands only one hit on Him, while the Spear rats are torn to near shreds and flee (I realize that the Skaven should have lost, as a fleeing SB always dies, but this slipped my mind then.) They flee, almost leaving the table.

Turn 4 (Elves)
This is focused solely on the Prince and The Warlords epic battle. The Prince assaults Verminkin with a flurry of blows, but Verminkin blocks them all, while the Prince block all of Verminkins desperate blows. Verminkin is slain by the Prince's Griffin, who tears him apart with beak and talon.

VICTORY FOR THE ELVES!

Melta madness.

In preparation for the upcoming 40k tourney,I am converting 3 Steel Legion missile launcher dudes to carry melta guns. BEHOLD: