Scott's Gaming & other ... stuff

More War Rockets

2012-02-13T23:10:00.004-07:00

Tonight I finished the Galacteer Class 2 and 3 War Rockets. Again these are from Hydra Miniatures. First up is a trio of Class 2's.

And here is a pair of Class 3's:

The only ship I have left is the Galacteer Class 4 and it should be done in the next few days.

After that, I'm not sure what to do next. I am planning on working on some 15mm sci-fi terrain but I think I'm also going to start my 28mm Impetus Samurai army. First thing I have to do is start on a paint scheme. And for the sashimono I think I'm going to order some transfers from

Veni Vidi Vici. If anyone's interested, check out this site for the flags/standards/uniforms of the samurai armies. http://forums.samurai-archives.com/viewtopic.php?t=1638 . I'm probably going to base my schemes off of this site.

First of the Galacteer War Rockets

2012-02-09T23:04:00.002-07:00

Tonight I finished the Galacteer Class 1 War Rockets. Theses are from Hydra Miniatures.

The Imperial War Rockets are the classic pulp sci-fi rocket ships whereas the Galacteer ones tend to resemble some sort of space plane.

Next up are the Galacteer Class 2 and 3 War Rockets.

Last of the Imperial War Rockets

2012-02-04T13:08:00.003-07:00

Last night I finished the last of my Imperial War Rocket fleet, the Class 4.

I've really enjoyed painting these figs. Next up is the Galacteer Class 1 War Rockets.

War Rocket Pt 2

2012-02-01T23:25:00.003-07:00

Tonight I finished off a the Imperial Class 2 and Class 3 War Rockets. Here are the Class 2 rockets:

And here's the Class 3 rockets:

Next up is the lone Imperial Class 4 War Rocket and then on to the Galacteer War Rockets.

War Rocket & CCN

2012-01-29T11:53:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I finished the first batch of my War Rocket Imperial faction. These are Class 1 War Rockets and are made by Hydra Miniatures.

Also last night I had Chris over and we played half a dozen games of the new Commands and Colors Napoleonics expansion: the Spanish Army:

It was not a good night for the French as they only won 2 of the 6 games. The Spanish are like the Portuguese (which are crappy), except they're worse. Everything retreats at least 2 hexes instead of 1 and they're units are awful when it comes to moving and fighting. The only upside to them is they have a mechanic called Guerilla Action. It allows them to completely cancel a card played by the French and end their turn. Pretty powerful but the only way to gain them is to play Scout cards. The components of the game are the usual high quality GMT components.

Next on my paint table are the Imperial Class 2 and 3 War Rockets.

Ticket to Ride - Nordic Countries

2012-01-22T10:52:00.002-07:00

Last night I got in a game of Ticket to Ride - Nordic Countries. This version differs from most of the other games in that it is only meant for 2-3 players. It's a simple, reasonably fast and definitely light game.

DBA Ancient Spanish Part 2

2012-01-21T15:38:00.003-07:00

Today I finished the second half of the Ancient Spanish DBA army I was painting. This is seven bases of warband (I believe, as I'm not a DBA player). These minis are Coruvs Belli.

For this half I used the Army Painter Strong Tone for quick shading. They turned out quite nicely. I've normally use GW's Ogryn Flesh, Gryphon Sepia and Devlan Mud for my shading. Unfortunately at $4.50 for a mere 12ml it's no longer cost effective.

Up next is my first batch of War Rocket figs.

Descent: Sea of Blood

2012-01-15T16:06:00.002-07:00

Last night my group of friends and I started the Descent Sea of Blood campaign, with me as the Overlord. The players only got through (or almost through) 1 dungeon, but lost due to scenario time restrictions. It was a bit of a bumpy ride as some rules got forgotten or mistaken but hopefully next time it will be smooth sailing.

DBA Ancient Spanish Part 1

2012-01-12T23:47:00.005-07:00

Tonight I finished the first half of the DBA army I had said I would paint up for MayDay. These figs are 15mm Corvus Belli and are pretty good little minis. First is a couple bases of cavalry. One on the left is light horse and the cavalry general base is on the right.Next is 3 units of psiloi with spear:
And finally 1 base of psiloi with slings:

I think I've fixed my lighting problem but my pics still kind of suck. I need to play with my camera a bit more I think.

Next up is the remainder of the army, 6 bases of warband, and then on to the War Rocket ships.

Hold the Line

2012-01-04T23:48:00.004-07:00

Tonight I went over to Mark's for a few games of Hold the Line with the French & Indian War expansion by Worthington Games. We got in 2 games of Battle of Snowshoes March 17, 1758 and 1 game of the Battle of Montmorecy Falls July 31, 1759. The picture below is of Montmorecy Falls with the British on the bottom and right of the map.

The battle was pretty much a beatdown on the British. Having to attack French forces that are either dug in or up on the hills was pretty nasty.

The game is pretty quick. It looks similar to CCN but is not a card driven game. Each player has a set number of action points plus a random number of action points in which they can order their units to move and/or battle. Overall a pretty fun game to play.

Elder Sign

2012-01-03T21:50:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I hauled out Elder Sign and gave it a whirl. Luckily it can be played by 1 person. It's a pretty fast game, compared to it's big brother: Arkham Horror. Fun, little game.

2011 Review & Plans for 2012

2012-01-01T20:39:00.002-07:00

Here is post 2. So 2011 is kaput. Looking back on the goals I had set back in January I partially completed what I wanted.

1. Finish my Warhammer Daemon army - I completed all my Daemon units that I was planning on doing and in addition I painted up a bunch more minis for my Tomb King army.

2. Finish my Impetus Ancient bases - I kind of failed here. I got a handful of bases done for my MayDay game but I still have probably have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 10-12 bases to go.

3. 15mm Sci-Fi - I completed 2 full forces. This was probably my biggest painting accomplishment for the year.

4. Misc. small projects - I didn't get much done here except for a number of Full Thrust units.

5. More boardgaming - I got a pile of boardgames played this year.

Boardgaming:

Overall I played 23 different games with a total of 94 matches played. My top 5 played games were:

#1: Commands & Colors Napoleonics- 30 games played

#2: Dominion- 10 games played

#3: Descent- 7 games played

#4: Arkham Horror- 6 games played

#5: Hammer of the Scots- 5 games

Breaking down the games by manufacturer:

#1: Fantasy Flight Games- 7 different games

#2: Rio Grande Games- 6 different games

#3: GMT- 3 different games

#4: Z-Man Games & Columbia Games- 2 different games

#5: Wizards of the Coast, Simmons Games & Worthington Games- 1 game each

Both FFG and Rio Grande have such a large stable of good quality games that it's hard to not focus too much on them. This year I plan to play just as many board games. I need to bring out a few games to the club's game night. I have a few games I'm really wanting to play: more Twilight Struggle, Dominant Species, Tide of Iron, Tannhauser, Elder Sign and definitely more Arkham Horror and Descent. My friends and I are going to be starting the Descent: Sea of Blood campaign hopefully in the next few weeks.

Miniature Gaming:

So this past year I completed my Daemons and Tomb Kings for Warhammer, painted 2 forces for some 15mm Sci-Fi gaming, painted up some Full Thrust units, painted a small Viking force for SAGA and painted a handful of Ancient units for Impetus. I also got a fair bit of terrain constructed. Unfortunately my goal of getting 500 minis painted this year was an utter failure as I barely made 376.

So for 2012 here's my goals:

1. a 15mm DBA army to get painted up for MayDay

2. 2 fleets for War Rocket for use maybe at MayDay

3. my 15mm Sci-Fi alien faction

4. more Full Thrust units

5. Forgeworld Chaos Hellblade fighter (not for gaming)

6. 28mm Samurai for Impetus (this will probably be my main project for 2012)

7. more 15mm terrain

8. 15mm NK Egyptians for Impetus (probably won't get to this one this year, but in case I do)

9. more boardgaming!

I'm going to set myself a more modest painting goal of 350 figures. Oh and hopefully for 2012 my luck gets a whole lot better.

Cheers!

New Years

2012-01-01T14:35:00.004-07:00

This is the first of two posts. Last night for New Years I got together with some friends, enjoyed some food and played some games. We played a game of Arkham Horror and I managed to single handedly lose the game for us on 1 die roll. Hopefully my craptastic luck stayed in 2011. Next we played a couple games of Ra from Rio Grande Games.

This was a fun little auction game and we knocked off a couple games in an hour. The rules could have been written a little clearer on how you start the game. We started off 2012 with a game of The Legend of Drizzt from Wizards of the Coast.

We've played the first game in this series (Castle Ravenloft), and they're not easy games to win. Probably the one thing I don't like about them is the fact you're always under attack or taking damage from traps and the fact that it's hard to heal. We bit this game but a number of the encounters didn't affect us and I think our characters were a little better.

My second post will give a rundown of 2011 and my plans for 2012.

Last of the Vikings

2011-12-31T16:06:00.003-07:00

Finally finished my Vikings today. Here is the last 16 of them. These are all Crusader miniatures.

So what am I going to start off 2012 with? Hmm, I've agreed to paint up a 15mm DBA army to be sold at MayDay so I'll probably get on to that next.

Boxing Day

2011-12-28T14:05:00.004-07:00

The arrival of Boxing Day heralds the punishing of my bank account. This year was no exception. Between the sale at my local Wizards and at Mission Games, my wallet is a fair bit lighter.

So I picked up Tannhauser, the Dunwich Horror expansion for Arkham Horror, Elder Signs, Dominant Species and a couple books for the Deathwatch RPG. I also picked up 3 game expansions (not shown) for a friend of mine.

I'm still trying to get my remaining 16 Vikings done before the end of the year. I should be able to get them done.

More Vikings

2011-12-18T16:02:00.006-07:00

I finished a handful of Vikings a few days ago and just got around to posting it today. These minis are all Crusader. First batch is a command unit.

Next up is a unit of Berserkers.

I've got 16 more Vikings to finish and they're already under way. I want to try and get these done before the end of the year, but I'm doubting I'm going to have time, we'll see.

I also finished up 11 base of trees for my 15mm sci-fi gaming. Unfortunately I don't have pics of them. I took a lot from Kevin's tutorial:

http://mageknightkevin.blogspot.com/2011/06/tutorial-making-forest.html so thanks to Kevin for that.

Agricola

2011-12-11T15:08:00.002-07:00

Went over to a friend's place last night and got in a few games. We played one game of Castle Ravenloft (geez is that game not easy to win) and we also finally got in a couple games of Agricola.

The object of this game is basically to make the best farm in the time alotted. The options of what to do and build are huge and the game has endless replayability. The downside to it, is the rules are not written very good at all. Initially we had a tough time figuring out how to even start. Once you get going it's a breeze, it's just the initial start is a problem. Once we got the hang of it, we knocked off our second game in an hour. I'm expecting this game to get played a lot.

Vikings

2011-12-10T15:10:00.007-07:00

Been a bit of a slow month or so, but I finally got some Vikings done for SAGA. Here is a unit of archers. These figs are Crusader.

Next up is a unit of armoured warriors and the general. These figs are all Crusader with the exception of the general who is from Gripping Beast and is the fig they gave you when you bought the rules.

On my table is a couple small groups of Vikings. It was my original intention to get my Vikings all done in December but it's not looking too good so far. We'll see.

Also last night I had a couple friends over for a some boardgaming action. First up was Civilization with the new Fame and Fortune expansion. We have yet to play with more than 3 players so I'm looking forward to that.

We also played a game of Ad Astra. I picked this up in Fantasy Flight's Black Friday sale. It's a simple resource gathering game and is pretty simple. I look forward to playing it again.

FAD 4 - Battle 1

2011-11-20T15:13:00.005-07:00

Bit of a slow month for painting, as RL has been keeping me quite busy. Last night I finally got in my first game of FAD 4. The battle pitted my US forces against my Chinese forces. Here's the initial setup.

Chinese forces (me) are on the left and the US (Chris) is dug in on the right. My mission was to occupy the green token that's sitting right behind a crater on the right. Chris' mission was simply to prevent me from accomplishing mine. You can see the problem with my setup immediately. Let's just say I need more terrain! Chris' first action was to call in off board artillery and drop a round right into the middle of my middle squad. And it pretty much went downhill from there. Cover is hugely important.

I'm going to have to do some tweaking on the Chinese vehicles and infantry squads as they have a rather noticeable problem when dealing with infantry. This game was a 750 pt game and took us about 4 hours to play, although this was the first time we had played. The Chinese had 30 infantry and 2 vehicles and the US had 30 infantry and 3 vehicles.

On my table right now are my trees that I need to build and for painting I have 2 units of Vikings.

Vikings

2011-11-09T23:46:00.004-07:00

Been a while since I posted, I've been playing Civilization on Facebook and it's pretty much like crack. Regardless tonight I finished the first batch of minis for my SAGA Viking army. These are Crusader miniatures and I have to say I love Crusader. Their minis are really clean, simple and to the point. Great sculpts. Transfers are from Little Big Men Studios.

Up next is a couple more batches of Vikings and also a bunch of terrain for my 15mm sci-fi. I'm aiming to have my Viking SAGA force done by the end of the year, I think it's a doable goal.

A Few Full Thrust Units

2011-10-19T21:11:00.006-06:00

On Sunday I finished a few units for Full Thrust. All of these are from Ground Zero Games. First up is a group of 5 ships for my as-yet-unnamed alien faction. These are a pair of destroyers and a trio of corvettes.

Next is a space station that I combined with a couple pieces of lava rock. It's works okay.

Next up is some terrain for my 15mm sci-fi stuff and I'm going to start on my Vikings for SAGA.

Also this week I received my parcel from Warhammer Historical and their huge sale. I picked up Age of Arthur, El Cid and the new Gladiator game. I'd really like to try out this game as it's just asking to have a campaign run. Hopefully come this Christmas, some of the manufacturers that make Gladiator figs will have some sales. Would be nice if Foundry came down in price as they have the largest selection but I might as well hope for the moon to be made of cheese.

Ships and Troops

2011-10-13T23:02:00.007-06:00

Tonight I finished yet another batch of infantry for my 15mm sci-fi US force. These are Ground Zero Games minis.

I also finished a couple of transports for Full Thrust. Also from GZG.

Pics are crap as per usual. I think my problem is I'm zooming in to much. That and I know I have a lighting issue.

Next up is a few more units for Full Thrust, some terrain and then probably on to some Vikings for SAGA.

Last of the US Armour

2011-10-02T22:28:00.004-06:00

Today I finished up the last of my US sci-fi armour. These are a group of 4 medium tanks and are from Ground Zero Games.

I also finished 4 heavy weapon bases. Also from Ground Zero Games.

That finishes it for the vehicles for my US faction. I have 2 batches of infantry remaining. Next up will be one of the groups a couple starships and maybe some terrain.

Mansions of Madness

2011-09-24T22:30:00.003-06:00

Tonight I had a couple of friends over and we played a couple games of Fantasy Flight Games' Mansions of Madness.

This game was a lot of fun, we knocked a couple games off in about 3 hours. It's a typical Fantasy Flight game: lots of high quality bits. The manual is reasonably long, but this is misleading as the game is really quite simple. If you've played Descent, then you'll find this game very similar. The only downside is the number of scenarios. There is only 5 and each scenario has a set of cards that go with it. If someone was to have a scenario repository (like FFG has with Descent and Tide of Iron) they would have to create cards to go with each scenario. FFG has actually done this with it's two expansions for this game as they're both Print-on-Demand. It would be interesting to see how it's set up. Regardless, I think I might pick this up.

15mm Sci-fi - Assorted US Units

2011-09-23T22:01:00.005-06:00

Last night I finished a handful of units for my US faction. These are all from Ground Zero Games. First up is a pair of light tanks.

Next is a 6-wheeled buggy with a rear gunner.

And finally is a group of infantry. I decided to start doing putting the heavy weapon teams on one base instead of one base per figure.

Next up is the last of the US vehicles and a few heavy weapon teams. Also tomorrow night I'm having a couple friends over for a few games of Mansions of Madness. I'm really looking forward to this game.

15mm Sci-fi - US Armour

2011-09-17T23:25:00.004-06:00

Tonight I finished a group of 15mm vehicles for my US faction. These are all Ground Zero Games minis. First is a group of 5 hover vehicles: 3 are APC's with gun turrets, 1 is an APC with missile turret and the fifth is a command vehicle.

Lastly is group of 3 hover drones

Next up is some terrain, some more infantry and a couple move hover vehicles.

Edmonton International AFV Model Show

2011-09-10T23:03:00.010-06:00

Today I went to the Edmonton International AFV Model Show at HMCS Nonsuch (www.aafvms.ca). My camera crapped out early so I only got a few pics before switching to my iPhone. Probably a good thing as my camera pics were crap. There was some amazing paint jobs there. Below is some of my better pics.

I believe this was some sort of Italian towed gun.

This was an amazing train setup hauling some sort of enormous mortar/cannon.
A Canadian LAV III
This was one of the neatest. Right below the model you can see a bit of a pic. The picture is of a exploded Panzer IV. The model was an excellent recreation of the pic. Really original.
This diorama was of Berlin in 1945.
A German scout car.
This was one of only 2 sci-fi entries.

Castle Ravenloft

2011-09-08T22:27:00.003-06:00

Last night I played a game of Castle Ravenloft from Wizards of the Coast. This game is in the same genre as FFG's Descent. In the game you go on various quests to complete certain goals, it's not just a standard dungeon crawl. It's got good production values comparable to Descent. It's also a simpler and shorter game compared to Descent. But unlike Descent, Castle Ravenloft is entirely a cooperative game. Overall, I prefer Descent mainly because the amount of options and flexibility is superior to Castle Ravenloft. The game does have at least out expansion coming out for it so far (might already be out).

Prussia's Defiant Stand or Prussian Beating

2011-09-04T13:06:00.003-06:00

Last night Chris and I played a couple games of Prussia's Defiant Stand by Worthington Games. The first game ended shortly before the mandatory end and was a decisive Prussian loss. The sheer numbers of troops they were facing was simply too much and couple this with the fact that they lost Berlin. The second game had Prussia surrendering at the end of the 1st year. Their main southern army was annihilated due to my "awesome" luck and then wintering wiped out most of my centre units. The view at the end of the first game:

The game is a decent block game but the Prussian player has a pretty hard time vs. the Allied player. With no luck and a good Allied player it's extremely hard, I'd say almost impossible for Prussia to win. As the game uses 6-sided dice, I'm pretty much screwed. It's like Warhammer all over again. With 6 dice how hard is it to roll above 3? Apparently it's pretty damn hard. We're going to take another stab at the game next weekend.

The game is a nice looking game with good quality components. The rules are reasonably simple although they could use some cleaning up with regards to supply and wintering clarifications. Supply is extremely important and will quickly see an army vanish. We've downloaded the latest rules version and the FAQ from Boardgamegeek.

15mm Sci-fi

2011-09-03T13:35:00.004-06:00

Last night I finished another batch of 15mm sci-fi for my US faction. These are all Ground Zero Games minis. First up is a civilian hover truck.

Next is an unmanned VTOL gunship. I had heard that this was a pain to make. I didn't have any problems at all. The biggest pain for me was mounting the thing on a base.

And finally is another batch of infantry, some command and some heavy weapons.

Next on my paint table is some hover vehicles for my US faction and maybe some terrain pieces. Also, tonight I'm going to have a game or two of Prussia's Defiant Stand from Worthington Games. Looking forward to that.

Napoleon's Triumph

2011-08-28T15:18:00.005-06:00

Last weekend I popped down to the Sentry Box with a couple friends. Besides a book, some paint and some terrain, I picked up a couple games: Napoleon's Triumph by Simmons Games and Prussia's Defiant Stand by Worthington Games. Last night we played Napoleon's Triumph. This game is about the Battle of Austerlitz set on Dec. 2, 1805 between the French and the Austrians and Russians. There are 2 scenarios: one is a hypothetical scenario which starts the battle on Dec. 1 and the other is the historical scenario which starts the battle on Dec. 2. We played the historical scenario. Here's the game at setup with the French on the left and the Allies on the right.

Bagration's corps about to lay a beating on Bessieres' corps:

Here's the end result:

The French left flank had been smashed with the bulk of their remaining forces being in the middle. Unfortunately for the Allies, their centre was in the process of overrun when the game ended. The game ended in a French decisive victory due to the sheer number of casualties inflicted. Unlike the real battle, the French had sustained heavy casualties and were not too far from losing themselves.

The historical scenario took us about 4 hours to play. The rules themselves are not very long being about 9-10 pages long. That being said the rules are reasonably complex with regards to actual combat. Our post game discussion came to the conclusion that battles are going to be bloody and are not going to be cake-walks. The map is pretty big and the board itself is a really nice looking board. Oh and there's no dice or cards! I look forward to playing this one again.

More 15mm Minis

2011-08-13T19:00:00.005-06:00

Last night I finished off another group of 15mm minis. These are all from Ground Zero Games. First up is a group of 16 infantrymen. There is a number of command figs in this group.Next is group of 8 technicians. Four different poses, with an equal number of male & female pieces. And lastly is a ground based missile battery. On my table is a flyer and some more infantry. After that should be some vehicles mixed with infantry.

Full Thrust Ship

2011-08-07T17:13:00.004-06:00

Today I finished a ship for my Full Thrust universe. It's going to be from my as-of-yet-unnamed alien faction. This mini is from Ground Zero Games and is a Kra'Vak Lo'Vok class Battledreadnought. So it's supposed to be a large vessel.

The mini was rather a pain in the ass to put together as unfortunately GZG does not have an actual pic of this one on their site and it's not really obvious how it all goes together. I had to go looking elsewhere to find a pic of it. Also the arms don't really sit very good. The paint scheme was super easy and really quick to pull off. I think it turned out pretty good.

Next up is a large batch of 15mm stuff: some more infantry, some civilians, a missile battery and a flyer.

More Infantry

2011-08-06T18:35:00.003-06:00

Finished some more infantry last night. These are all Ground Zero Games infantry.

On my table is a Full Thrust ship and I've started assembling some more infantry and a lone flying vehicle.

15mm Terrain

2011-08-04T23:57:00.004-06:00

Tonight I finished some terrain pieces for my 15mm sci-fi project. First up is a couple of pieces that could be supply objectives or possible barricades. These pieces are from Ground Zero Games except for the sandbags which are just 'green stuff'.

Next up is a set of military type buildings. These metal pieces are also from Ground Zero Games and is the full Base Module set.

Next up is a batch of 15mm infantry which I should finish tomorrow. After that is a lone ship for Full Thrust and then probably some more infantry and maybe some vehicles.

Civilization

2011-07-31T16:37:00.005-06:00

Had a couple friends over last night and we played a game of Civilization by Fantasy Flight Games. I ended up squeaking out the win with a Cultural victory. I really like this game, there's lots of things to do, four different ways to win, lots of options and every game is different. For a game that was released last year I'm kind of surprised that FFG hasn't released or even announced an expansion for it. The game is just asking for more nations, map tiles, tech cards etc.

On my paint table is a batch of 15mm infantry, a couple supply terrain pieces, some buildings and a ship for Full Thrust. Hopefully I can get some of these done this weekend (pipe dream, I know).

Hammer of the Scots

2011-07-26T23:51:00.003-06:00

Tonight I went over to Mark Wall's place for some games of Hammer of the Scots by Columbia Games. We ended up playing 3 games, 2 of them went rather briskly but the third we played to a draw as it was getting late. I think the "The Bruce" scenario is overall a more balanced scenario than the "Braveheart" one. I like this game, it's simple and has some really nice mechanics. I like the rotating-your-block mechanic to reflect damage. It keeps board clutter to a minimum and avoids things like casuality chits or markers. I look forward to getting in more games.

Battlestar Galactica

2011-07-24T13:29:00.003-06:00

Last night I had some friends over and we had a couple games of Battlestar Galactica by Fantasy Flight Games. The first, well, let's say it ended in a draw but it was starting to go downhill for humanity. The other game was a clear Cylon win mainly due to one Cylon player going undiscovered for the entire game all the while being named as the Admiral and the President. It's a really good game and as the game progressed the cries of "You're a damn toaster!" were heard many times.

15mm Sci-fi Infantry

2011-07-21T20:41:00.004-06:00

Tonight I finished my first batch of 15mm infantry for my U.S. faction. These are from Ground Zero Games NAC faction.

I enjoyed painting these as compared to my other faction, I think mainly because I painted these in a small group of 16 instead of 2 large batches of 40. The picture isn't the greatest (I really don't have adequate lighting), but they are pretty nice.

On Tuesday I had a game of 2500 point game of Warhamster pitting my Tomb Kings against Dave's Vampire Counts. The pic below pretty much sums up how the game went.

No I didn't smash my army in a fit of rage, I accidentally stepped on him. Perfect end to the evening. I learned three things from the game: 1. don't play TK with 1 wizard (even if he is level 4), you're going to lose, 2. TK undead summoning is an absolute pathetic joke compared to Vampire Counts. And 3. without magic dice a TK army can't win. I had on my paint table a box of 10 new Tomb Guard and a couple TK characters but I'm so utterly disgusted with Tuesday's game that I just shelved the whole lot. I don't even want to look at them.

So next up is some more 15mm infantry and some 15mm buildings and maybe a ship for Full Thrust.

Bloodthirster

2011-07-10T21:05:00.003-06:00

Tonight I finished off a Bloodthirster for my Daemon army. Probably my least favourite of the greater daemon minis. Some of the detail was less than stellar and there was large gaps to fill in between the wings and the body.

On my painting table right now is some 15mm sci-fi infantry. After that will be some Tomb King Tomb Guard and a handful of skellies.

Necrosphinx

2011-07-04T23:58:00.002-06:00

Tonight I finished my Necrosphinx. This was a rather fun mini to paint and is suitably impressive.Next up is a Bloodthirster for my Daemons and some 15mm infantry.

15mm Sci-fi Terrain

2011-07-03T22:47:00.005-06:00

Today I finished some terrain for my 15mm sci-fi project. First up is a pair of storage tanks. These are from JR Miniatures' 15mm WWII line.

Next is a pack of medium cargo containers from Ground Zero Games. The mini is a 15mm Earth Force Marine from Rebel Minis.

I'm just basing up my Necrosphinx for my Tomb Kings army and should have it posted up tomorrow night. Sitting on my paint table is a handful of 15mm sci-fi infantry and a Bloodthirster for my Daemon army.

Vehicles and Undead

2011-06-19T21:13:00.005-06:00

Tonight I finally finished my first set of 15mm vehicles. These go with my 15mm infantry that I completed previously. These are all GZG wheeled vehicles.

And I also finished a trio of GW Sepulchral Stalkers.

I think these are probably the best paint job I've done on any of the Tomb King stuff. I rather enjoyed painting them. I made these into the Stalkers instead of going the Necropolis Knights as frankly, I think the Knights look ridiculous.

Next up is maybe some 15mm terrain and I've also got a Necrosphinx sitting primed.

Daemonettes

2011-06-04T21:08:00.004-06:00

Finished some Daemonettes, a couple Heralds of Slaanesh and the Changeling today. First is the Daemonettes & Heralds. The two figs in front are the Heralds.

The paint job on these didn't turn out too good, but oh well. Next is the Changeling.

Next thing I'm working on is my 15mm sci-fi vehicles.

Tomb Kings Second Run

2011-05-31T19:54:00.003-06:00

On Saturday I had my friend Chris over for a 3ooo point rematch between his Warriors of Chaos army and my Tomb Kings. The game played out all 6 turns and ended in a draw. I would've ended up winning except his Helcannon dropped a round onto my Hierophant and splattered him. The winds of magic this time were better than the first time and allowed me to get off a few more spells. I was actually able to get off the vortex spell and had it go down across half his army devastating his horde of Marauders. He didn't have his Lord on Dragon this time, which no doubt would have made a difference. I think the most humorous part of the battle was when his Lord challenged my Tomb King general to a challenge, killed him and then in turn got killed by the Curse. Fun for everyone.

On my table is the Changeling, a couple Heralds of Slaanesh, some Daemonettes, some 15mm sci-fi vehicles (that I have no idea how I'm going to paint) and my Necrosphinx is sitting asking to be constructed.

15mm Sci-Fi and a Keeper

2011-05-25T23:31:00.004-06:00

Tonight I finished the second batch of my 15mm Sci-Fi infantry minis for my future Chinese faction. See my post from March 31. These are all Rebel Minis.

I also finished my Keeper of Secrets for my Warhammer Daemon army.

I rather enjoyed painting this guy. I definitely prefer painting 28mm over 15mm.

Next up is a trio of Deamon characters, my 15mm sci-fi vehicles for the above Chinese and I got in my Necrosphinx/Warsphinx box from Maelstrom.

Tomb Kings First Run

2011-05-22T11:41:00.003-06:00

Last night I had my friend Chris over for a 3000 point battle between his Warriors of Chaos army and my Tomb King army. We played the Battle for the Pass scenario which unfortunately is not conducive to chariot movement. Here is the initial setup.

I conceded after turn 5 as I had very little left compared to Chris' little more left. The most noteworthy thing about the whole battle was in the 10 magic phases (5 me, 5 Chris) we rolled 6 or less for the winds of magic every time except once (in which a 7 was rolled). The Winds of Magic must have Raptured itself away. Due to the complete lack of magic I was not able to get off very many spells which did hamper my army I think. Other noteworthy things was Chris' flubbing a leadership 8 roll and two rerolls for it thereby causing his Chosen to turn and run. On the whole all of our dice all evening were very poor for both of us.

Some comments on the new TK army after 1 play:

1. Casket of Souls is mandatory in every TK army. If you don't take it, you're an idiot.

2. Take a Hierotitan, the extra +d3 to friendly casters within 12" is very nice.

3. "My Will be Done" is very nice and made my skellingtons last vs. his Chaos Warriors.

4. Know how many dice to roll when your chariots hit, unlike what I did.

5. Skellie horde is the way to go.

6. Tomb Guard are your best infantry.

7. Ushabti with bows are nasty vs. high toughness targets.

I need to get some buildings as I basically have to reroll any building when I roll for terrain as I don't have any buildings. I'm thinking of making cardstock buildings using templates for Worldworks Games. We'll see.

Still on my paint table is some 15mm sci-fi infantry and some Daemon characters. I have to get my ass in gear and pick up my pace as my present rate is pathetic.

Warrior Knights

2011-05-15T02:08:00.004-06:00

Had some friends over tonight for a couple 4-person games of Warrior Knights. Fun was had by all. I'd like to give it a try with 6 players as I think it would extremely bloodthirsty!

Tomb King Review

2011-05-09T18:06:00.005-06:00

This weekend saw the release of the much anticipated Tomb King army book for 8th edition of Warhamster. The Tomb Kings were in desperate need of an update. The book itself is a nice 96 page hardcover book. It's in full colour and has some nice art in it. But let's get down to the meat of the matter, the content. Please note, this rundown is rather long.

I'm going to start with the army special rules.

Everything in the army is classified as Nehekharan Undead. Does this make them special undead? No. It just means they're crappier than Vampire Counts undead. VC undead can march whenever they're within 6" of a vampire. Nehekharan undead can march... oh wait. They can't. Ever. And they still can only Hold as a charge reaction, which is rather odd as the fluff now says that they actually are not mindless automatons but are instead animated by the souls of the bodies' original occupant. They should have at least gave them Stand and Shoot or let them march or something so that it actually supports the fluff.

Next is the Hierophant rule. This is pretty much the same as before with the following exception: they get a Regeneration save of 6+. A little bit of an improvement but the player still has to tell his opponent which model he is. I've always thought this was stupid. "See this guy here? Yeah, the weak, unarmoured one. Yeah that guy. Kill him and the battle's over". Brilliant.

Next up is Resurrecting Undead. This has to be easily one of the worst things in the book. This paragraph dictates the procedure for resurrecting damaged units. In the previous edition, due to the reasonably low number of spells you had, it wasn't easy to rebuild damaged units quickly. Well it just got worse. Previously when you rebuilt units you started with the champion, the rest of the command group and then the rank and file. Now it goes: champion, musician, rank and file. A dead standard bearer cannot be resurrected. Period. And it gets worse. Previously to repair characters you had to nominate them separately. Now characters can't be repaired at all. Later in the spell rules we learn that Constructs can only receive 1 wound per magic phase, which is also worse than before. This whole procedure is massively worse than before.

The standard bearer part really needs some clarification. Take for example a High Elf bolt thrower which shoots through a unit of skellies (say 4 ranks of 5). The bolt hits the standard bearer and the 3 guys behind him. All 4 are dead. Now normally you take 4 models from the back of the unit as new skellies step up. So if the standard bearer gets killed this way, does that mean no one can step up to grab the standard? If that's the case then TK standard bearers are hands down the worst in the game. This needs clarification or maybe I'm reading it wrong.

Lastly is the Entombed beneath the sands rule. This is the new "It came from below" rule. Units with this rule get the Ambusher special rule which means they randomly show up which is the same as before. The player does get to place them where they want but they still can deviate. And here is how they made it worse: the unit comes up in remaining moves phase. So this rules out popping up and immediately charging. Against gun lines there's now very little point in taking Tomb Swarms or Scorpions as they'll pop up and promptly get blasted apart. The upside is the mishap table is a little better for the Tomb King player.

So far I'm not too impressed at all. From what I can see, the army is worse off than before. Let's get to the units.

Tomb king/prince- they stayed pretty close to what they were before. The Curse now always works and does d6 S5 or S4 hits. The downside is the Curse wounds can be saved by anything (armour, ward, regen). My Will Be Done lets the unit the character is with use his WS. Okay I guess, it should result in more hits at least. Something I was hoping they would do is let Tomb Princes ride steeds so they could go with the Skeleton Horsemen to make them more effective. But alas, no go.

High Liche Priest/Liche Priest- stats were slightly tweaked. They are now wizards and have access to the Lore of Nehekhara, Light or Death. Both of them are a fair bit cheaper to start which is a big improvement.

Tomb Herald- this is what the Icon Bearer became. Received a slight tweaking to his stats. He's now Flammable, he also gets the Sworn Bodyguard ability which is basically a "look out sir" for melee combat if they're in the same unit as the character they're protecting. They do have more options to outfit with weapons than the Icon Bearer but as a BSB he's more expensive.

Necrotect- this character is basically an undead architect. Yeah it's kind of strange. It has similar stats to a Tomb Herald. They get Hatred which is kind of odd and grant Constructs a Regen save if nearby. Kind of a strange character.

Skeleton Warriors/Archers- here's the heart of any Tomb King army. Their Ld got raised by 2 which is awesome as you're probably not going to be resurrecting very many due to the shite resurrecting. Skeleton Warriors are half the cost what they were which is pure awesome and even archers are a little bit cheaper. This is a desperately needed improvement and I think is one of the best things in the book.

Skeleton Horsemen- same as before except they get Vanguard and are a tiny bit cheaper.

Skeleton Horse Archers- same as before except they get Scout.

Chariots- chariots are now always Core. The crew got a slight tweak for the better. The main improvement is Chariots get ranks for 3 minis instead of 5 and they add their rank bonus to the Strength of impact. This is a definite improvement. Unfortunately it comes with a fairly hefty downside in that Chariots are almost 50% more points. The command group cost is cheaper but that's a small consolation. Also they can only have a 25 pt magic banner instead of 50 pts as before.

Tomb Guard- same, as before except 1 pt cheaper but can have halberds as an option.

Casket of Souls- the Casket I would say is better than it was. First it no longer needs a Liche Priest to man it. This is awesome as it doesn't tie down a character. Second, the death ray itself is not as powerful in that it doesn't automatically hit everything that can see the Casket. I think it on average will do a bit more damage to a unit when it hits. Like chain lightning it can leap to nearby units and damage them too. This is a bit of a downer but honestly I expected it. It also has another bonus in that it adds power dice to the power pool. It's a fair bit cheaper and as far as I'm concerned it's a must in any TK army. Oh, and you can have more than one.

Screaming Skull Catapult- same as before

Carrion- stat line was tweaked upwards a little, but are the same cost.

Tomb Swarm- same as before but a wee bit cheaper. Not as useful now due to not being able to charge when they first pop up.

Necropolis Knights- yeah, the snake surfers. I think they look goofy and this is probably the only thing that's stopping me from building them. Maybe they can be modded so they don't look as bad. Combatwise though, they're not goofy. They're actually pretty formidable. The rider is basically a Tomb Guard and the serpent itself is even better. I think they're also the most heavily armoured of any TK unit.

Sepulchral Stalkers- these guys can pop up like Tomb Scorpions but unlike Scorpions they don't need to charge into combat as they have a ranged attack that has the potential to be quite powerful depending on the opponent. Stat wise they're like Tomb Guard with some tweaks. Their range attack only has a 8" range and is only S1 but it doesn't attack the targets Toughness, but it's Initiative. To attack they roll the artillery dice for number of automatic hits so they can actually get a ton of hits. And no armour saves with these hits. It's tailor made for splattering dwarves or other undead. I'm going to be probably building these guys as they do look pretty badass. Especially compared to the snake surfers.

Ushabti- get a number of stat tweaks, most of them not for the better. They get a BS rating as they can have S6 bows. A rather impressive option. Bye-bye war machines! The book shows 3 models with bows. These models are not the same ones as the existing models, so I think we can expect a new plastic box set somewhere down the line. They're Strength is dropped by 2, but can be compensated if they take great weapons. And their Leadership dropped by 2. Another new thing is they can have a command group which is a nice little bonus. Point wise they were pushed downwards which I think was desperately needed as they were way too high before.

Tomb Scorpion- got a slight stat tweak. The main thing as mentioned before is no longer being able to charge on the turn they pop up. Will probably see less of these guys now.

Warsphinx- this mini is reasonably similar to the Lizardman Stegadon except tougher. Not only does it have Thunderstomp (being a monster) but it has a Thundercrush attack which is used to crush blocks of troops. It doesn't have the impact hits like the Stegadon but once it does get stuck in, the unit it's fighting is going to have some serious issues surviving. It's going to be great for smashing those annoying hordes. It can be upgraded to give it poisoned attacks or a breath weapon attack. And it's cheaper than the Stegadon by 25 pts.

Necrosphinx- where the Warsphinx is meant to kill units, the Necrosphinx is meant for killing large monsters and powerful characters. Oh and it flies. Nuff said.

Necrolith Colossus- this is the new name for the Bone Giant. It now has a BS rating because you can give it a bow that functions like a bolt thrower. Think of it as a mobile artillery piece. The stats were tweaked a little bit. Probably the most annoying thing about it is it lost it's heavy armour and now has the same Construct armour save as everything else. Also it is 50 pts cheaper than before (before upgrades).

Hierotitans- this Construct is very similar to the Colossus for stats. For equipment it has a couple of bound spells. The main reason for taking this unit is it adds +d3 to any spell cast by a nearby Liche Priest. This makes it a must if you're going all magic, except we don't have a mini for it at this time. I suppose you could use a Bone Giant model as a substitute.

Pretty much all the non-skeleton units are Special and Rare, so I would expect EVERY TK army to have their Special and Rare points maxed out.

They do have more named characters than before (7 compared to 2). Both Settra and Khalida are still in the book. Settra is all right. Khalida is definitely worse but cheaper. The rest of the characters are rather 'meh'. Except for Arkhan the Black. Stat wise he's not as good as Settra, but when you're a level 5 wizard, you don't care. He's not cheap but I think he's worth every point.

Then we come to the spells. Here is probably my biggest disappointment with the new army. How many resurrecting spells do they have and how good are they you ask? Well, they have none. Zero. Zip. What they do have, is every time you successfully cast an augment spell from the Lore of Nehekhara at a friendly TK unit (I'm assuming that even if it gets dispelled the actual spell has been successfully cast, I need to find this out), you get d3+1 points to spend on resurrecting dead guys in the unit that was targeted by the augment spell. Out of the 6 spells and 1 signature spell, 4 of them are augment spells. Not only do the TK not have any actual dedicated resurrecting spells, not even all their spells can activate the Lore attribute! What a joke. The augment spells are okay spells. The two hex spells are kind of interesting and are decent spells. The spell at the top is a magical vortex and is reasonably good. They don't have a magic missile or any direct damage spells unlike EVERY OTHER LORE!!! Agh!!! I guess that's why they can take Lore of Light and Death. Overall the Lore of Nehekhara is kind of disappointing.

I think TK armies have to have at least 2 wizards. The Heirophant takes the Lore of Nehekhara while another wizard goes Lore of Light or Death. I do think a magic heavy TK army with at least 1 casket, a Hierotitan and at least 3 Priests would have an awesome magic phase. A TK army with only a Hierophant is pretty useless.

Magic items- carrying on the tradition of the first 8th edition army book (O&G), there's only 8 magic items. They're good items and I can see where GW is going with this, they want us to take items from the main rulebook, but it does put them at a disadvantage vs. nonupdated army books.

Overall, I'm kind of disappointed with this army book. It seems like it's a lot of "here's your expendable grunt skellies, but look at these shiny Constructs!". The units themselves are pretty good, but the core principle of being able to rebuild your army as it fights is rather worse than before. The army is definitely not a point-and-click army like Daemons and Vampire Counts were in 7th edition.

I spent a good 6 hours going over the book and typing up this review, but I haven't actually played with it yet. Hopefully soon.

EDIT: I need to add that the army is more flexible than it was before. A TK player has lots more choices to pick from, which is a definite positive.

MayDay!

2011-05-08T11:35:00.004-06:00

Our local club ran their MayDay convention yesterday. I ran a game of Basic Impetus using the Antigonos and Early Seleucid lists.

Here you can see the Antigonos army on the left and the Seleucid one on the right. We played 2 games with the players keeping the same sides for both games. The first game was a pretty solid win for the Seleucids. The second game was also a win for the Seleucids but was a pretty close game. It could have easily gone for the Antigonos player but his dice were absolutely horrendous.

Yesterday also saw the release of the new Tomb Kings rulebook for the 8th edition of Warhamster.

This is a much needed update and upgrade to the TK list. I'm going to give a detailed review hopefully later today.

Mayday Forces Complete

2011-04-25T22:09:00.006-06:00

It's been a ridiculously slow painting month. I finally have the three remaining units for my two Mayday armies. First up is a pair of generals. The character on the left is from Armorum & Aquila and the one on the right is from 1st Corps.

Next up is a unit of Seleucid Phalangites. These are also 1st Corps with transfers from Little Big Men Studios.

Next is a scythed chariot from Vendel. I was expecting painting it to be about as much fun as my Tomb King chariots, in other words: NOT. But it painted up nice and quick.

Finally is my second elephant. This is from Aventine Miniatures and is an awesome miniature. The quality of this mini and of the ones I've seen pics of are hands above all others. If you're building an early Roman Republic army I'd suggest Aventine. Transfers are from Little Big Men Studios.

The only downside I have to my minis, is my basing is rather shite. I don't spend enough time on them. Now I just need to work on a tiny bit of terrain for my game, maybe a swamp and some trees.

Next up on my slow paint table is some more 15mm sci-fi infantry.

WFB 3K Battle

2011-04-10T13:28:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I had my friend Chris over for a 3000 point game of Warhamster vs. his grey & black Warriors of Chaos army. We played the Blood and Glory scenario. Six turns and 6 hours later we ended in a draw. Both armies bloodied but still half the units were still on the field.

This was the first time I've run into Horde units. Chris had a horde of Marauders with flails and a horde of Chaos Warriors with the Mark of Khorne (giving them Frenzy). I was able to whittle down the Warriors before they got into melee but not the Marauders and they swept the Bloodletters they were facing into oblivion. My magic was rather lacklustre which was rather disappointing. Chris as his general had taken Archaon. This lord is rather painful to deal with and I think the only reliable way to beat him is with combat resolution.

I have a few complaints about the rules and I'll go into them below. If anyone has the answer to these or if I'm missed something in the rules, by all means let me know!

1. This first point in my opinion is fracking stupid. We had part of the battlefield split by two clumps of woods. Chris had his horde unit of Marauders going through one of them. I had him move through the woods at half speed. It wasn't till he was almost through that we saw in the rules that there's nothing stating a fully formed unit of infantry moves slower going through woods. Essentially it might as well be open terrain. This is utterly ridiculous.

2. Again on the woods and I think this really points out how 8th edition is tailored for shooting armies. If you're shooting at someone in the woods, regardless of how deep the woods are, as long as you can see the unit, you only get a simple -1 soft cover penalty. You could be shooting through 24" of woods and still as long as you can actually see the miniatures you can shoot them with that simple -1 penalty. And furthermore if you're a unit sitting in the woods you don't get any penalty shooting out of the woods regardless the size of the woods. W. T. F.???? That's cuckoo for coco-puffs.

3. The terrain in general. Enough with the f'ed up forests, rivers and swamps. How about terrain that doesn't do stuff but instead just sits there and acts like terrain.

There I'm done ranting.

First of the 15mm

2011-03-31T20:15:00.005-06:00

Last night I finished the first batch of my 15mm sci-fi minis.

These are from Rebel Minis, Earth Force Marines Infantry line.

Next up is some bases for my Mayday Basic Impetus game.

Imperial

2011-03-27T21:01:00.004-06:00

Had some friends over last night for a couple games of Imperial, published by Rio Grande Games.

The game was roundly enjoyed by everyone. The game came handle 2-6 players, we played with 4. Post game discussion came to the conclusion that 2 players would be rather dull and 6 players would be a long dull grind. Four players is probably optimal. I look forward to playing this game again.

Quick Update

2011-03-25T23:39:00.002-06:00

Been a while since I've posted anything. Presently I have 48 15mm infantry to base and then they're done, hopefully this weekend I can get that done. I've also finished assembling the remaining units for my Mayday game. Prime tomorrow and then I'm off to the painting races.

I might also be playing another game of WFB in late April against Dave and his High Elves. Need to do something for that to try and deal with the Always Strike First as it's harsh and in the hands of Swordmasters is just plain grotesque. I think the solution for dealing with these guys is either use a greater daemon of Slaanesh or shoot them as they have got to be some of the best infantry in the game.

I'm also having some friends over tomorrow evening for a game or two of Imperial by Rio Grande Games. If I remember I'll post up a pic.

Last Daemons & Next Project

2011-03-10T23:08:00.006-07:00

Tonight I finished the last of my Daemons, till I get my hands on a Bloodthirster and a Keeper of Secrets. This final batch is a unit of 5 Flesh Hounds.
Now that I'm done Daemons, I'm about to start on my next project. I've got two projects to start. First, is to finish the bases I need for my Basic Impetus game for Mayday. Off the top of my head I have at least 3 bases to do and about 7 weeks to do them, so I'm going to put this one off.

That leaves me with starting my big project for the year - 15mm sci-fi. I'm planning on doing three armies to go with my Full Thrust units: a Chinese Union army, a US army and an alien army. The first army I'm going to do is the Chinese Union army. I've got all the minis assembled and waiting to be primed.

The vehicles are all Ground Zero Games and are from the Hi-Mobility Wheeled Battleforce.

The infantry are all from Rebel Minis Earth Force Marines line. Not having painted 15mm before, I'm looking forward to knocking these off hopefully rather quickly.

Assorted Daemons

2011-02-27T15:53:00.009-07:00

Finished a group of Tzeentch and Slaanesh Daemons today. First up is a couple of old style Pink Horrors:Next is a group of 5 Screamers. These guys turned out better than I thought they would. The pic isn't the greatest. I've got to get a better place to take pics and a better light source.

Next is a Fiend of Slaanesh. Another one that turned out pretty good. I rather enjoyed painting this beastie.And lastly is the Masque:Next up is the last of my Daemons, a unit of Flesh Hounds. I would still like to get a greater daemon of Khorne and Slaanesh. I've also got Epidemius and a whole 2 Plaguebearers. I'm not going to paint these up till a get a whole lot more of them. Could be a while as they guys go for a pretty high price on Ebay and I'm not paying GW's exorbitant costs for a box of 5 guys when I need at least 20-25 of them.

Also had most of my friends over last night for a game of Arkham Horror. It didn't go well. We were pitted against Cthulhu itself and we fared pretty badly.

Daemon Lord & Core

2011-02-21T18:39:00.005-07:00

Today I finished my last large unit of Daemons, a unit of 20 Bloodletters:

It's a good thing this is my last large unit as I'm getting tired of these minis that don't rank up worth a crap. Two boxed sets (20 minis) and a total of 4 minis have the swords held in the upright position for easy ranking.

I also finished a Tzeentch Lord of Change:

Next up is a medley of Tzeentch and Slaanesh Daemons.

I also got some good news this week as the new Tomb King army book will be out in May. I was rather surpised as the new Orc & Goblin book is out in March. That's a rather quick follow up by GW. I really hope they don't go with the same magic item number that they did in O&G. O&G only got a grand total of 8 magic items. Ouch!

Furies and a Herald

2011-02-14T00:05:00.005-07:00

Tonight I finished a group of 10 Chaos Furies. These minis turned out rather dark and the shot isn't the best.

I'm not sure I'll ever use these guys as they're kind of pricey (12 pts) for what you get. The Ld of 2 is pretty crippling. Also I can't remember if these guys were in a loose skirmish like formation in 7th edition but in 8th they rank up. These models are not going to rank up at all. It's just not possible.

I also finished up a Herald of Tzeentch on Disc.

The Disc itself is a rather old mini and is kind of dull and didn't really paint up that great. The Herald worked out anyway.

Next up is a unit of Bloodletters and a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch.

Daemon Lord and Hero

2011-02-05T14:20:00.015-07:00

Late last night I finished up another handful of Daemon minis. First up is my Greater Daemon of Nurgle and 4 bases of Nurglings.

Next is my homemade Blue Scribes of Tzeentch. GW doesn't make a specific mini for this character.

The disc is a round 50mm base. I probably should've went with a smaller disc as this one was a little big. The fins, disc bottom and Tzeentch symbol are plasticard. The books, scrolls and telescope are from Thomarillion. The two horrors are old style Blue Horrors.

Next up is a Herald of Tzeentch and a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch.

Horrors!

2011-01-28T20:13:00.002-07:00

January has gotten off to a slow start. Last night I finished a group of 9 Pink Horrors.

These are the new plastic ones. I really enjoyed painting these up and I think they painted up a lot easier than the old style metal ones I already have. Not sure how well they're going to rank up as I know my new plastic Bloodletters don't rank up worth a crap. This was from a box set so you'll notice that the unit champion model is missing. I'm going to use him as a Herald of Tzeentch and I've acquired a Disc of Tzeentch to mount him on.

Next up is a Greater Daemon of Nurgle and my homemade Blue Scribes base.

Thomarillion & Deutsche Post - Two Thumbs Up!

2011-01-21T21:56:00.002-07:00

Today I received a package of miniatures from Thomarillion. I purchased it on Sunday the 16th. They sent it the next day, the 17th. It got here today. The 21st. Four days from Egelsbach, Germany. And I thought Ground Zero Games was fast with seven or eight days. Two thumbs up for the Germans! It amazes me how stuff from the US takes at least two weeks and stuff from the other side of the world takes half the time. It's a strange world.

First Minis of 2011

2011-01-13T23:36:00.006-07:00

Tonight I finally finished my unit of Khorne Bloodcrushers.

These guys took me forever. The three front ones are from the plastic Bloodcrusher boxed set, while the two in the rear are metal ones. The plastic ones are easily superior minis to the metal ones. Details on the plastic ones are crisper and they're actually more detailed than the metal ones. That and the fact they don't weigh a ton. These guys also could easily substitute as mounted Heralds of Khorne.

I also finished a Herald of Khorne on foot.

This mini was an old Bloodthrister, the Greater Daemon of Khorne. But as it's actually smaller than the current Daemon Prince (the weakest of the Daemon lords), it wasn't very suitable as a current Greater Daemon. So after a little hacking and gluing, voila! The really crappy part of this mini is the banner itself. To be honest it looks like shite. I wasn't able to paint a decent looking banner and it looks terrible. Better luck next time I guess.

Next up is more Daemons, what, I don't know yet.

2010 Highlights & Looking Ahead to 2011

2011-01-01T12:39:00.004-07:00

With the beginning of a new year I have to look back on my gaming accomplishments for the year of 2010. I have 5 main highlights of the year:

1. My #1 accomplishment has to be the completion of my Tomb King army for Warhammer. Finally! As the majority of the army is skeletons I was able to paint them reasonably quickly. I don't have any plans to add to the army unless GW comes out with something new for the army. That won't happen till they release a new army book, which looks like it won't be till summer sometime.

2. Also this year I banged out 2 fleets and some miscellaneous units for Full Thrust. I was able to paint these 2 forces rather quickly. Unfortunately I've only managed to actually get them onto the table once, so hopefully in 2011 I can get a few more games in.

3. Late in this past year I started another Warhammer army: Daemons. Thanks to taking all of December off, I was able to get a sizeable chunk of the army painted. I'm going to say that I'm roughly half done.

4. This year I got a number of bases for my Impetus ancient armies completed. I was able to get a few games in this year (but not nearly enough!). I found that if I'm getting tired of a project, painting up a couple of these units helps break up the monotony.

5. Finally for 2010, I was able to get in a large number of various board games. Here's the list of ones I played this year: Antike, Arkham Horror, Britannia, Carcassonne, Civilization, Colosseum, Commands & Colors: Ancients, Commands & Colors: Napoleonics, Conquest of the Empire, Descent, Dominion, Labyrinth: War on Terror, Pandemic, Power Grid, Puerto Rico, Settlers of Catan, Settlers of the Stone Age, Ticket to Ride, Tigris & Euphrates, Twilight Struggle and Warrior Knights. Quite the list.

All told I was able to get 485 miniatures painted this year. Not quite 500, but close. For 2011 I'm going to set myself a modest goal of 500. I'll reassess part way through the year to see if I can boost that higher.

For 2011 here's my goals:

1. Finish my Warhammer Daemon army. Looking around what's on my shelf and my painting table, I've probably got around 60 miniatures to paint.

2. Finish all my 28mm ancient units for Impetus. I don't have that many left, so this goal should be an easy one to accomplish. Also, I'm going to have to get more games of Impetus in.

3. My main project for the year is going to be 15mm sci-fi. I've picked up a pile of minis (probably a couple hundred) from Ground Zero Games and Rebel Minis. I'm planning on using the FAD4 (Fast and Dirty 4) ruleset with these.

4. I've got a number of small projects I'd like to do or at least start. I picked up a number of 15mm Egyptians in a trade that I'd like to make into an Impetus army. I also purchased a handful of Perry Samurai (enough to do half a Basic Impetus army) that I'd like to take a swing at and I've also got a handful more ships to paint up for Full Thrust.

5. More board gaming!

Onwards into 2011!

Daemon Win

2010-12-30T20:45:00.006-07:00

Completed a Beast of Nurgle last night. Here's a front and back view of this lovely chap.

I knocked this guy off easily yesterday. Painting Nurgle is easy! Some dark green, light green drybrush and then the amazing Devlan Mud wash. I added all the hooks and little "shell" shapes as it was rather plain without it. And I do have to say that I love Devlan Mud. That's one thing GW does do right: their washes.

Went over to Dave's today for a 2000 pt. battle against his Brettonians. See Dave's page (link down on the right) for good coverage of the battle. Dave had some really bad luck which was fortunate for me. My Flamers really payed for themselves. The Beast didn't really pay for himself. Due to his high toughness he withstood any damage but went poof due to bad combat result. My biggest disappointment was my Daemon Prince of Nurgle. The spells I ended up getting were not very good and he was not worth even remotely the 490 pts he cost me. And in general my magic was rather poor except for one good casting of Gift of Chaos that caught all 3 of Dave's knight units. Overall the battle was a long hard slogging fight. I look forward to getting my guys on the field.

Xmas & Boxing Day Goodies

2010-12-26T19:06:00.002-07:00

Christmas/Boxing Day 2010 has turned out to be full of boardgames. For Christmas I acquired Civilization from Fantasy Flight Games. Got in a 2-player game today and I had a pretty good time. As this game can take up to 4 players, I'm really looking forward to playing this game with all 4. The game I feel really reflects the computer game with lots of things to do.

For Boxing Day, our local Wizards comic shop had a rather nice sale: 25% off everything and if you spend over $200, it's 50% off. Well, my credit card took a beating. It was rather embarrassing as I stumbled out of the shop with an overflowing armful of boardgames. My catch: Tide of Iron and it's expansion Days of the Fox (Fantasy Flight Games), Kingsport Horror (FFG expansion for Arkham Horror), Descent: Tomb of Ice (FFG expansion for Descent), Imperial (Rio Grande Games) and for a friend of mine I picked up Agricola and Pandemic (both from Z-Man Games), Dominion: Intrigue (Rio Grande Games expansion for Dominion) and Bridges, Castles & Bazaars (Rio Grande expansion for Carcassonne).

2011 is shaping up to be a year filled up with loads of boardgaming fun!

Commands & Colors: Napoleonics

2010-12-23T13:35:00.003-07:00

My copy of Commands & Colors: Napoleonics (CCN for short) came in today. Here's a pic of all the parts:

The box is the typical thick, solid Commands & Colors: Ancients (CCA) box. Also exactly like CCA, are the painted wood blocks, with red for the British, blue for the French and dark brown for the Portuguese. My only quibble is from a distance and in poor light, the Portuguese blocks look similar to the French blocks. It would have been better if they were a light brown or beige. The stickers for the blocks have nice artwork and are labelled/coloured as to what they are, for example the stickers for French Cuirassier Cavalry are Yellow and say "CUIRASSIER". In CCN, infantry are blue, cavalry are yellow and artillery are red. There are no blocks for Victory Banners, instead there are card chits.

The dice are like CCA in that they are the black "gaming cubes" on which the stickers must be attached. The dice faces have 1 side showing cavalry, artillery, crossed sabers and a white flag and 2 sides showing infantry. The cards are also the typical high quality GMT cards that they use in most of their games.

The gameboard, unlike the gameboard in CCA, is not thick cardstock, but in fact is a good mounted board much like that in Twilight Struggle or Labyrinth. This surprised me as I was not expecting a mounted board. The terrain tiles are double sided like CCA and show: forest, hills, rugged hills, towns, field works, river, fordable river, bridge and sand quarry. There is also a track for both sides showing which units have formed squares.

Next up is the card handouts. Theses are like the ones in CCA, being of the 2 page, double sided variety. The first handout has the various terrain tile effects and a summary of the various cards. There are 2 copies of this handout. The final handout shows a listing of the ranged fire and melee dice per unit, the ranged fire and melee combat tables and on the inside shows the breakdown of each sides units and their particulars. There are 4 copies of this handout. Two of those copies only show French units on the inside and 2 copies show the British/Portuguese units on the inside.

Lastly there is a 23 page rulebook and a scenario booklet. Scenarios covered are: Rolica (2 scenarios), Vimiero, Corunna, Talavera, River Coa, Bussaco (2 scenarios), Redinha, Salamanca (2 scenarios), Garcia Hernandez, Aire, Quatre Bras and a little heard of battle called Waterloo.

I've been really looking forward to playing this game for quite a while and I'm hoping I can get in a few games before the holidays end. We'll see.

Flamers!

2010-12-20T23:17:00.005-07:00

Finished a group of 12 Flamers of Tzeentch tonight. This collection of Flamers are 3 different styles. First up is 1 Flamer from 1992 (I believe).

Next is a group of 8 Flamers from 1995 (again I think),

And the last 3 Flamers are the current style.

Next up is a group of Bloodcrushers and a Herald of Khorne. I doubt I'll get these done before Christmas due to the detail on these babies.

Descent

2010-12-20T00:43:00.003-07:00

Had some friends over on Saturday for a game of Fantasy Flight Games' Descent. Quite a few bits in this game as you can see.

I played the Overlord with the 3 players as the intrepid dungeon explorers. Unfortunately it didn't work out well for them and I won the game. Unfortunately we didn't have time for another game.

On the painting table is a group of Flamers of Tzeentch. Also, Tuesday is the last EWG club night of the year and I'll be playing a game of Warhammer vs. Dave and his Brettonians. Should be rather entertaining.

Labyrinth

2010-12-17T15:55:00.003-07:00

Had my friend Chris over today and we played a game of GMT's Labyrinth: The War on Terror.

Having played GMT's Twilight Struggle I was eager to get this game. It's a card driven game much like Twilight Struggle but that's probably were the similarity largely ends. In Twilight Struggle, both sides operate identically in that they can do the same actions. Not in Labyrinth. Both sides operate completely different and don't have any actions that are similar. It is a harder game than Twilight Struggle and will probably take a few games to get everything down. In our game the Jihadists (me) ended up winning the game.

The game has 4 different scenarios that determine how everything is set up. Each side has 2-3 ways in which they can instantly win. Otherwise the game ends when the players go through the card deck. Before the game starts the players can determine how many times they actually want to go through the deck: 1, 2 or 3 times. As this was our initial game, we plodded through it and we only went through the deck once. As a result it took us about 3 1/2 hours. Experienced players going through the deck 3 times would still take a good afternoon to play. And as with all recent GMT games the production quality is top notch. Hopefully I can in a few more games this Xmas season.

More Daemons

2010-12-16T20:49:00.004-07:00

Today I finished another batch of Daemons. First up is group of 10 Bloodletters:

This next pic is of a group of 6 old style Bloodletters:

I like the 1 piece simplicity of the old metal minis but the actual sculpt is a little goofy compared to the newer sculpts. Finally last up is a Daemon Prince:

Next up is another batch of Daemons, I'm just not sure what yet.

Oh the Horror!

2010-12-11T22:34:00.004-07:00

Tonight I finished a large block of 24 old school Horrors.

These models are actually a combination of Pink and Blue Horrors (the Blue ones were the small ones). The pink ones turned out pretty decent but the purple ones didn't turn out as well as I had wanted.

Next up I think I'll do some more Bloodletters and maybe a Daemon Prince.

More Khorne!

2010-12-08T23:20:00.005-07:00

Tonight I finished a unit of Flesh Hounds and Karanak the Flesh Hound champion.

I also finished the hero, Skulltaker.

Next up is a rather large unit of old-school metal Horrors.

First Daemons

2010-12-03T23:24:00.004-07:00

Finished the first group of Daemons tonight - a group of 10 Khorne Bloodletters.

Next up is a group of Flesh Hounds and Skulltaker.

TK . . . Done!

2010-11-24T23:15:00.003-07:00

Finally finished the last of my Tomb Kings tonight. The last pieces were 4 Carrion.

Woo hoo! Done! Now if only they'll release a new army book. From rumours on Warseer, it looks like it won't happen till May at the earliest. Yippee. So next up is the first of my Deamon army and a group of Bloodletters.

This past week I received a pack of wee magnets from KJ Magnetics that I had ordered. Shipping was pretty quick, a mere 8 days from the US. The ones I got are 1/8" x 3/32" discs. I'm pretty impressed so far. I'm looking over at my metal file cabinet and Skulltaker, the Khorne hero, is walking up the side. Skulltaker is a rather hefty all metal foot mini. I'd definitely buy from these guys again. Check them out. KJ Magnetics: http://www.kjmagnetics.com/

An Update

2010-11-21T13:27:00.003-07:00

Been a few weeks since I posted. I haven't got any painting done in the past week and a half. I'll hopefully get back on that today. Four Carrion to go and my TK are done. Looking forward to getting onto my Daemons.

Had my friend Chris over for some gaming last night. We played a game of Twilight Struggle and I (as the USA) got soundly trounced. I swear Chris went through the deck ahead of time and took out all the US cards. We also played a few games of CCA, and I was able to recoup some self esteem with a few victories. Hopefully this week should see the arrival of my copy of GMT's Labyrinth: The War on Terror.

A Whole Lot of Chariots

2010-11-09T22:42:00.004-07:00

Tonight I finished the last of my Tomb King Chariots. I have to say I really, really hate painting chariots. They're a lot of effort for a unit that really isn't that good. The paint job on these is alright, I was just tired of looking at them.

You'll note the chariot on the far left has no crew. I did up an empty chariot in case I need a mount for a Tomb King/Prince.

I also finished up a group of 6 oil drum bases. I am in the near future planning on doing up some 15mm sci-fi. I'm just waiting to get in on some early Christmas sales maybe from the likes of GZG or Rebel Miniatures. So far I'm just accumulating terrain.

These are from JR Miniatures 15mm World War 2 Stalingrad line.

Up next I have the last of my Tomb King miniatures: a group of 4 Carrion. And after that: Daemons!

Last of the TK Foot Units

2010-10-25T23:03:00.007-06:00

Tonight I finished the last of my Tomb King foot units. First up is a block of 20 skellie warriors:

A couple Tomb Guard (not sure why I had 2 that didn't get painted with the rest):

The foot and mounted version of the Army Standard Bearer, although I'll probably never use him as the Tomb King army banners aren't worth it and why waste character points on a 'meh' character.

And lastly is this character that could be a Liche Priest or a Tomb Prince/King. This fig isn't GW but is from Crocodile Games, Wargods of Aegyptus line. It is a Harbinger of Khanum. I figured it would make a suitable Tomb King figure.

Next up is a group (squadron?) of 6 chariots. And after that will be a unit of 4 Carrion and that will be the last of my Tomb Kings. Well, until the new book comes out and they have something cool worth getting like a Sphinx or something.

This past weekend I had some friends over and we played a couple games of Rio Grande's Antike:

Pretty simple game but pretty fun. We played with 4 players but I'd like to try it with 6 players.

Galatians

2010-10-17T12:33:00.003-06:00

Finished 5 bases of Galatians/Celts last night. These are Warlord Games minis. These are the first 28mm I've used the 'magic dip' on. They turned out pretty decent. I've missed the odd highlight or two, but they decent for wargaming.

Next up is the last of my Tomb King foot units: a pile of skellie warriors, some characters and a couple tomb guard.

Colosseum

2010-10-13T22:04:00.003-06:00

Played another game of Colosseum the other night. I've only played it with 3 players and am looking forward to playing with a bigger group (it can accommodate up to 5 players).

Some Phalangites

2010-10-11T18:42:00.003-06:00

Finished a pair of phalangite bases yesterday. These are 1st Corps minis and have Little Big Men shield transfers.

The unit on the left is Antigonid phalangites and the one on the right is Seleucid phalangites. Not the greatest paint job I've done, the trousers on the Seleucid phalangites really didn't turn out like I wanted them too. I guess they're okay for wargame standards.

The next batch is more historicals: 5 bases of Galatians/Celts. I'm actually planning on using the 'magic dip' on these. I'm hoping this will speed up my painting on these so I can get them done in a reasonable amount of time.

On Saturday I introduced my friend Chris to Warhammer 8th edition. He had his grey and silver Horde of Chaos vs. my Tomb Kings. I ended up losing when his Daemon Prince got close enough to unleash a couple of spells on my Heirophant that obliterated him. A Chaos army is hard to deal with. He didn't have any marauders so everything had at least a T of 4 which rendered my shooting virtually useless. And in close combat if it wasn't for the fact he had a lot of Always Strike Last Great Weapons I would have got almost no hits in. And I think my Tomb Prince needs to be fired as yet again he missed almost every attack. Back to the boneyard for him! If I had one complaint about TK it would be that the attack incantation is utter crap versus every other attack spell.

I also got in a couple games of Colosseum by Days of Wonder. http://www.daysofwonder.com/colosseum/en/
It's a fun and rather fast game where players strive to put on bigger and bigger events and gain more and more spectators. Pretty good game with some nice components.

TIll next time.

TK Ushabti

2010-09-26T22:27:00.002-06:00

Finished my last group of 7 Ushabti yesterday.

Going to take a bit of a break from painting Tomb Kings. I'm going to go back and paint some Impetus bases. First up is a couple bases of Phalangites. After that I think I'm going to do up 5 bases of FL Galatians which will probably take me a number of weeks to do them.

A wee bit 'o CCA

2010-09-26T03:42:00.005-06:00

Had Chris over tonight. Played a couple games of Pandemic. It's not an easy game with only 2 players. So we switched to CCA. First scenario we played was Lake Trasimenus from the 2nd Punic War.

The Romans were able to change history and squeaked out two wins. Next up was one of the battles of Alexander the Great, the battle of Jaxartes River vs. the Scythians.

The Macedonians easily won both games. This scenario is fun if you like sticking your hand a blender. There is no way the Scythian player has any hope unless they ate they're lucky charms for breakfast. It's completely lopsided for the Macedonians.

Next up was a couple games of the Battle of Ipsus between Antigonus and Seleucus.

Both games were very close with Antigonus narrowly winning both games. This was a fun scenario with plenty of units: infantry, chariots, cavalry and elephants.

Normans vs. Saxons

2010-09-20T22:27:00.002-06:00

Had Dave over on Sunday for a game of Impetus pitting my Normans against his Saxons. Unfortunately the only pic I took was after the setup.

Normans on the left, Saxons on the right.

Saxons won a pretty solid victory. I think this is a hard battle for the Normans. Shieldwall is tough to fight against, pretty much negating the hard slam of a cavalry charge. Better luck next time!

Quick Update

2010-09-16T22:55:00.002-06:00

Been a couple weeks, since I've posted. Presently I'm painting my remaining group of 7 Ushabti. After this I'm going to take a break from painting Tomb Kings and switch back to my ancients. I've got a pile of units left: 4 units of Phalangites, 2 units of Hoplites, 4 units of Galatians, an elephant, a scythed chariot and I think enough extra minis left to do another base of Hypaspists. So in other words a lot. After the Ushabti I'm going to do a couple units of Phalangites to start.

This weekend, Dave's going to be in the neighbourhood so we're going to get in a 300 point Impetus battle between my Normans and his Saxons. Should be interesting as both of our armies have Poor command structure. Two commanders or three commanders, I wonder what I should take.

TK Cavalry

2010-09-01T19:49:00.003-06:00

Tonight I finished a large batch of 18 Tomb King heavy cavalry.

Not sure what I'm going to paint next, maybe some more Ushabti or some infantry, haven't decided.

Also on Tuesday I've got a 2500 point game against Dave's Empire army, so I'm expecting to face a rather nasty gunline, but we'll see, and it'll give us a chance to give 8th edition a good runthrough with bigger armies than last time.

And I see I've cracked 300 painted minis this year, I'll have to try and get up to 400 by years end, which shouldn't be a problem, now 500 on the other hand...

Assorted Tomb Kings

2010-08-27T23:35:00.005-06:00

Tonight I finished another batch of Tomb King minis. First pic shows 5 light horse and a Tomb Scorpion, second pic shows 3 Ushabti and the last pic shows 2 characters, an old style Mummy and Khalida.

Next up is a large unit of 18 TK heavy cavalry.

Even More Tomb Kings

2010-08-22T23:05:00.003-06:00

Tonight I finished my latest batch of Tomb Kings. This is 18 skellie archers and 3 chariots. I have to say, I hate painting chariots. They're just not fun to paint.

Next up is an assorted batch of TK units including some more light cavalry, some Ushabti, a Tomb Scorpion and a couple characters.

Also this weekend I had some friends over for a couple games of Arkham Horror. We lost the first one and won the second one. That brings us to 2 victories out of 5 games. Whenever I have my next boardgame night, I'd like to try out Antike from Rio Grande Games.

More Tomb Kings

2010-08-14T16:42:00.002-06:00

Today I finished my latest batch of Tomb Kings. A unit of 5 light cavalry and a unit of 15 skellie warriors.

Next up is a unit of 3 chariots that I started a long time ago and a group of 18 archers. Game night is on Tuesday and it looks like I'll be playing 1250 points in a 3-way battle versus a Lizardman army and a Brettonian army.

WFB 8th Edition & TK Victory!

2010-08-04T23:02:00.006-06:00

Last night at game night Dave, Mark and I played our first game of 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle. The game was 1000 points a side and had me playing my Tomb Kings against Dave's Empire army with the assistance of Gunner Mark. Here's the game at setup.

This next pic is I believe after turn 2. The Flagellants on my left flank are heading straight at my catapult meanwhile on my right flank the Empire Outriders have already shot down half of the skellie archer unit. In the center the unit of Ushabti was been dwindled down to one piece.

This next pic shows the battle at the most crucial point. The Flagellants on the left flank have destroyed the catapult and are effectively out of position for the remainder of the game. The Outriders on the right flank have destroyed the skellie archer unit and are desperately trying to get back into it but fortunately (for me) they don't make it in time. The Tomb Scorpion has risen up and destroyed the detachment of swordsmen and is in position to charge the block of halberdiers along with the main skellie unit.

This last pic shows the mangled halberdiers about to be charged again by the Tomb Scorpion and the skellie block.

In the end the shattered remains of the halberdiers with the general and priest attached ran off the field and handing me the win. A couple points of note: Mark rolls awesome for artillery (at least for me he did). Both Empire arty pieces were destroyed by misfires. Fun.

I thought the battle was a good introduction to 8th edition. Infantry blocks are awesome now. When I hit a unit and am rolling 15 dice for 3 ranks of skellies with spears, that's cool. And another thing, troops that are killed are replaced by rear ranks and can attack, so I don't have to worry about my front rank being killed and not being able to fight back. The artillery rules I kind of have an issue with as you don't have to do guess weapons first, you can shoot them at any time. This is going to make Empire and Dwarf gunlines awesome. Magic is interesting, I don't have to worry about 15 power dice armies anymore. I've read how they can be abused, so we'll see. The variable charge range is interesting, but as I play Impetus it doesn't freak me out any.

Thank you to Dave and Mark for an entertaining game and I'm looking forward to many more and thanks to Marc for providing the Egyptian themed terrain.

My Tomb King Army

2010-08-01T13:50:00.002-06:00

I thought I'd post up a pic of my Tomb King army at present. I probably have an equal number of minis that are still unpainted, but the bulk are skellies, which paint up pretty quick.

Full Thrust Civvie Ships

2010-07-31T22:27:00.003-06:00

Completed a batch of 7 civilian ships for Full Thrust. These ships are all Ground Zero Games.

Next up is a batch of Tomb King cavalry and infantry. I have a 1000 pt. game vs. Dave on Tuesday, we're going to give the new 8th edition rules a try.

Terrain!

2010-07-27T22:21:00.007-06:00

Finished some terrain tonight. First up is some assorted terrain for Full Thrust:

There's a sun, a gas giant and a couple smaller planets/moons and a number of asteroids (courtesy of my back yard). The planets aren't super stellar (no pun intended) but for a first stab I think they're pretty decent.

Finally I finished painting up some craters that I purchased from Woodrow's War Store http://www.toysoldiers.ca/
Couple coats of drybrushing and they've painted up quite nicely.

Full Thrust Trainwreck

2010-07-25T01:34:00.002-06:00

Had my friend Chris over tonight for a couple games of Full Thrust. First game came down to one ship on each side with one box left on each. Chris won that one. Next one, well let's just say that I need a shower after that one. He inflicted enough damage that I had to roll for criticals on every system and managed to hit an insane number of critical hits including my bridge and life support. I ended up losing that battle by my remaining ship having it's crew bail due to lack of life support. Ugh. Well, I suppose Chris has to have one or two victories. Next time will be a different story.

Macedonian Baggage Train

2010-07-23T22:52:00.005-06:00

Finished my Impetus baggage train base for my Macedonians tonight. All the figs are Foundry.

Next up is a batch of 7 merchant vessels for Full Thrust.

Also, like a crack addict I've been enticed back into Warhammer. I ordered my copy of the new rulebook yesterday. As I already have a virtually complete Tomb King army, I probably won't need to buy any more minis.

Some Macs and Some Ships

2010-07-13T22:32:00.007-06:00

So amid the torrential rain, I thought I'd take a few pics of my latest completed minis. First up is another base of Macedonian Companion cavalry. These minis are all Foundry.

Next up is a large transport for my Full Thrust US Fleet. This mini is from Ground Zero Games.

Finally there is a small space station. This mini is also a Ground Zero Games mini.

Presently I'm working on a baggage train base for my Macedonian army. Now if only this damn rain would stop...

Imperial Alexander vs. Ceasar Romans Part Deux

2010-07-07T22:57:00.008-06:00

Last night at game night Dave and I had a rematch of our two Impetus armies. Both of our armies were identical to what we used in the previous match. Here's the initial setup
Note the two Persian archer units in the bush on the Macedonian side (left side). This is rather important later.

Here is after the first turn.
The two lines start moving towards each other, with the Macedonian right flank surging forward to smite the tyrannical Romans!

Here is the second turn.
The Macedonian elephant hits and knocks back a Legion!

Here is the third turn.
Oh, wait a sec. Where's the Macedonian right flank?!? Having reached it's break point, they decided to pack it in and go home. Those two units of Persian archers I made note of at the start, I should have assigned one of them to this flank thereby raising the break point by one. Ergo I would have lasted at least another turn. A vital lesson to use next time.

And here is the last shot a turn or two before the end.
The two main front lines have crashed together with the end result being some casualties and some pushing and shoving. On the Macedonian right flank, the Romans start to envelop. From this point it was only a matter of losing a single unit till the Macedonians broke.

An entertaining game and I look forward to trying out some other armies (maybe Pyrrhic) against Dave.

On my painting table I have a couple Full Thrust units done, just need to get some pics taken and a unit of Companion cavalry nearing completion. After this is the baggage train base for my Impetus army.

Misbehaving Sump Pump = AWESOME FUN

2010-06-14T00:38:00.003-06:00

So I found out last night my sump pump got itself in a jam a day or two ago. And as a result of it being a typical piece of terran shite it decided to flood my fracking basement. So I got to spend Sunday ripping out carpet and underlay. Great fun, I highly recommend it. I should've known something was up when my hot water tank's pressure release valve died and flooded the furnace room earlier in the week. As bad things supposedly come in three's I'm wondering what fate has in store for me next. Maybe I'll get hit by a water truck. Boy, would that suck. Then again, it is Monday.

Thureophoroi Finally Completed!

2010-06-09T23:34:00.003-06:00

Tonight I finally completed my 3 bases of Thureophoroi. They are going to be used as assorted light infantry. The miniatures are all Crusader.

Next up is a couple units for Full Thrust and another unit of Companion Heavy Cavalry.

Imperial Alexander vs. Ceasar Romans

2010-06-01T23:16:00.002-06:00

Tonight at game night I played Dave in a 500 point Impetus battle between my Imperial Alexander army and his Ceasar Romans. It was a very enjoyable game, thank you Dave. Early on it looked like my army was going to get crushed (Elephant 9 dice-> 1 hit = LAME!). Once the units of pike got stuck in, I was able to slowly grind down the Legionnaires. In the end, I squeaked out a draw. It's an interesting matchup of Legion vs Phalangites. The Legionnaires have a high VBU vs. the Phalangites staying power due to their depth. I look forward to future games.

But like a dope, I forgot my camera at home so there's no pics except for the ones taken by Bob (see Bob's Miniature Wargaming Blog).

Using Foundry's 20% off deal, I purchased a bunch of minis that will allow me to construct a baggage train base for my army. Hopefully they should be here in a few weeks.

Still on my table is 3 units of Thureophoroi and a couple of Full Thrust units.