Ghettokore Studios

Moving to Wordpress

2009-03-15T01:13:00.002-06:00

OK, point your browsers to this address:

http://ghettokorestudios.wordpress.com/

As soon as I get Kater on board over there and all the other bells and whistles added to the widgets, all new posts will be at Wordpress.

The Sub-partisans

2009-03-14T12:07:00.003-06:00

This is a great f'n idea and a refreshing way to look at Warmachine and Hordes.

From Not Dice's post:

This all kind of started last year when I decided to switch from running an ultra-competitive eLylyth blitz to surprise people at GenCon Hardcore last year to this WTF Ashlynn list that actually turned out to be really boss. I got a lot of shocked looks at the convention when they heard I took Ashlynn to Hardcore. Some people thought I was flat out nuts. Well, I kinda am.

Then someone at the tournament tells me that the format handicaps Trollbloods and that they can't be competitive in HardCore. All that does is just get me to play them. Partially to disprove that kind of garbage, and partly because it's an underdog. Let's face it. We all love underdogs. As I got deeper into the faction, I heard more rumblings from within. Trollbloods need Champs. Kriel Warriors suck. So what does that kind of guff drive me to do? Build lists with Kriel Warriors and no Champs, of course.

At some point I saw my idea catching. A couple of last year's more successful Hardcore players are picking up Trollbloods, one of them just to have a run with the "sucky" faction. One of my locals started building a Xerxis Hardcore list. I see it popping up here and there. People making lists for fun! Not for badass-ness, not for brokenness, not out of any sense of competitive drive. Just because it sounds like a hoot.

I'm in. I've been a part of this group pretty much from the time I started playing Warmachine -- I simply couldn't understand why people said certain models sucked, especially if they never play with them. It's never made sense to me. The Sub-Partisans... yeah, that makes all the sense in the world.

Between this, Mk II and the various painting projects I'm involved in, this is one hell of a time to play Warmachine and Hordes. I like it. A lot.

The times, they are a changin'

2009-03-14T02:29:00.001-06:00

OK, here's a heads up:

I'm in the process of getting this happy little blog set up over at Wordpress. I know I toyed with this a few months ago, but I'm really going to do it because I have another blog I'm running and I'm contributing to another on Wordpress. It just makes sense for me to do it.

I suspect that until I get things set up the way I want them at Wordpress, I'll mirror posts at both addresses. I don't think I'll completely kill this one, but there will come a point where the updates won't happen here.

I'll make sure everyone knows when that happens.

~ Jen

March Challenge ~ Skarath WIP

2009-03-11T16:14:00.003-06:00

So here's what I've been working on.

The theme for the LGS painting contest is "It's not easy being green." And I wanted to paint a big, green snake. So here it is. I've been working on it for about a week now, off and on. Mostly off. :P

Basecoat with Necrotite Green, Sulfuric Yellow and Iosan Green.

We attempted to shade the snake with a little Iosan Green and a lot of Mixing Medium. We weren't sure we liked this, so the snake sat. (We, as in the snake and I).

Well, it sat and seasoned, and the shade wash just didn't give me enough to work with to layer. So the parts with Iosan got shaded with Gnarls Green and the Necrotite got hit with Iosan. The only part that worked with the wash was the Sulfuric Yellow bit.

I've got a definite look in mind for this snake -- it won't even be close to the studio art. After I get it finished, I'll post the pic I'm using for inspiration. I hope I can get it close. More importantly, I hope the blending comes out the way I want it to. Lots of layers, very wet brush small strokes. Must be patient with this one, as the final product will be posted at brushthralls.com in addition to the Privateer forums.

It should be fun. This kind of painting is pretty relaxing. Nevermind the 30 other models I need to get finished... who's bright idea was it to add Bushwhackers to the Challenge??

Cygnus of Awareness Army 1 or Army 2

2009-03-11T12:27:00.002-06:00

Well I need help working on lists for the Breast Cancer Brawl. I only want to work one Army list so I need to work it out which way to go. I only want alterations to the list if you think I have a gaping hole in the workings of the list. Yes the lists are supposed to be unfriendly and meant to win, I want to truly kick ass and have a pink army win the brawl, the Championship round needs to be two pink armies going at each other, and currently I know of only two so Jen, we need to whip some ass.

List 1
742pts 26VPS

Coleman Stryker
Ol' Rowdy
Thorn
GMCA
Jr.
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages
plus the Dude UA
marshaling Sentinel
Black 13th(I said I wanted a competetive list)
Sword Knights 8 strong
plus UA
Rupert Carvolo

List 2
Captain Allistair Caine
Ol' Rowdy (he is one I am not sure about having, want thoughts on him with eCaine)
Squire
GMCA
Jr,
Hunter assigned
Laddermore
Arcane tempest gun mages
with the Dude UA
marshalling Sentinel
Black 13th
Eiryss, regular, was thinking of the focus campers, if everyone agrees she should be here that means i have to buy and paint her too
Reinholdt

Please let me know, any and all peeps which one would be better off, so I can train with it specifically. Just thought about it, I need to find a pink shirt for the tourney, maybe from RvB the dude its lightish red shirt?

Khador for the Cure

2009-03-10T22:56:00.001-06:00

Got some good news tonight: I have a sponsor for my Breast Cancer Brawl army! The good folks at All About Games! are going to donate the models for the army. In return, I paint the army and auction it, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity. Additionally, I am going to do my damnedest to run the best/biggest Breast Cancer Brawl event west of the Rockies.

Needless to say, I am very fired up about this. I know it's more than 6 months to BCB, but I want to make it an event that will get folks in from out of town -- which likely means a Saturday tourney instead of a Sunday. I know that Privateer has expressed an interest in providing additional support for these events, but those details haven't been worked out yet.

One thing I'd like to do is center a painting challenge/blog (separate from here) on getting armies ready for BCB. Currently, Scott and I are participating in Band of Bodgers II, which runs from April 1 to July 31. That would give me August and September to get the Khador force painted, unless I made it my BBII army. Must ponder this.

In any event, this was the news I was waiting for. Now to get models in hand and assemble them.

This is the list:

Army Name: Butcher Brawl
Khador
743/750 points, 29 VP, 20 models
Kommander Orsus Zoktavir 78 points, 5 VP
* Beast-09 126 points, 5 VP
* War Dog 18 points, 1 VP
Man-O-War Drakhun (+dismount) 70 points, 2 VP
Great Bears of Gallowswood 76 points, 2 VP
Greylord Ternion 43 points, 2 VP
Koldun Lord 30 points, 1 VP
Man-O-War Kovnik 34 points, 1 VP
* Juggernaut 105 points, 4 VP
4 Man-O-War Shocktroopers 87 points, 3 VP
2x Manhunter 22 points, 1 VP each
Yuri the Axe 32 points, 1 VP

Hey, well.....

2009-03-10T22:23:00.002-06:00

So March has come in like a Lion, as far as being healthy. The snow was interesting, but it hadn't slowed me down near as much as catching the crud. My youngest picked up a case of strep, and it looks like after fighting the crud, I may have picked it up. As you might be able to guess, I have been sleeping a lot more than painting. I am glad I went light on models for the painting challenge. The trenchers still need highlights, but I managed to get a few more base coats down on the Cygnar 'jacks. Still haven't touched the Protectorate stuff, but they have been patiently waiting in the case to be finished.

I will write/ post more as I get to it. No promises.

Oh, yeah, the Bastions are f*ing awesome. 2 units for me please.

Cygnus of Awareness

2009-03-10T14:08:00.004-06:00

Okay so I got pictures taken, got them uploaded and am editing the rest, but I get to treat everyone to three images. And with these pics everyone sees why I usually have Bobaferret take pics for me.

Color Scheme talk like I mentioned
I went with Cryx bane base and highlights for armor, Bobaferret got me looking into this color and I think it makes a nice rich dark contrast to the light rosy pink that I am going with. My metals will probably be getting a face lift when I get into the store next due to the Trolls armor. And with most of the soldiers will have pink hair. I have to place front edge markers on and I figured to mark the very front with the breast cancer ribbon. Some of the other pics will be with a different base because I had not decided to go with the microart bases when I started.

Rockets' dead glare

2009-03-10T01:42:00.001-06:00

So I play-tested a list for Devilsquid on Sunday. And like most games I have against Mike, this one was brutal and bloody and fun -- the way a clash between Cygnar and Madrak's band of freedom fighters should be!

He did his write-up here, and will be by to steal pics to his blog in the next day or so. I'm lagging, so he has no pics. Nyah. That's OK. I stole the lists from his blog. Except I had to correct mine. ;)

Mike's Cygnar Army (499 pts, 16VPs)
Siege Brisbane
Squire
Defender
Journeyman Warcaster
Reinholdt
Sword Knights [8] + UA
Trenchers [9]
Trencher Grenade Porter

DS Trolls (495 pts, 18 VPs)
Madrak Ironhide
Troll Axer
Troll Impaler
Troll Impaler
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Fell Caller
Pyg Bushwackers [6]
Kriel Warriors [7] + UA
KW Caber Thrower

Round 1

Deployed. First one to murder all the hobbitses wins a prize.

Jen Turn 1

da Axe to Mouf Gang has developed a simple strategy to open a game: RUN. We did, to a certain extent. KWs advanced, Stone Scribe Elder read Chapter 1 on the KWs, Madrak, Impalers and Axer advanced. The Bushwhackers went off running behind Joel L Keep with Juan Cinco in hot pursuit and that was me.

Yeah, the Trolls were kinda close to those damn Trenchers.

Mike Turn 1

The Evil, Hated Sword Knights (unless, of course, I'm running them) ran. Junior advanced, cast Arcane Shield (gasp!) on the SKs. Siege put Explosivo on the Defender. Defender takes aim at Def 13 Pygs, misses and deviates onto nothing. Trenchers move, dig in and throw smoke. Woo.

Round 2

Hasn't anyone told Trenchers that smoking is bad?

Jen Turn 2

The Pygs, eager to prove their worth in battle in the hopes of someday riding on the back of a Dire Troll Blitzer, CRA on the EHSK. First CRA doesn't do enough damage to kill, but the second resolves with an EHSK vaporized into a fine, pink mist. Good Pygs. One Impalers boosts a spear hit to the face of an EHSK, then I roll snakes on damage. Hmmm. Madrak casts Surefoot on the Axer, KWs advance, as does the SSC.

You guys, get the hell out of our valley!

Mike Turn 2

Well, the Trenchers apparently took offense at the Pygs offing some of their Caspian brothers. So they took it out on the Kriel Warriors. Or tried to, rather. It went something like this:

- dead

- miss

- dude, that's my armor

- 22 damage to standard bearer's face! Ow. Not tough.

- throw smoke (boo!)

Reinholdt makes the first move in the Siege posse, Squire also stays close. Siege ground pounders something and misses. Reinholdt does his reload trick and Siege tries to put a rocket up someone's hiney and misses. Phew. Defender, taking offense at missing the previous turn, puts a boosted shot into Unnamed Impaler for 8 points of damage. EHSK move to screen Siege, Junior runs.

Round 3

We can smell the stink of Cygnar. Things must die.

Jen Turn 3

Historically, this is where the shit hits the fan when Mike and I play. Sunday was no different, only I didn't expect my own models to turn on me. Smiley, my favorite light warbeast, fails a threshold check with 1 fury. I rolled a 9. He attacks Unnamed Impaler and does 9 points of damage. Wow. Yay me. :rolleyes: Unnamed Impaler says, "Forget this shit, I'm outta here," and advances to take out his frustrations on the Defender. He chucks a spear and does 8 points back to the Defender.

Yup, he axed some questions.

Not wanting to miss out on the action, the Axer charges the Evil Hated Sword Knights and kills one. Juan Cinco, hidden behind Joel L Keep, does War Cry on the Whackers. Inspired and full of themselves, the Pygs advance on the Defender and take aim... they hit and do 8 points of damage to the 2. Of course not to be outdone, Madrak hefts Rathrok and, thanks to Far Strike, flings it at the Defender. He only does 5 points, but it's to column 6. The damage wraps and both arms fall off the Jack! w00t! He ricochets Rathrok into Siege... and misses by 1. KWs advance, the Caber Thrower takes aim at the EHSKs... and misses??? WTF? *sigh*

Fewer Evil Hated Sword Knights, but enough to hurt the Trolls.

Mike Turn 3

And here we learn why Siege is a bad motherfucker.

He pops is feat and Ground Pounders Madrak. Mike rolled well for damage, and with halved armor, there was no way Madrak was taking the hit. He used his scroll, bye-bye damage, none for me thanks. Unnamed Impaler takes it in the face and dies. As does the Stone Scribe Chronicler, who failed his tough roll. Reinholdt reloads Siege, who tries to put a rocket up Madrak's tail pipe -- and misses on a boosted attack roll! He throws Higher Ground on Trenchers and puts Explosivo on Junior. Full of himself, Junior takes aim at a KW. Man, that feat turn shot hurts. A lot. Except when you're tough, bitches!

The Trenchers, in Higher Ground, can see a lot of shit. A lot. Of Kriel Warriors. Four of them CRA on Madrak and Mike rolls boxcars to hit. Madrak takes 5 points. The rest of the Trenchers, packed in like sardines around the Grenade Porter, start lobbing grenades at my Trolls. Bastards and their AOEs.

- not tough, killed

- tough

- miss (leader)

- not tough, killed

- hit, meets armor

- piper lives

- no damage to Smiley

- Standard bearer, no dmg

- miss

Evil Hated Sword Knights charge Madrak and there are still 2 on the Axer. Thank Grimmr they don't get dismember on warlocks. First EHSK does 13 dmg to Axer, second attack does 4. Second EHSK does 2 points, then another 6 for the kill. Against Madrak, the EHSK do:

- 4 points

- miss

- no dmg

- miss

- 3 pts

Round 4: The final countdown

Hi, my name is Crusher, and I'll be your murderer today.

Jen Turn 4

Well, we're in deep shit. Madrak up to his armpits with EHSK and then, then Smiley frenzies. Again. With a 9. Again. This time, he goes after a Sword Knight. He should make short work of him. Except for rolling 3 2s for damage. Bugger. Screw him, let's play with Pygs.

Whackers move, can't hit Siege on the CRA. Four of em shoot at EHSK

- hit, no dmg

- dead

- miss

- hit, no dmg

Madrak pops his feat. Crusher. A great name. He's gotta clear out the EHSKs, or it's bad shit.

- dead

- miss (crusher)

- miss

- dead

- miss

- dead

I could not get Crusher going with him. SKs are only Def 13. My dices seriously shit the bed on this one. So I switched to my PG dice -- the all blacks with the Privateer Press logo on 'em.

KWs charge -- one into the Trenchers, the others into EHSKs. The charge on the EHSK flag misses. And here's how Crusher got his name.

- 21 dmg to Sgt, dead

- 15 dmg to Trencher, dead

- 18 dmg to Porter, dead

- 16 dmg to Trencher, dead

- 18 dmg to Trencher, dead

- 12 dmg to Trencher, not dead

Six dudes. He plowed through 6 dudes. Disgusting to say the least, can't wait to try it with Champs with War Cry! Holy crap.

And that's all I can do.

Take a look at those dice. Those are boxcars. That's bad.

Mike Turn 4

Thankfully, Mike cut to the chase. A turn without Ground Pounder is like a day in March without snow (seriously, the weather here has been really fucking weird). Ground Pounder on Madrak, boosted everything and splat. Game over man, game over.

No, he's not just sleeping.

So, what did we learn from the game today Madrak?

Madrak's feat is really, really good.
You can survive Siege's feat turn if you remember what your own models do.
Bushwhackers are way more fun than they should be.
I suck at tough rolls. Again.
Do not forsake the Privateer Dice.
You can do well with Champions, but I miss them when they're not there.
Mike loves Sword Knights as much as I do and does very well with melee-heavy Cygnar (*sniffle* Grasshopper is all growed up now).
When they're fully painted, my Trolls will look damned good when they die.

Beefy Angry Trollblood goodness!

2009-03-09T20:17:00.003-06:00

That's Horthol. I wants him nao.

Edit to add:

Once a proud chieftain in his own right, Horthol has adapted to the needs of war with good humor and surprising resiliency, taking to the Long Rider saddle as if born to it. Now the bison riders look to him for direction and are ready to follow him unflinchingly wherever the war takes him. Astride his ground-shaking steed with his great hammer in hand he is an unstoppable force. This box contains all the parts necessary to assemble one mounted Horthol, Long Rider Champion and one dismounted Horthol. A player may include one Horthol, Long Rider Champion in his Trollblood horde.

I'm gonna be a poor lil Ferret in June...

But I love you, Privateer Press. I really, really do.

Beefy Exemplar goodness!

2009-03-09T10:41:00.007-06:00

That's a Bastion next to a TFG. Beefy Exemplar goodness!

Well, a nice little surprise on the Privateer Press web site this morning. This is what they had to say:

June heralds the first of Privateer Press’s new plastic miniature kits, the Exemplar Bastions. Our new plastic models maintain the excellent detail and quality you’ve come to expect from Privateer Press. These models were designed with the hobbyist in mind, and the high-quality plastic makes assembly and conversion work easier than ever before. Best of all, each Exemplar Bastion kit contains a full five-man unit.

The Exemplar Bastion Unit comes in a box (PIP 32058, MSRP $44.99).

For more information on everything these fantastic new kits hold in store be sure to check out No Quarter Magazine #24 this June, and get ready to lay down the rule of the Lawbringer!

So we have to wait until June. That makes me Sad Panda, but holy shit, do those models look good!

They're worth the wait. I'll be getting at least one box... at $45 a pop, I can afford two. But I don't know how many 1000-point games I'll get in with Protectorate.

Some of you may remember a post made by Matt Wilson back in November. I would challenge any of those naysayers to dare say these models look shit. I mean really, if I didn't know they were plastic, there's no way to tell!

So seriously, naysayers, you've seen what they can do with plastics. STFU or go play Bella Sara.

A tip of the hat to Matt and the crew at Privateer Press. I have yet to be disappointed with any product at this point, something I can't even say about Apple, my most favoritest company in the world (hockey puck mouse, anyone?).

Keep kicking ass and taking names; 2009 is truly epic for those of us who love Warmachine and Hordes. Thank you.

iBodger Army: Madrak Beaters

2009-03-08T21:36:00.001-06:00

Army Name: Madrak Beaters
Trollbloods
745/750 points, 24 VP, 26 models

Chief Madrak Ironhide 64 points, 5 VP

Dire Troll Mauler 111 points, 3 VP
Troll Axer 72 points, 2 VP
Troll Impaler 75 points, 2 VP
2x Fell Caller 35 points, 1 VP each
8 Pyg Bushwackers 84 points, 2 VP
Stone Scribe Chronicler 19 points, 1 VP
Trollkin Champions 106 points, 3 VP
Trollkin Champions 106 points, 3 VP
Trollkin Hero 38 points, 1 VP

Sent from my iPod!

Making a hat

2009-03-06T11:06:00.005-07:00

Most of this was posted elsewhere, thought I'd share it here.

I played a team game with a couple of my friends last night. I took Madrak, my teammate, Wade, took Doomshaper. Wade's fiance, Haley, took Kromac (the same one that leaped off my painting table) and her teammate, Kater, brought his Searforge. We grabbed a nice table in the back corner of the gaming area, since we were full-up on C2A games last night. The store was pretty crowded, so you had to work to get to where we were.

Wade and I won the roll and we get deployed. The other team finishes deployment when the stereotypical nerd trundles up to our table. He's wearing gray sweatpants (don't they always?), a t-shirt that's two sizes too small and a jacket of some kind.

I've seen him before. He just started playing Magic, and often wants to see all of the pre-constructed decks and then wants to know if there are specific cards in the tournament packs. He's a little dense, and more than a little creepy. The unwashed hair and acne do nothing to help his image. Sadly, he wears the card player stereotype very well.

Anyway, this is what goes down:

Nerd: [looks at Haley and me] "Hey, you two shouldn't be playing a game. You should be having a cat fight."

[Haley and I exchange bewildered looks, Wade and Kater can sense trouble]

Me: "Really? Are you sure about that? I should probably let you know -- I know karate."

"Uh... "

"And really, you shouldn't talk shit to people you don't know. You'll end up wearing your nutsack for a hat."

"Uh... hey, what's this?" [picks up Sentry Stone]

"Deployed. You also shouldn't pick up shit during people's games."

"Uh... so what game is this? Warhammer?"

All of us: "Warmachine and Hordes."

[Nerd wanders to the next table]

I would have been able to keep a straight face if not for the fact Haley started cracking up. It's because I told her about this t-shirt the day before, which is sadly sold out. I was gonna buy it when I got home last night.

Anyway, we all got a good laugh out of it. And the karate line came up a lot last night -- "OK, my Spray Bunny is gonna target the Mauler." Really? Are you sure? He knows karate.

I would have gone full uber bitch on the nerd if I was at 100%... since I've been fighting what is likely walking pneumonia, I've been a little more mellow. That, and I saw an opportunity to make a funny. :P Frankly, I'm surprised the nerd came up and engaged us -- he must not be afeared of teh wimmins. But really, what would make you tell two females they should be having a cat fight? And seriously, you do not pick up someone's models without permission.

There are days when I wonder how the fuck some people can manage leaving the house and being out in society. Granted, it's better that they get out of their basements (I guess), but seriously. I'm no stranger to working in a game store. Do I really need to attract all of the dorks? And do they always have to be the creepy ones? Haley's had the same problem at Hobbytown, when she was being "assisted" by one of the scarier employees there.

Other people's children. Damn.

March Painting Challenge

2009-03-06T02:15:00.002-07:00

I've started a March Challenge thread over on the big board. So if you don't make it over there very often, now I've given you a reason. ;)

iBodger Army: DS Trolls

2009-03-05T23:28:00.002-07:00

Army Name: DS Trolls
Trollbloods
495/500 points, 18 VP, 22 models

Chief Madrak Ironhide 64 points, 5 VP

Troll Axer 72 points, 2 VP
2x Troll Impaler 75 points, 2 VP each
Fell Caller 35 points, 1 VP
7 Kriel Warriors 58 points, 2 VP
* Kriel Caber Thrower 12 points, 0 VP
* Kriel Warrior Standard & Piper 21 points, 1 VP
6 Pyg Bushwackers 64 points, 2 VP
Stone Scribe Chronicler 19 points, 1 VP

Sent from my iPod!

Edit: Field testing this list for Devilsquid. Not that I play anything like him, but we need to see if the list is viable.

Played in a 2 v 2 tonight -- Trolls vs. Circle and Searforge. While we had some synergy going, in the end, we didn't have an answer for Brun & Lug or the 3 Bokurs. >_<>

OMG Ferret WIP photos!

2009-03-04T02:04:00.003-07:00

Yeah. I've gotten out of the habit of doing this. No better time than the present to get back into it.

Started work on the Kilt Lifter on Sunday. Started eMadrak this morning. I'm stalled with the Kilt Lifter because I don't like the green I picked for the gobber. I think I've got it figured out. I would have finished eMadrak tonight, except I want to read some more in Meta before I head to sleep.

Anyway, pics.

Loved this model from the moment I saw it. I think the gobber will end up Traitor Green with Ordic Olive on the highlight. He's too dark.

A shame I'm not painting patterns on the quitari. They're frat boys and therefore should be wearing togas.

This model practically painted itself. Citadel washes on the armor... wow. Totally in love.

Can't believe I've waited so long to paint this model.

With any luck, I'll have both of these and some more WIPs models to show off.

It's nice to be back in the saddle. :)

Scott's March Painting Challenge

2009-03-03T17:34:00.004-07:00

OK, here goes:

For the month of March I vow to completely paint:

Gravus (both models)
Vengers (5)

Trenchers (10)
+ UA
+ Grenade Porter (SWA)
Ironclad
Sentinel
Lancer
Hunter
Grenadier

Twenty-five models in all, and much more manageable than last month, though I did get a full unit of Sword Knights done. I will try to keep updates posted fairly regular, as well as pictures of progress. Right now the Trenchers are almost ready for ink wash. The Cygnar models are all commission work, so I have more motivation to finish them, and Gravus and the Vengers have been close to done for over a month.

Gnashing of teeth and Trollbloods

2009-03-03T12:04:00.003-07:00

There's quite a bit of whining going on over at the forums about how horrible Trollbloods are and how the faction got screwed in Metamorphosis.

What? Are these people high?

The current whine is that you should stop blaming the player, but blame the model/rules instead.

Wow.

I'll come right out and say that as a Trollbloods player, I suck. I've said it a lot and I'll keep saying it until I figure out how to play my army. I know it's not the models, I never blame my models. It's my inability to get things to interact at the right time due to not knowing the army or botching order of operations. I know what I want to do, I just haven't played them enough. As long as I learn something from every game I play, I'm happy.

I don't agree 100% with the rules for any of my factions, but I can work within them. I don't blame Privateer when I lose a game -- "OMG they hatez my army and they borked it so I cant winz." That's complete and utter bull crap. If you can't figure out a rule or a special ability or how a model works, it's you, the player, not the company!

All of the factions have a learning curve. For some of us, it's a little steeper with Trolls. It took me 10-12 months to fully grasp what my Cygnar can do, but then, I was also learning the rules. Protectorate took less time, mostly because I was used to getting my face punched in with them and knew some of the tricks. With Trolls, I'm learning Hordes for the first time. I know it's going to take time. I guess that's the difference with me and a lot of the other dorks -- I understand there's no easy button, and success will come over time. I'm patient, I'm OK with this. I think of it as lulling my players to sleep... they'll be sorry when I get good with the Trolls. ;)

I enjoy the TB models, the flavor and the story. I'm not going to come out and say everything is perfect and nothing needs to change. But I'm also not going to come out and say it's all worthless because I'm not very good with the army. Maybe Trolls aren't my style, maybe Hordes isn't my style. But I'm not going to throw in the towel after playing the army for less than 4 months. That's unfair to me as a consumer, and unfair to the Bright Pinks, who will be fully painted by May. :)

March Challenge

2009-03-01T21:58:00.002-07:00

Also figured I'd post my March Painting Challenge since it contains my Cygnus of Awareness army.

I want to paint

10 Sword Knights
Stryker
Druid Overseer

12 models, 2 less from last months failure

I might add Epic Kruegar but i need to see the mini, I don't like the studio work, but I might be able to re-work it.

Breast Cancer Brawl, new contender

2009-03-01T21:32:00.003-07:00

Well I got the invite and so i figure get the posting part done and then move onto the pictures which I will try and take tomorrow night. I am also contributing for the Breast Cancer Brawl and am going with a pink Cygnar army. Someone in the family is getting the scare and we are waiting for more info(coming at the end of the month) as to how she is doing. So I figured I gotta do something and this seemed like a great idea.

Why Cygnar?? Well Legends releases did it. So I have built a few lists and thought out some ideas of what to do, and as soon as Thorn comes into the FLGS then I will have all of the models I intend to use for the upcoming brawl. Some of them are not assembled because I discovered microarts nifty epicast bases so I am waiting form ore to the hit the store before I assemble them, all they need to get in is one small base blister, one medium base, and two large base blisters, but I need to wait...I hate waiting.

Alright so the mini list, all the ones I plan to use

Casters, not sure which one to use so they will all see trial games
Stryker, assembled
EStryker, aka Darth Stryker, painted
Caine, primed
ECaine, painted
Squire, he's their attachment, painted

Jacks
Ol Rowdy, partially assembled
Centurion, primered
Sentinel, painted
Lancer, primered
Thorn, waiting to buy him

Solos
GMCA, painted
Jr. Alt Sculpt, painted
Reinholdt, unassembled
Rupert Carvolo, unassembled
Laddermore, last minute entry, unassembled
if I get most of this done and have the time I will add Strangeways

Units
Black 13th, painted
Gun Mages with UA, some assembled
Sword Knights with UA, all assembled, troops primered, 5 bases need primer, UA painted

I will cover the color scheme when I post some pictures. Thats it for now from the Cygnus of Awareness.

Foiled again!

2009-03-01T16:51:00.002-07:00

Eaten by my own painted models!

That's Warpy and Warpy II, both of whom took huge bites out of Madrak. Warpy finished him off.

*sigh*

March Challenge

2009-03-01T00:49:00.004-07:00

Yup, February was filled with epic fail. I busted ass to get stuff done for Templecon and got home and never recovered. Plus, I've been sick since coming back from Providence. I easily lost a week of painting time from that.

But, it's in the past. Here's what we're looking at for March:

My models:

eMadrak
Doomshaper
eDoomshaper
Borka + keg carrier
Grissel
Grim Angus
Troll Hero
Kilt Lifter
Fell Caller ~ Juan Cinco
Brun & Lug
Dahlia & Skarrath (LGS painting contest)

Total: 14

Commissions:

Steelhead Cavalry [5]
Stannis Brocker
eMagnus
Ayana & Holt conversion
Nightmare (basecoated WIP)
Kruger
Vayl
Saeryn
Rorsch & Brine
Thorn
Exorcist Tank

Total: 17

Total models for March: 31

That averages out to a model a day. Notice anything about the list? Only one trooper unit! I do still need to finish the Kriel Warriors, but they'll be "off the books" as it were.

So we'll see. I'm much more excited about this month than last, though Templecon was a blast. I'm essentially clearing the decks of commissions because I've a shit-ton of Trolls to paint for the Invitational -- it's why I'm getting my 'locks all painted. Then it's beasts, units and solos, hopefully done before the Meta releases are in hand. With any luck, I'll have eDoomie in the next week or so. ;) (Pretty please, with sugar on top, Biggie?)

Breast Cancer Awareness Army ~ American Idol style

2009-02-25T17:49:00.003-07:00

OK, now that the forums are up, go vote for Devilsquid's next breast cancer awareness army now.

And the bit of info I was holding off on yesterday: Some of you may or may not know that I'm working on a Khador army for breast cancer awareness. Yes, I'm still painting the pink Trolls, but they're a lot of things to me -- fun models and an army I'd really like to get good with. The new models they have in Metamorphosis are pretty f'n sweet.

Orsus might be crazy, but he hates blight.

The Khador is an army I'm not really attached to. I think they'll be fun to paint and play, but Cygnar is my first faction. So, after some thought and exchange of ideas with Devilsquid, I will paint 750 points of Khador, play them in the Breast Cancer Brawl tourney I'll be running in October and then auction them off with 100% of the proceeds going toward breast cancer research or mammograms for low-income women. Who knows. I may even take them to fight at another tournament.

Thankfully, I haven't lost anyone to breast cancer. I know plenty of women who have had it -- my mom is a survivor. And that puts me in the high-risk category, so yes, there is a little bit of self interest here. But really, it's one of those things where there's a high survival rate if it's caught early enough.

In any event, go vote in that thread on the forums. It'll be fun to see which army prevails. I'm donating a painted heavy to whichever army wins.

Breast Cancer Brawl

2009-02-24T19:30:00.003-07:00

Well, with the Privateer Press forums down (*sob*), I figured I might as well throw a post up here about a future project.

I don't have a lot of details I can share right now, since all of the organizational stuff is going to take place on the forums, but keep an eye out in this space for more information about my Khador for a Cure army.

I was planning on doing a Warmachine army for breast cancer awareness since the Trolls will be painted by May. And I picked Khador because I like the idea of the Butcher running around and killing things -- all while wearing pink.

What I can tell you is that I will be hosting a Breast Cancer Brawl event in October, and that we're going to do everything we can to get corporate sponsorship so we can make a huge donation for this cause.

Anyway, I'll post a link to the thread in the forums once they're back up (*sniffle*) and I've had time to coordinate with Devilsquid. And I'm hoping for some good news, but I don't want to spill any other details until I get an answer.

Back to waiting for midnight to get here so we can have Metamorphosis!

Revenge of Dangerfish II: Lightning Crashes

2009-02-22T23:59:00.008-07:00

Well, I switched out 'locks at the last second -- I ran Doomshaper instead of Madrak.

Key points from today:

Two units of Champs rock
I need to run two Fell Callers
I need to run two Heroes
I need to learn how to play with Stormblades and the Stormclad
Dice that betray you early need to be dealt with early
Champs need a delivery system
Ranged attacks are you friend
Consider taking Swamp Gobbers
Gatormen are like a 3rd unit of Champs
Never, ever rely on tough

OK, the thing about tough is a no-brainer. I got maybe one roll when I needed it. In any event, Dangerfish played a good game, and it was apparent I was in need of range and a better way to protect Doomshaper. I think the list works would have worked better with Madrak and Cav. But we'll see.

In any event, here are the gory details from today's fight. Things are mostly in order, since I took notes, but I was busy getting my ass kicked and might have missed something. Mike also took pics, and here's his report.

My list:

Doomshaper

Mauler

Gatormen [4]

Kriel Stone Bearer [6]

> SS Elder

SS Chronicler

Fell Caller

Champs

Hero

Mike's list:

Stryker

> Squire

> Lancer

> Centurion

> Stormclad

Stormblades

> UA

Sword Knights

> UA

Black 13th

Yup, everything's all even now.

Mike won the roll and went first.

Mike Turn 1

Focus from Squire

Stormclad moves

Stormblades move

Lancer moves

Centurion moves

Sword Knights move

Black 13th run

Jr moves, Arcane Shield on SKs

Stryker moves, snipes SBs for 7. This was the bane of my existence, and led to my undoing...

OK, this still doesn't look so bad.

Jen Turn 1

Mauler 1 runs

Mauler 2 runs

Doomie casts Fortune on Champs 1 (primer gray)

Gators move and make a swamp

Everyone else moves

We didn't all run, but we advanced. Running might've been better.

M Turn 2

Upkeep Arcane Shield

Upkeep Snipe

focus on Centurion

SB activate: Controlled fire on Mauler 1, hits. Max dmg on roll, 16 points to the 2; body out

- arcs to Champ A for 6 points

- arcs to Champ B for 5 points

Stormclad adv

B13 adv: Return fire order; time to kill some Gators

- Lynch hits, no dmg

- Watts blaze rd on Gator C for 5 dmg

- Ryan LS Gator B

-- no dmg

-- 6 dmg to C; mage storm -- B&C dead, 3 to Bokor, 6 points to A

[We realized that the chain attack can't include an arcane effect a few turns later. No biggie.]

Centurion runs

SK adv

Stryker adv

- arcs Earthquake, Mauler 2 falls down

Yeah, not a good start for the Bright Pinks.

J Turn 2

Gators run at B13

Mauler 2 stands up, puts Rage on Hero

Hero runs

Champs 1 run

Mauler 1 heals for 1, adv

Champs 2 run

KSB adv, Protective Aura

Fell Caller War Cry

Chronicler reads Ch. 1

OK, things are engaged now. Good, right? Not really.

M Turn 3

Upkeep all

B13 activates

- Watts kills Gator A

- Lynch Blaze on Bokor for 1 dmg

- Ryan hits Bokor, no dmg; hits Bokor for 11 points.

Gumbo and boots for all.

Lancer adv, attacks Champ D (yes, that Champ D!) and misses

Cent charges Mauler 2; 11 dmg to the 3

SK charge, engage Hero

- Retaliatory strike kills one SK

- Champ D engaged

- Mauler 2 surrounded by SKs

- Hero dies, not tough

- Champ D takes 3 dmg; 2nd attack misses

- Champ C attacked, not tough

Stormclad charges Champ B

- 7 dmg on charge; 2 dmg from buckler

Stormblades CRA on Mauler 1 for 7 dmg

Jr adv, shoots Champ B and misses

Styker adv, Arcane Shield on SB, pops feat [*sigh*]

Wow. Look at the B13 over there, unscathed.

J Turn 3

Mauler 2 regen for 2

Attacks SK officer; misses 3x

Mauler 1 2-handed throw on Stormclad; throws but no dmg

Chronicler reads Charge of the Trolls on Champs 2

Champs 2 charge SK, kill 2

KSB do Strength aura

Fell Caller does War Cry

Doomie pops feat

- Casts Dissolution; all cmd checks passed

Futility. We can haz it.

M Turn 4

B13 moves

- Watts Blaze Rd Chronicler; tough

- Lynch Blaze Chronicler; not tough

- Ryan shoots Champ2 D, 6 pts of dmg, not tough

Centurion attacks Mauler 2 for 7 dmg; 2nd attack misses

SK shuffle; Maj. adv.; attack Mauler 2

- 3 pts, 4 pts 1 pt

- vs. Champs 2: miss, miss, hit, miss

SB CRA on Mauler 1, dead

Stormclad adv

Jr casts Arcane Shield, takes d3 dmg for each focus spent; takes 5 points and dies! Sucka!

Stryker Arcane Shield, out of Doomy feat range.

Hmm. I have fewer models now.

J Turn 4

War Cry on Champs 2

Champs 2 kill 3 SKs

Champs 1 in on Stormclad

KSB does protective aura

Not a lot of action. Not for me, at least.

M Turn 5

Focus from Squire

Stryker snipes SB for 7

SB CRA on Doomie, 14 dmg

B13 adv

- Watts on Scribe - not tough

- Lynch LS on Doomie, 1 dmg

- Ryan misses 2x on Doomie!

Centurion whaps Champs2 B, not tough

SKs on Champs1 C: no dmg, 1 pt; miss, hit no dmg; hit no dmg, hit 1 pt

Lancer on Champs1 D: hit, 1 pt. Shield misses on snake eyes

Stormclad: back arc on A, 4 dmg; buckler misses

Trust me. It ends badly for the Trolls.

J Turn 5

Fell Caller Juan Cinco charges B13 and kills that dirty Ryan wench

Champs 2 kill 3 SKs

Champs1 D kills Lancer! Yesss!

KSB charge Stormblades [yeah, I know, OK? :P]: miss, miss, dead

Doomie charge [OK, OK] SB Lt.: 12 dmg, night night.

Does Hoarluk Doomshaper look like a bitch? Well, now that you mention it...

M Turn 6

Stormclad attacks KSB, not tough

- attacks Champs: Buckler on Kithkar, nope. Pow 19 sword on Kithkar, tough!

Stryker arcane blast on Doomie, hits, enough to kill... TOUGH!

SBs to the face on Doomie... not tough

It was a fun, brutal game. I think Madrak would've been better, but I do like Doomie. If only I had remembered ALL of his abilities. *sigh* Next time... the Champs will have their revenge.

But you know what? Juan Cinco and Champ D lived! Hah!

* * *

In other news, I took the Amon list against Jeromy in a league game. It was close, but I failed two assassinations and lost -- Allegiants had a chance to end Zaal. Allegiant 1 (Bruce) did his thing and did it well -- he murdered a Cyclops Shaman and when the call came, he booted Zaal in the face. Allegiant 2 (the nameless) couldn't hit shit for two tries and didn't do a lot the time he did hit. They both died.

Amon tried to Sandblast Zaal through Blessing of Vengeance and missed the first time! Hit the second, got the critical slam for 2" -- 3" would've given me an extra die on damage. As it was, jack and shit for dmg.

Ancestral Guardian finished off Amon, who was not tough.

Will retool list with more Castigators, Knights Exemplar and Seneschal. Yeah. Four Castigators, bitches!

Tired nao. Much painting to do this week...

New News

2009-02-22T19:51:00.002-07:00

OK, so I have been even more slack in keeping up on here. My bad.

Today I purchased a camera, so I don't have to depend on anyone else taking pictures for me, and I can post works in progress as well. I am just getting used to it, but I figured out the basics and snapped a few pictures.

Supreme Kommandant Irusk, whom I finished shortly after his release:

Let's see how this goes, and as I get more pictures I will post them somewhere-

Scott

iBodger Army: Champs!

2009-02-21T18:22:00.001-07:00

Army Name: Champs!
Trollbloods
744 points, 26 VP, 28 models

Chief Madrak Ironhide 64 points, 5 VP

2x Dire Troll Mauler 111 points, 3 VP each
Fell Caller 35 points, 1 VP
3 Gatormen Posse 71 points, 2 VP
6 Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes 50 points, 2 VP
Stone Scribe Elder 18 points, 1 VP
Stone Scribe Chronicler 19 points, 1 VP
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew 15 points, 1 VP
Trollkin Champions 106 points, 3 VP
Trollkin Champions 106 points, 3 VP
Trollkin Hero 38 points, 1 VP

Sent from my iPod!

Another list

2009-02-21T15:03:00.003-07:00

So it was the Champions that got me into Trolls.

Here's another possibility for Sunday's game:

Chief Madrak Ironhide
Dire Troll Mauler
Fell Caller
Feralgeist
Gatormen [5]
KSB [6]
- Stone Scribe Elder
Champions
Champions
Trollkin Hero
Long Riders [3]

Long Riders because they're new and assembled, Gatormen because Kevin's ate Nemo. Extremely light on beasts, which is the major shortcoming of this list, but if I get the troops up in there fast enough, it may not matter.

Actually, I'm lacking the card for the cav, so they're right out. Hmmm....

Will bring Menoth too. That Amon list makes me giggle.

Lists

2009-02-21T01:09:00.004-07:00

With the help of iBodger, I've come up with two lists I want to play in the next week. The first is for the Axe to Mouf gang:

Army Name: Beefy!
Trollbloods
750 points, 26 VP, 28 models

Hoarluk Doomshaper 54 points, 5 VP
Brun Cragback 113 points, 1 VP
-- Lug 0 points, 3 VP
Earthborn Dire Troll 125 points, 3 VP
Troll Bouncer 70 points, 2 VP
5 Gatormen Posse 111 points, 2 VP
6 Krielstone Bearer

I don't normally throw lists out into the wild for folks to critique, but I'm really curious to see how the Troll list performs. The Gatormen are a nod to Kevin, who used them to turn Nemo into gumbo. Plus, I have the models, might as well use em, right?

But, there are no Champs and not enough solos in the Troll list, so it likely will be changed. Plus, I have the cav assembled. So much I want to run. So sad I'm out of room. :(

And for whatever reason, I'm dying to bust out the Menoth. Maybe it's because I want to bring the crusade to Templecon next year. ;) But I'll probably end up playing Bruce on Tuesday before the Metamorphosis midnight release and I'm not ready for Troll on Troll violence. So I came up with this one:

Army Name: Amon
Protectorate of Menoth
748 points, 29 VP, 25 models

High Allegiant Amon Ad-Raza 70 points, 5 VP
-- Blessing of Vengeance 88 points, 3 VP
-- 2x Castigator 108 points, 3 VP each
-- 2x Dervish 65 points, 2 VP each
-- Devout 69 points, 2 VP
2x Allegiant of the Order of the Fist 25 points, 1 VP each
6 Choir of Menoth 22 points, 2 VP
6 Choir of Menoth 22 points, 2 VP
High Paladin Dartan Vilmon 38 points, 1 VP
2x Paladin of the Order of the Wall 19 points, 1 VP each
Wrack 5 points, 0 VP

Yes, I like Amon. I don't think he sucks. I think he's a lot of fun to play and there's a very specific order of operations you need to follow with him. I "get" him, and I win with him. It's just one of those things.

There's a temptation to take the Amon list against Dangerfish on Sunday. I may bring both armies.

OMFG - A win!

2009-02-20T00:11:00.002-07:00

I played my first game with Trolls in well over a month. And I won! Holy crap! A win!

I took Doomshaper, Mauler, Champions, Hero x2, Fell Caller, Impaler, Stone Scribe Chronicler against Tony and his Cryx. Never faced Mortenebra before, but new she could do scary stuff.

I managed to wreck the Deathjack with the Mauler and Champs on Turn 2. Turn 3, they destroyed the Harrower. Turn 4, Champ D made 2 tough rolls to save me from a scenario loss. And in Turn 4, Champs C and D killed Morte.

Wasn't expecting the win, I never do when I run my Trolls. I've got a game with Dangerfish set for Sunday... we'll see how that goes.

That bad thing? I really, really want to paint Trolls now! *sigh* So much to do for the February Challenge. :(

Gloves off...

2009-02-17T23:01:00.004-07:00

Let's make something very clear: I'm posting this as a Warmachine player, not in my capacity as a member of the Press Gang. I want this to be perfectly clear, because some of what I'm going to write in my own blog -- if posted in the forums -- would likely raise my warning level and possibly cause me to lose posting privileges.

Having said that.

[rant]

I love the idea of Warmachine Mk II. I didn't think I would. I like my WM/H the way they are, why change a good thing? When Privateer Press announced how they were making the change, it all made sense. They're not doing it faction by faction, they're doing it all at once. No lag, no gaps where one army is stupidly overpowered, or your army is woefully underpowered. Across the board, changes to point cost. I like this.

Apparently, not all forum denizens enjoy change. The gloom and doom is clouding the horizon. Everyone is worried about losing something. Hell, I am too. But you know what? It's about give and take. If you want to get more use out of that Stormclad, then something else is going to give. It's about balance, not which faction can have the most uber-broken combo ever.

Privateer Press is giving us a gift. They're making our game better. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in the world where no matter how hard you work, no matter how hard you try, it's not good enough. They'll always find something wrong, they'll tell you how they can do it better.

Fine, whiny, bitching gamer population. You fix the game. You make it better. You prove to me that you know better than the good folks at Privateer Press that you, living in your grandma's basement, wearing your Spider-man Underoos, can fix their game. Do it, nerd. Prove to me you can.

What's that? You can't do it? What's the matter? You can play TheoryMachine all day and bitch about how horrible the game is, but you can't balance and play test? You don't have a year to work on this project because it'll cut into your video game time or your tentacle-rape anime? That's a damn shame. I guess we'll have to let the experts do it. Why don't you get the fuck out of the basement and get a job?

I'm tired of gamers who think they know better. I'm tired of gamers who complain about how every model sucks except Unit X, and you're stupid if you don't take 10 of them. Do these people ever fucking play? I can't imagine they'd have time put models on the board, let alone paint them with all the bitching going on. I mean really, if everything sucks and you've only got a few models to choose from, how the fuck can you build an army? I'm not even going to get into how uncomfortable it must be to try and game with all that sand in your mangina.

Seriously.

Then there are the people who are all, "OMG my books are teh worthlezz nao." Really? Really? Are you fucking sure about that? Because Mk II means the books will turn to dust the second the new rules come out in 2010. Because with a book, you can't go back and read something again and again. Because buying books is the most cost prohibitive part of the game. JTFC. Books are references. They're a snapshot of a specific moment in time. They're a permanent record. Mk II will not change this. The ink in Remix is not going to vaporize and Apotheosis is not going to spontaneously combust. (Though the thought is amusing.)

And then there's the argument about needing to get new cards. Well, I guess this could be optional -- if you didn't want to play the game. I've got 6 factions now. I'm not looking forward to it. But you know what, no one is going to hold a gun to my head and say "YOU MUST BUY ALL THE FACTION DECKS NAO." I bought the first decks, then multiples of the Mk II decks. You space these things out, folks. It's simple. You've already got the models. Buying decks is easy.

Am I nervous about Mk II? Sure. But I'm willing to give it a chance. I want to see what they have in store for my armies. I want to play with the new rules and give feedback as needed. Give and take, folks. Give and take.

More importantly, I want there to still be a game called Warmachine and new models to play with and new books to read. I want my game to survive. It's my hobby, it's a small source of income and most importantly, it's brought me together with people I never would have met otherwise. I mean really, would I go out of my way to meet Devilsquid just out of the blue? (I kid. He's a great guy and a close friend). Why else would I fly to Providence, RI to game? Seriously, the friends I've made through WM/H are outstanding, and I'm trying to figure out how to get to conventions so I can spend more time with them. That's the impact this game has had on me.

Maybe that's because I can see the big picture. I can see that change, while sometimes scary, is a good thing. Maybe it's because I'm willing to give things a chance before immediately assuming they'll be ruined forever. Ruined forever means no more Warmachine.

Fuck the naysayers. They can wallow in their bitterness and despair. I can't wait until we prove them wrong.

And to paraphrase: Shut the fuck up and wait until you see what they can do before you decide they're going down in flames.

[/rant]

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to put on my Press Ganger hat and promote the game I love.

Call to Arms Kickoff

2009-02-17T01:07:00.004-07:00

Ran my first tournament of 2009, and I'm pleased to say it was a success. We had 17 players show up and 3 no-shows. Things can only get bigger from here!

Tourney pics here: http://gallery.me.com/bobaferret#100034

First: Zo Cserna (Circle)
Second: Nick Cottrell (Cryx)
Third: Nick Staggs (Cygnar)

Best of Faction
Cygnar - Nick Staggs
Menoth - Scott Kidwell
Khador - Trever Browne
Cryx - Nick Cottrell
Mercs - Wade Venerdi
Trolls - Tanner Lauerman
Circle - Zo Cserna
Skorne - Trent Bates
Legion - Janos Cserna

Zo's list

eKaya
Woldwarden
Warpwolf
Warpwolf
Woldwyrd
Sentry Stone
Sentry Stone
Shifting Stones
Shifting Stones
Druids
- UA
Gudrun
Bonegrinders

Nick C's list

Terminus
Seether
Nightmare
Skarlock
Withershadow Combine
Mechanithralls (10)
- Brute Thrall
Mechanithralls (10)
- Brute Thrall
Revenant cannon crew
Revenant cannon crew
Bloat Thrall

Nick S's Lists

List 1

eNemo
Squire
Thunderhead (bonded)
Ol Rowdy
Lancer
Stormguard (10)
JWC
Stormsmith x3
Strangeways
Piper
Eiryss
Aiyanna & Holt

List 2

eCaine
Squire
Centurion
JWC
Sword Knights (9)
- UA
Maj. Kate
Black 13th
ATGM
- Officer
ATGM
Anastasia diBray

Warmachine Mk II

2009-02-16T15:22:00.001-07:00

So today, it was announced my beloved Warmachine will be getting an overhaul in 2010.

Hell, here's the press release from the web site:

FULL METAL COMBAT, MK II

PRIVATEER PRESS ANNOUNCES NEW EDITIONS OF WARMACHINE AND HORDES
Seattle WA. February 9, 2009—Privateer Press, Inc. is proud to announce the new Mk II edition rules for its WARMACHINE and HORDES tabletop games.

“In the past six years of WARMACHINE, the game has grown rapidly, and we feel the time has come to reevaluate and retool in preparation for the upcoming years of full metal combat. We have chosen to tighten the bolts on both the general game rules and the individual model rules to make every model as compelling as possible and to perfect the WARMACHINE experience,” stated Jason Soles, Privateer Press lead developer.

The public will get their first look at the WARMACHINE Mk II rules in April through an open field test, allowing players to become familiar with the changes while providing feedback that will assist Privateer Press in making final adjustments to WARMACHINE Mk II before going to press.

The WARMACHINE: Prime Mk II rulebook will be released to the public in early 2010. The new edition of HORDES will follow later in the year. All tournaments, leagues, and release events that make up Privateer Press organized play will adopt the new edition on its release.

More information regarding the WARMACHINE Mk II rules will be announced as it becomes available. This and other news items can be found at www.privateerpress.com and in the pages of No Quarter Magazine.

This is some pretty exciting stuff. I can't wait until April, and I'm really hoping that the Press Gang will get an early look at this before the trial.

I haven't really had problems with the game as-is, but I know this will make it easier to handle rules and will hopefully reduce the amount of rules loop-hole douchebaggery and meta gaming. I hope.

But yeah. I like it. A lot.

WarmaHordes Challenge!

2009-02-16T00:15:00.002-07:00

Do it now!

Gdaybloke asked me to remind folks that there's a challenge going on over at LostHemisphere where you can win free stuff! All you have to do is make some picks on who you think will win.

Here's the link from the Privateer Press forums.

I was too slow to get a pick in -- recovering from Templecon, the flu and running a tourney today are all to blame. But next week, I'm in!

Templecon: More pics!

2009-02-11T23:16:00.002-07:00

Almost forgot. I linked em from the forums, but not everyone goes there...

Templecon 2009 on my Flickr account.

Templecon: Battle reports

2009-02-11T21:06:00.005-07:00

I'll be honest. I had too much fun to take notes on all four of my games. In the first game against DS, I was really enjoying the game, the trash talk and my opponent. So, I have no notes on that. But, I do have a few pics:

I won the roll and went first. I was pretty aggressive will my units because I wanted to dictate what the Steelheads did. Little did I know the cav would smash in Nemo's face. :P

Devilsquid and his custom Brocker jersey. Pretty cool stuff.

750 points: Cygnar vs. Trollbloods

For my game against Kevin, I have this:

Epic Doomshaper. Yeah, he's going to be a lot of fun.

I won the roll and went first, which was as theme this weekend for once. All it meant was that my dude got eaten faster.

This was before the Great Bitin' Off Headz event of 2009. The Earthborn over there was bonded to eDoomy and proceed to heal from killing SGs and then threw the bodies at Rowdy. Much hilarity.

Yup, they're still standing...

Kevin's list:

Epic Doomshaper
Mauler
Mauler
Earthborn (bonded)
Earthborn
Kriel stone bearer [6]
Gatormen [5]
Feralgeist
Swamp Gobbers

My list:

Epic Nemo
Squire
Thorn
Ol Rowdy
Thunderhead
GMCA
JWC
Ogrun Bokur
Reinholdt
Rupert
Stormsmith x3
Stormguard [10]

Key points in this game: A Dire Troll Mauler charging Nemo from 20" away, Stormguard being thrown at Ol Rowdy, eNemo surviving having a Mauler thrown at his head, eNemo popping his feat and killing a Mauler twice, only to be eaten by Gatormen... It was great fun, I wish I could remember more of the particulars. Yeah, I suck. :P

1000 points: Cygnar vs Steelheads

The epic battle takes place!

There were a lot of damn models on both sides of the board. And I've actually got a partial battle report for this one. I'm going from memory and what I can make out from the pic for DS' list.

Devilsquid's list:

Ashlynn
- Vanguard
Bart
- Nomad
- Nomad
eEiryss
Rupert
Stannis (duh)
Steelhead Halberdiers [10]
Steelhead Halberdiers [10]
Steelhead Halberdiers [10]
Steelhead Halberdiers [10]
Steelhead Cav [3]
Steelhead Cav [3]

My list:

Ashlynn
- Vanguard
eCaine
- Squire
eEiryss
GMCA
GMCA
JWC
JWC
- Hammersmith
Ogrun Bokur
Ogrun Bokur
Reinholdt
Rupert
ATGM
- Officer
-- Sentinel
ATGM
- Officer
-- Sentinel

I won the roll and went first.

BF Turn 1:

Run just about everyone

Arcane shield on eCaine

True Shot

Dirge of Mists on ATGM 2

Quicken on ATGM 2

Feint on Vanguard

Arcane Shield on Ashlynn

DS Turn 1:

Steelies 1 run

Nomad 1 runs

Nomad 2 runs

Vanguard adv

Cav 1 runs

Steelies 2 run into forest

Steelies 3 run

Steelies 4 run

Cav 2 runs

Stannis runs

Piper plays Heroic call on unit of Steelies

BF Turn 2:

10 Steelies in various units die; blondie makes 5 tough rolls. *sigh*

DS Turn 2:

ATGM 1 Lt dead

Dude dead

Junior w/Hammersmith takes a shot in the face from Stannis

GMCA dies from Vanguard gun shield, of all things...

eEiryss dies

GMCA dies

ATGM 2 dies

Ashlynn feat

Bart feat

No, this is not looking good at this point...

BF Turn 3:

Drop True Shot

Ashlynn feat

eCaine feat

eCaine fails assassination run on Ashlynn

ATGM 1 still engaged by Steelies, stay put and are KD and murdered

DS Turn 3:

Dude 2 is killed while holding control point

Cav makes a run at control point for the win

I think there was stuff that happened on the other part of the board, but I don't remember -- I was too pissed off at dropping True Shot, which would have allowed me to get shots in on Ashlynn, who had Quicken up. Nothing like missing 9 times to bolster that self-esteem.

Still, it was a fun game and I'm looking forward to a rematch. :) I had the right list to face the Steelies, just didn't play it well. Then again, I didn't play test it either. But hey, it was Devilsquid's first 1000-pointer, and I don't mind the loss at all.

500 points: Cygnar vs. Searforge

Or, hey, my army is fully painted!

Biggie's list:

Madhammer
- Blaster
High Shield Gun Corps [6]
Forgeguard [7]
Thor
- Gunner
Gudrun the Wanderer
- Ogrun Bokur
Brun & Lug

My list:

Nemo
- Squire
- Thorn
GMCA
JWC
Stormguard [7]
Stormguard [7]
Sword Knights [8]
- UA

I won the roll and went first.

BF Turn 1:

GMCA adv, shoots Bokur with Blaze round for 6 points of dmg

Run Thorn toward hill with High Shields

Arc boosted Chain Lightning onto HS, kill 5. They pass cmd ck.

Yo-yo Thorn out of harm's way.

B Turn 1:

Forgeguard adv

Thor attempts drive on Gunner, fails

Madhammer puts Bump & Grind on Blaster

BF Turn 2:

SG unit F (left flank) move

Thorn runs

Nemo arcs CL on Forgeguard, kills one

Nemo arcs CL on Forgeguard, kills one more

Thorn yo-yo

SKs charge Forgeguard, Blaster

GMCA does 6 points of dmg to Brun

SG unit Y (right flank) advances to screen Nemo

B Turn 2:

FG kill 3 SKs

Thor succeeds with Tune-up drive

Blaster misses SK Maj. with a an 11

Brun adv, shoots GMCA and misses

Lug adv

Durgen pops feat, hits SKs with Blast Back

Spray Bunny shoots SKs -- miss, miss, hit, miss

BF Turn 3:

GMCA stands still, shoots & kills Brun

Thorn runs into melee with Blaster

SK charge, Major wrecks jack on two hits, thanks to Flank and Dismantle

SKs kill no Forgeguard

Junior misses shot on Gudrun

SG unit Y charges Gudrun, can't hit on the charge

SG unit F runs to screen Nemo

B Turn 3

Lug frenzies

- 4 points to Thorn

- 2nd claw misses, Thorn disengages (I love that!)

Madhammer adv

- Ground Zero

- Concussion on Nemo

- Scree on SG unit F

- Shell Shock on Thorn

Nemo gets a crapton of energy tokens

BF Turn 4:

Thorn adv to engage Lug

SK attack Madhammer, left with 4 health

SG F adv

SG Y attack Gudrun

Nemo up to ARM 27 between focus and AS

B Turn 4:

Frenzied Lug destroys Thorn

Gudrun kills another SG

Forgeguard adv, enage SG F

HS shoot SG

Durgen Primes Forgeguard

BF Turn 5:

SG attack Primed FG, killing half with melee, half with electro-leap

GMCA shoots Durgen with Blaze round, 2 health left

Nemo steps up, casts boosted Ball Lighting on Durgen, does 11 dmg for the win

I really think I'm most comfortable playing either version of Nemo. I can't help it, I like the old man. But I'm going to take a real close look at Durgen. I like what Biggie did with him and I think he'd be fun to try out.

OK, that's enough writing for one night!

Templecon: The recap

2009-02-11T18:48:00.006-07:00

Biggie and me on the last day of Templecon.

So Templecon was my first gaming convention. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was only going to really "know" one person there, and that was through a few phone calls, some texts and PMs on the forums.

I had nothing to worry about.

The cool thing about the Press Gang is that we really are like a family. It was nice to be able to put faces to names and talk to these folks in person. Prior to TC, several of us linked up through Facebook, so I had a head start on knowing what folks like CptCaine and Z looked like. Some people had pic of themselves in their profiles, so that was easy too. And at 6-foot-6, there was no missing Devilsquid. No, the Steelhead Halberdiers didn't make the trip to the airport. :P

Thursday night, I met the roomies -- Tamwulf, Rawtooth and DS. Rawtooth, DS and I grabbed dinner at this Mongolian BBQ place called Fire & Ice a little bit from the hotel. Great food, a freezing walk, but a great time. I don't remember much else since the last sleep I had gotten was Tuesday night. I think we finally crashed out around 2 and were up again at 5 to set up the ballroom.

Stubbs made terrain pieces for all of us. Devilsquid's had a squid in the pond! Very cool stuff.

Set up went pretty quick. The terrain boards were great and the terrain pieces made for a great gaming experience. Then it was off to the PG breakfast. We had a great time meeting and greeting. Then it was time to register for the con and do my volunteer shift.

I think Friday was when DS and I played our 500-point game, the one where Nemo tried to stop a cav charge with his face. I also got in my 750 with Kevin and will try to recall enough details to fake a battle report.

Saturday, my volunteer shift was 8 a.m. to noon, and I ended up helping out with Hardcore registration and sorting sheets for Kevin. It was a neat event to watch, but not something I think I'll do anytime soon. DS and I played the dreaded 1000-point game, which I lost on scenario (must upkeep True Shot, dammit!!). But it was a great time. I think we grabbed bar food for dinner, but I'm not sure.

Sunday was an easy day. No volunteer shifts until tear down, I think I slept until 7 or 8. 12 hours of sleep over 3 days, not bad, right? Spent most of the time watching games and hanging out with the crew. I ended up playing Biggie, which was great fun. And I won! What are the odds?

Kevin, CptCaine, GodimusPryme, Rawtooth, Devilsquid, me, Biggie.

After the con was over, a bunch of us went out for dinner and had a great time. Long live the Suffering Bastard! Damn, that was a good drink.

Monday was a catch-up on sleep day. Killed some time, then went to the airport. And that was that.

In addition to a ton of T-shirts -- Midnight Madness, Support Devilsquid for a Steelhead Warcaster, a Biggie rules shirt and a PG shirt from DS -- I ended up with a few birthday gifts from DS:

Now I'm a real Cygnar player! Yay!

Pink dice and a bag that will be used for my Troll dice.

I have never had as much fun playing Warmachine as I did Templecon weekend. Sure, I didn't get many games in, but honestly, I was there for the people. The trash talk from the forums carried over into the games with DS, which was entertaining, and against Kevin, I don't know if there could have been more shit thrown in that game -- mostly my SGs getting their heads bitten off and thrown into other SGs in the unit! Against Biggie, it was a close-fought battle and a ton of fun.

I will be going back to Templecon in 2010. Hell, we're already talking about keeping the same rooming arrangements! It was a great time and I'll go as often as finances allow. Even if I can't make it every year, I've made some lasting friendships, which is worth more to me than winning games.

Catching up: Screw you, United Airlines...

2009-02-11T18:26:00.002-07:00

I should've paid the extra $60 to fly out on Southwest. I could have checked a bag with no extra charge and they would've given me a snack. And, most importantly, I would not have had to endure the flight from Boise to Chicago in a tiny-ass plane.

The annoyance started with my e-ticket check-in, where they try and get you to upgrade. And I can see why, given how small the plane was. But it was something like an additional $300 to give you the amount of room Southwest does to start with.

The annoyance grew exponentially when I was told my army bag would have to ride in the hold because it wouldn't fit in the overhead. WTF kind of plane was I getting on? And so my mostly painted minis rode underneath, with the only noticeable casualty being Thorn's spear. Should've pinned it anyway, but still. Fuckers.

We were offered only beverages for a 3-hour-plus flight. Snacks were an option for the ride from Chicago to Providence, but they wanted to charge you for it. As if it wasn't bad enough I paid $3 for a Cliff Bar at O'Hare so I didn't pass out from hunger. The cabin crew on both flights was less than impressive. Seriously, if you don't like your job, find something else to do. I solved most of this by plugging into the iPod and attempting to pass out. Even with no sleep Wednesday night, I couldn't do it. I was too amped to sleep and so I mostly rested.

Flying back to Boise was relatively OK. I was asleep before we left the ground in Providence but was greatly annoyed when we were in a holding pattern over Chicago for for about 20 minutes. Then the pilot told us we might need to be diverted? Whuh? I don't think so. We did land at ORD as planned, though a little late. Then it was the sprint from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, complete with fully loaded backpack and army transport. I was not amused.

I get to my connecting flight just as my group is being boarded and get herded onto another tiny-ass plane (two seats, an aisle, then two seats) that was full for the trip BOI. What the hell? Why would so many people want to go to Idaho??

It was the same drill. Beverages and then a charge for anything snackish. They wanted to charge $6 for a beer. Uh, no. It was cramped, but my seatmate was pretty nice. She had been on the flight out with me. Again, I was passed out before we left the ground.

It was nice to get back into Boise. But this has taught me that I will avoid UA like the plague. The service they give you for the money isn't worth it, and they don't even seem like they're having a good time. I'm not saying they need to be all goofy and shit, but hell, don't suck the life out of what is already a shitty experience.

I'm so glad I'm flying Southwest to the Invitational in May.

Heading back from Templecon. Waiting

2009-02-09T18:53:00.001-07:00

Heading back from Templecon. Waiting for flight from ORD to BOI to roll out. Let me say I'm still displeased with UA. Rant tk.

2009-02-08T11:30:00.002-07:00

And now we face The Quartermaster!

2009-02-07T16:19:00.002-07:00

1k insanity - and so it begins

Fwd: Hardcore Saturday

2009-02-07T09:54:00.002-07:00

This is the start of the insanity known as hardcore. There are an overwhelming number of Cryx players, followed by Menoth and Cygnar.All in all, Warmachine is represented in much greater force than Hordes with a total of 50 players on the floor.

Kevin just gave the briefing & they're getting ready to roll. Glad I'm not playing in this -- not fully painted and not wanting to deal with the amount of ass-hattery involved. I wouldn't mind running one if there's enough interest.

Still going to try and get the 1k game in; things are way insane here in the ballroom.

Oh. Got to face eDoomshaper last night. Think of him as Nemo for Trolls. His feat is gross -- very similar to Vlad's in that the beasts get to move *fast*. The bonded beast gets to do power attacks like normal attacks. This will mean a list with many beasts with the ability to do two-handed throws.

I really thought my eNemo list was outclassed last night -- especially after Rowdy got thrown at the Thunderhead. But it wasn't that bad since he didn't go far.

Will write more at some point. Been asked to take pics.

For some reason the text didn't come over with that pic. Stupid technology.

Hardcore Saturday

2009-02-07T09:12:00.002-07:00

Eat electric ... whuh?

2009-02-06T10:41:00.003-07:00

The Electric Blues take the field and draw first blood vs the dirty Steelheads. 500 points, now I eat a charge. Many bad things.

Edit: The game ended with Nemo stopping a Steelhead cav charge with his face. We will seek revenge in the dreaded 1000-point game, maybe later today.

Setting up

2009-02-06T04:40:00.002-07:00

Terrain tables set up.

Awake and...

2009-02-06T03:51:00.002-07:00

Pay no attention to the time stamp ok this message -- tis a figment of
your imagination. Only up this early because we have to set up the
gaming area. Then it'll be time for breakfast, which my stomach says
will be a good thing.

Hotel is nice though quite frigid near the lobby. The room is way nice
& will have to take some pics. The shower is amazing and it was
difficult to step out.

Army mostly survived intact. Rowdy was popped of his epic base and
Thorn's spear was pretty bent. I have a rant about United Airlines but
I'll get to that I'm a bit.

And for the record, I'm still damn tired. I guess I'll take 4 hours of
sleep over none. :P

Sent from my iPod - live @ Templecon!

Waiting...

2009-02-05T07:36:00.002-07:00

Trip through security was uneventful. No hassles over army case
(yay!), we all just sounded like cattle being loaded onto a truck --
just with less mooing.

A few more minutes and we're on the plane. And I think they're gonna
try and make me stow my army. Off to discuss that. Not happening if I
can help it, bastards.

Sent from my iPod - live @ Templecon!

Sleep? Whuh?

2009-02-05T06:02:00.002-07:00

So I'm still up.

I know, I'm a tard. But at 3:15 a.m. when I was finished with packing and re-foaming and the changing of the cat boxes, it seemed stupid to try and sleep. So I tried to nap on the couch. And, as every cat owner knows, "nap" is cat-speak for "I must stand on you and stomp your internal organs into goo." Which is exactly what Cassie did. I figured, WTF, I can sleep on the plane. I'm sipping a rather horrid tasting Red Bull and will head to the airport when Scott gets here. I have room in my backpack, the majority of my army is tucked away safely in my SS Designs case (I love this thing) and then it's go-time.

I think the thing I'm most excited about is getting to meet these folks who have become like family. Sure, it's cliche, but we're very well taken care of, and I can't think of another company I'd want to volunteer for. Besides, Warmachine takes up a lot of my time. Not so much the playing, but painting, discussing, organizing... it's a ton of fun and it will be awesome to put human beings with screen names.

At least in most cases. ;)

T'was the Night Before Templecon...

2009-02-05T00:01:00.002-07:00

And I won't be fully painted.

But that's OK. Everything except Nikolai has some paint on it. I'd rather not rush him, since I'd like for him to make it into NQ. I will still take Thunderhead Mk II to show him off, as well as my mostly painted new Reinholdt (yellow is much brighter than the one I painted nearly 4 years ago).

So, now I'm off to re-foam, pack and tidy up the house. I'm still tired from staying up and painting last night and I'm up at 5 a.m. to get ready and head to the airport. Color me excited.

I'll be updating here throughout the weekend as I find wi-fi access. I'll probably send pics of anything interesting from my phone if there's no free internet around.

"Real" photos will probably end up on my Flickr account and any video will go to youtube. I think.

Scott's February Challenge

2009-02-03T23:24:00.002-07:00

OK, so here goes. Posted on the Privateer Forums for the painting challenge, might as well post here and keep track of what I am doing.

Gravus (2)
Vengers (5)
Idrians + UA (12)
Aiyana & Holt (2)
Eiryss (2; both versions)
eEiryss (1)

and the Cygnar Commission work:

Sword Knights (10)
Trenchers + UA & SWA (13)

To my credit or dementia, most of these have been base coated, some have even been inked. The goal with the Protectorate models is to have them done by the 15th of the month so I can go fully painted into a 750 point Steamroller tournament. Kenny's Cygnar is going to be my break in between my own models, or maybe I bust them out and try to get more done. Not likely with 47 models on the docket. I will post pictures as I get things done, and hopefully get better at updating my progress.

February Challenge ~ Day 1

2009-02-02T14:13:00.004-07:00

Or "How I stopped worrying and learned to hate the Halberdiers."

Got all 10 of these suckers painted in 5.5 hour last night after the Super Bowl. I was pretty happy. It was a long time in the painting chair, but I wanted them out of the way so I can focus the models I want done for Templecon.

I kept track of my progress when I was painting the Steelheads, just because I was curious to see how much time I was spending on the various parts of the models. All times noted in 24-hour time.

2236 - Start painting Steelhead Halberdiers. The intent is to stay put until they're painted. Starting after 10 p.m. may be a mistake.

Assembled and primed courtesy of Scott.

I should note at this point that these are the single most annoying models to assemble. If they weren't my models, the would have been Airborne Halberdiers. I got three dudes assembled, plus the leader. Too many fiddly bits. But they painted up amazingly fast.

2317 - Finish up with Chainmail basecoat. Hooray for metallics.
2352 - Finish up with Dwarf Bronze. It's a nice Merc color.
0018 - Finish up with Pig Iron. Successfully thwart several attempts by felines to halp me paint. Canine looks depressed. Male feline picks on canine. Female feline sleeps until male feline picks on her.

Yes, metallics paint up very, very quickly. We like this. A lot.

0030 - Finish up with Exile Blue. All Steelhead Halberdiers can sleep in comfort with a nice, scratchy blue blanky.
0102 - Finish up with Traitor Green. I haven't used this color much, but will be using it more and more I think.
0148 - Finish up leather bits with Bloodstone. There were a lot of leather bits. Too many leather bits. That part where I said they paint fast did not apply to anything requiring leather. Ugh.
0201 - Done with Bootstrap Leather for their gloves. I was going to paint them metallic, but that didn't make sense for gloves. They wouldn't have gauntlets, they'd have gloves. So gloves they got.

Hey look! Basecoated except for skin.

~ break ~

I took the opportunity to download and install the most recent version of iBodger, which kicks amazing amounts of ass. And I wandered the forums and got back to painting at 0231.

0250 - Finished with magical Armour Wash.
0258 - Quick run with Citadel Thraka Green Wash over the Traitor Green bits.
0315 - Finished with faces, hair and eyes. I would say at this point that I don't recommend painting eyes after 3 a.m. Out of 6 dudes with faces, I only had to redo 2 sets of eyes. Not bad. But still difficult to keep hand steady at that hour.

One last stat: I got through 92 songs on a 100-song genius playlist. Pretty scary.

And there they are. And there was much rejoicing.

Another test

2009-02-01T14:15:00.003-07:00

So it looks like I can text a picture to my email account and forward the whole thing here with text. Interesting.

January Challenge ~ The End

2009-02-01T02:19:00.002-07:00

I got the Stormguard done in time... you'll have to take my word for it until I get the pics taken and posted. So, that leaves me at 53/69 or 76.8% complete. I'm not going to call it a total failure; if we were grading on a curve, I'm sure I'd be in the low B range, definitely a C and passing.

Still, 53 models in a month is A LOT. I would've gotten it all done if I had managed my time better, and hadn't gotten sick. I think 40 models/month is reasonable, will focus on that for March.

I still have a shit-ton of stuff to paint by Wednesday. I've got Wade's 10 Steelhead Halberdiers (grrrrrrrrr... love the abilities, hate assembling the bastards) and about 30 more models to be fully painted for TC. We'll see what gets done. I'm close on both units of ATGMs and my 3 Stormsmiths. The jacks will take the most time; Rowdy and Thunderhead Mk II take priority, then it's the Vanguard and 2 Sentinels.

In any event, I have to get up way to f'n early to be at work, so I'll end here.

Hmmm...

2009-01-31T12:08:00.002-07:00

So if I'm going to blog from Templecon, it looks like it'll need to be a two-pronged assault: Use the phone for pics and then go in and edit the entry with the iPod. I despise the crap that shows up on the picture messages from the phone and would rather go in and clean them up.

But, at the same time, it lets you, my handful of readers, know that I'm posting while AFK. I like the emails sent from the iPod because it tags it for you. I'll go back and try and edit the last post with the iPod and see how much of a pain it is. :P

From my phone

2009-01-31T12:07:00.002-07:00

And here's a shot of the river city warmachine sweatshirt i had made to see if pics from my phone show up ok. entries sent from phone will lack capitalization - and paragraphs!

Edit: looks like I can edit while I'm in HTML mode but not preview. Makes sense I guess. Now the trick is to learn more of the shortcuts with ye olde iPod touch...

Testin

2009-01-31T12:02:00.001-07:00

Trying to see how this email posting thing works, just in case I have
time to blog ffrom Templecon next week.this assumes I'll have wifi
access too.

Next up: test from the cell phone.

Sent from my iPod

The big push

2009-01-30T09:29:00.004-07:00

These are the models I need to have painted by Wednesday.

Stormguard (10)
Stormguard (10)
ATGM (6)
ATGM (6)
Stormsmiths (3)
ATGM UA
Piper
Ashlynn
Reinholdt
eEiryss
Ol Rowdy
Thunderhead Mk II
Vanguard
Sentinel
Sentinel
Bokur, aka Nikolai

If I did the math right, it's something like 46 models. It is very realistic to get all 20 Stormguard done today. I should be able to knock out the Gun mages too. Sunday is a lost day for painting since there's work and a Super Bowl party. But that still leaves me with enough time to get it all done.

And since I'm painting for me, tabletop is acceptable. The models that get special attention will be the Thunderhead, Rowdy, Ashlynn, Vanguard, ATGM UA and eEiryss.

The other thing I realized -- I only knew I was going to Templecon barely over a month ago. I knew it was insane to think I'd have fully painted lists, but you've gotta try, right?

Keep your fingers crossed.

I've also got a unit of Steelhead Halberdiers I'm speed painting for a client. ;)

But if I can get this done, everything else will be cake...

T-minus... oh shit.

2009-01-26T18:47:00.003-07:00

I should be more worried about the lack of models I have painted for the Challenge -- 21/69 completed with 5 (FIVE) days to go. I can do 30 troops in the next few days. Sword Knights should be finished tonight and then I'll press on and get Stormguard finished.

Then it's Ol' Rowdy and Thunderhead Mk II. Plus all the solos and Ashlynn and the Vanguard.

But yeah. Ten days until Templecon and me in Rhode Island for more Warmachine than I can handle. That's the t-minus that has me saying "oh shit" -- Will I be fully painted for Templecon or not? That's my worry. I know I've blown the Challenge; the Kriel Warriors aren't getting painted, neither is Kruger. But that's OK. I'll come pretty close.

Anyway, I'll survive. I think.

But here's an update, since I've been slacking. Again.

I can has Press Gangery!

2009-01-19T12:11:00.006-07:00

So I got a cool package delivered to me at the game store on Friday. It looked like this:

I was expecting my MonPoc order, but when I opened the box, this was on top:

I've been a Press Ganger since Oct. 16, 2008. Now I finally have my shirt so I can be all official and stuff. Oddly enough, I feel the need to paint up one of my Mariners...

Here's a little story about the day I became a member of the Press Gang.

At 11:08 a.m. on Oct. 16, 2008, I got the email from Privateer Press saying I had been accepted as a member of their volunteer corps. I think I actually read the email around 11:16 a.m. Regardless, it made me very happy and I was excited to be a part of the group. Seriously, it's something I had wanted to be a part of for some time.

At 12:36 p.m., I got the call from my uncle saying my grandfather had died. It was expected, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Needless to say, I was in very low spirits that day. I was going to go to work, but that just wasn't going to happen. My shift got covered, I ended up at the store and went home after a few hours.

The one bright spot through all of this was becoming a PG. I'm sure it'll sound stupid to some folks, but it gave me something to look forward to. And now that I've been in for a few months, I've made some really good friends and will get a chance to meet some of them next month.

As much as I like WM/H and promoting the game and running events, I appreciate the camaraderie from the Gang and the friends I've made even more. It's amazing how being a part of a group of people who are passionate can change your outlook.

Anyway, that's my goofy little story.

Thanks for reading.

The poorly aimed Pounce

2009-01-18T11:41:00.003-07:00

Day 17 is one to forget. I was truckin along on Kromac, and Lil Kromac took a dive and ended up in three pieces -- a poorly aimed pounce, as Devilsquid put it on the forums.

So I finally had one of those doh! painting moments they were talking about on the forums. I had Kromac in hand, he slipped and landed on the chair. I didn't try to stop him, which would have made it worse. I reached for him, he fell, bounced off my foot and onto the carpet. I didn't think it was all that bad until I saw his torso and then noticed he was missing an arm. *sigh*

It was easy to glue the torso on and get that all lined up, but I fucked up the right arm and now have a gap I'll need to GS. I tried to reposition the arm, but it wouldn't budge. So I used some Zap-CA to firm up the bond (should've done that to begin with) and since that glue is thinner than water, it got all over the place. I set the model aside and did some very angry base coating of Gun Mage Captain Adepts. About 90 minutes later, the pair were ready for details and final highlights. We went to dinner, so I didn't get them done. But it'll happen tonight. Along with the completion of Kromac.

Updates

2009-01-13T22:44:00.002-07:00

OK, so I have been more of a slacker than Jen. I dropped out of the January Challenge, well, because I did. I didn't like the pressure I was putting on me to get things done, and the December holidays happened, and I wasn't in the groove of painting for the last part of the month.

I am just now getting back in the groove of things, and I have my first commission work: Mr. Kenny's Cygnar forces. I painted one Arcane Tempest Gun Mage and got the go ahead for the rest of the army. Here lies the challenge. They will be painted close to stock, the only difference being that they will be base Exile Blue instead of Cygnar Blue.

The first models on the desk are the rest of the ATGMs, and then probably Long Gunners and Trenchers. I may break things up by doing warjacks in between (or even during) units. I will try to post pictures as I get things done.

On a personal note, I have Brun and Lug inkedand ready to highlight, and I am slowly working on Gravus and a unit of Vengers (Protectorate Cavalry). Since I am still not working, I know I have plenty of time (at least until I go back to work, which should be spring, probably late).

January Challenge ~ Day 12

2009-01-13T01:36:00.005-07:00

A quick update since I've been a slacker lately.

Finished the Striders most recently. That was a tough group of models to paint after the success that Warpy II proved to be. I don't know what it was about the Striders, I just didn't ever want to get them painted. I've been working on Bruce's Sisters of Battle and I'm painting them white (insanity, I know). I wanted them done last night, then tonight and well... maybe tomorrow?? I still have Kriel Warriors to paint. *sigh*

Played 1000 points vs. Staggs last week and got my ass kicked. Turn 3, after eStryker had murdered eCaine (who went all Matrix and shit, dodging a Centurion charge), the fate of the world rested with Ashlynn, who feated and rolled a crapton of dice. She did damage to Stryker, but not enough to kill. The reload shot from Reinholdt did jack and shit. Then it was up to the JWC... boost the attack, roll 5 dice thanks to the feat... and 1, 1, 1, 2, 2. And that was that. Her name will be Donny, after the character in "The Big Lebowski."

The best thing out of the game? My Sentinel (now dubbed "Kieffer," after the Nihilist played by Flea) rolled a 6 on the strafe attack. Thanks to the ATGM UA (aka "The Dude") and ricochet, I pulled off the coveted 14-shot storm of bullets. That killed not a single Storm Blade because eEiryss failed to shoot the unit to trigger Unravel and kill the upkeep. Yeah. It sucked. Oh well.

Here are some pics from last week. You guilted me into it.

This is Warpy II. Easily the best model I've painted in two months.

The Dude, aka Jeffrey. He spilled his White Russian while marshaling the Sentinel.

The hated Striders, who are less hated because they're done.

Of course, I've also chosen to be derailed by some graphic design projects. I admit, I'm very proud of the results.

Devilsquid on the forums asked me to make a banner for his new breast cancer awareness army. How could I say no?

Finally, I've been toying with t-shirts for ye olde Warmachine group. Playing with what I've done for my forum sig, I came up with this:

In our local meta, if it's a new model, it dies first. Then we ask, "what did that do?" It's also fitting because Boise PD has a rep for shooting first, missing a lot, then asking questions. I'm submitting the design to PP for final approval after I post this.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I will try to be better about keeping this updated, but honestly, the best place is my painting thread on the boards, unless there's stuff I can't really post there.

January Challenge ~ Day 4

2009-01-04T17:23:00.005-07:00

Well, one mini painted so far -- Thorn. I'm pretty happy with the way he turned out. Now I just need to get some commissions done so I can pick up the new goodies that come out Wednesday -- Gun Mage Officer (aka The Dude) and Troll Hero. I have Striders on the desk right now, but Rowdy is calling to me, as is Kromac.

Anyway, here are a few pics of Thorn.

Yeah, he's a little beefy. But we like that.

Splashes of yellow that have become a part of the "new" paint scheme.

Glowing blue eyes. Yet he remains cheerful and full of glee.

More pics here on Flickr.

December challenge ~ Day 30

2008-12-31T00:44:00.005-07:00

The Seneschals and Knights Exemplar are done! Finally! Now to decide what to do with the other 16 models...

Two of them have fully painted requirements attached, the other 14 are base coats. Not sure what I'm doing with those yet.

Anyway, here's a pic. And here's a link to the rest of em.

Look! They're painted! And based!

My favorite out of the bunch, Seneschal with arm swap.

And because I'm a dork, I took a screen grab of this from the forums:

I think I made Ghost Ship Captain a week or two ago after reaching 500 posts. Tonight was 666 -- from tonight's update in my painting thread!

And this is how it looks with my two sigs all prettied up:

Still not sure how long I'll keep the otter pics up. Maybe the new year will bring a new avatar and profile pic. Who knows.

Off to paint eKreoss and Deathstalker...

December challenge ~ Day 29

2008-12-29T09:19:00.002-07:00

The Knights Exemplar will be finished tonight. Come hell or high water, they will be done. Both units have received their magical armour (yeah, British spelling since it's old Citadel stuff) and two knights have gotten their Sanguine Highlight applied. I have two Seneschals that are awaiting completed banners and bases. GE Kreoss should go fast as well.

After nearly a month, I can safely say I am tired as hell of seeing these models on my desk. It's a shame that they'll get painted and put into foam, but they will be painted.

I've been too afraid to total up the number of Cygnar models I'm getting painted for TC. I know it's more than 30. No biggie, assuming I can hit my challenge goal. The main difference is that I've given myself a few extra days, which will leave a little more breathing room.

In addition to the TC Cygnar, there are some conversions I'm working on. We'll see how they go. In all likelihood, I will post pics in this space; I'm not sure how much of it will make it to the PP boards.

I can say, with all certainty, that the Vanguard is the single most frustrating model I've assembled. I've done two Thunderheads, with a third on deck, I've pinned tiny-ass bows on Blighted Archers, I have fully assembled and pinned 20 Knights Errant -- all with different poses! -- and this one, stupid model nearly brought about its own destruction last night.

Thankfully, I set it aside and will attempt assembly after I get the December challenge stuff out of the way. But JTFC, it makes my head hurt justing thinking about it.

But it will be pretty. Dammit, it better be.

Finally! Painted model pictures....

2008-12-28T23:18:00.006-07:00

I have had these done for a while, and thanks to Jen, I finally have pictures to "show off" what I have been doing with my painting.

This is Hierarch Severius perched atop two lucky acolytes.

And this is the Fire of Salvation, or "Fuego" as his friends know him.

I will get more up soon, just though I would get something up before the new year.

Go go Royal Blues...

2008-12-27T17:40:00.003-07:00

There's been a slight change of plan in my quest for world domination via the Pink Horde. The battle cry of "axe to mouf" will be replaced, for the time being, by "eat electric death!"

I'm going to a gaming convention.

With airfare as cheap as it is, a very affordable convention pass, and a place to crash, it was a no-brainer for me to decide to attend TempleCon 2009. They've got 24-hour gaming! Did I mention it's in Rhode Island?

I've never been to the eastern seaboard, not sure how much I'll actually get to see. But it'll be a good chance to meet some of the East Coast Press Gangers and play in a fairly relaxed tournament format called Eternal War. And after reading this in the PP forums, I knew I wanted to go.

So we'll see. I've got three lists -- 500, 750 and 1000 (for Eternal War) and I will be fully painted since I'll be representing Boise. I'll have a model count ready by Jan. 1. As far as I'm concerned, everything I'm painting for TC needs to be finished by Feb. 3, as the plan is to fly out 5 February. I should return 9 February, catch my breath, run a Steam Roller 4 tourney on 15 February and start Call to Arms 2009 on 16 February. And run MonPoc.

The one silly thing I did with Christmas money? I bought another Thunderhead.

It's not a bad paint job. But from where I am now, it's not a good paint job either. The T-head did well for my against Circle yesterday, but the paint job pissed me off. So he'll be retired and I'll paint another one -- faster and prettier.

I might as hit 2009 running. I will have plenty of time to get the Trolls painted for the Invitational, and I might even learn how to win with the buggers.

Axe to mouf -- Revenge of Dangerfish!

2008-12-24T01:27:00.007-07:00

So just how many Kriel Warriors is too many?

As it turns out, 28.

I needed to see if the 30 KW army would be effective at all. With 28, that got me close enough. And the answer is no, it is not effective.

Today's list was:

eMadrak

Bouncer (Smiley B)

Impaler (Smiley)

Fell Caller

Fell Caller (Juan Cinco)

KW (10) + UA, + Caber

KW (9) + Caber

Kriel Stone Bearer & Stone Scribes (6) + SS Elder

Champions

49 models, 748 points, 25 VPs.

I tried something new with prepping the Pink Horde for painting -- I added 30+ drops of FFW to GW Magenta ink. Covers really nicely over the gray. Doing the guide coat with Citadel black wash; I think these will go fast when they take their turn on the table. There is a very small chance I would need to bring a fully painted Menoth or Cygnar force to another con in February, but I need to see if 1) I can afford it and 2) I should go. I would like to go, they have an awesome tourney format, but we'll see. Airfare is pretty low. I just don't know that I could get everything painted. But anyway.

I won the roll (after we tied on 4s) and went first. KW1 with caber, SS Chronicler, Champs and Cinco, Smiley B and Smiley, eMadrak, KW3 behind, KSB and SS Elder, KW3 with UA and caber.

Here's how things went down, assuming I can read this chicken scratch I call handwriting.

Jen Turn 1

EVERYBODY RUNS.

Mike Turn 1

- Thorn advances

- Hunter shoots Smiley for 4 points

- Finn shoots KW3, gets 2 on strafe attack. Murders the untough leader but doesn't damage the two other KWs targeted.

- Black 13th moves, wants to do some of this Troll murder like Finn!

Ryan shoots, misses; Ryan shoots, misses. Lynch misses. Watts misses. KWs rejoice!

- Haley activates, arcs Chain Lightning onto Sm

iley. Rolls snakes, Squire re-roll, attack hits. Mike rolls 6 for additional arcs. Smiley, 16 points, no damage; Bouncer, 18 points, no damage. Champ B, 17 points, no damage; Champ A, 19 points, 2 dmg; Champ C, no dmg; Champ D, no dmg; Kithkar, no dmg.

- Thorn yo-yo out of Champ charge range.

- GMCA advances, long shot Smiley, 16 points, no dmg.

Jen Turn 2

- KW1 run

- Champs run

- Bouncer adv

- Smiley boosts hit on Hunter, no crit. Does 6 points of dmg

- KW2 advances. Caber gets into position. Tosses onto Finn for 4 points; kills SK and SK leader. UA pops mini feat (tough on 4s or better)

- KW3 runs from position in the rear

- eMadrak advances and hugs tree

- KSB activates Protective Aura.

Hey, tree hugging is for Circle, damn hippie!

Mike Turn 2

- Finn shoots into KW2, gets 2 strafe again. Initial target tough; strafe 1 dead, strafe 2 lives (didn't need tough!)

- Hunter shoots Bouncer, 8 points of damage

- Storm Blades charge Champs and do their standard bearer eat electric death thingie. Champ B takes 3 hits -- tough, tough, not tough! Champ A takes 6 points, not tough. SBs have no targets for charge attacks!

- JWC advances, Arcane Shield on SB.

- Rowdy falls short on Bouncer charge

- Thorn moves

- Haley + Squire move; chain lightning into KW1. Spell misses. Squire re-roll misses.

- Thorn yo-yo to safety

- GMCA runs toward center of board

- Black 13th time... Lynch shoots first, KW tough; Watts hits KW tough on a 4; Ryan initial attack, no dmg, 2nd attack hits, no dmg. Time for 4" AOE. Gets 5 models for POW14: tough, tough, tough, tough, dead.

Orange dice indicate who was tough. Mike was displeased.

Jen Turn 3

KW1 were awfully close to where the SBs were. And had a fully loaded caber.

- Caber hops on hill with SB. Cinco does War Cry for +2 on attack; Prayer of Potency adds +2 for strength. Four SBs lined up for caber, all 4 die

- Impaler throws on Rowdy for 4 points of dmg

- Bouncer does no dmg to Rowdy

- Champs move in and finish off SB

- KW2 charge; Finn dies (not tough), SK lives, SK dies

Mike Turn 3

- GMCA shoots and misses non-Cinco Fell Caller

- Hunter misses Champ in melee, uses reserve tank to escape

- JWC throws Arcane Shield on SKs

- Rowdy smashes Bouncer. Night night, Smiley B

- Rhupert plays Heroic Call for SKs

- Thorn advances

- SK charge KW; 4 dead, 1 tough

- Black 13th moves again; Watts kills KW; Lynch murders piper; Ryan kills KW x2.

- Haley activates, arcs Chain Lightning at KSB; 3 arcs. Three dead KSB

- Thorn yo-yo

Jen Turn 4

Too few Kriel Warriors now.

Extremely ineffective turn.

- Smiley frenzies, murders KSB. Gee, thanks.

- Champs attack Rowdy, only D manages 3 points

- KW1 run

- Fell Caller does reveille on knocked down KW3.

- KW3 run to find targets

- eMadrak feat

- Chronicler attacks Rowdy for no dmg

- Champ D attacks Rowdy, no dmg

Mike Turn 4

- Arcane Shield upkeep

- SK advance to non-Cinco FC, gain flanking bonus from Thorn. SK does 1 dmg on 1st attack, 4 on second; SK misses, 27 dmg, tough; SK does 25 points, KW dead. KW cmd check, 3 flee

- GMCA blaze round on eMadrak, misses with 13

- Thorn moves

- JWC shoots @ caber, misses!

- Hunter moves, shoots Champ C for 7 points

- Piper Heroic Call on SK

- Black 13th activates; Watts shoots Champ C, misses; Lynch shoots Caber, tough; Ryan shoots KW, tough; shoots again, no dmg, here comes POW14, 4" AOE - caber tough, KW tough, KW - dead. Pass cmd check w/5.

- Haley activates, arcs Chain Lightning on KSB2: KW tough, SSE tough, Smiley takes a point (why the hate??), eMadrak 4 points

- Thorn yo-yo

- Temporal Barrier

- Rowdy quake attack, knocks down 2 champs, Chronicler.

Game called due to time; Mike 8, Jen 4

The biggest problem was getting stuck behind my own models. I will run 2 units of KW and I'm investigating a second unit of Champ. Tweaked the list yet again, we'll see what I can come up with. In the meantime, sleep sounds good.

Axe to mouf -- a win!

2008-12-22T00:10:00.008-07:00

I was able to get a rare game in today. Two, actually. Since OC Graham's party was Saturday night and I wasn't sure what time I'd wake up Sunday morning, I arranged for my shift to be covered. And the promptly arranged a game. Mike said he wanted to face Trolls, so we scheduled a 750.

Silly me, I didn't take notes during the fight. I took pictures, mostly after my turn. I kind of have an eye deer of what happened, but it's gotten fuzzy now. So I might just end up making up stuff and rely on Mike to pop in and tell me I'm full of shit. :)

This is the Stone Scribe Elder. To quote someone else, "he will rock you!" I rolled my eyes when the comment was made, but in all truth, this dude kicks ass. That's why he has a fancy base.

This was deployment for Game 1. From left to right, I had Champions, Fell Caller, Stone Scribe Chronicler, full Kriel Warriors with UA and Caber, Slag Troll, Impaler, Kriel Stone Bearer and Stone Scribes with Elder, Bouncer, eMadrak, Fell Caller 2 (aka Juan Cinco) and KW (9) with Caber.

Mike won the roll and advanced his Cygnar. In order for there to be axe to mouf (you never go axe to mouf!) I knew I had to run my Trolls the first turn, probably the second. And so run we did.

Mike's Cygnar advanced. He had a Defender to my left, Sword Knights with Thorn as back up, Ol' Rowdy up front, Strangeways, Bokur, old man Nemo and the Squire (eeeee kawaii!) and Long Gunners with UA. As a Cygnar player, I understand there are many times where the models that fight for the Thundar Chikin will be outnumbered. With my Trolls on the board, this was exaggerated even more since everything on my side was on a medium base. It was a metric fuck-ton of models.

But see how far they got after Turn 1? It helps when your mantra is "run, Trolls, run."

By bottom of Turn 2, I had Cygnar all up in my Troll grill. On my left, the Defender was sticking it to my Champs. They did some damage but not enough. My unit of KW didn't like the looks of Rowdy. Nothing like a caber to the facehole to make you have a nice sit down. I think the Pile Driver was the only successful caber throw I had in both games.

If you take a closer look at the photo, Nemo is on his back. That's because eMadrak, thanks to Far Strike, ricochetted his ax off the Bokur and into Nemo. The bad thing for Nemo was that he had no focus and a boosted POW 17 isn't something you can live through. He did, then I popped eMadrak's feat and Nemo expired.

The game was over too quickly and we agreed to play a second game. Little did we know it would be a brutal affair, rife with horrible dice rolls, the Fell Caller Who Wouldn't Die and Long Gunners who more than earned their points.

Changed a few things with deployment for Game 2. This time, Mike had Thorn to keep an eye on Nemo. Ol Rowdy was also in better position to dish out some pain. Long Gunners would prove a good match for the KWs on my right flank. Bastards.

Mike won the roll again and went first. Team Pinky ran Turn 1. I think this pic was from bottom Turn 2 because the Defender is all the way across the board and the SKs have begun their defense of the middle. I think that's a Fell Caller engaging the Defender. If you look toward the Long Gunners, you can see a faint pink smear from where they ventilated Smiley, my favorite Impaler. Note to self: 11-man CRA to the face -- twice! -- is hazardous to your health. A moment of silence for Smiley.

... ... ...

I could have had the KWs on the right flank swing to the right of the hill, but thought I might need them for screening further down the line. They seemed to be enjoying listening to the Fell Caller tell dirty jokes from atop the rock.

This is Mike's dead Bokur. Those are the dice I rolled on damage. I wish I could remember how the hell I killed him. Knew I should've taken notes. But he was very dead. Of that, I'm sure.

[edit] Mike reminded me it was a buffed up KW who killed him on the charge. I wish I could remember which model, because he'd get moved toward the front of the painting line. In any event, the KW was benefiting from Stone Strength and Potency and hit the Bokur with a POW 14 on the charge.[/edit]

This is where Rowdy turned Trolls into bitches. He did his Quakehammer knockdown thing and pasted the hell out of Slaggy. If only Slaggy's hands weren't oversized, he might have been able to get out the way. Smiley B was pissed about Smiley's death and was able to hang on for a few more turns. I like what the Slag Troll is capable of, but I'm seriously considering dropping him for another Impaler or even another Bouncer. We'll see.

An absence of Sword Knights and many fewer LGs. Juan Cinco ran into the Long Gunners and another KW ran with him to engage. Two LGs decided to take it for the team and moved out of melee with Juan, who pasted both of them. But that set up a 9-man CRA, which Cinco lived through a total of FIVE times. Hence, he was dubbed Cinco. And Juan Cinco is just funny.

Down to the last of the KWs in both squads. Fell Caller 1 would end up running around the tree to engage Nemo. When he was able to attack the following turn (Nemo didn't do enough to kill him), he put a hurtin on the old man. Chain lightning (eat electric death!) and ball lightning made short work of my KWs and damaged eMadrak as well. He wasn't able to transfer damage at this point and couldn't use one of his troops to eat the damage.

I was able to move Madrak to where he had a clear shot at the Squire, which was surrounded by the KW standard and piper (hit em with your flute, Greg!). I boosted the hit on the Squire, pasted it and ricochetted into Nemo -- again a boosted POW 17. eMadrak notched a hard-fought win.

The character jacks are definitely worth their points. Rowdy was able to knock Madrak down, which delay the assassination run. The Thorn yo-yo is very effective at keeping the lil fella out of the way. Having Strangeways and Junior cast every turn and get Nemo up to 10 focus with the Squire ... wow. Makes me sad I'm training with my Trolls for the next few months.

And I've learned to love Long Gunners again. The UA is a must for them; the ranking fire and the additional shooter on CRA is quite nice. We're both looking forward to the Sword Knight UA; that's the one that will make it painful for me to keep playing Trolls.

I learned a lot. Winning does help, but just going through the motions and seeing what the proper order of operations is with those guys is huge. When I play Amon, there's a definite rhythm with the way I do things. I'm slowly getting there with Trolls.

Now to get them painted...

Day 18

2008-12-19T01:23:00.003-07:00

I've been a bad blogger and not posting things here. And I've been lazy about uploading photos from the camera. But when the crazy thing has a 4gb card, there is little incentive to upload. :P

I should be panicking at the prospect of 30 models between now and the 31st, especially since there will be several days where no painting will take place. For example, I will paint in the morning -- I've been setting my alarm for 8 -- and goof off on the computer and paint some more. More often than not, I end up on the PP forums >_< (modeling & miniatures, duh) and causing/getting into trouble in the Press Ganger areas.

So, there are 12 Knights Exemplar, 2 Seneschals, 1 eKreoss, 1 Blessing of Vengeance, Rhoven & the boys and 10 Knights Errant on the desk. Along with 10 Kriel Warriors and several blisters of product dying to be assembled. It turns out I have a surprising amount of Mercenaries. Privateers, Rhulics and a little of everything else.

Sitting here and looking at my sort of base coated Mariner and Freebooter, I think the Privateers will get Trollblood base with red; Rhulics are already Caterpillar yellow; Stannis and Steelheads and other Mercs will be Trollblood with some flavor of green -- whatever complements the Trollblood base.

I didn't count numbers on the blisters. I know I have better stock than the local Hobbytown, which is OK since I got a lot of it there for 50% off. I'm not going to guess how many points are unassembled, but it's pretty terrible. I think there are 4 or 5 casters in there, tons o jacks (thanks to the Great Cynar dip of 2007) and more troop models than I should have. I have a tiny bit of Circle, Skorne for nefarious reasons, a wee bit o' Khador and just enough Cryx where I should research which models I really want to play. I'm going for the pinchy ones with claws, since my theme there is "Rawk Lobstah!" The Khador, and there will be Khador, shall be painted bright pink like my Trolls. I will likely acquire the Epic Butcher this weekend since he's 50% off. Seeing Orsus in bright pink is funny in my world. And there's an idea for a list I'll steal, assuming the models won't cost an arm and a leg. Who am I kidding? I really shouldn't buy anything until I'm fully assembled.

The best part about all of this? I have rationalized it because I'm a Press Ganger now. No, I don't know how to explain the models I bought the 3 years before I became a PG. :P But I have bought a decent amount in the past 2 months...

Edit: There may be a bit of confusion about my new avatar and profile pic (probably not, but humor me). For whatever reason, December makes me think of otters -- mostly because there was member night at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and you could see the lil critters more easily. Back in December 2001, an otter named Roscoe died at the Aquarium. His face became one of the logos there and he's the namesake for my cheerful dog. Plus I found cute pics, so there ya go.

December Challenge- update

2008-12-18T22:46:00.002-07:00

Someday I will finally get off my butt and post pictures of some sort, but as of today I have all of my Protectorate warcasters painted. I finished and sealed the Harbinger of Menoth this morning. Yesterday I finished and sealed a full unit of Flameguard Cleansers. So what is left? Vengers, Errants, 2 Seneschals, Gravus, and a unit of Daughters of the Flame. Twenty-five models in all. To be fair, the Seneschals and Gravus have been inked and are ready to bring back up. I threw a base coat on all of the Vengers, still have some spots to go and a lot of touch ups before I ink them. Errants have the base coat of Vallejo White Gold liquid metallic down, and the foundation red, and Daughters have a basic idea of what I think I want to do with them.

Progress seems a little slow, but I am getting there.

Pictures shhould be following. Eventually.

scott

Day... 13?

2008-12-13T17:04:00.004-07:00

Stormguard are being counted in the "done" pile!

I'm not sure why I was insisting on painting mine blue; I like the knightly models with Cold Steel now that I've painted 2 units like that. There are plenty of folks who say it's lazy to paint with metallics and inks and washes. But you know what? It's 20 models done in 13 days. I am not going to complain about that in the least. And I'm fond of the way these SG look. Good thing I found a workable paint scheme since I have 20 of my own to paint ... some day.

Anyway, here's the Sarge. His weapon is large, when I first saw the model, I mocked it for looking very anime. But after using it to shoot the shit out of my opponent's models, it can look like that. It's big for a reason.

Didn't have the steadiest hands today, weather has gotten colder and my right wrist is killing me. The reason I posted the pic of the Sarge is because I used the wrong armor wash on him. I grabbed the bottle of P3 armor wash and thought, "hey, I haven't used this for awhile." As I'm watching it coat the surface of the Nexus Generator, I thought, "It's not working right!" Oh wait. Wrong wash. So as a result, the weapon isn't as clean as I would have preferred. I guess you could argue it's battle worn, but I think it's sloppy. C'est la vie. I still have time to touch up.

* * *

In other news, the Trolls got taken for a test drive yesterday. It wasn't the severe ass beating I took at the hands of Staggs, but it weren't pretty, either. It comes down to needing to run EVERYONE Turn 1. eMadrak and the Krielstones were out of the fight the whole game. I needed the buffs from the Elder (proxied him with the Kilt Lifter!) and I couldn't get him there. At least I learned something.

This was how I deployed. I need to bunch up my dudes and get them ready to run. I think I got hung up on the fact I'm using 40 medium based models...

Turn 2. Terrain aside, I needed all that stuff in the middle to be a lot closer to Scott's army. Out of the frame to the left, my Champs and one Fell Caller were taking on an Allegiant.

These are my new favorite dice. I am a sick enough person that I have 16 of the Skully dice. After forsaking me, the shiny, glittery pink dice stayed in the bag. These rolled pretty hot for me -- to the tune of 10 out of 25 tough checks. I kept count because I couldn't make one against Staggs to save my life. I had one Troll make 3 in a row. They also did well on attack rolls but need motivation for damage rolls. Between the dice, my Press Ganger coin and the fact I was wearing a pirate shirt maybe I should play Privateers. :P

Or I could just paint what I have and like it!

Finally catching up...

2008-12-11T10:38:00.002-07:00

OK, so it took me a while to actually get here. I am a Warmachine Player, and I play primarily Protectorate, though I have been known to play any and all of the Mercenaries, have a sizeable Cygnar force and have been known to dabble in the Khador Realm.

I decided to take the December Challenge and vowed to paint:

Avatar
Harbinger of Menoth
Testament of Menoth
Hierarch Severius
5 Vengers
10 Knights Exemplar Errants
2 Seneschals
10 Flameguard Cleansers
6 Daughters of the Flame
Gravus (both models)
Sunburst Deliverer Crew

This has been more about finishing models than starting fresh. A lot of these have been base coated, the Cleansers have been inked, just not finished, and the Avatar and Harbinger have ended up being repaints.

As of today, I have finished the Avatar, Sunburst crew, Squire ( I know it wasn't on the list, but it was fast and easy and a break from the grind). Gravus, Severius, both Seneschals, and the Testament have been inked, and I finished the Testament this morning, along with eSeverius' base of acolytes.

Back to getting things done. I will post pictures when I am able.

Quick switch

2008-12-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

OK, so everything looks the same, and really is the same.

But I had to fix one thing with this blog.

When I started it, I apparently typed "ghettorkore" as my URL. I can't believe I did that! But since Blogger makes it so easy to export and import the XML (which is still all magic to me), I exported from the old and imported here.

Day 9, really done

2008-12-10T01:57:00.000-07:00

OK, they are based and have 2 coats of Armory Matte on them. The Sword Knights will get their Dullcote tomorrow, weather permitting.

Tonight, I'll work on the Deathstalker for about an hour and then get ready to focus on Storm Guard. Not sure how long I'll be about to paint tomorrow night since there's a good chance I'll have to open on Thursday. So, tomorrow afternoon needs to be productive.

Graham's Cygnar will be living here. I have this army spread out between imageshack.us, the PP forums here and flickr. No, I most certainly do not have my shit together.

Day 8, SK completion!

2008-12-09T03:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, they are done, except for bases and some glaring touch ups the camera discovered. Stupid 10 megapixels!

Anyway, to avoid duplication of photos and such, the update is here.

So, we're down to 42 models in 22 days. Or are we?

I'm seriously contemplating adding Trever's Kriel Warriors to the mix. For one, I'm jonesing to paint my Trolls after all of this discussion about the PG Invitational. Sure, it's in May, but I'm committed to bringing fully painted to PP headquarters. I'm a little torn about how much to post about the Trolls. It's no secret they're bright pink, but there's a part of me that wants to not post pics of em, just for shock value. Then again, you can't really behold the brightness unless you're in person. I think my boxed set looked really good, but most folks passed it off as just another gimmicky pink army. Whatever. I paint what I like, I like what I paint.

But Trever's Kriels are yellow, like his Champs. And then there's Wade's Troll army, which is going to be green (not as bad as it sounds, will have to paint something and post it to prove my point. :P) And let's not forget the ever-present Legion case o doom that requires painting. I'm glad Wade is patient.

Ah, what the hell. Here's my Troll list:

Madrak Ironhide, World Ender
Troll Impaler (Smiley, the painted one)
Dire Troll Mauler
Fell Caller
Fell Caller
Feralgeist
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Kriel Warriors [10]
Standard & Piper
Caber Thrower
Kriel Warriors [10]
Caber Thrower
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes [6]
Stone Scribe Elder
Trollkin Champions
43 models, 746 points, 25 VPs

Very attainable by May. I just need to find away to speed up the painting of bright pink. I've got some things I want to try that involve a magenta guide coat, but I will end up waiting until I get through the December Challenge models. Although eMadrak is calling to me... we'll decide when I'm more awake.

The addition of Trever's Kriel Warriors depends on if I get SG finished tomorrow (OK, later to)night. Hopefully, the weather will hold and I can at least get them primed to I have the option. The weatherliars are calling for snow.

Day 4

2008-12-05T02:59:00.000-07:00

It's late again, so much for getting to sleep at a decent hour. I finished painting around 2, but had to edit and post pics and post to the PP boards. Which is why I'm not going to post pics here tonight.

The update can be found here.

I have a feeling I will be adding another 12 models to the vow. The SKs are under control and the SG is getting there as well. I need to get Trever's Kriel Warrior painted and would like to get Haley's Warpy 2 done since I've got a mod I want to finish. And since I'm waffling on my contest entry, I might as well add the Stalker since I'm painting her anyway.

Aside from that, it's killing me to have the Allegiant and Squire unassembled. Scott has painted both kung-fu fighters and the Squire is done as well (I think). Plus, I have all the models I need for my "alt" Black 13th. I will probably work on all of those together. I just need to find one of my Caine arms; need a magelock pistol.

Anywho, wicked headache has started, I think it demands sleep.

Day 3, Part II

2008-12-04T02:28:00.000-07:00

Brush, the might Windsor & Newton Series 7. Size 3, used for everything, yes, even eyes. It sheds awfully. It's fairly dirty, but dislikes being run through brush soap. It freakin rocks.

Sword Knights.

I forgot about the damn Sword Knights. So that brings the December model count from 42 to 52. As if that wasn't enough, the Squire and Allegiant came out today. And AAG got the shipment of Uncharted Seas starters.

Graham's Cygnar has moved to the front of the line with authority. And let me take this moment to say the Brush and I are really, really fucking tired of painting Cold Steel. Love the color. Thought about going with something GW for a moment, then said no, I want Cold Steel. So I bought a cheap brush and a pot of paint and threw the shiny on two Sword Knights while waiting for 4ok to finish.

Craig Ferguson was a rerun (regrettably) so it was iTunes time and paint. Roughly 2 hours later, I have shiny dudes on my desk. Again, the Canon makes it too easy to take really nice pics, which I'll get to in a moment. But first, about Brush.

Brush and I came together about 3 years ago now. When I first got into this whole painting thing, I wanted to do everything cheap. "I don't need no fancy paints. I don't need no fancy brushes." Well, that changed in a hurry. After a few months of craft paint, I started buying Vallejo; I still use Vallejo Magic Blue for my Cygnar. It's quite a bit brighter than the studio scheme, and I like it.

A little bit after I upgraded paints, I realized it was time to upgrade brushes. After flitting around the forums, I was introduced to Windsor & Newton Series 7. I placed an order with dickblick.com and have been using my size 3 brush happily ever after. I own 6 size 3 brushes. I have tried to use newer brushes, but they always misbehave. I've got one that forks as soon as it touches a model, so it's extremely annoying to even ink or base coat with. I've got one I used because I didn't have Brush, but I keep coming back to Brush. It's creepy.

Brush should have been retired at least a year ago. And it really hasn't been the same since the speed painting contest I entered 2 years ago. I don't go out of my way to abuse Brush, it just kinda happens. Like tonight.

I timed myself for the final Storm Guard. It took me about 5 minutes to get the right parts coated in Cold Steel. I never paint that fast. Then again, I don't usually have as many models to push through. Brush was angry, and there was always cat or dog hair getting in the way. Weather changes definitely affect the sable; splitting, errant hairs, it just happens more when the humidity goes up. But the worse I treated Brush, the better the paint went on. Anyway, to the pictures. Sue me for liking my Brush. :P

Thankfully, I had an assembled and primed unit of Sword Knights. It's not like I was going to paint them for me anytime soon.

About an hour later, they had Cold Steel in the right places, and in some of the wrong places. At this stage, it's more important for me to get through base coating as fast as I can so that I have more time to spend on detailing. It makes sense in my world, and has worked in the past.

In the interest of my sanity, I *had* to paint another color. While Cold Steel is very nice, the Sword Knights looked funky with just one color all over. Since I've been breaking out the Citadel paints Joel gave me, I thought Polished Blue would be nice. I think a dose of my magical armor wash will work well on all of it.

And here are the 20 Who Were Painted. Leaving the halberds off the Storm Guard is full of win. There is no way I could've painted each mini in 5 minutes. It will make painting their suits and leather straps much easier. I can't wait to see how they look with the armor wash concoction. I added about 30 drops of Future Floor Wax to a full pot of Citadel Amour Wash. It's pretty similar to the P3 stuff and it was easier to add the FFW to. Keep finkers crossed.

Day 3

2008-12-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

OK, a quick post while I'm between coats of primer.

Late last night, I realized I need to get Graham's Cygnar done before he gets here on leave on the 19th. So in addition to the 29 Menoth models to paint, I have 12 Cygnar minis -- full Storm Guard, Lancer and Haley (the nice variant sculpt). That brings the total models to 42 for the month.

That would be true except I got a dwarf done for Lance yesterday in about 45 minutes. And, I've got a Warpwolf on the table as well. I am fairly confident I can get them all done; the strategy is to make sure every single model gets paint on it every single day.

The exemplars are all close to the same spot. The dipped unit of KE needs to get shoulder pads and tabards painted, and the good news is, I've decided on an armor color -- Reaper Shadowed Steel. A little less "plain" than Pig Iron and a different hue than Cold Steel, which will be used to trim all of my knights. The relic blades will be Radiant Platinum and maybe VMC White Gold. We'll see. Still trying to reduce the amount of gold used on my PoM models, saving it for solos, unit leaders, jacks and casters. My TFG have no gold on them and I like the look.

Anyway, pics.Graham's Cygnar "starter." Halberds are pinned and will be painted separate from the models. I will be able to paint the troops much faster this way. Not sure if I'll paint Haley and the Lancer before or after troops. He wants the "purtee" paint job on Haley.

The Seneschal with the KE leader's arm. I have 4 of these. They should not all look the same. I have had great fun playing with the macro setting on the Canon. This also means I must paint much cleaner.

My Errants leader. He helped kill Gudrun (both times) last week vs. Scott. This unit has deserved a paint job for about a year.

December challenge

2008-12-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

So for some strange reason, I've decided to participate in the December painting challenge on the PP forums. This will be in addition to any commission work I do... just looking for motivation to get some of my stuff done. And there will need to be commission since tis the season to need $$$.

But here's what I'm planning on painting:

Faction: Protectorate
Points: 560
Model Count: 29
High Exemplar Kreoss
Blessing of Vengeance
Exemplar Seneschal
Exemplar Seneschal
Exemplars Errant [10]
Knights Exemplar [6]
Knights Exemplar [6]
Visgoth Juviah Rhoven & Honor Guard [3]

My head isn't necessarily right at this point, but I've got the motivation to paint -- mostly because Scott has been painting like a fiend. That, and because I'm tired of not having painting Exemplars. So we'll see.

In other news, I'm officially a Press Ganger (ph34r!) and I got a new camera so closeups will be much nicer! I've had my Canon PowerShot SD 770IS for about 2 weeks and I've taken a ton of pics. It's small enough to fit in my pocket, it's 10 megapixels and it's tiny. Be afeared.

Time out

2008-10-21T01:15:00.000-06:00

Not sure what my painting schedule is going to be for the next month or so. Wade keeps giving me Trolls, I'm painting Trever's Trolls now too and I've got a ton of Cygnar on my desk. And there's the ever-present Legion I need to finish. *sigh*

More importantly, I'm still trying to get my head on straight after receiving news of my grandfather's death. It wasn't a shock or a surprise; he was 94 and we knew the day was coming. But I wasn't ready for the call I got from my uncle on 16 October.

I thought I was OK and moving forward. Today felt like a normal day. Work went well, go things straightened out for the WM league and had time to check out the Press Gang forums. I eventually lost the urge to paint tonight, got online, then dinked around in iPhoto and decided to post of pic of grandpa. And after posting to Facebook, I realized that no, I'm not OK.

We'll see. I've gotten too good with the painting to quit. I'm just tired of fighting to be happy right now. I don't feel like putting forth the effort. The funeral is Friday, and I'll have plenty of chances to try and be brave for my grandma and mom while I'm back in the Bay Area.

I have been asked to write the obituary and will post here and in the normal blogging spaces.

And yes, I do have pics to post from past projects; that may just end up being a link to a gallery.

Just forgive me if this space get even more neglected.

Jen

Slacker, be thy name

2008-10-07T23:16:00.000-06:00

No, I have been painting. I just haven't been posting.

Finished the Bouncer, Gnarlhorn and Woldwyrd. Currently working on Trever's champions, Wade's Mauler, Haley's Alpha and Woldwyrd.

I have pictures from everything I've painted in the past few weeks, just need to clear off space on the hard drive so I can import them.

At least the work has been steady. I've definitely got enough to paint to get me through the end of the year. The next goal will be to make sure Wade is fully painted for CheeseMachine on the 19th, which means he'll need to finalize a list.

Any how, I figured I better post something here since this space has been neglected. :P

Change in plan...

2008-09-27T17:34:00.000-06:00

So Wade has picked up Trolls and would like me to paint them. That means Challenge II will be reshaped and rethought.

I picked up the Bouncer on Thursday; the Drakhun is pissing me off. As long as I still get it done as a going away gift for Graham (who is at basic as we speak) I will be happy. It just doesn't feel like the right model for the contest. The Bouncer has been inked and I have until Tuesday afternoon to make him look all purtee and stuff.

I still have most of Wade's Legion to paint, but the addition of Trolls means I will have some much-needed cash coming in. It also means I need to start writing invoices so I know what I've charged him. He's the best client ever; it's cool to work on retainer.

Anyway, I thought an update was needed since I haven't posted anything in awhile. I think the next pics will be of the Gnarlhorn and Bouncer. Maybe even Ol' Rowdy, but I'm not sure when I'll squeeze in painting for me.

Based

2008-09-24T01:38:00.000-06:00

In an amazing act of patience, I threw down basing materials on all of my Trolls -- 11 small bases, 32 medium bases and 2 large bases. Also based the Gnarlhorn and Ol' Rowdy (who is amazing!).

There will be a priming party and then the Trolls will be ready to be painted. I'm not completely sure where they fall into the grand scheme of things; my Cygnar and Protectorate deserve to be fully painted, but Trolls are Teh New Shiny (sic) and bright pink is appealing at the moment.

Then again, I've got the Cryx and Drakhun to paint as part of the next Challenge, which will start at some point.

I may make the next Challenges less rigid than the first one. I'm not sure. It was a lot of painting, and right now, it's nice to have been able to relax the past few evenings. And I've started doing stuff with my Flames of War army -- I've gone from having very few tanks to 8 that need painted. We won't talk about the state of my first rifle company, or the fact I have a second company that needs to be glued and based. Yeah, too much pewter.

In other news, I should have the bits from PP tomorrow (I hope) or Thursday. I can make the Cygnar Bokur and get beer mugs for the Scattergunners. Yeah, I need 4 more of them to fill *that* unit and 2 more Kriel Warriors for a full unit there. The caber for my thrower seems to have gone missing; I blame cats. It is around.

Procrastinating on posting pics from Sunday's tourney. I have been hit with a major attack of the lazys. There's also the fact I have gotten into another fantasy series -- the Pendragon Cycle -- and would rather read instead of playing on the 'puter.

I plan on focusing on models that will earn me $$$. I think I'll jump on the Gnarlhorn tomorrow after I prime it. I may pack it, and the Drakhun down to work tomorrow night since it's 40k and there is a strong likelihood I'll be there late.

Readings and sleep call.

Day 13, the conclusion

2008-09-20T23:31:00.000-06:00

Madrak is finally done. I think after painting the beasts in the boxed set first, he is the one I'm least pleased with. He is a little rushed but looks OK with the rest of the box.

Anyway, I've got the Madrak progression from today and the pics of the finished box.

Base coated. I really didn't like this.

Wasn't much better from the back, either.

But then, there was ink!

And we hated it a lot less!

The finished product.

I like using Arcane Blue for glowing runes.

Yeah, this is a lot better.

The battle group. Say cheese.

No, you can't take his chicken.

Purple mohawk needs a name.

It's the axer! With orange mohawk.

This model was a lot of fun to paint.

Hey, he's got a buddy in his bag!

It's Smiley, my favorite.

Smiley likes to kill things.

So the lesson from all of this? I can paint fast when I have to. Inks and washes are your friend. And I need better/brighter lights for the ghetto-ass light box. Or, I need to pick up some light blue poster board and use that for the background. That would be the cheaper answer to buying new lights.

I'm anticipating the painting desk will make my life easier. Things are sort of organized. I've got more room to work, the painting light and access to all my paints and inks.

The frightening thing is seeing how much stuff I need to assemble. I've got tons of Menoth sitting around, Cygnar I stripped and Trolls. And Cryx. Yeah, scary.

So, with Challenge I complete, here are the models on deck:

Challenge II

Vayl
Striders
2 Bonejacks
Helldiver
Kraye
eMadrak
Pureblood Warpwolf
Drakhun (for painting contest)
Gnarlhorn Satyr

Some of these have paint on them already. I started Kraye, then got distracted by something or another. He's got a decent base coat. I was going to paint my 3 Grundback Blasters, but would rather get more of Haley's beasts painted for her since she's in the league. Striders and Gnarlhorn have top priority right now. I have a few paid gigs that may come in, but I'll deal with those as I get the models on one of them, and the money on the other.

Battlebox Beatdown is tomorrow morning. After that, it's time to start planning for October's Cheesemachine Tournament -- the cheesiest 350 you can field.

/end Challenge I

Day 10 pics, Day 11

2008-09-19T11:42:00.001-06:00

Big push with Trolls was successful. Gained much ground with them Wednesday. Also started throwing paint on some of the Cryx models I have (do not ask why I have acquired the Cryxes).

In any event, here are the pics from Day 10 so I can move forward. I failed to document my Day 11 paintings. There wasn't much.

Yup. Chickens and a Helldiver. Because they remind me of crustaceans.

Hey look, metallics. Very *blah* metallics.

But wait, there's ink! And we don't hate them as much.

And the ink wash works well on leathers! Yay!

The ink wash was an experiment with the P3 mixing medium, which we fully support and endorse at this point. It was 2 drops P3 brown ink, 1 drop armor wash, 2-3 drops of mixing medium. Not the same consistency as FFW; a little thicker and more viscous. Easier to control and the result was very favorable. I will try the same ink combo with FFW to determine which I like more.

The other thing I tried out was highlighting pinks with the wet palette. It works pretty well for mixing and blending; I guess I'm more comfortable painting with a wet brush than trying to blend with 2.

In other news, a Stalker has joined the Cryx. Again, I want to paint them to look like lobsters and crabs. I have no idea if I'll actually collect enough to make an army out of.

Day 12

2008-09-19T11:42:00.000-06:00

OK...

Impalers and axer are done. Finished highlights, painted faces and based yesterday. I will take pics after they've been sealed.

Also assembled Gnarlhorn. Yay!

Day 10

2008-09-17T12:29:00.000-06:00

Today is the day I need to make a big push with the Trolls. Everyone except Madrak is where they need to be; still not positive how I want him to look, but I'm thinking that once I plug in the iPod, I'll get a pretty good idea. At least that's the hope. :P

Day 9 pics

2008-09-17T00:05:00.000-06:00

Here they be:

Kitteh

Gorten

Caution from behind

Showing off model numbers

Showing off their names

Facing front

Family portrait

Names painted on the back

Day 9

2008-09-16T22:45:00.000-06:00

Finished the Gorten box and based Shredders and finished Lylyth. Just need to get pics up when I get home.

The big push will be with the Troll box. For whatever reason, I'm not as excited to paint those as I thought I'd be. The pink looks good, I'm just dreading doing the leather and other bits. Not a clue how I want to do Madrak; I guess I'll save him for last. I think the Impalers will go fast and the Axer is pretty cool looking.

Anyway, will try to get pics up tonight. The Gorten shots are in the camera, just need to get 'em in the computer.

Day 8

2008-09-16T12:05:00.000-06:00

A fairly slow day.

Put basing materials on the Gorten set, painted and dried the bases. Next stop is to paint names on the bases and add static grass.

Started on the leather on Trolls. Also grabbed Wade's Legion stuff to finish the Lylyths and shredders. Then that should leave me with Trolls, unless I come up with something else to paint. And painting is what I'm off to do now. :P

Day 7

2008-09-15T01:34:00.000-06:00

Didn't do too much today... Hyde Park Street Fair and Sunday Night Football.

Did names and model numbers on gun bunnies and Kitteh. Will post more pics of that battlebox when I get them based.

Tonight, the trolls got their pink skin. And I tried out the wet palette. Used VMC florescent magenta as the base, then mixed VMC pink with it for the highlight. Then I think it was straight VMC pink for the top highlight. Didn't do a tremendous amount of blending, but didn't really need to work at it because of the palette. It definitely works better for the dropper bottle paints; still need to try it with P3s and the mixing medium.

Anyway, here are the boys.

Madrak will be a lighter shade of pink.

They're really, really bright.

Highlighting on muscles was quick and dirty.

Day 5 pics, Day 6

2008-09-14T03:25:00.000-06:00

Here's the Warp Wolf. I'm pretty happy with him. He helped me get a rifle company for my Flames of War army, which will be making an appearance in this space at some point.

I think this is Warpy's best side. Love the eye and teeth.

Yeah, it's still a goofy frickin' pose.

I expected more from this shot, but was in a hurry.

The biggest problem with Warpy is that he took me longer than I wanted. But I'm pretty excited I was able to finish a warbeast in a day. I think it would've gone faster if I hadn't failed with my ink wash, but live & learn.

The head-on view isn't as cool in the photo; in person it looks pretty neat. One of the things I tried with him was to cheat and pick a portion of the model to do better detail on. He's not sloppy by any means, but he doesn't have as many layers as I could have done. And I wanted to see if it would be acceptable with fewer layers. I think it worked. I chose to focus on the wolf's face -- bright blue eyes and sparkling teeth -- so that's the first part you look at on the model. I'll slowly incorporate the speed painting tricks from Brushthralls.com as I remember them. Now if only I was done with that Gorten set.

Day 6

I'll still call it Day 6 even though the painting was done between 2 a.m. and the writing of this blog. Just did some finer detail on Gorten and the jacks. They're to the stage where I can freehand the names in runes and the model numbers. But given the lack of sleep, I'd rather wait until I'm rested instead of having the whole endeavor fubar'd and wasting a week's work.

Anyway, here be photos.

Look ma, no primer! Finally painted the trim.

Fired up and ready to be named and numbered.

Kitteh... now with rivets!

Quick and dirty fire effect. Needs work but passable.

Yeah. Gorten gets gray hair. And cool goggles.

Gorten will have to be finished on Day 7. I have too much to do with Trolls for this not to happen. I still need to base Wade's Legion box. If we have an odd number for the tournament, I'll end up playing that army since Wade will be using the frat boy pink Trolls. Should be entertaining; we've got 16 signed up in 6 days. I'm pretty excited about the turnout.

Sleep needs to happen. Hyde Park Street Fair tomorrow!

Day 5

2008-09-13T11:01:00.000-06:00

So for Day 5....

Primed and painted Haley's Warpwolf and finished in the wee hours of... today. Basecoated and inked Friday afternoon. Went to AAG and worked on the Gorten box. Tried to make the Heartfire show through a little less and did some extreme highlighting on the gun bunny heads.

Managed to get Pig Iron on the trolls, need to decide what color for the leather. I also get to basecoat the skin, as the ink wash didn't do what I needed it to. I guess if everything went according to plan, this blog would be more boring than it is. :P

Started working on Warpy again around midnight. Finished a little after 2:30 a.m. and did a coat of GW matte varnish. Dullcote this morning. Pics will be posted later today.

Not going to get any painting done until late tonight/early Sunday morning since I'm working and the 'Ard Boyz tourney is going on in the next room. At least I was able to grab a few minutes to post here!

Day 4

2008-09-12T12:26:00.000-06:00

Trying to get caught up with this thing here and the painting.

Day 4 was highlighting Shredders and the Harrier and both incarnations of Lylyth. I'd have updated pics, but the army is at AAG since Wade & Haley want to get some practice games in.

Managed to play Protectorate vs. Scott's PoM army and sucked mightily at it. I forgot how annoying zealots are and I'm not really very good using TFG, although mine looked pretty good (yay painted unit!). Will have to post pics of painted Protectorate. Anyway, we had to end the game because it was time for me to work, he won on VPs. Maybe I should stick to Cygnar.

Anyway, last night I started to add detail to the Gorten box and threw magenta ink on Trolls. Not sure how much work it saved me, but we'll see.

Trolls inked with GW magenta & Future Floor Wax. Shiny.

Kitteh gets his stripes.

Gato, Neko & Cait get their stripes. And glowing blue eyes.

Stripes for the boss man too.

Haley's Warpwolf, ready for paint.

And now we're onto Day 5 for painting... coming up, one angry puppy.

Day 3 pics

2008-09-11T23:45:00.000-06:00

OK, here are the pics I promised from the other night. The shot of the inked dwarves got corrupted or something and is unavailable.

Guide coat for the Trolls. Trying to see if it speeds up the process.

Close up of the coat.

Lylyth and her evil twin.

Things that go chomp in the night.

Day 3

2008-09-10T22:07:00.000-06:00

Today consisted of painting Lylylth and her evil epic self. Very easy colors -- thamar black, frostbite and radiant platinum. Made up a wash consisting of armor wash, water and Future Floor Wax... did a fantastic job on Lylyth's armor -- it was so good on the normal model that I threw paint on the epic because I didn't want to waste the ink.

Not sure what I'll get painted tonight. I have the headache from hell and won't get off work until about midnight (it's 40k night). I've assembled Graham's Drago and will build Fire of Salvation because I have an eKreoss list I want to try against Scott. I brought the Gorten set and was going to try and highlight those models.

Scott found a Cat with a drill attachment, so Kitteh will get a new model number: 216B2

Anyway, I'll post pics of whatever I have finished before I got to bed.

Day 1 & 2

2008-09-09T23:28:00.000-06:00

The first day of painting was delayed by watching the Monday Night Football doubleheader at Graham's. I had hoped he had a can of gray primer so I could prime trolls, but he didn't. Upon further review, aside from being able to watch the game with friends, I would've been better off painting instead of watching the Broncos embarrass the Raiders. But oh well.

To recap the plan here, I'm trying to finish Wade's Legion box plus four additional Shredders, two Harriers and Epic Lylyth. I'm going to paint my Gorten box and my Troll starter box. All by the 20th. An ambitious plan? Yeah. Realistic? That's the test.

So I got home and grabbed the models I was going to paint.

Yeah, that's a lot of dust.

And it's another angle of more dust.

The Gorten battlebox has been sitting on my entertainment center since I got it. It was primed when I bought it. The only paint I had thrown on it was some Brass Balls on the Driller for last year's P3 painting challenge. I never finished it and never bothered to dip it. But there was an amazing amount of dust on everything.

I almost bought another Driller because I didn't think I'd be able to paint over what I had painted metallic, but in the interest of saving money to buy Fire of Salvation on Wednesday, I opted for the more common sense, economical choice.

Mmmmm, bare metal. Bleh.

I bought my Troll Warpack from a friend and assembled them a month or two ago. They're quite shiny.

A long time ago, I decided I wanted my Rhulics to be painted Cat yellow (you know, like the big earth movers). The idea of painting yellow over black primer didn't excite me, but I've got some of the Citadel foundation paints and thought I'd be OK. Iyanden Darksun hasn't failed me when using it as a base for Cygnar Yellow, so I should be good to go with Heartfire. Right?

We made sure the Brass Balls disappeared.

And then there were more metallics.

Well, I'm used to using the foundation in a smaller area; I've never tried to cover a whole model with it. It did a decent enough job, at least I thought it did. Then I starting slinging Heartfire. The coverage was not what I expected.

This particular pot of Hearfire seems to be a little thin, so I don't think it would've matter what I used to base coat. I did the best I could. I figured maybe I could just ink it and call it good. I decided to think on it. I got the metallics done on the Driller, then it was time for bed.

The Driller knew I was displeased with the Heartfire.

Day 2

The first order of business for painting on Tuesday was to get the Gorten set base coated. I was not encouraged with my adventures with Heartfire the night before, but pressed on. More Pig Iron and some Brass Balls and the crew was good to go.

Scott helped me come up with names for the gun bunnies and the Driller. Since they're "Cats" we've got: Gato, Neko, Cait and Kitteh. Their names will appear in runes with some of the other ricockulous freehand I'm planning -- caution stripes, that sorta thing. But while he was at work, Scott came up with the idea of numbering the jacks with actual Cat model numbers (gotta love a construction site, right?).

We checked out the Cat web site and got models and numbers. The bunnies will be compact loaders:

279C ~ Gato
289C ~ Neko
299C ~ Cait

Kitteh the Driller will be a Harvester, 501HD. Yeah, we need a hobby. Oh wait...

After the excitement of base coating died down, I primed trolls.

The pink shows up much better over gray. Yes, I said pink.

At about 2:45, I realized I needed to finish a mini for Lance. Well, finish, or start a new one. I've got two in progress, I don't like what I done with either of them. And I've got two that I haven't touched. So I grabbed one of those. And after about an hour and 10 minutes, I came up with this:

Not too horrible for just a bit over an hour.

I think the D&D mini was a good test. I've gotten better with what I can do in an hour. I'm hoping that translates well with my challenge.

Now off to paint. Dog knows I've spent way too much time working on this blog tonight...

Battlebox Beatdown

2008-09-08T10:22:00.000-06:00

The beatdown is in 13 days. I have two fully painted boxed sets, Cygnar and Menoth, with Trolls not even started and Gorten primed.

I've got most of Wade's stuff where it needs to be, so I know he'll be fully painted by the 21st. But is it even possible for me to get Trolls done, just in case someone needs a battlebox?

I'm not sure it's a good idea, but I'm gonna go for it anyway.

The evil plan: Get Trolls and Gorten fully painted by the 20th, just in case.

The scariest part of all of this is that I don't even get to play since I'm running it.

Maybe this painting thing is a little out of control. But I don't think so. I need to push myself, and this is the best way to do it. I think.

Another blog

2008-09-05T22:57:00.000-06:00

OK, it's another one.

This one is going to be dedicated to gaming and painting, so we'll see how long I can keep this up.